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

Archangel, Bridge, May 8th, C.E. 71

The battle had been going poorly, despite the timely intervention of Ken's awesomely-powerful ZGMF-X00A Preybird. The Alliance forces were still being blown away, even as Preybird took out a number of opponents all by itself... and then it was Archangel's turn.

"Incoming GINNs and CGUEs, Captain!" Sai called out. "We can't get a targeting solution!"

"Preybird and the Skygrasper cannot assist," Natarle chimed in. "Buster does not have a clear field of fire; we can't-"

An explosion rocked the ship, and Neumann struggled with the helm. "Levitators have been hit!" he bit out through clenched teeth. "We can't maintain lift!"

Murrue gritted her teeth. "Stop those machines any way you can!" she ordered, holding on tight as Archangel dropped from the sky. "We've come this far; we can't let it end here."

At the fire control console, Pal frantically tapped in commands, seeking any way that the incoming mobile suits could be stopped. For all Archangel's tremendous firepower, it did no good at all if they couldn't even bring the weapons to bear...

Then something swooped down in front of the Bridge's forward viewport, and time seemed to slow. Sai and Mir recoiled, Kuzzey cried out and tried to make a run for the elevator, and Murrue's eyes went wide, then narrow with determination and defiance, as a solitary GINN raised its machine gun to fire right through the transparent viewport...

So it ends, here, the Captain thought, defiant to the end. But our pilots will live on; we won't have died in-

A streak of emerald light split the heavens... and the machine gun. The weapon suddenly ended in a smoking, melted stump... and a winged shape hurtled down out of the sky, swung a beam of frozen fire through the GINN's head, and pulled up sharply. Wings spread, red sparkles spreading from the verniers, it was like a guardian angel come to rescue them.

Through her confusion, Murrue saw the Preybird swoop around in a belated attempt to help, coming to a rest right in front of the newcomer. From the way his machine was behaving, she assumed Ken had expected the new machine's arrival, or at least has known of the possibility.

Then a voice came over the speakers. "Attention, Archangel; this is Kira Yamato. Are you all right?"

Murrue's eyes widened. "K-Kira...? But-"

Kuzzey sank back into his seat, utterly bemused. "But... Kira's..."

"Kira's... alive?" Mir whispered.

"It is Kira!" Sai was happier than he'd been in awhile, despite his old conflicts with Kira over Flay. If he's alive, then...

Suddenly, the moment was shattered by Preybird's sudden movement. "Liar!" Ken shouted... and raised both beam rifles into firing position.

Outside JOSHUA Base, Alaska

Mu's eyes went wide, first at the identity of the Freedom's pilot, then at his brother's actions. "Ken, what are you-"

"You're a liar," the ace said again, harshly. "Kira Yamato is dead, you understand? You expect me to fall for a trick like that?"

In Freedom's cockpit, Kira Yamato swallowed; this was not the reception he'd expected, though on further reflection he should probably have anticipated it. He's paranoid... and he trusts his former comrades so little he's willing to believe anything about them, even that they could fake bringing me back...

He keyed his radio again. "Ken, please; it's me, okay? It really is."

"Liar," Ken repeated yet again. "I watched Kira Yamato die, you understand? I watched him die! And if Patrick thinks this kind of trick is going to work on me, he's even crazier than I thought."

Mu frowned. "Come on, Falcon, how could it be a trick? They don't even know who the Strike's pilot was; you know that."

Kira thought fast. Of course... "Ken," he said again, "it is me. I was helped by... by a mutual friend, along with one of your people. And... Nicol is doing fine."

Ken jerked. Nicol? But... the only way ZAFT could even know that he's alive is if... if Sparky were caught. And if he had been, there'd have been sufficient uproar for even the Earth Forces to hear about it...

So it is Kira...

"It's... good to see you, amigo," the ace said at last. "I thought you were dead."

"Almost," Kira allowed, relieved; from what he'd seen on the way in, Preybird was even more formidable than he'd thought. Tangling with it was not high on his list of things to do. "But I got help, including your people." He looked back at the Archangel. "Captain, please withdraw; I'll cover you."

"We know," Murrue said, tension in her voice, "but... There's a Cyclops beneath Headquarters. They... they tricked us! All of this was just a trap, in order to take out the ZAFT forces! They used us as bait!"

Kira's fists clenched. Those bastards... I guess I got back here just in time... "All right, I understand," he told her. "I'll clear a path for you. Meanwhile, please withdraw!"

"We will," she said gratefully. "Are you sure you can handle this?"

He smiled. "I'll be fine, Captain." Then, as his eyes went wide and clear, he turned back to the Preybird. "Ken, help me out here, will you?"

To his surprise, the ace actually smiled. "You got it, amigo; you do your thing, and I'll take out anything that gets in my way. Mu, let's get back to work."

"Roger that," the Hawk agreed. "Buster?"

Kira blinked. The Buster? Huh?

Dearka hesitated. "I, uh... I've got the rear covered. Don't worry about it."

"If you're sure... then let's go."

Preybird and Freedom spun back toward the enemy forces, and opened fire with a barrage of four rail cannons, three beam rifles, a pair of plasma cannons, and ten remote laser units with a total of forty beam emitters.

The result was a slaughter. Kira's targets went down with heads and limbs ripped away, while anything targeted by Preybird's overwhelming firepower simply ceased to exist... since, while Kira allocating a single shot to each mobile suit, Ken and Mu targeted only a small number, which were simply torn apart or converted to energy by the massive assault.

"You know, Falcon," Mu remarked, directing the DRAGOON units to a new target, "when all this is over, I think you need to finally tell us all what's going on."

Ken drew the Gerbera Straight. "I know, Mu," he said softly. "I know."

Yzak Joule, seeing the sudden eruption of weapons' fire from the cockpit of his Duel, cursed incredulously. "What in the world just happened?" he demanded. "What could've done this?"

He saw first the new machine, the Freedom (which he didn't recognize, given its highly-classified nature)... and then he spotted the crimson, gray, and black mobile suit that was currently causing a GINN to be separated into three pieces.

Yzak's mouth opened in a wordless snarl. He remembered that machine; the way it had taken him apart, outside Orb. How it had humiliated him... and now he had a chance to make another try against it.

