Meer brushed her hair slowly in front of the dresser, all the while trying to ignore her bloodshot eyes. Despite being tired, she had trouble sleeping in the posh hotel suite where she was staying. Athrun's death has really shocked her. But something good did come out of it. For the very first time in few months, she did something that was so unlike her stage persona. She had mourned for his death as Meer, not as Lacus.
When the ZAFT's chairman approached her to become Lacus's shadow, sheer happiness couldn't even begin to describe how she had felt. Even from Lacus' very first show, Meer had already become captivated by how graceful the heiress was. She managed to get the songstress' autograph which followed her wherever she went, like a good luck charm. She devoured any information that she could get regarding Lacus, that when she resumed Lacus' persona, no one could tell the difference. And assume Lacus' persona she did.
It was after the failed nuclear attack on PLANTs when she made her first appearance as her idol. At that time, she was asked to deliver a prepared speech to allay people's fear. But she didn't. All that she had to do was to imagine Lacus standing beside her, and as the imagined Lacus made her speech, Meer simply repeated what was being said. The result of that speech was even beyond Gilbert's expectation. Everyone on PLANTs was mesmerized by her words. Her, no, Lacus' speech had swung support toward working for peace instead of taking revenge.
But as each day passed by, the Lacus that was standing next to her began to slowly disappear as Meer began to get into her role. It had come to the stage that she was not Meer; but Lacus, the face that had come to be associated with peace. She didn't have any problem with that responsibility as even before she became Lacus' shadow, she wanted to spread joy and happiness through her voice and being to do just that as Lacus was a great honor.
However, Meer had become Lacus for so long that she had trouble trying to remember who she was. She couldn't even distinguish whether it was hers or 'Lacus'' opinion when trying to decide on something. Two months prior, she was asked to deliver a speech to motivate the ZAFT's soldiers to fight harder. When she wanted to decline on the ground that she couldn't do it because it was against her principle, Gilbert had gently reminded her that Lacus would do anything for the sake of peace, even if it involve giving motivation to soldiers to fight. In the end, Meer Campbell's opinion didn't matter, only 'Lacus Clyne's'
To make matters worse, she had fallen for Athrun Zala, her idol's fiancé. She tried to be cordial or even friendly with him when they first met but then couldn't get him out of her mind. Even though she had tried everything to get him to notice the real her, her efforts failed. In desperation, she even entered his room while he was sleeping, willing to use Lacus' name in order to get close to him. She failed, as Athrun never saw her as anything beyond a cheap fake Lacus. No matter how much it pained her, she had accepted the fact and had promised herself to apologize to him.
Unfortunately, her hope was dashed when Gilbert personally told her that Athrun died while fighting his former friends. Meer wondered how such thing could... She blinked her eyes tiredly. What was is that she was thinking about? Perhaps the fatigue that she has been fighting those few days has finally won over her. Meer fell toward the dresser, not even noticing the dart that was embedded at the side of her body.
A pair of eye peered at her slumped body through the door, which was slightly ajar. The owner, finally satisfied that she was out cold, opened the door, revealing Wilhelm, clad in the hotel's uniform. With a honed calmness, he entered the room while pushing a housekeeping trolley. "Can't believe that this is going smoothly," he said to his accomplice who closed the door behind them.
"Yeah, except for the part that we have to shoot that Takeda asshole, I'm surprised as well," the man said, referring to Meer's manager as he took out the laundry from the trolley. "The others have completed their objective as well,"
"I wonder why we're ordered to get her," Wilhelm mused out loud.
"How do you feel, Abby?" Talia asked while standing behind the said person's seat.
"I think I am doing okay so far, Captain Gladys," Abby answered.
"Please, don't be too formal. Just call me Talia. As for the system, I think you will get the hang of it,"
"Yeah," Arthur said while chuckling from his place. "Meyrin took a few days just to distinguish the buttons," The comment caused the whole place became so quiet that the whisper of air-conditionings fan could be heard clearly. "Huh? Was it something I say?"
