Model number: ZGMF-2314
Code name: Red Queen
Unit type: Multi Purpose Mobile Suit
color: Normal: Dull Gray
Phase Shift: Dark Red
Manufacturer: ZAFT
Operator:ZAFT
First deployment: CE. 71
Accommodation: Pilot Only
Dimensions: 17.45 meters
Weight: 87.21 tons
Construction: One of a Kind
Powerplant: Ultra-Compact fission reactor
Equipment and design features: Sensors, Neutron Jammer Canceller, Phase Shift Armor, Mirage Colloid
Fixed armaments: 2 x "Schlag" 125mm high-energy long-range Plasma cannons on shoulders,MA-M01 "Lacerta" beam saber (Connected to its own Ultra-Compact fission generator), dragon fang, mounted on right arm, mounts 2 x flamethrower, "Armure Lumiere" mono-phose lightwave shield x 1
Optional hand armaments: Ifrit beam Submachine Guns equipped to legs (In hands during use), anti Beam shield
Chapter 22: Back to the Battlefield
Athrun Zala, travel case in hand, walked Carpentaria Base's halls, making his way to the airfield for his sunset flight back to the PLANTs.
His mind was anywhere but there, though; his mind's eye saw two young pilots, once his best friends, and now dead, at his hand. And he'd even gone after the wrong one, though the culprit of Nicol's death had been caught in the blast anyway.
Since being returned to ZAFT territory by the Orb rescue forces, Athrun had relived those moments many times, when his Aegis detonated, and it all now seemed futile. As Cagalli had said, vengeance was an endless cycle. Unless you're Kevin Walker, he thought with a small measure of humor. When he took his revenge, there wasn't anybody left to exact vengeance on him. I guess he never learned there's such a thing as overkill.
Athrun absently saluted a red-uniformed soldier, then did a double take as the face registered. "Kevin? What on earth-"
The other pilot looked puzzled for a moment, then laughed. "Oh, I see. You got the wrong guy, Commander Zala; the name's Jack Carter. But you were close: Commander Walker and I share the same DNA. I guess you met him before ABADON blew up in our faces?"
His eyes narrowed. "You share DNA? You mean you're..."
"That's right, a clone." Carter chuckled. "Believe me, I ain't very happy about it either; you know what it's like to be born in the shadow of another, just a replica of his DNA? I kinda wish the traitor hadn't forced him underground years ago; we might be on the same side, but if there were just one of us, I'd be the 'real' Walker.
"Underground? On the same side...? But Kevin swore to destroy ZAFT... Then the truth dawned on Athrun.No wonder. Only three people are in a position to dispute the official record, and Commander Le Creuset, Yzak, and I are still on Earth. So they think Kevin was betrayed by one of his people, and... wait a minute...
He looked up. "Wait a minute. How can you want to kill him when he's already dead?"
Carter looked surprised. "Dead? Oh, no, he's not. My cursed fate, my genetic origins, guarantee that I'd know if Commander Walker were dead. I'd feel it, no matter where he is. I even felt his presence, not long ago; though what he was doing in the middle of the Pacific Ocean is beyond me."
Athrun was stunned; he had been absolutely certain Kevin Walker perished two weeks earlier, and that had been apparently validated by how little Orb found of the Stormhawk. But on the other hand, it did seem strange that there wasn't more debris. And now this clone had told him matter-of-factly that the super-soldier had lived through the explosion. Some kind of psychic link, he supposed.
He felt a sudden revulsion for this... this thingthat masqueraded as his old friend. He felt sick, seeing the final, undeniable proof that Kevin's claims about what ZAFT did to him were true. First they tortured him and rebuilt him into a super-soldier, then they cloned him...!
"Excuse me," Athrun muttered, and walked away, Carter watching him with what seemed to be amusement; he didn't want anything more to do with this filth, especially since he was on the verge of physically attacking the repulsive thing. Given that this version of Kevin also appeared to be augmented, the assault would be fatal both to his career and to himself.
So it's all true… he thought. Everything Cagalli accused ZAFT of is true… and that means I've been blind… He remembered what had happened when he left the Orb aircraft.
"The ZAFT craft has arrived," Cagalli's bodyguard, Kisaka, said, standing at the Infirmary hatch.
Athrun looked up, confused. "What's going on?"
"We can't return to Orb territory with a ZAFT soldier onboard," Cagalli explained flatly. "So we're handing you over to your own people."
"I see." He stood, careful of his broken arm, and walked over to the hatch. "Thank you," he said quietly. "Though I imagine you'd rather I hadn't made it."
She was silent for several moments, but finally walked over to him. "Take this," she said, pulling an amulet from around her neck and putting it around his. "This amulet protects the wearer."
Athrun looked at it, bemused. "But… why? I… I killed…"
"I don't want anyone else to get hurt," she said simply. "Even you." Then Cagalli's voice hardened. "But understand something, Athrun: if Kevin was still here, he wouldn't be so merciful. He'd try to kill you… and this time, I wouldn't lift a finger to stop him."
With those chilling words still in his ears, Athrun had then gone over to the waiting ZAFT aircraft, where he informed Yzak that he'd destroyed the Strike, as he promised… and the last remaining Destroyers.
But it wasn't something he was proud of. Not anymore.
Athrun was more or less back to normal a few minutes later, far away from Carter, and his memories, when he noticed Yzak leaning against a wall ahead of him.
The white-haired pilot looked at him. "Don't worry, my turn will come soon," he said acidly. "How could they pick you for the Special Forces?"
Athrun had been wondering that himself, ever since Le Creuset visited him and informed him of the transfer; he also wondered about the Order of the Nebula he'd received. Nonetheless, he held out a hand. "Sorry about how things turned out; thanks for all your help."
Yzak looked surprised, then suspicious, but shook his hand anyway. Then Athrun picked up his case and walked on past. "Next time, I'll be the one in charge," he said over his shoulder. "Stay alive until then, okay?"
Athrun cracked a slight smile. "You got it, Yzak."
"Did you hear though, Aelan survived the battle and was already in PLANTs when we heard." Yzak told him.
"Aelan lives eh, now I am truly convinced Kevin survived as well. As they are both Destroyers." Athrun said looking to the sky. "Well as I said before Yzak good luck." Athrun said leaving his silver hair friend behind.
Thousands of kilometers away, Natarle Badgiruel set down her gear bag at the Archangel's airlock, turned to the Captain, and saluted. "Goodbye, Captain."
"I want to thank you for everything, Lieutenant Badgiruel," Ramius said, returning the salute. "I hope we meet again soon, someplace other than the battlefield." Despite the numerous clashes they'd had over command decisions, she was sorry to see the Lieutenant go; she'd made an excellent combat commander.
"If possible, once the war is over."
"That would be nice." Ramius glanced at Flay, who was also transferring out. "Take care of her."