Feeding more power to his Guul's thrusters, he powered toward the interloper, intent on blasting it to bits. "You're not getting away today, stranger," he whispered coldly. "Today, you're the one going down..."

Then his radio came alive. "Attention, all ZAFT and Earth Alliance forces! Please, cease fighting and withdraw from this area immediately! If you don't the Cyclops system installed beneath the base will activate and destroy you all! Repeat, all ZAFT and Earth Alliance forces, please cease fighting and withdraw from this area immediately!"

"I'm not falling for that," Yzak called angrily. "Think I'm a fool?"

Down below, on the Archangel's deck, Dearka was frozen with indecision. He'd agreed to fight, since it was his only chance for survival -and likely the only chance for those he'd be firing upon, as well- yet he hadn't been able to bring himself to do it. I have to... but I can't... There's gotta be another way... What am I supposed to do?

Now, though, he saw the Duel, and realized that his old comrade Yzak was out here, as well... and if he fought as he usually did, he'd soon be dead, killed by the Cyclops. The only way to save him -and stop him from making a fatal attempt to take on Preybird- would be... I have to, Dearka thought despairingly. If I don't shoot, he won't make it...

His finger tightened on the trigger.

Yzak recoiled in surprise, seeing that double burst of fire come at him. A gun launcher, and a beam rifle... that meant... "The Buster!" he shouted, now utterly enraged. "You stinking Natural! I'll make you pay for using Dearka's machine!" Forgetting the Preybird altogether, he swooped down on the Archangel, intent on avenging Dearka... and then a voice came over the radio.

"Yzak, stop!" Dearka shouted, firing a salvo of missiles. "Don't make me do this!"

The Duel stopped, shuddering to a halt in the air. "D-Dearka..." Yzak whispered. "What the... what are you doing?" It can't be! Dearka would never betray us!

"What I have to do," Buster's pilot replied. "Don't you get it? The Freedom's pilot wasn't lying."

"What are you doing fighting for the legged ship, Dearka?" Yzak demanded. "Even if there is a Cyclops, that's no excuse-"

"We can discuss reasons for fighting later, Yzak!" Dearka snapped back. "But let me tell you something: Commander Le Creuset already knows about the Cyclops. So why haven't you been recalled? Why hasn't he warned anyone? Ask yourself that! Why would he do that?"

Yzak froze, torn between rage and a sense of betrayal, confusion, and disbelief. "That can't be right-"

Suddenly, Preybird was right in front of him, hovering between Yzak and the Buster. "Dearka," Ken called, "are you having any luck with this guy?"

Dearka shook his head. "Not yet; I think he's thinking about it, but... Falcon," he said carefully, "please don't kill him, all right? He doesn't know what he's doing..."

"Never had any intention of killing him, amigo," the ace assured him. "Yzak Joule, along with the rest of his old team, is far too valuable."

Yzak's doubts were temporarily shoved aside, now that he had a genuine target in his sights... and he'd caught the exchange between the two pilots. "So it's you, DiFalco!" he snarled. "I should've known you were behind it all along! Athrun was right; your people can't be trusted anymore!"

"Bingo," Ken said agreeably.

In the rear module, Mu raised an eyebrow. "Want me to cut this guy down to size, bro?"

Dearka blinked. Bro?

"Nah; I've got him, Mu." Ken sheathed the massive Gerbera Straight -useless against Phase-shift- and drew one of the Lacerta beam sabers stored above the rail cannons. Igniting the blade of scarlet fire, he uttered his hunting call.

Yzak snarled again, and drew a blade of his own.

Dearka looked away; he wasn't sure he wanted to see this.

He needn't have worried. Preybird had disabled all four captured G-weapons once before in thirty seconds flat; against just one, with the Hyper Berserker in the cockpit, it was no contest.

By the time the Duel's saber flashed down, its target was no longer there, and Yzak looked around in confusion. "Where'd you-!"

A fiery blade licked out from behind, piercing the Shiva railgun on Duel's right shoulder, spattering shrapnel and molten metal everywhere. Then it swept around, drew back, and stabbed directly through the left shoulder from behind; the resulting hole drilled clear through, boring through electronics, wiring... and the missile pod in the assault shroud. The entire arm practically exploded, fragments flying in all directions.

Yzak roared in rage and frustration, and tried to spin around, bringing his rifle to bear. He even managed to get off a shot... which was absolutely useless against the Grimaldi Falcon's demonic creation.

The glowing light-wave barrier caught the emerald dart, harmlessly dissipating it. If mobile suits had expressions, Preybird would've sneered contemptuously... as Ken did, before lifting his blade again, slashing through the Duel's right arm at the elbow in a shower of sparks, and sweeping it low through the Duel's knees, severing connections like a hot knife through butter.

And, just as an encore, a single DRAGOON unit swept in and poured green energy into the Guul, turning it to molten metal.

Duel began to fall from the sky. "You'll pay for this, DiFalco!" he shouted in rage. "Just like the Strike pilot, you're going down!"

"Not if he keeps trying to fight Preybird with an old-style G-weapon," Mu remarked dryly. "So, what are you going to do with him now, Falcon?"

Instead of answering directly, the ace keyed his radio. "Kira," he called, "the Duel is down for the count; but I'd rather not just leave him behind this time. Can you pick him up?"

Kira blinked. "Uh, sure," he agreed, and momentarily broke off his deluge of fire. I don't know what he's up to, he thought, bringing the Freedom around, but knowing Ken, he's got something up his sleeve...

Mu was having similar thoughts, but they led to something else when his stomach began complaining. Note to self, he thought. Never, ever fly with a pilot who pulls maneuvers that make you want to throw up. Vomiting in your helmet is not conducive to good combat performance.

Up front he heard what might've been a chuckle; evidently, Ken found the torrent of curses Yzak was screaming at the Freedom amusing. "Good thing I blasted the Duel's limbs off," he remarked, feeding power to the verniers. "Otherwise, Kira would have quite a time bringing him in."

"Out of curiosity," Mu began, "why are you having Kira bring in the Duel? I thought you'd be just as happy letting him go."

