I don't own anything except Ken DiFalco, his team, and Sophia DiFalco
Mendel Colony, GARM Facility, July 10th, C.E. 71
"Perhaps you'd care to stick around for awhile... learn the truth. Because after all, you're both deeply connected to what happened here... right, Kira?"
Mu La Flaga stared at the photograph of himself and his father, and Kira Yamato stared at the picture of himself, an unidentified woman, Cagalli... and a woman he knew from pictures he'd seen in Orb to be Cagalli's mother. What... what is this...?
In the shadows, slowly lowering his pistol, Rau Le Creuset smiled. "So now you begin to understand," he said, sounding amused. "You don't know the significance of those pictures, do you? But their very presence in this place validates what I've said so far. Your origin can be traced right back here, Kira Yamato, to the Mendel colony... to your father's twisted dream."
He turned his head suddenly, not waiting for any sort of reply, when he heard the sound of metal on metal... and the tip of a mirror-polished sword burst through the wall to his right. The katana's point came all the way through, and the impossibly-keen blade cut a man-sized doorway in the wall, the metal falling inward.
"I suggest you explain what you're babbling about, Rau," Ken DiFalco rasped. "Or else... I'll..."
Le Creuset started to raise his weapon again, then hesitated, seeing that, though the ace's face was turned directly toward him, there was a torn strip of cloth around his eyes... and blood stained it. Blood that was clearly from a deep wound...
"So that's it, is it," Rau murmured, almost to himself. "You can navigate... but you couldn't deflect bullets..." He smiled again. "Fine then, Falcon. Stick around, and hear the tale of this miserable place. After all... you don't have anything better to do."
Mu risked a glance over the couch behind which he and Kira hid, and he gasped. "Falcon!"
"I'll be fine, Mu," Ken told him, voice hoarse but clear. "Just because... I can't see... doesn't mean I'm helpless." His head turned, as though looking the room over. Then, in a sudden burst of motion, he darted forward, somersaulting over the couch, coming to a hard landing next to Mu and Kira. No way I'll let him shoot me... not until I know what's going on...
Le Creuset smiled slightly, but otherwise didn't even seem to acknowledge that Ken's entrance had even happened. He had better things to do... like breaking down Freedom's pilot.
"This place is a forbidden temple," he said now, a mix of amusement and scorn in his voice. "A monument to the twisted dreams of men... men who learned their craft for the purpose of advancing humanity, but eventually forgot that, and followed only their own ambition." He lifted an eyebrow behind his mask. "Did you ever suspect, Kira, that those who raised you were not your real parents?"
Kira jerked. Wha...?
"No," the masked man mused, answering his own question, "no, of course you didn't. If you had realized it, you wouldn't have turned out this way... You wouldn't have turned out so normal if you'd known what had been done to you, Kira."
"What are you talking about?" the young Coordinator demanded. "What are you saying? Answer me!"
"Your real father was Doctor Ulen Hibiki," Le Creuset told him, with evident relish. "And because of that, I never had any idea that you were that child, even when Athrun first brought up your name. It never occurred to me that you might be still alive; not when you were such a priority target of Blue Cosmos. You, your father, Doctor Metzinger... and, had those idiot Naturals but known it, the daughter of Orb's Chief Representative. I never dreamed that you could still be alive... but what a delightful irony it is, that we should meet here, of all places!"
"Shut up, Le Creuset!" Mu croaked. "You think your pathetic lies will-!"
"What lies, Mu?" Rau retorted. "I'm telling nothing but the truth. Surely you begin to understand now, Kira? That Blue Cosmos targeted you... because you are the Ultimate Coordinator?"
Kira had gone very still, barely breathing... and then the other shoe fell.
"And for the purpose of your genesis, dozens of your siblings were sacrificed," Le Creuset concluded. "All those human embryos you saw... they were, in effect, your brothers and sisters; all of them sacrificed to perfect the artificial womb, within which every aspect of your development could be controlled. Remove the mother's body from the equation, and nothing could stop them from developing a new breed of humanity... the ultimate expression of what George Glenn brought about." He laughed; and now there was a distinct tinge of madness to the laughter. "Dozens dead, to create you... you were guilty of murder before you were even born, Kira!"
Kira froze, his heart nearly freezing. No... I... I... it can't... be...
Ken felt Mu's eyes on him, and nodded slightly. Before Le Creuset could react, the Hawk grabbed Kira's shoulder, lurched to his feet, and started hauling the younger pilot toward a nearby staircase, while Ken came to his feet in a fluid motion, twitched his wrist, and let fly with the switchblade that appeared in his hand. Using his other senses -hearing, touch, and his own innate spatial awareness- he managed to bring it within centimeters of Le Creuset's heart, forcing the masked man to dodge to one side in a rather hurried fashion.
By the time he could bring his gun to bear, all three of his opponents had successfully made it to the stairway, and momentary safety.
Down below, Mu pulled Kira behind a desk that looked to have been used for unsavory purposes sometime in the past. "Keep your head on straight, you idiot!" he hissed. "You're not taking any of his babble seriously, are you?"
Sitting heavily against another desk, Ken sighed painfully. "The thing is, Mu," he said wearily, "I'm not too sure it's all babble."
Mu shot him a glance. "What do you mean? And while we're at it, how are you getting around with your eyes cut out?"
"To answer your first question, Rau's little soliloquy there would explain the... peculiar behavior my people have been exhibiting of late." The ace was frowning, recalling now the attitudes of his Demons on learning of their destination. "Leanne, Sparky, and Tom have all been acting strange ever since the idea of moving operations to Mendel came up; I think they knew something... something they didn't want to tell me." He clenched a fist. "And Rau's reference to Metzinger makes me think Sophia knew about it, too." He listened intently for a moment, checking for footsteps, before continuing. "As for how I can navigate... it's hard to explain. After Victor got my eyes -he's dead now, by the way- my other senses became sharp as knives. I can determine the location of fixed objects the same way I keep track of my DRAGOON system in space, and my nerves have become sensitive enough that I can feel the change in air currents when an object passes through. As Rau said, I can't deflect bullets -I need to see the shooter's muscles to pull that off- but I can find my way around... and I can fight." He turned his head toward his protege, in a most unsettling effect. "C'mon, Kira," he said quietly. "Snap out of it... if you don't want to die."
At that moment, footsteps began approaching at last. "I did not come into this world through natural birth," Le Creuset quoted, moving down the stairs at a slow, steady pace. "My genes were altered early in the embryonic stage of my development..."
Mu groaned to himself. Oh, great; now we get to hear him rant about George Glenn, huh?
"George Glenn was the first Coordinator whom humanity knew," Le Creuset said, confirming the Hawk's fears. "The transmission he made as he departed for Jupiter on the Tsiolkovsky is one of the most famous statements ever made in space; and unlike Armstrong's words centuries ago, they did not lead humanity into a bright future. Rather, they threw this world into chaos... a darkness from which it has never emerged. I wonder," he mused, "if Glenn had any idea of the madness he was about to unleash? If not, it was a fortunate coincidence indeed that kept him from Earth for fourteen years; had he still been there, in those turbulent times, he would probably have been assassinated."
