Uknown towards the outer Debris.
"Come in Fleet 6, main ship, Liz, come in."
The captain of the now damage fleet from the previous attack by ZAFT's new machine, Wolverine, said as they drifted closer towards the rubble. Along with them was an ACE Sniper unit within the Earth Alliance. Longshot, his code name given to him by the higher-up's thanks to his play on the field. The man walked through the halls with a pick in his afro, chewing on a toothpick.
"Hey, good work out there! I see you're as sharp as ever!" A young girl, a mechanic in training, said while she ran up towards the Ace, holding up a hand for a high five. Looking down, he raised his hand and delivered the high five. The young girl smiled as she pulled her hands behind her back.
"So, what's up?" Longshot took the toothpick out of his mouth.
"Well, I was just down in the hanger and found out you'll be transferred to a new team. Is that true?" The girl stared off sadness in her expression.
"Oh?" Squatting down to be at her eye level, Longshot smirked at the younger girl. "What makes you so sure?"
"Well, y'know the fleet we're headed towards? It has our top Ace on board with a new machine. So I'm thinking-"
"Could be. Why? Ya gonna miss me?"
"Of course! You're the only family I have in this forsaken world!" The young girl hopped up and latched onto his arm.
"Ahh! Get off!" The weight of the young girl made the pilot lose his balance a little. Shaking his arm so that she could let go, the two fell over, crashing into the wall with the young man on the bottom.
"Looks like they're at it again, Sabina! Get your man!" One of the cocks yelled to a passer.
"Damnit, Laya! You're too heavy for this!" Longshot shouted as he tried to get himself up.
"Shut up! That's why your not a good shot at all!" Laya pushed herself harder, making the young man fall again.
"Oh, yea?! How about you try and go against a Newtype!"
"Both of you shut up! Estás agravando!" Sabina peeped through the door. Her light brown skin and hazel eyes glared into the two foster siblings.
"Vince started it!" Laya whined like a six-year-old.
"Vince! Act your age!" Sabina shouted as she stomped towards the two.
"Eh? The hell you mean act your age?!"
"I mean, you're behaving like a little child!"
Slowly the pair got up as Sabina tapped her foot on the hard tile floor.
"Jeez, you two are a pain to deal with!"
"No one asked you to babysit us," Laya muttered, an annoyed look on her face. Sabina gritted her teeth and raised her hand, only for Vince to step in front.
"Ok! Ok! We'll calm down, right Laya?" Turning towards his sister, who blew out steam from her nose. Lightly elbowing her, Laya looks up seeing her brother, giving the death stare, so she sighed and nodded. "See! We're more than capable of handling ourselves! It was just some sibling roughhousing!"
"I get that, but if something were to happen to you while one of these playing around activities, then what?"
"Well, we have more pilots than just him."
"Being honest with you, Laya, they won't bring much of a difference. We all know that-"
"I get it, I understand, where you're coming from," Laya bowed and walked away from the two, not saying a single word afterward. Vince let out a sigh as he began picking out his hair, closing his eyes while he did so.
"Sorry, I'll go talk to her after I get something to eat," slowly, he walked towards the entrance of the lunchroom. Sabina stayed silent as she stared where Laya vanished, a frown on her lips. "Hey!" Vince calls her, turning around with a hand in his pocket. "You coming?" Sabina looked down, before nodding joining him clasping her arm around his while they walked.
"Hey, you don't think Laya hates me now, right?"
The two were enjoying a meal for a short period of time. They were on the clock considering their captain will transfer them onto the next ship.
"Hate you?" Vince took a bite of his burger, chewing before swallowing. "I don't know, but I can definitely feel some tension going on there!" Vince chuckled to himself at his attempt to lighten the mood, yet it didn't work as his partner continued to stare off into space. Placing his burger down, he looked directly in her face, seeing how focused she was, determined. "I guess she sees you as competition? Before the war started, we lived in separate homes yet stayed close. Once the war started, we both lost our parents and moved to newer places and environments. She never made any friends after the war started because of what happened. Through it all, she stuck close to me, being a typical younger sibling. I'm all's she's got, so it's only natural for her to be protective of me."