"Arthur, find out the document 517-C3-3 Clearance 2 from the ship's restricted library. I need to find out about its content," Talia commanded in her no-nonsense voice.
"Yes, Ma'am," Arthur said as he got up and left for the room since the information there could only be accessed locally and access was only granted to ship captains and their second-in-commands.
After the door closed after Arthur, Talia rubbed her temples. Document 517-C3-3 Clearance 2 didn't exist. So, it would be quite some time before he reappear and shoot off his mouth again. Despite that, his comment highlighted the fact that Meyrin's death was being missed by the whole crew. Even her replacement seemed to sense it; once commenting that Meyrin was fortunate to know so many good people.
But regardless of the crew's sentiment about Meyrin, they have a duty to do, which is to set sail for ORB 'in a show of strength' to pressure ORB to hand over the LOGOS terrorists it was harboring. While she personally hoped that the country would relent to the international will, judging from ORB's history it didn't look like that would happen. After all, the country was known for fighting to defend its ideals despite facing overwhelming odds. With Attha fully in control, it wouldn't bow to the pressure. Instead, the country had proposed to deport them to a neutral country for trial, namely Scandinavian Kingdom. The proposal was flatly rejected by Gilbert who pointed out that ORB and the country shared a very close relationship. It was evident that Minerva wasn't sent for a 'show of strength'.
Despite what everyone else seemed to think, judging from their mood, Talia knew very well that Minerva was sent to ORB to wage war with it.
It was times like that the Minerva captain was glad that she was a regular soldier that follows order instead of issuing them. Of course, being a FAITH member, she can act independently in certain circumstances but she still had to act within certain boundaries set by ZAFT. Despite her stick-in-the-mud reputation, she couldn't find it in herself to make decisions that would send thousands of people marching toward their deaths. The position as a captain of a ship afforded her with the opportunity to lead without the burden of responsibility carried by the higher-ranked military commanders. As long as she followed order, no one could blame her.
Taking her place at the captain's seat, Talia tilted her cap down to hide her eyes from the crew. Truth be told, she didn't want to ORB. Despite having clashed with the country's fleet few times, with one ending with the sinking of ORB's biggest sea carrier, she still hold the country in high regard. During the first war, when she was serving as the second-in-command, she couldn't believe her eyes when she saw the live transmission of the Earth Alliance's attack on ORB. It was obvious that the country would lose, but it still fought valiantly. Her captain, who was with her at time saluted as a sign of respect at the sight of its mass driver self-destructing and commanded everyone to do the same, saying that the country's leadership, as well as its people were willing to face grievous consequences in order to uphold their principles.
Fighting such people would be very frightening at the very least.
"All right, people" Nash Jackson said to the group in front of him as he pointed at the schematic. "Since ORB's Morgenroete Corps had basically copied the MPG-5Z for use with Murasames, I'm here to teach you on how to use it," he said as he sat on the desk. "Now, the beam machinegun has a higher…"
"Wait," someone said while raising his hand.
"Yeah?"
"Why must we learn it? Isn't it similar to other weapons that we have used before?"
"What makes you think it's the same?"
"It's just a beam rifle, right?"
Jackson rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm… maybe you're right. So skip the lesson and go straight to the training field,"
Half an hour later, after he obliterated the student in the simulated battle, he turned toward the group. "My reaction time is around 130 milliseconds. I accessed your file and saw that your psychomotor showed reaction speed of 99 milliseconds," he said, not needing to mention the fact that only Coordinators and Extendeds had reaction time of less than 100 milliseconds. "Do you know why you lost?"
"No," the other man said.
