"Oh my god," breathed Lunamaria, looking at the display in her ZAKU and the tactical feed that the Minerva was sharing with her.

An entire fleet was waiting for them. An entire armada. Three carriers and their accompanying battle groups from the Atlantic Federation coming at them direct front. From behind them to the North West were two more carriers and their battle groups from the Equatorial Union. Almost forty warships arrayed against the lone Minerva. No, make that forty five ships, as sonar contacts listed five more barracuda class attack submarines were shown approaching them from below. Immediately, Lunamaria's thoughts turned to surrender, there was almost no chance they would win this fight, but the General's words came to her mind unbidden.

'If you lose this war, they will hunt down you and your people. They will rip and they will burn out the very root of your people until there is nothing left...They believe that if they want to live, you have to die.'

"Emily Towers, GuAIZ R, heading out!" came a call over the radio, and Lunamaria was surprised to see Emily in her suit launch out of the Minerva, firing her thrusters and taking position on the rear port side of the Minerva. Missile racks mounted on the shoulders of her suit, same as hers and Rey's suit.

"Emily?" said Lunamaria, unable to keep the surprise out of her voice as she opened a comm channel to the GuAIZ. Emily's helmeted features, bandages visible even through the visor of her helmet filling the screen.

"Reporting ma'am."

"But, are you cleared to fly?"

"No, but I didn't think a headache would matter too much if the Minerva gets sunk, so like I said before, I've got your back ma'am," answered Emily, a small smile on her face as she said it.

"Glad to hear it," said Lunamaria, truly grateful to have her wingman back at her side, and touched at the dedication.

"Minerva's still trying to hail them," came Rey's voice over the radio, and there was a tense few moments as they all watched the fleets grow ever closer to them. Captain Gladys must have realized too that they couldn't win, and was trying to stall for time. Then, flashes from both fleets, front and back as smoke contrails practically obscured them from sight.

Lunamaria's display lit up in near solid red as the Minerva and her suit struggled to track all the missiles launching from the armada arrayed against them. The phrase, PERMISSION TO ENGAGE, flashed across her screen, and Lunamaria's suit, already linked with the Minerva, Rey's, and Emily's suit, shared data, prioritized incoming threats, and assigned targets in an instant.

The CIWS guns on the Minerva opened up, throwing up a near solid wall of tracers lashing out into the sky to swat down the incoming missiles, anti-missile missiles launching in a flurry from every available launcher on the battleship. Their number joined by the volleys added from the shoulder mounted launchers aboard all their mobilesuits, save for Shinn's, the deck of the Minvera wasnearly completely shrouded in propellant exhaust and smoke from missile launces and the CIWS guns.

There seemed to be a near solid dome of fire, shrapnel, and smoke forming around the Minerva as missiles were intercepted and stopped short of reaching the warship. Even in the craziest simulations that they had run in training, Lunamaria had never seen anything this intense, never emptied a missile pack in four seconds, lamenting that it wouldn't fire faster, and never seen so many missiles breach the defensive screen of a fully operational battleship while it was still firing everything it had.

Gouts of water were erupting around the Minerva as the warships arrayed against them fired their main cannons, firing bracketing shots to find the range and overcome the electronic warfare suite aboard the Minerva spoiling their targeting systems.

Lunamaria fired her beam cannon the instant her missile pack was empty, wiping out a cluster of missiles plunging down towards the Minerva, Shinn, Emily, and Rey doing the same with every primary and secondary weapon available to their suits. It still wasn't enough.

The deck shuddered, and threw Lunamaria against her harness as missiles struck the Minerva, scoring the armoured hull of the warship, and one particularly unlucky hit seeing a plunging missile hit and destroy one of their CIWS guns, thinning their screen of defensive fire.

"Dammit!" cursed Lunamaria, ignoring the plunging missiles, and instead lining up her beam cannon onto the ships launching them. The most forward ship, a frigate filling the reticule, and she smashed down the firing stud, sending a high powered beam blast that ripped a glowing hole from bow to stern in the warship. Detonating its missiles mid launch, causing a flash fire, followed by an ammo detonation that literally ripped the smaller warship apart. She didn't have time to gloat though, already swinging her cannon around for a new target, and trying to keep her suit upright aboard the heaving Minerva as missiles nearly continuously detonated against her hull.

The Tristans sending out high powered beam blasts clearing a hole in the approaching missile swarm and the 420mm Isolde cannons sending out their heavy shells, seeking a hit on the warships to their front.

To anyone other than a coordinator, the mass of warning icons, firing angle calculations, and threat indicators would have been information overload, but Lunamaria was a coordinator, and she had graduated third in her class at the most prestigious flight academy ZAFT had. So as quick as her indigo eyes could flick between each alert, she could devise a counter and a strategy. It was this kind of quick information processing, that allowed her to throw her suit into motion, avoiding a cluster of heavy air-to-ground anti mobilesuit missiles fired by the Spearhead fighters approaching from the Equatorial Union carriers to their rear. The missiles still hit the deck of the Minerva though, tearing another chunk out of its deck armour.