A long pause fell over the two as Vince finished eating his food. Scoffing down the last bit, the 18-year-old got up and stretched a little. "Well, imma go see if I can find her, maybe-"
"No, I want to talk to her, woman to woman."
"You sure? She can be pretty stubborn-"
"Yes, you just get ready for your transfer," Sabina got up from her seat and took her tray towards the countertop, looking over towards the pilot.
"Right."
"Hey," Sabina walked over towards him and placed a hand on his chest, leaning forward for a kiss. "Be safe. I'll do my best as well,"
"I wish you luck with talking to my sister," Vince pulled away and started for the door, making his way towards his room. Sabina left the cafeteria as well, with a new goal in mind.
Laya's room.
A knock made her pause for a bit, yet it didn't take her from her studies. A bit more time went by, Laya heard another knock, this time a distinct one. Letting out a sigh, she pushed her seat back and stood up, walking towards the door.
"Look, I'm sorry about how I acted. I'll get her a flower or something," Opening the door and walking back towards her desk, she expected her brother to say something, anything.
"You'd think I want flowers?" Sabina's voice caused Laya to stop in her tracks. Wasn't that knock the one Vince would use? How did she know it? And why was she standing in her doorway right now?
"Oh, sorry. I wasn't expecting you," sitting back in her chair and pulling herself back up, she continued her work on the computer.
"No, no, it's fine. So what are you doing?" Sabina inched closer to get a better look, not wanting to overstep any unseen boundaries she had set for her room.
"Working."
"On what?"
"Stuff."
Sabina relaxed her body and moved more confidently in the room towards the bed, sitting down on the edge of the mattress, making it creek from the sudden weight. The sound made Laya pause. Then, slowly but surely, she turned around and saw the slightly older woman sitting on her bed. "Oh, I hope you don't mind. My feet were getting a little tired."
"Mmhmm," turning back around, she continued her studies. Sabina leaned in closer and let out a gasp as she notices what was on the laptop. Specs of her brother's machine, she was going through and looking at the different reaction time improvements, with each click, until she stopped at a certain one. It was a sensor with a magnetic coating. The words read that it helped with a sniper unit. The only problem was, a group owned it called a junkyard. Letting out a sigh, Laya clicked the information on the item and began to read through it.
"You... Hey, how much does this cost?" Sabina got up and walked towards the chair, leaning over it to get a good look. Laya soared her expression and leaned away but answered nonetheless.
"It'll cost nothing for us, as I'll be able to make it from scratch... I just need the right parts-"
"We have some of these coming in today via orders from the mechanics, all except the magnetic coating."
"Well, if we're going to meet up with the ace, then they'll have plenty onboard for their top ace."
"Are you suggesting we steal it?"
"Such a harsh word! Barrow is more like it!"
"Why not ask? I'm sure the newtype would be understanding-"
"Eh, I'm too anti-social for that."
"Well, this will be a good time to snap out of it... It's for your brother's sake, plus you'd get in trouble again-"
"I don't need you bothering me!" Laya got up from her desk, pushing the chair back a little, causing it to slide, and stared daggers into the older woman. Sabina kept eye contact, not wavering in the slightest, thanks to her being in the military for almost a year.
"Ok, if you say so, but don't say I didn't warn you- Oh, by the way, the parts here wouldn't work for the machine. It's too big for the head."
"Wha-" Laya turned and looked at the information again and saw her error.
"Maybe if you do this," Sabina gently took the keyboard and played around with it until the numbers matched up perfectly. "See! I know this because my dad forced being a mechanic on me. Yet I decided in defiance to be a combat analyst."
"Wow! H-how-"
"I'm not trying to steal your brother... If anything, I want you all to remain as close as ever. You have to understand that sometimes people come together because-"
"I know this much. And trust me, I'm trying. But, sadly, I can't hurt you because my brother needs you to stay sane in some sense. So I get that, don't get me wrong, I hate you, but I see why my brother would want to date you."
"Huh?"
"You haven't slapped me yet, which is a first, but that's because you put on a face when onboard the ship. You're nice and helpful in more ways than one," Laya motioned towards the computer with a smile. "So, I guess I have to squash this because if not, my brother might throw me out into space without a suit," Raising her hand, she held a smile.
