celestial seed

by shadowof023

this is based on the story "eyes in seed" with permission from the writer. noah wished to expand the horizons of gunpla battles and let gundam fans try to change the fates of some of their favorite universes. but something goes wrong...now he gets to go from testing his new simulation system to piloting a gundam in true combat...good thing he built it right? re-write in progress

1. the tale begins

I do not own the rights to Gundam Seed, 00 or Gundam Build Fighter/Try. All characters that are not mine or owned by their respective series creators. Please enjoy. Some may also notice similarities between this fanfic and another for the basic idea, I do have the original writer, nemesis aster's permission to do this. All credit for the awesome plot device you'll read about in a moment goes to him/her.

My apologies for the past 2…or like 3 attempts to fix this, hopefully this fixes it. The problem was it was also putting my changes in.

*update to previous remark. finally fixed it. please enjoy.

Pursue your dreams= scene alteration.

Bold wording means an author's note.

Chapter 01

Darkness was all that surrounded him. He was alone, sitting comfortably in the custom pilot seat as the system began to hum to life. A small pedestal rose between his knees. "Please set your GP Base." The voice wasn't the same boring tone as the other OS systems. The voice spoke in a soft, female Japanese voice, which kept him at ease as the trial was about to begin. He reached forward, GP Base in hand. It clicked as it plugged into the system, blinking to life with the stats of his gunpla. His name landed in both the Builder and Fighter's spaces. Stats read off below with the model number and the name of his chosen gunpla. He couldn't help but smile as everything was working so far. To his right was a yellow haptic of orange/yellow hard light generated by the Plavsky Particles that sprung up with glowing words all but verbally shouting GO. Tapping the hard light button, it disappeared into flowing particles, collected by more as the screens and walls of glowing hard light began to form around him. Various colors chased away the darkness and illuminated his cramped confines. He exhaled with a smile, never noticing he was holding his breath. Shadows gave way and revealed short blonde hair and brilliant blue eyes. The young man in his mid-twenties reached for the control orbs that formed just at the edge of his arm rests. Optional controls popped up at his touch and he carefully looked over them. A keyboard system appeared over his lap. With a simple twist of his wrist on the left orb, the keyboard was gone.

Before him on the main screen as an image of a closed hanger door. Tapping at a few controls to his side gave him access to the doors controls, and soon they began to part, revealing to him the void of space. Earth was just barely visible to the left, with nothing but endless space to the right. He released another deep breath. "Okay," he whispered. He sat straighter in the pilot's seat, safety belts tugging tightly as he adjusted. "Let's do this. Noah Carson, EX-caliber Gundam! Launching!"

At a shift of the controls, the screen shook as the gunpla, seen through its eyes, shot forward on the catapult and out into the void of space. The EX-caliber Gundam spun in the void, causing Noah to blink a little to get over the change in view. The machine turned around, allowing him to get a look at the ship he had launched from. He couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of the classic White Base from the original Gundam anime series.

Noah's joyful moment was lost when a warning light flared. Radar picked up a squad of approaching enemies.

The EX-caliber Gundam turned, blood red and bright green colored optics flaring as it faced the approaching enemy machines. Simple Mock gunpla, twelve total with each equipped with standard weapons: shield, rifle, and saber or heat hawk. Noah wasted no time, the GN blade MK 3 swinging forward and the right arm drawing back. He sat in space, waiting patiently, the angry blood red left eye, blackened left collar piece and cloth covering the left arm gave it the appearance of having horrible maintenance and upkeep and had the mocks had pilots it would seem like it would be easy prey with only the GN blade on its right arm as its primary offense and defense. When the Mocks were within attack range, he swung wide. The blade caught two of the mocks at the hip, separating them at the waist and causing them to explode. The cloth covering the left arm flapped from the wind created by the blast as the mocks scattered. With a turn of Noah's head the machine turned to glance at a pair of mocks that were readying their rifles to fire on him from his right flank. He let a breath he was holding escape and calmly raised the right arm.

With the right arm raised one would think he needed to drop the blade for the GN repeater built into it to fire…but this one was based on the amazing GN sword used by the third Meijin Kawaguchi. The focusing lens on the shield which held the weapons system together shifted and opened to reveal a GN Vulcan and a flurry of red blasts flew from it. The mocks were caught in the red barrage and blew up. This was of course a distraction by the AI as more mocks with heat hawks and beam sabers flew in.

