ZAFT Space Fortress Boaz, October 30, C.E. 71, 1300.
The giant rock fortress of Boaz loomed large against the dark background of space. The massive dock that appeared to be a belly-button spewed mobile suits out in rapid bursts to meet the threat that was rapidly approaching. The Earth Alliance 7th Orbital Fleet was racing towards Boaz. Blue 130-class ships opened their hatches and began launching missiles at the incoming forces. Green 250-class ships launched their mobile armors and Strike Daggers to take part in the action. Even larger Agamemnon and Jani-class ships joined the fray, with them the newly mass produced heavy K-bombers, completing the formation.
Out of Boaz's defensive network came GINNs, CGUEs, and the new GuAIZ models. The pilots inside of them were ready for combat and were more than ready to wreak havoc among the arrogant Naturals. Lights began to blare in the black space, signifying the ignition of the battle. Strike Daggers versus GINNs, mobile armors versus CGUEs, K-bombers versus GuAIZs. Each craft fired its weapons at the other, charging the enemy with fierce determination, each side sure that they would not lose today.
At the rear of the formation of Earth Alliance ships, the Dominion held position with her escorting Agamemnon-class ships surrounding her. "It's started, Admiral," a crewman reported. "ZAFT has opened fire on us."
"Let us begin then, Captain Omanney. Message the others and tell them to group around us. We'll be splitting off now," Sutherland ordered.
"Boost engines and change course to bravo thirty-eight!" Hal ordered.
"Activate Igelstellungs and Valient!" Yeardley commanded. "Load all missile tubes with Sledgehammers!"
The Dominion changed its course below them and began turning away from Boaz. Azrael smiled devilishly in his chair at the side of the bridge. "This should be very interesting," he said quietly. "Let's see how the Coordinators like it when we reveal to them that we have nuclear weapons again. This should be very interesting indeed."
"Message from Washington, Captain," Flay reported from her station at the rear of the bridge. "They're following our course behind us and standing by for further orders."
"Tell them to just hang back with the rest of us, Ms. Allster," Sutherland answered. "The time isn't right yet."
Inside the Dominion's infirmary, Shani, Clotho, and Orga each sipped at the drug concoctions inside the clear, plastic tubes. They each felt the drugs coarse through their systems and charge their bodies. They tossed the empty canisters back to the physicians and began to walk out of the room. "Hopefully we'll actually get to do something today," Orga commented.
"More than likely we'll be stuck on guard duty again," Clotho answered, slipping on his helmet. "Suits me just fine whatever we do."
"Spoken like a true wuss, Clotho," Orga mocked.
"Shut it!" Clotho shot back.
"Why don't you two just shut up and concentrate on the fight for once. You may actually do something worthwhile then," Shani reprimanded. The trio argued some more as they headed own towards their machines.
The battle intensified outside. Every mobile suit that entered the fight charged at one another with the fierceness of a hundred soldiers. A GINN jumped on top of a mobile armor and blew it to pieces with its cannon. Two more mobile armors were destroyed by fire from a CGUE, which in turn was blown apart by a Strike Dagger's rifle. A group of GINNs tried to attack the new K-bombers but the crews of the aircraft put up a hail of gunfire from the nose, ball, and tail guns in order to protect their planes. The bombers escaped unharmed.
A trio of GINNs made separate attack runs against a 130-class ship, the first destroying its starboard cannons, the second slicing off one of its missile canisters with its sword, and the third one ripping a hole in the port side. However, as the third GINN tried to escape, it was destroyed by a missile from one of the ship's other three missile canisters. More mobile suits raced out of Boaz's main dock, their weapons powering up as they did so. One squadron commander radioed his pilots, "Stack up and take it to 'em! Do your best to scatter the Naturals to the edge of the universe!"
At the edge of L5, the rest of the Earth Alliance vessels waited. "The attack on Boaz has begun, General Bradford," Tomer reported on the Valiant's bridge. Bradford looked at the monitor in front of him and saw that indeed the battle had begun. The Earth Forces had already lost some ships and mobile units but otherwise they were holding up relatively well. It was only a matter of time before the squadrons were in position to deliver the nuclear weapons. Bradford sighed inside himself. Why, he didn't know. "I must ask each and every one of you...to look inside your heart and soul...and truly discover...what you are really fighting for." Bradford was surprised when that came into his mind. Representative Athha's words just before Mendel exploded. Why did Bradford keep thinking about that? It had happened to him many times before in the past days. It caused some confusion within the General...all concerning that one question. What you are really fighting for? The more Bradford thought about it...the less certain he became about the entire thing.
