By: Shadow Chaser
Previously on Gundam SEED: Entropy Rising…
"Your mother's name was Katherine Hibiki and she was a scientist on Colony Mendel, long before it was abandoned," she said, "her husband was Dr. Ulen Hibiki."
"Not easily deflected, Dr. Hibiki continued his research since the funds from Zala and his other supporter had been generous. He decided to build artificial wombs to test out his experiments and took his own sperm and his wife's eggs to try to create successful tests. He thought that if he successfully created the ultimate Coordinator, he wouldn't have to stay in Zala's shadows."
"So…that means-"
Kanoko shook her head to Cagalli's question. "No…there was only one successful try."
"Kira."
Who was he anyways? Was he actually Kira Yamato, a senior college student at Orb's technical college, former pilot of the Freedom and Strike Gundam…Coordinator… Was he destined to be the ultimate weapon for Patrick Zala in his war against the Naturals? Like a time bomb of sorts? Was that what he was to become?
"I don't care if you are different from me. You are my brother, my twin, my own flesh and blood. You are you…"
"But for you…there were no boundaries. After you and Cagalli had left, Mrs. Yamato told me that there was more to what Dr. Hibiki had created. There was something in the genes that if combined with another link-so to speak, then it would activate. The activation process he thought was something breaking, like a consciousness of sorts, but dubbed the reaction, seed-mode," Lacus said in a measured voice.
Even if Mrs. Yamato had said that the secret must not be let out, Lacus knew that the war between Coordinators and Naturals was inevitable – it was the only question now: How long would the peace last?
And…could they stop the outbreak of war and keep the peace?
Phase Seven – Decisions to Make
Murrue was quite surprised at the turnout in the massive conference room in the main governmental building of Orb. This was strictly an LF personnel only, but there were a few people like Lacus Clyne and the LF's main sponsor, Orb's Cagalli Attha, along with a few of the technicians that worked at the technological research facility, like Erica Simmons, and three other people she couldn't have expected.
One was the Kingfisher, who had taken the quickest shuttle PLANT had to offer back down, his face still agitated and nervous, a sign that something had gone up during his investigate since they had talked yesterday. The other two sat in the back, away from everyone, just eyes in the crowd, but Murrue spotted them clearly. She had never expected to see both Athrun Zala and Kira Yamato, since they resigned their commissions from their respective armies and settled down into civilian life.
Word of an attempt on Cagalli's life had spread like wildfire, which also accounted for the presence of a lot of armed men that lined the walls. Orb was taking no chances with its leader, even against her own will. Murrue didn't really mind as she too was worried about the young woman's safety, but the guards' blank stares and unmoving bodies did unnerve her slightly. They were like mannequins in a department store or something like that.
Though she knew that it was important for both PLANT and Earth representatives to be there, which was why Lacus and one of the surviving senators who wasn't seriously injured in the blast, were in the room. She had thought that both Athrun and Kira had not wanted anything to do with military or the LF. For them to be here…it was curious indeed.
She knew that Athrun worked with Erica in the technological department, to develop better mobile suits for the LF's forces, but Kira…Kira was a university student, which made it odder for him to be in a meeting like this. Something must have happened during the bombing and the subsequent attempt on Cagalli's life for him to be here…
"All right, settle down," she held up a hand to quiet down the room, bringing everyone to focus on her. "First off, before we get started, I'd like to thank both Senator Tzu and Princess Cagalli for joining us today after making complete and healthy recoveries."
Formalities were not needed, but she felt that she had to include it in, just to keep on the Earth's good side as she most definitely knew that Senator Tzu would be reporting to the Earth military after this briefing. The polite applause for the two she had mentioned died quickly as she dimmed the lights and turned on the holographic projector next to her stand.
"The recent attacks against both Orb and PLANT have made us more aware of a possible conspiracy. We had dispatched ships to the various PLANT cities to help quell down rebellions that have erupted there. Most of the findings we have discovered there were disgruntled Coordinators who resented that they were cheated out of the war. But on one of the cities, Martius 5, there's been rumors circulating that merits our attention.
"Captain Quinn Misali and his ship, the Kusanagi had been assigned there. Captain, your report?" she stepped to the side as she gestured for Quinn to take the stand in which he did, his face grim.
