Gundam SEED: Destiny Falling
By: Shadow Chaser
A Sequel to Entropy Rising
Phase Twelve – The Labyrinth Called Politics
Onogoro Island, Orb
Repair crews were already swarming over the Minerva as Athrun entered into its hanger bay. He saw the ship's own technicians hastily patching up the two Zakus of both Flight Officer Hawke and Lieutenant (jg) Za Burrel. On the opposite side of the hanger bay, the glaringly obvious signs of the missing Savior and Impulse remained and he noticed that many of the crew avoided looking at the particular spot where the two Gundams would have sat.
He sympathized with the crew's thoughts, having felt the same way when Nicol had died, but at least this time, there was still some hope of rescue for Shinn. Granted he did not very high thoughts of the brash young pilot, especially since he completely went insane on the battlefield and attacked Kira in Berlin, but he did respect his skills. Shinn had a natural instinct that Athrun had faintly recognized. It was similar to Kira's fighting style, but with a lot more physical combat involved.
In Berlin, while, he had been fighting off waves of Serpent units, he had seen Shinn smash apart the forces that were attempting to harass the Minerva with nothing more than his bare hands and improvised weaponry when the Impulse's own weaponry ran low. But to see such brutality unleashed upon the Freedom, it had shocked him and it was probably one of the surprising factors that contributed to him being unable to stop Shinn from nearly pulverizing Kira's Gundam.
"S-Sir…" a small timid voice spoke up behind him and Athrun turned to see Vino Dupre, one of the technicians staring at him, a sad expression on his face.
"What is it?" he asked, wondering what had gotten into the tech. It was then that he realized he had been staring at the empty spot where the Impulse usually sat, something all of the others had been avoiding.
"Commander Zala, sir, I…wanted to apologize on Shinn's behalf for attacking the Freedom," Vino suddenly spilled out, bowing his head slightly and Athrun blinked in surprise. This was new…he didn't know that Shinn had been really good friends with the tech. Usually it was an unspoken word between pilots and tech that they avoided each other whenever they were not assigned to repair the machines together. Granted each considered the other comrades, but usually techs were NCOs and Academy officers didn't really fraternize with non-commissioned officers.
"I know you tried to stop him, I don't know what came over Shinn to do something like that-"
Athrun placed a hand on Vino's shoulder to stop the young tech from babbling, "Your concerns are noted and we will find him. Don't lose hope." He gave what he hoped was a reassuring smile to the tech before lifting his hand off of his shoulder. "Now, do you know if Captain Gladys is on the bridge?"
"N-No sir," Vino shook his head, looking a lot better, "she is probably in her office."
"Thanks," he said before heading away towards the inner confines of the warship. As he threaded his way towards Captain Gladys' office, he could see that morale was low and recognized what he had failed to see in the trip between rendezvousing with the Minerva and arriving at Berlin that Shinn really had a presence within the ship. It also didn't help that they had lost the battle against Blue Cosmos, but it seemed like everyone's spirits was somewhat low.
He hoped the news that he gave to Captain Gladys would at least be able to bring some of that fighting spirit back. He knew that he would have to clear it with the Chairman since technically the Minerva was under his direct command; it was still protocol to at least let the Supreme Chairman where he was taking the ship.
He arrived at Talia's office door and knocked. Her muffled command of enter was followed by the door sliding open and he stepped in. "Excuse me," he said as he noticed both Lunamaria and Rey were standing in front of her desk, apparently in mid-discussion. The door slid close behind him and he cleared his throat. "If this is a bad time…"
"No, its okay, we were just deciding what our next move should be after we head back to Carpentaria," Athrun noted that she looked exhausted. Granted all of them were exhausted from the battle, but it looked like she had not even at least attempt to get some sleep in between limping from Berlin to Orb.
"Lacus will be proposing to the rest of the Orb Council and the Earth Senate for additional ships to join the LF to assault Rodina," Athrun said, "I will have to clear it with Chairman Dullindal first, but I would like the Minerva to also participate." He let a small smile appear on his face as he saw the brightened expressions appear on both Lunamaria and Captain Gladys' faces. However, Rey kept his stoic expression and only nodded once.
"It is good news, but how do we know that the information that was transmitted to all the ships warrant Rodina to be accurate?" Talia asked, lacing her fingers together and resting her chin on it.
