Few of the GUNTRUP soldiers or 'Fucked Up Newbies' as they were irreverently called sometimes got into the fight over the insults threw at them by the MS 'flyboys' but the majority of them didn't care or at the very least appear to not care. After all, their commander had succinctly put it in her pep talk before the operation, 'Many of the flyboys compensate their lack of skills and techniques with size'. That joke got all of them in stitches. Sexual innuendo of the remark aside, that remark was a rather accurate description. Few aces aside, many mobile suit pilots couldn't coordinate their attacks well and instead independently as well as efficiently attacking designated targets.

That was where the GUNTRUPs doctrine differed by emphasizing tight squad-based integration. Also, it was the doctrine that caused them to move out of the shuttles they were on in fast but orderly manner even though explosions were all around them.

Even though they had lost one of the shuttles due to the CIWS installed on the enemy carrier, most of the attacking platoons had landed on it safely and couldn't be reached by the ship's weapons.

"Listen up, people." their platoon commander said, her voice muffled up a bit by the breathing apparatus. Unlike the respiratory system in a mobile suit, GUNTRUP's breathing apparatus consists of small detachable oxygen tanks that were placed near the cockpit seat and connected to the GUNTRUP's soldier's flight suit directly. This allowed weigh reduction in certain operation as well as allowing the operator to equip himself with one of the tanks for certain operation where he would be required to work in extreme atmosphere. "My squad will lead the diversionary attack, whereas Squad Two will provide support fire. Squad Three and Four will lay the charges. Understand?"

The respective squad leaders acknowledged the order. Even in each squad, there would be smaller fire teams acting independently but yet synchronized with others.

"JACKHAMMERS!" the platoon commander called out as the first flight of hostile mobile suits appeared to engage them. The fire teams quickly took cover and fired at the mobile suits as the GUNTRUPs equipped with the said anti-mobile suit weapons prepared to fire them. After getting the lock-ons, the Jackhammers were launched toward the mobile suits. The missile-based weapons were truly fire and forget weapons, allowing the operators to move on after firing them. While basically useless against mobile suit equipped with Phase Shift armor and mobile suits piloted by aces skilled enough to shoot the weapon, those counterarguments were really moot points because only aces would pilot mobile suits equipped with Phase Shift armor and the chance of surviving the clash against them were quite minimal regardless of what weapons were used.

The missiles hit almost all of the targets except one but that was taken care by a well-aimed shot from a beam sniper rifle.

"All right, prepare to…" the platoon commander trailed in giving her command as more enemy mobile suits appeared. "Dug in, quick!"

In one of the fire teams of Squad Two, an ensign complained even as he fired a shot, "Looks like we're really FRYs."

"Shush," the team's NCO hissed. "If the Lieutenant finds out about your blasphemous words, she would really screw you and then hang you out to dry."

"She can do me if she wants," the fire support soldier, a woman, joked. "Even sideways."

"Make sure you let all of us watch," the sniper remarked as he aimed at one of the nearby mobile suits.

"Twenty for admission,"

"Let me join and I'll make it a hundred," the NCO said, a stark contrast with his statement few seconds prior.

The team members continually joked even as their enemies descended upon them; it was best to laugh in the face of the danger since it would be pointless to be solemn and morose if they were going to die.

"I'm wondering, Shinn," Fllay asked in a calm manner, a contradiction with the way her mobile suit was keeping constant pressure on his, "Since you don't want revenge, why are you risking your live here? If you joined the attack, it would have been more productive. Perhaps we wouldn't even meet in the battle."

The energy fluctuations caused by their melee weapons clashing was distractingly bright enough that Shinn almost missed the other hand that was trying to stab Skyblade using an armour penetrator. 'What the hell is she talking about? That doesn't make sense. Since she's going to pull off something major, there's no way we wouldn't meet in the battle even if I went there. Also, why am I barely keeping up with her in the current SEED mode? Last time I checked, she decked Skyknight so fast that I don't even know it happened until it started crashing.' "I told you that I'm going to stop you."

