Gundam SEED Destiny
Kira
By: Tellemicus Sundance
Phase 16: The Balkans Conflict
December 15, 73 CE
Minerva, Greece coastline
9:32am
Peeking into the slight darkness of the brig, Luna's frown deepened considerably as she reluctantly walked inside. In all honesty, she really didn't want to be here. For as much as he tended to get on her nerves because his tendency of calling those ridiculous nicknames, she couldn't help but silently admit that she respected the Orb Lieutenant. But the reason that she found herself being very apprehensive around him was because he always seemed to be able to slip through her defenses and found ways to embarrass or harass her in some way. If she didn't know any better, she'd have thought he was doing it on purpose. So, buffering up her defenses so as not to be caught off guard again, she walked into the small brig and headed straight for the solitary prisoner's cell.
Tolle was lounging upon his stiff brig bed, gazing up at his cell's ceiling with a blank stare. Before she could utter a word, the Lieutenant bluntly said, "Fuck off, bastard. I'm not in the mood for more of your harassment."
"Oh really?" Luna snapped, huffing audibly. How dare he?! "Then excuse me for caring!"
As she started to walk away, Tolle painfully sat up as quickly as he could while calling out, "Wait, Miss Red ZAKU! I thought you were the Impulsive Grump! Don't leave yet, please!"
Pausing, she turned a critical eye at him as his climbed to his feet and leaned against his cell bars. Luna made a big show of considering his request before turning back and glaring at him for calling her that name again.
"Thank you, Luna," he said smiling appreciatively. Somehow he was able to convey a deep level of gratitude through his voice as he said that. "To what do I owe this little visit from you?"
"I have some questions for you," Luna said. Because she was watching, she was able to see his left eyebrow twitch as his smile faded slightly. Before he could open his mouth to ask, she quickly added, "I haven't been ordered by the Captain or anyone else. These are questions of my own."
"You can ask," Tolle said neutrally. "But I might not answer."
"Fair enough," Luna acknowledged. "When we were in Medical, you mentioned Miss Lacus like you actually knew her in person."
"Of course I do," he said easily, smiling slightly. "She's a wonderful person, always smiling and extremely caring."
"Then, do you know where she has been for the past two years?" Luna asked, watching his expression and posture critically. "All anyone knows in ZAFT is that she had gotten involved in the previous war after Chairman Zala branded her and her father as traitors and that she disappeared after the fighting came to an end."
"Why are you asking about Miss Lacus?" Tolle asked, his face a perfect blank as he eyed her with just as much scrutiny as she was giving him.
"I… Lately I've been… getting a feeling that something was going on," Luna admitted quietly. "I mean she shows suddenly after two years of absence and helps to calm everyone down after the nuclear attack and she's been working with Chairman Durandal quite closely up until she was kidnapped… I just find that to be a little too… coincidental and convenient, I guess."
"I see…" was all Tolle said in response as his gaze drifted to the side in thought. "…After the war, Miss Lacus decided to live in Orb. I don't know the exact reason why she decided that. I guess she at first wanted to get away from all the politics and bigotry that was happening in the PLANTs. And I guess she felt she'd be…closer to Kira by living in his homeland."
"Kira?"
"Kira Yamato, pilot of the old Freedom," Tolle answered automatically, idly scratching the old burn scars on his neck. "She and Kira had had...some kind of a relationship towards the end of the war."
"B-But isn't she engaged to Athrun?" Luna couldn't help but sputter out. Everyone knew that Lacus and Athrun had been engaged. Luna had always been very jealous of that fact because Athrun was such a hottie! How could an idol like Miss Lacus possibly cheat on Athrun like that?!
"Their engagement was broken off when Athrun's father declared her a traitor," Tolle said, grinning slightly up at her. "Good thing too, I don't think Kira could've stood being 'just friends' with her at that point." But then his grin died as he sat back down on his stiff bed, gazing at the crevice in the floor near the wall. "But then he disappeared at the end of the war. I think she was planning on moving back to PLANTs after she overcame her grief, but then Kawayui-chan came along and she—"
"Kawayui-chan?" Luna asked, feeling very surprised as a sudden thought came to her mind. Did that mean— "Did Miss Lacus—she got—a child?"
"Well, that's the one billion dollar question, isn't it?" Tolle asked with a wide sneer. "She has never told us whether or not little Kawayui is hers or not. She just showed up one day with the girl only a few months after the war. Although, personally, I don't think she is."
"Why?" Luna asked impulsively. But even as she did, a new thought filtered into her mind. It was possible, even likely, but—
"According to what Miss Lacus said, she and Kira weren't 'genetically compatible enough to produce a child' and a few other things," Tolle said, speaking the very thought that was on her mind. He shook his head ruefully before he reached up and tenderly rubbed the bandage on his forehead. "I was lost about three sentences into the explanation."
"I see," she said, thinking hard.
What Tolle said did make sense, and it was very real and sad fact about Coordinators. In order for a pair of Coordinators to reproduce, they had to have their genetics closely measured and calculated in order to match the most compatible pairs together so they could successfully produce the next generation. The Coordinators' partners (if they too were Coordinators) had no say in the matter. However, there were very, very, very rare instances that two non-compatible partners could produce children. But the calculated odds of such a thing happening was generally one in about one million; too rare to really even be worth considering. Ironically, most Coordinators were compatible with Naturals.
"We're getting off track though," Tolle said, breaking into her thoughts. "What was it that you really wanted to know?"
Shaking her head slightly to clear the unnecessary thoughts from it, she looked up and her eyes became irresistibly drawn to his ugly scars. Impulsively, she said, "Why didn't you get those fixed after the war?"
"Eh?" Tolle's slightly dumbfounded expression portrayed his confusion far better than any words ever could.
