Thank you for the responses over the last week. You readers are the only reason why I still write this story. Really.


Chapter Sixty-Three: Straight Out of Line

"No." That was the first word I said to Lacus. I don't know how long it took for me to say it. Could have been right away, could have been seconds, maybe even whole minutes. Could have been all of eternity for how much time was worth to me in that moment. It was like time didn't affect me at all.

Lacus nodded solemnly. "I know how you have to feel about this. It is your home, and your friends are there."

"Not just my friends. Everyone who served on the Archangel is there too!" I replied. "They all worked hard to protect me, to help me in all of the battles I had with them. And now the Earth Alliance is just going to finish them off."

I could tell by the look in Lacus' eyes that she knew exactly what I was thinking. I was already trying to figure a way back to Orb out. I was going to go back. Somehow. And she didn't look too pleased about that.

"So are you just going to kill more of the Earth Alliance?" Lacus asked.

The cold tone in her voice pissed me off. "The Earth Alliance is not my enemy! Neither is ZAFT! The regular rank-and-file has never been who I've wanted to kill, Lacus! In Panama, I saw what the regular Earth army is, and they're just scared Naturals who have been brainwashed by propaganda! Propaganda ZAFT just confirmed by slaughtering all of the Panama defenders and torturing the few remaining survivors!"

"Then who is your enemy?" Lacus asked, completely unfazed by my outburst.

"My enemy . . ." Lacus had a way of asking tough questions that I couldn't answer right away. She was frighteningly good at it. With the right political maneuverings, she was more than capable of following her father into politics.

"My enemy is someone who only cares about victory, no matter what the cost," I finally said. "Someone who doesn't care how many people they have to kill to win. Someone who doesn't care how many people on his own side have to die in order to win. That is my enemy, Lacus, and right now it looks like my enemy is taking over both the Earth Alliance and PLANT."

"So Patrick Zala would be your enemy?" Lacus asked.

"If he's stopped caring about the human cost of war, if he is out to exterminate the Naturals or the entire Earth Alliance, then yes, he is my enemy," I replied.

I secretly prayed then that Lacus wasn't some deep cover agent. Nothing she had done even hinted she was like that, but my imagination was running wild.

"Then how would you stop them?" Lacus asked. "Do you think you could possibly kill them all?"

"Of course I can't! The only way to stop them would . . . well, there have to be many soldiers on both sides who are against the war at this point, right? Some are against it for moral reasons, others don't want to fight because they don't want to die, period. But . . . the only way to stop the extremists from killing everyone they can is to unite all of the moderates, all of those against this war, and work together to undermine the enemy's efforts . . . whether the enemy is Patrick Zala or Blue Cosmos."

"You say that like it is easy," Lacus replied.

I was wondering what Lacus' game was. I was giving her these detailed answers, and she would just respond to them briefly, coldly, seemingly to cut me down and ask yet another question. Was she debating me? Was she testing me? What was she up to?

"Of course it's not easy. And I admit it, I have no idea how to do it. People like you would know how. You . . . you're something I'm not."

"And what is that?" Lacus asked.

"Your first impulse when you get pissed off isn't to punch people in the face," I replied.

Finally, the façade began cracking. Lacus smiled, and then she grinned, and then she chuckled. Finally, it became full-blown laughter and she was clutching her forehead like she had a headache.

"What?" I asked during the middle of Lacus' semi-meltdown.

Lacus took a deep breath and looked at me, still with that wide smile on her face. "You're right! I still remember, back on the Archangel. I never even said a word directly to you and you just walked up and punched me!"

I felt my cheeks get warm. I knew I was blushing from embarrassment. "You have to remind me of that?"

"Some people are warriors, Cagalli, they can't help it," Lacus said. "I think that's what you are. You've been put through so much and yet you're still willing to keep fighting. Not just fighting your enemy, but fighting to keep yourself. You won't let the worst things about this world change who you are. You are a special kind of person that way, a person affected by war but not broken by it."

Lacus was giving me way too much credit and I felt uncomfortable, especially as I still couldn't get Panama out of my head. "Don't say that. Panama nearly broke me."

"It's all right." Lacus walked up to me and gave me a quick embrace. "The fact that you are still here, that you did not let yourself go, shows what kind of fighter you are, Cagalli. You just don't give up."

"How does that make me any better than Patrick Zala?" I asked.

"Because what you fight for, and what you refuse to give up on, is humanity itself," Lacus replied.

I didn't quite understand, but it clearly made sense to Lacus considering she was still smiling. "I'm sorry about treating you so coldly. I needed to test you. There's something my father wants you to have."

