A Fallen Star (Kira Yamato) Entry Eight

Wow. I actually did another one. Considering how sick I am... (Sweatdrop)

Anyways, the next one will probably be out next week, cause I'm going on a family trip. Yay. xP

My wonderful, awesome new friend Blitz12 drew a picture of Mai and Kira, so can someone tell me how to get links on here?

R & R!!

"But when a young lady is to be a heroine, the perverseness of forty surrounding families cannot prevent her. Something must and will happen to throw a hero in her way."
Jane Austen

ENTRY EIGHT: INTO CHAOS

"Come on," she sighed. "Can't you put it on properly?"
Her companion yawned and stretched, walking out of their room first. Miriallia shook her head, fixing his jacket, which he had tried to put on himself.
"If you arrive on the bridge looking like that, you know you're just going to be yelled at the Lieutenant Badgiruel," she lectured.
Tolle yawned again and shrugged. He was used to his girlfriend talking to him like this.
"Hey, Flay?" they heard. The two turned, looking down the hall to the right. In one of the doorways, was Sai, staring inside that room. "Sorry to bother you so late, but, uh… listen; I couldn't find the time to sit and talk with you until now."
Tolle and Miriallia faced each other, and she raised her finger to her lips. They quietly stepped around the corner, heading in the opposite direction.
"Hey, can you please get up so we can talk?"
Sai, unknown to him, was only talking to an empty room.

"I had no idea they were actually engaged," Tolle whispered.
Mir, walking beside him, shook her head.
"They weren't engaged," she told him. "It was something they only discussed."
"How's that so different?"
They turned a corner.
"Flay's been acting really strange," Tolle said.
"Yeah."
Stranger than either of them have ever seen, and Mir had the feeling it was tearing their group apart.
"It hadn't got to the point that she actually hated Kira, but…"
Tolle nodded. "She sure does hate Coordinators, though."
Miriallia frowned; was the only reason the death of her father? Mir didn't see how people like Mai and Kira could possibly be hated.
He continued, "Flay was in the grade behind us, but you two used to hang out in the same crowd, so we did bump into her from time-to-time. Kira would always go on about how cute she was. I just hope this situation doesn't get to ugly."
Maybe it already was, she thought, maybe it was already heading that direction.
Mir sighed. "Poor Mai…."
Tolle raised an eyebrow, turning to her. "What does this have to do with her?"
They turned another corner.
"Oh, you are so naïve!"
Tolle shrugged and looked up again, but stopped in his tracks.
"Uh, speaking of Mai…"
Mir stopped as well, looked at him, then followed his gaze.
Sure enough, near the end of the hall was the blue haired teenager, holding on to the side railing with both hands.
"Mai?" Miriallia called.
She didn't look up, just continued to walk with a blank expression, until she collapsed a couple steps later.
"Mai!"

"The ship can be cooled by routing excess heat through the black hole exhaust system," one of the bridge crew, Dalida Chandra, explained to Kuzzey. He was teaching him the basics of the ship.
The only other person there was Arnold Neumann, who kept his eye on the Archangel's radar. Kuzzey found he was actually interested in what was said.
"As long as we can evade infrared scans by satellites, we just might pull this off. Our radar's unreliable, but that means theirs is, too."
Behind him, the door opened, and three people stood in the doorway.
"We're here for our shift," Miriallia explained.
"Don't give me that," Neumann sighed, spinning his chair around. "You're late…"
He noticed what the other two had.
Mir and Tolle stood on either side of the tired looking Mai, supporting her weight on their shoulders.
"What happened?" Kuzzey asked them.
"She passed out in one of the halls," Mir explained. "We tried to take her to the infirmary, but she insisted on coming here."
"I'm fine…" Mai mumbled. Tolle let her go when she started to move, but Miriallia walked her to the chairs on the side.
She helped Mai into a seat, one that she recognized as her first; the seat she took before she piloted a Gundam. This, Mai realized, wasn't really all that long ago.
Mir took the seat beside her, preparing to take her normal shift.
Closing her eyes and resting her head against the seat, she tried to rest, or instead to think.
Why, all of the sudden, did she feel so tired? So sick?
As far as she could remember, she never had the flu, because she was a Coordinator. Her body had never been exposed to the right conditions to make someone like her or Kira this ill; Falling to Earth only exposed enough chemicals to make them have a fever.
Maybe she just hadn't slept all too well lately, and needed to rest.
Mai jumped awake by the sound of a nearby crash.
"Ensign, please," a female voice sighed. "Try to remember we are no longer on a weightless state here on Earth."
She placed the voice, resting her head back against the seat; Natarle.
"I-I'm sorry about that."
"Hey, you gonna be okay?" someone asked.
Mai opened an eye, turning slightly towards her friend. She tried to smile, but knew it must've been a pathetic one.
"Don't worry, Mir. I'm just tired."
"Is the spot we're on now okay?" they heard Tolle ask in a panic from behind them.
"I don't know," Neumann teased. "Is it?"
Miriallia giggled; Mai guessed it had something to do with the Lieutenant's reaction to an innocent question. What was it Tolle had been asking about?
But suddenly, her inside's flipped. Vile gathered in her throat.
The Bridge flashed red.
"Detecting lasers detected at this ship!" Chandra warned. "Matching… Confirmed! They're target designators!"
In an instance, Mai flew out of her seat and ran to the door, before the rest of the ship could even been warned.
Mir cried after her that she shouldn't go; that she was too ill to go, but the door to the elevator closed, and the blue haired girl was on her way.

