Gundam Seed: Divided Loyalties

by Asmus

The person you are fighting with is not always your friend. The person you are fighting against is not always your enemy. Everyone has his price and everyone has his reasons to fight. No matter what or who they are, Naturals, Coordinators or Ravens. -Discontinued-

21. The great hunt

"Hey, blondie, wait a moment." A boyish voice called out from behind, as Cagalli made her way across the Archangel's hangar to where a group of teenagers were clustered around a simulator. She had been hoping to relax a little, by trying her hand on the simulators and perhaps even enjoy some much needed company.

The last few days since their return from Banadiya had been very stressful. With the Archangel getting fully repaired, Sahib had finally decided to bring his plan to fruition, to get rid of the Tiger once and for all. In order to prevent drawing any kind of unwanted attention he had prohibited everyone from leaving the camp. Though Cagalli understood the reason behind it, she couldn't help but feel annoyed by having to stay in one place. The only way for her to vent the growing frustration was to either take short walks away from the camp during the night, or shoot down artificial Mobile Suits in the simulator.

However, it seemed that this day was going to be one of those days when she stumbled on a new source of irritation. Blondie? Cagalli stopped in mid step and looked in the direction the voice had come from. She instantly recognized the person walking towards her. Daniel Stokes, pilot of the Pulverizer. Cagalli hadn't met the guy before, but she had heard a few things about him from Kira. None of which, however, were about Daniel's personality. Of course, it hardly mattered; Cagalli was already making her own assumptions. And not the best ones.

Now that Cagalli had heard him and was waiting for him, Daniel adopted a more appropriate pose, as he walked towards her. Putting on a slightly cocky grin, running his hand trough his hair and placing the other one in his back pocket. "Hey, how are you?" He stopped in front of her and let his eyes wonder for a moment.

"What do you want?" Cagalli said in a cold tone and frowned. The guy was obviously trying to impress her, by putting on the rebellious ace act. Needless to say, it failed. Horribly. He was a bit too skinny to successfully pull it off. It also didn't help matters how he was staring at her. Not at her face, but her body.

Daniel's eyes returned back to meet hers, lingering on the girl's shoulders for a moment. Cagalli had very attractive shoulders. He noted. Perhaps it was some sort of fetish or something else, but one of the things that he liked most about a girl was her shoulders. The way they formed the frame of the girl or the way they led to the rest of her body, whether they were exposed or hidden under clothes, shoulders were something he could look a lot at. "Oh, yeah … you know I was wondering … maybe you could use some company. Have some fun or something like that."

"Well, if I want some company, rest assured, you certainly won't be the person I'll turn to." Cagalli stared at him incredulously. There was no way he had just attempted to ask her out. It was impossible; no guy would ever ask a girl out with such a terrible line and expect to succeed. One look at Daniel's face was enough. The guy was serious. Not only that, but he looked like he believed that he had dropped a real gem and was completely irresistible. "Didn't you hear me? I'm not interested in you?" Cagalli repeated since Daniel had obviously missed the hint.

"You're not? … Why?" The cocky grin disappeared, only to return a second later. "Ah, I see, you're playing with me. You're just pretending that you don't care about me. While in reality you…" The grin disappeared once again, along with the voice when Cagalli suddenly stepped forward, grabbed him by the collar and pulled him down, so that their eyes were at the same level.

"I'll tell you this one last time. I'm not interested in spending my time with you." Cagalli growled in his face. "I don't know where you got this stupid idea, but I advise you to forget it, because if you don't…" Instead of finishing the threat, she raised her fist where Daniel could see it. "Oh and by the way, the next time you try your stupid pickup line, look in the eyes not at the breasts." She let him go and stormed off, smiling a little, once Daniel couldn't see her face. Now that she had vented a portion of her frustration, Cagalli felt much better. She had finally found one of those special persons. The arrogant jerk who saw himself as a gift to all women and could be treated like crap that they were, without any bad feelings on her part.

Daniel watched her leave with a confused look on his face. Everything was over so fast he still tried to figure out what really had happened. It looked like Cagalli was pissed. However he couldn't see any reason why. He had been honest, open and polite and he had told her he was interested in her, so why was she walking away? He rubbed his forehead in concentration. Didn't girls like honest guys who were concerned about them? Or was there something else? Maybe he shouldn't have laid out his cards so quickly? But if he didn't, then he wouldn't be being honest towards her. So what the hell was wrong?

"Wow, I've never seen a guy get turned down so quickly." A female voice, with signs of barely restrained laughter heavily evident, said from nearby. "Of course when they say that you're supposed to be honest with a girl, I don't think this is what they meant." Daniel looked to see who it was and found himself staring in Maria's green eyes. The woman had a wide smile plastered on her face, as she looked at Daniel then at Cagalli. "She was right. Your pickup line was awful."

"Awful? Impossible! It included everything a girl wants to know about a guy. I was honest, caring and genuinely interested." Daniel shook his head vigorously and spared a quick look at Cagalli. "Another one who doesn't understand class … oh well, her loss … However, maybe she was joking? I should try again."

"Don't. Cagalli is not a girl you pick. She picks you. And if she's not interested in you, then there is nothing you can do to change her mind." Maria advised, fighting for a straight face. She watched the boy sag a little when her words registered and decided to change the topic in order to keep his mind on something else. "So, I guess you're the pilot of that thing, huh?" Maria indicated the Pulverizer, standing not far from them, light blue lines of pulsing light forming something of a skeletal structure.

Daniel chewed his lip and decided to give up. For now. He also looked at the Pulverizer and nodded. "Yes. That's me. Daniel Stokes and that thing is the Pulverizer. And who are you? Hey. Where are you going?" Daniel asked and hurried after the brown haired woman.

"Interesting. I wonder why it's called the Pulverizer?" Maria failed to hear his questions; her attention was fully fixed on the Muscle Tracer, as she walked towards it. "Hmm, sure does look different from what I'm used to see." Her green eyes flowed across the surfaces, pausing at the scorched section on the Pulverizer's side and the differently colored shin, which also lacked the glowing line. "My, my, you've messed it up a little didn't you?" She clacked her tongue as if scolding a disobedient child.

"It's not my fault. And you still haven't said who…" The realization dawned suddenly. "I know who you are? You're that crazy tank woman."

"What!?" Maria's head snapped towards him, causing Daniel to come to a halt. Then he took a step back, when he spotted the rank insignias. He gulped audibly, he had pissed off another Major, it seemed to be becoming a skill of his, or rather, a curse.

"Uhh, sorry … ma'am!" Daniel added quickly. The encounter with Domenic was still fresh in his mind. While it seemed impossible that this woman would threaten to shoot him, he was still being careful. Just in case.

Maria narrowed her eyes. "Ma'am? How old do I look?" Even Daniel, who usually had situational awareness of a very dense brick, realized it was a rhetorical question. "Don't address me as if I was a granny. It's either Maria or Major Williams. Got it?" Vigorous nods. "Good, now what did say earlier?"

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing."

Maria continued to stare at him for some time, before a narrow, satisfied smile settled on her lips. "I thought so. Then, how about you tell me more about this thing? How can you pilot it?"

Seeing that the storm was over, Daniel walked over to her and began to explain what he knew about the Pulverizer and its systems. Maria turned out to be a very good listener, she rarely asked to explain anything and didn't put any pressure on him at all. It was a lot easier to tell her about the Pulverizer, than it was telling it to Domenic, who had extracted the information at gunpoint. However, when Daniel reached the part where he told her about the opponents he had defeated, the reaction wasn't that much different.

"GINNs? You have shot down several GINNs on your own and even damaged a Laurasia class warship?" Maria laughed incredulously for several moments. "What were you fighting? A bunch of brain dead retards?" She wiped a single tear from her eye as she calmed down.

Daniel gave her a hurt look. "You're just like that jackass I met in space! Is it so hard to believe that I'm capable of defeating a Mobile Suit? Sure, I don't pull off tricks like Kira does, but I can take care of myself."

"Didn't look like it when you fought against Bucues. Truth be told, you sucked." Maria pointed out mercilessly. "However, facing Bucues for the first time is a life changing experience. You have no idea how many soldiers have been killed by those monsters." She looked at him encouragingly, almost admiringly. "Besides, since your friend is a Coordinator, it makes you the first Natural who has piloted this kind of machine against ZAFT in combat. Whatever you do, will affect how many people view these things. Being the first of a new kind is never easy."

"Wow." Daniel frowned as he considered that. "You know, I never thought about it that way. Being the first Natural pilot." He instantly saw the appeal of his situation. "It does sound awesome; you think Cagalli would see it from the right angle as well?"

Maria rolled her eyes. Here she was trying to explain the seriousness of the situation to this boy, but all he could think of was getting himself a girl. "You don't think about much, other than girls, do you? … By the way who's the jackass you mentioned before?"

Daniel stopped stroking his chin and shrugged. "Some guy, who wanted to know a few things about the Pulverizer. Real bastard, almost blew my brains out. I think his name was D-something Moore."

"Domenic Moore!?" Maria exclaimed in surprise. "About this high, blond hair, pale skin?"

"Yeah, I think so." Daniel eyes her suspiciously, confused by the sudden reaction.