"Right." Badgiruel grabbed Flay's hand, and led her down the airlock corridor.
Flay struggled, looking back over her shoulder. "Sai!"
Sai reached out a hand. "Flay!" Then he drew back, looking disturbed, and Birdy, Kira's robotic pet that he'd more or less inherited, landed on his shoulder.
"Maybe I should go down to the personnel office," Mu La Flaga said with a slight smile at Ramius; he, too, had been given orders elsewhere. "Give them a piece of my mind."
Ramius shrugged sadly. "I doubt it would do any good."
"Why do they want me as an instructor in California, at a time like this?" La Flaga demanded.
She smiled. "Well, with you teaching I'm sure we'll see a lot less rookie casualties in the field."
"This is just-! Urgh!" The Hawk snatched his cap off and clenched his fingers in it, furious.
The Captain put a hand on his shoulder. "Come on; you're gonna be late," she said quietly, tears in her eyes. She saluted. "Thank you, for everything you've done."
La Flaga put his cap back on and saluted, face set. "And the same to you... Ma'am." He turned and headed out, exchanging salutes with the crewmembers seeing him off.
His bad temper continued as he made his way to JOSH-A Base's dock; the Board of Inquiry they'd faced still made his blood boil when he thought of it. That they'd dared to blame Kira for the disasters which had befallen the ship, simply because he was a Coordinator...! Or the Captain, for that matter.
The only silver lining, as La Flaga saw it, was that Kevin Walker's name had been kept out of it completely. After his death, it quickly became apparent that Snake was an even better hacker than they'd thought, for searches of the computers revealed the Archangel itself was completely unaware that anyone named Kevin Walker or a mobile suit called Sturm Falke had ever been aboard. Even the surveillance footage was skillfully altered, so that the only reason anyone knew for sure Snake had been present was their own memories.
It was a crime, La Flaga thought, that Snake should die and then simply vanish as if he'd never been, as anonymous in death as in life. There was absolutely no evidence that he'd ever existed outside of Orb. But it seemed that was how the young Baron had wanted it, and the hearing would have been far worse had the top brass at JOSHUA known a survivor from Project ABADON had been aboard.
He was momentarily amused by contemplating how Snake would have reacted to Captain William Sutherland. Probably blown out his brains, La Flaga judged. He was not one to take insult lightly.
The Hawk of Endymion joined Badgiruel and Flay at the dock, noting with surprise the number of people moving around. "What's going on here?"
"I guess they're still sending troops off to Panama." Badgiruel leaned forward and looked at Flay's transfer papers. "The ship you'll be on is heading in that direction. Where's yours, Commander?"
La Flaga glanced over. "Hm? Oh, I'm with this little lady right here."
"Is that right," she murmured. She saluted. "Goodbye, Commander."
"Yeah." The Commander took her hand. "You take care, Lieutenant." He touched Flay's shoulder, and they moved off into the crowd.
Earths Orbit, several ZAFT soldiers were in their mobile suits ready for the drop operation known as Spit Break. Target information was all over their computers as there Target is to be Panama. Aelan sat in her Machine as several pilots were in aww of the machine.
She continued to wait. "Operation Spit Break will begin in a few minutes all personel to your mobile suits!" The announcement called as Aelan waited.
"It is time for us to get rid of their space ability." Aelan said cracking her knuckles then her target screen changed. "What the hell, JOSHUA?" Aelan asked as she checked the screen as everyone in the mobile suits wondered the same thing. "So our target is the Earth Forces headquarters?" Aelan wondered. "Sneaky Patrick very Sneaky." Aelan said as the pods began to drop around her as Aelan dropped mobile suit and all.
Millions of kilometers above, Kira and Kevin, still very much alive, rested near the Clyne Residence's back railing, overlooking the water; Kira sat on a bench, and Snake stood still and silent a couple meters away. Both of them were thinking of Earth.
Lacus came up behind them. "It's almost time for the rain," she said. "Would you like to come in for tea?"
Kira looked at her silently for a moment, then got up and followed her to the gazebo-like structure; Snake, however, remained where he was, hands behind his back and eyes focused on something far away. Cagalli... I'll be back, as soon as I can. Don't give up on us, okay?But he knew, inwardly, that she already had; the evidence of their deaths was about as solid as could be without their actual bodies.
A few minutes later, Kevin joined his friends inside, just ahead of the rain. But he was still quiet, still worried about those left behind on Earth. His instincts told him something major was brewing, and he had a terrible feeling it would endanger the Archangel.
While Reverend Malchio, also present, sipped his tea, Kira simply stared out at the rain; Lacus looked at him, curious. "Do you like the rain, Kira?"
"I was just thinking about how strange this all is," he said after a time. "I was thinking... what am I doing here?"
(That makes two of us, tovarisch,) Kevin said silently.
"If you had your choice, where would you want to be?" Lacus asked sensibly.
Kira shrugged. "I really don't know."
"Do you... dislike it here, Kira?"
He looked uncertain. "Is okay... for me to even be here?"
She nodded. "As far as I'm concerned, yes! Of course it's okay!"
"The time will come when you know where you should be going," Malchio interjected quietly. "And then you'll know what you should be doing. For that is what it means to be the bearers... of the Seed."
(More of that "Seed" stuff,) Snake commented. (Balderdash.)
He himself had no doubts about his ultimate destination; even now his hands were itching to grasp a weapon, or take hold of a mobile suit's controls once again. He had once had very bad luck with mobile suits, but Stormhawk fitted him like a glove, and he greatly wished to have it in his possession again.
Snake idly fingered a knife that lay concealed within his sleeve; he refused to go anywhere completely unarmed, and it happened that a knife he kept in his boot had remained with him after the Aegis' destruction and his own arrival at the Clyne Residence. They used to call me Blade because of these. Little did they know that it was but a small part of my repertoire. And little do they know that I still live... I hope to inform them personally soon.
About an hour later, Siegel Clyne joined them. "It's just not possible," he said, shaking his head. "Not even if you wanted to use the Reverend's shuttle. Flights for Earth simply aren't being allowed to take off."
Before anyone could reply, a comm display appeared on one of the glass walls. "A call for Mr. Siegel from Ms. Eileen Canaver," a voice announced.
"Yes?"
Eileen Canaver, an ally of his on the Council, appeared on the screen. "I have bad news, Clyne," she said without preamble. "It seems that Zala's deceived us."
Clyne looked at her sharply. "How so?"
"Panama isn't Operation Spit Break's target; it's Alaska."
"Alaska?"
Kira's eyes went wide, and his tea cup dropped, shattering itself and its saucer; beside him, Snake went rigid. "Kira?" Lacus hurried to his side, concerned.
"Earth Alliance Headquarters," Canaver was saying. "The Council didn't approve any of this."
