I'm kind of surprised so many people were surprised that Patrick Zala knows that Athrun has feelings for Cagalli. The very first scene of the fic has Athrun kissing Cagalli right in front of his face! XD I know it's been a long, long time since chapter 1 so I'm not surprised it's been forgotten (though I think Patrick mentioned this in chapter 54 but I don't remember).

Anyway, enjoy the chapter, which introduces the Clyne Faction. Things are definitely being put into place for the final battle even though 'Spitbreak' hasn't happened yet.


Chapter Fifty-Five: Clarity

"So," I said, knowing the question was going to be awkward, "They were able to fix your eye after all."

This was going to be an awkward conversation in general, really. After all, Hilda infiltrated the Archangel to try to kill me, and got her eye slashed by Flay for her trouble. There's no real avoiding it, and it was best just to get the source of the awkwardness out of the way as soon as possible.

"Yes," Hilda said. "But they warned me not to get it damaged again. Next time I'll most likely be permanently blind in my left eye."

"Well, that's good," I said. "The part about your eye being fixed, anyway."

"Yes. Very good. It means I'm still allowed to be a pilot in ZAFT," Hilda said. "They haven't found a permanent assignment for me since my eye surgery, though. Right now I'm mostly acting as a military auxiliary for Siegel Clyne."

"A bodyguard, then?" I asked.

"Somewhat." Hilda gave me a small smile. "Though it won't last for too much longer. I've been given an assignment for Operation 'Spitbreak'. I'll be infiltrating the Panama base and doing some behind-the-scenes sabotage, I believe."

"Sounds lovely," I said. "Hope it goes better than your Archangel sabotage."

Hilda's smile turned just a bit sickly. I no doubt reminded her of Flay slashing that eye open. "It most likely will. They don't have you or Flay Allster getting in my way this time."

Okay. Graveyard humor was a much better reaction than I expected. Though I was pretty sure that if Hilda's eye surgery hadn't been successful she wouldn't be anywhere near amused at all.

"Yeah," I said. "I won't be in the way for sure. I'll be involved with Spitbreak too. They're going to have me join the units dropping from the atmosphere for the airborne assault."

"Ah yes. That is usually pretty fun. Especially if the Earth Alliance starts shooting at you before you can exit your entry capsule," Hilda said, clearly sarcastic.

I guess that was her little bit of revenge for me reminding her about her injury. Now I had something to fuel my nightmares.

"They'll have me doing a small mission before 'Spitbreak'," I said. "I'm sure you know I was just recently commissioned. They want me to destroy a bunch of Earth Alliance raiders that are disrupting the airborne forces assembling for 'Spitbreak'."

"I find it pretty interesting, actually, that you're here in the PLANTs right now, wearing a ZAFT uniform," Hilda said. "You struck me as a girl of strong convictions. I never thought I would see you wearing a ZAFT uniform of any kind for any reason."

"I was being hunted by Blue Cosmos on Earth," I replied. "They want me dead because I kind of helped blow up one of their secret facilities. Well, that and I'm a Coordinator. This is the only way for me and my family to be safe." That was the most I was willing to tell Hilda about what happened to me. She didn't need to know that Blue Cosmos thought of me as someone highly dangerous, perhaps even special, and they wanted me dead because I could be used against them.

"So you enlist in a war for a cause you don't really believe in," Hilda said. "Odd way to be safe."

She was definitely right about that. "I'm not that happy with how things have turned out. Honestly, I don't want to be here. I just want to be back in Orb."

"I'm sure Chairman Zala was pleased to have you here," Hilda said.

"He didn't act like a man who had placed me high on the 'to-kill' list, that's for sure," I replied.

"He probably never intended for you to know that information," Hilda said. "He's not aware that I told it to you either. For him, you were a public relations nightmare waiting to happen. Chairman Zala wants a complete unified front against the Naturals, and with him as Chairman, he has nothing standing in his agenda's way. The council's makeup is leaning his direction as well. The moderates on the Council have been whittled down to a select few, including Siegel Clyne and Eileen Canaver."

