A/n

Got it done earlier than I had hoped, but it is to the benefit of you readers. I also want to state that I have exceeded the length of the Original story and ain't halfway through, that is awesome! However, it is time for me to recite the disclaimer I do every few Phases. I do not own anything in the Gundam Universe as much as I wish and would love to. I only take credit for my characters, my musings which my story are created from. Should any of my characters reflect others, it isn't intentional and I'm not trying to cause an infringement. And with that out of the way, let's get to the Phase!


Phase 48: Changing Tides

July 13th, 71 CE


Mendel Colony Area

Those in Mendel's southern spaceport were busy working while waiting for the Dominion to return. Athrun and Tyler were antsy about Kira having not returned from searching for those who had entered the colony's interior. However, Tyler did stop Athrun from going off and looking for them as they still could be attacked by ZAFT forces. While Tyler wanted to go and find Kira, the chances of ZAFT attacking while he or someone else was away was too high to risk it. And where Tyler was confident the Dominion wouldn't be around for another hour or two, they were still a looming concern. There had been an attempt made by Tyler and Erica Simmons to restore the colony's com-exchange system. Tyler had tried himself but couldn't get it running, saying it couldn't be done with the system in the condition it was. Cagalli had pleaded with Miss Simmons to try, but the woman had as much success as Tyler with the system. Thus, there was no effective way to communicate with those inside the colony and see if they were alright.

It was close to half an hour when the airlock system to the colony's interior activated, giving those in the spaceport hope those who had gone it was coming out. Tyler had taken the Aurora to meet whoever was using the airlock system, just in case it was ZAFT forces. Three Astrays quickly launched and took up defensive postures behind the Aurora. When the port side airlock opened, the Freedom and the Strike came out, the Freedom assisting the Strike in moving forward. Tyler was glad to see Kira and Mu were alive, but for Kira to be helping Mu didn't bode well. Kira then said Mu had been injured though not much more than that. Tyler directed one of the Astrays to help escort the Strike to the Archangel so Mu could get the help he needed. The Aurora stayed with the other Astrays to see if any others would come through the airlock system.

A minute or so later, the port airlock cycled and opened, revealing the Shadow and Buster. Yet, what surprised Tyler and those with him was they weren't alone as there were two others. The Blitz and the Duel accompanied them, and from what Tyler could see, they weren't acting as enemies at the moment. For the two other G-Project units to pop up was unusual, more so as they had been working with ZAFT. Why these two were with the Shadow and the Buster, Tyler couldn't say. He inquired about the two and if they were here to help or hinder. Dearka firmly stated that the Blitz and the Buster were with them to offer them help against the Dominion. To be frank, Tyler knew those in the dock weren't in the position to be very picky about where help could come from. So, Tyler accepted Dearka's answer and told the Astray pilots back to the Kusanagi, and he returned to the Eternal. The four moved through the spaceport and landed on the Archangel.

Murrue, worried about Mu being injured, had to be on the bridge to direct things. She was surprised to see the Blitz and the Duel with two of their own mobile suit. However, she said they were to be allowed on the ship. Murrue told Murdoch that Krystal could determine whether the two new machines should be resupplied. Down in the hangar, Murdoch didn't feel comfortable seeing the Blitz and the Duel coming into his hangar. The two had been the ship's enemies for so long that it was hard to see them as potential allies. But the captain had said to let Commander McAlester make the call whether to help the new machines and their pilots, so it would be up to her. The four suits were directed to docks while work was being done separating the Strike from the zero armor.

Once the Shadow was in its dock, Krystal came out and made her way to the hangar deck. Murdoch quickly informed her that Murrue had given her the responsibility to say what was to be done with the Blitz and the Duel. Krystal glanced back at the three teens coming out of the machines they had originally stolen at Heliopolis. All three had caused the ship a great deal of trouble over the months of the current year. Yet, Dearka had helped the Archangel from Orb onward, so he had proven he could be trusted enough. And Dearka had vouched for at least one definitively, which Krystal was okay with. The Duel's pilot she wasn't as sure about if she were to tell the truth. However, as Tyler had implied when he had met them at the airlock system, they couldn't be very picky about where the help came from right now. Thus, she told Murdoch to do maintenance and resupply on the Blitz and the Duel. She was willing to give Dearka's companions a chance to prove they could help the Archangel and her allies in their circumstances.

As Nicol stepped out of the Blitz, he glanced around the hangar area, taking in the layout. It was the first time he'd seen any part of the interior of this ship. He and his companions had been working to dispatch it, and now they were helping it. The whims of fate were truly interesting with this war, Nicol would admit. As his suit was resupplied, Nicol, with the help of Dearka, made sure Yzak didn't blow up and lash out at those on this ship. Yzak needed to show patience since OMNI forces would come soon enough for him to fight as he wished. Still, as time passed, Yzak's frustration became more evident outwardly.

At the same time, Tyler had returned to the Eternal after meeting those who had come from the colony's interior. When he returned, Athrun had asked Tyler what he'd seen at the airlock system. Tyler told him that those who had gone in returned, Mu had been injured, but he couldn't say much more than that. He also said the Blitz and the Duel had been with those returning and that Dearka had said they would be helping for the time being. Athrun was a tad shocked Nicol and Yzak had not only been around here with the ZAFT forces on the other side of the colony, but they were here now. Athrun wasn't against his old comrades fighting alongside them, just what they would face with the current leadership of ZAFT.

A half an hour went by while those in Mendel's spaceport while preparing for when the Dominion would come back, or ZAFT could strike. Mu had been confined to the Archangel's infirmary due to his injuries. Murrue had essentially told him he wouldn't be going out in the next battle, and Murdoch would make sure the Strike was locked down if required. Nicol and Dearka had to put forth the effort to keep Yzak calm enough not to lash out at others on the ship. They kept telling him that the Alliance forces would come soon, and then he could vent his frustration and rage. But the wait ended when Mirillia's voice announced, "The Dominion is approaching, distance 50, Green, Bravo, steadily closing."

The mobile suit pilots made their way to their machines to go out to the looming battle. Yzak stalked to the Archangel's hangar focusing on the fighting he was craving to vent his anger. Nicol and Dearka weren't too far behind Yzak, glad the wait was over as Yzak had been getting hard to keep even a little calm. Dearka was made to understand the stress he had shouldered with Yzak's antics had been so noticeable now. Granted, Dearka had other things to worry about while traveling on the Archangel rather than Yzak, but he had gotten used to Yzak antics. Yet, Dearka was glad to have Nicol and even Yzak out on the field fighting alongside him, going against OMNI, who had become crazier lately.

On the Eternal, Tyler was the first to board his machine, quickly followed by Athrun to the Justice. Kira and Lacus entered the hangar and headed for their units shortly after. Tyler was thinking ahead to the field they would be heading to against the Dominion. He was a tad surprised that the Dominion was coming back already. With what Tyler's gremlin had the time to do, the damage to the Dominion's onboard systems wouldn't have been small or ignored. Natarle and her crew would've had to do work to get the ship operable to any degree from what Tyler figured. From his estimation, it would take at least three hours at best for the Dominion to clean up the mess left properly. Thus, Tyler assumed Natarle had bypassed what she could to get the Dominion usable, meaning the ship wasn't close to one-hundred percent.

With that in mind, Tyler decided that he would need to do a better job at handling the Dominion. He would disable the ship to the point it couldn't fight back and then force Natarle to back down. Tyler didn't want to take down Natarle and her crew, he felt that would be a bloody waste. However, if Natarle didn't make the right choice and essentially surrendered, Tyler was limited on what he could do. He felt leaving Azrael alive should the Dominion run away would only doom the world to see darker events soon enough. The man had slipped away from the Federation several times over the last five years. And each time Azrael had, it had been followed by a wave of needless deaths. So, Tyler would deal with Natarle and the Dominion in whatever way needed, even if he had to have her blood on his hands. Tyler's mother had been right; humankind's true enemy had to be stood up against and stopped.

The Aurora was sent to the Eternal's catapult and headed out first, followed by the Justice, then the Freedom and the Regenerate brought up the rear. The Archangel sent out three mobile suits with the Duel slightly in the lead with the Blitz to its right. Technically, Krystal should've been the team lead, but she could tell the three ZAFT pilots weren't going to listen to anything she would say. The Duel's pilot had made it clear with a glare that he would do things how he saw fit, and no one, not even his comrades, would tell him differently. So, she decided to stay back and be in reserve in case the field changed drastically. Nicol counted on the four from the Eternal and those from the Kusanagi to be more allies than those from the Archangel. He spotted four of the seven Astrays traveling behind them while the other three were staying back as some form of a final defense line.

The Eternal's four Gundams looked ahead and saw the three Gundams from the last battle already out. Their courses made it clear they were targeting them, likely for payback from the last battle. Scanning them over, Tyler quickly saw they had been repaired and were gunning for a fight. Yet, it was Lacus who was the first to speak, "It's those three again, the Gundams from the last fight." Kira was gazing at the three he had fought before, all damage from the previous battle gone. "Yes, and they appear to be fully repaired from the last battle," Kira remarked. "Indeed," Athrun agreed, "And they want payback on us, no doubt."

Tyler was watching their opponents and noticed the two Non-Strike Daggers were not too far behind them. As things stood, it was essentially seven vs. five since the Astrays were to be the defense and interception line for the ships. Tyler wasn't worried about the odds he and his allies faced in this fight, for they were better than the last skirmish. The only real concern was the three enemies Gundams for their erratic and dangerous behavior. But as the last battle had partly proven, keeping them busy and wasting power would lead to their retreat. And with Tyler planning to take care of the Dominion, that retreat would become defeat. "Oh, I don't doubt they want payback for us showing them up last time," Tyler commented. "But I believe you lot can keep them busy for long enough for them to use enough power that will have them need to retreat."

Nicol had been listening to the conversation between the two machines with which the Freedom and the Justice were grouped. It was the closest thing he'd heard to a battle plan in the last half an hour. By the sound of it, the Freedom, Justice, and the purple unit would keep the three enemies occupied. What the red machine planned to do, Nicol couldn't say. But it seemed the two other mobile suits on the enemy side would be left to those who came from the legged ship. Nicol would've asked more about the plan, but Athrun beat him to it. "What will you be doing while we keep the opposing mobile suits busy, Tye," Athrun questioned. There was the sound of Tyler humming, "Taking care of the Dominion." Nicol blinked at that statement since one mobile suit could take on a ship, but not one like the legged ship. They would have to be lucky to be able to destroy the ship class by themselves. Yet, Tyler continued flatly, "Rest assured, I won't be leaving a loose end this time to come back to bite us. I will finish the job of dealing with it this time and leave no doubt in the crew's mind they are screwed. They will quake in their shoes and either do what I tell them or face the price of protecting a freaking war criminal."

Nicol wasn't the only one trying to process what Tyler was talking about. Nicol could understand disabling a ship; by the voice, it was the Tyler McGregor Athrun had introduced. He sounded confident in dealing with the enemy ship, so much so that Nicol found himself believing him. The reference to being "screwed" and "quaking in their shoes" brought back memories of the frightening experience with the black enemy machine. It made him curious if McGregor was the pilot of the Shadow at the time. It was possible from what Nicol could figure. But the mention of a "war criminal" caught Nicol's attention as that label wasn't used lightly by any nor joked about. If one was labeled a war criminal, it was taken seriously and was only used for the worst kinds of people. The Federation tended to have the final word on whether an individual was a war criminal officially, and they were also the ones that judged and sentenced such. And it wasn't that Nicol didn't think the Alliance wouldn't hide war criminals, he didn't doubt they would. What made Nicol question the point was the Alliance knew the real consequences of helping such an individual, so why do it?

Kira didn't like the idea of Tyler fighting against the Dominion by himself. It was dangerous as they would gun for him to kill. Then Natarle and Tyler didn't have a good relationship, and that was putting it mildly. The two had brought out the worse in each other the whole time on the Archangel. Natarle had seriously threatened to chuck Tyler in a brig cell by what Kira had heard, and he believed it. So, Natarle had reason to want to get back at Tyler, and killing him wasn't entirely out of the question. True, Tyler's machine had a Federation stealth system which would give Tyler a helping advantage, but it didn't stop Kira from worrying. "Tyler, you really mean to take on the Dominion alone," Kira asked. He hoped putting forth the question would have Tyler reconsider his plan. Lacus was also worried about Tyler going off on his own, but he'd done it in the last battle.

Tyler knew the Dominion needed to be attacked to end the battle and remove the enemy's ability to resupply. And with his knowledge of the Archangel-class, Tyler was the best choice to do the task. He could best disable the ship to the point Natarle would seriously consider surrendering. Tyler was also the one from the Archangel who could pull the trigger if it came to that. The others who had been on the Archangel when Natarle was there didn't want to and would hesitate and give a chance for Azrael to escape. And Tyler wouldn't let Athrun shoulder the blood that would be spilled should the Dominion be destroyed. "I'm the best for the job, I know the ship class's weaknesses better than anyone else," Tyler reasoned. "And I can finish the job no matter what it comes to and live with the consequences."

