GUNDAM SEED ETERNITY
Credits for this episode:
xlandar
Editor: xlandar
Episode 11: Survivors
Cecile sat silently as Captain Arthur looked deep in thought on the other side of the line. "Is there really no other way?" He asked Cecile at present.
"I had sent a reply email to the authorities in ORB already, but the same reply came back. They seem insistent that I do not get any information about the GUNDAM." Cecile replied.
"I had thought that you would at least have some sort of information available. That seems impossible now."
"Yes, sir." Cecile agreed. "Should I return now? I have made a check. There should be some flights available."
"No… instead of making your way back… do you think you can check out more? Try to find some way to find some information about the GUNDAM. It would be pointless for you to make the trip down if you do not find at least something."
"But, that is –" Cecile stumbled over her words.
"I will leave it to you then." Arthur said.
"But what about Catalina?" Cecile quickly tried to object, "I should be around to protect Catalina."
"Do not worry about that. We have a new member on board Catalina now. We will be fine as we are now, especially since we have yet to leave the base." Arthur was convinced that it would be fine.
Unable to conceal her surprise, Cecile asked, "a new member? Who?"
"You will know that when you come back." Arthur replied, cutting her off, "I will leave the information gathering to you then. That will be all."
While Cecile stared at the screen with the message that the connection has ended, Arthur heard a knock on the door of his office in Catalina. "Captain, Alan Macner here. I am here to report for work."
"Ah, please come in." Arthur stood up as the door opened and Alan Macner entered. "Macner, welcome to Catalina."
"Thank you very much, Captain," Macner smiled as he saluted the Captain.
"I see that you are new to ZAFT. I am glad to have you here, and I hope you will be able to settle down here quickly," Arthur continue to say.
"Yes, Sir," Macner smiled easily, seemingly perfectly comfortable.
"Well, then, I have nothing else to inform you." Arthur nodded to one of the green-uniformed soldiers that had entered with Macner, "Decault will lead you to your room and locker."
"Thank you, Sir." And Macner was led off to his room.
"What a pleasant fellow," the vice-captain of Catalina remarked after the door closed again.
"He smiles too much… I wonder if he will really be fine here." Arthur replied.
* * *
Two weeks earlier, Rayne would never have thought she would be so dejected. Depression, like a cup of overturned water over a lit candlestick, had washed over her. She felt tired as her memories played back the events that took place two week before…
Tears, like a downpour that drained into the reservoir, building up strength like never before. Rayne entered the lab with renewed determination, knowing that she is the only one capable of protecting these machines despite her limited knowledge. With a strict countenance, Rayne went through every single detail. She stayed in the lab beyond normal hours, ignoring the nag of lessons, and eating only because it became a necessity.
And then, there was the funeral. The harps and violins and piano had sounded dull in Rayne's ears. Yet, they were capable of removing tears from her eyes.
Exactly a week before now, she had left the Research Academy. All there was to be done was completed. The Academy had only to transport and hide the 'O's – the offspring of Prof FAT's ambitions and the dual blades that eventually caused his death. She went to the metal work factory, hoping to find even a little clue to her kidnapped friends.
Dressed as normally as possible, Rayne had entered the factory, waiting for the perfect opportunity and slipped into the restricted areas. Silently, she had searched and searched. Yet she was not any closer to the truth. Tiredness and disappointment worn into her body, and she was ready to give up. To throw up her arms and declare defeat… But she waited, trying to convince herself that she will reach the answer soon…if only she would be willing to wait long enough. Why, it is just another minute, and another minute passing. Another minute passing… if this is the crucial minute, then she have to reach this… but why is nothing happening? Another minute – that is what she needed to save her friends. Just another minute, she was another minute closer to rescuing them… what hopes does she have of rescuing them? Yet, she must wait. She is another minute closer… what is this? A pair of Puma shoes walking towards her… that voice... the cleaners!
Swiftly, she tipped her cap forward and pretended she had every business to be there. It worked, the cleaners did not notice her and she followed them. Cleaners with puma, was rare but possible, Rayne knew. But cleaners who appeared at the school's and at the metalwork factory's restricted areas? She would be an idiot to not to notice it. They must have something to do with this, Rayne thought with suspicions. Too far off to hear their whispered conversations, Rayne could only follow. It is impossible to imagine her shock when they lead her right up to … Zack!
Zack stood there, talking on the phone impatiently. He looked totally at ease in his position, except that the person he was talking to was irritating him. Isn't he kidnapped along with the others? Consumed by anger and upset, Rayne had confronted Zack. The Zack Spensers that she had thought she knew… why the Professor? Why the 'O's? Why their team? And Zack had been unable to answer.
