Disclaimer: see chapter 1.

Song of the Storm Wolf

Belly of the Beast

By Storm Wolf77415

17 hours had passed since the Archangel's "destruction" in the Marshall Islands. Suffice to say, Alliance Command was less than pleased.

"How could had this have happened?" an admiral roared, "The GAT series is vital to helping us purify the world of those space monsters!"

"Relax, the new machines we've been working on are far superior to the Heliopolis line. It doesn't make much difference anyway. Those filthy Coordinators have already left their mark on the ship. The Archangel and her crew would have been doomed if they had come here. A shame about Commander La Flaga and Miss Allster, they could have been quite useful to us" Another admiral said.

"Indeed, The Hawk of Endymion could have helped us prepare the new pilots. Plus his presence on the battlefield would have helped morale a great deal."

"The attack will commence soon, we all know what must be done, for the preservation of our blue and pure world," the first admiral said, and they dispersed.

Of course, being the smug and arrogant bastards they are, they didn't see another admiral, a rather intimidating figure with blonde hair and matching beard that had been hovering outside the door.

"Fools! Every last one of them!" he muttered, "Going to such extreme lengths to cripple ZAFT! I hope Murrue doesn't come here. She doesn't deserve to get caught up in the middle of all this madness."

Skies over Alaska.

"We've just entered JOSH-A's air defense zone. They should be picking us up soon enough" Mu said. Right on cue, the radio crackled to life.

"Attention approaching aircraft, you have entered a secure air zone. State you identity and business." The operator said.

"This is Lieutenant Commander Mu La Flaga, formerly of the EAS Mobile Assault Ship Archangel. I have one other survivor that requires medical attention. Please have medics standing by when we arrive," Mu said.

"Who is the other survivor?" the officer said. Interest coloring his voice.

"The Archangel's CAG, Commander Sebastian Connor. He has severe burns over a good part of his face while trying to fight the fire that claimed the ship."

"Do you know what caused it?"

"Negative, it happened really fast, and by the time I knew it, the fire had claimed a good part of the ship."

"We're sending planes to escort you in. Safe journey," and the radio crackled off.

"We're off to a good start, now we've just got to hope that our luck holds," Sebastian said.

"You came up with this plan. Don't you think it will work?" Mu said.

"Oh, I know it'll work, but it's going to get really messy before it ends."

Two F-7D jet fighters swooped in, flanking the larger aircraft.

"Time for this wolf to play dead," Sebastian said, closing his eyes and lolling his head to the side.

The surface facilities of Joint Supreme Headquarters Alaska were unremarkable in itself, a few Igelstellung CIWS batteries and surface to air missile launchers to act as anti-aircraft defense, and massive door that allowed ships to enter through the natural harbor. However, this was not how the Wolf and Hawk would enter the massive fortress. Instead, a smaller side door opened up and a retractable landing strip extended out for the Skygrasper to touch down on.

The aircraft caught the arresting wire, and slowed to a stop. Mu pulled himself from the cockpit before the ground crew set up a ladder.

"Get a medic team on the double! We've got an injured man here!"

"Who is he?" one of the crew, a young man of 18 said.

"He's the Storm Wolf of Jachin Due, a former ZAFT ace," Mu said. And the technician's face hardened.

"Why would we help that space monster! You should have just left him to die!" It took all of Sebastian's self-control to keep quiet at those words, but Mu solved the problem for him. As the Hawk grabbed the mechanic by the throat and brought him up to stare into those brilliant blue eyes.

"That space monster is my friend, and a superior officer to you! I'm in a good mood today, so I'll let you off with a warning. You make comments like that in the future when I'm around. You'll be busted back so far, it won't even be funny. Understand?"

"Yes sir" he choked out. The Hawk released his talons, and stormed off.

"Get that medical team down here, now!" he barked.

"Commander La Flaga?" a guard asked wearily, not wanting to anger the Hawk any further, "Captain Sutherland has ordered you to appear before him and the Board of Inquiry. They want to know what happened to the Archangel."

"I figured, I'll be right there" Mu looked over toward Sebastian, being carted away by the medic team. Good luck, kid. He thought.

Archangel, just off Alaskan Coast.

Flay, Mirialla, Lacus, and the Astray ladies were eating lunch in the cafeteria. The redheaded communications officer had been very quiet and subdued while the other girls were chatting.

"Is something, Miss Flay?" Juri asked, concerned.

"I'm thinking about Sebastian. I hope he's okay in there" she said softly.

"You shouldn't worry about him. When he was retrieved from Endymion, his CGUE was a junked wreck. The head and limbs had been torn off, and the body had been scorched. He shouldn't have survived, but he did. I believe that he will fine. I know he'll make it out," Lacus said, with a firm confidence in her voice.

"And he's not alone in there, Flay. He has Commander La Flaga with him. Between the Storm Wolf of Jachin Due and the Hawk of Endymion there's little that could threaten them" Asagi said.

"Thanks, girls," Flay said, "With my father gone, he and Kira are all I left. If I lost them, I'd die."

"Do you want to hear the story of our first date?" Lacus said, "That would lighten the mood."