This forced Noah to dance between the attacks, drawing the blade back and using the shield to block their attacks or spinning and climbing or diving to dodge their attacks. The EX-caliber ducked low under another volley from 2 more with rifles. At that point he bit his lip as he flew at them, trying a risky tactic as the GN drive on his back spun up to increase his speed. The two mocks began to charge their rifles for a pair of concentrated blasts. As he flew towards them they prepared to fire, not realizing two of their comrades had foolishly followed him. Right when the two mocks fired he stopped completely then flew upwards out of their blast range. Lacking a GN drive or another form of high powered thrusters the two mocks following him were quickly disintegrated as he climbed above the ranged mocks and turned upside down "raising" his right arm up and sending a storm of red bolts down at them from the three barrels of the GN repeater. Once again the mocks were caught in the storm and destroyed.

He glanced at his radar. Four more down, four left, and all were wielding blades of some form. He smiled. That was his specialty. Well actually his specialty was making something look simple and non-threatening…but hiding many MANY secrets in it and making it very deadly. It was why his machine lent most of its gear and appearance to modified parts from the exia line of machines, including the meijin's exia amazing. He had new parts waiting outside the pod but didn't wish to test them just yet as they were also a few tweaks away from perfection.

With a pulse from his GN drive forming a red ring behind it he burst forward towards the four machines. Once again right as he came into striking range of a pair of mocks wielding heat hawks he juked to the left and the sword swung up into lock position as he turned the arm to make the slash sideways. But before it even locked into position it severed one mock in half before he thrust it forward to spear the second mocks chest with it just as it locked into position. He withdrew the blade from the simple model's chest and flew back from the explosions before he boosted up to avoid a swing from the beam saber of one of the last two mocks.

He spun around in time to block the saber strike of the second saber mock. The spin though caused the cloth to fly open and show his hidden weapon. A heavily modified amazing shield. In appearance it was the same aside from the blue, now black bars on the side were open and away from the shield. If this had been a normal fight Noah would have done his best not to use this unless it really called for it. But given this was a practice fight he decided to test the shield's newest gimmick.

He boosted back from the two mocks and brought the left arm up and laid the shield flat, with the "bottom" facing the mocks. As they boosted at him the two black bars swung forward and soon had sparks flying between them. If one looked close they`d see the bottom of the shield was open, a slot just between the two bars. From there a yellow light began to shine. Then with an audible snap a yellow orb shot out and smashed into the mock. It shoved it back for a moment before tearing through it, causing it to explode.

This was its new railgun mode. Deciding to change from the more common gundam railgun where it had a long barrel and housed the entire system within, he went for a realistic style of having the two blue bars, or "rails" charge up with electricity and magnetizing. Then it would release a small ball of plastic into the magnetically charged rails and fire it…like a rail gun.

With one mock left he let the bars swing back and the shield and arm once again hid behind the cloth curtain. The GN blade then swung forward and he timed it perfectly so he raised the blade…and let the mock spear itself with its shorter beam saber being inches from the cockpit of his machine. The mock's red optical sensor flashed and its arm tried to finish the strike but ultimately it only put a black mark on the torso of the ex-caliber before he withdrew the blade and flew away to let it explode alone.

Pausing to look at his work, Noah saw the debris of his kills just floating around him. His Gundam… no, gunpla, floated in the void generated by Plavsky Particles. He frowned. Shifting the controls, the EX-caliber discarded the GN sword and raised the hand so Noah could see it. His work bore fruit, giving the once plastic shell a realistic look. The unblemished E-Carbon GN Composite Armor had a thin layer of frost over its surface from the cold of space, which glistened as the sun began to rise over the opposite side of Earth.

The hand closed and the EX-caliber turned and looked down at the planet. Which one could it be though, Noah thought. If he had launched from the White Base of old Gundam, would this be the Earth of the UC timeline? He shook his head at the thought. Calling up the controls, he disengaged the system. The screen went black and hard light shattered into flowing particles that danced in the air before disappearing entirely. Claiming his GP Base, he hit a more solid button to the side, and the simulated cockpit opened with a hiss. His eyes narrowed as he looked to the real world, and sighed. He climbed out, taking a look at the line of running computers and cables that ran from their blocks to the enclosed simulator he was using for his work. The test had proven to work well within a cockpit like environment. Manipulating the particles to change to a better interface layout didn't take much work, even changing the OS. That bland voice was annoying too.

Noah's goal was close at hand. He only had one final test to perform and he was sure to change the face of gunpla Battling. His idea was highly influenced by the OVA short series of gunpla Builders Beginning G. To have gunpla battling placed within a similar environment to an actual cockpit. Gunpla was still needed of course, but more of a physical representation of one's MS to be used in the system. Like in Beginning G, the gunpla would be placed within a scanner and scanned, giving life within a computer generated environment that is manipulated by the Plavsky Particles. This entirely removed the safety issues in damage levels, preventing any damage to actually happen to the gunpla.

But therein lies a problem with his idea. The companies would probably frown on the idea considering they make large sums of money on people having to replace parts for the gunpla. That alone would probably halt his idea all together…

Which is why he hoped the next phase of his plan worked. He just needed someone to work with him on it. And once that was passed, he was sure to change things. Gunpla battles and Gundam may never be the same. But that was that project, for now he had some tweaks to make to his machine.

