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Chapter 3
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Miriallia was quiet as she walked down the corridors of the base, thinking about what Dearka and Yzak had told her after their return. They had been attacked by the Reverse Strike, the mobile suit that had nearly destroyed the Resolution several days earlier, only to learn that the pilot was none other than Kira Yamato. Why would he turn against them, the people who cared about him the most? It made no sense to her at all.
Miriallia had been Kira's classmate on Heliopolis, one of the few friends he had at the time. She and Tolle visited him whenever possible, often seeing him work on complex computer programs. They had only known each other a short while before the ZAFT attack, the same attack that later destroyed the peaceful PLANT and sent them all onto the Archangel. Still, she missed him as much as she would any of the other children from Heliopolis.
She entered the hangar bay to see the all-too familiar sight of the Archangel, moored outside the large area as various technicians prepared to load the Duel and Buster Gundams onboard. The Alliance battleship had been called to pick up the two mobile suits and head to the PLANTS, to investigate the attacks being held on various ships like the Resolution in the last few weeks. Since the war, it had nearly been decommissioned due to the damage it suffered in the war's final days. Yet instead it was completely overhauled and made a frontline ship due to it's success record. It was a comforting sight of familiarity to Miriallia, especially now.
"Miri!" She noticed a friendly and familiar face among the people moving about and smiled. Ssigh Argyle had changed little from the young man he was two years before, both mentally and physically. He was one of the few friends that she could count on, even after the battle that took Tolle away from her. He had been a shoulder to cry on, a source of comfort for her since then.
"Hello, Ssigh." Miriallia said as the blond young man approached her. "You said that Captain Ramias wanted to see me?"
"Yeah. She's on the ship getting it ready for launch in a few hours." The two walked towards the Archangel, passing the technicians and engineers. "So, how have you been?"
"I've been all right, but... have you heard about Kira?"
"We all have. That's why were heading out." Ssigh stopped and turned to the young woman next to him, seeing the concern reflected in her eyes. "How can you be sure that it's him, though? None of us have seen him for the last few years."
"Maybe, but Yzak and Dearka heard his voice over the COM radio in a battle. They said that the Reverse Strike's pilot fought like him, also. It HAS to be him, Ssigh."
"Even if it is, why would Kira suddenly switch sides like that? It doesn't make sense."
"I know." They resumed their walk and arrived at the conference room, where Captain Murrue Ramias was waiting for them. Externally, she was still the same kind woman and excellent commander she always was. Yet inside her heart, she had changed the most out of everyone else. Since Mwu La Fraga's death at the hands of Raww's Providence Gundam, she had retreated into a private shell, refusing to give her heart to anyone else. She couldn't risk it, not again. Instead, she refused promotion and had personally overseen to Archangel's refit. This was a different woman who had taken command of the ship two years before. This was someone who was weathering a private storm.
"I'm glad you both are here." Murrue said as Miriallia and Ssigh took a seat. "I trust you both understand what this ship has been assigned to do."
"Yes ma'am." Ssigh and Miriallia replied.
"Now the reason I called you here, Miri, is because we're going to need you on this mission. Two years ago, you became one of the best unofficial COM officers I've ever had. You coordinated communication traffic for us very efficiently and had become an excellent officer here in California, from what I've heard." Murrue then leaned forward, her voice taking on a more personal tone. "I want you to be at the COM console when we head out again."
"Captain..." Miriallia thought for a second before giving her answer. "...I would be happy to serve onboard the Archangel again."
"I'm glad to hear that." Murrue smiled before getting up from the conference table. "You have two hours to report back so you should handle any personal business before then." She saluted as the two children left, leaving the black-haired woman to her own thoughts. She picked up a framed photograph from the desk, a picture of Mwu from nearly two years ago. He was standing in front of his old mobile armor, the Mobius Zero, and smiling warmly. Murrue had to fight the now-familiar tears that clouded her vision, the sorrow she felt still fresh in her memory.
"Mwu..." Murrue said softly to the picture. "I miss you so much..." She wiped the tears away as she replaced the picture, forcing her feelings aside once more. When you're the captain of a battleship, there wasn't time for personal feelings. She understood that as she straightened her uniform and prepared to head to the bridge.
================
The hangar of the ZAFT battleship was quiet as the Reverse Strike landed perfectly, it's engines slowly falling silent as the large mobile suit powered down. Heero mentally cursed himself as the cockpit door opened and he climbed out. He let himself become unfocused and distracted, possibly endangering the mission. Visiting Cagalli was a mistake, he saw that now. She was a part of his past, a factor that no longer should have concerned him.