All Mai could do was stare at the Ecran's screen, with it's light's flashing all sorts of information, as her fingers tensed, then released, over and over.
This stress, and somewhat excitement, was driving her insane.
She wanted to fight; she needed to fight, to protect the people on the ship. She needed to live, and to one day apologize to her brother.
When time continued to drag on, she inhaled deeply, calming her nerves. Mewmo wasn't with her this time, and that didn't help.
She started tapping her fingers on the helmet sitting on her lap, waiting for any sort of news.
"Come on, where's the enemy?" Kira snapped. She saw him on her screen, but he was talking to the bridge. "That's it, the Strike is launching!"
"Kira, wait! Not yet!" Mir cried.
"He has a point," Mai sang in her own annoyance.
She wasn't about to go too far to disobey the Commander, but at that moment, her and Kira felt the same. More the same than they had before coming to Earth.
Miriallia whined at her, as well.
"Hurry up and open the hatch!"
"We still don't know the position or the size of the enemy!" Badgiruel snapped.
"We'd be better off finding out on our own at this rate," she sighed.
"Orders haven't been given to launch!"
"What do you get off by being so relaxed!" Kira shouted. "Who cares, just open the hatch! I'll take care of it!"
Okay, maybe not exactly the same.
She frowned at this, wishing everything would just stop, and they could go back to the time where they comforted each other. The harsh tone in his voice was unlike anything Mai ever heard. It made her feel so helpless.

"Well, Captain?" Natarle asked, turning away from the screen.
Marrue thought to herself for a moment, and sighed. "I don't like their attitudes, but we have little choice. We should let them go."
"It's for the best, Captain," Mai said from her line.
Marrue nodded, "The ship's guns are useless against moving targets. Get the Strike and the Ecran to the catapult!"
"Open hatch! Strike, launch!"
"Strike is clear!" Miriallia called. "Ecran, preparing to launch!"

The words flashed brightly; all sorts of the information flowed into Mai's head.
Her friend continued to talk her through the procedure. This feeling was still new to her, but she liked the adrenaline rush it gave her.
"Connected to catapult, APU online; stand by. Power connections satisfactory, course clear. Ecran, ready when you are."
"Ready."
"Be careful."
"I will."
"Ecran! Let's do this!"

