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

Archangel, Main Airlock, May 8th, C.E. 71
"I suppose it'll be awhile before we see you again," Murrue Ramius said softly. "I can't say I'm very happy about your transfer, Commander."

Most of the crew was assembled to see off three of their number, as they departed the ship. Natarle Badgiruel was, for once, looking to be in complete agreement with her Captain; as was most of Archangel's crew. This was a day they'd never really expected.

Mu La Flaga shrugged unhappily. "I can't say I'm too happy about it, either," he told her. "I mean, come on; why do they want me as an instructor in California at a time like this?"

"Well," Murrue suggested, "at least with you teaching, there should be a lot fewer rookie casualties on the battlefield. Maybe that's what they're thinking about."

"I guess, but... Urgh!" The Hawk of Endymion pulled off his cap and squeezed it between his fingers. He couldn't find words to express his anger at being transferred off the Archangel, after so long with the ship. This is where I belong... if only those idiots at Headquarters understood that!

"Come on," she said gently. "You'd better go." She raised her hand in a crisp salute. "It's been an honor to serve with you, Commander."

Sighing, Mu lifted his own hand. "The same to you... Ma'am." Turning on his heel with military precision, he walked through the hatch, returning the salutes that were directed his way by the assembled crew.

"Be careful out there, Mu!" Sophia "Victorian Kestrel" DiFalco called after him. "Don't let some rookie fly you into the ground."

He glanced over his shoulder, with a slight grin on his face. "And don't you get shot down when ZAFT attacks," he returned. "Good luck, Kestrel."

And he was gone.

Murrue then turned to the second departing crewman... or crew woman, in this case. "I'm sorry to see you go, Flay," she said quietly. "I wish it could be otherwise."

Flay Allster swallowed. "Captain... I don't want to leave. I want to stay here, with the Archangel!"

The Captain sighed. "I know. Unfortunately, Headquarters has... other ideas. On the other hand, you'll probably be safer, wherever you're going." She looked at the officer who stood to Flay's left, the third and final person to be leaving this day. "You'll take care of her, won't you?"

"I will."

Murrue lowered her voice. "I guess this is good bye, at least for now," she said sadly.

"Yes," Ken DiFalco agreed, allowing a wistful note to enter his voice (ever since his burst of amusement after the Board of Inquiry, he'd been much freer with expressions of emotion).

"How long do you think you'll be gone?" she asked. "I know you'll be back... but how soon can you manage to arrange it?"

He shrugged. "I don't know," he admitted. "Depends on several factors; like when I have the greatest chance of not causing a lot of fuss when I turn up missing. But I'll be back as soon as I can, Murrue. You have my promise on that."

Murrue gripped his hand. "I'll hold you to that," she told him firmly. "You've become an integral part of Archangel's command group, and an invaluable mobile suit pilot."

The ace smiled. "Yeah, well, I'd like to think I will be again; just so long as you make sure my Preybird is ready for me when I need it."

"You got my personal guarantee on that one, Commander," Kojiro Murdoch called. "I know you don't want anybody to touch it; and we'll make sure nobody does. Don't worry about a thing."

"Right," Sophia agreed with a slightly strained smile of her own. "You be careful out there, Falcon; now that we actually get along, I don't want you dying on me."

"Not a chance, Sis," the ace told her. Then, looking back at his Captain, he raised his hand in salute; but this time, it was the characteristic gesture used by ZAFT, not the Earth Forces. "I'd better be going, Captain," he said formally. "I don't want to be late; I suspect Captain Sutherland would just love an excuse to put me on report."

She nodded wordlessly, returning the salute.

Then it was Natarle's turn to speak up. "I hope to see you again soon, Commander," she told him. "Someplace other than the battlefield, I hope."

"Not much chance of that," he said solemnly. "But we can hope." Then, gesturing for the distraught Flay to precede him, the Grimaldi Falcon strode toward the hatch.

"Ken!" Murrue suddenly called, using his given name for some obscure reason. "Be careful," she said quietly, when he turned. "I... I'll miss you."

The Ken DiFalco that had come aboard at Heliopolis would've thought little of the remark; the niceties of human interaction had been shoved aside, as far as he was concerned, by the overwhelming responsibility of his self-assigned mission.

The Ken DiFalco who now left the Archangel, however, had begun to recover the humanity that terror and guilt has stolen from him.

In his mind's eye, a malachite-eyed blonde in gold and blue seemed to smile and nod.

So Ken smiled, and said, "Me, too, Murrue."

And then he, too, was gone.

Archangel, Brig
Murrue paused just inside the ship's detention area, feeling suddenly uncertain. This was the first time she'd come to see the prisoner held here, and she'd done it for the sole purpose of asking a question she'd never have dared air while Ken was still with the ship. But I have to know... and he's the only one who can tell me. If he can't, no one can.

Dearka Elsman, lying on a bunk in his cell, caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He sat up, and then blinked in astonishment as he realized just who his visitor was. What the- Isn't she the captain? What's she doing here?

He cautiously cleared his throat; he didn't want any trouble, particularly not with the Archangel's commanding officer. "Isn't it a little unusual for the captain to come all the way to the brig?" he asked carefully. "What do you want with me?"

Murrue walked closer to the cell. "I... need to ask you something," she said at last. "We have a friend in common, I believe."

Dearka raised an eyebrow. "You mean Falcon? Yeah; I've known him for about ten years or so. We were best friends... at least until he left ZAFT. Why?" Now he was genuinely curious. What could she want from him that she couldn't get from the ace himself?

"I've known him for a long time, too," she told him, "off and on; and I went to the Academy with his older sister. But... The Ken DiFalco who came aboard the Archangel at Heliopolis seems very different from the one I knew, years ago. I... was wondering if you could tell me what changed; why he seemed to cold and... almost inhuman. Sophia thought that it was some kind of mental conditioning, but that doesn't seem to be it."

He slowly stood. "You're right," Dearka said slowly. "It wasn't anything Metzinger did to him -yeah, he told me about that- but I do know what it is." He frowned pensively. "He keeps a photo in his cockpit, or at least he used to. You ever see it?"

Murrue thought back. "A young woman, about his age, with blonde hair and malachite eyes... wearing a gold flightsuit with blue trim, right? What about her?"

Dearka leaned against the cell bulkhead. "To understand the Falcon's mind, you need to know her story, and how it was connected to his," he told her with a sigh. "Her name was..." His voice faltered, and she could tell that these words, for whatever reason, came to him only with difficulty. "Her name was Laura Elsman."

Murrue stiffened in shock. She remembered quite clearly when Sophia had first identified Dearka in Ken's graduation photo; she remembered Dearka's last name. "You mean, she was...?"

"Yeah," he said heavily. "She was my sister... and Falcon's girlfriend."

For Murrue Ramius, the pieces started coming together. Ken's single-minded devotion to his mission was far more than mere loyalty to the PLANTs; it was driven by... What? Devotion to his girlfriend's -his best friend's sister's- memory?

