FraserMage: It actually kinda plays out like that. XD Thank you for your reply and I hope you continue to enjoy the story!
fate-star: Yeah, it's getting interesting . . . hope it stays that way. XD
littlemssstrawberry: If you have any familiarity with Gundam SEED canon, you should be aware of Garcia's inevitable fate. XD
Jodeist: You know that Tolle was Kira's best friend in canon, and this is me playing with the concept by placing Cagalli in the situation. It's inevitable that romantic feelings would appear. Cagalli's not being a slut, she just moved on from Athrun as she adjusted to her new surroundings, the same way Kira did in canon before stuff started exploding.
animefan29: I'm really glad you've paid so much attention to the story. I've replied to you in private due to some sensitive stuff I told you, but chapter 8 I can reply in public. I'm glad I got Garcia down pretty well, I've been worried that I made him too jerk-ish and too womanizing, but that's something I keep seeing in him in canon.
The little girl is the little girl Kira spoke with a couple of times in canon. Take that for what you will.
I hope you continue to enjoy the story! Here's the next installment, which concludes Artemis. Chapter Nine: Stupefy
It wasn't very long until I saw the Strike. Garcia smiled knowingly as he looked up at it. "It's a magnificent machine. You should feel honored to use it."
"I killed three people using that thing," I replied. "I'm not proud of it at all."
"You were proud of knocking two of my teeth out," he said pointedly. "I saw the smug look on your face. You like being dominant. You like resorting to violence. You make high-minded speeches about not fighting for military governments and putting up a pacifistic exterior. The truth is, you are a natural soldier. A little more battle-hardening and you'd be damn close to perfect."
"Am I supposed to be proud of that analysis?" I asked him.
Garcia smiled knowingly, though he didn't show any teeth. "You have no idea how valuable you are, Ms. Yamato. You are a Coordinator who has sided with the Earth Alliance. The Eurasian Federation will set you up for life if you fly this machine for the EF. I even guarantee it."
"I'm not interested," I said.
"Is that about that boy I shot?" he asked.
My lips trembled as I bit back the venomous words I wanted to scream. My body trembled as I forced myself not to move against him. I was making it obvious it was about Tolle, but I knew I couldn't fight Garcia. Not with all of these men with guns on me.
Knowing how obvious I had made my feelings, I said "I really wish we were alone, Commandant. Then I'd show you how much it is about 'that boy you shot'."
Garcia just chuckled. "You are a spitfire, aren't you? That's all right. A little aggression is excellent in young pilots." He was not taking me seriously at all. He felt invincible with his gun-toting men surrounding him, the same way everyone in Artemis felt they were safe because of the umbrella shield.
I thought about Kira's lock code, hidden inside a uniform pocket. I could not even indicate that I had something like that. The moment I unlocked the O.S. they would no longer need me, despite what Garcia was saying. No one was going to trust a Coordinator, just because Coordinators were the enemy.
"I don't plan on being a pilot," I said.
Garcia just gave me a look. "Of course not. You can be a military contractor."
"I don't want to be that either."
"You can design dozens of these operating systems. Or these Mobile Suits. You could jump-start your own factory in the Eurasian Federation. Become a subsidy of Adukov."
"I told you, I have no interest in any of that. I'm just trying to get back home to Orb," I said.
Garcia sighed. "Fine. You have plenty of time to change your mind, after you unlock the O.S. Get to it, and after I pay the base dentist a visit, I'll put your . . . transgression behind me."
"Uh huh." I paused, and then an evil thought came to my mind. I decided to screw with Garcia's head one more time before I went up to the cockpit. I had to use stalling tactics anyway, and this would work as one.
"How safe do you think Artemis is?"
"Quite safe, with the umbrella shield."
"Is the shield always on?"
"It automatically switches off when all enemy ships is beyond a certain point, to conserve power."
"Oh, so it switches off."
Garcia leered at me. "What are you telling me, civilian?"
"Too bad it can't stay on forever. Then this place would truly be impregnable. But it can switch off. Any long-range weapon or a stealth craft could cause an incalculable amount of damage in a short time while the shield is on."
Garcia stared.
