Kido Senshi Gundam SEED: The sixth Gundam.
By: Prayer Reverie
Contact: prayerreverie(at)yahoo(dot)com
Summary: A sixth Gundam was developed at Heliopolis, unbeknownst to the Earth Alliance, Orb or ZAFT. AU for changing the SEED storyline and because of Destiny's confirmation.
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED in any which way (although some days I wish).
RVD: Yes I have sped up the storyline, like I said earlier; it's a hybrid of the anime and the manga versions, plus a few 'deleted' scenes as it were.
Lipana: I am aware of the Gundam and SEED acronym (and apparently Destiny and Zaku are acronyms in SEED: Destiny as well ...). I realize that Orb created Strike Rouge (and actually is technically not a Gundam either) and the ISWP (which was in space with the Kusangi, but Cagalli couldn't get the hang of it). Freedom, Justice and Providence (though never shown) have Gundam stand for: Generation Unsubdued Nuclear Drive Module ... Complex. P.S. Who says it was Cagalli piloting Rouge?
Chapter 8: Survival
C.E. 71 May 18th
Nichol was in critical but stable condition. His body was wrapped in soft white gauze bandages to help heal the severe burns. He was missing his right left below the knee and his lungs were damaged from the proximity of the leaking battery acids.
As soon as Yzak found the green-haired boy, he took him to their base, where he was immediately transferred to Victoria for medical treatment. He would soon be shipped back to his home PLANT to stay with his family until he recovered.
They had found no sign of Athrun, only pieces from the Aegis. Wherever he was, Ian hoped he was safe.
"Incoming transmission!" came an announcement.
Yzak and Ian looked at each other, confused. They raced to the communications tower to see a young blonde girl on the other line.
"My name is Cagalli Yula from Orb. We found one of your pilots not far from our current location, and we are now en-route to drop him off." she was saying.
"Is he allowed to talk?" the commander asked.
"I am not a prisoner commander." Athrun said, coming on-screen, his right arm in a sling.
"Mister Zala, good to see you alive and well. Very well Miss Yula, we will grant you permission to enter our airspace and drop Athrun off at the designated coordinates."
The blonde girl nodded, and then ended the transmission.
"It seems our missing pilot mystery has been solved. Yzak, hop in Duel and watch out for trouble. Ian, I'm sorry but with Slayer still down for repairs, you'll have to wait."
"Understood." both pilots said at once.
-
There were no complications with the Orb transport. It set down, Athrun got off and the transport took off again, presumably to head to Orb territory. Ian was on hand to greet Athrun while Duel was still patrolling incase something unlikely would come up.
"Good to have you back Athrun." Ian said.
Athrun merely nodded.
"Hurry up; if you're fast enough you can say good-bye to Nichol before they send him home."
That got Athrun's attention.
"Nichol is ... alive?" he asked.
"He's alive but in bad shape. The doctors expect him to live, but he'll never pilot a shuttle, much less a mobile suit, again." Ian replied, leading him towards Nichol's hospital room.
They arrived quickly, Athrun was anxious to see his friend at least one more time. Gazing upon his battered body hurt Ian every time, but Ian found the courage to do it again, at least for Athrun's sake.
"Nichol, buddy, I'm here now." Athrun said gently.
Nichol stirred, and a few mumbled words were uttered.
"You're .... al .. alive?" Nichol said drowsily.
-
Some time later, Athrun was in his own hospital bed, spending the night for testing purposes, to ensure he wasn't injured in any other way. Staring out the window intently, he almost didn't hear Commander Le Creuset knock.
"It's Le Creuset, I'm coming in." he said.
Athrun moved in surprise, turning to face his commander, ready to stand at attention.
"At ease Athrun," Creuset said, waving his hand.
"Commander I've ... I've failed you." Athrun said shamefully, his head hanging.
"No you haven't. You've punished someone who has taken many lives. You are considered a hero in your home PLANT. The lives that were lost are no longer lost in vain: Miguel, Rusty, Captain Bartfelt, Captain Zeruman. Even little Nichol can rest easier now, knowing that his attacker has been suitably punished."
"Commander ..." Athrun said, a little surprised.
"You are to be awarded the Order of the Nebula for your actions, and you are being transferred to Special Forces of the Ministry of National Security. You will pilot a brand-new Mobile Suit because you, Athrun Zala, are a Top Gun."
