Phase 2: Fearing the enemy
North-South Expressway (HE-1), Colony of Heliopolis, Orb Union, 25 January CE 71, 1430 hrs
After successfully tying both of her hands with a zip-tie handcuffs, one of the ZAFT soldiers named Rusty Mackenzie helps the silver-haired ZAFT soldier to flip the unconscious Flay towards the front so that she can breath.
"Damn. I thought Naturals would be terrified and give up upon seeing us. Didn't know this one could put up a fight just to resist us," Rusty says in a surprising tone. "Yeah, Naturals are the dumb enough to resist against us knowing that we are stronger than them," the ZAFT soldier says while looking at Flay.
"Hold on Rusty, I need to check her identity. I think I saw her last name." The ZAFT soldier takes out Flay's personal identification card from his pocket to check. "Shit." The silver-haired ZAFT soldier curses as he sees Flay's last name from her personal identification card. "What is it, Yzak?" Rusty asks.
"Great, this young Natural lady named Flay Allster and her face matched as the same one found in her personal identification card," Yzak says while verifying Flay's facial appearance. "Plus, her family name is Allster. Isn't she is the daughter of Blue Cosmos jackass, George Allster?" Yzak questions Rusty about Flay's family.
"Yeah. But we—" Before Rusty could finish his sentence, Yzak pulled the bolt handle of his assault rifle and aimed at Flay's face. "Yzak, don't kill her!" Rusty calls out to Yzak to prevent him from killing Flay.
"Why not, Rusty?" Yzak furiously asks. "Her father is a high ranking Blue Cosmos official and she may hold the same hate views as her father." Yzak pauses before continuing. "Naturals can never coexist with us peacefully." .
"Yzak, don't. We are currently in a neutral nation's colony. If we kill a civilian here, we will be court-martialed," Rusty warns. "I too dislike Naturals, but we have to follow the military laws set by ZAFT. The best we can do is to bring her back to our ship for processing." .
"Alright, I'm taking her back to our ship. Go with Athrun to steal the other two gundams located inside the factory. I will meet you back on The Vesalius and good luck." Yzak wishes Rusty good luck before parting ways. Then, Yzak carries the unconscious Flay on his back as he heads towards one of the abandoned military trucks that contained the Duel gundam.
Upon placing Flay in a safe position in the Duel gundam's cockpit, Yzak checks in with Nicol and Dearka through his red helmet's communication device to ensure they have successfully secured the Buster and Blitz gundam before heading back to their ship.
Once the Buster and Blitz gundams were fully secured by Dearka and Nicol. Yzak then informs the rest of the Green ZAFT soldiers to head down to the Factory—to assist Athrun and Rusty in securing the other two remaining gundams located down there.
The three elite ZAFT pilots start the OS system of the three gundams to begin operation. Yzak then informs Chief Petty Officer Miguel Aiman through the gundam's intercom system that they have secured the three gundams and they are ready to head back to their ship.
Chief Petty Officer Aiman acknowledges that the three elite ZAFT pilots fully secured the three gundams and recommends they head back to The Vesalius immediately. Yzak acknowledges and soon the three gundams depart from the Heliopolis colony to head back to the ZAFT ships.
Hangar, Nazca Class ZAFT Space Destroyer, The Vesalius, 25 January CE 71, 1500 hrs
Thirty minutes later…
"Ergh, hmmmm," Flay slowly opens her eyes as she wakes up disoriented from the knockout blow earlier. "Where am I?" Flay asks as she slowly lifts herself up. As she looks around the empty cockpit, she wonders where the ZAFT soldier was. However, he is nowhere in sight. Realizing this, Flay quickly looks for the exit and she finds the cockpit's hatch that was left open.
Just as Flay climbs out of the cockpit, she hopes to make a dash to the nearest emergency exit to escape from the ZAFT soldiers. To her horror, Flay found herself in the hangar of an unknown ship. Worst, she sees several ZAFT technicians moving everywhere around the hangar doing their assigned jobs.
As Flay looks around the hangar trying to comprehend the scenario, she notices the same silver-haired ZAFT soldier talking to a group of ZAFT medics that are seen approaching the Duel gundam. 'ZAFT Coordinators!' These two frightening words came into her mind as she recalled the images of war crimes committed by Coordinators serving in the ZAFT forces. Fearing that her life was in danger, Flay tries to jump down from the gundam's cockpit in order to make a run for it.
To her surprise, Flay was floating in the hangar instead of falling down as she expected. At first, Flay thought it was not real, and that she was really floating and she must be dreaming. "Come on, Flay. Wake up! This isn't real." Flay says to herself as she lightly slaps her face in denial.