She was soon locked up alone. Zack and another guy had stepped in to question her. But she refused to speak. If she did not know Zack, he would not know her. She would show him what she is made of. They locked her up for 3 days. Threats and starvation had not work on her, though she was on the verge of her limit. In her heart, Rayne knew that if she refuse to say anything, her friends, their safety promised by Zack in an attempt to get information from her, would not be harmed. Everything now rested on her and her alone.
Then, they had removed her from the cell and Rayne was reunited with Kim, Jon and Bill. There were hugs and tears, and Rayne saw the girl they had mistaken for her, Silbver. Then, Zack broke the reunion.
"Rayne," he interrupted, "we are going to take the 'O's, even if you do not tell us how to get pass the securities… we'll work out something, we have technicians here-"
"Including you, I can see!" Rayne said with resentment.
"Rayne!"
"Do not call me Rayne! I do not believe you have the rights! I gave my friend Zack Spensers the rights. But that Zack had turned into a stupid traitor and an arrogant terrorist! And he does not have the rights to call my name!"
"Fine by me. I just want you to know that whatever happens to the Research Academy will be your doing."
"How can you say that!" Bill exclaimed.
"She refused to divulge anything! Even if we have to use some … measures, it would be because of her stubbornness!"
"Don't you dare push all the blame onto Rayne, Zack!" Kim was angered as well. "You have no rights to do that!"
"Do I not?!" Zack fired back.
"No one told you to attack the Research Academy or anyone for that matter!"
"And you killed Prof Toud!" Rayne rushed on. What that followed was a hush of silence so overpowering.
"Prof FAT? Killed? What is this all about?!" Kim demanded.
"I did not… I did not kill Prof Toud."
"So you admit it had got something to do with this terrorist group?"
"Yes…"
"…"
"… Rayne. I just want you to know… we are launching our mission the day after tomorrow. We hoped it would be a silent mission, and the 'O's be retrieved silently… I hope that you use this time to decide whether or not you want to tell us … or me… anything. Anything at all… until then." With that, Zack Spensers left the room.
"So what do we do now?" Kim asked anxiously.
"Nothing. It's not as if we can do anything," Jon replied.
"I know! But… they are going to steal the 'O's!"
"They can't. I made sure every single security is in place." Rayne tried to persuade herself, more than anything else.
"Even so…"
"We'll wait," Bill finally said…
Rayne stared at the ancient hands on her watch. They are moving painfully slow. Yet, she knew the time would come. Zack had not appeared since that conversation, but she knew he would come again. The burden of her decision felt like metal on her shoulders. Jumping cripples, Rayne thought, how would I be able to face myself if LHS was destroy… or worse… if anyone was killed? She felt dread.
An hour passed.
Two.
Three. Rayne waited grimly.
Four hours.
Five. Click! The bolt was unleashed! Rayne's stomach gave a lunge. Zack entered with another guy, someone she had never seen before.
"Rayne?" Zack eyes seemed to bore a hole in his ex-teammate.
"No," Rayne's voice was barely a whisper.
"Rayne!" Zack seems exasperated. "Tell us and everything would be free and easy! We'll just take the 'O's and go! I promise! No one will get hurt!"
"No…," Rayne shook her head with despair. Divulging the information would be akin to killing Prof FAT a second time. Rayne could never imagine herself betraying the kind Professor. Zack stared at her with disbelief. Then he left. The door crushed behind them like thunder. A click informed them that the door is bolted.
Rayne and her friends spent the next 3 hours in silence in the dark room until finally, someone spoke.
"What are we going to do now?" Kim asked, looking around with a worried expression.
"What can we do?" Bill asked.
"Anything? Something!! I am sick and tired of sitting here doing nothing!"
"D-Do we have to d-do som-something?" Silbver asked, trembling. Rayne felt apologetic towards the tiny girl. She was implicated into this whole affair as the kidnappers had mistaken her as Rayne. Yet, it proves that Zack was not part of the kidnap. He would never have mistake Silbver for Rayne.
"We have to escape," Jon announced.
"Begging your pardon?"
"Look here, Rayne refused to divulge any information. So those guys have to depend on their own strengths to activate the 'O's without activating the automated self-destruct feature Rayne told us about. We do not know about their strengths. But we have to be responsible and assume the worse."
"The worse would be those guys stealing the 'O's in success." Kim offered.
