Disclaimer: Merely a work of fandom.

Pairings: Athrun x Cagalli, Shinn x Cagalli, Kira x Lacus, the rest have yet to be decided.

A New Dawn

Chapter 1

Precipice

by tarot-flair

Cosmic Era 75 6.19

One year after the end of the Second Bloody Valentine War

"Cagalli! Here!" The Princess of Orb's head bodyguard, Kisaka, urgently seized her arm and steered her down yet another corridor. Twin gunshots rang out behind them and the sound of pounding footsteps in pursuit echoed down the hallway.

Turning a corner, Kisaka and Cagalli met up with the few remaining men from the Head Representative of Orb's personal guard force.

"Cagalli-sama, we have to get you to safety. There's a hangar in this building two floors down, if we can get there, you can pilot- " Uthar's tense whisper was abruptly cut off by the explosion from a grenade tossed in their vicinity. Cagalli instantly felt Kisaka's arm wrap around her shoulders protectively as they were thrown to the ground by the force of the explosion. Debris showered onto the pitifully small contingent of five men and the woman they so desperately protected and the acrid smell of smoke and explosives permeated the area.

"Cagalli-sama, we have to get moving! They are getting closer!" Kisaka forcibly dragged the trembling Princess away from the horrifying scene of Uthar's charred body. Closing his eyes briefly, he murmured a quick prayer for the loyal, dead bodyguard and tightening his hold on the Princess, urged her toward the stairs. Bitter regret at having believed in the sincerity of the olive branch extended by the President of Eurasia filled Kisaka; if only they had not traveled to this cursed land, if only they had not wanted so badly to believe that there could be peace on Earth, if only they had brought more soldiers, if only, if only. If only. But time could not be turned back no matter how hard Kisaka wished and his top priority was getting the Princess of Orb to safety. All the bitter regrets and recriminations could come later.

With the end of the Second Bloody Valentine War and the peace treaty signed between PLANT and Orb, the countries of both Earth and PLANT had settled down to a tenuous calm in order to rebuild their countries and restore the shattered economy. Orb, with its long history of equality among Coordinators and Naturals alike and the close relations between Cagalli Yula Athha and the current Chairperson of PLANT, Lacus Clyne, had quickly emerged as the superior power on Earth. Unfortunately, the restoration of its political stability and economic strength were accompanied by the envy and resentment of various nations. This was hardly the first attempted assassination of the Lioness of Orb, the symbol of Orb's ideals of neutrality, equality and peace; the woman credited with the numerous peace treaties and trade agreements in effect all over the world. The difference, this time, was that they were far from home turf and had four men to the possibly conservative estimate of four hundred trained soldiers on their heels.

A bullet whizzed dangerously close by his ear and he instinctively shielded Cagalli with his body. Using a row of machines as cover, Kisaka exchanged rapid gunfire with two of Eurasia's Elite Armed Forces and one man, mysteriously clothed in black with no sign of any allegiance.

"Commander, please take Cagalli-sama to safety. We will take care of this." Eltho, a Coordinator who had pledged his loyalty to Orb, whispered urgently, his eyes fiercely determined.

"Eltho…" Cagalli's amber eyes filled with tears; eyes which had witnessed far too much conflict, sorrow and pain. She shook her head, fresh tears coursing down her already damp cheeks.

"Cagalli-sama, everything will be alright. It's been an honor. Now, go!" Smiling gently and fondly at the deceptively fragile woman, he turned back and fired several more rounds, wounding one and dispatching another. "Go! Commander, what are you waiting for!"

Nodding respectfully to the three men who remained behind to hold back the increasing waves of soldiers, Kisaka pulled Cagalli down the flight of stairs, emerging into an empty hangar.

"Is her death confirmed?"

"No, but it shouldn't be long now."

"Hnn, she's been one lucky bitch. Notify me immediately when you retrieve her body."

"Has the press conference been prepared?"

"The media will be informed shortly. You don't have to worry about these details, just do away with her and everything will proceed smoothly." Lips curled around the cigar and he leaned back onto the comfortable couch in the Parliament House, breathing out a cloud of pungent cigar smoke.

