By: Shadow Chaser
Phase Seventeen – Infiltration
Kanoko slid up against the wall, her handgun out and her finger barely pressing the trigger. She never liked guns, but she knew that she would have to use one in here. They were all wearing Kevlar armor in case anyone did get shot, so there was some protection. She didn't know how her husband was doing, but she hoped that he was fine.
She saw Ledonil peek around a corner before signaling to her and the two other people of their team. They moved ahead of her and she followed them, she did not know anything about infiltration, but she knew that she wouldn't be a hindrance to Ledonil and the rest of her team.
Kingfisher's team had entered through the most viable way that was heavily covered in security to draw off the guards while Ledonil's team took the back route that was only known to few of the personnel that was originally part of Dr. Hibiki's team. She and Ledonil had banked on the fact that their former colleague, Sven Anderson, had not known about this hall, and their hunch was correct.
There weren't any guards here and it seemed that no security cameras were in place. As soon as Sven came out as the leader of the Talon, she had felt her heart skip a few beats. She had thought that Anderson had died along with the rest of the Mendel crew when the explosions went off, but it seemed that he survived. If Anderson survived, she wondered if any of her former colleagues had also survived. She dared hope not, as tracking them down and possibly eliminating them would be a horrendous task. Perhaps a few of them retired into their peaceful lives, having nothing to do with the current political arena, but she knew that there were a few of her colleagues who would take advantage of what they knew if they found out that Kira, the only sole survivor of Hibiki's experiments was alive and well.
She had considered changing her son's name once or twice, but always kept it as a tribute to his birth mother's last wishes. Only the last name of Yamato was added as "Kira Hibiki" would sound too conspicuous to anyone, especially those in ZAFT.
Ledonil and Kingfisher had assured her that the men and women they had chosen were the best in keeping secrets, especially pertaining to Black Ops missions, such as this one. She wasn't too sure, especially since finding out that Kingfisher had once been with her husband's unit when he had been in OMNI's Black/Special Ops, but Keiji had personally reassured her of Quinn Misali's loyalty to whatever task was at hand. The less people knew about what happened in Mendel, the better off Kira would be. She never wanted her son to be a pawn between Naturals and Coordinators.
Ledonil's touch, though light, startled her from her thoughts and she colored red slightly, dipping her head in an apology to her friend for not paying more attention to their surroundings, but he shook his head and motioned to her a room they had come upon.
She pointed at the closed door and he nodded. Wordlessly going over, Andrea Sunne and Olivier Ivanov flanking her like bodyguards, she noticed that the control pad to enter the room was still working and narrowed her eyes, trying to remember her passcodes. It had been so long since she used them…and she had never thought she'd used them again. After a few seconds, she turned to Ledonil and mouthed to him, "I don't know!"
"Scientist? Opportunity? Childhood? Doctorate? College? Medical school? Research? Peace?" He started whispering and Kanoko picked up on the fact that he was trying to help her remember by naming not-so random phrases that might trigger her to remember her passcode.
"Birth year?"
"Shh!" she hissed at him, as she suddenly remembered part of the passcode. Though the pad allowed alphanumeric coding, it was close to it. She concentrated for a second before she suddenly typed in the code and the door hissed open. Both Sunne and Ivanov suddenly pointed their assault rifles in at the darkened room, their faces impassive at the sudden opening of the door. Their flashlights on top of the rifles strobed the room before Ivanov nodded an all-clear.
"Here, take this," Ledonil handed her a glowlight and she cracked it open before she held it up in front of her, stepping into the room.
Dusty old panels and squeaky swivel chairs, bolted to the ground as Mendel was floating in a near zero-g, the generators all but lost, utterly destroyed as that was the first thing she, Ledonil, Uzumi, and Katherine had thought to get rid of, greeted them. She pushed aside a few clipboards that had been floating around for the past eighteen years, heavy dust already coating them, and caught herself before she was about to sneeze.
"Here you go ma'am," Andrea Sunne handed her a surgical mask to which she tied on. She didn't like wearing the space helmet that they were all wearing and instead it had been hanging on her spacesuit's belt.
"Thanks," she said before putting on the mask and going over to a dusty control panel. It was the only one in the fairly small room and she touched a few buttons, the panel instantly springing to life. Immediately a battery check signaled and she was relieved to find that it had still half of its power left.
The room had been designed separate from the Colony's main control room, with separate power sources and its own connections to the rest of the Colony. Not even the main control room would be able to detect the small auxiliary control room, but this room was able to monitor everything. It had been designed in case an experiment had gone wrong that forced the evacuation of the main control room.
