Rey thought about the enemy battleship and the Exass. If they hadn't interfered, ZAFT would have captured the three thieves. Lunamaria wasn't so sure. She pointed out that the three stolen units had pretty good pilots. The four redcoats were still discussing about the skirmish when Captain Talia Gladys called for Athrun to come to her office.
By now, the Minerva was already in space. The incident on Armoury One meant that immediate action would have to be taken. The Chairman, along with the visitors from Orb, had come on board as well. After hearing about their friendship with Athrun Zala from Kira Yamato (The teen had asked if Athrun was on the ship as well.), the Chairman had asked for Athrun. He had no idea what the captain wanted from him. Shinn decided to tag along. He, too, was curious by the sudden command.
As the duo entered Glady's office, they saluted the captain and the Chairman. When Athrun did the same to Cagalli, the lady's face reddened. Kira greeted his best friend.
"Athrun, who are they," asked Shinn.
"This, is Cagalli Yula Athha, the Chief Represenative of Orb. As for the gentleman, he is Kira Yamato, my friend and comrade. He fought in the battle of Orb as well." Shinn saluted the two. However, he was curious about something.
"You fought in the battle too? Since you're in the Orb military, do you know of anyone who pilots this white coloured MS with red and blue streaks?"
"Why do you want to know," asked Kira. That vague description reminded him of his own unit.
"Well, that MS shielded us as we fled to the seaport. In fact, I insisted on joining ZAFT because of what that pilot did." Athrun had a smile as he remembered that moment.
"Shinn, that pilot is none other than Kira. The unit in question is the Freedom." Shinn stared at the older redcoat, then at Kira. The teen nodded.
As the younger boy thanked him profusely, Chairman Durandal was thinking about something.
"You are indeed someone special, Kira Yamato. By using your MS to protect the civilians, you have set a good example which other pilots should follow."
"Thank you, Chairman. It's nothing, really. In war, it's always the civilians who suffer the most." Kira's mind returned to that day on Heliopolis. Shinn nodded his agreement; if the Freedom had not shielded the civilians, he couldn't imagine what would have happened. The Chairman then led Cagalli and Kira on a visit around the ship. The Minerva was indeed the pride of ZAFT, thought the siblings. But their tour was was cut short by the sighting of the Girty Lue...
After a few battles with the Girty Lue and the stolen units (During one of them, Kira came up with a plan to help the ZAFT forces), the Minerva detected movement from Junius Seven, which was supposed to be in a stable orbit. A rogue ZAFT force, which supported the radical policies of ex-Chairman Zala, piloted GINN High Maneuver Type II units to plant engines all over the colony's remains, sending it on a collision course with Earth. The Minerva decided to deploy her MSes to aid the Joule team, whom had been dispatched to stop the rogue force. Kira, too, was allowed to pilot a ZAKU warrior to help out.
During the battle, Athrun couldn't understand why there were still people who believed in his father's crazy ideals. Patrick had formulated them out of grief and manipulation from Rau Le Creuset. Ever since his resignation, he had become a warmer person, and his friendship with Siegel Clyne had strengthened. If he was here, Athrun knew that Patrick would not have approved of this. However, words were no longer of use now. Junius 7 must not reach Earth's surface, thought the redcoat.
Despite all that had been done, the terrorists were largely successful. Pieces of the colony destroyed Philadelphia, Quebec City, part of the Great Wall of China, Shanghai, and other locations, while those which hit the sea caused massive tidal waves. Athrun slammed his fist on the console. Besides the insult on his mother's memory, the fact that there had been massive civilian casualties made his blood boil.
Shinn's anger was directed towards the Girty Lue and its crew. Without its attack on the Minerva, they could have saved more people. He swore that he would make the enemy battleship pay for it someday...
Afterthoughts
-Please RnR! Again, I have NEVER watched this part of the GSD anime.