A/n

Here is Phase 39, the start of the battle scene in Orb. As per usual, I own nothing of the Gundam Universe, as much as I would love to. All that I take credit for is my characters, ideas, and musings that go into this story. So with that out of the way, hope you enjoy the Phase!

Phase 39: Intervening Justice

June 17th 71 CE

The Orb Union

The day when the Alliance set for their demands to be met dawned over Orb, and an eerie silence filled the early morning air. The previous day's efforts to pursue a diplomatic solution with the Alliance had not borne any fruit. Evacuations had been going city by city since yesterday and were moving along at a decent pace. However, the evacuations wouldn't be finished when OMNI commenced their attack at the rate the process was going. Panic was in the air but was kept in hand, so it didn't make things worse or harder. The official explanation Orb's government gave was the truth, the Alliance was coming to try and take the nation's freedoms. It was also said diplomatic solutions were still being attempted, yet it was not mentioned such had little chance of success. Most of Orb's citizens were evacuating as instructed by the government. The majority of the citizens were worried about what would happen, but they didn't voice that.

As the hours ticked away and the deadline came closer, preparations were rushed as they could be. All seaborne ships were readied to sail out to combat in the coming afternoon. The ships in Orb's fleet were made up of both classes from their own military and the Federation's forces. Orb's classes were the Aegis-class cruisers and Kuraomikami-class battleships. The Aegis class was comparable to the Federation's Dolphes-class, while the Kuraomikami-class was between the Dolphes and the Lapis-class. The Aegis-class was heavily armed for combat with a single 250mm rapid-fire gun for long-range attacks on enemy ships. It also had three 25mm anti-air Gatling guns to shoot down incoming missiles of enemy mobile suits. Its largest type of weaponry was its missile launchers, which include 18 anti-ship and several anti-air missile launchers, capable of unleashing a large number of missiles on enemy warships and mobile units. The Kuraomikami-class was heavily armed, despite its smaller size than the Aegis class. Its armament consisted of a single dual rapid-fire gun on the front side of the ship and four 25mm anti-air Gatling guns, which are used on most naval vessels to shoot down incoming missiles or mobile units. Besides these weapons, the ship class also features four anti-air and six anti-ship missile launchers, allowing the ship to unleash many missiles on the enemy.

Orb's military command organized the defending vessels into groups for patrol, which had been running since last evening. And while the ships hadn't seen any sign of OMNI yet, they kept a sharp watch, so none snuck around. Helis and other aircraft assisted in keeping watch for OMNI and keeping an eye on the evacuations. Once the western coasts were evacuated, military vehicles like linear artillery moved into defensive positions. All the fixed defenses had been checked and readied for deployment. The defending forces were combined with the Federation military forces that had come to Orb within the last year. So, Valkyrie jet fighters were prepared to help the Astray suits and the other aircraft that Orb had to work with. Runways had been laid at several different places around Orb for the Federation's Valkyries to launch from, and most were located by military complexes on both Onogoro and the main island Yalafath.

Orb's military command on Orogoro picked up OMNI forces earlier afternoon as they came into range of sensors. The announcement for final preparations to be made was sent, signaling attack would commence shortly. The second group of seaborne vessels left their ports and headed out to where they would meet OMNI. It was less than an hour before OMNI came into range to fire their weapons, and they didn't hesitate. Missiles were launched from all the ships as they kept sailing toward Orb's mainland. Cagalli was in Onogoro's command center when the alert of the incoming missiles was sounded. "Ma'am," called out a console operator, "OMNI forces had just launched their first salvos."

She knew that the battle for Orb's future was now underway, whether those like her liked it or not. Cagalli had hoped that some miracle would occur and a diplomatic solution would be found thus no fighting would be required. Cagalli had known that things would come down to a battle in the back of her mind. OMNI had made it clear with what they did to the Republic that they weren't going to allow for anything less than total surrender to them or die trying to take the member nations. All in the operation's room looked to Cagalli for orders, with her officially the highest-ranking officer there. Cagalli clenched her fists, "Defenders of Orb, intercept those missiles and commence defensive operations," she ordered.

The linear artillery began shooting at the missiles dispatching the majority while some did get through and hit the ground. Orders were sent for the rest of the defense forces to head out and counter OMNI's offensive. There were a few takeaways from the battle for the Republic, the biggest of which was that OMNI would use their mobile suits. The plan was to have the Astray suits work from the ground to intercept incoming fire and enemy mobile suits. All the M1-Astrays left their docks and made their way to the battlefield. While the ground suits headed out, the Valkyries took off from their airfields and joined the other aircraft in the air. Preventing OMNI's mobile suits from landing would help the defensive effort and keep the evacuations uninterrupted.

At the same time, as the attack had begun, Murrue ordered the Archangel to head out from the dock and to the field. The Archangel sailed out of Morgenroete's dock and to where the battle was going. The bridge crew spotted the aircraft flying from Onogoro and the mainland toward the explosions ahead. It was the first fight the ship had been in since JOSH-A, and this one came with mixed feelings. In this battle, they would be going against those who had been their allies months ago. Some of the crew had come to terms with the betrayal of OMNI and the Alliance, but not all had. Those from Heliopolis had accepted the event as Tyler had told them before it happened. Both Mu and Krystal had also come to accept that OMNI had left them to die and hadn't been helping them. However, they were among the few who had completely come to terms and moved forward.

As the Archangel moved forward toward the battle, teams of Valkyries climbed in the air looking for OMNI's mobile weapon transports. And it didn't take long for the large aircraft to be spotted as they approached Orb's mainland. The transports were quickly attacked by the Valkyrie teams and forced to do what they could to evade. The avoidance of attack didn't last long before the Valkyrie teams began striking the aircraft and destroying some of them. Some of the transports managed to off-load the mobile suits they carried before they either crashed in the ocean or detonated in the air. Other OMNI aircraft did move and attempt to get the Valkyrie teams to leave the transports alone. However, OMNI forces had little success at driving the Valkyries away from firing at the suit transports.

The Strike Daggers that did manage to jump out of their transports deployed their parachutes to slow their descent. They landed on Orb's mainland, destroying the fixed defenses they managed to come down on. The Daggers were quickly pressed as Astray units charged at them and began fighting them. And while the Dagger pilots had gained more experience now so that they weren't easily beaten, they weren't veterans. Thus, the greater numbers of Astray and Valkyrie suits swarming them were whittling away their forces. It made OMNI's landing forces almost ineffective as they were to destroy defenses to allow more to make landfall.

Azrael wasn't the most pleased at seeing the Daggers having trouble not only getting to the ground but also making any progress. It was annoying that the Federation machines were taking down the transports, which was hampering things. Yes, Azreal hadn't forgotten the fact he had been told over and over the Federation was no pushover. But drawing out what was inevitable was pathetic and only made things more difficult. Orb would fall into line even when the Republic had not. OMNI needed a win, and while Victoria would do that, a win against the Federation would do just that much better. Plus, it would give OMNI and others access to Federation technology which would speed along plans. "Captain," Azrael started, "Wouldn't you say it is a good time to send the Strike Daggers on the ship out? Our forces appear to be having some difficulties on land, and we need that foothold."

The Powell's captain looked at Azrael, "Yes, but what of those three machines you been touting, sir?"

Azrael smiled, "Oh, they are being readied," he replied, "They will launch out shortly, and they will help move things along."

The captain sighed and ordered the Daggers to head out from all four Spengler classes. The units on the carriers had been equipped with the new flight systems developed for them. The system was similar to the Strike's Aile pack in having wings and a more powerful thruster set. The OMNI suits headed straight for Orb's mainland, dodging incoming shots as they were able from Orb's defending ships and the land defenses. However, only around half the Strike Daggers landed on the Izanagi shoreline east of the capital city. The reinforcements for OMNI gave them some momentum as they held onto their foothold. Then two OMNI transports managed to get past the Federation fighters and fly over Onogoro. They were shot at and hit as they were deploying their mobile suits. However, they could get all of their units out before exploding. OMNI's target was the Mass Driver and Morgenroete's main complex, as they were the "jewels" of the operation. The top brass had made it plain the mass driver was to be intact if at all possible by the end of the operation.

OMNI's Des Moines and Arkansas classes surged forward to engage Orb's defending vessels. They were followed by the Spearheads and the VTOL fighters that had been with the fleet. However, the defensive lines held by the ships didn't fold under the surge from OMNI. Murrue could see that while in the water, the battle was going fine, the defenders on land needed help. So she ordered the Archangel's mobile suits to head out to the field and assist where they could. The ship's two linear catapults were opened, and rails extended out for use. The Freedom moved to the right catapult while the Strike was sent to the left. The Shadow would launch once one of the catapults was free to use.

Kira kept calm and focused on the task of forcing the Alliance back from Orb. It was much the same idea when Tyler would tell him and Lacus to focus on the end goal rather than the methods of achieving it. That did remind Kira that Tyler wasn't here, which he would have preferred. Kira always felt more confident going out to fight when Tyler was going with him, and he couldn't explain why. Not to say that Kira wasn't confident with the Freedom, and he was able to make a difference in defending Orb. Kira just wished Tyler was going out with him for the support, both moral and tactical. In comparison, Mu and Krystal were going out to their first actual battle piloting mobile suits rather than Skygraspers or mobile armors. Both had put in the time to practice piloting the machines in preparation for this fight, among other future events. They even had sparred with Kira, neither had won against the kid, but they'd come away with lessons learned.

"Kira Yamato, Freedom, let's do it!" Kira announced before the Freedom launched out from the Archangel directly following.

As the Freedom was flung out, the Strike was equipped with its newest armament set, the AQM/E-YM1, which gave the Strike the combination of all its striker packs. The rocket anchor and shoulder with beam boomerang from the sword striker were attached to the suit's left arm. While the launcher pack's shoulder piece, complete with Gatling gun and missile launchers, went on the right shoulder. The flight pack from the Aile striker pack was mounted on the machine's back hardpoint, though it had two arm units for mounting the "Agni" beam cannon on the left and the "Schwert Gewehr" anti-ship sword on the right. Yet, the mobile suit had to give up the customary beam rifle and anti-beam shield with this set. Once the pack was attached, Mu was given the go-ahead to launch "Mu La Flaga, launching in Strike!"

The Strike flew out from the Archangel and followed the Freedom, which only left the Shadow to go. The mobile suit had already moved to the right catapult and was getting its flight system put on. But when that was done, Krystal focused forward, "Krystal McAlester, Shadow, heading out!" The Archangel's three mobile suits zoomed out and joined Orb's side in ousting OMNI. Mu and Krystal headed for Orb's mainland to assist in dealing with the Strike Daggers that had made it to that point. On the other hand, Kira went to the Izanagi shoreline, helping the Astrays fight there.

Meanwhile, back on the Spengler-class Powell, Shani Andras, Clotho Buer, and Orga Sabnak had suited up and headed down to the ship's hangar. The three knew they were here to display what they could do, which had been said to them. However, it was implied that their performance in this would be judged much as simulations were at the lab. And the three knew Dr. Moss would more than likely look at this. That possibility alone made it all the more important they do their best. The three boys knew, and any candidate that kept Dr. Moss satisfied or not disappointed was everything. If a candidate didn't do so, they didn't last long and "disappeared" if such didn't change promptly. Thus far, the boys' group had performed "satisfactory" so had stayed out of trouble with the head of Lodonia. While they would love to earn more privileges from Dr. Moss, they were more interested in keeping off her bad side. Therefore, even when they didn't like one another much, they would put aside their differences for mutual survival. Their trio was different because there was no clearly established leader, which the other two followed even if begrudgingly. It was a characteristic their trio had that few others did, and it was not a good one and was scrutinized most of the time.

The three approached the mobile suits that they were assigned to use in this performance. The lab personnel waiting for the candidates had medication doses ready for them. The serum was a performance-enhancement drug that candidates were given regularly. It was to make sure they had a minimum level of the drug in them to have their bodies used to the substance. That had been the best methodology invented that was successful for "Boosted Men." When candidates were going to perform, they would then be given a stronger dose to provide heightened and precise responses. And the trio's performance was to be observed and recorded for later assessment per Dr. Moss's orders. While the team lead had waved off some expected procedures at Lodonia, others observed them anyway.

The doses were handed to the three candidates in their sealed bottles, and the lab personnel waited for the candidates to take the medication. The three snapped off the bottle top and drank the serum ignoring the bitter taste. Their thoughts were hovering on this as a chance to show they could do as good if not better than the "star girls" of Lodonia. Every candidate knew about the Galiena sisters, and they were the comparison the other candidates didn't want to be measured by. They were Dr. Moss's favorite trio and always seemed to perform well enough to make the lab's head happy, which was more than satisfied. So, the boys would love nothing better to match or outperform the "star girls" just once. That agreement had them being almost cordial to one another when they normally weren't.