I smiled ever so innocently. "I have a feeling that the only reason ZAFT hasn't already tried to wipe you guys out is because this base has never been strategically important. I mean, what harm is there in letting a tiny out-of-the-way base persist if it is a purely defensive weapon? But guess what? This base has become strategically important. And ZAFT will attack, by either waiting until there is no power remaining for the shield, or while you guys have relaxed your defenses. And considering what they did to my colony with a handful of soldiers, they will kick your ass."
Garcia looked like he wanted to throttle me, but he held back. He knew what I had done to him already.
I waved at him nonchalantly. "Pleasant dreams tonight, Commandant."
He just turned around, mouthing my words to himself sarcastically. He loved me, I could tell.
I was out of stalling tactics, though, so all I could do was climb up to the GUNDAM and climb inside the cockpit and pretend to be busy. They quickly posted a guard by the cockpit, and when I tried to close the hatch, the guard pointed his gun at me. "Bad idea, princess."
"I'm not a princess."
"You get the point!"
I sighed. "Yeah, I guess so."
I pretended to forget my unlock code, and so ran a scanner to pick up the numbers and letters. As the unlocking scanner would take hours, if not entire days, to capture every digit, I had bought myself at least some time to come up with a plan. I could tell by Garcia's face, though, that I was really pushing my luck. A couple of hours of being "insolent", as he and others have called me, and he would come up here and find out what I was up to.
And eventually, they would search me and discover the unlock code. And no amount of pretending to be stupid would save me.
Not only that, but the writing wasn't mine. It was Kira's. All they needed was to make me write something by hand and they'd discover that someone else had written the code down. And then they'd search for Kira, and, most likely, find him.
How bad could things get if Kira, a prince of Orb, was found hiding onboard this ship? It was already a lucky break that someone hadn't either outed him or recognized him.
What I needed was a distraction. I needed something to get their attention off of me and onto something else. But there was no way for me to create a distraction. If I tried to knock the guard away and close the cockpit, there was a strong chance I could get shot. And who knew what would happen to everyone else on the Archangel? I had limited power, and limited weaponry. I'd be handing everyone over to ZAFT on a platter.
I had counted on Garcia leaving to check up on the umbrella shield. Despite being rattled by my words, he wasn't budging from this spot. I needed him to leave so everyone would settle down and fall into complacency. But, again, what could I do? If I rose up, I'd have nowhere to go but ZAFT and everyone here would be screwed over.
That was when what seemed to be an earthquake rattled the entire base around us, sending stuff crashing to the ground and leaving everyone struggling to stay on their feet.
The guard spun around to look at what everyone was doing. I nearly kicked him out of the way right then and there, but I needed to be sure. I realized that if this was an enemy attack I'd have my opportunity to get out of this mess.
I had never been so eager to go to war in my life.
I could hear Garcia. "This is the Commandant! What the hell's going on? I demand to know the cause of these tremors!"
I couldn't hear the reply, but Garcia shouted "Obviously this is a long-range bombardment! Turn the shield on!"
The explosions just seemed to get worse. I realized this had to be the GUNDAM Blitz. The one who had turned invisible in my fight. Single-handedly he was exposing Artemis' true weakness: an inability to defend against an infiltrator with stealth technology.
When Garcia bellowed "What do you mean the shield's destroyed?" I knew I had my only chance. I had my excuse to deny him the Strike, to deny him the intricate knowledge of this brand new Mobile Suit.
To deny him any sort of reward for shooting Tolle.
I kicked the guard out of the way and immediately slammed the cockpit shut. I now had a limited supply of air, which meant I had to clear the way for the Archangel quickly before I died of asphyxiation. I yanked out Kira's sheet of paper, stopped the scanner-unlocking, and yanked out the keyboard and imputed Kira's unlock code.
He was right, it needed to be more complicated. The scanner had already discovered twenty of the fifty digits.
The guard was pounding on my door, but it was too late. I turned the Strike on and manually ordered the Sword Pack to attach to the Strike.
I marched on, secretly hoping I'd trample Garcia, but no such luck, he was bellowing within seconds through some kind of intercom. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
I turned on the Strike's loudspeaker. "We are under enemy attack! I don't have time for this crap!"
