The crew of the Archangel was unusually cheerful. Arnold was pleased that he had helped the ship evade attacks that were too many to count (to him) and the duo of Natarle and Murrue were glad that they had helmed the ship together. Only La Flaga was grumbling that he had missed out on the action (which wasn't true, given the waves of Strike Daggers which attacked the Archangel).
When the crew of the Eternal arrived, Athrun gave Kira a high-five. They had done it together, and both pilots knew that. The Desert Tiger too reserved his praise for the two aces. They, and the rest of the officers, thanked him in return for his insights before and during the battle.
Cagalli bugged Kira to tell her details of his exploits; Lacus embraced her fiance. After a short while, Uzumi decided to start the discussion. He said that the Archangel and the Eternal should not stay in Orb anymore. Before anyone could protest, the lord explained himself. He didn't meant to drive the two ships away; he felt that they would be able to help end the war faster if they leave the country.
"But where could we go," asked Kira. That was the question most of the people present were asking themselves. Now, both the EAF and ZAFT were after them. Suddenly, Andrew thought of a good location.
"I do have one suggestion: the Mendel colony. It's already abandoned so we could have the place to ourselves. Also, its location in space would mean that we would be able to get anywhere quickly, especially if the EA decides to try anything funny." The others murmured their approval. You could never go wrong following the Tiger's advice. Cagalli decided to speak up. She could not stand the thought of staying behind while her friends risked their lives.
"Father, I want to go with them as well!"
"My lord, since we already have former troops of the EAF and ZAFT in this little coalition, it would only be fair for Orb to have a representative as well," added Ledonir Kisaka. To his (and Cagalli's) surprise, Uzumi didn't object to either suggestion. The Lion thought for a while.
"Kisaka, you would lead the Kusanagi to join the Archangel and the Eternal. You had best start preparing. All of you would be leaving very soon."
As they were dismissed, Uzumi asked his daughter to come to his study. Inside the room, he gave Cagalli a photograph of her and Kira when they were babies. When the girl saw the photo, her mouth fell open. She stared at her father.
"Although you would be leaving me, Cagalli, you would not be alone, for your brother would be with you. But you must not reveal this to anyone, not even Kira." Uzumi was dead serious as he passed on the instruction to Cagalli. The girl was too stunned to reply. Her father then patted her on the shoulder before leaving her to her thoughts...
Kisaka went about gathering the pilots for the Astrays which would be on board the Kusanagi. He had no trouble convincing Asagi, Mayura and Julie to join him after he told them that Cagalli was coming along. The others were understandably more reluctant. But in the end, all agreed to come on board. Even Erica Simmons volunteered to be on the ship after she learnt that the Archangel would be leaving as well. She was sure that should she meet any technical problems, she would be able to handle it with Kira's help.
After the Kusanagi had finished her preparations, the three ships awaited their turns to be launched into space. Due to the haste, Tolle and the gang didn't have time to bid their families farewell, but their captain reassured them that they would be coming back. However, she was silent when they asked her when that time would be; she didn't have the answer herself.
Homura sighed when his brother joined him in the office. Although he was reluctant to do so, Uzumi had insisted on it. Also, the other lords would object to the plan, should they know about it. The representative tried to persuade his brother one last time.
"It would take us a long time to rebuild the whole thing."
"We would have time AFTER the war, Homura. Are the troops in place?" Homura nodded.
The Kusanagi was the last to be launched. As she joined the other ships in space, suddenly...
"Colonel Kisaka, the Kaguya mass driver... It's gone," cried out the crew member in charge of surveillance. On board the Eternal and the Archangel, the crews had also picked up the destruction of the mass driver.
"Looks like we're really on our own now," wisecracked Andrew Waltfeld and Mu La Flaga to no one in particular. Murrue and her first mate sighed as well. It seemed that Fate had played a joke on the Archangel: they were once again "lost" in space; the only difference was that this time, they weren't alone.
Now, the question was: What should they call themselves? La Flaga was quick to come up with a name.
"Since we have three ships in an alliance, why not call ourselves the 'Three Ship Alliance'?" It was also one of the rare moments where Murrue and Natarle agreed with each other. They radioed this suggestion to the other ships.
"'Three Ship Alliance', huh? Sounds good enough for me," mused Andrew. On the Kusanagi, Cagalli and Kisaka also approved of the name.
Now that a new name had been chosen, the Three Ship Alliance continued on their way to Mendel. Kira and Athrun knew that the trump cards of the alliance were the Justice and the Freedom. To stop the EAF and ZAFT at the same time seemed suicidal, but both teens were ready to take on that challenge.
Afterthoughts
-Please RnR!