Dearka needed no prompting to continue the tale, now that he'd started. "They'd known each other as long as I'd known him, of course; and in 68 they finally got together. They managed to get assigned to the same teams, flying together... until February Fourteenth, 70."

She closed her eyes. "The day of the Bloody Valentine."

He nodded. "Right. The Earth Alliance's attack wasn't exactly unexpected; the declaration of war came a full three days before that, and we'd been expecting it even longer. The blockade in 69 told us that much, and we were ready for anything... except what they actually did." His fists clenched unconsciously, as he remembered that day. "It was a fierce battle, missiles, bullets, and beams going everywhere... but we were winning. Until, that is, Falcon noticed a mobile armor that was a little different from the others. Now, Falcon's an engineer, by training; a weapons engineer at that. He knew a nuclear missile when he saw it, so he tore off after that Moebius, ignoring everything else..."

"What happened then?" Murrue asked softly.

Dearka grimaced. "He and Laura fired everything they had at that thing, but the pilot was good; he managed to dodge everything long enough to get into firing range, and then it was too late. Falcon knew it, so he pulled out, racing to get out of the blast radius... but Laura's GINN was already badly damaged from the earlier fighting. She... didn't make it."

She closed her eyes. "She died in the same moment as Ken's home," she murmured. "That... must've hit him hard."

"It did," he agreed. "I don't know if you've seen the visual records of that battle, but I have; and let me tell you, you never want to be on the wrong side of a battle when Falcon goes Berserker. It doesn't happen very often, but when it does..."

A thought struck the Captain. "So what happened to Raptor wasn't an isolated incident."

"No; the GINN he flew at the Bloody Valentine came apart on the spot. His cockpit literally disintegrated around him, and he had to be rescued before he could drift off into interplanetary space." Dearka sighed again. "He was unconscious by then, but not from his wounds; and he was never quite the same after that. I've never seen him show any interest in entering another relationship, and he's almost- no, that's not it. He is obsessed with protecting the PLANTs, because it's all he has left... and because he promised Laura."

Murrue slowly shook her head. "I had no idea about any of this..."

"I'm not surprised; Falcon and I are the only people who know exactly what happened that day, and I know he doesn't like to discuss it with strangers." He barked a laugh. "Actually, he won't even discuss it with me, and she was my sister."

"To lose his home and his girlfriend in the same, horrific event... no wonder he turned out as he did."

Dearka nodded. "Yeah. There's a reason his team was nicknamed the Gray Demons, Captain. It wasn't just because his pilots were incredible flyers; it was also because he fought like a demon. Look, you've never seen him at his best, not really."

"But," Murrue protested, "he flew to the best of his ability every time he went out there to protect this ship."

He shook his head. "Not quite. He was doing his best, sure; but in space, he was either faced with only a couple of opponents, or he was trying to disable, instead of kill. On the ground, he was usually forced into unfamiliar battle scenarios; after all, he'd never fought in the atmosphere before."

She frowned speculatively. "If that's the case, he's gotten the hang of fighting in atmosphere by now; which makes me wonder: how good would he be if he took Preybird out today?"

Dearka grinned despite himself. "Having been blown out of the sky by that machine when it was piloted by someone other than Falcon... I don't think there's a pilot or a machine out there right now who can take him, except maybe the Strike pilot... and even then, only with a next-generation machine of his own."

JOSHUA Base, Alaska, Submarine Dock
"Sure is busy," Mu remarked, noting the huge number of soldiers moving to board the large number of transport subs still docked at the base's harbor. "I wonder what's going on?"

"Must still be sending troops off to Panama," Ken mused absently; he was peering at his pocket computer. "I guess they're still fooled..."

"Yeah." The Hawk scratched his head. "Say, where are you heading? Sutherland didn't say..."

"Panama," the ace replied. "So's Flay. You?"

"Same direction; I guess they figure it'll be safer to transfer me to California from there." Mu snorted. "Though only a desk jockey would think that sending me fifteen hundred kilometers past my destination makes any sense. Well, I guess that's the breaks in this business."

"Will we be safe?" Flay wondered aloud, anxious. "ZAFT is supposed to be attacking Panama soon, aren't they?"

Ken smiled slightly. "Supposed to be? Yes... but I daresay that's nothing but a feint. The quickest way to slay the beast is to cut off its head..." He trailed off, concentrating again on his computer. "Hmm... that's strange..."

His brother raised an eyebrow. "What is it, Falcon?"

"I'm not sure..." The line to the submarines advanced, and Ken followed mechanically in its wake, but his attention was not at all on his surroundings. "There's something..." He froze, and muttered a word that was not only impolite, but also extremely out of character.

"What is it?" Mu demanded. "What's wrong?"

"Tell you in a minute. For now..." Ken glanced at Flay. "I'd better not leave you behind. Come on, we're going back into the base."

He strode off, Flay following closely as she tried to keep up with his rapid footsteps. "Where are you going?" she asked. "What's going on?"

Mu headed off after them, wondering just what had possessed his little brother to charge off like that. He's not normally that impetuous; the last time, it got him all the way out to the Archangel...

Ken came to an abrupt halt at the entrance to the corridor leading back into the main base, for there stood a pair of guards, with assault rifles, neither of whom looking pleased to see the ace. "You can't pass," one of them said sharply. "I believe your orders, Commander, are to depart by submarine for Panama. I suggest you carry them out, sir."

Mu strode to the ace's side. "Just a minute, Lieutenant," he said angrily. "Commander DiFalco outranks you-"

"You can pass, Commander La Flaga," the Earth Forces lieutenant interrupted, "but we have strict orders to ensure Commander DiFalco continues on to his destination." He unslung his assault rifle, pointing it at the ground at the ex-ZAFT pilot's feet.

"Stand back, you two," Ken told his companions, and casually set his duffle bag down. "You don't want to get in my way, fellas," he said easily.

Neither guard budged. "Commander DiFalco, you have your orders."

Ken's expression hardened. "I'm only going to tell you this once, Lieutenant: Get. Out. Of. My. Way."

The guards abandoned persuasion, and rifle muzzles came up. Mu ducked back in sheer shock, reaching for his sidearm-

And Ken moved.

His right hand, now freed from carrying the duffle bag, darted into his trench coat. With the sound of metal on wood, his meter-long katana swept out, and his left hand joined his right on its crimson hilt; and the blade flashed in a diagonal backhand, ripping into the first guard. It cut through him from right hip to left shoulder as though he where made of tissue paper, and he fell messily to the floor.

Before his partner even had time to react, Ken had swung around in a complete circle, building kinetic energy, and his weapon sliced cleanly through the man's rifle, reversed just above shoulder-level, and swept through his neck.

As was typical of one of Ken's sword rampages, it was over in under three seconds, and Mu stared at the younger pilot. "Do you have any idea what you just did?" he whispered harshly; to his shock, no one else had even noticed the carnage, probably because a sword doesn't make much of a sound... and neither man had time to scream. "You just killed two of your comrades-!"

"They weren't my comrades," Ken replied coldly, flicking his blade out to scatter the blood, and then sheathing it. "They never were; and we don't have time for this."