"Is that so…" Dammerungsfee faked an attack by pretending to aim for Skyblade's leg but when Shinn fell for the ruse, it tried to stab the torso section.

The other mobile suit countered by firing its CIWS at the black mobile suit's main optic. Why the Phase Shift armor protected it from any lasting damage, that attack gave Shinn the precious moments to back away. He was tempted to try and slash his way through but didn't dare because Dammerungsfee had various secondary sensors that attacking at the moment was a big risk that he didn't want to take.

As if knowing what the other was thinking, both pilots stopped attacking and let their mobile suits floated.

"In all honesty, I'm going to feel a bit guilty killing you. Cagalli had taken a liking to you," Fllay said.

"Hah. I'm the one who will feel troubled at having to explain to Kira why I killed you." It was a straight face bullshitting as he wasn't even sure whether he had the chance to do that in the first place, he thought rather darkly. Even though Lacus had provided a lot of information on Dammerungsfee including its weak points, he found them to be quite useless. For example, the black mobile suit Phase Shift armor strength was only comparable to Strike 'Classic'. Hence, in theory it could be damaged quite easily with improved projectile-based weapons. However, that knowledge is simply moot if he couldn't even get a lock with his targeting computer.

Apart from that, the increasingly annoying mobile suit displayed some rather unfair abilities. When Shinn managed to sidestep from one of its thrusting attack and it overshot, he was about to sigh in relief as it had to turn around in a big circle in order to attack him again. That assumption almost cost him his life when Dammerungsfee simply braked few meter away, turned around on its axis and slashed. It was a good thing Skyblade held its beam sabers in a defensive manner and Shinn blocked the attack. Shinn was confident that he could probably replicate the move if not for the fact that he would be turned into an instant hamburger patty due to the resulting impulse force caused by the maneuver.

That doesn't take into account about the high output mode that has yet to be activated, along with Fllay's ability to turn 'red eyes'. Shinn chuckled ironically. All in all, a favorable odd of winning, for his opponent that is. He decided that he had to end the fight as soon as possible. Activating his SEED mode, Skyblade took the initiative to attack this time. Dammerungsfee fired of its beam rifle but Shinn deftly maneuvered closer and closer.

Just as he was within range, he attacked with the beam saber in the left hand while the other prepared to block any attack. It was just as well since he missed due Dammerungsfee sidestepping. At the same time, the black mobile suit began the motion of turning its body in order to maximize the strength in its slash.

Shinn raised the other beam saber and as soon as the two swords met, Shinn fired the thrusters to move away. The resulting move caused Dammerungsfee to 'stumble' and Shinn would have taken the initiative to attack if not for it turning and delivered a hammer kick on Skyblade's shoulder. Instinctively, Shinn used the resulting impact to cause Skyblade to turn and deliver its own hammer kick, managing to hit Dammerungsfee instead.

In response, Dammerungsfee kicked Skyblade away.

"Not bad," Fllay complimented. "You almost damaged the main optics."

Shinn took the time to adjust his helmet that became slightly out of place when the cockpit was jarred by kicks. The kick really shook to the bone but the other pilot sounded as if she wasn't affected. Damn. He should have given in to his hormones and kissed Cagalli silly before he left. At least he would have been contented in the fight.

But at last he saw the chance of winning the fight.

Athrun subtly turned away from the sight of one of the ships under his command capitulating after being subjected to intense enemy fire. He personally knew the captain of the ship as they had meet at a gynecologist clinic where he took Lunamaria to have her periodical checkup. The bubbly and cheerful man was really looking forward to seeing his second child which would be born in three months time. However fate had decreed otherwise. Athrun hated, really hated the fact that he would be the person to deliver the bad news to the captain's wife. Sure, he could always take the coward's way and asked someone else to deliver the news but it wouldn't be fair to the wife and himself.