The instant her ZAKU found its footing again, she fired a return shot, dragging the beam so the formation of attacking fighters disappeared in a ripple of explosions. One that had managed to bank away in time, literally ripped apart and exploded by a blast from Emily's hip mounted cannons. Another spearhead exploding as the Emily fired the other, but there were still so many more coming. Then dagger mobilesuits behind them. To their front? More windams and daggers that Shinn was doing his damnedest to keep back, and he was showing why he was chosen for the Impulse, but he was hopelessly outnumbered. None of them could help either. Their mobilesuits were all geared towards space combat, not aerial combat in atmosphere.

Out of the corner of her eye Lunamaria watched the heat of her beam cannon continue to rise with the repeated firing, and the energy of her suit steadily being drained. Even with her suit specialized to carry additional power for the heavy weapon and to be able to cool it, ten more minutes of heavy combat would see her suit drained of power. If she could last ten more minutes. Yet, even though every time she fired, she destroyed either a mobilesuit, fighter, ship, or volley of missiles, it was never enough.

The Minerva was manoeuvring as violently as it was able to in an effort to spoil the aim of the attacking aircraft and mobilesuits, white wakes trailing from the warship in the water even as it spat every kind of armament that it had at its disposal at the attacking craft. Torpedoes firing into the water as fast as they could be loaded, merely to try and counter the underwater threats and prevent them from scoring too many hits on the battleship. The Minerva shuddering every time a torpedo struck it from below. Its main beam cannons wiping a pair of daggers from existence, while the 420mm Isolde cannons opened up an Atlantic Federation cruiser like a metal flower. Then, those same cannons were pierced by a heavy beam shot, the turret exploding and flying into the air as the ammo being loaded exploded in the breech. A gout of flame shooting four hundred feet into the air.

The flash of light, made Lunamaria wince, before her suit could compensate, but it was enough to not see the warning of incoming missiles. Luna cried out as a trio of heavy missiles struck the back of her ZAKU, sending her crashing to the pockmarked deck of the Minerva. The heavy armour of her ZAKU saving her, but the hit damaged her battery, draining precious power in doing so.

She forced her suit up into a kneeling position, before she had even managed to flick her eyes back to her view screens, just in time to see a windam lining up a shot on her. Luna fired first, and the windam disappeared in an explosion of molten metal.

Luna saw Emily firing every weapon her suit had at a wave of fighters approaching, but they fired their payloads all at once, then banked away. Too few shot down by the GuAIZ. Lunamaria's suit counted a hundred inbound missiles, just from that one wave. She fired a beam blast, dragging it as wide as she could, but hit too few of the inbound missiles, and over half of the CIWS guns on the Minerva had already been wiped out. The impact nearly threw her suit to the ground deck again as the payload of anti-ship missiles hit the engines of the Minerva, sending a geyser of flame skyward and oily black smoke to pour from the back of the ship as fires raged. The impact making her strain against her harness. A mechanical groan made the ship shudder as their speed was cut nearly in half. Then Lunamaria's shield on her ZAKU shattered as she blocked one too many beam shots. Even for a coordinator, trying to track the firing angles and the split fraction of a second she was given to dodge was proving a daunting task.

"Clear the firing line of the Tannhauser!" came the curt command over the radio, and Lunamaria moved her mobilesuit out of the way as the positron cannon emerged from its armoured shutter, already charging with power, before in a secure position. A risky, but desperate move by Captain Gladys. The positron cannon was a powerful, but vulnerable weapon. With the incoming fire, if any managed to hit the cannon while charging, before delivering its shot, it would do more damage to them than the enemy.

With a retina searing nova of red light that Lunamaria's ZAKU automatically filtered out, the beam lashed out, clearing a wake of water out of its firing arc like Moses parting the Red Sea. A pair of warships that had ventured too far ahead of the rest of their fleet obliterated in an instant. But then, it stopped.

It impacted an odd mobile armour that had emerged from one of the Atlantic Federation carriers, and it was almost like it was a stream of water hitting a solid wall. When it dissipated, the mobile armour was still there, and so was the Atlantic Federation fleet. A hard, cold pit formed in Lunamaria's at the sight, and it grew twice as large as a beam blast removed the head of Emily's GuAIZ and turned the shoulders of the suit to molten slag, sending her suit tumbling to the deck.

"EMILY!" cried Lunamaria, a beeping alarm notifying her that her ZAKU was almost out of power. Looking at Rey's suit, it was starting to look like it was made out of wax, and slowly melting from the heat. The result of too many near hits of beam shots.

The Minerva was banking hard to port, running back to Orb's territorial waters, but an Orb fleet had assembled behind them and was now blocking their line of retreat.

Lunamaria jumped out of the way of a beam blast that tore a hole into the ship, shooting down the dagger that had fired the shot, but as she tried to move out of the way of a pair of incoming missiles, her controls seized up for a split second, before they responded. A warning icon about damaged servo motors flashed across her screen. It was just long enough though. The missiles hit the chest of the ZAKU and Lunamaria's vision flashed white as her body strained against the harness as the ZAKU was forced back and dragged her down with it. A deafening bang in the cockpit.

