Gundam SEED Destiny
Kira
By: Tellemicus Sundance
Phase 12: The Empty Gun He Left
November 21, 73 CE
Minerva
10:06pm
If there was one thing that Athrun had quickly grown to yearn dearly for, it was perhaps not necessarily a little peace and quiet but for people to stop seeking him out for something or other. And one of the people who dominated a considerable portion of his time here on the Minerva was Lunamaria Hawke. The girl had a good heart that was in the right place, but she could probably talk the ears off a dead man if given a chance.
That being said, she had somehow weaseled her way into watching the data chip that Athrun had received once she learned about it. She had even 'generously' taken the liberty of inviting Shinn and Rey along. Athrun knew that he could've used his authority as a FAITH member to dismiss them, but then he knew that he'd be subjected to endless questions for days afterwards from Lunamaria and possibly Shinn until he finally yielded them the information. Thus he figured that whatever secrets were on the data chip just weren't worth the headaches he was guaranteed to get by restricting them.
So they were gathered in Athrun's room around his laptop as he plugged in the data chip. After carefully searching it with some standard ZAFT virus scanners, which all turned up negative, Athrun finally opened the files that appeared on screen.
A video screen appeared on the monitor and started playing almost instantly. On the screen, they could see that the camera had been positioned on the ceiling of some kind of old fashioned interrogation chamber. But what was quickly made obvious was that the room was likely some kind of underground secret chamber because of the structure of the rooms and the obvious roughness of the walls. Currently there was only one person in the room, sitting in one of the two chairs of the room, closest to the camera and effectively hiding his face and features.
"Well, this is very interesting," Shinn remarked, his voice dripping with snide sarcasm. How did he let himself get talked into this again?
"Be quiet, Shinn!" Lunamaria snapped in a slightly less than friendly tone. "It's starting!"
Indeed it clearly was. The door on the opposite side of the room opened and seven people entered. The one that quickly drew each of the ZAFT pilots' attentions was the blond young man who appeared to be the prisoner. He was handcuffed and blindfolded. But to Athrun's watchful eye, despite the somewhat bleak situation he was in, it didn't seem as though he was overly concerned. There was nothing that gave away any fear or uncertainty, just mild annoyance that was visible in the small frown that was etched upon his face.
"Who the hell is that?" Shinn demanded, clearly very bored. "And why should I care?"
"Will you shut up already?!" Luna snapped, sounding extremely annoyed, a sentiment that everyone else silently agreed with.
"So you're the young man I've been hearing so much about…Akira Iyadomi," the interrogator said.
That one name was enough to silence Shinn's retort and draw all four pilots' attentions in an instant. Now that the blindfold had been removed and Athrun knew the person's identity, he focused his entire mind to memorizing 'Akira's facial features. Unable to prevent himself, he had begun comparing Akira's features to what he remembered of Kira's; the results were shocking and pleasing at the same time. If he took Kira's face from two years ago, overlaid it with this image, the resulting face would've been a near-perfect match as long as he factored in the time and growth difference. And despite the blond hair, Athrun was able to spot the small line of brown roots from where his hair had grown out. Athrun couldn't help but pat himself on the back for never losing faith that the pilot of the Neo Freedom was indeed his long-lost best friend. Shinn and Rey studied the young man's face with only professional interest, merely labeling the face in front of them with the name of the elusive Neo Freedom's pilot.
"He's cute," Lunamaria said causally, earning a trio of stares from her companions. "What?"
"Where is your Gundam, boy?" The man's demanding voice said suddenly, returning their attentions to the monitor.
"A Gundam?" Akira asked with a raised eyebrow. "What makes you think I even have one of those?" To this, all the gathered ZAFT pilots let out quiet snorts, clearly not believing the façade. Apparently none of the men on the video did either.
"Kira never was very good at bluffing," Athrun muttered too quietly for the others to hear as the duo on the screen got into a small argument. It was nice to know that at least some things didn't change about his friend. It was at this time that the conversation between them became extremely more interesting, as well as enlightening as to why that man had given this to Athrun in the first place.
The locals wanted to enlist Kira's aid to destroy the Lohengrin either before ZAFT and the Minerva even arrived, or to act as reinforcements should the battle go awry. It was actually a very good plan, especially if the Neo Freedom had joined the battle. The number of ZAFT causalities would've decreased significantly; even Shinn had to reluctantly agree with the locals on that point (but only to himself, since his pride forbade voicing those thoughts).
