A/n

Here is a Valentine's day present for you readers, the next Phase in Gundam Seed: the Federation. I hope you like it!

Phase 29: Theft

May 3rd, 71 C.E.

Aprilius One, Lagrange 5

The next time Tyler woke up, he got out of bed slowly before grabbing the IV pole with the oxygen machine still on it and headed out of the room. He hobbled to the sitting room and found Siegel there with Lacus. The two turned and saw Tyler coming in, Lacus rose and helped him to the sofa before sitting next to him. Tyler took a moment to calm his breathing before facing Siegel, "So then, Siegel, what is the request that you have for me to listen to?"

Siegel gathered his thoughts as this subject was getting more complicated the more he looked into it. It was more a sign there was a rift developing in the Supreme Council, and two sides were coming out of it. There was the side that Siegel and many of the other moderates wanted to de-escalate regarding the ongoing war. The other side had the radical members that wanted more involvement in the war and crush the Alliance. Unfortunately, out of the four council members that were on the National Defense Committee, only one even spoke to the moderate members very openly. And by what he'd been getting from Lanus, the Committee wasn't working with him as much as they should be. In the end, Siegel sighed, "Well, Tyler, no doubt you've noticed the war between ZAFT and the Alliance's OMNI is getting worse for more than just those fighting in it."

Tyler nodded, not in any way disagreeing with the point as innocent bystanders were getting hurt more now than they had in the earlier years of the war. The Federation's Military had been trying to mitigate the harm, but there was only so much they could do. And with OMNI likely to soon be able to mass-produce mobile suits, things would just get worse. It had been the Federation higher-ups' fear that when the Alliance got mobile suits, they would employ them to try to assert their dominance. The amount of sabotage done to prevent OMNI mobile suits was extensive, and Tyler had participated in some of the missions to do that. "Oh, I'm well-aware of the war getting worse, Siegel. I've been aware of some of the things I've done for almost two years since I enlisted in the Federation's Military. However, I assume that something has changed on the PLANTs' side or rather ZAFT's, or else we wouldn't be having this conversation."

Lacus frowned at Tyler, saying he had been in the Federation's Military for close to two years. He was too nice to be a soldier, even though the skills he'd had saved her and others already. And then, he implied that he'd done things in this war to understand how horrible it was. Heck, Lacus had only recently come to know what kind of things Sakura could be dealing with, and she didn't like that. "What kind of things have you done, Tyler, that would have you know about this war," she asked.

Tyler twisted to look at Lacus, "Sorry to say I can't tell you most of the things I've done, and it isn't because I don't want to, it's because the files are sealed. I will say the things I've seen have sickened me and make me fear this war won't stop soon as those driving it forward are not going to let it." Tyler returned to facing Siegel, "But my apologies for interrupting, please continue with what you were saying, Siegel."

"Since the discovery and acquisitions of OMNI's prototypes, scientists within the Integrated Design Bureau have been busy. They have taken what they got from the studies of the machines and applied them to new projects," Siegel iterated. Then he hesitated, "From what I've been told, the projects are finished for the most part, and others are discussing who to have on them."

Siegel grabbed the datapad he had with the info Lanus had sent him and slid it over the table to Tyler for him to look at. Tyler picked up the datapad and brought up the information, which came up as images and corresponding text. Within less than a minute, Tyler was in a state of shock, which flashed to irritation. On the datapad were technical specs of two mobile suits developed by ZAFT's Integrated Design Bureau, which he had heard was pretty much their top R&D group. Lacus did see some expressions flash over Tyler's face, the first was shock, then there was irritation before he schooled his expression.

Tyler studied the files on the datapad, the first of the two on the mobile suits named the ZGMF-X10A Freedom. The machine overall wasn't one to scoff at, Tyler could tell that at a hard glance. It was designed for assault and taking on multiple opponents simultaneously, and the data agreed with Tyler's assessment. Some of the noted equipment had phase-shift armor for part of its defense like OMNI's GAT series did. That defense was combined with the fair-sized shield with anti-beam coating. The following system Tyler looked at was made in a wing apparatus that gave this unit excellent mobility and on Earth flight. Tyler did not doubt that the armaments combined with the multi-lock-on system would be efficient and deadly to those the suit faced. But the most significant two things that caught his eye were a piece of equipment called a Neutron Jammer Canceller. The data said it nullified the effects of N-Jammers, which led to the suit's power source that was a nuclear fission reactor.

From what Tyler saw, this mobile suit's armaments were like this machine's other equipment. The unit had two plasma cannons stored in the wings by the data, and the cannons were similar to the Strike's beam cannon. Then, two railguns on the hips folded when stored but could snap to ready quickly. From what Tyler was reading, those weapons could pound enemy machines and start to cut down their numbers. Those four weapons alone made this suit dangerous and a challenging opponent to go against, especially in the hands of a seasoned pilot. Tyler moved on to other weapons this unit had to use and found it had two beam sabers at its disposal. The Freedom was also built with two CIWS 76mm guns to intercept incoming projectiles and pepper close enemy machines. Then the beam rifle it had was around the same caliber as the Shadow's beam rifle had been.

With the data he was looking over, Tyler was impressed with the design and extremely worried about the potential applications. The Freedom had hazardous equipment both carried and built into it, which could be used several ways. The nuclear reactor alone was a serious issue not just for the operational time it supplied but also for what could happen if it detonated. This unit and doubtless the other on the datapad could be seen as portable nuclear bombs should those that commanded it wanted to do that. The existence of this and the other unit essentially destroyed the April Fools Crisis's work. That one event had prevented the war from escalating with nuclear weapons for more than five years. And what was sadder still, should the Alliance get ahold of Neutron Jammer Cancellers, the first thing they would do is make nukes to send at the PLANTs. Tyler feared it would be only a matter of time before the Alliance somehow got the technology now that it existed.

Looking at the mobile suit also created concern in Tyler's mind aside from the return of nuclear technology. ZAFT producing machines like this said to Tyler they were thinking ahead, not just in defeating OMNI, but potentially going against the Federation as well. The war between the Alliance and ZAFT was terrible, but should either side draw in the Federation, they would be eliminated, and the remaining side would be dealt with. Whoever the Federation ended out going against would be a bloody battle as the faction would fight until forced to stop or being wiped out. The grim idea was horrible to Tyler and didn't end well for either side, only with massive death.

Tyler said nothing yet, just switched over to the other mobile suit's schematic, and his mood didn't improve. He found some of the same equipment as the "Freedom" had, and it was the concerning stuff. This machine was named the ZGMF-X09A Justice and was clearly designed for assault. This unit had a nuclear reactor and corresponding Neutron Jammer Canceller. The machine had much the same elements for defense, such as phase-shift armor and anti-beam coated shield. The Justice possessed a multi-lock-on system that complimented its weapon load out as much as the Freedom had. The fundamental difference between the two was a piece of equipment called the Fatum-00, which appeared to be a winged flight system attached to the back of this suit.

In the armament department, the Justice had two beam sabers like the Freedom did and could combine them into one twin-edged weapon. Another offensive option this unit had was a type of beam boomerang stored in the shoulders of the suit. The data said the tests of the beam boomerangs had proved they could be consistent enough to be effective. Then the unit had four CIWS guns instead of two as the Freedom had and were mounted in the head. The Fatum-00 had most of the suit's weapons mounted to it, such as the two main rapid-fire beam cannons. Then the two turret machine guns could swivel, and the other two machine guns were fixed and appeared to be more for interception. Finally, the Justice had a beam rifle that looked to be the same model as the Freedom's, making it as effective.

After slightly more than five minutes of studying the schematics, Tyler put down the datapad, thinking for a bit. His thoughts were not pleased about what he had looked at, more he was worried that ZAFT was going to be more aggressive soon. And if the mobile suits were used as they could be, death would follow in their wake, and it would be horrifying. In the end, Tyler looked at Siegel, "From a professional standpoint, I have to admit both are impressive mobile suits, Siegel," he remarked dryly. "And I have seen some impressive equipment before now, so quite the achievement for ZAFT."

Lacus had been worried about Tyler with the expressions that had crossed his face, more so after he had stopped showing anything. She couldn't see what was on the datapad from where she sat, but she was curious what Tyler had been looking over. Lacus had little notion of what this conversation would be about, but now she was concerned. And Tyler's remark was given in such a tone that he was forcing what he said, that he felt something completely different from what his words said. Tyler was clearly not happy about something on the data he had studied, but what Lacus couldn't guess. "Tye, you don't sound happy," she started, "about whatever you read. What is on that datapad that has you like you are?"

Tyler glanced back at Siegel, silently asking for permission to tell Lacus about what he had looked over. Siegel nodded, but he was hesitant about Lacus knowing about the mobile suits for some reason. "On this datapad is specs on two mobile suits that ZAFT R&D has recently developed and built."

Lacus was confused at being told the datapad contained mobile suit data, it made no sense why her father would have such. And clearly, something about the mobile suits troubled Tyler, but she couldn't figure out what. "I assume that something about them you don't like, Tye?"

Tyler paused for a moment, trying to order his thoughts so he could tell Lacus in such a way that she would understand. The reintroduction of nuclear technology was very problematic, if not scary, with how much worse it would make the war. "No, Lacus, these machines are concerning for several reasons," Tyler replied. "The biggest problem is they have nuclear reactors for their power sources."

Lacus gasped since what Tyler said shouldn't be possible, that would require something that could overcome N-Jammers. "Tye that can't be, N-Jammers make nuclear technology ineffective. Since the April Fools Crisis, such has been the case," Lacus reasoned.

Tyler sighed, "I would've agreed with you before reading what's on this datapad, but such isn't true anymore. These units have Neutron Jammer Cancellers, which translates into nuclear tech being usable again." Tyler turned to face Siegel, "Honestly, I'm surprised that ZAFT created such since it disregards the victims of Junius Seven and has the work of creating and deploying the N-jammers meaningless."

Siegel agreed with Tyler, N-jammer Cancellers did make N-jammers and the work that went into a moot point. However, it made Siegel believe that Lanus got this to him to get it to the Federation's Military. They would be able to use the information and hopefully create some counter-measures. It seemed far less likely that ZAFT would make any contingency for nuclear technology being used against them. And if the worst were to happen, then an event worse than Bloody Valentine would occur if no counter-measures existed. "Indeed, and I think the hope if the Federation could develop a counter-measure for such before it becomes a crisis."

Lacus looked between her father and Tyler, "I don't understand what you both are talking about."

Tyler's gaze returned to Lacus, "I said professionally the machines are impressive, and I say that with my experience of testing experimental equipment as I get to sometimes. Frankly, from a personal standpoint, the units are more than concerned about ZAFT's direction. While mobile suits are generally dangerous for those who fight in this war, these will be far more so depending on the pilot." Tyler paused for a moment before continuing, "I can't truthfully say whether it is better to call them mobile suits or weapons of mass destruction. With their nuclear reactors, they could deliver nuclear payloads and then detonate to kill all in a fairly large area, like large city size areas."

Lacus was horrified at what Tyler was suggesting could be done by these mobile suits, it was simply unthinkable. ZAFT wouldn't employ nuclear weapons nor use them against Earth, the Bloody Valentine had shown how horrible that was. And yet, Tyler appeared to be serious about what he said, and she trusted his judgment. "No," she whispered, "ZAFT wouldn't go so far, Mr. Treize wouldn't let it happen."

At the mention of the unofficial leader of ZAFT, Tyler wanted to agree with Lacus, but the development of the Freedom and the Justice strongly implied otherwise. Thus, Tyler turned back to Siegel, "As much as I would love to agree with Lacus, and if Admiral Treize is over this, then I'll be less worried. But I'll ask the question of you, Siegel, is Treize involved in this, or were others in charge of this development?"

Siegel hesitated as he didn't like the answer any more than the implications that came with it. "I'm sorry to say he wasn't from what I understand," he returned, "and my source is reliable."

Tyler didn't like the direction this was implying ZAFT was going, it was very troubling indeed. If Admiral Treize wasn't calling the shots for ZAFT any longer, there was serious concern that Federation High Command would need to deal with. But that also begged the question, if others had made these machines and hadn't involved Treize, they would very unlikely want the Federation to know about it either. So, why was Siegel bringing this info to him when he no doubt knew Tyler would deliver it to the Federation? Siegel said outright that some that knew about the two mobile suits wanted the Federation to know about them, but apparently, those in charge didn't. "So then, feel free to correct me should I be wrong, Siegel, but those that have say over these two mobile suits wouldn't want someone like me seeing them," Tyler posed. He waited for the man to counter him, but Siegel didn't, so he continued, "Since you haven't countered me, I take that as truth. That leads me to ask, what is it you want me to do with this information?"

Siegel knew what he was about to ask was dangerous for all involved, himself included. He would be branded a traitor when it was found out he provided the specs on the two machines. It had been why he had told Lacus it would be better than she wasn't a part of this conversation, yet she had insisted. But he also saw the potential reasons that Lanus got this to his attention so that Tyler could help with this. The Federation's Military needed to know about N-jammer Cancellers being developed. They were the most likely to come up with something to counter dangers that came with this that others were clearly ignoring. And if Tyler's health weren't as it was, then Siegel would have brought this up as soon as he had found out about it more than a week ago. "I would like you to pilot one of them out and away from the colony," he stated calmly, "And get it to the Federation to do what they can with it."

Tyler's mouth fell open slightly at what Siegel was asking, not for the intent but for the repercussions it came with. He was more than happy to get the information of the two units to Federation High Command. Tyler felt the sooner the information reached them, the quicker counter-measures could be created, and they would be needed. However, Tyler firmly believed that those that had say over either the Freedom or the Justice would be willing to let him have them. "I highly doubt those in charge of those two mobile suits along with those they report to are going to let me take one Siegel. As noble as your goal is, those that had these developed wouldn't want those they probably intend to use them against knowing about them."