Flay's eyes were wide as saucers, and the Hawk couldn't decide if he was more shocked or furious. "You just murdered-"

"Stuff it!" the ace snapped. "Don't you get it? Those were Sutherland's men; and Sutherland, like most of the rest of the Earth Forces' higher-ups, is a member of Blue Cosmos."

Mu stiffened. "You're kidding."

"No, I'm not. The Earth Alliance is little more than a front for Blue Cosmos, and that's how it's been from day one." Ken's eye was narrowed dangerously. "It was Blue Cosmos, not the PLANTs, that carried out the Copernicus bombing, and they did it not just to lay even more suspicion on us, but also to gain control of the soon-to-be Alliance." Without another word, he charged into the base's interior.

Flay looked at the Hawk. "W-what do we do now?"

Mu closed his eyes. "We follow him," he said finally. "And hope he knows what on earth he's doing."

JOSHUA Base, Alaska, Interior
It didn't take long for Mu and Flay to catch up with their wayward comrade; he was easy enough to find, with his trench coat fluttering behind him.

"Would you mind telling me just what is going on?" Mu demanded. "It's not like you to suddenly go charging off, killing two men in the process."

"Operation Spit Break has begun," Ken replied grimly. "My pocket computer picked up coded and scrambled radio traffic on ZAFT frequencies. I broke it easily enough, and confirmed that the attack is underway."

The Hawk cursed. "So where are you going?"

"Back to the Archangel, if possible. Unfortunately, I suspect they've already been deployed. If that's the case, I might have to arrange transportation first. After that-"

Mu didn't bother to ask why his brother suddenly broke off; he felt it, too. "This feeling... is Rau Le Creuset here?"

Ken cursed imaginatively under his breath. "That's Rau, all right; that bastard. And if he's here, in JOSHUA Base itself... Let's hurry."

He darted down a side corridor, nearly losing Flay in the process. "Is it just me," Mu wondered aloud as they ran, "or is this place a lot emptier than it's supposed to be? I thought this was supposed to be Headquarters, not a ghost town."

"That's what I thought, too," the ace grunted. "Let's head for the Operations Room; if there are any answers, they'll be there."

Outside JOSHUA Base, Alaska
The alarms ringing out from Headquarters had brought the entire crew to high alert, and now Murrue punched buttons on the arm of her chair. "Get us out there," she barked to Neumann as she worked. "The sooner we're in contact with the enemy, the sooner we can fight back."

"But that's crazy!" Kuzzey protested. "We only have one pilot-"

He was interrupted when the Captain finally got a radio link through to Headquarters. "Captain Sutherland!" she called to the image that formed on the screen. "What's the situation?"

Sutherland's face was a mask of fury; though not, it appeared, at her. "ZAFT launched the massive attack we were expecting," he said, obviously forcing a controlled tone. "But the attack on Panama was nothing more than a ruse; they drew off our strength, and attacked here, instead."

She nodded, but inwardly her feelings were more akin to admiration. Ken, you pulled off another one. Now, if we can only survive your brilliant plan... "What are our orders, sir?"

"Defend the base at all costs. There's no time to integrate you into the primary battle plan, so operate at your discretion. Do your best, Captain. Headquarters, out."

Sutherland's image disappeared, and Natarle shook her head in annoyance. "During the Board of Inquiry, he was quick to tell us exactly where and when we could've done things better; but now that he's in a position to tell us how we should fight, he doesn't have anything useful to say. Figures." She looked up. "Captain, shall I order Commander DiFalco to launch?"

Murrue considered that for only a split-second before nodding. "Yes, tell Sophia-"

"Status change!" Mir suddenly called. "Preybird has dropped cloak, activated main systems, and begun making its way to the catapult!"

Murrue's head snapped around. "What? Why?"

"I think it knows what it's doing, Captain," Murdoch called from the hangar. "I think Commander DiFalco -Falcon, I mean- left some kind of beckon-call programming in both the machine and the ship; he must've activated it somehow, and now Preybird's into an automated launch sequence."

She felt some of her tension fade into a wave of relief. "Then Ken's coming back," she said, almost to herself. "All right, don't interfere with it; and tell Sophia to launch at once. We need to keep the airspace clear enough for Preybird to make an unmanned flight to... to wherever Ken is calling it to. I know that thing is powerful, but I doubt it can fight without a pilot in it."

"Roger that."

Murrue glanced into CIC again. "What's the situation, Crewman Argyle?"

"Chaotic, Ma'am," Sai answered. "We have dozens -no, over a hundred ZAFT mobile suits -BuCUEs, ZuOOTs, DINNs, GOOhNs, ZnOs, GINNs, and CGUEs- and several submarine carriers." He tapped his displays. "Looks like they're low on submarine mobile suits."

Natarle glanced at him. "Few amphibious machines?"

"Affirmative, Ma'am."

Murrue sighed in additional, if slight, relief. "Then at least we don't have to worry much about being attacked from below." GOOhNs and ZnOs had been the Archangel's most dangerous opponents, even outclassing the stolen G-weapons themselves, since the ship had reached Earth. Without them, they at least could largely ignore the sea beneath them... especially since, according to Ken, Vosgulovs had effectively zero offensive capability when submerged.

Sai, meanwhile, continued his sitrep. "Our forces have already taken heavy casualties; we just lost the cruiser Graf Spee, and- Omega Signal from battleship Tirpitz. Heavy fire-support for the southeast quadrant of the formation is down heavily. Battlecruiser Hood is gone..."

Sophia, who had been listening in even as she prepared to launch, suddenly broke into the litany of loss reports. "Murrue, is it just me, or are all those ships Eurasian?"

Murrue started. "You're right. Coincidence...?"

"Checking fleet composition, Captain," Sai interjected, beginning a search without waiting for orders. "No coincidence, Captain," he reported after a moment. "According to Fleet datanet, Archangel is the only ship in the fleet not belonging to the Eurasian Federation."

Natarle's eyes narrowed. "Captain, something isn't right here."

The Captain nodded. "I know, Natarle. But we don't have time to figure it out now; we'll just have to wait until Ken returns and gives us one of his brilliant conclusions."

Murrue didn't sound in the slightest sarcastic, and, if Natarle wondered about the fond note in her voice, she didn't comment.

JOSHUA Base Interior
"Okay," Ken muttered, still moving as fast as his bio-engineered leg muscles would carry him, "now I'm getting confused, and I don't like being confused. Nothing ever confuses me..."

Mu snorted a laugh. For most of the journey into the curiously-empty base, the ace had kept up a steady litany of muttering under his breath, interspersed with the occasional curse. This situation had him perplexed, and he obviously wasn't a man accustomed to being perplexed.

He also appeared to be tiring, which worried the Hawk. He remembered his brother's inexplicable weakness after bursts of activity that should have been no problem for a Coordinator; it would be a bad thing if it happened now, of all times.

On the other hand, the ex-ZAFT pilot had also been known to go for several days without sleep...

Flay, meanwhile, was having difficulty keeping up with the pair. She wasn't used to this kind of physical activity, and it was beginning to take its toll on her. "How... much farther...?" she gasped.

