A Fallen Star (Kira Yamato) Entry Four
Yay!! XP New chapter, and it's even the longest yet!
Anyways, my last exam is tomorrow, so I'll be able to post more soon. But maybe not so much since Azami-chan is coming over, and she's basically kill me. She gets waaaay too hyper when it comes to video games.
And this chapter has made me realize my writing is strongest in the scenes where my characters suffer. I show this mostly in my Fullmetal Alchemist Fanfiction on Quizilla, but only realized it today. Haha, oh well.
R & R!! I like people, even the ones who give me bad reviews. It helps me see things, in a way.
"Hope is a waking dream."
Aristotle
ENTRY FIVE: A START
"Wow! It's amazing!" said the blue-haired teenager in awe.
Mai stood in the hanger overview with Kira, looking out at the grey Gundam through the glass window. Together the two of them were headed for the bridge, where Mai would find her place on the Archangel.
She smiled before turning around to Kira. "That's the Strike, isn't it?"
Kira nodded slowly. "You know it?"
"Not exactly, I just know its name, as well as the fact that its brethren were taken by Zaft," she looked back out the window. "Is the pilot still on the ship? If he is, I'd love to meet him, or even her if it's a girl."
"H-he is." Kira stuttered, and again she turned to look at him.
"Really! Would you take me to meet him later? Or have we already met?"
She didn't realize how many questions she was asking, but she couldn't help it. Mai was excited for her new change of pace.
"You've met him already... I'm the pilot."
Mai's eyes filled with sadness as she frowned back at the Strike. Its pilot was supposed to be amazing at what he does, supposing to be able to take on four Gundams at once. She realized it then, the look he had given her when she said she was a coordinator. And now the way he answered her question.
"Kira, you're a Coordinator, aren't you?"
Kira's eyes widened for a second, but soon his face fell to a frown, and he turned away.
"Yeah..."
Mai turned around to face him. "You could've told me that before, you know. I... I'm not a bad person."
"We should hurry; they're waiting for you at the bridge."
She sighed before following Kira down the empty corridors.
"Geez you type fast." The guy standing behind Mai muttered to himself.
She was sitting in the bridge after being introduced to the remainder of the Archangel crew. This guy went by the name Romero Pal, and he was apparently the guy in charge of the ships weapon control. Kira had gone, since she was going to be watched by the bridge members, including Miriallia. She had just come after getting a few water bottles for the crew.
Miriallia took a sip of her bottle as she watched Mai beside her. Actually, many people watched their newest member, every one of them wanting to see how good she was. Mai's blue eyes went back and forth as she watched the screen, her fingers typing rapidly on the keyboard.
"Practice," she muttered in return, not looking away from the screen. She stopped and stared at the screen before looking behind her. "This ship's weapon speed is horrible. It's a wonder you made it this far."
Miriallia giggled. "Are you always this brutally honest?"
Mai shrugged before turning back to the computer. "It depends." She thought for a moment before continuing to type.
"What are you doing now?" Romero asked her.
"I'm increasing the weapon speed. This should make battles easier."
He whistled. "You can do that?"
She looked at them again, grinning. "Uh-huh."
"How long will it take?" Mir asked her. Again Mai went back to her work.
"Not very long."
They heard the elevator door open, and two of the three teenagers turned in that direction while Mai continued to type.
"Is she doing well?" the new voice asked, and Mai realized it was Commander Ramius. Forgetting her new role on the ship she didn't stop and salute like everyone else.
"Commander, I don't understand why you tell me to train people; they always seem to know what to do. Mai knew what to do before her fingers touched the keyboard. All I told her was where to sit."
Marrue laughed. "Really? So what's she doing now?"
"Uhhh... something to do with our ship's weapon speed."
"Weapon speed?" she asked, coming to stand beside Mai. "What exactly does that do?"
"It allows Igelstellung, Gottfried and other ship weapons to recharge or reload quicker than normal. It might not be all that noticeable, but it'll be better than what you have now."
"Oh, I see. Thank you, that sounds very helpful."
