Aprilius One, August 26, C.E. 71, 0800.
"Are you serious!" Patrick Zala thundered, slamming his fist onto the top of his desk. "Are you telling me, that spies were found infiltrating Boaz, and successfully escaped from our forces!"
"It would appear to be so sir," the young officer reported.
"Boaz is supposed to be one of our most secure military facilities," Patrick hissed, "and yet a team of five spies managed to make off with the contents of its central computer. Damn those Naturals."
"While nothing of value was taken from Boaz-."
"Nothing of value? Nothing of value! If the Earth Alliance has the information inside of Boaz they'll be able to find out what our next moves will be! Our entire strategy for events will have been compromised!" Patrick shouted. He activated the viewscreen to the left of his desk and walked casually towards it. The images showed a single spy running through the corridors of Boaz, firing a gun at pursuing ZAFT forces. Patrick scowled. "It also appears that one of the spies was that boy of mine...Athrun!"
"It seems Lacus Clyne's words have also affected his take on current events as well, Patrick," Tad Elsman said from the side of the room.
"What are your orders, Chairman?" the officer asked.
"My orders? What the hell do you think they are!" Patrick thundered, turning and glaring at the young man. "Send the order out to all commands, that all unauthorized civilian personnel are restricted from entering all ports of cause and military installations! Make sure nothing of this matter is leaked to the public. Is that understood?"
"Yes, sir." The young officer quickly saluted and left the office.
Patrick slumped back into the confines of his chair and rubbed the palm of his hand across his forehead, trying to soothe his rapidly worsening headache. "Think you'll be able to keep this out of the public's eyes and ears?" Tad asked.
"It all depends," Patrick answered quietly. "Hopefully le Creuset has already hunted down Ms. Clyne and that traitor Waltfeld so they'll be out of our way. I cannot believe I let that man's true intentions slip right past me."
The intercom on Patrick's desk beeped and he activated it. "General Yuri Amalfi and Senator Ezalia Joule are here to see you, sir."
"Send them in," Patrick said. The doors to the spacious office swung open and admitted Patrick's fellow Supreme Council members, Yuri on the right, and Ezalia on the left. "Well...?" Patrick said.
"Eileen Canaver and some of the other Council members are gathering in the meeting room Patrick," Yuri told him. "It appears as though they're trying to organize an emergency meeting of the Supreme Council."
"To find out what happened at Boaz?" Tad wondered.
Patrick chuckled. "Not a chance. They'll want to know why I recalled much of the fleet back to home space without first consulting with the Council."
"They'll never support the plan for the invasion of the Earth, Patrick," Ezalia reminded him. "They're followers of Clyne after all."
"Clyne was no doubt the traitor who betrayed Operation Spitbreak to the Naturals, and based on his daughter's recent actions there's no shadow of a doubt that she's also turned traitor on us as well. But Canaver and the others are still demanding answers from me," Patrick said. "They were also followers of Clyne and it's because of their dragging their feet in the mudd that the war has gone on for this long." He stood up and said, "It's time we took matters into our own hands. Alert the National Defense Committee. Eileen Canaver and all those that have been with Clyne are to be arrested and detained immediately."
"But, Patrick, that will-," Yuri said.
"I know what it will do Yuri," Patrick replied harshly. "But right now, all that matters is that we prevent something like what just happened at Boaz from happening again, and with people like Canaver still around, there's always a good chance. The invasion of the Earth must happen, and it must happen now. See to it, all of you."
Yuri and the others quickly left Patrick's office. As they proceeded down the corridor that would take them out of the Supreme Council's meeting hall, Yuri's shoulders slumped. "Don't blame yourself Yuri," Tad said sternly. "It wasn't your fault those bastards don't see the larger picture as we do."
"I'm not," Yuri returned. "I'm more worried about what will happen now that we've decided to cyphon off the moderate factions from the governmental positions."
