Who defines the strength of something? What kind of power is too strong? Something that can take a single life? Or decimate an entire civilization? Isn't deterrence better than open war? All these questions depend on perspective. For a backwater villager, owning a tractor is enough power. For a military commander, possessing silos full of nuclear ICBMs is power.

Grand Prologue
The light purple rays of dawn. Warm tropical ocean wind. Grayish sands reflecting the sunrise. Shuffling wave. These describe that beach on that day where two figures can be seen moving a few paces away the water line of the crashing waves. One of them is slowly pushing the other on a scale-system equipped wheelchair.

"Life here is quiet, serene…just peaceful." Lacus said, her hair and light blue dress waving in the winds. "On that day, I felt really lost. I didn't know where to go. There was destruction everywhere, in that coldness of space. My homeland branded me a traitor. Even you-…Father Malchio offered me refuge here, away from the worries of life. The longer I stayed, the more I felt at home. My surroundings are gentle. And I met mother, your mother, someone I longed for a long time. She is really kind, a mother I lost a long time ago. You know, it was then I truly realize that there are many things that can bring people together, even sadness, the sadness of losing you. It was harder for her to hear about you than it is to me."

The person being talked to had no response. His body slumped slightly to the left, his head hung to the front and his half open eyes stared lifelessly onto the sands below his feet. However, Lacus believes that he can hear her words.

"But now you are back" she continued, stopping her trek and hugging him from the back and whispering into his ear. "Everything is good. A peaceful place, a loving mother, children to take care for…I don't need anything else."

Three divers emerged from the ocean waves and pulled themselves up against the recoiling waves and onto the desolate, rocky area of a North African beach. They dragged their flipper-wearing feet against the sands before reaching an area under an outcropping on the cliff face facing the beach, and thereafter taking off their scuba equipment, which consists of the wet suit, rebreather respiration system, mask, and attached weapons. Under the wet suit, only undergarments provide the necessary covering for any private organs.

"Damn wind chill factor and Einstein's relativity theory. The sun's blazing, the sea water's cold and now I'm shivering. I wished those ZnO's got that handy dandy Mirage Colloid on em. We wouldn't have to swim all the way here" said Heval.

"No wonder you are excellent in negotiations. You talk a lot" commented Yana.

"Ouch, cold"

"Right, come on. Get your clothes on. We need to mix in with the crowd" Raul said, opening his bag and taking out a set of simple brownish Arabic-Berber attire.

"You haven't told me what we are doing in Tripoli" Heval kept the conversation going while pulling his grayish set of pants up.

"We made a business acquaintance during one of our missions here. The development of this major city was hampered due to the last war. Law enforcement is either lax or corrupt. This is why black markets are so dominant in these parts. Since we ousted the leader the last time, this acquaintance's second-rate dealings took off. He steals from the wealthy, such as the military, and sells the goods cheap. Kind of a modern day Robin Hood, but in the surface he appears to be a simple fisherman. So in thanks, he promised us assistance. You name it, he should have it, information, hardware, whether cheap and clunky or high-class and quality"

"Does his sell to everyone, even terrorists?" Heval suggested, having finished dressing and currently arming and hiding his semi-machine gun and two pistols under his robe.

"He prefers to call them resistance forces" he said, peeking to the west behind a large rock and noticing a man walking in their direction. "…Right, that's one of his henchmen coming"

The above-mentioned man then gave each of them an African Union ID card before leading them into a jeep parked on the side of the road and driving off west in the direction of the port in the north side of the former Libyan-government capital of Tripoli.

"By the way, you were so kind to leave the submarine to those guys" Heval continued, breaking the silence during the jeep ride.

"I wanted to test their loyalty. All of them pledged cooperation, but betrayal is cheap to do and expensive to mend" he said, briefly showing the other two a long range remote detonator.

"The Pacific Region search parties reported negative on any findings along Herfst's predicted route. Local reports within suspected sectors are conflicting and unreliable. However, we managed to find submarine remains possibly the Krutz approximately 70 kilometers from Gibraltar within the Mediterranean Sea. Probable cause of sinking is hull damage due to water pressure. Furthermore, submarine Clissare, which is patrolling the area, was reported missing 1 day ago at 0900 GMT. We are currently trailing that lead" transmitted the FAITH network technician on the monitor a laptop.

