Author Note One

Usual reminder about canon scenes

"Regular speech"

'Thought'

"Soma/Hallelujah speech"

With the 00

Just as soon they entered the strange space, Setsuna and Feldt were pulled back into reality. As they got their bearings back, Feldt spoke first, "Setsuna, what was that? Where were we just then?" A thought in the back of her mind noted both of them had been completely exposed there, but the adrenaline kept that from coming to the forefront.

Sestuna, keeping his eyes forward, focusing on getting them back to the ship, replied, "I have no idea, but we can talk about it afterwards. We have to save the ship."

She nodded, focusing her attention to looking at the sensors for any mobile suits as they approached and responded in a mostly calmed voice, "Right. We still have that new model approaching us."

"Understood." Setsuna dashed towards the enemy suit, dodging blaster fire as he closed in. As the suit reached melee distance, the blades of the new model combined into one large blade, clashing with one of the 00 Raiser's blades. Unlike last time fighting this machine, Setsuna could feel the 00 Raiser successfully able to hold back the suit. 'This time you won't win.' Pushing forward at a rapid pace, the 00 Raiser pushed back the suit, beginning to cut into the shoulder of the machine before it disengaged from the blade clash, opening fire to little effect on the 00.

Using the speed of the trans-am, Setsuna dashed around an asteroid, and fired a barrage of shots at the new model, hitting all over the suit, destroying the visor on the suits head. Taking advantage of the purple suit's temporary loss of visual sensors, he charged it, attempting to finish it off once and for all. Just as he was about to reach the suit, it put up its blade to deflect Setsuna's blow. The 00 Raiser caught the enemy beam saber with its own left blade, forcing the enemy beam saber aside with ease. He then cut through the suit with its other blade, bisecting it diagonally, sparks coming off the machine.

Just as the suit was about to explode, he was a small pod go off the back of it and said pod rapidly fly off into space away from him. He attempted to fire a few shots at the pod but it managed to dodge the shots. 'Damnit! I should finish that pod off, but the Ptolemy comes first.' He let the pod get away, knowing he had bigger fish to fry. As the 00 Raiser moved at a rapid pace towards the battlefield around the ship, and the ship was becoming visible for the two of them, Setsuna saw Feldt appear on his viewscreen, her tone worried, "Setsuna, the Cheridum is in trouble!" She showed him an image of Lyle being held up by a GN-X as two others began to move into position flanking him with an open shot.

Without any hesitation, Setsuna aimed and sent two powerful blasts at the flanking units, hitting them in the cockpit and destroying the suit. 'So my attacks can go that far. Good to note.' He then saw Lyle knock back the suit he was clashing with in the general direction they were coming from. Feldt sighed in relief. 'They aren't getting another member of the crew. Not while I'm here.'

Suddenly Setsuna heard a feminine voice in his head. "Compressed particles recharge complete." He looked up in the direction that he felt it coming from and began heading that. Feldt looked at the back of the cockpit in confusion. 'Where is he taking us?' But Setsuna hadn't let her down so far, so she would trust what he was doing. He approached one of the resource asteroids, where he felt a strange presence and spotted a mobile suit. 'Another new model?' It looked very similar to the suit he had just defeated, but it was mostly teal with light green highlights instead of purple. And instead of multiple beam sabers on its arm, it possessed a large cannon, similar in scale to Tieria's larger ones. The suit turned to face him, moving off the asteroid and aimed it large cannon at him, releasing an incredibly large burst of energy. Setsuna could feel the heat and energy of the blast as he dodged the attack.

In the Raiser, Feldt, seeing the beam, realized this was the machine that had taken out hanger 3. She called out to Sestuna, "This is the machine that damaged the Ptolemy! We need to take it out!"

"Roger that!" Setsuna continued to move towards the machine, dodging as the new model directed the continuous beam towards where the 00 Raiser was. He also noticed the time for the trans-am was running out. 'Gotta make this fast.' Just as he was about to reach melee distance to the machine, the beam disappeared, leaving a smoke screen of particles in its wake. Setsuna charged into the smoke, when it was suddenly dissipated by a beam saber aimed right at the cockpit of the 00. Setsuna saw where he wanted to dodge, but he had no time. But suddenly he was in that position, watching the new machine stab into the ghost of the 00 Raiser, the ghost disappearing into a GN particle mist.