Every time she shot at one of the enemy helicopters, they just disappeared behind the sand dunes. The sand also made it impossible for the Ecran to stay above, without sinking. There was no way Mai would be able to defeat them like this; Kira was having the same problems.
In an instance, she began typing over the key pad, hoping her ally would come to the same conclusion. Halfway through her new procedure, her left screen flashed a warning, and she spun around.
Mai knew what she saw; Zaft's cat-like mobile suits, created just for desert terrain. Unless their Gundams became accustomed to Earth, there was no way to win.
"What are they?" she heard the Commander ask on the Archangel's line.
"They're TMF/A-802 BuCUEs!" she exclaimed.
"Did she just say BuCUEs?" Natarle gasped, but Mai didn't really have time to focus on the other line.
With a fierce growl, one of the three pounced toward her, and Mai threw it off with the Ecran's shield. She looked at the Strike, which was not that far away from her, to see he was doing the same. The only difference was that Mai had finished switching to Earth combat, but Kira wasn't. She wondered if he hadn't thought of it, or if he just didn't have the time.
When she went to press enter, to completely send the data, she realized something: Mai was shaking.
She cursed; would she ever get used to this?
Quickly, she pushed another attacker away. Kira was recovering from an earlier attack.
"I don't know how well you did fighting up in space…." One of the soldiers snapped, and his speech was continued by the other BuCUE pilot.
"But down here on the ground, BuCUEs rule!"
Mai gripped the handle, and sighed. She needed to stop shaking; she needed to be more confident.
"Yes, well… You're not the only ones!"
The Ecran aimed its beam rifle, and shot one of them. It managed to miss, but damaged the back left leg.
"Damn!" he snapped.

She's… doing fine out there. Miriallia told herself. Watching two people close to her fight, made her much unfocused. She knew that wasn't right; they all had their own jobs to do.
"Fire Sledgehammer missiles!" the Lieutenant ordered.
Neumann shook his head. "But it'll also hit Strike and the Ecran!"
"We'll be fine," Mai comforted. "Our mobile suits are equipped with Phase Shift armor."
"I don't know…"
"We have to trust them, that's an order!" Marrue barked. "Right now, they don't stand a chance!"
"R-roger! Firing Sledgehammers!"

"Kira! Get out of there!"
Even as she called out to him, she realized that the Strike was stuck in the sand. It didn't have the agility as the Ecran. There was no way he'd make it out of the way from the Archangel's fire.
"Kira!"she called again, pulling one of the levers at her side. The boosters roared to life, speeding to his side.
"Mai? What are you --"
The Ecran took its stance, protecting both the Strike and itself with the phase shift shield. Missiles continued to push her back, but she held her ground.
Mai had to make sure they made it out alive, no matter how much the pounding in her head refused to let her concentrate.
"We don't have time for that!"
The last missile almost pushed her back into him, but the Strike held it steady. She thanked him, watching the BuCUEs begin to circle. Kira needed protection from them, so there was no way she could leave, even if that was her chance to take the enemy out.
The brown hair pilot must have realized this, and pushed the Strike off the sand, high into the air.
He fired his beam rifle, but they jumped out of the way. "Damn!"
Mai spun around to block another BuCUE, which charged at her the second Kira had landed, and tried again.
His energy is going to run out if he keeps this up!
"Commander La Flaga's Skyscraper, can't we launch it yet?" she heard Marrue question on her line.
She didn't have time to think on how helpful it would be if he could. The enemy had learned what Kira was trying to do, and leapt at him once he landed the second time.
"Kira, watch out!"
The Ecran shot at it, knocking it back with its shield. The Phase shift faded from the shield, making it useless unless her mobile suit was charged. She cursed and threw it to the side.
Mai swallowed the lump in her throat, hoping to find something to distract herself from her throbbing head and blurry vision. She turned to find Kira, only to see he had falling to the sand. He must not have figured it out.
"Kira, modify the Strike!" she called. "The contact pressure is decreased; estimate the pressure reduction!"
He gasped.
One of the BuCUEs steadied themselves to attack again. Without a shield, and with Kira finally fixing things on his end, the only way to stop his attack was to counter it.
When it pounced, the Ecran danced around it. It's behind legs were pierced with her beam saber, enabling it to move. One was down, another fighting Kira.
Mai looked around. Where was the third?
Kira pushed off the ground again, staying above the sand this time. She watched him block another attack. The Strike kneed the dazed enemy in the side, placing a foot on the BuCUE after it fell on its back. He raised his rifle to the cockpit, and fired.
Mai turned away from the flames that followed.
"I won't let you destroy the Archangel!" she heard him say.
She shook her head, shutting her eyes as tight as she could. The pounding was insane; it was like the world was moving too fast. Small movements seemed like blurs.
Her tears only showed how painful it really was.
"This is for Maylem!"
That wasn't a voice she knew.
Mai's eyes widened and she turned, failing to notice the flashing warning seconds before.
Her scream pierced her ears.

