Jachin Due, September 19, C.E. 71, 2000.
The fires burned through the day hours and into the night, an explosion ringing out every once in a while if one listened close. Warships that had just this morning sparkled against the stars, were now smoldering wrecks of melted steel and charred black from the fires. Debris from destroyed weaponry floated in the weightless state of space. From pieces of wrecked GINNs, to the main cannons on a Nazca-cass, to human body parts, it all created a new debris field within Jachin Due's defensive perimeter.
Wounded soldiers filled the medical facilities inside Jachin Due, the medical staff strapped to the limit to accomodate all the patients. Some had been lucky, only suffering minor injuries like cuts and broken bones. Other were badly hurt, with third degree burns covering their bodies, limbs blown off, even skin peeling off because of the intensity of the heat. Soldiers who had been uninjured volunteered to help wherever they could, pulling undamaged mobile suits away from the flames and tending to the wounded and dying.
Ezalia could hardly comprehend the destruction she was seeing before her eyes. Even during the Bloody Valentine tragedy, when the nuclear attack had disallowed for any salvage operations to even come close to the wreck of Junius Seven, there had never been this much visible carnage this close to home. Wandering aimlessly from room to room inside the asteroid, she heard soldiers crying out in pain, some harsh shrieks for their mothers, others just letting out pained moans of suffering. ZAFT soldiers and medics rushed past her carrying supplies from one station to the other. Ezalia saw nurses brush past her with red blood stained on their uniforms, and horrified expressions in their faces. One nurse crashed directly into Ezalia, knocking her into a wall. The girl apologized vigorously as she ran off down the corridor. Ezalia stared after the girl, and then at her own hands. Blood from the girl's uniform had dripped onto Ezalia's hands. It dripped from her finger-tips down onto the floor, making a small puddle beneath her feet. Ezalia shut her eyes and clenched her fist while she cried out in anguish. Damn those, bastards! she cried to herself.
With her eyes closed, Ezalia's other senses heightened. She heard more of the anguished cries from the wounded, doctors calling out orders to others to bring in more supplies, responses coming back that there were none left. She heard nurses desperately telling patients to hold on a little longer for treatments that they knew would never come. It was a cauldron of hell inside the infirmary. Chaos reigned supreme.
"Tell the rest of the squad to hurry up and get back with the rest of the stuff!" Ezalia's eyes snapped open. She knew that voice. Yzak!
"They're on their way back right now, Lieutenant Joule, but they had to go all the way to the December PLANTs to get enough morphine to meet the need."
"What about Boaz?" Yzak said loudly. "They must have something they can send us!"
"That's just it, sir," came the response. "Boaz already sent all their stuff. They're already strapped to the limit back there!"
"Well, tell 'em to hurry and get back quickly!" Yzak shouted, now coming into Ezalia's line of sight. He looked alright. A few bandages on his face and hands, but otherwise he looked fine, much to Ezalia's great relief. She had seen Yzak's machine go out into battle and get cut to pieces by the Freedom, only to be saved by a GuAIZ unit at the last second.
Yzak turned his head and saw his mother, leaning up against the wall, red stains on her hands. Her face was in a state of shock, probably because she had never seen anything like this before. Yzak had seen plenty of it in the past year, fighting on the front lines of the war. "Yzak..." he heard her say.
"Mother," Yzak said firmly, and turned away, heading down a separate corridor.
"Yzak, wait!" Ezalia called, reaching out for him, but it was too late. Yzak was gone. Slowly, she brought her shaking hand back to her side and leaned her head against the wall, tears welling up in her eyes. Her hand rubbed across the wall, red blood trailing in its wake, while her tears dripped onto the floor, mixing with the now ever larger puddle of blood.
"Representative Joule!" a voice called from behind her. Ezalia turned her head to see a young doctor, couldn't be more than twenty, coming towards her. "Are you alright, ma'am?" the man said, noticing the tears on Ezalia's face.
"I'm fine," Ezalia said firmly, rubbing the sleeve of her jacket across her cheek, wiping away the tears. "What do you need?"
"Huh?"
"What can I do to help treat these people!" Ezalia shouted at him, louder than she meant to.
"Uh..." the doctor stuttered. "W-we need blood."
"Take me, then," Ezalia said, extending her arm towards the man. "Get as much as you need from me." The man hesitated at first, but then took Ezalia by the arm and led her towards another room down the corridor.
On the upper levels of the asteroid, Commander Tomas Slythr, rubbed the inside portion of his elbow, where the needle that had retracted his blood had been just about half an hour earlier. Slythr had hauled the damaged Duel back to the repair facilities inside the asteroid, then headed back to the Relentless, which had somehow managed to remain undamaged during the meley. His men had fought valiantly, and had managed to break free of the dock just as the shooting started. The Hoisingert had also remained undamaged, while the Hellderton had taken a minor hit to her number two engine and had been one of the first ships taken into the repair facilities for the warships on the other side of the asteroid. After that, Slythr had journeyed into Jachin Due and had donated a full pint of his blood to the medical staff to help the wounded. Immediately thereafter, Slythr received an order to meet with Chairman Zala, General Amalfi, and Commodore Dullindal in the main command room at the top of the asteroid, which was where he was headed now.
"How much, Tomas?" Slythr turned his head to Rau, who was walking beside him. "How much did you give?"
"A pint," Slythr replied, his face still in its usual emotionless form. "That's as much as they could get out of me before I got buzzed."
"I'll have to make sure I get down there as well, afterwards," Rau commented, tugging at the edges of his mask. "By the way Tomas, you performed splendidly during the battle."
"Thank you," Slythr said.
"But I can't help wondering, why you went out in the first place," Rau said.
"I was already heading out when I saw Yzak get hit," Slythr replied. "Couldn't let him die, now could I?" Rau hummed in response. "Let me put it another way," Slythr said. "It was either I help him, or we have to face whatever the hell Ezalia does to us, when we tell her her son is dead."