Athrun said nothing, still shocked at all of the news.
"You have heard that your honorable father, Patrick Zala, has been elected Chairman of the ZAFT National Council. Chairman Zala sincerely desires to end the war as quickly as possible."
"Father ..." Athrun said quietly.
"You will be transferred in a few days, and you will be going up with Nichol and Ian."
"What about Yzak?" Athrun asked, surprised that Ian was getting transferred as well.
"He has volunteered to fight the Alliance forces on the ground. Yzak is now a squadron leader. He too wishes to end the war, even if he has to sacrifice himself." Creuset explained.
-
"Transferred?!" Ian exclaimed.
"Yes, you are to command your own squadron at Jachin Due, once your unit is finished. Until then you are on shore leave." the attendant explained.
"So am I going up with Nichol?" Ian asked eagerly.
"Yes, he and Athrun are going up with you. Nichol's home PLANT isn't far off from Headquarters."
-
C.E. 71, May 23rd
"So long Yzak. Enjoy your stay, and don't get killed." Ian said, shaking hands with the silver-haired boy.
"Trust me, I'll be alive." Yzak replied.
"It doesn't help much, but I'm sorry Yzak. Thank you for all you have done. I appreciate it." Athrun said, shaking hands as well.
"Don't die, so next time you can be the subordinate." Yzak replied, smiling a little.
The pilots laughed, then left the Duel pilot and boarded their shuttle. The ramp retracted and the hatch sealed shut with a small hiss. Yzak walked back to the base, never looking back as the shuttle blasted off noisily.
"He's going to be lonely, with the three of us going back to space and Dearka MIA." Ian sighed.
"He's an independent person, he'll survive." Athrun replied, leaning back into his chair and closing his eyes.
Sleep was not an option for Ian, the last few battles he fought kept replaying in his head.
Where did the Alliance get so many good pilots? Like the first pilot of the Lightning-Grasper, even the pilot of the Strike Rouge was skilled enough to keep up with a Coordinator. I know Athrun's friend is a Coordinator, but it's insane to think that more would join ...Ian thought.
Something outside the view-port caught his attention.
"What the?" he asked. Athrun looked on in surprise as a Mobile Suit with a color scheme similar to the Strike Gundam's flew by at high-speed.
"He's in a hurry, where the massacre?" Athrun joked.
-
It wouldn't be until later that Athrun would find out just how much truth there was to his jest. The ZGMF-10A Freedom Gundam flew towards the ongoing slaughter at JOSH-A.
The ZAFT Operation Spit-Break finally went through, but the target was revealed to be the Joint Supreme Headquarters at Alaska instead of the Panama base. ZAFT had sent in triple the forces originally slated for the Operation, due in part to their loss of the Carpentaria base.
Then Yzak challenged the new Gundam. The duel was over quickly, Kira spared Yzak's life and instead of slicing the cockpit, he went for Duel's legs. A nearby DINN caught the falling Duel and whisked off to safety.
The pilot of Freedom sent out a broadcast warning all forces about the Cyclops system installed beneath the Alaskan base, which would annihilate everything within a 10 kilometer radius.
Some units retreated, but many stayed, even Earth Alliance forces. The Cyclops was activated and all hell broke loose.
-
Athrun was sent to report to Captain Yuki as soon as the docked, and Nichol was rushed to another shuttle to finally take him home. Ian was given no direction other than the instructions 'enjoy yourself', and planned to.
Banners of Lacus Clyne were hanging everywhere, giving the time and date of her upcoming concert. Ian chuckled; Athrun had it good; the concert was several days before he would be shipped out to his new unit.
It was his first time wearing civilian clothes since Heliopolis was destroyed. He wore black cargo pants, a grey t-shirt underneath a white sports jacket. His duffel bag was slung over his left arm, it contained his few possessions.
He was finally free, free of war, free of attacks, just free! Humming a tune, he started off towards the information center. The door chimed as it opened, letting the receptionist know someone was there.
"Can I help you?" she asked, somewhat disinterested.
"Well, yes. I'm new to PLANT and I wasn't given much in the way of instructions." he replied, walking up to the desk.
"And those were?"
"Huh? Oh, 'enjoy yourself' and 'wait for Lightning'. Kind of useless hey?" he repeated.
