Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam SEED or any of its characters. Dr. Elizabeth Sanford, Serena Ridley, Ensigns Jason Pryce and Richard Kane, Squadron Commander Javier Sabato, Captain Hitomi Kaido and the Starglider, as well as Ensign Roger Doolittle are my own creations.

Chapter 5: Path of Corruption

September 14, CE 72

It was difficult for Lacus to remember when she had last been this impatient. The three day trip from the PLANTs to Earth had been agonizing; her worry over Kira had diminished, overshadowed by a fierce determination to do something to help. That drive had only been increased when, nearing the Earth, they had received word from Orb that the Archangel had lost track of the kidnappers in the debris belt. After that, Lacus had spent every waking moment of her trip trying to think of ways she could aid the rescuers.

By the time their transport touched down at Orb, she had the beginnings of a plan.

"In order to gain the weapons they used, the kidnappers must have a supplier," Lacus said as they walked down the tarmac toward the military command center. Beside her, Captain Waltfeld nodded.

"The prevailing thought is that they gain their Alliance technology from black market purchases," he said. Lacus meant to continue, but Waltfeld finished her thought for her. "We find out where the supplies are coming from, and we can find out where they're going." He smiled at the pink-haired Coordinator's slightly surprised look. "You don't win battles by having a slow mind." Lacus smiled a little.

"Then let us see what we can learn," she said as they passed through a set of sliding doors and entered the command center.

The main room was rectangular in shape, with the entire front wall dedicated to massive video screens that displayed radar and satellite images of the islands composing Orb. The first floor of the command center held many computer terminals, each one manned by a uniformed technician. About four meters above the floor, a walkway ran the circumference of the room, creating a sort of quasi-second floor. The walls here were also lined with computers and control panels, some for display and some for communications. It was on the second floor that Colonel Soga stood, the fairly nondescript man quietly surveying the room. He saluted when he caught sight of Waltfeld and Lacus.

"Captain Waltfeld," he said quickly.

"Colonel," Waltfeld replied. Lacus didn't want to waste any time, and as soon as introductions had been made, she spoke up.

"Colonel Soga," she asked. "Has there been any progress toward tracking the kidnappers, on your end of things, I mean?" Soga shook his head.

"At the moment, the only evidence we have is the wreckage of the Alliance machine they used at Athha Manor, along with the tranquilizer dart that was used on the Allster girl. The problem is that neither one of those pieces of technology was obtained through conventional means, so we can't trace them back to the actual purchase." Lacus thought for a moment, and then looked at Waltfeld.

"These things were purchased on the black market," she said. "Captain, I've been informed that while you were stationed in Banadiya, you had some experience with black market weapons trading." The Desert Tiger grinned and laughed slightly.

"It wasn't the friendliest contact," he said. "The merchants in question were responsible for arming the groups that fought the ZAFT occupation and gave my soldiers no small amount of trouble." Waltfeld waited for a moment before shrugging. "Still, I did come to know some people in the business fairly well in an attempt to cut off supply routes." Lacus nodded, eyes sharply focused. That had been exactly what she had hoped for, and having the former ZAFT officer support her line of thinking gave the pink princess some much-needed relief. Colonel Soga spoke next.

"You think your African contacts can tell us anything, Captain?" he asked Waltfeld. The one-eyed ace replied without hesitation.

"I'd imagine they know something. Regardless, it's our best option for now."

Archangel, Crew Quarters

While day and night didn't really exist in space, there was time allotted for sleep, and most of the crew had turned in already. Murrue was on her way back to her room, ready for some much-needed rest, when she found Flay sitting in the hallway. The redhead was leaning against the door to her own quarters, her expression blank. Murrue was tempted to simply continue on and trust that Flay would be fine, but she knew that wouldn't be the right thing to do, not as a captain; not as a friend.

During the war, when the children had found themselves trapped on the Archangel, Flay had taken it the hardest. Separated from her friends and forced to watch her father die, the girl had been put through Hell. Murrue and Kira spent plenty of time together at work these days, and while the young Coordinator hadn't told her all the details, Murrue had gathered that Flay had done some things back then that she had regretted ever since. A large part of the problem had been that at the time, almost no one had noticed what was happening to Flay. Plenty of people had realized that something strange was taking place, of course, but they had all thought of it as unimportant, and had allowed Flay's situation to worsen over time.

So now, instead of trusting that the girl would be alright, Murrue walked over and sat down on the floor beside her.

"Hey," the captain said gently. "Why are you out here?" Flay's eyes remained on the silver necklace she was fiddling with.