Soon, she realizes it is not a dream and begins to freakout after seeing several ZAFT technicians staring at her.
"Ensign Joule, I think the young Natural lady you are talking about, has gotten out of the cockpit of your Duel gundam and is floating right there looking scared." One of the ZAFT medics informs Yzak. "Oh crap, I will distract her long enough for you to sedate her. Once she is fully sedated, send her to the infirmary." Yzak instructs the ZAFT medic.
"Yes sir," The ZAFT soldier acknowledges Yzak's order as they approach a frightened Flay.
"Calm down, Miss. You are currently on The Vesalius, a ZAFT warship," Yzak tries to calm Flay down. "The reason I bring you here is that you have witnessed us conducting a military operation in the neutral nation's colony of Heliopolis. Under ZAFT military laws, civilians found witnessing our military operations will be detained by us and brought back to our ship for further processing." Yzak explains to Flay on why she got taken aboard the ZAFT warship.
"Why should I believe you?!" Flay yells back. "I thought you would kill Naturals without hesitation upon seeing one!" .
"It's against ZAFT military laws if we do that, miss. This was why I brought you back to our ship for further processing." Yzak pauses for a second. "Miss, if you want to be sent home quickly. I request for your cooperation that you cooperate with us for the time being." Yzak requests Flay for cooperation while he slowly approaches her.
Unknown to Flay, the ZAFT medic slowly walks up behind her without being noticed by her. Before Flay could react further, she armlock Flay's neck with her right hand and quickly injects a sedative onto Flay's left shoulder.
"Why…Why did you have to do this to me…" Flay mutters a few words before closing her eyes as the effect of the sedative kicks in. After ensuring that Flay no longer resists, the medics help to carry her to a nearby stretcher before checking on her for any health problems.
"Sir, we checked her pulse. She is still breathing and showing no health issues. Right now, she is unconscious and needs to send her to the infirmary," The ZAFT medic informs Yzak.
"Alright, please send her to the infirmary and ensure that she is in good health. We have questions for her when she wakes up." Yzak orders the ZAFT medics to send Flay to the infirmary.
With that, the ZAFT medics quickly carry the stretcher as they carry Flay to the infirmary for her to rest until she wakes up.
"Damn, you are lucky enough to pickup a Natural chick during the military operation, Yzak." Dearka jests as he and Nicol approach Yzak. "Nah, she is not my type since her father is the well-known Blue Cosmos asshat George Allster." Yzak downplays Dearka's joke. "Naturals are arrogant creatures so I would rather marry a young Coordinator lady instead." .
"I hope she is ok and treated well by our ship's doctor," Nicol feels sorry for Flay after seeing her freakout earlier. "Nicol, don't waste your energy on Naturals. They will never recognise us and they would rather see us exterminated by embracing Blue Cosmos' ideology. I can't wait to see her die for her father's sins." Yzak gloats to Nicol about wishing Flay a quick death.
"Please don't be like that, Yzak. We enlist in ZAFT to protect our homeland from the EA forces, not to be Anti-Natural murders." Nicol points out that they are ZAFT soldiers protecting their only home, the PLANTs. "Still, I don't trust her. What if she turns out to be a spy for Blue Cosmos?" Yzak wonders before he looks at Dearka and Nicol. "By the way, where's Rusty?"
"Well, Rusty is in the infirmary for medical treatment. I heard he got himself shot by an EA officer while he tries to board the Strike gundam. Luckily, one of our Green soldiers rescues him and bandages his wounds before passing him to Athrun before returning to our ship safely." Nicol says about Rusty's current condition.
"Damn Naturals. Anyway, I'm going to the Bridge to look for Commander Le Creuset to clarify on what to do with that damned Natural lady. You two can head off to the pilot changing room first." Yzak informs the other two elite ZAFT pilots before leaving for the bridge.
Entrance to the Bridge, Nazca Class ZAFT Space Destroyer, The Vesalius, 25 January CE 71, 1515 hrs
As Yzak is about to approach the bridge, he bumps into Athrun. "Hey Yzak, what brings you here?" Athrun surprises to see Yzak going to the bridge. "Well, I came here to inform Commander Le Creuset that I detained a young Natural lady during the military operation on Heliopolis and seek advice on how to deal with her," Yzak says.
"By the way, how did Rusty get himself shot by a Natural EA officer? I thought Naturals serving in the EA forces are no match for us?" Yzak asks in disbelief. "It's because the EA officer was assisted by another Coordinator living in the Heliopolis colony," Athrun took a deep breath before continuing. "That Coordinator somehow is my childhood friend, Kira Yamato." .
