Notes: this story is divided into two parts: one set in the past, during the wars of 71 and 73 CE, and the other ten years in the future, with a couple of giant divergences from the canon.
Don't blame me, I'm a fangirl, after all ;)

Execution

Aprilius One, December 13, C.E. 81

"Dearka. You're hopeless."

The amethyst eyes of the young officer casted an ironic look at his former teammate. "Athrun. Stop it, or I'll start to believe you're jealous."

A faint smile crossed Athrun's lips. "Me? For what reason? Look, you've already risked to lose Miri once. What the hell are you waiting to seriously propose to her? "

"With a ring and all? Geez, how boring…" Dearka steeled himself stoically, looking at his other friend in the car to collect a bit of support, but Yzak Joule froze him with his most distinctive piercing stare.
"Dearka, you are an idiot," he snorted. "Miriallia is a good girl, but she won't wait for you forever."

Feeling cornered, the blonde ZAFT pilot gave up. "What's wrong with you? Miri is not like that stupid Lunamaria who quit a promising career to run after Shinn. Miri travels extensively for her work and she loves it. A formal marriage is absolutely premature for us. Beside, she knows I love her!" Dearka exclaimed, crossing his arms to his chest.

Athrun and Yzak exchanged a smile. Then, the blue-haired Admiral nodded to Dearka. "You're defending your case providing the wrong example. You perfectly know that both mine and Yzak's wife have successful professional lives even if they are raising a family. Now, do you want us to believe Cagalli and Shiho are smarter than Miriallia?" Athrun asked with an ironic grin.

"Oh, I hate when you two join forces against me," Dearka burst out, while a giant smile on his face denied his annoyance.

The three friends of a lifetime laughed simultaneously, and Athrun was grateful to have accepted Kira's invitation to spend a few days on Aprilius One, while the brown-haired Coordinator was visiting Orb to know his nieces, two adorable twins carbon copy of their mother. They were only few months old, and Athrun had not left Orb willingly, not wanting to miss a moment of the life of his princesses. But he had businesses to tend on Aprilius One, and so he had took the chance to grant Kira some days to enjoy the company of his sister and nieces, while he filled Kira's role in escorting Lacus Clyne.

Lazily, Athrun looked out of the vehicle he was riding on. It was running moderately fast, in the procession of cars carrying Lacus Clyne, and the former Prime Minister of the Eurasian Federation, to the building hosting the Supreme Council of PLANT. Aprilius One had not changed at all since he lived there. Beautiful, rich, perfect in every detail of its controlled nature. Athrun had to suppressed a yawn. Accustomed to the wild landscape of Orb, now PLANT seemed to him terribly unexciting. And the traffic did not offer any distraction either.
The vehicles proceeded at the same pace, speed controlled by a driving assistant, with very few people who dared to break the rules. Like the driver of the powerful motorcycle that, in that moment, passed his car, zigzagging across the lanes and narrowly avoiding the vehicles. Even if he knew it was dangerous, Athrun could not help but to smile, wondering if the rider was a mobile suit pilot, used to much higher speeds and as bored as he was by the slow traffic.

He turned toward his friends catching the imploring look of Dearka. Taking advantage of his silence, Yzak had steered the conversation back on more serious issues.

"That fool of Meyrin will get a formal reprimand once we return to base," the white-haired young man was saying. "She's just been appointed as chief security officer of Councilor Clyne and she already managed to make a mess in the seating assignment."

Athrun raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me, would you have preferred to be in the car with them instead of us?"

"Yes, of course. It was the occasion the get some information out of that idiotic Natural Lacus is accompanying to the Council. I'm losing precious time, and we still don't know how to get rid of him."

Yzak's voice sounded outraged, but not particularly angry, and Athrun was about to reply when the loud noise of a shooting tore the muffled silence in the car, followed by a squeal of tires.

The driver of their vehicle braked suddenly, and Athrun felt his body pressed against the seat belt. The three passengers exchanged glances. Astonished, but also hardened by many battles, they immediately overcame the surprise.

"It is an assault," Yzak stated, already moving towards the door. But before he was able to open it a second motorcycle appeared almost out of nowhere. The traffic around them was stuck, but the rider skillfully dodged the cars. He passed the one Athrun was in and, without slowing down, he fired a volley of bullets against Lacus and Meyrin's vehicle, shattering the windows.