Tyler was correct, of course, the National Defense Committee wouldn't want either machine to be taken to the Federation. Lately, there had been implications that distrust of the Federation was growing. There was no reason for the distrust that Siegel had seen, but the war had been creating that, unfortunately. All the talks with Federation political leaders had been good from what Eileen had said, no sign of them helping the Alliance or having much to do with the war. "I would agree with your assessment Tyler, but the point is as you said, the mobile suits are dangerous. Thus, those that have the chance to make means to neutralize them need to know whether its creators think so or not. And I believe you have the best chance with succeeding at getting one of the machines where it needs to go," Siegel admitted.

Lacus was starting to see where her father was going with this, and she agreed in the end. With these mobile suits having a nuclear power source, there needed to be a means to neutralize them if something went wrong. Nonetheless, there would be consequences if she became aware that her father supplied the information to the one who got it to those outside ZAFT. And with her knowing about his, she could be implicated and charged as a traitor as her father would be. It was for the best, she knew that the Federation would come up with a way to counter the nuclear technology. In the long run, it would benefit the people of the PLANTs, even if others would argue the opposite.

Tyler was thinking about what he was being asked to do as it wasn't simple, nor would he be the only one held accountable for the results. Should he steal one of the mobile suits, Siegel and potentially Lacus would be blamed for it. Neither of them was doing anything that should be seen as betrayal or sedition. However, Tyler was sure those in power would accuse them of just that and hunt them down for it. The two would have to go into hiding, and where Tyler would be, there would be those that would help them, it was still a horrible situation. He didn't doubt Siegel knew what was ahead of him should this go as hoped, but Tyler still had to ask. "You two understand what will happen to you if this succeeds, right," he questioned. Tyler was apprehensive about both those in front of him, they didn't deserve what would come on their heads. "You'll be branded as traitors and would probably be hunted down to either spend the rest of your life in prison or executed, depending on how nice the one in charge is feeling."

Siegel nodded sadly as he understood he and likely his daughter would be in serious trouble at best, killed as Tyler said at worst. And knowing that the next in line for Chairman was Patrick Zala only sealed their fate even more. Years ago, Siegel would have said Patrick would be friendly and understanding in this situation, but that had changed. Since this war started, Patrick had been more hardened and radical in his thinking. So, with him being the one that would decide what would happen, the outlook was dire. "It is unlikely that Patrick Zala will be very understanding or forgiving with Lacus or me, especially with how he acts these days," Siegel stated.

Lacus's head fell at hearing her father say that they would face horrible backlash as she believed him. The mention of Representative Zala likely meant that he would take the Chairman seat when her father was removed. And the times that Lacus had seen him recently, he had been less than pleasant. She had attributed that to the stress of the war as he was on the National Defense Committee, but it was looking like there was more to that.

Tyler sighed, "Let me ask one more thing then," he paused for a moment, mainly as he avoided politics, "is the radical gaining more influence?"

Siegel nodded slowly, "Unfortunately, yes, they are gaining more control of policy these days."

Tyler exhaled, "Great, that is the last thing any need in this war, more that think killing is the solution."

Lacus blinked at Tyler's statement as she couldn't make sense of it, "What do you mean, Tye," she questioned.

Tyler frowned at the question as it was complicated, and Lacus didn't know what he did, and it was better that way. "Has Sakura told you much about her experience with the Alliance? I have no doubt she has an amount of experience with them?"

Lacus shrugged, "She did recently mention that I should be careful around OMNI officers and not to trust Alliance leadership."

Tyler sighed, "She is a smart woman as she is right in ways that words can't properly describe." He paused for a moment, "I can't go into detail of what I was doing as I learned the truth, but I can tell you what I learned. Put simply, the Alliance and its OMNI outside the public eye are not out to make friends. Most of those in leadership positions are either Blue Cosmos members or the equivalent or have anti-Coordinator sediments. Thus, they use this war to justify killing Coordinators and won't stop until they kill us all or control those they don't kill. Having fanatics in the Alliance already makes this war mess and difficult to end peacefully. The last thing needed is the same kind of fanatics on ZAFT's side calling the shots, that makes ending the war in any way nicely nigh impossible."

Siegel grimaced, "I see your point, and I agree with it, more so with nuclear technology coming back into play."

Tyler shook his head, "It is worse with nuclear technology, for once both sides get it, and rest assured the Alliance will manage to get it somehow, they will use it against each other. ZAFT will use nukes to destroy Earth, not considering its consequences and unknowingly dooming themselves. And the Alliance will use them to destroy the PLANTs, not thinking about the backlash that would come at them before they manage that. In the end, all sides lose, and Humanity's road ends with extinction."

Siegel knew what Tyler said was the truth, as much as it pained him to admit it as the likeliest outcome. Should ZAFT use nuclear weapons on Earth, it would become unlivable and unable to provide any supplies. The PLANTs weren't self-sufficient and wouldn't be for at least a few more years at best, longer at worst. Others claimed the opposite, but they were fooling themselves. Then Coordinators were still trying to find a solution to their reproduction issue that was still coming up by the third generation.

Tyler took some time to breathe, it was still tricky, and he couldn't take as deep a breath as he wanted. He believed Siegel was right that Patrick Zala would likely take over as leader of the PLANTs' Supreme Council. And at one time, Tyler would see nothing wrong with that idea, but that had been years ago. Athrun's father had become about as bad as Blue Cosmos members were, which was sad. It, unfortunately, put ZAFT and the Alliance on even footing when it came to leadership, which was a bad thing. Tyler saw the only saving grace for ZAFT was because it still listened to Admiral Treize enough they didn't do idiotic things. How long that would last worried Tyler, but he couldn't say much better without more information which he didn't have.

And yet, Tyler saw the wisdom that Siegel was using, he was serving the needs of the many by putting aside the demands of the few. So Tyler exhaled, "I'm still willing to help in this as you request and get the information to the Federation. But I have reservations that you two should have to face treatment as you will. You're both good people," Tyler hesitated as thoughts of Sakura came to mind. Tyler believed that the woman who stalked him had a good heart, even when it was hard to see it. "I even include Sakura in that, so this just feels wrong because of that, there has to be another way."

Siegel shook his head, "I fear there isn't the time to come up with an alternative," he remarked. "The two units are already having pilots considered, it is only going to be a short time before that is done, and then the opportunity is gone."

Tyler knew he was grasping at straws, there was little other option in this, and he could see that. "Well then, Siegel, in exchange, would you help my friend Lisa get out of the colony with the least amount of notice, please. The least people possible should be involved in this, I would think."

Siegel agreed to the request. It should be a simple task to get the woman out and not draw notice. All he would have to do was say that a ZAFT officer would take over the duties she had been doing. None would question that, plus that would provide an excuse to have some ZAFT offices at their disposal. Siegel knew that Lanus would assign those who could help with the task and still not be connected to it himself. Lanus had to keep out of this as he couldn't be involved, which was why he had sent the info to Siegel. With that in mind, the discussion turned to plan the details of the upcoming theft.

After mulling it over, Tyler decided to take the Freedom rather than the Justice. He made that choice after Siegel said he wanted Tyler to get one of the machines to a place where it could do the most good. The Freedom didn't fit Tyler's piloting style, but nor did the Justice either, but the Freedom could fit another he knew. That was not to say Tyler wasn't in the "market" for a mobile suit to work with since the Shadow was destroyed. However, Tyler hoped that Teswa could help him out with his shopping when he swung by. The Freedom would be used far better in Kira's hands, Tyler was sure of that, especially after explaining things to him.

When Siegel returned after exchanging messages with Lanus, he mentioned that he was told that he would have two officers over to help with the task. The name Waltfeld rang a bell for Tyler as he'd heard it before now from some he had crossed paths with. Lacus was surprised at hearing that Mr. Waltfeld and his partner would be helping them with this. And once the basic plan was made, Tyler got back to his bedroom to sleep. Tomorrow morning he would have to say farewell to Lisa for the time being as she would head out. The theft was set for the day after tomorrow, and Tyler wanted as much rest as he could get to be ready.

The following day, Lisa visited Tyler before heading to the docks to catch a shuttle. She was going to the Enterprise cruiser, waiting a distance away from the PLANTs, where she would meet up with him in a day or two. She hadn't better told much detail of what Tyler was being asked to do here, only that he would have a means out. With his health, Lisa was worried, but she also knew he was stubborn enough to keep going, and she could say nothing to dissuade him.

She entered his room and saw him sitting up in bed, and he was disconnected from the medical equipment. The medical equipment wasn't supporting him was a step forward, but she wondered if it was too soon. "I see you are at least up, and it is good to see you are making progress with your health," Lisa remarked.

Tyler shrugged, "Still feel less than my best, but there are things to do so I can't spend too much time in a bed. Doctors say I should be in one for a month or more for my health, but I won't be getting that kind of time," he replied.

Lisa sighed, "Yeah, I figured your recovery would be harder once you woke up," she returned. "Do try not to strain yourself, remember you still have a ways to go to be in what most would consider good health." She paused, "I'm heading out shortly, so I wanted to come and wish you luck in whatever you are getting into and ask you to be mindful of your health. I will see you in a few days before we head to Earth and get back to work."

Tyler smiled and offered a hand to his friend, "Lisa, I want to thank you for watching over me as well as saving my rear end after the Shadow was destroyed. I doubt I would be here if not for your efforts, and I'm glad I have a friend like you doing that for me."

Lisa smiled in response and shook the offered hand gently, "The world needs those like you, Tyler, it wouldn't be the same without you. See you in a few days," she said.

Lisa left after that and headed for the docks of Aprilius One, praying that Tyler would be okay and take it easy on himself. She was in the Federation uniform she had come in, it would help with the processing before boarding the shuttle. Lisa also had the few things she had gotten here, though she still had her Federation ID ready as it would be looked at. Upon entering the docking area, Lisa went to the information station and, after some inquiry, found the shuttle she was to be on had just arrived. She began making her way to the gate the shuttle was docked at, focusing on what was ahead. When she arrived at the gate, Lisa saw the shuttle wouldn't leave for thirty minutes as it was being refueled. So she sat down in a chair to wait for the shuttle to call for boarding. Lisa got a datapad out and began going through stuff on it before she was interrupted, "Hello again, nice lady."

Lisa looked up and saw none other than her younger sister Cynthia standing right in front of her with a smile. What the girl was doing around the docks, Lisa could only guess that she and the rest of her family were heading back to Maius Two. "Well, hello again," Lisa replied, "I assume you are waiting for a shuttle to take you home?"

Cynthia nodded before she sat in the seat next to Lisa, "Yep, and dad hasn't gotten here yet either."

"I see," Lisa returned.

Cynthia studied Lisa for a moment, "You really do look a lot like mom," she stated.

Lisa couldn't have her smile go away, her little sister was so innocent, and it was wonderful that she was. She hadn't been tainted by the views her father had, and Lisa was grateful for that as Cynthia was even a sweeter girl than she remembered. "Children do tend to resemble other family members, that is how genetics work."

Cynthia thought, and she remembered that Matt had said something about this lady being their sister. It hadn't made sense, as Cynthia could recall, her mom and dad hadn't said anything about an older sister. "So then, what Matt said is right, and you are our older sister," she asked.

Lisa nodded slowly, "Yes, I would be your sister, I just left home years ago and have never come back," she answered.

"Why did you leave," questioned Cynthia.

Lisa hesitated as she didn't think Cynthia would understand what had happened back then or what contributed to it. The fighting that Lisa had done with her father had not been nice, and the rest of the family ignored it. "Because she had a really bad fight with Dad Cynthia," another answered. Both girls turned and saw their brother Matt coming up to where they were. Lisa nodded, "That is a simple way of putting it, Matt," she agreed.

Matt took a seat on the other side of Lisa, taking in that his older sister was wearing a Federation military uniform. That implied that she worked with them, which would likely set him off if their father ever saw. "It's been a while since the three of us sat next to each other like this," he commented.

"More than five years, I would figure," Lisa said before she sighed, "And I certainly miss times like this with the two of you."

Cynthia tilted her head to the side, "Then why don't you come home?"

Lisa shook her head, "I wish it were so easy," she paused, "But I think your dad wouldn't let me visit."

Matt nodded, "Unfortunately, I fear you are right, Lilly, dad wouldn't let you come through the door. He's even gone so far as to replace any picture that had you with ones that don't, he hadn't changed his mind."

Lisa shrugged, "That doesn't surprise me that he would go so far, Matt, I was, and still likely am, a complete disappointment to him. I had views that didn't align with his, that can't stand in his mind, so leaving was the eventuality."

"But you're still our sister, dad should understand that, right," Cynthia asked.

Lisa couldn't stop herself hugging Cynthia, "You are right that I'm still your big sister Cynthia," she hesitated, "However, I'm sorry to say that isn't enough for father."

Matt's comm-unit went off, which ended the conversation as he answered it and found it was their mother asking where they were. Matt said they had been walking around and would head back to the gate their contact shuttle was at. Cynthia cried, saying she wanted to spend more time with Lisa. That put Lisa in an awkward position, still waiting for her shuttle, but her admittedly cute sister was shedding tears. So, Lisa said she would walk back with them to their gate before parting. The three got up and headed down the docking area toward the gate that Matt said they were supposed to be at. It took around five minutes to reach the gate's area, and once spotting their mother, Cynthia went over to her. "Mom, mom, here we are," she greeted.

Sally turned and saw Cynthia, which was good as the shuttle would begin boarding shortly. She saw Matt also coming up, but he was accompanied by none other than Lilly. Bryce had been talking with the one at the information desk, so he wasn't here at the moment but would be soon. Sally didn't think he and Lilly seeing each other again would go well, so she didn't want that to happen. And yet, Sally was happy to see her oldest daughter again, the two feelings were fighting each other. Lisa could see her mother having reservations about seeing her, and she didn't blame her. Lisa had no desire to see the man that had been her father, but there was a good possibility that she would now. "They crossed paths with me while I was waiting for a shuttle, sorry for delaying them, mom," Lisa said in greeting.

