Celestial Being Chronicles - Chapter 129
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Gundam series, nor any of the various series which are used or referenced in my fic, so please point that damned lawsuit cannon at someone else, also, don't read this if you are not of legal age to read such material. The story contains possibly disturbing content and should not be read by close-minded people (i.e., people who are easily offended.) Everything in the story is fictional. I am also not responsible for any actions taken by people who read this story and society's problems. I do, however, own my original character; Hope Yamato.
"Lexi, we need some advice here..." Misato declared to the air as she stood on the bridge of the warship Katsuragi, summoning an avatar of the AI from the holoprojectors which were discreetly hidden throughout the ship. To save on processing power while she did her best to recreate all her destroyed updates and patches, as well as repairing damage to her physical systems and still upholding all her regular duties and jobs, Lexi was only sending avatars out when specifically asked for help, rather than manifesting them seemingly at random as she had used to do. The Lexi that appeared here was wearing office-casual shirt and skirt, her programming adapted to make her visually fit in with whatever environment her avatar manifested in; suit and tie when serving as an assistant for the Chief Representatives, military uniform when assisting the military, and office-casual when at various civilian agencies. She'd lost a good deal of the personality that she'd built up over the last few decades, and she was more business-like than whimsical these days.
"It's all wrong." Lexi said almost at once, looking not at the data on the screen, but actually out through the sonar and radar sensors themselves. "Sensors are all recalibrated and the readings stay the same. There's a massive amount of biological presences out in the ocean, some of them very large. I would crossreference with recent data to search for matches, but it's all been destroyed." Lexi scowled for a moment, just a flicker in the image of her avatar's face. It was going to take her a long time to get over the humiliation and trauma of the attack she couldn't even really remember anymore. Someone had found a chink in her and Nami's armor and exploited them both, she felt violated on a fundamental level. She'd never thought she would understand what humans felt like when they said they were embarassed or humiliated, but now that she did, she really wished she didn't. "But I don't need archived data to tell me that storm isn't behaving as nature says it should."
"What do you mean?" Asuka asked, missing the days when she and the rest of the crew would laugh and joke with the AI's impish avatars.
"For one thing, the storm is moving against prevailing wind and tidal currents. For another, there is no hot and cold front at the bow of the storm, nor is there a low pressure system beneath it. In short, there is no way for that storm to actually be in existence through any natural causes. It's just a bunch of water droplets being suspended in midair to simulate stormclouds." Lexi folded her arms across her chest and frowned again, holding the expression this time. "All of my data protocols that I might use to advise me of what to do in this kind of situation were corrupted and purged, but if I had to recommend a course of action; I'd say call someone in the government as quickly as possible. Something is coming this way, and it doesn't want us to know about it."
"So what exactly are we looking at then, Lexi?" Kira Yamato asked, half his attention on the wall screen in the conference room adjacent to his main working office, where he would meet with his assistants and secretaries, advisors and other aides to dicuss matters of delegation, responsibility and policy on an informal level. The other half of his attention was on the boneless barbque rib sandwich on garlic toasted cheese bread and slathered with onions, peppers and several different types of tangy sauces, since it was lunch time and having missed breakfast in order to make another meeting with some of the USN military commanders that were moving their troops around Orb in preparation for deployment to Carpentaria Base, he was famished. Technically you weren't supposed to eat in the conference room, but what was the point of being the head of government if you couldn't bend the rules a little bit from time to time? Especially when he had no lesser guest than the Chief Representative of the Orb Union herself; Cagalli Yula Athha, having stopped by for a light discussion after they had lunch, bringing him one of his favorite types of sandwiches, and a plate of flatbread, grilled meat and kebab sauces for herself, an African dish she'd acquired a taste for in her youth.