Murrue and those on the Archangel's bridge had been listening to the conversation between the mobile suits. Murrue would admit the general plan Tyler had was sound enough to work. If the Dominion's mobile suits could be kept from the ship, Tyler could strike it effectively. She didn't like Tyler's implied action of finishing the job no matter what. It sounded like he was prepared to destroy the Dominion with its crew on it. Yes, Tyler had said there was a war criminal on the Dominion, which Murrue didn't want to believe. But if true, then the Federation's view had been made perfectly clear, war criminals were to be killed if they couldn't be captured. And that was to be done no matter the sacrifices needed to be made, and it was one of the few things the Federation had never moved on as gruesome as it was. They reasoned that if a war criminal escaped, they would only continue committing mass murder.

There was no more said as the Archangel and her allies moved away from the spaceport and faced off with the Dominion. The mobile suits kept getting closer and closer to each other, readying their weapons. Tyler fell back slightly, letting the Freedom, Justice, and Regenerate get ahead of him. He planned to use the clash to vanish from sight and make his way unseen to his target. Tyler did give one last message to the three ships he was helping, "Archangel, Kusanagi, and Eternal, don't hold back, and don't worry about possibly hitting me." Tyler took a deep breath, "Just worry about not getting hit and the other mobile suits, leave dealing with the Dominion to me. Shoot at it as you like, but it will not close the distance this time, I'll make sure of that." Murrue didn't like what Tyler said, for he was pretty much saying to disregard his safety. It almost sounded like he was going knowing he would be fighting to preserve his life and would kill to do it. "Tyler, we can't do that," she began, but Tyler cut over her. "You will do it if you want there to be any chance of our group getting out of this alive. Natarle will be shooting to take you down; those are her orders. And you know she is military oriented, she will follow her orders even when she shouldn't."

Andrew knew what McGregor was saying was true, they couldn't afford to be nice in this battle. Doing that in the last battle had trapped the Kusanagi and put it at risk of being destroyed. "Understood," Andrew stated, cutting over Murrue and Cagalli, who were about to protest, "Then we can only wish you the best of luck in your endeavors." That was the last thing said before the six Gundams clashed, and the Aurora vanished from sight and all forms of detection. Nicol caught a moment's glimpse of the Aurora vanishing and was impressed. It appeared more fluid than the mirage colloid had ever been for him. It looked like rippling water with a fading image. And a glance down at his sensor array showed Nicol nothing, and there was not even a distortion to hint at the unit. The suit's stealth system was superior to mirage colloid in ways Nicol couldn't at the moment describe. However, Nicol didn't have the time to think about the sight further as the two Daggers began fighting him, the Buster and the Duel.

Natarle was looking out on the field as the Eternal released a swarm of missiles at the Dominion. The sensor operator told Natarle that the opposing side had six units, which caused her to pause. That number didn't make sense with what had been seen in the last battle, as there had been seven. When Natarle asked for the signals to be identified, she was told there were the three Gundam types that the Director wanted. However, the Strike and Shadow were missing from the enemy side. Instead, the Blitz and the Duel out with the Buster didn't make sense. Those three were stolen and used by ZAFT before now, and though they were the ZAFT force on the other side of the colony, they had no reason to help the Archangel and her allies. And there had only been the briefest glimpse of the red machine that Tyler had been using before it had vanished.

Natarle was more than concerned with the mobile suits' matchups as they fought one another. The Forbidden had gone against the Justice, and its pilot's full attention was on the crimson suit. The Raider was fighting the Regenerate while the Calamity was taking on the Freedom. The Dominion's Daggers were being kept busy by the Buster, Blitz, and Duel. All the Dominion's mobile suits were being distracted and kept away from the ship. And with the Dominion in its state, the ship wasn't up to repel a full-on assault from multiple ships. It was a miracle the Dominion could appear fine when she was barely above fifty percent of operational capacity. The Director's "insistence" on making another attempt to take one of the units he wanted had been infuriating. But her orders changed to take care of the Archangel and get one of the mobile suits it carried.

It wasn't long before both Daggers were dispatched, and the three G-Project machines joined the other three in fighting the Dominion's remaining machines. While that was bad enough for the Dominion, Natarle was more concerned with Tyler being unseen. That teen had crippled the Dominion in his last battle with what he left. There was little to stop him from coming and doing more to the Dominion. Tyler had proven he hadn't been joking when claiming he had intimate knowledge of the Archangel class. Natarle thought her knowledge of the ship was among the best of those who had been around during the construction phase. But even she couldn't have done what Tyler did. He had only shown what he could do with internal systems the last time. Natarle didn't want to imagine what he could do beyond that, as she could think of a few flaws he could exploit and hurt the ship badly.

Additionally, Tyler was no novice pilot, the opposite, in fact, which only added to the threat he presented. Natarle hadn't believed him when he'd claimed to have a "piloting license" as it had been so outlandish. Yet, Natarle felt she would need to eat her words as Tyler's skills would be at the level of a licensed pilot. Tyler could whip others, and his opponents couldn't stop him from doing that, she'd seen such. It made him a frightening opponent to face, and she learned that somewhat in the last encounter. She feared the Dominion would know that better by the end of this battle. However, Natarle focused the best she could on the battle, ordering attacks on the enemy ships.

Tyler had quickly separated himself from the brawls that had begun with the three enemy suits. He trusted that his allies would do fine at keeping them busy, and that's all Tyler needed. The Dominion had only been separated from its defenders and had its own arsenal. Tyler knew how to get around what parts were still working after the gremlin had done its work. This time Tyler intended to be more direct and disable the Dominion in a way that couldn't be disregarded. Tyler would exploit the physical weaknesses of the ship class and prove to Natarle not to take him lightly. Instead of Natarle cursing him as the goal, Tyler would make her terrified of his work. There would be no more being nice nor teasing, and he would get down to business and get the job done. He hadn't done that the last time and Azrael had escaped, which was a no-no. Tyler knew Federation policy was to capture war criminals and kill them if that wasn't possible. There were to be no exceptions, and Tyler would make sure there wouldn't be one this go around.

He quickly closed the distance to the Dominion and decided where to start his task. The Archangel class had many flaws, and Tyler would take down the CIWS interception system down first and move on from there. So, Tyler flew under the ship before pulling up sharply, spun around, and landed behind the bridge tower. The Dominion was rocked minutes after the battle started. Natarle shouted orders to report on the ship's status. She was told there had been no weapon hit, and they couldn't find what had caused the rocking. "Guess who, Mon Capitaine," Tyler's voice greeted. Natarle heard a change in Tyler's voice, and the tone was worlds apart from what it had been in the last encounter. Tyler had been teasing and having fun doing so at her expense. Now, there was no mirth or even Tyler's normal frustrating tone of him talking to someone less mature than him. His tone would be flat if not for the icy feel it gave. The voice wasn't that of a teen but a veteran soldier doing the work of war. "I admit I'm surprised you came back so quick, Natarle," Tyler remarked coldly. "My gremlin undoubtedly did serious damage to your ship's systems. It should have taken you three or more hours to clean that up with a competent crew."

Natarle was getting really uneasy at the cold tone Tyler was using. It didn't fit the annoying teen that had behavioral problems. He spoke of his "gremlin" as he was talking about the weather and not the mess he had left. Tyler continued in the same voice, "I assume you chose to bypass the issues produced rather than clean them up." There was a pause, "You'll regret that soon enough, Mon Capitaine." If not for the icy tone, Natarle would see the "Mon Capitaine" reference as an insult. However, the director spoke up before Natarle could say anything, "Get to your point, boy." There was a chilly silence for a long moment, "I wasn't talking to you, scumbag," Tyler replied. "You will shut your mouth if you have the desire to live for much longer, you piece of garbage." Natarle was going to tell Tyler to watch what he said, but the teen spoke again. "If you speak out of turn again, scumbag, then I will come onboard the Dominion and work my way to the bridge so I can cut open your chest cavity to show your heart is pitch black."

Natarle's mouth was open at what Tyler was suggesting as it was nuts. Azrael paused, then chucked, "Quite a claim, boy." However, Tyler cut over him, "Natarle can count the number of bodies I leave to get to you, Azrael. You would not escape me, dirty snake, I promise you that." There was a pause for a moment, "I told you, Natarle, you should've gotten rid of Azrael when you could regardless of orders given to you. He's putting you and your crew at serious risk, what with him being a war criminal. He probably didn't tell you anything about him being one, I would bet, Mon Capitaine." Natarle was taken aback at Tyler saying that Director Azrael was a war criminal. That label wasn't joked about, for it was a serious claim. And Natarle doubted Tyler would kid around with it with him being a Federation soldier. Tyler kept going, "But let's get to business instead of wasting attention on the criminal scumbag. I admit I left things to chance in our last encounter with my gremlin. It is a loose end I don't intend to be repeated this time."

Natarle's unease rapidly morphed into real fear of what Tyler was talking about. His knowledge of the Archangel class had proven dangerous already, what more could he do? But she swallowed and plucked up the courage she could, "You admit you failed the last time, and you will again," she stated evenly. "So, give up whatever game you try to play, it won't work. You can't scare my crew or me into begging for mercy."

The sound of Tyler humming came, "My my Mon Capitaine," Tyler mused coldly. "You apparently didn't learn daring me is not a good idea. But I accept your invitation," Tyler said clearly, even in an icy tone. "You think I can't scare you," there was a pause, "you poor fool. I will show you how wrong you are to assume that. And I will do that by displaying the flaws of this ship by exploiting them." Tyler took a breath, "Let's start with one of my personal favorites when it comes to flaws in this ships class, Natarle." Tyler took out a beam saber preparing for his first move. "I found it when I was looking over the blueprints. I honestly stared at it for minutes thinking OMNI designers couldn't really be so dumb to make such a blatant mistake. You see, while they designed the CIWS system, they wired it okay except for the last bit for the control circuits. They wired all of them through a singular point, a junction specifically that they believed would never be in danger of being attacked. They would be right if not for someone like me knowing where the junction is. Theoretically, if the junction is damaged, that would disrupt the CIWS system if not worse."

There was a pause in which Natarle quickly processed what Tyler had said. She had seen some flaws in the Archangel-class during the designing phase and brought such things up with the original captain. However, to her knowledge, nothing had been done to fix her recognized flaws. She hadn't heard or seen the one Tyler was talking about. He was getting at something, and the direction wasn't one she was happy with at all. Then Tyler gave one more line, "How about we see if that theory is true, Mon Capitaine?" That one question chilled Natarle blood as not only did it say something bad was about to happen, but that Tyler was about to do what he suggested. He was about to potentially cripple the CIWS interception system or, worse, take it down. Should the Dominion lose that, things would become much direr in this battle. Natarle's face became pale, "Tyler, wait, don't," she called.

Tyler wasn't going to listen to Natarle anymore, instead getting down to disabling the Dominion. He activated his beam saber and stabbed it into the junction he'd been referring to in his iteration. The effect was immediate the junction exploded, ripping the control circuitry for the Dominion's CIWS system. It set off a chain reaction as the commands to the Igelstellungs never reached the guns. The started a cascade of shutdowns gun by gun, and it didn't take long for the whole network. The dull thud and shaking had not given Natarle any comfort, and it didn't bode well in her mind at all. The alarms going off told her things were going terribly wrong, and she felt it was only the beginning. "Captain," called the one at the electronic warfare station, "CIWS system is going haywire! The Igelstellungs aren't taking commands and are shutting down one by one!"

Tyler lept off the ship and zoomed down to face the Dominion's underside for his next target. Tyler pointed his beam rifle and fired upon the Dominion's Gyroscopic stabilizer, which was a part of the ship's helm system. It did the task of keeping the ship oriented without the point of having to do it actively themselves. The flaw with the Archangel class's stabilizer was its destruction also interfered with the ruder controls. From there, Tyler moved to the Dominion's left wing and sliced it as he passed, damaging two wing engines and further affecting the ship's movement.

Natarle was wracking her brain on how she could get around what Tyler had done and was doing. His action had taken down the Dominion's interception system making her almost defenseless. She still had the weapons to work with, but they didn't do well for interception. However, Natarle was ripped from her thoughts as a klaxon began sounding over the bridge speakers. That sound caused Natarle to go pale as the klaxon would only start going off when there were critical systems or equipment seriously damaged or shutting down. Her eyes were drawn to the ship's helmsman as he was clearly gripping his controls hard and fighting it. "Helm, status," Natarle stated, not exactly wanting the answer. The Dominion's pilot was fighting his controls, and the co-pilot was quickly doing the same. The gyro-stabilizer was not working, so the ship's orientation was fighting the helm controls to change. The starboard wing engines were sluggish, which was making the helm unresponsive. "The helm is fighting us, captain," the pilot replied with effort, "She's fighting us hard. The Dominion's orientation won't stay normal for much longer."

Tyler sliced into the Dominion's right wing and dispatched all four wing engines, further complicating the ship's helm control. And as Tyler was swinging around the ship's rear, he could see the Dominion bow tipping downward. Tyler wasn't going to stop at the Dominion just not being level. He was going to disable the ship to the point it would barely limp along. So, Tyler continued by aiming at the left rear engine and fired his beam rifle. The bolt hit the engine and caused it to go through an emergency shutdown. Tyler did the same to the opposite side, resulting in the shot engine shutdown.

Back on the bridge, the ship shook three times after the pilot said the helm was fighting him. The co-pilot grunted and looked down at his console, "Captain," the co-pilot called, "Right wing engines are dead! And we just lost engines two and five, they have shut down and won't come back up." Natarle was starting to feel real fear as she realized Tyler was crippling the Dominion one piece at a time. He had clearly started with components the helm used and was admittedly doing an amazing job at making the Dominion unable to control its movements. And without the CIWS system, there was no way to stop him from what he was doing.

