Heliopolis
Kira Yamato's day had started like any other. But now, thanks to ZAFT, it had been turned on its head. He looked at the woman beside him. She cursed as a GINN fired, the rounds hitting the ground, causing the Mobile Suit to waver. Kira cried out and fell forward, blocking the main monitor.
"Get back! Do you want to get killed?" She yelled at him.
Kira groaned, and pulled himself up. Then he looked at the screen. The GINN rushed at them, sword ready.
"AAHH!"
The young Earth Forces lieutenant hit a button beneath the controls, the Mobile Suit shifting color, now blue and white. It braced itself as the sword came down…
And never connected.
Another Mobile Suit got between them, this one silver in color.
"The X-106!" The woman cried out. "How-"
Alex's face appeared on the side of the screen.
"Damn it! You all right in there-huh? So I wasn't hallucinating. Kira, I suggest you take over. The OS on these things is atrocious," he said, trying to wrestle the ZAFT unit away. "I have to fix mine up, as well."
The current pilot was about to object, but Kira beat her to it.
"He's right. Please, move over!" He said, already climbing into the seat.
She moved, surprised-and intrigued-by these two young men. Kira's hands flew over the keyboard, typing in commands faster than she would have thought possible. He muttered to himself as he upgraded the OS, hoping that Alex would hold on.
In front of him, Alex had finally been pushed away, and now the GINN was free to attack.
"CABAL, reboot the damn AI now!" Alex yelled as the GINN raised its sword.
"Kira, look out!"
The Strike raised its arms, the sword hitting the arms. Inside the ZAFT unit, Miguel Aiman cursed.
"What?"
It was then that Alex noticed the third unit.
"The Aegis…not good," he muttered. Is it you, Athrun? I hope not, przyjacielu.
Luckily, it didn't look like the now-red unit was going to interfere. It focused on several munitions trucks that were trying to attack it. A few seconds later it just took to the sky, forgetting-or ignoring-the other two G-units.
"CABAL, how's it look?" Alex asked, taking a deep breath.
"Phase shift reconfigured. Systems online. Reboot complete."
The Blade shut down for several seconds before coming back online. Alex hit the phase shift again, and this time, a deep blue color covered the unit, while the fists and bottom of the legs turned black.
"Much better!" Alex grinned.
The GINN turned around, Miguel feeling a sense of relief for a moment. "Is that you, Blaze? You had me going there. Being listed as MIA all this time."
There was no answer as the second mobile suit turned to face his GINN.
"Miguel Aiman."
Miguel's eyes widened, and his hands started shaking.
"You and the ZAFT patrol engaged in unwarranted combat against a neutral colony. That is a war crime. How do you plead?"
Miguel didn't understand. He frowned as he opened the channel again. "This colony was building mobile suits. What'd you think was gonna-"
"GUILTY!"
The Strike responded with a simple punch to the Suit's head, but Miguel, startled by the way his former comrade spoke to him, had already pulled back.
Inside the Blade, Alex was viewing his weapons as his machine rushed forward.
CIWS, armor schneiders, anti-ship swords…
The Blade reached behind its head, grabbing a massive hilt. It pulled it out, revealing a large sword. Miguel had righted his Mobile Suit, grabbing its rifle instead. It took aim, and-
The Blade swung, neatly slicing the arm off at the elbow joint. The Strike responded as well, pulling out its armor schneiders and moving forward. Alex shook his head.
"Stay back, you two! This is my fight," he said coldly. Without another glance, Alex pushed Blade forward, the Earth Forces unit leaping forward.
Inside the Strike, Murrue Ramius, the young Earth Forces lieutenant, watched as the GINN tried to fight back.
"The Blade…it's moving differently," Murrue murmured. Kira looked at her, surprised. "And that color…it can't be!" She said, eyes wide.
Alex squinted, seeing an opportunity. When the GINN swung the sword again, The Blade pulled back slightly, then, just as the weapon passed in front of it, it shot its arm out, stabbing the unit in the shoulder, jamming its rotors.
"Damn you, you traitor!"
Alex's eyes narrowed. "Traitor, huh?" He whispered. "How many people died here because of your actions, Magic Bullet of Dusk?" He screamed, wrenching the controls. The Blade angled its weapon and pulled, its sword running through the arm, the tip grazing the chest. Miguel yelled as his left monitor blew up. He reached down and pulled the self destruct.
The GINN suddenly died, its head lowering.