Athrun could not choke a cry of dismay while Dearka took the lead. "Get out of here and ask for support, I follow the motorcycle!" the blond-haired young man shouted, jumping out of the car and ordering the driver to give the wheel to him.

Yzak and Athrun had just the time to obey before the vehicle sprinted away pursuing the terrorists. Knowing Dearka would not have let them flee, they rushed towards the car of their friends, whose doors flung open after a few seconds. The Natural was the first one to rush out, almost as if shoved by Lacus, who appeared behind him followed by Meyrin.

Athrun sighed with relief. They did not seem injured, but only shaken. He walked quickly towards the group with Yzak at his side, and he was about to call the former idol when the cry died on his lips.

It happened before he could even think to react.

The Natural tripped over something and fell. But before touching the ground, his head exploded like an overripe fruit. Behind him, Lacus collapsed to her knees, a shocked expression on her face and hands clasped around her throat. Stained with blood.

Nassau, May 25, C.E. 71

It was the dawn of the day of her twentieth birthday when doctor Cecilia Jesek was rudely woken up by the loud ring of her cell phone. From under the blanket a brown eye stared at the mobile, hating it with passion, but a couple of seconds later the hand of the scientist slipped out to grab the detestable thing.

"Jesek..." she managed to mumble.

The voice of the person on the other side sounded enthusiastic. "Cecilia. I need to see you. Immediately."

The young woman closed her eyes, silently cursing her boss. She hated to hear his voice so early in the morning, demanding and cheerful as only Lenk Granato could be. "Lenk, even if I arrived at nine I assure you I'd manage to clean up everyth—"

"Don't even think about it. I've great news for you. Just get down here as fast as you can."

With that, her boss closed the connection, leaving a mildly surprised Cecilia wondering what he was up to.

She arrived at destination only twenty minutes later.
The curiosity had grown in her while she was taking a shower, even if Cecilia was unsure about what Professor Lenk Granato could tell her. Or why he sounded so joyful. All thing considered, in that very day the scientific facility where she had worked for years was going to be closed and the staff disbanded. It was her last day of work, and nothing in the previous weeks had indicated any change in the program.

Feeling suddenly depressed Cecilia sighed, pressing the button of the elevator. Once inside she looked in the mirror, trying with one hand to fix her unruly curly hair and, as usual, failing miserably in the attempt. "I'm getting old ..." she muttered, looking at her face, already tired in the early morning and ruined by many sleepless nights. All time thrown away pursuing researches that would have ended in the garbage.

The elevator doors opened, tearing Cecilia away from her thoughts, and her eyes met those of a couple of co-workers. The two stood aside to let her pass, greeting the girl with a nod. She replied the gesture, pretending not to notice the boxes full of books and other materials the men were holding. The pathetic sight made her heart bleed. That place had been her home for six years, and what was happening was definitely not right. Suffocating another useless groan, Cecilia walked along the corridor, pausing a moment in front of the door of her boss to announce herself.

He flung the door personally. "Finally! My most brilliant pupil is here," the man roared.

Cecilia replied with an almost embarrassed nod. "Good morning Lenk."

"Come in! "

She followed the man and, seating across his desk, she curiously stared at a stack of plastic folders lying on the table. They were placed right in front of Cecilia, as if they were waiting for the young scientist to come. The thought made her cast a cautious glance at her boss, who certainly did not look like a person who would have been unemployed in a few hours. On the contrary, the man appeared quite excited.

"Prof... why so happy?" the scientist asked him with a smirk.

Being the most proficient researcher of the Institute had always allowed Cecilia to say in his face almost everything. And, also, the plump Director with no family was like a father to her, who had lost her parents when she was very young. That was probably why Lenk Granato looked unimpressed by the rough question.

Instead, much to Cecilia surprise, the man burst out laughing. "Why?" he almost howled, staring at her face. "Because we can continue our researches, we got materials and funds."

The young scientist, despite her quick intelligence, took a moment to process what she had just been told. "What?" she stammered.

"Nothing will be closed today."

