Just so no one gests confused, this takes place the day of Phase 5. Yet another long chapter; this is 3 pages and a bit…they seem to be getting longer…R&R, please.
Phase 7 -"Mirror Image"
"We cannot allow the Earth Alliance to gain any more ground! We must stop them immediately!" the National Defense Committee Leader cried, glaring at the other eleven members of the PLANT Supreme Council.
"Council member Zala, while you do have a good point, the Earth Alliance outnumbers our forces and have much more territory than we do. It would be unwise to attack at random; although ZAFT would probably win, we would take heavy losses." replied the Council Chairman, Siegel Cline.
At that remark, most of the other Council members started to whisper, several glaring in anger at their Chairman. Included in that group were Ezalia Joule. A firm supporter of Patrick Zala's ideas, she disliked Chairman Cline. Her son, Yzak, was battling the Earth Forces with one of the stolen Gundams. She believed that everyone who opposed ZAFT should be crushed, and all the Naturals destroyed.
Sighing, Siegel leaned back, willing away the headache that was threatening to explode. Focused again, the Coordinator stood up, putting an end to the conversations going on around him.
"We will discuss the matter later. Right now, we have Commander Rau Le Creuset giving us a report about recent events." Turing, the man signaled to a ZAFT solider to escort the Commander in. Entering, the masked Coordinator strode up to the Council table and took a disk from his pocket. All eyes watched as he silently slipped the disk into a slot on the edge of the table. Straightening, Le Creuset gave the ZAFT salute to the entire Supreme Council.
"After stealing the Earth Alliance's Mobile Suits, we returned back to the PLANTs. As you should all remember, I gave a detailed report on the five Mobile Suits. Two days later, the Vesalius headed out to patrol the area near the Lunar Base. During that time, we happened to notice that the Base was firing on one of the colonies at Lagrange Point 1. Investigating, two of our pilots engaged with unknown Mobile Suits."
Pausing, Rau typed on the keyboard and pictures of the GM Command and the GM Sniper appeared on the screens in front of each Council member.
"At the time, we had no idea what these machines were, except that they looked similar to the Mobile Suits ZAFT pilots had captured. During the rest of our patrol, we did not see these machines again."
Stopping again, Le Creuset typed on the keyboard again, as voices filled the air.
"Are they with the Earth Alliance?"
"….what are they doing in space?….Who are the pilots?"
"I heard that those machines appeared on Earth…"
Glancing up, the masked man nodded to Chairman Cline, who stood up calling for silence. Quiet once more filled the room, all eyes fixed on Le Creuset. Shifting slightly, he continued.
"Several weeks ago, Commander Andrew Waltfeld was badly injured after engaging battle with another machine. This machine has only been sighted on Earth, not in space. Both pilots of the Custom BuCUE survived, although each will bear the marks of that battle for the rest of their lives.
Three days ago, Commander Marco Morassim and his team battled another of these mystery machines. The machine was destroyed; but the pilot was captured and held for questioning. Unfortunately, the same machine that battled Commander Waltfeld and what appears to be another Gundam hijacked the submarine and forced Commander Morassim and his crew to evacuate. The pilot of the downed machine was left behind. Since then, no reports of these machines have come in."
Finished with his report, Le Creuset fell silent, waiting for the Council's reaction. He had chosen to wait until later to ask the Supreme Council about his prisoner's request; Rau had a feeling that the Council members were too busy absorbing this new information.
"This is an outrage! How could the Earth Alliance develop these things!" roared Patrick Zala. Several others who supported him nodded in agreement.
"We have no indication that the Earth Alliance is behind this." said Yuri Amalfi. "Besides, why would the Lunar Base attack a neutral colony? That's not like them." Once again, other Council members nodded, Chairman Cline among them.
"I agree with Council member Amalfi. These machines could be part of a completely different organization. One was seen with a Gundam…maybe they are all with the group that has the Gundam." Siegel Cline said, scanning the faces of the other Council members. The majority looked like they agreed with him only a few appeared to support Patrick Zala.
"I vote that the ZAFT troops keep an eye out for these machines, and when possible engage in battle with them. All who agree, raise your hand."
Nine of the twelve Council members raised their hands. Most were Moderates, several were even Radicals, usually supporters of Patrick Zala; Le Creuset noted.