"No contacts, Commander Kisaka," Ivanov reported from his position in the hall across from the door.
"Good," Kisaka replied before sitting in the chair next to hers and looked at her, "what now, Doctor?"
"The systems should be online," she murmured mostly to herself as her fingers flew over the controls, activating most of the monitors, bathing the room in a bluish glow. It wasn't Coordinator ability, it was her own natural ability as a scientist who knew what she was doing to bring everything back online. "Security cameras are over there," she pointed at a fairly large monitor to her right and Kisaka went over there, sitting himself down again before tapping a few buttons.
"Ma'am?" Sunne asked from behind, and out of the corner of her eye she noticed that she had taken an interest to what she was doing.
"I'm checking the files and manually erasing the back-ups. We don't need to alert Anderson before I delete the main files," Kanoko replied, the feeling of talking while working coming back to her.
"You sound disappointed," Sunne observed and Kanoko nodded curtly.
"Yes. The main files have to be erased from the main control room. Most likely Anderson has monopolized himself in there. Hopefully the other team will be successful and subdue him before we get there."
"Oh," Sunne replied before backing away to let her work. Kanoko smiled slightly; in ways Andrea Sunne reminded her of herself – dedication to work, ability to keep secrets, and a curiosity that couldn't be left alone, except Sunne knew when to back-off; she didn't.
Kanoko continued with her work.
The weight of an assault rifle in his hands was both a comfort and a dread to Keiji. He relished the idea of protecting his wife and son once more, but abhorred the fact that he had to take up arms again. He had resigned his commission in OMNI a long time ago, so taking up arms now was just… He shook his head, knowing that such distracting thoughts were not good during a mission.
He had hoped not to see his son bearing any kind of arms, but during the war with ZAFT two years ago, that hope had been dashed as Uzumi had contacted him and Kanoko with news that his son had joined OMNI and was the pilot of the Strike Gundam. When word reached him that Kira had been listed as MIA during a part of the war, before the Archangel got to Alaska's JOSH-A base, he had been both devastated and relieved at the same time.
Relieved because he knew the higher-ups of OMNI would have probably recognized his son's last name and connected both of them together. His son would have probably been re-assigned to Special Ops to follow in his father's footsteps and that was something that Keiji did not want Kira to do.
"Just like old times, eh Akuma?" Kingfisher suddenly whispered over the headset and Keiji glanced behind him to quirk up a smile.
"Old times," he replied before a double click of Desert's comm. signaled them that he had finished scouting out the place and that it was all clear for now. He and Kingfisher moved forward like silent predators, his training flowing back through his mind and body like liquid ice.
They silently moved, pointing their rifles and flashlights everywhere. He held up his hand in a fist occasionally to stop the team as he listened for any signs of patrols, but when there was none, he fanned out and continued moving forward. Wolf had already left them, the Asian woman finding her own way to the control room via sniping anyone that got in her way. She probably found a good niche to hide and snipe people by now, Keiji realized, and he was glad. It meant that someone was always watching their backs.
Once or twice he thought someone was watching them, but every time he looked back there was no one. He thought he had heard a tinkling sound, almost like little metal hitting each other, but it had faded away almost as quickly. He had a bad feeling that was gnawing him, but decided to ignore it for now. What was the use of a bad feeling if you couldn't pin point anything.
"Patrol," Tempest suddenly whispered and they all halted eyes wary, watching for shadows in the dimly lit halls.
A sudden loud crack filled the air, the recoil of a sniper shot being fired, made him flinch a bit but the hall in front of them was filled with sudden screams and Keiji could pick out six different distinct voices. Another crack of the sniper rifle sounded and there were only five left with bullets flying everywhere. Keiji ran forward, his rifle in one hand while his other was grabbing a grenade on his belt. He activated it for a three-second timer before throwing it into the hall, barely dodging the wild bullets firing everywhere as the patrol tried to find Wolf.
Crouching behind the corner of the hall he had thrown the grenade in, three seconds later, a loud boom went off and smoke poured throughout the hall. There were no voices left.
Kingfisher ran up to him and checked the hallway as Tempest flanked him while Desert hung behind them, offering a hand to him to help him up. Keiji took the hand in appreciation and got up, floating slightly higher than Desert as he pulled a little too hard and his momentum made him rise slightly above. Desert pulled him back down and together they followed Kingfisher into the hall that had once occupied a patrol.
