Author's Note: Hmm, guess the last chapter wasn't all that great. Still going though.

ガンダム

Special Thanks To:

readerofgoodfanfiction: No, she's not an alien, just a very confused gal at the moment. And anyone could see in the anime that the Archangel was at least 75% responsible for the damage done to the colony before it went boom.

RonaldM40196867: Moral? Nah, just fun.

Guest: You're right, Blue Cosmos is the least of their problems.

KentLinuxStadfelt: Your guess is...WRONG! Also, good suggestion. Already bringing in some of their characters.

ガンダム

Phase 8

The crew of the Vesalius looked on in morbid fascination as the colony began its collapse while the Duel and Buster did their job. The Blitz was just returning with the Aegis in tow, the machine gray with lack of power. Whatever had gone on in that colony had been rough on the young pilot and his machine.

Meanwhile, Captain Ades and Commander Le Creuset watched the colony with slight indifference. "I never thought my crew would be responsible for destroying a colony of all things," the captain frowned, a slight tremble in his voice, "This makes us no better than those Natural barbarians."

"I think not," the commander said with a shake of his head, and pointing to the sides of the colony, "You see? The escape pods have launched. The people of Junius 7 never got that chance." He said as the man nodded, "At least we gave them a fighting chance."

"And now there will be more Naturals wanting to fight against us," one of the crewmen muttered.

Ades looked at the man, "And you would rather slaughter a shuttle full of women, and children?" He demanded with disgust laced heavily in his tone.

"Opinion withdrawn, Sir." The crewmen said weakly.

"Good," Ades said, "Have the Duel and the Buster return to the ship. We're done here for now."

As the orders were relayed, they found that the two G Weapons were being chased out of the colony by three of the unknown G Weapons. Rau took an interest as he hadn't seen anyone piloting the Green unit until now. It and the Red unit seemed to be performing better than the Blue unit that was following behind them. "They must have found a pilot for that one rather quick." He frowned as the Green unit engaged the Duel, and easily managed to push it back.

The Buster was keeping the Red unit at bay with his ranged weapons, but the Blue unit was making it hard on him by doing the same and firing at him from a distance while the Red would get in close and smash into it. "It's not using weapons," Ades frowned, "I wonder why?"

"Probably because they want it back," Rau reasoned, "Naturals have been known to get upset when they lose something that they desire."

Ades frowned at the man's humor. "Still, it would be wise to have them return. Lieutenant, target those Mobile Suits," he said to the man next to him, "Destroy them if you can, but we must drive them away from the Duel and Buster!"

"Aye, Captain!" The man said, "Messaging the Gamow, all forward guns to be focused on the three attacking Mobile Suits."

Out on the battlefield, Heero was the furthest from what remained of the colony. "You're not getting away from me that easily!"

"What's with this machine!?" Yzak Joule growled as the Green frame came at him. "It's on par with the Duel!"

Their beam sabers clashed in a shower of heat and sparks as the two Gundams danced around each other. Heero not playing around, either. If he couldn't capture this machine, then it would have to be destroyed. Orders or not.

Shield raised, the Duel came barreling at him like an angry bee. [Sloppy.] Heero thought before easily sweeping to the side and firing his CIWs at the back of the machine. The Gundam whipped around so the that bullets only sprayed the shield, even though the Phase Shift armor wouldn't allow for projectile weapons to harm it, Yzak hated the idea that a Natural could get the better of him.

"Bastard!" The Duel made a wild swing of its sword, and Heero took the offering. His own blade sliced right through the Duel's right shoulder, severing the arm. Yzak couldn't believe it as he Duel's warning systems began flashing. [He...he beat me...]

"Surrender." He heard the voice of the Green's pilot, "I won't ask again." The Green unit raised its saber, ready to destroy the cockpit, and Yzak felt his rage and hate for the Naturals rising to dangerous levels.

He reached for the self-destruction panel -

- before the Green Gundam sped away from him just as a beam from the Vesalius passed through where he had been.

"Joule, return to the Gamow at once!" Andes voice shouted, "We can't risk losing even a single one of these machines! Return now!"

Yzak, for once, didn't argue.

The Buster was in a similar situation as Dearka sped away from the two Mobile Suits chasing after him. The cannons from the frigates were helping, but these two were relentless!

"Come on, leave me alone already!" He growled as his energy levels dropped into the red zones. "Dammit, I'm not gonna make it!"

