I don't own anything except Ken DiFalco, his team, and Sophia DiFalco

Artemis Nearspace
Ken DiFalco wasn't the only one launching from the Archangel, into that patch of space near the Eurasian Artemis Base. At the same time he was heading out from the port catapult, Kira Yamato's Strike was launching from the starboard.

Athrun... he thought. Will you come back? Will you try again to sink the Archangel?

He really, really hoped not. Because if Athrun did come after the Archangel, he might have no choice but to try and shoot him down.

Falcon, meanwhile, was scanning his instruments; he quickly noted four mobile suit launches, one from Vesalius and three from Gamow. Let's see... That's Aegis coming from Vesalius, so Dearka must be coming from Gamow...

He flipped switches, arming his beam cannons and the Death Blossom system, and angled Raptor toward the oncoming G-weapons. Three-to-one odds would have been enough to convince almost any other pilot to break off. Almost any other pilot would have considered deliberately going after them an act of insanity.

The Grimaldi Falcon was not most pilots.

As he bore in on them, Falcon watched carefully, attempting to determine which of them was his friend; and, for that matter, which of them was Yzak Joule. Nicol Amalfi would probably be hesitant to attack him, but Falcon remembered his simulator runs against Yzak. Oh yes, I remember... and I remember how your temper can be used against you.

On the other side, Dearka was having similar thoughts; except that he knew exactly which machine he was looking for. And unlike Falcon, he wasn't attempting to conceal what he was up to.

The blonde-haired pilot keyed his radio. "Yzak, Nicol, you guys keep going, okay? Let me handle Raptor for now; if anybody can talk some sense into him, it's me."

"Roger that," Nicol agreed readily, and altered course in his X207 Blitz.

"All right," Yzak said reluctantly. "But if he gets out of hand, or if I see you hesitating too much, Dearka, I'm going after him."

"Whatever you say," Dearka said softly.

Ahead of them, the Strike and the Aegis began to register on each other's displays. "The Strike," Athrun whispered. "Kira..."

Kira paled, seeing the red machine on his main display. "That red mobile suit... Athrun!"

The two sides rushed toward each other, each group intent on victory... and answers.

Archangel, Bridge
"Here they come," Sophia murmured. "I hope this works..."

"As long as Lieutenant La Flaga can keep up his end, it should," Murrue told her. "And remember, Sophia: he's famous for making the impossible possible."

"So's Falcon, or so I hear," her friend muttered, emerald eyes flashing. "I hope it's true; but I still can't believe he joined ZAFT."

"I don't think complaining about it will change anything, Lieutenant," Natarle commented. "And I should point out such idle chatter can be very distracting in the middle of a battle."

"Yeah, I know..." Sophia said sullenly; she hadn't been in a very good mood since that morning, at Heliopolis. "I have been in a battle before, you know. Matter of fact, my brother nearly killed me at Jachin."

"Raptor's approaching the enemy machines!" Tonomura called. "Interpenetrating ZAFT formation now!"

"Time to see if the man can live up to the legend," Natarle mused. "If not, we may be in trouble."

Artemis Nearspace
"Nicol, you take the legged ship!" Yzak snapped. "I'll go back up Athrun. Dearka, you try to talk some sense into your buddy!"

"Roger that," Dearka said quietly. Now to hope we can manage a private conversation without somebody getting shot in the middle of it.

Falcon had by then just about determined who was flying what. The X102 Duel charging recklessly ahead, which indicated Yzak Joule was the pilot, and the Blitz was moving along cautiously, but with a degree of confidence. Buster, on the other hand... Buster was clearly hesitating.

Okay, then. It's time.

Falcon carefully adjusted his radio settings, cutting the Archangel completely out of the circuit, and switched to a ZAFT frequency he knew the Buster would likely be using; then he keyed his mike. "Hello, Dearka," he said calmly. "Long time no see, amigo."

Dearka's face tightened, hearing that voice for the first time in months. "Hello, Falcon." He aimed his gun launcher and beam rifle at the Raptor, but didn't arm either. "I wish I could say I was happy to see you."

"Same here, amigo." Raptor held a beam saber in its right hand, but like Buster's guns, the weapon was deactivated. "I imagine you've got a few questions for me."

"A few?" Dearka barked a harsh laugh. "I guess you could say that, Falcon. Starting with why you betrayed us!"

Falcon winced. "You don't understand, Dearka..."

"What I understand is that you disappeared four months ago, and then you turned up on Heliopolis, where you killed your own comrades!" The confusion that filled the ZAFT pilot was coming out in a rush of anger. "What I don't understand is how you could have done it in the first place!"

"Hear me out, Dearka!" Falcon snapped, in a voice he would never have let the Archangel's crew hear. "There's a lot more to this story than you know; more than anybody knows!" He paused. "But first I have to ask you one question, amigo," he said, very softly.

Dearka's diatribe paused. "What?"

The words came almost in a whisper. "Have they completed GENESIS?"

Now he was really confused. "'Genesis'? Just what are you talking about, Falcon?"

Falcon sighed in relief. "Good... If you've never heard of it, it probably hasn't been completed; which means they still haven't cracked the N-jammer canceller problem."

Dearka shook his head. "Just what in the world are you talking about, Falcon?"

"You don't need to know, amigo," his friend said softly.

Meanwhile, the Strike and the Aegis had come face-to-face, and Athrun keyed his radio. "Is that you, Kira?"

Kira flinched. "Athrun..."

"What are you doing here?" the ZAFT pilot demanded. "How could you join the Earth Forces? Why are you with the Naturals? Tell me!"

The Strike's pilot felt like wilting under his old friend's questioning. Athrun, I... Then he rallied, remembering Falcon's words to him. "I'm doing what I have to do, Athrun! And I'm not with the Earth Forces!"

Athrun paused. "What?"

"I'm fighting to protect my friends, Athrun!" Kira's hands tightened on the controls. "And wasn't it ZAFT that started this? You attacked Heliopolis!"