"Mai!" Kira called out, watching the explosion die down.
He saw the Ecran fall to its knees, and its Phase Shift armor faded. Kira started to panic when she didn't answer; it wasn't time for the Ecran to run out of power.
Kira tried again, doing whatever he could to bring his face up on her screen. "Mai, can you hear me? Answer!"
"Kira!" Mir cried on her line, "The Ecran is down! We're not getting a reply!"
Dammit!
"You're gonna pay for that!"
The third BuCUE fired its missiles as his Strike, which he countered with his own. Pulling back on the lever at his left, Kira spun out of the way of another attack, and saw the enemy continue to fire at the Archangel.

"Skygrasper, taking off!" Mu La Flaga announced.
Neumann and Miriallia were the ones trying to get in contact with Mai.
"Incoming heat source from the southwest! It's a cannon blast!" Dalida gasped.
Natarle turned to him. "What?"
"Take off!" Marrue ordered once it was confirmed. "Evasive maneuvers!"
The Archangel managed to miss the blast, but the missiles still made contact. The ship shook wildly, causing everyone to hold on to their seats.
"Where's it coming from?" Natarle questioned.
"Mai, come in!" Miriallia cried.
"Projected source: 20 Kilometers southwest."
"That's out of our range; we can't counter it!"
"Still no reply from the Ecran."
"Damn!"
"Second wave approaching!"

The Strike lifted its beam rifle towards the oncoming second wave of missiles and fired. This was the only way to save the Archangel without leaving the Ecran's side. He hadn't thought of it before, but it came to mind when his anger and worry faded.
Kira didn't know it was because his seed had broken.
The last BuCUE lashed out at Kira again, who simply punched it away. One of the remainder missiles from the Lesseps collided with it.
His screen started to flash red; Kira cursed.
"I used the Agni too much!"
He tried to shoot the helicopters down when they continued to fire at them, but the low energy made it difficult.
"Give them cover!" the Captain ordered on the other line. "Archangel, slow advance!"
"That's too risky! The Strike's Phase Shift armor will be drained if it takes another hit. The Ecran could also be hit!" Natarle warned.
They were right. Kira knew Mai and he needed to defend them, though they weren't doing very well. He called out for her again, but still didn't get an answer.
Kira could hear his breathing getting louder with every minute, and it was becoming more like panting. As tired as he was, he couldn't give up.
He needed to save Mai, and the Archangel.
Suddenly, as soon as he thought that, a shot collided with one of the helicopters. He spun around, part of him wishing his ally had awoken. That wasn't the case.
Ten vehicles sped towards him. He didn't recognize them as Zaft, or from the Earth Alliance. They sped around him, destroying another helicopter. He watched them circle the Ecran as well.
"Attention, pilot of this mobile suit." A voice came from his radio. Kira looked around; one of them had attached a cord to the Strike. "If you and your ally wish to live, do exactly what I say. There's a trap set in the location indicated; I need you to lure the BuCUEs there."
Could these strangers really be trusted?
He saw the location flash on his map, and realized he didn't have a choice. If they didn't get out of there, they would die.
The Strike fired up its boosters, lifting up the Ecran and following the vehicles. The helicopters and BuCUEs noticed, and ran after them.
Kira tried again, for what felt like the millionth time, but she still wouldn't reply. He was beginning to think she was wounded, and that only made him worry more.
I have no choice but to trust them, he thought. For her sake.
Kira landed, jumping away once the enemy had gained distance. After landing again, he turned just as the explosion set off. The BuCUEs and helicopters were gone.
The Strikes Phase Shift faded away, placing the Ecran down just as it did. In the same second his mobile suit shut down, he was already scrambling out of its cockpit.

"Message from Commander La Flaga!" Miriallia announced, gaining everyone on the Bridges' attention. " 'Located mother ship, but have decided against attacking. Enemy battle ship is the Lesseps.' "
Marrue turned her chair. "Did you just say Lesseps?"
" 'I repeat: The enemy battle ship is the Lesseps. I'm on my way back.' End of message."
Marrue sighed, bringing her hand to her head. Natarle looked up to her captain.
"I don't understand."
"That mother ship is commanded by Andrew Waltfield," she explained. "So it was him… We're up against the Desert Tiger."

It's hard to explain, how much I worried about her. It almost felt like at that moment, she was the world I needed to protect. I knew if something had happened, I wouldn't have been able to live with myself.
Kira Yamato