The responsibility as a captain was even heavier than he had expected.

While he had written reports for Rusty and Nicol's deaths in the first war and for the Minerva wing in the short stint he joined ZAFT in the second war, the feeling was different. He wasn't making light of their deaths but writing about a person isn't as hard as writing a report about a ship's destruction. If he couldn't describe enough about the pilots under his command, then words couldn't even describe the tragedy where a ship full of men and women lives was obliterated just like that.

"We have scored another hit on one of the mother ship's escorts in vector X1200-Y730-Z6220," the CIC operator announced.

"Good. Keep up the attack," he said.

Yet, he guiltily felt a small sense of satisfaction in dealing out the punishment to The Destined's Nazca carrier. Even if it was an enemy vessel, it was rather wrong of him to feel such vindication as the ship also had people on board, people who despite their allegiance had their own dreams and ambitions. Unfortunately, all of those dreams would be extinguished under his order.

"No offer to surrender from any of those ships?" Athrun asked suddenly.

"No sir."

Sometimes he wondered why he entered military despite being too soft. But then he would remembered the face of his wife and mother to their soon-to-be-born daughter as well as what happened to his father and mother in first war.

"Then keep pushing until they stop or surrender. And tell those GUNTRUPs to hurry up with their mission to destroy the generators. We can't wait until Nemain recharges."

The Special Operation ship was basically knocked out of the commission, leaving Athrun in command of the whole operation. While short communiqué with the ship indicated that the ship didn't suffer any damage from firing its ORION guns, it was running on emergency power supply as of the moment until it could generate enough power to be operational. As such, the ship had to move out of the battle.

With Nemain's inability to fire again for at least another hour, Athrun had his work cut out for him. The enemy ship's barrier came back online in the middle of the fight, trapping the assault force inside it. Because of that he had changed the order for the assault team to target barrier generators to enable the fleet to attack the ship head on.

At that time it was a race against time and he hoped that the team would be successful before the whole fleet was wiped out. His eye felled on one of screens showing Guardian fighting against many opponents at the same time. Maybe what Dearka said was true: Kira was the mobile suit's pilot. If so, he hoped that his friend would succeed.

Dearka cursed as a wreckage of his wingman's mobile suit floated by him. "Damn! Aren't those midgets done yet?" he tersely said over the communication network.

"The GUNTRUPs are facing heavy resistance at the bombing site," his new second-in-command replied. "They're requesting for space cover."

The blonde clucked his tongue while pressing the trigger button. The shot would have hit his target but it managed to evade. "Cover? We're not exactly running a space sightseeing tour here and the whole area isn't really saturated with enemy mobile suits..."

"Yes, but…"

"I know," Dearka stated, cutting the person off, "Just making a point. I'm putting you in charge of maintaining space superiority here so that extraction can be executed in this corridor. I'll go and scare the baddies away from those midgets."

"Yes sir."

Dearka's GOUF engaged his thrusters toward the coordinated where the GUNTRUPs were holed up. Upon arrival he couldn't help but whistle at the amount of enemies those retarded mobile suits wannabes facing. The mission planner had grossly underestimated The Destined's mobile suits arsenal. The midgets were facing around thirty ZAKUs, even though it was predicted that The Destineds would send most of their mobile suits to engage other mobile suits. Dearka made a note to find the armchair mission planner after the battle and throw that person out of an airlock. "You're really FUNs after all," he said as he slashed a mobile suit that was the closest to his. "Where's Lieutenant Yzyva?"

"Skipper bought the farm," someone replied.

"And you are?"

"Sergeant Bowler. Currently leading the outfit."

"Progress?"

"Halfway done but we have to plant another three charges. Squad Three didn't manage to set them."

"Well?"

"With all due respect sir," the statement was said in the way that was anything but respect, "we're very happy to give them targets to shoot at but that wouldn't solve the problem."

"What would solve the problem?" Dearka said as he eyed two more ZAKUs coming his way.

