AN: Please welcome the main man of Gundam SEED himself, Kira Yamato!
[Audience applause]
Kira: Hi everyone, great to be here.
AN: Kira it is great to have you here, now what are your opinions on this new rendition of your adventures with the Archangel so far?
Kira: Honestly it was hard enough to deal with it all the first time, but now we've got Autobots, Decepticons, wars for alien planets, and not to mention what's going to happen with Starscream and-
AN: WHOA! HEY WITH THE SPOILER!
Kira: Oh right sorry. Though I have to admit this next bit was probably the most nerve racking of all my adventures at least in terms of the ones I had back in these days.
AN: Well I find it hard to argue with you there. Well now shall we get the ball rolling?
Kira: Sure thing. Oh and before we forget, lyokoMARVELanime does not own either the Gundam or Transformers franchises or any other franchise mentioned.
AN: Thanks for that Kira.
Kira: No problem.
Chapter 7: Fangs of the Enemy, Known and Unknown
"I gave very simple orders, and yet I hear reports that you defied those orders and launched an operation against the Autobots and those pathetic humans," Megatron roared over the communicator. Starscream was not sure how the Decepticon leader had found out about what had happened, but he had and he was furious.
"Uh…no of course not Lord Megatron," Starscream stuttered, trying to save face and cover up what he had done. "We had acted out of self defense. Th-the operation was merely supposed to be one carried out by the human troops and I simply wished to provide a small show of good faith by a-allowing some of our forces to sh-shadow them in case of an Autobot attack."
"SILENCE! I will not tolerate your pathetic excuses Starscream! You had best hope that the next bit of information I hear about this 'show of good faith' is one that pleases me."
Starscream smirked at that, as he knew exactly what to tell his lord and master. "Would it help if I were to tell you that one particular elite Autobot soldier's spark has been snuffed?"
Megatron's curiosity was now piqued. "That would depend on the Autobot."
"I'm sure you remember Cliffjumper."
"The Autobot that infiltrated one of our last Energon refineries back on Cybertron using experimental Autobot cloaking technology?"
"The very same. I am proud to say that I snuffed his spark myself. In your name of course."
Megatron gave a small smile at that. "Well now…that does make things easier on your part."
Starscream mentally gave a sigh of relief at that. "Thank you Lord Megatron. I live only to serve you as always."
"See to it that you do not forget that. Now then, I need you to return to the Nemesis at once for new orders concerning future operations including the operation that your current human partner is about to carry out in the near future," Megatron then informed the Seeker.
"Of course Master. I shall await the Ground Bridge."
"Sadly Starscream the Ground Bridge is still offline. You will have to reach us on your own power."
Starscream let out a soft growl at that. Though as a Seeker he did enjoy the thrill of flight, he despised having to use it for such long travel, especially when it came to traveling fast enough to exit a gravity well. "I shall be there as soon as possible Master."
The transmission then ended and Starscream turned to exit his current quarters. He then looked to see his brothers sitting around having a small conversation, about what he did not care, and gave a small cough to get their attention. "I will be returning to the Nemesis the old fashion way in order to receive new orders about our master's next move in his grand scheme. Make sure that our human allies don't do anything to get themselves killed."
"Yeah, yeah," Thundercracker replied.
"Relax Scream, we got this," Skywarp then piped up.
"Ugh. Somehow I can't help but wonder about that," Starscream muttered as he then exited the bay. Once outside, the Seeker family leader leapt into the air, transformed into his jet mode, and then blasted off into the sky in order to begin his ascent into space.
Watching from close by was one Andrew Waltfeld, the Desert Tiger. He watched Starscream go with a small smirk on his face, knowing that he would be able to go about his business today without having to worry about the Decepticon first lieutenant looking over his every move. Well let's go enjoy and see what kind of surprises today has in store for us shall we, Waltfeld thought as he slipped on a pair of sunglasses.
Though everyone wished to grieve the most recent loss of their comrades, the Autobots were the only ones who had the time to give an ally a proper burial. Optimus had given a small eulogy in Cliffjumper's honor which served to remind everyone from Cybertron why they could not give up their fight against the Decepticons. Despite this knowledge, it did not stop Arcee from crying throughout the night. She was extremely thankful that Bumblebee was the only one who knew about this, as he had offered to keep her company after hearing her soft sobs.
Even with this small comfort of knowing at least one fallen soldier was given a proper burial, everyone knew it was necessary to gather supplies for the people of Tassil and for the Archangel as well if the ship were to make the journey to Alaska. With that in mind, a small team set out for the one city that Sahib knew of that they could get the necessary supplies from, but there were a few small problems with that plan. The supplies were going to be gathered through a contact that they felt they could not trust, and the town was run by Z.A.F.T., or more specifically the Desert Tiger, meaning that the Decepticons would more than likely be there.
Never the less they had to send someone, and so after much consideration, they decided that Sahib, Badgiruel, the Desert Dawn's mystery archer known as Kisaka, Kira, and Cagalli would head into the town to gather the supplies with Bulkhead and Hound acting as Autobot guardians for the mission in vehicular mode, or as Bulkhead put it, "through curbside duty".