"He is alive!? Domenic is alive!?" Maira muttered excitedly, practically shaking from joy. "So he survived. I can't believe it. That bastard actually survived."

"Uh, ma… Major Williams. What are you talking about?"

Maria took a couple of breaths to calm down. It was hard, but she managed. Still, the realization was more than enough to make her voice tremble. Hearing that Domenic was alive was like seeing a person walk on water. It was impossible. "Domenic Moore … I knew … know him, actually. I thought he was dead, but apparently he is alive and, judging from what he almost did to you, he hasn't changed much."

"I see." Daniel said slowly. He wasn't exactly interested to hear about his Domenic guy, but it seemed that for Maria this was very big news. He waited for her to say something, but she was lost in her mind. When the silence grew uncomfortable, he cleared his throat. "Is there anything else you want from me? … If not, then I'll be going." When no answer came, he turned to leave, but he barely made a single step when Maria's hand grabbed him by his collar. She had a strong grip, Daniel noted.

"No, you're not going anywhere yet." Maria dragged him along, as she made her way towards the elevator, which would take them to the Pulverizer's cockpit. "You called me a crazy tank woman, remember? Therefore, the only way I'll let you off the hook is if you show me the cockpit … And don't bother struggling, you have absolutely no choice in this matter. Understood?" She pulled him on the elevator next to her and activated the equipment.

Daniel somberly looked at the slowly withdrawing ground. "Yes, ma'am… I mean Maria."

xxxxx

"Zuoots? They're sending us Zuoots?" Waltfield stared incredulously at the Mobile Suits in question. The assault type Mobile Suits were being carefully unloaded from the cargo planes scattered across the nearby desert. "What are those guys in Gibraltar thinking!? I specifically requested Bucues not these pieces of crap." He rubbed his chin in frustration and turned his glare at DaCosta, who was studying the cargo manifest and the report.

"It seems so, sir. They say that the remaining Bucues are scheduled for upgrades and they could only spare a few of the new models to send us." He went through the pages, running his eyes over the information they held. "Yeah, it seems it'll be more than a week before we will receive additional Bucues … I guess that's why they included those guys in the package. A way to make it up to us." He flicked his eyes at two transport planes. One of them was going through the last landing procedures, while the second one had already landed and opened its cargo hold. Inside there were two Mobile Suits, the Buster and the Duel. The so called "specialists" regarding the Archangel problem. The other transport plane held another specialist, one sent to take out the Pulverizer.

Waltfield eyed the two Gundams walking out of their transport and crossing the desert towards the Lesseps. "Le Creuset Team, huh? I'm not that sure I'm happy about them being here. Something about that man rubs me the wrong way."

"Could it be that he has no terrestrial experience? And so do his subordinates?" DaCosta supplied, disdain ground soldiers had for spacers clearly evident in his voice.

Waltfield shrugged. "Partially yes. Of course I don't think it's wise to judge pilots before I've met them. So let's hold our judgment until then."

The two Gundams stopped not far from them and soon, their cockpits popped open and the pilots emerged. "Welcome to Earth." DaCosta quietly muttered with a faint smirk when he saw one of the pilots stumble a little in the sand, while the other one, having removed his helmet, caught a handful of dust in his face when a sudden breeze blew past them.

"They say the beauty of desert is best experienced in person." Waltfield greeted the two pilots as they approached, the one with the blond hair still coughing slightly. "Welcome. I am Commander Andrew Waltfield.

"Yzak Joule from the Le Creuset team." Yzak replied and saluted.

"Dearka Elsman, same team." Dearka introduced himself and repeated Yzak's gesture.

Waltfield returned their salutes and smiled when he saw the scar on Yzak's face. "Someone who doesn't get rid of a removable scar means that he has an oath kept on that scar." When Yzak snorted and looked away Waltfield's eyes narrowed. "And if you look away like that, it means you got the scar in a humiliating way." He enjoyed poking fun at the frustrated pilot and would have continued it, if not for something that caught his eye in the distance. "Ahh, it looks like the mercenary who was sent to help you is about to join us." Everyone turned to look at the transport plane Waltfield was talking about.

The AC that stepped out of the transport plane looked far too fragile to imagine it in the middle of a battle. The skeletal limbs looked barely strong enough to hold the weapons in its arms. Even the chest, or the core, as it was called, looked a lot thinner and lighter than the one Dearka and Yzak had seen on the Nine Ball.

The AC was white and silver in color, with white serving as the base color whereas silver the trims of the main parts. All the joints and whatever wasn't covered with armor plates was solid black. The weaponry, at least what they could see, consisted of a long barreled carbine in the right hand. Another light weapon, looking just like the laser carbine Yzak had seen in space, was held in the left hand. There were two more weapons, partially hidden behind the large shoulders. Behind the left shoulder was what looked like a three tube missile launcher, with a large ammunition compartment. As for the right side, the two short barrels were of the same make as the assumed laser weapon in the AC's hand, leading everyone to assume that it was some kind of an energy weapon as well.

The AC moved to stand next to the Buster. Though it was perhaps just two meters shorter than the artillery role Gundam, it looked like a gymnast standing next to a wrestler. Despite not looking the least like a proper combat machine, the AC possessed an aura of aggressiveness. Now that Yzak was able to get a good look at it, he could definitely feel it. The entire machine seemed like a barely constrained beast, ready to pounce on its prey at the moment's notice.

The AC stood motionless for a moment and then sagged slightly, as the systems were shut down. A moment later, the middle part of the protruding back, just where a person's spine should be, began sliding outwards. The part moved further away from the main machine, eventually revealing a pilot's seat attached to it. The pilot stood up and stretched himself, or herself, no one could really tell. Grabbing a cable, similar to the ones used in Mobile Suits, from the support shaft above, the pilot began the descent to the ground.

Unlike Yzak and Dearka, the pilot didn't stumble upon reaching the ground. Still walking towards them, the pilot removed the helmet, revealing a girl's face underneath. The fact that the pilot was a girl was much more obvious now that she was closer. The grey and white flight suit, which was a more form fitting one, revealed plenty of clues about the pilot's gender.

"Nice legs." Yzak heard Dearka's comment and had to agree. Long legs, leading to a body, which had a slender and athletic build and filled out the flight suit rather nicely. The girl looked to be approximately sixteen or seventeen, at least her face revealed as much.

"'ello boys!" The girl said in a cheery voice, her golden yellow eyes scanning everyone nearby, as she pulled out her french braid from behind the suit's collar. Her black hair easily reaching the middle of her back. "I am Juliet Thule. I've been temporarily attached to the Le Creuset Team to deal with the Pulverizer problem ... These papers should make everything clear." Juliet opened the pocket on her right thigh and pulled out a few documents, which she handed over to Waltfield.

"Juliet huh? Unusual name." Dearka grinned while Waltfield examined the documents. "Where's Romeo?"

Juliet smiled back and pointed over her shoulder in the AC's direction, while brushing an errant strand, holding three small beads, out of her left eye with the same motion. "Romeo is right over there." Her eyes narrowed slightly as she looked them over. To Yzak it looked just the same as a guy inspecting a very attractive girl. "Hmm, I guess you two are my new partners. What are your names?"

Dearka brushed past Yzak, closer to Juliet, and held out his hand. "The name's Dearka. Dearka Elsman." He shook the girl's hand and jerked his head towards Yzak. "The silent guy over there is Yzak Joule."

"I can introduce myself, Dearka ... As he already said I am Yzak Joule. That's all you need to know." Yzak cut in icily and gave Juliet a short nod. Unlike Dearka, Yzak didn't like that entire touchy-feely thing. The only time he actually laid his hands on someone was to kick their ass. And clearly this girl wasn't in his "to hurt" list, therefore physical contact wasn't required.

It wasn't like he disliked the girl, in fact quite the opposite, she was quite attractive. He took a slightly bigger breath when he saw Juliet eying him appraisingly, with one eyebrow raised and a mischievous glint in her eyes. However, she was also a Natural. And while Yzak didn't particularly hate Naturals, growing up in an environment where Naturals were seen with contempt and even hate, did leave its marks. Furthermore, ZAFT propaganda wasn't exactly into praising Naturals either. A lot of people he knew, even Dearka, were influenced by it. Though apparently Dearka hadn't reached that line of thought yet.

The real reason why he didn't like this girl being around was that it constantly reminded him that Commander Le Creuset apparently saw them as unable to deal with such a simple task like blowing up one ship and its two Mobile Suits. Therefore the addition of another team member was necessary. Sure, it would increase their combat effectiveness, since Juliet was supposedly experienced with those Pulverizers, but it also picked at his pride. The sooner she wasted that machine and left, the better.

Meanwhile Waltfield was done with the documents and passed them back to Juliet. "Everything seems fine. Welcome to Earth, young lady. I am Andre Waltfield and this is my aide Matrin DaCosta. Now then, I assume you want to know more about the Archangel. Correct? … The ship is at the resistance's base, about 180 kilometers south-east of here. We sent a remote controlled drone over there. It should be right over their base right now. Please, follow me, we should check the video feed and see what they are up to." He beckoned them to follow him inside the Lesseps.

