The crews of the Eternal and the Archangel had already gathered on the bridges of their ships. Lord Uzumi was about to brief them on the EAF's moves.
"Their chief negotiator, Murata Azrael, has delivered an ultimatum demanding that Orb either join the war effort against 'humanity's evil enemy, the Coordinators' or be declared a supporter of PLANT and face military takeover." The crew of the Eternal and Kira bristled at Azrael's description of them. As for Murrue and Natarle, the thought of facing their former colleagues wasn't exactly comforting. But, both knew then that they had made the right choice to leave the EAF.
"Obviously, these terms are absolutely unacceptable. That's where you guys come in. Given your offensive abilities, you'll be our best hope of repelling the invaders."
"You can count on us, Lord Uzumi," replied Kira and Athrun. Both of them had already suited up for the battle to come.
"I know I could. Good luck, and may Haumea smile upon all of you." With that prayer, the lord signed off. The two ships then began their final preparations.
The Archangel would field three MSes: The Freedom, the Strike and the Aegis, but the Aegis would take on a defensive role. La Flaga didn't like that plan, but he held his tongue after Murrue threatened a court-martial if he flew the Aegis away in its mobile armour mode to look for fights.
Sai was extremely nervous. Although the enemy were Naturals, like himself, he had no confidence in his abilities. Tolle, by now a seasoned flyer, calmed the teen down and warned him, "If you lose your cool out there, you WILL die." Sai swallowed hard.
"Don't worry, the Skygrasper and I will be there for you. Also, don't forget our trump card as well." The bespectacled teen had to smile at that fact. He had failed to pilot the Strike once; now, he would take it into battle. He swore to himself that he would do his bit.
On board the Eternal, the Coordinator crew chatted with the Natural pilots of the M1 Astrays. Andrew had asked for, and received, these Mobile Suits. With the Justice on the offensive, the ship would need the Astrays to keep the enemy at bay. Waltfeld wasn't exactly worried by the EAF. During his time in the desert, he had almost been bored to death by their incompetence; still, the importance of Orb to the EA had not been lost on the Tiger. He smiled to himself. At least, he would be able to celebrate their victory with the new brew of coffee which he had concocted recently.
Martin observed his boss. The deputy knew that the Tiger loved challenges. He himself was not so sure that Orb would be able to repel her invaders. But, victory or defeat, he knew that he, and the rest of the crew, would stand by the captain. He decided to refocus his attention on the task ahead.
Kisaka had his hands full trying to keep Cagalli under control. The girl had wanted to join the Archangel in the upcoming battle, but Lord Uzumi had insisted that she take shelter in one of the underground bunkers. As expected, the lady had screamed and kicked the whole way to the bunker. As for Lacus, she said a soft prayer for all the combatants, especially her fiance and Kira. Although they didn't say anything to her, but as Coordinators, the Songstress knew that they would be the ones to win the day for the union. For once, she wished that the three of them were Naturals and not the "evil enemy of humanity" as mentioned by Azrael. Kisaka had mentioned that little fact to her; he almost wished that he hadn't, given the sadness he saw on Lacus's face after the comment.
The stated deadline of the ultimatum came and went. As Azrael expected, the union had rejected his offer. He wasn't worried about Orb's defences at all; after all, Orb's military, though well-equipped, was small in size. With the number of GAT-01 Strike Daggers at his disposal, Orb would fall. Moreover, he did have three "special" MSes under him as well...
The Freedom and the Justice were soon taking down the Strike Daggers as they come. Both teens were amazed by the sheer tenacity of the EAF troops. They had to do something, thought Kira. Suddenly, three MSes charged towards them. Both knew that these MSes were no ordinary ones. Azrael had ordered the Raider, the Calamity and the Forbidden to take out the "troublemakers" (as he called them).
"Hey, hey, hey! Look at what we got here," taunted Orga Sabnak.
"You know what I see, Orga? Targets," replied Clotho Buer.
The Forbidden was silent; Shani didn't see the need to antagonize the enemy. He went straight at the Justice.