The Dominion continued to tilt forward, heading toward vertical as Tyler moved to disarm the ship. He zoomed to the starboard missile tube and carved one open to find a missile inside. Tyler took a moment to jab the lock mechanism carefully, then grabbed the missile and pulled it out of the tube. He carried the sledgehammer missile with him as he moved a distance away from the ship. Tyler knew the sledgehammer missiles had a flaw that the makers denied existed. If one tapped the missile in the right spot hard enough, the charge would arm, and the thruster would activate without any other stimulus. And unfortunately for Natarle, Tyler knew the trick with the Sledgehammer missile and would use it. So, when Tyler got far enough away, he aimed the missile so that it would slam into the starboard Valiant cannon. Then, Tyler tapped the Sledgehammer smartly, and seconds later, the missile's thruster lit up, and it zoomed away toward its target.

Natarle told the pilot and co-pilot to switch the system over to manual. In manual, they could use what thrusters they had to stop the Dominion from further tilting downward even if they were still not facing the enemy force. However, then the alarm for an incoming attack began going off. Down from the CIC came, "Captain, incoming missile from starboard! It's one of our sledgehammers, impact in fifteen!" Natarle's gaze snapped to her left and spotted the missile zooming toward them. She couldn't begin to guess how Tyler had extracted one of the Dominion's missiles from its tube. That he'd managed to get it to arm and fly outside the tube was ridiculous, yet Tyler had done just that. With the CIWS being gone and the helm not responding enough to orient the ship, so the missile could miss, the Dominion was a sitting duck. The missile would strike the ship, there was no avoiding that, and Natarle could see that plain as day. She grabbed her ship phone, "All hands," she began, "Brace for starboard side impact."

The Dominion shook violently when the sledgehammer slammed into the ship, and its charge detonated. A moment later, Mark reported to Natarle that Valiant 2 had been destroyed. The Sledgehammer had thrown shrapnel which had torn up the area around the Valiant's mounting. Mark also said the maintenance crew was stating fires had also broken out around there. It appeared to Natarle that Tyler had moved from targeting equipment which worked with the helm to weapon systems. Tyler had already gotten the Dominion's movements to be almost non-existent, with how quick he did that, she doubted it would be much different with offensive options. The fear she'd felt as the Dominion had been dead in the water had been growing rapidly.

Tyler rushed over the Dominion, seeing smoke pouring out of where the Valiant cannon had been, and the wreckage remained. He did get a brief view of the damage the missile had done, the sledgehammer had blown the cannon mount to pieces and had torn holes and gashes in the surrounding area it had struck. Tyler moved on to the other Valiant cannon, but instead of doing something impossible to miss, he took a more subtle approach. He ripped out some wires and cables but not enough to be noticed. Then, Tyler shoved a piece of wreckage he'd grabbed along the way into the space between the Valiant's firing chamber and barrel. That would cause the cannon to blow up should it try to fire a round. Tyler moved on to surge upward and sliced off the Dominion's port sensor array.

Natarle gripped her chair as the Dominion trembled, and she heard the port sensor array had been cut off. She cursed that her ship was at the mercy of a teenager attacking it at his leisure. Natarle was still feeling the fear slowly becoming terror, but she was mad that Tyler was crippling her ship and could only watch it happen. She had to eat and swallow her remarks she'd made about Tyler having no discipline or focus. He showed he could do a task he put his mind to and do beyond most expectations. Natarle heard another calling Gottfried 2 had just incurred damage which brought her out of her thoughts. She gazed forward, seeing energy arcs jumping around the turret's mounting structure. However, her eyes widened as the Gottfried turret was ripped out of the little remaining mounting. The turret then spun or was really swung in an arc to sail, crashing into the other Gottfried doing serious damage and taking the turret out of commission.

The next thing she saw, there was a rippling in front of the forward viewing port of the bridge and the red mobile suit from before appeared. It then brought up its beam rifle and pointed directly at the Dominion's navigation bridge. Seeing the beam rifle aimed at them froze all on the bridge. Even Azrael stiffened at seeing a weapon pointed in his direction. Tyler kept his beam rifle aimed at the Dominion's bridge. He had crippled the ship, and it was barely limping as it was. Natarle had no recourse to get around the damage Tyler had done since she had already bypassed the internal systems in order to make another attack quicker rather than be prepared. The only option she had was to surrender, and Tyler would offer that if she were to hand over Azrael. Should she agree to hand over Azrael, Tyler would let the Dominion go wherever it wanted. "This would be checkmate, Mon Capitaine," Tyler stated coldly. "Your ship is crippled and left to my mercy. Your insistence for making another attempt quickly has cost you any chance you had."

Natarle couldn't deny what Tyler was saying. He had disabled the Dominion better than any tactical plan she could've devised. He had called her out her bypassing systems rather than repairing them had cost the Dominion everything. Yes, it had been Director Azrael who had insisted they just get things working enough to attack again. He had stated the mobile suits would do most of the work of capturing their targets and destroying the Archangel. Natarle was sure the way Azrael iterated things wouldn't be how it played out, yet she'd not countered him as she should have. "So, let's get down to the real goal of this," Tyler continued. "You are to give your surrender to me, Mon Capitaine, or else. Should you accept the offer, I'll leave the Dominion alone so you and your crew can depart, Natarle. The Dominion can limp back to OMNI's Ptolemaeus for the overhaul it will need. I'll even tell the Archangel and its allies to hold their fire and leave you alone. There would be one tiny condition attached to the offer, but I assure you it is a minor thing which should be easy for you."

Natarle processed what Tyler was saying or rather offering for her, the ship, and her crew. Surrender was a humiliating choice to make for any soldier, and Natarle had never considered it. But now, she was in a position if she didn't take the option, she and her crew would more likely die. Tyler was giving a choice for her to surrender and be able to leave the battlefield when he could destroy the ship, and tactically it would be sound to do so. It made her wonder why and what the condition he'd mentioned was. She swallowed, "And what is your condition for surrender that you would show the mercy you imply?"

There was a pause before Tyler spoke, "You hand Muruta Azrael over to me," he stated flatly. "You agree to give him to me, then your ship and the rest on it can leave without further issue for yourselves." Natarle blinked and glanced at the director for a moment before turning back to face the red mobile suit. It made no sense to her why Tyler would want the director handed to him. Tyler had made it clear he didn't want much, if anything, to do with the Alliance and those who made it up. "Why would you want him," Natarle couldn't help but ask.

Tyler gripped his controls hard at the question as he had already said the main reason he wanted Azrael. The man was a war criminal, and those weren't to be left alone to their own devices as they would spread death and destruction. But apparently, Natarle hadn't listened when Tyler called Azrael what he was. "Your director is a damn wanted freaking war criminal," Tyler stated with a faint growl. "One that has slipped away before now, he has snaked away from facing the truth, and it's time he faced justice for his crimes. It shouldn't matter to you, Natarle, his fate is of no concern other than handing him over. With that in mind, Natarle, either you hand him over to me, or else you will share his fate of death."

Tyler was talking about the director as dark as Natarle had ever heard Tyler speak. And that his condition was to give him Director Azrael made it hard for her as he was the Dominion's VIP. He was in the Alliance leadership, to hand him over would be an act of betrayal. Orders and loyalty wouldn't allow it, more so when Tyler stated he was ready to kill him. "Tyler, I can't," she began, but Tyler cut over her. "Think very carefully about what you're setting yourself up for, Mon Capitaine. Should you refuse to hand over Azrael, I will destroy the Dominion with all currently onboard her, which I guarantee. Azrael wouldn't hesitate to toss your ship and those on it away if it benefited his aims and goals. So, consider carefully, is the life of such a scumbag more valuable than your crew's and your own, Natarle? Give him over, and you and your crew live, that's how this will work. I couldn't care less if you admit to OMNI that you surrendered or give them some false story to avoid doing so. But you will hand over that war criminal, or I will kill him along with all on your ship, Mon Capitaine. There will be no negotiations about this, those are your only choices in this." Tyler shook his rifle to emphasize the point, "Now you got ninety seconds to make your choice, Natarle. If you don't answer in that time frame, I will take it you choose the latter rather than the former. I will then continue to destroy the Dominion, and that will be the end of it," he stated with finality. "Your ninety seconds starts now, Mon Capitaine."

Natarle was left in a conundrum she'd never imagined she would face in her lifetime. Enlisting in OMNI came with the understanding death was a real possibility for her. Natarle's father had been killed in the line of duty, so she knew it could happen to her. However, Natarle hadn't thought she would face a choice of life and death so soon in this war. Yet, Tyler had given her an ultimatum that could cost her not just her life but those of her crew as well. She technically didn't owe anything to Director Azrael, though he was an Alliance leader. And if he was a war criminal, as Tyler claimed, then why would the Alliance protect him? The Alliance knew that war criminals were hunted down and dealt with just as much as anyone else.

Were she to hand over Azrael, she would save her crew and ship from destruction, and any captain would appreciate that effort. Yet, the Alliance leadership and the members who made it up were the ones that gave OMNI the task and goals it worked for. So the leadership should be protected from harm and attacks from the other two factions. But the definition for a war criminal had been set before the Alliance and so stood and had been accepted even if begrudgingly. From what Natarle understood, those labeled as war criminals tended to be captured or simply disappeared. So, if Natarle managed to have the Dominion escape with Azrael today, there was nothing to say Azrael wouldn't be captured later. Thus, was there really an honest reason to put Azrael's life ahead of the rest of the Dominion?

In the end, Natarle had to make the choice she could live with. So, she swallowed hard and took a deep breath, and was about to give her answer to Tyler, but she never got to it. The sensor operator said they had detected allied ships coming into range. They said a moment later, the collection of vessels was the Third Orbital Fleet. Those on the Dominion's bridge weren't the only ones to notice the ships coming into range. Tyler saw them on his sensor screen and cursed at the timing of them showing up. It was about the same size as the Orbital Fleet Tyler had helped exterminate before heading off to the PLANTs. Their arrival would complicate things for Tyler. It forced him to choose between taking down Azrael or helping his friend/allies not get overwhelmed. The ships he was allied with were already turning to face the oncoming OMNI vessels. Tyler sighed after a moment, then focused on what he chose to do, "Make no mistake, mon Capitaine," Tyler stated, "You got incredibly lucky temporarily. When our paths cross again, if the scumbag is still on the Dominion, I will finish the job, and I won't give you the offer you got today."

A shiver ran down Natarle's spine at Tyler, saying he would finish the job should they encounter each other again. She doubted anything she told the top brass would get the director assigned to another ship. Only slight relief was felt when the Aurora began backing away from the Dominion's bridge. Tyler had other ideas however, he aimed his rifle and shot a bolt through the Dominion's Lohengrin in the starboard leg. He then did the same on the port leg, putting both blaster cannons down for the count. The Dominion had only one Valiant cannon left, which was operational, and some of its missile tubes. Natarle watched as the red mobile suit transformed into a fighter craft and zoomed off to where the mobile suits were clashing.

Tyler was racing back to his allies, who were still fighting the three enemy Gundams. The issue was the Alliance's Orbital Fleet was deploying their mobile suits on the battlefield. And worse, Tyler spotted the three Gundams who had been in the Battle of the Republic among the OMNI forces. The Blitz, Buster, and Duel were turning to face the coming OMNI suits while the others were still fighting the original three enemy Gundams. The odds were quickly about to turn against the defenders, and Tyler knew it wouldn't get better unless another change occurred. Odds were shifting from seven vs. five to now around ten enemy machines to one defender. Even when Tyler jumped in and went for the three units that had been around the Republic, the defenders were rapidly pushed back.

With the change in the enemy force for those at Mendel, Krystal launched out in the Shadow. Mu said he would be more than willing to go out to help but was denied due to his injuries. In the ten minutes that passed, the defenders' four Gundams were hard pressed to fight and hold their own against the six enemy Gundams. Tyler had the Aurora's back facing the Freedom's while The Justice's back was facing the Regenerate's. The G-Project units were battling the oncoming OMNI Dagger suits from the Third Orbital Fleet. The Astrays were pressed back to defend the three ships from being attacked directly by the Dagger suits that got past the G-units.

Tyler quickly became frustrated at the turn of events. He'd been so close to getting Azrael and dealing with the Dominion that he could taste it. Then the OMNI Orbital Fleet had to butt in and force his allies onto the defensive. The six enemy Gundams were annoying differently since three were erratic and the other three were more fluid in their actions. Any action attempted to get them to back off either did so for a brief moment or didn't work at all. Even using heavy weapons like the plasma cannons the Freedom and the Aurora had didn't get the six to ease up. Things were looking grim for the defenders and their mobile suits as OMNI kept pressing forward.

Tyler was seriously considering using his SEED mode to change the tides for even a little bit when his sensor display beeped at him. He glanced down and saw multiple signals showing approaching OMNI's Orbital Fleet. At seeing that, Tyler couldn't help the smile that came to his face. A Federation Space Fleet had arrived on site, so Tyler and his allies were about to have "the Calvary come in," as the old phrase went. The tide was about to reverse back to him and his allies in a surge, and OMNI would lose this battle. So, Tyler kept fighting, but his hope had surged up in him as there was an end in sight.

