Disclaimer: I own nothing from SEED, SEED Destiny, SEED Astray or anything else belonging to Sunrise but I will say that I do own Lucius Drake and Aya Yamato as well as Sasuke Blaze, his mother, his cousin Rin Canaver and his comrades Miyuki Star and Jason Saito while Anthony Russo, his family and the White Wolves are owned by Wingcommander WhiteWolf. It's been a very long time since I did anything for this story and I felt that I needed to get this back on track after so long.
I'm also surprised that the SEED and SEED Destiny HD Remasters are finally gonna have an English dub albeit with different actors though I'm not complaining, maybe the SEED and SEED Destiny Mangas by Iwase should be revamped (with the inclusion of the Perfect Strike for the SEED Manga and the Strike Rouge Ootori for the SEED Destiny Manga) in a way to coincide with this… then again there is the Manga Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Re: so it might not happen but I can dream, can't I.
Gundam Seed DX
Phase 24: One Day in Orb
By EmperorDraco7
The Zala Team was waiting patiently, Athrun knowing that the Archangel was in Orb and knew they'll make their move when it came out of the nation. "Are you sure about this?" he asked the captain, wanting to make certain that he was hearing this right.
"I am positive." the Cousteau's captain replied to the young blue-haired redcoat and squad leader, remembering that there wasn't just the Archangel that they were going to have to face off against soon enough, but the Sea Wolf as well, if it was to escort the Legged Ship to its destination. "Commander Yun herself has instructed me to inform you that her four pilots will be joining with us fairly soon, so we best be ready for when they arrive."
Athrun and Nicol knew better than to argue, as they had been friends with Sasuke and his allies from the Yun Law Team... plus both felt sympathy towards him and Rin due to their father's death in the Bloody Valentine Tragedy and recently Seto's demise when the GINN Long Range Reconnaissance Type he piloted had been shot down at the Debris Belt. "I see, I thank you for letting us know" he responded back with a small bow and then left the bridge with Nicol.
"You know, Athrun… I've been thinking…" Nicol began.
"Huh?" wondered Athrun, turning his attention towards his friend, and being somewhat surprised to hear the youngest member of the team speaking up regarding something he had on his mind ever since learning of allied forces assisting them for the eventual confrontation. "About what?"
Remaining silent for a brief moment, Nicol thought carefully on what to say since he knew that Anthony was well respected by some within the PLANTs and one of which was from the Yun Law Team. "You know Sasuke, Rin, Jason and Miyuki were not exactly happy hearing that Anthony and his team turned against us, let alone helping the new warship the Earth Alliance developed at Heliopolis," he spoke again, he and Athrun remembered interacting with Sasuke, Rin and their friends from time to time at the PLANTs even before coming to Earth and understood how they were feeling on the matter. "Here's hoping that we don't see the Sea Wolf in the battle since I'm certain they wouldn't want to have to shoot him down."
This response made Athrun frown, remembering how he promised Rau that he will shoot Kira down himself if the Strike's pilot refused to come into their way of thinking. "I see…" he said sadly, feeling the same way about facing Kira again as how Sasuke, Rin, Jason, Nicol and Miyuki felt when it came to facing the Artic White Wolf. "Well at least they'll be assisting us, rather than Commander Drake or even Xavier doing so."
"Now that I think of it, we hadn't seen Commander Drake in a while since his involvements back in space."
Athrun simply shrugged, not really being a fan of Lucius Drake, as the Drake Team wouldn't hesitate in taking down the White Wolves for their actions as well as the Strike, and he didn't want to think about what would happen if either Yzak or Shiho ever saw Xavier Yukari again. "Who knows, he probably might be helping with the preparations for Operation Spitbreak..." he said to the Blitz' pilot, at least that was what he's been hoping and it may give them the chance to take down the Archangel, the Strike and possibly the White Wolves beforehand.
"Maybe…" said Nicol with a small frown, although he was curious on the scene between him and the brown-haired young man whom the Zala Team encountered inside Orb though he suspected that Athrun might have known him from somewhere but it wasn't the right time to ask.
"How are Yzak, Dearka and Shiho taking the news on Sasuke, Rin, Jason and Miyuki joining us on the mission?" Athrun went on.
Nicol gave a sigh at this. "Well both Dearka and Shiho are dealing with it very well, but you know how Yzak can be at times." Nicol said with a frown on his face.
Athrun nodded at this as he was getting worried as well on how Yzak would handle this knowing it was going to cause troubles sooner or later. "I just hope that we can get the mission done." Athrun said with hope in his voice.
Meanwhile, back in Orb, the girls were all spending time together mainly Cagalli, Mir and Flay along with Misha and Jessica, as the latter of the two were walking with their best friends happy to see them again after all that had happened. "I can't believe that you and Kira are dating." Misha said with a grin on her face as she looked over at Flay with a smile.
Flay just looked at Misha and gave a smile herself at this, as she could tell that both her friends were still shocked over everything that they had been told. "And that you mom is alive too." Jessie said as she was happy Flay had found her mother again.
Misha nodded as she hugged her friend. "I'm still sorry about what happened to you dad Flay, I just wish we were there to help." Misha said with a sad tone on her voice.
Flay, however, just looked at the two and smiled at them both. "Hey it's okay, you two," Flay began knowing that it was hard but she still had help dealing with it and not alone. "I had Mir and Kira, as well as my mom, to help."
"Yeah... but hey, let's just do something girls." Mir said as she had been listening to what had been going on and wanted to spend time with her two old friends, knowing that they would be going off again soon and this was there last day in Orb after all.
Flay nodded as she looked at Cagalli since Kira and the others were all busy and as Mir said this was a girls day out for just them. "Okay then... Cagalli, as Princess of Orb you must know all the best places that we can go?" Flay asked with a tease in her voice knowing Cagalli hated being called a Princess.
Cagalli just looked at the red head with a frown on her face as she saw both her and Miriallia giggle at this, while both Misha and Jessica just looked on both confused at what was going on right now like they were missing something. "Flay, come on! You know I don't like being called that," She said with a huff in her voice. "I thought Kira told you that, didn't he?" Cagalli asked with a frown as she crossed her arms over her chest.
Still having a smile on her face Flay placed a finger on her lips as she winked at Cagalli. "Sorry, I'm not telling you that, Cagalli... you will just have to find that out all on your own now, won't you." Flay said as she couldn't help but giggle at this as she looked at Cagalli's red face.
Cagalli just simply pouted at this as she puffed her checks together, crossed her arms and looked away from Flay knowing that she was not going to get an answer from her. "But I know that it had to be Kira that told Flay I didn't like this."
Mir simply laughed at this. "Oh come on I find it funny Cagalli," Mir said as she was still laughing a little. "And the face you make when Flay didn't tell you…"
"So…" Misha began as she looked at both old and now new friends. "What are we going to do then, I mean me and Jess know that you will be leaving again." She said with a frown knowing that they wished that they could go but had no training.
Cagalli knew that she was right and she thanks to a lot of talk from Maria her father was going to let her go with the Archangel and knew that this was going to be their last day. "Well, as I said before someone called me a Princess, I was thinking on a number of places that we can go to." Cagalli said as she was looking at Flay when she said this.
Flay, on the other hand, just stuck out her tongue in a playful manner. "Well, what are we waiting for then? Let's go." Mir said with a smile on her face as all five girls went off to spend their last day together, knowing that they needed to make it worthwhile.
Kira, meanwhile, was with the others as they were getting everything ready right now before they would leave Orb. Kira did wish that Flay and the others would stay, as a part of him was still feeling worried that something bad was going to happen.
