"Confirmed booster system connections. Interlocks A through G verified secure. Primary and secondary power connectors aligned and reading stable. Retest sat. Drawing power from Mass1's main power grid, time to full charge forty seconds and counting. All booster fuel is loaded. Ma'am, the Archangel has completed pre-launch systems tests and all departments are indicating green status. As soon as the ship finishes recharging, we will be ready to launch." One of the bridge officers, a lifelong Orb veteran, reported smartly to Murrue.
"Very well, Operations." Murrue acknowledged. All this time and it still seems odd not having Natarle or Andrew feeding me status reports. "Comms, what is the status of the Kusanagi?"
"The Kusanagi is still fueling their boosters and is about seventy percent of the way through their pre-launch checks, ma'am. They are still well within their timetable for their launch slot."
"Thank you, Comms. Give me a direct line to their CO, would you? Voice only."
"Aye, aye, ma'am."
"This is Commander Waltfeld speaking, how may I help you, sir or ma'am?" the slightly harried voice of Waltfeld came out from her phone receiver.
"Timeliness is next to godliness, Andrew... what's wrong... you seem to be falling behind. The Archangel is already engaged in its pre-launch charging. I seem to recall you making several comments as to how you would show us how to really get a ship ready for a snap launch?" Murrue could not resist the temptation to tease, especially given his earlier boasting. It had been shortly after the executive meeting called by Cagalli and Lacus, which had been convened in response to new intelligence Andrew's own intelligence networks up in the PLANTS had uncovered. ZAFT was apparently done recuperating... they had been marshaling forces ever since Carpentaria and now looked to be the time of their next campaign. Military strategists agreed that their next target was likely the Lunar Fleet bases on the dark and light sides of the moon. With those facilities destroyed or captured, the war in space would be all but over, and ZAFT would have plenty of breathing room to reinforce themselves in order to make another bid at winning the ground war. It was much the same strategy as the desperate fights to destroy the Mass Drivers during the last war... if ZAFT could control space then they wouldn't have to worry about defending the PLANTS, and that would be an enormous advantage.
"Yeah... I kinda reckoned without this annoying phenomenon known as "Gravity"." Waltfeld replied breezily. "Don't get me wrong, mind... we could launch now... we'd probably even make it into space in one piece. Or several pieces, all closely co-located, but same difference. Might be a little bit of a rough ride for the people in the crew quarters and hangar bay... but you can't make ommelettes without breaking eggs."
"But, Andrew... you were a ground commander before you were a space commander? How could you forget about gravity?" Murrue held one hand to her mouth to stifle the chuckles. Loading supplies in space was far different than on Earth, since in space a single crewmember could do the work of ten or twenty people on earth merely because the huge supply crates had no weight. Once you started them moving all it took was braking thrust applied to get them to stop moving, no additional effort was required. On Earth of course, to move the same load you'd need a gang of workers if not heavy lifting and stacking equipment. "Does this mean that you owe not only me, but everyone at the meeting a year's supply of coffee?"
"I'm beginning to think I was set up." Waltfeld rejoined, the smile in his voice evident. "But I guess you're right... remind me again when I get some free time... it'll take a while for just my little office grinder to make even a weeks supply."
"Maybe now then? It's not like you're going to be starting your countdown until you're ready, and by the looks of things you've got a good thirty minutes before that happens."
"Har-de har har. I am so amused. Can you tell?" he replied. "If you'll excuse me, maybe I should be taking a more active role in preparing my ship, rather than jawing with such a glorious and fast preparing commander as yourself. Waltfeld out."
Murrue hung up her phone and could not contain her own smile. Despite the near certain danger they would be facing in the next few days, Waltfeld remained his usual laid back self. Never mind the fact that he was commanding a ship he'd barely even been on before, while also recuperating from the attachment surgery that he had at last permitted to allow the replacement of his amputated right arm. She knew he'd been extremely conflicted about utilizing the arm of Vladimir, especially given the apparent history between the two men, but after much debilitation and soul searching he'd decided to go ahead with the procedure, reasoning publicly afterwards that it had been too long since he was able to throw a proper salute. She felt a certain bit of fondness for the former ZAFT commander... though at one point in time they had been enemies, now they were close friends. Maybe as much as kindred souls... both of them had lost people extremely close to their hearts during the last war and both had experienced the betrayal from their respective chains of command... they were more alike than not. Murrue felt a part of her that she had thought slain by tragedy tenatively awake again... certainly, Andrew was an admirable man in a lot of ways, and not unattractive, for all his scars. She pushed the thoughts away... now was not the time... maybe after the war, if there ever was such a time, then she could explore that avenue of thought. But for now... she'd not lose another part of her heart to this hellish conflict.
An amber light blinked on the arm of her command chair, indicating an incoming shipboard call. "This is Captain Ramius." she said, slipping back into command mode as she picked up the phone. She listened to the voice on the other end for a few moments. "I understand... yes, thank you, Mr. Majesty." she hung up and pondered for a few moments. Then she stood, immediately quieting the bridge as her crew turned to look at her in anticipation. "All crew and passengers are aboard." She announced. "We have been given the all clear by the Mass1 control tower and we will be launching shortly. Before we do, I'd like to say a few words." Murrue activated the 1MC, the shipwide speaker system and paused, gathering her thoughts.
"Crew and passengers of the Archangel, this is Captain Murrue Ramius. I am speaking to you as we sit, ready to once more launch ourselves into space and into potentialy deadly conflict. Before we do though, I want to confide in you all some thoughts. First, I must extend to each and every one of you my utmost respect and admiration, as each of you is a volunteer, a dedicated proponent of the ideals of peace we all believe in. It truly is one of the greatest honors of my life to be serving as your captain, and there is no other crew I'd want to be with more during the upcoming trials. Thank you... all of you. With that said, now I'd like to briefly overview the reasons behind this deployment. Many of you have read the official mission statement, but I'd like to explain a bit of the reasoning behind the orders." Murrue paused for breath.
"We are heading into space not as a peacekeeping force. Peace has to be established before it can be kept, and it has not been established. Our stated mission goal is to negotiate a cease fire between ZAFT and the EA forces, hopefully extending that cease fire into a long lasting peace agreement. I won't lie to you... most likely neither side will want to enter negotiations with us, much less each other. Thus, as much as it pains many of us, our orders will allow us to force a cease fire onto the warring factions in a manner such as we see fit. In practical terms this means we are now officially a third side in this war, opposed to both of the other two. We can expect neither remorse nor reprieve from the EA or ZAFT, but we must persevere...if we cannot accomplish our goals, then the future of the human race, Coordinators and Naturals together, will be bleak indeed." Murrue paused again, to let that sink in. They were quite literally perhaps humanity's last hope for peaceful coexistance and forward progress.
"Our intelligence indicates that ZAFT has completed it's post-Carpentaria build up and is even now gathering its forces for an all out invasion of the Moon. This will be a larger battle than any but Carpentaria, easily equivalent to the battle of JOSH-A. The EA has been surprisingly inactive ever since the destruction of Panama, but the defenses of the Moon cannot be understated... it has been a military installation for decades, the original jumping off point for all subsequent colonization of space. If we sit back and do nothing, if we allow this battle to play out to whatever it's conclusion will be without attempting to intervene and let our ideals be known... there very well could no longer be a Moon afterwards." Murrue let the line go silent as people thought about that horror. "This will be a battle that will test all of us, mind, body and soul. ZAFT is fighting for what is probably it's one chance at ensuring ultimate victory, while the EA is fighting for exactly the same thing... if they can repulse this strike, if they can hold off this attack, ZAFT will be broken and incapable of retaliating for at least two or three years... time in which the EA will become so strong as to be invincible. We can expect to be confronted by the cream of both militaries... their best pilots, their best soldiers, their best machines, in an all out, no holds barred conflict. WMD's will be only one of many threats we will have to be on the lookout for... in space a single mobile suit can be a WMD, if it attacks the wrong place. I expect nothing but the best from all of you, and I know I won't be disappointed. Thank you for your time, we will be launching shortly."
