A/n

This came a better pace than I initially hoped, but this Phase was not part of the original story. Again I don't own anything Gundam, only my own characters and musings, so enjoy!

Phase 27: Interim

March 31st, 71 C.E.

Aprilius One, Lagrange 5

The call from Reverend Malchio had been unexpected, more so with the odd request, the man had made. Siegel hadn't at that time seen an issue with agreeing to help the man, Reverend Malchio had been very helpful in the past, and so Siegel had been willing to assist him. But the request to support a "critically injured" Federation soldier was definitely not something that had happened. However, as the council had issues agreeing upon things lately, Siegel had more time home than usual. So, in the end, Siegel had been fine with the request from Malchio. Yet, the last sentence had nearly floored Siegel as Malchio said the soldier would be coming on a Hermes-class shuttle. If that type of craft was used, then it tended to be for someone that was doing beyond poorly.

Siegel had contacted the medical institute after getting off the call with Malchio and gave them what information he had. And the staff there assured him that they would have a team at the main dock when the shuttle arrived. The rules and protocol with Hermes-class shuttles were something all medical professionals knew. Thankfully, it was something that transcended faction lines, even if political leaders argued that it shouldn't. It also made Siegel wonder who could be coming that required the situation.

Nonetheless, it was around an hour after getting that arranged that Siegel got contacted by Lacus. And while it was a relief to hear from his youngest daughter as he'd not known what was happening to her lately, the call quickly worried him. The last Siegel had heard from Sakura, Lacus had been in the Republic of East Asia and had been with Kira Yamato. Sakura herself was at Carpentaria but had also said she'd been around the Republic for a time. Siegel liked the young man when he'd met him years ago and so saw that as minor issue, yet Sakura had not agreed with him. He knew that Sakura was very protective of Lacus, far more than he'd ever been. The situations that had come up with her had been uncomfortable to say the least and getting them resolved had been tiresome.

However, the subject matter of Lacus's call concerned him as she sounded like she was in tears as she'd been talking to him. The details he'd gotten from her were that something terrible had happened and that someone had died. But beyond that, Siegel couldn't understand what Lacus was talking about since what she was saying wasn't making sense. Lacus did say she was going to get a flight on a shuttle back to the PLANTs. Siegel was still worried about Lacus, but perhaps he could learn more when she returned. Yet, with the Hermes-class coming in, Siegel had to make a backup plan to have others meet Lacus if he should be unavailable.

Sakura had also said something to the effect that she would be returning to space relatively soon. Both of his daughters had left a good deal of unanswered questions with Siegel and had caused him to wonder what was going on seriously. The last he'd known, Sakura had been sent out by Lanus Treize to handle a threat from OMNI, the man had never mentioned precisely what the danger was though. Yet, Siegel had some time ago stopped stressing over what Sakura did within the ZAFT Military, and she had proven she could handle herself. That didn't stop him from worrying about her, but that was all he could do these days.

It made Siegel once again see the growing distance developing between his daughters and himself as of late. Sakura… well, Siegel had seen that this war had affected her in brutal ways, and talking would not help much. She had lost friends and comrades that she would likely never get fully over losing. Plus, Sakura had been closer to her mother than him, and she wasn't the same after Tasara died. However, with Lacus, he had hoped she would stay at least somewhat close as she had always done with him since his wife's death. Siegel knew he was partially to blame as he was so busy with being the Supreme Council Chairman, so he couldn't say he had tried his best completely could've done more. As the Hermes shuttle wasn't due for close to nine hours, Siegel got to work making arrangements for the "guest" he would soon have. The house staff was more than happy to help put things Siegel wanted. While they did so, Siegel called his friend Lanus to help with his backup plan for Lacus.

Lanus was going over reports that had come in today, one of which had him thinking. The latest from Carpentaria said a hunt group had come back having failed at taking out their target. It wasn't the hunt group failing that had Lanus curious, it was their target that was simply referred to as an "OMNI vessel". There was no other information on the said vessel, which was odd, but Lanus did see Creuset was assigned as the mission commander. Lanus had wanted to keep the masked man up in space as he would get into less trouble. However, the National Defense Committee had said he needed to be sent to Earth. When Lanus had inquired what they needed Creuset for, the committee had been strangely silent. That had gotten Lanus to begin looking into what Creuset had been doing lately in hopes of finding out what was going on.

The most recent trail that Creuset had been making had been a messy one, but much of what he'd done had been waved off or buried. The results of the battle against OMNI's Eighth Orbital had been what Lanus saw as the reason the committee had Creuset down to Earth. Sakura did send a personal report to him, and it had made it clear Creuset was becoming a real issue. The man was crossing lines causing problematic ripples that needed to be dealt with. But before Lanus could start putting things into motion to get that result, a call came into him. To Lanus's surprise, he found it was his friend Siegel, "Siegel," Lanus greeted warmly, "To what do I owe the pleasure of you calling? Or do you wish to talk to a calm non-political-minded person after a long day of listening to the Council?"

Siegel sighed but had a small smile, "Ever the fortress of reason Lanus," he remarked, "I only wish there were more like that these days. However, I'm reaching out to you for a favor, and you are the one I turn to when I need something done without fail."

Lanus smiled, always happy to help out a friend in need, it brightened his day to make one of his friends smile. It matters not what the favor was in Lanus's mind, Siegel wasn't unreasonable and so wouldn't ask for outrageous things. "Ask away Siegel, name what it is you need, and I'll do whatever I can to help," he replied.

Siegel hesitated, "I was hoping you could spare someone or maybe a pair to escort my youngest daughter when she arrives at the colony. She is traveling back from Earth as we speak," Siegel began, "And I know you can choose those that would be prudent in this."

Lanus nodded at the point but was curious about what Siegel would ask this of him. His friend would usually meet his youngest daughter when she returned to the PLANTs. Thus it was odd for him not to unless he had something else going on at the same time. With his responsibilities on the Supreme Council, that could be the case. And the rumor was that the Council had disagreements about policy as of late. "Of course, I would be happy to choose a ZAFT officer to escort Lacus," Lanus returned before he chuckled, "Honestly, I fear if I asked for volunteers, I would have far too many trying to get the duty. Your youngest daughter is quite popular among the troops, but I wouldn't doubt you are well-aware of that. But correct me if I'm wrong, you tend to meet Lacus when she comes home, so what might I ask is keeping you from doing so?"