It was thoughts of Dr. Moss that had them behave, not the lab personnel that was their handlers. All the candidates feared Dr. Moss more than any other person at the lab for a good reason. The woman had given them a chance to be something more than they had been before. Most candidates had come from "less than nice" circumstances to put it mildly, and so didn't want to go back to where they had come from. However, the chance came with the understanding that expectations were met or else. And that "or else" motivated candidates to give everything they had. Whether candidates heard about "consequences" from other candidates or lab personnel, the reaction from "new" candidates was similar. It was disbelief until they had one experience with the consequences for not meeting expectations, then conformance going forward. That was why they listened to their handlers and the ones that were giving them orders. The fear of Dr. Moss was so ingrained that it was the driving force behind their actions.

After taking the dose, they were told to board the units they were assigned to before now. It was an ingrained habit to follow instructions given. It resulted from years of training and conditioning they had gone through at Lodonia. Orga boarded the X133 Calamity while Shani entered the X252 Forbidden and Clotho got in the X370 Raider. They checked the onboard system as they'd been taught to do each and every time during simulations. The threat of punishment if they didn't do the actions had been the motivation to become a behavior. As they were doing the task, the voice of Muruta Azrael came over the com channel. "Say boys, and it's extremely important that you not damage Morgenroete or the mass driver. Do you all understand," he asked. "Mina said that you three tend to get good results, so I assume that such a task won't be an issue, will it, boys?"

The instructions were simple enough on the face of it, don't aim for the large catapult or the complex around it. And to be told, Dr. Moss had said they got good results was high praise from the head of Lodonia. The task was different because fewer "boundaries" were stated than there normally were. The simulations back at the lab always had specific requirements and boundaries in place by which candidates' performances were judged. It was so that there was the focus and little chance to do anything but the task assigned in the simulations. Thus, excitement filled the boys at the implied freedom they would have during this task. "Then, does that mean we can destroy whatever else we want to around this place," Shani inquired, ensuring he understood what had been said. At Lodonia, you didn't make assumptions about what was implied, or else you could be punished.

While Shani was the "cautious" one of their trio, the other two were much less so. It was due to Shani wanting to avoid punishment actively while Clotho and Orga merely did it passively. Clotho would normally call Shani a pansy for "clarifying" given instructions but should he do so, it would waste time they could be having fun. So for this one time, Clotho would be nice and not tease Shani so that they could get going. "It certainly sounds like it to me," Clotho remarked, smiling at the thought of so much freedom to do what you wanted. "So, you can hush Shani, and we can get going."

Orga was a tad annoyed that Clotho was trying to step into their trio's "leader" position as he sometimes did. He wasn't "leadership" material even when he thought he could be, and lab personnel had repeatedly stated that. And he, along with Shani, was delaying them from heading out on the task they had been given. It was clear that all three wanted to take out the mobile suits they'd been given. So it was better they all shut up and just get going, "Would you two shut your traps already so we can get going on this," Orga snapped.

It was clear to Azrael the boys were excited about going out and fighting Orb's defenders. And if they wanted to go crazy, Azrael had no qualms in letting them do so. Mina did mention something about the three boys being "rambunctious," among other things. Azrael hadn't a problem with destructive tendencies in pilots. If anything, then such made them more effective in bringing down an enemy force by what he'd seen. So, Azrael laughed, "Now that's the kind of attitude I was hoping to hear, boys. You're all absolutely right in your assumption about getting to do what you like. Now then, go out there and have fun while you work."

The three hatches on the Powell's forward half sides, two on the starboard side and one on the port side, opened. The Forbidden leaped out the port side hatch and surged forward with its highspeed mode shifting into place. The Raider was next to leave the ship changing over to its mobile armor flight mode. The Raider's mobile armor mode was identical to the Bandit's mobile armor mode. The only difference was the ball weapon was stored on the bottom where the Bandit had no such weapon. Once the Raider had changed over, the Calamity moved out of the ship and jumped up, and landed on top of the Raider. The Calamity didn't have enough thrusting power to fly as the other two did. After leaving the Powell, the three custom model suits rocketed forward towards the battle still in full swing ahead of them.

In the skirmish, the Daggers that had reached land were fighting as hard as they could to stay alive and make any progress. There weren't as many suits as OMNI had hoped would make landfall, but they were working with what they had. Orb's defenders were making any attempt for Strike Daggers to touch down on land extremely difficult. Then the Federation fighter jets were also changing into mobile suits. Those machines had weapons that seemed rather effective against the Daggers' laminated armor. The enemy also appeared to be defending specific positions farther inland, which didn't make sense for the OMNI fleet. The OMNI pilots knew they were outnumbered and outgunned to a degree against Orb's defending forces. Orb's Astray suits and the Federation's Valkyrie units pushed back against the Daggers, using teamwork effectively. Hence, OMNI pilots did everything they could, crazy or not, to stay alive and move forward.

In Orb's military command center, Cagalli was frustrated as she watched the battle unfolding. Orb's defenders were doing a beyond admirable job, and she would praise them for their efforts. Cagalli was more than grateful for the men and women fighting who put their lives on the line. It filled her with pride that Orb's and the Federation's soldiers stepped forward to protect Orb and did so without hesitation. They had the motivation to defend their home and beliefs, giving them more reason to risk their lives in the battle. Of course, she wished that this battle wasn't happening at all, but that ship had sailed already and couldn't be called back. Thus far, OMNI had gotten a small number of their mobile suits on Orb's mainland. However, defenders had prevented much progress for OMNI by keeping them at the shoreline. Orb also had its evacuation routes covered by other parts of its forces. They kept their citizens moving to the ships that would take them away from the battle. And yet, that was coming with a cost of lives for the defense they were putting up, which Cagalli wasn't happy with at all.

Mu dove right in shortly after leaving the Archangel, going to the nears city adjacent to the military port the Archangel came from. He could see that some of OMNI's mobile suits had entered the empty city and used the building for cover from their enemies. Mu landed in the city because of the Strike Daggers there and brought out the Agni cannon. He fired, sweeping the beam to cut the OMNI suits in half. "This would be neat if I weren't so new to using a mobile suit," Mu mused. "At least, I'll make sure the original Strike doesn't lose to the OMNI knock-offs."

At the same time, Krystal flew to the shoreline near the city Mu had gone toward. She could see that the Astray units had problems holding the OMNI forces at the beach. So, Krystal brought out the LRT scope and used it with the Shadow's beam rifle to begin picking off some of the Strike Daggers. The scope was something else, and Krystal suspected it was one of the things which had Tyler prevent inspections of the mobile suit. She knew that she would never pull off the stunts as Tyler had with the Shadow, but she would work with it the best she could. However, Krystal didn't miss Mu's musing since he had said it over the comm-channel the Archangel's suits were using. "While I can agree with the sentiment, Mu," Krystal started, "you should focus on the battle. And don't compare yourself to the previous pilots of these suits, it is unfair to all involved. We aren't them, and they aren't us, so don't go there."

Mu hadn't thought he had said his musing over the radio, but apparently, he had, and Krystal had heard him. He had no problem admitting his shortcoming with her, and they had been friends for long enough to get past that type of discomfort. And Mu wouldn't compare himself to Kira, Tyler, or even the pink princess, he knew better. The teens were Coordinators, and at least two out of the three had some sort of training. Still, this was the first actual combat he and Krystal had been in using mobile suits. By most measurements, the two of them were doing a better than average job, which was progress. "Yeah, I know, Krystal, I'm not so foolish to compare myself to them. But for what it is worth, I would say that we're doing better than expected for this battle." Mu paused for a moment as he had a thought, "Tell you what, should we both survive this, we go out to have a drink, and I'll buy."

Krystal smiled at the offer Mu was making as it wasn't the first time he'd invited her to drink. It was a standing thing with them, after hard battles, they would go and have a drink while they talked, a token of their friendship. "Sounds good to me," Krystal replied. "Heck, you can even invite Murrue if you feel so inclined. I would bet you will be inviting her with how cozy you two have been getting." Krystal had a more interesting idea, "I only want to make one small change to the bet. Let's make it that the one who takes out the least enemy suits buys instead of just you. That way, I won't feel like you are trying to talk me into something sweet, and you can save face."

Mu felt his cheeks heat up slightly as he thought that the building relationship between Murrue and himself had been kept very quiet and wouldn't be public. Yes, Krystal would have likely noticed as she had a knack for doing. It was nice of her not to bring it up in front of the Archangel's crew, as it would have been somewhat embarrassing. So, Mu chuckled, "Deal Krystal, may the best pilot win," he returned. Mu refocused on his surroundings and spotted Astray suits which from the Strike's sensors said it was the girls from Morgenroete mopping up some Daggers. "Hey, stay alert, girls," he ordered, "OMNI suits we stopped are a good start. But the more that we keep from moving forward, the better chance we all have at being alive by the end of this."

Meanwhile, Kira had gone up the nearby coastline of the mainland of Orb, helping Orb's defenders as he went. As Kira flew, he witnessed a group of Astrays having difficulty with a group of Strike Daggers. He brought out the Freedom's railguns and plasma cannons targeting the Daggers with its Multi-lock-on system. Kira fired, hitting five Dagger suits in non-vital areas, mostly disarming them or destroying their camera sets. The remaining Strike Daggers backed up a little at seeing their comrades defeated all at the same time. Kira noted that the two suits left weren't leaving, so he dove down, detaching the Freedom's shield. He drew both beam sabers and sliced downward as he landed, cutting off a leg and arm of the Strike Daggers. Kira then stored the beam sabers and grabbed the Freedom's shield, which had just hit the ground by this point, bottom tip down, and flew off to help the defending vessels in trouble.

The defenders kept OMNI from making much progress forward inland as time kept moving onward. The Archangel was blasting OMNI vessels with both its Valiants and Gottfrieds, helping chip away at the enemy's strength. It was a welcome change for the ship's crew to have allies helping them in battle. Before now, they had normally been fighting by themselves except for a select few instants. Yet, in this battle, they had allies in the form of Orb and Federation vessels fighting alongside them. Combined with the Federation's Valkyries and other aircraft, the battle had the highest odds the Archangel had since its outset. Nonetheless, after taking down some Spearheads, Clotho and Orga took notice of the unique-looking ship. It stood out from the rest and had been shooting down allies at a higher rate than others around it. Strong targets tended to be funner to take down, at least simulations made it seem so. "That white one," Clotho mused, "it's really standing out. And we get bonus points for taking out strong targets, so how about we go for that one?"

Orga knew what Clotho was talking about as it was a thing back at Lodonia. In the simulations, candidates were given extra points if they took down a strong or difficult target. "Extra points" were good marks for any candidate at the lab and had you in better standing with those in charge. And since keeping the ones in charge at the lab happy was everything, candidates snatched the extra points when they could. Thus, for one of the rare subjects Orga could agree with his other trio members, achieving extra points was always good. So, Orga snickered, "You know, while we fight about most things, scoring bonus points is one of the few things we don't. Let's see who can make the kill shot on the white ship."

Jackie spotted the incoming enemy signals as the Calamity brought the cannons on its backpack to bear on the Archangel. There was the size of mobile suits, but they were reading differently than ZAFT machines would and even different than the Strike Daggers. "Mobile suits approaching," Jackie announced, but he still couldn't get the odd difference in the signals out of his mind. They almost appeared as mobile armors, yet he couldn't tell for sure if that's what they were. 'No, they look more like mobile armors," he corrected. Murrue glanced down at the CIC as mobile suits were expected, but mobile armors were not. And if OMNI had created suits based on the G-Project, at least one model had been able to appear as a mobile armor.

Orga lined up the Calamity's two Schlag high-energy beam cannons and its Scylla multi-phase cannon on the white vessel. He pulled the trigger for his weapons, confident that he would hit it as he was so close. Clotho also fired his machine guns at the ship, not wanting Orga to have all the fun. Just as the beams came toward them, Murrue ordered the Archangel to evade, and Arnold used the maneuvering thrusters to shoot sideways out of the line of fire. Murrue watched as the beams passed but then saw them puncture an Orb vessel that had been behind them. Murrue hadn't meant to have an ally take a shot intended for the Archangel, but there hadn't been the time to think about that.

Clotho was frustrated they'd missed, yet his guns would have just made holes. Orga's should have blasted through the ship if he'd hit it, and he should have with the close range they were in. The chance for bonus points was all but gone, though there could be opportunities for more later. So, Clotho huffed, "If you're going to shoot something that's this close, you shouldn't miss it," he snapped. "You need to work on your aim and other things, time to drop you off, so my performance isn't hit." Clotho flew the Raider over the mainland and tilted his machine to have the Calamity slide off.