As her vision began to clear, it seemed dark and foggy. She blinked her eyes a few times, and her eyes focused on a dark object directly between her eyes. With a start, she realized it was a piece of her cockpit hatch that had fragmented past the spall liner of the ZAKU, stopping in the hardened safety glass of her helmet's visor. The rest of the visor in her helmet a scattered pattern of white spiderweb cracks.

She took off her helmet, realizing that she was dripping with sweat, looking at her shattered view screens, save for one, just in time to see Rey's suit take a hit. The shot taking off an arm, then another removing a leg. His suit falling heavily to the deck.

Her remaining view screen showed an approaching swarm of spearheads, probably having launched from land based air strips, laden with more heavy anti-shipping missiles. Looking to Shinn, she saw that he was too busy still fighting the new mobile armour to help and there weren't nearly enough CIWS guns or missile tubes still active to intercept all the missiles. One of the last guns disappearing in an explosion of metal as a missile impacted it.

She tried to make her ZAKU rise, but the energy meter screeched shrilly at her. There wasn't even enough energy left to raise herself off of the deck.

"Oh my god...we're all going to die," said Lunamaria to herself, voice wavering and cold dread settling in. But...but maybe Meyrin could still get away? The command bridge had its own lifeboat, or at least was close to one, and they were almost to Orb. It was also the most armoured part of the ship, ZAFT having learned to better protect the CIC of its warships. Maybe she could spend the war interned in Orb?

She opened up a quick communication window, and sent a message to a private number. Completely against regulations and a breach of operational security. It was brief and to the point, Lunamaria unsure if she would survive long enough for a longer message.

'I'm so sorry Meyrin, I love you, and know that I just want you to make it out of all this. Tell mom and dad I tried my best.'

Her ZAKU beeped at her, showing a new friendly IFF tag launching from the Minerva just as she finished hitting send. GuAIZ R-2, read the tag. The pilot name however, was blank.

An instant later, the spare GuAIZ R from the hangar landed on the deck heavily, stumbling forward a few steps as it moved to take up position at the exposed stern of the ship where the armour had been peeled away by the volleys of missiles. It's shoulders weighed down with the Wizard missile defence pack.

It took position and stood still for what seemed a painfully long time, especially when the swarm of spearheads flying so low to the water that they sent wakes across the water launched their payload of missiles towards the Minerva. If those hit, it would gut the Minerva and turn the interior of the ship into a raging inferno.

Then, finally, the missiles mounted above its shoulders launched in a ripple of belching fire. A line of explosions behind the Minerva marking the interceptions. When the missile pack ran dry, it starting firing with every weapon system in had available. Most shots going wide, but more than one spearhead fighter disappeared in a fireball.

A near miss from a missile that came from above and behind, made the GuAIZ stumble, nearly falling down. Yet, no ZAFT trained pilot would take so long to recover from such a shock, even aboard a manoeuvring ship. When it did right itself, the CIWS aboard the GuAIZ lit up full force, as it turned its full attention to intercepting incoming missiles. Its beam rifle and hip mounted Gauss cannons firing in tandem, in an impressive, if somewhat inaccurate display of firepower.

"General?" said Lunamaria, realization dawning on her.

"Now Orb is firing on us?" came the disbelieving voice of Shinn over the radio, but Lunamaria hardly heard it. Attention instead, fixing on an EA dagger that had flown past the now almost non-existent defensive screen of the Minerva, and that was now standing on its deck. Pointing its beam rifle at her.

Lunamaria's heart stopped as she stared down the barrel of the beam rifle, time seeming to slow as she saw green energy build at the muzzle. Her eyes narrowing to pinpricks of fear. An instant before the dagger fired, the GuAIZ slammed into it, causing the shot to go wide.

Although mobilesuits are machines piloted by people, watching the GuAIZ and the dagger struggle on the deck, looked exactly like two men trying to kill each other. Which, she supposed was exactly what was happening.

The GuAIZ R tried to bring one of its hip mounted railguns to bear on the dagger at close range, but the dagger smashed the weapon to pieces with its shield, only to use it an instant later to block a point blank beam shot from the GuAIZ R. The explosion from the blast destroying said beam rifle of the GuAIZ R.

The Dagger, then lined up its beam rifle on the GuAIZ R, but an instant before it could fire, the ZAFT suit grabbed the muzzle of the beam rifle, causing it to explode as the beam bolt released its energy while still partially in the barrel, although it destroyed the right arm of the GuAIZ R in doing so.

The dagger drew its beam saber, but was forced to block as the beam blade on the GuAIZ R's shield ignited and the ZAFT suit tried to impale the EA suit with it. The two suits collided in a crash of metal and sparks, The GuAIZ R grabbing hold of the dagger's arm that held the beam saber, while also trying to force the beam saber at the base of its shield into the daggers body, the two machines at an impasse, and too close for the GuAIZ R to use its other hip mounted railgun as they struggled for control.

Then, the EA dagger, grabbed one of its close combat blades from its leg mounted sheath with its free hand and stabbed the GuAIZ R once, twice, three times, sparks erupting from every puncture wound to the ZAFT suit. The third strike looking very close to the cockpit and the ZAFT suit, slumped forwards slightly, like a man gasping in pain.

