Talia Gladys and the crew at the Minerva's bridge was dumbstruck by the data gathered by the ship's instruments. It seemed that this time, the EAF was for real. To make matters worse, the massive fleet was split in two, and they were closing the Minerva in a pincher move. Although she had been through some tough battles, for the first time, the captain doubted if they would come out of this alive.
As Luna prepared to launch in her ZAKU Warrior, Meyrin spoke into the intercom.
"Sister, please be careful. There're a lot of them this time." The red coat cringed. Her sister had never warned her like this before.
When the battle broke out, there was no holding back on both sides. Athrun's worries about the Murasame turned out to be all too real; the MS attack groups nearly overwhelmed the Minerva. AS Meyrin watched in horror, her sister's unit was destroyed on deck. To her immense relief, Lunamaria survived, but was badly wounded. Even Rey's ZAKU Phantom was damaged.
The two FAITH pilots were reminded of the battle of Orb, where the EA had threw wave after wave of MSes at them. Shinn was holding his ground with his friends. When he received word that Luna was injured, the teen decided that "playtime's over". The Impulse surged towards the Abyss. Auel Neider, who had a low opinion of his enemy so far, was shocked when the beam javelin was stabbed directly into the abdomen of the Abyss. As the unit crashed into the sea, Shinn thought about the enemy pilot.
"You may be good, but I'm better," mumbled the the ace to himself.
As usual, the Chaos was hard pressed against the Saviour. With the Abyss destroyed, Sting decided to retreat. The ZAFT pilots then proceeded to sink the EA fleet ship by ship. The commander of the fleet gave the order to withdraw. Although it was only one ship, the Minerva had bested them yet again.
The ship had survived their latest battle, but barely. Both the catapults, part of the mobile suit hangar, the main deck and most of the upper armor were damaged. Even the Freedom and the Saviour had been scratched. In her damaged state, the Minerva managed to limp to her destination.
When the leader of LOGOs received word of this latest failure, he wanted to start a tirade at his subordinates' incompetence. He stopped himself; his latest grant to Phantom Pain should be able to turn the tables this time round. Also, it would be a warning to Orb and other allies of ZAFT...
With Stellar Loussier as its pilot, the GFAS-X1 Destroy began its rampage. The massive mobile suit completely leveled several cities in Western Eurasia (which were former Eurasian Federation territories that had sided with ZAFT), along with the ZAFT forces which engaged it. The rest of the Earth Alliance knew that this would be the consequence should they ally with the PLANTs. Orb, however, was not to be cowed into submission. After checking with the Chairman the status of the Minerva, Cagalli decided to put the Archangel and its complement of mobile suits on standby, ready for deployment at any time. Coincidently, an old friend of the ship decided to pay the Representative a visit. After some catching up, Cagalli decided to take her guest to the Archangel...
Murrue Ramius was curious about Cagalli's sudden decision to visit the Archangel. Her curiousity turned into surprise (along with the rest of the crew) when the Representative presented her guest, and the latest crew member of the ship.
"Miriallia? What are you doing here?" Before the lady could answer, La Flaga had spotted the ring on her finger.
"You're attached, eh?"
"One question at a time, Lt. Commander..."
"It's Captain, by the way. Also, she's a major now," noted La Flaga half-jokingly, cocking his thumb at Murrue.
"Not to forget, our first mate here's a captain too, though she has yet to get her own ship."
"It's my choice to stay on board the Archangel, Captain La Flaga," replied Natarle, with a heavy dose of disdain in her voice. Miriallia shook her head. Some things just never change, she thought.
"Anyway, I've been a freelance photographer all this while, logging events such as the damage caused by Junius 7 and Lacus Clyne's promotional appearance on Earth." At the mention of "Lacus", Cagalli couldn't help but sigh. Milly, however, dropped a bombshell.
"She's not the real one, is she?" The Archangel's crew stared at the girl. Despite their misgivings about the slight differences between the Lacus on TV and the Lacus they knew, the crew had kept such thoughts to themselves. When Cagalli nodded, the bridge was full of whispers and discussion. The officers looked at their Representative. An explanation was in order.
