CE 71, February 3rd
"We're nearing the Debris Belt ma'am." Arnold informed Murrue.
"Very good Mister Neumann, Mister Pal, please call Kira and Lieutenant La Flaga to the bridge." Murrue replied.
Kira and Mu arrived in short order, with Kira looking a little surprised to be called up to the bridge. "What's this about?" he asked with no preamble and little politeness either.
Murrue frowned; Kira's attitude was borderline insubordinate. "We're approaching the Debris Belt, and I want the both of you to escort the Mistral worker pods safely in and out."
"Is there a supply station along the Belt somewhere?" Kira asked naively. Mu shook his head. "Don't we wish kid."
"We're going into the Debris Belt to find whatever supplies we can." Kira opened his mouth to protest, but Murrue continued. "That's an order Yamato, we either do this or we die before we can get to a friendly port to get supplies."
First she takes hostages, now she robs graves. Is there any line she's not willing to cross? Kira wondered.
Mu placed a sympathetic hand on Kira's shoulder. "She's right about that kid; we're in desperate need of supplies. I know it's wrong to even think about this option, but we're alive and we have a duty to remain alive."
Kira stared at Murrue, as if daring her to use the excuse of his friends and not being able to protect. She kept her mouth shut. "Well? Will you help us?" she asked.
"I thought it was an order, even though I'm not even officially enlisted like my friends. I'll do it, but as soon as we get to friendly territory, we're leaving, and I expect to see a shuttle to Orb for me and all of my friends." Kira retorted.
And he was right, Kira hadn't enlisted with the rest of his friends, he only piloted to protect them, to keep them alive until they could all leave the war behind again. "I can't promise anything about a shuttle or even returning to Orb, but at the next Earth Alliance port we will let you leave." Murrue told him.
An uncomfortable silence settled over the bridge as Murrue and Kira continued to try and stare each other down. Mu finally interrupted the two of them. "Come on kid, we've got to go get ready, the Mistrals are probably waiting for us right now."
Wordlessly Kira left the bridge, Mu shrugged at the teenager's actions and then followed. They both suited up without a word, but Mu could tell that this mission was really eating into Kira. "Kid, wait up a minute." He ordered, and Kira stopped at the door, rolling his eyes when Mu wasn't looking.
"Listen, I know you don't like this idea, none of us do, but if we don't find water, we'll die of dehydration before we can reach the moon or the Earth. Cheer up; your friends will be out there with you."
His anger left him as the shock hit. "Even Miriallia?" going extra-vehicular was dangerous enough, but doing so with no training was like signing your own death warrant. Mu nodded. "Then I guess we'd better find supplies quickly." Kira said.
The Mistral work pods had already launched by the time the Moebius Zero and the Strike launched. "Mistral pods report in." Mu ordered, wanting to keep tabs on the virtually defenseless pods.
"Mistral One reporting in with Ensign Natarle Badgiruel and Seamen second class Tolle Koenig."
"Mistral Two here, Chief Petty Officer Kojiro Murdoch and Seamen second class Miriallia Haw present and accounted for."
Kira locked the second Mistral pod into his computer and started to track it on one of his secondary monitors off to the side.
"Mistral three confirming Seamen second class Sai Argyle and Chief Petty Officer Romero Pal."
"Then let's move out." Mu ordered, taking the lead in his Zero.
It was slow going at first, looking for traces of water first off, that was the most vital resource they need to find. They progressed further and further into the Debris field, the Archangel slowly following, helmsman Arnold Neumann was doing his best to navigate around the larger chunks of debris.
Parts of ships, pieces of mobile suits and hunks of rocks all passed by Kira and the Strike, but nothing remotely useful. His sensors then settled on something rather out of place, even in the debris field: it was a vehicle, one used inside a place with atmosphere and gravity. "What the?" he wondered, but then more and more domestic objects began to float past him.
A semi-truck and trailer, a part of an overpass, a grain silo, a suitcase and even a kitchen sink. Finally he made sense out of what in front of him. "Junius 7." It was the agricultural PLANT that had been destroyed by an Alliance-led nuclear strike on February 14th. It was widely believed that this act sparked the war into its full fledged nature.
Mu opened a channel to Kira and the Mistral's. "If this is Junius 7, then it's bound to have water and maybe some of the other supplies we need. Move in we'll set down, scout the inside in person."