However, Akira was firmly against the idea of even offering aid to ZAFT when they attacked. His questions to the guards who spoke out made it clear that he held no more loyalty to the PLANTs than the Alliance. In fact Akira seemed convinced of the idea of ZAFT and Chairman Durandal merely using the war as a discreet means of conquering the world, though he didn't clarify the reasons for this assumption.
While Shinn and Lunamaria broke out into loud exclamations of anger and disbelief against Akira's accusations, even Rey was wearing a prominent frown at what Akira said, Athrun couldn't help but pause in consideration. Several of Akira's questions sounded remarkably familiar for some reason. Why did he want to believe that Durandal was a good man? Was it because he wanted someone to tell him what to do?
But there was something else that caused Athrun to seriously consider what he'd heard. How did Kira know without a doubt that the Meer Campbell wasn't the real Lacus Clyne? Did that mean that he'd already found Lacus and the others? Why hadn't he'd stayed with them then? Heaven knows that everyone would've been extremely happy and relieved to see him back!
"Just what the hell is this guy's problem?!" Shinn's loud voice demanded, snapping Athrun from his thoughts. The small video was still playing, but it seemed that Kira and the rebel were merely bargaining for some explosives for some reason. "What right does he have to accuse us of trying to conquer Earth when it was Earth Alliance who attacked us?! And why should the Chairman have to use a fake Lacus Clyne?! She's helping the Chairman because she knows that he's right!"
Athrun was honestly torn over telling Shinn the truth about Meer or just letting Durandal's deception with her continue. Knowing how open and friendly Shinn was to certain crewmembers of the Minerva, it wasn't unbelievable to guess that he'd share the information, which would inevitably spread throughout the entire ZAFT military the next time they arrived at a friendly port or base.
"It's not that hard to understand his point of view, Shinn," Rey said with his ever-calm voice. His statement quickly silenced the ranting teenager as they turned to the blond for an explanation. "Though you're right about who started this war, Chairman Durandal did approve of the creation of many new weapons before the robbery at Armory One. There are many people who believe that those who build weapons of war during peace often seek to one day use them for the purpose they'd been built for. To that extent, even though we're only fighting a 'self-defense' war, that is all the motivation that some people like Akira Iyadomi need to take up arms against us."
This answer seemed to be exactly what Shinn was looking for as he turned to glare accusingly at the monitor and Akira, as though the false-blond had directly insulted him.
"That may be true for a lot of people, Rey," Athrun said, glancing at the young man shrewdly. "But you're forgetting that Kira still hasn't made any threatening actions towards ZAFT and the PLANTs themselves. All he's done to this point is weaken the Alliance's power in Eurasia and help free several cities from EA occupation."
"Kira?" Luna asked, eying her combat commander questioningly. "As in your friend, Kira?"
"He's dyed his hair and is wearing contacts, but that's definitely Kira Yamato," Athrun clarified, a small smile pulling at his face.
"But why is helping us if he thinks ZAFT is also a bad guy?" Lunamaria asked, confusion all over her face.
"Maybe he thinks that for the moment we're in the right," Athrun ventured, staring at his lost friend. "But once he decides that we're becoming the threat to the people, he'll change targets."
"And when he does, I'm going to kill him," Shinn growled with murderous intent.
"Shinn!" Athrun snapped. "Just because he might start shooting at us doesn't make him an enemy!"
"Just because he's your friend doesn't make him mine!" Shinn snapped back, matching Athrun's glare perfectly.
"How can he not be an enemy if he's trying to kill us?" Luna asked, both confused and hoping to break the rapidly escalating tension.
"Kira never ever tries to kill," Athrun replied immediately. Then, after a short consideration, he added, "At least he never used to…and not without a good reason. And he hates fighting, so he does his best to stop it as quickly as possible."
Standing up and walking towards the door, Shinn only stopped to say, "Sounds like your friend is a real idiot then." He had left before Athrun could properly form a reprimand.
'And here I thought he'd finally started to grow up,' Athrun couldn't help but think darkly. Why did Shinn always seem so determined to only think in absolutes like that?
KIRA – Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny - KIRA
November 22, 73 CE
Aprillis City, PLANTs
12:10pm
There were very few things that Chairman Durandal could be caught off guard with anymore these days. His cunning plan of slowly destroying the Alliance's military and gaining the support of the people of the PLANTs and Earth alike seemed to be working like a charm. There were very few people who seemed to think that he had something else hidden up his sleeve for when the time was right.