Both pilots were remembering their comrades still on Earth, still with the Archangel... which had been en route to Alaska when they departed. If the huge forces arrayed for Operation Spit Break attacked there, with its defenses stripped to supplement Panama's, their friends would be...
(We've got to do something,) Snake told Kira.
(I know. But what?)
That would take much thinking.
A couple of hours later, Lacus reentered the gazebo, where Kira and Snake stood, their backs to her. "Kira?"
He turned, and she was surprised to see tears going down his face. "It's time... I left here," Kira said quietly.
"Oh..." Lacus tilted her head. "Where were you thinking of going?"
"I have to return to Earth," he said simply; beside him, Snake remained silent. He hadn't said a word in hours.
"Why?" she asked. "Even if you go, you can't end the war by yourselves."
Kira nodded. "I know. But I can't just stay here any longer, doing nothing." His voice sounded distant. "If you just did nothing, because you thought it wouldn't help, then you'd end up doing less than nothing. For nothing would change... and nothing would end."
Lacus slowly nodded. "Will you be fighting against the ZAFT forces again?" He shook his head. "Then... the Earth Forces?"
Kira shook his head again. "I now believe that... I have a much better understanding, of what we should be fighting for."
"All right," she said finally. "I understand." She gestured for them to follow her. "Come with me."
Kevin spoke his first words in hours. "Where are we going?"
"Lacus has a gift for the both of you." Jason said as Lacus lead them to the house.
"First, to get you two into disguises. Then we're going to the place where, among other things, your mobile suit is stored."
A feral light lit his eyes. "Lead on, Lacus."
Minutes later, Snake had disappeared into a side room, and a butler held out a red ZAFT uniform. "Please put this on, Kira," Lacus said. She turned to the butler. "I'd like you to inform them that from now on, Lacus Clyne will be singing 'The Song of Peace'."
At that moment, Kevin stepped into the hall, and Kira raised an eyebrow at his attire. He wore a white ZAFT commander's uniform, like the one from the photo Siegel had shown them days before. "Snake? I thought you swore you wouldn't wear that again."
"If I had a choice," Snake reminded him. "But it seems we have a golden opportunity here! As Siegel said, ZAFT has no idea I've gone rogue, because of how all-encompassing that blast was two and a half years ago. So here's the plan: I lead the way into the facility, and I tell the soldiers there that I've only just managed to return, after over two years running from various groups like the Earth Forces. I give them Michael Carnehan's name as the traitor, explain that my security codes aren't current for obvious reasons, and that my clearances are still in effect. As the Commander of what was supposed to be the most elite unit in ZAFT, that should get us through without any problems."
Kira looked at him incredulously for a moment. "You should have been a spy," he said.
Kevin grinned. "Didn't I mention that?" As behind Lacus Jason emerged with the same uniform that Kevin wore it was just a bit darker in a gray color sort of sense.
Within another hour, the four of them were at the ZAFT facility Lacus had indicated. Without hesitation, Kevin walked to the entrance; with the white uniform and half his face missing, he was quite an intimidating sight. Especially as Jason was with him, two commanders were better than one.
"My name is Commander Kevin Walker," he said smartly to the guards, raising his hand in the peculiar ZAFT salute. "I'm here to escort Miss Clyne and this pilot on an inspection tour of the mobile suit hanger."
The guards returned the salute, looking surprised. "Commander Walker! Reports said you were dead, sir; some kind of betrayal-"
"Yes, yes, I know all about that," Kevin said, rolling his eyes; behind him, Kira watched appreciatively as his friend flawlessly played the part of the irritated commander. "Believe me, Trooper, I took great pleasure in killing the traitor responsible for nearly blowing me to atoms." His face hardened. "You can list Michael Carnehan as KIA, as well as a traitor. I'm afraid his body is unrecoverable, but that's because the fool set the building I confronted him in ablaze, and I barely escaped it."
"Yes, sir!" The guard turned to open the door, then hesitated. "Uh, sir, I'm afraid your security codes aren't current-"
"Of course they aren't current, you idiot!" Kevin roared. "I just spent the better part of three years on Earth, running from Naturals in the Earth Alliance and even Blue Cosmos, so of course I've been out of touch! But you'll find my clearances are still in effect."
"Yes, sir. Sorry, Commander Walker." The soldier opened the heavy door. "You may proceed, Commander. And, if I may say so, it's good to have you back, sir."
"Thank you, Trooper." Looking very scary with his metal half-face, Kevin led Kira and Lacus into the high-security building.
It was all he could to do not to burst out laughing. (Oh, that was fun,) he told Kira over their link. (You've got no idea how amusing that was, having people twice my age or more leaping to obey my orders. A pity I hate ZAFT, because I could really get to like that.)
(Except that you hate being in charge of anything,) Kira replied, amused.
"This way," Lacus said, leading them deeper into the facility; her presence and Snake's white uniform got them past the other checkpoints without resorting to the old "scary screaming superior officer" act. Jason stopped to talk to a few soldiers as Kevin heard what they were saying.
"Thats right, we will have to go into hiding because of this, the Clyne Faction will be in danger. Thank you for your support." Jason told them as they nodded and Jason flew into the hangar behind Kira and Kevin.
coming to a rest in the middle of a catwalk. Then spotlights turned on, and Kira inhaled sharply at the sight before them. "A Gundam!" There was no mistaking it; in basic shape, it closely resembled the Strike, with a more streamlined look, nastier weapons, and a pair of wings mounted on the back.
"Actually, that's not what it's called," Lacus corrected with a smile. "This is the ZGMF-X10A Freedom." She giggled. "But you know, Gundam does sound more powerful."
"It's an acronym," Kevin explained absently. "Stands for 'General Unilateral Neuro-link Dispersive Autonomic Maneuver system'; Kira saw it on the Strike's startup screen and dubbed it 'Gundam'."
She nodded at the explanation, and went on. "Under orders from Chairman Zala, ZAFT engineers designed a mobile suit with the same capabilities as the Earth Forces mobile suits they captured, then added state-of-the-art technology to it." Lacus abruptly pointed over at the second machine in the hanger. "There's yours, Kevin; I hear they upgraded it since retrieving it."
"I see." Snake narrowed his eyes. "Okay, let's see what they did to it." He floated over to his faithful old Stormhawk.
Kira looked puzzled. "But why... are you letting me...?"
"Because I feel this machine has the power you're going to need. Neither will alone, nor strength alone, will be enough. That's why." Lacus turned to him. "Will this take you where you want to go? Will it help you when you get there?"
He stared at the Freedom. "Neither will alone... nor strength alone," he murmured.
Meanwhile, Snake entered his own cockpit, and instantly saw how much ZAFT had been tinkering with it; the whole cockpit was upgraded, with the same kind of displays and controls he suspected were in the Freedom. The whole interior was more streamlined, with better visibility... which didn't matter when the Zero System was up; he noted that the device had been repaired, and he grimaced. The memory of what happened when Aegis blew...
