I don't own anything except Kevin Walker and Invictus

Kevin Walker watched his friend leave the ship with a feeling of unease. Kira was going out to face all four stolen G-weapons simultaneously, without any assistance. In Kevin's mind, the only thing that could possibly allow Kira to survive would be the success of Mu La Flaga's sneak attack on the Vesalius. If that could be accomplished, the ZAFT forces would have no choice but to withdraw.

The thought of just who was piloting the Aegis sent a chill through him, as well. For seven years, until escalating tensions between Earth and the PLANTs had forced them to separate, they had been good friends, nearly inseparable. Kira Yamato, Athrun Zala, and Kevin Walker. Kevin had considered both of them close enough friends to confide in them his deepest secret, the one that not even his parents knew of: that he was a zoanthrope. Now, Athrun had joined the very organization that Blade was sworn to destroy, and he was not known for breaking his oaths. That made one of his best friends his mortal enemy, and he dearly hoped it could be avoided.

He shook off these thoughts and turned back to his mobile suit, the captured GINN that Murdoch and his people were busily modifying to accept energy weapons. Kevin had been mildly horrified to discover that the merry band of mechanically-inclined madmen had repainted the machine blood red, with black stripes: the same color as his flight suit, the same color that had made him famous as the Crimson Tiger. Murdoch, however, had cheerfully explained that keeping it in ZAFT colors ran too much of a risk of friendly fire, and besides, it was too late now; they'd fused the paint with the mobile suit's armor.

"Mechanics," Kevin muttered, and dove back into his work.

Two mobile suits inexorably closed on each other, launched from two different ships, with pilots of two different factions. Athrun Zala's Aegis came from the Vesalius, and Kira Yamato's Strike flew from the Archangel. They were both dreading the possibility of fighting each other. The both hoped it would not come to pass.

But it seemed hopeless. "That's Kira!" Athrun said to himself in dismay, seeing the Strike appear on his display.

Likewise, Kira spotted the Aegis. "That mobile suit... It's Athrun!"

And beyond them all, in his carefully stealthed shuttle, the young man known only as Invictus watched them both. He had already noted that Hydra's GINN was not among the deployed forces, which meant his assigned mission was not a factor here... just as he had noticed the mobile armor that had left the so-called legged ship under the cover of the vessel's positron cannons.

Invictus considered passing the information on to his boss, but on further reflection, he erased the scan data. He and Le Creuset had a business arrangement, and to be sure, Invictus would not exist were it not for the commander. But they did not fully trust each other, and Invictus had never been in the habit of telling Le Creuset everything he knew. For example, he was honestly not surprised by Hydra's re-emergence; he had long ago picked up the super-soldier's trail, not long after Hydra departed the lab. Since then, Invictus had tracked him carefully, until he arrived at Heliopolis.

Now, however, with Hydra not involved in this battle, the hardened assassin was faced with a different quandary. He was not yet aware of who was piloting the Aegis, but he had already deduced the identity of the Strike's pilot, and he longed to contact him. But he knew that, whatever his memories might be, Kira Yamato was Hydra's friend, not his. Invictus was a mere copy, and though he might wish for it, he did not dare contact Kira, or even Hydra's oldest friend...

Aegis and Strike passed each other with only meters between them, and both deployed beam sabers. But neither struck.

Athrun immediately hailed his old friend. "Stop it! Please, put away your sword, Kira!" His face appeared on Kira's monitor. "We are not enemies. Am I right?"

"Athrun..." Kira winced.

"Why do we have to fight each other?" Athrun asked. "You're a Coordinator, just like us!"

"Believe me, the last thing I want to do is fight against you, but..."

Meanwhile, Yzak Joule had led the three G-weapons from the Gamow to a point near the Archangel. "I'm gonna go back up Athrun," he told his fellow pilots. "Dearka, Nicol, you two take the legged ship."

"Roger that," Dearka Elsman acknowledged.

"Got it." Nicol Amalfi directed his GAT-X207 Blitz in the Buster's wake, angling to attack their primary objective.

Kira, seeing the threat to his friends, turned away from the Aegis. "The Archangel!" He kicked in the Strike's verniers, trying to aid them.

Athrun blocked his way, forcing him back. "Kira, enough! What do you think you're doing?"

"Athrun, please, get out of my way!" The Strike brandished its beam saber... though he wasn't inclined to use it if he could avoid it.

"What are you doing with the Earth Forces?" Athrun demanded. "Why are you siding with the Naturals? Tell me!"

"I am not with the Earth Forces," Kira retorted, trying to get past. "But people I know are on that ship! They're all good friends of mine. And one of them is a friend of yours too!" Before the Aegis' pilot could give voice to his surprise at the statement, Kira went on, "Besides, what are you doing with ZAFT? Why'd you get involved in the war?" The Strike and Aegis twisted about in a virtual space ballet, a dance that would have been lethal had either of them been interested in anything but talk. "You used to tell me that you hated the whole idea of war, so why did you attack Heliopolis?"

"Because that's where the Naturals built these things," Athrun replied. "They made it into a target, not us!"

"But Heliopolis was neutral, and so am I!" Kira said angrily. "And yet you still..."

He was interrupted by a beam blast that came out of nowhere, as the Duel made its appearance. "What the- X102 Duel? That's here, too?"

"You're not fighting, Athrun!" Yzak shouted. "Why not?"