"This storm system is even now striking the outer edge of the Glasshouse field." Lexi, replete in her formal business wear, said, pointing one holographic arm at the radar graphic being displayed on the wall screen. A color representation of the situation appeared in 3D off to the side of the screen, since the conference chamber was equipped with a multitude of holoprojectors which could even turn the entire room into a projection display if need be. Lexi grabbed the 3D representation and pulled it down onto the conference room table, flicking her fingers to expand the representation to all but fill the table, leaving clear spots for the Supreme Commander and Chief Representative's food. Orb's landmass and Nara-Attha city in miniature crowded at the far end of the table, with the harbor and then several miles of open water extending out towards the end of the table where Kira and Cagalli were sitting, eventually meeting the pure white shell of the Glasshouse energy field and then the ocean beyond, right in front of the two huamns, where the dark grey stormclouds were boiling and roiling as they brushed up against the Glasshouse field and began to slowly osmose through.
"Remind me to find an umbrella before I leave for home tonight." Kira remarked, noting how dark the clouds were, which heralded a significant release of precipitation. "I assume the commercial and military fleets have been warned we have a major storm incoming?"
"In more ways than one." Lexi answered, her reply cryptic until she added sonar data to the projection, the ocean depths underneath the stormclouds suddenly boiling and roiling with just as much motion as the clouds above them were. Color coding identified the uncountable myriad of sonar returns as belonging to biological organisms, not technological vessels, but the sheer numbers involved brought both Cagalli and Kira's chewing lips to a halt. The ocean was packed solid for miles in every direction and almost a half mile deep, it didn't take much of an intellectual leap to realize that this was not normal. Fish sometimes congregated in massive shoals that could cover miles in length, but never so much depth, and the way the organisms all stayed cohesive and very much under the cover of the stormclouds was more than just a little disquieting. "Long range cameras have so far been unable to visually penetrate the mist and clouds, but we do have some thermal scans showing some very large creatures on the surface out there." Lexi informed them.
"Best guess as to what the hell is going on? Some sort of mass migration of ocean life?" Cagalli asked and suggested.
"Perhaps, but that wouldn't explain why the storm has been moving against prevailing wind currents for the past eight hours, nor why the biological swarm is so conscientious about staying under the stormclouds, which I might add offers excellent visual cover and sensor baffling to warships in orbit." Lexi answered, leaving the elephant in the room unspoken.
Even with her recent damage and loss of a years worth of personality, it didn't take Lexi more than a nanosecond to realize that things were about to go crazy. "Sir, Ma'am, we have an incoming transmission, origin point the center of the storm, surface of the ocean. Its being transmitted over all civilian and most of Orb's military comm frequencies, including our top secret ones. I don't know how to else to say this...but the transmission sender claims to be Hope Yamato, and she wants to talk."
"Hope...?" Cagalli's eyes went a bit glassy with shock as she sat back in her chair, almost dribbling kebab sauce onto her pants as she tried to make sense of why her sister would be out there in the middle of an unnatural storm and suddenly wanting to talk to them, when she'd made more than clear at Victoria that she had little enough to say to her former friends and allies.
"Is there a video transmission as well?" Kira asked, pushing his sandwich aside as he slipped back into Supreme Commander mode. "Get my military advisors in here on the double! Locate Captain Zala, Commander Joule and Commander Elsman at once and tell them to report to their Gundams ASAP! I want the Eternal and the Purity deploying as soon as they get their crews on board. By Hameya's fiery ass, how did they get this close to us without us noticing!"
"There is a video transmission, and its directed at the National Palace on our standard frequencies. Whoever it is seems to know our comm protocols very well." Lexi answered, complying with Kira's barked orders at the same time, setting alarm klaxons to blaring across Orb's military bases and infastructure. "Should I pipe it in here?"