Lanus knew Siegel too well, they had been friends for years, so of course, he would know he tended to meet his daughter when she returned. "You are quite right Lanus as you always seem to be," Siegel admitted, "I do have an engagement that could take time to deal with. It isn't with the Council, but something I have been asked to help with, and I didn't refuse."

Lanus blinked, "Forgive me if I sound nosy, but what might you be helping with," he asked.

Siegel sighed, "You will likely find out about this, so I might as well tell you," he paused for a moment. "There is a Hermes shuttle on its way here, it came from Orb by what I'm led to understand."

Hearing the term, Hermes got Lanus's attention, for those shuttles were rarely used and when they were, it was for specific reasons. If one were coming here, whoever was on it would likely be going to the medical institute here on Aprilius One. "A Hermes shuttle you say, that's the first I've heard of one coming our way," Lanus stated. "Do you know what or who is coming on it? I doubt it is for a joy ride of any sort, not what those shuttles are used for."

"By what Reverend Malchio told me," Siegel began, "A severely injured Federation soldier is being transported here for recovery. Beyond that, I couldn't say accurately, sorry Lanus."

Lanus shook his head, "Don't blame yourself, Siegel," he replied calmly. Yet, in his mind, he was curious about a few things to do with this incoming shuttle and the "soldier" onboard it. That a single Federation soldier was getting a Hermes-class shuttle said one of two things. Either they were precious to the Federation's Military, or the individual had a connection to someone of very high standing, perhaps a mix of both. Lanus was inclined to go with the former rather than the latter at this point, which, if true, Lanus wouldn't say no to meeting them. "I will make sure there is a clear shot from the docks to the Medical Institute," Lanus said, "And I think I have a good pair in mind to escort your daughter, my friend, they have been on leave for a bit."

Siegel let out a relieved breath, "You are a life and sanity saver Lanus, regardless of whatever others may say about you."

Lanus laughed, "I get told that from time to time my friend, but I am happy I could help you out in your time of need."

Siegel ended the call and went back to helping the house staff to occupy his time until the shuttle arrived at the colony. When the shuttle arrived, Siegel traveled to the docking area. He found there was already a group of medical personnel there waiting for the incoming patient. It was shortly after Siegel arrived when the announcement came of the Hermes shuttle beginning its final approach.

At the same time, Lisa was going over some documents during the journey to Aprilius One to keep her mind busy. She was still perturbed about Tyler's health, the doctors had to work on him along the way. He'd had at least one blood transfusion, and while the doctors had slowed the bleeding, it hadn't stopped. It was hoped that those at Aprilius's Medical Institute would do more for Tyler. Lisa had heard Aprilius's medical institute was one of the best medical facilities off of Earth and definitely one of the more advanced there was right now. The Federation had a medical facility on the Moon at Serenity City, but Aprilius's was equipped to handle extreme cases, or so she heard. Then Lisa had no idea what kind of "arrangement" Malchio had made for her and Tyler on Aprilius One.

When the captain said they would be docking at Aprilius One shortly, Lisa put away the datapad she'd been working with. She looked out the window and frowned at seeing the hourglass-shaped colony she could see. It had been just before the war officially started since she'd seen them so close, she'd been eighteen when she had left. And Lisa had never intended to come back to them, yet here she was doing just that. Sure, Lisa still communicated with her mother, but that was the last connection she had with her old life. But it was far too late to turn around and not go to the colony and Tyler needed what help he could get. So, Lisa took a deep breath and started collecting her things in preparation to disembark.

The Hermes-class came in and was locked into the dock itself before the boarding tunnel was moved into position. Siegel walked to where the boarding tunnel would exit to, the medical personnel not too far behind him. The first off the shuttle was a young woman who to Siegel looked to be around Sakura's age. She was a few inches shorter than Sakura was, possessed straight black hair that fell to just above her waist. Her eyes were a neutral green and gave Siegel a small feeling of déjà vu, though he couldn't place why, so he dismissed it. The young woman was wearing the standard Federation Military uniform inferring that she was the escorting officer. Siegel stepped forward drawing attention to himself, "I assume you are the escort officer for the one being transported on the shuttle," he posed.

Lisa faced the speaker and was surprised to see it was none other than Chairman Clyne of the PLANT's Supreme Council. She knew the man's face, Lisa had seen it enough with her father being a legislator on one of the council's committees. Lisa had absolutely nothing against the man, she respected what the Chairman did. But out of all those Malchio could contact, he chose Siegel Clyne, it didn't make sense to her. However, beggars couldn't be choosers as the ancient phrase went and in this, she nor Tyler could complain about who assisted them. So, Lisa saluted, "Correct, I'm Lieutenant Lisa Malto, and I'm the escort officer in this situation."

Chatter from the boarding tunnel drew attention back to it and those on the docking lounge saw doctors coming down the tunnel. In the center of their group was a gurney being pushed along with other machines attached to it. The moment the gurney was in the lounge, the medical personnel moved forward to meet the doctors and began exchanging information. Siegel wasn't listening intently as the doctors were talking, but that changed with just one sentence. "The patient's name is McGregor, Tyler-" Siegel's head snapped over to look at the gurney at hearing that. The one on the gurney was covered in bandages, with wires and tubes connected to him through folds of the dressing. The monitors that Siegel saw were showing the young man's vitals, but other than that, there was no movement from the man other than the slow rise and fall of his chest. And there were areas of the bandages that were red which was very worrisome indeed.

Siegel had always liked Tyler, he was decently mannered but had no problem speaking his mind. Then Sakura had shown much more than just a casual or even a passing interest in Mr. McGregor. If his eldest daughter were to see the young man like this, Siegel couldn't say whether she would demand and seek vengeance upon whoever was responsible for putting Tyler in this condition or fall into some kind of depression. Sakura could go either way in this, Siegel had seen both types of reactions from his oldest child. And Sakura had enough issues from the war without adding this to her plate. "He will need another blood transfusion before too long," said one of the doctors.

"Blood type," one of the medical personnel asked.

"AB negative," was the reply.