After all, with him knowing that ZAFT was just outside and now waiting for him and the Archangel to leave Orb, he knew that it was going to be deadly. "You shouldn't worry too much Kira," Maria said as she looked at Kira with a smile on her face. "I mean it's true that ZAFT know that we are here, but you have to remember Kira they will not attack while we are still in Orb waters." She said with a smile on her face.
Kira just nodded as he knew that she was right, he knew that they had time which was good so they just needed to time their leaving of Orb just right. "Okay Maria I just hope that no one will get hurt." Kira said with a frown on his face.
Maria just looked at the young man and knew that he had so many thoughts on his mind right now on what was going on and the ongoing war they were in. "Kira, look, I know that you hate War, many people do.." She said with a frown on her face knowing the many lives that had been lost. "But Kira, you need to know that War is a never ending thing, while one may end, another would happen sooner or later. It's not something that can just be done away with so easily."
Kira just gave a deep sigh at hearing this, as he just wished that he could end war once and for all... but from what Maria was saying it seems like it was never really going to end.
"Look, you shouldn't worry too much, Kira, okay?" Maria said with a smile on her face as she looked at him. "Just enjoy the time with your friends and the people you love."
Kira nodded at this as he knew he wanted to spend the night with his family as he knew that he wouldn't be the only ones. "Thanks Maria, I think I'm going to head to my parents and see them along with my little sister as well." Kira said as he quickly left and headed back home.
Murrue meanwhile was worried - she had been told by both Kira and Cagalli told her what they had see and she was worried, as right now she and Mu along with many others were all making plans on just what they should be doing when they leave Orb tomorrow. "So any ideas on what we should do then when we leave?" Murrue asks as she looked at the other officers she was with right now.
Mu simply gave a deep sigh as he had his arms crossed and was thinking on what to do as well knowing that they were in a tight situation right now, and needed the careful planning if they wanted to get away from ZAFT.
Maria soon arrived as the others in time as she saw all the looks that they had right now and wondered what was going on, as she knew it had something to do with ZAFT after all. "Okay, I take it you all know that ZAFT is waiting for us too, then?" Maria asked as she knew that they would need a plan and hoped that they had one.
With a thoughtful look on his face, Anthony just looked at the crew and knew that they were all worried. "I think I have a plan that." Anthony said as he soon gave a smile.
Meanwhile, Flay and the others were in a shop looking at the many, many clothes that were on sale right now. "What about this one?" Flay said as she picked up a dress as she wondered what Kira would think for the next time they would go out on a date.
Mir just gave smile at her friend as she looked at her and the dress which was red and matched her hair as Mir looked at both Jessica and Misha. "I think that Kira will love how it will look on you, Flay."
Misha nodded at this as she was looking around as well and soon spotted something else. "Oh what about this one Flay," Misha said as she pointed to a very sexy silk nightgown which, apart from her most private areas, would show a lot of skin. "When Kira sees you in this, he would be entranced by you."
Hearing this and looking at what Misha was talking about made her blush as she was going on what her and Kira would do in great detail as well. "I know the moment he sees you in it he will tear it off you before you to get it on."
"Come on, Misha…" Jessie said with a smile on her face as she saw the look that Flay now had on her face as she could tell that she was embarrassed by this as evident by Flay's red face.
"Well... I know Kira would like it." Flay said with a blush still on her face as she thought that maybe it could be used for later on after the war had come to an end and when the time was right as well. "I know Misha is right... Kira wouldn't even know what to say if he saw me in something like this." She thought with a smile on her face.
"I still think its odd that Cagalli hates dresses." Jessie said as she did find it odd after all, as right now Cagalli was waiting outside getting the food for them.
Miriallia laughed at this along with Flay. "Yeah, I think I should go and help her out and make sure she is not all along." Mir said as she gave a smile holding up her bags. "After all I have already brought what I needed."
Looking at her, all three girls nodded as they continued to look at the many clothes and latest fashion that was in right now, while Mir looked back and couldn't help but smile at this. "Oh Flay you missed this it came out a while ago." Jessie said to Flay as all three left to another part of the shop.
With that said Mir left the shop with what she had brought to go and look for Cagalli and saw she was sitting down at a table and knew that she was waiting for her and the others to get done with their shopping.
Cagalli meanwhile gave a sigh with a single thought in her mind right now, and that thought was... why had Flay and Mir's two friends wanted to go clothes shopping and she knew that it would just be for a dress of some kind. Something that Cagalli didn't want to take part in at all, she had her fill of being in them after all.
"Hey…" A voice she knew all too well as she looked up and saw Mir smiling at her with a bag full of shopping. "So, are you okay? I mean, I know you hate dresses, Cagalli, but I'm sure you would have seen something that you would have liked in there."
Cagalli just gave a sigh as she looked at Mir. "Well, last thing I need is to be put in another one, as of right now I have had my fill of them." she said.
"Oh really?" asked Mir, becoming curious on what exactly the blonde-haired female was referring to when she mentioned that. "What might that be?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Cagalli asked back, referring to the fact that she was gonna become part of a plan Anthony, Rachel and Maria had in mind for getting the Archangel to Alaska since it's clear that they suspect there might be trouble once the ship leaves the neutral nation. "Anthony and Maria managed to convince my father to allow me to go with you guys to JOSH-A."
"Wait what?" muttered Mir, somewhat shocked to hear the news though she started to smile since the blonde-haired Lioness was a pretty good pilot with the Strike Rouge ever since the Battle of Orbit and some relief filled her body upon learning there will be more action from her. "That's great, what about Marion?"
"Unfortunately she's gonna be remaining behind along with the Blue Destiny and the Funnel that Kira previously found at the Debris Belt," answered Cagalli with a rather disappointed tone to her voice, still wondering how Kira seemed familiar with that Funnel and had been hoping Marion would be able to aid them though she was promised a way to get her soul out of the Blue Destiny so it couldn't be helped given her predicament. "Erica Simmons said that she'd need to stay at Orb in order to get the help she needed."
The brunette remained silent, having hoped that Marion would've also been given the chance to go with them to Alaska though sighed since it was for the best. "I see…" she spoke, and then realized something else as she remembered Cagalli mentioning the strange funnel from the Debris Belt. "Wait a minute, why is the Funnel staying in Orb?"
"Who knows?" Cagalli replied with a shrug, having suspected that it might have been a recommendation from her father or from Anthony for reasons unknown when it came to the Funnel. "Maybe it might help in case something was to eventually go wrong… although I'm actually hoping nothing goes wrong."
Mir nodded her head, although part of her was worried once they left for Alaska. "You heard about Tolle volunteering to pilot Skygrasper 2 right?" she asked the blonde-haired female pilot, showing her concerns for the brown-haired young man that she herself was dating. "Sure he had some time to try out the simulator but I'm really worried."
"He'll be fine… I'll make sure of it."
Mir and Cagalli turned to see that Rachel Dupree, one of the female members of the White Wolves, had joined with them as she had heard what the female from Heliopolis said regarding Tolle. "Oh Rachel, we didn't know you'd be here" began the brown-haired female volunteer crew member.
All Rachel did was shrug, glad to be getting a chance to spend some time with the other girls. "No need to worry about it, I don't really get much time to get out for some time off," she replied to Mir, yet couldn't help but notice the expression the female crew member had regarding the young man she loved. "As for Tolle, he did say he is only going to provide support for the Strike, so there's no need to be that worked up over it."