"It didn't save him in the end," Ken shot back, just to keep the masked man from thinking he was in complete control of the conversation. "All it took was one crazed Natural, angry that he wasn't born a Coordinator... and who didn't understand that Glenn wasn't just referring to those with engineered genes when he spoke of Coordinators."
The other man raised an eyebrow. "Trying to make my point for me, Falcon? Hm; perhaps GENESIS wasn't a fluke; perhaps you truly do begin to understand..."
At the mention of that hated acronym, the ace's lips drew back in a snarl. "Get to the point, you bastard," he hissed. "Or we'll see how handicapped I really am."
"Hmph; not quite the Falcon I knew. You're letting your anger get in the way..." Le Creuset smiled. "But you have little to do with this discussion, old comrade; your friends here have far more to do with what I'm talking about." He started flipping wall switches, bringing up the lights in the old laboratory. "After Glenn's ill-considered revelation, human evolution turned from its proper course; scientist argued with scientist, some arguing against using Glenn's techniques... and others racing to produce ever better breeds of humanity. They sought after a dream... and no one wants to see their dream vanish. Was that why they did it?" he mused. "Did they strive so hard for their dream that they forgot why they were tinkering with Nature itself? Perhaps that is what brought them to the path of trying to play God."
Kira remained frozen in place, too stunned by the revelations to so much as twitch. Was I... created... because of... things like... this? Am I... just a symbol... of this chaos? And does that make me... an abomination?
Le Creuset chuckled; the quiet laughter of a whom from whom sanity fled long ago. "You see it now, don't you? Those twisted men proclaimed their reverence for human life... yet even as they said those words, they began toying with humanity, and then they began to destroy it!"
"Shut up!" Mu shouted, lunging from hiding, his pistol firing two quick shots. "What gives you the right to sound so superior?"
Rau opened fire on him, narrowly missing the Hawk. "I am the only one who's earned that right!" he proclaimed. "Among all of humanity, I along have the right to judge their actions!" And then, disturbingly, he paused, and began to laugh again. "But no, that isn't right, is it? There is one other man who took that role upon himself... and in so doing proved that he alone shared my insight into mankind's self-destructive nature. One man who has worked for the same goal as I... one man who has been the architect of what we all instinctively desire!" His laugh turned wild, almost like the ravings of a madman... or perhaps not "almost", at that. "Well, Falcon? How does it feel, being the architect of mankind's end? How does it feel to know that you have done more than I could have ever dreamed of, in the pursuit of this goal?"
Those words were like a stake in Ken DiFalco's heart, and something within him snapped. "Shut up!" he screamed, Griever flashing from its sheath in a flicker of brilliant, mirror-polished metal. Spinning to his feet, he leapt over the table he had used as cover. "Shut up! If you ever try to use GENESIS, I'll-!"
The first bullet took him in the spleen; the second impacted in one of his kidneys.
The third struck his breastbone, striking the metal plate over his heart and lung and catapulting him backwards, to land in a heap against the far wall.
"Falcon!" Mu called, watching in horror as his brother sagged down the wall, leaving a smear of blood as he passed. "Falcon!"
"He's not dead yet, Mu," Le Creuset assured him. "I haven't told him everything he needs to know quite yet. He'll last a little longer... long enough for me to reveal the final truth to you all." He grinned insanely, anticipating the next few moments with crazed glee. "I know all about humanity's follies, and I have the right to judge... because I am he, that arrogant fool, who thought he could circumvent death itself with his money. Al Da Flaga, your father... but I am merely that man's defective clone!"
Mu jerked in shock. What? That can't-!
Behind him, leaking blood from his many and varied wounds, Ken nodded mentally in understanding. The same... as I... Now I understand, Victor... just as I understand what I've done... He felt an anguish far, far worse than his physical pain at the thought of what he'd done.
"My dad's clone? You expect me to believe that fairy tale?" Mu demanded, rallying. "That's nonsense!"
"I don't want to believe it either!" Le Creuset retorted. "But unfortunately, it happens to be true!"
Vesalius, Bridge
Fredrik Ades absently tapped his fingers on his armrest, frowning in thought. Something's wrong, he thought uneasily. The Commander's late; that's not like him at all... Did something happen in there?
As though to support his worry, Kyle Kreitzman's face appeared on the main screen. "Something's wrong here, Captain Ades," he said flatly. "Both our commanders are overdue; and I can't think of any scenario that would delay both of them that could remotely be considered good." His face was drawn; not surprisingly, considering that his own commander very likely had his own agenda when he launched. "I don't think they're dead, but if either one took heavy damage to their machines, they may be temporarily stranded in there."
Ades nodded. "Agreed. I'll send a couple of GINNs in to check on them; Commander Le Creuset might not approve, if it turns out nothing's wrong... but I'd rather be reprimanded for unnecessary caution than for not retrieving the Commander when he needed help."
Kreitzman nodded ruefully. "Yeah, I can see that." He frowned. "I'll be honest with you, Ades; I'm worried. Commander Le Creuset is probably fine... but if Commander Huckebein ran into the Grimaldi Falcon in there, he... may be dead. There was something... not quite right about him."
"I know." Ades refrained from mentioning that he felt very few in ZAFT would shed any tears for the unstable Huckebein, but knew the other captain knew it anyway. "In any case, that's beyond our control, Captain; all we can do is try and contain the fallout."
Dominion, Bridge
Muruta Azrael tapped his fingers on his armrest; but in his case it was impatience, rather than unease, that prompted the action. "How much longer, Admiral?"
"Preparations are almost complete, Director," Admiral Hamilton assured him. "The machines which were damaged during the last engagement are fully repaired... though that's only by virtue of the fact that they tended to either take very light damage, or explode. Temporary repairs are in place on the surviving ships -sufficient to last out this battle- and our forces are regrouping now." He glanced at one of his armrest screens. "Charles? What's your assessment?"
"Everything's set here, Jim," Rear Admiral Kreitzman replied. "And, I might add, my crew is getting impatient to get some of their own back against those bastards."
Azrael smiled thinly. "Don't worry, Admiral Kreitzman; we're all going to exact our revenge on DiFalco and his rabble. In fact... this time, Dominion herself is going to join in the battle directly. I want a piece of this so-called 'True ZAFT' faction... especially after what they did to us in Orb."
Hamilton raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure, Director? Risking the command ship is quite a gamble."
"It's also the only way we'll have much of a chance against the Archangel herself," the Director retorted."I've been watching this battle, Admiral, and I've come to the conclusion that the only ship that can truly stand up against an Archangel is another Archangel... which holds doubly true when there are two of the things out there." He shook his head. "So, if the Fleet's regrouped, and the repairs are finished, what's the holdup?"
The admiral grimaced in distaste. "That would be your people, Director. As usual, those three 'biological CPUs' are sticking a wrench in the works."
