Chapter 2

To say that Shinn Asuka was having a bad day would be a massive, massive, understatement. He'd accidentally groped a girl on the way to the Minerva. He'd been in the middle of checking the Impulse over before the launch, so that he could show it off properly. He'd dealt with teasing over and over from the mechanics. Hell, he'd even dealt with Mayu finding out from someone about the girl! She would never, ever let him live that down!

And yet, none of that annoyed him quite as much as what stood before him. Rage filled his veins at the sight of burning wreckage and dead soldiers. You bastards...what the hell is all of this even doing? Starting another war?!

Shinn's grip tightened on Impulse's control sticks, his red-eyed gaze narrowing upon Gaia. Behind it, he noted Legacy, smoking and slowly lowering a beam saber. "Oi! Whoever's inside Legacy, get out of here! I can handle them on my own."

It was arrogance, yes, but it was also the simmering rage he could barely keep down. Shinn knew that they needed to recapture the stolen machines, first and foremost. That did nothing to keep him from wanting his pound of flesh. He was going to enjoy beating down the bastards who did all of this. It was just like Orb, all over again. Innocent people being slaughtered for being in the wrong place. People just like his parents. None of them had deserved to die like this.

I'm not letting you get away with this. I won't let you!

Without waiting for any sort of reply, he pushed Impulse forward. The crimson and white Gundam stomped towards Gaia, Excalibur raised and ready. The black Gundam didn't hesitate for more than an instant before it charged right at him. Shinn scowled, bringing his shield up to catch Gaia's pink blade, even as he brought his massive sword down on the other machine. Gaia caught the flat of the blade on its shield, pushing Shinn's weapon into the ground. Without waiting a moment, he let go of the blade and pulled his beam rifle free, green beams lancing at the Gaia.

The black machine smoothly flared its thrusters, backing up and opening room for the Chaos to fire missiles at the Impulse. Shinn grit his teeth and caught the blasts on his shield, his rifle soon placed back on Impluse's back. Retrieving his Excalibur, he charged back at the Gaia and swung faster than any sword that size deserved to move. He wasn't going to lose to these punks-

"Shinn, duck!"

Red eyes opening in shock, the teenager bent Impulse at an angle any other Gundam wouldn't have been capable of. For once, the combining frame was a good thing...but...I know that voice? It can't be him though, why would he be here?!

Green beams flew over the top of Impulse, shooting Abyss' lance in two from where it had been positioned to skewer the red Gundam. Shinn didn't need to imagine the cursing from the enemy pilot, as he spoke over an open line. "What the fuck kind of shot is that?! He shot my lance!"

"...don't care who you are, but you're right." Shinn finished his swing at Gaia, forcing the enemy to back away as he looked over his shoulder at the still-smoking Legacy. The Gundam had pulled free its beam rifle, and was aiming it directly at the captured Gundams. "What the hell are you doing here, Captain Yamato?!"

"It's kind of a long story." Kira Yamato's voice sounded apologetic, even as Legacy retrieved a shield to cover its sparking Phase-Shift. "That can wait for now. I'm not leaving until I'm sure the PLANT is safe. Think you can work with me, Shinn?"

"Work with you? Who the hell do you think I am, some Greencoat?!" Filling his voice with false bravado, Shinn brought his eyes back to the captured machines, warily circling Impulse and Legacy. Besides...I've wanted the chance to fly by you and Lady Cagalli for a very long time. I need to pay you both back for saving Mayu and trying to get that idiot to evacuate before the Earth Forces killed everyone.

Sucking in a steadying breath, Shinn reached behind Impulse's back and pulled free a beam boomerang. A flick of the Gundam's wrist sent the blade flying at Chaos, forcing that machine back behind a ruined hangar. As the pink blade returned to his hand, the Redcoat's attention was drawn to his communication screens.

"Shinn, you do know we're trying to recapture them, right?! Those are your orders!" That was Arthur Trine, Minerva's XO. His square-jawed face was visible on the screen, the hints of panic underlying it.

It made the teenager roll his red eyes, even as he combined Impulse's two swords and charged at Gaia. "I know that! What do you think I'm trying to do?!" Swinging the double-bladed weapon, Shinn pushed Gaia back, his swords carving gashes in the ruined concrete at his feet. "How'd they get into the Gundams in the first place? I thought we had better security than this!"

As Gaia jumped back in, Shinn split his swords in two and swung both down. He could almost see the face of the enemy pilot, eyes widening as they transformed Gaia into its Mobile Armor form. The wolf-like machine slid between the blades- and Impulse's arms -and kicked Shinn to the ground. Groaning in pain while his Gundam shuddered from the impact, the pilot almost didn't hear his Captain.

Almost.

"That's enough you two! Focus on your jobs right now, stop arguing with each other!" Captain Gladys sounded more than a little annoyed, even when her voice changed targets. "Captain Yamato, I appreciate the assistance, but you should return to the Minerva. Your machine is in no condition to fight."

"But I-"

Whatever else the Captain was going to say was cut off, to Shinn at least. He tugged Impulse to its feet, retrieving his swords as Abyss charged him with a Beam Tomahawk it had stolen off a ZAKU. The Gundam's pilot was clumsy in his movements, swinging in a wide arc that Shinn easily ducked under. However, he didn't have the chance to take advantage, as Chaos loosed a barrage of missiles into his back. The missiles couldn't hurt him. Not with Phase-Shift armor. Shinn still dodged.

Damnit! Who the hell are these guys, anyway? No pirates fight this good!

Gritting his teeth, Shinn jumped back to create some space, and prepared to charge right back into the battle...

CNS Hood

Sometimes, I hate it when I'm right. Goddamnit! I knew this was too simple. Yamato can't go anywhere without attracting trouble!

