Disclaimer's Note: I do not own Gundam Seed or Gundam X
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Phase 37: Divine Thunder
May 18, C.E. 71, Onogoro Island, ORB Territory
An ORB plane, with Kisaka at the controls, flew low over the territorial waters of the nation as it passed by the Archangel, which was making its way towards the cliff-side dock. After a full week of cruising through the ocean, the battered ship had finally made it to Onogoro Island, the only place that they knew guaranteed a safe harbor. Everyone on the bridge was tired, especially Murrue, since she had been up for longer than the rest of the bridge crew. Upon seeing the cliff face open up, though, everyone breathed an audible sigh of relief as the Archangel turned around and started backing into the dock. Inside, up on the observation deck, a small group had gathered to watch the Archangel enter and finally come to a stop. Amongst them was Erica Simmons, Uzumi Nara Athha, and of course, Cagalli, who was dressed in her uniform. "Lock down the Archangel! Open the maintenance hatches and begin repairs at once!"
"I can't blame them for running back here so soon…" Uzumi sighed, "After everything that has happened…" All of a sudden, Cagalli turned and broke off from the main group, hurrying out of the room and a few minutes later, Uzumi saw her run out onto the dock and onto a ramp connecting the Archangel to the dock. After entering the ship, Cagalli hurried through the hallways to the lift, which she still remembered how to use from the last time she was there. Upon opening it, however, she had to stop short to let two doctors pass by. They were wheeling a stretcher that was carrying a badly injured soldier, who it was, Cagalli couldn't tell but she brushed it off as she got into the lift and closed the door. Meanwhile, Kira was walking through the hallways on a different part of the ship when all of a sudden, he was ambushed and pulled into a friendly head-lock by Ryo.
"Hey, Kira," Ryo grinned as he messed up the said brunette's already messy hair, "Guess what day it is…"
"Um…" Kira stammered, "It's, uh…Tuesday?"
"You dumb ass! It's your birthday!" Ryo exclaimed, giving Kira a smack upside the head as he let go of him, "And you know what that means, don't you?"
"Uh…" Kira blinked, although he was sure he knew what was coming, "Presents?"
"Close…" Ryo grinned as he cracked his knuckles, "It's payback time, buddy boy…"
"C-Come on, Ryo!" Kira stuttered as he backed away with his hands raised, "I…I didn't hit you that hard…did I?"
"Second after Cagalli…" Ryo replied and wound up. Before he could throw a punch, however, Kira suddenly wheeled around and ran away as fast as he could, prompting Ryo to give chase. "Kira!" Ryo shouted, "Don't even try to run away! You know I'm can run faster than you!" Kira didn't reply, as he was saving his breath so that he would have enough to possibly escape. "You hear me, Yamato?" Ryo repeated, "I'm gonna catch you eventually! You might as well hold still and get this over with now!" By now, Cagalli had reached the same general area that Ryo and Kira were running through and she paused when she heard a familiar voice shouting.
"Ryo…?" Cagalli muttered and then her amber eyes widened when she saw two familiar teenage boys run past in the opposite hallway, "Kira!" Even as she started running after them, Ryo continued to chase Kira down the hallway, intent on exacting a little revenge. Thinking quickly, Kira ducked into another hallway and sped along into another one, managing to hide just before Ryo poked his head around the corner.
"What the hell?" Ryo blinked as he went on, right past Kira's hiding spot, "I could've sworn I saw him go this way…" Kira waited until the footsteps had faded and then he peeked out from the hallway he was hiding in.
"Phew! Lost him!" Kira said when he saw the coast was clear, breathing a sigh of relief, "Now I'd better avoid him for the day…" Just as he stepped out of his hiding spot, however, he heard rushed footsteps again and he thought, "Shoot! How'd he get there so fast!"
"Kira!" a different voice called out and then someone rounded the corner. The flash of blonde hair that Kira saw hurtling at him told him that it wasn't Ryo, but rather…
"C-Caga-oof!" Kira sputtered as the said blonde threw herself at him, her inertia causing him to stumble and then fall onto his back. Even as he struggled the recover the wind that had been knocked out of him, he felt something that felt like a fist pounding his chest.
