"Almost would prefer to be fighting Elementals." Eric grumbled, pursuing a pair of M-4 Guardians. "At least those take a good bit of time to change roles. Can't figure out if I'm fighting a tank, a jet or a mobile suit. Whoops!" Eric was forced to rapidly deccelerate to avoid a thick concentration of flak from nine Orb Aegis cruisers. "Nice try, folks, but I'm not quite that stupid." Eric circled around, as the Orb mobile suits did likewise on the other side of the ships, now that their simple ruse had failed. Eric reflected that he probably could have just flown through the flak bursts... the Templars mounted the exotic phase shift armor that rendered them all but immune to non energy weapons... but Eric had learned flying suits that would have been blown to shreds by that anti air fire, and old habits died hard.
"This is Captain Kellson, 71st SMS, you all still out there? Everyone alive and whole?" Eric received four quick affirmations from his unit. The Orb M-4's were damned fine mobile suits, but they were so heavily outnumbered that they spent most of their time running or hiding, rathing than going on the offensive. Some people hadn't even been shot at yet, and the Isolation had lost less than ten mobile suits to M-4 weapons. The battered Gundams of the enemy had accounted for about ten more mobile suits, including a few Cataphracts. But the real Isolationist casualties had come from that terrifying ZAFT Gundam, the Reaper, the one that moved so fast you could barely even keep track of it, and maneuvered like the laws of physics selectively didn't apply to it. More than thirty mobile suits and even one of the nigh impregnable Archmage platforms had fallen to the massive beam sword and superheated chain whips of the ZAFT machine.
Finding out Kira Yamato was now the pilot of the Reaper was no pleasant surprise either. They'd spent three whole days of the four week FSUP (Flight Specialist Unit Program) school just learning about him and watching combat footage of both the Strike and the Freedom, from both Kira's own cockpit camera perspective and the perspectives of various pilots fighting him, with varyingly large degrees of failure. For all that it felt weird, studying the exploits of someone a good five years younger than himself and talking over the guy's strengths and weaknesses like he was some major historical figure, Eric couldn't deny that the guy had skills. If Eric ever piloted the Templar at a tenth of the capacity Kira used the Freedom, Eric could retire a happy man. Some said Yamato was the greatest mobile suit pilot to have yet been discovered, and he didn't even have formal training. Eric had yet to drop an opinion on that front, since he'd never fought Kira in a fair fight. Put them both in something simple, like a Cavalier. No super tuned up Gundams, no fancy electronics... just two guys in grunt mobile suits. That's where the abilities of the pilot would really show themselves.
"Form on me. We're going fishing." Eric ordered. "The way I see it, those Aegis ships are now the biggest impediment to our forces. Water's too shallow for the Devilfish to be able to attack them easily, and their anti air is good enough to cause big problems for the Cavalier's and Dagger JA's. Plus I think it'll do their morale a good thrashing to get their butts kicked by a bunch of "Freedoms"."
"You got it, sir." Lieutenant Hendricks replied with a lot more confidence in his voice. Carpentaria had been a good blooding for them all. Major responsibility, good performance, no deaths or injuries, public recognition afterwards... no better way to boost the confidence of new pilots. Now the trick was just to make sure they didn't get overconfident, because that was even worse than not being confident enough.
"This is how it plays, boys and girls." Eric said, fighting for the jocular ace pilot tone. "We pass over from the west, then abrupt one eighty and go from the east. This is where it gets tricky... after we pass over from the east we scatter and come in from five points. I got top, you guys the standard North, South, West, East. No friendly fire. And could someone please get these fucking bats off my ass?" Barely had Eric spoken than four beams of blue-red and yellow energy passed by him almost close enough to reach out and touch, blowing one M-4 to tiny pieces and causing the other to veer off into a spiraling dive, trailing smoke and fire.
"I got your ass, don't worry sir." Lieutenant Kissinger said lightly.
"Thanks, Lt." God, is she hitting on me? Wait... why would that be bad... no, no...inter-unit relationships bad, BAD! And she's my subordinate... its a court martial waiting to happen. Still... she does have nice legs... fuck! Eric fought a battle harder than the one happening around him to drag his mind off non-combat related activities. Flak burst all around him and missiles arced up at his unit from all sides, but while Eric and the 71st SMS were no bunch of Kira's, they were still more than good enough to use weapons and CIWS to counter a few missiles. They didn't hit any of the ships on their first pass, but on the one eighty reversal they left two of the trimaran cruisers buckled and sinking, with a third covered almost from bow to stern with raging flames. The 71st SMS split up, each pilot circling around to a different compass direction, or in Eric's case, flying straight up. The Orb air defense gunners would be ready to concentrate their fire now, after being passed over twice... what they wouldn't be ready for would be getting hit from five different directions all at the same time.
The hard part of this maneuver was not accidentally shooting the squadronmate flying directly opposite you, since you were converging on each other, or in Eric's case, hitting anyone since they were all flying across his arc of fire. However, with modern day HUD systems and constant verbal communication, it wasn't impossibly difficult. Enemy flak fire was sporadic, as each individual ship had to redirect to protect itself from multiple angles of attack. Coming down out of the sun, Eric almost didn't get attacked at all. After the 71st SMS reformed from the strafing run, only two Aegis ships remained afloat, both of which were severely damaged. Five mobile suits had wiped out almost half the Orb fleet in a matter of minutes. Eric could almost feel the medal on his chest, or better yet, the news headlines framed on his wall. It wasn't that he was a glory hound... well, to be honest, pretty much every mobile suit pilot was a glory hound... but if you did a good job, it was only right to be recognized for it, in his opinion. Certainly made getting free beer easier. "Yeah... I'm a mobile suit ace..." that was good for about three beers right there. He never brought up the APMH (Allied Presidential Medal of Honor) he'd got though... using that to get free drinks felt like sullying the prestige of the medal. Most people didn't even know he had it. He heard that was somewhat common. Well, thats what Lieutenant Finch had told him anyway, when President Argyle had awarded it to him personally.
Eric had spied something on his flight up to his diving point earlier that he resolved to check out now. "On me again. I thought I saw something... oh fuck!" Eric dodged so frantically he momentarily lost control of his Templar. A good thing too, because the beam blast spearing up from the tank mode M-4 hidden in the tree's below only scorched away a chunk of shoulder armor and one of his HiMat wing sections, instead of taking him through the cockpit. "Where the fuck...?"
"I got him, sir!" Hendricks replied, anger evident in his voice. Eric was fairly shocked by that... he knew his unit thought well of him, but he hadn't thought they'd take an attack on him personally. Hendricks charged the Orb mobile suit, his cannons vaporizing entire sections of the forest. It certinly looked destructive, but Eric watched his screens more than his cameras and Hendricks wasn't hitting jack shit. In fact...
"Hendricks! Evade now!" Eric shouted, but by then it was too late. An M-4 in jet form, almost certainly the same one that had almost sniped Eric, flashed down out of the sun, machine cannons chattering as it loosed four missiles into the back of Hendricks's Templar. Of course the missiles and cannon fire couldn't penetrate the phase shift armor, but the kinetic impacts knocked the advanced machine spinning anyway. "Hendricks!" The Orb mobile suit shifted to mobile suit form as it passed Hendricks, reversing thrust and swinging its left arm, with rifle instead of shield, out wide, beams and cannon fire lancing out at the other four members of the 71st SMS, forcing them to cover behind their shields for a precious few seconds. Hendricks was just recovering from the missile impacts when the M-4's right arm came around, lit beam saber in hand. Kira would have evaded like it was nothing. Eric had seen him do it many times in the vids. Hendricks was not Kira. He froze up and screamed. And died, his Templar sliced in half at the middle torso, both halves then exploded before they could even hit the ground. Eric and the rest of the 71st SMS could only stare in shock... it had been so sudden. The M-4 turned back into jet form right before their eyes and made to hit the afterburners.