"Right. But you can't make sure that they don't do it right?"
"We need to get out of here… then we can stop them." Rayne's brain already started churning.
"Bingo. We get out of here, sneak back to Lewis Harold Stanford and watch those guys. If they managed to steal, we do something. If they don't, we escape."
"Escape to where? Even if we managed to stop them, we need to bring the 'O's away… they will surely attempt a second time." Kim and Bill nodded in unison to Rayne's comment.
"Somewhere…"
"Home?" Kim suggested.
"No!" Rayne objected, "Zack knew about us and our families. I don't want anything to happen to Leena and Mother! We need to find a place that can hide the 'O's forever."
"Where on the moon can we hide the 'O's?" Kim asked.
"Somewhere that Zack would not know." Bill said.
"And those guys that Zack is with as well." Jon added.
"Hey, Jon!" Bill sudden cried, "you remember the Playground?"
"That old wasteland?" Jon asked.
"Ya! I bet we can hide it there! It is large remember? We used to go there to find bit and pieces of spare parts."
"Does Zack know about it?" Rayne turned to the two male. At that, the boys turned silence.
"So he does know about it. I bet he went along with you guys huh?" Kim muttered.
"Well, sometimes. Only after we became a team, though. Maybe he don't remember," Bill tried to sound hopeful.
"And maybe he does." Kim retorted.
"No. That would not work…where else can we hide the 'O's?" Rayne thought out loud.
"You know… there is a place that might just work." Bill said slowly.
"What place?"
"You guys know that my family has a factory here right?" he turned around to look at the others.
"What of it?"
"Well, we build our factory over a huge research lab. That lab was so old nobody even bothers to do anything about it. When we were young, we would play around in the lab, until my brother got into an accident. Then, the lab was cleaned out and it became a huge empty underground space. Nobody in the factory knew about it. It was some place special to my brother and me. We made a promise not to tell anyone about it."
"You think it will do?" Jon asked.
"Ya! I do. I mean, who is there to tell Zack about this place? Heck, I even forgot about it until just now."
With that, the four students discussed their plans in detail as the time drew nearer and nearer to night, with occasional input from Silbver. In the dark, the digital numbers of Bill's watch showed the time, and he wondered out loud if the moon has appeared. The moon has appeared and it was not full, but it was not a cloudy sky, so there was an abundance of light… at least for the kind of job they are doing. Zack sneaked passed the general office in silence as he wondered about the success of Mercs and Moe. Those two were the 'cleaners' hired by LHS Research School (also known as Lewis Harold Stanford Research Academy), and Zack knew that they were accomplished technicians who were capable of doing their part. But, there is always the case where something would go wrong. Better not think of it, Spensers, Zack reprimanded himself silently. Now is not the time. He looked up at the sky again and prayed nothing goes wrong.
* * *
The mission was successful so far. They had reached the Block 9 labs and none of the alarms sounded. Good, Zack thought, Mercs and Moe did their job so far. Soundlessly, he and Jims, crept down the corridor. They reached the lab and Jims produced a black machine out of his bag. Zack connected it to the security system in the lab and swiftly activated the system. Within 3 minutes, they were in the lab.
Zack was thankful that the 'O's had yet been transported. He knew that LHS was trying to hide it. But the size of the weapons was making the job difficult. And they were highly powered 'O's. The school will be unable to hide it easily without gathering attention.
Zack led them into the second room, where the 'O's were. The security there was tightened, but it was not much trouble. Zack knew that whatever challenges they would face would be the 'O's themselves. Rayne is a clever girl, and a coordinator at that. Her skills would be on full display with the 'O's. Reminding himself not to be overwhelmed by her capabilities was something that he had to do multiple times a day, including now.
Zack and Jims each boarded an ODESIS and started their work. Zack was totally submerged with deactivating the protection programs … he could not help but wonder if that is the true capacities of an ordinary coordinator. The work here was spectacular. Zack was practically attacked with every key that he pressed. And he had been trained for such work. Focusing on the screen and its multiple programs, Zack focused on getting the job done as soon as possible. There was no telling how long Mercs and Moe could watch their backs.
So focus was he that he did not notice any noises until it was too late. With a shock, he realized that Jims was being attacked by… Jon and Bill! Where are Kim and Rayne? They must be nearby! Zack's brain entered into a state of panic and he had to force himself to calm down. If Jon and Bill are there, then Kim and Rayne must be around as well. "They must!" he muttered to himself. Zack surveyed his environments and still could not find the girls.
