A/n

Oh boy, here is Phase 63. I know it is long, but remember, this was combined with the previous phase. I hope you enjoy it.

Phase 63: Tracking Down the Truth

September 24th 73 CE.

Echowas, Lagrange 6

Meanwhile, Tyler McGregor was on a shuttle that was going to the Federation's Echowas base that served as its HQ in space. He'd been told he would receive his new assignment there, but no other detail had been given. Tyler had just gotten off some undercover work in the Atlantic Federation two weeks ago and had been having time off. He'd really needed the wind-down time after the crap he'd seen with that job. Tyler had been looking into Alliance activities lately, as they seemed a little too quiet. What Tyler had found wasn't encouraging since the Alliance was working, just not out in the open. Since the last war, the Alliance seemed to have learned the art of subtlety and secrecy. Tyler would admit the digging he'd done had been more work-involved than it used to be.

The Alliance was up to something, Tyler had found and reported that much, though he hadn't found out specifically what they were working toward. The array of activities the Alliance was doing didn't relate to one another by what Tyler could find. It just seemed they were trying to cause conflict and strife, but that didn't make sense in the end. The Alliance had paid for what they had done in the Alliance-PLANT War, and the Junius Seven Treaty had helped that along. However, some of the stuff Tyler had come across suggested there may be a group in the shadows pulling strings. Yet, there had been no solid evidence to support that theory that Tyler had been able to find. Not being able to provide evidence of his expectations had frustrated Tyler, as he was sure there was more to the Alliance's actions than mere chaos.

Tyler focused back on the present as dwelling on what he hadn't been able to find was not helping him. He was to report to his boss directly for his new assignment, which had been unpleasant to hear when the order came to him. That was somewhat odd as it was rare for Admiral Raine to give him his assignments directly in person. Normally, they just came in a message to him, and then Tyler got to work, not wanting the wrath of his boss to come down upon him. Thus, Tyler had chosen to wear his formal uniform to avoid being chewed out for something by the Admiral. Tyler wasn't one to create more problems for himself when he could avoid doing so, especially when his boss was involved.

The shuttle Tyler was on came into Echowas's main hangar and moved to one of the shuttle docks. Tyler glanced out the shuttle window he was sitting next to and was once again impressed at the size of the base's hangar. He knew Echowas wasn't small as a base, but it was still something to see in person. Once the shuttle docked, Tyler exited the craft and floated into the dock lounge, thinking as he went. He knew dragging his feet, and delaying meeting with his boss wouldn't help his case with her. However, he couldn't help but hesitate to go directly to the woman's office as he never liked being in front of her. Of course, Tyler knew where Admiral Raine's officer in Echowas was, she made sure of that with him. And while Tyler had been behaving himself well enough not to earn flak, he couldn't help but wonder what he'd done to get a summons from his boss. Tyler did what he could to keep under the radar of the woman, so much he didn't want to talk to her. Nevertheless, soon enough, Tyler came to be in front of the dreaded office door. He knew there were no more excuses he could make to delay meeting with his boss, as much as he wanted some. So, Tyler swallowed hard and took a deep breath before he knocked on the door and waited to be told to enter.

Angelia had been reviewing recent reports while waiting for her "trouble agent" to come for his assignment. McGregor had been working not to come to her attention, Angelia could see that, and she hadn't complained about that. The Alliance's silence was creating enough work for those in SOLAS and the Federation's military to deal with. McGregor's report alone brought up concerns with the undercover mission he'd been on recently. He'd insisted that a "group" was in the shadows pulling strings in the Alliance. His claims weren't without merit, but he didn't have hard evidence to support them. Angelia had assigned SOLAS agents to look into the idea of a group pulling strings as she felt McGregor had a point. And if a group was pulling the strings and controlling the Alliance, they needed to be investigated and handled.

However, she was brought out of her thoughts when a knock came at the door. Angelia ordered whoever was at the door to enter. Tyler did what he was told and entered the specific office he always dreaded being in. The room was the same as it seemed to be each time he was called to his boss's office, nothing had changed. But Tyler knew better than to make any comment about the woman's office. If Tyler didn't choose his words with extreme care, he would be made to regret it. It was a part of Admiral Raine's reputation, she had a knack for getting even the toughest soldier to be on their best behavior without much effort. The stories Tyler had heard were ones he didn't want to know if they were true or not. Thus, as he rarely did, he moved to be in front of his boss's desk and saluted Admiral Raine properly. "Admiral Raine, Commander Tyler McGregor, reporting as per orders, ma'am," Tyler greeted in the best formal tone he could. "I'm ready to receive what assignment you have for me and complete it to the best of my abilities."

Angelia glanced up from the report she had been glancing over to see Tyler. The young man was her "trouble agent" that was under her command. And he wasn't the "trouble agent" because of his performance, for it was normally better than average to exemplary. No, McGregor was such a problem for her because of the flak others gave about the boy. His youth was often held against him, which it really shouldn't be. McGregor was the best sabotage and system hacking specialist SOLAS had to work with. Most of the time, Angelia let McGregor's "behavior," which caused issues to slide and not punish him as most soldiers would be. The boy got away with much more than others, but he was too valuable a soldier to lose.

Nevertheless, she wasn't as sure about the assignment he was going to get and expected to fulfill. It wasn't that she thought McGregor couldn't get the mission done, she was confident he could do the job. It was what came with the job that Angelia had an issue with. The rank promotion, deserved as it was for the young man's service, would bring more flak she would have to deal with. When McGregor had become a commander, the crap storm which had come her way about why the boy shouldn't have the rank had been irritating. It had taken a year for much of that to die down, with McGregor proving he earned the rank. Angelia put down the report and focused on Tyler, "Commander McGregor, it has been some time since you've stood in my office," she replied. "And yet, from what I understand, you've been busy down on Earth, correct?"

Tyler had indeed been busy down on Earth from that operation against the Alliance facility on the Siberian Plain to the other cleanup work he'd been helping with. The undercover job Tyler had just completed weeks ago had been the pits, and that was an understatement. He had been doing his utmost not to be noticed by Admiral Raine, more so than he usually did. And unfortunately, his mouth moved before he could filter his thoughts, "I've been trying to give you the space and didn't want to come here." Angelia heard the muttering and wasn't in the mood for McGregor's antics right now. So, she glared at the boy, which served to silence him. "You care to say that louder, McGregor," she posed with a tone of menace. "And I would recommend you think carefully about what comes out of your mouth."

Tyler sweated at the unintended slip of his thoughts coming out of his mouth unfiltered. It was a dangerous thing with his boss, as it attracted punishment. Tyler wanted to avoid consequences or punishment from the woman if possible. So, he swallowed hard, "Uh, well, ma'am, what I said was I've been doing my best to keep out of trouble. I know how much you detest extra paperwork, so I don't want to make any for you, ma'am." Tyler swallowed hard again, "I'm honored that I'm receiving an assignment from you in person."

Angelia figured McGregor would correct himself if given the chance. The boy was smart enough not blatantly to ask for trouble and punishment from her. And his comment on extra paperwork was a nice reminder that his work had been good lately. At least there had been no extra reports or complaints about him that she had to deal with recently. Angelia had more than enough work to keep busy for a while, she didn't need extra unnecessary stuff. Thus, Angelia hummed in satisfaction, "Yes, that's what I thought you were said, commander." Angelia paused, thinking of the real reason McGregor had been called to Echowas. Her responsibility was still to inform McGregor of his rank promotion and a new assignment. "You are here for a special assignment, McGregor," she stated. "But there is one other thing to get out of the way first, so we will start with that."

Tyler blinked at being told there was something to discuss before getting his assignment. All he'd been told was he was to report to Echowas to get his "assignment." Being called to the Federation's Military Space Headquarters was rare, more so for just an assignment. Tyler had only one other mission received from Echowas directly, which had been a special circumstance. He just hoped whatever he was going to be doing was better than the undercover mission he'd been on. That trek into Alliance territory had been horrendous, more so than it usually was for him. He would take almost anything over doing that again for a while. He acquired far too little evidence to prove what he found out, so there was no reward in the end. His boss continued, "A rank change is in order for you, McGregor."

Tyler blinked at being told he was getting a rank change. He couldn't think of any reason he would be getting a promotion or demotion in rank. His behavior hadn't been notably bad, so there was no reason for a demotion from being a commander. Nor had Tyler's performance been beyond outstanding to warrant a promotion. Not that Tyler saw the need for a higher rank since he did just fine as a commander. In truth, Tyler had trouble with others sometimes, with him having the rank he did, which he could do without. So, he was confused about what his boss was talking about. "Um, rank change, you say, ma'am," he questioned. "Forgive me for questioning what you say, but I can't think of anything I've done to earn a demotion. And if I have, then please tell me what I've done so I can fix things."

Angelia sighed, "Did I say you've done something to get demoted, McGregor," she posed. "Rest assured, if there was a performance or behavior problem with you, we would be having a serious conversation about it before it got to that point." Angelia put a hand to her temple and rubbed it with what she was about to say. It wasn't that McGregor didn't deserve the post he would be given, for he did. No, it was the backlash that would come to her because of it being him that she didn't look forward to. "Instead, I would say congratulation are in order, McGregor, since you're being promoted to the rank of Captain." Angelia paused, not wanting to admit the boy had been doing better than expected as it may go to his head. "Even I have to admit, begrudgingly, that your performance has been outstanding for the last year."

Tyler couldn't help but gape at his boss for what she said. First, that he was going up in rank was something he didn't expect. Second, Tyler's boss wasn't one to hand out compliments or praise often. And Tyler was one that received praise of any sort from the woman out of those in SOLAS. The compliment was nice, as he normally got nothing but criticism and complaints about what he did from Admiral Raine. But the move to being a "captain" completely blindsided him as he'd never thought he would get anywhere near that rank. Sure, the increase in rank would come with a jump in pay grade, which Tyler wouldn't complain about. However, Tyler foresaw issues with the rank change that he would, in turn, have to deal with when they came up.

The rank of Commander had gotten him into clashes and trouble with ship officers before now. It was the reason why there was a specific note on his profile that warned officers Tyler did things his way and to allow it on the field. That was all before his youth came into play, and others used that against Tyler more than he liked. He was only twenty, and any other captain Tyler had met was five years or older than that. Tyler had finally got a lot of the flak he took to die down, and he didn't want or need that to come back with a vengeance. Thus, Tyler was suspicious of there being more to the "rank promotion" than just him doing really good. He took a deep breath before he spoke, "Permission to speak freely, ma'am."

Angelia figured McGregor would have something to say about the rank promotion. He wasn't one to seek higher positions for himself. The boy had learned more attention and notice had its price unlike many ever did. And she kind of wanted to know what McGregor thought about what he was going to be given. So, Angelia nodded and gestured for Tyler to continue as he wished. Tyler took a moment to choose his words carefully so they didn't get him into trouble but would get his point across. "Not that I am refusing a rank promotion, boss," Tyler began. "The increased pay grade will be nice, not that the pay as a commander has been lacking. But forgive me for saying so, but something doesn't feel right with me being promoted to captain. I get enough issues with being a commander already, and I assume it will be worse with the rank of captain. My age hasn't helped me with being a commander, and it will be against me more as the next step up." Tyler paused, hesitating for a moment, "No offense to you, boss, but uh, you got a lot of flak with me being a commander at almost seventeen. You will no doubt get more with being a captain at twenty."

Angelia had told the one whose idea this was that McGregor wasn't ship officer material, and the rank wouldn't help him much. Sure, the young man could step into the position when called upon, but he was more suited for field work than commanding a ship. And she hadn't even gotten to that point of why he was being promoted to captain. McGregor clearly thought it was just a rank promotion without a catch attached to it. So, she crossed her arms, "Yes, I do indeed recall the complaints that came to me about you being young. And I would be lying if I said I don't expect to receive such again when rumors also fly around about this. However, you didn't let me finish with why you are getting this rank promotion. You will be put in command of a ship that requires you to be a captain, McGregor. It was not my decision to do this, it is for the assignment I agreed to have you on."

Tyler stared at his boss with her saying he was going to be a ship officer. Tyler didn't deny that he was more suited for fieldwork. He preferred field work and being in the "trenches" to being the one to stand by and give orders. Then, Tyler had rarely gotten along with ship officers as they tried to tell him what he should do and how he should do it. Natarle was an extreme example, she displayed how ship officers often reacted to him. So, Tyler being a ship officer was something he didn't see going the best for him or the ship's crew. It made Tyler wonder if someone was giving him more credit than he deserved or if something else could be going on. The rank up and being given a ship to command sounded more suspect to Tyler, like something was not being said that he should know. Tyler wasn't a stranger to weird or difficult jobs, for he got them from time to time. But he preferred to know what he was going to be thrown into before he was cut loose to do the job. "While I can appreciate being promoted and even given a ship, boss," Tyler replied. "Something tells me it isn't just for job performance or because someone thought it would be amusing for me to be a ship officer."

Angelia nodded, picking up the folder which contained McGregor's assignment. The mission would be one filled with potential problems and horrible sights. Not that Angelia felt McGregor couldn't handle what the mission could throw his way. "The changes are for the assignment in this folder, McGregor," she returned. "You would do well to scan them over, as this will not be a simple mission." Tyler took the folder and opened it to see what he was going to be expected to do. With his boss saying he should look it over, that told Tyler there was something about the mission that wasn't normal. The first page was as follows:

Operation Code name: Mathias

Operation type: Seek and Scrub

Operation Priority level: 1

An unknown Group assaulted the MiloS Astrological Research Outpost less than twenty-four hours ago. The Group is assumed to be an alliance force with the available evidence. The group's intent has been determined as gaining access to the Information Network. After gaining access, Some files were copied and data extracted. Two Are very sensitive in nature and dangerous in the wrong hands. These files mustn't reach their military headquarters on either Earth or the Moon. Whether the files are recovered or destroyed does not make a foreseeable difference in the outcome. The Earth Alliance force mentioned is likely a black ops group and has been codenamed Phantom Thief and will be referred to by that name going forward.

The details Tyler skimmed through on the following pages didn't encourage him, rather, they told him the assignment would be long and harsh. The main points of the assignment were to go to the research outpost and investigate what had happened. Tyler and those with him were also to acquire the station's black box, which would show its last moments. Then he and the ship he would be given command of would track down Phantom Thief. Once found, Tyler was to deal with the stolen data and ensure it wouldn't get to the Alliance in a usable form. There was no mention of there being a need for the enemy group to be destroyed or dealt with directly. And yet, nothing in the assignment brief said that was to be avoided if the chance came up.

That the Alliance had gone for something from the Information Network wasn't new for them. Tyler knew of a few instances of them trying to get access and heard of more, all of which had failed. That an Alliance black ops team had attacked a place to gain access to the network wasn't exactly unheard of. For them to go and raid a research outpost was a low blow in Tyler's mind. Those on the outpost were scientists, research assistants, and their families. It hadn't been a military facility and probably didn't have any means to put up a real defense against invasion. The worrisome thing was the Alliance group had gotten access to the network for a short period. Thankfully, protocols were such that any data copied from the network was encrypted for transfer. Tyler knew the protocol was in place in case data was stolen during transport, and the strength of encryption depended on the sensitivity of the data. So, there was a silver lining even when the Alliance group had used the time they had to extract "sensitive and dangerous" files, which Federation High Command stated couldn't be permitted to get to the Alliance. The encryption gave the time before the stolen files reached anyone who might have the skills to decrypt the data and have them readable.

