Chapter 04: The Lady in the Belt

On the Garnow Aelan was in her quarters reporting to Rau on what she has done. "So you were able to steal a G-Weapon from the Artemis Base, interesting." Rau said throught the vid link.

"Indeed Sir, and we are about to pass another Nazca cruiser so I will be heading back to the PLANTs to join with the Vesalius again. Unless you choose otherwise." Aelan told him.

"Yes come back to the PLANTs, the mechanics will want to extract the information from this machine. And I am sure you will want to change its color scheme." Rau said as Aelan nodded.

"Yes Sir I will be on my way soon." She told him with a salute.

"Alright Rau le Creuset out" Rau said as his imaged disappeared.

"I hope I am doing the right thing, giving ZAFT Technology these Machines possess" Aelan questioned her self as she went to her unit to move it to the Nazca class ship that is heading back to the PLANTs.

Meanwhile The Archangel had made good its escape from Artemis, with hull and mobile suits intact (mostly, anyway, in the case of the stolen GINN).

But two members of the crew were ill at ease: Kevin Walker, now that his darker side had reawakened, and Mu La Flaga, who had seen something astonishing and disturbing in the footage they had gleaned from Artemis' surveillance systems.

And so it was that he entered Ramius' office a day after escaping the fortress. "You wanted to see me in private, Lieutenant?" the Captain said.

"Yeah." La Flaga leaned against a wall. "It's about that kid, Blade."

"What about him? I thought we'd settled the matter to everyone's satisfaction. Well," she corrected herself with a grimace, "everyone but Ensign Badgiruel."

"Have you seen the footage from Artemis' security cameras?"

"No, not yet. Why?"

The pilot walked over to the desk, switched on the computer there, and began punching in commands. "Watch."

Ramius did, expression puzzled, as the footage began.

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

"Commander!" A subordinate called. "The Hyperion Unit one is attacking its own troops in the Hangar!" he told him.

"WHAT!" He called as he was surprised to the news.

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

Garcia's eyes widened, and he sprouted sweat instantly. "Wh-what is this? First one of our mobile weapons run amock and now this!"

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

"Or?"

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

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

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

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

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

"I won't. Answer the question."

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

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

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

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

Rear Admiral Gerard Garcia's life ended, and Blade left the room... just in time to avoid a beam cannon from the Hyperion Unit one that Aelan has stolen which blew the control room to pieces.

Ramius looked up at La Flaga in surprise. "What on earth...?"

He chuckled. "That's what I said. Take a look; on the surface, it seems like he just killed Garcia out of spite; he's admitted to being prone to vengeance, and this was pretty much what I expected when he headed off into the base after busting us out. But you saw what happened: the kid sprouted claws from his hands, ignored a bullet that oughtto have caught him right in the spine, then told Garcia he 'knew too much' and killed him. That's not the Blade we met when he came aboard, Captain."

"Conclusions?" She herself couldn't make sense of what she'd just seen.

"That kid is not human. Not like the rest of us," La Flaga said flatly. "He lookslike a sixteen-year-old kid, but ordinary humans don't have claws in their hands, and ordinary teenagers aren't that lethal. Also, he's a walking magnetic anomaly; earlier, I experimented by leaving a compass near him, and it went nuts when he went by. Add to that the fact that his mass is greater than anyone else on the ship, despite his lean frame, and you've got something very unusual on the ship."

"I see..." Ramius, eyes wide, pondered the matter. She'd known from the very start that there was something highly unusual about their young ally; she'd seen him jump across the whole Morgenroete factory floor while firing a handgun with pinpoint accuracy, climb aboard a moving GINN and take over, killing the pilot in the process, and she'd since seen the camera footage of the cafeteria when he began his rampage. "Do you suggest we call him in and interrogate him?"

La Flaga shook his head. "No point; I very much doubt we'd get anything from him. Besides, even after all this I'm somehow convinced he's on our side. What does worry me, though, is his mental state. He's clearly a good actor, Captain, given that he's managed to survive thus far despite numerous attempts on his life. But I think the Blade we met on Heliopolis was real, just as the moody one we've got now is. Something in his head isn't quite straight, almost like he's switching between two personalities; except he seems to have settled on a combination of the two now."