Hot, refreshing water rained down on Seymour's body as he stood in the shower inside his quarters. The water cascaded down from the faucet and dampened his hair and skin, washing away all the dirt and grime that had built up. Seymour's right hand covered his eyes as he kept his thoughts in line while he showered. "I must ask each and every one of you...what you are really fighting for." Seymour shut off the water and stepped out of the shower. Where did that come from? He had heard that many times before in his mind and sometimes he couldn't stop thinking about it. As he dried himself off with a towel, Seymour wondered, What am I really fighting for?
Jessie folded her flight suit neatly and set it inside her locker in the women's dressing room. She then put on her uniform jacket and zipped it up to her neck. She moved over to the small glass mirror and watched herself as she brushed her long, dark blonde hair away from her eyes. She was tired, she had to admit, as the bags under her eyes gave evidence to. "I must ask each and every one of you...what you are really fighting for." Jessie kept on remembering that statement made by Representative Athha at Mendel over and over again in her mind. Why was it that it kept coming up for her? She made her way back to her quarters and pulled the covers over her body as she lay down to sleep. As she drifted off, she asked herself, What am I really fighting for?
A little ways away, on board the Regress, McCarthy watched the battle play out on the monitor on his desk. The lights were off once again, the twinkling stars in the distance providing the only semblance of light. The cigarette burned brightly between his lips as he watched a GINN explode on the monitor. He smiled. It wouldn't be long now. Only a matter of time before the Coordinators would be brought to their knees. He relished in the fact that he would be the one who brought them to their knees immediately after the destruction of Boaz. It would be a great day indeed.
Aprilius One, 1310.
The doors to Patrick's office sighed open quickly as Yuri rushed through them. He'd been summoned there immediately from the military headquarters on Aprilius Nine and had rushed there as quickly as he could. He slowed his pace as he entered the dark office, Ezalia, Tad, Rau, and three other soldiers already waiting for him. "General Amalfi!" one of the soldiers said, saluting.
Yuri returned it quicky and said, "What's the situation?"
"Boaz is under attack," Ezalia informed him. "Just about ten minutes ago."
Yuri accepted a folder from one of the soldiers and he opened it. "Have you alerted all commands?"
"Yes," Rau answered.
"What about the citizens?" Yuri asked.
"We've told them to remain in their homes until further notice," Ezalia answered. "All this is going to cause widespread confusion and panic if we don't do something quickly."
"What can we do?" Tad asked. "Everybody already knows what's going on so the best thing we can do is try to keep the morale going high."
"My thoughts exactly," Yuri added. "That's all we can do until we know what's really going on there. Though I doubt this is something they came up with overnight."
"Why? What else happened?" Tad asked.
"Carpentaria got bombed this morning," Yuri said reluctantly. "Completely rendered the mass driver useless for a good month. Destroyed most of the facilities too." He shook his head. "Somehow they got ahold of Compound 56."
"What?" Ezalia exclaimed. "But that's one of our top secret projects."
"I know, but whatever they dropped on Carpentaria completely melted the track on the mass driver," Yuri answered. "There's only one compound that can do that and it's 56. They're on the move in Europe as well. I've had to put Gibraltar on high alert. They're making all their moves at once."
The door sighed open behind them and they saw Patrick swiftly with two soldiers behind him. "Your Excellency!" Ezalia called to him.
Patrick raised his hand and said, "Settle down people. We knew their Lunar Fleet was going to be attacking Boaz sooner or later. Have you alerted the Justice Department?"
"Yes," Rau answered.
"Is censorship in effect?"
"Yes, sir," a soldier reported.
"What's the current situation, Yuri?" Patrick asked.
"We believe it's the 7th Orbital Fleet, Your Excellency," Yuri told Patrick. "Our sensors indicate that there are more vessels just beyond the gravitic stability line."
"Have you alerted Jachin?" Patrick asked.
"Yes," Yuri answered.