"We're almost there," Ken told her, and skidded to a sudden stop. "Here we are... Quiet," he hissed abruptly.

Mu nodded; he felt it, too. Together, sidearms in hand -Ken had produced a machine pistol from somewhere- they peered around the corner... and then Flay, not understanding what was going on, walked right into the operations room.

Instantly, a hail of bullets erupted from within, and Flay ducked. "Ahh!" Another fully-automatic burst spat out...

Then Ken was there, having dropped his pistol, and swept his sword around, deflecting bullets all over the room. "Cut it out, Rau!" he called. "Or I'll cut you to ribbons!"

Mu dashed in and took cover with them, as quiet laughter drifted over. "It's been awhile, you two," Rau Le Creuset said, amusement in his voice. "It's a pity we don't have time to chat; although if you're still hanging around this place, your usefulness to the Earth Forces must be nearly at an end." He chuckled. "The Hawk of Endymion and the Grimaldi Falcon... oh, how the mighty have fallen!"

"We don't intend to die here today, Le Creuset," Mu informed him. "But you might."

"Maybe so... but I suggest you take a look around before you make any long-term plans. Which begs the question, Falcon: how do you feel, being the architect of your own demise?"

"Not nearly as good as I'll feel about being the architect of your demise, Rau," the ace hissed. "One of these days..."

There was a laugh, and the sound of rapid footsteps, then silence.

Ken cursed, sheathed his blade, and knelt by Flay. "You okay?"

She examined herself carefully, as if expecting to find bullet holes, before nodding shakily. "Y-yes, I think so... Thank you."

The faintest trace of a smile. "No problem."

Mu, meanwhile, had gotten to his feet, and was examining the various displays. "You know," he muttered, "for an operations room, there doesn't seem to be much going on right now..."

Ken joined him. "I know. Something isn't right... and what was Rau talking about...?" He bent to take a closer look at one screen... and his blood ran cold. "Mu..." he whispered harshly. "You'd... better take a look at this." He'd gone pale, and he was almost shaking.

"Wha...?" The Hawk looked close, and the blood drained from his face. "No! Those bastards!"

Flay hurried over. "What's wrong?" she demanded anxiously. "What are those circles?"

Rage had mingled with fear on Ken's face. "Those aren't circles, Flay... those are microwave transmission dishes." His hand clenched into a trembling fist. "That's the biggest Cyclops System I've ever seen." He closed his eye. "Lesson Thirty: If a Cyclops System enters the equation, drop whatever you're doing and run like a bat out of hell."

Drawing on reserves of strength he hadn't realized he had, the ace spun around and charged off, with Mu and Flay close on his heels.

Archangel, Bridge/Starboard Flight Deck
Natarle Badgiruel was getting the distinct feeling that something had gone very, very wrong.

First the strange discovery that, aside from the Archangel, every single ship in the fleet was Eurasian, then the odd lack of a battle plan (hadn't Headquarters ever heard of contingency planning?), and now ZAFT forces were ripping the Fleet to pieces.

As she watched her displays, a Eurasian battleship -the Bismarck, she noted absently- took a direct hit on her reactor and vanished in a violent explosion that hurled pieces of debris everywhere; then a destroyer was struck by a GOOhN-launched torpedo, which ripped a gigantic hole in the keel, and sank like a stone.

GOOhNs and ZnOs were attacking from below, DINNs wheeled about in the sky, and GINNs and CGUEs circled atop Guuls in a deadly ballet that was tearing the Earth Forces formation apart. The Archangel herself had gotten off reasonably lightly so far, but it was only a matter of time...

"What's the Preybird's status?" Murrue called. "Has it made it through the enemy air cover?"

"Affirm, Murrue," Sophia replied, absently blowing a ZuOOT to pieces with her Agni. "It went Mirage Colloid shortly after launch, and according to telemetry entered through one of the base hangars a couple minutes ago. Whatever Falcon's up to, he now has the capability to pull it off... assuming he can reach the upper levels of the base."

The Captain frowned. "Why couldn't he? ZAFT forces haven't gained access to the base interior yet, have they?"

"I believe Commander DiFalco is referring to the fact that Captain Sutherland may have posted guards to ensure Commander- er, Falcon got on his transport." Natarle used the pilot's nickname, despite her preference for military protocol, for the simple reason that having two Commander DiFalcos around was far too confusing. "If that's the case..."

"He probably killed them," Sophia said grimly. "I don't think he was ever truly loyal to the Earth Forces, and he has a short way with people who interfere with his business. On the other hand, I expect he had good reason... especially knowing how trigger-happy some Alliance people are when it comes to Coordinators."

Murrue sighed. "You're probably right, Sophia. I just hope he's all right..."

Further conversation was cut off by a sudden missile barrage. Without waiting for orders, Neumann wrenched the ship around. If that salvo hit, it wouldn't take a lucky shot to knock the Archangel out of the sky.

Most of the missiles streaked harmlessly past, and more were destroyed by last-ditch point defense, but one got through, and slammed into the starboard catapult hatch.

Down in the flight deck, Murdoch hurled himself to the deck, taking two of his mechanics with him, as the explosion ripped into the hatch. The hatch wasn't nearly as heavily-armored as the rest of the ship's hull, and it tore into fragments that sliced through the air of the compartment like knives.

One such fragment grazed a mechanic's leg, ripping through muscle tissue, and a scream split the air. "Medic!" Murdoch shouted, pulling himself to an intercom panel. "We need a medic down in the starboard flight deck, ASAP!"

Even as he spoke, another man used his belt and a piece of debris as a tourniquet for the wounded man's leg, and work went on...

JOSHUA Base Interior
To hasten their escape from the doomed base, the trio had appropriated a pair of motorcycles; now Flay rode behind Mu, while Ken had a bike to himself, his trench coat billowing out behind him.

"This is crazy, Falcon!" Mu called over the sound of their vehicles. "How can they be insane enough to use a Cyclops?"

"Not insane, Mu," the ace replied harshly. "From their point of view, it actually makes sense. Think about it: this way, they not only take out the majority of ZAFT's earthbound fighting strength, but also the troublesome Eurasians -you know as well as I that the Atlantic Federation dominates the Alliance, and they don't get along with the Eurasians- and the Archangel, which they probably consider tainted by Kira and me. Not to mention that this gives them the chance to get rid of me, too."

"Then we'll just have to foil their plans, won't we?"

"Yeah... but there's something else about this that disturbs me." Ken tightened his grip on the bike's handlebars. "That Cyclops was purpose-built for this operation... which tells me that they knew of the attack in advance."

Mu's eyes narrowed. "You mean someone in ZAFT leaked intelligence."

"Exactly... and when I find out who spoiled my carefully-prepared plan, I'll skin him alive. Slowly."

Flay, who had heretofore been silent, spoke up, almost inaudible under the background noise. "But who would do something like that?"

Ken shrugged. "I don't know; but I'll kill him anyway."

