Chapter five is up. I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Saul, Ian, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, the Raven, or the Surge Gundams. They all belong to Akatsuki_Leader13. Nor do I own Gundam. I only own Akira, Tao, Nisha, NASA/NAZAFT, the 7th Fleet, the Wing, Z.A.M., and Diver Gundams.
There will be some major divergences from the main storyline in canon and in SEED: A Retelling, even though this is based off Akatsuki-Leader13's fic.
The Earth Alliance will also not have all members be anti-Coordinator.
Note to all readers: I am going to ask those who have an account to sign in to leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least to put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in to leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are. If you do not have an account, the feel free to leave a review anyway. Just no outright hatred of the story please.
Read and review please!
C.E. 71 – War has been raging for 11 months between the Earth Alliance and the PLANTs. With their superior numbers, it seemed inevitable the Earth Forces would win. But the PLANTs unveiled new technology and began to gain the upper hand. Now, 10 months after the initial conflict began, the war is at a stalemate…
January 25th, C.E. 71
Outer Space…
Onboard the Vesalius…
"Damn it!" Yzak shouted loudly. "There were five of us and only four of them, yet we still lost!"
Yzak needed to learn some anger management skills, that much Saul knew. He continued to watch the other boy complain about their loss.
Then Yzak grabbed Athrun and pushed him against the locker walls. "Why did you not open fire when you had a clear shot?! HUH?!" Saul was also puzzled. Athrun had had a large window of opportunity to take out both machines, yet he didn't.
"Stop it, Yzak!" Nicol cried. "The enemy is out there, not in here!"
Yzak just shoved Athrun away from him, still pissed about the loss. "It's because of him that we lost to four Naturals!"
Saul sighed. "You're underestimating Naturals once again, Yzak. But it's not like that matters now anyway." He faced his teammates. "Those pilots were not Naturals. They were actually Coordinators. That would explain as to how good they actually were."
Nicol, Dearka, and Yzak all stared in shock while Athrun just looked away from them.
"NO WAY! You mean I fought a Coordinator?!" Yzak shouted.
"How can you be so sure about that info?" Nicol asked. Saul just looked at him. "The pilot of the Raven told me himself." he explained.
Yzak just snarled in anger. "So Coordinators were piloting those things. We'll just take them out then." He growled.
"Those were our orders to begin with." Saul reminded Yzak, who just snarled at the other Coordinator.
Athrun just looked away, a depressed expression on his face. None of them knew his little secret anyway…
Bridge of the Odin
"Bring us towards the Gamow and Vesalius. Hail the Vesalius once we're in range." Diana Kessel ordered as she, Lucas, and Ajay stepped onto the bridge of her ship.
"Aye, sir!" Captain Lee as the crew of the Odin followed her orders.
Diana sat in her chair as her ship, the Odin and its sister ships, the Valkyrie and the Einherjar, took off towards the ZAFT warships. A few minutes later, the bridge of the Vesalius appeared on the main screen.
"Ah…Commander Kessel." The masked snake of a man purred. "To what do we owe the pleasure of a visit from the 11th Fleet?"
"Someone has to keep an objective record of your colossal failure and incompetence. The failure to destroy a new warship in drydock, involvement in the destruction of neutral, civilian colony, the failure to capture not one, but four prototype mobile suits, repeated failures to capture or destroy said machines and warship and of course, the latest failure. Despite the fact that you had two warships and five mobile suits, you still lost to a single warship, four mobile suits and a lone mobile armor." Diana bluntly said. "Frankly, I don't see how you can escape punishment for all of this, even with Patrick Zala helping you out."
"We shall see. Even you could not possibly succeed where we have failed." Le Creuset replied. "Speaking of the council, they have called the Vesalius back. I was going to order the Gamow to continue following the legged ship. If you want, you can take command of the Gamow and try your luck at capturing the legged ship. If not, then I can always call on the famed 'Maverick Fleet' to take a try…"
She knew what Le Creuset was trying to accomplish. He wanted her to try and fail like he had so he could discredit the men and women under her command, and he was willing to even throw in the 'Maverick Fleet' to try and reach that goal. A small unseen smirk crossed her face at the thought of the infamous fleet. 'Like they would obey you…'
Of course, it was also a tremendous gamble as well. If she…and the 'Maverick Fleet' succeeded, then they could show his incompetence even more. "I'll play your game Le Creuset. But first, I require two copies of all the data of the captured machines and any data on the legged ship and its mobile suits."
"Of course. I'll have two copies transferred to you immediately. Good luck, Commander Kessel. You're going to need it with the legged ship now inside Artemis."
"I don't need luck, Creuset."
"Oh by the way, Mu La Flaga is on board the legged ship." Creuset said with a smirk. "I thought you would want to know."
