(Inspired by The Seed Jedi) I don't own Star Wars or Gundam Seed Characters.
"Blah"-Talking
'Blah'-Thinking
"Blah"-Talking in Different Language
"Blah"- Holocron talking
"Blah"- Comm. Chatter or Ship Names
Chapter Ten: Planned Reinforcements
Archangel's Mobile Suit Hanger
Oabobiti sighed as he made the necessary adjustment to the O.S. in the Duel. The O.S. had more damage than Oabobiti had first anticipated. He spent over twenty minutes breaking down the O.S. and rebuilding it from the ground up. Hopefully it would increase the Duel's maneuverability and accuracy. The Duel's Hyperwave Transciever beeped three times making Oabobiti stop from his work and raised an eyebrow.
'Already?' he thought as he activated the transceiver, which brought up a picture of Admiral Ackbar on one of the right main screen. Oabobiti gave a crisp salute, "Sir!"
Ackbar returned the salute. "At ease," he said lowering his salute. "I have some good news Capt. Lightstar."
Oabobiti tilted his head to the side. "What news, sir?" he questioned.
Oabobiti saw Ackbar smile gently before he replied, "It appears the Alliance council wishes to see the information and pictures of the X-102 Duel. They requested that a tech squad be sent to you to gather data and the technical blueprints of the 'Gundam', as well as give you any equipment you may need in the future."
"How are they going to get here?" Oabobiti asked both relived and curious. Ordinarily it would take a couple days to get from one star system to another. But from one galaxy to another would probably take months, hell, year's maybe.
"The same way you came." Ackbar said flatly.
"Huh?" Oabobiti asked dumbly.
Ackbar paused for a couple seconds and chuckled; it wasn't often someone would catch a Jedi off guard. He looked up at the confused officer and smiled, "We sent a scouting party of three Z-95 Headhunters into the Maw system to find the wormhole you went into and found it. One of the pilots had gotten too close and was sucked into wormhole, luckily she wasn't detected and managed to make it back in one piece."
"Was her physical age changed like mine?"
Ackbar shook his head, "No, her age still stayed the same, probably because of the shield. She says it was out when she made it out of the hole."
"Jate'kara hut'uun…," Oabobiti said under his breath, his head sunk low. (Translation: Lucky Coward, Coward is the worst possible insult in Mando'a)
Ackbar blinked. He wasn't too familiar with Mando'a so he let the possible insult slide. In a way he understood why Oabobiti would be upset. He'd be pissed off too if he found out he was a teen again. Ackbar shook his head and continued, "We are sending a Nebulon-B Frigate, The Vigilance, to you. Anything you think you might need?"
When Oabobiti heard it was The Vigilance coming he smiled. The Captain of the ship was a male Rodian named Grecto Bomu. The Alliance officer was in the same graduating class as Oabobiti and they were close friends. "I think so, tell him that Oabobiti said 'The Vasarian Brandy is good here.' He'll know what to do next," Oabobiti said crossing his arms.
Ackbar nodded. "Understood, it will take about two standard days for The Vigilance to get were you are. I shall contact you if anything comes up."
"I will do the same here sir," Oabobiti said saluting the figure of Ackbar before it disappeared. 'As soon as The Vigilance gets here, I'm going to have a large glass of Veronian Berry Wine, either that or some Lomin Ale and a little Xinphar,' Oabobiti thought rubbing his helmet. He quickly typed the rest of the modifications to the O.S. and moved out of the Duel's cockpit. When he was out the cockpit, he saw Kira staring at the Strike deep in thought.
"What's up, Kira?" Oabobiti said pushing himself off the Duel and stop near Kira.
Kira sighed deeply. "I don't know what to do," he said not looking back at Oabobiti. "Lt. La Flaga said I have the power to make a difference, so why not put it to good use."
"Everyone has the power to make a difference," Oabobiti said looking at the Strike as well. "It just depends on how you use that power, whether it's for personal gain or defense."
Oabobiti looked at Kira. "How do you use your abilities?"
Kira looked back at Oabobiti, confidence radiating in his eyes. "I used them to defend my friends," Kira said.
"Then use your abilities wisely," Oabobiti said. "If you become too obsessed, then you'll fall to the Dark Side."
"The Dark Side?" Kira never heard Oabobiti use that term before. From the way he said it, it's something that should be avoided.
"The Dark Side of the Force is when the elements align with powerful negative emotion like fear, hatred, anger, and passion," Oabobiti started out with a low tone. "I remember Jolee saying something about Dark Side users, 'A Sith (which are the exact opposite of a Jedi) believes he commands the Force, but it is the Dark Side that commands him,'" Oabobiti finished before he looked at the Duel.
"I bathed myself in the knowledge of the Sith. Learning their ways, their tactics, and the way they think, just so I know how to kill them. It's thanks to Jolee's counseling that I'm not a Dark Jedi."