"Good point," Rau admonished.
They came to the door that led into the command room and saluted at the two soldiers guarding the door. One soldier slid his I.D. card into the recognition slot and the doors sighed open. Patrick was standing next to the viewport at the rear of the room, his back turned to everyone, his gaze fixated on the destruction before him. He had not said a word since the attack had taken place, and nobody was about to try to get anothing from him in fear of Patrick's wrath after seeing his invasion fleet devastated.
Gilbert and Yuri were on either ends of the map display in the middle of the room, looking over the records that had come in so far, but many of them were sketchy at best. Rau and Slythr approached the map and saluted, receiving a return salute from both of the men. "You wanted to see us, General," Rau began.
"Yes, Commander," Yuri said quietly, leaning over the map in front of him. "I'd like to hear both of your inputs as to what the hell happened this morning."
"Our input, sir?" Rau asked, perplexed.
"You two were out in battle, I was stuck inside here. You saw more than I did."
"Well..." Rau began. "From what I saw, the large warships that destroyed our anti-ship cannons were hidden with Mirage Colloids, along with the Eternal. That's how they got close enough to inflict so much damage on us."
"The Justice and the Freedom used our METEOR units," Yuri confirmed. "We may not like it now, but they worked to perfection. They devastated us."
"If you ask me, the mobile suits were only a distraction," Slythr put in. Yuri asked him to explain and he added, "When you look at it, most of the damage was done by the larger ships, the mobile armor, and the M1s, though the Freedom and Justice did do a significant amount of damage."
"In other words, the conversation Athrun Zala had with Patrick was a distraction?" Gilbert asked.
"To allow the rest of their assault force enough time to get into position," Slythr confirmed.
"Distraction." All eyes turned to Patrick, who had said something for the first time since this morning. "And I fell right into it."
"It would seem that way sir," Gilbert said. "Though I can't help but wonder what would've happened had you actually listened to Athrun."
"What!" Patrick boomed, turning around from the window.
"Well..." Gilbert stuttered, realizing he'd gotten himself into a shit load of trouble. "I can only assume...that if you'd spoken to Athrun...the assault would never have taken place. You said it youself, sir. Lacus Clyne is among the leaders of that force, and she apparently has no interest in fighting if it can be helped, so..."
Patrick huffed as he joined the four men already around the map display. "So you're saying this was my fault, then Dullindal?"
"No, sir!" Gilbert responded. "I just-."
"It doesn't matter," Patrick said, cutting him off. "We all know it was that bastard Athha and the Orb forces who were behind this. I wouldn't give into his demands and he attacked us instead. What a wicked person." Patrick rubbed his palm across his forehead. "Do we have any numbers as to the losses yet, Yuri?"
"Only early estimates, Patrick," Yuri said.
"Well, let me see them."
Yuri handed Patrick a slip of paper that he'd been hoping he would be able to keep away from Patrick's eyes, but now it was too late. Yuri's suspicions were proved correct when Patrick's eyes widened and his eyebrows crunched. "These are early estimates?" Patrick asked.
"Yes...Patrick," Yuri reluctantly said.
"Thirty-eight ships destroyed or heavily damaged, 2,000 confirmed dead, 4,800 wounded, and 750 still unaccounted for!" Patrick thundered. "This is inexcuseable!"
"Because of the losses we suffered, we'll have to pull back the invasion, Patrick," Yuri said. "The forces we have left won't be able to take on the tasks that we need done in order for it to succeed."
Patrick crumpled the paper in his fist and slammed it down on the display. "Those bastards may have caused us to lose the entire war."
Just then, a soldier burst through the doors to the command room and ran towards the map display, holding a slip of paper out to Yuri. "General! General! The Earth Forces launched the attack!"
"What?" Yuri gasped.
"They moved on the mass driver already," Patrick scowled. "This day can't get any worse."
"Is Carpentaria holding out?" Yuri asked.
"It's not Carpentaria, sir," the soldier reported. All eyes turned to the soldier, who added. "It's Victoria!"
"Victoria?" Gilbert said.
"How can it be Victoria?" Yuri asked, taking the paper from the soldier.
"The forces in Australia were a feint, General," the man reported, pointing to the slip of paper. "The Earth Forces gathered a separate force in South Africa and launched the assault this morning. We just got word from the ground. Victoria fell an hour ago, with the mass driver still intact."
Patrick slammed his fist into the map display again, which caused it to shake violently. "Damn those, Naturals!" He clenched his fist tight. "Now they've got a mass driver, and those bastards with the Orb Union cost us our window for the invasion." Patrick took a few deep breaths, and then added, "What can we do about this, Yuri? With the forces we have left."
"Well, Patrick..." Yuri began, scratching his head, trying to come up with something. "We can't hit the Lunar Base with the Earth Forces having captured a mass driver, and it would be suicide to try and go with the invasion anyway. So...if it was up to me...we'd try to go after the Orb forces, I guess."
"The Orb forces," Patrick hissed. "Yes. They'll be low on ammunition by now, and if we start after them quickly enough, we'll find out where they're holed up and wipe them out!"
"No need to, sir," Slythr said. "We already know where they are."
Patrick stopped speaking. He slowly turned his head towards Rau and Slythr and said slowly, "What was that?"
"We know where they're base is, sir. It's the Mendel colony in L4," Slythr added.
"How do you know where it is?" Yuri asked.
"Where do you think we've been before we came here," Slythr said. "You told us to pursue the Eternal and we followed them to L4, where the Orb forces made rendezvous with them."
"Then why didn't you attack them!" Patrick thundered.
"We were about to..." Slythr began.
"What he means, Patrick," Rau interrupted, "Is that we were going to launch an attack on Mendel, but then your recall order reached us, and we called it off because it came directly from you. We didn't think they were capable of anything like this, so we just left them alone."