Chief among those people who actually concerned him were those aboard the Archangel, which had completely disappeared after its brief return off the coast of Orb. With how righteous the crew of the Archangel had been in the previous war, Gilbert had little doubt that they were biding their time until they felt that they had to reappear. Hopefully by the time that they did so, it would either be to help Durandal's cause or at such a time that his elite soldiers had grown strong enough to destroy the legendary warship. But as dangerous as that one ship could be to his plans, he was finding out that he had utterly underestimated the pilot of the Neo Freedom.
When he had returned to the PLANTs after the Junius 7 incident, which had initiated his plans at long last, he had attempted to cover-up the Neo Freedom's involvement and limit the knowledge to those who had been present. That by itself was an extremely difficult task, especially when that mysterious Earth Alliance task force had no doubt taken pictures of the Gundam along with the others they'd had. Durandal had first done this as a ploy to gain the pilot's trust should the submarines he dispatched to the crash site recover either the pilot or the Gundam. The pilot clearly didn't want his true identity known, so by trying to limit the spread of rumors, he could gain at least a measure of gratitude from the person. However, neither the suit nor pilot was ever found. The mystery of the pilot and his machine's survival and locations had plagued Durandal for several weeks.
Then his spies in the upper echelons of the Alliance heard rumors about some new top-secret Gundam that they were planning to mass produce once some 'technical complications' had been overcome. Then only a few short days afterwards, the Neo Freedom appeared, seemingly reincarnated from the flames. Some of Durandal's men in Orb had managed to acquire a small surveillance video of the Neo Freedom's escape from Morgenroete. Whoever the pilot of the machine was, he or she sure knew how to put on a good show. But what really concerned Durandal was that the same time that the Freedom had returned, his Lacus assassination team had all perished. The chances were too great for Durandal to ignore the obvious: somehow the Neo Freedom had managed to intervene, though if Miss Clyne had survived was still unknown.
If his guess was right, the pilot of the Freedom had come into contact with at least some of the Archangel's crew. That would explain for the short time difference between the loss of his assassin team and the revolution of Bhutan at the hands of the Neo Freedom. At the time, Gilbert hadn't been able to understand why the Neo Freedom and its pilot hadn't gone with the Archangel when it reappeared or if it was somehow working with the Archangel to settle disputes throughout Eurasia.
Since Gilbert liked to be able to accurately predict his opponents' moves five steps before they did, he had always made it a habit to keep up-to-date with the latest turmoil on Earth. At the moment, many of the oppressed countries of the Earth saw ZAFT as the good guys because they only fought defensively, continually forcing the Alliance into the role of the aggressors. In Gilbert's original scheme, this defensive strategy would've caused the people of Earth to start seeing the Atlantic Federation as nothing more than beasts and thugs. Then ZAFT would come swooping in and save them from the tyranny of the Blue Cosmos-minded Alliance. And this would lead to them becoming much less resistant to his ultimate plan for what he wanted to accomplish.
However, this plan did not factor in the one wild card that he should've been able to predict. And the Neo Freedom was a truly dangerous wild card at that! Already he could see a slight difference in the way that the people were handling the situation. Due to the Neo Freedom's many attacks on Alliance military outposts and factories, as well as intervening in several battles that ZAFT would and could not between poorly-equipped rebels and the ruthless Alliance soldiers, the people of Eurasia were beginning to see the Gundam as a beacon of freedom and revolution. Wherever the Gundam had appeared, the tides of battle turned and usually many peoples' lives were saved, on both sides of the conflict.
Surprisingly enough, the Earth Alliance wasn't taking the Neo Freedom seriously enough as a threat to their overall operations. Gilbert had a strong hunch that their leadership was much more focused on the completion of those prototype Neo Freedom Gundams that they were likely building, if he had to guess. It would take a truly direct and savage attack by the Neo Freedom to warrant any significant degree of attention by the Alliance at this point.
The Neo Freedom was taking the role of liberator and protector much earlier in the war than ZAFT could, especially if they continued playing by the rules that they'd already set into place for themselves. And as much as he wanted to do otherwise, Gilbert knew that he couldn't change his plans. If he did, then he would utterly ruin the image that he was trying to build for the public as a man who sticks to his words and never breaks a promise. So he would continue to do stay the course until the Freedom or some other factor made a critical mistake and allowed him to change his plans adequately. But he was certain that it would happen, sooner or later. He just had to be patient. Hopefully the little concert trip he was planning to make in the next few days would help to raise public opinion of Durandal and ZAFT.