Kevin settled into the seat and looked over the controls. It was evident that ZAFT had fabricated replacements for the buster rifles; and his beam sabers had been replaced with Lacerta sabers, the same type used by the Freedom. That was not the greatest change, however; there were firing controls for plasma cannons now. They appeared to be mounted within the wings, requiring them to be spread before deploying the weapons.
Not so bad, he thought. Looks like they're mounted on swivels, too; that should give me three-sixty degree coverage when in mobile armor mode.Not so in mobile suit mode, of course; if he attempted to fire them in any position other than over the shoulder, he'd run the risk of blowing himself up, instead.
"N-jammer canceler?" Snake saw the new switch, and he realized that the true power of his mobile suit had been revived. "That means... the fission plant is operational again. No more need to worry about power..." He flipped the N-jammer canceler switch, then main power; and deep within, nuclear fission began.
Outside, Kira and Lacus drifted over to the Freedom; the pilot had changed into a flight suit. "You're sure?" he asked quietly.
"Yes," Lacus said firmly. "From now on, I too will be singing the great song of peace."
(Poetic,) Snake said sardonically in Kira's head; he'd "heard" the words over their link. (But who am I to talk?)
(So shut up,) Kira suggested cheerfully. Aloud, he said, "Be careful."
"I will, Jason is here to protect me; and you, too becareful, Kira." Unexpectedly, she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. "My strength goes with you." Kira looked startled for a moment, then smiled and nodded. "And now, you should be on your way." Lacus pushed off and drifted back toward the hanger's hatch where Jason waited to catch her.
Kira settled into the Freedom's cockpit, strapped in, and began booting up the systems. He noticed much the same innovations as Kevin had. "N-jammer canceler...? Amazing! It has more than four times the power of the Strike!"
He activated main power, then phase-shift, and watched Lacus disappear, waving, behind the closing hatch. Neither will alone... He pushed the vernier throttle forward. ...Nor strength alone...
(Ready, tovarisch?) The two of them hardly needed radio at this point, so Snake elected to maintain radio silence.
(Yeah. Let's go!)
The airlocks above opened, and the Freedom hurtled straight up, followed closely by the Stormhawk, which faded from view by the time they reached the exit.
So it was that the two GINNs patrolling outside saw only the Freedom as it blurred past. "Whoa!" one of the pilots said, awed.
"What kind of mobile suit was that?" the other asked.
They chased after, and Kira saw them in his rear displays. "Back off! Just let me go!" Then a warning signal got his attention: two GINNs, firing from ahead of him.
He hardly noticed his pursuers vanishing in azure beams behind him; his attention was on the other pair. Flying a dizzying evasive pattern, Kira whipped out a Lacerta saber and sliced off their heads and weapon arms in a fraction of a second, leaving them blind and impotent.
(I think you're gonna reach Earth before I do,) he told Snake. (You've got a higher G tolerance.)
(I'll make sure things survive till you get there.) Kevin sped off ahead, machine in mobile armor mode and hidden by Mirage Colloid. He would, indeed, reach Earth slightly ahead of Kira, for he could remain conscious under multiples of gravity that would kill normal humans.
On the way, he passed a ZAFT shuttle, and he did a close, invisible flyby. Even the Snake's eyes couldn't transmit the information fast enough to the brain to see who was in the window, but they could record the data in his built-in CPU and display it a moment later. Athrun? So... you are alive...
Unheeded, unseen, and unstoppable, Stormhawk hurtled toward its reunion with its mothership.
Three days later, on Earth, Mu La Flaga led Flay into the line to board their waiting submarine transport, then handed her the boarding papers. "You'll have to show these papers when your turn comes up," he said, and turned away, heading back into the base.
"What?" Flay called after him.
"Oh, I forgot something," he said with a jaunty wave, and left; in reality, he had the distinct feeling something was about to go very, very wrong.
La Flaga was quite right; not long into his race back through the JOSHUA Base's corridors, alarms began to sound. He stumbled to a halt, cap flying off. "What's that?"
Aboard the Archangel, Kuzzey glanced up as he received a message. "Message from the Joint Operations Room, Ma'am!"
Murrue Ramius stared up at Sutherland's image on the comm screen. "Captain Sutherland! What's going on?"
"JOSHUA Base is under attack," Sutherland replied."They tricked us! At the last moment they switched their target here, to JOSHUA, and all our forces are concentrated at Panama!"
"Orders, Captain?"
"All defense forces are to engage at once! We have to defend Alaska HQ!"
"Yes, sir!" Sutherland's image vanished, and Ramius looked down at Neumann. "Engines at full, Ensign Neumann. We've been given our orders and the Archangel is moving out!"
"You're kidding!" Kuzzey protested. "Without Kira or the Commander?"
The Commander, at that moment, was running through HQ's halls, increasingly confused. "What is going on here? This place is empty!"
He halted after a few more paces, as a strange sensation filled his head. "This feeling... Is Rau Le Creuset here?" La Flaga redoubled his pace; if Le Creuset were indeed within the base itself, he'd have headed straight for one place.
Snake grimaced as his mobile suit hit atmosphere, and began to ease off on the throttle. A little too slowly, as it turned out; just off the starboard side of the Archangel, Stormhawk hit the water with a splash and dove nearly a hundred feet before he could stabilize and climb.
Ignoring the battle around him, he shot straight into JOSHUA Base; on the way in, he'd seen a white DINN enter the gate, and he wanted to know just what the pilot was up to.
Not far where a Red Mobile suit was blasting one of the defence ships in point blank range. Aelan felt the sensation La Flaga had felt from Rau. "So Oracle's master Creation has returned." Aelan said as she took off towards Joshua.
The Hawk dropped the duffel bag and drew a sidearm as he crept to the door of the Joint Operations Room. As he edged around to look in, he saw a white-uniformed silhouette standing over a console. "Well..." the man said softly.
A moment later, Le Creuset spun around and fired a burst from a machine pistol at La Flaga, who rushed into the room, using computer desks for cover. When he took another careful look, Le Creuset could just barely be seen around a corner, weapon raised.
"It's been awhile, Mu La Flaga," he said, sounding strangely amused. "I don't have time for fooling around; though we've just met again, I must apologize for leaving so soon." He smiled. "Though if you're still hanging around, your usefulness to the Earth Forces must be nearly at an end." Le Creuset laughed. "O Hawk of Endymion, how the mighty have fallen!"
CRACK.
Even Rau Le Creuset could be startled, and having a bullet pass a millimeter in front of his nose did it quite nicely. As did the voice that spoke a moment later, sounding puzzled. "I missed?" That was when Kevin saw Aelan run into the room and jumped over Rau firing her own revolver at Kevin. He dodged the attack.
"So Commander Walker lives?" Rau asked as Aelan grabbed Kevin by the shoulders as Kevin lifted her and threw her through the wall.
