"Here we are, Alaska at last," said Arnold Newmann with a smile as he steered the Archangel in the direction of JOSH-A. Although they had not entered the dock yet, they had established communications with the base. As expected, the general mood of the crew was buoyant. But Murrue Ramius knew that at JOSH-A, she will have a lot of explaining to do for the Archangel's actions so far. She sighed at the thought of facing the senior officers during the inquiry.
Natarle Badgiruel looked back at her captain. The first mate was still pondering her options. She could either report objectively everything that has happened, or help Ramius cover up some "errors". She knew that as a military officer, hiding information was wrong; as a friend, she wanted to help the captain too. Despite her differences with Murrue, she hated the thought of leaving the Archangel, even to become a captain of her own ship. La Flaga was right: the two of them worked best with each other. She turned her gaze to everyone on the bridge. The attack at Heliopolis had made them a team, and she resolved to stick with them until the war ended. She thought for a while, and smiled. She had a perfect excuse for her superiors should they wish to transfer her...
"Archangel, this is Alaska Command Base. You're clear to dock at Pier 102."
"Alaska, we copy that," replied Chandra. The Archangel was safe at last, thought everyone on board.
In his office at JOSH-A, Colonel William Sutherland was thinking about the upcoming inquiry concerning the crew of the Archangel. He was secretly infuriated that a Coordinator was wearing the uniform of the EAF. Still, the Archangel did manage to recapture the Aegis from ZAFT. This makes it difficult for him to blast the captain and her crew. Nevertheless, Sutherland made up his mind to give the crew a tough time...
Kira tugged of the collar of his uniform. It was the first time he was wearing a formal EAF officer's uniform (complete with the cap in his hand), and the teen was clearly unused to the outfit. La Flaga decided to tease him a little.
"Don't worry, Skinny. The uniform will be the least of your worries later on," he said half-jokingly. He knew that there are many Atlantic Federation officers in JOSH-A. If one of them was to lead the inquiry, they would not hesitate to put Kira through the grinder.
Murrue and Natarle looked at each other. They had not discussed what they would say during the inquiry. Looks like I'll have to play it by ear, thought the 2 ladies to themselves. The crew was summoned for the inquiry almost immediatly after the Archangel had finished her settling down in JOSH-A. As such, they didn't have much time to prepare their defence.
As expected, the conference room was empty. The officers seated themselves in the front row, while the rest of the official crew sat behind them. As they waited, everyone had only one hope: the crew would not be forced to leave the EAF or be transferred to other places.
william Sutherland and the other senior officers entered the room. The crew stood up and saluted them. The colonel and the other officers returned the salute. After they had all been seated, the inquiry began.
As Murrue had expected, Colonel Sutherland brought out the losses which the Archangel had caused so far: Heliopolis, Artemis and the Eighth Fleet, among others. With help from Kira and La Flaga, she had tried to defend the actions the ship had undertaken. Though he did not show it, Murrue could tell that the colonel lost his patience whenever Kira stood up to rebuke a point.
Kira, on his part, was reminded of everything he had wanted to put behind him. When he saw the image of the Strike firing the beam cannon which accelerated the destruction of his former home, the teen nearly broke down. La Flaga, sensing Skinny's distress, placed his hand on Kira's lap. The teen calmed down, and was able to give his side of the story, much to the annoyance of Sutherland.
La Flaga himself was getting worked up by Sutherland's accusations. The bastard's out to fix Murrue and Skinny, he thought. He had to remind himself not to walk up to the colonel and give him a punch or two.
Natarle remained silent throughout the whole thing. Headquarters had apparently done their homework and she had nothing to add to the events which Sutherland had pointed out. However, she was dismayed by the intensity of the colonel's grilling. Still, it should mean that her excuse would be more likely to work.
Sutherland was displeased by what he was hearing. Although he had wanted to embarrass the captain for her "misdeeds", her crew, especially that blasted Coordinator kid, jumped to her defence everytime. It occured to him that he will have to break up her core team. La Flaga and Badgiruel will be transferred away, along with George Allster's daughter. The young girl will be useful for drumming up the troops' anti-Coordinator feelings, thought William; the Coordinator can stay with the Archangel for all he cared.
After what seems to be an eternity, the inquiry finally came to an end. The senior officers were apparently satisfied with the testimonies provided. But before he walked out of the room, William Sutherland gave Kira a hard look. Kira looked away from the man; it would be unwise to stare back. After the last one had left, the crew broke out in sighs of relief. Looks like they're cleared, for now...
Rau Le Creuset looked at his 3 charges. Their little break had been good for them, he mused. Yzak was a little calmer now, Dearka couldn't wait to resume work and even Nicol seemed to be eager to take another shot at the enemy. Rau smiled.
"Surely by now, the three of you have already been notified about your involvment in Spitbreak?"
The three pilots nodded. Their parents have told them that Operation Spitbreak was officially approved by the Supreme Council.
"This is an important mission. It'll be a perfect place for the 3 of you to display your skills as Red Coats of ZAFT."
"Yes, Commander," replied the three.
"Commander, will Athrun be joining us," asked Nicol. He hadn't seen the older teen for quite some time now.
"Nicol, Athrun is no longer part of the team. But, according to the defence chairman, he remains in ZAFT. Who knows, he might distinguish himself in Spitbreak to make up for his defeat the last time," said Le Cresuet in his silky smooth voice, complete with just the slightest tinge of sarcasm.
Nicol was secretly hoping for Athrun to be in Spitbreak. In combat, he liked to hang around Athrun. Also, he wanted to help make sure that the older teen returned after the mission, unlike the last time. He still felt bad that he had left Athrun behind.