Kira shot a glance at Cagalli, who seemed to have recovered from her shock, a steely expression of determination crawling over her face as she shoved her own food aside and stood up. She caught his glance and nodded back in tacit agreement. If this was Hope, she definitely wanted to talk to him. Signalling Lexi to allow the transmission through and to establish a return conenction back for purposes of two way communication, Kira straightened his Representative's jacket a bit and adopted a tense but cautiously optomistic pose in his chair as he swiveled to face the wall screen directly, as it blanked and fizzled with static for a moment before the two way connection went through, and the picture cleared up. And then, despite himself, Kira could not avoid flinching a little in shock, hearing Cagalli gasp from where she stood behind him, as the unmistakable features of Hope Yamato, her bright amethyst eyes with their glowing gold cores, resolved on the screen.
Hope seemed to be standing outside, the bottom edges of the storm clouds visible on the top part of the screen, though whatever vessel she was on was not visible, probably intentionally, though from the mobile suits and soldiers and armored vehicles visible on other parts of the deck in the background, it was plainly massive. Lexi was already analyzing and comparing relative sizes and distances in the image to determine the actual size of the craft, as well as cataloging the various machines and troops on display, no doubt merely a fraction of the incoming force but it never hurt to collect information whenever possible. Kira and Cagalli though only had eyes for Hope, who was clad in a plain quasi-uniform of black and dark blue, Cagalli especially taken aback at how at ease Hope seemed in such clothing, given how uncomfortable she'd always seemed in Orb or Alliance colors. And then she gasped again when she saw what was belted at Hope's waist, the scabbard of what was unmistakably a large sword of some kind. Hope was actually wearing a weapon, openly, even comfortably!
Her sister had her arms folded across her chest, a pose of challenge, her face locked down in a serious mask, a world of difference between the somewhat dorky but lovable image of her she still cherished in her mind. No matter how powerful she got, she'd always been her nerdy little sister in some ways, uncomfortable with the limelight, content to stand by the walls while others took center stage. Hope had never been a leader, she'd always been an inspirational person, but not really a leader, not like Athrun or Yzak or Cagalli herself or Lacus. She was smart and capable, so smart and capable, but she wasn't good at giving orders or being responsible for other's actions, especially in combat. Put her on the spot and she'd get a nervous look on her face, a look that said 'save me, Cagalli' or 'help me, Lacus, I'm out of my depth here'. If Hope was even slightly nervous now, for all that she was addressing an entire nation on public channels and staring her own estranged sister in the eyes, it wasn't apparent in the slightest. She'd hardly ever seen her more determined and focused actually. Hope had the look of a woman faced with an unpleasant task, but one she had no choice but to complete. And that was a worrisome look to have sent your direction.
"People of Orb." Hope said, her voice steady and quite clear, despite whipping sea winds which blew her tousled brown hair into an even more messy than usual state. "My name is Hope Yamato, sister of Queen Cagalli Yula Attha. I appear before you today as an envoy and official of the recently reformed Earth Alliance. My rank and title is Executor, one who executes the will of the people of the Earth and protects them from those who would do them harm. Those like ZAFT, and its component member-states. Such as Orb." Hope paused and let that sink in for a moment. "As a former citizen of Orb, I have no desire to inflict harm upon its populace, but we of the Earth are embroiled in a war...a war not of our choosing, with ZAFT, and thus with Orb. I am appearing here before you today to announce my intention to end Orb's participation in this war once and for all. This will be your first and only warning. All personnel who value their lives should evacuate all of Orb's military bases, ports, warships and facilities, even the top secret ones we aren't supposed to know about. In two hours time I will commence a systematic and comprehensive disarmament and dismantling of Orb's ability to wage or assist in this war. Anyone who remains in a military zone or ship at that time will become my enemy and will be destroyed by my hand or those of my troops."
