AUTHOR'S NOTE: So in the interest of logic, I'm making some geographic changes to some of the events of this chapter, though the actual events are unchanged
PHASE 09: Return to the Battlefield
March 2nd, Cosmic Era 75
The Southern Pacific Ocean
The Archangel had been making steady progress since leaving Orb, but finally Cagalli had had enough. Still wearing the dress she had worn during the reception - owing to a lack of alternative clothing available - she stood up and left the room that had been her quarters during her brief time onboard the ship, years earlier. Slamming the door shut, she stalked up to the bridge.
"Would somebody please explain to me just what the HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?!" She demanded, and every head turned towards her.
After a few moments' stunned silence, Cagalli heard a male voice speak up.
"Hey there! I recognize that - didn't know you still had it."
Cagalli ignored Waltfeld's comment and instead continued to glare at Captain Ramius, as behind her Kira entered the bridge.
"Did none of you stop and think about the fact that abducting me makes you all international criminals? To say nothing of the illegal technology in that mobile suit!"
As everyone in the room knew, Neutron Jammer Cancellers had been outlawed by the Treaty of Junius Seven, signed exactly four years earlier. And equipped as it was with a nuclear fission reactor, the Freedom required a N-Jammer Canceller to function. The Atlantic Federation may have chosen to disregard the treaty, but Cagalli was determined that Orb would not.
-"Yes, it was a bit reckless." Captain Ramius said hesitantly. "But..."
-"A bit RECKLESS?!" Cagalli exclaimed. "It's treason, Captain Ramius."
-"Well, it's not like you gave us much of a choice." Kira interjected. "These are crazy times, Cagalli. And if you insist on doing stupid things like marrying Yuna Roma Seiran…"
He never finished his sentence. Cagalli turned around, raised her hand, and slapped him across the face as hard as she could. Kira recoiled, and when he looked back there was a long, narrow cut on his cheek - courtesy of the cut gem on the ring Athrun had given her, which she still wore.
-"Are you a complete LUNATIC?" She asked angrily. "Did you seriously think I would actually marry that moron?!"
She did not wait for a reply. Instead she turned and glared at Murrue and Waltfeld.
"And by the way, I doubt any of you idiots thought of this, but abducting me leaves Unato Ema Seiran essentially calling the shots in Orb - a situation that is unacceptable. Now, I am leaving. I want the Archangel on the surface and the SkyGrasper ready for takeoff within the hour."
And she stalked off the bridge.
Sure enough, a little less than an hour later she was strapped into the cockpit of the Archangel's sole remaining FX-550 SkyGrasper. A case behind her seat held the clothes she had been wearing when she'd been abducted.
The Archangel slowly rose to the surface, and the catapult slid open.
She slowly pushed the throttle forward and the SkyGrasper's powerful vectored-thrust nozzle gradually roared to life. Then the catapult engaged and the small aircraft shot forward out of the catapult, slamming Cagalli back in her seat.
Once the craft was out and she was free, she pushed the throttle all the way and the SkyGrasper rose and flew away; below, the catapult closed and the Archangel disappeared beneath the waves. That was a post-war refit, Cagalli mused reflexively; the ship had never had that capability before.
Too late she realized that she could have ordered them to take her back to Orb directly.
Still, she had planned out her course, and hopefully would not run into any Alliance patrols if she followed the course she had planned. What happened after that was up to luck. Shrugging, she turned north and began what would be a long trip.
Carpentaria Base, Australia
"The Minerva's repairs are gonna be finished pretty soon," Vino Dupré said as he was eating. He sat in Carpentaria's spacious mess hall. Since arriving, there had been little for them to do, and they'd been able to relax a little. "What do you think? Are we gonna be heading back pretty soon? To outer space, I mean."
-"Probably," answered Yolant Kent, who sat across from him. "I mean, the Minerva was built to fight in outer space - I think it'd be better off in lunar orbit than down here."
-"I wonder what's happening in the PLANTs right now." Vino said, looking worried.
-"What do you mean?"
-"Well, they did have nuclear weapons fired at them. I'm worried about my parents."
-"I'm sure they're okay..." Yolant answered, but he too was worried.
Elsewhere on the base, Shinn was headed back to the Minerva when he saw, in the distance, a curious red aircraft heading towards it. As he watched, it transformed into a mobile suit.