I activated the Phase Shift and launched the Strike out of the Archangel and into the port. I needed to find whatever enemy existed, whether it was Blitz, the Duel, Buster, or even Athrun, and get them out of the way.
As I flew off, I knew Garcia had to be shouting the order to stop me, unless he was smart enough to realize that the Strike was his only chance of saving Artemis. I saw Mobile Armors taking off all over the port, but they hardly made it more than a few feet before they were blasted out of existence by rifle shots.
I turned, and there was Blitz.
Oh, great.
And just like that, I was being hailed. They were never going to stop until they recruited me.
I answered. I saw a young man with innocent brown eyes and green hair. His eyes widened. "So you're Athrun's girlfriend."
"I'm not his girlfriend. I was his best friend years ago, but never his girlfriend," I replied. "Who're you?"
"I am Nicol Amalfi. Athrun asked me to try to bring you around again. He cares for you quite deeply, Cagalli. More than his supposed fiance, I think."
"He has a fiance now?" I asked.
"It's an arranged marriage purely for political reasons. Athrun's not happy about it and I doubt the bride's thrilled about it either. But that's not the point. The point is that Athrun is not here, so I'm to try to convince you to join us in his place."
"What's Athrun doing?"
Nicol gave me a slight, knowing smile. "Classified."
"Uh huh." I brandished the sword. The more I talked to this guy, the more likely I was going to run out of air before I could get out of this base and land on the Archangel.
"I'm sorry, but I have friends onboard this ship, and fellow citizens of Orb. I must protect them."
Nicol nodded. "Fair enough. I'll let you and the Archangel go for now. Athrun's a friend of mine, and I don't want to betray his friendship by killing you if I can help it. Yzak and Dearka don't feel the same way, though. They are on the way and should be here in a few minutes. If you encounter them, you will not be receiving any mercy."
"And what will you be doing?" I asked.
Nicol sighed. "I'm going to destroy Artemis. And if you interfere in that I will have no choice but to fight you."
I just laughed, which stunned Nicol Amalfi. "Why are you laughing?"
"Blow it all to hell," I said. "The commandant shot someone very dear to me. I'd like him to suffer in hell for a few decades before I join him."
Nicol blinked, and then sighed. "I understand. What Athrun sees in you I'll never know, but I am grateful that you are not in the Earth Alliance's pocket as much as Yzak and Dearka think."
And then he was gone.
Behind me, the Archangel was launching. I heard Arnold Neumann's voice. "Cagalli, we've re-captured the ship, and we have everyone on-board. Clear the way out for us."
"Including Lieutenant Ramius?"
"She just got on board. Same with Lieutenant La Flaga and Ensign Badgiruel," Neumann said. "The base is falling apart. We have no time to waste."
"You got it." I started flying away when I heard Garcia's voice.
"This is Commandant Gerard Garcia. Stop the Archangel and Strike GUNDAM immediately! They are traitors for fleeing during our-AAAAAAAGH!"
A small smile crept across my face. Nicol had certainly blown Garcia to hell for me. But as I looked at my reflection on the display, I saw how demented I looked. I was taking joy in someone getting killed, and I was terrified of the result. I was in control of a sixty-ton behemoth armed to the teeth with horrible, powerful weapons, and I was beginning to go crazy. Wonderful combination.
I stared at myself as the crazed grin vanished, and my eyes widened with horror. I was going crazy. I was filled with bloodlust, I wanted everyone in Artemis to die just because of one gunshot. Was that really all it took to make me battle-hungry warrior, a vengeful valkyrie seeking souls to send to hell or heaven or Valhalla or wherever people go when they die?
I rubbed my forehead and forced myself to snap back to reality. My revenge quest was over. The base was clearly about to blow. And I had to get the Archangel out of here before that happened.
But then I heard a pilot screaming on the intercom., and it made me realize that the Archangel wasn't my only responsibility. "Someone help me! There's other GUNDAMs here! Please help me!"
I commed the Archangel. "I'm going back inside. I'm going to try to get any remaining Mobile Armors out of Artemis. I think La Flaga and I are going to need backup."