Most of the Odin's bridge crew glanced at her. They all knew of her desire to defeat the Hawk of Endymion after he had humiliated her at Endymion. She had been the fifth mobile suit at Endymion that Mu La Flaga had shot down. Though she survived, she had not forgotten the humiliation of being shot down by a lone mobile armor.
"I was already aware Creuset. There's only one Moebius Zero pilot left, La Flaga." she said coldly as she stood up. "I will shatter the Umbrella of Artemis and capture the legged ship and its mobile suits." 'Me and the 7th Independent Mobile Fleet, whether you like it or not…'
Constitution Bridge…
7th Fleet commander Chang White stood on the bridge of the Constitution, the main screen showing the Vesalius leaving the area. 'Good…he's leaving.'
"Bring up Commander Kessel and the 11th Fleet on communications. She may have some new information for us." The older man ordered. His blue-grey eyes, complemented by his black hair, were hard as he looked at the main screen. A first-gen Coordinator, he had been born in the AEU in secrecy. After he had been found to be a Coordinator, Chang had fled to NASA to stay alive. He had been in ZAFT for five years by the time Junius Seven had been destroyed. A tactical genius, he was one man who was to never be messed with. Even the EA knew this.
After he had made Commander, Chang had then rounded up Coordinators that were considered to be too liberal for even the 11th Fleet and they had become the infamous 7th Independent Mobile Fleet, a fleet that was considered to be too untrustworthy in battle due to the fact that they had fired upon ZAFT forces in several cases, most of which had been the ZAFT officers who supported the radical faction. But even then, it did not change the fact that the 7th Fleet was dangerous, even to the Earth Alliance, which was why Chang was still in command of the fleet and why they were still around.
The image of Diana Kessel then appeared on the main monitor. "Commander White…what a surprise…" she mused. "Let me guess, you were observing the…incursion…between the legged ship and the Le Creuset Team?"
"Yes, we were. That ship is nothing to be underestimated, especially since they defeated the 'elite' Le Creuset unit." The older man replied.
Commander Kessel looked to the window before looking back at Commander White, a serious look in her eyes. "That is why I have contacted you. Creuset is asking me to try and destroy the legged ship and he was willing even throw you guys in as well."
A growl escaped Commander White. "That man is always up to something…" he muttered as he looked down at his fists.
"Indeed…Anyway, that is why I am asking you to help me out. Knowing your…'situation'…you would be the most ideal to try and stop the legged ship with us. Just your mere presence will give Creuset a shock." Commander Kessel said as she looked at him in the eyes.
"I see…use our reputation against him and to our advantage…" Commander White mused as he thought about it. "Very well, then. We'll help." He said.
A nod from his fellow commander was his only reply before the screen shut down.
Artemis Base…
"Well, it seems that you three are indeed Lieutenants Murrue Ramius and Mu La Flaga, and Ensign Natarle Badgiruel." The commander of Artemis said as he looked the three up and down. The portly man then grinned. "I am Gerard Garcia, commander of Artemis Base." He said, introducing himself.
Murrue made to speak when Garcia interrupted her. "I am so sorry about that. After all, you were an unidentified ship being followed by not only two ZAFT ships, but also the famous 7th Fleet and 11th Fleet as well. Now that that is all cleared up, I welcome you to Artemis Base for as long as you need to stay."
Murrue did not like Garcia at once. He was like a bureaucrat, and from the way he was acting, he did not care about those on the Archangel at all. In fact, all he was after was the ship, the machines, and a big fat promotion.
"Thank you Commander, but all we really need is supplies and we will be leaving you shortly." Murrue replied as politely as she could.
Garcia seemed to sigh at that point. "I am afraid that is out of the question, my dear. You see, although the Nazca-class has left, the Laurasia-class is still out there on the edge of our sensors. It is not alone either…" his voice took on an eerie tone. "Have you ever heard of the famed 11th Autonomous Mobile Fleet and the 7th Independent Mobile Fleet?" he asked.
Murrue and Mu both gasped while Natarle just stared. Those fleets were there as well?! The commander then typed in a command, and up came a screen showing the area in space where the fleet was.
"As you can see, the 7th Fleet and the 11th Fleet are out there. You must have done some pretty good damage to have the both fleets after you, hence why we cannot allow you to leave. If you do, then you will easily be destroyed."
"Damn." Mu cursed. "I hoped to never run across those ships and their sisters again, especially since they were the reason I escaped alive."
"As you can see, you have attracted a lot of attention. Why would you want to go out if you have the six famous fleet ships after you?" Garcia asked, a smirk on his face at the sight. "Here, you all are safe, especially from those six ships. They cannot get close enough to attack without us detecting them and activating the Umbrella. Nothing can get through and they will eventually get tired and leave. It happens all the time, actually." Garcia purred.