"Has there been any suspicious activity in Port Diocvia?" asked the ZAFT chairman.

"No, no indication at all. Should I increase security?"

"Increased attention is undesirable…I would like Freedom moved to Maius 8. It should not fall into the wrong hand-" he stopped upon hearing knocks on the door of his office in the ZAFT military colony Armory One. "Enter"

"The ORB representative has arrived in the colony, sir. She is on her way" informed a soldier.

"Good, escort her here" he ordered and waited until the soldier left. "Carry out the transport quickly. It may yet serve as excellent target and bait. If the current series of events aren't coincidences, there may be a theft attempt. You know what to do"

"Yes, sir" the technician said before logging out.

"Now then, what piece will you move next?" he asked himself, visualizing a chess match.

"This mission consists of three main objectives" said EAF Colonel Neo Roanoke in his grayish-black uniform and grey mask instead of the tourist attire he wore in Thailand. "We successfully completed the first one and secured the RGX-01, 02, and 03. The second is to survey a newly designed battleship, gauge her abilities and destroy if possible. We did and for the past 22 hours, she had been chasing us and repelling our attacks ever since. In the debris belt and that asteroid region…They did have excellent pilots didn't they?...Nevertheless, being in this region of space brings us to the next objective: scouting the sector of any anomaly."

"What kind of scouting?" asked Ian Lee, the Girty Lue Executive Officer, looking on a map of the ship's path starting from the L4 sector to near the Earth radar range on the overhead display in front of him.

"Central intelligence predicts something useful to LOGOS's interest would happen here. Get there, sit tight and ready the cameras. That's all they told me"

"This whole mission seemed to be going too smooth to be true. That battleship had been pursuing us and now it ceased any further attempt of recovering their mobile weapons just when we reached this site" Lee pointed out. "It feels like some type of demented planned game"

"Isn't life itself a game? One that doesn't have a save, load, or reset function that is…"

"Colonel, I'm detecting explosions at a nearby sector. Mark 20, Orange 9, Alpha" said a bridge crew.

"Right on cue. Life would be so less complicated when it's like this. Well, shall we?"

"Okay, now it's hot and dry" complained Heval as he trailed his three companions through the bustling docks marketplace.

They encountered occasional police patrols during their ride to the port and one during their current walk but these were nothing the counterfeit ID couldn't clear. The three were led into crowds shopping in the roadside stalls and in several warehouses before boarding an old small fishing boat berthed at one of the private piers on the north-western side of the port.

Sensing a shutter clicked when he stepped onto the plank leading to the boat, Heval tensed and threw a quick glance behind him. Upon noticing a photographer taking pictures of the busy scene of the market in general and not specifically the fishing boat, he shook his suspicions off and redirected his attention ahead. Other than an Arab man in his thirties with very thick and bushy moustache and beard sitting at the starboard aft railing of the boat while mending his nets, there were only the three former-agents. Their guide and two other people previously on the boat had left.

"How fares the fishes, Ahmat?" Raul greeted the Arab man.

"You are never late, are you? Good to see you fine, my friend. Praise to Allah" the man referred to as Ahmat said in a British accent, dropping his net and hugging Raul and Yana, before motioning for the three to follow him into the living compartment in the hull of the boat. "Who might this be?"

"Heval, a trusted friend" Raul answered.

Speaking from experience, Heval recognized that dealing with an arms dealer is never sincerely lovey-dovey. However, contrary to his bias, being of the same ethnic background may have a play in Raul's and Ahmat's friendliness. The compartment of the boat is also of stark contrast to what Heval assumed by looking at the exterior. To his right after descending a short ladder is an open cabinet stocked with the most advanced guns, rifles and bazookas in existence. On the wall running perpendicularly next to the open armory are 15 flat-screen monitors each of them simultaneously showing different news reports from around the world and PLANTs. Along the next wall, the one directly opposite the ladder, are 4 laptops on a , and finally on the next wall is a sofa set facing the televisions. In front of it is a wooden desk, and across the desk, another sofa.