That idea Kira didn't like, but he liked running out of water even less. He set the Strike down and followed Mu into one of the larger standing buildings, and they were met by the Mistral crews. They all split up into groups of two to search, but it had only been a few minutes before Ensign Badgiruel called for Mu. "Over here Lieutenant!"
Mu and Kira joined her and Tolle, looking through the door to see bodies floating among frozen globules of blood. They had committed mass suicide together, some stabbing each other, other through poison and others still with guns. Miriallia and Murdoch came over, and Kira tried to warn Milly not to come any closer. "Wait Mir!"
He was too late; she looked into the room and screamed, turning away and right into Kira, who wrapped his arms around her, rubbing her back trying to calm her. "Hush, it's alright Milly, I promise, it'll be alright."
Romero reported in. "Lieutenant La Flaga, Ensign Badgiruel, I've found something that you're going to want to see."
"We'll be right there Mister Pal." Mu replied. "Is she going to be alright Kira?"
Kira nodded, so Mu and Natarle left to see what Romero had discovered. Minutes later they were all summoned there with their work pods. "Bring up the cavalry boys and girls; we have water just begging for us." Mu said.
It was pure frozen water from Junius 7, sucked out into space when the nuclear strike destroyed the PLANT. The sub-zero temperatures of hard vacuum froze the water instantly, and that made it easier for the crew of the Archangel to transport it aboard. While work was progressing quickly, Kira couldn't help but feel a little left out as the Mistral pods did everything. He and Mu were escorts, to ensure the safety of the other crewmembers, but in his opinion, a mobile suit helping could make things go quicker.
They worked for three hours before exhausting all of the frozen ice they could find the immediate vicinity. Murrue ordered the crew to take a break before going back out, and Mu sent Kira up to the mess hall. Waiting for him were some of the crew, some of the civilians and a lot of paper.
"What's going on?" Kira asked.
"We're making lotus flowers to honor the dead." Milly replied, patting the floor beside her to make Kira sit down. He sat down, crossed his legs and picked up a piece of paper before glancing around the room. On one side of Flay was Tolle, looking confused as he tried to fold his paper, and on the other side of the red-haired girl was a small child, being shown how to make a flower.
Kira fumbled around with the paper, trying to remember how to make a lotus flower, and halfway through, he started folding it into a crane. His end result was … different, and looked more like a crumpled piece of paper than either a flower or a crane. Miriallia picked up another square. "Here, let me show you." She said kindly, motioning for him to follow along.
Her directions were accurate, and in a few minutes Kira brandished his first lotus flower, made from pink paper. The little girl that Flay had been helping caught on quickly, and started on her second on. Flay turned to Tolle and showed him how to properly make a lotus flower. The group kept at it for almost 30 minutes before Mu came into the room.
"Kira, you're up kid, the Captain wants you to take one more look around after we honor these people."
"Right." Kira replied, standing up. The little girl stood up and walked over to him. "Hi there, what's your name?" he asked, kneeling down to her height.
"Elle," she replied and then held up a yellow lotus flower. "This is for you, for saving us."
Kira took the flower gratefully and thanked the little girl. Elle ran back to Flay and started to make more flowers. Milly stood up. "Milly?" Kira asked, not sure what she was doing.
"I'm going out there again as well, to disperse the flowers." She told him. Kira didn't like that idea, but kept that to himself. She'll be out there for minutes, and then it'll right back to the Archangel
The Aile Strike launched, followed by a Mistral with Miriallia and Murdoch. Standing on one of the more intact buildings with Kira at her back, Milly released her armful of flowers to Junius 7. The different colors of flowers floated away, spreading out as they went. Milly turned a bit to face Kira and wave before hopping back into the Mistral pod to head back to the Archangel.
"Alright Mister Yamato, do a quick search of the immediate area and then return home." Murrue ordered.
"I understand." Kira said tiredly, having heard the same order about twenty times from a few different people. He started the search off slow, to allow the Mistral to safely set down inside the Archangel, he wasn't about to stir up a bee's nest with Milly still in the danger zone.
Twenty minutes into his search resulted in no contacts and no other major discoveries, so with a tired sigh, Kira prepared to head back to the Archangel. With one last forlorn look at the debris of Junius 7, Kira turned the Strike around. "Archangel, this is Kira Yamato, I'm coming home."
"Roger that Kira, you'd better make it quick." Sai said, apparently filling in for Milly for the time being.
Kira swore he heard an electronic pulse as he ended the transmission with the Archangel. "What was that?" he asked himself. He started to scan the immediate area for electronic emissions just as another ping sounded. "Found you!" he exclaimed, moving some debris to see a green object.
