Chapter 14: The First Alliance
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Legend
Italics shows character thoughts
Word shows Date, time, and location
-Word- Shows Noises, or actions such as sighing
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February 9, C.E. 71
Eurasian Federation, On Route to Equatorial Union, 5:00 P.M.
"Argh!" Scion yelled as he shot another mobile armor out of the sky. He turned just in time to avoid a barrage of missiles, let loose by the remainder of the five man squad. Scion turned his attention to them and continued combat.
For the past four days Scion had been intercepted and attacked by the Eurasian Federation's forces. Scion had heard about the incident at Artemis from Mir when he was onboard the Archangel and using that information, he was willing to bet that the Eurasian Federation would give anything to have a Prototype of their own. The constant attacks were evident that he was right.
He had hoped that the first two days of peace he had after leaving Health was a sign that he was making progress and would continue to do so peacefully for the rest of his trip. But on reaching a town called Shiraz he was attacked by a large attack force, of some twenty or so mobile armors.
Even after defeating half the force and escaping they still continued pursuit, sending new machines in to relieve old ones. Scion would at best receive only four or five hours of peace before another attack came. The lack of sleep was starting to wear on him, the fear and paranoia kept him from even thinking of sleeping for fear of a surprise attack, and the constant thought of the Archangel kept him moving forward despite his lack of sleep.
But Revolution had taken the majority of the damage, Scion had been very careful to minimize damage but splash damage from missiles had caused several distinguishable wounds on his machine. The repaired leg was slow, his shield have been destroyed some time back, and the paint on his machine was gone, leaving his machine in a dark and gray color scheme.
On top of all this was that he didn't have his funnels with him so his combat ability was severely cut. Scion didn't know how long his machines frame would hold before he bit the dust. The only good thing on his side was that the Mobile Armors they used were pretty much targets in the sky for him and could be easily and quickly taken down.
After a half hour of fighting he was again clear of enemies for the time. Scion then made his best effort to hide so he could sleep, if only for a few hours. Despite the fact that he wouldn't sleep very well his body was now demanding it. He had to rest somewhere.
Got to hide somewhere. Scion sighed as he looked at the map. He was coming to the ruins of New Delhi, a town that was destroyed by the N-Jammer drop, it was unlucky enough to have one drop right on their heads. Thankfully, there was a warning prior to the drop and no lives were lost.
On reaching the town he was immediately sent a com-link. Shingen hesitated to answer at first but decided to respond on the off chance that it was some help…of any kind.
"I'm listening…" Scion spoke first over the open link.
"Pilot of the Prototype. We would like to talk to you in private. There is a small enclave not far from here with equipment set up to block radio frequencies. We would like you to join us." An older man answered.
"Uh huh, and why should I trust you?" Scion returned, unconvinced.
"Because, I was a close friend of the good doctor that masterminded that machine you pilot."
What? No way…He can't expect me to believe this garbage. But…what if he's telling the truth? I might be able to get Revolution repaired… Scion sighed and after a quick berating of himself responded, "Alright, send me the coordinates. But if I sense anything out of the ordinary I'm going to blow the hell out of everything around me."
"Fair enough, I'm glad to see that the pilot isn't an overly trusting person. A decent douse of paranoia is good for a person that wields power like those machines."
A data-link was sent and the destination acquired, the com-link died as soon as the transfer was made. Scion began maneuvering his machine to the northern side of the city, or what was left of it. Everything was in basic ruin, half collapsed buildings, rubble everywhere, and the stench of despair still hung in the air around this place even though no lives had been lost. Scion couldn't help but feel reminded of Junius Seven and his bond to the greatest atrocity of the war.
Arriving at the predetermined location brought him to an old abandoned pile of rubble. Scion felt duped at first but no sooner had he begun to leave did the fake rubble slide away to show a passage into the depths. A quick scan of his radar and a visual look around him lead him to believe he was for a moment safe. He walked his machine down the slanted path.