The three of them together used to happen all the time, as Sally recalled, and it had been a wonderful thing back when it happened. Both Matthew and Cynthia had learned a lot from Lilly, more than they seemed to take in from their parents at times. "It's fine, Lilly, I'm just surprised that you are here at the same time we are." Sally would have said more but never got the chance as her husband came up to their group. "I see that the two have made it-" Bryce Minti stopped in mid-sentence at seeing the other here. Before him was a woman that looked to be the daughter who had walked out of their lives years ago.

Lisa wasn't happy to see her father, but her anger from years ago had faded from her. Now all she felt was pity for the man for having his incorrect radical view and her family that put up with him. "It has been a while, around five years in fact," Lisa said evenly.

Bryce wasn't pleased to see the woman, and that she was in a Federation uniform just made him more irritated. The Federation couldn't be trusted, they had their chance to show they would be helpful in the coming future for Coordinators, and they had done nothing. "What are you doing here? I made it clear that you were to never appear around this family again," he replied. "Yet, here you are, showing that you don't care about those you once had a connection with from what you wear."

Lisa wasn't ashamed of the uniform she wore, even when she knew her father would curse it in some way. "I'm a soldier in the Federation's Military, that was my choice, and I haven't regretted it even once. I'm an adult, so I can make my own decisions, I have been doing so since you ordered me to leave. Our views are still different and seem to be farther apart than they were years ago," Lisa paused for a moment, "I'm no longer angry with you when others believe I should be, even when your stubbornness broke this family apart, I feel pity for you."

"Pity," Bryce challenged.

"Yes, pity," Lisa repeated, "Pity because you think your views of the world are the only ones that matter. Pity that you are unwilling to broaden your horizons to what more there is out there beyond the PLANTs. I pity you that use fear to keep those close to you in line with what you want. I have learned obedience through fear doesn't work forever, and at some point, if you don't change, you will lose everything. I pity the man I once called father, the man that I remember to be a caring man that would always make time for his family has descended to where you are now. I can only hope you change for the better, and perhaps someday we can meet under better circumstances," Lisa paused again, "Maybe even think of one another as a family again."

Lisa turned on the spot and began making her way back to her gate, not looking back on the family she'd once had. She missed the family she had before, she wanted them back, but until Bryce Minti changed notable, that couldn't happen. However, she was hopeful that there still could be a chance for her to reunite with them. Maybe if the war was ended with the Earth and the PLANTs intact, it could be possible. She boarded the shuttle she was to and headed away from the PLANTs, and she wished Tyler luck.

Tyler slept off and on the whole day, of which Lisa left the PLANTs, trying to gain back what strength he could. He didn't kid himself, the theft may sound simple in the planning stage, but it would not be very easy in the follow-through. Yes, Siegel said that some from ZAFT would assist in the theft, which somewhat helped. Getting to where the Freedom was would be the easy part in Tyler's view, taking the mobile suit away from the PLANTs would be another matter. And where Tyler was good at getting into place he wasn't supposed to be, that was normally done when his health wasn't a concern.

While Tyler slept, Lacus met with Mr. Waltfeld and his partner Aisha, "Thank you both for coming here today," she greeted.

Andrew bowed his head, "Not a problem, ma'am, by what we've been told, you need help with a task, one that is 'off the books'," he replied. There had been little information given on this assignment, more said something to be kept quiet. That had gotten Andrew's attention as the message had come through a secret back channel that most didn't know about, only trusted ZAFT commanders. The assignment had come from Admiral Treize by what code was in the message. Andrew had no issue with helping in things that were to be out of the public eye, such came up sometimes. But he couldn't help but be curious about what he and Aisha were getting into.

Lacus nodded, "Yes, off the books would be a fair description," she paused, not liking involving others. "I'm sorry if this is inconvenient for you both, but we need help to do what we are."

Aisha was as curious as Andy was and was more so now with the last comment from Miss Clyne had said. All the message they had gotten had said was they would be at the disposal of Miss Clyne for whatever she had in mind until further notice. It was an assignment that any ZAFT soldier would be fighting for on the face of it. "So then, Miss Clyne," Aisha started, "what is it that we can help you with?"

Lacus began to iterate what her father had talked to her about yesterday. Both Andrew and Aisha listened intently to what they were being told. The idea of stealing a mobile suit was something else, neither would argue that. However, going after one of the Integrated Design Bureau's newest creations was a different matter. The Bureau didn't just leave their work lying around for any to look at, they had heavy security around them. Defeating that said security would be a bit of a chore, but doable, and Andrew had always wanted to see how good they were. When Miss Clyne had mentioned there was "another" that would pilot the machine they were after out from the PLANTs, Aisha couldn't keep quiet. "Another you say, Miss Clyne," she remarked, "I take it you already have someone in mind?"

Lacus nodded slowly, "Yes, he is sleeping at the moment since he is recovering from injuries, but he can get the suit out."

Andrew wondered about this person referred to as they had to be better than an average pilot. They would be required to pilot a machine they had likely only been told about and had no real experience with it. And if that were true, Andrew would be interested in meeting said individual and talking with them if possible. "I assume that this person is up to the task you are telling us about Miss Clyne," he asked.

Lacus knew Tyler could manage to get the Freedom away from the PLANTs, she didn't doubt him. His health could be far better, but Tyler had made it clear that he would be up for the task somehow. "Oh, he can do it, his piloting skills are nothing to laugh at," she answered, "He was able to go toe-to-toe with my sister for a bit."

Andrew's eyes widened a bit at hearing the "pilot" they would be working with was able to hold their own against the Black Zephyr. That was no small feat to be able to do, most couldn't do that for even twenty seconds. So, Andrew nodded in respect, "I'll take your word for it, Miss Clyne, anyone that can hold their own against Commander Clyne is a hell of a pilot."

Lacus continued explaining how the theft should go if everything worked out for the best. Aisha volunteered to handle more than half of the security, but she didn't detail how she would do that. Andrew knew his partner had her ways of getting things done, and sometimes it was better to just leave her to it rather than know her methods. He trusted that she would be fine, his partner was a heck of a woman, which he was grateful he had. While she did her part, Andrew would deal with the gate guards and any they met along the way to the mobile suit. The two stayed at the Clyne residence for the night to be ready the next morning when the operation took place.

When the morning came, Tyler woke up and found he was slightly better but still not his average self. He was still in pain, but it was more manageable than it had been last week when he had woken up the first time. But Tyler knew that he didn't have more time to recover more than he had already. The theft of the Freedom was more the start of a chain of events that Tyler knew he would be involved in. During the times he had been awake yesterday, he had glanced through the Information Network, looking for anything that implied the Archangel had reached JOSH-A. There had been nothing yet, but Tyler felt that the ship would have reached their destination by the time he got back to Earth. The Alliance wouldn't be nice to them in any way, they would need help in the form of a bailout, Tyler was sure. So the time of resting in a bed would have to be put on hold for the time being, even when doctors said he would remain in one.

Then Tyler was still not pleased or even comfortable with what he was about to do. Or rather, he was not good with what would come as a result of the theft he would do. It would put Siegel and Lacus in the position to be branded as traitors for simply wanting to help. The mobile suits were dangerous, there was no arguing that, and the technology they had should get to those that could make means to counter them. However, with those in control of the Supreme Council, they wouldn't see it the same way. Thus, Tyler's actions would land a good man and a friend into unfair circumstances that they shouldn't be in. Tyler never liked when the consequences of his actions fell on others. He felt that he should be the only one who took hits for what he did, but Tyler knew it didn't always work that way. He didn't care what backlash he faced for the theft, but he wouldn't be around to receive any, while Lacus and Siegel would be.

Still, Tyler got himself out of bed and got dressed, which was a more complex task than it used to be. The bandages made dressing a more complicated issue as Tyler wasn't supposed to mess with his dressing. Said bandages were holding other material in place to prevent bleeding. And by what Tyler had been told, he had already lost more blood than was safe even though it had been replaced via transfusion. When the bandages had been changed yesterday, Tyler saw the potential reason his breathing was not as it should be. By Tyler's estimate, he had a worryingly long line of stitches over the right side of his chest that was around ten to eleven centimeters long. He took that to mean the Shadow's destruction had damaged his right lung in some fashion.

Even with his health, Tyler was still stubborn enough to keep going, more so when a friend was in need. No matter how much pain he was in or what trouble he was dealing with, Tyler would put that aside and do the task to help those he cared about. Thus, Tyler would do his part in the theft and anything else he could to keep attention on himself. What Tyler could do to get that result, he couldn't say yet, but he would find something to do. Those were his thoughts as he finished dressing in a loose dress shirt and what looked like cargo pants. He had managed not to disturb the bandages as he'd put the clothes on. Once ready as he could be, Tyler exited the room and headed for the kitchen to get a meal.

As Tyler was eating what he could get, he listened to the house staff chatter to one another. During his work for the Federation's Military, he had found that the "servants" were good sources of information. From what Tyler heard, Siegel had gotten a call last night from someone he knew on the Council. No specific name was mentioned, but the staff seemed to know who Siegel had been talking to. And from the chatter, it wasn't the first time that said person had called at odd hours of the day or night. That information was concerning in Tyler's mind as it suggested the Supreme Council was divided more than he'd figured. And the gossip implied that something big was in the works, but little details beyond that. Then this morning, Siegel had gone off to meet the caller from the night before, but the staff said nothing more than that. The "rumor" that worried Tyler the most was the mention of a "military operation" discussed.

Should a large ZAFT operation be planned and soon executed, Tyler wanted more info. The Information Network implied that something was in the works, the information had come from someone in the National Defense Committee. But the informant hadn't provided much more than an operation being in the works. It was possible that said person couldn't reveal more information for their safety. Some of the network's informants put themselves in danger with what they provided. Tyler respected every network informant that did what they did, they put their lives on the line for the better good. And that they hadn't provided more suggested the operation was being kept very quiet for one reason or another. The operation's name was "Spitbreak," but the staff mentioned nothing more than the name.

The other gossip that Tyler got was that Siegel was no longer the Chairman of the Council, which was problematic. Siegel was a level-headed person that wouldn't escalate needlessly even when prodded. The new Chairman, Patrick Zala, was not level-headed and would use excuses to push aggressive action. Siegel supposedly was still a "consultant" for the Council as he had served on it faithfully. But he no longer had much real power in the Council, just could make suggestions of what path to take. This only put the man in more danger with what Tyler was about to do, he had no protections from the position he held. Nor did Tyler know what part Siegel would or even could still play in the mobile suit theft.

There was one other fact that Tyler gleamed from the house staff, and that was there were two here that were helping Lacus with "something." Who the two were wasn't said specifically, and Tyler wondered who would be helping in the theft. Any involved in the theft could be charged with criminal activity even if they were only helping with information. The two had already headed out this morning, apparently to do whatever they were doing. Even as Tyler was committed to the theft, he was becoming more concerned with its results. Tyler was brought out of his thoughts when Lacus came into the kitchen.

Lacus had been pacing around, trying to occupy her mind and not let it dwell on what she would be a part of today. Her father was no longer the Chairman of the Council, and that said the radicals were gaining more power. And the radical individuals in power wouldn't like one of their new mobile suits stolen from them. Both Mr. Waltfeld and his partner had headed off to get to work on their parts of this job. She was to "escort" Tyler in around an hour to where the Freedom was stored. Her stress levels were higher than they normally were, much higher than they had been when Heliopolis had been on the verge of collapse. However, she did see Tyler up and such said his health had improved slightly, which was good. "It's good to see you up, Tye," Lacus greeted.

Tyler studied his pink-haired friend for a moment, and he could see the girl was stressed. He didn't blame her, what they were going to do today was a serious thing for many reasons. "Yes, I'm up, and Lacus, there is nothing wrong with you being nervous and stressed," Tyler replied. "And yes, I can tell you're stressing, I've been around enough people that I can tell when another is stressing."

Lacus's head fell a bit, "Am I that obvious," she asked. "It's not that I'm having second thoughts, it is more what comes afterward."

Tyler sighed, "You have every right to be concerned with what will result from the theft we will be doing today. There will be backlash for what we do, and unfortunately, it will land on you and your father." He paused for a moment, "That such is the case bothers me, but there is little that can be done about it now."

Lacus appreciated that Tyler was not happy with her father and her getting into trouble for the mobile suit theft. It was very nice of him to worry as he did, it showed he had wonderful character. "Thanks for caring, Tye, it does help a little with what is ahead," Lacus remarked.

Tyler gave a deadpanned expression to Lacus, "I more than care, I'm frustrated that you and Siegel are going to take the fall for something I'm going to do." Tyler shook his head, "I firmly believe that one should be responsible for what they do. No one should take a fall for actions they didn't do themselves. There will be those that disagree with my view, but they can take their opinion and keep it to themselves."

Lacus hugged Tyler gently, glad he was her friend, and even if he didn't intend to, he had helped relieve some of her concerns. Tyler didn't do anything to stop Lacus, he had been trying to comfort her as best he could. He was still worried for her and Siegel, but at this point, there was little that could be done for them. So, after Tyler finished his breakfast, Lacus led him to the car waiting for them. Upon exiting the house, Tyler saw a nondescript black car waiting and two ZAFT uniformed people standing at attention. It almost felt like Tyler was being taken to some sort of court-marshal with the tension he was sensing. When Tyler slid into the car, he instantly noticed that there were ZAFT soldiers in it. Now, as Tyler assumed they would head to some kind of development facility, the soldiers made sense. However, there was still such a thing as a good escort and a bad escort, Tyler had experience with both types. And unfortunately, he had more experience with the bad kind lately than the good type he had right now.

