New Phase 26

(written by ZGMF-X28A Nu-Liberty)

The fishing boat slowly coasted through the water as it neared the shore. There was a slight fog, but it was lifting.

"So what's our destination?" Athrun asked.

The fisherman pointed ahead. "Onogoro Island. What you're looking for should be there, if it's there at all."

"Have you heard anything else?"

"No, either it's well hidden or the press release was true."

Athrun shrugged. It didn't matter either way. They had to search the island for the enemy ship. He and the others waited as the boat slowly pulled into an inlet. Once they landed, they quickly changed into Morgenroete work uniforms. After they were ready, the fisherman handed over three copies of a map of Onogoro Island and some rough sketches of the layout Morgenroete's facilities. However, much of the sketches were blank, therefore the team couldn't relay on them. He then passed out I.D. cards.

"These will get you past the first gate of the factory, but from there security gets tighter and uses an individual data system. It's all I could get on such short notice."

"This'll be fine." Athrun assured him.

With that, the fisherman left. He'd return at sundown to pick them up. The Zala Team then headed inland. Athrun secretly hoped they wouldn't find anything, but he knew that Kira and Cagalli were somewhere on the island. He wondered if he'd actually see them, however he thought that wouldn't be likely.

Back in the facility at Morgenroete, repairs on the Strike and Archangel were coming along smoothly. Teams of technicians worked on multiple tasks while Kira made several adjustments to the Gundam's OS.

Cagalli peeked her head into the cockpit. "Oh, it is you." She said, "For a second I thought that a tech was in here."

"It must be because of the outfit." Kira joked, indicating to his clothes. He was now wearing a tech's jumpsuit. "I was told it wouldn't be a good idea to hang around in my regular uniform."

"That's certainly true." She replied. She seemed to be in a surprisingly good mood.

"I didn't know that princesses liked to wander into repair shops." He smiled.

"Hey, I hate being called a princess!" she shot back. She sounded ashamed of her social rank. However, in spite of her outbursts, Kira liked having her around.

He cleared his throat. "Anyway, Cagalli, I finally figured why I ran into at Heliopolis that day."

Her expression hardened. "I heard the rumors that Morgenroete was building mobile suits for the Earth Forces from Asagi, Juri, and Mayura. When I asked my father about, he wouldn't give me a straight answer, so I decided to go see for myself."

Kira nodded, admiring her integrity. She had gone against her father's wishes to learn the truth on her own. She wanted to try to protect Heliopolis. Of course, he understood that Uzumi was apparently doing what was best for his country. He saw both their opinions.

"So did your father know what was happening?" he asked.

"At least I believe that he did. Though he denied it, I learned that his staff had information available to him." She lowered her head. "I wanted to believe him at first, but now…"

Kira understood what she meant. She was angry not because of what her father did, but because that he lied to her. She didn't really hate him; she was simply upset with him. Outside, they overheard a pair of technicians discussing the Strike. They commented on the wear on the electromagnetic socket, the propulsion system, and the general abuse the Gundam had taken. After they walked past, Kira stepped down to the catwalk and ran his hand across a deep scratch on its armor. Those techs were right, for a machine designed for Naturals; he had pushed it far beyond its intended capabilities. However, there were still people he failed to protect, despite his strength.

Cagalli saw the look on his face. "Hey, how about taking a break and getting a drink?" she said, "My treat."

Kira smiled. "Sounds good."

They went to the factory lounge and sat. Kira sipped at his soda.

"You really shouldn't be too hard on yourself sometimes." Cagalli said as she got a drink for herself. "We do what we can and that's all we can really do."

"Is that why you joined up with Desert Dawn?"

"Sort of." She laughed, "My father kept telling me that I understand the ways of the world, so when I heard about the fighting in the desert I decided to join them. Those people may have been fighting for what most others would call a wasteland, but to them it was their home. That's something worth protecting." She sighed. "They were fighting superior opposition with basic weapons, but at the same time Orb has done nothing when they could change the course of the war, maybe even end it."

