"So, this is Circ-City … That thing is huge!" Murrue muttered to herself as her eyes tried to take in the entire space station before the Archangel. It was one thing to see a picture of Circ-City, it was another thing to see it with her own eyes. The ZAFT fleet on the other side looked puny next to it. Circ-City easily rivaled the size of the Artemis, in fact, Murrue was certain that Circ-City was actually bigger than the destroyed Eurasian fortress.
"Now, do you believe me?" Viktor said from where he was standing next to and slightly behind her, just out of her sight.
Murrue nodded, now that she saw it with her own eyes it was hard not to. The very station itself banished most of her doubts about its origins. Upon closer inspection the whole installation looked a lot like a huge mushroom. And no one built stations like that, especially ones with such a smooth, copper brown surface that it appeared to be made of some sort of plastic rather than metal. The "cap" of the station was blistering with small groups of small lights, that Murrue assumed to be windows or something similar, with a ring of smaller lights running along the rim of the disk-shaped structure, illuminating several letters placed on the rim as well. "Circ-City" Murrue read and let out another gasp. "Incredible."
"Ma'am, we've got a message from the Aggressor. We are to proceed as planned and be ready to retreat in case of danger." Murrue nodded and turned her attention to the remaining crew.
"Begin our approach. Weapons on standby, but don't target anything yet. Communications, try to get into contact with someone on that station." The crew voiced their acknowledgments and began carrying out their tasks. "Anything on the sensors?"
"Nothing, ma'am, either we can't get trough the hull or there are..."
"Incoming communication, it's … it's from the Circ-City!"
"Put it on screen!" Murrue instantly replied and, like everyone else turned her gaze towards the main screen. For a second, there was nothing but white static as the communications system struggled to establish a clear link with strange signal. Finally the screen came to life.
"Unknown vessel, I am the artificial docking assistant ADA, please state your ID and the reason of your arrival." They heard a female voice as a woman's face appeared on the screen. For a moment Murrue thought that ADA was real. The young, narrow face with light blue eyes and short golden-blond hair looked real enough. At least until she took a closer look, the woman looked perfect, too perfect, Murrue also noticed the lack of pupils and the the whole image was slightly transparent. Other than that, ADA looked incredibly life-like.
"This is the Archangel of the Earth Alliance, we're transporting a group of envoys to participate in diplomatic negotiations with representatives of Circ-City." Murrue answered, her lips forming a slight smile of disbelief, she couldn't believe that she was talking to a computer. "Requesting permission to dock."
"Archangel, ID acknowledged and logged." ADA replied barely a second later. "You are cleared to proceed to dock 2. Stand by for markers." A moment later, two parallel lines of lights covered the area between the ship and the indicated docking mechanism. Additional markers, displaying recommended speed and trajectory also lit up.
"Fancy. This makes my job a lot easier." Neumann whistled in admiration and proceeded to guide the ship towards the docking module. Everyone patiently waited and watched as th nearest corridor extended from the station to make the docking procedure simpler. They also noticed that the dock to their left was damaged, the extendable corridor was bent as if something, that had been attached to it, had been torn off.
Hmm ... strange, I wonder what happened? And what it was supposed to be connected to? Viktor guessed and made a mental note to gather more information about it. While it could be a harmless accident or something along those lines, it was his job to be suspicious of everything. Besides, often the small things pointed to a disaster. Big ones meant that it was already too late. He forced himself to focus on here and now. He couldn't afford daydreaming in such a crucial moment. "What is ZAFT doing?Have they made any moves?" He barked at the communications officer.
"One of their ships is approaching the Circ-City just like we are. The remaining fleet is holding their position."
"Excellent." Viktor said and looked at Murrue. "Now, after Archangel docks with the Circ-City you are to remain here until told otherwise."
"And how long might that be?"
"If everything goes well, no longer than few hours, until the meeting begins and we're sure that everything is safe, after that you will be replaced by a ship from the 11th fleet." The man explained curtly as the Archangel began its final approach. "After that you'll be free to rendezvous with the 8th fleet."
"Hatch beacon activated, initiating docking sequence." Neumann's report interrupted their conversation. The Archangel had reached the designated dock and all that remained was to successfully connect the ship with the station.
"Hatch beacon located." ADA replied as if the AI had heard Neumann. "Stand by for connection." The extended corridor began moving towards the hatch on the Archangel's hull like a snake might approach a prey, adjusting its path with tiny thrusters to achieve maximum efficiency. Finally, the docking ring connected to the ship and immediately fused with the surface by anchoring it self via the universal locks and activating additional magnets for added safety. "Pressurizing the dock … docking sequence completed. Archangel, welcome to Circ-City. "
xxxxx
"Pressurizing the dock … docking sequence completed. Socrates, welcome to Circ-City." ADA's voice announced trough the ship's PA system.
"And so it begins." Rau quietly muttered and adjusted his mask while surveying the people nearby who were preparing to enter the station. Surrounded by guards and various aides, he saw the three people who were sent to represent PLANTs in this meeting. They were no one special. Clearly PLANTs weren't that stupid as to send one of the High Council members to an unknown meeting. However, these people weren't simple lackeys either. Sending a bunch of completely incompetent expendables to a potentially productive negotiation would mean taking the opposite extreme. Therefore the PLANT leaders had settled for the middle point. Send people smart enough to work something out, but not important that their loss would be a disaster.
Rau continued to observe the group around him and finally saw a familiar posture. Lee Dexus - Patrick Zala's so-called "spymaster". Man who apparently was responsible for obtaining the information about Circ-City. Rau watched the man run his hand trough his dark green hair, something Lee always did when he was nervous, and couldn't help but wonder. How could this small, nervous man be one in charge of ZAMI (Zodiac Alliance's Military Intelligence)? Lee was nothing that a spy should be. The man was easy to perturb and always seemed to be worried about something. Despite this appearance Rau had to admit, Lee certainly ran an efficient intelligence agency. In just a few months since its creation ZAMI agents had infiltrated the Alliance's military to such extent that ZAFT knew everything about 40 percent of Alliance's projects and suspected a great deal about 35 percent of their top projects and plans. The remaining 25 percent were still unknown, but ZAMI agents were continuously working on fixing that. With this in mind Rau sometimes wondered if all that nervousness wasn't a trick on Lee's part just to throw off any suspicions.