However, until that time came, there were still several projects that he could get started that would greatly aid his plans in the future. In his hands, Gilbert held a copy of the coded message that his ZAFT intelligence had detected from the Minerva only a few short days ago.
It was a message from Rey with some very intriguing information about that marvelous new Gundam that Orb had built. Though the information that Rey had overheard was spotty and far from complete, the concrete facts of it were truly fascinating. A Voiture Lumiere light propulsion system that emitted Mirage Colloid particles as a side-effect when activated and could be used to create afterimages during high-speed movements? Gilbert couldn't help but feel his respect for the engineers of Orb go up several notches. Truly, only a real genius could've built such a unique system into a mobile suit and have it work to such a successful degree!
Setting aside the short message, he quickly typed up a message to the Experimental Weaponry Research Division. There was no way he could allow this new branch of mobile suit technology go uncontested by the military forces of Earth. He had little doubt that one day Orb's special Gundam was going to enter into battle against his forces. And given Lieutenant Koenig's blatant displays of disobedience, there was no way even Gilbert could accurately predict the outcome of such a battle with ZAFT's current mobile suits available. He'd be pinning all his hopes on one new suit…
On second thought, why not have two new Gundams be built to counter Orb's Gundam and the Neo Freedom?
KIRA – Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny - KIRA
November 23, 73 CE
Black Sea coast, Diocuia, Turkey
12:10pm
The paradise city of Diocuia hadn't always been known by that name. In the years prior to the Cosmic Era, the city had been named Samsun. But due to the fact that it was a lively port on the coast of the Black Sea, the city had been subjected to a series of brutal wars and acts of terrorism in the last years of the Anno Domini Gregorian calendar. When the city of Diocuia had been constructed, it was over the ruins of the old Samsun city.
With its recent revolution from Earth Alliance domination, Diocuia was in a state of perpetual festivities and late-night partying. Even the recent unseasonably warm weather for the region did much to influence the celebratory mood the residents were in. And the festive mood wasn't only restricted to the residents, but also to the ZAFT forces that had quickly converted the existing Alliance base into one of their own. However, the parties and celebrations weren't the reason that he'd decided to come here.
After finally repairing his Gundam, Akira had flown straight to Diocuia. There was something happening here in the next few days that he just couldn't allow to pass him by. Especially not if he wanted to make a real effect on the state of the war! But if he wanted to make his crazy scheme work, he needed to do some serious and extremely precise preparations.
The ZAFT Chairman of the Supreme Council and his Lacus Clyne double were going to be making a series of a visits and concerts throughout the region. Akira couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't drawing enough attention from either of the forces to be taken seriously. He needed to do something to change that. And his current plan was as radical as it was nearly improbable, but the ramifications would most certainly have a devastating effect on the world and the PLANTs. But with the state that the PLANTs were in now, perhaps his plan would help to have them see that they were being used. He wasn't sure why he was coming to believe this so strongly, only that he did.
That was why he now was walking casually through the city, taking in the sights and judging distances between multiple different locations. Many of the buildings did not reach past ten stories, this would provide for easy surveillance of the sky and horizon. The buildings generally were both wide and still quite tall, that would give a talented mobile suit pilot with a beam rifle more than enough cover and concealment to take sniper shots.
And though the harbor was only lightly patrolled, the underwater route was not a choice available. Water was perhaps the biggest flaw in the Mirage Colloid design because it could easily short out the circuits that provided the energy needed to maintain the colloid. Besides, Akira still hadn't gotten around to waterproofing the Neo Freedom.
Spotting a nearby park, he steered his path of travel in that direction and quickly took a seat under a small tree. Near him a group of children were playing a game of soccer, and apparently having quite a bit of competitive fun from the amount of good natured yelling they were doing as the ball bounced about the field.
Withdrawing his trusty laptop from his bag, Akira quickly set up a defensive virus before probing at the new ZAFT network. He had some hopes for being able of penetrating this network a bit easier than the others because it was still being established. If he wanted to do this crazy plan of his, he needed to know the exact schedule for when the Chairman would arrive, estimations how the reaction times of defense forces, predicting the various peoples' next moves, and then set up his timing to be absolutely perfect to accomplish his mission.
KIRA – Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny - KIRA
November 25, 73 CE
4:50pm
Athrun had never been one for superstitions or coincidences. And the first thought that went through his mind when he saw the concert that was taking place near the harbor's perimeter was that something was happening. He didn't like to think that the world revolved around him or anything conceited like that, but honestly what were the chances of Chairman Durandal and Meer being at Diocuia the same time that the Minerva arrived in port? Simply put, they were too great for this to have been a chance encounter. Durandal must've wanted to talk to him or someone else aboard the Minerva to have timed his arrival here so perfectly.