"No, it would even matter." Kira told her. "If Orb were to join the fighting, people would kill each other."

Meanwhile, Athrun and Nicol wandered through the bustling business district. The streets were crowded to the point where they had to weave in between other people.

The team had split up to search for any sign as to the whereabouts of the Archangel.

"Downtown's certainly peaceful, isn't it?" Nicol whispered.

Athrun nodded. "Yeah, you wouldn't guess that the war was at their doorstep by looking at these people today."

"That's because it's a neutral country."

Athrun didn't reply. He had to keep his mind on the task at hand. He and Nicol resumed their search, ready to report any findings.

Meanwhile, Cade wasn't faring any better or worse. His search hadn't yielded anything, as security wasn't exactly lax. Morgenroete might as well been considered a small fortress, what with the checkpoints and guards. He also hated the fact he had to conduct his search solo. Still, he liked the scenery. He had to admit, Orb's landscape rivaled anything built on the PLANTS. He had always wanted to someday see his Mara's homeland, what with all the stories she had told him. And there was something else slightly diverting his attention from his task. He noticed more and more of the attractive young women he walked past. At one point, one actually looked back to him and waved flirtatiously at him. He averted his glance and went on with his task.

Elsewhere, Tolle waited for his parents to arrive. Because the Archangel's crew wouldn't be allowed to actually leave the island, Orb had made arrangements for the refugees' parents to meet them in a military briefing room. He stood back watching Miriallia's tearful reunion with her parents. They held their daughter tightly, thankful to see her after several long months. The others' parents were there as well. In fact, the only ones absent were Kira and his parents. He wondered if Kira was now staying with Flay for her sake. Just then, he saw his parents enter the room.

His mother covered her mouth, fighting back tears. His father tried to speak, but he couldn't find the right words. Instead, Tolle rushed over and hugged his mother. There really wasn't much time and he had a lot to tell them. He felt guilty about joining the military without talking with them before he did so, but he didn't have the time to consult them.

"I'm sorry." He whispered.

"You really should've talk to us before making a choice like this." His mother said.

"I know, but this was something I felt I needed to do." Tolle had wanted to do his part to ensure that what happened to Heliopolis wouldn't happen elsewhere, as did his friends.

His father patted him on the shoulder. "No matter what, we're very proud of you, son." He smiled.

Back on the Archangel, Kira sat alone. Indeed, he had declined the chance to see his parents, but he wasn't with Flay at the moment. Instead, he busily worked on the task of rewriting the OS for the M1 Astray. It wasn't too difficult as it was being time consuming, and it didn't really help that the constant hopping of Birdy was distracting him. Thankfully he was nearly done with the molecular structure of the ion pump, so he was close to completing the entire thing. Just then there was a knock and he looked to see a stranger standing in the doorway. He had slivery-blue hair, wore a cream colored uniform, and holding a folder in one hand.

"They said I'd find you here." He said, extending his hand, "Michael Starling."

Kira shook his hand. "Kira Yamato."

"I got something for you." Michael handed a disk over. "It's some additional data that you may want to take a look at."

Kira sighed. Now he had some more work to do. He inserted the disk and started inputting the new data.

Michael observed Kira typing away at the keyboard, further giving the OS a complete overhaul. "Wow, you certainly have a talent. I take it you've taken a lot of engineering courses."

Kira did appreciate the comment. He didn't know if this guy was aware that he was a Coordinator, but Michael didn't seem too concerned either way. By the way he stared at the screen intently, Kira could guess that he was greatly interested in machinery and engineering. He then noticed a different set of papers that had been set on the desk.