"Mister Dexus, I never expected to see you here." Rau moved over to the intelligence officer. The other man slightly jumped from being suddenly addressed from behind and let out a relieved sigh when he saw Rau.
"Oh, Commander Le Creuset, good to see you. Well, Chairman Zala saw it fit to send me here as well, to get a feel of the situation."
"I see, but I am more interested in how you found out about Circ-City? From what I've heard it was you who informed the High Council about Circ-City." A suspicious look crossed Lee's grey eyes.
"How do you know that?"
"Well, I've heard a lot of things in these few days since I was ordered to join this fleet." Rau smiled. Lee's suspicious look didn't vanish and Rau could hardly blame him for that. Both men shared a small, friendly rivalry when it came to outsmarting each other, especially since Rau had developed an informant network of his own and refused to share it with Lee.
"Okay, fine." Lee gave in. He realized that this was something bigger than their competition. "Few of my agents discovered that someone informed the President of the Atlantic Federation about Circ-City. However, we were unable to find out who, since our agents simply vanished afterward. All we know is that the Alliance knows a lot more about Circ-City than we do and that they are eager to work out some sort of a deal with them."
"Interesting, maybe I should see if some of my contacts can find out where the Alliance got this information from." Rau mused just loud enough for Lee to hear. There you go. Another challenge for you. We'll see who finds out about the Alliance's secret first. He thought, just as the hatch doors hissed open and revealed a brightly lit corridor, connecting the Nazca class battleship Socrates with Circ-City.
Slightly nervous the PLANT delegation cautiously made its way down the corridor towards the hatch. As soon as the group got in the nearby vicinity, the hatch hissed open and revealed a small airlock with another hatch leading further into the station. Few of the party members traded worried looks. While everyone knew that it was nothing than simple airlock, no one enjoyed the feeling of being locked inside a small room on a strange space station, even if it was for a short period. However, it was clear as day, that there was no turning back. With guards being the fist ones to enter the group stepped into the airlock with Rau and Lee bringing up the rear. As expected, the hatch behind them closed and after a short moment the opposite hatch opened and led them into the first real room in Circ-City where they also met the first person on Circ-City.
Standing in the middle of the large, curved room, which seemed to be a quarter of a complete circle, was a young man or rather a boy. And while being met by a boy seemed weird, the boy's appearance was even more unusual.
The boy stood seemed to be about sixteen years old. His shoulder- length, white hair were brushed back, giving him a more mature look, further accented by the serious look in his amber eyes. Even if one failed to notice the boy's facial expression, his importance was made obvious by his outfit. Black, custom tailored business-suit with a crimson shirt and a pure white tie left no doubts about its wearer's importance.
"Greetings. My name is Gabriel Benedict Von Angelos." He said while giving a slight bow. "It is a pleasure and an honor to welcome you all to Circ-City." He paused for a moment, waiting for an answer, but when none of the surprised party members said anything, he smiled and continued. "You must one of the groups that have arrived here to negotiate with our representatives. Please, allow me to escort you to the meeting room that has been prepared for this occasion." He said politely and pointed at the several sets of elevator doors at the inside wall of the room. "Please, follow me." The entire group except for two guards, who remained to guard the way to the Socrates, followed him, while sharing muted conversations about their guide. All conversations were cut short when the bright lights flickered, leaving the group in complete darkness for a moment.
However, Gabriel seemed to be completely unruffled. "I apologize for this unpleasant surprise, but Circ-City has been experiencing several power shortages in these past few days ever since our main generators suddenly stopped working." He explained calmly as they waited for the light turn on again. "Our maintenance personnel worked hard to restore full power to the rooms we'll be using, but please bear in mind that the emergency generators might experience some problems." The lights came back on and they continued their way.
"Excuse me, but if the power supply is failing then we're in danger." One of the diplomats looked around as if expecting the station to fall apart any minute now.
"No, sir. I assure you that there is no danger for anyone on Circ-City. All the important systems are working properly. The blackouts, like the one we experienced now, are nothing more than an annoyance. One that is being taken care of as we speak." The elevator doors pinged open and he gestured them to enter. "Now, please, enter."
"Hell, if only my son had such manners." Lee whispered to Rau as the PLANT delegation entered the elevator.
xxxxx
"That's a lot of ships out there." Jack muttered with his nose pressed flat against the window as he observed the huge array of strange looking ships far away from the Circ-City. Some of them were bigger than any ship he had ever seen. Especially the three triangular-shaped giants in the middle of the formation. Until that day, the biggest ships he had ever seen were the transport shuttles that ferried materials and machinery from Utopia to Circ-City. But those three easily put them to shame, being almost twice as big. He continued to look at the myriad of ships until exclamations from the other end of the roundish hangar made it impossible to think.
"Wow! Look at those things! What are they?"
"I don't know. They look a bit like Enforcer class Muscle Tracers to me!"
"Enforcer? You fucking crazy!? Look at it! That thing is as twice as huge as any Enforcer we have. I'd say its more like an AC."
Feeling quite intrigued, Jack left his window and hurried towards the small group, gathered at the far end of the hangar, where a second window was located. Much to his surprise it turned out that the docking level was off-limits due to important meeting that was about to happen, therefore Jack had to settle with spending a few days in one of the hangar levels, located slightly above the docking level. Not that it was that much of a problem by itself. The problem was that there were always a few people in the hangar, mostly they were mechanics who were busy working with the machines being kept in there, but sometimes pilots and ordinary people were there as well. For Jack, it meant that his hiding place wasn't that safe at all, someone could always spread the word about his whereabouts to the wrong people. He didn't doubt that the bastards he ran into a few days ago were probably looking for him, eager to get some revenge and who knew how long it took for them to find out his hiding place.