"You know where they are, you know what their forces are capable of," Patrick said, his voice rising. "Then go and destroy them, you fools!"
Both Rau and Slythr looked at each other, and then at Yuri. Finally, they both saluted. "Yes, sir. We'll annihilate the Orb forces and exact revenge for today's travesty," Rau said proudly.
"We won't let a single one of them live, Chairman," Slythr added.
Patrick kept his glance trained on then and then added, "I appreciate that, gentlemen. Just make sure you get the job done this time."
"Sir!" both of them said in unison.
Victoria Spaceport, September 20, C.E. 71, 0530.
The sun rose over the eastern shore of the African coast, illuminating the land in bright colors, from the blue oceans, to the lush green meadows along the shore. The sun reflected gray and white off of the buildings and facilities at the Victoria base, just one day after the titanic struggle to capture it had been fought. GINNs had been replaced by Strike Daggers as the principle mobile suits, and the Earth Forces emblem now rose in the early morning light over the base.
"Beautiful isn't it, Admiral," Azrael commented, gazing at the sun from the rear seat of the car which he, Sutherland, and Captain Rutherford now rode in. "Especially after a victory."
"Two victories if you take into account what Athha and those others did to the Coordinators' invasion fleet," Sutherland said. "Which would make yesterday twice as fulfilling to our cause, Mr. Azrael."
"Perhaps this is the sunrise on a new era," Azrael said lightly. "An era without the enemies of mankind."
The car passed by the above ground repair facility in which the Dominion was now docked after taking some light hits in the battle yesterday. The crews were busy hauling the Calamity up and into the hangar, just as they had done to the Forbidden and Raider moments before. Orga sat in the cockpit, reading another chapter in his novel to pass the time. "You sure you're not gonna want us to repair it?" a mechanic asked through the radio.
Orga looked up from his book and added gruffly, "I've got Trans-Phase Armor, stupid. It'll only need repairing if I get hit bad. Just recharge it and do it quickly, please."
"It's either it doesn't get damaged, or it's destroyed," Clotho commented. "Nothing between."
"How long until we get out of here?" Orga asked. "I've only been here one day, and I'm already sick of this place."
"As soon as we finish patching her up, we should be able to go," the mechanic answered.
"Hurry up, then," Orga commanded.
"The Calamity, Forbidden, and Raider are turning out to be exceptional weapons," Sutherland praised from inside the car. "Those pilots really have improved Mr. Azrael. What's your secret?"
"Just good old fashioned discipline, Admiral Sutherland," Azrael answered, tracing the bottom of the car's window with his index finger. "If they don't achieve our expectations, they'll be disciplined. If not, we leave them alone, which I think we'll do now because of the way they fought yesterday."
"Are you planning on accompanying us to space then?" Sutherland asked.
"Of course," Azrael said. "Someone has to keep those three in check. And while we're at it, we may as well accelerate our future plans."
"Future plans?" Rutherford asked from the front seat.
"With the ZAFT invasion halted, we now have the advantage, Captain," Azrael responded. "We must seize the opportunity while we have the chance. Our Lunar base is already readying itself for future operations that Admiral Sutherland and his fellow commanding officers have been planning for quite some time now. Though if I may, Admiral," Azrael added, raising an eyebrow, "this may also prove to be a welcome opportunity to deal with some old adversaries of ours."
Sutherland smirked. "I know exactly what you mean." The car came to a stop next to the dock for the mass driver, where a shuttle sat waiting for passengers. A soldier opened the door for Sutherland and Azrael, who stepped out of the car, followed by Rutherford. "If what Richards told us is true, we'll have an ideal opportunity any time now."
"There's something else, I might add," Azrael said. "Those two new machines the Archangel possessed before she betrayed us...what were they called, Captain Rutherford...Freedom and Justice?"
"I believe, so Mr. Azrael," Rutherford responded from behind him.
"I had a chance to see some of the footage one of our spies took from the Jachin Due asteroid during the battle yesterday. Those two machines performed exceptionally well, and they destroyed many targets without even trying it seemed, much better than the machines we are now in possession of." Azrael turned to Sutherland and added, "Call it a hunch, but if I were to guess, I'd say those two machines are nuclear powered."
"Are you serious!" Sutherland gasped.
"I'm only saying it's a hunch," Azrael replied. "But according to an early report submitted by that woman in charge of the Archangel, those machines were originally intended for use by the Coordinators, the ones who developed the N-Jammer in the first place. And according to that report, those machines possessed an incredible amount of power, and were capable of continuing to fight long after our other machines would have run out of energy. Now how would that be?"
"I suppose it's possible," Sutherland conceded. "The Coordinators were the ones who developed the N-Jammer in the first place, so it's possible they could have learned to reverse their own devices."
They reached the platform in front of the shuttle and saluted the men standing guard there. "In any case, it's only a hunch on my part," Azrael said. "But if the circumstances do present themselves, I'd very much like to see them in action up close. Perhaps even to acquire them."
"Ah, so that's why you're having the Calamity, Forbidden, and Raider join us in space, then," Rutherford said.
"More or less, Captain," Azrael said. "Either way, with our victories the past few days, the momentum has once again shifted to our side, Admiral Sutherland. I certainly hope we can continue this trend into the near future." The door to the shuttle opened to admit its passengers. "Let's just hope our...esteemed adversaries provide us with adequate opportunities to destroy them."
"Agreed," Sutherland replied, stepping into the craft. Rutheford hesitated slightly, but then followed his boss and superior office into the craft. Five minutes later, the shuttle rocketed down the driver's track and soared into the air, picked up speed, and raced towards the heavens, its passengers relaxing comfortably inside.
On the ground, Captain Omanney spoke with Lieutenant Poprawa about the Dominion's condition following the battle. "From what they tell me, as soon as they patch up the number two Gottfried, we'll be able to get out of here."