"You…You are such an idiot!" the blonde screamed and Kira's eyes focused to see a very distraught looking Cagalli, though he was still a bit dazed from hitting his head on the floor, "You…I thought I'd never see you again! How could you do that to me…?"
"Sorry…" Kira smiled as tears started to leak from Cagalli's eyes, neither seemed to have notice that she was still lying on him.
"You…you really are alive…" Cagalli stuttered as she propped herself up on her knees and elbows, "Right?"
"Yeah, I'm alive," Kira nodded, still smiling, "I'm back…"
"Aha! I finally…whoa! Hello!" a voice suddenly exclaimed and they looked up to see Ryo standing there, "I knew you guys had a special bond and all, but…I didn't think it was like this!" The two blinked before looking at each other and realizing the position that they were both in.
"It-It's nothing like that!" Cagalli fumed as she hurriedly got up onto her feet, allowing Kira some room to stand as well as she wiped her eyes, "I'm just glad to see him, that's all!"
"Right," Ryo nodded, "So how come I don't get a hello too?"
"I was going to give you one," Cagalli scoffed, "But, since you insist on greeting me like that…"
"I'm stabbed," Ryo sighed, putting his hand over his heart as he feigned a hurt expression, "I thought we were tight, Cagalli."
"You…" Cagalli said, trying to come up with a retort, but ended up going over to him and pulling Ryo into a hug as well.
"Um…" Ryo blinked, "Okay…not really what I was expecting, but…" After a little while and a few pats on the back, Ryo put his hands between himself and Cagalli and gave gentle push, "Okay, okay, happy feely time is over now…"
"Sorry," Cagalli said as she let go and stepped back, "It's just…when I heard you two were alive…I was kind of scared to actually believe it…"
"Oh ye of little faith," Ryo laughed, "You didn't really think we'd die that easily, did you?"
"Of course not!" Cagalli replied, crossing her arms, "It was just…hard to believe that anyone could survive something like that…"
"Well, we are alive, whether you like it or not," Ryo smiled and then said to Kira, who was steadily inching away, "And don't think that this means I'm letting you go!" When Cagalli gave him a confused look, he explained as he flexed his fingers, "Birthday punches. Care to join in?"
"For me?" Cagalli blinked.
"No, for him," Ryo said, "What do you mean for you?"
"Well…" Cagalli replied a bit hesitantly, "Today's…kind of my birthday too…" As the two pilots looked at each other in surprise, the senior officers of the Archangel were meeting with Lord Uzumi and Kisaka on the bridge, along with a few other ORB officials.
"We really can't thank you enough for allowing us to come here again," Murrue said as she bowed, "Even after everything that you've done already."
"It's quite alright," Uzumi nodded, "However, you must understand that as tense as the situation is, I must ask that you and your crew to remain on board your ship for a while. However, you'll be able to rest easier now that you're here."
"Of course," Murrue smiled, "Thank you."
"After the events of the Alaska battle, the world is drastically changing once again," Uzumi said, "We'll discuss more of this after you've had some rest. Perhaps you should think some things over while you listen to the reports as well…especially the meaning of the uniform that you all wear." Meanwhile, as the meeting was going on, the other students were sitting in the cafeteria finishing their meals.
"Finally…" Sai muttered as he finished downing a cup of water, "We can actually eat without having to worry…"
"Hey," Kuzzey suddenly said, "What's going to happen now that we're here?"
"What do you mean?" Sai asked.
"Well, we're not exactly soldiers anymore," Kuzzey explained, "So…"
"Hold on," Sai frowned, "Why not?"
"Didn't we quit the Earth Forces two days ago?" Kuzzey asked, "So, since we're not in the Earth Forces any more…doesn't that mean we're also not soldiers too?"
"Running off in the middle of a battle is a military offence," Sai told him, "No exceptions." There was a bit of silence before Kuzzey dug into the pocket of his uniform.
"You know…" Kuzzey said, "I still have this from before…do you think it's still effective?" Saying that, he pulled out a folded piece of paper out from his pocket before unfolding it to reveal the discharge paper given to him when the Archangel had met up with the 8th Fleet. At this, Sai suddenly got up to leave and Kuzzey called out, "Hey, Sai! Where are you…?"