Patrick turned to face the right wall of his office which withdrew into the ceiling to reveal a view screen behind it. The image activated and brought the image of the conflict at Boaz right to the people there.
Meanwhile at Jachin Due, Gilbert was receiving the same images via the view from the window at the rear of his office. His subordinates were running around behind him, passing information on to others at a frantic pace. Gilbert did not pay attention to their voices however. The only sound he could hear was the persistent tapping of his index finger on his chair's arm rest, which was in perfect harmony with the quick beat of his heart. This turn of events puzzled Gilbert. The Earth Forces had moved with startling quickness. What would motivate them to launch this kind of offensive this soon? There were still other questions Gilbert had, but he also had few answers.
Inside Jachin's main dock, the Vesalius sat quietly moored against the stainless steel wall that separated the dock from the rock surrounding it. Yzak plunged through the open door into the command room on the Nazca where the other pilots from the ship were waiting for him. They buffeted him with questions like, "What's the situation?" and "Where are those Naturals attacking this time?" Yzak answered as many as he could, but in reality he was just as in the dark as they were. He knew about the ongoing battle at Boaz, but as for the details he had few. The attack had come so suddenly that Yzak had literally fallen out of his bunk when he had heard the news. It made him fearful, albeit he didn't show it. His homeland was once again under attack by the Naturals. He wondered...what would his mother and the Supreme Council do this time?
Back at Boaz, the battle continued. "Mia! Three coming in at point three-five!" a GINN pilot radioed to his wingmate.
"I see them!" she yelled back. "Cover me!" She pulled a corkscrew maneuver with her mobile suit and sent it flipping onto its side. She fired the cannon that was over its shoulder and took out a Strike Dagger cleanly. Her wingmate followed her, but immediately after he blew apart a second Dagger, the third one got him and tore apart his GINN with its beam saber. Her heart breaking inside of her, she turned her mobile suit around and killed her wingmate's killer.
A giant Agamemnon-class and two Jani-class approached Boaz, their main cannons firing relentlessly. A Nazca-class stood in between them and returned fire. A Jani was struck clean in the starboard side, but still managed to get off some shots with its powerful main cannons. The anti-ship cannons, mounted on the rocky sides of Boaz, added to the firepower of the Nazca and managed to severely damage the Jani.
Boaz's command center was a ruckus of activity. Soldiers manning their consoles reported new developments and troop movements in high pitched voices. The base commander watched the battle play out on the large monitors on the walls that were eye level with him. "You'll pay for your arrogance Naturals," he said. "Let's see you try and get past Boaz!"
Patrick and the others watched the battle on the view screen in his office. Ezalia stood beside him while Tad and Yuri were to their outsides. The three soldiers stood behind their superiors while Rau stood at the rear, keeping to himself. "I wonder..." he said quietly.
Each person turned their head slowly around to face him and Patrick said, "Yes? Go ahead le Creuset."
Rau began. "Getting past Boaz is no easy task and I'm sure the Earth Forces are well aware of that." He moved his hand in a sideways motion and added, "I'm sure they wouldn't be attacking it if they knew it was utterly hopeless. Yet...there suddenly making their move now. I can't help but wonder why?"
"I wouldn't worry," Ezalia said with a huff. "They're probably attacking with regular mobile suits and a few new models. They're fooling themselves if they think those forces will defeat us."
"Yes...let us hope so," Rau answered.
"There's something else le Creuset," Patrick said. "I can tell by the tone of your voice. Tell me what's wrong."
"Well sir...as you all are aware there are a number of wild cards in play at this time. Wild cards like the Freedom. The Justice. The Orb Forces. And the Clyne Faction." Rau lowered his hand back to his side. "There's a mysterious aura surrounding these recent events. I can't help but wonder what's really going on here...why the Earth Forces would attack so suddenly? It's almost as if they had this planned for quite sometime. It's as if they already knew they were going to win...for some odd reason."
"What?" Patrick gasped. "You can't be serious. Are you suggesting...that the Naturals have somehow regained their nuclear capabilities?" Ezalia's eyes widened. Yuri's mind shivered at that suggestion.
"No sir..." Rau answered lightly. "I can't even start to believe that that could be true."
Little did they know that the wild cards that Rau had spoken of were just about to enter the playing field.
Eternal, 1315.
