Disclaimer: This chapter will have character death and you all probably know who dies, but seriously I was almost crying when I wrote this, it's just so emotional I surprise myself sometimes. If a battle happens in this chapter I'll try to lengthen it out, but other than that I hope you enjoy chapter 27 and I'm sorry for updating so late but I've had difficulties with my other fan fics.
"Speech"
'Thought,'
"Communications"
Freedom, Justice and Wing-Zero.
Previously.
'Hmm, Helsion's fighting the Earth Forces by itself. If he retreated now I'd still make it back with half an hour to spare before they attack. It's obvious we can detect each other's movements through the Zero-System so he should know when I leave, first I have to complete this mission,' Heero thought, flying Wing-Zero through the connecting airlocks to the main structure.
Zala had obviously been expecting them to show up as there were media crews swarming around the GINN Siegel Clyne was crucified to, with 6 another GINNs surrounding the area. The media would clear out easily enough and the GINNs only have standard rifles and as long as the Hyper-Jammers were still active no one could electronically identify Wing-Zero. Not know how much time before Siegel died from his wounds Heero went for the direct approach, transforming Zero just before reaching the ground he slammed into the GINN then into a building making sure not to crush his father-in-law. With only standard rifles Zero would hardly take that any damage so acting quickly Heero left the safety of the cockpit, freed Siegel from his crucifixion, got back in the cockpit with his dying passenger and hightailed it out of there as fast as Zero's thrusters could take it.
Helsion's Cockpit.
'Good, Wing-Zero's left the Plants. It'll take him three hours to get back to the Eternal, leaving them with an hour before the Earth Forces arrive. Our forces will arrive two minutes later," Shawn paused, thinking of Flay. 'Better get back fast and see if she's ok,'
And now the Continuation.
Mendel Colony.
Archangel Bridge.
Three Hours Later.
"Captain, a contact just appeared on radar, it's Wing-Zero and he's coming in fast," Sai said from his console. "Incoming transmission,"
"Archangel this is Heero, have an emergency medical team standing by, my ETA is 2 minutes. And someone bring Lacus over, she'll want to say good bye to her father," Heero instructed as Murrue grabbed the phone from her arm rest, instructing the deck crew to get the emergency nets ready and alerting sickbay.
Heero only had a few second to use Zero's main jets to slow down before he had to rely on the emergency crash nets to bring him to a halt, then came the longest wait as he waited for the hanger to re-pressurise. Once the green light was given Heero carefully extracted himself and Siegel Clyne from the cockpit, handing him over to the waiting medics who quickly rushed to the infirmary. He had a pretty good guess that Siegel's injuries were life threatening and Zero had confirmed it, he knew Lacus would never seek revenge but she would be distraught for a while. That meant everyone would have to work hard not to get killed, the loss of more of her friends would cause her heart to shatter beyond recovery which would undoubtedly mean the end of any hope for peace. By the time Lacus arrived on the Archangel the medical staff had done all they could to stabilize her father but all they could do was make his last minutes alive comfortable.
"Heero, is my father going to be ok?" Lacus asked still dressed in her metal bikini, with Heero standing outside the infirmary.
"Lacus, I'm so sorry. If I had been able to get there sooner...," Heero trailed off, unable to say the rest.
"No," Lacus gasped, rushing inside to see her father lying on a bed hooked up to an IV and heart monitor. "Daddy!"
"Lacus?" Siegel asked weakly, smiling up at his distraught daughter. "My sweet beautiful Lacus, I'm so relieved to see you're alright,"
"Heero was lying wasn't he daddy? You're going to be just fine aren't you?" she sobbed, taking his hand tightly in hers.
"I'm sorry Lacus. There's nothing that can be done for me. It's my time to pass on, I'm just glad I could see you one last time," Siegel said, using his waning strength to kiss his daughter's cheek.
"Daddy please, you have to stay with me. I still you need to give me away at the wedding," Lacus begged, her tears falling in streams. "Please you're all I have left,"
"You know that's not true, my precious daughter. You have every one of your friends with you, and you have your future husband Heero, who all love you very much. I am honoured to have them watching over you in my place. You have been my little bundle of joy ever since you came into my life as well as your mother's, my only regret is that she is not alive to see the wonderful young woman her baby princess has grown into," Siegel's eyes slowly closed as he took his final breath. "I..., will always..., love....., you...........,"
"DADDY!"