The Federation's First Space Fleet had been chasing OMNI's Third Orbital Fleet and had tracked them down around Lagrange 4. It was part of the operation to exterminate OMNIN's Orbital Fleets, which would be the third to deal with. However, the Resolute and the Voyager-class Valoran had become de facto leaders. That was the case as the Valoran had a Federation Admiral onboard who had taken charge. The Admiral was a woman named Angelia Raine, with a height of five foot six, and was a Coordinator. She had long, mid-back, golden blonde hair that had a silky texture. Her normal hairstyle had the upper right third of her face covered by blonde locks. Angelia would be easily considered beautiful with her physical appearance, especially with her hourglass figure, if not for the serious expression she usually had. Her single light blue eye, which was visible, gave others uneasy feelings. She was forty-five and, as Ben Moses, hailed from the Euros Coalition.

Admiral Raine had come out to see how the "cleanup" of the Alliance was going. This would be the third fleet that would be dealt with by reports. The Space Forces were working on the task at a decent pace and were making notable progress. Angelia knew Maharaja and Katejina didn't mess around when work needed to be done. She respected them for their efforts as she knew the difficulty of coordinating forces with being the head of SOLAS. She'd been willing to deploy more than half of SOLAS's agents. They were working on disrupting the Alliance's operations, and some were working on ZAFT. However, she wasn't one to just sit around Echowas waiting and let others do the needed work. Angelia had come out and joined up with the First Space Fleet to give her tactical skills to be used.

From what Angelia had been told, the general processes employed to deal with OMNI's Orbital Fleets were simple. The enemy fleets were given a message offering surrender and a period of time to decide what to do. The two previous Orbital Fleet had been wiped out when they had refused the surrender option. Angelia didn't see why this OMNI fleet would be any different than the previous. The message had been transmitted, but by what Angelia was seeing, the Third Orbital Fleet was focused on attacking a group around Mendel. She asked about the group that was fending off OMNI. The reply was three ships, and several mobile suits were fighting against OMNI. One ship was Orb's Izumo-class, and another was the Archangel which OMNI had been trying to get rid of lately. The third ship was the rumored ZAFT ship that had slipped away from them.

As Angelia looked out at the battlefield, she could see OMNI wasn't paying attention to the surrender message. They were unlikely to do so regardless of the time given to consider making a wise choice. So, it would be more proficient for the First Fleet to just get down to business. They could assist the Izumo class as they were seen as an ally to them with Orb's membership in the Federation. Thus, Angelia had the Valoran's captain communicate with the Resolute and tell the fleet commander there was no need to wait and commence the attack on OMNI's fleet. Within minutes Federation mobile suits began launching unseen to OMNI forces.

The Third Orbital's assignment had been to see if they could get any hint as to what the Federation's military was up to. However, then came the message from the Dominion about having an issue dispatching the rogue ship the Archangel. Apparently, it had allies that were making things difficult. So, the Third Orbital Fleet had come around and had headed toward the L4 colony cluster to assist. When they had come into range, the fleet's flagship, the Corvus, saw their ally, the Dominion was in trouble. The enemy force was pressing and had the advantage over the Dominion currently. Orders were given for the fleet's mobile suits and armors to head out and deal with the enemy force.

The slight advantage OMNI had lasted just a moment before it changed. Federation space fighters began appearing on the battlefield and drew the attention of the OMNI mobile suits. That was followed by a Federation space fleet materializing within attack range of the Third Fleet. The Federation fleet's appearance was a welcome sight to the Archangel and her allies. That didn't mean they were out of trouble yet, but there was hope of survival growing.

By that point, the Dominion's pilot and co-pilot had managed to get the ship back to being level and horizontal. The sight that met Natarle's eye once the ship faced the enemy force was not encouraging. The Third Orbital Fleet had arrived since Natarle had made an urgent request to them for aid in the task of dealing with the Archangel. However, now several Federation vessels were facing off against the Third Orbital. The number of Federation ships strongly suggested it was one of the Federation's military's space fleets. And Natarle knew that OMNI's chances in this battle had swung from fair to essentially none. It made her wonder if this was the type of sight the lost Orbital Fleets had seen before their destruction.

All that had ever been found of the two lost Orbital Fleets was wreckage, some of which had helped identify the fleet. No ship's black box had ever been recovered, so there was only guesswork on how the destruction of the fleets had gone down. From what Natarle was seeing, the Federation was now in control of the battle, and there was no way to change that. Natarle had always suspected the Federation could and likely did have mobile suits to use. And now, she was seeing proof of the fact as space fighters were attacking Daggers turned into mobile suits. The Daggers' laminated armor didn't seem to protect against the Federation units' weapons. Blades they carried appeared to be slicing through Daggers without much difficulty. And that the Federation space fleet had shown up suggested to Natarle that they had been hunting the Third Orbital.

The Dominion wouldn't be much help after what Tyler had done to the ship. Its helm was barely working at best, and the ship had few weapons to use. The best option Natarle could see for the Dominion was to leave the area and head back to Ptolemaeus base. The problem with the idea was that it left the Third Orbital to die for them. Yes, if the Dominion successfully ran away, it would require the sacrifice of the Third Orbital to have a chance to succeed. And yet, if the Dominion didn't try and run back to lunar HQ, she would join the Third Orbital in its destruction. It was a position that Natarle cursed as there was no good option that wouldn't get many killed. It was essentially not how many would die, death was a certainty, but who would die instead.

For the Archangel and her allies, the appearance of the Federation's space fleet was close to a godsend. An Orbital Fleet attacking them had been a bad prospect as three against thirty-five or more ships along with their mobile suits wouldn't end well. But now, Federation mobile suits were fighting OMNI's Daggers taking attention off their mobile suits. The six enemy Gundams were problematic enough without being swarmed by Dagger suits. Some of the Federation's suits did come over to the Archangel and her allies to help them fend off OMNI forces. The Astrays that were working hard to protect the Kusanagi and their allies were being pushed back by the Daggers.

Asagi was trying to hold off two Strike Daggers that were trying to get past her to attack the Kusanagi. She saw another Dagger rushing at her as she defended herself against the other two. Asagi couldn't evade it in time, and she realized she was about to die. However, the next moment, a white machine got between her and the Dagger that had been about to kill her. One of the other two Daggers was struck and forced back, leaving the one Dagger for Asagi to deal with. She surged forward and stabbed the Strike Dagger before moving back away from the explosion. Asagi glanced at those who had saved her from death and looked at what appeared to be mobile suits with the same coloration as Federation space fighters. "M1 Astray pilot," a voice said over the radio, "Are you alright?" Asagi took a moment to steady her breathing before she pushed a button to connect to the com channel. "Yes, I'm okay, thank you for the help."

Federation forces were quickly pushing OMNI onto the defensive by attacking them and reinforcing their allies. Five teams reestablished a defensive line for the Archangel, Kusanagi, and the Eternal. The rest of the space fleet was working on taking down the Third Orbital and was doing an efficient job. Murrue couldn't help but feel a tad horrified by how the Federation "whipped" OMNI's Orbital Fleets. There had been stories about the Federation's power and strength, but it was another thing to see it. The expectations had been grim with OMNI's top brass when they went against the Federation, but this was worse than anything Murrue had heard.

At the same time, Tyler ended up fighting the Sinister when he returned to help his friends. And the blue machine was more intent on destroying the Aurora than it had been at the end of the last encounter. The Sinister kept Tyler on his toes and kept his attention, making him unable to do much to help his allies. Lafter was doing her utmost to destroy the red meanie that had beaten her in the last battle with it. She would get payback and prove to her mama that no opponent could get the best of her in the end. Lafter would help her sisters once she was done with the read meanie. But as Lafter was making some progress with the meanie, the Raider popped up and attacked the Aurora. She wasn't pleased that one of the boys had appeared and was interfering. No, it was more than that, the guy was trying to take away Lafter's chance at payback. However, before Lafter could snap at the boy and then deal out punishment to him, two more enemies joined the Gundam fight.

Lisa had seen the fight of Gundams and even spotted the Aurora in the mix. She had been concerned when Tyler had gone off on his own to the PLANTs. And it wasn't that Lisa thought he would fail or die, Tyler was too stubborn to let that happen easily. It was more an expectation of Tyler after he went off was him pulling off a rescue and escape for his pink-haired friend. To find him in a fight with OMNI's Gundams was easily feasible in Lisa's mind. She didn't like seeing Tyler fight some of the same enemies they had encountered back during the fight to defend the Republic. It was clear that the pilot of the blue Gundam had become "obsessed," for lack of a better term, with taking out the Aurora. Obsessive-driven pilots were dangerous as they tended to have a narrow focus on their obsession and ignored most else. That normally brought violent and/or erratic behavior in the affected pilot. So, Lisa moved forward, both her Spatter-fire rifles in hand, she aimed the Sinister.

Lafter was attacking the Aurora but was interrupted by shots hitting her, sending her tumbling a short distance from her target. It took her a moment to the right of the Sinister before she scanned around to find who it was that was foolish enough to get in her way. What met her gaze was a blue and white mobile suit with similar features to the machines she and her sisters used. It had two rifles in its hands as it kept heading her way, saying the newbie was the one who interrupted. Rage coursed through Lafter at another, cheating her out of her payback. Her focus moved from the Aurora to the Athena, rushing at Lisa and shooting her beam cannon.

Lisa evaded the shot and attacked with her rifles though her opponent weaved out the way. The Sinister took out its anti-ship sword before closing the distance between it and the Athena. Lisa had to throw her controls to the right to avoid the vertical slice made by the Sinister. She put one of her rifles away and took out the Athena's Halzer lance, expanding it for use. Lisa ignited the beam lance and swung it forward, forcing the Sinister to draw back. Lafter gritted her teeth after having to back up to avoid an attack from the beam blade on a pole her enemy had pulled out. And when Lafter used her sword, the pole didn't get cut in half because it seemed to have something to stop beams.

Tyler was happy to see the Athena and appreciated the save that Lisa had given him. His opponent had been pushing against him, not giving him much opportunity to counter them. With the Athena here, it changed the odds to five vs. six, or rather six vs. six with the Thanatos, as Tyler suspected was somewhere. And if the thought was some sort of signal, the Thanatos appeared and got into a fight with the Bandit. Tyler glanced around to take in the battle and the suit match-ups that were on currently. The Regenerate was battling the Raptor while the Justice was dancing with the Calamity. The Freedom was fighting the Raider and the Forbidden at the same time. Tyler headed over to where the Freedom was going against the two enemy Gundams. He slammed into the Forbidden with a classic move from Tyler's playbook, a shield bash. He kept in mind that of these six enemies had two different styles of fighting which differed from one another. Three worked more as a team against their opponents, while the others worked separately. The team pilots were all females, as far as Tyler had been able to figure, and watched after each other's backs. The other team couldn't care less about one another, and their only concern was themselves.

The Bandit shoved back the blue mobile suit that had popped up a short time ago. And had a moment to take in the battlefield as it had changed from what it had been. Deborah was not in the best mood as she and her sisters had come to bail out the boys. If it weren't for their mother's orders, Deborah would've said to let the boys learn a hard lesson about selfishness. The boys were ridiculous since they got themselves into trouble far more often than it earned them praise from those that mattered. They were being erratic, attacking their opponents wildly without regard of what happened to those around them. It made the job she and her sisters were trying to do much harder and frustrated her. It was a wonder the boys were even still a trio and hadn't been reallocated to different trios already. Her control had gotten Deborah the leadership position in the trio that was her and her sisters. But at the moment, that control was being tested by the boys screwing up and fighting each other as much as the enemy.

The male trio that had Clotho, Shani, and Orga were famous or rather infamous among the Boosted Man part of the Enhanced Human Project. They were known as the trio that blasted through tasks given them, leaving a serious mess behind. Any that were unfortunately assigned on the same task was normally injured by the end. The cause tended to be either friendly fire or something that resulted from the boys' actions. It was the reason none wanted to work with the boys if there was a choice. It was an unspoken agreement among the candidates that the boys were to be avoided the best possible.

And as the fight between the twelve Gundams kept going, it was easier to see the fight's direction. Deborah could tell they would lose given time, and the signs were plain to see. She and her sisters' efforts wouldn't make enough difference to change the fight's results. Their opponents worked together, switching up who they faced, pushing them back, and wearing them down. Something about the enemy machines gave them better operation time than those from Lodonia.

After another rotation of opponents, Clotho found himself facing the red machine he'd been beaten by the last time. He had no issue going against the Aurora as he had a score to settle with this enemy. Thus, Clotho attacked, trying to get a hit on his opponent to prove he could strike against this "strong" enemy. Yet, this enemy was evading and weaving out of the way of each attack Clotho made against them. The red unit had interrupted Clotho in the last encounter, disabling one of the targets they were to bring in. It had butted into the business it shouldn't the last time and ended up making Clotho and the other two in his trio through pain. The pain they had experienced had been far worse than the lecture they had gotten following the failure. It was the motivation Clotho had to get proof he could get results and prove he had value to the heads of the project.

At the same time, Shani, who had moved onto the Freedom when the opponent switched up was slashing at the Freedom. He was laughing manically as he slashed away, but that didn't last long as Shani kept missing. His laughter morphed into angry snarling as the Freedom danced out of the way of the Forbidden's scythe. The punishment that Shani, Clotho, and Orga had endured hadn't been nice or pleasant in any way. He knew, like the others, that if they achieved nothing in this skirmish, the punishments would be worse than the last experience. That motivated all three of them not to fail and at least get something out of this fight. Damaging one or more of the suits, destroying one or more was the goal efforts were being put in for. They were specifically to bring at least one machine with its torso section intact, but that's all they were told. If they could do one or more of them, they would have results to show for and wouldn't be punished.