"That's because the Naturals turned it into a target," the blue-haired pilot whispered harshly. "They built those weapons there; they violated their neutrality."

Elsewhere, Raptor and Buster circled each other. "Have you forgotten your own words, Falcon?" Dearka demanded. "What about Lesson Eight? 'Keep the faith'?"

"That's exactly what I'm doing," Falcon replied. "Remember Lesson Twenty-Five? 'Once you have set yourself a task, do not abandon it. Even when continuing requires an action that makes your comrades call you traitor, persevere; for sometimes, the cost of failure can have consequences far beyond your worst nightmares.'"

"What 'task'?" Dearka demanded. "What 'consequences'? You're not making any sense!"

"That's because there are darker secrets in ZAFT than you know." The Falcon sighed helplessly. "Dearka, someday maybe you'll understand Lesson Twenty-Seven: Sometimes the right thing to do is not the right thing to do."

Archangel, Bridge
"Well, this battle is certainly... perplexing," Sophia commented to the air.

"I'll agree with you there," Murrue murmured. "Just what is going on out there, anyway?"

In the few minutes since the two mobile suit forces had merged, virtually nothing had happened, as far as the Archangel could tell. Aegis and Strike were circling, as were Raptor and Buster, while Duel darted off to aid Aegis and Blitz alone went after the ship.

"Scrambled transmissions between Buster and Raptor," Kuzzey reported, from Communications. "I can't tell what they are, though."

Natarle frowned. "What could that be about? Unless Commander DiFalco isn't trustworthy after all..."

"There's another possibility," Sophia said quietly. "Remember: Falcon was a top ZAFT ace. I'll bet there are quite a few people still in ZAFT that he knows, and some might even be willing to give him information; especially if he were to run into a former teammate. Or, more likely, the Buster's pilot isn't willing to shoot just yet, and they're arguing."

"But why scramble the transmissions?" Sai wondered.

"Mr. Argyle," Natarle said dryly, "if you were a ZAFT pilot trying to convince an 'enemy' pilot to join you, would you want said enemy's mothership listening in?"

"Oh. Right."

Sophia scratched her head. "But that still doesn't explain why Falcon isn't firing."

Vesalius, Bridge
"We've confirmed the number of enemy units," a crewman reported. "Enemy force consists of two mobile suits."

"And no mobile armor." Le Creuset nodded to himself. "The Hawk of Endymion's Zero must not be ready for sortie yet." He smiled. "I suppose my destroying his wired gunbarrels and causing the Grimaldi Falcon to finish off his linear cannon gave them some major problems."

"It's safe to make that assumption," Ades agreed. "Of course, we still haven't managed to hit the legged ship yet, either."

The commander shrugged. "Hardly unexpected, Captain. Athrun has a... personal matter to deal with, and we all know why Dearka has not yet opened fire." He steepled his fingers. "But if something doesn't happen soon, I'll have no choice but to order them to engage the Raptor. Dearka can disable it if he wishes, but we cannot afford to have it remain a part of the tactical equation."

"Understood."

But I wonder... Le Creuset thought. Just where are you, Mu? Are you, perhaps, in the gunner's seat of that machine? Or are you up to something?

Artemis Nearspace
"You're nothing but a pawn, Dearka," Falcon said, clenching his hands on his controls. "Don't you understand that Zala wants more than mere victory?"

"How can you have 'more than victory'?" Dearka demanded. "The mission is the same as it was when you left: defeat the Naturals, and secure independence for the PLANTs!"

"No, amigo, that's not the objective." Falcon's eye blazed. "The mission was originally to secure independence for the PLANTs by defeating the sponsor nations; not the Naturals. You're generalizing, and not all Naturals are like my sister." He hissed. "But now, ZAFT's mission has become genocide, and that is something I will not support!"

Not far away, Athrun and Kira were still arguing. "I don't care who violated the neutrality," Kira shouted. "Heliopolis was neutral, and so am I!" He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "You used to tell me you hated the whole idea of war, so why did you join ZAFT?"

"Because we're fighting for our lives," Athrun replied. "Earth started this, not us!"

A bright green beam suddenly flashed by, narrowly missing the Strike. "You aren't fighting, Athrun!" Yzak called. "Why not?"

Athrun blinked. "Y-Yzak?"

Kira paled, seeing his displays. "The Duel? Oh, no..."

The true battle had finally begun.

Vesalius, Bridge
Le Creuset sighed, seeing the impasse between Dearka and the Grimaldi Falcon. "We've no choice," he said regretfully to Ades. "Captain, order our pilots to begin offensive operations against the X107 Raptor." It appears Falcon is committed to this course; pity.

"Yes, sir," the captain acknowledged. After passing on the orders, he added, "Should we request assistance from Nacht Jaeger, Commander?"

The masked man considered that, and finally shook his head. "No, Captain; at least not yet. I believe Commander Huckebein is currently engaged in search and rescue operations at Heliopolis; important though it may be to stop the legged ship, we also can't afford to lose any more face by refusing to search for survivors in the rubble."

"Understood, sir."

Artemis Nearspace
Dearka received the new orders, and winced. It shouldn't have come to this... How could it have?

"You still there, amigo?" Falcon said softly.

The ZAFT pilot swallowed. "Falcon, there's no more time for chatting. I have my orders; and you have two choices: surrender, or be shot down."

Falcon, not realizing that by "shot down", his friend meant disabled and captured, simply shook his head. "Sorry, Dearka. But I can't do that."

"Then you know what I have to do."

Unexpectedly, the one-eyed pilot grinned ferally. "I'd be disappointed if you didn't, amigo. Do your best!"

But it wasn't Dearka that fired the first shot. Instead, Nicol's Blitz lined up for a shot with its beam rifle... and something happened in Falcon's head. His formidable spatial awareness told him something was about to happen; his Death Blossoms deployed, while he began to spin, beam saber igniting...

And the energy blade batted the beam aside.

