Archangel, October 8, C.E. 71, 0700.
The early morning atmosphere was peaceful and serene inside the ship. There was hardly any activity going on at this hour, and many of the crew were seizing the opportunity to get in some much needed rest. Some were just now waking up, getting in their early morning stretches before heading off to their posts. Others like Sai, Coop, Miriallia, Donnie, Jake, and Mike were still fast asleep in their bunks, dreaming of a future in which they wouldn't have to fight.
"Is this our current position?" Natarle stood behind Neumann's chair at the front of the bridge.
"At the moment, yes. According to the data we have, the rendezvous point with the courier should be about here," Neumann said, pointing to a blank area of space just beyond their current position. "It'll take about another two hours for us to get there."
"Hmm," Natarle hummed, taking a sip from her drink. "Is our contact sure that area is safe from the gravitic pull from the debris belt?" she asked.
"It should be," Josef responded from his chair beside them. "It's fairly close to the outskirts of it, but since this area's remotely close to the edge of L3 it should be stable enough. Though based on our run of luck on not placing any bets."
The doors to the bridge slid open and Murrue entered, fresh from a good night's rest in Mwu's arms, though she wasn't about to tell anyone that. "Good morning, crew," she said.
"Morning, Captain," Pal said from his post.
"Good morning, Captain," Natarle, Neumann, and Josef all said together.
"Anything new, Lieutenant Badgiruel?" Murrue asked, sitting in her chair.
"We're almost there, ma'am," Natarle said. "About another two hours and we should be within the rendezvous area."
"What's the latest from the Eternal?" Murrue asked, activating the small console in the arm rest of her chair. "Has it reached its destination?"
"It's now at indigo mark twenty, charlie fifty-five, Captain," Pal said. "They're about an hour and a half away from us. Captain Steele sent us a message a few moments ago to clarify their position."
"Send a reply that we appreciate it," Murrue said. Just then, a small plume of white smoke appeared above their heads. Murrue sniffed and she could tell that it had come from some kind of smoking device. Her eyes searched for the source and finally she found it. Though she at first didn't believe it. Standing, or floating more or less, at the front of the bridge overlook, a cigar placed firmly between his lips, was John. His hair was the same jet black with streaks of gray, his old brown leather jacket hung on his shoulders, and his was completely serene. No crutches in sight. "Colonel?" Murrue gasped.
John turned his face about halfway and removed the cigar from his mouth, placing it between his index and middle fingers. "Morning, Captain," John said, managing a grin. "What's the matter? You look surprised to see me."
"I was under the impression that you still needed your crutches to help you walk, sir," Murrue responded.
"Heh," John chuckled. "You think an old dumb-ass like me is gonna walk around on crutches longer than I need to? Doctor said my hip healed faster than normal so he's letting me walk today without 'em." He pulled out his lighter, the silver sides gleaming in the faint light, relit his cigar, and placed it back in his mouth. He puffed a few times and added, "Never felt better in my life."
"Does it still hurt, sir?" Natarle asked. "You're hip that is."
"Well..." John began. He moved his right leg back and forth a few times to get the feel from it and said, "I can feel the thing clanking around inside me whenever I move it, but it doesn't hurt that much. Sure, I still got a limp, but otherwise it's fine."
"You'll be able to fly again soon, then," Murrue said.
"You bet. Maybe even take the bomber out for a spin when we get back to Mendel," John said. "Let's just get this mission over with and head back."
"Same here," Murrue said.
"You said it," Neumann added.
"Couldn't agree more," Josef put in.
"Right," Natarle finished.
In a corridor below the bridge, Mwu stretched his legs out as he floated against the wall. Another night with Murrue in his arms, which meant they were painfully stiff, so he stretched them out as well. His stomach growled as he approached the mess hall, looking forward to a cup of coffee and a good breakfast to start his day.
Frank exited the mess hall with a mug in his hand just as Mwu arrived. "Hey, buddy!" Mwu called.
"Mwu!" Frank responded, catching Mwu's hand in his own. "How goes everything?"
"Fabulous," Mwu said. "Looking forward to my breakfast. How's the food?"
"Better than usual, I'll tell you that," Frank said.
"Then that means it's really good," Mwu added. "Where you off to?"
"It's Saturday morning, Mwu," Frank reminded his friend. "Gotta get some shots in before I start my shift."
"Good luck," Mwu called, heading into the mess hall.
"See you later," Frank called back.
"I'm telling you Stevy, that song could make us millions!" Niada nagged to his twin brother as they floated down another corridor. "It's genius, pure genius!"
"I know that, Niada, that's why I wrote it," Stevy said, brushing his brother's praise aside. "But I've said it before and I'm saying it again, I'm not taking it on the road. I don't want that kind of life."
"But still," Niada persisted. "Even if you just record it and pass it around, no tours or anything, you could still make enough to put us into early retirement."
"Us?" Stevy said. "Who said I'm giving you credit, I wrote the song."