"I know, but…" Mir began, trying to find the words in regards to her fear for Tolle's well being given his recklessness for the most part, and remembered when he defended Kira after the soldiers thought the brown-haired pilot of the Strike was with ZAFT the moment they learned he's a Coordinator. "I'm still concerned since he never fought on the frontlines before."
The female pilot from the White Wolves frowned, understanding how Mir felt when it came to showing concern for the well being of someone she cared about. "I know how you feel…" she started, lowering her head since it was one memory that she didn't need to think about. "I'm still sad over what happened to my father."
Hearing this made Mir and Cagalli glance at Rachel in hearing her mention her father. "What happened to him?" asked Cagalli, remembering how Flay's father was killed when the Le Creuset Team attacked the Advanced Fleet and how Flay and her mother Maria were still devastated over what became of him since then.
"I'll tell you later once you and the other girls are done shopping." Rachel answered.
Hearing her say that made Mir and Cagalli even more worried than ever, especially since they saw how sad she was right now. "Are you sure?" Mir asked the female pilot.
"Yeah, I'm sure," answered Rachel, giving a sad smile, knowing that they don't have much time left to simply have fun in Orb before they eventually had to leave for Alaska so they needed to make the most out of it. "Besides, I don't really want to ruin the fun just because of one thing that happened to my father before the war began."
This made the two girls remain silent; she did make a good point though at the same time wished to learn the whole story once Flay, Jessie and Misha joined with them and Rachel. "Alright, I guess that makes sense…" Mir replied with a sigh, and then remembered something else. "Oh that's right, I was going to help Cagalli pick something out since we're already here."
"Hey!"
Rachel smiled at seeing Cagalli's reaction, though if Mir was doing her best to help Cagalli pick something out in the store, then she could try and assist with that. "Maybe I could help you girls out, besides I was going to get a few things for myself anyway but hey, I'll see if we can both pick something that Cagalli might like..." she replied to her new friend.
"That's good to hear." Mir replied back with a smile on her face, glad to have another girl that she and her friends could interact with in all honesty though hopefully Cagalli wouldn't give them trouble once they do find an outfit for her given how stubborn she could be.
"Wait, what did you say?" asked Flay in complete shock at what her friends Jessie and Misha told her, she was glad to see that they survived Heliopolis though still at a loss of words upon hearing the news they've revealed.
"That's right; Misha and I decided to enlist into the Archangel's crew. After all, who knows how long it might be before we eventually see you, Mir and even Cagalli again."
Nodding in agreement with what Jessie just said, Misha knew that it was for the best since that way they could do their part in ending the war sooner. "Besides, you and the others seem to be having fun helping out, so we might as well do the same." she informed the red-haired girl with a smile on her face.
"Even so…" Flay began, starting to become worried for her friends as it's clear that trying to end the war would be more difficult than the two thought it would be. "This is not going to be like shopping as when we head out, expect to find yourselves in situations where it's a matter of life and death."
Jessie and Misha both frowned, well aware that war is not all fun and games, in fact it never was to begin with. "Yeah, we know that… you're worried for Kira going out there in the Strike right?" Jessie asked of Flay, although Kira was the only one who could pilot the Strike… that didn't mean he wasn't still a normal human being, even if he was a Coordinator.
"Yeah, I am but…"
"See, we're just as worried for you and the others as you are for Kira" responded Jessie while placing a hand on her friend's shoulder in a caring gesture, since they're still friends even after learning the red-haired girl was half Coordinator. "That's why we decided we needed to help you guys out too."
"That's right," said Misha with a nod of her head. "Oh yeah, there's something we've been meaning to give to you as a belated birthday gift."
"Oh?"
"Misha and I both know that you had a lot of friends from the Atlantic Federation... and it isn't much but we pitched in to at least give you something to make up for what happened at Heliopolis," said Jessie while lowering her head a bit and realized something she had in her pocket, it was a small box but it was a lovely shade of red with a blue ribbon on top of it. "So yeah, Happy Belated Birthday…"
Flay felt rather surprised to see this, though at the same time was grateful the gift that her friends were willing to go all this way to give her. "Thanks…" she spoke, slowly opening the gift and saw that inside was a lovely charm bracelet.
"So, what do you think?" wondered Misha, a bit sheepish along with Jessie since they didn't have the kind of money that Flay did and were hoping that it'll be to their friend's liking. "Is it okay?"
"It's beautiful!" Flay smiled brightly, putting it on her left wrist and was truly grateful to her friends for having gotten it for her though to be honest, seeing them again was actually her best gift ever. "Thank you so much!"
"Anytime…" Jessie replied back, glad to hear Flay liked the gift the two girls were able to get for her and deep down, they weren't sure if they'd be able to do so had they not encountered her, Mir and Cagalli while they're still in Orb. "After all, you're like a sister to us."
Misha silently nodded in agreement, which made Flay's eyes a bit misty though she smiled again. "You really think so?" she asked the moment she heard Jessie make that remark.
"I mean it, learning that you and the others survived made us feel a lot better over having returned to Earth following the destruction of our home after all."
This caused Flay to be at a loss of words, something the two girls didn't blame her for as it was a long since they've ever been together at a store. "Jessie, I…" she spoke, trying to find the words to tell her and Misha over what they said.
"Don't' worry, everything will be fine," reassured Jessie with another reassuring look on her face, especially since it would be good to at least relax with the others for their last moments in Orb before they went on their way to Alaska. "You got Kira and the others, plus your mom is gonna keep you safe as well."
"And we'll do what we can to help with the bridge just like you guys do," added Misha, knowing that Flay and Mir could use some company in the bridge aside from Sai that is due to Kira and ultimately Tolle going out into battle. "Who knows, maybe we might find someone we could go out with if we're lucky."
Flay just laughed at her friends. "Always thinking about looking for a date," Flay said with a smile on her face. "Well, once we are done I think we can talk to the Capitan about letting you join."
Hearing this made both Misha and Jessica smile at each other and hugged Flay. "Thanks... we do want to help after all." Jessie said with a smile.
Misha nodded as well. "Well I say we go and get our lunch, as I'm feeling hungry right now."
"I'm hungry as well... and after this we can go to that new hot spring." Jessie said with a smile on her face a she looked at her two friends with a smile.
Flay just nodded as she looked at her two friends and both headed outside and saw Cagalli and Mir talking and saw that their food had just arrived. "Hey, you two, we're done!" Flay said as she headed over towards the two along with Misha and Jessica as well.
"Sorry that took so long." Misha said. All three girls soon sat down and saw what Cagalli had ordered kebabs with chili sauce.
"So are they really that good?" Mir asked as she looked at Cagalli and her own kebabs that she ordered with some fries as well.
Cagalli however just looked at Mir with a big smile on her face as this time she was not going to have anyone stop her or tell her what to put on them. "Oh you bet!" She cried as she punched her fist into the air and had a big smirk on her face.
Mir just gave a smile while Flay laughed as she looked at this know full well why Cagalli was doing this as she remembered it all too well. "Yeah last time we just got covered it the sauce thanks to Blue Cosmos." Flay said with a smile as she knew both she and Cagalli got covered in the stuff.
After that had their food the girls, including Rachel, all soon headed to the hot-spring that had just open up as all the girls were now in. "Oh this was a great idea girls." Cagalli closed her eyes in bliss. The other girls could only nod as they too sank into the hot water of the bath.
Misha soon stretched, already bored with the silence, when an idea came to her, a perfectly wonderful, slightly wicked idea. "Have any of you ever thought how any of the guys or one of the girls would be like in bed?"