They came to an elevator about then, skidded to a stop, and dismounted from their bikes as the door slid closed. "This should take us up to one of the hangars," Mu said, pausing to regain his breath. "From there, we can steal a couple planes, get out of here before the Cyclops blows..."

Ken smiled; the hungry look of a predator. "I think I've got something better than that, Mu. Something with a little more firepower..."

JOSHUA Base, Hangar
When the elevator doors opened again, the space quickly filled with smoke, shouting, and the smell of blood. The fighting had been fierce, and now it had come to the base itself.

"This doesn't look good!" Mu shouted over the din. "Falcon, where's this 'something better' you were talking about, anyway?"

"I'll go get it!" Ken called back. "Take Flay with you, and tell these idiots they need to get ten kilometers from here before the Cyclops turns them into burnt pork!"

"Roger that!" With a wave of his hand, the Hawk departed into the smoke, Flay close behind. He hadn't a clue what his brother was talking about, but he'd learned to trust the young ace's judgment. Now, if we can just get out of this mess alive...

"Where are we going?" Flay asked. "What's Falcon doing?"

"I don't know what he's doing; but we're trying to find somebody to warn. Wait a sec." Mu skidded to a halt near a Eurasian trooper who was shouting into an intercom.

"What was that?" the man was asking. "What about the Eleventh Air Defense corps? It's destroyed? But-"

Mu grabbed the man's shoulder. "Listen to me!" he shouted into his face. "You need to get everyone out of here, right now! Get at least ten kilometers from the base!"

The trooper stared at him. "What are you talking about?" he demanded. "And who are you?"

We don't have time for this. "My name is Mu La Flaga, and if you don't get out of here, the Cyclops under the base will burn you to a crisp!"

It took only moments for the man to assimilate that Mu La Flaga was someone whose record was unquestioned, and so could be believed, even when he said something as crazy as there being a Cyclops beneath the base. It took only a moment after that for him to realize what the only sensible course of action was.

He ran like a bat out of hell.

"Well," Mu murmured, satisfied. "That takes care of that problem. Now, where's-"

Before he could even finish his sentence, something very large pounded to a halt right in front of him, and his eyes widened when he realized it was a mobile suit. Uh oh...

Then the machine knelt, and Mu realized that it was Ken's Preybird. How it had gotten here, he didn't know; nor did he particularly care.

The cockpit, so like the Strike on the outside, popped open. "Get in, you two," Ken ordered, from within what looked something like an egg inside the cockpit. "Flay, you'll have to get in behind the gunner's module; I know it's not the best place, but there's only two seats. Mu, get in the gunner's position."

"Roger that." Helping Flay in ahead of him, Mu carefully climbed past the pilot's module and dropped into the gunner's seat; somehow he wasn't surprised when the top of the flatted-ovoid module closed a few centimeters above his head, and the seat molded itself -more or less- to his body. "Neat setup, Falcon," he called, presuming the intercom to be active. "But how in the world am I supposed to see out? I don't see any screens..."

Suddenly, the module's skin seemed to become transparent, and he could look out at the hangar around him... and see the ace right in front of him, seemingly floating in the air. "The module's surface is the display, Mu," Ken told him. "The wonders of modern technology. Anyway, once we're out into the clear I'll slave a few of the weapons' systems to your controls. For now, though, I suggest you get used to the display."

"Uh... yeah..." Mu followed his brother's advice, merely watching as the machine plodded toward the hangar's exit. "Fancy suit, I'll give it that..."

"Will we be all right now?" Flay asked from her cramped position in the rear of the cockpit.

Ken smiled thinly. "Flay, trust me. Unless ZAFT has deployed X10A Freedom -which seems unlikely; my people would've seized it, pilot or no pilot, before they let happen- there's nothing out there today that will stop me. Not even Yzak Joule's Duel."

Mu frowned. "The Freedom? What's that?"

"I imagine you'll be meeting it before long, Mu; Sparky said in his last message that it was nearly complete, and if that's the case, my Demons will have seized it by now. But what it is, is another next-generation mobile suit. Some elements of its design are taken from this very machine, and others ZAFT came up with on their own after studying the combat data of their captured mobile suits. Wait one."

The reason for his abrupt command was quickly apparent: a CGUE had landed in the hangar, accompanied by a pair of GINNs. "We've gained access to a secondary entry point," the CGUE's pilot reported; his voice was audible in the Preybird's cockpit, thanks to the frequencies and scrambler codes Tom Delaney had loaded into its computers. "We've spotted Natural activity, and we're moving in."

That was when Ken opened his mouth, uttered his hunting call, and fired off his rail cannons.

He fired three paired shots, allocating two rounds to each machine, and they fell backward into the water; dead or disabled, Mu couldn't tell. "Impressive," was his only comment.

"Thanks." Ken rested his foot on the vernier control pedal. "We're about to take off; hang on, Flay."

He applied power to his thrusters, spread Preybird's wings, and launched out into the battle.

Archangel, Bridge
"Murrue, this is Sophia," the Victorian Kestrel called, flashing past the Archangel's Bridge. "I have visual confirmation of Preybird's launch; and judging from how it's flying, it's manned this time."

Murrue nodded. "One thing, though: are you certain it's Ken in that thing, not some ZAFT pilot who stumbled on it?"

"I'd say so," Sophia said dryly. "If how he rigged Raptor is any indication, any unauthorized access attempt would probably have resulted in a very large explosion. Remember, the ol' Iron Eagle doesn't like it when people mess with his stuff."

"Yes, I remember." Murrue glanced down into CIC. "Re-prioritize our fire; I want to provide support for Preybird until it can arrive."

"Yes, Ma'am," Natarle acknowledged. "Although I doubt that will be much of an issue."

Outside JOSHUA Base, Alaska
"We're in the clear, for the moment," Ken murmured. "I don't think the ZAFT forces have any idea what to do about us yet; so I'd better take the time to get ready for battle. Mu, I'm activating a bypass to your controls for the rail cannons and the DRAGOON system."

Mu gripped his control sticks, but frowned. "DRAGOON system? Just what exactly is that?"

The ace grinned. "If you thought the Death Blossoms were good, just wait till you try this out. You're one of the few people who, like me, can use the system; make the most of it. We'll need all our firepower to make it through this melee."

"Got it." Mu started tapping on the control panel in front of him, familiarizing himself with how the weapons worked, and nodded. "I'll make sure to go for disabling attacks when possible-"

"No."

The soft, flat response startled him. "What was that, Falcon? What do you mean, no?"

"I meant what I said." Ken sighed. "Mu, there's no time for disabling attacks any longer. Those pilots, even my own former comrades, are out to kill me. I can't let that happen; I'm not kidding when I say that for right now, my survival is imperative; nobody else knows everything... and I can't place that burden on anyone else. Shoot to kill, Mu."

The Hawk closed his eyes. "I understand."

"Good. Now, let's get some of our own back."

Suiting actions to words, Ken snatched out the massive Gerbera Straight, and rushed forward. As the DRAGOON remote units dropped away from Preybird's wings, the mighty sword cleaved downward, ripping through a GINN before it could decide what to do...