Murrue Ramius had taken control of the bridge, it was her voice that spoke. "You sure about this? You're not wearing a pilot suit."
"I'll only be a minute." I powered up the Strike and launched back inside the port, where I saw six Mobile Armors desperately blasting away against the Duel.
Make that five, one exploded as the Duel cleaved one in two with its sword.
It had a quick replacement arm, reminiscent of a GINN. They hadn't managed to build a reasonable facsimile of the original left arm yet. I found this darkly amusing for some reason.
I charged and the Duel was barely able to block me in time before I would've sliced the Duel in two.
I got on a public channel. "All remaining Mobile Armors, this is the Strike. Artemis is lost. Fall back to the Archangel. I'll buy you some time!"
I slashed at the Duel, trying to distract him while the Mobile Armors fled. The Duel did not hail me, instead, he tried to strike back, but I refused to let myself be defeated by him.
Explosion rocked the base as the Duel and I continued battling at the edge of the port. I saw more Mobile Armors attempting to leave but various explosions blew them out of existence. The whole port was beginning to implode.
It looked like only the five I had personally rescued were going to get out of here. That, and real fact that my air wasn't going to hold out for much longer, made me rush my movements as I battled the Duel. I could've killed the Duel, and the pilot inside, "Yzak", if I had been focused and not as panicky about my air supply.
But I could not focus. In the back of my head, I kept thinking about my lack of air. I kept thinking about how the port was steadily exploding left and right. I missed multiple chances at stabbing the Duel in some kind of weak point, like the torso or the head, and ending the battle.
I heard Murrue. "Cagalli, the Buster is outside and is attacking us. We need assistance. Get out of there!"
I was only too glad to oblige.
"Got it, ma'am!" I kicked the Duel deeper into the port, as explosions wrecked both docking sides. I spun the Strike around and flew full blast out of the port, and there I saw Buster, harassing the Archangel and the five Mobile Armors I had rescued.
Make that four, Buster's rifle fired and practically vaporized it in a single shot.
I charged forward, screaming. I slammed into Buster and knocked it out of control. It spiraled away somewhere into space, and I took the satisfaction that "Dearka" and "Yzak", who both apparently hated me, had been humiliated by me. I hadn't killed either of them, but humiliation would do for now.
I heard Murrue again. "Cagalli, the battle's over. We have to go full speed if we have any chance of losing the enemy."
Translation: get back inside the launch bay.
I realized I couldn't breathe again. I had used up all of my limited air. In panic, I accelerated the Strike right into the launch bay and sent the Mobile Suit crashing at the bottom of the bay.
I grabbed my throat. No air. Still no air. I gagged and wheezed and struggled to breathe. I was dying. I was going to die in this cockpit.
In my panic, I opened the cockpit. Thankfully, it was right that moment when they pressurized the launch bay. If I had opened it one second sooner I would have still had to deal with an airless vacuum, one that could've killed me or had done some serious mental damage.
I spent the next several minutes gulping down air. My head felt like it was going to explode, and my throat screamed for water, but I didn't care. Despite the place smelling vaguely like a greasy hi-tech garage it seemed like the sweetest, purest air I had ever breathed in my life. And I reveled in my regained ability to breathe and smell and taste this vaguely putrid air.
Murdoch was right there. He ran over and patted me on the back. "You okay?"
"I . . . just need . . . some air," I said. I tried to smile, but it was so clearly pathetic that Murdoch averted his gaze.
"You did great. You saved the lives of four Eurasian Federation pilots. We have half a squadron onboard the Archangel now thanks to you," Murdoch said.
"Wonderful," I gasped.
He laughed and patted me on the back again. "Though next time remember to bring your pilot suit. I think everyone's had enough of these scares."
"I've . . . had enough of these scares too." I was suddenly aware I was floating upside down, and a great pressure filled my head and my stomach.
Not here. Not after I just started breathing. Not here. Please not here.
But then I remembered something that almost made me forget I was about to throw up all over Murdoch. "Tolle."
Murdoch scrunched his face in confusion. "Tolle? Oh wait, you mean the kid who got shot?"