The M-4 was just pulling away when a massive blue-red beam from below blasted pretty much the entire rear third of the machine into spare atoms. The mobile suit-jet went into an immediate death spiral, and the pilot ejected scant seconds before his ruined machine ploughed into the ground and exploded violently. Eric's targeting reticule passed over the orange suited pilot as he rode his escape harness to the ground... all it would take would be a button tap and Hendricks's killer would be gone. Eric shook his head fiercly and jerked his hand away from the firing controls. Much as Hendricks's sudden loss pained him, he couldn't gun down an helpless pilot who was just defending his country under orders. "Neeley, Mario, go find out where he lands and take him captive. Don't kill him." Eric ordered the other two members of the 71st SMS. "Kissinger, come with me. We still need to check something out." Eric turned his eyes downward and sure enough saw the Independence below. "Did you see it too, sir?"
"The ZAFT Gundam is down. We can't miss this chance to capture or destroy it." Ashino agreed. There was a several second pause. "Er... my condolences for the loss..."
"You got him back, sir. It's a war. People die in wars." Eric replied, choking back the feelings that would come later.
"That they do." Ashino agreed, heading for the beach where the Pulsar was kneeling, flanked by a Templar on either side.
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"I just cannot get over how perverse the world is." Frost commented, disbelief heavy in his voice. Here he was, injured, hurting, berefit of a mobile suit, for most intents and purposes soundly defeated... and yet fate had seen fit to leave Kira Yamato at his feet, helpless as a new born babe, drooling blood and some sort of weird pink gel all over Frost's boots just moments after he finally made it to shore. Yamato was clearly unconscious and obviously suffering from internal injuries of various sorts, which would explain the bleeding from pretty much every visible orifice. Frost's remaining eye was quick to notice the char marks on portions of the flight suit, especially along the arms and legs. Whatever else had happened to the Ultimate Coordinator, he'd obviously been playing with some pretty high voltages when he shouldn't have. Electrical burns were nasty. Maybe not the nastiest, but worse than just sticking your hand in a fire.
"Now the question remains... just what do I do with you? I've dreamed of a moment like this almost from the first day I met you, Kira Yamato. But now that the moment is upon me, I'm drawing a blank. Its very frustrating." Frost sank into a cross legged sitting position and cupped his chin on one hand as he studied the Coordinator. Frost's own burned and seared skin twinged, but he ignored it. It was more annoying dealing with only having half as much vision than it was just more physical pain. Not that the loss of an eye was much more than a cosmetic handicap, since Frost's other senses were keen enough to compensate, but it was very annoying. "I don't have any of the tools an artist like me needs to properly work. I don't even have a sharp stick, to prod you with. Can you imagine how that feels? You're not even awake!" Frost slapped Kira across the jaw a few times, but the Ultimate Coordinator was well and truly out. Perhaps even comatose... there was no telling how much electrical damage his nervous system had sustained.
"Well, I can't just let you die of shock and exposure alone. That would be entirely inappropriate. This is quite a quandry." Frost looked around the beach. It was pretty barren, not much more than sand. Not any large rocks, or driftwood, or even any animal life he could detect. Just him, and Kira and the ZAFT Gundam kneeling nearby, pinkish gel still dripping out of the cockpit like ichor from a wound. "You've gone and done so much to me, Kira. Can I call you Kira? I don't have a name for you yet, really. Annoying Pest doesn't quite get the point across, and it applies to more than just you anyway. Loser boyfriend is already taken. I'll have to give it some thought." Frost trailed a hand across Kira's unflinching face and petted his head a few times. "They always look so cute when they're sleeping." Frost chuckled. He stood up and pulled Yamato up with him, yanking out a fistful of hair as he switched grips to put an hand around Kira's throat.
"What I'd really like to do is leave a message for Pink. But it can't be something she's expecting. No, I won't play her game like that. So that rules out pretty much every form of conventional torture. And I don't fancy guys, even pretty boys like you." Frost paused, looking down at the scas covering his own body as he had something of an epiphany. "Ahhhhh! Eureka, as they say!" Frost chuckled again. He dropped Kira to the ground again, and knelt beside him again. He cradled Kira's head in one arm, and from a distance someone might have mistaken it as tenderness. "Losing all that blood... you must be thirsty. I've got just the thing!" Frost used his left hand to force open Kira's jaw, cracking a few teeth in the process but that was okay. He brought his right wrist up to his own mouth and savagely tore at it with his teeth, ripping a deep gash. He spat into the gash and worked the saliva around with his tongue, to make sure the wound would bleed freely for at least a little while. Frost lowered his bleeding wrist over Kira's face, dribbling some of the blood on him like a sacrificial offering.
"Do you know what sort of chemical additives there are in BCPU blood, Kira? No? Neither do I. However I do know there are on the order of twenty or more of them, and at least a few of those can't be healthy for an unaltered human, even a Coordinator. But your immune system is strong... I think it would take a pretty concentrated dose to kill you right away." Frost pumped his right hand into a fist a few times to get the blood flowing strongly and started dripping a steady stream into Kira's forced open mouth. "What's the dosage, do you think? At what point will you become addicted to the combat drugs? To the uppers and downers that are supposed to regulate my moods and keep me docile, or else turn me into a raging berserker. How will you deal with the withdrawal symptoms from lack of gamma glipheptim? That one is especially insidious... it tastes so good and lets you do such wonderful things... but the fall after the high is just plain sadistic. Most aren't even able to stand, or do anything besides mewl like a struck kitten. But how much do you think it will take... five ounces? Ten? A pint? More? I may not look it, but I've got blood to spare, at least for the next little while." Kira started choking on the fluid filling his mouth. "Ah ah ah! Careful, can't have you choking to death." Frost took his right arm away and massaged Kira's throat, kneading the muscles, forcing him to swallow.
"No, I want you to live, at least for a few more days. Long enough for you to try to explain to dear Pink why you have an unassailable craving to drink my blood. Long enough for you to become a washed out druggie, raiding the medicine cabinets in frantic search of the chems to stave off the withdrawal symptoms. Will she be horrified? Repulsed? Pitying? After all, you won't be able to help yourself. Unless you go crazy. Insanity is the only sure defense against the withdrawal symptoms." Frost waited to hear Kira gasping for air, indicating his throat was clear again. He spat on his torn wrist once again and recommenced the force feeding. "Wouldn't that be something for her to see, you, straightjacketed and strapped to a table for the rest of your life, screaming in terrible chemical induced agony, gibbering and thrashing and maybe even killing? After all, what's a little blood on your hands and face if it means a few hours relief from the pain? What expression would cross her face, do you think?" Frost sighed blissfully. "But don't worry too much... with you out of the way, it won't take me too long to figure out a way to get her too. Or maybe you'll get her for me? Wouldn't that be a trip? Lacus Clyne Attacked and Slain by Homicidal Druggie Boyfriend... the papers would be sold out for months!"