So why couldn't he stop thinking about her?
He shouldn't have told her what he had learned, making both of their lives much more complex that necessary. Now she would be compelled to find him, to seek him out much as he did her. He couldn't allow her nor anyone else to put themselves in danger. It would compromise matters much more than before. The mission had to continue.
He walked out of the hangar and down the corridor, his mind reviewing the other information he had discovered during his research. Apparently, according to ZAFT records, mobile suits were developed long before the Cosmic Era began. They made vague allusions to other periods in Earth's history, of something called a "Dark History" and a mecha called the "Turn-A-Gundam" destroying all technology on the planet. Heero had mentioned what he had learned to Murdock, who told him about a series of ruins discovered on the moon that confirmed all of this. However, the Earth Alliance had destroyed most of the information out of fear, fear that history would repeat itself again and they would eventually fall out of power.
Murdock was a mysterious man, at best. He seldom showed himself to anyone, remaining instead in his office on the ship and commanding efforts from there. When he did show himself, which was rare, everything except for his eyes was hidden behind a mask. Kira had to be careful around him, so that his mission wouldn't fail in the future.
Heero entered the room at the end of the corridor, giving his eyes time to adjust to the darkness. The only light came from a open laptop on the table, the screen's glow casting shadows on the various objects behind it, including the face of Murdock as he looked up at the young man.
"I trust the mission was successful, Heero?" Murdock said, his voice an even baritone.
"Yes, however there were... complications. I was forced to engage the Duel and Buster mobile suits at the California base."
"I see." Murdock motioned for Heero to come closer, his eyes invisible behind his mask. "In light of this, I commend you for completing your assignment." He twisted the computer's screen around, showing the young man the data displayed. "This is your next task. Reports say that the Earth Alliance will send some ships in this area to investigate our recent actions in several hours. We cannot allow them to deter us from our mission. You and the remaining pilots will prepare for combat and be ready once they arrive."
"I understand." As Heero started to leave, Murdock looked into his eyes, sensing that the young man wasn't telling him everything. The young man's eyes, normally lifeless to him, held a glimmer of their forgotten light, as if an internal battle was being raged. He smirked to himself as he looked over the data on the laptop's screen.
"Soon the game will almost be over." he muttered to himself. "After all these countless centuries, everything will finally fall into place."
================
"Can you believe this?" Dearka said as he went over the checklist for the Buster mobile suit, making sure that it was in full battle condition before it was loaded. "We go from one crazy bastard to another."
"It doesn't matter for me." Yzak replied, going over his own checklist for Duel along with it's optional but improved Assault Shroud parts. "I've been waiting for combat like this for a long time." After their return from their brief battle with the Reverse Strike, they along with the rest of the base watched a transmission from one of the PLANTS. It was now part of the organization named GHOST and declared themselves sovereigns of their own fates, independent of the Earth Alliance or the ZAFT "traitors". Now Yzak and Dearka had to move out with the Archangel and make sure another war isn't started.
"Have you heard from Athrun?" Yzak asked. "I thought he was at the PLANTS helping peace negotiations."
"He said that he'll meet with us later after we launched." Dearka answered as he finished his checklist. "But... I think he should know about Kira. They were close, almost like brothers."
"True, but distractions like that will cost you in the battlefield."
"You're a real softie, you know that?" Dearka said sarcastically, the two pilots heading to the hangar bay to board the Archangel.
================
Cagalli was curled up on the floor of her bedroom as her head swirled with confusion, frustrated over what Kira, or Heero as he is known now, had told her last night. He disappears from her life for two years only to return and say he wasn't her brother. At first, she was in complete denial and dismissed his statement as something else, hoping that perhaps she had heard him wrong. Yet curiosity took over as she hacked into ZAFT's old medical records. Shock and dismay flooded her as she confirmed that what she was told was true.
Cagalli's being was shaken to the core as she took several deep breaths, trying desperately to make sense out of it all and maintain her sanity. A storm of emotions swelled in her. Anger... betrayal... frustration... and somewhere among them, perhaps even relief.
'It can't be true.' Cagalli told herself as she hugged her knees to her chest. 'It just can't be. Kira HAS to be my brother...' But she could deny it no longer, not with the evidence stacking against it. That meant everything, EVERYTHING she had come to accept since her father's death was a lie. There was nothing left she could trust anymore, not even her own feelings as they fought for dominion within her heart.
"Dammit!" She cursed as she bolted up, fighting the feelings within her with a determination she didn't have since the war's end. "I'm going to get some answers from someone if it's the last thing I do." With that, she opened her closet and proceeded to get dressed.