"Sounds like the PLANTs want a unified front too. You elect what you want," I replied.

"Maybe." Hilda pulled over and stopped the car. "We're at the Clyne's residence. I will escort you there."

"We are?" I asked. I opened the door and stepped outside. "I don't see anything but shrubs and gates."

"Come over to the front door," Hilda said, signaling over to me with a knowing, almost playful look in her eyes.

I walked over to her. "What is it that I'm supposed to be . . ."

That's when I saw. "Holy . . ."

I never thought a mansion could look so beautiful or impressive. It was built with grace in mind, with two stories and more windows than I could possibly count. Not to mention quite a gorgeous front balcony. If this is what the mansion looked like in the front, I could scarcely imagine the back.

"Siegel Clyne is a wealthy man. Though his daughter building a successful pop music career certainly isn't hurting his finances any," Hilda said.

"No kidding," was all I could say.

Hilda walked over to the gate and buzzed it. "Mr. Foster? It's Lieutenant-Commander Harken. I have brought Mr. Clyne his visitor."

An aged, almost British-sounding voice responded. "Thank you, Lieutenant-Commander Harken. Opening the gates."

The gates swung up with just the slightest creak. They were almost old-school in appearance, without any buzzing or grinding that would signify something more mechanical. There was hardly any indicator that the gates were powered by a machine at all.

"Well? Come along," Hilda said. "It's not everyday that a ZAFT pilot gets to meet Siegel Clyne, after all."

"Uh . . . yeah. Sure." I followed Hilda past the gates and they gracefully swung back into place behind me.

I am sure that the gates were something most ordinary and nice to the Coordinators who lived in the PLANTs, but to me, it was almost as if a ghost swung them shut. It creeped me out for a moment.

Made me wonder what it would be like to truly meet Siegel Clyne . . .


The first thing that greeted me at the door was a pink robotic ball that I recognized as one of Lacus' Haro doohickeys.

"Visitor! Visitor! We have a visitor! We have a visitor!" shouted the pink robotic ball as it bounced towards me and right into my hands.

We stared at each other for a second. Then the ball tried to leap from my hands, almost instantly. "Wait! Wait! You're the meanie boy who punched Lacus! You're the meanie boy who punched Lacus!"

Okay. It was bad enough when humans called me a boy. But it was entirely another when this massively annoying robo-ball called me one! And apparently thought I was a boy all these months!

That was it. I could hold my temper against humans because there'd be consequences, but against this pink little annoyance? Forget it! Stress relief as long last!

As I raised the ball above my head to fastball it into the ground, I heard a familiar voice. "Wait! Don't smash the pink Haro! He's my favorite!"

Of course it was.

I turned and I saw Lacus Clyne standing in the middle of the hallway, wearing a white dress with purple trim. Surrounding her were . . . not three, not four, but five more of the little robotic annoyances, all in different colors, and all chattering away.

Considering Lacus' eyes, I do believe in that moment that I looked like I had snapped.

"Can I smash at least one of them?" I asked, personally unsure of how serious I was being. "You wouldn't miss one of them, would you?"

"Why would you do that?" Lacus said, playing up the airhead pop princess persona for all it was worth. "It's unnecessary violence!"

That's when all of the Haros bounded towards, chattering their various insults and indignances along with the pink one that was still calling for help.

It was too much all at once. I could not help myself.

I screamed.


"I apologize for the Haros," Lacus offered once we found a private room away from her . . . her soulless minions of evil. "They are very protective of each other and of me."

"I hadn't noticed," I said sarcastically.

Hilda and Lacus and the butler, Mr. Foster, had managed to round up all of Lacus' little 'pets" and herd them away right after I screamed. I do think that if they hadn't done that I would have gone on a rampage against those Haros until I was physically stopped. I had been through a lot and those devious little bastards had finally pushed me over the edge.

The worst part is that I would have liked it. A small part of me still fantasizes about smashing all of Lacus' Haros. Really.

"I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that you punched Lacus," Hilda said.

