Disclaimer: I hereby declare that I do not in any way own the rights to the anime known as Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, or anything else that falls under the Gundam meta-series itself, this includes story, plot, characters, and mecha. I only own what I have created for the purpose of this story including the story itself, characters, and mecha.

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED: Raising the Black Flag

An Alternative Universe Story, based on Mobile Suit Gundam SEED

Written by,

William R. Woods

Aka "Deathzealot"

Or, "Deathzealotzero"

With some ideas and support from,

Seth M. Klein

Aka "Persistent Dreamer"

Phase Three: Training

The Earth Alliance's GAT-00D Long Dagger Mobile Suit is a limited produced pre-production mobile suit that was built by the G-Project Second Phase at Space Fortress Artemis. It was developed from data taken from the First Phase G-Weapons developed at Heliopolis as well as data taken from the Second Phase Prototype G-Weapon GAT-X101 Rubicon. The Long Dagger is built from the ground up to test out the prototype Natural-Use Operating System developed by the G-Project Second Phase. Therefore while Naturals can pilot the Long Dagger it is with some difficulties due to the prototype nature of the operating system. Even then the Earth Alliance has started to deploy several teams of Long Daggers to the front-lines in an effort to gather combat data to prefect the operating system as well as furthering development of the G-Project…

- Taken from The Mobile Suit: An Historical Overview

-o-o-o-

Rouge Ship Archangel
Resource Asteroid Cluster
Lagrange Three
January 27, CE71

In the large hanger of the Rouge Ship Archangel the figure of Lieutenant Senior Grade Mu La Flagga floated in zero-gee in front of the taller form of the GAT-X105 Strike G-Weapon looking down at the several other figures that where standing on the floor of the hangar. All of these figures wore similar normal suits to the Lieutenant with only one of them different from the others, a blue and white suit, while the others wore orange and while suits that were the basic flight suit of the Earth Alliance.

"Alright folks all of you have volunteered to become pilots and it's up to me to train you lot in piloting in not only mobile suits but other craft including Mistrals, Mobile Armors, and maybe shuttle launches. Now while I have literal no experience in mobile suit piloting myself I shall also be training myself alongside you lot. The only one along us that actually has some experience in mobile suits is Kira, but even then it's not all that much. That said we do have these pair of nifty mobile suit simulators the mechanics managed to cobble together with spare parts we managed to get our hands on, which including the Strike itself, allow three of us to be training in simulation together at the same time. We can also include my own Zero in these simulations if needed but that maybe rare," the man mentioned nodding to the pair of what looked to be enclosed mobile suit cockpits, basically a ball mounted in a sort of shock frame. Before he nodded to the darkened form of the Lieutenant's own Moebius Zero Mobile Armor that was mounted on its own support frame to the right of the Strike. After a moment the Lieutenant turned back to the pilot trainees that remained standing in front of him.

"However when we are out of the simulators, we shall be studying the Strike's flight manual, along with a mobile suit training manual we managed to find onboard the recovered damaged mobile suit a few days ago. All of you will have copies of both of these manuals to go over, and I want you to study them cover-to-cover. Therefore you can expect to be doing equal time in both the simulators and in the converted storage room that is now our classroom," he said continuing on holding up a small data-pad that sported electronic copies of the mentioned manuals. He ignored the groans from a couple of the trainees before looking over his shoulder at the large mobile suit behind him before sighing and turning back to look down at them.

"As for the simulations themselves there are a couple of canned ones we took from the captured mobile suit's computer, but Kira here shall be working on some new ones both using combat data from my fights in the Moebius Zero and a few made from the ground up. However till then he is done we shall be using these canned simulations," the Lieutenant continued on before looking over to another figure that stood nearby to the group of pilots before grinning sinisterly.

"That said folks if we are not in the simulators training, or in the classroom we shall be training our own bodies. Chief Petty Officer Neumann here has volunteered to train you lot in firearm handling, while I personally will lead you in some physical exercises as well as weight training to maintain your physical fitness," he mentioned not even caring about the various groans from the trainees before turning to nod to yet another figure that was floating over to him from somewhere else in the large hangar.