"But I'm the one singing it," Niada pointed out. "Without me, there's no song."
"Yeah, right," Stevy joked.
"Come on, Stevy, just think about it, okay?" Niada said.
"Whatever you say, bro. Right now, just let me relax for a little while all right. I don't exactly want to sleep walking all day today."
"You were up all night working on the plane again?" Niada asked.
"What do you think?" Stevy said. "I've gotta get the thing fixed. We can't afford to have any of our stuff busted at a time like this." He opened the door to his quarters and turned to his brother. "I'll think about it. Just let me get some sleep."
"Alright," Niada said. "But do think about it, okay."
"Fine. I'll see you later." With that, Stevy shut the door.
Eternal, 0720.
"Message from the Archangel, Captain," a crewman reported. "It's now at orange delta forty-seven. Due to meet the Junk Guild contact in about two hours time."
"Very good," Captain Steele said.
"How goes everything out there, Athrun?" Andy asked.
"Just fine," Athrun replied from inside the Justice's cockpit. "We've exhauted almost all of our targets. There's not that many left to speak of, so I'm headed back."
"Is Kira still out there?" Lacus asked.
"Yeah, he's still with DaCosta on the far side of it," Athrun responded. "They should be back shortly."
A short distance away, Kira and two separate search pods were operating in another part of the debris that was once the Gyndana colony. In reality, he wasn't too comfortable being here. Much like he'd been when the Archangel had stumbled upon the remains of Junius Seven a while back.This was a place where thousands of people had lost their lives, for no apparent reason.The images of the collapsing colony, people being sucked out into the vortex of space, their terrified faces.Kira shut his eyes tight as he tried to get the images out of his head. Damn it! he cursed to himself.Why does war always have to come to this! He took several deep breaths to get his thoughts back together. Finally, he got back to work. His job now was to find supplies to help the resistance, the people who shared the same thoughts and ideas he did. He couldn't afford to let his friends and comrades down now. It was unacceptable that he fail now. It could, and very well likely would, lead to drastic consequences in the future.
Kira turned his head this way and that, trying to find anything that would interest the Mendel forces. Finally, something caught his eye. Several cylinder shaped objects clustered together in one area. "What do these look like to you, DaCosta?" he radioed.
DaCosta examined the objects from his pod and said, "They look like fuel tanks to me. Probably ones held in reserve to service whatever ships came into port. If there's anything left in them, we may be able to take them with us."
"I'll get on it," Kira said, but then something else came into his field of vision. He squinted his eyes beneath his visor to get a better look at the object. A piece of metal of some sort. It looked like part of an old space craft that had been destroyed in the battle. He could see the familiar logo of the Gyndana Guardsmen on the side of the hull, but the logo was hanging loosely on the metallic surface, and there was something underneath it.
Kira brought the Freedom in closer to the object and picked it up in the mobile suit's right hand. He brought it in close to the cockpit. His eyes snapped open when he saw it. Underneath the Gyndana Guardsmen logo was another logo. Earth Alliance. What? Kira thought to himself as his eyes widened and his mouth went aghast. Earth Forces? What is this doing here? Gyndana was an Orb colony. The Earth Forces had no influence here. Why were they pretending to be Gyndana Guardsmen...oh, no!
"DaCosta!" Kira called.
"Yeah, what is it?" DaCosta radioed back.
"Get the rest of the pods together and we'll head back. I found something here that I think you guys should see."
Mendel, 0845.
All was quiet on the western front at the colony. The remaining ships inside of the harbor were silent as they lay still. The Kusanagi and her sister ships, Peleuia and Capricorn were at the front of the dock while the Intelligence vessel, Vasconi, was at the rear.
In his office, Uzumi scanned over the document in his hand at the moment. Recent movements and developments concerning both the Earth Forces and ZAFT. It was interesting to Uzumi.After having recaptured the Victoria Spaceport a few weeks earlier, the Earth Forces had launched many troops and supplies into orbit. But there had been no great movements from the Lunar Base in that time span. The only records of ships leaving were a force of eight ships, thought to be running maneuvers, and two more vessles, whose intentions were unknown. The same could be said from the PLANTs. Many ships had come and gone from Jachin Due since the battle, but many of those had gone either back to the homelands for repairs or to Boaz for new assignments. Out of all those ships, only five remained unaccounted for. But those five ships greatly worried Uzumi, as did the Earth Forces vessels. With the Archangel and the Eternal gone, Mendel was now more vulnerable than it had ever been. His daughter Cagalli was currently aboard the Kusanagi, while her friend Kira Yamato was on duty with the Eternal in L3. Kira Yamato. The name kept repeating again and again in Uzumi's mind. That name. The name of his daughter's...brother.
