Long week eh?

I'm really sorry for those of you who were waiting. Things just kept getting in the way, then I had a lull in ideas for this story, then I got my ideas back, then Christmas was over and University once again intervened...surfice to say a lot got in the way.

Anyway, here's the latest chapter for you. Hope you enjoy it.

PHASE 04

A SONGBIRD'S CRY THAT STAINED THE NIGHT

"So, the Archangel survived the destruction of Heliopolis?" Muruta Azrael sighed almost sympathetically as he gazed out over Panama Spaceport, "How…unfortunate."

"Unfortunate?" It's a disaster!" William Sutherland scowled darkly at his office's desk as he tugged at his uniform's collar, "Five prototypes stolen, their carrier used as a getaway vehicle, and not even a collapsing colony could stop them."

"So we lost five machines and a warship." The Captain stared incredulously at the director of the Atlantic National Defence Conglomerate, the blond man smiling faintly as he watched a cargo vessel being loaded up onto the Mass Driver below, "We still have three of the five initial models in our possession, as well as the three second generation prototypes we built here on Earth. Correct me if I'm wrong but," he smirked behind him towards the older man, "I still feel we'll at a tactical advantage here. We can even use Heliopolis' destruction as propaganda against the Coordinators. Who's the public going to believe? Them or us?"

Sutherland merely grunted in response, clearly not entirely convinced.

"Propaganda. You'll forgive me if I don't share your enthusiasm. Those three extra machines may be our ace in the hole, but their pilots…they're a mixed batch, that's for sure."

"You worry too much Sutherland." Azrael smirked, "The pilots will be just fine…until the three other units can be properly upgraded that is. That said. It would be nice to have the missing units…returned to us."

"Do you have something in mind?"
"Indeed I do," the director's smirk became a full fledged grin as he turned to face his comrade, "Tell me Sutherland, Do you know how close we are…to Bloody Valentine?"

Dear Marcus,

I finally completed training today. Graduation was a short affair though, what with the war on and all. I wish you could've been there though. We haven't really seen each other for a while. I'm hoping I'll still be around when you get back to the PLANTs, but I'm expecting my first assignment any day now. I was hoping to be assigned to a Technical Evaluation Unit (I hear the 501st is in need of a test pilot), but with the way the war's going…I'll probably be assigned to some front line team. I am a redcoat now after all.

Anyway, I know this will probably get to you before your mission, so I better leave you to your preparations.

Take care Marcus.

All my best,

Shiho

"What'cha reading?"

I blinked in surprise as I looked up from my letter at the sound of the childish voice, an eyebrow arching with mild amusement as a familiar little girl bounded through the zero gravity of the Archangel's rear Observation Deck, her small arms pin-wheeling frantically as she tried to stay upright, her cherubic face smiling innocently as she cocked her head to one side in curiosity.

I smiled slightly in return as I pushed off the wall I'd been using as a headrest, letting the document fly across the empty space as I held out a steadying hand to the child.

"It's a letter."

"From who?"

"A friend."

The girl's smiles seemed to become remarkably sly as she latched onto my hand, "A girlfriend?"

I chuckled slightly as she moved to hang onto my arm, "Sort of. Ex-Fiancée."

"What's a Fien…fean," she scowled cutely as she tried to mouth the word, "What's that?"

I merely smiled again, "It means I was supposed to marry her/"

"Marry?" the girl's eyes widened in awe, "With a dress, and a church, and flowers?"

"That was the idea."

"Can I be a bridesmaid?"

I chuckled again at her innocence, "Sorry, the engagement was cancelled around a year ago. No wedding."

"Aww," she pouted, "What happened?"

"Bloody Val…" I stopped myself, her blue eyes blinking curiously, "Something big happened. Something terrible. It effected Shiho's family in such a way, they felt like the prospect of a wedding, even if it wouldn't be for a few years, was just too…disheartening."

"Ooh," the girl nodded, her brown bunches swaying in the lack of gravity, "You're still friends though right?"

"Yep," I plucked the letter out of the air and pushed off down to the floor, "We still write to each other when we can, but enough about that," I gave my small companion a curious look, "What are you doing out here by yourself? Where's your parents?"

"My Mummy's asleep, but I wanted to explore," the girl tried to look heroic by punching the air, only to cling to my outstretched arm as she stumbled in the zero gravity, "Daddy's back in the Homeland. He's always working there." she smiled brightly, "He's a Coordinator, just like you!"

"Just like me?" I smirked slightly as I eased her to the floor, "Somehow I doubt that. But you're half Coordinator huh?"

"Yep!" she smiled proudly, "Daddy says I'm special! That's why I like you Mister, 'cause you're a Coordinator too, like my Daddy."

"I see," I smiled kindly as I moved her hand and placed it in my own, "Come on then. I think we should go find you're mom. The last thing you want is to scare her if she wakes up and finds you missing."

"I see." Sara looked down at the five reports splayed across the desk before her, Athrun and Nicol standing at ease within the Captain's Office, the screen of the laptop currently set up on the polished surface divided between Le Creuset and Ades on the Vesalius, Zelman on the Gamow and Tandar on the Valiant, and turned in a way so the officers could see both her and the men that stood with her, "So it's just as we thought," she smirked faintly, "They know…nothing."

"Ma'am."

"Yes Ma'am."

"And Zala…" she frowned slightly, but didn't let the smirk leave her face, "Why are you here? Where's Westfield?"