"Like what?" I asked as my head swam with the possibilities of what a man like Siegel Clyne could possibly want for a girl like me.

Lacus continued to smile. "You'll see."


"Another one of those GUNDAM things?" I asked as we entered the ZAFT airbase.

"This one is called the ZGMF-10A Freedom," Lacus replied. "It was supposed to be ready well over a month ago, but its production was delayed in order to quickly manufacture a replacement Duel for Asta Joule. As Ezalia Joule, Asta's mother, is a key member of the Supreme Council, she has the authority to have her wishes granted in some cases."

The politics and nepotism of ZAFT and PLANT was something I never really agreed with and I was looking forward to leaving it behind.

"Speaking of Supreme Council children," I asked, "Why do you have to be here? Isn't this dangerous?"

"I am the only person who can unlock the Freedom," Lacus said. "That's how my father arranged it. Right now, this airbase is under the control of one of my father's supporters. We should be okay as long as we get you in and out of here briskly."

I had a feeling in the back of my mind that Lacus had just jinxed us.

It was easy enough, to wander through the base. It helped that Lacus was wearing a ZAFT uniform and a cap. It was a paper-thin disguise but considering that the last thing people would expect is a pop princess wandering around a military base, the audacity of Lacus' approach actually paid off. Though I suspect some people recognized her because it's the only way to explain what happened next.

I'll get to that in a minute.

We made it to what looked like a seriously spruced up security gate, and Lacus put her hand by a console. "The Freedom, like the Justice, has a built-in N-Jammer Canceller. In other words, it can use nuclear power. My father is suspicious that the Freedom and Justice were manufactured in order to use nuclear weapons on the Earth Alliance."

I had seen enough video of nuclear explosion to know how devastating that would be. "So you're thinking Zala is planning on using nuclear weapons on the Alliance then?"

"It's certainly a strong possibility. Right now, the only nation with this type of technology is PLANT. But if the Earth Alliance gets ahold of it . . ."

Patrick Zala had told me about the N-Jammer Cancellers when I had received the Justice. However, he did not make the consequences of losing said technology clear to me. Probably on purpose. Now, it was beginning to hit me what a massive responsibility the Justice and the Freedom were.

"Blue Cosmos would undoubtedly remanufacture it in order to use nuclear weapons against PLANT," I replied.

"That would be the most likely scenario. Many on Earth, including in the Atlantic Federation and the Republic of East Asia, would rather use it to solve the world's energy crisis, but I doubt Blue Cosmos would allow that. They'd rather destroy all Coordinators first. Regardless, if this technology fell into the Earth Alliance's hands, there will be genocide on either the Naturals or Coordinators."

The door finally opened and I followed Lacus into the hangar. We were at a surprisingly high elevation, but it didn't hit me full force until I saw we were right at the Freedom's chest in height.

"Damn," I said, staring at the Freedom at all. It looked even more impressive than the Justice.

"My father wants you to have this suit so you can do what you need to do, Cagalli," Lacus said. "But you need to remember this: sometimes power along isn't enough, but intelligence isn't enough either. You need both in order to accomplish something. So just recklessly charging into a battle situation, which Athrun told me is your most common battle tactic, isn't going to help Orb, you, or the world."

I felt embarrassed at that comment. Clearly Athrun and Lacus had been chatting more often than I had figured. I had no idea they had talked about me, at least not in significant detail.

"Right now . . . I just want to protect my friends," I said.

"I know." Lacus gave me a reassuring smile. "And I know you will succeed in that task."

She turned then. "Follow me. We need to get you suited up and out of here before Zala's loyalists catch on."

"Okay." I left the Freedom behind then, following Lacus to the other side of the hangar.


Completely suited up, I was staring at the Freedom again. The Justice had been awe-inspiring enough on its own, but the Freedom just felt different. I felt a connection to it in a way that the Justice never felt. Maybe it was because the Justice was effectively a rental, an assignment. It wasn't mine. But here, Lacus was giving the Freedom to me. She was allowing me to make the Freedom my own.

Lacus handed me a thumb drive. "This contains what you need to force-hack through the OS safeguards and make the Freedom accessible to you. Of course, you will need to set your own passcode to ensure that it doesn't happen to you in turn."

"Thanks," I said. "How . . . how can I repay you for this?"

Lacus smiled. "Walk the path that you find is the right one. That's all my father and I will ever ask of you, Cagalli. What happens after you protect Orb is up to you."

I opened the Freedom's cockpit. It was spacious, just like the Justice's, and I could already see the survival kit and handheld guns that would support me if I were ever shot down.