"So what are these?" he asked, indicating to the notes which read:

-INSUFFICENT TACTICAL EFFECTIVENESS OF COCKPIT MONITERS

(Problem: Cockpit monitors are too constricted, limiting field of vision)

(Solution: Create cockpit design allowing 360-degree field of vision)

-INSUFFICENT RESPONSE TIME DUE TO BURNOUT OF JOINT MOTORS

(Problem: Overuse and overworking of mobile suit joints can lead to burnout)

(Solution: Apply friction-reducing electromagnetic joint coating)

-INADEQUATE RANGE OF MOBILE SUIT ARMAMENT

(Problem: Mobile suit armament is very limited, and many weapons cannot be used in certain situations effectively)

(Solution: Create a larger weapon variety of certain situations)

-POTENTIAL UPGRADES FOR NEXT-GENERATION MOBILE SUITS

(360-degree panoramic cockpit with linear seat; allows for unlimited field of vision)

(Joints coated with friction-reducing electromagnetic coating; reduces joint friction and increases performance by a 40 estimate)

(Method to eventually employ ultracompact fusion reactor for infinite operation time)

(Pilot assisting "MOTHER" Artificial Intelligence computer system; assists rookie pilots with mobile suit operations)

"Oh, they're just some ideas I had for mobile suit upgrades." Michael shrugged, "One I'm really proud of is an electromagnetic coating which can greatly reduce friction in a mobile suit's joints, and maybe even aid in its performance. The other is a panoramic cockpit with a linear seat. It's a design I came up with which gives the pilot a three hundred-sixty degree view." He paused. "I recently showed them to Erica and she was so intrigued by them that she arranged for Morgenroete to give me a spare M1 to try them out on, but I haven't been able to really try them out thanks to the problems with the OS."

Kira nodded, he was impressed with Michael's ideas. He bet that not even ZAFT engineers had thought of such equipment. "It looks like you've got some skills, but something tells me that something else is kind of holding you back?"

"I'm bad with organizing stuff sometimes, but I got plenty of friends to help me out." He smirked, "I gotta tell you that those girls can be annoying at times though, especially since they know that I'm shy around them and they love to flirt. The funny thing is that Juri now has a boyfriend, or at least I think so. I haven't met the guy, but she's said a lot about him. Apparently his name was something like Lowe, I think, part of the Junk Guild."

Their conversation steadily went on and stories were exchanged. Michael explained that his parents had been close friends with Lord Uzumi and Erica, and his father actually owned a subsidiary company to Morgenroete known as Starling Enterprises. They both were killed in a tragic car accident back when Michael was six years old, and afterwards both Lord Uzumi and Erica looked after his well-being. He also loved to travel, as he had recently returned from a trip through Eurasia and the Oceania Union. He explained that he had amassed a unique collection of trinkets from all of his travels.

"So why'd you travel?" Kira asked.

"Oh, I sometimes felt alone, isolated…and like I had lost my sense of purpose. So, I began traveling at the age of nine. It helps me relax for some reason. I learned many things, and picked up several skills that have proved useful."

In another part of the ship, Flay sulked as she worked. Since she hadn't any knowledge in engineering, she was stuck with doing lackluster tasks. In this case it was laundry and she hated every moment of it. Growing up spoiled, she had never done this sort of labor. She hadn't joined the military to do this kind of work. After the laundry was done, she folded it and loaded it onto a cart and wheeled it down the hall. Everything was quiet, as everyone was either working on the ship or on leave. All her friends had gone to meet their parents and that only made her feel more miserable. After her work was done, she wandered about before heading back to her room. Actually, it was the room she shared with Kira. Even the thought of relaxing there made her feel depressed. The only things she'd do were either sleep or just watch TV. She greatly missed her old life. When she stepped inside, she was stunned to see Kira. She was so stunned that she ignored the stranger with him.

"Hi, Flay." Kira smiled.

"What are you doing here?" She wondered why he wasn't with his parents.

"I'm just working something here, but I'll be done soon."

Flay didn't know what to think. Her face went from surprise to anger and she shoved her way past Michael. "Why didn't you go as well?" she demanded.

"What?"

"Your family's here too, aren't they, Kira? Why didn't you go and see them?"

