Since the beginning of the Cosmic Era, the space was divided within the boundaries of the Earth Alliance and PLANT. Orb has a couple of space colonies of its own, but nothing that outmatched the other two great powers of the Earth Sphere. With the Alliance almost crumbling, and PLANT rearming the weakened ZAFT forces, the space has become a dangerous place. Alongside with the recent raider attacks, the shadow of the past wars, now in the shape of the so called Heirs of the Stars, is slowly gaining ground in the Earth Sphere. Secured in a space zone not controlled by the raising Confederation, a fleet of what seems like highly modified ships from the EAF and ZAFT stay put. On one of the main ships, the Dragg, the high ranking officers are planning their next move.
"It is a surprise to have your presence here, Admiral Motosuwa."
"His Excellency wants results. With the lost of the prototype attack carrier and the Omega, and having been discovered by the Confederation, now is imperative that we put the plan on gear." The Admiral was the kind of person that not only inspires people, but makes them fear her at times. She had long dark hair that goes into her upper back and dark-blue eyes that contrast with her somewhat tanned skin.
"Even so, the High Command must be pretty desperate. Your presence here is proof enough."
"It was his Excellency himself that sent me, alongside his newest creations and finest pilots."
"Could it be? The Daras-Type is already completed?"
"Only the prototype squad is available right now, and a few will be sent to Earth. After the report of the survivors from the Advance Fleet, that ship must be destroyed before Confed realize what we're going to do."
"He's going to pursue that ship? That's risky."
"But he's his Excellency's most loyal soldier, and most powerful warrior. He doesn't know what failure is."
"There's also the fact that the Strike Freedom descent alongside with them."
"Have you read the whole report, Captain Lucas? Seems that the Omega was attacking the Strike Freedom. That could be an advantage for us." Lucas was a man of experience. There was no wonder that his whole fleet trusts him, and he was a man that could not take them into a suicide. That's why he seemed more at ease with the news.
"Given the state of the test subject at that time, there is a possibility that she could override the brainwash. And with her being the only one that could fly the Omega, if that's the case…"
"If Kira Yamato is onboard that ship, much better. We'll destroy him alongside with the ship and the Omega."
"What about the remaining units and the rest of the fleet?"
"All of you will be under my command, and in time, we'll strike the PLANT's."
"Is that wise? ZAFT is weakened but Lacus Clyne and her forces are a real threat. Even if the Archangel is not there now, the Eternal and the songstress personal guard are formidable enemies." Being a former veteran of the EAF, Lucas knew what the warriors of the former Three Ships Alliance were capable of.
"The Confederation must know that they are nothing compared to the power his Excellency posses right now. The attack will be at the right time. Once the prototype ship, the Omega, and the Archangel and its defenders are annihilated, Lacus Clyne will fall, even if she has Orb's support."
With the winds at ease, the Lorelei has taken its time for general repairs and to try to formulate a tactical scenario to solve its actual problem. After the last engagement, Captain Rosario was being updated by Kira and Flay about the recent events concerning the red-headed pilot.
"In short, she's Flay Allster, the daughter of the late George Allster, Vice-Minister of External Affairs of the Atlantic Federation, and one of the original crew members of the Archangel during the Valentine War, but due the events of JOSH-A, she ended as hostage of ZAFT's Rau Le Creuset, and after the bastard return her to the EAF with the Neutron Jammer specs, she became part of the crew of the Dominion during Jachin Due. Not only that, but she actually died at Creuset's hands. Am I right up to now?
"That's correct, Captain."
"Bad week to stop drinking…" Try as she might, the feeling of having a dead woman under her command wasn't appeal to Rosario, even if she really was who she said.
"It doesn't matter how it looks, how can she be Flay Allster if she died at Jachin Due? Even the cloning technology that made Al Da Flaga's clones wasn't that accurate to make a perfect clone of someone." Galen has seen many of the works that Blue Cosmos did, including the Extended Project, but something like this was beyond anything else.
"Actually, I'm more than a simple clone. I'm a perfect copy of myself – If that make some sense – due to the manipulation of my genes."
"Whatever it is, that's too far advanced for the Earth Sphere technology."
"That's right." At Flay's admission, the main crew of the Lorelei was completely lost. Kira added some facts that are related to this whole affair.
"You said that your mission was due a report of the Viper Junk, right Captain?"
"Yes, due to intelligence given by Lowe Guele, but we don't know the whole details."
"I do. When he arrived to Mars, Lowe found a facility. As he explained, it was somewhat a military installation of some kind, but it doesn't belong to the Alliance or PLANT."
"But, there aren't any facilities out of the Earth Sphere." Mai, a former officer of Orb Naval Intelligence, used to "borrow" some secrets when she was stationed in Onogoro. That's why she ended in Special Ops… formally.
"That's what we all thought, if we only count the Alliance, Orb and PLANT."