"That's what Patrick is going to need us for," Ezalia said. The trio came to a halt and she added, "It will be our job to make sure that the public is unable to not face the facts that Patrick wants them to face. Clyne's followers have already hurt us too much, and we can't afford to let the Boaz incident slip."
"Which will be my job as head of Intelligence," Tad reasoned. "Since Yuri's technically head of the fleet, he'll have to make the military follow Patrick's orders. Then there's the public, which you undoubtedly will deal with, correct Ezalia?"
"Each of us will have to keep the scars from developing across Patrick's regime. The success at Panama has already healed many of them, but if the invasion doesn't succeed, more will open up, and Clyne's followers will gain more supporters," Ezalia said.
"There's also the problem with Carpentaria being under threat right now as well," Yuri added. "I have to make sure that the forces there are adequately supplied in case of an attack from the south, which will force me to be out of the public eye for a while. Can I count on you two to cover for me on certain issues?"
Tad smiled. "What are comrades for, Yuri." They shook hands.
"We'll hold the PLANTs together while you plan the invasion," Ezalia said, shaking Yuri's hand as well. "Keep the pressure off of Patrick while we're at it even."
"I cannot tell you how grateful I am, to you both," Yuri said. "I think it may be about time that an old friend and I had a little chat, though." He turned away from his comrades and added almost to himself, "He may be the one who this war's outcome rests upon. If we can't get him to follow us, then the war may never end."
Vesalius, La Grange Point 4, August 27, 1900.
The great space rocks swirled dangerously close to the Nazca-class ship as it sat anchored to one of the larger ones. Like giant dodgeballs, the great asteroids spun this way and that, each one more than able to cut the Vesalius in half if it struck home. The Laurasia-class ship, Ziegler, lay anchored behind the Vesalius on the same asteroid, while the Relentless and the other two Nazca-class ships in Commander Slythr's fleet were anchored to an asteroid to their starboard side. Because of the heat sources within the space rocks, they were invisible to everyone in the area. No ship or radar would be able to spot them in this mess, which is just the way they wanted it.
Rau lounged in his command chair on the bridge, his head resting back against the cushioned headrest. His arms were casually spread along the armrests, his fingers every once in a while pushing a button on the console's in the armrests in order to receive readings on the Vesalius' status. If everything was going to plan, they should have their confirmation as to the enemy ships whereabouts any minute now. Several days ago, a small shuttle had entered the L4 airspace, and in the same manner as the legged ship and the others, had disappeared from scanners when they came within thirty meters of the Mendel colony. What had caught Rau's eye, was the object escorting the shuttle. The X-10A Freedom.
"Captain Ades," a crewman reported from behind them. "We've received the images, sir."
Rau scrambled up from his chair and floated towards the console where the man sat, Ades following in his wake. Rau took hold of the back of the chair to steady himself and stared at the infrared image on the console before him. It showed the Mendel colony as a black mass against the white backdrop of space. Heat sources among the objects in the area were smeared red, like blood jutting from a deep wound. The red colors made patterns. Two of them were large, long objects, with a set of slim jaws protruding from the body, and two sets of fins in the rear. They looked like monsters with gaping mouths, ready to devour their next victims. Upon closer inspection however, one could see the lighter red coming from the rear of the objects, engines no doubt. Other red blotches took on the form of humanoid creatures, each with a rifle clasped in its hand. Mobile suits.
"Warships and mobile suits," Rau confirmed. "So our hunch was correct. Have you forwarded this image to the other ships?"
"Yes, sir. We're in the process of getting a clearer image, but it will take some time," the crewman replied.
"Which we do not have," Rau said. He turned to Ades and added, "I want you to get a transmission to Captain Stone, Ades. I'd like to have him in on the discussion as well."
"Shall I have Yzak and the others report to their machines, Commander?" Ades asked.
"Not yet. We don't want to jump to conclusions before we've heard from everyone who's involved in making them." Rau sat back down in his chair and waited. Moments later, Commander Slythr's emotionless face appeared on the forward viewscreen, with Captain Stone's darker skinned face on the other side. "I assume you both have seen the images we've forwarded you," Rau began.