The EA machine threw itself into another thrust, intent on spearing the pilot of the ZAFT machine, but the GuAIZ R suddenly used the momentum of the dagger against it in what almost looked like a hip throw. Yet the pilot's awkwardness with operating the GuAIZ R didn't allow it to fully work. The dagger still stumbled to the side of the GuAIZ R with the misdirection, and the hip mounted railgun snapped up and fired. The super accelerated projectile shearing through the thigh of the dagger, and throwing up a gout of water as it struck the water off the side of the Minerva.

The dagger fell forward as the sudden loss of a leg, the edge of its chest touching the pink blade of the GuAIZ R's beam saber, its left arm already turned to slag by the weapon in the fall. The ZAFT suit pilot, stepped on the remaining leg of the dagger as it attempted to right itself, pinning it to the deck of the Minerva and using it was a brace as the dagger and GuAIZ R struggled to push their beam weapons into the other suit. The two suits struggling against the other, neither gaining ground.

Lunamaria watched the GuAIZ R rise up slightly, then the torso slam forwards, headbutting the EA dagger with a crash of metal and sparks. Then do it again and again. The plume of the GuAIZ breaking off as the head began to dent, but it was of sturdier construction than the EA dagger whose primary sensor plate cracked, then shattered, the head starting to crumple inwards like a crushed soda can. Then, slowly, ever so slowly, the beam blade of the ZAFT suit began to cut a molten path through the EA dagger. The efforts of the dagger pilot to get away or stop the assault looking for all the world like a man squirming. Then, the dagger fell limp as the beam cut through the cockpit. And then exploded as it ruptured the battery.

Lunamaria watched the GuAIZ R rise from the flames, looking more battered than her own suit, scarred and scored, pieces missing from the suit and dented heavily, before calmly turning and taking pot shots with its remaining railgun at anything still flying around the Minerva. Which was...surprisingly little.

Having been transfixed by the battle directly in front of her, Lunamaria hadn't noticed the targets on her remaining screen disappearing one by one. Rotating the optic in her Zaku's head as much as she could, Lunamaria saw Shinn and the Impulse, absolutely tearing through the Atlantic Federation fleet with the sword silhouette. Untouchable. Nothing that they sent at him be it warship, fighter, or mobilesuit could hit him, let alone stop him.

"How?" wondered Lunamaria aloud. She had seen Shinn's skills at the academy. Trained with him, and seen him fight for real, but he was not this good. No one was. Except, for maybe the pilot of the Freedom.

Rotating the optic of her ZAKU again, she saw the Equatorial Union Fleet which had been spared the majority of damage steaming at full speed away from the Minerva. IFF tags lighting up on her display explained why. It looked like Six vosgulov submarine carriers and their complements were rushing to their aid. From where? She didn't know, but she was grateful nonetheless.

Seeing the approaching friendly ZAFT forces, the battered GuAIZ R suit seemed to stare out over the seas towards them, before firing what remained of its thrusters and hopping down onto the launch ramp of the Minerva, heading back inside its hangar.

Xxx

Lunamaria stared at the interior of the battered GuAIZ R in its docking cradle, the interior more damaged than her own ZAKU had been, blood staining the seat and controls of the suit. Apparently no one had seen who had gotten into or out of the suit, which she found hard to believe.

"Damn, this was close," said Vino, holding up Luna's helmet, looking at the piece of metal still embedded in the visor.

"Nah, still had lots of room," said Lunamaria, offering a self-assured smile to the technician.

"I can't believe what you guys did," said Vino, awe in his voice. "I mean we were able to see a little bit in the exterior cameras before they got smashed, and you guys were doing more than what I bet four times as many other pilots could. You were machines! All those Alliance suits and planes coming at you and they couldn't touch you until you were out of power and ammo. And then Shinn," trailed off Vino, looking off to the hangar floor where a large gaggle of the crew were congratulating the elite pilot.

"We couldn't have done it without you guys," said Lunamaria. "Hey Yolan!" called Luna, getting the attention of the other technician, head popping up at the mention of his name. Lunamaria gave him a thumbs up.

"Suit worked awesome Yolan! I owe you one," said Lunamaria, getting a smile in return, before the technician went back to cutting open the cockpit hatch of Emily's GuAIZ R that had been fused shut, and the other reason why she wasn't down celebrating with everyone else. She wanted to make sure that Emily was okay. Or at least to just know. A medical team with a gurney standing by and trauma team ready just in case. A black body bag on the underside of the gurney, in case of the other alternative.

With a final shower of sparks, the final melted stream of metal keeping the hatch closed was cleared, and a pair of technicians used hydraulic jacks to open up the cockpit. Crying was heard inside, and Lunamaria was never happier to hear it.

"Come on, get her out of there."

"Gently, gently," said another, as the med team sprang into action, pulling Emily from her battered cockpit and removing her helmet.

"Oh god! It hurts! It hurts! I can't take it!" mewled Emily, face and bandages soaked through with blood, eyes shut tight against the light of the hangar. Tears falling away crimson from her face.

"Emily! Emily! It's okay, we've got you now!" Said Luna, grabbing hold of Emily's hand who squeezed it hard in turn.

"Luna? Oh god Luna, it hurts! My head! I can't take it! I can't!"