"I don't know sir, I'm just a grunt. But maybe if you can draw the fire from say, half of them, we can make a run for it?"

"Heh," Dearka smirked. "Only half? That's an insult… to them." While he could engage around five or even seven mobile suits simultaneously, facing fifteen mobile suits would require special mobile suits such Strike Freedom or Legend as well as the special pilots to go with them. However, that said, Dearka was also special but in another aspect: he had very high luck. "Very well, grunt. I'll draw them away from you. Just remember that after the battle, 'Lucky Champ' Dearka would accept everyone's kowtows."

"Hell sir, we'll even buy you drinks for a month so that you can kill yourself by alcohol poisoning."

"You're on," Dearka said as he dove right into the thick of the battle

"Join the space army, they said," a Support GUNTRUP soldier complained as his machine began moving toward the designated objective. "Literally see the world, they said. The pay a bit small but the romantic experience will last you for the life time." He scoffed as his unit picked up an explosive device floating nearby; the fire team that was supposed to set it had been destroyed. "I should have stayed on as an assistant physics professor in the University of Budapest but no, I have to be stupid to join the ragtag outfit with meager salary. Even chimpanzees gets more than what I have..."

"Shut up, egghead and keep doing your work," the other member of the team admonished the man. "Set the charges while I kept you safe."

"How reassuring," the former said, "since you're no Audie Murphy."

"Who the hell is that?"

"Shit! You're from Atlantic and you don't know? Audie Leon Murphy is the most decorated soldier… you know what? Just forget what I was going to say and just concentrate on covering me while I set up the charges. Maybe after this is over I'll give you some medal or something." The man decided that it was stupid of him to even try telling his moron of a team member that Audie Leon Murphie was one of the most decorated soldiers in before Cosmic Era.

"Oh… okay,"

"Stupid Atlantican," the man muttered as his GUNTRUP began setting up the explosive device it was carrying on the intended spot. A press of the button and the machine began boring into the ship in order to deliver its deadly payload. "Keep it clear for twenty seconds and it's done."

"Easy for you to say!" his team member said his own GUNTRUP was facing a menacing ZAKU armed with a battle axe.

A shot pierced through the ZAKU before it could do anything, destroying it.

"Wha?"

The demolition expert looked at the originating point where the shot came from and recognized the white mobile suit. Even though it was still fighting against its own opponents, it could still fire a shot to save his team member. "I hope that the pilot didn't come from Atlantic. It would have been a waste because a moron like you would never appreciate such a person," he chided his team member.

"All charges have been set up."

"Good," Athrun said as explosions began appearing all over The Destined's ship and the barrier began to falter. Then, just like a fragile bubble soap, the barrier burst for the second time, this time it wouldn't be activated again. "Tell all mobile suits and GUNTRUPs to fall back. I want all batteries to be aimed at that ship."

Hilbert stood calmly amidst the panic in the background, with everyone else scurrying to handle the crisis that they were in. Reports were pouring in but he didn't need to read all of them to know that the ship would eventually be destroyed.

Peace would not reign.

It was saddening, he mused, of how humanity always giving lip service to peace, saying that it was what they really wanted. But yet, when given the chance, a real tangible chance of finally having peace they would turn away from it, saying needless things such as personal liberty.

What was wrong with guided liberty? It wasn't as if humanity would really be curtailed its freedom. All what it would do was create a society whereby ones genetic traits would be used to determine where the person would work. Society would be bereft of conflict as the work assignment would be a fair one and no one would be left behind. No one would only work for his own good but rather work to better the whole humankind.

In such a world, a conflict would be the thing of a past because everything would be determined purely on genetics, the coda of the individual. There would be no such thing as political influence or manipulation and no power through dishonest means. Those were the fuel of wars and when they were removed, there would be no wars.

United Nations Integration Treaty was also going the same path of The Destineds, trying to foster unity throughout the Earthsphere but the way it was doing could be considered as half-cooked. No, calling it as half-cooked was an insult to the saying. UNITY was trying to patch a big problem with nothing more than a single band-aid.