After a short trip they all ended up on the Lesseps's bridge, where Waltfield led them to where one of his officers working on the controls of the drone and maintaining the video feed. The first thing they all saw was the desert. A second later everyone saw the same object.

"The Archangel." Yzak said trough gritted teeth.

The officer glanced over his shoulder and reported. "Sir, they have started to move. They're moving north north-west. From what I see they have gathered their entire force. More than twenty of those jeeps and approximately a dozen of heavier fighting vehicles. A mixture of IFVs, one or two APCs and a few tanks."

Waltfield leaned closer, to get a better view. "They're heading towards the old Darpadia mining complex. In their position I'd do the same thing. That if they manage to get a few anti-air positions there, it would seriously endanger our supply runs … Good move." He studied the number of enemies and frowned. Something wasn't right. "Can you give me a bigger view of the area? Do they have any additional forces nearby?"

"No, sir. We made several runs over the surrounding area, but there's nothing more." The officer replied and called up several images, consisting of various scans of a much wider area. As expected, other than the Archangel and its tiny escorts, there was nothing else.

"I see. Well, we can't allow them to reach their destination; we'll have to intercept them before they have a chance to fortify their positions. I wanted to wait a little longer, but it seems it can't be helped."

"We're going out?" Yzak perked up, his eyes burning with anticipation.

"Yes. Lesseps, prepare to move out." Waltfield ordered the crew, the very same fire burning in his eyes as well. "You three get your machines on the Lesseps and be ready. It's about time we put an end to this resistance."

xxxxx

Hey, sis! I know I haven't written anything for a while, but things have been hectic lately. It's nothing serious, so don't worry, I'll explain later. Anyway how are you? Still working on that super secret project of yours? I can't wait until I found out more about those things you guys are building up there! Mobile Suits and everything, cool! Yes, I know you don't like it when I mention these things and yes, I still remember what dad told us about classified information, I mean who can forget his lectures every time I try to write something? However, since you're the one who told me about it, I'm hardly the one to blame, so take some responsibility as well!

By the way, thanks for the gift you sent me for my birthday! The scope is awesome! And you even managed to get one made in Germany! Looks like you remembered what I told you about those things. Thanks! I can only imagine how hard it was for you to get such a high grade thing like that! Thanks! I'm really, really grateful! You're the best! I just can't wait until I get to try this thing out on the range! One thing, though, mom wasn't exactly happy when she saw the gift, she started to worry and said that I'm too young and so on. You know how she gets whenever something has to do with the military.

Anyway, there is one problem. It's nothing too serious, I think, but dad was very upset when he found out about it. You see, he went to the school one day, yes the very same you once went to, for some kind of a meeting and he found out I had decided not to study in the academy, like everyone else in the family. I have never seen him that mad when he got home that evening, for a moment I was really worried about him, you know how his heart sometimes acts up a little. Well, it turned out that was not the case, his heart was fine, he almost skinned me alive and we had more than a little talk. Have you ever sat in a chair and talked for more than five hours? I could barely feel my ass.

The reason why I don't want to study there is that I don't think I want to serve in the fleet. Sure, the idea of having your own ship, maybe even the kind you're building, does sound attractive sometimes, but that's not me. I'm not a leader, I'm a follower. I want my freedom. Not the anarchy type freedom, but the kind of being alone. Being trapped on a bridge or anywhere else on the ship with dozens or hundreds of other people, that's not for me. I want to be alone. I want to be a Mobile Armor pilot. Maybe they'll even let me pilot one of those Zeros. I took some tests and they said I have that awareness thing the Zero pilots need.

When I told dad about it, you can probably guess he wasn't happy. To him, being a Mobile Armor pilot is equal to instant death. However, I've decided, I won't change my mind! Even if it means going against the traditions of the entire family. Besides, who knows, maybe our family is suited to be pilots as well, not just bridge officers.

I think I managed to convince dad about my decision eventually, but he does try to talk me out of it from time to time. Still, I think he's starting to accept my decision, though he did point out that I'm the black sheep of the family. Somehow, that doesn't worry me; in fact it kinda makes me unique. Maybe I'll be such a good pilot that I'll become famous, just like the Hawk of Endymion. Ace Marco Badgiruel, I like the sound of that.

I guess that's pretty much it. Everyone, especially dad, wants to know that they miss you and I wish you the best of luck in your project. Mom wants to tell you to be careful, but I guess that's one thing none of us has to worry about. You always were the careful one.

Love and everything else of that sort,

Marco Badgiruel

P.S. I tried out the scope on Jenny, living across the street. It's very good, excellent magnification; it lets you see even the tiniest details.

Natarle folded the letter with an amused sigh and put it away. Technically she wasn't supposed to read letters, during time when the entire ship was heading into combat. However, she wasn't exactly reading it either. Natarle had read it so many times, that it was more like looking it over than reading it. Besides, she was excellent at multitasking; doing three or more separate things at the same time was easy. It was one of the qualities that made her such a good bridge officer.

Her mind still lingered on the letter she had received almost two months ago. It looked like her little brother was stirring up trouble back home with his rebellious attitude. Going against the family traditions when it came to military service would truly make him the black sheep of the family. At least father hadn't disowned him. Traditions meant everything for him and seeing one of his own children refusing to follow said traditions was pretty much like a nightmare to him. Natarle was sure of that.

The thought of Marco made her smile one of her rare smiles. Despite the large gap between their ages, they were really close. It had been more than four months since Natarle had last seen Marco and she really did miss him. Perhaps it was due to the fact that Marco had never caused her trouble, like younger brothers usually did. Or maybe it was how children were raised in the Badgiruel family. Respect towards those older than you was just one of the things their parents tried hard to instill in them.

Natarle sighed again and decided to visit her family as soon as possible, even if it did seem that any chance of returning home was very far in the future. More than that, if things went wrong she might never see her family again. Natarle banished the thought instantly. Such thoughts were the last thing she needed right now. She would return home. That was a fact.

At the same time she finished the thought, the sound of several explosions reached hers, and everyone else's, ears. It took only a glance outside, to see a wall of fire and smoke in the distance. A massive artillery barrage had racked the area just about where the Darpadia mines used to be.

"Airborne enemy signals on radar! Can't get an accurate reading do to angle of approach, probably gunships. Two large heat signals behind them. Scans indicate them as … one Lesseps class and one Petrie class land battleships." The radar operator's voice choked slightly, as he informed them few moments after the sudden barrage.

"All personnel, prepare for anti-ship and anti-Mobile Suit battle!" Murrue ordered in a steely voice. It looked like their plan had succeeded a little more than they expected. Relocation to Darpadia mines was meant as bait, to lure out some of the Tiger's forces. Unfortunately it looked like they had succeeded in drawing out the entirety of enemy forces. They had bitten off a lot more than they wanted, not it was time to see if they could chew it as well.

xxxxx

Forget the Bucues! Forget the Bucues! You don't have to fear them! Daniel kept repeating the mantra in his head, while he waited for Mu to launch. The Pulverizer was standing next to the airlock, ready to proceed as soon as the catapult was clear. Meanwhile Kira's Mobile Suit was being equipped in the Archangel's second catapult. Daniel kept drawing quick, short breaths, feeling the familiar flow of adrenaline in his system. He flexed his shoulders as much as the harness would allow him in a fruitless way to calm down.

There was a reason, other than the inevitable combat, for him to be feeling nervous. This would be the first time he went to battle ever since that terrible night. Though he knew that this battle would be at least just as difficult, his mind was mostly focused on the Pulverizer's generator.

After working on it for several days, and performing countless tests, Daniel had figured out a way around the problem. While he couldn't find and fix the source of the problem, due to his lack of knowledge about fusion reactors and unwillingness to risk messing up something so important, he realized it was possible to try and combat the effects of the problem.

He knew that the problem were the unpredictable power spikes. While lasting not longer than a second, they also caused a lot of heat during that short moment. The problem was that once heat reached a certain level, automatic safety systems went off and turned off all higher systems, weapons and boosters among them. The energy was then directed towards cooling the generator. Once the generator was cool enough, the energy would once again be provided for all systems. Typically this didn't last long, since the generator hadn't been worked up to that temperature by continuous use and the rest of the machine was cold enough to quickly dispel the heat.

Realizing that turning off these safety systems would be an epitome of stupidity, Daniel took another approach. He studied the spikes for long periods of time and had eventually calculated the highest possible temperature output the generator would produce when the power spike took place. Then, it was a simple matter of reducing the output of the generator, so that the strongest spikes would hit below the safety limits. Even though it meant that he had to reduce the output by nearly 40 percent, there was still enough power for him to participate in combat. Though he did realize that he would have to keep an eye on the triggers. Spray and pray was completely out of the question. He had to make his shots count. This was only a short term solution, but for now it was the best he could do.

He heard the sound of Mu's Skygrasper being launched into battle and gulped. The catapult was now empty and it was his turn next. The airlock in front of him opened, allowing the Pulverizer entrance into the catapult itself. As the machine stepped inside, Daniel suddenly found his worries gone. There was no turning back. The waiting was over. All he had to do was to go outside and do the best he could in order to come back alive. How hard can this be? There are so many people backing me up that there is no way I can lose. One last thought surfaced before he was thrown into battle.