"I . . . I think I might need your guidance after Orb," I said.

Lacus chuckled. "Cagalli, I'm just improvising as I go along myself. Don't give me too much credit."

"Yeah, but . . ."

That's when the doors by where we originally entered suddenly opened. "Freeze! Don't move"

Lacus spun towards the intruders. I knew what had happened. Obviously we had been found out.

"We've identified Lacus Clyne and Lieutenant Yamato!" shouted one of the soldiers. "Awaiting further instructions!"

"They must be beginning the purge," Lacus said softly.

"Lacus," I said.

"Don't worry about me," Lacus said. "Get out of here."

The reply to the troopers, stunningly, came through the loudspeakers. "Fire at will."

I knew that voice. It was Patrick Zala's.

I did the only thing I could. I grabbed the pistol out of the cockpit, grabbed Lacus, and put the gun at her head.

"Drop your weapons!" I screamed.

The soldiers hesitated.

"Drop your weapons or I'll kill her! I swear I will!"

Patrick Zala's voice on the loudspeaker. "She's trying to trick you! Don't fall for it!"

"You think Lacus Clyne, pop princess, wanted anything to do with this rebellion? Forget it! She's my hostage, assholes!" I screamed. "She's against her father and what he's doing! You pull that trigger you'll be killing a PLANT loyalist and icon!"

Come on, Lacus, play along, I thought desperately.

Lacus reacted then, with gusto. "Please help me! She's going to kill me! Help me! Help me!"

I held her tighter. "You idiots want to be known as the guy who put a bullet in Lacus Clyne? Huh? Any of you?"

The troopers were hesitating; their hands were shaking so clearly that they were losing control of their aim. I had put doubt in their minds. They were wondering if it was true, that Lacus was on their side and I was the megalomaniac who took her hostage.

I slowly backed towards the cockpit. I was going to have to fall in backwards with Lacus in my grasp and slam it shut. That was the only plan I had. I wasn't sure how I was going to find oxygen for Lacus to breathe, but I figured I could figure something out while I was flying to Earth.

But first I needed to get me and Lacus out of this situation before we were both shot.

Patrick Zala again through the loudspeaker. The only reason why was that I was sure he had intended to use the loudspeaker as psychological warfare against me and Lacus. It had backfired, but he was continuing to use the tactic. "Are you ZAFT soldiers or are you easily cowed children? She's trying to confuse you! Kill them both, they are traitors!"

Lacus continued to play the part of terrified hostage, to the point her voice was breaking. "Please, you have it wrong! Don't kill me! Please don't kill me! She's the bad guy here! Please!"

"Damn it all!" screamed one of the troopers, and I realized he was going to shoot.

Quickly I fell in backwards with Lacus as he opened fire, and I reached over Lacus and slammed the door shut.

"Hang on, Lacus!" I shouted as I slammed the drive into the system to activate the override.

"Don't worry about me," Lacus gasped. "Just get out of here."

"I will!" The systems were gradually booting up one by one. The hijacking program was working beautifully. The Freedom was going to be completely operational within a minute or less.

Unfortunately, one of them was the video screen with Patrick Zala looking right at me. If looks could kill, I had a feeling I'd be ripped apart until nothing was left other than flakes of skin and droplets of blood.

"You traitor! How dare you do this, Yamato! You think there's any escape for you?"

"As a matter of fact, yes there is!" I shouted. "I just imputed a program to hijack the Freedom! It'll be mine in a matter of moments!"

Zala's eyes widened. "No! That's impossible!"

"Clearly whoever made this program didn't get the memo," I said as I sat down in the cockpit as the Freedom's systems continued to boot up one by one.

The propulsion systems were the next to unlock, which meant at least I'd be able to take off. I took the key, turned it, and the Freedom roared to life. I saw the PHASE SHIFT indicator light up as well, and it was at full strength. So even if I was shot at, I'd be able to take a beating at least.

"You filthy Natural-loving bitch!" Zala screamed.

Seeing Zala reduced to a man in front of a camera, screaming meaningless insults and vulgarities, made me realize how pathetic the man really was. All he was living for was the death of ordinary human beings. Now I knew who I was fighting against. I knew what I had to do. And I knew that just because this man was in charge, the Coordinators didn't deserve to die either.

"This is Cagalli Yamato, launching Gundam Freedom!" A vulgar thought occurred to me, and a devilish smile crossed my face as I decided to do it.

I flipped Zala off. "And there ain't nothing you can do about it, asshole!"