"Oh, Marcus just received a letter from the Valiant sent by one his friends in the PLANTs," Nicol smiled brightly before Athrun could open his mouth, "He hasn't heard from her in in a while, so he really wanted to read it. It only takes one of us to deliver the reports Ma'am."

"I see," Michaels turned back to the silent redcoat, "That still doesn't explain why you're here Zala. I thought you'd be taking advantage of the down time."
"Ma'am I…I know one of the civilians that was brought on board," Athrun shifted uneasily as the Captains and Commander seemed to glance at each other uneasily on the screen, "Kira Yamato is a friend of mine from prep school. He's a Coordinator, first generation. I felt that, if he knew anything, he might be more inclined to tell me more then total strangers like Nicol or Westfield."

"I see," Le Creuset scratched his chin thoughtfully, "According to your report, this Yamato child was the one who reprogrammed the Strike's OS. Are you still certain he knows nothing of the project?"

"Aside from what he's seen so far, yes. He claims he wasn't part of the Alliance's plans for the construction of the Archangel or the mobile suits. I will vouch for his honesty."

"Prep School was a long time ago for a kid like you Zala," Zelman frowned slightly, "You sure you can trust him?"

"As I said, I will vouch for him sir."

"Then I hope that trust is not misplaced Athrun," Le Creuset smiled again, "At any rate, if these children know nothing of the Alliance's experiments, I see no reason to keep them separated from the other refugees. The group may be small, but they may have friends or even family among them."

"It's already been done."

"Then I believe we have run out of things to discuss. We'll be grazing the edge of the debris belt within the hour. We'll speak again once we've cleared it unless necessity says otherwise."

"Sounds good to me," Sara nodded, before deactivating the laptop and turning to the soldiers before her, "Gentlemen, you're dismissed. I suggest you get some rest. We have no idea if or when the Alliance will strike. You should take advantage of what down time we've got."

"Ma'am," the redcoats saluted, before turning towards the door.

"Oh and gents, if you see Westfield, tell him I'd like to see him as soon as possible," she smirked devilishly as she turned her attention to the reports, "I'd prefer it if that idiot would report in before he decides to read whatever sexual deviancy that girlfriend of his puts into her letters."

"Has anyone seen Miriallia?"

Kira glanced up as Tolle came to join their little group amongst the bunks, his friend coming to a stop beside Sai and Flay.

"I think one of the ZAFT Reds said she was sleeping," Kuzzey frowned as he swung his legs from the top bunk, "Told us not to disturb her."

"And you believed him?" the timid teen winced at Tolle's harsh tone, "It was that guy, wasn't it? The one with brown hair and green eyes. The one that caught her before. I swear, if he's done anything to her…"

"Tolle, relax," Kira managed to grab his friend's shoulder before he managed to storm towards nearby greencoat, "I went to check up on her a minute ago. She's asleep, and I think it's best if she's left like that."

He felt a small pang of relief as the shoulder slumped in defeat.

"Guess you're right," he scowled slightly, "But if that guy even tried to touch her in the wrong way…"

"Ah, the jealous type," Sai smiled helplessly as he slung a comforting arm around Flay's shoulders, "Glad I'm not like that."

Tolle decided to ignore his bespectacled friend, "Anyway…Did they tell you anything about what would happen once we got to the PLANTs? I'm guessing that's where we're headed."
"They're being kinda vague about it," Sai shrugged, "The greencoat that explained it to everyone didn't seem entirely sure of what was going on himself…"

"Well, we're definitely on the move."

"Miriallia!"

Tolle seemed to breath a sigh of relief as his brown haired girlfriend came round the corner, still rubbing sleep from her eyes, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she smiled sweetly as her boyfriend put a steadying arm around her shoulders, "I felt the ship move off while I was falling asleep. Wherever we're going, we're definitely on the move towards it," she frowned slightly, "There could still be Alliance forces around. If it were me, I'd probably do anything and everything I could to get my stolen property back."

"What? Anything?" Flay tensed slightly, her hand clasping around Sai's own appendage as her friend's words sunk in, "You mean we're less safe now that we're on board? Say it isn't so!"

Kira gave her a strange look, "Would you rather have been left on that broken lifeboat? It's still in the Hanger if you've changed your mind."

Flay scowled slightly, "That's not what I meant. All things considered, I'd rather be back on Heliopolis, picking out clothes with Jessica and Misha…" she trailed off as she lent her head against Sai's shoulder, "I hope they're alright."

"Yeah, this isn't exactly the whole colony here," Kuzzey frowned as he watched several refugees amble by, "I hope my parents made it out okay."

"All districts were ordered to evacuate," Sai smiled reassuringly, "I'm sure their fine…"

"ELLE!!!"

Kira blinked in surprise as the voice cried out across the deck from the corridor, his hand tensing into a fist as he peered around the corner of the bunks, ready to attack if needs be.

Thankfully, the scene before him was much more heart-warming.

Standing a little further up the corridor, a young mother gratefully embraced her small daughter of no more then five, the child giving her parent a strange look as she appeared to be hugged to death.

Standing behind them, looking if nothing else a little amused, stood a certain ZAFT officer that had recently irked one of his friends.

"There he is," Kira jumped as Tolle's voice came from behind him, his voice low so as not to be overheard, "Look at him, all smug and content with himself. 'Oh look, I returned a child to it's mother. Everybody praise me!' Oh shit he's coming this way!"

The all too innocent looks that most of the group seemed to be wearing as I approached…disturbed me somewhat. However, I shook off my misgivings and presented a friendly smile, the simple gesture seeming to infuriate the Natural known as Tolle Koenig for reasons beyond my understanding.