On the Kusanagi, Admiral Cantarii restlessly slept in his quarters below the bridge, the covers falling over the sides of his bunk as he stirred. His gray-blue eyes opened slightly and he ran his wrinkled hand through his gray hair. Why was he feeling this way? So tense and restless. The last time he felt this stirred was during his days with the Earth Forces, as their Supreme Commander, and that was usually when he was about to go into battle. What did this mean? Was a battle about to begin. He hoped, Cantarii did, that it was not.
A number of the M1 pilots were in the mess hall, listening to Lieutenant's Lapina and Yakov go over their orders for the next few days. Nothing glamorous. Just basic patrol around the colony. Asagi, Juri, and Mayura groaned at the task of just basically doing nothing until then. Others like Mitch Howell were glad to be getting some down time after all that had happened in recent weeks.
In her quarters, Erica Simmons finished buttoning her red Morgenrate jacket and sat down on the edge of her bed to put her shoes on. As she laced them up, she glanced at the small photo of herself, her husband, and son Ryuta, the latter who were back home in Orb. Erica missed them so and longed to be with them at this time. But duty called to her at this time and she couldn't turn a blind eye. She picked up the photo and kissed it gently, her way of telling her family that she loved them, and set to work.
The last droplets of water dripped from the shower faucet as Cagalli stepped out and began to dry her body with a warm, linen towel. She slipped a robe onto her damp shoulders and secured the green sash around her waist. As she dried her blonde hair, she looked into the mirror and saw her reflection. Below that, she saw another object. A photo. A photo of Athrun. She hadn't told anyone she had it, and she really didn't want to. She sighed slightly to herself and thought about Kira and him, out on the battlefield right now. Be careful, you guys, she prayed.
A loud and boisterous yawn escape from the throat of Josh Manchisco as he sat in the captain's chair on the bridge. The early morning shift was not one Josh preferred, but he'd been stuck with it anyway. This shift was one thing entirely. Dull, dull. Dull! He thought being the first mate and Combat Commander of the Kusanagi was supposed to be exciting. Not dull. But that's what it was right now. Dull, dull. Dull!
"Time to change shifts, Josh," came a deep, commanding voice from behind him.
"Thanks," Josh said, standing up quickly from the captain's chair and facing Captain Jackson as he came forward. At his tallest height, Josh didn't even approach the Captain's shoulders. And Josh was six feet tall. That's how big Captain Robert Jackson was.
"Any new developments?" Jackson asked as he set his large form into his chair.
"Nothing out of the ordinary," Josh responded, managing a small yawn that he covered up with his hand. "Another boring early morning shift."
"Get some sleep then, Josh. I'll call you if anything happens," Jackson said.
"Thanks, Bob," Josh responded as he quickly filed out of the bridge.
Jackson started to run through the data on his console concerning the Kusanagi's current status. All the damage she'd sustained at Jachin Due had been repaired and she was currently running at 100 total capacity. That was good, considering Admiral Cantarii usually commanded 100 from his men and equipment.
"Captain Jackson," came a voice from his side.
"Yeah, what is it Crewman?" Jackson asked one of his bridge crew.
"There's a message incoming, sir. Junk Guild it looks like. It's marked urgent. Will you take it?"
"Why me?" Jackson asked. "Why don't you just tell the Admiral about it?"
"Because Lord Uzumi's busy and I don't want to wake Hard Ass up," came the reply.
Jackson sighed. This was typical. Everyone was so afraid of Admiral Cantarii's reputation as a hard ass that they wouldn't even try to talk to him if they could. "Fine. Put it through," he grumbled. The board on his console beeped and Jackson activated a button to play the message. "Captain Robert Jackson, Orb 1st Orbital Fleet, here."
"Captain Jackson," came the voice from the message. "I am Keifer Nashijiima of the Junk Guild. I call a request for Admiral Cantarii or your Lord Uzumi to rendezvous with an informant of ours for a supply delivery for you."
"Man you guys work fast," Jackson commented. "Two calls in under a week, I'm impressed."
"Excuse me, Captain. Two calls?"
"Yeah, one of your couriers called us last week about a delivery," Jackson responded.
"The Junk Guild does not operate with couriers," Nashijima said sternly.
Jackson's eyes widened and his pulse quickened. "What did you just say?"
"The Junk Guild has never operated with couriers as our delivery men. We operate on a cash and come basis. That has always been our way. And I can assure you that none of my men contacted you or your fleet in the past week about a delivery. Why? Hello? Hello...Captain Jackson?"
Jackson was already up out of his chair shouting at the top of his lungs, "Get Admiral Cantarii up to the bridge immediately! Raise Lord Uzumi as well! Come on people we've gotta move!"
"What's the problem, Bob?" Josh asked, rushing through the bridge doors.
"We've gotta get the Archangel and the Eternal online, Josh," Jackson said. "They may be in trouble."
Dominion, 0850.
The debris swirled around the black ship as it sat amongst it. Pieces of destroyed items that were worthless now. That is, if you didn't know how to use them to your advantage. On the bridge, Azrael crossed his legs casually as he sat in the chair. "Has it begun, Admiral?"