The following morning the group arrived in the town, with Kira and Cagalli departing from the group along with the two Wreckers so they could gather the supplies that they could easily find on the market themselves while the others handled everything else. Once Bulkhead and Hound saw the town, they could not believe that they were in enemy territory. Not only had they not seen a single Con since arriving, but all the people seemed lively, carefree, and to be enjoying going about their daily lives like nothing was wrong.
"We'll see you in exactly four hours," Cagalli told the archer.
Kisaka nodded as he warned Cagalli to be extremely careful, to which she replied that he do the same. "Dismissed Ensign-…uh Kira," Badgiruel stuttered, clearly not used to addressing Kira so informally. She then blushed a bit as she struggled to continue saying, "I…I'm counting on you."
Bulkhead and Hound had to struggle not to snicker at the fact the Archangel's second in command was so terrible at this kind of thing when it came to acting undercover, and Natarle was glad when the group had decided to leave. Cagalli then turned to Kira and saw that he was just standing around staring. Deciding to snap him out of it, she walked up and asked, "Hey what's with the stunned look on your face? You are supposed to be my bodyguard, aren't you?"
"I was under the impression that we were supposed to be the bodyguards for you two," Hound told the blonde haired girl.
"She means from anything that isn't a Con Hound," Bulkhead stated.
"You sure this is where the Desert Tiger's headquarters are," Kira finally asked after another minute of silence.
"Actually we were kind of wondering the same thing," Bulkhead then piped in. "Me and Hound have seen cities where the enemy makes their bases at plenty of times on Cybertron. Now I may not be all that knowledgeable on how humans do things, but this seems a far stretch from anything like Kaon."
Cagalli gave a small sigh in understanding before gesturing for them to follow her. Not wanting to blow their cover just yet, the two Autobots checked to make sure no one was paying much attention to them before slowly rolling after the two humans. Kira and the Bots then gasped at what they saw. There were what appeared to be the remains of a few buildings, and in the background was the Lesseps, the Desert Tiger's mobile command center.
"It may look peaceful, but appearances can be deceiving," Cagalli calmly stated as she looked toward the large transport that stood above the city. "And there you have it. That is the real ruler of the city. Anyone who rebels is mercilessly dealt with, because this place belongs to Z.A.F.T. To the Desert Tiger."
Kira sighed in despair, knowing he could not ignore these facts. He had a hunch that things were bad on both the space and Earth fronts when it came to where Z.A.F.T. and the Earth Forces had their bases set up, but this was not what he had expected at all. Bulkhead and Hound also could not help but feel sad for the people being there, but being both Autobots and Wreckers it meant that it was nothing they had not seen before on Cybertron when it came to the Decepticons. None of them noticed that they were being watched by a man in a red and yellow t-shirt, a ridiculous hat, and a pair of sunglasses.
Meanwhile back at the Archangel, anyone nearby could hear Murdoch complaining about the mess that Kira had left in the Strike's cockpit as he threw out the garbage inside to Flay who was busy picking it up. Murrue Ramius and Mu La Flaga were watching this take place for a bit before leaving to discuss the situation that had developed between Kira and Flay, both knowing that it was not a good situation, mostly for Kira though. They both realized they had forgotten that despite the skills he had recently displayed as a pilot he was still just a young boy who has had no form of real training, and the pressure had started to get to Kira without any of them realizing it, though beyond allowing Kira to go into the city with the others they had no idea of how to deal with it. They both seemed so worried by all this that eventually, sometime during their musings, they found themselves in the Autobot's makeshift temporary headquarters.
It was not an actual base to say the least, but more of a ship that was either in disrepair or under construction. Sometime recently in the last twenty four hours they had learned that Elita had the other Autobots that were with her gather up what they could of the remains of the Ark that had landed here with them in order to at least build a small makeshift Autobot craft that they could at least use to travel across the planet without their usual Ground Bridge technology or assuming vehicle mode. After hearing that the Archangel was headed for Alaska, and knowing that they could not attempt to even begin construction on the Cybertronian short range teleporter system, the Autobots had redoubled their efforts to complete the craft so that they could travel with the Earth Forces vessel. When asked why the Autobots were going with the Archangel, Optimus had stated that he believed that it would be the best course of action to locate the other Autobots and deal with the Decepticon forces at the current time.
Optimus himself was actually the one who noticed the two when they entered the ship and brought their attention to their surroundings when he approached them. "Is something troubling the two of you Captain Ramius and Commander La Flaga," the Last Prime inquired as he moved to speak with them, taking a short break from his work as he did.
"Yes actually," Murrue replied as she looked to the large red and blue titan. "It's actually to do with Kira. I suppose you've heard by now that he and Flay have recently struck up a thing between the two of them?"
"Bumblebee had mentioned it to me, along with his beliefs on the matter," Optimus replied, his tone stating that he actually agreed with Bumblebee on the matter, not that either of the two officers knew what those beliefs were.
"Well I guess that shortens things for us a bit," Mu then sighed. "I honestly feel like I should have seen it coming. I mean Kira's so skilled out on the battlefield we all seem to forget his background and don't think to consider what goes on in his head."