"Martius 5 had been originally assigned as an investigation point before the attacks started, which led me to believe that something was going on," Quinn didn't seem to follow the norms of a normal briefing and instead seemed to be talking from one person to another, "when we got there, there was a rogue group taking pot shots except for one guy. He had been shouting that everyone should die, both Coordinators and Naturals and even shot a few of his own during the raid.
"When we took him down, we sent his body for an analysis. The results show a tampering with his genes and modification of his memory. It was as if he was injected with a brand new set of genes that had nano-technology in them to replace his own genes. He then probably underwent an extensive mind wipe and reconstruction to make him what he was," Quinn's words were grim and harsh and even Murrue felt her jaw drop slightly in shock.
The tampering of genetic material…it sounded like Coordinator work, but that couldn't be. Coordinators had their own set of gene exchange and would never do something that barbaric. She briefly wondered if it was related to Colony Mendel, but dismissed the idea…it was too far fetched as Mendel had been abandoned for the last few years.
"Look," Quinn seemed a bit uncomfortable with so many people staring at him like fish out of the water, "I'm not really good at this briefing stuff, but if the results are true, I think the next targets we should be protecting is somewhere on the Earth, most likely an Earth base. Senator, you know the risks…I mean if these guys attack an Earth base, then some of OMNI will probably blame ZAFT and then ZAFT will blame OMNI and there goes that ping-pong effect."
"The signs of a build up of military presence around our bases would cause ZAFT to wonder if an invasion is imminent. Also, it might give the advantage away to whoever is committing this terrorist attack that we are on to their plans. What if they decide to attack elsewhere?" Senator Tzu asked in a calm and controlled voice – Murrue most definitely knew that the man was a rational thinker and always thought of many options and presented holes in any solution.
"If the suggestion of a build-up of both militaries to try to prevent such a thing from happening is given, then I think that the LF needs to rethink its initial agenda. The civilian population would begin to wonder if we will go to war again, and if that were to happen, then the terrorist would have won – they would come out saying that the build up of military indicates a return of war and conflict," the Senator continued.
Murrue saw Quinn frown. She knew that he hated being one-upped by anyone and hoped that he restrained his ego enough from turning this briefing into a shouting match. "Then what do you suggest, Senator?" Quinn asked, his voice calm, but tight.
"I suggest nothing at all, I am merely pointing out the facts to you, Captain," Senator Tzu said.
"Perhaps, Senator, are you implying that the LF should sit back and do nothing at the moment? Because if the fear of being attack has stopped everything then ultimately the terrorist have won," Cagalli suddenly spoke up and Murrue hid a grin as she saw that her twist on the Senator's words took most of the pressure away from Quinn and placed it on the Senator's shoulders.
"Of course not, Princess," Tzu replied mildly, "I was just concerned about the limited ships the LF has in order to patrol both the main bases of OMNI and the PLANT cities along with Orb itself."
"Captain, what other analysis did you receive from the other ships around the region concerning possibility of an attack?" Murrue suddenly spoke up, trying to prevent a mini bloodbath between the Senator, Cagalli, and Quinn. She really couldn't believe the ridiculousness of everyone trying to bait each other, even if their suggestions were valid. The only senior ranking person that seemed to be keeping their cool was Lacus Clyne and she hadn't said anything yet.
"It's all scattering, random attacks, but most definitely aimed at PLANT. That's why I think the best idea right now is to just check the OMNI bases and major cities on Earth that have the highest risk. We can send in small teams to camp out and watch for any activity before we move the big ships in," Quinn suggested.
"It is a feasible idea, if not that bright, Captain. Since there is little we can do now, I will talk to OMNI and the President about your suggestion. However, no authorization will be given to the LF's warships to enter OMNI ports unless in extreme situations," Senator Tzu said before she stood up and brushed imaginary lint from her expensive looking suit, "now if you would all excuse me, I have other pressing matters to attend to. Good day."
Murrue was surprised at the abruptness of the Senator's departure, but didn't show it as Quinn left the podium and sat back down in the front row of the briefing room, letting her take the stand. As soon as the door hissed shut from Tzu's departure, she flipped to another projection, this time of the Earth.