Frost heard Kira start to choke again, so he went back to massaging the Ultimate Coordinator's neck. Meanwhile he glanced around what portions of the battlefield he could see. "Looks like your side is well and truly fucked, Yamato. The Archangel is a ruin, though it is still intact so I guess dear old granpa Asmodeus's plan went wrong somewhere. Serves him right... thats the problem with plans... they go wrong. He just wasn't flexible enough to deal with it... though he was doing a lot better these last few weeks. I trashed your precious Gundams and wore out the pilots, before you showed up and humiliated me again. They're just barely hanging on against the Isolationists and I don't think they can keep it up. And even if they do win, so what? Sai can get another fleet here before Orb can recover from this disaster that we of Tiamat caused, and you sure as hell won't beat that fleet. Face it, Yamato... you've lost. The Clyne Faction is done. Game over. Hmm... waking up?" Frost listened to Kira choke and sputter. "Ah, blood clot, my bad." Frost bent down to spit on his wrist again. As he did so he caught sight of something approaching rapidly out of the corner of his eye.
"As the historical villians used to say... curses, foiled again!" Frost turned to see the Independence and two Freedom's making an unmistakable course for the beach where Frost was sitting with Kira. Frost squeeed a few more splurts into Kira's mouth from his wrist and then quickly massaged Kira's neck to force him to swallow again. "It'll have to be enough. Feeling refreshed now, space monster? Space vampire, now." Frost jumped to his feet and raced for the open cockpit of the Pulsar. "Ciao, Yamato. Say hello to Pink for me! If you can remember how to TALK through the PAIN!" Frost laughed outright. It felt good. "Now... lets see what I can do with this weird and wonderful machine of Uncle's. If Yamato could pilot it, theres no way I can't!" Frost jumped up and swung himself into the cramped cockpit. "What's this? No chair? No controls? No screen? What the fuck is this?" efore Frost could say any more, the cckpit hatch hissed shut behind him.
"Initiating aerated suspension gel flow." the computer said in a neutral electronic voice. Shutters whined open on vents around the circumference of the floor and the sound of pumps pumping air came from them. "Gel flow impossible. Storage tanks empty. Time to complete nano-refilling of storage tanks... twelve days. Continuing with synchronization process."
"I didn't get much of that." Frost admitted, looking around the cockpit. It was like being stuck in a barrel. He hoped this synchronization process didn't take long... it would be embarassing to be blown up in a captured Gundam while it was still starting up.
"Comm sensors deploying, open wide." the sticky pads on their armatures would probably have unnerved most pilots, but Frost was used to machines sticking things in various parts of his body, willingly or not. It made him feel almost nostalgic for the tables in good old sub-level six. Frost opened his mouth and let the machine attach the comm sensors to his layrnx, quickly tuning out the minor irritation of the wires bushing against his burn ravaged lips. "Primary power idling at one percent. Increasing power to five percent. Secondary power systems aligned and charged. Cooling system blue, green. Initiating Neural Interface Control System linkage. Please remain stationary." The computer directed. Frost didn't flinch from the silvery tentacles sprouting from the walls and ceiling. Even when they started questing along his skin, popping the burn blisters as they burrowed into the meat of his body and head. The wires had a brief problem penetrating his reinforced skull, but with a faint smell of burning flesh they finally managed to penetrate. Frost blinked a few times.
"NIC connection confirmed. System test complete. All nerve connections satisfactory. Brain control centers contacted and confirmed. All system functions nominal. New pilot detected. Synchornizing... synchro... synchronizing complete. Welcome, Zacharis Frost."
"And just how did you know who I am?" Frost asked suspiciously. The machine did not reply. Frost was about to say more when suddenly his universe seemed to expand without limit. The Pulsar's red ocular lenses flared brightly, like a vampire's at dusk. He could feel the fusion pulse reactor... how he knew that was what it was was beyond him... beating like a chained sun in his breast. The feeling of sheer power was incredible. Frost started chuckling, seeing the control system laid out in his mind. It was perfect. It was everything he never could have imagined would exist for him... the ability to fight with a mobile suit with the same degree of freedom he did with his own body. "Commencing system test. All weapons sat. Positron Reflector Shields sat. Nano-repair facilities operating at ninety nine percent, one hundred percent within the next hour. Gravitic Reduction System operating at minimum capability. Initiating system control limitations until GRS returns to full operation. Time to full operation without recourse to repair facility... twelve days. Pulsar... ready for limited operation launch."
"Limited operation? What the fuck does that mean, you stupid machine?" Frost shouted. But then his mind caught on a word. Pulsar. The same world dear old Doc had begged him to remember. "So. So, so, so so... this is what you meant. You crafty, tricksy wonderful bastard! You meant this aggravating and beautiful machine! I should have known Uncle wouldn't be piloting something like this if you weren't aware of it! Oh, I could hug you to death again, Doc!" Frost clambered to his feet and turned to face the Independence and the two Freedoms, which were just alighting on the sand a few dozen meters away.
"Mr. Yamato, please surrender. You cannot win." Ashino's voice crackled through the comm system. "Your forces are outnumbered and outmatched. The longer you delay your decision, the more people will die."
"I agree entirely." Frost replied with a huge grin. There was a shocked silence on the comm line. The Independence and the two Freedoms seemed to freeze like statues. "Yeeesss... its me, little Ashino. It's been a while, little brother. How are things working out with that girl? Jean, wasn't that her name? Does she still like being hurt? I can give you a few tips, if you like."
"That won't be necessary." Ashino couldn't hide the trepidation in his voice. Bad enough when Kira had been in that monstrous Gundam... now Frost too? But he couldn't let Frost think he had the upper hand... if he did, all of them were going to die. They were all going to die in all likelihood anyway, but it was a certainty if Frost thought he had the upper hand. "Fine then. Even you can't beat all of us, especially in a machine you've never flown before, Frost."
"This machine... the Pulsar... the Doc meant for me to pilot it. When I killed him, he told me to look for something having to do with the word Pulsar. He said it would help me achieve my destiny. I never would have guessed it would be something like this though. Its truly wonderful, isn't it? A dream come true... and not even a nightmare." Frost capered in place and then turned a few back handsprings, without even using the thrusters. He ended up doing a handstand, looking at Ashino and his lackey's from the upside down perspective. "They called those things Freedoms... this Pulsar... this is FREEDOM!"
"How the fuck is he doing that, sir?" Eric asked, eyeing the Pulsar, which was now dancing on its hands. "And how does he know about Jean? And what the FUCK is his deal? I never heard anyone so fucking evil sounding in my life, not even in movies! Not since that time in... Pana... ma..."
"Same guy." Ashino confirmed.
"That's really bad... he's more than just a little good."
"Sirs, what the fuck are two talking about?" Lieutenant Kissinger broke into the conversation, warily eying the ZAFT Gundam and its impossible acrobatic antics. Now the damn thing was turning cartwheels and hands free front flips, all without using more than its own body. The Templar was about as maneuverable and agile a mobile suit as was ever made... but not even Kira Yamato could do a handstand in one, or an un-thruster assisted flip. The kind of control systems you would need... Kissinger couldn't even imagine.
"Our opponent is now a BCPU. Just like me, but faster, stronger, more skilled and wholly insane. He kills for sport and pleasure and enjoys torturing his victims to death. If it looks like he's going to take you alive... kill yourself. It would be better."
"He's better than you, sir?" Kissinger asked, eyes wide. Like most FSUP graduates, she'd flown against Ashino on several simulation exercises... and like most FSUP graduates, she'd been totally owned by him. It hadn't even been a contest. He could take two or even three of them on at once.