Hope shifted her posture slightly, dropping one hand to the hilt of her sword, and giving Cagalli the chilling impression that she was looking her specifically in the eyes, though she knew it was an optical illusion. "I strongly urge anyone living near a military facility, especially including the military harbor in Nara-Attha City and the area around the Kaguya mass driver facility, to evacuate to safer ground immediately. I will be destroying all of Orb's military facilities and structures, as well as some civilian structures, such as the mass driver, that are being used in a military capacity. I will be deploying a weapon against which you have no defenses or capability of stopping, so any attempt at resistance will only increase your casualties significantly. The best thing you can do is stand down, stand back and stay out of my way. Conceivably, there need not be a single Orb casualty today, if you heed my warning fully, though the property damage will be quite significant." Hope glared into the screen, her eyes all but blazing with the seriousness that she was trying to convey. "You have two hours from this moment to evacuate the targeted areas that are being transmitted to you now. You will get no further warnings and no extensions on your time limit, and any attack upon us before the end of the time limit will result in my attack launching then and there. I am Executor Hope Yamato of Garden City, and this is your only chance to make this a bloodless battle. Please do so, as I do not have any rancour for Orb or its people."
"Shit..." Lexi commented as she received the data transmission from the forces within the storm. "That's Hope Yamato all right, and she must have been paying a lot of attention during all those Orb Defense Force briefings over the last dozen years. She knows where everything is! Even the stuff that should be above her clearance level!" Lexi shot a half accusatory glance towards Kira and Cagalli.
"If you didn't want her to know about it, you shouldn't have told me or Kira." Cagalli retorted, her defense somewhat distracted as she struggled to assimilate Hope's announcement.
"Yes, thankfully we do have a few installations that fit on that list, but not many." Lexi answered, though there was no heat in her voice. Reprimanding the Queen for her personal decisions was not something she was programmed to do, all she could do was point out the facts of the situation.
And then Kira brought up something which had been troubling Cagalli as well. "I wonder what she meant when she said that she would be attacking with a weapon against which we have no defense or chance of stopping?"
"Lets ask her!" Cagalli decided, gesturing for Lexi to turn on the two way audio. "Hope? Hope, this is Cagalli. Can you hear me?"
"I can hear you." Hope replied, changing from a wide band broadcast targeted at all of Orb to just the single channel going to the Orb National Palace. "Though I don't think we have much to talk about. Your time is ticking."
"You have no intention of negotiating with us at all?" Kira cut in, somewhat archly, even as he conducted other business silently with Lexi on the side.
"I'm not a negotiator, I'm an Executor. A doer, not a talker." Hope answered with a shrug and not an ounce of bend in her voice. "I drew my line in the sand a long, long time ago, and ZAFT chose to be stupid, and to cross that line. Orb has chosen to stand with ZAFT in fighting this unjust and frankly evil war against the people of Earth. That makes Orb, and you both, my enemy now. Even as things are, my own side isn't happy with my tactics here today, they would have preferred to just invade and raze Orb to the ground...as you attempted to do to Seattle, for instance. You have one hour and fifty eight minutes to evacute my target areas and abandon all the warships before I destroy them. I suggest you make better use of your time than talking to me."
"Hope, wait!" Cagalli demanded, utilizing a few of her more divine abilities to forcibly keep the communications link open. "Please, wait! You can't be serious...you wouldn't really recreate a scenario similar to the invasion of Orb during the Bloody Valentine Wars, down here, targeted at our military or not, would you?"
"Those events are not familiar to me, but if there is one thing you shouldn't doubt, Cagalli, it is my resolve to see that Orb is taken out of this war permanently. If you won't stand up to the evil that is ZAFT then I have no choice but to take matters into my hands and employ whatever means I see fit, no matter how destructive they might be, to knock you down so hard that you won't be able to get back up again in time to make a difference to the outcome of this war." Hope paused and sighed, her face softening a little bit. "I don't want to kill anyone, Cagalli, that has not and will not ever change. But Durandel and his shitty administration, along with anyone who supports, aides or abets them, which is Orb right now, have to be stopped at any and all costs. Don't fight me, please. I don't want your blood on my hands or my conscience, but don't you dare doubt that I will kill anyone who does not heed my warning! Even Athrun. Even you. So please, evacuate those bases, abandon your warships, and if you mean to fight, then by the love of Hameya, get the civilians out of the fucking way!" Hope slashed her hand in an obvious signal and the communication was cut.