"Yzak...?" Athrun boosted backwards as the Duel sliced into the battle, and he felt helpless for a moment. Much as he did not want to kill Kira, despite his promise to Le Creuset to convince or destroy him, it appeared Yzak Joule did not care in the slightest. Never known for keeping his temper, the white-haired young pilot was nearing a berserker rage.

Seemingly out of the blue, it occurred to Athrun to wonder how another of his old classmates would have reacted to Yzak. Kevin Walker (who was no doubt many thousands or even millions of kilometers away) had always shown a cool head under pressure, even during the few times he'd been attacked by bullies. Said bullies had stopped mysteriously after a short while, with rumors floating about that bad things happened to those who crossed Walker. Athrun happened to know the true story, so he figured Kevin would have been contemptuous (at best) of Yzak. But there was no way he could be anywhere near here.

Elsewhere in the region of space near the Artemis base, currently known as a battlefield, Mu La Flaga's Moebius Zero streaked through the debris field, stalking the Vesalius. If he could just get close before they realized he was out there...

It's payback time, Rau, La Flaga thought. You beat me on Heliopolis; now I'll make you see what it's like to have your own ship shot up around you. He was looking forward to the prospect... though he knew that it would be impossible to avoid Le Creuset's notice within a certain range...

In the Archangel's hanger, Kevin labored tirelessly over his GINN, hurrying to get it combat-ready as fast as possible. The other mechanics working with him were in awe of the strength and dexterity he displayed, easily moving some equipment that would otherwise have required mechanical assistance to transport. The explanation, of course, was simple: for reasons that Kevin did not yet comprehend, his parents had engineered him to be even stronger than ordinary Coordinators, so even without his augmentation online, he was a very strong individual; something that was not evident in his lean frame.

He was paying close attention to the reports coming in on the Bridge; with his computer skills, he had easily managed to create a patch between the Bridge intercom and the radio built into his head, the radio that had allowed him to advise Ramius of his intentions during the very encounter which netted him the GINN.

Because of this, Kevin was getting worried. He wasn't very concerned about his own safety (he was, in fact, unsure of what it took for him to die and stay dead, since even a fusion bomb hadn't sufficed), but Kira, from all reports, was hard-pressed by the stolen mobile suits, though the ship itself was in good shape, now that the Buster and Blitz had finally moved elsewhere... to attack Kira.

He stiffened for a moment, as he heard Bridge chatter. "Enemy Nazca-class has locked onto us," Petty Officer Dalida Lolaha Chandra reported.

Badgiruel snarled wordlessly. "Prepare to fire Lohengrins!" she ordered.

Ramius's voice was quickly audible. "Hold on a minute! The Lieutenant's Zero is engaging! Evasive maneuvers!"

"Too risky," the ensign shot back. "Fire or draw fire."

Kevin shook his head. That's one cold-blooded woman. But then, who am I to talk?

At nearly that very moment, Rau Le Creuset felt a familiar presence. "Boost engines!" he shouted to Ades. "Lower bow pitch angle sixty!"

The Captain looked blank for a moment, until another member of the Bridge crew spoke. "Heat source detected below. It's a mobile armor!"

Ades reacted instantly. "Activate CIWS! Boost engines, lower bow pitch angle sixty!"

It was too late.

Mu La Flaga flew "up" at the Vesalius, yelling a battle cry as he opened fire. His wired gunbarrels and low-slung linear gun wrought havoc and destruction, and to add insult to injury, the Hawk fired a piton and used the entire ship as a slingshot to hasten his return to the Archangel.

Le Creuset gritted his teeth as damage reports came. How could I possibly have fallen for that? They didn't fire their positron cannons because we spooked them, they fired to cover that bastard's approach!

Yet the worst damage was yet to come.

Kira, meanwhile, was having difficulties of his own, for he was now surrounded. The Aegis still held its fire, but the Duel, Buster, and Blitz showed no such restraint. So far, he'd managed to evade their attacks... but he also hadn't managed to hit them either. And his power was getting low.

"They're retreating!" Chandra reported on the Bridge.

"Good." Ramius sighed in relief. "Now, warn Lieutenant La Flaga to get clear and fire the Lohengrins."

The crew moved quickly to comply, and the Vesalius was soon blasted by the positron cannons, saved from destruction only by swift evasive maneuvers.

La Flaga, seeing the huge beams, whistled. "Whoa."

On the Archangel's Bridge, Ramius glanced down into CIC. "Signal the Strike to return at once."

"Yes, Ma'am!" Mir responded. A moment later, however, she looked up. "Captain, he can't! He's surrounded!"

"Give him covering fire," the Captain ordered.

"It's impossible in that melee," Badgiruel countered. "We can't get precise targeting data."

Ramius gritted her teeth, then hit her intercom. "Blade, the Strike is in trouble! Your GINN?"

Kevin glanced off-screen for a moment, then nodded. "Just give the word, Captain."

"The word is given. Launch at once!"

"Roger, wilco."

In the hanger, Kevin Walker climbed into the cockpit of his mobile suit, glad to finally be doing something. All right, you ZAFT bastards. You're trying to hurt my friend, and in my book there's only one acceptable penalty: death.