"Are you saying he's schizophrenic?"

He nodded. "I think so, at least slightly. He's only been aboard a few days, but I've kept an eye on him, and it seems he's begun to suffer from mood swings; sometimes he's cheerful, sometimes he gets depressed and heads off for points unknown deep within the ship."

"I wonder what could be causing it..." Ramius mused.

La Flaga raised an eyebrow. "Tell me, just what do we know about his history, Captain?"

"Well, he-" The Captain broke off, an arrested expression on her face.

He nodded again, more slowly. "Exactly. We don't know a thing about him, beyond the fact that he was once the Crimson Tiger... and I'm beginning to think he deliberately allowed that identity to become well-known so people wouldn't think to dig deeper." The pilot shrugged. "That tells me that Blade is very experienced, and well-trained, in covert operations."

"Which would mean he's older than he looks..."

La Flaga shook his head. "That's what I thought, too, but Kira swears he knew him at a prep school in Copernicus for years, and he actually did apparently age like a normal human being. That's what I don't get about this guy. Either he's a lot older than he looks, which means he isn't the Kevin Walker Kira knew, or he got very good training and had to put it to the test very frequently."

"I would say the latter," Ramius said after a moment. "We know he's had a rough few years, what with Blue Cosmos trying to kill him all the time, and he is a Coordinator; they mature faster than Naturals, after all. But what are you getting at, Lieutenant?"

"He's undergone some kind of conditioning," he postulated. "I don't know when, who, or how, but at some time I think Blade underwent some type of conditioning, both physical and mental. I'd go so far as to say some form of brainwashing, something that he's still fighting even now."

She saw where he was going. "You're saying ZAFT did this to him, aren't you?"

"Yes. I never heard of anybody like him, but it all fits. ZAFT would have the motive, and probably the means; and I've heard Blade used to visit the PLANTs a lot for some reason or other, so they even had opportunity. Whatever it is, though, seems to be triggered by combat stress, which is why he often seems perfectly normal." La Flaga shrugged. "If I had to guess, I'd say his personality is affected even by those he's with, so being around certain people would cause different personality traits to manifest. In other words, if it's someone he's known either since before the conditioning took place or after he'd spent some time on Heliopolis, he's fairly normal. But if it's someone he encountered duringhis wilderness years, or possibly even after things heated up at Heliopolis, the 'battle mind' becomes dominant. And in combat, all bets are off."

Ramius nodded slowly. "So what we have on our hands is an ex-ZAFT secret agent with a touch of mental instability. Do you think he's a danger to the ship?"

La Flaga firmly shook his head. "No, somehow I don't think so. No matter how his moods and mannerisms might be affected, he's clearly fully in control of himself at all times, and he obviously hates ZAFT like nothing else. No, I think we just need to be careful what subjects we bring up with him, and stay out of his way when he gets angry. Other than that, it's only a concern in that I kinda like the kid, and I don't want to see him losing his mind like that."

"Same here." She absently drummed her fingers on the desk. "Too bad we don't have a psychiatrist with us; maybe that would help."

That prompted a laugh from the pilot. "Oh, no. I heard that kid express his opinion on the subject of 'shrinks' once, and, while I don't speak Russian, I'm pretty sure some of what he said is not fit for polite conversation. He doesn't like them very much, that's for sure." La Flaga said "But that mobile suit that blasted the room what was it?" Mu asked.

"No Clue, the Euro federation likes to keep secrets from the Earth Forces" Murrue mentioned. "But according to the video, it was a Hyperion Mobile weapon that they were working on." she told him. " And didn't Blade say he sensed the Red Queen in the area." Murrue pointed out.

Mu straightened then, and headed for the hatch. "Well, I just thought I should bring that to your attention, Captain. See you."

"Keep me informed, should anything else happen," she called after him.

"Roger that."