"When you inform Commander Le Creuset later, please do not tell him about Kira. I will discuss it with him myself," Athrun pleads with Yzak. "Alright, just ensure that your friend's issue affects you in the upcoming battle. We need to be together if we want to come home alive," Yzak agrees while advising him.
Grateful for his friend's advice, Athrun thanks Yzak before they enter the bridge to report to Commander Le Creuset.
Bridge, Nazca Class ZAFT Space Destroyer, The Vesalius, 25 January CE 71, 1517 hrs
"Good afternoon Commander Le Creuset. Ensign Zala and Ensign Joule are here to report that the military operation to steal the five gundams of the 'G project' is a success," Athrun reports to Le Creuset while he and Yzak salute him.
"At ease Ensigns. Thank you for reporting the mission is a success. Is there anything you would like to add on?" Commander Le Creuset asks. "Sir, Ensign Mackenzie got himself shot by an EA officer during the military operation and the enemy took the Strike gundam instead," Athrun says.
"Wait, how did Ensign Mackenzie get himself shot by an EA officer? I thought elite ZAFT pilots could take them down quickly," Commander Le Creuset says in a surprised tone. "It is because another civilian Coordinator living in Heliopolis colony assisted the EA officer in fighting against us. Hence, she was quick enough to shoot at Rusty before he could shoot her." Athrun explains how Rusty got himself shot. ''Luckily, Ensign Mackenzie suffers some non-threatening injuries and is currently having medical treatment in the ship's Infirmary." .
"I see. How about you, Ensign Joule? Do you have anything to report?" Commander Le Creuset looks at Yzak with a question. "Sir, I have captured a civilian Natural who got caught up in the military operation. Her name was Flay Allster and currently, she is in the infirmary for medical treatment as well. Here are her belongings for you to inspect." Yzak passes Flay's bag and personal identification card to Commander Le Creuset for checking.
Upon seeing Flay's full name on her personal identification card, a small smile appears on Commander Le Creuset's face. 'Today must be my lucky day. I can use George Allster's daughter to destroy both the PLANTs and Earth Alliance nations on Earth together,' Le Creuset evilly thought.
"Alright, take me to the infirmary. I would like to see both Ensign Mackenzie and that young Natural lady as well. Also Ensign Zala, I would like to arrange a time with you to discuss this Coordinator who assists the EA officer in shooting Ensign Mackenzie." Commander Le Creuset requests the two elite pilots to take him to the infirmary.
"Yes sir, we can discuss this outside the infirmary after checking on Ensign Mackenzie." Athrun accepts Commander Le Creuset's request before they head off to the ship's infirmary.
Infirmary, Nazca Class ZAFT Space Destroyer, The Vesalius, 31 January CE 71, 1000 hrs
A week later...
"Doctor, do you think she will be awake by today?" Commander Le Creuset asks Doctor Gray Cordell. "Well, Commander, the effects of the sedative should no longer be in effect by today. She will awake soon enough," Doctor Cordell answers. Soon, Flay wakes up and slowly opens her eyes to see Commander Le Creuset, Doctor Cordell, and Yzak Joule staring at her.
The moment she saw the three ZAFT soldiers in-front of her staring at her, Flay becomes fearful. Hearing stories of how captured Naturals being mistreated by ZAFT forces, Flay tries to get out of the bed. However, she cannot move any further as she found herself strapped to the bed. "Easy miss, don't be fearful over us. We have no intention of harming you." Doctor Cordell tries to calm Flay down.
"Commander Le Creuset would like to speak to you in private about what is going on, miss," Doctor Cordell informs Flay. "Thank you, Doctor. Please leave us alone so that I can speak with Miss Allster." Commander Le Creuset requests. Doctor Cordell nods his head before pulling the ward's curtains for privacy.
'No…No…It can't be. Papa, please save me.' Flay's eyes widened in disbelief as she couldn't believe that what she saw was real and she was now aboard a ZAFT ship with coordinators. Thinking that she is still dreaming, Flay quickly turns her head and closes her eyes, thinking it will be over once she wakes up. However, it turns out to be false as Flay peeks to see Commander Le Creuset and Yzak Joule standing there looking at her.
Realizing that it is real, Flay turns her head over and avoids looking at them as she asks a question. "What do you want to speak to me about?" Flay asks Commander Le Creuset with her eyes cast down.
To be continued…
End of Phase 2
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