Orga didn't appreciate the insult given by Clotho since the idiot hadn't hit the ship either. But separating from the Raider would give Orga a chance to work on his own performance. "Fine," Orga snarled, "I don't need you cramping up my style anyway." He had the Calamity use its thrusters to land on the ground and take in his surroundings. Orga had seen groups of enemies guarding further inland, and there were people around there. However, more enemies were in the city areas, which meant more chances to destroy things. So, Orga headed for the nearest city area to get to work and maybe have some fun in the process.

The Raider swung back to where the Archangel was so that he could perhaps get the bonus points for taking the ship down. Clotho had no issue stealing extra points from his fellow trio members. He watched after himself first and foremost and working with Shani and Orga just happened to help his survival. Clotho dodged the weapon fire from other machines as he approached the Archangel's bridge. He planned to use the "Mjoinir" spherical breaker his machine had to work with. It was built like an old-fashion ball and chain weapon, and Clotho enjoyed weapons used for smashing things. "I got you this time," Clotho announced and pulled back the Mjoinir in preparation to launch it forward.

However, Kira didn't have much time to catch his breath as another mobile suit shot at allies close by. As Kira looked, a green mobile armor with what appeared to be a scythe landed on an Orb ship and sliced a section off. Kira had shot at the black Gundam as it had been making a b-line for the Archangel, yet he'd missed. Kira had followed the enemy as it was clear it had an interest in the Archangel and would harm it if given a chance. So, just as the Gundam got in front of the ship's bridged and had raised its weapon, Kira had the Freedom ram it. The move was one Tyler seemed to prefer using against some enemies, and Kira wouldn't deny it was effective. The three Gundams that had appeared had shown they were nothing but trouble if left to their own devices. So, Kira didn't intend to leave them to do what they were. Gundam-types were best fought with other Gundams Kira had found, so he was the best for the job.

Thus, Kira watched as the Raider sailed downward and splashed into the water. However, Kira didn't have much time to catch his breath as another mobile suit shot at allies close by. Kira looked at a green mobile armor with what appeared to be a scythe shot at allied vessels. The machine shifted into a Gundam before landing on an Orb ship and slicing a section off with its scythe the next thing Kira saw. He chased after the Forbidden as he continued its destructive killing spree. The three Gundams did help the push OMNI was making somewhat, but Orb defending forces didn't fold. Neither did those that were protecting the evacuation routes let any enemy units get past them.

Along Onogoro's evac route, Dearka made his way toward the dock, which would get him elsewhere. He was having an internal argument about the current circumstances as they didn't sit well with him. Dearka would glance at the fighting going on as he traveled toward the dock. He had to admit the Federation forces were putting up a good fight, Dearka would commend them for that. But OMNI's stubbornness was expected, yet even so, Dearka still couldn't understand why they were attacking Orb. OMNI before now had been at least "careful" not to provoke the Federation to fight them. This attack contradicted such behavior, and Dearka wondered what had changed. On the one hand, Dearka shouldn't get involved in this skirmish as a pilot of ZAFT since ZAFT had nothing to do with this. However, a part of Dearka wanted to do something to change the situation before him. Nevertheless, with the Buster taken to Morgenroete, Dearka's options to help if he wanted were limited.

After meeting Tyler McGregor and talking with him, Dearka felt bad for attacking the Archangel. He'd learned that the crew wasn't bad people, that they had been following orders much as he had. As McGregor had mentioned, those on the Archangel were too good of people for them to fit in with OMNI, and Dearka agreed. Then with that girl, Miriallia, she'd said her name was, she had brought him meals and talked to him when pretty much no one else did. So, leaving felt even more dumb with a "debt" unpaid. While Dearka watched Federation mobile suits doing whatever they could to protect the evacuation routes, he decided what to do. He turned around and ran toward Morgenroete, where Miriallia had said his mobile suit had gone.

Explosions kept going off all around Dearka as he ran towards Morgenroete. Dearka also saw soldiers falling back to defensible positions as OMNI pushed. However, none seemed to notice him or at least didn't pay much if any attention to him as he went. Thus, when Dearka got to the entrance of Morgenroete, he found none around to stop him from going inside. The interior of the complex appeared to be mostly intact, or rather there wasn't much damage from the outside that had affected the inside yet. The place was deserted, so Dearka jogged through the corridors looking for the mobile suit floor. It took a few minutes for Dearka to find the area he was searching for and in a dock was the Buster. Dearka quickly got into his pilot suit and climbed the dock scaffolding. He input the lock code and was glad that it was the same with the cockpit opening for him. Upon activating the OS, everything looked the same as it had been the last time he used the suit. He turned the phase shift armor on, forced the Buster out of the dock, and moved toward the door to the outside.

Back out over the water, Shani enjoyed the destruction he was getting to do, using bad memories to fuel his drive to keep going. He had seen Clotho had been hit by an enemy and sent into the water, but that was his problem. There was no real requirement for Shani to "work with" his fellow trio members in this, as there were no specific instructions. Thus, Shani would do his own things, prove he could perform well, and show he was useful to Dr. Moss. Maybe if he did that, he could be put with another trio that actually worked and wasn't dumb. Shani had just landed on a ship, slashed off its bridge tower, and jumped back up before noticing another following him. When Shani glanced back, he spotted the white, black, and blue mobile suit that had sent Clotho into the water.

The Raider came out of the water, and Clotho was unhappy with what just happened to him. He'd been about to down the white ship and earn bonus points with those that mattered, and another had denied him. It took just a moment for Clotho to find the suit that had hit him, "How dare you," Clotho growled, "Game over! Eat this!" The Raider launched the Mjoinir at the Freedom igniting its thrusters to increase the speed and force. Clotho wanted to make the enemy that had denied him pay by suffering before they died. Kira noticed the projectile just in time to evade it and watched as the spiked ball came sailing past. Yet, Clotho continued pursuing the Freedom, determined to get the machine that had cheated him.

Mu had seen the Gundam, which had dropped off what looked like a mobile armor of some sort. He'd also noticed the artillery it had and used on those close by cutting down Orb defenders. Mu wasn't going to stand for some trigger-happy idiot using a mobile suit to wreak destruction as they pleased while he was fighting. So, Mu made his way over to where the Calamity was and charged at it, "Not today," he challenged. The Strike dodged the volleys from the high-energy beam cannons and got on the suit's left side. Mu swung the anti-ship sword horizontally at the enemy unit but was blocked by its shield. He had to leap upward just before the Clamaity fired its multi-phase beam cannon where the Strike had been.

Krystal had been watching the Strike's progress and witnessed the Gundam-type using its artillery weapons. Although she knew Mu would be hard to take down, Krystal didn't want another to do it if there was a way to prevent it. Thus she moved the Shadow in the same direction as the Strike had been going to help Mu. She saw Mu swing his sword at the Gundam but be parried before jumping back to miss being shot at. Krystal had gotten behind the Calamity and used the Shadow's shield railgun on the enemy. The Calamity stumbled forward a few steps before Orga regained control, and he glanced backward. Orga saw a black mobile suit that looked like his, meaning it was a custom one. Mu saw the Calamity's attention had been shifted off of him, leaving it open to attack, so he didn't waste the chance. He raised the Strike's left arm and shot the rocket anchor, which zipped at the Calamity and slammed into it.

Orga was getting annoyed with these two pests buzzing around him, demanding attention. They couldn't do much damage to his machine as long as he didn't make dumb mistakes. True, they could bounce him around the cockpit with their attacks, fueling his annoyance. The Calamity's arsenal kept the two at a distance that Orga could handle. The artillery shot blocked and shoved the Shadow back from the Calamity, forcing Krystal to stay at a distance. That, in turn, prevented the use of the Shadow's close-quarter weapons, which would have more effect. Mu wasn't having much more luck with the Calamity than Krystal. Every time Mu got in close enough to attack, he was forced back by the Calamity shooting at him.

The trio of female Astray pilots had been moving as a group on the battlefield and had gotten to the urban area by this point. They quickly spotted both the Strike and the Shadow dancing with the Calamity and moved forward to assist them. Asagi got in front of the Shadow and blocked the bolts from the Calamity's beam cannon for her ally. At the same time, Mayura did the same for the Strike, surprising both former armor pilots. The girls helping them were, as far as Mu and Krystal knew, were greener than they were. This was their first combat experience, and they had been doing drills before this. And then, Federation suits came to help them by firing at the Calamity and drawing its attention. Some of the Valkyries got ahold of the enemy's high-energy beam cannons and forced them to point above where they could hit allies. Orga wasn't so dense as to not see what the enemy was attempting to do to him. They were trying to pin him down and prevent him from fighting in this, and his struggle wasn't getting them off.

Meanwhile, Kira quickly found himself fighting both the red and black Gundam and the green one. As the Raider would attack the Freedom, the Forbidden would move in to strike from behind. Kira had to weave away from the scythe swung at him before he used the Freedom's CIWS guns on the Raider. However, the Forbidden moved to be in front of the Raider using its railguns on the Freedom. To Kira, it appeared almost as the two competed with one another for who could kill an opponent first. It made little to no sense for OMNI pilots to see each other as much as problems as their enemies. The two Gundams he was fighting were acting erratic, more than any before now that Kira had faced.

Clotho charged forward to slam his Mjoinir into his opponent before finishing them off with the Zorn cannon. However, halfway there, the Forbidden came into his path, blocking him from his target. Clotho saw the black and white machine as his target to destroy, and he wouldn't accept even a member of his trio to take that from him. "Clear my lane, Shani," Clotho snapped, "This one's mine, and neither you nor Orga will steal it from me."

Shani wouldn't take Clotho's snarking as the white and black suit had attacked him. Shani fought back against any that struck at him unless specifically told otherwise by one of the higher-ups at the lab. "You're the one that's in my way," Shani shot back, "This one attacked me, so I'll take them down. You snooze, you lose, Clotho." Shani brought the Forbidden's railguns up and fired at the Freedom, who dodged out of the way.

Kira flipped over after evading the railguns shot at him and had the Freedom's plasma cannons come out. He fired them at the Forbidden, yet the Gundam just shifted its shoulder shields to be in front. The beams deflected just before striking the shields, and faint ripples appeared in the air as the beams redirected. The beam deflection surprised Kira as he hadn't seen something like that happen nor knew of equipment that could do such a thing. Beam deflection could change how battles could be fought as far as Kira could imagine. And fighting the two, he was simultaneously was taxing his skills hard. Kira was hanging on for the moment, but that would change if things didn't change for the better soon.

While Kira was being kept busy, some Spearhead fighters took advantage of the Archangel's weakened defense to attack. The Archangel fired some of its Helldarts to counter and add to the CIWS guns barrage. But the aircraft weaved out of the way and kept launching attacks against the Archangel and were joined by Alliance sea vessels. The Archangel's defenses intercepted a good portion of the projectiles while others hit the water. However, some missile got close to the Archangel and detonated, shaking the ship. The next wave of missiles came, but two beams shot across the Archangel's bow destroying the missiles at the last moment. The beams came from behind the Archangel in the direction of Orb's Onogoro Island. Sai looked down at his console screen and saw a signal behind them right off the shores of Onogoro. He typed in a command, and the information identifying the signal surprised Sai. He couldn't help but utter what his console's readout said the signal was, "The Buster."

Jackie brought up an image on the forward bridge display, and all on the bridge saw the picture of the Buster. It was standing in shallow water in the local bay off Onogoro, both its rifles pointed at the OMNI aircraft and missile pods open. None had expected to see the Buster out on the battlefield, let alone assisting them. The ZAFT pilot Dearka Elsman had been released from the brig cell he'd been in to go where he wished, so it was supposed to be the last the Archangel ever saw or heard of him.

Dearka saw that his shots had cleared some of the missiles but had more taken down the aircraft which had launched them. It felt like he was doing something of value fighting here, even if it wasn't for ZAFT. It was the first time in a while that Dearka actually felt like what he was doing had not just purpose but real meaning that he could get behind. And even should he have to face punishment for his actions here, Dearka was willing to accept the consequences. Dearka would even face Admiral Treize for fighting to help Orb since he felt the Admiral would understand and applaud the decision. So Dearka didn't move, just opened a comm channel to the ship he was defending, "Get the hell out of there, Archangel," he stated, I'll cover you."

As the fight raged all around Orb, the Buster kept busy chipping down OMNI aircraft in its firing range and was assisted by Federation Valkyries. Dearka had begun resorting to switching between the snipe configuration and the launcher configuration. While the snipe config could take missiles down at a range, the launcher could dispatch a spread of them. The Buster didn't move even with the heavy barrage of projectiles raining down. However, OMNI forces were pushing despite the losses they were taking. They made some progress and had Orb's defenders onto the mainland and Onogoro Island from the water. And yet, Orb's forces dug in where they were and brought OMNI's push to a grinding halt.