"Zacharis Frost is the only person I know able to fight both Athrun Zala and Kira Yamato to a standstill at the same time." Ashino answered. "Having him inside that terrible machine now... do not fight him. We must avoid fighting him directly unless we have overwhelming odds. Even then..." Ashino swallowed hard.
"I'm getting kinda bored over here, little Ashino. Are you going to make a move, or is it my turn?" Frost called, flipping the Pulsar to it's feet and drawing the two handed beam sword. Twenty five meters of razor steel and magnetically sheathed plasma edging. He was getting hard just looking at it. "WARNING! Pilot intent exceeds limited operation parameters! Abort planned course of action or severe injury or death will occur!" The Pulsar's computer blared at him. "Shut the hell up! You're ruining the mood!"
"Command override 14-15-1-8 accepted. Commencing automatic retreat programming, constrained by limited operation parameters. Normal control will resume shortly." The Pulsar said calmly. Frost froze... he was locked out of the control systems faster than he could think. He still had comms, but that was about it. "WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS? I DON'T RETREEEAAAAT!" Frost snarled, even as the Pulsar launched... not going anywhere near as fast as it could of course, since without the suspension gel the pilot would be destroyed by any sudden or high speed maneuvers, which would result in the Pulsar being captured by the Isolation forces, which was a logical impossibility for the Pulsar's action memory. It could not be allowed. It would overload the FPR if it had to, but it had received a command override from the NIC master control program suggesting retreat instead. Flying at about the same speed as a normal high speed mobile suit, the Pulsar picked the safest course and made speed for Antarctica. It detected no pursuit.
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"Patience, patience." Noah said soothingly, though of course there was no way Frost could hear him, since Noah was on the PLANTS with only a data link active, not voice comms and Frost was in the Pulsar on Earth. Quantum communications were such useful things, allowing almost instantaneous data transfer at high speed across astronomical distances. Unlike radio or even laser comms, quantum comms operated by changing states of matter on a quantum level, in which distance did not matter. Basically, it operated on the principle that any piece of quantum matter A, in energy state B was identical to all other quantum matter A at energy state B ANYWHERE in the universe. Moreover, if you changed one quantum matter A to energy state C, all other identical quantum matter A's also changed to energy state C. The physics behind it were way beyond most people, but it did work. For Noah, the quantum data link with the Pulsar allowed him to record the brainwaves and neural pathways of anyone synchronized with the NIC system, giving him gigabytes of raw data to sift through for useful subroutines for his automated mobile suit pilot program.
"Give it a few days, BCPU. Let the system self regerante the supension gel and then you can pursue slaughter to my hearts content. And after I get all the data I need from you utilizing the Pulsar to your maximum ability, I'll kill you off and get someone else. Perhaps Zala, who knows? But I do expect you to get me some VERY interesting data, Zacharis Frost. Show me what my uncle's creations can do. But not yet. Not yet." Noah smiled briefly and then turned his attention to other matters.
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"Uhhh..." Eric said, surprised. Here Ashino had gone and talked up Frost like he was a real end of the world bad guy, and he'd just up and flown off without even fighting. Kissinger had been about to go after him, but Ashino had ordered her back, assuming the retreat to be a ruse. But it hadn't been. Frost had legitimately retreated and showed no signs of returning.
"It doesn't make any sense." Ashino sounded confused. "That was Frost... but he's not acting like Frost. We should all be dead now. He was going to kill us. I know he was. I am at a loss to explain this."
"We both saw how Kira Yamato wasn't in full control of the machine earlier. Maybe same thing for this Frost?" Eric ventured.
"It's as good a theory as any." Ashino allowed. He turned the Independence to regard the still fierce battle around the Archangel. "Well, with that variable removed, this fight really is over."
"Sirs! There's a body... no, a person! On the beach there!" Kissinger pointed with her Templar's right arm. "He looks hurt!"
"Could it be...?" Ashino wondered, musing on this new turn. Eric wasted no time in descending from his own Templar and sprinting over towards the body revealed lying on the tideline. He didn't even think to bring a gun... but he had two people in Gundams backing him up, and if the guy really WAS Kira Yamato... well, they'd also studied the fact that Yamato, for all his piloting skills, really wasn't too hot in a physical brawl. Sure he was still a Coordinator and he could probably kick Eric's ass... but it wouldn't be one sided.
Eric skidded to a halt next to the guy... young man, really... and dropped to a knee in a puff of sand to get a better look at him. Even with the blood and burn marks, Eric had no trouble identifying the guy. They had studied him after all. "It's Yamato. He's unconscious and looks badly wounded. What should I do, sir?"
"Don't ask me that. My intentions... are compromised, by my conditioning." Ashino replied, sounding like he was fighting his own words. "I want to kill him. But it would be wrong. Get him out of my sight, quickly." Ashino turned off his cameras as he said that, and clutched his hands to his sides to help stop the shaking. He bit down on his lip. Kira was his enemy. He could not doubt that. Without Lacus nearby to distract him and confuse his instincts, the kill urge was much stronger than usual. He would be doing a service to the Isolation by stepping on Yamato here and now. But... but Jean would never understand stepping on a helpless boy like he was a bug. Even if he was an enemy. Ashino didn't know what to do, but he knew someone would. "Connect me to the President. It is extremely urgent."
Meanwhile Eric was conducting some basic first aid, though there wasn't much to do. Kira had no external injuries at all, as far as Eric could detect. That he was still badly injured was more than apparent, from the blood still seeping from his tear ducts, ears and nose. Not even mentioning a thick gummy scab almost like leather that was caked all around his teeth and mouth. "Yuck! What the fuck is this crap? Don't look like blood... say... maybe it does. Hey sir! Markov... Commander Ashino, I mean. I know you said don't ask you... but theoretically speaking... what would happen if someone ingested a bunch of BCPU blood?"
"I haven't the slightest idea, but I doubt it would do them much good." Asino gritted out, still waiting for his comm system to decrypt and connect with the presidential line. "Our blood contains several chemicals known to be toxic to animals and plants, as well as many different types of combat drugs and stabilizers, not to mention the clotting chemicals. It would depend on how much someone ingested. Drink enough and it would probably be like poison or a drug OD. How much has he drunk?"
"I haven't the slighest fucking clue, but theres a lot of the stuff on his face. What the hell was Frost doing to him, bleeding on him on purpose?" Eric picked Kira up in a fireman carry and staggered back towards the Templar. Kira wasn't especially heavy, but Eric had to be extra careful carrying him because he didn't know what sort of internal injuries the kid had...excessive motion could aggravate them and even kill the kid.
"Frost's actions are usually near impossible to reason out. It might be he was merely badly wounded by the detonation of the Fury and bled on Kira as he stood over him, debating how he would kill one of the people he hates most in the world. It also could be that Frost deliberately injured himself further in an attempt to contaminate Kira with his blood. There is no way of telling."
"He slit his own wrist and forced an unconscious kid to drink his potentially toxic BLOOD? He IS fucked up!" Kissinger commented, revolted.
"We haven't even scratched the surface." Ashino replied. "I will spare you further details, as they are both classified and too obscene to talk about amongst friends." Finally his call went through to Sai's office.
"Markov! You're calling rather sooner than I expected. What's the problem?" A very tired looking Sai said. Ashino checked the time difference... it was past midnight where Sai was, at the new governmental headquarters in the Rocky Mountains of old Colorado.