"She and I got off on the wrong foot," I said. "The pink Haro didn't help."

"Clearly, Cagalli plus Haros equals violence," Hilda said under her breath.

Lacus chuckled. We had both heard her, and I couldn't help but feel embarrassed. I knew my face was turning red too.

"Sorry," I managed.

"It's all right," Lacus said. Her voice and mannerisms had changed from the hallway, she was reminding me of the Lacus I had spoken to on the Archangel. She was a politician's daughter at this point, not an airheaded pop star. I liked Lacus a lot more when she was like this and not . . . well, basically my worst nightmare.

"I never thought I would see you again to be honest," Lacus said. "I was shocked when Athrun told me he had recruited you into ZAFT. I thought you never would have volunteered for ZAFT's forces, you were pretty clear about that."

"I didn't have much of a choice," I said. "I don't know how much Athrun told you, but Blue Cosmos thought I was a threat to them alive and they tried to kill me multiple times. I felt that Athrun bringing me into ZAFT was the only way to protect myself and my family. It's not like I'm betraying my country by doing so, Orb is still neutral and I accomplished my obligations on the Archangel."

"Hmm." Lacus actually looked kind of sad in that moment. But it seemed to be directed towards me, like she was putting me before her. "I understand. Athrun did give me a pretty good idea of what happened, so I can guess how conflicted you must feel right now."

Conflicted? I wasn't just 'conflicted', I felt like I was being ripped in two. "You don't know the half of it. I don't believe in the PLANTs or their ideals. And I'm afraid the new Chairman of the Supreme Council is an ideologue of the worst kind."

"Patrick Zala?" Lacus asked.

"Yeah. He was trying to soften it around me, but he despises the Naturals. That much I could see," I said. "I don't think he would shed any tears if the Naturals were wiped out of existence, let's leave it that way."

"His wife was killed on Junius Seven," said a new voice.

I recognized the voice from the meeting before ours that morning. Siegel Clyne. I turned and saw him walk into the room, and he looked every bit as tired as I felt.

"Patrick Zala was never the most . . . sympathetic individual, but the Bloody Valentine hardened his prejudices against the Naturals," Clyne said. "After all, he felt that the Earth Alliance had launched an unjustifiable sneak attack against a peaceful PLANT. Murdered his wife for no reason."

"Well, it was a sneak attack," Hilda offered.

"Evidence shows that the Earth Alliance may not have had anything to do with it," Siegel Clyne said. "It may have been a rogue act by Blue Cosmos or some other group like them. But it did not matter to most people following the attack. It was professional and well-executed and it killed a lot of our people for no reason other than petty hatred, and so we went to war."

"Considering how Blue Cosmos and the Earth Alliance seem to go hand in hand these days, I wouldn't put it past Earth Alliance involvement in some way, shape, or form," I replied.

"That does seem to be the case, doesn't it?" Lacus said. "But the question I want to ask you, Cagalli, is whyare you fighting for ZAFT? You said you only came to the PLANTs for your family's safety and your own. You did not have to enlist."

I guess that was true. I didn't have to. I let Athrun and Rau Le Creuset railroad me into the elite pilot corps.

"Athrun is my friend," I said, finally. "I guess I enlisted because I want to help him and protect him. He's put himself at risk for my sake many times."

Lacus smiled. "Athrun is a good person and he's dedicated to his friends and allies. I admire that about him to be honest."

"He's not like his father," I said. "I don't see the same hatred in him that I see in Patrick Zala."

Siegel sighed. He finally sat down next to his daughter. "I personally wonder if Patrick has any interest in peace. I know he said he wants to wait until after Operation 'Spitbreak' is over, but I wonder what his plans are if 'Spitbreak' manages to succeed. He doesn't seem to be seriously considering the idea of peace."

"The wrong kind of victory will just breed another war," Lacus said. "History shows that an unjust peace will create resentment and eventually a war."

"History?" I asked. "What history? There's a big gap in our 'history' after year 2307 in Anno Domini," I said. "We don't have many concrete records of the Reconstruction War or what else happened in the first few years of Cosmic Era either."