At the same time, the Shadow had gotten separated from the Strike during their battle with the Calamity. Krystal had been drawn away by some Strike Daggers even though she had tried to stick around Mu so she could help him. Only a short period later, Krystal found herself around Orb's military command. There were Astray units holding the perimeter, and when Krystal got around there, they were being joined by Valkyrie mobile suits. Krystal helped the defenders keep Daggers and other OMNI aircraft from breaking through the defense line. Krystal would say that OMNI was certainly pushing hard to advance in this battle. However, the drive that Krystal had come to know with OMNI was absent. It was like they were fighting just because they were being forced to and not for a cause as they had before.

While that was happening, the Strike was still dancing with the Calamity as Mu had been doing for more than thirty minutes now. Mu was being helped by a few allied mobile suits trying to keep the Calamity not being able to use its arsenal. The E-YM1 pack's extra battery packs were helping power consumption be less of a concern for Mu in this battle. However, he knew that the battery packs wouldn't last forever, so he was trying to pace himself on how fast he used them. Mu hoped that the Calamity would have to go and resupply before he had to do the same. And with how the enemy pilot was firing off their weapons, they had to be burning through their power supply. Mu wasn't happy with the enemy pilot, and they had shot and killed his allies without hesitation. In fact, if the OMNI comm frequency was anything to go by, the pilot was laughing with sick glee. That point went beyond irritating for Mu as he detested those who killed for "fun" or "enjoyment."

In Orbs military command center, Cagalli was getting frustrated just standing around listening to reports from those working with defending forces. Thus far, Orb's defenses were holding and keeping OMNI at bay and away from most urban areas. One city had been turned into a battleground, but it had been fully evacuated already. The northwestern coast was being held, and the groups there prevented OMNI from getting much of a foothold. However, the southwestern coastlines and Onogoro's western coasts had trouble with defenders being pushed back. "OMNI forces have broken through the forward Onogoro defense line," announced an operator. "Companies three and four have fallen back to the second defense lines." Cagalli gritted her teeth at hearing the forward defense lines for Onogoro had already been pushed back to the secondary lines. OMNI was making progress quicker than hoped, mostly due to some of their mass-production models and a Gundam spotted. "We've also lost communication with Company six," said another operator.

Meanwhile, the Freedom's situation was getting harder as time kept moving forward. Kira was still fighting the Raider and Forbidden as he had before. However, even though they weren't working as a team, they made it difficult for Kira to fight back effectively. The two may be fighting one another, but they both seemed to be unknowingly working together somewhat for the same end goal. And as they were using Gundams, it made going against them harder and work involved. Kira could see he was being forced into a corner by being boxed in by the two, yet he could not see a way out. They were drawing the Freedom away from the Archangel and Kira's allies so that he could get no assistance in this. Kira knew he needed help and fast, or else he would lose and die in this.

At the same time, the Justice had come into range to see the explosions that signaled battle ahead. Athrun had known he wouldn't be able to get to Orb before OMNI would start their assault. The timetable he'd been able to figure with he'd learned from the Federation's Information Network had made it clear, and there was just no way to arrive before the battle's start. Still, it appeared that the battle hadn't been decided either way for who had the advantage yet. And he would make sure that the Federation won if he had any influence in the matter. Athrun intended to dive into the fight and do what he could to improve the Federation's chance of winning with as many alive as possible.

Athrun had done serious thinking as he had traveled to Orb, both on the war and what resulted from it. He knew Tyler was right the war was morphing into a fight for the human race's survival against those that would destroy it as the species had become now. The Alliance and its OMNI were on the side of destroying Humanity, even if it was, according to them, just purging Coordinators. What had been unpleasant to contemplate for Athrun was ZAFT was going in the same direction. The difference between the Alliance and ZAFT these days was what they wanted to destroy, not what they were attempting to defend. Athrun hadn't fully accepted that his father was completely lost to reason, Tyler had implied the point but hadn't said it aloud. Athrun wanted to believe his father would change and find a different solution if he could see where the current path led to. His mind told him that Tyler was telling the truth and that ZAFT would head down a dark path with its current leaders. And yet, Athrun's heart wouldn't agree completely that his father and other council leaders were so far gone. There would come a time when Athrun would have to confront his father, and he didn't look forward to that event.

Athrun focused back on the fighting he was rapidly approaching, looking for the Freedom among the machines in the skirmish. There was chatter on the Federation's comm frequency which had been coming in just as Athrun had come into range of the battle. From what Athrun heard, the defending forces were fighting on multiple fronts right now. The defense along the western shorelines held OMNI's Strike Daggers from moving forward. Each length of shoreline was being defended by groups, which were taking orders from Orb's military command. The defense made tactical sense and worked toward this battle's purpose overall. Nevertheless, according to what Athrun heard, evacuations were still going on while the battle was happening. They had finished their evacuations with the Republic before the fighting began, but apparently, Orb had not been able to. "Evacuation routes" had defending forces protecting them, taking potential soldiers and pilots from the frontlines. So, Orb was fighting on two separate fronts, which had them pressed. He could sympathize with Orb and how they chose to deploy their forces in this battle. The choice couldn't have been easy to divide their forces to handle both tasks in this fight.

As Athrun focused back on finding Kira, there was beeping as the sensors found what he'd been looking for. Athrun had the optics zoom in and saw the Freedom was fighting two mobile suits simultaneously. Both the Freedom's opponents were Gundam-types which suggested they had unique capabilities and would be harder to take down than OMNI's mass-production models. The green and white enemy was different from OMNI's units Athrun had seen around the Republic. Yet, something about the black and red suit nagged at Athrun since a feeling of familiarity wouldn't leave him. However, Athrun dismissed the feeling and focused on helping the Freedom and ensuring Kira didn't die today. Athrun activated the Justice's phase shift before having the Justice jump off the Fatum-00 and had it reconnect with the main suit in its active position.

Kira had been weaving out of the way of the beams that had been shot at him, but the two he'd been fighting had closed in. The Raider sent its Mjoinir forward thrusters adding force to the ball's momentum. Kira had been dodging the Forbidden, so he hadn't seen the Raider's action and thus didn't have the time to move out of the way. The enemy's ball slammed into the Freedom's torso, forcing it back, and Kira had to fight to regain control. However, the Forbidden was ready to receive the Freedom with its scythe. Shani swung his scythe, throwing the enemy forward to have them right in front of the Raider. And while Shani didn't like Clotho getting the final shot, he would tell Dr. Moss that he'd set up the opportunity. That would ensure Clotho didn't get all the credit for taking down the white and black mobile suit.

Clotho couldn't help the glee-filled smile that had come to his face as his enemy was put right in front of him. The positioning couldn't be more perfect for a kill shot, and Clotho wouldn't say no to the gift. "Game over, we win, you die," Clotho announced before pulling the trigger for the Zorn cannon. Kira saw the beam coming at him, but he knew there was nothing he could do to block it. The Freedom couldn't shift its shield in time to intercept the shot. Yet, before the beam struck the Freedom, something appeared in front of Kira and stopped the attack from reaching him.

The appearance of the Justice caused the immediate three suit pilots to pause with the turn. For Clotho and Shani, another "unique-looking" mobile suit popping up was a complication. The trio, including Orga, had been taught that "complications" were to be taken seriously and not waved off. Any candidates who failed that lesson more than twice got "special" remedial courses. Those classes were always under the direction of one of the lab's higher-ups, and every candidate dreaded such and avoided having those as they would a plague. So, the engrained habit of pausing and reassessing the situation had kicked in for Clotho and Shani. The new crimson machine looked similar to the black and white one. It possessed the same shield and beam rifle and looked mostly the same overall except for the backpack.

On the other hand, Kira could only stare at the crimson mobile suit that had saved him from being potentially killed. It had come out of nowhere, there had been nothing on sensors, though Kira hadn't been paying strict attention to them. They had blocked the attack, which Kira appreciated, but he couldn't help but wonder. After a second look at the back of the suit, it had similarities to the Freedom. It brought back to mind something that Tyler had said about the Freedom having a "twin" unit as part of the same series. Tyler hadn't given much detail about the Freedom's twin, just said it existed and that ZAFT had control of it. If this was the twin suit of the Freedom, it was safe to bet it was being used but a ZAFT pilot. ZAFT had little to nothing to do with the fight between Orb and the Alliance, so the battle would unlikely be the reason for it to be here. The only thing that Kira could think of came from another thing Tyler had said during their conversation about the Freedom. Tyler had mentioned there was a fair chance some from ZAFT would come looking for the Freedom and want it back. However, from what Tyler said, Kira felt that he expected a team or at least more than one ZAFT operative to come to do that.

Athrun kept the Justice between the Freedom and those who had been trying to destroy it. In the back of Athrun's mind, there was still the nagging feeling of something familiar about these two machines. Yet, Athrun still had no answer as to why they seemed familiar, and he didn't recognize the units. But Athrun turned his attention to the fight at hand rather than the oddity that was nagging at him. Athrun used the Justice's beam rifle and shot at the red and black machine, forcing it to draw back a margin. It would still be best if he had Kira's willing cooperation as it would give them both a better standing against their opponents. Thus, Athrun opened a channel to the Freedom, "This is ZAFT special forces agent, Athrun Zala. Do you hear me, Kira Yamato?"

Kira had been wondering who it was that had helped them, whether they could be friend or foe. However, he hadn't expected to hear Athrun's voice from the crimson machine. Kira and Athrun hadn't parted on the best of terms, more the opposite as they had tried to kill one another. And as Tyler had said, Athrun had more than likely been blaming himself for how things had ended with Tyler being nearly killed. While Kira was glad to see a friend, he didn't know what Athrun was here to do. The help was appreciated, but if Athrun was here on ZAFT's behalf, that was different from a friend coming to help. Kira would have asked Athrun what he was doing here and his goal, but they were forced to dodge as their opponents rushed forward.

Clotho had taken in the newcomer had a different backpack, and he would watch for what that could do. Nevertheless, the crimson machine had interrupted and had denied Clotho extra points with those that mattered. Clotho wouldn't take that and not get payback on the one who had denied him. So, Clotho transformed the Raider into its mobile armor mode and zoomed forward at the Justice. He fired the shield cannon and the machine guns that he had to work with. "Hey, new player," Clotho snarled over an open comm channel, "This battle is invite-only, you're not welcome." Athrun evaded the projectiles sent in his direction using the Fatum-00's HiMAT system to make the job easier. Clotho had the Raider shift back to its mobile suit mode and aimed the shield cannon at the Justice using its auto mode. Athrun took out his beam sabers and combined them together as he blocked the bolts with his shield. Then Athrun rushed forward and slashed downward at the Raider, which used its shield to stop the attack.

The Freedom faced off with the Forbidden while the other two clashed. Shani fired off his rail guns as he surged ahead towards the Freedom. The Forbidden took a full swing with its scythe, but the Freedom avoided the blade. Shani gritted his teeth and shot past the white and black machine as he'd missed. Yet, he wouldn't stop with his scythe, and he spun the forbidden around and fired his plasma induction cannon. Kira had to back up as the plasma beam bent in an arc and hooked around to where he'd been a moment ago. In response, he brought out the Freedom's railguns and shot at the Forbidden. The way Athrun had identified himself said he was here as a pilot for ZAFT and had 'official business.' It gave credence to what Tyler had mentioned about ZAFT sending some to retrieve the Freedom. Yet, Tyler had entrusted the Freedom to him, which Athrun should understand, but ZAFT wouldn't. So, there was no way Kira would give up the Freedom to anyone, not after knowing those sacrifices being made to get it away from the PLANTs. As Tyler had mentioned in their conversation, ZAFT could easily use mobile suits like this to gain the upper hand or simply deliver a nuclear payload to wherever they chose. Neither they nor the Alliance could be trusted with nuclear technology with their leaderships as they were currently. "What are you doing here, Athrun?! ZAFT has no business here," Kira demanded over the com-channel.

Athrun was forced to flip backward as the Forbidden used its plasma beam against the Justice, curving to hit him. The second shot had Athrun using his shield to block and had him wondering what was making the beam curve as it was. Current known technology couldn't bend beams yet. However, it seemed the Alliance was developing an idea that could manage the point. Then Kira's questions were reasonable, even if Athrun didn't like all the answers. He was here to help Kira, and that was Athrun's own choice regardless of what others would think of him for it. The action had Athrun defying orders and pretty much turning his back on his own father. And while Kira was right that ZAFT had no business being around here if any subs were watching this as was likely, that wasn't what Athrun was here for. The Raider rushed the Justice from behind while the Forbidden surged forward at Athrun at the same time. Athrun climbed out of the way, which had the Raider and the Forbidden crash into each other since they couldn't change their course in time. "I haven't received orders regarding this battle specifically, and they don't even know I'm out here." Athrun paused for a moment, "This intervention is my decision and was suggested by a friend I don't deserve!"