"Huh...a new model. Looks different from the Impulse." He commented to himself, then accelerated, in a hurry to get to the ship and get a closer look at this new machine.
He arrived just as the new model, its armor now dull grey, was moved into one of the empty mobile suit bays in the hangar. Lunamaria was also in the hangar, and it seemed everyone present had their attention focused on the new machine.
"What's the story on that new model?" She asked Aves, "Who's in it?" Aves shrugged - he had no idea, nor did anyone else in the hangar. However Luna's question was soon answered, as the pilot left the cockpit, still wearing his helmet. In his hand he carried a briefcase. He wore a red-and-black flight suit, and gleaming on his breast was a large white emblem like a bird's wing.
He set down the briefcase and removed the helmet, which he tucked under his arm.
-"Identification Code 285002. Athrun Zala, FAITH Special Forces requesting permission to board."
Luna stared, dumbfounded. Her surprise of seeing Athrun Zala back again, and as a member of ZAFT's special forces, was shared by everyone else present.
-"Uh...permission granted." she stammered. Behind her, Shinn walked up and finally saw the pilot of the new machine.
"Oh, it's you." Shinn said scornfully as he recognized Athrun. "So what the hell is this?"
-"Shinn! Show some respect - he's a member of FAITH now." Rey interjected, saluting Athrun as he did so - Lunamaria did likewise, as did everyone else.
-"What?" Shinn asked, then he too saw the emblem on Athrun's flight suit. Recognizing it as the emblem of the élite FAITH detachment, he hastily buttoned his uniform collar and saluted as well. Athrun shrugged and returned the salute, a bemused sort of expression on his face - though he had, briefly, led a small team in the past, he was unused to such formal treatment.
-"Is the Captain on the bridge?" Athrun asked as he turned to face Lunamaria and Rey.
-"He is." Lunamaria interjected. "I'll escort you to him, sir."
As Athrun began to leave, following Lunamaria, Shinn addressed him.
-"Are you back with ZAFT, then?" he asked, his tone still somewhat hostile.
-"It looks that way, doesn't it?" Athrun answered, then turned away and left the hangar.
-"So why exactly did you decide to come back to ZAFT?" Lunamaria asked Athrun on the way up to the bridge.
-"I haven't exactly come back." Athrun said vaguely, not wanting to explain himself. "By the way, when exactly did the Minerva leave Orb? I was told to meet the ship here, but nobody told me anything about the ship's departure."
Lunamaria hesitated before answering. "You know, I'm kinda starting to understand why Shinn is so touchy about that country...it's gotten kind of...nuts. You have no idea what we had to go through to get out of there - an Earth Forces fleet attacked us as soon as we left their territory! If it hadn't been for Shinn, there's no question the Minerva would've been sunk."
-"But how? Didn't Cagalli..." Athrun asked, his surprise evident.
-"You know, it's a shame what happened, because I used to admire Cagalli Yula Athha. But now...I'm sort of disappointed. I mean, Orb goes and joins the Alliance...and then they said she was gonna marry some weirdo."
-"What?" Athrun replied, unpleasantly surprised. He was fairly sure who "some weirdo" referred to - he'd heard the Seirans were pushing for her to marry Yuna - but he never thought Cagalli would go through with it.
-"Yeah - I saw something about it on the news after we left." She saw that Athrun looked troubled as the lift stopped and the doors opened. "Listen, there's something else. I don't really know the whole story, but she was kidnapped the evening before the wedding; right now nobody knows where she is..."
Confused about what had happened and worried about Cagalli, Athrun absent-mindedly made his way up to the bridge, where he found Yzak. Arthur, the XO, was also present.
-"So. You're back, are you?" Yzak said shortly. Athrun laid his case on the desk, opened it, and handed Yzak his orders and a small, lacquered wood box.
-"Looks that way." Athrun said. Yzak scanned the documents and scoffed, then opened the small box and withdrew a white pin, identical to the one Athrun had been given.
-"He brings you back as a FAITH agent, gives you the newest machine we have, and assigns you to this ship. Then on top of that, makes me a member of FAITH too." He commented. "I don't know what the hell Chairman Durendal's thinking these days." The fact that both of them were agents of FAITH created a tricky situation, because it meant that both men had basically equal authority. "Gonna be a pain in the ass, two FAITH agents on the same ship. Either way, I'm still the one in charge here." He concluded shortly.