"Why do you think that is? Why are those records hidden or destroyed?" Lacus asked.

It took me a moment. "The victors write the history books, don't they?"

"The victors can also erase the history books of whatever they don't like," Lacus said. "It may not have anything to do with them, or took place hundreds of years before. If they don't like it, they can seal it away from public knowledge or destroy it."

Lacus sighed. "I believe that is Blue Cosmos' motivation for eliminating the Coordinators. They believe that a grave error was made in creating the Coordinator and they must erase us as thoroughly as possible."

"They do like their 'cleanse' and 'pure and blue world' language," I said.

"The worst of us aren't much different," Siegel Clyne said. "Many of us have come to believe we are some evolved, superior form of humanity. The inconvenient truth is that we didn't evolve. We were created by Naturals."

"That's what I told Chairman Zala, but he didn't listen," I said. Siegel Clyne's eyes seemed to widen at that. "You truly said that to him?"

"The Chairman of the Supreme Council is a man," I said. "I'm not afraid of him. The only thing I was afraid of was being dismissed from Athrun Zala's unit. I didn't want everything Athrun went through to bring me here to be for nothing."

Siegel Clyne sighed. "You are a . . . different girl."

Lacus chuckled. "Cagalli is unique, Father. Wonderfully unique. That's why I like her. We don't have enough people cutting against the grain here in the PLANTs."

"Why did you bring me here?" I asked. "This feels almost like a type of interview."

Siegel Clyne sighed and he stood up. He seemed to stare into space for a second. "I . . . am worried about Patrick Zala. If worse comes to worse, I want to see if you're trustworthy, 1st Lieutenant Cagalli Yamato. Whether your morals transcend the labels of 'Naturals' and 'Coordinators'."

"You think that Chairman Zala would commit some kind of genocide?" I asked.

That made both Lacus and Hilda flinch. Hilda even exclaimed "Aren't you reaching a little, 1st Lieutenant?"

"No, she's not," Siegel Clyne said. "I am afraid that if provoked, Patrick Zala will give into his anger at the Earth Alliance over the death of his wife. He will want to make a Junius Seven happen to the Earth Alliance, and I'm not sure if the Council can stop him . . . or would even want to. A lot of them are becoming frustrated over the course of this war and want the Naturals to be dealt a death blow."

"ZAFT doesn't have the manpower to keep fighting like this for much longer," I said. "As it is ZAFT has had to draft teenagers from the very beginning because the Earth Alliance has superior numbers. If the war keeps dragging on like this, ZAFT will have to accept a result less than total victory."

"You understand our situation well for an outsider," Siegel Clyne said, clearly surprised.

"I told you she was politically astute, Father," Lacus said. "She majored in political science at her university. She's done her research into PLANT affairs."

Being complimented like that made me blush. I admit it. It was nice to be told I was smart.

I managed to keep going. "That's why you wanted to accept that peace proposal you were talking to Chairman Zala about, weren't you? You yourself are willing to accept something less than total victory if it would end the fighting before ZAFT's numbers are completely depleted."

Clyne nodded slowly. "Partially. The main reason is that I think both sides are losing sight of why the war is being fought in the first place. I think this is turning from a war of grievances into a war of extermination."

"You're talking about genocide too, sir?" Hilda asked. "I really can't see it from our side. The Earth Alliance, thanks to Blue Cosmos taking more and more of it over, I can see. But us?"

"We are human too," Siegel Clyne said. "And we're every bit as fallible as the Naturals are. We can make the same mistakes."

"And you said the Justice as N-Jammer Canceller capability too, right, Father?" Lacus asked. "It could open the door for Chairman Zala to use nuclear weaponry if he desired it. Not only that, but if the Justice were to wind up in the hands of the Earth Alliance, they would be able to use nuclear weapons themselves."

This was getting really serious. "This just sounds like we're going from bad to worse here."

"Now you see why I brought you here," Siegel Clyne said. "My daughter spoke highly of you and said you would understand the gravity of the situation, that you can be trusted to know what's going on, and you can grasp your responsibility with the Justice."