The new machine paused and Setsuna came in with a long swing of one of his blades. The pause didn't last long, the machine blocked it with its cannon, destroying the weapon in the process. The machine slashed at him again, but Setsuna had already out of the way of the attack, coming in above it to bisect this new machine in half as well, the pod on the back shooting off into space as both Feldt and Setsuna noticed the trans-am had run out. The machine went from the glowing red to its normal colors, and the pure power of the machine lowered as the particle supply was low. The 00 Raiser floated there for a second, Setsuna catching his breath. 'What just happened? Why did the 00 appear where I wanted it to be? Why did I hear that voice?'

Sitting back in the Raiser, Feldt was baffled by the events that just transpired. 'Why hadn't that beam saber killed us? What was that weird place? What was the true power of 00 Raiser?' When they had been testing it, the Celestial Being engineers could not have predicted the sheer power of the twin drives. And despite her earlier fear, she was also feeling partially exhilarated. The freedom of being in a machine like this was something she didn't expect. Her thoughts were interrupted by a message appearing on her display, saying to return to the Ptolemy. She opened up comms with Setsuna, "We have orders to return. The enemy has retreated."

Setsuna took a second, still thinking, then replied evenly, "Understood. I'll get us there." He noticed Feldt looking at him nervously, "Are you ok Feldt?"

Her nervousness showed in her tone, "I'm fine, I just…" She let out a shaky sigh, "Can we talk when we get back? So much just happened and I…"

He gave her a comforting smile, "That sounds fine. You can rest on the way back. I'll keep us safe." She closed her eyes, the exhaustion from the loss of adrenaline hitting her. She sat back in her seat, replaying the events in that weird space and what it all meant.

Bridge of the Ptolemy

As Sumeragi sent out the order to the gundams to return to the ship, Lasse looked over at Anew, his voice full of amazement, "How many machines did Setsuna take out?"

Anew, equally full of awe, replied, "I think it was almost ten of them."

Their conversation was interrupted by Sumeragi speaking in a forceful tone, "Don't let your guard down yet. We still need to take out that enemy Satellite weapon." She looked over at Mileina, "I know you are worried about your parents, but I need you to start repairing the Ptolemy and the gundams. Saji, I need you to get Feldt as soon as possible and tell her to come to the bridge. After that can you assist Mileina with repairs?"

Saji nodded at the orders and Allelujah's voice came in over the bridge, "This is the Arios. I've escorted the transports to safety. And Mileina, your mom is safe." The brown-haired girl let out a big sigh of relief and Marie commented happily, "That's great!"

Mileina made her way out the door, the weight of her parent's safety off her shoulders, and Saji followed behind her. As she left, Sumeragi reflected on the 00 Raiser. 'Who knew that machine had such power. What else can it do?' She would have to take that into account in future battle plans. Especially in the next battle.

Hanger Control Room

After the 00 Raiser docked and was separated out, the two made their way to one of the hanger control rooms. Setsuna grabbed her hand and guided her along, noticing that she didn't seem to mind him doing that. He could also feel that she was jittery. 'This must have been the first time on the battlefield like that. No wonder she wanted to talk.'

When they entered the control room, Setsuna tried to let go of her hand, but he was surprised when she maintained her grip. He stopped trying to let go of her hand and held onto it comfortingly. He turned around to face her, looking in her eyes as she raised her face to look at him. He saw a whirlwind of emotions reflected in her eyes. Knowing he would have to start, he spoke up softly, "Are you ok?"

She gave him a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, "I'm fine Setsuna. It's just…" She took a few seconds to collect her thoughts, and she continued, "It's just I never have been in combat like that. Being in the 0 Raiser, all of the protection from the ship was gone. I thought my combat experience before would help me, but I just seemed to partially shut down when I was getting shot at."

He could feel her squeezing on his hand, wearing her emotions on her sleeve. He spoke in a comforting voice, "It's alright. Frontline combat isn't easy, especially for those that haven't had to fight in a mobile suit. It's alright if you are confused."

Some tears came to her eyes, "I just feel so weak. I was so scared and overwhelmed."

He squeezed her hand, noticing the tears stop welling, "That's perfectly normal. Nobody, especially during their first time, is somehow not afraid. Even I can get scared, I'm just used to it. I've had to do it since I was a child. No one will judge you for how you reacted. You were incredibly brave for flying the 0 Raiser out to me." Feldt flushed embarrassed at the compliment. She then gave him a sympathetic look. She remembered reading up in his file about his past, though it lacked specific details. 'It explains why he can act so controlled all the time.' Setsuna gave her a warm smile, "I want to thank you for doing what you did. Without your bravery, the ship wouldn't have been saved and we wouldn't be here."