With that thought in mind, Athrun felt little inclination to attend Meer's concert. Perhaps he was being a little narrow-minded, but it felt kinda like Meer was corrupting the purity that Lacus had spent so much time imbuing her songs with. And for once, he was actually grateful to have Lunamaria and her little sister subtly and not-so-subtly trying to acquire his attention.
In short order, though, he, Shinn, Luna, and Rey had been summoned to an extravagant hotel which would be hosting the Chairman's temporary stay. The four pilots were gathered out on a balcony and after introductions were made, they now sat at a table long enough for them, the Chairman, and Captain Gladys. Even though Athrun was trying to keep himself focused and ready for what Durandal would want to say, he had been able to notice something that surprised him slightly. Rey, the unflappable Rey Za Burrel, had an expression of anxiety on his face, his gaze almost unconsciously drifting towards the city and horizon.
After Durandal had informed Shinn of the likelihood of his receiving a decoration for his heroic efforts at Lohengrin Gate, as well as the battle outside Orb, the Chairman finally ended the small talk. It was slightly surprising to Athrun to hear that despite the Earth Alliance's increased military strength and technologies, there had been no major battles taking place up in space. In fact, it seemed that ZAFT was having more troubles with recent pirate uprisings than duking it out with the Alliance.
"As far as the Earth is concerned, I'm in the dark here as well," Durandal continued, his expression impeccably impassive. "There are just so many variables that have an active role in what's taking place. Like here, other regions wish to fight the Alliance, yet only a few of them have attempted to contact us to request aid in doing so. It seems that a certain individual who has recently appeared is going about and helping those who need it. This is giving the people a sense of hope. Which leads me to question: what are we doing here?"
All those present knew exactly who the Durandal was referencing, but they made no comment on it. Instead, Captain Gladys said, "Has there been any progress towards negotiating a ceasefire?"
"No," Durandal denied, resignation thick in his voice. "The Alliance is unwilling to compromise on anything. We don't wish for this war to continue, but with things as they are now…" As Durandal's gaze flickered between the gathered pilots in front of him, he suddenly seemed to realize just what he was saying because he quickly said, "Perhaps this isn't the subject I should be discussing with such fine soldiers like yourselves. But ending the war and choosing a path that doesn't involve war is much harder than choosing to go to war."
"Yes, but—" Shinn stuttered to a halt immediately when he realized that he'd acquired all of their attentions. "Sorry, sir."
"No, go ahead," the man said in a soothing voice. "I value all comments from people who fight on the frontlines. I invited you all here to hear your various opinions. Go ahead, speak freely, Shinn."
"I agree that we should avoid fighting at all costs," the young ace said tentatively. "But if the enemy's threatening us, then we have no other choice. If we don't fight when there's an obvious need, then we won't be able to protect anyone, not even ourselves. Innocent people, who just want to have normal lives, should be protected."
"But there's a problem with that," Athrun said quietly, his gaze slightly unfocused as he remembered a specific memory. "A friend asked me a question once: if a person kills for vengeance, and is killed for being a killer, then how will we ever find peace? When I was first asked that, I was unable to come up with an answer…and I still am. Which is one of the reasons why I'm back here on the battlefield."
"Yes, that's the essentially problem," Durandal agreed as he stood up to walk over by the balcony overlooking the city and a nearby orange GOUF Ignited. "Why do we keep fighting if there's no end in sight? Why don't wars ever go away? People have asked those questions throughout history. And I have no doubt that the ones truly responsible for this war, the ones who will make the most profit out of the business we know as 'war,' is Logos."
"Logos?" the pilots repeated to themselves. They'd never heard of any organization or business with that name before. But then, Durandal was the Supreme Chairman of the PLANTs, so it really didn't surprise them that he knew of something that they didn't.
"Yes," Durandal said, nodding slightly in affirmation. "Logos, true merchants of death who turn massacres and battlefields into a means of profit, and the original creators of the ideal known as Blue Cosmos. If possible, I wish to end this cycle that they'd created…if possible."
"Chairman," Rey said, speaking for the first time since any of the other three pilots had arrived. "Recently, we have come across some new information about that 'certain individual' who you had spoken about earlier."