Archangel, Bridge
Sophia stared at her displays in disbelief. "That's not possible!"

Murrue sat there in matching shock. Raptor's beam saber had just deflected a beam rifle shot... this while Falcon was still manipulating the Death Blossom system, using it to keep Buster under guard. "How did he...?"

Natarle blinked rapidly, as if it would make the impossible sight disappear. "No pilot is that good..."

He obviously wasn't done doing the impossible. Even as he swatted another beam from the Blitz, the Buster finally got ready to attack... just in time for a series of Death Blossom shots to keep him busy.

Now Raptor and Blitz engaged each other with beam sabers, and Sophia shook her head in bemusement. I had no idea even Der Schreckick Eins was capable of this... How is he doing that?

"What's the Strike's status?" Murrue asked, satisfied that, through whatever means, Falcon could take care of himself for the moment.

"Not good, Ma'am," Natarle reported after a moment. "He's got the Aegis and Duel after him right now, though the Aegis doesn't seem to be attacking. The Duel seems to be making up for any deficiencies in Aegis' offense, though."

"Can we give him support?"

She shook her head. "No, Ma'am, not in that melee."

Murrue closed her eyes. "What about Lieutenant La Flaga?"

"Assuming all goes according to plan, he should be approaching Vesalius now."

Artemis Nearspace, near Vesalius
"Now I've got you," Mu whispered. "Try this on for size, Le Creuset!"

On Vesalius' Bridge, Le Creuset jerked upright, noting the familiar sensation. "Maximum thrust! Lower bow, pitch angle sixty!"

Ades glanced at his commander, not understanding for a few crucial seconds, until a crewman piped up. "Enemy below! It's a mobile armor!"

"Maximum thrust!" Ades barked. "Activate CIWS! Lower bow pitch angle sixty!"

Too late, Le Creuset thought.

And it was. Grinning savagely, Mu increased power to his Zero's engines, slashing across space to the Vesalius' underbelly at his own maximum thrust. The wired gunbarrels deployed, and they opened fire, together with his ventral-mounted linear cannon. "Take this!"

Damage alarms blared throughout the Nazca, and reports rang out, cataloguing the ship's wounds. "Damage to ventral hull! Main cannon output down fifty percent!"

Le Creuset snarled silently. You'll die for this, Mu.

Mu La Flaga's Moebius Zero triumphantly pulled around and away, leaving his nemesis to lick his wounds.

Archangel, Bridge
"Lieutenant La Flaga reports successful attack!" Tonomura called, unable to keep the triumph out of his voice. "He's now returning."

Murrue smiled. "Then let's get them. Warn Lieutenant La Flaga to stay out of our line of fire... and arm the Lohengrin."

Natarle nodded, as pleased as anyone by their success. "Yes, Ma'am! Mr. Pal, charge assault cannons."

"Affirmative." Pal typed commands, and waited a few moments. "Positron banks charged, Ma'am. Ready to fire on your command."

"Lieutenant La Flaga has cleared the line of fire," Tonomura reported.

Murrue nodded. "Fire!"

Vesalius, Bridge
"Heat source detected! Antimatter stream, direction 000; impact in three seconds!"

Le Creuset lunged out of his chair. "Hard to starboard! Evade it!"

The Vesalius' evasion attempt was partly successful; one positron blast missed completely, while the other managed only a grazing hit. But a graze from an antimatter stream was still not something you wanted to have happen to your ship.

"Damage to number three sodium wall; reactor output down, engine thrust down fifty percent."

Ades turned his superior. "Orders, Commander?"

Le Creuset cursed to himself. "Send out orders to retreat," he said through gritted teeth. "We've lost this round, Captain. Order our mobile suits to return at once."

"Yes, sir."

Artemis Nearspace
Kira, unaware of Mu's success, was still dodging around, trying to avoid the Duel's fire. The only good news was that Athrun still wasn't attacking, and Buster and Blitz both still seemed focused on Falcon, who was well able to take care of himself.

Not that it helps me any, he thought. This is ridiculous!

He tried firing at the enemy machine, but he was still too inexperienced, and hadn't gotten in any clean hits. Now he was beginning to run low on energy, which was very bad news. After all, with no energy, he had no Phase-shift.

Yzak, meanwhile, was having fun... until he saw a text message on his display. VESALIUS ATTACKED, it read. RETURN TO SHIP IMMEDIATELY.

"The Vesalius was hit? They're ordering us to retreat?" Now he was angry. "But we can still win this!"

And so, predictably, he defied orders.

Dearka, on the other hand, received the new orders with something approaching delight. "Sorry, Falcon," he radioed, not sounding very sorry. "We'll have to finish this another day." Buster wheeled around, heading back for the Gamow. "I hope we don't meet again for awhile, if you know what I mean."

"Yeah, amigo," Falcon whispered. "I know what you mean." If they didn't meet, Dearka wouldn't be able to carry out his orders... orders they both knew he would carry out if he could, because neither of them could have it any other way. Dearka had his duty, and Falcon would be very disappointed in him if he didn't do it.

Blitz likewise broke off, but Yzak wasn't so ready to stop his attack on the Strike. "Stop it, Yzak!" Athrun said sharply. "We've been ordered to retreat!"

"Shut your mouth, you coward!" You might not have the guts to fight, but I do, Yzak thought, mentally sneering at his teammate.

Kira was getting more than a little frantic now... especially when his rifle sputtered. "Oh, no!" It sputtered once more, and then died... along with his Phase-shift armor.

Yzak couldn't have been more delighted. "Now I've got you!" He drew both of Duel's beam sabers, and charged right at the Strike... and so did the Aegis.

Athrun, eyes wide with fear for his friend, converted the Aegis to mobile armor mode and rushed forward, trying to beat the Duel to its prize.

Falcon looked up sharply when his radio link to the Strike transmitted the telltale vibration sounds. "That's not good," the one-eyed pilot murmured.

Aegis' claws had grasped the Strike.