Mai stopped and smiled at the woman standing over her. "Of course! It's my pleasure."
Time passed, and soon Mai found herself leaning on the rail of the hanger overview. The glass wasn't there anymore, and she didn't know why.
She watched the people below her work, and she sighed.
"I guess Junari was right..." she whispered to herself.
"What do you mean? I think that dress looks good on you." Mai told the girl standing in front of her, with long brown hair and golden eyes. Junari Tobermory was a friend of Mai's from Lunar Prep School and she also was the oldest of the five girls.
The two of them were shopping, hoping to find a new outfit for Athrun's arrival. It has been seven weeks since the Bloody Valentine Tragedy, and Athrun would be soon returning from his first real trip back from the military. Mai was happy, considering that this was her and her brother's first real time apart she was excited to see him.
Junari shrugged. "I don't really like pink." She walked back into the change room, and came back out in her regular clothes, jeans and a tank top. "We are here for you remember."
Mai frowned from her bench seat. "What, so does that mean we can't have fun?"
Junari laughed and sat beside her friend. "You know... you've acting strange lately."
"Huh? Strange how?"
"Well... I understand how you feel about Junius 7, but the way you're acting seems different somehow... Is it the war?"
What was Mai supposed to say? That she was fine, and the emptiness she felt was nothing?
"I don't know..." she whispered, staring at her hands. Mai figured what her friend was telling her was the truth. "I worry about Brother a lot..."
Junari nodded, but gave a small wink to her younger friend. "I don't think someone as cute as him going to die on his baby sister."
Mai chuckled softly. "I know..."
Her friend sighed and looked ahead of her, the wind blowing through her brown hair. "Ever since I first met you in prep school, I knew there was something different about you. You're always just full of surprises. Not only that, but you're a good luck charm and a bad one. You have the power to make people smile, yet you're full of trouble." Mai looked at her friend, staring at her like she had no idea what Junari had said. Junari saw this and laughed.
Mai sighed, "I still don't get it..."
"All units, level one battle stations!" someone called over the intercom speakers, and she recognized it as Mir's.
Her face turned serious and she pushed off the wall towards the bridge. Mai was still getting used to the lack of gravity, so when she saw the familiar brown haired boy she struggled to stop. She reached out and grabbed his arm, stopping both of them in their tracks.
He turned, "Mai?"
Mai smiled. "Kira, I'm sorry; I'm still getting used to this." Kira smiled and nodded as well. "I just wanted to tell you to be careful before you left, so I'm glad I caught you."
Kira blinked at her a couple times, before it clicked in. "Uh... Thank you."
She giggled slightly, but soon her eyes widened and she placed her hands on her head, "Ah! My first time and I'm going to be late!!"
She spun around and hurried out of Kira's sight. At first he was confused at her actions, but he just smiled and continued on his own way.
"Mr. Pink! Come back here." A certain pink-haired girl called after her robot companion.
"Haro, haro!"
Lacus giggled.
"Lacus," she heard someone sigh, and she turned to see Athrun, her fiancé.
Athrun looked tired, the circles under his eyes from lack of sleep. Lacus knew he was worried about his sister.
"Haro is overly exited. I guess he is happy to see you after all this time." She smiled as he floated towards her.
"Haro doesn't have any emotional components to him at all, Lacus." Athrun grabbed the pink robot and handed it to her. "You are a guest aboard this vessel, but the Vesalius is a war ship." He paused, remembering who he had said this to last. "Please be careful not to wander outside of your room too frequently."
Athrun led her to a room, which was hers for as long as she'd be there.
Lacus frowned. "I have been told that everywhere I go. It's not much fun."
"Can't be helped now can it," he sighed and looked away from her. "That's the situation you're in right now."
Lacus blinked and tilted her head a little "Athrun? Is something wrong?"
"Huh? Uh...It's just I was wondering how you were getting along. I mean, you were taken hostage and you were forced to go through so much..."