"Oh?" A flicker of surprise flashed over Gilbert's face as he turned to face them. Under his calm, questioning gaze, Shinn and Luna couldn't help but squirm slightly, as though they were mere children who'd just got their hands caught in the cookie jar by their most beloved uncle. And though Rey didn't so much as flinch, Athrun's gaze had turned into a slight glare at the blond who brought up the subject. Even Talia looked away slightly as she daintily sipped her tea in an effort to avoid drawing more attention to herself. "What kind of information?"
"It's not really something I think we should discuss here, sir," Athrun said, his voice under complete control. "Chances seem pretty good that we'll end up getting into an argument over something."
Now Durandal was really curious. Walking forward, he reclaimed his earlier seat and settled into a contemplative state. "Please, tell me. We have so little data as it is. Any new information in regards this person would be very valuable at this point."
"Commander Zala was given a video on a conversation between Akira Iyadomi and a local rebel when we destroyed the Lohengrin Gate," Shinn said immediately, pointedly ignoring Athrun's gaze. "Iyadomi thinks we're trying to conquer the world by using the war as an excuse."
"Is that so?" Durandal's voice and expression were a perfect blank, not hinting in the least bit towards his own opinion on the matter.
"Kira is only doing what he believes is right," Athrun said levelly as he took a sip of his own tea. "And until he's given a just reason to believe otherwise, he will not change his mind on what he thinks he needs to do… He's always been like that."
"Kira?" Durandal asked, his gaze questioning as he peered at the FAITH agent.
"Kira Yamato."
For just an instant, surprise flickered in Durandal's eyes but he quickly suppressed it. "How do you know for certain that it's him, Athrun?"
"He's been my friend for years," Athrun said simply. "I'd recognize him anywhere."
"I see," turning to gaze at the other pilots, Durandal spotted the hefty frown on Shinn's face. "Is something the matter, Shinn?"
Looking surprised for a second, Shinn quickly shook his head. "No, sir, it's just a little disagreement between Commander Zala and me about his friend. Completely irrelevant, sir."
Smiling slightly in amusement, Durandal said, "Tell me, I'm rather interested."
"It's a question of beliefs and loyalty, Chairman," Athrun said evenly. "Though he never said it, Kira implies that he's as much of an enemy of ZAFT as he is the Earth Alliance. However, I know for a fact that all of the battles that he's been involved in so far have resulted in far fewer causalities than what might've occurred. He's fighting to save lives by ending all battles as quickly as he can."
"I see," That was more or less what Durandal had believed himself. "And what does this argument entail?"
"That if Kira were to suddenly attack ZAFT," Shinn said with iron in his voice. "I'd kill him."
"Just because he might attack us doesn't make him an immediate enemy, Shinn," Athrun said, repeating the same phrase he had said several times before.
Turning a strong glare on his superior officer, Shinn said, "If he's shooting at me, I'm going to damn well shoot back, Commander. It's simple self-defense."
Pausing slightly to stare at the younger ace with an almost pitying air, Athrun asked, "So you'll shoot anyone down if they're attacking you?"
"That's what I just said!"
"Alright," Athrun nodded slightly, accepting Shinn's firm stance. "Then if we were on the battlefield and Luna started attacking you, you'd kill her too, right?"
"What?!" Shinn's question was the only noise that disturbed the sudden eerie silence that consumed the area. Everyone was staring at Athrun as they waited for an explanation or clarification to his statement. However, the FAITH agent's eyes were focused solely upon his subordinate.
"By your own words, you'd kill Luna without a second thought as to why she'd attack you," Athrun said evenly, earning a fierce glare from Shinn as he turned his words back on him. "Therefore, because you'd killed her without even attempting to understand the reasons why, you'd have never known that she had been tricked into believing that you had become a danger to everyone on the Minerva. That she was merely following orders…MY orders. You'd have killed her and not ever have known that it was really me who you should've been aiming at."
"Why are you saying this?" Shinn demanded, stealing Luna's question before she could voice it.
"This is not a world of absolutes, Shinn," Athrun said. "Though you have every right to defend yourself against an attacker, the fact that you'd never consider the person's motivations could put you into a potentially dangerous situation and you'd never realize it until it was too late."
Turning his gaze back to the table in front of him, Athrun finished his statement by saying, "By living in a world of absolutes, you could easily kill or ruin a person who might've easily become a close friend or ally. Someone who might've been able to help you out of that dangerous situation before it escalated too far."