The Forbidden used both its railguns and plasma cannon against the Freedom. As the plasma beam hooked left, Kira was forced to flip backward to avoid the beam hitting him. Still, Kira was left to wonder what Athrun meant by his answer. Athrun had no orders to be in this battle, but here because of a 'friend' made sense as a reason for him to be here. However, it sounded like there was more to the point of orders that just didn't relate to the battle. The friend mentioned was undoubtedly Tyler, with him saying, 'a friend that I don't deserve.' It showed that what happened to the Shadow was weighing on Athrun.

Athrun grabbed his beam rifle and shot at the Forbidden to get it to leave the Freedom alone, but the shot was deflected. Seeing the beam "bounce" connected dots and the nagging feeling of familiarity became clear to Athrun. The one Athrun was currently fighting was nearly identical to the Republic's blue and black mobile armor. The very same one that Athrun had gone against that could shift into a mobile suit. The difference that Athrun saw was its armaments compared to the other. And it wasn't just that unit that was "similar" to the three Gundams from the last battle. The green suit had the deflection ability that the Duel-like suit with the large sword Tyler had dealt with. While the one Athrun had spotted on the mainland was shooting with artillery just as the third had. It suggested the Alliance had developed and was potentially testing their next-generation machines from their project at Heliopolis.

There was also one more major difference that Athrun saw growing signs of as this battle was going on. The Gundam pilots from the Republic had been proficient at fighting, and their teamwork was quite something. Their display of teamwork was impressive and had made them dangerous and effective for OMNI. Yet, with the three that Kira and he was going against right now, it was almost the opposite. The pilots were erratic and were just destroying themselves. Instead of fighting one another as much as their enemies, they didn't work as a team. Their "in-fighting" caused them to waste their machines' power supplies and would force them to go recharge sooner rather than later. That did give a slight advantage to Kira and Athrun, but Athrun couldn't help but wonder where OMNI had found these Gundam pilots of theirs.

As the battle between the four mobile suits continued, others on the battlefield began to notice the fast-paced aerial fight going. Mu paused as the Calamity finally broke away from those who were doing what they could to pin it down. The Gundam had been troublesome for Mu and the others to keep even somewhat contained to prevent it from spreading destruction. Mu had used up two battery packs for the fight, and that was with using the Agni less. It left him with two extra battery packs before weapon use would use the Strike's main battery. What had drawn the Calamity away, Mu couldn't say at the moment, but it gave him a momentary rest bit. He noticed the Valkyries landing nearby, and Mu fully intended to thank those pilots for the assistance they had provided for him. However, a sight caught Mu's eyes before he could do so and drew his attention. The aerial fight was between four machines, by what Mu could tell, and after a second, he realized that the Freedom was one of the four. "What the?! What the hell is going on up there," Mu questioned.

Krystal had just cut an Alliance's Strike Dagger in half at the torso and leaped back from it as it exploded. She and her allies had held their position, and Orb's command center hadn't fallen to OMNI. Enemy forces had drawn back for the moment, but they would likely make another push given some time. OMNI had already broken through the forward defense lines that had met them on Onogoro's western coastline. Honestly, Krystal was left to consider how the teen pilots had handled fighting with mobile suits. They had made it look anywhere from doable to simple when one watched them out on the field. Krystal had been pushing herself to manage in this fight and felt she was doing reasonably. Yet, before Krystal could help prepare for the next wave, she noticed the fight going on high in the sky above Orb. Her eyes widened as she saw the Freedom was one of the mobile suits in the dogfight, but she couldn't tell who the others were. "Who is fighting who up there," she uttered to herself.

Dearka got a rest bit as the rain of missile let up for a time. The Buster hadn't moved much from the spot it had begun fighting from, and it was still in the shallow waters by the shore. The fighting had been more tedious than battles before now, but the purpose-made the fight less so. The Buster's battery was below half its capacity. By what Dearka figured, he had around an hour if he watched his power consumption, a little longer if he was really smart about his fighting. OMNI would likely have to retreat to regroup and resupply soon enough, so Dearka could keep going until then. Yet, before Dearka could resume sending OMNI packing, Dearka noticed something going on high in the air. When he took a second longer look, he saw what he was looking at was a fast-paced fight going on. The white and black machine that had been on the Archangel was one of the four in the air fighting. From what Dearka was seeing, the fight was unlike any battles he'd seen before, even ones involving the champions. So, he couldn't think of anything to say other than utter sounds that spoke of his surprise and mild shock.

Those within Orb's military command center saw the Justice's arrival. Cagalli wondered who the new mobile suit was as they had shown up out of nowhere. Operators were working on identifying the machine, but it was quickly clear the new machine was helping Kira. She was glad that Kira was getting help with two of OMNI's custom models trying to take him down. "Ma'am," called one of the operators, "the new mobile suit has a Federation ID code." Kisaka went over to the console of the operator and saw they were right, the new machine had a Federation ID code, saying it was an ally. Those ID codes weren't just given out to anyone, and they were assigned to those who were seen as allies, period. Kisaka put in the ID code to bring up the file that would be attached to it. He looked over the file that came up and was a tad confused. The unit's model number strongly suggested that the mobile suit they were looking at was made by ZAFT. "It is designated as the X09A Justice, it is a Gundam-type," Kisaka stated, "And is registered in the Federation's Military database. That means it is an ally to the Federation since ID codes aren't just given out to anyone without someone with authority given the okay or a serious vouching for by some."

When Orga noticed Clotho and Shani fighting against two "unique-looking" mobile suits, he became interested. While blasting away at the enemies and collapsing the structures had been fun, Orga wouldn't refuse to get bonus points with the lab's higher-ups. Taking down "unique-looking" machines had always gotten praise and earned privileges for candidates. So Orga aimed and began firing away at the four fighting above in the sky. With the Calamity joining the battle that the Freedom and the Justice were in, it didn't take long for the dynamic of the battle to change. Athrun and Kira saw the shift from before, and even if the Raider and Forbidden had shot in each other's direction, it hadn't appeared to be intentional. They just didn't care about what happened to their allies to aim with such in mind. It had started when the third Gundam joined, and the three seemed to see each other the same as the Freedom and the Justice.

Nonetheless, even if the three were now fighting among themselves, Kira and Athrun could see the danger that was still presented by the three. There was no need to speak to each other to understand what was needed, much like Athrun had done with Tyler in the battle of the Republic. The Justice flew forward at the Forbidden, using its turret machine guns on its Fatum-00 and pounding the Forbidden. Kira moved forward behind the Justice, bringing out the Freedom's railguns. The Forbidden shifted both its shield forward to block the Justice's attack, only to find that when the Justice went past. The Freedom had appeared in front of Shani and was in line to get clean shots at the Forbidden. The Freedom began firing its railgun, sending rounds slamming into the Forbidden's shields forcing the suit back a bit. Just as Shani got the Forbidden back in stable flight, he saw the Justice coming at him. Athrun kicked the Forbidden in the torso and sent it into the water with a splash.

As the Forbidden crashed into the water, the Raider zoomed forward and sent its Mjoinir at the Justice. Clotho hadn't been happy he'd not killed the white and black machine already before Shani got involved. Then Orga had to stick his nose in and fire off his weapons without thought of Shani or himself. The complaint that Clotho had made to Orga hadn't changed his behavior. And all three of them would suffer later should Dr. Moss find out they had gotten busy fighting one another instead of working on their task. It was one of the taboos for candidates, the task given was to take priority over disagreements within the trios candidates were put in. Clotho's attention was snapped back as the Freedom changed course and went straight for him. That caused Clotho to miss with the Mjoinir giving the Justice an opening. The Freedom flew at him, which surprised Clotho enough for him to stop short, "Ah crap," Clotho exclaimed. The Freedom shot past the Raider, and the sight of the Justice met Clotho right in his face then the Raider got kneed in the upper torso.

Orga wanted to have more fun in this, so he had the Calamity take off and land on one of Orb's ship bridge towers. The ship's bridge collapsed under the Calamity's weight though Orga didn't care about that. He aimed and kept firing at the four in the air, hoping to nail one of the two enemy machines. And when Orga saw the crimson suit hitting the Raider, he took the opportunity to get a good shot. "I got you now," Orga called and pulled the trigger for his high-energy cannons. The Freedom and the Justice shot back to evade the beams from the Calamity.

The Forbidden came out of the water as the Raider got hit by the Justice and climbed to get a higher vantage point. Athrun noticed the Forbidden's movements before Kira did, "Kira, the scythe-wielder is above." Shani dove down with his scythe and took a hard swing at the two enemies but missed. Kira fired his plasma cannons at the Forbidden in response, only to be blocked and deflected by its Geschmeidig Panzers. Then the Justice disconnected the Fatum-00 and sent it at the Forbidden with its turret machine guns blazing. Shani turned to continue attacking two enemies but was met with something coming at him, shooting projectiles. Shani moved the Forbidden's shields to be in front, intercepting the bullets from the Fatum-00's turrets. Yet, when he shifted the shields out of the way, Shani saw that the Freedom right in front of him with its railguns was mere meters away. The railguns fired, and the shots nailed the Forbidden, sending Shani tumbling through the air again.

However, moments later, the three Gundams' behavior changed notably. The first to change was the Calamity as it began firing at its allies rather than the Freedom and the Justice. Athrun and Kira didn't know what to make of the three attacking each other, and it was more than just shooting without regard as they had been. As they both kept avoiding the beams and projectiles, Athrun couldn't help himself, "These guys don't give a damn about each other." Then the three stopped using their weapons and just floated for a moment. As odd as it was for them to stop, they headed back to the OMNI ships shortly. Athrun nor Kira could figure out what happened to have the three Gundams leave as abruptly as they did.

Over the whole battlefield, a shift was occurring, and the tables were turning upon the Earth Forces and favoring the defenders. Where the Strike Daggers had been making slow progress forward, it had been with losses as they went. Now they were being forced to retreat with even faster-increasing casualties by Orb's defenders. The combined armed forces of Orb and the Federation kept up the pressure, pushing the invaders further and further away from what still stood. Some of the evacuating citizens would pause, watching the fighting along their way to the ships that would take them to safety. Feelings of hope grew as the defenders gained more momentum in their push against the Alliance forces.

Mu had headed to where the secondary defense lines on the west side of Onogoro were set. He intended to help his allies out, shove what OMNI had become back where it came from, and show them that honor and fighting for what's right could still prevail. Once he got into view of the defense line, Mu saw that Daggers would press against it. He surged forward with the anti-ship sword in hand, using it to slice one Dagger after another in two. Mu spotted the Shadow doing much the same with its beam sabers, occasionally using the shield's railgun. What surprised Mu was a moment later, the Buster popped up and used its combined rifle in the snipe configuration mowing down three Daggers.

At the same time, the Powell was still in the fleet's rear, observing the battle as it raged on. Hours had passed since the battle had started shortly after high noon, and it was heading toward sunset for the day. Muruta Azrael was impatient as little notable progress had been made in this endeavor from what he could see. Granted, he'd been told fighting the Federation would be no easy or short task to complete. As a businessman, Azrael knew that something took time to happen if you wanted a good profit. And yet, from what the crew was telling the captain, Azrael suspected there was more going on than he was being informed of. However, he reined his emotions in and didn't let them show outwardly, trying to be presentable. Azrael turned to the captain, "I haven't really gotten a straight answer from hearing your crew, captain," he began. "Have we made decent progress in taking control of Orb's military headquarters? That is one of the main objectives of this operation, is it not?"

The man who was the National Defense Industries director was attempting to be "nice" in the question, and the captain knew that. The facts that made up the answer were things that Alliance "bigwigs" rarely, if ever, liked hearing. The simple truth was the Federation was proving their serious assumptions about their strength were correct. The Federation's military was strong, likely the strongest military organization currently in existence. To expect them to be swept aside with ease was foolish fantasy. So, the captain of the Powell turned to gaze at Azrael, "In an operation like this, sir," he replied, "things are not as simple as politicians imagine they are. In this instance, the two major problems are first, those new machines you are so proud of aren't doing the job you said or expected they would. They are more of a hindrance than a help as they are apparently just interested in showing how the mobile suit weaponry works on both Orb forces and our own. Second, the Federation mobile suits and Orb's own machines are putting up far more resistance than anticipated."