"Move away from the GINN!" She cried, alerting both Kira and Alex. Unfortunately, the warning came too late. The GINN exploded, engulfing the Blade and causing the Strike to fall backwards.
"Enemy unit, destroyed," CABAL informed Alex.
"Thanks for stating the obvious, moron," Alex groaned.
Inside the harbor, Natarle Badgiruel regained consciousness. She gasped as the lifeless body of a fellow officer floated in front of her. She closed her eyes in sorrow.
"Is anyone else alive?" She cried into darkness, and was answered by a surprised yelp somewhere up ahead. A few seconds later, a young man with blonde hair floated towards her.
"I thought I was the only survivor," he said, a relieved smile on his face.
"What are you doing here? Civilians should be in the shelter, not-" Badgiruel was cut off as he began speaking.
"Nice to meet you, too. Anesti Dhima. And for your information, all the shelters are closed off. Plus, I have to be somewhere right now. So I suggest you drop the military act right now, since it doesn't help us any."
The youth just floated past her, oblivious. He ran a hand through his hair, sighing.
"Where are you going?" Badgiruel demanded, eyes wide with disbelief.
"I told you, I have somewhere I need to be. Don't worry, I know my way around," he replied with a smile. "Take care, miss. And be careful."
Before she could think of a reply, he was gone.
"The Archangel!"
She suddenly remembered the ship that was under construction, and immediately headed for the hangar.
Both Mobile Suits were on the ground now. Miriallia and her friends were keeping watch over the young woman, while Kira and Alex tinkered away in their respective Suits.
"Minor scratches. Some scoring, and heat buildup. That armor's something else, all right," Alex said, lowering himself by cable. He pullt out a pair of sunglasses and put them on. Sai, Kuzzey, and Tolle now moved to the giant machines, interested. Kira came down, as well.
"Kira, Alex! She's waking up," Milly informed them. The two came over, helping her sit up.
Murrue groaned and looked around.
"First time taking a bullet, huh? Don't worry, the disorientation should pass soon," Alex said, smirking.
She stared at him for a moment, then grabbed him and threw him to the ground. She immediately rushed to her feet, and pulled her gun, firing into the air once before pressing the gun under Alex's chin.. Everyone jumped back, and the two students atop the machine stood still.
"Get down here! All of you, line up!"
Kira glared.
"In case you didn't notice, we just saved your life!" He yelled. "And Alex helped you, too!"
"Just go with it, Kira. It's not like she can shoot us," he said, smiling. The students stood in a single file line, some angry, some frightened-and the one on the ground had an amused expression on his face.
"Your names, all of you," Murrue demanded.
"Sai Argyle."
"Tolle Koenig."
"Kuzzey Buskirk."
"Miriallia Haww."
Murrue aimed the gun at Kira.
"Kira Yamato."
"And you're Aleksander Kolodziej?" She asked, shifting the weapon.
He smirked, not saying a word. She tightened her grip on the gun, and he suddenly batted the gun away. She backed up, surprised, and before she knew what happened, he was up on his feet, twirling a small dagger. The teenager circled her slowly, his eyes meeting hers.
"Yes, I am. And, like Kira said, we saved your life," he replied. "As you saw, I killed Miguel Aiman."
"The Blue Blaze," Murrue said quietly. "Were you part of this?" She asked, anger in her voice.
"No," he answered, his expression unreadable. He looked at the gun he took off her. "I've been here for three months, living quietly. I'm not part of this raid of ZAFT's." He stopped, his foot pressing down on the tossed weapon. "I'm gonna kick this to you. But if you try anything, I won't be nice anymore," he said. Then, just like he said, his foot shot out, knocking the weapon back to her. She stared at him, surprised.
Murrue sighed, then looked at the students as she picked up her weapon. "I'm surprised you haven't killed me," she said.
"Like I said earlier, I've been trying to live peacefully," he replied, putting the knife away. "So how about you get out of here?"
"You, get the number five trailer," she told Sai, ignoring Alex.
"Are you deaf?" Alex asked. "We're stuck in this, now. Just suck it up for now, alright?"
Murrue glared at him. Alex didn't blink once. "Sai," he said.
Sai looked at him, a little worried.
"Do as she says for now," Alex told him, humor in his voice. Sai just nodded and moved away.
Murrue looked at him again. "So, Mr…Kolodziej, was it? I assume that wasn't the first time someone's pointed a gun at you? Or do you just hate Earth Forces personnel, Blue Blaze?" She asked.