"Practice," a feminine voice answered from behind them. "That, and the fact that he really knows about the weapon. He was able to factor in factors that would affect the performance of the weapon; factors that aren't detected by Murasame's sensors. MPG-5Z offers a higher rate of fire as well as clip-based battery but at the cost of a higher firing recoil and accuracy,"
"Thank you, Miss President, couldn't say better myself," Jackson remarked. "Nice to see you here,"
Cagalli walked to the group who promptly got up to salute at her. "At ease," She then regarded Jackson with a cold look. "I'm the Representative of ORB, not its president,"
"Different term for different government," the man said with a shrug. "You can designate yourself as 'Bozo' for all I care," he said while putting his hands into his pockets.
"Bozo?" she asked
"Just a term our ship use to denote someone who's working his ass off for people,"
Cagalli nodded, "That sounds like someone's noble,"
'Geez, I can't tell whether she's being serious or pulling my leg regarding Bozo the Clown. Of course, the show predated Cosmic Era but still…' "So, why are you here? Does it have something to do with the 'secret' ultimatum ZAFT had given ORB? Or maybe you would like to inform us about the whole country is being surrounded by ZAFT's armada right now?"
"I really should lock you up for spying. Actually, I was just here to watch the training, but since you just spill the secret, I don't see why not. After all, everyone knows about this and more information would be given about this later," Cagalli said dryly before addressing the whole group. "I know that you're wondering about what your instructor said just now so I'll tell you. ORB had just received a request from ZAFT to handover Jonan and all of the ORB's former parliament members," Immediately, there were murmurs among them that she had to raise her hand to silence them. "Now, I'll be honest and tell you that I really don't care for people like them. However, this is a matter of ORB's independence and sovereign. We have no problem if they're to be tried by independent international tribunal but the tribunal that ZAFT will preside is anything but independent. Handing them over will show that we have a weak will. Apart from that, those greedy bastards," she said disdainfully referring to Jona and detained parliament members, "knows a lot about ORB, details that can jeopardize our defense,"
"So what will you do?" someone asked.
Smiling faintly, she said, "The real question is what WE should do. Like I reminded Mr. Nash here, I'm your representative. If everyone thinks that it is in our best to hand them in, I would do it,"
"I think we should show them that ORB is strong-willed and would do anything to preserve its independence,"
"Yeah!" someone else piped in before everyone chorused their agreement.
His arms crossed, Jackson made a loud sighing sound. "It's something to be expected from a country full of naïve hardheadeds…," he grinned, "but that's why I like you people,"
Gilbert looked at the Attha's image on the television as she continued to reaffirm that her country wasn't committing anything wrong by protecting its citizens against unmerited demand. He raised a glass of champagne toward the screen, as if toasting her words. ZAFT had given the country a week for it to consider handing over the prisoners but it wouldn't relent. Everything was proceeding to his plan, except for the fact that Meer was kidnapped. But that was of no consequence to him. Neither was the fact that the Confederate had captured Azores; in fact that would ensure that they would be even more preoccupied. He pressed the button to the intercom.
"Make it happen,"
Few hours later, just a few kilometers out of ORB's exclusive zone, preparation was being made to attack the country. Most of the fleet consisted of ZAFT's Vulgoz submarines although its allies did send token ships to show their support for the action that ZAFT would take against the errant country. In the middle of the preparation was a confused pilot who had yet to find any closure of his past actions. Shinn didn't know what to make out of the order that everyone received. To be returning to ORB in the current circumstance caused him to feel torn.
"Do you have any question, Shinn?" Rey's voice brought him out of his reverie.
"Er, no,"
"Then, it would be best for you to pay attention to the briefing," Rey said as he tapped the board.
"Yes," Shinn said as his eyes settled on the shiny badge that was on Rey's breast, the badge that his unofficial mentor wore, not that he would ever admit to everyone that he considered Athrun as his mentor, not even after the man was killed in a fight against his own friend. At that thought, Shinn's face darkened. He hadn't gotten over Athrun and other's death and already he had to go the country that at most could only be associated with bad memories.
"Our mission is to quickly subdue ORB's chain of command, hopefully reducing the collateral damage. Because of that, this operation will be a C2W," C2W, an abbreviation of Command-and-control warfare, utilized an integrated use of various physical and psychological operations to degrade enemy's command and control capabilities. That meant that all utility and communication infrastructures were considered as potential targets, including civilians'.
