Legacy Saga
Gundam Seed
Phase-8
The Shooting Star
"War is wrong, no matter what! But pacifism doesn't mean passive!"
-- Relena Darlian Peacecraft
The Archangel continued to fly towards Earth in orbit and began to test itself for entry into the Earth. The 8th Fleet continued to back it up, but there was a sense of dread in the air as the ZAFT fleet continues to close in on their target.
At the head of the fleet, Admiral Halberton readies his forces.
"All ships in formation. I don't want anyone of those ZAFT getting through!" the Admiral said, "This ship will cover the Archangel. The rest of the fleet will engage the enemy. Launch all fighters!"
The large battleship deployed its launch pads and extended catapults. Fighters shot out like projectiles into Space. All the other ships also sent out their own fighter and Mobile Suit escorts.
The Earth forces' main line of Mobile Suits for Space use is Dreads and Taurus IIs. The Taurus II is an upgraded version of those used during the Great War. The Dreads are the latest types that have been used by the Earth forces for almost 2 decades, but at the start of this war, the Earth forces were not fully trained and most of the pilots were only driven by their hatred for the Coordinators.
"All fighters launched, sir!" The tactical officer said, "We've also retrieved the refugee shuttle!"
"Shields up, and charge weapons!" the Admiral shouted as an energy barrier enshroud the ship and the others as well.
At Archangel also readied itself for combat in case the enemy will break through.
"Secure all decks; deploy cannons and ready torpedo bays!" Badgiruel shouted
"Shields are up at maximum, ma'am!" Pal shouted
"Have our fighters ready for action at any minute!"
"Weapons online!"
Meanwhile, inside the ship, Kira had left the shuttle that would have taken him home and had gone to suit up for battle. He didn't want to leave his friends behind. It would have been too selfish of him.
Athrun, Yzak, Dearka, and Nicol had launched from their carriers with their own wing mates behind them. Weapons at the ready and Phase Shift armor charged. These guys were just itching for a fight, especially Yzak who hungered for revenge against Kira for scarring his face.
Inside the locker room of the Archangel, Flay took out Kira's flight suit. She stared at it, and wondered. What will she do?
On the bridge, Tolle, Mille, Sai, and Kuzzey went back to their respective posts. Ramius was unaware that these kids decided to stay and was baffled.
"What are you guys…" Ramius tried to ask, but Badgiruel answered for her.
"These are the volunteered troops, Captain." She said,
Ramius smiled a bit, but she was too busy at the moment to think about the kids.
Outside on the field, the 8th Fleet engaged against the ZAFT forces. Right away, the ZAFT Mobile Suits took out many of the Mobile Armor Fighters of the fleet with simple ease. Many weren't even experienced enough pilots capable of fighting against the large Mobile Suits in open combat. One after another, the outnumbered ZAFT forces were picking off on fighter and even one MS after another.
The assigned flagship of the ZAFT fleet was the Vesalius, where Creuset commands the fleet.
"The target remains to be 'longlegs'. Everything else is irrelevant." Creuset looked beyond the view screen and saw the ship in the distant, "No mercy, No hesitation."
Moebius fighters engaged their enemies with their machine guns, and missiles, but only scored a few lucky shots, while the more advanced and more powerful weapons of the ZAFT Ginns were more than a match for the fighters of Earth. The Earth forces' Mobile Suits were older models and weren't quite up to date on the latest technology, but they were better than the fighters.
Flay took out Kira's flight suit and was actually preparing to put it on, until she heard the door opening. For a second she thought it was Van, Flaga or one of the other pilots, but she remembered that they already were suited up and were in the hanger. She turned and was surprised o see Kira at the door.
"Kira?" Flay was shocked to see the young Coordinator at the door and for some reason in herself, she jumps at him, embracing him tightly and so quickly that Kira was caught completely surprised
The Aegis flew on its own, taking out fighter after fighter with its beam rifle like they were nothing. He maneuvered through the crowd of debris and transformed into MA mode, which enable it to fire its powerful Scylla cannon at a cruiser, causing massive damage on its shields. One of the 8th fleet's destroyers' shields was taken out and was wide open to attack from the Buster, which fired its shotgun like cannon at it. The black colored Blitz fired its lance darts at several fighters, each of the three spearing right through three fighters. Nicol then flew up and fired his rifle at a Dread Mobile Suit, which tried to fire at him, but the shots didn't affect his armor. Yzak piloted his Duel Gundam right into the fray, with all its new custom jobs, it had missiles, and a mini rail gun on his shoulders. He took pleasure in destroying every single enemy he encounters.
Halberton watched as the four powerful Mobile Suits plowed through his forces like a harvester over a field of wheat.
"They are indeed powerful machines," the Admiral said, "Have all units concentrate attack on those suits, I want them take out now!"
It happened so fast. One second, he was going to suit up in the locker room, and then he has Flay, the girl he has been having the biggest crush on for the longest time, embrace him as if he was the last guy on Earth. He didn't know what to say or do. This was a total shock to him. She was Sai's girlfriend, not his, but here she is, arms tightly around him. It was even harder for him to not want her right there. So many hormones and emotions ignited all over his body.
"What are you doing, Flay?" Kira finally was able to ask.
She looked at him with a sad smile,
"I thought you left us….I-everyone stayed back to fight, but they said you left. You weren't here, so I…I…"
Kira looked behind her to see that his locker was open and his flight suit was dangling out. He then realized what she was trying to do just before he got here.
"Flay, don't be silly, you can't pilot Strike."
