Phase 3: Flay's Dilemma

Infirmary, Nazca Class ZAFT Space Destroyer, The Vesalius, 1 February CE 71, 1005 hrs

"Miss Allster, I'm Commander Rau Le Creuset and beside me is Ensign Yzak Joule of the ZAFT forces. Let us brief you what has happened so far," Commander Le Creuset began speaking. "You have been unconscious for a week now after being sedated by one of our medics." .

"One week?" Flay couldn't believe that she had just slept through for a week. "Then where am I?"

"Miss Allster, you are officially aboard the Vesalius, a ZAFT military warship. Right now, we are heading back to the PLANTs since the Supreme Council ordered me to return." Commander Le Creuset explains. That revelation makes Flay show signs of visible panic as she knows; that they were taking her to the Coordinator's homeworld where she will forever live there against her will.

"No…No…" Flay whimpers as she becomes fearful that they will mistreat and abuse her once Coordinators living there found out that she is a Natural. "Hey! Stop being hysterical, my commander has not finished speaking to you yet!" Yzak lashes out at Flay.

"Easy there Ensign Joule. She is in a state of shock at what is going on. I will handle her, don't worry." Commander Le Creuset urges Yzak to go easy on Flay. "We have a reason to detain and bring you back to our ship, Miss Allster." Commander Le Creuset began speaking.

"Since you have witnessed us taking part in military operations, we cannot let you go. Based on our ZAFT military rules, any civilians caught by us during military operations we will detain and bring back for processing." Commander Le Creuset informs Flay.

"In addition, your last name is quite valuable to both ZAFT and the Supreme Council. They may detain you further in the PLANTs for further investigation until you are safe to return home. So if you want to be sent home quickly, please cooperate with us," Commander Le Creuset requests Flay to cooperate with them.

Even though Flay was distrustful of Coordinators serving in ZAFT, she realized she does not have a choice but to cooperate with Commander Le Creuset if she wants to return home. Plucking some courage, Flay looks up to Commander Le Creuset with the following answer: "Alright, I will cooperate with you. Just don't kill me." .

Satisfied with Flay's answer, a small smile appears on Commander Le Creuset's face. "Thank you, Miss Allster. Ensign Joule will issue you a ZAFT Inner Uniform set for the time being since you are now a civilian POW based on wartime regulations. You will move to a holding room with accommodation before dinner," Commander Le Creuset briefs Flay.

"Also, you will receive back your personal belongings. From now on, I assign Ensign Joule to manage you until we reach the Supreme Council. So please cooperate with him," Commander Le Creuset informs Flay to cooperate with Yzak for the time being.

"Ensign Joule, I'm heading back to the Bridge so you will handle Miss Allster from here. Let me know if there's any issue," Commander Le Creuset instructs. Yzak nodded and saluted at Commander Le Creuset before he left the infirmary.

Then Yzak looked back at Flay and began speaking. "Here's your personal belonging." Yzak passes Flay's bag and her personal identification card back to her. "I will later bring you a set of ZAFT Inner Uniform and a pair of covered shoes for you to change before heading off to the designated holding room for your accommodation. You will have your dinner over there as well," Yzak says.

"For now, rest well. I will be back by 1730 hrs to bring you to the designated holding room. Still, one of our medics will bring your lunch later. I will see you again, Miss Allster." Yzak finished briefing Flay before making his leave.

As Flay lies in the medical bed being alone, tears flow down from her eyes as she knows that ZAFT Coordinators will forever control her life and future. Any slight disobedience to them would lead to her death. Feeling hopeless, Flay covers her face as she cries silently.

Unbeknown to Flay, Rusty was lying in a bed opposite hers and sees her crying while recovering from his sustained injuries. "Aww, can't believe Naturals can get butthurt easily after being told the truth," Rusty taunts.

This shocked Flay, as she thought she was being alone in the infirmary. Soon she looks up and sees Rusty is lying in a bed in front of her. "I have done nothing against you, so why did you have to mock me?" Flay asks in a sad tone.