Tyler was being wheeled off towards the waiting vehicle that would take him to the medical institute. From the short glimpse Siegel got, Tyler was in an extremely dangerous position. Tyler wasn't only being given oxygen, but also seemed to be receiving fluids and by the sound of it had been given a blood transfusion while traveling here. How Tyler had come to be in this condition he was in now, Siegel couldn't begin to guess, but it seriously worried him. "How did he end out like this," he asked Lisa.

Lisa didn't know where to start in this subject, it was so complicated with so many twists and turns. Even she had to admit it was sad, almost heart-breaking what fate Tyler had been handed because of this war. And frankly, what had happened recently was best to not be public knowledge for the time being. This dock lounge was certainly not a good place to have a private conversation, so Lisa would need to ask for patience. So, Lisa shook her head in response to Siegel's question, "This isn't the place or the time to talk about the events that occurred. I will give you an explanation if you can be patient, but there are more pressing matters at the moment."

While Siegel was curious as to what events could have led to the current situation, he could understand the need of discretion. And the young woman was right, there were more pressing matters to tend to first before satisfying his curiosity. Tyler's health needed to be seen to and speaking of the young man, he was being wheeled off by those from Aprilius's medical institute. Both Lisa and Siegel followed them to their destination, and Siegel did notice the roads were cleared which he would thank Lanus for later. Tyler was taken straight to the operating room when he arrived at the institute while Lisa and Siegel were left to wait. It was hours later that one of the doctors came out and began telling Siegel about what they had been doing for Tyler.

They had stabilized him better than he had been in Orb, but the damage Tyler had taken was extensive to put it mildly. Tyler had some bones that had been reconstructed as they had been broken so badly. And due to the techniques, that the institute had, Tyler would recover fine for that and he would have no long-term effects from it. What had taken so long was the injuries that Tyler had on the right side of his torso. By what the doctors said, some pieces of shrapnel had gone into Tyler's chest and had ripped their way into his right lung. The damaged from that had collapsed the lung badly and brought on other complications. Thankfully for Tyler, those at the institute were able to prevent things from going any further. However, fixing the damage in the right lung had taken extensive work and cutting-edge methods. In the end, the right lung was functioning as it was supposed to, even if it was doing so at around fifty percent the level it would normally.

Lisa was horrified how close Tyler had come to dying from the detonation of the Shadow. If not for those here at the Aprilius Medical Institute, then Tyler would have unlikely be alive by the end of the week. Now it was time he would need to recover his strength and while he was out, that would be simple. However, when Tyler woke up, getting him to take things slow and easy would be much harder she wouldn't doubt. And who knew how long it would take for Tyler to heal from the consequences of his last decision. The ongoing war was getting worse slowly by the day, time wasn't an ally any longer.

Tyler once readied, was moved to the Clyne residence per Siegel's request put in one of the guest rooms. The doctor that had helped the transport pronounced Tyler good for the time being before he and his colleagues left. With Tyler settled, Siegel led Lisa to a sitting room where he hoped he could get some sort of explanation. Once sitting in a chair, Lisa took a moment to gather her thoughts of how to iterate what had occurred to get where they were. Siegel waited for Miss Malto to speak as it was clear to him that she was organizing her thoughts. After a moment, Lisa decided to just give events as they were, the Chairman would find out about soon enough anyway. "A few days ago," Lisa started, "A battle between ZAFT and OMNI occurred, which isn't as you know unusual, if not for it being in Federation territory."

Siegel didn't like what he was hearing at all since it implied a coming issue that the council would have to deal with. And as this involved ZAFT forces, Siegel would very much like Lanus's view and opinion on it. In fact, that thought had Siegel holding up a hand to stop Lisa for a moment, "Forgive me for interrupting, but I feel it would be prudent if I make one call and have another her this as well." Lisa nodded slowly wondering who the Chairman wanted to have hear this as well. Siegel got up and left the room before calling Lanus hoping he was free for this.

Lanus connected the call and was surprised to see Siegel again, "Siegel, is there something else I can assist with," he greeted. "I assure you I have Commander Waltfeld and his partner on the job of escorting Lacus when she arrives."

Siegel shook his head, "This isn't about that, I'm listening to an accounting that has me," he paused for a moment to find the right word, "concerned. It has ZAFT forces involved, so I feel it is something you should listen to as well if you are free. Perhaps you can shed some light on the point of what is going on as well."

Lanus's attention was peaked at the word "concerned" as Siegel didn't say it in the way that he did often. And the mention of ZAFT forces being involved in something was odd, but there had been more odd things as of late. So, since Lanus had no pressing engagement today, he nodded, "Where would you like me to be?"

"If you could come to my home as soon as possible, it would be appreciated," Siegel replied.

"I will be there in ten minutes," Lanus returned.

Lisa was wondering who the Chairman was waiting for when he came back and asked her to wait ten minutes. She assumed that he had a reason, but she couldn't figure it out with the facts she had. When a knock came at the door, it was a moment later that a man walked into the room which Lisa had never seen before. He was close to six feet tall and had an average figure overall denoting good standing health. The man had short ginger-colored hair which was combed back and brought attention to his ice blue eyes. Siegel rose up to greet his old friend, "Lanus, thank you for coming on such short notice."

Lanus waved a hand in dismissal, "Think nothing of it my friend," he returned, "By what you said, this is likely to be important enough to take the time."

Lisa was stunned a bit at the greeting, not at how the men acted, but who the newcomer was. Most soldiers regardless of which faction they belonged to had heard the name "Lanus" normally in reference to Lanus Treize. The man was ZAFT's unofficial leader and was given a good portion of the credit of making ZAFT what it was today. He was supposed to be one of the most brilliant tacticians the human race had currently. To meet the man in person was an extremely rare thing for anyone but high ranked ZAFT officers. Both men sat down and looked to her as Lisa took that as a sign to continue her explanation. So, Lisa cleared her throat, As I was telling the Chairman, a few days ago a battle between ZAFT and OMNI occurred and it was within Federation territory."

