Cagalli looked at the people assembled around her. Kira, who was strangely quiet and distracted, kept looking in the direction a wall. Meanwhile, Kisaka was talking to Murrue, with the latter informing him of the ship's encounters. Amagi and the pilot named Vince was also talking, probably swapping their respective stories. Everyone was already there, except for her. The blonde representative wondered where Fllay was. She had searched for the Fallen Angel to have clear up some things and probably apologized for any bad blood between the two of them, but didn't find her. Besides her, there was another one who had searched for her. Kira. When she went to talk to him, the first thing he did was to ask whether she had seen the redhead around. When she thought about it, Kira seemed a bit concerned about his former lover. She mentally cringed at the thought that Lacus, Kira's current lover would see his previous one standing beside him when they open the communication link between Terminal and Archangel. .
Then the door to the room opened and she turned toward it. From the corner of her eyes, she also saw Kira did the same. To her relief and disappointment, only the pilot she identified as Jackson entered the room.
The sentiments were also felt by Kira as he looked at Jackson approaching him. Despite not sure that he wanted Lacus to know that Fllay was alive, he somehow had a gnawing feeling in his heart about Fllay. His instinct was telling him to go to her room to check up on her, but he wasn't sure whether that was the right thing to do. After all, he already had Lacus, right? Somehow that reassurance didn't seem to work. "Where's Fllay?" he asked when Jackson was next to him.
"Oh, she was training. Since she was busy, she asked me to relay any message to her"
Somehow, Kira's gut was screaming to him that Jackson was lying and demanded to check up on her himself. "Funny, I just came from the hangar just now. I should have met her there"
Jackson gave him a calculating glaze, all the while rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "She's training in her room, using the simulator software"
"Oh, I forgot about that. Sorry" Despite apologizing, Kira's expression was showing otherwise.
"I didn't know you and Fllay have gotten to the first name basis already," Jackson said while smirking.
The comment caught Kira off guard. The rather innocent comment was actually a challenge for him to prove that what Jackson said was wrong. In order to do that, Kira also had to prove that he knew Fllay personally. Therein lay the problem. He knew her very well; he was her lover in the first war. But that wasn't enough for him to enter her room and demand to know what's going on, not when she didn't remember him. Besides, he already had Lacus. Not knowing what to say, he kept quiet.
Jackson waited for any respond from the man in front of him, and when it seemed that none was forthcoming, he merely laughed and slapped the other man's back heartily. "Seems like you're not him"
Kira raised his eyebrows questioningly. "Him?"
"The man who ruined her"
The brown haired Coordinator's eyes widened, but the man next to him missed it as he was looking at the main screen. "Ruined her?"
"Opps, sorry. That sounds a bit perverted. "What I meant is that someone who ruined her ability to love anyone else" Jackson shrugged. "Kinda makes me wish that I'm that man"
Everything began to click into place for Kira. The dream he thought he had when he was rescued, what Mirrillia said about Fllay ruining herself, the part about Fllaga telling him that Fllay couldn't detect him; everything, even what his heart was telling him. It was as he had suspected and hoped. Fllay had remembered him. But before the seed of relief began to take root, it was stomped by the feeling of betrayal.
At the Terminal's headquarters, Lacus heaved a deep breath as she pressed the button that will establish the link between Terminal and Archangel. Immediately, she was greeted by the sight of those she recognized and those that she didn't know. But she couldn't see Fllay among them. Knowing that it was inappropriate to be thinking about the woman, she quickly focused at the matters on hand. "I'm sorry about this sudden communication, but it's about…"
"ORB PARLIAMENT DECIDING TO SEND ITS FLEET TO AZORES," Cagalli finished for her. Her head moved to look at Barzhakov. "IT IS A SURPRISE SO SEE YOU THERE, GRANDPA," she said, the intended insult evident.
Barzhakov laughed. "It's so that I can take the higher moral ground," he joked while his eyes roved around the screen, trying to search for Fllay. Instead, he saw Jackson, whose left hand's palm was facing down. Barzhakov shook his head a little. It seemed that she had pushed herself too much as usual. "So, did my pilot give you any trouble?" he asked Cagalli, clearly referring to Fllay.
"NO. IN FACT SHE HAD BEEN VERY HELPFUL," Cagalli said.
From the screen, the Cherubim's captain could see that Kira was showing some kind of a reaction when Cagalli said that. He looked at Lacus from the corner of his eyes and saw that the Clyne heiress was behaving somewhat strangely. Barzhakov had lived long enough to know that she was not really paying attention to the conversation, despite her calm demeanor. "So, Miss Lacus, would you tell your friend here how serious the situation is?"