"Well I'll give you a list of hotels where you can stay, and a list of places to go shopping, or dancing, or whatever you like to do, and all of it will be within a 30 kilometer radius. I suppose that satisfies both of your orders?" she said, digging up several files on her computer.
"I hope so." he took the offered data chip and inserted it into his laptop, thanked her and left.
He picked the nearest hotel, hailed a taxi and gave the directions. Within minutes he was there, thanking the driver, he paid and entered the lobby.
"Welcome to the PLANT Luna. How long will you be staying?" asked the desk clerk.
"Actually I'm not sure." In truth he wasn't given a timetable, he might leave in 5 minutes or 5 weeks.
"Well then we'll set up a tab, and you can pay as you go or pay the lump sum at the end." The clerk said, listing some options.
"Lump sum sounds fine to me. Let me find my card first." Ian chose, and then scrounged around in his bag, looking for the card ZAFT had given him before he left Earth. Finally he found it.
"Aha! Found it! Here you go." He handed the card over to the clerk who, after examining it, gasped in surprise. Ian never took the time to inspect the card carefully.
"What? Is there a problem?" he asked, confused.
"There is no problem with a ZAFT Gold Card sir." Replied the clerk as he swiped the card and handed it back to Ian.
Ian thanked him, took his key and found his room. Opening the door, he set his stuff down, plugged his laptop into the power outlet and information jack, and then flopped on the bed for a short rest.
A sharp knock at his door woke him up and he looked at the time. The red numbers showed 9:21 PM. Ian had slept for several hours. Grumbling, he got up and opened the door.
A pair of Secret Service ZAFT agents was blocking the doorway. Ian stepped back in surprise, and then recovered.
"May I help you?" he asked politely.
"Mister Temk, you are hereby being issued this from Chairman Zala." said the first agent. The second handed him a small box. They turned and left a slightly bewildered Ian standing there.
"Ok ..." he said to himself, the opened the box.
Inside were several sealed envelops of different sizes and beneath that, a handgun in holster with several clips. He opened the envelope labeled '#1 Instructions'. Inside was a letter.
To: Ian Temk
ZAFT Mobile Corps
C.E. 71, May 22nd
Dear Mr. Temk,
As per new orders, all pilots on leave are to be issued standard firearms. Carry it with you wherever you go, including when you pilot a mobile suit.
From,
Secretary of Chairman Zala
Ian wasn't sure why all pilots had to carry guns, but wasn't about to disagree. He opened the second letter.
Lightning will be striking in less than a month. Be ready.
Still confused, he opened the third and final letter. It had several destinations crossed off of it. Heliopolis, Prometheus, Carpentaria, Cousteau, and finally PLANT.
Ian,
I am alive and well, and I hope you can make it here to see me. Time will tell.
Leah
There was also a ticket inside, but he disregarded that as he stared at the hand-written signature.
Leah. His younger sister who had disappeared even before Heliopolis was destroyed. She had sent a letter to him, and it had followed all the way here. Finally he looked at the ticket. It was a ticket for an upper-section seat at Lacus' upcoming concert.
He re-read the letter until he fell asleep.
-
C.E. 71, May 24th
Early that morning, Siegel Clyne was killed, and an attempt was made on his daughter, Lacus' life. Blame was place on the Blue Cosmos anti-Coordinator group from Earth, and several Naturals were publicly executed. Lacus was nowhere to be found.
The concert was scheduled for today, but with all the commotion and the missing pop star, it was postponed indefinitely. He figured that Leah would wait for him anyways, and if she wasn't there, he was certain he would be contacted somehow.
But it wasn't supposed to start until 7:30 that night, and he had hours to burn. He decided to go shopping. There were many stores to choose from, and Ian wasn't quite sure what he wanted. Clothes or perhaps accessories of some kind, anything at all!
A nearby screen was showing video footage of the morning's assassination and the second attempt. Siegel Clyne's guards were killed quickly and the man himself didn't live much longer. After that apparently more guards were sent for Lacus' protection, but they may have ultimately failed in that task.
"A big fan o' Mistress Clyne are we?" asked the shopkeeper.
"Huh? I beg your pardon?" Ian was confused again.
"'Tis true, I can see the look on your face, plain as day 'tis!" he continued.