"Yes, Commander," Stone answered quickly.
"It practically confirms what we've been suspecting," Slythr added. "That there's someone hiding in the Mendel colony. What do you suggest we do, Rau?"
"I wanted to get your input before I made a decision. Right now, we know that someone is using the Mendel colony as a base of operations, but we don't know who." Rau cupped his chin with his hand. "The only proof that we have is that image. Plus the fact that every ship that has come close to Mendel has disappeared from our scanners. If we were to launch an assault now, it would be like heading straight into a bank of fog. We wouldn't know what to expect on the inside of it."
"Based on the information you got at Gyndana, the force of larger ships has approximately twelve mobile craft," Slythr said. "At the moment, the Relentless has four GINNs, plus two of the new GuAIZ machines. The others in my fleet have five GINNs each. That's sixteen mobile suits altogether. More than enough to take on anything that those three ships have conjured up."
"But we don't know the full extent of their forces yet," Stone pointed out. "The infrared image confirms the presence of more than three mobile suits, plus two warships we haven't even seen yet. It would be extremely risky to attempt an attack with this little information on our side."
"How many machines does the Ziegler have on board, Stone?" Rau asked.
"I've got six GINNs aboard, though many of my pilots are untested in combat," Stone answered.
"The Vesalius has five machines including the Duel. And there's my CGUE to take into account." Rau paused, thinking about what course of action he should take. This decision could turn the entire course of the war. More importantly, how would the outcome of these events determine his plans for the future? Rau finally said, "If our intelligence tells us anything, the best our adversaries can do is match us in combat forces. Altogether our ships have a total of twenty-eight mobile suits in our fleet of five ships, more than enough to take on anything relatively important..." Rau smiled. "Get your ships off of those asteroids gentlemen. We're moving out. And we're taking Mendel apart."
"Yes, sir," both men said, and they immediately signed off.
"Ades! Get to battlstations and have Yzak and his unit report!"
"All hands, level one battlestions! All hands, level one battlestations!"
Yzak floated out of his quarters, already dressed in his flight suit, his helmet clutched in his hand. The loudspeaker continued blaring the call for battlestations as he headed quickly towards the hangar. Crews were already loading equipment and weapons onto the GINNs in the hangar, while other floated in space suits, preparing the catapult and other mechanical devices for combat. Yzak headed towards the rear of the hangar, where the Duel rested, braced against the wall by several steel girders.
A mechanic was putting the finishing touches on the Duel when Yzak approached. "Did you get everything tuned?" he asked, coming up beside the workman.
"All the off-set values and calibration settings are good. All you have to do is aim and shoot." The mechanic looked up at the mobile suit with pride. "We'll need you and this guy today. I hear we're going up against the two stolen mobile suits."
"Right," Yzak said quietly, as he climbed into the cockpit. "Make sure the GINN team is set for combat for me, alright."
"Sure, Lieutenant," the mechanic saluted as the cockpit shield closed in front of Yzak.
The Vesalius retracted its anchor from the hard, rocky surface of the asteroid and fired its engines. "Engines at sixty percent, Captain Ades," a crewman reported.
"Change course to beta thirty-seven, mark twenty, twelve!" Ades ordered. "Bring all missile and anti-beam depth charge tubes to bear!"
"As soon as we clear the asteroids, launch our mobile suits, Captain," Rau commanded. "Knowing Tomas he already should be way ahead of us."
On the Relentless, Slythr gave out commands like they were orders from a menu. "Bear port seventeen! Bring all weapons to bear! Give Hellderton and Hoisingert the go to launch their mobile suits! Get our units to the catapult and prepare my GuAIZ for combat!" His expression never changed once while he gave out the orders, remaining in its emotionless state. "Hopefully we may be able to finish this at last and get the hell out of here."
"Commander Slythr! There's an incoming message on the red line!" a crewman reported.
"Damn..." Slythr cursed to himself. The red line was the direct line to the PLANTs. What the hell did they want?