Azrael shrugged. "The price we pay for Natural pilots with Coordinator-level abilities. Don't worry, Admiral, they'll be ready in time. For now... I suggest you send the order to move out."
"Understood, Director. Charles?"
"I heard, Jim." Kreitzman glanced at someone offscreen. "Second Fleet, resume combat operations. We're moving out."
Archangel, Bridge
"The Second Fleet is moving again, Captain," Sai reported tensely. "ETA to weapons range: five minutes."
"All hands to Level One Battlestations," Natarle ordered. "All mobile suit pilots to their machines; prepare to engage the enemy."
Murrue nodded her approval. "Carry it out; and have the other ships launch, as well." She frowned in thought. "Recall Asmodeus and Arkbird," she decided. "We may need the firepower this time; especially if Dominion attacks us directly."
"Sending signal now, Captain," Flay answered. "No word yet from the other harbor; the status of Freedom, Strike, and Preybird is still unknown," she added, anticipating the next question.
The Captain smiled sheepishly. "Was it that obvious?"
"Murrue," Natarle informed her, with a trace of amusement, "you've been asking about that every five minutes and twenty seconds. With that kind of precision, it wasn't hard to anticipate it." She sighed. "Of course, we'd all like to know the same thing..."
Murrue nodded tensely; though she noted inwardly her exec had come a long way from the stickler for rules and regulations she'd been at Heliopolis. "I know," she said quietly. "I hope they're all right... but right now, we need to concentrate on the task at hand." She tapped her intercom panel. "Sophia, Athrun, I'm afraid you two are going to have to lead this one; there's still no sign of the others, and we no longer have the time to wait for them. Can you handle it?"
"I think so, Murrue," Sophia replied; her face was as blank as Ken's often was, but it was the look of a woman about to go into combat, not a withdrawn tactician. "We'll give 'em a good fight, that's for sure."
"We'll make do," Athrun said, more confidently. "We may not have the edge in numbers, but the Earth Forces have only three machines that matter. If we can knock out enough Strike Daggers, and enough escort ships, we should be able to force a complete withdrawal this time."
"No 'should be' about it," Sparky cut in, from the Arkbird. "Azrael's not terribly bright where military matters are concerned, but he trusts the judgment of his private dogs of war... and they know that there comes a time when even victory is hollow, if the cost is too high. I don't say that we can win, but we don't have to; we just need to letthem know that winning this battle isn't worth it."
"They'll be back," Murrue warned him. "I don't need Ken's insight to know that they won't stop hunting us."
"That's true," Waltfeld interjected. "But with Second Fleet taking heavy losses, it'll be weeks before they can send another force of significant size after us, and by then we'll have relocated to the Beta Site... and we'll have begun our privateer raids." He paused. "Excuse me; guerrilla raids," he corrected, remembering Ken's distaste for the term privateer. "Anyway, they'll also be distracted by the PLANTs themselves; there's going to be a lot of reorganizing on both sides, once the implications of renewed nuclear warfare sink in."
"We can debate the long-range consequences later," Natarle said sharply. "The Fleet is three minutes to effective firing range."
Murrue nodded. "Right. Arnold, get us moving." She paused, then smiled slowly as she thought of what Ken would probably say in this situation. "Engage the enemy."
Mendel Colony, GARM Facility
Cautiously peeking out from behind cover, Mu glared at Le Creuset. "I remember you now," he said harshly, practically gnashing his teeth in anger. "We met when I was about five years old... I remember my father saying something about not raising you to be a 'weakling' like I was..."
Le Creuset smiled. "Ah, so you do remember that; I'm glad, Mu. Now you know it all! Now you understand how this came about; now you understand that the final door is about to open!" He laughed crazily. "And we, Grimaldi Falcon, are the ones opening it!"
Ken, battered and bleeding as he was, seemed to take no notice of the words; but Kira heard something slide softly across the floor toward him, and nodded slightly in understanding as he picked up the machine pistol. The commonplace sounds had succeeded in breaking through his shock... and now he could do something about it.
Then, and only then, did Ken say anything; mostly to cover the soft sound. "Now I understand you, Rau," he rasped. "I should've known your name was of your own choosing; 'The Crucible' always did seem... so fitting..."
A pistol shot cracked, and a beaker of something evil-smelling exploded into vapor. "Isn't it just? After all, this world is full of nothing but hatred; so why doesn't the human race just exterminate itself?" Laughing, Le Creuset fired randomly, destroying bits of lab equipment and a few lights, all the while continuing his insane ranting. "No matter; now I will bring it all to an end!"
"No!" Kira shouted in denial, springing from hiding. "I won't let you!" He raised the borrowed pistol, and opened fire on the raving lunatic.
Le Creuset, though startled by the unexpected attack, managed to throw himself to one side, while returning fire from his own sidearm. He managed to graze Kira's right shoulder, ripping open his flightsuit and tossing him into the wall in sheer reflex... but Kira's own burst of fire tore through Le Creuset's hair... and the strap of his mask.
The silver mask went flying, even as Rau cried out in shock and... horror?
But his reaction was nothing compared to Mu's, upon seeing that face. It is him! Mu thought in shock.
So that's what my father looked like, Ken thought muzzily. Too bad I can't see it... but I'm sure I know the pertinent details. That... is the face of insanity... the face of the end of the world...
Rau Le Creuset's bright blue eyes, much like Mu's -and a face with a clear family resemblance to Ken's- glared at them. "There's nothing you can do to change this!" he shouted at them, what little control he had left slipping away. "The hatred of an entire race is engulfing the universe!"
With that, he took off running, almost as though he was terrified by the very thought of his face being seen any longer.
That left just three shell-shocked pilots in the room, all of them injured... one of them critically. Of them all, Kira had come off the lightest, with just a graze to his arm and a punch-drunk mind; whereas Mu had been hit with a chunk of debris in his own cockpit and shot in the arm. And Ken...
After helping Mu to his feet, Kira made his way over to the ace's battered body. "Ken?" he said softly. "Can you walk?"
Ken managed a weak chuckle. "Walk? ...Maybe. I'll need some help getting to Preybird, though; I'm blind, my spleen seems to be a writeoff, I've got kidney damage, and I'm pretty sure my prosthetics aren't working right." He coughed up blood, as though trying to prove his point.
"We'll carry you," Mu assured him. "C'mon, Kira; you take his left arm, I've got his right... But what do we do about mobile suits? We've got three machines, and only two pilots who can fly at all..."
"We leave the Strike behind, for now," Kira advised. "We can pick it up after the fighting. I'll get back to the Freedom, while you take Ken in the Preybird."
"He's right," Ken rasped. "You flew it before, Mu; you can do it again. In fact..." He coughed again. "When we get back to the Archangel, I want you to take her out again."
"I've never flown that thing in combat-" Mu protested.
"Doesn't matter," the ace said firmly; at least, as firmly as could with the internal injuries he'd described. "Leanne managed it, and for all that she's a Coordinator, she's not quite as good a pilot as you are."