"Misha!" A chorus of shocked voices greeted her and Cagalli and the other girls all sunk into the water in embarrassment.
"What? It's a legitimate question." Misha said with a grin on her face as she looked at her friends.
Flay looked at her curiously as she looked at her friend with a frown now on her face. "Like what do you mean?" Flay asked as she wanted to know what had brought this up in the first place.
"Well, you know…" Misha smiled as she looked at all her friends. "Okay I would want to see what you are like in bed Flay… and Kira as well."
Her cheeks started to flush bright pink at the question since it was a bit personal when it came to the two of them having slept together ever since they became a couple. "Oh come on, Misha, knock it off!" she protested as there were things that she didn't need to get too into depth on.
"Sorry, I was just curious" Misha replied to her friend, although she was glad Kira and Flay were a couple though never expected them to have been childhood friends that had a crush on one another before the war even began. "In any case, I'm glad you and Kira are together."
"Yeah, plus I'm still surprised that you and Sai were engaged…"
Jessie had to admit that Sai was cute all things considered, even Misha agreed with her friend on the matter though it could explain how Flay tried to tell them nothing was going on between her and Sai… probably preferring to wait till the right moment to tell them had the attack on Heliopolis not happened. "Oh yeah, I just realized something else…" Jessie spoke, her attention was towards Rachel. "Who is that girl anyway? I'm glad that she recommended we come here and all but…"
"Oh?" began the red-haired girl, blinking a bit and had a feeling that they needed to be informed on the girl who just joined with them as she was surprised the female White Wolf had been at the store and helped Mir in picking some clothes for Cagalli. "Her name's Rachel Dupree, she's part of the White Wolves that Captain Anthony Russo is in command of."
"Is that so?" asked Jessie as she was glad to hear a bit about Rachel though couldn't help but notice the expression on their new friend's face. "She seemed a bit down lately."
"Yeah, Mir and Cagalli told us there was something bothering her," added Misha with a frown on her own face since they didn't know much about Rachel even though she wasn't exactly the anti-social type to begin with. "It had something to do with what happened to her father."
"I know how she feels in a way," said Flay, her mood becoming somber as she remembered how her father died in battle against ZAFT back in space. Had she not known her mother was still alive or that she herself was half-Coordinator and how Maria was a pure Coordinator then things might've taken a turn for the worse in her case. "I'm still having nightmares about losing my dad in this war."
Jessie and Misha frowned again, remembering how they were told on how Flay's father was a Vice-Minister from the Atlantic Federation and yet he couldn't bring himself to kill the woman he loved even if she was a Coordinator, not to mention the two girls felt bad for her and her mother ever since George perished in battle with the rest of the Advanced Fleet prior to Lacus being revealed to the ZAFT forces by Natarle. "You mentioned that but for all it's worth, we're sorry…" began Misha while Jessie slowly nodded.
The red-haired female Half-Coordinator took in what was told then turned towards Rachel, deciding they should at least find out the whole story. "Hey Rachel!" she called out, hoping to get the female pilot's attention.
"Huh?" wondered Rachel as she noticed Flay and the other girls approaching her, not that she minded it or anything. "What is it?"
"We wanted to see how you've been doing," answered Flay with a look of concern on her face, since she hoped that there was something they could do to help make Rachel feel a little better. "You said before you're thinking about your father right?"
"Yeah…" responded Rachel with a slow nod of her head, figuring that it was a good time to tell the girls the whole story regarding what became of her father. "He died a year ago, more specifically on February 8th, about 6 days before the Bloody Valentine Tragedy took place."
None of the girls were happy upon hearing the news regarding her father's fate. "Oh my god, I'm sorry…" muttered Mir at a complete loss of words and Rachel didn't blame her for feeling that way.
"It wasn't your fault nor what it Anthony's; they both knew the risks of the mission, which they spent 6 days preparing for, beforehand…" responded Rachel, looking away from Mir as she started to continue her story regarding how her father died. "All it had been was to eliminate Azrael and on February 6th just 5.25 miles away from JOSH-A, Anthony took his chance in taking out Blue Cosmos' leader and prevent this war from happening though as he fired the shot from the Snow Stalker, it curved twenty feet to the left due to the wind and struck the car behind Azrael's, killing Donald Craimer and his driver instead."
None of the girls said a word, completely shocked to learn the whole story and Rachel could only hope it wouldn't affect their decision to go with the Archangel to Alaska. "Rachel, we had no idea…" Cagalli showed sympathy towards her, much like she did towards Flay following George Allster's death earlier in the conflict.
"It only got worse from here as February 8th, Anthony and my dad were running for the Pickup point while evading and destroying Atlantic Federation patrols," tears started forming in her eyes as Flay, Jessie, Misha, Mir and Cagalli carefully listened to the girl's story. "While they were preoccupied with taking down a Spearhead and one Tank, another fired at the left side of my father's cockpit and killed him…"
"We're sorry, Rachel... this pointless war has caused too many lives." Flay said with a frown on her face as she looked at her new friend knowing what it was like losing a father after all.
The other girls all nodded at this as they knew they wouldn't know what it was like losing a parent, with the exception of Flay as she too lost her father beforehand back in space, and they all hoped that they would never have to learn it feel what it was like to lose one.
"Okay, let's stop with the doom and gloom," Misha said as she looked at her friends and Rachel as well knowing that they needed to talk of better things right now. "So... how about we go onto what I was saying." she continued as she knew it was best to cut the tense feeling after all and not talk about the war that was going on and just relax and enjoy their time.
The other as much as they didn't too just nodded as they all looked at Misha. "Well... I have always had a thing for Sai." Jessie said.
"Well, you have a chance now!" Flay answered as she looked over to Jessie knowing as she was no longer engaged to Sai, Jessie could go out with Sai which should cheer him up.
Jessie just nodded at what Flay had just said to her, knowing that she should at the very least give it a try when she saw him. Which she hoped would end well, as she was not sure if Sai felt the same way that she did...
Seeing this made Rachel smile at this as she looked at this as she soon looked at her friends and knew they would ask her soon. "Well, there is Anthony that I like." Rachel said as she looked at the others. "Although I'm also happy he has Rena despite my initial surprised to learn he had fallen for someone like her from the Earth Alliance."
"So what about the two of you then, we have all said something, and no, Mir, you can't say Tolle, as your going out with him?" Misha asked as she looked at Mir and Cagalli with a slight smirk on her face. "So go on, if you had to pick to sleep with and have sex with whom would it be?"
Mir just looked at this and gave a sigh at what Misha was saying. "I don't know," Mir said as she knew that this was not going to stop Misha as she and the others all looked at her. "Okay fine it seems you won't let this go."
Misha nodded as she smiled at this. "Okay then Mir let's hear it." Misha said and looked at her friend and knew this shall be good.
Miriallia just looked at her friend as she gave a deep sigh. "Well I do find Cagalli cute," Mir said as she looked at Misha who now had a large smile on her face. "But that's about it, okay, Misha? I just find her cute well maybe a little sexy."
"Huh?" asked Cagalli in shock, her cheeks flushing pink the moment Mir said those words, even the other girls found it surprising that Mir thought that way towards Cagalli though they had to admit that their friend made a valid point about the blonde-haired lioness. "What did you say?"
"Is this true?" Misha was the next to ask of Mir, having never expected to hear something coming from her friend's mouth though she might be one to talk given that she and Jessie just met Cagalli and Rachel but knew that Mir made a pretty valid point.