An escape pod. A ZAFT escape pod. It almost felt like he was compelled to grab the pod, so he did and set a course back to the warship. Along the way he realized that the Captain would probably have more of a problem with him brining in an enemy pod versus the Heliopolis escape pod he had found earlier.
"I've found a small ZAFT escape pod, requesting permission to bring it aboard." He said in what he hoped was a formal military request.
There was an obvious delay, probably due to Murrue, Natarle and Mu discussing what should be done. Finally Mir's face appeared on his small screen above the main monitor. "Captain says you have permission to bring it aboard Kira."
The docking sequence was quick, and Kira set the pod onto the hangar deck before exiting the cockpit. He joined the armed guards and some of the senior crew after taking off his helmet. "You sure you want to be here kid?" Mu asked, standing behind three armed soldiers.
Kira nodded. "I'm going to open it." Murdoch warned, typing a few commands on his pad that was plugged into the pod's controls. The armed soldiers raised their rifles to aim at the pod's single entrance as the hydraulics hissed. The doors slid open and away, and out floated a pink ball with eyes.
"Thank you! Haro!" it said in an annoying electronic voice.
All of this for a little toy ball? Kira wondered in dismay. The something pink, white and violet floated out after the pink ball. "Thank you for rescuing us." She said in a melodic voice, floating above the crew assembled in front of the pod.
They were all stunned to see such a young girl float out of an escape pod retrieved from the middle of the debris belt. She continued to float along, passing the group before Kira took her hand and pulled her down to the deck. "Thank you." She said graciously.
Kira was at a loss how to respond, but he was saved when she gasped. "Oh my, this isn't a ZAFT forces ship, is it?" He looked at his flight suit, noticing the OMNI emblem on his shoulder. Oh boy, here we go again.
"Well, I guess that means I should introduce myself, after all, that is the proper thing to do in new company. I am Lacus Clyne." She said, curtseying.
The assembled group immediately started talking amongst themselves, wondering if she really was the pink pop princess of ZAFT, the daughter of the Supreme Chairman of ZAFT. Lacus looked on in wonder as some of the guards wondered what they should do now.
"Ensign Yamato," Murrue spoke up and above the chatter, "perhaps you could escort Miss Clyne to the VIP quarters." She suggested.
Kira raised an eyebrow at his new-found title of Ensign. "Sure." He replied. "If you'd be so kind Miss Clyne." She nodded her head and then they were off.
>>>
CE 71, February 6th
The three days Lacus had been on the ship, not a single person could stop talking about it. Sai, Tolle and Kuzzey sat in the Mess Hall, half-finished meal trays in front of them. "So what do you guys think of that pink-haired girl?" Kuzzey asked.
"She's cute, no doubt about that." Sai replied, pushing his glasses up. Tolle was about to reply when Flay and Miriallia walked in. "Hey Tolle," Flay greeted her boyfriend, "what are you guys talking about?" she asked.
And out came three different answers, all said at the same time. "Nothing important."
"Just wondering how long it'll take us to get to Earth."
"Asking around to see if they had any fried chicken."
The two girls looked at each other, and then continued to the back of the Mess Hall to get their own meal trays. Part-way through eating their meals, Flay looked at Miriallia. "So have you made your move on Kira yet?"
Mir nearly choked on her food. "Excuse me?" she asked, not quite certain she had heard the question properly.
Flay set down her fork. "Have you made your move on Kira?" she asked again at a slightly slower tone.
"What is that supposed to mean Flay?" Milly demanded.
"I not trying to insult you Mir but-"
"You're doing a pretty damn good job it!" she interrupted.
"Just hear me out!" Flay pleaded, and at that point, Kira and Lacus walked into the Mess Hall. The Pink Princess took a seat at one of the tables as she waited for Kira to retrieve two meal trays. He sat down across from Lacus, paying no attention to his other friends still gathered in the Mess Hall.
Seeing that she would have Milly's attention for the next little bit, Flay continued. "You like him and he likes you, don't let some pink girl come in and steal him away. You were here first, so I suggest you do something about it."
"Like what? If Kira is happy with her, then I'm not about to ruin his happiness for my own selfish reasons." Milly countered.
"Why should one person be happy when two can be very happy? Lay your claim on him Miriallia Haw or you're going to lose him."
"Flay, Kira's not a piece of meat you choose at the market, he's a person, a human."