"Right..." The Hawk nodded. "Okay, then; but I'll have to get myself patched up first, too. I think I can fly like this, but not if I bleed out in the middle of it." He stooped, helping the younger Coordinator haul Ken to his feet.
"Let's get out of here, Mu," Kira said tiredly. "...We should never have come here in the first place."
Neither argued with that.
Mendel Colony, Secondary Harbor
Rau Le Creuset ran at an undignified pace for his fallen GuAIZ, knowing that if Ades had sent any kind of backup, they'd look there first. And he needed to be within his machine by then; the thought of someone seeing him as he was...
Never! he thought furiously, struggling to keep the pain, the pain at bay. Bad enough that they saw my face; the face of a man I hate... Urgh, the medicine...
Le Creuset climbed hurriedly into his brutalized machine, reached under the seat, and withdrew a jar of pills. He'd not carried a spare mask with him, but at least he could alleviate the pain... since, after all, he had not yet accomplished what he'd set out to do.
Within moments, the drugs began to take effect, and he slumped back into the seat. Good... good... Now that he could think again, he could muse on what he had learned during this visit to Mendel. He had, of course, seen the fallen, headless body of Victor Tempest; that he was a corpse was not something Le Creuset mourned, nor did it surprise him. If Falcon had turned up merely blinded, that meant his former student had to be dead. And now I begin to understand...
It was only after looking at Huckebein's face that he realized exactly what the Raven had been; though the hair was black, not blonde, the features were clearly Le Creuset's own, at a younger age, which meant he, too, was a clone of Al Da Flaga... and comparing his face to Falcon's had unlocked the final mystery, the one that had set Le Creuset searching for the ace's true parentage.
"So it's true," the cloned madman murmured to himself. "He can sense me... because he, too, is a child of that man's genes. But... is he a clone, or a genetic child? Did Metzinger create Falcon from cloned cells, or preserved samples?" He smiled to himself. "Well, no matter; it's another weapon I can use to torment him, when we face each other in battle again. That is... if the knowledge that Zala isn't the only one who wants to use GENESIS doesn't destroy him all by itself."
In a way, he hoped the young warrior's fragile psyche would survive the blow. He had thought once that his ultimate battle in this war would be with Kira Yamato, who would doubtless continue to throw himself into battle after battle in the name of "peace". But now...
"How fitting... I do hope Falcon survives the coming battles; he surpasses Mu in skill, with only Kira Yamato possessing greater ability... and Kira doesn't have the will to fight the battle to its inevitable conclusion." Le Creuset smiled. "Oh, Falcon... may we live to face each other one last time... son."
He was still smiling when the GINNs arrived.
Archangel, Bridge
"Second Fleet entering weapons range," Sai reported tensely. "Mobile suits launching from surviving ships;Dominion coming in... Captain, detecting energy buildup in Dominion's positron banks!"
"Confirmed," Tonomura added. "Positron discharge in five seconds."
"Right roll twenty," Murrue barked out, "starboard fifteen degrees!"
Neumann didn't waste time acknowledging the order; he simply wrenched his controls, sweeping the Archangeldown and away from matter-annihilating blast. Instead of turning the Archangel into pure energy, the dual antimatter stream from Dominion passed overhead... and grazed Asmodeus' flank.
Natarle whipped her head around. "What's the Asmodeus' status?" she demanded. "How badly was she hit?"
"We're fine here, Natarle," Tom Delaney reported, though the trace of smoke behind him clearly disputed his claim. "We lost the starboard Valiant, the outboard missile launchers on that side, but no casualties. Our engine power's dropped slightly, but we're still in the game."
"Sorry about that," Murrue apologized. "I reacted too quickly-"
"You did exactly what you should've," he interrupted. "We took minor damage; you would've been completely destroyed. Don't worry about it." The gray-haired captain glanced back at his own fire-control officer. "George, let 'em known we're not happy, will you?"
"Yes, Sir!"
Tom wasn't kidding when he said he was unhappy; and from what Murrue saw, his fire-control officer was quick and intelligent. Mere moments after the command was issued, both of Asmodeus' Lohengrin, the Gottfrieds, and the surviving Valiant went off, along with a salvo of missiles... all of it aimed at the Dominion.
It was clear, however, that Dominion's helmsman was just as fast as Asmodeus' weapons officer. The ship rolled one-eighty degrees and dove relative to the Second Fleet, avoiding the attack entirely... though the pair of Drake-class escort ships behind it weren't so lucky. The emerald beams from the Gottfrieds struck first, smashing their superstructures off with massive force, before the positron streams torched them into pure energy.
And, to top it all off, the missiles sought ought their own targets, several impacting on mobile suits, others smashing lightly-armored escort ships.
"They can't keep losing ships this way," Murrue murmured thoughtfully.
"True, Captain," Natarle agreed grimly, "but we can't keep taking hits like Asmodeus just did, either." Then she voiced the thought they'd all been thinking. "Where is the Commander, anyway?"
Dominion, Bridge
"Hm," Admiral Hamilton mused. "It seems someone on their side doesn't like us."
Azrael nodded shakily. "So I see." The sudden, intense retaliatory barrage from the second Archangel-class had taken him completely by surprise; and it was the first time he'd come that close to being killed since DiFalco's satellite cannon attack on the Fourth Naval Fleet, during the Battle of Orb."Fortunately, he doesn't seem to be a very good shot."
"Good enough to take out two more of our ships when he missed us," Hamilton retorted grimly. "More of DiFalco's people, undoubtedly. I see that they've brought their entire force along this time... Wait, we seem to have hit one of them."
Indeed, the other gray-painted ship, similar to the pink vessel that had sat out the previous engagement, seemed to stagger in space, as one of the engine pod-mounted laser cannons ripped itself apart, spewing shrapnel into the engine itself.
"That'll teach the space monsters!" Azrael crowed. "Give whoever fired that shot my congratulations, Admiral; we're finally hitting the bastards!"
The admiral allowed himself a smile. "Well, Director, it looks like we're finally getting a handle on this battle. I don't like to think about the sort of casualties we're going to have in the mobile suit wings by the time this is over -I'm afraid I expect losses among the mass-produced units to be effectively total- but we may yet succeed."
"Just one question," Kreitzman broke in. "Where is DiFalco?"
Outside Mendel Colony
What I want to know, Athrun thought to himself, as his beam staff spun through space and burned a Strike Dagger into assorted chunks, is where Kira, Falcon, and the Commander are...
That was beginning to be a very pressing question. Not only would their firepower be welcome, but their absence was beginning to take its toll on morale; Cagalli, in particular, was clearly distracted, and though Sophia's blue-and-gold Hyperion was efficiently ripping targets apart with its beam submachine gun, she was obviously preoccupied. Athrun supposed that, in her case, it was because of the strange things he'd been hearing about Mendel the last few hours.
We need to get it together, he thought grimly, just the Dominion's Gottfried's opened up on the Archangel. This time, Neumann evidently couldn't react in time, and one of her own Gottfrieds was smashed into oblivion.