"Personally, I think there is no such thing as a Dark Side, only those who have their minds corrupt with power. For you see Kira, I believe in the Potentium theory," Oabobiti finished
"What's the Potentium theory?" Kira asked, tilting his head to the side.
"The Potentium theory claims there is no inherent evil in the view of the Force," Oabobiti started looking at Kira. "It claims what others call the Light Side is actually just the Force itself, which is inherently good. What people call the Dark Side is actually a perversion of the Force, their minds twisted with power and suffering. The Potentium theory says the potential for both Light and Dark Sides resids in the user, and not the Force itself."
"It makes some sense…" Kira said nodding at Oabobiti's logic before he smiled. "Thanks for having a small talk with me, it helped."
"No problem," Oabobiti said patting Kira's shoulder. "I have to inform Lt. Ramius about something," he finished heading for the hanger door.
"Like what?" Kira asked.
Oabobiti had just reached the door when Kira called out to him. He turned around and replied, "I was contacted by Admiral Ackbar again. They're sending a ship to take a look at the Duel and get me any supplies I may need."
"What kind of ship?" Kira asked, really curious with so many questions racing through his head.
"It's an escort frigate called The Vigilance. It will arrive in about two days," Oabobiti said flatly. "The captain of the ship is a good friend of mine, so I have to tell Lt. Ramius he's coming so she doesn't do something stupid like shoot at him."
Vesalius's interior Rau Le Creuset's Quarters
"Athrun Zala, reporting as requested," Athrun said from outside of Rau Le Creuset's personal quarters.
"Right," Le Creuset said from behind his desk typing up a report. "Come in."
The doors slide open to reveal Athrun in his red ZAFT special ops uniform. Athrun quickly came in as the door shut behind him. He stopped about one meter away from Le Creuset's desk. Athrun gave a quick salute before Le Creuset spoke.
"I was hoping to speak with you earlier," Le Creuset said not looking up from his screen. "But things got a bit out of hand, with the collapse of Heliopolis and you finding that craft," he finished turning his seat towards Athrun.
"Sir, I apologize for what happened during the previous battle," Athrun said still standing at attention.
"I have no intention of punishing you," Le Creuset started. "But I do want to hear your side of the story. Particularly since it wasn't like you, Athrun"
Athrun's face slipped, turning into a frown. He really didn't want to explain why he did it; any further thoughts were broken when Le Creuset spoke up again. "I understand you were near one of the machines when it was active."
"I'm terribly sorry," Athrun apologized. "I was stunned by what had happened, and failed to report the incident."
Athrun paused for a few seconds to gather his thoughts before he continued. "The blue and red machine, person piloting it is Kira Yamato, a Coordinator friend from the military preparatory school I attended on the moon."
"Well…!" Le Creuset said surprised. It made sense now, on how the machine Miguel fought could move so well. Only a Coordinator could change an O.S. in such a short amount of time.
"I never dreamed that we'd meet again in such a situation," Athrun said pausing to catch his breath before continuing, "so I had to be sure."
"I see. War is full of irony" Le Creuset said taking the information in, standing up from his chair. "I don't blame you for being so stunned. I can imagine you were very close to this friend."
"Yes," Athrun replied looking down at the floor.
"Very well," Le Creuset said walking up to Athrun. "If that's the case, I shall take you off the upcoming sortie," causing Athrun to look up at his commanding officer.
"You wouldn't be able to point a gun at such a friend," Le Cruset continued, "And I don't want to force you to, either."
"No, Commander! That's…!" Athrun said trying to make an argument.
"Even if he was once your friend," Le Creuset interrupted. "We must shoot him if he's now an enemy. I'm sure you can understand that."
"Kira is… He's being used by the Naturals!" Athrun shouted trying to save his friend. "He's brilliant, but also absent-minded and good-natured so he fails to see that he's being taken advantage of. That's why I want to persuade him! He's still a fellow Coordinator, maybe even the pilot of the other machine! I know they'll understand what we have to say!"
"I understand how you feel," Le Creuset said putting his hands on his hips and looked downward to the ground. He then looked back up and into Athrun's eyes, "But… what if they won't be persuaded?"
Athrun's eyes opened a little wider before they looked down to the floor. He hadn't thought of that; if Kira and the other person couldn't be persuaded, then he'd have to kill them both. "If that happens…," Athrun started, his voice filled with dread, "I'll shoot them down myself."
Archangel's Bridge
"So this 'Commander Bomu' is coming to this galaxy with a ship, a tech team to analyze the Duel, and supplies you may need in the future," Ramius repeated while she was sitting in the captain's chair of the Archangel, trying to understand what Oabobiti was saying.
Oabobiti nodded. "Yup that's the grits of it," he said really thankful Ramius believes him, unlike Natarle. "He'll be here in about two standard days, which is about 50 hours your time."
Ramius nodded understanding, if she would do the same thing if she was in Oabobiti's position. But any other thoughts were broken when Romero said, "Large heat source detected! Believed to be the engine of a warship, distance two hundred Yellow thirty three, seventeen. Mark 02 Charlie, course zero-shift-zero!"