"We're going to help you," said Lunamaria, as the med team began to rush Emily to the Infirmary, where she would be joining most likely half of the crew. Lunamaria followed as much as she was able to, but eventually the press of bodies was too great, and she was just getting in the way. And god, were there a lot of injured people crowding the halls around the infirmary. The wails of the injured was terrible to hear, the wounds they bore were worse though. Emily had passed out by this point, still breathing, but hand dangling off the side of the gurney.

Lunamaria felt her gorge rise at the sight of one of the engineering technicians, flesh a blackened mass of charred gristle. The features of his face looking like tallow wax exposed to heat and allowed to run. She tore her gaze away and left the doctors to their work.

On her way back to the hangar, she saw a figure in grey walking down a far hallway and immediately sprinted over to catch up.

"General! Sir!" said Lunamaria, stopping short of the Imperial General who was walking alone.

"Ah, Lieutenant. I see that you were victorious. You and your comrades acquitted yourselves well. You should be proud."

"Where's your guards? Or your aide?" asked Lunamaria curiously, seeing no other Imperials present.

"We were advised to seek shelter during the battle. My men are still in the shelter as I did not see a need to risk Korps personnel on account of my own curiosity."

"So then why are you walking here exactly? There's no viewports here, and it's really only on the way to the hangar or infirmary."

"I could ask you the same thing Lieutenant."

"I was with Emily. She got hit pretty bad, and she hasn't healed yet from before when she was hit in the head," said Lunamaria. "I think the battle made things a lot worse for her, but I don't know when they can help her. They're doing triage right now," added Lunamaria.

"The ship has suffered extensive damage from what I've observed, casualties are to be expected, despite mitigating efforts of both her defenders and her design. I must express my regret at being unable to assist in the defence."

"So you're telling me that you weren't just piloting the GuAIZ R out there during the last part of the battle?" asked Lunamaria, looking at Heinrich's face, but showing only a stony nothingness.

"I am not permitted to engage in hostilities against either the Earth Alliance forces or those of ZAFT. I am afraid you must be mistaken Lieutenant," said Heinrich evenly.

There was a tap of liquid hitting the metal floor of the hallway and Lunamaria looked down to see a drop of blood on the ground by the Imperial General. Another drop beading on the tips of his gloved fingers, before it too fell to the decking below. Heinrich gave no indication that he even noticed.

"It seems I am sir," said Lunamaria and snapped a salute, which Heinrich returned, but his arm moved stiffly in reply.

"I will leave you to your duties Lieutenant Hawke," said Heinrich.

"You know, my friends call me Luna," said Lunamaria. "I'd like it if you called me Luna too. Is there something I can call you by, or do you just want me to start calling you Heinrich more? I never really know when it's appropriate since you always seem to be so formal all the time," said Lunamaria, watching as the stony nothingness on the Imperial's face gave way to another look. The one that meant he didn't have an answer for her, or didn't know if he should give it.

"Take care sir, and thank you," said Lunamaria turning to go.

"Heiko."

"Pardon?" asked Lunamaria, turning back to the Imperial.

"My brother, Fredrick. When it was just us, when we were alone, he would call me Heiko. If you so wish, when we are not in a formal setting, you may call me this as well. Luna."

"Alright, well how about you come and celebrate with us tonight Heiko? I'll even be your date."

With the utterance of that name, for an instance, it was like it cut through the layers of fatalism, duty, and iron discipline and gave Lunamaria a glimpse of the man underneath.

"I would enjoy that Luna," said Heiko, with the most genuine and natural feeling that Lunamaria had heard from the Imperial since she had met him.

"I'll see you later then Heiko," said Lunamaria heading back towards the hangar.

Heinrich watched her go, then sighed heavily, rubbing at the bridge of his nose.

"What am I doing?" he muttered quietly to himself, before he too turned on his heel, heading deeper into the ship where his men were. Nursing his injured arm as he did so.

Xxx

"Command: Move out of my path," grated Archmagos Grozdan through his voxponder, the crimson clad techpriest pushing past a ZAFT medic; who was visually perturbed at the appearance of the Cult Mechanicus priest.

Grozdan's sensors passively scanning the injured ZAFT crew members as he moved. Severe burns, lacerations, blunt force trauma damage, and a litany of other ailments scrolled past his data readouts. Some would die if not given immediate treatment. Others would die even with immediate treatment that ZAFT could provide. Others still, would recover on their own without treatment, their injuries appearing ghastly, but largely superficial. He was searching for his patient however.

Auditory sensors picked up a wail of pain from among the others, cross referencing it against audio files on record, and it matched to one sub lieutenant Emily Towers. Her picture and biography displayed next to the audio graph.

He found the pilot on a gurney in the hall, whimpering in pain and clutching at her head. Triage having determined that other cases were more urgent. The error of organic minds all too understandable, if contemptible. Other injuries were indeed more severe, requiring immediate attention to prevent death, but they were of less important crew. Positions that could be replaced easily, or else had others similarly qualified to take their place. Experienced pilots could not be so easily replaced, and if left untreated for even a short time longer, Sub Lieutenant Towers would also die from her injuries. Irregular breathing, fixed and dilated pupil positioned down and out, and partial paralysis of the body was evident. Immediate surgery was necessary.