"It seems you have forgotten what you did back then." Rusty finds it amusing by what Flay had just said. "You called one of us a space monster, which we find insulting. So tell me, why should I not mock you?" Rusty says in a threatening tone.

Flay was speechless at first, but soon she recalled she did called them space monsters back then. Shameful of what she did, Flay's eyes were downcast before apologizing to Rusty. "I'm sorry for what I have said earlier. I am scared that you will kill me." .

"You should fear us, dirty Natural. Remember, we are stronger and smarter than you. Don't forget, I'm the one who stopped Yzak from executing you back at Heliopolis. So be thankful," Rusty points out that he saves her life once.

Upon hearing that he saved her, Flay feels even more guilty. After years of being taught to see Coordinators as mere sub-humans, Flay wonders why Rusty saved her from getting killed despite knowing that she doesn't deserve to be saved. Feeling puzzled, Flay decided to bravely asks Rusty why he saves her.

"You could kill me back there. Why did you choose to save me instead?" Flay trembles as she asks Rusty.

"It's no fun in killing dumb Naturals like you. I would rather see you in pain and in depression when you get meted out with a heavy punishment by the top brass." Rusty taunts Flay, hoping to demoralize her.

"If I suffer from brutal torture till I go insane, will it make you happy? Does it make you a better person?" Flay asks Rusty with some serious questions.

Given that Rusty being taught to see Naturals are evil beings and were unreasonable when he was undergoing training as a ZAFT soldier, it astounded him that Flay was the first Natural to ask him whether it satisfies him to see her getting tortured.

Though Flay's questions hit him empathically, Rusty feels insulted and warns Flay, "You better speak in a more respectful manner. I may tolerate your presence here on this ship, but others may not. So learn how to respect Coordinators more, you Natural scumbag!" .

It saddened Flay to see Rusty hates her for being a Natural, but she knows he has a point about treating Coordinators with respect. She questions herself why she blindly follows her father's decision to enroll in Anti-Coordinators programs instead of objecting to his decision.

With nothing else to say further, Flay looks away from Rusty to avoid further heated arguments. She only hopes that ZAFT is generous enough to convince the Supreme Council to release her soon after interrogating her.

Infirmary, Nazca Class ZAFT Space Destroyer, The Vesalius, 1 February CE 71, 1730 hrs

Several hours later…

Yzak enters the infirmary with a big plastic bag that contains a ZAFT Inner Uniform set, a pair of covered shoes and her civilian clothes.

"Miss Allster," Yzak calls out to Flay. "Take this bag. In it, it has a set of ZAFT Inner Uniform, a pair of covered shoes and your civilian clothes," Yzak informs Flay as he passes her the plastic bag. "Please get changed into the ZAFT Inner Uniform quickly. I have to bring you to another room for your accommodation." .

"What about my dinner, Ensign Joule?" Flay asks.

"I will bring you the dinner later and you will consume your dinner in that room. Once you finish changing, please pass the medical gown to a medical staff before we go. Now go get yourself changed. I will wait for you here." Yzak orders Flay to get changed immediately.

Flay nods in acknowledgement and proceeds to the nearby toilet to get change.

In the toilet, Flay takes out the ZAFT Inner Uniform set from the bag and examines it. While opening the Inner Uniform's blue shirt, she wonders if this is the beginning of her journey to become a soldier for the ZAFT forces.

As Flay looks at the blue shirt, she feels fearful that something bad will happen to her upon wearing it. However, with the desire to go home soon, Flay resolved by telling herself to wear the blue shirt she's currently holding before undressing herself.

Upon putting on the blue shirt, Flay's fears dispel instantly as she finds the blue shirt comfortable and cool enough to wear despite being tight-fit. 'Wow, I thought ZAFT's Uniforms are of inferior quality. It seems they are in good quality,' Flay thought as the fabric of the Inner Uniform blue shirt impressed her.