"But I…" She felt fragile in his arms. He didn't want to hurt her. He smiled.
"Just be safe. I'll pilot Strike." Kira moved to his locker and took out his suit. He looked at her and then felt ashamed at the thoughts he's been having about her. He wanted to be completely honest, "Flay…I need you to know about how I feel about you…I can't hide it from you any longer…If I were to die out there…I want you to know how I feel."
Flay then runs towards him again. She got really close to his face.
"In that case, let me bless you with my thoughts," and before Kira could say anymore, she leaned in and kissed him, and for those few moments, it felt like eternity.
On the field of battle, the Ginn Mobile Suits were gaining an advantage over their enemies, but not all over them escaped damaged or were piloted by the best. The Moebius fired their missiles and energy cannons, destroying a few of them before facing massive retaliation. Despite the power the ZAFT forces had against the Earth forces, they were not able to get through the defenses. The Archangel still remained untouched. This made Creuset frowned a bit.
"Looks like they are doing everything to ensure that that ship gets to Earth in one piece, but they aren't even using their most powerful assets," Creuset said about Strike, and it wasn't present in the battle.
Captain Ades was more than relieved that the Earth forces' new Mobile Suit, Strike, and Van's Gundam, Escaflowne, wasn't in the battle. It would have given Earth the upper hand.
"Though we are having it easy now, that Strike unit is nowhere to be found."
"Halberton knows that his few Mobile Suits and fighters can't possible overcome us. He's a fine commander of troops. He was the one who started the project to recreate the Gundams and now the very weapons he hoped to achieve are attacking him."
Athrun turned his unit's weapons onto another destroyer and destroyed it with one single shot from his Scylla cannon.
Nicol was no where in sight, until he reappeared in front of the bridge of a cruiser, surprising the crew as he fired his grappling hook onto the bridge of the ship, destroying it and practically crippling the entire ship itself.
Dearka was floating around, finding the biggest target around to throw his powerful combined cannon attack at and he aimed at a battleship.
"Take this!" Dearka shouted as he fired, punching a large hole right through the ship.
Yzak was flying around, destroying a cruiser with his cannon and using his saber to slice right through a destroyer, but these targets were nothing to his real target. None of them brought him true satisfaction. He was searching for Kira, wanting his blood.
"Where is he?!" Yzak shouted as he fired aimlessly around him, frustrated that he was unable to find his true target. "Come out and fight, Kira!"
Halberton watched as more of his fleet was losing to the ZAFT forces. The ZAFT ships weren't even attacking. This was all the doing of their Mobile Suits and those four Gundams.
"We've lost the Anderson! The Cassandros is losing power!" The tactical officer shouted, "The Antigonos and the Plumas have both been taken down."
Halberton's second in command was shocked and amazed at how the battle was turning out. That was four ships down already.
"They've gotten four ships and this battle hasn't even been nine minutes!"
"Steady as she goes! Don't let one of those ZAFT through!"
"Sir, the enemy ships are making a move. They're charging weapons and firing on the Yorktown and the Crusader! The Reliant is pulling back!"
The Vesalius and one of the frigates pressed forward and fired their energy cannons at the nearest ships, causing heavy damaged upon them. The Yorktown and the Crusader were Drake Class destroyers and after regaining their bearings, they returned fire on the Vesalius and the Gamow, launching torpedoes and missiles.
The Vesalius took the shots and fired again. Creuset was unshaken by the other Earth ships converging on his own. He was focused on watching the Gundams battle.
"Take us about, 20 degrees." Creuset ordered, "Target the retreating cruisers to the port side. All cannons, fire!"
The Vesalius took a short dive and then came back up, locking on energy cannons and fired at the bow of the cruiser ahead of them, destroying the already damaged ship.
Halberton watched as another one of his ships ere destroyed. This one wasn't even destroyed in open combat, but was just retreating.
"How cruel…attacking ships that don't even have the means to fight back." Halberton said, "Damn you Creuset, you coward!"
The Archangel was nearing the point to begin their descent onto Earth, and because of that, they were ordered to hang back and not engage in combat. Ramius watched the view screen and was restless. She wanted to do something instead of watching her fellow comrades die right in front of her. Then a call came directly to the bridge from the hanger. Ramius tapped a button and listen.
"Hey!" Flaga's voice shouted, "Why are you making us stay out of this!? Even the 8th Fleet isn't powerful enough to handle those Gundams!"
"Lt. Flaga, we have our orders," Ramius said back
"Look, I may not make much of a difference with my machine, but at least I can lend the fleet a helping hand."
"We have our orders and we will obey them." Ramius cuts Flaga off, not knowing what to do next. "Open all Imperial comm. frequency 1459, on audio."
Ramius wanted to listen to what is going on with the fleet. The Archangel was silent in Space since there is no air in Space, and hence no sounds of battles. She wanted to hear the sounds of the combat. The bridge crew was about to hear the sounds of horror from random communication transmissions from ship to ship, fighter to fighter.
"All fighters have are heavily engaged sir"
"Shields are down to 30! I don't think we can hold-"
"We're losing life support!"
"Hull breach on decks 3, 5, and 10"
"We need a medic on the bridge, the captain's down"
"Delta 1 to delta, lead, I'm going in!"
"I'm hit! AHHH!!"
"He's on my tail"
"Stay on him, I'm on my way!"
"Get him off my tail-"
"The Bozeman falling back to mobile position 1"
"This is the Endeavour, we need back up!"
"They're breaking through!"
"All hands, abandon ship! I repeat…"
Ramius then got up and went over to Kuzzey's station, which controls the communications and turned off the feed. She's had enough.