After finishing scanning over the briefing, Tyler looked back up at his boss. "This assignment looks like a nasty one, correct me should I be wrong," Tyler remarked. "Also, nothing is mentioned about those on the station. Do we know what happened to them?"

Angelia didn't like the question because the answer was not a good one from the evidence there was right now. It was expected that all on the station had been killed by the Alliance group in the worst-case scenario. The last message from the station was they were working on severing its connection to the Information Network. There had been no communication from the Milos Outpost since that message. "No, McGregor," Angelia replied, "The last message from the crew was they were working on severing the station's connection to the Information Network. We assume the worst-case scenario and all that was on the Milos Outpost are dead."

Tyler didn't like the reply as it didn't spell any real good possibility for this assignment. If the worst-case scenario was already assumed before the mission officially began, it normally was what was seen by those on the mission. And yet, the Alliance group's actions sounded hauntingly familiar to Tyler. He'd come across a group that was hard to find hard evidence on, and they were supposedly a black ops team of some sort. They operated outside of the Alliance rules and regulations and did a lot of dirty work. Tyler hoped this wasn't the work of that group, but he didn't dismiss that it could be. However, Tyler felt he had gotten the information he would be able to have from Admiral Raine. "Fair enough for an answer, ma'am," Tyler returned. "My last few questions are about the ship I'm being given if you don't mind giving me details."

Angelia fetched the data storage device containing the new Normandy class frigate specs. The class was meant to be fast and work well in a group or independently if the situation required it to. She held out the storage device, and McGregor took it, "On that are the specs of the Normandy class frigate you will be commanding," she answered. "I recommend you look them over sooner rather than later. There are also crew files on that as well, so you can know those you work with. The ship is currently located in hangar block D in dock 24 and is currently being loaded and supplied. You are dismissed to head out, McGregor."

Tyler pocketed the storage device and saluted before he exited the room, not wanting to irritate his boss. He would look over what was on the storage device when he got some time. Tyler felt it a good idea to familiarize himself with the ship and crew he would be responsible for when he could. Getting to know the ship would be simple as Tyler would memorize its capabilities, strengths, and limits. Familiarizing himself with the crew would take longer, but Tyler would still do that. A good captain needed to know their crew and work well with them regardless if they got along with them personally. Tyler had seen enough ship officers to know working with one's crew well was essential for a ship to perform decently or better. And though he wasn't like any normal ship officer, Tyler would do what he could to not be talked about as a failure. The last thing he needed was his boss coming down on him because of bad behavior outside the expectations for him.

Tyler made his way down to the hangar where his boss had mentioned the ship was located. Tyler was still coming to terms with the fact that he would be in charge and responsible for a ship and its crew. He was more used to fieldwork which had him looking after himself and sometimes a few others. Teams were more than a few but far less than a crew's worth which Tyler was well aware of. But Tyler would do what he could without giving up his principles and leave things at that for the crew. His concern was with who had been selected to be his vice-captain. The relationship between the captain and their second-in-command could make or break a ship's performance. Tyler had seen that point play out a few times and knew the truth of the idea, which was unsaid. Thus, he hoped that whoever his vice-captain happened to be would be someone he could get along with decently.

Tyler came to the observation lounge for the D block of the docking area and scanned the docks for "his" ship. He spotted it quickly and could only stare for a few minutes. The ship was unlike any Tyler had seen before, which confirmed to him it was the first of a new ship class. It was notably smaller than the Enterprise class cruiser, but a frigate was expected to be. From what Tyler could tell, the ship had an overall length of around two-hundred meters from bow to stern. The majority of the vessel's structure was in the oval-shaped cylinder in the center. Wings were coming off the back-quarter section of the ship. The propulsion looked to be comprised of six engines, two built into each wing, one on the outside, the other on the inside of the wing's center. From what Tyler spotted, two engines appeared to be mounted into the back of the main ship structure. Tyler's gaze shifted to look at the activities going on around the Normandy, with which most were loading supplies. He saw the Aurora nearby and hoped his Gundam would find its way onto the Normandy.

Tyler finished his observations, gathered his things, and went down to the hangar area. He got to the boarding tunnel and got a closer view of the Normandy, and he was forced to pause. Once again, Tyler couldn't help but wonder whose bright idea it was for him not just to be a ship officer but the captain. Being a ship officer clashed enough with what Tyler's work style would be good for, which was hard enough to become accustomed to. For the individual that put this assignment on Tyler to make him the captain of the ship made him question what they had in mind. The array of problems and issues Tyler saw in his path didn't bring him comfort or encourage him to like the assignment. He was the last person who would normally be considered for the command position that he now faced. Yet, after a few minutes, Tyler shook off the feeling and put it on the back burner before he moved through the boarding tunnel.

The airlock the boarding tunnel connected to was in the ship's center and seemed to come onto the middle decks of the Normandy. The interior looked much as Tyler had seen in the Enterprise classes. As Tyler moved forward with the traffic of people going to and fro, he came into what looked like a "common area." He didn't stop to look around, instead heading for the lift he'd spotted at the end of the corridor at the far end of the common area. Tyler figured it would be best for him to appear on the ship's navigation and command bridge. There he could meet his vice-captain and see how the bridge was laid out for his knowledge. None of the Federation personnel stopped him as he traveled, though he got a few curious looks.

Tyler reached the lift, and after scanning the buttons for the levels the lift could go to, he pushed the button for the bridge. Once the lift stopped, Tyler exited it and turned to his right to face a door labeled "Command Bridge" on it. He moved forward and put a finger on the biometric scanner on the right side of the door and let it read his finger. A moment later, the door slid open, revealing a large room. Tyler floated inside and gazed around the bridge, taking the layout in. There were console areas on either side, which were set lower than the center of the room. From what he could see on some of the consoles' displays, he could tell they were for ship operation. Some of them he could give an educated guess of what some consoles were for, like electronic warfare and communications. Tyler spotted the helm station ahead of him with forward-viewing ports were. The other stations that lined the outside of the bridge were the tactical stations and other ship operation consoles. There was also the main tactical display showing the map of the area in the rear center area so all on the bridge could see it. Tyler saw two chairs behind the main tactical display, one in the middle and the other on the left of the center. The two seats were clearly for the captain and vice-captain as it didn't fit anyone else to sit there.

Tyler actually liked the bridge setup instead of what he'd seen on other ships thus far. It would allow him to see and talk to any crew member he needed to without getting up and going to them. And it made him think that perhaps he could work with the Normandy and be a good captain. That would satisfy his boss since it wouldn't create more paperwork for her, and he tried not to do that. Tyler came out of his thoughts when he felt a tap on his shoulder, which got him to turn. He blinked at seeing a familiar face meeting him, and it took a moment for Tyler to understand that his friend Lisa was floating in front of him. Tyler couldn't begin to guess why Lisa would be here. Of course, he hadn't heard a great deal from her for a year or so, just general information as to the assignments they had been working on. "Lisa, what are you doing here," Tyler asked, confused. "Last I heard, you were on that mission around the western edge of the Eurasia Federation."

Lisa was pleased to see Tyler; it made the standing assignment more bearable working with a friend. She hadn't been given much in the way of details about what the mission would be other than an "investigation into an incident." Lisa hoped that perhaps Tyler could give more specifics as to what they would be doing. Although, she was surprised that Tyler had been picked for the captain's position for the Normandy. She would be among those that would say Tyler wasn't the first choice to have as a ship officer. He did well commanding a group or team and even excelled at the idea, Lisa had personal experience with that. And so, working under him as the ship's second-in-command was no issue for her. If anything, it would be a nice change to what work she'd been doing since the end of the war. Lisa smiled at Tyler, "Well, I'm assigned to the Normandy like you are." Lisa pointed the finger at Tyler, "And if you are the captain, as I suspect you are, then you and I will be resuming the you lead, and I follow routine we sometimes have."

Tyler processed what Lisa had said, and it took a moment to register in his brain properly. As facts began falling into place, Tyler realized that Lisa was going to be his vice-captain for the mission. Not that Lisa being his second-in-command was a problem, more it was ideal to him. Tyler had been worried that whoever would be vice-captain would be someone he didn't get along with. The worst-case scenario Tyler had imagined was having someone like Natarle as the vice-captain. That type of scenario wouldn't have ended well for any side and would've jeopardized the assigned mission. It was a relief that the one he would have to work with closely was both someone he knew and a friend. "To tell the truth, I'm relieved that it's you who will be vice-captain," Tyler replied. "I was worried I would get someone that I wouldn't get along with." Lisa knew what Tyler meant but didn't say with his comment, "Yes, your record when it comes to working with ship officers isn't the best," she remarked.

Lisa's comment was the truth, and Tyler wouldn't deny that point. Tyler rarely, if ever, got along or worked well with ship officers, though it was more the formal and stiff types that Tyler had issues with. Those types tended to try and order Tyler around and do things their way rather than Tyler's own way. Natarle was a prime example of how Tyler did with such officers, even if in a tad more extreme case. "I don't deny that I don't have the best record when it comes to working with formal or strict ship officers," Tyler admitted. Lisa chuckled softly, "Yes, you clash with them more often than not," she added. Tyler sighed heavily, "Yeah, yeah, I know regulation-bound people don't like my behavior and style of doing things."

Lisa was glad Tyler was the same as ever, she felt the Normandy would need someone like Tyler to succeed. She hoped he had more details on the mission they would set out on soon enough. While she had been told general facts about the assignment, something in her mind said there was more being left unsaid. And Tyler was one who gave the facts so that as many as possible could survive whatever came. "Moving on to other things," Lisa began, "You wouldn't happen to have more details on what the mission we will set out on soon is about, do you? And how did your meeting with Admiral Raine go?"

Tyler's mood fell a bit with the reminder of being in a meeting with his boss. It had gone better than most in-person meetings where he would be chewed out for something. But being handed the nasty mission wasn't any nicer than being chewed out. Then, Lisa asking for more details, told Tyler the crew hadn't been told what they would be doing. Not that Tyler didn't understand why they weren't told about what the assignment would likely involve. "As for the meeting, it went better than most I've had with her. It was definitely the best I've had in person that I can recall," Tyler returned. "That woman scares me in ways others don't, even my mother, and I'm careful around her." Tyler sighed at the fact about Admiral Raine that few, if any, said out loud. "I usually feel the need to cover sensitive areas for fear of them getting nailed as a punishment for something I did."

Lisa could sympathize with Tyler's thoughts about Admiral Raine. The woman had a reputation among the Federation's Admirals for being the "meanest" and the "strictest." Rumors of the woman "doing" things for disciplinary reasons that crippled some for a time. And unfortunately, Tyler seemed to get more attention from Admiral Raine than others did. Tyler continued as Lisa thought about what he had to be going through, "I mean, yes, the promotion to captain is nice and everything, even if it does come out of the blue." Tyler sighed heavily, "But I think she was more looking ahead towards the complaints she'll get about me being young and having the rank I do. It happened when I became a commander, and she got plenty of flak when that occurred. I suppose it's nothing new for her, but it still comes down on my head often." Tyler then glanced around the bridge, thinking it would be wise not to discuss details about the mission there. "As for details for the assignment we have ahead, I think it best not to talk about it in the open for the moment."

That Tyler said it would be best not to talk about the assignment's details in the open didn't bode well. But Lisa would defer to his judgment and so gestured to the door away from the bridge. "Then I will show you to the officers' quarters, and we can discuss it there," Lisa proposed, "That sound good?" Lisa also noticed that Tyler was still in his formal uniform. She knew that he didn't like wearing the formal officer's uniform. He only put it on when he was absolutely required or was meeting with Admiral Raine. "Plus, you can get out of that uniform and into something you would more prefer," she offered.

Tyler hadn't forgotten he was trusted up in the stiff uniform he only wore when he had to. He'd put it on for the meeting with his boss, and it was an attempt to not be on her bad side. And if Lisa could show him to the quarters he would be using, he could get out of the formal wear. So, Tyler gestured for Lisa to lead the way, "By all means, Lisa," Tyler said. "I would be happy to get out of this straight-jacket-like clothing as soon as I can." Tyler grabbed his things from the deck before Lisa, and he exited the bridge area. Lisa led Tyler to the deck below the command deck, which was where the officers' quarters were.

Once reaching the captain's quarters, Lisa waited outside while Tyler went inside to change. The room was somewhat larger than Tyler had expected for a frigate class ship. The general living area had a bed and a small sitting area with a table. In the corner right of the door, there was also a desk along with a bathroom. The space was the nicest set of quarters that Tyler had been given to use during his military service. However, as nice as the room was, Tyler felt it was too much for just one person, even the ship's captain. It felt more like it was meant for a married person or something like that. Then again, Tyler hadn't expected to be a captain at his current age either. He could only imagine his mother's face when she was told about his rank promotion and new post.

When Tyler was dressed in the casual military uniform, he went back to the door and invited Lisa inside. Once both were seated in the sitting area, Tyler started reviewing the details as he knew them for the assignment. Repeating them didn't make them any better than when he had heard them from Admiral Raine. As Tyler told her the facts, Lisa understood why Tyler felt it was best that the crew not be told the finer points of the mission they would set out on. She agreed with Tyler that the mission would likely be a nasty one before the end. And that a group got access to the Information Network said why she wasn't given a lot of detail about the incident. For an unauthorized access to the network to occur was more than concerning to the Federation. It wasn't ever made public knowledge as the network was their closely guarded advantage over the other two factions. "That explains why I was told little about the mission when I was informed of it," Lisa mused.

"Yeah," Tyler replied, "An unauthorized access to the Information Network is a really bad thing alone." He paused, "And I feel there is more to this than meets the eye." Lisa looked at her friend curiously, "What do you mean?" Tyler hesitated momentarily, "The circumstances as described bring to mind something I've seen a few times. There's a group in the Alliance that operates outside their rules and regulations that I've seen the work of. The attack on the outpost fits their MO, which greatly concerns me." With what Tyler had seen during his undercover missions, Lisa knew he had seen horrible things. If he said this incident fit the operating style of a particular group in the Alliance, Lisa believed it. What was worrisome was that if this group did as Tyler said, they would be more complicated to deal with. "And you think this group is responsible for what happened at the outpost," she posed.

The group's MO certainly fit what Tyler had been reading about from the mission brief. The group even had a name that Tyler had found out about from an Alliance soldier before they had died. They were called Phantom Pain, and from what Tyler had seen of them, the name was an apt description of them. There was little solid evidence about the group, though they were thought to be some sort of black ops team or had been at some point. Phantom Pain had caused a lot of trouble since shortly after the war. The Federation knew of them but little about who they were and what they did for the Alliance. What information there was on them didn't help to clear up any rumors or stories about them. Tyler put a hand to his chin, "I can't say for certain yet, but it wouldn't be a surprise if they did invade the station. I've never actually encountered the group, I only heard rumors and seen some of the results of their work. So I don't have much on the group other than their name, Phantom Pain."