Kira, too, was concerned about his friend the Blade; he'd turned up missing again, having vanished into the labyrinthine corridors he seemed to know so well

Having never seen him like this, Kira was beginning to worry; along with Athrun, Kevin had been his best friend for years, and even during the first few weeks on Heliopolis, when he'd still been recovering from his "wilderness years", Kevin had never been quite this bad off. Something had happened to him, something that triggered the changes Kira had seen since ZAFT's attack on their home.

Kira finally found him in a compartment beneath the starboard Gottfried beam cannon, a place where no one except someone looking to get away from it all would think of. Kevin was floating there, incongruously upside-down and near the ceiling, when he entered.

"Hey, Blade," Kira said as he walked in. "I was wondering where you were; you didn't turn up for lunch, so..." He trailed off, seeing the peculiar expression on his friend's face. "Kevin? You okay?"

"Sometimes," Kevin said, offhandedly. "It comes and goes. Right now it's going, but a while ago it was coming on strong."

The Strike's pilot marveled at how, even in his deepest depression, Blade maintained his habit of wisecracking about everything. "What's wrong?"

The soldier rolled upright. "You don't want to know," he said quietly. "You don't need to, it would scare you so bad you'd never sleep again, and knowing could get you killed." He sighed. "But that isn't what's on my mind just now; it's just the cause of it. You remember that girl, on Heliopolis?"

Kira blinked at the apparent non sequitur. "Uh, yeah. You mean the one who was so surprised when she saw you? Cagalli, wasn't it?"

"Right; though she didn't introduce herself." Kevin absently tugged off his right glove, oblivious to the nasty scars that ran across the hand beneath. "I have to find her again, tovarisch. I have to see her."

His friend cocked his head. "Why?"

"Because... because I think I know her. No, I'm certain I know her. But I can't remember from where." He hissed in frustration. "Kira, I'll be honest: about half my memory is gone, thereabouts. There are great gaps in my recollection, pieces of the great jigsaw puzzle of my mind that I have yet to recover."

This didn't surprise Kira as much as it might have; he still remembered the nights when Kevin would talk in his sleep, asking himself questions and muttering apparent nonsense phrases that in retrospect seemed to be some kind of code. "How'd it happen?"

"That's not important," Kevin told him. "It just happened,okay? How isn't really relevant. The point is, from a time three years ago until about a month before I started living with you on Heliopolis, I didn't even know who I was; every scrap of memory had been taken from me, and it took me a long while to start picking up the pieces." He looked down at his powerful hands, noting with a part of his mind the light reflecting off the enigmatic ring on his right hand. "Do you have any idea how much I hate this?" He seemed to be talking as much to himself now as to Kira. "With these hands of mine, I can tear apart battle tanks, crush bones to powder, and tie six-centimeter steel rods into knots. With this body, I can practically ignore bullets, keep fighting after a beating that would turn a normal man to paste, and survive G-forces that would kill anyone else. But I can't remember who that girl is, or any number of other things!"

Kira caught sight of the ring, and something clicked in his mind, even as he pondered the things his friend was ranting about. He'd no idea Kevin was so... unusual... and he had the distinct impression he'd been less so back in Copernicus. "You know, Blade... I think that girl was wearing a ring just like that."

Kevin looked up, and suddenly he was hit with a pounding headache, a symptom he suffered when memories began to return.

He stood next to a shuttle, at a mass driver facility. He was thirteen, almost fourteen; the girl who was seeing him off was the same age. To the day, Kevin suddenly remembered. She was saying something, but he could not recall the words; and she handed him a gold ring, with the engraved initials "K" and "C". Its twin was upon her own finger...

Kevin shook his head, fighting to clear it. "You're right," he said finally. "And she's the one who gave this to me. We were... friends, I think, close friends. From Orb; I remember the Kaguya mass driver. It must have been at the end of a school break. But I can't remember anything else, not even her full name."

Kira nodded sympathetically, though he saw it as a good sign that he was still recovering memories. "You... you do remember who you are, right?"