"I'm gonna go to the bathroom," Sai replied nonchalantly and it was at this point that Miriallia and Tiffa got up as well, bringing their trays with them.
"Wha…?" Kuzzey blinked as he watched them go, "Oh, come on, guys!"
"Sorry, Kuzzey," Tiffa apologized, "But I'm supposed to be helping out in the hangar in a little bit." Miriallia, who had completely ignored Kuzzey, had gone to the counter and set her empty tray down there.
"Thank you!" she called into the kitchen.
"No prob'!" one of the cooks called back.
"Hey, why's this tray still sitting here?" Miriallia asked, pointing at a still full tray that was sitting on a shelf.
"Eh? Oh, that's the prisoner's meal," the cook replied, "I thought I already asked someone to take it to him…" Miriallia shrugged and started to walk out the door but as she was about to, she suddenly found herself remembering what Dearka had said before.
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"Oh, well then…it wasn't me…"
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As Miriallia went back into the cafeteria, Kira and Cagalli were standing on a platform directly in front of the de-active Freedom while the latter explained what had happened after the Archangel had left ORB. "So…you met Athrun, huh?" Kira asked when Cagalli told him about how she had found the bluenette on the beach.
"Yeah, I found him when we went looking for you and Ryo," Cagalli nodded, remembering the time she had spent with the ZAFT pilot, "He was pretty gloomy…he kept crying because he thought he killed you two…"
"Well…" Kira sighed, "Back before that battle, we killed one of Athrun's friends…and then in return, Athrun killed Tolle. It couldn't have been avoided…for either Athrun or us…"
"You guys were friends when you were kids, right?" Cagalli asked, "You and Athrun?"
"Yeah, Athrun was a reliable guy," Kira smiled as he recalled his childhood, "He actually used to be my tutor when we were in Prep School. He always gave me a hand in my studies."
"Then…why are you fighting for the Earth Forces?" Cagalli asked, "Even if it means fighting a guy like him?"
"Huh?"
"Well, you know…" Cagalli said, "You're a Coordinator and all…so why fight someone who's like you?"
"I thought that if I didn't…then everyone would die," Kira explained, "I'm a Coordinator, yes. But, to tell you the truth, I never really believed that I would ever kill Athrun…or that Athrun would ever kill me." While the two were talking, Ryo was sitting in the cockpit of the Double X, staring at the flash drive the Siegel Clyne had given to him.
"He said that it was from my mother…" Ryo thought, "I wonder…is this another one of her messages?" Deciding to give it a try, he inserted the flash drive into a slot and the screen lit up with what looked like a download bar in the middle. When it had filled, Ryo was surprised to see that instead of a video, a message popped up on the screen. "Error: please insert drive number two," he read off the screen and sweat-dropped when he saw an empty slot next to the one he had put the flash drive in, "Oh, real funny, mom." Meanwhile, Miriallia had entered the prison cell, where Dearka was sleeping. In her hands was the neglected tray, since she had volunteered to bring it to him.
"Your meal," she said softly, although it was enough to wake Dearka up as she slid the tray beneath the door to his cell, "They were arguing about who was going to bring it; sorry for the wait." There was a brief pause before Miriallia realized that Dearka was staring at her and she gave him an annoyed look, "What?"
"Oh, nothing," Dearka grinned sheepishly, a bit embarrassed at being caught, "I just didn't think that you'd be the one to bring it."
"What do you mean 'you'?"
"Oh, sorry," Dearka said hastily, "I meant 'Ms. You'."
"It's Miriallia, alright?" she told him irritably, "Don't call me 'you' or anything like that."
"You mean…" Dearka blinked, "I can call you by name?"
"No!" Miriallia huffed and turned to leave.
"Hey! Wait a second!" Dearka called out, springing from his bed.
"What?"
"What's with this ship? When am I getting out of here?" Dearka asked through the bars, "I know that there hasn't been a battle for the past few days, so what's going on?"
"I know that!" Miriallia replied hotly, "It can't be helped, okay?"