Lisa didn't like what Tyler said about the Alliance group, as it wasn't encouraging. She'd never heard of the group Tyler mentioned, but he did more work that would let him know about such. "If we are dealing with a group like that, things will be messy. Tracking them sounds like it will be difficult before they reach the Alliance," Lisa commented. Tyler nodded, "Indeed, but we have to try to get to them before they get to allied forces." He sighed, "Anyway, how long do we have before the Normandy is ready to head out, Lisa?" Lisa thought for a moment about what the crew members she'd talked to had told her about the ship's readiness. It would still be at least an hour, likely more like an hour and a half to two, for the ship to be ready to move out. "By what I'm told," Lisa began, "It will be at least an hour, more likely an hour and a half to two, for the supplies to be loaded."

Tyler nodded, as that would give him time to study the ship's specs and look over crew files. "That will give me time to look over the ship's specs and crew files," he replied. And then he recalled the Aurora on the docks and not on the ship yet, "And if you could have the Aurora make its way onto the ship, I would really appreciate it, Lisa."

Lisa agreed and left the room, whereas Tyler moved to his desk to get to work. He plugged in the storage device that he'd received from his boss. Tyler first brought up the Normandy's specs to look them over. The ship's crew complement was a maximum of one-hundred-fifty members but had a hundred-eight currently assigned to it. The crew quarters were on the two decks below the upper crew deck where Tyler was. And the Normandy could carry supplies for its crew for close to a month without resupply. That was an improvement in the time a ship could go without resupply that Tyler knew of. It made him wonder if the Federation was going toward potential deep-space exploration in the future. That goal would explain the development paths being done by the Federation. It was a lofty goal that Tyler could fully get behind and wanted to help with.

As he'd seen from the observation lounge, the ship was two and five hundred meters long for the main central section. In the central section was divided into five decks, with the second and third deck being crew quarters and common areas. The upper deck was where the command bridge was, of course. The lower two were for cargo, and the hangar was for the ship's mobile weapons. The ship's propulsion was as Tyler had seen, though there were seven engines rather than six as he'd thought. There were the two on either wing and three instead of two on the rear of the ship. The wings could also change their orientation depending on the situation and what it requires. That was part of the trans-atmospheric features of the Normandy, which Tyler looked forward to seeing himself.

On the point of mobile weapons, the Normandy could carry up to five mobile suits at the maximum. That would require squeezing them into the hangar and the chief being organized efficiently. Thus, four suits would be carried normally and would use the single catapult along the central underside to launch out. The linear catapult was retractable along the underside, and now used magnetic emitter rails to help with acceleration and deceleration instead of cables. The other point was that it would allow for use underwater since the Normandy was a Trans-Atmospheric vessel.

The Normandy had several systems that would help the ship in combat and other circumstances. It had the new standard stealth field system based on the Phantom Stealth system the Aurora had to work with. Other systems and equipment included defensive options and other ideas Tyler was kind of surprised the Normandy possessed. The first was launchers for anti-beam depth charges and signal flares, as Tyler would expect most ships had to employ. The launchers were located in front of the rear engines on the central section. However, the Normandy was equipped with a new technology that had been recently invented. It was based on Ablative Gel similar to what the Archangel had. It was referred to as Heat Film plating or HF. It took the function of Ablative Gel to handle extreme heat and crossed that with the form of basic phase shift armor. It was one of the new ideas based on the Alliance's G-Project that had been studied and adopted for future use. The special plating system would be employed to protect the Normandy from the heat of atmospheric entry. It had a set integrity which was extended by the film's regeneration/replenishing qualities.

There were updated sensors that would help see ships using Mirage Colloid by exploiting the system's flaws. Tyler had figured the Federation would develop a sensor array that would be able to do that at some point. None trusted the Alliance wouldn't use the stealth technology even when they promised they wouldn't. And yet, the system Tyler was the most impressed with was the deflection field emitter network the ship had. He would love to see how it worked when in combat, as the description said some neat ideas. Sci-fi type fiction has sparked the idea of "shielding," and the deflection field is definitely the closest to the principle of shielding created thus far. According to the specs and reports, the field should be able to deflect beams from any direction while it's activated. The drawback of the field is that it sucked down power like nobody's business and could easily outdo any other system in power consumption. It was similar to what the Aurora had in its shield but did the idea on a vaster scale.

Tyler moved from ship systems to the offensive and defensive options the Normandy had to work with. For an arsenal, there were four high-energy beam cannons called "Spearnous." They were single-barreled guns under either wing. The cannons had their stored position, making the wings more aerodynamic for travel. The next on the list of weapons was the missile launchers spread over the wings and the rear of the Normandy. The launchers were built as banks of five to six tubes per bank. There were two banks of six on each wing, which would rise up for use. Then there was one bank of five on either side of the Normandy's central rear section. The Multi-Vector Missile systems could be loaded with different types of missiles for various purposes. The "twin" of the missile systems was the Naudo Torpedo banks, one in each wing for use on Earth both on the ocean's surface and under it. Each bank could be loaded with five torpedos per deployment, giving the Normandy Earth options.

The "Pummel Tyle 3" 115cm rail guns were at the ends of each wing, providing another offensive option. Much like the Archangel, they collapsed down when not in active use and appeared to be part of the wings. They used the modifications of the Archangel, so they worked underwater on Earth. There were eleven "Falcogun" 78mm auto multi-barreled CIWS for the defensive aspect guns for defensive measures. They were spread over the ship to make an effective interception field for incoming enemy fire. There were two on the front of the forward second of the central section, three on each wing, and three at the rear of the ship. Finally, the Normandy's heavy weapon was its "Thor" positron cannon it carried. It was mounted in the front fourth of the central section of the ship, right above the linear catapult. The cannon would retract and move out of its storage compartment, keeping it hidden from enemies. From what Tyler read, Thor was a second-generation positron cannon had the radioactive pollution the first-generation produced fixed and nullified. The other point that Tyler liked was the cannon had a better and longer range than the other two factions' second-generation positron cannons. Tyler took the next forty-five minutes studying the Normandy's specs, memorizing them, so he knew them by heart.

After reviewing the ship's specs, Tyler moved on to glancing over the crew files. From what Tyler saw, those assigned to the ship were good at their positions. Tyler didn't know anyone specifically other than Lisa and one other whose file he came across. The individual was one of the Normandy's pilots, and it was Luke. He was noted to be the mobile suit team leader for deployment. Tyler would appreciate Luke being in charge of the pilots on the battlefield. Of course, Tyler didn't intend to just sit in the captain's chair and not go out in a mobile suit and do fieldwork. Yes, he knew there would be those that would frown down upon him for going out in a mobile suit. However, Tyler would ignore such opinions as he did things his way and went forward with that. The other face Tyler recognized was that of the ship's doctor, for it was the head scientist from that Alliance Lab in the Eurasian Federation. That day had haunted Tyler with all the horrors he'd seen around that place. Tyler reviewed the files, memorized faces, and ensured he could put the right names to them. He felt it was the captain's responsibility to know their crew by name and be able to call them by it.

By the time Tyler was done, he had glanced over at the timepiece connected to the desk and saw an hour and a half had passed. He closed the files before he made his way toward the Normandy's command bridge. Tyler was confident that Lisa had been managing the needed tasks while he'd been studying information about the ship and the crew. He knew that Lisa would get things done while he was busy with other things. It was one of the reasons that Tyler was glad to have her as his second-in-command. As he went, Tyler overheard those he passed that the ship was almost fully loaded. Tyler hoped that was the case, the sooner the Normandy headed out, the better chance they had of chasing the invaders down before they reached allied forces.

Tyler came upon to the command bridge and saw those there were busy. He noted that Lisa was checking with crew members and other things for the Normandy. With Tyler's studying, he knew the names of those on the bridge now, and that was a start for him. Tyler floated to the main tactical display, which was displaying the ship's current status. From what Tyler could see, the ship was doing well. The main systems were within acceptable levels and so would perform as intended. Tyler tapped out a command on the display's main control console, and the display changed. It zoomed onto the hangar and showed four suits there, three being the new space fighter models and the last the Aurora.

The new space fighter model, the HFS-E100 Excel Fighter, was based on the Delta fighter used during the Alliance-PLANT War. The Excel used a new version of the Ultracompact Energy Battery. It utilizes two batteries synced together and even has a slow recharging function, derived from the custom suits from Teswa from the last war. The mobile suits also had reinforced Xionium armor plating along with a more simplified version of phase shift. The version worked much like what the Aurora employed by what Tyler understood. It also had the new stealth system called "Wraith," which was similar to the Phantom system but used less power. Tyler had heard of the idea and knew rumors about it had spread to the other two factions. They had been frustrated, the Alliance more than ZAFT. While the Treaty of Junius Seven banned Mirage Colloid, it didn't stop the Federation from developing its own stealth technology.

The Excel fighter had an improved arsenal than the Delta Fighter, even if it had fewer options. There were the vulcan guns in the head that were 70mm caliber. Tyler assumed they were meant for interception, but machines without phase shift can still get holes punched in them by the guns if they are too close. The next option the Excel had was the MKII X80 high-energy beam rifle. The rifle was longer than the Alliance G-Project's prototypes and had better firepower. The Alliance's G-Project had made beam rifles, among other things, practical for mobile suits to use. The rifle would attach to the fighter's barrier shield in its flight mode or for general storage. From what Tyler had understood, the barrier shield was where the other weapons were. The shield was a contained weapon system as much as a defensive piece of equipment. Two beam sabers were stored in the shield lock in docks hidden compartments.
A double-barreled grenade launcher was built right above the saber compartments. Lastly, there was a beam cannon in the forward section of the shield that worked like a plasma cannon and was the Excel Fighter's heaviest weapon.

Tyler switched the display over to look at the Normandy's weapons systems. He felt they would be needed sooner than any would like. As Tyler was studying the tactical display, he didn't notice one of the crew members approaching him. The crew member was one by the name of Feldt Grace, and she was the sensor and detection station operator. She had seen the guy come onto the bridge. The guy fit the description of the captain assigned to the Normandy, but he still looked really young for the job. But the vice-captain had confirmed the guy was the captain as he'd popped onto the bridge earlier. So, she moved forward, "Excuse me," Feldt said to get the captain's attention.

Tyler turned at being spoken to and found a woman who was older than him by a year or two, by his estimation. She was a head shorter than Tyler, who was a tad taller than average. The woman had pink hair that wasn't neutral pink like Sakura possessed, but it was darker than Lacus' hair color. Tyler's attention was caught for a moment by the woman's turquoise-colored eyes, which her hair complimented. He'd seen her in the crew files, and the name Grace was coming to mind. Miss Grace's figure was feminine but more average from what Tyler's casual glance had gathered. Of course, Tyler wasn't looking for a romantic relationship, mostly due to Sakura's stalking habits. "Yes," Tyler replied, "Did you need something from me, Miss Grace?"

Feldt was surprised Captain McGregor already seemed to know her name even though they hadn't met formally yet. Feldt had talked with the vice-captain, Miss Malto in the last hour, but she'd only caught a glimpse of the captain before. She'd just been coming to inform him the ship was about to leave the port. "Um, you are Tyler McGregor, the captain assigned to the Normandy, correct," she asked. "At least you fit the description I've been given." Tyler didn't want the crew avoiding him, not yet, at least before they were introduced to his command and work style. If the crew could accept and swallow his way of doing things, they would get along with him just fine. So he nodded, "Indeed, I'm the one who is to be the captain of this vessel. You'll have to forgive me though, I'm still rather new to being a captain since the promotion came hours ago. And I've never been a ship officer before this assignment, worked around some but never done the job personally."

Feldt felt a little better at being told the guy was the one she had been looking for. She still couldn't figure out how he knew her name already, but that didn't matter so much. Instead, Feldt smiled and bowed, "It is nice to meet you, captain," she greeted. "You already seem to know my name, but it is Feldt Grace, sir. I'm your sensor and detection console operator."

Tyler had never been one like formalities, let alone demand others use them with him. He'd been that way long before he had started his military service with the Federation. Tyler tolerated those who insisted on using formalities with him. But he hoped the crew wouldn't be among those who would insist on using them. "It is nice to meet you face to face, Miss Grace," Tyler greeted with a matching bow. "As for knowing your name, I saw it while reviewing the crew's personnel files. But please, drop the formalities if you will, I've never been fond of them being used around me. However, if you insist on employing them, I suppose the captain or sir will do."

"Well then, Captain," Feldt said, "I'm here to inform you that the Normandy is almost ready to leave port. The ship is fully supplied, all systems are functioning as they should, and we're in the final preparations." Feldt then gave Tyler the report of the ship's status she had. From what Tyler was hearing, it sounded like the Normandy was essentially ready to head out. Miss Grace also showed she knew the Normandy's systems and general operations. It matched the recently gained knowledge he'd learned while going over the ship specs. Tyler was pleased to hear that the Normandy was ready to head out. The Alliance group they would need to track down had a headstart already. Tyler thanked Feldt before letting her go back to her station. As the woman returned to her station, Lisa approached Tyler. She had been conferring with the members of the bridge crew and their state of readiness when Tyler had come onto the bridge. Lisa had seen Tyler talking to Miss Grace. The girl gave Tyler a ship status report on what Lisa heard as she'd been coming up. "I take it you just got a report of the ship's status from Ensign Grace," Lisa inquired.

Tyler nodded to Lisa, "Yes," he answered. "The girl is certainly knowledgeable about the Normandy, that's for sure. It makes me wonder how she got assigned to the ship. I would think, with her knowledge, she would be tapped for the Intelligence Agency." Tyler glanced at Feldt, wondering how the girl had ended out on the Normandy. The girl's talents were rare and normally sought after by some in the Federation military. It made him wonder how many of the crew could have specialized skills. There hadn't been many listed that Tyler had seen when he'd been going over the crew files. Tyler and Lisa glanced over at Feldt, who had taken the sensor and detection station. Lisa had found out that Miss Grace was with the Intelligence Agency before this assignment. Who had gotten her on the Normandy, Lisa couldn't begin to guess with how good an intelligence agent Miss Grace was turning out to be. "Well, she was with the Intelligence Agency before being put with the Normandy, as I understand it," commented Lisa. "Can't imagine the Intelligence Agency would let her go without a reason."

Tyler was sort of impressed at hearing what Lisa said about Miss Grace. It fit that Miss Grace could've been working for the Intelligence Agency. Tyler could definitely see the skill set that the girl had, which the Intelligence Agency would be very happy to employ. However, that made Tyler curious about how critical the assignment they'd been given was for Federation High Command. Unauthorized access to the Information Network was a problem, but Tyler knew it had occurred a few times before. The previous instances had been handled, and those responsible were tried and punished normally, with them disappearing at the end to a Federation confinement facility. Yet, this situation was being treated differently for some reason which Tyler couldn't figure out with what he knew. The Intelligence Agency wasn't normally inclined to give or lend any agents or those who work for them to other branches of the Federation Military. They were notorious for that, second only to SOLAS. Yes, Tyler knew his boss didn't lend out SOLAS agents unless she felt like it, which was rare.