Daniel managed only a quick look around before lock-on alarms went off, telling him that someone had pointed something undoubtedly nasty at him. Most likely it was one of the gunships filling the skies above them. He instantly faced the Pulverizer at the largest group of the gunships, assuming that the attack would probably come from them. He was right; one of the gunships launched a pair of missiles at him. Few more gunships painted the Pulverizer and fired their missiles as well. Fortunately for Daniel, the Pulverizer's defensive system worked flawlessly. As soon as the missiles came within fifty meters of the machine, they were detected and destroyed by thin, highly concentrated laser pulses lancing out of the Pulverizer's chest.

Daniel retaliated by snapping off a pair of bolts in the general direction of the enemy. He didn't hit a single one, but the formation did scatter wide enough for one of them to stumble into the Archangel's defensive network, where it was blown out of the skies by a short burst from the CIWS emplacements. Two more went up in flames when Mu made a daring pass through the formation, with machine guns and machine cannons blazing.

Three more were shot down when the Strike and members of Desert Dawn poured firepower into them. The Agile gunships exploded like fireworks, sending small, smoking pieces of hull in every direction, while larger parts plummeted to the ground. In one case the pilot managed to eject from his aircraft, specially designed explosive charges blowing off the rotor blades and preventing them from turning into a guillotine. Daniel didn't see what happened to the pilot, because a new threat emerged.

A group of Bucues, arriving only a few moments after the gunships, announced their participation in the battle with missile salvos and railgun volleys. Throwing the Pulverizer awkwardly to the side, Daniel managed to avoid getting hit by the railgun slugs. A few beams took out portion of the incoming missiles, the resulting explosion taking the remaining ones with them.

Kira didn't even pause to consider the new threat. Jumping out of the harm's way, with much more grace and skill than Daniel did, he charged the Bucues, ready to meet them before they could cause greater damage than they had. Already two tanks and one jeep were destroyed. Black pillars of smoke rising from their remains. Kira took out the nearest Bucue, by hitting its front legs with a blast from the beam rifle. It wasn't exactly what he had intended, but Kira didn't have the time to aim properly.

The Bucue crashed on the ground, flipping over as its front was buried in sand, and ground to a halt several meters further. Before the pilot could even come to her senses, the Mobile Suit came under intense fire from rocket launchers, autocannons and tank guns. The resulting explosion gave the ground forces a little payback.

Meanwhile Kira was already among the rest of the Bucues, firing the beam rifle, dodging shots and trying his best to either destroy or herd the Bucues closer to the Archangel, where they could be taken out either by the Pulverizer or the warship's missiles and any other they weapon, not involved in the exchange of fire with ZAFT's land battleships further away.

One Bucue was heading straight at him. Both beam sabers ignited and the missile pack spewing out missiles, trying to pin him down. Kira either blew them apart with the CIWS or simply dodged them and, when the Bucue was close enough, leapt at it. A swift kick from the Strike tore off the Bucue's head, while a precise shot took care of the pilot.

Once he was back on the ground, Kira looked around, using the moment while ZAFT pilots prepared for another attack, to survey the battlefield. In just few minutes they had managed to severely thin out the gunships in the skies and claim three out of six Bucues. The third kill resulting from an unexpectedly precise shot from Daniel. Apparently he had managed to remain calm enough to take aim, even though the Bucue had been saturating his position with its railguns.

The Archangel was busy dueling with the two land battleships, attempting to use the Gotfrieds to take out the enemy, while maneuvering as best as it could, to avoid getting hit in return. Just as the Bucues were about to try attacking him again, Kira spotted several more Mobile Suits, heading towards them. Unlike Bucues, they were bigger, slower and sported much heavier weaponry. However, Kira wasn't concerned about them. They had anticipated the use of assault Mobile Suits and had planned accordingly. Kira's and Daniel's role was to keep the Bucues busy and focused on them. Zuoots were reserved for someone else.

xxxxx

"Commander! What is the meaning of this!? Why are we stationed on top of the Lesseps?" Yzak's voice interrupted Waltfield's musings. He had been using one of the screens to observe the battle and had been truly impressed by the performance of the Archangel's and Desert Dawn's combined forces. They had been able to wipe out his gunship forces and were seriously threatening the existence of his Bucue assault squad. Another squad of Zuoots was on the way to bolster their numbers and put additional pressure on both Mobile Suits, however Waltfield didn't hold much hope in that regard. If the enemy could deal with Bucues, they would surely beat Zuoots as well. Assuming the assault units made that far. The lack of several tanks had told him enough, to expect a detached force out there, waiting to ambush unwary ZAFT machines. That's why he had decided to pull off a little trick of his own, in addition of going out himself to solve the problem personally.

Waltfield turned away from the monitor and regarded the three pilots walking briskly towards him and Aisha. On a closer look, only Yzak's pace spoke of indignation. Dearka and Juliet followed at a slightly more sedate pace. "What's this about?" Waltfield arched his eyebrows. "Are you allowed to complain about orders under Le Creuset's command?"

"Sir, you have to let us participate. We have more experience with that ship and Mobile Suits."

"Muscle Tracer." Juliet quietly pointed out the Pulverizer's identification from behind, but Yzak didn't hear her.

"Did you mean loser's experience?" Aisha quipped with a smirk. Yzak glared at her.

"What did you say!?"

Waltfield chuckled at the Aisha's dig, but quickly collected himself. "Your units are too heavily armed for our kind of battle, you can't keep up with the speed at which Bucues fight."

"Uhh, pardon me." Juliet raised her hand from behind Yzak and Dearka. Everyone turned to look at her. "No offense, sir, but if any of your Bucues could keep up with me, it would be a miracle."

"Oh? Are you sure about that? I doubt you have seen them at work. Maybe you'll be the one who can't keep up." Waltfield said. Juliet met his gaze challengingly and he couldn't hold back another smile. "Very well, if you're so certain about your machine I guess I shouldn't hold you back. We'll see who is the fastest."

"What!? You're letting her go out, but leaving us behind with nothing to do?" Yzak snapped his head towards Waltfield. He was about to say more when Dearka clapped him on the shoulder.

"Calm down, the Commander is right. Orders are orders." He led his friend away, before Yzak's temper could cause more problems. Once they were out of earshot, he added in a more conspiratorial tone. "Besides, the battle will definitely get out of control sooner or later. We'll have lots of chances to step in."

"Planning to disregard your orders?" Juliet's voice said from nearby. They both looked and were shocked to realize that the girl had followed them. It was obvious as to why. The Romeo was positioned next to the Duel and Buster.

Dearka regarded her carefully. Although she didn't look like it, there was a chance that Juliet could rat them out and ruin their little plan. "Maybe. What of it?"

Juliet smirked and shook her head reassuringly. "Don't worry … Dearka. I don't care what you two have in mind and I certainly won't tell on you. Now, if you'll excuse me I got work to do." The girl brushed past them and walked down the hallway which would lead her to the top of the Lesseps.

xxxxx

"Good, looks like everything's going according to plan." A wolfish grin featured on Maria's lips, as she looked at the battle trough the Warchief's powerful optics. The big tank, along with its smaller partners slowly stalked their way through the desert. The heavy combat vehicles were covered with camouflage netting, hiding them from any distant observers and the slow speed at which they were moving kept the dust trails down to a minimum. As far as hiding tanks went, they were pretty much invisible.

After some serious planning it was decided that part of Maria's forces would move as a separate unit, keeping out of view as much as possible, while the Archangel drew the main attention. The reason why they were doing it was because the only way tanks had any chance against Mobile Suits, was if they engaged them from a distance. The mobility of ZAFT machines made them almost impossible to hit at short range. Thus the reason for Maria's unit to be far away from the main battle.

She adjusted the view and did a quick count of the enemy forces, as the cameras scanned the area between the Archangel and the Lesseps and Petrie classes. "Two, three … look at what we have here." Her eyes lit up with excitement, as she spotted the only Mobile Suit model harboring contempt rather than fear and hate from the Earth Alliance tank crews. "I spy with my little eye nine butt-ugly Zuoots in the desert." The chorus of laughs and various comments from the rest of the crew matched her opinion about the assault role Mobile Suit.

While being a relatively decent Mobile Suit when standing on its legs. The Zuoot, in their opinion, was a horrible mistake when it was in the tank mode. Even if it did provide a more stable firing platform and possessed speed similar to an EA tank, it did little to cover up for its faults. The problem was that while it was fast, it wasn't nearly fast enough to avoid getting shot by tanks, which had long been used for destroying targets moving just as fast. The high profile and lack of sufficiently heavy armor was just icing on cake. Those things practically begged to be shot at, and Maria was happy to oblige and put them out of their misery.

She did a quick check of her battle group and cracked her neck. "Okay boys. Forget sniping the Bucues. The Archangel's Mobile Suits seem to have them under control. We've got something else to play with. Martin, take us to that dune, hull-down position, don't bother going slowly anymore. Felix, as soon as we're in position, ready the cannons, pinpoint accuracy. Robert, I want everyone to take positions on that dune as well. Ten meter spread!" Maria barked orders and gritted her teeth in preparation. She didn't have to wait long. Like a beast waking from slumber the massive engine roared in its thunderous voice and the Warchief surged ahead.