-"Just like we agreed back during the last war. Remember?" Athrun said, remembering an old promise they'd made. Yzak rarely smiled, but this time he did; he remembered too.
-"Yeah. Anyway, these orders are real interesting. You read them?"
-"No, I haven't." Athrun replied.
-"As soon as the Minerva's ready, we're to make our way to Gibraltar, to assist the forces there in retaking Suez from the Alliance."
-"Support them in an attack on Suez? Us?" Arthur interjected, sounding surprised.
-"If the fighting spreads into western Eurasia, things could get very messy. And there's no denying Suez poses a direct threat to Gibraltar. I guess this could be called "preemptive self-defense"." Yzak added sarcastically, remembering Durendal's orders that ZAFT forces deployed on Earth were for self-defense purposes only.
-"Yzak." Athrun spoke up. "I'm sorry to ask, but I'm not exactly clear on what the Eurasian situation is."
-"You may not know that while they are signatories of the World Security Treaty, the Eurasian Federation did not join the Atlantic Federation in their declaration of war on us." Yzak began. "Since the Atlantic Federation controls territory very close to Eurasia such as the British Isles, this has caused a lot of problems. The Republic of East Asia, which is allied with the Atlantic Federation, is putting a lot of pressure on them as well.
What's more, although Baum has been largely successful in his move towards moderation, the governments of some parts of western Eurasia remain strongly influenced by Blue Cosmos and their ideology. This has had a couple of nasty consequences: First those governments, supported by the Atlantic Federation, are seeking to secede. Second, in a lot of these places the local population is more favorable towards Baum and against this move, which has caused a number of uprisings throughout the region. Of course, the military in those sectors is putting them down with overwhelming force, and the conflicts have been pretty brutal. And that's where we've been ordered to go."
-"Additionally," Arthur added, "the forces that control Suez are among those elements of the Federation that support Blue Cosmos, aren't they?"
-"You got that right." Yzak replied. "So we're going to need to be really careful..."
-"Uh, Captain. Do you know anything about what's happening with Orb?" Athrun asked.
-"Nothing since Athha disappeared. That fat pig Prime Minister of theirs is doing his best to cover up what happened, but rumor is the Archangel and the Freedom were responsible." Yzak said, watching Athrun carefully for a reaction. He wasn't disappointed; The news shocked Athrun - that Kira would've done something like that was definitely not something he could have expected. But if she was with him... "Other than that," Yzak continued, "They signed a treaty of alliance with the Eurasian Federation shortly before the abduction."
-"Thanks." Athrun replied, neglecting to comment on the disparaging comment about Unato Ema Seiran - Yzak wasn't entirely wrong, after all.
He saluted, and left. If they'd signed a treaty with the Eurasian Federation, they should be okay. Athrun sensed Rondo Mina Sahaku's handiwork there, and let out a sigh of relief. As for Cagalli, while he was still worried, the fact that she was on the Archangel at the moment meant that she was in no immediate danger.
-'She should be fine if she's with Kira...in any case, I can't go back to Orb now.' He thought.
CVN-R19 Jeanne d'Arc.
One of the Eurasian Federation's very newest Spengler-class carriers, the Jeanne d'Arc had been constructed at the Eurasian Federation's shipyards at Vladivostok, and had just recently been formally commissioned at Petropavlosk, the Eurasian Federation's second-largest military base on Earth.
Now, she was on patrol in the Pacific Ocean, ostensibly on exercises, but actually to keep an eye on the naval movements of the Republic of East Asia, as well as the PLANT-aligned Equatorial Union. However, once her assignment was completed, she would not return to Petropavlosk. Instead, she would head to Suez, to join the forces stationed there.
She was escorted by four Danilov-class cruisers, the Eurasian equivalent to the Atlantic Federation's Arkansas-class. They also had six Fraser-class frigates, and far to the east and west, deep underwater, were two San Francisco-class submarines.
But her greatest asset was her commanding officer, a veteran of the first War and one of the finest naval commanders in the Alliance.
