A/n

Here's phase 23! Sorry this took so long to get posted, I'll explain more at the end. Now, nothing has changed in the fact that I own nothing in the Gundam universe, as much as I would love to, I don't. I just got my characters, ideas and musing, that be all I have to call mine in this. On with the Phase!

Phase 23: Sabotage

March 9th, 71 C.E.

Shira, Republic of East Asia

Tyler got a couple of minutes to calm down and regain his composure after the "cuddle time" Sakura had put him through. Kira and Athrun had gone out somewhere, they hadn't mentioned where they were going. Sakura had taken her baby sister out for a shopping trip if Tyler heard right, not that he would complain. That was fine with him as Lacus would distract Sakura from clinging to him and Tyler wanted time away from her. With his guests gone, it was just Tyler and Lisa left and she had gone to get ready for the day. Truthfully, Tyler was just trying to figure how this day would go and how to get through it.

He was brought out of his thoughts when a knock came at the front door. Tyler couldn't think of anyone he was expecting as the Archangel crew he assumed was settling in right now. And since Lisa was in the shower currently by what Tyler's ears told him, he managed to get up from the couch he had been recovering on. It took Tyler a bit to get to the door with how tired he was thanks to Sakura's affections but he did get there after a minute. When he opened the door, Tyler was surprised to find his teammates Luke and Alan standing there. "Luke, Alan," Tyler muttered, "wasn't expecting you coming by just yet." Tyler had known that his other two teammates would catch up with them eventually since leaving them up in space. It wasn't like Tyler had meant to split the team, there hadn't been much of an option with reentry.

Instead, Tyler sighed and gestured for the two to come inside with their things. The arrival meant that Tyler would have to redo room assignments for the time being to fit two more. It shouldn't be for all that long, just the time it took to complete the mission they were assigned. Tyler told both Alan and Luke to use the room at the end of the hall since Sakura didn't really use it. The woman had pretty much moved into Tyler's own room without permission from him. He had seen the evidence of Sakura's choice when he got back and saw the clothes she bought in the master bedroom.

When Tyler made mention of his issue/predicament with the pink-haired woman, the reactions were about what Tyler expected. Luke broke down and fell to the floor rolling around laughing hysterically at what Tyler was dealing with. Luke knew that Tyler wasn't a "ladies man" by any stretch of the imagination. But for him to have a woman actively pursuing him and he trying to evade them was funny. Alan, on the other hand, felt sorry for what Tyler was going through as it was clear he didn't like it. That Tyler wasn't forcing the woman out was a show of Tyler's manners.

Lisa soon joined the group after Tyler calmed Luke down from his laughing fit. Once the four were back in the main room, Luke and Alan brought Lisa and Tyler up to speed with what was going on with them. They had come down in the Euros Coalition and from there come to the Republic of East Asia to meet up with their teammates. However, both mentioned that tension was building within the Federation as the fighting was becoming worse between OMNI and ZAFT. They all knew that such was an expectation as the war kept going as it had for years, but the magnitude had picked up more than most had thought it would. There were even rumors among the Federation Military that the Admiralty were discussing the need for full mobilization of the space forces and bring those on Earth to full alert. For that to be even considered worried Tyler for it hasn't needed to happen yet during this war, even if this was rumor thus far.

And yet, with Alan and Luke here, Tyler thought that they maybe could complete their mission and hopefully buy some time in this situation that was getting more volatile. The fear of OMNI getting mobile suits was real and seen as a serious threat by the Federation. The expectation is that they will be used to gain territory for the Earth Alliance and that the war would intensify. With the current leadership of the Alliance, it was not just a real possibility but being planned for Tyler knew. And with the number of members of the leadership that were also members or shared the views as one of the anti-Coordinator groups, it was no surprise what the presented problems were. Their territory expansion would include the member nations of the Human Federation as much as ZAFT's territory.

Tyler could only guess what kind of excuses the Alliance or its OMNI would come up with to justify their attacks on Federation territory. And the ones that Tyler could think of were ridiculous and more so the worse that he could come up with. Nevertheless, in the end, Tyler doubted it would matter the lack of common logic the leaders of the Alliance would tout. Their intent was clear and was becoming more apparent as the war went on. There was mounting evidence of the lengths some of the leaders of the Alliance were only telling of horrors to come from them. After all, the fact of there being several Naturals which made up over a sixth of the population of Junius Seven hadn't stopped a nuke being shot at it. Such events had been covered up and any evidence against their claims and denied loudly any they couldn't have dismissed. So, Tyler doubted attacking neutral nations would occur in time by OMNI when their leaders would command them to. And with the leaders of the Alliance being violent committing, hate-blinded idiots, it was more a matter of when.

Once the catchup session was finished up, Tyler transitioned to the current assignment that the team had. Tyler knew that the Archangel would have its resupply and repair would be done in a few days from now. During that time it would be best to take care of the data that the ship carried and not be noticed by the crew and officers. The said crew wouldn't be on or around the ship during the repair and resupply which made it even more of an opportunity to get the job done. And the less the crew knew about Tyler's team's task the better off they would be in the long run as they would be less liable with OMNI. Tyler didn't want those on the Archangel to be put into trouble because of what he was doing.

Then there was the arrangement Tyler had managed to get made with those at Teswa. Tyler had gotten them to agree to do repairs and essentially an overhaul on both the Asuka and the Strike. He saw it as a favor of sorts as it meant that Murdoch and those under him would get a break. However, Tyler was so dim as to think that at least one Archangel officer would be non-too happy with him for making the arrangement. It seemed that no matter how good and plain Tyler's intentions were, Natarle somehow found fault with him. In fact, Tyler had only been thanked once that he could recall by Natarle for something he did. Also, the arrangement would have the two mobile suits inaccessible by the crew and Tyler expected that to be complained about.

It was part of the Latanin Protocol, no access to R&D facilities to those in other factions without explicit permission. Tyler knew many within the Alliance cursed the points of the protocol. But it had been that agreement that had kept things from becoming work in the war over the five years of it than it already was. Tyler agreed with the need for the protocol as he'd seen enough of those within the Alliance that he would be more than concerned with what they would do with Federation technology.

Still, Tyler figured it would behoove him to go to the Archangel's officers and inform them of the said arrangement. If they reacted badly, it wasn't Tyler's problem and they would have to deal with the good deed he had done. Besides, the two mobile suits were likely already on route to Teswa, so there was no changing the point anyway. Tyler would tell Kira about the Asuka when he had a chance, but he didn't foresee Kira complaining about free repairs. With that in mind, Tyler told his team that he had something to do and headed out to the places that the Archangel's crew were being put up in during their stay.

Tyler was looking for Murrue as he believes she would handle the arrangement better than Natarle. Natarle would shout at Tyler for "going behind her back and out of bounds that he had no right to do" or something along those lines. Honestly, Tyler had quite some time ago stopped caring what Natarle thought of him since clearly, that wouldn't change any time soon. And truthfully, Tyler didn't have to mention anything about the mobile suits were going to a facility to get work done. He was doing that by his own choice to be nice and friendly with the Archangel officers.

At the same time, Murrue had gathered the officers both commissioned and non-commissioned in one of the houses that had been provided for them to stay while in the Republic. She had been given a message of what would be done to the Archangel while it was in dock. The repairs were sorely needed and the supplies that would be loaded were equally so. However, the crew was asked to not interfere nor help in the task, just to "relax" and let those working on this do their tasks. And where Murrue could understand that, it still felt odd and uncomfortable for the crew to have no involvement in the Archangel's repair and resupply. Thus, there was a need for discussion with the ship officers in what to do in this situation and going forward. Now there was the time to plan and not just react, it was best to do what planning was possible.

And so, the gathering in the house minus the teens that had been helping as this wasn't concerning them directly. With their enlistment, it would involve them but Murrue didn't think that OMNI higher-ups would give them much notice. Only the teen pilots would earn that which was a different matter entirely which may come up in the discussion. Murrue began the meeting when everyone was present, "Thank you for coming everyone. I called this meeting to discuss what we should do going forward," she said to the room at large.

Natarle knew through Murrue that the work on the Archangel didn't involve them and more excluded them. That didn't sit the best with Natarle but there wasn't much any of them could do to change the point. Nevertheless, this also gave the time to plan for the challenges ahead of the ship and its crew. The journey to JOSH-A was still an ocean away and unlikely would be smooth sailing for the Archangel. Natarle felt that ZAFT would make at least one more attempt before OMNI HQ, though she couldn't say if there would be more or where it would happen. So, Natarle nodded and stood up, "Currently, the Archangel is being resupplied as well as undergoing needed repairs at the dry dock here. We'll see how the progress is going tomorrow, but the estimated time for the work was said to be two to three days," she iterated.