The Destiny's pilot was too absorbed in his personal musing to realize that the operation was intended to capture the whole of ORB, unlike the Blue Cosmos-led Earth Alliance invasion two years before that targeted the country's mass driver. While nodding absently to Rey's announcement that he would be one of those spearheading the attack, he also didn't realized that 'untraceable leaks' were being prepared to reveal that one Shinn Asuka, a former native of ORB, was among those involved in the operation to liberate it from the oppressive and draconian Attha rule.
"If no one have any problem, the operation 'Preserving Peace' will commence at 9 a.m. tomorrow morning local time zone, should the current dictatress remain steadfast and refuse to surrender the criminals," Rey said, concluding the briefing. "Have a good rest everyone," he said as he left the room.
As everyone began to get up and leave the room, Shinn remained transfixed on his seat, looking at the map of what used to be his home.
ORB Emirates' MS-OS
ORB – 00 Shizuka
G eneralized
U tility
N ascent
D evelopment
A tmospheric
M aneuver
Utility Module RC-07 Hachiman Connected
"Are you sure that you want this module to be equipped?" Erica's voice asked through the cockpit's speaker as Cagalli finished her preparation. "This module doesn't even have a weapon installed on it. I think it's better for you to equip Fujin or Bishamon instead,"
"It's okay, as I need to use Hachiman for what I planned to do" the ORB representative replied. "How many WASP units do we have?"
"With one taken out during the fight that day, two,"
"Equip one with Mikaboshi and link it to Shizuka. I will swap the modules later. As for the other one, put Koyane on it and direct the radar information it will collect to the headquarters. That way we can modify one of our AWACS Murasames for combat use,"
"Understood,"
"Any new update?"
"We have achieved full mobilization and have evacuated 98.2 percent of the population to the shelter,"
"Good. I shudder to think what will happen after this," Cagalli said. As Shizuka's engines came to life and it began to build up sufficient thrust for launch, she decided to ask Erica, "Erica, can I ask you a question?"
"Go ahead,"
"You have stood behind me all this time, even when the Seirans took over the country. Is it because of my father's order?"
Erica pressed a button, causing the cranes that were holding Shizuka in place to move away. The mobile suit sped out of the underground hangar. "No," she said while smiling, "It's because I believe in you,"
"Initiating reentry sequence, Captain," Elizabeth called out from her pilot seat.
"Good, skip safety Procedure 45 to 61," Barzhakov said from his seat
"Sir, with all due respect, isn't doing can put the ship in danger?" Enishi asked worriedly.
Barzhakov sighed. "That's why I said that you people from ORB are uptight. Procedure 45 to 61 requires check on the ship's weapon of mass destruction, which apart from Helga's crapst...sorry, breadsticks, aren't present onboard. Even if the ship is destroyed in the reentry, the breadsticks would survive the high reentry temperature. Of course, they're already burnt to begin with," he said before guffawing at his own joke.
"And that's why I said you're too lax in safety, Captain. You forgot about the mushroom soup," Enishi protested back.
"Ah yes, the dreaded mushroom soup. One whiff of that and your stomach will turn to mush and you have to stay in the 'room for all day. I'm considering feeding it to POWs that we will pick up,"
"Then do it alone, Captain," someone else interjected. "I don't want to be put on trial for gross violation of human rights,"
Enishi shook his head. He had adjusted to the life onboard Cherubim very well. Despite the laid-back attitude the whole crew was very serious about their responsibility. Terrence once said that was how everyone managed to stay upbeat throughout the whole ordeal; the attitude was some sort of reality denial. Off course, he wondered how someone could have made such distasteful mushroom soup. Barzhakov had said that Helga was a chemical weapon specialist. Truth be told, until that day Enishi couldn't be sure whether Barzhakov was serious or not with that statement.