Yzak Joule gripped the armrest of his chair tightly, staring at out the seemingly-placid space surrounding Armory One. It was an illusion. A mirage borne of ZAFT trying to downplay what was, in the end, the exact same goddamn thing he had done to Heliopolis. He knew that, because ZAFT hadn't bothered updating their comm equipment beyond just changing out the codes. It had been child's play to hack into their systems, for someone who had once been a Team Leader and for a pilot who had once been a Redcoat. So he was hearing everything. Every cry for help and panicked shout. Every question about what was happening.

"-if they're attacking inside, they must have a mothership nearby. Is there anything suspicious out there?"

"Huh. Gladys." Jane shrugged her shoulders, though her face reflected the worry she was feeling inside. Her voice may have been smooth and mild-mannered, but her body betrayed her. "Not who I would have expected to get the Minerva, but I suppose most of the best Captains are either dead or disgraced."

Turning his head, Yzak scowled at his co-commander. "Who the hell is Gladys? I've never heard of her before." He didn't question how Jane knew she was in command of the Minerva, because the ID code on that communication had come from inside Armory One. "Is she even a veteran of the War?"

"Not a high-ranking one. I think she had the old Smith?" Tapping her chin, the blonde shrugged again. "It's a curiosity, but I can't really say any more. For all I know, she's better than Ramius. Or she slept with the Chairman and he gave his mistress ZAFT's flagship." At Yzak's silently judging eyebrow, Jane smiled a little. "I didn't say she did. Just that it might have happened. Anyway. Look out there. Look at how they're running around like headless chickens."

A hand waved out at the space around Armory One, the Nazca-class around the PLANT scrambling in search patterns. Yzak followed the gesture, a memory tugging at the back of his mind. This was like Heliopolis. That meant there had to be a mothership nearby, but there weren't any convenient asteroids around to hide a ship behi-

'My Blitz has a special feature...'

'Heh, a perfect machine for Nicol. A mobile suit fit for a coward.'

Yzak winced internally at how much of an ass he had been to Nicol, when the green-haired pilot turned out to be one of the bravest men he knew. That wasn't important. The Earth Alliance were the ones, through Orb, who had developed the Blitz. It would only stand to reason, then, that they would...

"Mirage Colloid." Yzak breathed out, jumping to his feet. He clenched his hands tightly enough that it was painful, glaring out at where he knew the Earth Forces were hiding a ship. "Fuck! The Earth Forces broke the Treaty!"

Jane nodded, her own face tight in a scowl. "You act like we should be surprised by that, Yzak. They've been bitter about losing since the ink was dry on the Treaty. I'm, frankly, surprised they waited this long."

"Bastards..."

Spinning away from the window, Yzak floated towards the elevator at the back of the bridge. No one gave him a second glance, all very familiar with his temper. He was never the type to sit around when something was happening. Not before, not now. Stopping for only a second before he pushed himself into the elevator, Yzak looked back at Jane. "Keep an eye open. I'm getting in the Duel, so I can kick their asses when they show up!"

Nothing more needed to be said, as Yzak closed the door and began the journey to Hood's hangar. For her part, Jane Lacross simply sighed and cast her gaze to the ceiling of her bridge. No matter how much things changed, they just stayed the same in the end, didn't they? Humanity had come within inches of wiping itself out in the last war, and here they were again. Just as the adventure of the Archangel had started. An attack on a colony.

I hope the Minerva is up to the task. I think they'll be just as important as the Archangel was.

Unidentified Ship, Near Armory One

I wonder if ZAFT ever expected something like this? After they did it to us, I'm surprised they weren't more prepared. Well, I can hardly complain. The kids may be well-trained and frankly terrifying at what they do, but they're still greenhorns. If ZAFT was half as prepared as I was expecting them to be, this mission would have been over before it began. Take what victories you can get and all that.

Smirking beneath his sunglasses, incongruous as those were on a spacecraft, a man in a deep-black version of an Earth Alliance Colonel uniform stared out at Armory One. The blue forms of ZAFT destroyers scrambled out of their peacetime rotation and into a haphazard search formation that would have gotten him thrown out of the academy. ZAFT had gotten lax with their little 'out of the way' development PLANT. They hadn't expected any sort of real attack on it, or if they had, it hadn't been one from the inside. You think they would have learned.

After all, they'd done the exact same thing to Heliopolis for the exact same reason. The irony wasn't lost on the Colonel, either.

"The ZAFT formation is falling apart like we expected." That was Ian Lee, the commanding officer of the Girty Lue. His older, more weathered, features twisted into a frown. "All aside from one Nazca on the edge. That ship hasn't moved since the attack began."

Raising an eyebrow, the Colonel looked at his own armrest, examining the data stream. His smirk faded away, replaced by a contemplative frown of his own. "Hm. Green. That isn't a ZAFT ship, Lee."

"Isn't a ZA..." Lee trailed off, realizing what his superior was implying. There was only one other faction- discounting pirates and terrorists -who used ZAFT ships. And only a handful of them, at that. "Coalition. Wasn't the little princess supposed to be meeting with the Chairman today?"

"So she was. Oh, this is amusing." Smile returning to his face, the Colonel leaned back in his chair. "I wonder who they brought along to escort the princess? Is Freedom over there? Or maybe it's just a bunch of old Astrays or GINNs. I doubt ZAFT is very eager to let them in their formation, either." He rolled his eyes underneath his sunglasses, amused and bemused all at once. "They'd be better off if they did. The Coalition came out of the war better than anyone did, in terms of ace pilots."

Lee snorted softly, at that. "Would we allow the Archangel to sail with us, even if we weren't hunting them down still?"

"Of course not. Though I'd at least give it serious thought." Chuckling softly, the Colonel looked back out at Armory One. Aside from the damage his Daggers were dealing to the port, he couldn't see any sign of what was happening to the PLANT itself. He couldn't even see that, he just knew from the time that they would have started destroying ships in dock. Come on, kids. Play time's over. I don't mind a good duel, but the Lue isn't intended for a slug fest with an entire ZAFT armada.