Pursue your dreams

A cobalt blue Chevy pulled into the parking lot of the river side lofts. Large building with massive housing areas for those who could afford it. It was something to say the least. Bailey Fielding climbed down from the vehicle, closing the door shut and locking it manually. It was a classic by its age, and didn't have any fancy buttons or remotes, so locking it with a key was mandatory. He adjusted his denim jacket as he slipped through the front door, stopped at a second door with a row of room numbers and buzzers beside each one to the left. Hitting the room he was looking for, he waited for a reply. It was only an hour ago he got an urgent call from his friend Noah, someone who he hadn't spoken to for going on two years. Not that they had a falling out or anything, the two just had been busy. Family life would do that to a man like Bailey.

It still shocked Bailey to get a call from Noah out of the blue, but the way his voice sounded worried him. The last he saw Noah, it was a month after his father passed away. He had been quiet, never saying a word during the funeral. Later he had learned that Noah had gained a large inheritance from him, and had gone off the grid for a bit without anyone knowing where he'd gone. Bailey hadn't worried about him too much though. He'd known Noah since they were young, and though Noah wasn't a dedicated Church attendee, he had a firm belief that he'd go to hell if he took his own life. So Bailey wasn't worried about hearing him committing suicide. But to all of a sudden call out of the blue and ask for a favor?

The buzz from the speaker drew his attention from his thoughts. "Yes?"

Bailey moved to the speaker. "Hey, Noah? It's me, Bailey."

The locked door instantly clicked and popped open. Bailey blinked and made his way in, remembering Noah's instructions as to what floor and what loft was his. Climbing up to the top floor didn't take long, and considering there were very few doors between each loft, it wasn't hard to locate him. Bailey was still shocked that Noah was staying in such a place.

Stepping to the door, he knocked twice. He only had to wait a few seconds before he heard the rattle of a lock and the door opened just barely for him to see his wayward friend peek out. Upon seeing Bailey, Noah pulled the door open wider, a grin on his face. Bailey couldn't help but return the smile, seeing Noah in higher spirits compared to the last time they saw each other.

"I'm glad you came," Noah said, stepping aside to let his friend in.

Bailey stepped into the threshold and away from the door, taking in the sight of Noah's loft. Shockingly, there wasn't much decor. The room was mostly vacant, except a strew of cables and wires running from several electrical sockets scattered about, all leading into one particular direction that was just around the corner. He could see a kitchen in the far corner, clean and looked to have hardly been used with one dirty glass by the sink. There was a table with two chairs but nothing more. In another room, he could barely make out a futon mattress on the floor with a half discarded comforter to the left of it.

Hearing Noah close and lock the door, Bailey turned to him as he began to walk past, the brunette waving for him to follow. "How've you been?" he asked.

Noah looked back with a shrug. "Been good."

Bailey arched his brow. "That's it?" Noah paused, looking back. "I mean, no one has heard from you for nearly two years."

A look of guilt washed over Noah's face and he looked away to the floor. "Yea… I'll explain about that, but for right now, I need your help."

Hearing that pushed Bailey into a more serious role. He didn't even realize he straightened up when he asked, "You in trouble or something?"

Noah gave a grin and shook his head. "No. But what I'm about to show you will change a lot of things, man." He gave a nod to follow and moved to turn around the corner.

Bailey followed, again looking about the room. He stepped lightly over the many cables before turning the corner, only to pause as he looked at the number of computer towers and console screens that were humming with activity sitting on a U shaped table. At least he now knew where those cables were running. There were at least half a dozen of them on, each one running codes of which he had never seen before. Not that he was an expert in the matter. Surrounding the computers were a number of small fans, all on and blowing to help keep the systems cool. For an open room it was surprisingly warm considering it was the ass end of winter. But that was probably due to the amount of heat the computers were putting out.

Following the cables leading away from the computers, Bailey finally took notice of the large metal block that sat at the far wall of the open room. It was inactive, a door opened up at the front. Inside he could see a chair; more accurately a pilot's seat. From the large box ran more lines to a sphere that sat on a pedestal next to it. The sphere was open and inside sat a gunpla he wasn't too familiar with but had a striking resemblance to the Exia gundam from 00 though it looked like it was in its repair 2 variant.

Noah stood in the center of the chaos of electronics, his arms held out. "What do you think?" His smile couldn't have been wider.

Bailey looked about, confused, his expression then aimed at Noah. "About what? What the hell are you doing here?"

Noah continued to smile as his arms dropped to his side. "What I am doing is changing the face of gunpla battles and much more."