That was why he approached Lacus Clyne, proposing the real solution to the problem. However, to his disappointment, the immature leader of UNITY turned down the suggestion, telling him that there was no way everyone would accept such a solution.

That argument to him was flawed because such resistance was to be expected and quelled. After all, there was no way those crooked fiends in power would just give up their thrones even if such an action would be to the good of humankind. They had too much to lose; the only way was to force them to give up those powers. As for the mass, of course they would feel apprehension towards something that didn't know as it was within their nature. But that didn't mean that they weren't willing to accept the Destiny Plan. The best way to allay their fears was to show them the beauty of it, by executing the plan and then let them be the judge.

Yet, Lacus turned him down just like that.

"Sir," one of his adjutants called out as the whole place shook due to shelling. "We must evacuate the ship."

He didn't move from his spot but instead raised hand.

"Sir?"

"Just let me be. I wouldn't be leaving."

"But sir," the adjutant called out in alarm. "If this keeps up, the ship would be destroyed."

"I know that."

The adjutant finally realized what her esteemed leader meant by that statement.

"You may leave," Hilbert said. "As for me, I will stay here and face my destruction."

"But who will lead us?"

"When Gilbert proposed Destiny's Plan, he foresaw the future where everyone is important," Hilbert stopped as he turned toward her, "but yet no one is not expendable for the good of everyone else. And that also include the leaders themselves. I have failed in our sacred mission so would have to face the consequence of my ineptitude."

"But…"

"Go now," he turned toward everyone else who was still alive inside the room. "and bring everyone else out. That would be my final order."

The adjutant nodded before issuing the order for the place to be evacuated.

Hilbert turned back to his musing, this time focusing on the image of the planet Earth. Even despite his best efforts, the world still rejected the true peace and thus setting up itself for more and more conflicts in the future. How long UNITY would be able to handle them before they finally get out of hand?

Two months? Two years? Or maybe a little bit longer, say twenty years?

Because of what UNITY did, the world would continue be an ugly place to be despite its beautifully deceptive white and blue appearance when looked from space. If that the case, then he didn't want to be in such a world; the world that was oppressed by hypocrisy, a hypocrisy that would be perpetuated by its leaders who failed to learned from the lesson of the past.

Yes, he thought to himself, he didn't belong in that world.

A shot landed nearby, causing a large explosion that engulfed everything in its path, including him.

With his death, so did the dream of eternal peace in Earthsphere.

"Why can't you understand that what you're going to do will cause countless deaths?" Shinn shouted as both mobile suits continued to fight. "The war is almost ending, and UNITY will win; humanity will win! Yet you still want to carry out your plan."

"You're beginning to sound like a broken record."

"Huh?"

"Sorry, it's a private joke between Cherubim crew members."

'She could even remember even that?' Shinn thought to himself as he recalled the dossier Lacus provided on Cherubim. "You do remember part of your memory. If you stop this, we'll be able to help you get your memory back!"

"Unfortunately, I already remember everything." Dammerungsfee retreated a bit. "It's been interesting fighting you but I'm afraid that I don't have the time to waste anymore. The war is ending and UNITY is going to win."

'What the hell… Did I miss something?'

"Good bye, Shinn. I don't expect your forgiveness." Fllay said as she attacked.

'Damn. It's that red eyes again!' he thought. 'Looks like she's finally going all out even though I was giving it all in the first place.' He chuckled as he began preparing his final stand. "Sorry, Cagalli. Looks like your brother's girlfriend is too powerful for me to return home safely."

'Itte rasshai.' Her voiced was like a surge of electricity in his soul. The world suddenly becoming slow as her image played in his mind again and again. 'Itte rasshai.'

Skyblade crossed its beam sabers in front of its cockpit like a giant scissors. When the tip of Dammerungsfee's anti-ship sword passed through them, he raised both sabers, effectively redirecting the thrust of the attack.