Tyler glanced at Lacus, who gave him a smile that didn't exactly help him feel any better. It wasn't the theft that disturbed Tyler. He had done enough stealing he had long ago gotten over the wrongness of it. His time in SOLAS had Tyler steal data and other things and sabotage when needed. Nor was it taking the Freedom from ZAFT to the Federation to have it studied since Tyler felt that was for the best. No, with the fallout that was coming for Siegel and Lacus, he was trying to come up with some way to help them. He was even considering "crazy" ideas to draw attention to him from ZAFT higher-ups, but he couldn't think of anything that would have a high chance of success.

The car started off to wherever the facility was, and there was little conversation as the car traveled. The soldiers did stare at the one with Miss Clyne curiously as he had bandages wrapping what parts of his body they could see. All any of them had been told was they were to escort Miss Clyne and the one with her to one of the development facilities of the Integrated Design Bureau. The order had come from Commander Waltfeld, and the man had only said that this mission was to be kept quiet, no one outside them was to know. None of them had anything against the task, they figured whatever this was about was off the books.

Tyler didn't like the silence, he'd had enough of that over his recovery to last him for a while. The air was tense, and while he could understand that, it still didn't feel nice, and he was already feeling off. Tyler instead cleared his throat, "So then, Lacus, I'm not saying I don't understand the need to be cautious in what we will be doing, for I do. My service record, were you able to read that would tell you, but a good portion is sealed. However, uh, is this 'escort' we got," he questioned, gesturing at the uniformed soldiers, "really necessary for the task?" Tyler turned his head to the soldiers, "No offense intended towards any of you, respect the job you do as I've had some of the same duties."

The ZAFT soldiers nodded in acceptance while Lacus gathered her thoughts to answer Tyler's question. To get into the facility they were going to, even one like herself, a military escort was required per protocol. That she had gotten a "tour" arranged on such short notice had been surprising and had worked out in their favor. Really, by what she understood, it was because some of the developers were fans of hers that she was being allowed inside. It didn't feel nice to fool those that enjoyed her songs, but the theft had to happen. So, Lacus sighed, "Yes, Tye, the escort is needed, that was a requirement for us to be allowed inside the facility," she began. "And with what we are doing, it was best to do this in the morning. Some have already gone ahead to make preparations and lay the groundwork for you to succeed."

Tyler could tell that Lacus was having personal issues with this operation, and he didn't blame her. Her reasoning for the escort made sense, it would be more strict for another to get into a place like Teswa R&D. He was curious as to what the "preparations and groundwork" that was mentioned involved. There had been little said about the "two" who had gone ahead to get to work to Tyler. Then Tyler wondered if these soldiers understood they were getting involved in potentially lethal situations. Any involved would be seen as traitors by those in control around the PLANTs and those that had sway over the ZAFT organization. Tyler shrugged, "Fair enough," he replied. "But I would say the results of this will set off the radicals, or else they are not as bad as implied. I just hope these 'helpers' I've heard about are as good as they are being portrayed, we need anything that can make this smoother."

Lacus knew what Tyler said about the theft would set off the radical members of the PLANTs' leadership. As much as she wanted to believe this would be seen as the best thing to do in helping save lives, that wasn't the mentality of those in charge lately. The radical members of the Council had been crying for aggressive actions against the Alliance by what her father said. There would be those that wouldn't say no to making a well-known figure into a martyr for their cause, whether in a good or bad way. And making her father and herself into traitors would certainly shake things up in the PLANTs depending on how it was presented. The only thing that helped Lacus be okay with this was knowing the results would help save lives from needlessly being taken by this war. "Yes, I wouldn't doubt you're right, Tye, the radicals will not be happy with this at all," Lacus remarked.

Tyler frowned, "Lacus, remember we are doing this not for those that want this war to keep going till they get what they want. We are doing this to save as many lives as possible, so all of humanity has a future to look forward to," he assured. Then Tyler faced forward, "Can you tell me any more about those that we are working with that went ahead to work? I have only heard bits and pieces about them, and I like to know who I'm working with."

Lacus smiled, "You'll find out soon enough, Tye," she replied. "I can assure you they are trustworthy and will get what they need to do before we get there. Their records say they are proficient at tasks they are assigned."

Tyler folded his arms and leaned back against the seat, closed his eyes, and began going through the possibilities that could be coming. He would love access to the Information Network right now, but even if he had a terminal, he couldn't do that. There were too many in this car for him to access the network and not have them look at what he was reading. Access to the Information Network was extremely regulated, and with Tyler's access, he had to be very careful who was around when he used it. So, he would have to take Lacus's word on these helpers and the few things he had heard about them. None of what Tyler had heard about Waltfeld had been horrid or bad really, the man was supposed to be a good soldier. He was likable but supposed to be a veteran in combat, and Tyler had no issue with that. A dependable soldier is one you could rely on when things go bad to help you out.

The car ride went on for around fifteen by what Tyler could figure before the vehicle slowed and came to a stop. Tyler kept himself relaxed as the driver did whatever they did to get the car waved through the gate. Once the car was parked, the ZAFT soldiers got out first and scanned the area before gesturing for Lacus and Tyler to exit. One soldier even helped Tyler out of the car before he steadied himself on his feet. Lacus glanced at Tyler, still not liking that his health was poor, he really should still be in a bed. But this job was more important and time-sensitive, so Tyler couldn't get the rest he needed.

Tyler glanced around and saw his group was in what appeared to be a parking lot that had several different types of vehicles there. There were military vehicles, but civilian ones too, likely belonging to the workers here. Ahead was a clear military complex that was connected to a part of the colony hub as it extended onward. There was tall fencing around the parking lot, and Tyler spotted the gate the care had come through. It made logical sense that the place was next to the colony hub. It would make launching the mobile far easier and quicker with direct access to the outside. Yet, Tyler also noticed that there weren't many cars in the parking lot, which said one of two things. The first was it was early, so not many workers were on shift yet, possible, but not the most likely. The second possibility was that those who went ahead had been making sure fewer were around to interfere.

Lacus told those with her and Tyler to lead onward, so the group moved forward into the main building. They came into a reception area which Tyler saw was empty, which didn't help say which thought he had was right about the absence of people. But a moment later, a man entered the room and approached the group. The guy was tall than Tyler by a small margin, and he possessed short brown hair with full sideburns. His purple eyes held Tyler for a moment since it was a color that I don't see often. And if Tyler was honest, with the rest of his ruff hewn face, it was the most noticeable feature he had around there. Tyler estimated the guy was in his early thirties, but he couldn't say exactly with his tan skin. The ZAFT uniform he wore appeared to closely match the desert variation of the ZAFT uniform, mostly seen around the African community. From what Tyler saw, he assumed the man was Andrew Waltfeld as he'd heard from the house staff, and the guy was one of those they would be working with.

As Tyler was taking in Andrew, he glanced over the group that Miss Clyne was with. His gaze paused on the young man with her as he'd never seen the kid before. He was average size for teenagers his age, and he had spiky tan hair and green eyes. It was also clear the teen had seen much better days, the bandages said the kid was recovering from something nasty. Although because of the kid's age, Andrew was left to wonder if he was the "Federation" person they were working with. Granted, soldiers were getting younger these days with the ongoing war, but seeing teens fight in it was still a horrible thing. But Miss Clyne had said that the person they would be working with was no newbie, so he took her at her word. "Welcome, Miss Clyne, it's nice to see you again," Andrew greeted, "Aisha and I were just finishing up our work."

Lacus was glad to hear that Mr. Waltfeld had been busy and had gotten the tasks he was supposed to do done. He made sure there was a clear path to the target mobile suit and did his best to have those here stay away. But that Miss Aisha was not here yet, suggested that she was still working on some things. "That is good to hear, Mr. Waltfeld, time is of the essence right now," Lacus returned.

Andrew nodded, "I understand, ma'am," he replied, "But perhaps, the young man with you could be introduced?"

Lacus gestured to Tyler, "This is our contact and a friend of mine, Tyler," she said, "He is our pilot that will be getting our target out."

Andrew smiled, "Nice to meet you, youngster, the name's Andrew Waltfeld," he greeted. Then without much thought, he asked one of the questions he did with most he met, "By the way, do you drink coffee? If so, then what flavor do you prefer?"

Tyler simply stared at Waltfeld, processing what the man said and asking. Tyler's colleague Kurt Gream had mentioned Waltfeld along with a few details about the man. From what Kurt said, the guy was a competent commander, at least he'd given the Alliance issues around the African Community. He was also supposed to have some sort of hobby with coffee, something to the effect of "finding the perfect brew." Tyler didn't drink the stuff himself much, he drank other things that had similar effects at keeping one alert. But the question had been so unexpected Tyler didn't have an answer ready for it.

At the same time, Aisha had just about reached the reception area, yet she did hear Andy talking. He was likely addressing Miss Clyne's group, who were due to arrive around now. However, when she heard the questions about coffee, she couldn't help but shake her head as it was a hobby of his that he didn't keep to himself. She looked into the room and saw that Miss Clyne was there with four soldiers and a young man whom Andy was addressed. The one with Miss Clyne looked only a little older than her, but Aisha saw he had bandages wrapping his body. Aisha assumed the young man was the Federation operative mentioned they would be helping out. But as usual, Andy was doing pleasure before business which was not helpful, more so with this theft. "Andy, how many times have I told you to heed that hobby of yours when we aren't working," Aisha commented as she came up to the group.

Tyler shifted his gaze over to the newcomer and saw a slightly shorter woman than himself, making her close to a head shorter than Waltfeld. She had long dark blue hair flowing down her back an orange streak on either side of her face. Her eyes were dark green, while she had a much smoother face than the guy had. Tyler estimated that this lady was around the same age as Waltfeld was supposed to be. He could only guess that the two were in some sort of relationship, but that wasn't something Tyler wanted to know. She was wearing a tight-fitting blue bodysuit that exposed her shoulders and collar. Andrew twisted around and gave a soft smile, "More than I can count, so often enough, love," he replied, "Your way of saying work before fun."

Aisha turned to Tyler, "Sorry for his antics, he really is a good guy, just gets distracted when meeting new people," she stated. "My name is Aisha," she pointed to Andrew, "I work with him while I tolerate his odd hobbies, though he has his good points. So, then, what is your name?"

Tyler appreciated the actions of the woman, she appeared to be the responsible one of this pair. "My name is Tyler McGregor," Tyler greeted, "I assume that you two are the ones we are to meet up with for this task?" Andrew nodded, impressed this teen was so business-like with what they were here to do. This theft would be easy enough to pull off, but the backlash would be far harsher from those in control. Tyler continued, "Truthfully, I've heard of and about you Waltfeld, you're supposed to be a skilled commander even when you don't look it, and you even have some sort of interest with coffee, and that you make a heck of a cup of the stuff."

Andrew was a tad interested in where Tyler had gotten his information, it wasn't exactly what was on record. That left the young man having been told about Andrew, and he couldn't think of any that he might encounter that would have talked to him about Andrew. "Heard of me have you, youngster," he asked. "Who was telling you about me? Most in ZAFT don't often have conversations with Federation personnel, more so these days, unfortunately."

Tyler felt it would be bad to say who had told him about Waltfeld outright, and there were good reasons for that. Kurt was, according to ZAFT records, dead, he died at the end of the campaign on the Grimaldi Front. And if not for a Federation team, Kurt would have been killed by OMNI's Cyclops system trap they had set. Instead, Kurt had merely lost the use of an eye and needed time to recover from the injuries he had back then. Then where Tyler knew the Champions of ZAFT weren't known by their actual names, there were still some that knew them. And it would be a long explanation for Tyler to say how he knew a former ZAFT Champion, which there wasn't the time for. "I have a colleague that used to work with ZAFT," Tyler replied carefully, "He made mention of a few, you being one of those."

Andrew was still curious about who Tyler had talked to, but the way his reply had been worded said he would unlikely refer to the person by name. Why the kid didn't want to say who it was, Andrew couldn't say, but now wasn't the time to press. Aisha had "disabled" most of the operators here, which would only last so long before it wore off. It was best that the mobile suit the kid was here to take was gone before countermeasures could be activated. "As you say, let us get to the task at hand before we're discovered, and attempts are made to stop us," Andrew replied.

No more was said, the group simply moved forward with Waltfeld in the lead, guiding them down a large corridor. At the end of it, a heavy door opened, and as the group continued onward, they entered the section of the facility that didn't have artificial gravity. Tyler appreciated the absence of gravity as then he didn't have to walk or put a lot of strain on his healing body. And as the group traveled on, Tyler noticed a lack of personnel in the place. He figured that Aisha and likely Waltfeld had done something to disable those here and keep them out of the way. Tyler wasn't against that since the fewer involved on both sides of this, the better and the less that could be punished. However, the quiet was haunting, and Tyler focused on his task to ignore the silence.

Tyler didn't know how ready the Freedom was at the moment, it could launch or need some work. Should the suit be ready to head out, it would be a simple matter of getting clear of the colony and dealing with any ZAFT forces on patrol. If, however, the machine needed work done that would eat up precious time, there wasn't much of it. Yes, Tyler knew his way around ZAFT's operation system they generally used for their mobile suits. Nonetheless, the Freedom may not have the same OS, complicating things. The system would have to be a tad different to work with the nuclear reactor as it wasn't a battery that ZAFT machines used.

After traveling through a few corridors, the group split up, two soldiers leading Tyler down a hallway, and the rest kept going forward. Those with Tyler guided him to a locker room and directed him to a locker. Tyler opened it and saw a ZAFT pilot suit that would fit him well enough for the task at hand. He didn't prefer to wear non-Federation pilot suits or even space suits, they didn't have the same functionality. Federation suits had systems built into them to keep the wearer alive under extreme conditions. As far as Tyler knew, neither ZAFT nor OMNI had put any thought of such into their spacesuits other than keeping the wearer alive in a vacuum. However, he knew this wasn't the time to be picky about what he had to use, but it did cause slight hesitation. So, Tyler slipped into the ZAFT red pilot suit, which was a more labor-involved process with his bandages.