Bailey was familiar with the hobby/sport. He had a few gunpla of his own but he never went crazy with it like most did. Even partook in a few battles for the fun of it. He was familiar with some of the older series of course but had dropped out of the anime trend some years back when life decided to throw him a wife and two kids. Though he secretly watched some of the more ecchi kind behind his wife's back.

"How exactly?" He could tell Noah was waiting for him to ask. It all but screamed from the look on his face.

He pointed at Bailey as he moved to the open sphere. "Do you remember the OVA short Beginning G?" When he reached the sphere, he gently closed it and locked it down. A yellow light beamed from the seams before dying out completely.

Bailey gave a shrug. "Vaguely. You told me about it once."

"Well the short series was what helped inspire Gunpla Battles. But unlike us, they didn't have Plavsky Particles. Everything they had ran off of a computer generated simulator that functioned with the aid of a scanning system and an actual cockpit environment to simulate what it would be like in the cockpit of a MS." Noah moved and sat down inside the simulator.

Bailey followed, leaning on the edge of the 'hatch' and watched as a small pedestal rose up between his knees. Noah drew out a uniquely designed GP Base and placed it on the stand. Hitting a glowing button that appeared out of nowhere, the inside was lit up as the confined area was flowing with Plavsky particles, solidifying into the hard light controls that most battlers are familiar with. Bailey nodded his head impressed, reaching out and touching the glowing orange/yellow screen, feeling the warmth upon his touch. "That's pretty cool. You've removed the whole standing thing. I can see some people liking that better than standing for a long period of time in a battle. But that doesn't seem like much of a game changer in the whole Gunpla Battle thing." He drew his hand back and crossed his arms.

Noah continued to smirk. "This is just part of my plan. By implementing this system, one no longer needs to have their gunpla be damaged or outright destroyed due to a battle. I created the same scanning system that was used in Beginning G. It inputs the data of the gunpla into the system and with the Plavsky Particles, allows the battler to control it in a simulated environment."

"But therein lies the problem. Companies who produce the gunpla and parts for them won't sign on for something that stops the flow of purchase. If you make something that renders the need to replace damaged parts obsolete, they won't sign on for it."

"That is why the next part will get their attention," Noah said, shutting the particles down and removing the GP Base. Pocketing the small device, Noah rested comfortably in the pilot's seat, a smug look on his face. "Tell me, has there ever been a part in any of the Gundam series that you wanted to take part in, or change?"

Bailey looked away in thought, hand resting to his chin. "Not sure. Though there were some times in Victory Gundam I wished they hadn't killed off so many characters."

"Imagine if you could change that."

Bailey blinked and looked back at Noah, whose grin seemed to become almost evil. "Change?"

Noah rose up, passing Bailey and approached the row of computers. "I've input every bit of information pertaining to any and ALL Gundam series, side's stories, and novels into these systems. Each one with a running program that plots out determined and mathematical events that could happen should something interfere with the already set current events. Even running interactive dialogue for what would happen should something change."?

"So if you change something, the system predicts the next course of actions to follow based on the highest and most likely of outcomes to follow based on a percentage level."

Noah nodded. "To the highest number."

"Altering destiny within the series."

"Exactly!" Noah threw his hands out to the sides. "I've created my own ZERO System!"

The hum of the computers was all that was heard in the deafening silence that followed Noah's claim. He stood still in the same pose, waiting for Bailey to reply.

And how could he? Here he was listening to the ramblings of a childhood friend who claimed he made his own version of the ZERO System from Gundam Wing. Bailey could only pace away, hand running through his short blonde hair as he ran over everything Noah had just said. He wasn't a fool, Bailey was sure of that. Noah had attended college to learn as much as he could about Plavsky Particles when they were first brought into the public, wanting so passionately to do things with it that no one else did. Of course many had managed to beat him to it and as one could see, they made millions off of it.

He paused and looked at Noah. "What do you plan to do with this?"

Noah's hands dropped, one however pointing to the computers. "Fans will get their wish. They'll be able to fight in the most epic battles in any Gundam series and have their actions affect the outcome. Not just interfering and the story continues as if nothing happened. They can change everything!" Noah's hand dropped and shook his head. "The only thing they can't do is interact outside the MS with the characters. All interactions are limited to MS and vocal communications."

"Okay. So how do I play a part in this?" Bailey asked, folding his arms.

"I've tested everything but the ZERO System…"

"You're really calling it that?"

"…yes. Only until I figure something else to call it!"

"Okay, okay." Bailey looked to the machines then to the simulator. "And so I'm guessing you need me to watch and make sure you don't go crazy and want to destroy a colony?" he joked, throwing a sly grin in Noah's direction.

Noah approached, hand resting on Bailey's shoulder. "This works, and we make millions, I'll bring you in on it man. You and your family will never have to worry about money again."

"IF it works. I know everything else you've done so far, someone else has done like you said. But this… destiny predicting ZERO System of yours is new territory. Something you said yourself you haven't tested."