"Good afternoon Gentlemen. Miss Allster, Miss Haw," the males of the group seemed a little uneasy to the formality I presented. Allster turned her head away in disgust. Miriallia merely nodded in greeting, "I trust you're all being treated alright?"

"As well as can be expected," Sai quickly interjected before Tolle seemed to want to say otherwise, "Thanks for letting us rejoin the other refugees."

"You all don't know anymore about this ship and it's weapons then most of the crew, there's no real need to keep you apart," I shrugged, before turning my attention to a certain brown haired Coordinator that had remained strangely quiet, "Accept for you though. You're Kira Yamato right? The Coordinator that reprogrammed the OS?"

Yamato seemed to flinch at the comment, his friends blinking in surprise as a certain awkwardness came over me.

Clearly he hadn't told anyone else.f

"What?" Allster was the first to pick up on it, "Are you telling me this Kira guy's a Coordinator too?"

"When you think about it, it's not that big of a mystery Flay," Miriallia scowled darkly at her friend's accusing manor, "Orb is a neutral nation. As such, some it's populace is made of people trying to escape the war, including Coordinators," she smiled slightly at Kira, "We've known Kira for years. It didn't matter to us what his genetics are like," she turned to regard her friend, "Why should it now?"

"I…well…"

"Kira Yamato is a Coordinator, but he isn't a soldier of ZAFT," I let a shaky smirk grace my lips as I tried to back up Miriallia's statement, "It takes a lot of courage to go into battle, but even more to turn away from a government's war," I sent a smile Kira's way, "I envy you. If I hadn't seen what happened at Junius Seven personally, I might've done the same thing."

Kira gave me a puzzled expression, but I decided to move on.

"Miss Haw, I wonder if you could do me a favour."

Tolle pulled his girlfriend a little closer.

"What kind of favour?"

"The babysitting kind," I jerked a thumb back the way I had come, Elle waving energetically in her parent's arms, "This isn't really a favour for me, more for that woman over there. This whole ordeal has been…taxing on her mind. She's exhausted. Her daughter however," I smiled slightly as I turned to wave back, "Well…she's only five, and full of energy, which isn't a good combination when you're confined to the bowels of a strange ship. The mother needs to sleep in the knowledge that her child won't wander off…again. I was just wondering if you could look after her for a few hours," I turned back to Miriallia with a smirk, "As a fellow refugee, I feel she'll probably be more at ease then if I found her a greencoat to play with, and I don't think Commander Michaels would appreciate the assignment considering we're short-handed as it is."

"Why Miriallia?" I couldn't help but notice the indignant look his girlfriend sent Tolle's way, "I mean there's got to be at least two dozen people to choose from, why this one girl?"

"Call it a gut feeling…coupled with the fact Miss Haw is the only refugee I've really talked too…"

"Attention. All mobile suit pilots, please report to the Bridge immediately. Priority. I repeat, all mobile suit pilots report to the Bridge immediately."

"Oh," I frowned as Mira's voice echoed over the speakers overhead, "Well, duty calls. So…will you do it?"

Miriallia seemed to regard me quietly, her blue eyes darting between me and little Elle, her teeth biting into her lip for a moment, before she shrugged off her surprised boyfriend's arm.

"Sure. Why not?" She smiled slightly, "It'll give us all something to do if nothing else."

"A distress signal?" Nicol's face betrayed obvious concern as I pushed off the elevator's wall onto Archangel's Bridge, "From within the Debris Belt?"

"That's what we're picking up," Sara nodded to me in greeting as I came to a halt behind her chair with my fellow pilots before turning back to the divided Comm. Screen above the main window where the images of Le Creuset and the fleet's other three Captains looked onto the cramped Command Centre expectantly, "Archangel's communication array is clearly far more advanced then anything mounted on the Laurasia or even the Nazca classes if they haven't heard it. The distress call was an automated beacon from a civilian ship, the Silverwind."

I'm sure I wasn't the only one to notice Athrun's form as it suddenly tensed at the name of the vessel in distress.

"S…Silverwind?" the blue haired pilot swallowed thickly, "Are…are you sure?"

"Pretty sure," the images of the three Captains and Commander were pushed into three corners of the Comm. Screen as a large map of the local area appeared between them, a large red dot blinking softly amid green lines and local space landmarks, "The signal itself is coming from around here, about thirty klicks out of our way. We don't know if that's where Silverwind is now however, or if the beacon itself as floated away from what remains of the ship."

"Silverwind…" Dearka frowned slightly, a single tanned finger tapping his forehead as though it would bring up forgotten memories, "Hey, wasn't that the name of the ship they were sending as part of the Memorial Delegation?"

"You're right," Nicol nodded in realisation, Athrun's hands clenching uneasily just behind him, "I'd forgotten how close we are to Bloody Valentine. Isn't Miss Lacus the Memorial's acting representative?"

I rose an eyebrow as Athrun's face suddenly went an interesting shade of green.

"Miss Lacus?" Dearka blinked in surprise, "Chairman Clyne's daughter?" He looked up at Zala across the Bridge, "Isn't she you're fiancée or something?"

Athrun didn't speak, he just nodded silently.

"So…what are we going to do?" Tandar steeped his forefingers in front of him carefully, "I'm aware that this mission hasn't been made public to the people of the PLANTs, but are we really going to ignore a cry for help from the Chairman's own daughter?"