"A little bit of both, actually," he replied, face blank. "But I don't hate all Earth Forces. Just those who hate Coordinators for the mere fact that they exist."
"I see. Are many of your friends coordinators?" She asked.
He grinned then, and took the glasses off.
"About half. I'm not biased against naturals like most of ZAFT," he said, enjoying the look on her face. "I'm second generation, actually. And in case you're wondering, I'm not ZAFT. Maybe once…but not now."
He turned around and prepared to talk to Kira, but an explosion cut him off. They all looked up, seeing a ZAFT CGUE and a Moebius Zero mobile armor fly out of the smoke. Behind them, a slightly larger mobile armor followed.
Alex cursed, not knowing, but having a pretty good idea who the three were.
Rau le Creuset. And the Hawk of Endymion himself. Not good. What's Danny doing out in the field, though?
"Kira! Get in the Strike, now!" Alex yelled back, rushing towards his own stolen Suit.
Kira, while displeased with the concept of fighting, headed towards the Strike.
In the air, ZAFT commander Rau le Creuset and Mu La Fllaga of the Earth Forces tried to destroy each other. Rau, however, had noticed the two remaining G-units.
"Well, well," the masked man said.
He immediately changed course towards the two silent machines. The mobile armor, a yellow unit with red wings and thrusters, fired its beam rifles, narrowly missing the CGUE.
"Shit!" Alex yelled, wishing he had a mid range weapon. The white CGUE mobile suit opened fire with its rifle, the rounds bouncing off the Strike's phase shift armor, which Kira had activated just in time.
"Tch, not even the rifle…" Rau muttered, then cursed as Mu's Moebius Zero unit flew past him, firing its main gun.
Alex pulled out a mask similar to Rau's and put it on. The main difference was that Rau's was white, while Alex's was a deep blue. And with Alex, you didn't feel the cold chill down your spine that Rau was able to send to you. Alex was no longer Alexander Kolodziej. He was now the Blue Blaze, one of ZAFT's most short-lived-and dangerous-pilots.
"Let's see how you like this, 'commander'," he said harshly, and hit his thrusters. The Blade flew up into the air, its huge sword ready. Alex snarled and the Blade swung, with unexpected-and unwelcome-results.
Rau's CGUE dodged swiftly, easily avoiding what would have been a deathblow. The sword kept going, slicing through Mu's main cannon instead. The last unit flew directly above him.
"Damn it!" Mu swore, looking behind him to see if the G-unit would try again. He had no way of knowing that he hadn't been the target of that hit. Rau headed straight for the Strike.
"Watch where you point that thing!" Alex smirked as he heard the voice.
"Your fault for being in my way, Danny," Alex replied.
"I'll take you down now!" Rau yelled, aiming at the Strike.
Kira screamed as the ZAFT unit flew closer. Two seconds later, two internal explosions rocked the colony, and Rau hit his reverse thrusters, surprised at what was now in his way.
Two battleships, the Earth Forces Archangel, and another battleship that none had ever seen before. Alex recognized it, though. It was his ship, the Ark. A good friend of his had stumbled upon a pre-conceptual design for a new class of warship that was slated to go into production sometime in CE 72. Since Alex had some less than legal connections, most of which owed him favors, he decided to build it and utilize it for his own purposes, knowing he'd need it eventually. While shorter than the Archangel, almost by a full hundred meters, and without any "wings", it was still an impressive cruiser. The Archangel outgunned it easily by at least a two-to-one ration in terms of firepower, but the Ark had some surprises of its own.
Which it was more than willing to show off. Its Igelstellungs fired immediately, forcing Rau to hastily dodge the barrage of automatic fire. Alex took the time to see how Kira was doing. And he didn't like what he saw.
The Strike, which had taken the distraction as a way to but time, was now equipped with a 320mm Agni hyper impulse cannon. And it was currently aiming at the erratically moving mobile suit.
"Kira, don't fire that-"
"Wait, that's too-"
Two voices, the same warning. Neither came in time. The Strike fired, unleashing a beam of red energy that surged towards the CGUE. Rau managed to get out of the way partially, his mobile suit's arm melting off.
The blast continued, blowing a hole in the colony wall. The mobile armor swung around and viewed the destruction. "The kid could use some practice," the pilot mused.
"That much power in one mobile suit?" Rau muttered, pulling out.