In retrospect, hiding in the hangars wasn't the best idea for another reason, his machine was stored in hangar A2 and Jack knew that at least one of those guys had to be keeping watch up there. He himself was four levels lower in hangar E2. He wasn't afraid of them getting their hands on his machine, that was impossible, what he was worried about was them starting to search every hangar on the station. If they started doing that, they would eventually find him and then it would be all over again. Threats from them and pain for him.
Still depressed by his gloomy thoughts, Jack quickly looked over the small group of mechanics. Few of them cast suspicious glances at him, but that was nothing more than them simply noticing a new arrival. Jack also didn't see anyone making some calls or whispering something to others, which he took as a good sign. Let's try to be friendly Jack, shall we? No need to give more people a reason to rat you out. Jack took a deep breath, put on a smile that was supposed to look friendly and approached them. "Uh, what the fuck are you talking about?" There. A nice and pleasant way to start a conversation. The mechanics didn't respond, one of them just pointed at the window and moved aside, letting Jack get a view.
"What the..." Jack gasped when he saw a part of another fleet exactly the same distance away from the station as the first. Only this time the ships were a bit smaller and sported a completely different design. The olive green color and their shapes made some of the ships look like something out of a science fiction movie about aliens. But what caught his attention were the machines surrounding the ships. At first glance, they looked like ACs, But when he looked closer he noticed several differences. Unlike these machines, ACs didn't have clearly defined chest and stomach parts of the body. Instead ACs sported a single part known as the core, which, unlike the machines outside, was protruding towards front and back, giving them their distinctive Y-shaped profile. However, the more he looked at them the more he came to realize that these machines seemed somewhat primitive. It wasn't anything visual, old parts or battered armor or something what you could point a finger at and say "This thing is crude!" But it was there, unseen yet present in every movement of the machine.
Jack had no idea for how long he had stared at the machines until a sudden buzz woke him up from his thoughts. For a moment Jack thought that he'd imagined the sound, but when he saw that the nearby mechanics were looking at him, Jack understood what was going on. "Sorry guys, gotta go." He said and reached inside his coat as he hurried to get a little further away from them. When he was sure that the mechanics were far enough Jack pulled out a black PDA (personal digital assistant). What the hell? A message? Now who would send me a message? Jack wondered and began reading the message. Slowly a wide grin appeared on his face and it grew wider with every line he read. It wasn't a message, it was a contract. A very special contract.
xxxxx
For Kira it was one of those unbearable moments when he had completely nothing to do and no one to talk to. Sai, Miriallia, Tolle and Kuzzey had to take their shifts on the bridge. Daniel had once again disappeared somewhere to do whatever he had to do. Other than them there was no one else he could talk to. Even though Flay always seemed glad to see him, they didn't have that much to talk about. Mu, while cheerful and good to have around, was a grownup and Kira somehow found it hard to simply chat with him. Even if it was about an urgent matter like Circ-City.
Kira had to let out a deep sigh at that thought. Like everyone else he had been shocked by Murrue's announcement a few days ago, when she informed everyone about Archangel's destination. At first Kira found it hard to believe. Space stations from another planet? Ancient projects involving impossible levels of technology? That was science fiction stuff. Things like that didn't exist! That's what he thought, until he saw the station with his own eyes from the observation deck. Then he was forced to change his mind. Partially. A small piece of his mind still argued that there had to be another, more logical explanation for this. But until he came up with one, he couldn't help but wonder, what if Murrue's words were true? What if this Circ-City had indeed arrived from another planet?
"Then I guess a lot of things will change, isn't that right?" Kira patted his robot bird. Who was perched on his shoulder. The bird tilted his head and chirped what seemed to be a positive reply. Even though the bird couldn't talk. Kira sometimes liked to think that he understood what the small robot was trying to say. Of course it wasn't like Kira could understand exact words or thoughts. It was more like he could tell its mood or something like that. Nothing specific other than a vague idea. Still, it was enough for him. Even a companion like this was better than nothing.
The bird chirped again and suddenly took off. "Wait! Don't go!" Kira called, but the robot didn't listen. This was the only thing Kira disliked about it. Sometimes, the small robot acted like it wanted without any regards for the situation or Kira's orders. "Come back!" Kira tried again and began running after the bird as it flew further down the hallway. Damn, sometimes I wish Athrun had built in some kind of obedience program for that thing. I don't have time for chasing it around the entire ship. Kira quickened his pace and decided to turn the robot off after he had caught it.
The small toy apparently had decided that Kira wanted to play and began acting accordingly, always staying within view and close enough for Kira to continue his pursuit, but never flying far enough so that Kira would give up. For several minutes Kira chased the small robot around the Archangel's empty hallways, but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't catch it.
The bird let out another long and merry chirp, flew around a corner and disappeared from Kira's view. That's it! I've had enough of this! I'm done chasing it around. Might as well just let it fly around until it calms down. Then I'll turn it off for a long time. Kira promised to himself and slowed down. However, just as he was about to turn around and head back to his room, the robot bird chirped again. This time it sounded frightened by something.
"What the fuck is this thing?" Kira heard someone speak from around the corner. "A robot bird?" Another series of frightened chirps followed, accompanied by a curse. "Oww. You little bastard!" Sensing, that his robot pet was in danger, Kira rushed towards the corner. The small toy sometimes had a habit of pecking other people, especially if they tried to hurt it. A defense mechanism of sorts. While it was nothing dangerous, since the bird wasn't strong enough to actually pierce skin, its pecks weren't exactly painless either. But judging by that voice, its owner was definitely someone who didn't like being pecked. He rounded the corner and came face to face with a boy wearing the most unusual set of clothes.
A dark blue knee-long coat, made from some kind of seemingly heavy fabric, buttoned up from waist to neck surrounded the boy's body, the collar opened wide enough for Kira to get a glance of a white T-shirt underneath. The boy was also wearing slacks with white, grey, dark blue and black splotches forming a camouflage pattern. Finally a pair of black combat boots with hobnails and iron heels in order to reduce wear completed the outfit.
