A/N: I'm really sorry for keeping this story hanging for two whole months. I was having a major writer's block for this story plus the amount of assignment I was given the past few months causes me my precious writing time. I am really sorry again for this late update. I will try my best to update all of my stories from now on. (Bow again and again) I'm truly sorry!!! I want to dedicate this chapter to all my readers out there. Even though there's no review in, I know that there are still readers out there that are still reading this story. So I want to thank all of you. Hope you will like it.
Summary: Someone is planning for new war but its target was neither the Naturals not the Coordinators. Their target is the Nation of Orb, its ideals and those who wish to protect that country and peace. Will our heroes able to stop this war from coming true and who are the two new characters? What is their relationship with our heroes?
Main Paring: Athrun x Cagalli, Kira x Lacus.
Other Paring: Shinn x Lunamaria, Dearka x Miriallia, more paring coming up…
Disclaimers: I do not own GS or GSD.
Chapter 13
The PLANTs, Armory One
Voltaire's commander's quarters
The masked person smirked some more and said, "Getting into this ship is as easy as getting into that stupid councilman's manor. And I see that you have shared my offer with one of your subordinator, commander. So, what do you say?"
Dearka gasped. "You're … the Serpent?"
"No Dearka. The Serpent is just her codename. Her true identity is Lieutenant Elaine Crawford?" Yzak asked confidently, as he narrowed his eyes to a glare point.
Both Dearka and Shiho gasped in surprised and look at the masked person.
The masked person smirked and took off her mask. "You are still as sharp as they say Commander Joule", Elaine said with an innocent smile.
"Elaine? But how- Why?" Shiho asked looking at the smoky-grey hair female over her shoulder.
"Elaine, let Shiho go and we can talk this through", Dearka said in a calm tone. He gave Yzak a look for help but the silver hair commander seems to be really calm on this matter. "We need some helping hand here Yzak. Say something or Shiho is a goner", he hissed in a low voice.
Yzak grin and said, "Go ahead! You can do whatever you want with her Serpent".
"Yzak!!!?" both Dearka and Shiho exclaimed and were shocked to hear what Yzak had just said.
Elaine on the other hand seems puzzled at his action. "Are you sure you do not care about your subordinator's welfare Commander? I could just kill her right now, right before your eyes?" she said, pointing the gun at Shiho's head.
"Of course! You have equipped yourself with a pistol and the sound blocker. You can just kill her right here without alerting the soldiers from the outside. But you do understand that once you are a soldier, you're always a soldier. We have prepared ourselves to die for our nation in order to protect it. You can kill her for all I care Serpent but you are not going to get out of here alive", Yzak said confidently. Even his blue eyes show his confidence.
"Are you crazy Yzak? Shiho is your-"
"Do it Yzak", Shiho cut Dearka off before he could finish. Dearka was shocked. He looks at Shiho who has a determined look on her face. "The moment I have enlisted myself into the military, I have prepared myself to die for my nation. I have prepared myself for the worst situation. So, just do it. Kill the intruder through my body Yzak", she said fearlessly.
Are the both of you crazy? Throwing your life away just like that? Dearka thought. He was beaten by his comrades' determination but he is also determined to save his female comrade no matter what.
"I see that you have already made your choice commander". Elaine's word had brought Dearka back from his thought. "Then here's a gift for the both of you", she said.
Time seems to have slowed down when Elaine pushed Shiho away from her grasped and aimed her gun at her. Dearka ran forwards to catch Shiho from falling towards the ground while Yzak had dived for his gun which was nearby. Elaine had her finger on the trigger and-
BANG
The blond hair captain had both his eyes closed not wanting to see the bloody body of his fallen comrade. He held her tightly as tears began to fall from his eyes. Dearka had wanted to save her, he had wanted her to have a happy life with her love one but…he had failed her. His grip tightens some more on his fallen comrades. "We will not forget what you have done for our nation Shiho. We will-"
"You will let me go right this instance Lieutenant Elsman", Shiho said angrily.
Dearka opened his eyes and met with a very angry Shiho in his arms. He was puzzled until he met another angry look from his commander. If looks could kill, Dearka should have been turned to ash right now.
"What? How??" he gapped.
"Let. Me. Go. This. Instant." Shiho said and gave Dearka a punch on his jaws.
The blond captain flew backwards and came to a stop when his back had hit the foot of the couch. Yzak and Elaine was sweat dropping when they saw how ruthless one female could be when it comes to their body parts being touch where they weren't supposed to be touched.
I'm glad I'm not in his shoes right now, Elaine thought with a sigh of relief.