"Do not underestimate the six ships. You clearly have never seen them in combat." Mu snapped. "Their reputation as the six best ships is well deserved."
"I have actually, La Flaga. I was at Endymion. I know how deadly those six ships are as a team, but not even the feared 7th and 11th Fleets can penetrate this base." Garcia replied.
"Don't underestimate them." Mu snarled back. "A lot of better commanders, all EA, have died because of it."
Garcia did not hear Mu though. "Anyway, I suggest you all get some R and R. You appear to be exhausted. I'll have some rooms prepared for all of you."
He pushed the call button on his desk, and in came a pair of guards. Even though he had not said it, the Archangel crew knew that they were prisoners on Artemis Base.
On the Gamow
Thirty minutes later…
Saul wandered down the corridors of the Gamow knowing that he was working with the people that his sister hated so much. Now that his commanding officer, Athrun and the Vesalius were gone, the ship was now under the temporary command of the 11th Fleet and her command.
"Hey, Saul!" Dearka cried from behind.
Saul looked over at the other ZAFT pilot, a bit surprised that he had found him. "What is it?" he asked.
"I'm wondering about the 11th Fleet. We'll be working with them, so I figured I would ask you, considering that you fought alongside them once." Dearka replied.
The other boy sighed. "Well, I don't know much about the 11th Fleet beyond what everybody else knows. But my sister, that's a whole other story. Let me give you the only advice you'll need for dealing with her. Don't lie to her, don't argue with her and do whatever she tells you to do. And you'll avoid castration."
Dearka stared in shock. "You're kidding me, right?" he asked.
Saul stared back at him with a dead serious expression. "Nope."
"Oh man…she sounds crazy." Dearka whispered.
"Not really. But she'll kick your ass if you piss her off." he replied. "In fact, she broke some idiot's arms after he almost got her squad killed during a training exercise."
"Damn. That is one woman I will never piss off." Dearka remarked.
Saul nodded. "Tell me about it."
"How are you even related to someone like that?"
"Actually, I'm the black sheep of the family. My parents are more like her than me." Saul sighed and added, "Well, we got a couple of hours until the briefing, so I'm gonna take a nap. See ya later."
"Wait!" Dearka called. Saul looked back. "What about the 7th Fleet? Do you know anything about them, seeing as they will be helping us as well?"
Saul felt his face pale at the mere mention of the fleet. "They are working with us?!" he asked.
Dearka nodded. "Yeah. It seems that your sister called out to them for help, because their ships are not too far from our own."
"Other than the fact that they are a fleet known for attacking ZAFT's forces at times and well-known for acting on their own, no, I know nothing." Saul replied.
A nod from the other pilot seemed to be all that he needed. "Thanks. See you in two hours!"
A few minutes later, Saul entered his quarters and crashed on his bed. He glanced at the bed opposite his. Rusty's bed.
Saul sighed. It was hard to believe that his friend was dead. He found it strange. Just this morning, he had talked, joked and laughed with him, Miguel and the others. And now they were dead. Gone forever. He remembered Matthew talking about how when the war was over, he was going to propose to his girlfriend. He remembered Miguel's reason for becoming a soldier in the first place, to earn money for his sick younger brother. Now who would help his brother? Who ever said 'war is hell' was right.
BEEP...BEEP...BEEP...
Saul groaned. Someone was calling him. He got up and moved to the terminal built into his desk. He pushed the call button. "Yes?"
"A private message from the Odin for you." the Comm officer said.
Saul sighed. It was his sister. "Patch it through."
The screen changed to the face of his sister. "Is this channel secure?" she asked.
"Give me a moment." Saul replied as he typed in a series of commands on the terminal. "Oh. And it's nice to see you too, sister."
Saul had hacked the Gamow's systems within a few hours of coming on board. It had been painfully easy to hack. And so were most normal military computers for that matter. But that was a whole other story.
"Okay. It's secure." Saul said. "What do you want?"
"Any and all unedited records from all operations during the incident at Heliopolis and all the data on the Earth Forces' mobile suits and the legged ship. I don't trust the data he gave us." his sister said in her usual cold and blunt tone.
"Is that all? I thought this was going to be something hard." Saul said as he started typing.
A moment later, he transferred a copy of all the data on the mobile suits and legged ship to the Odin. "There's the mobile suit data." he said as he started searching for the rest of the data she wanted. "And here comes the...What?"
"What is it?"
Saul stared in disbelief at the screen. "All the data on Heliopolis and its destruction is gone..." he said as searched for some trace of the data. "There's no trace of it. All the data is completely gone."