Just beyond the reach of Boaz's defensive network, the bright pink warship churned through the darkness of space. The bridge was awkwardly silence at this time, with nobody really wanting to say anything. The battle was intensifying yet again before their very eyes. Finally, it was DaCosta who broke the silence. "Distance from Boaz, 15000. All systems are functioning normally."
"Turn about ninety degrees and prepare to launch the mobile suits," Captain Steele ordered. "Watch out for flying debris that comes near us."
"Maintain position after launching the mobile suits," Andy ordered. "What's the position of the Earth Forces reenforcements?"
"Yellow beta thirty-eight, Commander," DaCosta reported.
"Kira? Athrun?" Lacus asked from the top of the bridge.
"Roger, that," Kira sent back as the Freedom maneuvered onto the catapult and the hatch in front of him opened to show the black space beyond. "You ready Athrun?"
"Yeah," Athrun answered quickly. His eyes focused on the photo he had clasped in his fingers. The one of the blonde haired princess that he cared so deeply for and was eternally grateful to have as a friend. "Keep me safe, Cagalli," Athrun murmured. "Like you always do."
Kira heard his friend's words. He too was grateful to have Cagalli as a friend. Or...in his case as he had just learned...a sister.
Flashback-
Kira waited for Cagalli as she headed for the Eternal's shuttle that would take her back to the Kusanagi. "Here Cagalli," Kira said, handing the photo back to her. The one of the woman and the babies.
"What happened, Kira?" Cagalli asked quietly. "What made you get so emotional over this?"
Kira paused. He averted his gaze from the girl's face. "Listen...there's something...you should know..."
"Uzumi wasn't my real father." Kira turned back to see tears forming in the corners of Cagalli's eyes. "I knew it..." she said weakly.
Kira quickly took Cagalli by the shoulders and held her. "Cagalli. Even if what I know is true...it still doesn't change the fact that Lord Uzumi was still...your father."
"Kira..."
"The only thing that can change that...is you. It'll only change if you let it," Kira told her, a smile forming on his face.
Cagalli paused. Then slowly, she wrapped her arms around Kira in a hug. Kira didn't waste any time returning it. "Take care...brother," Cagalli whispered in his ear.
Kira smiled. "You be careful too...sister."
End Flashback-
"Kira?" Athrun asked through the radio after his friend had trailed off.
"Lacus," Kira said. "What are our orders?"
"We only need you two to be our eyes for the battle, Kira," Lacus answered thoughtfully. "We must keep the Eternal at a safe distance in case we're discovered here. We'll be relying on you two."
"The only circumstance in which you two will have to fight anyone is if you're in immediate danger," Andy confirmed. "That suit you boys alright?"
"Yes, sir," Kira answered confidently.
"Fine by me," Athrun said.
"Be careful you two," Lacus said to each of them.
"We'll be fine Lacus, don't worry," Kira reassured her.
"Yeah, we haven't bitten the dust yet," Athrun replied, trying to cheer Lacus up. Lacus still felt uneasy about this entire thing as the Eternal began to turn in order to launch the mobile suits.
Kira watched from the Freedom's cockpit and saw the rock fortress that was Boaz come into his line of sight. He could see the lights from the battle in the distance as well which made him feel hollow inside. Another battle he was heading into. Another day in which he would probably have to fight. This seemed to be just a never ending cycle for Kira. Still, he was ready to go when the board above him went all green. "Kira Yamato! Freedom, let's do it!" The Freedom surged forward on the catapult and headed off into the black space beyond.
"Athrun Zala!" The Justice soared down the catapult and followed the Freedom. "Justice launching!" The scarlet red mobile suit raced into space and headed towards Boaz.
The Dominion and her escorting Agamemnon-class ships approached Boaz from the opposite side of the main strike force. "Distance to target, 8500."
"Have the Calamity, Forbidden, and Raider, launch," Sutherland ordered. "The Peacemakers and the Justifications will follow shortly."
"Yes, sir!"
In the hangar, the Calamity was moved onto the catapult and connected to it. "X-131, takeoff clearance given." Orga sealed the visor on his helmet and held onto the controls as the Calamity was sent flying down the catapult and into the battle. "X-252, you're next." Shani followed close behind Orga in the Forbidden and Clotho followed him in turn with the Raider. As soon as he cleared the hatch, Clotho transformed the Raider into its flight mode and the bird shaped mobile suit joined the others heading into battle.