"At this point we're really just trying to figure out how to handle the situation," Murrue then told Optimus.
Optimus paused for a moment as he considered what the two have said. He knew Bumblebee was more than likely correct in his assumptions that Flay Allster was merely using Kira's feelings for her as a way to make sure that her wish to use Kira to get revenge for the death of her father and ensure Kira continued to fight given what he had seen of her thus far, but did not wish to alarm the two human adults into doing something that may cause more harm than good for the situation. He himself had seen a few good Autobots fall prey to similar actions during the war on Cybertron, and knew that there was really only one thing to do about it.
"I believe that the situation involving Kira Yamato and Flay Allster will remedy itself in due time," Optimus informed them. "As for Kira himself, that may take time as well. The best thing to do for Kira would be to make sure that he never loses sight of himself by ensuring that he is surrounded by people he considers to be his friends and comrades as a way to help him ease the pain of knowing what actions he would have had to take while on the battlefield."
Murrue and Mu both smiled at Optimus in thanks, and would have continued the conversation to other topics that were not so serious had Optimus's little break not been cut short all of a sudden. "Optimus," a clearly irritated Elita One shouted, causing said Autobot leader to give a slight jump.
"Y-yes Elita," Optimus stammered, something that only Elita One could make the Autobot leader do.
"How in the name of Primus do you expect us to get this ship ready to so much as lift off the ground if you don't put in the same effort as the rest of us in getting it ready," Elita ranted.
The Archangel captain and pilot could not stop the snickers that came out as they tried to suppress their laughter at the sight of the mighty Optimus Prime quivering in fear of his sparkmate's wrath while trying to give a good excuse. Though if they knew what Elita could more than likely do to Optimus if she was angry, they would probably be more understanding.
They were about to be more understanding when Elita rounded on them. "And you two," the dark pink femme shouted getting them both to snap to attention. "If either of you sees the two lovebirds out there tell them to get their tailpipes back here now!"
"Uh…lovebirds," Mu asked as both he and Murrue raised a questioning eyebrow.
"I'm talking about Arcee and Bumblebee."
The two Earth Forces soldiers gave a small nod of understanding and turned to leave, letting the sparkmates get back to work, Optimus making sure that Elita knew he was putting his best effort into his work. Never let it be in doubt that if there is one thing that Optimus Prime fears as much as any other person, it is the wrath of a woman scorned, at least in the case of Elita One.
As it turned out, Bumblebee and Arcee had actually taken a break when Elita was not paying attention so that Arcee could get some air. Bumblebee was not sure what had happened, but something had happened that caused Arcee to think of her late partner, and he felt that his friend needed to step outside for a short amount of time. As the two wandered about, doing their best to avoid anyone's gaze, they saw Kira's friend, Miriallia standing outside the Archangel's airlock looking around worriedly. She seemed to cheer up a bit after a conversation with her friend Tolle, but they decided to approach anyway, for the sake of both alleviating the girl's worries and for the sake of finding something to get Arcee's mind off Cliffjumper.
"Is everything okay," Arcee asked, her voice still sounding slightly hoarse after last night. The two human friends looked to see her and Bumblebee standing there and both gave small smiles in response.
"Yeah we're fine," Miriallia replied. "I was just having some trouble relaxing. These days it's actually hard to without Kira around."
Bumblebee trilled what sounded like a question, but neither Miriallia nor Tolle could understand a word he said and sent Arcee a look that was clearly a silent request for a translation. "Bumblebee wants to know why you feel that way."
"Well you see, ever since Heliopolis," Miriallia explained. "Kira's been doing so much to keep us safe, and even though we all volunteered to help out on the ship as a way of helping him, I can't help but feel better knowing he's close by and ready for action. I know that probably seems selfish of me, but even so I can't help but feel nervous without him here."
Bumblebee started to say something, when Arcee stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder. "If it makes you feel any better, some of us Autobots have felt the same way at one point or another about Optimus," Arcee told the brown haired girl. When she and Tolle looked at Arcee in surprise, she continued saying, "At one point or another, Optimus seemed so much like our best hope for ending the war that some of us ended up putting all our cards on him thinking he could end everything alone. Eventually though, we all reminded ourselves that Optimus is still only one Bot and even he needs help sometimes. He may be a Prime, but that doesn't mean he's invincible. Having you guys around is probably what allows Kira to remember what he is fighting for and that he's not alone in his battle, just like having us around reminds Optimus that there is always hope as long as there are others who share in his beliefs."
Miriallia giggled a little and then nodded to Arcee in thanks for that before Tolle said, "Of course, and until Kira gets back, we'll just do everything we can to protect everyone ourselves."
Arcee smiled a bit at that as Bumblebee trilled something that sounded like good luck and do not worry to the two before they heard Murrue and Mu calling out to them. As soon as they had received Elita's message from the two Earth Forces officers, they quickly made their way back to the ship so they could get the ship flying and so they could avoid Elita's wrath themselves.