Murrue sat and looked at the bridge crew. "If everything is in order, let us be about our task. Comms, signal control that we are taking off. Weapons, commence charging and aiming of the Lohengrin. Helm, take us out nice and steady. Operations, make sure we are ready for an instant combat deployment the moment we reach orbit... I don't expect trouble this close to Earth, but it never hurts to be cautious. As soon as we break out of the Ionosphere, call all hands to battle stations. As soon as the Kusanagi joins us we'll make flank speed towards the rendevous point with the Eternal." Murrue barked out the orders rapid fire and bridge crew jumped to enact them. She felt the entire ship tremble as the engines ignited and slowly began lifting the ship up and out of its water filled launch cradle. Her hand went to the locket around her neck... I'm coming back to visit, Mu. I just hope I never have to feel that way ever again...
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"I still don't see why I have to stay here. I can appoint someone to take my place, I have that power." Cagalli argued vehemently, standing on the Orb side of the gangplank that led into the Kusanagi. Standing with her were Colonel Kisaka and Athrun, as well as several Orb Royal Guardsmen, who were her appointed bodyguard. She was currently ignoring Kisaka and the guards and was speaking only to Athrun, who had a pained expression on his face.
"We've been through this before, Cagalli." Athrun said in exasperation. "Ever since Purgatory Day, when you voluntarily took up the leadership of Orb once again, this moment has been coming. You are the Chief Representative of Orb, and that means you have a duty and a responsibility to your nation and your people. Sometimes that means fighting for them or leading them in battle. Right now it means protecting them and guiding them in their recovery, both from Purgatory Day and from the opressive regime they suffered under before."
"I KNOW that!" Cagalli retorted, bad temperedly, striking him not so softly on the chest with a clenched fist. "That doesn't mean I want to know it. Or that I have to accept it. There's still plenty of time before the Kusanagi launches to get the Rubicon on board... I'm going, Athrun and thats fina..."
"No, you aren't." Athrun interrupted her, arms folded across his chest dispassionately. "Listen to me, Cagalli... this isn't any easier for me than it is for you. You think I want to leave? That I want to go back up into space, into battle, where I'll probably end up killing not only EA soldiers, but most likely former comrades from ZAFT? You know that's not the case. There is nowhere... NOWHERE... I'd rather be than by your side. But as much as I want to stay here, my own duty and responsibilities forbid it. Orb is as safe as it can get, militarily speaking, especially with the EA apparently in disarray after Panama. My presence here with the Righteous would be superfluous, while I can really make a difference up in space. You on the other hand... you can make the greatest difference here in Orb, remaking your nation into the great power it once was, reconstructing it back into the dream it was under your father's rule."
"Hey, I outrank you! You work for me! I don't have to let you go... I can... I..." Cagalli snarled, pounding on his chest again.
"You can buck up and stop being a baby about it." Athrun retorted, catching her flailing fists in his own hands. "Right now you aren't acting like anything but a spoiled brat that's having a toy taken away." He noticed the shocked expression on her face. "You may be the national leader, Cagalli, but your last name is Zala now, by your own desire, no matter what the public believes. I'm your husband... and in that capacity I am not outranked by you and I definitely don't work for you... we work together. You do have to let me go Cagalli... this time you do. It's not a pleasant truth for either of us, but that's what spouses are for, getting the unpleasant things said that other people are afraid to say. So please, for me if not for the nation, please stay here and do what you do best here."
"And what do I do best?" She mumbled, bowing her head forward to lean against him, tucking her head up under his chin until she couldn't see anything but his red ZAFT flight uniform. "Besides complain and whine and make embarassing scenes for you?"
"You lead." Athrun replied softly. "You show people the good things in them and in life, even when they themselves either cannot or will not look for them. You make an impression on people that makes them want to follow you, to believe in you and support your ideals. You make the decisions, even the hard ones no one else wants to make and you stick by them through thick and thin. People admire and love you just because you are who you are and I'm not talking about just on a personal basis... walk outside on the streets of Orb sometime and see what happens. I don't think you'd need guards, because the entire nation is your guard, Cagalli, because they all love you."
"You make it damned hard to argue." Cagalli muttered, freeing her fists from his hands with slight tugs and wrapping him in a tight embrace. "I'm going to get you for that, eventually. And oh, how you'll pay for every last second of time that your logical arguments have kept us seperate. Maybe I'm being spoiled and possessive or even obsessive. I don't give a damn. I'm on fire, Athrun, and you're the only thing that can keep me banked these days. Maybe it's the stress, maybe it's the realization that I really am a world leader, maybe it's something I can't quite put words to... whatever it is... please, please come back to me soon Athrun. Before I go crazy and do something stupid."
"Now, now, don't sell yourself short. I'm sure you'll manage just fine without me... you'll probably barely even notice I'm gon..."
"Don't finish that sentence." Cagalli advised him, the heat in her voice practically charring his shirt. "Don't you even dare to begin to think that I'll be just fine without you. I have every confidence in myself, but I... WILL... NOT... BE... FINE!" she punctuated every word with a sharp hug and finally turned her face up to meet his. "You aren't even gone and I miss you. And tonight is going to be hell itself. Not to mention what tomorrow night will be like. And it's only going to get worse each night."
"Maybe it is a good thing that I'll be going away for a while." Athrun said, surprising her. "Don't get me wrong, my nights are going to be lonely too. But I am not a drug, Cagalli... and you sound like you're becoming addicted. There is never going to be anyone more important to me than you, but I don't require your presence every waking and unconscious moment to retain my equilibrium. Neither should you, in return."
"But Athru..." Athrun stopped her with a finger on her lips. He raised his gaze and cleared his throat, looking at Kisaka and the Orb soldiers.
"Pardon, but could Cagalli and I have five minutes of privacy?" Athrun didn't phrase it like a request. Kisaka didn't take it like one... Cagalli had always had problems with difficult partings... she'd had to be manhandled aboard the Kusanagi last time it launched from Orb.
"You have five minutes." Kisaka acknowledged, herding away the disgruntled looking bodyguard team, who decidedly did not like the idea of being seperated from their charge. One look at Kisaka's stone cold face was more than enough to pre-empt any sort of argument... the Colonel looked even less pleased than they were, though there also might have been a hint of satisfaction glinting in his eyes.
As soon as the soldiers were out of earshot, Athrun removed his finger. "Listen to me very carefully, Cagalli. I love you very much, but I am not an object and frankly I'm finding your clinginess to be rather off putting right at the moment." She started to open her mouth to protest and he clamped his hand over it to silence her. "Right now I'm speaking as Athrun Zala, former soldier of ZAFT, pilot of the Righteous and no-one else. This is not your friend, this is not your husband, this is not your subordinate. This act of yours is not cute, it is not endearing and it's frankly not the Cagalli I fell in love with. Right now you aren't the person who saved my life at GENESIS, you aren't the person who I fought beside for all these months, you aren't the person whom I fuck every damned night of the week!" His voice was quiet but extremely intense. "And until you become that person again, Cagalli, you and I are going to have communication difficulties." He noticed her wide eyes, which was good, he was hoping the shock treatment would get through to the real her. "And you can toss the sex completely out the window until you grow up and become the Cagalli I know you can be... even when I do come back, we won't be sleeping together unless you can convince me that this fawning little girl side of you really has gone away for good. That's deprivation for me too, because frankly you're hotter than wildfire in bed, but I got hands and I'll use 'em to relieve the pressure if I have to."