Blushing slightly, she couldn't help but glance away as she said, "Your scars."
"…I keep them to remind me," he said quietly, earning her questioning gaze. "…To never again be…dead weight baggage that needs saving again."
His solemn expression was very pronounced, reminding Luna of just how badly he'd likely taken the shock of losing his friend in the previous war. This was a side of the slightly-bipolar Lieutenant that she had little inclination to spend much time around out of fear of him unintentionally spreading his grief unto her. Feeling an immediate need to change the subject, she asked, "If Miss Lacus was indeed in Orb for the past two years, why did she suddenly decide to return?"
"She didn't," Tolle said bluntly, his hard gaze drifting back up towards hers. "She had never left Orb until shortly after the war started. She's been on the Archangel ever since."
"The Archangel?" Now Luna was really starting to become convinced that Tolle was speaking the truth. He was using the same story that he'd used when he and Lady Cagalli had spoken to Athrun almost two weeks ago. And she was very sure in her guess that none of them had even known of her presence there at the time. Plus, many of the details that he'd used seemed too realistic and thought-out to possibly be a trick of some kind. "But…what about the Lacus that was kidnapped?"
"Oh, that was Kira just removing Durandal's Lacus-pawn from the game," there was a full-blown grin on his face as he said that. "That was definitely one of the best moves he's made so far!"
"Kira?" Luna repeated for the second time. "You mean Kira Yamato right? You agree with Athrun that Akira Iyadomi is him too?"
"Without a doubt," Tolle said with a strange smile on his face as he said that. "And when I bust out of here, the first thing I'm gonna do is hunt him down and drag his ass back to Miss Lacus. The drama from that reunion would be good enough to air on television as one of those ridiculous 'reality shows.'"
Despite herself, Luna cracked a small grin at his joking statement. Quickly sobering up, she said, "Aren't you worried about what he might've done to her? The Lacus he kidnapped?"
"Only if he's stupid enough to actually think she's the real one," Tolle said, his face suddenly deathly serious. "If he somehow thinks she's the real one…there's going to be some serious hell to pay. Especially when Cagalli gets her hands on him! …You know, for thinking of herself as his 'older' sister, Cagalli sure likes to act like the younger sister when it comes to issues with him."
"Sister?!"
"Uh, yeah," he acknowledged, staring at her with slight surprise. "You didn't know?"
Rather than answer, Luna just stared at Tolle as though he'd grown a second head. When she had originally come here, she'd wanted him to confirm or deny her earlier suspicions. But now she was finding herself becoming enthralled by his tales of his friends and past exploits. Suffice to say, Luna suddenly had a very real feeling that she was likely not going to be leaving the brig for quite some time!
KIRA – Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny – KIRA
December 21, 73 CE
Linz, Austria
6:08am
Groaning quietly in his frustration, Akira leaned back in his seat to stretch his protesting back. Still nothing, how could the Earth Alliance have such horrible computer security and yet still manage to hide the location of their Rapier factory so completely from him? But to be fair, none of his previous targets had really been a secret from the general military or public. However, it was still irritating the hell out of him!
Glancing off to the side, Akira's eyes were once again drawn to the former pink-haired waitress as she was eating a small breakfast while having a lively conversation with Oria again. Despite all her protests and demands to be returned to back to the PLANTs, Meer certainly seemed to be enjoying her time with the Falacci family. She seemed to be enjoying herself so much that Akira hadn't even been forced to keep her from running away in the dead of night like he'd had to do in the wilderness. Then again, Oria's very welcoming and calming personality had that effect on a lot of people, including him.
He was leaning against a stone balcony railing staring out at the beautiful golden-red sun that was setting. A gentle presence next to him made itself known to him. As he glanced over at the person, he found himself staring at a beauty that was even more breath-taking than the scenery in front of him. That pink-haired girl with her wide, kind blue eyes seemed to be positively glowing from the golden light of the sun.
She smiled happily at him, completing angelic image she portrayed. There was a clear note of fulfillment in her voice as she asked, "Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could stay here forever?"
'Yes, it would be,' that was the thought that immediately came to his mind. But he merely answered with a small, uncertain smile of his own. But was it really alright for him to even be here, with this angel of his dreams?
Unbeknownst to him, Akira's hand had slowly drifted up to the ring that he was wearing under his shirt. As his mind finally returned out of his foggy and scattered memories, he clenched his hand tightly and yet delicately over the wavy band, reassuring himself that it was still there. A sense of sadness and a yearning swelled up within his heart. It was so powerful that it was almost a palpable pain. I swear once this is all over; I will find you again.
"And repeating our top story is the recent outbreak of rebellions rising in southeastern Europe!" a fuzzy voice suddenly said from the television that had been playing in the background. "With the recent libration of the Black Sea by ZAFT forces, rebellions in areas nearby are continuing to increase in size and intensity."
Grasping upon to the sounds of the newsman in an attempt to channel the sadness and need away, he turned at stared at the scenes of devastation and death that were playing on the television. In an instant his gaze hardened as his face went impassive, staring at the monitor as he took in as much detail as he could.
"With the recent approach of numerous ZAFT forces into the region, the fighting has grown extremely intense," the newsman was saying. "And though the Alliance is clearly trying its best to hold back the advance of the Coordinators, there is a general retreat order being passed among their forces."
"The Alliance seems to be colligating its forces in western Romania, near the city of Timisoara," there was an image of a large formation of Windams and Dagger Ls flying overhead towards the horizon. "With the way things in the area are progressing, there's promising to be a very large-scale battle about to take place in the near-future. And with the recent disappearance of the Neo Freedom, the situation can only be seen as bleak for the civilians of the region."