Mu felt docking at Shira was one of the best things that had occurred to the Archangel since its start. No one was assaulting them, no once trying to pursue them to sink the ship including Creuset. They were getting repairs on the ship done with little charge along with full resupply. That gave time for the crew to unwind and regain some nerve and sanity which had been strained. "It's nice of the Republic to assist us in repairs and resupply," Mu commented, "One of the few times that we've gotten help like this since the start of this journey."

While Mu's comment was true, Krystal still found the air around Shira odd as it held little worry of the ongoing war. Plus, this was the first time Krystal herself had ever been to the Republic itself. She had been to the Federation's Euros Coalition which had a similar feel to this place. After being involved in the war for so long, it was hard to just relax and not think about OMNI fighting against ZAFT. "I don't know about anyone else, but this is my first time coming to the Republic of East Asia," Krystal mentioned. "I have always heard it is a beautiful place and is open to any to come in, as long as you follow the rules of course. I can see why it's a frequented vacation destination with many people."

As nice as the "small talk" was to most, Murdoch didn't want to waste time if he didn't have to. Sure, the Archangel was being worked on, and not having to worry about it was nice and everything. But there were still the ship's mobile suits that needed repair and tuning that was not being done. Murdoch wanted to get to work as soon as he could with his mechanics so the machines could be ready when called upon. Nothing had been mentioned about the mobile suits and so Murdoch figured they wouldn't be involved in the repair and resupply. So, Chief Murdoch shrugged, "Sure, it's nice to relax and have someone else do the repairs and resupply, but what about the other equipment on the ship? Will they do that too, or will that be up to my boys and me," he asked. "If it's our job, then we should start as soon as we can."

Tyler had arrived at the house that he figured the officers would be in and knocked on the door. There was no answer to the knock even as Tyler waited for a bit to see if anyone would come to open the door. The door remained closed, so Tyler took that as no one was paying attention enough to hear the knock. Tyler figured that wasn't a refusal of entry, so he opened the door which was unlocked, and walked in. Once inside, Tyler heard voices in the living room of the house and so Tyler made his way in that direction. He heard Mu's and Krystal's comments which Tyler took as compliments of sorts. Then had come Murdoch's concern which Tyler understood and had the answer to. So, Tyler spoke up, "If you're referring to the mobile suits chief, I do believe I have an answer."

Everyone in the room turned and saw Tyler leaning against the doorframe looking like he hadn't a care in the world. A feeling of surprise and shock filled the air as seeing the young man as none had seen him enter or even heard the front door open. And where Mu and Krystal had seen that Tyler could vanish and appear as he liked, this was one of the better instances they'd seen. Mu was the first to regain use of his voice, "Man oh man Tyler, you have a talent for popping up out of nowhere."

While Tyler knew what Mu said was true, that wasn't the point of him being here. Anyway, Tyler had developed the skill of vanishing over the years first from his dad and then during military service. Tyler shrugged, "I walked in the front door like anyone else would, not my fault no one was listening or paying attention when I knocked," he replied. "I let myself in since no one answered the door and it was unlocked."

With Tyler's mention of mobile suits, it got Krystal wondering what he knew about them that the officers didn't. Tyler had a knack for finding out information, he had shown that beyond a shadow of a doubt. But Krystal was curious as to what Tyler knew of the mobile suits that they didn't, like if they had been moved for example. "You said something about the mobile suits, didn't you Tyler," Krystal inquired.

Tyler nodded, "Yes, I did," he started. "I happen to remember a detail I should've mentioned earlier but forgot to, and I give my apologies." Tyler then turned to Chief Murdoch, "Before the Archangel arrived here, I thought it would be nice to arrange things so that you, your engineers, and mechanics could have a real break and not have to worry your heads off. So, put in a good word with some people I know and managed to get an arrangement for the Asuka and the Strike to have full repairs done, free of charge. That being said, you need not worry about those machines, they'll be in good order when the work is done, if not running better than they were by the time the ship leaves."

Natarle hadn't liked that Tyler had information on the mobile suits that the officers did not in some way. Whenever Tyler knew something that others didn't, it didn't end well in her mind and its frustration. So, Natarle glared at Tyler annoyed with the teen and how he was likely once again overstepping bounds of authority and responsibility. "Where and with whom did you agree to have work done on mobile suits that you have no right to say anything about," she snapped back at the teen.

There was silence for a long moment, all but Tyler and Natarle were quiet as was now customary when these two butted heads as they did from time to time. Tyler held his gaze on Natarle for a moment, then sighed, "Good golly, your reactions are becoming more predictable Natarle. And I still have two words for you as I've said before, anger management, you need it to rid yourself of the frustration you have. I mean, I do a good deed for you all and get snapped at for it, not a good thing to show." Tyler had known that Natarle wouldn't be pleased with his actions, he had seen it coming. Not that was any concern of Tyler's, he was here to inform, not argue with others about things.

Instead, Tyler shook his head at Natarle, "I was trying to remove an amount of work from those who had more than most would expect them to be able to handle, that's all." Tyler sighing again before he continued, "And technically Natarle, the Asuka isn't yours or the Earth Alliance's any more than the Shadow is. We have had that conversation and I see no reason to repeat it as the matter is settled. And Kira will be fine with the arrangement for Asuka when I inform him. Secondly, haven't you been stressing the mechanics too much lately? Why not give them a break and stop driving them into the ground with all that you demand from them?" Tyler took a moment to calm down and rein in his stern tone he had gained with Natarle. "Then to answer your question of whom and where you demanded of me, the two mobile suits were sent to the Teswa R&D complex and those there will be doing the work."

There were a few gasps at the mention of one of the most well-known Federation development facilities in the world. All in the room had heard the name and the rumor that it was somewhere in the Republic of East Asia. There were stories and guesses as to what Teswa looked like and how it worked, but no information to get facts. It was scientists from Teswa R&D that played a part in the designing and engineering of the Mass Drivers according to rumors. That Tyler could have arranged mobile suits to go there for work to be done was impressive even in the officers' minds. "But how did you even manage to arrange such a thing," Murrue questioned.

Tyler shrugged, "I have some friends who work at Teswa and through them, my request was accepted."

The skills of those in the Federation's best R&D facility were not in doubt or question. However, the Strike was a prototype machine and so would present a unique challenge. The workers would have to inspect the Strike before working on it to know what needed to be done. And Natarle didn't like nor would she accept Federation scientists inspecting or working on the Strike. It was just as likely they could sabotage the mobile suit before returning it to the Archangel. The Strike needed to be in the best condition it could be when it reached JOSH-A period. Krystal decided to speak as no one else was doing so, "I wouldn't doubt that the scientists at the place are very good at what they do Tyler," she began. "But they're seeing machines that they've never encountered before so, how would they be able to help with the little time there is?"

The others in the room nodded at the question as the rest had much the same thoughts in mind. Prototype mobile suits being worked on would have their own set of issues off the bat. They would have to figure out the machines first before working on them, wouldn't they? The confused looks seemed to register to Tyler and he spoke up again, "The scientists are good at what they do true and you have a valid point. But what you don't know is they have complete schematics for both the Strike and the Asuka. With that in mind, they already know what needs to be where and what not about both machines."

Tyler's admittance that the Federation had schematics for the Strike inspired anger and concern in Natarle. She knew with the Federation having the blueprints of one of the G-Weapons, it was possible and even likely had the same on the others. Simply put, the Federation had the fruits of the G-Project and could employ them as they saw fit. The cannon that the Shadow had before, the one that used positron energy showed that the Federation had used the positron blaster cannon in their development. And if the Federation's Military used other ideas from the G-Project, OMNI would have extreme difficulty even with mobile suits. They needed answers as to how much the Federation knew about the G-Project. "And how would they have schematics on the mobile suits," Natarle demanded.

Tyler didn't know how the woman did it, how she set herself up for the retorts she unintentionally begged for. It wasn't the first time that Natarle had done this with Tyler, it was rare but not unheard of to him. And this particular question had come up before now, at the time that Tyler had returned the first time to the Archangel. So, Tyler gave the woman a deadpanned look, "You know Natarle, you asking that allows me to say some things I've wanted to tell you. First, do realize how often you set yourself up for the hits from previous actions?"

Natarle gritted her teeth at the question from Tyler as he was prodding her and she disliked it. Tyler continued, "Second, were you aware that the Alliance personnel which had been working at Morgenroete were beyond extremely lax in so many things. And when I say lax in some things, I mean security specifically, both physical and digital?" Tyler paused appearing to think before he kept going, "I could say more yet, you haven't been interested in listening to me about this subject especially." Tyler threw up his arms, "Well guess what, there was an investigation team at Heliopolis and they got full schematics for all five prototype mobile suits along with the Archangel's blueprints."

Mu wondered how Tyler could know about a Federation investigation team was around Heliopolis. He could believe the point was true, it could explain a few things that had happened around the colony. Tyler could know through his connections within the Federation's military, but Mu couldn't be sure. "And how do you know there was an investigation team at Heliopolis Tyler," he asked.