Chapter 3
================
Miriallia was quiet as she walked down the corridors of the base, thinking about what Dearka and Yzak had told her after their return. They had been attacked by the Reverse Strike, the mobile suit that had nearly destroyed the Resolution several days earlier, only to learn that the pilot was none other than Kira Yamato. Why would he turn against them, the people who cared about him the most? It made no sense to her at all.
Miriallia had been Kira's classmate on Heliopolis, one of the few friends he had at the time. She and Tolle visited him whenever possible, often seeing him work on complex computer programs. They had only known each other a short while before the ZAFT attack, the same attack that later destroyed the peaceful PLANT and sent them all onto the Archangel. Still, she missed him as much as she would any of the other children from Heliopolis.
She entered the hangar bay to see the all-too familiar sight of the Archangel, moored outside the large area as various technicians prepared to load the Duel and Buster Gundams onboard. The Alliance battleship had been called to pick up the two mobile suits and head to the PLANTS, to investigate the attacks being held on various ships like the Resolution in the last few weeks. Since the war, it had nearly been decommissioned due to the damage it suffered in the war's final days. Yet instead it was completely overhauled and made a frontline ship due to it's success record. It was a comforting sight of familiarity to Miriallia, especially now.
"Miri!" She noticed a friendly and familiar face among the people moving about and smiled. Ssigh Argyle had changed little from the young man he was two years before, both mentally and physically. He was one of the few friends that she could count on, even after the battle that took Tolle away from her. He had been a shoulder to cry on, a source of comfort for her since then.
"Hello, Ssigh." Miriallia said as the blond young man approached her. "You said that Captain Ramias wanted to see me?"
"Yeah. She's on the ship getting it ready for launch in a few hours." The two walked towards the Archangel, passing the technicians and engineers. "So, how have you been?"
"I've been all right, but... have you heard about Kira?"
"We all have. That's why were heading out." Ssigh stopped and turned to the young woman next to him, seeing the concern reflected in her eyes. "How can you be sure that it's him, though? None of us have seen him for the last few years."
"Maybe, but Yzak and Dearka heard his voice over the COM radio in a battle. They said that the Reverse Strike's pilot fought like him, also. It HAS to be him, Ssigh."
"Even if it is, why would Kira suddenly switch sides like that? It doesn't make sense."
"I know." They resumed their walk and arrived at the conference room, where Captain Murrue Ramias was waiting for them. Externally, she was still the same kind woman and excellent commander she always was. Yet inside her heart, she had changed the most out of everyone else. Since Mwu La Fraga's death at the hands of Raww's Providence Gundam, she had retreated into a private shell, refusing to give her heart to anyone else. She couldn't risk it, not again. Instead, she refused promotion and had personally overseen to Archangel's refit. This was a different woman who had taken command of the ship two years before. This was someone who was weathering a private storm.
"I'm glad you both are here." Murrue said as Miriallia and Ssigh took a seat. "I trust you both understand what this ship has been assigned to do."
"Yes ma'am." Ssigh and Miriallia replied.
"Now the reason I called you here, Miri, is because we're going to need you on this mission. Two years ago, you became one of the best unofficial COM officers I've ever had. You coordinated communication traffic for us very efficiently and had become an excellent officer here in California, from what I've heard." Murrue then leaned forward, her voice taking on a more personal tone. "I want you to be at the COM console when we head out again."
"Captain..." Miriallia thought for a second before giving her answer. "...I would be happy to serve onboard the Archangel again."
"I'm glad to hear that." Murrue smiled before getting up from the conference table. "You have two hours to report back so you should handle any personal business before then." She saluted as the two children left, leaving the black-haired woman to her own thoughts. She picked up a framed photograph from the desk, a picture of Mwu from nearly two years ago. He was standing in front of his old mobile armor, the Mobius Zero, and smiling warmly. Murrue had to fight the now-familiar tears that clouded her vision, the sorrow she felt still fresh in her memory.
"Mwu..." Murrue said softly to the picture. "I miss you so much..." She wiped the tears away as she replaced the picture, forcing her feelings aside once more. When you're the captain of a battleship, there wasn't time for personal feelings. She understood that as she straightened her uniform and prepared to head to the bridge.
================
The hangar of the ZAFT battleship was quiet as the Reverse Strike landed perfectly, it's engines slowly falling silent as the large mobile suit powered down. Heero mentally cursed himself as the cockpit door opened and he climbed out. He let himself become unfocused and distracted, possibly endangering the mission. Visiting Cagalli was a mistake, he saw that now. She was a part of his past, a factor that no longer should have concerned him.