The captain hadn't been all that happy to have the director of Blue Cosmos on board his ship, even if he was the Alliance's National Defense Industry Association's head. Azrael was well-known for being a devoted member of the organization and a vocal hater of Coordinators. ZAFT was made up of Coordinator, but it made one wonder if the hatred wasn't one of the driving forces behind this war between the Alliance and ZAFT. The man certainly didn't understand how things went on a battlefield, that fact had been proven multiple times already. He focused too narrowly on what he wanted than what was feasible, which came with a serious cost. The fight kept going, yet the longer it did, the more ground the Alliance lost to the combination of Orb's military and the Federation's forces here. That proved the Federation wasn't folding under pressure and would more than likely endure beyond what OMNI could throw at them right now.

On the other hand, Azrael was feeling irritation, which was transforming into fury. He definitely miffed that Orb hadn't fallen yet and was told that the mobile suits he had been so interested in testing were not delivering as was sold to him. The newer 'GAT' series machines were supposed to be strong and, with candidates from the Lodonia Lab, should be able to do what they were told. It brought back to mind the thoughts he'd had when speaking to Mina about the results of the Republic. The candidates' chance to fail at their given tasks and thoughts had become a reality. And while they had at first been good and destroying enemy forces, they had shortly become distracted by other things. That had come with a "Gundam-type" as the idea was being referred to as those who had the qualities of the G-Project. The machine had drawn the Raider and Forbidden away from their task. A second Gundam had appeared an hour into the battle and had helped the first one drawing the Calamity away from its job. Azrael was brought out of his thoughts when it was reported that the Calamity, the Forbidden, and the Raider were returning.

At the report, the captain turned to Azrael, trying to figure out what was going on. The three Gundams shouldn't need resupply yet, notwithstanding their excessive use of their weapons. That pointed to something wrong with the pilots that the captain hadn't been told about. The three that had come with the Gundams were classified as "equipment" rather than pilots. They were from the Lodonia Lab, which had several stories about it that gave the laboratory complex a very bad reputation. The stories said that kids taken from who knew where were dragged in there. If they came out, they were completely different or corpses that were being thrown out. The captain's glimpse of the three pilots had made him wonder if the stories about Lodonia Lab didn't have some merit. "Do you have an explanation for their actions, Director," the captain asked. "Their machines shouldn't need resupply yet, even with their piloting styles."

Azrael didn't answer right away since he was fuming at the three candidates of Mina's had shown failure. The day was going differently than it was supposed to, which frustrated Azrael so much. He was silently cursing the Federation and its member nations for not falling into line like they were supposed to. And while he felt Mina would come through on delivering on her Victoria offer, that was something that was still a day away from fruition. So, it wasn't just the failure of Mina's candidate, OMNI forces hadn't pushed far enough. They hadn't gotten past Orb's defenders and took the enemy's military command center. Thus, in the end, OMNI's attempt to beat Orb was a failure at this time.

Meanwhile, Clotho, Shani, and Orga hovered inside down in the Powell's cargo hold and landed in their docks. All three crawled out of their cockpits, going against their pain due to the withdrawal they were experiencing. They would be given a different medication back at the lab before the performance enhancer ran out to prevent the withdrawal. And yet, the handlers didn't give the three the medication they were supposed to give them. Azrael had been specific that they were to be punished should the three fail.

Back on the bridge of the Powell, Azrael had time to think about how to answer the captain's question properly. At this point, OMNI had lost the battle, and continuing the fight would just increase losses. Azrael knew as a businessman that there were times that stubbornness could pay off, but there were other times when it was best to cut one's losses to prevent more. And the current situation with Orb was one of those times it was better to back off and reassess things. Even though he hated to let Athha have the upper hand, it was temporary, and that would have to do for now. So, Azrael finally answered the captain's question, "Well, Captain, with things going as they are." Azrael paused for a moment, "I would say it is best to take a step back, regroup, and assess our standing."

The Powell's captain didn't think he had heard the director correctly for a moment. It had sounded like Azrael was calling for a tactical retreat of some sort. However, Azrael wasn't known for giving up on something he got involved in, which was part of the man's reputation. So for him to suggest any form of retreat didn't seem right. "Excuse me, Director," the captain asked, "Did you say step back?"

Azrael knew he had the reputation of being hardheaded, and he normally didn't have a problem with being seeing that way. But even he would admit there was a need to change course when it was beneficial in the end. So, he nodded, "While I don't like the idea very much, it would be best we recall all forces for the time being." Azrael waved a hand, "Don't worry, this is only temporary, this is not the end of this."

The captain realized that he hadn't been having hearing issues with Azrael's answer. The order was ridiculous, especially with the losses that had been taken thus far with OMNI Forces. And while his orders had him listening to Azrael as he was part of the Alliance leadership, this was going too far. Azrael had no right to make the decision he was attempting to, he was no officer and had no experience in this. The man acted like this was some sort of business transaction or money deal, not a battle. The very notion Azrael could command the Second Fleet was ridiculous, and it was quite irritated at simply hearing such, "What in the hell are you talking about?!"

Azrael sighed, seeing he would have to iterate why they needed to pull back for the moment. Even though Azrael would like to have OMNI to keep going and take Orb from Athha and others, it wouldn't happen. The likelihood of OMNI overtaking Orb at this time was slim to none, Azrael wouldn't kid himself. So, continuing the attack would only cost more than it was worth. "You have been observing the battle as it has unfolded, have you not, captain," Azrael posed. "While the Strike Daggers have made good pushes, their numbers have been worn down. Thus, there aren't enough Daggers to finish the job of taking Orb's military command. We have underestimated Orb's defending force, and I'll admit that. Perhaps, the first fleet's loss had more to it than I originally thought." He paused for a moment, "We really need the new GAT machines to make a hard push to take control of Orb. I'll get back with my contact for some detail about why the pilots came back on their own, for I don't have an answer for that."

The Powell's captain couldn't make a good argument to Azrael about the Daggers making a push but costing them. The Daggers they still had would have a hard time pushing forward without being wiped out in the end. And yet, if OMNI forces pulled back now, the progress would be wasted. It would give the enemy forces a chance to regroup and strengthen their defenses and position. Those that sacrificed their lives would have done so in vain if Orb remained untaken by the end of this. However, Azrael implied it was time to cut losses and develop a better plan to get things done. "Very well," the captain said, then turned to one of the bridge crew, "Fire signal flares, temporary withdrawal, and regroup."

The signal was sent up to announce the Alliance's intention to retreat for the time being. It was seen by both the Earth Forces and those defending Orb and was a welcome one for the defenders. OMNI forces fell back to their fleet, leaving Orb in the damage state they put it in, but it could've been worse. The Freedom and the Justice faced each other, and Kira's mind returned to the question of what Athrun was doing here. Kira appreciated the help, especially as Athrun had saved his life. But Athrun had announced himself as a ZAFT soldier yet said he had no orders about the battle. And that ZAFT didn't know Athrun was around Orb fighting to help the Federation raised other questions. "Thanks for the backup," Kira began, "but still, I can't help but wonder what your intentions are for being here."

Athrun could understand Kira's response, and it was quite similar to what Tyler had said to him after the battle around the Republic. He had standing orders to capture or destroy the Freedom from the PLANTs Supreme Council Chairman. Of course, after the conversation with Tyler, Athrun couldn't follow those orders and live with himself. But the start he'd used with Tyler seemed appropriate in this setting too. Thus, Athrun had the Justice fold the engine block down and his cockpit open, and the seat rise to bring him into the open air. Kira spotted the Justice's cockpit opening, and he wondered what Athrun was doing. Athrun gazed at the Freedom as he spoke, "Technically speaking, I'm under orders from the homeland to either recapture or destroy that machine you're flying right now the Freedom." Athrun paused at the thought of the other half of his orders that Tyler had so bluntly spelled out."The rest of my orders are ridiculous, and I'll leave it at that for the moment," Athrun's voice had become bitter at saying what was expected of him. Yet, he continued,"However, I have no intention of following those orders anymore and fighting against you. If you betray the one who entrusted the Freedom to you and hand it over to the Earth Alliance, would I take such extreme actions."

Kira could tell that Athrun had changed, in what way exactly, Kira couldn't say. He bet it had something to do with Athrun's recent conversation with Tyler. However, it was clear that they needed to have a conversation with each other sooner rather than later. Kira then did the same as Athrun had, by opening the Freedom's cockpit and having the pilot chair raise out of the cockpit. So now, both Kira and Athrun could see one another, Athrun in the ZAFT red pilot suit, Kira in an Orb pilot suit. "I," Athrun hesitated for a moment, "just want to talk, okay, face to face."

Kira nodded to the request, "Fair enough," he answered, "It sounds like there is an amount to talk about between us."

Hours passed since the battle's end as the clean-up was being done, and the sun was setting as the preliminary inspections were done. OMNI had pushed in a ways and had caused a lot of damage as they had progressed. All remaining mobile suit pilots were tired after the battle and the work that had followed. The evacuations had been completed as hoped before the battle had ended, so civilian casualties were minimal. However, the defense had come at the cost of soldiers giving their lives to protect Orb from being taken. Cagalli went between the companies checking on the soldiers and making sure they were alive. She didn't know why OMNI pulled back when they did, but it gave them time to reassess and regroup. The time would be used to shore up defenses and determine what injuries could be fixed. OMNI would be back soon enough, and their goal remained unchanged by the signs seen.

Mu and Krystal helped with the after-battle clean-up even though they were tired from the fighting. They had communicated with one another to ensure the other was alive and okay after the battle. Mu was still assisting the Astrays, and he glanced at the Buster, which was helping. The appearance of the Buster in the battle had been odd at first, but Mu had dismissed it as it had been helping Orb's defenders. The piloting style was a match to the ZAFT pilot from before, the one the Archangel had carried for a time. Why the teen had decided to help in Orb's defense, Mu couldn't say. But with the efforts that the teen had put forth, Mu was willing to allow him to explain his actions. The clean-up had Mu and Dearka end out on Onogoro, where the most damage was.

At the same time, Krystal had helped secure Orb's command center and then moved from there westward. She was appalled by all the destruction OMNI had caused from the battle, it was ridiculous. Krystal had seen the signs that the other mobile suit pilots were as tired as she was from the fight. OMNI had pushed hard and had made a path inland on both Onogoro and Yalafath. They had focused more on Onogoro than Orb's mainland aiming for the military headquarters, but western cities on Yalafath hadn't been ignored. As far as Krystal knew, Mu had chased that Gundam-type to the closest city on Yalafath. She had communicated with Mu to make sure he was alive, but he hadn't given much details. Krystal began searching the general area around the command center's defense line was secure. It didn't take her long to find the Strike, which was now on Onogoro helping out with clean-up. What was surprising was the Buster was also around as it was supposed to be at Morgenroete. The three Gundam pilots brought their machines to stand by one another before Mu and Krystal clambered out of them. Krystal and Mu met up to make sure they were okay after the battle.

Dearka opened the Buster's cockpit and stood out on the lower hatch, looking around and taking in her surroundings. He spotted the Archangel coming in to land at the shoreline nearby and wondered what would be next for him. Technically, he hadn't disobeyed orders as he'd had none right now from ZAFT, other than perhaps getting back to allies. And Dearka could head to an allied base when he could or felt inclined to do so. Thus, helping the Archangel, which had been an enemy ship, was not entirely a problem. The ship had changed sides after all, and ZAFT wasn't at war with the Federation, at least not yet. Plus, Dearka didn't see circumstances working in favor of getting to ZAFT territory in the near future. So, in his mind, sticking with Archangel at least wouldn't have him on his own fighting for his life. It was making the best of a bad situation that Dearka had found himself in. As he watched the Archangel coming into land in the shallow water, those were his thoughts.

Once Mu and Krystal got to the ground via their suits' zip-lines, Mu came over to where Krystal was and sat down next to her. He was glad that his friend and usually his wingmate had made it through the fight for Orb. Mu and Krystal had been through many views of hell this war had thrown at them before now. He would entrust Krystal with his life as he knew she would have his back when he needed it. Krystal offered Mu a bottle of water which he accepted gratefully and took a swig before speaking. "Glad to see you still alive, Krystal," he began, "And I'm just as relieved the day is coming to an end."

Krystal drank water as Mu spoke and agreed with his sentiments that the day was done and they were still alive. She would have to remember to tell Kira that she was sorry for ever thinking his job piloting a mobile suit was potentially easy. The teen pilots that the Archangel had to defend it had been doing a job that looked simple from the outside but was not from the cockpit. "A truer statement you couldn't say, Mu," Krystal remarked. "But we both made it through this, so we can compare notes on takedown count later to see who gets to buy drinks." Krystal then glanced at the Buster and saw the teen pilot extracted from it months ago and confined to a brig cell. Before the battle around the Marshall Island, the pilot Dearka Elsman had been quite a problem for the Archangel. He was supposed to have left the ship and evacuated with the rest of Orb's citizens, but clearly, he hadn't done that. "And it would seem we will still be dealing with our resident ZAFT pilot," she commented.