Lanus paid rapped attention to what was being said and it was bringing back to mind the recent report from Carpentaria. Lisa kept going about the battle that had happened on the outer reaches of the Orb Union's territory. As Siegel listen to the description of the battle that had occurred, he became confused as well as irritated. There had been nothing about any of this event within the recent council meetings, no reports from the National Defense Committee. A mission that would have ZAFT forces going into Federation territory was something of note to bring in front of the Council. And the Federation had been even less inclined to take "internal issues" being taken care of and not showing proof of it.

Lanus on the other hand was seeing holes being filled that he had been trying to figure out. Creuset's pursuit of the OMNI ship from Heliopolis had been a messy thing, Treize wouldn't deny that. The way the "legged ship" as Creuset called it was described, the ship certainly seemed to be an issue that needed to be settled. Mobile suits getting to the Alliance was not a good scenario for any and would only make the war worse. Yet, while sinking the ship would get the goal, the destruction being left in the wake of this was not acceptable. It was the reason Lanus had sent Sakura to help deal with the issue, to get things in hand and Creuset under control. But apparently that hadn't happened as hoped, and Lanus was again left to question why the National Defense Committee approved Creuset going down to Earth. Lanus would have assigned a team to handle the OMNI vessel properly and not cause a mess in the process.

Then both men knew that this incident was a violation of a major standing treaty that the PLANTs and ZAFT had with the Human Federation and that could end really badly. The territorial treaty had kept tensions down for the last few years between the two factions. And historically speaking, the Federation wasn't known for overlooking things often if at all. Thus, a blatant line crossing would be brought up which as Miss Malto said would come to the Supreme Council. Yet, the story became sadder still when Lisa spoke of the explosion that Tyler had been in, even if she hadn't seen it herself. When Lisa explained Tyler's reasons for what he did, it was a reminder of what this war was doing to people. Lanus bowed his head, "It is an unfortunate truth of this war, pitting friend against friend. And then both are expected to kill the other without hesitation in order to help the side they are on," he remarked.

Lisa moved on to when the Federation force came on to the scene and started mopping up what was left of the two sides. Once Lisa finished her summary, Siegel shook his head in frustration, "How did things come to this," he cursed.

Lanus hummed, "I fear because there are more that want what this war can give them than peace can were I to assume." He paused for a moment, "But this does fill in some holes I've been trying to look into."

Siegel and Lisa look at Lanus, "What do you mean Lanus," Siegel asked.

"I received a report yesterday from Carpentaria about a "task" that a sub hunt group went out to handle. Not odd in itself, if not for details being left out," Lanus iterated, "All it said was an OMNI vessel was the target and that it was a priority task. When I asked for clarification about that, I have gotten silence in return which is very unusual." Lanus stopped and thought for a moment, "It causes concern for me as the National Defense Committee would normally bring such an issue to me and ask to get someone on it. Such never occurred, and I would not have put Creuset on this delicate situation for fear of exactly what happened occurring."

Siegel's worry grew at what Lanus said as it suggested the Defense Committee was taking things into their own hands as of late. The war was bad enough already, Lanus was keeping ZAFT from making it far worse. Lanus rose, "Forgive me Siegel, but I think I need to do some investigating into this myself." Lanus left and Siegel thanked Lisa for the explanation as to how Tyler got into the condition he was in. Lisa after the discussion returned to the room Tyler was in to keep an eye on him and occupy herself.

It was close to a day after launching from Orb that Lacus's shuttle arrived at December One's port. The colony was one of the three incoming entry ports for the PLANTs from Earth and the Moon. From here Lacus would board a contact shuttle to Aprilius One as those were what was used for travel between the colonies themselves. The trip hadn't helped Lacus improve her mood or come to terms with what recent events had brought about. Tyler's death was haunting her the more she thought about it and he mind wouldn't let her forget it. She hadn't even been able to sort her thoughts out enough to figure out what to tell her father. The sorrow gripping her was so painful, it was so hard for her to ignore the pain it brought her. Lacus was more at a loss of what she could do to help people keep alive than before going to Heliopolis. She hoped that her father may have some suggestion that might give her a direction to move in.

Another two hours passed before the contact shuttle that Lacus took to Aprilius One docked at the colony. Her homecoming lacked the normal relief she would have previously with the weight of her journey. Lacus was doing what she could to hold in the tears from all the emotional baggage she was bearing. She just wanted to find her father and go home to let out the feelings she was holding in. However, one glance around and Lacus didn't see any sign of her father Siegel waiting for her like he normally did. Granted, her father had responsibilities with the Supreme Council so he could be busy with that today. But he would usually tell her if he would be unable to meet her and send one of the house staff in his place.

"Miss Clyne, welcome home," a male voice said.

Lacus turned and found herself looking at a pair, a man and a woman coming up to where she was. The man was just under six-feet in height, and had short brown hair with full sideburns. His purple eyes stood out as the color was rare and was the predominate feature of his ruff hewn face. He appeared to be in his early thirties and had fairly tan skin suggesting he had been on Earth in a aired region for a time. His ZAFT uniform was a dark tan color with short sleeves, making Lacus believe it was the desert variation for the military uniform which again said he had worked in desert areas. Meanwhile, the woman with him was a head shorter than the man, having long dark blue hair flowing down her back with an orange streak on either side of her face. She had dark green eyes and looked to be around the same age as the man. She was wearing a tight fitting blue body suit that left her shoulders and collar area exposed.

She had never seen either of these two before now, and her father wouldn't send those she didn't know without a very good reason. And it wasn't that Lacus had an issue with ZAFT soldiers coming to pick her up, it had happened before now. Sakura had arranged such a few times when their father was too busy and Sakura herself wasn't available. But there was usually a message sent ahead to her in order to inform her of the arrangement. "Um, hello," Lacus replied, "I'm sorry but who are you two?"

Andrew could understand that Miss Clyne was surprised at not meeting her father or Commander Clyne herself. The girl was a popular idol around the PLANTs, she likely wasn't fully aware of what was done in the background to keep her safe. From what Andrew had heard, there had been a couple of attempts of enemy soldiers posing as Miss Clyne's "fans" to get close and try and kidnap her. Then whenever the job to escort Miss Clyne came up, Andrew could only imagine the list of volunteers that came to Admiral Treize's desk. Commander Clyne tended to suggest who would be right most of the time and no ZAFT officer nor soldier would argue with that woman. So it had been a bit of a surprise when the Admiral had asked him and Aisha to do this job. All that he'd said was that the Chairman had asked it as a favor to have an escort his daughter as he was "busy with something". Andrew bowed, "Begging your pardon ma'am for not introducing myself, my name is Andrew Waltfeld." Lacus saw him smile as he gestured at the woman with him, "And this lovely lady is my partner Aisha."