"Alright, the vote is passed. Commander, do you have anything else?" Cline said, shifting to look the man in the face. The Supreme Council Chairman had known Le Creuset most of his life; ever since the man arrived at the PLANTs, in fact. During that time, Siegel had never seen him without the distinctive facemask. The other Council members had started to whisper and move around, anxious to be done with the meeting.
"Actually, I do have a small request…." Total silence filled the room. Very rarely had the Commander asked anything of the Council; whatever it was, the issue was obviously important, thought Cline.
"I still have the prisioner that one of my soldiers captured at Heliopolis. After some questioning, she revealed that she used to be a mechanic for the Earth Alliance. With the Council's permission, I would like to have her skills in my hanger. My ship is short several mechanics, and I believe that the prisioner would be an immense help." Falling silent, Le Creuset waited for the decision.
Silence ruled for several seconds, then came an explosion of voices.
"Absolutely not! She might be working for the Earth Alliance as a spy! If we allowed this prisoner access to our Mobile Suits, she could give the data to the Earth Forces!" this outburst came from Patrick Zala. Few others in the room seemed to agree with him, though.
"Yes, what an excellent idea! This prisioner might be able to help improve our knowledge of the Earth Forces' ships."
"The captive might be helpful to the other pilots….as a morel boost, maybe?"
The discussion continued along these line for another few minutes, Patrick Zala and Ezalia Joule trying helplessly to complain. Finally, Chairman Cline called for a vote. Everyone but Zala and Joule agreed with the idea.
"Alright, Commander, you may use the Natural prisoner in your hanger." finished Chairman Cline. Saluting, Le Creuset turned and exited the meeting room. Once outside the dark room, Rau breathed a soft sigh of relief. He had hoped the Supreme Council would grant his request….the masked man had a feeling that Murrue would be happy with the decision. After all, she would be getting out of that cell.
"Commander! Over here!" Turing, he saw that Yzak and Nicol were both waiting for him, along with another ZAFT soldier. Walking over, Rau was surprised to see that the other soldier was a female, and that she wore the patch of Commander Yun Law. After exchanging salutes, the female spoke.
"My name is Rei Valaki. Sir, I've been assigned to your team. All I need is a new uniform with your team patch and someone to help me move into my new quarters."
Nodding, Le Creuset turned to his two Gundam pilots. Nicol would probably be pleased with the Council's ruling, Yzak would be furious. Like his mother, the young solider hated Naturals with a passion. Right now though, the silver haired boy seemed more interested in the newest crew member to ask how the meeting had went.
"Nicol, I want you to help Murrue Ramius into her new quarters. She is now an official member of our crew."
"Yes sir, I'll do it right away." Saluting again, the quiet teen turned and headed off in the direction of the Vesalius.
Yzak had taken little notice of what his Commander had said. Ever since meeting Rei, he had felt…odd. Rei had coal black hair and bright green eyes. She was dressed in the standard ZAFT soldier outfit: green uniform with black at the shoulders, neck, cuffs and ankles. He, on the other hand, wore the elite ZAFT outfit. The only difference from the standard was that the green was changed to a deep red colour. When Le Creuset spoke, Yzak focused on his commander.
"Yzak, I want you to help Rei set up in her quarters. After that, take he on a tour of the Vesalius."
"Yes sir!" Both soldiers replied. Turning, Yzak led Rei to the ship, striking up a conversation. He felt a strange urge to know more about her…
Smiling, Rau decided to walk around for a bit. He hadn't been back to the PLANTs for more than three months, ever since the attack on Heliopolis. While wandering, he thought about Murrue. Rau had been feeling more attached to her every day, but he had no idea why. After she was a Natural…why should he have feelings for her? Then again…he wasn't what he appeared to be. Oh no, although Le Creuset was a Coordinator, he had a dark secret….Chuckling softly to himself, the masked man turned his thoughts to what Murrue looked like.
While he had wavy blonde hair, she had straight dark brown hair. Murrue also had chocolate colored eyes, unlike him. Rau was tall and slightly muscular, while she was slim and had a good figure. Rau sensed that she was strong-willed and could be stubborn at times; but she had yet to show these qualities to him. He just knew that they were there, hidden.
- - -
Yes, the Junk Guild normally only fights to protect themselves, but I decided to change it around a bit. I haven't seen Le Creuset's eyes yet in the anime, but if he follows the pattern of previous masked men, he should have blue eyes….but since I don't know that for a fact, I didn't add it.