"First date?" Mayura said excitedly, "Let's hear it!"

"It took place just before Sebastian went on active duty. He had wanted to attend his high school prom, and he was going to make a big show of it by appearing in his redcoat, but he needed a date. I had slipped him my phone number when we first met, and I hadn't heard from him since. So when he called I was quite surprised," Lacus started giggling, "His face was all red, when he asked me. I thought he was going to pass out. When Sebastian finally got it out, I think he was expecting me to say no. He was so shocked when I accepted, that he fainted!" and all the girls started laughing.

"What is it about guys? They can go out and face death, but when it comes to us women, they turn into such blithering idiots" Mirialla said.

"If we knew that, we'd have a much better understanding of the world in general" Asagi said.

"Anyway, when we walked into the gymnasium, the whole crowd went silent, and Sebastian said, 'What, you haven't seen a guy in a ZAFT uniform with a beautiful pop star on his arm before?'" and all the girls laughed again, harder than last time.

"That is so him! Always with some snappy retort" Flay said.

"He's been through so much pain. Junius, Endymion, he'd wake up in the night, screaming. He'd hold onto me as if his life depended on it. I only wish for him to find peace within himself, so he doesn't have to fight anymore."

"I want the same for Kira," Flay said, "But until then. They'll have to fight. They couldn't stand by while others are hurt. It's not like them."

"And it's up to us give those soldiers their strength to keep fighting. I only hope that it ends soon" Lacus said, as the image of a brown haired, blue-eyed pilot laughing solidified in her head. Be safe, my love. Our daughter needs you, I need you.

JOSH-A, sickbay.

Sebastian cracked an eye open as he surveyed the scene in the infirmary. Many injured soldiers were laying on the various cots and beds, with doctors, nurses, and medical technicians scrambling about treating them, and he was being totally ignored, despite his "grievous injuries." A woman in her mid-to-late 40s, dressed in an Earth Forces uniform under a standard lab coat, with long brown hair, wearing steel frame glasses over her brown eyes entered, and took notice of the Storm Wolf and looked like she was about to have a heart attack.

"Why hasn't this man received medical treatment? He has third degree burns for crying out" the doctor said.

"He's just a stinking Coordinator. Who's going to care if another one of them dies?" a female nurse said in a mocking tone, garnering laughter from a few others. The poor girl immediately found her boss' cold eyes boring into hers.

"HOW DARE YOU! You call yourself a nurse! Here in this place it doesn't matter if you're a Natural or a Coordinator. I treat the sick! And you supposed to as well! Kindly remove yourself from this room! You'll receive your new assignment in the morning!" the nurse broke down into tears and ran out, "Anyone else have a problem? By all means, speak up. Come on I'm waiting."

Sebastian couldn't help but smile on the inside. There are more decent sorts in the Earth Forces than I thought. A shame she didn't end up with us, I could like this lady.

She pulled the curtain around them closed, "How are you feeling, young man?" the doctor said in a gentle tone.

"I'm okay," Sebastian said in a soft, distant tone, "Although, I wouldn't like to get a face full of flames again in the near future."

"I'm surprised that you're even still alive. My name is Elizabeth Reynolds. I'm the chief medical officer of this base."

"Sebastian Connor, formerly of ZAFT, it's nice to meet you as well, Dr. Reynolds."

"It's not every day that I have a celebrity in my infirmary. Although here, you're just another patient, and you're not going to get any special treatment, understand?"

"Yes ma'am. I'm not exactly in any place to argue, now am I?" to which Dr. Reynolds nodded. Her face then turned serious.

"I heard about Helipolis. I was relieved that Jeff had survived, and I thought I'd get to see him again, but I guess that won't be happening now."

"You mean Dr. Michaels?" Sebastian said, "You knew him?"

"We went to medical school together, always jockehing for first in our class, it was a bit of a rivalry of sorts, but we respected each other and it pushed ourselves to do our best." Dr. Reynolds said.

"I know a thing or two about that. However, my rival has no respect for me, and wants nothing more than to kill me, Especially now that I've switched teams."

"You took a big gamble by leaving ZAFT, and joining the Alliance, especially since Coordinator sentiment isn't exactly friendly here."

"I had my reasons" Sebastian said, as Reynolds moved to examine the burned flesh on the Storm Wolf's face. She looked in shock as she saw the edge of the prosthetic that was applied to his face. Sebastian sat up, peeled it off, and stared level with her, "I'm sorry for the subterfuge. You're a decent sort, Dr. Reynolds, so I'm hoping that you'll trust me and not turn me in."

"That depends, what are you really here for?" she said.

"Information on the Alliance's mobile suit program, A month and a half ago, the entire crew defected to the Orb Union when we found out that the entire Alliance High Command structure is nothing more than a front for Blue Cosmos. Since we've pumping them back our combat data on the Strike and Predator, we wanted to see what developments have been made since January. So we came right to the source" Sebastian said.