So why couldn't he stop thinking about her?
He shouldn't have told her what he had learned, making both of their lives much more complex that necessary. Now she would be compelled to find him, to seek him out much as he did her. He couldn't allow her nor anyone else to put themselves in danger. It would compromise matters much more than before. The mission had to continue.
He walked out of the hangar and down the corridor, his mind reviewing the other information he had discovered during his research. Apparently, according to ZAFT records, mobile suits were developed long before the Cosmic Era began. They made vague allusions to other periods in Earth's history, of something called a "Dark History" and a mecha called the "Turn-A-Gundam" destroying all technology on the planet. Heero had mentioned what he had learned to Murdock, who told him about a series of ruins discovered on the moon that confirmed all of this. However, the Earth Alliance had destroyed most of the information out of fear, fear that history would repeat itself again and they would eventually fall out of power.
Murdock was a mysterious man, at best. He seldom showed himself to anyone, remaining instead in his office on the ship and commanding efforts from there. When he did show himself, which was rare, everything except for his eyes was hidden behind a mask. Kira had to be careful around him, so that his mission wouldn't fail in the future.
Heero entered the room at the end of the corridor, giving his eyes time to adjust to the darkness. The only light came from a open laptop on the table, the screen's glow casting shadows on the various objects behind it, including the face of Murdock as he looked up at the young man.
"I trust the mission was successful, Heero?" Murdock said, his voice an even baritone.
"Yes, however there were... complications. I was forced to engage the Duel and Buster mobile suits at the California base."
"I see." Murdock motioned for Heero to come closer, his eyes invisible behind his mask. "In light of this, I commend you for completing your assignment." He twisted the computer's screen around, showing the young man the data displayed. "This is your next task. Reports say that the Earth Alliance will send some ships in this area to investigate our recent actions in several hours. We cannot allow them to deter us from our mission. You and the remaining pilots will prepare for combat and be ready once they arrive."
"I understand." As Heero started to leave, Murdock looked into his eyes, sensing that the young man wasn't telling him everything. The young man's eyes, normally lifeless to him, held a glimmer of their forgotten light, as if an internal battle was being raged. He smirked to himself as he looked over the data on the laptop's screen.
"Soon the game will almost be over." he muttered to himself. "After all these countless centuries, everything will finally fall into place."
================
"Can you believe this?" Dearka said as he went over the checklist for the Buster mobile suit, making sure that it was in full battle condition before it was loaded. "We go from one crazy bastard to another."
"It doesn't matter for me." Yzak replied, going over his own checklist for Duel along with it's optional but improved Assault Shroud parts. "I've been waiting for combat like this for a long time." After their return from their brief battle with the Reverse Strike, they along with the rest of the base watched a transmission from one of the PLANTS. It was now part of the organization named GHOST and declared themselves sovereigns of their own fates, independent of the Earth Alliance or the ZAFT "traitors". Now Yzak and Dearka had to move out with the Archangel and make sure another war isn't started.
"Have you heard from Athrun?" Yzak asked. "I thought he was at the PLANTS helping peace negotiations."
"He said that he'll meet with us later after we launched." Dearka answered as he finished his checklist. "But... I think he should know about Kira. They were close, almost like brothers."
"True, but distractions like that will cost you in the battlefield."
"You're a real softie, you know that?" Dearka said sarcastically, the two pilots heading to the hangar bay to board the Archangel.
================
Cagalli was curled up on the floor of her bedroom as her head swirled with confusion, frustrated over what Kira, or Heero as he is known now, had told her last night. He disappears from her life for two years only to return and say he wasn't her brother. At first, she was in complete denial and dismissed his statement as something else, hoping that perhaps she had heard him wrong. Yet curiosity took over as she hacked into ZAFT's old medical records. Shock and dismay flooded her as she confirmed that what she was told was true.
Cagalli's being was shaken to the core as she took several deep breaths, trying desperately to make sense out of it all and maintain her sanity. A storm of emotions swelled in her. Anger... betrayal... frustration... and somewhere among them, perhaps even relief.
'It can't be true.' Cagalli told herself as she hugged her knees to her chest. 'It just can't be. Kira HAS to be my brother...' But she could deny it no longer, not with the evidence stacking against it. That meant everything, EVERYTHING she had come to accept since her father's death was a lie. There was nothing left she could trust anymore, not even her own feelings as they fought for dominion within her heart.
"Dammit!" She cursed as she bolted up, fighting the feelings within her with a determination she didn't have since the war's end. "I'm going to get some answers from someone if it's the last thing I do." With that, she opened her closet and proceeded to get dressed.