The Vesalius punched a hole through the asteroids and began its exodus from the cluster. "Targets identified at bravo charlie twenty-four," came the command through Yzak's radio. "Identified as two warships and nine mobile suits. Believed to be of the Orb military."
"I knew those idiots were lying to us the whole time about being neutral," Yzak said to himself. He pushed a button on his console and the Duel's systems activated, its diagnostic board lighting up the darkness inside the cockpit. "Kei. Nami. As soon as I'm out, you guys get into the air, O.K."
"Yes, Lieutenant Joule," both replies came. Yzak slowly walked towards the awaiting catapult. The hatch doors had swung open to the sides to reveal the black space beyond the hangar. Solar panels on the front claws of the ship swung into position, lighting the way for the Duel to head into combat. Yzak smiled inside his helmet as he sealed the visor. I'll get you this time legged ship.
"We've broken through the asteroids, Captain," someone on the bridge reported.
"Have Yzak Joule and our GINN team launch on the double!" Ades called.
Rau sat back down in his command chair and breathed deeply. "Another day, another battlefield," he said to no one in particular. "How boring this war has become already."
"Commander le Creuset. There's an incoming message for you from the Relentless, sir." Rau turned his head and wondered what Tomas wanted. Usually he would already be jumping into battle at the first sign of an enemy. Why was he calling Rau now?
The Duel's legs attached themselves to the catapult, locking into position for launch. Yzak pushed a button on the diagnostic board that activated the mobile suit's phase shift armor, changing its color from grey to white and blue. The assault shroad on the Duel's shoulders also activated. Weapons were good. Engines were good. Everything was set. "Duel, stand by for immediate launch," came the signal from Yzak's helmet.
"Roger, that!" Yzak responded. He gripped the controls fiercely as he awaited to be thrown into battle once again. He braced himself against his seat and restraints for the shockwave that always came when the catapult activated. He shut his eyes and waited. Waited. Waited... Something was wrong. The shockwave hadn't come yet. Why hadn't he been launched yet? "Control!" Yzak called into his helmet. "What the hell's the matter?"
"Sorry, Lieutenant," came the reply. "The launch has been halted by the bridge. I don't understand how or why?"
"You're joking..." Yzak growled.
It didn't lie. The slip of paper in Rau's hand was genuine. "Hmm," he murmured, rereading the message once again. "Well, that's that. Ades, close the hatch and change course. We're leaving."
"What?" Ades gasped. Rau handed him the slip of paper and he saw Ades' mouth drop as he read it. "They're recalling us! You're joking! At a time like this?"
"They're direct orders from Chairman Zala, Ades," Rau reminded him. "He wants us back in the homeland now, and we can't refuse a direct order from the Commander in Chief now, can we?" Ades had no response except a sigh. "Change the status to half-watch and order the crew to relax. Send a message to the Ziegler to cease their launch, and begin preparations for departure. Tomas' vessels will follow us as soon as they're ready."
"Yes, sir..." Ades answered, dejectedly.
Rau smirked. Oh, this is very interesting Chairman Zala. Why would you recall us now, after you gave us direct orders not to return until we destroyed or captured the Eternal? This is very interesting, indeed.
Yzak opened the cockpit shield and floated out of the cockpit, his face red with anger. "What the hell are they doing up on the bridge!" he shouted at the mechanic he'd spoken to earlier.
"I don't know the full details, sir," the mechanic replied sheepishly. "All I know is that we've been given the order to return to the homeland at once. The ship's heading back now as we speak, so we had to cancel the attack."
Yzak scowled and abruptly turned away from the man and floated out of the hangar. When he was safely out of sight from everyone else, he slammed his fist into the wall and shouted, "Damn it! Why now!" Just then, Yzak thought he heard a small cry coming from just down the hallway. He turned his head slightly and saw a figure dressed in a female ZAFT soldier's uniform, green jacket and skirt. Her red hair was tied in weird knots at the back of her head and her face's expression was that of concern and fear. "What do you want?" Yzak asked angrily. The girl took a step backwards and quickly disappeared back into the room she had come from. Yzak exhaled sharply. "I hate her, so very much," he commented to himself as he headed back towards his quarters.