"The most viable targets that are OMNI bases near civilian cities are these…"
It was much later, after the briefing and into the wee hours of the early evening, when Murrue still found herself in her office aboard the Archangel. She was looking through reports, of both combat situations and ship maintenance. As a captain of a ship she knew that she had to regularly check and fill out reports to give to Orb as any type of military force would do, but she hated doing that. Most of the time she could handle reports on ship maintenance and combat situations, it was only the death reports that she hated dealing with. But even now, her reports were beginning to look tiring to her eyes and she blinked them a few times to keep her vision from blurring.
A sharp rapping knock startled her and nearly made her spill some of the paper reports onto the ground. She looked up, rubbing her eyes furiously before saying, "Come."
The door hissed open to reveal Quinn, holding two cups of coffee. He stepped in and placed one on the edge of her table before sitting himself down on one of the two chairs facing her desk before propping his feet up on the other end of her table.
Murrue blinked a bit before taking the coffee and sipping it, letting the warmth of it run down her throat and reviving her tired eyes. She then glared pointedly at Quinn who shrugged and removed his feet from her desk.
"Thought you needed it after today," he said in a conversational tone.
"Thanks," she replied, setting the cup down, "anything I can do for you?"
"Ouch," Quinn winced, "you're in a good mood right now."
She gestured to the reports strewn across her desk, "Try these."
"Hey, I do that too, except not with a perpetual frown. Geez, after all these years you've become bitter," he said.
"War can do that to you," she snapped at him, irritated.
"We're not in a war right now…well, actually, belay that. We're in between wars," Quinn replied and Murrue raised and eyebrow at his attempt to humorous.
She decided to ignore him and continued to look through the reports, but somehow she was distracted after Quinn had come in. She looked up to see him staring intently at her and frowned. "What?"
"You. Just wondering why you look like hell," Quinn asked and Murrue was about to reprimand him when she sighed heavily and shook her head.
"I'm not cut out to be a captain, or to be in command of such a task force like the LF I don't even know why I'm here. I mean you saw the briefing…Senator Tzu basically wrestled control away from my hands. How can I command ships without even contending with a troublesome Senator?" she set the report she had been reading to the side and took another sip of the coffee.
"Murrue, politics are always like this. I've seen you in action. Sure you may think you're not good as a captain, but you're one of the most humane ones in any fleet, both OMNI and ZAFT. You tend to think with your heart and not by the book," Quinn said, setting his cup of coffee on a corner of her table where his feet were previously occupying it.
Murrue froze at Quinn's sentiments. They were close to what she and Mu had discussed during the lull in combat after they had went rogue before the Dominion found them. Hearing those words in almost the same exact way brought painful memories to the surface of her consciousness.
"That's what Mu used to say…" she whispered as she felt tears spring to the corner of her eyes, but they did not fall.
She looked up at Quinn and saw a stricken expression on his face before he hastily apologized. "I'm sorry Murrue. It's just that…well…"
She attempted a smile to calm him down but it was a sorrowful smile. "It's okay Quinn… Probably everyone knows that…"
"No, no…please, let me explain…" Quinn waved his hands, "I didn't mean to infringe upon the territory that you've created with Mu and I feel awful about it. I mean, I used to know him back from my special ops days…and I told him about you, well, I didn't mention your name, but I mentioned that I knew someone who was bound to become a captain, but one of the most humane captains like Admiral Halberton. I didn't expect the two of you to meet up…so…"
Murrue genuinely smiled, "Thank you…"
"So…um…" Quinn suddenly picked up his mug downed some of its contents before setting it back down again. "How do you think Mu would react to what's happening now?"
Murrue knew that Quinn was avoiding saying that Mu was dead or any reference to death for the fear of her breaking down and she appreciated his efforts. "Honestly…crack a joke of sorts before hopping into the Strike or Mobieus Zero and shooting down whoever's responsible."
Quinn laughed lightly, "Yeah…you're probably right."
"He would be concerned about the safety of everyone else though…" she sighed wistfully, imagining that Mu right now would be checking up on the pilots and perhaps Kira and Athrun, even Cagalli to make sure they were really all right. The bombing had given everyone a scare, and she knew that Mu would have raced to the scene to try to do something.
"What about the teams?"
Murrue shook her head, "The idea is feasible, but we're spread too thinly. I might have to pull some of the other ships like the Osiris and Aluwin from their ZAFT ports to help patrol the OMNI ports, but OMNI would go nuts if they found out."