The two soldiers with Tyler were waiting at the door for this Federation operative to put on a pilot suit. However, both men stared in horror at the bandages that wrapped this young man as they covered most of his body. The amount of dressing caused both to feel sorry for the kid and for whatever he had gone through. And now, his slow movements made complete sense as he had to be in pain, and his body was still healing. Tyler didn't miss the expressions of horror and pity the two waiting for him had as he put on the suit. He couldn't blame them, Tyler knew he was a mess to put it mildly, he really should be in bed, but that wasn't an option. By what Siegel implied, there were those discussing who should be using the Freedom. Once those were done, the opportunity to steal the machine would be gone and only regret. Tyler adjusted the pilot suit and rolled his shoulders to make sure it was on properly before buckling the neck clasp shut. He then grabbed the helmet in the locker and floated back to the two waiting soldiers, and gestured them to lead.

The three headed deeper into the facility, where they found the rest waiting for them. Andrew and Aisha had been in the lead, checking the hallways to ensure none were around. It was expected that it would take Tyler time to put on a pilot suit with his health. So, the rest would go ahead and make sure the way was clear to the target. The main group stopped at the final airlock that led to the mobile suit Tyler would take. It was around five minutes before Lacus spotted Tyler and the two soldiers that had gone with him approaching. Tyler was now in a ZAFT red pilot suit with the helmet in his left hand. She still didn't like having Tyler do this, especially with his health as it was, but there weren't others they could turn to right now. And then, it gave the chance for Tyler to leave and help their friends. Lacus feared that Tyler was right that those on the Archangel were in or would be in trouble when they got to JOSH-A.

Once Tyler reached where Lacus was, Andrew opened the airlock allowing the two teens to continue. The rest would stay outside and guard the door if things went bad and they needed to get Miss Clyne away. Tyler glanced around the room, taking in all he could, including the security cameras he knew would be there. The ones he found didn't look to be recording by what he could tell, but Tyler decided it was better to assume they were. So, he made sure his face wasn't in the line of sight of any of the cameras right now. Tyler did have an idea of using them in a moment to get attention off Lacus, but he would get to that soon enough. Tyler's gaze then moved to the mobile suit in the room's dock as it was the first in-person look of the Freedom Tyler had. The mobile suit was impressive, most so seeing it up close, and it also made its arsenal even more worrisome looking.

Lacus and Tyler stopped right by the door, which wasn't seen by any of the cameras that Tyler had spotted. Tyler faced Lacus with an expression that was a mix of sadness and worry on his face, with the gravity of the situation was sinking in. Once again, Tyler didn't feel it right that the actions he was about to do would fall upon others rather than himself. Not that Tyler didn't see the reasoning that went into this, he did, and he agreed with it. Plus, the Freedom allowed Tyler to help his friends who were likely in direr straits. And yet, the price for that was he left another friend to horrible and potentially dangerous consequences. Lacus saw the fight going on within Tyler, he wanted to go to their friends and help them. However, if he does so, then Lacus and her father would face danger, potential imprisonment, and even execution. Tyler was really an amazing person who did everything he could for his friends, even when it harmed him.

"Lacus," Tyler began, "are you sure you're okay with this? You're going to be blamed for this incident by others, there isn't really a question about that." He paused for a moment, "You could still leave now, and none would have proof of you being involved. None of the cameras should have seen you yet."

While Lacus could appreciate that Tyler was trying to help her get out of things, what he said was wishful thinking. Even if she left this complex now, she would still be suspect in this incident. At this point, there was no way for her to get out of the consequences that would come. Lacus would have to disappear and lay low, for the time being, that would be the best course of action. So, Lacus smiled softly, "We both know that such is wishful thinking Tye, I will face backlash, there is no avoiding it. You know the point of this is to get the Freedom| away and to where it will do the most good." Tyler was about to argue, but Lacus shook her head, "You won't win this argument, Tye, though I don't doubt you'd try."

Tyler let out a frustrated huff, "You're damn right I would try, you're my friend, and you are about to walk into potential life-threatening danger." Tyler threw up his hands, still holding the helmet with his left, "Do you think I would be okay with this in any way?"

Lacus put a finger to Tyler's lips, "Of course not, and that's because you are yourself, Tye, and it makes me glad you are my friend and care so much." She moved her hands shifted to his shoulders, "But right now, you are needed elsewhere more than here. I can manage to look after myself for a while, so you settle things and help our friends. I feel they will need you more than I will sooner," Lacus reasoned. While Tyler agreed with Lacus that their friends would need assistance that he could provide, he still didn't like leaving Lacus. And the thought of taking her with him had crossed his mind, it wouldn't work out at the moment. Lacus kept going, "The Freedom will be safer in your hands since you can get it to where it can do the most good." She hesitated and frowned, "My father and I have come to terms with the best we are able for what is to come for our action. This is being done not for those whose voices are the loudest, but for those that wish to live in peace."

Tyler sighed with slight frustration, "You're frustrating me as I'm not able to make a valid argument against you in this." He paused, finally accepting the situation as it was right now, knowing he couldn't change it right now. However, when the opportunity came, Tyler would not hesitate to do whatever he could to help Lacus out. "But as you imply, time is of the essence, so instead of disagreeing, I will say this," Tyler stopped and took a breath, "I will return and help you, Lacus. I don't know in what way it will happen, but I will come back to bail you out from those that will chase you for this, I promise you that. And I don't make a promise that I don't fully intend to keep, more so when made with a friend."

It was a nice thought, Tyler promising her that he would come back to help her out of whatever she would face. Lacus didn't doubt that he would try to do what he said, but with how the war was going, Tyler may not be able to do what he promised. But the time they had to talk was running out, Tyler needed to take the Freedom and leave soon. The longer they waited, the more likely others would come to hamper and even stop this from happening. "You need to go, Tye," Lacus said, "We have used enough time to talk. The longer you take to leave, the more likely some will try to stop you."

Lacus moved forward and hugged Tyler and kissed his cheek before pulling back towards the door. Tyler knew the gesture wasn't meant to be a romantic one, the girl had strong feelings for Kira after all, even when the naĂŻve fool didn't know it. Plus, her older sister wouldn't accept Lacus having a relationship with Tyler, she wanted that for herself. "I assume the kiss was for good luck or something like that," he questioned. "Rest assured, and Sakura wouldn't accept any sort of relationship beyond friendship between us. And while Kira is naĂŻve, he really is a good guy, I'll vouch for him though I doubt I need to."

The kiss on the cheek was meant for luck and to tell Tyler that she would keep him in her thoughts. Lacus wished she was going with Tyler, her heart ached to do so, but she knew it wasn't the right thing to do at this time. She still wasn't sure what exactly was going on between Tyler and Sakura, but her sister had made it clear she liked Tyler. And while she didn't like that Tyler called Kira naĂŻve, she couldn't deny that he had a point with him being clueless at times. She sighed, "You're right, it is my way to wish you luck as well as sending my feelings with you as I won't be going myself. I also want you to help Kira when you get to him since I will be unable to do that for a while."

With that said, Lacus turned and knocked on the airlock, which opened a moment later, and she began floating through it. Tyler put on the helmet and locked it to the suit he was wearing before turning toward the Freedom. He pushed off the deck twisting back to see Lacus waving at him as the airlock began closing. Tyler nodded back at her before he faced forward, and the idea of "performing" for the cameras came back to mind. He grabbed a catwalk rail and used it to stop for a moment glancing around. Tyler spotted the cameras moving to focus on him, which made it all the more tempting to make a statement. The "performance" idea that was coming to mind was mean and foul, Tyler wouldn't argue that. But Tyler felt those who would be viewing this later needed to be told the brutal and honest truth. If Tyler's mother were one of those watching, he would hesitate a bit as she would chide him for his lack of manners. However, as Tyler knew she wouldn't see this, he had no issue with what others thought of him because of this.

With looking over the specs of the Freedom and the Justice and the other things that ZAFT had been doing recently, Tyler wasn't feeling inclined to be "nice." With a select few exceptions, the PLANTs and ZAFT leaders were not working for the best interests of the people they were supposed to represent. Thus, Tyler felt that it was up to those that could see that to give a wake-up call to them, whether they liked the delivery or not. And he was one to give needed comments or callouts when others weren't willing to do so.

Tyler stared at the camera above the airlock door but made sure that none of the cameras would be able to see through the helmet visor. He pointed at the camera with his left hand and shook his hand to make sure it would be understood that he was referring to the viewers. Then with Tyler's right hand, he curled his fingers except for the middle out and made sure it was visible for the cameras. It was meant to say for the PLANTs leaders to screw themselves for what they were doing. Tyler wanted this message to get specifically to those on the National Defense Committee as they bore a lot of the responsibility for ZAFT's direction. It was rude, but Tyler felt they needed to be "slapped" in the face to hopefully change course. And should those viewing this performance do as Tyler suggested, he hoped that it was recorded. He did the gestures three times to ensure the message got across as intended. Plus, it drew attention to himself, and off of Siegel and Lacus, and Tyler wanted that.

So, after his performance, Tyler used the catwalk railing to launch himself towards the Freedom. According to the specs, he could see the "pilot's seat" and remembered the seat was supposed to be lowered down into the cockpit. So as he floated by, Tyler grabbed the seat to stop himself before pulling his body down to the seat. Tyler buckled into the chair, quickly found the switch to drop into the cockpit, and had the seat lower inside. The section that had been right in front of the pilot seat shifted and covered the way Tyler had come in and sealed. A light came on behind Tyler, making the cockpit interior visible.

Tyler glanced around to take in his surroundings and the cockpit layout so he could figure out what he was working with. By each hand was a control stick with triggers and throttle controls below them, along with switches under his forearms. Tyler felt actuators touching his feet, and a quick test had him a tad impressed with the good response. The OMNI prototypes had not had the best control response, it was something he'd cursed often enough. Ahead of Tyler was the main display and control set and behind them was the forward optical display connected to the screens on either side. The main display and control board was a central circular sensor screen. To either side of the sensor screen were status readout displays for the onboard systems and buttons for specific systems. He glanced up and saw two vid-screens for communication with others as was standard with ZAFT. Tyler also spotted what looked kind of like a different screen behind the main console. His best guess was that screen was used when the multi-lock-on system was employed.

After finishing his visual inspection, Tyler had the OS boot up to look it over and make sure it was ready to use. The file he'd glanced over hadn't made mention of the operating system being ready, just what it was "supposed" to do. Tyler didn't want to take chances with what this suit carried by assuming the file was up to date and correct. He watched as the boot-up message came up and was reminded of how the Shadow had a similar message.

MOBILE SUIT NEO OPERATION SYSTEM

Generation
Unsubdued
Nuclear
Drive
Assault
Module
G.U.N.D.A.M. Complex
_Series AVTC-T1 Freedom LA-SE3P_

Z.A.F.T.

The acronym was the same as OMNI's project, which made sense as Siegel had mentioned the developers had used several things from what was stolen. Yes, there were some minor differences in the acronym's letters were for different words, but it made Tyler wonder if Gundam would become a mobile suit type. The machines that Tyler had piloted with the acronym had not been average units, quite the opposite.

Tyler focused on the task at hand as the OS finished coming up and got down to looking the systems over. He was pleased to see the organization of the systems was far better than what OMNI had smashed together, but that was expected. The majority of the suit's systems looked good and appeared ready to go. However, Tyler did see from what monitored the reactor it would need a bit of adjustment. It made Tyler think the reactor's systems had been rushed, likely at the demand of the National Defense Committee. So, Tyler brought out the keyboard and changed the settings for the reactor to have it put out a good amount of power but do so safely. Once that was done, Tyler had the OS refresh and saw everything was ready and responding as it should.

Tyler pressed the phase shift armor button and then toggled the switch to have all cables connected to the Freedom disconnect. A moment after the cables started ejecting, Tyler noticed something above was moving. Looking up, Tyler saw the launching tunnel opening its airlocks that would lead out of the colony. He gripped the control stick for his right hand and the throttle in his left and moved it forward, seeing the thrusters priming for burn. Tyler took a deep breath, committing himself to this, "Right then, no time to waste anymore, let's do this," he muttered.

At the same time, Lacus and her group were quickly making their way back to the facility entrance. The farther away they were from the place when Tyler left, the longer it would take for others to connect them to the incident. The Freedom was in Tyler's hands now, there was nothing more they could do to help him leave. Aisha had said she'd delayed the alarms going off when the launching tunnel started opening, which was to happen once the cables to the Freedom disconnected. Plus, the facility would begin locking down when the alarms started, which would trap them, a point to be avoided. They had reached the car and were pulling out to leave when alarms began blaring.

Back with Tyler, the tunnel was just about fully open when the alarms started sounding. The alarms signaled that some from ZAFT who would try and stop him were now at least aware that something was happening wasn't supposed to be. It was expected at some point, it was later than Tyler had figured it would be, though he wouldn't complain. He would applaud the woman he'd met earlier if she had been able to give him as much time as he'd had.

In the colony's hub control room, panic was in the air with the developing situation. It had been when the shift change was supposed to happen that the incoming personnel knew something was off. Those on duty were sluggish at best, out of it mostly, they couldn't answer what was going on. It appeared they had been drugged by someone, which was odd since whoever had would have access to the facility. However, when one of the incoming operators had checked a console, they had sounded the alarm that the Freedom had been activated. Those able took consoles and found a path was opening for the Freedom to leave the colony. None of this was supposed to be happening, the first test flight was scheduled for two days from now since a pilot had been decided late last night by the National Defense Committee.

All ten operators on duty now took their places at consoles and attempted to get the airlocks to close and prevent the Freedom from launching. The senior one among them began barking out orders not just in the control room but throughout the facility. "Seal those airlocks, the exit tunnel is to be closed immediately. Get headquarters on the line, notify them of the situation, and have Emergency Response Units scramble!"