"If I said I've managed to capture Kira Yamato alive, what would that mean? What should I do with him? I want to kill him, sir. Well, the conditioning does. But... that wouldn't be ethical. He's unconscious and injured, partly due to some sort of meeting with Frost." Ashino blurted out. Sai stared at him.
"If it was anyone else but you I'd say you were messing around. But you still don't really know how to joke, Markov, so I'll assume you are serious." Sai rubbed at his forehead. A problem like this was not something he needed dropped in his lap at one in the morning. Especially since he was still dealing with the paperwork from the Isolation proceedings in the former ZAFT holdings, AND the problems with decontaminating New New York City. Fortunately the gas hadn't spread far outside the city limits... out where people like Jean Kellson, Ashino's girlfriend, lived everything was normal, like there'd never been an attack. Inside the city limits, everything was still mass chaos, with dozens of new gas victims every day as rescue workers succumbed or looters snuck into the death zones without realizing it. Pretty much everything for a three block radius around Central Park was going to be impossible to enter without a fully self contained survival suit for at least two years. And then there was the mess the mobile suit battle had made of the harbor area. Billions in damages. It was enough to give him a migraine. "What's the status of the battle? I know you were forced to start before the deadline was up, but I haven't been keeping both eyes on the action."
"The Archangel was crippled by a Tiamat attack before the battle even began. Likewise, the enemy Gundams were largely worn out in a battle against Frost, even if they ultimately defeated him and destroyed the Fury. Kira Yamato piloted that ZAFT Gundam that caused us so much trouble on the Moon, how the Clyne Faction got hold of it is unknown. He attacked our fleet without warning and caused severe damage, killing more than thirty mobile suits and sinking several ships before disengaging and apparently ejecting from the machine." Ashino reported.
"Kira? Attacking without warning and killing people? That's not Kira." Sai said flatly. "Whatever else he is, Kira holds himself to the highest standards... he would never willingly kill anyone except for people for which there was no other way of stopping them."
"That was my read on him too, sir, but the combat footage is incontrovertible. It will be in the AAR (After Action Report)." Ashino replied, as Eric's Templar took off and headed back to the Victorious, Kissinger following behind as an escort since Eric could barely even fly with Kira lying across half his controls, which was making a shocking mess of the cockpit surfaces. "After ejecting Kira apparently had some encounter with Frost that left him unconscious and severely injured, which is how we found him. Frost escaped in the unoccupied Gundam. My subordinates are currently taking Kira back to our flagship for medical care. What are your orders, sir?"
"Is the battle ours?" Sai was standing now, and pulling on a coat even as he talked.
"All but. Another hour or two at most... the Clyne Faction and Orb are being very stubborn about surrendering, despite the inevitable nature of their defeat. We will win, but we will suffer more casualties and many of your former comrades will likely have to die. I'm sorry."
"Don't be. There's a change in plans. Call a cease fire."
"A cease fire, sir? What does that do for us?"
"I've thought of a way to win this fight without any more casualties on our side. Well, so I hope anyway. My plan relies on certain people acting within their usual characters, but I think the odds for success are more than high enough to make it a worthy gamble. Defend yourselves if attacked, but leave the Archangel and Orb be. I'll be there in less than six hours. And don't let Kira die. Those are my orders." Sai walked out of the vid-comm's view, and it turned off automatically shortly after.
"All forces... this is Commander Ashino. Break off and return to the fleet. Repeating, break off and return to the fleet. Return fire if fired upon, but cease all hostile action, by presidential order. Mr. Argyle has a new plan. All forces, withdraw now." Ashino ordered calmly, reassured once more now that he had specific orders. He looked at the wrecked Archangel as he flew past. He was reasonably sure he had a basic grasp of what Sai was thinking. He almost thought he could see a flash of pink hair through the bridge windows of the Archangel, but he was probably just imagining things. "It's for the best to surrender, Lacus. Just like in the cell block that time."
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Why the hell did they retreat? It doesn't make any sense! They had us right where they wanted us!" Ysak slammed a fist into a bulkhead in frustration. It had been almost six hours since the Isolationist forces had suddenly and inexplicably ceased their assault on the Orb forces and the downed Archangel, mere minutes before overwhelming them. The Isolationists had just up and turned around, breaking off even heated duels and retreating with all speed to their fleet. A few Orb mobile suits had started pursuing them, before being called back by Waltfeld and Kisaka, fearful of some strange ambush strategy. But there had been nothing... as far as any long range sensor scans could determine, the Isolationist forces were standing down, resting, refitting and rearming, just like the Orb forces were endeavoring to do.
"I ain't gonna bitch... least this gives us a slight bit more of a fighting chance when they come back." Dearka replied, leaning against a different wall. What mechanics could be spared from the Orb fleet were frantically working on restoring the Gundams as quickly as possible, but who knew how much they'd be able to get done. Arm replacements weren't an especially quick process, and the Rubicon was basically scrap. The Duelist was mostly combat ready, but one out of four wasn't very good, especially with the Archangel itself still all but useless. Added to the fact that the regular Orb forces had lost roughly half their mobile suits and ships and things were looking real grim. "Least we got Frost pretty good."
"Yeah? And you know what? We're still down Kira! I don't like him anywhere near as much as the rest of you guys, but even I can't deny he was a big part of our combat strength!" Ysak shot back. "Who knows where he is... probably dead!"
"Not so loud." Athrun shushed, looking around cautiously. "You especially, Ysak. We don't know what happened to Kira, all we know is the Pulsar has disappeared. Saying Kira is dead when we don't know for sure is going to only negatively impact crew morale. Don't even think about it if you can... you know Lacus will pick up on it!"
"You don't need to try and spare my feelings, Athrun." Lacus said, striding into the conference room a few levels below the bridge of the Archangel where they were due to hold their command meeting shortly. There were tear tracks on her face, but she was currently dry eyed, even managing a sort of smile. "I would know if Kira was dead. He's not within my sensing range right now, but he is not dead. One moment the Pulsar's OS was killing him, the next he was gone... but he is NOT dead."
"I know you really want to believe that... hell, we all do... but..." Katie spoke up.
"Katie, don't..." Cagalli tried to say. Katie shook her head.
"No, you have to consider it. People die. We don't want it to happen, but it does. I know that as well as anyone. Victor died saving the ship, and both Alkire and Raine almost died. They're still in critical condition. I felt Victor die, and it felt very similar to what happened to Kira. I really, really hope he's alive, Lacus, Cagalli... but theres a good chance he's not."
"I would know." Lacus said firmly, in a tone that brooked no further argument. She changed the subject. "We've recovered the Liberty, but it is damaged beyond flying. We have people working on it, but they estimate at least twelve hours or more before it becomes even minimally flyable." Lacus broke off as Murrue, Kisaka and Waltfeld entered the room, well aware of the concerned looks everyone thought they were discreetly shooting her. But she saw them. Saw them and ignored them. Kira was NOT dead. She would know if he was. She would.
"I don't suppose anyone here has any good idea why the Isolationist's left off pounding us into the ground? I put some money on tea and crackers, but no one will take that bet." Waltfeld said, trying for some levity. God knows they could use a smile or two.
"It doesn't make any military sense. At most another hour would have seen the Archangel destroyed and our forces all but annihilated." Kisaka said, clearly surprised as well. "All we would have been able to do would be inflict casualties, and they had troops to spare."
"Well, they still do. Maybe they think we're going to surrender now that we're not under life and death attack?" Miriallia reasoned.