It made Tyler wonder what data the Alliance group could've stolen could be. That was the fact that had been the mission from the brief, which Tyler hadn't missed. It could be classified, which would make sense why it wasn't mentioned in the brief. However, should the Alliance group have stolen dangerous data, the insistence was understandable. That didn't lessen Tyler's curiosity about what the data could be to have the higher-ups so worried. And the worry they were subtly displaying said this theft was different, and that concerned Tyler. It also motivated Tyler to ensure this group was caught and the data did not reach the Alliance itself. And the more he learned about the "Alliance group," the more he became sure that it was the Phantom Pain group he'd seen the work of. Tyler would love nothing more than to nail the Phantom Pain group with what he'd seen. And that led to the need to leave and head out, "So, how close are we actually heading out from port," Tyler asked. "Our assignment has us already behind those we're after, the sooner we start, the better."

Lisa knew Tyler had a point on heading out as soon as possible, being the best thing they could do. Those they would track had a headstart with getting to their allies which the Normandy was to stop. Thus, Lisa moved on to iterating the Normandy's status with supplyment and readiness. This point fully supplied the Normandy, and all of that was secured by what Lisa had been informed about in the last ten minutes. Tyler was happy to hear that the Aurora had also found its way onto the Normandy. Lisa also gave Tyler a basic rundown of some of the bridge crew, even though he'd gone over the crew files. She first pointed out the communication officer, who Tyler recalled was Millais Alloy. She held the rank of Sargent and was a linguist specialist with a good service record. Lisa told Tyler that most of the bridge crew had good service records and nice skill sets.

The one that stood out besides Miss Grace to Tyler from the files he read was the Normandy's helmsman. The man Lars Paris was someone that Tyler had heard the name of from others he'd worked with. Paris was said to be one of the best ship pilots the Federation had working for them. However, there was a "quirk" with Paris that was mentioned alongside his impressive piloting skills. There had been a note on the man's file that he showed "flamboyant behavior." And while Tyler could understand and tolerate flamboyant behavior, it had a line that it needed not to cross. Tyler could be told he had his own flamboyant behavior though Tyler would call it something else. So, Tyler would have to question if Paris knew where the line was. The man also didn't always listen to orders and follow them supposedly, but Tyler was like that himself. Tyler knew he would need to deal with Paris differently than other crew members for him to be the most effective. He had an idea of how to get Paris's cooperation, but Tyler wasn't completely sure it would work.

Tyler glanced back to Lisa after scanning the bridge and taking in the crew at their stations. "I'm not going to deny that the crew is something else with the skills they bring to the ship," Tyler remarked. Lisa nodded in agreement with Tyler's assessment of the crew. It was clear that he'd not just looked over the ship specs while in his quarters but the crew personnel files as well. Tyler continued, "But we really need to get going. Our quarry has a headstart on us, which puts us at a disadvantage that we need to change. I fear the longer we take to catch up to them, the risker it is that they reach allies we don't want them to." Lisa was on the same page as Tyler regarding the Alliance group they were to chase. They were a threat both for what they had done, what they could do and for reaching their allies. "Then let's contact the port control and get rolling out," Lisa suggested. "A wonderful idea," Tyler replied before he faced forward, "Miss Alloy."

Millais Alloy had been monitoring the chatter going on between ships and the port control center. It wasn't exactly procedure to do so, but it was an unsaid expectation for com-officers to do so. Plus, It was something to do while waiting for the Normandy to be readied so she could tell the port controllers. And from the glance she'd taken, the captain and the vice-captain were talking about things. Then the guy, who Millais assumed was the captain, called out to her, which got her to turn to face him. "Yes, sir," she answered, curious as to what the guy was going to ask.

"If you would contact the port control center and tell them the Normandy is ready to depart," Tyler stated. "And is awaiting conformation we can begin the final launching process." He knew there was a bit of a process for a ship to leave the port at Echowas. For a ship in port, it was held in by docking clamps and the like, along with being linked to various resupply cables. The cables that filled the fuel, water, and other liquids ships used would have to disconnect first. Then the docking clamps and the boarding tunnel would retract before the Normandy could leave the port. That was the external stuff, and the main port airlock would have to be closed and sealed. Anything unsecured would need to be put where it needed to be for cruising speed. As far as Tyler knew, most of the internal stuff was done, and Lisa had said as much. Millais nodded, "Understood, captain," she returned, twisted back to her console, and did as she'd been ordered.

Lisa felt it would be best for this ship to go to "yellow alert" until it was out of the port. The Federation used yellow alert to signal a crew to be at their readiness station. It wasn't for combat status but for personnel to be ready for general situation change as needed. "Have the Normandy go to yellow alert until we are clear of Echowas," Lisa ordered. An alarm sounded throughout the ship, signaling yellow alert had been declared. A good portion of the crew had already been at their stations, but the alarm got those who weren't to head there quickly. Tyler ordered the port airlock to be closed and sealed. Alarms around the airlock began sounding as the entryway closed, sealing the Normandy from any potential outside influences.

Those in Echowas's port control center received the message from the Normandy that it was ready to depart. The higher-ups had already given permission down for the Normandy to depart when it said it was prepared. They were on an important and time-sensitive mission, so they were given priority in several things. The port controllers quickly got down to disconnecting the liquid supply cables from the frigate since that was the first thing to do. The Normandy then confirmed their main dock airlock was sealed and secured to the port control. Thus, the boarding tunnel was retracted back to the pressurized docking area along with the support structure that had been holding the supply cables. Once the Normandy was clear of the boarding tunnel and supply cables, the docking clamps began moving. The clamps released their magnetic seals, followed by opening and letting go of the ship's wings and central structure. Tyler felt the docking clamps detaching from the Normandy, letting the ship float freely on its own. He said for the ship's engines to prime for use since the ship systems were undergoing their final checks. The port control told the Normandy was clear of the dock and could proceed slowly forward toward the port entry. Tyler told Paris to move forward slowly, and the pilot did so. The Normandy sailed forward out of the dock it had been in and turned toward Echowas's port entrance.

Tyler felt a bit of pride that the ship he was put in command of was heading out for its first mission. Never would Tyler have thought he would be on the bridge of a ship that he was in charge of would be heading out on a mission. He was much more used to fieldwork and working in small groups or by himself. So, to be in command of a ship and responsible for its crew was still sinking into his brain. Tyler would do his utmost to ensure the Normandy's performance and crew would be the best they could be. And it wouldn't just be to keep off his boss's bad list she kept, though Tyler wanted to keep off that list. He would ensure the Normandy would do amazing because he wanted the ship to succeed. As the Normandy exited Echowas's port, Lisa ordered the ship's stealth system to be activated.

Tyler thought about the timeframe for the trip to the far side of Lagrange 4 from Echowas. A frown came to his face as he went over the regulations that were "supposed" to be followed with space vessel travel within the Federation. According to regulation, the ship wasn't supposed to go over a certain speed unless there was an emergency. It was also to take a specified route for safety or something along those lines. Tyler followed regulations when he could, and they made sense, which wasn't as often as the higher-ups would like. In fact, Tyler was one of those notorious for skirting regulations while working on assignments. And should Tyler follow regulation as the higher-ups wanted, it would take sixteen hours or so to reach the far side of Lagrange 4. That wasn't acceptable to Tyler, with those they were chasing would have that long to get to the moon and hand over what they stole to the Alliance. Of course, Tyler had seen the picture on Paris's file, but still is different to see someone in person. He had short brown hair and a more oval face with his eyes being blue. He certainly did give off an air of cockiness and one who doesn't always follow the rules. Tyler could work with that when needed and tended to thrive with such given some time. Thus, Tyler looked toward the helm station of the Normandy, "Paris," he called.

Lars Paris had been at the helm, moving the Normandy slowly forward as per the orders from the captain. The assignment to this ship seemed almost like a punishment to him for past performance. Lars knew his attitude wasn't tolerated by a lot of ship officers on the ships he'd been put on. He assumed this ship wouldn't be much different from the previous ones he'd served on. Lars had been told this ship would be a chance for him to improve and maybe get his record wiped of the misconduct reports on him. He'd been quiet and said he would try to the officer he'd been forced to report and listen to. Lars hoped the Normandy would have a captain who would just give simple orders and he follow them so higher-ups would get off his back. But then the captain had called his name specifically, and Lars had turned to face the guy. The captain was young, the kid looked to be just out of his teens, by what Lars could guess. "You need something, sir," Lars replied, working hard not to say "sir" in a tired and bored manner.

Tyler had dug into Lars Paris's records more than most of the crew, mostly due to the notes on her personnel file. The guy had talent, and there was no mistake in that, and some real piloting skill for ships. It had been more the guy had been unlucky with the officers he'd been under and didn't tolerate people like him for their flaws in order to have the use of their amazing talents. Tyler had learned from experience that with some people, you looked past their flaws and tolerated them to see their real talents. He felt that Paris would be another one of those, a "gem in the rough" that needed the right kind of approach to shine. "I know officially," Tyler began, saying "officially" with clear disdain, "regulations would have us take it slowly to reach our destination." Tyler paused, "However, as the vice-captain will be more than willing to tell you, I have a tendency to ignore regulations." Lisa snorted, drawing Tyler's attention for a moment before he corrected himself, "Okay, I spit on them more often than I ignore them." Tyler faced back toward the helm station and Paris, "My point is that once the Normandy gets out of detection range of Echowas, you are to put your foot down and get us to the far edge of Lagrange 4, Paris."

Lars blinked at what he'd just heard, not quite believing he'd heard right. He'd not been around an officer that would blatantly disregard Federation rules and regulations. Sure, he'd heard of the captain Tyler McGregor, there were few in the Federation who hadn't heard the name once, more so after the war came to an end. The kid was supposed to be some kind of war hero or something like that, but the kid was a lot different than Lars had heard. So, Lars didn't say anything to what he'd just been told by the commanding officer of the Normandy. Upon not receiving a reply or even an acknowledgment, Tyler spoke again, "Is there some problem with my order, Paris? Our mission is time sensitive, so we don't have time to waste. Regulations would be a detriment, and those who enforce them won't know about us ignoring them in this. So, are my orders clear, Paris?"

Lars shook his head, clearing it of the shock and genuine surprise that had come to him. This kid was completely different than any officer that he'd been around. And if this weren't an exception for the captain's behavior, then this ship would be the best assignment Lars had received in his service. This kid seemed more realistic than any other officer that Lars had seen, which was a serious improvement. "Yes indeed, cap," Lars stated, "Just thought I heard wrong. Guess I need to clear out my ears more often, cap."

Tyler smiled a bit as he'd just shown to the bridge crew his command style was different than others. Then he looked at Lisa, "Lisa, would you do me a huge favor and take over on the bridge? I would like to talk to the commander of the soldiers on the Normandy. The mission is such that I would like to brief them on some things." Lisa had appreciated that Tyler had made it clear to the bridge crew that he did things differently. Granted, he did it in such a way that could've been done better, but it had gotten the point across. "Sure thing," Lisa replied, "Go ahead, and I'll manage here."

Tyler rose from his chair, "Miss Alloy if you could have the soldier's team lead and second make their way to my quarters, that would be appreciated. I want a word with them upon the upcoming mission. There will be details given in the meeting, so it would be best for them to attend," Tyler iterated. Tyler then exited the bridge and headed to his quarters to wait for the boarding team lead and their second to come. He wanted to give them the rundown of what to expect on the Milos outpost. Tyler felt it only fair that those who would go onto the station understand what would likely be waiting for them. Tyler couldn't count the times he'd wished he had gotten more facts for a mission, he'd lost count some time ago. Half of Tyler's assignments were that way, lacking in facts he'd wished he had before going into what he did. So, he didn't want to send off some under his command into the same kind of mess he was handed half the time. Thus, Tyler would tell them the basics and some of the facts that weren't told to the crew in general.

Once Tyler arrived in his quarters, he brought up the mission brief he'd been given and went over it. Some details would be best not revealed to just anyone, and Tyler knew that. However, there were things that Tyler could tell the boarding team which wouldn't put them in an awkward position. The Alliance group which had attacked the outpost could've and likely had left traps for those who would come to investigate. It had become an expectation from the Alliance that they made things harder for anyone looking into their activities. And Tyler wouldn't send in any without them knowing there could be booby traps ahead of them. Tyler's recent experience with the Alliance had told him their traps had been getting both worse and more cunning than they used to be.

As Tyler had decided what facts to give to the team lead, a knock came at his door. Tyler told those outside to come in but didn't look up straight away. "You wanted to see us, sir," a baritone voice said. Tyler looked up and saw a man that appeared to be in his mid-thirties and of good build for a soldier. The other man with the first was about the same though a tad younger than the first. Tyler gestured to the out couch in the sitting area, "I certainly did," he remarked, "I wanted to talk to you about the upcoming mission."

The two men took the seats offered, both looking at Tyler, wondering a few things. Jack Marks, the Normandy's boarding team commander, was looking at the young man across from him. He'd heard the one assigned to the Normandy as its captain was young but not as young as the kid in front of him was. Marks had read the captain's name and had been curious as he'd heard of McGregor. McGregor was supposed to be some kind of impressive specialist that SOLAS had working for it by the rumors. The kid was also some kind of war hero for what he did in the war, but few specific instances were mentioned. Yet, Marks was willing to give the kid a chance to show whether he could command a crew well or not. Marks faced Tyler, "What did you want to discuss, captain," he asked.

Tyler ordered his thoughts and began, "I would assume you have been informed the assignment we have is to do an investigation of an incident, correct? At least that's what my vice-captain told me she'd been given as facts. I just want to make sure we are on the same page for this mission," Tyler iterated, waiting for an answer from the boarding team commander.

Marks thought for a moment about the question the captain was asking him and his second-in-command. All that had been said was the mission was, as the captain said, an investigation into an incident. There had been little detail on the incident, just mentioning an Alliance group was likely responsible for the issue. Marks hadn't questioned the point though he was a tad concerned with the lack of details. He assumed there was a reason for the higher-ups to keep some facts out of the mission brief. Thus, Marks nodded to the question, "Yes, the mission is said to be an investigation of a recent incident," he returned.

Tyler expected that if Lisa hadn't been given the details he'd gotten, no one else had been given them. The issue Tyler had was that there would be complications if they were dealing with the Alliance's Phantom Pain. And specifically, Tyler was concerned that booby traps would've been left around the Milos outpost the Normandy was to investigate. Phantom Pain's traps were normally dangerous at the very least and lethal the majority of the time. Tyler had seen the "results" of the Alliance's Phantom Pain traps. He wasn't impressed by their work, it sickened and horrified him as they were messy murderers to him. Tyler wouldn't send any into that kind of horror without warning. "While that is right," Tyler started, "there's more to the assignment. So, what I'm about to tell you is not to be made public knowledge, is that clear?"

Marks wouldn't say no to more information, though the question from the captain implied there was more to the assignment than met the eye. If the captain was willing to give more info, Marks would take it and the price that came with it. So, Marks nodded to Tyler to signal him to continue with what he had to give them. "The incident referred to with the assignment you received was done by an Alliance group at the Astrological Research outpost at the edge of Lagrange 4. Evidence suggests the group was after access to the Information Network, but that comes into play later." Tyler paused for a moment, "The brief I got leads me to believe this Alliance group is one I've dealt with the work of. And the more I've thought about it, the more sure I am of this group, which I believe is involved. I bring that up because the said group is more dangerous than other groups OMNI has to work with."