The other operators tried to get the airlocks to close, but they wouldn't respond to commands at all, the systems just returned errors. "The airlocks won't accept commands, they've been locked in the open position," called an operator.

The lead operator couldn't believe what was happening, the Freedom was being stolen from within a secure facility, and nothing could be employed to stop it. "Get a channel open to the Freedom immediately, it is not to leave the colony, do you hear me?!"

Meanwhile, Tyler watched as the final airlock was opening in the path for his exit. He didn't doubt ZAFT personnel were in a panic, if not in complete chaos right now, with the theft happening right under their noses. Tyler almost felt sorry for them and the reprimand they would probably get after this. But there was no turning back now, so the only way forward was taking the Freedom and leaving the PLANTs. By the message Lisa had gotten him, there was an Enterprise Cruiser waiting just outside of the PLANTs' sensor range. Tyler was distracted for a moment when a voice came over a com-channel, "Pilot, identify yourself, stop," the voice shouted, "You don't know what you're doing!"

Tyler saw no reason even to give a reply, so he merely switched off the communication system to silence the distraction. Then he pressed the actuators down and shoved the throttle the rest of the way to their stops, having the thrusters in the backpack and the railguns' thrusters burn hard. Tyler was pushed back into the seat slightly as the Freedom launched upward into the tunnel. Those in the control room could only watch as the Freedom zoomed past their viewport and zoomed onward toward the exit from the colony. Tyler was impressed with the sheer thrusting power the Freedom had, it outdid the Shadow by a fair margin.

He looked ahead after coming out into space and found he was on the Earth-facing side of the colonies before he adjusted course to have him at the meeting point. Tyler did spot a pair of GINNs likely patrolling, yet he ignored them and shot right past them. The GINNs took up chase shooting at Tyler with their assault rifles. In response, Tyler activated the Freedom's HiMAT system by opening the wings, which increased the suit's mobility. As Tyler kept flying, weapon fire came from in front of him, and he saw two more GINNs coming at him. Tyler rushed forward, drawing a beam saber, and proceeded to slice off the GINNs' heads and weapon arms. Then he twisted around, storing his saber as he took out the Freedom's beam rifle and shot one of the rear GINNs in the head. The GINNs let the Freedom go after that, and Tyler moved ahead towards the meeting point.

Tyler was breathing heavier than he liked after that brawl, reminding him of his current health issues. So the sooner that Tyler got to the cruiser, the quicker he could find a bed and sleep and hopefully recover more. He kept his breathing measured and tried not to do too much unnecessary movement along the way. It took about thirty minutes to reach the meeting point, which had Tyler curse the route he had to take to avoid notice from ZAFT. He knew the basic route of their patrols and where not to go if one didn't want to be seen. However, that had him taking a longer way which Tyler didn't appreciate how tired he was. Nonetheless, Tyler was surprised to find the cruiser was none other than the Donnen from when Tyler followed the Archangel. Now what the Donnen was doing around here, Tyler couldn't say, but he wouldn't complain about it, he had more than enough to gripe about.

Thus Tyler signaled the Donnen, identifying himself by his Federation military ID number. After a moment, Tyler was told to come in via the ship's upper linear catapult. Tyler aimed for the catapult, letting the deceleration cables slow him down before getting to the lift that brought him down into the hangar. Once in the hangar, Tyler moved the Freedom to the dock directed before raising the seat and letting him out of the cockpit. He planned to see Captain Shepard and pay respects before finding a bed and sleeping. It would help him ignore the pain his body was still in from his poor health choice that ended with the Shadow being destroyed. Tyler didn't doubt that Lisa would find him soon enough to check on him, and he would be grateful for that.

So Tyler exited the hangar and headed towards the bridge to pay his respects and move on from there. He didn't want to be on the bad side of the woman in command of this vessel. Tyler had more issues to deal with than he was used to right now. Upon coming onto the bridge, it took only a moment to spot Captain Shepard, "Captain, it's my good fortune to be on your vessel again. You have really given me a helpful out from an unexpected situation, I assure you," Tyler greeted. "I will do my utmost to stay out of your hair while I'm on board, you have my word."

Shepard turned and gazed at Tyler McGregor, wondering a great many things. She hadn't expected to see the young man again and not this soon, if at all. His record had been quite right that he did things his way and got the job done to a reasonable standard. Yet, here he was again and looking like he'd been through much that hadn't been kind to his health. "Indeed, Commander McGregor," she returned evenly. "Very surprising to find we are meeting up with you. All we were told was a potentially important package would be coming our way, nothing else. And here you are in a ZAFT pilot suit as well, I can only imagine the journey that brought you here. However, I would assume it has something to do with the unknown mobile suit you came in with?"

The woman couldn't know how right she was, but Tyler wouldn't be telling the whole story. There were enough problems that came with the theft of the Freedom without involving others needlessly. Siegel and Lacus were putting not just their reputations on the line but their lives as well. Tyler would be getting that information to Federation High Command, so hopefully, they could do something to change that. Even if they set up nothing, Tyler would go back to help them both in whatever way he was able. So, Tyler gave an affirmative, "Right on the money, captain. I'm afraid I can't go into further detail right now how things ended out as they did, I hope you can understand," Tyler iterated. "I would rather not involve more than there already are, the situation is rather volatile as it is."

Shepard took what McGregor said at his word and didn't ask for more detail on whatever he was involved in. With some of the things that members of SOLAS did, it was normally better not to know what they got into most of the time. So instead, she had a crew member show McGregor to a set of quarters for him to use for the time being. Tyler didn't complain that the subject of the Freedom was dropped, better that it was. I got out of the ZAFT pilot suit and into some basic clothes minding the bandages. Yet, Tyler didn't reach the bed before there came a knock at the door, so Tyler shuffled over and found Lisa on the other side. "Hey Lisa," Tyler greeted, "I didn't think it would be long before you'd swing by to check up on me. It's very nice of you since my health is not where I wish it were, still hurt, and doing anything strenuous takes it out of me."

Lisa sighed but had a soft smile on her face, "I'll bet you've been expecting me," she replied. "I leave you to your own devices for a couple of days, and you somehow get roped into stealing a mobile suit from ZAFT." She paused, "Is there anything else you got into while I was away, or things I should be aware of?"

Tyler put a hand on the back of his neck, "Well, since you asked," Tyler began, "I may have uh," he paused, "sent a message to some of the leaders of the PLANTs and ZAFT before I left."

Lisa's smile faded, wondering just what Tyler was talking about, "A message you say? I'm almost afraid to ask what you did and what were you trying to say to said leaders?"

Tyler didn't meet Lisa's eyes, "Oh, just me acting on a whim, you know how that goes…"

Lisa was concerned before when Tyler had said he sent a message to leaders of the PLANTs that was risky enough. However, him doing that on a whim was much more dangerous than him not, for a whim had him not thinking about the consequences necessarily. So the question wasn't exactly what he did, it was how far he went with the "message" he was delivering. "Tyler, just what did you do to draw attention to yourself," she asked tiredly.

Tyler shrugged, "I told them to go screw themselves essentially," he answered simply.

Lisa blinked, "You're joking," she returned, "You didn't seriously do something so childish, did you?"

Tyler stared back with a straight face, "Unless giving someone the middle finger means something else lately, then yes, I most certainly did. And I don't regret it in the least if it is childish, then the idiots that watch it need to grow up and actually do their given jobs right and not use it as an excuse to commit genocide," he stated.

Lisa sighed and shook her head, "There are times like this I'm left trying to decide whether I should praise you for your moments of genius or slap you for being so foolish," she remarked.

Tyler chuckled a tad nervously, "I would prefer the former rather than the latter right now," he commented. "The pain is bad enough already, I would rather not make it worse and make it harder for myself."

Lisa laughed, "Yes, you are in bad enough straits right now, and so, don't need additional contributions." She stopped for a moment, "So then, what is the plan going forward? I wouldn't doubt you have at least a loose one to work with on what to do."

Tyler did have what one could call a "loose" plan on what to do in the immediate future, others would call it crazy. The overall goal was to get to the Archangel and make sure they made it out of whatever mess they were in alive. However, several steps needed to be taken before that was achieved. The Freedom needed to get to those who could inspect it, and the files Tyler had on the Justice also needed to be looked at. After that, Tyler would head to JOSH-A and find the Archangel and bail them out. Beyond that, Tyler didn't have much of a clear path other than figuring out a way to help Lacus when he was able. "I have a general one yes, it needs work on the details, but I haven't had much time to do that," Tyler admitted.

Lisa shrugged, "It's better than most in your position would have," she replied. "Others would be complaining about their circumstances and being selfish."

Tyler wouldn't disagree with Lisa's statement, most wouldn't be pushing themselves as he was. Still, Tyler managed to get some sleep after the conversation with Lisa during the twelve hours it took to travel to Earth. He probably would have made the trip quicker with the Freedom, but Lisa had struck that down. With Tyler's health, he needed the sleep and rest, he couldn't deny that honestly. Frankly, were Tyler to listen to medical professionals, he would be confined in a bed for weeks, if not months. There wasn't that kind of time to waste, not as Tyler figured things were going. According to what he'd seen on the Information Network, ZAFT was preparing for a major operation, which was likely what Tyler had heard about.

Thus, once the Donnen was in high orbit around Earth, Tyler suited up as did Lisa, and they both headed to the hangar. Lisa took a Delta Fighter while Tyler boarded the Freedom, and the two launched out from the ship. The descent through the atmosphere was not as bad as the last time Tyler had done it. The two had taken a much shallower angle that had been done months ago, so it was easier. And they came down just off the Republic's coastline before they leveled out and flew onward. They headed down the valley that would lead to Teswa's upper entrance that was rarely used. Tyler figured that the Teswa R&D complex was the best place to get the Freedom and the data files he had. Not only would they likely be involved in creating countermeasures, but they could also get it to the others that would work on it too.

Then Tyler had a more personal reason to get to Teswa, asking Carlos a serious favor. He still needed a mobile suit to work with and rather soon since the Shadow had been destroyed. The Freedom was a good machine, Tyler would state that for the record, but it didn't fit his fighting style. The Justice wouldn't have fit Tyler much better, the two just were built for how he piloted in combat. Hence, Tyler saw the need for a mobile suit that, hopefully, Teswa could provide. Those there knew how he piloted with how much Tyler had tested experimental equipment for them. If Tyler could get a good mobile suit that fit him anywhere, then it would be at Teswa.

Tyler called ahead to Teswa control to open the entrance for them, and it wasn't long before he saw the ground change to a metal plate shifting out of the way. As Tyler hovered into the open center section of the complex, an area lit up, signaling him to land there. Meanwhile, Lisa descended inside before the entrance began closing behind them, she shifted her fighter into its mobile suit mode right after the upper plate shifted into place. She saw the extended platform for her to land on so, she moved over to it. Tyler saw the fighter's transformation and knew it was a key advantage the Federation had. The Federation had produced mobile suits years ago but kept that fact hidden with that transformation capability. Tyler felt that fact wouldn't be kept secret for all that much longer, not with the Alliance poised to get mobile suits themselves.

Granted, Tyler and his team had curtailed what they could with data that would help the Alliance. And Tyler had gone further in one way when it came to the Strike, which he hadn't told anyone. While on the Archangel, Tyler had used times he was "helping" with the ship's mobile weapons to set up a contingency. It was a program that he'd put in the Strike's OS, which would activate if any other than Kira tried to inspect it. Since Kira wouldn't dive too deep into the OS, should anyone go beyond the system menu and the Strike not be moving, the OS would crash and be wiped from the suit. It would be another thing that the Archangel's crew would be blamed for, but Tyler wanted to buy as much delay time for OMNI mass-producing mobile suits as possible.

Back in the present, as Tyler piloted the Freedom into land on the extended platform, he noticed several of Teswa's workers staring at the machine. Tyler wasn't surprised with the attention the Freedom was getting, it was one of the newest ZAFT units, after all. Meanwhile, Tyler was managing better than he had been before with the sleep he'd gotten on the Donnen. But his body was still having a hard time as he kept pushing as he was. Hopefully, Tyler would get a chance to resupply on painkillers before heading to JOSH-A. He wasn't one that normally liked painkillers in him since it tended to mess with his concentration, but the pain was more than he would handle regularly.

Tyler had the pilot seat raise after a moment of him breathing in and out, steadying his breathing rhythm. Then he got to the zip line and began descending towards the floor, holding on tighter than he normally did as he went. Tyler could tell that the painkillers he'd had on the Donnen were wearing off as the waves of pain were getting sharper. So, when he reached the floor, Tyler let go of the line and stumbled a bit but caught himself after a few missteps. Tyler glanced around and saw a crate that would work as something to sit on, so he shuffled in that direction.

Lisa had exited the fighter's cockpit she'd been in and got to the floor of the complex. She scanned around for Tyler as the Freedom had started landing before she had come down. Tyler's health would be catching up to him soon enough, or rather the painkillers he was using would be finishing their effects. It didn't take Lisa long to spot Tyler getting to a crate and lowering his body down to it. Lisa weaved around the Teswa personnel and reached Tyler, glancing him over. The moment he took off his helmet, Lisa saw he was paler than he should be, not as bad as he'd been in the previous weeks, but still not good. "Tyler, I doubt I need to say it, but you're not looking good," she remarked, "I assume the painkillers are on the wane?"

Tyler wanted to scoff at the remark not because Lisa was wrong, but it was the story of Tyler's life recently at least twice a day. But he stopped himself so that he didn't make his injuries harder to handle than they already were. The "repair work" that had been done on the right side of Tyler's chest still was the worst issue. However, the combination of other injuries was making things hard as well. "What was your first clue that my health is still a hindrance, Lisa," Tyler posed as sarcastically as he could manage. "And yeah, I will need to scavenge up more painkillers before we head out."