"Maybe... but Ashino, for all his skills, isn't devious like that. He had orders to keep killing us till we gave up, just like he did for Carpentaria. Its not like him to order a sudden inexplicable retreat. BCPU's don't really retreat, especially when they have the advantage." Athrun said with a frown.
"Well, I'm not going to surrender." Cagalli said firmly. "I can't ask you all to die for my country, but I am NOT surrendering to Sai or the Isolation. If Kira is dead, then I would never dishonor his memory by giving up. If he's alive, then I have to keep fighting until he can come back. It's that simple."
"We've all already said we're going to see this through to the end. I don't think we need to go through that ritual again." Murrue said with a half smile. "The starboard Gottfried will be back online in less than two hours, but for the forseeable future the Archangel is grounded. The mobile suits are a problem themselves, but what really scares me is those Archmage platforms. They have Lohengrins... what are we going to do about that?"
"Well..." Dearka was interrupted by a pinging from the intercomm. Interior communications was another system they'd magaed to jury rig repairs for during the inexplicable grace period.
"This is Captain Ramius." Murrue answered it.
"Captain, this is the bridge. We're receiving a vid-comm from the Isolationist flagship. They want to speak to someone in charge." Murrue exchanged surprised glances with everyone else... this was very unexpected.
"Patch them through." Murrue ordered after only a seconds hesitation. It would do no harm to talk a little. Maybe they would gain a better understanding of the situation. The conference room vidscreen, which took up most of a wall, fitzed and crackled, slowly fading into focus. It wasn't Ashino. The room the other broadcast was coming from looked like it was in the medical suite of a large ship. Everything was spotlessly white, with lots of advanced looking medical gear gathered around a twin sized bed in the middle of the room. Someone was in the bed, covered by the sheets and hooked up to the various machines, but they couldn't see who it was. Sai Argyle sat in a chair by the head of the bed, looking rumpled and tired in a plain grey suit. Standing on the other side of the bed was Lieutenant Cyprus Finch, formerly of the Hellhounds. A second bodyguard, a short spanish looking man, leaned against the wall behind the head of the bed, but he was unfamiliar to the members of the Clyne Faction. "President Argyle. This is unexpected. I could have sworn we had nothing further to say to you."
"You're hardly in a position to be so rude to me, Captain Ramius." Sai replied, not rising to the arch tone of her voice. "But I can understand that your current situation is somewhat distressing, so by all means, take it out on me. I don't mind."
"Did you call for a reason, or are you just here to gloat?" Cagalli spat.
"I don't have the time or inclination to gloat. Despite what you may believe, invading my former nation by force is not easy for me. I would really prefer not to do it at all, but I don't have any choice. I can't make Orb the sole exception to the Isolation, it just won't work that way." Sai exhaled tiredly and rubbed at his eyes with the back of his hand. It was plain he was exhausted. "I normally wouldn't be here at all... I have much more important things to do that oversee the subjugation of a single small nation like Orb... but matters have been brought to my attention... personal matters I had to take care of in person."
"I suppose you're going to enlighten us sometime soon as to what those are? And to why you're in a hospital room?" Athrun asked pointedly. Sai gave him a weary little smile.
"I'm almost afraid to do this, but I'm reasonably certain you can't hate me too much more than you already do, Mr. Zala. Which is too bad, because I really don't hate you, as a person. I did once, but now you just frustrate me, the same as Cagalli does."
"Stick it up your ass, you worm. I still haven't forgetten how you tried to ruin my reputation by leaking that story about my father not being my real father!" Cagalli retorted furiously.
"Yes, that was my fault. I apologize, but it was Cervantes who did that, not me. And by the way, you don't have to maintain public appearances here... everyone you can see already knows you're not Nara Attha's daughter."
"Who my biological father is is irrelevant to who my REAL father is. My real father is the person who raised me with love and understanding, not some guy in a photo I never met!"
Sai nodded once. "I see, and I understand what you mean. But as interesting as this is, it isn't why I called you." Sai pressed a button on the side of the hospital bed, causing the head of the bed to lever upwards to a forty five degree angle, giving everyone a clear view of the face of the person in the bed.
"KIRA!" Lacus wasn't the only one who shouted, but it was her voice that made the most impression. Sai blinked in surprise as he almost felt the emotions of Lacus. Ramierez, behind him, likewise jerked in surprise. Cyprus didn't even twitch. "What did you do to him?"
"Rendered necessary medical care." Sai replied calmly, regaining control of his emotions. He had known this was going to be the hard part, but he hadn't anticpated such a fierce welling of emotions. "He was found lying on a beach, unconscious and injured, by Ashino and several of his soldiers. They brought him back to our fleet where we took care of the injuries... I'd be interested to learn where he managed to acquire electrical burns on the inside of his body, but not the outside, by the way? It quite has the doctors here stumped, because there's not a wound on him. All the same, he is in critical condition from the interior burns and bleeding from several organs. We've managed to stop the internal bleeding and we treated him for shock, but he has yet to regain consciousness. Some doctors have said it could be days, if not longer, before he wakes, if he does. There is a chance... roughly five percent... that he will remain comatose for the rest of his natural life. I'm transmitting the medical analysis, if you don't believe me."
"No... whatever else you are... you've never been a liar, Sai." Murrue said quietly. "But I get the feeling there is more you have to say."
"I do. In addition to his initial injuries, Kira has also managed to ingest almost a pint of blood. Not just any blood mind, but the chemically fortified and enhanced blood of a BCPU, likely Frost from the reports I received. I myself do not know exactly what compounds make up BCPU blood, but I have a partial list provided by Ashino. I'll display it for you." A box appeared on the bottom of the screen and started scrolling a list of complex chemical names... none less than twelve syllables. "For those of us without doctorates in biochemistry, let me summarize... Kira has injested large doses of combat drugs designed to regulate and supress certain emotions, as well as other drugs designed to increase muscle strength, bone density, blood coagulation speed, tissue growth, reaction time and visual acuity. He has also injested a large amount of the stabilizing compound gamma glipheptim, a extremely addictive substance with agonizingly painful withdrawal symptoms that can last for days if not longer, according to Ashino. Some of the drugs are toxic to unaltered humans, in addition to other effects. We've done what we can to detoxify him... but we have no idea how successful the process was."
"What purpose does drugging Kira have? Besides just being totally disgusting?" Miriallia shivered at the mere thought of having blood like that poured down her throat.
"Well, it is Frost we're talking about. But according to Ashino, Kira may wake, if he does, addicted to various of the drugs he's ingested, none of which are commonly available even to the military, much less civilian pharmacies. He might also suffer emotional and even nervous system problems caused by damage to his brain chemistry from some of the other drugs. Kira might be chemically dependent on some of these drugs for the rest of his natural life, depending on how good his immune system is at fighting the drugs. Its all up in the air right now, I'm afraid to say."
"Well... thank you very much for saving Kira's life... but I get the feeling you didn't do it as a favor to me." Lacus said slowly. Frost... bad enough that you try and hurt me... if you've damaged Kira just to get to me...
"I wish I could have, but he's far too useful a bargaining chip." Sai replied, wincing. This was where the shit was going to hit the fan. "If we were not at war, I would return him to you. But we are, so I cannot. Furthermore, I must ask you to surrender now, Lacus Clyne and Cagalli Zala-Attha. My forces have you massively outpowered. If you don't surrender, I will have no choice but to wipe you out."
"Well, I'm afraid I'm not going to surrender, not to you, not ever! I will stand for Orb's right to have its people live where they want, regardless of their genetics, until I breathe my last breath." Cagalli returned forcefully. Lacus nodded in agreement.