"A distress call is a distress call," I gave my former Captain a pointed look, "We're not under silent running here. I see no reason why we can't try and provide some assistance…"

"But neither do I see any reason to send the entire fleet," Sara shook her head, "Our main objective is to get the Archangel back to the PLANTs, but that doesn't mean we can't send the Valiant or the Gamow to investigate," she turned to Le Creuset as the three images combined over the map, "We're only a week away from home. Changing course would add another day to our trip, and I think the techs would rather get their hands on this ship and the prototypes sooner rather then later…"

"But what if one ship isn't enough?" I glanced in bewilderment as Nicol, rather then my anticipated Athrun, spoke up urgently, "We have no idea how large the force was that attacked Miss Lacus' ship. What if they're still in the area?"

"It's a civilian shuttle Nicol," Yzak rolled his eyes to the ceiling, "It's not exactly a mobile fortress you know."

"But why was it attacked in the first place?" The green haired Coordinator continued to press, "It doesn't make any sense. Civilian shuttles are clearly marked as such, they don't even look like any of our warships. Something…just doesn't feel right about thi.,"

"What about you Zala? You've been awfully quiet about this?" I cocked an eyebrow as Athrun jumped at the sound of his own name, "I mean she's you're fiancée right? I'd of thought you'd be the first to want to be a knight in shining armour to save your pink haired damsel in distress."

I'd put him on the spot, and everyone in the room knew it.

"Well…I…" the pilot winced uncomfortably as all eyes turned on him, "I feel Commander Michaels is correct. To send the Valiant or the Gamow…or even both…would be an acceptable answer to the situation. The Archangel is returned to the PLANTs and Lacus will be safely returned to her father."

The hum of the Bridge's equipment became the loudest sound in the room until Sara folded her arms across her chest.

"It sounds kinda heartless when you say it Zala,"
"Why is it heartless?" Athrun stared at her in bewilderment, "I just suggested we send half our fleet to investigate!"

"Yeah, but you suggested the wrong half Athrun," Yzak smirked slightly as he shook his head, "You're Clyne's Fiancé, everyone's kinda expecting you to be insisting we all turn around and rush in to save the day and not taking no for an answer. Instead we've got the invisible man and Junius Seven's own Evil Knievel doing all the whining while you actually agree with us. It's not that I'm complaining or anything; I think that need to get these machines back to the PLANTs so we can really tear them apart. I'm just telling you what we're all thinking."

"Nonetheless, this situation presents a problem for us no matter which way we look at it," Le Creuset frowned slightly on his and Ades' screen, "As officers of ZAFT, we are duty bound to answer all distress calls, be them from fellow ZAFT vessels, those from the PLANTs, or even those from the other space worthy nations. At the same time, we must get the data at the very least back to the PLANTs as soon as possible. To send either the Gamow or the Valiant into a unknown situation would be unwise; The Gamow is without two of it's pilots with one out of commission, and the Valiant's only test pilot is on board the Archangel. With no pilots or mobile suits on one vessel and only one working machine and pilot on the other, it is possible that even a squadron of Moebius units would present a problem for the ships…"

"What if we send Vesalius?"

Le Creuset regarded Sara quietly, "Do you really want to rely on two Eurasia frigates with little to no mobile suit back-up to escort you back to the PLANTs?"

My commander folded her arms across her just sulkily, "Not when you put it like that. But we're not exactly under-armed here. Archangel can handle itself if needs be,"

"I disagree," Le Creuset smiled sympathetically as Sara scowled, "Please don't give me that look, this is not a slur against your abilities. Keep in mind that we have only had the best part of a day to understand this new technology. I would feel…more reassured…if Archangel was not alone if ambushed by the Alliance."

"So…we're all going?"

"It certainty appears that way," The Masked Commander shrugged as Sara's shoulders slumped, Yzak's and Dearka's following suite, "If anything this may be an excellent opportunity for the collection of more data on the Archangel and the prototypes. We will make best speed for the source of the distress signal, once we're in range, Nicol will deploy in the Blitz, and use the cover of mirage colloid to ascertain if there is a threat in the local area. Westfield and the Strike with Launcher attachment will provide long range artillery fire as back-up if needed. The rest of you will be on stand-by until further notice. Any question?"

"Yeah, I have one," Dearka smirked, "Can we get a move on? The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we get home!"

"Look at that…Junius Seven."

I felt a lump develop in the pit of my stomach as I observed the sight before me, my hands clenching over the Strike's control sticks as I took in what remained of the colony I had failed to protect.

Before us lay the largest ruined remains of Junius Seven; an entire continent of immense size, most of it's surface dyed a purplish blue from the frozen water that covered it, massive cables that had once held thick glass now drifting lazily in zero gravity. All around us, debris spun listlessly across space. From tractors and cars to entire tree and full fledged buildings ripped from their foundations.

And every so often, the body of some innocent civilian swung by, an image of terror and fear forever etched onto their faces for all eternity.

I was just glad I'd skipped lunch before heading out.

"Marcus?"

"Hm?"

"You okay?" Nicol regarded me worriedly on the comm. screen, a slight shimmer on my screen ahead indicating his cloaked Blitz had turned round to look at me, "You look a little sick,"

"I'm fine," I smiled half heartedly, "Bad memories that's all. Keep going Nicol, I've got your back,"

The green haired pilot didn't seem to be reassured, but nodded anyway, another slight shimmer in the darkness before me indicating he had moved on.

"How's the Mirage Colloid holding up?"