Kira and Alex were both astonished at how much power the cannon had. Aboard the Archangel, Ensign Badgiruel sighed and gave out orders to the heavily undermanned crew.
"Bring us in for a landing. And brace yourselves for gravity."
She looked at the other battleship, wondering who was in command of it, and how they got it. It wasn't a model she recognized, but it didn't look like a ZAFT cruiser, either.
Mr. Tonomura spoke.
"We're getting a friendly ID tag from the unknown vessel, Ensign. And it seems to be launching a second Mobile Armor, as well."
Natarle Badgiruel looked at the main screen and saw the sleek craft. It wasn't a Moebius, nor was it a Mistral. It was red like Mu La Fllaga's unit, but it was smoother, and instead of wired gunbarrels, it seemed to be equipped with energy cannons. She wondered who they were. The unknown fighter came up alongside it.
I guess we'll find out soon enough, she thought.
Shortly after landing on the ground, Kira and Alex were back with the others, trying to calm their friends. The ensign and the crew came into the hangar, curious as to who was piloting the G-units, as well as the mobile armor.
"Ensign Natarle Badgiruel, Earth Forces," she said to Murrue, saluting.
Murrue returned the salute, glad that they were no longer in battle.
"Who are those civilians?" She immediately asked, gesturing towards the Heliopolis students.
"Civilians that got caught in the crossfire. And the young men they're speaking to are the ones who took down the GINN."
"What?" Natarle was stunned. "Those two…shot down a ZAFT GINN on their own?"
"Well, this is a surprise. Mu La Fllaga, 8th Orbital Fleet Mobile Armor pilot. Who's the commanding officer on this ship?" A blonde haired man said, walking up.
"The captain and the pilots for the G-units were all in the command center when this all began, so…"
"I see," Mu said, not believing the trouble that was plaguing him. "And those children?"
"They were outside when the attack began, and the two young men standing next to each other took control of the G-units," Murrue explained.
Mu was surprised at that, and walked towards them. Kira noticed and braced himself for whatever came. Alex just glanced at them, now wearing shades again. He didn't need to antagonize these people at this point.
"You two-you're Coordinators, aren't you?" He asked.
Kira's friends froze at that, while Alex just pushed off the wall he was propped up on.
"Yes," Kira replied.
A group of soldiers standing not too far away grabbed their guns.
Alex calmly walked forward and got in front of Kira. Tolle also stood in front, visibly angry.
"What's the matter with you? Kira's a Coordinator, but he's not ZAFT!" He yelled.
The red mobile armor suddenly landed, and the top slid up and out as the pilot climbed down.
On the ZAFT carrier Vesalius, Rau le Creuset watched a replay of the battle between Miguel Aiman, the Strike, and the mysterious silver unit.
"It's a pity Miguel couldn't bring this back himself," Rau said quietly. "Though his final words, and that pilot's reply…"
He looked at Athrun. "What do you think of this, Athrun?"
Athrun looked up, startled.
Rau smiled. "You knew him better, I believe."
Athrun looked down, thinking. "There is a possibility, sir. After all, we never found his body. Though I find it hard to believe he's a traitor."
"Those were Miguel's words, but we don't know the circumstances," Rau replied. "For all we know, it could have been an imposter. But whether it's him or not, we must capture the 5th unit. Failing that, we have to destroy it."
Athrun interjected.
"But what about that silver mobile suit, sir?" He asked, hoping he wouldn't have to destroy it or its pilot.
"At the moment, the Strike is the bigger problem. But if you see an opportunity, don't hesitate to fire," Rau replied. "If it is him, he won't be defeated so easily."
The troops saluted and left. Athrun stayed behind, looking at Rau intently.
"Captain Ades, please let me go out there," Athrun said.
"Why?" Rau asked, genuinely puzzled. "You've already returned with the Alliance's new Mobile Suit, and we don't have a unit for you to pilot."
The soldiers aboard the Archangel still had their rifles leveled at the young Coordinators, despite the fact that the Heliopolis students stood in their way. Murrue intervened before anything happened.
"Lower your rifles," she said, an air of authority surrounding her. The troops did, visibly unhappy.
"Lieutenant, what are you-" Badgiruel began.
"It's not that hard to understand. Heliopolis is neutral. It's understandable that some Coordinators would want to get away from the fighting. Am I wrong, Kira?" She finished, looking at him.
"No," Kira replied. "Since I'm a first-generation Coordinator."
"First-generation?" Tonomura whispered.