"But I just saw John and Jeremiah leave with their stuff!"

"Well, of course, we had to accept a reorganization, but your place is safe, don't worry."

Cecilia blinked, shaken by the sudden news. "And when you had in mind to tell us?"

"I've already called all of those involved in the new project. I've been very busy in the latest days with the negotiations, but only last night a new group stepped forward to take over our researches and save our work."

She lowered her voice. "A new group? How come? We are dependent from the Earth Alliance. Our are military projects… well, before they were put aside."

"Not anymore," Lenk told her, sounding reassuring. "The funds will be supplied from a cartel of companies that also supports the Alliance. They decided that, despite the successes achieved by the line of research on the Extended, we are allowed to continue in our work. They probably want an alternative guaranteed. It's not surprising considering how flawed that project is."

A part of Cecilia wanted to believe it, but her most realist self stubbornly replied. "I do not understand, the military told us in every way that we failed, humiliating you and all of us."
Cecilia could not stop her voice from trembling. She shook her head, angrily recalling the last words of the arrogant general who had visited their laboratories. He had told in her face that she should have played too much with dolls as a child, if Cecilia really thought that the results of her work could make a difference in a war fought with Mobile Suits. Cecilia looked down, staring at her hands, but the Director seemed to read her thoughts.

"Oh, come on, I knew they could not deride your work that much. And the value of those monsters as big as buildings cannot be compared to what we could produce here. "

"I don't doubt the theoretical significance of our researches, Lenk, but you should admit that they had a point. Even compared with the results of the Extended project, what we created here was a complete, utterly disaster," the girl said, still unable to understand the sudden change in plans, after sour days spent thinking she had to look for another job.

At that point, Lenk indicated Cecilia the folders in front of her, mysteriously smiling. "I know, but maybe it was all because we worked on... the wrong material." Then, he leaned back in his chair, with his hands clasped on the large belly. Waiting for her reply.

Cecilia hesitantly looked at the folders, before to pick up one. It was full of sheets, but it was the photo placed over the entire stack that made her instinctively wince and look away in disgust. "Oh my..." she exclaimed surprised. Then, by pure scientific curiosity, Cecilia forced again her attention on the documents. Her eyes skimmed through the data printed on those pages. They were all detailed medical reports. Slowly, she lifted the photo in front of her.
"Care to explain this?" Cecilia asked.

"It's a Mobile Suit pilot. Well, what remains of his body after he had a… small accident."

"Interesting. And what am I supposed to do with this?"

"That is your new test subject. Isn't it clear? Obviously, and although it'd seem unbelievable, that guy is still alive, like all of his comrades cataloged in those files."

Cecilia had to refrain from shouting. "I know he's alive, I can read these reports. But are you kidding me? Healthy men, perfectly fit, trained soldiers were unable to bear the implants. Their bodies rejected them or found them psychologically intolerable. And now explain me how can you think that such a thing might be more successful?" she asked, waving the photo.

The Professor raised his right index. "Oh well, maybe the problem we had with those people was that they were too healthy. We underestimated the psychological aspect of having their body modified so radically."

"And so, what does make you think that with these pilots would be different?"

"Maybe because they would die without your implants. And if you are worried for the mere physiological issue, get a closer look to those reports. The guys are all Coordinators."

Cecilia looked down at the folders, now deeply surprised. "Are you not assuming that… are you?"

The grin on Lenk's face was almost hilarious. "Why not? Even some of us suggested that the enhanced body of a Coordinator could react better to treatments."

"I'm not talking about that, Professor," Cecilia's eyes became hard. "Here we design and produce ... well, we try to produce biological weapons to fight the Coordinators. It makes no sense to perform experiments on them. Even if we achieved some results, they'd be useless for the Alliance. These people would never fight against their own kin."

Lenk looked at her, opening his large hands. "Cecilia Jesek, listen, how many times do I have to remind you this? It will be up to the Alliance to solve that problem. We are scientists, not politicians nor military. We are given a wonderful opportunity to continue our studies, and I'd like to have you by my side. After all, many of the patents we use here are yours. "

He was smiling, but Cecilia knew that Lenk expected from her only a positive answer. Because the institute was working on patents registered in her name, and the staff was working over something she created. Had Cecilia decided to leave, nobody would have been able to replace her, it was even legally impossible. On the other hand, there was no place where she could go. Young genius in biorobotic, Cecilia had always lived inside the large scientific facility where she completed her studies. The staff there was her family, and that place was her house. A place she could not abandon, since it was also the only one in the world where researches over cybernetic implants were performed.