"Well I was supposed to go to the concert tonight, but now ..." Ian trailed off.
"Well cheer up good lad, they say her fiancé is on the case, searching for her and gathering information on the Cosmos people who did this." the man said, patting Ian's shoulder.
Figures, Athrun was never one let things slide, especially when it comes to those he cares about.
Ian eventually settled on a semi-formal pair of black slacks and a nice shirt. Thanking the cashier, he left for some food. He was in the middle of eating some rice and beef when a bouncing navy-blue ball with an upside-down white mustache started to bounce around.
HARO! HARO GENKI! It said while moving rapidly.
Ian dodged the blue projectile, then shrugged and continued to eat. Finishing his meal, he returned to his room to rest and freshen up for his meeting. Finally it was time to leave. Slipping his coat on, he picked up his gun and stared at in, then holstered it inside his jacket and left.
-
Since then
Just a tiny bit of time has elapsed
And the memories
Have only gotten sweeter to the last
On this quiet evening
I await your return
Come back
For the smiles
From those times
Now forgotten
The stars ...
The soft, yet beautiful, singing that was heard stopped suddenly. The pink-haired girl clad in a blue dress looked up, expecting to see someone familiar.
"Hello Athrun." she said softly.
"Why did you betray us? Betray me? Why did you help a spy?" He demanded, pulling out his gun and pointing it at her.
"All I did was help a friend in need," she started, and when Athrun didn't interrupt, she continued. "Kira needed Freedom, more so than ever."
Athrun was speechless for a minute, then recovered.
"Lies! That's a lie, because Kira is dead! I killed him!" tears started to form in his eyes.
"He's not dead, he survived and Malchio brought him to me." She said calmly, standing up.
Athrun cocked the hammer on his pistol.
"Why do you fight Athrun Zala? Is it for medals? To follow your father's orders? Why Athrun Zala, why do you fight?" she asked him, advancing a few feet towards him.
"If you fight for the wrong reasons Athrun Zala, you gain enemies and lose everything."
More cocking sounds were heard as several men dressed in black stood up.
"Hand her over to us." One of them said, pointing his gun at Athrun.
Athrun's eyes narrowed and he moved in front of her protectively.
"No chance."
Several shots rang out, and two of the men in black dropped. The remaining men fired at Athrun and Lacus. He grabbed her and dodged behind some cover. More shots were heard, and then there was only one left. The last man stepped around the corner and raised his gun, but a single shot went through him, dropping him.
"Kira is on Earth Athrun Zala, and that's where you need to be. Even if it's just to talk to him, it's something that must be done."
Athrun nodded, and then took off towards the hangar where his mobile suit was stored.
Ian watched it all play out high up above. One of the secret service agents, who was wounded but not dead, jumped up and grabbed Lacus, pointing his gun at her head.
"Guns down or the girl dies." He spat.
Slowly, Lacus' saviors lowered their weapons. Ian stood up, drew his pistol and took aim at the man's head. The agent never saw Ian up there, and he didn't have time to react at Ian squeezed the trigger, releasing a bullet the hit the agent in the head.
The rest of them looked up to see Ian standing there, his gun still pointed at where the man was. Slowly he lowered his gun, and then started to leave.
"Sir! Please wait!" Lacus called out.
DaCosta looked at her in surprise, but he understood a little, after all, that boy had saved her life. Ian stopped and turned his head at the sound of Lacus' voice.
"Please sir, won't you come down here?" she asked seeing that he stopped.
Ian looked around once more, holstered his pistol and jumped off the upper balcony, landing easily on the floor below. He calmly walked up on stage, where the three soldiers were guarding Lacus in a triangular formation.
There was a brief moment of silence, and then Lacus spoke up.
"Thank you for saving my life sir."
"Please, call me Ian." he replied, tiring of hearing 'sir'.
"Well then Ian, I must ask, how did you track me down? Are part of Athrun's unit?"
"Not any more, I'm on leave until further notice. But I was supposed to meet someone here, tonight."
"Oh? And who might that be?" she inquired politely.
"My sister, she sent the letter just before Heliopolis was destroyed, and it's been chasing me since, from one place to another."
One of her protectors stepped forward and took off his hat, or rather, her hat.
"I knew you'd make it big brother!" she said happily.