Yzak had noticed her sigh and shook his head.
Dearka was seeing stars one moment and the next he had a surprising look on his face. "Sh-Shi-Shiho?! You're alive after the… the… But how? What?" he trailed off stupidly.
"A trained soldier would have noticed the strange look on his target's pistol if he remains calm. Except for you who have gone crazy the moment you saw that Shiho is being held hostage", Yzak said with an annoyed look.
Dearka was surprised when he heard what Yzak said. He looks at Elaine's handheld pistol and saw that it was a fake. "At least I have feelings. Rather that someone whose 'girlfriend' is being held hostage and had no feeling at all", Dearka said and sat on the couch. He lightly touched his injury and felt its stinging pain. "You could have gone lighter with the punch you know. And what's with you Shiho, gone all heroically into sacrificing your life like this. Yes I know that we have vow to protect our homeland, but I do not want to see another trusted friend died because of it", he said feeling all depressed.
Shiho look at Yzak and sighs. "You really couldn't see it could you?" she asked. Dearka look at her with a confused look. "I thought so. Yzak was giving instructions through his looks and his voice tone". The blond man gave her a dumbfounded look. "You really should go back to the academy for some more training Dearka", she said and threw the blond man a wet towel for his wounded face.
"Thanks!" he said softly.
"Can we at least get back to what is important here?" Yzak asked.
He has already sat back down behind his desk and Elaine had taken her seat on the vacant chair. Both Dearka and Shiho nodded. Shiho went to stand behind Yzak because it is where she always stands when they were discussing important matters and Dearka would always sat on the chair in front of them. But this time Dearka chose to sit on the couch since his seat was already taken and it would be easier for him to tend to his wounded cheek.
The silver hair commander now looks at Elaine with a serious look. "About the things you mention on your letter…"
"Do you mean the extra data or to find out whether these data are real?" she asked with a grin on her face. An angry vein could be seen on Yzak's temples and Elaine noticed it. She chuckled a bit and then looks at him with a serious look. "All of them are real and the extras will be send to you once I have your answer commander", she said.
"Your question?" the silver hair commander asked.
"Do we have your cooperation?" Elaine asked seriously.
"We?! You mean you are not the only one?" Yzak exclaimed. He looks at Shiho then to Dearka who both have a shocking look on their face.
"Of course! You don't think that I could have managed all these by myself, did you?" she said matter-of-factly. "What may your answer be, Commander Joule?" she asked with a serious look on her face.
The three friends exchanged a few serious look and nodded.
Yzak look at Elaine with a serious look and said, "You have our cooperation on this mission, Serpent"
Elaine smiled and extended her hand. Yzak look at it with a confused look. "My comrades and I thank you for your cooperation", she said, and Yzak accepted her hand. "And as what I have mention on my letter, we would promised you a seat as a councilman and the future Commander-in-chief of the ZAFT Military".
"I don't mind if I didn't get those poses", Yzak said, which gave Elaine a surprised look. "I just wish peace would be born and here to stay after everything is over", Shino and Dearka smiled after hearing what their friend said; "We have seen too many selfish gains and worthless losses in the past. We do not wish to see them to be repeated again from our future generations or from us".
Elaine smiled. "I know what you mean. But a promised is a promised. Arrangements will be made once this pre-mature problem is settled. If there nothing else to discuss, I would like to go back to my quarters and unpacked my thing", she said, getting up from her seat.
"You will be able to leave after these questions", Yzak said. Elaine looks at him with a puzzled look then she sat back down on her seat. "Do your colleagues know about you objectives in this mission or your true identity?" he asked.
Elaine was shocked when she heard his question. She smirked and answered, "No. They only know the Elaine Crawford who is a CIC trainee and a cadet in the ZAFT Military Academy. Your next question commander, please"
"How is your brother doing?" he asked with a grin.
Both Dearka and Shiho were surprised to hear what Yzak had just asked. Does he know her to the extent of knowing her family members? And who is this brother that Yzak had asked about.
Elaine gave her new commander a reluctant look as she looks at Shiho and Dearka. "This is kind of a personal question commander. I'm not sure if I-"
"You can trust both Dearka and Shiho. I promised that nothing will leak out from this room", he said.
Elaine sighs defeated. "Brother did warn me that this would be coming. He is fine and very well. He said that he would settle the score with you once this matter is over. Is there any other question, Commander?" she said, implying her last word annoyingly.
Yzak gave her an annoyed look for her tone. "You may go now Lieutenant Crawford and rest early. Your training starts at 0300 hours. I will not tolerate soldiers who are late. Understood?" he asked.