Both gazed at the Freedom as it was moved to a dock for inspection simply, wondering how long it would take. But after a moment, Tyler scanned around, hoping to find Carlos and ask him the personal favor he needed. And after a minute, he spotted Carlos and rose slowly from the crate. Lisa quickly began supporting Tyler, and he pointed to Carlos, saying he wanted to talk to him. Tyler was meters away when Carlos noticed him, and Carlos had to take a second look at his young friend. Tyler was being supported by another, a very unusual thing to happen with Tyler to start with. And then the bandages he could see with Tyler's head, as well as the paleness of his skin, made Carlos worried about him. "Uh, Tyler," Carlos started, "I would ask if you're okay, but I have a feeling that would be a dumb question."

Tyler nodded his head, "Yeah, have come on hard times in the recent month or more now admittedly. But I have a favor to ask of you, Carlos," he replied.

Carlos tilted his head to the side, "I see, would that have anything to do with the mobile suit you brought in that isn't the Shadow?"

Tyler sighed, "Simply put, yes, the Shadow was destroyed, which is why my health is doing so poorly right now." Tyler stopped and took a moment to breathe in and out with a bit of wheezing, "The machine I came in is to be inspected, ZAFT's newest creation and a dangerous thing it is." Tyler took a moment to dig out the datapad he had and held it out to Carlos, "On this is two data files with specs of the one I brought and its sister unit. Countermeasures are needed for them as soon as they can be made, my friend. I wouldn't doubt you will understand why after looking the files over."

Carlos took the datapad and brought up one of the files, and his eyes went wide at seeing what it contained. The machines designed by ZAFT had N-Jammer Cancellers was concerning for several reasons. The Federation had been developing the technology, not just for potential applications, but also to come up with ways to neutralize such a thing. That ZAFT had come up with a working model first implied they would use them for things other than mobile suits. That possibility of nuclear weapons was the frightening thing with N-jammer cancellers. However, Carlos and others could finish theirs for the next-generation mobile suits with a functional model spec. "Yes, I can see what you mean, Tyler," Carlos returned, "So what is the favor you need?"

Tyler was glad Carlos wasn't asking for details about how he got the files or the Freedom, for that matter. He didn't want to reveal what had happened or who was now in danger because they tried to help. As to the favor, Tyler knew asking for a mobile suit without warning was unfair, but he was at the end of his rope. Tyler needed a unit to work with sooner rather than later, his health notwithstanding. So, Tyler winced, "Well, it's pretty big, my friend, and I know it's unfair to ask it of you and those here. However, I need a mobile suit to use, the Freedom isn't fit for my piloting style."

Had Tyler asked this the last time he was here, Carlos would have had to let him down as gently as he could. Nonetheless, over the last month, the next generation of mobile suit development had moved along at a good pace. And with what had come from the Koovos development facility, that had moved things along even more. "Well, my answer would be sorry," Carlos began, and Tyler was feeling dejections, yet Carlos continued, "were you to have asked me when you were here last. However," Tyler's head came back up to look at the man, "The last month has been very productive, and so, the answer is I may have something which fits your request. Plus, with what you just gave me, it shouldn't take all that much longer to finish adjusting it."

If Tyler had better health right now, he would have moved forward, shook his friend's hand, and gestured to lead onward. Yet, Tyler could only smile weakly, "There's no need to keep me in suspense, Carlos, more so since you had me disappointed for a second there. Lead us to whatever you go, but please not too fast as I am up to no marathons."

Carlos led Tyler with Lisa supporting him in his shuffling to a different area of the mobile suit development floor. Tyler had been to the mobile suit development area before now, it was his favorite area to come to. It normally meant that he would get to test out something really neat and, at times awesome. And yet, Carlos came to a stop in front of a dock with one of the newer developed units. It was a part of the "Aircraft Z" series mobile suits, the third of the series thus far. Carlos figured this unit would fit Tyler's fighting style best out of the three available. So he switched on lights to make it easier to see the machine he would soon "sell" to his young friend.

Tyler blinked before studying the machine that was now lit up before him. It stood at close to nineteen meters tall and was grey overall in color, but with some black and yellow parts. The head of the unit appeared to be similar to the Justice's, with a sensor antenna coming out of the head and fins protruding out from the bottom of it. From what Tyler saw, the torso, much like the Freedom's, even had the sliding section that would go over the cockpit and descending pilot seat. There were vents on the front of the shoulders and short wings that stuck out at the end of either shoulder cover, which was a difference that Tyler spotted. On the front of hips, there were raised sections on either side of the center, which Tyler couldn't say what purpose they had yet. The legs had more robust vents above the ankles Tyler noticed, and beside them were short wings and thrusters on the outside.

For what weapons Tyler could see, there were two beam sabers stored much like the Freedom's on the hip skirts. There was a neat-looking beam rifle in the suit's right hand, which Tyler would love more information on. The rifle did have what looked like an extra handle that was folded up currently, likely to help with stabilizing the weapon when firing. And the forward half of the barrel seemed to have a straight line down it, which didn't make sense to Tyler. Then there were long cannons that were connected to the wings, from what he could tell. There was also a red shield attached to the left arm, which was kind of shorter than most shields Tyler had seen. And as Tyler peered closer, there looked to be something built under the center of the shield, which he couldn't identify.

Carlos could tell that Tyler was looking over the mobile suit and with a critical eye that he had. And after his observations, Tyler looked to Carlos, silently saying for him to explain the mobile suit. Carlos gestured at the machine, "This Tyler is the HFS-Z201 Aurora mobile suit. It's the third in the specific series it is a member of, referred to as the "Aircraft Z" series. It has a flight mode much like Delta Fighters do, which allows faster-cruising speed. However, the difference it where the Delta Fighters are intended to fight in groups effectively, the Aurora is geared toward assault against multiple opponents. The cockpit is pretty much standard with panoramic display other than the pilot seat lowering into it."

Tyler was nodding, "It's sounding good so far, Carlos, what kind of systems do this unit have to work with," he asked.

"A fair question from you," Carlos acknowledged, "The Aurora is equipped with phase shift armor, but it's an improved version from what OMNI developed for their GAT prototype series. The version is referred to PS Type Sigma, which I wouldn't doubt you will like and share your thoughts on it when you get the chance." Carlos paused for a moment and pointed at the wings, "In the wings and around different points in the suit are the parts that are utilized in the High-Mobility Aerial Maneuver or HiMAMs system, and that gives a notable advantage in combat." Carlos took a breath and continued, "Then, there's the rapid target acquisition system, which makes decreasing your opponent's forces short work as the accuracy is quite impressive. Of course, it has a camouflage system called the Phantom Stealth system, which is the next generation of stealth tech the Federation is employing."

Tyler liked what he was hearing thus far, and he looked forward to trying some of the ideas out. He was already thinking about getting himself assigned to the Aurora, for he was very interested in it. However, there had been no mention of the power source, and Tyler was curious about that. "So far, what I'm hearing is neat, Carlos, but what powers this unit," Tyler questioned.

Carlos frowned slightly, "Actually, I was getting to that, with what data you brought, you can understand the last piece of equipment. The Aurora has a nuclear reactor in it, though not exactly the same version as ZAFT looks to be using. And so, it also has an N-Jammer Canceller, as you no doubt can guess. Nuclear energy was the only kind that had the output required for the capabilities the Aurora was built to have."

Tyler was not feeling up to arguing the merits of nuclear energy and what it could be used for right now. But he did wonder what kind of capabilities the Aurora had which would need a nuclear reactor. "Capabilities like," Tyler posed, leaving the question open.

"Doing supersonic flight for a decent period, hypersonic for a short time," Carlos answered.

Tyler cocked his head to the side, "How long can it be in supersonic flight in theory?"

Carlos put a hand to his chin, "I believe the consensus was a solid two hours if not three without needing to slow down."

Tyler certainly looked forward to testing that theory out sometime in the future, for that would be epic. He shrugged his shoulders as best he could currently, "Okay, Carlos, you got me impressed with this unit, your skills in selling what is developed here is still top-notch." Tyler took some breaths in and out, managing not to wheeze, "But moving on to the other half of a mobile suit, what kind of an arsenal does it got?"

Carlos chuckled, "Oh, rest assured, you will appreciate what the Aurora has to work with Tyler," he assured. "There is a pair of 50mm CIWS guns on either side of the head which are fire-linked, so they shoot at the same time. While they are intended for interception mainly, they are loaded with anti-phase shift rounds which will make a difference."

Tyler thought he didn't hear right during Carlos's spiel since it was slightly over his head. For Tyler swore that Carlos has said "Anti-Phase shift" combined with rounds as in projectiles fired from weapons. Now, if Teswa had developed something that was effective against phase shift armor, Tyler would be impressed. "Come again, Carlos," Tyler interjected, "Anti what rounds?"

"Anti-phase shift rounds, Tyler," Carlos iterated, "It is a new kind of ammunition which is designed to be very effective against a phase shift armor system. It does so by causing impact shock when it hits and forces the machine to draw more power for its armor system." Carlos paused for a moment before he continued listing the weapon and offensive equipment of the Aurora. "Returning to the arsenal, there are the two beam sabers on either hip skirt, as you likely saw. Those blades can be used individually or can be combined into a double-bladed configuration called the "Duel Corseque." You have the MX2351 'Imperious Deflector' shield attacked to the left arm for a defensive option. It has a built-in Homura Energy Deflection system, which is similar to the Alliance's Geschmeidig Panzer, a recent development of OMNI's."

Tyler didn't have words formed to properly say how much he wanted to take this mobile suit out and put it through its paces. Then Carlos pointed to the front skirts, specifically to the raised parts, "Mounted on the front skirt are duel micro-missile launchers, two pairs on either side, though they're only usable during flight mode. And like the micro-missile launchers, there's a pair of 90mm vulcan guns mounted on both sides of the forward flight array used during flight mode. The handheld weapon we have is the high-energy beam rifle, which can be stored on the rear skirt when needed. The other feature that is new with this rifle is the barrel of it can split open horizontally for a constant beam barrage. Finally, there are the two "Lunarious" plasma cannons mounted on rails that are on the back of the suit connected to the wings."

Tyler was once again impressed with Carlos's "selling ability" of the work Teswa did, it was top notch. And Tyler would be doing what he could get into the Aurora to use it and put it through its paces. He could call in some favors with those that worked here as the "star tester," and Tyler was leaning toward that. The Aurora was an excellent fit for Tyler's piloting style, almost a perfect match, much like the Shadow had become. "Carlos, again, you the man for the job when it comes to advertising what comes from this complex, you are the best at it. My last question about the Aurora is how I get to use it and/or be assigned to the unit," Tyler said.

While Carlos could understand Tyler's excitement with the Aurora and his hope to pilot it, there was one other thing he had to show his young friend. Tyler may have said his mobile suit the Shadow had been destroyed, in the month that had gone by, the unit had been rebuilt. The Shadow was a good machine as it had been, and parts in it had been started to be employed in other projects. So, Carlos put a hand to his chin, "Really, that is the question you have," he asked. "That's a shame, I had something for you here that I was getting to, but apparently, you're not interested in seeing what I have."

Tyler was forced to pause at the "bone" Carlos had just thrown out to him as it was tempting. It was Tyler's curiosity that his father had helped nurture that wouldn't let him pass by the offer at times like this. Tyler mulled over the pros and cons in taking the time to humor Carlos as he needed to head out as soon as he could. But as the Freedom was being inspected and Tyler needed to scrounge up painkillers, he would have to wait for a bit anyway. "Okay, Carlos, you have my attention still, what is it you want to show me," Tyler questioned.

Carlos led the two a distance into the mobile suit development floor, while the group went, Lisa slipped off. She planned to get some things done and look for some pin killers for Tyler as he really did need them. Lisa knew she couldn't stop Tyler from going to JOSH-A, he was too stubborn to listen to reason right now. So the best she could do was help him in his plan and mitigate what she was able. Tyler didn't miss Lisa going off elsewhere, he assumed that she would go to do background work. He'd found she was rather good at the idea, and Tyler had come to depend on her for some of the background work. And Tyler wasn't worried about Lisa, she knew the current stakes and how little time there was to work with.

Tyler's attention was tugged back when Carlos came to a stop and gestured to something to the left. Tyler looked in that direction and stopped as he gazed at something he didn't think he would see again. Before Tyler was the OIS-X209 Shadow in pristine condition and looked ready to use should it be called upon. Tyler was well-aware that the machine in front of him wasn't the original Shadow, he'd been in that one when it had been blown apart. But that Teswa had built a second unit was completely unexpected by Tyler, and in his heart, he was grateful. The Shadow had gotten Tyler through the events of the last few months, which hadn't been easy. So, during Tyler's road to recovery, he had been somewhat sad that his mobile suit had been destroyed, it had become a part of him.

Carlos observed Tyler's surprise at seeing his mobile suit having been rebuilt and was happy to give something good to his young friend. It certainly appeared that Tyler needed any good news and/or luck he could get. "We built a second unit as it was so interesting and just in case there was a need for it," Carlos said with a slight smile. "Then, I'm of the mind of why leave a good set of blueprints around to collect dust and not use them when you can. A lucky situation for you, I would say in this as you are in need, wouldn't you say Tyler? It's up to you whether you use it or not, I'll leave the fate of this mobile suit to you."

Carlos headed off elsewhere, leaving Tyler standing in front of the Shadow and in his own thoughts. The plan for the moment hadn't changed all that much in Tyler's mind, he still needed to get to JOSH-A as soon as he could. However, there were still enough complications that made the said plan not as simple as it sounded. The factors included things like how many ZAFT forces there would be to what kind of trap the Alliance could have. Tyler firmly believed the Alliance had something ready for ZAFT that was meant to kill as many of them as possible. It was what made the most sense, logically loosely speaking, it fit what information there was available.

