"Ladies, are you done yet," called out the Lion. Kisaka stood up straighter. He wondered who this friend of Cagalli's could be.
"Just another moment, Lord Athha," replied a lady's voice. That must be the guest, thought Kisaka. The door of a nearby room clicked open.
Kisaka had to bite his lip to stop himself from laughing. Cagalli was in a dress more flowery than any she had ever worn before. The girl next to her, despite her cargo pants and T-shirt (complete with a cap), looked more lady-like than Cagalli. Kisaka looked at her snow-white complexion and demeanour. Now, this is how a princess should look like, thought the colonel.
Lord Uzumi was bemused by the girls' dressings. Cagalli had insisted that Lacus wear her usual clothings if she was to wear a dress. Gamely, the Pink Princess had agreed. As it turned out, it seemed that no matter what you do, you cannot turn a princess into a tomboy, or vice versa for that matter.
"Lord Athha, I'll like to visit the factory," requested Lacus. Kisaka was amazed by her gentle voice. He was now very curious of his charge's identity.
"Of course. Kisaka." The escort then showed the ladies to his car. The three then headed for Onogoro. On the trip there, Cagalli decided to keep the giant updated.
"Ledonir, Kira and the Archangel are now part of the Orb military."
"Is that the case?" Kisaka was surprised. How could the Archangel have left the EAF so easily?
"Also... the Desert Tiger is here on Orb as well. He had defected from ZAFT."
Kisaka stopped the car by the roadside. He was stunned by Cagalli's words. Andrew Waltfeld, here, on Orb? He thought that the Tiger was killed by Kira in the desert. Cagalli explained that although he survived, he had lost his left eye, an arm and a leg. The colonel felt sorry for the man. Though he had torched Kisaka's hometown of Tassil, he had gotten more than what he deserved. Ledonir continued his driving.
At the factory, Kira was reconfiguring the Strike for another person's use. Sai Argyle was now its pilot. After he had told Murrue about the Freedom, he had also recommended that Sai replace him as the Strike's pilot. Kira would never forget the fact that Sai once stayed in a cell because of the MS. He didn't know how the teen had reacted to the news; he hadn't seen him yet.
Athrun sat by the side and observed his friend as he went about his task. The reunion had felt like a dream. Not too long ago, they were still fighting each other in space. Now, they would do battle as part of a team. But, this had come at a price. He had disgraced his father and in return, the older Zala had disowned him. He hoped that he would be able to speak with his father again; he knew that the war would have to end if his wish was to come true.
"Hi, Kira," greeted Asagi Caldwell. Mayura Labatt and Julie Wu Nien were with her too. The three of them must be good friends, like Athrun and himself, thought the boy. They were always giggling and gossiping to each other. Their teasing of him and Cagalli always made Kira blush.
"Kira! Athrun," called out a familiar voice. As the two turned around, they didn't know who had called them. Sure, it was Lacus's voice, but all they saw was this pink-haired girl in a cap, T-shirt and cargo pants, and Cagalli in a dress. Wait a minute... The two pilots, along with the Astray girls, gathered around the odd pair. Kisaka wisely slowed his pace to stay behind them; he didn't like the idea of being swarmed by younger peers. The boys couldn't believe what they were seeing. Both had never seen Lacus dressed up like this before. As for Athrun, he couldn't imagine Cagalli in anything else other than her tomboy outfits. The two started to laugh.
Cagalli wanted to punch the boys, but Lacus reminded her, "You're a lady, remember? Don't ever be rough with anyone"
The girl gritted her teeth. Despite herself, she couldn't bring herself to hate Lacus. After all, it was her father who wanted her to be more lady-like.
After a good laugh, the two teens checked out the ladies.
"You look beautiful in this," said Athrun to Cagalli. The girl's face went crimson red.
"As for Lacus, I think you should use this as a disguise if you want to move around in Orb. No one will suspect you of being a VIP," wisecracked Kira.
"Gee, you really look good."
"Who are you? Are you a guest of Lady Cagalli's?"
"Can you tell us your beauty secrets?"
Lacus smiled shyly as the Astray pilots bombarded her with questions. Athrun decided to help his fiancee out of her tight spot.
"Ladies, she's my fiancee. Both of us came here to escape from my father, who wanted to keep us under house arrest for opposing the war."
"That's right. This gentleman here is Athrun Zala, son of PLANT Supreme Council Chairman Zala. The lady is Lacus Clyne, daughter of former Chairman Siegel Clyne," added Andrew Waltfeld. Caught up in their little commotion, no one saw the Desert Tiger walking towards them. Kisaka stiffened. The Tiger looked at the Colonel.
"You looked like you came from the desert," observed Andrew.
"My hometown was Tassil, and I was with the Archangel when it landed in your area," answered Kisaka. Both men looked at each other. Kira and Cagalli thought that the two might start a fight.
"Your name," asked the former ZAFT commander as he thrust out his hand.
"Ledonir Kisaka," replied the giant as he shook the Tiger's hand. He realised that the limb was cool to the touch.
"Now, we're on the same side. I look forward to working with you." With that, the Tiger walked away.
Kira, Athrun, Lacus and Cagalli sighed. It seemed to them that more work had to be done before old prejudices would fade away...
After the Battle of Porta Panama...
Lord Uzumi had gathered the officers of the Archangel and the Eternal in his residence for an emergency meeting. He wanted to hear the views of these "outsiders" (as how one lord described them during an unrelated meeting).
"As all of you might already know, Porta Panama has fallen into ZAFT hands." At this, Athrun and Andrew looked at the lord, but said nothing.
Uzumi continued, "I've called this meeting to ask your opinions on how this would affect Orb."
Natarle was the first to speak.
"Panama houses the EAF's last mass driver," she observed.
"Which means that the EA will look to Orb for their mass driver," said Andrew with a resigned tone.
"But Orb is a neutral country," pointed out Kira.
"Exactly. Those thugs in the EAF will think that it is easier to take the mass driver from Orb than from ZAFT. They expect Orb to give in without a tough fight," said the Tiger.
"That's where they would be wrong. After hearing your accounts when you first arrived here, Orb has stepped up her defences."
"The question is, my lord: How would they hold against a total onslaught by EAF forces," questioned Andrew. The rest of the group stared at him as though he was mad.
"We must assume that the EAF will stop at NOTHING to get their hands on the mass driver, which isn't that far off the mark. If they fail here, they'll have to face ZAFT as their next option."
Murrue thought about her forces. Sai had been trying to perfect his movements in the Strike, and the Aegis still couldn't fly in MS mode, much to La Flaga's chagrin. Given Orb's geography, only Kira in Freedom would have true mobility.
La Flaga voiced his concern to Uzumi. "Sir, if you wish to cut civilian casualties to the minimum, then Orb forces must engage the EAF further away from the coastline." He was looking at Murrue as he made the comment.
"Point taken, Lt. Commander." Uzumi sighed. After all his efforts to keep war out of Orb, it looks like a battle would be unavoidable this time.
Kira and Athrun looked at each other. They knew that they would be the key to Orb's military efforts should a battle start. They hoped that they would be ready to face the challenge.
Afterthoughts
-Please RnR!