Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed and Gundam Seed Destiny. They belong to their respective copyright owners and publishers. This work is not created with any commercial aims. I make no money from it.

Phase 5: Spy Games

=GSI=

Part 3

Mess Hall

EA Warship "Archangel"

En route to Julius Seven

Next two days were quite hectic – the price of a job well done and all that. First was the inevitable AARs and debriefings. We did win an outstanding victory against ZAFT and anything that could be useful for a repeat performance had to go on record, plus all other benefits of the above.

I was torn out of my mussing by Natarle who placed her dinner down and sat across the table from me.

"Hey. I haven't seen you since after the battle." Badriguel said in greeting.

"Hi." That was my eloquent response.

Something told me that admitting that I've been actually avoiding her wasn't the smartest thing I could do. Yet, how was I supposed to act around her? I was possessing her practically dead boyfriend's body and somehow having flashbacks of his past. At least that happened when I first met Natarle on the Archangel and if it wasn't for my subdued emotions that alone would have made me freak.

To make my life even more "interesting", I was pretty sure I liked the woman too…

"What have you been up to?"

"The usual after battle bureaucracy and once that was done I've been familiarizing myself with one of the captured GINNs."

"I heard your Gundam got pretty battered. You did promise not to get shot up again." Natarle frowned at me.

"Hey! I'm without a scratch!" Granted, the same can't be said about the Dragon but that's besides the point.

"Uh-huh. So you plan to fly one of ZAFT's machines?" Baudelaire asked.

"It handles better in the hangar at least than my own unit in Mobile Suit configuration." I shrugged. "I hope to test it in combat maneuvers soon if Ramius and Garcia finally give me authorization to launch."

As it turned out, ZAFT's standard suit OS was much better than the kit-bashed disaster that was installed on the Gundams. Unfortunately, they were still meant for Coordinator use. I was reasonably able to handle it due to my cybernetically enhanced reflexes, but the same couldn't be said for any average natural pilot. Hell, even Mu found a GINN hard to control in the hangar and those were just standard mobility tests.

That's why we had Kira trying to adjust ZAFT's OS so my friend could fly one of the captured units. Unfortunately, doing so with the rest of the GINNs so they could be piloted by our remaining pilots would require a team of programmers at hand and more time that we had available even with the detour to Julius Seven.

Considering that we conspicuously lacked a platoon made up of computer boffins, there wasn't much we can do about it.

Practically speaking, we would be lucky if Kira was able to make a GINN useful for Mu before we reached safety. On the other hand, if the kid somehow succeeded, Mu would need to simply input the "fix" in any GINN and be able to fly it, giving him some spare rides – something quite useful considering that he didn't bring Moebius Zero intact.

"I wanted to talk about… us." Natarle said after an awkward pause.

"Is there an us right now?" I muttered.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out." She shot back.

"Nat..." I sighed. "I'm pretty sure I've mentioned it before, but I'm not the same man you dated. All I've got from my past is my skills as a pilot and a few memories that are fragmented. At best..." I trailed off. "I'm still trying to figure out who am I nowadays." I added.

"So that's it?" Natarle looked down and her shoulders sagged.

"I know it's selfish of me, but I don't want it to be. Over that is. What little I remember from our time together – I loved it and I want another shot at relationship with you." I admitted.

Considering the raw deal I was given when I got stuck here, I think I can afford to be a bit selfish, right?

Natarle looked up and two purple orbs started examining me.

"Selfish you say? That's right." Her tone was neutral, though it held a hint of something I couldn't really place. Then Natarle's lips twitched into a hint of a smile. "That's all right. I feel a bit selfish too. After I was told you died..." She shook her head. "For months, being a soldier was everything I had left. Everything I could be. Then you came back from the dead."

"Not entirely." I whispered. Not really.

"Perhaps. Yet, there're moments I can see the old you surfacing. Especially when you're bantering with Lieutenant La Flaga." Natarle shot back.

Huh. Was she right? If so, it was concerning. At least it should have been.

Instead, for some unfathomable reasons, I felt relief.

"What happens now?" I asked.

"We start from the beginning." Natarle smiled mischievously.

I felt like I was forgetting something about her – something quite important.

"Should I be scared right now?"

"From little old me? What gave you that ridiculous idea?" Her smile widened a bit and her eye sparkled in amusement. "Besides, this can't be as awkward as the first time."

I wouldn't be too sure about that.

"I can't possibly comment. I must say, I quite like this side of you too. I don't think most people see you as something beyond a strict, by the books officer."

"You were one of the few people who actually saw that side of me." Natarle smiled fondly. "On the other hand, you were quite taken with my soldier persona too."

"What can I say, I do like women in uniform."