"I must return… I can't die here," Shinn muttered to himself. "Cagalli would be waiting for me, therefore I must not die here… even it kills me, I must return to her…" He closed his eyes as he began to feel his senses being overloaded with heightened awareness and with it, excruciating pain. But the pain is nothing to what he must do. He opened his eyes, revealing the similar shiny crimson orbs in them. "I MUST RETURN!"

Skyblade pushed Dammerungsfee away with a kick and then chased after it.

"You can achieve it as well," Fllay remarked, her eyes narrowing, as her mobile suit clashed with Shinn's again and again. "But I can see that you're suffering from its activation even in the very beginning, unlike Kira."

"So what?" Shinn spat. "It's fine to feel the pain, as long as I don't cause the people I loved pain for breaking my promise. It's fine, because I'm going to return to her."

The statement caused Fllay to gasp a little and the ruby shine in her eyes faded a bit. That caused her to be few milliseconds slower to respond to the attack. "Damn you!"

Both of them clashed again and again.

Shinn, being transfixed in defeating his opponent didn't notice that he was keeping up with her despite the technological advantage Dammerungsfee had; his awakened abilities were making up for it. To him all that mattered was fulfilling his promise to return to ORB.

"I'll never let you to be the one to stop me," Fllay hissed as her mobile suit prepared for the final attack, activating its high energy output mode.

"Yeah?! We'll have to find out the hard way, because I'm not going to let you stop me as well," Shinn said as his hand were ready to activate both Skyblade and its WARHAWK extension's afterburner mode.

Both shared a look and understood; it would have to be settled there and then.

Kira turned toward the beautiful flash of light in the distance and felt as if a big chunk of his soul had been tore out. "FLLAY!" he screamed as he finally remembered everything, including the part where ELEANA was sealing his memory while apologizing and telling him that as long he didn't remember Fllay, he wouldn't fall into the trap.

But what trap?

Meanwhile, his remaining enemy decided to take advantage of him being distracted and tried to stab him from the rear.

All of Kira's enemies had been vanquished when Guardian was about to set out toward the coordinate if not for an emergency transmission from Dearka requesting some assistance in protecting the GUNTRUPs' retrieval.

Shinn coughed as he regained consciousness, and pain rippled throughout his body. Lethargically, he opened his eyes to see a wire jutting out of a spot to his left. 'Great', he thought, 'Erica would be so pissed about this…'

He slowly turned his head to the front. Even though the main display screen had been cracked, he could see images on one of the bigger parts. Dammerungsfee's body was right in front of his mobile suit or whatever remained of it. He wasn't sure who really won and but one thing for sure he had stopped her at the expense of his promise to return home safely.

Yet, he didn't regret it. He remembered Athrun's words that the person with the power would be the one who will cause misery to other people and he was inclined to agree. But at the very least, he had overcome his old biases and finally let go of his desire for revenge, all for the sake of protecting one person. He had failed his family and even Stellar but at that time, he had protected her. That was enough.

He coughed again and this time mixed with the pain throughout his body was the coppery taste of blood in his mouth.

'Shinn?' a ethereally female voice called out to him. He had heard that voice somewhere before but he was sure that the voice didn't belong to Cagalli. But his rational thought was slowly being eroded by the sensation-dulling pain he was feeling and fleeting invitation to eternal unconsciousness calling out for him.

'Shinn, don't fall asleep,' the voice warned.

However, he was already past his endurance. "Cagalli… I'm sorry."

Shinn closed his eyes.

1

Author's note (2 January 2010)

1. Happy New Year. I've finally finished Soaring Above and all I need now is write an epilogue for both Fallen Angel and Soaring Above. FA's will explain what happened to Fllay and SA will explain what will happen to Shinn. I'm still wondering whether I'm going to write a short piece tentatively titled "Knowing You." but maybe later. I have an examination tomorrow and don't have the time to really think about it.