"Wait, don't hurt it. He was just defending himself." Kira said, when he saw that the boy was holding the robot bird by its wings and slowly pulling them apart. "Let it go!" The boy's bluish-grey eyes slowly turned to face him and the vengeful grin was replaced by a slight frown.
"And who are you supposed to be?" He shook his head to get a few stray dark brown hairs away from his eyes. "The master of this thing?"
"Yes. Now, please give it back." Kira reached out, but the bird was pulled away before he could reach it. "I'm serious!" His words left no impression and Kira could clearly see why. The boy was not only slightly taller than him, but also more heavily built. Even though Kira was a Coordinator and certainly stronger than a Natural of his size and caliber, he wasn't sure if he could easily take this guy on.
"How serious exactly?" Apparently the very same thought was going trough his head as well. It was clearly evident by the wide grin plastered on the boy's face as he scrutinized Kira. Kira exhaled sharply, trying to calm down.
"Please. I don't need any problems, just give it back." He demanded slowly and as calmly as he could. The other boy stared at him for a moment and finally released the robot bird.
"Fine. Whatever. Here you go, but if that thing gets near me one more time, I will tear it apart. Slowly." The small robot didn't even look at Kira as it flew away as fast as it could.
Kira watched the bird leave. "Thanks." He sighed in relief and turned his attention back to the boy. The guy was unusual. He was … different, for the lack of a better word, as if he wasn't from the Archangel. "Who are you?" Kira wanted to say, but the words died in his mouth. He was completely sure that this person wasn't one of the refugees from Heliopolis. He would have noticed someone like that. There was also no way that he could be one of the diplomats from the Aggressor since they'd left for Circ-City few hours ago. Circ-City! Something clicked in Kira's mind. This guy had to be from Circ-City! Now that he thought about it they weren't that far from the entrance. "Are you from Circ-City?" Kira asked just to be sure. The boy nodded once. "Do you realize that you're not supposed to be here?"
"Why not? Is it because of the meeting?" Now it was Kira's turn to nod. To which the boy replied with a short chuckle. "It doesn't mean anything. No one wants to start trouble right now, so there is no need to worry. Also, since it looks like we're here to stay I think its wise to meet people you might end up working together with. Besides, there weren't any guards by the doors, so I guess it counts as an invitation."
"Still, I don't think you should be here. You could get into trouble." But his warning was waved off.
"You worry too much. I'm just using the opportunity to meet new cli... I mean people. Therefore, if things are done the same here, my name is Jack. Jack Terossa, and its ehhh … nice to meet you. And you are?"
"I'm … Kira Yamato." Kira was more than a little confused by the sudden change in the conversation. What's with this guy? One moment he threatens to destroy my pet robot, the next he's introducing himself to me, while paying no attention to what I say.
"...is every ship like this?" Kira realized that Jack was talking about something again and shook his head to clear his mind.
"What did you say? I didn't hear you."
Jack rolled his eyes. "I said that this ship is amazing! I haven't seen anything like this back on Utopia."
"Back where?"
"Utopia. Planet Utopia … Oh yes, that's right, you probably have no idea what I'm talking about do you?" Jack sighed when he saw the confusion in Kira's eyes. "Okay, let me think a little." He said and sat down on the floor leaning against the wall as he gathered his thoughts. Kira, sensing a story, mirrored his movement on the opposite side of the hallway.
"I never was much into history, but I can give you the short version. Planet Utopia is, or was, a planet that was colonized a long time ago."
"Why do they call it Utopia?"
"I don't know exactly, but I think it had something to do with some kind of a big-ass project, that was supposed to create a paradise where everyone could live peacefully, happily and all that crap. From what I've heard they even managed to achieve that for a couple of years, but by the time I was born it had become a fucking shithole. And that was even before the Great Destruction."
"How come? What happened?"
"Well, there was this fucking computer, the Controller, which was supposed to fix everything and generally look after things. At least until someone fucked it up, then everything went to shit. Corruption, drugs, violence, conflicts, small wars - the full boat. One good thing, it was the golden age for Ravens. That's how everyone calls a certain group of mercenaries." Jack explained with a cocky grin, which made Kira suspect that Jack was probably one of these Ravens. "Anyway, few years later, when everyone thought that things couldn't be worse, the Great Destruction came ... A fucking nuclear war! Man that was cool! The whole planet became nothing more than a radioactive rock." He let out a short laugh as if recalling something exciting, though Kira saw nothing funny.
"The entire planet was destroyed? Why? What was the war about?" In response Jack shrugged his shoulders.
"Who cares? What happened AFTER the Great Destruction was the real hell. Too much people and not enough resources was the biggest problem. The second problem was that with Utopia pretty much destroyed there was no way for us to rebuild and start again. The corporations, the one's in charge now, even began working together to find a way out. Eventually they told us that they had found a way to return to Earth. However, there were some problems. They couldn't fit everyone on Circ-City. Some of us thought that they were just fucking with us, but at that time no one had the strength to protest. Anyway, they rebuilt the colony ship, which was used to colonize Utopia, and turned it into a giant warehouse where resources and other important shit were stockpiled. After all, no one wanted to leave with empty hands. Later, when all the important people were on Circ-City, we left. We used some kind of a gate or something like that. No one knew what it really was, but the important thing was; we were alive, away from that hellhole and ready to begin our journey to Earth. How exactly, the Corporations didn't tell us, but no one really cared. Everyone was just glad to..."
"Wait a minute." Kira held up his hands, so that he could get a moment to comprehend everything. "What happened to those left behind? Those who couldn't get aboard Circ-City?"