Mendel, 2000.
Inside the secret base's interior, soldiers went about their daily routines without the slightest of fears. M1's loaded crates and gurneys of supplies onto the warships sitting inside the dock, while other entered and left the facililty returning, or going out on patrol. Other crews held blow torches and steam fitters, making repairs to the damaged warships so they would be ready for combat if it ever came.
Coop sat in the ball-turret of his bomber, listening to Stevy and Niada bark out orders from the cockpit. Kurk came up and gave him a drink which he accepted readily. In the nose ball, Sai sipped at his own drink while he played with the turning radius controls to make sure they were in check. Across the hangar, Natarle listened to Chief Murdoch as he gave her the details on the ship's damage status. They'd almost finished with the repairs and they'd be able to get going by the end of the week. She asked him about the data the Morgenrate people wanted on the Strike and Buster, but Murdoch replied that he still had no clue what they wanted with it.
In his office, Uzumi finallyceased trying to retain contact with the PLANTs. He'd been attempting to get some kind of meeting with Patrick Zala, but so far his claims had been flatly rejected. Uzumi knew that conflict was virtually inevitable with the mental state Zala was most likely in at this point, but he had to try. There was no end to diplomacy, especially in times of war. He placed his hands together underneath his chin and sighed. The photo at the end of his desk caught his eye. The one with the woman laying in a bed, holding two infants. He knew he would have to tell them sooner or later, but it now appeared that this was not the right time.
On the Kusanagi, Cagalli, Athrun, and Lacus stood in the observation room at the rear of the bridge tower, looking out at the bustling activity in the dock below. Athrun's arm was in a sling, his shoulder having been injured in the fall down the elevator shaft inside Boaz. He hadn't said much since he'd come back. It seemed that he just didn't want to talk with anyone at this moment. Images were flooding into his head. Events from his past. He saw the Blitz explode in front of him. Jumping out of the Aegis just before it self-destructed while wrapped around the Strike. His father's psychotic expression after he'd shot Athrun. Running through the woods in Colombia, trying to escape to safety after the plane crash. Fighting against the green mobile suit in Argentina. Gyndana collapsing. It all came roaring back at him. All of it, he would so gladly like to forget.
The door opened and Kira walked in. "They say the ship's are almost fully repaired so we may be able to start moving again by the end of the week."
"That's good," Cagalli said. "Because if things keep going like they are right now, we'll all end up on the battlefield again. Trying to stop the PLANTs' invasion."
"It's the ZAFT that are invading Earth, Ms. Cagalli," Lacus corrected. "The PLANTs are where the civilians are. They are not at fault for all of this."
"Yeah...sorry," Cagalli answered sheepishly.
"Have you heard how things are coming with the data our forces recovered from Boaz, Kira?" Lacus asked as he came up beside her.
"Nothing yet. From what's been told me, the officers are still looking it over, trying to find any hint as to where the rendezvous point is. They've isolated a date though. September 19th."
"Less than a month away," Lacus confirmed. "We'll need to move quickly."
Cagalli turned to Athrun, who hadn't said a word all this time. "Athrun. You wouldn't know how far you're father's going to take this invasion...would you?"
"He's intending to wipe out all the Naturals," Athrun answered quietly. "That's been the goal of his war the entire time. That's why he's launching the invasion." They fell silent for a period of time, each one unsure of how to respond to Athrun's words. "I get the feeling that my father's lost touch with reality," Athrun finally said. "Ever since my mom died, he's been acting differently. He hardly ever took the time to speak with me afterwards. He just confined to himself in his office, and didn't speak to anybody. It's revenge he's probably bent on. All Naturals have to pay for my mother's death."
"But I thought you said your dad believed that Coordinators were a new species," Kira said. "I thought that was why he escalated the war."