"Make contact with Admiral Halberton, now."
Meanwhile, the Montreal was beginning to have a hard time as enemy forces broke through the lines and attacked him.
"Fire all weapons. Take out those suits!" Halberton shouted.
"Admiral, we are receiving a hail from the Archangel!" The communications officer said
"What is it, Archangel?"
"We like permission to leave the fleet and proceed to the drop point."
"You guys trying to save your own skins?" Halberton's second in command, Hoffman asked sarcastically.
"The enemy's objective is this ship. If we don't leave at once, we'll endanger the entire fleet. Alaska maybe a long shot, but it may be possible to land within someone with Imperial jurisdiction from here. Please Admiral!"
Halberton watched the screen showing the battle and saw another one of his ships blew up before him. He was running out of time. It would be better to let the Archangel go and that might lead the enemy fleet away from his. It was a gamble, but Halberton was known to gamble his life many times in the past. He was once a man known as Zechs Marquise, then Milliardo Peacecraft. It wouldn't be the first time he had risks his life for the greater cause, whatever it was.
"Heh, you are still as reckless as ever."
"Well, a reckless commander breeds reckless subordinates." Ramius said back
The older man smiled a bit and looked back, shaking his head in submission.
"Oh, what the hell, Archangel, prepare for descent onto Earth. The fleet will cover you."
The fleet moved into place to protect the Archangel, but more ZAFT forces rushed at them. Several destroyers and frigates broke through and open fire. The defending ships took flanking positions and return fire.
"We will not let them get that ship!" Halberton shouted. He stared back at the Archangel, thinking of only one person there and then returned to his station, "All weapons fire at will!"
The Montreal opened all weapons and fired at any ships coming at them. The Montreal was a battleship, but the class only served as a flagship and was fit to fight so many targets. A battleship of that size relies on its escorts, but since everyone was engage, the ship had no choice, but to stand and fight.
In the Archangel hanger, Flaga was making final prep for launch.
"Come on, Murdoch. Get that final checking done, now!"
"This is the captain speaking," Ramius said over the PA, "All hands are to be prepared as the Archangel will now descend onto the Earth."
"Hey, yelling at me won't get these final preps done faster!" Murdoch shouted back, "This is better than dragging things on."
"Well hurry up then."
"Our main problem is those four other Gundams out there," Kira's voice said as he flew passed the two who were at awe for a second.
"Hey, what are you doing here, kid?" Murdoch asked
"I'm the pilot of Strike am I not?" Kira said back, and smiled. He flew at Strike and got in.
"Didn't he get off the ship?" Murdoch asked Flaga.
Flaga looked at Kira for a second, feeling sorry for the boy.
"Entering battle at such a tender age…" Flaga said, "He'll have a tough life ahead of him…but hey, that seems to be the tread nowadays for young adults."
"It must be that noble blood in him." Van said to Flaga. "He's just like his father."
"Yeah, and so are you."
Flay was on her way to the bridge. As she walked, she touched her lips, where Kira just kissed her not too long ago. It was a strange feeling she was having, not knowing what it was. What was I thinking? She thought. She was having mixed feelings. She was betraying what feelings she had to Sai, but at the same time, she felt relieved that she did what she did. It was nothing like she'd felt before.
On the bridge, the crew was making final preparations before beginning descent.
"Coordinates locked on, Captain." Pal said
"All systems are go, for descent." Another crewmember said, "Heat shields are at max."
"Course set, angle 6.1 Delta +3," Tolle said
"Admiral?" Ramius said
"You are go for descent, Archangel" Halberton said, "God speed."
The Admiral looked at Badgiruel for a moment and then turned his attention to his fleet.
"To all ships, this is the Montreal. The Archangel will now enter the Earth's atmosphere. We are to protect this ship, for it is very important to our cause. This will be a tough battle for all of us. I ask you all to fight on with all you have," Halberton then thought for half a second of what to say next, but only one line can stir the soldiers to fight to death, "May the spirit of Duke Jacen Fanel be with us all! Not one single invader shall get passed us. Show them what the Earth forces can do. Glory to the Imperial Alliance!"
Creuset watched as his target was getting away.
"That ship is trying to escape again. That Halberton…he's using his fleet as a shield. Tell all ships to move forward. Destroy this pathetic flying garbage of a fleet and chase after that ship!"
The four Gundams, Aegis, Duel, Buster, and Blitz were attacking in tandem. Flying about and taking every target of opportunity.
"Look, that ship!" Nicol shouted
The group turned to see the Archangel beginning to descend,
"It's getting away!" Yzak shouted as he pushed his thrusters on full, heading straight for it.
The Archangel was at the edge of the Earth's atmosphere and was ready to descend.
"We are at seven minutes before we enter the atmosphere!" someone shouted in the hanger. The crews were to secure stations and braced themselves.
Kira was in his Gundam and was looking at the yellow paper flower that the little girl gave him. He wonder has that girl and her mother left already. Was the shuttle already on Earth, he wondered. But he can't think about that now, he has to focus. He found a slit between his consoles and placed the flower in between the consoles next to his computer screens. He was focused and was ready to fight.
Athrun flew around and passed ships as he tried to reach the Archangel, but the flak from enemy ships stopped him from advancing. He pulled back and fired on the ships attacking him. Dearka and Yzak broke through and were heading straight for the Archangel. Nicol was left behind. Dearka combined his cannons again and fired at a nearby destroyer.
"Yzak, Dearka!" Athrun shouted, telling them to wait up.