Tyler paused in his explanation and twisted to face Mu, "That would be because I was a member of the team Mu," he replied simply.

The admittance of Tyler being a member of the team the Federation hit those in the room differently for each of them. To both Mu and Krystal, it explained his presence and his knowledge base he had from the start. For much of the other crew members, Tyler being around the colony to looking the activities of OMNI was unsettling. Murrue knowing Tyler had been there for information gathering now explained how he seemed to know things. However, Natarle was not happy now understanding that Tyler had been spying on them while at Heliopolis. Yet, Tyler continued, "And that information was sent to Federation High Command, and from there to Teswa. As for the Asuka, it is my understanding that Orb engineers supplied what was needed, they'd no problem with doing so as I've been told."

Natarle was about to retort and call out Tyler for his actions, yet Murrue spoke over her since there were more important matters to get to. If the Federation had blueprints for the G-Project, then copies could be obtained and that would help. If OMNI could get mobile suits, then the war could be directed towards an end. "If you have the schematics for all the prototype mobile suits, could we have copies of them? It would really help in our mission a great deal Tyler, OMNI could bring the war to a close a lot sooner."

If there were more like Murrue Ramius, then Tyler could see her request being granted possibly. However, Tyler knew better than most that the Alliance and its OMNI were not like Murrue overall, quite the opposite. Tyler had seen what most in positions of power in the Alliance were like, greedy, selfish, and horrible fools. They saw nothing wrong with killing innocent people to achieve their goals. So, Tyler shrugged with indifference, "It's not my call honestly, but I'll save you the trouble of finding out who's it is and going to them to ask. The answer you would get from them," Tyler paused for a moment, "is going to be no."

There was a full few seconds of silence at Tyler's answer as it sunk into those listening. That Tyler said the answer to getting the blueprints would be no raised the two questions as to how Tyler knew that and why would the answer be no. And it was Arnold that found use of his voice first, "But why?"

Tyler knew the reasons why those from the Archangel would be refused copies of their G-Project machines. But he assumed the crew and officers didn't know of or see the real purpose of the project they had been a part of. When Tyler had found out about OMNI's prototypes, it was clear to him that such would be used to make others, and said suits would be used to enforce the "Alliance's authority". Murrue was blinded by the cause Alliance leaders claimed to have, and she wasn't the only one. And so, it came down to whether Tyler tell them the truth and portray the Alliance as it was behind the scenes. Tyler turned to the man and sighed, "For a few reasons that I can think of off the top of my head. None of them you will like or agree with I assume, but that's how it is in this."

Natarle was working on holding herself back from snapping at Tyler for his retort. It was ridiculous, the Federation had no reason to withhold information about the G-Project. The Federation insisted on their neutrality and so weren't involved in the war between OMNI and ZAFT. They only stepped into it on occasion when "they" saw a reason to which they never stated or explained to anyone else. "Such as," Natarle posed, daring Tyler to come up with even one valid point.

Tyler twisted to gaze at Natarle, "The major reason that I know is a number of the leaders of the Earth Alliance haven't been friendly to others lately. Their actions have spoken for them and given a display to make it clear they are not trustworthy," Tyler returned. Then he shrugged, "I mean, would you give those you know would use something dangerous to hurt others something they can do that quite well with? I wouldn't, and if you would, then I would ask what is going on in your head."

What Tyler had said confused Mu a bit, not the first half of it, but the second half was foreboding. Mu knew that some within the Alliance were not above doing questionable things that could harm. He had seen evidence of that during his military service and had kept it to himself and only talked about it with those he trusted completely like Krystal. Mu had confirmed such with his mentor Cormag Swift before he had vanished years ago. But it sounded like Tyler inferred things had gone downhill more recently. "What do you mean 'haven't been friendly or trustworthy' lately," Mu inquired.

Tyler stared at Mu studying his face for a moment, trying to figure out if the man was asking what he said he was or about something else. From what Tyler had dug up on Mu La Flaga, the man wasn't dumb nor blind to what some did. Thus, Tyler figured that Mu at least knew that a few in positions of power within the Alliance committed horrible acts. Such had been happening more on Earth over the last year, which suggested Mu didn't know how bad things had been getting. "I take it that you've been in space for most of the last year Mu," Tyler asked, "Kind of like I've been as well." Tyler wanted to see if his guess was correct and asking Mu what he had could answer the query. "This idea has become a sizable amount worse over the last year from what I have learned."

Krystal nodded, wondering what Tyler was getting at with his question. Mu and she had spoken about some of the horrible actions that could be loosely traced back to some in positions of power in the Alliance and OMNI. The discussions took place in private as with the assumed positions the individuals were in could claim treason on those that they wanted to be rid of and get away with it. But by the sound of it, some of those individuals had been at work and made things tenser on Earth. "Yes, Mu and all of us in the room have been in space for the last year or more," Krystal replied, "Why?"

"Because, the leaders of the Earth Alliance, especially those of the Atlantic Federation have been busy and not in a good way," Tyler answered with a deadpanned tone. "And I mean no disrespect against any of you from the Atlantic Federation. However, the pressure your leaders have been exercising on the Federation member nations hasn't been nice nor well-received."

Murrue blinked in confusion, "What are you talking about Tyler," she asked.

Tyler sighed, "I'm referring to the point that the Atlantic Federation is trying to cajole the member nations to join them in their crusade against ZAFT." From most, there was shocked silence at Tyler's statement, though Natarle didn't believe him for a moment. Yet Tyler continued, "Of course they don't say it that plainly, but that's the message being sent. And either they have forgotten about the Ordea Treaty or are just ignoring it while they do what they have." Tyler's expression darkened a bit as he kept going, "There have also been a small number of incidents in member nations that have caused issues that have been linked back to the Alliance, to name a few things."

Mu was contemplating the information Tyler had just put out as it was a lot to take in. Previously, Tyler had proven that he could get information very well regardless of how hard it should be to get. And Mu was inclined to believe what Tyler said about some attempting cajole members of the Federation was true. That presented problems one of which Tyler had stated himself, the "Ordea Treaty" which in simple terms said that trying to make members of the Federation change sides was forbidden. That treaty had kept the peace for the years of the war and before that as far as Mu was to understand. For leaders of the Alliance to violate it even if unofficial was extremely worrisome in Mu's mind, and he doubted he was the only one to feel that way. However, it did explain the trust issues that Tyler mentioned before, and Mu didn't blame the Federation for the point.

Tyler continued, "With that in mind, those in the Alliance have been," he paused for a moment to think of the proper word to use. "I would say bullying other nations and doing so more insistently as of late. And from what I understand, they aren't taking no as an answer to their so-called suggestions. That is pretty exactly what the Alliance has agreed not to show that they can't be trusted."

"That's not," Natarle began but she stopped before going into a tirade as it felt Tyler was baiting her a bit.

Tyler's face morphed into a soft smirk, "Yes Natarle," he posed, "More to say have you perhaps?"

All in the room minus Natarle and Tyler were silent watching the two much like they would when the two butted heads. Before now, Tyler tended to win the arguments or rather got Natarle to not be able to continue it. That was one of the reasons, most bet on Tyler with winning the arguments they got into. After a full minute, Tyler turned towards the front door, "I just thought you should know about the mobile suits. I assume panicking would ensue when they were found missing from the Archangel. I thought it was the nice thing to do, take it as you like."

Tyler left after that leaving the officers of the Archangel standing there to think about what information they had just been given. There was silence for a little while after Tyler left, until Natarle spoke her mind, "Sometimes, I can't figure if Mr. McGregor is trying to hinder by design or if he just does it without knowing it."

Mu snickered to which Krystal elbowed him to get him to stop. "Well, it certainly not a bad thing for the two mobile suits being repaired at a place like Teswa," Krystal commented. "As for Tyler, I think he does what he means to, we just see it differently sometimes."

Murrue cut over the two women, "Back to what we do next, our goal is still to reach Alliance HQ at JOSH-A," she said to get all back on track.

The evening came on and the Archangel's crew found beds to sleep hoping that things would work out in the days to come. Tyler woke up the next morning and found that Sakura was as she'd been almost every morning this last week in his bed. All of his efforts to get Sakura to leave him alone had failed much to Tyler's ire. Even the help that others provided hadn't deterred Sakura from sleeping in Tyler's bed. Thus, Tyler had somewhat accepted that Sakura wouldn't leave him alone and to just tolerate her antics. Sakura had been chasing him for years now, he didn't see that changing just because he kept telling no. The other part of the bed issue was Sakura for whatever reason insisted on wearing very questionable clothing. Whether she was doing that to tempt Tyler or for some other reason, he couldn't say for sure.

On her part, Sakura felt it completely natural to cuddle with Tyler at night, she couldn't get enough of the feeling. She loved him and with that in mind, why should they be separated at night? So, Sakura snuck into Tyler's room each night even when he said for her not to do so. his refusals were so cute to her. Sakura wanted to be with Tyler always, so sleeping in the same bed was a step forward towards that goal. The clothes she chose to wear while doing that were to get Tyler interested in her and she had seen signs it affected. However, she was patient and could wait for a time to have Tyler as hers.