"That's likely another reason, or just an excuse. Either way, he's only going to end up killing more innocent people, if not himself if he continues." Athrun closed his eyes. "Which is why we have to stop him."
"Chairman Zala has ordered the arrest of everyone who was close to my father," Lacus suddenly said. Everyone was shocked. "He's getting rid of all his opponents so he can do whatever he wants in the coming months."
"That's a sign that we'll have to move more quickly," Cagalli added. "My father's going to try and persuade him not to launch it, but I doubt that Patrick will even talk to him, so it looks like we'll have to stop the invasion ourselves." She grabbed Athrun's uninjured arm and pulled him away from the window. "Which is why somebody needs to eat something if he's going to be able to fight." The two walked out of the room, leaving Kira and Lacus alone.
"What are you thinking about Kira?" Lacus asked.
Kira was staring out at the dock below, watching the workers move quickly about their tasks. "Why do we do it? Why do we fight?" He turned to Lacus and added, "The only way we can protect the people we care about is to fight for what we believe in. That's the only way...for this war to end. Is for us to fight to protect people."
Lacus smiled. "Come on. Let's go join Cagalli and Athrun." She guided Kira to the door and they took off after their friends.
Mendel, August 28, C.E. 71, 0140.
"This is all you could put together based on the information inside of Boaz." Cantarii stared at the document in front of him on the table. Josef stood to his right while John sat opposite him, and Andy to his left. "You didn't find the rendezvous point?"
"Not with the information we've found so far, sir," Josef said uneasily beside him. "I haven't had an ample opportunity to go over the data myself because I've been attending to my duties on the Archangel."
"And spending adequate time with Sera no doubt," Cantarii added.
"Well...yes," Josef responded. Sera was his wife's name. "The Vasconi has been able to confirm the date as September the 19th, the amount of ships being brought together, and the scheme of the invasion. But we've yet to discover the rendezvous point."
"It'd be pretty hard to find a place to service all of those ships and people at once, Admiral," John commented. "And there's not many places under ZAFT control out there that fit the description we're looking for."
"Only places that make sense would be either the sentry asteroids or the PLANTs themselves," Andy observed. He pointed to a place on the map in front of them. "We can be pretty sure that the rendezvous point is somewhere in L5. We just don't know where."
"My guess is that it's one of the military outposts becuase I'm not willing to guess that Zala's putting the PLANTs themselves at risk by assembling his invasion force within range of the civilian population," Cantarii said. "Josef. Have there been any messages or anything else concerning activity on the 19th at any of the ZAFT bases in L5? Because if there are, I'm guessing that's probably the rendezvous point."
"There...was a message we found in the data, sir, but it's several weeks old," Josef said.
"Well, what the hell did it say!" Cantarii demanded.
"I-it said that Chairman Zala is going to be making an official visit to an unknown place at this moment. The only symbols they used for the location was the letter C and a number 2." Josef shrugged his shoulders. "It's complicated because many of the information sources inside the data are conflicting, so we're not really sure exactly on something until we actually perform tests or scouting runs on the potential targets, so-."
"Wait, wait, d'you say C and 2?" Andy asked. Josef nodded. "C#2...C#2...damn it...that's it!"
"You figure it out?" Cantarii asked.
"I think so. It all comes down to what you said earlier about potential staging areas inside L5. With the PLANTs out of the question, that makes the asteroid fortresses the obvious choice." Andy pointed to the two rocks guarding the PLANTs with his remaining index finger. "Both of the fortresses are named after the ancient column's that guarded Solomon's tomb. Boaz was the name of the first-."
"And Jachin was the name of the second," John confirmed. "And in the Roman alphabet the number two means Due. Jachin Due."
"Bingo!" Cantarii exclaimed. "We've got ourselves the rendezvous point. But what a rendezvous point it is. Most heavily guarded outpost the ZAFT's have in their entire territory."