"Creuset, that sneaky bastard." Diana cursed. "He must have removed all traces of what really happened just in case I'd try something like this. And I almost had him too."
"You really hate Creuset." Saul commented.
"Our parents worry a lot about Hong Fa Wu." Diana said. "And while Wu is dangerous, he is little more than a mad dog. Wild, angry, predictable. The truly dangerous one is Creuset. The man is a viper hiding in the bushes, waiting to strike upon the unsuspecting victim. A man like that is the one to truly fear."
Constitution bridge…
Commander Kessel's report had reached the infamous 7th Fleet as soon as she had learned of the data's destruction.
Commander White snarled in rage at the missing data. "Damn that Le Creuset…never thought he would get rid of the data. Very sneaky…" he muttered.
"We almost had him too." Aisha added. "Removing the data proved to be a bad mistake. Now we have Wu to worry about as well. While Wu will be easier to handle, Creuset is the real threat. He is a snake, so we have to extra alert that he does not use us as well."
"He is either just being paranoid, or he is hiding something from us."
Tao huffed at the exclamation. "And to make things worse, he is very manipulative of everyone he meets. That is a trait that many should fear." She replied.
Heidi just growled in response. "No one should be that manipulative…it is not normal."
"That is true. But what bothers me is how there are no records of his birth anywhere in the PLANTs." Araiya said as she looked the others over.
Commander White's face then took on a grim look. "That is worrisome…" he murmured.
Josh just let out a yawn. "Whatever the cause, he's definitely out to get us. That we can't deny…" Despite his laid-back remark, Josh was right, Commander White noted with a chill.
It was silent as they all reflected on their position.
More than once, they had fired on ZAFT forces as a way of expressing their disapproval of the Council's actions and orders. Even though no lives had been lost in all of those cases, they had been branded the 'Maverick Fleet' because of their actions. And there was nothing they could do about it. The only reason they had not been disbanded and thrown in prison long ago was due to the fact that they were even more dangerous than the 11th Fleet, and yet that was of little help to them…
January 26th, C.E. 71
On the Gamow…
The top officers of the 11th, the captain of the Gamow and the remaining members of the Creuset Team were gathered around the display table in the back of the bridge. The screen of the table displayed a read out of the Artemis Base and its Umbrella shield.
There were five officers of the 11th Fleet. It was the commander and her four top officers. First was Lucius Raveshaw, the second-in-command of the 11th Fleet, a dark-skinned man of average size and height, clad in a ZAFT red coat uniform. His white hair was cut in a standard military style. His red eyes always seemed like they were studying and analyzing everyone and everything around him.
Standing next to him, was whom many considered to be the polar opposite of Lucius, was Ajay Cortez. Also clad in a red uniform and a toothpick in his mouth, Ajay was a bit thinner and taller than Lucius. Ajay's demeanor and stance were quite different from his comrade. Where Lucius was standing straight and at attention, like a proper soldier, Ajay was relaxed and laid-backed. His long, dirty blond hair was tied into a loose ponytail.
The next officer was a giant of a man, clad in a white uniform. He was Basque Gideon, Commander of the Einherjar and its mobile suits. Basque's head was almost entirely shaved bald, expect for a long black braided ponytail and a matching beard and mustache.
The fourth officer was a woman, wearing a white uniform with male pants instead of the female skirt. Lisa DeCosta, Commander of the Valkyrie and its mobile suits. She had short brown hair and green eyes.
The finally there was the Ice Queen of the 11th Fleet herself, Diana Kessel. Clad in a white uniform with male pants. Her eyes were an icy blue, much like her icy demeanor. She had short, straight black hair.
On the main screen were the commander and top officers of the 7th Fleet as well. Commander White, Commander of the 7th Fleet ship the Andrews, was in the middle of the screen, Constitution commander Tao was on the top left, Araiya, Commander of the ship the Orleans, was top right, Josh was bottom left, and Heidi was bottom right.
"The Umbrella of Artemis is a lightwave barrier that blocks any and all incoming attacks. But it also blocks their attacks as well." Lucius Raveshaw said.
"So basically, we can't do anything and they can't do anything." Dearka said. "What a useless weapon."
"Perhaps. But as a purely defensive weapon, it's formidable." Lucius said. "Added to this, is the strategic unimportance of the Artemis Base. Because of its unimportance, no one has come up with a means to break the shield. However, this works to our advantage as well."
"He's right. Anything that they have will be of almost no use to them." Tao said from on the screen.
"What? How does that help us?" Yzak asked.
"Simple." Ajay smugly said. "All the guys inside Artemis have grown fat, lazy and complacent. They think that nothing can break through their precocious Umbrella. Which means when we do break it, they'll run around in shock like a chicken with its head cut off."