Aisha shook her head a bit but couldn't help the smile that came to her face with Andy's reference to her. He was really a sweet man when he tried to be, it made dealing with his oddities easier. And this escort job was a nice breath of fresh air compared to what they had been doing up to a month ago around the African Community. Aisha waved at Lacus, "It's a pleasure to meet you in person Miss Clyne." Then she gave Andrew a knowing look, "Andy does know better to do introductions and they should be done first, such just slips his mind some times."

The pair were odd yet interesting to Lacus, they had to have been together for some time now as they appeared to know each other well enough to apologize for bad habits. She assumed that the two were here to escort her home, it made the most sense. It didn't answer why her father wasn't here, but she could ask him about that later. "It's nice to meet you both," Lacus returned. "I assume you are here to escort me home?"

Andrew nodded, "Indeed we are, per Admiral Treize's orders," he answered, "he said something about the Chairman asking it as a favor." Andrew shrugged, "Can't say much better than that sorry to say."

That her father had gone to ZAFT's Admiral Treize for an escort for her was odd in Lacus's mind. Her father had mentioned that he was friends with Mr. Treize, but both were busy with different things normally. It made her even more curious as to what was occupying her father that he couldn't come here himself. The two escorted her to the Clyne residence and she thanked them before they went on their way. Lacus greeted the house staff and asked where her father was and was told he would be back in around an hour as he'd been called for Council business. Lacus put her things in her room and took the time she waited for her father to organize her thoughts.

Minutes after Siegel got back from the Council session he had been called to, Lacus found him started talking. Tears quickly came to Lacus as Siegel listened to his daughter recount her journey back here. The tale was hard to swallow for Siegel, more so with the facts as he knew them. He had wanted to shield Lacus from the horrors the ongoing war was producing in a way that he couldn't do for Sakura. But in the end, he'd failed and Lacus had become involved in the war between the Alliance and ZAFT even if only for a time. Siegel wanted to think Lacus's involvement was over, but he feared such was only a dream. Siegel said nothing as Lacus continued her story and could only pity his daughter having to see what the war was taking first-hand.

Meanwhile, Lisa had headed for the Kitchen after submitting a report for Federation High Command to get something to eat. None of Tyler's vitals had changed, they were still low even if stable and that didn't help. She knew it would take time for Tyler to recover from his near-death experience. It was just the waiting that was a form of torture and Lisa wasn't liking it at all and she knew Tyler wouldn't if he were in her position. And the house staff had been very nice and had asked if they could help her. She believed that they felt sorry for Tyler and his long recovery that he had ahead of him. The chief was more than happy to make Lisa something when she got into the kitchen.

Lisa did notice something had changed since the last time she was out of Tyler's room or her own room here. What it was that had changed, she couldn't guess, nor was she all that interested right now. There were voices in the nearby sitting room, but Lisa didn't pay attention to them. She grabbed the food prepared for her and headed back to Tyler's room to check on him again before she moved on to other things. Lisa tried keeping an eye on the Federation's Information Network a few times a day. It was one of the few ways that she could know what was going on on Earth and in the war. Tyler would need to know when he woke up and it would be one less thing he would need to do if she did it for him. Plus, it kept her mind off of Tyler's condition even if for a short period of time.

Back with Siegel, he was trying to console Lacus the best he could, but there was nothing he could say that would help. She was sobbing about Tyler McGregor's death and saying he was taken too early. Lacus wasn't giving him a chance to speak, so he couldn't tell her that her friend was here in one of the guest rooms. True, he wasn't doing well at all currently, but those from the medical institute had assured him that Tyler was stable. Tyler would slowly recover and doctors would be checking in on the young man every few days. So Lacus would find out Tyler was here sooner or later, but her mood was making things harder. And Siegel didn't want her to panic and worry more when she saw her friend on the bed connected to medical equipment. Thus, Siegel suggested to Lacus to have a meal and get some sleep as that would help her come to terms.

Lacus knew her father was right, she needed to eat and sleep before she could move forward and accept things as they were. And telling him of what had happened to her had helped a little even if it hadn't lifted the whole weight on her. Lacus would work on figuring out what to do after sleeping. The house cook was more than happy to make her something, though it looked like he had already been at work. Lacus thanked the man and took her dinner in her own room, being left to her own thoughts. Being home was helping a little, but Lacus's heart was still aching for her friends.

Lacus had taken her dishes back to the kitchen and was heading back to her room when she saw a light down the hall. As far as she knew, there were only some guest rooms down in that direction, and there shouldn't be anyone down that way. It was possible that some of the house staff were making their rounds, but Lacus's curiosity was peeked. So, she walked down the hall to find out what was going on. As she went there was the sound of a door opening and closing ahead of her. Lacus rounded a corner and saw nothing, but she knew she had heard a door along this hall opening and closing. There were two guest rooms on this hallway that Lacus knew of, but none of them should be in use. And a moment after looking at the two doors, she noticed one had light coming from the floor crack. So, Lacus moved forward and quietly opened the door that had light coming from under it.

Lisa had come for the final time today to check on Tyler before she retired for the night. And while she was no doctor or nurse, she knew how to check the machines' readouts and check the fluids in the bags. There was fluid-fill bags that could be switched out by almost any and should be done each morning by what the doctor had said. Thankfully they had stopped the bleeding at the institute so Tyler wasn't in danger from that now. Yet, even with Tyler being stable, it was horrible to see him as he was right now. Lisa just finished checking things over when a quiet creek came to her ears.

Lacus peeked into the guest room and was baffled at what she saw inside for it wasn't how it was supposed to be. She'd seen most of the guest rooms, they had a similar setup due to the house staff's work. Yet, where there was the bed as there should be, other equipment was also in the room around the bed. From one look, Lacus believed the equipment was medical in nature, but she couldn't say beyond that. Then there was a woman in the room as well, but she wasn't a member of the house staff that Lacus had seen. There was the possibility that she was a new member of the staff, there were rotations as far as Lacus understood. "Um," Lacus spoke up, "Sorry if I'm interrupting anything, but what is going on in here?"