"I fully agree and support Cagalli and Orb in this stand." Lacus said, just to be sure there was no misunderstanding. A pained look crossed Sai's face.
"Very well, I expected you to say that, though it forces my hand." Sai brought the hand in question into view, heavy pistol starkly black against the white room. He nestled the muzzle against the side of Kira's head. "I ask one more time, Lacus Clyne and Cagalli Zala-Attha. Surrender at once. I have you massively outpowered. If you don't surrender, I will have no choice but to wipe you out. Starting with Kira."
"He's unconscious and helpless you bastard!" Athrun almost lunged physically at the screen, even though there was nothing he could do. "You claim to be ethical? Holding a gun to a defenseless man's head! Holding him hostage to try and force us to surrender? You were low to leak that story about Cagalli... but this... this has no excuse!"
"This is against every law of modern warfare! Executing prisoners of war, for any reason save spying or espionage, is a war crime! And you'll never convince me Kira was spying!" Murrue was up out of her chain, banging a hand on the table to drive her point home. "You yourself said he's been unconscious the entire time you've had him!"
"Technically... Kira isn't a prisoner of war." Cyprus Finch said slowly and clearly. He did not look at the screen, but nor did he precisely look away. "The Archangel, and crew thereof, was never officially discharged from the Alliance Military, even though you mutinied and went AWOL after JOSH-A. Extenuating circumstances or not, as you saw them, we are not outside the law executing Kira Yamato as a deserter. The same can be said for any other member of the Archangel's crew we happen to capture who accepted a commission or enlisted into the Alliance Military Forces. Ensign Kira Yamato has been tried in a court martial and charged with counts of mutiny, desertion in the face of the enemy, consorting with the enemy, aiding/abetting enemy forces and conduct unbecoming of an officer of the Alliance Military Forces. The sentence is death. President Argyle is willing to commute the sentence to permanent exile, conditional on your response."
"So you're going to twist the law to let you do what you want... thats so like a Zunnichi!" Kisaka growled.
"Sai... Sai... Kira is my twin brother..." Cagalli said haltingly. She looked away, tears in her eyes. "But I can't... I can't surrender Orb just to save his life. It's my responsibility as a national leader to protect the interests of my people. I can't... can't change my stance just to save a member of my family. The only member of my family I have left!"
"And even if she did give in to this terrorism, I would bypass her authority by the rights given me as guardian-regent and countermand any order to surrender." Kisaka added, stone faced. "Orb does not negotiate with terrorists... even if they also happen to be the President of the World."
"Very well, what about you, Lacus Clyne. You've been surprisingly quiet." Sai observed, starting to sweat a bit. Despite what his former comrades thought, it was no easier for him to be doing this than it was for them to watch him do it. The very idea of shooting an unconscious Kira in the head was repungent... though he had dreamed about it once or twice, way back when he first joined Blue Cosmos. But that was a long time ago, and he was a much changed man. Right now he wanted little more than to snatch the gun away and let Kira rest, in preparation for shipping him up to the PLANTS, along with the rest of the Clyne Faction.
Lacus was sitting at the far end of the table, about as far from the vid screen as she could get. Her head was bowed and her long hair was hanging down to mostly cover her face. Slowly, her head started to come up. It was barely noticable at first, but the room seemed to get drier, almost static charged. Katie's head jerked around first, followed shortly by Ysak, both of whom started backing away from Lacus as quickly as they could, pressing themselves flat against the wall. "Oh fuck. Oh fuck... take the gun away from his head. Take the gun away from his head now! Now! Now! Take the FUCKING GUN AWAY FROM HIS HEAD!" Katie shrieked, closing her eyes and turning her head away from Lacus.
Ysak was staring wide eyed at Lacus. "Do as she SAYS! I don't care if you never listen to me again... but DO AS SHE SAYS, FOR GOD'S SAKE!" Ysak pressed both hands to his head and sank against the wall to a crouching position. "Please... please stop. Please... stop. Don't... don't look at me like... like that. Don't look at me like that, Lacus." Ysak mumbled, pressing his face into the wall.
"Unless I give in and surrender to you, you're going to kill the man I love more than anything?" Lacus said, very quietly, so quietly Sai could barely hear her. His stomach was doing flip flops for some reason he couldn't quite figure out. "Unless I surrender, you're going to shoot Kira in the head while he is helpless and sick in a bed, is that right? And you're going to do it while I watch?"
"Well..." Sai mustered his nerve. "I'm afraid so, yes."
"Do you feel that...?" Miriallia sidled over to Dearka, who was regarding Ysak and Katie with frank puzzlement. "Like your stomach is turning inside out and your guts are knotting up. It's a really terrible feeling actually. I am the only one?"
"That time of the month again?" Dearka quipped, turning his head to look at her, also bringing Lacus into his line of view. "Can't say as I... whoah... whoah, what the hell..." Dearka swallowed hard. He felt like he'd just chugged a six pack and then run a mile and a half and top speed. The deck seemed to tilt under him and he almost feel down, if the wall hadn't caught him. The feeling kept getting worse and worse. Miriallia was crouching on the deck, squeezing her eyes shut and holding her stomach, in obvious pain. Seconds later Dearka was joining her. It felt like all the stomach acid in his digestive system was slowly forcing its way up into his brain. He was angry. So angry it physically hurt. "Gonna... gonna hurl... fuck... what the..." Dearka's eyes fell on Lacus again. He caught a glimpse of one eye. "Fuck us all..." He squeezed his eyes shut.
Murrue, Waltfeld and Kisaka were likewise affected, in various ways leaning over the table or collapsed against the walls. To Sai and the Hellhounds, it looked like the room on the Archangel had just filled with invisible poison gas, from how everyone was reacting. Athrun and Cagalli were the last to go down, clutching their heads and stomach's just like everyone else, to curl up in quivering balls. "Maybe Asmodeus managed to poison their food somehow?" Ramierez suggested, though his own stomach was also starting to flip flop for some reason. He couldn't figure out why... he didn't usually get seasick.
"That would be very lucky... but why is Ms. Clyne not affected. Something is strange." Cyprus noted. He felt something passing by him, like wind or air currents, but there were none in the room. Most perturbing.
"This is the second time today someone tried to use my feelings for Kira to hold me hostage and force me to take the course of action they desired. I can forgive a great many things... but I will not be toyed with like that. My emotions are my own, I will not allow you to use Kira as a hostage against ME!" Lacus jerked her head fully upright and stared Sai fully in the face, her eyes completely washed out of their normal lilac color... now they were more metallic lavender almost. Inside her head, the lilac seed detonated with a soundless rumble that seemed to shake the entire universe. Lacus stood up and slowly made her way towards the viewscreen.
For his part, Sai couldn't look away. He was no stranger to gaze games, but he literally could not look away. He couldn't blink, nothing. He could barely breathe. His body felt like it was frozen solid. Behind him, Ramierez was trying to burrow through the back wall, pressed so flat against it that it hurt, head turned to the side and eyes tightly shut, appearing for all the world like a man trying to block out the sight of a train bearing down on him. He was muttering prayers in rapid fire spanish under his breath. Sai tried to swallow, because his mouth was suddenly bone dry, but it stuck in his throat and he choked for a few moments. He still couldn't look away. Something prevented him from doing anything but meet Lacus's gaze. "Point that gun somewhere else." Lacus commanded. Sai found himself obeying, pointing the gun at the floor.
"Sir... what are you doing?" Cyprus asked, brow furrowed in surprise.