"You do have a way of showing up unexpectedly."
"As do you, Commander Le Creuset." The figure, which held a smoking revolver, nodded slightly. "I'm impressed that you know of me, Commander. And honored to meet you."
"The honor is mine, Commander. Though we may be on different sides, your skills have earned you my respect; and I'll admit I don't much approve of the tactics used to create you... Hydra."
"A name from long ago," the interloper said softly. "It means nothing to me now."
"Oh, I assure you, Commander Walker, it means a great deal to certain people you have caused grief recently," Le Creuset disputed. "I see you finally realized you cannot escape your past merely by closing your eyes to it." Creuset said as Aelan came back out of the wall and tackled Kevin to the ground. "I see you have met my step daughter, and she is one of the people you have caused grief." Creuset mocked as Aelan tightened her grip on Kevin's arm. If he wasn't agumented Aelan would of broken the arm.
"Father, I know you want to stay and chat with Hydra, but I suggest you leave now!" Aelan told him as he nodded.
"As should you Aelan, I don't want you to die because of what the Earth Forces have set up. You witnessed it before thanks to the Crater." Rau told her as Aelan had shock in her eyes.
"I am sorry, Walker but we will have to dance another day." Aelan said as she followed Rau heading out of the base.
La Flaga turned his full attention to the newcomer. "Who are you?"
The figure stepped into the light. "Hello, Mu. Nice to see you, too."
The Hawk could not believe his eyes. "Snake? But you're supposed to be- I mean, you-"
"Death doesn't like me, Commander," Snake said with a smile. "You're the man who's famous for making the impossible, possible; I'm the guy who's famous for making the unsurvivable, survivable." He holstered the Colt and clapped the older pilot on the shoulder. "It's a very long story, Commander, and we've got things to do."
La Flaga nodded. "Right; we'd better see what he was up to; something got his attention." He paused on the way over to the console. "By the way, Snake, we heard a scream-"
"The Zero System malfunctioned," Kevin said simply. "Need I say more?"
He winced. "Guess not." The thought of the kinds of twisted images that must have been passing through the super-soldier's mind... And that also explained the missing flesh on the synthetic side of his face.
"This place seems pretty empty," Snake commented reaching the panel. "I mean, isn't this the room from which they're supposed to be directing the battle... Solkin syn!"
"No!" La Flaga saw what had arrested the younger pilot's attention. "A Cyclops? Here?"
"That's... bad," Kevin said, staring at the readout. "I was on summer vacation from the college during the battles at the Grimaldi Front, Commander, and my idea of a vacation was visiting battles. I was at Endymion Crater; barely got out alive. And this thing makes that look like a kitchen appliance..."
Their eyes met, and the Hawk nodded. "We've got to get out of here and warn the Archangel. Fast. If the enemy breaches the main gate while we're still within ten kilometers of this thing...!"
Snake's features took on a positively terrifying expression, and for the first time the Hawk of Endymion was truly face-to-face with the deadly warrior once known as the Crimson Tiger. It was a most frightening experience, and La Flaga fervently hoped Kevin didn't lose it completely and transform. The one time he'd witnessed it, in a Blue Cosmos ambush years earlier, the results had been quite horrifying.
They took off out of the room, running as fast their legs would carry them to the hangers above. Aelan went for the Hangars close by as Rau went to the ones below where he met up with Flay.
Aelan jumped into her machine and decloaked it from its Mirage Colloid. "Damn, I have to warn everyone, if the Cyclops go boom, then so does everyones insides." She said blasting off out of the base.
On the way out of the vast underground city known as JOSHUA Base, La Flaga and Snake commandeered a pair of motorcycles; it was too far for them to make it back to the hanger on foot.
"I can steal a plane," La Flaga called, "but how are you gonna get out?"
"Don't worry about me, Commander," Snake replied with a smile. "How do you think I got in? Stormhawk's parked up there, still under Mirage Colloid; I didn't want it hijacked or anything. I just hope it hasn't been shot." He swore to himself. "Those bastards! Using our forces as bait...!"
"Yeah, I know; I never thought I'd have to deal with a Cyclops again. We gotta hurry!"
Speeding onward, Snake concentrated on his link with Kira. (Tovarisch, we got problems.)
(What's wrong?)
(No time to explain, but ZAFT is here already; we're lucky they changed targets at the last minute. Look, mon ami, expedite your arrival, okay? And whatever you do, don't land at JOSHUA; that would be a Very Bad Thing. I'll explain face-to-face; gotta run.)
(I'll be there soon,) Kira promised.
The pilots skidded to a stop in a cargo elevator and hopped off their transportation. "By the way, Snake," La Flaga began as the elevator began to ascend, "I've been meaning to ask you: what's with the uniform?"
"Oh, this?" Kevin snorted in grim amusement. "Believe it or not, I used to be fully entitled to this; I was, briefly, Commander of the Walker team, the Destroyers. Fortunately, the real story of the project's end hasn't yet reached ZAFT HQ, so I was able to bluff my way into the hanger where Stormhawk was being kept." He waved a hand. "And I know you've got a million questions about where I've been, but it'll have to wait. Except for this: there's two of me on the loose."
"Two?" A light dawned. "That feeling, back in the Pacific? It was a clone?"
"Precisely," Snake said grimly. "I just found out a few days ago, but it seems back during my ZAFT days, they actually went ahead and cloned me. Fittingly, he goes by one of my aliases, Jack Carter, a.k.a. Crimson Tiger. And besides me, he's the only augmented human being in existence."
"That's not good," La Flaga said after a moment. "I've seen you survive things that would kill anybody else. What happens when two Destroyers tangle?"
"Armageddon," Snake replied, not entirely joking. "Ragnarok, whatever you want to call it. Bad Things Aelan decided to leave before it got out of hand."
The elevator slid open, and they ran out into the hanger; La Flaga headed off to find out who was in charge, while the super-soldier made a beeline for his cloaked mobile suit, still in mobile armor mode. He leapt in and began making ready for takeoff; he also deployed the plasma cannons from the wings, expecting trouble.
La Flaga raced over to the first officer he saw, who was shouting over the radio. "Say again? What about the Eleventh Air Defense Corps? It's destroyed? But that's impossible!"
The Hawk grabbed his shoulder. "Hey! Who's in charge here?"
He didn't get an answer; there was instead an explosion, and a CGUE landed at the hanger entrance, trailed by a trio of DINNs. "We've made it to entrance four," the pilot reported. "We've spotted Naturals and we're moving in."
"Oh, no you're not." The CGUE suddenly vanished in a bright explosion, and its subordinates soon followed as they were hit by bolts of white-hot plasma. "Get out of my way!"
La Flaga, grinning briefly at the sudden destruction, rushed over to the hanger's lone intact fighter, next to which a mechanic was on his knees, looking dazed. "Hey!" he shouted, grabbing the man's shoulder. "Get a hold of yourself! You've got to evacuate! Gather the survivors and get at least ten kilometers from the base! You hear me? That's an order!"