Tyler worked himself out of Sakura's hold which took some time, Sakura wasn't interested in letting him go. Even in her sleep, Sakura clung to Tyler holding him to her unconsciously. Nevertheless, Tyler did manage his escape after some time and persistence leaving Sakura in the bed. He did glance back at the pink-haired woman in his bed wondering why she was so fixated on him. That was the point he had never been able to figure out, why her pursuit started and it was something Tyler had attempted to find out. He had established that Sakura's stalking had started shortly after they had first met, which had been while Tyler had been on a SOLAS mission. But beyond that, Tyler hadn't been able to come up with a reason why Sakura stalked him as she did.

Tyler shook himself and left the room so that he could get breakfast and plan out the day. When he reached the kitchen, Tyler found he wasn't the only one up at the moment with the sun just rising. The rest of his teammates were also awake and working on making breakfast for themselves and Tyler. He appreciated that his teammates had thought to make a meal, but they had gotten to the point they did simple things for one another. After the meal, Tyler began the conversation on the mission still assigned to them that was unfinished. He laid the information out which Tyler had come across thus far with his time on the Archangel.

The data the ship carried was what the Alliance wanted and from what digging Tyler had been doing while waiting for info on the Archangel said that those at the JOSH-A base were preparing for when the ship arrived. Tyler was sure that the OMNI technicians at JOSH-A were ready to extract the mobile suit blueprints the second the ship docked. If things went according to their plans, then once obtained, the data would be sent to factories elsewhere for mass production of mobile suits. The only thing left for OMNI would need to do to employ mobile suits was get a Natural-use OS. There had been no evidence from the Information Network that Tyler had seen that suggested they had one yet. But that was merely a matter of time before that became a reality for OMNI.

That brought the discussion back to the main point which the mission was all about, preventing the blueprints from getting into OMNI's hands. It was best and easier for that to be handled before the ship reached JOSH-A, Tyler knew that. His best idea to achieve the goal was to sabotage the data the Archangel carried in some way to make it unusable. Tyler had thought about just extracting the data and have the Archangel go on to JOSH-A without it. However, then the crew would be blamed for the action and suffer the consequences and he wasn't okay with that. As long as the data was unusable and or unreadable by the time the vessel reaches Alaska, the goal was met.

Tyler thought that perhaps if he could get some sort of digital virus could fit the bill for what they needed. The best place to get such a thing that Tyler could think of was Teswa and he bet Carlos could direct him to the proper people who could help. When Tyler iterated his idea, his teammates were on board with the plan. Tyler moved on to divvying out the needed tasks for the plan which he had already figured overall. Luke and Alan would go down to the docks area to gather what information they could so that we can do this as quietly as possible. Meanwhile, Lisa would acquire supplies such as clothing to pull off this task on the Archangel without notice. While that was being done, Tyler would swing by Teswa and get something that could deal with the target data.

As that was going on, Athrun was returning from meeting Kira's friends from Heliopolis. They were nice individuals, and it was that which made what he'd been involved in worse. Although now, Athrun knew that neither Kira nor Tyler held what happened against him at all. However, meeting some of those from the legged ship made Athrun have serious doubts about what he and the others on Commander Creuset's team had been doing. Not to say Athrun hadn't had doubts before, but over the mission, they had been growing. But the time recovering in the Republic had given Athrun time to do some serious thinking about recent events.

Nevertheless, once inside, Athrun heard Tyler talking to he assumed others about something. And though Athrun wasn't one to eavesdrop normally, after the first few sentences he heard Tyler say, he began listening. Tyler was talking about the "mission" that he and others were tasked with. He spoke of data carried by the Archangel which Athrun suspected was the mobile suit blueprints Tyler mentioned before. Tyler said that the data needed to be taken care of before the ship left the dock and headed for OMNI's HQ at JOSH-A. Athrun heard mention from Tyler of getting something from Teswa R&D to help in dealing with the data. There were voices that Athrun didn't recognize which he thought maybe the other teammates Tyler had in this. Tyler divvied out tasks for the mission they had been discussing dividing them into three groups from what Athrun picked up. However, it was then Commander Clyne moved forward revealing that she and Athrun were listening.

Tyler stared at the two for a moment and said nothing to them wondering what they were doing there. It was likely that the two had been hearing the planning meeting going on and Athrun did admit that a moment later. The thought to have them leave as the current mission didn't involve them at all with them being with ZAFT did cross Tyler's mind. Yet, Tyler thought it may be better to have the extra help in this. The current mission was critical and failure was the worst option to end with. Both Sakura and Athrun would understand the dangers of OMNI getting mobile suits, it hurt ZAFT as a whole too. "As you two have been listening," Tyler began, "Would you be interested and willing to assist in this?"

Athrun after talking with Tyler and hearing what he and others planned to do, it brought home how important this idea was. Preventing OMNI from getting mobile suits was a priority even for ZAFT as there had been assignments to do just that. Were the Alliance to get them, the uses such would be put to would be anything but good. The war would become much worse and far more lives would be put in jeopardy and possibly lost forever. Granted, eventually, OMNI would likely get mobile suits, but if they were anything like the prototypes he and others had taken and dealt with, that would be a catalyst to horrors to come. "Of course," Athrun replied, "I will help however I can, this is to save many lives from being lost needlessly."

Sakura would help if Tyler asked, it was a given as she knew her beloved wouldn't ask anything of her that she wouldn't do. And with how serious he was at this point, this task was important to him and so helping him would score good points for her with him. Then she knew that Lanus had active missions that weren't known to the public which was to prevent OMNI from mass-producing mobile suits. Currently one of her fellow champions was overseeing that, the Condor specifically. Such used to be done by the "Mocking Jay" but with their disappearance years ago, it had been passed to another. "Zala has a point," Sakura stated, "I'm in as well."

With the agreement, Tyler paired Sakura with Lisa to help with the supply acquisition needed to pull the mission off. Meanwhile, Athrun would work with Tyler in getting what they needed to handle the data on the Archangel. Luke and Alan would still scope out the dockyard to make sure they could be the least noticed. With the pairs set and tasks assigned, the six got to work while there was time and little attention if any on them. Alan and Luke headed out, taking the rented car they had, and headed to the dockyard to collect intel. Lisa and Sakura headed out and used the mass transit system to catch a ride into town to shop for the things that would be needed.

At the same time, Tyler made a call to Carlos and found out that he believed that he had a colleague that might have what Tyler was asking for. After hanging up with his friend, Tyler made one more quick call to the Republic's military command. It took some smooth talking on Tyler's part to get a temporary pass for Athrun to be able to enter Teswa. The complex was usually off limits to outsiders and Athrun would qualify as that. But Tyler used what privileges he had as a member of SOLAS to manage the pass being given out.

Athrun was kind of impressed with Tyler and how he was talking to whoever he was to get a "pass" to the Federation's Teswa. As far as Athrun knew, outsiders weren't allowed near the facility as it was the Federation's most advanced development complex. From what Athrun had heard from some, ZAFT had requested access to Teswa but had been denied. Athrun assumed it was a harder denial to OMNI and the Alliance, but he wasn't going to ask about that. And while Tyler had mentioned he was a member of the Federation's SOLAS that had thrown Athrun for a loop. If he remembered right SOLAS stood for Specialized something something Antiphon Squad, the Federation's best personnel. It was much like ZAFT's Faith, and Athrun had assumed that such got special privileges like those in Faith. But seeing his friend using some of the said privileges was not what Athrun imagined at all.

Once the pass was granted, Athrun and Tyler piled into Tyler's car and headed out towards the northern train station. They first caught the train to the Republic's military command center as the pass to Teswa needed to be picked up. While they were there, Athrun did feel the tension in the air and it was worrisome. The Federation had stayed out of the war overall thus far, but the air Athrun was feeling made him wonder if that would remain that way much longer. Should the Federation join the war, Athrun couldn't honestly say which side would be put under more pressure. He knew ZAFT did some things that the Federation disapproved of and would openly condemn some actions.

After the pass was obtained, Athrun and Tyler boarded the train again and took it to the station Teswa had. Athrun was left to wonder if the train system was the only way to get to Teswa since none had answered any questions. It would make sense, it would better keep the complex's location secret from the other factions. Really, the best ZAFT could ever figure is the general area if that of Federation development and Military facilities. Sure, there were the large or well-known locations, like the Federation's Asgard base which was their earthbound HQ. However, the places of interest like Teswa R&D's locations were never mentioned or even hinted at other than what member nation they were in.