Halberton sees the incoming threat and orders his ship to be ready.
"Cannons, fire!" he shouted and his ships, and nearby ships, open fire on Yzak and Dearka.
Three ships, Creuset's destroyer and two frigates, broke through and covered Yzak and Dearka.
"Duel and Buster units have broken the front line." The PA shouted in the hanger of the Archangel. "The Montreal has entered combat!"
Duel flew up towards the Montreal and open fire, but had to pull back from heavy flak from the ship.
"Take him down!" Halberton shouted
The Montreal fired at Duel and Buster as the two tried to punch through.
Inside his Gundam, Kira was trying to be patient and then was frustrated with all the waiting.
"Lt. Flaga…" Kira started, but Flaga knew what he wanted to say.
"I know…Hey captain, how much more time before we launch?"
"What are you talking about, us attacking?" Ramius was a bit surprised that they would propose this course of action.
"The manual here says that Strike can enter the atmosphere on its own anyway." Kira shouted through the comm., shocking everyone.
"Kira, what are you doing here?" Ramius and the rest of the bridge crew were shocked to see Kira in Strike.
"The Montreal is in danger." Van said, "We must act, Captain!"
Ramius was thinking, but didn't really know what to do. The battle was one sided, and there was no hope for the 8th fleet to even make it out of here in one piece. The best course of action is to follow orders. Then, Badgiruel responded to Kira.
"We understand, but you have to get back before we get to phase-3." She said, "Even if the damn manual say it is so, no one has ever tried this before. Be careful of your altitude and timing!"
"Roger that," Kira signed off
Ramius got out of her chair and was angry that Badgiruel just usurped her authority.
"Lt. Badgiruel, what do you think you are doing?"
"If this ship gets shot down, the 8th Fleet's sacrifice would have been for nothing!"
The two women glared at each other. Both were correct about the other and weren't denying it. They had known each other for a short amount of time, but they understand each other through their actions even if sometimes their actions don't agree with each other. Both were already battle harden veterans of pervious wars and conflicts. People like them were rare nowadays.
Van then raised the bridge to break up the stand off between the two.
"If you two aren't too preoccupied, we need confirmations here." Van said, "We're preparing to move out."
The two women back off and went back to their chairs.
Outside, Buster and Duel were getting closer, as they take out another ship of the fleet. Dearka combined his weapons again and fired a yellow energy beam at a ship, stabbing right through it and destroying it.
"Alright, one more ship left in my way!" Dearka launched himself at the Montreal.
The Montreal was having a hard time fending off the enemy Mobile Suits.
"Admiral, the Ford has been sunk."
"Sir, we can't hold out any longer!" Hoffman shouted
"Just a little longer than! Throw everything you have at them!"
The Montreal opened up all batteries and fired missiles, torpedoes, and cannons at the two approaching Gundams.
The Archangel's hanger doors opened up. Kira, Flaga and Van launched out. The three units flew about and headed back towards the fleet.
"Sir, we have detected the launch of the Strike unit, a Moebius Zero, and Prince Van's Escaflowne unit from the Archangel."
"What are they doing?"
Yzak saw Strike flying towards him and smiled seeing his real target.
"There he is…" Yzak took out a beam saber, "You don't know how much this wound you gave me hurts, Kira!"
Kira saw the upgrades on the Duel and was taken by surprised.
"Got an upgrade, Yzak?" Kira took out a beam saber as well and defended himself. "You should of upgraded your brain before you upgraded your suit!"
Van flew towards Dearka and fires his beam rifle at him.
"You'll have to go through me if you want that ship," Van said and fire his rifle again.
"Damn, it's that guy again?" Dearka said to himself
"Flaga, get him!" Van shouted as Flaga launched his unit's barrels and deployed their cannons.
Kira and Yzak clashed their swords again and backed off, firing secondary weapons at each other. Vulcan cannons roared to live as they tried to pick off their enemies. The two then clashed together and crossed swords.
"Come and get some, Yzak!" Kira shouted as he fired his Vulcan cannons. Yzak blocked the attack with his shield and fired his rail cannon and then fired the rest of his missiles.
The Archangel was beginning final descent and was almost in position. Then, one of the frigates, the Gamow, launched itself at the Montreal, firing all she can bear.
"Captain, a Lloyd class frigate is approaching us!" Tonomura said to Ramius
The Vesalius sees the Gamow's risk in attacking too closely. A frigate would not be able to stand up against a battleship head on.
"Gamow, pull back! You're putting yourself in too much danger fighting like that!" Ades shouted, "Sherman, get back here!"
The screens showed the bearded captain of the Gamow, who showed no signs of backing out.
"We have gone this far, old friend. We can't back out now. We all make sacrifices."
Flag and Van races back to cover the Montreal and fired their weapons at the massive frigate.
"Shit!" Flaga shouted as he fired all his weapons, not making much of an impact on the suicidal ship.
Van flew along side Flaga and fired any weapons he can, Vulcan cannons included, but he wasn't making any direct damages, and neither was Flaga. Athrun and Nicol had caught up with the others and engaged Flaga and Van.
Van took out his beam saber and clashed with Nicol, he slide out of the way, dodging all attacks. While Van fought Nicol, Flaga was flying circles around Athrun and attack with his cannons.
"Athrun, the Gamow!" Nicol shouted and Athrun flew towards the frigate to save it, but Creuset called him off.
"Get back Athrun. There's no point!"
Athrun and Nicol hanged back as the Gamow continued to fly towards the Montreal. Both ships fired their weapons at each other in a final stand off, causing each other heavy damage.
