Lol ok so…to start I wanna say that exia got the closest, so far, only two attempts so far while I write but he's close, but not entirely accurate. You'll all see in a few episodes when zaft gets a piece of EX-caliber.
Also just noticed I'm calling them episodes lol. I blame Operation Meteor for that. He/she calls their chapters episodes and they are a big inspiration for my desire to write this.
Forewarning: this chapter has some moments that may go just a tad above the PG-13 aka T rating this story has. If this bothers you please ignore the section where flay interacts with Noah. As well as the fight between blue cosmos and waltfeld
*update: I apologize for all the grammar and spelling issues and such, i have asked multiple people to beta read for me, none of them actually get back to me on it though and ya know how you can read something and your mind fixes things for you, makes light grammar and spelling issues almost unnoticeable? Yeah that's my problem sadly
Into the lion's den
Murrue sighed as she lay on her bed in her room. The sheets covered her body, the heat calling for some time out of her uniform…well…clothes in general as she tried to sleep. She curled up though in the sheets and closed her eyes, thinking of her recent discussion with Chief Murdoch.
The old head mechanic sighed as murrue looked over his report. "Like I said. There's not much we can do till the boy wakes up." he said as the captain's eyes shifted from the report to the dish full of shavings.
She looked at him and asked, "So this is all we have?" she asked as she then turned to look at the damaged "god" in their hangar. A team of mechanics were trying to patch the hole on the cockpit door up and restore the area's integrity and ability to seal the cockpit with some patch work with phase shift armor.
Murdoch nodded. "Yeah. We looked for a good hour. Even in that shifting sands we got out there quick enough a gash that big should have left a good few panels worth of metal. Instead we somehow picked up all that…and that's it." He said as his men finally gave the thumbs up that the machine could be used safely…well to a degree.
She sighed. "So what do we tell him when he wakes up? Think he should be allowed to pilot?" asked murrue as she handed him the tablet which held the machine's diagnostics on it. He shrugged. "Not our call. The fact we house him and do maintenance like this is our only problem with him. Remember he's just a merc to us. But…"Murdoch glanced at the strike.
"I think he has a good heart. And like Kira I doubt he'd stop protecting us over a small injury. Whether he likes it or will even join the alliance or not…he'll call this place home for as long as he can. Same with Nicol." he said which made murrue blink. Not many people referred to the zaft pilot by his first name yet.
"He do something to earn such a thought?" she asked, wondering if she listened to natarle too much when it came to the boy. He nodded and looked to the green haired pilot as he looked over blueprints for the blitz they had on hand and discussed his intended modifications with a pair of mechanics Murdoch leant to him to do it. The boy wore the earth alliance coat around his waist as if it were a jumpsuit top or a sweater and seemed to get along with the men.
Murdoch nodded. "Yeah. He's just done everything he can to help around here. Everything from running to the mess hall to get us all drinks or food to helping with grunt work like scrubbing down the blitz. I mean plus he's even wanting to modify the blitz to help keep us safe. Kid went from being a zaft pilot to being…well one of us pretty quickly." he said as Nicol led the mechanics up the catwalk to show them something on the blitz.
Murdoch looked back to the captain. "But then again I think the fact he's been branded a traitor obviously helps. But also the fact he's not with the alliance. Seems almost kinda freed ya know? I think it's also because of Noah's machine. I've heard some of the boys talking even with the revelation of its damage…"he said as they both looked back to the titan that stood between the two prototypes.
Murrue nodded. "I've heard some musing amongst the crew. Even though it's protecting us, Noah and EX-caliber seem to be a balancing factor in this war, even more so than the prototypes. They think his machine will ultimately bring this war to a close." she said as she watched some of Murdoch's men bring equipment up to the back of the gundam to try and clean the GN drive clear of sand.
The grizzly man nodded. "Yeah…I think even Nicol realizes that he's part of the "winning team" now and since this ship is his home now he's trying to do all he can to protect it. Plus that last fight…he seems even more determined than ever to try and protect us. To think zaft is trying to bring weapons like that to the battlefield…"he said as murrue sighed and turned to look at the data pad.
"Be honest with me chief. Can EX-caliber endure another fight like that?" she asked which caused the older man to groan and run his hand over his face.
"Honestly? I think only Noah can answer that. But if I had to guess…I think Noah needs to come clean with us on what all is going on with him and that machine before it crumbles underneath him. I looked over its weapons. That sword isn't gonna last much longer if he keeps using it to block beam sabers. It may be able to handle it now but…"he sighed
"If celestial being fielded even 3 more machines as specialized as his, with the right team…they would have dominated the earth sphere. To add a carrier into that mix, a mobile home base…."Murdoch looked up into the blood red eye of the gundam, ignoring the green one. "If they were half as strong as EX-caliber…I think even we would have been toast." Stated the mechanic as he shook his head in sorrow.
Murrue sighed and laid out flat on her bed. "if celestial being hadn't been destroyed…would we still be here?" she asked herself before finally sitting up, letting the blanket fall to her lap as she covered her face with her hands and sighed. She couldn't get that image out of her head.
The way the gundam fell from the sky. Like an angel that had had its wings torn off.
The way it hit the sand.
How it didn't get up.
How Nicol had to drag it inside.
How it had been a god on the battlefield but ever since his fight with rau le creuset he seemed rattled. Like he had lost faith in his abilities.
She shook her head.
No he hadn't. Well he didn't. Not until he was out maneuvered…
She gasped as she remembered he had been training with a team.
She threw the blanket off her and began to get dressed. She had a plan. It was crazy, and mu might not like it, but it just might save this ship. They had four pilots, three mobile suits and a fighter jet. It wasn't ideal…
But it was a team.
She jumped out of bed and began to get dressed
As she got to her jacket and threw it on and as she buttoned it up she was already leaving her cabin.