"Who cares about those losers? They're gone, probably dead. It doesn't matter. What does matter is that... oh, wait." Jack broke off in mid sentence when a short buzz emanated from his coat. He reached inside and pulled out his PDA. "Hmm, it looks like I've gotta go. Got some things to do." He jumped to his feet and placed the small object back inside his coat. "Well bye, Kira Yamato. Maybe we'll meet again sometime and then it'll be your turn to tell me something."
"Yeah, fine, whatever." Kira replied as Jack walked away towards the exit. He watched him disappear around a nearby corner and smirked when he realized that he could still hear the metallic knocks from Jack's boots. He slowly stood up and rubbed his back when he realized that it was hurting like hell. Jack's story had fascinated him so much that he hadn't noticed it. He stretched his back and was glad to notice the pain decrease a bit. Heh, strange guy. Sure makes a poor first impression, but he's not so bad. I hope he manages to get off the ship before someone sees him. Kira made one more look at the corner Jack had disappeared behind and turned around to head back to the mess hall. Maybe someone was there by now. He had a lot of interesting things to tell.
xxxxx
Viktor had always understood the importance of information. Knowing everything about your enemies and friends meant that you were always a step ahead. Information allowed him to strike at his opponent's weak spot, while avoiding or neutralizing his strengths. One of the reasons he worked for Blue Cosmos was the amount of information he could access After all information was one of the most important, if not THE most important aspect of modern warfare. The chance of learning more about Circ-City and project Utopia was another reason why he looked forward to this meeting. However, not everything went his way.
How could I overlook something like this! He thought grimly and let around a rather desperate and weary look. No matter what day and age, diplomats had retained one of their most detestable habits. They could talk seemingly forever without actually saying anything. The meeting had been going on for more than an hour, but either party had yet to bring up anything of importance. Even the greetings and introductions, both being not longer than five minute activities, at least in his opinion, were dragged out to the point of absurdity. He reminded himself to remember to talk about this with his boss. Maybe Mister Azrael could pull some strings and let Viktor do the talking. Then he would make sure that the meetings were short and to the point. However, he had to be careful. Under no circumstances they could let ZAFT think that the Alliance knew more about Circ-City, even if they already suspected them. In politics nothing mattered unless you had hard evidence to back up your claims.
He leaned back in his chair and looked around the room and the people inside for what seemed to be a hundredth time. The room was very large once you took into account the fact that they were on a space station, where large rooms were considered luxury. It could easily hold at least hundred people and even then it wouldn't be crowded. Right now, with little more than thirty people, it looked almost empty. The main furniture in the room was a huge, oval desk, which seemed to be made for fifty people, since there were fifty consoles built into the surface. The remaining chairs, obviously reserved for less important members of the meeting were packed in the corners.
Viktor himself was apparently important enough to be granted a seat at the big desk, along with Mr. Timothy Dyle and his closest advisors. Currently Timothy was busy saying something about a schedule for future meetings, since it was clear that more than one meeting will be necessary. Today was only the "Hello and who are you?" meeting. One of many. If the remaining meetings will be like this I'll need more than one bottle in order to keep my sanity. Viktor sighed and looked over his shoulder, where the rest of the Alliance's delegation was sitting. He wasn't surprised when he noticed that even the low-level aides looked like they were participating in something extremely exciting, something mere mortals couldn't even begin to understand.
The only one who wasn't paying any attention to the conversation was Domenic. Instead of admiring the big players with mouth open in awe, the man was staring at the PLANT delegation with more than a simple dislike in his eyes. Viktor trailed his look and realized that Domenic was staring at someone well known among the Earth Alliance military leaders – Rau Le Creuset. The man was famous for his achievements on the battlefield especially during the battle of Yggdrasil. Order of the Nebula for thirty seven Mobile Armors and six warships. Viktor made a mental sigh, glad that he didn't have to face the masked Commander in battle. Especially since he was a field officer back then.
Once he was done observing the Coordinators, Viktor locked his gaze on the people on on the other side of the table. There were only three of them sitting at the table, although Viktor could see at least dozen or so, sitting in the relative darkness behind them. The odd thing about these three was that they were sitting with plenty of empty chairs in between them, as if they represented three factions instead of one. For most people it seemed a little bit strange, but for Viktor, and few others, who possessed more knowledge about Circ-City and its occupants, it wasn't something to be concerned about, because these men indeed represented their own factions, or rather – corporations.
The one on the right, sitting directly opposite the EA delegation was Garon Kelly, CEO of Crest Industries. A huge, well tanned man with white hair cut short in a military fashion. His dark blue eyes were firmly fixed on a point in front of him, while his head rested on the bridge of his hands, suggesting that the man was extremely bored with the meeting so far. In fact he hadn't spoken a single word ever since he had said his name. Out of all three Garon Kelly was the only one, who had a military aura of sorts. For Viktor it meant that this man was more or less a pragmatist and preferred a straight to the point approach. That's good, he will be easy to work with. Viktor filed that information away and turned his attention at the next person.
The next man was Yoshirou Kisaragi, leader of Kisaragi corporation. Unlike Garon Kelly, this man of Asian descent was a complete opposite in most aspects. Long, straight, pitch black hair fell past his shoulders. And while Yoshirou was slightly shorter and thinner than his competitor from Crest Industries, he left little doubt about his position. One could clearly feel the authority and wisdom coming from this man. For Viktor he reminded of a mighty shogun from feudal Japan. However, along with the authority Viktor also sensed a great deal of arrogance whenever Yoshirou's dark brown eyes traveled across the two guest parties.
Finally there was Leon Degalo who, according to information in Viktor's possession, was in charge of Mirage. So far Leon was the only one who was at least partially interested in talking with them. Unlike Garon and Yoshirou, who only spoke when they had to. Leon was not only the most talkative of the trio, but also seemed to be much friendlier, something which was accentuated by the small smile that never left his lips. When it came to appearance he was somewhat average. Average height, average build, plain, brown hair and grey eyes. There was nothing distinct about him, only that he seemed to be the youngest of the trio, possibly in his late twenties.
If he'd missed Timothy's words, Viktor would have continued his observation, but the fact was that he heard them. "Okay, just to be perfectly sure I suggest that we re-confirm the schedule one more time."