Murdoch and his people began moving the GINN to the catapult, and Kevin flipped down his inner visor. His flight suit had two: an inner, transparent layer, and an opaque outer faceplate. He preferred to remain anonymous, but sometimes face-to-face was necessary, and he didn't want to expose himself to the risk of breathing vacuum.

"Connected to catapult," Mir said over the radio. "Ready, Kevin?"

"I think so." He'd never flown a mobile suit in combat before, but more memories had returned, of simulator runs during his ZAFT days. He could do it. "But first, I need a rundown on the G-weapons' capabilities. I know it's classified, but they already know anyway. So is there anything special I need to worry about?"

Sai's face appeared. "The Aegis is lightly armed, with just Igelstellungs, beam sabers, and a beam rifle, but watch out for its mobile armor mode. In that form, it has a 580 millimeter hyper-impulse cannon. The Buster has a beam rifle, gun launcher, and missile launchers; the rifles can be combined to form a hyper-impulse sniper rifle or an anti-armor shotgun. The Duel is pretty basic, with just a beam rifle, beam sabers, and Igelstellungs, but the Blitz may give you fits. In addition to kinetic penetrator darts, beam rifle, beam saber, and Gleipnir grappler, it's equipped with Mirage Colloid, which-"

"I know what Mirage Colloid is," Kevin interrupted. "Means he can turn invisible. Okay, GINN launching."

The familiar G-forces pressed him back into his seat as the linear catapult hurled his tiger-striped GINN out into space.

Kira was getting desperate as he fought the ZAFT machines. His power was getting low, and he hadn't so much as scorched any of his opponents.

He gasped, dismayed as his energy gauge ran down to zero. "No!"

"I've gotcha now!" Yzak shouted triumphantly, his Duel rushing toward the Strike with both beam sabers extended. Another few seconds, and his target would be gone.

Athrun also saw the threat, and his eyes widened in horror. Kira! Almost without conscious thought, he switched the Aegis to its mobile armor mode and put all discretionary power into verniers.

Aegis and Duel both rushed the Strike, both trying to reach it... and one did.

Kira grunted as his mobile suit shuddered, and he prepared himself for oblivion... only to realize he was still alive. "What the...?"

The Aegis had clamped its claws around the powerless Strike, entrapping it, and Athrun's fellow pilots started ranting at him. "What are you doing, Athrun?" Yzak demanded in rage.

"I'm capturing this machine!"

"We were told to destroy it!" Dearka shouted. "You're disobeying orders!"

"If we can take it, then all the better!" Athrun retorted. "Now let's go!"

Kira twisted in his seat. "Just what are you up to, Athrun?"

"I'm taking you to the Gamow," Athrun told him. "Just come quietly."

"Get serious!" He rested his hand on the Strike's self-destruct panel. "I'm not setting foot on any ZAFT ship!"

"Stop it, Kira. You're a Coordinator, just like us!"

"No! I won't join ZAFT!"

"That's enough, Kira!" Athrun's voice was edged with anger. "Just shut up and come with me. Or else..." He swallowed. "Or else I'll have no choice but to shoot you."

"Do that, and I will cut you in half."

Both pilots glanced around, wondering who was speaking. "Who are you?" Athrun demanded, spying the striped GINN. "How did you get that machine?"

"You know who I am," the GINN's pilot replied softly. "Don't tell me you've forgotten me." His image appeared on the Aegis's comm screen, a pilot in red-and-black, with a black faceplate. "I thought we were closer than that, 'old friend'."

The voice seemed familiar, but Athrun still couldn't place it. "What are you talking about?"

"Some people know me as the Crimson Tiger," the pilot answered obliquely. "Tell me, Athrun, how many tigers have you known? Tigers with blood-red fur, striped with black?" He raised his outer visor. "It's me, mon ami."

Athrun jerked in shock. "Kevin? What are you- how-"

"I'm here because you bastards attacked Heliopolis!" Kevin shook his head. "I'd hoped Kira was wrong about your involvement, but I guess that was too much to ask. You betrayed me, Athrun. You stabbed me in the back by joining ZAFT."

"What are you talking about? You're from Orb; what could ZAFT have done that you hate?"

"If the letters 'Alpha Bravo Alpha Delta Delta Oscar November' mean anything to you," Blade said savagely, "you bloody well know why I hate ZAFT! You'll bloody well know why I'm sworn to destroy them!"

Athrun frowned, confused, until he realized the words were letters in the phonetic alphabet, used by militaries for centuries. "'A B A D D O N'? What's that supposed to mean? And what are you doing out here in one of our machines?"

"So you haven't heard of it," Kevin murmured. "Well, Athrun, that's the only reason I'm willing to give you even a chance of survival. Maybe someday you'll understand. As to your question, I decided I had more need of this thing than its original pilot, so I buried a knife in his throat. That answer your question?"

Their argument was interrupted by the Buster's sudden appearance, attempting to blast the stolen GINN into oblivion. "Take this!"

Blade, for all his lack of mobile suit battle experience, still knew full well what he was doing, and easily dodged the blow. In return, he drew a beam saber from an improvised hardpoint on his shoulder, and slashed at the enemy machine. "Well, well. Is that Dearka Elsman's voice I hear? It's been a while."

Now Dearka, too, backed off slightly; the GINN's pilot had succeeded in confusing him, as well.

And this gave the Archangel time to make its own preparations.

"Message from Lieutenant La Flaga," Tonomura called. "He says 'Prepare to deploy Launcher Striker pack with the... catapult'?"