Some short distance down he found himself in what looked to be a small research lab, hidden from the worlds view. He saw a number of men with flashing batons guide him to the west side to be docked. He knelt Revolution down and descended down to the ground.
"Welcome, Pilot, to our humble lab. I take it, you and that machine are all that is left of Takashi's Dream. His Legacy. I am Professor Akita Musashi." A rather old man spoke. He held himself up on a sturdy looking walking stick and was garbed in what looked to be a Buddhist's attire, that seemed to have been through months or years of wear. The rest of the crew wore more civilian type attire though they had the same wear as the man before him.
"..I'm Scion Kazuma and the machine behind me is dubbed Revolution. I'd like you to--"
"Revolution! Hah, yes, he would have liked that name." Akita cut him off. He walked up to the machine and put a hand on its right leg, "My, you have been through an ordeal have you not?" The old man smile, slapped the leg, and then turned to Scion.
"Come, come, you must be tired. You are safe here for the time being. We don't have much in the way of minerals, and less in what makes this machine. But I believe we can at least fix that damaged leg to some extent. You should rest, we have much to talk about." The machine motioned for Scion to follow as a few men scrambled to repair what they could.
"Wait, first tell me how you are connected with Takashi!" Scion said as he ran to catch up with Akita who moved with surprising speed and youthfulness.
"Oh, well, I was his…shall we say, biggest supporter in terms of funding and manpower, at least I was after the council moved on to Prototypes that the EA were going to develop. I also helped in some of the advanced functions of the machine."
"Then…what are you doing here?" Scion questioned again, still very lost.
"Oh, I left Takashi's lab a long time ago and came here. To research the N-Jammers that ZAFT dropped on Earth. We've made great progress I must say, this hole place runs on a very small nuclear powered generator, though it only works because it is so small. We haven't broken through enough to make use of larger generators. But enough questions for now, this is your quarters, we had some food prepared for you in advance. Rest for a while and later we may talk, then you can be on your way. I know you are in a rush somewhere so I won't hold you long."
"But…" Scion started but was stopped by the old man with a raise of his hand. He pointed to the room and left quickly.
Oh man…what have I gotten myself into? Scion reluctantly resigned himself into the care of that man and hoped that his story was true. Walking into the room he found only the bare necessities and the same went for the meal, evidently most of the mans funds had gone into the Revolution. He munched on the dry bread and day old meat before laying down on a hard bed. But despite it being uncomfortable the lack of sleep, fear, and constant fighting, instantly overtook Scion and he was sent into a deep sleep.
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February 10, C.E. 71
Eurasian Federation and Equatorial Union Border, 3:00 A.M.
"Still nothing, no heat sources of any kind, sir." The radar operator of Shigen's crew said.
Unexpected interruptions had stalled them from making any progress towards Shiraz, so instead of wasting time and heading there the group decided to lay in wait on the border between the Eurasian and Equatorial nations. They could only hope the target made it this far.
For the past few days the Commander had been given off a dark vibe, as if some guilt was nagging at him. None of the crew would say anything about it, but, whenever a part of the mission came into question the commander always snapped at them angrily.
Today though he seemed more on edge then ever, and it became more evident in his lack of commands and remarks to anything that happened around him. All at once though the man rose and spoke loudly to everyone.
"Alright, listen up everyone. I've gotten the feeling that most of you are wondering what this mission is. I've seen Hatake first hand try and scare it out of me." The commanding officer said. "Truthfully I don't like hiding things from my Co-workers but I was specifically ordered to do so. But with this being a Cat and Mouse game I think you all need to know so you don't do anything to mess the mission up. Plus…its been eating away at me for a while now."
Everyone in the room turned, Shigen was the quickest to listen up.
"For one reason or another, a few members of the Council want us to retrieve the 'Falling Star'. They believe it is a Prototype machine of some kind. But the machine is not the important thing, what is important to us is the pilot. We have need of the pilot and his knowledge of some past events, something that a few council members want. I don't know anything more then that…we are to persuade the pilot to come to Orb and I was given the terms to present to him when we come into contact with him."