"We're almost ready, sir," Sutherland responded. "A few more moments and the ship will be in position."
"Sergeant Richards, make sure your men are ready," Azrael ordered.
"Yes, sir," Richards said, unemotionally.
Captain Omanney turned to Sutherland and said, "It's not going to be easy to beat the Archangel, Admiral. So I can't guarantee a victory."
"There's no need for that, Captain," Sutherland responded. "We're not going to have to fight the traitors if everything goes according to plan. The ship will merely come to us."
"Come to us?" Hal asked.
"Radar contact at green beta, charlie seventy-four, Captain. Confirmed to be the Archangel."
"They're early," Azrael said. "Ah, so like them." He turned to glance up at Sutherland and added, "You may proceed now if you wish, Admiral."
"Activate N-Jammers!" Sutherland ordered. "Let's get this done quick, people!"
"Load Korinthos missiles into tubes one through six," Hal ordered. "Activate Igelstellungs and Valients."
"Have Ensigns Buer, Andras, and Sabnak board their units at once," Lieutenant Poprawa ordered.
"Fire main engines!" Hal commanded.
"All ships, proceed at cruising speed to mark five, orange twenty-seven, charlie omega twelve," Sutherland ordered.
In the elevator behind the bridge, Richards activated the small radio in his wrist watch that connected him with his subordinate in the Special Forces. He had instructed him to only turn it on when the time was right. Now was the time. After a pause, the radio on the opposite end came online. "It's begun," Richards said quietly. "Make your move when the call for battlestations is made. Your top priority is the bridge, the mobile suits, and the Coordinators. Make sure you get Namora, la Flaga, Barkhesh, and Barrington as well."
"Understood," came the reply. Richards smiled to himself as the elevator continued its decent. It had begun. After all his patient waiting, it had begun.
Archangel, 0851.
Jeremy Bennett proceeded into the corridor adjacent to his quarters and summoned two more of his men, dressed as Gyndana Guardsmen to follow him. The instructions had been clear and he would carry them out. The men he had under his command should be in position by now and he needed to be there as well. "Tell everyone to wait until the call for battlestations to start," Bennett ordered. "We need to make sure we get everything done right."
"What are you gonna tell him about the mobile suits?" one of the men asked.
"We'll deal with that later," Bennett replied sternly. "Right now, let's just get this over with," he said, pulling a pistol out of his jacket and loading a magazine into it. "I've already had enough of this ship as it is."
"Come on, there's gotta be a better way to fix it than that," Tonomura complained from the CIC below the main deck of the bridge. "This thing's busted before and we fixed it better than this."
"That was before when we had the Earth Forces behind us, stupid," Chandra reproached. "Now it's a lot more difficult."
"It can't be that difficult to fix," Tonomura continued.
"Will you two shut up!" Collin Affione retorted from his post behind them. "You're giving me a damn headache."
"Easy for you to say," Chandra responded.
"Cut the chatter down there!" Natarle ordered. "We're almost there, so be quiet."
"Yes, ma'am," all three replied quickly.
Murrue smiled slightly. Same old Natarle. "Any sign of the Junk Guild ship?" she asked.
"Nothing yet, Captain," Pal responded from above her. "Radar's not picking anything up."
"Should be able to seem him by now," John said quietly, just above a whisper. If the guy was here, then where was he. All that was in front of them was blank space, plus the debris belt off in the distance. Nothing else. Where was the ship? If the guy was carrying as many supplies as he said he was, he shouldn't be too hard to locate. This didn't make sense.
Suddenly, there came a sound from somewhere on the bridge. A steady, consistant beep. Pal's head snapped to his console, the source of the noise. The screen had become fuzzy and words were scrolling across it. "Radar wave interference! N-Jammer levels rising!" he shouted. Murrue and Natarle gasped. John turned his head sharply and crained his neck in the process.
"Silhouttes detected at twelve o'clock ma'am!" Chandra shouted. "They're warships!"
Mendel, 0851.
"What the hell are you saying, Captain?" Cantarii's voice rang as Uzumi and Cagalli entered the bridge of the Kusanagi behind him.
"This whole damn thing's been a set-up and the Archangel's probably in deep shit right now," Jackson responded from his chair.
"What's going on here?" Uzumi asked, coming up beside Cantarii.
"One of the big guys from the Junk Guild just called," Jackson said. "Turns out they don't use couriers to deliver their supplies to their contacts."
"Which also meant that the guy who called us last week wasn't with the Junk Guild," Josh finished.
Cagalli's breath left her and she stiffened. "More than likely we're assuming he was with the Earth Forces and they just wanted to get the Archangel alone," Jackson pointed out. "That's why they insisted on having the Archangel be the one to go and rendezvous with them."
Uzumi scowled. "Damn those Earth Alliance thugs," he fumed. "Can they just not understand that those people do not wish to fight them any longer? Why must they continue to pursue them even after everything they've tried to do to them!"