"So what can I do for you?" asked Ahmat, sitting on the sofa facing the tellys.

"I need a fast vessel to Mars"

"Fast vessel to Mars…I don't have the resources. But, I may know of a way to get you there"

"How about that prototype Voiture Lumiere engine you got a hold on?"

"Nothing slips by you" the region's black market leader sighed. "If you must know, that DSSD junk is hardly operational. 6 of my engineers were killed due to a test 3 days ago. Unless you can fix it, you can use it. Even then, I have to warn you, with an interplanetary trip like that, you need an appropriate ship chassis to support defensive weapons and sufficient energy to maintain power, like nuclear power…My humble establishment doesn't have that kind of reach yet"

Ahmat's last remark before the pause sparked an idea in Raul and Yana. They looked at Heval who is sitting across them. The grey-hair looked back with confusion until his light bulb went on.

"Are you two thinking what I am thinking?" he asked, referring to something his former partner left behind.

"You are the only one who he shared the MOS code with, right?" said Raul before redirecting his attention to Ahmat. "You were saying about another way?"

"There's one company based in South America that specializes in commercial deep space vehicle design. From what I gathered, since they were founded by some Mars colonist who returned to Earth, they also serve as liaison for all Mars-Earth trading activity. I could-" he stopped abruptly and grabbed the solitary remote on the desk and increased the volume for one monitor. "Listen"

"…of Junius Seven. Despite efforts by ZAFT military forces to break the colony apart, progress has been slow. Citizens are advised to take precautionary measures and listen for instructions from local governments…" came the news report.

"…based on current data, projected impact time would be October 27 1700 hrs GMT. Areas near the equator have a higher probability…" stated another channel.

In succession, an announcement in Arabic blared outside over the PA system informing about the situation and advising people to return to their homes and pay attention to any updates about the matter.

"This chaos might be a divine sign," Ahmat began, "for you to make your move."

"Could you look into this company? We might be able to get a whole ship ready without building one from scratch"

"Anything else?"

"No…" Raul said. "Actually…would you happen to have SLBMs?"

"Apologies, mate. Nuclear's no good. Neutron Jammer…But, I've just acquired a new type: Swallow D4 proximal variant conventional cruise MIRV fresh from the silos of an EAF warehouse. A little tweaking should allow submarine launch"

"Prefect" Raul replied before getting up.

The other three followed suit and Ahmat gave each of them a customary hug before leading them out of the compartment. At this time, Raul slipped the arms dealer a set of coordinates for the shipment of the missiles and fuel. The host led them back out the compartment and down the plank onto the cement grounds of the docks. By this time, due to the announcement earlier, the docks had relatively cleared up, except for several stall owners hurriedly packing up their gears, and ship mates finishing their work.

Ahmat's henchman, the one who chauffeured them earlier, handed Raul the key to the jeep used earlier as the three were about the leave the port.

"Our mandate for every mission was to never leave witnesses behind. That was too friendly of a relationship for business acquaintance. What's the deal?" Heval asked as they got onto the jeep, but this time with the gray haired male driving.

"Man can't live by bread alone. He needs other people. For now, we have a mutual understanding with one another. He trusts me, and I trust him"

"He feels indebted because Ahmat saved me" Yana interjected from the rear seat.

"Ohh, our leader has a soft spot"

"Aside from that, we cannot wait until tomorrow to make our move. If we know Durandal, he would have ordered a transport. However, time delay and preparation to move such an item will buy us time." he began, taking out a PDA and began constructing a mission plan. "Rendezvous with the promised cargo ship will be 3 hours from now. At full speed above water, the Clissare will reach target area by 2100 hrs EET. Following insertion, mission will begin by midnight local time"

"What are you planning to do with the Neutron Jammer Canceler?" the only female in the vehicle asked, making the atmosphere tense.

"…Nothing" he paused before the answer. "What I'm interested more in is Freedom's combat capacity. If Ahmat would return with favorable news about that South American company, we need a safeguard in that war-torn continent"

"Ertel here. We are in. Moving to objective" Heval said in a ZAFT Special Forces black/grey suit, followed by another 2 soldiers in similar attire.