"What makes you think I can be trusted? Your words here could be considered borderline treachery. What makes you think I wouldn't tell Chairman Zala everything you just told me?" I asked.

Lacus chuckled again. "Cagalli, I know you. You're not the type of person who would allow her hatred to take her over. You wouldn't betray us."

The confidence in her voice, and the friendly tone without any hint of edge, made me realize she wasn't lying or the least bit suspicious. She truly did trust me. "Thank you . . . thank you very much."

Siegel Clyne clearly wasn't as trusting. "My daughter has proven to be a fantastic judge of character since she was a child. I don't want her to be proven wrong for the first time in her life."

"My enemy is not the Earth Alliance," I said. "My enemy is Blue Cosmos and others like them, who don't care how many people they have to kill. I'm only here to protect my loved ones, and to help Athrun. I don't have any loyalty towards Chairman Zala. I don't know where you plan to take things but I am not in favor of this war."

Siegel Clyne seemed to smile, just a bit. "I see. You are a unique person, 1st Lieutenant."

The butler, Mr. Foster, marched into the room. "We have an Athrun Zala on the line, Mr. Clyne," he said. "He is curious if we are keeping her right now."

"Ah, yes, put him on in this room," Mr. Clyne said.

"Understood, sir," Mr. Foster said. There was a screen to my left, on a nearby wall, and it activated.

I saw Athrun's face immediately. "Councilman Clyne, I was told by Chairman Zala's bodyguards that you may have an appointment going on with 1st Lieutenant Yamato, and . . ."

He saw me then. "Um, I apologize if I'm interrupting anything. I've arranged sleeping arrangements for the 1st Lieutenant tonight, at the Amalfis' residence. I would like her transported there when you are done with the appointment, sir."

"It's not a problem, Captain Zala," Siegel Clyne said. "We're wrapping things up here already. I can have my auxiliary bring her to the Amalfis shortly."

"Thank you, Councilman. And Lacus . . ."

He and Lacus seemed to look at each other for a second. "Lacus, I promise I will give you more attention. If there is anywhere you wish to meet tonight, before . . . before my unit has to depart . . ."

"It's all right, Athrun," Lacus said. "I have some ideas. Just call me back in an hour."

"Okay . . . thank you. Goodbye." Athrun looked pretty embarrassed before he killed the feed.

Lacus chuckled. "Athrun tries hard, but . . . I know his heart belongs to you, Cagalli. I don't think anything will ever change that."

That made me feel embarrassed. "You're . . . a better match for him than I am. I'm a bit of a jerk, you . . . you're really nice and thoughtful. And I know you care about him."

"I want him to be happy," Lacus said. "That's what I want for him . . . more than anything else."

It was like she was conceding defeat to me, in that instance. I didn't want to accept it. I had no right to destroy her engagement with Athrun.

Siegel Clyne stepped in then, perhaps sensing that this discussion was going to continue. "Lieutenant-Commander Harken, please escort the 1st Lieutenant to the Amalfi residence."

"Yes, Councilman," Hilda said.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I know I'm screwing things up and I'm not even-"

"I don't blame you for any of this," Siegel Clyne says. "I can tell by your tone of voice and the look in your eyes that you're not purposefully trying to destroy my daughter's engagement with Athrun Zala. But I'm going to need to talk to her about this and I would prefer to do so in private."

"I understand," I replied. I looked over at Hilda. "All right, let's go."

"Sounds good to me, things were getting a bit awkward around here," Hilda said, grunting as she got up from her seat.

I almost laughed. "It's been nonstop awkward since I arrived here in the PLANTs, Lieutenant-Commander."

"Goodbye, Cagalli," Lacus said, waving.

"Yeah, goodbye. I'll see you later, you and Councilman Clyne," I said, returning the wave, and then I followed Hilda out of the room.

Before I shut the door behind me, I did turn back towards the Clynes. "I will protect Athrun. I promise. And don't just give up on winning Athrun's heart either. I'm not competing for it. There's no point in surrendering to someone who isn't even in the race, Lacus."