Archangel, Bridge
"I think you were right about him not needing cover, Natarle," Murrue said, feeling almost detached. "I don't think Ken needs any help at all."

Natarle nodded, impressed despite herself. "Agreed, Captain. It appears that machine surpasses even my expectations."

The Bridge crew, taking advantage of a brief lull in the battle, was watching Preybird fight its way toward them. It had deployed some kind of remote laser system, consisting of ten units with multiple emitters, which would pick a target and then blast it to pieces. At the same time, Preybird itself was swinging its massive Gerbera Straight and cutting through any machine stupid enough to cross its path.

Sai winced in unwillingly sympathy, seeing a GOOhN blasted to scrap by the remote lasers. All ten emitters had chosen it as a target, and four beams came from each one, drilling into the unlucky mobile suit. It wasn't so much ripped apart as vaporized under the massive onslaught... and at the same moment, Preybird's left hand left the katana's hilt, grabbed something from its left shoulder, and threw a beam boomerang at a DINN. Then it sheathed the sword, caught the boomerang on its return -the weapon having split the enemy right down the middle- and pulled out the beam rifles clamped to the rail cannons.

The DRAGOON emitters suddenly clustered around their mother machine, and fired along with the rifles and rail cannons, for a total of forty-two energy stream and two electromagnetically-accelerated projectiles, all racing along in the same general direction.

When the explosions stopped occurring, Natarle spoke again. "Preybird seems to have cleared a path for itself, Captain. Shall I resume offensive fire?"

Murrue nodded, stunned by the carnage her young friend's machine had unleashed. "Yes, Natarle, do that..."

Mir and Sai glanced at each other. "I knew that thing was good," Sai murmured, "from when it saved us outside Orb and at the Marshall Islands. But I didn't know it could do that..."

"I guess there's a reason Ken was so confident when he took out those DINNs," Mir said softly. "He may just save us all..." She looked up abruptly. "Captain, Preybird is on approach to the starboard catapult. Shall I...?"

Murrue smiled wryly. "Why bother, Crewman? There's a good-sized hole in it anyway; and I'm sure Ken's a good enough pilot to just fly right through it."

Archangel, Starboard Flight Deck
"Here we go, people," Ken murmured. "Hold on; this won't be a gentle landing." He angled Preybird down toward the clearly-visible hole in the flight deck hatch. "Beginning descent... now."

For a maneuver of such complexity, it went remarkably smoothly; the only side effect was making Flay want to throw up.

Murdoch grinned, watching the machine come to a very fast, kneeling halt, open its hatch, and disgorge its pilot. "Nice work, kid," he called. "It looks like-"

Ken dashed right past... and was followed by Mu La Flaga and Flay Allster. "No time to chat, Chief," Mu said in passing. "We have business on the Bridge!"

The Chief looked at one of his mechanics. "Anybody know what the Commander and the girl are doin' here? 'Cause I don't."

Nobody answered.

Archangel, Bridge
Having left Flay to find her way back to her quarters, Ken and Mu burst onto the Bridge within two minutes, to Murrue's considerable surprise. "Ken? What are you- Commander?" She stared at the Hawk. "What are you doing here? What about your transfer?"

"That's not important," he told her. "What is important is that coming back may've been my only chance of staying alive." Now that he was out of immediate danger, anger was surging through him again, and it was evident in his voice and features. "Those bastards!"

"He means that the Earth Forces have set a trap here," Ken explained, his own eye flaming. "A trap that would take out not just the ZAFT forces, but us, too." His fist clenched. "Those bastards have set a Cyclops underneath the base, with a ten-kilometer blast radius."

Murrue jerked in shock. "What?"

"When that thing goes off," Mu concurred, "it will turn everything within that ten-kilometer radius into a blast furnace. In the process, it'll take out virtually the entire ZAFT force here... and us with it! That's the scenario for this battle, as imagined by the top brass!"

"It can't be!" she protested.

"It is," Ken said, voice like iron. "We saw the specs, we saw the battle plan -presumably they weren't expecting anyone to actually go all the way back to the operations room- and we saw this, too: the base is virtually empty. I don't know where Sutherland is commanding this battle from, but it's not here."

"Our only purpose here was as a diversion," Mu told her. "Soon, this 'diversionary force' will be wiped out, and the main gate will fall; and when that happens, Headquarters will know it, and they'll activate the Cyclops."

"They used us," Ken agreed. "And worse, they used me... and the plan I created. Rau was right, the bastard; I'm the architect of our demise, blast it." He muttered something else under his breath; something considerably less polite.

"What kind of crazy plan is this?"

Murrue's head came around, looking for the origin of the voice, and she saw Mir, in CIC, looking forlorn. "Crewman Haw..."

"Because this is a war..." she whispered. "And because soldiers are supposed to follow orders... even if it leads to our deaths, right? Do we just... keep going?"

"They lost any claim on your loyalty today, Mir," Ken told her, gently, but with a strange light in his eye. "They've betrayed you this day, much as Patrick Zala and ZAFT betrayed me. Now... the only thing that can guide your actions is your own conscience." He spun, and walked to the bow of the Bridge. "Well?" the Grimaldi Falcon demanded, looking at them all. "Are you going to just die here, or will you fight your way out of this betrayal? Will you let them win, or will you battle for survival? The choice is yours... and only yours. Now is the time to choose."

Murrue suddenly had the eerie feeling that this was a moment her friend had been waiting for from the moment he came onboard, at Heliopolis... and she understand that, in some obscure fashion, he had just laid upon them the responsibility of choosing their own destiny. No, she thought, he didn't lay it on us; he just showed us that it was already ours.

That from the moment our leaders betrayed us, everything was up to us.

Captain Murrue Ramius of the Mobile Assault Ship Archangel drew herself to her feet. "If the entire purpose of this battle, and our part in it, was to lure the enemy into a trap," she said in clear voice, "then in my professional opinion, this ship has already completed her mission. The Archangel will now break off offensive action, and withdraw from the battle area." Then, as though speaking for the record, she continued, "Let it be clearly understood that I, Murrue Ramius, Captain of the Archangel, have made this decision alone. No other crew member is to be held responsible for these actions."

Mu smiled, and Ken solemnly drew himself to attention, then saluted. "Captain Murrue Ramius," he said formally, "I believe this vessel is now in a state of mutiny against rightful authority. Therefore, I hereby fully endorse your actions, and request permission to rejoin the crew of the rogue Mobile Assault Ship Archangel."

Murrue stared at him for several seconds, before realizing that, though his words were jesting, his intent was not. "Commander Kenneth DiFalco, I accept you as a member of this group." Then she smiled. "And may I say, welcome back, Ken."

He returned the smile, and clasped her hand; and in that moment she recalled that ZAFT was far more informal than the Earth Forces. He was probably chafing under it the whole time, she thought. He's used to close-knit groups; even more so than the Archangel.

And why am I thinking about that right now?

"It's good to be back, Murrue," the ace said easily. "Even if I was only gone a few hours. Which reminds me," he added, snapping his fingers. "We brought Flay out with us; I presume she's in her quarters right now, doing her best not to think about the battle."