Globs of blood and body parts along with shattered weaponry and the tattered remains of clothing greeted them and Keiji felt a bitter taste in his mouth. That was one of the reasons why he had resigned from OMNI. It was the death that had gotten to him. Even though he had been trained not to throw-up or flinch at death, after seeing so many during his time in the Black Ops, the deaths really did a psychological number on him and he quit.
"How close are we to the control room?" Kingfisher asked and Desert pulled out a small datapad.
"Two more floors up and we should be there," Desert replied and Keiji frowned. It was too easy…there should have been more guards… Yzak had said that the place had been near-crawling with guards, unless all of them had been sent outside to deal with the LF; but even so, there should have been at least a bit more resistance. He glanced at Kingfisher who also wore a frown – thinking along the same exact lines as he was.
"Wolf, any patrols from your vantage point?" Kingfisher asked into the headset.
"No sir," Wolf's deep, but feminine voice replied back, "it's all quiet, too quiet."
"Roger that," Kingfisher said, "keep an eye out."
"Yes sir, Wolf out."
"Let's move," Kingfisher ordered and Keiji followed. They continued deeper into the heart of the colony.
Cagalli put on a burst of throttle and pulled back just in time as the Corsair's beam scythe ripped through. She fired her shoulder gatling guns, peppering the Corsair with them, but they did no damage as the Corsair charged at her. She had thought the mobile suit had a beam saber, but it looked like she had underestimated her opponent. She fired her beam rifle twice, but the Corsair's shield blocked her shots and she growled in frustration.
Nearby she saw the fast moving forms of both Kira and Athrun, engaged in their own battles. She couldn't worry too much as such distracting thoughts were almost always fatal to anyone fighting, so she sent a quick prayer of hope to them before she threw away her almost depleted rifle and instead drew out her beam saber.
"Why are you doing this, Taylor?" she asked. Based on what Yzak, Athrun's former teammate, had said, Taylor was only recently recruited, and was being controlled. Taylor had also been Kira's friend and she didn't want him to suffer anymore losses of his friends. If Taylor could break the programming…then perhaps she would be able to lessen the loss on Kira.
But it was easier said than done, since Taylor was wielding a dangerous mobile suit and if she let her guard down, he would cut her to pieces.
"My dear Princess, if Asterli had not told me you were the pilot of the Strike Rouge then I would not have believed it to be so," Taylor sneered over the comm. as he swiped at her to which she blocked before lashing out with her shield.
"You're a citizen of Orb, one of our own. Why join up with these people?"
"Because they offer something I couldn't have obtained if I stayed in your measly country."
"What?" Cagalli asked, stabbing downward and she smiled grimly as her saber tore through his shield, cutting it in half. She didn't stop as she throttled forward and fired her gatling guns, momentarily blinding the Corsair.
"A new life," Taylor sounded angry.
Cagalli knew that her tactic wasn't working and instead switched to another topic, "I know it wasn't you that planted those bombs in the Senate Hall."
"I should have been the one," Taylor bit back, firing two missiles from his shoulders and Cagalli flew a loop to avoid one while she sliced another in half.
"You were injured along with the others. Didn't that make you angry at your employers? After all, the Talon, like all other groups, take care of their own."
"What the hell would you know!" he shouted and Cagalli knew that she was on the right track.
"The Desert Dawn were freedom fighters like the Talon and we took care of our own. We made sure all of us were safe with each of our missions accomplished. We only wanted to hurt the enemy so we would have more to join to our cause. Hurting ourselves, well," she feinted skepticism, "that wouldn't be too good for our recruitment, right?"
"I already recruited someone, after the bombing," he shot back, throwing his beam saber at her to which she easily dodged. He was getting nervous, angry, and his emotions were throwing off his capabilities to pilot, she noticed, and she was glad. It meant that her words were really digging into him.
"You probably did, but were they injured in the bombing or outside of it? If it was outside, then they probably were hesitant upon joining because of your injuries. An injured unconscious person is easier to recruit, aren't they?" she asked.
"They were outside!" he yelled.
"I don't think so… If they were, then they were really hesitant-"
"You don't hesitate to join the Talon. You just join," Taylor interrupted her angrily before firing off more missiles to which she sliced through all of them. Explosions burst around her, rocking her slightly in her seat, but she refrained from charging at the Corsair. Through her studies, she knew that the first thing when fighting while talking was to let the opponent use up all of their ammunition or energy, then it would be easier to finish them off. Right now, she was letting Taylor do all the work while she just hung back.
"I think with that bombing, even if you do 'just join' you are still hesitant, aren't you?"