"Once we work the kinks out of it, every company in the world will be beating down the door to buy the rights." Noah turned and made for the simulator. "So we need to begin as soon as possible."

Bailey blinked. "What, you mean now?" He watched Noah climb in, connecting the GP Base. "Wait a minute, what are you doing?"

"Like I said, we're going to test it. At least I will." Noah looked at the computers with a nod. "They're already pre-set for the intended series and time of insertion, as I like to call it," he said with a grin.

"What series?"

"Seed."

Bailey rolled his eyes. "Really? Seed?" Noah nodded. "Couldn't you have picked a better one than that?"

"It's just for test purposes."

"And what, and I can't believe I'm saying this, mobile suit will you be using to help you change the course of the Gundam franchise?"

Noah smirked. "I'll be using my EX-caliber Gundam from Gundam 00."

"Didn't want to use Wing Zero, or something less custom?"

Noah gave a shrug. "Wanted to use something that suited my fighting style. Plus she's not that overpowered and since the most powerful machine in that series is a ranged fighter it'll be perfect on the off chance I somehow keep Kira from getting the freedom and have to fight it."

"She?"

Noah narrowed his eyes. "Don't judge me."

Bailey held his hands up in surrender. "I'm not." He let his hands drop to his sides, facial expression going serious again. "When this is over though, I want to know where you've been and what you've been doing since you disappeared."

Noah nodded. "I'll tell you everything."

"Good." Bailey tapped twice on the side of the machine and stepped back. He watched Noah give a mock salute as the hatch lowered down and clicked with a hiss.

The machine began to hum and Bailey stepped a good few feet away from it. Lines of light like the sphere began to appear at certain areas of the machine, glowing a blue/green color. He guessed it was the Plavsky Particles. Looking at the machines, he saw they too were changing. New data began to stream across the screens, looking like something from the Matrix. He moved close, trying to see if he could understand anything that swam across the screen but it might as well have been a foreign language to him. None of it made sense and he was surprised it did to Noah.

He looked back to the machine, seeing the flow of light along the panels. Aside from the humming it made, it was surprisingly quiet.

And just as it had started, the machine instantly shut off with a slow whine. The glow from the panels was gone. Bailey blinked and approached, wondering if something had gone wrong. The hatch opened and Bailey was a little surprised at what he saw inside.

When Noah had gone in, he was wearing a simple brown hoodie and denim jeans. What he wore now looked like a decent cosplay replica of a flight suit from Gundam Seed. It was outlined in a black/red color with a white center. Same for the helmet.

Bailey crossed his arms and frowned at Noah, not finding whatever joke he was playing very amusing. "You change clothes quickly for a guy who was only in there for two minutes," he said. He waited for Noah's response, but frowned when he didn't get one. "Noah?"

Bailey nearly jumped when Noah snapped his head up, looking around frantically. He reached for the helmet, cracking a switch. Bailey could hear the hiss of air as the suit adjusted to the environment. Noah pulled off the helmet, and Bailey was surprised his hair was a good few inches longer than before. Not to mention he was sporting a nasty looking cut on his left cheek. When Noah looked at Bailey, he started to shake. He climbed out slowly, examining the room like a scared animal.

Bailey kept his distance, afraid that the machine had done what he had only joked about a few minutes ago, and that Noah was losing it. But how was his hair so long now? It wasn't a wig. Looked way too real for that. And Bailey didn't see that outfit tucked away anywhere inside when he was examining it earlier.

"Bailey?" Noah asked with a tone of fear. "Is that you?"

"Who the hell else would it be? This isn't funny Noah, cut the crap." Before Bailey knew it, Noah's arms were around him in a hug. Not knowing what the hell was going on, Bailey pushed Noah back to arm's length. He paused though when he saw tears in Noah's eyes. "Dude what the fuck happened to you?"

"How…how long was I gone?" Noah asked.

"Gone? Dude you were only in there for a few minutes."

The tears that were forming stopped as those words hit Noah like a freight train. "Minutes? I've been gone for months…"

"Dude, I just saw you climb in there just minutes before you came out wearing…" he rubbed the material of Noah's flight suit, and paused. It didn't feel like anything he had felt before. He examined Noah closer now, and noticed he had been sweating. Profusely if the wet stain at where the base of the suit's collar met his neck meant anything. "This isn't fun anymore man, what happened."

Noah stepped back, but Bailey followed when it looked like he was about to fall over. He ran a gloved hand through his hair. When he turned to the side, Bailey took notice of a scar on Noah's jaw. Not faint either. It looked maybe a few months old. And Bailey was sure he didn't see it when he first saw him. Not to mention his cheeks looked a little lean. The suit looked a bit tight, but it made Noah seem like he had lost weight. Good bit of weight actually.