Lisa recognized the girl, she was one of Tyler's friends that had been traveling with the Archangel. She also looked quite a lot like the woman that had caused Tyler trouble and grief around his own home. The resemblance was so striking, Lisa would guess that the two were sisters, and if this house was anything to go by, she was related to the Chairman. As far as Lisa knew, Chairman Clyne was supposed to have two daughters, one in the military and the other some sort of idol. Honestly, Lisa didn't keep up on what was new about the PLANTs after she left them years ago, so she couldn't be sure. She didn't know what to say in this situation, the girl didn't know Tyler was in this room just not coherent. "Rather late is it not miss," Lisa said in reply, not being able to think of anything else.

The woman's voice sounded familiar, Lacus just couldn't place why it did or where she had heard her voice. She wracked her brain trying to figure out why this woman's voice sounded familiar and where she'd encountered it. "Who are you," Lacus asked, "have we met somewhere? Your voice sounds familiar but I can't place it."

Lisa sighed seeing no further reason to hide anything, "We have met, rather recently in fact," she began. Lacus was only partly paying attention to what the woman was saying, she was looking towards the bed. The medical equipment didn't make sense, unless whoever was in the bed had very poor health. Lacus felt like she was missing something huge in this, but she couldn't figure out what it could be. Lisa drew back the girl's attention with her next sentence, "But apparently you have already forgotten Lacus Christopher."

Lacus's head snapped back to the woman as none here should know the name she went by when she was away from the PLANTs. "How do you know that name," Lacus questioned, "None here know it."

Lisa exhaled, "You assume we met around here, we did not." She paused, "Must say though, you're very different than that sister of yours. She is dogmatic about things," Lisa stopped remembering what Tyler had to deal with around Sakura. "However, with the reputation your sister has, never thought I would hear her whine like she did."

Lacus was getting a tad angry as this woman was insulting Sakura and Lacus wouldn't let another do that in front of her. "Sakura isn't a bad person," she snapped. "And Sakura doesn't whine."

Lisa shook her head remembering what she had witnessed back around the Republic, "She certainly did when I was helping pull her off of Tyler after she jumped into his bed," she remarked.

That one sentence got Lacus to stop and question what was being said as it didn't make sense. If true, then Sakura had actually snuck into Tyler's bed while she had been around the Republic. Lacus hadn't thought her sister would do anything like this woman was suggesting, but her behavior around Tyler said it could be possible even if unlikely. However, the point also got Lacus to recall that Tyler had another besides Athrun at his house when the Archangel had arrived at Shira. "You," Lacus started, "You were around Tyler's house in Shira."

Lisa nodded, "Remember do you," she posed, "My name is Lisa Malto, and now that you recall, you would do well to go to bed. I feel tomorrow will be quite a day for you and you will need your sleep." Lacus didn't understand what this woman meant about tomorrow being out of the ordinary day for her. Also, Lacus still had so many questions that she wanted answered now rather than waiting for later. However, Lisa moved forward and grabbed one of Lacus's arms, "No more questions for tonight, off to bed you go."

Lacus wasn't allowed to argue as Lisa tugged her out of the room and closed the door behind her. Once Lacus was off to her room, Lisa went back to hers knowing that it was better the girl hadn't learned Tyler was the one in the bed. Lacus on the other hand, was unhappy about being "told off" by someone that was a guest in this house. She would get answers as to what was going on tomorrow, even if she needed to get her father involved. For all Lacus knew, her father may know about what was going on, what the woman was doing here and why there seemed to be a stranger in one of the guest rooms. After that, Lacus could decide on what to do going forward as she had been meaning to do.

The next morning, Lisa got up and headed straight for the room Tyler was in and checked things over. She tried to make the bed Tyler was in the best she could as the girl from last night would no doubt be in here today. And Lisa couldn't say how Lacus Clyne would react at seeing Tyler in the state he was in currently. It was a miracle that Tyler was alive right now, there was not much of another way to say it. However, simply put, Tyler still have a ways to go and fussing over him wouldn't help him along that path. Lisa just hope the girl would realize that quickly and not hinder Tyler's recovery. So, Lisa set up her data terminal on the desk in the room and waited for Lacus to come.

Lacus was up earlier than usual and quickly headed for the kitchen to get breakfast before she found out what was going on. She was told that her father had Council business this morning so wouldn't be home until the afternoon. That was fine, but it wouldn't stop Lacus figuring out what was happening in the house. When she asked the staff about their "guests" all she was told they had arrived the day before. Nothing else had been said to the house staff only to not disturb the two guest rooms now occupied by Siegel. Nor was the staff to say anything to any visitors about those staying here, it was to be kept quiet. That was odd to Lacus and made her want to know more what was going on, and why it was being kept a secret.

Lacus headed towards the guest room she had looked in on last night, determined to find out the truth. Once at the door, Lacus took a breath and knocked on the door, but no answer came at the knock. So, Lacus opened the door and peeked inside, seeing the woman from last night was within. Lisa was at the desk appearing to be looking over something on a display on the desk. Lacus glanced at the bed and it looked unchanged from what she had seen the night before. As the woman hadn't said anything, Lacus moved inside still looking around taking in the room. She could see a bit more than she had last night, the equipment was definitely medical in function. Lacus couldn't see specifically what the machines were showing from where she was, but she recognized some things like a heart monitor. Lacus glanced over at the display Lisa was looking at, and couldn't tell what was going across the screen.

Her attention shifted to the bed hoping to figure out what this was all about. Lacus was moving closer to the bed when Lisa stopped reading over the information she had been reading. "Should you move forward," she began, "Please contain yourself and do not interfere with the medical equipment." Lacus looked back at Lisa trying to understand what she was talking about as it didn't make sense. She returned her attention to the bed and closed the rest of the distance and looked down. There was as she had seen last night someone in the bed, yet they were not just connected to tubes and other medical equipment, but also were wrapped in bandages. It was clear that whoever this was, they had been injured badly and that was putting it mildly.