"They have a compelling story Milly, two Coordinators on an Earth Alliance vessel." Miriallia shot Flay a look that said 'you're not helping'. "But yours is better, two friends, finding love during hectic times, a little bit of peace when the world is exploding around them."
And then Kira and Lacus laughed, drawing attention to them, but neither cared. Milly felt a pang of jealously, and then sadness as Lacus put her hands over Kira's. "I'm leaving." Mir said sadly, and she got up and left.
Flay looked at Miriallia's retreating form, and then over at Kira, who apparently was paying attention only to Lacus. The remains of her meal beckoned, so Flay ate up, and then once Kira stood to put his and Lacus' tray back, she got up and quickly followed him. Lacus was playing with her pink robot toy.
Because of the shortage of crew onboard the Archangel, a temporary rule was made that you must clean your own mess, meal tray included. Kira ran the hot water to start cleaning when Flay slammed her empty meal trays on the counter. He jumped in surprise. "Flay?" he asked, turning around.
Flay bunched up her fists in anger. "What's wrong?" he asked, advancing forward.
"You …" she said, and then slapped him hard on the cheek. He was shocked at her actions, his eyes wide. Flay resisted the urge to slap him again and instead turned on her heel and marched out. Kira slowly turned back to the sink, still filling with water, and then punched the counter in frustration.
>>>
Flay's little talk with Milly didn't do much to cheer the slightly older girl up. She saw what Flay was trying to do, and inside she thanked the red-haired girl for it. But as long as Lacus remained onboard the Archangel, Miriallia felt like she would never have a chance against the pink-haired Coordinator.
So she was out for a stroll at night, trying to clear her head such thoughts. All she could think about was Kira, and the past several months she had spent getting to know him. Though they were happy memories, they only served to make her sadder, to the point where she was ready to cry.
And then she heard voices coming from behind a door labeled as a changing room for pilots. "This isn't going to fit in there, no matter how hard we try." a voice that sounded like Kira's said.
"I have an idea." asked a sweet voice that sounded a lot like Lacus.
Mir opened the door to see Lacus taking off the larger portion of her hoop-like skirt. "What's going on?" she asked quietly.
Kira could have jumped out of skin. "Nothing Miriallia, nothing at all. Just close the door and walk away like you never saw a thing." He replied, holding a spacesuit in his hands.
"Kira, what are you doing?" Milly asked with a little more force.
Kira relented. "I'm taking Lacus back to the ZAFT ship that's been tailing us."
It wasn't the answer Mir was expecting, and at once hope surged inside of her. Lacus slipped inside the spacesuit and sealed it, but kept the helmet off for now. Kira turned to her. "Can you wait outside for a second? I won't be long; I just need to talk to Milly." Lacus nodded and went outside.
"You're taking her back to her people?" Milly asked, seeking clarification.
"I won't let her be used by the Earth Alliance, not like we were. I've dragged too many people into this war, too many innocents. Athrun should be on that ship, I'll hand her over to him." He explained.
She crossed her arms so she held her shoulders. "You're coming back right? Back to us?"
Kira smiled and gently drew her into an embrace. "Of course I am silly, how could I think about leaving friends like you behind?"
He couldn't even begin to imagine how much of an impact those words had on her. She sidled close to him. "I never doubted you for a second." She brushed her lips over his, covering them for an instant. Kira felt intoxicated – her breath on his lips, her scent, her hair, soft against his face. "I'll be waiting for your return." She whispered in his ear, and then left.
>>>
"Sir, the Legged ship is up to something." Ades reported.
Rau leaned forward in interest. "Oh? What could they have planned this close to Earth? Inform Athrun to stand-by in the Aegis. We'll have to fend off whatever offensive they attempt without the Gamow."
"Aye sir." Ades replied, and then switched to the loudspeaker. "Athrun Zala to the hangar bay immediately!"
>>>
Kira loaded the Aile Striker pack and shot out of the catapult as soon as it was ready. Speed was of the essence, and he cleared the bay before the rest of the crew caught on to his plan. Setting a course directly astern, he opened his comm unit.
"This is Kira Yamato of the Archangel. I have with me Lacus Clyne, whom we found drifting in the Debris Belt a few days ago. I will hand her over, but only once certain conditions are met: the ZAFT ship is to stop all engines immediately and power down their weapons. If Athrun Zala is onboard, have him launch to recover her. I cannot and will not guarantee the safety of Miss Clyne if those conditions are breached."