"So that's why I'm here? And Clarity? Because we might have to fight?" Shigen asked.
"Exactly, we know for a fact that these machines are extremely powerful and to beat it you would need a machine of similar quality." He answered indifferently.
"Why keep this secret though?" The radio operator asked.
"Politics, they don't want this leaking out. From what I can gather, there must be a liability with this machine. This machine or the pilot must have some connection to Orb and we don't want ZAFT, the EA, or anyone else to find out what that connection is."
"Do they think this person can endanger Orb's Neutral stance?" Shigen thought out loud.
"That seems to be the case…which was why I was so harsh to you earlier, Hatake. The council scared me into thinking it was a matter of national security. You'll have to forgive me for acting how I did. I was scared of the thought of Orb being dragged into the war." Shigen nodded in understanding. He too, along with the other, didn't want Orb to be dragged into this war. But something in Shigen was excited, the pilot in him wanted the action, wanted the chance to spread its wings and fly high behind the controls of Clarity and machines like it. More then that, he felt like the world was changing around him and he was sitting on the sidelines doing nothing.
Shigen stamped out the thought, telling himself that war was evil and he was not a war monger. He excused himself to get a drink of water and to cool his silly thoughts. Only a fool wanted war openly, and Shigen was no fool.
Or so he hoped.
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February 10, C.E. 71
Eurasian Federation, Border, 12:10 .M.
"Damn it." Scion spat at himself as he sprang out of his quarters, finding that he had slept over half a day's worth. He needed to hurry if he wanted to intercept the Archangel!
A quick search and a few questions lead him to Akita's office. He was then ushered inside by an aid who stood at the door. Scion stepped in to see the old man behind a computer on his desk. He looked up at Scion and smiled.
"Ah, afternoon lad. Sleep well?"
"Yeah, yeah. Look, I'm sorry but I really have to go!" Scion stammered.
"Youth always rush. I'm surprised you don't have any questions for me."
"Believe me, I do, but I don't have the time!"
"Of course, of course. Well, let me give you this. The reason I called you here." He took a small disk from his computer and walked over to Scion and put it firmly in the palm of the younger man.
"What's on here?"
"Nothing, just a list of keywords. Like I said before, I helped with advanced functions of the Revolution. But three of these functions, Takashi decided, were to be hidden until a pilot had been found and had been in use of the machine for a long time."
"I don't get it…"
-Chuckle- "You see, the Psycho-Frame, after extensive use will take on an imprint of your mind. Your brainwaves, etc. it's a failsafe if you will, to keep others from stealing it from you and using it to its full ability. Well, like that failsafe, these functions are hidden. I hid two of them and Takashi hid the last."
"Why did you hide them?"
"Well, call it paranoia, but it goes along with Takashi's little dream of Universal peace. In order to get them you must be able to go to the three locations described. One location is an EA controlled territory, on an EA military database. Another is in Orb, hidden inside Morgenroete and its databases. The third is in Zaft somewhere, Takashi hid this one and it will no doubt be a specific place or person that has it. The point is to be able to go to each place safely to gain them, you see it don't you? Only someone fighting for the interest of both Coordinators and Naturals could get into ZAFT, the EA, and Orb. "
"So…I have to break into these places?"
"Not so much. The idea is to gain influence in each nation, gain allies in each, and then gain the functions through your allies. I hid both of my upgrades in military installations so if anyone came across it they would think it was some secret weapon in development. Takashi though, would most likely be more secretive. That disc has a number of keywords to help you locate the file and gain the blueprints or information on the upgrades."
Scion sighed and rubbed his head, "So is there another reason they were hidden? A more reasonable one?"
"Well, yes. One of the upgrades is one for the Funnels, the second for the Psycho-Frame, and the last…Takashi's own, is the Limit Releaser. Though I can't say what that means, I can only guess. They were hidden in the hopes that the full potential of the machine would never have to be realized, that the war could be stopped without them. With all three upgrades the Revolution as you call it could perform, theoretically, at twice its current combat potential."