"Beside us?" Mu questioned while looking at the readouts. "It's heading in the same direction?"
"Looks like I was right," Oabobiti said pushing himself off of Ramius chair, over to Romero and looked over his shoulder to see where the enemy ship was.
"But it's a far distance away from us," Natarle pointed out before moving up next to Ramius.
"The target is out passing our ship," Romero said looking at the data. "Ship type confirmed, it's the Nazca-class."
"Like you said Capt. Lightstar," Mu said looking at Oabobiti from the co-pilot seat. "Le Creuset must be trying to get ahead of us and cut us off from Artemis."
"Where's their Laurasia-class?" Natarle asked looking at Romero.
"Where do you think?" Oabobiti asked sarcastically, "behind us. Where else would it be!"
"Hang on…," Romero said typing franticly to find the missing ship. "There's a heat source following us, three hundred to stern."
"Hey," Mu said getting everyone's attention. "Can you bring up the data on the two vessels and a map of space over here?"
"You got something planed, Lt. La Flaga?" Oabobiti said moving towards the Co-pilot seat.
Mu turned his seat around and looked at Oabobiti, "With your help, I might have an idea."
Archangel Mess Hall
"Enemy unit, silhouette detected," someone said over the ships intercom making the civilians ask questions like 'Are we going into battle' and 'but they have us onboard.' "Level one battle stations! All military personnel get to your stations at once! Repeat…"
Sai, Kuzzey, Tolle, Miriallia, and Flay were also in the mess hall sitting at one of the tables, all wondering where Kira and Oabobiti had gone off to. But what was said next answered that question.
"Kira Yamato, to the bridge," causing everyone to gasp. "I wonder what Kira and Oabobiti decided," Miriallia asked with her head sunk low.
"We'll likely be in quite an unenviable position if they don't fight," Sai stated.
"Hey, Tolle," Miriallia said looking to her right, getting her boyfriend's attention. "We're always sitting on the sidelines relying Kira and Oabobiti to protect us."
Tolle shifted his gaze down to the table remembering what Mu said. "If we have the ability to make a difference, then put it to good use, right?" he asked looking up at his friends waiting for an answer.
Both Sai and Kuzzey nodded in approval.
An Archangel Hallway
Kira was on his way to the Archangel's hanger, deep in thought at what he and Oabobiti had talked about earlier. When was about halfway there he was brought out of his thoughts when someone called his name. He looked up to see Tolle, Kuzzey, Sai, and Mirialia in Earth Forces uniforms. Behind them was one of the enlisted Earth alliance bridge crew, the three guys wore a blue jacket while Miriallia wore a pink one.
Kira was surprised to say the least so he stopped in his tracks, "Tolle? All of you?"
"Hi, Kira," Tolle said stopping in front of Kira followed by the rest of the gang.
"So, what's the deal with the outfits?" Kira asked his friends with peaked curiosity.
"We've decided to help out with tasks aboard this ship," Sai replied first. "They're understaffed, right?"
"They require us to wear military uniforms if we're gonna be on the bridge," Kuzzey informed.
"ZAFT military uniforms are cooler, aren't they?" Tolle asked. "We don't get a rank and these look kinda silly."
"Don't be a wise guy," Dalida said from behind the group of teens, making them look back.
"I don't know, I kinda like them," Someone said from behind Kira.
Sai, Tolle, Kuzzey, Miriallia, and Kira turned back around to see a man inside a flight suit with the helmet on. The suit looked a lot like Mu La Flaga's, but instead of purple there was red and instead of grey there was orange. They couldn't see what the face looked like because the visor was set on the darkest setting. The pilot also had several weapons on him, two pistols in shoulder harnesses, and a black utility belt with a black and gold cylinder on the left side and another pistol in its holster on the right side.
Kira saw the black and gold cylinder and immediately recognize the figure, "Oabobiti?"
"The one and only," Oabobiti said stopping next to Kira and looked at Tolle. "You were saying, Tolle?"
Tolle looked at Oabobiti for a few seconds before he slapped his forehead. "Oh…right," he said removing his hand from his forehead, "We can't have you two fighting all the time."
"Given the situation we're in, we'll help," Miriallia said confidentially, "however we can."
"Alright, move along kids," Dalida said pushing the group forward towards the bridge. When Sai, Kuzzey, Tolle, and Miriallia were a good way down, Dalida turned around to look at Kira. "Oh, and if your taking off again, make sure to wear a flight suit this time!" he said.
"Uh…yes sir, Mr. Chandra!" Kira replied back to the retreating PettyOfficer.
"Let's get going Kira," Oabobiti said making his way to the hanger. "Wouldn't want Lt. La Flaga to get lonely now, do we?"
Kira chuckled. "No, I guess not," he said following Oabobtiti.
I feel like i could have done this chapter better. If you agree, please send me a message. But other than that, I'm just glad i got it out of my system.
So until next time, this is SPARTAN-251, signing off...(Click)