"Things are coming to a head, Mu," the ace replied. "This battle is the last act of the war we've been fighting; the true conflict is about to begin, and to fight it, we need all the forces we can get. I already have a substantial force building in the PLANTs, but pilots of Yzak Joule's caliber don't grow on trees."

Having exhausted his quota of words for approximately the next ten minutes, Ken wrenched Preybird around in a sickeningly-fast turn, and blazed back into the melee.

He's incredible, Mu thought, watching the battle they swirled through. If I wasn't Berserker-capable myself, I doubt I could keep up with this guy... In his Hyper Berserker state, Ken seemed to be keeping track of the movements of literally every mobile suit in the battle. He'd pick a target near the opposite edge of the furball, track it as he fought his way there, and then arrange to arrive at a spot at the same instant as his target.

How does he do it? How can a human mind, even that of a Coordinator, keep track of it all?

Mu didn't know... but he did know he was glad of it, even if it meant he could no longer effectively use the rail cannons; Preybird was moving so fast that only the DRAGOON system, which operated independently from the machine, could be accurately aimed by the gunner... though he suspected Ken didn't really need a gunner at all.

Probably just wants to make sure everything works right first, he decided. This is his first pitched battle flying it, after all.

Mu's thoughts were interrupted when he caught sight of something unfamiliar in his targeting displays. "Falcon," he called, "we've got something else out here; I don't recognize it."

Ken took one look at the data his brother shunted onto his displays, and raised an eyebrow. The machine was gold overall, with the general look of a GINN or CGUE-series machine (stereotypical monoeye sensor and crest), but with the addition of some kind of backpack, a Lupus beam rifle, Xiphias rail cannons, and Lacerta beam sabers.

"It's a new model," he reported after a moment. "One of the prototypes, judging from the weaponry; not to mention the fact that it hasn't gone into production yet. It's a ZGMF-600 GuAIZ, in this case an Experimental Firearms model. A handful were created to test the spin-off weapons from the ZGMF-X00A project; weapons intended to become part of the Freedom and X09A Justice. They're not nuclear-powered, so I'm guessing that Guul has an attached power generator to supply energy for those weapons."

Mu nodded to himself. "Any idea who's piloting it?"

"One sure way to find out." Without further ado, Ken opened his mouth, and screamed.

The GuAIZ instantly spun around to face them, and a masked visage appeared in a display window on each module wall. "There you are, Falcon," Victor Tempest, alias Huckebein the Raven, greeted them. "It's been too long since we had a set-to. Ready to die, Commander?"

Ken rolled his eye. "Victor, taking on Preybird with a GuAIZ is suicidal; didn't you see the way I took apart the Duel a minute ago?"

Huckebein laughed. "Come now, Falcon, you know I'm a better pilot than that hothead Joule. Besides, my GuAIZ has better weapons than the Duel."

Mu muted the transmitter. "Want me to take him out, Falcon? Shouldn't be a problem, with the DRAGOONs."

Ken shook his head. "Negative, Mu. We'll take him down, certainly; but right now, he's more useful alive. My old student causes discord in ZAFT, which is much to be desired at this time..." As usual, he chose not to explain himself; but the Hawk rather thought that in this case, it was more a matter of being too busy than anything else.

Huckebein, meanwhile, had clearly decided there was no more point in talking, and opened fire with his Lupus... and then, to Ken's surprise, jumped off his Guul, using the subflight lifter alone.

Mu cursed. "I thought you said that thing wasn't nuclear-powered," he grunted, using a DRAGOON unit's fire to cancel out the incoming shot.

"It shouldn't be," Ken replied, raising the light-wave shield to intercept the next shot. "On the other hand, Huckebein is apparently tasked with taking me down; that probably gives him considerable influence into how his machines are customized."

"Wonderful. Can we still take him?"

The ace shot him a look of disgust. "Mu, Preybird was designed to be superior to everything on the battlefield, including the Freedom itself. A GuAIZ, even equipped with a nuclear reactor, isn't going to be much of a threat to us."

Tempest, of course, clearly thought otherwise. Having decided that his rifle wasn't going to do much good, he ignited a saber; and with a snarl, he brought it down in an overhand chop directed at taking out Preybird's merely-physical Gerbera Straight.

His surprised oath when the huge katana easily parried the stroke provoked a low laugh from Ken. "Come on, Raven, are you really that surprised? You knew material like this existed."

"The beam deflection blade, Gerbera Straight," Huckebein hissed. "But the only blades created of that metal, with the anti-beam coating, were ours, and the Junk Guilder Lowe Guele's..."

"And Lowe happens to be a friend of mine," the ace informed him, "and Tom -you remember him, of course- is one of the few capable of forging a blade of that metal." A thin smile appeared on his face, behind his helmet. "And now, Victor, I suggest you leave me alone." In a flash, he drew back the Gerbera Straight...

Archangel, Bridge

"We're almost to the edge of the ten-kilometer radius, Captain," Neumann reported. "Another minute or less, at current speed."

Murrue nodded. "Thank you, Ensign," she said tersely; they weren't out of the woods yet. "Crewman Haw, order Sophia to return; I think Freedom and Preybird can handle matters from here."

"Yes, Ma'am," Mir responded. "Commander Kestrel-" it was simpler to refer to her by her callsign, under the circumstances "-please return to the ship at once; enemy opposition appears to be decreasing, and we're nearly out of the battle area."

"Roger that," Sophia replied. "On my way in."

"Chief Murdoch reports X102 Duel is secured in the hangar, Captain," Kuzzey reported. "Armed guards are standing by."

"That won't be necessary," Dearka called over the radio. "I'm on my way back in; let me handle it, please."

Murrue hesitated, unsure of how far she could trust the young pilot. On the one hand, he had but recently been their enemy; but on the other... On the other, Ken trusts him. That's good enough.

"Very well, Mr. Elsman. But please hurry."

"Roger that."

She permitted herself to relax for a moment; but instantly tensed again when Sai called out, "Radiation surge! The Cyclops has been activated!"

Murrue reacted without hesitation. "Maximum thrust! Get us out of here!"