"That's good," the ship's second mate responded. "I've never been to space before. Have you, Captain?"
"Nope," Hal replied simply. "My first time too."
"We're all in it together then," came a voice from behind them. Shani, Orga, and Clotho filed into the bridge and took up positions surrounding the two officers. "This is our first time to space too," Shani added.
"Really," Hal said sarcastically.
"Space is where all the Coordinators are," Clotho said.
"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Orga mocked. "We didn't already know that."
"Shut it!" Clotho snapped.
"You both be quiet," Hal ordered. "I'm running this ship, so you're technically under my command, so shut up."
"Yes, sir," the trio responded sarcastically. Hal leaned forward in his chair and balanced his chin on his closed fists. How much longer am I gonna have to live with these idiots? he asked himself. Two hours later, the second ship of the Archangel-class was on its way to space.
As the ship broke orbit, Hugh Nicol stepped out of the shower in the men's washroom on his deck. The rest of the crew were busy at their battle stations, so he'd taken the opportunity to freshen up while had the chance to be alone. He couldn't afford to let the others aboard the ship possibly blow his cover, now could he? He wrapped a warm, linen towel around his waist and walked towards the mirror. His scars were now completely healed, so his face was back to its original dark colors, with extra darker patches he'd added on himself. His hair was still a cross between blonde and brown. He rubbed his eye with his fist and thought, Man, that hair coloring really stings!
After the pain dulled away, he continued looking at himself in the mirror, flexing his muscles occassionally, which had miraculoulsy remained constant during these relentless past few months. If only they could see me now, he thought happily to himself. He got dressed in his uniform and dried his hair with a towel. He combed and straightened it, and then make sure his disguise was in perfect balance. It was. As he left the washroom, he paused beside a porthole in the corridor and looked out. It was black, the signal that they had arrived in space. One step closer to his destination, the first ship of the Archangel-class, the Archangel. He had to get back to her. He wasn't safe anywhere else. Plus he still had friends back there that needed to know that he was O.K. In all likelihood, they thought he had been dead all this time, caught up in the explosion to allow the others to escape from the Earth Forces. The names ran by in his head. Athrun...Kira... For some reason, one name in particular stood out in his head, though he couldn't figure out exactly why, but he had a pretty good idea. A person he'd hurt in the past, and he still felt bad about what he'd done even to this day. Miriallia, he called out in his mind. Please tell me you're O.K. If your not...his thoughts trailed off as he headed back to his quarters.
Mendel, September 21, C.E. 71, 1500.
"What in the hell was going through your head, Lieutenant?"
Natarle hesitated, trying to find the right words to respond to Admiral Cantarii's question, if you could even call it that. "Well, the anti-ship cannon-."
"Would have fired on the Archangel if you hadn't destroyed it," Cantarii finished. "Yes, Captain Ramius already told me the same thing. But when you look at it again, that cannon was virtually already half destroyed as it was, so even if it did fire, it wouldn't have done much damage.
"But, sir-."
"And," Cantarii interrupted. "You more than likely caused more people to die than we needed to. That's why I ordered weapons safe at the end there. Our mission had been fully accomplished by that point, and no further destruction was needed to be wreaked by us. So what I'm asking is, why did you still disobey an order and attack?"
"Every soldier in the military has it drilled into them that if your ship is in danger, you take adequate measures to ensure that it survives the fight, Admiral," Natarle said smoothly. "It's practically written on every page of the book."
"Hmm," Cantarii hummed. "It's also practically written on every page of the military handbook, that a subordinate officer is supposed to follow the orders of her superior, even if those orders contrast with what the subordinate thinks is right," he pointed out. He sighed and stood up. He pulled a cigarette out of the case in his jacket's pocket and lit it. "Lieutenant, I can't just have my people going around and causing more havoc than's needed. We aren't in a position where we can do that. Remember, we are not affiliated with either the Earth Forces or ZAFT, so we're enemies in both of their eyes. If we continuously perpetrate acts like the one you did two days ago, it'll only breed more hatred. Hatred that we want to get rid off. You understand what I'm saying?"
"Yes, sir," Natarle responded quietly, her head dropping a bit. "Fully understand."
"Good. Then get back to your ship and resume your duties," Cantarii ordered.
"What?" Natarle said, her head snapping up. "You're not punishing me?"
"Why would I? I've got no reason to," Cantarii replied, sitting down in the chair behind his desk.
"But I disobeyed an order!" Natarle reminded him.
"Lieutenant, you're one of the best officers I have at my disposal right now," Cantarii said. "I can't afford to have people like you, Captain Ramius or anybody else like you sit out a crucial situation like the one's we face almost every single day. So consider yourself lucky, and get back to work, O.K.? Don't make me want to change my mind."
"Sir!" Natarle said, saluting. "Thank you, sir." Cantarii returned it and Natarle quickly made her way out of his office and into the corridor.
Once outside, Natarle slowly began making her way towards the main dock where the shuttle from the Archangel would be waiting for her. Thoughts about the past few days wandered into her train of thought. She found herself wondering what she was even doing here at Mendel in the first place. The Earth Forces tried to kill me. That's right! Natarle thought angrily. Now she was fighting against them to keep herself alive and the others aboard the Archangel. Plus, she noted that she was also fighting to end the war as quickly as possible, without either side annihilating each other. How she longed just to get this over with and go back home to Earth as fast as possible.
Natarle reached the main dock on the inside of Mendel, where crews were still hard at work, repairing craft that had suffered damage during the battle two days ago. The Eternal was sitting on the far side, crews racing across her hull with blow torches and pieces of metal to patch up the damage done. Two M1's and a K bomber were also inside the dock, being serviced. Just then, Natarle noticed something else. Something that wasn't there. The shuttle from the Archangel. Where was it? The pilot should be here now to pick her up after he took Captain Ramius back to the ship, but the shuttle was nowhere to be seen. She had no way to get back up to the ship. She glanced at the clock on the wall above her. And her shift was supposed to start in twenty minutes! She couldn't be late! Natarle hustled down the stairs to the main level of the dock and searched again. Still no shuttle. Natarle's thoughts were racing and a small amount of hurt was rising in her chest, worried that she'd be late. She'd never been late for one shift in her career, and she wasn't about to start now. What was she going to do!