"Abrun!" she tried to shout, but his hand muffled her well.
"I'm still lecturing you, Cagalli, so please be quiet." He replied. She bit one of his fingers in response, which drew nothing but a slight smile from him, much to her constrenation. "There, that's a bit more like the Cagalli I know and love. I want her back, the girl who tried to kill me on that island, the one who stole my gun while I was sleeping, the one who held a gun to my head even while I was half dead in a hospital bed. I want the girl who goes her own way and does her own thing, who fights for her country because it's her own damned country, who is willing to do what it takes to bring peace to the world and convince people that killing is not the solution but the cause. Do you think you could find her for me, while I'm away?" He barely moved his foot out of the way in time to prevent it getting stomped on as she started to struggle in his arms. "Now, with that said..." he released her mouth and leaned forward, capturing her mouth with his own. It wasn't a nice kiss, but it communicated how he felt better than any words could... desire, love, concern, resolve... his eyes locked with hers and would not let go. She fought him the entire time, which he took to be a good sign... if she'd relaxed and enjoyed it it would have meant she hadn't been listening to a word he'd said. It hadn't been particularly fun, forcing himself to take such a tone with her, but it had been necessary. At long last, almost a minute later, he released her from his gaze, his lips and his arms.
The smack of skin on skin was just barely audible to Kisaka and the guards where they lounged around the Representatives limousine about fifty yards away. Athrun didn't reach up to touch his stinging cheek, he just smiled slightly and reached down to pick up his duffel bag. Cagalli stood in front of him, quivering with rage, her fists clenched at her sides and a look of death in her eyes. Athrun tasted copper in his mouth and figured he must have cut either his lip or gums on her teeth during the kiss, since the slap, while heartfelt, hadn't been delievered with nearly enough force to do more than turn his head slightly. Athrun hefted his bag and saluted Cagalli sharpely, coming to perfect attention. "Thank you, Ma'am and I'll be taking my leave now." he said dispassionately. She didn't reply, or salute him back, but neither did she protest, which he took to be all he was going to get right now. Without any further words between them he turned around and walked off across the gangplank to the ship. When he sneaked a glance over his shoulder when he reached the Kusanagi's hatch, she was already gone, her limo just pulling away from the curb. He smiled, since to do anything else would probably bring on tears... that hadn't been how he'd wanted the parting to go.
"Looks like someone had a bit of a lover's tiff?" Ysak commented, leaning up against the interior passageway bulkhead just to the left of the hatch. Athrun stiffened for a moment and Ysak prepared to defend himself against a punch, but nothing came of it... within seconds Athrun had returned to his usual calm self.
"Something like that. We had to get a few things straight between us." Athrun replied, not bothering to turn and look at Ysak. "How much did you see?"
"Enough to figure that you'd better invest in a good couch."
Athrun grunted a small laugh. "Well, not that I have anything to hide or whatnot, but if you could avoid mentioning our little spat to Kira...?"
"He's not precisely rational when it comes to either Lacus or Cagalli, yeah, I know." Ysak sighed. "I'd get a better handle on yourself before you go aboard the Archangel though... Katie doesn't care one way or the other what goes on between you and Cagalli, but if Lacus were to pick up on your feelings right now... well, she'd probably feel obliged to do something about it."
"Thanks, I'll remember that. And just in case you were wondering... I started it, got it?"
"No business of mine." Ysak replied. "I'd sooner jump naked into a pit of vipers than stick my nose into other people's relationships... especially celebrity relationships." He was going to say more but then he flinched slightly and his eyes unfocused for a moment. "Yes... yes, I'll tell him, though I'd imagine he's no stranger to that. Go away, speculate later. Damn it." Ysak refocused on the here and now. "Katie wants me to tell you that if you're going to be dragging a bunch of angst and misery aboard our ship with you, that you'd better be prepared to take tranqulizers when you sleep, unless you want to find out what it's like to get beaten to a pulp by a Natural girl. I told her that you probably knew all about getting beaten up by girls, and she gave me a few unhelpful images I could have gone my whole life without seeing concerning just how used you were to it."
"She likes red lingerie, because it doesn't show the blood." Athrun commented, fighting for a straight face. It was tough, seeing the totally shocked and repulsed expression on Ysak's face. "I'm kidding."
"I'd hope so... goddamn it, man, don't say fucked up things like tha..."
"She likes white, because it shows all the blood." Athrun finished, stepping away and around the corner, chuckling at the twisted expression on Ysak's face, his humor already much restored. Of course, it was all just poking fun at Ysak and his misconceptions... pain wasn't a turn on for either Cagalli or Athrun, and hopefully never would be.
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"Well, here we go again, off to space." Dearka commented to the mostly empty pilot's ready room of the Archangel. In addition to himself and Miriallia with the Grand Buster, the Archangel also carried the Liberty with Kira along of course, along with Lacus. There was also Alkire and the other two remaining members of TEMPEST, plus a large continegent of Orb soldiers who would serve as marines in case they ever needed to, for some reason, occupy an enemy installation. In addition to the two Gundams, the Archangel also carried four M4-Guardian mobile suits, with attendant pilots and crew, which was the reason the room was only mostly empty. The Kusanagi, which was launching after them, carried the Righteous and the Duelist plus Athrun and Ysak and Katie, along with ten more M4's and crew. Once both ships were in space, they would be rendevousing with the Eternal, which was being recovered from its distant safe harbor even as they were taking off. The Eternal of course had the twin METEOR units for the Righteous and Liberty, and was additionally supposed to be carrying at least a teams worth of Clyne Faction mobile suits, most likely slightly dated Guaizes, but it was far better than nothing. Quite the force when you put it all together... certainly better than then last time the Three Ship Alliance had gotten together... though of course now they were the official Orb 1st space fleet.
"Back home for you, isn't it?" one of the Orb pilots asked, quite innocently. Dearka let a ball of sadness settle into his gut a bit before replying.
"Somewhat. I'm not exactly popular with the ZAFT high command right now... they tried to recall me right after Pearl Harbor and I told them to fuck off. Even before I first joined the Archangel though, the PLANTS were never really home for me... not since I joined ZAFT. My family had a lot of... issues... with me being a soldier."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry at old scabs." the Orb soldier, who was several years older than Dearka, apologized. Dearka shrugged it off.
"Don't worry about it. I generally don't. My home is Orb now, and that's because I chose it. Visiting Aprilus or ZAFT HQ would be nice, but I frankly don't see either as being too likely, not unless we get a lot luckier than we have any right to be."
"You don't think miss Lacus will be able to get both sides to agree to a cease fire?" the pilot asked, coming over to sit across from Dearka.
"Don't get me wrong, if anyone can do it, Lacus Clyne is the person who will." Dearka answered. "I'm just wallowing in a little bit of fatalism... given my experiences with both sides so far in this war, I just cannot see them holding up a major battle just because someone... even Lacus Clyne... asked them to. For one, even if she's practically divinity to the civilians and most of the military in the PLANTS, she's just a Coordinator girl with a voice to most of the EA. For another, with the EA currently staggering around like a drunk who's been sapped with a brick, ZAFT is never going to have a better shot at practically winning the war in one stroke... they're not going to want to delay for peace talks... time is on the side of the EA, the more time is "wasted" in talks the more time they have to reinforce and prepare."
"Well, thats where we come in, isn't it?" the pilot reasoned. "If they don't want to listen to her, its our job to rough them up until they do listen to her."