The only sounds in the infirmary were the flat line tone from the heart monitor and Lacus' sobbing. Gingerly Heero came over and shut off the monitor, not know whether to stay and provide some small comfort for his girlfriend or leave the infirmary. Zero however gave him his answer.
"Lacus, the Earth Forces are on their way," Heero said, placing a hand on her shaking shoulder. "I want to stay but our chances of living through this will decrease if I don't go and fight. I promise I will protect you and everyone else who hopes for peace, I'm sorry I couldn't rescue your father on time so I don't expect you to forgive me. But I have to go,"
If Lacus had heard him she gave no indication as she continued to cry while the medical staff prepared for more casualties.
1800 from Mendel Colony.
Dominion Bridge.
"I still can't believe that one machine delayed us by 3 and half hours! Its pilot was making fools out of us!" Azrael complained, although no one was paying any attention to his temper tantrum.
"I don't mean to sound disrespectful but weren't you the one who ordered the Helsion's construction?" Natarle asked, not bothering to look at the terrorist leader.
"That machine wouldn't be so powerful without your help Badgiruel! You helped by obtaining the formula for Gundanium alloy, and don't you dare tell me you were under orders! I'm in a very precarious position as leader of Blue Cosmos, if I appear weak then other people won't take me seriously and those wretched coordinators will still be around to plague our existence!" Azrael shouted, scaring the bridge crew. "Your fortunate to be a competent captain otherwise I'd have your head. So next time we face that machine I want it destroyed, is that clear captain?"
"Yes sir," Natarle replied dejectedly.
"Captain! We're detecting a heat source approaching us from the colony up ahead, thermal pattern confirms it to be Wing-Zero!"
"Alright then, all hands level 1 battle stations! Activate Gottfrieds, Valliants and Igelstellungs! Arm all missile tubes with Korinthos! Prepare to launch all Mobilesuits, target Wing-Zero! And keep an eye out for the other ships," Natarle ordered, alarms blaring throughout the ship.
"Captain! Another heat source detected at the colony's harbour exit, confirming it as the Archangel! Wait, Wing-Zero's stopped advancing, it's just sitting there,"
"What's that pilot up to I wonder?" Azrael asked, rubbing his chin.
"This is Captain Natarle Badgiruel of the Earth Forces assault ship Dominion, Archangel do you read me?" Natarle asked, speaking into her armrest phone.
"This is Murrue Ramius, it's good to see you've been given a command of your own, though it's hardly a surprise," Murrue said, her image appearing on the forward screen.
"Captain Ramius, I feel you should know that the Archangel has been declared an enemy ship due to your dereliction of duty at Alaska. However I am giving you this opportunity to surrender and rejoin the military. I don't have much influence but I'll do my best to protect you and the crew, provided you hand over Wing-Zero and the two other machines that fought against the Earth Forces at Orb," Natarle stipulated.
"And what do you think of this deal, Heero?" Murrue asked.
"I'm not part of the military so I don't have to worry about charges placed against me. But then again surrendering to the military who willing sent troops to die in Alaska just to win a battle isn't something I care to do. You can make all the promises you want Badgiruel, the people at the top will just find a way to make us disappear. Don't you think I know what will happen to Lacus if she's taken prisoner? Tortured for information and used as a sex toy for degenerate soldiers, she just lost her father, I won't allow her to suffer any more heartache!" Heero shouted, aiming the buster rifle at the Dominion. "Come at me with everything you've got Badgiruel, there's no way I'll be defeated by the likes of you!"
"Well said, Heero Yuy. But words alone will never win a war. The simple truth is that in war you have enemies and when you have enemies you shoot them," Azrael said condescendingly. "You hear him captain, launch everything we've got at him, if he won't surrender we'll just have to destroy him,"
"Director Azrael?"
"Azrael? The leader of Blue Cosmos? At least now I know why the Earth Forces are still after us. Azrael, you'll never get your hands on Wing-Zero, the Freedom or the Justice. We all have someone we want to protect so dying isn't an option for us at the moment, not even your three psycho pilots can take us down," Heero chuckled, lowering the buster rifle, turning Zero's back to face the Dominion. "Take a free shot if you want, I won't even fight back for the first five minutes. Wing-Zero out,"
"Well now, with that kind of proposal I'd be a fool not to accept," Azrael murmured sadistically.