She had to go check on their resident "merc"…
Into the lion's den
Noah pulled on the restraints. He had been restrained to his bed since he woke up. He still couldn't believe it. EX-caliber was damaged. How was he going to fix it? He didn't have any spare exia parts here, and he couldn't just go ask Ian Vashti to make him more e-carbon in the shape of an exia cockpit door.
And he couldn't shrink EX-caliber down to its gunpla form, go buy a spare exia, and replace the door.
He wished he could roll over and die….but he couldn't even roll over. He just wanted to die. Now what was he supposed to do? Murdoch would wanna know how to make e-carbon to fix the door. What could he do? Just say it was classified and claim he'd fix it?
Noah groaned and blinked when he heard the infirmary door open and close. He tried to see who it was but couldn't sit up to do so. "Hey…miriallia if that's you I Apolo…hey…what are you…"he was confused as he felt the bed sink with someone else climbing on it. A moment later flay came into view…along with a magnificent view of her breasts.
Wait…breasts? He quickly closed his eyes. She's like…16 right? Fuck he was not going to hell for doing anything with a 16 year old. Nope. Nada. Not gonna happen…
That was when he felt a rush of wind on his cheek and heard something pierce the sheets and mattress. He slowly opened his eyes and turned to see the knife dug into the bed beside his head. His eyes went wide.
She had meant to kill him!
Holy fuck this girl was nuts!
He was about to start begging for his life when he felt something hit his cheek. Something wet. He blinked and looked up. Flay was crying.
"Why? Why…why am I so confused? Why whenever I think of you while I…while I do "that" with Kira do I see all that horrible stuff. Why when I think of him do I feel such anger, such hatred when all he's ever done is try to love me?" she said, whimpering the whole time as she collapsed onto him, her head on his chest and he had to inhale sharply as her breasts pressed against him.
What was she talking about? Horrible stuff? Was…was she seeing what actually happened? She had always been unstable in the show…could that unstable mental state in the actual series somehow have allowed her to temporarily break the barrier between this reality he had made and the original one?
And do "that"? Oh dear lord, she was sleeping with Kira!
Finally Flay continued. "When I think of Kira…after all that rage and hatred…I feel such…warmth. Like I should love him or be with him or…something." she said quietly as she tried to stop crying. She finally got back up on her hands and knees over Noah and looked him in the eyes, her own filled with tears.
"Tell me why. Please…end this chaos in my own head. "she begged quietly as she moved to sit on her legs next to Noah, like a student waiting to hear their teacher's final words. Her tone though spoke of someone wanting to be talked out of suicide.
Finally Noah felt he could breathe and glanced at the knife. He remembered how unstable she got in the show and took a deep breath. She also was a manipulative bitch…but good at keeping secrets…kinda. She had a mean poker face to say the least.
"Even if I told you you wouldn't believe me." he stated as he waited for her to start yelling at him. Instead…
"Yes I would. What? Do I have to join your stupid organization? Do I have to turn traitor to the earth alliance before you`ll tell me?" she asked through sobs as she shifted to sit while hugging her knees to her chest. "Is it some kinda celestial being secret? Did you play with our minds? Is my daddy really dead?" she asked though now her tone was more accusatory than anything.
Noah shook his head. "No no, your dad's alive and well. I just…it'd sound crazy." he stated as he looked away from her. He had a good view of her ass and he REALLY wanted to stay out of hell. Lest he face duo and death scythe down there. He couldn't help but snicker at the thought of the "god of death" coming through the veil just to reap his soul mid battle. Likely killing everyone else just to reach him.
This seemed to piss flay off as she growled. "What? Is this some big joke? Are you just toying with me?" she asked as she glared at him.
To tell her the actual truth or pull off some alternate dimension shit? Either way he'd essentially blow the whistle on ALL his bull…but…maybe if he worded it right. She did ask if she had to join celestial being….but did he want flay to join his crew? But to think you have to be a turn coat to join…it stung. Nicol was his only other cell member…and that was if the actual celestial being sanctified them if he ever met them…still it hurt.
He sighed. Might as well tell someone the truth. Besides she had seen and felt everything already and was this confused…if it meant his life was safe he'd tell her exactly how she dies….though he hoped to change that.
"Fine…you wanna know the truth?" he asked as he looked at her. She nearly jumped on him nodding, a hint of a smile on her face as the thought of finally having it all explained was given.
He smirked. "Cut me loose first. " He said to which the unstable girl quickly grabbed the knife and sawed her way through each of his bindings. Finally he was able to sit up and stretch. "seriously…just because I went and piloted EX-caliber while hurt and then got hurt more doesn't mean I'm gonna hurt myself even more." he grumbled as he made, flay gasp when he stole the knife away from her and tossed it to the floor.
"Now then…you REALLY wanna know the truth? This information is classified to the point that the fact I'm even THINKING of mentioning it would have gotten me killed if it weren't for me being the head of celestial being now. So you have to swear to never tell a soul." he said.
The desperate girl nodded her head like mad. "I swear I won't tell anyone, not even Kira or the captain." She stated as she waited to hear just what was going on with her. She was practically bouncing on the bed in joy of hearing such information.
He took a deep breath…and began to explain everything to flay. Yes yes it may seem like a poor choice but he felt bad for her. First in the series she loses her father and becomes a psycho bitch hell bent on killing all coordinators…now she saw all that and was getting such mixed signals from her body, he bet even a sex change and life time of therapy wouldn't fix it all.
So yes…he told Flay EVERYTHING.
Into the lion's den
Nicol wiped some sweat off his brow. He had just finished finally disarming one of the lancer darts and looked to the mechanics helping him who put a thumbs up. He sighed and set the tools he had down. He glanced at the gleipnir rocket anchor which was being removed from the blitz. He knew his former squad mates would use that anchor against him should he use it to disarm their flight packs. So…he was planning a surprise. He just hoped it would be ready in time. He knew they would eventually have to cross the ocean and what he intended was perfect.