Back in the city, Kira and Cagalli had stopped at a small café to take a break for lunch with Bulkhead and Hound parked a short distance away from them. Kira let out a tired sigh as he set down the bags he had to carry for the past few hours that contained all the goods that they had acquired. Cagalli looked at the list she had as she reported, "We managed to get most of the things we needed, but the request that Flay girl made are so ridiculous. Lotion, beauty cleanser and moisturizer? None of those things are sold around here."
Oh I can think of something that needs to be cleansed when it comes to that red haired fragger, the two Wreckers thought when they heard Cagalli mention Flay's request, having heard about her and what she had been doing from Bumblebee along with the other Autobots. Kira and Cagalli's server then returned with their order which Kira gave a questioning look. "What is this," Kira asked.
"These are Doner Kabobs," Cagalli replied happily. "Well why don't we dig in huh? First add some of this chili sauce-"
"Hold it right there! Wait just a moment," A man interrupted as he grabbed the bottle of yogurt sauce. Kira and Cagalli turned to see the same man that was watching them earlier now standing there with a smile on his face. "How can you stoop to put chili sauce on your kabob? Now this yogurt sauce is the proper thing to add to such a dish. Or rather than saying it's the proper thing how should I put it?" He then paused for a moment before continuing. "Right. Not adding yogurt sauce to this dish is considered a form of sacrilege against Doner kabobs."
Kira looked at the strange man weirdly, clearly confused by the eccentric stranger. Bulkhead and Hound just watched while wondering why he was saying something so strange and ridiculous. "You got a screw lose or something," Cagalli asked as she squirted chili sauce on her kabobs, causing said stranger to gasp in fear and shock at the sight. "Who invited you anyway? You've got no right to walk up to strangers and tell them how to eat their food."
"What a terrible waste," the man said as he turned away while Cagalli took a bite out of her Kabob. There's a chance he just might have a screw lose if he's getting so worked up about this. The two Wreckers thought as they watched on.
As soon as Cagalli finished her mouthful of kabob she held out the chili sauce to Kira. "Here you too," she all but ordered, to which Kira just gave an unintelligible "Uh…"
"These kabobs and chili sauce are made for each other," the blonde insisted.
"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! No wait don't force your bad habits on this guy," the stranger exclaimed as he reached out towards Kira's kabobs with the yogurt sauce, getting into small struggle with Cagalli that ended with them both squirting the respective sauces onto Kira's dish.
Are they seriously getting into an argument over this? Bulkhead wondered.
What does it really matter what they each think goes better with it? Hound thought.
How did I get sucked into this argument? Kira thought.
None of them realized they were being watched. Or more specifically, the three humans were being watched by members of Blue Cosmos, the extremist group that wanted to wipe all Coordinators out and were planning to attack one of the now three individuals at the table.
"What do you think is the story with those two vehicles off to the side though," one of them asked.
"Who cares, the kids are probably borrowing their parents' rides or something. It doesn't really matter so long as we end that stinkin' coordinator," his friend replied.
Meanwhile the stranger had taken a seat at Kira and Cagalli's table to make a bit of small talk. "Well I really must apologize for that," the stranger told Kira as he took a bite out of his own kabob.
"Actually, no," Kira replied with a smile. "The mixture of the two isn't bad."
The stranger then laid back in his seat as he glanced at Kira and Cagalli's bags. "Well just look at the shopping you guys did," he commented. "So are you planning to throw a party?"
"Keep your trap shut," Cagalli snapped. "It's really none of your business. First thing I wanna know is who are you? You sit at our table and start lecturing us about stupid stuff."
Before she could continue, the sound of bazooka being fired went off, getting both the stranger and Kira's attention. "Hit the dirt," the stranger cried out as he kicked the table up into the air while Kira tackled Cagalli to the ground, but not before she was covered in chili sauce and just about everything else that was on the table. A moment later a rocket hit the shop causing it to explode.
"What the scrap was that," Bulkhead cried out.
"Bulk! Up on the roof of the building and on the ground a short ways ahead and to the left," Hound shouted over the explosion. Bulkhead looked from where he was as best he could in vehicle mode, and saw the man who fired the bazooka on the roof with a group of humans running through the smoke firing guns.
Shouts of "Die coordinator you rotten space invader!" and "For the preservation of our blue and pure world!" told Cagalli exactly who was attacking them as the stranger and some others from nearby started drawing guns and returning fire from behind overturned tables. "Those guys are Blue Cosmos," Cagalli snarled. Bulkhead and Hound both heard her, and wanted to move in and help, but had to sit and watch from where they were or risk exposing themselves.
Kira then noticed one of the assailants had dropped his gun and saw another of to the side in the stranger's blind spot. Thinking quickly, Kira dashed out from cover and grabbed the dropped weapon, but instead of firing it he tossed the gun towards the other assailant and caused him to fire his gun harmlessly into the air. A moment later, Kira had run up and given the same person a hard kick to the head knocking him out. Both Bots were impressed with Kira's display and the stranger looked on at the boy with great interest. "Okay its over," the man called out, but it was not over just yet. The sounds of jets then roared through the temporary silence, and then, once they were in sight, they transformed to reveal three Decepticon drones.
"Hey what are you doing?! It's already over," the stranger shouted, causing Kira and Cagalli to look at him in surprise and wonder how he knew the Cons. His shouts fell on deaf audio receptors as they armed their blasters and prepared to fire into the crowd.