Orga was attacking the Athena, firing off his cannons, attempting to score a hit or even get a piece off the machine. He hadn't forgotten the instructions he and the others had been given for the fight. But they only needed to take one with the torso intact, meaning they could destroy the rest, and no punishment should come their way. Orga didn't like that the Star Girls had appeared and were "helping" them in their task. The Galiena sisters would get praised by Dr. Moss regardless of how things would end, they always did. It was one of the reasons candidates at Lodonia disliked the Galiena sisters besides being compared to them. Yet, Orga lost focus on the stated goal as fighting the Athena became fun. His love of a challenge getting the better of Orga, and he lost himself in the fight.

Lafter swung her long anti-ship sword at the Justice to cleave it in two. She wanted to get back to fighting the red meanie and beat them to prove she had just been caught off guard. Lafter would show her mama that she could beat any machine given enough of a chance to fight them. Yet, even with all her efforts to earn praise from her mama, Lafter's opponent kept weaving out of the path of her blade. It frustrated Lafter as her mama had said timing in this was important. She had said the quicker Lafter and her sisters could complete the task, the better it would be.

Rossweisse was going against the purple mobile suit with the most recent changing up of opponents. She thought all she would have to do was shoot the machine down, and then she could move on to doing other things. Thus, Rossweisse used the Raptor's six cannons and the 337mm plasma-sabot bazooka she had been given for this assignment. The majority of enemies before had fallen to Rossweisse's trapping and blasting tactic she resorted to. Yet, this enemy wasn't getting trapped, so Rossweisse could blast them like others. It was odd to her, so she redoubled her efforts for the expected results. However, the second and third attempts were no different than the first. It was frustrating to Rossweisse that this machine wasn't following the pattern like other enemies before. She quickly lost her temper and began to attack the Regenerate more aggressively.

After a few minutes, Clotho's frustration and rage at the Aurora were coming to boiling point. Not one hit had been made, Clotho hadn't managed to get in a good successful strike against the red mobile suit. Hell, not even a nick or glancing blow had Clotho made on it after all his efforts. Enraged as he was becoming, Clotho sent the Raider's Mjolnir at the enemy mobile suit, to which the red suit evaded like the attacks before. Clotho just wanted to land one hit on this red suit that was a growing pain in the neck, and he would accept that for now. However, he commanded the Mjolnir to retract, and he received a jerk in response. When Clotho looked forward, he was shocked to see that the red suit had grabbed the cable attached to the Mjolnir to its launcher. None had done such a thing before now, and the Mjolnir would just hit the Raider's enemy.

Tyler, on the other hand, was done dancing around the idiot using weapons they shouldn't be around, let alone use. After dodging the mace weapon that the Raider had, Tyler was more than willing to take the opportunity presented. The Aurora grabbed the mace's cable and held onto it firmly so that once the cable started pulling the sphere back, it would stop and get the pilot's attention. Tyler even gave a good jerked so the Raider couldn't miss the action, so the pilot understood they were in trouble. He then tugged the cable hard to pull the other mobile suit into a spinning arc to screw over the Raider further. Tyler had decided to do what he had to the Blitz earlier this year when Creuset's team had been hunting down the Archangel. Using the cabled weapon to swing the connected machine around in a circle, confusing the pilot and making them panic. He would get to see how these "odd" pilots reacted under somewhat more extreme circumstances.

At the same time, while the fight between the Gundams was going on in earnest, the fight around the field continued. OMNI was losing pretty much on all fronts on the battlefield, both with the Gundams and the Daggers. The mobile suits from the Federation's First Fleet were mopping up the Alliance's Dagger suits, putting it nicely. It was embarrassing to see how much the Federation could still outdo OMNI regarding combat. That was added to with the Blitz, Buster, and Duel dispatching OMNI machines at a speedy pace. Then the Third Orbital was starting to be pressed back by the Federation fleet.

Back with the Raider, half a minute went by with Clotho being unable to do anything to counter its opponent. Clotho was pressed back into his seat, and alarms sounded in the cockpit. Nothing that Clotho did with the controls changed the situation he found himself in. His opponent was in complete command of his circumstances, and Clotho couldn't change it. Things only worsened when the Aurora let go of the cable, and the Raider sailed away, tumbling as it went. Clotho tried to stabilize his machine, but its momentum made it difficult. He cursed the red machine as he worked to get back in the fight, swearing vengeance, and payback on his enemy. The Raider began righting itself and getting out of the sailing tumble it was in. Tyler took the chance to bring out both its plasma cannons to use on this mobile suit and send it packing. Tyler aimed at the Raider, not at the torso as tempting as that was, and fired red beams at the suit.

Clotho had little time to evade the beams as alarms warned him of the incoming attack. One beam hit one of the Raider's legs, which quickly warped from the heat and power of the plasma beam and was ripped apart. Clotho knew he would get into trouble for the loss of a limb for the Raider, and it was an expectation. The other beam struck the Raider's shield and pushed the suit back a bit. Clotho knew if he didn't move and sacrifice the shield, he could take a worse hit which would cost the right arm. So, he had the Raider detach the shield and moved to the left. The shield appeared to block the beam for a moment, but then the plasma beam melted past the anti-beam coating and ripped through the rest of the shield, destroying it. Clotho finished righting the Raider, looked back at where the shield had been moments ago, and then down at the missing leg section. Clotho was breathing hard, his eyes wide as he kept staring at where parts of his mobile suit were now missing. Clotho realized just how close he got to dying from that last attack. The red mobile suit had been the most aggravating out of these mobile suits they were fighting. But with the two cannons that it had, it had just about killed him. Instead, it had taken parts of his mobile suit, which he would be punished for by others.

Then as Clotho looked down at the display screens for his suit's vital systems, it only worsened matters. Upon looking down at the screens, Clotho saw that they were low, and he would need to go and resupply soon or die. He was trying to think of what to do to get away from this machine so he could go and resupply. Clotho would come back to finish the job and take down the red machine, that was a promise. But then, there came a voice that scared Clotho more than any other, "Clotho Buer, Shani Andras, Orga Sabnak." Clotho stiffened at hearing the cold voice of Mina Moss calling out his and the other two by name, "Doctor Moss," he whispered, tones of fear clear.

Yes, with the appearance of the Raptor, the Sinister, and the Bandit, Clotho knew there was a good chance that Dr. Moss was around. The woman that was the head of Lodonia always traveled with the "star girls" since they were her "perfect" trio. But with the facts he knew, Clotho had hoped Dr. Moss hadn't been here. That's how scared Clotho was of the woman; he wasn't the only one who felt that way about her. Both Shani and Orga feared the head of Lodonia labs as much as he did, it was one of the things they had in common. Most candidates feared the head of Lodonia labs because they all understood that she could make life beyond miserable and the worst kind of living hell possible and not kill you!

Mina had been watching this battlefield from the Agamemnon she was on since the Third Orbital Fleet had arrived on site. The fight was going much as the skirmishes between OMNI and the Federation had gone before now. The difference in this from the attacks on the Republic and Orb was the Federation's Space Fleet had come. By its appearance, Mina assumed it had been hunting/tracking down the Third Orbital. It was a logical response for the Federation to hunt down OMNI's Orbital Fleets from what Mina could figure. Those leading OMNI weren't working together, and it was hurting them. Their so-called cause would fail with how things were going lately as the Alliance leaders weren't addressing the foolish decisions and consequences.

Mina hoped Lori managed to make a deal with the Federation or ZAFT quickly but also effectively. The sooner the Enhanced Human Project could leave the Alliance, the better chance it would have to survive. This battle was just enforcing Mina's understanding of how some were so blind that they were willing to throw away quality work without thought. The male trio's performance was suffering with how Azrael was pushing them. The handling team she had assigned was clearly having difficulty doing the expected tasks. Her girls were helping, but it wasn't enough to tip the balance anymore. The Federation fleet had essentially weighed the scales of this battle to bang down for the Federation's and its allies' side. It was to the point that it was clear to Mina the Third Orbital would be lost in the end. Thus, Mina had told the Agamemnon's captain to separate from the fleet and head towards the Dominion.

As the ship Mina was on drew closer toward the Dominion, she could see the enemy units were beating the Gundams. So, it would be best for the Gundams to fall back now instead of continuing in the battle they were losing. The boy would listen to her above all others, even Azrael, due to their conditioning. Her girls would understand the fallback order without being addressed directly. The boys weren't as attentive, so they had to be told what to do specifically with simple instructions for it to be effective. "The three of you are to return to the ship you are assigned to immediately," Mina stated clearly, "this fight is decided and is done, now go."

At hearing Dr. Moss's voice, Clotho pulled back and headed towards the Dominion without further thought. He didn't want Dr. Moss's wrath, which came from disobeying her instructions. Shani had paused when he'd heard Dr. Moss speaking more out of engrained habit than anything else. There was the normal fear that shot through Shani hearing Dr. Moss, much as any candidate would have. So, he did as she said to without question and headed back to the Dominion. Orga quickly followed his trio mates as he didn't want Dr. Moss's wrath any more than they did. There was the chance Dr. Moss would give them another chance to fight the enemies they had failed against.

At the same time, Flay was inside a ZAFT life pod, wondering what would happen to her. The ZAFT group was moving toward the side of the colony where the fighting was taking place. Flay's thoughts returned to what Creuset had said to her before she'd been sent to a life pod. He mentioned he had the key to ending the war, and it seemed to reference the disk he had been holding. She had no idea what could stop the war as it was evolving. According to rumors, the Federation had apparently mobilized and were cutting down OMNI's space forces. She'd heard that the Nazcas she was with were supposed to be looking into a ship being stolen. However, Flay had started to suspect there was more to ZAFT's mission to the L4 Colony Cluster than that. The whispers around the Vesalius had been troubling to her as they had been about the ship they were chasing and another thing. It wasn't the ship that worried Flay; it was the other thing that had been ZAFT soldiers questioning their "Defense Committee" and their orders. Being on a ZAFT vessel had felt odd not because it was an "enemy vessel" but because the feeling of uncertainty was close to the same. And the soldiers seem to be having a hard time with uncertainty about their orders and leaders.

Nevertheless, her leaving the Vesalius did allow getting back to the Archangel. From what the ZAFT crew said, the ship was in the colony cluster, supposedly with the ship they were chasing. Reports noted that the Eternal as the target was being referred to as was with an Orb vessel and the Archangel. Whatever this key she'd been given was, she was sure it could be used best by those on the Archangel. Plus, she could return to her friends and miss them a lot. If any knew what to do, they would, and Flay held to that hope as the pod floated along. She listened to the chatter that was coming over the radio the life-pod had though she didn't recognize any of the voices. Flay listened hard for any voices she might know, whether it was Captain Murrue or even Kira. Around a minute, she heard Kira's voice, which gave Flay hope she could get back to her friends. Flay moved forward and activated the communicator, "Kira, please help me," she called.

Kira wasn't the only one to hear Flay's voice and pause. It was shocking to Kira to hear Flay's voice as she disappeared before ZAFT's attack on JOSH-A. He looked down at his sensor display and found the com-signal was coming from a small object from Mendel's shadow. The object, upon a zoomed-in view appeared to be a ZAFT life-pod which didn't make sense with facts as they were. The ZAFT force was on the other side of Mendel and hadn't moved by what Kira had heard. The trio of ZAFT vessels would be in trouble if they came as the Federation was here in force and would have a little problem beating them. And besides that point, Flay being with ZAFT made less sense than ZAFT interfering with the Federation exterminating OMNI's Orbital Fleets.

Lacus also paused at hearing Flay's voice over the Regenerate's radio. As far as she knew, Flay was separate from the Archangel at JOSH-A. That was what Kira had told her during their catchup session; there had been no news about the girl. So, for her to appear in a ZAFT life-pod didn't fit as Flay hadn't been around ZAFT that Lacus knew. She was calling for help which mattered since she was a member of the Archangel's crew before now. But with enemy forces on the battlefield, that could not be easy to manage. But before any could act, Flay spoke again, "I have something that can end this war for good."

Tyler's intuition told him that whatever was being referred to as something which could end the war could be very dangerous in the wrong hands. And with Tyler suspecting Creuset was the rat he'd seen likely around the colony cluster, the possibilities didn't sit well with Tyler at all. A worrisome possibility was Creuset having specs for the N-jammer Canceller, which would be a prime opportunity to give to one such as Azrael. Tyler spotted the Freedom rushing forward toward the life pod, and he moved to follow, shifting the Aurora into its flight mode. Kira was blocked by Forbidden though the Aurora barrel-rolled out of the way and kept going forward. Lacus had also surged ahead toward the life-pod but was stopped by the Raider. Tyler was forced to evade the block to see the Calamity picking up the pod. Tyler lined up his plasma cannons on the enemy suit and fired at the Calamity.