"Yeah, I started to figure that out about six months before I got to Heliopolis. But I don't remember much of my life back home." It didn't surprise his fellow student that he didn't elaborate on his identity; even after all the years they'd known each other, Kevin Walker was still reluctant to reveal his true name, and Kira figured he had a good reason for it... whatever it might be.

"Any way I can help?"

Kevin managed a tight smile. "Not unless you're telepathic, tovarisch, or have ready access to someone who does hold the missing links. No, I think the answer is to find that girl; I'm positive she holds the key. But... she isn't quitemy first objective when I reach Earth." The smile vanished. "You remember I told you my parents died at Porta Panama, three years ago? Well, I've got a line on the bastard responsible, and I'm going to kill him."

"But first we have to get to Earth," Kira pointed out dryly. "And in case you didn't notice, we're running a little low on water. I don't know about you, but the rest of us can't live more than three days without it."

"Six days, for a Coordinator," Kevin corrected. "Close to a month for me; both because, for reasons I have never been able to fathom, I was engineered to be stronger than normal Coordinators, and because of some later enhancements I won't go into now. But, yeah, it is a problem." He pushed away from the ceiling, letting his feet touch the floor. "Well, now that I've had my daily dose of fatalism and suicidal tendencies, I'm gonna go get that meal I missed."

Even as Kevin was heading off for his late lunch, the Bridge crew was plotting their course, determining the best route to Earth Alliance Headquarters at Ptolemaeus.

La Flaga, in the copilot seat (Tolle was still off-shift), turned to look back at the Captain. "Well, at least we got that Laurasia-class off our backs; and all that pandemonium at Artemis helped in our escape. We owe ZAFT one for that."

"And I'm sure they'll collect," Ramius said dryly. "Especially since we had so many problems beforeArtemis, and not one of them has been resolved. We're hardly adequately supplied, so our only real chance is to reach Lunar HQ as quickly as possible."

Badgiruel nodded absently, studying their course. "Is this really the fastest way? Can't we look for a better route somewhere?"

"Afraid not," Neumann replied. "If we chart a course any closer to Earth, we'll have to cross the Debris Belt." He referred to Earth's artificial ring of space debris, left over from the earliest days of space colonization. Ship's rumor held that Kevin Walker had once flown a hair-raising escape run through the titanic mass of space junk (rumor courtesy of one Lieutenant Mu La Flaga), but even those who believed the story felt that not even that enigmatic superman could pilot a ship as large as the Archangel through it.

Ramius, however, wasn't as well-acquainted with the dangers. "Suppose we navigate through it?"

"Through the Debris Belt?" Neumann repeated incredulously. "There's no way that's possible! If we attempt to chart a course through that, we'll end up part of the debris."

"The junk heap humanity made, ever since they began exploring space," La Flaga mused. "It's true, we don't want to be a part of that... Hey, wait a second! Yes, the Debris Belt!"

Ramius looked at the pilot like he'd suddenly turned into a giant squirrel. "Huh?"

La Flaga stood, with a sly smile on his face. "Am I a person who can make the impossible... possible?"

A few decks below, Kevin floated into the cafeteria; as he was off-duty, he was out of uniform. He had reverted to his standard black outfit, with sunglasses hiding his bright jade eyes and a revolver in a black leather thigh holster (his other gun was only visible as a bulge under his jacket).

Shortly after entering, Sai nudged Flay (also in the room), who promptly walked over to the young mystery man. "Um, Kevin..." she began hesitantly.

Kevin looked up and pulled off his shades. "Yeah, Flay?"

"I want to apologize for what happened the other day," Flay said meekly. "I shouldn't have told them who you were; I didn't mean to cause such a commotion."

He waved a hand, a ghost of a smile on his face. "Don't worry about it, Flay. You couldn't have known Garcia would try what he did; and it is the truth. Besides, after what ZAFT did to Artemis, I very much doubt that the information will go any farther." Kevin did not add that he'd had more than a little to do with ensuring that silence.