In his Moebius Zero, La Flaga looked grimly determined. "I hope you get it in time, kid."

Ramius thought quickly. "Signal Blade. Tell him to buy us time!"

Kevin received the transmission and nodded to himself; he had no real idea what the ship was up to, despite knowing its capabilities far better than anyone suspected, but he knew precisely how to keep people busy.

The battle was effectively a stalemate, for the moment; Athrun didn't want to fight Kira at all, and the stolen GINN had successfully confused everyone involved with its mere presence. Dearka, for his part, thought he recognized the voice of the pilot, but he couldn't place it; and he was also reevaluating his tactics in light of the fact that it was a ZAFT design he was now facing.

Yzak Joule, on the other hand, simply had the problem of too many machines being between him and his target.

"Kevin, what's going on?" Athrun demanded. "You're no soldier-"

"Oh, yes I am," his old friend contradicted. "I wasn't when we parted, but a great many things have occurred in the last three years, very few of them good." He spun around, parried a slash from the Duel, and swept toward the Aegis again.

"I don't understand."

"Then understand this, mon ami," Kevin snarled. "Retreat, or I'll kill you."

"But-" Athrun broke off as another machine slashed its way into the fight. Mu La Flaga's Moebius Zero, gunbarrels spiraling, spat fire at the Aegis, forcing him to release his grip on the Strike.

"Lieutenant La Flaga?" Kira kicked in his verniers, feeling rather relieved at the older pilot's intervention.

"Get clear, kid!" La Flaga ordered. "The Archangel's sending out the Launcher Striker pack. Go get it!"

"Roger that." Boosting away from the battle, he glanced back at the striped GINN. "Blade?"

"Be right there, tovarisch." Kevin hovered for a moment before the Aegis. "Remember this, Athrun: I don't want to kill you, but as long as you are with ZAFT, there is a distinct possibly that I will have to."

Athrun watched helplessly as his former friend turned and jetted away, heading back to his ship. What in the world was that all about? What happened to you, Kevin?

Before long, the Strike was nearing the proper vector to receive the Striker pack, and the Archangel hurried to finish preparations. "Mr. Murdoch," Ramius called from the Bridge. "Is the catapult ready?"

"Ready as it'll ever be," the mechanic answered. "But this absolutely crazy."

"Yes, I know it's crazy, but it's also the only chance we have. Ensign Badgiruel!" she called, looking down into CIC. "I'll leave the timing to you."

"Yes, Ma'am." Badgiruel looked over at Mir. "Transfer control of the catapult to the Launcher Striker's computer."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"The Strike is in position," Tonomura reported a moment later.

"Activate the catapult!"

Kira watched his displays as the Launcher Striker pack approached, and he cursed as he saw the Duel rapidly overtaking him. There was no help for it now, though. His only chance lay in obtaining that Striker pack... before the Duel could blast him into cinders.

"I've gotcha now!" Yzak shouted.

"Locked onto me?" The Strike was midway through the exchange, with no chance to dodge. "Come on, come on..."

The Striker pack connected... just as Yzak fired a grenade. Three other pilots and the crew of an entire ship watched in horror as the explosive detonated, obscuring the area with its blast front.

"Did I get him?" the Duel's pilot wondered... and got his answer when a hyper-impulse blast drilled out through the explosion and melted his right arm off. "What the-?"

Kira yelled wordlessly as he shot out of the blast area, firing his hyper-impulse cannon. In the process, he managed to graze the Buster, which pulled back and took the Duel with it.

"Yzak!" Athrun called. "We need to pull back! It's too dangerous to pursue them any farther."

"I have to agree with Athrun," Nicol said quietly. "If we keep this up, it'll be our turn to run out of power."

"No! No!" Yzak slammed his fist into his display, enraged beyond words.

The Strike, stolen GINN, and Moebius Zero returned to their mother ship... and elsewhere, a stealthed ship quietly made its departure, heading back to its own mothership.

In the Archangel's hanger, La Flaga pulled himself out of his cockpit and drifted over to the Strike, wondering what the commotion was as mechanics shouted at it. "What's the problem?" he asked Murdoch.

"Well, sir, the kid refuses to come out of there," the mechanic said with a shrug.

"I see." The pilot pulled himself over to the external hatch controls. "Hey! What you doing? Get out! Kira Yamato!"

He broke off, seeing the interior of the cockpit. Kira was still strapped in, breathing heavily, hands locked on the controls. "Hey, relax," La Flaga said more gently, entering and prying loose the younger pilot's death grip. "The battle's over, and we're all still in one piece." He smiled. "You did good, kid."

"Lieutenant..." Kira managed, allowing himself to be guided out.

Nearby, Kevin exited his GINN, his face a mask. Athrun... I'd hoped Kira was wrong, but I guess not. Do you even understand what you've done? Do you know how you've betrayed me? Do you realize that this means I have to kill you?

He did not know the answers.

On the Gamow, Invictus wandered into the pilot's locker room to find Yzak practically strangling Athrun, shouting in his face at the same time. "Hey, break it up." He hauled the white-haired pilot away as if he massed about as much as a feather. "Will screaming at him really do any good?"

"Shut up, assassin! I'm gonna-"

"Stuff it, Joule," Invictus said wearily. "And don't bother threatening me; I couldn't care less that your mother's on the Supreme Council." He turned to the blue-haired pilot Yzak had been attacking. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Athrun recovered and left the room, leaving the assassin frozen for an instant.