The entire crew of the Archangel as well as Athrun was shocked to hear such an edge to his voice. But the Vesalius halted her forward momentum and powered down their powerful weapons. Second later the Aegis launched.
"This is Athrun Zala in the Aegis. I am coming out to retrieve Miss Clyne." He announced, and easily closed the distance between the Strike and himself.
Kira raised his beam rifle, pointing right at Athrun's cockpit. Any wrong moves and Athrun wouldn't even know what would hit him; his body would be vaporized instantly. Instead, the ZAFT soldier opened his cockpit. "Say something." Kira said to Lacus.
"Hmm?" Lacus wasn't sure as to why.
"He can't see you, even if I had my cockpit open. Confirm that it's you." He explained.
"Hello Athrun, Mister Pink and I have missed you." She said.
Athrun held in his laughter. "Confirmed." He said, undoing his straps and standing on his cockpit doors.
"Go on, you're free to go." Kira said, giving her a small push to clear the distance between the two mobile suits. Athrun caught her with ease and then hugged her. "Lacus, you had me worried, the Silverwind coming under attack and no word from you at all."
"Kira was good company, I wasn't lonely or afraid." She replied.
Athrun extended his hand towards the Strike. "Kira! Come with us! There's no reason for you to be with the Naturals, fighting against your brethren!"
Kira squashed the uncertainty in his heart. "I can't! I don't want to fight, but I do so to protect my friends!" he lowered his voice to such a quiet whisper that not even the transmitter picked it up. "And someone I deeply care for is onboard that ship."
"Then I have no other choice Kira!" his voiced hardened. "The next time we meet on the battlefield I'll shoot you." He vowed.
"Don't expect an easy fight Athrun." Kira growled back and closed his cockpit doors.
"Kira!" Lacus called out. "Thank you for returning me to my fiancé!"
Blue thruster wash answered her as Kira sped off, heading back to the Archangel. "Let's go home Lacus." Athrun said.
>>>
"You are one lucky son of a bitch Kira; I was fully expecting ZAFT to attack as soon as you handed her over." Mu said, half scolding and half congratulation the young Coordinator.
"What are we going to do with you?" Natarle demanded. "Commandeering a mobile suit and whisking away a valuable hostage back to the enemy is grounds for a court martial and even the death penalty. Treason is not lightly forgiven."
The blood drained from Kira's face at the thought of his own execution.
"Fortunately for you Kira, we have no authority to try you as a civilian, but I do not suggest pulling another stunt like that ever again. Are we clear?" Murrue added her tone frosty.
"Crystal clear ma'am." Kira replied, genuinely afraid of Murrue for the first time.
"Dismissed." Kira was thankful and left as quickly as he could. "Natarle is right; we have just lost a bargaining chip that could have gotten us to Alaska with troubles."
"The Kid was just doing what was right in his heart. I don't blame him; I would have done the same thing if I was his age." Mu said. "So I guess we're back to my wits, your commands and the crew's abilities to save us."
'We're doomed' Natarle thought.
>>>
Kira made his way to his room and thumbed the door open. "Kira!" someone called out. He turned around just as Miriallia crashed into him, her momentum carrying both of them into his room, allowing the door to close.
"I was worried." She said, wrapping her arms around his chest.
"I told you I'd come back." He said pulling her in close.
"I never doubted you for a second." They kissed and the world was swept away.
A/N: Thought you'd never see me again eh? Guess again! Mwuhaha!
Sorry. I haven't updated NfL since the end of October, right before the NaNo began. When the NaNo was over, I found myself with a lack of will to write and a lack of sanity as well.
The ideas, they flowed. The words, they ran dry.
I wrote a V90-related one-shot to try and clear my head. That failed
I played F.E.A.R. to try and clear my head. That failed, and then my head was filled with images of the game.
I took a challenge for a Kira/Luna fic to inspire me. That failed, and now I have to get a Kira/Luna fic up and running.
I worked on Work Bytes, my website, I watched movies, and I even went out and did things in real life. How the mighty have fallen.
I read books, End Run from the Wing Commander series, Hard Contact from Star Wars.
And then I gazed upon it, Divergent Strike, the Gundam SEED novel. I bought it immediately (and just days before I had found the Gundam 0079 novel trilogy, but they don't ship to Canada).
Now you have an update of NfL.
Evidently you can see that I skipped a few things, but some things are not necessary for the direction that NfL will be going in. Until next time, please Review, a good review is like a meal for an aspiring author.
Prayer