"Unlike my friend here, I am a second-generation Coordinator, but I didn't want much to do with this war, either," Alex said.
"So your parents are Naturals?" Mu asked. "Ah, didn't mean to cause a fuss like that. I was just curious."
Alex actually smiled, despite the situation.
"Don't worry. I'm well aware you don't hate Coordinators, lieutenant," he replied. "And it was a valid question."
The pilot of the mysterious mobile armor finally made his presence known.
"Excuse me, but I believe I have some information for Mr. Kolodziej," he said. The man had a suit of high-tech armor on, with a special helmet that was completely black, no visor or anything that allowed for visibility on it.
"And you are?" Natarle asked, ever the military professional.
The figure just turned his head towards, silent for a moment.
"Someone who doesn't answer to you," he replied. "At any rate, Ark is pretty much set for now. You probably already know this, but the ZAFT vessel outside is the Vesalius."
"Yeah, I figured," Alex said, rolling his eyes. "Anything you can tell us that's important?"
"I think you know what I'm going to say," he replied, looking at the Hawk of Endymion.
"What?" Mu asked, looking confused.
"What are the odds he'll just leave, Mu La Fllaga, after what he's discovered here?" The armored man asked.
"Absolutely none," Alex replied. "He'll come in with whatever he can use. I need to get to the ship now. And you need to get there as well, old friend."
With that, the figure turned around, preparing to go back to the ship. The second pilot came up, taking off his helmet. He was a bit heavy, with very short light brown hair and dark brown eyes. His orange flight suit had a red velociraptor etched on its back, with a red R on the left side of the front of the jacket, as well. The young man raised his arm. "Yo."
Alex grinned.
"Danny Geshke. Just who I've been waiting for. How are things on the ship?"
"David and Djarum are fixing up the units," Danny replied, then stopped, rubbing his head in frustration. "Correction. David is working, Djarum is smoking. Again."
Alex groaned. "And he wonders why so few of our units work properly. He's a pain in the ass. If he wasn't a genius, I'd have ditched him years ago. Hey, Zero!"
The armored figure stopped and turned around, waiting.
"You'll man a post on this ship. They'll need the backup!" Alex yelled, walking up to him. "Besides, Kira's gonna need the support."
"Wait, are you planning on leaving us?" Natarle asked, incredulous.
"Nothing of the sort. But for now, Blade's out of the equation. Even if I go in with the air pack, it'll be bad. Kira, Zero will watch your back," Alex replied.
"By the way, what is that unit? It's a mobile armor, but I've never seen that model," Natarle said, looking at the strange vessel, as well as the mobile armor.
"Well, I figured you'd notice it, lieutenant. Long story short, it's a prototype that won't be going into production for a while," Zero said, walking up. "As you can see, weapon wise, it's based off the Moebius Zero units, like Mu's. The difference is that these energy cannon aren't wired like the Moebius crafts are. As for Danny's unit, that's the Raptor. Not quite ready for combat yet, but it will be."
"What controls the energy cannons?" Murrue asked, puzzled.
"Spatial awareness, ma'am," he replied. "I know you understand, Mr. La Fllaga. After all, it's that skill that allows you to sense Le Creuset."
This drew collective stares and gasps from the group.
"How did you know about-" Mu started.
"The connection? It'll have to wait. But I do know, at least some of it. When we have the time, I'll tell you. Right now we need to get ready."
"And the Raptor?"
Alex grinned. "Our ace unit, although right now, it's just a useless pawn."
"Don't call my unit useless, jackass!" Danny yelled, earning a chuckle from Alex.
The Hawk suddenly remembered their main problem. "There's still Rau to deal with."
"Yeah. He's persistent. We'll have a hard time, even after we get out," Alex said. "Won't be easy to get away. Danny, let's go."
Daniel knew that Alex had forced himself not to say "if we get out."
On the Vesalius, two GINNs were being equipped with heavy rocket launchers. Nicol Amalfi, a ZAFT pilot, stared incredulously.
"D-equipment? With that, Heliopolis will…"
"What'd you expect, Nicol? Heliopolis called itself neutral, and they built those units. Huh! I say they deserve it," Yzak Joule said, a mysterious smile on his face.
On the Archangel, Kuzzey was mystified by the now-asleep Kira Yamato.
"Amazing he could sleep through all this," he muttered, staring at his friend.
"Why?" Alex asked. "Did you expect him to be all hyper and run around in joy after piloting that unit?"