"Lieutenant Badgiruel!" The voice startled Natarle so much that she nearly jumped. She turned around quickly to face the person. "Whoa, sorry!" Frank said, holding his hands up in defense at the sight of Natarle's harsh expression. "Did I scare you?"
"Yes!" Natarle responded harshly. She took a deep breath and calmed down somewhat, getting her thoughts in order. This was Commander Barkhesh, a comrade. A friend, Natarle reminded herself. "I'm sorry, Commander. I'm in a little bit of a jam right now, so..."
"Jam? What's the problem?" Frank asked, coming towards her.
Natarle sighed. "The stupid pilot of the shuttle from the Archangel was supposed to pick me up after I got done with Admiral Cantarii, but he's not here yet."
"Hunnh," Frank mumbled. "You told you'd be needing him to pick you up?"
"Of course," Natarle answered sternly. "I have a shift to start soon, so I need to get back up to the ship anyway."
"Yeah, I gotta get back up there anyway," Frank commented. "Chief Murdoch needs me to go over the specs on the Buster. We just got it back from the Morgenrate guys."
"So you'll be late too," Natarle said.
"No, not really." Natarle turned to Frank with a perplexed expression on her face. "What? You want a ride? I've got the Zero sitting over on the center part of the dock, waiting for me. I'll give you a ride up there with me, if you want."
"I'd rather wait," Natarle said quickly.
"Fine, suit yourself," Frank responded, turning away. "But if you ask, you really don't have much of a choice if you make it on time for your shift. Either the guy piloting the shuttle forgot, or he's late. Either way, you're gonna be late."
Natarle continued looking out the main opening for the shuttle from the Archangel, but the longer she looked, she more she knew that he wasn't going to come. And she was damned if she was going to be late for a shift! "Commander, wait!" she called, running after Frank.
"Change your mind?" Frank asked, stopping to allow her to catch up.
"I really don't have a choice now do I?" Natarle responded.
Frank smiled. "I knew you couldn't overlook the call of duty, Lieutenant," he joked.
"Nice," Natarle said quietly. "Can we just go?"
"Come on then," Frank said, walking the short distance towards the Zero, Natarle following in his wake. Along the way, Frank asked, "What did Cantarii want with you, anyway?"
"He wanted to know why I insisted on firing at the anti-ship cannon that was going to fire on the Archangel," Natarle replied sarcastically. "He let me off easy though, I didn't get in trouble."
"He let you off easy?" Frank exclaimed. "I got two days clean up duty on the Archangel from him this morning!"
"What did you do?" Natarle asked.
"I didn't take part in the battle as much as I should have," Frank responded, as they approached the Zero. "I had other things to take care of."
"Like what?"
"Like the fixing the busted gear in my hand," Frank said, holding up his hand with the steel insides. "I can't do both at the same time, you know."
"Right," Natarle said. Frank jumped up onto the platform that the Zero rested on and climbed up the access ladder to the cockpit hatch at the top of the orange craft. He lowered himself into the pilot's seat just as Natarle came up to the top. She peered her head down into the craft and said, "There's only one seat."
"Yeah, so?" Frank said, looking back up through the hatch at her.
"Two people can't fit in a mobile armor with only one seat," Natarle persisted.
"Fine, if you'd rather be late for your shift then." Natarle shut her eyes and sighed heavily. He was right. She couldn't afford to be late.
Frank fastened the restraints around himself and activated the engine start up sequence for the Zero. He looked up just in time to see Natarle lower herself slowly into the Zero and plop down on his lap with a thump. The impact shuddered them both. Natarle looked into Frank's face, which was about eye level with hers, and found him staring back at her. Both smiled and chuckled a bit at their predicament. "Sorry," Natarle apologized.
"No problem," Frank answered quickly, reaching across Natarle and activating the Zero's radio. "Mendel control, this Commander Barkhesh, Moebieus Zero. Requesting permission to launch."
"Roger that, Zero," came the response. "Launch granted. Proceed to catapult B."
"Affirmative," Frank responded. "Could you close the hatch for me, Natarle?"
"What?" she said in response.
"Yes, nobody's around, Natarle. It's O.K. for me to call you by your name now, isn't it?"
"Oh...yeah," Natarle responded. "Sure it's O.K...Frank."
Frank laughed. They both felt the Zero move beneath them and attach to the catapult underneath it. Frank pushed a button and the engines behind them started. "Hold on to something, Natarle," Frank warned. Natarle managed to take hold of a bar on top of the cockpit and held on to it with her right hand, the furthest one from Frank.
"Catapult connection confirmed," they heard from the radio. "All systems go. You may proceed, Zero."
"Moebieus Zero, heading out!" Frank called, as the board on top of the dock went all green and the catapult launched the Zero out of the dock.
"Think we can make it in time?" Natarle asked, holding fiercely onto the bar as the Zero picked up speed and the g-forces increased dramatically.
"Do you trust me?" Frank responded, turning the Zero away from the dock.
"Yes..." Natarle said uneasily.
The Zero rocketed away from the colony headed into open space. "Where's the ship supposed to be anyway?" Frank asked.
"On the other side," Natarle answered. "She's supposed to be running maneuvers this evening, so Captain Ramius took her out earlier today."
"Right," Frank said, turning the Zero hard to port to reverse his course. Natarle held on tight to the bar above her, but the g-forces pushed her back into Frank's chest as the speed increased.
"Sorry, again," Natarle apologized.