Annoyingly, in addition to the Coalition ship, the other Nazcas were starting to get their heads screwed on properly. They were tightening formation and starting to move back towards the PLANT. Couldn't have that, could he? "Alright, time to get into this ourselves. Lee, you know what to do."

"And the Coalition ship?" Lee softly asked, even as he also barked out orders to ready the Gottfrieds and missile tubes.

The Colonel frowned, before sighing softly. Nothing for it. "Ignore them. If they don't make any hostile moves, we won't either. I do believe we have more than enough fun just dealing with the ZAFT forces. No need to bring the Coalition into this."

As the crew set about their work, Lee looked over at the Colonel. His black uniform adorned with a red blazer over the top of it. Something that, in addition to his sunglasses, gave him the look of a bum more than a career soldier. His non-regulation blonde hair, extending past his neck, not helping the matter. He didn't look like a soldier. And Lee had, of course, been leery of that when he first met the man. Why would he expect someone who looked so...out of place...to be worth following? He had privately wondered if Command knew what they were doing. Between the Colonel and the Extended, it was making Phantom Pain out to be a dumping ground. Not the most elite force in the Alliance.

And yet, this man had surprised him at every turn. He knew exactly how to keep the Extended in line, even with their quirks. He was the best pilot that Lee had ever seen. He had a firm tactical and strategic mind that let him see through any challenge put before him. In short...he was very much worthy of his rank, even if he desecrated the uniform. As such, Lee trusted him.

That trust only extended so far, however.

"Are you certain of that, Colonel Roanoke? The Coalition are no friends of ours or ZAFTs, but I sincerely doubt they won't act to protect their princess." Lee looked out at the green Nazca, frowning slightly. "They won't stand aside and allow us free reign."

A small smile greeted that question, as the other man shrugged his shoulders. "Oh, they won't. Not at all. Still, no need to antagonize them. Perhaps we will be fortunate enough to finish this without having to do that. A man can hope, right?"

Resigning himself to his fate, Lee returned to barking out orders. The Girty Lue accelerated beneath her crew, green beams lancing out from her bow. Immolating a blue ZAFT Nazca, detonating it in a single barrage of green fire. Missiles joined the beams, as the stealth-ship exited its protective Mirage Colloid net and began to force ZAFT's attention away from their colony and base. The ship wasn't meant for a brawl, but she was perfectly capable of a short and decisive engagement.

Or so it was hoped. Behind his sunglasses, Colonel Édouard Roanoke narrowed his green eyes. It would not be that simple. Nothing ever was.

Let's see what ZAFT and the Coalition have up their sleeves. I do believe I will have to go out there myself, after all. Teach those kids a practical lesson in how you use a Gundam...

Armory One, Interior

That's the signal. Damnit! Who are these guys, anyway? I don't have any data on the Red one and that half-crippled Gundam is still keeping us on our toes! Sting Oakley grunted, as Chaos ducked to the side, dodging a brace of machinegun fire from antique DINNS. Auel was quick to blast them out of the sky, but the Abyss was forced back to dealing with Legacy soon enough. Screw it, we don't have time for this. I'd love to grab those two, but it doesn't matter if we don't get out of here!

"Auel, stop playing around! We need to back up Stella and get out of here!" Sting barked out, firing his own beam rifle to force Legacy back. He couldn't hit it, even crippled as it was, but it did the job. "We've already stayed here too long!"

Inside Abyss, Auel grit his teeth and jumped away from the asshole that had destroyed his lance. "I know that! But, Sting, that asshole is dangerous. He shot my lance in half, in that wreck of a Gundam. We can't just let him get away, can we?"

For once, the hothead was actually thinking ahead, even if out of anger. Sting didn't disagree with him either. If ZAFT had dug up a pilot from who-knew-where that could handle Legacy with that much damage? What could they do if the machine was complete? Their spies didn't know anything about that Gundam, either. It was a mystery. Sting didn't like mysteries. Mysteries at Lodonia had meant ambushes and death. Was this really any different?

Still...

"We have our orders. Colonel Roanoke won't like it if we don't follow them." Those words, Sting knew, would have Auel and Stella- if she heard it -flinching. Colonel Roanoke cared for them, in this own way, but he did not care for those who didn't follow his orders without damn good reason.

Indeed, Auel grimaced inside Abyss. "Fucking hell...got it, Sting. Oi, Stella! Stop toying with the red one, we're leaving!" Putting actions to words, he spun Abyss around. The blue Gundam charged every single weapon it had aboard, spewing out green and red beams. Dozens of ZAFT machines went up like popcorn, scattering smoke and flaming wreckage across the colony. "Unless you want to tell the Colonel why we're late? He doesn't like that!"

If Stella heard those words, she showed no signs of it. While she was currently tied up with the red Gundam, all her attention seemed laser focused on the Legacy. All those kicks and punches had aroused her ire and she was determined to pay it back tenfold. "Get out of my way!"

That snarl was directed at the red Gundam, as Gaia brought its blade of pink fire down on the machine's shield. The red machine had its own sword, now returned to a single blade, locked against her own shield. The two Gundams, borne of the same lineage, were unable to overpower one another. Every attempt was countered. As the red one pulled back, the black ducked inside the reach of its longer sword. As it did that, the red one dropped the sword and fired a rifle, forcing the black one back. Before retrieving the sword and starting the dance anew.

Neither machine had any advantage over the other, not when both pilots were greenhorns, unused to fighting like this. Stella had gone through much harsher training and was more prepared for war. A fighter bred and raised for nothing else.