"Noah," Bailey said seriously. The blonde turned sharp. "Tell me. What happened when you got inside that thing?"

Noah steadied himself and nodded to the kitchen area. "We may want to sit down. It's… it's going to be hard to explain."

Pursue your dreams: Two Minutes Prior

Noah gave the mock salute to Bailey as the hatch closed. Plavsky Particles danced and formed into the glowing representation of the EX-caliber Gundam's cockpit. Or close as it could get to it. The screens were a little wider and more stats ran across the screen. For the fun of it, Noah strapped himself down comfortably into the seat. Just as he clicked the belts down, a wave of particles washed over him. He paused, eyes dancing about inside the machine before he gave a shrug. The screen came alive and there he saw again the void of space, but some distance ahead he could see a battle waging. Now he could have placed himself earlier in the series, maybe episode one perhaps. But he felt he needed to do a change that was a bit smaller. Trying to save an entire colony from being destroyed was a bit much for him to attempt.

He decided to go with stopping Flay Allister's father, George Allister, from getting killed. If he could save the man's life, that would change something within the series. Most noticeably Flay's actions towards Kira. Sure enough, he could see the very same Nazca-class ship Vesalius, and it already looked like it was preparing to fire. Surrounding it in a dance of death and exchange of combat fire were the GiNN mobile suits along with the Aegis, Strike, and Mobius Zero. Of course he could see both the Aegis and Strike exchanging fire, but neither of the two looked to be really trying to hit each other. Noah smiled. A faint pop was heard in the quiet cockpit as he rolled his shoulders. "Time to make my entrance."

Pursue your dreams

Blood red and olive green colored optics flashed in the void. The black and red armor of the EX-caliber Gundam stood out amongst the darkness along with the glow of red particles that generated from the GN drive. In a burst the Gundam from 00 charged down, moving far faster than any of the GiNN mobile suits or Strike. The only one there that could perhaps match his speed, or come close to it, was either Mobius Zero or the Aegis in its Mobile Armor mode. Though the Strike was a close contender. In the cockpit Noah narrowed his eyes as another ship was destroyed. By order of destruction, the third and final ship would be the one Flay's father would be on. One GiNN was destroyed, leaving only the remaining two, Aegis, and Strike. The Mobeius Zero had taken a hit and was limping back to the Archangel.

That meant they were going to fire on the remaining ship soon. He could destroy the ship before they could fire, taking two birds with one stone: 1 saving Flay's father, and 2 killing the main antagonist of the Seed universe, Rau Le Creuset. But as much as he would like to make things easy on the whole universe, Noah kind of wanted to see how he stood up to the masked man. So damaging the ship and chasing off the Aegis was the better bet for the time being.

One GiNN flew at the remaining Alliance ship. Noah focused on it, pushing the GN Drive to the limit. His particles should be messing with their radar, and considering it wasn't turning around to face an approaching enemy, it must have been working.

Coming in at ramming speed, the EX-caliber bashed the GiNN aside. It let loose a rocket from its bazooka, said round flying aimlessly out into space before going off on a timed detonation. The GiNN turned, freezing at the sight of the GN blade pointed at it. The gin attempted to toss the launcher and draw its blade but before it could Noah had hit the accelerator and cleaved the GiNN in two. As it exploded he spun around and examined the battlefield.

Noah looked to each screen, noticing a sudden halt in activity. The remaining GiNN just floated in the void, looking in his direction. Both the Aegis and Strike had stopped their duel and were looking at him as well. He assumed the rest were doing the same, and smirked. "Well so far the system seems to be working perfectly," he remarked. "I'd freeze up two if someone just came and crashed my party."

The tables had clearly turned and Noah knew it was only a matter of time till the ship turned its guns on him and the Aegis would attack him, orders or not. So without delaying further, the EX-caliber turned and focused its attention to the remaining GiNN. He once again increased his particle output and sped towards the GiNN. This time it managed to draw its sword and as he brought the GN blade in a diagonal upwards slash it blocked it. For a moment the blade held but it was a worthless effort as Noah could tell the pilot seemed to find solace in its sword, the mobile suit visibly relaxing as it thought it was safe for the moment. A moment later though the pilot found his sword as well as the mobile suit cut in half. A quick "jump back" and Noah cleared the GiNN's blast radius.

And that seemed to get things moving again as the Aegis and Strike again clashed, though it looked like the Aegis was trying to get past the Strike to come at the EX-caliber. The EX-caliber turned though to face the Vesalius but simply floated in space, acting as if the Aegis, which could easily out maneuver the strike and get to it, was no threat at all. It was his natural style to simply act like he didn't care what happened to him then as soon as things looked their worst he'd burst into action. It was why he was a great tactician in gunpla battles and why his machines could look so ordinary, so barely customized…yet in the blink of an eye have more gimmicks then one would expect from simple parts.