"We'll be within range in a matter of moments," Azrael said. "Make sure the path is clear when the time comes. We'll only have one chance and we'd better seize it."
The Raider barrel rolled in order to dodge incoming shots directed at it. "Targets, targets, targets!" Clotho beamed. He fired his Zorn mouth cannon and annihilated a GINN. He then transformed into normal mobile suit mode and released his hammer from its socket, destroying another GINN that tried to fire back.
"Over there...no. Nope, not there either. Man, I can't make up my mind!" Orga called. There were so many choices. "Right there!" he shouted. He fired his Schlag cannons and chest cannon simultaneously, obliterating a group of GuAIZ before they could fight back. He took out another one with his bazooka shortly thereafter.
A GuAIZ got in close and fired its rifle at Shani, who brought his backpack into position and deflected the beams away from him. "Heh," Shani chuckled. "You think you can shoot at me!" Shani charged and sliced downwards with his scythe, slicing the green mobile suit in half from top to bottom. Shani looked around for more targets, but then his diagnostic board chimed. Shani smiled. "Wow..." He quickly changed directions and headed away from the main conflict.
"Well, well," Clotho said, seeing where Shani was going. "Look who's here!" He quickly followed his wingmate.
The Freedom and Justice traveled quietly through the darkness of space, Boaz directly in front of them. Athrun's eyes darted in every direction, taking in all the information his mind could handle. The Earth Forces were attacking with what appeared to be a single fleet. That was odd. Why only one fleet of ships? Athrun wondered. They should know Boaz would put up a fierce fight. So why...?
"Athrun!" Kira's warning reached Athrun just in the nick of time. He quickly pulled hard on the control stick and maneuvered the Justice away from the incoming plasma beam just before it struck the scarlet red mobile suit. Shani sent the Forbidden charging at the Justice and sliced at it with his scythe. Athrun avoided the shot by mere inches. "I'm gonna get you for sure today!" Shani called, firing his plasma cannon at the Justice again.
Kira was not immune to battle as well. As he watched, he saw the Raider come in close to him, its claw cannons firing rapidly. "You're dead today!" Clotho shouted, remembering his humiliation at the hands of Kira at Argentina and the debris belt. Kira soared upwards and dodged the shots. Damn it, he swore to himself. I don't want to fight... Clotho fired his mouth cannon at Kira again and scored a minor hit on the Freedom's shoulder. But it looks as if I have no choice...Kira decided, turning back towards the Raider. He pulled out a beam saber and charged. He chopped at the black mobile suit, but Clotho transformed into normal mobile suit mode and ducked underneath the shot. He fired back with his machine guns, but Kira evaded.
"Three machines approaching from blue delta." Yzak came up behind the soldier who had reported the sighting and saw them.
"Those are the three we fought in the debris belt," he confirmed. "Warn the others to be careful, they're awfully tough."
Back at Boaz, a 250-class took a direct hit in its side from an anti-ship cannon and started spewing flames and people out of the hole. As the ship listed away however, a 130-class soared through the gap and fired a barrage of missiles from its four canisters. The shots struck the anti-ship cannon square on and obliterated it. Another cannon retaliated, but the 130-class was quicker and dodged the shots. A GINN fired its over the shoulder cannon at a mobile armor and blew it up. The GINN pilot had little time celebrate however, as a Strike Dagger immediately destroyed it from behind.
The main fleet of Earth Forces ships surged forward towards Boaz. "The Peacemakers and Justifications are launching, Captain," one member of the bridge crew of an Agamemnon-class warship reported. The Captain smiled. Get ready Space Monsters. Your time is up!
"Have you finished launching them yet?" Azrael demanded from the Dominion's bridge.
"The Peacemakers are away, Director Azrael," Yeardley reported from the CIC. "The Justifications are just finishing their launches now, sir."
"Tell them to hurry," Azrael ordered.
"Two new contacts at charlie omega thirteen," a crewman reported. "The Freedom and the Justice!"
Azrael's ears perked up at those names. But business came first. "We'll worry about them later, Ensign. Right now, just concentrate on getting those nukes to Boaz."