He followed the pilot out, trying to get a better look at his face (without seeming too obvious, preferably; he did have a reputation to maintain).

When he succeeded, Invictus froze again. "Athrun?"

Athrun paused. "Do I know you?"

The armored man shook his head. "No, of course not."

They went their separate ways, Athrun quickly forgetting the strange encounter, Invictus wondering what in the world "his" old friend was doing here.

The battle with the ZAFT ships and stolen G-weapons had brought the Archangel very close to Artemis; now the ship waited just beyond the Umbrella shield while the officers conferred with the fortress' people.

While that was going on, La Flaga caught up to Kira just as the latter was leaving the hanger, and put an arm around the younger pilot's shoulders. "There's something I forgot to mention before," he said quietly.

"Uh, yeah?"

"Put a lock on the Strike's activation system; make sure no one can operate that machine but you." The Hawk of Endymion sounded somewhat grim.

"Let me guess, Lieutenant," Kevin said, appearing seemingly out of thin air (a habit for which he would soon become well-known aboard ship, and one which would eventually leave Mu La Flaga a nervous wreck). "You don't trust Eurasians either."

"Frankly, no," La Flaga admitted. "I take it you have some reason to dislike them, Blade?"

"Something like that." Blade shrugged. "Let's just say it involves a stolen Eurasian shuttle, about a squadron's worth of pirates, some wild flying through the Debris Belt, and a very hard landing. I don't trust their technology, I don't trust their people, and if they figure out who I am -or used to be- they may become unhappy."

"I see."

On the Bridge, Ramius watched as the Umbrella finally opened, allowing her tired ship to enter its refuge. "Thank you for allowing us in," she said to the Eurasian officer on the com screen. "We appreciate it."

"You're welcome, Captain. We will, of course, be sending over inspectors, just to be sure you really are who you say you are." The officer shrugged. "Standard procedure, of course."

"Of course. That's fine." Ramius sighed in relief. They had finally reached a friendly port; soon, with luck, they would be properly supplied and on their way to the Atlantic Federation Headquarters at Ptolemaeus Crater, on the Moon.

Of course, the only luck that ever seemed to be associated with the Archangel was of the bad variety.

Kevin Walker stood in an unused compartment on the Archangel as the ship entered port at Artemis. He had a bad feeling about things, and he tended to trust his instincts. It had kept him alive on a number of occasions.

Said instincts began to scream at him when he caught sight of the "inspection party" that was coming toward the ship, for every one of them carried an assault rifle. This is no inspection, he realized. They have a pretty good idea of what we are, and they want it for themselves, don't they? It was not inconceivable; even during time of war, the Atlantic and Eurasian Federations tended to act at cross purposes. It would not be at all surprising if Artemis decided they wanted the Archangel and the Strike for their own ends. And if they had any inkling of what I am, they'd probably try for me, too. They'd die, of course, but still...

He turned and headed for the cafeteria, where his friends no doubt were already.

On the Bridge, a Eurasian officer had joined them, watching silently as his boarding party arrived. It was then that Ramius herself began to realize what was going on. "Lieutenant Commander Biddaulph! What's going on?" she demanded, seeing the weapons the boarders carried.

"Captain," the man said, sounding almost bored, "I must advise you: remain silent."

What do they think they're doing? she thought furiously. The Archangel is an Earth Forces vessel belonging to the Atlantic Federation, and they obviously know that. So why...?

"You'd better have a good explanation for this," La Flaga muttered. He didn't like the looks of things, either.

It wasn't long before a pair of guards had been set outside the cafeteria, keeping the civilians, mechanics, and volunteers penned up. No one had the slightest idea what was going on except for Kevin, who, unbeknownst to anyone else in the room, was still armed. If he had to, he could fight his way out with ease.

The hatch soon slid open, and Rear Admiral Gerard Garcia, Artemis' commander, his aide, and the two guards entered. "I believe the pilot of the mobile suit known as the Strike is here," Garcia said without preamble. "Who is it?"

Kira stirred, but Kojiro Murdoch put a hand on his shoulder, keeping him in his seat. "Lieutenant La Flaga was piloting it," the mechanic said. "Talk to him."

"A nice try, but our instruments say that the Moebius Zero was involved in the fighting," the admiral contradicted with a smile. "Since the Hawk of Endymion is the only one who can use the wired gunbarrels, it was obviously someone else." He stepped farther into the room, and his eyes moved to Mir. "Of course," Garcia murmured. "Who would expect a girl like you to be the pilot? An interesting ploy, indeed. Come with me," he commanded, voice no longer conversational.

Kira shot to his feet, ignoring Murdoch's groan. "Leave her alone! I'm the pilot!"

All eyes turned to him, and Garcia smiled again. "Oh, really? I admire your devotion in protecting the girl, but that machine wasn't meant for someone like you. Get serious, punk!" He threw a punch.

The Coordinator saw it coming, stepped swiftly to the side, and grabbed the fist. With a deft movement and strength that was belied by his size, he flung the admiral to the deck. "I haven't done anything to justify you getting angry and hitting me!"