Outside JOSHUA Base, Alaska

Ken heard the report, and moved even faster.

The Gerbera Straight slashed through a rapid combination, proving Preybird's superiority over conventional mobile suits by swiftly cutting both arms and legs off Huckebein's GuAIZ, before delivering a kick that propelled him toward his own forces. "I don't have time to deal with you, Victor!" Ignoring Huckebein's shouted demands to finish the job, he spun Preybird around.

"What now, Falcon?" Mu demanded. "Shouldn't we get out of here?"

"In a minute." The ace had spotted a large ZAFT formation coming directly at them in a last-ditch attack, and he didn't have time to deal with them one by one. "Mu, recall the DRAGOON units, and initiate satellite laser-lock, stat."

Mu found the appropriate controls, and began entering the commands. But... "Just what on earth is this system, brother?"

"You'll see in a moment."

Kira was the first to see what Ken was up to, and those on the Archangel's Bridge weren't far behind. A narrow red beam shot from Preybird's communications antenna, streaking all the way into orbit... and then a much larger cylinder of light came back along the laserlink's path. It engulfed the Preybird, and where it touched the black wings, their surfaces glowed, charging with immense power.

What is that? Kira wondered. I've never seen anything like it...

The cannons between the wings, where the plasma cannons would be on the Freedom, snapped into place over the Preybird's shoulders, while the wings themselves spread to provide added lift and stability. The cannon muzzles began to glow...

In Preybird's cockpit, Ken's eye narrowed. "Laser-lock achieved; twin satellite cannon fully charged. Fire when ready."

Still uncertain of what exactly was about to happen, Mu squeezed the triggers on his control sticks.

Twin columns of red-orange fire blazed from the cannons, met, and expanded exponentially. A torrent of destructive energy many times the size of Preybird itself met the incoming ZAFT submarines and mobile suits, and where it touched, nothing survived. Those on the fringes of the tremendous energy release were ripped apart, while those closer to the center were either converted to hydrogen or simply suffered total matter-energy conversion.

Kira, Mu, and Murrue all stared at the cataclysmic release of energy. All three had known of Preybird's tremendous power, but the beam that it had just unleashed...

Nothing short of the Lohengrins themselves could match that, Murrue thought numbly. He wasn't kidding when he said he'd created a machine to dominate the battlefield... but how did he do that?

But now the radiation from the Cyclops was rapidly approaching, and there was no more time to marvel. Most of the ZAFT forces -those that had survived Ken's final assault, at any rate- had already gotten clear, and now the Archangel was nearly out of danger herself, as was Freedom. But Preybird, thanks to its own dallying to strike down its pursuers, was lagging behind... and then it got worse.

One moment, Ken was confidently guiding his machine away from the Cyclops, coolly certain that he could outrun it. The next, he felt something seize up in his chest, and his eye widened. No! Not now! His eye dropped to his displays, and saw a malfunction warning... a malfunction of the very power systems that were keeping him alive.

Mu jerked, startled, as he saw his brother suddenly heave bolt upright, clutching his chest and gasping. "Falcon! Falcon, what's wrong?"

Ken struggled to speak. "My... my heart..." he gasped. "I... I can't..." He gathered his strength; there was something he needed to say. "Natural OS... Code Tango Zulu Sigma Natural..." His eye closed, and his voice grew weaker. "Can't... can't..."

He slumped over his controls.

Mu felt his stomach clench, but he had something he needed to do. "Can't help him if we get caught by that Cyclops," he muttered, and entered the code as instructed. Immediately, his controls came alive, and he applied all power to thrusters.

Nearly caught by the radiation, Preybird slipped beyond the Cyclops' range, and smashed down onto a small island... while behind it, Joint Operational Supreme Headquarters-Alaska vanished in a dome of fire, along with virtually the entire Eurasian fleet... and over half of ZAFT's planet-based fighting strength.

Small Island, Ten Kilometers From JOSHUA, Alaska

Too many things have been happening today, Murrue thought absently, walking quickly out the main airlock with practically the entire crew at her heels. First ZAFT attacks, then Headquarters betrays us, then Kira returns form the dead... and now all this.

Freedom and Preybird had landed side by side on the island, though Preybird was kneeling in the small trench created by its rough impact. Kira, wearing a ZAFT flightsuit, was just getting out of Freedom... while Mu, to Murrue's sudden apprehension, was carrying a limp Ken out of Preybird.

She picked up her pace, and was soon running toward the pair; and Kira, seeing this, was confused. Huh; I thought they'd be more surprised to see me... Wait a second! That was when he realized what was going on, and started heading over himself.

Bringing up the rear were Dearka and a very surly Yzak, who could not yet see what was going on. "You'd better have a good explanation for all this, Dearka," Duel's pilot said darkly. "It looks to me like you've committed treason... and if you expect me to forgive you, you'd better have a good reason for all this."

Dearka shrugged. "Yzak, I don't understand all of this yet myself. But I do know that there was a Cyclops... and Commander Le Creuset obviously didn't warn anybody about it. Don't you think that's enough evidence for us to at least hear Falcon out?"

Yzak nodded unwillingly. "I'll hear him out," he muttered. "But... wait a minute, what's going on over there? It looks like he's..."

Instantly, Dearka started running. "Wait here!" he told his fellow pilot, and raced toward Preybird. "Let me through!" he shouted. "I know what's wrong, and if I don't do something, he's dead!"

That was enough to clear him a path, and Mu set the unconscious ace down on the ground, as gently as he could. "He's not breathing," he said quietly, voice grim. "His heart stopped, too."

Dearka knelt at Ken's side. "That idiot," he muttered. "That arrogant jackass... he never tells the docs about it when he gets reassigned... always waits for it to happen again..." He trailed off into indistinct muttering, and began hurriedly opening the Falcon's flightsuit.

Murrue knelt opposite of him. "What's wrong with him?" she asked urgently. "What did this to him?"

Yzak walked up. "You've heard he was injured at Endymion, right?" he questioned, wondering as he did why he was volunteering information. Oh, why not; it's nothing Dearka won't tell them anyway... "Well," he went on, "when the Cyclops damaged his mobile suit, something in his cockpit exploded; debris from it tore into him from behind, and took out his heart and one lung."