Murrue nodded in relief. "That's good to hear. I'm not sure how well she'd do, outside the Archangel, without anyone familiar around. At least she's safe, even if we are in the middle of a battle."

Natarle cleared her throat. "About that, Captain... this is, as you said, a battle. Should we perhaps get back to fighting it?"

Ken nodded. "Right you are, Lieutenant; questions of loyalty can be settled when we're not in danger of being incinerated. Mu," he said, turning to his brother, "I suggest you get into a flightsuit and return to the Preybird; I'll suit up myself, and join you after I've made a detour to the Brig."

Mu blinked, startled. "Sure, Falcon; but... the Brig? I don't think now's the time to chat with the prisoner, you know..."

"He's not just a prisoner; he also happens to be my best friend." The ace's eye narrowed. "And besides... I think I can convince him to help us get out of here."

Now it was Murrue's turn to be startled. "What? How? He's a ZAFT pilot..."

"And right now, not only is saving this ship his only chance for survival, but shooting down ZAFT pilots is, for the moment, the best way to make sure they get out alive."

Archangel, Brig
Dearka looked up in surprise, hearing the brig hatch open... and then seeing who was entering. "Falcon?" he said, eyebrows raised. "I thought you transferred out; and even if you didn't, what are you doing down here when there's a battle on?"

"I did transfer out," Ken replied, he was already in his flightsuit. "But I decided to come back. And as for what I'm doing here... I'm offering you a chance to go out there and fight."

The ZAFT pilot looked at him in disbelief. "Are you out of your mind? Just what makes you think I'd willingly go out there and shoot at ZAFT forces?" Then he noticed the cold gleam in his friend's eye, and had a sinking feeling in his stomach. "Just what is going on, Falcon?"

Ken rested a hand on his sword hilt. "Let me tell you something, Dearka. Disabling those ZAFT machines is the kindest thing you could do to them right now. See, the Earth Forces have betrayed us all. Somehow they got wind of Spit Break... and they've deployed a Cyclops system."

Dearka's eyes went wide. "You're kidding," he whispered. "They'd never sacrifice their own forces like that..."

"You weren't at Endymion, Dearka. I was. Believe me, there's a Cyclops out there... and Rau knows it, yet he doesn't seem to have warned anyone."

A wave of conflicting emotions went through the pilot. Commander Le Creuset...? But, why...? Our forces are walking right into a trap, and they don't even know it... It's treason to help the legged ship, but if I don't...

Dearka didn't know what to do. On the one hand, helping the legged ship and shooting down ZAFT pilots was treason. On the other, if Commander Le Creuset hadn't even warned anyone about the impending Cyclops...

There comes a time when you have to make a choice, he realized slowly. Falcon made his last year... and now it's time for me to make mine.

Even if it means treason.

Dearka swallowed. "All right, Falcon. It's a deal." He got to his feet. "Now, get me out of here."

The reason the ace had rested his hand on his sword earlier became suddenly obvious. "Stand back,":he ordered, and his hand and blade blurred.

Four swift cuts later, the cell door fell away, and Dearka stepped gingerly through. "I hope that wasn't expensive," he said dryly.

Ken shrugged. "I doubt we'd ever need all the cells at once, anyway. C'mon, let's get out of here; you'll be pleased to know that Chief Murdoch and his people have completely repaired the Buster."

Dearka raised an eyebrow. "And why would they do that?"

"They were bored."

Archangel, Hangar
The pair came into the hangar at a dead run only minutes later; like Ken, Dearka had donned his flightsuit. Good thing they kept my ZAFT suit around when they captured me, the -ex?- ZAFT pilot mused. Now wouldn't be a good time to need a new one...

He found it highly disconcerting to be walking the "legged ship's" decks as an ally; even stranger was the notion that he would shortly be flying to protect, rather than destroy, the mighty mobile assault ship. But maybe... maybe now, I'll finally understand why Falcon seems to attached to these people...

While Dearka dashed for the repaired Buster, Ken made a beeline for his own Preybird, where Mu was already waiting. He leapt in, closed the pilot module and outer hatch, and keyed his intercom. "You ready, Mu?" the ace called.

"You got it, little brother," Mu replied. "Glad you could make it. By the way, did that ZAFT pilot...?"

"Yeah," Ken acknowledged. "Dearka saw the... urgency of the situation, and he's getting ready to launch now. So we're all set."

"Roger that." The Hawk hesitated. "But, ah, Falcon... shouldn't we take the time to recharge first?"

The ace barked a harsh, humorless laugh. "No need, Mu; Preybird doesn't operate on conventional batteries. Instead, it's the first mobile suit powered by a nuclear fission reactor."

Mu stiffened. "A nuclear reactor? But... the N-jammers make that impossible..."

"They did," was the grim response. "Unfortunately, it seems ZAFT finally made the necessary breakthrough to create the Neutron-jammer canceler. If the Earth Forces get their hands on that data, the PLANTs are doomed... and as it is, the Revolution may yet be lost thanks to these cursed devices." Ken shook himself. "We can discuss that later," he went on, his usual calm detachment back in place. "For now, we need to make sure Headquarters doesn't burn us all to a crisp."

"Yeah..."

Over in the Buster, Dearka finished his preparations, and tentatively keyed a radio link with the Bridge. "This is Dearka Elsman, in the Buster," he said cautiously. "I'm ready to launch."

The face that appeared on his screen startled him. "Roger that, Buster," Mir told him; she looked very nearly as surprised to see him as he was to see her. "You're... uh, you're clear for launch."

"Thanks." The girl's hesitancy didn't really surprise him; he figured he wouldn't comfortable here for awhile yet, so he couldn't expect anyone else to be used to it yet.

Though Dearka was sure he'd have plenty of time to get used to it; Falcon might be right that this was the best -no, the only- course of action he could take, under the circumstances, but it was unlikely ZAFT would think the same. The minute I head out there, he thought sadly, I'll have burned my bridges. I can't go back... so I guess I'll just have to make sure my new home stays intact.

His screen lit up again, and Ken's narrow-visored face appeared. "Ready, Dearka?"

"Uh, yeah..." Dearka hesitated. "By the way, Falcon; that girl, from the Infirmary...?"

The ace smiled (though Dearka couldn't see it through his helmet). "You didn't know that Miriallia happens to be in charge of mobile suit operations, did you? Well, get used to it, amigo; I think you'll be here for awhile."

"Yeah..." The Buster's pilot gripped his controls tightly as the machine entered the catapult. "Dearka Elsman, Buster launching!"

Preybird moved swiftly into the port catapult. "Here we go again," Ken murmured. "I just hope we're in time... I really hate Cyclops systems..."

"Yeah," Mu agreed. "But with this new suit of yours, we should be okay. I gotta say, I've never seen anything like it."

"Nor will you again," the ace told him. "Preybird is specifically designed to dominate the battlefield; the technical term my people and I came up with is 'space superiority' mobile suit. It fits with my tactical philosophy: seek out a single target, and destroy it as quickly, efficiently, and massively as possible."