Upon arrival, Tyler and Athrun exited the train and approached the checkpoint at the entrance of the station. Tyler showed his military ID and got checks a little, but not as thoroughly as others by what Athrun observed. Athrun presented the pass he had been given before he was scrutinized for several minutes. Athrun did get a glance of a screen that flashed his ZAFT profile momentarily, which made him think they were bringing up any information the Federation could find on him. It was unsettling to understand that some were inspecting what you have done and those you associate with. But as Athrun looked over at Tyler, his friend gave him a comforting smile. Tyler would vouch for him, Athrun was sure of that and so the worry faded from his mind.

Tyler knew that Athrun would be looked into before he was permitted into the Teswa complex. His friend was the first outsider that belonged to another faction that had been permitted in close to two years. It was an event that didn't happen often as far as Tyler knew and it was for good reason. The Latinan Protocol had stood for years even before the current war, it had kept things from becoming much worse. Letting outsiders into development facilities could compromise the protocol so it was mitigated by just not allowing outsiders normally. And so the inspection process took longer for Athrun than it did for other people that came here regularly. Tyler flashed Athrun a smile to help him know he would be okay, Tyler would put his own reputation on the line for his friend.

Athrun was waved through after things were checked out and he joined Tyler who was waiting for him on the other side of the checkpoint. After Athrun joined him, Tyler led the way through the complex, heading toward Carlos's office. Athrun could only stare at what he saw around him as he followed Tyler to wherever he had in mind. The complex was spacious and people were going from one place to another. There were rooms that Athrun assumed were for general study and development, though some looked specialized for things that Athrun could only guess at. Athrun was kind of surprised to not see military development, but it could be somewhere else for all he knew. But then Athrun hadn't really known what to expect when Tyler had told him they would be going to Teswa R&D.

Tyler led Athrun through the complex not missing his friend glancing around with his mouth slightly open. It took about ten minutes for Tyler and Athrun to reach the office that Tyler was leading them to. Tyler saw Carlos working at his computer terminal working on something which Tyler couldn't see what it was specifically. Still, Tyler cleared his throat to gain Carlos's attention. Carlos heard the noise and turned and found Tyler at the entrance of his office. Now why Tyler was here, Carlos couldn't say, there was no standing point that he could think of that would have Tyler here. Tyler waved at the man, "Hey Carlos, how goes things here?"

Carlos was going to answer but noticed a young man with Tyler a couple of years younger than Tyler himself. The other with Tyler had neck length blue hair that framed his green-colored eyes along with the rest of his face. Carlos had never seen the other teen before now, and there weren't really any around his age that came around here. Tyler was the youngest regular that came around Teswa or that was normally allowed inside the complex. That would imply Tyler had pulled some strings to get the other teen entry for whatever reason he might have. "Keeping busy as usual Tyler," Carlos remarked, "Should I ask you is with you?"

Tyler glanced at Athrun for a moment, realizing that Carlos was referring to Athrun being with him. It was unusual for Tyler to bring another with him when he came to Teswa, he tended to come by himself. Tyler shrugged, "Oh, this is a friend of mine, his name is Athrun," he answered. "He is helping me with the task I called you about."

The task that Tyler had contacted him with was needing to deal with "data" he was looking into. The request was out of the blue which wasn't unusual with Tyler though it was a tad rare for him. Carlos hadn't asked for details on the "data" that Tyler was investigating and dealing with, he didn't want to know. The assignments that Tyler tended to get were either classified before he got them or right after. With that in mind, Carlos had just inquired some of his colleagues for a means to deal with "undesirable data". "I'll take your word for it," Carlos replied. He sighed before continued, "Thankful we finished your suit's work Tyler along with the Aegis before the two other mobile suits arrived very early this morning."

Tyler nodded with a small smile coming to his face, "That's good to hear, hope nothing comes up that either will be needed." Athrun agreed with Tyler, to have the Aegis on hand and ready if something should happen was comforting.

Carlos snickered, "Glad to help, but you'll not hear complaining about the two other machines coming here. It has been very exciting to get a closer look at the X-105 Strike as well as Orb's prototype model," Carlos iterated. The memory of his chat with Erica Simmons came back to Carlos's mind as he thought about it. Erica was his sister-in-law as he had married her younger sister and she was among the few of his wife's family that he got along with well overall. And his little girl did love her aunt Erica so, and Erica doted and spoiled her so, not that Carlos would complain. Carlos took a breath and kept going, "Orb's chief engineer Erica Simmons was rather pleased to hear the 'Asuka Astray Frame' was here. Apparently, it was thought to be lost during the collapse of Heliopolis and so there had been a lot of concern."

Tyler wondered about the pause that Carlos made, he thought if there was perhaps more to the Orb subject than he was saying. However, Tyler didn't press the matter as it wasn't his business, it was Carlos's personal life. Yet, Carlos wasn't finished, after the cursory inspection made with the Strike, there had been questions raised. The operating system had not been as the report the investigation team put in that OMNI had been working on. On the contrary, the OS the Strike and the Asuka had were quite impressive, almost beautiful in how they worked. If Tyler had any idea who it was that did the work on the system, Carlos as well as others wanted to meet them. "A question for you Tyler," Carlos began, "You wouldn't happen to know who it was that wrote the OS on either the Strike or the Asuka, would you?"

There was a moment of hesitation for Tyler at that question, not because he knew the answer, but what the said answer would do for his friend. Yes, Tyler had looked over the OS that Kira wrote, and had to admit it was a good piece of work by the result. However, Tyler didn't want Kira to be pushed into something that related to potential military development. "Well," Tyler started, "I do know who did it yes," then Tyler lowered his voice, "Naïve idiot that he is often enough." Athrun caught the last part which Tyler whispered about Kira being a naïve idiot. He knew that Tyler didn't mean it as an insult, it was referring to Kira's inability to see the obvious when it came to social things.

Tyler's muttering told Carlos that whoever it was that wrote the operating system, they were not normal in some way. And Carlos wasn't one to pry into another's business and certainly not Tyler's as he extended the same courtesy to others. So, Carlos was waving his hands in dismissal, "I would just like to know who it was, the system is quite something, looking at it has helped to come up with improvements to the current Federation OS model."

Carlos's statement got Tyler to have a doubletake at knowing that Kira's work would likely be used for Federation application. The Federation's operating system used in mobile weapons was good and by standard could be used by any type of human with work. True, Tyler knew Kira was smart and could do things that others couldn't, but this was kind of a surprise. Athrun was shocked that whatever OS the Strike and the Asuka had was seen as good enough for Federation scientists to be thinking of using pieces of it. Tyler planned not to tell Kira his work was being scanned over and possibly used for improvements to the Federation standard OS. Kira would either freak out or not believe that what he wrote was being seriously considered extremely valuable. So Tyler hesitated, "That's neat and all Carlos, but the one that wrote the OS is not the best at taking compliments or being told something he made is considered very valuable."

"Then this person is modest," Carlos asked.

Tyler shrugged, "To put it nicely yes, he is a friend and is a wiz when it comes to programming among other things." Tyler then gained a serious expression, "Listen, Carlos, we're kind of in a hurry today no offense. You said that you knew someone that could assist in the task of corrupting data that I need to have done. Could we please see this colleague of yours and see if they have what we need?"

Carlos nodded in understanding that time was not in plentiful supply for Tyler and his companion. He gestured for the two to follow him and he started off towards the Cyber Research area of Teswa. The cyber research division included those that dealt with a number of the information systems that the Federation utilized daily for all sorts of things. They researched ways to improve the automated parts of the Federation's Information Network, the governments' computer systems to name a few. Carlos knew the department head whose name was Heide Strum. She was a nice woman and driven in the work she was a part of and at Teswa that was applauded. If anyone had what Tyler was asking for, Heide would know about it so Carlos was going to her.

Tyler was wondering where Carlos was leading Athrun and him as he was seeing parts of Teswa he wasn't familiar with. The mobile weapons development area and specialized weapon research were the places that Tyler knew. But then, he was their star tester of experimental things, so that's why he knew those areas rather than the whole complex. In fact, Carlos led the two into a moderately sized lab in the Cyber Research which Heide was normally in. From what Tyler saw, the lab was meant for some sort of computer research with the equipment in the room.

Carlos left Tyler and Athrun by the door and went over to where a woman was. The woman was of average height around mid-five foot from what Tyler saw. She had medium length blonde hair that ended at her jawline level with her brown eyes and high cheekbones. Her figure was pretty normal, not too thin or too wide, and healthy overall. Of course, she was wearing the customary white lab coat with a blue shirt under the coat. Tyler assumed that the woman was potentially the colleague Carlos mentioned when Tyler had called before.

Heide had been getting an update on an ongoing project she had an interest in when she felt a tap on her shoulder. When she turned she found Carlos Neil was standing there with a slight smile on his face. Carlos normally stayed around the mobile weapons development sector other than when section heads met together. However, Carlos had called her earlier today asking about if her department had something that could deal with unwanted data. "Carlos," Heide greeted, "I assume that you are here for more detail to the answer I gave you earlier?"