"Good. Dispersion loss rate is thirty seven percent," He sent a smirk my way, "As long as we're done within the next eighty minutes, I should be okay,"

"We shouldn't take that long," I smiled to myself as my eyes scanned the screens before me, "The distress signal is coming in strong. You should be right on top of it within five minutes,"

"Roger that. I think…yes, there it is!"

Rotating slowly out from behind a chunk of earth ripped from it's artificial home, Nicol sucked in a tense breath as he watched the green and white remains of the Silverwind drifted into view.

It's hull was scorched and pocketed with weapons fire, machinery and debris drifted lazily from gaping holes in the zero gravity, but what concerned the pilot the most was the large crater where the Bridge had once sat.

"Something tells me this ship wasn't simply caught by flying debris," Nicol frowned as the Blitz approached the wreck, an invisible hand tracing the remains of the Bridge as sparks arced across the vacuum, "The hull shows signs of a battle damage, and the Bridge looks like someone put a mobile suit sized fist through it. No survivors,"

"A mobile suit?" Marcus arced an eyebrow, "Are you sure? But Miss Lacus is practically loved by everybody! Why would one of our own pilots suddenly try to commit such a mutiny?"

Nicol merely grimaced, "I never said it was a ZAFT machine that did this,"

"Well that would mean…oh…" realisation dawned in Westfield's eyes, "Alliance mobile suits…but that's not possible. We have all five prototypes…don't we?"

"It's not just the crater, it's the weapons impacts as well," the green haired Coordinator turned his suit's camera to the main hull, "There's no way a GINN could have made these marks. If I had to guess, I'd say this damage was caused by rifle sized beam technology…"

"Which we've only found on the machines we captured," Marcus gritted his teeth angrily as he slammed a fist against an armrest, "Damn…they have more prototypes. Our intelligence was way off! I'll notify Le Creuset, they might still be in the area,"

"Right. I'll look for survivors in the meantime," Nicol turned his attention to the debris ridden space before him, "There might not be survivors on the ship itself, but that doesn't rule out the possibility of life pods,"

"What's he doing now?"

"Dunno. He's just…floating there. Why doesn't he investigate? The ship's right there!!"

"Do we attack him? Maybe his fellows will come running,"

"Don't be stupid! We don't know where the others are. They could be miles away, and the drug isn't exactly permanent,"

"Hey, there's three of us and five of them right? Even if we only took down one, that evens the playing field a bit…"

"Have you seen the size of the cannon he's got mounted to his back? We'd be fried before we're halfway across this dump!"

"Don't shout at me!"

"Then don't be so pathetically stupid!

Shani scowled darkly as his supposed 'comrades' continued to bicker over the open comm. Channel as they hide amid the debris of Junius Seven, his hand clenching tightly around his Forbidden's control sticks as his ears longed for his beloved music player.

He was better then this, better then his two fellows combined. With the capsule of fluid in his hand, he knew he would be damn near unstoppable. Against that one machine, he would be able to slice the suit in two before it had even brought it's weapon to bear.

So…he made a decision.

"Hey! Shani! Where the hell do you think your going!?"

"Marcus look out! Eight o'clock!"

"What?!"

I didn't even managed to bring the Agni to bear before the object's of Nicol's alarm came into view.

Leaping from out behind a passing asteroid, I barely managed to take in the massive dome that appeared to be the machine's head before it's scythe came down, narrowly missing the Strike's head by inches as I barely managed to dodge clear.

"A new mobile armour? No…" My eyes widened as the dome retreated to the machine's back, pale arms and legs now visible as the enemy circled round for another attack, "A mobile suit…no," I recognised the all to familiar v-shaped crest atop the mech's pearl white head, it's scythe raised offensively before it's onyx chest, "A…A Gundam!"

The scythe came down…

"Strike, please confirm, you're breaking up!" Sara cast a wary look down into the CIC below as Mira pressed her earpiece harder into the side of her head, "A what…A Gundam?"

"Gundam?" The Commander frowned as Sanchez continued to frantically try and sustain a stable communication, "That sounds familiar…"

"Isn't that what Westfield calls his machine?" Kamna glanced back from the helm, "The Strike Gundam or something?"

"He's referring to the prototypes OS," Despite the situation, Athrun smirked on the comm. Screen as Dearka and Yzak seemed to share a grin below him, "General Unilateral Neuro-Link Dispersive Autonomic Maneuver. Take the first letter from each…"

"And you get Gundam," Even Sara smiled slightly, "That idiot. What am I going to do with him? Sanchez, what's Westfield blabbering about?"

"Ma'am, Westfield has confirmed contact with a previously unknown type of Gundam, another Earth Alliance prototype,"

The smile quickly vanished from the whitecoat's lips.

"Another Gun…prototype? But I thought we had all of them!"

"Apparently not," Mira frowned as she pressed the earpiece harder against her ear, "Amalfi also confirms two more unknown units, he's engaging them now…"

"Zala, Joule, Elsmen, launch immediately," Sara was on her feet before Sanchez had even finished her sentence, "All engines to maximum. And would someone kindly inform Le Creuset his intel. was off…way off!"

"Fall, damn you!"

120mm shells sliced through the darkness of space from the shoulder mounted vulcan cannon as my opponent ducked and weaved through asteroids and space debris, only for my efforts to be rewarded by a pair of yellow beams from the Gundam's rail guns.

"Dammit, this isn't good," I bit my lip as I was once more forced onto the defensive, "If I'd known I was going to be fighting mobile suits I'd of brought the Aile. I just can't get into a decent firing position. Hey Nicol, any chance of a hand here?"