"I couldn't sleep," she answered quietly. Soft as her voice was, fatigue and sadness were audible in it. Murrue put a hand on Flay's shoulder.

"Is there any way I can help?" the older woman asked. "After all," she added with a note of humor, "It's kind of important not to have my communications officer dozing off at her post from lack of sleep." The teen looked away from the necklace, meeting Murrue's gaze, and gave an apologetic smile.

"I…" she began, and then stopped herself. After hesitating for a few seconds, she seemed to have gathered her courage enough to continue.

"I don't sleep that well without Kira," she said. "When I was in the hospital, he'd always sit next to my bed, and he'd hold my hand or lay his head on my shoulder, and we'd fall asleep together. But now…" Flay squeezed her eyes shut, and when she spoke again, Murrue could tell that she was working hard to keep her voice steady. "I just want him to be okay," she finished. Murrue gestured to the necklace, which Flay continued to hold on to.

"Did Kira get you that?" Murrue asked. Flay nodded, holding the item of jewelry out for her to see. The silver chain held a pendant made of the same metal, into which a ruby and an amethyst were set.

"I spent my sixteenth birthday in the hospital," Flay said softly. "Back before the war, I used to have big parties with all my friends and lots of presents, but this year it was just me." She looked at the necklace again. "I was…well, I just felt so alone. I didn't really say anything to Kira, but I guess he could tell that I was upset. He bought me this necklace as a special birthday present; he said I'll never be alone as long as I have him." The redhead smiled at the memory, and Murrue gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"He'll be fine," the brunette said. "Kira's lived through things that would kill most people; Cagalli's told me that some of the students at the training center have started calling him 'Jesus Yamato'." The two women shared a laugh at that, and Murrue got to her feet, quietly helping Flay to do the same. "Now try to get some sleep, okay?" Flay nodded quietly, and then returned to her quarters.

Space station Azathoth, Debris Belt

"Kira?" she called, standing in the empty hallway. The enemy was approaching and Kira needed to get to the Strike. Still, he turned when she called his name. Flay's grey-blue eyes met his for a moment, and then she turned her gaze toward the floor, as though unable to look at him. "Kira…I—," she started, but he cut her off.

"Not now," Kira said quickly, and then gave her a smile. "We'll talk when I get back."

She needed to talk.

She needed his help.

But he left her alone.

The particle beam scattered off the Freedom's shield. Flay looked out at him, tears gathering in her eyes. She was crying because she was happy to see him; because she loved him.

But he wasn't watching out for her.

The DRAGOON pod fired; the electron beam tore through the shuttle. Flay was thrown about as explosions rocked the spacecraft.

All she wanted to do was apologize; to tell him how she really felt for him.

But he failed her again.

He fell against her, unable to support himself as gunfire resonated through the parking lot.

Flay was weak.

She was still recovering from the treatment.

They might hurt her.

But Kira couldn't even stay awake for her, and now she might be…Flay might be…

No!

Kira jolted awake, sweat coating his body. He was back in his room, restraints once again binding his arms, and the short-haired brunette from before, Serena if he remembered correctly, was standing in the doorway, a concerned look on her face.

"I didn't mean to startle you," she said. Kira shook his head. She might be working with his captors, but Serena didn't seem like a bad person, and he didn't want to worry her. She walked into the room, followed by two men armed with assault rifles. Dr. Sanford brought up the rear, hands folded behind her back. Serena walked up to the side of the bed and began undoing Kira's restraints. At this, the guards trained their rifles on him.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Well," Serena answered, "I thought that the reason you tried to leave before, even though I was trying to help you feel less like a prisoner, is that you don't know what you're here for. I figured that you might feel better if we explained why we need you." Apparently, Serena had never been informed that they'd kidnapped Kira. The young Coordinator's expression and tone remained guarded.

"Then what are the armed guards for?" Serena hesitated, so Dr. Sanford answered his question.

"I required that they be here," she said. "Miss Ridley trusts you not to try another escape attempt. I'm not that naïve." After releasing him from his restraints, the two women and the guards lead Kira down a series of halls, finally entering a room perhaps eight meters on a side. At the center of the room was a chair similar to what one might find in a doctor's office, with a high-powered light above it for examinations, as well as computer devices along the sides for monitoring the patient. Shelves along the walls held test tubes and medical equipment, and a large device that Kira didn't recognize sat fairly near the entrance. The far wall held a large window, revealing a room beyond that housed several large simulators. Dr. Sanford walked over to the glass and pressed a button beneath the window, holding it down as she spoke.