"Well, I'm headed back to the Kusanagi tomorrow so I'll be able to find out some more things and send it your way," Quinn said and Murrue nodded.
"If we're hit with a pronged attack, it would be bad for us. Though the Archangel is getting more supplies of the latest Astray models, it might not be enough," she said, a frown appearing on her face.
"I still get the feeling that this is just a warm up for something bigger, but what…" Quinn voiced his thoughts.
Murrue silently agreed as she took another sip of her coffee, but this time, it chilled her instead of warming her. Somehow, she knew that whenever the next attack came, whether it be Earth, PLANT, or Orb it would bring everyone to the brink of a new war…
They had to prevent it before anything else could happen.
The overhead lights on the highway passed by at regular intervals, the car doing a steady 70 miles per hour. Athrun would have gone faster, if not for the fact that he was in deep thought and was doing all the basic functions of driving automatically. Kira and the others were already back at the mansion, eating dinner, but he had opted, after the briefing was over, to just drive around. He wanted to think alone, without anyone bothering him – and most likely Cagalli worrying over him.
He didn't mind her worrying, it was that he needed some time to think things through alone. As he drove, he wondered about today's briefing… Though they all got at least some sleep, Athrun had known about today's briefing from Erica Simmons, and while he never attended any of the LF's briefings, something inside of him told him that today's was important, and it had been important.
The night before, after he had finished talking with Lacus, he laid in bed, thinking about his life. He loved the peace and quiet he had as a civilian working with Erica, but there had also been something missing from him. It was the soldier inside of him, yearning to do something to help protect others. The bombings told him that even as a civilian he was almost unable to protect any of his friends from being seriously injured.
So should he go back to the military life? Should he once again, take up arms?
Inwardly, he knew that he had already prepared himself for something like this. It was sitting in a deep level of the building he worked at, a secret from almost everyone save him, a few technicians, and Erica. Even Cagalli never knew the secret that lay dormant in the deep levels of the former Morganroete building… He wondered if it was the right thing…to build something so destructive without her knowledge, after all, she was the leader of Orb and the voice moderating the peace talks.
The problem was that if the Earth and PLANT found out about the secret, there were many ways they would interpret their findings. One most likely case was both would be outraged at the LF and Orb – and subsequently demand that the LF be disbanded because they were going to use their weapons to impose themselves and take over the whole of the Earth and PLANTs.
Both factions would then demand that the weapons be turned over to either side – and it might escalate the situation back into war once more. Which also wasn't a good step. But the namesakes of the weapons were to ensure that peace survived and that the LF was doing the right thing.
But actually taking up arms once more…
Ever since he had joined the Clyne Faction and deserted ZAFT, he had always felt unsure of his position to moderate peace. The soldier inside of him wanted to protect PLANT from any harmful interest from the Earth and wanted him to remember his father and mother. The gentle side, the civilian, wanted him to protect Cagalli from harm, from being manipulated by both the Earth and PLANT. But did he want to actually shoot a gun, pilot a mobile suit, infiltrate an enemy's territory to gather intelligence again? Was he happy with his life so far?
The answer was two sided and Athrun gripped the wheel tighter as he thought about it. He loved the peaceful life he had for the past two years. First living with Mariko on his little island and with all the war orphans, then living in Orb and finding that peace was enjoyable and almost returning to the life he once had on the moon in prep school.
He couldn't say that he loved fighting, nor did he enjoy it, but it felt like an integral part of his life. The war times made him see the ugly and good side of both ZAFT and OMNI. It was a sharper perspective on the situations between a Coordinator and a Natural, unlike peace where civilian life was hardly given any news concerning how tense situations were or how the military was really doing.
"I.D. please," a deep gruff voice startled him out of his musings and he realized that unconsciously, he had driven to his workplace, the former Morganroete building. He hastily took out his I.D., which he always kept by his side and showed it to the guard who checked it then nodded and handed it back to him.
Athrun drove through the lowered gates and winded his way through the parking lot, finding a space close and parking in it. He got out and locked his car before jamming his hands into his pants pockets and walked inside the building.
Getting into an elevator, he took his card out again and swiped it through a magnetic reader that allowed him access to the deepest levels where the secret project was being kept. No one else save a few technicians sworn to secrecy and Erica would be able to do a successful swipe of their I.D. card. If they tried, then security guards would be all over them in less than ten seconds.