Arkbird promptly lashed out with her METEOR units, obliterating a Nelson, but it didn't change the fact that the tide was finally turning... something made abundantly clear when Athrun heard a familiar cackling over the radio.
"Well, well," Orga Sabnak called, moving the Calamity in. "So it's you again... but this time you're all alone. Time for some payback, pal!" He fired a full barrage from back-mounted Schlag cannons, bazooka-like plasma sabot launcher, and shield-mounted ram cannon, with a burst form his chest-mounted Scylla for good measure.
To the biological CPU's surprise, though, something cut through the path of the beams, stopping them in their tracks. "That's where you're wrong, pal," Dearka snarled, his enormous zweihander taking the hit. "He's not alone!" Drawing the blade back, he rushed for the Calamity.
Athrun smiled gratefully. "Thanks, Dearka."
"Don't mention it... Whoa!" Buster dodged to one side, aided by the new wings and the extra thrusters from the Raptor's salvaged backpack, as a hyper-impulse blast passed through the space he'd just occupied. "Watch it, Athrun!" he warned.
"Heh, heh," Clotho chuckled, bringing his newly-repaired Raider into the fight. "You're terminated, buddy!" Transforming into his mobile suit form, he fired a burst from his arm-mounted machine gun.
Dearka ignored the attack; with the Buster's retrofits, his phase-shift wouldn't be worn down by something like that. Still... "I think we're in trouble, Athrun," he said frankly. "Yzak, where are you? We could use a little help here, you know!"
"Sorry," Yzak grunted, lunging toward an opponent of his own, "but I'm a little busy; the Forbidden's out here, too." He switched frequencies. "Nicol, give us a hand!"
"I'm too far," Nicol said apologetically. "Tom's got me watching for ZAFT..."
"Just great," Duel's pilot groused. "Forget ZAFT; right now we're-"
A full forty streaks of coherent emerald light scorched across space, right through the center of the brewing confrontation.
Archangel, Bridge
"Hit to aft starboard, Deck Three," Sai called out. "Fires in compartments along that passageway; Chief Murdoch is evacuating the area's atmosphere and closing airtight doors." He listened for a moment. "Three casualties, none fatal."
"Arkbird is falling behind," Flay reported, listening to chatter from the other ships. "Engines down to twenty percent capacity. Asmodeus attempting to maneuver around to guard against ZAFT attacks, but is having difficulties with fire-control. Eternal... Eternal is undamaged, and moving to assist Asmodeus. Kusanagi is also undamaged, and preparing to attack Dominion..."
Murrue listened to the litany of reports with growing tension. Second Fleet was losing ships and mobile suits at a tremendous rate, but the Earth Forces clearly saw how much damage the True ZAFT forces were receiving in return.If this keeps up much longer, ZAFT will enter the fight, and then...
"Signal from Freedom, Captain!" Flay called suddenly. "Preybird also detected!"
The Captain sat bolt upright, just as Kira's voice came over the radio. "Sorry we're late, Archangel," he said, sounding oddly subdued. "We're coming in now."
"What about the Strike?" Murrue asked worriedly. "Is Mu...?"
Her right armrest screen came to life. "I'm fine," Mu told her, though the pain evident in his face put the lie to the claim. "We had to leave Strike behind for now; too badly damaged to be of any use right now. I'm piloting Preybird for now." He hesitated. "Falcon's been wounded."
She tensed. "How... how is he...?"
"Bad," he said unflinchingly. "He ran into Tempest in there; Huckebein's dead, but he got Falcon's eyes before he went. And... we encountered Le Creuset. To make a long and ugly story short, Falcon took three shots to the torso; before he passed out, he said he thought he'd lost his spleen, received kidney injuries, and took damage to his prosthetics. If we don't get him to the Infirmary in the next few minutes, I don't think he's gonna make it."
Murrue felt her chest tighten. "...I see..." She took a deep breath. "All right, then; get aboard, and hurry. What are you going to do after that?"
"Falcon told me to get myself patched up, then head back out in Preybird," Mu answered. "And that's exactly what I'm gonna do." There was barely controlled fury in his voice.
And no wonder... Ken, you have to pull through... She knew she couldn't focus on that right now, though. Ken was critical to the success of the mission, but she was needed where she was, if she wanted them to win the battle.This isn't a case of lose the battle, win the war; we lose here, we lose everything...
"All right," Murrue said at last. "And... take care of him, will you?"
"I know." Racing back toward the ship, Preybird twisted around a beam from a 105 Dagger, then deployed its DRAGOON system toward the melee surrounding Buster, Duel, and Justice, firing its full array of remote lasers before recalling the entire system and slipping neatly -if far faster than most people would consider sane- into theArchangel's starboard flight deck.
Stay alive, Ken... Murrue thought, and turned her attention back to directing the battle.
Vesalius, Bridge
Ades glanced up from the main tabletop screen when he heard the Bridge elevator slide open, and he blinked when he saw Le Creuset enter. "Commander! We were wondering where you were, Sir; by the time anyone got to your machine, you'd already-"
The commander -now wearing another mask- waved a hand. "I had something to take care of, Ades; never mind that. What's the situation out there?"
Ades shrugged. "In terms of the likely outcome, not much different from when you left, Sir. Now that Preybird seems to have reentered the fight, along with the Freedom, DiFalco's forces are rallying; though they've suffered significant damage -the Arkbird appears to be falling behind the others- the Earth Forces have lost over half their fleet. I would say it's only a matter of time, and not much of it, before the Alliance commander decides even a victory would be meaningless, under the circumstances."
Le Creuset nodded thoughtfully. "Agreed; though Falcon's victory will be costlier than you might expect, Ades. Preybird isn't under his control right now."
The captain blinked again. "Sir?"
Rau smiled thinly. "At the moment, Ades, there is a distinct possibility that Falcon is dead. I personally think he's too stubborn to die this easily, but he's had his eyes cut out with a sword, and I shot him three times in Mendel, at close range. He'll be a long time recovering from this one, I assure you."
Unnoticed by the two officers, Kreitzman had been listening from the main screen. "His eyes were cut out with a sword?" he repeated. "Then, what about..."
Le Creuset glanced at him. "I'm sorry, Captain," he said (not sounding terribly sorry), "but I'm afraid I must inform you that Commander Huckebein is dead. I saw his body, minus its head."
The young captain closed his eyes. "I see. In that case... there remains for me but one thing to do." His image vanished.
Toward the bow of the Bridge, a sensor operator jerked in surprise. "Captain Ades- The Nacht Jaeger is moving out!"
Ades turned sharply. "What? Get Captain Kreitzman back on-"
"Don't bother, Ades," Le Creuset said quietly. "It wouldn't do any good, I suspect."At his captain's strange look, he shrugged. "Kyle Kreitzman is probably the last man in ZAFT to have any attachment to Huckebein at all; they've been friends nearly as long as Huckebein was with Falcon. Add to that the fact that I think he knows one of the Earth Forces admirals out there..."