A Justification K-bomber roared down the launch hatch of the Agamemnon-class warship, Doolittle, two nuclear tipped missiles anchored beneath its fuselage. "Keep tight formation," the pilot ordered. "Make your shots count because there will be no second chances!"
Kira turned the Freedom upside down and fired his Balaena cannons in the Freedom's wings. Clotho barrel rolled in order to dodge the shots. "Take this!" he shouted, releasing his hammer from its socket. The hammer came in quick and struck the Freedom in the torso, but the phase shift armor held up. Kira groaned heavily as he held tightly to the controls, managing somehow to keep the Freedom steady. A seed exploded before his eyes. Clotho fired the Raider's mouth cannon at the Freedom, but Kira dodged. He quickly withdrew a beam saber and slashed at the Raider, managing to damage its right arm. Clotho fired back with the machine guns in the Raider's arms, but Kira executed a quick corkscrew maneuver to avoid the shots. Kira gripped the controls tightly and waited for Clotho to make his next move. The Raider soared at him, its hammer aimed directly at the Freedom's head. Kira ducked under the shot quickly and a split second later he was behind the Raider, executing a swift kick to the black mobile suit's back, sending it flying away.
Shani chopped at the Justice with the Forbidden's scythe, connecting with the scarlet red mobile suit's right arm, severing it below the wrist. Athrun growled in frustration as he pulled out a double sided beam saber with the Justice's left hand. Shani brought the green backpack around himself and took the slash from the beam saber. Hardly any damage resulted. "Damn," Athrun swore, reeling backwards to attempt another try. Shani fired his rail guns on the Forbidden's arms and his plasma cannon at the Justice. Athrun had to execute a series of quick maneuvers to dodge all of the shots. He then turned around and fired the Justice's beam rifle. Shani deflected it only to get a beam boomerang right to the Forbidden's torso, knocking him backwards.
The Calamity fired its Schlag cannons and annihilated three GINNs in quick succession. Orga turned his head and saw the fight involving his wingmates. "Save some for me, you guys!"
"Ensign Sabnak, stay there," Rutherford told him. "We need you to act as escort for the Peacemakers and the Justifications."
"What!" Orga shouted.
"Admiral Sutherland's orders, Ensign," Rutherford added. "You've got to open up a hole for us." Orga scowled inside the cockpit, but nevertheless, he turned away from the fight and headed back towards Boaz.
The Peacemaker force of mobile armors formed up in a tight formation, each machine carrying a single nuclear missile underneath its belly. "Stay in tight formation all the way through," the squad leader ordered his pilots.
A squadron of Strike Daggers took up position in front of the Peacemakers and Justifications. "Let's go boys!" the commander ordered his pilots. "Let's plow the road!" The Daggers charged.
"All Peacemakers and Justifications are away, Captain," Flay reported from the Dominion's bridge.
"Only a few more minutes," Sutherland said proudly. "Then this war will finally be nearing its end."
A GINN pilot remained stationary just in front of Boaz, looking for any sign of the enemy. It was then that he saw the approaching lines of mobile armors and K-bombers. The pilot squinted in order to get a better view of what the objects that the ships were carrying were. His eyes widened when he saw the emblem on the side of the missiles. "What are those!" the pilot exclaimed. Before he could warn the other, a Strike Dagger snuck up behind him and sliced his GINN to pieces.
"Distance to target, 400," a mobile armor pilot reported.
Orga charged through the gap between the ZAFT lines and brought his targeting computer online. "Die!" he shouted, firing all of his weapons at the two anti-ship cannons in his sights, obliterating them in seconds. A Laurasia-class ship near him was overwhelmed by fire from the main strike fleet and it began spewing flames from the massive holes in its hull.
The Peacemakers and Justifications approached Boaz. "Safety lock disengaged, trigger control activated."
"For the preservation of our blue and pure world!" another pilot exclaimed as his finger danced around the firing button.
Shani evaded a shot from the Justice's beam rifle and turned his head just in time to see the mobile armors and K-bombers get within range. "Time for the fireworks," he said proudly.
"Get 'em you guys!" Clotho shouted.