"Blue Cosmos?" Reynolds said, her features hardening, "Don't worry, Commander. Your secret is safe with me. I lost a loved one to Blue Cosmos several years ago. I never wanted to be part of the Earth Forces anyway, but I got drafted. So I didn't have much of a choice. Where is the Archangel? It's not destroyed, is it?" to which the Storm Wolf shook his head.

"The Archangel is currently sitting outside of this base's main harbor, submerged underwater, waiting for Commander La Flaga and I to get out of there, they'll extract us and we'll head back for Orb."

"I'll help you in any way I can. If I were you I'd put that fake scarring back on. That way I can transfer you out of here. Be safe, Commander" Dr. Reynolds said.

"Thank you very much," the Storm Wolf said.

Conference Room

I wonder how long they have to rehearse looking all big and scary? Mu thought as he sat before Sutherland and the other admirals.

"This board of inquiry is called to order!" Captain Sutherland, "We are here to determine what caused the destruction of the Mobile Assault Ship EAS Archangel on 15th, of April, C.E. 71. Commander La Flaga, as one of only two survivors, what happened on that day?"

"We were cruising through the Marshall Islands, everything was running smoothly. I had gone to speak to Captain Ramius about something when the whole ship shook. Apparently there had been an explosion and a fire broke out in the engine room."

"How did it start?" one of the officers horned in, "Did you see the fire break out?"

"No sir, I did not" Mu said, annoyance coloring his voice, "I was no where near the engine room when it happened. But when the alarms starting going off, I ran down there to see how I could help."

"And when you arrived in the engine room?" the first admiral asked.

"I found Commander Connor unconscious. The right side of his face had been seriously burned. I grabbed him and pulled him out of there. A second explosion went off, and the fire started to spread. Captain Ramius gave the order to abandon ship. I took him to the hanger bay, and we got into the Skygrapser and we took off," Mu replied.

"You could have taken any of the prototypes, but you left them there? That's a serious breach in judgment, Commander!" Sutherland replied.

"I didn't have enough time to engage the start-up sequence. Skygrapser 1 was on the catapult for a recon flight. It was already prepped for take off." Mu said.

"You probably should have left that filthy space monster where he was" an admiral sneered, "And that brings up another issue, Commander La Flaga. The fact that the Strike had been put into the hands of a Coordinator in the first place, Much less a civilian!"

"Kira Yamato was an Orb citizen who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He took up the job of flying the Strike because he was the only one who could!" Mu said, "He was reluctant at first, but he rose to the challenge, especially since he was in love with one of the members of the crew. He'd die for Flay!" This really set off all of the admirals.

"A Coordinator in love with Minister Allster's daughter! Please, I've heard enough!" the admiral practically screeched.

"What about those other four Coordinator that stole the other machines? One of them defected to our side in the middle of a battle! We mustn't forget to take that into account!"

"In all likelihood they were all in cahoots to destroy the ship to begin with! Connor masterminded the conspiracy! He brought those other four aboard to help him sabotage it!" Mu finally slammed his hands on the table, to silence the mad ranting.

"You're all out of your minds! I may have only known Commander Connor and Kira for a few months, but they were two of the most honorable people I know! If they had wanted to sabotage the Archangel, they could have done it at any time, but they didn't! As for Nicol, he joined the ship after saving Sebastian from being killed by a madman! The others joined us because of this man's actions as well."

"That is enough, Commander La Flaga! I've heard enough. You will receive you new assignment in a few hours. This board is adjourned!"

Mu rolled his eyes, and walked out of the conference room, "I thought they'd never finish. I'm glad Sebastian wasn't here, he'd skin them alive."

JOSH-A, burn ward.

Sebastian's patience was paper thin as he lay on the bed, waiting as the attending nurse continuously bustled about the other patients, waiting for a chance to break free. The contempt on her face barely concealed whenever she walked by him.

Come on and leave, already! You don't want to be around me, just leave me here.

Finally she left, and the Storm Wolf slipped out the other way.

"Okay, I'm out. Now I need to find a computer terminal, hack into the mainframe and get the files we need. All the while avoiding being caught by hostile forces, pretty normal day I think." Most of the other patients were currently sleeping. So they paid no attention to Sebastian's departure.

The Storm Wolf adjusted his uniform, and casually walked down the corridor.

In another part of the base, Mu wandered aimlessly. He had received his new posting as a flight instructor in California, but now he was trying to find Sebastian.

"Excuse me, Commander La Flaga?" the Hawk whirled around to find two lieutenants.

"What is it? I'm kind of busy right now" he asked, the pair didn't falter.

"Come with us, the Admiral wishes to meet with you" Mu muttered something unintelligible under his breath and followed the pair. The three meandered through the hallways and passages of JOSH-A, before arriving at a nondescript office.

"He's waiting inside" the first lieutenant said.

"You think?" Mu said in biting tone, as he went in, a cutting remark on his tongue that died as soon as he saw the admiral sitting behind the desk.

"It's good to see you again, Commander La Flaga. I trust that Murrue and the others are waiting for you somewhere so you can get out?" Lewis Halberton said.

Author's Notes: YES! Admiral Halberton is very much alive! And more surprises will unfold in the next chapter. But I'm not saying anything.