"I've checked with our sources and they say that it is a good chance that is where both the pilot of the Freedom and Flight Officer Asuka were taken," Athrun was careful not to mention Kira's name.
"Hey…who is the pilot of the Freedom, I mean; I've never seen Shinn snap like that," Lunamaria suddenly asked and Athrun stiffened a bit.
"Shinn told me that his parents were killed by the Freedom during the battle for Orb three years ago," Rey suddenly spoke up quietly and Athrun blinked in surprise. That was news and it wasn't listed on Shinn's personnel file. It only listed that he was a citizen of Orb until he evacuated the country during the war then listed him as a citizen of Marius Eight.
"I'm…not at liberty to say," was the only diplomatic thing Athrun could say, knowing that all of the people in the room probably harbored resentment towards whoever had stolen the Freedom since it was technically a ZAFT suit.
"Maybe Shinn also had orders to take the Freedom back?" the red-headed girl shrugged.
"Flight Officer Hawke!" Talia's tone was serious and he watched as Lunamaria immediately shut up and stood at attention.
"Sorry ma'am," the junior officer said, "I was out of line."
"I apologize, Commander," Talia looked at him and he nodded, accepting her apology, "please note that we mean the LF no harm nor would ever think about recovering the Freedom or the Justice. PLANT has acknowledged that they rightfully belong to the peacekeeping force under your fiancée's jurisdiction."
"No harm done," he said just as her comm. beeped and she pressed a button to answer it.
"Gladys here."
"Captain, we have Chairman Dullindal on the line. He requests that you and Lieutenant Commander Zala be there to answer it. Is Commander Zala there?" the electronically tinned voice of Arthur Trine, second-in-command of the ship spoke.
"He is, please put it through," Talia looked at him and he shrugged, not knowing why Dullindal would call him now.
There was a few seconds of silence before Dullindal's image popped up on the view screen across from Talia's desk. Athrun noted that the man looked a bit tired, fatigue lining the corners of his eyes, but smiled at them in a greeting. Behind him he could still see the myriad of monitors that blared different programming.
"I'm glad to see that the Minerva survived Berlin. My condolences on the loss of the Impulse and his pilot," Dullindal bowed his head slightly before tapping a few things off the screen, "I've received your messages Captain and would like to know how you came by the location of Rodina. As far as my sources know, it is a wasteland, nothing exists, only a few irradiated spots where the N-Jammers weren't able to disable to nuclear waste out there."
"The LF's sources claim that it is the most possible spot where both the pilots of the Freedom and the Impulse were taken, along with Princess Cagalli," Athrun replied, "I would like the Minerva to participate in the task forces that will be heading out there in a few days."
"Did Admiral Ramius ask this?" Dullindal looked surprised.
"No sir," Athrun replied, "but given the fact that the Impulse's berth is with the Minerva, it would seem prudent for the ship to continue its mission to rescue one of its pilots."
"That's odd," Dullindal looked off screen for a second before turning back, "because my sources are claiming that the Princess may be held somewhere in the vicinity of the remnants of what was JOSH-A, where nothing could penetrate the area as to Rodina. According to the map I'm seeing, Rodina is a very small village with a population of only less than four hundred."
Athrun raised an eyebrow. He wanted to tell Dullindal that his sources were wrong and it was Rodina where Kira, Cagalli, and Shinn were held, but it meant proving the Chairman that he was wrong and he did not want to say that Kanoko was a former scientist of Blue Cosmos. He also didn't have the clearance to publicly say that the Chairman was wrong, especially since he was wearing the FAITH pin.
"Regardless," Dullindal continued, "I would have to decline the use of the Minerva because she is due back for a massive upgrade and since it seems that Blue Cosmos is on the move again, this upgrade would be very useful. I'm sorry Commander, you'll have to let Admiral Ramius or even Lacus Clyne know that the Minerva will not be able to participate in the mission."
"Sir-"
"Captain, those are my orders," Dullindal shook his head at Talia's protest.
"Yes sir," she replied, pursing her lips.
"Then I request permission to stay on Earth. My first and foremost mission is to search for the Princess. If Rodina is where the Princess is located, then I will go."
"Permission denied."
"What?!" Athrun looked shocked. "Chairman Dullindal-"
"Need I remind you of the pin you are wearing, Commander?"
"No sir," Athrun clenched a fist in frustration, "may I ask why sir?"