"Lexi...if she does employ nanite warheads, can we stop them?" Kira asked, after a few seconds of watching his stunned Queen stare at the blank wall screen.
"We might be able to at least contain any warheads within a Positron field. For that matter, the Glasshouse should destroy any nanites that try to pass through it." Lexi replied after some consideration. "But the only real way to destroy nanites, modified or otherwise, should it be deployed inside the Glasshouse, will be anti-matter weaponry, which only Celestial Being possesses. I imagine they are already scrambling to respond to this announcement."
Cagalli only nodded, her stomach churning as she fought off a flashback of her encounter with nanites aboard the former Archangel during the Bloody Valentine Wars, millenia ago. That kind of awful scenario could very well be aimed at large sections of Orb territory right now, if Hope really was serious in her determination to destroy Orb's military forces no matter the cost, nanites were the best way to do that. Even if it was only a short duration version, five to ten hours of growth in a terrestrial environment would be enough to destroy any base, even an entire city perhaps, and the only cure would be more destructive still, assuming that Celestial Being would even be willing to divert the Divinity Gundam to such a destructive purpose! "Do we evacuate, or do we fight?" She asked, looking at Kira, in whose hands that decision would ultimatly rest, no matter her popular influence. "It kills me to admit it, but I don't think she's bluffing. She'll do exactly as she said she would."
"Lexi...begin immediate large scale evacuations of all civilian populations within a ten mile radius of any targeted point. Bring them inland as much as possible, most of our installations are on or near the coast and any fighting will be happening around them. Shut down the mass driver and put all defense forces on highest alert." Kira ordered, his hands clenched into fists on the arms of his chair. "Like or not, Hope was correct in at least one thing. We are part of ZAFT, though reluctantly, and we are now facing a credible threat to our nation. If I were to accede to Hope's demands it would be the end of my administration and any illusion of Orb's independence from ZAFT...Durandel would have me arrested and Orb put under martial law. I'm sorry, Cagalli, but we don't have any choice but to resist with all our strength. Orb does NOT allow others to interfere with our affairs, as your father once famously said. And though we have at times been forced to swallow those words, now is not such a time."
"I know." Cagalli said, sagging backwards on unsteady feet. "It's another impossible situation...if we did as Hope wanted, ZAFT would dismantle us and all but destroy Orb. If we're gonna go down, even against our own stupid sister, I'd prefer it be with a shout, not a whimper. If Hope wants to knock us out of this war, if she wants to lead a hostile attack on Orb soil, if she wants to destroy our ability to stand up for ourselves, then she's going to have to do it over my dead body!" Cagalli held her head high, even as tears began to gather in the corners of her eyes. "Whether she's gone crazy or whether she can just see what we can't understand, it doesn't change the fact that we have to stand against her now and do everything in our power to stop her. She has become Orb's enemy and she must be confronted and, if possible, shot down or captured." Cagalli turned and headed for the door.
"Cagalli, where are you going?" Kira asked, having been prepared to ask Lexi for a conference with Gilbert Durandel that he would have thought she'd want to be around for.
"It's always been the duty of Orb's Monarch to stand and defend their people's interest upon a battlefield if they were so able." Cagalli replied over her shoulder, her tone now just as steely and determined as Hope's had been. "I may not be in the best shape, but I can't worry about that now. My people...our people...need me to inspire them even as they need you to lead and direct them, Kira. I can best do that on the battlefield, in the Akatsuki. And who knows, while I'm out there I might be able to talk some sense into my stupid sister. She's still in there, somewhere, the Hope that we know and love. If anyone can find her and bring her out now...its going to either be me, or Mayu."
"Then I wish you luck. May you go with Hameya's blessing, my Queen." Kira said, standing and bowing slightly to her in the courtly fashion so rarely used except at the most formal of ceremonial events anymore.
"May she bless us all." Cagalli answered, half to herself. "Because I think we might be needing all the help we can get."