Lacus smiled at him trying to change the subject. "I'm in very good spirits, thank you. Rest assured, your friend treated me with respect and dignity while was on their vessel. I'm also positive Mai will be fine."
His eyes widened slightly, "But, how did you -- "
"It's written all over your face, Athrun. I also worry about Mai's well being, but I'm sure she's safe."
"Is that right..."
Athrun was beginning to confuse her, so she decided to talk about Kira, the one who had brought her home.
"I found Mr.Yamato to be a kind individual. He also has a very strong character."
"He's nothing but a misguided fool. He insists he's not a soldier, yet he's still piloting that thing." Athrun snapped, but it wasn't at Lacus. "He's just being used but he justifies it, something about protecting his friends. It's because his parents are Naturals. That's why..."
Athrun's hands curled into fists. Lacus reached out to comfort him, but he turned away.
"He told me himself he much rather not fight against you..." she said.
"He's not the only one!" Athrun was taking his anger out on Lacus for his friend and his sister, and she knew that. "Why would I want to...?" He paused before slightly bowing to Lacus. "I ask for your forgiveness. If you'll please excuse me."
He turned and headed for the door, but Lacus spoke before he could leave.
"When I look at you, there's a different person there. Lately, I can only see bitterness."
He stopped and slightly turned his head. Athrun was tired of people saying this to him; first his sister, and then Lacus. "I can't exactly fight a war with a big smile on my face."
With that said, Athrun turned and walked away.
"I'm here."
Miriallia smiled and nodded at the friend taking a seat beside her.
"Mu La Flaga, launching." A voice came from Mir's computer.
Mai placed her headset on as the Zero flew away from the ship. "Kira," she said, "the Zaft units are Laurasia-class Duel, Buster and Blitz."
'Yzak, Dearka and Nicol... where's brother?'
"Those three again..." Kira said, though Mai barely heard it.
She realized that this was the ship that her brother had told her about.
"APU activated." Miriallia started, breaking Mai from her thoughts. "So we'll attach the Aile Striker pack."
"Attaching Aile Striker pack." Mai repeated. "Connected to Catapult. Strike, stand by; system all green." Mir nodded. "All clear for launch. You may precede, Strike."
"Kira Yamato, heading out!"
"The Eighth Fleet will be meeting up with us in a few minutes. Just hang in there!" Marrue called to her crew. "Activate Igelstellungs! Prepare anti-beam depth charges! Ready act missile tubes!"
Mai began her quick typing, sending messages to the system, and it did exactly what Mai had made it; readying in half the normal time.
The three Gundams flew together forming a circle, dodging the Archangels attack. They moved, and a beam came from where they once had been. The beam hit the ship, making it shake horribly. All the crew held on to their seats, Mai as well. Once it stopped she continued to scan the area for Athrun; nothing.
"By the looks of it, the enemy has analyzed our evasion algorithm..." Mai heard her captain say just above a whisper.
Mai looked out to the starry sky, watching the Archangel fire at the oncoming Blitz.
"Valients, now! Fire!" Badgiruel yelled.
The ship fired two shots at the Blitz, but he dodged both of them. Shortly after the Blitz disappeared, and Mai knew this was the Blitz's famous Mirage Colloid program.
"Captain, I've lost the Blitz!" One soldier called, but Mai wasn't paying attention to who had said it; she was concentrating on the enemy.
"Huh?" she heard Badgiruel mutter.
Mai racked her brain for any ideas on how to stop Nicol, but then it hit her.
"Its Mirage colloid must have been activated." Ramius whispered, but raised her voice as she continued. "What do we do?"
Mai's eyes filled with hidden thoughts, before they widened, and her quick mind decided on a plan.
"Captain! Using the anti-beam depth charges with the anti-air warheads will force the Blitz to shut down the mirage colloid system!" She called, and the commander went silent for a few seconds before yelling to her crew.
"You heard her! Do exactly like she said!"
"Stern missile tubes, switch over to anti-air shrapnel warheads!"
She watched the Blitz fire at the ship, but the Archangel fired as well, and the two shots collided in midair.