Dullindal suddenly looked very tired and reluctantly brought up a small screen on the corner of their communication window. "We've intercepted this before it could be spread to the media, but there is a good chance the media may have already gotten it." He tapped a few buttons off screen and the grainy image started to play.
"Did they agree?"
"They were nervous, but I reassured them that the LF wouldn't use the weapons without clear provocation."
"I think after Berlin, that's pretty clear provocation. I'll let Ramius know we have a go."
"The sacrifices of a few to save millions?"
"Those Naturals are already dying. The only way to stop this plague is to kill the areas infected. Sterilization isn't pretty, but it must be done."
"For our fathers and for the future."
"Hold on…someone's watching-"
Athrun heard the sound of a gunshot before the video fizzled to static and couldn't keep his jaw from dropping open in shock and horror at what he had seen. He barely noticed the shocked expression on Lunamaria's face while both Rey and Talia were trying to their best to keep their expressions neutral.
"That isn't me," he leveled the Chairman with as steady of a gaze as possible. He had instantly recognized his doppelganger, the one who had been piloting the Dendrobium Orchis. However, whoever they had to play the part of Lacus looked eerily like her. He could see the little differences between the look-alike and Lacus, but knew that to anyone who saw her, they would instantly think that she was Lacus.
"It would seem that way, but if this spreads, it would be hard to control the damage, especially since you and Representative Clyne are so well known. This is also one of the reasons why I would like you back up here. I know your priority is to look for the Princess, but if this breaks while you are attacking Rodina, I cannot help you or Representative Clyne."
"How did you come by it?" he asked, curious.
"Not on an open channel," Dullindal looked worried before glancing off the screen and nodding to someone before turning back to them, "you have your orders. Dullindal out."
The communication abruptly cut off, leaving Athrun frowning. A part of him wanted to defy Dullindal's orders and just head to Rodina where he knew that it was more a chance to find Cagalli and Kira than at the remnants of JOSH-A. But the other part was worried about the fallout from the footage that Dullindal had just shown them. He couldn't come out and say that the person in the video was an imposter, that someone was framing him. He needed proof, but he couldn't risk exposing Lacus or himself to the public like that. Not when he and the others had discussed the possibility that someone was after him and Lacus.
He glanced down at his FAITH pin and gritted his teeth. He could only hope that when he did return to Earth, he would at least help clean up whatever was left of Rodina because there was no way he was going to answer to Dullindal anymore.
Not when he was sure that Cagalli and Kira were at Rodina.
Debris Belt Orbiting Earth
Yzak Joule sighed and suppressed the urge to cough as he shut off a small personal communicator that he was holding in his hand. He had received a narrow-beam text-only message from Lacus a few hours ago and had only just finished communicating her request to his person inside Blue Cosmos.
He didn't like the idea of revealing an insider's location until he felt the insider was ready. This was too hasty, too rushed in his opinion. Even though he heard the news of the Freedom's pilot being captured he still thought it was too rushed. He had wanted to caution Lacus against making any rash decisions, but he knew that she would not really listen to his cautions. She was too focused on the pilot of the Freedom and he knew Athrun felt the same way.
If he had to make personnel decisions he would never have let Kira Yamato ever pilot the Freedom again. Granted the Coordinator's abilities far exceeded his own and he was very powerful in his own right, he was still too attached to both Athrun and Lacus, both whom were in leadership positions.
One prisoner he knew his agent could rescue, but two? That was asking almost the impossible. He didn't know what condition Yamato was in, but at least the Princess was up and mobile.
He finally expelled the cough that had been sitting in his chest and was mildly disturbed to hear his breath wheeze from the effort. Shaking his head, he secretly wanted to kill whichever personnel had brought the sickness on board from his or her last shore leave. Coordinators rarely, if at all, got sick. Whoever brought this on board the ship must have only recently recovered. At least it was only a cough. Dearka and some of the others crew members had sniffles.
The thought about his best friend made him stiffen slightly. He had originally been shocked to find out that Yamato had been Athrun's best friend, childhood friend even, which had only fueled his hatred against the pilot even more since he killed Nicol. It had also questioned Athrun's willingness to kill Yamato during the war. But judging on the actions Athrun had taken with the Aegis, he was sure of his ex-teammate's actions. But if Yamato was Athrun's best friend and he was rushing headlong into the fire, would he do the same if Dearka were in the same position?