Scion sighed again at the number of puzzles surrounded him. He pocketed the disk and bowed his hand in thanks, "Thanks…I suppose. Anyway, I should get going."
"Yes, yes, I assume we will never meet again. I pray we don't, I've grown tired of this war and want nothing to do with it anymore. Sorry to drag you here, I figured that since Takashi died he wasn't able to pass the information on to you. So I did as a last task in the project I helped him undertake. But, good luck on your voyage, whatever it may be."
Scion nodded and then turned to walked out the door. He felt the disk in his pocket and was now slightly interested in this 'upgrades' he wondered what kind of abilities they would unlock? And he also wondered who else had been involved in Takashi's project and how he was too gain allies? He supposed that Cagalli might be able to help him in Orb and Seigel might be able to help him with the Zaft Upgrade, the one in the EA though, would be difficult.
"Oh, Scion." Scion turned to the man once more, "You…haven't heard of the Ultimate Coordinator Project, have you?" He spoke with his back turned to Scion.
"Uh, no. Why?"
"No reasons…. Just a fleeting thought is all. Good luck, Scion."
Scion looked over his shoulder once more in confusion before exiting the room and leaving the man to look at his work in front of him. Ultimate Coordinator Project? What an odd thing to ask.
Back in the room the old man sighed and sat down at his desk again. He stared at the open doorway that Scion had left through.
"So, he is still unaware. No, I suppose Seigel wouldn't have told him. After all, a guilty conscious is a powerful force on ones mind."
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February 11, C.E. 71
Eurasian Federation, Border, 3:00 P.M.
"Contact! We have multiple heat signatures! Mass Mobile Armors and one unknown!" The radar operator called out.
"This is it, Shigen, launch and support the Unknown! We aren't carrying the Orb colors so we can fight out here like normal! Launch at once!" The commander yelled at Shigen as he took to his machine and exited the large trailer.
The Clarity rose from its laying down position and jetted to a small forested area. It took aim with its new, unnamed, Ground-to-Air, mass missile launcher. Shigen gripped his controls as he locked on to multiple targets at once. Shigen had to wait for the right opening. He was forced to watch as the machine took severe hits.
Oh geez, it looks like a heap of rubble! Whatever had happened to the target it was no longer in fighting position. It's right leg sparked madly and seemed to be held together by different types of metals. Evidently this machine came from wherever it landed to here without any significant repairs. This was very bad.
Okay…this is it. Now! Shigen hit the leaped into the air, the battle visible in the distance and quickly fired off the whole payload of missiles. They streaked across the sky and hit every target they sought, due to the machine keeping them busy.
It was in the middle of that air that Shigen realized that the machine was the same one he saw in space. The mobile suit that caused him to pilot in the first place! Shigen landed his machine and dropped the launcher, counting ten mobile armors left, half of them turning to combat Shigen.
"Okay, lets go." Shigen told himself as he retrieved his Beam Cannon and took aim with it, the miniature magnum let off a large blast that destroyed two machines that were flying close together. Shigen then turned his attention to the next three and quickly dealt with them in the same fashion.
"Shigen! The machine is down! I repeat the target is down!" Shigen turned his attention to the Revolution and just like he was told he the machine was face first in the ground. One of its legs had been completely blown off and it could no longer right itself in Earth's Gravity.
"Damn it." Shigen spat as he sprang forth, unleashing his Beam Rifle (I'll refer to it as a Magnum from now on) and destroyed another. The arrival of Shigen caused a retreat in the remaining four machines who left before they could be destroyed. Shigen piloted his machine over quickly and landed next to the Revolution, dropping his magnum and pushed the target over on its back so the pilot could be freed.
Once this was down he exited the cockpit and put his foot unto a hooked wench that lowered him to the ground. He climbed up on the arm of the target and ran over to the cockpit, when he looked inside he found a gun in his face.
