Phase 9 - "ZGMF-86R GM III"

"We will land part of our forces on Earth, and the rest will stay in orbit around the Equator. After the Earth Forces send the rest of their troops to Panama, we'll attack. Has everyone got that?" Patrick Zala snapped, glaring out at the large group of ZAFT commanders and captains. All present nodded. Those who were stationed on Earth would receive the transmission shortly, and make plans accordingly. Dismissing the troops, the new Chairman sat back and sighed. Now that Siegel Cline was gone, and his family in lockdown, he was free to do what he wished. Any opposition was crushed, including his opponents on the PLANT Supreme Council. The replacement Councilman for Cline was a man by the name of Gilbert Dullindal.

"Sir, Commander Le Creuset is here for his appointment."

"Send him in."

The large doors hissed open and the masked Coordinator stepped in, followed closely by two guards. Saluting, the Commander spoke.

"You wanted to see me, Chairman Zala?" Rau had a feeling that Zala wasn't too happy about him having a Natural on board a ZAFT vessel. Personally, he didn't mind, but the man knew some of his crew did. Rusty and Miguel in particular hated Naturals, but they had slowly adjusted to having Murrue on board. Yzak seemed to be getting along with her as well, now that she was helping design Rei's new GM. The other pilots were quite nice to Murrue, and Nicol was good friends with her.

"Commander, I want to address the issue of you having a Natural on your ship. You know by the new law that all Naturals in ZAFT are to be either killed, put in jail, or sent to the nearest Earth Forces base. Why do you still have one with you!" the last sentence was almost shouted as Patrick Zala stood up, face red with anger. The two guards stiffened, waiting to hear what the Commander's reply would be.

"I keep her on board because she is a welcome addition to my mechanic crew. Besides," he said with a shrug, "the Natural isn't allowed to leave the ship, so she is already a prisioner. The only areas she has access to are the hanger, cafeteria, and her quarters. In the halls she always is escorted with armed guards" Rau conveniently forgot to mention that Ramius' quarters were connected to his by a door. The Coordinator felt that if Patrick Zala knew that Murrue and himself were close, the Chairman would execute them both.

The Chairman nodded slowly, thinking. Le Creuset's explanation was solid, and Zala didn't want to press that matter further. As long as the Natural was kept out of the way, there was no reason why she couldn't stay on board…Making a face at the thought, the chairman sighed and sat back down.

"I suppose you're right…but if I hear of any problems with your pet Natural, she's going to the nearest jail as fast as I can get her there. Understand?"

"Of course, Chairman Zala. I'll be sure to keep an eye on her." Saluting, Le Creuset turned and headed out, the two soldiers trailing behind.

- - -

"So what are we gonna call the new GM?"

"Well, since it took us three designs to get this one, why don't we call it GM III?" This came from Murrue Ramius, who stood alongside the other mechanics, all staring down at the blueprint for the new machine. They had all worked hard on this new model, using data from the destroyed GM Cannon and the Duel Gundam to design the machine.

"She has a point there…" the others nodded, agreeing with Murrue. Although distant at first, the all-male mechanic squad soon warmed up to the Natural after she showed her skill in engineering.

"Right then! This here GM will be called ZGMF-86R GM III! Let's get to work buildn' it!" Chuckling, the group dispersed to begin their assigned duty. Having nothing to work on, Murrue exited the hanger to find Nicol waiting for her. Returning his warm smile, the pair turned and headed towards the sick bay, the female mechanic carrying the blueprint of the GM III.

"So, how is the planning coming along?" the green-haired teen asked, glancing the roll of paper she carried.

"We're all done. The others are going to start building it now. If all goes as planned, it should be done in about a week."

"That's good. Rei will be happy to hear that. She's been bugging the doctors to let her go, saying that she's fine, a little scratch won't kill her, etc. Unfortunately," he added with a soft laugh, "the doctors aren't buying it, so Rei's stuck in there for a bit longer." Grinning, Nicol continued with his story.

"Dearka, Yzak and me were in the locker room checking our suits, and we could hear Rei yelling from the other side of the ship! Dearka didn't do anything, but Yzak and I rushed off to the sick bay to see what was going on. By the time we arrived, the medical staff had managed to calm her down a bit, although several of the doctors had bloody noses and some scratches."

Murrue smiled and nodded, believing him. Although Rei was usually cold around her, she had heard stories of the Coordinator's legendary temper. Luckily, Ramius had always done her best to stay on the pilot's good side, knowing full well how she hated Naturals.

Turning a corner, the pair stopped as Yzak exited the medical area. Catching sight of them, he smiled at Nicol, and gave a slight nod to Murrue. Drifting over, the teen grabbed the railing to steady himself, then spoke.

"Rei's resting at the moment, so you can't go in. If you have anything to give her, you'll have to let the doctor take it." Sensing that Yzak didn't want her around, the female mechanic left the two pilots and headed for the sick bay door, intending to give the blueprints to the doctor.

"Ah, Ms. Ramius, are you here to visit Rei?"

Murrue stopped as she heard the voice of Le Creuset. Spinning around to face him, she gave the ZAFT salute and a greeting.

"Hello Commander, Yes, I'm here to see Rei." Also spotting him, Nicol, and Yzak echoed Murrue's salute and greeting. Rau nodded to the two soldiers, and gave a soft smile to her.

"Well, Rei is resting at the moment, but the doctors have allowed me in. Would you like me to deliver the blueprints of the new GM?" Le Creuset asked, floating up beside her. The mechanic blinked in surprise, wondering how he knew about the document she was carrying.

"Yes please, sir." Murrue replied, handing over the roll of paper. He accepted it with a nod and another smile, calling out, "Nicol, Yzak, you may go prepare for our next mission. Tell the others to meet in the briefing room at 17:00 hours."

"Yes sir!" Both elite soldiers drifted down the corridor, chatting. Without another word, the commander went through the sick bay doors, leaving Ramius to wait outside. She knew better than to leave; Le Creuset had told her about the new laws regarding Natural prisoners. Besides, he had dismissed Nicol and Yzak, so he was probably going to escort her back to her quarters.

- - -

A put a Gundam Seed Destiny reference in this phase if anyone can find it. About the model code of the GM III: ZAFT always uses the letters ZGMF to start the code, and I just added part of the original code on at the end. The real model code for the GM III was RGM-86R GM III.