"That doesn't answer my question! What's going on here?" Dearka frowned, "And when are they letting me out?"
"We're in ORB, alright?" Miriallia said, now very annoyed, "But if you must know, we can't leave the ship either. Besides, it doesn't really matter to me what happens to you…"
"Huh?" Dearka blinked as he watched her leave the cell, his meal forgotten by his feet, "When'd she start acting like that again?"
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"A Cyclops bomb?" Uzumi frowned, "But…even if the Earth Forces had gotten wind of ZAFT's plans beforehand, it can only be said that the tactic was a last resort if there was no other way. However…it has been confirmed that the Alaska battle cost ZAFT more than 80 of its assault force. Whoever planned this must be rejoicing right now. However, although this is a rough calculation…is this outcome is now?" It was night time, and the senior officers of the Archangel, along with the two pilots and Cagalli, had gathered in Uzumi's office for a meeting. Having just described what had happened at Alaska, Uzumi had picked up a remote and turned on the television to show a broadcast from Kaoshiung.
"Our troops fought against the ZAFT invaders bravely, down the very last ship!" the speaker, Brian Wan Tson, declared, "It is with great sadness that we engrave this day in our history…the day that JOSH-A fell…"
"Tsch…what does he know?" Ryo scoffed quietly, "I bet he's never even held a gun before…"
"But we will not yield to them!" he continued, "This planet, our Earth, is our home! What right do the Coordinators have to deny our passage to space?" The screen showed images of the condition of the battlefield and the wounded soldiers, as well as several civilians who had been injured in the blast, "The sacrifices were tremendous, but we must all stand together and overcome them!" The screen shifted to crowds of people holding riots in towns, carrying signs bearing anti-Coordinator slogans, "For the safety and peace of our Earth! And to preserve our future! We must now gather our strength as one and fight against those arrogant Coordinators!"
"Man, I knew that things would get pretty ugly after that battle, but…" Mu said as Uzumi shut off the television, "I can't believe how much the tension's escalated."
"Yes, the Atlantic Federation is even starting to put more pressure on all of the neutral territories left on Earth," Uzumi nodded, "They're pushing them by saying that they will be treated as a hostile nation if they don't join the Earth Forces as an ally. ORB, of course, is no exception…"
"All they want is ORB's technological power," Cagalli frowned, "They don't care what happens to us as long as they get the stuff they want."
"I'm sure that you all know this already, but…" Uzumi continued, ignoring Cagalli's outburst, "ORB has never shown any prejudice towards the Coordinators. We are, in fact, more than happy to welcome anyone who is willing to abide by ORB's laws into our country. We believe that no one should be judged by whether or not his or her genes were altered" While Uzumi was talking, Cagalli snuck a glance at Kira, who turned to her with Ryo and she edged to the side a bit when she realized that she had been caught. "Cagalli being a Natural…" Uzumi said, turning to the teens, "And Kira and Ryo being Coordinators is something that they had no control over." At this, everyone turned to look at Cagalli and her cheeks turned a bright shade of pink.
"That's correct," Kira nodded, although he was still amused by Cagalli's embarrassment.
"It's because of this that I can't accept the demands of the Atlantic Federation, telling us to attack 'mankind's enemy', the Coordinators, for just those reasons," Uzumi told them, "Just who and what are we fighting for?"
"But…" Mu said, "Well, I understand what you're saying and all, but excuse me when I ask if that isn't just a personal ideal. Even if we were to accept it as the truth, it's not gonna stop the Coordinators from looking down on the Naturals or the Naturals from envying the Coordinators. That's just the reality of it."
"Yes, I know, and you are absolutely right," Uzumi nodded as he got up from his seat, "Of course, this doesn't mean that the problems of our country are being solved all at once. But, if we were to give up just because of that, then we'd definitely be headed towards our own destruction. Regretting our decision after the outcome has already happened would already mean that it's too late. Or…if that's how the world really is, are you people simply going to adapt to every circumstance that's thrown at you?" The last question left the others surprised as he added, "The choice is up to all of you to make. If you really can't let go of those uniforms, then I will still do what I can to help you. You people have your youth and strength. I believe that you'll be able to accomplish it…the future that we all desire. There's still time."