"We can't keep this up for long." Halberton said, "Allow the refugee shuttle to leave."
There was another impact from the Gamow's weapons onto the Montreal's hull.
"Our shields are gone, sir!" the tactical officer shouted
"Engines are failing! Hull integrity down to 50! Hull breach on decks 10 through 20!"
The refugee shuttle, that carried all the Heliopolis civilians, had left the doomed ship and set a course toward Earth. The shuttle had quickly entered the atmosphere, but the Montreal and the Gamow were both free falling down towards Earth, but still continued to fire at each other.
The Archangel was almost passed phase 2 of the descent process.
"Another two minutes before phase 3, Captain," Pal shouted, "Shields are holding!"
"We need to recall our units!" Badgiruel shouted
Flaga had heard the call to retreat and headed back at once.
"Damn it, are we at our limit?" Flaga asked as he went back to the ship.
Dearka was trying to get his unit back up, but the gravity of Earth was pulling him down. He wasn't able to escape the Earth's grip.
The Montreal and the Gamow were at their limit and both were breaking up, with the Gamow destroyed first. Nicol shouted at the captain of the Gamow, dead from the explosion that destroyed his ship. The Montreal was bigger and was slowly falling apart.
Flaga and Van had landed back safely on the Archangel as it descends. Van looked back at where Kira was, praying for his return.
"Kira…"
"We are now a phase 3! Entering the atmosphere!"
The Montreal had exploded, but before that, Halberton was looking at a picture at a much younger version of himself. It was him once a man called Milliardo Peacecraft. The picture contained his sister, Relena, and his faithful companion, Lucrezia Noin. He had lost his sister, but Noin was still alive. She was in the Archangel. He knew he can do nothing about his fate but to accept it.
In one final moment, he closed his eyes and accepted oblivion.
Ramius looked away from the explosion, with some tears from her eyes. There's was a man who was as great as the legendary Gundam pilots of the Great War. Badgiruel looked at the remains of the Montreal. She knows that Halberton could not have survived a blast like that. Not this time.
"…Zechs…" Badgiruel spoke out. She looked down a bit, letting one drop of tear fly away from her eyes.
Kira and Yzak continued to battle near the atmosphere. The two clashed swords again and again.
"Come on, Kira! Is that the best you got?" Yzak shouted as he backed off and fired his Vulcan cannons.
The two were falling down to Earth as they battle each other.
"Yzak! Dearka!" Nicol shouted, but he wasn't able to help his friends.
Flaga and Van had reentered the Archangel, but they noticed that Kira was still outside.
"Kira!" Tolle shouted to his friend over the communication system, but there was too much interference to get to Kira.
Kira had taken up his shield and charged at Yzak, he rammed himself into Yzak's Gundam and then jumped over him and used his jets to bring him down to land a hard kick to Yzak's Gundam's head, knocking him back and disorienting him. Yzak's targeting sensors were knocked out of whack, but he was still firing randomly, hoping to score at least a pot shot at Kira.
"Damn you!" Yzak shouted as he aimed his rifle correctly, but then the refugee shuttle got in the way of his gun, "Get out of my way!"
Yzak open fire, but the lack of proper aim only grazed the shuttle. Kira realized the danger and flew towards Yzak.
"Stop, Yzak! Those are civilians!" Kira aimed his rifle to fire.
Yzak had fired again, but this time, Kira managed to knock away Yzak's rifle and Yzak flew back.
"Son of a bitch!" Yzak shouted as he brought himself back up and fired his rail cannon at Kira,
"Stop it!" Kira shouted, seeing that he was right in front of the shuttle, aiming his rifle. Kira fired his rifle again and damaged Yzak's Gundam's head, but the cannon had fired and the shot was taken. Yzak missed, but he hit the shuttle instead. The explosion from the shuttle sent Kira flying down to Earth like a meteorite.
It all seemed like a distant dream to him, Kira. He suddenly found himself on his bed in his room. He was alive, he thought. He vaguely was able to remember the complicated maneuver he had to take to land on the Archangel, but he wasn't on course as the Archangel was, so Ramius had to change her ship's course to save Kira. It was a risky undertaking, but Kira was retrieved.
Unfortunately, Kira had suffered injuries from the super heat that built up within his cockpit. He was literally roasted, but because of his genetic enhancements as a Coordinator, all his superficial wounds healed very quickly, but his body had suffered an enormous shock. There was an IV attached to him and ice packs to cool down his high fever.
Kira looked around, but his vision was blurred. He was able to make out Flay and her voice along with Mille. They were trying to take care of him as he thrashed around in pain from almost literally being boiled alive from the intense heat.
"Where's the doctor?" Flay asked
"He went to treat the other injured."
Kira went back into the deep sleep. He saw himself back in the Strike, fighting and then flying to the Archangel.
In the captain's ready room, Flaga, Ramius, Van, and Badgiruel were assessing their new situation. Flaga was pointing on the map where they were and where they need to go.
"We are behind enemy lines," Van said, "The nearest Alliance base is several weeks away."
"We couldn't just leave Strike out there."
"It was your decision. In short, our ship's aim and destination was changed drastically." Ramius played with some strands of her long hair and was filled with stress. Van and Badgiruel had left to attend to the ship while Flaga and Ramius drank some coffee together.
"You alright?"
"Yeah."
"And what about Noin-Badgiruel?" Flaga quickly changed from Badgiruel's real name to her false name. It was out of habit that he did that. "How's she holding up?"