Enough is enough! I've had it with this bullshit! An unexpected wave of anger and frustration forced the old man to make a decision. No matter how hard he thought about it later, he couldn't recall what exactly made him intervene. Maybe it was his mind rallying his usually suppressed emotions in order to preserve its sanity. Or maybe it was something else that made him lean forward and cough, both to clear his throat and let everyone know that he had something to say. "I'm not one to usually disrupt vital meetings, but like most of us here I have my responsibilities. One of which is to regularly inform my superiors about the situation here. And while I'm grateful that we were able to put together this meeting, I have yet to heard anything of importance. So how about you answer some of our questions?" Everyone in the room was now looking at him. Timothy Dyle almost made to protest, but decided otherwise when he recalled the brief warning he had received on Archangel. The delegation from PLANT's looked relieved and surprised at the same time. The same mixture of expressions stared at him from the opposite side of the desk, but it was clear that everyone was actively listening. "If there are no objections I would like to ask you this. First of all, your reason for being here, second you mentioned project Utopia at the start of this meeting, so I would like you to tell us more about it." He allowed a tone of authority and influence to tint his voice so that everyone knew that he was being serious.
"You expect us to answer your questions just like that?" Yoshirou's voice rumbled across the room. "Information, like everything else has a price, I'm certain that you're well aware of that, mister..."
"My name is not important. What is important is that there are approximately one hundred ships stationed outside Circ-City, all crewed by men with itchy trigger fingers. And those are just our ships, since I don't know how many ships they brought." Viktor jerked his head in PLANT delegation's direction without breaking his eye contact with Yoshirou. The leader of Kisaragi tried to stare him down, but to no avail, Viktor didn't back down.
"And why should we be concerned about that?" Yoshirou let out a derisive snort. "You have no idea what we are capable of."
"It goes both ways. You have no idea what WE are capable of." Viktor said with a short, cold smile as he stared back at the arrogant bastard. However, before any more threats could be made, Leon Degalo let out a short laugh.
"Now, please, we didn't come here to threaten each other, so let's not waste the opportunity to establish advantageous connections." He paused for a moment, waiting for both men to calm down. Yoshirou muttered a curse no one could hear, but quickly regained his estimable posture, looking everywhere except at the EA delegation. Viktor simply turned his gaze towards Leon and waited.
Leon threw a quick glance at Yoshirou before continuing. "Okay. As we already told you, we have arrived from planet Utopia, located in Alpha Centauri system. The planet was chosen as an ideal location for carrying out project Utopia, since it was similar to Earth and was capable of sustaining life … By the way, bear in mind that the information we have comes from old, incomplete records and we don't know if its one hundred percent true ... Project Utopia was launched approximately one hundred eighty years ago on Earth, when several theorists predicted that the humanity will destroy itself in the near future. We all know that statements like that have been around for centuries, but this time there were people who decided to act. A massive black project, later named project Utopia, was launched. The project involved some of the greatest minds of that time and they were able to come up with a solution for the distance problem – a revolutionary FTL drive. When the ship was ready, it was loaded with resources, best technology available and genetic material from the ... best and brightest individuals." He smiled at the last words, but his face soon became serious. "The genetic material was needed because they believed that in order for humanity to have a chance we had to start from the beginning, which meant that no one was allowed to travel to Utopia. The entire ship was fully automated and was supervised by an AI known as The Controller. The ship's drive was rigged to self-destruct once it arrived at the destination and there was no information about the FTL travel technology in The Controller's database. After the arrival The Controller used the resources and technology to create Layered - the first city. About twenty years later, the next phase of the project began. The Controller set out to create the first generation of inhabitants."
"In order to avoid suffering the same fate as Earth, The Controller made sure that humanity had no reasons to resort to violence by maintaining all aspects of our lives. We led uninspired lives of promised prosperity." Yoshirou picked up the story, still trying to avoid looking at Viktor. "Although were were constantly controlled and with almost no freedom, we were happy since conflicts were almost non-existent and humanity truly lived in Utopia. This golden age lasted for more than a century, during which we achieved scientific breakthroughs previously deemed impossible. However, it soon came to an end. It was thirty years ago when strange things started to happen. Ever increasing cases of violence among the population were reported, it was soon followed by emergence of various groups or gangs, which of course sparked numerous small conflicts. Our corporations were established to maintain order and find out the cause of these incidents. Eventually it was assumed that The Controller was malfunctioning and couldn't maintain control over the population, despite our efforts to relieve The Controller's workload. However, there was a problem with this theory. The Controller had experienced malfunctions before, but it had always recovered and been able to continue its tasks. At first we believed that The Controller would repair itself and restore order, but it turned out that we were wrong."
"Seven years ago The Controller decided to terminate the project and start over." Garon continued in a low voice. "That thing expected that we would offer little resistance and would be no match for its forces, but it turned out to be the greatest miscalculation that thing had ever made. During those twenty three years of chaos and little to no contact with The Controller, we had began developing weapons. Amazing weapons. You can create all kinds of wonders with a century of unrestricted scientific achievements behind you. In the end it turned into a full scale nuclear war, which led to the destruction of The Controller. After the war was over, our corporations rallied the survivors and relocated them to Circ-City. However, despite our efforts, there was no way to rebuild our lives and for some time it seemed that we were destined to die on this station. The hope came when we discovered an unknown object near the planet six months ago. After brief examination our scientists came to a conclusion that the object was a gateway, capable of transporting an object to another system. They also suspected that the gateway was built by The Controller during the latter years of the war. We had no idea why it was built or where it led, but one thing was certain, humanity had no future on Utopia. Therefore it was decided to gather all of the remaining resources and survivors and travel trough the gateway. Finally, about two weeks ago we arrived not far from Earth. I guess that roughly explains what happened to us." Garon concluded. His last words echoed across the room and eventually died down as silence took hold of the room. Almost everyone from PLANT and EA delegations was speechless as they tried to comprehend what they had just heard.