She looked down at that compliment, her face bright red. The fact Setsuna was saying it made it harder to control her reaction. After a few seconds she looked back up at him, face still red, her smile reaching her eyes. She spoke happily, "But it was you who actually saved us. You defeated those two suits. Without that we wouldn't have won."

"Then let's call it a team effort then." They both let go of the others' hands, taking a step back from each other.

She nodded at that idea and just then a thought passed through her head. 'What was going on with all the strange things that happened during trans-am?' She gave Setsuna a curious look, "Setsuna, what happened after you trans-am'd? First we were in that void and then you just teleported?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "I have no idea. The 0 Raiser must have more capabilities than expected. Maybe we'll see more as time goes on."

Feldt nodded at that and then she asked something that had been on her mind since leaving the 0 Raiser, "So, Setsuna, when were in that strange place floating, did you see me…"

He nodded, blushing a deep pink as he knew she was referring to both of their nudity in that place. He didn't know what to say. 'Do I say she was attractive? Do I say nothing?' Feldt was equally embarrassed, not knowing how to respond to him. 'What did he think? Do I just forget that happened? Do I tell him what I think?' The awkward situation was stopped when they heard the door open and Saji entered obliviously, calling out to Feldt, "Ms Sumeragi wants you to report to the bridge."

Taking advantage of the situation, Feldt quickly nodded at that, her voice cracking a little, "I'll report right away." She rushes out the door and just before she the door closed, she looked back at Setsuna, giving him a smile. That left the two men standing there. Saji looked at Setsuna and saw his face was red. Curious, he asked, "Are you ok? I don't think I've seen you like that before."

Coughing, he replied, "It's fine. We were just having a conversation. You don't need to worry about it."

Saji shrugged his shoulders, "Ok. Just wanted to make sure."

Saji looked like he was about to head out when Setsuna asked him, "You mentioned previously that you and Louise broke up. What happened?"

Saji sighed quietly. He knew Setsuna would be curious, and he never got the chance to tell him after they were interrupted last time. It wasn't an easy memory to talk about. He looked at Setsuna and with a nervous tone, replied, "It was inevitable you asked that, isn't it?" He took a deep breath, "To keep this story from going too long, we stayed together after your guys initial gundam stuff. We were as happy as we could be, but we began to drift apart as time went on. In hindsight, I would say it was my fault."

Saji gave a heavy sigh, remembering the pain of the gradual fraying of his relationship with Louise, "I wanted the world to go back to the way it was before you guys showed up. She wanted to move on, try to get over what happened to her and adapt to this new world. I couldn't let go of my anger towards the gundams, no matter how hard how I tried to hide it. So about 6 months ago, she broke up with me. That's part of the reason why I was at Proud. To get away from Earth and the memories. I should have tried to see it from her view, but I see now I was too focused on my own little world." He gave a bitter laugh.

Setsuna gave him a curious look, before his expression became understanding, "Thank you for telling me. It must not have been easy to think back on this."

Saji just waved him off, "Don't worry about it. It's been on my mind since the attack on the Katharon base. It put it all in perspective."

Setsuna tilted his head slightly, "Is that why you stayed with the Ptolemy?"

Saji gave him a smile, "Yeah. I need to prove to myself I can think beyond myself. That I can change and grow. I want to thank you for the opportunity, especially because of how rude I was at first to you and the others."

Setsuna gave him a nod, replying in a grateful tone, "No problem. What are you doing on the ship now?"

"Sumeragi told me to help with fixing things. And speaking of, I think I got sidetracked here too long. I gotta get going." Saji gave him a loose salute and floated out of the room headed to the hanger. 'I hope Mileina isn't too upset.'

Setsuna watched him leave the room, Saji's words on changing and growth hitting him. Recently he had been a bit out of sorts around Feldt and he didn't know how to deal with it. She was a recent change in his world and had disrupted his thoughts. And he was getting the suspicion that she liked him. Romantically. It had taken him awhile, but the signs were adding up. 'All of the physical contact. The way she looked at me with happiness in her eyes. The smiles she gave me. The emotions I felt in that strange place. But why him? Why someone so damaged as him?' He had never placed his happiness in another individual or even thought that he would be happy, but he found himself happier around her. 'Do I like her? I know I enjoy spending time with her and she's comfortable to be around, but it's only her. And if I did, should I after all I've done.'