"We shall also be working with Senior Chief Petty Officer Murdoch and his crews to understand the machines we shall be piloting. For that reason your datapads also sport the Repair and Maintenance Manuals for both the Strike and the Long Dagger. We shall be studying these manuals along with the flight manuals during our classroom sessions, but the majority of that time we will be here in the hanger going over every single part of the Strike and the Zero with the hangar crews," the man said nodding to recently arrived Senior Chief Murdoch who nodded down to the trainees. He once again ignored the groans from said trainees before looking down at his own datapad before looking back down at the trainees.

"Alright I do believe that is everything. Any questions?" he asked the group looking at each of them before blinking when the figure of Kira Yamato, in his unique blue and white flight suit, raised a hand.

"Yes what is it Kira?" the Lieutenant asked looking at him.

"Yes Lieutenant I thought we only had the parts to build one of the simulators?" the young G-Weapon pilot and expert computer programmer mentioned with a frown eying the mentioned simulator pods. This made the Lieutenant blink before exchanging looks with Murdoch before shrugging and turning his attention back to the younger pilot.

"Yes that is true Kira but Murdoch and his boys figured that we didn't really need to use the entire torso section of the Long Dagger for our simulator therefore using these extra parts plus what we had on hand we managed to create a second simulator. Granted we could create a couple other simulators like this but then we wouldn't have the spare parts we would need to keep the Strike and the Zero in operation," the Lieutenant explained to Kira who only nodded before making a quick note on his datapad.

"Okay then I will need to redo some parts of the new training simulations but that shall not be a real problem," Kira replied with a nod of his head making the older pilot blink at this before nodding at the younger man before turning his attention to the other trainees.

"Alright since there is no other questions, I believe it is time to get started. First Kira you shall lead Allster and Koenig in Simulation 1C, the rest of you shall go with Chief Neumann to start your firearm training. Meanwhile I shall be controlling the enemy forces in the simulation. That is all folks," the Lieutenant mentioned before watching the group of trainees break up and go their separate ways. Kira lead the figures of Tolle Koenig and Flay Allster to the simulators along with a couple hanger mechanics. The other trainees start to follow behind the floating figure of Chief Neumann as he led them towards the ship's firearm range. Mu only nodded before moving over to a large console that was connected to both the duel-simulator pods, and the Strike. As he did so he could only hope he train these kids right for he didn't think he would be able to watch them get slaughtered. With a sigh the veteran pilot turned his attention to the console as it started to boot up and looked up to see Kira strapping into the cockpit of the Strike while the other two pilot trainees were being strapped into the simulator pods. He watched as one of the hanger mechanics going over the various instruments with Tolle, while Murdoch himself did the same with the slightly younger Flay Allster who was nodding at the older man's instructions.

Mu only nodded at this for the reason why he had chosen these two for the first simulation was due to them actually having some limited piloting experience. Tolle had done a summer with the Heliopolis Support and Maintenance Division and piloted Mistral Work Pods for several weeks. Flay on the other hand had been doing the same but instead of Mistrals she had piloted one of the Divisions paltry Boral Non-Combat Mobile Suits. Therefore next to Kira she was one of the most experienced mobile suit pilots on board however that didn't really mean anything since Kira only had a few hours in the Strike while the Boral was not only a Non-Combat Machine it also sported a complete different cockpit setup. With another sigh Mu watched as the three cockpit hatches closed before nodding and entering a few commands into his command console starting the training simulation.

-o-o-o-

The next day found the group of the trainee pilots in the converted storage room that was their classroom being lectured by one of the former Morgenroete engineers who had some experience in teaching. The man was going over general maintenance of a mobile suit to the group of pilots. While pilots normally didn't need to know this for that was what mechanics were for. This was the policy of the Earth Alliance after all, but others in the Earth Sphere had a different policy basically teaching their pilots about the maintenance and repair of their machines which allows them to fully know what they were piloting. Not to mention what it could take during different maneuvers while in combat which made them better pilots in the long run. The various pilot trainees had been explained this in an earlier session which made some sense to them thanks to many of them being engineering students of some sort or another. Therefore the trainees where paying attention to the lecture while making notes on their personal datapads as the lecture continued on.