"I... I don't... don't know." Sai managed to squeak out. "Can't... can't you feel it?"
"I feel something like a strong air current where there isn't one, but that is all." Cyprus took out his own gun and pointed it at Kira's face. He then turned to meet Lacus's gaze directly himself. His hand trembled for a moment... and then the gun slowly started to lower. "Stop that. I don't know what you're doing, or how you are doing it... but if you don't release me and the President, I will shoot." Cyprus ordered calmly.
"Right now I am very, very angry." Lacus replied. "People have been dying for me, dying for my principles in supporting basic human rights, all day. That in itself is enough to get me worked up. Kira's ignorant willfullness and manipulation in the hangar did nothing to improve my mood. Right then and there, I was as angry as I've ever been in my life. Now Kira is being used as a hostage to try and force Cagalli and I to compromise on our ideals. That infuriates me, that you could possibly think we would compromise the trust and responsibility millions of people have invested in us, to save a man we both love more than life itself. However, so far you've done what you can to treat his wounds and you have done nothing more than threaten him. I don't make threats. Lacus Clyne would never hurt any living, feeling being. If you kill Kira right here and now, the Lacus Clyne everyone knows will go away. Quite who I will be then, I don't know, but that person would really, really like to see if she can kill you by remote brain hemorrage. Please, for your sake, don't shoot Kira."
"S-s-sir... I... I don't... know what's... what's going on... but... but... goddamn sir... I recommend... following her advice!" Ramierez gasped out.
"She's compromised your mind, Corporal." Cyprus noted, the gun rising back up under an effort of will.
"Yes... she has... sir. Across... twelve miles... of ocean... and almost one hundred feet of... of ship... through a... TV... screen... I don't... think... she's bluffing!"
"Neither am I." Cyprus watched the grey seed explode in his own mind and suddenly he could control his body easily again. "Shooting a helpless man in the head, especially one in a hospital, is generally against my principles. However, in the interest of the greater good, I will compromise those principles for the betterment of all. That is a thought I would ask you to consider strongly, Ms. Clyne. You have millions of people relying on you, and you are right, it would be obscene to compromise your ideals just to save your lover, despite the obviously powerful hold over your pscyhe he has. However, let's look at the bigger picture. Much as I hold this gun to Kira's head, so too is the task force a gun to the head of Orb. Like Kira, Orb is almost totally helpless to save itself, and no outside agency is in position to save it, most especially not the Archangel. If killing Kira will not induce you to compromise your ideals, what about killing Orb? That is the next step. It would be tragic and heinous... but in the interest of the greater good and the betterment of all, it is a step that will be taken. Face up to it, Ms. Clyne. You have lost. Now it's up to you to decide just how high the death toll for your ideals is."
"You would really destroy Orb, just to force me to surrender?" Lacus asked, voice neutral.
"In order to create happiness for the rest of the world, yes, in an instant. I would organize the destruction of every building and person in the entire nation, in order to create a lasting peace for my children, should I have any, and their successive children and so forth and so on. I would gladly march to the gallows after a war crimes trial, gladly be reviled by history, if I could assure that peace. I am willing to pay any price, save that of the entire world itself. Are you? Are you willing to sacrifice all these soldiers, all your friends and family, just to say that you made a stand for what you believe in? Is taking the moral high ground really worth so much death? Do you honestly think people, both now and in the future, will thank you for remaining so true to a philosphy that you would sacrifice millions of people to live up to it? Standing up for your ideals against pressure is one thing... sacrificing others, even if they are willing, to do the same, when a simple compromise will save all those lives... that is wrong. You claim to love life, Lacus Clyne... by standing up for your ideals past the breaking point of common sense, you certainly to me appear to love death. Because that is what is resulting, again and again."
"But what about all the Coordinators up in the PLANTS? I can't just surrender, knowing that in doing so I'm consigning millions of them to death by starvation because your president's master plan didn't account for the lack of food supplies in space!"
"You people always assume that what is so currently will always be so. Study historical politics. When has ever a leader ever held completely true to a wartime declaration in peacetime? Almost never. Sai has no more desire to see millions of Coordinators starving than you do. However, until the war is won and peace is attained, he cannot compromise. The totality of the Isolation Plan is the only security people have, the only assurance that peace WILL be won, at any cost. In any case, that is in the relatively distant future... whether or not you surrender here and now, the Isolation WILL be enforced. The only thing your surrender can do now is save millions of lives. Maybe people will lose respect for you... maybe they won't idolize you and trust you like you were some kind of goddess... but isn't that better than waving your flag from the top of a mountain of corpses?" Cyprus took a few deep breaths to calm himself. Ramierez and Sai were still riveted in place, barely able to do more than breath. Cyprus touched the pistol muzzle to Kira's forehead, right between the eyes. "So what is your decision, Lacus Clyne? Do I compromise my ideals, and let us see who can build the bigger mountain to wave our flags from? Or do you compromise yours, and we part ways with no further blood?"
There was a sensation like space imploding and suddenly Sai and Ramierez could move again. Likewise everyone else in the Archangel's conference room found their guts untwisting, any pain almost instantly dissolving away. Tears streamed down Lacus's cheeks as she sat, collapsed in one of the chairs right next to the viewscreen. Her eyes had returned to their normal sparkly lilac blue color. "Fine. You've made your point. It pains me to do it... but I, Lacus Clyne, do formally surrender and order my supporters to do the same. The Clyne Faction has lost this battle, and I will not waste any more lives fighting a battle that cannot be won with our current forces. I surrender myself and my forces to the custody of the Isolationist Government, but only under the condition that no harm or prejudice shall be levied against ANY member of my supporters for any supposed crime committed, past or present. And though I cannot make her decision for her, I strongly urge my good friend Cagalli Zala-Attha, to join me in my surrender, in order to preserve at least some of the people of her great nation."
"You'd really murder everyone in Orb just to make a point?" Cagalli levered herself up to standing by keeping her hands pressed firmly against the tabletop. "And you claim to be better than Cervantes and Blue Cosmos?"
"Orb, or everyone?" Sai replied. "Which choice do you think I would make."
"I hate you. I loathe you more than I can possibly express. You are the lowest thing on Earth!" Cagalli shouted, raising her head for a moment, tears in her own eyes. She dropped her head again. "I, Cagalli Zala-Attha, do formally surrender myself and the sovereign nation of Orb, with all its military and civilian populations, to the Isolationist Government." Cagalli paused, letting her tears drip like rain onto the table. "I surrender under the same conditions as Lacus Clyne. I will also formally resign from my position after the surrender is completed. I feel like I have betrayed the ideals and people of my nation, though I have done it in their best interest. I am no longer fit to be Orb's leader."
"I accept both your surrenders under your conditions." Sai's voice had a bit of a quaver in it as well. He was not proud of what he'd done, but like Cyprus had said... it had to be done, and that was that. "I will be over shortly with the proper documents to make things official, and preparations for the extradition of all Coordinators and their families will begin immediately afterwards." Sai swallowed hard. "For what its worth, I'm sorry."
"Fuck you." Both Cagalli and Lacus replied, as Athrun punched the vidcomm controls so hard they broke, ending the conversation.
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Not quite what my reviewers thought was going to happen, was it? The story is moving into its final chapters now. The war and big action bits are done now... now its time for some detailed romance and non-violent plot development. I know having the good guys actually LOSE is somewhat unprecedented... but theres still a few twists left, so please, by all means, keep reading and anticipating and enjoying. Thank you.