Mu's gaze shifted from Krystal to the Buster, and he saw the kid descending by the Buster's zip-line. It was true that the Archangel would likely take the Buster back onboard when all was said and done. And the help the Buster had provided had been welcome as it had taken the pressure off the other defenders, even if only slightly. Mu rose and slowly made his way over to Dearka, with Krystal following behind him. Dearka quickly spotted the two approaching him but didn't do anything in response. "The help you gave is appreciated," Mu stated, holding out a hand, "I hope you may provide more in the future."

Dearka looked at the offered hand from one that months before was an enemy he and the others had been attempting to shoot down. He had been helping the Archangel more as a way to pay back kindness done to him from some on that ship. And while it was nice to be thanked for his efforts, as that was a rare thing these days, it felt odd coming from these two. He knew who the two were, and they had been among the few that had tried to engage in conversation with him. They had said they were the ship's mobile armor pilots during that meeting, even if Dearka hadn't said anything back to them at the time. Dearka slowly took the hand offered, "Nice to be told that and everything, but helping you wasn't the goal I had in mind."

Krystal sighed at the "defiance" of the teen since she couldn't understand why some teens behaved like this. She'd never been this way when she was Dearka's age that she could recall. That wasn't to say that Krystal hadn't had a bit of a rebellious streak in her teenage years, but it wasn't like this. "Accepting a compliment is all well and good," Krystal remarked, "But you could have left out the second sentence, and you would've done better. You should have left and not looked back, definitely not got back in the Buster for this fight." She paused, "Nonetheless, your assistance is appreciated even when it puts you in a difficult position."

Dearka glanced at Krystal, wondering why the heck she would tell him to keep his honest thoughts about things. Before now, Dearka had gotten some stern looks from some officers and even a "talking to" for his behavior and opinions. And while he had "listened" to the lecture and not made many remarks about the looks he got, the lady that was calling him out had no right or reason to do so. What Dearka chose to do was his decision, and he would stand by what choices he made and the consequences that came with them. "You're welcome for the help," Dearka started, "But what I do is my decision, and I deal with their results. If you're trying to encourage me weirdly, you need to work on your methods because they suck."

At the same time, the crew of the Archangel was coming off the Archangel now that it was in shallow water and "docked" essentially. The battle had been difficult for each crew member for several reasons. OMNI had fought hard and threw themselves at the defenders, not seeming to care if they died. Murrue was glad the fight was over, even if the reason OMNI retreated was still a mystery. The Archangel had performed admirably, and she wasn't too damaged should she be called on again soon. All the mobile suit pilots were alive, which was another good sign for the Archangel and her future. And the future of the Archangel was now clearly not with OMNI, who built her with the side they had chosen with the battle. To Murrue, the battle OMNI waged against Orb, and even the Republic had shown the Alliance had been warped from what it had been at one time.

Attention around the shoreline shifted as the Freedom and the Justice slowed down and then hovered over a clear area. As the Freedom descended toward the ground, Kira had its wings close and move to their stored position. Athrun was doing much the same with the Justice's Fatum-00's engine block shift to standby position. The Fatum-00's wings quickly followed the engine block and folded down as the suit neared the ground. The two mobile suits touched the ground while a portion of those who were around moved towards the machines. The group included most of the crew of the Archangel, the ship's mobile suit pilots, and Cagalli with Kisaka and some Orb soldiers.

Kira and Athrun came out of the cockpits and used the zip-lines to descend to the ground. Kira stared at Athrun in a red ZAFT pilot suit, wondering many things, questions going through his mind that he had little answer to. Athrun was much in the same position as Kira, gazing at him in what Athrun was to guess was an Orb pilot suit. While Tyler had answered some questions and important ones at that, there were still things that Athrun wanted to ask Kira. Also, Athrun wanted to personally apologize to Kira for trying to kill him back around the Marshall Islands since he'd been aiming for him, not Tyler. And this was the first time Kira, and he had the opportunity even to face each other since the Republic. So much had changed in close to two months that it made Athrun's head spin just considering it.

At the same time, Kisaka studied the pilot in the red ZAFT pilot suit, for there was something familiar about him. The suit was to be seen as an ally to them with the Federation ID, but the designation suggested ZAFT manufacture the mobile suit. Kisaka couldn't see much of a reason for ZAFT to give a suit to someone that was an ally of the Federation. So, it begged the question of who the teen was and why they would be counted as an ally if they had a ZAFT machine. Not that Orb wasn't grateful for the help in its defense, and it just was something that wouldn't leave Kisaka's mind. And as he studied the blue-haired teen, the familiarity morphed into realization. The teen was the same ZAFT pilot which Lady Cagalli had found around the Marshall Islands more than a month ago. By what Kisaka had been told, the teen Mr. Zala had been sent back to ZAFT's Carpentaria when he had recovered enough. He'd thought that would be the last he or Lady Cagalli would ever see of the young pilot. Yet, here he was again, in a ZAFT-produced unit that was registered with the Federation's Military. The path which would have to be taken to get to this point boggled Kisaka. "That's the ZAFT pilot we found around the Marshall Islands," Kisaka muttered.

Cagalli wondered who the unknown pilot was as he did seem familiar, but she hadn't been able to place why. She knew that her exhaustion likely played a part in her not recognizing the guy. But at hearing Kisaka's statement, the memory of meeting Athrun Zala returned to her. That was followed by the time she had talked to him in the hospital, trying to get information from him back then. Athrun had been so broken back then as he had talked about "killing" a friend. Obviously, Athrun had not wanted to kill whoever it had been and felt deep regret about what happened. Athrun had mentioned Kira going with the Archangel and him being "fooled" by others but hadn't given more detail. However, he had come back here and had helped Orb, even if she couldn't figure out exactly why.

The two friends touched down on the ground and simply looked at one another. Murrue halted the Archangel's crew waiting to see what would happen in this meeting. It was clearer now that Kira knew this other teen more than just as an acquaintance. And with the expression she could see on Kira's face, they weren't going to fight each other. All the Orb personnel was just staring at the two trying to figure out what was happening. As Kira and Athrun began walking forward toward one another, the world seemed to fade from notice. The sound of guns being moved and readied got Athrun to glance in the direction of the Orb soldiers. He kept walking, reasonably sure they were just being cautious and wouldn't shoot him. Kira looked that way as well and put up a hand, "He isn't an enemy to any of us."

Athrun and Kira came to stand face to face and said nothing for a long moment. Both recalled the events that had brought them to where they stood and the circumstance that stood. Much had changed for both of them even in the short time since they had seen each other last, some of those events had Tyler involved, others didn't. The war had strained their friendship so much in the months alone that it was hard to imagine things would be what they were. There had not been an opportunity to talk about any of the horrible events that had occurred since the Republic. Then, out of nowhere, Tori flew over to Kira and landed on his shoulder, which acted as a trigger. "Hey Athrun," Kira greeted, "it's nice to see you're looking well given all that's happened recently."

Kira's greeting was like most he would give before now, and Athrun didn't know whether to curse his naiveté or be thankful for it. Kira should be angry or frustrated at the chain of events they had been forced to get here. Their fighting had nearly killed their other best friend and could have done far more than that. While Tyler's forgiveness had been hard to accept in the spirit that it was offered, Athrun had managed to do so. Kira either not acknowledging or pretending everything was fine was more irritating than Tyler's forgiveness. Thus, Athrun's left hand curled into a fist to signify his frustration but kept calm otherwise. "Kira," Athrun started, not sure how to word what he wanted to get across properly, "I-"

Suddenly, Cagalli ran forward towards the two friends, "You two!" she shouted as she went. When Cagalli reached them, she wrapped an arm around them and pulled them closer together, "You," she got out, "You're both such idiots!" Kira and Athrun looked at each other and smiled, knowing for now words weren't needed to understand. They would talk later and settle things as needed when the opportunity arose.

Another hour went by as things calmed down, and the repair and maintenance work was being seen. There was an air of hurried work as the threat of the Alliance was still present even with their retreat. Everyone contributed in what ways they could between their periods where sleep came. Even the leader of Orb, Uzumi Athha, was going out in a helicopter to assess the extent of the Earth Forces' damage. The damage wasn't as bad as it was feared it would be with the attack, but it was still more than enough to make things harder. The overall defensive capability Orb had was still ready to go if OMNI attacked again, but it wouldn't be where it was at the start of the day. Ships were now in docks for repairs, and the Archangel was included in that. Mobile suits were being fixed up and resupplied for when OMNI would return to continue their onslaught.

Athrun and Kira brought their mobile suits into Morgenroete's work floor for resupply as work was being done. The two ended out sitting next to each other after getting something to eat and drink. Others were close by, like Mu, Krystal, and some Archangel crew members were watching the two Coordinators. Kira was gathering his thoughts on what to ask or what to say to Athrun. So much had changed over the passing months, from ZAFT's attack on Heliopolis to what happened around the Marshall Islands. The ongoing war was getting worse by the day, and it was getting harder to tell what was true and what wasn't. Good people were putting their lives on the line and being killed, along with innocent people being massacred by the week, if not the day. Kira took a breath, "So by what you said, you've talked with Tyler already, right?"

Athrun thought back to the "conversation" he'd had with Tyler, as the subject matter was not something he could soon forget. Being forgiven was beyond what Athrun believed he deserved from the one he had just about killed. Then Athrun didn't know how much Tyler had told Kira about the view of the direction the war was going in. From what Athrun gathered, Tyler hadn't gone into detail about his views of the war with Kira while on the Archangel. They had supposedly talked about the Freedom and what the theft had "involved" to an extent. That was the part of Tyler's "warning" to Kira and those he was with, which had gone ignored. Athrun nodded at Kira, "Yes, back in the Republic after the battle for its defense." He paused for a moment, "I really don't deserve him as a friend, not after what I did to him."

Kira could see that Athrun blamed himself for the destruction of the Shadow and Tyler nearly dying as a result. Tyler had said something about him thinking Athrun would be doing that to himself. Truthfully, it was better than someone like Lacus's sister Sakura blaming him and then punishing Athrun. However, it sounded like Tyler had said that he forgave Athrun in some form which had helped but not move on fully from the point. "But it sounds like Tye forgave you," Kira remarked.

"Yes," Athrun answered, "What followed has given me a lot to think about." He paused for a moment, deciding to give a quick summary of what he had done before the conversation. "Before talking with Tyler, I jumped in on the side of the Federation and helped defend the Republic against OMNI's assault. It was my decision to help, ZAFT would have had me observe and not interfere, but I couldn't do that." Athrun curled a hand into a fist, "Seeing the Alliance trying to take the Republic from its people frustrated me so much I just couldn't stand by and do nothing. That's why I chose to jump in and fight against the thieves and bullies that were trying to force their way on others." He stopped for a moment remembering the three Gundams that had been in the attack. "And OMNI had three Gundam-types fighting in the attack on the Republic. They had similarities with the three who were in the assault on Orb but weren't the exact same."

Those listening to the two teens talking were trying to process what Athrun said. For him to have fought in the battle over the Republic was hard to believe, but Kira didn't deny it. Mu was also curious about Tyler as the kid had left days ago and was still recovering from his near-death experience. But by the sound of it, Tyler had been in the fight for the Republic, likely in a mobile suit were Mu to hazard a guess. Tyler had said something about "another machine" to work with during his visit to Morgenroete. Still, Mu could understand the feeling of not wanting to stand by and watch while others did horrible things. It was why he had been more than willing to get into the cockpit of the Strike and go into battle. Yet, the description of the three "Gundam-types" with OMNI attacking the Republic was concerning. It was clear that the tech that went into the G-Project had been transferred to new machines and further developed. That would only bring more problems in future fights with OMNI.

Athrun continued, "After the battle and helping clean up as I was able, Tyler and I were able to have a conversation. What was said opened my eyes to truths that I didn't see," Athrun stopped. "No, I would say it wasn't that I didn't see the truth, it was more that I didn't want to acknowledge what was happening. Tyler essentially laid out the facts in a way that I can't effectively argue without lying knowingly." Athrun stopped after the statement, "Before the end of the conversation, and I was more than questioning the standing orders I had."

Kira had a general idea of what part of Athrun's orders likely were. He was probably supposed to capture the Freedom and take it back to ZAFT, but Kira couldn't say beyond that. Kira's expression fell, "I can understand being given orders you don't agree with and don't like," he replied. "Although, care to elaborate what Tyler said to have you to be so against your orders?"