"Director Azrael, you can't be seriously be expecting our machines to take down Wing-Zero in five minutes? Remember he did destroy the Tallgeese and Epyon singlehandedly as well as infiltrate the Luna base preventing us from manufacturing Gundanium alloy," Natarle objected. "I strongly recommend we withdraw and call for reinforcements,"
"Wing-Zero is still just one Mobilesuit, we simply need to overwhelm it. With support fire from the Dominion we can destroy it. And who cares that we can't manufacture Gundanium alloy, it would have taken us years to make enough for all our forces but I'm not willing to wait that long. Right now this discussion is over," Azrael said, pressing a button on his armrest. "Calamity, Forbidden and Raider launch! Target Wing-Zero and don't worry he won't be fighting back, as long as you can defeat him within five minutes,"
"Five minutes? We'll take him down in 3," Shani sneered.
"Yeah, we own him for making fools of us at Orb," Clotho added.
"But you still want those other two machines intact, don't you boss?" Orga asked, as the Calamity was moved to the catapult.
"That would be very beneficial to you and to me as well. So make sure you finish off Wing-Zero quickly," Azrael instructed.
Wing-Zero's Cockpit.
"Have you gone insane Heero? You'll be dead in five minutes if you take on those three machines by yourself!" Shinobu shouted, as the Dominion's launch doors opened.
"Just keep the rest of our Mobilesuits to guard the Archangel and Eternal. The M1s can defend the Kusanagi. And before you say anything sis, I'm not doing this to prove something, I need to protect you and Lacus," Heero replied, gripping the control sticks tightly. "Everything precious to me is on the Archangel, so I can't afford to be defeated. Besides you know Wing-Zero's capabilities as much as I do, so who would you bet on?"
"I'd bet on you and Wing-Zero any day of the week. Show them what that machine can really do," Shinobu said, as Zero's alarms went off signalling incoming Mobilesuits.
"And here come the cockroaches!" Heero cheered, kicking Zero's jets into action, barely avoiding a salvo from the Calamity's shoulder cannons.
"I'll show you who's a cockroach, bastard!" Clotho shouted, firing the Raider's mace at Zero's head and missing.
Archangel Bridge.
"Captain Ramius, please let us launch," Athrun requested, sitting in the Justice. "We have to help Wing-Zero,"
"No Athrun, our job is to protect the Archangel and Lacus. With Heero fighting those 3 machines the Dominion only has Strike Daggers, against this ship only Dearka and the Commander would need to launch. Anyway if Shinobu says Heero can handle himself then I won't argue, so unless she says otherwise we're not going anywhere," Kira said, sitting in the Freedom.
"I'm flattered you think so highly of us kid," Mu smirked from the Strike.
"Captain, the Dominion's targeting Wing-Zero!" Sai exclaimed.
"Back him up," Murrue commanded, reaching for the phone on her chair.
"Captain if you try to help Heero will open fire on the Archangel," Shinobu retorted, grabbing Murrue's arm.
"Shinobu?"
"Just wait 4 more minutes, he doesn't need our help," Shinobu replied, releasing her grip on the captain's arm. "No matter what happens we can't interfere. Sai has the Dominion launched its Strike Daggers?"
"Uh, yes, they've launched their Mobilesuits but they're going after the Kusanagi," Sai answered.
"Then have Mu and Dearka launch to assist the Kusanagi and their M1s, Kira and Athrun can stay behind to protect the Archangel," Shinobu said keeping her eyes off the battle. "If this ship goes down humanity will be annihilated,"
"Very well, Miriallia, have the Commander and Dearka launch to assist the Kusanagi. The Archangel will remain here with the Freedom and Justice," Murrue ordered, the crew instantly responding.
Disclaimer: Oh look at that another cliff-hanger. Anyway sorry for the delay, I'm just having trouble keeping things mostly within the original story line. I'm not sure when Shawn and Flay will appear but I was thinking when Le Creuset plans to give the EF the N-Jammer canceller data, or he has someone other than Flay deliver the key. So leave a review and I'll get back to you with the next chapter when I can, bye.