"WE'RE QUITE AWARE OF THE SITUATION. BUT WHATEVER STEP WE AT ORB TAKE, IT MAY LEAD TO THE DESTRUCTION OF THE WORLD" Cagalli interrupted.
"What do you mean?" Lacus asked.
Cagalli, with the help of Kisaka proceeded to tell everyone of what Gilbert was planning to do with the whole of the Earthsphere. After they had finished, everyone was quiet for a moment until she said, "AS YOU CAN SEE CLEARLY SEE, WHATEVER WE DO WILL BRING TROUBLE LATER ON"
"So, if we wait like idiots, trouble wouldn't come our way, is that what you're trying to say?" Barzhakov asked. His question was rewarded with a hostile glare from the blonde representative.
Then Cagalli's expression suddenly changed into a neutral one, yet still maintaining her seriousness. "WHAT I WAS SAYING IS THAT WE'RE GOING TO EXPERIENCE A TURBULENT TIME AHEAD, THAT'S ALL. AS FOR ORB, DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT AS I'LL DO WHAT I FEEL IS RIGHT, WHICH MAY INCLUDE REPULSING ANY EURASIAN INVADER"
"Ho? So you do know about it" Barzhakov said while chuckling. "Suddenly you have become more interesting,"
Standing beside him, Lacus wondered about her friend's change. Despite the fact that Cagalli was a woman with a very strong conviction, she had became rather mellowed after taking over ORB's administration from her father, relegating many tasks and power to Seiran and other nobilities. There's also the fact that she capitulated under the pressure of Earth Alliance, which is why ORB entered the fight against ZAFT. Lacus hated to say it, but Cagalli had essentially become ORB's puppet leader, with Seiran house ruling from behind the scene. However, the Cagalli that was standing in front of her was different from what she was then, with determination clearly evident in her eyes. Lacus wondered what had happened that caused the change. "Very well, we'll leave it in your hands"
"THANK YOU," Cagalli said while smiling. "YOU DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH THAT MEANS TO ME"
"On our side, we'll think about what to do about Gilbert's plan"
Barzhakov looked at Jackson. "By the way, tell her that NOVA is almost ready and we would like to do some calibrations, so tell her to get back here on the double"
Jackson gave a half hearted salute.
"Murrue," the Cherubim captain said, "I know that Lady Cagalli would prefer that we leave our Murasames behind, so can you arrange for a shuttle?"
"I'LL DO THAT," Murrue said while crossing her arms. She still didn't like and trust her former mentor.
Barzhakov nodded and turned toward Lacus, telling her that he was done.
Lacus looked at Andrew who shrugged, showing that he had nothing to add. She then turned toward the screen, focusing her attention on Kira, wondering what caused him to be quiet throughout the whole communication. Granted, the communication was supposed to be serious, so it was improper to be them to be talking to each other personally. But he could have greeted her at least. "All right, we'll contact you if anything comes up,"
"WE'LL DO THAT AS WELL," Cagalli said before terminating the link.
"That's quite a fruitful meeting," Barzhakov commented as he turned toward Andrew and Lacus.
"By the, Captain, what do you mean by NOVA?" Lacus asked the person next to her.
"Your group's techies aren't the only one who's busy," Barzhakov said.
"It must be a very impressive mobile suit," Andrew remarked.
Barzhakov shook his head. "Not at all. We noticed that ZAFT, Terminal and LOGOS are designing highly powerful and advanced mobile suits that could fight a lot of enemies at the same time. Since we're a bit cash-strapped, we decided that trying to follow the same would be very difficult"
"So?" Andrew asked. Strike Freedom, the successor to Freedom was designed to be one of the most powerful mobile suits ever, armed with advance weaponries. But the way the man in front of him talking, it was as if Cherubim or perhaps the Eurasian Federation had come up with something that could counter it.
"So far so good," Barzhakov said, answering the question while not really answering it.
Elation couldn't even begin to describe what Jona Roma Seiran was feeling as he looked at the assembled members of ORB Parliament sitting in front of him. He had suffered numerous setbacks to his plan to preside over the nation. From the wedding between him and Cagalli to the battle in Crete, the damned Archangel and Yamato kid were always in the way. But with the resolution to send ORB's military force to Azores Islands going to be passed in one hour, he could almost see that nothing could stop him, not even Archangel, not even Cagalli herself as they would be branded as traitors to the nation. Once the ORB citizens found out about the Destiny Plan, they would certainly support the parliament's decision. In fact, they would beg and grovel at his feet for him to lead them.
Of course, he will humbly accept the responsibility for the sake of the nation's sovereignty.
Jona had to stifle an urge to smile at that thought. He would rule ORB and at the same receive a very large reward from Djibril for helping him defeat Gilbert. Life couldn't get better than that, he thought to himself as he shared a look with his father, Unato Ema Seiran. The victory would be much sweeter if he can find out the exact location of the so-much coveted Project Point Zero.