Ades sighed. "I see. Well then, Sir, what are the rest of us to do?"
"We'll move in as soon as the Earth Forces begin their retreat." Le Creuset smiled. "I think it won't be long now; if nothing else, Captain Kreitzman and his loyal crew will likely give them something else to think about."
Outside Mendel Colony
Orga cursed as the barrage of energy fire nearly scorched him to death. "Coward!" he shouted at the retreating Preybird. "Come back here and fight!"
Cagalli swooped in on him from behind, firing the IWSP's cannons; though they were useless against phase-shift, they did an adequate job of keeping the crazed pilot busy. "If you want a fight, I've got one right here!" she shouted back. "C'mon, Kira, let's give them something to remember us by!"
"Right..." Kira hesitated as he dove into the fight, then shook himself. There's no time to think about that right now, he told himself fiercely. You can't think about the past if you're not alive to do it!
With renewed resolve, he opened fire on the Forbidden, giving the Duel a hand.
Predictably, though Yzak was inwardly grateful for the help, he didn't show it on the outside. "I don't need backup, Freedom," he snarled. "I had this guy under control!" As though to prove it, he drew a beam saber, and lunged for the green machine.
Athrun, tangling with the Raider, shook his head. "Under control," he muttered. "Yeah, right; so under control he blew off one of your wings and your railgun..." He grunted then, as Raider's Mjollnir caught him in the left shoulder. Spun around by the impact, he retaliated with a discharge from his Fortis beam cannons.
It was probably the biggest mobile suit melee of the war to date; Strike Daggers and their advanced cousins, the 105 Daggers, had been blown away by the dozens, leaving almost none of them left, while the X-type machines continued to hammer away at each other.
They'd all taken damage by now; Sophia's Hyperion was missing a light-wave barrier after a Launcher-equipped 105 Dagger got off a grazing hit to her left arm, while the Buster had lost two Death Blossoms and a thruster unit. Cagalli's Strike Rouge was missing an antiship sword, and everyone else was battered to some extent, with gashes melted by grazing hits from rifles and sabers.
On the other hand, with the return of Kira, Mu, and Ken -even if Ken was too badly hurt to join the battle- it appeared that things were finally turning to their advantage... at last.
Not that there wasn't still a battle to remember going down.
The three X-number pilots from Dominion were badly outnumbered now, but they had no intention of going down without a fight. They'd been sent here to destroy the traitorous Archangel and the other forces that had joined DiFalco, and that was exactly what they were going to do... or that was the general idea, at least.
Anything to avoid that kind of pain, Orga thought, firing his bazooka and ram cannon at the Freedom. That really stinks...
Kira threw himself to one side, cartwheeling out of the attack's path, and returned fire... just as the Forbidden hit him in the back with its scythe. Though lacking the mass to do actual damage, it sent him into a spin, effectively knocking him out of the fight for several moments.
"Oh, no, you don't," Athrun hissed... and chopped with his beam staff.
Shani hissed in rage as his scythe split in two. "Why, you-!"
He never had time to finish the sentence, as ship-grade laser cannons opened up on him.
Mobile suits scattered in all directions before the insane rush of the Nazca-class destroyer that bore down on them. Either side could've taken it apart with ease, but none wanted to risk getting rammed by the seemingly-suicidal ship as it charged straight at the Earth Forces Second Fleet.
More specifically, at the Independence...
Archangel, Bridge
"Can anyone tell me what's going on here?" Murrue demanded. "Where'd that ZAFT ship come from, and why isn't it shooting at us?"
"I don't know why it isn't shooting, Captain," Sai answered, gazing intently at his displays, "but it's the Nacht Jaeger." He glanced up. "Maybe, with Tempest gone, it's going on a suicide mission...?"
"It's Kreitzman," a new voice rasped, and she jumped, because it was coming from her intercom panel... from the Infirmary, in fact.
"Ken...?"
"It's Kreitzman," Ken repeated; his voice was weak, but lucid. "He was probably the last person in ZAFT to consider Victor a friend; now that he's gone, he's probably trying to settle accounts." He paused. "Do we know who's in charge of the Independence
"It's one Rear Admiral Charles Kreitzman," Alicia Cateau responded from her usual place on the Bridge. "Shortly before I left the Alliance, he was given direct command of the ship." She frowned. "Wait. Kreitzman...?"
"Charles Kreitzman is Kyle's father," Ken confirmed. "I don't know all the details -when I knew him, back when Nacht Jaeger was stuck ferrying the Gray Demons around, he didn't like to about it- but apparently Charles' wife had their son made a Coordinator. He never forgave her for it... and never acknowledged Kyle as his son. If I had to guess, my compatriot is now intent on settling accounts." He paused, then resumed with a thoughtful tone."On the plus side, whatever damage he inflicts here will very likely convince the Earth Forces to retreat."
"That would be good," Murrue agreed; but she then glared at the intercom panel. "But you should be resting; I'm surprised Doctor Hibson is even letting you talk."
"I gave him a choice: turn on the intercom, or watch me feel my way to the Bridge, with three holes in me and no eyes." A weak chuckle. "The good doctor saw reason immediately." His voice turned serious. "Besides, I thought I might need to remind you about something. You're locked on to the Nacht Jaeger, right?"
"Yes, Falcon," Natarle acknowledged. "We are. Why?"
"Remember what I told you a few months ago? Target the spot where the starboard engine pod meets the ship; hit it hard enough..."
"And she'll tear herself apart." She nodded. "Right, Falcon. Captain, permission to engage?"
Murrue started to answer, but Flay spoke first. "Captain, we're picking up a transmission to the Independence,from the Nacht Jaeger; should I put it on?"
The captain thought about it, and smiled slowly. "Yes, Flay, do that... Natarle, hold your fire for a few moments; I want to hear what the son has to say to the father."
"And besides, it'll give the Earth Forces something else to think about, right?" Ken said dryly.
"Let's just say you're rubbing off on me, Ken." Smiling, Murrue nodded to Flay. "Put it on."
"This is the ZAFT Nazca-class destroyer Nacht Jaeger, a voice said, surprisingly steady under the circumstances, "calling the Earth Alliance Forces Second Fleet flagship, Independence. Please respond,Independence."
Another, warier voice came back immediately. "This is Rear Admiral Charles Kreitzman, on the Independence.What do you want?"
A brief pause. "This is Captain Kyle Kreitzman," the first voice said finally. "It's been a long time... Father."
"I have no son," the elder Kreitzman said immediately, and harshly. "I don't know who you are, but-"
"Spare me, Father," Kyle said coldly. "I know you never forgave Mother for making me what I am, but that's no excuse for judging me based on what was done before my birth! I could no more help being born a Coordinator than you could change being born a Natural."
A long pause. "I don't acknowledge a space monster as my own flesh and blood," Charles said in a quiet, dangerous voice. "My wife never understood-"
"Mother's dead because of you, Father," Kyle ground out viciously. "You left her to die in that attack fifteen years ago; now you'll pay the price!"