By now, Dearka and Yzak had largely gotten Athrun out of their minds. Their main concern now was to do well in Spitbreak. They knew that the commander will be watching them.
As for Rau, his smile grew wider when he thought about his plans for the operation. The 3 pilots, and the rest of ZAFT, will be in for some major shocks, he told himself...
"What," exclaimed Murrue Ramius.
"Those are orders from Headquarters, Captain. Ensign Badgiruel, Lieutenant Commander La Flaga and Flay Allster will be transfered from the Archangel," said the officer impatiently. He had better things to do than entertain any business on official transfer orders.
Murrue decided to let it go. Since the orders came from the top, it is unlikely that she can reverse them. By now, the individuals mentioned had already received word that they are leaving the Archangel. None had liked the news, especially Flay, whose questioning of the order got on the officer's nerves. After she was left alone, she decided to tell Kira about her transfer.
"I guess there's nothing we can do," said Kira sadly. Birdy, perched on Kira's shoulder, looked at its master blankly.
"Promise me you'll wait for me." said Flay.
"I will," replied the boy as he gave Flay a hug.
Natarle knew that it was time for her to pay Colonel Sutherland a visit...
"Come in." Sutherland was going over some documents needed for the Archangel personnel transfer. He was surprised to see one of those involved standing before him now.
Natarle saluted the colonel. She then got straight to the point.
"Sir, I request to remain on board the Archangel."
"Oh? Give me one good reason why I should allow that."
"Sir, I'll keep an eye on Captain Ramius and Kira Yamato."
Sutherland sat up. This was an interesting development. He kicked himself for not thinking that Ramius may have been influenced by the Coordinator. If not checked, she may even stage a mutiny and hand the Archangel over to a third side.
"Very well, Ensign Badgiruel. You shall remain on board. If there's anything suspicious, let me know." To emphasize his point, he tore up Natarle's transfer papers.
"Thank you, Sir. May I have another request?"
"What is it?" Sutherland was curious about what the ensign wanted.
"Sir, can you let the Strike remain on board the Archangel?"
Sutherland thought about the idea. He didn't like the sound of their MS in the hands of a Coordinator; on the other hand, that's what the ensign was for: making sure that the Coordinator and the captain didn't try anything funny.
"The Strike can remain on board the Archangel, but the Aegis WILL accompany La Flaga to California." The colonel didn't mind the Aegis leaving the battlefield. He never thought of the G weapons as a decisive force in the field. Also, the Hawk did earn the right to take it along with him.
Natarle secretly heaved a sigh of relief. At least the Strike will be with the Archangel. She knew that the Aegis was less useful on Earth due to its inability to fly in MS mode. As for her added duties, Natarle didn't think much about them. Given her nature, Murrue wouldn't betray the EAF. For now, Natarle was just glad that she was back with the team.
"To make sure that your words carry more weight, Ensign, I've decided to promote you to Lieutenant J.G.." Colonel Sutherland's words jolted Natarle out of her thoughts. The colonel is really serious about using me as a watchdog, thought Natarle. As if to confirm that, the colonel continued, "I'll be making Arnold Newmann an Ensign as well. Being the pilot of the ship, it's best that you maintain good relations with him as a fellow officer. You never know when you'll have to use his expertise to get the Archangel back to the EAF."
The blatant mistrust of the colonel towards Murrue was getting on Natarle's nerves. The lady held her tongue, but the seeds of doubt had already been sowed.
Athrun was trying hard to concentrate. But, somehow, watching his fiancee performing on stage was a lot harder that trying out the Justice in a test run. He was falling asleep, just like the time during Nicol's piano recital. The only difference was that being in the front row seats with the rabid fans meant that he was given a hard knock from behind to wake him up. He turned around but couldn't spot the offender. He then focused his attention on the songs Lacus was singing. Besides her looks, her voice is definitely different, even for average Coordinators, thought Athrun.
Finally, the concert came to an end. Although Athrun had enjoyed himself, he just wasn't used to attending such functions. And with Spitbreak coming up, he knew that his break was about to end. But, everything had gone well: He's well rested and prepared for combat, and his relationship with Lacus was vastly better than before. He decided to wait outside the hall; those fans would surely crowd around Lacus like bees attracted to honey.
By the road, the teen stood waiting beside the sedan. When the Songstress finally emerged from the hall, she was swamped by throngs of teenagers. Athrun never worried about her safety; her bodyguards were more than competent to protect her, since they were choosen by Siegel himself from the best of the green shirts. The lady walked up to him. She smiled at Athrun.
"Miss Lacus, who's this guy," someone in the crowd shouted.
"He is Athrun Zala, my fiance," replied Lacus, and before Athrun knew it, the Pink Princess planted a kiss on his cheek. The crowd went wild instantly. Recovering from his surprise, he opened the door for Lacus.
As the couple got into the car, Lacus noticed Athrun's blushing. After the sedan moved off, Lacus decided to get his mind off the incident by talking about his departure for Spitbreak. Athrun couldn't tell her anything about the details. But he assured Lacus that he will be alright.
"Don't forget what I'll be piloting," said Athrun with a sense of pride. The Justice stood for his ideals: to seek redress for his mother's death and to defend the rights of all Coordinators. In a weird way, he wondered what Kira would say if he was given a chance to pilot the Freedom. Lacus wasn't really worried about Athrun. She had faith in him, and just needed to talk to him. This is the man I'll marry, she thought. The wedding, she hoped, would be held after the war, after peace and equality had returned to the Cosmic Era. Afterthoughts
-Please RnR!