"Correct." Lucius said.
"That will give us the advantage when we strike next." Araiya noted.
"Let's just smash this 'Umbrella of Artemis' already." Basque said.
"Easier said than done." Lucius said. "I doubt anything short of a nuclear explosion could damage the barrier."
"Okay. So what's the plan? Wait for them to come out?" Dearka said with a chuckle.
"Quit joking around Dearka." an annoyed Yzak said. "What will the commander say when he gets back and we haven't finished this off? Do you want to be the one to tell him that we did nothing?"
"Enough." Commander Kessel said. "The Umbrella of Artemis will fall today."
"And just how are we gonna do that?" Dearka asked. "As long as the shield is up, we can't attack."
"And the only time they turn the Umbrella off is when we're out of their sensor range." Saul added. "But the second we get close to them, they'll raise it back up again."
"It seems impenetrable, but everything has a weakness." Commander White mused.
"There is a way to break that shield and shatter Artemis." Diana said. "The Blitz."
Artemis Base
In the Archangel…
Akira was now getting annoyed. He was already in a bad enough mood for being with the EA, but this was just going too far. Everyone else from the Archangel was crammed into the mess hall of the ship with armed guards outside. And they had been like that for hours as well. There was no doubt in his mind that he and everyone else were under arrest for being on the ship.
Chris was also annoyed, but not for the same reasons as Aki'. His reasons did not really exist at all.
The doors to the mess hall hissed open to reveal a fat, portly looking man in uniform, accompanied by soldiers.
"I am Commander Gerard Garcia of Artemis Base. I wish to know who the pilots of the Mobile Suits in the hanger are." He said.
"You mean the captain did not tell you? Or do you not have clearance?" an officer from the bridge asked.
Akira and Chris did not know his name, but his comment did not help at all.
"Who are the pilots?" Garcia asked a more forceful tone. One of the soldiers with him punched the man hard.
Kira was about ready to stand up and admit to being one of the pilots, yet the chief engineer, Murdoch, was keeping him in place. The crew was either just trying to protect the boy, or keep him in place for themselves. Aki' was convinced it was the latter. Chris on the other hand, knew that the crew was trying to protect him.
"It was Lieutenant La Flaga and Ensign Badgiruel." Another officer replied. Garcia just smirked at him.
"I saw the battle. Lt. La Flaga is a Mobile Armor pilot and the Ensign is an officer of the bridge, not a pilot." He sneered. "So, who are the pilots?"
No one answered, so Garcia assumed they were not going to tell. "Hmmm…I wonder. The captain is a female, so I have to guess that the pilots are also female." He purred.
The man stopped where he, Kira and the others were sitting. "Perhaps they are also disguised as civilians so we cannot figure out who they really are." Garcia added with a sneer.
Garcia grabbed Flay's arm and yanked her up so roughly Nisha was about to attack. But the boy held back.
"Let me go!" Flay shrieked. The man just laughed at her panic. "Leave her alone now!" Sai demanded. But Garcia just backhanded the boy, making Kira and Chris stand up at that point.
"Let her go. I am the one you want." He said. Garcia just shoved Flay into a guard's arms. "A mere child? Hmph. There is no way that a brat could pilot such a machine. Now, where are the real pilots?!" He snarled.
He made to punch Kira in the face, but the boy just sidestepped the blow and threw Garcia over his shoulder to the ground.
"See?!" a panicked Flay cried. "He is a Coordinator! He is the pilot! They all are!" she added, pointing out Akira, Chris and Nisha as well.
"Nice going, Flay!" Sai growled from his spot on the broken table.
"Now this changes everything. Are you three the other pilots?" Garcia asked in a smooth tone. Nisha just growled while Akira said nothing. Chris too remained silent. "Very well, then. Take them to the interrogation chamber." He ordered. But before the guards could grab Akira however, he then grabbed the wrist of one and threw him to the ground before lashing out with a martial arts kick. Getting into his stance, the boy heard guns cocking at him.
'Just surrender for now…' he reminded himself, raising his hands slowly. Nisha did the same thing, not wanting to fight.
Chris received a punch to the head from one of the guards next. He stumbled from the blow, but managed to stay standing. He quickly turned to the other soldiers, slipping into a martial arts stance, and kicked the guard who had punched him in the stomach. The blow sent the guard crashing into a table behind him. Chris then heard the sound of guns cocking at him as well.
'Yeah…better stop while I'm ahead…' he sighed and raised his hands in surrender.
"Now that is better." Garcia purred. "Take all five to the hanger."
Outside Artemis…
The Constitution, the Andrews, the Orleans, the 11t Fleet, and the Gamow all turned and prepared to leave the area. But as they did so, the hangers of the Gamow opened up and the Blitz launched. A few minutes later, it vanished from view and all sensors.