"What do you think, Lord Uzumi?" Kira suddenly asked, "What are you going to do?"
"The sword is no longer something to be put up as a mere decoration," Uzumi told him, "That is what I believe."
"Then in that case…" Ryo said as Kira smiled a bit, "You can consider my mind made up."
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A week later, up in space, ZAFT was preparing for a second major offensive, despite the heavy losses sustained at Alaska. This time, however, its forces had converged on Panama, where the Earth Forces' final remaining Mass Driver stood. The sun was just coming up as the Vosgulov submarines on the surface launched their cruise missiles while down below, more of them began launching their Mobile Suits. "Launch of Harold team and Harrison team confirmed. Commence launching of Serizawa team and Krueger support team." Meanwhile, the surface submarines had finished their missile volleys and were now launching the airborne Mobile Suits, including the fully repaired Duel.
"Panama…the homeland might be asking too much of us this time," one Captain sighed, "We just don't have the forces."
"We really don't have much of a choice," Rau replied, as he wasn't going out to fight today, "The Chairman and the PLANTs will be in serious trouble unless we can disrupt the momentum that the Earth Forces has gained from Alaska. To do that, we much lock all the doors to space, and confine them to Earth by destroying Panama's Mass Driver."
"What about the Gungnir?"
"Everything is going as planned," Rau told him, knowing that several Laurasia-class ships were already hovering above the target, waiting for the command, "The only problem now is on the ground, we have to capture the drop-point before the descent. However, seeing that everyone's morale is being boosted by their desire to avenge those lost at Alaska…I don't see why that would be a problem…" Later, Rau had returned to his quarters on board the submarine and stepped into the room after swiping his identification card through the slot. As soon as he stepped in, a certain red-head got up with a gun in her hands pointed at him. "The battle will start soon," Rau said, not bothered by the gun, "While the Earth Forces are celebrating their little victory, we're going to attack the Panama Mass Driver with every unit we have left. Would you like to watch?" Even though Flay didn't say anything, he continued, "I must apologize for dragging you about with me but…I'm afraid that there's little I can do about that order."
"Why did you bring me here?" Flay snarled, although her voice was audibly shaky.
"Heh, you're already living on borrowed time, aren't you, Flay Alster?" Rau smirked, "Back in Alaska, you would've been equally dead whether I had shot you or simply let you run off." As Flay tensed, he added, "And you would die within moments if you were to shoot me now; the soldiers would hear. Of course, if you didn't want them to finish you off, I suppose you could always just point the gun at yourself and pull the trigger." After another pause, he said calmly, "I assume the gun is loaded…" Even as Flay's finger slowly tightened around the trigger, the first volley of missiles made impact with the mainland, igniting explosions everywhere while the airborne Mobile Suits reached the target ground. Missile silos quickly opened up and fired at the approaching Mobile Suits but though they were able to take a few out, they had been caught completely by surprise and several silos were destroyed by the Duel. However, despite the harassment of the defenses, the Mobile Suits pushed on past them, occasionally blowing up a turret or another silo. The aquatic Mobile Suits were also beginning to approach the land but since they were slower out of the water, they were easier prey for the heavy guns mounted on the shore. One ZnO was gunned down by one such turret but another one popped out of the water and destroyed it with its missiles, while a Ginn fired off heavy missiles to take out the rest. "On the battlefield, life is cheap," Rau told Flay even as the Earth Force's large fighters engaged the Ginns on the ground, "It's lost in an instant."
"Ahh! Mother!" one of the pilots cried as a shot from a Ginn's assault rifle split his craft in two and blew his cockpit apart.
"And yet everyone is fighting for their country and their loyalty," Rau said as Earth Forces soldiers on the ground were also wiped out, "But…I suppose that those kinds of things won't make sense to you." He walked past her even as she slowly lowered her gun, "You may wear the uniform, but you are no soldier…am I correct?"
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"Panama?" Murrue exclaimed, getting up from her seat, "When?" The crew of the Archangel had been going about their usual business when Kisaka had brought word of the siege going on at Panama. Naturally, they didn't take the news very well.
"They've been under attack since this morning," Kisaka told her, "We don't know the full details yet."