Carlos nodded and then pointed back at the two by the door. Heide glanced in the direction Carlos gestured and saw two teens standing there. The older looking one appeared to be eighteen to twenty and was five nine or five ten. With green eyes and spiky tan locks of hair that went in random directions, the kid was rugged yet handsome. The other teen looked to be sixteen and was a bit shorter than the other. They had neck length blue hair that framed his green-colored eyes along with the rest of his face. Heide had no idea why these two were with Carlos, but she did know Carlos didn't give tours to people. With that in mind, she assumed the teens were with him for a reason, "Should I ask what those two teens are doing here?"

Carlos's smile faltered a bit, "Well, one of them is the one who I asked the question to you I did earlier, his name is Tyler McGregor."

Heide blinked at hearing the name, it had been mentioned by two of the department heads one being Carlos. It was the name of an equipment tester they asked for often as she recalled and apparently he was supposed to give good data and honest opinion. She gave another look at the older teen wonder if the kid was really as good a tester as others said. "So that kid is your and Ross's star tester Carlos," Heide questioned.

"Yes, his actions tend to speak better than words do," Carlos replied. Heide followed Carlos as he made his way toward the teens. Once close to Tyler and Athrun, Carlos gestured at Heide, "Tyler, this is my colleague Doctor Heide Strum. She is one of the senior developers in our cyber research department as well as it is head." Carlos then turned to the woman, "Heide, as I just said, this is a friend of mine and star tester, Tyler McGregor."

Heide inclined her head toward the two teens, "It is nice to meet you, Mr. McGregor," she said shaking his hand, "I assume there's a reason that you're here other than introductions as you implied."

Tyler figured it was his turn to sell his reason for being here as he had asked Carlos for the favor. He wasn't one to ask favors often, Tyler preferred to either do things himself or ask for help himself and not through others. "Indeed I am Dr. Strum, hoping you can help me with a difficult task I'm trying to accomplish. I wouldn't be here if that wasn't the case as much as it is interesting to see the people here. My dad would always tell me, 'to get a job done, focus on doing what moves you closer to completion, not digression'," Tyler couldn't help but say one of his dad's chants in the sing song voice he would use when he would say it to Lana or his. It was one of the ways that Tyler many a life lesson.

Carlos held in the laugh by making it a snicker hearing a line that Professor Blass used to say to his students which Carlos was one of. It was a quirk of the Professor that all the students learned to handle, his "one-liners" and "horrible puns". Carlos had personally thought the Professor's way of singing a line off-pitch as it was to help drill in an idea was effective. Heide blinked at hearing a phrase that her general physics teacher Lance Blass would say from time to time. It was one of the more repeated lines the Professor used that his students tended to memorize. But the question in Heide's mind is how would this teen know such a thing? The young man was too young to have been a student of Professor Blass. "That phrase is one I've heard a number of times, one of my professors used to say it, so how do you know it," she asked.

Tyler wondered if Dr. Strum was a former student of his dad, he knew Carlos was. Of course, Tyler didn't know all the people his dad had as students over the course of him being a teacher. But he had met several of them during his travels and said individuals were not those that Tyler would have figured. "It's a line my dad would often say, normally in a sing-song voice," Tyler replied.

Carlos snickered again, "It wasn't done just around you Tyler, the professor sang the lines to his students too." He then twisted to face Heide, "Tyler here is actually the Professor's son Heide."

Heide looked at the older teen with a slight gape as Carlos had just said that the teen was Professor Blass's son. Of course, the Professor had mentioned when asked he had a family but didn't go into a lot of detail. Sure, some of his students had seen him with kids before, supposedly his visiting sometimes. However, the teen had given a different last name in his introduction, so it was hard to swallow. "You're Professor Blass's son," she uttered. Tyler nodded in reply to the question. Heide did see an amount of resemblance between this teen and the Professor. "You look kind of like your father, Mr. McGregor. I would guess you've your reasons for going by a different last name than Blass, likely political because of your mother?"

The last part of the final sentence said the reason Tyler used McGregor as his last name, his mother. And it wasn't because he was embarrassed about what she did, more the opposite. He was covering for her and making sure his actions wouldn't hurt her in some way. "Yes, you would be right Dr. Strum, I don't want my mother to have to pay for the things I do," Tyler replied, then he gained a serious expression. "So then Dr. Strum, I need something that can make a collection of data unusable and if possible unreadable as well. Do you or any in this department of Teswa help me with such a task?"

Heide considered the question McGregor was asking, or rather what he was requesting help with. Dealing with a "collection of data" was vague and could mean several things, good and bad. So, Heide couldn't answer without more information on the kind of data and what was the desired outcome of said handling. With that in mind, Heide put a hand to her chin,

"That depends, can you be more precise on what you want to happen to this 'data' you speak of?"

"Well," Tyler stated, "Put simply, I wanted it unusable and unreadable ideally as well as appearing to be untampered with if possible. In truth, I just need the data to be destroyed enough that it can't be put together," Tyler replied. "I know it is a lot to ask for, but that is the truth of the matter I'm working on."

Heide's eyebrows rose at the reply and made her wonder what this "data" was. To want something unusable was one thing and a simple enough task which could be done in several ways. However, to also need it to be unreadable, that was a different task which didn't always go with unusable. The desire for both points inferred the data was dangerous in some way if it got into the hands of certain individuals. It was normally simpler to destroy such kinds of data outright, but Heide assumed that since McGregor hadn't said that specifically that wasn't preferred for some reason. "So, let me see if I understand right," Heide began, "this collection of data needs to be unusable and unreadable? And for your task, it is preferred it not be destroyed and wiped clean?"

Tyler knew it was a lot to ask for, but the best-case scenario which would have the Archangel's crew seen as innocent needed things as he described. If the data was simply destroyed, Tyler figured those at JOSH-A would then blame the crew for the point in some fashion. The Archangel's crew were good people and didn't deserve to be blamed for something they didn't even know about. Murrue's request for the blueprints told Tyler they hadn't a clue there was that data hidden in the Archangel's systems. So, if he could just corrupt the data in such a way that it was unusable and unreadable, that should get the crew out of serious trouble. It would also fulfill the goal of preventing OMNI from getting mobile suits for a time. "More or less for the best outcome," Tyler answered.

It would be a challenge to meet the points asked for Heide knew, but it shouldn't be impossible in the end. Heide was more curious why Mr. McGregor was insistent on wanting the data the way he was instead of destroying it. "If you don't mind me asking, what kind of data is it that you want it the way you say," Heide questioned.

Tyler hesitated for a moment as his mission was not to be public knowledge for the time being, really not until deemed necessary. He was treating this as he would most infiltration and espionage missions he did. Don't involve those you don't have to and don't leave evidence for the target group to find. It was an idea that Tyler followed strictly and it had saved him a lot of hassle and needless lives lost. To not involve others you didn't give specific details unless it was mission critical period. Yet the mission's objective was to be achieved the best possible and Tyler had a good record on completing what he was given, he didn't want to have a bad mark on it. Nonetheless, Tyler assumed that he would have to give some info to get something that would do the job as he wanted.

Carlos saw Tyler's hesitation and figured whatever the data was, happened to be involved in something he wasn't supposed to talk about. Carlos had learned there were things that Tyler couldn't talk about due to what he did within the Federation's Military. Yet, before Carlos could say anything Tyler let out a sigh, "If I tell you, the point can't leave this room," Tyler stated, "the task I'm working on is not to be public knowledge as of yet and that decision is above my paygrade."

Heide nodded slowly, "That's fair, the info won't leave here."

Tyler exhaled, "The data is blueprints for OMNI's prototype mobile suits they created. It is embedded deep in ship systems so is hard to get to and handle without drawing attention to myself. And the work it would take to decrypt the data enough as I will say the ship's security is not the greatest, seen much of it myself. But that said, it isn't bad enough that it wouldn't notice something obvious changing in the ship's system that I may do to get the job done."

It certainly sounded like Mr. McGregor had been looking into the task he had from what Heide heard. If the data was embedded as he said that would cut some option from consideration as they would be noticed by general cybersecurity sweeps. And that it was sensitive OMNI data, that made a difference as their systems were different than ZAFT's. However, Heide knew there was a project that could in theory handle the data mentioned without being detected. The project was a program that was named "Xeno", and had been in the works for close to two years. The program had many potential applications from system clean up and improvement to data organization and achieving. It was all dependent on the goal it was set and the necessary parameters Xeno was given. Xeno could self-modify as required to complete the tasks it received which was the major innovation in the program. It would be able to not be noticed in a job if it was assigned the parameter of stealth.

The only hesitation that Heide had was Xeno had only been given trials and tests in the lab, not in a real-world system. There were concerns on whether Xeno could perform as well when not observed and monitored. Real-world tests weren't scheduled for at least six months and it was going to start small and then be scaled up depending on the results. Heide was fairly sure Xeno would do well in the job McGregor was describing, but there wasn't a hundred percent confidence. So, Heide took a few minutes to consider the pros and cons of offering Xeno as the solution to the stated task. "There's something in this lab that could do what you're asking, though isn't fully tested for application yet," she said.