"We can find a way to get past their defenses," John said, pointing to the map of Jachin Due that had been enlarged for them to see. "It all depends on whether or not we can do enough damage to stop the invasion."
"That's what you're going to have to work out, John," Cantarii said. "I'm putting you in charge of planning the assault on Jachin Due. At this moment though, Lord Uzumi is still pursuing a diplomatic solution to the crisis and has been attempting to contact Zala or anyone else in the ZAFT Supreme Council." Cantarii paused. "Though I'm certain that all of you have heard that Zala has ordered the arrest of all of his opponents in the Council and hierarchy of the government. So I wouldn't give it a full measure of hope that Uzumi talks Zala out of it, but we will continue to pursue a diplomatic solution to the very last minute. Until that is reached however, this operation against the invasion force will be our top priority. We'll reconvene tomorrow afternoon at 1300 to go over the specifics and what we're going to need. John, you'll have about three weeks to put something together or we'll have to cancel the assault and let the invasion happen. Can you do it?"
"Absolutely," John answered sternly.
Somewhere over the Indian Ocean, August 30, C.E. 71, 1000.
Storm clouds swirled overhead. The choppy seas churned below. Winds buffetted the aircraft and it plunged through the thunder and lightning, rain churning down on it from all directions. Behind it flew three more aircraft, larger than the first. Each with a single piece of military equipment lodged in its holds.
Inside the first aircraft, its passengers were able to ignore the inclimate weather outside by being almost totally consumed by their tasks at hand. Enemies were vaporized in an instant on Clotho's gaming console, which was nearing its completion of the game. Beside him, Orga was indulged in the first chapter of his new novel. On the other side of the aircraft, the pulsating beat of music flooded Shani's ears through the speakers of his headphones. After the failure at Argentina, the trio had been put aboard a vessel of the Pacific fleet, where they were forced to endure more pain and suffering as their 'physicians' performed more tests on them. During the assault on the Orb homeland, they hadn't faced much of a challenge because the only things they had to shoot at were tanks, artillery, and the few scattered M1's still lingering around. Once they arrived in Australia with the fleet, they were immediately given new supplies of drugs and put aboard the aircraft for transfer. To where, they had no clue.
The final enemy exploded on the gaming console's screen and Clotho pumped his fist in triumph, accidentally striking Orga in the process. "Do you have to do that every time you win?" Orga mocked.
"Yes. As a matter of fact I do," Clotho replied sternly. "What's that one about? Another chick book?"
"It's science fiction idiot!" Orga snapped back. "And at least I can actually read."
"Will you knock that off, already!" Clotho shouted. "I can too read."
A red light at the top of the front wall of the passenger compartment started blinking and ringing all of a sudden. Clotho and Orga both looked up at it in confusion. "Something better not have broken on this piece of shit," Orga hissed.
"If something did, we were already screwed anyway when we got onboard it," Clotho added.
"No. If we do crash, we can just use your over inflated head as a flotation device and ride out the storm," Orga mocked.
"Shut up!" Clotho shot back.
The pilot of the aircraft spoke into the speakers above them. "Hey boys. There's a message coming in addressed to you three. I think it's your boss."
"Great." Orga shut his book and placed it under his seat. Clotho shut down his gaming console and headed towards the video screen at the front of the passenger compartment. "Hey, Shani," Orga called. Shani didn't respond. Orga scowled and stalked over to the green haired kid and abruptly smacked him in the back of the head, jarring his headphones off of his ears. "We've got a message, stupid. It's the boss." Shani growled in response, but eventually joined the others at the front.
Azrael's image came through the static, smiling politely. "Boys. How goes the long flight?"
"Terrible," Clotho answered. "You gotta tell the guys in High Command to get new ones, sir. These things fly like shit."
"Yeah...I'll work on that...anyways. I just wanted to tell you guys that once you arrive here in South Africa, you're being assigned to the new mobile assault ship, Dominion. It's the second ship of the Archangel-class, so you can't miss it. Admiral Sutherland and myself will be waiting for you when you arrive." Azrael pinched his chin with his index finger and thumb. "By the way. I heard you boys finally found a supplement that actually works."