"No problem, again," Frank responded, straightening the Zero out. The g-forces decreased and Natarle released the bar above her, finally able to sit steady inside the cramped cockpit.
As Frank turned the Zero towards the other side of Mendel, searching for the Archangel, something happened. Suddenly, a strange smell reached his nostrils. A scent that he'd never smelled before. It smelled nice, and spicy enough that it tickled his nostrils when he inhaled. It was Natarle's perfume he was smelling, and it was sure as hell alluring to him. It was then that Frank noticed how close the two of them were. Natarle was sitting on his lap. On his lap! How many guys could say that? Not many, Frank doubted. Her face was pointed out the window towards the open space beyond, but he couldn't help but stare at her, even if he could just see half of her beautiful face. Her violet tinted eyes, that could be both intense and caring, the dark red of her lips, her short black hair. Frank couldn't help but stare. She was beautiful, he had to admit. One of the most beautiful women he'd ever seen, and one of the most dutiful. Past encounters with women in the military had given Frank the impression that they were just around to give the male soldiers a break from the action. But he had yet to meet anyone like Natarle. She was smart, competent, and above all, knew how to win a fight. She was one of a kind, and Frank was glad to be friends with her. Friends. Frank broke his stare at her, just in case she had seen him. He knew it was rude to stare, but he couldn't help it. Natarle was one of the few good friends he still had, besides Murrue, Mwu, John, that he could still trust. He liked her a lot. But did he...really like her. Like her in a way... Frank shook the thought away. Not now! he reminded himself. This is a war. You both have duties to attend to. No time for romance right now. But...do I...really like her? I gave her the necklace, but that was just to say thanks for being my friend. She probably thinks I'm an idiot right now and was trying to flirt my way into her life by giving her a necklace. Frank sighed. Right now, I don't know. I know I like her...a lot. But...what does she think about me. I know she thinks I'm a friend...but...does she...?
"There it is." Frank's train of thought was snapped. He could see the Archangel now, looming in the distance.
"Right," Frank said, turning the Zero to port. The g's slammed against Natarle, pushing her backwards, her upper half falling towards the side of the cockpit. She was about to have her head slam into the metal, but something stopped her. She felt something beneath her back. A hand. Frank's hand. "You okay?"
"Yeah," Natarle said, regaining her position. "Thanks."
Frank moved his hand back around and to the steering controls. "Hands do come in handy," he commented.
Natarle looked at him suspiciously. "What I meant was!" Frank said. "When the gear in my hand broke during the battle two days ago, I had to use my other hand to fix it," he said, lifting his left hand off of the steering controls.
"Then how did you steer this thing?" Natarle asked.
"With my knees," Frank said quickly, raising his knees up from the floor.
"You steered this thing with your knees!" Natarle gasped. "How the hell did you to that!"
"I don't really know either," Frank conceded. "But look on the bright side. I learned I could pull a barrel roll in this thing with just my knees."
"Oh, no. Please don't do a barrel roll," Natarle pleaded.
Frank's eyes narrowed and he looked slyly at her. "Why not?"
Natarle sighed, and looked back into his face. "My father was a pilot. He used to take me and my siblings up in his plane when we were little. I really enjoyed going up with him, but...he'd always pull a ton of barrel rolls and they'd make me sick sometimes. That was the one part of the flight that I dreaded, and...I still don't think I really like them all that much. So please don't do one," she pleaded, turning back towards the front viewport.
"Alright, I won't do a barrel roll," Frank said. Then he glanced back at her. She wasn't looking. "Look, no hands!" Frank called, removing his hands from the steering controls and jerking them with his knees. Natarle screamed out, as the Zero began rolling, her arms wrapping themselves around Frank's neck, holding on for dear life. The Zero pulled three straight barrel rolls as it continued on its course. Frank was laughing like a dog by the time he was done. Natarle cried out all during the time.
"I am gonna kill you!" Natarle yelled at him, though Frank could see she was smiling and laughing along with him. Frank straightened the Zero out and headed straight on towards the looming Archangel.
Frank noticed something then, and turned his head to face Natarle, who was looking back out the front of the Zero. "You know you can let go of me, anytime you want Natarle."
Natarle's head snapped back, her nose nearly smashing into Frank's face in the process. "Oh!" she said quietly, quickly removing her arms from his neck. "Sorry!"
Frank shrugged his shoulders. "It happens."
A moment later, the radio chimed. "Zero, we have you on our monitors," Miriallia's voice sounded. "Use the starboard hatch, Commander."
"Yes, ma'am," Frank said.
They saw the hatch on the starboard leg of the ship swing open to admit them. "Frank," Natarle said softly.
"Yeah?"
"Why did you help me?" Frank hummed in confusion. "Why did you give me a ride up here? You could've just not worried about it and left me back there. So why didn't you."
Frank thought about it. "Because I didn't want to see you upset, alright. I hate seeing my friends upset about anything. Besides, you'd already gotten in enough trouble as it was, and I didn't want anything more weighing on your mind. You've already got enough stashed up there to worry about. Keeping my sister and the other idiots on the bridge in line, for one." Natarle giggled and smiled a little. "I should know. While Mwu's out blowing the crap out of people, I've gotta keep everybody else in line, and trust me, with people like Stevy, Niada, Donnie, and Jake out there, it's a hell of a lot harder than it looks." Natarle giggled again. "Athrun and Kira mostly control themselves, but everybody else is a difficult assignment." He paused. "I guess I just didn't want you to feel worse about yourself. Natarle, you're one of the best officers we have here. We're going to need you to be at the top of your game all the time. And you can't do that with things like that weighing on your mind. I just wanted to relieve some of it, I guess."
The Zero turned straight on towards the open hatch and began its entry. Neither one said anything. Then, slowly, Natarle laid her head against his shoulder, startling Frank a little. "Thank you," she said quietly, pressing her head against his shoulder.
