Author Note: After a lot of thinking and some estimation, I've figured about how much longer this story is going to be. It should end at around chapter 110-125 or so, just so those of you who care... if there are any... have some idea about how much more there is to come. As of this chapter this story is now the longest fanfic in Gundam SEED on Thanks for all the reviews, they are very helpful... please give me more and more. The more reviews I get the faster I will write and update and the more requests for things I get the more I can accomodate them into the story.
Cervantes was in a black mood. Everything had been going so well up until Carpentaria... he had been on the fast track to heaven. Now he felt like he was slipping backwards towards hell with every passing hour. His successes were numerous... the trap at Gibralter, the conquest of Orb just the most prominent. But his failures were even more glaring... JIHAD, Carpentaria and now Orb. Where formerly the citizens had cheered him and the EA in the streets now they spat after speaking his name and painted anti Alliance slogans on buildings and protested in the streets against the lawshe had set down. His paid puppets in the four remaining Orb royal families did what they could to shore up his faltering image in the eyes of the people, but they were largely marginalized and ignored by a populace that was apparently tired of supporting a war they had tried to sit out. His lip curled in contempt. He'd crushed that little dream of theirs right off the bat, with his heavy conscription policies and several new taxes to help raise funds. In truth he may have gone a little harder on the people of Orb than he might have somewhere else, since he'd always loathed the wishy-washy peaceful ideals of the nation, but really, were their sacrifices any more than that of the Eurasians or Atlantic Federation? Cervantes doubted it strongly. And so he could just not comprehend why the people of Orb were being so rebellious, staging impromptu marches through the streets and holding mass sit ins at industrial facilities that slowed much needed supplies being sent to the troops recuperating in Orb after retreating from Carpentaria. His scowl deepened. The troops themselves were a sorry lot... morale low, many wounded, sullen and uncooperative... they were more a hindrance to him than a help.
Which is why, two days prior, he had ordered Asmodeus to gather the Hellhounds. All four teams of the unit. He'd even recalled the alpha team, which had formerly had the duty of watching over his son in law and precious daughter. They would be safe enough under the corporate guards he had sent to replace the Hellhounds until this crisis in Orb was dealt with properly. And a crisis it most certainly was. He did not know exactly when, but sometime within the next week a truly massive peace protest was due to occur. He had sent out orders to shut down the airports, but it had been to little avail... the people came instead in droves aboard various passenger and even cargo ships. Tens of thousands then hundreds of thousands of protesters from all over the world. All utterly nonviolent and too well covered by the media for him to take the measures he would have required to contain the problem. But now that his special forces were gathered, now that his sword was ready, he could finally take action to stop this beast in its tracks before it irrepairably gored his hold over the nation of Orb. His scowl inverted to form a wicked smile and he picked up his cane with a flourish and spun it easily through his hands. Setting it down with a sharp snap he opened the door to his office in the Orb National Palace and strode briskly outside, to the inner courtyard. He took pleasure in setting up his offices in the exact same places the old Lord Uzumi Nara Attha had... what was good enough for one great leader would do for him as well... for the moment. The courtyard was screened from all forms of outside observation barring that from satellites, which had all been shot down long ago.
There were none of the usual Orb ceremonial guardsmen and women standing at attention every few meters, like every other day. All Orbites had been directed to other stations for the next few hours, while Cervantes reviewed and briefed his avenging swords. As Cervantes left the columned open walkway and stepped into the grassy park that was the courtyard, Asmodeus stepped around from behind a bush and fell in at his bosses side. Ahead of them stood the Hellhounds. Fifty two of the deadliest men and a few women on the planet. Well, Natural men anyway. His grin soured for a moment... that thought had brought up yet another failing. The Bane had been destroyed during the fracas in Panama eight days earlier and yet another BCPU training facility had gone up in smoke with it. They had found no trace of Ashino, save a few charred scraps of clothing in the cockpit, which was unsurprising, considering the nature of the Bane's destruction and the subsequent inferno that had burned around it for nearly a full day. A full third of the BCPU force lost for good, with a second third being still hospitalized while the Merciless was rebuilt practically from the ground up...he gritted his teeth, imagining the smug grins on the faces of his competitors and that worm of a president of the AF. All it would take was another failure on his part and he knew they would tear himapart like a pack of wolves, never mind that he was their single best hope for winning the war.
As he and Asmodeus approached the Hellhounds snapped to brisk attention, eyes forward, faces grim and bodies perfectly still. Though in ranks, they still managed to somehow segregate themselves by squad. The Alpha's and Bravo's were in the first rank, the Alpha's closer to Cervantes, while Charlie and Delta repeated the pattern in the row behind. They were all already armed and armored, ready to go at a moments notice... not that he had expected anything less. They were the best, each a culmination of millions of dollars of training and at least a decade of experience in either military or paramilitary conflict. "Isn't it a sight, Asmodeus?" Cervantes said with a savage grin.
Asmodeus did not immediately respond. Personally he was starting to think his boss was becoming slightly unhinged by recent events... his orders and habits had begun growing steadily more irrational ever since Carpentaria. Instead of keeping in the public eye, preaching to the msses and keeping his hand in every possible pie, of late Cervantes had been secluding himself with at most one or two advisers, almost always among the most die hard of the fanatical Blue Cosmos stripe. He never answered his phone, never opened his door and was generally almost impossible to get a hold of. An urgent call had come in for Cervantes from Hawaii only thirty minutes prior, coded his eyes only... but Asmodeus knew better than to bring it up now, while his boss was savoring what he thought were triumphs to come. Asmodeus knew better... you couldn't stop a peace protest with violence... it would only come back twice as strong as before. But he wasn't the man in charge. "It is a sight, sir." Asmodeus agreed at last. A sight I should not be seeing, but a sight it is. It is folly to gather all four squads in one place... one squad would do just fine. Four is overkill... the act of a desperate man. Just how desperate is he, anyway?
"You all know why you have been ordered here!?" Cervantes asked loudly. The Hellhounds recognized a rhetorical question when they heard one... many of them shared Asmodeus's worried opinion of their bosses boss... no one liked the idea of serving the orders of a potential madman. But for now they were still the best soldiers in Blue Cosmos and Cervantes was still the master of Blue Cosmos, so they paid close attention to his words. "Our enemies... our treacherous enemies have concocted a heinous plan to topple our regime here in Orb, several destabilizing the ability of the EA to maintain control over the Pacific Theater of this war. Our enemies are clever... they do not strike in the accepted fashion, with sabotage and rebellion. No, they cloak their posion in the guise of peaceful protest... and they think their lies will protect them from our righteous wrath. You are all here to prove them wrong, wrong, WRONG!" Cervantes smiled coldly and his eyes shone with both intent and a little insanity. "You will utilize your skills and training to hunt them down, one by one if necessary, and eliminate them before they can go through with their plans. I have complete confidence in your abilities. Asmodeus will continue the brief, I have other matters to attend to." Cervantes nodded once in acknowledgement of their salutes and then headed back to his office, for another strategy session on how to continue the war.