Sai glanced up in CIC. "Captain, the Nacht Jaeger is on a collision course for the Independence!"
Murrue's eyes snapped to the main display. The Nazca was indeed heading straight for the Agamemnon-class flagship of the Second Fleet. It was taking fire from other ships -indeed, even the three X-number mobile suits fromDominion had abandoned their attack on the Archangel's forces, in an attempt to stop the oncoming ship- but as had been the case since the days of sailing ships, it was very difficult to stop a vessel intent on ramming, no matter how much damage she received along the way.
The elder Kreitzman's voice came through one more time. "Captain Kreitzman... Kyle, I-"
Impact.
Dominion, Bridge
Admiral Hamilton winced at the tremendous explosion. The collision between Nacht Jaeger and Independencehad sent out a blast of debris large enough to take two other ships with it; yet more casualties in an increasingly bloody day.
"So you weren't joking when you spoke to Admiral Kreitzman of his son," Azrael murmured, through his shock. "I thought you were kidding..."
The admiral shook his head. "No. It wasn't well known -Charles didn't like to talk about it, with good reason- but twenty-five years ago he had a family; a wife and a daughter. The daughter died of cancer, and that drove his wife to make their unborn son into a Coordinator." He sighed. "When Charles found out, he divorced her, and never acknowledged Kreitzman as his son; in the end, she died in a terrorist attack -we think it was a group with ideals not unlike our own- and the son, Kyle, joined ZAFT when it was formed."
"And now the entire family is dead..." the Director murmured. "A shame; I see now what Admiral Kreitzman must've gone through. Lost his daughter to disease, then the rest of his family to a betrayal of the natural order."
"And now he's dead, too," Hamilton said grimly, "and for nothing." He nodded at the battle still going on outside. "I'm sorry, Director, but we've lost here today. DiFalco's people inflicted significant losses all by themselves; and with the Fleet flagship gone..."
Azrael nodded reluctantly. "Understood, Admiral." He shrugged. "Well, we hurt them, at least; next time, maybe we'll finish them. Send the order to retreat. We're returning to lunar headquarters; if nothing else, this 'True ZAFT' faction will undoubtedly turn up when we launch our final attack against the PLANTs."
"Agreed. DiFalco may have betrayed ZAFT, but it's obvious his goal is still -in whatever twisted fashion- the defense of his homeland." Hamilton turned away, and began issuing orders to withdraw.
Archangel, Bridge
Murrue let out a heartfelt sigh as the Earth Forces began an orderly retreat. "Well, that was interesting," she murmured. "I guess we owe Kreitzman one."
"He didn't do it for us, Murrue," Ken said quietly. "I think loyalty to Victor was all that was holding Kreitzman back; with him gone, Kyle was free to avenge his family..."
She nodded wordlessly; that fir with what she'd heard of the conversation between father and son, before the two ships collided. He must've waited years for that moment; but how did he convince his crew to go along with it? Hm...
The question was answered a moment later, by Tonomura. "Detecting escape pods, Captain," he reported. "It looks like Nacht Jaeger got her crew off before the end..." He stiffened. "Captain, they're being recovered by the remaining ZAFT vessels... except the Vesalius. Ma'am, she's heading this way."
Murrue frowned. "Alone? But... why?"
Natarle tapped her armrest. "Either it's a trick, or..."
"I think it's a trick, all right," Ken said slowly, "but we're not the ones being tricked." There was something odd about his voice; some kind of deep-seated anger. "Is Vesalius launching mobile suits?"
"Affirmative," Sai answered. "Four GINNs, and a CGUE. Why?"
"That makes sense... Murrue, I think Rau is planning more treachery against his own people."
Murrue tilted her head. "What do you mean?"
There was no mistaking the revulsion in Ken's voice now. "I think that bastard told Captain Ades that, while he's on his own at first, the others will join him as soon as rescue operations are complete. What is probably going to happen in reality, though, is that Vesalius will reach us long before then... and be destroyed with all hands. Not only would that appease Rau's desire for destruction, but it would also give ZAFT another reason to hate us."
"Unfortunately," Natarle put in unhappily, "we don't really have any choice but to oblige him. We've all taken hits; if we don't stop that ship fast, he might succeed in taking one of us down with him."
"I know." There was a pause; one long enough that Murrue thought for a moment that Ken had finally passed out, but he soon spoke again. "All right. Recover our mobile suits, then launch Mu and the Preybird; he should be enough to deal with the GINNs... and I have a feeling Rau will feel like gloating. If it's Mu out there, we might gain some useful intelligence... as if we needed any more."
Murrue nodded. "All right, we'll do that. And now, Ken," she said sternly, "you need to rest, understand? I won't have you dying on us now."
There was no response for several moments; and then Doctor Hibson's voice came on. "Don't worry, Captain; I gave him a slow-acting sedative. It kept him awake long enough to finish the main battle, but he'll be out for the next several hours now."
She smiled. "Good, Doctor." She pressed a button on her intercom panel. "Mu, are you there? Ken says to launch you."
"I heard," Mu replied. "I'm already on it."
Outside Mendel Colony
Flying out to meet the oncoming ZAFT ship, Mu had a sinking feeling in his stomach. Something wasn't right here... more than just the trap Ken was predicting.
Something wasn't right with Ken, he realized. Even he usually has the good sense to rest after getting injured; and directing a space battle from your sickbed isn't exactly restful. Sounds like he took Le Creuset's words a little too seriously... and now he's even more determined to compensate for his error...
The fact that he wasn't used to piloting Preybird didn't help his mood any. He'd have preferred flying the Strike, despite Preybird's greater combat ability -since, after all, he knew all of Strike's idiosyncracies by now- but with the older machine lying in a battered heap within Mendel's secondary harbor, he'd have to take what he could get.
His thoughts were swiftly derails by the Preybird's unique displays bringing to his attention the approach of five mobile suits; four GINNs and a CGUE. He bared his teeth in a snarl. "Is that you, Rau Le Creuset?"
From the CGUE, Le Creuset laughed. "Mu La Flaga! I should've known; how is Falcon, anyway? I do hope I didn't manage to kill him just yet."
"No," Mu acknowledged. "He's not dead yet. But you're about to be!"
"I think not." Le Creuset glanced at his companions. "You four break off; engaging that machine with GINNs is suicide, and we've lost enough today."
"Yes, Sir. But... what about you, Sir?"
He laughed. "Don't worry about me; I've fought the Hawk of Endymion before. Ades?"
"Here, Commander."
"Begin the pincer; signal the other ships to move in immediately." Le Creuset smiled thinly. "Not what Falcon predicted, is it, Mu? Ha; you've gotten too used to thinking of him as infallible. Time to show you your folly!"
Mu felt his blood run cold. He's right; and that's exactly what Falcon would say if he was conscious... He keyed his radio. "Archangel, this is La Flaga; it's a trap. Repeat, it's a trap!"