"That's it," Bulkhead shouted. "I can't just sit here anymore!" Before Hound could do anything to stop him, Bulkhead had raced up and transformed to slam his fist into one of the Cons.
"Ah well, like the old saying goes," Hound stated as he too transformed and ran up to hit one of the other Cons. "Wreckers don't call for backup."
"THEY CALL FOR CLEAN UP," the two bots shouted in unison. Bulkhead then equipped his wrecking ball while Hound pulled out an X18-Scrapmaker gun and started firing off a few rounds at the Cons while Bulkhead smashed the others. Once they had downed all the Decepticon drones, they holstered their respective weapons and turned to see the stranger talking with someone in a Z.A.F.T. uniform.
"Not to worry, I'm fine. Thanks to him and everyone else is safe thanks in no small part to those two," he reported as he turned to both Kira and the two Autobots while removing his hat and sunglasses to reveal his face.
"You're kidding me," Cagalli gasped. "You mean we were talking to Andrew Waltfeld, the Desert Tiger all this time?"
Kira gasped at that while Bulkhead and Hound both gained shocked expressions and the only thing either one had to say the matter was Bulkhead silently moaning, "Oh boy."
"Well my boy," Waltfeld said as he walked up to Kira. "You saved my life, and your two friends there saved both my life and the lives of everyone nearby from my…new business partners." Hound could not help but note the reluctance in which Waltfeld had used when mentioning the Decepticons. "How can I thank you?"
What no one noticed was that one member of Blue Cosmos had not joined the fray and recorded every moment that had happened involving the Cybertronians on camera before running off, knowing he had to make sure his leader saw this himself as soon as possible.
A short while later, at Waltfeld's insistence, the group had arrived at the Desert Tiger's home, which was surrounded by guards, the Lesseps, and even a few mobile suits. What Bulkhead and Hound could not help but note was the fact that none of the Decepticons were anywhere to be seen, leading them to assume that Starscream had his forces based elsewhere. Waltfeld then pulled his jeep to a stop at the steps and climbed out as he invited Kira and Cagalli inside.
"No that's alright," Kira quickly stated, trying to get out of whatever trap he thought he and Cagalli may have been walking into. "We really have to get going."
"That's silly," Waltfeld told him. "Not only did I interrupt your meal and have you save me, but she's got sauce all over her clothes. I couldn't allow you to go home like this, okay? It just wouldn't feel right."
Kira then paused to consider what the Z.A.F.T. commander had stated, and had to admit that it did seem like he had a point. Cagalli did have sauce all over her still, and it would be rude of him to refuse the help after Waltfeld had already brought them all this way. Then again he had to consider the fact that maybe he and Cagalli had been found out, after all how many humans had been known to be hanging around the Autobots since they had appeared on Earth aside from the Archangel's crew and the Desert Dawn, and what were the chances of him thinking that it was just a coincidence that the Bots were there at the time? Seeing that the young man was still weighing his options, Waltfeld simply smiled as he gave a small shrug and moved to go inside himself. As he did, he turned towards Bulkhead and Hound, who had remained in vehicle mode even after driving up to the estate and stated, "I'd actually like the chance to talk to the two of you as well. I'm sure you can just follow my heat source to the room I'll be in so just pick a window over that way and you'll be able to be in on the conversation as well."
Seeing that they did not seem to have any other options, Kira and Cagalli climbed out of the jeep and up the stairs into the building while Bulkhead and Hound assumed their bipedal modes and walked around towards the direction that Waltfeld had indicated. As soon as Kira and Cagalli were inside they were greeted by a beautiful young woman with long black hair that had a couple of orange streaks in it, wearing a blue dress.
"Is this the girl you were talking about Andy," the woman asked.
"Yeah Aisha," Waltfeld replied. "Do what you can to clean her up. She managed to get chili, yogurt sauce, and even some tea all over her."
Andy? Was the shared thought between the pair as the now identified Aisha approached them, wondering just who this woman was to Waltfeld. The woman then led Cagalli away to get her cleaned up and told Kira to wait with "Andy". Hearing Waltfeld call out to him, and seeing that there was no way he could get out without Cagalli, Kira grunted a bit before walking into the room that Waltfeld was in, seeing Bulkhead and Hound just outside looking in through a window, and Waltfeld…preparing some coffee?
"I have great confidence that the coffee I prepare is first rate," Waltfeld stated as he turned to Kira.
What is with this guy and his opinions on food? The three all thought at this. "Come on have a seat. Make yourself at home," Waltfeld told Kira, who then moved to do just that. Just as he was about to sit down however, something caught Kira's eye.
It looked like a small rock with the fossilized remains of what appeared to be an animal of some kind that could most closely be described as some type of fish with wings. Though neither one of the Autobots knew what the significance of this rock was, Kira knew what it was all too well.
"Evidence zero one," Waltfeld stated as he walked up to Kira, with two cups of coffee in his hands. "You ever see the real McCoy?"
"No sir," Kira replied in all honesty.
"I have no idea why they call this thing a whale stone," Waltfeld then commented as he handed Kira one of the cups, which Kira graciously accepted. "Does it look like a whale to you?"