Archangel, Bridge
"The Strike has been taken!" Tonomura called out. "Phase-shift, down!"

Murrue closed her eyes. No... just on the brink of victory... "Now what do we do?" she whispered.

"We've got another message from the Lieutenant," Mir reported. "He says..." She frowned. "He says to load the Launcher Striker pack into the catapult."

Sophia's head jerked up. "Of course! Get a replacement energy battery out to the Strike, along with some heavier firepower... It just might work!"

"Do it," Murrue ordered.

"Wait."

She looked at the screen on her right armrest. "Falcon?"

"One request," the pilot said calmly. "Send me a Schwerht Gewerh, will you?"

Murrue had no idea what he had in mind, but he was the expert; he presumably knew what he was doing. "Very well. Ensign Badgiruel, have Mr. Murdoch load the Launcher Striker into the starboard catapult, and a Schwerht Gewerh antiship blade into the port."

Natarle shrugged. "Yes, Ma'am." I don't know if this crazy plan will work, but we don't have any other option, do we?

Artemis Nearspace
The two G-pilots who had actually obeyed orders were now arrayed around the Aegis and Strike, along with the Duel; and none of them were happy.

"What are you doing, Athrun?" Yzak demanded.

"We were told to destroy it!" Dearka added, obscurely pleased to have a legitimate target for his frustration. "You're disobeying orders!"

"If we can capture it, we're better off!" Athrun retorted. "I think the Commander would agree with me!"

"Athrun!"

Kira listened to the radio traffic with increasing confusion. "Just what are you up to, Athrun?" he asked, searching for some way out of the situation at the same time.

"I'm taking you to the Gamow," his old friend replied. "If you know what's good for you, you'll shut up till we get there."

"Get real!" Kira retorted. "I'm not going on any ZAFT ship!"

"You don't have a choice," Athrun replied. "Unless... unless you want me to shoot you."

The Strike pilot froze. Athrun... It sounds like he means it... How did it come to this? How could it? Why are you doing this, Athrun?

As if hearing his thoughts, Athrun said softly, "I already lost my mom in the Bloody Valentine. So I-"

A hurricane of projectiles and beams flashed past, as both Raptor and the Zero dove in on them, both firing their wired gunbarrels. "Mind if we join the party?" Falcon said quietly, directing his fire against the Duel.

"Falcon? Lieutenant?" Kira couldn't believe it... not that he was complaining.

"Get clear, kid!" Mu shouted, pummeling Aegis while Duel sheltered behind its shield; under the pounding, Athrun soon had to release his grip. "The ship's sending out the Launcher Strike; don't miss it!"

"Right!" Without further questions, Kira turned the Strike around headed back toward the Archangel at his best speed.

Mu trailed him, but Falcon played rear guard. He'd already received the Schwerht Gewerh, and now he raised it in both of Raptor's massive hands. "Sorry, Dearka," he called, "but I really don't need you complicating things right now."

"Falcon, what are you-" Dearka began.

He broke off when the answer became obvious. Raptor darted the one side, and the fifteen-meter blade sliced down through both Buster's gun launcher and its beam rifle, while the Death Blossoms precisely targeted his missile launchers and blew them to slag.

"I suggest you go home now," Falcon said calmly, and rushed off to follow his comrades, leaving Dearka to stare after him in shock and sadness.

Archangel, Bridge
"The Strike is nearing the proper vector," Natarle reported.

Murrue nodded. "Good. Things are finally starting to look up a bit."

That was putting it mildly; and Sophia, for one, suspected that without the teamwork displayed by their three pilots, they could never have pulled it off to begin with. Der Schreckick Eins appears to be a success... and right now, I think I'm glad of it.

"Transfer control of the catapult to the Launcher Striker's computer," Natarle ordered.

"Yes, Ma'am."

Mir carefully watched as Strike's signal pulled ahead of the ship, carefully altering its course... until the vectors matched. "Strike is on profile, Ma'am!"

Natarle didn't bother to issue any orders. The catapult activated automatically, spitting the replacement Striker pack out into space.

Artemis Nearspace
Unfortunately, Yzak was not so ready to give up his prey. "You're not getting away from me," he whispered. He watched as the Strike jettisoned the Aile Striker, preparing itself for the approaching Launcher, and raised his beam rifle.

A threat warning went off in Kira's cockpit, causing him to look over his shoulder. "Locked onto me?" The Striker pack was approaching, but too slow...

Yzak smiled, and pulled the trigger, launching a grenade.

However, at that very moment Falcon's Death Blossoms opened fire, catching the Duel in the leg and throwing off his aim at a crucial instant. The grenade's blast radius could still catch the Strike, but it would have to be a proximity detonation.

"No!" Yzak snarled. He was furious at the damage to his machine... and the fact that the attack had bought Kira just enough time to join up with the Striker pack and activate Phase-shift. Since PSA was immune to weapons like grenades...

And Kira wasn't through yet. Now the tables were turned; he had a hyper-impulse cannon, and he knew how to use it. Yelling wordlessly, he reversed course and flew straight at the Duel, firing the Agni all the way.

The first shot literally melted the machine's right arm off, while the second grazed Dearka's Buster when he came in to rescue Yzak from the powerful weapon's path; then a third blasted the Blitz's Trikeros into debris.

"Time to fall back," Athrun called, as surprised as his comrades by this turn of events. "It's too dangerous to pursue them any farther."

"Agreed," Nicol said quietly. "If we stay here, we'll run out of power... if that hyper-impulse cannon doesn't get us first."

Yzak snarled in pure hate. "No! No!" How could that bastard? It's all because of that traitor! Grimaldi Falcon, you will die, along with the Strike!

The four machines withdrew, leaving a victorious, and exhausted, trio of pilots hanging in front of the Archangel, their message clear: Attack again, and we will destroy you.

Archangel, Hanger
Shortly after landing, Mu La Flaga popped the hatch on his Moebius Zero, climbed out, and looked in surprise at the Strike. There seemed to be some kind of commotion surrounding it.