"Are they after the Mass Driver?" Mu asked.
"The Earth Forces' main force is currently at Panama," Kisaka said, "ZAFT is going to be having a hard time there as well. Although, I'm sure that the Earth Forces is going to be quite disorganized by now…" Back at Panama, the attack was beginning to escalate as the ZAFT forces steadily moved inward, dispersing the defenders while they desperately called for support.
"This is the Third Defense Force!" one such soldier called into his radio, "Requesting immediate support! Send reinforcements now!" Unfortunately, he was unable to finish the broadcast because his companion had yanked him away from the radio and out of the tent before a Ginn flattened it with its foot. On another part of the battlefield, the linear tanks were putting up a brave fight against the Ginns, but only managed to take out a few before they were wiped out. Another soldier manning a heavy turret, failed to see a ZnO approach him until it was literally in his face and by then, it was too late and all he could do was scream as it smashed the turret with its claw.
"Damn you! You filthy space monsters!" another shouted as he blasted away at a Ginn, "I'll send you all straight to hell!" Although his words were bold, all that he did was attract the Ginn's attention and give it a cause to smash his turret with its Ginn Saber. A little while off, a ZnO was trudging up a hill when all of a sudden, it stepped on a mine and it exploded, taking the ZnO with it.
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"Is it true that Panama's being attacked right now?" Sai asked as he hurried over to Neumann and Tonomura, with Kuzzey and Miriallia at his heels. The three of them had just gotten word of the attack on Panama and they wanted to hear for themselves.
"Yeah," Neumann nodded as he walked past them, "So it seems."
"Already?" Miriallia sighed, "So many lives were just lost at Alaska…"
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"An enemy Mobile Suit team has breached the Second Defense Line!"
"Third Defense Force! Come in Third Defense Force! What's going on out there?"
"Damn!" an officer swore, "They caught us completely with our pants down!" The headquarters at Panama was currently in a state of panic as officers rushed about, trying to respond to the ensuing attack as quickly as they could.
"Send the Eighth Air Defense Squadron to the south!"
"Deploy the Thirteenth Autonomous Corp.!" the head officer ordered, causing a few officers to look at him in surprise.
"Are you sure about that, Commander?" one asked, "I don't think we have to resort to that…"
"This is why we developed our own Mobile Suit corps.!" the officer replied, "Now let's show those space monsters what we're really made of!"
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"Course clear! Launch the Gungnir!" Up above in space, the Laurasia-class ships opened their cargo bays and dropped five canisters down towards Earth.
"The Gungnir launch was a success!" an officer on one of the Vosgulov submarines down below announced, "They'll be landing in a few minutes." Rau checked his watch while Flay sulked in his room, still holding the gun in her hand. On the shore, a lone Ginn wandered about before spotting a small convoy of assault vehicles and easily destroyed them with its assault rifle.
"Tsch, this is no fun," the pilot smirked as another Ginn came up. All of a sudden, the sound of a beam rifle firing was heard and a bright green beam of energy lanced through the head of his Ginn, destroying it. Surprised, everyone present turned to see a strange-looking Mobile Suit crouched on a hill-side. It appeared to be a very bad rendition of the Strike, with a blue torso and arms but its shoulders, waist, and legs were light grey. It has a single beam saber on its back and a more compact beam rifle and shield in its hands. Its head was blue but lacked the V-fin and yellow eye-pieces, having instead a single antenna on the right side of the head and a blue visor.
"What the hell is that?" one of the pilots blinked as the new Mobile Suit took to the air.
"Is that the Earth Forces' Mobile Suit? The Strike?" another asked as the said Mobile Suit fired a few bursts from its beam rifle before landing in front of them.
"No! That's not it!" Yzak told them as he flew in on his Guul. And sure enough, it wasn't the Strike at all, rather the Earth Forces' new mass-produced Mobile Suit; the GAT-01 Strike Dagger. Unlike the original Strike, the Strike Dagger had a new operating system designed for Naturals but due to the fact that it was mass-produced, it had been greatly simplified and thus lacked the powerful Phase Shift Armor and the overall high performance of the original Strike. Nonetheless, the Earth Forces was willing to take what they got and so put them as reserve units in case something like this happened. At that moment, another beam of energy pierced one of the Ginns from behind and destroyed it, causing the other to turn around and see five more Strike Daggers behind it.