Marks was listening and had been doing so more after captain McGregor talked about the "Alliance group." However, then his second, Chris Jenkins, who had been silent before, spoke up, "And what does this have to do with anything we will be doing, sir," he challenged. Marks glanced at his second-in-command. The man was a friend but had a bit of a mouth on him that he normally kept in check, but it came out sometimes. "Jenkins," Marks began, "Use your ears in this, and don't be so quick to refuse information."

Tyler could understand the man wanting less to complicate a mission, he had been there before. However, he wasn't trying to complicate things, he was giving a warning to keep soldiers alive. So, he shrugged, "I can understand where you're coming from, Jenkins," Tyler commented. "I was doing fieldwork like you before being assigned to the Normandy, and I've had the view you stated. But I'm not trying to complicate things, I'm giving a warning, honestly." Tyler gazed at the two, "The group we're dealing with isn't one to underestimate or make assumptions with if you don't want to lose people." Marks focused on Tyler in the last line as it concerned him with things. "Why do you say that about this Alliance group, captain?"

Tyler sighed at the question as the answer was complicated and messy. The complicated piece he could deal with and manage to deliver sensible answers. The messy component was the part that made dealing with Phantom Pain much more difficult. "Because I've seen the work of this group, and I can tell you we've lost good men and women to them already. So, I would rather not add more to that body count if there is a way to avoid doing so." Tyler paused to take a breath, "The group is called Phantom Pain, and the name is apt for several reasons. They are a serious pain to deal with as they make things messy. They also are irritatingly good at not being caught in the act. Firsthand accounts about them are extremely rare as they tend to kill any potential witnesses. I've only seen the results of the group myself, and those were horrid to say the least. And that's the reason I bring this up, and I don't want you to add to their record. Rules or regulations don't seemingly bind Phantom Pain, so they are capable of anything. And unfortunately, they have an uncanny knack for laying traps that are lethal."

Jenkins swallowed at what the kid was saying since it sounded bad. Sure, there had been a rumor that a group named Phantom Pain was a special Alliance black ops team. But there had been little detail with the gossip and rumor. Marks had also heard of the name but not what the captain had said about the group. It certainly seemed Phantom Pain was a dangerous lot and earned the name they had. And there had been no mention of anything like this in the assignment brief. "Is this fact or conjecture, captain," Marks asked carefully.

Tyler knew he didn't have solid evidence to say the group they were dealing with was indeed the Alliance's Phantom Pain group. It was more a gut feeling, but it was strong, and Tyler had learned not to wave such off as nerves. "It is conjecture since I have no solid evidence of the point. However, I'm convinced from the signs I'm seeing it's the truth, and so I want it to be observed going forward. It may be overcautious to think so, but I would rather be overcautious and take the extra time than go in and be killed by something I wasn't expecting. As the phrase goes, "better safe than sorry," that idea keeps people alive."

There were two other points that Tyler wanted to make clear to the boarding team leaders. The first was what they would find on the station, which would be a crypt by this point. The second was Tyler having to go with them to retrieve the station's black box. Tyler was the only one on the Normandy with security clearance other than Lisa to access the black box. "Two other things I believe you should know, though one you may already have guessed with what I've said thus far." Tyler didn't like to contemplate what was waiting for them, but he felt it should be said. "And that is what you will see on the outpost when we get there, for I would imagine it won't be a pretty sight in any way. Put simply, we are going to be entering what will essentially be a crypt. I don't expect any of the station's inhabitance to be alive after the Alliance raid. The other thing would be I will have to come with the team for the mission we are there to complete."

Jenkins hadn't been listening to the part the captain had been going on about the dead the station would have. But he snapped up at the kid, saying he would "have to" come with the boarding team. It wasn't protocol for a captain to accompany a boarding party unless there was a real exception, and there wasn't in this that Jenkins could think of. "There is no reason for a ship captain to come with a boarding party," Jenkins stated. Marks sighed and shook his head at his second's response. Jenkins was a good soldier, and his performance reflected that, but his mouth did him few favors. "Jenkins, would you not run your mouth," Marks remarked before he turned back to Tyler. "I assume there is a reason you would need to come with the boarding party?"

Tyler figured he would get pushback from the team leads, he expected it. If he were in their position, he would be doing the same thing questioning why a ship officer would need to come on a mission. Officers that weren't used to combat were normally a hindrance to a mission, Tyler knew that as a fact personally. But he wasn't what one might call a "run-of-the-mill" ship officer. Tyler had far more fieldwork experience than ship command working in SOLAS. "I can understand the sediment of having a ship officer with a boarding party is normally a pain," Tyler replied. "Trust me, I've had more than enough experience with that idea to know it is an unwanted chore. However, do either of you have a level five security access?"

Both Marks and Jenkins blinked at the question as it wasn't one that was normally asked. Security access didn't come up for most missions, only for specific tasks that special forces and SOLAS did. There was nothing that either of them could think of on the mission to the outpost that would need security access, let alone as high as Tyler was saying. It was Jenkins that spoke first, "And what would that kind of security access be needed for?" Tyler shrugged, "Retrieving the station's black box requires that access," he replied. "It's standard procedure to require high-level access. It's to ensure neither Alliance nor ZAFT can get to the data the black boxes could contain." Tyler gazed knowingly at the two, "So, if one of you has that level of access, by all means, say so. I would be inclined to let you and the boarding team do the job without me if one of you has the access needed."

"The captain makes a good point, Jenkins," Marks said, "Neither of us have the access. And from what I'm to understand," Marks looked back to Tyler, "The captain isn't the normal kind of ship officer." Tyler nodded, "Rest assured, I will not be taking over command of the boarding party. You two can keep that responsibility as you like. I would just be going as a specialist to extract the station's black box." Jenkins shook his head, "Specialist my rear, you're a ship officer, not a soldier."

Tyler held back the scoff at the idea he wasn't a soldier but an officer. His boss wouldn't let him go, Tyler knew that as a fact. Admiral Raine simply "lent" Tyler to others to help with tasks. He was and would be for the foreseeable future under her direct command and, thus, hers to send where she would. Admiral Raine had made the fact she owned him perfectly clear to Tyler, and he didn't argue with her. Thus, the Normandy assignment was Tyler being lent out to others to help with a problem. "While I may technically," Tyler started using air quotes, "be a ship officer. That is more a formality than a point to my job. My boss doesn't give me to others, she lends me out to others to help with a job."

Marks was curious about the way the captain had put the line of being "lent out" to others. It sounded almost like his boss, whoever they were, owned him or something. It made Marks wonder who the boss being referred to could be. "And who is your boss," he asked, too curious not to say anything. Tyler sighed as he never got along with his boss and like never would as he was scared of the woman and what she would do if he didn't follow her orders. "That would be Admiral Raine," Tyler admitted, "I mentioned I did fieldwork before, and that was in SOLAS. And I'm the "favorite" of the woman, for good and bad." Jenkins chuckled at how the kid seemed scared of Admiral Raine, "Scared of girls, are you, kid?" Tyler shook his head, knowing the fool hadn't a clue what his boss was like. "You haven't a clue what you are talking about," Tyler stated. "Admiral Raine isn't someone you cross without consequences and usually painful ones."

Marks gave Jenkins a stern look, "That's enough, Jenkins," then Marks turned to Tyler, "I've heard stories about Admiral Raine. Most don't show her in a very nice light, but being over SOLAS, I supposed that is to be expected." There was so much Tyler could say in reply to that statement. However, if what Tyler really felt got back to his boss, there would be hell to pay, and he wanted to avoid that possibility. So, Tyler forced a smile, "For the record, Admiral Raine is a good boss," he said the best he could without choking on the words. "She keeps SOLAS working like a well-oiled machine." To start with, "for the record," said to Marks, the statement was being forced and wasn't the whole truth. "And off the record," he asked. Tyler's smile vanished, "Off the record, honestly, she really drives us in SOLAS hard. The woman loves to crack that whip she seems to have, and she can and is, a portion of the time, a cruel taskmaster. But you didn't hear me say anything like that since it's off the record."

Tyler's thoughts returned to the trek onto the Milos station and the dangers that were likely waiting for them. He'd read the Normandy had some Exo-suits on it for the boarding party could use. When Tyler used the suits, he'd been grateful for what they could do to protect him. Sure, they may not stop shrapnel dead, but the impact gel would slow it down from getting to the wearer, Tyler was sure of that. "And I would make a suggestion for you, commander. I would ask you to take it as that rather than an order." Tyler paused, "This ship has exo-suits for the boarding team's use. Try them out and get used to how they feel and work. They would be a good idea to have going to the station with the traps waiting for us."

Marks had heard of the "exo-suits" the captain mentioned. They were supposed to help in harsh situations. They amplified movements and had defenses that helped block projectiles by what was said. Marks hadn't had the chance to try one himself, though he'd been thinking about doing so. "Have you had experience with the suits, Captain," Marks asked. Tyler nodded, "Earlier this year, yes," he returned. "It was during an operation I was on, and I'll tell you, the suits make a difference in combat and with unexpected things. It took some bullets for me and prevented them from getting to my body. They may not stop shrapnel from hitting, but it will slow it down and make it harder for it to get to you and do serious injury." Tyler waved a hand, "But your preparations are your decision, not mine. You're dismissed for doing them as you see fit. You'll have around eight hours to work with, so use it well."

Marks thought about the timeframe, and it didn't make sense. With protocol and regulations, the trip from L6 to the edge of L4 should take around sixteen hours, not eight. "Correct me should I be wrong, sir, but the trip from L6 to L4 should be sixteen hours, not eight," Marks posed. Tyler smirked, "I won't deny that you would be right in the time it's supposed to take." Tyler paused, "But off the record, I may have told the ship's pilot to put their foot down and get us to our destination as quickly as they could without getting caught."

The two men left Tyler's quarters, and he hoped it was to do preparations for the upcoming mission. With the meeting done, Tyler headed back toward the Normandy's bridge. He wanted Lisa to have time off so she could be ready when things got going. Tyler felt he would not be around the bridge when the action started. Thus, he wanted Lisa on the bridge in command for when he would be out doing his thing. So, he would take the current shift until they arrived at the research outpost. He could try and piece together how the Alliance group did what they did to the station to pass the time. Tyler arrived on the bridge and told Lisa he would take over the watch until they reached the outpost. He told Lisa he wanted her ready to take command at the outpost and for what came afterward. Lisa agreed to the switch, as Tyler's point made sense in the long run. They would take up the chase for the Alliance group that was responsible for what happened on the outpost. She was with Tyler that the Alliance group would fight anything the Normandy did when they caught up with them.

Tyler took his seat after Lisa left to rest up for when she would take command of the ship. He looked at the tactical display showing the ship's status and found their speed was higher than regulation would state it should be. That was what Tyler had ordered of Paris since time was of the essence. So, Tyler decided to make a comment, "Keep the foot down if you would, Paris," he said. "The sooner we arrive at the outpost, the better things will be going forward."

Lars had been shocked when the captain had given him the order to put his foot down. It had been the first time any ship officer he'd been around had ever said anything like that to him. Not that he would complain about it if any should be asking. Heck, if the Normandy's captain asked him to do other things, Lars would do it with little to no hesitation. The kid was turning out to be the best ship officer Lars had been under during his military service. And so being told to keep his foot down was something Lars was more than happy to do. "Aye, aye, cap, we'll be at our destination in a little over seven hours."

While the cruising speed of the Normandy was impressive and would get them to their destination in good time, Tyler had thought of more that could be done. Getting to the research station was only the first step, for there was more to do in tracking their quarry. That was the second half of the assignment and the harder part of the mission. So, Tyler turned to gaze at Miss Alloy, who was at her com-station. "Miss Alloy," Tyler began, "Could I ask a favor of you?" Millais turned to the captain, "What did you need, sir," she asked, curious as to what the captain wanted.

Tyler thought for a moment as what he was hoping the woman would do was akin to finding a "needle in a haystack," as the phrase went. The chances of Miss Alloy finding communications going between the target Alliance group and their allies were low. But the slim chance was still worth a shot in Tyler's mind as there was still the possibility of striking gold. Thus, Tyler sighed after a bit, "Honestly, I'm about to ask you to find a needle in a haystack essentially," he admitted. "I was going to have you scan over Alliance comm channels for anything out of the ordinary. You're looking for our quarry we will be chasing. Their communications will be different in a few ways, and their allies will likely pester them with requests for what they got. If we can get the jump on them, it will be far less hazardous for us on the Normandy." Millais nodded, understanding what she was to look for while tapping into the Alliance communication network.

Tyler then twisted to face Feldt, "Miss grace, if you would ask some of the mechanics to be available for the boarding team to use the exo-suits, I would appreciate it." Tyler then focused on the tactical display bringing up the control terminal for it. He changed the image over to a map of the L4 colony cluster. He had the display mark the Milos outpost and major colonies in the cluster. Tyler stared at the map, his brain trying to figure out what route the Phantom Pain group had taken to arrive at the outpost. Just any old route wouldn't work due to the Federation's patrols which went through the colony cluster. And the group wouldn't want to be noticed as they went along, Tyler knew that for a fact.

Tyler had the map displayed to have lines appear, showing the most efficient paths to the outpost. As he stared at the lines, he shook his head as none of the lines made sense for approach paths for the Alliance group. All three paths shown crossed patrol paths which would discourage the quarry from going on them. And there had been no report of any of the cluster's patrols seeing anything recently. Tyler then had the three direct lines vanish before four replaced them. The four lines were far more squiggly and were much longer than the previous three. The four didn't make sense either as the other three, but it was more for the amount of time it would take to travel them. That left a combination of them as the likely approach path for the Alliance group. Their path would have to be a balance of efficiency and detection avoidance. Tyler had the seven lines come onto the map before he floated around the display, imagining the right combination.

As Tyler circled the display, he spotted a place on the map that stood out to him. It was on the edge of the colony cluster and seemed a prime spot to come out and approach the research station. He figured that would be the path's exit point where they would have become visible for the station to see. That was one of the two endpoints of the path which got Tyler to glance to the other side of the colony cluster. If Tyler could find the other endpoint, that could help to narrow down the path used by the Alliance group. The approach path was important as it could show where clues could be to find the rabble.

Tyler wanted to catch this group, the Alliance's Phantom Pain. The group had been slipping out of everything that had their marks on it. That irritated Tyler as it was almost a promotion to do more and worse things. The messes that Tyler had seen, which Phantom Pain was responsible for, had angered him. It had also motivated him to catch the punks and stop them from continuing their path of destruction. This group had evaded the Federation's attempts to capture them multiple times. They were like some of the more stubborn war criminals the Federation had dealt with.

Tyler stopped a short distance from his chair, staring at the map, and the lines seemed to move slightly to him. A path began standing out to him from the seven lines through the colony cluster. Tyler moved to the console for the display and began having parts of the lines disappear from the map. The line which had been standing out was becoming more visible to Tyler as portions of the other lines were going away. The path that was becoming clearer was not straight from one end to the other, but it wasn't squiggly either. It avoided all patrol routes the Federation used and even seemed to plan to be out of detection range of the patrols. The path was quite clever, Tyler had to admit. Ultimately, it was logical and even cunning and achieved the goal very well. The route made sense to Tyler, but from what he could tell, it wouldn't work the same for the return journey. That meant the group may and likely would use a different route to return to the moon and the Alliance's lunar HQ. The puzzle was coming together and showing an image that Tyler didn't like. However, too many pieces were still missing to know what the image was yet.