"Yeah…"
"Well I guess it makes sense given how she had been forced to come on the Archangel along with the rest of you guys during Heliopolis," responded Jessie with a shrug, though a smile crossed on her face since there was a possibility that Mir wouldn't have said that if it wasn't for Kira being unable to get Cagalli into a shelter from what she and Misha were told. "You know, I've been thinking…"
"Oh?" began Flay as she turned to glance at Jessie, making her rather curious on what her friend had in mind. "What are you thinking about?"
"Mir's comment about Cagalli might not be a coincidence since you guys mentioned that Kira tried to get her into a shelter at Heliopolis" said Jessie with a thoughtful look on her face, suspecting there might be more to those words though that's something for another time. "Sure a ZAFT soldier kept them away from the shelter and they were forced into the Strike's cockpit eventually after their only path was destroyed but still…"
"Yeah, don't remind me," muttered Cagalli. "Is there any reason why you'd even bring it up?"
"Well, I was actually thinking about if Mir would've had said that if you never came on the Archangel during Heliopolis," Jessie replied to the lioness, causing the other girls to glance at her since they never thought about how things could've turned out if Cagalli wasn't on the Archangel when Heliopolis was being attacked by the Le Creuset Team. "I mean, you gotta wonder what might've happened had Kira actually managed to get you into the shelter, since it may have been the case had that ZAFT soldier not gotten in their path."
The girls, especially Mir and Cagalli, took that time to think over what Jessie said regarding a possibility of things taking a different turn if the blonde-haired female not been with them in the early going of their struggle. "That's actually a very good question." commented Flay, placing a finger on her chin while reflecting on what Jessie said.
"I might have become part of the Desert Dawn and would've met you guys anyway, though I probably would've been angry to see Kira being the Strike's pilot if that were the case," said Cagalli, feeling that she could've joined the Desert Dawn since she might've been of some assistance regardless of whether she came on the Archangel at Heliopolis or not. "I'd probably be piloting the Skygrasper instead of Lieutenant Imelia doing so, and not sure how I'd do in a battle with it, though it would've led to me joining you guys anyway alongside Kisaka."
"I'm sure you would've done a great job with the Skygrasper, Cagalli, since you've been practicing on the simulator while we were still in the desert," reassured Mir with a smile on her face, although she started to frown since her boyfriend was gonna be the new pilot as of right now. "On the other hand, Tolle would've still been the new pilot anyway not that it would've been the case if Cagalli hadn't been with us since the beginning."
The girls nodded at this, knowing many things would not be the same. "Well I know I am happy that you ended up on the ship... at least me and Mir had someone our own age to talk to." Flay said with a grin on her face.
"Well, then this just leaved you, right Cagalli?" Misha asked as she looked at the blond hair girl with a smirk on her face, as there was a lot she still didn't know about Cagalli.
Cagalli simply looked at her new female friends with a frown and knew from what Flay and Mir had told her about Misha that she was not going to get out of this question that Misha had asked. "Well I do find Kira cute but I also think that…" Cagalli said, but there were other troubles on her mind right now.
"Cagalli, if it's about ZAFT, I'm sure the others are coming up with a plan right now on what we should do." Flay said as she looked at her friend.
"Yeah... and I know they won't be stupid to try and sneak in again, right?" Misha asked.
Little did they know was at that very moment, Nicol was at Morgenroete trying to get as much information as he could, as Athrun knew that Kira hadn't seen Nicol that well, and this meant he could have a good look around.
Nicol was already in the hanger, and soon enough he saw Athrun's friend that he had been told about run in the other direction away from him... and from the looks of it seems that he didn't notice him, which was a good thing.
As he was looking around, though, Nicol was not looking where he was going, and he soon bumped into Mayura Labatt. "Oh I'm sorry!" She said as she was busy as well.
"It's alright, I just didn't see you there..." he replied, being immediately apologetic to the red-haired female test pilot and began to help her back onto her feet. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine…" she answered, knowing that she hadn't seen someone like Nicol in Morgenroete before, especially as he looked as if he was a year younger than her. "I haven't seen you here before, are you new?"
"Oh, yes I am… My name's Nicol… Nicol Amalfi."
The red-haired female test pilot remained silent, completely unaware that he was actually a member of the ZAFT military on an infiltration mission; she had to admit that he was kinda cute. "I'm Mayura, Mayura Labatt," she responded since she needed to be polite when meeting someone new, even more so a new member of Morgenroete. "You know, to be honest… I never actually thought there would be new people since we've been rather busy lately."
"Oh?" began Nicol, being a bit surprised and curious on what he meant and he knew it might hinder his mission a bit then again; he could also make it work to his advantage in a way. "Busy with what, exactly?"
"Mainly with the testing and weapons development, not that we believe Orb would ever get attacked... but better safe than sorry," responded Mayura, not wanting to get too in-depth on what's going on at Morgenroete currently as she was on break before she and her other two fellow test-pilots Asagi and Juri were needed to test the M1 Astrays again. "Good thing I'm on break at the moment."
"I see…" said Nicol, not sure what else to say though he could tell that Mayura was cute. Tat, and he was still new to being on Earth since it might be a chance to learn a bit about the planet from the girl he just met. "You know, I've been thinking."
"Huh?" Mayura was a bit surprised. "About what?"
"Well I just arrived here and... I would, you know, like to look around, maybe." Nicol said with a bashful face as he looked at Mayura having a hard time talking to her right now.
Mayura on the other hand was now looking at Nicol as she couldn't help but smile at him. "Oh, you mean like a date?" She asked.
Nicol just nodded not sure what else to really say as he was now even having a hard time looking at her - after all, he couldn't help it she was a very lovely girl after all. "Yeah, I mean... as I said, I am new here, after all." He said with some discomfort, he hated lying as Mayura seemed very nice.
Mayura just smiled even more as she looked at Nicol. "He is so cute." She thought with a smile as she knew where she could go after all he was new as he said so he wouldn't know the best places to go and eat. "Well, I know just a place that we can go to eat. After all me and my friends go there now and then when we have time off."
Nicol just nodded at this thankful he had brought some other clothes with him as well, he just hoped that it wouldn't be a problem after all he had no idea just how long the Legged Ship would be hiding there, but it still made him think why Orb was doing this.
Meanwhile on the Archangel, Anthony had just got done telling the crew the plan that he had come up with as they all looked at him thinking this over, knowing that while it was crazy it may just work for them.
Maria just nodded at the plan knowing that the others all needed to know this as well. "Man, this is going to be crazy... but are you sure that this will work?" Maria asked thinking of her daughter Flay, knowing the danger that she was going to be in. "I mean, we have no idea what ZAFT has waiting for us."
Murrue nodded at this as she looked at Anthony. "Is there any way to know just how many ZAFT ships may be waiting for us?" She asked with a frown on her face.
Anthony simply shook his head at this as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Sadly no, we don't, not unless someone heads out there to see, but that is also a risk as well." He said thinking on what to do if ZAFT had called in for more backup to help them.
Mu gave a sigh as he closed his eyes at this, knowing that they would just have to take the chance. "Well, I think we need to just take it I mean we really have no idea what will be waiting for us when we leave," He began as he then looked at Anthony. "We still do have your plan after all and that shall help us out at least."
"Okay then, until tomorrow, we need to make sure that we have everything ready." Murrue said as she looked at them all as they all nodded as they all soon left leaving just Maria, Rena, Natarle and Mu left on the bridge as Murrue just looked at Maria. "You know, you and Flay don't have to come." She said as Maria just looked at her and the older red headed woman just gave a smile.