On the Gamow…
"The Mirage Colloid. A perfect weapon for a coward." Dearka commented as Nicol left the ship.
"He is not a coward. He is just the perfect one to send in. Besides, he is the bravest of us all for doing this. All of us joined ZAFT for our own reasons, yet Nicol just wants to protect the PLANTs." Saul countered.
"Why did you join ZAFT?" Dearka asked.
"I did it to get my sister and my parents off my back." Saul replied. "I was fated to join ZAFT the moment I was born. So I'm just going with the flow."
Artemis Base…
Once the seven ZAFT ships left the sensor range, the Umbrella was dropped. No one was aware of the machine getting closer, or of the near betrayal however…
"So you want us to remove the locks on the OS's?" Kira asked. "For starters, yes. But you four could do a lot more. You could analyze and build another machine, or an even more effective weapon against ZAFT."
"We are just students of ORB, not some people that can be hired by you fucking selfish excuses for soldiers!" Akira snarled. "Oh, what was that, Coordinator?" Garcia asked smugly.
"I said, we will not work for you, ever!" Akira shot back. "Well, you four are traitors to the PLANTS, after all." Garcia murmured.
"Traitors…" Kira was stunned, too stunned to even speak. "Pay no attention to him, Kira. He is just a lying snake." Chris replied.
"He is just a jerk." Nisha remarked, making Chris smirk.
"Then, why are you fighting against the PLANTs, and for the EA?" Garcia asked in an innocent sounding voice.
"We are not fighting for anyone, and for your information, 'our people' are the ones on the Archangel." Nisha replied.
"Very well, then. Throw the girl out of the air lock-" he was cut off by the sound of a gun cocking. Nisha, Chris, Flay, Kira, Garcia, and the soldiers with them turned around, only to see Akira aiming a gun at them all.
"You will be doing no such thing." He snarled. "Well, are you going to shoot one of those you care about and work for, space monster?" Garcia sneered. A dangerous gleam appeared in the boy's golden eyes, one Nisha had only seen once before.
"Aki'…" he murmured. Then, the shocking news came. "I don't work for those creeps who killed my sister! And, I will shoot you! I am a soldier of ZAFT, and I will defeat those responsible for her death!" Akira snarled as he aimed the gun at Garcia's chest. Flay stared in shock, as did Nisha and Kira. Chris was also stunned. A ZAFT officer had been in their midst?!
"You…are…a part of…ZAFT?!" Nisha asked in shock. "Yes, I am. I'm sorry for not telling you Nisha, but you need to understand why I am doing this." The other boy explained.
Chris was unable to say a word, as the shock had made it impossible for him to speak or even think clearly.
Flay stared in shock at the boy holding the gun. "You wouldn't!" she shrieked. Akira did not even waver as he kept the gun aimed. "Let the girl go now!" he snarled at Garcia. In response, however, the guards aimed their own guns at Akira.
"I would put the gun away and do as I asked. The fact that you work for ZAFT changes nothing…" Garcia purred. Seeing that he was outnumbered, Aki' just growled. He did not release the gun, however. Garcia growled at the lack of response, so he faced Chris, Nisha, and Kira instead.
"You two will do as I asked, or she will die!" the portly man snarled. Nisha, Chris, and Kira did not know what to do. Both just remained there, unmoving. Only when a guard began to shove Flay towards the air-lock did the three of them move.
"Fine…" Nisha growled. He did not like this one bit, and the fact that his cousin was a part of ZAFT still had him in shock. Aki' growled, but did not move. Surrounded by guards, the boy could not fire, and that was frustrating.
Nisha, Chris, and Kira then hopped into the cockpits of their machines, Garcia glaring at Aki' with an angry look. "You had better do so too, Patchworker, or she will suffer far worse than your sister did…" he snarled. That prompted a snarl in Aki' yet he did so anyway.
Upon entering the Wing's cockpit, the Coordinator looked at Flay, who had fear in her eyes. Aki' sighed and began to get to work, only to stop at realizing what he was doing right then. 'No! I will not help them! I won't!' he reminded himself.
Then, Akira looked at the guards around the cockpit of the Wing. Suddenly, he closed up the cockpit, the door sliding shut. The guards yelped as the Phase Shift armor came online. "What are you doing?!" Garcia shouted.
That gave Kira, Chris, and Nisha time to shove their guards away, just as an explosion occurred. A gasp escaped Garcia as he realized what was happening. "What is going on?!" he stammered out.
"We are under attack!" Kira snapped. "What do you think we are doing right now, leaving for the ZAFT forces?!"
Right then and there, the Raven knelt down and held out its hand for Flay to get on. Chris was not about to let Flay suffer at the hands of that selfish excuse for a human being.