"You made that quite obvious back on Luna." Nat chuckled.

That brought an image of her in a form fitting academy uniform during what I felt was our first date on Luna. She did look stunning in it. The picture was accompanied by a sharp stab of pain behind my eyes that made me groan.

"Delkatar, are you all right?" Natarle asked.

"I think I remembered seeing you in that light blue uniform from the academy..." I said and rubbed my forehead.

"Ah. That one." She stated flatly.

"They weren't particularly popular with the female cadets, were they?" I wasn't sure if this was a shot in the dark or something I just knew.

Natarle gave me a pointed look. "Well, you did like it, though I am not a fan of that… outfit." She muttered after swallowing a curse.

"Guilty as charged. Though I don't like you just because you look stunning in or out of uniform."

"So you remember me out of uniform?" Natarle raised an eyebrow.

"I..." There was another stab of pain accompanied by a blurred image of Nat with distinctly less clothing than usual. Yeah. My local counterpart, descendant or whatever he used to be was a lucky, lucky man.

I needed an aspirin. Preferably a whole bottle.

"You do." She said in an amused tone. "Are you sure you're all right?" Nat added a moment later as her expression became serious.

"I'll live. Usually when I remember something it comes bundled with a headache."

"Sorry."

"It's all right. The pain's worth it remembering anything about you." Huh. I don't think I was actually lying or even exaggerating

"I'm not sure if that's a sweet thing to say or if I should drag you to medical so they can check up your head." Nat shook her head. "On the other hand, things like that makes it obvious that's you in there." She tapped her temple to illustrate the point and gave me a fond smile.

That was disconcerting. How much of my mind was truly mine and how much was the ghost of a supposedly dead man?!

I had the sinking feeling that I wasn't the man who was dumped in a dead man's head. Not any more. However, I wasn't just Lieutenant Veil brought back to life with some extra bits in his head.

Yet… Did it really matter? No matter how I got to this point, I was stuck here for the long haul – somehow I was sure of it. Where did that left me, besides fucking up in a fucked up world that is?

=GSI=

Part 4

ZAFT shuttle

en route to Aprilius One

Patrick Zala sat in silence, skimming through a report handled to him mere moments before he boarded. His eyes briefly glanced to the right, where his son was sitting alone and he was glad that the council as a whole decided to recall Le Creuset for debriefing. Otherwise his only remaining close family might very well be dead.

"The Task Force sent to take out the Archangel has been out of contact for some time. Long range observation confirmed that there was a battle yesterday, yet we have no word on the outcome. What's worse, early this morning at least five distinct drive flares were observed heading in Earth's general direction before they cut off and we lost tracks." Zala spoke to the third and last occupant of the passenger compartment.

He didn't need to elaborate that a scout units were dispatched to the site of the battle in order to figure out what exactly happened.

"The legged ship got away." Le Creuset stated. "Did they assault Artemis and fail?"

Patrick could imagine the masked man frowning behind him.

"No. The battle was in space, some distance from the fortress. We sent more than enough ships and Mobile Suits to defeat Artemis' whole fleet including one of the captured units as you very well know." Patrick stated.

ZAFT had known exactly what the EA had at Artemis and they had a blocking force powerful enough to annihilate any attempt for a breakthrough towards PLANT. The only variable was the Archangel and whatever it had on board – which wasn't much – just two Mobile Armors, one of which was an experimental model and one of Earths Mobile Suits.

Ever since the war began and the N-Jammer's were deployed en mass, thus shredding not only Earth's power network but acting as a powerful jamming device against the Naturals combat data-nets, ZAFT had easily triumphed against much, much steeper odds. Repeatedly.

There were just a handful engagements that the EA could call victories and the Earth forces had more than overwhelming numbers at each of those occasions.

This wasn't the case at Artemis. Zala knew it. Oh, he still hoped that there had been a victory there with comms of the ZAFT ships taken out but he couldn't count on it until he knew for certain. Besides, he didn't feel that lucky.

"We have to stop that ship from reaching Earth." Le Creuset said after a few seconds of silence.

"Easily said than done. There are just a handful of ship that can intercept them before nearing Earth orbit."

"My flagship is fast enough." Le Creuset pointed out.

"You failed before even when having one more experimental unit to throw at them." Zala shot back. "That's no longer the case and it appears that the Archangel had picked up some escorts."

"I won't fail again."

"We can't afford to." Patrick snapped. "I'll petition the council for a full fleet strike at the Archangel and its escorts. However, we won't be able to pull it off until they're very close to earth. The orbital mechanics simply won't work otherwise."