"Anti-air shrapnel warheads!" Natarle shouted, "Fire!"
"Calculating the position of the Blitz by the angle of its beam shot!" - Mai
The Archangel shot at the air in front of it, and the Blitz went back to phase shift armor, but soon after it disappeared again.
"Disengage Igelstellung auto-tracking! Put up a barrage!"
"Switch to random evasive maneuvers!"
The Archangel managed to dodge the attack, but the ship still took some damage, making the ship shake again. Natarle ordered an attack, and the crew did as they were told.
"Number six sensor array is hit! Laminated armor temperature is rising!"
"The armor cooling system can't keep up! Armor temperature is continuing to rise!"
Marrue muttered to herself, before yelling: "Turn bow 20 to starboard!"
"Blitz is approaching!" Someone warned.
"What are the Strike and Zero doing?!" - Natarle
"They're too busy battling the Duel and the Buster" – Sai
This was Mai's first battle, so the action seemed worse than it had on the Vesalius. She stared out at the stars with trembling eyes, but she soon calmed herself down.
And somehow, deep down, she knew Kira would protect them all.
The ship began to shake again after another attack from the Blitz, and Mai held on to her seat. She looked up, only seeing the Strike where the Blitz had been.
"The hull has taken damage!"
"Captain! What do we do?"
"Just hold on, everyone!"
All around her, the world seemed to move so fast; even faster then her own quick typing.
She didn't understand how she only seemed less helpful than before.
Kira struck down the Duel after it tried to give him a surprise attack, but the Duel was quickly caught by the Blitz. The three Gundams retreated, and the Strike landed on the front of the ship.
Is it over? Mai asked herself.
She waited for what seemed like forever, but she heard a soldier's voice, and she saw what he meant.
"The eighth fleet is here!"
Signal beams shot into space ahead of them, and that's when Mai saw it: The Eighth Fleet. She swallowed hard, a thought just crossing her mind.
"Turn about 180 degrees. Reduce speed another 20 percent and match velocity." Marrue ordered, but there was a hint of relief in her voice.
The Archangel turned and backed into a circle of Eighth Fleet ships, only stopping beside what looked like the commanding ship.
Mai was a Coordinator to these people, and the eighth fleet might not treat her like the crew of the Archangel.
"Is this really a good idea? For us to cruise along side the Menelaos?"- Arnold Neumann
The captain smiled at him. "Admiral Halberton most likely wants to get a better look at the ship."
Admiral Halberton... The man in control of the eighth fleet. Mai thought. If he wanted to, he could have anyone on this ship kill me... and Kira too...
She sighed, earning Miriallia's attention.
"Is something wrong?" she asked.
Mai turned to her friend, and forced a smile on her face. "I'm fine."
"He has informed us that later on he will be paying us a personal visit," Marrue continued.
"As you may know, he was the biggest supporter of the developed project that produced this ship and the G-weapons."
Marrue went on, describing Halberton so the crew wasn't new to him, but Mai was hardly listening. She was more occupied with the rim of her shirt.
"Please hold the fort while I'm gone." Marrue told the remaining bridge crew members, and Mai wasn't one of them. They saluted, and she turned towards the elevator behind her.
"Captain!" Natarle called, and she followed Marrue into the elevator. The door closed behind her.
"I need to talk to you about the Strike, Captain. Do you have any plans for it?"
"What plans? What are you getting at?"
"Everyone on this ship knows it." Natarle explained. "We were only able to make it this far because of the mobile suits incredible capabilities, and because he was the one piloting it. Are you letting him go too?"
Marrue sighed. "Kira is a civilian, not a soldier. The proper thing to do is to let him go, if that's what he wants." She turned to her. "But are you forgetting, Natarle? Aboard this ship is an actual soldier who can pilot the Strike, even with Kira gone."
"You don't mean Mai, do you? Are you sure she has the right knowledge for that kind of thing?"
"Mai is the only one on this ship who can even compare to Kira, so she's the only chance we have right now. If I ask her to pilot it in its current state, I'm sure she'll jump at the opportunity to help more than she does as a bridge crew member."