"Yeah," Dearka concurred. "He was clinically dead for a little while after, and officially listed KIA until they decided he might live after all. He had to get prosthetics... but they're an early generation." Pulling aside part of Ken's shirt, he turned his attention to the youth's belt, and pulled out a power pack. "Usually, they run off his body's bio-electric field... but in the heat of battle, that isn't enough. So he either plugs it into portable power packs, or directly into his mobile suit's power supply."

Sophia joined the little group. "I had no idea..."

He shrugged, jacking the power pack's cable into the chestplate's socket. "Like I said, he's an idiot; never tells anybody about it until it throws him in anaphylactic shock, like now. There," he added, completing the connection. "That should do it."

The next few moments, as the compact battery poured energy into Ken's still body, were tense. Mu's face tightened imperceptibly, Yzak scowled, Sophia held her breath, and Murrue simply looked very worried. Come on, Ken... you have to pull through...

At last, touching his wrist, Murrue felt a pulse begin, and then grow in strength. Breath began to fill natural and prosthetic lung alike, and the ace coughed.

Ken's visible eye opened, and he found himself looking into Murrue's concerned eyes. "Hey," he said weakly, with the slightest trace of an equally-weak smile. "Guess it happened again, huh... Sorry if I caused a stir; didn't mean to worry anybody..."

She smiled back at him, enormously relieved. "Elsman's right, you know," she told him. "You are an idiot... but I'm glad you're okay."

Sophia broke out in a grin. "You'd better be glad you're alive, Falcon," she told her brother. "If you'd gotten killed on me, so soon after we finally started getting along, I wouldn't have been happy."

Ken rolled his eye. "Look, I'm flattered... but shouldn't you all be thinking about someone else, like the guy who just came back from the dead to save all our hides?"

Kira, at that moment, was just walking over to them. "I'm glad you're safe, Ken," he said, and smiled. "I guess I made it just in time, didn't I?"

Murrue turned to face him. "So... it's really you, Kira?" she whispered.

He nodded. "Yeah, Captain. It's me."

That simple statement provoked cheers from the crew (not including Flay, who was still in her quarters, unaware that the battle was even over yet), and his fellow survivors from Heliopolis came over to him. "Kira!" Mir said simply, tears in her eyes. "I can't believe you're back!"

Sai managed a smile himself. "I'm glad... you're alive, Kira."

Kira nodded. "Thank you, Sai."

Behind him, Yzak's scowl deepened. "Somebody mind telling me what's going on?" he demanded. "Who is this guy, anyway?"

Dearka shrugged. "Beats me; he wasn't with the Archangel before now, at least not while I was... Wait a second." He turned to the prostrate ace. "Falcon, is that...?"

Ken nodded. "That's right, Dearka. Yzak, this fellow happens to be Kira Yamato. I'm sure the name means nothing to you... but he happens to be Athrun's best friend." He paused. "And you do know him, actually, even if you've never met face-to-face, You see, he was the Strike pilot."

Yzak jerked. This... this is...! "Dearka," he said tightly (and quietly, lest he get an angry mob to try to rip him apart), "can you give me one reason why I shouldn't kill this guy, right now?"

"Two, actually," Dearka said dryly. "One: a few dozen former Earth Alliance personnel would beat you to death before you got near him. And second... Nicol's alive."

The silver-haired pilot's gaze snapped to him. "What? You're kidding..."

"No, I'm not; I have it directly from Leanne Eldridge, Yzak. Remember her? Nicol's cousin? She may be one of Falcon's loyal minions, but if Nicol really were dead, I don't think she'd be very happy about it."

That, Yzak had to concede, was certainly true; which gave him something else to think about.

By now, Kira had turned back to Murrue. "Well," he said with a smile, "I guess you guys have a few million questions to ask me, don't you?"

"At least," she agreed. "Like... what's with the flightsuit?"

"Were you with ZAFT?" Mu questioned, eyes narrow.

Surprisingly, it was Ken who answered. "No," he said, slowly getting to his feet. "No, you weren't were you, Kira? Those feathers..."

With a start, Murrue realized the ace was right: there were a pair of feathers on the flightsuit's collar; gray feathers...

Just like those that adorned Ken's helmet.

"The Gray Demons..." she murmured. "So they are still active."

"Yes," Kira acknowledged. "They... helped me out a lot. They helped me get the Freedom, too; apparently, they were ready to seize it at any time, though I don't know why..."

"They were because I ordered it, Kira," Ken informed him. "My contact with them may've been limited the last few months, but it hasn't been nonexistent; I've been preparing for this day for a long time."

Murrue turned to him. "Ken... I think it's about time you explained yourself. You've kept us in the dark about your plans long enough."

"I know. Soon, Murrue; soon."

Satisfied, she turned back to Kira. "Well, speaking of that machine, what should we do with it?"

The young pilot shrugged. "If you're talking about maintenance and resupply, that's not necessary yet. I wasn't hit in the battle... and the Freedom is equipped with a Neutron-jammer canceler."

There were gasps all around at that, most notably from Yzak and Dearka. "So that thing's nuclear-powered?" Pal whispered. "Where'd you get it from? Commander DiFalco's people couldn't have done it alone..."

Kira's expression hardened, and Ken had the distinct feeling he wasn't going to answer... so he decided to do it himself. "How is Lacus, anyway, Kira?" he asked easily.

His protégé froze. "How did you-?"

The ace chuckled. "My XO is her bodyguard, Kira, remember? That, amigo, is exactly how it is that my Demons had such direct control over the Freedom." He raised an eyebrow. "So, how is Lacus?"

Kira shrugged uneasily. "I'm not sure," he admitted. "Commander Cooper said something about having to go underground, so..."

"So the real war is about to begin..." Ken nodded pensively.

"Would somebody mind telling me what's going on?" Yzak burst out. "What's all this about nuclear reactors and N-jammer cancellers and all that? Who would've ordered such a thing?"

The Grimaldi Falcon turned to face him. "Yzak," he said quietly, "the NJCs were developed at Patrick Zala's order. According to my people, he deemed it necessary to able to produce nuclear-powered machines, in order to trump the Alliance's G-weapons... and so that something else could be completed."