As the Normandy traveled along, it came across none while closing in on L4's colony cluster. Tyler was studying the data there was on the incident at Milos and some of the others Phantom Pain was responsible for. He wanted to have some sort of way to be as sure as possible that the Normandy was dealing with Phantom Pain. Tyler was also trying to gather information to nail them for the first time potentially. He would love to help if not personally take the Alliance's Phantom Pain. That team of theirs had been "flaunted" as untouchable by those in the Alliance outside of the public eye. Their flaunting was nerve-grating, more so since they hadn't been proven wrong as of yet. The Normandy was entering the colony cluster when Tyler came to the conclusions he could with the available information. The chance of them dealing with the Alliance Phantom Pain was above eighty percent. Tyler was more sure now than he'd been at the beginning of this assignment. Yet, Miss Alloy reported she had found nothing as to what Tyler had been hoping for with her search. It meant that Phantom Pain was ahead of them for the time being. The Normandy would work hard to change that after the outpost investigation.

Instead, Tyler sat back in his chair after changing the tactical display back to the ship's systems. He went to the terminal for the ship's captain and brought up the inventory for the exo-suits. Tyler wanted to see if he might have one for the excursion onto the station as he would prefer one to use. He fully expected there to be traps set by Phantom Pain for those who would come to inspect the station. Tyler would rather have more protection if possible since their quarry would be out to kill them. To Tyler's appreciation, there were sixteen suits, and with the boarding party of fifteen people, Tyler would get a suit for himself. With the traps ahead, it would be worth the exhaustion that would come from using the suit's protection. Granted, the Normandy was still a good hour away from the outpost, but Tyler wanted to be ready.

Frankly, Tyler was impressed and proud of the crew's performance so far. He was so used to working alone or with a small group, not a ship's crew. Each of them had talents Tyler could employ from the files he'd scanned to get tasks done. And the crew seemed to have comprehended that Tyler's "command style" was unlike other ship officers. So, he didn't have to justify why he asked any of them to do something. His boss wouldn't need to hover over him or be on his back about complaints from the crew. Tyler would work to keep things that way for as long as possible.

Tyler came out of his thoughts as he saw something ahead from the forward viewport. Tyler ordered the sensor operator to bring up an image and zoom in so they could see if it was the outpost. The image that Tyler saw wasn't encouraging, as the station wasn't in the best condition. It was overall intact, but there was small debris spread around the structure. The station was made of a ring section connected to a cylindrical part. At the top of the ring were the telescopes the station had used for research. The ring itself was the station's living area where those there would mingle. There was a part that was for hydroponics to keep the oxygen was recycled for the station. Connected to the cylinder's lower half were the docking spars for ships. The outpost wasn't big, but not too small either, so it was easy to miss from the colony cluster.

The ring section of the station looked bad, from what Tyler saw. And things only looked worse when he brought up the sensor view on the tactical display. The living sector of the station had holes in it, creating debris floating around the outpost. All the sensor and comm arrays had been destroyed from the outside. Even if the station's inhabitance had been left alive by Phantom Pain, they likely would've died from breaches in the station's structure. The Alliance hadn't given those on the station a chance to survive the encounter with them. And those on the station had just been trying to help a "ship in trouble." Their goodwill had been taken advantage of and gotten them killed. It was a tragic chain of events that none of them had asked for or deserved.

Lisa came onto the bridge but stopped at the image on the tactical display. The station was in shambles to put it nicely. What Tyler had told her from his briefing had implied those on the station were more than likely dead. Seeing the station as it was only strengthened that assumption. The researchers, the station's crew, and their families had never stood a chance of living through the encounter with the Alliance. They were non-combatants, out a long way from the frontlines that were starting to be seen. It was sad they had all died for so little. The Alliance had murdered them for access to the Information Network. She had to look away, "Damn it," she cursed. "Damn the Alliance and what it has become once again." Tyler turned at hearing the cursing and saw Lisa floating there just inside the bridge's entrance. He agreed with her curses, Tyler would spout worse ones if it would've done anything for the situation. "Agreed, Lisa," Tyler replied. "They really are sinking to new lows, which is a horrible achievement for them."

Lisa motioned for Tyler to head out, "You go," she said tiredly. "I'll take over here and have the Normandy dock with the station. However, you and the boarding team may have to give us some time for docking." Lisa glanced at the tactical display, "It looks like at least one docking spar is gone, and another is badly damaged. If it is operational, the working one will take a bit of time to get linked to."

Tyler knew that Lisa was right about the messy docking facilities, even for a ship the size of the Normandy. Paris would have to prove his piloting skills to get the Normandy where it needed to go. But Lisa could handle the command stuff while Tyler joined up with the boarding party. And it would take some time for Tyler to get an exo-suit on for the trip through the station. He headed down to the room next to the locker room with the equipment to put on an exo-suit. When he got there, he saw mechanics were still there and asked them to let him use the remaining exo-suit. This time the suit was green rather than the blue Tyler had the last time, but it was the same otherwise. Tyler then made his way to the room with the port-side airlock where the boarding team would be.

Marks was having Jenkins go over the final checklist as the Normandy worked on docking with the station. He'd had all members of the team practice with the exo-suits as the captain had suggested. And after trying one himself, Marks understood why Captain McGregor had suggested they do so. The suits had clear advantages, but it was initially awkward until one go used to the suit's responses. There had been some problems at first with some of the soldiers working with the suits, but the practice had helped. Jenkins was just wrapping up the checklist when the door to the rest of the ship slid open. In walked the captain in the last exo-suit with his helmet under his arm. The moment Tyler stepped into the room, the other soldiers began muttering to each other. Marks nodded to Tyler, "Captain," he greeted, "Didn't expect you would be long." Tyler nodded, "Sorry, I had to look at the docking situation for the Normandy first before suiting up and coming down here." Tyler glanced around the group, "I hope all here are ready for what we are about to go into."

One of the soldiers looked to Marks, "Commander, you can't be seriously thinking of having him come with us?"

Marks glared at the one who had spoken, "To get done what we are to do, yes, he is going to accompany the team as a specialist."

"No way," said another, "An officer is only going to get in the way."

Tyler chuckled at the statement since he wasn't a ship officer like any of them had ever met. The bridge crew had already learned that point, and it was time that the boarding party learned it too. "I ain't like any ship officer you've met, I assure you," Tyler remarked. All attention shifted to Tyler, "I did fieldwork before this assignment, and that was normally in the trenches or enemy territory." Tyler paused and focused on the point of the trek over to the outpost, "And the actual goal for this is to retrieve the station's black box and see if we can figure out what happened more specifically."

No more was said as a series of mechanical sounds followed a clunk on the other side of the airlock. Tyler knew that meant Paris had managed to get the Normandy in the position to work with the remaining dock. Tyler was impressed, from what he'd seen, the docks were a mess and may not even work with what the Alliance had done. A moment later, one of the three lights above the airlock lit up, signaling the docking tunnel had linked with its magnetic seals. However, a different light lit up, and a buzzing accompanied it. The words on the light were vacuum saying there was no breathable air in the tunnel. Tyler had expected there to be little to no air on the station with its current condition. "Well, that means the station's life-support systems aren't functioning properly," Tyler commented. Marks knew Tyler was right, so he didn't waste time, "Everyone, helmets on and seal," he ordered.

All in the room put on their helmets and sealed their suits as ordered. Everyone there reviewed their equipment, ensuring their suits were sealed properly. Tyler knew it was the mark of fully understanding what could happen if one's suit seal failed. It was usually done by seeing recordings of the ideas or knowing someone that nearly died because of not checking. SOLAS did it differently and Tyler would never forget the "experience" of what it was like to not have the air you needed to breath. SOLAS agents were put in a room and the oxygen levels were lowered to just below what humans needed. There were others standing by with an oxygen supply when it would be needed. However, the trainees were "treated" to having breathing problems before getting that oxygen. It was similar to the historical "high-altitude" training astronauts and specialized aircraft pilots were given.

The room was sealed before the air was pumped out of it to match the conditions of the docking tunnel. Everyone communicated they were ready to proceed before Jenkins took up the rear and Marks positioned himself at the head of the group. There was an alarm signaling the room was a vacuum. Marks glanced at Tyler and then the control panel to open the airlock. Tyler got the message, moved forward, and pushed the button to open the airlock. The airlock opened, revealing the tunnel ahead, potted with holes in the sides. Marks signaled the group forward, slowly proceeding forward into the tunnel.

The boarding party entered the station's dock lounge at the other end of the docking tunnel. One glance around showed that some of the station's systems were working somewhat, even with the power fluctuations. Sparks and shorts were happening all around, normally localized to damaged areas. Lights were working sporadically all around, and many were flashing on and off. In the light which was going, the boarding team could see the first few bodies of the station's inhabitance. By what Tyler could see, there were even three corpses of medical personnel who had likely been coming to "help" those in "trouble." Tyler could also see the bullet holes from the Alliance mowing down those in the dock lounge. The sight angered Tyler, but he kept his emotions in control since he knew there would be much more scenes like this further in.

Marks decided splitting into two groups would get the work done faster. However, Tyler moved forward as Marks started dividing the soldiers into the two groups. "Commander, forgive me for interrupting, but I would like to say something to all here before we break off and do what we're here to do, if you don't mind." Marks nodded for Tyler to do as he asked, so Tyler continued, "Listen up, everyone. The Alliance group who was here before us likely left traps here for whoever came to investigate. The traps will be meant to kill any nearby, and I am not kidding about that. The Alliance group has no issue killing others, the station's inhabitance proves that point. They are willing to use dead bodies as bait or triggers for said traps. So, don't touch anything you don't have to."

Marks turned to Jenkins, "Jenkins," he started, "Make sure those with you are in pairs. No one explores alone, no exceptions." Marks faced the rest, "I agree with the captain in this, the Alliance group would leave death traps for us. This whole place feels wrong and like one giant trap we're walking into. We are not to be careless and lose people today. Everyone is to stay alert and always keep their heads on the swivel. Is that understood?"

The two groups were formed, one being twelve soldiers and the other being the other four of the boarding party. The larger group moved to the starboard airlock leading to the ring section of the station, while the other moved to the port side airlock. The group of four that Tyler was in would head for the station's control center. The black box would be there, and they needed to retrieve it to examine the data it held. Tyler just hoped the path to the control center would be unobstructed and clear. But he was prepared for crap blocking the way to where they needed to go. He was still worried about the others on the boarding team as they were going to be searching the rest of the station. They would most likely come across the traps left by Phantom Pain and suffer the consequences.

Upon entering the ring section of the station, the boarding team was forced to pause at the scene. Tyler would say that the docking area had been bad, but the living area was worse, with more bodies floating around. There was creaking all around of fatigued metal groaning under the strain of the damaged structure moving. The blinking lighting added to the horrible mood that hung over the station. Tyler would've thought he'd stepped into a twisted nightmare of the darkest kind. He half expected some sort of dark monster to jump out of a room to attack the boarding team. The thing that made Tyler feel even more horrible, he knew this wasn't a nightmare, it was real.

Tyler's group moved forward, moving around the living area to where the tunnel to the control center was. Along the way, Tyler glanced into rooms they passed and saw families who had died together. The scenes were heartwrenching but also made Tyler angry with those who had done this. It became clearer as Tyler moved along that chaos and panic had quickly taken hold of the inhabitance. Tyler wouldn't have blamed those here, seeing others being mowed down would terrify the vast majority of humans. He could see there had been a few who had tried to buy others time by delaying and sacrificing themselves. However, Phantom Pain personnel had pretty much been executing everyone here on top of stealing information. Within a minute of traveling, Tyler could see gender nor age had made any difference to the killers, the young and old had been gunned down all the same. The other point of the scene which Tyler didn't like was the sporadic damage to the station's structure. It made him think it was done as Phantom Pain left the outpost rather than when they were going through the station.

Tyler did see evidence of the group "doing things," as they had been going around killing witnesses. Tyler could see no clear traps or objects from Phantom's actions. That didn't mean he believed there were no lethal traps around the station. Tyler would be shocked if Phantom Pain hadn't set up traps for those who would be investigating their activities there. The group was too cunning and good at causing messes not to do such things. They were also too "meticulous" to leave potential evidence that could be traced back to them. So, Tyler was confident there were traps around the station, and those traps were intended to kill them. Thus, Tyler was actively scanning around, taking in everything and looking for anything that didn't fit the environment.

Tyler's group finally reached the door which would lead to the control center corridor. The door was in taters, clearly ripped open by explosives. Tyler assumed the crew in the control center had been trying to buy time to sever the station's connection to the Information Network. The task couldn't have been easy while those on the station were being mowed down. The crew would've likely had families on the station and had to listen to them die as they worked. He could only feel sorry for the crew for what nightmare they had been forced into before their ends. His group moved into the corridor and found the main door into the control center was also ripped open via explosives.

Once inside the control center, Tyler and his group glanced around the room, taking in the scene. The lighting was much like the rest of the station, flashing on and off at half its normal level. The consoles in the room were mostly undamaged, which was new as little other station equipment was undamaged. However, as Phantom Pain had wanted to gain access to the Information Network, it wasn't that surprising. This room was the place the network could be accessed the easiest. Thus, they wouldn't want to damage the stuff in here if that could be helped. That hadn't saved the lives of the crew who had been in here, though, all seven had been slaughtered as the rest on the station had been. Yet, Tyler imagined the Alliance personnel had spared one or two for a bit to have them authorize access to the network, then killed them.

Tyler moved forward, searching for the console he needed to get to the station's black box. While Tyler was looking, Marks and the other two soldiers were looking around the room in disgust and horror. A minute later, Tyler found the console he was looking for out of the way from the other control consoles. He got to work typing in commands to get to where he needed to be to get the station's black box extracted. Tyler wanted to leave this place as soon as he could. The feeling over this place was sickening and akin to a horrible deadweight dragging his heart down. Plus, Tyler didn't want to find out what traps had been laid for the investigators by Phantom Pain. And the longer the boarding team was on the station, the more likely the traps would be set off.

So, Tyler quickly got to the command he wanted, which asked him for a security code. It was the procedure to keep a station or outpost's black box from falling into the hands of the Alliance or ZAFT. The black boxes had potentially dangerous information that could be used against the Federation. It took a few minutes for his security code to be authenticated and verified, but once it was, there was a clunk behind Tyler. He turned and saw a section of the "floor" raise up and open up. The station's black box was inside the armored and secured compartment that Tyler was here to retrieve. Tyler floated forward, grabbed the data storage device, and twisted it clockwise before lifting it up. The black box disconnected from its locking bolts, and Tyler attached it to his hip belt. Tyler turned to the other three, "We have what we're here for," he stated, "Let's get out of here." Marks agreed and ordered the boarding team to return to the docking lounge.