"No, I meant…Kira said that he modified the OS for that mobile suit, right? When did he have time for that?" He asked, genuinely puzzled. "And if all of ZAFT has pilots as good as him, what chance does the Alliance have?"
"Won't matter much, Kuzzey," Alex responded, knowing where his friend was going with this. "It comes down to ability. Remember, Coordinators aren't born geniuses. And in case you haven't noticed, we have two trump cards that we can use against Le Creuset."
"Huh?"
His friends stared at him.
"Mu, and myself," he explained.
"Yeah, you said you were ZAFT. Were you good?" Miriallia asked.
"Honestly, I can't say. I was only there for a short while, after all. The whole 'Blue Blaze' drama comes from those times, though. I was a bit faster than the others, and colored my GINN deep blue, and the Earth Forces made a big deal out of it. Like my unit being a different color really made a difference."
"It was juss a name?" Miriallia asked.
"At first. Then my skill really did get better," Alex replied. "I was picking off mobile armors like they were flies." He looked at his watch. "Well, time for me to get to my ship."
The news startled Kuzzey.
"What? But what about-"
"Kira and my agent can handle things here. Besides, if things go according to plan, you'll have some more help soon enough," Alex explained, looking at his nervous friend. "Raptor is almost ready, after all. That'll at least make us able to handle Duel and Aegis." Then he walked out, waving.
"All the civilians are inside the shelters," Natarle told Murrue Ramius, while glancing occasionally at the silent and heavily armored giant that stood among them.
"What'll we do about the kids?" Mu asked.
"It's obvious we have to detain them, since they've seen military secrets," Natarle said, not a trace of sadness in her voice.
"I believe my boss would disagree, Ensign," Zero spoke, voice muffled. "If you didn't want them to see any of this, then you shouldn't have built these things here."
Natarle started to reply, but another voice cut her off.
"He's right," Mazer said through the comm. "Holding a bunch of civilians hostage just because of something like that is unreasonable."
"Then what are we supposed to do? Let them go?" She asked, not liking the idea very much.
"That would be a good start. What, you think they're gonna run around the colony saying 'Hey! Guess what, we saw top-secret Alliance projects!'? I doubt it."
Murrue sighed.
"Rau will probably attack us the moment we leave the colony," Mu said.
"If that's the case, Kira should pilot the Strike," she said.
"Impossible! We can't let a civilian, let alone a Coordinator-!" Natarle wasn't able to finish because of the sound Alex's fist made as it connected with the side of one of the chairs as he entered.
"Ensign, either rephrase the question, or keep your mouth shut. If Kira was ZAFT, I'd understand your reasoning and attitude, but he's not. So keep your personal opinions about his DNA to yourself," Alex said, barely containing himself.
"Well, the lieutenant-" She tried again, but Mu cut her off.
"Yeah, right. Did you see what he did to that OS? No Natural can pilot it, now," he said, grimacing.
"Then make him change it back!"
Alex burst out laughing at that, and Zero cocked his head to the side, silent. "Change it back? Sure, we'll do that. I saw the way Murrue piloted the Strike before it was reconfigured. The damn thing nearly fell over when the bullets struck the ground next to it," Alex said.
Zero stayed silent.
On the Vesalius, Miguel and two other pilots, Olor and Matthew, launched in GINNs. Behind them, X-303 Aegis left the ship as well.
"Athrun took the new unit out there? Recall him immediately!" Captain Ades yelled.
"Let him go," Rau said quietly. "We've already extracted the data, anyway. And it might be interesting to see two Alliance mobile suits fighting each other. And of course, there's always the chance of destroying that other ship, as well."
"This isn't right," Murrue said as she walked down the corridor. Alex followed her closely, thinking.
"No arguments," Alex told her quietly. "But my pilots are only good on their units. It'd take them at least three weeks without end to get used to the Strike. They're not like me. Or him."
Murrue approached Kira in the hangar, flanked by Alex and Zero, who joined from the other side of the corridor. She took a deep breath as she saw the students. Alex just stood by her and nodded. She walked up to Kira. He stood up and looked at the three, already looking defiant.
"Kira, I realize this isn't what you wanted, but we need you to pilot the Strike. There isn't any other option," she said, looking apologetic.
"Why do I have to pilot it? I can change the settings back, and then the lieutenant can use it!" Kira yelled.