"What's going on?" he asked, coming close.

Murdoch shrugged. "It's the kid, sir. He won't come out; and he won't answer, either."

"Is that a fact?" Puzzled, Mu hit the external hatch controls himself, and stuck his head in. "Hey! Come out of there! Kira Yamato- Huh?"

Kira still sat in the pilot's seat, breathing heavily, hands locked in a death grip on the machine's flight controls. His eyes were wide, and he didn't seem to be seeing much of anything.

Combat shock. Forget this was his first big battle. Mu pulled himself into the cockpit. "Hey, it's okay," he said soothingly, trying to get through to the practically comatose pilot. "The Archangel's safe, so are you, so am I." He smiled, prying Kira's hands from the controls. "You did good, kid."

Kira's eyes snapped into focus, and he nodded wearily. "Is it... always like that?"

"First time's the worst," the Hawk informed him. "Now come on, let's get out of here."

Archangel, Bridge
"Enemy ships breaking off," Tonomura reported, relieved.

Murrue sighed in matching relief. "Good."

Sophia closed her eyes. "I guess building Raptor wasn't a waste of time, huh? Though it looks like Kira could have handled it all by himself if he'd had to."

"Probably," Falcon agreed, entering the Bridge; he hadn't had time to change out of his flightsuit. "So now we've got a clear path to Artemis?"

"Looks that way." His sister looked at him with narrowed eyes. "Now, Falcon, I think you've got some explaining to do."

"Why's that?" Mu asked, coming onto the Bridge himself. "I think he proved himself out there; not that he needed to."

"I'm not talking about his combat ability, Lieutenant," she said sharply. "I'm talking about the fact that he spent the first few minutes exchanging scrambled transmissions with the Buster. Care to explain what that was all about, Brother?"

Falcon leaned against a bulkhead, eye narrow. "For your information, sister," he said coldly, "a certain friend of mine transferred to the Le Creuset team the day before I deserted ZAFT. That friend was flying the Buster out there." His cold blue gaze met hers. "That pilot was Dearka Elsman."

Sophia drew back in surprise. "Elsman? You mean...?"

"Who else?" He stroked the hilt of his sword. "Did you expect me to try to kill my best friend, Sophia? Besides, I needed information, and I got it."

"What information?" Natarle demanded.

"None of your business." Besides, if you knew about GENESIS, I don't know what those bastards in Alliance High Command would do... "Let's just say it's classified, and leave it at that," he said aloud.

The ensign nodded, not entirely happy, but understanding that there were some lines the ex-ZAFT ace simply was not willing to cross. Classifications she could understand, even if it made her nervous.

"Well," Murrue said, getting back to the business at hand, "I think it's time we called Artemis and requested permission to enter. Mr. Buskirk?"

"Hailing now, Ma'am," Kuzzey replied. Fortunately, he already had a good idea of how to use communications systems, given his technical education, and the Archangel's systems weren't that different from what he was used to.

"We may have a small problem," Mu mused, and glanced at Falcon. "Even if they let us in, they might not have a favorable reaction to us having the Grimaldi Falcon aboard."

Murrue nodded. "You think they'll arrest him on the spot?"

He shook his head. "No; he's already demonstrated he's no longer with ZAFT. No, I think they'll try to use him, maybe as a propaganda tool." The Hawk scratched his head. "Falcon, it might be a good idea for you to take precautions with your mobile suit."

The one-eyed pilot nodded. "Quite. Don't worry about it, Mu; I already set things up so that unauthorized access will result in an explosion."

Sophia goggled at him. "You set my mobile suit to explode if someone-?"

"It's called being cautious," he told her. "And you may have designed it, but I'm the guy who has to fly it, so I suggest you get over it." He rubbed his eyepatch. "I don't trust Eurasians as far as I could throw them; we should all be on our guard."

"Message from Artemis, Ma'am," Kuzzey called. "We're cleared to pass through the Umbrella; they'll be sending an inspector aboard to confirm that we are who we say we are."

The Captain nodded. "Very well. Send them our thanks."

Falcon stepped to the Bridge elevator. "If you'll excuse me, Murrue, I'll go change into my uniform and make certain Raptor is secured."

"Right." Murrue looked at Mu. "Lieutenant, I suggest you go talk to Kira, and have him take precautions with the Strike, as well. I hope we're just being paranoid... but given that this is a Eurasian base, and we're Atlantic Federation, things might not go as we plan."

"Roger that."

Artemis Base, Harbor
The promised inspector came aboard within moments of the Archangel docking within the base's huge harbor. He was Lieutenant Commander Biddaulph, and something about him set off warning bells in Falcon's mind.

"Welcome aboard, Commander," Murrue said, eyeing the man carefully. Something doesn't seem right here...

"Thank you, Lieutenant... assuming you are who you say you are." Biddaulph looked out the main viewport on the Bridge... and Falcon's face tightened as he saw what the man was looking at.

Armed men were surrounding the ship, and it was pretty obvious they weren't an honor guard.

"Commander?" Murrue said sharply.

"I must advise you, Lieutenant, remain silent." Biddaulph sounded almost bored.

"Explain," Falcon snapped, startled back into his 'Commander' habits. "And if your explanation isn't a good one, I may take matters into my own hands."

The Eurasian looked at him. "And just who are you?"

The ace gazed back coldly. "My name is Ken DiFalco, in case that means something to you. If it doesn't, then you obviously weren't anywhere near the Grimaldi Front."

Biddaulph's eyebrows rose. "The Grimaldi Falcon? I believe Admiral Garcia will be most interested in speaking with you."

"I'm sure." Falcon noted the man didn't provide the demanded explanation, but he chose not to push it at this time. He'd already said too much; from here on, he'd gain his information in a more passive manner.

Soon, the ship was secured, and Biddaulph nodded to himself. "The officers of this ship will now accompany me to Admiral Garcia's office; along with you, Mr. DiFalco."