"Tolle!" I shoved Murdoch out of the way and floated through the hangar, heading right through the exit.
I held my hand to my mouth, and forced myself to swallow every bit of bile that rose through my mouth. I was not going to be defeated by my spacesickness. Not here. Not now. Not when I needed to know Tolle was okay. I pushed myself down the hall by moving my hand on the railing. I had a vague idea of where sick bay was, and I kept pushing in the bay's general direction.
I was not going to be defeated by my own weakness. Not by my inability to tolerate being weightless. Not after all of the terror I had experienced, the hatred I had felt for the man who shot him, not after everything I had dealt with in the last day and a half or so.
I had to see him, or collapse trying.
As I made it to sick bay, I clutched my stomach, as if that would single-handedly stop the churning acids within. I took a deep breath, and ignored my pounding headache, a side-effect of nearly dying of asphyxiation, lack of fluid, and being weightless all at once.
I opened up the first door. "Tolle?" Empty. I slammed it shut.
I did this three or four more times until I finally found a lit room.
There was Tolle, laying in a bed, and Miriallia sitting beside him.
"Tolle," I whispered softly as I looked at him. He sat up in the bed, looking at me in total surprise. His chest was bare, and on his shoulder was a tightly wrapped white bandage, with red blood visible. His bandage would need to be changed soon.
"Cagalli, you made it," Tolle said in surprise.
I couldn't speak. There were so many things I wanted to say and I couldn't speak a single word. I wanted to tell him about the anger I felt and how I almost went crazy and if he was doing okay and whether he blamed me for what happened to him and how bad the wound was and that I didn't want to fight anymore and . . .
I did the only thing I could think of to express how I felt. I ran forward, hugged him, and began crying.
"Whoa, Cagalli! Watch the shoulder! I . . ." He slowly, softly embraced me. "Cagalli, it's . . . it's okay. Calm down. It's okay."
"I'm sorry," I whispered through my tears. "I'm so sorry."
"There's nothing to be sorry for. He could've shot any of us," Tolle said. "Don't blame yourself."
I looked him directly in his blue eyes. "He shot you because of what I did to him. I punched him in the face. I was so stupid. Tolle, I'm sorry. I . . ." Words failed me yet again, and I couldn't meet his gaze any longer. Guilt was wracking me so thoroughly I couldn't think about anything else besides my failure to save Tolle from getting shot.
"I said, it's all right. Besides, it didn't kill me," Tolle said cheerfully.
"That's not the point," I said.
Instead of replying to me, Tolle looked beyond me. "Uh, Miri, where are you going?"
I turned, and I saw Miriallia at the entrance to the room. She partially turned around towards us, and offered us a sad smile. "I think it's best you two be alone for a while. You guys don't need me making things complicated in here. I'll talk to you both later."
"Wait, Miri-" I stopped talking once Miriallia shut the door on the both of us.
Tolle sighed. "I guess . . . I guess she isn't taking stuff very well right now."
"I don't think any of us are," I said.
"True," Tolle said. He rubbed my shoulder. "But we're all strong. Especially you, Cagalli. Seriously, are you okay?"
I rubbed my eyes, and no fresh tears replaced the old ones. "Better."
Tolle smiled. "That's good. What happened there . . . is just randomness, nothing more. Don't worry about it. It's not that big of a deal."
"You getting shot is a big deal," I said.
"It just hurts, unlike someone getting shot in a film," Tolle said. "I'll live. I just want to make sure you're still gonna live. You're doing something incredibly dangerous, Cagalli. I don't want to lose you because you're inexperienced in this Mobile Suit, the Strike."
I looked at him, and tried so hard to smile reassuringly. "I'm not going to die, Tolle. I already promised a little girl that. I can't break a promise to a young girl."
Tolle laughed. "Well, neither can I. I don't think either of us can."
"What's your promise?" I asked.
Tolle gave me a knowing grin. "Not telling."
I sighed. "Right."
We just held each other for a long time, until I finally dozed off from sheer exhaustion. But, for the first time all day, I felt marginally safe, like I was among friends.
I wished the war was over. But the moment I woke up, I realized something.
I was never going to stop fighting.