I grabbed the control stick and launched the Freedom straight upwards, shooting towards space. I felt the artificial gravity leave me, but due to the treatment forced on me, I didn't feel the least bit spacesick.

In fact, I felt pretty damn good. It's not every day you get to call out a genocidal madman to his face, after all.

Shortly before I broke into space, the connection with Zala broke. Clearly I was out of range. The Freedom's weapon systems came online next, and I prepared the Lupus beam rifle, which I was familiar with due to using it with the Justice.

There were a lot of other modes and options, which I was completely unfamiliar with. "What is all of this?" I asked Lacus.

"The Freedom has an auto-targeting capability," Lacus replied softly. It amazed me how calm she was. "It's called 'High Mobility Aerial Tactics', or 'HiMAT'. You can auto-target several enemies at once, and fire using all of the Freedom's auto-equipped weaponry. You will also be able to manually pinpoint the specific area you want to hit the targets in."

This GUNDAM seemed even more overpowered than the Justice. And they picked the Justice to not be delayed? Unless the Freedom was more expensive to produce than the Justice, which would make sense.

My sensors beeped, and I saw we were being chased. "Looks like I'll have to try it out! Sorry about this!"

I spun the Freedom around and engaged the HiMAT. Immediately, all six pursuing GINNs were targeted in an instant. The Freedom wasn't just powerful. It was capable of all-out overkill.

"Please be careful," Lacus said.

Lacus' presence made me re-focus. She wouldn't want me to kill these pilots. For all I knew, these were moderates, chasing me under orders from Zala. I engaged the manual targeting and made sure that what'd I do was nonlethal but nevertheless crippling shots. I then pulled the trigger.

What happened was amazing. Weapons of all kinds fired from the Freedom, weapons I didn't even know I had. The only thing that didn't seem to fire was the Lupus, and that was probably because it wasn't connected to the HiMAT.

All six GINNs were blown apart, but I had left the chest areas intact so the pilots would survive, though they'd be out of action. Not much you can do when you're reduced to the chest area and legs.

"Thank you," Lacus said.

My sensors beeped again. Two more GINNs, accelerating quickly and in close range, shooting at me wildly.

I put the Lupus away and drew the twin sabers the Freedom was equipped with instead. I charged towards and beheaded the first GINN, and then swooped down on the other GINN and cut apart the GINN's legs. I spun around and sliced off the arms for good measure, which gave the GINN no way to fight back.

I then turned the Freedom back towards Earth and hit the accelerator. We shot off towards the planet, leaving PLANT behind.

It occurred to me that Lacus had no space suit. I could throw on my helmet and that'd give me access to my suit's airtank, but even if the Freedom had an enlarged oxygen tank for emergencies there was no way there'd be enough for Lacus to make it to Earth before running out of air. I'd need to find somewhere to stop so I could get air for Lacus, or, better yet, find a spacesuit for her to put on.

I looked at the L4 colonies. They were abandoned years ago due to a viral outbreak, and were falling into ruin, but they were my best option. The life support systems should still be working in some areas and there was undoubtedly a spacesuit that would fit Lacus. The trick would be to dodge any remnants of the virus, though if the base had been abandoned it'd be unlikely either of us would wind up infected, if there was no one to catch it from. The only way either of us would end up in trouble is if we wound up becoming Patient Zero.

I began to set up the autopilot for L4. Lacus spoke then. "What are you doing?"

"There's not enough air for you to make it to Earth," I said. "We're going to L4 so we can get some air and a spacesuit for you."

Lacus' voice was oddly soft, and I realized that there was pain behind her tone for the first time. "Thank you for your concern, Cagalli, but . . . it's okay."

She coughed then, a sickly, blood-filled cough reminiscent of Asta Joule. I knew what that meant.

Immediately, my heart felt like it had exploded, and I could not breathe.

I turned to Lacus to find both her hands clutching her stomach, but floating bubbles of blood were escaping her wound. And from her mouth was more blood, like little gels, floating from her mouth.

Despite her clear pain, she was still smiling, although tears were beginning to come from her eyes.

I still could not breathe as I stared at her.

The smile was unwavering in spite of the agonized pain she had to be feeling.

"Please . . . don't worry about me anymore, Cagalli."


The model for Lacus' wound was the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan. His Secret Service detail had no idea he was shot, just that someone had made the attempt, until he was coughing up blood in the Presidential limo. Of course, the Secret Service rushed him to the hospital and the rest is history . . . though for Lacus, there is no hospital for her gunshot wound.

I doubt people will be looking forward to the next chapter because of what happened. Sorry. :/