So as to facilitate mission effectiveness, the three are wearing camera integrated helmet visors which transmit real time visual data back to the surfaced Clissare. Since the ZAFT base is located in close proximity to a city and therefore guarded, the only feasible way is to enter through the waters of the Black Sea. Infiltration is simple for them due to Heval's experience in the base. Because it is still a relatively small and new base, security isn't as tight as in Gibraltar. And now especially with the falling of Junius Seven, guard duty seemed to be nonexistent. The hangars are right in between of the piers and the runways, making this mission straight forward. However, just when Heval thought everything will be smooth sailing, he paused in his advance around along the side of hangar 43.

"Something's wrong" he breathed out, looking around the corner of the hangar. "It's too smooth…Aurig, anything strange on your side?"

"No sonar contact whatsoever. What do you suspect?" asked Raul abroad the submarine.

"A trap. Durandal should have foreseen this coming. He is not the type to leave things unconfirmed"

"Do you think he already moved it away?"

"No, we noticed an activity on runway 2. A large transport plane is preparing for transport. At least 6 GINN are guarding it. Now, the problem is, there only one chance in this, and both seems to require a gun fight. We won't survive to check out both of them"

"What would you-" Raul stopped abruptly. –PING-

"Sonar contact! 3, 4, 12 blips. Identified as Vosgulov-class ships, all around us. " informed the bridge crew manning the sonar equipment.

"Choose one, Ertel!" Raul shouted to which Heval chose to raid the hangar. "Launchers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 open. Targets: Piers, runway and barracks. Fire! Standby launcher 6"

The submarine's 3 vertical launchers and 4 smaller fighter tubes, which are used as makeshift silos, opened and 5 Swallow conventional warhead MIRVs simultaneously launched out, broke the sea surface and accelerated to the upper limit of the stratosphere before homing in on their targets. Within 33 seconds, the Port of Diocvia glowed in a yellowish-orange hue and suffered artificially-and-explosively-induced tremors.

Amidst the blaring klaxons and burning flames, the three infiltrators dashed around the corner of the hangar they took cover behind and to the touchpad security of the hangar doors. Heval recalled the correct code combination. At this time, an additional rumbling could be felt in the vicinity, followed by flash grenades being lobbed towards them. After releasing a burst from their rifles, the three rushed inside the when the hangar door began to open, however, Heval's two teammates were blindsided from the right by a hail of bullets. If Heval had been slightly slower, he would have met his demise then too. With the flashes of the flash bangs flashing behind him, the survivor dashed toward the object at the back of the hangar.

"Come on, come on" he pleaded while climbing the rear left tier of the truck up to a coded panel, at which he punched in a sequence of numbers before entering the enclosed container. "ye?, yes?...YEAH!! Woohoo!"

He didn't pause to delight in his correct choice to check out the hangar instead of the transport plane laid out on the runway as bait. He yanked his helmet off and punched a button within the interior of the container, shutting and locking the only entrance inside as well as raising the container into a vertical position.

'Enter passcode: ' prompted the OS screen within the cockpit of the mobile suit which survived Jachin Due.

'Will alone, Strength alone will not Suffice. Both are Intertwined. LC' he typed.

Generation

Unsubdued

Nuclear

Drive

Assault

Module

Complex

Series AVIC-T1 Freedom LA-SE3P

System Online

"All this power in one's hands…Kira, why were you given this when you yourself are reluctant to pilot it? ……Heh, why am I shaking?" Heval said to himself, futilely trying to cover his nervousness by gripping the control sticks tightly.

Several explosives impacting the container brought him back to reality. He pushed the Phase Shift button and stepped down on the throttle pedal, igniting the long-dormant thrusters which burned through the bottom of the truck before the overwhelming force broke the mechanical clamps holding the suit, sending it up crashing through the roof of the hangar and into the night sky.

"Close launchers. Emergency dive! Helmsman, fore down 40 degrees. Put us to 1000 meters depth. Fire ASROC missiles 3 kilometers in the perimeter around us. Set to automatic targeting. Launch 3 of the ZnOs" ordered Raul. "Pilots, assume defensive stance around the ship. Enemy suits will not be able to engage us below 800 meters."