Kira tried to avoid the question. "Well, this right here is taking a bit longer than I thought it would. I have to get it done before the Archangel leaves port."

"Liar!" She screamed, slamming her hands on the desk. "You feel sorry for me, don't you?!"

"No, Flay, that's not it." Kira tried to explain. He reached out to her, but she slapped his hands away.

"You feel sorry for me because my parents are dead and nobody's here to see me, don't you?!" she accused. "Well, I don't need your sympathy and I don't want it!" Looking at Kira's pained face only fueled her anger. "Poor, sad, and lonely Kira cries all the time! You're pathetic!" She then hit him in the chest. "Why do I need any sympathy from the likes of you anyway?!" She then began to cry.

"Just stop it, Flay." Kira whispered, "If that's how you feel, then let's just end this. This whole thing was a stupid mistake."

She stopped sniffling and glared at him. "What? What did you say?"

They didn't say anything and only stared at one another. Flay couldn't stand it anymore. She pushed him out of the way and ran out of the room crying. Kira just sighed and looked, realizing that Michael was still there and had witnessed the fight.

"Sorry you had to see that."

"Yeah, me too." Michael said, "Look, I have to get going, so I'll leave you alone. This was nice meeting you." He then exited, leaving Kira all by himself.

"Oh, how did it come to this?" Kira muttered to himself.

In another room, away from where the refugee and their parents were Kira's mother and father, Kalida and Haruma Yamato. They sat and waited until Uzumi finally arrived. He politely bowed to the couple.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Yamato." He greeted them. "I regret that we have to meet under these circumstances."

"I know, you once said we'd never had to meet like this again." Kalida said. There was no hiding her anger.

"Yes, but it doesn't change that the children have met each other now." Uzumi said, sitting down.

"We never expected this whole mess." Haruma muttered. "Heliopolis being attacked, him joined the Earth Forces, and in the course crossing paths with his sister."

"The blame for what happened to Heliopolis falls squarely on my shoulders." Uzumi sighed.

"No, there isn't anything to blame yourself with, Lord Uzumi." Kalida said, "Besides, there's nothing you can do about it now."

"Yes, but now the problem is what to do next." Uzumi folded his hands. "That's why I needed to speak with you both."

Mr. and Mrs. Yamato looked at each other and then by to Uzumi.

"In the end, we mustn't tell Kira the truth about the circumstances of his birth or of his real parents." Kalida said.

"And not even about his sister." Haruma added, "No matter what, it's in both their best interests that they never find out the truth."

"I understand."

"And please let this be the very last time we meet like this, Lord Uzumi." Kalida pleaded.

"Of course." Uzumi nodded and stood to leave. But as he headed for the door, he stopped and added, "I must ask why you think he declined to see you today."

Kalida slumped her shoulders and Haruma stiffened.

"Well, all he said was 'I don't want to see them right now." He said, his voice slightly filled with hope. However, it made him and his wife sad to be separated from their only child for so long. "Could you please ask him again before he departs?"

"Certainly, it's the very least I can do." Uzumi said and he left.

Back outside, the Zala Team had finally regrouped. It was enaring day's end, but none of their searches had revealed any information. In fact, the only one of them who the closest to gaining access to Morgenroete was Cade thanks to his hacking skills. However, even that approach was a dead end.

"So did you guys find out anything?" Yzak asked as Nicol and Athrun walked up.

Before they could answer, "Excuse us!" an unfamiliar voice called out to them.

Everyone looked and spotted a group of people waving over to them. If their attire was any inclination, the trio was part of the Junk Guild, and accompanying them was a small girl. The apparent leader wore a yellow vest and blue headband and his brown hair stood straight up. They knew that the Junk Techs had mistaken them for actually employees, their uniform had its advantages and its shortcomings.

"Where's Dock Number 2?" the stranger asked.

"Well, uh…" Nicol stammered.