Yzak looked at the ground, fists clenched. Just what on earth is going on here? First Commander Le Creuset doesn't warn anybody about the Cyclops, and now I find out that we're circumventing our own anti-nuclear countermeasures... How could Chairman Zala be so stupid? If that falls into the hands of the Earth Forces, they'll use nukes again; that can't be worth risking!

At last, he looked up. "I don't know about all this talk of ZAFT betraying you before you betrayed it, Commander DiFalco," he said quietly, "but... I think I'd like to hear what you have to say."

Murrue nodded. "He's right, Ken. It's time we had a little talk about all this."

Ken nodded slowly. "You're right, both of you," he said softly. "I've kept my secrets this long for a purpose; but now it's time to come clean. Look, let's meet on the Bridge in an hour. By then, I should be fully recovered... and then I'll tell you everything." Or almost everything, anyway; GENESIS is still my burden to bear, and mine alone.

Archangel, Kira's Quarters

Kira stepped warily into his quarters, uncertain of exactly what he'd find.

Ken had told him of Flay's transfer off the ship, and his own subsequent rescue and retrieval of her. From what he'd said, it sounded like Flay had, just perhaps, mellowed some; maybe regained a little stability. But still... that left him wondering what kind of reception he'd get.

There was a figure huddled on one of the bunks when he entered, with her head under a pillow; which made it clear exactly who it was. Flay had never been very happy during the battles, after all. In fact, she'd been very, very scared...

"Hi, Flay," Kira said softly.

Flay jerked as though she'd just been electrified, and her head came out into the open in a flash. "K-Kira!" Her eyes were wide as saucers, her face pale, her voice that of someone who'd just seen a ghost. "B-but... but they said... you died..."

He shook his head. "No, Flay. I was badly hurt, but I was rescued; I just came back an hour ago, and helped Archangel escape."

Her eyes filled. "Kira... I'm so glad... you're alive..."

Kira sighed. "It's good to see you, too, Flay. But... we need to talk. There wasn't time before, but now... there are things that need to be said."

Flay stood, and nodded sadly. "I know, Kira. And... I'm sorry. For everything." She looked away. "Before you went out that last time, everything you said... you were right. I... I was using you."

"Why, Flay?" he asked gently.

"Because of my father." She sniffed. "Because of his death... and because of all the things he told me about Coordinators. He said... that they couldn't be trusted..."

Kira nodded. "Ken seems to think he was a member of Blue Cosmos."

Flay shrugged. "That doesn't surprise me," she admitted. "I guess... I guess I always knew. But he was my father, so I believed everything he said... so I believed you'd let him die on purpose. I thought then... that it would be fitting if I used you, a Coordinator, to avenge him, and then to keep you fighting until you... you died." She swallowed. "Actually... I was kind of hoping you and Falcon might kill each other."

He thought back to the various conversations he'd had with the Grimaldi Falcon, to how he'd stated outright that he'd subordinated everything to his goal... and he thought of his own new determination to end the war without further bloodshed.

"That... might've happened," he admitted. "After what Ken did out there today, destroying everything in his way... if I hadn't heard the way he talks, I might've tried to stop him... and it might've killed me." He chuckled, to his own surprise. "No, it probably would've killed me, and might've killed him. I think I'm a little better these days... but if he hit me with some of those weapons he has, it would've been over."

Flay nodded. "I heard something about what his machine can do, when he protected the Archangel on the way to Alaska. But the point is... I thought I wanted that, but when I thought you were dead, I..."

Kira touched her shoulder. "I understand, Flay. Ken told me you... uh, weren't thinking straight -he should know," he added with a slight smile, remembering the ace's admission that he was obsessed. "But... that's over, right?"

"Yes," she said firmly. "I... don't want you dead. But..."

The pilot nodded. "I know. It's like I said, that day: this was a mistake. I... don't think we're right for each other..."

Flay managed a smile. "I realize that, Kira. I just wanted you to understand... that I don't hate you anymore. You need to be with someone who appreciates you for you, not for what you might do."

Kira sighed. "If there is someone like that..."

The redhead's smile became more natural. "Well, there's always that Orb princess, right?" she said, and swept out of the room, looking pleased with herself.

Kira's eyes went wide. "But- Hey! It's not like that-!"

Archangel, Ken's Quarters

Even as Kira was stunned almost speechless by Flay's parting remark, Ken was attending to something of his own. At long last, he -and the Archangel- had left the Earth Alliance Forces... which meant there was something he needed to do.

He'd already taken a match to all of his Earth Forces uniforms, burning them as they deserved. Now, having removed his flightsuit, the ace pulled a red uniform out of his wardrobe. For several moments, he merely gazed at it, marveling at how long it had been since he last wore it. Nearly eight months, he thought. Eight months... for the first four, I remained in civilian clothing... and then for another four, I was forced to disgrace myself by wearing the uniform of the enemy. But today... today everything has changed. Now the time has come to return to who and what I am... at last.

Ken removed the uniform from its hanger, and began pulling it on. Red trousers, blue t-shirt, white boots... then the red coat, with accompanying belt. The uniform of a ZAFT top gun, of the very best soldiers the Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty could field. Only a small percentage of every graduating class won the right to wear that uniform, and those who did were rightly looked upon as the best of the best. In his own class, only himself, Victor Tempest, and the Elsman siblings had been selected for the honor. Now one of them was dead, and one a traitor to ZAFT, the PLANTs, and his team... but two still had the right to wear it.

There was a knock on the hatch, and Murrue Ramius entered just as he was fastening the crimson coat. She looked him over, and smiled. "You know, Ken," she said quietly, "I do believe this is the first time I've seen you looking as you should. The Earth Forces white always looked alien on you -no wonder you always wore the trench coat- and the blue wasn't any better. This... this looks like you."

Ken smiled back. "Thanks, Murrue. It... feels good to be back in proper uniform, after all this time. Eight months I've been away from it, because I felt unworthy of it, but now... now ZAFT's Broken Blade can be reforged."

"Though not the same as he was," she remarked, lightly touching the gray feathers pinned to the uniform's collar, and then the patch on his shoulder. "Not quite..."