After the launches, all was silent except for the creaking of metal due to the sub's rapid dive.

"Bogeys sending out mobile suits. IDed as ZnO and GOOhN. 14 and counting"

"Depth: 300 meters…400…550…700…" informed a bridge personnel at the same time as the other one said, "distance till ASROC detection range: 100…50…all missiles have acknowledged enemy"

After a few moments, explosions caused by the launched torpedo variant ASROCs (Anti-Submarine Rocket) were detected. However, none of them struck the submarines. Although some took down a few of the enemy amphibious mobile suits, most were intercepted. After about 12 seconds, smaller blips on the sonar originating from the 12 Vozgulov blips appeared and began homing into Clissare. Countermeasure decoys were launched and deviated all but 2 torpedoes which struck the starboard body and grazed the upper port engine.

"Any contact from Ertel?" Raul asked to which Yana responded negatively.

"980 meters…approaching operational depth limit. Second torpedo wave incoming!"

"Excellent move, Durandal…" the black-hair breathed out, clenching his fist and looking to his right at the person manning the CIC. He approached the station and whispered, "Yana, I want you in the ZnO…please"

"I'm staying here" she whispered back.

The male pulled her up, turned her and looked close into the black eyes before whispering, "I don't know how many times I have to say this. You are my raison d etre. Without you, I'm nothing. You must survive"

"And you must too…I'm not leaving"

"Raul" called one of the bridge crew. "Message from Ertel, reads: Resurface. I'll open the way to the southwest"

Above the sea level, Freedom flew close to the water line with its 'Xiphias' rail cannons extended pointing down into the waters. Despite being a trained test pilot, Heval was barely able to adapt himself to the customization of the advanced suit which was tuned to emphasize speed over power. If it weren't for the automated lock-on AI, he wouldn't have been able to deliver the accuracy need for the Clissare to escape. A close-combat pilot by nature, this current situation puts him at a further disadvantage because only one weapon is effective. It was here also that he noticed the irony about his strength in hand-to-hand combat and in piloting. In person, he prefers guns, but in mobile suits, he specializes in close-combat. His former partner, on the other hand, is of direct opposite of him.

After a few missed shots, he grew exasperated and decided to dive the suit down into the water. A Vozgulov-class fired torpedoes in its defense. Heval spiraled around the attack and closed the distance upon which he drew the left beam saber, contacted the blade side next to the ship's port hull and activating it before thrusting forward to cut the submarine along its horizontal axis. Clissare, by this time already resurfaced, jettisoned its 3 remaining MIRVs, set to detonate on proximity sensor contact, into the waters to its rear so as to discourage any pursuits.

5 hours after the first reports about the fall of Junius Seven, the whole of the colony structure can be seen falling through the Earth atmosphere. Everyone was instructed to take refuge in anti-nuclear bunkers, or its equivalent structures. The same goes to the occupants of Malchio's orphanage, who are already proceeding to an underground shelter constructed below the chapel grounds.

On the beach in front of the lodge, a solitary person sat on his hoverchair, his eyes directed towards the burning structure in the sky. In front of him are the remains of a sunken Aegis-class cruiser. He had stayed in this position for a good hour when Lacus brought him out. However, while unattended, his position had changed from being at the lodge's steps to a few meters to the east of the lodge at the water line of the crashing waves.

"Kira, we have to go" Lacus said, failing to notice any difference because of being preoccupied with taking the children to the shelter.

As she was about to move the chair, liquid beads rolling down the male's cheeks caught her attention. Her eyes responsively blinked to make sure it wasn't an illusion. It wasn't. He is indeed crying. She walked around to his front, knelt down in front of him and held his hands. Adding to her surprise, his hands weakly squeezed hers.

"Kira" she whispered.

"…La..cus…" he returned, his watery eyes shifting from the flaming ball in the sky to her. "..sor.ry.. I.m..sorry…Tha..t colony...I.."

"Don't" she hugged him. "Don't say anything else. We have to go"

A/N: Lacus' assassination without Freedom. Hmmm…(evil thoughts). Thanks to Elda and Nelson for the reviews. Any for this chapter? Das Lebewohl