"We're in position, Maria." Martin, the tank's driver reported a few moments later, keeping in mind to avoid the type of allocution Maria disliked. The Warchief had nestled almost on top of the dune. The hull was hidden behind the dune's crest, revealing only the turret with the fearsome twin 155mm linear cannons.

Felix, lased the furthest Zuoot, his experience telling him that others would be targeting the nearest. No point in firing every gun at a single target. "I have a target, ready to fire, ma'am." Felix reported and chuckled shortly, even after Maria's heel came down on top of his helmet none too lightly. He was the only person who dared to tease her like that. "Order understood. I won't miss."

On either side of them, the remaining tanks too their positions and picked their targets. As ordered, the tank Commanders reported to Maria when they were ready to fire. "Excellent." Maria grinned. "Everyone, open fire! Fire at will!"

The dune trembled when seventeen cannons, both conventional and linear types, spoke in unison, making the dune similar to an 18th century warship unleashing its broadside. The rounds smashed into the Zuoot formation, tearing apart threads, blowing off parts, punching trough or ricocheting off armor, raising tall pillars of sand and sowing shock and agony among the pilots. One moment they were heading towards the Archangel to help destroy it with their heavy weapons, the other they came under sudden and murderous attack.

Four Zuoots were destroyed instantly. Two more had their threads disabled and were forced to transform to Mobile Suit mode, while the remaining ones suffered only light damage or a serious scare. The shock lasted barely longer than a few seconds. After which they turned their attention on the hostile dune and let loose with their weapons, hosing the tank positions with all the firepower at their disposal. The return fire claimed almost a half of Maria's tanks. The heavy dual cannons on Zuoots' shoulders destroyed them with ease. Their hand held weapons were a different matter. Their small caliber meant that the rounds either bounced off or exploded harmlessly against the thick armor which was built to take frontal hits from much heavier weapons.

The surviving tanks fired again, taking out both Zuoots in the Mobile Suit mode and one of the ones in tank mode. The smoke and dust, created by firing and missed shots, prevented both sides from achieving better results. The two remaining Zuoots tried to pull back. Their resolve shattered by the unexpected ambush and casualties caused by an enemy they regarded as inferior.

As soon as the Zuoots started their retreat, Maria ordered her tanks to split into two groups and go around the dust and smoke cloud, signaling the demise of seven Mobile Suits. With both sides unable to see each other, the Mobile Suits managed to get quite a distance away, before they came under fire from one of the two tank groups.

Another tank was blown up when a Zuoot scored a direct hit to the side of the turret, ripping it off and throwing it more than ten meters from the main body. The destroyed tank was instantly avenged by the Warchief's heavy cannons, which played a similar trick to the Mobile Suit. The thread section jumped, raised its left side and then fell back to the ground, as the Mobile Suit's body was blown off when a pair of hypervelocity slugs was flattened against the armor, transferring enormous amounts of kinetic energy into the target.

"Okay, hold on for now." Maria said when the last Mobile Suit went up in flames. She checked the surrounding area and found it free of hostiles. "Looks like that's all of them. Good job people!" Her voice tightened somewhat when she saw the burning remains of her tanks. Nine tanks, along with their crews were destroyed in this little engagement.

These nine tanks, along with the increasing casualties among the forces near the Archangel, meant that her force was almost completely destroyed. She pursed her lips and rubbed her eyes. "Damn, no matter how much I see this, it's never easy." Maria turned her eyes away from the unpleasant sight and forced herself to focus. "All right, people, form on me and move out. Those Bucues near the Archangel are all alone now and are a perfect target for us. Once we smash them between our forces we'll be able to put pressure on the land battleships. C'mon, we're ending this today!" The Warchief trembled and started moving forward. They made only a few meters when the sensors picked up new contacts. The system identified them at the same time Maria received a message from one of the tanks.

"Mobile Suits incoming! Th… Three of them! Two Bucues and … It's the Tiger! The Tiger is on the battlefield!" Maria felt her heart stop for a moment when she heard the words. The data on the monitor served as further explanation for the empty feeling in her stomach. A trio of Mobile Suits swerved around a dune, a little further than three hundred meters ago and shot straight towards them. Two of them were the Bucues, their dual railguns on their backs swiveling around in search for prey. The one in front, sporting orange and yellow colors, was a Mobile Suit which made every heart clinch in fear, the Lagowe.

"This is Commander Andrew Waltfield, to the group of Earth Alliance tanks in front of me." A voice crackled trough the radio, broadcast on general frequency. "I spared you after the Suez Battle and was willing to let you go today as well. But after you destroyed my Mobile Suits, letting you go would dishonor the lives of my pilots you took, therefore you will die here."

"G-get help." Maria's words came out weak and frightened. The thought of facing the Desert Tiger without any preparation, with just eight tanks was … She clenched her hands, trying to prevent them from shaking.

"What? I didn't hear you!"

"Get…" Maria was about to repeat her order when a sudden wave of grim determination and acceptance washed over her. The Archangel and its forces were too far to help. They would never arrive in time. Maria checked the status of every tank she had under her command and made a decision. There was only one choice left "Get ready! We're going up against the Desert Tiger! Today we'll finish the Suez Battle!"

xxxxx

Once Kisaka was certain they were in a relatively calm area of the battle, he pulled over and turned his head towards where he thought he had seen something. The abandoned husks of the refinery complex and the Archangel's massive bulk made it harder to look for it, but he persevered. If it was what he thought it was, he would spot it easily enough.

Next to him, Cagalli gave him a bit confused look and then stood up in her seat to look over the large man. "What's wrong? Why did you stop?" She tried to see what had caused her bodyguard to abandon the battle. Other than a bunch of half-collapsed buildings there was nothing to see.

Kisaka reached for the binoculars and took another look. "I saw movement behind the Archangel. Somewhere between those buildings. Could be a detached force or something else." He replied curtly and continued his search.

Meanwhile Cagalli, knowing that Kisaka would move only when he was absolutely clear about the cause of the distraction, took a chance to check how the battle was progressing. For now everything looked on the up side. The gunships had been destroyed by Mu's Skygrasper. The pilot was currently heading towards the Lesseps class to put more pressure on it.

The Strike and The Pulverizer were also just about done with the last Bucue. Even though it took some time for Kira to decrease their numbers from three to one, during which, Cagalli had witnessed a lot of their ground forces being destroyed, eventually they had managed to force the lone Mobile Suit out in the open, where the two Archangel's pilots and remaining Desert Dawn's vehicles were pouring firepower at it from ever increasing amount of directions.

Maria's forces were nowhere to be seen. Though, Cagalli could hear echoes of another battle raging somewhere. The fact that the Zuoots, spotted earlier, hadn't arrived meant that Maria was definitely doing her part in wiping out ZAFT forces. The last report she'd heard was that Maria had successfully attacked the reinforcements. Knowing Maria and her experience Cagalli was certain that the Mobile Suits were probably burning already. But this didn't answer the main question. Where was Maria? The plan had been to engage the remaining Bucues after the Zuoots had been destroyed. She probably hasn't destroyed them, then. Cagalli decided, the possibility of an unfortunate outcome didn't even enter her mind. Not now when everything was looking so good.

The Archangel slightly better. Even though it hadn't destroyed or even damaged any of its opponents, the two land battleships were still moving and firing, it had managed to avoid being hit as well. Which, in a lot of ways was a very good thing. Considering the size of the guns the warships were sporting, even a single hit could cause a lot of problems. This thought did not concern Cagalli, however. She felt very confident in the Archangel crew's abilities to stay out of trouble.

Then everything went wrong. "Oh, no. Damn it!" Cagalli heard Kisaka take a sharp breath.

"What!? What's wrong!?" Cagalli snapped her head in the direction Kisaka was looking. Kisaka was spared from explaining, since the cause of his trepidation answered itself. A missile salvo erupted from a massive shape behind the Archangel, accompanied by a volley from its guns. Guns of a second Petrie class land battleship. The cannon rounds, together with missiles, slammed into the Archangel's back.

The ship wasn't destroyed. In fact, beyond surprising and rattling the crew, there was very little damage done. The ship's armor was strong enough to take those hits without failing. At least for now. However, the impact did have some further consequences. The force of the combined explosions was more than enough to make the Archangel crash. Its port side digging into sand, grinding the ship to a halt.

Cagalli needed only a second to realize what was going on. The Tiger had outmaneuvered them and had trapped them in a pincer maneuver. The abandoned refinery complex provided enough of a visual cover to hide the land battleship, as it made its way behind the Archangel. With the ship momentarily disabled, it would take only a moment for ZAFT forces to line up a killing blow.