"Sorry, but you're on your own…ugh!" Amalfi winced as the Blitz seemed to take a hit of it's own, "I've got machines of my own to deal with,"

It only took a glance into my right hand camera to see what he meant.

Fighting valiantly near the wreckage of the Silverwind, the Blitz fought off another two suits; a bluish machine with high powered cannons and transformable mech that seemed to change shape between humanoid and a hawk-like form before my eyes.

"Dammit, they're just like our own machines…" I bit down on my lip as the domed Gundam came in for another assault, the blunt side of it's scythe smashing into the Strike's head, the mobile suit careening blear as the weapon's sharper edge narrowly missed it's arm, "Are they Coordinators?"

"I really don't have time to ponder that right now!" a barrage of missiles erupted from the Blitz's arm as the blue Gundam swooped in too close, two of it's large cannons exploding into a brief spurt of flame on impact as the target fought for control, "They seem pretty distracted though, like their working on fighting instinct, almost like…"

"MAKE WAY FOR THE CAVALRY!!!"

As it leapt off a nearby asteroid, it's scythe held high above it's head, I couldn't help but green as a blood red beam of energy arced across the darkness, the shield like appendages barely blocking the incoming attack as the Aegis soared overhead.

"Can't even leave you alone for a few hours can we?" Dearka smirked as the Buster came to my side, the Duel following the Aegis to aid the Blitz, "Who are your playmates?"

"You got me," I smirked as I brought the Agni to bear. My targets aligning as I locked onto the hawk-shaped Gundam across the battlefield, "But in all honesty, I'm glad for the unfair advantage,"

They…were loosing…

Locked in a running beam fight with the mobile armour form of the Aegis, Shani gritted his teeth angrily as he watched a beam of orange light sliced through the debris field into the left wing of the Raider.

His comrades were weak and pathetic. Even with the enhancements of Gamma Glipheptin, both Orga and Clotho were clearly inept as pilots of these great machines Azreal had presented them with. You only had to look at the damage to the Raider and Calamity and compare it with his own Forbidden to see his skills were far superior to theirs.

As the Aegis broke it's attack to dodge clear of a tractor that had clearly been blown out into space from the colony below, Shani let a smile grace his lips as he lazily let his targeting scopes drift over the smoking form of the Raider, Orga clearly fighting for control as his suit reeled fromt eh blasts.

"No one would ever know," he smirked, "One shot and bang!…Yeah…you're better off de…"

He stopped, a familiar twitch flitting through his heart.

"No…not now!"

Within seconds a full wave of pure agony ripped through his body. Every nerve was aflame, even his eyes felt like they were being gouged from their sockets.

Judging from the pain ridden screams of his fellow pilots, it was clear they were suffering the same fate.

Mercifully, three balls of light erupted into existence amid the debris of Junius Seven; the return signal from the Doolittle.

With what little energy he had left, Shani set the Forbidden's autopilot to return home, before succumbing to his pain and screaming aloud, long and hard as the Archangel and it's escorts finally made it onto the scene.

"Enemy in full retreat Ma'am,"

"I can see that," Sara smirked as she leaned her head against her fist, "Damn, we come out ready to go down guns blazing, and they turn tail and run…"

"It's probably because they saw the ships coming in the first place," Yzak leaned back the Duel's cockpit chair with an air of superiority, "Five prototype mobile suits is one thing, but with an advanced warship and three escorts bringing up the rear? They'd have never stood a chance…"

"I'm not so sure about that," Marcus frowned uneasily, "These three machines were definitely something else. You just have to look at their weaponry to see that. If they'd fought as a team…I think there might not have been anything for the Archangel to find by the time it got here,"

"Always got to be the sourpuss Westfield?"

The pilot scowled, "I'm just concerned Ma'am. We were only aware of the five mobile suits we've already captured, now we have three more machines with advanced weaponry and abilities that we know nothing about. What if there are more of them out there? What do we do? Are we going to go after them?"

"No," Le Creuset's stern masked features appeared between the pilot's screens, "We have already expended all of our available resources acquiring the first five prototypes and the Archangel. If we attempt to go after these three new machines, we may very well loose the ones we have already taken from the Alliance in the process. Nicol, Westfield, have you recovered any escape pods from the Silverwind?"

"Negative," the green haired pilot shook his head, "But Commander, we'd only just found the wreck of the Silverwind when the Alliance suits attacked, if you give us fifteen minutes we can properly…"

"No, we cannot stay here any longer then necessary. Westfield is right, the retreat of the new suits was abrupt, and they may have reinforcements. Once we have loaded the prototypes back onto the Archangel…"

"Are we just going to leave her then?"

"Now you choose to take our side?" Marcus seemed to glare across space to where Athrun sat stunned within the cockpit of the Aegis, "You choose this moment to get concerned?"

"This is an different situation!" Zala snapped, "Before coming here would mean back-tracking and only adding to our journey home, but now we're here…" his voice drifted off as his hands flexed uneasily around his suit's control sticks, "I…care about Lacus. We've known each other for as long as I can remember…" determination returned to his voice, "At the time I thought if the Alliance managed to take back these captured machines, the war would have taken a bloody turn for the worse. But if the Earth Forces still have at least three other prototypes in their procession, then it doesn't matter what we do now. The Naturals will still be able to develop mobile suits regardless. Lacus is my Fiancée, but if the war ended quicker at the cost of her life…I saw that as acceptable," he seemed to glance across the screen towards Marcus, "I was wrong. We should search for her now, while we have the chance,"

"I'm afraid it is not your call," Le Creuset shook his head, his voice containing the barest hint of remorse within it's tones, "We have already wasted enough time with this argument as it is. The loss of Lacus Clyne is…regrettable, but we can no longer search for a woman who may already be dead,"

A lump developed in Sara's throat as everyone in sight seemed to flinch at the thought. The death of the PLANTs Songstress would be a huge blow to morale if nothing else. And as for what it would do to her father…

"I will give you ten minutes to load up the prototypes," Rau's voice returned to it's usual calm tone, "Then we must resume our course for home…that's all we can do now,"

"So that's just it?" I stared at the Comm. Screens above my head as Le Creuset terminated his channel, "We didn't even get a chance to properly search. Miss Lacus might be alive!"