"You think he'd do that for real?" Sabina giggled as they clasped each other hands, shaking on a truce.
"Eh, maybe with a suit on at most if I make him mad enough."
"You really know how to push his buttons?"
"Not as much as you, though. I'm his sister, but you have another power over him altogether."
"Lieutenant Hayes, report to the hanger! I repeat Lieutenant Hayes report to the hanger!"
"Welp, I guess that's my cue, friends?"
"Whoa, slow your horses. But you keep me safe, so I guess," the two shook on it and left the room.
Hanger
"Lieutenant Hayes, and Lieutenant Gray, from this day forth, you are no longer a part of this fleet. You will be transferred to a specialized MS squad. Godspeed to you both!"
"Yes, sir!" The two shouted as they walked towards the mobile suit. Getting into the cockpit.
"Docking complete, commencing transfer now!" A voice over the intercom said as the Mono-eyed machine slowly released the cables that kept it bond.
"Releasing gravity, all personal be advised!" As the crew went to a safer location, Vince clicked the buttons on his suit, checking if anything went wrong.
"You ok?"
"Yeah."
"We're taking off!" Pushing down on the accelerator, the unit responded with its thrusters leaving a blue hue behind it exiting the ship.
Command ship Liz
"Sir, two units approaching! They're from the sixth fleet and the fourth fleet!"
"The hell are we supposed to do with two sniper units?" Maxwell, a pilot as well, asked the captain as he leaned against the wall.
"I'd be careful not to test them. They're known well throughout the military as superb shots, hell both on their own can probably give an entire ZAFT fleet a run for their money alone."
"Tsk, I doubt it. I guess we'll have to see the way they fight then, huh?" Maxwell walked through the door, taking out a cigar.
"Let's welcome our new comrades and the completion of the newtype team," The captain said as he stood out of his seat and made his way towards the hanger.
Hanger
Awaken slowed itself via Verniers over its bird-like form, landing on the talons. The cockpit slowly open revealing two bodies coming out, one was Deeraj Young, and the other was a young woman, right beside him. Next came the sniper unit, landing with relative ease, a soft landing on its feet, with the hatch opening revealed Vince and Sabina.
"Ah, that woman, she must be the new combat analyst we'll be having."
"I heard she's a newtype like the Gundam pilot over there."
Chatter arose as the group of four came to the center, standing in front of the crowd.
"Welcome aboard! We hope you find everything to be-"
"Eh, who's the girl beside the newtype?" Maxwell interrupted the captain as he puffed out smoked. The girl stood to attention and saluted.
"Lieutenant Lanai Hall! I hope my skills will be useful on this squad."
More mutter rose from the group as she relaxed her body.
"Well, I guess we should introduce ourselves then. Lieutenant Vince Gray."
"Lieutenant Sabina Hayes!"
The two saluted as they introduced themselves, leaving the newtype, who hasn't taken his helmet off yet, left to introduce himself. Slowly he reached up to grab his helmet, loosen it and take it off, revealing his low-cut dreads.
"Lieutenant Commander Deeraj Young."
"Lieutenant Junior Grade, Maxwell Cook."
Maxwell stood to attention once he heard their ranks. Though he won't say it out loud, it made his blood boil that he wasn't of higher rank than the newcomer. Plus, his sudden outburst earlier definitely got him in some form of trouble. So now he just has to bid his time and learn to shut up.
"Good, you've met, a meeting will be held for the confirmation of the team being put together, we hope to get along well during our endeavors," the captain smiled as he looked at the pilots shake hands and greet each other in a far friendlier fashion, Vince, Deeraj and Lanai hitting it off immediately, inspecting the others unit. While Maxwell tried with all his might stayed away until the group of pilots converge on his spot, forcing conversation.
Orb, June 12th
Aarav walked through the halls of the military base, making his way towards the hanger. A few days ago, the Archangel crew had arrived back in the natural country after deserting a battle in Alaska. Walking into the hanger, the male walks towards his machine before being stopped by a familiar voice. Stopping, he turned towards the sound.
"Mr. Young!" Turning to his right, he saw a brown-haired boy with purple eyes walked up to him with a slight smile on his face.
"Oh? Kira, right, Kira Yamato?"