Next, Flay puts on the Inner Uniform's blue shorts and tuck in quickly before looking at the mirror to see how it fits. To her amazement, the ZAFT Inner Uniform she wore fits her well perfectly, and she looks like a professional soldier.

After looking at the mirror, Flay quickly puts on the pair of covered shoes before packing her civilian clothes into her personal bag and puts the used medical gown in the plastic bag for returning.

Soon, she finishes packing and takes a quick look to ensure she left nothing behind before exiting the toilet.

Designated Holding Room, Nazca Class ZAFT Space Destroyer, The Vesalius, 1 February CE 71, 1735 hrs

After passing the plastic bag to a ZAFT medic, Flay approaches Yzak where he zip tied both of Flay's hands together before leaving the infirmary.

After entering the designated holding room, Yzak cuts the zip tie, which makes Flay's both of her hands free to move. "Alright, Miss Allster. You will stay in this room for the next three days. Food will deliver straight to your room and you can take a quick shower after dinner. Since you just discharged from the infirmary today, Doctor Cordell recommends you don't shower for today and rest well." Yzak instructs Flay.

"On the bed, there is a bag of basic amenities for you to use when you go to the toilet for a quick shower. Every amenity you require is in that bag, so please keep it with you at all costs. Once you finish bathing, please put the bath towel into the laundry room for it to dry so that you can collect it the next day for use." Yzak points to the bag and explains.

"Finally, we will disembark once we reach the city of Aprilius One by 4th February and we will inform you of further instructions." Yzak informs Flay. "For now, rest well and I will see you again on 4th February." .

As Yzak is about to leave the room, Flay calls out to him. "Ensign Joule, I apologise for calling you a space monster back at Heliopolis. I thought you were really going to kill me." .

Surprised to hear a Natural like Flay willing to apologise for saying racist words, Yzak's eyes widened as he assumed most Naturals dislike seeing Coordinators. Though he resent Flay for being a Natural, Yzak feels sorry for her to be captured and brought back to the PLANTs by ZAFT forces.

'Don't feel sorry for her, Yzak. She's a Natural, and she got what she deserved for associating with Blue Cosmos,' Yzak thought before looking back to Flay.

"If you want me to accept your apology, you need to do more to help the Anti-Coordinator hatred miss," Yzak berates Flay. "We Coordinators can never trust dirty Naturals like you until Anti-Coordinator hatred and Blue Cosmos are gone for good. Then, the war can end peacefully." .

It saddened Flay to hear that, but Yzak was right. Years of mistrust and hatred of Coordinators cause the Bloody Valentine war to start, and it is not going well at all.

"I'm sorry for you Coordinators going through this. I hope the war can end quickly so that I can go home quickly," Flay bows down while apologizing.

"Whatever. You will receive your dinner at 1800 hrs and someone will deliver straight to your room. You cannot leave this room without permission unless you need to go to the toiIet. I will be back again on 4th Feb," Yzak says before closing the door as he leaves.

With herself alone in the room, Flay opens up the bag that was sitting on the bed to check whether it has the required amenities she needs. Upon inspection, she found the bag had toiletry items, a bathing towel, and several sanitary pads.

With nothing much to do, Flay puts her personal bag and the basic amenities' bag on the floor beside the bed before lying down on the bed. She hopes that by cooperating with ZAFT, they would convince the Supreme Council to release her soon.

For the next three days, Flay eats and sleeps in the designated holding room while waiting for the ship to reach Aprilius One.

Apart from leaving the room to take a quick bath or going to the toilet, Flay becomes less fearful and wants to interact with some of the ZAFT soldiers. However, none of them wants to speak to her, which disappoints her.

Now Flay can only hope that the Supreme Council is generous enough to release her so that she can go home and be with her father once again. Will they quickly release her or is there something in store for her?

Only time will tell.

To be continued…

End of Phase 3