"Lord Uzumi," Cantarii said.
"This is my fault," Uzumi interrupted, his voice mellowing out. "I was the one who told them to trust that man and I may have very well ended up sending many fine people into a trap." He turned to Cantarii and said, "How quickly can you get the ships moving, Fernando?"
"About half an hour before we'll be all set if we go now," Cantarii said. "A little longer if we wait."
"Get the crews to their ships then," Uzumi said. "Have you been able to raise the Archangel or the Eternal?"
"We're doing that now, sir," Josh replied. He leaned down into the CIC and said, "You get a hold of 'em yet?"
"I've got the Eternal on the line now, sir," came the reply. "But for some reason I can't get word to the Archangel."
"What?"
"Something's screwing with the signal, Lieutenant."
"N-Jammers," Cantarii said quietly. "Ensign, tell the Eternal to cease her mission and help the Archangel at once!"
"Yes, sir!"
Eternal, 0851.
"You can't reach them?" Lacus' voice was urgent.
"No good, Miss Clyne," came the response. "The radio to the Archangel's completely useless. Something jamming the signal so we can't hear them and they probably can't hear us."
"Someone out there's got an N-Jammer," Andy said. "Where's Kira and Athrun?"
"We're right here," Kira announced as he and Athrun filed into the bridgel. "What the hell's going on here?"
"The Archangel may be in trouble," Lacus told him.
Kira eye's shot open, as did Athrun's. "We lost radio contact with them a few moments ago," Andy added. "Adding that together with the shuttle you just brought back kid, I'd say it's pretty clear that this entire thing is a phoney."
"The Earth Forces?" Athrun asked.
"That's what we're presuming at this time," Lacus answered. "Though we're not exactly sure."
"How far away is the Archangel, DaCosta?" Andy asked.
"About an hour and a half based on it's last signal, sir," DaCosta responded.
"Damn," Andy cursed.
"Eternal's not ready to go at this point because we've still got our equpiment out there," Captain Steele pointed out. "If we recall them now it would take almost twenty minutes before they're all in."
"That's far too long," Lacus said. She turned to Kira and Athrun and said, "Will you two be able to sortie?"
Both turned to Lacus. "Our machines are ready to go right now, so if you want we'll get a head start and leave now," Athrun said.
"Besides, the Freedom and the Justice are just as fast as the Eternal, so we'll get there quickly," Kira added.
"Very well, then," Lacus said. "Please have the crews ready the Freedom and Justice for takeoff."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Good luck, you two," Lacus said.
Kira and Athrun smiled and then looked to each other. "Let's go," Kira said.
"Right," Athrun responded.
Archangel, 0852.
"All hands, level one battlestations! All hands, level one battlestations!"
The siren sounded throughout the ship. Crews that had been sound asleep were jarred awake and sent scrambling for their equipment and weapons. Mwu looked up from his meal at the intercom and was on his feet in an instant. Stevy scowled angrily as he jumped up from his slumber. Murdoch and the deck crew dropped what they were doing and ran to their stations. Niada leaned his head out of the cockpit of his bomber and slithered out of the open window. Jay slid out of the tail and followed his friend.
The alarm startled Coop out of his sleep and as he sat up his head clanged against the ceiling just above the top bunk that he slept on. His hands covered his forehead as he fell back onto the mattress. "Oww..." he groaned. "There's another ten stitches."
"I told you to take the bottom bunk," Sai said from below him. Coop jumped off of the bunk and onto the deck, scooping up his jacket in the process.
"How bad does it look?" he asked.
"No marks or anything," Sai responded. "Miriallia!" he shouted.
"I'm coming," his friend shouted from the quarters next door. She joined them in the corridor a moment later. "What's going on?" she asked, "are we being attacked?"
"We have no clue," Sai responded.
Mwu sprinted out of the mess hall and collided with another person as he exited. "Mel!" he called, lending a hand to the man on the ground. "You okay?"
"Yeah, fine," the man called Mel responded. "What's going on?"
"Don't know," Mwu responded. "Trouble no doubt, though."
"Come on then, the Strike's waiting," Mel said, starting down the corridor. Mwu followed him.
"Have you identified those ships yet?" Murrue called on the bridge.
"Checking models," Tonomura responded. "Eight contacts. Five 130-class, two 250-class, and one unidentified. Charlie course twenty-two alpha forty-five.
"The debris belt," Natarle hissed. "They've been waiting for us."
"You want us in our planes, Captain Ramius?" John asked, coming down from the front of the bridge.
"Yes. Make sure everyone is there, Colonel," she added.
"Activate Igelstellungs and Valient!" Natarle ordered.
"Port roll twenty degrees," Murrue commanded. "Boost engines!"
"Engines at sixty percent, Captain!" Neumann reported.
Behind the CIC, a small, unmarked door opened. "Warships are incoming, Captain!" Tonomura called.