"Kane and Pryce, viral infusions are ready." Kira looked over at Serena, who hastened to clarify.

"Are you familiar with gene therapy?" she asked. Kira nodded.

"It's how Coordinators are created, isn't it?"

"Exactly," she said, smiling. "A customized virus is used to insert the genes that you want into the cells of the subject. It's usually done in the womb, since it's easier to change the genes of a few cells than it is to change those of the billions of cells in an adult. What we're doing here, on the other hand, is gene therapy designed for adult humans." Kira paused for a moment.

"Why do you need me for that?" Serena shook her head.

"We're not trying to invent gene therapy for adults; we've already got that. You know how we took blood and tissue samples from you?" Kira nodded. The medical technicians had drawn several vials of blood, as well as a more painful procedure resulting in the extraction of a skin sample from his arm.

"Well, you have the same implants as other Coordinators, but because of variables in the mother's body, be they temperature, pH or something else, some percentage of the implanted genes aren't transcribed right, so the Coordinator doesn't end up with the desired gene or the trait it codes for. You were brought to term in an artificial womb, so all of your genes were properly implanted. We're trying to give some of your gifts to other people, as a sort of improvement on the standard Coordinator treatment. We take some of your genes, not the whole DNA strand obviously, and use a virus to insert them into a subject." She stopped talking as the two men who had emerged from the simulators entered the room. Both were about 183 centimeters tall, and looked to be in their early to mid twenties. The first had brown eyes and short black hair, while the second had bright blue eyes and neck-length, light blonde hair. The blonde wore a red ZAFT uniform, while the black-haired man wore a grey muscle shirt and long, nondescript beige pants. Dr. Sanford inserted a hypodermic needle into the blonde's arm, injecting a translucent yellow fluid. The black-haired man broke the silence.

"Who's the kid?" he said, nodding in Kira's direction. Sanford finished with the first injection, picked up another syringe from a metal tray next to the medical chair and inserted the needle into the black-haired man's arm.

"You know of my work with Doctor Hibiki," she said. "That boy is the result." The blonde's eyebrows rose, and he took a few steps toward Kira.

"So this is the Ultimate Coordinator," he said. "This is the peak of our kind." His voice held amusement, as well as a certain appreciation, like what one might express for a work of art.

"And who are you?" Kira asked bluntly. He noticed that Serena didn't chide him for his manners. In fact, she seemed a little nervous around the two young men. Kira's attention was brought back to the blonde when he laughed and shook his head.

"My apologies; it's just a little awe-inspiring to see the end result of Hibiki and his colleagues' work. I'm Jason Pryce, and my less civilized associate over there is Richard Kane." The black-haired individual, Kane, gave Pryce the finger. He then turned his gaze on Kira.

"Somehow I expected the Ultimate Coordinator to look more 'ultimate'; you're just a kid." Pryce rolled his eyes at the remark, and Dr. Sanford spoke up as she withdrew the needle from Kane's arm.

"This 'kid' is perhaps the greatest mobile suit pilot of the Cosmic Era," she said. "If you wish to attain the next stage, you are going to need to have his abilities added to your own." Kira looked over at Serena.

"What's the 'next stage'?" he asked. The brunette's brow furrowed.

"I don't know," she replied. "Doctor Sanford is a genius, but she's rather eccentric." The girl was facing Kira, so she didn't witness Sanford turning away from Kane and cocking an eyebrow at her remark. Serena leaned in close and whispered her next statement. "Between you and me, I also think she's kind of creepy." Kira managed to suppress the bitter laugh that sought to escape him. He remembered very well how Dr. Sanford had threatened to leave him in the holding pen with those things a few days ago. "Creepy" was an understatement. Still, the statement served to reinforce the notion that Serena wasn't fully aware of what was going on here, and that, if fully informed, she might yet prove to be an ally.

"You will have to wait for at least eight hours for the virus to do its work," Dr. Sanford stated, talking to Pryce and Kane. "After that, you are to return here for another test run in the simulators. How are your respective machines handling thus far?"

"Performance continues to improve," Pryce said levelly. "It does seem to be tapering off though, and I believe I'm nearing the limits of the Herald's capabilities." Sanford nodded.

"That was expected. Your treatment is nearly complete." She looked at Kane next.

"Well, I don't know what I'm doing differently from Pretty Boy here," he said, "but the Thanatos is still a bitch to handle." Sanford nodded again.

"According to Squadron Commander Sabato, it's a higher-sensitivity OS than the Herald's. Also, your genetic modifications are far more extensive." She turned to Serena now. "I trust that Kira has seen all that he needs to see, Miss Ridley." Serena nodded, a little more nervous now that Sanford was actually looking at her. The younger woman turned to Kira.