"There was an attempt on Lacus's life earlier on. At Athrun's request, she, along with former Chairmen Clyne and Zala, were sent to Orb to go into hiding. The Eternal was supposed to be here as well, but I sent Andy off together with some of our ships. They're somewhere in space now, establishing a base away from ZAFT's eyes."
"So, Orb doesn't trust Durandal," commented La Flaga. Cagalli nodded again.
"Even as allies of ZAFT, there are some things which should remain hidden." The officers had a hard time convincing themselves that the loud, brash girl whom they remembered was now a shrewd, calculating leader. To emphasize that point, Cagalli reminded them that officially, Orb and PLANT were still allies. That fact wouldn't change, for the time being. Also, what they had just heard was best forgotten. To change the subject, La Flaga noted Milly's ring again.
"You still haven't explained this, young lady."
"When Tolle knew of my intention to rejoin the Archangel, he asked to marry me. Although I refused, he insisted that I wear this. He said that should anything happen, at least he did help put a ring on me."
"No one's going to die. That, I proomise," said Murrue firmly. Mu and Natarle nodded their agreement.
"The Archangel won't let Tolle become a widower, right," laughed the Hawk. Ignoring the jibe, Miriallia Haw saluted her captain.
"Ensign Miriallia Haw, reporting for duty!"
"Welcome back, Ensign," said Murrue as she returned the salute. Milly pulled La Flaga aside.
"So, how are things between you and the captain?" Mu tried not to blush.
"I'm working on it." Miriallia grinned. As the pair looked at Murrue, the lady was wondering what the fuss was all about.
At Gibraltar, Talia Gladys wanted a constant update on the Minerva's repair schedule. With every minute lost, more innocent people were getting killed. As the redcoats viewed footage of the destruction caused by the Destroy, they vowed to take it down at all costs.
The Destroy was intercepted once more by ZAFT over the city of Berlin. The division there was no match for the Destroy's massive and numerous energy weapons, as well as its multiple positron shields. The city itself was burning to the ground. To the crew's relief, the Minerva was fully operational once again. Together with the Archangel, she would take on the enemy MS in the city.
As the Archangel set off for Berlin, Murrue and Natarle discussed about their target. La Flaga had only one thing to say.
"That monster is a walking fortess. Without Skinny and his team, we can forget about touching it."
The ladies nodded their agreement. Miriallia sighed.
"After fighting against his kind the last time round, Kira has become a part of ZAFT's elite. He must be enjoying himself there."
"I wouldn't be so sure," mused La Flaga with a mysterious smile. Somehow, he believed that the teen would like nothing more than to fight alongside the Archangel again if given the chance.
Once the two ships had established contact with each other, the battle commenced. As expected, the Destroy was not alone. The EAF had assigned a sizeable force to aid the MS. Talia ordered the Impulse and the Freedom to take on the giant, while the ship and the rest of the units engage the escorting troops. The Archangel would also concentrate on the escorts.
After La Flaga had launched in his Murasame, he had that sensation again. This time, he managed to make out who had caused the strange feeling: Skinny and another ZAFT redcoat. As he wondered about the two, he had one conclusion: Kira's team mate definitely had connections with his "brother".
The Destroy was giving Kira and Shinn a big headache. Realising that beam weapons were useless against it, the Impulse charged right in front of the monster, and in a single stroke, cut open the cockpit. When he paused to take a look at who the pilot was, he was in for a rude shock.
"Stellar?"
"What was that? Shinn, what's going on," questioned Kira. He had noticed the Impulse halting its attacks.
"Stellar's the pilot of the Destroy!"
"Shinn, stay with her, and calm her down. If she berserks, she will had to be taken out!" The Freedom flew off to engage the enemy elsewhere. The pilot knew that Kira was right. Should Stellar lost control of herself, she would not be spared.
With the Destroy stopped, its escorts decided to flee the battlefield.