Warning sirens blared as he detected being locked onto by the ship. "At least they're focused on me," he said to himself. Another warning came up and quickly approaching was the Aegis in mobile armor mode. He arched his brow. "Maybe it's faster than I gave it credit for."

With that he noticed a volley of missiles aimed at him coming from the ship. Knowing the capabilities of his machine he boosted towards them, jinking to the left and spinning as he climbed in order to allow the particle's distortion effect to hit the missiles and cause them to spin and sputter off into nothingness. He was also trying to get the Montgomery out of the Vesalius' cross hairs. Right now he was target number one given the fact their main guns even were targeting him. Knowing this he kicked the EX-caliber into high gear and flew under the ship and in a spin that would have made kira jealous were this later in the series with him in the freedom, he sliced both main cannons barrels in half, before flying up through the ships ``launch tunnel" and over it to let the custom damaged head of the EX-caliber look into the bridge.

He was sure a few of the minor officers were pissing themselves. After all he knew murrue likely would have this early in the show. But instead of fulfilling their fears of stabbing the bridge he jinked to the right and ran the blade between the two barrels of its port side dual rail guns. By this time the CIWS were tracked on him and even though the particle distortion was throwing off their aim he was still having to dodge and weave through anti-air/MS fire as he flew over the port side of the hull and flew along its side, running his sword through one of its port side's two vertical missile launch systems.

The ship did however fire off a volley of missiles before the other launcher was destroyed which forced the EX-caliber to boost away, away from the ship, spiraling in a dance of particles to avoid the missiles. With particle dispersal in use, the missiles had nothing to lock on to, and so simply flew out into space without a target, leaving a chain of harmless detonations in the void.

Before Noah could move to finish "defanging" the ship, however, he detected a message being broadcasted on all frequencies. Even though he saved the Alliance ship with Flay's father onboard, he had a feeling they were still going to use Lacus Clyne as a meat shield to stop any further attacks. Of course Noah didn't bother to listen in. It was just a long professional version of 'if you keep attacking, we kill her'.

The EX-caliber looked to the ZAFT ship, and pointed the GN sword 3 at it before having the blade swing back into its stowed position. He let the message linger before lowering the sword and flying off towards the Archangel just as retreat flares fired from the Versalius. It was all a simulation, but he couldn't help but play the role of the mysterious badass who swept in and saved the day. The Aegis zipped past, and Noah promptly ignored it. The Strike remained where it was, watching the Aegis fly off. Most likely Kira again brooding over the actions of Athrun Zala.

Noah thought on the matter, thinking he should continue on with the test. He approached the Strike slowly, watching the white MS tense slightly. He slowly raised the right arm in a wave, stopping within arm's length. "Here goes nothing," Noah said, putting a message out towards the Strike. "GAT-X105 Strike, do you read, over."

A second passed before he got a return call. Patching it in, the screen in the corner cleared and showed a helmeted Kira Yamato. He looked much younger than what Noah had anticipated even though he knew his age at this time in the series. "This is the X105 Strike responding to Unknown G-unit, please identify yourself."

Noah raised a brow. Wasn't expecting Kira to act like that, he thought. Guess he's trying to act professional considering what was taking place. "This is the CB-00EX EX-caliber . Sorry I was late to the party. How are you holding up?" Let's test your reaction to that question.

Kira visibly relaxed, body slumping in his seat. Noah smiled inwardly thinking that would be the proper reaction from Kira Yamato at this time in the story. "Better now, thanks to your assistance." Kira blinked and added, "You're not wearing a flight suit?"

Noah was about to respond, but another signal came up, coming from the Archangel. Even Kira looked to be getting it as he looked off to the side of the screen. Well this should be interesting. Noah accepted the signal and was greeted with the stunning image of Capta…err…Lt. Murrue Ramius. Much more attractive than he thought she would be. "This is Lt. Murrue Ramius, acting Captain of the Earth Alliance vessel, Archangel. Unknown G-unit, please identify yourself."

Noah gave a nod. "Hello Lieutenant. This is the CB-00EX EX-caliber responding. As I was telling the pilot of the Strike, I hope I wasn't crashing on your little party. Looked like anyone could join."

Murrue didn't seem to want to exchange banter as she continued to hold that poker face of hers and responded, "We appreciate your assistance in our defense, and joking aside, we would like to know where you and that machine came from."

Not like I can board the ship and speak face to face, he thought. Movement to the side caught his attention, and Noah looked to see a transport vessel leaving the wounded Alliance ship and make its way over to the Archangel. Looking back he saw a patient Murrue staring at him. Noah shrugged. "With all due respect, Lieutenant, but any information on this machine is classified, even to you." That poker face instantly became an angry one, and it almost made Noah scoot back in his seat. "But I will say it and myself were at Heliopolis before its collapse." He could hear the faint gasps aboard the bridge and small whispers, before he heard Ensign Natarle Badgiruel.