"Get on!" he called, using the exterior speakers of the Raven to speak to her directly. Flay nodded and hopped onto the appendage. Garcia and his men could not stop the machine from standing up and taking Flay away from them.
Chris allowed the cockpit door to open and Flay hopped in, the door hissing shut.
"Thank you…" Flay murmured. She was shocked that a Coordinator had helped her out, yet she was not complaining.
"Don't mention it, just don't touch anything." Chris reminded her as the girl wedged herself into the space between the seat and the wall.
Chris then activated the com-line to the Strike. "Kira, Nisha, let's see if we can get out of here and what we can do to help." The boy said.
"Right, Chris." The other boy replied as he loaded the Sword Striker onto the Strike's back.
"You got it!" Nisha replied as he activated the Phase Shift armor.
"You should not have said that to the guy…" Chris explained to Flay as he looked at her.
"What?" Flay asked. She seemed to be genuinely confused.
"What you said back in the mess hall. You should not have said that we were Coordinators." Chris clarified. Flay looked shocked.
"Why? It is only the truth. Besides, they are our allies, right?" Flay asked weakly. She was eager to prove that she was right.
Chris just scoffed at the weak defense Flay had. "Allies? Hardly. Eurasia may be an ally in words, but in actions they are not. That commander doesn't give a damn about us really. All he wants is a promotion for giving us, the machines, and the ship over to his superiors. Hell, he was going to throw you out of an airlock just to get us to do what he wanted!" he snarled. "The world is not all black and white. There is no real good vs. evil fight. There are grey areas in the world. Don't believe that it is all there is."
Flay was silent as the Wing, the Raven, the Z.A.M. Gundam, and the Strike all headed out into the area that was the chaotic Artemis Base port.
Outside Artemis…
The 7th Fleet, the 11th Fleet, and the Gamow were all closing in on Artemis Base at once. The shield now gone, the teams now had an opening to attack. The time to finish it off was now.
The Duel, the Buster, the Surge, the Diver, and the Custom GINNs of the six ships were all quickly launched from their respective warships.
"Listen up men." Diana Kessel said over the comm. "Team 3, will enter the hanger first. Focus your fire on the docked ships and the base itself. Team 1 will follow Team 3 and attack the legged ship while Team 2 will remain behind in reserve to catch escaping ships. I want the legged ship's engines and weapons disabled. As well as the four mobile suits disabled and captured. If that is not possible, then destroy them. But leave the Moebius Zero to me. Understand?"
Only her brother and the rest of the Creuset Team responded. The men and women under her command were well trained and didn't need to respond. They would follow out her orders to the letter. The 7th remained silent as well. It was the same situation with them. They were well trained and no response was needed.
"Good. Let us end both Artemis and the legged ship here and now." she said. "For the Black Hawk!"
"For the Black Hawk!" the pilots of the 11th Fleet shouted back before the mobile suits rocketed off towards the Artemis Base and their prey.
"All units, listen up." Commander White said over the com-line to his own fighters. "Team 1 will help Team 3 of the 11th with the hanger. Team 2 will attack any ships that try to interfere with the mission, and Team 3 will stay on stand-by as needed. The legged ship should be disabled as should the four machines that are with it. If that is not possible, try and destroy the units. Understand?"
"Yes sir!" was the reply.
Mobile armors scrambled out of the large main hanger, in an attempt to engage them. But they were no match for the aces of the 11th or the 7th. A hail of bullets and beams tore through mobile armors. Gideon's GINN and the rest of the GINNs of the Einherjar raced ahead of the others. The Team 3 members were all heavy weapons experts and were armed accordingly. Several heavy cannons and missiles were fired off, destroying and several warships.
Tao flew around in the Diver, firing on mobile armors that tried to escape her. The pilots were just no match for her or the aces of the 7th.
Basque roared as his GINN, Bruticus, charged forward, firing off his heavy cannon and Gatling guns while the rest of his team followed behind. Many of the docked vessels in the front of the hanger were quickly crippled or destroyed.
"Team 1, move out." Diana ordered.
"Team 2, move to position!" Commander White ordered.
The mobile suits of the Constitution, the Odin, and the Creuset team raced in the massive hanger. They split up, searching for the legged ship and firing upon the mobile armors that were vainly trying to defend their base. They were all minor annoyances that were trying to stop them from reaching their objective. Diana fired off a few rounds at a lone mobile armor, clipping its engines and causing it to crash into the command center of the base, no doubt, taking the base commander with it.