Nevertheless, Lacus studied what she could see of the face and the minutes went by, she began to recognized features. The longer she looked, the more the face looked familiar and her heart lifted a small margin. Lacus's breath caught as the pieces came together and she realized who was in the bed, "Tyler," she whispered.

Lisa nodded solemnly, "Yes, it is him," she acknowledged, "It really is a miracle that he's alive and here right now."

Lacus turned to Lisa still trying to wrap her head around how Tyler could be here and be alive. The last she knew, Tyler had been fighting the Blitz before he had vanished to go elsewhere on the battlefield. Yet, here he was now in a critically wounded state and not even awake or aware of his surroundings. She was overjoyed that Tyler was alive, but it was painful to see him as he was right now. All that Lacus could think to do that wouldn't hamper Tyler's condition was to take his left hand and gently squeeze it. She felt no response from Tyler which hurt, but she hoped that somehow he knew there were those that were praying for him. Lisa frowned a bit at seeing the helpless gesture fully understanding the feeling as she had it herself. After that day, Lacus would come by Tyler's room multiple times a day to check on him and do anything she could to help him. Lisa didn't see a problem with the girl's action, she clearly wanted to help. Siegel even encouraged Lacus to do what she was as it had given her new purpose.

More than two weeks went by and Tyler was slowly healing though he was still out and hadn't woken up. While Lacus was keeping an eye on Tyler, Lisa figured she could go out and get a few things for herself. It was still uncertain how long she would be here with Tyler in the condition he was. Nice as the house staff was, there were just some things that Lisa saw that she needed that they didn't get. So, Lisa headed out to the commercial district of Aprilius One to go and get the supplies. She was wearing a white wrap/surplice type dress with an off-white reefer coat with a hood. The inside of the coat appeared to be lined with aqua-green frill lace while the coat was embroidered with black velvet. Lisa was also wearing gloves that had white palms and wrists while the fingers were black. To top off the outfit, Lisa had black tights with a decorative green garter with white ruffles on her left thigh.

No one called her out while she walked through the area which was what she wanted as Lisa didn't want attention drawn to her. Lisa had become fair at blending into crowds shortly after she left the PLANTs, it had been almost a necessity. She'd admit that she wasn't as good as Tyler was at the idea, but Lisa could managed. Yet, while Lisa was going about, she was listening to the chatter that the locals were doing. And it didn't take long for Lisa to figure the citizens were "worried" about how things were going with the war. And the Council was not helping silence the fears growing, if anything some where using what was happening to rally more to "their" cause. It reminded Lisa of the mentality her "father" had and what had eventually got Lisa to leave the PLANTs years ago.

Lisa was brought out of her thoughts when something bumped into her and brought her to a stop. When she looked down, she found a child on the ground trying to regain their senses after the impact. Yet, after a minute, Lisa had to blink as for a moment she thought she knew the little girl. But they couldn't be who Lisa thought they were, there was little reason for her to be on Aprilius One rather than Maius Two. So, Lisa bent down to the girl's level, "Are you okay," she asked kindly.

The girl shook her head and then looked up at Lisa, "I think so," she replied.

Lisa smiled, "Sorry for bumping into you, I should have been paying more attention," she remarked. She held out a hand to the girl which she took, "Were you with someone, I wouldn't doubt they are worried and are looking for you."

The girl followed Lisa as they looked around for whoever she'd been with before bumping into Lisa. The girl described got Lisa thinking about her previous thoughts about this little girl. She talked about a boy that was in his early teens according to her. The description reminded Lisa a lot of her younger brother, but that could be a coincidence. Those that had been Lisa's family years ago lived on Maius Two. The only one that would have reason to come to Aprilius One would be her father as he worked with the Council. After about ten minutes, the girl ran ahead toward a boy, and Lisa took that opportunity to blend back in with the crowd. The boy certainly did look like an older version of Lisa's brother, but she let that thought fade. Lisa continued on her way to get the supplies she was out for before bumping into the little girl.

Lisa ended out in a clothing store and was looking around at things and still drawing as little attention as possible. As she was looking around, Lisa crossed another, a woman and Lisa was apologizing out of habit. Yet, as Lisa looked at the woman, her voice caught as she recognized the one in front of her. Even when more than five years had passed, Lisa couldn't forget the face she was seeing. They looked very much alike, showing the family resemblance that they shared. And it was the first time in more than five years since Lisa had seen her mother face to face.

Sally Minti had been out shopping for a few things today while her husband did whatever Council business he was here for. Both her children were out looking for things to take back home when they left soon enough. Matt was responsible enough to keep an eye on his younger sister Cynthia. They were all to meet up for lunch and try and enjoy the sights of Aprilius One. Then she had bumped into another by accident, understandable as the store was heavily trafficked. However, when Sally looked at the one she bumped into, she froze as she thought she was seeing things. In front of her was one who looked very much like her eldest daughter Lilly who vanished years ago. That night had been a nightmare, Sally hadn't been able to forgive herself for what happened. Even when Lilly had reached out and "talked" to her every once and a while hadn't been enough for Sally. Yet, here before her could well be her estranged daughter, "Lilly," she questioned.

It had been years since Lisa had been called the name she had at birth, not since she left the PLANTs. Lisa had pretty much started over after leaving, even changing her name and coming up with a background story for herself. It was her way of leaving behind the life that had turned upside-down and rejected her attempts to express herself. Yes, she "spoke" to her mother from time to time, once a year if that these days. Nonetheless, here she was, looking back at what she had left behind years ago due to her father's stubbornness. "Fate seems to have something in mind," Lisa sighed heavily, "It has been years since I've been referred to as Lilly."

Sally couldn't say how happy she was to see her eldest daughter, it had been years since the last time she'd seen Lilly's face. But a frown came to Sally at her saying she didn't go by Lilly any more as it had been the name Sally had wanted. And while Sally wondered why Lilly was here, just seeing her was enough to be happy without the answer to that question. So, Sally moved forward and hugged Lisa, "It has been far too long Lilly."