Allenby looked back at Kou's unit, "We've got him on the ropes," she said, "How much battery power have you got left?"

"I'm down to 30%," Kou frowned, "That enough to make a grab at him?"

"Doubt it, but at least we'll give'em something to think about!" Allenby gunned her thrusters and shot after the retreating Buster, twirling around each shot he fired, "Ha! Your aim's horrible!"

Kou was right behind her, aiming his rifle at the Buster and waiting for a clear shot to cripple the Gundam, but blanched when he saw the five ZAFT ships taking aim at them. "BEE!" He reached out with the Blue and grasped her machine's leg to haul her out of danger as the shots were fired. "Dammit, they're not letting us get those machines that easily, are they?!"

"'Course they won't," Allenby frowned as the Buster made it's escape, "Look what they did to get it."

The Astray Green came toward them, "We can't do anything against those ships at the moment," the pilot said, "Retreat and recharge for now, we'll get another chance."

Kou and Allenby shared a look and nodded, "Look, Yuy, Fumina told us that there would be some escape pods that wouldn't be able to be picked up," the Universal pilot said, "Allenby and I've both got about 30% power left, so we're gonna go and have a look around."

"Roger that, I'll rendezvous with the Archangel and try to contact my captain," Heero said, "Keep your heads down and your eyes open. Fumina would probably blame me if you two died."

ガンダム

Yamato-class battleship (Black Pearl)

{Congratulations. Two subordinates of crew member Junior Officer Lieutenant Heero Yuy have successfully retrieved two damaged escape pods, and escorted them to a safe have.} Marika groaned as she peeked out from under the ice pack sitting on her forehead. {Rewards for Random Rescue Quest: 1) 1000 BP x2 2) Permanent 25% BP boost following this mission 3) Hidden Reward.}

"Just ignore it, Mom," Ride said as he fanned her. "Remember what happened last time this stupid system gave us anything."

{Offense taken. I am not a stupid system. However, a critical system error has occurred that disallows - }

"Oh, save it," Marika moaned, "Accept rewards one and two, please."

{Rewards have been given. Your BP has increased to 2040. Your BP percentage will now permanently increase by 25%. Will you accept Hidden Reward?}

Ride and Kusuha looked at each other, Ride using a folding fan on the captain, and Kusuha being the one to hold the ice pack on her head, "Bullshit?"

Kusuha shrugged, "I haven't got a clue." She said, "Though, I doubt it'll be as surprising as our new crew member."

Marika looked back at the blue-haired girl, "Where is he anyway?"

"Last I saw of him," Ride said, "He was playing around with one of the Cosmos. Shino was keeping an eye on him, though."

Marika nodded, "I'm truly sorry about what happened, Ride," she sighed, "I know I promised, but after what happened, it seems our generous Store System no longer carries Orga as an option to bring to our side."

{As I said, a critical system error had occurred. It was not my intention to -}

"Accept reward three, please, and shut down for a while." Marika moaned, knowing that the system wouldn't leave her alone until she did.

{Hidden Reward accepted; Quest System added.} Marika perked up at this as did Kusuha and Ride. {The Quest System will openly target an area in order to find hidden quests to complete in order to gain added bonuses, and rewards. To use this system simply go to the bridge, and ask the system to search. Small quests will result in minor BP rewards. Mid-sized quests will result in larger Bp rewards and random rewards such as equipment, or personnel. Large quests will result in a triple reward. Rewards such as these consist of rescuing civilian personnel, large scale battles, base destruction, and/or colony destruction. Note: As you have christen this vessel as a pirating vessel, raiding, and theft will also result in such rewards depending on the scale of the deed, but will also increase Notoriety. An increase in Notoriety will result in factions placing a bounty on the ship and its captain. Factions include ZAFT Organizaton, Atlantic Federation and Eurasian Federation.} The system's hologram bowed, {This concludes your tutorial on the Quest System. Good-bye.}

The hologram disappeared.

"That's actually pretty useful." Ride commented, shaking his head, "But I don't think I'll ever get used to this game-type system you've got going on, Mom."

Marika nodded, "It certainly is." She sat up and moved off the couch, "Battles are inevitable, but I'd rather not put you boys in danger, and that goes for my girls, either." She cast a smile at Kusuha. "Speaking of that, Kusuha, go find our new recruit and have him come up to the bridge, please, I want to assign him a machine."

Ride looked at her, "Are you gonna get another Gundam?"