Maria knew why Murrue was worried, after all Flay was half Coordinator after all and she knew that many Blue Cosmos members would know who she was but one thing her husband did was make sure that no one knew what Flay was and she was thankful for that. "Well Murrue, Flay will be fine just so long as it's not revealed Flay is half Coordinator." Maria said as she gave a smile.
Mu nodded at this. "Look, we shouldn't worry too much. It's not like anything will happen to Flay, not with Kira around at least, or the others either." Mu said talking about the other students that had joined them since this whole mess had started while Murrue and Maria simply nodded at what he said.
Maria just gave one last smile as she walked out from the bridge knowing that she wanted some time to spend with her daughter - they were still in a war, after all, and she needed to make all of that time count as well. "Anyway, I think I'm going to see how my daughter is doing... she should be finished with her day out right now." She said to the two as she soon left to go and find Flay.
"Then there's the matter of Former Representative Attha's daughter," began Natarle, deciding to speak up as there were things that needed to be addressed regarding Cagalli and how her father was feeling about his only child accompanying them to Alaska. "Is he aware that she'll be joining with us to our destination?"
"Sadly yes, however like with Flay's identity as half Coordinator like me, it's best that nobody knows that Cagalli is Lord Uzumi's daughter," answered Anthony with a frown, knowing how the Lion of Orb must be feeling about having to allow Cagalli to leave the neutral nation with the Archangel and the SeaWolf, but it needed to be done in order for the plan he had in mind to work. "The SeaWolf will need to stay positioned just outside of JOSH-A's main harbor in order to avoid detection, don't forget it is still a Vosgulov-class submarine and therefore is most likely going to treated as an enemy carrier by the Alliance Top Brass."
Natarle nodded her head, understanding that it made sense given that although the White Wolves were aiding them since the encounter at the Debris Belt, their vessels were still manufactured by ZAFT after all. "Perhaps you are also aware of Crewman Koenig volunteering to pilot Skygrasper 2 for the plan, are you not?" she asked again, referring to Tolle wishing to help in providing support for the Strike.
"Is that so?" he asked, thinking about that though it couldn't be helped since they're going to need all the help they could get to make up for the fact Marion was to remain in Orb along with the Blue Destiny in order to get the help she needed as promised. "Let's hope he has enough experience with the simulator, as one of the White Wolves will be assigned to the Archangel with me in case ZAFT tried anything funny."
He knew that there was no way the Le Creuset Team would give up in taking out the Archangel that easily, though just in case, he and Rachel will be on the warship since this was Rau though the good news was the masked commander hadn't been involved in any of the battles on Earth. "Wait, did you say one of the members of your team will be on the Archangel?" asked Rena, hoping that she was hearing the brown-haired male right.
Giving the raven-haired lieutenant a nod, he confirmed that he was not making it up. "Yes, Rachel Dupree is her name… to be honest, her father Aster Dupree was actually my superior back when I was still in ZAFT," he replied while fixing his glasses. "She's a pretty good pilot, so I figured she'd be perfect to be on the Archangel with us, even more so since she's going to use one of the new Mobile Suits that Morgenroete developed."
Hearing that made the senior officers on the Archangel somewhat shocked to hear that. "Hold it, one of the new Mobile Suits developed by Morgenroete?" Murrue asked of the Artic White Wolf.
"The MBF-M1 M1 Astray, something that was being put into production for quite sometime" responded Anthony, and then a smile formed on his face as there was something else he needed to tell them. "I was even told that the three test pilots and their units will be coming with us too, just to see how they'd fare in real combat."
He knew Cagalli would be glad to see her friends with them for the trip, that way it would make Uzumi less fearful for his daughter's well being. "I take it those were former Representative Attha's orders?" he heard Rena ask of him since they wouldn't be joining them otherwise.
"You can say that, Cherry Blossom," Anthony replied back, not blaming Uzumi to be worried for the blonde-haired lioness given that she's the only family he had and he sighed since there was something the leader of Orb almost never mentioned to anyone. "He already lost his wife years ago, from what I heard she passed away back when Cagalli was a little girl."
None of the senior officers on the Archangel could believe what they were hearing… though it made sense that the Lion didn't want to talk about it given how it brought painful memories. "Oh my god, that's terrible." began Murrue, unsure of what else to say especially as Anthony gave a small sigh.
"It was, he really cared for his wife after all which was why he's so protective of Cagalli as he didn't want anything bad to happen to her whether it be during this war or otherwise…" he spoke sadly, knowing it had to be said yet there was another revelation that the officers needed to be aware of. "More than what I could say for my mother or my brother."
"Huh?"
Anthony's expression started to darken, knowing the officers on the Archangel were going to despise what he's about to reveal next. "My own mother Marie Yukari, she saw me as nothing more than a failed experiment and to make matters worse, she's currently in an affair with Rau Le Creuset of all people…" he muttered with disgust in his voice, reflecting on the fact his mom had feelings for Rau and how Zavier was proving of it. "Even my father couldn't believe it nor could the rest of our team."
The others hearing this all gave a frown at this knowing that they would be meeting Anthony's brother Zavier soon enough once they had left Orb if he was waiting for them that is. "Well that's bad then, but I take it you know a weakness that he has at least?" Mu asked as he looked over to Anthony.
Hearing this from Mu, he simply nodded knowing that Anthony would have to face his two crazy family members sooner or later.
Later that very same day the girls all looked at each other, as Flay soon saw her mother and she knew that she needed to tell her what Misha and Jessie had said. "Come on, you two... I'm sure my mum can speak to the Capitan about you two joining."
Both Misha and Jessie nodded at this as they walked with Flay - the others had gone home knowing it would be their last day here with them. "I just hope that we can help out, Flay." Misha said as she looked at Flay with a smile.
"Oh, I know that there shall be something that you can do Misha, Jessie... after all, if we ask my mum I'm sure she will know what you both can do and help out as well." Flay added as she looked at them and soon walked over to Maria.
"Oh Flay, there you are. I've been looking for you," Maria said with a smile as she looked at her daughter seeing she was with her two friends. "After all, we are leaving tomorrow and I thought that could at least spend one night catching up as I know we have not had too much time with all that has been going on after all." She said.
Flay nodded at this as she looked at her mother and then back to her friends knowing that it was best to tell her now before she left. "Oh, that's right, mum... my friends Jessie and Misha want to come with us and help out."
Maria soon looked at the two and saw the looks that they both had on their faces and knew that they wanted to come they were both determined to come and help out. "So you want to come then... are you both sure about this?" she asked as she crossed her arms over her chest looking at the two teens as they both nodded.
The two girls nodded as they looked at Maria. "Yes we do," Misha said as she looked at Maria and then over to Flay. "We want to do our part and be by her side as well." Misha answered, hoping that Maria would say yes to what both she and Jessie asked.
Looking at the two girls Maria gave a deep sigh knowing that there was no way they were not going to change their minds on what they had chosen to do. "Okay... then I shall talk to Murrue about this and the others." Maria said looking at the two girls.
"Okay, I think you two should head home and get what you need okay." Flay said as she looked at Misha and Jessie, as they both simply nodded at this knowing that Flay was right. They did however give their friend one last hug before they headed home knowing that they were going to also need to tell their parents what they decided to do. "I just hope that my mum understands." Jessie said with a frown on her face.
Flay just watched as they both left knowing it was going to be hard and knowing that her mother was not going to be happy with this as she had a feeling she was not going to be happy with this. "Mum I know what you're thinking, but the thing is they wanted to come. I even tried to say it was deadly."