Seeing the contemplative state the gathered pilots had fallen into, Durandal spoke up, "Yes, that is one of the many delicacies and complications of politics in the modern world. But unfortunately, in this current time, I'm afraid that only ones who we can truly know are on our side in this conflict are the ones who've already committed themselves to fighting with us."
Before anything else could be said, a loud commotion from behind the panel doors that led to the interior. A moment later they burst open with a gray-haired man in glasses and expensive-looking but badly-ruffled suit stumbling into view. "Mr. Chairman! We've got a problem!"
KIRA – Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny - KIRA
4:40pm (Ten minutes earlier)
If there was one thing that Meer had been looking forward to for the past few weeks, it was the chance to get to see Athrun again. Chairman Durandal had informed her that this first concert would be in the city that the Minerva would be arriving in shortly, so there would be a very good chance of the young Zala being there when she started singing. It honestly felt so much longer than it really was since they'd parted ways back on the PLANTs.
Though she hadn't seen him at her concert, which would've been difficult because of the sheer size of the crowd, she had been able to see the massive warship pull into the harbor halfway through it. Once she'd gone through all the steps of signing some autographs, taking a few dozen pictures with some random soldiers and civilians, and trying to raise the overall morale of the people, she'd quickly taken a fast shower and changed into a fresh set of clothes. Now she was finally ready to go see him.
For the umpteenth time in less than a few minutes, Meer had to resist the urge to ask the driver to go a little faster. She understood the need for safety and to maintain the image of being an ever-calm and patient idol, but she was just so excited! Her stomach was quite literally twisting itself into knots and she was practically trembling from the amount of restraint it was taking for her to suppress her still very high levels of adrenaline after that concert.
"Relax, Miss Clyne," Mr. Sahashi said quietly from where he sat across from her in the limo. "I'm sure that Commander Zala will be pleased to see you."
"I hope so," she said energetically, gazing restlessly out the window. "It's been so long since—"
Meer never got to finish that sentence as all of a sudden the limo gave a sudden and violent jerk, causing all four people inside it to yelp in fear and confusion. If her seatbelt had not been buckled, Meer would've been thrown clear through the front windshield and out into the street, mostly likely being severely injured (if not outright killed) in the process.
Before anyone could react, the top of the limo was suddenly torn off as though it were little more than tinfoil. What the three passengers and driver saw through the opening was not what they'd have ever expected. It was some kind of large white and black mobile suit, its yellow eyes glowing ominously as it reached a massive hand into the exposed limo. With an almost dainty grace that belied its massive bulk, the mobile suit's fingers gently grabbed Meer and hoisted her out of the wrecked vehicle.
Only now finally overcoming her surprise, Meer gave into her fear and futilely tried to scramble out of the machine's neo-titanium grip. Except for letting out loud shrieks of fear, Meer could do nothing as the suit lifted her ever higher from the ground and towards its upper chest. When she was little more than a short jumping distance away, a panel slid aside. Rising up from its depths, a dark-clothed blond-haired individual emerged. Meer could only stare in fright as the person, a young man if she had to guess, pulled out a pistol and pointed it at her!
"Do you wanna die?" the creep demanded, his surprisingly soothing voice cutting through the fog of fear that was clouding her mind. Seeing that he'd gotten her attention, he continued, "If you don't want to, I suggest you come here or I won't be able to guarantee your safety when those ZAKUs arrive!"
"Why are you doing this?!" she demanded, momentarily regaining her courage. "Who are you?!"
"Someone fighting for peace," the young man said. Holding the pistol up threateningly, he said, "If you won't climb into the cockpit with me, I'm afraid I'll have to transport you in the hands of the mobile suit. And trust me when I say that it will be a very uncomfortable position! Either way, you're coming with me. Now make up your mind!!"
Flinching at the volume of his voice, Meer chanced a look down towards the street. To her horror, the mobile suit had slowly started rising into the air after it had snatched her of the limo without her noticing. From the height they were now at, it would've been suicide for her or any Coordinator to jump free. Scowling at the man, she slowly edged closer to him as a sudden strong wind blew over them, kicking up her dress threateningly. Taking a deep breath, she took a leap of faith and stumbled into the man's awaiting arms.
Rather than lower them back into the cockpit like she'd thought he would, the young man grabbed a lever and eased it slightly downward, lowering the mobile suit gently back to the ground. By this point, a considerable crowd had formed around the mobile suit and the many people were staring up at it. Some people started running when the Gundam began to descend again, others were too busy taking photos to run, and the remainder just couldn't help but stare up in confusion of what was happening.