Heide showed the visitors over to a separate room that was isolated from the other systems in the area and the rest of Teswa. The setup allowed Xeno to do its work and not have the chance of accidentally getting out and lost. Two walls of the room were lined with floor-to-ceiling server towers which were Xeno's playground. On the free wall without the entryway were the three workstations for the scientists who would actively work with Xeno with a large screen on the wall itself. Tyler was glancing around the room and was wondering what was in here that could help him in his mission. Of course, Tyler was no scientist, much to his father's chagrin, so he wasn't the most scientifically inclined.

Heide went to one of the work stations typed in some commands and brought up info on the large screen. Once the info she wanted was displayed, she turned to face those here, "The information on the screen pertains to the project the room is for, which we call Xeno. It is a program that is intended to be a multipurpose assistant that deals with data of all kinds. What it does depends on what goal/task you give it and what parameters you assign to it."

Tyler was encouraged by what he heard, it certainly sounded like the program being described could do the job he needed to be done. But there was still the question if this Xeno could deal with the mobile suit data and not leave evidence to be found by OMNI. Should OMNI find anything that could be traced back to the Federation in any way, they would press that as them being a victim. There was already more than enough complaining from the Alliance, Tyler knows there was no reason to give them more reason to. Tyler focused back on the present, "Quite the program Dr. Strum, is there any way I could borrow it to complete the job I'm doing?"

"After a little fine tuning, I don't see why not," Heide replied, "the program needs some work before it is ready for real-world use."

Carlos figured that while Heide and her team did the work needed on the program he could use Tyler and his friend for other things. He snagged the two teens and dragged them back to the mobile weapon development floor. Tyler was brought over to the Strike and the Asuka for questions about the suit. Athrun on the other hand was taken over the Aegis which was close to finished being worked on. Tyler was asked about the two machines as he'd seen them perform out on the battlefield. He gave what answers he could about the Asuka, but as Kira piloted it, Tyler couldn't give an honest opinion on its systems.

While Athrun was questioned about his views of the Aegis and its abilities from ZAFT's point of view. The questions were not what Athrun expected from Teswa's scientist. They asked several things about the transformation capabilities and details of that system. Athrun got the impression that they were comparing it to something they knew and likely worked with. He wondered if the Federation had some sort of transformation system for mobile weapon they had. There were rumors that the Federation's Military had mobile suits and just hid the fact from both ZAFT and the Alliance. It was possible their space fighters and aircraft could be mobile suits somehow, it would be the most surprising to Athrun.

It was around an hour before Heide came by and informed Carlos that she and her team had finished the work on Xeno. When Tyler was informed that he was good to go, he couldn't hold in the sigh of relief when Carlos told him that. He didn't mind answering questions most of the time, but an endless barrage of them wasn't the most pleasant. And yet, Tyler didn't want to be rude to those here, it might have them go to another for testing experimental stuff. Tyler didn't want to lose the opportunity to test things from Teswa, it was too much fun to say no to for him.

Tyler managed to snag Athrun and they were given data sticks with Xeno on it. The sticks could be inserted into different places for introduction to the Archangel's systems. It would get the desired outcome the best Tyler could figure and it wouldn't involve messy actions to achieve, a win-win. However, he knew that the sticks couldn't be seen by any from the ship itself or there could be suspicions directed at Tyler. So, Tyler shoved the data sticks into his pockets and gestured Athrun to follow him. The two retraced their steps back to the train station and rode it back to Shira's northern station. Tyler then drove them to a set place that had been agreed upon before separating so that the three pairs that had set out could report on their jobs.

Along the way Tyler had Athrun send a message to Kira to say they were working on some odd jobs today and so wouldn't be available. It was so that Kira didn't accidently come onto the work they were doing. Also, Kira would then assumedly tell any from the Archangel's crew that Tyler was busy with things. Athrun understood the reasons that Tyler had with messaging Kira, he was minimizing potential issues. Should any of the OMNI personnel discover what Tyler and those helping him were doing, they wouldn't stay silent. Things between the factions were already extremely volatile, it would take a small event to make the current circumstance far worse.

Tyler and Athrun arrived at the "café" that was the meeting place. It was a moderately popular sandwich and coffee shop that was in the commercial sector of Shira. And it was across the street from a park, very easy to fit in and not be noticed by most. Tyler had suggested the place as it would be extremely unlikely that anything said would be overhead. He was taking the steps to minimize risks for the mission to be successful in the end. Athrun and Tyler were the first pair to arrive at the café from what either could tell. So, Tyler chose a table and sat down at it to wait for the rest of those working on this mission. Athrun took a chair at the table just before a waitress came up and asked what the two would like to order.

It was close to ten minutes after the two ordered drinks that Sakura and Lisa walked into the café. Lisa spotted Tyler and Athrun quickly and gestured to Sakura in the direction the two boys were in. Tyler nodded as the two ladies took two of the chairs at the table telling them to think of what to order for drinks. When the waitress returned to see how Tyler and Athrun were doing and if they wanted to order more, she found there were now two women sitting at the table. Lisa and Sakura ordered drinks before Lisa asked Tyler how things went on his end. Tyler mentioned that he and Athrun had gotten something that should be able to do what they needed done.

Lisa nodded knowing that Tyler couldn't say specific things about what he acquired to take care of OMNI's mobile suit data. The café would make eavesdropping less likely, but not by any means impossible. Lisa then went into how she and Sakura had found out the Archangel's crew members were going around town for the majority of the day. That would keep the crew and specifically the OMNI officers away from the ship and potentially interfering. And with the delicacy and importance of the mission they were assigned, the less interference the better. There was still the need to have a more detailed plan which Lisa assumed Tyler was working on.

Alan and Luke entered about ten minutes later and both joined the rest at the table ordering drinks for themselves. After that, Alan and Luke began talking about what they observed around the dockyard and the Archangel. The dockworkers had been doing the needed maintenance on the Alliance vessel, both inside and out. What Tyler appreciated was that his colleagues got the basic patterns in their movements down, which they could work with. Tyler was already starting to formulate a plan of how to get the job done efficiently and successfully. And with so many workers coming and going from the Archangel, Tyler nor those with him would be noticed. Tyler could make a call to the chief of the dockyard to have them look the other way when his team went in.

Lisa spoke up saying that she and Sakura had picked up dockyard worker uniforms for this operation, three sets in total. The two had also obtained the needed equipment to blend in around the dockyard. Tyler figured that two teams would work best in this mission that would take place tomorrow. In his mind, he would lead the team that would go onto the ship and upload the program. Lisa would be in charge of the backup and observer team that would step in if need be. There shouldn't be an issue with being discovered that Tyler could think of off-hand as the crew couldn't just waltz onto the ship or into the dockyard without permission.

Tyler's team, which would be made up of him, Athrun, and Sakura, would sneak onto the Archangel. He wasn't worried about Athrun in any way, Tyler knew his friend understood the task at hand. Sakura on the other hand, Tyler wasn't as sure if sure could be professional enough and not draw attention to herself. He bet the woman could, but the question was more would she and that Tyler couldn't answer. However, in the end Tyler judged the risk worth taking with having Sakura on his team. Tyler would go over the ship layout with the two tonight to make sure they both knew where to go. But it would have to be when others wouldn't possibly come around and "interrupt" the meeting.

The meeting at the café ended and the six parted ways agreeing to reconvene in the evening at Tyler's place. The plan was to trickle in so not to draw attention from others and thus not create suspicion from the OMNI officers. With that in mind, Tyler and Athrun were the first to leave after the check was paid and head back to the house. Lisa and Sakura came around a few hours later after having done some shopping from what Tyler saw. He didn't look too closely at the items purchased, but he was still a tad worried on what Sakura could have gotten. Tyler was warry of his stalker which his pass experience told him to be paranoid of her. However, there were more pressing matters to attend to than to worry heavily about Sakura.

One late evening came around, the six members of the operation gathered in Tyler's living room. Lisa and Tyler made sure the windows were covered and none could look into what would be talked about. After the house was secured, Tyler brought out two things, a small image projector and a Federation signal jammer. Tyler activated the signal jammer which was more a failsafe than anything else, to make sure no one was listening in. Then he turned on the projector and had it show the blueprints for the Archangel for all to see. "For all but two here, we at least know the basic overall layout of the Archangel," Tyler began, "But for the two that don't know it, I'll give a summary."

Tyler put in some commands on the projector, "Let's start with the basic areas of the ship, which are the navigation bridge at the front, the engine and hangar area at the rear, the center crew deck, and the combat areas around the ship itself." Tyler zoomed in on each area as he mentioned it momentarily indicated what he was talking about. Athrun was paying attention to this as this was the closest look he had gotten of the ship he had been helping pursue. He could remember the areas of the ship to aim for and which to avoid to minimize casualties. Athrun knew some of his comrades wouldn't do that, but he didn't want to kill others if it could be prevented. Honestly, Athrun was impressed that Tyler and his team had gotten such detailed schematics of this OMNI prototype.