Maria looked at her daughter, and as she looked into her eyes she knew that Flay was right. "Okay sweetheart I'll talk to Murrue tomorrow just before we leave."
Flay just looked at her mother as she hugged her. "Thanks mum! I know that they will help once they get the ropes of it." Flay said as Maria hoped that nothing bad would happen they left Orb, for now the mother and daughter went to the home that was in Orb.
The next morning, Murrue was in her room looking over the plans on what was going to happen soon as she gave a sigh in five hours they would be leaving Orb. "I just hope that it all works out." She said with a sigh as she heard a knock on her door.
As Murrue looked up, she saw Maria had walked in and wondered what was going on. "There is something I need to discuss with you, Ms. Murrue... my daughter's two friends said they want to come and help." Maria said knowing that it was up to Murrue.
"Wait, her friends?"
"Yes, the ones she was separated from back at Heliopolis... since I'm sure she wouldn't want to be separated from them again" she replied to the brown-haired female captain though given the Archangel was already short-handed as it was it might work out in their favor and make the plan that Anthony had in mind even more successful. "Besides with Tolle volunteering to use Skygrasper 2, there is a chance one of my daughter's friends might fill in for him whenever he heads out."
Murrue remained silent; although it was noble that Jessie and Misha wish to enlist into the Archangel crew… she needed to think about it for a while. "I understand what you're trying to say but…" she spoke, unsure of what to make of this.
"Think of it as us needing all the help we can get," reminded Maria, the red-headed female Coordinator knew there was more than one benefit to the two girls enlisting into the crew. "Last I checked the Archangel was already short-handed as it is and I'm sure their assistance might help in making up for the deaths to a majority of the crew along with the replacement crew."
This made the female Captain of the Archangel a lot unsure than ever on what to make of it though Maria wasn't done just yet with what she needed to say. "Besides, we are allowing Cagalli, Rachel and the three M1 Astray test pilots onboard the ship so we should at least give Flay's friends a chance to help us as well." she reminded, knowing she was there when Anthony brought up that notion in the bridge earlier.
Murrue gave a sigh at this knowing that Maria was right, so she just closed her eyes and nodded. "Okay then, it's true we are still understaffed right now, and could use the help."
Maria nodded at this knowing she would need to tell her daughter what Murrue had said as she was going to be happy her two friends were going to come along and help out. "Okay... then I shall let them know." Maria said as she left, knowing they were with Flay right now.
The Archangel's long furlough in Orb was now over it was time and past time to resume their journey to JOSH-A Base in Alaska.
For Murrue, it had been a pleasant enough rest; but she, too, felt the need to be about it once again. Things seemed to be moving again, in some indefinable fashion. Time would not stand still, and neither would the events she felt certain were soon to take place.
An odd tension was in the air aboard the ship now; even Mu and many others seemed anxious about something. Now that Murrue thought about, Anthony seemed that way for some time now, as though he'd caught wind of something happening, and feared its coming...
"Message from Orb Headquarters, Captain," Jessie reported, breaking into her thoughts. "Message reads: no ZAFT forces detected within range; will proceed according to schedule."
Murrue nodded with a smile seeing they had some luck on their side for once. "Very well, then. Prepare to move out."
With that being said, the flood-gates began to open, allowing the Archangel to depart from the harbor accompanied by the SeaWolf itself all while Uzumi Nara Attha, Kisaka and the Yamatos watched as the warship left the neutral nation. "Be careful, big brother" muttered Aya with a hint of sadness to her voice, hoping that her brother Kira wouldn't get himself hurt or killed because of the war still going on.
Four Orb Naval vessels were In front of the Archangel as they provided additional escort while the SeaWolf remained submerged underwater though it stayed near the vessel in case there were ZAFT forces that they failed to notice. Although Kira already donned his pilot suit heading for the Archangel's MS hanger as his encounter with Athrun at Orb was a sign that they'll be heading into battle sooner than they thought so they needed to be ready for the worst.
Onboard the Cousteau, Athrun made his way to the bridge while fixing the collar of his uniform and suspected that they may be facing the Archangel fairly soon as anticipated. "They're on the move?" he asked the submarine's captain.
"Yes, though nothing was scheduled, looks like they're heading Northeast," he responded to the blue-haired Gundam pilot and turned towards the rest of the crew. "Haven't you identified those ships yet?"
Athrun watched the map for all but a few seconds then glanced at the captain. "We're going to get ready for battle," he gave the order, thinking back to his meeting with Kira within the Orb Union which made him realize that the Archangel was hiding in the nation following the battle outside the territorial waters. "Hurry up with those ship IDs."
Without saying anything else, he left to get himself and his allies ready to sortie, knowing they needed to keep the Archangel from reaching Alaska no matter what it took.
"We're almost at the border of Orb's territory." Neumann reported, feeling that there is a chance they could be attacked by the time they finally reached JOSH-A and hopefully it wouldn't be the case though nothing was guaranteed given their streak of bad luck by far.
"No sign of enemy activity." added Chandra from within the CIC, sharing those sentiments with his fellow crew member.
"Stay alert, people!" informed Murrue, needing to be ready for the worst against the enemy from this point on as unlike the SeaWolf, the four Orb navel ships wouldn't be joining them to Alaska which meant they needed to give it everything they've got in case they're to enter battle again. "Maximum Battle Speed once we break away from the fleet."
"Message from flagship captain, this is where we turn back," began Flay; however that was not were the message ended at all. "We wish all of you the best of luck. P.S., look after Cagalli and the M1 Astray test pilots once we leave."
"Reply, we appreciated your escort and we'll make sure nothing bad happens to Lord Uzumi's daughter."
Flay nodded and sent the reply, yet was secretly glad that Murrue allowed her friends Jessie and Misha to accompany them to Alaska and she had to admit that both looked good in the same female EA uniforms that she and Mir were currently wearing.
As for Cagalli, she and the three M1 Astray test pilots Mayura, Asagi and Juri arrived at the bridge, each of them wearing the uniforms of the Orb Union military despite their request of being onboard the Archangel. "Lieutenant Asagi Caldwell and Lieutenant Junior Grades Mayura Labatt and Juri Wu Nein reporting for duty." began Asagi as she and her fellow test pilots saluted to the EA crew.
"About time you came," said Rachel with a smile on her face, also wearing the Orb uniform much like Cagalli and the three test pilots. "We just recent got informed that the escort fleet was going to head back to Orb."
"We understand, besides we're still going to do our part in getting the Archangel to Alaska." added Cagalli with a stern expression on her face, though noticed that Kira wasn't there which made her somewhat concerned despite there not being any sign of the enemy. "Where's Kira?"
In the MS hanger, Murdoch was rather surprised to see Kira already in his pilot suit when there's no chance of them being immediately attacked or so he thought. "How come you're already dressed up, kid?" he asked with a somewhat confused look on his face. "We haven't received any orders yet."
"As soon as we cross the boarder, ZAFT will attack us." was the brown-haired male pilot's answer as he entered the cockpit of the Strike.
Hearing that made Murdoch more shocked, making him wonder how Kira could even tell if that would happen if they hadn't picked up anything on the radar just yet. On the other hand, he wasn't complaining at all about the Strike Rouge remaining on the Archangel despite the Blue Destiny and that weird funnel having to remain at Orb, plus he was rather curious as to what those four M1 Astrays they've received would fare in an actual battle given that Kira created the OS for Morgenroete to allow three of its pilots to operate their units better.