After cervantes had returned to his office there was a long period of silence... as long as two or three minutes, which Asmodeus spent meeting the gaze of each individual Hellhound, reinforcing his will on them. Few could meet his gaze for long and only one outstared him. That one was bothersome, since it had never happened before, but Asmodeus supposed it must just be that he was getting tired faster in his old age. He forced himself to look back at Lieutenant Finch for a moment before continuing the brief. "Despite what you may be thinking, the strategy espoused by Mr. Zunnichi does have its merits. A series of quick, surgical strikes to remove the leadership of the peace protests could very well halt this movement in its tracks... at least temporarily. We all know that violence will have no permanent effect on this protest, unless we are determined to kill all ten million people who are supposed to attend. I think that might tax even our abilities though." Asmodeus said with a slight grin to show he was joking. No one laughed... in retrospect it wasn't that funny."
"So what exactly are we doing, sir?" asked a trooper from Delta squad. "We were told to arrive with full kit and equipment, but we've yet to be given more than a general idea of what we're going to be doing."
"That is why I am here, corporal." Asmodeus said, reaching behind another bush to move an easel and bench into view of the soldiers. He sat down on the bench as the Hellhounds gathered around him, sitting, kneeling, lounging or standing as they preferred. He picked up a thick sheaf of papers and a corkboard from underneath the bush and started tacking papers to the corkboard, which he mounted on the easel. An electronic presentation would have been faster, but he liked conducting his briefings in a very personal manner, he felt it helped the troops remember better. "Like I said before, the missions will be surgical strikes, single or at most small group elimination runs. Every mission is of course quite black rated and you will never speak of them again after you complete them. The EA has a reputation for being ruthless... and we are going to exemplify that reputation for as long as it takes to get Mr. Zunnichi's point across to the protesters. We will be going in hard and heavy, no mercy, no second chances, no mistakes. Shoot to kill in all cases... I don't care if its a toddler, if it makes a potentially threatening move, give it a double tap. Is that understood?" Fifty one nods and a cold stare answered him.
"So we are not to consider civilian casualties during these missions?" a sergeant from Charlie squad asked dryly.
"There are no civilians during these missions." Asmodeus replied flatly. "Unless they are lying flat on the ground with their hands behind their heads they are a potential threat and must be dealt with as such."
"And how will we be deployed?" the sergeant asked, taking notes on a small notebook.
"Each squad will be assigned an area, perhaps as big as an entire city. You will be furnished with names, descriptions and locations of potential protest leaders. It is your responsibiity to eliminate them as quickly and efficiently as possible. You will have the cooperation of local military police and civilian police forces,though they are not to be informed any more than absolutely necessary,as we strongly suspect both groups to have been heavily infiltrated by peace supporters. You already all know you have permanent tacit permission to shoot to kill without probable cause. These people are the enemy. They chose to break the laws and they will be punished for it. Any more questions?"
"Collateral damage?" Sgt-Major Glory asked with a raised brow... he hadn't liked much of what he'd heard... the Hellhounds were being used like underworld thugs, not professional soldiers.
"Minimal if possible, but if you have to take out a building or two to get results, I don't think Cervantes will complain."
"I don't anticipate the need, but... backup?" a soldier from Bravo team asked.
"You want it, you'll get it. Artillery, armor, airstrikes, Mobile Suits... if you feel the need, you'll get any support you ask for."
"Loadouts?" the sergeant from Charlie asked.
"Full assault/tactical. That means body armor, full face shields, goggles... the works. Heavy weapons are green light. Explosives are green light. You have carte blanche for requistioning gear. You want nerve gas, you get nerve gas. You want bio-warfare, you get bio-warfare. This is no holds barred and we mean it. Don't feel like you need to conserve ammo either... we're trying to send a message here after all."
"What about preparedness of the opposition?" Glory asked... unable to quite work up the nerve to call the targets "enemies".
"I cannot imagine they know that we are sending the Hellhounds after them. Many of them are likely cautious, but they are watching for police or SWAT type actions... they won't be prepared for your teams. Some of them may be armed, but this is supposed to be a peace protest... the likelihood of strong resistance is extremely remote."
"Organization?" the Lieutenant asked. Asmodeus thought for a moment... it was rare for Cyprus to ask a question during a briefing.
"Cells, usually not bigger than ten or twelve people who really know whats up. They have strong communications, so you will have to be fast or else they will start spreading the word. It is inevitable of course, but we'd like as much shock time as possible. There are only a few main leaders that we know about, most prominently Ledonir Kisaka, whos whereabouts we are unsure of, and Dr. Erica Simmons, whom we believe with 95 percent likelihood to be somwhere in Orb. Dr. Simmons, if located, is an exception to the rule... take her alive if at all possible. Her technical knowledge of the Morganroete facilities and the Orb Mobile Suit program is beyond compare. I don't think I need to remind you that if you encounter Kisaka you must kill him as fast as possible. As you all know, he was given the opportunity to join the Hellhounds back at the inception, but he refused. Of your opponents he would be the only one that has any idea of what you are capable of."
"And TEMPEST?" Cyprus pushed, citing the name of the band of operatives that had proven to be such a major pain all throughout the war.
"Reports place them aboard the Archangel, along with the rest of those meddlesome bastards. They're somewhere in the Pacific, but there is no way the Archangel could approach Orb without being spotted and they, for all their skills, cannot get through the air or seaport security that is currently in effect. We've gone so far as to institute genetic identification protocols. If there are no further questions, here are your assigned areas. Report back to me once you have worked out a mission plan for the next few days. Good hunting. You shall not need luck."
If Asmodeus had been able to see where the Archangel currently was, he probably would have left the briefing a good deal less confident than he did. It was an extremely obscure fact but a fact nonetheless that the Archangel was actually capable of submarine movement, as was the Kusangi. In a way it made sense, since if a ship was atmosphere tight enough to survive in space, being watertight was not even a problem. But the Archangel and Kusanagi had actually been designed for long term submersible use... the Archangel could survive depths of up to five hundred feet, while the Kusanagi could go twice as deep... an extra ace up the sleeve of the Orb military. The fact of this design was so obscure not even the crew of either ship had known of it until the ballast tanks were accidentally filled during the Archangel's weathering of the hurricane after the pilots had set off to rescue Ysak. What had started out as an attempt to stabilize the ship in the howling winds and crashing waves had inadvertantly sent the ship gently to the bottom one hundred feet below. Initially there had been much panic and ill feeling amongst the crew but once it was discovered that not only was the ship watertight but bearing up perfectly fine under the water pressure panic was replaced with elation at this unplanned for advantage, especially when the crew figured out how to pump the tanks full of air and return the ship to the surface.