"What can we do?" Dearka sighed as Yzak shrugged nonchalantly, "We're just humble pilots Westfield, they give us orders, we follow them…"

"But we're not part of the Le Creuset Team," Nicol piped up, "Commander Michaels…we were temporarily assigned to your team until further notice right?"

"But the Valiant is assigned to Le Creuset's command," Sara scowled, "And I'm assigned to the Valiant, as is everyone under my command. That means even though I'm a fellow whitecoat, technically I'm under Rau's jurisdiction, as are all those I command. Besides, as much as I hate to admit it, Le Creuset is right. We can't sacrifice this mission for one person, even if it is the daughter of the Supreme Chairman. The Alliance has shown us their hand; they have three other prototypes out there and once more it's possible they might be right on our tail. Before we thought we had time to conduct a proper search of the area, now we know we don't. Do as the masked man says gents, I want you all on board in ten minutes. No complaining. Archangel out,"

I glared angrily at the comm. Screen as it turned blank. To be sure I had butted heads with my Commander more times then I could remember since I had been assigned to her, but this…

If it had been Ellion out here, I knew she wouldn't have been as hasty to get underway.

"Guess that's it," Dearka sighed with a helpless shrugged, "Can't be helped I guess. Athrun, you okay buddy?"

"Y…Yeah," my blue haired comrade looked decidedly pale behind his helmet's visor, his voice shaky and weak, "I just…don't know how I'm going to explain this to her father,"

We lapsed into silence at our friend's weak tones as Yzak and the Duel made it's way towards Archangel's open hanger, my hands clenching around the Strike's control sticks as I turned to view the remains of Junius Seven before us for a final time.

This wasn't fair, this wasn't even right. If those new machines hadn't interrupted us, we might have had so much longer to do a more detailed search. For all we knew Miss Lacus might have been a few klicks away, or even right under our noses, hidden amidst the wreckage…

And that's when I saw it.

Had I turned back to the Archangel a moment sooner, I would have missed it; a pair of pinpricks of light, each a dark crimson, apparently embedded into large crack in the cratered surface of a massive asteroid, easily three kilometres across, rotating slowly in the darkness.

"What the…"

"Marcus, are you coming?" Nicol's face reappeared on my comm. Screen, "Come on, Athrun's almost on board. You wanna go next?"

"No, you go ahead," I didn't take my eyes of the lights, half afraid I would loose sight of them if I even blinked, "Take your time though okay? I have to check something out,"
"But Marcus…"

I terminated communication automatically as I pressed the accelerator to the floor, the Strike lurching forward silently in the vacuum towards the massive chuck of rock.

"Westfield, what are you doing?" As the dark grey craters quickly dominated my view, Michaels irritated features appeared on the Comm. Screen, "Get back here immediately, we've got to leave now!"

"Just give me a minute," I scowled slightly, but I didn't take my eyes off the blinking lights, "I might have found something…"
"Westfield don't make me come get you,"Sara's features became dark, "You've been ordered back to the ship, so get your ass back here!"

"Just a minute," I hissed quietly as I approached the crack in the celestial object's side, "I think I might have found a life pod. Judging by the distance from the Silverwind, it's possible it might have gotten lodged in this fissure soon after launch. This Asteroid seemed to have a high density too. It's possible it's actually jamming the pod's radio frequencies. I'll contact you once I've confirmed my hunch. I won't be more then a minute I promise,"

"Westfield," Sara's eyes widened as I reached for the comm. Panel, "Westfield don't you dare…"

The screen blanked out with the flick of a switch.

Sara stared at the screen above the main window incredulously, her mouth agape as she tried to comprehend the events that had just taken place.

"That jerk hung up on me!"

Darkness engulfed the Strike as it slowly stepped into the mobile suit sized fracture, it's camera's switching to night vision as the light of the sun was blotted out.

"No, not a fissure, a man made tunnel," I spoke aloud, if anything so I could break the silence that surrounded me, "Looks like this was a mining asteroid. These smaller tunnels look like they made to get at the deposits further in. I wonder what happened here that caused them to abandon the project so early?"

I didn't have time to think about it for too long though.

A few steps further in, and the greenish form of a ZAFT life pod crept into view, it's lights still blinking faintly, it's hull pitted and scratched from where it had embedded itself in the rock.

"Did they eject it directly into the asteroid?" I frowned, "Maybe they didn't have a choice,"

Hesitantly I switched to thermal imagining, an uneasy image of a cold pod filling my mind as I focused in on the coffin-esque capsule before.

Much to my relief, a large red humanoid blotch appeared within the pod's metal confines, although a strangely smaller blob that seemed to be bouncing around caused my eyebrows to hike up in concern.

Regardless, the fact of the matter was I had found someone alive amid the ruins of Junius Seven, and I wasn't about to leave him or her alone out here, regardless of if it was Lacus Clyne or not.