Orga had grabbed the pod, hoping the trouble he and the other two were going through would be worth a reward. However, he didn't get far when beams came at him, and Orga barely had time to move so the Calamity's torso wouldn't get hit. Yet, an alarm brought his attention to the forward display, and he found the Calamity had just gotten its legs below the knees blasted off. Glancing back, Orga saw the red machine still heading for him and locked its guns onto him. The Aurora was charging its cannons up again, but before it could take another shot, the Sinister dove down and stuck the machine. Tyler was forced to stabilize the Aurora after the blow from above. By the time he managed to level off the Aurora, Tyler had seen the Calamity was making it to the Dominion. Tyler aimed the Dominion, but radio chatter said his allies were having difficulty.

For a moment, Tyler considered pulling the trigger for his plasma cannons and destroying the Calamity and the part of the Dominion it was on. Should Tyler do it, he would take care of whatever potentially dangerous information Flay was carrying. However, he would kill her in the process, which had its own consequences. He knew how much his friends cared about the girl, so killing her was to be avoided. Yet, if Azrael got ahold of whatever info she had, Tyler felt it would make everything worse. His finger was starting to squeeze the trigger for his plasma cannons, but then the image of his friends hurt looks flashed into his mind. Tyler yanked his flight controls back to have the Aurora swing upward and have its cannons point at the Raptor just before the cannons fired. Rosswessie had been attacking the Justice when a warning alarm began going off. She didn't have time to move when the beams came her way, and her left shoulder cannons were destroyed. Rosswessie was going to retaliate, but orders to retreat came, and she and her sisters pulled back.

Athrun glanced down at the Aurora that had just helped him, then back at the retreating Gundams. The battle was coming to a close, and things had ended okay, but not as hoped when it started. The Federation was mopping up the remains of OMNI's Third Orbital, and ZAFT was also falling back. But an Agamemnon-class and the Dominion were running away, and the Federation wasn't pursuing them actively. So the ship they had been fighting against had escaped, and they were alive. It should be seen as a victory, but something in Athrun told him it was anything but a victory, yet he couldn't place why. The recall order came, and all mobile suits returned to their assigned ships.

On the Dominion, Natarle was being told by Mark the suits had returned to the ship. It was best that the Dominion retreated so it could be repaired and fight another day. The battle was over, and the Third Orbital was going to fall, there was no way to prevent or stop that result. Any chance at capturing the targets that the director wanted was long gone. It was time for OMNI to cut their losses and move on in this battle. Thus, Natarle faced forward, "Helm, plot a course for Ptolemaeus, put as much speed on as you can, keeping the ship from damaging itself further." She was about to give out orders to others, but Azrael interrupted, "I beg your pardon, Miss Captain," he stated firmly. "We have not gotten what we're here for, we are not leaving until we do."

Something in Natarle snapped at Azrael's statement, and her firm discipline and control went out the window. Natarle had lost her temper with Tyler a few times, but even then, she wasn't as mad as she was now. The man who was seen as a VIP for the Dominion was just a guest on the ship, not its commander. Director Azrael had been acting as if he ran this, and she was nothing more than a maid for him. Natarle had enough of being told what her ship was to do, that was her right, and she wouldn't let another do that. She snapped around to glare at the man who was giving orders to her, "Director Azrael," she growled, "You are not the captain of this ship, so you are not the one giving orders to the crew. In combat situations, I have command, so I give orders of what will be done, not you!" Natarle took a breath and continued, "If you can't stay quiet and let me do my duties, then I will have you removed from the bridge and confine you to quarters."

Azrael blinked at what the woman had just said to him. She was to do what he told her, nothing more or less than that. Her orders may not say that specifically, but that was essentially what they meant. "You are to do what I suggest, Miss Captain, that is what your orders are saying," he returned flatly. "If you haven't figured that out, it isn't my issue, but we are not leaving without something to show for the efforts."

Natarle wouldn't take crap from Azrael right now, not with the Dominion in a critical state and in danger. Natarle pushed a button on her chair, and a moment later, two soldiers entered the bridge, "You called for us, captain," one of them greeted. Natarle turned to the soldiers and jabbed a finger at Azrael, "Get this man off my bridge," she stated clearly. Azrael began protesting, but Natarle shouted over him, "Get him off my bridge and escort him to his quarters. He is not to leave it until we are at a safe distance from the fighting!"

The soldiers nodded and dragged Azrael off the bridge, leaving it silent. Natarle had to control her breathing with the anger she felt regarding Azrael. She sank back to her chair and put a hand to her temple, letting the irritation fade. The silence remained until Mark came out of the CIC, "If I might speak freely, Captain," he started. Natarle turned to her second-in-command and nodded tiredly for him to continue. Mark glanced around the bridge for a moment and kept going, "I think I speak for all of us on the bridge crew when I say thank you for getting the director off the bridge. He had been more a hindrance than anything else and is partly at fault for us being in the situation we are in right now." Mark paused for a moment, "I have wanted to kick him off since the first battle in this, but it is your prerogative." Natarle was surprised that all on the bridge agreed with her regarding Azrael. At least they didn't hold her reaction against her as she thought they might.

With the battle pretty down, the Gundams returned to their respective ships. When Athrun came out of the Justice, he glanced over the Aurora as he intended to thank Tyler for the assist at the end. However, when he saw Tyler's face, Athrun could see something was seriously bugging Tyler. He floated over and touched Tyler's shoulder, "Hey, Tye," Athrun began, "What's troubling you? You appear to be put out about something."

Tyler's right hand clenched harder at the question Athrun asked him. Tyler had choked at the last moment and had blown his chance to prevent further horror, or so he believed. Now Azrael had whatever Creuset wanted him to, which would make the war worse than it already was. And why did Tyler fall short when it counted? Because he couldn't bring himself to shoot someone his friends cared about, even if it was for the best. "I blew it," Tyler growled softly, "I couldn't do what should've been done twice."

Athrun blinked, "What are you talking about," he questioned.

Tyler twisted to gaze at his friend, and Athrun was even more worried about Tyler seeing the angry expression on his face. Tyler was mad about something, and it was tearing him up, which was odd as Tyler didn't get so about a great deal. "I had the chance to dispatch a war criminal, and I didn't do it," Tyler cursed. His breathing showed that Tyler was frustrated with himself. "And now the Alliance had dangerous information they will use to make the war worse. All because I didn't have the heart to shoot and kill one to save many lives and face friends who end out hating me for taking the shot."

Athrun could see Tyler beating himself up about not taking down this war criminal he was referring to. He didn't blame Tyler for being mad, war criminals were dangerous and needed to be dealt with. But Tyler had tried, and the individual had slipped away, circumstances had played in favor of this criminal. He shouldn't be blaming himself for what happened as it was outside his control enough that it had ended badly. Thus, Athrun grabbed Tyler's shoulders, "You can't blame yourself, things just didn't work out this time," Athrun reasoned. "When the opportunity comes up again, we will do the job, and you won't be alone in the task." Tyler shook his head, "The punk is one of those who caused the Bloody Valentine, Athrun," Tyler snapped back. "And he got away and will cause more unnecessary death!"

Athrun was stunned into silence at Tyler's statement. For Tyler to say that one of the Dominion was deeply involved in the Bloody Valentine was ridiculous, but his expression said it was the truth. If such an individual was alive and free, Athrun could understand Tyler's concern and even his fury. That the Alliance was protecting the criminal wasn't a surprise but was also infuriating. The part Tyler had said about dangerous information echoed Athrun's worries about the battle not being a victory. He couldn't think of anything to say to Tyler to help him not blame himself.

Meanwhile, the Dominion and the Agamemnon sailing alongside it were heading toward Lunar HQ. The mood on both ships was low at the recent loss they had experienced at the colony cluster. The Federation had destroyed the Third Orbital while they were escaping from Lagrange 4. Natarle had left the Dominion's bridge and headed toward the hangar to see Flay in the life pod. Her thoughts weren't good while traveling since they kept returning to the battle. The Dominion had lost with how Tyler had disabled it, and if not for the Third Orbital, the teen would've destroyed this ship. By reports, the mobile suits were not doing the best, having taken damage from the fight. The Calamity had its legs shot off by Tyler's machine, and for a moment, Natarle believed Tyler would shoot the machine while it had been coming into the Dominion's hangar.

Then there were the things Flay had said over the open com-channel, which made Natarle think. Flay had said she had something about having an object or something that could end the war. Natarle couldn't think of a single thing that could end the ongoing war. It had been going for more than five years without a sign of it any closer to a conclusion. And with those like Azrael, Natarle couldn't see an end coming until ZAFT was destroyed. She wasn't convinced that the destruction of ZAFT would be enough, the Alliance would turn to the Federation. That was assuming OMNI wasn't wiped out first by the Federation. And with how things were going lately, that was more likely than OMNI beating ZAFT.

Flay wasn't the only reason Natarle was heading down to the Dominion's hangar, for she wouldn't be the only "guest" on the ship soon enough. From what Mark had said, there was a party from the Agamemnon, but little more information. Mark had said the party would be coming on two Gundams the Agamemnon carried. If those coming from the Agamemnon had anything to do with the other Gundam pilots, then Natarle would have some words for them. The teens that were the Dominion's pilot hadn't been the best. Honestly, they made Tyler's lack of attention almost acceptable which was saying something.

When Natarle arrived in the hangar, she found the ship's mechanics were working on various tasks. Some were working on the three Gundam types, and as Natarle scanned them over, she was a tad shocked. The Raider and the Forbidden had minor damage spread over them, so it would be simple to repair. On the other hand, the Calamity was missing the lower halves of its legs and other minor damage. Another group of mechanics was working on opening the ZAFT life-pod in the middle of the hangar. Natarle floated over to the pod and asked one of the mechanics about the progress of opening the pod. She was told they were halfway through the pod's ZAFT command program, and it would just be a few more minutes. Natarle waited, and true to their word, there was a hiss minutes later, and the pod's hatch swung open. When Natarle looked inside, she found Flay sitting in a ZAFT spacesuit, worried about what was going on.

Once the hatch was opened, Flay saw what appeared to be the Archangel's hangar. Natarle's face appeared, giving hope that Flay had made it back to the Archangel as she'd hoped. However, when she came out of the pod and looked around the hangar, her hope faltered that she was on the Archangel. There were three unknown mobile suits in docks but none of those the Archangel had to work with. The more Flay took in, the surer she became she wasn't on the Archangel but a similar ship. So, Flay ended out looking at Natarle, "What's going on," she asked a tad nervously.

Natarle smiled the best she could, "Are you alright, Flay," she asked. "Coming out of that pod, I can only assume that ZAFT held you for a time. I can only imagine what you could have gone through while they with them."

Flay's time with ZAFT hadn't been that bad, and none had harassed her while on the Vesalius. She had more been an "assistant" to Creuset more than anything else. Flay had gotten odd looks, but she had gotten used to those rather quickly. What had Flay wondering what was going on was Natarle being here. The last she knew, Natarle was supposed to have boarded a sub that would take her to be deployed elsewhere. So, what were the chances of her crossing paths at this point and not being on the Archangel? In the end, Flay nodded, "Yes, I'm fine," she replied before she glanced around again. "Where is this? It looks like the Archangel, but none of the machines here are ones I recognize."

"You are on board the Archangel-class vessel Dominion," Natarle stated, "I'm the captain of this ship, so you can be at ease." Natarle paused, considering whether to tell Flay that the Dominion's mission was to hunt the Archangel and sink her. She decided not to say that fact right now and moved on to what Flay had said while in the pod. "You said something about having something that could end the war, what did you mean?"

Flay took out the disk Creuset had given her and looked at it again. The masked man had said it could end the war, but little else other than if it stayed with him, it would do nothing. The explanation hadn't made the most sense to her. Flay just understood that whatever was on the disk could be used to bring the war to an end. So, she showed the disk to Natarle, "This disk has information that can end the war," she said. Flay hesitated, "I don't know what it is, but I think it's important."

Natarle took the disk from Flay and studied it curiously, wondering what could be on it. The disk was a simple storage device that could be obtained anywhere and used for various functions these days. The other thing that somewhat concerned Natarle was she implied the disk was given to her by ZAFT. Natarle could think of no reason for ZAFT to hand information to a girl that would be going back to the Alliance. At least, she could come up with no valid or valuable info that ZAFT would willingly give the Alliance. Thus, Natarle could only scratch her head at what the disk could contain to end the war possibly. She would still look over the data on the disk and judge the information's worth in a little while. So, Natarle pocketed the disk, got a crew member's attention, and had them guide Flay to a set of quarters.

Once Flay was shown out, Natarle went over to confer ship status with the chief mechanic. The damage reports hadn't spelled a good picture, and that had been without the details. And the "details" the chief mechanic gave her about the Dominion's status didn't make Natarle feel any better. She had to admit, Tyler did a heck of a number on his ship, no other way to honestly say what the teen had done. As Tyler had said, the Dominion would need an overhaul to get her back to proper working order, which would be done at Ptolemaeus lunar base. The Dominion's maintenance and mechanic crew were doing an outstanding job keeping the ship going. Natarle was finding those who made up the Dominion's crew were good people and worked hard.

Natarle was floating toward the hangar's entrance to go and check the disk's contents when the air-tight shutters opened from the catapults. She stopped and watched two Gundam-types enter the hangar and move to docks. One of the suits seemed almost identical to the Raider but had different equipment. The other sort of looked like the Duel but like the other had different equipment. Once the Raider-like unit was in a dock, the cockpit hatch opened, and out stepped a woman that Natarle had never seen before. The woman looked ordinary enough with a white doctor's coat and a black shirt under that. However, as Natarle approached her ship's guest, she spotted the woman's expression on her face. The expression told of irritation and frustration, of what Natarle couldn't say. If it weren't for the look on the woman's face, Natarle would admit she was quite beautiful. Yet, the facial expression shattered any thought of beauty of the woman with how it clashed. Nothing had been said about the "guest" the Dominion was supposed to receive from the Agamemnon. Azrael had just said the one coming would be "taking care" of the Gundam pilots. What "taking care" of involved, Natarle couldn't begin to guess, but that it had been stated as it had didn't give good connotations.