Inside Impulse, Shinn was more naturally talented, and knew his machine better. He had that going for him. It didn't stop him from groaning as Gaia jumped back, transforming into its Mobile Armor form to jump off a building right before his beam rifle could tag it. "Hold still, will you! Damnit, I wasn't trained for this!"

Who would have thought I'd have to fight three of our Gundams at once? I want to know how they even got the things in the first place. Why weren't they guarded better?! And how the hell does the Captain expect me to recapture them, alone?! At least get me some more backup!

Shinn was cocky and supremely self-assured in his own abilities. He didn't believe he could go against three machines that were, at the least, in the same range as Impulse alone. Not after fighting them. And not without better support than a bunch of obsolete machines that couldn't even damage the other Gundams. Those weren't the antiques from the first war. A bunch of fire from some DINNs wasn't going to wear their batteries down quickly enough.

"Captain Yamato, if you're going to stick around, give me some backup! I could-" Shinn cut off, as Chaos leapt at him, forcing him to jump back before the foot-mounted beams of the green Gundam cut Impulse's arms off. Even so, sparks flew from where the tips of the stolen machine's toes clipped his shoulders. "FUCK! These guys aren't pirates, are they?!"

Firing a brace of beams from Legacy's rifle, Kira sighed softly. "Probably not. No way any pirates could sneak past all this security..." His violet eyes narrowed in thought, warily looking between his status readouts and the stolen Gundams. No good. "I can't keep this up much longer..."

Still, he wasn't going to run away. He wouldn't. Not only would that be abandoning innocents, it would be abandoning Shinn. And, as he could still vividly remember Cagalli tearing into the Minerva's captain, that was unacceptable. It didn't matter to Cagalli that Shinn had joined ZAFT. He was still an Orb citizen to her, one she had personally saved. Letting him fight alone was wrong. They couldn't just abandon him like that. It wasn't right.

Kira wasn't inclined to disagree. He had only met Shinn shortly, between Cagalli saving him and his departure on one of the last evacuation ships with his injured little sister. But the kid had left a mark on him. Someone who, in spite of never even seeing a Mobile Suit before, had still taken a crippled Astray and saved his sister with it. He found a kindred spirit in the fiery teen with red eyes.

"Hold on Cagalli!" Kira called over his shoulder, as he braced Legacy's feet into the shattered concrete beneath them. "I'm going to do something stupid again."

"Get them, Kira!" His girlfriend didn't even question it, she just wedged herself tighter against the seat.

Smiling at her faith in him, Kira launched forward. His rifle replaced, once more, with a blade of frozen fire. The beam saber crashed down on Chaos, forcing the machine away from Shinn. As Kira pummeled the stolen prototype, Shinn took full advantage. He drew a beam boomerang and used it as a saber, clashing with Gaia once more. Shorn of their support, the two stolen machines were hard-pressed to counter. Stella wasn't the best with a blade, and Sting was against Kira Yamato, even if he didn't know it.

It was entirely possible the Extended would lose.

"Back off, fuckers!"

Were it not for the third of their group, opening fire at that exact moment. Auel's Gundam, the most heavily armed of the Second Stage, let loose with a full barrage. Shinn caught some of it on his shield, and dodged the rest. Cursing all the while.

Legacy, already pushed past its limit, couldn't manage that. Kira was able to disengage from Chaos and catch the brunt of it on his shield, but one of the beams cut a gouge through Legacy's shoulder and another clipped a knee. The already flashing status screens turned crimson as alarms blared in the cockpit and smoke began to pour from a damaged console.

I pushed her too hard. Kira's hands danced over the keyboard, rerouting systems and compensating for burnt out components. Even with his skills and experience, he could only barely keep the Phase-Shift operational and power the thrusters at the same time. The weapons remained stubbornly red, and the damaged arm and leg were barely functional. "We need to get out of here, Cagalli. I can't fight like this."

Still wedged between the seat and the side of the cockpit, the blonde grit her teeth and nodded. "I know...but I don't like it. I don't want to leave one of our countrymen alone out here, Kira. Especially not Shinn!"

"No choice." Kira shook his head, as the Phase-Shift indicator flickered between yellow and red, before returning to yellow. Keying his radio, the Ultimate Coordinator backed Legacy away from the fight, as a group of DINNs kept Abyss busy. "Shinn, I can barely keep Legacy flying. Can you handle them alone?"

Growling in frustration inside Impulse, Shinn flung one of his Excaliburs at the Gaia, knocking the machine into a building and giving him an opening to clash with Chaos' blade. "I've got this, Captain Yamato. Get out of here before they notice you leaving!" Not bothering to look at Legacy, Shinn pushed Chaos back and continued to hammer at the stolen machine with his remaining anti-ship sword. "Pay attention to me, you bastard! I'm the one you're fighting!"

With the stolen Gundams thoroughly occupied, Kira took advantage of the situation to flare Legacy's thruster and pull away from the battle. Towards the distant Minerva, the only hope of getting Legacy combat ready again. His gaze remained focused on the lone Gundam against three enemies, as his fist clenched down on the control stick.

Be careful out there.

Armory One Exterior

"There's no way this isn't the Earth Forces."

Yzak scowled deeply, as he climbed into his Gundam. The chaos had only grown with the reveal of that new warship. Completely unidentified and in no log books, either ZAFT or Coalition. The only identifying features that pegged its origin being the Mirage Colloid and the Gottfrieds. If it were one or the other...but together, along with the use of Dagger Ls, it had to be the Earth Alliance. No one else would have that combination of technology and be ballsy enough to attack Armory One. Why they'd chosen now to break the Treaty, even if in a 'deniable' way, was beyond him. They were sore losers, but no one had completely recovered from the last War yet...