"All right, let's get this show on the road," the Cherubim captain said.
"There's no road in the middle of space, Captain," Sammy remarked while rolling her eyes.
"I didn't remember you being a literary teacher Sammy. Our mobile suits are ready to sortie? We'll commence the operation once we have entered the atmosphere,"
"Yes,"
"Reaching the correct reentry vector," Elizabeth interjected. "Reentry in 9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1..."
The delta-winged ship began to glow as it reentered Earth.
Terrence flexed his glove. "All right, I'm set," Unlike his normal uniform, he was wearing a black suit with bulletproof vest. He then checked his weapon, making sure that the magazine was correctly clipped on and there was nothing inside the weapon's muzzle, which was slightly larger than normal.
"Don't peer into the barrel like that. You might press the trigger by mistake and have your face rearranged. And maybe you would like to check the safety lock first before checking everything else next time," someone supplied helpfully.
Embarrassed, Terrence quickly withdrew his head from the barrel. "How can you eat at time like this?" he said to man who had made the comment in an effort to change the topic.
"Hmm... Oh, sorry for being rude. Here, have one," his companion said as he offered the food container.
"Umm... You're missing the point here," Terrence said while pointing toward himself. "We're about to go into a battle and you're stuffing yourself with refined carbohydrates,"
"I don't think dying in from obesity something is really a big concern right now. Try to think of it in this way. If we die in this mission, it'll be our 'last supper', right?"
"I get your point," Terrence said as he grabbed one of the box's content. After taking a bit, he raised his eyebrows. "This is good,"
"Of course. Only the best ingredients were used,"
"How you managed to whip up something tasty is really beyond me. The cafeteria isn't exactly a gourmet's paradise, you know,"
"That's because I prepared them myself,"
"So, here am I eating what could be my last meal before going on a suicide mission,"
"You care for some English Breakfast?" his companion asked while offering a water bottle.
"Sure, why not," Terrence said as he take a swig. "Good stuff,"
"Of course. By the way, Mr. Shauzer, my friend here," the man said while casually motioning to the person by his side, "wouldn't have suggested the operation if it's impossible,"
"But it is suicidal," Terrence maintained.
"True," the man shrugged, "but I guess that's how things are in life. Trust me, we didn't want to involve you in this, but your knowledge is very crucial,"
"Capsule reentry in one minute," a male voice announced over the speaker.
"I wouldn't have joined the design committee if I know this would happen," Terrence looked at the food in his hand. "Oh well, here I am having what could be my last supper before going on a suicidal yet not impossible mission,"
MOBILE SUIT NEO OPERATION SYSTEM
G eneration
U nsubdued
N uclear
D rive
A ssault
M odule
G.U.N.D.A.M Complex
Series SD100-O9 SF 01-34152
Z.A.F.T
Kira was checking Strike Freedom's status when Da Costa's face appeared on the communication. "Strike Freedom would lead the reinforcement,"
"Roger,"
Da Costa looked at him seriously. "Just like Andrew, I will protect her until it is safe enough to get her there," he vowed. The man had escaped the sad fate that had taken Andrew because the Desert Tiger had insisted he stayed at the base to look after Lacus. It seemed that the latter's death had affected Da Costa as the man had matured overnight. Gone was the indecision; only firm resoluteness that Andrew had.
"Thank you, Da Costa,"
The man smiled before signing off.
Remembering something, Kira contacted Athrun. "Are you okay?"
"I am, except that I found it hard to believe that Gilbert have betrayed me. To make things worse, it was revealed by that Eurasian scum," Athrun replied, remembering the shocking information he had found out during the fated meeting. "Also I have yet to say how sorry I am for the trouble I have caused,"
"Stop it. You have been apologizing to us for quite some time,"
"But…"
"Look, you were doing things that you thought were right," Strike Freedom began moving slowly around the Terminal's hangar to the catapult.
"Still…"
"It's okay,"
"Kira…,"
"Yes?"