"Okay," she said quietly. "Let's go." As they left the room and found their way back through the hallways to Kira's room, Serena glanced back at the guards behind them, and then gave him a slightly apologetic look. "I know this is very hard for you; Doctor Sanford told me you had to be tranquilized to be brought here, but try to understand that we're working to help humankind reach its full potential." Kira doubted Dr. Sanford's intentions were anything so noble. Pryce and Kane had been testing to fly mobile suits, and the way he had been acquired suggested to Kira that his captors had something more aggressive in mind. As they returned to his room, Kira decided that the next time he was alone with Serena, he would tell her how his abductors hadn't just tranquilized him, but had opened fire on civilians, and he would hope that she could help him in some way.

Onogoro Island, Orb National Defense Headquarters

Lacus sat on a bench in the central control room, sipping from a cup of tea one of the soldiers had brought her. Captain Waltfeld had spent the last few hours getting in touch with his old contacts from Banadiya, discussing recent illegal purchases. It seemed like a simple assignment. Look for purchases that were out of the ordinary and figure out who was buying. What slowed progress was the fact that this was the black market; every purchase was out of the ordinary. Waltfeld and intelligence agents working with him had to look for patterns, seeing not only what was being bought, but what all the purchased items could be used for.

So, once again, Lacus had to wait. During her career as a singer and as a political figure, she had learned to project a calm appearance, remaining collected and good-natured in even the darkest times. Now, however, there was no one watching, and the pink princess's face clearly expressed the distress she was feeling.

Every hour that passed put Kira in more danger; every hour decreased the odds of his survival. While Athrun was still a good friend of hers, Kira was even closer. They weren't related, but he treated Lacus as family. He was very much a brother to her.

She gripped her teacup a little tighter at that.

It wasn't that Lacus wasn't happy for Kira. Indeed, she had paid several visits to Kira over the past year, and she was very glad that he and Flay were happy together. It was just that every so often, she wished that Kira would love her the way he loved Flay.

She wished the both of them nothing but happiness, but it was very lonely being the perfect girl.

She was drawn from her melancholy reverie when Waltfeld entered the room, a smile on his face.

"I think we have something," he said. Lacus' expression brightened.

"What did you find out?" she asked. Waltfeld sat next to her before continuing.

"There's a group that's been shipping fairly mundane items, food, water and medical supplies, to a point in the Debris Belt where they're picked up by their client. There's nothing suspicious about that. What is suspicious is that they've been providing a lot of mechanical odds and ends, things like electromagnets, power cells, metal tubes, wiring and sheets of various alloys. All of these things can be use for totally normal purposes, but they can also be used to build particle weapons and other military devices, and here's the part that sealed it for me." The captain handed Lacus a sheet of paper, listing large quantities of chemicals. The names meant nothing to Lacus, and she looked back at Waltfeld.

"What does it mean?" Waltfeld smiled again.

"Individually, they mean nothing," he said, "but if you mix the compounds in the right proportions and use them to treat normal metal, you can make Phase Shift armor." Lacus nodded in understanding. There was no currently known nonmilitary use for Phase Shift, and if the buyers' intentions were peaceful, they wouldn't be obtaining the materials illegally.

"Did you find out when they meet the clients next?" she asked.

"The next shipment leaves in five hours."

September 16, CE 72, Mercenary vessel Starglider, Debris Belt

Captain Hitomi Kaido drummed her fingers on the armrest of her chair. Their contacts were late. This wasn't unheard of, but it put her on edge nonetheless.

The ship had been hired not out of a desire for military skill, but out of the need for a third party to receive the actual goods. Apparently, the people at Azathoth didn't want to risk having one of their own ships damaged, so they sent the Starglider to be their bagboy. As mundane as the task seemed, Hitomi knew that what they were doing was illegal. There were also pirates to consider, so she took precautions. The ship's complement of four GAT-01 Strike Daggers had been deployed in case of an attack, and the covers had been opened on the vessel's missile launchers.

The Starglider might just be a retrofitted Marseille III-class, but Hitomi didn't plan on being taken unawares.

"Captain," a technician called from the radar station. "We've caught sight of our designated delivery ship." Hitomi didn't even have to ask her next question; her crew knew her well. An image of the other ship came up on the main view screen. The merchant ship was a rectangular cargo vessel, a long, thin ship with large, box-shaped storage bays on its underbelly. Hitomi knew how these interactions always went; she'd handled five so far, which was why she was so surprised to have the face of PLANT icon Lacus Clyne appear on her screen.