"You won't have things so easy from now on!" one of the Strike Dagger pilots exclaimed.
"All you Coordinators are just a little too cocky!" another smirked.
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Back in ORB, Murrue was in her room, staring at her uniform jacket that was hanging on the wall as she contemplated what Uzumi had said a week ago. In the hangar, Mu had walked up in front of the deactive Freedom and Double X. "Thinking of being a Mobile Suit pilot, Commander?" someone asked and he turned to see Ryo and Kira walking up to him.
"Nah, just taking a good look at them," Mu replied, "Although…that might not be such a bad idea now that I think about it."
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"Oh? What's this?" Rau said in an interested tone as he looked at the radar, "An Earth Forces Mobile Suit squad, huh?"
"They've been deployed all along the shoreline," the Captain told him, "Probably as a last resort defense measure."
"Heh, then this will be even more beneficial for us, watching these paper-weight Mobile Suits fight," Rau grinned, "Let's make them a sacrifice to the Gungnir…" Up on the shore, the ZAFT forces were struggling to get used to fighting against the new threats, as they weren't used to fighting other Mobile Suits. One Ginn decided to go head to head with a Strike Dagger with its Ginn Saber, only to have the attack deflected by the Strike Dagger's shield and then its arm was sliced off by its yellow beam saber. "Even if they're prepared against an EMP burst…" Rau said even as the Ginn was attacked by two more Strike Daggers and destroyed with their beam sabers, "We'll have already gotten an idea of what they can do." Meanwhile, Yzak had grown tired of fighting from the air and had the Duel leap from its Guul, descending towards the ground.
"Don't mess with me!" Yzak snarled as he fired all of the Duel's weapons, taking out several Strike daggers before landing and destroying two more with its beam rifle. Up above, the canisters that had been dropped earlier had made it through the atmosphere and had ejected their sides before expanding, revealing a number pad on the interior. Attached boosters on the canisters ignited to slow them down before they touched down on the ground, where a few Ginns were waiting at each spot. One of the Ginns approached the object and hit the red button on the pad, ejecting the cover on the panel and began entering the code as the other provided covering fire, although it was shortly destroyed by the Strike Daggers. As soon as the code was fully entered, the top half of the canister slid up to reveal a large black sphere in the middle. As the Strike Daggers began to get picked off by the flying Dinns, the Ginns moved to the "legs" of the canisters, removing large rods with red ends from their insides and attaching them to the sphere.
"There, setup of Canister Twelve is complete," one of the Ginn pilots declared as he set the last rod in place and then pressed a button on the panel, starting a countdown, "Eat this, you filthy Naturals!" All of a sudden, he heard an explosion behind him as his companion's Ginn was destroyed and he turned to see a lone Strike Dagger charging him with its saber drawn. Reacting quickly, he drew his Ginn's sword and attacked, hitting the Strike Dagger's shield before jumping back to avoid a swing from its saber. As the countdown reached its end, the Strike Dagger shoved its saber into the Ginn's torso, killing the pilot and destroying the Mobile Suit even as the counter reached zero. At that moment, the spheres in each canister exploded, sending out large waves of EMP particles throughout the area. Even as the spreading particles appeared on the radar of the Vosgulov submarines, the Strike Daggers started to malfunction and shut down, their armor being improperly suited to deal with electromagnetic weapons.
"My machine!" one pilot cried.
"It won't move…won't move!" another exclaimed as the screens in his cockpit went dark and he found that the controls were not responding, "Commander!" At the headquarters, the same problem was occurring as the screens suddenly shut off and static started to fly.
"What's going on?" the commander shouted, "What's happening?" Rau smirked in his submarine as the EMP blast continued onward, stretching across the rails of the Porta Panama Mass Driver. Unlike the other machines, the Mass Driver suffered the worst damage, as the EMP burst literally tore the railing to pieces before the Mass Driver itself collapsed into the ground. By the time it was over, the ZAFT had already begun it's final assault, bombarding the entire area with cruise missiles, including the headquarters. As for the immobilized Strike Daggers, the Ginn pilots moved about and shot through their cockpits at their leisure, laughing as they toppled over and exploded.