Elation had lasted only as long as it took for the mobile suits to return. There were few smiling faces aboard either ship when the Grand Buster finally came into view, helping the almost destroyed Duelist limp along. The Grand Buster was missing an arm and was severely battle scarred. The Duelist was a flying junkheap. Just about the only mobile suit to escape unscarred was the Liberty. Moods lifted somewhat when it was learned that Ysak, though wounded and battered, was still alive, if in a pitiable condition. Miriallia had woken up as well, during the flight and it would later be discovered that she had come within a hairsbreadth of cracking her skull, but had instead just received a fairly serious concussion that had her seeing double for several days afterwards. The news of the destruction of one of the BCPU's was greeted with a few restrained cheers and much slapping of the back for Cagalli, who was proven to have fired the killing shots by her battlefield logs. One down, two to go was the rallying cry for the moment. The boost to morale now that the ship's crews were complete once more was significant.
Not everything was rosy though. Ysak, though having worked off a great deal of the burden of guilt and rage he had felt, was still withdrawn and uncommunicative much of the time, his thoughts turned inwards towards what even he was beginning to see as a childish folly. He had been so arrogant, so confident that he could confront and defeat his foes, just because of how he felt. And while emotions were a power source, he could not deny that, they were also a danger, making him far more reckless than he usually was. He should have died in Panama and he knew it. If it hadn't been for insane risks on the part of his friends for his sake, it would have been the Three Ship Allaince that was down a pilot, not Blue Cosmos. He supposed he should feel touched, but he just felt empty. Chanel was still dead... Cray and Asmodeus were still alive. Precious little had changed, though he had learned a hard lesson... again. No single man is enough to make a difference in war, no matter how powerful he is. It is only when powerful people got together and worked as a whole that things got done. Could Cagalli have killed Ashino by herself? Likely not. But after Athrun had rendered him vulnerable, Cagalli was able to capitalize on the moment and make her shots count. And so, much to his private disgruntlement it was now a Natural who could claim unadulterated credit for having removed a serious obstacle to peace... a feat every other Coordinator around had been singularly unable to do.
It was not known aboard the ships just what went on between him and Katie after he got back. She pulled him aside into a room before even the medics could get to him and did not let him out for at least ten minutes, ignoring all calls from everyone who tried to open the door. All that people could observe was that Ysak came out of that room even paler than his wounds and traumatic experience could account for... plainly he had seen something that scared him. He clammed up about it though, so tightly that not even Dearka could trick details out of him in the hospital room they shared while recuperating. It was widely assumed that Katie had given him an ultimatum, which was true enough. What Ysak would never bear to admit to anyone else was just how Katie had brought her point across. He just knew that he was never, ever going to make her get that mad and worried at him again. Because he really didn't think his mind could take that kind of punishment.
Added into his misery was the punishment handed down from Kisaka, Waltfeld and Murrue. Though they had no military authority over any of the pilots, they were the three people in charge and the crew acknowledged them as the people in charge without any complaints. They didn't court martial him for endangering the ship and valuable equipment, which is what he had done, it was more a up close and personal reminder that if he did anything so reckless again then he would probably find himself marooned on a small island until he grew up enough to handle the responsibility of a mobile suit. At least he could take some comfort in the fact that he wasn't the only one to get a talking to about recklessness. He saw Kisaka pull Cagalli and even Athrun aside for a few minutes after his meeting and Lacus had an uncommonly steely look in her eyes as she led Kira off the bridge for a brief time. Just about the only people that didn't get formally yelled at were Dearka and Miriallia, though they did get the same punishment as everyone else... confinement to quarters for two days. Which wasn't precisely a punishment, given how the couples were bunked.
All that aside, things were actually starting to tilt in their favor, on the wider scale. The Alliance was still reeling from Carpentaria and had lost much strength at Panama as well, putting them solidly on the defensive. Meanwhile, the PLANTS were doing their best to reconsolidate and refurbish their own forces after Carpentaria. They would be launching no major offensives for the next few weeks while they completed the upgrading of their forces from the GINN's, DINN's, Guaize's, ZuOots, Goons and ZnO's to the newer and better Elementals. ZAFT was also purportedly sinking a great deal of funding into constructing a static anti missile defense system around the home PLANTS to defend against any sort of future sneak attack, though the details on this project remained extremely cloudy. It looked like they had unwittingly accomplished their first goal... both sides had stopped fighting. Now they just had to keep up the pressure. And as luck... and perhaps extraordinary planning... would have it, a massive peace protest was due to kick itself off in Orb within the next two weeks. That announcement had come eight days ago and they had just receievd final confirmation from the protest leaders that the so called "Ten Million Man March for Peace" was slated for six days later. Already Orb was filled to bursting at the seams with the influx of people who had come to either participate in or watch what promised to be the public political spectacle of the decade.
It was well known that the EA officials in charge of governing the Orb Protectorate were far from pleased with the idea of this protest march, but there was little they could do, since the protesters were entirely nonviolent and the planners had taken into account every nuance of Orb law, ensuring the oppressive regime would have no legal grounds to break up the protest. Still, there were many minds in the upper echelons of the peace movement who did not trust the EA government to act within the law on this matter and so extra cautionary procedures were taken. All leadership personnel who had anything to do with the protest planning and execution were moved to safe houses by three days before the start of the protest. It was almost a measure taken too late. Almost a fourth of the planners never showed up, their bodies never found, though the bloodstained and bullet riddled rooms of their houses said much about their likelihood of ever being seen again. There was panic at first, but it quickly smouldered into iron hard resolve. This just confirmed what they had already suspected. The enemy had thrown the rulebook completely out the window and was using its influence with the authorities to cover it up. The peace protesters did not go public with the information... it would just be denied and turned back on them as propaganda mongering. Instead they distributed leaflets and photobooks depicting the incidents in a private, intimate fashion. It had the same effect as pouring growth hormones into a vat of bacteria. Almost overnight the number of participants in the planned march had doubled and everyone moved with an entirely new sense of purpose. They were in the right and this proved it.
Aboard the Archangel, Lacus Clyne made preparations for her first public concert in more than a year. It wasn't something even most of the protest planners knew about, but she was going to give a concert at the end of the march. The march itself was planned to start at the beaches before making its way slowly through the city and suburbs and then finally ending up in front of the Orb parliament house in the middle of the government sector. Initially they had rented several concert halls for various bands who had pledged to come, but the government revoked all the reservations as soon as they got wind of it. The citizens retaliated by breaking the locks put on the doors of the theaters as fast as they were put up, but the government played a trump card and put all theaters in the city under constant military guard. To counter that wildly unpopular move, the peace protesters planned to just carry all of the sound equipment, speakers, amps and microphones... with them as they marched. This fit well with Lacus's plan, since it would seriously hamper the ability of Blue Cosmos to have an ambush site prepared for her. Not that she would be unprotected... the Archangel had sailed into Orb territorial waters by the fourth day before the protest, weaving around the underwater detection system with ease due to Kisaka's familiarity with the system and the passcode program. Kira would be marching with her, as would Athrun, Cagalli and every member of TEMPEST, plus Kisaka, Waltfeld, Murrue and several members of the crew. Some questioned the wisdom of having the entire command staff on the frontlines, as it were, but none of them were going to miss out on this event, not for anything.