Earlier that week, he had managed to locate and capture a technical base that was assembling something like an add-on module for a mobile suit. The module, specified in the obtained documents as 'R-02 Uzume' was a rescue module. It was light and aerodynamically designed, probably to be carried by an airborne mobile suit such as Astray or Murasame. However, the compatibility and high power draw problems suggested that it wasn't designed for those two models. That led Jona to conclude that the mobile suit that would eventually carry it, the Project Point Zero should have been completed.
He suddenly remembered about his closest aide brief him that morning regarding its possible location and decided to take a look at it after the parliament session.
"But wouldn't doing this will cause a problem for this country? After all, we're going to be supporting LOGOS," a member of the parliament said, expressing his concern.
"Don't worry about that," Jona said. "I can guarantee that once you see what I know about, you will agree that what we're doing is in the best interest of the nation" Actually, the man asking the question, as well as the rest of the parliament had basically agreed to support him. The questioning and answering session was actually being recorded and would be broadcasted to the public along with the parliament's decision to send its military force to the Azores Islands. It would give the general public the illusion that the ORB Parliament was being independent. "I would have revealed the reason to you now, but I really think that we must show to the public as well. After all, we're just the representatives of the people. Don't worry, when the resolution is passed, we will broadcast it" Jona said while smiling, clearly relishing his act. "I talked to Representative Attha and she basically agreed to it. In fact, she was the one who suggested the idea in the first place"
Ever since Cagalli disappeared, taken away by Freedom, the Seiran family, along with the parliament members spread the story that she was involved in a serious accident and had to recuperate in the hospital. They even forged her signatures to sign declarations to temporarily give Jona the power to make decisions on her behalf until she recover.
"So, does anyone else have any questions? I'll be more than happy to answer them" He looked around. "No? Then we will proceed to discussing details regarding the Bill"
Suddenly the door to the room opened and Cagalli walked in, accompanied by few soldiers. "Not if I have something to say about it," she said.
Shock would be an understatement to what Jona was feeling at that moment. According to his sources, she shouldn't be there as Archangel was supposed to be in Atlantic Ocean. Nevertheless, he put on a cheery smile and walked toward her with open arms. "Cagalli! You're safe! Everyone here has been praying for your safety every day since we lost contact with you"
Cagalli, dressed in her white uniform raised her eyes to look at him. "I have a hard time swallowing that, since I remember very well that you're the one who ordered the ORB army to attack my mobile suit. Furthermore, you led them to attack Minerva!"
"But I don't know that it was you in there!"
The elder Seiran looked at his son and then at Cagalli, saying, "Besides, Lady Cagalli, unless you have forgotten, we were forced to participate in the attack. Or would you rather have the country burn down just like your father did?" Mentioning late Nuzumi and what he did always had a desired effect on his daughter and the Seiran elder didn't mind exploiting the knowledge it to the maximum.
"So, you're going to send our army to help LOGOS because they threaten to burn ORB?" Cagalli calmly asked back. "Or do you plan to send our people to their death just so that you can fill your coffer with the money you get from Djibril"
"No!" Jona insisted. "It's for the sake of this country. It's for the sake of the world, I tell you! Gilbert is going to introduce…"
"Destiny Plan," Cagalli finished the sentence for him. More troops entered the room and quickly moved to each of the parliament members' side, placing them under arrest. "The plan where Gilbert will usurp everyone's freedom under the banner of peace"
Jona, who had each of his shoulder held by a soldier, couldn't conceal his surprise "How? How do you know?"
"I'm not that stupid," Cagalli said. She then walked up to him. "While I agree the fact that Gilbert's plan must be stopped, I can't see how working with someone who's bent on killing everyone who oppose him will achieve that"
"What do you mean?"
"This" Cagalli said as a video began playing on a make shift screen, showing Jona talking to someone on a phone.
"WHAT WILL I GET FROM THIS DEAL?" the Jona on the screen asked.
"HEH? WHAT DO YOU WANT THAT I CAN'T GIVE?" a voice, despite the noise present, clearly belonged to Djibril. "HOW ABOUT OCEANIA UNION, AFTER I'M DONE WITH IT?"