He heard a chuckle come from the door, breaking him from his thoughts. He looked over to see Lyle at the open door. Lyle spoke casually, "Well I didn't expect you to be such a people person and a ladies man at that."

Setsuna gave him a look of confusion, "Why would you say I'm a ladies man?"

Lyle laughed to himself, "I haven't seen that girl as happy as she is now. I saw her coming from here as I travelled the ship, so I assume she talked to you after the battle. I would still be careful, she has a mean slap."

Setsuna was still confused. 'Mean slap?' Setsuna gave the Irishman an even look, "She and I have gotten closer, but we aren't like that." Lyle detected some uncertainty in his voice.

Lyle then took that information in. 'So there is something there? I'll have to keep an eye out on those two.' Lyle gave him a slap on the shoulder, speaking jokingly, "Relax man. I was only messing with you. Honestly, you need to get some rest. You did a good job out there saving our asses, especially mine when you took those two suits out."

Setsuna nodded his head in agreement, "You did good defending the ship. You are probably right. We will need the 00 Raiser ready for future fights at full strength."

Lyle rolled his eyes, "Are you always so serious? Just get out of here." Setsuna followed his advice and left the room, headed to his own. He would have to think on this Feldt issue. 'Maybe after this mission.'

A-Laws Cruiser

A few tears made their way down Andrei's cheeks as he watched an A-Laws soldier removed the items from Captain Zinin's locker. The last thing that came out of the locker was a picture on the inside the locker door. It showed the captain in tank top and a light skinned woman with long brown hair smiling and happy.

As Andrei was gearing up for the mission to attack Celestial Being, he noticed a photo on the Captain's door that showed him with a woman with long brown hair. Curious, he asked the Captain, "Who is that sir?"

Captain Zinin gave him a bitter smile, "She was my wife."

"Was?"

Some anger entered Captain Zinin's tone, "She was killed a couple months ago during an Anti-government attack."

Andrei spoke remorsefully, "I'm so sorry sir."

"Don't apologize, you had nothing to do with it. Just keep focused for the next mission."

He clenched his fist in anger. 'Another good person killed pointlessly.' So many good soldiers had been killed fighting Celestial Being, that he had stopped even keeping track. 'All we want to do is create a peaceful world for everyone, yet the gundams continue to resist, along with Katharon.' Andrei would follow Captain Zinin's example. He would have wanted a peaceful world, even if it meant doing cruel things to make it happen. 'I will do whatever it takes to bring peace to this world.'

And now there was a bigger threat to face within the gundams. The 00 and 0 Raiser created a significant threat to future battles. It could overpower an ahead and could even threaten the new models that were being brought in as reinforcements. 'There had to be some way to counter that power. To get a weapon that can deal with that suit.' Maybe he should talk with Ribbons at some point. He could probably give him something to help, right?

New Middle East Katharon Base

Marina rested against the wall in the hallway outside the meeting room, having just exited after the most recent meeting had ended. 'They fired the space laser again. And they even wiped out a large refugee camp. How can anyone be so cruel?' The more time progressed and events happened, the more she realized her old ideology just didn't seem to work.

Between the two laser attacks, they had probably killed over one million people. 'Was one million people enough for these people to justify what they were doing? How many more people were they willing to kill to make their point?' Marina could see that Setsuna and Shirin were at least partially right about the world. No one would give her pacifism a second thought if they wanted something that she had, as the Federation had shown by taking over her country.

And even before that, when her country was tearing itself apart five years ago, she could do nothing to stop them. All her pleas for stopping the violence had been ignored and her people had suffered. She had been so married to her ideals when she was a ruler, but now that she no longer was, her belief in her dream was weakened. Someone had even attempted to assassinate her. 'If I had been more forceful, stronger in the assembly, could I have averted that?' She knew what ifs were always something you can't fully trust, but it had been haunting her recently. 'Could I have prevented the need for the gundams to show up to solve my problems, at least somewhat?' She was aware there was a third party that had been stoking the fire, but there has to be an existing conflict for it to create such a large blaze.

The painful question she had to ask is would she be willing to fight personally. If the base was attacked right now, would she be willing to help defend the base against their attackers? If she had asked even a few months ago, she would have vehemently denied ever wanting a gun, but after the events of the last month or so, she was much more uncertain. Setsuna and other members of Katharon had shown how just because you are willing to kill people, doesn't mean you would become cruel. 'There are innocent people who live here. Would they judge me for being willing to kill?'