Cagalli chewed her lip in frustration. She had to do something. Taking on a land battleship in a jeep was impossible. She needed more firepower and speed. Something to make it quickly to the target and maybe even destroy it. Her mind drifted back to the simulation runs she made a few days ago. That would work. There weren't airborne Mobile Suits around to trouble her and something like the ZAFT vessel was an excellent target. She needed an airplane. The second Skygrasper was still inside the Archangel. And with the ship currently grounded, she had an excellent opportunity to get to it. With her mind set, Cagalli jumped out of the jeep and before Kisaka could attempt to stop her, she was sprinting at full speed towards the Archangel.

xxxxx

"Okay. What now?" The Pulverizer looked around, checking the area for safety. "We got the last Bucue and it looks like they have no more Mobile Suits left. So what do we do now? Do we take on those monsters?" Kira knew full well what Daniel was talking about, but he couldn't make the decision as well. While he knew that he could take care of any hostile Mobile Suits, he wasn't sure about his abilities to take on a land battleship.

"I don't know, but we have to think of something. The Archangel won't be able to hold out against all three of those things." Kira replied, slightly frustrated by the fact that Daniel wanted him to make the decision. "Anyway, I think we should…" He stopped when he saw a white glint in the corner of his eye. At first he dismissed it as an optical illusion, but he was forced to change his mind quickly, when a series of explosions walked across the largest group of Desert Dawn vehicles, blowing them apart in pieces of metal and humanity. The rest of them scattered to the four winds.

"What the hell was that!? Where…" Daniel's frightened scream was brought to an end when a new machine used a nearby dune as a ramp to perform a long leap. The white machine crossed the air above them and landed on one knee with its back against them, fifty meters away. "What is that thing? … AC Romeo? What kind of a name is that?" Kira heard Daniel read the report from the displays.

"One, two, three and there you are." A girl's voice said from the AC's speakers, as she brought the Romeo up and faced the two Earth Alliance machines. "My, my such big boys you two are. I hope you'll go easy on me." The Romeo brought up a pair of guns. With more than slight anxiety, Kira noted that the Romeo had more guns than the Strike and the Pulverizer combined.

"Who the hell are you? What do you want?" Daniel demanded and stood next to the Strike, in attempt to intimidate the potential attacker. Even though Kira wanted to ask the same questions he didn't say anything since Daniel had already asked them. Instead he checked the status of the Strike and held his finger on the trigger. There was no way this pilot was friendly.

"Forceful, I like that." The girl chuckled. "I am Juliet Thule, a very nice girl and a Raven. As for what I want. Well, some people would love to see your Pulverizer destroyed. And regarding my experience with them I'm probably among those people as well."

Inside the Pulverizer, Daniel's face went pale. He remembered what that AC had done to the fleet, and it looked like someone had sent one after him. He drew a couple of breaths to calm down. Kira was on his side after all, and it was two against one. Common sense dictated that they were already victorious. There was no way one pilot; a girl nonetheless, could win against them.

"Perhaps we can do it the nice and easy way." Juliet continued cheerfully, like a girl asking her boyfriend to do her a little favor. "Maybe you can activate the self destruct function and save me the effort. I'll even let you leave the Pulverizer. No one asked me to kill the pilot."

"No. It ain't gonna happen!" Daniel's reply was short and simple, just like Kira had expected. There was no way his friend was going to give up the machine his parents died for. His answer also meant that there was no other way, but to fight. With a short sigh, Kira lifted the Strike's rifle and pressed down the trigger.

Juliet's reaction to the denial was even quicker. Daniel had just about closed his mouth and Kira was still in the process of pressing the trigger, when she made her move. A red laser beam scorched a deep scar across the Pulverizer's core. Tiny streams of molten metal evaporated in the air, while white hot edges rimmed the fresh mark. At the same time The Strike staggered backwards when a pair of 88mm rounds slammed into its body.

Kira recovered from the attack and opened up with the beam rifle, trailing the AC, as it skid across the ground. Next to him, the Pulverizer also added its plasma cannons to the mix, but none of them could land a single hit. The AC was just too fast and nimble to get a proper lock on. "Be careful. Don't let her… Watch out!" Kira warned his friend and they both went to different side, when the missile launcher behind the Romeo's shoulder spew out a stream of missiles, raking the ground between them in series of devastating blasts. Unlike ordinary missile launchers, this one sported only three tubes. However, it compensated it by a very high rate of fire. Pretty much like a machine gun that fired missiles instead of bullets.

With series of bright flashes the Pulverizer's systems took out part of the missiles. A panicked jump and a lucky shot from the plasma cannons took out the rest. Landing rather heavily on the side and rattling the majority of the bones in his body, Daniel realized that performing chaotic and impulsive movements wasn't probably the best decision. Sure, he had escaped destruction for now. But it had resulting in the Pulverizer lying helplessly on its right side, vulnerable to all sorts of nasty moves the girl would come up with.

As if summoned by his thoughts, the Romeo emerged from the smoke curtain, separating him from Kira, stopped in front of him. Daniel reached for the plasma cannon controls, but the AC kicked him in the core at the same time he pressed down the triggers. Four azure bolts sailed off into the skies, as the Pulverizer landed on its back. Once again that cheerful voice filled his ears.

"Pathetic. Are you even trying? I mean I expected more from you when you told me to piss off. I thought you actually had some skill, but it looks like…" The chuckle died off in the buzzing sounds of a beam rifle being fired several times.

Emerald darts filled the air above the Pulverizer as the Strike moved through the smoke, firing in the direction of the voice, to force the AC away. Dropping on one knee, the Romeo spun around and returned fire with the 88mm rifle. However, this time Kira was prepared for the attack and countered the blows trough sheer momentum. Just like the AC had done moments ago the Strike Gundam's form erupted from the cloud and made a swipe with its shield, taking several more hits in the process.

The blow caught the Romeo in the shoulder and would have sent it sprawling on the ground if not for Juliet's skill. She quickly turned the stumble into a slide and put some distance between them, dodging the beams as Kira tried to capitalize on his chance. She fired off another salvo of the missiles, but this time it proved to be a mistake.

Several quick bursts from the Strike's CIWS shredded the missiles, causing series of explosions in the Romeo's face. Superheated fragments with razor sharp edges left numerous, tiny marks on the previously pristine surface. The damage to the AC was purely cosmetic, but damage to Juliet's pride was much more severe.

"You shouldn't have done that!" She said in a low and dangerous voice. "YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE FUCKING DONE THAT!" Thoughts about the mission and the priorities regarding it were overwhelmed by the realization that this Gundam, this clunky and ungainly machine had landed a blow. Someone had caught her. The realization grated against her pride like shards of a broken bone. The only way for her to restore her pride was to tear this machine apart.

Kira thought he was ready, he really did. He had the shield up and ready in front of him, the beam rifle leveled and aimed at the AC, and his eyes searching for any signs of what was about to come. He knew it clearly that the little mishap with the missiles had bruised the Raven's pride and that the Strike, not the Pulverizer, was currently on top of the hit list. However, when the Romeo aimed the laser carbine at him, Kira found out what it meant to face a laser type energy weapon.

There was a flash. A brief spike on thermals before the weapon fired few fractions of a second later. The next thing he knew, the right wing of the Aile Striker pack fell to the ground, sliced cleanly off by the intense beam. Before he could sort out his mind, the weapon fired again and this time an ugly scar burned its way across the right shoulder, stopping just barely before it could reach the joint.

By this moment Kira was already firing. The beams shot through the desert, but the Romeo had already moved out of the way. Kira tried to keep up the pressure, but this Juliet was actually a pretty good pilot. She ducked under some beams, skidded out of the way of others and even jumped over those, aimed at the Romeo's legs. And she was doing it while firing back at the same time.

Acting more on instinct than conscious action, he interposed the shield between him and the AC and smiled when the laser beam landed on the shield's surface. He snapped off a few more shots, missing by much narrower margin this time and hid behind the shield again. Another flash told him that the Romeo was firing at him. However, this time, the flash was brighter, as if there was more than one laser weapon being fired at him.

"Kira, get away from there!" Daniel cried over the radio and ran towards him to provide assistance. "She's taking out your…" The voice cut off when several shots slammed into the Pulverizer's chest, knocking the machine on the ground again and scattering pieces of armor nearby.

The Romeo lowered the carbine and sidestepped another attempt from the Strike to change the flow of battle. "Know your place!" Juliet warned the Pulverizer's pilot and fired the heavier dual laser cannon at the Strike's shield. The guy thought he was safe behind it. What he didn't know was that his shield was only a little more than a piece of molten slag. Lasers didn't have much in the way of pure destruction capabilities, but their penetrating power was simply obscene. Like a hot knife through butter. Few more shots and the shield would be gone and the Strike with it.

Warned by Daniel's words and fed up with being forced on the defensive, Kira decided to take the battle to the Romeo. Focusing his anger and the need to protect, he used these emotions to descend down an increasingly familiar path. One which led to banishment of all boundaries and limits usually engulfing his mind. The purple jewel fell through the darkness, only to burst into a supernova a moment later. Kira peeked around the shield and in that brief moment he saw enough to come up with a plan.

Juliet was about to fire again, probably for the last time, when the previously stationary Gundam seemed to burst in flame and smoke. It took her only a moment to realize that the Strike was charging at her, its thrusters flaring for all they were worth. At first, she tried to back off, but even the Romeo's boosters couldn't move the AC backwards just as fast as the Strike was moving forward. Seeing that close combat was inevitable, Juliet tried to increase her chances by firing at the shield again. Unfortunately, Kira was moving on a level slightly above her current state.