Marika shook her head, "In time, yes, but for now, I think more Cosmograspers would be better." She said as they left her quarters, "I'll readily admit that the Moebius line was a joke compared to the Skygrasper. But the Cosmograsper is not only a powerful Mobile Armor, and can easily take down GINNs, and other Mobile Suits outside of the more powerful Gundams of this universe, but they're also cheap. Fifty BP is a steal. Also, Cosmic Era weapons for the Mobile Suits are decently priced."

"How many can this ship hold?" Kusuha asked, curious.

Marika smiled fondly. "My husband designed this ship to have a stackable flight deck. Each Mobile Armor would be stored on an individual shelf, and taken up to a higher elevation until it was ready to deploy. We can handle eight Mobile Suits as large as the Calamity, and around twenty Mobile Armors like the Cosmograsper."

"We already have three Gundams, and five Cosmos," Kusuha counted off on her finger, a habit Marika found adorable, "So...twenty more machines...we don't have the crew to pilot them, though?"

"We'll get them," Marika said, "Either through my system, or having those around us join the Black Pearl's crew."

Kusuha smiled, and nodded, "I'll fetch Mister Kellerne right away, Mother."

"CALL ME CAPTAIN DAMMIT!"

ガンダム

Archangel-class Battleship (Archangel)

"This is a total cluster bomb," Mu sighed as he, Murrue and Natarle waited outside of the medical bay for Kou and Allenby to show up. Apparently, and thankfully, there had been a doctor on one of the two life pods that the two of them had brought back. And the other one was a pleasant surprise to the Mobile Armor pilot in the form of his protegee: a young woman by the name of Rachel Ransom, as well as her friend, and licensed mechanic, Kay Nimrode.

Still, that didn't alleviate the situation one bit. They were fish in a barrel, and the ZAFT forces ships were still dangerously close in the area. Not to mention the debacle about to take place.

"It's about time," Mu said as he saw the two pirates coming, "What took you so long?"

Kou shrugged, "Some hysterical girl was causing a fuss when we pulled her out of the life pod." He said, "The minute she saw the Gundams, she panicked and thought she was on a ZAFT vessel."

Allenby crossed her arms, "I was half-temped to put her back out there myself. If that Sai kid hadn't popped up, I just might have done it." She frowned, "Now what's this all about? Is Fumina alright?"

Murrue shrugged, "We'd like to know that ourselves, Miss Beadsley, but Lieutenant La Flaga hasn't said anything to us about her, yet." She looked pointedly at Mu, "Now that we're all present and accounted for, why not let us in on why this was so urgent?"

Mu sighed as he reached into his pocket, and pulled out a piece of bandage stained blue by something. "It this, Captain," he sad, "What's it look like to you?"

Natarle and Murrue shared a confused look before the ensign frowned, "Lieutenant, this is hardly the time for guessing games."

Allenby shook her head, "Lighten up, lady, or you'll be gray before you're thirty," she quipped as Natarle sputtered. She reached out an took the rag, and held it up to her nose and gagged. "What the - ?!"

"What?" Kou asked, shocked at her reaction.

"This is blood!" Allenby snapped, brandishing the bandage, "Human blood!"

"Impossible!" Murrue looked shocked, "Human blood is red!"

Mu nodded, "We all know that, Captain, even Coordinators have red blood, as much as some people think them to be green blooded aliens," he frowned, "That blood there belongs to Fumina." The four of them turned to him in shock, "I know, I was surprised, too, and so was Murdoch. I asked him to keep quiet about it, though for the little lady's sake, and for Kira's, too. No telling if there are members of Blue Cosmos among the crew, or even among the refugees we just picked up. Words gets out that there's a person on this ship with a different color blood, they'd think she's a new breed of Coordinator and crucify the poor kid."

"But she's alright, isn't she?" Kou demanded, worried for the girl, "I mean this isn't a lot of blood, so - "

"It was just a small scratch along her upper arm," Mu said, making the boy relax, "But that doesn't mean she wasn't freaked about having blue blood." He jerked his thumb at the door, "I had the doctor you two rescued brought straight here to have a look at her, and hopefully that shoulder of yours, Captain."

Murrue smiled at him with a pretty blush dusting her cheeks, "Well, yes, thank you for thinking of me, and prioritizing Fumina's safety, Lieutenant."

Natarle wanted to voice her concerns when the door opened, revealing a elderly man in a brown suit, "Kira, keep her comfortable for the time being. She'll be fine in an hour or so, then you can take her to her quarters for some proper rest."