"I really can't say for certain."
"How about you fellas," Waltfeld then asked to the two Bots. "Do you guys think it's a whale?"
"I don't think we have anything like whales back on Cybertron," Bulkhead hesitantly replied.
"I have never heard of such creatures being on our home world before, so I don't think we are ones to judge on the matter," Hound added.
"Well no harm in askin'," Waltfeld replied with a shrug as he then turned to look back at the stone from over Kira's shoulder. "If you ask me though, those look like wings. Whales don't normally come with wings, do they now?"
"Uh…well no," Kira replied. "But it was brought back from a space mission as proof of the existence of extraterrestrial life so…"
"Well I think we've all seen plenty of new evidence to support that by now with our new metal friends out there wouldn't you say," Waltfeld stated indicated Bulkhead and Hound, both of whom gained smug looks as a way of bragging at that. "The point I'm trying to make is why's it the figure in this fossil assumed to be that of a whale?"
"So then what would be a better name for it," Kira asked Waltfeld, before taking a small sip of his coffee after Waltfeld had already done the same.
"Mmm…," Waltfeld replied in his savoring of his coffee. "I have to admit, nothing readily comes to mind. On to more pressing matters what's your assessment of this coffee? Or perhaps you haven't yet acquired such an appreciation for such an adult taste?"
While the two Wreckers outside were still trying to grasp why Kira's opinion of a human beverage would be considered a pressing matter, Kira simply chuckled in reply to that as he gave a small smile to the comment. "Well as amusing as that thing may be its also problematic," Waltfeld then commented as he sat down, Kira doing the same a moment later.
"Mind telling me how a little slab of rock is problematic," Hound asked.
"You don't agree," Waltfeld asked. "It was only because they found this thing that all this hope was suddenly opened up, or you might call it a possibility."
At the three questioning glances he received, Waltfeld continued by saying, "That human beings have the potential to go much further." He then paused as he scowled for a moment. "Course that also happens to be the reason this war got started."
Kira scowled at this as well, seeing as he knew all too well of that fact. "I don't see why some people are opposed to that idea of your kind having the potential to go further myself," Bulkhead then commented. When the two humans turned to look at him, he figured he might as well clarify what he meant. "Before the war on Cybertron, I worked in construction. Building things and breaking things was my life, but then when the call went out I was one of the first in line to follow Optimus's lead and fight for a future where all Cybertronians have the right to choose for themselves and live the way they want to."
"Well sounds like this Optimus is quite the guy," Waltfeld then commented. "I've heard a little about him from Z.A.F.T.'s new…friends…but I've yet to hear anything beyond the fact that he's leader of the Autobots and that he seems to inspire hope in those that share his ideals. Any chance you boys could tell me a little more about him?"
Bulkhead then turned to share a look with Hound, who nodded seeing that there was no harm in it. Both could tell that this man was genuinely curious about the kind of Bot that Optimus really was. Before either one could say anything though, there was a knock on the door, which then opened to reveal Aisha and a now clean, and very well dressed Cagalli on the other side. The blonde was now wearing a long green dress with some jewelry, and her hair tied up. It made both Kira and the Wreckers stop and stare in awe for a moment.
"You're a…a girl," Kira stated dumbly, repeating the words he had said to her on Heliopolis.
Cagalli had the same reaction to that as the last time. Getting irritated and shouting, "What'd you think?!"
"N-no," Kira quickly stated raising his hands in an attempt he meant no offense. "I was just saying this reminds me again that you're a girl."
"That announces the same thing jackass!"
At that point, neither the adults nor the Bots could hold their laughter in any longer. The interaction between the two was just so amusing to them that it was nearly unbearable. Though for Kira and Cagalli, it was slightly embarrassing. After recovering from this little scene, Kira sat back down with Cagalli taking a seat next to him. Waltfeld then gestured for the two Autobots to continue where they left off.
"To describe Optimus in few words would be nearly impossible," Hound began. "But if I had to I would say that he's, inspiring, brave, honorable, and a born leader. I'll never forget one time I truly saw how great Optimus really was."
"Ages ago back on Cybertron, when I was the only Wrecker out there I did a lot of work alone. I was something of a lone wolf but that didn't stop me. I took on the most dangerous assignments and always came back with good results. Every time I did, I always came back to receive some kind of award or ceremony with the crowd cheering, and it felt real good, at least until I found out there was another side to the cheering. Folks considered me to be a loose cannon, someone who'd abandon his own teammates without a second thought, the kind of Bot that you wouldn't want to be on a mission with."
"I didn't let it bother me for long, because I decided that I should keep working alone, and I wasn't responsible for anyone and no one was responsible for me. At least that's what I thought until one mission I got myself pinned down and fell into stasis under some rumble. I was out there all alone with no one knowing what had happened. No one except one. When I finally came to, I couldn't believe my optics. There standing guard over my fallen form and shooting out some covering fire was Optimus. I couldn't figure out how it was possible. How was Optimus even here or how did he know I was in trouble? It didn't make any sense until Optimus explained that he was actually trying to give me some cover until some Cons hit him from behind, but when he saw me go down he rushed right over to help."