Mina had exited the Bandit once it was in a dock and ignored most in the ship's hangar. She wasn't in a good mood with recent events which Azrael had been pushing for. The recent battle had almost cost one of the male trio's life. If Orga had died, all the work that had been put into him would have been wasted, which was years of work. And from what one of the handle team had mentioned to her, Azrael had further messed with her work. Apparently, Azrael had threatened her handler team and made them withhold drug doses for the male trio. With that in mind, Mina couldn't really blame the handling team as Azrael used fear more than she did. However, it still left a problematic mess for Mina to deal with, which was one of the reasons she had against Azrael, and the list was growing. Thus, the sooner Mina could "check in" with the ship's captain, the quicker she could get to managing the issue. If there were problems with the crew, Mina would have Lafter with her to handle things. Deborah would stay in the hangar to watch over the machine and keep an eye on things there.

Mina spotted a woman in OMNI's white officer uniform with red on the shoulders denoting bridge officers. Mina put out a hand to tell Deborah and Lafter to halt, and they obeyed the gesture. Natarle briefly glanced at the two girls, who appeared to be in their late teens, likely around Tyler's age. The older of the two seemed to be slightly taller than the other and had wavy orange hair. The other female had light brown hair styled in twin tails and was in a pilot suit like the other. There was some resemblance between the two, suggesting they could and were likely related to each other. Natarle got a similar feel from the girls as she had from the boys who had been piloting the three Gundams on the Dominion. The girls seemed to have better emotional control than the boys did. However, the girls' obedience was good to Natarle since most teens she'd encountered weren't so obedient. Mina folded her arms and drew Natarle's attention back to her, "You are the captain of this vessel, are you not," Mina posed.

Natarle was taken aback for a moment, not at the question but with the flat tone it was said in. It wasn't as bad as trying to talk with Director Azrael, as that was pointless in the end to attempt. Natarle didn't know what to think of the woman, but she could think of nothing else to do by an answer in the affirmative. "Yes, I am," Natarle answered, "Captain Natarle Badgiruel," she offered a hand to Mina, "welcome on board the Dominion, ma'am."

Mina gave Natarle a stern look in response to the introduction and welcome to the ship. Mina had no interest in niceties with OMNI officers, her bad experiences with their attempted control had ensured that. She was on this ship to make sure the male trio had the proper treatment, not to make nice or get to know the crew. So, Mina would set the terms as she wanted them. However, that didn't mean Mina wouldn't show the barest manners and give her own name. "My name is Mina Moss," she replied curtly.

Natarle had heard the name Mina though it took her a moment to recall where she'd heard it. Director Azrael had mentioned it almost in passing but hadn't gone into detail about the one the name belonged to. Natarle had even asked who the "Mina" was that the director referred to. The only reply Natarle had ever gotten was Mina was a woman that Azrael had as a "business acquaintance." Meeting the woman face to face didn't clear up any of the questions Natarle had about her. If anything, then it only produced more questions about who the woman was and why she would have any interaction with the director. To try and be gracious, Natarle bowed and gestured to the hangar's entrance, "Should you wish for a short tour," Natarle began.

Mina had no interest in seeing this ship, unique class though it was, she had better things to do with her time. Plus, it allowed the chance to encounter Azrael, and Mina wanted to avoid that if possible. And she would use this opportunity to set the terms in which she would be on this ship and the necessary interactions with its officers. Thus, Mina cut over Natarle, "Your offer is unnecessary as I don't see the interest in wasting time. Just have your crew mind their own business and not interfere with mine, don't bother me, and things will be fine. There is no reason for me to know your crew any more than there is a benefit of you trying to prostrate yourself with me. I have work to get to, which takes priority, so go about your business and let me get to mine." Mina twisted around to face her girls, "Deborah, you will stay here and keep an eye on the mobile suits. Lafter, you will be with me should something unexpected arise and needs to be handled."

Deborah nodded, "Understood, mom," she replied before turning back to the hangar's mobile suits and floating off to a corner. She would find a spot where she wouldn't be in the way but could still observe the work of the ship's mechanics. Deborah would have information should Mina ask about what repairs were done on the boys' machines. It would confirm to her that the boys were foolish and earned the punishments they would get. Their trio was better off dissolved, and the three were distributed to other groups to perform better. However, that wasn't up to Deborah, and her mother would decide the boys' fate.

Lafter smiled at being chosen to follow her mama as it said to her that mama trusted her. She was ready to do anything her mama needed, all she had to do was ask, and Lafter would do it. Even if it were to beat up some on this ship for stupidly messing with her mama's work, Lafter would make them regret their choice. So, Lafter nodded happily, "Coming, mama," she chirped, following Mina.

The two passed Natarle, and she couldn't help but stare at the pair but more at Mina as they exited the hangar. She couldn't quite make up her mind about what she thought of this Mina Moss woman. Mina had not just refused the offer Natarle made to be nice but had almost declined by an insult. The woman had essentially told Natarle to mind her own business and leave her alone to do whatever she was here to handle. And she'd never actually stated what she was here to do, which Natarle didn't like but hadn't countered. Natarle hadn't been giving much backlash to any since the Director had come onboard the ship, and she was regretting that lately. It made her more willing to deal with Tyler's normal frustrating antics, which was a worrisome sign to Natarle.

Mina quickly made her way to the ship's infirmary with Lafter right behind her. She didn't acknowledge the crew's reactions, drawing back as they passed. And moments after Mina entered the infirmary, all in the room turned to face her. The room temperature dipped when Mina entered, and all had gone silent. Mina strode forward to the leader of the handling team, "I assume you have given them doses quickly after I sent my message," she stated.

The man nodded nervously at the "question" like any other on the Enhanced Human Project feared Mina Moss. "Yes, Dr. Moss," he replied, "Though Director Azrael said they were to suffer before we gave them anything."

Mina frowned, holding back the curses that came to mind for her hearing Azrael was interfering with her work again. "Leave that fool to me," Mina returned, "You listen to my instructions first, and others second if they don't contradict mine." Mina glanced at the boys who were breathing slowly, laying on the beds, moving very little. "What is the damage with them?"

A woman held out a datapad to Mina, "They will need time to recover, but there doesn't seem to be any permanent damage done. The doses were administered in time to prevent that," the woman hesitated, "But they will need some work done to help their recovery properly."

Mina took the datapad and looked at the information, saying nothing in reply. The data stated much as what the female staff had said. The members of the male trio would need work for proper recovery to have their performance to be acceptable. It was good to find there had been no permanent damage due to Azrael's foolish demands. There were enough potential project issues without others gumming up the works. Instead of snarling about Azrael, Mina got the handling team to work and do what they could to get the boys ready in a reasonable amount of time. Mina had Lafter stand at the door and told her not to let any in unless she said to. While they worked, Mina's thoughts returned to the task she'd given to Lori about finding others who would take the project.

It was around ten minutes later the males were aware enough to be sent back to their quarters. Mina told them to go and reflect on their performance and how it could be improved given another opportunity. All three did as instructed, not wanting to have a repeat of what happened on the sea ship. And the mention of "given another opportunity" was hope for them of another chance to fight the units they had lost against. They didn't question why Dr. Moss could be in the bad mood she was, it wasn't directed at them, and that was all they wanted.

As that was going on, Natarle had made her way back to the bridge, which took a tad longer with a detour. Natarle had swung by to see how bad things were for the starboard side where the sledgehammer missile had hit. And what she found gave her a sick feeling in her stomach with the extent of the damage. The emergency bulkhead had been sealed to prevent the ship from looking breathable air. The walls showed shrapnel had been thrown with force from the explosion and the crimson stains said some of the crew had been caught by pieces. When Natarle brought up current structural data on the ship's area, she saw a gaping wound in the Dominion. It just added to the pain of the loss against Tyler the Dominion had suffered at his hands. She was grateful the emergency bulkheads had sealed when needed with the system troubles the Dominion had.

After seeing the damage, Natarle made the rest of the way to the bridge to see how long it would be for the Dominion to reach Ptolemaeus. The running repairs would help them reach lunar HQ, but the needed fixing would be done there. Even if Azrael demanded another attempt be made to get the machines he wanted, Natarle would put her foot down. Should that require confining the director to his quarters and locking them, she would have that done. Natarle had enough of Azrael's "suggestions," which he implied were orders she should follow. The man was a civilian, not a commanding officer. He would learn in combat situations, she had the final say and not him. Perhaps whatever was on the disk would satisfy the man enough to stay out of her hair for the rest of the time to lunar HQ.

Upon entering the bridge, she saw things were pretty much unchanged. The crew was working at their stations, doing what they could to keep the ship going. The pilot's hands were firmly on the helm to keep the ship moving forward at a measured pace. The co-pilot was working on keeping the ship stable and level so it wouldn't pivot since the gyro-stabilizer was too damaged to work. From what Natarle heard, the com-officer confirmed facts with the Agamemnon Damocles traveling alongside them. Mark was doing damage control down in the CIC, working with the maintenance crew. The only difference was Azrael had returned and was sitting in his chair, glancing around the bridge area every once and a while but saying nothing. She had him dragged to his given quarters and was supposed to stay there at least until the combat was over.

Azrael had been fuming at the failure of the second and first attempt to acquire the mobile suits he wanted. It was a denial of the chance at nuclear weapons the Alliance could've had in years. Nukes would certainly move the war toward an end that had been far away for the passing years of the war. The war as it stood was more a campaign of endurance, and the Alliance was slowly losing it. Mobile suits were making a difference, and Azrael hoped OMNI would eventually win against ZAFT. However, the Federation would then be the problem, and the recent attempts against them had shown the Alliance would do poorly against them. Nukes would be not just the way to end ZAFT but deal with the Federation as well. But the failure to acquire the machines that had a means around the N-jammers was a moot point. Once battle stations had been canceled, Azrael had returned to the bridge to find out what was happening. But little had changed in the current circumstances, much to his frustration. Yet, Azrael was drawn from his thoughts when the door to the bridge slid open. He glanced around and saw the captain had come back to the bridge. She had gone to see what was the deal with the ZAFT life-pod that had been brought onboard. So, as Natarle was floating toward the CIC, Azrael spoke up, "So, what did you find in the pod brought on the ship?"

Natarle faced the director, thinking about whether to give him the disk or look at it herself before doing so. The disk could contain anything, it could be dangerous or nothing of interest, there was no way of knowing without looking. So, Natarle would normally lean toward looking at the information in question herself first before handing it over to anyone else, just in case, it was dangerous. But with the irritation Natarle had been feeling with Azrael, if giving the disk to him would get him to shut up and leave her alone, it was tempting. "There was a girl inside the pod, she is being checked over to make sure she's okay," Natarle answered.

Azrael stared at Natarle, wondering what the woman was getting at. There had been something mentioned about a way to end the war. At least, that's what Azrael recalled hearing the com-officer saying to the captain. The idea had Azrael curious about what was being referred to as it could mean several things. "And did they have anything with them," Azrael questioned. "There was something said about a way to end the war. If the girl has something to that effect, the Alliance should know as soon as possible, and even you can understand that, Miss Captain."

Natarle figured giving him the disk wouldn't hurt if it got Azrael off her back. It would get him to leave the crew alone to work on keeping the Dominion together, and she would take that. So, she took out the disk Flay had given her and offered it to Azrael, "She had this with her," she replied.

Azrael took the disk and studied it for a moment trying to judge its value. It appeared to be a data storage disk that had been used for decades. There could be anything on the disk, and with no label, there was no hint of the contents. And that the disk was most likely from ZAFT, whatever it contained could help or hinder. And yet, the possible data on the disk was too tempting to just ignore it with it coming from the source it did. "And did the girl say anything as to what data might be on this disk?" Natarle shook her head, holding her tongue, and said nothing to the director. Azrael looked at the disk again before he put it in a pocket, "Well, let us hope whatever is on this disk is worth the loss of the Third Orbital Fleet," he said evenly. Azrael rose and left the bridge, too interested in what could be on the disk to wait to look at it later.

Once again, Natarle wondered why she didn't toss the man out of an airlock, as that was definitely a tempting idea. Dealing with the man wasn't the same as it had been handling Tyler's attitude and antics, but it certainly brought her many of the same feelings. The Director was a character, one that Natarle would prefer to do without if it were up to her. She sighed a few minutes after Azrael had exited the bridge, glad he was out of her hair for the time being. Over the next hour, Natarle got details on how bad things were for the Dominion, and it got tiring fast for her. The Dominion was running at forty-eight and fifty-three percent of its operational capacity with the damage it had incurred. The maintenance crew was doing an admirable job of keeping the ship going. It would take a little over sixteen hours for the Dominion to reach lunar HQ at its current cruising speed.