The mechanic came back to reality at the pilot's fierce voice, and he ran off; La Flaga jumped into the cockpit. "I didn't choose to be a hero, but..."
"Ready, Commander?" Snake asked.
"Yeah, Snake. Let's go. Cover my six, will ya?"
"You got it, tovarisch." The Stormhawk flowed briefly into existence as the pair took off, appearing just long enough to settle into formation before vanishing again.
Something about the last comment got La Flaga's attention, and it took him a moment to figure out what. Then as they crossed the sky over the open water, it came to him: Snake had just called him "tovarisch". Months earlier, Kira had explained to him that Kevin Walker used that word only for his closest and most trusted friends; it seemed the Hawk of Endymion had been inducted into that select group.
Not exactly a bad thing, he reflected, slicing through the air toward the Archangel; you couldn't have a more loyal friend than Snake, and he was guaranteed to watch your back in a battle. The most lethal human in history, and at times slightly unstable, he was nonetheless your best friend if you wanted to stay alive.
"There she is!" La Flaga called. "She's still hanging in the there!"
"Well, at least we got someplace to land," Snake said sardonically. "Though I'm gonna give the crew heart failure."
"Archangel, this is La Flaga, do you read me?" the Commander radioed. "Archangel, answer me!" He sighed. "Can't get through, Snake; we'll have to do this the hard way."
"Roger that; but I'm staying airborne, Commander."
The two craft, one seen, one unseen, hurtled down toward the gaping hole in the Archangel's starboard flight deck, and on the Bridge Mir looked at her displays in surprise. "Incoming aircraft!" she reported. "It looks like it's damaged!"
Ramius could see it for herself on the screen. "Is he going to try for a landing?"
"But that's crazy!" Neumann said, shaking his head.
Ramius snatched up her intercom handset. "Deck crew! Some nut in an aircraft is trying to make a landing! Take shelter!"
"Everyone get out of my way! Yaaahhh!" La Flaga's fighter, now damaged by a CGUE's beam rifle, careened down into the ship's hanger, slowing to a stop as the elastic barrier caught it; above, the invisible mobile suit peeled off and headed skyward.
Murdoch and one of his people stared in surprise as the pilot jumped out of the fighter and headed for the Bridge. "Was that Commander La Flaga?"
The Bridge elevator door slid open, and La Flaga stepped out. "Captain!"
Ramius turned in surprise. "What in the world are you doing here, Commander? What about your transfer?"
"That's not important. We gotta get out of here, right now!" He hurried to her side. "This is one messed up plan," he said harshly. "What kind of orders did they give the defense forces?"
"What?"
A concussion rocked the Bridge, but La Flaga ignored it and raised a hand, palm up. "Okay, now listen up. There's a large Cyclops system underneath headquarters. That thing is powerful enough to turn everything within ten kilometers of the base into a blast furnace!"
The entire Bridge crew looked at him in shock. "What?" Ramius blinked, mind refusing to accept it.
"Soon the defenders will be gone, and the main gate will fall. That's when Headquarters will make the decision to activate the Cyclops, and destroy the base!" La Flaga hissed angrily. "And in the process, they'll take out more than half of ZAFT's fighting strength. That's the scenario for this whole battle as imagined by the top brass!" His voice dripped fury and sarcasm.
"It can't be!" the Captain protested.
"I swear I saw it with my own eyes; the command center is empty." The pilot looked enraged. "All that's left to defend the base are the Eurasian forces and the Archangel, because those bigwigs have given up on her!"
Neumann turned in his seat. "So we're all expendable? Is that what you're saying?"
La Flaga nodded. "But only after a desperate battle, so the enemy doesn't know it's abandoned."
"What kind of plan is this?" Heads turned at Mir's despairing voice. "Because this is a war, and because we're all supposed to be good soldiers," she went on. "If they tell us to, I guess we're supposed to just throw away our lives."
Sai looked at her, concerned. "Oh, Mir..."
Captain Murrue Ramius stood. "If the whole purpose of this battle was to lure the enemy into a trap, then in my opinion this ship has already accomplished its mission," she said decisively. "Note that I, Murrue Ramius, Captain of the Archangel, made this decision alone; no other crew member is to be held responsible for these actions."
"Don't put so much pressure on yourself," La Flaga said softly.
"The Archangelwill now abandon the combat area and make its withdrawal." She looked back at Kuzzey. "Signal the fleet; tell them to follow us."
"This won't be an easy escape for us, but we can't just give up." The Hawk of Endymion leaned toward her. "I'm launching too."
"But, Commander-"
He smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry about a thing. Have you forgotten? I'm the guy who's famous for making the impossible possible."
Their conversation was interrupted by a sudden radio transmission. "I'll kill you."
Before anyone could react, Tonomura called out a report. "Heat signature detected, Ma'am! It's- three hundred meters in diameter!"
Ramius's head snapped around. "What?"
An azure column (beam was far, far too mild a word) appeared beyond the viewport, spreading across the ZAFT forces ahead of them and annihilating at least two submarine carriers and about a dozen mobile suits, leaving confusion in its wake. But a set of Machines that were engulfed in the attack were spared as where there was once nothing was now the Red Mobile suit of the Red Queen. The Red Queen had the Umbrella shield around it like the Hyperion once had. The Machines behind her that survived however flew away retreating.
"What on earth was that?" Neumann demanded- and got his answer.
A winged shape hovered a dozen meters ahead of the Archangel, buster rifles clamped together in their powerful cannon configuration, great wings spread. "Archangel, this is Lieutenant Walker. Thought you might need an assist."
Ramius blinked in shock. "Snake? But- but you're-"
"Receiving Stormhawk's signal, Ma'am!" Mir reported. "It is him!"
"Oh, yeah," La Flaga said with a grin. "I ran into him at JOSHUA. Forgot to mention that."
"Sorry it took so long, mon Capitan. It's been a strange couple of weeks." Kevin's image appeared on the main screen. "I'll explain everything once we're out of here; for now, what say we get out of here?"
"Uh, yes, of course," Ramius managed. "I'll be most interested in your report, after the battle. For now, can you provide escort?"
"Why else do you think I'm here?" Snake smiled."Captain, recommend you use the Lohengrins. Yeah, I know about the radiation, but with a Cyclops out there, that really isn't an issue."
"But there's a computer override on it-" Pal, in charge of the fire control systems, protested.
The pilot snorted. "Computer," he said in a clear voice, easily audible to the Archangel's computer microphones. "Override Walker Romeo Alpha Papa India Echo Romeo."
Pal blinked. "Computer lockout overridden, Captain."
The Captain blinked again. "How did you-"
"I leave a trapdoor in every program I write, Captain."