The small Orb escort fleet slowly started to turn back on cue especially as their job was finished and it was now up to the SeaWolf to ensure the Archangel reached their destination safely. "There they go," began the SeaWolf's captain with a frown, and then turned towards the rest of the submarine's crew with a stern expression. "Alright, we don't have much time now but if any ZAFT forces come our way… we'll make our stand here."
The crew saluted to their captain, knowing that their part in Anthony's plan would need to be successful as they were on their own at this point on. "Hopefully Captain Russo and Lieutenant Dupree will be okay on the Archangel." began one of the crew members, though he didn't argue with their decision of being with the EA warship due to having reasons for going through with it.
"I'm sure they'll be fine, besides the Princess and her friends are there too plus our Team Leader is a skilled pilot even before we joined Orb after all." Another member said with a smile.
Outside, Anthony was keeping an eye out from on the Archangel's deck, knowing the time would soon come when his plan would come into action he just hoped that everyone that was involved would be ready for this as there could be no mistakes when they used it. "Okay we need to be ready ZAFT shall be waiting for us." He said with a frown.
"Understood," came Rachel's voice as she was feeling that this next battle won't be easy and especially as the Archangel no longer had Marion or the Blue Destiny to help them though she herself and the test pilots being with the warship would help make up for this. "Lieutenant Imelia, how are you holding up?"
"What do you think?" came Rena's voice in a somewhat sarcastic tone, she was in the cockpit of the Snow Stalker with Anthony since she suspected he had his reasons for allowing Tolle to use Skygrasper 2 plus whatever he had planned might be a blessing since they're going to need to fight their absolute hardest to reach JOSH-A. "Just be careful out there."
"Don't worry, I have no intention of dying out there on the battlefield." answered Rachel with a slight nod, she wasn't part of the White Wolves for nothing and she had secretly hoping that she'd be able to make good on her word in helping keeping Tolle and the others from getting killed in battle.
Kira was also worried as he looked at Flay who was in her own mobile suit right now as he knew that she was a little worried right now, and he couldn't blame her really. "Flay it will be okay." He said while smiling knowing that she couldn't really see him smiling at her.
Flay just nodded at what Kira was telling her and knew that this was still going to be deadly but she had her friends. "Thanks Kira just feel worried right now," She said with a sigh. "I mean we still have no idea on what could be waiting for us."
Kira knew Flay was right after all but was not going to let fear eat away at him. "I'll be there Flay, nothing will happen to you or anyone else," he said with a smile. "Not as long as I'm alive." He answered for her.
Flay slowly nodded her head and knew that Kira was right, though at the same time she was becoming worried too especially since she never operated a MS before nor had she tried to help anyone on the frontlines. "Alright, just be careful out there." she replied and the brown-haired Coordinator nodded his head since he had a feeling that his best friend will be heading out into battle fairly soon.
Speaking of which, the Cousteau was preparing to deploy the four captured G-Project Machines alongside Shiho's CGUE DEEP Arms and four AMF-101 DINNs, which belonged to their allies Sasuke, Rin, Jason and Miyuki as the captain of the submarine began to report what vessel they were about to engage in combat. "A ship is separating from the enemy fleet, identifying…" he began, although what he was about to reveal next might come out as a bit of a shock. "It's the legged ship!"
Yzak, Dearka, Shiho, Sasuke, Rin, Jason and Miyuki were somewhat surprised to learn that the Archangel was with the enemy fleet and had recently separated from it though Nicol started showing a confident smile on his face. "I knew you were right, Athrun" he said as he never guessed that his friend would be accurate about the enemy warship still being in Orb.
"What about the SeaWolf?" Athrun asked of the Cousteau's captain, suspecting that if the EA's warship was there then there's a possibility of Anthony and several members of his team also being present in case they themselves were to make their move. "Is it with the enemy vessel?"
"One second… wait, we've picked up a large heat source… next to the Legged Ship, it's one of our submarines!"
Athrun frowned as did Sasuke, Rin, Jason, Miyuki, Nicol and especially Shiho as the SeaWolf was the only Vosgulov-class to ever leave the ZAFT forces though it was inevitable that they'd be facing Anthony and his team again but they had no other choice. "I see, in that case…" he spoke with a somewhat disappointed tone to it as he began to give the orders. "We're taking off. That ship goes down today and don't hesitate against the SeaWolf either."
The captain began giving the order to sortie the Mobile Suits, with the G-Project units being the first to take off accompanied by Shiho's CGUE DEEP Arms, each of them landed on a Guul that had been sent moments after they launched in order to stay airborne due to the fact none of their machines were capable of atmospheric flight unlike the DINN.
As soon as Sasuke, Rin, Jason and Miyuki launched, the nine Mobile Suits made their way towards the Archangel and secretly hoped they wouldn't face Anthony or his team due to still having mixed feelings over having to shoot down their former allies.
The Archangel immediately picked up something on the radar, causing Pal to become somewhat worried when it happened. "Radar detecting, a total of nine machines" he alerted which caused the bridge crew to be rather shocked at hearing there were nine enemy units they'll be pitted against.
"Checking models," added Tonomoura, trying his best to immediately identify the approaching … with four out of them making him frown even more. "Four DINNs, one unknown model… the same one we fought outside of Orb and the last four are Aegis, Buster, Blitz and Duel."
Natarle didn't like the sound of this one bit. "They were hiding, they've been waiting here for us." she said, knowing they needed to be ready and hopefully Anthony would be able to begin that plan of his soon before all hell broke loose.
Murrue remained silent the whole time, but knew that they'll have to prepare for the worse. "Crew, prepare for undersea and air battle," she replied, suspecting there might be enemy GOOhNs for them to fight even with the two that the SeaWolf had on standby. "We have to lose them, I know it's a difficult order but I'm sure we can do it."
"ECM at maximum strength!" added Natarle, hoping they'll be able to reveal their surprise just moments before the ZAFT pilots get to them and especially as Cagalli had already left for the hanger to launch in the Strike Rouge alongside the M1 Astrays belonging to her three friends. "Deploy smoke dischargers. Lay down the smokescreen on both sides."
The crew simple nodded and did as they were told hoping that this would work as they could tell it was going to be a hard battle for them, but they had the numbers on their side which was a good thing.
"How are the others doing are they ready to launch"? Murrue asked as she looked at the other bridge crew.
Sai nodded at this as he looked at Murrue as everyone was ready to go out into battle. "Yes Anthony says that the 'plan' is ready and has told the ones that will be involved." He said as Sai wanted to know what the plan was but was told it was need to know.
In the hangar, the pilots were all ready to head on out. "Okay everyone you have all been told on what the plan is right?" He asked as they all nodded at this waiting to hear more of what he had to say knowing that he was the one to come up with this plan.
Mu, on the other, was being told that there was a lot of ZAFT forces outside, all of which was heading towards the Archangel and each one ready to attack the ship. "I guess you were right, they sure have sent us one hell of a welcome for us." Mu said with a light laugh at this.
"I know but if we all stick with the plan and help each other out then we should be able to get out of this together and alive," Anthony said with a calm voice to ease the others knowing that they were all still worried a little. "Okay, Team... let's go!"
To Be Continued….
A/Ns: Here you go guys, another chapter for my story completed and hopefully it'll be to your liking since the next chapter will include a truly epic battle so I hope you stay tuned for that… even more so as the Gundam Seed and Gundam Seed Destiny HD Remaster are being dubbed in English which makes this more worth it than ever. Anyway enjoy the chapter and Peace out.