Garcia's aide also reacted, fist lashing out at Kira... only to have it suddenly stop, a black-gloved hand clamped on it. Kevin had come to his feet, and his deceptively powerful muscles held the Eurasian's arm like a vise. "Don't do that," he said conversationally. "Don't ever try to hurt my friends."

"Let him go," Garcia ordered, getting to his feet. "Now, you stupid punk."

"I don't think so." He smiled thinly. "You don't give me orders, Admiral. And you can't possibly stop me."

"You'd better believe him!" Flay said, sticking her nose in. "Kira is the pilot, and Kevin's the Crimson Tiger! They're Coordinators!"

"Shut up! No!" Kevin gritted his teeth. "That was a bad move, Flay," he muttered, hand still locked on the Eurasian aide's arm.

"Well, well, well..." Garcia said slowly. "You could indeed be of use to us. A pair of Coordinators, one of whom the man who has caused Blue Cosmos more trouble than any other... Yes, we'll have a great deal of use for you."

"If you think you can manipulate me," Kevin said coldly, "the next thing to go through your mind will be a bullet."

"Not if you have the proper incentive." The admiral gestured, and the guards leveled their weapons at Flay. "Do we understand each other?"

Something inside Kevin snapped, and mental commands flashed out through his body. With almost audible clicks, snaps, and grinding sounds, long-dormant machinery came to life, spinning back up to full capacity. Senses heightened, nano-repair functions went live, computers reactivated... and muscular enhancements shot up to full power.

Garcia's aide screamed as the hand on his arm tightened its grip tenfold, crushing the arm bone to powder. "Oh, we understand each other, Admiral," the Blade said, voice like frozen helium. "We understand each other perfectly!"

His next move was a chop to the aide's other arm, snapping it, followed by a roundhouse kick that snapped his neck. Continuing the motion, Blade pulled out both Colt revolvers and shot the guards in a fraction of a second.

Everyone in the room, including Kira, stood openmouthed as the supposed student moved so fast he was but a black blur. In less than a second, the aide had been crippled and killed, and both guards shot dead. Even his best friend had never seen Kevin move so fast.

"What... on earth...?" Garcia managed.

"Don't try to hurt my friends, Garcia," Kevin said harshly. "You're all dead men, you know that? Before I leave this fortress, you will be dead."

"Is that a threat?" the admiral asked, trying to look in control of the situation and failing.

"No. It's a promise." Blade glared, eyes frozen jade. "You hurt me, and I'll kill you. You hurt my friends, and I'll kill all of you. And before this day is done, this fortress will need a new CO. Bet on it."

He vanished out the hatch, leaving confusion in his wake.

Garcia straightened, barely glancing at the corpses on the deck. "What does he think he can accomplish? He's just one man. My troops will have him dead within minutes."

Murdoch laughed. "Hope your life insurance is current, Admiral."

"What do you mean?" the admiral demanded.

"He means that the most dangerous human being you're ever likely to meet is loose on your station, Admiral," Neumann said with cold satisfaction. "He means that the teenager who successfully captured a GINN while in motion has decided he doesn't like you."

"You'll be lucky if you get out of this alive," Tonomura agreed. "Actually, it'd take a miracle."

Garcia practically gnashed his teeth in anger. "Come with me," he ordered Kira, and a new guard took charge of the young pilot, herding him out. Meanwhile, the admiral pulled out a radio. "Artemis, this is the Admiral. If you see a teenager in a blue uniform wandering around, kill him on sight. Understood?"

"Yes, sir!"

He glanced back at the assembled prisoners. "Let's see how he does with more than a hundred soldiers hunting him."

As he left, Murdoch looked confidently at the remaining volunteers, who were nervous about their friends. "Don't worry, kids," he said with a chuckle. "Garcia's just declared open season on Blade... and that means he's gonna have a lot of bodies bury by the time all this is over. The admiral's an idiot."

The students accepted that with a certain amount of relief, though for Flay it was mixed with a trace of fear. The thought of the Crimson Tiger on the loose, even if he was supposedly very loyal to his friends, was not exactly comforting.

Blade was less than impressed with Garcia's guards; by this time, he'd already been through the Archangel's hanger and was now in Artemis itself, with nary a trooper in sight.

His detour to the hanger had given him an additional reason to search Artemis: Garcia's people had offloaded his GINN, apparently with the intention of studying it and perhaps using it for themselves. Since he had personally captured the machine, and had not given it to the Earth Forces, Blade was determined to retrieve it.

But first, he had another mission. Now that he knew Alex Jackson had been playing both sides, he had a burning desire to find out what else the intel officer had been up to. The nearest source of information, Blade figured, was the Artemis mainframe.

To be sure, first he had to get to the computer room, but he had no doubts about his abilities. He'd fought off more than a hundred terrorists and vehicles up to and including battle tanks and mobile suits; if there was something on Artemis he couldn't handle, it would be quite surprising.

Before long, Blade reached his destination, where he found and cold-cocked a singly guard. He was not being merciful, but rather practical: even he could miss, however unlikely it might be, and a stray bullet could easily destroy the data he was here for.

He quickly seated himself at the keyboard and rapidly began typing. QUERY: CURRENT LOCATION JACKSON, LIEUTENANT COMMANDER ALEX.

The response appeared within seconds. LIEUTENANT COMMANDER ALEX JACKSON CURRENT STATUS: MIA.

That was not what Blade expected, and it made him suspicious. PERSONNEL FILE JACKSON, LIEUTENANT COMMANDER ALEX.