"Shit! The countdown timer of the automated self-destruct system!" There is no time now to be bothered by the presence, or rather, the absence of the girls. He had to deactivate the self-destruct system!
Meanwhile, Jims was overwhelmed by the attacking students. "To the hell with them!" he cursed. Still, when one of them, a girl jammed a fist into his face, he did not try to protect himself. Soon, he was flying… no… dropping. He was dropping from the GUNDAM, or the 'O's, as Zack calls them… the ODESIS… what a weird name.
Why? Why did he get overpowered by the students so easily? In his heart, he knew the answer. The self-protecting system that was in the system was too much for Jims to handle. Jims had always been proud of being the best programmer and technician in the gang. But the girl and her professor were amazing. He had no way of deactivating the system. The girl, deFray had in an instant made Jims looked like a baby who nothing of programming. Nothing of what he had taken all his life to understand.
Jims knew that if the system was not deactivated, Zack would die. He does not mind dying, but that boy… that boy was dragged into all these fiasco by his father. He does not have to die. He had a future so bright… Suddenly, Jims' mind and consciousness went blank. Like a computer that was hastily unpowered.
The man is dead, Rayne's mind freezes with the fact. She had killed a man… punched him and pushed him all the way to the ground from the ODESIS.
"Rayne... Rayne!! Deactivate the system now!!" a pair of hands shook her violently.
Numbed, she went to work as Jon and Bill went to the adjacent ODESIS.
* * *
"Stop!"
The sound was like a knife in the silent air. Jon and Bill who was making their way for the second ODESIS froze.
"Stop!" Zack commanded, pointing a gun from his ODESIS to the ODESIS he knew the girls were in. It took him some time, but he finally figured out what happened.
"Stop now or you guys will die! I've deactivated the system. And I'm leaving now." Then, still pointing the gun at them, he moved the O towards the door. With an effectiveness of a trained pilot, he guided his ODESIS out of the lab, ignoring the destruction that it had caused on the way.
* * *
"Jon! Bill! Get in here!" Rayne yelled for the boys. Zack had left with the ODESIS, but he must not be far. She would chase him in this ODESIS!
"Ar!!!!" Rayne shrieked as she attacked Zack. She had no idea why she was so angered. All she knew was that she was being bombarded with all kinds of emotions and she was unable to control herself. Unable to control this anger and sadness that was sinking into her bones. She wanted to stop Zack, but she may kill him. She was angry and sad, but she was also afraid.
"Rayne, stop this madness!" Kim yelled into her ears, "Rayne!!! We have been battling for an hour already! The batteries are running low!"
Rayne ignored her. But Jon and Bill joined in:
"Rayne! Kim is right. The batteries are running low… you are risking dead here!"
"Rayne, you did not pump the JCS with the CPS… the ODESIS is not running on endless power supply now."
Rayne pull back and stumped. Bill was right. The JCS wasn't pumped.
As if he realized what was happening, Zack pulled back his ODESIS and escaped…
"Rayne, are you alright?"
"Ya, I'm fine."
They were hiding in the underground research lab that Bill's family owned. The ODESIS was behind them like a security guard. More like some promotional mascot, Jon thought. They had managed to calm Rayne down that night. Returning back to Lewis Harold Stanford was impossible after what happened, so they had hid as well as possible and waited for the people in Lewis Harold Stanford to calm down. Then, just some hours before, Kim and Bill had sneak back with Slbver to return her to her dorm, with the promise that she will never reveal anything that happened.
* * *
"What is going to happen, do you know?" Nella turned to David, who shrugged his shoulders. "But the Captain, the vice-captain and the commander has been gone for so long!"
"These meetings are usually long," David replied. Just like Nella, he had no idea what is going on. They went to the canteen, where they had their meal, and talk about the events.
"Seriously, this is really going too far. ZAFT attacks Earth, and Earth attacks ZAFT as well? It sounds too crazy."
"But David, that is what they said, right?" Nella asked.
"Yes, that is what they said, but what about those who captured us? The ZAFT fought against them, right?"
"Oh, the silver commander!" Nella cried out, which attracted the attention of the others in the room. Nella blushed red when she saw what happened.
"Ah, so Lieutenant Sky here is developing the love for the ZAFT commander, huh?" it was one of the senior pilots.
"No… no, I …" Nella stammered.
"Ohh, she is feeling shy about it!" he continued to tease Nella.
"Stop this, Gohr," David jumped in. "Nella does not mean it."
"Oh, Langster here is trying to protect the little girl now, isn't he?" Gohr laughed. His friends joined in, much to the embarrassment of both David and Nella.