The captains of the Minerva and the Archangel acknowledged each other's contributions. However, both of them knew that winning the battle was only the beginning. The relief efforts had to be started by them, the people on the ground. Also, Gladys was able to report to the Chairman that the Destroy was largely intact, along with the pilot. To her surprise, Gilbert gave orders to recover the remains of the MS.
By now, Shinn had managed to coax Stellar out of the Destroy. As the tech crew began the recovery, the couple looked at the silent giant. Without warning, the lady fainted. Shinn carried her back to the Minerva.
At the sick bay, the teen waited anxiously outside while the rest of the Reds accompanied him. Those of the crew not on duty were busy helping out the civilian survivors of the battle. After the doctor checked out the patient, he had ill news.
"It seemed that she's now even more reliant on the drugs needed to keep her alive. If she doesn't get them, it's only a matter of time." Despite herself, Gladys put her foot down. As an enemy combatant, Stellar would not be handed back to the EAF. Knowing very well that her pilots might repeat their rescue, she ordered additional guards to be stationed in the area. After reassurances from the older boys that they wouldn't try anything funny, she allowed Shinn to keep a bedside vigil for the girl. As Shinn looked at Stellar, he knew that even if he could get her out of the ship, she might not survive the trip back to the EAF.
As there was nothing more they could do on board the Minerva, the FAITH pilots decided to help out outside. Berlin had nearly been erased from the surface of the Earth; the fires were still burning among the ruins. Although they felt sympathy for the girl who was near death, they were also outraged by the destruction she had caused...
"Is he still inside," asked Athrun. A guard on duty nodded. The sun was about to set, and the duo had returned on board for a break and to check up on their friend. Meanwhile, Shinn was dozing off when the patient opened her eyes. Upon hearing her weak calls, the boy quickly woke up.
"Shinn... protected... me," mumbled the girl with a smile. As a single tear flowed down her pale cheek, Shinn didn't know what to make of this. To his horror, Stellar closed her eyes and her arm went limp. He gave a cry of help. The doctor and the redcoats waiting outside rushed into the room. After some checks, the doctor proceeded to pull the white sheet over Stellar. The teen pushed him away. He refused to believe that the girl he had swore to protect, was dead. One of the guards outside went to fetch the captain.
When Gladys arrived, Shinn was still making a scene in the bay. Despite calls from the captain and the others, the teen couldn't calm down. Kira could no longer stand it. He strode up to his friend and gave him a hard punch, sending him to the floor.
"Enough!" Those present stared at the FAITH pilot. Even Athrun couldn't remember him being this angry before.
"Don't think that you're the only one here who had lost your loved one to war. Athrun's mother died during the Bloody Valentine, along with countless others. What makes your loss any more painful than theirs?" Shinn could only nurse his bruised cheek as he looked at his friend. Unknown to the younger teen, Kira was coming to terms with his own loss that happened at Jachin Due.
"Also, we are the elite of ZAFT. If we were lesser men, perhaps, we could do what you just did, but we wear this," shouted Kira, pointing to the redcoat. Shinn looked down at the floor, ashamed of himself. Although it was alright to grieve, what he had done so far merely made a fool out of himself. The team leader comforted Kira.
"I'm fine," said Kira softly. He had calmed down after his outburst. As for Shinn, he cried softly to himself. Despite Stellar's words, he had failed to keep his promise. It would be something he would never forget.
After the captain gave her consent, Shinn carried Stellar's body to a nearby lake. Following behind, were Athrun and Kira. As the boy let Stellar slowly sink to the bottom of the lake, the FAITH pilots saluted. It was their way of showing respect to the death of a combatant, even though she had been their enemy.
Back in the PLANTs, the Chairman had been preparing his speech. Also, he ordered the crew of the Minerva to keep him updated on their progress with the drawing up of the Destroy's plans. Once he had received them, he went to bed, a plan forming in his mind. Tommorrow would be a busy day...
Afterthoughts
-Please RnR!