The file made for fascinating reading... not to mention infuriating. Within moments, Blade was out of the room, rage in his heart, seeking Admiral Gerard Garcia.

While Kevin Walker was about his private little war, something else was lurking outside Artemis. X207 Blitz was approaching under Mirage Colloid, carrying out Nicol Amalfi's plan. His fellow pilots thought it cowardice, but they had agreed when Nicol suggested using his Blitz's cloaking abilities to get close to Artemis and blast the shield emitters to scrap, which would allow the Duel and Buster to join in the attack.

Nearing the fortress, Nicol nodded in satisfaction. His targeting computer had just located the emitters. "There it is." Still invisible, he opened fire.

In the Archangel's hanger, Garcia glanced away from the Strike, where Kira was, under armed guard, removing the lock on the activation system. "What was that?" He lifted his radio. "Control room! Report on the cause of these tremors!"

"There's nothing within the perimeter, sir!"

Garcia glanced at one of his men in annoyance. "Well, I'm guessing they're explosions!"

Kira took note of the commotion, and, seeing his guard looking the other way, kicked him, sending the Eurasian flying out of the cockpit. Without wasting a moment, he closed the Strike's cockpit, and began moving off toward the catapult.

"You traitor!" Garcia shouted at him, helpless to stop the Coordinator.

"We're under attack, aren't we? I don't have time for your nonsense."

The admiral, cursing, headed back to his fortress' control room, and the Strike proceeded into the catapult, where Kira began inputting commands. Shortly, the Sword Striker pack was attached, and he prepared to launch.

In the Archangel's cafeteria, the pent-up crew members advanced on their guards. "What's with the alarm?" Neumann demanded,

"Well, it's probably-"

"You're not even sure?" Tonomura said contemptuously.

"Then don't you think you should go and ask?" Neumann concurred. "Whatever you may think, we're obviously under attack." He sprang past the surprised guards, who swung around to fire... only to be tackled by Tonomura, Chandra, Sai, and Tolle.

"I'm sorry, but you've given us no choice," Chandra told the men.

By this time, Blade was on his way back to the inner spaces of Artemis, near the enormous harbor. Along the way, he paused, hearing shouting coming from a room guarded by two ubiquitous Eurasian guards. Odd. That sounds like the officers.

Without pausing, he drew his revolvers and shot both men in the heart, killing them instantly, and then shot the lock. "You know, mon Capitan," he said dryly, opening the door, "you don't need to shout; I can hear you just fine."

Ramius, La Flaga, and Badgiruel, who had been locked in the room since their own initial meeting with Garcia, looked at the young soldier in surprise. "Blade!"

"What took you so long?" La Flaga commented.

"I was busy," Blade said curtly. "Artemis is under attack; from all indications, I'd say it's the Blitz."

"Then we'd better get back to the Archangel," Ramius said decisively. "Blade?"

He shook his head. "My GINN is still around here somewhere, and I've got... personal business to settle. I'll be right back."

Badgiruel's eyes narrowed. "You'd better be, because we aren't waiting around for you."

"Yeah, whatever. Just go." Without another word, Blade propelled himself further into the base and out of sight.

"Garcia?" Ramius asked La Flaga as they hurried to the Archangel.

The pilot nodded. "Probably. I'm not sure we want to know what happens next." He had a good idea, though he didn't want to know for sure... and didn't realize he wasn't quite correct.

In Artemis' control room, Garcia was snarling at his men. "Hurry and deploy our ships! Three mobile suits can't destroy the whole Artemis base!"

To his complete surprise, another, blue-clad shape was suddenly in the room. Claws sprouted from his hands, and he tore into the Eurasian troops, killing them in a blindingly fast frenzy of death. Before he could even begin to make sense of the occurrence, Blade's left-hand claws were at his throat, and his right-hand Colt was aimed precisely at the bridge of his nose. "Hello, Admiral. We meet again."

Garcia's eyes widened, and he sprouted sweat instantly. "Wh-what is this?"

"I've got some questions for you, Admiral," he said coolly. "And you will answer them."

"Or?"

"Or I'll kill you." Blade was momentarily interrupted when a guard, having barely survived the initial attack, managed to raise his rifle and fire a burst at the young man's back. To Garcia's astonishment, however, the bullets never reached him; instead, they flew off in all directions, deflected before reaching Blade's flesh.

His reaction was nonchalant: he briefly switched his aim to a point over his shoulder, fired, and allowed the ricochet to do his work while he returned his attention to the admiral. "I won't allow that again. Now, Admiral, I have a very simple question: Where is Lieutenant Commander Alex Jackson?"

"He's- he's MIA, probably dead," Garcia began.

"You're lying. Tell me the truth, or I'll shoot you." Blade's tone didn't change.

"You... you won't kill me if I tell you?"

"I won't. Answer the question."

"He's in Banadiya," Garcia said rapidly. "A town in ZAFT-occupied territory-"

"In the African Community, yes. Thank you, Admiral." He slid his gun back into its holster, then extended his claws again and wiped the blood off on the admiral's uniform.

Garcia's eyes widened in recognition. "You're one of-"

"Yes." In a flash, Blade's gun was out again, and he put a bullet right into Garcia's heart. In the four seconds of life left to the treacherous Eurasian, the soldier spoke quite unflinchingly. "You know too much, Admiral. See you in the next life."