"Ah, crap." Dearka muttered

"Come on, let's get rid of them." Yzak said, reaching for the gun hidden inside his uniform.

"No, wait." Athrun said, "I'll take of this." He stepped in front of his team. ""Sorry, but we're actually new here!" He called over to the Junk Techs. "Can you ask someone else?"

"Oh, all right." The apparent leader replied, "Sorry to bother you guys." After that, the group turned about face and left.

When they were gone, Athrun leaned closer to his teammates. "Come on, let's find a quieter place to talk." He led the team away.

Back in the Astray lab, another demonstration was underway. Instead of moving around clumsily, the M1 dashed around with such agility and quickness that some of the observers couldn't believe that it was the same machine.

"This is too awesome!" Asagi exclaimed as she piloted the mobile suit. She thrust the arms in swift, fluid motions.

Kira explained his modifications to the OS as the demonstration progressed. "I rewrote the ion pump's molecular structure, constructed a new quantum subroutine, thereby elevating the synapse fusion's regeneration velocity by over forty percent, which makes it suitable for the nerve junctions of a Natural."

"This is truly remarkable." Erica said in admiration, "And you were able to do all this in such a short time. You've even better than I thought."

But Kira was too depressed to appreciate the praise and didn't reply.

Even La Flaga observed the demonstration with great interest. "Do you think I'd get the same results if I tried piloting that machine?"

"Oh, I'm sure." Erica answered, "Would you care to try?"

"Maybe later, but I appreciate the offer."

Erica went over to the intercom. "Asagi, that's enough for now. You can get out now."

"Okay." Asagi said and parked the machine.

Once the demonstration had ended, the other pilots, Mayura and Juri snuck up beside him.

"Hey, Kira," Juri said, throwing her arm around his shoulders, "how old are you?"

"Back off, Juri." Mayura countered. "Don't you already have a boyfriend? You know, Lowe?"

"What, I'm just asking him his age, that's all."

Mayura just smirked. "So do you have a girlfriend?"

Kira couldn't believe them and the way they would carry on. The flirtatious nature of theirs was making him nervous, and it gave a sense of what Michael had told him. Now all he wanted was to make some sort of escape from this awkward situation.

Cagalli saved the day. "Sorry you two, but Kira does have a girlfriend."

Mayura was clearly disappointed. "Really?" she sulked. "Why do all the good guys end up taken?"

Juri simply sighed.

Kira thought of Flay and her outburst earlier. Sure, she hadn't been the whole reason he didn't go see his parents, but she was a part of it. He felt reasonable for her father's death, so he would've felt guilty about seeing his parents, and he didn't want to leave her all alone. Yet, she completely rejected his kindness and responded with hostility. He wondered how their relationship could survive, but he reminded himself that he didn't love her and without love, there was no relationship. Now they just clung to each other out of simple loneliness. The little fling of theirs was just a mess from the very start, he realized that now.

He decided to leave the observation room, followed by La Flaga and Birdy. His robotic pet flew several circles around him before finally landing on his shoulder.

"Kira, what's been bothering you?" La Flaga asked.

"What?" Kira said over his shoulder, "I don't know what you mean."

"You got a gloomy look on your face." La Flaga replied, "You got a compliment from a superb engineer and hit on by a couple of cute girls, but you act like you don't care."

"I just got a lot on my mind, that's all." Kira stepped on to the elevator and waited for La Flaga to push the button.

"Mind if I ask you something?" the older man asked, "Why'd you turn down the chance to see your parents?"

Kira didn't answer.

"Kira?"

Kira sighed. "I just can't see them, I'm a soldier now."

"So what?" La Flaga shrugged. "Just because you're a soldier now doesn't mean you're not their son anymore. Don't you want to see them?"

"Well, sure I do. It's just that I don't have the time."

"Time?"

Kira folded his arms. "I have to help develop and maintain mobile suits. Why? Because it's what I'm good at." That wasn't fully the reason. The truth was that he couldn't bring himself to see them, after all the lives he had taken. But there was something else.