The elevator door opened, and Marrue floated down the corridor. Natarle stared after her, but soon sighed and went the opposite way.
"So you guys are really leaving?" Mai asked the group sitting with her around the cafeteria table. Miriallia and her had just arrived, and Mir had gone to get the two of them dinner.
Sai, Kuzzy and Tolle had been there before, already eating their dinner, and talking about what they'd do once they were back on Orb. Flay and Kira were the only two missing from the group of teenagers.
"Yeah." Tolle answered after swallowing the piece of dumpling in his mouth. "Our parents are there, so we thought it was the best place to disembark."
Mir had come back by then, holding two trays of food in her hands, and gave one to Mai.
"And unlike you," she said, "we're not exactly soldiers. We're only civilians, so we really can't do much."
Miriallia took her seat to Mai's right, which surprised her. Usually Mir would sit beside her boyfriend, but this time Mai sat between them. They had no ill feelings between them, so Mai figured they all just wanted to talk to her before their departure.
"Well, for civilians you guys are really good."
"I wouldn't know about that..." Kuzzy muttered. "Our training was only since it was an emergency."
Mai nodded slightly before taking a bite of her own dumpling.
"Wow! This kind of military food tastes so good!" Mai piped in cheerfully, stuffing the other half of the dumpling into her mouth.
"There's nothing exactly great about it." Sai said, "It tastes normal to me..."
Mai shrugged. "Before this, I was eating specialty made meals. Every meal, day after day; I guess it kind of got boring..."
"Boring? Those sound nice compared to what we're forced to eat." Tolle complained.
"What about you, Mai?" Miriallia asked her, returning to the earlier subject. "What kind of training did you have to go through to be as good as you are? I mean, we've all seen you type. And you're really smart when it comes to the technical stuff."
Mai looked up, only to see that they were all staring at her, each probably wanting to know the answer to Mir's question. "Um... I went to a school for it. I didn't continue once it was over though, since I wasn't planning on joining the military. But hey... here I am..." She sighed, this time stuffing a whole dumpling into her mouth.
Seconds past and she knew the group was staring at her, but the quiet soon was interrupted by Tolle.
"Hey!" Everyone looked at him. "That was my dumpling!"
"You were too slow, Tolle! It was just sitting there, I had to take it!"
The others started to laugh while the two of them continued to argue.
"You're such a pig!"
"Hey, I only took one!"
She could hear her own footsteps as she walked down the hall. She could hear them, more then she should.
Mai raised her hand to her forehead, her other hand on the side of the wall, and she closed her eyes. Her forehead felt warm, not a normal or good sign, but that fact didn't worry her at all.
'Not another fever...' she thought. 'Lately they've been worse than usual...'
She stumbled foreword, almost completely regaining her balance soon afterward. She wanted to go back to her room so she could just lie down and rest her head.
"Oh, Mai! There you are," a familiar voice called from behind her. Mai turned to see her Captain. "I've been looking everywhere for you."
"You've been looking for me, Miss Marrue?" Mai realized what she said, and quickly covered her mouth. "I'm sorry; I keep forgetting I'm on a war ship, Captain..."
Marrue smiled at her softly. "If you wish to call me that, when it's just the members of the ship, please feel free. It would be sort of... a nice change."
"Only if it's okay." Mai answered, smiling as well.
"Of course, but there's something I need to talk to you about."
"We've already hooked up with the Eighth Fleet, so can someone tell me why we're in a rush?"
Mu La Flaga, who had been floating calmly in the air, spun around and looked at Kira. They were in the hanger, and Kira was trying to fix a couple things about the Moebius Zero. Kojiro and his faithful clipboard were there, too.
"I don't feel secure while it's still damaged!" Mu argued.
"The pilots that are joining us from the fleet are all wet behind the ears." Kojiro explained, "If anything happens, we'll need the lieutenant here to sort things out."
"Yeah, but what'll we do about the Strike?" Kira asked Mu, "Is it really okay to leave it as is?"