"Ha ha! Serves you right!" one laughed as he pushed one over and then shot it, "Are your toys broken?" Another Ginn stood before a linear tank, where its occupants had opened the hatches and were holding up their hands in surrender.
"Hannah was at Alaska!" the pilot snarled, aiming his Ginn's assault rifle before firing, "This is for her!" In another area, three Ginns had surrounded a camp where all of the soldiers were being led out with their hands up, including several wounded soldiers.
"Heh! We're not taking any Naturals prisoner!" one of the pilots sneered before the Ginns proceeded to slaughter everyone there. All over the battlefield, gunshots and screams of pain rang out as the ZAFT forces massacred the Earth Forces soldiers that had survived the initial bombardment. The only one not participating in the gruesome killing was, surprisingly, Yzak, who was standing by in disgust at the glee the others took in the slaughter.
"Tsch…" Yzak frowned, "What's the fun in shooting targets that don't even move?"
"Well, it looks like the curtains are about to open on a new stage," Rau smirked as he watched from the Vosgulov submarine, "This should be interesting…"
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"So, even though you're alone, you guys are still planning to fight?" Mu asked in the hangar of the Archangel, "It's not gonna be easy."
"We'll do our best," Kira told him, "It's true, things are desperate, but I don't think…this is the way to make things better."
"Yeah," Ryo nodded, "It's gotten pretty bad now, but it's probably not gonna end with just Panama."
"Kira! Ryo!" a voice called out and they turned to see Cagalli approaching them, "Erica Simmons told me to get you guys. I think she wants to show you something." Later, at the Morgenroete Factory, Erica Simmons led the three teens, Mu, and Murrue through a set of doors as she explained what was going on.
"Since you're back now, I thought that it'd be proper to return this to you," Erica told him and everyone present stopped, surprised at what was inside. There, standing in front of them, was the formerly destroyed Strike Gundam, completely repaired and as good as new. "We installed the O.S. that you had before the recovery after it was finished, but…" Erica said a bit sheepishly, "We figured that someone else would be piloting it, so…"
"Is it the one that they developed?" Mu asked, "The one that Naturals can use?"
"Yeah."
"I'll pilot it!" Cagalli suddenly said, causing everyone to look at her before she added, "Well, I'm gonna need permission first, of course, but…"
"Nope, you're not piloting it," Mu told her just as quickly.
"What? Why the hell not?" Cagalli exclaimed.
"Because I'm going to pilot it," Mu replied simply.
"Eh? That's not fair!" Cagalli pouted even as Kira and Ryo smiled.
"Commander?" Murrue blinked, "What do you…"
"I'm not a Commander, anymore, Ms. Murrue," Mu smiled, "I've already made up my mind too." A while later, the Strike's eyes flashed as it stood up, Phase Shift Armor activated with its shield and a practice saber in hand.
"A sparring match?" Kira, who was wearing his pilot suit, asked from the Freedom, which was also activated with a practice saber while the others looked on from the observation deck, "Aren't we taking this a little fast?"
"Shut up and stop being arrogant," Mu grinned, also wearing his pilot suit, "Here I go!" With that, the Strike charged, holding its practice saber and shield in a striking position while Kira prepared to intercept the blow. Moving forward, he raised the Freedom's shield and blocked the fake saber, raising his own to counter attack.
"Yeah, the world's changing alright," Ryo thought with a small smile as he watched the two Mobile Suits spar, "But…maybe some of those changes will be for the better…"
Phase 37: End
To the reviewers:
Light of the Demons: I usually only put breaks if it's a major scene change, like from one day to another or for flashbacks.
Infinite Freedom: The first major reason why there won't be a Destiny fic will be made clear in probably the next few chapters. I never said I wasn't going to write a sequel, just that I'm not too sure on its outline yet. As for why Ryo's name wasn't mentioned to Zala, you can come up with your own explanation for that. Also, Tiffa and Ryo probably won't "hook up" until much later.