Lacus' smile turned sad. "You're my friend, Cagalli. I'd like you to be happy too."

"Don't sacrifice your own happiness," I said. "I just did that to protect my loved ones and honestly I feel like crap. And I'm saying that as your friend, Lacus. Later."

I didn't want Lacus to reply to me, so I closed the door. I wanted her to think about what I said. I didn't want her to roll over and stop her engagement to Athrun, even though I knew my own feelings for Athrun were growing little by little. It just wasn't right. What right did I have to deny Lacus her own happiness?

Now that I look back on this, it's occurred to me that I was being a hypocrite. What I was telling Lacus not to do was precisely what I was doing.

Oh, who am I kidding?

Love's insanity.


I was gaping again. "Don't tell me that the Amalfis have somebody on the Council too!"

"They do," Hilda said, clearly amused by my reaction. "Yuri Amalfi represents one of the PLANTs on the Council and he is also the PLANTs' top scientist. I believe he has been working on cancelling out the neutron jammers that prevent nuclear power from working on Earth."

"What is with the Council people and their mansions?" I asked. "It's like I'm in a city of castles or something!"

Hilda chuckled. "Councilmen aren't shy about showing off their status. Anyway, I must be going. I am sure I'm going to be deployed into 'Spitbreak' quite shortly and I'd like to try to get some things in order before then."

"All right. Bye, Lieutenant-Commander," I said, giving her a short wave as she went back into the car.

"You can just call me 'Hilda'," Hilda said, returning the wave before getting back in the car and pulling away.

"Right," I muttered under my breath.

I walked up to the gates, and it opened up the moment I reached for them.

Okay. Spooky.

That's when I saw a beautiful woman step out from behind some bushes ahead, chuckling. "I'm sorry. I couldn't resist."

I looked at her. "Wait . . . you . . ."

"I made the gates open with a switch," the woman said, still smiling. "My name is Romina Amalfi. You must be 1st Lieutenant Cagalli Yamato."

"Uh, yes. That's me."

She smiled at me. "Pleased to meet you. Nicol has told me quite a bit about you. I'll bring you inside."

Romina Amalfi was striking. I could see the family resemblance in regards to Nicol, she shared the same eyes and hair as her son. But she was beautiful in the angelic sense, like she was pure and uncommonly kind. Kind of like Lacus Clyne in a way. It's an odd type of beauty to describe.

"Thank you," I said, afraid that I was going to stare at her. I privately wished I was as beautiful as Romina Amalfi. I just felt inadequate in comparison to her. Not even Lacus Clyne made me feel this way, like the differences in our appearances actually mattered. I actually felt insecure, which was an incredibly weird feeling for me.

But I followed her inside the house and tried to keep from staring. I could hear piano music distantly in the background as we moved through the front hallway. I did not have any musical training so I could not identify the piece.

"You're much quieter than I expected," Romina Amalfi said all of a sudden.

"I'm . . . I'm kind of overwhelmed right now," I said.

"I can understand that," Romina Amalfi said. "The PLANTs must be an incredibly strange experience for you. You've spent most of your life on Earth or in a Natural colony, correct? The PLANTs are much different."

"It's more than just that. I'm a Coordinator, but . . . I really feel like some kind of alien or tourist or something," I said. "And everyone wants to talk to me. I had Chairman Zala personally introduce me to the Mobile Suit I've been assigned. How am I supposed to feel about that?"

Romina gave me a comforting smile. "You're a special young woman. And I am for one glad you are here. Nicol's told me about what it was like to face you in battle. You seem like an incredible pilot. I think Nicol will be safer with you on his side than he was without you."

It took me a moment to realize that as Nicol's mother, she had to be constantly worried about him whenever he was deployed into battle. I wanted to say that war isn't safe, but I couldn't say that to the mother of a soldier. She didn't need to be reminded of the real danger Nicol faced every time he was sent out into battle.

"He will," I said, deciding to make a promise even though I wasn't sure I could keep it. "I'll make sure he stays safe."