"That's Commander DiFalco," Natarle informed him, eyes narrow. Her tendency toward military formality was offended by the commander's form of address; and she didn't like what was going on, either.

"Whatever. Just come with me." Biddaulph glanced at Falcon. "And leave that sword behind; we're all too familiar with your reputation, Commander."

He nodded. "Very well." He removed the wakizashi, and tossed it to Mir. "Take care of that for me, will you?" Falcon glanced at Biddaulph. "You needn't confiscate it from her, Commander; I assure you she has not the least idea how to use it."

The Eurasian shrugged. "Whatever."

As the man led them out, Sophia glanced at her brother, suspicious. That's not like him; he wouldn't just give up his weapon, not in this situation. Unless... Oh. She nodded to herself. Of course. Well, maybe his subterfuge will help us out here...

Artemis, Admiral Garcia's Office
"Well," Rear Admiral Gerard Garcia said, after the Archangel's officers had told their story. "It appears that you are who you say you are. I am afraid, however, that I cannot allow you to leave at this time."

Murrue's eyes flashed. "And why is that, Sir?"

He waved a hand. "The Laurasia-class is still outside," he replied. "We can't lower the Umbrella while enemy forces are in the area. I'm sure you understand."

She nodded reluctantly, though she suspected there was something else going on here. "Will you at least be able to resupply us? After leaving Heliopolis in something of a hurry, we're running a little low."

The admiral nodded amiably. "Certainly, Lieutenant." He looked over at Mu. "Now, then. I must say I was surprised to find the Hawk of Endymion aboard that ship. May I ask what your mission is?"

The Hawk's eyes were narrow. "I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to say, sir."

Another nod; he'd evidently expected the response. "Very well. That brings us to one other point... You, Commander DiFalco."

Falcon tilted his head. "Me, Admiral?" If you're about to say what I think you're about to say, though, forget it. I don't work for people like you.

"Yes, you." Garcia leaned back. "If I found Lieutenant La Flaga's presence surprising, I found yours astonishing. I would never have expected a man such as you to betray the PLANTs."

"I didn't betray the PLANTs, Admiral," he said evenly. "I turned my back on ZAFT, but not my homeland."

"Whatever. The point remains that you have chosen to join the Earth Forces... which makes you very valuable to me."

Falcon's fist clenched. "What do you want, Garcia?" he said, as coldly as ever but now without even the slightest trace of civility.

"I want you to tell me everything you can remember about ZAFT's defenses," Garcia said bluntly. "Their ships' weaknesses, their mobile suit deployments... and most of all, I need you to tell us how to get past the Boaz and Jachin Due defenses."

"Absolutely not," Falcon snapped. "I'd die before I told you that."

Garcia frowned at the pilot. "You'll find I can be most persuasive, Commander. For now, though..." He nodded to a guard. "Take them away, Private." He looked at Murrue. "This is, of course, for your own protection..."

"You're making a mistake, Admiral-" Sophia began, as the guard reached for Falcon...

... who reached into his uniform jacket, drew his standard-issue sidearm, and put a bullet in the man's brain. "I said I didn't like guns," he said coldly. "I never said I didn't know how use 'em."

Before anyone could react to the entirely unexpected event, Falcon had rushed for the door and was gone.

Gamow, Bridge
"So, they're still hiding behind the Umbrella, huh?" Yzak stared at the situation map in disgust. "We can't get through it, and they can't get out of it."

"A standoff," Dearka remarked, eyes shadowed. "I don't think this is Falcon's plan; he's careful, but I never knew him to settle for defense when he could attack. And with two G-weapons, a mobile armor, and the legged ship, he probably could. Especially with Artemis' resources for support."

"True enough." The white-haired pilot examined the plot. "That actually works in our favor; if they're not giving Commander DiFalco a free hand, we're better off."

"But that still leaves the problem of penetrating Artemis' light-wave barrier," Nicol pointed out. "Could we ask Commander Huckebein for help?"

"We don't need help," Yzak said dismissively. "Besides, Nacht Jaeger left for the PLANTs a few hours ago. No, we can handle this ourselves... if we can just get past that barrier."

"It never goes down as long as enemy forces are in the area," Captain Zelman, Gamow's commanding officer, remarked. "And since it's impenetrable to all known weapons..."

"As a matter of fact..." Nicol said slowly, "I have an idea." He tapped the display's controls, bringing up the specifications for his machine. "My mobile suit, the Blitz, is equipped with a system known as Mirage Colloid. It uses colloid gas particles to render the machine invisible to visual, infrared, and radar scanning." He looked up. "If we take the Gamow out of Artemis' immediate vicinity, they'll lower the Umbrella. Once they do that, I can go in with the Blitz and take down the shield generators, thus clearing a path for you two."

"It could work," Dearka admitted. I think it's the perfect mission for a coward... but on the other hand, what would Falcon think of it? Knowing him... he'd love it. They hadn't always agreed on the subject of tactics, at least on a metaphysical standpoint, but he had to admit Nicol's plan was feasible.

Yzak had similar thoughts, but, like the Buster's pilot, he was also tired of waiting for the legged ship to come out. "All right, then. Nicol, get ready; make sure you take out those generators, and we'll be right behind you."

"Got it."

Archangel, Cafeteria
Following Falcon's violent escape from Garcia's office, security had been increased throughout Artemis and the Archangel. So, when Garcia went to the ship's cafeteria, he brought his aide and two guards with him... not realizing they were being followed.

Falcon was not very happy with Garcia. First the admiral had tried to use him... then the pilot had checked Archangel's hanger and discovered his mobile suit gone. And, to top it all off, the Eurasians had locked up Murrue, Mu, Natarle, and Sophia. He wasn't very fond of his sister at that particular moment, but he acknowledged the other officers, at least, were needed if they were to get the ship out of port.

So he followed at a discreet distance as the admiral went in search of the Strike pilot; he had a feeling something... untoward... was about to happen.