"If I had lost someone so closed to me in a blink of an eye after so many years of being together I would be down, too but knowing her, she'll grief when she has time to."
"Well, I'll get some rest after I check up on the kid." Flaga finished his coffee and left the room, "You should get some sleep, too. You look a mess."
In sickbay, Kira was still tossing and turning from the high fever he contracted. Flay had placed another cold pack of ice on his head. The doctor has finished his latest scans of Kira.
"His internal organs are fine," the doctor said, "All he needs now is plenty of water and to keep cool."
All of Kira's friends surrounded the doctor with hundreds of questions, and the doc was getting fed up.
"Look, this is my first Coordinator patient. I am not really sure how to treat one since there are so many subtle differences from a Natural, but be glad your friend over there is much more capable than us. Any normal person would of gotten broiled alive in that cockpit. Kira's a stronger build and a better mind. Coordinators have complete immunity to all kinds of deadly sickness, but they aren't invincible, and they can still succumb to even small fevers."
While the doctor kept explaining, and making the subject more like a science class, Sai took a look at Kira and then noticed that Flay hadn't left Kira's side. She stared at Kira with intense eyes, not taking them off of him.
Just then, Flaga walked in to check up on Kira.
"So how's our patient?" Flaga asked
"He's resting now."
Up in Space at high orbit, the Vesalius and the remnants of the ZAFT fleet waited for their next orders. Athrun and Nicol were resting in the lounge room where the other MS pilots were. Athrun stared out the window that overviewed the entire hanger. He was looking at his Gundam, Aegis, remembering back on the day he had gotten it and the day he met Kira again after three years.
The two had fought, and he had witnessed his once best friend killed two of his wing mates. Kira had questioned why Athrun was on ZAFT, why he had fought in a war that they wanted no part in. Then, Athrun had asked Kira the same thing, but only why Kira was on the Earth's side?
In comparison of skills, Athrun had more official military training that Kira, but Kira was more adept to the battlefield and harbored skills that outmatched Athrun and the others in Mobile Suit piloting.
After giving back Lacus, Athrun had kindly asked Kira to come with them, to fight alongside as comrades in arms, but Kira had refused, not wanting to abandon his friends. So then from that point on, they two had swear to each other that they were no longer friends, but enemies.
Athrun was daydreaming, when Nicol had entered the room.
"There you are, Athrun." Nicol said, "Yzak and Dearka had landed safely on Earth. They just reported back. I was so worried about them."
"Is that so?"
"But they have not set a date for their return, yet. They will remain at the base camp for some time."
Nicol noticed that Athrun had a colder aura than usual and he took a step back because of that.
"How is Yzak's wound? I heard his face was really scarred up."
"You don't have to worry that much about him. He was one of the great Wufei Chang's apprentices. He's a tough guy. He has made it through worse things before."
Athrun brighten up a bit,
"I guess that's true, but he seemed to have taken it personally. Kira had inflected that wound on him."
Nicol was then spacing out and ignored Athrun for a bit.
"I wonder will it be all right."
"What?"
"In the end, we didn't get to destroy that ship or capture the last unit. And you weren't successful in getting Kira to our side. I suppose that Captain will be recalled back soon."
"Well, since the famous Creuset squad wasn't able to destroy that ship will make the committee sit up and take notice more."
Athrun let his head go down; he was still thinking about Kira.
"Athrun?"
"Don't worry about me. This return seems to have implications in another battle plan. We're due for some shore leave anyway."
"Well, I'll leave you to your pondering. I'm going to take a look at Blitz." Nicol flew out of the room.
Athrun had remembered the discussion he had head with his commander, Creuset.
'If you don't shoot down Strike…It will shoot you down.'
The sun had set long ago on the desert land of Libya, famous for its ancient pyramids and the endless dunes of sand. Kira slowly opened his eyes and woke from his troubled sleep. The first thing he saw was his pet robot bird, Tori. The bird noticed his friend was waking up and made a noise as if saying "Good morning", though it was still night.
"Ummm….Tori?" Kira noticed that Tori was standing right next to his head and was looking down on him.
Kira had slowly got back up, wiping his eyes and rubbing his face. He felt slightly refreshed from the long sleep, and cracked some of his bones. Then he felt that he wasn't completely recovered, so he stayed sat up. Kira then noticed that Flay was sleeping next to him. She had put her head down on the bed, with the rest of her sitting on a chair. Flay opened her eyes and saw that Kira was awake and looking down on her.
"Oh, you're awake."
"How long was I out?" Kira tried to fight back a headache that was coming up on him as he looked around his room.
"Three days. We are on Earth, now."
"Oh…"
In the hanger, Flaga was talking to Van with the four fighter pilots that were assigned to the Archangel from the 8th Fleet.
"I've read the manual for these things. Even the mission packs for the Strike can be installed in any of these two." Flaga said about the fighter unit he stood next to, the Skygrasper. "Am I a delivery guy now for the Strike when it wants a new pack?"
"Heh!" Murdoch laughed at the joke, "If it's the Lt-I mean Colonel, I'm sure it will arrive safely and on time no matter where."
Everyone was having field days with their new ranks, since everyone on the ship had received a recommendation and was promoted up a grade, and in Flaga's case, he was given the highest at the moment, jumping him more than three ranks.
"Though it had been recommended by the Admiral, even under such circumstances, what is the point of being paid more when you don't have time to spend it?"
"Well, these people are really fanatics. That kid was already made a lieutenant! Can you believe that? He hasn't been in the armed forces for a month and he had jumped his rank to 'Special Lieutenant', but he's the pilot of Strike after all."