Kisaka stared in disbelief at the empty hangar at the military base of Eurasia. Not a single fighter jet or mobile suit in sight. It had been entirely cleaned out. The bastards had definitely put some thought into this operation. Clenching his fists, he suppressed the threatening sense of helplessness and pressed one of his guns into Cagalli's hands. Removing several rounds of ammunition from his coat, he handed them to Cagalli with a grim smile, "just in case."

This was the largest military installation on Eurasia, there was no way they could have removed all the air forces in so short a time. That meant that there had to be some secreted away close by. Keeping Cagalli protectively behind his back, he ran along the walls of the hangar, towards the exit. If they could get out of this camera-monitored, empty space, it would be easier to find a place to hide or steal a transport vehicle.

Crouching behind the door of the exit, Kisaka leaned out and saw the mobilization of units in the distance. They were pulling out all the stops to ensure the death of the Head Representative of Orb. However, the empty hangars in the area also meant that they were fairly isolated from any active squadrons; there was no choice but to go out into the open.

"Cagalli-sama, no matter what happens, you have to survive and find a way back to Orb. Evade detection and wait for an opportunity to steal a mobile suit, shuttle or fighter jet; anything that will get you away from here, do you understand? No matter what happens, you have to survive." Kisaka had never been so grateful for the unconventional princess' combat ability and distaste for dresses. Gazing into her fierce, tear-filled amber orbs, Kisaka felt mildly comforted that if anyone stood a chance at survival, it was definitely Cagalli Yula Athha.

"Of course, Kisaka, but I won't be leaving alone." Cagalli forced a tremulous smile and with practiced hands, loaded the gun and removed the safety bolt.

Just as they were moving out from the exit, a gunshot resounded in the eerie emptiness of the hangar.

"Cagalli-sama!" Red blossomed on the pure white of her military uniform as she was knocked back into Kisaka's arms. Wasting no time, Kisaka dragged Cagalli out of the door, slamming it in shut just in time to hear the deafening cacophony of bullets rebounding off impervious metal alloy.

"It's alright, Kisaka, let's go!" Cagalli bit out even as she pressed a hand over the rapidly spreading spot of red on her shoulder. Ascertaining that the wound was not fatal for the moment, the shaken bodyguard supported her around the waist and took off towards a building marked Sector 73. He could hear the alarms set off in the distance and the increasing volume of commotion behind them made him quicken his steps; his heartbeat ringing alarmingly loud in his ears as he prayed fervently for Cagalli's escape.

Gunshots were fired in quick succession at the escaping pair and Kisaka vaguely felt a burning sensation in his arm. Shrugging it off, he shoved Cagalli into an alleyway even as he shot several of their pursuers in the head before ducking into the temporary protection of the alleyway too. Sector 73 was no longer an option; they would have to find another hangar and at the rate the situation was escalating, they had better find it soon.

Gritting his teeth, Kisaka shepherded his precious burden down another side alley and tried to ignore the searing pain. He had taken another bullet in the thigh in the previous brief confrontation but adrenaline and the fear gnawing at him were very effective painkillers.

They had been running for several minutes when Kisaka spotted the telltale signs of a mobile suit storage sector.

"Cagalli-sama, here!" He had barely managed to grasp the door handle when a gunshot rang out and his semi-automatic skidded away from any possible retrieval. Cursing his ineptitude, he was moving to shield the petite Princess when another gunshot fired and the Eurasia Soldier fell heavily to the ground, blood already pooling around him from a fatal, well-placed chest wound.

"Kisaka, your arm! Your hand…" The foolishly compassionate 19-year-old Head of State looked down in dismay at his bleeding hand. The bullet had merely grazed his palm and although it was bleeding rather profusely, did not hurt quite as much as the bullet lodged in his thigh but he made no sign of discomfort as he bent forward to retrieve the soldier's handgun.

"It'll take more than a wound like this to bring me down, Cagalli-sama. I'll definitely still be around to remind you to wear a dress for your wedding." Patting her golden head tenderly, Cagalli's bodyguard since quite possibly forever, proceeded to twist the knob of the door, leading an uneasy Princess into the cool darkness.