Lisa slowly returned the embrace, "It has, sorry that's the case," she paused, "Things just never seemed to line up for me to come back around the PLANTs." Her thoughts went back to the night that she'd left the place she had called home years ago. The fight with her father had made any attempt at a goodbye difficult for Lisa. She'd been eighteen back then while her brother had been nine and her sister almost four. The fight hadn't just affected Lisa and her father, she knew that her family had been hurt by it. Lisa remembered that Matt had listened to her views and had inquired further about them. She wondered if Matt had said anything about his differing view from their father, she doubted it, he would get into trouble if he did. Then Lisa could only imagine how scared Cynthia had been back then probably not understanding what was going on. Lisa exhaled, "I didn't leave under the best circumstances."

Sally frowned at the last line as it was more true than Lilly could ever know. The differing views between Lilly and her father had built over her late teenage years. The fight that had caused Lilly to leave had just been the the culmination of the disagreements. Sally had considered if she could have done anything to prevent the fight, but she could come up with nothing. Her husband had literally acted like they had only two children after Lilly left. Sally hadn't said anything to the contrary as it wouldn't have changed his stubborn mind. "I don't know if anything could have been done back then," Sally admitted, "Neither of you were willing to let the other layout their views."

It hadn't been that Lisa had been unwilling to listen to the man that had been her father, she had tried a few times. The problem was her father wouldn't give her a chance to speak her mind and support her views with facts. Bryce Minti was the kind of person that had to be right in what they believed. You either agreed with his views and supported him or you were a "fool" that didn't know what they were talking about. It had been when Lisa had understood that point when she stopped trying to help her father see her views. "That's one way of putting it I suppose," Lisa replied, "though I tried compromising and listening, he didn't."

Sally shook her head, "But enough of that, how about you join me for lunch," she suggested. "You could have the chance to see Matthew and Cynthia again and I would bet they would love the opportunity to see you again."

Lisa thought for a moment, and figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to go along with her mother. She did miss her siblings a great deal, they had looked to her for a lot of things before she'd left the PLANTs. And she had the time as Tyler had shown no signs that he would be waking up anytime in the near future. Thus, Lisa nodded, "Sure, I have the time."

Sally led Lisa out of the store they were in and the two headed to a café. It was the one that Sally had instructed Matt to meet her at with Cynthia before parting with them earlier. The two picked a table and sat down and ordered drinks. Sally was asking Lisa if she'd been taking care of herself after she left the PLANTs, like most mothers would. Lisa gave a few details about how she had gone to Earth, specifically landed at the Euros Coalition's Rome Portus spaceport. She had then moved on from there doing what she had to managing to make ends meet.

Meanwhile, Matt was leading his younger sister as they were heading to the café their mother had said to meet her at. Cynthia had been going on about the "nice lady" that had helped her back to Matt when they had been separate. He had meant to lightly chastise Cynthia but he had stopped when the memory of how Lilly had done much the same to him when he was younger. He now understood why his older sister had told him to be careful and aware of his surroundings back then. Matt had told Cynthia pretty much the same thing which had been ironic. Cynthia had merely smiled at Matt telling her to be more careful which had made any chance of being mad at her disappear.

The two entered the café area and began looking around for their mother so they could join her for lunch. It was Cynthia that spotted their mother first and simply weaved through the crowds to get to her. Matt followed but had to be more careful to not knock over people as he went unlike Cynthia. However, Cynthia got to the table her mother was at first and grabbed her hand still smiling, "Mom."

At the greeting, Sally looked down and saw Cynthia there with her normal smile set on her face. "There you are Cynthia," Sally remarked, "Did you lose your brother or did you leave him to make his way here himself?"

Cynthia glanced around and didn't see Matt with her as he had been just a moment ago. "He was with me when we got here mom," she said, "I thought he was right behind me."

As the girl tried to explain to her mother why she was alone, Lisa was holding in the laughter. It was reminiscent of times Lisa had been watching after Matt when he was younger. She'd chased after him several times when he wandered off. Lisa also remembered explaining to him that wandering off was not a good thing and caused trouble. And yet, as Cynthia kept going, Lisa just couldn't stay silent and she chuckled at the scene. The laughter drew Cynthia's attention and when she looked, she saw the nice lady who had helped her earlier sitting at the table. Cynthia pointed at Lisa, "You're the nice lady that helped me before," she exclaimed.

Sally glanced at Lisa curiously wondering what Cynthia meant that she had been helped. She would have asked Lilly about that but a person came out of the crowd before she could. Matt was breathing a little harder with having to work his way through the crowd to get to where his sister was. "Cynthia," Matt began, "I told you not to go off on your own, that's how you got lost earlier."

Lisa snickered at the line, which caught her mother's attention and Sally knew why. Lilly had given much the same kind advice to Matt when he was Cynthia's age and younger. Matt heard the snickering and turned to its source and found a woman sitting on the other side of the table. However, as Matt kept looking, he was not sure he was seeing what he thought he was. Across from him appeared to be his older sister Lilly, but she left years ago and hadn't come back. "Lilly," he questioned in minor disbelief.

Lisa smiled softly, "You've grown taller Matt," she returned, "And by the sound of it become more responsible than you used to be."

A/n

And I'll leave off there to pick up on the next Phase. So, for those that have read the first version of this story, you'll notice this was originally part of "Recovery". I gave this its own Phase as it fits better in the long-run in my opinion. So Tyler's arrival and trip to Aprilius's medical institute is new and gave me a chance to give better details on how injured Tyler was from the Shadow's destruction. And someone can feel free to correct me with the seriousness of a collapsed lung but it was what fit for me in this story. Then I felt that the original way in which Lacus found out about Tyler being there at her home could be done better. I imagine Lacus was distraught enough that she wouldn't see there was another there until she calmed down a bit. Thus it took a day for her to figure out that Tyler was there which works better in my opinion. And finally, the meeting for Lisa with her family, which you reads clearly saw was different. I felt that it was better for it to not be arranged or expected like it was before. I did that since I have portrayed that Lisa has left her previous life with her family behind.

Anyways, hope you enjoyed this Phase as I do work hard to write them as quickly as I can. As I said before, between full school load and working full-time at the same time, I don't get to write as much as I would like. And I thank you readers that comment on what I put out, it does inspire and motivate me to keep writing. So, I ask some of you write reviews to keep the thoughts coming. I hope to keep up this pace, but I make no promises with my life the way it is, yet I will try to keep this up. Thus, I will see you all in the next Phase, until then stay safe with COVID-19 going around.