"Sir, yes sir!" she said and saluted.
Yzak nodded and unlocked the door to allow Elaine to leave his quarters. Elaine bow again before she walks towards the now opened door. Elaine stops right in front of the door and look at Dearka who also look back at her with a puzzled look.
"What? Do you have a problem with me Lieutenant Crawford?" he asked in an annoyed tone.
"Not really Captain Elsman. But here's a little advice, do not touch a lady's breast even though you are trying to save her life", she said, while pointing at her cheek.
"Why you little-"
Elaine quickly ran out of the room and into the corridor before Dearka could grab onto her.
"That little … eh", the blond captain stop when he felt a chilling air inside the room. He gulped and slowly turned behind to meet Yzak and Shiho's angry glares. He chuckled nervously and said, "I th-think I'll b-be taking my le-leave now Yzak. I st-still have to re-relocate my think back in-into my quarters. Haha! Bye!"
The door of the Commander's quarters opened again and the blond hair captain quickly dashed out of the room and into the hallway. "I'm so dead this time", he said as he ran down the corridor.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Elaine Crawford had promised Yzak Joule and his companion that she would provide extra information to them if they would cooperate with her and her companions in her mission which she had yet to reveal. And no matter how hard she was pestered during their private meeting, she would not reveal a thing unless she was ordered to by the people in charge of this mission. But she did keep her side of her bargain and pass them the extra information she had promised them about.
The young Lieutenant had produced as many data as she could gather through some helpful intelligence that the person had sent her and by searching the document files from the ZAFT military base. It was not an easy task to search the data files if you are an outsider and that's when being a cadet in the ZAFT Military comes in handy.
But the thing that amazed the trio was not her skills in gathering those forbidden data but her way of hiding who she was from her friends. Elaine had managed to go through her rough internship with her assign mentor, Ian Noventa, handling her daily life and hanging out with her girlfriends on their break time and also gathering those data at the same time. She had managed to perform her task really well that even her friends had no idea who she was beside the plain Elaine Crawford.
A month had already passed by and Elaine and her girlfriends' internship are also coming to an end. The girls will have to report back at the academy and ready themselves for their graduation ceremony.
But before all that could come into action, Elaine, Yzak, Shiho and Dearka were to have their last meeting.
Voltaire Control room
"We are leaving for the night Elaine", Macie said.
Elaine turned from her seat at the Voltaire's control room and saw that her three girlfriends were waiting for her by the entrance of the room. "You girl go ahead. I still have to finish this report before I could end my shift", she said with a sad smile.
Jane scratched her head as she walk towards her friend. "Can't you finish it tomorrow? We have to meet up with the rest of our classmate for the pre-graduation party tonight", she said.
I have some more important thing to do than to party right now Jane. "You know how strict Commander Joule can be. If I could not hand in this report by tonight, I will have a black mark on my report. And you know what a black marks means right, don't you?" Elaine asked.
She had turn back to face the screen to finish her work.
The girls exchanged a few depressed look and they had finally agreed to accept that their smoke-grey girlfriend could not join them for the party.
"Come on girl. We have known Elaine for two years now and we know that she is those kind that would not leave unless she finished her work", Celes, the big-sister of the group, said. "Come on; let's not be the last one to arrive. And you Elaine, be sure to not stay up too late just to keep our profile clean", she said as she dragged her two friend out. "We will try to bring something back for you from the party".
Elaine sweat drop seeing that Celes could have a mother-side in her.
Elaine nodded as she sees her girlfriends leave the control room. Once she had confirmed that her friends had left the ship, Elaine turned off her work station's computer and began to leave the control room.
"I'm sorry girls. But there is something much more important waiting for me to do right now than this meaningless party", she mumbled, as she exited the room.
Commander's quarters
The door slides opened and Elaine walked into the room where Yzak, Shiho and Dearka were waiting for her.
"Took you long enough, lieutenant", Dearka said.
He stood up from his seat, which was right in front of Yzak, and allows the young female to sit on it. He on the other hand took the seat beside her. Elaine looks at him and said, "I have to at least send my friends off for the night right. We do not want anyone intruding our little party do you, Captain".
Dearka gave her an annoyed look for she had hit him hard.
"She got you there Dearka", Yzak said, which was not helping him at all. "So, shall we start our meeting then? What have you found for the past week of researching Elaine?"
Elaine took out her hand held pc and places it on the desk. After turning on the power, she quickly accesses her data files and shows them to her research. "Nothing out of the ordinary for now but I did find something very interesting", she said.
"Enlighten us with it", the silver hair commander said.