No one had said a single word by the time Leon remembered the first question. "As for our intentions, I guess you all probably have a good guess about them. Despite what some of us say, we are in no condition and neither do we want to cause any problems. Especially since our main generators stopped working for unknown reasons a few days ago." He ignored the glares Yoshirou and Garon were giving him, when he mentioned the power supply problems Circ-City was experiencing. "I'm not afraid to ask for help, after all, our resources are limited and you definitely have the advantage of home ground. Besides, I'm certain that we can work out a deal or something like that." Leon looked at both delegations almost pleadingly while Yoshirou was practically fuming from anger and Garon had returned to his emotionless state.
"Well … um, yes … I'm sure that we can come to an agreement." Timothy Dyle was the first to regain his voice. He was making quick notes at the same time, trying to put down the most important parts of the story he'd just heard. "But may I suggest, that we should go over our scheduled meeting list one more time."
xxxxx
"Well, well. This meeting definitely was interesting. I had no idea that something like that was going on. Makes you wonder what else our ancestors have done?" Rau mused, waiting for the elevator doors to close so that he could return to Socrates. "Although that story still left a lot of questions unanswered."
"Yes, I agree." Lee ruffled his hair once again. "They did answer our questions, but somehow I get the feeling that they're not telling us everything." He added in a thoughtful voice. The elevator doors closed and both men began their travel downwards to the docking level. Everyone had agreed to take a short brake, but Rau and Lee had had enough for one day. Therefore they had decided to return to the ship and get some rest. "Everything sounds so simple that it's almost suspicious."
Rau glanced at his partner. "Maybe they're being honest. After all that man did say that their information comes from old records and might be unreliable."
"Yes, if we're talking about the early phase of the project, but not the war. For crying out loud, they witnessed that war for themselves! There is no way, that I'll believe that they have no idea what caused that war in the first place." Lee paused for a moment when he recalled the sudden event during the meeting. "But there is something else that bothers me."
"That man in the Alliance delegation?" Rau shared the same thoughts. "Do you know anything about him?"
"No. And that brings up a lot of questions to which I have only few answers. First, we know something about almost every high-ranking officer in the Alliance military and if he is influential enough to be one of the leaders of this delegation ZAMI should have at a file on him somewhere, but we don't. Second, if he's new, we would have noticed someone being promoted into such a responsible position and would have obtained some info about him. Finally, there is only one military branch we have almost no information about."
"Military intelligence. So, you're saying that he is an intelligence officer?"
"Precisely. There's more. Can you think of a reason why an intelligence officer should be put in charge of a diplomatic mission?"
"Because he has a great deal of information regarding that mission." It didn't take long to put two and two together. "That means he's the one who informed the President of the Atlantic Federation about Circ-City." Rau could barely hold back his smile. It was a wonderful feeling when everything fell in its place. All they had to do was to wait until the informant revealed himself. Sometimes it's so easy it scares me. Now, all we have to do is to find out who exactly our friend is and where he got his information from. "Now that we know what he looks like, I don't think there will be problems finding out who he is and where he's getting his information from." Lee nodded assent. He was already trying to come up with a plan that would help solve this little problem, but he didn't say a word to Rau. After all they still had their rivalry to maintain.
"That's strange. I thought the docking level was further down." Rau said when both men felt the elevator slowing down and eventually coming to a halt.
"Maybe someone else needs to use the elevator." Lee guessed nervously. Why would someone be wanting to use an elevator reserved for PLANT delegation members only? He took a step back, deeper into the elevator and further away from the doors. Rau, however, remained where he stood and observed the doors with genuine curiosity. They didn't have to wait for long. The doors slid open and Lee let out a startled gasp.
There were three people standing outside. All clad in something between a suit of armor and a pilot's jumpsuit. Their faces were hidden behind polarized visors that helped conceal their identities. Fortunately they seemed to carry no weapons, at least until Lee noticed the handgun holsters on their hips. For a moment they just stood and looked at the two people inside the elevator as if judging them. After what felt like an eternity the one in front, apparently the one in charge spoke. "Do not worry. We just want to talk." Lee felt a cold shiver crawl up his spine. The voice was almost like a lifeless whisper … voiceless, for a lack of a better term. Though he was quick to realize that it was probably achieved by some sort of a device to further increase the secrecy. Lee had no idea whether the person he'd just heard talking was a man or a woman. The suit also did a good job of hiding the clues about its wearer's gender.
The elevator doors pinged and began to close, only to be stopped when the person pushed them open again and entered the elevator. His or her companions also stepped inside. "We just want to talk." The man repeated, at least Lee though he was a man, since he couldn't imagine a woman being so persistent.
"Well, I'm not exactly spoiled for choice, so I'm listening." Rau replied calmly. He showed no signs of being bothered or surprised about the sudden guest's appearance. Must be the mask thing. Lee managed a quick thought.
"The corporations are not telling you everything. They are lying and telling the truth at the same time. I recommend that you be careful with them."
"And I presume that you will tell me the truth, but then again, how can I be sure that you're not the one lying?" Rau shot back. The person tilted his head and seemed to be considering his answer. Meanwhile, the elevator closed again and began moving again.
"Yes, how can you …" The person laughed. "But I'm not here to talk about the corporations and their stories. The truth is meant for you to find ... I have come today as a representative of a unusual organization, or rather, a faction. One that offers certain services … for a price."
"What kind of services would those be?"
The person stared for longer than seemed necessary before answering. "Tell me, have you ever heard something about Ravens?"
xxxxx
"Hey, Tony, you can't smoke in here!" One of the ZAFT guards who had been ordered to guard the entry to the Socrates said, when his comrade flopped down on a nearby crate and lit a cigarette. The second guard just waved it off.
"Calm down Jason. Do you even see a "No Smoking" sign here?" Jason looked around and was forced to admit that there weren't any signs prohibiting his friend's unhealthy habit. "Still, I don't thinks it's a good idea." He felt as if they were being watched. The poorly lit hall whose lights only served to illuminate a narrow path towards the elevators, leaving the rest of the area in darkness, only increased his worries.