Tyler continued, "Of course, there are maintenance areas, but they are not of interest in this for the moment. A fact that I will mention which helps in this understanding of this ship," he paused, "is that it is based on Orb's Izumo-class. That is important because some areas are similar if not the same with both ship layouts. The navigation bridge is an example as they are essentially the same in how they are arranged. They also have much the same weapon loadout even if differently distributed and placed." Tyler took a breath, "Now that the layout summary is done, let's get to the mission details." He took out one of the data sticks and held it up, "This is the means which we will use to get what we will use to deal with the data we're after."

Lisa nodded, "You mentioned there was a program you acquired at Teswa that fit the bill as you put it."

Tyler bowed his head, "Yes, by the name of Xeno which has already been tailored for the job we need done. Simply put, we are just to deliver and introduce the package to the ship's systems and then let the program do the work. And as we have four data sticks, we will be introducing it in four different areas. We are doing that to make sure the job gets done and not potentially messed up by missing something. That is also the reason I mentioned the layout areas since three of them will be where we put in the data sticks."

Athrun could see the direction Tyler was going with this and he agreed with the direction for the task. Tyler said to him that the blueprints were fragmented so were likely spread throughout the ship's systems. If all of those fragments were not handled, there could be possibly enough for OMNI to put back together. That would make the mission a failure and while the Federation would suffer sooner, ZAFT would not too long after them. So this mission was just as important for the Federation as it was for ZAFT even if ZAFT didn't know about it. Plus, he knew Tyler was taking the hard road to get the desired results and the least among of people killed in the process. Athrun put a hand to his chin, "I assume the navigation bridge is one place," he remarked.

Tyler tilted his head, "That is indeed one, the hangar is another and two places on the crew deck to be more specific. However, each area will have a bit of a different way to get it in due to the security the ship has for its systems. With that in mind, I'll be taking the one that will be introduced on the navigation bridge. That one has the most security and I'm the only one that knows how to get around it without setting off "red flags" the crew will notice later. The crew deck ones will be simple enough, and Athrun," Tyler said looking at his friend, "you will do both of those. One place is in the quarters I was in, which will be easy as I've taken care of the security measures there. The other is in the sickbay, and I'll tell you soon how to do that one." Tyler turned to Sakura, "The hangar place will be simple if done right, and so I will tell you how to do it Sakura and you are to follow the instructions exactly."

Tyler gave a short set of instructions to Athrun for the sickbay place and Athrun nodded in understanding. The security circumvention was easy enough to do for Athrun, and Tyler clearly knew the ship's security and how to get around it. Tyler gave Sakura a similar set of instructions for the hangar systems, though he was a tad more forceful in the delivery. By what Athrun would guess, Tyler would have the hardest job as he said. The bridge security would be higher as it had far more access to the rest of the ship so that was taken into account. Nevertheless, Tyler had always been good with technology, so Athrun believed he would do fine. The plan was to go to the dockyard in the morning and get down to business early enough to not be noticed. So, those there turned in for the night early so that they could be up early tomorrow and get to work.

When Tyler woke up, he found that as he expected Sakura had snuck into his bed without permission. It was frustrating to Tyler but he knew that nothing he said would sway Sakura as he'd tried already with no success. Tyler hadn't mentioned this problem to Lacus or Kira, he didn't want to know how either would react. And if Sakura didn't stalk him as she did, Tyler wouldn't mine as much as he did.

Tyler forced his mind to the task of the day to distract himself from his position in bed. He was dedicated to succeeding with this mission not just to keep his good record, but also with the importance of this mission. Should OMNI get mobile suits, they would use them to make the war worse and kill innocent people as they did. The Alliance would force the Federation into the war in one way or another should they start mass-producing mobile suits. The message that his mother had gotten made that point clear, the Alliance were going to stop being "polite" going forward. It was that which worried Tyler about the future, it would unlikely be a bright one if things didn't change soon.

After an hour of laying in bed, Tyler got out of Sakura's hold and got ready for the day. And though he was the first up, he wasn't the only one for long. Athrun was the second up, quickly followed by Lisa, and a short while after them came Alan and Luke. Sakura was the last to be up and ready for the work of the day. Tyler was a tad surprised that Sakura was up as she had proven she wasn't an early riser unless extremely motivated to be so. After breakfast, Tyler, Athrun, and Sakura took the rental car that Luke and Alan had. All the supplies were in the car they would need minus the data sticks which Tyler had.

The three headed for the dockyard and got there in good time as it was just after dawn so little traffic. Tyler parked in the employee area to not draw attention and the three headed for the offices of the dockyard. In the locker room, the three put on the worker outfits and went to the chief on duty for the dockyard. Tyler's team waited for twenty minutes until the other workers were ready to head out to the Archangel. Tyler knew it would be suspicious if the three of them were to go onto the ship alone, so they needed to enter with the other workers. Athrun was handed two data sticks from Tyler and Sakura got one as they left the office.

Tyler split up from the other two and joined the workers going to the navigation bridge. Athrun and Sakura followed the other workers as they turned left and headed to the crew deck. Athrun slipped away from the group, avoiding the cameras and went to the quarters that Tyler had indicated were his. The size of quarters suggested it was for high-ranking officers of the ship and how Tyler had gotten them Athrun couldn't guess. His friend had admitted that there were some officers that didn't like his behavior, so why would they give him officer's quarters? Athrun saw the terminal that Tyler mentioned and he inserted one of the data sticks into it.

Meanwhile, Tyler reached the bridge by that time and headed down to the CIC, and sat down at the Countermeasures station. Tyler heard the other workers doing their jobs, and he kept that in the back of his mind as he went to work. It took him a few minutes to bypass security for the station and then he slotted in the data stick. As the program began loading, Tyler was quickly covering the event from ever reaching the diagnostic systems from finding out it happened. It was why he took the bridge, he knew it was the most likely to be noticed and caught out of all the places. Tyler had the skills to make sure what he was doing wouldn't be noticed let alone be discovered by others for what it was.

At the same time, Sakura got to the hangar she saw workers going to different corners of the room. She looked around and quickly found the console her beloved mentioned she would need to use. Sakura went over to it and typed in the instructions that Tyler had given her before she inserted the data stick. Tyler had mentioned she may get a reward if she did this right, though not what he was offering. If he wasn't specific, then Sakura was more than happy to fill in what she wanted from him. That would be before she would proceed doing what she could to obtain the said reward for herself.

Athrun slipped out of the officer's quarters after Xeno was loaded and made his way towards the ship's sickbay. There were workers around the same area so, Athrun's actions weren't noticed by them. He got to the terminal the ship doctor would normally use and went through the instructions Tyler had given him. Within a little more than five minutes, Athrun completed his task and took the data stick and pocketed it.

Tyler vanished from the bridge with another worker and then went around making it appear he was doing work like the rest. He assumed that Athrun and Sakura would do the same as the agreement had been they would leave with the shift change. In the next hour, the shift change occurred and the three blended in with those exiting the Archangel. Tyler knew that Xeno would be getting to work and would be done in the next day or so. With that in mind, the mission he and his team was assigned was completed per the objective. It got a lot of stress to leave Tyler as that looming issue was said and done now.

Phase End

A/n

And that's where I'll leave off for the time being. As I said at the beginning, there is a reason why this has taken so long. Originally, this chapter was going to be the original Phase 13, however, it was getting too long to make sense. So, I split it into two phases, which the next phase should be ready soon enough. I wish I had more time to write consistently, but that's not how life is working right now. There have been changes as you readers may have noticed. Of those, I would like to point out and elaborate a few, such as the time of Tyler and Athrun at Teswa and the meeting that followed.

Now the time at Teswa, what came before it made more sense to me, as Athrun needed a pass to get in and where else would he getting than from military command. Plus, I got to add some of his thoughts about the process which was fun for me. Then at Teswa, I figured the expansion gave a bit of a view of Teswa and those that worked at it. Also, gave me a chance to poke at Kira and show others think he is modest. Next the meeting with Tyler's team, I decided it should not be at his house, too much of a chance to get overheard. So I changed the location and some of the assignments for the job. Now, like always, some of you please write a review and tell me your thoughts. Reviews help those who write more than most would know. Peace out all!

SurvirorTierEXO

I get where you are coming from when you say the original version was confusing, one of the reasons I'm rewriting it. As to how I structure the Phases, my style has going from one place to another trying to have a transition point. I've never been a fan of short chapters that feel like are one scene, I call them "Bit Chapters" and I avoid those. So, using things from other series, I normally use characters' name and appearances, but little else. On use of technology, I can make no promises, some of the other series' tech is neat and I use it as a basis, not as a substitute. Still I hope you keep enjoying the story.