Murdoch was being very accommodating to the coordinator. He was even letting him into his cockpit without supervision. Then again in the rebel camp and the archangels hangar…he wouldn't get too far as they`d all quickly drain his battery.
Then again he was quickly finding this ship to feel more and more like home. Not like the plants or like the Vesalius. No nothing would replace those. But the more he did to help out, the more mutual respect they all shared. The more he found he could laugh with them, he even shared a few stories from his days at zaft academy. He never shared any military secrets but like he ended up sharing a story about his explosive handling class and how yzak got so impatient he had had a blue ink "bomb" explode in his face.
It had caught them off guard given what all he was working with when they learned he graduated top of his class in explosive handling.
But the most interesting part was he was invited to join Kira and Cagalli in an excursion into a nearby town. He had declined due to the fact he needed to see to his commanders health but he had also declined due to the fact the rebels weren't the only anti-coordinators in town. And what if Andrew made an appearance. He had respectfully given cagalli his clothing sizes and asked if she could get him some clothes. She originally seemed disgusted to be asked that but asked why. He told her he liked her style over Kira's and only needed a shirt at best but if she saw some pants or anything he'd find some way to reimburse her.
Either way for now he was stuck in his undershirt and his uniform pants. At least they opened the hangar doors to allow a better breeze. Plus soon they`d head out to go gather supplies and need to bring it inside
He turned to the mechanics and gave them a sign to go grab some grub. In the meantime he headed for the hangar exit, looking to get a view of the earth, even if it was just sand.
Into the lion's den
Murrue was shocked by what she found when she entered the infirmary. Noah was doing push-ups on the floor, while an apparently naked mars allster was laying in his stead on his bed, asleep. Noah didn't seem to notice her and she was curious as to just how fit the boy was. He didn't seem to be military. His push-ups reminded her of high school P.E. and his body was only mildly toned. She had to wonder just what all he went through in terms of training aside from how to pilot his machine.
She finally cleared her throat which caused him to jump and fall before standing up slowly, wincing but not seeming to be in that much pain.
"I see you and Mrs Allster have been up to…something. Should I be concerned?" she asked as flay shifted in her sleep and revealed she was indeed naked underneath her uniform jacket and Noah's blanket.
He shook his head as he grabbed a nearby bottle of water and took a sip. "Nope. So can I get cleared to go? I need to check up on my machine, especially my GN drive. That thing will need cleaned…"he would have continued his BS line of maintenance the gundam would need but murrue held up her hand.
"Not another word about your machine Noah. Two things." she said before switching to hold up one finger. "First, you, Kira, Nicol and mu will be meeting in the hangar later and we will be setting up simulations to help you adapt to working with everyone. I intend to have Nicol launch more often alongside you if possible and I've come to realize while the make-up of it isn't the best, you were trained to work with a team…"she said, as she moved to spread her arms open like she was showing him something with a smile. "Now you`ll have one. Though we will have the battle situations decide whether you or Mu run the team." She said as Noah seemed taken aback by the fact they`d be running as a team.
Inwardly though he was screaming WHY WHY WHY!
He never worked with a team, hell even during a tag team event when he and Bailey were younger he left Bailey to fend for himself while he worked on his own plan. Bailey didn't lose his gunpla that time…but he had made Noah fix a few broken parts after they won.
Now not only did he have to work with the "ultimate "pussy" coordinator" but plus Nicol? Yeah he recruited him to celestial being but he found the blitz to be a piece of crap.
Its stealth abilities alone made it worthless. It had to sacrifice armor for stealth. While yes in most cases this was the case in real military, in terms of gundams the deathscythe would run circles around the blitz and not just due to the lack of a time constraint on its power source.
Then there was the CQB fighting style. All its weapons were in its shield! Who the hell does that?
Overall he felt the blitz was crap and just felt bad for Nicol about his death so he recruited him before blue cosmos could get their hands on him.
Mu though he had no qualms working with. Then again mu was a military man. He knew he couldn't hold back on the trigger, and he knew how to fight.
Not that Nicol didn't just…
He shook his head and smiled, not only to seem like he was snapping back to reality but also to stop the mental debate he was getting into over this.
She then took a breath and seemed to regret each word coming out of her mouth as she pulled a pair of envelopes from her back pocket.
"While I'm yet again breaking more regulations by doing this….these envelopes contain the pay that the G-weapon pilots would have accrued over our time since Heliopolis. It's not much but it should be enough for clothes and I don't know…some sunglasses, or whatever you and Nicol feel you may need or want. In 2 hours we are leaving with the desert dawn to go into banadiya for supplies. Cagalli has offered Kira, you and Nicol a place with her in the market while she shops for personal items for the soldiers." she said as Noah took the envelopes and opened it like a 5 year old being handed their first set of allowance.
The way he held the envelope with his name on it…it was actually like he was getting any money for the first time. Was celestial being not paying their pilots? Or did this have something to do with the plastic they found in the desert? Murdoch had mentioned it wasn't like any plastic known to mankind…
Finally Noah seemed to regain his composure and nodded. "Right. I'll see to it Nicol gets his envelope. Can I go check on my gundam now?" he asked, like a kid who just wanted to go play.
Murrue sighed. She had no true command over him and it wasn't like she could order Kira to use the strike to impound EX-caliber…Noah would just kill Kira. So she stepped to the side. "Fine, go play…"she said like an annoyed mother finally relenting to their child's wishes.
As Noah left she moved into the infirmary to check on flay. The girl seemed to be happy where she was, a smile on her face as she slept, like she had just had a huge weight lifted off her shoulders. This only confused murrue further. But she had finally resigned to the fact Noah would constantly confuse her and covered the girl with the blanket. She'd talk to her later.