OMNI had the bulk of their forces around Panama while ZAFT was going for JOSH-A. that would only make sense if either the Alliance didn't know ZAFT was going for their headquarters or planned for it. The latter seemed the more likely as of late, which brought up a more problematic issue. How would the Alliance have found out what ZAFT's target was if those in the operation hadn't known until the operation was about to begin? The way that Tyler could come with was there was a treacherous rat around that was up to no good. Whether there be a rat or, worse, multiple rats in this war, things would only worsen. Tyler's one experience with a "rat" had taught him that the type was better off either locked up for life or dead. Any side couldn't trust such as they only worked for themselves and their vendettas.

After Lisa had managed to collect some painkillers for Tyler, she glanced at the Information Network. From what she'd seen, the Archangel had reached JOSH-A yesterday, but little else about it beyond that. Then ZAFT was about to begin their operation against OMNI's headquarters within the next few hours. Lisa knew that Tyler had painted a grim picture of what would likely happen, but she doubted he would appreciate being so right. And when ZAFT attacked JOSH-A, it was probable that the Archangel would be in the defending forces of the base. The sadder thing, the defending OMNI forces were almost certainly bait for whatever trap the OMNI had set up. She found Tyler still in Teswa's mobile suit development area, staring at a machine. When Lisa got closer, she saw he was gazing at the Shadow. That Tyler's mobile suit was here was unexpected, Teswa must have rebuilt it over the last month. "To think that Teswa built a second mobile suit of the same make as your previous one," Lisa commented.

Tyler twisted around to see Lisa right behind him, and he also saw she had a small bag with her. He couldn't say what was in the bag, but he hoped there were painkillers. There was a place in the standard Federation spacesuit that containers of painkillers were to use when needed. And the supply in the suit Tyler was wearing was pretty much dry at this point, and he was feeling the absence of it. "So it would seem, I'm certainly surprised a second Shadow unit was built, I was never told that may happen," Tyler returned. "And I notice you have been busy with some things, care to share what you've been up to?"

Lisa shrugged, "I've been working on figuring out where things stand among other things," she began. "The Archangel reached JOSH-A yesterday from what the Information Network said. And I found out that Luke and Alan have been assigned other things, so our team has been officially dissolved. The other fact of note is that all the member nations are in the process of tightening their border and defenses. It isn't lock-down yet, but I fear it won't be all that long before it may come to that with OMNI's actions lately. With their gathering at JOSH-A and more Panama, the higher-ups are more than worried."

Tyler had expected that things were getting bad, but he hadn't thought it was to the point Lisa implied it was. Tyler knew the moment the Alliance got mobile suits, they would use them to expand their power. Their leadership had too many that had anti-Coordinator sentiment not to use a new weapon to fuel their plans. And Tyler didn't doubt what Lisa said about the member nations tightening things were happening. With what was in the "message" his mother had received, Tyler cursed that OMNI would come to enforce that if they could. Then the Archangel being at JOSH-A when ZAFT was poised to attack wasn't in any way comforting. Thus, Tyler exhaled heavily, "Yes, I can understand the worry the higher-ups have, I certainly share them. And I assume with Luke and Alan elsewhere, it is down to just you and me to get work done?" Lisa nodded, "Great, my health will not appreciate that, please tell me that you have painkillers. The supply this pilot suit had is empty, and the pain is getting harder to ignore by the minute."

Lisa dug in the bag she had and brought out tubes with connectors on the ends, which would plug into Tyler's suit. Tyler bowed his head, took the tubes, and opened the compartment on the section over his right thigh. He removed the empty tubes and inserted the four Lisa had brought before closing the compartment. Tyler brought his head up to face Lisa again, "I know I shouldn't say it, but I'm having a hard time seeing how things could be all that much worse than they are set up to be," Tyler stated.

"I admit, things are certainly not looking good for us, your friends, or the Federation as a whole right now. It is looking more likely that the Federation will be drawn into this war by force from the Alliance," Lisa replied. "I believe in the more immediate time, your friends on the Archangel are in more danger. With ZAFT attacking JOSH-A, they will be fighting against them, and I doubt going to get any help from their so-called allies."

Tyler sighed, "You're referring to the point of OMNI leaving the Archangel and others to die, I would agree." Tyler paused, "Though I fear the Alliance has likely set a trap for ZAFT and those that remain at JOSH-A are merely the bait for it."

Lisa frowned, "You think the Alliance has a trap set too, then?"

Tyler nodded, "I'm sure of it, just don't know what form the trap will take right now." He sighed, recalling some of his previous thoughts about a rat being present, "And I think there is more going on than we're seeing. I'm suspicious that there's a rat at work and has been for some time now in this war. I can't say if there is only one or multiple, but I'm pretty sure there is at least one that is pitting the two factions against each other."

Lisa blinked at the mention of a rat, for that would be a serious concern that could change a few things in the war. If Tyler implied an individual or a "rat," as Tyler said, then some of the battles between ZAFT and OMNI had been bloodier because of said rat sharing info to both sides. And in the coming battle's instance, ZAFT was sending a lot of force into a trap that the Alliance had time to set up. "With your mention of a rat, I would be inclined to agree, it would explain several things about this war," Lisa remarked. "Like why the bulk of OMNI's forces being around Panama instead of JOSH-a."

Tyler nodded, "That is one reason, but I also fear that the Atlantic Federation also may use ZAFT's attack to purge 'unwanted' personnel. It wouldn't be the first time they have used a bad event to their advantage," he said. "It is why I want to get there as soon as we can, I think we could make a difference, small as it may be." He had an idea that would help the more he thought about it. "And with the Shadow available, you could come with me and make sure I don't do anything completely stupid."

Lisa had been thinking of ways to go with Tyler to keep an eye on him as he wasn't fit to go out alone. The Shadow did provide an opportunity for her to do so and not have to scrounge up something else. And it would allow her to stay around him, and Tyler needed as many present that could step in to help his health not get worse. "Quite reasonable of you, and good of you to admit you need help as you do," Lisa answered. "You are still recovering and so shouldn't be going out to dangerous situations that can get you killed. The last time you did that, you nearly did die for it, let's not have a repeat of what happened in your last outing around the Archangel."

Tyler didn't have any argument to counter Lisa's statement with what happened with the Shadow the last time. And if he were honest right now, the Grim Reaper would have an easier time at trying to kill him than he'd had before. Truthfully, a battle was something Tyler should be avoiding as it would be a hindrance if not a detriment to his health. Should Tyler make it through such, he would likely need a doctor to help him, whether patching him up or something more serious. "I won't argue with you, Lisa, instead, I will recommend the flight system option for the Shadow for this."

The next hour went by in Tyler's view very slowly while things were being done so that he and Lisa could head out. Tyler did manage to get medication for himself to help with his health issues he was dealing with. The painkillers were helping, but Tyler also needed something to help him not have a "haze" from the painkillers. And for the hour, he found a place where he could get a quick nap and gain a little strength. The Freedom was fully inspected and adjusted a bit during the hour, which Tyler had no issue with. The said adjustments were mostly tweaking systems and especially making the reactor safer. The Shadow was also made ready with the flight system attached to it and checked over. Lisa did have a few adjustments to the Shadow's OS to fit her own preferences as well.

Once both mobile suits were ready, sonic flight frames were equipped for them as both Lisa and Tyler were in a hurry. There were also commands put into the suits' operating systems to eject the frames when the time came. So, Tyler put his helmet back on and connected it to his pilot suit before approaching the Freedom again. Tyler wasn't feeling all that much better when it came to his health, but time was running out. If Kira was still alive and somehow had the Strike to work with, Tyler didn't doubt that he would be defending the Archangel. But his friend would be going against a serious ZAFT assault which Kira would have serious difficulty with. So, Tyler was focused on getting to his friends and doing whatever it took to keep them alive as he and Lisa launched from Teswa.

A/N

Okay, I'll leave off there and continued it in the next Phase. So down to the elaboration of the changes and things I added. As you may have noticed from this Phase, I split up things from how the original Phases I wrote. I felt that the flow was better going with one character's journey rather than jump between multiple. So, it was Tyler's experience around the PLANTs and stealing the Freedom and not jumping back to the Archangel. Don't worry the Archangel's part will come later it just didn't make sense to go back and forth. And the reason I'm taking the time to explain this, would be the next few Phases are going over events that happen around the same timeframe.

Now on to some of the good stuff of this Phase. You may have noticed that I added a scene with Lisa having time with her siblings and facing her father again. I felt that had value as it adds to her character and as she is one of mine, I want to develop her. Plus, it shows some of the view of "radicals" in the PLANTs think of the Federation. Next, the changes on going into a bit more details on the complex and the theft itself. I'm trying to paint the pictures I'm seeing in my mind for this story, which I hope are appreciated. There were still things that were overall the same, like Tyler expressing his opinion to Patrick Zala among others with his performance. Now, some may have noticed, that I have Tyler's condition plaguing him more which I feel is more truthful. I can't imagine someone that went through what Tyler did up and fine in a little under a month, if you readers wish to correct me feel free.

Finally, there was dialog changes and some may have seen that in previous Phases. I admit that I've been watching the Gundam Seed Remastered HD version lately. If any are interested, Funimation has dubbed it, not advertising it, just mention where some of my influence is coming from. As always, some of you take the time to write a review and tell me what you thought of this Phase. Still hope to keep to a two week schedule for Phase release. I don't know if I can keep that with school and work, but I'll certainly try. Peace out until the next Phase!

Model Number: HFS-Z201

Code Name: Aurora Gundam
Unit Type: prototype transformable assault mobile suit
Manufacturer: Teswa R&D
Operator: Federation Military
First Deployment: March 71 CE
Accommodations: pilot only, in panoramic cockpit in torso

Dimensions: overall height 18.71 meters
Weight: 78.27 tons
Power Plant: ultracompact nuclear fission reactor
Armor Material: Phase Shift Armor
Equipment and Design Features:

Neutron Jammer Canceller

As with the other four ZGMF-X series of Gundam units produced in that time period, the Freedom is equipped with a Neutron Jammer Canceller, which counters the effects of the ubiquitous Neutron Jammers and allows these suits to be powered by nuclear reactors. This gives them almost limitless combat endurance, even with Phase Shift armor activated.

Phase Shift Type-Sigma

A new variation of Phase Shift Armor, developed by Teswa R&D after they got data on Phase Shift Armor from the Alliance's G Project. It works similar to the original idea, but is now made to be more efficient by distributing the voltage to the needed areas more than the non-needed areas.

High-Mobility Aerial Maneuver system (HiMAMs)

Similar to the HiMAMs, the system gives higher maneuverability. Gives a great advantage in flight mode, but also in MS mode and is better suited for aerial dogfighting.

Rapid Target Lock system

Similar to the Multi-lock on system the X10A Freedom has, but instead of locking onto multiple targets to shoot them all at the same time. This system does singular target shooting but will switches to the next target in milliseconds

Phantom Stealth system

An improved system and based on the Specter Optical Camouflage Field. It is harder to see through this stealth system and is more efficient with its energy consumption

Operating System

The OS that the Aurora has is the G.U.N.D.A.M. Intrigue, the Federation's system for working with a nuclear reactor.

MOBILE SUIT NEX OPERATION SYSTEM
Generation
Unsubdued
Nuclear
Drive
Assault
Module

G.U.N.D.A.M Intrigue
_Series GN125-O6 NR 02-13756_
Human Federation

Fixed Armament:

MMI-GAU26 50mm CIWS guns

A pair of the CIWS are built into both sides of the Aurora's head. They're fire-linked so that they will fire at the same time with a single command and are loaded with newly developed anti-phase shift rounds, where are effective against mobile suits with a Phase Shift Armor system. Their purpose is to intercept missile and other projectiles, but they can also penetrate light to moderate armor.

"Lunarious" Plasma Cannons

The "Lunarious" Plasma Cannon is the Aurora's main long-range weapon and are close to comparable to the Archangel's "Lohengrin" when firing at maximum output. The Aurora has two of these cannons which are mounted on the backpack section on the inside of the wings and they can swing forward to be used in MS mode. While in Flight mode, both cannons are set forward and center of the just under the flight sensor array. The pilot can also choose how much power the cannons uses per shot, at full power the forward half of the barrel splits open for a wider beam.

MA-M978 "Vajra II" beam sabers

The Aurora is equipped with two "Vajra" Beam Sabers, which are stored in recharge racks in compartments on top of both hips when not in use. The two beam sabers can be combined into a double-bladed beam saber, much like the Freedom and the Justice can do with their beam sabers in the form known as 'Ambidextrous Halberd' however, the Aurora's is called the "Dual Corseque".

MMI-MML262 duel micro-missile launchers

There are two launching tubes in the upper section of both front skirts of the Aurora. Each tube has a supply of three micro missiles before needing to be resupplied. They are only operable in the Aurora's flight mode.

MKII-GAU27 90mm vulcan guns

GAU27 vulcan gun is a rapid-fire gun that is much like machine guns or CIWS and use ammunition that is 90mm caliber. The Aurora has two of these mounted in the outside on both sides of the forward flight sensor array and are only operable in the Aurora's flight mode.

Handheld Armament:

MX2351 "Imperious Deflection " shield

The "Imperious Deflection" shield is the main defensive tool other than the Phase Shift Armor system. The shield is covered with Anti-Beam Coating and it's also built with "Homura" Deflection Shielding system, which is made up of network of emitters that's in the center of the shield. The emitter is covered when not in use and when activated, the shield expands in vertical length and four fins pop out making an X shape with the emitter in the center of it.

MA-BAR77/S2 high energy beam rifle

The beam rifle is the main offensive weapons of the Aurora has, and the only multi-range versitile weapon it has and can be stored on rear skirt armor when not in use and in flight mode, the rifle is positioned on the right of the right Plasma cannon. The rifle has two different modes, the rifle mode and stream mode. In rifle mode, it works like a standard beam rifle would, while in Stream mode, the forward half of the barrel can split open horizontally for a constant beam that can be used for cutting or penetration.