"You make it sound easy." Dearka said with a slight smile. "Sure, we've got the Archangel, the Kusanagi and the Eternal... sure, we've got people like Athrun Zala and Kira Yamato, not to mention myself and Ysak... but we're talking about the combined might of both the ZAFT space forces and the EA space forces. We can field three battleships and a little less than thirty mobile suits, plus what amounts to a reinforced company of heavy infantry. If we equal a tenth of but one side, EA or ZAFT, we'll be very fortunate. Now, we've got a lot of extraordinarily skilled people and some of the best technology around... but numbers do play a part."
"The Representative wouldn't send us out on a hopeless mission. She has confidence in us and so then do I. I've fought long odds before and triumphed and I know you have as well, Mr. Elsman. So the battle is bigger... so the odds are against us... so the fate of the world hangs in the balance... I feel the stress, same as you or anyone else, but there are people counting on us... not just Lady Cagalli and my wife and kids back home, but the rest of the free and peaceful world as well. If we don't do this, nobody will... frankly, I don't see any possible way out of this but success, with that kind of motivation, do you?"
"Not when you put it like that." Dearka said with a bigger smile. "Name's Dearka Elsman, pilot of the Grand Buster. Good to meet you...?"
"First Lieutenant William T. Frost. Likewise." the man replied. "I'm the junior pilot of the Orb 31st Mobile Unit, which was assigned to the Archangel by the Representative herself due to our exemplary performance during the Battle of Carpentaria... I took the place of Captain Lain Debora, who..."
"Wait-a-minute... you said your name was Frost?" Dearka twitched a little just saying the name. The Orb pilot paused, wondering at the tremor that had gone through the voice of the younger Coordinator when he asked for confirmation about his name.
"Yeah, that's right. I'm Bill Frost. Why? Don't think we've ever met before."
It had to be a coincidence. Frost was not a unique name, there was bound to be other people with that name living around the world and even up in the PLANTS. Still... there was always the chance... Dearka thought back to a memory he'd rather not have, of being strapped to a surgical table deep in an underground lab, while a mad scientist cackled and demonstrated his skills at memory supression by having a subject look at pictures of his own family without recognizing them. If it had happened to Ashino than it was more than certain it would have happened to Frost... might this actually be a member of that bastards family? What should he say though... what could he say? Hi... your kid brother is the most insane, psychopathic killer I've ever seen. Are you like him? No... that won't work. I don't even know if he has a brother. "Uhm... bear with me, though this might seem a little odd... but do you have any family... siblings I mean?"
Bill leaned back, noting the hesitancy with which Dearka spoke. Clearly something was troubling the elite pilot... though what exactly was beyond him. He shrugged slightly... he'd already pried into Dearka's life a bit with his first question and it wasn't like he was ashamed of anything or anyone in his family. "Sure I do. My older brother, Sean and my younger sister Eryn, who are both Civil Engineers in the OSDF (Orb Self Defense Forces). They're working to help rebuild the city after... well, you know better than me. I was a Civil Engineer as well, but I got tapped for the Mobile Units because I'm a Coordinator and I have at least some aptitude for it."
"Yeah... I don't ever want to fight anywhere near a city again for the rest of my life." Dearka said with feeling. "Sorry to pry, but I've encountered someone with your last name before... an enemy. A really bad one. A total nutjob... really, I hope he's dead though I seriously doubt it... little fucker is just about impossible to do in, from what I've seen."
"Nope, no one in my family that meets that kind of description. My parents are dead and so is my youngest brother, have been for years now and I'm the only one in the family with any sort of combat skills. And I know we haven't fought before, since I'm still alive... don't get me wrong, I'm pretty dang good, but I'm not at the level of a ZAFT red coat, much less one with as much experience as you." Bill thought for a moment. "What was this blokes name, anyway?"
"Zacharis. Zacharis Frost." Dearka replied. "I cannot stress enough how much of a head case this little fuc..." Dearka trailed off, seeing the tortured expression on Bill's face. "What?"
"Zacharis... Quentin... Frost?" Bill asked slowly. Dearka nodded equally slowly...he remembered Ashino saying that was Frost's full name, back in JIHAD. The two Coordinators looked at each other for several moments.
"I think you and I need to go talk with some people..." Dearka started to rise.
"He's alive?" Bill asked fiercely. Dearka paused, considering how he was going to break it to this guy that his kid brother... really wasn't his kid brother anymore. Wasn't even human, in some respects. Dearka swallowed loudly.
"Yes. I've not seen his dead body, and until I do I would never be so stupid as to assume he's dead. Before you jump all over me though... theres some stuff you need to know about your little brother..."
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Sai straightened his tie, his fingers running over the cerulean blue silk tie, with its tie clip showing the grey wall with the blue Earth rampant above it. Satisified that it was hanging straight, he gave himself another once over... his black suit was spotless, as were the likewise black trousers and gleaming white shirt. His trademark orange tinted sunglasses were clipped to one breast pocket in place of the usual hankerchief, and his hair was slicked back into a much more refined and constrained look than the usual half tousel headed style he preferred. But tonight was not his night... it was the world's night and so he had to dress to meet the world's expectations. It had been a frantic scramble to get everything in place for this speech and the momentous events it signaled, but through efforts he could only describe as superhuman, his staff had pulled it off. The Isolationists had done it... they were victorious. Or so nearly so that it hardly mattered. Here he was, mere minutes away from taking into his sweating and admittedly trembling hands the reins for the future of all of Natural Humanity. He let his true feelings run rampant across his face for the moment, because soon he'd have to supress all of them but the calm and well centered man in control, which was really only a small part of what he was.
"Don't be nervous, sir. You've had this coming to you ever since you challenged Cervantes in Panama. This is your moment... you should treasure it." Cyprus said, with what might have been a smile. Or at least an attempt at one... smiles did not naturally cross Cyprus Finch's face. The new de facto leader of the combined military forces of the OMNI Enforcer treaty... the Earth Alliance in common slang... didn't look the part. He wasn't wearing his dress uniform of whites, golds and reds, with the admittedly large number of citations and medals he'd earned. He didn't have long rows of stars pinned to his lapels, as any commander in chief normally would, to denote their seniority. He was dressed in a very clean and well pressed version of the Hellhound BDU's, resplendent in its black, dark grey and orange camouflage pattern. His mask was worn up on top of his head and he was fully armed and armored, weighed down with nearly seventy pounds of combat gear...spotlessly clean and exceptionally well maintained combat gear... but combat gear nonetheless. The twin silver bars of a Lieutenant in the Special Forces gleamed on either side of his collar lapels.
"My moment came back in Hawaii, when Asmodeus surrendered. This is just the rest of the world catching up to that fact." Sai replied. A thoughtful look crossed his face for a moment. "It's hardly the time or place, but have we found out what happened to him yet? From what I read in the report we got from the Panama inspection teams, his body wasn't among the slain. They couldn't even find blood or other DNA evidence that he'd even been there at all."
"Nothing definite, but if I know Asmodeus at all... even with the changes that have come over him of late, he probably broke and ran for it after Frost carved a path out through the soldiers. I'd say he's probably marshaling the real core of the Puritans in some hidden fastness right now... it's what I'd have done if things went the other way... gather an elite group and start striking back at the victorious party. We haven't seen the last of him, you can be sure of that... and when he does choose to reveal himself again, you can bet he'll be twice as dangerous as he was before... he's not going to forget or forgive being tricked by you in Hawaii." Cyprus replied.