Throwing the shield like a frisbee, Kira managed to avoid getting shot, by knocking out the laser carbine from the Romeo's hand. He then whipped out a beam saber and made a quick slash at the Romeo's head. However, the AC dropped on its knees and, with the muzzle practically pressed against the Strike's body, forced the Gundam away.

This came with a cost however; once there was enough distance between them Kira fired the beam rifle and managed to land a few shots. The emerald beams did leave their marks on the AC's armor, but the damage was far too less than he had expected. The Romeo was still operational and retaliated with fury. A long and narrow blade lit up from the Romeo's left forearm and instantly sliced through the air just like the Strike's beam saber earlier. Kira positioned the beam saber in order to block it, but that's when something strange happened.

The pink beam saber clearly met the yellow laser blade. However, it didn't block it. With a bright flash, the yellow blade sunk into the beam saber and flowed right through the magnetic containment field and the plasma inside, emerging on the other side just as pristine and whole as before. Kira had been so certain about the saber's ability to block the blade, so sure in its performance that even his the Seed rage didn't save him from losing the beam rifle. With more than half of it gone, he dropped it, before the volatile contents could explode in the Strike's hand.

"That's right, you bastard, you can't block it." Juliet wasn't surprised even the slightest about the event. She made a few more attacks, carving new scars in the Strike's armor, as it tried to evade the unstoppable blows. "What are you going to do now?"

"I'll think of something. Don't worry." A strangely calm voice answered her. The CIWS on either side of the Strike's head flickered and showered the Romeo with dozens of low velocity rounds. The attack, mostly aimed at the AC's head prevented Juliet from seeing the follow-up attack. Her only warning was the alarms blaring to life when her opponent jammed the beam saber into and through the Romeo's right shoulder, destroying the dual laser cannon behind it. Juliet reacted by firing the carbine and blowing the Strike on the ground, but not before another mark came into existence across the Romeo's core due to the second beam saber.

Seriously pissed off and humiliated, Juliet completely lost her temper and showered the disoriented Gundam with continuous rounds from the carbine. Even if they couldn't penetrate the PS armor, they did rattle the pilot quite a bit and, unknown to her, each shot deflected, took one more bite out of the battery's energy level.

Juliet was so engrossed in punishing the pilot that she nearly missed the second threat. The Pulverizer had once again neglected her warning and had managed to even sneak up on her. Juliet had only a second to move out of the two laser blades aimed at her left side and focus her attention on the new opponent.

Whoever this guy was he wasn't nearly as skilled as his comrade in the Strike, but he did make up the difference by sheer enthusiasm. The chaotic and wild sweeps and thrusts with the laser blades were enough to prevent Juliet from taking any offensive action. All her attention was focused on avoiding the unblockable attacks and waiting for an opening.

The opening came when the Pulverizer made a simultaneous sweep with both of the laser blades and missed. Not giving the bastard enough time to recover, Juliet moved the Romeo forward. A precise thrust took out the right plasma cannon, while a solid knee to the midsection, aided by hit to the head with the carbine brought the Pulverizer down on its side. Wide open and defenseless it was at her complete mercy. Unfortunately, Juliet wasn't feeling merciful at all. "You should have remained in you place after all. Now I will show you why." She aimed the laser blade at the Pulverizer's chest, right where the cockpit was.

She had no idea which time it was that day, but once again an outside factor ruined her chance. The intervention took the form of four missiles, streaking down from the skies and heading right at the Romeo. Juliet barely managed to get away from the sudden attack by jumping over the Pulverizer and using the boosters to get to safety. Strangely, but the missiles didn't explode. They just slammed into the ground and remained there as twisted and broken remains.

"What the hell?" Juliet frowned and searched for the source of the unusual attack. Her sensors beeped and highlighted a new signal nearby. "AC Dingo?" Juliet read the report and turned to face the location where another AC was standing. "Dingo? What the hell are you doing here, Jack?" She stared at the ginger-yellow and white AC standing on top of a dune and observing the three machines.

"My job." The Dingo's pilot replied. "Get away from that Pulverizer, Juliet." Jack said his voice a bit edgy and tense. Five days. Five fucking days spent in the desert, searching for the Archangel and with nothing else to do had driven him to the point where he was about to start shooting at everything in sight. Firing the missiles without arming them was probably the biggest challenge he had faced. He wanted to vent his pent up frustration so much, he almost risked violating the mission and blowing up the Romeo along with the Pulverizer.

"Oh yeah? … Make me." The girl challenged, but an incoming message drew her attention. It was an order from the Lesseps. For a moment she considered ignoring it, but eventually her sense of duty reminded her, that she was currently a member of Le Creuset Team, and that meant taking orders from Commander Waltfield and his second in command.

Keeping the Dingo in her sights, Juliet checked the contents of the message. "Commander Waltfield has been KIA and two land battleships are heavily damaged." She read it out loud. "All ZAFT forces are ordered to retreat." Grudgingly, she moved away from the slowly recovering Pulverizer, pausing only to collect the laser carbine she's dropped earlier. This is not over. This is so not over. She promised herself and threw one last, hateful glare at the three machines.

xxxxx

While Juliet was having fun with the Strike and the Pulverizer, Yzak and Dearka were cursing the entire world at how unfair it was. Not only were they ordered to remain on the Lesseps and out of the action, but they also seemed to have serious problems hitting their target. The Archangel was right in front of them, trapped between the three land battleships. A perfect target for anyone with a decent aim. Unfortunately, it looked like their accuracy was shot. Big time. No matter how much firepower they poured at the damned ship, their shots always missed. It was as if the Archangel was protected by some kind of an invisible shield that diverted all their attacks.

Yzak took another aim and fired at the Gotfried cannons on top of the ship. The beam streaked towards the target, but eventually missed by a few meters. "What the fuck is wrong with it? Why can't I hit the damned ship!? It's a sitting target for crying out loud!" He swore and observed Dearka's attempts to destroy the ship. They failed, just like his.

"Something might be wrong with the computers." Dearka mused. Given his preference for ranged combat he knew a lot more about mechanics surrounding it, than his friend. "Either they're being jammed or it's caused by something else. Maybe it's because of the environment's heat or humidity or something else." While he was trying to figure out how to hit the Archangel, Dearka saw one of the ship's launch catapults open up and disgorge a second Skygrasper a moment later.

The said fighter plane soared in the sky and joined the first one, as they headed towards the lone Petrie class land battleship the Henry Carter. The few remaining gunships tried to intercept the two aircraft; however they were no match for the highly advanced planes. If there was one type of weapons where the Alliance held the upper hand, combat aircraft was one of them. ZAFT's counterparts were more suited for aiding Mobile Suits rather than independent action. As a result, the last few Agiles were blown out of the skies with near contemptuous ease.

"Fuck this! I've had enough!" Yzak growled and launched the Duel from the deck. It turned out that Yzak had been serious about disregarding Waltfield's orders. Dearka tried to call him back, but he didn't listen. The Gundam made a long jump and landed on the ground with a heavy thud. The recently added assault shroud armor set clanged, as the armor plates rattled against the main body. "I'll rip you to pieces." Yzak promised and started to move towards the Archangel. Or at least he attempted to. The Duel only managed to take a few steps before it was assailed by the same problem that had plagued the Strike some time ago.

The Duel's feet sunk into the sand, causing the Mobile Suit to stumble and nearly fall over. "What the hell?" Yzak struggled to keep his machine standing, but it was almost impossible. Every step he took made the Duel stagger even more. It was like walking on ice. Every time the Duel's foot came down, it slipped in a completely different direction. Eventually the Duel was brought down to the knees. To further add insult to his pride, several surviving jeeps started peppering the immobilized Duel with RPGs, circling the machine like a bunch of jackals surrounding their prey. The Phase Shift armor protected the Duel from harm, but if they kept it up, eventually the battery would be drained and then the Duel's pilot would die a ver embarrassing death.

Dearka watched his friend's misfortune and considered helping him, however the weapons Buster carried, weren't exactly precision instruments. There was a fair chance of hitting the Duel as well. And that was something Dearka didn't want to chance. Instead he decided to use said weapons to bring down the Archangel. He brought the weapons up and aimed them at the ship's center, instead of a separate part. It would take more than one hit to penetrate the armor, but this way it was impossible to miss.

The anticipation died, however, when he saw the Archangel finally lifting itself from the ground and, after taking a direct hit from the Lesseps cannons without heavy damage, turning around to face the Lesseps and the Buster on top of it. The two Gotfrieds rotated and set themselves on the land battleship. Dearka didn't need any more clues of what was about to happen. Taking a sharp breath he jumped off the Lesseps. No sense in standing on a ship that was about to be hit by guns of the Archangel's caliber. He made just in time.

Four, thick beam lanced out of the Gotfrieds and drilled their way into the Lesseps. Large sections of the vessel went up in flames, the main gun turrets were blown clean off and the main hangar was exposed to the world. The mighty ship slowly ground to a halt, spitting smoke and flames from its wounds. Few moments later, the Lesseps started moving again, but this time in the opposite direction. The Lesseps was retreating.