Bah! Forget it. He wasn't one for politics anyway. All he knew was that his former comrades, no matter what their higher-ups thought of him, were dying out there. Two Nazca-class had already been destroyed and another crippled. The wreckage of multiple old GINNs and CGUEs were scattered through space, along with a handful of newer GuAIZ Rs. This was something he could not, would not, stand for.

"Keep the Hood back for now. I don't want them trying to sink her." Yzak barked out, sealing his cockpit and starting to move his machine to the linear catapult. "I'm going out there to help deal with those Daggers. Have the Murasames ready to launch after me!"

"No problem, Yzak. You sure you don't want our support?" Jane's face appeared on his forward console, a pensive frown beneath blonde hair. She clearly wanted to launch too, but knew her place was with Hood right now. "We can keep that ship occupied. Don't count the old girl out quite yet."

"We need a ride out of here." Yzak shot back, though a slight- very slight -softening of his lips belied his words.

Jane sighed, her frown shifting to a sardonic smile. "Got it. Give 'em hell, will you?"

Only giving a snort as response, Yzak watched the opening catapult door, as he felt his Gundam locked in for launch. No more time to waste. He was going back into proper combat, after only hunting pilots in haphazardly maintained GINNs for the last two years. He was under no illusions that Daggers were all that ship had. No way the Earth Forces were that stupid.

"Yzak Joule, Duel, launching!"

With a flash of green eyes, CMS-GO2 Lance Duel launched from the Hood. Dull grey armor shifted into the same blue, grey and orange as its predecessor, while larger thrusters pushed it towards the unidentified warship. Yzak's machine, less bulky and more agile than the old Duel, was a streak of light that quickly vanished from visual sight of its mothership.

A mothership that stayed exactly where it had been, even as its Murasames were readied for launch to support Yzak as needed.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Alarms blared on the bridge of the Girty Lue, drawing Colonel Roanoke's attention. Captain Lee was doing a fine job commanding his ship, so the Colonel was the one focused on the Mobile Suit battle. And his eyes narrowed behind his sunglasses, as he noted a new player entering the game. That Coalition ship...it was staying well away from the battle and making no overt moves to engage the Lue. And yet, a machine had just launched from it. A single Mobile Suit.

Oh...you're a confident one, aren't you? Smirk gracing his lips, Roanoke zoomed in on the new machine. A single blonde eyebrow climbed up his brow, as he recognized the overall frame. Duel? No, that's not the Duel. Not the original one anyway. They'd be stupid to use such an obsolete machine like that. They must have built a new one, just like we did.

Unlike the Blu Duel, this machine was sleeker. Leaner and more agile. Considering the fighting style of the pilot who stole the original...that was almost certainly the same man in the cockpit. Yzak Joule. That machine was probably built exactly to his preferences and specifications, unlike the Blu Duel that was- at least intended -for multiple pilots. And nothing was more dangerous than an ace in a machine tuned exactly to their fighting style.

"No word from the kids yet, is there?" Roanoke asked a rhetorical question, his sunglasses drifting to the comms station.

The Ensign in that seat, his white uniform identical to any other, shook his head. "No sir. Nothing at all from the raid team."

"What do you think, Colonel?" Lee asked his own question, his weathered face twisted into a worried scowl. His eyes darting between various screens as he fought his ship. "ZAFT is getting their fleet together. We can't stay here very much longer."

Roanoke sighed, "No. No we can't. Especially not with the Duel out there." Climbing to his feet, the Colonel tugged on his red blazer and gave his Captain a confident smirk. "Well then, I guess I should get out there myself. Keep my seat warm, Lee. I want us ready to leave the moment the kids get back."

Nothing more was said, as the Colonel exited the bridge and went to board his own machine. He had wanted to keep his own in reserve, as it further eroded whatever plausible deniability Phantom Pain had. Daggers could be passed off as pirates. Even the Lue herself could, Mirage Colloid or not. No official or unofficial records had her design on the Earth Forces list. But a Gundam?

That was an entirely different story.

"Nothing ever goes right on these missions." Roanoke muttered to himself, as the elevator descended towards the hangar deck. Despite his words, a growing smile crossed his lips. "Joule, huh? Let's see if you're as good as they say. I still remember Panama, after all..."

Armory One Interior

Cursing under his breath, Shinn spun Impulse around, barely avoiding Chaos. The fight had taken to the air after Legacy had retreated, as the enemy attempted to escape. Well. As Abyss and Chaos attempted to escape. Gaia, apparently annoyed at losing the chance to take Captain Yamato down, had started to take its anger out on him instead. The pilot was relentless in their attacks, charging in with beam cannons blazing and beam saber swinging. Shinn was almost insulted.

People called him a hothead!

"Come on, Rey, Luna...I could use some backup here..." Still, he was beginning to run out of options. One of his swords was lost somewhere in the rubble beneath him. Another of his boomerangs had been cut in two by Gaia, in the best display of swordsmanship the enemy pilot had managed so far. "I can't hold them off forever...damn!"

Forced to duck another attack by Abyss, Shinn was really beginning to regret his life choices. One Excalibur, one beam boomerang, and one beam rifle that would drain his battery too much to be used. He wasn't equipped for beating three other Gundams like this. The Sword Silhouette was meant for fighting ships, not Gundams!

"Go down already!" Something that Auel, at least, was all too eager to take advantage of. The blue-haired pilot, still sore over losing his lance, was quite content to take his anger out on the unknown Gundam. "I'm getting tired of you! Die!"

Abyss was ready to launch another wave of beams, only for green to splash against its own fins. "What the hell?!"

Beams from two ZAKUs, painted crimson red and pure white. Both machines lacked Wizard packs, yet they still charged in anyway. They weren't holding back at all, firing beam after beam at the stolen machines. The Extended cursed at the interruption, yet again distracted from their main target or from escape. Shinn? He just smirked and continued to duel Gaia.