"Understood," Murrue said immediately. "Don't worry; Miss Lacus has a plan."
He felt his eyebrows rise. Lacus had a plan? I guess she's not just a pop star after all... "Roger that; I'll keep Le Creuset busy in the meantime."
"Thanks. Archangel, out."
Le Creuset hadn't heard the content of the transmission, but he could make a few guesses. "Going to try and hold me off, eh, Mu? That's fine with me; you may even succeed. But even you should be aware of the damage your ships have suffered today."
"It won't be enough," Mu told him, and drew one of Preybird's beam sabers. Theoretically, he could've blown the CGUE away with any number of other weapons... but he didn't want to take the chance. He remembered all too well what Le Creuset had done to the Strike's gunbarrel pack. "Come and die, jackal!"
Somehow, he wasn't surprised when the CGUE drew a DEEP Arms-issue laser sword; Le Creuset wouldn't have sounded so confident if he didn't have a way to parry energy weapons. "I'm not going to die today, Mu; if for no other reason than you being the wrong person. I refuse to be defeated before I have another duel with my other son!"
That did it. "You are not our father!" Mu snarled, and attacked. Blade clashed with blade; and eight warships began to converge on the same point in space...
Archangel, Bridge
"What's the status of the Fleet?" Murrue asked, never taking her eyes from the approaching enemy. "How many effectives do we have?"
Flay consulted briefly in low tones with the other ships before answering. "Arkbird cannot assist," she said at last. "Their engines are almost completely offline; they're currently retreating to Mendel for repairs, and... Captain Cooper says he's going to send a team to retrieve the Strike and..." She paused. "...A body?" She shook it off, returning to the matter at hand. "Asmodeus is also hanging back; their weapons took severe damage during the battle with Second Fleet. Raiden has launched to cover them. Eternal and Kusanagi are with us, however."
Murrue nodded. "Three against four... but if Miss Lacus' notion is right, it'll be enough." She remembered what the young woman had said, upon hearing Ken's assessment of the situation.
"I'm not so confident that this is a trap of that sort," Lacus had said. "Commander DiFalco may be right, but it would be unwise to base our strategy entirely on that idea."
"What do you suggest?" Murrue had said in turn.
"We should still concentrate on Vesalius; but with all our ships. I believe that if we can destroy that ship, their entire strategy will fall apart. Even if that's not quite correct, that ship is the only one directly in our path. Knock it out, and we can break through."
"What about the Arkbird and Asmodeus? What happens to them, if ZAFT doesn't break off?"
Tom had taken that one. "We can still defend ourselves, Captain Ramius; we may not be able to maneuver very well, but a Nazca or Laurasia would be committing suicide by trying to come after us. You worry about getting through their little trap, Murrue."
Now Murrue nodded to herself in satisfaction. "Target all weapons on the Vesalius," she ordered, then paused. "Amend that. Target Gottfrieds and Lohengrin on the Vesalius; prepare a missile spread for the other ships. Eternal, Kusanagi, focus all attacks on the Vesalius."
"Roger that," Waltfeld acknowledged.
"Understood," Kisaka concurred. "Targeting Lohengrin on the Vesalius."
From the looks of things, it wouldn't be the longest battle Archangel had ever participated in; fire was beginning to come in from the trio of Nazcas and the Laurasia, but with the Archangel's laminated armor, and the attacks being spread between three separate targets, the threat was negligible.
Fortunately, she thought. We can't afford another battle like the last one until we've had at least a week to repair...
On her main screen, Murrue could see Preybird and the CGUE dueling across space, twisting and dashing around each other, their blades occasionally clashing in a brilliant fury of light. Le Creuset was clearly a superb pilot, though, if he was surviving that long against Preybird... Of course, there's also the fact that Preybird is optimized for Ken; Mu's probably having to struggle with it a little, even with the Natural OS in operation...
No. A long battle this would not be... which made her suspicious that Ken was at least partly right, after all.
"Vesalius in range," Natarle reported, just as the ship shook from a glancing beam hit. "Other ships entering range," she added unnecessarily. "Captain?"
Murrue nodded. "Fire!"
Vesalius, Bridge/Outside Mendel Colony
The same command rang out on three other ships, and Vesalius found itself on the receiving end of fire from all three True ZAFT vessels while only being able to target one herself. The results, despite the supporting fire from the other ships, were entirely predictable.
Fredrik Ades gritted his teeth as his ship's emerald beams were effectively canceled by the oncoming fire. Positron cannon fire from Archangel and Kusanagi, accompanied by beam cannons from the same ship, and massive plasma fire from the Eternal's METEOR units. To go down like this, without even scoring a hit of our own...
The entire ship shook violently, and it was a miracle it didn't instantly explode. "Massive damage!" an officer screamed. "Hull breaches on Decks Three and Four... too many to count! Sodium walls damaged! We can't control the plasma flow!"
Captain Fredrik Ades slowly stood, and raised a hand in salute to his killers. "If we die here today," he whispered, "at least we die for what we believe in. Goodbye, Commander Le Creuset... and well met, Commander DiFalco."
He vanished from the universe, along with his entire crew.
The Justice stood with the Freedom atop the Archangel's bow deck, with Duel and Buster behind them; and on Asmodeus' bow, Raiden stood at attention. Four pilots who had known the ship well watched Vesalius die, and, as one, Athrun Zala, Yzak Joule, Dearka Elsman, and Nicol Amalfi saluted their fallen comrades.
"Goodbye, Captain Ades," Athrun whispered, feeling numb.
Rau Le Creuset, on the other hand, instantly broke off his duel with the Preybird. "Another time, Mu!" he called, and shot away, toward his surviving ships. "May we meet again someday!"
"You jackal," Mu hissed, and almost went after the fleeing CGUE; but the pain in his side told him he wasn't in any shape to go too far from the ships. His wound, while bandaged, was by no means healed. "I'll get you next time, I swear..."
"Attention all units," Le Creuset transmitted. "Head for the rendezvous point; there's nothing more to be gained here. I promise you, however, that the Grimaldi Falcon will pay for this."
Inwardly, though, he was very pleased indeed. There... another step on the road to annihilation. And Falcon will know it; he'll know there's no other way he could've won with barely a scratch...
ZAFT retreated, leaving the battlefield to the dead and Mendel to the battered True ZAFT forces. All knew that the war was far from over...
Author's note: The truth sealed in Mendel has been revealed... yet some is yet to be spoken. Soon, the Victorian Kestrel and the surviving Gray Demons must come clean about what they know...
Meanwhile, the Earth Alliance has been driven off in defeat... but at what cost? The Grimaldi Falcon's greatest battles are yet to be fought...
All right, as I promised, the chapter has taken less than two weeks this time. Faster than I expected, really; one of those times when the right words came easily. And yes, I know, there are still a few questions left, and I meant to answer them in this chapter; however, the events I did cover turned out to be much longer than I expected, so I thought it best to save the next scenes for the next chapter. In the meantime, though, there's this; let me know if it was any good. -Solid Shark