"This is to the captain of the Marseille III-class ship directly opposite us: if you know me, then you are aware that I have no love of violence. I would ask that you take no actions against us, and that you please agree to assist us without protest."

There was a moment of dead silence on the bridge, followed by an explosion of laughter. The cargo ship was in no position to make any demands. A 25mm machine gun was mounted on the front of the vessel, and another on each of the vessel's sides, but it didn't really measure up to the Starglider's 75mm Vulcan cannons and missile launchers, salvaged from a Drake-class warship. Never mind the fact that there were four mobile suits working for Hitomi's ship, while the merchant vessel had no escort. Hitomi managed to quiet her own laughter and issue a reply to the other ship.

"Miss Clyne, suffice it to say that we don't abide by your personal moral standards. We value the trade we have with our current employer, so I will simply offer you what you offered me. You can leave now, and we won't blow your ship apart." Hitomi was about to ask for the missiles to be armed when her Communications officer spoke up.

"Captain," he said, "I just intercepted a laser transmission from the merchant vessel, bearing Yellow-Orange, zero four four degrees relative. The edge of the beam must have brushed our sensors."

"What does the transmission say?" the captain asked.

"It's coded, Ma'am."

Hitomi swore. Coded transmissions meant military. She should have known that Lacus Clyne wouldn't be stupid enough to come out here by herself.

"Scan for other mobile suits," she ordered. Her CIC crew stumbled into action, and outside, an emerald beam streaked up into view and tore through the abdomen of one of the Daggers, blowing it to pieces. The other mobile suits pulled into a defensive formation just as four of Orb's Astray models emerged from the debris, along with a sort of armored Dagger. The lead Astray parried a beam saber strike from its opponent, bashed its shield against the Strike Dagger, and then stabbed it through the cockpit as it was knocked off balance. The Starglider was abruptly jolted by an explosion.

"We just lost both portside missile launchers," one of the bridge crewmembers stated nervously. Hitomi had been a captain for almost two years now. She had set her fair share of ambushes, but she had never actually been caught in one. She stuttered out her next order.

"Use the starboard missile launchers and the Vulcans; destroy those mobile suits!" Even as bullets tore through the space in front of the ship, the armored dagger swept in close, releasing four missiles from a box-shaped launcher on its left shoulder. It fired its beam rifle at the same time, and two more explosions resonated through the hull.

"Starboard missile launchers are gone too!" The bridge crew was beginning to panic, and their fears were not eased as they watched a third Strike Dagger be destroyed by the Astrays. Machine gun fire streaked toward the Orb suits, but it was stopped as a massive pink-hued mobile suit descended from above the ship. Hitomi wasn't a soldier, so she hadn't been at Jachin Due, but she had seen footage of the battle, and she recognized the distinctive color and contours of the Strike Rouge. Bullets ricocheted off the G-weapon for a few seconds, and then its own CIWS opened fire, obliterating the Vulcan cannon. The pink machine aimed its beam rifle at the Starglider's bridge as the Astrays and the armor-plated suit cut the limbs off the last Strike Dagger, reducing it to a helpless floating torso. A new face appeared on the main screen: a young blonde woman in a pink flight suit, sitting inside a space that Hitomi recognized as the cockpit of a mobile suit.

"This is Commodore Cagalli Yula Athha of the Orb Union," the blonde said. "I will now repeat Miss Clyne's request: please agree to assist us without further protest." There was another moment of silence. The attack had happened so fast that it took a moment for the crew to accept their new situation. Finally, Hitomi composed herself enough to speak.

"What do you want us to do?" On the screen, Athha remained quiet for a moment, and then smiled.

"We'd like to have a word with your financial backer."

Author's Note: As I'm sure you all know by now, I get nervous writing Lacus. As always, I hope I did her justice. I know there wasn't much action in this chapter, but I hope the emotional content makes up for it.

It was fun to introduce Pryce and Kane, who, as you may have guessed, will be major adversaries for our heroes later on. It was actually rather difficult for me to make sure their personalities were distinct. Essentially, Pryce is the elegant, sophisticated bad guy, while Kane doesn't bother to hide what kind of person he is.

There were two scenes that I wanted in this chapter, but moved to the next one for pacing reasons. One is a scene where Lacus and Fllay meet for the first time in a while, and the other is an informal scene involving the Astray pilots. Those of you who were hoping to see the two girls meet or to get to know the pilots a little better will get that in the next chapter. Speaking of which...

Next Chapter: The siege of Azathoth, and the rescue of Kira Yamato.