"Then explain how you managed to get this far without a ship," she asked in a demanding tone.

"Me and this machine were in a damaged transport making its way towards Earth when the engines gave out. I decided to bail out and use this machine to try and make it into Alliance space before I ran out of energy." Noah gave another shrug that would make Mu La Flaga proud. "Guess I was just lucky to have stumbled upon your battle when I did."

"Nevertheless, you will power down all systems and allow the Strike to guide you to the Archangel. "

"Understood," Noah replied with a nod. He wasn't one hundred percent sure they could detect him with his particles being dispersed. Not to mention that the N-Jammers in the area that is affecting their systems might be aiding in hiding his own. The Strike moved over, taking the EX-caliber by the arm/shield and gently pulled it towards the Archangel. He looked at the screen and saw a worried look on Kira's face. "Hey Strike," he said, gaining the coordinator's attention. "I never got your name."

He blinked, and gave a puppy smile that probably would make any teenage girl swoon. Or boy, whatever his taste was. "It's Kira. Kira Yamato."

You slipped, Kira, Noah thought. You're supposed to give a rank to hide the fact you're a civilian at least till it's deemed I am trusted enough to know the truth. But you slipping like that proves that the test is working perfectly. "Pleasure to meet you, Kira. My name is Noah Carson."

Kira nodded. "Again, thank you for your assistance. You have no idea how much you helped today." He looked from the camera. "A friend's father was on board that ship and I had promised to protect him. Had you not shown up, I'm not sure what would have happened."

Noah hid his grin and said, "Well, good thing we'll never know."

The Strike led the EX-caliber to the launch port. From there, Noah took over and touched down, moving the machine into the hanger. He gently eased his machine into one of the berths and took a moment to breathe. Now what? Noah thought, amused. He began to wonder if the data to this point was saved. But what would he do should he come back? He's inside the ship, can't rightly just bust out. Though that would be something, destroying the Archangel from the inside. He looked out and saw many of the crew staring at his machine, and couldn't help but grin. "This is just too awesome. It's like it's real." A glance at his side camera and he saw the hanger close. From there, a signal popped up on his screen telling him the outside was pressurized and oxygen was being pumped to breath.

The Strike parked into a space opposite of him, and he watched the hatch open. Kira Yamato exited before the phase shift armor even finished powering down, removing his helmet as he drifted in the weightlessness. He was drifting towards the EX-caliber but was stopped as armed personnel approached, weapons drawn and aimed at the cockpit of the EX-caliber. Not surprising. Noah was an unknown and this was just a precaution. And Noah was happy with it. So far, things were changing from what happened in the series and that's exactly how it should be. "I'm going to be stinking rich after this."

He began to shut off the system, the particles disappearing. He disconnected the GP Base when a banging at the hatch got his attention. "Just a second, Bailey," he said. Popping the hatch, he hadn't noticed that it took slightly longer than the first time to open, along with the sound of a second hiss from another set of doors. And so worked up about his project working as well as it had, he never noticed that the pull cords to his hoodie had been floating the entire time.

But upon unbuckling the safety harness, Noah felt… light. And as soon as the hatch fully opened, Noah was staring at a man holding a rifle aimed directly at him. Looking past said man, who was dressed in an Alliance uniform by the way, Noah could see clear as day, without a viewing screen of any kind, the GAT-X105 Strike Gundam.

"Sir, slowly climb out of the machine," the armed soldier spoke.

Noah stared at him, shook his head hard and rubbed his eyes. Seeing the soldier still there, Noah rubbed his eyes again. Yep, he was still there. Noah tried to do as he was told, but noticed he was floating…. Floating! That meant no gravity.

Noah slowly pulled himself out and into the open, forgetting to stop himself and promptly flew over the soldier's head, who was shouting for him to stop. But Noah wasn't listening. He couldn't. Mostly because he blacked out upon seeing the deactivated blood red and olive green lenses that made up the eyes of EX-caliber staring down at him.

…..

Pursue your dreams

The EX-caliber …

So it's meant to be pronounced "Excalibur", and I originally thought of it as a play on words due to its original design having two of the GN blade threes. And ya know…Excalibur was the whole legendary sword…and this is a mainly cqb based machine with a few hidden ranged weapons. This is its final form hence why I call it "ex-caliber "…though I'm always modifying it still and making it better.

I will post a load out for this machine in chapter 3, but I'm posting this for now to test the waters, see what people think. Again, check out the story, "eyes in seed" , which is based on it with the author's permission, and chapter 2 will be all my work…minus the whole "ZERO system" plot piece. If things go well review wise should have the second chapter up in a few days to a week. But we shall see.