No one had to point out that by that point the Archangel would have rendezvoused with an EA fleet. If the Naturals could mass produce and deploy MS which were even inferior versions of the captured units, the existing balance of power would be shattered. Zala had to expedite his plans for Earth, however that would be problematic. Moving in the necessary forces for the planned strategic strikes against the EA and the completion of his trump card – those things simply took time and that couldn't be helped. After all, the PLANTs were already tapped their existing industry to capacity.

Still, with careful management he might be able to shed a week or two from the schedule.

However, all that was in the future. Right now, Patrick had more immediate concerns.

"Now, Commander, can you explain to me, what were you thinking when you ordered D-weapons be used against Helliopolis?" Zala turned around and glared at the masked man. "You're only saving grace might be a proof that the Archangel and its cargo are represent clear enough danger to PLANT. There are both neutral and ZAFT units all over the wreck of the colony pulling out survivors – and that's a drain on our forces we can't really afford right now! Yet, after your stunt we can't do anything less but provide all support we can to the survivors!"

"You've read my reports and obviously know what would happen if the data on that ship reaches Earth." Le Creuset looked unperturbed.

"The Council might not see it like that. We'll be meeting them shortly and our scouts won't reach the battle site for at least another day. Your stunt might be enough to cost us authorization to go after the Archangel with sufficient forces and that will be another disaster. It's bad enough that ORB might very well joint the EA after your attack. Do I need to remind you that they have an intact mass accelerator?!" Zala's patience was running out and he knew that the other Councilors wouldn't be amused either.

"We couldn't take that ship out with lesser firepower." Le Creuset shrugged.

"A success might have helped your case." Zala sighed. "You failed spectacularly."

And the Council was going to want someones hand because of it. If Patrick was going to keep things on track he would have to burn through a lot of political capital. For a moment, he wondered if it would be worth it to keep Le Creuset's head off the chopping block. Granted the man was one of ZAFT's best commanders, yet he was a lose cannon.

=GSI=

EF secondary HQ

somewhere under the Urals

General Michael Korolev, one of the highest ranked officers in EF's Space Command was in his office, which overlooked the main C&C center of the facility. Three meters below him was a large artificial cavern lined with half a meter of steel. Within it were placed almost a dozen rows of computer terminals and two of the three walls were covered with large monitors showing the western and eastern halves of the federation as well as Earth and all EF units in orbit.

Most of the stations were manned with soldiers and technicians making sure that Korolev and his colleagues had up to date information on what was happening within and without the nation they were charged with protecting.

The latter was a tall task after the damn Coordinators shot to hell Earth's energy networks and "accidentally" murdered millions with the aftereffects, including Michael's mother who had been in the hospital when the power cut off… and then the emergency one ran out before critical services could be restored in the area.

Oroborus – ZAFT's operation to cripple Earth had succeeded beyond the Coordinators wildest dreams… and it also backfired spectacularly because after that stunt almost everyone affected was fit to be tied.

The general's gaze returned to the computer screen resting on his plain metal desk and a rare smile appeared on his weathered face. That was followed by a grim chuckle as he re-read the short message on the monitor sent from Artemis by comm laser. While the bandwidth was terrible – a reminder that the base should have been outfitted with a proper laser communication system instead of the improvised one cooked up by the crew – the text message made up for that and more.

For all intents and purposes the AF's experimental warship the Archangel, two of their prototype Mobile Suits and the data on the rest were in EF hands. Further, Artemis' garrison had sortied and with the help of the above defeated the ZAFT units in the area, before heading towards Earth. Even better, the prototype EF Mobile Armor had proven itself in multiple engagements during the last week.

Korolev finished re-reading the report and turned his attention to the comm-unit built into his desk. It was time to kick up that info up the chain of command and make sure that the new Mobile Armors went into mass production ASAP. Further, with the data that was now in EF hands, the government might even go ahead with the mass production of the Hyperions – as a stop gap until the new data was incorporated into future designs.

=GSI=

Battle of Artemis total loses:

EF Forces:

7 Drake Escorts destroyed: Madrid, Milan, Hanover, Berlin, Sofia, Moscow, Armsterdam; Dortmund – critical damage, out of the battle; Nurnberg – heavy damage, somewhat combat capable;

3 Intact Drake Escorts remaining;

1 Nelson battleship destroyed – Spartan;

2 Remaining: Myrmidon and Leonidas;

170 MA destroyed; 18 damaged; 4 MIA;

ZAFT Losses:

5 Laurasia Frigates : Celsius, flagship, Hawkings, Sagan, Copernicus, Dirak;

73 GINNs destroyed;

7 GINNs captured by EF forces;

1 Gundam, the Blitz recovered intact by EF forces;

Remaining GINNs are presumed either MIA or with the wrecks of the ZAFT frigates;