No…he realized. Yes, he would have probably gone a bit spare at the prospect, but there was a part of him that still couldn't exactly forgive Dearka for betraying him and joining up with the rogue ships of the Clyne Faction during the war. He understood Dearka's reasoning now, but he knew that deep down, he still could not believe it. He knew his priorities and that was what separated him from Athrun.
"Did you eat a lemon?" Dearka's wiry voice greeted him from the doorway to his office and he looked up to see him smirking at him.
"Shut up," he shot back before putting the communicator away in his pocket. "Status?"
"Your face was all scrunched up, so I figured you must have eaten a lemon. Anyways, Dullindal wants us to escort the Minerva to Aprilius One when she reaches orbit. Apparently she's heavily damaged. The LF is trying to fix her up halfway, but it looks like they're devoting most of their resources into fixing the other warships so they can attack some place called Rodina," Dearka replied.
Yzak nodded; he had not told Dearka about his agent within Blue Cosmos nor would he ever tell anyone about his other agents hidden in different hot spots and zones. It was between him and Lacus. It was also a precaution against Dearka because he was currently under close watch by the other members of the ship, some of whom he knew reported directly back to Chairman Dullindal as the man's own spies.
When his friend had asked him if he could join up with the Clyne Faction, part of the reasons needing to be away from his ex-girlfriend or something, his influence had barely gotten Dearka back into ZAFT and FAITH. The other reason was that he had not been able to see his parents since the war and Yzak knew that he missed them terribly.
He noticed that Dearka had a slightly pained expression beneath his smirk, and narrowed his eyes a bit. Surely he didn't miss his parents now? He would have laughed in the face of that if it didn't send him into a coughing fit. "You're not worried about Rodina…"
"Well…" Dearka looked down for a second, his smirk dissolving into a worried expression before staring up at him again. "I just found out that Miri was at Berlin…her sister station was there and she was sent out to cover it…"
Yzak waited patiently for him to continue. He knew that he had changed since the war, gone was the impatience and yelling, even though he was occasionally prone to do such things at times, but ever since he had gotten command of his ships, it had taught him the value of just patiently waiting out certain things.
"I think she's all right, but she hasn't been answering any of my calls…"
Yzak mentally sighed. Now he wanted to yell at his best friend, tell him that Miriallia Haw was his ex-girlfriend, not present girlfriend. Why Dearka was still holding a torch for her was beyond him, but he did know that he was worried for her health and safety, especially in light of a nuclear explosion that should have been prevented with the N-Jammer Cancellers all around the Earth. It meant that Blue Cosmos had somehow neutralized the PLANT-made technology.
He sighed, suppressing the urge to cough again and tapped his chest lightly to get rid of the feeling. The effort was for naught as it just made him clear his throat. "After we escort the Minerva, I'll sign off on shore-leave for you to head down to Earth, all right?"
He looked up to see a grin on Dearka's face before his best friend quipped, "How about you? You look like you can use some R&R."
Yzak snorted in derision. "I like it up here in space."
"Whatever," his best friend laughed before heading out the door, leaving him in the quiet peace once more.
Onogoro Island, Orb
Lacus walked next to Murrue as they headed towards the Earth Senate building, having finished briefing the Orb Council a few hours ago. The Orb Council had given their approval for the assault on Rodina and now they needed to convince the Earth Senate. The only other thing she needed was at least a layout of the surrounding area and perhaps compound that hopefully Yzak's agent would be able to get to her within a week. She knew it was a risky thing to ask, but they needed to act quickly.
She had no doubts that Rodina was probably a trap for the LF since the location did come from the pilot of the Dendrobium, but the more information they had about the place, the more opportunities they would have to evade the trap. Murrue had already given her the estimates for full repairs on the Archangel and Kusanagi to be about a week, which was enough time to recall some of the other LF ships that weren't on highly sensitive patrols in both the Earth and in space.
"Haro! Myta!" Pink-chan suddenly burbled from where he sat in her hands, a reassuring and comforting presence. She had been carrying him in the folds of her dress, but had muted him so he could not make a fuss during the briefing. She knew Tori was with Kira's mother, having been entrusted to her safe care while they had gone to Moscow. She let Pink-chan drop to the floor where it began to bounce and follow her.
"I am surprised that your Haro has kept quiet all this time," Murrue smiled at Pink-chan's antics.
"Pink-chan is a reassuring presence," Lacus replied, "plus he is quite useful."