Rising to his feet immediately, Akira immediately shutdown his laptop and headed for the backroom to collect his things. Unlike Meer, who had been allowed to sleep in the Großmutter K's Café's guest room, Akira was all-too-happy to return to and sleep inside the Neo Freedom, even though it was hidden on the far side of the city. Despite that, Akira had still moved a few of his items into the café to make it more convenient for him as he tried to continue his research.
As he was stuffing his laptop and spare clothes into his rucksack, a slight rustle behind him alerted him to his company. Without turning from his packing, he said, "It's time I left here. I know what I need to do now."
"I see," Oria said quietly, a frown clearly etched on her face. "I do not approve of you doing this, Akira."
"I know, but someone has to do something to stop this madness," he said, zipping the rucksack shut and heaving it upon his shoulders. Turning to face the woman, he said, "And ZAFT is no more innocent in this than the Earth Alliance. I feel that they're the ones behind this latest rebellion, even if it's indirectly."
"I understand why you feel you must go," Oria said sternly. "But why must you fight them alone? You should go to the Orb or find the Archangel and ask for their help! I believe that Lady Cagalli is trying to bring about an end to this war, just as you are."
Nodding in agreement, Akira said, "I have no doubt that Orb's Chief Representative is indeed doing that, Mrs. Falacci. But if I fear that if I go to them now, they will be ostracized by the world for providing aid to me; especially when things really start to get out of hand."
"But one man in a mobile suit cannot defeat the world by himself!" Oria said in a somewhat louder voice than she'd intended to use.
Smiling despite having a sad look in his eyes, Akira said, "You may be right. But you're forgetting something very important, Mrs. Falacci… I'm a Gundam pilot." Oria slapped him hard for that remark. Rubbing his red cheek, Akira muttered out, "Not sure I deserve that."
Before he could say anything else, Oria drew him into a bone-crushing hug. It was a hug that he tentatively returned as she whispered, "You take care of yourself, Akira."
"Who do you think you're talking to, Mrs. Falacci?" Akira asked, a spiteful grin on his face as he pulled away and moved towards the exit.
"A Gundam pilot," Oria answered, voice thick with repressed emotions. "And a reckless one at that!" Akira only smiled and gave her a small, two-fingered salute as he disappeared through the backdoor.
Turning his attention back to his newest mission, Akira's face hardened slightly. As he was mentally preparing himself for reentering the battlefields, a peculiar scent wafted up his nose. Looking off to its origins, a smile pulled itself across his face.
Maybe he should make a few stops along the way…
KIRA – Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny – KIRA
December 24, 73 CE
Baja, Hungary
4:45pm
The fields were scorched and riddled like a honeycomb with craters. Corpses of soldiers, rebels, and civilians alike were scattered across the grasslands, twisted wreckage from old-fashioned tanks and artillery trucks, mobile suits, and even a sad few cars and buses rested on the battlefields that covered the region. There was so much destruction, so much fighting, in so short a time that the unfortunate locals hadn't even been able to properly bury any of the numerous dead before the battles sparked up again. The cities and small towns of the region were much the same, with numerous holes on their walls and damage of varying degrees on their structures. No building was exempt from having some form of destruction upon it.
In the Neo Freedom, Akira stared sadly down upon the scenes of remorse and depression that was hanging about the town that he currently hovering over. The term 'desolate' seemed to take on an all-new meaning as he watched the civilians below. There were very few living people out on the streets, and those that were sprawled about, most armed with rifles or rocket launchers. Some were attempting to get some rest in the lull of the battle, sleeping under overhangs of debris to cover them from the snowfall or any shrapnel. The park he was heading towards was unsurprisingly empty of any form of life because it was such an open area, easy to pick off careless targets that wondered into it.
Deactivating the Mirage Colloid, the Neo Freedom became easily visible as it continued its slow descent towards the park. Almost immediately after becoming visible, heads began turning to watch the Gundam as it gently settled down upon the burnt and cratered ground of the park. As he was knelt the Gundam down on one knee, Akira very carefully maneuvered his precious cargo down towards the ground.
With its large shield held perpendicular to its body, none of the cautiously gathering civilians could see what it was doing until the large metal obstruct was nearly upon the ground. Large boxes were stacked in a slightly jostled manner on the shield, indicating a less than smooth trip from wherever it had acquired them. Once the shield was gently resting upon the ground, providing easy access to the crates, the cockpit of the machine smoothly slid open and Akira slowly descended to the ground by the cable hoist.
As Akira began unloading the large crates off his shield, the crowds of the civilians watching had grown considerably. Cautious heads were looking out from the various hiding places around the park to watch as the mysterious blond pilot went about his business. Nobody moved to help or question him for fear of this being some kind of trap, and many had their weapons trained upon the seemingly-oblivious young man.
Once all the crates were unloaded, Akira went towards a specifically marked one and tore it open. He quickly extracted a pair of propane tanks and what was clearly a portable grill, which he opened and set to the side. By the time that Akira had begun tearing open the next few crates, which revealed large amounts of meats and other foods, did a couple of people begin slowly walking towards the Gundam pilot.
It wasn't until a full twenty minutes after Akira had begun cooking some hamburgers and soups, with help from the brave few who'd ventured forth, that more of the starving people began working their way over. The promise of delicious foods and a full meal was truly a gift from above after all the death and destruction that they'd been experiencing. They couldn't resist the chance to eat after easily two weeks of starvation.
Akira Iyadomi watched with a gentle smile as the survivors began feasting and chatting with one another, the war momentarily forgotten. This was what he was fighting for right here; true peace on Earth.