Tyler's group returned to the ring section of the station and looked around for the rest of the boarding party. Tyler spotted a few heading in the direction of the airlocks to the docking and station systems area. As he counted the soldiers, he quickly noted there were four who hadn't popped up yet. Tyler glanced over to Marks and could see the boarding team commander had seen the same thing Tyler had. For some to not have shown up and only said they acknowledged the order to head back was worrisome. And from what Jenkins had said to Marks, Tyler had heard, the rest of the boarding team had been seeing "odd things." Some of the things Jenkins had described certainly sounded like trap tripwires. Other things said made Tyler more than concerned as it sounded like explosives were in place and were part of the traps.

If explosives had been used as the main piece of the traps Phantom Pain had placed for the investigators, then that wasn't good. The station's structure was compromised enough that more damage could rip the whole station apart. And if Phantom Pain had been smart, they would've set up some sort of cascade trigger. That would have things set to be when one explosive was triggered, the others would be signaled to do the same in waves. He wouldn't be as concerned if Tyler and the Normandy were dealing with regular OMNI forces. But Phantom Pain tended to be smart and take the time to make sure their work couldn't be connected to them. And that was normally done through destroying any evidence and those looking into it when possible. Thus, it was best not to set off any traps here and find out if the setup was as Tyler feared it was. Jenkins was talking to Marks when Tyler came out of his thoughts and faced the two in command of the boarding team. "Do we know where the missing are," Tyler asked seriously.

Marks looked to Tyler, not liking the question and more the implications that came with it. There were still two boarding team members that hadn't reported in and headed back toward the ship. Jenkins had said he'd told them to hurry up and report back so the team could head back to the Normandy. But the two weren't answering their comms which could be do to the power fluctuations and the radio storm that was going on inside the station. "They were looking through the living quarters last we knew," Marks replied. "The static storm going on in the station is making communication difficult."

Tyler had noticed the "static storm" Marks was referring to while traveling toward the control center. Tyler had tried to see what could be causing the static when in the control center but hadn't found anything. He had taken that to mean it was artificially being generated, likely by something left by Phantom Pain. It would interfere with investigators, which was one reason for them to set up such. However, it would also make it harder to warn any of the traps going off in a cascade before it was too late. "Yes, I noticed that," Tyler remarked, "And I feel that is by design." He paused before continuing, "But I would suggest we go get them before something bad happens." Marks wasn't against what the captain was suggesting, for it was sound and logical. Yet it sounded like Tyler was worried about something else. "I would agree, captain," Marks returned, "But why so insistent?"

Tyler gained a deadpanned look, "Because I fear our quarry has not just laid traps for us to be caught up in, they did more than that. I'm extremely sure they rigged their traps to go off in a cascade to catch as many of us as possible. So, the least amount of traps triggered, the better chance we leave this place alive. A specialized team can come and disarm the traps and collect the bodies." Marks and Jenkins's eyes widened at what Tyler suggested the Alliance group had done. Tyler had essentially stated the station was likely a deathtrap for them set to blow up to kill them all. From what Jenkins had mentioned, the two missing team members had stated they were looking into something odd. The chances of the two setting off a trap were becoming higher the longer they were away. So, the three headed back into the habitation area, searching for the missing members of the team.

Five minutes passed before the three came upon the two missing boarding team members. The two were searching a collection of rooms down one of the corridors for the living quarters. Marks called out to the two, who turned and immediately stiffened and saluted to him. Marks told them to leave whatever they were looking at and followed them to the docking area. Tyler was scanning around while Marks was telling the two what to do, searching for evidence of a trap being armored or primed. And his eye was caught by a red glow on the visible wall of the open room behind the team members. Should Phantom Pain be using explosives as suspected, the trigger could just activate a timer for the bomb to go off. And by the change in the glow, said the timer was counting down already. "We need to leave now," Tyler stated.

Marks gazed over at Tyler, saw his face, and said he wasn't joking about leaving. The five moved away from the living quarters, Jenkins glanced at Marks, "What's going on," he asked. Yet, Tyler answered the question, "There was a bomb in one of the living quarters. It's likely hooked to a timer, and it was counting down, meaning the trigger was tripped. If the explosives are linked to cascade, as I suspect, then we must leave as soon as possible."

Things changed as the group of five passed through the airlock to the system and docking area. The station began shaking, accompanied by bangs a distance away from the group. Tyler shouted for them to move quickly back to the docking area before he grabbed the nearest structure and used it to propel himself forward. He knew if Phantom Pain could've set up the cascade of explosives to destroy the station and those on it. The question was if they had taken the time to put in such properly for that to happen. Tyler certainly hoped the Alliance group hadn't taken the time to make the cascade work. From what Tyler had seen, Phantom Pain had been in a rush before they had left. That was the hinge point, rushed as they were, did the personnel of Phantom Pain wire and set up the explosives to cascade.

Tyler's group came into view of the docking tunnel and saw the rest of the boarding party waiting there. Marks waved at them to get through the tunnel as he was zooming forward toward it. Tyler activated his suit's thruster, and others followed suite and breezed into the docking tunnel. Tyler was the last through the tunnel to the Normandy. He punched the emergency button for the airlock to close, and it snapped shut. There was then a jerk as the Normandy pulled away from the station, ripping off some of the docking tunnel as it did so. Tyler was breathing a little harder as things started calming down from the near disaster that had been avoided. The boarding team had come extremely close to being killed by Phantom Pain's trap. It had been much too close for any comfort to be felt by any team member.

After the Normandy stopped shaking from the explosions rocking the outpost, Tyler told Marks to debrief the boarding team. Tyler was angry with Phantom Pain and the "nasty surprise" they had left on the station. He'd expected the traps to be lethal, but that wasn't all they were. The traps disrespected those they had murdered by trying to dispose of the bodies. As he'd told Marks, if the opportunity came up to make Phantom Pain pay for what they did to those on the Milos outpost, Tyler would take it. Those in Phantom Pain weren't humans anymore in Tyler's book since they had given up their humanity to serve those they did. They were on the same level as Blue Cosmos and war criminals. The suits had helped as he had thought they would for the trip to the station. They had saved some of the men that had gone from the traps of the Alliance.

Tyler got out of the exo-suit and changed into the casual uniform before he headed toward the ship's bridge. He was still fuming about what he'd seen on the outpost, as it had been worse than he'd thought it would be. And until the black box's data was decoded, there was no evidence to nail Phantom Pain. It frustrated Tyler that the group did seemingly whatever they wanted without regard for consequences. The scenes on the station had been and were taxing his normal emotional control. Yet, what he'd seen also motivated him to chase the punks down and hold them accountable for their actions. But there wasn't a viable clue to give credible evidence as to where the Alliance group had gone after the outpost. Until there were facts that could suggest a fair direction to look in, the Normandy could do little.

When Tyler came onto the bridge, he saw it was much as he'd left it before going onto the station. Lisa was still taking charge of ship operations, which Tyler appreciated. Lisa had also gotten the Normandy away from the dock before Phantom Pain's traps could cause it damage. Tyler moved to his seat and lowered himself into it with a heavy sigh. The sigh drew Lisa's attention, and she instantly saw that Tyler was unhappy with what had happened at the station. It was clear to her that Tyler was brooding on whatever had occurred around the outpost. The explosions had her nervous, and her ordering the ship away the second the boarding team was back on the ship. "Should I ask what went on over on the outpost," Lisa asked evenly.

Tyler didn't answer immediately as thoughts of what he'd seen were coming to his mind. There was so much that had occurred on the station, so much that had been seen which words would be lost on. But the explosive charges going off shaking the station would have those on the Normandy stressed with how close it had come to damaging the ship. "To be honest, the place was both a crypt and deathtrap," Tyler admitted. "Our quarry left a web of explosives set to go off in a cascade. They were definitely aiming to kill those sent to investigate what they did on the station." Lisa recalled that Tyler had mentioned the group he believed they were dealing with would set traps on the outpost. But that brought up the question of whether the group was the one Tyler thought it was. "And do you believe our quarry is the group you suggested it could be," Lisa inquired.

Tyler hadn't been completely sure when he'd been given the assignment if the "Alliance Group" would be a part of Phantom Pain. However, the facts Tyler had been looking over before reaching the outpost only supported his theory. The scenes on the research station had been a serious shove in the direction of Tyler being right about who the instigators were. The explosive trap clenched the point in Tyler's mind that the Normandy was dealing with some from Phantom Pain. The results seen by the boarding team were a direct match for the disgusting MO they left as a "calling card." Thus, Tyler let out a frustrated sigh, "It is no longer a belief," he admitted, "I'm sure we are dealing with OMNI's Phantom Pain. Too many signs and evidence indicate they are the culprits of what happened on the station to ignore."

It wasn't that Lisa hadn't believed Tyler, she knew better than to doubt him without solid evidence to the contrary. And if there was evidence countering Tyler's claims, he tended to acknowledge that and move forward. That didn't stop her from hoping somehow Tyler could be wrong in his assumptions, even when he usually wasn't. Yet, should the Normandy be facing the Alliance black ops group, that would complicate things going forward. The Normandy was to chase the Alliance group down and handle the data they stole while on the Milos Station. "You know that we will have to track them down," Lisa remarked. "And if this Phantom Pain is as dangerous as you imply, that will be anything but easy."

Tyler knew Lisa was right about tracking down their quarry to wherever they went after Milos. Phantom Pain was notorious for slipping away from the messes they caused and vanishing from any method used to search for them. And the Normandy had a better chance of catching them was higher since they had come upon their most recent mess within less than twenty-four hours. That didn't mean finding the group wouldn't be difficult, as there was little hint as to where they went after attacking the station. But it was necessary as the data they stole, whatever it could be, was dangerous in the hands of the Alliance. Phantom Pain had killed all the inhabitance of a small research station to retrieve the files from the Information Network. The Alliance killing for data tended to show the data was valuable to them. And with the warping views of the Alliance, what they valued was normally bad for everyone else.

Nevertheless, Tyler's irritation at almost being killed by Phantom Pain wouldn't allow Tyler to let them get away with their actions. And Tyler had no doubt the Normandy's quarry was going to strike again soon. The issue was he couldn't predict where and be confident in his guess. Time was of the essence, so just guessing randomly would be detrimental. Tyler's gut said the Milos outpost couldn't be the only reason Phantom Pain came to the L4 area. There were other places they could've gone which had access to the Information Network that was out of the way. And some of those would attract even less notice, which supported there being another reason for Phantom Pain coming to L4. "Lisa, if you had to attack a target, would you go for one that would attract notice or one that would do less," Tyler mused. "It's bothering me that our quarry chose Milos instead of a place that would be simpler." Lisa thought about Tyler's implication, "You're saying there is another reason for them to come to the L4 colony cluster," she posed.

Tyler nodded as the logical piece of L4 wasn't coming to him when it came to Phantom Pain. There were other places for them to get what they wanted from the network, which would've been simpler to strike and leave. They weren't foolish or wasteful for all the horrible things Phantom Pain did. They would've been caught and stopped if they had made foolish mistakes. "They aren't wasteful," Tyler stated. "But I can't for the life of me think of what else they could want or get around the colony cluster."

Feldt had been helping Miss Alloy with the task the captain had given her on scanning over Alliance communications. Yet, she'd heard the conversation between the Normandy's top officers as she'd been working. Millais had been telling her that there was some quiet communication to Alliance lunar HQ from L4. She hadn't been able to pinpoint where it was coming from beyond L4, but it had been on the side nearer to the moon. Feldt recalled that ZAFT had built a PLANT colony on that side of the colony cluster within six months after the Alliance-PLANT War ended. The coded Alliance communication had terms that referred to something to do with ZAFT. The PLANT colony was the only place ZAFT had influence over in the L4 colony cluster. So, when the captain and vice-captain were silent momentarily, Feldt stated her idea. "Excuse me, captain," Feldt said, drawing Tyler and Lisa's attention. "I couldn't help but overhear parts of your discussion, and I think that I might have a possible answer."

Tyler wasn't against suggestions for the question he didn't have an answer for. As far as he knew, Feldt was helping Miss Alloy with the scanning of Alliance communications task he'd given her. Tyler would applaud crew members assisting one another, and it was great for a crew to work together. And Tyler was all for the sharing of ideas among his crew, and he felt it could only help the performance of the Normandy. So, Tyler gestured for Feldt to continue, "Then, by all means, Miss Grace, let's hear your idea. We're more than willing to listen to a suggestion of where I quarry could've gone."

Feldt took a deep breath before she began, "Well, sir, while the Alliance group attacked the Milos outpost and then left. They could pass by PLANT-Type colony "Armory One" on their way back to the moon. It is no secret the colony is used for military development with ZAFT. The Information Network has confirmed some of that is mobile suit development and construction." Feldt paused and brought up the report she'd seen from the Intelligence Agency. "According to the intelligence report, ZAFT has possibly finished their next generation Gundam-type mobile suit series."

Tyler blinked at the information Feldt gave to him and Lisa. Tyler had heard about the PLANT colony that had been built recently in the L4 colony cluster. He hadn't given it much thought as it didn't hold tactical significance for the time being. There had been rumors it was for military development, but he hadn't heard if that was true or not until now. And should the colony be developing Gundams, there were few primer targets for the Alliance than that. However, that would require individuals that could pilot suits they shouldn't have seen or know about. That would be even more difficult as the operating system wouldn't be a Natural-use one since ZAFT developed it. Also, Tyler would be shocked if ZAFT would let anyone by soldiers around Gundams. They would be guarded, making stealing them harder than deceiving a research outpost.

The idea had real merit in Tyler's mind. The Alliance wouldn't resist the temptation new weapons would have, Gundams especially. And with the group that wasn't bound by rules and regulations, it was even more likely. Phantom Pain hadn't seen a thing wrong with deceiving the inhabitants of the research station and then killing them all. Tyler didn't see a logical reason why Phantom Pain would have any issue attacking a PLANT colony. If anything, casualties would be better for those in Phantom Pain as the Alliance wanted "their enemies" controlled or dead. Those leading the Alliance, mostly from the shadows, wanted Natural domination to be the rule of the human race. That hadn't changed since the war, even though efforts had been made to have that happen. Thus, Miss Grace's idea was the most likely for where their quarry had gone from the outpost. Tyler nodded, "Your idea has merit," he remarked. "In fact, I believe it is where our quarry is going."

Tyler faced forward, focusing on the helm station where Lars Paris was at. The man had proven he was above average with getting the Normandy to Milos in half the time regulation stated it should take. There had been some hesitation back at that time for a moment, but Tyler suspected there would be less, if any, of that. "Paris," Tyler began, "You showed me you can drive this ship nicely. You also followed my order rather than quoting regulations which I certainly appreciated. But I'm going to be asking for you to prove just how skilled a pilot you are with what I'm going to ask of you."

Lars turned around at being addressed by the captain. The kid had shown he was practical and got things done efficiently even when regulations were discarded to do that. It had certainly perked up Lars for the helm position for this ship. So, if the captain wanted him to show what he could do, he was up for any challenge. "You have my attention cap," Lars replied. "What did you have in mind to test my skills?"

Lisa glanced at Tyler and was instantly on guard with the expression she saw on him. Tyler had a playful grin on his face, and it was growing. He was about to do something the higher-ups would frown down upon if they were to find out about it. Tyler had a streak of that throughout his service, and she knew that. The stunts were "normally" not dangerous in a life-threatening sort of way, but they usually made you grab onto something. "You know where ZAFT's Armory One is, right" Tyler posed. Paris nodded, "Yeah, sure I do, I can set a course to it, but where is the chance to prove my skills, cap?"