"Yes, sir," Kira, the would-be pilot of the Strike Gundam, said while he stopped in front of the older man.
"...I'm surprised your alive after we found the Strike in the condition it was in..."
"Yeah, I'm still trying to figure out how I survived that myself."
Silence fell upon the two as Aarav walked up towards his custom unit, getting on the lift.
"So? What's up?"
"Umm. You're a coordinator, too, right?" Kira asked out of nowhere. Aarav raised a brow.
"Yea, what of it? Something on your mind, kid?" Kira pondered on his words for a second, still feeling some type of confusion at what was told to him the day before he left.
"Well, you see, I went and visited my parents- Uncle and Auntie- before we left."
"Sounds to me that you found out something rather important?" Aarav turned to the young man with a hand on his hip.
"After I went to speak to my then parents, I found out that they were actually my adoptive Uncle and Auntie. They went on about who my birth parents were, and eve found out Cagalli is my twin sister! Also-" Kira caught himself from rabbling and realized he had just told a secrete. Aarav burst out laughing as the young boy went red from embarrassment.
"Hey, I always thought you two looked similar in some from or fashion! Would you look at that! That means your a prince then, huh?"
"T...That's not all."
"Eh?"
"There's something else about me. That if it got out, it'd cause an uproar."
"I'm listening," Aarav couldn't help but show his curiosity, leaning in closer towards the teen. It was weird a little that he trusted him to this degree, but he can't betray it. After all, if it weren't for him, the lad wouldn't even know about this. The words ran through his brain as he digested what the young coordinator said until it hit him. The perfect Coordinator, a successful one, was actually alive and breathing.
Command ship Liz. Hanger
"Watch out! Enemies coming from all sides! Be careful!" Sabina called towards the pilot, who was frantically looking around seeing a plethora of GINNs swarming her. Sweat bead down her cheek as she responded as best as she could. Though it was futile, The GINNs quickly and effectively took out her machine within a matter of seconds.
"Damnit!" Lanai clentched her controls as the hatch open automatically.
"Good try, but remember you can't just sit still, especially in space. Enemies can come from many sides at any time," Sabina leaned over the railing and tossed her a water bottle. The container floated into Lanai's hands as she whipped off the sweat from her head.
"Thanks," taking a big gulp, the coolness of the liquid calmed her.
"Luckily, her first sortie won't be in space. We've received orders from HQ. So we're headed to earth," Vince walked in with Deeraj and Maxwell.
"Gravity," Maxwell scoffs, a clear disgusted look on his face.
"Since we're on the topic, has anyone ever experience combat on the ground before?" Deeraj asked as he looked around for each answer. Only two raised their hand, and one of them wasn't even a pilot. Maxwell and Lanai haven't fought on actual soil before, yet, they've been through simulations of the feeling thanks to gravity in the hanger. "Tch, damn, Vince, you and me will have to lead here, especially since it'll be on rough terrain."
"Roger," Vince saluted his higher up and got in a line.
"Listen up. We're all departing tomorrow besides Vince. The date of the attack is within next week. The date is yet unknown. Go get ready!"
"Roger!" The group said as They dismissed.
"Vince, come here for a second," Deeraj motioned for the young man to step aside with him real quick. "Whatever unit you'll be using, it'll greatly affect our performance. Choose wisely."
"I'm going out in my old unit and then leave it on earth, as it's already tuned for the dessert."
"Right, fix up anything that could be fatal and be ready," Deeraj turned and walked towards the door. Maxwell peering his head over towards the young fellow pilot.
"Seems you get special treatment, what's up with them using you as surprise attacks when you've shown that you're an all-around player?"
"Whhatt? Cook showing praise?!" Vince held his hands on his cheek in a surprised shocked manner, making Maxwell roll his eyes. Vince chuckled to himself and walked over towards his two units.
Deeraj sighed as he walked into his new room, laying down for the first time since he got on board the ship.
"Damn, who would've thought being top ace and commander would've been so tiring. Well, at least Vince is good support... But still," Deeraj looked over towards his computer reading over the command given. "This is ballsy, even for us... What are they planning- Wait," Deeraj skimmed over the same paragraph again seeing that three days from now, they'll be attacking orb. Aarav...