Her spicy scent one again filled his nostrils and tickled them. Frank smiled and reached his arm around her, laying it gently on her shoulder. "You're welcome," he said quietly. Her eyes moved to center on his face, about level with hers and they narrowed. It was then that Frank realized what he was doing. "Right! Right!" he stuttered, removing his hand. "Sexual harassment. Sorry."
Natarle kept her head pressed against his shoulder, and averted her gaze. Something in her heart hept shouting at her, Why did you do that, you idiot! Why did I do that? Natarle thought to herself. She hadn't found the answer by the time the Zero touched down on the deck and was being moved over to the far corner where it usually sat.
"You sure you don't want us to inspect it?" Murdoch asked through the radio.
"No, not yet, at least," Frank responded. He looked at Natarle and added, "I've got something I've got to see to first."
"Roger, that," Murdoch sent back.
"You'd better get out of here quick, if you don't want anyone to see us," Frank advised, unfastening his restraints. Natarle got up off of his lap and stood up gingerly. She quickly unscrewed the hatch and lifted it up. She pushed herself up and sat on the edge of the opening, dangling her legs inside, waiting for him to come out.
"Thank you, again, Frank," she said quietly. "I owe you big time."
"There's a time duty, Natarle," Frank said, pushing himself out of the cockpit, "And there's a time for helping your friends." He too sat on the edge of the hatch, next to Natarle and added. "It was my pleasure to have chauffered you here, Lieutenant Badgiruel."
"It was my pleasure to ride with you, Commander Barkhesh," Natarle added, smiling. Frank did too. For a few moments, they just sat there, staring into one another's eyes. Natarle's violet and Frank's brown. They couldn't avert their gazes. Though neither of them realized it, their faces were coming closer together every second, until they were just inches apart, but still neither of them realized it. They were just lost in each other's eyes.
"Frank!" The shout broke them out of their trances.
"Go, go go!" Frank motioned to her, "I'll cover for you. Don't worry about it."
"Thank you again, Commander," Natarle said quickly, hustling down the ladder and out of his sight. He watched her go until she was out of sight.
"Frank. 'Bout time you showed up," Mwu called from below him. Kira was there as well.
"We finished the Buster already, so we decided we'd look over the Zero if you'd allow us, sir," Kira called.
"Sure, go ahead," Frank said, sliding down the Zero and jumping onto the deck.
"You're late, you know Frank," Mwu said.
"Yeah, you're rubbing off on me, Mwu," Frank joked.
Kira laughed. "Yeah, yeah, real funny," Mwu said.
Just on the inside of the corridor that ran adjacent to the hangar, Natarle hid behind the wall, listening to the conversation between the people back there. She heard Frank make the joke about being late, and found herself giggling a little herself. Stop it! she reprimanded herself. You're on duty now! She took a deep breath and relaxed herself against the wall. She was on time for her shift, which was to begin in three minutes, so she should consider herself lucky that she'd even made it here. "Because of him..." she said to herself. Because of Frank. Her friend. Her hand made a fist and she brought it up to her chest. Her eyes closed tightly. "Because of him, I'm here," she said to herself. It was then that she noticed that her fist was right above where the cross sat underneath her jacket. The silver one she had found sitting in her hand after it had shaken Frank's. Natarle's mind played back the scenes she had just been in. You fool! her mind shouted at her, You let him touch you. You almost kissed him! Her heart retorted. Why did you make him let go of you? Why didn't you kiss him when you had the chance? Natarle groaned as her thoughts conflicted. Why was this happening? It had never happened before when she had encountered anyone. Why now? Why him? Natarle relaxed her hand and reached inside her jacket, retracting the cross and bringing it before her face. The jewels incompassed in the silver winked at her in the light. The jewels that he had given her. He's a friend, Natarle reminded herself. Just a friend. Now. That thought startled Natarle. Now. But what about later? Natarle admitted that she did like Frank. As a friend. I do like him. But...do I like him...really? I know I love having him around me. He makes me feel good about myself. Do...do I...even...?
"All personnel, resume half-watch alert status! All personnel, return to your normal stations at once!"
Natarle's mind snapped back to reality. It was time to go to work. She put the cross back under her jacket and sealed it. She walked briskly towards the elevator and up to the bridge, where she began her shift minutes later.
Ptolemaeus Lunar Base, September 21, C.E. 71, 1900.
The transport ship set down gently on the tarmack in the underground hangar, its loading ramps descending almost immediately. Soldiers on the ground began the long and tedious process of hauling the transport's cargo down from its holds. It wasn't easy, considering the cargo the plane had been carrying were a full squadron of the newly mass produced heavy K-bombers.
Above the hangar, inside his office, General Bradford watched the crews unload the cargo and saw the bombers come into plain sight. He stood facing the window behind his desk, the lights in his office, barely giving off any light. "Read that to me again, please Brock," he ordered.
Captain Norris, standing in front of Bradford's desk began reading from the document he had rushed to Bradford's office. "'The Earth Forces have secured and captured the Habillis mass driver at the Victoria Spaceport in Eastern Africa. The assault, and subsequent capture took place on the 19th of September, and involved the combined forces of the 12th Naval Fleet and 42nd Mobile Suit Company. We apologize for having misinformed you earlier this month when we spoke to you, but the need for complete secrecy forced us to keep the intended target from anyone who may be listening-'."
"Wait, stop," Bradford interrupted. He turned around to face Norris and added, "Read that last sentence."
Norris took a deep breath. "'We apologize for having misinformed you earlier this month when we spoke to you, but the need for complete secrecy forced us to keep the intended target from anyone who may be listening in on the Lunar Base's communications at this point. In any case, with a mass driver now under our control, we will be sending supplies up to the Moon in order to restock our forces and replenish lost units. Admiral Sutherland and myself will also be at the Lunar Base in approximately four to five days from now. You are advised to take necessary precautions to prepare for any sudden enemy movements within the area, and to be ready for us when we arrive. Any other measures you see necessary, are welcome to be taken on, provided that they benefit the cause of the Earth Alliance. Sincerely...Murata Azrael...Earth Alliance Inner Council.'"