Athrun heard their cries of rejoice and looked around him to see what had generated the outburst. It was then that he saw the squadrons approaching Boaz. The missiles beneath their hulls detach and white flames streak from the rears of the missiles as they churned towards their targets. Athrun too saw the emblem on the sides of the missiles. His eyes widened and his heart beat ferociously. "Kira!" he shouted to his friend. Kira turned his head and saw it too. But by then, it was too late to stop it.
Inside Boaz's main dock, a GINN pilot hustled up the access ladder that led to her machine. As she prepared to climb into the cockpit, she saw something approaching at a rapid pace. It appeared white and there were several others along with it. She saw the light pass by her at a quick speed. As others passed by her, she realized what they were. She had no time to scream however, as the missiles detonated.
All at once, Boaz was awash in white lights. The first wave of missiles struck the rock outside of the fortress and ripped away at it, sending charred chunks of space rock flying back into space. Soldiers inside were blown away by the force of the many explosions as the missiles tore into Boaz. The second wave of missiles reached the deep insides of Boaz, incinerating the command center and all that were there. Mobile suits and ships that were inside the dock were annihilated by the white light and the extreme heat. Hell had been raised. And Boaz was the target.
From the Dominion's bridge, the white lights gleamed bright in the distance. Hal turned his head and shielded his eyes from the blast, while his stomach turned inside of him. Yeardley shut her eyes tightly in the CIC so as not to see it. Charred pieces of debris flew past the ship and some pieces struck the ship lightly, but caused little damage. Rutherford slowly closed his eyes and exhaled painfully. Flay gasped in shock and fear as the white light expanded. She turned her head quickly away from the sight and shut her eyes tightly. Azrael shielded his eyes with his hand and he smiled a large smile as Boaz disappeared. Sutherland smiled as well at the sight.
The white light gleamed on the view screen in Patrick's office. Patrick began trembling and he hissed angrily through his teeth and nostrils. Ezalia gasped and her eyes widened. Tad's mouth went aghast and his eyebrows scrunched downwards. Yuri felt his stomach turn inside of him and his chest felt suddenly hollow. He slowly turned his head so as not to look at the destruction, but when he did, he saw something disturbing. Rau was smiling. What the hell was he smiling for? When Rau noticed Yuri's glance, the smile disappeared.
At Jachin Due, Yzak witnessed the event via the monitor in the Vesalius' command room. He saw the white light expand and engulf Boaz. His eyes widened and his body went cold. No...he told himself. It can't be... The tapping sound Gilbert's finger made against the arm rest of his chair stopped abruptly as the white light came into view from his office. The subordinates behind him immediately stopped in their tracks and stared wide eyed and shocked at the light. Gilbert slowly closed his eyes and exhaled painfully. The war had truly taken a turn for the worst now. Slowly, he gazed out at the seemingly empty area of space just beyond his window. These recent turn of events also guaranteed that Patrick would be ordering him to use it in the near future. How far Patrick would go though, Gilbert shuddered to think.
At the edge of L5, McCarthy smiled with his cigarette between his lips. Thin white smoke cascaded through his dark office. It had begun. He was delighted that he would be able to deliver the finishing blow now. On the Valiant, Bradford watched the white light in the distance with a somewhat heavy heart. He knew that thousands possibly had just lost their lives. Yet he also knew that more would be following suit. Seymour shut his eyes tightly and his stomach turned upside down inside of him. He couldn't watch. It was too devastating to watch a nuclear attack. No one on the bridge was happy to see this.
Neither were the people on the bridges of the Orb Forces. Murrue's mouth went aghast and her eyes widened as she saw the light from the Archangel's bridge. Mwu hissed quietly through his teeth that were exposed in his open mouth. Frank squeezed the back of his sister's chair tightly and averted his gaze. Natarle tried to look unmoved, but inside she felt deeply saddened and fearful of this event. Miriallia and Sai each looked on in horror as the light expanded. Dearka shut his eyes dejectedly and silently prayed that at least some people had made it out, but he knew that wasn't likely. Not with a nuclear attack. On the Kusanagi, Captain Jackson's large form rose slowly out of his chair and looked hard and long at the light. Manchisco came beside his Captain and looked on with a heavy heart. Erica sighed painfully at her post. Cagalli's lip trembled at the sight and she quickly left the bridge, not wanting to see any more of it. Kisaka shut his eyes lightly and clenched his fist. The only one who showed no emotion was Cantarii, sitting along in his chair. His gray eyes displayed no sorrow or emotion and neither did his old body. But inside, he knew the war had taken a disastrous turn now. One that would have grave consequences for everyone in the future.