KIRA – Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny – KIRA
December 25, 73 CE
Earth Alliance Outpost, Albania
6:30pm
There was a cold wind blowing in from the north, bringing with it a literal blizzard. Visibility was severely limited, scarcely ten meters at best. Even though the reasonably small country of Albania bordered the Adriatic and the Ionian Seas, it was still a very mountainous country thanks to the Balkan Mountains. Thus when winter came, those high elevations became subject to some very intense winter storms and sharp temperature drops.
The country, for all its natural beauty, was far from being considered a very important or advantageous strategic location for the war. That was why it was one of the few that had ever sustained much damage from the invading ZAFT forces in the previous war. But thanks to the sudden rise of rebellion in the Balkans, that was no longer the case. With the loss of Lohengrin Gate and the serious threat to Suez, along with the questionable placement of the Rapier mobile suit factory, the once small military outpost located in the northern region of Albania, near the city of Puke, had grown drastically in size and power.
On most days, the outpost was bustling with activity. There would be constant monitoring for attacks from rebels and possibly even ZAFT. The pilots would be on alert for the need to scramble to their new machines to protect their outpost. Mechanics would be hustling about as they performed whatever repairs that were needed. The outpost commanders would be going over the various reports and trying to find some way to be of service their military.
But not on this special night. Christmas was a holiday observed by nearly all nations of Earth and the PLANTs, for different reasons or meanings, but it was still considered a time of peace for all. Thus the commander in charge of the garrison felt it was safe to allow a vast portion of the soldiers on duty to have the night and following day off to celebrate the holiday. Many of those soldiers, officers, and mechanics were gathered in the mess hall as they enjoyed a large Christmas feast that the cooks had spent the last twelve hours preparing.
Thus the sudden attack came as a complete and utter surprise.
Concealed by the heavy snowfall, a large shadow approached the compound and unleashed a massive energy blast. The beam tore out of the sky and struck the mess hall building, incinerating many of the men and women inside. Those that weren't killed outright, died in the following explosion or were crushed by the collapse of the heavy structure. Thick black smoke bloomed out of the debris as the fires began raging.
An alarm sounded mere moments after the explosion, but it was far too late at that point. More energy blasts rained down on the buildings from a large black silhouette that was hovering in the skies above the base. Then two shadows broke away from the silhouette, flying down and landing in different locations of the base.
One of the shadows drew a long slab of metal from which a beam blade sprung to life. This shadow methodically cut all nearby buildings to pieces with its large anti-ship beam sword. It mowed down all fleeing personnel with its Vulcan cannons with a cold precision that put the chill of the surrounding winter to shame. Launching a pincer into the side of the nearby radar tower, it yanked it mightily off to the side, sending it crashing down upon a group of fleeing and confused soldiers.
The other shadow that landed drew a beam rifle and began walking through its portion of the base, blasting all buildings, vehicles, and personnel with a clearly savage glee. Jumping into the air, it dropped to the ground and crushed the retreating car flat, killing all five of its passengers in an instant. Grasping a beam saber from its hip, it jumped into the air again as it threw the ignited weapon to the side. With pinpoint accuracy, the deadly saber stabbed into yet another hastily fleeing vehicle, incinerating the driver and causing the truck to explode.
Finally landing after blowing the mobile suit hangars to pieces, the last of the three shadows raised its massive cannon and took aim. The pilot of the machine didn't even bat an eye as it fired and destroyed the outpost's infirmary. The result of the explosion was a large crater in the former medical facility, with only its outer walls still mostly intact. Small explosions upon its backside quickly caused the mobile suit to turn and located the brave and foolish individuals who'd dare attack it. The Vulcan cannons and gun launchers mounted on its right shoulder opened fire and blasted the soldiers into unrecognizable pieces.
As the three attacking machines quickly tore the base to pieces, a single soul from the wreckage of the mess hall slowly and weakly raised his head to look up at who'd attack them so suddenly and ruthlessly on this night. What he saw made his blood run cold.
Walking towards him was what could've been mistaken for a Rapier mobile suit. It had everything, Striker Pack and all. However this mobile suit, with its blood red eyes glowing menacingly, was painted a deep, forbidding black. Those hungry red eyes glowed as they stared down at him with the mobile suit raising its beam rifle and opening fire, ending his life an instant later.
"Merry Christmas," a cold voice from the Sword Rapier said over its external speakers. However, there was no one left alive to hear it.
KIRA – Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny – KIRA
December 26, 73 CE
Djibril Manor
9:00am
In the darkness of his chamber, Lord Djibril sat upon his expensive chair as he sipped his favorite red French wine. Though he gave off the air of being calm and collected, inside he was seething with barely controlled fury. How could his plans have gone so wrong so badly because of a few wildcards?!
The first wildcard was that annoying warship, the Minerva. His most talented and trained soldiers and units had all tried and failed to destroy that wretched warship. Granted, quite a few of their battles had left the ship limping away and badly damaged. However, with each fresh engagement, the thing came back even more powerful and unstoppable than before. It was infuriating, to put it politely. And although this most recent battle, with the help of the Orb taskforce, had done far more damage than any previous time thanks to the immense skills of the Orb military, Djibril had finally decided to cut his losses before they grew any larger by hunting the ship down again.
With the surprising return of the blonde Extended that was the former pilot of the RGX-03 Gaia, Djibril had issued fresh orders to Phantom Pain. He could tell that Captain Roanoke was hesitant to send the girl back out onto the battlefield, but he would ultimately follow his orders. That was not only why he was the commander of Phantom Pain, but that was also how Djibril had had the man's mind reprogrammed as such. And this time their target, their true target, was one that had rapidly gone from being a thorn in his side to a pain in his ass.