"Back up, I'm getting out." The man told him. Shigen acted as he was told as the man clamored out of the machine. He sat down and after looking at Shigen put the gun away. "No point in that…its not like I'm going anywhere anyway…" The man said bitterly as he looked at his battered machine.
"Shigen!" The pilot of the mobile suit and Shigen both looked to see the Commander come forward in a jeep. He climbed out and met up with the two on top of Revolution. He had strangely come alone.
"Okay, you got me. So what now." The pilot said.
"First, how about introductions? We aren't enemies. We want to help you, we are from Orb. We believe this machine is also from Orb?" The Commander asked.
"Yeah, it is. As for me, I'm Scion, don't bother looking me up in a phonebook. You won't find me" Scion stood on his feet and looked to two over.
"I'm Shigen Hatake, we met--"
"Near Heliopolis, I remember." Scion cut in. "Just get on with what you are going to do?"
The commander and Shigen looked at each other and the man in charge cleared his throat. "Very well then. We want you and this machine to return to Orb. Lord Uzumi wants to speak with you personally on some manner."
"And in return for this?" Scion asked. It was obvious that he was distrusting of the two.
"Well, you aren't really in a position to refuse us. But, we will ensure your freedom and I was specifically told that you would retain the ownership of this machine."
At this Scion seemed surprised and even more distrusting then ever. Even Shigen was surprised that the machine they were standing on would be allowed to return to Scion's ownership. But just as suddenly as it was brought up did Scion laughed out loud moments later.
"Oh, I get it. I was worried there for a minute. Orb doesn't want anymore allegations about Prototype mobile suits. Not after Heliopolis, I get it now. Alright then, agreed...I suppose." Shigen saw him sigh and knew that he must have been resigning to something. Wherever the pilot was going he couldn't go there now. He must have been telling himself that he could no longer make his journey.
"Good, I'll get the crew prepped for the machine. It will take about an hour to make room for you. Shigen you stay here."
"Roger."
Shigen saluted as his commander left the scene as suddenly as he came. Now Shigen returned to Scion who had sat down once again. He seemed disappointed about something.
"Hey, Scion. If you don't mind, where were you going?"
"…To help some people who were important to me." He answered.
"I see." Shigen sat down as well and took out his wallet, "I joined Orb's military for that reason too. See? This is my Brother and his Girlfriend." Shigen tossed Scion the wallet with the pictures.
"Really? Let me…." Scion stopped as he looked at a picture, blinked, and then stood up in surprise. "This, this is Yumi! You know Yumi Akechi?" Scion asked as he tossed the wallet back.
"Yeah, she was my Brother's Girlfriend." He answered.
"Wow, she went to see….oh no. The 8Th Fleet…Yumi…she was on the 8Th Fleet when it was attacked!" Scion sank down into a sit again as he realized that the poor girl had probably died. He punched the metal underneath him angrily and then cursed loudly.
"What happened?" Shigen asked.
Scion retold the story of how she went unto the 8Th fleet and then how it was attacked by ZAFT. He made it short and brief since it was now a tender spot for him.
"I see…But…" Shigen stopped himself as he thought to himself.
"But, what?"
"My brother died almost a year ago after Junius Seven, and Yumi….she died too a while back. She was killed here, in Orb during a Blue Cosmos attack. She…couldn't have been with you." He spoke unsteadily.
"What? That's impossible.."
"No, I have the papers and everything. I even went to her funeral!" Shigen exclaimed.
"…Something…isn't right. If she's dead then why was she with Takashi…"
"I don't know. I'll try and find out sometime when I get back home. But, can I ask what she was doing with you?"
Reluctantly, Scion ended up telling his entire story to Shigen, minus the Junius Seven incident. The words just kept coming and coming once he got started, as if Scion had been needing an outlet for sometime, for someone to just listen. He went at it nonstop, the story of Axle, Takashi's dream, Revolution and why he was heading to Heliopolis, everything.
"She, always helped me. You know? She really believed in the Doctor's dream." Scion ended.