Back in L5, the white light that had consumed what had once been Boaz finally began to die out. Lacus watched with concern from the bridge of the Eternal as she saw the blistered and charred remains of the asteroid fortress. She saw no signs of life anywhere near the now destroyed station. Andy sank back into the cushion of his chair and sighed heavily. This sickened him. Having to use nuclear weapons in war. The Earth Forces were absolutely despicable. "Kira?" Andy heard Lacus call out her friend's name, trying to see if they were okay. There was no response. "Kira?" Nothing. "Athrun? Athrun? Please respond if you can hear me!"
"...X-10A Freedom...Kira here..."
Lacus breathed a sigh of relief. "Are you okay?"
"...Yes..."
"And Athrun?" Lacus asked.
"I'm fine..." Athrun answered weakly.
"Thank goodness," Lacus said quietly. "Please return to the ship you two. We need to regroup. The war's taken a drastic turn for the worse."
Kira and Athrun stared long and hard at the remains of Boaz, the rock charred black and the destroyed remains of mobile suits and warships. Both of them felt their hearts hurting painfully inside their chests as they watched the sight. The thought of nuclear weapons even existing in the first place sickened them. Much less using them. With heavy hearts, the Freedom and the Justice headed back to the Eternal, the remains of Boaz in their wake.
Dominion, 1330.
No words were spoken on the bridge. No one could find the courage to say anything. They'd just used nuclear weapons on people. It was hard to believe or even understand, but it was true. They had just killed thousands.
"That was nice and quick," Azrael commented happily.
Hal turned his head to see Azrael smiling devilishly to his left. "Sir..." he said quietly.
"Even the Coordinators' fortresses are no match for nuclear warheads," Sutherland confirmed.
"Director Azrael..." Hal said uneasily. Azrael turned to face the Captain who continued, "I understand that they're our enemy, sir...but...don't you have any regrets...about using nuclear weapons?"
Azrael tiled his head in confusion. Then he chuckled. "I'm surprised to hear that come from a professional soldier, Captain Omanney. Why, I'm almost a saint. Compared to some other Commanders who would send their crews out into a hopeless battle. We've taken the first step in ending the war." Azrael turned to Sutherland and said, "It's time we began the second operation, Admiral. You know the target."
"Message the Regress," Sutherland ordered. "The 6th Fleet is to proceed into L5 and head to point two-four-zero. The second operation will commence at 1300 tomorrow afternoon."
"Two-four-zero..." Rutherford murmured, typing in the coordinates on his console. The computer identified the location and Rutherford's eyes widened in shock. "Admiral...sir...that's the...PLANTs..."
"Yes, I know," Sutherland answered. "Their homeland will be the second target of our forces. Then the war will come to an end."
"But sir," Rutherford interrupted. "You told Admiral McCarthy and General Bradford that the second target was-!"
"Jachin Due, yes I know," Sutherland answered harshly. "That was merely a ploy to eliminate resistance from the fools at the Lunar Base. Admiral McCarthy knew all along that the target of the second operation would be the PLANTs. It was all a matter of getting General Bradford to give his approval of the situation."
"The target is the PLANTs," Azrael told his assistant. "If you have any objections, feel free to address them, Captain Rutherford."
Rutherford didn't answer. "Good!" Azrael hissed. "Proceed with re-supplying then, Admiral Sutherland."
"Yes, sir." Rutherford turned to look at Hal and found that Hal had the very same expression on his face. One of utter shock, fear, and even a little betrayal.
Aprilius One, 1330.
No one spoke. No one bothered to in fear of what Patrick would say. "Damn those Naturals!" Patrick finally cursed, clenching his fist in rage.
"Your Excellency-," Ezalia began to speak, but Patrick pushed her away.
"Ezalia, hurry and set up a defensive line!" he ordered. "Get as many forces together as you can!" He looked at Yuri and said, "Yuri alert Dullindal. I'm going to Jachin Due. We'll strike back with GENESIS!" Yuri paused and then saluted in response. Behind him, Rau smiled again. Now it had truly begun.