Kira, having entered behind him, chuckled. "And anyway, it's not like we know who he is, either. All Garcia got was one alias among many."

Blade nodded. "That's right." His gaze, once more shrouded by shades, turned serious. "Look, Flay, I understand why you did it. You were scared, and not just of those Eurasian bastards. Frankly, I can't blame you for being scared of me; my reputation is pretty fearsome, and I haven't exactly done anything to minimize it. But one thing you can count on: I never hurt my friends." He smiled reassuringly (something which looked somewhat out of place on a face that had recently reflected depression and cold-blooded battle tactics). "You've got nothing to fear from me."

Flay looked reassured. "I know. And from what Sai tells me, we're all better off with you helping us."

"Except, of course," Tolle put in, "that he doesn't have a machine to fly right now. Mr. Murdoch isn't very happy with the condition of your GINN, Blade."

"Well, excuse me," Kevin said sarcastically. "Next time the Buster tries to blow us all to atoms, I'll make sure I stay someplace where the paint can't be scratched. Look, you tell Murdoch that the mechanics may fix the machines, but us pilots are the ones putting their lives on the line. Space combat ain't exactly the most congenial of environments."

"Well, you gotta admit that spare parts are a problem," Tolle retorted. "The Archangel wasn't intended to service GINNs. You lost a good chunk of armor out there, Blade, and every part has to be made from scratch."

"Which means I'll be out of action for awhile." Kevin looked mildly disgusted. "Yeah, I know. Well, Murdoch's not the only one who's irritated. He just has to maintain them; I'm the guy who has to fly it, and I hate being helpless in a battle."

The discussion was cut off by a PA announcement. "Volunteers to the Bridge. Repeat, volunteers report to the Bridge."

Blade's expression was now definitely disgusted. "Now I'll never get lunch."

"Supplies?" Sai repeated a few minutes later, on the Bridge. "We can get some? From where?"

"Get supplies, yes," La Flaga confirmed. "Or to be more precise, we intend to take them."

"You're sounding like a pirate, Lieutenant," Kevin commented, drifting near the forward view screens. He was absently twirling a revolver (the presence of which only Badgiruel had thought of objecting to, and in the end she had decided she liked her head better where it was, with all the gray matter still inside).

While the Hawk of Endymion smirked at the soldier, Ramius continued where he had left off. "We're approaching the Debris Belt. Now, as you all know the Belt consists of a wide assortment of junked items, which means there are also a number of vessels that have been destroyed in battle."

Sai blinked. "Now hold on a minute! You're not suggesting-?"

"Extra credit to the bright student," La Flaga commented.

"Makes sense," Kevin murmured; as always, he was more pragmatic than his more idealistic friends.

"We will not take items that belong to others," the Captain said firmly. "We're not taking that much; only what we're in immediate need of. Just the basic necessities... in order to survive."

"If we don't get supplies, we're not gonna last much longer," La Flaga concurred.

"So we'd like you people to use the shuttles and help with the work outside the ship," Ramius went on. "We're short of people, so we need your help."

"We'll need you to be flying cover, Kira," the older pilot said, then turned to Kevin. "Blade, Mr. Murdoch says your GINN won't be ready for sortie anytime soon, so I'm afraid you'll have to sit this one out. Unless..." His gaze turned speculative.

"Yes, Lieutenant," Blade said with a faint smile. "I'm combat-qualified on a Moebius Zero."

Flay (the reason for whose presence on the Bridge was unknown) looked startled, but Ramius only raised an eyebrow. For some peculiar reason, possibly related to having seen Kevin Walker perform extraordinary -one might almost say superhuman- feats, she was not surprised. "Well, then I suppose that's settled. But how did you happen to manage that, Blade? Only a handful of pilots ever graduated the course, and I think I'd've heard of someone like you going through it..."

Another faint smile. "Trade secret, mon Capitan."

Before long, Tolle, Sai, Mir, and Kuzzey were paired off with Chandra, Tonomura, Badgiruel, and Pal in the Mistral work shuttles, while Kevin and Kira flew cover in the Moebius Zero and Strike.