"…with that said it is time to move this to the hanger where Chief Murduch shall finish this session with some hands-on training," the man mentioned ending his lecture making more than one of the trainees look pleased that the somewhat boring lecture was over before making their way back towards the hangar where they would get another lecture from the gruff Senior Chief Petty Officer.

-o-o-o-

In the cockpit of the GAT-X105 Strike the figure of Kira Yamato floated behind the pilot's chair where he lead his friend Tolle Koenig sitting in said chair through the different controls of the mobile suit. Outside the opened cockpit the other pilot trainees floated watching the pair while taking their own notes. Watching them all Lieutenant La Flagga could nod at this before slipping into one of the simulators while Kira lead the pilot trainees through the different mobile suit controls allowing him some time to get some simulation time of his own.

-o-o-o-

In the small firearm range of the Archangel several of the pilot trainees where lined up firing on holographic targets at the other side of the range. A few of the group were frowning as they missed their targets while a couple of the others were doing quite well hitting their targets every time. Watching them all was the form of Chief Petty Officer Neumann who was making several notes on a datapad as he eyed the different pilot trainees. He wasn't happy with their performance, especially those falling behind, but they were improving slowly, but surely they will were getting better.

-o-o-o-

Inside one of the simulations the figures of three mobile suits where running across the grassy plains. The Strike leading two Long Daggers through what looked to be a mobile suit-sized obstacle course that was strewn throughout the small glassy plain that made up the simulation. This simulation was mainly to get used to the controls of a mobile suit outside of a combat mindset. Inside the Strike the figure of Lieutenant La Flagga was frowning as he sent the Strike side-stepping around one of the obstacle, a large brick wall, with the two Long Daggers following behind him. He wasn't quite used to the different controls of a mobile suit just yet but he was getting there as he engaged the Strike's thrusters sending the mobile suit flying over a muddy ditch. He spared a glance to the following mobile suits pleased that the two were keeping up with him before turning his attention to the last few obstacles in his way. The kids where getting better every day.

-o-o-o-

In a small deserted town that was the sight of one of the newly designed mobile suit simulations a GAT-00D Long Dagger was sent crashing into one of the buildings as an enemy GINN switched to its MA-M3 heavy sword from its and charging towards the downed mobile suit with its sword raised for an attack. However a green particle beam suddenly cored through the enemy mobile suit destroying it. From behind another building the form of the GAT-X105 Strike appeared with its M701 Beam Rifle raised before holstering the rifle and made its way towards the downed Long Dagger and helped the similar-looking mobile suit up.

"You need to be a bit more careful Tolle for if this was real and not a simulation I would have to explain to Miriallia what happened to you which is the last thing I want to do for she may kill me," the pilot of the Strike, Kira Yamato mentioned with an over the top shudder making the pilot of the Long Dagger, Tolle Koenig, snort with a frown on his face as he brought his mobile suit back onto its feet.

"Har Har…very funny Kira. Miri isn't that bad," Tolle mentioned with a small smile on his face looking over at the monitor showing the face of his best friend which he had become even closer to over the last few days, more so then the last few months since they first met. Kira only raised an eyebrow at Tolle's response before shaking his head and looking around at the various buildings that made up the small town they were fighting in.

"Keep dreaming Tolle. That said I think that was the last of the GINNs," Kira mentioned nodding to the debris from destroyed mobile suit making Tolle nod in agreement before looking around himself at the surrounding buildings before frowning.

"What about that CGUE Kira?" Tolle asked with a frown turning his machine to look towards the direction he had last seen the commander-level mobile suit.

"Flay said she was taking care of it I last heard," Kira mentioned turning the Strike towards the same direction. However Tolle could say anything in reply a large crash sounded as the beat-up form of a ZAFT CGUE crashed through one of the nearby buildings before collapsing in front of the two who had jumped in some shock at the loud crashing. A second Long Dagger then appeared from behind now destroyed building calmly returning one of its anti-armor knifes to its thigh holster as it joined the other two mobile suits.