"Thank you, it means a lot." Romina seemed lost in thought for a second before continuing. "It's all right to mention the Justice around me, by the way. My husband, Yuri, has played a pivotal role in the technology being used for the Justice and the other Mobile Suits in development."

"So he helped design the Mobile Suits?" I asked.

"No. Rather, he designed the Neutron Jammer Canceller," Romina said. "My husband believes this technology will allow us to win the war on Earth. I hope it does. I don't want this war to go on any longer than it already has. This war has gone on for over a year now, I fear that if it lasts any longer . . ."

So Yuri Amalfi designed the Neutron Jammer Canceller that allowed the Justice to use nuclear power. That meant that when I was deployed onto Earth, I would have a significant advantage over everyone else. I would never run out of power and my weapons would be stronger than everyone else's too.

No wonder Romina Amalfi thought I could protect Nicol. Down on Earth, I wouldn't just have the advantage of a technologically-advanced Mobile Suit. I would have a lot more power than anyone else.

I was being given the Justice with the expectation that I would single-handedly end the war in the PLANTs' favor. And that had to be why I was being given the warm-up mission. They wanted to see what I could do in the Justice, whether I would be capable of ending the war. If I could sufficiently destroy this raider fleet, they would send me right into the heart of Panama and have me wipe it out.

"If everything goes according to plan in Operation 'Spitbreak'," I said, feeling that she knew about that too, "The war won't last too much longer. Panama's defeat would starve the Earth forces in space and make the ground forces significantly more desperate. If Panama goes down and if Earth doesn't take one of the Mass Drivers ZAFT has control of quickly, the war is over."

"That's what Yuri is hoping for too," Romina Amalfi said. "I personally just wish we and the Earth Alliance could sign a peace treaty of some kind and just end this war. I really don't see the point of it anymore."

I didn't have the guts to tell her that the Earth Alliance had offered the PLANTs a peace treaty and Patrick Zala had rejected it.

"Anyway . . ." I said, noting the piano in the background hadn't stopped and in fact had changed pieces, "Who's that playing? It sounds too analog to be playing through speakers."

"Oh, that's Nicol," Romina replied, her smile becoming bright and proud. "He's a fantastic piano player. I wish he had chosen to become a concert pianist over a soldier. I am sure Yuri would have gotten Nicol some kind of exemption."

It sounded like to me that Romina Amalfi was even more against this war than I was. And I couldn't blame her. She clearly treasured her child.

"His playing is lovely," I offered, despite my lack of knowledge of classical music. I assumed this was classical anyway. Jazz piano has more of an improvised, wild sound, this sounded more calculated and textured, if that makes any sense.

"It is," Romina said, almost wistfully. "I don't hear it often enough anymore. I was a good piano player myself but I never could win my auditions to become a concert pianist. I know Nicol could, though. But it's too late at this point now."

"Let's not worry about that," I said. I was getting a bit tired of Romina's worrying, but I kept my voice even and calm. "Let's just enjoy the moment. Watch your son play. And you can tell me what kind of fancy classical piece he's playing."

"He's playing Mozart-"

"I said tell me while we watch him play," I said, making sure to walk into the room so Romina would follow. "Come on. Just enjoy the moment. Let's save the worrying for tomorrow, okay?"

Romina just stared.

"Something wrong?" I asked.

Romina shook her head after a moment. "No. It's just . . . you are different, 1st Lieutenant. Just like Nicol told me."

Seemed like everybody was calling me different here in the PLANTs. "I've been told I'm unique," I said, parroting what Lacus said to me earlier.

"I can see why people have confidence in you, seeing the way you are now," Romina said. "Maybe you cankeep my son safe."

"I will," I promised again. "Now come on. And call me Cagalli. I don't want to deal with military formality right now if I can help it."

Romina smiled. "All right, Cagalli."

She followed me into the room, and we began to watch her son play.


There'll be a true interaction with Nicol and his family in the next chapter, and we'll begin spinning the 'Spitbreak' wheels then too.