Frankly, she would've preferred an assignment in the Atlantic Fleet. With the British Isles as a staging point, the Atlantic Federation's military movements were growing, particularly in the regions closest to the Atlantic coasts.
The GIUK Gap - that narrow area of open ocean between Greenland, Iceland, and the United Kingdom - was, as ever, a particular hotspot, and she doubted the wisdom of sending a new carrier so far from home when danger lurked so close.
But she'd received her orders, and she would follow them. The Republic of East Asia, after all, bordered the Eurasian Federation and had been no less aggressive. And with ZAFT's Vosgolov-class submarines also operating out of Carpentaria in Australia, the Pacific was yet another powder keg on the verge of exploding.
"Captain! New airborne contact, moving fast at low altitude. Distance 1200 and closing."
The sudden report startled her out of her momentary rêverie, and she turned to face her CIC.
"Can we identify it?" she asked.
-"No, ma'am. There's too much interference to be certain, but it does not appear to be broadcasting IFF." The operator glanced at his screen again. "Contact has disappeared."
If it wasn't a Eurasian Federation aircraft, it was probable that it belonged to the South African Union, or maybe even the Atlantic Federation.
The fact that it had been on-screen so briefly meant it had been flying at low altitude and briefly slipped up enough for the sensors to catch it before slipping back down again.
-"Dispatch Blackbirds One and Two for visual intercept." The Captain ordered. Though the ship was not at the moment conducting maneuvers, she had ordered two mobile suits maintained on ready-five on the deck. One was a Dagger, fitted with an Aile Striker. The other was a Windam IWSP. Both machines sported distinctive black paint schemes.
The two mobile suits were airborne within minutes and headed on an intercept course with the transient bogey's estimated trajectory. It was Blackbird One, the Windam, which spotted the aircraft first.
"This is Blackbird One, I have a visual on the target; It's an FX-550 SkyGrasper, Atlantic Federation markings." The pilot transmitted the images he saw back to the ship.
-"Intercept the aircraft." The Captain ordered, recognizing the markings on the jet. "Negative preemptive strike; do NOT fire unless fired upon."
In the SkyGrasper's cockpit, Cagalli swore under her breath when she spotted the black mobile suit closing in. She recognized its equipment as an IWSP - an equipment originally developed for the Strike Rouge, but never deployed due to its complexity; evidently, the Alliance had obtained and manufactured the design. Then she spotted a second mobile suit closing in, which she saw was an Aile Dagger.
She'd been flying low to try to avoid exactly that, but she'd briefly stopped paying attention and slipped up enough for any warships in the area to detect the SkyGrasper. She'd slid back down and hoped she hadn't been spotted, but evidently she had.
She had a few seconds to decide what to do. If she opened fire on either mobile suit, there was no guarantee she would hit, and either one would take her out in seconds. Then a transmission came in from the mobile suit nearest her - the one with the IWSP.
"This is Blackbird One, hailing unknown aircraft; identify yourself immediately." At that moment, Cagalli's instrument panel blinked; she was nearly out of fuel. She must've miscalculated her range somehow, she realized angrily.
-"Blackbird One, this is Angel Two. This is Cagalli Yula Athha. I'm out of fuel and requesting assistance." A few seconds passed before the response.
-"Roger Angel Two, change course to zero-five-zero and increase altitude for landing."
-"Thank you." Cagalli simply said. It was a gamble, but she no longer had a choice.
Not long afterwards, the small fighter touched down on the deck of the carrier and Cagalli opened the canopy. The two mobile suits landed behind the fighter, and the pilots disembarked.
The Dagger's pilot was a woman, but she kept her helmet on and Cagalli couldn't get a good look at her.
The Windam's removed his helmet. He was taller, pale with silver-blonde hair. He would've been handsome if not for a kind of coldness in his face, especially his dark eyes.
He stepped forward towards the SkyGrasper. There were armed MPs waiting for her when she got out. She was taken, at gunpoint, up to the carrier's bridge - the Windam's pilot as well as the MPs behind her. There, she saw the ship's commander whom, much to her surprise, she recognized.
"You're Lieu...Captain Badgiruel!" she exclaimed. The black-haired former XO of the Archangel nodded.