"Have the two of them met?"
It took a moment for Kira to understand Athrun's question. "No. Even when Fllay delivered the Deuterium inhibitor here unit, they didn't meet," Kira hesitated a bit, "But Lacus knew about her,"
The former FAITH member's face changed for the briefest moment. "I see… I don't want to pry but maybe it's better for you be decisive," Before Kira could say anything in defense, he smiled, "There's something I want to speak to Lunamaria so we can continue this later," He then signed off.
Despite his earlier resolve, Kira felt shook up by Athrun's words. "Fllay," he whispered.
At the same time, his name was being whispered by the said girl who was seated inside her cockpit with her eyes closed. Telling herself that it was just a random thing, she opened her eyes and continued with her own preparation. Unlike other mobile suit cockpits, hers was quite cramped, with just enough space for an average people to sit. There were no screens saved for one integrated to seat's console and even that was for initial boot-up or in case of an emergency. The screen, as well as the controls that were also to the seat, were linked through the whole mobile suit wirelessly because the cockpit's design didn't allow for normal wiring to be used. Flipping the switch open, Fllay saw the small screen came to life.
Mobile Suit Operating System
G yro-linked
U ni-view
N avigation
D ispersive
A gile
M aneuver
Series AVIC-T15 Fallen LA-SE1Z3X
O.M.N.I. Enforcer
E-A CONFEDERATION
Red trimmings around the gunmetal black mobile suit began to glow as its dark blue eyes pulsed to life. Her view of the cockpit was taken over by the outside view, as if she was looking the eyes of Fallen, thanks to the display built into her helmet. She looked to her right and the view changed to the right side of her mobile suit, meaning that the system was functioning perfectly. She focused on a spot and a green 'x' mark appeared over it, telling her that the targeting system was online as well. "Systems functional,"
"ZGMF-X16X, Fallen Nova, initiating launch procedures A1 to F4," a male voice announced.
"Checked," she said as Fallen took place at the catapult.
"Standby for launch,"
After a few seconds the take off light changed from red to green and Fallen was propelled through the catapult at high speed. After it has cleared out of the launch area, it engaged its thrusters and began to climb up. After thirty seconds of increasing its attitude, the communication device chirped again.
"Fallen Nova, you have reached a minimum safe attitude to engage Stage 1 Plume de Lune,"
"Understood," "Somehow, I feel that Kira and I will meet again," Fllay thought to herself, "and I really want to meet him again," Fallen's wings began to deploy. "Plume de Lune, firing," Two seconds later, Fallen began to accelerate at a very high speed, leaving reddish trail of light behind it.
Mark, who was watching the mobile suit leave from the same cliff he and Fllay had met, shook his head. He wondered whether it was a good idea to send her to battle so soon after Azores. He had seen telltale signs of fatigue on the redhead. However, she had insisted that she was fine and reminded him that she was not directly under his command. Which was true. So, there was nothing he could do but stood there to witness Fallen leave.
"God speed, Allster,"
1
Author's note (11 July 2007)
1. My draft AN is actually longer but it's too long, almost like an author's rant instead of author's note. So, here's the compact version. If you have questions for 2 - 6, I'll be happy to answer it personally.
2. Some of you may be surprised by the different interpretation of Meer in this story. It's due to my analysis of her in GSD.
3. I hope the timing of the whole chapter is not to fast
4. The battle of ORB, two chapters long, will probably be concluded by the end of August due to external factors.
5. I do realize that when Eternal was destroyed, METEOR units were destroyed along with it.
6. I'm aiming to end Fallen Angel by the end of this year, so it looks like my schedule on track right now. So, tentatively, my schedule is:
July – August : Battle of ORB (2 chapters)
September : Aftermath (1 - 2 chapters)
October – November : Final battle (3 – 4 chapters)
December : Final chapter and epilogue (2 chapters)
Basically, I already have a fairly detailed idea of the final chapter and epilogue and now I'm working backward, trying to frame the final battle.