"You are saying that…"
"Yes. They could be part of the original exploration fleet of George Glenn." Even with the shocking news, Kira still had something to add.
"Lowe returned to the Earth Sphere to update us, but with the fall of Junius Seven and the war that it started, that became only a kind of a rumor. As far as we know, Gilbert Dullindal faced the Mars contingent without leaking the information. That's how he gained the data to complete the Destiny Gundam."
"If that remained under the table, ZAFT could've said that the technology used in the Destiny was theirs." As tactical advisor, Hirvonen knew very well that the technological advances were crucial in Dullindal's original plans.
"And having in mind that we've faced Mobile Suits with enough power to tear down any of our mass production MS, my guess is that we're facing these people."
"You remember something about the people who… resurrected you Raz… I mean, miss Allster?" Galen was still not used to call the Lorelei's star pilot with her real name. And not only him, but everybody on board.
"Please, you may call me Razgriz. Rather than being a foreigner to you all, I prefer to keep the handle and being part of this ship." That was a good sign for everyone. It is difficult to build up trust between people in short terms, even less in a battlefield. But, Flay wanted to be seen as part of the Lorelei's crew, not as one of the legendary crewmembers of the Archangel or the daughter of George Allster. Trying to remember some other things, Flay added…
"Even if I've recovered some of my own memories of the past, I'm yet to remember other things. I was trained to fly the Omega, that I can remember, but I don't recall the faces of the people in that lab."
"We're jumping at conjectures. We can't be sure of anything until we return to Orb." Holding the secrets of the world was a bad omen, and Rosario knew that if they won't reach Orb with all this information, thing were going to start being worse.
"Indeed. If Cagalli knew about this and act on her own, I'm going to chew her up."
"There's something else that you need to know about the ship. But for that, you need to come with me to the lower section of the main hangar."
That was intriguing, and as things were now, Rosario thought, nothing could be worst.
Isn't it…?
"Not again…"
Frustrated was the understatement of the century for Meyrin. Since the Archangel recovered the remaining data of the abandoned facility founded days ago, she's been trying to decode the whole issue. Having little to none time to do so since the Archangel's departure and the last engagement, Meyrin has been trying to recover her pace. At this, Miriallia and the rest of the bridge bunnies try to be of any help for her XO.
"Still tricky?"
"It's getting of my nerves. This program is full of codes and counter-codes. It's like a gigantic techno-maze."
"Which means that whatever info it has, is very important." Neumann pointed the logic. With so much protection on a single file, that was truly important.
"Wouldn't be better if you stayed on PLANT and decoded that?"
"Even with the technology of PLANT, breach this kind of protection is work for precision machinery or programming. I hoped to reach Orb and get this over with the aid of General Yamato, but now…" With Meyrin's ability for computer locking systems, and Kira's unnatural speed and precision programming, the decoding of the file could've been made in a matter of hours, but the recent event forbid that.
At the time Mey wondered how she was going to do this, a comm.-link reached the Archangel. As Miriallia answered the incoming message, suddenly, a well known face appeared on the screen.
"Lacus-san!"
The lower section of the Lorelei's central hangar was still a mystery. An enormous blast door was the only thing that blocked the pass. As the ship's main crew arrived, Galen explained the why and how to Kira and Flay.
"This was the only section of the ship that we couldn't access. It has some kind of print-security system that doesn't apply to any of us."
"Have you tried any other thing to enter here?"
"Mister Galen suggested using a Murasame to open break it, but since we've been on combat all this time, I preferred to use all of our MS in fighting conditions." That and the risk of having an air leak inside the ship in the middle of a combat scenario were dreadful. Rosario could've added that she almost powned Galen for the comment, but decided not.
"That was wise. Forcing this blast door only triggers the ship's self destruction sequence, and there's nothing that can stop that." If Flay wanted to scare people, she already did, as the gasp was general – including Kira –. One thing was to lock down a whole sector, but adding a self destruct detonator for it? Whatever was inside that door was important. Flay added…
"Have you pondered why this ship has side pods, Captain?"
"Since there are launching catapults, I think that's for more Mobile Suits capacity."
"Even if the catapults only are for Mobile Armor-type mechs?" Kira suspected something bad. And then, he realizes it.
"You don't mean…!"
"That's correct."
Approaching the security device, Flay put her hand on it. Seconds later, a green light and a loud noise were the signal of the blast doors opening. What the main crew of the Lorelei saw inside was madness beyond imagination. For Kira, it was a reprise of a nightmare that begins in the Valentine War.
Inside that hangar, were tons of nuclear missiles.
Communications in the Earth Sphere were a problem since the only way to reach another point was via relay stations. Since the birth of Confed, a certain number of ships were assigned to stay in position as relay com.-links. Lacus used one of the relay ships to reach the Archangel, and, once she was updated on the situation about the rouge ship and that Kira was AWOL – courtesy of Athrun by major vote –, the news she got wasn't good.