As they neared what resembled the ruins of a space colony, La Flaga radioed Blade from the Bridge. "Now, the Zero's a lot different from a mobile suit or any conventional fighter craft you may have flown before, Blade. In particular, the wired gunbarrels-"

"I know, Lieutenant," Kevin interrupted. "I don't need advice, okay? I probably know more about this thing than you do, so with all due respect, shut up."

Taken aback for a moment, the Hawk chuckled and signed off, leaving the younger pilot to silently curse him in Russian. (It was rare to hear him curse in English; and if you did, it was a sign he was really mad.)

"Quiet, huh, Blade?" Kira called a few minutes later.

"Yeah," his friend agreed. "Too quiet. Doesn't help that this place makes me nervous; the last time I was in the Debris Belt, I left with a nasty head wound."

"Yeah, if there's trouble within a million kilometers, you'll find it." Kira chuckled. "You have bad luck with explosions."

"Kira, you don't know the half of it," Kevin said fervently. "Maybe sometime I'll tell you about the fusion bomb that ought to have been the end of me..." His voice trailed off as he examined the sensor readings. "Hey, guys, does this place look familiar?"

Mir gasped, and Kira let out a startled yell. "A continent?" Tolle exclaimed. "It ended up here?"

Kevin muttered a startled oath in Russian. "The remains of Junius Seven!" Kira whispered unkown to them, the Red Queens childhood home.

Soon, the various vehicles came to rest and their occupants debarked to get a better look at the ruins, to see if it was indeed the colony destroyed in the horrific Bloody Valentine Tragedy, that had claimed over two hundred thousand civilian Coordinator lives.

Kevin Walker, though, needed no such confirmation. He had been there the day the Earth Forces destroyed the helpless colony, and had barely escaped with his life. He knew Junius Seven when he saw it.

"That water over there? Are you serious?"

Kira's protest rang out through the Bridge half an hour later, as the space-suited gathered there. His opinion was shared by his classmates... with the possible exception of Kevin, whose expression was as inscrutable as ever behind the shades he had once again donned.

"There are close to a hundred million tons of ice frozen over on it," Badgiruel pointed out.

"You're kidding!" Kira's face was disbelieving. "You saw it for yourself, Natarle! That PLANT is where hundreds of thousands of people lost their lives. And yet you-!"

"It's the only water we've been able to locate," Ramius interjected, attempting to break up the argument. And I thought having Blade argue with her was headache inducing!

"Hey, nobody's jumping for joy over this one," La Flaga said grimly. "I don't hear folks shouting 'Hurray, water!'"

"Lieutenant..."

"Hey, we're alive, guys! And if we have to, we'll do what it takes to continue to live!" He looked over at Kevin. "And what do you think about this, Tiger?"

"Don't call me that," Blade said coolly. "As for what I think..." He shrugged. "I don't see that we have a choice. And, while this may sound harsh, I should point out that the dead don't exactly have much use for it anymore."

Kira nodded reluctantly at his friend's pragmatic view on the matter. "I guess you're right. But still..."

"Believe me, Kira, I've had to do worse." Kevin looked back at the Captain. "Well, Captain, I guess we'd better get started."

And at that moment Aelan's new machine to get the data extracted as she went to meet with her father after telling them to color the Machine Red. A few moments earlier Rau and Athrun had finished their auddiance with the Council as Aelan pulled up infront of the two in a car. "So how did the meeting go?" Aelan asked them as Athrun was startled that Aelan was the one driving.

"It was quite interesting." Rau said as he thought. "As you know who the pilot of the GINN is a coordinator, we may as well tell you the truth." Rau mentioned.

Athrun looked at Rau. "But Father said!" Athrun protested as Rau raised an Eyebrow.

"Athrun, your father says a lot of things, but Aelan knows more about certain things then you do, so we may as well let her, now about the pilot of the Strike." Rau told him as he piked Aelan's Interest. "The Pilot of the Strike is a coordinator like the pilot of the GINN" Rau said as Aelan had a look of concern on her face.