A metal hand extended from within the crimson robes and grabbed hold of the gurney and Grozdan began to drag it behind him, away from the press of injured personnel.

"Hey! What are you doing?" demanded a ZAFT medic, seeing Grozdan taking away Emily on a gurney. The techpriest ignored the medic, continuing on his way.

"Hey! Stop! Demanded the medic, grabbing hold of the techpriest's crimson rob.

A shrill screech of binary erupted from the Archmagos, causing all present to cover their ears and the medic to remove his hand from the Cult Mechanicus follower.

"Warning: Do not impede my work or endanger my patient, or you will be removed," grated Grozdan from his voxponder, not turning to the medic, before continuing on his way.

"I'm not going to let you take one of my patients," said the medic.

"Explanation: Sub Lieutenant Towers is suffering from a cranial hemorrhage stemming from a previous assault and inadequate treatment by shipboard medical personnel. Injury further exacerbated by damage sustained from piloting a mobilesuit and exposed to strong concussive forces. An epidural hematoma has developed and pressure is rapidly rising in the cranium of the patient. Immediate surgery is required."

As if to accentuate the words of the Archmagos, Emily stopped whimpering in pain, and instead began to seizure. Convulsing on the gurney, eyes rolling up into her head.

"Command: Stand back," said Grozdan, turning to the ZAFT pilot, crimson robe moving across his body like something was trying to escape from its interior, before dozens of melanchantrites fitted with surgical instruments and delicate medial equipment. Gasps of shock emitted from the ZAFT personnel, and the medic took several steps back as Grozdan began to work.

A small syringe was injected into Emily, causing the seizures to halt nearly instantaneously. When she was still, Grodzan cut away the flight suit from the pilot and any other restrictive clothing, while spraying a sanitizing mist over her head. At the same time, shaving a patch of hair from the scalp and fitting a respirator mask to her face.

Each melanchantrite seemed to be moving independent of the other, but working in concert. As if though each was controlled by a different mind. A series of syringes were injected into the pilot, before being withdrawn back into the folds of the crimson rob and the soft whir of sanitizing fluids was heard.

With a deft movement, a micro incision was made on the bare patch of scalp, already prepped and anaesthetized. Before a drop of blood had even begun to bead from the broken skin, a tiny, whirring drill was put to the incision and drilled a hole through the skull in a flash. Then, dozens of tiny, delicate instruments were inserted into the incision, moving in subtle, but precise movements. A tube draining away excess blood from the brain bleed.

A pair of tense minutes passed, before the Archmagos withdrew the tools from the incision, one final melanchantrite fitted with a nozzle spreading some kind of sealant into the incision, before covering the wound with a bandage and removing the respirator mask.

"Summary: Operation was successful, damage repaired and full recovery expected in eight to ten days. Recommend bed rest and nutritious meals or IV drip to aid in recovery," said Grozdan to the startled medic and pair of security personnel that had arrived. The spidery limbs of his melanchantrites withdrawing back within the folds of his robes. Emily now breathing softly, face looking peaceful.

"Can...can you help with the others?" asked the medic finally, gesturing to the array of injured ZAFT personnel.

"Answer: Assembled injured are of tertiary to quinary importance to the operation of the ship. Supply of available medical supplies would be rapidly depleted seeing to their injuries. Conclusion: I will only offer aid to those whose continued survival is of primary importance to the continued survival and operation of the machine spirit Minerva."

Without another word, the adept of mars turned and left the halls filled with the injured ZAFT personnel.

xxx

Thankfully, the damage to the Minerva hadn't included the water lines or plumbing. Or, at least not on the deck where Lunamaria was quartered. She hadn't realized how good a shower would feel after the day she had, how cleansing it would feel. She also hadn't realized how tired she would feel afterwards.

It seemed that after the adrenaline from the battle had subsided, she was feeling drawn and spent. Like she was stretched too thin, or like her like how her ZAKU was low on power,

She was bereft of her elite's jacket, merely her powder blue undershirt and a nondescript pair of gray sweat pants adorning her as she entered her room, using a towel to finish drying her magenta hair, she entered her room.

She shared her room with Emily, but she was absent at the moment, still interred in the infirmary. The natural's bed neatly made to military standard, with nearly no personal effects, so unexpected had her reassignment to the Minerva been.

A pang of grief passed through Lunamaria at the sight of the neat, but spartan bed. She had helped pack up Shawn's and Dale's personal effects. Taken the things that had made them, who they were. All the little things. A book on Ancient Rome buried at the bottom of his duffel bag from Dale. A man who could describe in detail the rise from early republicanism to Imperialism, to finally the split between the eastern and western halves. Then everything inbetween.

A violin from Shawn's room, packed tenderly into a black lacquered case that he would tune simply by listening to the sounds it made as he drew the bow across the strings. How he had been determined to teach himself each of Mozart's sonatas. A daunting task, even for a coordinator. A task he would never complete now. How everything that had made them who they were able to be packed into a box. Was that all people would remember them for? A few interests? A couple of things that were easily packed up and removed, allowing everyone to forget they existed? What would someone think when they packed up her box?