"I'm afraid that the Archangel is going to change plans. The reports of rouges and mysterious MS on the planet had increased. Some of the MS that these attackers used match with the MS you found in the orbit."
"Seems like we destroy a ban for those things."
"That's why you're going to assist our allies. I'm sending you to Western Eurasia. Unknown units were seen there, close to the zone of Berlin. You'll go there once you descent on Victoria Spaceport. Even if the Atlantic Federation is yet to acknowledge the Confederation, they'll not interfere with you."
"What about Kira? Are we going to find him?" Even with her responsibility over the ship, Murrue was the type of people that don't abandon friends.
"Kira is now on Earth, and if I know him, he'll be investigating the issue about the ghost ship on his own. Until any other news, you'll be the ones that take care of the raiders on the planet. Good luck." As the com.-link ended, Mwu questioned the way Lacus was ordering them to abandon their previous mission.
"It is me, or the pink haired princess is a little bit cold about Kira right now?"
"If you were running an organization that requires you to be working 24/7 you'll be like that, Colonel Flaga." Work in a desk. That was that every pilot – I all eras – feared. With Athrun's point of view of Lacus work, Mwu didn't say anything else.
"Maybe Lacus-sama thinks that both incidents came from the same source, and while we're chasing what Confed knows, Colonel Yamato may be chasing the main source." Maybe she's new in the job, but a trait everybody recognizes in Meyrin is that she can adapt at any position.
"I agree. Mister Neumann, set course to Earth. Initiate descent sequence."
"Roger, Ma'am!"
"All stations, prepare for orbital descent."
Back to the Lorelei, while Rosario and the main crew of the ship decided their destination, Flay was resting in one of the halls of the residential area of the ship, watching the white plains of Antarctica over the pexi-glass windows. Moments later, Kira joined her.
"Well? What's going to be?"
"We'll go via the U.S.S.A. That's our only way out of Antarctica right now if we're going to avoid combat against the Heirs."
"I see…" Kira noticed that his now combat partner was troubled.
"What's wrong?"
"I don't know who I really am. The Razgriz? Flay Allster? I remember being on the Archangel, I remember some of our friends, I remember being with you, but I don't remember why I was there…" Then, Kira saw it. The fear. The so-called "question identity" that haunted him so many times during his first war was hurting her also. Flay slowly turned and face him, as her eyes were starting to water.
"I'm afraid… Afraid of found what I really am…" With ease, Kira put a hand on her shoulder.
"We are what we are right now. You said it back then to Commander Galen and the rest: you are the Razgriz of the Lorelei. I recognize that myself, but in the end, for me, you're also Flay Allster."
With Kira's word, Flay recover some of her bright. She didn't now at that moment what possessed her, but as if it was the most natural think to do, she let herself go and fall under the arms of Kira. For her, it feels like being in heaven.
For Kira, it was strange. His mind was still on his relation with Lacus, but for some reason, being there, hugging his lost red head lov… friend, was right.
Kira was still wondering why…
At the same time that Kira and Flay spent some time together, Galen went to speak with Rosario about their pilot.
"We can't trust her now! Not with all this!"
"You're talking like a Blue Cosmos wannabe or like a Coordinator without any sense."
"She's a loose cannon right now! She could betray us at any moment!"
"And as the same time, she's going to fight for all of us without second thoughts or having being ordered. And you want me to ground her? It's like telling General Yamato to drop out of the ship." Ah, the irony, Rosario thought. Their fight against the Heirs has become certainly in a world wide issue, and they're using not only enemy technology, but and a former enemy pilot that care even less about the enemy itself…
That's irony.
"The General… the mighty Kira Yamato. I'm not convinced of the fact that he knows her. That could be a trick to let her here and…" That was the end of the line for Galen, and Rosario speaks her mind.
"Listen to me very carefully, XO! If that man wanted to sank this ship, he could've done it a long time ago. But not only he helped us against the Heirs, but decided to join us not as a General, but as a comrade and a MS pilot!
"But…" Rosario wasn't finished yet.
"He may be the so-called Ultimate Coordinator or whatever, but I'm willing to accept his help, not for what he is, but for what he did for us. And if I hear anyone badmouthing him or the only person aboard this ship that can fly the Omega, I personally put him or her on the brig and I'll toss the key over the Pacific! Am I clear, XO? Galen March was a man that didn't know what is to lose…
But right now, Rosario powned him… and bad.
"Yes, Captain."
"Good."
AN: I'm late I know, but a couple of delays for my boss – I'm working with a Dullindal wannabe! –, and a certain bug in my PC slowed me down.
Some of the things in this chapter were from the original idea I had for this one, but since, I saw the preview of Delta Astray, I confirmed some of my fears, and I needed to rush things a little, especially the parts that are linked to the Heirs and what has happened to the Earth Sphere in CE. You'll recognize them if you read closely.