Into the lion's den
Nicol wiped a line of sweat from his forehead from working on his modifications to a lancer dart and looked to the group of rebels going over a list of supplies the ship needed with commander la flaga and natarle. He noticed cagalli was looking at the blitz.
She was just standing in front of it and looking back and forth between the G-weapon and EX-caliber. After the damage was revealed to mostly be cracks and likely structural damage the machine looked like it was determined to live more than ever. He got a rag from his work table nearby and began wiping his hands clear of grime as he walked over.
"You know there's no way to explain all the differences between any of the prototypes and Noah's machine." he said which startled the girl.
"Yeah…I heard from some of the mechanics it supposedly is another prototype of its own…but compared to the strike or blitz it seems like a complete machine." She stated as the mechanics worked around the machine, trying to get a clear idea of just what needed fixing.
Nicol nodded. "Yeah. Well he did say his was THE MOST complete machine amongst all of celestial beings machine but still…"he said as he looked over the machine. "With what little we know and how much we DON'T know…he could be lying…he could be lying about EVERYTHING and we would be none the wiser." he stated which made cagalli raise an eyebrow.
"Seriously? How much do you know about him? Aren't you part of his organization now?" she asked as she remembered the reports she read about the machine and its capabilities.
Nicol turned to her. "Enough to know that when he recruited me he was dead serious with any death threat he made, but he was also recruiting me to save me from blue cosmos. Plus according to their dossier which I guess he memorized they recognized I have some piloting skills. Plus it's not like there was an orientation. It was more of a "join me or die during interrogation" kinda recruitment." He said as he started to wonder why she even had looked at the blitz. But then again she saw it during their attack so he could understand why she was likely curious as to why it was here.
She turned to him at that and poked his chest. "So you really are a former zaft pilot? And that's the GAT X-207 blitz not just some rebuild or a second one they produced?" she asked, her tone getting angrier with each word.
Nicol slowly nodded….
The hangar was filled with a slapping sound as cagalli's fist collided with Nicols face and the coordinator actually staggered back a moment.
"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU ALL DID? HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE DISPLACED? HOW MANY LIVES WERE LOST? HUH? DO YOU?!" she screamed as she took a step towards him. Nicol staggered back another step as she swung again and missed and swung again and barely missed his face again.
"WHY? THAT COLONY WAS NEUTRAL! WHAT DID THEY EVER DO TO YOU THAT COULD HAVE POSSIBLY REQUIRED THE COLONY'S DESTRUCTION?!" she screamed and as she grabbed a wrench and tried swinging it at him but a hand caught her arm.
With tears in her eyes she spun around to try to tell Kisaka off. Screw her true identity, screw if the desert dawn found out she was the princess of orb. This kid destroyed Heliopolis, he was the reason so many of her people now had to find new homes, new jobs, and some could never be recovered, their souls floating in space for eternity.
But instead of kisaka she gasped as she turned….to see a fist meeting her face.
She fell to the floor and coughed as she looked up and blinked for a moment till she could see who it was. She didn't recognize him. But Nicol suddenly jumped up and held him back. She brought her hand up to her face as she felt it suddenly get wet and was surprised when she looked at her hand and it had a good amount of blood on it.
"You wanna know who did all that? Who caused the colony's destruction?! Instead of beating on the guy who yes attacked the colony but to defend his own homeland, beat on the idiot using an ANTI FUCKING SHIP BEAM CANNON IN THE COLONY!" he yelled before pointing to the strike.
The whole hangar was confused, the alliance engineers and soldiers were wondering what to do given they were supposed to not harm the rebels.
The rebels were told to leave the alliance soldiers and their property alone.
Mu and natarle were trying to figure out just what all happened.
Meanwhile Kira walked in with the captain at the wrong moment and Noah turned to them and pointed to Kira.
"YOU WANNA KNOW WHO DESTROYED THE COLONY? HIM! HIM AND HIS BRASH DECISION TO FIRE HIS FUCKING HEAVY WEAPON BEFORE ANYONE COULD WARN HIM OF ITS POWER! HE STILL USES IT LIKE A FUCKING RIFLE EVEN NOW KNOWING WHAT ALL IT COULD DO!" he yelled as murrue gasped and Kira went pale.
All eyes were on him, the rebels were more surprised than anything.
The alliance soldiers were waiting for Kira's reaction.
And cagalli…cagalli was crying but also clearly seething with rage.
Noah finally calmed and shrugged Nicol off.
"That's who destroyed the colony. Nicol…was just defending his homeland by acting on intelligence. Kira…was acting on emotion and lack of intelligence." He said as he moved towards EX-caliber.
"So if you're gonna hurt Nicol again you`ll be hurting a member of celestial being. And since I'm nice and a gentleman I won't beat you right back or treat it like a hostile action…"he said as he got onto the elevator and began moving it up to have a look at his cockpit. "I'll just kick some sand into your camp with my gundam." he threatened before beginning to examine the door.
That made the room even more-tense, even less so then Kira slowly walking over to cagalli. He tried to help her up but she slapped his hand away and slowly got up on her own. Covering her bloodied face as Noah had broken her nose she slowly walked out of the hangar.
The room was silent as everyone slowly went back to what they were doing.
Kira looked to Nicol with a look asking if he should follow her. Nicol shook his head and rubbed his growing black eye gently, walking off to find an ice pack.
He then looked to EX-caliber. What had Noah intended when he called him out as Heliopolis' destroyer? It was true his use of the Agni cannon had destabilized the colony…but the GiNN pilots using the heavy missiles had ultimately finished the job.
He glanced back to the main hangar door where Nicol had gone. Or was he protecting Nicol? Trying to redirect her rage at someone she may feel she couldn't retaliate against? Kira shook his head and moved back to where he intended to go, heading out of the hangar to get some fresh air.