"It's better, but it still hurts like hell after a while, boss," Orga said.
"Well, as long as your performance is going well, that's the main goal." Azrael waved. "Well, that's about it boys. I will see you three when you get hear. Have a safe trip." His image dissolved into static.
"Jack-ass," Orga hissed, sitting back down in his chair and picking up his book. Clotho reactivated his gaming system and Shani readjusted his headphones on his ears. The aircraft plunged on through the storm, towards South Africa, where their boss awaited them.
On the other end of the line, Azrael sighed slightly. "Well, now to more pressing matters," he said, getting up from his chair. He briskly walked out of the message room and down the corridor toward the main offices on the Dominion, which was moored in the main dock at the Earth Alliance base on the coast of South Africa, roughly 1500 miles from the Victoria spaceport.
As he approached the Admiral's office, a crewman passed by and handed him an envelope with the previous day's battle records from conflicts in Asia and other parts of the world. Some success, some failures. It mattered not to Azrael, who was only concerned with matters at hand. "Thank you for this..." he squinted, trying to read the name on the man's jacket. "...Crewman Nicol."
"No problem, sir," the man replied, continuing down the corridor.
Azrael punched his key code into the security scanner and it granted him access to the Admiral's office. Sutherland was speaking with a trio of scientists when Azrael entered his office. "Ah, Mr. Azrael. You're just in time, sir. Myself and the doctors here were just discussing the priorities that you said you were very interested in."
"Yes, I am, as a matter of fact," Azrael said, standing beside Sutherland. "Now gentleman. If I recall correctly, you said in one of our conversations that you had developed a certain...what was it...toxin, that would drastically improve our status in the war. Am I wrong?"
"We have had success in developing a nerve gas that only affects Coordinators," one of the scientists announced proudly. "It was thanks to your Blue Cosmos people that we were able to assemble the needed ingredients to concoct the gas."
"And the results?" Sutherland asked.
"Full nervous system breakdown. Kills them within fifteen minutes."
Azrael smiled. "How quickly can you get a batch here, to South Africa?" he asked.
"We already have one here, sir," another scientist said. "It's already aboard the ship, I might add. Unfortunately, it was the only batch we were able to secure in the needed time space, but it should be enough to paralyze all of the forces in Victoria."
"Excellent," Azrael complimented. "With this in our arsenal, the enemies of mankind won't stand a chance. How quickly can you spread it?"
"It will take some time I'm afraid to conjure up enough of the gas to affect the entire force at Victoria, but it shouldn't take more than five days sir." The scientist's voice was muffled through the material of the door, but Crewman Nicol could hear enough of it to make out what the men were saying. The nerve gas would be able to wipe out the entire Coordinator race. That would be mass genocide, and he wasn't about to let that happen. Roughly three weeks aboard the Dominion and he'd already had enough evidence to personally shoot everybody in the High Command echellons of the Earth Forces. But with his status currently under disguise, he couldn't afford to blow it now. He had to bide his time and strike when the ample opportunity came. This nerve gas may very well be the right opportunity. He wouldn't even allow the gas to leave the ship, much less the scientists who developed it. Ah, how sweet revenge can be.
Outside, in the base's main complex, a team of officials waited for the cargo ship to unload its supplies. They were keen with interest on the war machine coming down now, it's large wingspan and main gun extensions bristling with pride and glory. "The mass produced, K-type," one of them said. "We were lucky they had an extra set of blueprints for them."
"When we couple these bad boys with theStrike Daggers and Moebieus'already fighting, we'll be unstopable," another bragged. "May your soul rest in hell, damn Coordinators."
"For the preservation of our blue and pure world," the other agreed. "Those Coordinators won't know what the hell hit 'em when we sick the K's loose on 'em."
"They'll be lucky to even make it out in one piece," the second man chuckled, which was eventually joined by every member of the team.