John pushed past Murrue's chair as he headed for the elevator. "Maintain this heading, Mr. Crue," Murrue commanded.
As John approached the elevator, the doors slid open unexpectedly. He stopped in his tracks and saw two figures standing in his path. "What-?" John began to say. He recognized these two men. Bennett and Fuller of the Gyndana Guardsmen. Before he could continue however, Fuller pulled an object into his hand and pointed it towards the front of the bridge.
A sharp crack rang through the bridge. Everyone ducked their heads at the sudden shot. Josef sat straight up in his chair and groaned. His eyes widened and his arms stiffened. An instant later, his body collapsed onto the console in front of him, his eyes closed, a dart protruding from his back.
Murrue was in complete and utter shock. She turned her head quickly to see where the shot had come from, only to be met with an unthinkable sight. After firing the shot, Fuller's gun was now pressed against Pal's right temple, while Pal's hands slowly rose above his head. John too was being held at gun point with Bennett's pistol pointed directly between his eyes. She heard another sound. A gun being cocked. Her head was turned sharply by something that pulled at her head. The barrel of another gun stared her down as her head turned. The person behind it was another Guardsman. And he had a smile on his face.
Below them in the CIC, Natarle ground her teeth and strained her eyes, trying to avoid staring into the two pistols pointed at her. The individuals had come through the rear entrance to the bridge behind the CIC, the mandatory second entrance that was required on all vessels, and had caught them completely off guard. Tonomura and Chandra each had guns pointed at the backs of their heads and their hands were raised. Gyndana Guardsmen. Natarle cursed to herself. She knew there was something she didn't like about these guys, and now her fears had been confirmed, but in the most diabolical way. Her eyes darted to her left, and she was surprised to see another person holding a gun to the back of Collin's neck, while holding his arm behind his chair, effectively pinning him to it. Collin was a Guardsman as well. Why was he being held at gun point like the rest of them? Ahead of them, Neumann pressed his lips together in a thin line and tried not to look at the gun pointed at him. Josef was already out next to him, so Neumann was effectively the only one steering the ship.
Mwu ran his hardest as he sprinted down the corridor with Mel in his wake. As they rounded a corner, he stopped abruptly in his tracks as he stared down the barrels of two semi-automatics. When he stopped, the weapons rose to point directly at his head. His mouth dropped as he looked at the two men holding them. Members of the Gyndana Guardsmen who had been serving as part of the deck crew. "What is this?" Mwu demanded. "What the hell's going on here?" He looked behind him at Mel, who had the same look as he did. Mwu turned back to front and didn't see Mel withdraw something from his jacket's pocket. "You guys...you're..." Mwu was about to say Earth Forces, but he never got the chance.
"Earth Forces," Mel finished for him. Something hard slammed into the back of Mwu's head and knocked him forward, sprawling onto his knees, his head thundering in pain. The pain was incredible and his senses were numb as he fell. After a few moments to catch his breath, Mwu raised his head, or rather it was raised for him by Mel who grabbed his chin with his fist and brought him eye level with him. Mel smiled and said, "You really need to stop being so trusting of people, la Flaga. That's going to kill you eventually." Mwu's head throbbed as he tried to fight back, but his arms flailed and he collapsed onto the deck. "Take him away," Mel ordered to the two others. They picked Mwu up under the arms and dragged him further down the corridor.
"What the hell is this?" Murdoch shouted, as another 'Guardsman' shoved him in the back with the barrel of his gun, leading him towards a growing circle of deck crew. His hands were behind his head as he walked and he stopped next to Hank Rodriguez, who was in much the same position. "Hank, what the hell is this?"
"It's a trap," Hank said quietly.
Other 'Guardsmen' pushed Niada and Jay into the circle as well, the latter with blood seeping out of his nose after apparently taking a direct shot with the butt of someone's pistol. "All of you are to remain where you are and are not to speak one word. If you fail to abide by these guidelines, you will all be killed. It makes no difference to us, you traitors."
Earth Forces! Murdoch thought to himself. The damn Earth Forces!
"Where is everyone?" Sai wondered out loud as he, Coop, and Miriallia trudged through the deserted corridor. "This place is empty."
"Everyone at their battlestations?" Coop suggested.
"They couldn't be," Miriallia pointed out. "Some of the crew have battlestations here in the medical corridor."
"There's one of the deck crew," Coop said, gesturing towards an intersection of corridors ahead of them. There were two of them. Gyndana Guardsmen. "Let's ask them. Hey!"
They came towards the two men at the intersection. "Where is everyone?" Sai asked.
"This place is deserted," Miriallia added.
"It is?" one of the men asked. He looked to his partner who nodded his head. The man reached into his jacket and said, "Then I guess you three will have to do."
All three of them stood back as they saw the guns come out and be pointed at them. Nobody even dared speak. "What's going on...?" Coop managed.
"What's going on is that the Earth Forces are taking back what's ours," the first one said. "And you traitors are all going to face what you've done."