Murrue watched Nicol walk past her, likely heading to the infirmary for an ice pack. She then looked up to where Noah was examining the patch work on his gundam. He seemed to dislike what they did but his body language stated he understood it needed to be done. As he climbed into the cockpit she sighed and turned to join her XO and commander la flaga. She needed to make sure that everyone's needs were being met, not just the ship's basic supplies so she also had a list to pass onto cagalli from miriallia and the tech students. Since they didn't go through basic training they had a few specific items they needed to be truly comfortable on the ship.
Into the lion's den
A couple hours later Noah sat in a jeep next to Kira, while cagalli and kisaka sat up front. With his presence in the convoy they needed a third jeep to accommodate the rebel troops escorting captain Ramius and the command staff. They took up two jeeps all together so that left them to have their own jeep.
Noah had opted to wear his normal clothing, yeah the sweater made him hot as could be but he was gonna try to use his hood to hide his identity. The last thing he needed was for them to be found out due to Andrew sighting him and figuring out he was the pilot of EX-caliber with his never ending Intel network.
He was surprised when Nicol had told him he wasn't tagging along though Nicol was surprised Noah was going. So he had a list of things Nicol needed and had half the money from his envelope. Nicol had been even more surprised he was being paid. Noah never remembered anyone getting paid in the series so he was curious as to how zaft pilots afforded anything. Did they just have direct deposit maybe?
And didn't most navy vessels have like a commissary where they could buy shit like shampoo and snacks and such?
Noah was just trying to figure out what each bill and coin meant so he wouldn't seem too much like an idiot when he bought something and had no idea how much to give the merchant.
Either way another half hour and they were all scanning the market, Noah also keeping his hand ready to grab Nicols side arm, which had been returned to him and then Nicol having given it to him. He was awaiting the blue cosmos attack.
He had never actually fired a gun but he BS'd his way past Nicol…and he knew how to turn the safety off and cock the gun…then it was just point and shoot right?
They passed a few stands, Noah quickly finding a few cheap knock offs as cagalli told him but he still got a decent watch, a cool bandanna, and shed his hoodie for the bandanna becoming like a bandit mask and a desert camo sun hat. He also made sure to pick up Nicols things, along with a shirt for him. He didn't dare try to buy pants for the boy.
Kira had laughed at him originally but he explained he was hot and that he needed to conceal his identity. Kira then reminded him no one outside the desert dawn or the archangel crew knew he was EX-calibers pilot and he gave up trying to reason with the naïve boy.
The experience was certainly interesting, especially watching natarle actually get tongue tied when sending Kira off with them. He had almost burst out laughing from the fact it was twice as hilarious to actually hear her compared to watching it in the episode.
Finally, noticing they had yet to see the ruined building cagalli had used to give Kira a reality check. So as he handed some money to a street merchant and was handed a small bag containing a necklace he had found and wanted to take back for Bailey to give his wife in apologies for him taking so long he decided to read off Kira's lines…
"So I noticed this place is pretty lively, almost normal given what I read about zafts normal treatment of towns they occupy. Is this REALLY the desert tigers HQ?" he asked as he unrolled his hoodie around his waist and stuck the necklace in his pocket.
That instantly got cagalli's attention as it had in the show and she grabbed his hand and dragged him away with Kira following. "You may think this place looks safe and normal…but looks can be deceiving." She stated as they weaved through the crowds and buildings.
"what do you mean by that?" he asked, playing dumb till they reached the attack site and she threw her arm out and pointed to it then the large land ship off in the distance.
"This is what I mean. That is the true ruler of this town. Anyone who rebels is quickly and mercilessly silenced." She stated as she turned to Noah and looked him in the eyes. "You think your mobile suit makes you invincible? We've seen footage of you versus the Vesalius. You hit the ship as if even if it could hit you it would never even leave a scratch. How do you think our younger soldiers feel when they manage to destroy a Bu-CUE? And what do you think that gets them?" she asked, her eyes burning a hole into his very soul as it felt.
He swallowed the fear he was beginning to feel towards this girl and narrowed his own eyes. "I'm different. My skills should show that." He stated. He caught a glimpse of Waltfeld's signature bright shirt and sun hat out of the corner of his eyes and he mentally berated himself for egging her into this situation. She had personally guaranteed the military coordinator would put 2 and 2 together, even more so with his recent statement.
She laughed at him. "Right…that last fight showed you're a real god of war. Come back to me when you`ve destroyed the desert tiger and freed these people of his tyranny." She said before she turned and lead them further into town, likely to end up in the scene with waltfeld and the stupid sauces. He was trying to remember how it went so his kabobs wouldn't end up coated in both sauces as well.
Into the lion's den
Murrue sighed as she watched Murdoch clean out the strike. Kira was spending so much time inside it that it was becoming his living quarters. She heard him grumbling and she glanced at EX-caliber. When Noah wasn't injured he spent almost as much time inside his own machine. She could only guess what his cockpit looked like.
Mu was with her and sighed as they watched flay begin to pick up the trash Murdoch was pulling out. She had been surprised when he brought this to her. But she couldn't help but wonder when it began. The girl had been so determined to join the navy she figured she must know of a few of the regulations. One of the basic ones is no fraternization. And here she was hearing of her hovering over Kira like a doting girlfriend keeping her over achieving boyfriend from working himself to death.
She then took a glance at the blitz. Nicol was on the torso with a rag cleaning the faceplate. Compared to when he first asked her as to her comment about him keeping the blitz operational he had almost taken over for the mechanics. Between modifying and seemingly upgrading their own machine and constantly cleaning and maintaining it he was becoming a regular grease monkey when it came to the stealth machine.
She had spoken with Murdoch about it when she saw Nicol with a tool box and a second mechanic working on the left knee. He had stated that the more he looked over the blueprint and thought back to his time piloting it the more the kid seemed to find faults in it…well not faults…but things that needed tweaking in order to improve performance.