"You mean-"
He grinned. "That's right, Captain; I wrote the Archangel's software, a long time ago. I'll explain later." Stormhawk lifted its shield and stuffed one rifle into it. "No time to chat; looks like the Duel has noticed us. See you."
As the mobile suit sped off, Sai glanced at Mir. "I guess we shouldn't be toosurprised," he said softly, with a slight smile. "After all, he's been dead at least twice before. I'd love to know where he's been, though."
Snake raised a buster rifle as he approached the Duel. "Hey, Yzak," he called mockingly. "I'm baaack."
"No way!" the ZAFT pilot shouted. "Athrun said he blew you up!" He fired off an angry shot. "And now you've stolen that mobile suit we recovered?"
"Stole? No, no; I took it back." Kevin dodged with contemptuous ease. "Don't ever count on my being dead, Yzak. I am the Hydra. Cut off one head, and two more take its place." He chuckled. "I believe the solution Hercules used is impractical; unless you know of where to find a rock big enough to hide me under?"
"I'll settle for an ocean!" Yzak snarled. "This time, you're not getting away!"
"Oh, Yzak, Yzak," the super-soldier said sorrowfully. "Don't you know? I'm the Crimson Tiger -or I was- and we cats have nine lives, don't we?"
"Then we'll just have to take out each and every one!" Yzak suddenly grinned. "You might be able to dodge individual strikes, but how about this? Everybody, surround him!"
"NO!" Came Aelan's voice as she was now infront of the Sturmfalke as though she was protecting it. "Yzak I order you and these men to leave immediatly, no time for you to ask why just GO!" She yelled as she turned to Kevin who had a beam sabre ready for combat. Aelan turned to him drawing one of her own.
"So Aelan, you want to tango in your new machine?" Kevin asked as he looked at the new machine seeing the two Cannons and the HIMAT wings on the enemy machine. "Impresive, but can it tango with this machine." Kevin asked her as the two beam sabres collided. The two Machines flew in the air doing acrobatics that no ordinary pilot could pull off, with both machines completely even. When Kevin tried to use his plasma cannons. Aelan would activate her shield then counter attack with a weapon that was just as powerful.
"Archangel, a little help?" Snake called. "Fire Gottfried One at these coordinates."
Pal glanced up as the targeting data appeared. "Captain?"
"Do it," Ramius concurred.
The massive pair of green beams slashed across the sky targeting Aelan, she activated her shield intime to protect herself from the attack, allowing Stormhawk to get some distance. "Thanks for the assist, Captain."
Ramius noted the precision with which Snake had directed that strike, even in the midst of his own struggle. "Lieutenant Walker," she called suddenly. "Please return to the ship; I need you to take charge of CIC."
Kevin bisected another enemy. "Me? What about Lieutenant Badgiruel?"
"She transferred out just hours before the attack." The Captain sighed. "Look, Snake, we don't have time for this. You have seniority, and you apparently know Archangel's weapons better than anyone. Return and take over CIC now."
"Yes, Ma'am."Snake sounded vaguely amused, but Stormhawk nonetheless raced back to the ship and slipped neatly through the hole in the starboard flight deck. Aelan, changed her target from Kevin to trying to get the ZAFT forces to retreat.
A few minutes later, Snake rushed onto the Bridge and down into CIC. "Lieutenant Walker, reporting as ordered, Captain."
"Good to have you back, Snake," Ramius said. "It's quite a relief to see you alive."
"Believe me, Skipper, you don't know the half of it." He looked over at his classmates. "Good to see you guys again."
Unexpectedly, Mir stood and hugged him. "We all thought you were dead!"
Kevin looked extremely surprised for a moment, then smiled. "Well, I wasn't; I've been dead before, so believe me, I know what it feels like." He gently extricated himself, then sat in what was normally Natarle Badgiruel's chair. "Captain, I have taken charge of CIC," he said formally. "Now, what have we got to work with?"
"We've suffered major damage," Sai reported. "You saw the damage to the flight deck; and we've also lost both Valiants. But the rest of our armament is intact."
"Good." Snake looked at the combat displays. "Mr. Pal," he said crisply. "Set Igelstellungs to point-defense; we can't take many more missile hits. Target Gottfrieds on these coordinates; set Helldarts to independent target acquisition. Load Korinthos missiles and target tubes three through six on the Duel and that red machine. We can't hurt them, but we can keep them busy. Fire!"
Ramius was impressed by the lieutenant's calm, decisive orders; he clearly didknow how to properly utilize a capital ship's weapons in a strategic battle such as this. Of course, intelligence reports (which, during his time on Archangel prior to his disappearance, he had refused to confirm or deny) suggested "Hydra" had been the commander of his team prior to its destruction. Kevin Walker was, apparently, a born leader, if one who hated to lead. He'd make a fine ship captain someday, if he remained with any military.
Which was, of course, highly unlikely.
"Incoming missiles, two o'clock!" Chandra reported.
"Affirmative," Snake said calmly. "Mr. Pal, launch Sledgehammer missiles at these coordinates on my mark. Mark."
Bemused, Pal did as ordered, and shortly saw what his superior had in mind: the Sledgehammer missiles had a larger blast radius than most, which made them very effective at blowing up large numbers of small targets in proximity "soft-kills". They easily wiped out the incoming salvo. Amazing, Ironwall did it with Shrapnel Missiles, and Snake did it with Sledgehammers. The two are amazing at defence tatics.
The battle raged on, with Kuzzey making occasional reports on the status of the other ships and ZAFT's penetration of the base. "Captain, they've taken the main gate!"
"We have to hurry. Lieutenant Walker, expedite!"
"Yes, Ma'am," Snake said calmly.
"Okay, we've given you the main gate," La Flaga muttered, "so why not just let us leave now?"
"By the way," Snake said during a brief lull in the shooting, "might I ask just where the Buster is? One would think that with only three G-weapons left, they'd be sending all three of them after us."
"They don't have possession of the Buster anymore," Ramius replied. "It's in our hanger right now."
"Yeah, the pilot decided it would be better to surrender," Sai added with a chuckle. "Of course, having the Gottfrieds pointed directly at him might have had something to do with it."
Kevin raised an eyebrow. "We captured Dearka Elsman? That's... surprising." A thought occurred to him, and he glanced over at Mir. "By the way, Mir, there's a chance that Tolle may still be alive."
She turned around, stunned. "What? How?"
"I don't know for sure," he cautioned. "But I bought him an extra couple of seconds, long enough for him to eject... if he had the presence of mind. I don't mean to give you too much hope, but he just might have gotten out alive."
"Incoming missiles!"
Snake's head snapped around, but before he could give any orders, the barrage struck, and Archangel began to fall from the sky.
"Thrust is decreasing, I'm losing ship's stability!" Neumann said through gritted teeth, struggling with the flight controls.