"Yeah, while all the rest of his friends are seaman first class or privates."
"Has he gotten better?"
"I heard he just woke. No one will know whether if it was the Strike or Kira's body that was formidable in the condition he was in. I wonder why he keeps referring Strike as a Gundam. It wasn't made of the nearly indestructible alloy that the previous Gundams during the war was made from."
"I believed the original creators of these new units made the GUNDAM as an acronym for the OS in the suit. General Unilateral Neuro-link Dispersive Automatic Machine or something like that. The whole thing appears on the main screen during activation."
In the mess hall, the other students were eating.
"Kira has woken." Mille said
"See, I told ya, he'd be fine." Tolle said
"The doctor said he has fully recovered. Flay's going to bring his meals to him."
Just then, Flay entered the room with two empty trays.
"Hey, Flay. How is Kira?" Mille asked
"He seems alright. The doctor was surprised he recovered so fast. Coordinators are really something."
"You must be tired, Flay." Sai said, "I'll take care of him while you get some rest. You should eat something, too."
Flay went to fill some water,
"I'm fine. I ate with Kira already. Besides, I am not assigned to any duties on this ship, yet. So until the captain gives me a job to do, I'll take care of Kira while you all do your jobs." She set the two cups of water on a tray and walked out.
Sai got up and walked with Flay.
"Flay, now that we have some time, I want to talk about…us," Sai managed to say. He felt that something's changed in Flay.
Flay was silent for a bit,
"My father arranged our engagement…but he is gone now." Sai was not all surprised at that. In fact, he half expected Flay to say something like that, "Besides, our relationship was never stabilized. Many things have happened. I can't stay like the girl I was back on Heliopolis. I think it's time to let go of this."
Sai stopped, but Flay walked on. He was upset at the break up, but he understood. He can see that Flay has fallen for Kira.
"I guess it can't be helped then." Sai turned around and went back to the mess hall.
Kira was resting in his room. Flay was walking to his room, thinking.
"Kira needs to be strong in order to fight those monsters." Flay said to herself, "I must give him all the support I can to make sure he stays strong."
Hours later, the sun went up. The day went by without any activity in the desert. It appeared that the Archangel's landing hadn't attracted any unwanted people around. Everyone was working their hardest to be prepared for combat that might come up and preparing the ship to fly again to leave this place.
Flaga and Van were working in the hanger on their machines. Van was modifying his unit so that it can work better on Earth, while everyone else had things to do. A tech was cleaning up the cockpit of Strike when he stumbled on something.
"What's this?" The man asked himself. He picked it up and saw that it was a paper flower.
Soon the sun was beginning to set again, but the ship was still wide awake, preparing itself for anything that might come.
"What's our status?" Ramius asked when she entered the bridge.
"Shields are still down, long range sensors are offline. Main power's holding," Badgiruel said, "We've gotten about 70 of weapons back online."
"Keep me up to date."
Van was done with upgrading his unit and left the hanger to go to his room. He sat down on a chair and relaxed as he was tired from nonstop working. He then remembered the battle up in Space and the death of Halberton, who was called Zechs or Milliardo. That man was one of the last great heroes of the war prior to this one, but when Van felt the man's spirit fade into the hereafter, Van remember feeling another strong presence. He narrowed his eyes, trying to guess who he could of felt in the battlefield, but whoever it was, the presence had a great sense of evil within him and it scared Van.
In the showers, Kira was washing himself, feeling really unclean from the sweat he had gathered from lying in bed for the passed days. He was thinking still about the recent battle he had before he came down with the ship to Earth. Afterward, Kira dried himself up and walked out to dress up.
Just as he finished, Flay knocked and entered the room.
"Kira, one of the techs found this in your cockpit." Flay held up the paper flower to give to Kira.
Kira just then remembered where that paper flower came from. A little girl had made it for him, thanking him for protecting her and her family. That girl was one of the many who were killed as a result of Yzak's missed shot at their shuttle.
Kira got up and took the flower. He suddenly felt some much pain and guilt for not being able to save those lives. He felt the sting of tears in his eyes, but tried his best to suppress them.
"I wasn't able to save her. That little girl who gave me this." He then crushed the fragile flower in his hands, "I couldn't save any of them!"
Kira turned away from Flay, not wanting to show weakness, but Flay wrapped her arms around him.
"You did your best to protect us. It wasn't your fault." Flay held Kira closer, pouring out as much emotional support to him.
Kira wasn't able to stop a tear from falling down his cheek.
"But I…" Flay turned Kira back to face her. The look in her eyes gave Kira comfort. He held her even closer.
"Shhh…Everything is alright…Kira…" Flay stared back into Kira and then closed her eyes, then kissed him.
Kissing Kira wasn't like kissing Sai. When she and Sai had kissed, it had been a pleasant affirmation of their feelings for each other, a practiced exploration of their love. Kira's kisses heated her blood, caused her heart to pound, enflamed passion and a sense of danger. It was like dancing around the element of fire- dangerous, yet intoxicating. Suddenly he seemed to halt, and she pulled back, slightly surprised as he propelled himself away from her using his good arm. "Yamero," he said.
"Huh?"
"Stop," he said. His eyes lingered longingly on her face. "This is not right. You and Sai…"
Flay wondered how to frame the words that were in her heart. "That's not what this is..." She gestured for him to sit down on the bed, and he did so, watching her carefully.
It unnerved her slightly. He seemed to be able to pierce through her soul with those eyes. Both of the men in her life seemed to know her better then she herself did! It was somewhat annoying. Why couldn't they just be normal, self-obsessed, sex-obsessed teenage male Neanderthals? She wondered. It'd make life so much easier...