"Betrayal of the Earth Forces means death," the second one added.
Silence. Sai stepped in front of Miriallia to shield her as best he could from the guns that would fire at any moment. Behind his glasses, he glanced to his left at Coop who glanced back at him. Ever so slightly, they nodded to one another. Sai sighed a bit. "Once again the Earth Forces amaze me," he said. "How could we have ever believed we could've stood up to them."
Both of their assailants smiled. "How right you are traitor. You've halted the preservation of our blue and pure world by helping the Coordinators. And now you're going to pay." The speaker moved his gun to train on Coop, who had reached across himself to touch his left shoulder. "Don't move!" the man ordered. Coop raised his hands over his head. The man noticed an object between two of his fingers. "What's that?"
"The award that you bastards will never get," Coop said, just as he flicked his wrist and sent the Medel of Honor flying out of his fingers. The small medallion struck the speaker in the forehead, not hard at all. However, the two men hesitated just long enough for Sai and Coop to make their move, sending each of them sprawling with quick shoulder blocks.
The gunmen flew backwards onto the deck. The three hostages rushed past them at a full sprint. They didn't get far before the gunmen brought their weapons to bear and pointed it directly at their retreating backs.
A sharp sound echoed out, then another. Sai, Coop, and Miriallia turned their heads, expecting to go down in pain, but they didn't. The two figures on the ground were motionless, red liquid seeping out from underneath them. Another figure emerged from the shadows of the corridor adjacent to them, a pistol in his hand. "Stevy!" Coop called.
Stevy turned his head quickly and said, "Come on!" gesturing for the others to follow him. The quartet proceeded into the darkness of the next corridor, leaving the dying gunmen in their wake.
Murrue could barely comprehend what had just happened, or what had been happening more or less. It all was clear to her now. The Gyndana Guardsmen were Earth Forces spies, and she'd allowed them to remain aboard the Archangel as a humanitarian gesture. This was her fault. Now, as punishment, she was facing down the barrel of a gun, along with the other members of her crew. Natarle had been pushed out of the CIC and next to Murrue, her face angered with betrayal.
"Christy," Bennett's voice rang from behind them. "If he takes his hands off the helm, kill him."
Neumann scowled as the man named Christy smiled and shoved his gun up against his cheek and cocked it.
The radio in Bennett's wrist watch chimed and he brought it to his mouth. "Bennett."
"We've taken control of the hangar and the decks below you. We have la Flaga and Barrington under our control."
"What about Barkhesh?" Bennett asked.
"We're searching for him as we speak. We'll find him, sir."
"Make sure that you do," Bennett finished. He kept his gun aimed at Namora as he turned to Fuller and added, "Have him bring the security cameras onto the monitor."
"Bring the cameras onto the monitor," Fuller instructed Pal.
"I heard him the first time, I'm not deaf," Pal retorted, only to have Fuller smash the butt of his gun down on his wrist.
"Next outburst and I break it," Fuller threatened. Pal scowled and did as he was told.
A few decks below, at the shooting range, Frank pulled his head phones off of his ears and looked around. He'd been down here for almost two hours now and it was getting towards the time when his shift was to begin. Through the padding of his head phones, he thought he'd heard the siren for battlestations a few moments ago. But now however, the sirens had stopped. Frank stepped out of the box and slid his Walther into his shoulder holster beneath his jacket. He walked slowly over to the door and leaned out. Something wasn't right. It was too quiet all of a sudden.
"You sure he's at the shooting range?" Frank snapped his head to his left and saw two people walking towards him, guns in their hands. He quickly retreated back into the closed quarters and pressed his back against the wall. The only sound was the occassionally buzzing sound the security camera in the corner of the room would make as it turned this way and that.
"Yeah, that's where he always is on Saturday mornings," came another voice. "Let's just get him and get back up to the hangar. I want to see the fun when it starts."
"Same here. 'Bout time those bastard traitors paid for what they did to the Earth Forces."
Earth Forces? Frank thought quickly. Dammit! he realized. Those two individuals had been Gyndana Guardsmen, or so he had apparently thought. It all came flooding into his mind. If the Gyndana Guardsmen had been Earth Forces...then that meant. They may have already taken control of the ship. That's why the siren stopped suddenly!
"Barkhesh!" a voice came from outside. "We know you're in there! Come out in peace and we won't kill you!"
"Not on your life," Frank said to himself. He had to find a way out of this. The traitors may have already taken control of the ship. Which meant that Murrue could be in trouble, as well as Mwu and Natarle, and everyone else. He had to think quickly. Then he had it!
"There's the camera in the shooting range," Fuller said as the gray image appeared on the viewscreen above the bridge. "No sign of Barkhesh, though."
"He's there," Bennett responded. "He's always there."
Frank...Murrue hoped he wasn't there. That her brother was somehow safe from them.
With a loud crash, the door came bursting through and the two Guardsmen entered the shooting range, their guns drawn. They looked from side to side, trying to find some sign of the traitor they were supposed to capture.