"That day I learned that all those times when I thought I was alone, even if he wasn't actually there himself, Optimus was always there for me. Looking out for me like a true comrade. Like a true friend. I guess I just needed a mountain to fall me to make me realize that."
Kira, Cagalli, and Waltfeld could not help but stare in awe at Hound for what he had just told him. It seemed that the Autobot leader just kept getting more and more amazing the more they heard about him, and they had no doubt that it was any different for any of the other Autobots. "After that incident, I wanted to repay Optimus in any way I could by showing that there were other Bots out there willing to go the extra mile for their friends and comrades that others couldn't," Hound continued. "That's why I helped to form the Wreckers, and made Bulkhead here one of my first soldiers."
Waltfeld let out a low whistle. "Sounds like my kind of guy," he commented. "Personally, I'd wish I had a chance to meet Optimus Prime face to face someday if it were possible."
He then paused for a moment, allowing everyone to let what they just heard sink in before casting a glance in Cagalli's direction commenting, "That dress actually does look quite flattering on you. From the looks of it, it seems you're quire accustomed to dressing up like that."
"Say what you want," Cagalli replied rudely as she took a small sip of coffee from her own cup.
Waltfeld just gave a casual shrug. "The perfect little lady til you speak."
"Well it's just as hard for me to believe that you're the Desert Tiger," Cagalli then retorted. "Why spend your valuable time dressing people up? Is this another way for you to get your kicks Waltfeld?"
"Well Aisha was the one who selected that ensemble," Waltfeld replied before questioning, "What do you mean by 'getting my kicks'?"
"Taking a trip into the city while wearing some disguise, or having people evacuate their town before burning it. That's what I mean."
Cagalli! Keep your mouth shut about that kind of thing. Hound thought, but it was already too little too late. "You've got a lovely pair of eyes," Waltfeld stated. "Something very sincere about them."
"Don't toy with me!"
"Hey Cagalli," Kira and Bulkhead warned.
Waltfeld then gained a serious expression. "Are you another one of those people who would rather be dead?" After receiving no response from Cagalli he turned to Kira and asked, "What about you then? What do you think about all this? What do you think needs to be done in order for this war to end? Give me your opinion as a mobile suit pilot."
"Hey how would you know about that," Cagalli demanded.
"Well for one thing you pretty much announced it just then," Bulkhead groaned in response.
Waltfeld simply laughed. "Being too sincere can also be a liability." Waltfeld then moved to one end of the room while Kira pulled Cagalli behind him as they moved to the other side. Bulkhead and Hound also brought themselves onto full guard in case he was preparing to signal the Decepticons, but somehow they knew that Waltfeld was not going to.
"Unlike in sports the game of war has no set time limit," Waltfeld continued as he reached into a drawer. "And no points are awarded. So how do you determine the winners and the losers? At what point do we put an end to it?"
"At what point…," Kira repeated in shock, realizing that he had wondered the same thing himself many times deep down since he first piloted the Strike in combat, but only in reference to the battles he had fought in.
"When every single one of your enemies has been destroyed," Waltfeld then asked as he raised a gun towards Kira and Cagalli. "Perhaps then?"
Kira then started looking around for a way out of the situation, but it was not subtle enough to go unnoticed by Waltfeld. "I'd advise you not to try anything stupid," The Desert Tiger informed Kira. "Even if you have berserker capabilities you still wouldn't be able to force your way out of here without any degree of success. And the same can be said if you two fellas were to try and help. I'm sure you wouldn't want to attract any more attention from the Decepticons than you already have."
Kira and Cagalli both then gained a shocked expression for different reasons. Bulkhead and Hound could only stare in wonder as they contemplated what Waltfeld meant by that. "Every one of us here is a coordinator like you. There's no way you can overpower us all."
Now Cagalli was beyond surprised, as she had no idea until now that Kira was a coordinator. "But wait…," she began. "You…you mean you're a…" Cagalli found she could barely bring herself to finish the question due to the her shock.
"I saw you in battle on two separate occasions. Take your adjustments for contact pressure against the sand and the heat convection parameters, and I would say among us coordinators someone like you would be considered a first rate specimen. If rumors are circulating around that it's actually a natural who's the pilot of that mobile suit, I'm not one to believe it without question. On top of that consider the amazing job you did getting us out of that jam earlier. I have no idea what your reasons are for deciding to fight against your own people, but as long as you remain the pilot of that Earth Forces mobile suit you and I are both destined to be sworn enemies even if we are both Coordinators."
Kira then glared hard at the man holding him and Cagalli at gun point, which said man returned before finally giving a casual smile and lowering his gun. "It actually makes you wonder if there really is no other option than for one of us to be destroyed," Waltfeld finally finished.
Now Kira, Cagalli, and their two Autobot guardians were completely confused on what this man's intentions were. Waltfeld then put the gun back where he got it from as he hit a button on his pager while stating, "Well the fact is you saved my life today and this time we aren't meeting on the battle field."
A moment later Aisha opened the door and stood to the side to let them exit. "You have permission to leave," Waltfeld then stated. "I sure have enjoyed talking with you, although I can't tell whether or not it was beneficial."