"SHUT UP!" he screamed before charging at her, swinging his scythe wildly.
Cagalli blocked all of his swings, before she saw an opportunity arise and she struck downward, slicing the Corsair's legs off. The Corsair stopped its attack and backed away, its legs giving off faint sparks, the circuits cut and exposed.
"You think you've won?" Taylor asked, a slight bubbling laughter of insanity in his voice, "When I go, I will TAKE YOU WITH ME!"
He suddenly charged at her and Cagalli was too surprised to do anything. He embraced her tightly and Cagalli tried to squirm out of the Corsair's grasp, but the hold was tight.
"Taylor! Listen to me!" she suddenly fell into seed-mode and her voice changed slightly, "You will not activate the controls! You will not self-destruct. You value your life a lot and will not kill yourself."
"I…will…n-not…self…destruct," the words seemed like they were forced out of his mouth and Cagalli repeated her words, her eyes narrowed as she tried to concentrate all of her will on stopping Taylor and perhaps breaking the hold the Talon had on him.
"You will let go and desist," she whispered the command. There was something different about this seed-mode she had fallen into, she could feel it, and though it scared her she wondered if part of it was because she was so close to Mendel that its effects, if any, was bringing a different part of her out.
"Let…go…desist," he stuttered slightly before the Corsair loosened its deadly embrace and floated a bit away. Suddenly there was a screaming wail and her eyes widened as the bloodcurdling scream reverberated through her comm. system. An explosion followed after and Cagalli saw that it had come from the Claw. A sudden panic filled her, but it was quelled as she saw the Justice, floating away from the debris that was once the Claw, fairly uninjured.
"Princess…Cagalli?" the voice of Taylor came over, a bit sad, if confused and Cagalli looked at the Corsair.
"Taylor?"
"Oh my God…Princess, I'm so sorry! I apologize for trying to hurt you and the country! Please, please forgive my actions, your highness!" Taylor suddenly spilled out, and crying was heard over the comm.
Cagalli approached the Corsair and placed a hand on its shoulder, "Taylor, please put on your visual."
"I'm too ashamed to, Princess," Taylor said in a soft voice.
"I insist."
"As you wish," moments later a small corner of her main screen lit up with his haggard face and she knew that she had broken through the programming. Gone were the insane eyes, instead a broken man sat in the cockpit before her.
"It wasn't your fault, Taylor Ren. I forgive you for your actions," she said in a gentle voice as Athrun flew up beside her. His image popped up on a small screen underneath Taylor's and Cagalli bit back a gasp at how miserable he looked.
"I couldn't save her," he said, shaking his head.
"But she saved me," Taylor whispered, his head still bowed, "her essence and your help, Princess, saved me…"
Cagalli nodded before bringing up a tactical screen on her left. She scanned it for any signs of the Freedom and Liberty, but frowned as there were no signs. "Athrun, where did Kira go?"
"Kira…" Taylor sighed before he looked up at her, "Griever's leading him into a trap on Mendel… He had said that the three of you would be here and he would kill Kira when he got the chance."
"Shit, we should stop him," Cagalli swore but a shake of Athrun's head made her frown. "What?"
"I'll find Kira. You have to take Taylor back to one of the ships. Take him to the Eternal, there's more than enough room for his mobile suit. He needs medical help."
"All right," Cagalli agreed, "but then I'm coming back to help you."
"No," Athrun said in a firm voice and Cagalli crossed her arms, angry.
"Why not?! I'm good enough!"
"No," Athrun said in a gentler voice, "Griever wouldn't hesitate to kill you again. Help Yzak and Dearka clean up the Talon forces out here. We'll be fine in Mendel."
Cagalli didn't like what Athrun was saying, but she knew that it made sense. She also knew that when he came back, they were going to have a little talk about the two of them in battles together. She sighed, "All right. But if you don't come back, I will have to kill you."
Athrun smiled faintly at her statement, "I love you Cagalli."
"I love you too," she replied.
"Athrun, I had said that I converted someone to the Talon. Her name's Haruka Satou and she was supposed to steal aboard one of your ships. She's going to ambush the two teams you sent in and kill everyone. Stop her by shooting off her gold charm bracelet."
"Roger that. Thanks, Taylor."
"It's the least I can do," the teen tried to smile but failed.
"Watch yourself out there," Cagalli suddenly spoke up, a sudden knot of fear suddenly erupting in her stomach.
"I will," Athrun replied before cutting the comm. off and the Justice flew towards Mendel.