Rear Admiral Gerard Garcia's life ended, and Blade left the room... just in time to avoid a crashing Moebius mobile armor, which blew the control room to pieces.

On the Archangel, Ramius, La Flaga, and Badgiruel were just reaching the Bridge. "Captain!" Pal called, relieved.

While Ramius settled into the captain's chair, La Flaga took a detour into CIC. "Great work, kids!" he said with a grin, ruffling Mir and Sai's hair.

"What's up with this fortress, anyway?" Sai wondered aloud.

"I think we should find out." The Hawk glanced up at Kuzzey, at communications. "Anything from Artemis?"

"I just pulled some surveillance footage, sir," Kuzzey replied. "It's encrypted, but I think we can crack it, given time."

"Get the computers working on it," La Flaga ordered. "It might be useful at the board of inquiry." That one would be convened when the Archangel reached Earth Forces territory he did not doubt.

"We're a sitting duck if we stay here," Ramius mused. "Signal the Strike," she ordered Mir. "Launch Archangel!"

The state-of-the-art carrier began to move, and Kira, then occupied with the Blitz, heard Mir's call. "Kira, come back! Kira, come back! The Archangel is launching!"

Not good, he thought. I've still got this guy...

"Kira," Kevin said, striped GINN appearing from the blast zone of an exploding ship, "get going. I'll hold them off."

"But-" Kira broke off; his friend, however reckless he occasionally seemed, clearly knew what he was doing. "Roger that."

Nicol saw the Strike retreat. "Are you running away, coward?"

"Not to worry," Kevin said coldly; there was not a trace of good humor in his expression. "I'll play."

Dearka's Buster chose that moment to enter the fray, backed up by Yzak's Duel. "Okay, pal," he snarled, "I wanna know one thing: who are you?" He remembered the voice that had identified him in their last encounter, and it seemed familiar.

"Hello, Elsman. It's me, Kevin Walker." Kevin selected a visual channel and opened his outer visor. "Remember our last meeting?"

"Hard not to, you bastard!" Dearka Elsman remembered quite well what had happened in their first encounter. "I'll get you for that!" He opened fire with both beam rifle and gun launcher.

Yzak, watching the stolen machine desperately evading the fire coming its way, lifted an eyebrow. "You know this guy, Dearka?"

"You bet I do! This bastard tossed me through a wall a couple years ago!" The Buster's pilot was practically vibrating with remembered rage. "It took me two weeks to recover from that!"

"So sorry," Kevin said sarcastically. "You weren't supposed to survive it at all. How about I fix that?"

"I don't think so!" And Dearka's next shot caught the captured GINN right in the chest, nearly blowing the cockpit away.

"Oh, not good." Blade, unlike others (now dead) of his acquaintance, knew when to cut his losses. Noticing that his machine had just taken a very nasty hit, he turned tail and put every erg of discretionary power into verniers, hurrying to rendezvous with his mothership. "Another time, Elsman."

The Duel, Buster, and Blitz were unable to catch up with their fleeing targets; they took out their frustration by blowing Artemis completely to scrap, as the so-called "legged ship" made its escape.

Sometime later, after the Strike and Kevin's GINN had safely returned to the ship, the Strike's cockpit opened and Kira pulled himself out, then pushed off for the hatch.

La Flaga was waiting. "Hey, kid," he said with a smile, hand raised... only to lower it when the Coordinator wordlessly brushed past. "What's eating him?" he wondered aloud to Murdoch, after Kira had left.

"For that matter," the mechanic mused as Kevin likewise left with a strange expression on his face, "what's eating him?"

"He wasn't like that when he busted us out," La Flaga murmured. "Did he do something he's regretting?"

"Bridge to Lieutenant La Flaga," Kuzzey suddenly said from an intercom panel. "Sir, the computer's deciphered the encryption on the surveillance footage."

"Put it on the monitor down here," the pilot ordered; behind him, Murdoch had wandered off to examine the damage to the GINN, muttering to himself all the while.

La Flaga watched curiously as the images of the last moments in Artemis' control room played. Then curiosity turned to shock at the events that unfolded. "What on earth?"

Author's note: All right, some of Kevin Walker's dark history is emerging; more to come in later chapters.

Daniel Lynx, you are largely correct. While I draw slightly upon the Bloody Roar series for this, Kevin is largely inspired by Solid Snake. As a matter of fact, you'll find Metal Gear quotes scattered liberally throughout all my work, this story in particular. "Snake eater", however, is not in fact a reference to Metal Gear; if memory serves, the term was originally used in the Vietnam War to refer to particularly-successful snipers. Since then, it's become a catch-all phrase for special ops soldiers.

As to your ideas, I will say this: neither Mu La Flaga nor Flay Allster will be killed (La Flaga's death in particular irritated me immensely). However, Flay won't be rescued at Alaska. I have something far more ambitious in mind, which will result in the survival of both La Flaga and Flay… among others. I think you'll approve.

Bigronnie17, I believe I covered your first point above; and the color is depicted within the chapter. As to weaponry, it starts out with spare weapons for the Strike, and is retrofitted as of Chapter 7. I didn't expend too much creative effort on it, though, because Kevin upgrades to a better machine later in the story -you may recognize it.

I think that covers everything; read it and let me know what you think. Solid Shark