La Flaga took a step closer. "I'm sure you can afford at least a short break."

"If I did see them, I'm afraid I'd end up asking the wrong question." Kira finally admitted, "I'm afraid I'd ask them why the hell they decided to have me be a Coordinator."

The elevator door opened and suddenly Birdy spread its wings and flew off. Kira quickly gave chase, following his robotic pet as it flew across the factory and out an open hatch. He knew that he was prohibited from actually leaving the site, but if he didn't Birdy now, he might not ever.

"Birdy, get back here!"

Nearby, the Zala Team finally found a secluded spot away from any possible eavesdropping.

"So, did anyone find out anything?" Yzak asked, irritated.

Athrun and Nicol shook their heads.

"Well, it's not like they'd leave it sitting at a military port." Dearka said before he turned to Cade, "What about hacking into their system?"

"That's a no go." Cade said, "Their system's multi-layered so I couldn't get into it too far. Besides, even I could, there were too many prying eyes."

"Great." Yzak muttered, "What do we do now?" Everyone looked to Athrun, waiting for orders.

"We'll try again tomorrow." He finally said, "For now let's get back to the rendezvous point."

Everybody nodded, though frustrated. They all continued walking, watching the inhabitants as the walked to and from work.

"Geez, people sure are calm." Yzak sneered, "Don't they realize there's a war going on here?"

"But they're not involved in the fighting." Nicol reminded him. "Why should they concerned with when all they want is peace?"

"Yeah, peace is nice." Dearka nodded, "This is nice place, and the girls here are cute."

"Well, I won't argue with on that." Cade said.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Yzak asked, annoyed. "And when did you two start to be interested in girls all of a sudden?"

"What, even Natural girls are hot." Dearka replied.

Yzak sighed in annoyance.

"All right, knock it off." Athrun interjected, "Let's hurry back." Before he could take another step, he heard a faint sound above him and looked up. It took him a moment to realize what it was that got his attention. He recognized Birdy and stretched out his hand. His robotic creation spotted him landed on his palm. If Birdy was here, then knew that Kira couldn't be far away.

His companions gathered around and stared at the robot.

"What's that thing?" Yzak wondered.

"Wow, it's a robotic bird." Nicol said.

"Talk about workmanship." Cade commented, "I wonder who made it."

Athrun then looked up to see somebody in a technician's uniform rushing towards him on the other side of the fence. His heart raced when he recognized who it was.

Kira stopped short when he saw that Athrun was right in front of him. He then noticed the five other young men standing with Athrun. They all wore uniforms similar to his. He wondered if they all were ZAFT soldiers, and if so, how and when did they sneak into Orb? Then Athrun walked up to the fence and Kira wondered what was going to happen next.

"Is this yours?" Athrun asked.

At first Kira was confused by what he was doing. But then he realized that Athrun was protecting him. He didn't want his companions to find out his identity as the Strike's pilot.

Kira reached out to take Birdy back. "Yes, thank you." He recalled the day when he received the gift. So much had changed since then and not for the better. "A dear friend of mine gave this to me." He said, playing along. "I treasure this very much."

A short distance away, Erica was driving Cagalli across the site. Cagalli was disappointed that she had missed the latest test on the M1 Astray, but she heard all about from Asagi, Mayura, and Juri. She leaned her back and happened to look to the side. She immeadatily saw Kira, and a split second later, she saw that he was talking to Athrun. Did he realize that he was speaking with a ZAFT soldier? "Stop the car!" she yelled.

Erica skidded to a halt and Cagalli leapt out. "Kira!" she called out.

Kira turned to see her running towards him. He looked back to where Athrun had been and found that he and his companions were leaving. For a moment he thought he'd never see his friend again, but he knew that wouldn't be the case. They'd meet each other on the battlefield sooner or later. Cagalli stood alongside him.

"Kira…"

But he didn't say anything and just walked away.