Athrun was still trying to determine whether the PLANTs' and ZAFT's leadership really understood what they were telling others to do. His father's insistence on the need for nuclear power and technology was more than just frightening looking back. Patrick Zala was borderline obsessed with "winning" the war at any cost. Tyler had put it in a way that made the issue clear, and nuclear tech wouldn't solve any standing problem, it would worsen all of them. In the current climate, nuclear technology would lead to the production and use or, truthfully, the abuse of nuclear weapons. Then there was Tyler's iteration of what Athrun was expected to do in order to fulfill his mission as given to him. The vague terms it had been given by to Chairman had hinted it was "extreme," and that was the nice way to say it. To keep N-jammer Cancellers out of the "wrong hands" was what others had said to justify the extreme measures. But Athrun questioned if the technology wasn't already in some of the wrong hands.

The mission was, as Tyler said, impossible and thus, in the end, was suicidal for the one assigned. And yet, Athrun didn't doubt anymore that he would be expected to die trying to do the "clean-up" his mission required. While the expectation of him throwing away his life was sickening, the consequences of even attempting were more horrifying. It would put ZAFT at war with the Federation, and the Alliance was already displaying how that would likely go. So, Athrun couldn't stop the sigh which escaped him, "Put simply, if you can do that properly," he began. "I am to capture the Freedom or destroy it if capture is not possible. The rest of what I'm "supposed" to do is impossible, as Tyler so eloquently or really bluntly worded it. I think it is best I leave it at for the moment rather than go into the detail Tyler did with me." All those listening, including Kira, were left to guess what Athrun meant with what he was supposed to do for his mission. What could ZAFT possibly order Athrun to do that would have him so visibly sickened he didn't want to talk about it? However, Athrun shook his head in frustration at what this was becoming now before continuing. "This war is changing and morphing into something else recently," Athrun paused, feeling Tyler had put the idea quite well. "As Tyler stated it, there may still be two sides to the war, but it isn't related to faction any longer with OMNI attacking the Federation."

Kira blinked at the last sentence as it made little sense to him, but he felt there was something important being said. The war was changing and shifting, Kira had been noticing it, and the attack on the Republic appeared to be some sort of tipping point for the change to accelerate. However, Kira still couldn't state what the actual difference was overall, just that there was something that wasn't the same anymore. "What do you mean two sides that aren't related to factions, Athrun," Kira asked.

Athrun frowned, "The two sides are determined by what one is fighting for, not who they fight for now. Thus, factions aren't the sides of this war anymore, and it is about what you fight for. Tyler said that it comes down to whether you fight to protect and save humanity or work from destroying it in some form. And I agree with the way he put it after considering recent events, and the war is coming down to that question."

What Mu had been hearing was concerning in many ways, even if he didn't have all the facts. This kid had orders to take the Freedom back for ZAFT, which Mu understood from a military standpoint. The Freedom was a major advancement in technology, ZAFT wouldn't want others to have it, which was tactically sound. But the "rest" of the orders which hadn't been expanded upon implied they would have him doing something horrible. Mu knew that military organizations did things whether "off the books" or on "top-secret records," which the public would find appalling or even evil. Nevertheless, Mu had a nagging feeling that the kid was being told to do things that might be seen as potential war crimes. And if ZAFT were stooping to commit terrible actions, the war would only become worse than it already was. Then there was the statement about factions not mattering anymore, which made Mu question what change was being referred to. So, Mu took a step forward, "What do you mean factions don't matter anymore," he asked, "OMNI is still fighting against ZAFT. They just recently targeted the Federation, which merely adds to the war."

Athrun shook his head, understanding the man's confusion as he'd had it when Tyler had brought this up. Tyler was right, and the war had transitioned into a fight to survive the human species. OMNI attacking the Federation was just the last piece that forced the transition to the new phase of the war. "No, OMNI's actions don't add to the war," Athrun stated, "It merely completes the transition to what the war has become now. This conflict is now being waged for the survival of the human species, whether those fighting know it or not. It all comes down to whether you fight to protect and save humanity or try to destroy it somehow."

Mu didn't want to accept what was being said, but he had to admit that such would explain several facts as of late. The Alliance had been doubling down on Coordinators being the enemy of all Naturals. Mu could see that the propaganda led the Alliance toward demanding Coordinators become less than human or be exterminated. And that led back to what this kid had been saying, and the war was coming down to the question of the human species being okay the way it was or not. Looking back, the facts made the point clear enough that it should've been visible, and yet, Mu hadn't seen it. He cursed that he was only now seeing such a thing with the Alliance going in the direction it had been.

Kira gazed at the floor, knowing that Tyler's view was the right one with recent events. Humanity was being divided, and Lord Uzumi had said that before, even if in a different way than Athrun had. The divide was becoming more defined with each passing event, and the issue which created the divide was what Athrun stated. The human species was coming to a crossroads where it would have to choose whether to keep moving forward with its current diversity or be pulled back by destruction. The purge that some were screeching for would do no good for humanity, Kira was sure of that. But the hatred that was fueling the war was driving many, which would be difficult to overcome. "So, where is Tyler," Kira questioned. "I doubt he would stand and do nothing even after the attack on the Republic."

"Tyler was ordered to go up to space and help Federation forces there, he didn't give me further details than that," Athrun returned. "He also mentioned something about wanting to help someone, and going to space makes that easier for him. He said that we would meet back up in space and that we can make the time there to catch up and compare notes on events."

Kira agreed that Tyler, Athrun, and he needed to have a serious "heart-to-heart" conversation about things. Tyler tended to know more than he said or let on from what Kira had seen, and it was likely his access to the Federation's Information Network that gave him that. And it did seem that the war would move to space soon enough from how things were going. The Alliance just needed a mass driver, and they had been denied two thus far. The one that Athrun said Tyler wanted to help was probably Lacus, and him being in space would put him in a better position to help her. Kira gained a soft smile, "Then we'll see Tye soon enough," he said. "You know he has a knack of looking after himself and doing just fine most of the time. And a near-death experience didn't slow him down for all that long, at least not as long as it would others."

Once again, Athrun didn't know whether Kira was lucky to have his naivete and the optimistic view that came with it or if he should curse it. A smile came to Athrun's face, "Now I understand why Tye and Lacus were so insistent that I talk to you. The optimistic view you have helps focus on the simple truths instead of the darker complexities life can have." Athrun shook his head as his smile grew, "This is one of those times I have trouble deciding whether that naiveté of yours is a blessing or a curse."

Cagalli snicked at the last line, for it was so incredibly apt with Kira. The guy was naïve sometimes to the frustrations of those around him, and she'd seen that clearly enough. And yet, sometimes, naiveté seemed to shield him from horrible things. Thus, as Athrun had said, Kira's character flaw could be both a blessing and a curse depending on the situation. And the confused expression on Kira's face only added to the point as he didn't seem to understand he was being complimented. Kira shook his head, not figuring out what Athrun meant with the naiveté comment. "It would be great if we lived in a world where we didn't have to fight," Kira mused. "And I would assume Tyler would agree. If only we could live forever in such a world, things would be ideal."

While the world that Kira described would indeed be a wonderful one in theory if it could exist, the truth of that dream was far less wonderful. Such a world didn't exist, and if it did, then it wouldn't be the dream that some said it would be. There would be an exchange for the "perfectly peaceful" world due to how life worked, and it came down to balance. One couldn't have the good only without the non-good, much like old fashion scales, one side couldn't be heavier than the other. It could be stated in many different ways, but it all referred to the same point in the end. "Yes," Athrun started, "but in such a world, everything would stay the same, there would be no happiness, no sorrow, no pain nor joy. The world is made up of the good and the bad, and you can't have one without the other."

Kira knew what Athrun was talking about, and he had a valid point even if others would deny it. The world that Kira had painted was nothing more than a dream, a fantasy that would never actually exist. It was an idea that would only ever be a dream, unreachable but something to aim for nonetheless. So, Kira nodded slowly, "True, and if things go on like they are now with the war and everything, then the PLANTs and Earth will very likely destroy each other. However, I want to believe there's still hope for things to end peacefully and humanity continue to live, and that's worth fighting for." Kira paused, gathering his thoughts to get across what he wanted, "Thus, I am on, as you put it, the side that works to protect and save the human species from a dark future that leads to extinction. I've already pulled the trigger and have killed people in this war, and one can't give back the lives taken. I want to prevent others from ending lives, protect what is dear to me, and do so with everything I have."

While Kira's answer and conclusion were reassuring that he would be fighting on the same side as Athrun. However, Athrun wanted to make sure that Kira understood the danger should the Freedom reach the Alliance what would result. Tyler had said he had "explained" to Kira the issue with the Freedom, and Athrun trusted that. However, the fear of nuclear weapons coming soon wouldn't leave Athrun's mind. "One question Kira, Tyler did tell you about the Freedom being equipped with a Neutron-Jammer Canceller, right? I want to confirm you understand what issues come with it. Should that data fall into the hands of the Alliance or terrorist groups, it would result in countless lives lost."

Kira's smile faded an amount at the question and the implications it came with. Tyler had made the idea quite clear in their conversation back on the Archangel before he left. He'd told Kira that should the Canceller make it into the hands of those that had the wish to do harm or kill people, and bad things would happen. Tyler had specifically stated that if the Alliance were to get the technology, they would produce nuclear weapons and use them against the PLANTs. That made the promise Tyler demanded okay, but not to the extent that Tyler made Kira promise to do. So, Kira sighed, "Tyler made the point clear, Athrun," he replied, then Kira's tone became firm and filled with a conviction, "the canceller is dangerous for what it can lead to. He also made me promise that I not let the canceller fall into the "wrong" hands. Tyler went as far as to make me swear to shoot those who would take the tech for their own purposes. Thus, due to his insistence, I will shoot those that will try to take the Freedom from me even when I feel such is extreme in my view." Kira rose after he answered and walked away to see what he could do to help with the preparations.

Hearing Kira say that wiped away Athrun's remaining concerns, he knew Tyler had made the right decision. With Tyler's side of the story, Athrun could make sense of Siegel's actions. The former Chairman had been acting in the best interest in the long-term for the PLANTs and ZAFT. Those leading the PLANTs would disagree, but either they didn't know the reasoning behind Siegel's choice or felt what he was trying to do was foolish. Had the Freedom and the Justice stayed with ZAFT, they would have been used for attacking others and potentially for a nuclear detonation. Athrun believed that the Federation would have developed a counter to n-jammer cancellers given time. However, time was short with nuclear tech back in existence, and a counter was needed soon. And the current Council Chairman wouldn't take the time to have failsafes made, and he was too focused on "winning" the war. Athrun had the fear in the back of his mind that his father may even consider using nuclear technology on Earth.

While the Bloody Valentine had taken Athrun's mother, it had done more to his father, and Athrun was now seeing the effects more. Tyler had implied his father was pretty much a lost cause and couldn't be changed by the truth. Athrun didn't want to believe his father was so far gone, especially as Patrick had been a good man. Before Bloody Valentine, Patrick had been someone Athrun had been proud to be seen with. Athrun couldn't really remember the last time Patrick had looked happy, he had changed so much. Patrick Zala had almost become what he would say he worked against and would stop from destroying the human species. The issue was few still knew about the man that Patrick had been, only the ruthless man focused on wiping out Naturals. The more Athrun thought about the man who was his father, the bleaker a future with him seemed. No, Athrun was starting to know in his mind that it wasn't just a bleaker future he was seeing, it was a non-existent one.

A/n

And I'll leave off with this Phase there and pick up in the next one with the story. Okay so onto the points of interest in this Phase that I want to point out to you readers. So, in the battle overall takes place over Orb's mainland and Onogoro, where in canon it appears to be just Onogoro. The other point of the battle overall is the Federation's presence makes all the difference which will be more apparent in the next phase. Next another difference I want to point out is the three "candidates" that Azrael has to work with have different priorities than canon. Clotho, Shani, and Orga care far more what Mina Moss thinks of them which reinforces the fear candidates have of the woman. I also iterate that the three make up an "usual" trio that comes out of the Enhanced Human Project. A "normal" trio has a leader that the other two follow even if begrudgingly, the boys don't have that dynamic. Other changes from the original story come from the remaster version of Gundam Seed, like the Strike's equipment for example.

The last thing I want to talk about is the conversation that came up after the battle. It gives others some of the highlights of what Tyler told Athrun which I want to say is important. Athrun also gives a summary of the battle of the Republic, which the news reporting didn't give. I also wanted to show that Athrun's doubts are still growing even when they were huge now. Then Athrun sums up things by saying what Tyler did about the sides in the war which is a good transition for other characters. As always, please some of you take the time to write a review and tell me what you think of the Phase. I really do appreciate those that write reviews and their thoughts, I do read them. The next Phase will be titled "Transition and Change" and will be out in two weeks if it stays on track which it should. Peace out until then!