Dearka, Miriallia, and Ysak would remain aboard the Archangel, ready to deploy in their feverishly repaired mobile suits in case heavy support was needed, while Katie took over temporary control as communications officer on the Archangel. It was not anticipated that the EA would use mobile suits as crowd control, since they were singularly unsuited to the task, but with Cervantes Zunnichi a confirmed presence in Orb, no one was making any safe bets anymore. Though if the peace protest went off as planned, Cervantes would not be in the country for long. One of their main demands was his removal from the nation, to be followed by prosecution for war crimes, though few if any thought that had much chance of happening. Cagalli had her own views on the problem and was making preparations of her own. She had initially considered coordinting with Lacus, but eventually decided to do her own thing. For Lacus this was a philosophical and ethical fight. For her, it was personal. This was her country, damn it and she was going to show that she was worthy to be the leader of Orb, just like her father would have wanted her to be. She would not sing... though she could she had horrible stage fright and she didn't care to embarass herself in front of half the world... but she did have a speech planned. She'd worked on it with Athrun's and surprisingly Alkire's help. Or maybe not so surprisingly... was it really that odd that he knew how to manipulate people's emotions, when such a large part of his life was lived by deceit? After two days of working out the inflections and proper words, Alkire had triumphantly described its likely effect as somewhat similar to throwing an armed grenade into an ammo bunker... explosive in the extreme.
Athrun had spent a lot of time thinking about just what he was going to do. Though Cagalli was assured to be popular with the people in the peace protest, even though the world at large was still dubious of her, he had never doubted that many people in Orb had no particular love for him. The incident with the video tape and Cervantes's speech at the legislature had done nothing to disprove the validity of those people's opinions in the eyes of many and he knew he could not rely on any but the most perfunctory of welcomes at best. If he was unlucky they would greet him with clubs and knives. After much debilitation he had decided to step slightly out of character and just wing it. He was Cagalli's husband in all but legal declaration, damn it. If a man wasn't there by his wife's side when she needed him most, he was no man Athrun wanted to be. Screw world opinion, screw Orbite opinion. Athrun couldn't care less what the world thought of him... he already knew what the important people to him thought and that was enough. If having Cagalli's love meant the world hated him, let him be hated.
Kira was less concerned about his place in the scheme of things. He knew were he was going to be... right at Lacus's side, the entire time. That was a foregone conclusion... nothing to worry about. His thoughts turned towards what would happen after the peace protest. Despite everyone's hopes, including his own, he couldn't make himself believe that one protest in Orb, no matter how big or well televised, would suffice to bring the war to a close. There were too many factors that were still beyond their control that would obstruct peace. For one, even if Cervantes ws ousted, he would come back and he would not rest until he'd had his revenge, Kira knew. For another, two of the three BCPU's were still at large... and they were the more dangerous two in his estimation. And despite Waltfelds best work, they had only a murky idea of what the political situation was like up in the PLANTS and that worried him. The EA had lots of problems, Blue Cosmos being the biggest among them, but ZAFT was hardly blame free either. The continued fast paced military buildup in space worried him. He forced himself to return to the here and now... no sense in worrying about spilt milk before the milk was even poured.
Sai could have cared less about the soon to be events in Orb. Hes was barely even aware they were occuring, recovering as he was in a hospital in Hawaii the entire time before the protest and for several days after. Besides his wounds, which were painful... a shattered wrist and a gunshot wound to the thigh that would leave him with a permanent, if slight, limp... he also had to deal with his worry about Vanai, who had spent much of the time in the critical care ward. This was not because of her own wounds, which were of only medium concerns, a broken collarbone, bullet holed shoulder and minor concussion, but because of the potential damage Henri's knee might have done to their unborne child... children in fact, as the ultrasound had now revealed twins inside Vanai's womb, one boy, one girl. The doctors were worried about possible developmental problems due to the sharp impact from the blow and so kept her and the babies under constant watch. And beyond that worry was his burgeoning friendship with the young man who had saved both their lives. Markov Ashino was unlike any other person Sai had ever met for a long time... quiet, focused, extremely intelligent, but almost entirely inept in social matters and in things having to do with everyday life. In fact, Ashino... as he preferred to be called... reminded Sai a lot of how Kira had used to be, back when they were going to school together. Perhaps that was why they hit it off so well from the start.
For his part, Ashino was more than a little impressed with Sai. Though their philosophies differed in several ways, he found himself at ease with the young man in a way he never had experienced before. He actually found himself able to laugh once or twice, in geniune amusement. Though maybe that had a lot to do with his finally being free. He relished the thought that he could just get up, walk out of the hospital and go wherever he wanted, if he wanted to. He knew he wouldn't, since he'd sworn... of his own free will... to aid Sai, but he could. It was amazing. The feeling utterly blasted aside his programming, opening up dozens of new avenues of thought he had never gone down before. He had to learn about the whole concept of relaxation all over again, and rediscovered the beauties and perils of procrastination. Now wearing civilian clothes felt normal and he was even getting a handle on that elusive thing called "style". But what impressed him most about Sai was the drive he had, the indomitable will to succeed, to impose his newer, better plan for peace on the world... by force if need be. Unlike the rather naive peace wishes of Lacus, Sai had a solid plan and was sticking to it, which sat well with the highly organized Ashino. He was still not one hundred percent sure the plan would work, like Sai was, but it was better than any plan he had and leaps and bounds better than the way Cervantes was prosecuting the war right now. And if it went against his personal mindset... that the only good Coordinator was a dead Coordinator... well, the world wasn't perfect and never would be.
Another stickling point for Sai was the fact that his father in law seemed to have cut off all contact with him and Vanai. Immediately upon being hospitalized he had of course had people try to contact Cervantes, but their calls had continued to go unanswered for the past several days. Initially Sai had worried that his father in law was on to his little Isolationist movement but then he came to realize that Cervantes was just apparently too busy to take the call, because of the lack of action to kill Sai for his planned rebellion. In a way, that was worse than being found out. He'd never loved Cervantes, but he did respect the man and to be suddenly ignored was like a slap to the face. Of course it was far worse for Vanai, who felt utterly betrayed and in fact was so affected that she got sick because of it, but it wasn't exactly a walk in the park for him either. Just more fuel to his fire, more incentive to get the support he would need in order to show his father in law just what a terrible mistake it was to hurt Vanai like that. There was one positive side to the lack of communication... it allowed him the time to hide Ashino from Cervantes. Sai had not gotten anything like a complete story from Ashino about why there would be animosity between his new friend and Sai's father in law, but given that he owed the short red head not only his own life, but the lives of his wife and children Sai decided it was just one of those things he was going to take on faith. And so there was never any mention of just who had saved their lives, or of the hospital bill incurred in the two days it took Ashino to recover from his ordeal or of the fact that a new guest had moved into the mansion.