One thing the grizzly mechanic had stated was his worry the kid was taking on more than he needed to, like he was wanting to learn how to care for the machine in the event Noah and him had to leave the ship.
He had tried sending him off to sleep or even told him to relax and the boy would just say he needed a few more minutes working on whatever he was and he'd be done. But when he was he'd find him with a rag and cleaner wiping down the machine again stating he'd found dust on it…dust!
It boggled her mind what was driving the young man.
Mu sighed. "So…what are we gonna do about him?" he asked as he turned from leaning on the rails to turning and joining her in watching the coordinator child.
She blinked and looked at him, "what do you mean?"
He chuckled. "It's obvious you're more worried about Nicol and his growing obsession with the blitz's maintenance than you are about the girl and Kira. What's on your mind?" the mobile armor pilot asked as he smiled and looked at her.
She sighed. "I'm worried he'll overwork himself…but I'm trying to figure out why. I mean according to Murdoch he's better about keeping his cockpit clean and spends more time working on the suit itself and less on the OS like Kira. But…I'm just trying to figure out what's driving him…"she said as she watched Nicol seem to look into the blitz's deactivated eyes the same way she had seen Noah do before beginning to rub them down with the rag.
"I don't know…it just seems like he's doing more than simple maintenance." she stated before leaving it for mu to try to explain.
He shrugged. "I'm not sure myself. I mean on one hand I'd say he's just trying to keep the blitz in peak condition but the amount of adjustments he's made he needs to go into combat before he makes anymore or else he may be over compensating…"he said as he turned and left the hangar, murrue following.
"But if I had to guess, he reminds me of a few older mobile armor pilots who had survived their squad's destruction. He's doing everything he can to not have to have time to think about the fact he'll be fighting his team soon enough. I mean we'd be fools to think zaft won't send the creuset team down here to help take us out even with that new toy they put on the field that hit Noah." he said as they stopped and murrue looked at him.
"Best thing we can do is give him space and let him work it out on his own. Maybe mention it to the tech students that they could include him in their little group? He's adapting to the mechanics crew, yes but the rest of the ship…I've still seen some of our marines flinch when they see him reach behind his back to scratch an itch or even grab a rag after working all day and finally heading for his quarters." He suggested.
Murrue nodded "I could also give him slightly more access to the ship. He seems to be blending in, yes…but natarle is still certain he's just doing that to gain access to the bridge eventually or access to other areas of the ship. Either way you're right…and this thing between flay and Kira…any ideas?" she asked, remembering why he had had her meet him in the hangar anyways.
The question made him laugh and again shrug. "They're kids and the girl seems to help him relax. I mean he puts an unnatural amount of pressure on himself when he's out in combat. I see it in how weary he is after a fight. Not much I can think of without giving him an alternative form of stress relief." he said as he looked the captain up and down which made her glare at him.
As she stormed off in apparent anger she called back, "then let's hope this day out in the city helps him relax!"
Into the lion's den
Kira sighed as he slumped down in the chair Noah had offered him before sitting down himself. The two boys were worn out, Noah from heat exhaustion combined with having bought a few more items and now carrying his own bags along with cagalli and Kira from carrying more of the bags for the desert dawns supplies.
"We managed to get almost everything. But our last two people are that flay girl and Nicol. Did you manage to get everything Nicol requested?" asked cagalli which made Noah raise an eyebrow.
"All he wanted was a shirt. The other items were optional." He said as he opened a canteen he bought and had filled and took a drink. "So yeah I got all he wanted and more." He said, clearly the heat was beginning to frustrate him.
She glared at him for a moment before looking at Flay's list. "This girl has no idea where we are, does she? I mean beauty cleanser and moisturizer? Did she just join your navy or does she not realize there isn't a beauty salon for a few thousand miles?" she asked to which Noah laughed.
"Trust me…that girl didn't just JUST join the navy…she's also the daughter of the vice foreign minister so she's just getting her feet wet when it comes to the LACK of luxuries that she has to deal with in the navy." He said as their waiter came and brought them their food. He sighed and knew what was coming.
Just as cagalli began to mention Chile sauce, a long, tan arm reached over his shoulder and picked up the yogurt sauce. He sighed once again and grabbed his plate, getting ready to move and shift it to try and get half and half when it came to the sauces.
He watched them focus on Kira more than him and he waited to see if they'd stop and maybe just MAYBE he could do it himself. But no…soon cagalli turned on him and said, "you too Noah, you seem like the kinda guy to enjoy spice on his food." she said as she moved to put the Chile sauce on his plate. He shifted it just in time to where he only got half his kabob covered.
Before waltfeld could make a dramatic scene about the Chile sauce he snatched the bottle of yogurt sauce from his hand and put it on the other half, folded it and grabbed a knife he had requested with his food to cut it in half. The two "food tyrants" blinked as he did so.
He looked between them and blinked himself. Playing stupid he asked, "What…I can't decide to try them both? It's all about having an open mind when trying foreign foods." he stated. He desperately wanted to try a bite of each but it seemed having to also coat his food left them with little time as he soon heard the RPG fire and it all went into slow motion. Food went flying everywhere as Kira moved to cover cagalli and waltfeld flipped the table. Noah tried to grab his food but wanted to cry as he took his own cover to avoid the RPG and wished he had taken a page out of heero's book and somehow hidden a truck with EX-caliber on it close by so maybe he could finish this fight quickly and actually eat. But then again it'd only cause more panic to have a gundam in the city.
He began to hear the anti-coordinator jargon of one of the blue cosmos attackers and in the middle of their sentence he was silenced with a single shot from Noah. They were so focused on Waltfeld and them that since he was behind alternative cover he was being ignored. So…he took his time, lined up the shot…and now the racist idiot was choking on his own blood.