"Very well! There was a serial bombing around the city and within the military base a month ago, aren't there commander?" she asked and the trio nodded. "And I assumed that the culprit had yet to be caught?" the three of them nod again. "Then I guess it would be better to close the file Commander Joule".
"Why so?" he asked, feeling confused.
"That's because the culprit is no longer in the PLANTs. The serial bombing was caused by an insider just to cause a distraction so his comrades could make an escape. Let me asked you this, were there any missing ships when the fire caused by the bomb were extinguished?" she asked.
Dearka and Shiho look at their silver hair commander while waiting for his answer. Yzak sighs and nod.
Dearka was shocked. "So, what you are saying that the lives that were killed was also a caused by someone from the inside of the ZAFT?" he asked, directing the question to Elaine. The female nodded as her answer. "Then what are we waiting for. We have to search out the spy and-"
"Have you not heard what I have just said earlier captain?" Elaine cut Dearka off. The blond captain looks at the female who was glaring at him for no reason. "The culprit of this serial bombing had already escaped when the last of the stolen ship left Armory One. There is no way of tracking down their base at this moment".
Dearka look at Yzak to see if what Elaine said were true. Yzak nodded once again. "Kuso (Damn it!)", he cursed as he slammed his fist on the desk.
"Save your anger for the future captain", Elaine said. The blond hair captain looks up after hearing what the female intern said.
"There is something much bigger behind this since they have seized their bombing attack. Is that what you are trying to say?" Yzak asked.
Dearka turn to look at his silver hair commander this time. Yzak has a serious look on his face when he looks at Elaine. Dearka then turns to look at Elaine her further confirmation.
Elaine looks at her hand held pc as she accesses another data files. She shows them the images that the person had sent to her. "This is what we have found out so far and yes, there is something much bigger that had yet to show itself".
Yzak, Shiho and Dearka were shocked to see the forces coming up from the Earth. It's as if a yearly migration had begun at the last minute.
"We do not know who is behind these moving forces and we do not have enough information to answer any of your questions yet. All we know is that someone with the highest authorities is moving these forces into space. And the information does not end there. Someone with the same level of authorities is also moving the ZAFT Military forces and that someone is among the Supreme Council. The enemy is gathering as much forces as it could get", she explained.
The trio was stunned.
"There's got to be a mistake, bullshit", Yzak bellowed, as he slammed his fist onto the desk. "How could there be a traitor among the Supreme Councilmen and Councilwomen. I could not believe this. No, I would not believe this".
"Then tell me Yzak Joule, how in the world do you think that there is a secret base within the Armory One that is producing secret weapons?" she asked angrily.
Yzak looks surprised when he heard what she said. "A secret base … in … Armory One?!" he asked.
"Oi Oi! You got to be joking right Elaine? How could there be a secret base within the territory of the ZAFT?" Dearka asked, hoping that the smoky-grey hair female was only joking. But her serious look had confirmed their answer. "Oh man! The whole pre-war incident is happening all over again"
"It won't happen again Dearka. I would not let it happen again, not ever!" Yzak said. "Have you and your companion managed to locate where the secret base is?"
Elaine shook her head. "No, we have no clue where this base is located. And it would be wise if you keep a low profile for now Commander. My companions and I are trying our best to uncover who is behind this secret project", she said.
"And allow the citizen's life to be in jeopardy?" he asked angrily.
"That's what we are trying to prevent Joule. If we unearth the culprit right now without any solid evidence, those bastards will be able to get rid of us and do as they please. We have to plan this mission carefully or everything will be at lost", she said angrily and confidently.
Yzak was speechless when he saw the determination look in the female's eyes. He sighs in defeat and said, "So, what must we do for our next course of action?"
Elaine grinned. "All we can do now is to wait"
The four of them nodded at her decision. Once this problem was cleared, they continue on with their regular meeting. Yzak had told them about the meeting with the current ZAFT Commander-in-chief. He is working under Martius Councilman and had told Yzak about the current situation with the meeting. It seems that the Supreme Council had once again split into two, arguing about some typical issues. Other than that, nothing seems to be out of the ordinary.
Dearka on the other hand, had told them about the information he could scoop up from the member from Kira's team. Nothing seems to be wrong with them besides some cursing about their current pose back at their former team. There was also some praying for their commander to return as soon as possible.
The group continues on with their discussion while ignoring Dearka's useless blabbering about women's behavior and their liking of doing things.
Yzak and Elaine had shifted their attention to Shiho waiting for her to report what she had found out so far.
"Nothing much I have to say. But there is something that is bugging me", she said.