As it landed upon the ground, the mobile suit's left foot once again landed upon the limo, utterly smashing its engine to pieces. Meer couldn't help but watch in confusion as the pilot suddenly threw the pistol he'd been threatening her with down towards Mr. Sahashi. Why would he throw away his gun? Just as that thought had registered in her mind, the cockpit suddenly descended into the massive war machine with the hatch closing above them.
"Why are you doing this?" Meer demanded, glaring at the blond who held her securely.
"You better hold on," the blond pilot said, ignoring her question as he gripped both hands upon the controls. "This could be a little rough flying and I don't need you doing anything that could cause both of us to get hurt if we get shot down." Then he pushed the same lever from before and Meer found herself pressed heavily into his lap as the G-forces rapidly escalated.
"Where are we going?" she demanded.
A loud beeping on the panel cutting off any reply she might've received. Glancing at the forward screen, she watched as a pair of green ZAKUs on Guuls came flying towards them, beam rifles out and ready.
"Attention, Neo Freedom! Land immediately!" a rough voice ordered as one of the ZAKU suddenly opened fire. "Land now or we will shoot you down!"
Meer yelped in surprise, fear, and disorientation as she was suddenly thrown about the cockpit as her mobile suit captor dodged the shots. Even though she quickly formed a death grip upon the pilot's chest, the immense G-forces continued to threaten at tearing her apart and bouncing her about the small interior.
"Idiots," her captor muttered darkly as his hands danced across the controls.
The Gundam suddenly lurched forward with a massive boost in speed, once again almost throwing Meer about the interior. Managing to glance out the corner of her eye again, Meer was momentarily able to glimpse her captor's mobile suit slice the arms and head piece off one ZAKU while simultaneously firing its beam rifle into the thruster assembly on the second ZAKU's back.
Quickly holstering both weapons, the pilot's hands raced over a nearby keyboard and typed in a rapid series of commands. The next moment Meer became acutely aware of the fact that the entire cockpit was rotating so that the two of them would remain upright. Glancing at the monitor again, she realized that the mobile suit had just performed some kind of transformation and had gone completely invisible. They were soon flying at high altitudes, Mirage Colloid active and making them completely undetectable from any rescue forces.
KIRA – Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny - KIRA
4:51pm
"Kidnapped?!" Durandal demanded, sounding confused and angry. "How'd this happen?!"
"We were—on our way—here, sir," Mr. Sahashi said, still very red in the face from the marathon sprint he'd just endured. "Car crashed—roof pulled off—it was the—Freedom!"
"The Freedom?!" several other voices repeated with Durandal, surprise in all of them.
Nodding as best he could from his sagging position, Mr. Sahashi continued, "Grabbed Clyne—flew off and—left this behind, sir."
Raising his hand, Meer's director and spokesman held up a pistol that looked like it had been bought from a store only a few days ago. Taking the gun from the man, Durandal moved to examine it, only for the orange-haired FAITH agent who'd been standing off to the side during the entire conversation earlier to move forward and take the weapon.
"If you'll allow me, Chairman," the young man said, carefully handling the object. After receiving a short nod of approval, the man systemically and carefully examined and dismantled the weapon with relative ease.
"Now this is interesting," the man commented after he reassembled it, earning curious gazes from everyone around. Looking back at Mr. Sahashi, the FAITH agent said, "I assume that this is the weapon that he threatened Ms. Clyne with?"
Mr. Sahashi only spared him a curt nod before he returned to catching his breath. Despite the seriousness of the situation, the orange-haired man cracked a small grin and a sardonic chuckle escaped his control. Seeing the questioning and demanding gazes from everyone else, he simple said, "The gun isn't even loaded. He captured Ms. Clyne with an empty weapon."
(Author's Note) Sorry about the long delay, first I had taken my laptop in for a virus scan (which took days) and then I get it back and suddenly I can't log onto .
I hope you all like this chapter. Yes, it is mostly a talkative and little to no action in it, but we do get some interesting views into the beliefs of various individuals. I would how many of you saw that 'Lacus-kidnapping' coming? I'm sure a lot of you were guessing it had something to with Chairman Durandal instead, eh? All credit for that idea goes to animefan29 who recommended it to me during one of our discussions. I wonder how many of you can accurately guess the symbolism of the empty pistol that Akira had left behind for Durandal to figure out...
Rest assured, that a fair portion of what's going to happen next is going to be quite different from canon. No more piggybacking off the shoulders of geniuses for me! ...Not as much at least. ^_^;;