Cervantes was too busy working over dozens of plans for the continued strategic conduct of the war that was rapidly slipping out from between his fingers with his selected staff of advisors to worry about any phone calls from his daughter or son in law. He'd catch up on those later, when the crisis was averted. Right now he had only two concerns... finding a way to end the war quickly and finally... and keeping control of Orb. Of the two he was having more success with planning the war, and he was to the point of tearing his hair out over that. It seemed that no matter what he did to curb the peace movement it only grew larger and stronger, which made him only that much more angry and desperate. He could almost hear the laughter behind the grim tones of the EA senior commanders when they called him for status reports on Orb and he swore he caught the president of the AF smirking at him in a teleconference meeting, though the man continued to deny it. He was on the verge of losing all the respect and prestige he had garned up till now because of this pestilential country and he could not... would not... accept that. In secret, without even taking Asmodeus... who had grown increasingly unhelpful as of late... into his confidence, Cervantes drew up a set of crowd control plans he knew would stop the march in its tracks once and for all, if they truly tried to go through with it. Cray had at last recovered from the impact of the artillery shell and the Merciless was back to full operating specifications mere hours after its pilot awoke. Cray had already shown to have a talent for intimidation during his assault on Carpentaria and Cervantes planned to make good use of those tendencies to show the protesters just who controlled Orb.
The day before the protest was due to start, a privately owned charter tourist submarine sailed out to sea about two miles before descending out of sight. The boat reappeared three hours later and returned to its private dock. Customs felt no need to check the craft, as there was no sign of any ships in the vicinity of where the sub had gone and thus nothing to worry about. This was a big mistake on the part of Customs, but perhaps they could be forgiven, stretched as they were to the breaking point by the still massive hordes of people coming in to Orb via ship in order to witness the march. The twenty odd people that had crammed themslves and their assorted gear into the submarine left without being noticed, dispersing into the crowds at the beaches in ones and twos and not meeting up again until they had arrived at the central safe house the protest leaders were using, which was no house, but a large abandoned room deep underneath the subway tunnels beneath the city. The room had been used as a storage room when the subway system had been built but had been in disuse since that time, nearly thirty years ago and now few even knew it existed. From this room, which had been reconnected to the city power and water supplies on the sly by sympathetic maintenance workers, the power elite of the protest leaders organized and coordinated their massive flock of supporters into readiness for the big day tomorrow.
Dr. Simmons was in the thick of things as they arrived, lending her keen intellect and eye for detail and innovation to a slightly different type of construction project than she normally worked on. Organizing even a dozen people and getting them to all do the same thing at the same time is not an easy task when you cannot meet any of the people face to face. The lowest estimates for participants at this event were already exceeding twenty million... more than the entire population of Orb by itself. They had succeeded far beyond anyone's expectations... and they owed it all to Cervantes, who was doing an admirable job of bringing his own doom upon himself. But it was pure hell getting everything organized in time... they all knew they would be working almost nonstop until several days after the protest ended. Large coffee urns and stacks of caffienated drinks were strewn about the room, ensuring there was always a quick pick me up at hand for anyone who started feeling their eyes droop.
"Dr. Simmons!" Cagalli said joyfully, truly glad to see that the woman who had done so much to make the fight for peace possible was still alive and doing well. Considering the leaflets and pictures she had seen of what Cervantes's hit teams had down she had been afraid that they would have gone after the brilliant female engineer first. Unfounded fears, luckily. Or maybe not so much luck as foresight, since Kisaka had been the one to form the movement in the first place, Cagalli was sure there were probably several well defined and thought out protocols for ensuring the safety of the various leaders.
"Ms. Cagalli! It's so good to see you alive and well!" Erica Simmons replied, leaning back from a map table and stretching. "I hope you'll pardon me, but we're all a little busy around here, so just talk at me and I'll eventually get around to replying." she turned to look at the rest of the new arrivals and she found herself pleasantly surprised. Not only were Cagalli and Kisaka present, but so was Lacus Clyne, the always dependable Kira Yamato and Athrun Zala, Andrew Waltfeld, her friend Murrue Ramius and all five of the soldiers who had been with the kids when they first retrieved their Gundams. A remarkable group all told...she felt her spirits lifting and her body gaining energy just by looking at them. "Kisaka you dog, you neglected to tell me you were bringing an army with you. I thought it was just supposed to be you."
"It was just supposed to be me." Kisaka said with a dark look at Cagalli. "However, the Representative prevailed upon me to bring her along as well... and after that there was no shutting the door, they just kept coming."
"Well, we're all grateful you could come, it means a lot to me and I'm sure it will mean a lot to everyone else too." Simmons said, marking out a revision to the parade route as she talked. "Just seeing you and Miss Lacus will do wonders for the morale of everyone."
"I came here to do more than be seen." Cagalli and Lacus said almost in concert. They looked at each other and smiled slightly... both had been aware that the other was planning something but it was reassuring to have it voiced out loud. "I need to know when would be a good time to give a speech." Cagalli requested.
"And I need to get together with some of your technical people. I'm going to need several very powerful amplifiers and a microphone." Lacus added. Dr. Simmons frowned in thought for a moment or two before nodding.
"I believe we can accommodate you both. Representative, after the march reaches the government sector we had planned on holding several rounds of inspirational speeches before we read out loud our requests and reasons for holding the protest. If you would speak then, I think it would have the greatest effect. In fact, hold on a moment..." Dr. Simmons picked up a cell phone... one of a half dozen or so on the table nearby... and hit a speed dial. "Hello, Eugene. Its me. Yes, we're all very excited here to. I'm sorry but I have to be brief in case they try to trace the call. The reason I contacted you is that I think I've found someone better suited to reading our little manifesto... no, listen to me Eugene, its nothing against you, you are a wonderful speaker and orator, but I really think the words would have a lot more meaning coming from Dawn. Yes, that changes things, doesn't it? Yes, I'm glad you feel the same way I do. Okay... good bye Eugene... see you tomorrow." Simmons hung up. "Eugene Marley... he works for the Orb National Theater Group, plays the main male character in a lot of plays. He was slated to read our requests before but he agreed with me when I said you would be a more fitting outlet."
"I see that sheet of code names I gave you came in handy after all." Kisaka said with a poker face smile.