"Huh? Ah, good point... I never thought of that," he answered, "But I'm not so sure we should return it to its original state, since that would reduce its performance..."
"Well then, let's hope our Mai is able to pilot it the way it is."
The three turned towards the female voice, seeing Marrue floating towards them.
Mu chuckled slightly at the new arrival. "To what do we owe this honor?"
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I need to talk to Kira."
Mu and Kojiro exchanged glances, before both looking back at the brown haired boy behind them
"I've hardly hard any free time, so it was hard for me to ever have a meaningful one-on-one with you." Marrue explained to Kira, as they both stood in front of the Strike. She turned to him. "Well, I just to say thank you properly this time, since I'm well aware that I put you through a great deal of hardship. I'm truly grateful for what you've done."
Marrue bent down, bowing at Kira, who was both confused and shocked at the same time.
"I've put a lot on your shoulders, and I've made you give us your all. I can't thank you enough."
"It's all right, really, Captain."
Marrue smiled softly before standing straight again. "The others may not actually say this to your face, but we are all deeply grateful." She didn't receive an answer, but continued anyway. "The way things are going right now, I imagine things will be hectic even on Earth. But I wish you the best of luck."
Marrue raised her hand out towards Kira, who just stared at it for the longest time.
Kira had expected people to make him stay, but here his captain was smiling at him and wishing him luck. He smiled in return, and finally took her hand.
"When you mentioned Mai's name earlier, what did you mean by it?" Kira asked.
Slowly, Marrue's smile faded, and she looked back towards the Strike.
"Ms. Hitamaru has agreed to take your place and pilot the Strike, making her an Ensign."
Kira gasped slightly. "W-what? But, why -- ?"
Mai stepped out of her room, a little dizzy at first, but fine after her first couple of steps.
Lying down hadn't worked for her, and after a while of typing on her computer her head started to throb.
Just get up and walk to the kitchen, she told herself. Make some tea and take some painkillers.
This had never happened to Mai before, her pain was new. She figured she had a small fever, and it would go away sooner or later.
"Mai!"
She flinched at first at the loud voice, but smiled after turning to see Kira. She realized no one else was in the hallway, which felt really weird since there were so many citizens aboard the ship.
"Oh, Kira! I haven't seen you all day, where were you?"
"Is it true?"
Mai blinked, confused at what he was asking. "What? What do you mean?"
Their eyes were locked, neither one looking away. Kira's eyes were stern and serious, but Mai's hid her true emotions behind them, and her smile.
"Are you really going to do it? Pilot the Strike, I mean."
Her smile slowly faded, and she turned to look at the floor. "I... I'm the only one who can... after you leave."
"I was afraid of that..." he sighed, and she looked up again. Her eyes widened.
He didn't... want me to answer that way?
Kira turned to walk away, but Mai stopped him, grabbing his arm to prevent him from going anywhere.
"Kira, please..."
He turned again, seeing that both her hands were on his right arm, but that wasn't the important thing he noticed. Her eyes had finally filled with an emotion he had never seen on her, even in the short time they've known each other.
They were filled with sadness.
"Kira... I want you to know that this is really the only thing I can do, so I want to do it. This is my new home; I can't go back now..." She looked down and shook her head slowly. "I need you to understand that... all of you..."
Mai sighed slightly, but soon looked back at Kira. "I bet I'm not the first to say this, but I want to thank you, for everything."
"Ensign Hitamaru, please report to the Bridge. The Captain wishes to see you."
The message repeated, and as it did Mai sighed again, forcing herself to let go of him. "Well, that's me. I should get going, I guess..."
She wondered if it was her fever, but what she did surprised even herself.
Her lips touched his.
Mai quickly pulled away once she realized what she was doing, and turned around. Kira watched as she disappeared around the corner, still shocked and confused, before bringing his hand to his lips.
I look back on it now, and I realize that was our first real moment, even though we thought it was nothing at the time. Or maybe we thought it was something, but we were just too clueless to do anything about it.
Mai Zala