Just when Dearka finally managed to get the Buster on its feet, the communications display beeped. He received a message about the demise of Commander Waltfield.

xxxxx

"Pop smoke! Pop smoke! Reverse, full speed!" Maria's frantic voice filled the Warchief. Her voice quieted down for a moment when the tank stopped and started moving backwards causing her to hit her head against one of the displays. She adjusted the helmet and glanced at the screens. The image was rapidly filling with smoke, as the grenade launchers on the Warchief's hull launched several smoke rounds, providing an instant cover for the tank.

Two beams scorched the ground where the Warchief would have been, if not for the sudden change in direction. Through the smoke Maria saw a massive shape blitz past them. "Felix! Cut the recharge cycle by half! I want you to put as many rounds downrange as possible ... Don't worry about the range and velocity. The armor's not that tough. All we need is a single hit to put that bastard down long enough for us to finish him off."

"We lost Alpha Three!" The radio operator reported with more than slight panic in his voice. Even though he was supposed to be an experienced soldier, no one blamed him. Seeing their forces being slowly destroyed was enough to unsettle even the most hardened soldiers.

The loss of Alpha Three meant that they were down to three tanks. Five more wrecks littered the desert. Burning among them were the remains of two Bucues. Maria's forces hadn't been solely on the receiving side. However it was a small consolation. The Tiger was still alive and everyone knew that he was perfectly capable of taking out the three survivors.

With a mechanical whine the Warchief's turret turned to face the area where the recently destroyed tank was supposed to be. Once they emerged from the smoke, they saw the tank, but the Lagowe was already gone. Most likely it was using the dunes as cover while it circled around them and prepared for another attack run.

The other two tanks, Alpha Two and Alpha Six, according to the ID tags, were trying to head for the Warchief. A close formation, where each tank covered a certain sector, was much safer than being all alone in the open. The closest one was approximately seventy meters away, while the other one had a little over than a hundred meters to go.

"Head towards Alpha Six, he's the one in most danger." Maria ordered the driver, while trying to figure out where the enemy was. "Keep the guns on those dunes over there! There's a high chance that he's hiding behind them." She barely managed to finish her sentence when the Lagowe swerved around the dune she had indicated and went after the most vulnerable tank.

All three tanks opened up with their cannons, but none of the rounds struck. They all landed behind the orange Mobile Suit, dotting the desert with massive explosions. As the Lagowe approached them firing became even more difficult. The tanks couldn't rotate their turrets fast enough to track the target. This lead to Waltfield approaching his target without being fired at.

Alpha Six, a Cherokee class linear tank tried to escape, but it was too late. The Lagowe was too fast and too close. The beam sabers lit up and, with an almost graceful motion of the Mobile Suit's head, sunk into the tank's hull. The beam sliced cleanly trough the armor, cutting off the turret and turning the crew into ashes. The destroyed tank burned for a moment and then exploded when the linear capacitors cooked off.

"Fire, Felix, fire! Bring him down!" Maria edged her gunner through gritted teeth, ignoring the tears running down her cheeks. Another crew gone. It was like Suez all over again, her forces, her soldiers were dying around her, slaughtered by an enemy they couldn't even touch. Out of those who had survived that battle, only two tanks had remained. Her Warchief and the Pitbull nearby. The forces she'd sent to fight with the Archangel had been destroyed, leaving only Desert Dawn's jeeps to finish the fight.

Yellow tracers crackled through the air behind the Lagowe as Felix tried his best to score a hit. The hits missed, just like before. The Mobile Suit moved too fast. Alpha Two tried to do the same, but the results weren't any different. The Pitbull's gunner even opened up with the coaxial machine gun. Clearly they were just as close to breaking point as Maria felt about herself.

In response, the Lagowe fired its beam cannons, the Mobile Suit's gunner once again demonstrating her skill. The beams speared trough the bottom left side of the Pitbull, melting off its threads and fusing the wheels together effectively immobilizing the tank. A mobility kill. One more tank was about to become a casualty.

The Lagowe turned around in a wide turn and headed for the disabled tank in order to finish it off. The crew of the Warchief saw the Pitbull's turret rotate, trying to line up a shot, but even at this distance it was obvious that the attempt was futile. The crew's life could be measured in seconds. The beam sabers were already lit and once again, the only guns that could save the unfortunate tank, were trailing slightly behind the Lagowe. However, mere seconds before the Lagowe claimed another kill, the Pitbull's crew pulled off an unexpected maneuver.

The undamaged threads started moving again, the tank's engine putting every bit of its power to move the disabled tank. With threads on the left side completely disabled, the tank rotated sharply to the left. This, coupled with the already moving turret, was enough to place the gun's barrel in the Lagowe's path.

The Mobile Suit's legs crashed into the barrel at the same time the beam saber bit into the hull. The metallic tube bent, twisted and eventually gave way when the turret's supports were sliced off by the beam saber. While not much damage was done to the Lagowe, the improvised obstacle was enough to slow it down. Enough for the Warchief's guns to finally catch up with the elusive target.

Both guns fired at the same time, the crackling sound signaling the discharge of two hypervelocity slugs. The shots crossed the distance in an eye blink and one of them even struck the target. The slug flattened itself against the place where the left hind leg was attached to the body and transferred its energy into the target. The joint, unable to endure such force, shattered. The Lagowe itself was thrown to the side, tumbling violently for several meters, mangling the back mounted beam cannons in the process. Eventually the Mobile Suit stopped and remained lying on its side.

The crew of the Warchief stared at the wreckage they had turned the Lagowe into. Even though they all had hoped for it, none of them actually expected the shots to connect. After all, it was the Desert Tiger they were facing. Scoring such a lucky shot against an enemy like that was unbelievable. Yet there it was, the Lagowe was barely more than wreckage in the desert. They stared for what seemed like eternity and just as they were about to announce it to the Archangel, the Lagowe moved.

Slowly and carefully, the Mobile Suit struggled to get back on its remaining feet. Even though it had lost its main weapon, one leg and had suffered a large amount of internal damage, it wasn't destroyed. The relatively low velocity of the slugs had failed to reach the force necessary to either destroy the machine or kill the pilots trough kinetic trauma. Oh, Maria was certain they were experiencing one hell of concussions and were barely able to remain conscious or even control the Mobile Suit, much less fight a battle. For all intents and purposes, the fight was over, the Desert Tiger was defeated. Alive maybe, but certainly not a threat.

However, for Maria it wasn't enough. There was too much blood on the Tiger's hands to let him go. A silent clearing of the throat from Felix's position told her all she needed to know. With a trembling hand she reached for the radio and activated the loudspeakers. "Tiger! Remember Suez! … Remember the 26th! … FIRE!" The last part was meant for Felix, but she forgot to let go of the switch.

The Lagowe stopped its attempts to get up, the monoeye shifting to look directly at the Warchief. For a moment Maria thought that the Mobile Suit was looking directly at her. Perhaps it was the stress of the battle, but she felt that there was more than just a machine looking at her. The look it gave her wasn't filled with anger or hate, but rather … a plea for mercy. Maria shook her head. It was all in her head. She was imagining things. Mobile Suits didn't have emotions. They were just machines. Lifeless constructs. Weapons of war. Right?

The Warchief's guns spoke again. This time the sound was stronger. Louder. Felix had used the moment to increase the velocity of the weapons, ensuring a definite kill if the rounds connected. They did. One round perforated the area right behind the Lagowe's front legs, while the second one blew off the rear portion of the machine. Numerous chunks of the hull erupted into the air, like a surreal version of confetti. The larger pieces were thrown in separate directions, widening the Lagowe's grave and covering it with a thick cloud of smoke and dust.

Inside the Warchief, Maria took off her helmet and hid her face behind her hands. Her quiet sobs filled the tank's interior. She didn't care if her crew could hear her. It was over. After all those deaths, all those months, the Suez Battle for the 26th Atlantic Federation Expeditionary division was finally over.

---

A/N - It's been a while, I know. Lots to do on my part. Unfortunately I can't promise that the next chapter will be up sooner. I will try or course, but since I have to write a research work in order to get my bachelor's degree, my priorities aren't exactly focused on the story.

Anyway, I wanted to make this a two part chapter, but eventually I decided to go for broke and jam it in one chapter, so that I could finish on the same not the series did. Though with a twist.

Anyway, I know that the following is usually put near the end of the story, but I decided to do it now. The more time I have, the more deeper various things can be included in the storyline.

What I'm talking about is that I'm offering you all a chance to suggest characters you would like to see in the stories. There are two more stories following this one, so long term planning is needed. I do have characters of my own ready to play the needed roles, but I thought about giving you, ladies and gentlemen, a chance to influence the story. Anyway, if you have a badass pilot, a truly nefarious villain or any other kind of character in mind, feel free to either PM me or drop the information about him/her in a review.

Same thing goes for mechs, ideas or anything else you like or dislike. If you have come up with a AC that would show those primitive Mobile Suits who is the master, or a Gundam that would put the cocky ACs in their place, I'm open to suggestions.

However, bear in mind that if you offer me your characters or mechs, you're practically putting me in charge of their fates, there will be a lot of nasty stuff going on.

- Asmus