This thorn had at first seemed like completely unimportant player in this grand game of extermination and domination. No matter how powerful a single mobile suit might be, to believe that this one man could tackle the sheer might of the Earth Alliance alone was ludicrous at best. Djibril, with the Alliance and Logos actually agreeing with him for once, believed that the mobile suit would either bite off more than it could chew or ZAFT would take it out. Either way, it was of little consequence as far as they had been concerned. And yet, as time went by, with its blitzkrieg style of attacking, the Neo Freedom had not only devastated the Alliance's control of the southern Eurasia, but it's very presence on the battlefield was more than enough effect to turn the tides of battle against whichever side it was fighting against.
Some intelligence that Djibril had recently come across stated that the pilot of the Neo Freedom had been spotted repeatedly throughout the Balkan Peninsula, delivering much needed food and emergency supplies to the locals for free as their militias and the Alliance fought for control of the region. The few operatives he had in the area had tried tracking where the rogue Gundam was acquiring these supplies, but each time it delivered food, it came from a different, random country and was a completely legal purchase. And though it had yet to make an appearance on the battlefield in this region, the reports stated that the mere sight of the machine flying over the various cities and the pilot actually disembarking to talk and encourage the locals had been more than enough to break the courage of many of the Alliance soldiers. Many soldiers were either rebelling in some way or just completely deserting the military, so that they'd not only be forced to possibly battle the Gundam but to finally be finished with this 'pointless' war.
How could one mobile suit have gained so much public support in so little time?! If anything, Djibril would've thought that Akira Iyadomi would've lost the public support after Durandal's window of amnesty had closed. That incident had been one of the very few that Djibril was actually grateful for the Neo Freedom doing. Now that that blasted Chairman no longer had Lacus Clyne's support for whatever schemes he was cooking up, he could no longer just issue orders without some form of skepticism. However, not even this little drawback seemed to be having much impact on his efforts at this time though. Oh well, it would come in due time.
What Djibril needed to concentrate about now was what he was going to do about Akira Iyadomi and his Neo Freedom. He and the Alliance could no longer simply ignore the Gundam and hope that one day it would just keel over and die. They needed to go on the offensive and destroy the wretched machine before it could do anymore damage to their plans or facilities! Yet locating the accursed Gundam was an exercise of futility at best because of its rather random movements and attack strategies.
But after reviewing the machine's previous targets, Djibril had come across a rather interesting find. The Neo Freedom often targeted bases and factories that played a crucial role in the war effort. That would mean that its fool of a pilot would come running if he could dangle a dangerous enough target in front of him. Thus Djibril had quickly formulated a strategy around this discovery. A strategy that would serve the dual purpose of bringing western Eurasia back into Logos' line of thinking if they didn't wish to not be exterminated like the traitors they were to their own kind!
While even Djibril himself would admit to himself that he was occasionally impatient, especially in regards to destroying those accurse space monsters, this was one of the times that he knew taking his time would best serve his intentions. In another universe, without the threat that the Neo Freedom posed to his plans, Djibril would've launched his plan into action as soon as the blonde Extended girl had sufficiently recovered from her withdrawal symptoms.
Instead, he sat here in his lounge, quietly sipping his French red wine as he reviewed various notes and reports. He could afford to wait this time because the more time that was given to the Extended to master the use of her new machine, as well as fighting against simulated combat data of the Neo Freedom's skills, her chances of finally destroying that nuisance would only increase. Plus, many of Phantom Pain's other pilots were being savagely retrained in the use their new Rapiers. Once they stopped piloting them like Windams, the Rapiers would truly become their ace weapons.
It was only a matter of time.
KIRA – Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny – KIRA
December 27, 73 CE
Timisoara Rapier Factory, Romania
11:20am
They had spent two long weeks of lying in wait; doing their utmost to prepare for the attack and trying to safely disguise their presence from not only the nearby factory but the locals as well. This task only grew that much more difficult when a pair of Compton-class land battleships had arrived and joined in their ambush. In addition to the two Compton battleships, Colonel Hirai Hisashi now had almost thirty mobile suits of various models at his beck and call. With this much firepower, they could very easily do battle against the Rapier factory's defenders, but that wasn't their current mission objective.
Many of his subordinates had been getting increasingly restless as the days passed with no sign of the Neo Freedom. And as the situation in the Balkans began to rapidly intensify, that restlessness only grew that much stronger. They couldn't bear just sitting around all day waiting for their objective to finally decide to show itself while the Alliance was quite literally getting away with murder just outside their own warships! Indeed, even Hirai was beginning to question whether Akira would come, or if he'd even managed to find that small leak that they'd planted with the factory's whereabouts.
And then a few days ago, at long last, the Neo Freedom was sighted in the region. This sent the crews and soldiers into a slight frenzy now that they knew that their objective was reasonably nearby. It was only a matter of time before it finally arrived to do some damage to the factory, especially considering that this was where a good portion of the Alliance had gathered their forces around.
And now, that time had finally come!
At first it had seemed like another stressful start of another stressful day. But that had ended in an instant when a pair of railcannon blasts were fired from out of nowhere. The shots hit the factory's primary production line, which caused the domino effect of causing massive damage to the factory and the mobile suits that were in varying levels of completion. The result of that damage alone would've stalled the factory's production output for almost a month.
With only a moment of hesitation, the defenders had immediately sprung into the action, firing a barrage of beams and rail cannon fire in random bursts through the air, trying to force their invisible foe to show himself. It was only after a pair of plasma beams shot forth and destroyed the factory's primary power generator that the Neo Freedom had revealed itself to the world.
As the hidden ZAFT forces watched critically, the Neo Freedom was rapidly engaged by the defending Rapiers and Windams. The six new Euclid mobile armors hung back and used their positron shields to deflect any stray shots that were aimed at the factory. Surprisingly, the armors were being put through quite the workout because the attacking Gundam would target the factory at any chance it got, causing more damage than one might expect.