"Really that was supposed to be a top-of-line ZAFT mobile suit based on the data from the Lieutenant's fights with that bastard Le Creuset," the voice of Flay Allster mentioned with a snort making the two boys look at one another through the communication link before shaking their heads almost as one. The young red-head girl had in the past few days of training had become quite superior over the other pilot trainees with only Kira superior over her. This gave the girl quite a superior attitude over the simulated opponents they fought, and if Kira hadn't be able to win any of their training duels would easily be quite overconfident which would lead to her getting killed in a real fight.

"Alright folks this simulation is now over. Good job," the voice of Lieutenant La Flagga mentioned before the screens of the three trainee pilots went dark as the simulation powered down.

-o-o-o-

Hangar
Rouge Ship Archangel
February 6, CE71

Once again Lieutenant La Flagga was floating in front of the Strike looking over a much smaller group of pilot trainees. Over the past nine days the group had been training hard which saw a few of the trainees drop out of the training program leaving him with six trainees including Kira. It had been tough but these six young men and woman had managed to make it through making him have some pride the group. Not to mention he getting much needed experience in mobile suit piloting which would hopefully allow him to fully pilot a mobile suit on the level of a coordinator. With a shake of his the former mobile armor pilot turned his attention away from his thoughts and looked down at the gathered pilot trainees.

"Alright everyone listen up I have a few announcements to make so pay attention," he ordered quieting the chatting trainees.

"First up we shall be reaching the Debris Belt around tomorrow morning where we shall be finally doing full-on piloting training in the Mistral Pods. Each one of you shall be piloting one of the pods. We shall also be switching out of the Strike to get some further piloting experience in a real mobile suit instead of a simulation. That of course depends on how fast we make it to Hephaestus Station," he mentioned making the pilot trainees start to chat excitedly with one another before a cough from the Lieutenant stopped them once more making the man roll his eyes at them making them all chuckle before turning their attention back to the man.

"That said since we are going to be moving to the next level of training you shall have the rest of the day off. Therefore we shall be doing no training exercises today," he mentioned and was about to continue before the trainees start to cheer lightly along with chattering with one another once more making him sigh and rub his forehead in annoyance. He then patiently wait for a few minutes before the trainees finally started quieted down once more giving him their attention once more.

"What you lot waiting around for get going before I have Murdoch put you to work!" he ordered and wasn't surprised to find the trainees quickly disappearing to the various parts of the ship. That done the Lieutenant chuckled before looking up at the Strike once more with a frown hoping once more that he wouldn't lead these kids to their death. He could only make sure that they have the training they need and hope that they don't meet up with any pilot that were just better than they were. He sighed once more and made his way out of the hanger heading towards the pilot's lounge he had that magazine to finish reading after all. However before he left the hanger he looked back towards the silent figure of the Strike and wondered once again what would be in the future for the Strike he knew would lead the way into a second age of mobile suit design which his trainees would be some of the first pilots. At least he hoped anyways. He once again sighed before turning away and headed towards the pilot's lounge leaving the shadowed form of the Strike behind him.

-o-End-o-

Post Chapter Notes

First I like to apologize for being late with this chapter but with the holidays and my decision to write up this chapter and insert it into my already written chapters from NaNoWriMo. I decided to write this chapter for a couple reason, first I was kind of unhappy with focusing on the officers and wanted a look into what is going on with Kira and friends. Secondly since the next chapter jumped to the arrival at the Debris Belt I wanted a transition chapter that leads to the next chapter and the arrival at the Debris Belt. Then there was my decision to focus a bit on the pilot training for Kira and the other volunteer pilot trainees.

That said this chapter is basically a training montage if you will and shows what is going on with Kira and friends during the days heading for the debris belt. At least the friends that volunteered to become pilots anyways. This chapter had originally was going to be an omake before I decided to make it into a full-on chapter when it started to become quite larger than a normal omake.

However even then I am not all that happy about this chapter for I think I could have done better with it but after adjusting it over the last few days I figured I should just give up and let it be posted. That said if any of the readers have any suggestions on improving this chapter I don't mind taking those suggestions to make this chapter better in the long run.

The next chapter you shall be pleased to hear be posted sometime tomorrow since I have taken a bit longer than normal to come up with this chapter therefore I figured I give you two chapters instead of just one as an apology.

That done I shall see in the next chapter. Ja Ne!