"Oh, definitely. We're assuming that they are either intercepting, jamming or recording our communications and those code words and phrases have really come in handy in keeping them in the dark. I'm afraid we use them so much that I should warn you not to be surprised if someone uses them in casual conversation with you."
"So I'm Dawn. From Desert Dawn?" Cagalli asked. Kisaka nodded.
"Thats part of it... theres some symbolic meaning in it as well... Dawn of a New Age, Dawn for a Better Day and others... I think it's fitting."
"Do we all have code names?" Athrun asked. Simmons nodded.
"Yep. Kisaka was his usual thorough self. You're Sword..." she pointed at Athrun. "Kira is Shield, Lacus is Soul, Kisaka is Lion, Waltfeld is Tiger, Murrue is Captain." Dr. Simmons listed off the names by rote.
"What about us?" Alkire asked. "Do we get cool little monikers ourselves?"
"You didn't think I'd leave you out, did you?" Kisaka actually smiled this time. "I put a lot of thought into yours, Robert. You're Mr. Smith. Raine is Ranger, Victor is Stormy, James is Goat and Vlad is..." Kisaka trailed off. "Vlad is Deadman."
"Wow, you really did put a lot of thought into those!" Alkire said sarcastically.
"I thought they were appropriate, especially for a man who refuses to acknowledge he has a real name." Kisaka retorted.
"The Lion... the Tiger... and the Goat. Why do I always get shafted?" James mumbled. Vlad leaned over to him.
"At least you didn't get threatened. How do you think it is for me? There's at least two or three people in this room right now who wouldn't mind seeing me dead. Kisaka for his fiancee and children, Waltfeld for his family... I tell you, I'm expecting a shot in the back any minute now."
"If I was going to shoot you, I'd be sure to do it from the front." Waltfeld whispered, causing James to start a little... he hadn't heard the Coordinator come up behind them. "And you can bet it wouldn't be a headshot either. That'd be far too fast for you. I think Kisaka's code names are very fitting... Deadman."
"This isn't the time or place. If you want my life then by all means, you're entitled to it. I don't deny that. But killing me now will not give you any satisfaction or closure, you know and it certainly won't help this peace protest any." Vlad replied calmly. He spoke nothing but the truth... he could hardly blame Waltfeld for desiring revenge and if the Desert Tiger wanted to kill him, Vlad wouldn't stop him... it was nothing less than a mass murderer deserved.
"You have a point. But this is not going to be over. I'm not normally an obsessive man... but you and I have a lot of unfinished business."
"You and me and every other Coordinator, Mr. Waltfeld, sir." Vlad replied. "We'll talk more about it after we get back to the Archangel."
"I'm agreeable to that." Waltfeld acknowledged. How can he be some calm? He's not like I expected him to be. He knows I want to kill him and he seems to want me to kill him. I've heard of repentant killers but never would I think to count the Strangler Horrificus amongst them. This would be so much easier if he wasn't so agreeable... if he was a cold hearted bastard I could just aim and squeeze... but he's just a guy... a guy with a terrible past and no real future. Nothing is ever easy.
Unaware of the decidedly grim conversation occuring a few meters away, Lacus, Kira, Athrun and Cagalli were being introduced to the various other leaders of the protest. Lacus and Cagalli were of course major hits, that was nothing less than expected. Kira was greeted with slightly more reservation until it was revealed that he was the original pilot of the Freedom and Lacus's intimate friend... fiancee being a word they were avoiding for the moment. After that point in time he was greeted with nearly as much fervor as Lacus and his sister. Athrun got the coldest reception, which he'd been expecting. Even here, amongst some of the people most devoted towards the cause of peace, many could not help being suspicious of him for either his parenthood or more commonly because of Blue Cosmos's smear job and Cervantes's little follow up in that arena. Even the few Coordinators among the group of civilians did not have much to say to him. But no one was overtly hostile and they downplayed his relationship to Cagalli as much as possible for the moment, not wanting to step on any more toes than absolutely necessary until the time came. And the time would come, Cagalli was adamant at that. She wasn't going to hide her feelings or sacrifice her love just because public opinion didn't approve... not by a long shot. In a way, now that Blue Cosmos had revealed the whole affair it was more liberating... she had nothing to hide anymore and no reason to hide anything.
Kira was on the verge of being dragged off by several Coordinators who wanted him to have a look at some computer problems they were having, hoping a fresh mind would find some overlooked fact when Lacus stopped him with a hand on one arm. The Coordinators bowed and backed off quickly, which Lacus found more than a little embarassing... it was one thing to know that people admried and respected you, but quite another to be treated like high royalty just because you chose to stand up and make a difference in the world. She wasn't all that much different from any other Coordinator... or any other human. She could do a lot... but she could do nothing without the support of people like those in the room around her... no voice, no matter how loud, can call for peace alone successfully. "I want you to have these and wear them during the march tomorrow." Lacus said, placing two small objects in Kira's hand.
"Earplugs?" He asked questioningly. Lacus nodded, face serious.
"These are not going to be your average songs, Kira. I've been working a lot with Katie these last few days and I feel like I've come a long way since I sang at the funeral. I know I caused you a lot of pain then and I do not want to risk hurting you again." she told him in a whisper.
"No, Lacus. I'll be fine. It'd hurt me more to miss out on what could be one of the most important things you ever do..." Kira started to say before she hushed him by putting a finger on his lips.
"You won't be fine, Kira. You're going to be standing right next to me and we both know... even if you don't want to admit it... that you are more vulnerable to my abilities than almost anyone else. A lot of what I'm going to be singing is about hope and peace and happiness... I'm not worried about you there. But I do have a few songs saved up for performing later on in the march, especially if the military is ordered to stop the march. You have to remember I was a pop singer, and pop singers sing all types of music. Most of my popular songs were about unity and love and peace, but I've more than a few about love lost, sadness, sorrow, the pain of being alone and other more angsty tunes. I'm really worried that I might set off some of those bad memories you think I don't know about if you were to hear me when I'm using my abilities during those songs." she said firmly.
"Flay is dead and gone, Lacus. I was saddened by her death and at the time it tore me apart... but that was a long time and a lot of memories ago. Trust me, I can take it. I'm more worried about you, now! What happens if you overstretched your... uhm, abilities. I want you to be very judicious and careful... there's so much we don't know about them that..."
Don't change the subject on me. Lacus's voice snapped into his mind as clearly as if she had raised her voice loud enough to be heard across the room. The impact of the beepcall felt almost like a physical blow to the forehead. Flay is dead but she is not gone. She will never be gone from you... not as long as you are even remotely the loving, caring and gentle person I love. You loved her, she was very special to you, especially in your times of crisis. You don't have to hide those feelings from me, I'm not going to be jealous of another girl who was lucky enough to know you as well as she did. I'll never like her, especially considering how she manipulated you, but its not my place or my intentions to criticize her or you for what happened between you, now or ever.