A few pictures of her and her family on her shelves to go in the box. A couple of signed records from Lacus Clyne, a pair of paperback books and a very spartan makeup kit. Was that all that people would see of her? Was that all they would remember? Is that all she was? Just a loose collection of interests and hobbies?

Unable to shake the thought of her own mortality, Lunamaria picked up her flight helmet from her desk, the piece of her ZAKU still embedded in the visor of the helmet. She traced a finger over the cracked glass, tracing the seemingly random pattern of the spider webbing cracks. With a scrape of glass on hardened polymer, the visor collapsed inwards, falling into dozens of blunt pieces onto the floor of her room. The metal chunk of her cockpit hitting her carpeted floor with a muted thump.

Lunamaria felt a surge of fear and anxiety at how close death had been, but it was muted. More of a dim awareness, than the paralyzing fear when she had faced the Gaia after Armoury One. How she had felt unable to breathe upon returning to the Minerva. How fear had seemed to freeze the blood in her veins. How the terror of death had turned her bowels to water. Now? It was more like a passing curiosity, like what was happening was happening to someone else. She was finally coming to terms with the war is seemed.

As Lunamaria set the helmet back on the deck, she felt a sudden surge of vertigo, nausea rising. She tried to fight it, reaching for her bed to sit down on and steady herself, but her vision changed rapidly from the wall to the roof, and then to blackness.

There was an acid taste in her mouth when she opened her eyes, blinking them into focus, she saw grey eyes like hardened steel staring into hers, but eyes filled with concern.

"Forgive me, I was outside the door to escort you to the celebrations when I heard a loud thump. I feared the worst and entered without permission."

Lunamaria realized that she was laying on her bed, and forced herself into a sitting position, leaning against the headboard of her bed, wiping at a sheen of cold sweat that had beaded on her face.

"It's alright, I just...I'm still just a coward I guess," said Lunamaria sourly, angry with herself.

Without saying anything, Heinrich picked up Lunamaria's battered helmet from her desk, and knelt to retrieve the piece of her ZAKU's cockpit, studying both.

"Cowardice would be having that fear within you and giving into it. Abandoning your duty and comrades all in an effort to save yourself. Giving up everything you believed in, all just in an effort to save yourself and yourself alone. To feel fear is to be expected. To feel fear is instinct. To fear death is to understand your will to live and desire to survive. To feel fear, is the most human thing of all Luna. Courage could not exist without fear, nor would it be a lauded attribute were it so easy to possess. Instead of shame, feel pride that although you are confronted with your fear, you overcome it. For your loyalty to ZAFT and the PLANTS. For the love of your sister, and the desire for not just yourself to survive, but all those you call comrade to do the same."

"Thank you Heiko, I think I needed to hear that. You know it's kind of funny. When I was on the deck of the Minerva in my ZAKU. When I thought I was going to die, my thoughts went to Meyrin; wondering if and how she was going to get away. Hoping that at the very least she'd be able to survive. It's kind of funny, isn't it? You ever, you know. Have any thoughts like that?"

"When my brother died...I asked the Emperor to let me take his place. Allow his soul to claim my body for his own use, so that the better of us could serve him still in the flesh, rather than the lesser."

"I don't think the lesser von Shreider survived that day," said Lunamaria.

"Perhaps, but that is a question that will never be truly answered," said Heinrich. "You appear to be well, so I will leave you to finish readying yourself in private. I am told it will be a small ceremony, and very short on account of the damage to the ship and continued threat to the Minerva. I will await you presently."

xxx

"Emily?" said Lunamaria, surprised to see the blue-haired pilot walking around, seemingly only worse for wear by seeming tired and having a small bandage on the side of her head.

"Hey Luna, how's it going partner?" asked the natural pilot, smiling weakly.

"How are you doing? I thought that you'd still be in the infirmary. I'm glad that you're alright," said Lunamaria, hugging the other girl.

"Yeah, I'm doing good now. I'm just happy to be here, honestly I should probably be dead."

"I know what you mean, I thought we were all going to die out there," said Lunamaria.

"No, I mean," said Emily pausing for a moment. "I had a cranial hemorrhage and it was causing pressure to build in my head, but since there was so many injured people and I didn't look that bad, they didn't catch it. Last thing I remember before waking up like I am now is seeing red eyes above me. Apparently that Imperial doctor went and treated me. He saved my life."

"That's great," said Lunamaria.

"Yeah, I'm really grateful to you Luna."

"For what?"

"Well, I remember you being one of the first ones waiting for me when they got me out of my suit, that meant a lot to me. That, and you know. We know you're getting close to that Imperial General, so thanks for having him send his doctor to help me."

"I didn't tell him to do anything," said Lunamaria.

"Yeah I get it, but thanks for it anyways."

"No, I really didn't."

"I get it Luna, I really do," said Emily holding up her hands in a placating gesture. "I'm just happy to still be alive. Oh, it looks like we're starting," said Emily, pointing to the arrival of Captain Gladys.

The ceremony was short and it was solemn. Captain Gladys thanking her crew for their dedication and courage during the battle and asking that they continue to display the same resolve in the coming days and weeks. It was short and sweet, but it was still touching. They did one toast, and then were left to disperse to either sleep, or go about the vital tasks of seeing the ship continue to run.