"Leah!" they embraced in a hug.
He put her down.
"I though you were dead, with your disappearance." he said.
Her reply was cut off by more gunfire. More ZAFT agents had found them. Ian whipped out his pistol and fired back, but was forced to take cover as a hail of bullets responded. Peering around the corner of his cover, he saw Leah take a bullet in the arm.
He dived from his cover and rolled in front of his sister. Ian fired a few shots for cover, and then pulled her back to safety. Reloading his weapon, he saw one of Lacus' guards throw two flash-bang grenades towards the agents.
Ian shut his eyes as the grenades went off.
"We've got to get out of here quickly!" one of them said.
"Go! I'll cover you!" Ian said. Leah looked at him in horror.
"I just found you! You can't leave me now." she said, on the verge of crying.
"I'll find you." he said, pushing her towards the other guards.
Ian saw one of the agents start to recover, so he took aim and dropped the man with a single bullet. He continued to fire as Lacus and the others left. Smiling, he reloaded again and dived out from his cover to spot any more agents. But the coast was finally clear, no more agents were shooting and everyone else had made it to safety.
Holstering his pistol again, he walked out of the building and to his hotel room. He checked his mail once he got there, finding one new message waiting for him. Opening the message he read the contents.
Lightning is Ready. Berth 32A. was all it said.
Shutting down his computer, he packed up and went downstairs.
"Mister Temk?" asked a man standing around in the lobby.
"That's me, something I can help you with?" he replied.
"Lightning awaits." said the man.
Ian raised his eyebrows in surprise. Apparently the High Council kept tabs on when Ian checked his mail. Shrugging, he followed the man and they got in a car and drove off. Berth 32A wasn't far from the hotel, and within 5 minutes they were there.
"Take these, and meet us inside." the man said, handing Ian a pilot's suit and a binder full of papers.
The man walked off, leaving Ian by himself. Finding a change room, Ian entered and swapped clothes for the suit, colored black with a large white lightning bolt starting from the left side of the helmet and moving downwards at an angle.
He was leafing through the binder as he walked down the hallway. Ian got to the technical specifications section just as he walked into the hangar.
"Ian, meet Lightning." the man said, catching Ian's attention and directing it to the mobile suit before him.
A pair of angel-like wings flowed behind the suit, meeting the shoulders with binders that must allow for maximum agility. The usual pair of CIWS Igelstellung head vulcans was present, but there were a pair of quadruple-barreled machine gatling cannons mounted in between the neck joint and the wing binders. A large beam rifle was held in the right hand, while a shield was present in the left. A pair of beam sabers, one on each hip, completed the visible armaments.
Ian stared in awe. The suit already had colors, and he wondered if the phase-shift was active.
"Its got an experimental phase-shift option, based off of early reports from Commander Le Creuset. The Earth Alliance calls it 'Trans Phase-Shift Armor'. It activates at the point of impact, and reduces the power required for the older phase-shift." the man explained, taking note of Ian eyeing the colors.
The suit was painted white all over with black around the forearms and hands, lower legs and feet, cockpit area and grill-plates on the head.
"Your second-in-command is using a prototype GuAIZ Arsenal mobile suit, due to his accomplishments in battle. The rest of your squadron uses CGUEs, and once the GuAIZ production starts in full swing, they'll start to replace the CGUEs."
"Right, then I'd better be off." Ian said, climbing into the cockpit.
The hatch closed, and all systems started up, but there was no G.U.N.D.A.M. acronym to greet him, instead only the ZAFT Armed Forces insignia. The cockpit sported a panoramic view, offering 360 degrees of sight.
"Ian Temk, Lightning, Launching!" he announced as cables disconnected and docking clamps retracted. The upper bay doors opened and Ian activated all of his many banks of powerful vernier thrusters, shooting upwards and quickly leaving behind the PLANT colony.
Setting his heading for the Jachin Due space fortress, he pushed the suit to full speed.
"Here I come." he said, rocketing through space.
A/N: Finally done! Sorry for the delay in updates, but several things came up. If you're wondering what Lightning looks like, picture Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz's Wing Zero, with a white and black paint scheme (see above description), and forget about the Twin Buster Rifle. It does have the standard Gundam eyes and extra cameras, but it's not actually a Gundam. More to come, hopefully soon.