After getting a full report of the Dominion's state, Natarle went off to her quarters, leaving Mark in charge of things. Natarle hoped to get some sleep while the Dominion traveled along since she hadn't gotten much lately. The stress, among other things, had kept sleep from finding her from the outset from Ptolemaeus. But even as Natarle lay on her bed, sleep wouldn't embrace her as much as she wished it would. Her mind wouldn't stop churning about circumstances that had brought her where things stood. The hunting of the Archangel and then the things Murrue had claimed confused Natarle. Hunting the Archangel didn't feel right, there had to be more to why the ship and its crew had done what they had. Then the claims Murrue put forth were dangerous if they turned out to be true. If OMNI had attacked the Federation, the war would have become much more complicated for all factions. Yet, Natarle's thought processes were interrupted by a door knock. She looked to the door, wondering who would come calling since Mark was in charge. Natarle got up and went to the door, only to find the odd woman from before, Mina Moss.

Mina had called upon the ship's captain to address what had been happening. The woman seemed the good sort, and Mina didn't see a reason to make more enemies than she had currently. "My apologies for being brisk before," Mina greeted, "I had my reasons for doing so. But perhaps now, we can have a word between one another, without others listening in."

Natarle nodded, wondering what the woman could want to discuss. She stepped aside to let Mina in, closing the door to her quarters after Mina entered. Mina took the only other chair in the room while Natarle took the seat at the desk. "You said you had a reason for acting the way you did before, what did you mean," Natarle asked. "You seemed clear that you didn't want others bothering you with whatever your work is."

This ship's captain couldn't know what Mina had to deal with as of late. Mina hadn't really understood what Lori dealt with regularly before dealing with Azrael. She could feel slight pity for the captain with having to babysit the director and likely obey his whims. Azrael's attitude was nerve-grating for most, Mina would say, and so to have to shoulder that was harsh. Thus, Mina rolled her eyes which Natarle hadn't expected to see before Mina spoke. "Yes, let's just say I have some experience with the Alliance's illustrious Director Azrael. That experience tells me that I should never assume him to mind his own business and not stick his nose where it doesn't belong. That was my reason to get to work and check on the condition of the candidates on this ship as soon as possible."

Two things caught Natarle's interest in the few lines that Mina had just given. Those were that this woman had past experience of some kind with director Azrael and the term "candidates." The reference of experience made Natarle wonder how this woman could've crossed paths with Director Azrael. The man didn't spend time around just any crowd by what Natarle had heard about him. And Mina Moss didn't seem to be the type Azrael would normally be around on a regular basis. Then the term "candidates" was strange as it referred to a person but didn't give them the value of an individual in her mind. "When you say candidates, who are you referring to?" Natarle questioned, "I've heard nothing in reference to that term lately."

Mina shook her head slightly at the question as she should've expected it to come. Of course, Azrael wouldn't say anything about the male trio, like what they were and where they were from. The man had said he wasn't one to give "details" even when it would be far more helpful if he did. So, Mina sighed, "The pilots for the Calamity, Forbidden, and Raider. They are candidates that are being lent to Azrael, even if he says otherwise."

The "explanation" Mina gave did nothing to help sort the confusion that swam around Natarle's head. The only thing Natarle had gleaned was candidates were what this woman called the odd pilots that had come with Azrael. And once again, it brought to mind the bios that Natarle had read, of how they were classified as equipment rather than personnel. She got the same implication that Mina saw the boys in that same way, more than objects but not people. It made no sense, though the treatment of not being seen as people could contribute to the boys' behavior. "Okay, what kind of experience do you have with director Azrael?" asked Natarle.

Mina reflexively shuddered at the question as it brought up nasty memories of the frustrating man. As Lori had said, Azrael rubbed people around him in bad ways, and the man didn't seem to notice or care about the reactions. Mina tried to keep Azrael on a professional level, but the man-made that rather difficult. "That depends what you mean," Mina remarked, "if you're asking on a professional level, I know who he is and the kind of things he does, even some that aren't publicly known." Natarle understood this woman less and less the more she talked, as her explanations didn't help. It was clear that Mina Moss wasn't much of a people person, if at all from what Natarle could tell. Then, even some that aren't "publicly known" referring to Azrael's actions left Natarle to wonder what she meant. Tyler had called the director a war criminal before he'd attacked the Dominion. The teen hadn't stated any of the reasons why Azrael would be considered one, though. It made Natarle wonder if what Tyler said was true, then what the director had done.

Mina kept going, "On a personal level," she paused, "let's just say I don't like him much, and it's the same with him. I'm not here because I wish to be, but for the reason that Azrael "requested" for me to be. I wouldn't doubt that you have noticed that Muruta Azrael doesn't exactly see the world as it is. He comes off as someone that can't be wrong. If he says something can be done, it's not a matter of whether it is wise to do, but if he says to do it, you do it, no matter how much is lost doing so." Mina shrugged and gazed at Natarle, "Does that sound like the man you've been around?" Natarle couldn't deny the way that Mina had described Muruta Azrael was fairly accurate. She wouldn't say much to Azrael's face as she doubted he would take that nicely. But Natarle's frown seemed to answer Mina more than the silence did, "So, I'm right then," Mina finished. "My recommendation, just ignore the man when he's in his bouts of stupidity."

While that explained the potential relationship between Mina and the director, it didn't say much more. It gave no hint of what she was doing here other than Azrael telling her to be present. And she had mentioned some work had brought her here, which Natarle felt had something to do with the pilots on the Dominion. But beyond that, Natarle couldn't guess what the woman or the two girls that had been with her were here for. "What's your part in this, Mina Moss," Natarle asked. "You haven't explained why you have to be here, just that the director wanted you to be."

Mina shrugged, "I'm not a member of the Earth Alliance, Captain," she began. And Mina was glad not to be a part of the mess the Alliance had made for themselves, more so now than before. The Alliance had really screwed themselves with attacking the Federation. The response of the Federation had been swifter than Mina had expected it to be, and she had figured it would be long. Mina continued, "The work of my candidates and contribution to the construction of the six custom mobile suits being used is more a paid service to funders. As such, it is being used as grounds for testing that normally is difficult to replicate in a lab. One would have to be a fool to say no to such an opportunity when it comes around. For me, the three candidates on your ship and the two with me represent an invested interest that has had years of work put in." Mina stopped frowning for a moment at the thought of Azrael's care for her work, as shown by his attitude. "Azrael couldn't care less about the work expended, as long as they can get him what he wants, thus, they're "expendable." I would bet that most are like that to Muruta Azrael, either you help him, or you are against him."

That was all Natarle got, the conversation ended, and Mina left, to where Natarle couldn't say. But the chat had left Natarle, with even more to think about than before, and she didn't know what to do going forward. She could see what Mina meant by Azrael didn't care about those around him, if they could get him his goal, he would use them. Natarle had personal experience in that now, as he had been willing to sacrifice her ship and crew for his goal. It made her consider something she'd never thought about before now. How many in the Alliance were like Azrael? Sutherland could easily be like that, and Natarle would believe it if another made a claim. What worried Natarle was if there were enough like Azrael and Sutherland, it would doom the Alliance to fall.

While that was going on, Azrael had been going through the data on the disk that Natarle had given him. The security scan had been annoying, but the ship's systems wouldn't let the data be viewed if the scan wasn't done. It had been because the system detected a ZAFT signature on it, so it had to be checked. Once he had gotten to the data, it took a long moment of glancing it over for Azrael to begin to understand what he had. He read over the file twice to ensure he didn't see things. The file, titled "Neutron Jammer Canceller," instantly caught Azrael's attention. As he looked over the file, he became elated as it was more than he could've wished for from this venture. The device would make nuclear weapons feasible, and mass production would quickly follow. The file would also more than likely serve as an apology for the mess with which the Federation Azrael would be blamed.

Once nuclear technology was made possible again, the Alliance would have a real chance at ending the war. The others on the council would understand when they saw the file Azrael now had. It was almost as good as that stranger calling themselves Creuset had given Azrael the info on ZAFT's real target for their strike operation. That had been a gamble, much as this venture had been, but both had paid off in the end. And with nuclear weapons, the war would come to a swift end both with ZAFT and the Federation. When the PLANTs were gone, ZAFT would quickly follow. Then OMNI could move on to the Federation and bomb them till they gave up and fell into line. Using nuclear weapons to end the conflict would've happened years ago if ZAFT hadn't managed to drop the N-jammers. OMNI Orbital Fleets should've prevented the drop, but they had botched the task.

After studying the file, Azrael got up, planning to inform the captain that the mission was a success and to do what speed the ship could to Lunar HQ. However, when Azrael exited his quarters, he met with no other than Mina. He'd heard other mobile suits had come on board and had assumed it was Mina coming over to check on the boys. The woman had shown she was dedicated to her work, which Azrael could respect. "Mina, quite a surprise to see you here," Azrael said. "I would've assumed you would be checking on your candidates by this point with how invested you are in them."

Mina wasn't here to be nice, and she was here to lay down the law with Azrael so he would understand she was tired of his interference. The man had caused problems that hadn't permanently damaged, but it was getting too close for her liking. So, Mina glowered at the man, "The feeling isn't mutual, Azrael." Mina closed the rest of the distance and got up in Azrael's face, "Listen up, Muruta Azrael. I couldn't care less that you're the leader of Blue Cosmos or the Alliance's director of its defense industry. You are to not interfere in my work. Don't make 'suggestions' as threats to those doing the maintenance on my candidates. They know what they're doing, while you don't have a clue about the work that goes into such. Don't you dare forget that Lodonia and the other labs are NOT an Earth Alliance facilities, which you can use and abuse as you see fit. As a businessman, you can understand that our transactions can be ended at any time, regardless of your thoughts about it. So, back off from my personnel, give them room to do their job, and don't blame them if things don't go as you imagine," Mina snapped, then she turned and stalked off.

Azrael glowered at what had just happened. It had been clear that Mina had an attitude, it had been somewhat refreshing for Azrael. But it was getting out of hand still Azrael had to admit that the woman's candidates were incredible pilots. The problem for Azrael was that those candidates followed Mina before anyone else, which was annoying. It was more than likely they feared Mina than any other, and that was her means of control. Azrael didn't fault using that means as it could be very effective. Still, Mina could be dealt with later, and work was to be done. Azrael headed for the bridge and told Miss Captain to head for the Ptolemaeus base as quickly as possible.

A/n

And that's where I will leave off for this Phase and apologies on its length. There is a lot to go over with the highlights and explanations as there were changes from the original. Let's begin with the first scene and move on from there. So, I would like to start with the point of considering Tyler going in Kira's place in the last Phase. That would have be a different path, but with things ahead, I felt Kira was still the best. However, Tyler is dealing with some issues at the beginning of this Phase so I ask you give him a bit of a break in this Phase. The other part of this scene I wanted to highlight was the new interaction and view that comes with Yzak and Nicol coming to the Archangel, which is different than canon. I know there are those who aren't fond of Yzak and see him as a hothead, and I don't entirely disagree with him being a hothead. But as with Dearka and Nicol, I want to think Yzak had some good in him which would show if he had the opportunity.

Let's move onto the fight scene which I hope you readers enjoyed, for I had fun writing it. I will start this part with saying yes, I like Tyler being a badass as he is in this fight. Yet that is a part of his character, but still an interesting side nonetheless. In the original version this part of the battle was a two page thing, now it is much neater as Tyler owns the Dominion. I admit that Azrael being on the Dominion played a part in Tyler doing what he did as the conversation between Natarle and Tyler implies. But I wanted to show that Tyler knows the Archangel class better than any and can exploit it as he sees the need to. I also felt that of those on the non-Alliance side, Tyler was the one who could fight Natarle serious and kill her if it came to that. Plus, Tyler had a score to settle with Natarle and this was a chance I couldn't miss using to show that.

The second half of the battle when Tyler had to choose between taking down Dominion and helping his friends. I want to state that wasn't an easy choice for Tyler to make. He had to choose between taking out the guy who played a part in his father and sister's death or helping save his friends. And while it sounds like a simple choice to us, I wanted to insinuate that it isn't easy when you face it. Tyler's loyalty to his friends won out as you read and that will come up in the next phase. Then the Federation arrived and the battle was quickly decided with the Alliance losing. I do want to highlight when Tyler attacks the Calamity as it was heading toward the Dominion. Tyler did nail the Calamity and had a clear shot for a fatal blow but didn't take it. He was warring with his emotions on his friends potentially hating him. Tyler has a moment he blows up which Athrun sees after the battle which was his emotions coming to a head.

The last scene with the Dominion and Natarle, she is dealing with all the weight on her shoulders. The loss Natarle experienced humbled her a margin as is implied. For those who have been telling me not to let Flay die, rest assured she doesn't but for those who haven't read the original, it isn't in the way you would think. I also want to point out Natarle did stand up to Azrael and will after a certain point. That will not be the last time it happens, I assure you. Lastly, I would point out the conversation between Mina and Natarle. Natarle recognized that Mina was not like any she'd been around, that she stuck out. Mina gave Natarle a different view of Azrael which Natarle hadn't considered. I wanted to show that Natarle is having doubts about the Alliance which she won't openly admit.

In conclusion, this phase was long but helped move the story along in the direction I want to go. Now I ask you readers not to expect another chapter for around two weeks, this phase just came much quicker than previous ones. As always, some of you take the time to write a review and tell me what you think of the story thus far and what you thought of the phase. I appreciate the reviews I get. The next Phase is titled: "Settling Accounts" and it more a story chapter as will be the one after that. Peace out until the next Phase!