"Well I guess when it comes to the Strike I better get my act together, I thought we were fighting a Natural the whole time." Aelan said. "But I will honor of what Athrun was trying to say, and not tell anyone else about it." She told them. Just then the calming voice of Lacus Clynes Music Video for Silent Night came on. Aelan listened to the Song enjoyingly as she drove the car to the Hotel they will be staying at for their stay.

At the moment as the song that Aelan found rather beautiful played the civilians and the volunteers of the Archangel (minus Kevin, who had departed for compartments unknown, presumably to make his own arrangements) made flowers of carefully folded paper, to be scattered over the wreckage.

Kevin finally turned up just as the shuttle crews were leaving. He was already clad in his striped, vacuum-tight flight suit, and he carried with him a plaque. What it said mo one was quite sure of; it was in Russian, using the Cyrillic alphabet no less. But as he'd barely escaped the fiasco with his own life, it was sure to be something personal.

Before long, they had gathered on an outcropping overlooking the rest of the ruined colony: the various crews in their shuttles, Kira, in the Strike, and Mir and Kevin standing at the cliff edge. From the Archangel's Bridge, Ramius, La Flaga, and the rest of the Bridge watched, right hands over their hearts, as the small, silent tribute took place.

Mir stood silently for a few moments, then tossed the armful of paper flowers out over orbiting graveyard; and then Kevin lifted the plaque and spoke. "February 14, C.E. 70," he began solemnly. "A sad day in the history of humanity, and a day which must never be forgotten, or repeated." He added something in Russian, then released the plaque to drift down into the colony ruins.

He had said what needed to be said, and that was, right then, all that mattered. As the Song Ended back at the PLANTs and Aelan pulled the car into the parkinglot of the Hotel.

Soon enough, salvage operations were underway, with the students and most of the Bridge crew operating the shuttles, Kira flying escort in the Strike, and Kevin cruising around the area in his borrowed mobile armor.

"How are things going?" Ramius asked on the Bridge.

"I'd say about two more hours," Pal reported. "We'll only have enough ammunition for one more trip, though."

"It's good enough. All we need is enough water to make it to Earth Forces territory."

Meanwhile, Kira and Blade soared amongst the debris field that was once a space colony, keeping an eye out for anything unusual. This they found before long.

"Hey, Blade," Kira called. "Isn't that a civilian ship over there?" He transmitted the coordinates.

Kevin scrutinized the wrecked vessel. "Looks like it. Pretty bad off, too; I wonder how it got here." He drifted in for a closer look. "Hmm," he murmured, reading the ship's name. "Silverwind, huh? Sounds familiar, somehow..." He shrugged, and headed off elsewhere.

Kira, too, was about to turn away, but without warning, a mobile suit emerged from the Silverwind's shadow, looking around. "A two-seater GINN?" he muttered in surprise. "Reconnaissance type... what's it doing all the way out here?" He ducked behind a drifting rock, beam rifle sticking out. "If it finds the Archangel and calls for reinforcements, we're finished!" He sighted in, keeping his crosshairs centered on the ZAFT machine as it investigated the scene. "Come on... go away... just leave..."

The GINN finally turned and began moving away, and Kira breathed a sigh of relief. "Good."

A premature sigh of relief.

One of the Mistrals chose that moment to come into view, and the GINN saw it. The mobile suit immediately came in for a closer look, and then began to raise its rifle.

"No! Why'd you have to notice it?" Kira leveled his rifle again. "I gotta..." His finger trembled on the trigger, but he couldn't bring himself to pull it...

And the GINN opened fire, shattering his paralysis. No sooner had the first shot been fired than Kira retaliated, first blowing off its left arm and then destroying it completely.

"Thanks, Kira!" Kuzzey called from the shuttle, voice shaky.

"I seriously thought I was going to die," Chandra agreed.

"Kid!" La Flaga called. "What happ-"

Kira shut off his radio, then pounded his fists against the instrument panel. "Arrgh!"