"Is that really the only reason why you brought us all here," Hound asked.
"Well partially," Waltfeld stated as he turned to the two Autobots. "After seeing some of you guys in action already I was actually eager for a chance to meet at least one of you Autobots even for just a moment, and as I stated I sure have enjoyed talking to you guys as well. Though in terms of being beneficial, all I can say there is that it increased my desire to meet with your leader some time later on down the line."
Kira then placed a hand on Cagalli's shoulder and led her to the door while Bulkhead nudged Hound and nodded his head to the side saying that they should meet the two out front when they got there. Just before Kira and Cagalli left the room, Waltfeld left them with one final word saying, "I'll see you on the battlefield."
Kira and Cagalli looked back at Waltfeld one last time before leaving the compound. They then retrieved Cagalli's regular clothes, which she changed into in a nearby room while Kira waited outside, and then met Bulkhead and Hound outside. After climbing into the two Autobots' vehicle forms, they drove off hoping to leave as much of that behind as possible, but there was still something about all that which Kira could not dismiss from his mind.
Meanwhile back at the Archangel, Murrue had received word that Kira, Cagalli, Bulkhead, and Hound had missed the rendezvous time and once word had gotten around, everyone was instantly on edge. It did not help matters in Sai's case, as he was already on edge when it came to the topic of Kira. His mind kept circulating around the fact that Kira could do so many amazing things and had so much going for him, and now he even had Flay.
Feeling he could not take it all anymore, Sai decided to take a desperate measure to prove that Kira was not the only special person around, and climbed into the Strike in an attempt to pilot it himself. This quickly drew the attention of all the mechanics, Mu, Miriallia, Tolle, and even Flay as they all watched as Sai struggled to make the Strike move. When he heard that Sai was the one inside, Mu could not help but wonder aloud, "What would make him do that?"
Suddenly it seemed as though Sai could not handle it much longer, and the Strike began to fall. Miriallia let out a terrified scream along with a few others as the Strike collapsed onto all fours. There was a moment of silence before Sai let out a cry of anguish at his inability to compare to Kira, shedding a few tears inside the cockpit as he did. Knowing full well she was responsible for this, Flay simply turned and ran from the hanger, cross with what Sai had done. Though she shed a few tears for Sai, one thought crossed her mind in reference to the glasses wearing boy.Dummy.
Meanwhile, somewhere in an undisclosed location, a blonde haired man in a light blue suit was watching a video he had recently received from one of his followers. The video being the one that the member of Blue Cosmos had taken of Bulkhead and Hound fighting the Decepticon drones. He gave a small chuckle of amusement as he reached for the communication control that he had open to the contact. "You have done well to show me this my friend," he stated. "This truly opens up many possibilities for us when it comes to ending the war and those filthy Coordinators, as well as a possible future for our world as well."
"Thank you sir," the contact replied. "I await any further orders you send to me."
"For now I believe it may be best if your forces were to move underground and wait for an opportune moment to contact one of the two opposing sides among these large robotic beings."
"Yes sir Lord Azrael. For the preservation of our blue and pure world." With that Azrael cut the line and began to ponder just what he could accomplish if he were to gain access to the technology or even an ally among these large transforming titans.
Kira: I'll admit, that story that Hound told was not something I had expected.
AN: Well when I was writing this chapter I thought it'd be a good chance to show that there's more complexity and character behind each one of the Autobots while at the same time showing just how great Optimus is. This seemed like the best option.
Kira: Where'd you come up with that story anyways?
AN: Oh its actually based off the one that Leo Breaker told Snarl in that one episode of Transformers Cybertron. I wanted to have a story be told that would show why exactly Hound helped form the Wreckers and that was the first one that came to mind.
Kira: Oh okay, that makes sense.
AN: Now then on to the preview...
While they were once the best of friends, it seems that Athrun has come to realize he and Kira couldn't be further apart. After learning what happened to Sai, Kira starts acting differently which could have a drastic impact on his future with Flay, not that any of the bots are complaining. Meanwhile it seems that Dreadwing is beginning to wonder about some of the actions he has taken as he reviews what led to his quest of vengeance against the Autobots with Athrun. The Autobots, Archangel crew, and Desert Dawn are all gearing up for action, while Starscream returns to Earth with a pair of new additions to his team of Decepticons seeming extremely upset with something, and above the planet Z.A.F.T. begins plans for a new military operation alongside Megatron. Next time on Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Prime...Chapter 8: On a Calm Day. Pave the way to the future Gundam, Optimus, and Bumblebee!
AN: Hey thanks for coming in for today's author's note Kira. Oh do me a favor though and make sure you keep that red haired witc-uh woman away from these things please.
Kira: You mean Flay? Why?
AN: Oh let's just say that I cannot guarantee her safety if she were to suddenly show up here for whatever reason.
Kira: Ooookaaay. *cough* Well thanks for having me.
AN: My pleasure. As for all you readers, please read and review! See you next time, and if you have a request as to who you want to appear in these Author's Notes, please say so in the reviews or via a private message, just make sure it's someone who has appeared in the story so far please.