"At least we can probably say for sure that he's no longer working with Frost. I cannot fathom why Frost spared his life... none of us ever had that much regard for Asmodeus, even me... but even though he apprently did, I just cannot see them working together." Ashino added. For this ceremony Ashino was likewise dressed in a manner that would doubtless seem strange to mose observers. As the commander of all of the EA mobile suit forces, one would expect him to be again bedecked in medals and ribbons and other badges of seniority. Instead he wore a simple pilot suit, mostly white with blue shoulders and dark greay stripes down the outside of the legs. It looked a hell of a lot like the flight suit Kira used to wear, to Sai's eyes. Ashino didn't even have rank insignia of any sort on his flight suit, while a pistol was holstered at his side and his knife sheathed across his back. In truth Ashino was a little nervous as well, though he did not tremble. It helped that since Sai had assumed de-facto control over all of Blue Cosmos and most of the rest of the EA command structures already... the speech just being an announcement of that fact, not the start of the process... that they'd been able to find a lab to produce a supply of Gamma Glipheptim for him. He was now fully stocked up again, and the difference in his performance was gratifying... no longer did he feel like collapsing after any sort of prolonged activity.
"We're tracking him, right?" Sai asked, starting to put his game face on... there were only three minutes left until the big moment.
"Yes, I've already despatched a recon fleet as well." Cyprus said with a wolfish tint to his voice. The higher ups... the remaining higher ups, that is... in space command sure hadn't liked getting orders from him, a mere lieutenant. But he was the only one giving coherent orders and with more than half their forces already listening to him, there wasn't much they could do. He'd been surprised how easy the military had been to swing over... he'd barely had to give one or two audiences and people were jumping over to the Isolation banner in droves. Maybe it was because he'd spoken directly to the grunt level soldiers, not letting his words trickle down through the filters of the chain of command. Sai told him it was just because he was a natural leader of men, but Cyprus had glossed that over... he wasn't going to let his boss trick him into accepting a promotion, people had tried that before. Bad enough that he was giving orders to an entire military, he would NOT deal with people saluting him and calling him "general". "They have orders to shadow the Judgement and the Fury and report if they make any sudden movements. They are to engage only if attacked, and to run if possible... which should be an easy choice since they know they lack the firepower to defeat even a single team of ZAFT mobile suits, much less the Judgement."
"Our course projections put him as crossing the outer lines of the PLANTS defenses in a little more than a day. Whether or not that's intentional on his part is anyone's guess." Ashino added. He was about to say more when an aide opened the door and bustled up to Cyprus, handing him a piece of paper and whispering a few urgent sounding words into his ear, too low for even Ashino to pick up. Sai and Ashino looked expectantly at Cyprus after the aide had left.
"The Archangel and the Kusanagi have launched from Orb on orbital trajectories. Our few remaining sources of military intelligence in Orb haven't been able to get us much, other than the fact that Cagalli Yula Attha has remained behind as Chief Representative. The whereabouts of any other principle parties are unknown, though if I had to guess, I'd say they were aboard one of those two ships."
"If Lacus Clyne wants to try and stop a battle between ZAFT and us, I'm not about to stop her." Sai said with a laugh. "Frankly, the more time she wastes distracting everyone up in space, the easier my job will be. And after she's exhausted both her words and Kira's strength trying to prevent a battle neither side can afford to call off, then we'll offer our cease fire to the PLANTS and we won't have to worry about their meddling. As for Cagalli... well, shes going to cause problems... thats what she does best. But Orb is still barely even a country right now... if they know what's good for them they'll be keeping their heads down while they rebuild, at least for the meanwhile."
"Sir, you've got thirty seconds until its time." One of the new government aides called into the room.
"I understand." Sai called back. He looked at his two friends one more time. "The fate of an entire world rests on our shoulders, my friends. Frankly, I'm glad, because I don't know of any two people I'd rather be sharing this burden with. May we carry it well and briefly. I want to be a father much more than I want to be a leader."
"We've got your back sir, just like you've got ours." Cyprus acknowledged.
"This is my world too... you were the one who showed that to me. I won't do anything to disappoint your trust." Ashino replied.
"Ten seconds!" the aide shouted. Sai started making his way towards the doorway leading to the briefing room deep underneath the street level of the Governers mansion in New New York, which was where the old Atlantic Federation and hence EA government had moved to after Washington DC was destroyed. Cyprus and Ashino fell in behind him and the three walked through the double doors of the so called "ready room" directly into the spotlights of a huge underground auditorium, formerly used for large scale meetings of state legislature before being pre-empted for use by world legislature. Right now the auditorium was packed to the brim not only with the remaining political figures of the EA, but hundreds of Isolation authority figures and an equal number of reporters. A far off gallery was overflowing with civilian witnesses and spectators, while thousands more crowded the parks and squares of the city above, paying careful attention to huge building mounted TV screens. The people of the world had been told a momentous announcement was forthcoming, but none of them knew exactly what that meant. The crowd in the auditorium erupted in cheers and applause when Sai became visible, and the adulation did not die down even when he reached his podium, flanked to either side by Ashino and Cyprus.
Sai waited and let the crowd work out a little of their feeling... it would help them feel better and he had to admit, the way it was making him feel wasn't all that bad either. He saw Vanai, her stomach huge with the twins inside her, weeks from the predicted birth, sitting in the front row, her yellow eyes flashing like gold coins as she looked at him with pride and devotion, her wild flaming red hair falling down her shoulders like a river of magma. He gave her a special smile, a smile of connection, of gratitude for all that she had done for him that had allowed him to come to this point in his life. His children... Matthias and Jessi... were going to be born and grow up in the kind of world they should... one free of war and strife and inequality. And it was because he'd chosen to make a stand... yeah, that was a good feeling. The cheering didn't look like it was going to stop any time soon, so he held up his hands for silence, which, slowly and reluctantly, he got.
"Thank you... all of you, for that kind and heartwarming welcome. Truly I am blessed with friends, family and citizens like yourselves. I am sure I will be hard pressed living up to the larger than life image of me people will no doubt be expecting, but if that is my only difficulty during my hopefully short tenure as a world leader then I will be blessed beyond any reasonable expectation. People of the world, I am speaking to you on this day not only as a fellow concerned citizen but as a man who, through both will and circumstance, has stepped up to make a difference in the world. Still, I did little more than become a figurehead for you, the people of the world, so that you could express your views to the people formerly governing this regrettable war. It is a capacity I am glad to fufill... I do not wish to be world leader for the power it grants me... I much prefer being a father, which hopefully, by the grace of god, I will be soon... but rather I am glad because as world leader I can do my best to ensure that not only my own children, but everyone's children, can grow up and live in a world without strife and conflict and genocide and war." Sai paused for a moment, as if he wasn't giving a rehearsed speech.
"I... like most of you, want nothing more than for this costly and bloody and pointless war to end. I have nothing against Coordinators..." Sai let the hubbub over that rise up and then fade. "Yes, you heard right, I don't hate Coordinators and here I am, leader of Blue Cosmos. But the Isolationists are NOT the old Blue Cosmos. Coordinators are admirable people... like us they range from the likable to the despicable, beautiful to ugly, reasonable to fanatical... they're just people, like everyone else. Yes, they live longer... yes, they don't get sick as much... yes, they have greater mental and physical capacity... but that does not, in any way make them better. Look around the room... I'm sure you'll find someone there who will live longer than you, doesn't get sick as much and is smarter or stronger. Does that mean they are better than you? Of course not. As one of my... friends... a Coordinator, once said to me... "sure, I can do all of that, but theres things you can do that I cannot." I was floored at the time, because before I'd been a prisoner of the same illogic as has formerly gripped a great many people... that just because my friend was a Coordinator made him inherently better in all ways than me. This is patently not true. Another thing this friend of mine said also has bearing on this situation... "people are not defined by their abilities alone." Truer words have never been spoken." Sai paused again, letting his words sink in.