It had taken her a while, but she had realized one of her hang ups on using weapons personally. The previous ruler of Azadistan had shown himself to be willing to use force and violence to get what he wanted, such as with Krugis. She had wanted to separate herself as much from that image, becoming a princess of peace and diplomacy, which in hindsight was to her detriment. To the international world, she may have looked good, but to the traditionalists, her policies only made her look weak. 'But who is there to judge me now? Would someone see me turn down a gun and look at me like I'm a hero?' No, none of the people would judge her now. After all she had been through, it would be understandable if she changed her point of view.

Maybe she would take Shirin's offer to learn how to defend herself. If the base was attacked or they ever had to go on the run, she could at least delay the enemy till someone who knew how to fight could deal with them.

Getting off the wall, she straightened her back and began her search for Shirin, walking with purpose. 'If I'm going to break my old principle, I might as well do it without any doubts. It's what Setsuna would have told me to do.'

Sergei's Ship

Sergei stood looking at the gaunt face of Commander Kim on the computer screen in shock as he heard his orders, "A gag order?! The A-Laws used a high power laser attack from orbit on a base surrounded by refugees!"

With a cool tone, the commander replied, "This is an order from the Federation president. We can't ignore it."

Sergei looked at his commander like he had two heads, "All of the soldier saw what happened! Rumors are going to spread quickly. Many are questioning the methods of the A-Laws."

"And that is why I want you to monitor them, to make sure the gag order is strictly enforced."

Sergei narrowed his eyes accusingly, "Is that a direct order?"

Commander Kim gave him an equally harsh look, "Yes, and I expect you to obey it." The screen went dark as the line of communication was cut. Sergei sighed and sat down in his chair, the weight and morality of the order weighing down on him.

He spoke to himself, "A soldier always follows orders." Yet at the same time, he was beginning to seriously disagree with that assessment. Following orders had been good under the right people, but now he questioned his chain of command. 'How can they sit by and let so many people die? Why can the A-Laws get away with so many crimes?'

He had to sit back and watch all of these crimes be done in the name of the Federation. He envied Soma right now. 'She doesn't have to worry about being an accessory who can't do anything to stop what the government is doing.'

He wondered what Holly would think about all this. 'Would she be going along with this? Would she just stand back and watch what is going on in the world? I wish you were here right now. Maybe Andrei and I wouldn't be like we were now.'

In the 00

As Setsuna sat in the 00 as the other gundams used the trans-am to speed up their progress, Feldt's face appeared on his display, a worried look on her face. Setsuna looked at her curiously, "Is there something wrong?"

She took a deep breath and with a quiet voice so only he could hear her, she said with longing in her voice, "I wish I could be out there with you, but Sumeragi said that she needed me on the bridge for now. I'm sorry."

The longing in her voice caught Setsuna by surprise, only confirming his suspicions. 'She definitely likes me, but that leaves me in the same place. What do I say back? I don't even know how I fully feel.' She looked at him anxiously, waiting for a reply.

After a few seconds he responded, his tone becoming unconsciously soft, "It's alright Feldt. If Sumeragi says she needs you there, then I trust her on that. They need you up there just as much as I might need you in the 0 Raiser."

Feldt looked down for a second before giving him a determined look, "Setsuna, promise me you will come back after this battle. I need to…I need to talk with you." She had delayed enough about telling him how she felt. She couldn't distract him for the battle, but after it there would be nothing stopping her.

Setsuna realized there was no avoiding the issue. 'It looks like I might have to tell her about my confusion. I hope she wouldn't take it too bad if I need more time.' He returned her determined look, "I will return. You have my word."

She gave him a nervous smile before saying, "Good luck." The communication dropped, leaving Setsuna alone to sit in his cockpit. 'Why did emotions like this have to be so complex? Why can't it be as simple as combat?'

Author's Note Two

Not much of a major change that isn't a consequence of the changes so far. The saji punching scene makes no sense now that the Louise bit didn't happen, so it became what it became in the chapter. Also now we are dealing with the pining stage of romance, so this will be fun. And don't people love it when plot creates fun issues with that.

Thank you QuantumExia for your review. I definitely was not aware of the connections to that, so that's cool. The only thing I was aware of connection was that Ribbons was played by the original Amuro on top of the 0 gundam.

I want to thank all of you that left reviews on the previous chapter. I really appreciate your words. And thank you to all of those who continue to follow and like my story! See you guys next time.