"What is going on between the two of them, I wonder…" Gohr's friends added.
While the laughed, David clenched his fist in anger. Then, when Nella was about to cry, he lifted his right fist and punched the guy. Nella gasped and the room was in silence.
"Don't you dare! There is nothing on between us! If you are so bored, you can go and tease yourself! Maybe then, you can entertain you and your friends!" David yelled into his face.
"OY! He didn't mean that. We are only laughing, that's all. There is no need to get all angry and stuff." It was another friend who spoke up. Everyone turned to look up at him. He was a shaggy man, though there was something serious about the way he looks. "Come on, apologise man."
"Ya, apologise!" A female who was in the canteen agreed. "You just teased an innocent young girl who would have nothing to do with something like this. It's very uncouth, you know."
"Hmft! Why should we apologise to them? They are just little trainees who are still trying to learn how to handle the skygrasper!" Gohr shouted.
"Ahh, so you want to start another fight?" the shaggy man asked, his face turned away as he spoke. "Just when we have our fill with the ZAFT, you want to start another fight? You are just like what they boy – Langster, his name? – said then, just another blood-thirsty soldier."
"Who said we want to start a fight?" Gohr yelled.
"Pardon me if I am wrong, but you sound like you want to start a fight."
"What's wrong with you, Micheali?" Another man asked.
"I have no idea. I don't think there is a problem with me, but then again, there may be a problem with me. If it is a problem to think that it is wrong to tease a young and innocent lady that is. Maybe it is my nature that I abhor such lowly teasing for entertainment, I guess." After a silence, Micheali continued, "so are you going to apologise?"
"Come on, we are in the same ship. There is no need to make things so tensed." Another man spoke up, urging Gohr to apologise.
"I am sorry." Surprise filled the air, as everyone's head turned to face the Gohr's friend. "Micheali is right. This is no time for lowly entertainment or fights. I am sorry I made the comment. I take back my words."
"Hmft!" Gohr walked away. That was when the Commander returned. When he saw the situation in the canteen, he raised his hand to rub his face.
"And what happened now? We just returned from the meeting, and I thought I was very hungry… only to see everyone looking so weird."
"Nothing, Commander," Micheali replied, "we were just playing a game of apology."
After studying Micheali for a moment, the commander said, "were you creating trouble again, Micheali?"
"What, is it always me?" That set off a couple of laughs, and soon, the mood in the canteen was slightly eased. That is when the lady who spoke up for Nella asked the commander what happened in the meeting. At that, the commander became sober.
"Nothing much happened. We were told to verify what we reported and etc and etc. These meetings were always so long and draggy, and at the end of the day, nothing much happens."
"What about our ship now?"
"Ikarus is to stay in the port and everything is as usual. Times are bad now, aren't they?" That was all the commander would say, and all Nella and David and their comrades could find out.
* * *
Among the panting sounds made by the escapees was the sound of the DTMF frequency. Ain looked at the girl. Her brown hair was slightly covering her red eyes, but she does not seem to be bothered by it. Ain kept an eye on her as she continued to press the buttons on her phone.
"Oy." Ain finally called to her. She looked up at him, momentarily paused in her pursue. "You lead us here but there is practically nothing here."
"Will the ZAFT catch up to us?" one of them continued to ask.
"Tsk! Whatever you are planning, it had better be fast!" Ain snared at her. She look down at her phone again and then continued her pressing.
"What is she doing?" one of the men whispered to another.
"Hmph!" Ain said and went to sit down by the tree. There they waited even after Hazaguchi finished typing on her phone. A minute went by, and the second followed. The men clutched their guns tightly, looking here and there for any hint of ZAFT soldiers.
Then, when sudden noises reached their ears, the men tensed visibly. Without waiting for their response, huge trucks reached where they were. Ain and his comrades froze, and they heard a voice. "Did ya miss us!"
"Irina!" Ain cried out.
Irina, who was standing at the side of the leading truck through the door that was just opened, grinned down at Ain. Ain grin back at her. "Didn't know you were fetching us."
"Why, who else can you depend on?" Irina asked.
"What do you mean?" one of the men asked. Before he got an answer though, Hazaguchi interrupted with a note of hurry for them to be away before the ZAFT soldiers had caught their tracks. Hurriedly, the men load themselves into the trucks, which sped off away from the forest.
"See ya!" Ain grinned at Hazaguchi, who stood silently on the forest ground. She did not return the wave or the cheeky grin.
--End of Episode 11--