Cecilia wearily sighed. "Oh crap… ok, all things considered why should I worry if the Alliance wants to finance an experiment which result will eventually turn against it? I don't even think there is something salvageable from this disaster."
The young woman looked more carefully at the photo, comparing it with the medical reports. She would never have thought that a human being could survive if reduced to that pitiful state. "These Coordinators are really different from us..." she muttered, looking at the pilot's physical records. "Do we know at least who they are?"

"No. We can run a DNA test, but we have no way to access the PLANTs' databases. In any case, I'm sure their families consider them already dead."

"Eh, I suppose it'll be even a surprise for them, to still be alive." Cecilia slightly frowned when her eyes fell on the man's personal information. "Male, height of five feet eight inches, the apparent age is eighteen years old ..." she read slowly, hearing the voice tremble on the last part. "He's just boy!"

"Most of them are, the oldest is barely twenty, and I do not think it's a coincidence. Probably for ZAFT things are going so bad that they are using rookies as front-line troops. While the guys who finance us probably suppose that these pilots have more chances to survive the experiments, being so young."

"You are too naive, Lenk! From what I can read here, I doubt that these Coordinators will be still alive tomorrow." The young scientist felt her blood distinctly turned into ice, as the unpleasant realization of what she was expected to do with the injured pilots finally struck in all of its harshness.

"Their conditions are serious but stable, it's up to us to take over," the professor was saying.

"Or let them die if we did not, am I right?" Cecilia said through gritted teeth. "That's why they were sent here, because these poor bodies are even worthless as a bargaining chip. I do not know if I can do it, Lenk. One thing is to improve the performance of human bodies, another is to perform a total reconstruction" she admitted without shame, and with a sad grin on her face. She gave a quick glance at the other dossiers. One in particular made her wrinkle her nose in disgust. "This pilot should be no older than fifteen, they even deploy kids on the battlefield."

"The Alliance does the same."

"I knew, holy crap! Politicians and military are nuts. Doesn't cross their minds the thought that these guys are too young to do such a thing?"

"For all that matters, Coordinators are considered adults at fourteen, and Alliance soldiers are all volunteers. Beside, there are people of that age mature for their years. At fifteen you were already awarded a Ph.D," Lenk said with a smirk.

"Sure. But I was special, and I was studying," she replied with a shrug. "I did not go around killing people." Having realized the enormity of what she had just said, the Cecilia's lips twisted into a tired smile. "Yet." she whispered, running a hand through her untidy hair. Had she accepted, her future work would have been quite different from the past. Those Coordinators would have died without the implants she had realized but, on the other hand, they had no choice but to become guinea pigs for the Earth Alliance.

And Cecilia couldn't help but to find it completely wrong.

Probably sensing her inner turmoil, Lenk Granato affectionately smiled at her.

"Cecilia, I understand your ethical concerns, but keep in mind that should the operations be successful they will be granted a second life. And then you won't be alone. Together with the test subjects came the army surgical team that put those guys back together. They will assist you and the staff here. You'll have only to take care of the mechatronics."

"That is anything but easy" she retorted, raising one of the folders. "Some of these guys need a reconstruction up to sixty percent of the body. And we should develop optical systems." Cecilia made a face, throwing on the table the documents. "This pilot lost his eyes in the explosion, and he is not the only one."

"And aren't you excited? We'll explore new frontiers of science and technology. Come on, I know this is your dream, if you renounce now, you'll dearly regret it."

He was right, Cecilia knew it. That was why, not totally convinced but finally persuaded that there was nothing she could do to reject the unexpected developments of her project, the girl nodded. The outcomes were highly uncertain. The problems to face unpredictable. There was only one certainty: even if they survived, those Coordinators would hardly thank her. Not when she was going to turn them into the war dolls of the Earth Alliance, with not even the slightest chance of returning home.