"Let's hear about it Hahnenfuss. It might be useful to us", Yzak said. Yzak raised his hand to stop her when she was about to speak. "Let me settle with something first Hahnenfuss". Shiho nodded. Yzak turned his attention to Dearka, who seems to be still blabbering. "If don't shut up this instant, I'm going to shut your mouth for you lieutenant Elsman", he said in coldest tone he had.
The blond hair coordinator flinched and nodded.
Shiho clear her throat. "Last night when I was speaking with my father about his days as a councilman, he told me something that I have never expected to hear…"
=Flashback=
"Are you sure that Patrick Zala's supporters are still out there father?" Shiho exclaimed.
"Well, I'm not exactly sure if they still support Patrick's ideal world for only the Coordinators. But when I saw the news about the serial bombing attacks, I got a hunch that they are trying to accomplish what Patrick could not do", Mr. Hahnenfuss said.
"But didn't they disband themselves after Patrick Zala's death?" his daughter asked.
"That what I thought as well Shiho. But when I found out about the Junius Seven incidents, I could not believe it that they are still at it. So it is not impossible to believe that Patrick's supporters have join forces with the enemies just to accomplish their goals", he said.
Shiho could not believe what she had heard. If what her father had said was true then they are facing something much bigger than just terrorist attacks. It could break out into a full scale war just from a little misunderstanding. She had to report this to Yzak and see what his opinion is.
"Shiho, you are still working under Yzak Joule right?" Mr. Hahnenfuss asked. Shiho nodded. "Then it would be the best to inform him about the matter than I have just told you about", he said.
"Is there any solid proof about this incident father?" his daughter asked.
Mr. Hahnenfuss thought for a while then he answered, "I'm not sure if this count as a proof but try to trace the bombing site and see what you can get. Patrick's supporters only have one pattern for their serial bombing attacks and that is a letter Z".
=End of flashback=
Shiho took out a map of the city and show them what she had found out. "And this is the proof that my father was talking about", she said.
Everyone look at the map and what they see next had stunned them. Shiho had done a tracing around the city from where the first bombing site to the last. And truthfully, a letter Z had form from the entire bombing site.
"This is a huge discovery Shiho", Elaine said. She quickly took out her mini camera and takes a shot of the map. "I wonder what he will say about this find?" she asked. The trio looks at her with a puzzled look. Elaine notices their stare. She chuckled nervously and said, "What I meant was him. Well, look at the time, I better be going now. I still have a lot to do before the graduation ceremony".
"Well, that's really strange", Shiho said. "There wasn't much need to be done as a graduate cadet. Most of the things were put together by the professors. All you need to do is to wait for the letter from your new commander".
"May be for the locals but the internationals are a little different", Elaine said, collecting her things. "I, as an international student, do not get the privilege to be assigned to one of the ZAFT Military forces. Besides, I have no intention of joining the ZAFT even a commander was to present his letter to me personally", she said.
"What if I was the one to present the letter to you? Will you think about joining my team Elaine?" Yzak asked.
Elaine looks stunned. She sighs and said, "Like I said Commander Joule, I have no intention of joining the ZAFT. I'm planning to go back to where my brother is now and help him as much as I can to solve this pre-mature war from starting".
"Does that mean our deal is off Serpent? Cause I don't plan to stop just here", the silver hair commander said angrily.
Elaine slings her bag-strap over her shoulder and gave her commander a smirk. "I'll be leaving two day later after my graduation. Come to International Spaceport by then and come alone. There's something he wanted to pass to you", she said.
"Why can't you give it to me now?" he asked.
Elaine stop before the door and turned around to look at him. "He said it is something … personal!" she said with a sly grin on her face.
Outside of the Commander's quarters
The door slides opened and Elaine came walking out. She stops before the door and look at her silver hair commander whose face is now red with anger and embarrassment.
"I'll see you at the spaceport then. Of and you better keep your temper in check or it might get you in trouble one day Yzak Joule", she said, and left the room.
"IT ALREADY HAS! I'M GOING TO GET YOU FOR THIS!!!!" Yzak shouted.
If it wasn't for Shiho and Dearka who was holding him back, Yzak might have already dashed out of the room going after the smoky-grey hair female.
=Continue in Chapter 14=
A/N: I hope you like the mischievous side of Elaine. Personally I love how she can make both Dearka and Yzak act up. Also I'm sorry for the late update and I hope you like this chapter. If you have any comments about this and the previous chapter, please review in and tell me about it. I also welcome ideas so I could make this story better. Hope you like this story so far and hope to see you in the next chapter.