A movement behind them caused them to snap their heads to their left. "Hey!" one of them shouted, firing his gun at movement in the corner of the room. The figure tossed something large and oddly shaped towards them and dove out of the range as the second man opened fire. Then everything went up in smoke.
An explosion screamed across the camera's image on the bridge. Black smoke encased the image, shadowing everything behind it from prying eyes. Murrue wimpered ever so slightly when she saw the explosion. Natarle exhaled sharply. Commander...Frank...
With excrutiatingly slow speed, the smoke finally cleared. It revealed devastation. The shooting range was splintered wood and melted steel. Two bodies lay sprawled across the floor, debris piled on top of them. Just then, the camera zoomed in on a small object on top of the pile. It was a white fabric, with a piece of brass attached to it. It read, ANDER BARKHESH. Short for Lt. Commander Barkhesh. Frank's nametag.
Murrue's bottom lip trembled when she saw it. Her legs and arms went stiff and her eyes began to mist. Natarle's stomach turned and her eyes narrowed. Frank was gone.
John too watched the scene play out before his eyes. After a pause, he turned to face Bennett and said, "Well? What now?"
"Mr. Azrael wants to see you, Colonel," Bennett replied.
"Really," John said. "Tell him I'd be happy to oblige."
Smoke still cascaded out of the shooting range. The door had been blown open and several more of the Guardsmen had filed into it, searching through the debris for survivors. There were none it appeared. In the shooting range that is.
Just out of sight, behind the wall of another corridor, Frank crouched on his haunches with his Walther drawn up against his shoulder. Sweat poured down his forehead as his face displayed his frustration. How could this have happened? How could he have let this happen. His sister probably already thought he was dead by now, and when they found his jacket that would only confirm it. He'd had to wrap the grenade up in his jacket in order to make sure that the assailants didn't realize what it was until it was too late. It had worked. Now they thought Frank was dead. This gave him the freedom to wander the ship as he pleased, and wreak havoc on the traitors who had bretrayed him, and everyone else aboard the Archangel. He just hoped he could do it fast enough in order to save at least some of them.
Dominion, 0910.
"Message from the Turgill, Admiral. The Archangel is headed for us, but its weapons have not been activated. Request instructions on further orders."
"Tell them to just sit tight for now," Sutherland ordered. "We won't have to go into battle if things stay as they are."
Azrael hummed as he moved his arms behind his head. "It seems things did go according to plan for once. Congratulations are in order I believe, Sergeant Richards," Azrael said as Richards entered the bridge. "What's the matter?" Azrael asked, noticing Richards' blank expression. "You're usually in a good mood in these kinds of situations."
"I just received word from Special Forces Officer Bennett, sir," Richards responded.
"And?" Azrael asked.
"Good news and bad news. Good news is...the team has successfully taken control of the Archangel and is now bringing the ship in."
Rutherford turned his chair to face his superior and said, "Taken control?"
"They've taken care of everything for us, Captain Rutherford," Azrael answered. "We won't have to fire a single shot because of the great actions Sergeant Richards' forces have taken today. Now then, what's the bad news, Sergeant?"
Richards paused and took a deep breath. "Unfortunately Mr. Azrael, I must inform you that the two machines you've been interested in are apparently not on board the Archangel at this time. Neither are the Coordiantors."
Azrael propped his head onto his fist and hummed. He then shrugged his shoulders and said, "Oh well. Another time, another place."
"Orders, Admiral Sutherland?" Hal asked.
"Maneuver the Dominion back into the debris belt just to be safe, Captain," Sutherland responded. "We don't want to leave ourselves open to unexpected surprises. We may have won this battle, but this day isn't over."
"Yes, sir," Hal responded.
"In that case then, Admiral, I believe I shall take my leave then," Azrael said, standing up. "Captain Omanney, have the ship's shuttle prepared for takeoff. I'm going to take a little trip. Sergeant Richrards, you shall accompany me. I can assume the traitors on the Archangel will look forward to seeing you again."
"Yes, sir," Richards said.
"Your going to the Archangel, Mr. Azrael?" Hal asked.
"There are some old friends I need to have a final chat with, Captain," Azrael responded. "One final chat indeed."
Author's Note:
These are responses to some of the reviewers questions I received.
Shinji Ikari: I completely understand your comments and I am inclined to agree with you. I admit it, Kira isn't one of the characters I have written very well. But think of it this way. Kira is, in my opinion, the most complex character in the entire SEED universe, which makes him very hard to fully understand and write in a believeable manner. I've tried my best, but that still doesn't seem to be enough. You have my assurance that I'll work on it in future chapters. If that's not enough, I apologize still, but once again, I've tried my best.
Red and Gold Phoenix: In response to your question about the song, it is in fact a real song. It's called Show Me the Way and the artist is Styx. I don't own the song or the rights to Styx, by the way.