"People are not defined by abilities... people are not defined by any one set of characteristics, I feel. You have to take a person as a whole before you can understand them. Now, don't get me wrong... some people, when taken as a individual, are bad... people like my recently deceased father in law, Cervantes Zunnichi or the much reviled Patrick Zala of ZAFT. But just because Cervantes was genocidal and filled with hate, does that mean that all Naturals are? No. The same for Patrick Zala... do all Coordinators want to destroy the world? Of course not. Coordinators are just like us... everyday people, working at their jobs, raising their families, going about the process of living. We should not hate them for their differences, but rather respect them for their strengths. Much as they should return that respect likewise. But what strengths do we have, you ask? What do we have compared to their longevity, their intelligence and strength and immunity to disease? I'll tell you what we have... we have stability. Security. We have an entire world of our own to live on." Sai saw people in the audience looking introspective... good he'd opened up at least a few of them to a new perspective... that was a victory of note right there.
"Coordinators... they seem like a dream come true to us Naturals, don't they? Stronger, faster, smarter, more beautiful, longer living... we never stop to think about the price they pay for their existance. We don't think about the fact that one in five of all second generation Coordinators is sterile and unable to produce children. Or that the same thing applies to third generation Coordinators, but at the rate of one in three. The few fourth gens are even worse off... fully half cannot produce children. Can you see where this trend is going? Yes, they pass along their superior mental and physical abilities and immune systems to their children, but at what cost? At seventh generation, scientists predict that they will be unable to reproduce on their own... and artificial womb technology is so hideously expensive as to be impractical. Maybe it won't always be so, but by the time the technology is commercialized decades will have passed. Decades with an extremely low if not nonexistant birth rate. If the war continues to be as big a drain on their population as it has been so far, they are looking at the very real possibility of dying out. This is not news to them... they are after all, smarter than many of us. They are riding the razors edge of disaster far more than we are by pursuing this war. So, why then are they pursuing this war, when clearly it isn't to their long term advantage?" Sai let the room hang on his next words.
"Because we tried to destroy them. It is our fault. The war is our fault." There were gasps throughout the room. Sai held up one hand and fixed a pained expression on his face. "No, don't get me wrong... the war may be our fault, but they are not guiltless... not lightly can events such as the invasion of Panama or the destruction of Ptolmiaus crater be forgotten. But none of us should ever forget the Bloody Valentine Tragedy. Or the more recent debacle of Carpentaria. Or Purgatory Day. Is it any wonder that they fight us, when they look at our actions and see nothing but hatred and death? I'd fight back pretty hard too, if I was confronted with extinction at the hands of madmen. All they wanted was to be free of the admittedly harsh economic restrictions placed upon them by their parent countries, who insisted upon using them like the resource satellites they weren't. They wanted to grow their own food, live their own lives, believe their own beliefs, set their own taxes and write their own publicly accepted laws. None of those are unreasonable desires in my book... every successful nation throughout history has desired them. They wanted independence. And what did we give them when they asked us for it? A massacre. We nuked a helpless agricultural colony with hundreds of thousands of civilians on it, without warning. If you want someone to blame for your dead family, your fathers, brothers, sisters, mothers and children who have lost their lives to this terrible war, you don't have to look any further than the closest mirror. Not because you sanctioned the attack... but because you didn't protest it... you just accepted it. It's a sin we're all guilty of." Sai's voice dropped to a near whisper.
"We just sat back and watched on our TV's, listened on our radios, and went on with our lives. It happened way up in space after all. To Coordinators. Who were causing problems. Why should we have cared? Well, looking back now, it seems kind of obvious. If someone nuked a bunch of my helpless family and friends without warning, you can bet I'd not take it lying down! Nobody reasonable would. They responded in an entirely predictable manner and we called them traitors and dissidents and terrorists. We let people like Azrael Murata and Cervantes Zunnichi guide our desires, fuel our hatred at our losses and gloss over the fact that we had thrown the first punch. We did this... I'm speaking about all of us. Why did we do this? Because it was easy. It shifted the responsibility onto someone elses shoulders. It let us go on with our lives without us having to worry about what it all meant, about what a terrible tragedy we'd all committed and accepted. We stuck our heads in the sand and we only take them out when ZAFT kicks our ass, not when we kick theirs. We put our fates in the hands of men who would go to any length... any length at all, to destroy people who hadn't done them any great harm. Including nuking our own cities and blaming ZAFT. Including kidnapping toddlers from their houses and conditioning them into killers. Including attempted assassination of any person who tried to take a stand against them." Sai knew he had every last bit of undivided attention now.
"It's painful to realize the truth of what I'm saying... but that's my challenge to you, the people of the world. Look at your actions... really look at them. Have you acted in a way you're proud of? Did you make a stand? Did you blow the whistle? Or did you stand by and let it all happen, because that was the easy and safe thing to do? I can tell you what I did, and it wasn't any of the former." Sai looked out at the audience. "But I'm not going to let things just pass me by any more. Better late than never, I'm making my stand now. I'm going to put a stop to things and I'm inviting you... challenging you... to stand with me. And not just stand, but progress forward to a bright future for all of us." Sai paused again. "Naturally, a few things have to happen before we go any further though. We have to stop the war. I have a plan for that, but first I'm going to let my military advisors, Lieutenant Cyprus Finch and Markov Ashino, fill you in a bit on the current military situation."
"Thank you, sir." Cyprus acknowledge brusquely, stepping forward two paces and coming to parade rest. He didn't bother to use a microphone... though not his favorite, public speaking was a skill like any other and one that, like most others, he'd practiced to some extent. "I have been appointed commander in chief of the EA military. I am a lieutenant. That rank will not be changing. For all you soldiers listening, you can rest assured that no longer will ANY battle be planned without the considerations of the common soldier taken into account. I do not let my men and women be killed for no reason. With that said, death is sometimes unavoidable... we choose to serve and protect and sometimes that means we have to make the ultimate sacrifice. Now..." Cyprus paused a moment as the spotlights dimmed and a massive display screen deployed from the wall behind him. "Some might consider it foolish to lay our plans out in the open, across public news channels that ZAFT will of course be monitoring. In many cases, that would be correct... but right now, nothing either side says will make much difference for the upcoming battle as we both know what either side is trying to do."
"ZAFT will be launching a full scale strike against the Moon within one or two days. Their buildup is impossible to ignore... any amateur astronomer with a x100 telescope can pick up their fleet movements if they look at the right part of the sky. They will be targeting our various lunar fleet bases with the intent to destroy or occupy them. If they accomplish their goal they will have won the war in space, which will place them in a position of nigh unassailability for the rest of whatever war there may be. Our own defenses have been extensively reinforced ever since the space buildup became known to us, and our forces will be doing whatever they can to repulse and destroy the incoming attack. If we are successful then, depending on the severity of ZAFT losses, they may be forced to sue for peace. This is the outcome we most desire, barring that of peace talks beginning now... though few of us hold any hope that such can occur. My message to our brave soldiers manning the defenses on the Moon is this: Hang on as best you can, reinforcements WILL come and fight like the future of humanity is resting on your shoulders, because it is. Now I'll turn the floor over to Markov Ashino, our mobile suit expert."