A moment later, he looked up as his displays beeped at him. The screen zoomed in on an object that was now drifting into view, broadcasting a distress call. "A two seater lifepod? What's it doing here?" He keyed his radio, connecting with the Zero. "Blade, we got a lifepod out here. Think we should bring it in?"

"Yeah," his friend answered instantly. "Can't just leave 'em to die out here."

The Strike grabbed hold of the drifting escape vehicle, and Kevin settled in to fly escort. At the same time, out of some obscure impulse, he reached out with his empathic sense, trying to get a read of the occupants... but when he sensed Kevin promptly had his mind slammed forcefully back into his skull as the mother of all headaches hit him.

"Blade!" La Flaga shouted from the Bridge, as the Zero nearly collided with the colony. "Are you all right?"

Kevin shook his head. "Y-yeah, Lieutenant. I'm okay. Just a bad headache. Really bad." Regaining control of the mobile armor, he contacted Kira. "Tovarisch, let's get this thing aboard, ASAP. I've... got a feeling about who's aboard."

The lifepod soon sat on the deck of the Archangel's hanger, with Murdoch working on the hatch controls. In front of it stood Ramius, La Flaga, Badgiruel, several armed guards, and Kira and Kevin.

La Flaga found it curious that Kevin did not appear in the least bit concerned; he didn't even have a weapon out, which was peculiar in light of the fact that they had no idea who or what was in the pod. Unless he knows something we don't, he mused. But how can he? He was not yet aware of the full extant of the young soldier's zoanthrope talents.

"Okay, I'm opening it," Murdoch called. He hit a final switch, and the hatch opened.

First out was an odd, ball-like robot; it was pink, and muttering to the world in general as it drifted past the bemused crew. Then came a voice. "Thank you! I appreciate your assistance!"

All eyes whipped back to the lifepod as a young woman in a dress, with pink hair and a relieved expression, came floating out. Kira's gaze was instantly riveted, and the rest of the crew looked on in confusion... until another voice spoke from the rear.

"Hi, Lacus."

All eyes turned to Kevin Walker as the Coordinator soldier reached out a hand... and smiled in pleased recognition. But then Kevin noticed something else in the Pod as a Gun was raised at them but not an ordinary one, it looked to be a tranquilizer gun.

A/N: Now who is holding the tranq gun? Only next chapter can tell.

Centurious - You have already received a Review with my answer of using Aelan in one of your own stories. Oh and thank you, and I found that Aelan needed her own Gundam and as Artemis destruction was coming up, and I read about some things of Hyperion, I decided to give her the mobile suit. P.S. The main thanks for this story is to be given to Solid Shark, he did most of the work literaly, I am just editing his work to put in new characters, such as this tranq gun user and Aelan as the two main ones.

Infinite : I have done as you asked, and I ask to write some more.

White Shadow - This was to start off as a back up when I couldn't think for Fate, but I have decided to finish this first, which just depends on how fast I can write a chapter. Which is usually about 2 a day but I only post once a day. But if I keep on going the rapidness I am doing Fate should be worked on again quite soon.

Solid - Oh yeah so a Hyperion Unit will be making an appearance in Birds, I wonder if the origninal pilot will be flying it in your story. Well also to tell you the truth, when the battle with the Eighth Fleet, Aelan's Hyperion Unit will have PS, and Kevin will in a way find that out the hard way.

Kevin's sight of Aelan was indeed Brief and I never actually thought on how this would play out until after I finished A New Saga, so some things in this story will make A New Saga far Fetched, which means someday I may edit my story and change it to be more believeable. And as I will finish this before another Update in Fate so Fate can share the knowledge I put in this.

The "Lets Dance" Quote, well I hear it a lot before some big melee weapon fighting so I thought it be good as she brought out two beam knives.

So the Destroyers have a semi abilities the same as the Nexus family, Well I will just say this, Kevin may be able to detect Aelan but he has no chance to detecting, Nicola and Chris. And that kind of abilitie will be good for the Destroyers 2.0 in Fate.