After the Bloody Valentine War, Natarle Badgiruel had left the Alliance military and moved to Earth. She had distant relatives in the Eurasian Federation, so she settled there around the time of Baum's election. When the war broke out she had reenlisted and been granted her former rank, then assigned as captain of the Eurasian Federation's newest naval carrier. This was her first time at sea in this new command.
-"It's rather surprising to see you out here, Representative Athha." she replied, then dismissed the MPs. The Windam's pilot remained. "What might I ask is the head of state of the Orb Union doing out here?"
-"If it's all the same to you, Captain, I would rather not say just now."
-"Very well. Major, escort the Representative to my cabin."
-"Yes ma'am." Major Sven Cal Bayan, the pilot of the black Windam callsign "Blackbird One", replied flatly.
It was some time later that Natarle left her Executive Officer in command on the bridge and made her way back to her quarters, where she found Cagalli with the case that had been in the SkyGrasper, still wearing her flight suit - the helmet on the floor of the cabin.
"Well, Representative. Exactly what brings you out here?" she asked.
Cagalli recounted - briefly - the events that had taken place since her abduction. She was careful to avoid identifying where the Archangel had stopped before she took off - as to its ultimate destination, she had no idea.
Natarle, however, had a shrewd idea where Murrue Ramius would've taken the ship, but she decided not to act upon it.
-"Well, I for one am glad to see you're all right - the leader of an allied nation, after all. We'll get your SkyGrasper refueled and send you under escort to Hokkaido. From there you refuel and continue on your way home. You should be back in Orb in a few days; I'll call ahead and make the necessary arrangements."
-"Thank you, Captain. I'm very grateful."
Natarle simply nodded curtly, though a thin smile cracked through the professional façade.
Some hours later, a Jet Dagger in the traditional Alliance blue-and-white colors was on deck waiting for the SkyGrasper to take off. Cagalli made her way to the cockpit and started up the jet. Soon, both were airborne and on their way.
March 8th, CE 75
Carpentaria
LHM-BB01 Minerva
Since the unexpected arrival of Athrun and the new Saviour Gundam, everyone on board was talking about it as well as about the Captain's sudden promotion to the prestigious FAITH Special Forces unit.
"Man...so, what's going to happen to us?" Vino asked. He was currently in the ship's break room, where Abby Windsor had told him and the others about it after overhearing Arthur, the executive officer, talking about it.
-"Are you for real?" Yolant replied. "It has nothing to do with us! FAITH membership is given to individuals. How could you not know that?"
-"That's right." Abby continued. "Only certain individuals are appointed to FAITH based on specific qualifications, including a stellar combat record and quality of character. FAITH operatives have authority that supersedes most commanders in the field, and are able to plan operations and give orders on the battlefield as they see fit."
-"Yep." Yolant continued. "Reporting directly to the National Defense Committee and the Supreme Council Chairman, FAITH operatives are the top élite of ZAFT. Now why would you be involved?"
-"You're not a part of it either!" Vino replied, looking both annoyed at his friend's slightly condescending comment and impressed by what he was describing.
-"Of course I'm not!" Yolant replied.
Meanwhile, Athrun was on the bridge, where Yzak told him, as well as the XO, Arthur, what their orders were.
-"So we set sail tomorrow morning?" Athrun asked. Yzak nodded.
-"Correct. And Carpentaria's received their orders as well; they've assigned us two Vosgolov-class submarine escorts for the journey from here to Gibraltar." He turned to Arthur. "Notify the rest of the ship - let's start getting ready."
-"Yes sir!" As Arthur stepped away to make the announcement and begin preparations, Athrun turned to his old friend and commanding officer.
"You think there'll be trouble." he said.
-"We have to sail halfway across the world from here to Gibraltar. It'd be stupid not to expect to run into trouble across that kind of distance." Yzak replied. "I want you and your pilots to be ready for anything once we set leave Australian territorial waters." Athrun nodded.
Yzak, as it turns out, was right. When the Minerva set sail the following morning, it was being tracked. And information as to its course and likely destination soon found its way into the hands of Colonel Lukas O'Donnell of Phantom Pain, who stood on the bridge of the Atlantic Federation Spengler-class carrier John Paul Jones.
"So we will meet again..." he mused. "This time, we'll see if we can't take you out for good."
He turned away. He would lay his ambush carefully. And this time, the Minerva would not escape...