"I'm looking for the pilot of the X105 Strike," Garcia said as he entered the cafeteria, where most of the crew had been sequestered. "Which of you might it be?"

Kira almost stood, but Murdoch put a hand on his shoulder, keeping him in his chair. "Commander DiFalco was piloting it," he lied. "Go find him."

The admiral smirked. "A nice ploy... but we already know he was piloting the X107 Raptor. To be sure, we do need to find him; he killed one of my men, and he's rigged his machine to explode if we try to make use of it. But right now I'm looking for the Strike pilot, whom he most certainly is not." His expression hardened. "Now answer the question!"

To punctuate his words, his guards raised their rifles, and Kira's eyes widened. No! Urgh, I don't have a choice. If I don't admit, they'll go after the wrong person... or even kill someone.

He stood. "It was me," he announced. "I piloted the Strike in that battle."

Garcia looked at him in disgust. "An interesting lie, boy, but that machine wasn't meant for someone like you. Get serious, twerp!" He drew back his fist... just as Mir noticed Falcon's presence at the hatch.

Without thinking about what she was doing, she lifted the sword he'd entrusted into her keeping, and threw it to the pilot.

Falcon wasted no time. He caught the weapon, drew it, and thrust it through the spine of the first Eurasian guard. Then, using the corpse for leverage, he swung his legs forward, caught the second guard around the neck with his feet, and spun, slamming the man into the bulkhead and breaking his neck.

He continued his forward motion, grabbed Garcia's aide by the neck, and squeezed.

Garcia spun around. "What in the-?"

The one-eyed pilot eyed him with disgust. "It's over, Garcia. You've lost."

His words were punctuated by sudden, very unexpected explosions.

Artemis Base, Exterior
Nicol's plan had gone like clockwork. The Umbrella had gone down when Gamow left the general area, allowing his Blitz to get within easy reach of the base.

Now he was firing his beam rifle at shield generators, blasting them to bits to clear the path for his fellow pilots. By now, about fifty percent of the Umbrella was inoperable; a number that increased to sixty percent when he decloaked and slashed with his beam saber.

"It's clear, guys!" Nicol called to the approaching Buster and Duel. "They can't raise most of the barrier!"

"We're on our way," Yzak answered, and glanced over at Dearka. "I guess the coward was good for something after all."

"We've never accused him of being useless, Yzak," the blonde pilot pointed out. "And being invisible can be helpful."

"Yeah, whatever. Now, let's just hope we get a shot at the Strike... and the traitor."

Artemis Base, Interior
With the commencement of hostilities, things had happened very quickly. The surviving Eurasian troops had, on their own initiative, abandoned the Archangel, while the crew reasserted control... and Admiral Garcia himself was unceremoniously hauled out the nearest airlock and locked in an Artemis closet by Falcon.

He privately estimated that Artemis would be destroyed several minutes before anyone could locate the admiral to rescue him.

In the meantime, he was headed for the room where Archangel's officers were locked; Garcia had been "persuaded" to give up the information, just before being stuffed in with the mops. Falcon could probably have hacked the information out of the Artemis database, but he didn't want to take the time.

He was greeted by the sound of shouting when he got close, and he paused, watching around a corner as the room's two guards responded.

They opened the hatch... and Mu La Flaga promptly knocked them both unconscious. "Well, that worked," the Hawk remarked. "But where'd Falcon get to?"

"Right here, Mu," the pilot said, stepping into view.

"Good to see you," Murrue said, relieved.

"What's going on out there?" Sophia demanded. "We kept hearing things blow up; is ZAFT attacking?"

Falcon nodded. "Looks like the Blitz; must have gotten within the perimeter under Mirage Colloid. Now he's disabled the Umbrella, and Buster and Duel are joining the party."

"The Aegis?" Natarle queried.

"I don't know, but it looks like Vesalius left; who knows why."

Mu glanced around. "What about Garcia?"

He could have sworn there was a faint smile on his former rival's face. "I locked him in a janitor's closet; he'll be sitting out this battle with the brooms."

The Hawk chuckled. "At least he's out of our hair; now, though, we'd better get back to the Archangel."

Falcon nodded. "Go. Kira's already preparing for launch in the Strike, and I believe Chief Neumann and the others secured the Bridge. I'll be with you as soon as I retrieve my mobile suit."

"Roger that. Watch yourself."

The officers took off for the Archangel at a dead run, while Falcon plunged deeper into the vast Eurasian asteroid base.

Artemis, Harbor
Kira had finally launched in the Strike, with the Sword package, and now he was looking for the enemy. It wasn't as easy as it might have been; there were explosions going off all over the place, serving to disguise the ZAFT machines' positions.

Come on... he thought. Where are you?

It was Nicol who spotted the Strike, as he was first into the harbor. "There you are. Time to see how good you really are."

"The Blitz..." Kira whispered. "Well, at least it isn't Athrun... or the Buster." He had no personal problem with facing the Buster, but he knew the machine's pilot was Falcon's friend, and Falcon himself was... A friend, Kira decided. Even if he doesn't talk much. Besides, I'd never have gotten this far without him. He actually managed a smile, thinking of the one-eyed pilot's solution to the Garcia problem.

But now he had other problems. The Blitz was coming right at him, firing its beam rifle. The Strike caught them on the Panzer Eisen (twin to the rocket anchor mounted on the Raptor), and raised its enormous Schwerht Gewerh. "What can't you just go away and let us live in peace?" Kira shouted.

Nicol reversed thrust at the sight of the weapon. He remembered quite well what had happened to Dearka's weapons when faced with that massive blade, so, rather than get in close, he fired the Blitz's lancer darts, hoping to skewer the Strike -forgetting, of course, that they would do no good against Phase-shift.

Kira wasn't taking chances. He dodged two of them completely, then sliced the last in half with his antiship blade. "Just go away!"