Under Colonel Hisashi's watchful eye, he saw a subtle shift in the Gundam's positioning and targeting as it danced through the air between its many attackers. "Commence operation! Contact the Da Vinci and Di Lodovico. Launch all our mobile suits! Primary target is the Freedom, but destroy the factory and its defenders at will. Once we have a clear field of view, fire our cannons and launch all missiles! Target the factory!"
"Yes sir!"
KIRA – Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny – KIRA
'These guys are good,' Akira acknowledged bitterly, barely being able to bring his beam claw shield up in time to block as he evaded to the side away from a powerful Agni plasma blast. Shifting position as he entered the Full Burst Mode once again, Akira locked upon multiple targets and fired before most could react.
Of the twenty machines he'd targeted, only four had managed to block the attacks with their shields. Of the remaining fifteen Alliance machines, there was now only a pair of exceptional Windams and two of those wretched armors, with the rest being those new Rapiers. Much better odds than they had been mere moments ago! Now all he had to do—Danger!!
Immediately he put the Freedom into backwards roll to the left as he tried to raise his beam claw shield again. However he wasn't quick enough as a lucky shot hit him, in the worst place possible! The beam slammed full forced into the Neo Freedom's right eye camera. The beam utterly destroyed the camera as it blew apart the entire right side of the Gundam's headpiece. Had he been using any other machine, the Neo Freedom would've lost its entire headpiece and been crippled instantaneously.
For a few precious seconds, the monitors in the cockpit went out, glowing in a well-known static. Using his enhanced spatial awareness, Akira put the Gundam into a series of evasive maneuvers, firing his weapons in a semi-random pattern; several explosions even followed those half-blind shots. But he was far too concerned with using his other hand to work on the keyboard to his side. Damage to the starboard secondary camera was critical! Evade right, fire! Severe damage inflicted upon the—dodge backwards—primary camera in the forehead with only a marginal amount done to the port secondary camera. Roll left, block! Communications (the radio transmitter formerly stored in the right-side head crest) were destroyed. Descend, shoot upwards! Transferring control—applying changes to the visual feed— rerouting power—updating!
No sooner did he clear his forward screen than the Freedom was suddenly hit powerfully in the back. Ignoring the sensations building up into stomach from his sudden plummet, Akira flared the stabilizer rockets in the Freedom's feet and legs. Thanks to that last minute adjustment, the Gundam crashed in an upright kneeling position. Critical damage to the left Balaena cannon and top wing! Danger!!
Raising his large shield, Akira blocked a pair of plasma blasts as he spurred his Gundam back into action. As he lowered his shield, he finally spotted who his attackers were. There must've been at least thirty ZAFT machines here! Ten of the various models, mostly ZAKUs, ZAKU Phantoms, and BABIs, were flying towards him. The rest were bearing down on partially destroyed factory.
"Dammit!" he growled as the Full Burst targeting computer rose.
Unlike all times previous, the locks weren't instantaneous and nor were there quite as many. On the outside of his machine, his remaining Balaena, the Xiphias rail cannons, and the four lower wings swung forward under the Neo Freedom's arms and opened fired after a mere moment. Three BABIs were destroyed after he unintentionally shot them through the cockpits and one accidentally lucky shot destroyed a Blaze ZAKU Phantom's Guul. The damage done to the rest of his attackers was with far less of his usual finesse because the severe handicap of only using a single secondary camera to lock onto so many enemies at once.
Rising back into the air, Akira brought his shield as a pair of Slash ZAKUs showered him with short bursts of bean energy. With some difficulty due to the damage done to his left wings, Akira evaded the shots as he returned fire through the shield's rifle slot. Continuing on his sideways course, Akira prepared to holster his rifle in favor of his beam sabers and melee combat. The Slash ZAKUs weren't letting up—Danger!!
Dodging to the side and switching weapons, Akira swung around and removed the lunging Sword Rapier's headpiece and upraised arms. Flipping over the still-moving mobile suit, he landed a crushing kick to the Sword Rapier's backside and engines, sending it plummeting earthward—Danger!!
As he was turning to shield himself from the Orthros cannon blast, something large and dark shot into view and intercepted the plasma beam. Quick as lightning, the newcomer sent a pair of railgun blasts towards the offender, easily destroying the Gunner ZAKU in its surprise.
Backing away slightly, Akira (along with a fair portion of the other combatants) quickly scrutinized his savior's backside. It looked like a black Rapier mobile suit; those telltale wings were spread wide in front of him, as if trying to throw up a shield between him and the attacking enemies.
A presence off to his side caught his attention quickly. There, hovering right beside him, was another one, except this black Rapier was equipped with a Sword Striker. Raising its hand, the Sword Rapier attached a communication line to the Neo Freedom's hull.
"Akira Iyadomi, please retreat to the coordinates I'm sending you and stay close to the ground," a cold voice said over the radio as his side monitor flashed to life with a simple map being projected. "The Hands of Freedom will cover your escape."
"…Roger that," Akira said hesitantly. His sixth sense was giving him a bad vibe towards these newcomers. However, they did offer to cover him as he escaped. And while he disliked not being able to complete his mission, ZAFT's interference had quickly been turning quite dangerous towards him.
Dropping to the ground, Akira quickly collected the bisected headpiece of the Rapier he'd just felled. However, his sudden movement had been more than enough incentive to spur the ZAFT and Alliance forces back into action. The first black Rapier merely intercepted whatever beams were aimed for the Freedom and answered such with its own attacks. The Sword Rapier flew forward to engage any attackers that came rushing forward, destroying them with a coldblooded savagery before turning around to flee with the others.