"Thank you, Cyprus." Ashino stepped forward as well. "Much of what I would talk about is classified, so instead I'll tell you a little bit about myself. My name is Markov Johanavich Ashino. I do not know when or where I was born, who my family is or what they look like. The reason for this lack of knowledge is that I was stolen from my home when I was only one or two years old, by order of the Blue Cosmos leadership. I was inducted into a new project, which would become known as the Biological Central Processing Unit Production Facility, BCPU ProFac or just BCPU for short. Another name for what me and dozens of my fellows became due to the fruits of this project was Extended. Ninety nine point nine repeating percent of all listeners will have no idea what I'm talking about... those who do are likely panicking. I was conditioned, both physically and mentally, in such a rigorous manner as to be inhumane. My memory was wiped at least three times and I underwent extensive emotive reprogramming to bury my positive emotions like love and curiosity and forgiveness while enhancing or extending the reach of such emotions as hate, fear and loyalty. Beyond this mental trauma was the physical trauma... I was subjected to three full open body surgeries, performed largely without anaesthetic. My organs are covered with synthetic armor and my bones are reinforced with polymer-metallic strands that make them far sturdier than any normal human. I was forcibly addicted to several different drugs, many of which I require in daily doses to live." He slipped his knife out from behind his back.
"My blood is composed of not only what human blood is, but several dozen other chemicals besides. Among many other properties, it coagulates almost instantly when I am injured... like so." Ashino rolled up a sleeve of his flight suit while he talked and then slashed his arm deeply with the knife. There was a gasp from the audience as blood spurted from the long and deep gash and then a much louder exclamation when, within seconds, the blood dried and scabbed over, leaving a thick leathery residue over the wound. "It won't scar, either. My eyes have been upgraded to allow me to see into the infared spectrum to some extent, while also granting me the ability to see in the dark much like NVG's do. The rest of my senses are likewise amplified to being two or three times as good as any Naturals... better even than most Coordinators. None of these upgrades was voluntary. I didn't want them... but I was too young to protest at first and later I was conditioned not to protest. I was programmed to think of myself as an object. To regard Naturals as my righteous masters, above me in all things. I was not paid or compensated for my service. I did not officially exist. I was lucky to survive at all... hundreds of other children were not so fortunate. I was forced to learn to fight, to kill, to pilot war machines, to fly Gundams. I lived in a cell and I was privilged to wear a military uniform rather than simple coveralls. I was brought up to hate Coordinators more than anything else, and to kill them on sight. Why did all this happen to me? I don't know. But it did... I was made to be a weapon, a destroyer, so that other people wouldn't have to risk their lives or bloody their hands in fighting for their own warped ideals." There was absolute silence in the auditorium now.
"But that is in the past. I cannot change the past, though I can affect the future. It is because of Sai and people like him that I have a chance at regaining a semblance of a normal life. Because he took a stand I have a chance. I'm never going to forget that." Ashino stared balefully out into the audience. "I'd advise you not to forget it either. Don't forget the depths to which humanity can sink. Don't forget what lengths you can go in your hatred and fear. I and others like me are the result of uncontrolled fear and the rampant avoidance of responsibility you Naturals have characterized as a whole ever since Coordinators were first created. Don't go down that path any further. I'm begging you... don't go down that path any further. Listen, when hope is offered to you... don't turn him down. We've all been given another chance at a normal life... don't refuse it. Take it... with me." Ashino bowed his head and backed up. "I return the floor to Sai."
"Thank you, Ashino." Sai didn't have to fake the choked up quality in his voice. "My plan, which I'm sure most of you have been waiting a while to hear, is simple. I call it the Isolation Plan. It consists of four major steps. The first step is the removal of all Coordinators from the Earth and the Moon and near orbit locations. We will use force if we have to, but I've already created a fund that will compensate Coordinators for the expenses of moving to the PLANTS as long as they do so peacably, either abandoning or destroying any military equipment they leave behind. From the moment I implement this plan, which will not be until after the battle of the Moon is fought and won, Coordinators will have exactly three months to leave all Natural territories. There will be no attacks or pogroms upon the Coordinators... I encourage people to be as much help as possible in assisting them to leave, we hardly need any more ill feelings between our cultures."
"The second phase of my plan calls for total cessation of all hostilities between us and the PLANTS. This will occur the moment all Coordinators have been relocated to the PLANTS and not one instant before. I am willing to provide generous terms to the PLANTS and I will remain open to their terms in return. The third phase of the plan involves the construction of static defensive peacekeeping forces and installations on both sides. Emphasis on static and defensive. We will not be building up for another attack on the PLANTS, I think we've seen where such follies lead. These forces and installations will serve only one purpose... the seperation of our two cultures. Naturals will not venture into the regions of space owned by Coordinators. Coordinators will not venture onto the Earth, Moon or near orbit. There will be no trade, no communication, no interaction except at the most distant and controlled levels between our two cultures. The Coordinators want indepence, we will give them independence. We don't need them to survive and they don't need us to survive. They have their own agriculture, their own cities, their own industry. Their economy is stronger than ours, actually. So let them have space, as much of it as they desire. We have Earth and the Moon... we won't need anything more for centuries if not millenia. The fourth and final step of the plan is the reconstruction of our society here on Earth, seperate from the Coordinators. That is the Isolation plan. Copies of it in its entirety are available online. Now... I wish I had time for questions but we have a crises in space to manage... afterwards I'll be sure to take as much time as needed to answer any questions people may have..."
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Kira didn't especially like the look on Lacus's face. He couldn't see that the expression on his own face was likewise twisted into a grimace. Both of them, along with pretty much everyone else on the Archangel and the Kusanagi, had just finished tuning in to Sai's announcement of his taking control of the reins of power in the EA. As usual when he listened to Sai speak, Kira found himself agreeing with what his erstwhile friend said, in the general sense... but as always he was unable to shake a sense of unease as well. What Sai said sounded so good, so flawless in a lot of ways, that he couldn't help but be supicious of it. There was just too much good about it... there had to be a downside didn't there? Logic said maybe not, but his gut wouldn't let it go... something was up. It's because you're looking at it from the perspective of a Natural. Lacus's voice echoed in his mind as she turned her head to look at him. Look at it from the side of the PLANTS. "I don't quite know how..." he started to say, off guard at the suggestion.
"What happens if the flow of raw materials from the PLANTS allies on Earth gets cut off?" Lacus asked him more directly. "We grow a lot of food in the Junius Colonies... maybe enough to support half of our population by ourselves. Half, Kira. The rest comes from Earth. As things are with Australia suffering so much damage to its farmlands, many PLANTS will have instituted food rationing. If that source gets cut off, not to mention the influx of thousands more Coordinators formerly living in Orb and other places around the world... we live in space, Kira, we don't have unlimited room aboard the PLANTS. It's not a difficult calculation... within a week or at most two our food stockpiles will be exhausted. Even if we emergency converted several other PLANTS to agricultural purposes and scavenged from other, outdated colonies, we'd extend our time to at most a month before we were consuming more than our supply. It will take years of construction and development before the PLANTS are truly self sufficient in terms of food. Right now we're fine because we can trade high quality manufactured goods for food, using asteroids for raw materials. If all trade is suspended though..."
"The PLANTS economy will collapse in a manner of weeks... it certainly won't last any longer than the food surplus." Dearka took up the thread. "From there we'll move into food riots and then large scale starvation. After about eight million of us die off from lack of food things might look a little better... at least our population will be stable at the level our agriculture can supply. We'll be self sufficient. Isn't it wonderful. We can even use all those corpses for fertilizer, I'm sure." Dearka cut off when Miriallia slapped him on the arm... she wasn't the only person looking sick. "I'm sorry, but this is a bullshit idea that only a Natural could have come up with. A rich, privileged Natural whos never even been to the PLANTS, never really looked at what the Junius Colonies are capable of and hasn't don't a lick of research on our so called "strong economy", or else he'd realize that his so called perfect Isolation plan is just peacable genocide!"