"About time you two got here." He would have sent a jaunty salute in Luna and Rey's direction, but he was too busy dealing with Gaia. The Black Gundam was intent on killing him, and was not letting up. "Give it up already! You're not getting out of here with those machines!"

His words didn't register on the enemy pilot. Of course they wouldn't. Stella was, at the best of times, the least stable of the Extended. She was an airhead outside of battle and a berserker inside of it. With her simmering rage towards Legacy and now the Impulse driving her? She wasn't going to stop fighting until she ran out of power or she won. It was as simple as that.

If I win...if I win Colonel Roanoke will be happy! Stella will win!

Unfortunately for her, victory was the last thing on the mind of Sting and second to last of Auel. The commander of the Extended, gritting his teeth inside Chaos, launched forward and put himself between Gaia and Impulse. "Stella, that's enough! We have to get out of here before we run out of power! That's an order!" He rarely used his rank like this, but he wasn't going to be caught by ZAFT because Stella couldn't control her impulses. "I'm not repeating myself again. Leave, now!"

"But-but-this guy...!" Stella tried to argue, to get around Sting and at the Impulse.

She wouldn't get far. Auel, well and truly done with being ZAFT's punching bag now that both of the ZAKUs were focusing fire on him, snapped. He was only barely more rational than Stella, and as little as that went, it was gone now. He was done. He wanted to get out of here and back to the Girty Lue.

"Well I guess you're just going to die, then!" He snapped, not once caring what his words would do.

Sting scowled and slammed a fist into a console, as he heard that word. "Damnit, Auel...why'd you have to go and do that?"

Block Words. The way the Alliance had decided to control the Extended in comparison to the loose cannons that had been their predecessors. Each and every one of the Extended had one. It was only to be used in an absolute emergency, when there was no other option to control the rogue Extended. It would bring them home and get them back under control, without fail.

"..." Stella sat in her cockpit, wide pink eyes looking down at shaking hands. Die. Die. Die. That word echoed in her head, as buried fears and trauma rose to the surface. Memories of pain and death at Lodonia. Experiments and surgeries. No. Nonononononononono- "I don't want to die!" Her head snapped up, her lands latched onto Gaia's sticks, and the black Gundam completely forgot about the Impulse or anything other than escaping.

For the Block Word's greatest capacity was in causing raw, uncontrollable, terror.

"It worked, didn't it?" Auel asked, rhetorically, as he spun up by Sting. Abyss and Chaos, back to back, shot down a wave of DINNs and forced back the Impulse and ZAKUs. The red one falling away with smoke pouring from its thruster. "Come on, let's get out of here!"

Sting grit his teeth, but nodded anyway. "Fine. You're not going to get away with that, though. Only the Colonel can use the Block Words."

"Yeah yeah. I think he'd agree it worked!"

As the stolen machines began to flee after Gaia, Shinn scowled. He looked down at his machine, shorn of most of its weapons, and now with only Rey for backup. A Rey who was talking over the radio, at him.

"What are we going to do here, Shinn? Let them go? Chase them?" Rey would normally take charge, but in this, he was letting his friend choose. Shinn had the only machine that could go up against the stolen Gundams and win.

"We're going after them, of course!" Shinn barked back, red eyes narrowed in anger. Like hell he was going to let them get away. "Luna, get back to the Minerva. Rey and I can handle this!"

Ignoring any protests, Shinn and Rey charged after the stolen machines. While Lunamaria Hawke, in a crippled red ZAKU, sighed and turned around. She followed the path that Legacy had already tread, back to her mothership.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

As for that Gundam, it came to an unsteady halt in Minerva's hangar. Kira had taken the path slowly, arriving only barely ahead of a red ZAKU that landed behind him. He hadn't had much of a choice in the matter. While he was fairly certain that Legacy wasn't actually damaged beyond a couple grazes, the machine was all out of order. From being pushed into combat before it had been completed or properly tested. Even the Strike, with only the Armor Schneiders, had at least been complete. Not so this machine.

Still, he could admit it had served him well.

"What are we going to do now, Kira?" Cagalli asked the obvious question, as Kira opened the cockpit and grabbed the lanyard with one hand and held Cagalli to his side with the other. Her amber eyes looked at him, before trailing over the hangar. Empty save for the ZAKU, Legacy and a couple GuAIZ Rs. "We...we didn't expect something like this. I hate that."

"I don't like it much either," Kira shrugged back, riding the line down to the hangar deck. "Nothing for it though. We did the best we could and it's up to ZAFT now, unless they can get Legacy ready quickly."

And I doubt they can. I pushed her too hard, and there's no way that machine is getting fixed in anything less than a day. They have to replace parts and finish whatever was incomplete.

Cagalli, annoyed at her own inability to do anything more than anything else, bit out an annoyed sigh. "Yeah, yeah. I get that. I still hate it though. I don't like sitting around doing nothing, and you know that, Kira. I want to be out there!"

"Well, that's why we have Green Frame back on Hood. If Shinn can't stop those Gundams, I'm sure Yzak will be happy to let you take her out." Kira gave Cagalli a little smile, one that widened at the dry glare she sent his way.

It was so easy to get under her skin, even after years of dating her. Cagalli would get him back for it later, though. She wasn't exactly happy that he'd gone for a crippled machine, even if it had been her who refused to leave Shinn until Legacy was barely holding together. And...well. Both of them were still a bundle of confused emotions in regards to that teenager. They'd tried to keep track of him and his sister after the attack on Orb, if only out of guilt at the loss of his parents. Cagalli had even offered to let him stay in the Athha Mansion, even. But he'd just...vanished. Taken his sister and vanished. And one orphan, no matter how much they felt personally responsible for him, was almost impossible to find in the chaos of the War's end.

Seeing him now, in ZAFT and piloting what could only be a successor to the Strike? It was...not easy to think about.

"Hey, who are you two?!"