You wouldn't love them if they were, a small voice whispered in the back of her mind, one she ruthlessly squashed down on. "Kira, I don't know if what we feel for each other is real or not, but I'd like to think it is. We've been through a lot together, and that tends to bond people quickly. I do know that I'm not in love with Sai- I love him, but it's not the same. I'm not the same Flay Allster who was the class's darling.
"Sai and I could have been very happy together," she admitted, "had none of this happened. I would have been a wonderful wife, balancing my career, children, and social obligations, and Sai would have made a wonderful father as he guarded his family empire. But...things have changed. I've changed. I don't think I can live that life anymore.
"It all seems awfully petty- corporate law, school, worrying about fashion." Her eyes lost their focus and she seemed to shift her attention to something seen only by the mind's eye. "But that's what my life was, and up until a month ago, I would have been satisfied with it. But not now...
"I helped make a difference, Kira-kun. I helped... and it felt right. It felt good...and it felt like I've finally opened a door in a room that's been shut too long. I felt... free."
Kira nodded, watching as she paced the room. "It could be an illusion," he said. "Most society girls your age start to feel rebellious."
Her blue eyes cut him with their intensity as she spun to face him again. "It could," she snapped back. "But if it is, it's more real than anything I've seen before. I'm wrestling my way out of the cotton people have always kept me wrapped in! Reality is setting in!"
He looked like he wanted to say something, but she settled it by sitting down next to him and leaning in close, catching his lips with her own to exchange passionate, dizzying kisses that, for the moment, helped both of them forget about anything except the other. The two sighed with relief and growing passion.
Not too far away, a group of desert raiders were hiding behind the dunes, observing the Archangel as they had been for the passed three days. One of them was a young woman, with short blonde hair, but she acted like a leader to the group. She looked through advanced binoculars and zoomed closer at the ship that seemed to stick out in the open desert.
"I've only seen that thing on paper, but I am quite she this is it…the Imperial Alliance's newest Mobile Assault Carrier, Archangel."
There was a call from the girl's radio and she picked it up.
"What is it?"
"The tiger is moving." The voice said, "Five BuCUEs were sited, heading for that ship."
"Damn it!" She looked back at the ship who was about to be attacked. "Everyone get ready! We're going out there to give them a hand!"
The girl rushed to one of the jeeps with her men and they moved out.
Kira was still holding onto the flower that was crushed in his hand, and Flay had stopped, feeling his pain.
"I'm okay," he finally whispered, realizing that Flay wanted some kind of response from him.
Soft hands brushed against his cheeks as she cradled his face between his hands, making it impossible for him to look away. "No, you're not," she told him. "You're in shock."
He wanted to deny it, but she always knew him better than he knew himself. That was her gift, the keen understanding of human nature, the ability to pierce through the shadows and darkness which so many people cloaked themselves in like the sunshine that her hair resembled. "Flay..." he whispered, and then his arms were around her, pulling her close.
It was like embracing a ray of sunshine, and he suddenly became aware of how very cold he had been. Her body was soft and feminine, and she tasted like summer and everything that was sweet and good in the world.
He expected her to gasp, but again she surprised him, moving so her body settled evenly on top of him, and her face completely replaced the cracks in the ceiling in his line of sight. Her mouth was welcoming, and kiss trailed into another kiss.
Kira fell out of his fantasy, suddenly aware that they were two teenagers, alone in a room, on a bed...
The inevitable happened.
He wasn't sure who started it, but it was he who definitely took control. His fingers raced over her body, fumbling through her clothes, and hearing her gasp as he explored. Her hands followed after his, mirroring his, trying to keep pace as he freed her of her clothes.
It wasn't glorious, like in love stories or movies. It was rough and clumsy, and halfway through he realized that she had never had sex before. The idea almost shocked him enough to stop, but by then he was too far gone to care.
After, he had to find the energy to roll them over so his weight wasn't on top of her. She was so much smaller than he was, he realized, a difference that he hadn't completely appreciated until now. It took a while until their breathing returned to a pace which resembled normal. At some point he had thrown an arm over his eyes, as though to keep himself from admitted the truth. But then she shifted, and he felt the brush of her skin against his.
"Why?" he asked. "How?"
An uncomfortable silence lasted far too long. The recriminations had begun. "Sai and I... we thought... we talked about it, and we decided to wait until we were married," she said finally. Her head was on his chest, and he felt, more than heard her voice, as it vibrated against him.
She was too sweet, he knew. His arm fell down, to cover her back, and he clung to her as though she was the life preserver in a stormy ocean. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "Are you okay?"
She glared at him. "Don't get all macho on me, Kira. I can make my own decisions, and I choose to make love to you," she said.
He hadn't considered that, but they had made love. She had been passionate, exploring and demanding satisfaction even as she gave him what he asked for. It was an exchange, a sharing. He didn't know what to say, but instead leaned over and kissed her again, to which she replied gladly.
To be continued…
The Weapons of War
The humanoid fighting machines known as Mobile Suits are always the mainstay of the Gundam Saga. Although the Mobile Suits in this era are superficially similar to those in the previous wars, their technological basis is rather different. Thanks to the widespread use of the Neutron Jammers that suppressed all forms of nuclear fission, all the Mobile Suits in Gundam Seed are powered by batteries. For the new prototype Gundams with their powerful beam weapons and Phase Shift Armor, the power limitation proves to be a recurring Achilles heel to them.