They were standing on the blasted hull of the Minerva, on one of the few walkways not destroyed and off their side, Lunamaria could see a pair of friendly warships. Apparently they had come all the way from the Suez, having been mauled pretty badly by the three stolen GUNDAM's from Armoury 1.

Lunamaria was surprised when Meyrin came up to her and gave her a hug.

"I read your message," she said.

"Oh. I thought," said Lunamaria, unsure of how to broach the subject with her sister.

"I know that you thought you were going to die, I'm not a kid," said Meyrin. "I was scared for you too you know. I'm always worried about you whenever you launch. I was also the one that authorized the hangar doors to open for that last GuAIZ R to launch," she added in a lower voice.

"You did?"

"I sure did, but I routed the approval so it bounced between half of the terminals in the ship so they don't know it was me," said the younger Hawke proudly. "The CIC was freaking out when all of a sudden the launch catapult started activating," added Meyrin with a grin.

"Do you know who the pilot was?" asked Lunamaria.

"No, but I think you and I have a pretty good idea who it was," said Meyrin, casting a glance to Heinrich, glad in ornate dress regalia, talking to Captain Gladys. "I just figured that another suit would help you out, and it did."

"Yeah, I guess it did."

"So," began Meyrin conspiratorially. "Is it true?"

"Is what true?" asked Lunamaria.

"Have you and him been, you know?"

"What? No," said Lunamaria. "Nothing like that."

"Well, people have been talking," said Meyrin. "They've said that he's offered you a castle if you agree to marry him and he's talking to the chairman to get you transferred off the Minerva and back to the PLANTs until the end of the war."

"No! None of that is true," said Lunamaria hotly. "Who's been saying this?"

"It's the rumours going around, and I mean he did help our parents and-"

"I haven't asked Heiko to do anything, and he hasn't offered anything like that," cut in Lunamaria.

"Heiko? Oh, you have a special name you call him by?" said Meyrin, eyes lighting up and seizing on that piece of gossip. "Does he call you something cute too?"

"No, well I mean," sputtered Lunamaria. "It's not what you think."

"Are we actually getting a castle?" asked Meyrin.

"Uh, Meyrin," said Lunamaria.

"Maybe he'll give me one too?"

"A castle is a defensive structure, most uncomfortable to live in for extended periods of time, you must be thinking of a palace. That being said I was not aware I was to be handing them out," said a deep, but curt voice.

"Mmph," squeaked Meyrin, throwing her hands to her mouth in embarrassment.

"I, uh, I'll catch you later Luna," said Meyrin turning and hurrying away.

"Sorry about Meyrin," began Lunamaria.

"The fault is mine," said Heinrich. "She is not the only one who have begun to believe such rumours that my actions have spawned."

Lunamaria then noticed all the sideways stares that people were sending their way when they thought that Lunamaria wasn't paying attention.

"I can only offer my apologies for the hardships that my weakness has foisted upon you and the doubts placed upon your loyalty and commitment to your comrades. I beg your clemency for my actions. Have a good night Lieutenant."

Lunamaria watched the Imperial leave, and watched the stares both Heinrich and her were getting.

"Dammit," huffed Lunamaria and followed after Heinrich.

"Hey, Sir. Heinrich. Hey Heiko, wait up!" said Lunamaria, the last name finally giving the Imperial General pause.

"Look, it's not a big deal, people are going to talk about people regardless. We're on a warship, people gossip."

"Yet their accusations are not without merit," said Heinrich. "My actions have not been purely professional, nor innocuous. My guilt forces me to confess to you that I hold an infatuation for you and have allowed it to guide my actions."

"Well, I kinda figured," said Lunamaria.

"Oh," said Heinrich, something like surprise in his voice.

"Is that the weakness you were talking about? A crush?"

"It has impaired my judgment and led to consequences for you that will stain your military career for some time. The accusations will linger much longer I fear. I can only offer my apologies to you, for I should not have allowed such things to sway me. I lacked the will to resist such a distraction to both our duties."

"That's not weakness, that's just being human," said Lunamaria. "You haven't done anything that's broken any fraternization rules on the ship, and I mean you haven't made me uncomfortable at all. If anything, you've helped me quite a bit. Hell, you've bled for us," said Lunamaria. "You said that fear was just a way to show how much you want to live, well this is just the same."

"That is the problem Lieutenant. My path for me has been chosen, my duty clear. I can not allow such frailty of spirit to deviate me from my calling."

"You can do your duty and still want more from life Heiko, that's not frailty. If anything, it's harder to do. Here, how about we go and get some coffee and talk about this?"

"I am afraid that would only invite more rumours about our relationship to one another," said Heinrich.

"Maybe these ones would be true?" offered Lunamaria.

"I...Luna," began Heinrich, uncertainty cracking the expressionless mask of his face.

"Here, come on. I'll even pay," said Lunamaria, grabbing Heinrich's hand and pulling him after her, the Imperial offering no resistance.

"I was under the impression that coffee from the cafeteria was free?"

"It is, that's why I'm paying," said Lunamaria with a grin.