Launching himself back into the air with his cargo gently tucked between his chest and shield, he flew towards where the downloaded map specified. It was at least a two-mile distance away, he could reach it within a few moments. As he flew only a little more than a few meters off the rolling hills towards the high bluff peaks, a warning beeped to life on his monitor. Bringing up a small window, he watched carefully as a large wave of missiles was sent flying overhead, launched from where he was heading.
Rolling the Freedom over, he watched as the missiles rained down upon the pursuing ZAFT mobile suits. Most of them were dodged thanks to the Guuls' superb maneuverability, others merely shot down the deadly projectiles heading towards them. Those few ZAKUs and BABIs that didn't veer off were suddenly forced to as a large wave of energy shot down towards them from ahead of the Neo Freedom.
Turning back around, Akira spotted a third black Rapier equipped with the Launcher Striker taking shots with almost sniper-like precision. The Launcher Rapier was nestled behind a large rock outcropping, effectively shielding it from most retaliatory fire as it took its own shots. Due to the fairly large distance between them and the fact that none of the ZAFT machines had weapons that matched the fearsome Agni for power or distance, the ZAFT mobile suits were forced to retreat.
KIRA – Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny – KIRA
1 mile from the factory
"Did you get all of that?" an excited feminine voice asked. "Please tell me you got all that!"
"I got all of it," the man said in a flat voice as he lowered his heavy-duty camera. "What an interesting turn of events have taken place here."
"Indeed," the woman said, grinning like a cat that had just caught the canary. "Let's hurry! I want this on the evening, no excuses this time!"
"Yeah, yeah," the cameraman grumbled as he set the camera back into its case and started the news van they had rented. If he floored it, he should be able to reach the Timisoara news station within fifteen minutes from this distance.
KIRA – Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny – KIRA
Central Serbia/Romania border
11:52pm
After the ZAFT forces had finally withdrawn, Akira's rescuers requested for him to board their personal transport, a salvaged and slightly-converted ZAFT Petrie-class land battleship from the previous war. They had promised food and supplies, even offering to repair his Gundam. Though he could easily get his own food and supplies, the chance of being able to fix the Neo Freedom's damage in a facility that was designed for that explicit purpose was one that he couldn't pass up, no matter how edgy he was feeling about these strangers.
And so here he was: his powered down Neo Freedom in a mobile suit rack with its onboard computer and operating system under a full and proper lockdown. Across and beside the legendary Gundam were his three black rescuers, who were also powering down their suits and disembarking. Below him as he was descending towards the floor of the hangar was a waiting crowd of what could almost have been mistaken for common military officers and mechanics. Most of those people wore some form of a smile or grin on their faces while others just stared up at the mighty machine their warship was now housing. Akira, with his favorite black shirt and jeans and his semi-blond and brown hair, couldn't help but feel slightly out of place due to the fact that he seemed to be the only one who was not wearing an official-looking uniform.
"Welcome aboard the Liberator, Akira Iyadomi," greeted a stern-looking gray-haired woman. Though she was dressed in a simple winter jacket, she somehow was able to pull off the image that it was a military uniform as well. "I believe I speak for all of us when I say how honored we are to have your presence aboard."
A loud cheer rang through the gathered crowd at that statement, momentarily drowning out whatever else the lady had tried to say. Akira couldn't help but wince slightly at the sheer volume, already desiring to leave as soon as possible.
Once things had quieted down enough, the lady continued, "I am Luna Ito, leader of the Hands of Freedom."
Raising his eyebrow at the name, Akira surveyed the group carefully. 'The Hands of Freedom…?' that sounded a little too close to his Gundam's name. Suspicions, which had started turning in his head when the three Rapiers had appeared, were quickly taking form in his mind. And he suddenly had a very good idea of what these people were doing and were attempting to do in regards to himself.
"Though I'm grateful for your help," Akira said, his voice and expression strictly neutral because of the heavy weight of all the stares upon him. "Why did you interfere with my battle?" He gazed carefully around the large group, earning more than a few confused stares. "Now ZAFT and the Earth Forces will be hunting you just as relentlessly as they're hunting me. There is a reason I fight alone."
"Isn't he so sweet?" a loud feminine voice said from the Rapier to Akira's left. A girl, likely no older than he was, with shockingly bright purple hair was walking forward. She was dressed in a common ZAFT green pilot's uniform and was haphazardly carrying her helmet over her shoulder as a sneer pulled at her lovely face. "He actually wants to fight the world all by himself. What a sweetie!"
"You need to find yourself a girl, mate," a tall, rugged blond man said from his opposite side. This man looked to be well into middle age, with flecks of gray lining his temples. Dressed in a common Earth Alliance blue fight suit, he gave a very impressive figure with his bulky muscles that could be seen under that pilot's uniform. Akira suddenly had very little trouble imagining him as the pilot of the powerful Launcher Rapier that he had disembarked from. "For your sake, I hope you've already got one. Or Maria will probably have had her way with you before the night is through."
"And just what's that suppose to mean, old man?!" Maria demanded, somehow seeming even lovelier than she had been when she was merely being flirtatious. "I ain't no slut!"
"Never mind those two," Luna said, quickly recapturing the Coordinator's wandering eyes. "They're always like that. Anyway, I was hoping we could discuss some matters in private. Several my colleagues' informants have come across some rather puzzling information…I think you might know a fair deal more than we do."
Quickly reviewing his options, Akira nodded slightly before he barked out to the gathered individuals. "Alright, but no one goes near my Gundam when I'm not present!" After receiving a chorus of affirmatives, Luna quickly dismissed the large crowd to carry on with their normal post-battle routines of repairing and rearming the mobile suits and warship.