"He's got to realize that. Sai's not stupid and he really doesn't hate Coordinators... I don't think he wants to kill off millions of us through starvation. I wouldn't give much for my own life if we were to cross paths again... but just listen to him... he really doesn't hate us." Kira pointed out.
"Just because he has good intentions doesn't make him right." Athrun cautioned from the bridge screen. Kira wondered at the slight bruise his friend sported on one cheek... it almost looked like someone had slapped him for some reason, but now wasn't the time to enquire. "We have the best of intentions and everyone seems more than happy to fight us, after all. I think Sai has fallen prey to a common problem for people new to great responsibility... namely, overenthusiasim. He's so caught up in all the sweeping changes he can enact, all the people he can help, all the power he can wield that he just isn't thinking straight. He's rushing forward the generalities without considering all the particulars. And unless someone can wake him up, it's going to potentially cause a tragedy far worse than Junius Seven."
"But this is all conjecture, right? This might not even come to pass. What if ZAFT wins the battles at the Moon? Then the EA will be on the defensive and the PLANTS won't have to worry about the Isolation plan." Miriallia pointed out.
"It's not going to be that easy." Ysak replied. Dearka nodded.
"We're up here to prevent either side from having a battle, to try and get them to seek a peaceful solution. Well, we just heard what the EA consider their solution... I don't think ZAFT's gonna like it much more than I do." Dearka explained. "If we interfere in any of the battles we could potentially tip the favor towards the EA, especially if ZAFT is relying on any WMD's to soften up the opposition. On the other hand we might tip the balance in ZAFT's favor and then they would own the Moon and we don't even know what their terms sound like... they could be anything up to just as harsh as this crackpot Isolation. Given the Us or Them atmosphere of current world politics, any resolution would be binding upon the entire Earth... meaning Orb as well."
"Damned if we do, damned if we don't." Waltfeld summed up. "It can't ever get any easier, can it? Last time we were all fighting for our lives, just barely hanging on. Now we have to decide if we can fight at all, and which way to fight if we do. I sometimes really wish I didn't have to wake up in the morning on days like this."
"Well, we cannot let them use WMD's, on either side. That means nuclear missiles for the EA and who knows what for the PLANTS." Murrue said firmly. "I know we came up here for more than just interdiction duty, but until we learn more about the stances of both the EA and the PLANTS on what exactly a peaceful resolution would be, I think we should lay off the confrontational stance of forcing them both to come to the peace table."
"I agree." Lacus said with a heavy sigh.
"Hey, there's always option three." Alkire piped up from the back of the Archangel's bridge. Everyone turned to look at him. He shrugged under their scrutiny. "We could defeat both sides and force them to peace under OUR terms." The looks turned disgusted. "Hey, I was just mentioning the possibility."
"Any realistic plans?" Athrun asked. They were still tossing around ideas when a new threat icon pinged into being on the Archangel's long range tactical display.
"Yes, what is it, Operations?" Murrue asked almost immediately, switching the main screen over to feature that display. A gold star blinked to indicate their current position, while a blue star was the Kusanagi and a purple one their destination point with the Eternal. There were large numbers of red squares clustered on and around the Moon, representing the EA forces there, while green triangles around the PLANTS were ZAFT. An orange circle had suddenly appeared over by the Earth, near the closest common point between ZAFT territory and Earth near orbit. That was one of ZAFTS outermost defense lines, and sure enough there was a small concentration of green triangles in proximity to the orange circle, representing the ZAFT defense forces. However, there was also a grouping of red squares in the area, just on the EA side of near orbit, who appeared to be following the orange circle icon as it pushed into the ZAFT lines. They were about five million kilometers away and to Earthward from the Archangels current course. "What am I looking at, Operations?"
"The orange circle just recently appeared, following one of several predicted trajectories for the objects that were launched from Panama just prior to its destruction. It is no longer following a ballistic course and seems to be heading under its own power towards the ZAFT defence force. It appears that whatever the object is it is under observation from a small fleet of EA warships as well... they are following it at a distance of several hundred kilometers but maintaining their distance."
"Any better idea on exactly what the object is?" Waltfeld asked.
"Afraid not sir. It's not very large... smaller than a EA frigate, though it does seem to be moving under its own power. At this range all we're getting is sensor readings... we'd have to get a lot closer before I could put it on the screen visually."
"What is it's new projected course?" Murrue asked.
"Hold on a moment ma'am... theres a couple seconds of delay time between the actual image and whats happening due to the distance involved... course plotting puts it as heading directly for the PLANTS."
"There is no doubt?" Lacus asked.
"No, I'm afraid not, miss Lacus. Whatever it is, it's going right for the November Colonies and at its current speed it'll reach them in about fifteen hours, assuming ZAFT doesn't stop it or it doesn't alter its course."
"And how soon can we get there?" Kira was quick to ask.
"Assuming we went right now, we could intercept the object in... a little less than sixteen hours."
"Kira...? Do you think we should alter our course?" Murrue asked. "And if you do, why?"
"I don't know precisely... but I'm getting a pretty bad feeling about this. We still don't know where Frost... Zacharis Frost, is." Kira was quick to clarify... like everyone else he'd been shocked to meet one of the BCPU's siblings, finding him to be a perfectly likeable Coordinator without a trace of the insane evil his younger brother exhibited. Truly, the warping of the Doc was incredible. "I'm not..."
"Do you think that the unknown contact is Frost?" Athrun asked quietly.
"The signal is too large for the Fury..." Operations started to interrupt, but Murrue cut him off.
Kira looked out into the middle distance as he thought... everyone placed so much stock in what he thought... a wrong call here could really damage their cause... but the feeling was unshakable. It was almost like something was calling to him... he turned and looked at Lacus. "That's not you is it?"
"Is what me?" she asked. He shook his head and looked out at nothing again.
"What about you, Katie. Are you... calling? Or can either you or Ysak or Lacus hear anything?"
"Nothing besides your voice." Ysak said irritably.
"Not that kind of hearing." Kira retorted impatiently. The other Newtypes acquired looks of concentration on their faces, while the non-Newtypes looked slightly confused, as was their right.
"Fuck me..." Ysak breathed. He continued on before Dearka could fill the conversational gap. "Someone is doing something, way over by the PLANTS."
"I've never heard of anything like this... do you have any idea how strong someone would have to be for us to pick them up at this sort of distance?" Katie said in wonder. "No of course none of you do, you're still learning about the basics. I don't even know how strong you'd have to be... stronger than me."
"It sounds like distress..." Lacus said quietly. "Whoever it is needs help."
"Uh, for those of us without extrasensory perception, could someone kindly explain what the HELL is going on?" Waltfeld demanded.
"We're picking up something like a distress signal. A mental distress signal, coming from the PLANTS. It's another Newtype... a damned strong one too." Katie replied. "I say we go... even for a damn strong mind, you'd have to be in a lot of trouble to send out a call at this range. And I'm betting that lot of trouble has something to do with Mr. Orange Circle there."
"I agree." Lacus added, simply. From there it was as good as done.
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"Well... took her long enough. Maybe she's not nearly as great a force as I originally thought." Noah muttered to himself, staring unseeingly at the wall in front of him. "Still, we can't exactly have madman Frost running rampant throughout the PLANTS, can we? No, I decline to be inconvenienced by him right now, though that mobile suit of his could become an interesting resource in the future." He looked away from the wall and back at a computer screen. "Just a little while longer and I'll have all the data I'll ever need on the Pulsar in battle. And we'll have a new Moon to colonize. And we'll all move one step closer towards becoming the one big happy family I know I can make us."
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