"Solkin syn! Mr. Pal, fire Lohengrins!"
Pal complied without hesitation, though unsure of the current combat commander's motives; he suspected (correctly) that he simply wanted to make it very clear to the ZAFT forces that he was most unhappy with them.
Firing a pair of positron cannons certainly got their attention; a Vosgulovcarrier that had been merely grazed by Snake's introductory beam cannon attack simply vanished, as did a pair of DINNs preparing to resupply.
The ZAFT pilots evidently did not appreciate this. "Mobile suits approaching!" Tonomura reported... and a GINN, riding a Guul, appeared in front of the Archangel's superstructure. It raised its machine gun, leveling it directly at the Bridge viewports.
Ramius' eyes narrowed, accepting death with defiance; Sai closed his eyes; Kuzzey cried out and jumped from his chair, as if seeking cover; Snake merely looked at it, acknowledging the Grim Reaper's victory. The GINN's weapon began to glow...
And a green beam came down from the sky, blasting the weapon in half. "What the?" The machine's pilot looked up, and down came a winged mobile suit from on high. It drew a beam saber and sliced down, lopping off the GINN's head and leaving it blind.
Ramius blinked. "What...?"
The newcomer rose up, wings outstretched, and hovered protectively before the Archangel. As the stunned crew stared at it, its wings spread wide, and Snake spoke calmly. "Mr. Tonomura, designate ZGMF-X10A Freedom as friendly. Took your time, tovarisch," he added to the unknown pilot.
"What the?" La Flaga blurted, as startled as any by the apparition.
"Where'd that mobile suit come from?" Yzak demanded.
"The Freedom" Aelan said amazed. Then she turned her radio off. "Good work Lacus, I knew you would give Kira the right machine." Aelan said to her self, "But for me to keep up the charade, I must fight him." She said as her Machine drew its beam sabre in the arm opposite of her shield generator.
"Archangel, this is Kira Yamato," the Freedom radioed. "I'll cover you. Meanwhile, please withdraw to safety."
Mir looked up in shock. "Kira?"
Sai grinned. "It is Kira!"
Ramius' eyes went wide in stunned amazement. "Our... Kira?"
"You cut it pretty close, buddy," Snake said. "Another half-second or so, and even I wouldn't be around anymore."
Kira ignored the mock-admonishment, and Kevin stiffened in his chair as he felt his friend become the Berserker... and underwent the change himself.
The Freedom flew forward, and the targeting display in the cockpit rose before Kira's eyes. The red circles of target locks began to surround the multitude of enemies, and the Freedom's weapons deployed: Xiphias railguns on the hips, Lupus beam rifle in hand, and Balaena plasma beam cannons over the shoulders.
They all fired at once, many times, and enemy mobile suits began to fall back, heads and arms blown off; the Freedom was locking onto almost everything in the area, and its advanced targeting computer was aiming with exquisite precision.
"What in the world just happened?" Yzak demanded, seeing the carnage.
"Yzak, I am making an order of retreat, if the Earth Forces have that machine we wont stand a chance." Aelan told him as Yzak defied her orders and went after the Freedom.
he Freedom flashed past the Archangel's bow, and Kira's face appeared on the main screen. "Please, stop wasting time! Withdraw!"
"Yes," Ramius began, confused and in a certain amount of shock over the battle's occurrences, "but there's a... a Cyclops... beneath headquarters!" Kira drew in a sharp breath, and she went on, almost desperately. "We're all just bait!" Ramius's head jerked forward, eyes filling. "They planned this! We had no idea! That's why we can't withdraw! We have to get farther away from the base!"
Kira nodded. "I understand." He piloted the Freedom forward, toward the ZAFT forces arrayed before them, and deployed his weaponry again. "Attention, all ZAFT and Earth Alliance forces!" he called over the radio. "Any moment now, the Cyclops system will activate, and the Alaska base will self-destruct! Both sides, please, cease fighting and withdraw from this area immediately! Repeat, the Cyclops system will activate and the Alaska base will self-destruct! Both sides, please cease fighting and withdraw immediately!"
"That kid," La Flaga murmured in amazement.
"Come on, Kira..." Ramius said quietly.
"I'm not falling for that!" Yzak shouted. His machine shot across the sky at Kira, beam saber drawn.
Kira turned. "The Duel!" Memories went through his mind, of a little girl who had thanked him for protecting her and the civilians all the way to Earth... and then of the Duel, blasting the little girl and the shuttle the civilians were aboard into space dust.
He grimaced, and rushed to meet Yzak. He took the Duel's strike on his shield, and met its fist with his own. "I told you to stop! Don't you wanna live?"
"What do you mean?" Yzak aimed his railgun and fired.
The Freedom's head jerked to the side, and the powerful machine flew backwards. He flipped sideways to dodge another saber strike, drew his own, and swept the blade toward the Duel.
Yzak cried out as he saw the energy blade coming straight toward his cockpit, and for a moment he was convinced he would die in much the same manner Nicol Amalfi supposedly had. He squeezed his eyes shut...
And the Lacerta passed beneath, cutting him off at the knees instead. "Forget about fighting and get yourself out of here!" Kira shouted; his machine used the Duel's back as a springboard and flew off, leaving the crippled mobile suit to drop.
The Red Queen swooped in and caught him, and Yzak stared after the departing enemy in surprise. "He didn't...? But why?"
Seconds later, Sai shouted a report. "They've activated the Cyclops!"
Ramius' response came instantly. "Maximum thrust! Get us outta here!"
"Solkin syn!"Snake abruptly leapt from his chair and practically teleported to Pal's station. There, he began frantically typing commands into the console. "Transferring weapon power to engines," he reported.
"The engines will never hold-" Neumann began.
Then Aelan's voice came over the Radio. "ALL ZAFT FORCES RETREAT, IF YOU WANT TO SEE YOUR FAMILIES AGAIN DO AS I SAY!" Aelan yelled over all the radio frequencies.
"They'll hold, Ensign! I bloody well know what this ship'll take." The super-soldier looked grimly confident. "It won't hold for long, but right now we need to move."
Behind them, a massive wave front of microwave radiation crawled across the land, sea, and sky, ripping up the ground and blasting mobile suits into burned-out hulks. Everything inside the Alaska base collapsed, the ZAFT forces learning too late the price of victory.
Both sides had indeed ceased fighting; it was now every man for himself, and mobile suits fled the onslaught. One GINN, the one Kira had decapitated as his opening move, lagged behind, and its Guul was caught in the searing heat. It exploded, and the GINN began to drop... and the Freedom caught its hand. "I've gotcha," Kira said reassuringly.
The Alaska base finally exploded, as the Cyclops ate itself; aboard a Vosgulov, its captain's jaw sagged in disbelief. "Can't be!"
"It seems we fell right into the trap the Naturals set for us," Le Creuset said calmly behind him. Oddly, he smiled...