Tyler's grin morphed into a smirk, "Oh, I'm about to add the challenge, Mr. Paris. What would you say the normal travel time is supposed to be from here?" Lars considered for a moment what regulations would state for travel time. As he recalled, it would take around five to six hours to get to the moon-facing side of L4. Then he thought the captain might want to see if Lars could get them there faster. "Around five to six hours, if I remember right." Tyler snorted at the time mentioned, "Really? And were you to put your foot down and keep it floored, how much time do you believe you can cut off of that expectation? That is my challenge, Paris. You get the Normandy to Armory One as quickly as you can, regulations be damned."

Lars considered the challenge as he was itching to see what he could do with it. The Normandy's engine output was better than Enterprise cruisers. And its maneuverability was top-notch, which would help with sharp steering. Considering those two factors, Lars was confident he could get the ship there much quicker than the regulations stated. Not only was he confident he could do it in less time, but less than half of what the regulation said. "I like what you're laying down, cap," Lars returned. "Haven't had a challenge like that for a long time. I know I can cut the time in half in not better than what regulations say. The ride will not be smooth as I'll be putting the ship close to its limits on its flying capabilities."

Tyler liked the answer he'd gotten from Paris. Tyler couldn't help but wonder if his boss had given some recommendations for what kind of crew to assign to the Normandy with Tyler's style in mind. "That was the answer I was hoping for, Paris," Tyler stated. "A bumpy ride is fine as long as you don't rip the ship apart. So, you have permission to put your foot down, Mr. Paris. I'll owe you a drink at the next port of your choosing, regardless of the price, if you can pull off what you say."

Lars laughed at the reply since he hadn't gotten anything like it before. "It's a deal, cap." Lars faced forward and opened an internal ship com-channel, "Everyone buckle up and hang on, this is going to be a bumpy ride for a bit, so enjoy." After saying that, Paris swung the Normandy away from the Milos Outpost and pointed it towards the other side of the L4 colony cluster. Then there was a fair jerk as the Normandy accelerated towards ZAFT's Armory One colony. Lisa looked over at Tyler as the Normandy was speeding up, "What is it with you and the need and love of speed," she questioned. Tyler laughed, "My mother has asked that question several times, and my answer is I like going fast. What else is there that I can say?"

A/n

Okay, I'll leave off here and continue at this point in the next Phase. There is a lot to cover in this phase as it is a long one. As you all read this phase involves Tyler more than other main characters and that will be kind of how things go for a bit. Also, prepare yourselves as the first two phases of the original version will be split into multiple phases. Anyway, let's get down to the highlights of this Phase.

Let me start with the first scene with Tyler reporting to Echowas. So, if I haven't made it clear Tyler fears the wrath of his boss Admiral Raine, or at the very least wary of her, then go back and ready the story again. With that in mind, Tyler has bad expectations of the times when he is forced to face the woman for whatever reasons there are. I know I may have hammered the mood Tyler gets when facing Admiral Raine, but I wanted to make it clear. Moving onto the mission he was assigned and the rank promotion. Tyler's rank promotion is obviously for him to command a ship. And the reason I point that out is because it is humorous Tyler is a ship officer as he has such trouble with those. Plus, Tyler's "young age" doesn't help his rank, more the opposite for those he encounters. Onto the mission that Tyler receives as that is what this Phase covers. So, the mission is much as it was in the original version, go investigate the incident at the research station. I'll go into more detail on that later as that is the latter half of the phase.

Next, the ship Tyler gets assigned to, the Normandy. For you gamers, you I wouldn't doubt recognize the name and the reference for the ship. For those who don't the Normandy is from the Mass Effect game series, specifically the version from Mass Effect 3. Granted, I put my own spin on it, but if you want the general appearance, look up Mass Effect 3's Normandy. Now, I did consider giving Tyler a larger ship or making the Normandy larger, but I wanted to keep it a frigate sized vessel. The reason for that is frigates are faster and more maneuverable than larger ship classes. Of course, I hope you readers don't get the impression that the size of the ship makes it less effective. Tyler is the captain after all, so rest assured, it is a fit for him which you'll see in up coming phases. Let me go over some of the finer details of the Normandy's specs which will be at the end. I did change two things and added a few other things to the ship from what it was in the original version of this story. The missiles and torpedoes are different in how they deploy but still work effectively the same. The "beam shield" more works as the Aurora's deflection system built into its shield which I didn't explain previously. The new pieces are the railguns the ship has on the edge of the wings and the new system. I decided to add the railguns to add an underwater option and they just seemed right to me in the end. The new system, the heat film plate is something I came up with while writing this phase. I considered ablative gel as the Archangel has, but I thought, why not do something new? The Federation develops new stuff from what has already been created, so I claim author's rights on that.

The next scene of Tyler "meeting" the crew he would work with. Some characters you may know the names like Feldt Grace from the Gundam 00 universe and Millais Alloy from the AGE universe. But others like Lars Paris I created based on other characters I like. In Paris's case, he is based on Tom Paris from Star Trek Voyager for those who want to know. The others Tyler's meets are the boarding team which he works with later. The interaction between Tyler and the two boarding team leaders is important to me. It shows the dichotomy between ship officers and those who do field work. Tyler has been on both sides of the spectrum so he can understand the complaints.

Moving onto the mission at the Milos Research Outpost. First, I had the boarding team use the exo-suits I introduced in recent Phases since they are awesome to use and they really do give an advantage if needed. In this instance, Tyler looks a lot like Master Chief from Halo with his suit appearance and coloration. I wanted to set mood for this scene, which I did in a few ways. The approach to the station and its condition was meant to set the first part of the mood. That was that the place had been left in horrible condition compared to what it was supposed to be like. When the boarding team goes onto the station, I wanted it to feel for you readers like you were reading about a dark nightmare. That is the scene mood I was trying to set, going into a place that feels wrong and puts you on a serious edge. If that's what you felt, then I achieved what I was going for. As stated in the previous phase, the Alliance didn't leave any alive from those on the research station.

The mission itself is to "inspect" the station and retrieve its "black box" which the Alliance wouldn't have been able to get to. The escape from the station is a bit hurried, but with the Alliance leaving an explosive cascade trap, not surprising. If any soldier wants to correct me with how it feels to know there is a booby trap around you about to go off, then I'm willing to listen to what you have to say. I try my best to be realistic with how I write things but I have my limitations. But the boarding team does get back to the Normandy. However, if not for Tyler getting them moving quickly after noticing the explosives, then there would be less that would've made it. Of course, Tyler is very unhappy with what goes down on the station, can't see anyone being okay with nearly being killed.

The last scene of the Normandy deciding where to go next has one point I want to highlight. So, I know in canon, Armory One is an obvious target of Phantom Pain. But in my story, Tyler only had heard there was a PLANT type colony built recently around Lagrange 4, nothing more than that. Thus, Miss Grace, an Intelligence agent for the Federation would be aware of the place more than Tyler would be.

To wrap these notes up, I say again, the next few phases will be covering the first two phase of Destiny in the original version. Understand, I'm going to be going into more detail and expanding things from what I did when I originally wrote this story. As always, please some of you take the time to write a review and tell me what you think of the Phase, the story, or just to ask questions of me. I respond as I can to those and it serves as motivation for me to keep writing. My writing "rate" seems to be getting back to what it was before with not writing Phases from scratch. So, I'm going to try and stick to my two week update schedule. The next phase is titled: "The Autumn of Tranquility." The Specs for the Normandy and the specs for the Excel Fighter are below. Peace out until the next phase!

Federation Normandy class

Technical Specs

Classification: Transatmospheric Frigate

Overall Length: 205 m

MS Capacity: 4-5

MS Catapult: 1

Based on: Mass Effect 3's Normandy

General Data

Manufacturer: Federation's Military

Operator: Federation's Military

Machines carried: HFS-100 Excel Fighter, HFS-Z201 Aurora Gundam

Crew Compliment: 100-150

Standard Equipment

Stealth Field System

Like other Federation Military vessels, the Normandy has a network of emitters that project a stealth field to use in hiding from the Alliance and ZAFT as needed during missions. The system is an improved version similar to the Phantom Stealth System but made to work for a Vessel. It can also expand outward a distance to cover another ship close by or transports. The system also combines a system like the "Echo Trace Transmitter" used to blind all sensors which is an improvement from what had been used on previous ship classes.

Heat Film Plate System

A new technology developed from the research of the Alliance's G Project, it deploys a layer similar as Phase shift does on the underside of the ship. It replaces the idea of Ablative Gel that the Archangel uses for Entry Interface. The special plating system would be employed to protect the Normandy from the heat of atmospheric entry. It had a set integrity which was extended by the film's regeneration/replenishing qualities.

Mobile Weapon Launching System

While the Normandy has only one Mobile Weapon Catapult, it is designed to be an example of a next generation option that the Federation ships could use. The catapult is retractable with the magnetic acceleration rails sliding out on either side of the underside of the Normandy. The electron magnetic rails are able to accelerate and repulse to decelerate mobile suits launching out or coming back in. There is an airlock system to transfer mobile weapons from the hangar to the catapult which can fill and drain with water or air depending on the launching situation. The other half of the system is in the hangar which is the rail system that brings mobile weapons to the airlock system and move them to docks. The plate on the rail system is able to pivot and move to the vertical rail to the catapult.

"Castran" X285 Beam Shield system

Since Teswa R&D developed deflection field technology during the later half of the Alliance-PLANT War, improvements and employing of the defensive technology had been taking place with in the Federation's Military. The Normandy is the first ship class to have a deflection shielf generation system built into it for defensive application. The Castra shield system is comparable to the Positron Reflectors that the Alliance developed in the fact it disburses the beams instead of deflecting it in a different direction. It is the other way that Federation R&D took deflection field technology with disbursing rather than deflecting. While it disburses beams of all kinds, it does draw on the ship's power heavily while in use so isn't something to keep up all the time realistically. The Normandy has shield emitters to disburse shots coming for in front, and a separate set to do the same from the rear.

Phased-Array Sensor Detection System

Works much like ZAFT or Alliance sensor detection systems, but can also see through fields or systems like 'mirage colloid'

Standard Armaments

4 x "Spearnous" Beam Cannons

The main beam weapons the Normandy is equipped with which is a single barreled cannon. They are similar to the Archangel's Gottfried cannons and have much the same kind of power though cut in half with not being a duel-barreled. The Normandy has a cannon mounted in the center on top of and under the wings on each side.

2 x "Pummel Type 3" 115 cm Railgun

A railgun is attached at the end of each wing, like the positron and beam cannons are retractable to store them when not in use. It could also operate underwater as proven by the Archangel's modifications adopted by the Federation against underwater MS and submarines.

Multi-Vector Missile System

Missile launchers are built into the wings towards the back of the ship on both sides in banks of six tubes as well as the rear of the ship above the engines in banks of five tubes and there are two banks in each wing. They can be loaded with different types of missiles depending on the situation's need.

"Naudi" Torpedo Banks

Torpedo tubes in banks of five are built into the wings inside of the center of the wings for underwater combat options. They can be loaded with different yield and types of torpedoes depending on the situation's need.

"Thor" Positron Blaster Cannon

The heaviest weapon that the Normandy has, the "Thor" positron blaster cannon is retractable and is mounted in the front of the ship just above the mobile suit catapult. As a second generation positron cannon, "Thor" is able to be used without the side-effects of radioactive pollution on Earth. It also has a better range than the Alliance's or ZAFT's versions for Positron cannons.

11 x "Falcogun" 78mm Multi-Barreled CIWS

The Normandy is armed with an array of 11 "Falcogun" 78mm automatic multi-barrel CIWS guns that are used to intercept incoming missiles or lightly armored Mobile Weapons. The CIWS guns are movable to shoot down targets from several directions, there are two on the forward section, four on each wing and three in the back.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Classification: Mass Production Transformable Mobile Suit

Model number: HFS-E100

Official name: Excel Fighter (based on the RGZ-95 ReZEL)

Overall Height: head height 19.6 meters (Mobile suit mode)

Base Weight: 50.6 metric tons

Powerplant: Advanced Ultracompact Dual Synced Battery

Armor Material: Reinforced Xionium

Crew: Pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso

GENERAL DATA

Manufacturer: Teswa laboratories, Human Federation

Developed From: HFCS-D201 Delta Fighter

First deployment: November 18th 72 C.E.

Operator: Human Federation

Known Pilots: Luke Lascy, Lily Thevally, Hilda Schbelker

Equipment and design features:

Wraith Stealth System

Much like the previous stealth equipment, the "Specter Optical Camouflage Field", this system allows the fighter not to be detected or seen by projecting a field that shows in real time images of what's behind the field, though it is more efficient and the field is smaller. Along with the image projection, heat disbursal is changed so that the heat won't give away position of the fighter. The system drain the power supply even less than before.

Phase Shift Type-Beta

A phase shift armor system that is based on the same principles that "Type-Sigma" uses, however, it is toned down and back so that it is easier to use and doesn't drain power a large degree. Developed by a cooperative effort between Teswa R&D and the Deep Space Survey and Development organization, Type-Beta is a simpler and more basic version of Phase Shift Armor. It works very much the same as Type-Sigma, and distributes the voltage to the needed areas more than the non-needed areas. This makes the drain on the mobile suit's power supply from PS Armor, much less over time.

Fixed armaments:

MKII X80 High-Energy Beam Rifle

The standard ranged armament of many mobile suits is the beam rifle. The beam fired from a beam rifle is effective at penetrating armor that has not been treated with specific counter-measures. The rifle is designed to have the best balance between power output with the beam and power consumption so that using the rifle doesn't quickly drain the suit's battery. Shield

A standard defensive feature the Delta Fighter, it's arm-mounted shield which goes over the left arm in mobile suit mode. Originally a thick piece of extra armor designed to stop physical rounds, shield technology has been forced to adapt to the development of beam weapons by incorporating an anti-beam coating. The Delta Fighter's shield also has the function of serving as the unit's forward section in flight mode. Beside the Beam Sabers/Beam Cannons and it can mount a large variety of weapons.

70mm Vulcan

A standard armament of Federation mobile suits. These head mounted shell firing weapons have a high-rate of fire, but have little power and are generally ineffective against mobile suits; however, the vulcan gun can damage lightly armored areas such as the sensors. These weapons are ideal for shooting down small, fast moving, lightly armored targets such as missiles or small vehicles.

Barrier Shield

The Excel Fighter's shield is a multipurpose weapon and piece of equipment. It can be a defensive armament, but it also stores multi-purpose grenade launchers, beam sabers, a beam cannon and also doubles as the unit's forward section in its flight mode.

Beam Saber

The standard close range armament for most Federation mobile suits. The Execl Fighter is equipped with two beam sabers which are stored in its shield. The beam sabers can be used even when stored, and in Flight mode, function as beam guns.

Beam Cannon

The beam cannon is mounted on the Delta Plus's shield and is more like a plasma cannon.

2-barrel Grenade Launcher

Located on the Excel's shield, they can be loaded with various type of ammunitions