Where a normal ZAFT uniform would've had the organization's PLANT emblem on the shoulder, this one was different. There was still a PLANT, but it was turned on its side... and clutched in the talons of a peregrine falcon, wings spread, beak opened as though in its hunting call...

Looking at him now, Murrue began to see the young ace pilot in a new light. Previously, it had been difficult to get any kind of read on him; when he first arrived aboard the Archangel, he'd been seemingly emotionless, displaying only a cold anger when his sister Sophia spoke badly of his allegiance to ZAFT. No expression had crossed his face at all, no trace of his thoughts could be seen on his face...

Now Murrue came to realize that the young man she'd met that day, for the first time in years, was not truly the Grimaldi Falcon. That pilot was mostly in abeyance, with "Falcon" representing only his drive to complete his mission, his brilliant piloting skills, and his cold, calculating tactics and strategy. Only his mind was truly present; his soul was locked behind an armor of detachment, grief, and iron determination to finish the task that had been set for him.

Gradually, though, the locks that had sealed away his humanity had been opened, one by one, as the Archangel's crew and those they met along the way, and the things they experienced together, began to bring back the human in him.

And now Murrue saw, not a cold, precise automaton, but a genuinely likable... Not kid, she realized. By Coordinator standards, he's already an adult... and he's proven that he's a man many times over now. No, he's no child...

"Murrue? Are you okay?"

Murrue shook herself, realizing she'd been staring. "Uh, yes, I'm fine," she managed. "I, ah, I was just lost in thought, that's all."

The ace smiled faintly. "So I see." He gestured toward the hatch. "Come on; we have a lot to discuss, don't we? I'm sure everyone else is waiting for us on the Bridge."

"Yes, of course..."

Together, Captain Murrue Ramius, of the rogue Mobile Assault Ship Archangel, and Commander Kenneth DiFalco, of the True ZAFT Forces, walked out into the corridor.

Archangel, Bridge

By the time Murrue and Ken arrived on the Bridge, the gathering was complete. Already present were the usual Bridge crew -Tonomura, Chandra, Pal, Neumann, Sai, Kuzzey, Mir, and Natarle- as well as Mu, Sophia (the pair standing curiously close together), Kira, Yzak, and Dearka. The last three were waiting to hear exactly what had led to the day's disaster...

And all of them were waiting to hear what the Grimaldi Falcon had to say.

When Murrue has settled into the Captain's chair, and Ken had moved to the walkway in front of the bow viewport, Kira began the discussion. "So... what exactly happened here?" he asked. "I know about Operation Spit Break, but what I found here... wasn't exactly what I was expecting."

"For once, I'm with him," Yzak interjected, without even a scowl. "We were expecting this to be a cakewalk; after all, the Earth Forces had sent most of their forces to Panama, where they expected us to attack. What went wrong?"

Sophia raised a hand. "Just a second. First, I want to know about this 'Spit Break'. I thought the target was Panama; so what changed?"

"Nothing changed," Ken informed her. "It wasn't widely known in the PLANTs -and, as near as I can tell, Patrick never admitted it to the Council- but the buildup for an attack on Panama was nothing more than a feint, to throw off the defenders and draw them away from Alaska, which was the true target all along."

"I'm not surprised that you know that, Ken," Murrue remarked. "If anyone would, it would be you."

"Indeed," he concurred. "But not simply because I was Patrick's right-hand-man. As a matter of fact, Spit Break was my idea in the first place."

"Which," Mu said, into the ensuing pause, "is why Le Creuset called you the 'architect of your own demise', right?"

"Precisely; to be perfectly honest, I never expected to be hit by my own operation like that." Ken turned back to Yzak and Kira. "Now, to answer your questions, here are the facts of how the battle went down, as nearly as we can determine: Someone -and I don't know who, but I'll kill him if I ever find out- leaked the details of Operation Spit Break to the Earth Forces... months in advance, no less. That's the only explanation for the Cyclops system that was emplaced beneath the base; that must have taken months to construct. In fact, this someone must've done it before it was approved by the Council... likely even before Heliopolis, now that I think about it."

"And, Headquarters being who they are," Mu muttered angrily, "they decided to use the operation as a trap, to wipe out as much of ZAFT's forces as they could."

Yzak shook his head. "You know, I could almost forgive them for that," he said grudgingly, "since we were legitimate targets. But using their own forces as bait... that violates all the rules of war."

Ken nodded. "Agreed. Were I occupying a position in the Earth Forces analogous to my role in ZAFT, I would've had Sutherland and his cronies shot for treason. What they did was inexcusable."

Dearka clenched a fist. "So the entire purpose of that battle was to lure ZAFT in, then wipe them out, and those of their own military they found bothersome?"

"That's about the size of it," Murrue confirmed. "It would seem that the Atlantic Federation used the opportunity to gain an advantage over Eurasia, as well as get rid of the Archangel." She snorted bitterly. "Presumably, they regarded us as 'tainted' by Ken and Kira."

"But who could've given them the intelligence?" the pilot wondered. "And why?"

"I don't know about the 'why'," Yzak said darkly, "but I think we can make a guess at who." He looked at the ace. "That's more your department, Commander. Who had access to the full plan, including the true target? Can't be very many; even I didn't know, and I'm -or I was- with the Le Creuset team."

Ken frowned. "As of my desertion," he said slowly, "and I don't think things would've changed that much in the interval, the only people who had access to all the details were..." He looked up. "Myself, Patrick, my Demons, and... Rau Le Creuset."

The Bridge went silent for several moments as that sank in, and then Yzak cursed explosively. "That bastard!" he hissed. "You didn't do it, your people couldn't have done it, and Chairman Zala wouldn't have... so it was my own Commander! Urgh! If I see that rotten bastard again, I'll kill him!"

"You'll have to take a number," the Grimaldi Falcon said dryly. "Mu and I want him dead, too... because of Endymion."

There was silence for a full minute after that, before Mu cleared his throat. "Well, then, we've decided that we've all been betrayed by our respective superiors. What now?" He looked at the two newest additions to the group. "Joule? Elsman? What about you two? You with us?"