"THAT SOUNDS INTERESTING"
"JUST MAKE SURE THAT YOU GIVE ME THE THING THAT WILL TURN THE REST OF THE WORLD ON GILBERT"
"OF COURSE, YOU CAN COUNT ON ME"
The video ended and Cagalli who was also watching the video turned toward Jona. "Of course, conspiring with our enemy is very serious offense" She then continued, "And the rest of you don't think that you can plead idiocy. All of you will be charge with collusion as you knowingly and willingly conspire to violate our constitution. Not only that, I also have ample evidence to show that each one of you have received some 'incentives' from Seiran House to pass this bill. But we'll let our justice system judge you. Until then, all of you are relieved of your position" She then said to Jona and Unato, "It's over"
Jona, who couldn't believe that his plan had gone up in smoke struggled against his arrestors. As they were unprepared for his sudden action, Jona managed to break free and lunged toward Cagalli, fist at ready while shouting, "DAMN YOU, ATTHA! IF YOU HADN'T THE SUPPORT OF THESE DOGS, YOU WOULD…"
A well placed punch to Jona's face sent him sprawling to the floor.
"Still be able to defeat a scum you with one hand behind my back," Cagalli said to the unconscious Jona. "And that's why I have to stop you. You see, Jona, these people you insulted, they're what makes up ORB; they are ORB. For you to forget about that, you really don't deserve to represent them" She then addressed the soldiers who moved to retake him into custody. "Get him out of my sight"
"Yes, ma'am," one of the soldiers said before he and his partner brought him out of the room.
She then turned toward the rest of the soldiers and said, "And hold the rest of his accomplices here for questioning" Cagalli then walked out of the parliament room. Once she was out of the room, she stopped and sighed. "First you decide and then you follow through, is it?" she muttered gloomily while looking down. "How come it's not as easy as you said, Lacus?"
"I'm sorry that you had to do this," Kisaka's voice caused her to raise her head. "It must be hard to you"
"I'm okay. After all, it's for the best interest of ORB," she replied. She then walked together with Kisaka. "What should I do with the parliament?"
"I know you want to hold an election to select new representatives, but it's not really an appropriate time to do so. But what you can do now is to go and explain to the people what had happened and show evidences supporting your action. I've prepared for a public broadcast scheduled in thirty minutes' time"
"Thank you, Kisaka. You're really a live saver"
"But is it okay to leave things the way they are here?" Kisaka asked.
"What do you mean?"
"You mentioned about Destiny Plan in front of those soldiers. It wouldn't be a problem if it's the royal Emirates Guards as their loyalty isn't questionable…"
"It's okay," Cagalli said while waving her hand casually.
A few hours later, on Azores Island, an angry scream came from Djibril's suite, followed by a loud crashing sound. Seated on his plush sofa, Djibril ignored the broken television screen and the glass fragments scattered in front of it as he tried to think about the whole situation at hand. Earlier on, he had found out from the television that Attha had assumed total control of the ORB government, and in a moment of rage, had thrown the bottle of wine he was holding at it. The fact that one of his allies in ORB was arrested didn't bode well for him. While he didn't really care about the Seirans, he wanted the ORB's fleet to join in the defense of the Azores Islands them so that he would be able to use it as shield against the predicted ZAFT's counterattack.
Also, he also wanted to acquire the ORB's rumored prototype to complement LOGOS's own three units.
The head of the LOGOS got up and walked to the wine cabinet to get him another glass and another bottle of wine. Even without ORB's help, LOGOS will emerge victorious and he'll personally led the hunt for Gilbert head.
At the same time, the said man was studying the situation in ORB with a frown on his face. Gilbert realized the fact that ORB wouldn't send its fleet to support LOGOS would make it hard for ZAFT to attack it; not without a very good pretext to do so as it would certainly affect the Earth' opinion regarding ZAFT. To make things worse, ORB knew about his Destiny Plan.
Gilbert took a deep breath.
That Attha was becoming more and more annoying, he thought to himself. The fact that she purposely let the fact about Destiny Plan leaked out while not making any public announcement regarding it had made it hard for him to think of an effective way to counter it. Already, he had received inquiries from concerned coalition partners and had to spend a lot of time convincing them of he wasn't planning such thing. Attha's ploy had forced him to rethink of his approach. If he had to, he will delay the plan until it was ready. Then, it wouldn't matter what Earth Alliance, LOGOS, ORB or anyone was planning; he will force peace down their throat.
It would be three more moves until checkmate.
1
Author's note (23 December 2006)
1. I have gone through the chapter a few times, but I may miss some errors here and there (as usual). I hope they'll not detract the story's clarity. Currently I'm a busy man and it looks as if it would remain that way until next year. I may take time to reply to this and the preceding chapter's reviews so I hope you people will understand.
2. Jona's bastardness is insipired by ShadowCell's Fairy Tale Endings. In that story, which is quite dark as the villain won in the end. Anyway, Jona seemed to be a respectable villain in the beginning, although he ended up being a… I don't really have a suitable term for it. Sorry. Anyway, although it would be fun to cast him in that… role, I don't think it really suits a political situation. If you can find any someone acting similar to Jona (being girly-girly) ruling over a powerful country in the world (real world), please share it with me and I'll gladly rewrite this chapter.