"Oh, shut the fuck up! All you do is worry about every little thing." Tony blew a could of smoke in Jason's direction. "If someone has a problem with me smoking here, then they're welcome to come and make me stop." Then, as if Tony's words contained an incredibly powerful magic, they heard a hatch opening and then closing somewhere nearby.
"What the fuck was that!?" Jason frantically searched for the source of the sound, but he couldn't see a darn thing, at least until he spotted a tiny light some distance away. He also picked up a faint sound of metallic clinks that were getting closer and closer. "Hey, do you see that?" He whispered to Tony and slowly pulled out his gun. Technically they were supposed to avoid any confrontations, but neither one of them felt like taking chances. Especially after spending several hours in this creepy place.
Tony followed his partner's example and drew his sidearm as well. "Who's there!" He called out in the darkness, but no answer came. The light was about ten meters away and they realized that the metallic sound was made by footsteps. "Answer or we will shoot."
"I am here! Don't shoot!" A startled voice answered him. "Is that a good enough answer?" Both soldiers saw a boy stepping out of the darkness, carrying a small flashlight. "I just have to take care of some things."
"What the hell are you doing here?"
"Calm down. I already told you, there are a couple of things I have to do." Jack replied and turned off the flashlight. He began reaching inside his coat to put it away, but stopped when both men aimed their guns at his face. "Whoa, don't shoot! Don't shoot! I just want to put this thing away ... okay? ... There. You see, no need to get jumpy. Now, could you please let me pass?" Jack straightened his coat and proceeded towards the hatch leading to the Socrates. He had to stop when Tony stepped in his way, gun still aimed at Jack.
"And where are you going, huh? That place is currently off-limits for you." Jack tried to walk around him, but Tony grabbed the shorter boy by the shoulder. "Hey, are you deaf? I said there is nothing for you on that ship." Jack looked at the hand on his shoulder, at the gun and finally his eyes settled on Tony's face.
"Can't we all be friendly and nice to each other? I mean Circ-City will probably be your friends anyway, so why can't you let me go and have a look around your ship?"
"Because we were told to make sure that no unauthorized people enter the ship." Jason explained and moved to cover the path between Jack and the hatch. "Now, leave, before you get in trouble." Jack stared at them and then seemed to relax and for a moment both ZAFT guards thought that the boy would leave, but it all changed in a flash.
The sound of the elevator doors opening was like a starting signal for Jack. With a sudden, almost lightning quick move, he smacked Tony's hand off his shoulder and bolted towards Jason, towards the hatch. Jason's first thought was to issue a warning, but his training took over and he settled for a more permanent solution. He aimed at the boy's leg and fired, only to realize that he had missed. Jack had jumped aside scant milliseconds before Jason had pulled the trigger, by the time Jason had recovered from the surprise of missing a target only four meters away, Jack was already next to him. The road looked clear, but then Tony caught up with him and put a stop on his plan. The intervention tool the form of a strong kick to Jack's legs, which caused him to trip and land face-first onto the hard floor. However, he didn't remain there for long. Angry because of the humiliation he rolled on his back and quickly got up, this time looking for blood. Before Jack managed to attack or either of ZAFT guards to put the boy down for good, an armored figure passed them so quickly they barely noticed it. Jack, however did notice it, in more than one way, especially when the figure tackled him to the ground.
"What is going on here?" Rau's calm, but authoritative voice startled both guards, who were busy observing the struggle on the ground. Tony and Jason turned around and saw Rau Le Creuset and Lee Dexus, accompanied by a pair of two figures, also sporting the same outfit as the third one.
"Well, we ..." Jason began, but stopped when a girl's shriek from behind interrupted him.
Jack had managed to get on top of his opponent and was currently straddling her. His left hand was holding the girl's wrists and pinned them to the ground above the girl's head, while the right hand held a long knife, already rised for the killing blow. Fortunately the girl was saved, when one of her companions grabbed Jack's wrist and wrapped his other arm around Jack's neck, holding him in a chokehold. Jack tried to struggle, but he didn't have the leverage and was inexorably pulled off his victim. The whole fight ended when the girl's legs were free and she used one of them to kick Jack squarely in the face, knocking him out cold.
"What the hell! I told you to guard the hatch and not make any trouble!" Lee masked his nervousness by yelling at the guards. He felt slightly unsettled by the girl's shriek. Apparently the device, which disguised the voices of these ... Ravens, only worked to a certain degree. He spared a quick glance at the unconscious boy and then looked back at their mysterious informant who simply shrugged as if something like this was completely usual.
"Don't worry sir. This incident doesn't affect anything on our part. Although I must apologize, even though this area is supposed to be off-limits, Jack has always shown a certain negligence towards rules." He looked at the unconscious troublemaker as well. "Get that bastard away from here!" He ordered both Ravens, who began dragging the limp body towards the elevators.
"I see." Lee made his usual gesture involving his hair. "I see, well, if no harm is done, then I guess everything is fine. As for your offer, we will have to think about it, before making any decisions."
"Do as you like. After all we're not going anywhere." The Raven replied and managed what sounded like a short chuckle. "As for now, I must go and take care of our sleeping friend."
Rau waited until the man was out of earshot. "Mercenaries ... they might prove useful in solving some problems we've been experiencing lately."
"What are you talking about?"
"Nothing, Lee. Just talking to myself." Rau smiled one of his enigmatic smiles and walked towards the hatch.
A/N - There. The main AC universe introduction chapter is done. Sorry about the long dialogues, but there was nothing else I could do. I'm sure that some of you recognize that I used the same "ancient colony project" way of converging both universes in Another War story. Honestly, I tried to come up with another reason, but this was the only method I could think of.
Also, I would like you all to meet Jack Terossa. I'll be a little spoilerish and reveal that this guy will be one of the main OCs, so please get used to him.