As the two Coordinator pilots were kept busy, the Strike Daggers began to drive a wedge into Orb's defence line. Andrew Waltfeld decided to alert the two.
"Athrun! Kira! The defences aren't going to hold much longer," reminded the captain of the Eternal. The ship too was being pinned down by the EAF. The two knew that something drastic needed to be done; they went into SEED mode.
"Kira! Take down the black one!" With that, the Justice surged forward, with a beam saber in hand. Before Clotho could react, the duo had cut the arms of the Raider off. The red-haired pilot swore as he changed the Raider into mobile armour form. Orga stopped smiling. He sensed that something was going on.
He was right: the attacks of the Freedom and the Justice were becoming fiercer by the minute. The pilot of the Calamity decided to try something else. The Calamity shook off the attacks and made its way to the shoreline. The Freedom followed behind. Kira saw the mobile suit aiming its plasma-sabot bazooka... at the seaport nearby. He screamed into the intercom.
"Athrun! He's going to fire at the evacuating civilians!"
Despite Kira's words, Athrun couldn't do anything to help. Clotho and Shani were not letting up on the Justice. With a cry, Kira flew the Freedom into the Calamity's firing area. The shot from the bazooka hit the Freedom's shield. Completely disgusted by what the enemy pilot was trying to do, Kira rammed his MS into the Calamity. The Freedom then cut the bazooka into two, and beheaded the Calamity. Sabnak decided to pull back and attack the Justice. The Freedom was hot on his heels and he didn't like that.
13 year-old Shinn Asuka, together with his family, was going to leave Orb. Although Coordinators had been welcomed in the union, Lord Homura had ordered their evacuation to the PLANTS. They were to gather at the country's seaports and be escorted to the mass driver. Uzumi feared that if they do not leave now, it would be too late should Orb be taken by the EAF. During their run, Mayu, his sister, dropped her handphone. Sliding down a slope to retrieve it, he had just held the cellphone in his hands when he heard the cries. He looked to the skies, and was shocked to see this giant robot aiming at them. He also saw the robot which took the hit. As he rejoined his family, he thought "Someday, I'll be in one of those things, and I'll do my part to protect the ones I loved..."
The Justice and the Freedom were able to gain the upper hand against the EAF suits. Their pilots decided to pull out of the conflict. Orga was swearing non-stop and Clotho was yelling at Shani. The loner simply put on his headphones and turned up the volume. Buoyed by their success, Kira and Athrun went back to reinforce the Orb military. Soon, the EAF was retreating but Andrew Waltfeld knew that the enemy wouldn't give up so easily.
"This is the Eternal to all forces. Pursue the enemy with caution. I repeat, pursue the enemy with caution. They are merely taking a breather. It's best that we don't let them get it." Although the Tiger wasn't the commander of the fleet, most of the Orb forces heeded his call. Kira and Athrun went ahead to scout.
Sure enough, they could see the enemy carriers streaming towards their flagship. Athrun reported what he saw to the Tiger.
"Just as I thought. You two had better get going. Make sure none of the EAF ships releases their payload!" The Freedom and the Justice went to work right away. Before Muruta Azrael's eyes, the EAF reinforcements were destroyed there and then. His "troublemakers" had defeated his pilots and left his ship alone in a single battle. His interest in their capabilities had degenerated into intense hatred. The Archangel, the Eternal and much of the Orb fleet soon surrounded the ship. Lord Homura spoke from his office.
"Muruta Azrael, go back and tell the EA never to set their eyes on Orb again. Your actions today have sent many of your subordinates to their deaths. If the EA ever comes back, you had better prepare more body bags."
Azrael wanted to explode but there was nothing he could do except to order the retreat. As the ship sailed off, Athrun and Kira heaved a sigh of relief. On board the Archangel, Murrue and Natarle were happy with their performance. The Strike had held its own in the heat of battle, and the ship had taken only a few hard knocks despite the enemy's overwhelming numbers. As for the Eternal, her captain had already began brewing the coffee for the celebration...
Afterthoughts
-Please RnR!