Not that they had long to think about it, anyway. The pilot of the ZAKU, a young woman with short purple hair, was striding towards them. In her hand a single pistol, pointed in their general direction, if not directly at them. She seemed more confused than angry, as her blue eyes shifted between them and the Legacy.

Kira, instincts sharp as ever, stepped in front of Cagalli. She was perfectly capable of defending herself, of course, but he wouldn't be himself if he didn't. "Kira Yamato, Captain in the Independent Coalition Navy."

"And-get off me, Kira! -Cagalli Yula Athha, Chief Representative of the Orb Union!" Cagalli got out, glaring at the back of Kira's head as she did so.

The woman, her blue eyes widening in shocked recognition, lowered her pistol. "Captain...Yamato? Freedom's pilot?"

Sometimes, Kira hated his fame. If it had been his choice, he would have kept his identity a secret. But the Coalition had needed a symbol to rally itself around. And, damn his savior complex, he'd agreed to be that symbol. If it kept another war from happening, well, he'd do anything for that. A little bit of unwanted fame had seemed a small price to pay. But he was regretting that a bit now, even if Freedom's continued existence was a secret.

He was still known as 'Freedom's pilot', especially in ZAFT.

"Yes. I was escorting the Representative to a meeting with the Chairman. Is he aboard?" Kira had seen Durandal boarding the Minerva on the approach in, so he knew the answer. But...

"...he is, yes." The ZAKU pilot still seemed shell-shocked, as she shook herself. Her eyes lingering on Kira, though. "Lunamaria Hawke, by the way. I can take you to the bridge. I'm sure the Captain wants to talk to you...?"

"Sure. Lead the way, Miss Hawke."

Where did they go?

Shinn's eyes scanned the horizon, looking for the stolen machines. The little delay had allowed them to get distance on him, if not by much. He wasn't about to let that stop him, though. He wasn't letting them get away. Not on his watch.

"Shinn! I see them, ten o'clock!" Rey barked out, the ZAKU Phantom boosting past the Impulse.

Red eyes looking in the direction Rey had indicated, Shinn grimaced. Gaia was pumping beam after beam into the side of the colony. Trying to punch a hole in Armory One's thick side and escape. Oh no. Not like this!

"Minerva! Send out the Force Silhouette!" Shinn ignored the chatter over the radio. The Captain and Chairman agreeing there was no point in hiding their technology, now. He didn't care about that. "I need the speed to catch up to them. Hurry!"

With little in the way of options to stop the Gundams, Shinn let Rey take the lead while he waited for his new backpack. He didn't have to wait long. Unlike the Strike, the Impulse had flyers to bring out replacement packs. And Shinn, looking over his shoulder, saw the Force Silhouette rapidly approaching. Grinning at that, he detached the remnants of the Sword, while Rey fired on Abyss and Chaos. Gaia continued to ignore them all.

Not for long.

As the red-and-black backpack attached to the Impulse, Shinn grinned and launched forward. Impulse shifted from a red torso, to a blue one. Its resemblance to the Strike becoming almost uncanny, now. Especially when the successor to the Aile Striker pushed Impulse at speeds that none of the stolen machines could ever hope to match. He battered Chaos aside with his now-extended shield. He shot a beam at Abyss, joined by Rey, keeping the blue Gundam occupied.

"I've got you now, bastard!" Shinn crowed triumphantly, the other Gundams left behind.

There was nothing keeping him away from the Gaia, as he swung his beam saber down on the machine. The stolen Gundam spinning around, frantically firing every beam it had at him. Trying to keep him away as Shinn ducked and weaved through the beams, saber falling the entire time. He was going to-

"MOVE, STELLA!"

That was shouted over an open line, as Chaos- transformed into Mobile Armor mode -appeared behind the Impulse. Green beams, joined by the Calidus Kai Multi-Phase Cannon's red, shot over Impulse's head. Past Gaia and into the already weakened colony wall. A tough barrier intended to survive against meteors and even, limited, weapons fire. Reinforced even over the regular PLANT design when Armory One was built.

Never intended to stand up to so much repeated pounding.

Oh shit!

Shinn could only watch in horror, as the colony wall split open. A single hole, barely larger than a Mobile Suit, opened up. It was not a danger to the integrity of the Colony. It could be sealed long before the air ran low. But, that wasn't the problem. It was a large enough hole for the escaping Gundams, disengaging from the Impulse and the ZAKU, to run through. Gaia ran out without hesitation. Abyss and Chaos fired another brace of beams, forcing Shinn and Rey back. Before joining the Gaia in fleeing to space, leaving the ZAFT pilots behind.

"Shinn..." Rey called out, as his ZAKU was battered by rushing winds, air fleeing the colony through the hole.

Shaking his head, the dark-haired pilot glared out at the hole. "Come on Rey, let's go after them! We can't just let them get away like this!"

"I understand. I've got your back, Shinn!" Rey nodded along, not once questioning his friend.

And so, the two ZAFT machines chased after their stolen counterparts. Not once thinking to even contact the Minerva for permission first.

"There's no choice, then." Talia Gladys bit her lip, sitting the command chair of the Minerva. Watching her two best pilots charge out into space, with no support. And without knowing what was truly out there. "Mr. Chairman, I believe we should launch the Minerva. Shinn and Rey will need support."

Standing behind her, Gilbert Durandal nodded. His shoulders slumped, slightly, as weariness overtook him. "Of course. I'm only an observer here, Talia. You know military matters far more than I ever will."

"Thank you for your trust, Chairman." Gladys resisted the urge to look longer, turning her gaze forward again. "All hands, prepare for emergency launch! We will be supporting our pilots and fleet in the mission to recapture our stolen prototypes!"

As she spoke those words, the Minerva came to life. Crew scattered, running to posts in predetermined patterns. They had trained for this, long and hard. They hadn't expected their first flight to be into combat...but they were all professionals. They did their duty.