The pair had not gone more than twenty paces when they spotted the unmistakable outline of a mobile suit – large, imposing and probably a GAT-01 Strike Dagger, the mass-produced and favored unit utilized by the Eurasian forces. It would be a cinch for Cagalli to operate and Kisaka felt hope flooding his rapidly pounding heart.

He had barely a second to enjoy the momentary euphoria when several more gunshots found their targets in the steel pillar directly in front of them. Instinctively, he pulled Cagalli closer to him and laid his back flat against the pillar.

In the brief lull before rounds of gunfire, Kisaka risked a glance around the pillar at their adversaries. Quickly, he scanned the area; two men crouched by a mobile suit controller, one more to the left wing of the hangar and two more directly beneath the mobile suit he planned to steal. With reflexes honed by countless years of warfare, it only took a millisecond for Kisaka to aim and fire at the two men hunkered down near the mobile suit. A dull thud and a muttered curse, the clatter of a gun dropped and the ominous sound of the reloading of a gun echoed in the eerie stillness of the hangar. Damn. He had only managed one clean kill, possibly wounded the other; that still left him with four opponents and a princess who really ought not to be here. More bullets pounded into the pillar serving as their cover. Kisaka had grown up listening to the dissonance of gunfire and explosives but it was a sound he had never been reconciled with.

"Cagalli, when I give the signal, run for the mobile suit. You have only to get into the pilot's seat, do not concern yourself with anything else, do you promise?" His voice was solemn, grim and brooked no argument.

Even with her hair covered in a fine layer of dust and littered with debris, a bullet graze on her cheek and an assortment of smudges and bloodstains, the fierce frustration and infuriated impotence in those eyes reminded him of a lion. She was every inch the Lioness of Orb indeed; her golden eyes, golden mane, Uzumi-sama would have been proud of her. Smiling gently, he hugged her lightly to him before pushing her out in the direction of the mobile suit even as he leapt out from behind the pillar, instantly firing and killing the man by the Dagger.

Firing several more shots in the general vicinity where he had last seen the two men crouched by the mobile suit controller, his heart contracted sharply when Cagalli's scream shattered the still air. Catching sight of the slight movement made by a figure in black, Kisaka instinctively took aim and only when the silhouette crumpled into an unmoving heap did he run frantically towards the direction of the scream.

Her gun thrown a good distance away from her and flung onto her back, Cagalli momentarily recalled a similar scenario three years ago on a deserted island in the Pacific Ocean. But the cold, expressionless eyes she was confronted with were far different from the passionate fury of a set of emerald orbs. Her scream was not likely to have earned her the same leniency she had experienced three years ago from a Coordinator. Ironically, there was no hesitance in this Natural's pull of the trigger when once, a Coordinator had paused in the swing of his knife. Cagalli only had time to close her fingers around the chain she wore perpetually around her neck before a black blur dashed before her and the fatal blows of two guns were fired.

"Kisaka… Kisaka!"

"Kisaka… you stupid fool!" The Princess of Orb chanted brokenly, her hands desperately trying to stem the heavy flow of blood gushing from a chest wound.

"Kisaka, please… you have to get up… we have to go home…"

"Cagalli, the mobile suit, now! You promised… and you don't break your promises. Go now, please."

The tears could not seem to stop flowing, the anguish of the heart overwhelming all her senses so that vision was a dim blur and hearing, a muffled sensation. She wanted to stay here, beside his comforting solidity and suffer the same wounds. This gush of blood would surely remove the all-encompassing ache in her heart; of witnessing people she loved dying over and over again. They never gave her the chance.

"Cagalli… it's alright… so go…" His voice was a faint whisper, laden with affection.

"Kisaka…" With one last glance, she picked up the semi-automatic discarded by the dead assassin and ran blindly towards the mobile suit, his blood seemingly etched into her skin.

Author's Notes: Gundam Seed Destiny is the very first anime that has prompted me to write fanfiction. The ending left me so dissatisfied and frustrated that I actually attempted writing a continuation. I'm sorry to say that there will be lots of angst ahead and quite possibly a lot of Shinn x Cagalli because I'm so very intrigued by that pairing. Comments will be very much appreciated.