"You are right." Kira said slowly. "But I'm still convinced that I'll be fine. Your song did call up very painful memories during the funeral. It did hurt. But I'm not going to run away from that pain, because that would not do anything but deny that there was any pain. Like you said, Flay is never going to be gone and she is dead... its high time I came to full terms with that. Lacus, your music, your songs help people see what's deep inside themselves and recognize it for what it truly is... its only those people have a troubled conscience about what they've done or who they are that have anything to fear from you. Even if you drag out my very worst, most painful memories, thats only to the better in my opinion, because that will let me face and acknowledge them, so they won't have any power over me."
"You are right as well." Lacus allowed. I hadn't thought of it that way... as ever, you surprise me, Kira, in a good way. She thought privately. "Still, maybe it's not so much that I'm worried about hurting you as it is I'm worried about unduly influencing you. Some of the stuff I've been working on with Katie... some of the stuff I've discovered on my own... Kira... I could control you by controlling your emotions. It frightens me, all the things I could inadvertantly do to you if I'm not careful. These powers don't make anything easier, they just make everything more complicated. I'm always second guessing myself these days... are the emotions people feeling theirs alone or are they being magnified by me? Do the people follow me and adore me because of who I am, or because I'm subconsciously influencing them to like me? I fear I might be stripping the very people I care most about of their free will without even knowing it. What should I do?"
"You should do what you feel is right, just like you always have." Kira said firmly. "I don't have any real idea what you are going through, I'm sorry to say. This whole Newtype thing is way above my head. All I can tell you is to trust yourself. I trust you implicitly, Lacus. You are everything to me, everything I want, everything I need, everything that matters. You worry about influencing me... I say that any influence is insignificant compared to my real feelings anyway. You always have been better with emotions than I ever could hope to be... just trust yourself. Even if you can control me, even if you could hurt me with just a careless thought... I trust you not to. And that's the end of the subject as far as I'm concerned." he continued softly, holding her close to him. He felt dampness on his shirt and could feel a moistness in his own eyes.
"And you say I'm good at counseling people?" Lacus's somewhat muffled but suddenly much more lighthearted voice said from where she was pressing herself against him, blinking away the tears. "Thank you, Kira. You've helped a lot."
"That's what I'm here for after all." He said with a smile. He looked around the room. Kisaka, Dr. Simmons, Waltfeld and the TEMPEST members were all clustered around the map table in an animated last minute rehashing of plans and positions. Athrun and Cagalli had disappeared though they were probably nearby, given that Kisaka wasn't prowling about like a cat hunting mice. Kira thought that his friend and sister had the right idea. Tomorrow was for the public... tonight was for them and them alone. A few brief questions to one of the protest organizers quickly revealed the presence of several other nearby storerooms, still unused and locked up. Kira grabbed his and Lacus's tote bags, his being by far the smaller and lighter because in consisted of only a spare set of controls and a few odds and ends, while hers contained not only normal clothing but several stage costumes that she would chose from depending on how she thought the day was going to go. With a wave to the still huddled Kisaka and Dr. Simmons, Kira led Lacus to one of the rooms, which he unlocked with a key he had been given. The room inside was a bit dusty and completely dark... Kira was just about to start clearing off the floor a bit when the door closed suddenly and a slight but warm and firm weight tackled him from behind. Getting dirty should be the last thought on your mind. Lacus said into his mind with a mental giggle... not something he had ever imagine could exist.
"Don't you think we've gone a little farther than "just around the corner" would indicate?" Athrun asked as he and Cagalli continued walking along the disused subway maintenance tunnel. All the tunnels and rooms are here were in disuse, replaced almost a decade ago by more modern facilities closer to the surface. There were even a few closed down subway lines down here, complete with several trains of cars, all beneath the active lines which tended to run about ten to twenty meters below street level. They were at least fifty meters down right at the moment, and who knew how deep the tunnels actually went. After chatting with the various protest leaders for a while, playing the happily returned political leader, Cagalli had pulled Kisaka aside for a moment and told him that she and Athrun were going just a short distance off for some privacy. He'd nodded and agreed, then admonished her not to stray too far, especially at a critical time like this. She'd waved a reply, grabbed a flashlight and Athrun and set off into the tunnel system without a backward glance.
"What, you thought I was being honest? If I told Kisaka we were going exploring and wouldn't be back for at least a couple hours, he'd have insisted on coming along to watch over us. And we've had far too many eyes on us for too long now, in my opinion. High time for some just you and me time." she replied from just ahead of him. She had their only flashlight and was playing it around on the floor and walls in seemingly random patterns.
"So what exactly are we exploring for then?" Athrun asked, ducking under a length of piping of unknown utility. There was no response for a short time.
"I'll let you know when I find it." Cagalli answered. This tunnel has to end somewhere... ah, a door, finally. Cagalli stepped up to the door and opened it... it creaked loudly and dust cascaded from the hinges. Perfect. "Athrun... would you be a pal and check out the next room for me?" she asked, trying to sound normal.
She's up to something... question is, what? Athrun thought. "I thought I was considerably more than a pal." He squeezed past her and stepped through the door ahead of her and turned. "Hand me the light?" Cagalli stepped over the threshold as well and half turned towards him... and suddenly the light went out while a terrible creaking groan came from the door as it rapidly swung shut. Athrun put out his hand but she wasn't next to him any more. "What are you doing?" he asked calmly, cocking his head and listening for the sounds of movement or breathing. He didn't detect anything. "Are you still here?"
"I might be." Cagalli replied, her voice muffled slightly. He thought she was behind him but when he put out his hand he only found the wall. "Then again, I might not be."
"Is there a purpose to this?" Athrun asked, shutting his eyes... it being dark as a cave he was only straining them in vain... and stepping forward into the room a few paces.
"There might be." Cagalli answered, this time seemingly from his left... the acoustics in the room were a little weird, especially with the lights out. "Then again, there might not be."
Athrun sighed. "I can see that you're being deliberately obtuse. Have I done something to upset you? If I have, please tell me about it... thats the first step to solving the problem."
"Why must there be a problem?" she asked him, focusing most of her mind on moving as silently as possible... just like Kisaka had taught her in the desert.
"You're acting very oddly." Athrun noted. "Is something bothering you?" He started when she chuckled, seemingly just in front of him, but when he moved his arms out in front of him he found only air. "Can't you just give me a straight answer?"
"I could if I had one." Cagalli told him.
"Could you at least turn the light back on?" he requested.
"Why? I find the dark liberating." she replied, her voice changing its tone. "Woulda thought you realized that by now." she became serious again after another brief chuckle, which had sent shivers down his spine nonetheless. "Maybe there's just something I want to talk about... I'm just so confused."