"Have our GuAIZ pilots ready for launch, Meyrin." Gladys continued, glancing over at the young teenager at her station. Lunamaria's younger sister was quick on her feet, and on her task, at least. "I would rather have them prepared, in the event we need more firepower. Ensure that the Deuterion Beam is ready, as well. I imagine Impulse is low on power."

Meyrin nodded, "Yes, ma'am! Attention, all pilots to your machines. All pilots, to your machines!"

Smiling at that, Gladys watched as the Minerva descended from her cradle. Space taking the place of metal and concrete, as the ship moved. It took little time. Within minutes, her ship would be in combat. And she would be damned if they weren't ready.

Just wait, thieves. You won't get far. Not from me.

AN: ...so. Yeah. About this.

The TL:DR version is pretty simple. I was working at a theater, at the time I started this. It was a simple job that I figured wouldn't get in the way of writing. Then...then holidays. I'm an asthmatic. I was worked so hard (thousands of customers a day, only maybe 5 people to work) that I was collapsed on my back, barely breathing. And pushed back on the line.

By the time I left that hellhole and recovered? Well. 2020 happened. I think we all know how that went. 2021 hasn't been that much better.

But here I am. I think I've got things under control now...two years later. I apologize profusely for that. I really do. That's entirely my bad. I hope that readers are still willing to read this, at least. I'll admit that I skipped over a fair bit of the episode. But I wanted to avoid covering stuff we've all seen before, and stick to things I could reasonably change.

For example, Roanoke. I don't want to have Neo. Or a Mu-clone. So I went my own route. Hopefully this will work well. I have PLANS for him and the Extended to give them more development.

(ditto the rest of the cast)

I'll go over Yzak's new Gundam in the next chapter. One other thing I wanted to do was buck trends. The first-gen G-Weapons should be outdated, and there's only so much you can do on an old frame before you hit diminishing returns. Ergo, Yzak and Dearka get new machines akin to the Blu Duel and Verde Buster (though not the same). Same basic design, but completely new built. It also allows me to play with them more than refits would allow.

Nicol still has Blitz, though, because Blitz Wraith is already basically a completely new machine anyway.

Also, while the first bits are going to be pretty standard Destiny, I intend for things to get much different once we get to Earth. It's just not much really changes in the leadup to hitting Earth, so while I'll do my best to keep it interesting and different, stations of canon will be in effect up to that point. Unfortunately.

Right...to keep this from being too long, my traditional review replies and that'll be it:

Blanchimont, Just a Crazy-Man, Sao4life, Fireminer, NinjaFang1331, tf330129, WaldusTheAwesome, ChaosChap64, Apex85, Infinite Freedom, Rc1212, Guest, Teaisbitter, Reishin Amara, Raventus Dracoria: Thank you for the reviews!

Muse of Schleissheim: I hope that the interactions with Kira and Shinn will work well. I'm looking forward to writing that, honestly, more than a lot of other bits here.

Rydan fall: Legacy, in the current form, leans more towards Freedom with a less power-hungry backpack, yes. As a machine itself, it's much more like a battery powered Testament with Aegis' command focus. In general terms, it fits in my mind at least, that ZAFT would want at least five machines, like the way the original G-Weapons were. Cover all the bases.

Ninja Stars: Glad you like it. Yzak is currently stationed in space, and as we see here, running escort for Kira and Cagalli. Dearka and Nicol...they have their own duties, but they'll show up sooner rather than later. I didn't want the entire ex-Le Creuset Team here, because that would overbalance the 'good' side and take the conflict out. As for Athrun...he's with Lacus, is the most I'll say.

GarfieldJL: Oh, don't mistake me. Kira isn't going to join ZAFT. Work alongside them as a volunteer/observer, sure, but not join them like Athrun did. I still consider that one of the dumber mistakes Destiny made.

The main reason I want him to use Legacy instead of Freedom is, frankly, Freedom breaks the story. Fighting solo and against both sides, Kira was dominating until Shinn got PLOT ARMOR in the canon version. Working alongside the Minerva? Yeah, that would be storybreaking. I'm not going to say he won't get Freedom back...but it won't be for some time, either.

Dragoon Swordsman: Good to see you back. Hope the wait was worth it, considering...well. Everything.

Cagalli...you won't get any arguments from me, in regards to Destiny doing her dirty. That being said, I thought out things a fair bit before I landed on what I wanted to do with her here. I'm viewing Chief Representative as an...interesting role. Uzumi wielded it as an Imperial Presidency, near as we can tell. Cagalli- because Destiny -had it basically a ceremonial position. I'm leaning into that here. She's ceremonially Chief Representative, as someone everyone in Orb's government could agree on. No one wanted someone else to get the role with Uzumi dead, and letting his daughter be (functionally) a caretaker until she's 'ready' (I don't think she'll ever really want the role, but Cagalli will do anything for Orb) works for them. Let her sign papers but leave the functional running to the council.

Or, in this case, Mina. I'll be getting into the dirty details of that once we get to Orb.

And don't worry. I have no intention of leaving her behind a desk, nor of giving the Akatsuki to Mu. Who is still using Rapier, though I have upgrade plans for him in mind.

As for the Second Stage reaction...hmm. I wanted to reflect that Cagalli doesn't quite trust ZAFT, and that she isn't quite thinking clearly about it. She's worried and that worry is coloring her viewpoint. If she had time to talk to Durandal, she'd probably cool down. But, well. Hello Phantom Pain, how are you doing?

As for the rest: Hopefully the reactions are going well so far. And I do intend to bring the old guard back in, later on. Just, like above, I want to avoid breaking the story (or bloating the cast, too much). Right now is new cast time. Old cast will come back in once we get to Earth, for the most part.