"Overpower, overwhelm," the Hawk murmured. "That's how one of my teammates in the Zeros referred to your fighting. You'd disperse your people in teams of two to attack specific targets, and then you'd bring them all together again in one massive assault on the main objective."

"Precisely. Preybird is the 'overpower' half of the equation; 'overwhelm' comes in the form of a couple of other projects my people have going up in the PLANTs." Ken smiled to himself. "The real war is about to begin, Mu; the shadow war we've fought so far ends today. Then... Shiva comes into its own." Preybird connected to the catapult, and he gripped his flight sticks. "Bridge, this is the Grimaldi Falcon. ZGMF-X00A Preybird, launching!"

Outside JOSHUA Base, Alaska
Earth Forces warships were still exploding at regular intervals, while battles tank fought valiant -and largely futile- engagements with BuCUEs and ZuOOTs, trying their best to stop the ZAFT forces from breaking into Alaska Base itself.

Ken viewed the battle with sadness. This would be a clear-cut victory for us... if it weren't for the Cyclops. Those bastards... and because of Patrick's madness, I have to add to the death toll myself...

"Hey," Mu said sharply. "Pull it together, Falcon; don't space out on me now. I don't know how to fly this thing, remember?"

"Actually," the ace told him, lifting Preybird into the sky, "there's a Natural-adapted OS stored in the computers. If you need to take over, for whatever reason, just use that."

"Got it. But for now..."

"For now, we deal with the situation at hand." Ken drew the mighty Gerbera Straight, and raced toward the ZAFT formations.

Below, Dearka had landed on the Archangel's aft deck, and was getting ready to provide rear fire support. Here we go, he thought grimly. All those machines are ZAFT, yet I'm about to fire on them... Say, isn't that...? His thoughts shifted directions as he caught sight of a blue and gold Skygrasper firing a hyper-impulse cannon into a CGUE's Guul.

He keyed his radio, a reluctant smile on his face. "Hey, is that you, Miss Sophia?"

Sophia blinked; only one person had ever called her that. "Dearka Elsman? Yeah, it's me; but what are you doing out here? Don't tell me you escaped."

Dearka chuckled. "Didn't you hear? I'm on your side now; Falcon... convinced me that we need to get out of here."

She shook her head in bemusement. "Right... Well, anyway, don't call me 'Miss', okay? Commander, or Kestrel, will do fine; or even Sophia. Falcon's convinced me that I may've been wrong about you."

Buster raised its gun launcher in salute. "Good thing we're not trying to kill each other, then. Good luck out there... Sophia."

"Same to you, Dearka." The Skygrasper waggled its wings, then darted away, searching for more targets.

Dearka turned his attention back to the ZAFT units, and his face tightened, seeing the Duel. Yzak...am I gonna have to fight you, too?

At least Yzak's machine was too far away for it to be likely he'd noticed the Buster yet...

Preybird might've been intended to deal with only one target at a time, but with Mu controlling the DRAGOON system independently, Ken was free to direct his attention to targets of his own. His massive blade was held in both hands, and with the machine's special programming, unique frame, and his own well-honed skills with a katana, the weapon was utterly lethal.

He was simultaneously listening in on ZAFT channels, and he noted one transmission with some amusement. "What is that thing?" a GINN pilot was wondering. "It doesn't look like one of ours... Have the Earth Forces put out a new model?"

The GINN in question was coming right for the powerful new machine, and it swung its own heavy blade in an attempt to bisect Preybird... but Ken had other ideas.

With a shriek of protesting metal, the Gerbera Straight blocked the GINN's weapon... and cut right through it, shearing it away just above the hilt. Without even allowing the pilot time to react to the loss, Preybird's blade came back down, passing through armor as though it didn't exist, and cleanly removing the top of the torso.

Whether the pilot survived the subsequent explosion or not was open to question, but an observer might've thought it unlikely... and would've been perplexed by the red fluid that sprayed through the air.

Ken muttered something under his breath, and jerked Preybird away from the blood-like mist. "Hydraulic fluid," he muttered to himself. "I don't want that on us; might over-lubricate the joints..."

Spinning around, the Gerbera Straight, passed through DINN from top to bottom, spitting sparks and wrecked components everywhere.

Mu shook his head, targeting a GINN with the DRAGOON system. "You know, Falcon," he remarked (as he spoke, emerald darts spitted the machine and its Guul, boring holes edged with melted metal before it all exploded), "I didn't think a mobile suit could move this smoothly. Even Strike and Raptor didn't, and they were the most advanced models out there."

"Preybird has a new type of frame," Ken informed him, "utilizing artificial muscle tissue and macromolecular nerve fibers to create a system remarkably like a human body's joints. It produces unprecedented freedom of movement... and, just incidentally, prevents the sort of thing that knocked Raptor out of the sky."

"Should've known there was more to this thing than met the eye," the Hawk murmured. "Wouldn't be like you not to include a few- Falcon!"

Ken's gaze whipped around just in time to see something he'd missed, in his utter concentration on removing as many enemies from the equation as possible: Archangel was falling from the sky, courtesy of a concerted attack by several GINNs and a pair of CGUEs. And now one of those GINN's was lining up for a shot at the Archangel's Bridge...

Time almost seemed to stop for an instant. Ken knew the ship couldn't possibly evade in time; and Sophia was too far away to help, while Buster's aim was blocked by the ship itself.

And he himself, like an idiot, and been caught too far away himself. Idiot! You forgot to prioritize... that's what happens when you allow yourself to succumb to tunnel vision...

He knew he wouldn't make it in; even the DRAGOON system couldn't do it in the second they had before the GINN fired. Nonetheless, one hand released the Gerbera Straight, began reaching for a beam rifle... and two pairs of eyes suddenly went wide and clear, with even clearer minds behind them.

It still wasn't enough, and the GINN's finger began to tighten. Ken could imagine the scene on the Bridge, as people important to him prepared for death...

A streak of emerald split the heavens, shearing through the barrel of the GINN's machine gun like a knife through melted butter.

The GINN pilot looked up, and so did Ken; and both of them saw the black, white, and blue mobile suit, still fiery from reentry heat, descending from the sky. A hand reached down, snatched out a beam saber, and a blade of frozen fire slashed down through the GINN's head.

Before a number of astonished eyes, ZGMF-X10A Freedom rose into the air, spread its wings, and hovered before the Archangel's Bridge like a guardian angel.

Author's note: Operation Spit Break has commenced, and Ken, Mu, and Flay, after briefly departing the Archangel, have returned. Preybird has begun to show its true power... and now Freedom has arrived on the scene. What might those two machines -and pilots- accomplish together?

Yes, yes, I know; this update took a little longer than I expected. Well, it was also almost four pages longer than average, and I managed to get a little distracted. I've finally been able to try Gundam SEED: Never Ending Tomorrow, and I have to say that the delay in updating was worth it. There might be a few more MSV cameos than I'd originally anticipated...

Well, next chapter should be up a little faster (and yes, I know you've all heard that before; but this time I really mean it). But for the nonce, let me know how this one was. -Solid Shark