As he fell to the ground he noticed a few of them saw him fire and were turning on him. "Hey you racist fucks! How about you go screw more of your cousins and become the inbred idiots your propaganda sounds like it should come from!"He yelled before taking cover as that seemed to gather ALL their attention.
What could Noah say? He hated racists and considered anyone with such a narrow view to be an inbred hick who only knows two things. How to fire a gun and screw his own family members.
Waltfeld even gave him a glance before beginning to return fire and tell his people to do so.
As the fight wound down he noticed Kira found his "throwing gun" and before he could throw it he turned to the flanking enemy and fired off his last 2 rounds into his chest.
One of Waltfeld's subordinates ran up to check if he was ok.
"Yeah I'm doing just fine actually. And it's all thanks to him." he stated as he turned to Noah instead of Kira. He quickly hid his firearm, lest they realize he was using a standard issue zaft side arm.
Noah gulped as waltfeld walked over. "You saved my life…how can I repay you? "He asked with a knowing look, like he knew exactly who Noah was. And he likely did.
Into the lion's den
Noah blinked as they sat in Waltfeld's car. He was looking over the mansion. It was Waltfeld's HQ…he was about to get into a discussion with Andrew Waltfeld over the war just like Kira did. He had to admit…this was pretty cool.
As he followed Kira and cagalli he also wondered what it would take to jack a GiNN from outside. He was still curious if he could pilot an actual mobile suit, not one with his plavsky particle cockpit. He watched Aisha take cagalli off to clean up. He had to admit the woman was much more beautiful in person than on screen.
When he and Kira entered Waltfeld's private office it reeked of coffee….but at the same time had a smell of aromatics so it was a nice blend. He heard Waltfeld pouring a cup and looked over to see him turning to them.
"I promise you the coffee I make is first rate…a lot like both of your fighting styles." he stated with a sly smirk. "Please, have a seat, make yourselves at home." he stated as Noah and Kira went to look at the "whale stone".
Whale stone…sounded like something from the anime Pokémon. Noah still wasn't too clear about this thing….but he had a feeling it wouldn't be the topic of today's chat like in the series. Something told him it'd be more like a conversation over the ideals that went into the idea of an innovator and celestial being, with his GN drive being at its core.
As he predicted the conversation went similar to the one in the series for a few lines, with him staying silent as they discussed the whale stone but when he was asked about the coffee after taking a sip he looked at it. It was gone…the tiny cup was empty.
Waltfeld laughed. "I take it you enjoyed my brew. Then again it certainly beats military grade instant coffee." he said as he patted Noah on the back.
Noah nodded. "Yeah…this is actually better even than what I've made myself." he said which made the war vet laugh.
``Ahhh so you`ve dabbled in coffee blending yourself?" he asked as they moved towards the couches.
Noah shook his head. "No I just have mixed a few different pre-made grounds to try and bring out certain flavors…all failures." said Noah but waltfeld held up his hand.
"Non-sense! When it comes to brewing a good cup of Joe the failures are never such. There is only trial and error. Trust me, start making your own grounds and mixing in some aromatics. It can give the coffee better flavor when you do it yourself." he stated.
Noah couldn't believe the conversation. Was he really discussing coffee with the desert tiger? Why hadn't the man brought up…
"But I'm curious as to how you managed those glowing green particles coming from your machine..."he stated randomly.
And the conversation just did a 180 from casual to business.
Kira was in the middle of taking another sip of coffee when he did a spit take. "Say what now?! How did you…" Kira blinked, astonished oddly that he knew Noah was EX-calibers pilot.
This made the tiger laugh loudly. "Really kid you thought I was blind? You both must not be in the military. He was trying too hard to both hide AND cool off for me NOT to realize who he was. It'd be like trying to hide a GiNN in the sand without desert camo paint while only covering its feet in sand." he said as he finally calmed down and looked to Noah. "So kid…wanna tell me about those particles? And don't bother with the whole "that's alliance military secrets" stuff. I just wanna know how you made the light show and if that's your propulsion system. Nothing more." he said.
His intent clearly and sincerely was pure curiosity, Noah could tell. The man enjoyed a challenge but also enjoyed cold hard facts. Though the idea he wasn't digging for more details surprised Noah.
"And before you go trying to figure out why that's all I need to know it's pure and simple…"he said, taking a sip of his coffee before looking Noah dead in the eyes. "I know you're not alliance navy. That machine is too high tech to be made purely by naturals and I don't care about the science behind it. Any man worth his salt and who actually has a clear head in this war realizes your machine is a balancing factor." he said as he set his cup of coffee down. He wasn't giving Noah time to talk but it seemed this conversation was gearing up to his discussion with Kira about the war.
"Your speech in the orbital battle made it into my inbox. Same with footage of how you destroyed units on both sides. How you got Nicol to do the same is beyond me. Your machine isn't of this world. Well at least the tech is so far out of even some of zafts greatest scientists worlds you`ve really caused a panic up there. But your just one machine so I'm assuming the alliance thinks sheer numbers will be enough to bring you down." He said as he began to explain his thought process behind his statement.
"There's talk amongst the upper brass though that you're ACTUALLY not from this world, that your engine brought you here somehow. A lot of the people seeking a swift and peaceful end to this war are actually thinking you may be the answer to that." He said as he got up and walked over to the whale stone.
He stared at it as he said, "I've read that when a forest grows to large nature brings balance to the land through a thunderstorm. Lightning from the storm creates a forest fire which eventually burns itself out and the forest is cut down to size. It's my belief that the racial hatred between simple human beings has reached its peak and that you are the universe's answer to the fact humanity is close to wiping itself out." he said as he turned around. Aisha knocked and called to state cagalli was ready.
Andrew smiled. "Perfect timing, send her in." he called back as he got cagalli a cup of the coffee.