Shigen sat in silence for a long time. He seemed to be thinking about something, analyzing himself and taking in what Scion had said. After a while Shigen stood.
"You know what, Takashi reminds me of my brother. My brother wanted peace too and he fought for it and died for it. I want to fight for what my Older Brother stood for. I'm a Coordinator you know? He never got angry with me for being what I am." He walked over to Scion and extended his hand, "Let's be partners then, help each other make this world a better place, you for Takashi and me for my brotehr. You said you need allies right? I'll try and help you from within Orb, just give me the word and I'll do what I can."
Scion looked up at Shigen and instantly took his hand, "Yeah. Yeah! That's what I need, friends in other places! And you can help me right now." Scion searched in his pocket and pulled out the data disk, "Somewhere in Morgenroete is an upgrade for this machine, see if you can get a hold of it would you? These should help you search for it in the databases."
"Yeah, I'll look into it." Shigen said. Both men were stunningly excited, in the kind of way you are excited before you look at all the angles. A spur of the moment thing. Scion was happy to have a willing ally and Shigen was caught up in his brother's prior chivalry and the thought of a world where all Coordinators could have a Natural brother and there be no scars between the two.
They were genuinely excited about the adventure ahead of them, any thoughts of the burdens ahead were far from their mind. They thought only of the dream that was so far away but so beautiful that they couldn't help but reach for it.
They talked then for half an hour. Scion divulge more of this plan and the more he talked the more Shigen was drawn into it, the more he was excited by it. His thoughts of his brother and his own dreams seeped through him and sparked a fire that urged him to follow the flyer his brother was and fly towards Takashi's dream.
Scion stood up, "I have to get to the Archangel, I have to save my crewmen, they have stayed with me all this time!" Scion began walked and jumped off Revolution, Shigen followed behind.
"What are you going to do?" Shigen asked.
"I'm going to borrow that mobile suit for a while. Tell your boss that I'm taking it as a…sign of trust. I'll return it later to get Revolution, so I'll definitely come for it.. Just say you couldn't stop me or something, alright?" Scion asked, Shigen nodded.
"I'll do what I can. Just return it in one piece. Oh, and its Clarity!" Shigen said approvingly, not thinking of the possibly consequences that would be brought down on its head. He stopped to watch Scion get himself into the cock-pit, and close himself inside.
The machine rose upward and to its feet. The giant machine then turned itself south and without a word to Shigen it took off. Shigen smiled to himself. Scion's first ally had been made.
"He seemed so happy. I bet he hasn't smiled in a long time. You keep fighting Scion, and while you do that I'll look after this machine and find this thing for you." Shigen muttered as he watched the renewed Scion blast off towards the horizon. He crossed the Equatorial Union's Border and was now on his way, to his dream.
His Dream of peace.
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A/N: This chapter came a lot faster then I thought it would. Though, I feel that it might have been rushed but looking on it now I kind of like that feel since that was the entire feeling Scion was experiencing. Though the scene with Akita did feel very rushed, give me your opinions on that since I'm torn between wanting that feeling or adding more for the readers sake…
So, I dropped the "" around thoughts. Honestly I don't know why I even used the damn things, must be one of those mental blocks that you just can't reason around. Whatever, they are gone now and I feel better about it.
So, anyone getting interested about Seigel's and his mystery involvement? I hope some of you are, keep an eye out on him if you aren't.
Also, if you think that Shigen's reaction was a bit too accepting of Scion's ambitions, don't worry, there is a reason, I didn't just make his acceptance of Takashi's Legacy pop out of thin air like it may seem. As he becomes bigger in the story I'll give you peeks into his mind and past as well.
Oh, the next update may come a bit slower since I want to go back and clean up a few of the previous chapter. I've found that my style of writing has changed as I continue this fic, and hopefully my quality of writing has gotten better as well.
I believe that's it…Thanks to all my readers and please review! I want to know what you all think of this! Questions? I'll answer in my next A/N, comments, and so on are wanted! Its good to know what people think, good or bad!
Enjoy,
-Arc