A keypad popped out underneath the reader and he tapped in the sub-level he wanted before the elevator took him down. It only took a few seconds before the doors pinged open and Athrun stepped out.
He blinked in surprise as he saw Erica Simmons sitting at the main console overlooking the hanger bay that stored the two secret weapons they built. "Didn't expect to see you here…" he greeted her as he walked over and peered over her shoulder to see what she was doing.
"I had a sixth sense you'd be coming down here today after what was explained during Captain Ramius' briefing. They're in perfect condition, all ready to be deployed," she tilted her head up, indicating the two weaponry.
"Yeah," Athrun stared at one of the two weapons, his mind running over the memories of the weapons that had been thought to be destroyed in the war two years ago and while they had, he had found the plans, inherited by his father, and rebuilt them with Erica's help. "Problem is…are they actually needed?"
"One never knows," Erica replied as he sat down next to her in a swivel chair. He hunched forward and rested his head on his hands that were folded on an empty part of the console board.
"Erica…be honest. If I bring this out to help the LF, would I actually be doing good or just fulfilling my role as a soldier?" he asked, still staring at one of the two weapons.
"Well," Erica pulled her hair back before leaning back in her swivel chair and stretching. "I think it would be both, to be honest with you. I mean, you were once a soldier and you still have that instinctive training within you. Your reaction time has not faded, meaning you still keep active in whatever you like to do. Maybe that's why you wanted to find work here. You never wanted to be far away from technology because you love it so much."
"But that means-"
"No, not really. It doesn't mean that you love war; it means that you just like to do things that you like to do. Think about it…when you were with ZAFT, did they let you close to any mobile suit you can tinker with? I mean not by rewriting the OS programs or anything, but like really tinkering and building," Erica tilted her head to the side and Athrun looked at her.
"No, not really," he replied.
"So, this is your chance to help and build things. It's your chance to help ensure that peace still exist and if need be, weapons such as mobile suits or the G-units that Kira's so fond of calling Gundams, have to exist. You don't have to use these weapons, but it's ultimately up to you to decide."
"So…should I?"
"Should you what? Pilot it or join the LF? Well," Erica shrugged, "it's really up to you. My question to you is…are you happy right now?"
"Yes," Athrun said but then hesitated, "No…I don't know. I mean I like it because it's peaceful and it reminds me of a better time before the war, but…it's not the same."
"So your real dilemma is, should you leave Cagalli here in Orb and go with the LF or stay and protect her."
Athrun balked at the statement, staring at Erica. "Cagalli-"
"I may be no psychologist, but during that meeting today, I saw that you were really worried for the Princess' safety. Now I'm not the one to pry into people's lives, but you truly love her and care for her more than anyone save Kira. Somehow I get the feeling that you're afraid of losing her, though I don't think it's to Kira oddly, but you're afraid that if you go off with the LF, and you one day come back, she might not be there. You're afraid of some terrorist trying to assassinate her and you won't be there to protect her."
Athrun froze. Aside from a few mistakes that he knew wasn't her fault, especially those on Kira, she had basically hit his biggest fear dead on. He was afraid of losing Cagalli…he was afraid that she would be ripped away from him much like almost everyone that was close to him. During the war, he had been afraid of losing Kira, his best friend, and when he had 'killed' him, he tried to deny that fear into a revenge for Kira killing Nicol. But when Cagalli shouted at him and forced him to realize that he had actually killed one of the dearest persons he held in his heart, he realized that he didn't want to lose anyone close to him anymore.
That was why he chose to pilot Justice. He wanted to protect all those that were dear to him – even Kira in his Freedom. He didn't want to lose anyone else. Inwardly, he realized that he already knew the answer to his own question.
"If it's to stop whoever's doing this and to protect all that I love," he stared at the gray face of one of two most powerful G-units ever built, "I'll pilot the Justice Gundam again."
Notes:
Athrun's part – Somehow, he's a bit OOC in this chapter (at least in my opinion) but oh well.
A thank you – to Edgar's Parish for pointing out Mu's dad's name as Ariga. Well…I'll keep it Anton Ariga LaFlaga.
ShinigamiBlade – It's from Ender's Shadow. Shadow Puppets does mention it, but Sister Carlotta discovers that Bean is the result of Anton's Key being unleashed while doing research on him for Graff and Anderson.