Luna led Akira through a brief maze of corridors into the heart of the Liberator with Maria and the other two Rapier pilots following behind them. Even if he hadn't found himself helplessly in love with that pink-haired angel from his fragmented memory, Akira knew that he wouldn't have appreciated Maria's attentions. They had scarcely traveled four meters out of the hangar and towards the Captain's quarters when the young woman had latched herself upon Akira's arm, rubbing her breasts into his arm and she cooed sweet nothings into his ear. It was a great relief to Akira when Carter, the Launcher Rapier's pilot, finally pried the sultry lady off him. The Sword Rapier pilot, a somewhat obese man called simply Yoshi, hadn't spoken a word and merely followed in silence.
Once they were inside Luna's office, Akira came to a stop just in front of her desk as she took a seat behind it. The other pilots also seated themselves in the other chairs of the room and settled into easy silence as they awaited the conversation to come.
"Clearly, you guys all know who I am and have some idea of what I want to do," Akira said slowly. "But just who are you and what are your goals?"
"I guess you could call us 'crusaders,'" Luna said, gazing up at Akira from behind her desk. "When we saw you battling against the Alliance, freeing countries and people who were wrongly being oppressed, we became inspired to do the same, in our own way. So the lot of us banded together, gathering supplies, personnel, and contacts wherever we could. It actually took a full month for us to even get into a halfway recognizable militia."
"So you're a small army of Naturals fighting to takedown the Alliance?" Akira asked, his voice once again strictly neutral.
"Whoever said anything about taking down the Alliance?" Maria asked from behind him, earning a glance from the young man.
"I do not pretend to know what the reasons of many of our men are," Luna said, regaining Akira's attention once again. "But I can state with certainty that all of us want nothing more than peace between Earth and the PLANTs, Naturals and Coordinators. And though I'm sure many of us would like to side with ZAFT at this point, that no longer seems like the best course of action anymore."
"Why is that?" Akira asked curiously.
"I believe this war is nearly over," Luna said quietly, earning stares of everyone in the room. "Oh, I know there are still quite a few bloody battles yet to be fought. But the spirit of the Alliance, its need to eradicate the Coordinators, is practically nonexistent anymore. That ZAFT warship, the Minerva, is a major player in this situation. But it pales in comparison to what you've been doing since before this war even started. The only people still fighting are those who still feel hatred and those who simply live to follow orders."
"…You still haven't answered my question, though," Akira pointed out. "Just what are your goals? How do you plan to attain peace?"
"Once everyone is fed up with fighting, the war will simply end," a cold voice said from behind Akira. Glancing back, he saw that it was Yoshi who'd spoken.
"If that's true," Akira said, sending stern glare at the man. "Then why hasn't fighting and war ended centuries ago? Weren't people tired of killing way back then too?"
"Wars come and go," Yoshi said. "People die and people are born. It is a never-ending cycle that will forever continue as long as humanity exists. That is the one thing humanity excels at."
"Humanity is more than a killing machine, despite how good at it we've recently become," Akira growled.
"We're getting off track here," Luna said, interrupting the argument before it could further escalate. Rotating her chair around, the elderly woman held up a remote and activated a screen that was hanging behind her. "This is the reason that I asked you to come here, Mr. Iyadomi. Like I stated earlier, several of our informants have recently come across this data, but we have been unable to determine exactly what the Alliance plans to do with it."
Akira couldn't tear his eyes away from the screen as his blood suddenly ran ice cold. On the screen before him were copies of a mobile suit that he'd truly hoped with all his heart and soul that he'd managed to destroy two years ago. Back when he'd purged the ZAFT and Earth Forces defense networks. This particular project had been at the top of the list of the ones he never wanted to see put into production. But there it was.
The GFAS-X1 Destroy had been completed!
KIRA – Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny – KIRA
December 29, 74 CE
Great White, Agamemnon-class warship
8:30am
In the vast darkness of space, only a short day's travel from the small asteroid factory they so desperately desired, was a sizable fleet of pirates. Despite the considerable size of their guild, their warship numbers were fairly low; only a total of ten. However, the collective firepower between their various warship models made them some of the most ferocious pirates around. This deadly group went by the name of the Blood Fins.
"How reliable is this transmission, Westerfer?" Commander Sansui demanded.
"Very, sir," the reasonably young man answered immediately despite listening closely to whatever he was hearing in his headphones. "There is no mistaking it. The Junk Guild is in communication with the colony… negotiating a meeting time… Two days from now…at the colony itself!"
For just a moment, Sansui could hardly believe his ears. Did those high-society, wannabe-pirates that made up the mockery of a crew that was the Peresphone's Children really believe that they were safe enough to resume their earlier trades?! Sure, they may have been able to repel all prior attacks on that precious colony and even more precious factory. It had been bound to make them overconfident, as this was now clearly the proof and the break his vicious crew had been waiting for!
"Captain!" Sansui barked, turning away from Westerfer. "Contact the Speartooth and Hooktooth. Tell them they're doing a Priority Code Epsilon. And inform the fleet we're heading out in two days, Code Upsilon attack pattern. We'll show those arrogant assholes what real pirates are like!"
"Yes sir!"
(AUTHOR'S NOTE) Whew, that was killer! Even though I'd committed myself to writing this ambush, I had absolute zero inspiration to write and even less idea of how I wanted it to play out. Oh sure, I knew what I wanted to ultimately happen, just not how. And now that I've got this deadweight off my back, I can't even begin to describe how light I feel now! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, as well as the numerous things that have occurred. I wonder if any of you can guess where I got the idea for the 'Hands of Freedom'. Blame yourselves for getting me interested enough in it to use a few more ideas from it!
Epsilon—5th letter of the Greek alphabet
Persephone—daughter of the Greek goddess of a bountiful harvest
Upsilon—20th letter of the Greek alphabet