"I have no doubt of that," she replied before sighing, "It was hard trying to convince the Council. It will be harder to convince the Senate."
"It will be, but we must ask their permission before bringing ships into an area that had no reports of conflict. You know as well as I do that if we don't, all that the Liberation Forces stand for will be for naught. We would only be looked as invaders instead of peacekeepers," Lacus replied in a firm tone.
Murrue was silent for a few minutes and Lacus knew what the woman was thinking. It mirrored her own thoughts, more frequently now than in the past year. She knew that many in the Earth Senate looked at the LF as invaders and wanted the neutral force to stop poking around in its affairs, yet when a conflict arose; they expected the LF to step up and do their duty.
Political perspective placed so much on her shoulders and that of Cagalli's that it was a miracle that the two of them were able to weather so much. Military pressure was solely on Murrue's shoulders as she bore the brunt of the Archangel as the flagship and the fact that OMNI considered her a traitor and a defector. Given the chance, they wouldn't hesitate to court martial her for desertion during wartime and for other charges pertaining to the battle of Jachin Due.
The only thing that stopped them was the military might of Orb, the political influences of her and Cagalli, and the fact that no ships currently in its fleet save for perhaps the Minerva would be able to successfully shoot down the Archangel without incurring severe losses.
"How is Prayer?" she finally spoke up quietly.
She smiled and nodded once, "He is well. Dr. Yamato was able to stabilize him."
"Do you know what happened to him? All I know was that he was in a lot of pain and it looked like he was having a heart attack…"
"I was told that he had a rare genetic condition. It stresses his body at times and while Dr. Yamato didn't tell me anything, I think it could be due to an enlarged heart or something similar," she neatly side-stepped the real reason behind Prayer's condition.
"That's odd…he came highly recommended by Reverend Malachio and he didn't mention anything about a genetic condition… Maybe I should take him off of flight duty…" Murrue pursed her lips at the thought, "but we do need him if we're going to Rodina…"
Lacus left her to her thoughts as she held out her hand and Pink-chan hopped into it. She pushed a few minute buttons on Pink-chan before he fell silent and she slipped him back into the folds of her dress as they approached the doors to the Senate Hall.
"Ma'am, they are ready for you," an aide standing by the door spoke up and she bowed her head slightly in acknowledgment. She mentally took a deep breath before the doors opened up and she stepped into the arena.
The hall was large and spacious, most of it rebuilt after the horrific explosions that had destroyed nearly half of the building in Griever's attack. Windows adorned the area, letting the bright natural sunlight filter in and it gave the hall a pleasant feeling, but that pleasantry died quickly with the expressions on most of the Senators' faces.
A podium stood in the middle of the hall and behind the podium and against the walls were seats, some filled with guest dignitaries that had been visiting at the time, but she noticed one particular one that was absent. It was where Cagalli used to sit during the sessions, a quick walk away from manning the podium to quell shouting matches or heated debates that would normally break out from the theatre.
Lacus noticed her own seat in the front rows of the Senate and smiled a bit at the person occupying the seat next to hers. Yuri Aaron Amalfi had only be recently reinstated to his position as co-representatives of PLANT, having been cleared of all charges related to the Talon Incident in a full investigation by OMNI, LF, and ZAFT. He was a welcomed sight to which she knew would be a hectic battle to convince the rest of the Earth Senators to agree to the LF's plan.
Curiously, she noticed that Rosalie Ingriss, one of the many representatives of the Eurasian Federation was missing. She sincerely hoped the woman was not missing or amongst the dead after Blue Cosmos attacked Moscow. She had hoped to count on the fiery woman's support, but would have to make do without her presence.
She stepped up to the podium, noting that Murrue stood beside the podium at strict attention. "Honorable ladies and gentlemen of the Senate, I, Lacus Clyne, come before you during these turbulent times. As you have seen in the news and through the reports by your fellow countrymen, individuals claiming to be part of Blue Cosmos have attacked your cities and towns." She was careful to mention that it wasn't Blue Cosmos outright, only because she knew from experience that placing the blame on any one group was sure to rile up another and they still didn't have the solid proof needed in order to convince the Senate that it was truly Blue Cosmos.