"It looks like the asteroid's density stopped the pod from getting too deeply entrenched," with hesitant hands I slowly moved the Strike's counterparts to the sides of the pod, the connection confirmed with only the slightest of thumps that vibrated through the cockpit, "Now I just have to get back to the ship…and hope the Commander doesn't kill me when I get there…"

She didn't.

But to say Sara Michaels looked…irritated…would have been an understatement.

A dark scowl was etched into her pretty features as I descended from the Strike to the hanger floor, a vein throbbing painfully at her temple as she tried to remain calm…at least until I hit the deck.

"Westfield…" her voice was deadly calm, but barely contained, "Would you mind explaining why you saw fit to disobey orders? You were told to return to the ship immediately, not go gallivanting off into the night while the Earth Forces could be right on our collective tails! So…" she arched her eyebrows expectantly, "Care to share? Or should I just throw you in with the prisoners down below?"

I regarded her quietly as I pulled my helmet from my head with a hiss of the seal breaking. When I finally spoke, I chose my words carefully.

"Junius Seven has seen enough death already. I wasn't about to leave another innocent to die out there," I narrowed my eyes slightly, "I thought you of all people would understand that,"

The meaning hit home without emphasis. Her eyes widened as my words sunk in, her mouth opening and closing like a goldfish, her voice devoid of sound.

I smiled slightly.

"Nice to know I was right,"

"Marcus…that's not fair," her shoulders slumped as her voice dulled to a low whisper, "You can't…I can't…Ugh…" the scowl returned slightly, but she appeared more irritated then angry, "Alright fine. We'll chalk it up to the fact you're an engineer not a soldier and you've still got your conscience intact. Just…don't talk to me for a while,"

I nodded with a salute.

"Yes Ma'am,"

"I said don't talk to me!"

I flinched slightly as she stalked away, only to allow a private smile to grace my features as I watched her back disappear into the crowd of a dozen or so that had conjoined around the life pod.

It was nice to see we understood each other in our own way.

"Wow. I thought she was really going to take you're head off buddy," Dearka smirked as he came up behind me, Nicol and a disgruntled Yzak following just behind, all still clad in their crimson pilot suits, "You should have seen the way she was ranting before you came in. I thought for sure she'd drag you behind the ship by a cable all the way back to the PLANTs…and take a detour through the rest of the debris belt for good measure,"

"She just needed to understand," I shrugged as the blond pushed by towards the crowd, causing me to follow the three with curiosity, "And speaking about understanding…why does it look like half the crew is here?"

"Why else?" Yzak sniggered, "You just might have brought everyone's favourite Songstress into our midst Westfield, most of the male populous would kill just to get a look at her up close…" he cocked an eyebrow at several members of the crowd, "and a few of the female ones too by the look of it,"

"And where's Athrun?"

"Over there," Nicol indicated to the pod where our comrade nervously stood, decked out in his normal uniform, "Commander Michaels had a uniform brought down from him the moment you took off, just in case it is Miss Lacus in there,"

"And…" I felt my own eyebrows rise as we came to a halt near a stack of crates near the centre back of the crowd, "Why is Le Creuset here?"

"He's the Commander of the operation," Dearka shrugged, "He's the reason security's here too before you ask. Just in case it turns out to be something more explosive then Miss Lacus…and not in a good way. Although for the life of me I can't figure out how he got here so fast…"

"'Kay, I'm all set. We can open when ready,"

A sudden silence crossed the expansive hanger as Canestro's voice ended out conversation, all eyes turning expectantly to the pod before us as I leaned against the anchored crates in the zero gravity.

"Proceed Mr. Canestro," Le Creuset nodded as he indicated to the armed soldiers with a gloved hand, "You three stand by. Considering we encountered the Earth Forces recently, this may all be an elaborate trap on their part,"

The clicks of several safety catches being disengaged confirmed his order.

"Alright, opening it up now,"

There was a mechanical hiss as the main bulkhead opened upwards, followed by the low groan of the entry hatch as it lowered to form a gangway, useless in the zero-gs.

For a moment, there was silence, the small crowd waiting in earnest for the pod's occupant to reveal his or her self from the dark confines within.

Then…

"Haro? Haro! ATHRUN LET'S PLAY!!!"

In an instant a single pink blur shot out of the pod like a bullet from a pistol, it's target clear as day as it sped towards Athrun's stunned face, only to be caught mere inches from the blue haired coordinator's nose.

"H-Haro?"

"Thank you! I appreciate you're assistance,"

All attention towards the sudden departure of the pod's first occupant quickly disappeared as a second more humanoid passenger pulled herself clear from the darkness and pushed off into the zero gravity.

I felt my heart jump as I recognised her pale face and flowing bubblegum pink hair, my mouth suddenly dry as I took in her smiling features and elegant frame.

Lacus Clyne: Our Songstress of the PLANTs.

I know the major question of the day is why the three druggies and thier Gundams have appeared earlier then normal. There is a good reason for this...but You're just going to have to keep on reading to find out!

Anyway, if you've got any questions you want answering just leave them in a review and I'll answer them as best I can without spoiling too much.

Speaking of reviews, a lot of people seeming to be faving and putting alerts on this fic (Are those the right terms? I hope you know what I mean anyway.), but not many people are leaving reviews. Don't get me wrong, I don't write this stuff for praise or anything, but a bit of constructive critisim goes a long way.

Anyway, that's all for now. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and with any luck I'll have the next one out sometime next month.

All the best,

Dearing