"Kira," Alex said quietly. "Do you honestly think I want you out there?" He asked, looking him in the eye. "If there was an alternative, I'd use it, but there isn't."
"You have a ship! And you probably have mobile suits on it, too!" Kira said, focusing on him now.
"Yes to both, but of those units, only mine and Danny's is ready. Add in Zero's mobile armor, and Mu's, that's four. But it's not enough, buddy. My units aren't complete yet," Alex continued. "We need everyone we can get. And besides, it's not our ship Le Creuset's after, it's this one. Take your pick, my friend. But I'm not taking passengers on mine, so don't ask me to help you get out of this one."
With that, he left.
"You're being unfair!" Kira yelled. "It's as if you're saying I'm the only one that can do this!"
Murrue turned around for a second, then followed the other two.
"Was that the right to handle it?" She asked, worried about the impact it would have on Kira.
"Kira's a strong one," Alex said, not stopping. "But he's too idealistic. Life's not sunshine and roses. Rarely is it that good. If he doesn't grow up now, he won't be able to handle the stress that'll come later. And I'm speaking from experience."
As they were about to enter the elevator, the intercom next to it buzzed. Murrue activated it, and Mu's face came onscreen.
"Lieutenant, you better get up here now! You're the captain, after all!" He said loudly, making her back up in confusion.
"ME?"
"I may hold the higher rank, but I don't know a thing about this ship!"
"Very well," she said. "All hands to battlestations. Is your unit ready?"
"No good, it's still not fixed," he said, looking a little less stressed out.
"Take over CIC, then," she concluded, and turned off the comm.
Alex walked back to the hangar, where Kira and the others were still talking, albeit much more quietly. Alex just walked right towards him, and Kira tried to back off, to no avail. Alex just grabbed him and pulled him close.
"Now listen, Kira, yeah, life's unfair. I know better than most. But do you see everybody moaning about it? No, they suck it up and keep going. So that's what you're gonna do," he said, eyes cold.
"And if I don't?" Kira asked, not struggling.
"Then I leave you and the others here to die. I'll tell Ramius to leave you guys here. And if she won't do it, I know Badgiruel will. Think I'm bluffing?" He looked at him, eyes cold.
Kira stayed silent for a while, then sighed.
"I'll do it. But I think you're despicable, using this kind of tactic against me," he said. Alex let him go.
"I can live with that, Kira. Now get changed and get to the hangar. We'll probably have to launch soon."
He watched as Kira walked off, followed by Zero.
"That was harsh," Sai said quietly.
"Harsh, yes. But also very true," Alex said, facing them. "I don't like bossing my friends around, but he really is the only one who can do this."
Outside, in the colony, an explosion tore a hole in the colony.
"Two GINNs have entered the colony! What-they're equipped with D-class weaponry!" Tonomura yelled.
"That kind of weaponry here?" Badgiruel asked, shocked.
"Wait-there's one more! Confirmed-X-303 Aegis!"
"They're sending them out already?" Murrue cried out.
"Designate the X-303 as an enemy!" La Fllaga said. "It's theirs now!"
Inside the hangar, Kira and Alex sat in their units, waiting. Kira checked his weapons.
"A sword pack. At least I don't have to worry about misfiring," Kira muttered. He looked at the two mobile armors on his left. He hoped things didn't get ugly.
"Kira!"
Kira's head jerked towards the monitors.
"A-Alex?"
"Yeah. Since I don't have a ride for now, I'll be handling the weapons system on this thing. Listen, if our mutual friend shows up, don't worry. I doubt he'll try to kill you immediately," Alex said, grinning.
"Thanks," Kira said.
Zero's helmeted head appeared on another screen.
"Boss, the Ark's here."
Alex looked out the left view screen, the prototype slowly moving out ahead of the Archangel. He stood up and turned around. "Ramius!"
She looked down at him, surprised.
"I take it you've already seen the Ark," Alex said.
"I-yes, we've been wondering about that. I'm surprised the Ensign didn't ask anything about it," the captain said.
"Well, long story short. I needed a ship, a friend found some plans, and we built it from scratch," he said, shrugging. "What else is there to say?"
Murrue and Badgiruel, who had just come down, stared at him.
"From scratch?" Natarle asked.
"Yup. But we don't have time for chitchat. I'll tell you more after this battle."
Without waiting, Zero launched, and Alex prayed the colony would be able to weather the storm that was about to begin.
AUHTOR'S NOTE: Second chapter done. Until the next one. Hellshadow