Dearka nodded firmly. "I'm with you." He shot a peculiar glance at Mir, before looking the Hawk of Endymion right in the eye. "I think I finally see what Falcon's been fighting for all this time... and I agree with him. I don't know where we're going, but I'm going there with you."

Yzak was silent for several moments, before nodding decisively. "I'm in," he said sharply. "I don't know exactly what's going on, but Le Creuset obviously betrayed us; and since he's Chairman Zala's fair-haired boy, there's not much chance of him getting caught." He looked at the ace. "I guess your way was the right one, Commander," he said grudgingly. "Sometimes, you can't work from within... and when that happens, you do what you have to do." He hesitated. "But... do you think your people can get word to my mother? I don't know if she'll understand... but she should know what I'm doing, and why."

Ken nodded. "You got it, Yzak," he said quietly. "They've had to go underground, but they still have their contacts; I'll give them the word as soon as I can contact them again."

Murrue sighed. "And that, of course, leaves just one question: where do we go from here?"

All eyes turned to the Grimaldi Falcon.

Ken closed his eye, gathering his thoughts. He'd been expecting this, since he was the most experienced mutineer among them...

His eye opened, and straightened. "There comes a time," he began solemnly, "when a soldier has to make a choice. I once heard it said like this: If I ever had to choose between betraying my country and betraying my friends... I hope I'd have the guts to betray my country." He started to pace back and forth on the walkway, hands behind his back. "Yet that's not exactly the situation you're faced with today. Your country has betrayed you, which gives them no claim on your loyalty. A nation who uses its soldiers as expendable tools has no right to expect obedience from those same soldiers. They have forgotten two maxims by which I, at least, live: never give an order you know won't be obeyed... and sometimes, it is a soldier's duty to turn against his masters. When they choose to throw away his life, they choose, in that same moment, to throw away their own. For at that moment, the government has become something lacking in all true authority, and turning against it is not treason, but rather duty, and common sense. Only a fool fights for such a country; only a coward asks him to."

The ace paused for breath, while his words sank in. Murrue found herself almost mesmerized by his calm, yet impassioned speech; it was almost as though he'd spent the last several months planning exactly what to see, to raise his comrades to action.

Maybe he has, she thought to herself. He came back, when he had no strategic or tactical reason to; he could've flown away, and rejoined his comrades in space... yet he didn't...

"As I said," Ken went on, "there comes a time when you must make a choice, between what your duty tells you to do, and what you know is right to do. I faced that choice myself, eight months ago. Patrick had by then begun his plans of genocide, using a weapon of mass destruction as its centerpiece... and, to my sorrow, I was the man who wrote up the original plan for the operation. Patrick has twisted it to his own purposes, but the core remains my brainchild... my responsibility." He looked across the Bridge, meeting Murrue's eyes for a brief, significant moment. "Most of you met me the day I came aboard this ship, fighting against ZAFT yet professing to be acting in the best interests of the PLANTs. Even then, you knew something had gone wrong, that I was acting out a plan because of some failure of mine; yet I have never said exactly what it was I was doing. Now you know: as an unwitting yet unfortunately brilliant tool, I was used to further Patrick Zala's dreams of a Natural-free world, where Coordinators would 'inherit the world'. I didn't realize what he was doing... but because I remained blind until it was too late, I bear the responsibility on my own shoulders. I came to this ship completely be accident, when Rau and his team attacked Heliopolis; yet even then I was attempting to rectify my mistake, atone for my sin... because I had made my choice, between duty and conscience."

You didn't commit any sin, Bro, Sophia thought. You did what you thought was right... and when you understood it was wrong, you did your best to stop it. I think I begin to understand you a little better...

He was coming to the point of his speech now, and his gaze had a sharp intensity to it none of them had ever seen before. "Now is your time to choose," Ken told them all. "I remembered the Shiva Option, and hatred for Naturals so many of my comrades had; now you must reflect on Endymion, and the Bloody Valentine, and on Alaska. So which is it? Will you continue to follow orders, while your superiors betray you? Or will you take matters into your own hands, fight for justice, not genocide? The choice... is yours, and yours alone." He lifted his chin, seeming to look into every eye at once. "Some have called me traitor; others may call you the same. But we will know the truth."

A long, long silence filled the Bridge, and extended throughout the ship, to spaces the intercom had brought the ace's words. Every man and woman aboard the Archangel faced this choice, asked themselves if the one among them who had been a "traitor" the longest was truly right... and one by one, they made their choice.

One woman gazed at Ken DiFalco with a peculiar intensity of her own. He's gone through the fires of hell, she thought, been called traitor by his own people, monster by those he reluctantly supported, and berated himself for his "sin". Yet he, and he only, has striven to change the conflict, bring the war to an end... he only has marshaled forces, organized an effective third party...

Ken and his people, and whatever allies they may have, are the only ones trying to make a difference... and they've been doing it the longest.

Murrue Ramius came to her feet, braced to attention, and saluted crisply. "Commander DiFalco," she said clearly, "I hereby request permission to join your organization."

Author's note: JOSHUA Base has been destroyed, the Archangel has left the Earth Forces, and Yzak Joule has -reluctantly- joined the ship's ranks. Now Murrue Ramius has elected to join Ken DiFalco's True ZAFT faction; where will Fate take the "legged ship" now?

Whew! That was another long one, though not as long as the last; and I fear I may have gone a little overboard with that last speech. But, you know... it just seemed to fit. Well, I guess I'll leave it up to the judgment of the readers.

I have an announcement to make, by the way: due to the fact that I'm told it will likely be several months yet before Gundam SEED: Destiny airs in America, there's been a change in schedule. Brothers in Arms: A Call to Arms, sequel to Kevin Walker's first saga, will begin very shortly, and the first chapter will, hopefully, be posted sometime next week. In the interest of that goal, I won't be starting the next chapter of Birds of a Feather until that first chapter is up -unless I should get some sudden inspiration, of course- but after that, the two should be running more or less concurrently. You needn't fear that I'll give up on Birds of a Feather, believe me; there are still a number of twists I'm looking forward to…

In the meantime, please let me know what you think of this chapter. -Solid Shark