Below and behind, the Archangel was beginning to move, powering up its huge engines for the breakout from the fortress. "Kira, come back!" Mir's voice rang out over the radio. "Kira, come back! The Archangel is launching!"

He hesitated, torn between defending the ship and making sure he wasn't left behind. "But-"

"Go, Kira."

It was Falcon's voice, and his Raptor came sailing out of an explosion (an explosion which, just incidentally, blew a certain broom closet to shattered fragments). His Death Blossoms were deployed, and he clearly was not in the mood to waste time.

He was also well able to take care of himself, so Kira nodded. "All right. I'm returning to the ship; but you hurry up to, got it?"

"Right behind you."

"Are you running away?" Nicol demanded. He charged after the retreating machines.

"No, no, no..." Falcon murmured. "Sorry, Nicol Amalfi, but I'm not letting you stop us." He triggered the Death Blossoms, forcing the Blitz to break off its attack in the face of withering energy fire from the wired gunbarrels. Falcon meant business.

With the Duel and Buster unable to find them in the chaos, Raptor and Strike touched down together on the Archangel's aft deck, as the majestic ship sailed out of the doomed base.

Archangel, Hanger
Kira shut down the Strike's systems with a feeling of relief... a feeling overwhelmed by the last words he'd heard out of Gerard Garcia's mouth.

They hadn't been directed at him, but they'd hit home nonetheless. As Garcia was hauled away by Falcon, he'd ranted at the pilot. "But you're already a traitor to your fellow Coordinators! How can you do this?"

Am I... a traitor? he thought, unnerved.

Falcon got out of his own machine, to find Mu waiting for him. The Hawk clapped him on the shoulder, one warrior to another. "Nice work out there, Falcon. Survived another one, huh?"

The pilot nodded. "Yeah; not that it was particularly difficult."

The were nearly to the hatch when Kira left the Strike and pushed past them, without a word; the two pilots exchanged glances. "What was that about?" Mu wondered.

Falcon shrugged. "Beats me." It didn't occur to him that Garcia's final words might have affected his fellow Coordinator in such a manner; he'd barely even noticed them, himself. "Well, Mu, I need some rest. I'll see you later."

"Right." Still puzzled by their comrade's behavior, the two "birds of a feather" also left the hanger, one to rest, the other to check the situation on the Bridge.

Archangel, Bridge
"Well, we made it," Sophia remarked with a sigh, a couple of hours after their successful escape from Artemis. "I had my doubts, for a little while there."

"Hey," Mu said with a smile, "how could you have doubted us? Kira's already a good pilot, and Falcon and I are both people who can make the impossible possible, aren't we?"

"I guess." But how much of that is because of Doctor Metzinger? she wondered.

"You know..." Murrue said slowly. "There's something that's been bothering me ever since Falcon came onboard, Sophia."

"What's that?" her friend asked, looking at her sharply.

The Captain looked at her quizzically. "I know he's a good eight years younger than you, Sophia, but it still strikes me as a little odd that you two don't really look alike."

Sophia sighed. "I figured this would come up sooner or later. I guess it's time I came clean." But not on everything... "Over here."

She led Murrue and Mu to the unoccupied Communications station, glad that Kuzzey was off-duty, and started punching buttons. "Falcon mentioned he was adopted," Mu remarked, "but you seem to be implying there's more to it."

Sophia looked at him, eyebrow raised. "He said that? Well, I always suspected he knew... but yeah, there's more to it than he knows. See, I know who his real parents were."

"Who?" Murrue asked.

"Just watch; I think you can draw your own conclusions." The black-haired lieutenant brought up an image file. "This is a photo of Falcon, taken from the Archangel's security cameras. Now, to begin with, you should know that Falcon's face is a mask; for the last several years, he's been systematically altering his appearance, though I'm not sure why. Anyway, start with removing the eyepatch..." She tapped a few keys. "Then the scar... and then shade his hair back to its original color..." The brown hair slowly changed, brightening to blonde.

Murrue gasped, and Mu's jaw dropped. "What in the world-?"

Sophia nodded. "That's right, Lieutenant. As far as I know, he's never gone by his real name; but he was born Ken La Flaga."

Author's note: Falcon meets his friend in battle, and Gerard Garcia meets an ignominious end. And now Falcon's true name has been revealed…

Well, I trust there were some surprises in this chapter; though I admit I'm surprised people haven't already figured out Falcon's identity. After all, he can sense Rau Le Creuset.

ZGMF X-19A Infinite Justice, I think I can safely say the chapter length will remain consistent. However, I don't think the next update will come quite so soon; this one was the result of spending more time in front of a keyboard than I want to think about. Shudder.

Ninofchaos, now you know who Falcon's blood relation is. I imagine it's not too surprising, considering.

Victor227, I actually don't really get tired of doing the same events from different perspectives; though I confess this portion is slightly tedious for me. After all, taken together with the original and rewritten first chapter of Brothers in Arms, this is my third time through. Ugh.

As for Falcon's genetic modifications, I will say that some of them may be revealed sooner than you think, while others will be much, much later.

Infinite Freedom, Falcon's new mobile suit will be the ZGMF-X00A Preybird (name in keeping with the bird of prey trend); and the "00A" designation has a certain significance, as will be seen.

I'm aware that the Heavyarms has beam Gatlings (I'd forgotten, but I did know it), but I'm still not sure it would fit. As for Altron, my point stands: even with the Custom, I just don't like it very much.

Now, about what Kevin said to Castile in Chapter 28 of Brothers in Arms… Well, I'm not precisely sure myself. My Russian is virtually nonexistent; and the one insult I can think of that would produce that reaction is not polite, and I refuse to repeat it. Suffice it to say that it is about the worst thing you can say to a Russian, and leave it at that.

Ominae, you could say that. Be assured that he'll clash with his sister frequently throughout the story.

NukeDawg, now you know if you were correct or not. Personally, I would not be surprised if you guessed correctly, given the few hints strewn throughout.

Guess that's everything. Let me know if it was any good. -Solid Shark