"The Liberation Forces have been investigating these attacks and rumors for some time. While we were unable to prevent some damage from being done, we have turned up a location we would like to investigate. My sources and Admiral Ramius' sources have asked that we look into a location known as Rodina in Siberia," Lacus paused in her speech as she heard whispers immediately flare up from the theatre and gallery before her.
She risked a quick look at Yuri and saw him raise an eyebrow at her and she nodded. Though the Amalfi family was at least three times removed from being Earth transplants, their family history was rooted deep within the Eurasian Federation and what was once Russia.
She took a quick short breath and steeled herself, "We believe that the source of the virus that has been infecting the citizens of Earth is within Rodina and we intended to neutralize the threat."
"You're going to blow up the cure?!" one of the Senators suddenly shouted and a few others around him voiced their agreement.
Lacus held up a hand, "I did not say we were going to destroy the cure. I said we were going to neutralize the threat. We believe that a cure may be found within Rodina and intended to mass produce it and share it with everyone."
"But Siberia is nothing but a wasteland! It's so radioactive and hot from the war that not even the N-Jammers planted there are having an effect!" a female senator shouted, barely holding in the contempt when she emphasized her words.
"It is also the perfect place to hide such a creation," Lacus replied coolly.
"Then why not JOSH-A? Those bastards blew up half of the forces there! Admiral Ramius said so herself that there was a Cyclops system hidden in there! Perfect place for the stupid Atlantic Federation Blue Cosmos to hide out-"
"Not all of us are Blue Cosmos supporters you idiot!"
"How dare you-"
"JOSH-A is barren! Nothing can survive there! If there was a settlement there, no food would exist-"
"Water's so polluted-"
"You think those idiots would even hide in Siberia then attack Moscow?!"
"My city burned because of it!"
"Yeah? Well my people are dying!"
Lacus shook her head at the war of words between some of the senators. She knew the bickering would start soon enough and tapped the gavel on the podium firmly to call them back to order. How Cagalli managed the Senate day in and day out gave her a new healthy respect for Kira's sister.
"With respect to the Atlantic Federation representatives, but Senator Chung is correct. Whatever is left of JOSH-A would be uninhabitable and unsustainable for life for the next few hundred of years. If such a settlement existed, then supplies would have to be brought in on a daily basis and radiation sickness would prevail," Lacus said, "the LF only asks for permission to investigate Rodina."
"And what happens if it ends up like Berlin?" the voice that spoke up startled her and she gave a curious look to Yuri who stood up. Even the rest of the Senate had immediately stopped whispering at Amalfi's question.
"The tragedy that occurred in Berlin is my fault," Murrue suddenly spoke up from her side and stepped forward, "we were woefully unprepared to meet such a force. We did not realize that they had prepared so much in advance thus we believe that striking at them now will nip it in the bud."
"You still have their mobile suits to deal with," another senator spoke up as Yuri sat down, satisfied with Murrue's answer.
"This is why I am asking for the Senate's permission to include ZAFT built ships on this mission," Lacus continued, "I understand the hesitation to allow my people's ships on your soil, but it will lessen the strain your forces have to deal with."
"What about your armaments deal that you made with Ingriss? To supply ZAFT ships with more firepower than even the Archangel?" the same senator asked and Lacus frowned. This was something she had not expected, yet she knew she should have expected.
"I have agreed to no such deal," she stated in a simple tone, "what was shown on ESNN was nothing more than a doctored video. One of our allies at the Junk Guild can attest and swear to that fact. Senator Ingriss and her colleagues invited me to Moscow to discuss finding a cure to the plague."
"We will have to verify that claim, Representative Clyne," one of the senior senators spoke up and she nodded, hoping that Lowe would be able to forgive her for putting him on the spot.
She wondered if Canard would be able to provide some testimony since he seemed to know a lot more about doctoring footage or even the camera that had captured her meeting with Senator Ingriss and the others in Moscow.
"In the meantime, we will consider your proposal and since you claim this is urgent, get back to you within a week. Please notify this person in the Junk Guild that he or she is to appear before us tomorrow," the senator nodded to her and she bowed her head slightly.
"Thank you. I await your verdict," she looked at them for a second before heading away from the podium and out the door, Murrue following behind her. Now they could only hope that the Senate would agree to let the LF ships through.
Author's Notes:
Next chapter is back to Kira and Rodina. Heh. My writing streak is starting to die a little bit so the next chapter may not come out on the weekly basis I've been trying to write at. But hopefully it will. We'll see. Again, please review!