"Thank you, Doctor Marks." Kira's voice drifted to them.

Doctor Marks, as he was apparently called, turned to the three women, "Now, which one of you has the shoulder wound?"

"Er," Murrue cleared her throat, "I do, but what's going on with Miss Hoshino?"

The doctor frowned, "Madam, it is highly rude to discuss a patient's condition with anyone other than close family." He said, sighing, "Though, that being said, this is a military vessel, and I would hazard the guess that you are the ranking, if not the commanding officer of the crew and the ship?"

"No, you're right on all accounts," Murrue said, "But please, we're all worried about her since I've heard that she reacted badly to her...condition." She explained, and gestured to Kou and Allenby, "And I know they don't look it, but these two young people are her siblings."

Marks looked at Kou and Allenby with interest, "That right?" He said, sounding curious, "Well, that does change a few things." He sighed and turned back to the medical ward, "Come along, all of you. Things such as this need not be said out in the open."

The doctor and the five crewmen entered the medical bay where Kira was seen sitting next to Fumina, who was resting quietly. Kira looked up as Kou and Allenby entered. "How're you guys doing after..."

Kou shook his head, "Not every day you see a colony blown to hell," he said with no trace of humor before nodding to his slumbering sibling, "Thanks for watching out for her."

"Always," Kira nodded, turning his attention back to the sleeping girl. "Have you told them, yet?"

Marks shook his head, "No, I believed that the hall way was not the right place for such conversations, and the captain here has a bullet wound in her shoulder that will need tending to." He gestured for Murrue to sit on the examination table, "We'll begin shortly after I explain my findings on the girl's condition, and you have some privacy." He looked pointedly to Mu and Kou, and even a subtle glance toward Kira.

"That's fine," Murrue chuckled, "Now," she became serious, "what exactly is wrong with Fumina?"

Marks frowned, "Wrong?" He shook his head, "Nothing whatsoever." The group looked confused, "She is a perfectly healthy young lady of the Natural gene type." He said.

"Then what about - ?"

"I'm getting to that, Mister La Flaga, don't rush," Marks hushed the man with a firm tone, "Now, as I was saying. She's perfectly healthy, and a Natural. Not a single sign of genetic manipulation." He said, "Nor is she narcotically enhanced. And she's human. Not an android, or anything ridiculous like that." He took off his glasses and began cleaning them, "However, this young lady, and I suspect you two," he gestured to Kou and Allenby, "does have something special inside her. I've not seen the likes of it in all my years as a doctor, but that girl is a host to what appear to be an entire circulatory system's worth of nanomachines."

"Nanomachines?" Kou frowned, "Tiny robots?"

"Extremely tiny," Marks nodded, "Each one I examined under the scope looked to be smaller than a blood cell. As I examined her wound, Kira noted that it had already started healing long before I applied ointments and bandages. So I had a look, and saw that the wound was visibly closing at an accelerated rate. The nanomachines seem to be oriented toward healing and keeping the host healthy."

"I asked Kira to donate a small amount of blood to test my theory," he continued as he stepped over to the back counter where a pair of petri dishes were sitting. One of them was filled with red blood, the other blue. "When I placed a drop of blood from both of them onto a slide, I expected them to attack Kira's cells because, and don't take this the wrong well, son, because a Coordinator is a genetically engineered subject, and no matter if it be First or Second Generation, there will be signs of damage from the altered genes down the line, which is why that there are no Fifth Generation Coordinators." He said, "Now, when I tested it on Kira's blood, the machines went right to work. But to my surprise, they didn't restore Kira's cells to what one would call Natural, far from it. They merged with his cells, effectively neutralizing any damage from his genetic code, and creating a, shall we say, complete Coordinator."

"What does that even mean?" Natarle demanded, "And are they dangerous?"

"Dangerous?" Marks scoffed, "Humans are dangerous, young lady, machines only ever do what they're told." Natarle scoffed in turn, but the man didn't stop, "No, these lovely little helpers are not harmful to humans. But if someone were to reprogram them, somehow, then yes, they'd be dangerous. Deadly so. They fix things in the human body as it is, but if anyone with a diabolical mind got their hands on them, then they do have the capabilities to devour a human body down to the last cell."