Another minute later and they were all once again sitting, everyone's cup full of coffee, Noah being sure to take this cup slowly. As much as he hated himself for thinking it he had to get waltfeld's recipe. He could drink this for days and never get tired of it.
"As I was saying, only a fool couldn't see what this war will turn into if the alliance doesn't come to the negation table soon." he said as he looked Noah in the eyes.
"So I just wanna know one thing…what's with the light show?" he asked as he leaned back on the couch.
Noah took a slight gulp and was about to explain what little he knew about GN drives just because this man clearly had been affected by the zero system and was thinking similarly to Noah. Then again he had a feeling all along that Waltfeld felt this way.
But cagalli beat him too it.
"How can you have the audacity to do this!?" she nearly yelled.
It made Kira jump, that was for sure.
Andrew seemed to growl at her. "Well well…perfect little lady till you open your mouth huh? And just what am I having the audacity to do?" he asked calmly.
"To sit here and talk to him like he's the fucking savior of the world while you walk around town in casual dress like your one of its citizens and incite blue cosmos attacks which get people killed! Oh and let's not forget that you have people evacuate their towns before setting the town on fire! Who the hell does that?!" she yelled at him as she stood up which waltfeld did as well
"so then I take it your one of the terrorists who'd rather die for her cause then live and be able to see the fruits of your labor?!" he yelled back as he got up and walked over towards a desk. Kira and cagalli got up and slowly began to head towards the door. Noah meanwhile sipped on his coffee. After all he knew Andrew was just blowing smoke.
"If that's the case then you tell me how this war should end? This isn't sports. There's no points, no set time limit, just a body count. So tell me young lady at what point should war end?" he asked as he pulled a gun from a drawer and aimed it at the pair.
Kira glanced at Noah and saw how calm he was. Did he not care about them? Were they and the archangel really just tools to allow him to survive?
Kira grit his teeth and waited to see what waltfeld would do as he continued speaking about himself and Kira being coordinators and again with the ``why you'd fight your own people" crap. Honestly Kira was starting to get sick of being asked that.
Meanwhile, he was just sitting there sipping on his coffee.
Into the lion's den
Nicol finally re-entered the hangar with a yawn. The doctor had given him some pain medication with the side effect of knocking him out for a bit. Sadly with his coordinator/ mobile suit pilot metabolism his body burned right through the light sedative and he was now just coming back in to check on the blitz. Maybe he'd take a look at the strike too? Kira wouldn't mind if he gave it a tune up would he?
He blinked though when he heard the cockpit of the strike open and glanced up towards the catwalk in front of the cockpit. From where he was at he saw someone stepping into the machine.
With another yawn he closed his eyes and stretched, "must be Kira. They should be back by now. At least now I can go ask him first." he said as he headed towards the elevator to ride up to the catwalks. Just as he began the ride up though he heard the war machine turn on and he blinked when he saw the mobile suit activate and the gates open as it took a step out….but the step was wobbly.
His eyes went wide. Was someone trying to steal the strike? His hand went for his side arm…then he remembered…Noah had taken it into town. So instead he simply began the run towards the blitz's cat walk. If anything he could at least slow the thief down…but then…who could control the strike here besides himself or Kira?
Finally he reached the blitz right as the hangar began to fill with onlookers. As soon as he reached the cockpit and activated the blitz he hit his speakers while it powered up. "Everyone please step back! I'll intercept the strike…"he said just as the machine took another step and seemed to get stuck. Whoever it was was doing ok…but was having trouble keeping it balanced.
"Or…I'll just…CATCH IT!" he shouted at the end due to having to force the blitz from its cage and throw the arms out to catch the strike and keep it from falling forward.
Whoever it was certainly should have been given top marks. While not as good as Murrue as he'd heard she piloted the strike before Kira and managed to dodge Miguel a few times, he had some natural talent. But still…
Into the lion's den
Well another shotgun chapter in my opinion. I actually had to hit and miss on following the episode here because I wanted to include the conversation with waltfeld in this chapter hence the name but I also felt like this was filler…well for my story. In truth I have realized until they get out of Africa and the fight just beforehand I'll be sticking pretty close to the original anime story aside from battles.
It's my fault really given I had him stick with the archangel AND save Nicol rather than have him re-enter on his own like nemesis and have him ignore Nicol…but they are also both big plot points…kinda…
Also I've noticed I tend to leave things like questions hanging, like in this chapter I just re-read it and I left Andrew's question of what's up with the light show from the GN drive just sitting there. This is because I have adhd and when I get going like I did following up with that with his response to Kira's reaction. When I get the creativity going...I just can't stop but I try to fix it when I re-read since I have no beta reader and kinda help it flow.
Oh and tell me if you like how I'm having Nicol act, I'm rushing his adaption to the archangels crew members but I'm also trying to portray him as a seed version of quatre since as I re-watch the series and see the zala team interact again I notice that he seemed similar to qautre, so since he's out of his element and out of his spot in the series I thought mirroring qautre, without the whole being gay part, was a good idea.
Yzak mirrors wufei in my opinion and Dearka is duo. I`m a big wing fan in case you can't tell.
Also I have nothing against gays, one of my best friends is bi, but he has a boyfriend so I consider him gay and I'm cool with it. I just always got this vibe quatre would rather spend an evening with Trowa, rather than any females my friends say he got close too. Plus he just gave off that vibe to me…I mean seriously like that thing in the lunar base with heero…wtf man?
Also I'm working on a new idea for a gunpla for Noah, which he will be using in a couple chapters in between orb and operation spit break but not what he will be using FOR operation spitbreak.
Anyways next chapter is gonna be a big chapter for those of you wanting to know just how fucked up EX-caliber really is and know just what murrue's plan for a team is you`ll know next chapter.
As usual, read and review.