She quickly and easily destroyed three more mobile armors. That was a problem that irritated her. It was too easy. True, the Earth Forces had numbers. But their mobile armors were vastly inferior compared to ZAFT's mobile suits. Truth be told, Diana was growing bored of the war. ZAFT's technology was just too superior. And without challenging opponents, how could she and her men improve if their opponents were all weak. When she learned that the Earth Forces were building mobile suits, she was actually quite happy. It would finally bring a balance to this war and actually challenge her.
It wasn't long before she, her brother, and his two teammates spotted the legged ship and its mobile suits. The Blitz was also there, battling the Strike and the Raven. However, much to Diana's annoyance, there was no Moebius Zero. No Mu La Flaga.
And it seemed that there was a battle between the two remaining machines, with the winged one giving off a ZAFT IFF signal…
Outside the Artemis base hanger…
"Akira, stop this! What you are doing is wrong!" Nisha cried as he dodged an attack launched by the Wing.
"You will NEVER understand what I went through that day!" Aki snapped back. Nisha just pulled back on the controls as a beam shot from the Wing came at him. The beam missed the machine by a few inches, too close for his liking.
"I do, Aki'! You are the one that needs to snap out of it, not me!" Nisha cried. A snarl was released from Akira's vocals as he slashed with one of the beam sabers next. Nisha barely dodged it as he moved his machine backwards.
"What do you know about losing someone close to you?! HUH?!" Akira snarled. A kick from the Wing made contact with the Z.A.M. Gundam's shield.
"I lost my mother. I know what it means to lose someone too!" Nisha shouted. The Z.A.M. Gundam opened fire with its hidden leg missiles, but the Wing dodged them all with no trouble. "I lost her on the same day that Junius Seven was attacked! So I understand the pain you're going through!"
"STOP IT! You don't know what it means to lose someone like my sister! She cared for me when our parents were at work, which was every day! Why can't you understand that!?" Akira screamed over the com-line. Tears were running down the Coordinator's face as he fought.
Nisha just stared as a slew of missiles from the Wing sped at him. The missiles of the Z.A.M. Gundam also launched as he pulled the trigger. A multitude of explosions occurred, just as another explosion from the hanger came out as well.
"Time to end this." Yzak said he opened fire on the Strike and Z.A.M. Gundam.
Diana, Saul and Dearka all followed the Duel, firing on the two Earth Force's mobile suits. The Raven and the Strike dodged their shots while the Raven returned fire with its railguns at the Buster and Duel and the Strike threw its beam boomerang at the Panther. Diana effortlessly dodged the incoming weapon and its rebound, only to come face to face with the Strike with its sword descending on her. But she wasn't some novice pilot. She was the command of one of the best space-combat units in all of ZAFT. She barely managed sidestepped the attack, losing her machine's left arm in the process.
"Leave her alone!" Saul shouted, firing his Hakenfaust claw at the Strike.
The Strike pulled back, avoiding the claw weapon. Diana took that momentary distraction to fire off a burst of rounds at the Strike. But her bullets did nothing against the phase-shift armor of the machine.
'Amazing. These mobile suits make even our machines inferior.'
"You alright, sis?" Saul asked before round of missiles slammed into the Surge.
Diana was about to respond, when she noticed the legged ship was turning around. It was heading towards the open rear hanger door. "I'm fine. Stop the legged ship!"
Huge explosions started tearing through the hanger. The Raven, the Z.A.M. Gundam, and the Strike were falling to the legged ship.
"You're not getting away this time!" Yzak shouted, firing at the retreating mobile suits.
Unfortunately, at that very moment, a massive explosion tore through the hanger, creating a fireball that separated them from the fleeing ship.
'It seems Basque and his men were quicker that I thought they'd be.' Diana thought as the legged ship slipped from their grasp.
Tao watched with amusement as she recalled the team sent in. 'Heidi and her men were quicker than I had anticipated.'
"No!" Yzak shouted in rage and frustration.
"The base is coming apart." Diana said. "All forces, fall back. Fall back."
"All 7th Fleet units, fall back. The base is coming apart. We don't want to be near the explosion when it goes." Tao ordered as her teammates met up with her as well.
All of the ZAFT forces started fleeing the crumbling base. They had destroyed the Artemis Base, but failed in their ultimate objective: the capture or destruction of the legged ship and its mobile suits. But as long as that ship was in space, she, the 11th Fleet, and the 7th Fleet would hunt them. Nothing ever escaped their grasp for very long.
Archangel…
Nisha sat in the Z.A.M. Gundam's cockpit, unable to believe what had happened: Akira had betrayed them all…
Chris could not believe it either. How much longer would they have to suffer? He did not know…
Yep, Akira is a ZAFT pilot. But pay attention to his time of betrayal, as it is important in the future. Any flames will be reported and/or deleted. Constructive criticism is apprieciated as well. Be sure to read and review when you're done reading. :)