"And what it means, my dear, is that if Kira were fully injected with even a minute amount of these little miracles, then his line wouldn't stop with just the Fourth Generation, or even the sixth." Marks said, "I don't know how, or where she got them, but seeing her now, I can honestly dub this young lady a miracle." He turned toward the girl, "She has no special abilities such as Coordinators do, nor is she particularly strong. But miracles do come in all shapes and sizes." He smiled, and turned back to the captain, "I would ask you not to press her too much. She was left understandably traumatized by the fact that she somehow has these machines inside her, nor would recommend telling anyone outside this room. I know many in the Earth Alliance that would cut her to pieces to get at those little wonders with little to no care for her life after the fact."

He reached into his coat and pulled out a book of matches. "There is, however, one thing that these little wonders do that I wish they didn't." He struck the match and dropped it into the blue dish. Allenby and Kou were horrified by what happened next as the dish ignited into a raging flame as the blood burned to utterly nothing. It only took a few seconds, and the dish was empty.

"While the machines do heal the body, and somehow turn red blood blue because of their outer shells, they also make the blood highly flammable, like gasoline. One spark on an open wound and there's no saving the subject." Marks said grimly as he turned to the captain, "Do I have your word that no harm will come to this girl?"

Murrue nodded slowly, shaken by the sudden short blaze, "As the captain of this ship, you have my word, and sincere promise that I won't breathe a word of this outside this room." She looked at Natarle who nodded somewhat reluctantly while Mu and the other two gave there affirmations.

"Good, then I suggest that the gentlemen all scram the hell out of here while I work on the captain's shoulder," Marks said with a shooing motion to Mu and Kou, "Kira, you as well. The girl's sister can keep an eye on her until I'm done, alright?"

Kira didn't respond, only reluctantly getting up from his seat and marching toward the door.

Several hours later...

"A decoy is about the only route we can take," Murrue sighed as she, Natarle, and Mu were looking at their options, "As soon as it leaves the ship, we'll head straight to Artemis. With so few supplies, it's our only hope of reaching Alaska without severe complications."

"You mean more complicated?" Mu said asked, frowning, "And Artemis? I don't know about that. Those guys are...well, let's just say that using the word pirate around them is an insult to Fumina and her siblings."

Natarle shook her head, "They'll treat us with the respect of the Federation, there's no need to worry on that account."

"Besides," Murrue said, "We really have no choice. With the Nazca-class and the four Laurasia-class ships on our tail, Artemis is a safe have from them for a while."

Mu didn't argue.

As they made their plans, Heero came in, looking more serious than usual. "Captain?"

"Mister Yuy," she nodded in his direction, "Did you need something?"

Heero nodded, "I was able to reach my ship's captain after piggy-backing off one our machines that's nearby," he said, "She want's to speak with you."

Murrue nodded, "Give Tonomura the information and you can have the broadcast come to the bridge."

Heero nodded and proceeded to the petty officer's side, "It'll be an open channel, probably the only one in the area."

"Got it, bringing it up now." Jackie said. The monitor in the bridge flashed for a moment before the image of a woman appeared. To Murrue's surprise, she looked near identical to Fumina, giving the woman no doubt about her heritage. She also wore a type of uniform(Yamato Admiral Uniform) that she didn't recognize.

"Captain Ramius," it wasn't an inquire, she knew who she was. "I'm glad that I was finally able to get through." She smiled kindly, "Seems like I owe you my daughter's life."

Murre shook her head, "On the contrary, Fumina has been a blessing. She's an amazing Mobile Suit pilot."

"That she is," the woman said, "And I would very much like to be there in person. Tell me, is there a possibility that you can remain where you are until I reach you?"

Natarle stepped forward, "Not possible, Miss. We're currently inside of a wrecked colony, and making plans to depart." She explained, "ZAFT has five battleships around us as well. There's no way we can remain here."

She frowned, "I see," she said, not sounding disappointed or surprised, "Then I would guess that you are heading to Artemis since it's close to the Heliopolis area that Heero told me your were in."

"That...is our plan, yes," Murrue said with uncertainty while Natarle glowered.

"Then I shall be right behind you," the woman said, "It'll take me at the very least four days to get to Artemis at full speed, and perhaps I can lighten the load on your backs by chasing those ZAFT ships away."

Mu stepped up, "With respect, Ma'am, but what can you do against five battleships?"

The woman smiled slowly, "I plan to sink a fair few of them."

ガンダム

Author's Note: Yeah, I went with the nanomachine screwball move :p

Question is, how badly screwed is Artemis when Marika catches up with the Archangel?

We'll find out later. You all know what to do from here. Adios Amigos!