"Worried about the march tomorrow?" Athrun asked, slowly turning in a circle... he would find her eventually, he knew. "Everyone is nervous. Even me. Especially me. I'm not exactly Mr. Popular here."
"I'm worried about everything these days." Cagalli said, half to herself. "The closer we get to peace, the more I have to worry about. Initially all I had to worry about was surviving and getting revenge on Blue Cosmos. Now, all of a sudden, here we are in Orb again, on the verge of kicking Blue Cosmos out of the country once and for all. What have I been doing? I should be ready for this... but I have no idea what I'm doing."
"Well, you have that speech we worked on..."
"Screw the speech... words on paper... they don't do anything for me right now. They are for the people, not for me. That speech will help the common person on the streets figure out what to do... it provides no such guide for me. I feel like I'm lost in the dark, stumbling around, looking for support that may or may not be there."
"This is another thing like..." Athrun started to say.
"If you finish that sentence I'm going to leave you here to find your own way back." Cagalli warned him. "This is not the same thing as my little responsibility and confidence test in Hawaii. I have confidence, I know I can do whats needed for Orb, I'm going to take the responsibility for my actions... but what actions should I take? All my life these last few months has been concenrated on reaching a point like this... but I don't have any idea what to do next. I suppose I'll probably return to being Representative of Orb... but what will that mean?"
"A bigger paycheck." Athrun replied dryly. "Lots of meetings, lots of phone calls and much less time with the people you care about. It won't be fun or a walk in the park. But you'll get through it... you have the ability and the inclination."
"I don't need a pep talk, Athrun." Cagalli retorted. "I... I'm... I'm just trying to find some constants in my life to hang onto, something I can use to build off of into something meaningful for the future... both for Orb and myself."
Athrun smiled... she was behind him and to his right. She was moving dead quiet, but she'd kicked a loose bolt or something on the floor when she'd moved last. Casually, slowly, employing as much stealth as possible, he circled around behind her. He stood just behind her, close enoough now to hear her breathing and the sound of her hair swishing past her collar as she turned her head, trying to listen for him. He waited... two could play the hiding game. "Athrun?" she asked tenatively. He said nothing and smiled ever so slightly. "Athrun, this isn't funny." Cagalli paused a second more. "I know you're here... I didn't hear the door open." He remained silent. "Answer me, damn it!"
"And if I don't?" he breathed into her ear, slowly sliding his arms around her from behind. She jumped in his arms, completely unaware that he had been behind her. "What then, my princess, my Dawn? Will you turn the light on and find yourself or use the one constant you can always count on to build yourself a path out of here?"
"And what constant would that be?" she whispered back, shivering slightly in his arms as his hands started tracing along her arms and across her shoulders. She twitched again in surprise when Athrun placed his chin on her shoulder, cheek to cheek with her.
"Do you really have to ask?" he said, moving his hands downwards, just barely grazing her clothing and skin, just enough to tickle and tantalize... she hated it when he did that and also enjoyed it immensely.
"I can't build a future for Orb on our relationship!" she said in denial. "Look at what's happened already..." she stopped when Athrun's hands tightened on her hips. She could almost feel his eyes opening to give her a sideways glance.
"There are a number of things you can't do, Cagalli. Cooking, cleaning and poetry rank high amongst them." he told her. "However, the one thing you've always been able to do is inspire people... to get through to them even when they themselves think all is lost, to show them that life is always worth living, no matter how bad it seems at the time. What better foundation for a strong nation could there be than the love between two people like ourselves? We may not be saints but in all honesty, theres only one or two people I know who are more self sacrificing then us."
"But if public opinion is against us being married... Athrun, I can't give up on you but I can't abandon Orb for you either."
"Public opinion will always be public opinion, subject to change moment by moment. No country can be ruled solely by public opinion... some decisions are always going to be unpopular, no matter how necessary. I personally don't care if every other person on this wonderful planet of yours hates my guts. There is only one opinion that can sway me and I do believe she is safely in my camp. Let them complain... let them blame me and hate me... personally I wouldn't value the opinion, no matter how public, of a person who doesn't even try to understand whats really happening."
"So I should just say screw them, lump it and deal with it?"
"I'd use more politically correct terms, but basically yes. The people of Orb admire and respect you, Cagalli... much as many soldiers in ZAFT admire and respect me. I think that once we've explained the situation to them, they'll trust you. How can they not, given that now they've seen what the alternative government style is like? I don't recall Orb hosting many international protests of any type before the EA took over... now look where we are. We both have to face it, and so does the public... we're together and I don't think we're going to break apart, for good or ill. We may not always agree on things but I cannot imagine a life that does not have you central to it, can you?"
"It would be a bleak world without me, for sure." Cagalli admitted. She leaned back into him. "Are you going to put those hands to productive use or just leave them there?"
"What happened to the girl who didn't know what to do or what she wanted?" Athrun taunted gently, leaving his hands where they were.
"She's on vacation now that you've helped me sort things out a little bit. Damn it, don't leave me hanging!" Athrun's hands suddenly released her and she fell backward, landing hard on her butt. "Ouch!" she heard Athrun chuckle.
"I dunno... I'm having some trouble finding some constants to hang onto myself. It is awful dark in here..."
"Athrun!" Cagalli said sharply, reaching down for the flashlight she'd tucked into her pants pocket. When I get some light on the situation you're going to pay, love. Her hand reached the pocket and fished around inside... it was empty. She hadn't heard it drop either. "Cute, Athrun. Very cute. Now turn on the damned light."
"No, no no no... I haven't confided myself to you in return yet. See, I have a few problems too."
"Such as?" Cagalli chewed her lip slightly. He was playing with her and he knew it. She felt herself twitching. When I get my hands on you...
"I'll tell you when I think of one." he said from somewhere behind her. "Then again, I might not."
"Athrun, if you don't turn that light on right now..." Cagalli's voice trailed away suggestively. She jumped again when he grabbed her from the front this time... she'd been sure he was behind her. She was too startled by the sudden embrace to do more than just stand there.
"I thought you found the dark liberating?"
"Stop teasing me!"
"Why, its so fun?" Athrun asked. "You just need to relax a little... I know it feels like the whole world is resting on your shoulders, Cagalli... but life will go on. It will always go on, no matter how scared and alone you feel. You taught me that, after GENESIS. There is no way to know the future... all we can do is live our lives as they happen."
"Dammit... I'm supposed to be the strong one... when we first met you were bawling like a baby and then later on you were always so sad and melancholy. What happened to me inspiring you?" Cagalli protested with a smile.
"Believe me, you are the strong one. I'm just parroting what you've told me with a few embellishments of my own for flavor. And now I think we've both had enough talk, eh?"
"Kisaka is not going to be happy with us." Cagalli said, still smiling.
"I think I can take a few dark glares. Floor is a bit hard here..."
"That's why you get to be on the bottom... us royalty bruise easy."
"That's enough out of you..."