Bradford folded his arms and turned away, looking off into the distance, at nothing in particular. He sighed. "What do you think?"
"About Azrael's message?" Norris said. "Pft. I think he's a lying son of a bitch. Our past scans have detected nothing within the area that could be used a listening device to eavesdrop on our communications, so why would he keep the true target of the operation from us."
"We're agreed then," Bradford said, turning to face Norris again. "But with him and the Admiral on their way here we'll have to be ready for anything. More than likely they'll be sending us out into the battlefield."
"Can you trust him?" Bradford scrunched his eyebrows. "Azrael, I mean, sir."
"Hell no, I don't trust him," Bradford answered quickly. "That guy's Blue Cosmos, so you know we can't trust him. But William's put all his faith behind him, so we've got to live with it." He sat down roughly in his chair and leaned his head back into the cushioned padding. "Niles should be back sometime tomorrow with the fleets, so we'll have a packed house. I'm thinking we'll put the Valiant through one last simulation before Sutherland arrives just to be safe. I'd like the Intrepid to take part in the exercise as well Brock, so get your crew ready for it."
"Yes, sir," Norris saluted.
"And Brock," Bradford called. Norris turned around. "You remember the information we received on that battle that happened at Jachin Due two days ago?"
"The one about the Orb forces demolishing the invasion fleet? Yeah, I remember. Saved our asses if you ask me."
Bradford rubbed his forehead with his thumb and index finger. "If I were a betting man, I'd say Sutherland's going to be sending us out to find them. See if you can find their projected course after they left Jachin Due, alright?"
"Yes, sir," Norris said, and he quickly left the office.
"Are you kidding!" Jessie's voice rang through the corridor inside the Valiant, and into the ears of the people travelling with her.
"I swear it, Jessie," Seymour responded. "The Earth Forces hit Victoria instead of Carpentaria. They kept it from everybody up here. Even from the General and Admiral McCarthy."
"Damn," Jessie swore. "Don't they trust us?"
"I wouldn't think so," Lester said from behind them. "With everything that's been happening lately, I'd say that this is expected from someone like Sutherland. He's trying to beat the ZAFT completely, and he'll try anything to do it. If that means giving his subordinates false information, he'll do it."
"Either that or he still can't stand us," Tomer put in.
"Can't stand you?" Jessie asked.
"You haven't met Admiral Sutherland, Jessie," Seymour said. "We had to serve under him for two months before the General took over. As far as I'm concerned he hated us, because we're young and stupid."
"Stupid mostly," Lester said.
"So when he gets here, he'll probably come aboard and see how we've improved under the General's watchful eye," Seymour said sarcastically.
"You were lucky that you didn't get transfered here earlier, Lieutenant Mitchell, or you'd be in the same situation we're in right now," Lester added.
"Actually, I think I would've liked to have gotten tranfered here earlier," Jessie responded.
"Huh?" Seymour asked.
"Remember how I told you about how the men in my old unit were harassing me?" Jessie said. "If I would've been offered a transfer earlier, I would've jumped at it."
"What do you mean, harass?" Tomer asked.
"Tomer!" Seymour scolded. He turned to Jessie beside him and saw her head drop towards the ground.
"Come on Tomer!" Lester said, taking Tomer's arm and leading him away from Jessie and Seymour.
Seymour watched his two fellow bridge crewman leave and then turned to Jessie. "Jessie. You don't have to answer. It's just you and me, now. Forget about it."
"Well..." Jessie said at last, ignoring his last statement. "If you call being the only woman in your unit, having people touch your butt almost every single day, after you've repeatedly told them not to, have men peeping in the washroom while your're trying to shower, or having people hoot and hollar whenever you walk by, harassment...then yes. I was harassed in my old unit."
"Jessie," Seymour said softly. "You didn't have to recall that. I agree, it was horrible what those people did to you, and you deserve so much better. You're too kind a person to face that kind of treatment."
Jessie sighed. She then turned her head to face Seymour's and she had a small smile. "It's O.K.," she said. "I feel better about it now anyway. After I met you guys, that is. It's because of you three that I've begun to see men as civilized human beings again and not just savages looking for a free ride. So, thank you, Captain McKinley."
Seymour smiled back. "You're welcome, Lieutenant Mitchell. And remember. If anybody on board this ship does that to you, just tell me and I'll make sure they regret ever having done it."
"Thanks," Jessie said kindly. "You're a good friend, Seymour." They continued down the corridor and into the elevator which would take them down to the lower levels of the ship. "So what do you think Admiral Sutherland will do to us when he arrives?"
Seymour shrugged his shoulders. "He'll probably send us out into combat to see if we're as good as General Bradford's been saying we are."
"Great..." Jessie sighed. "Well, at least we'll be there together."
Seymour turned to Jessie and saw her smiling. "Yeah," Seymour replied, smiling himself. "General always does say we work better together." He chuckled. "We make a pretty good team, don't we?"
"Yeah, we do," Jessie laughed in response. "But considering what Lester and Tomer said earlier, Sutherland will probably see us all as idiots."
"Then we'll be idiots together!" Seymour said proudly.
Jessie laughed and shook her head. "You are such a geek!"
"If I'm a geek and I still have friends like you, Jessie," Seymour responded proudly. "Then I'm proud to be a geek!"
Jessie shook her head. "Better not let General Bradford hear you say that, or he'll go off on you. And I've never seen him get pissed, so whenever he does, you know it's going to be bad."
"Oh well," Seymour said, stepping out of the elevator. "At least I'll still have you backing me up, Jessie."
"Always behind you, Seymour," Jessie said, following him down the corridor. "No matter what," she added quietly to herself, making sure that he couldn't hear her.