Hey Everyone,
I know I just released another sort of author note-ish chapter previously, but I thought this was slightly necessary as to illustrate the path of where this story is going. I realized going through my outline for this story that in order to really flesh out everything that I have in store is going to require the content of another set of fictions. That being said, I'll continue releasing chapters for Gundam Seed Parallel, but in the Gundam 00 Fandom I'll also be planning out another work to narrate Apollo's time with Celestial Being, since that has effectively been skipped over in the chapter "Pack of Wolves." In the UC Fandom, will be another work detailing the Eternal's effect in the Gundam Unicorn story. Covering their efforts to find the Laplace's box (and more Reina X Shirou shipping 3). So just be on the look-out for those and I'll announce it in the future.
Anyways I hope you all had a good Christmas and a Happy New Year
"Yo, Newbie, welcome aboard," Gara nodded. The small Japanese boy tossed him a loaf of bread, "here are your rations for the week, eat up, but don't eat too much." Gara wasn't really much of a sight to see, he was relatively short for his age, had messy black hair and wore a brown jacket around with the Black Flag emblem emblazoned on the back. He carried himself around like he was the boss, the Big Boss showed him and Gara the most favor and left them in command positions a lot of the time.
"Ok," Apollo replied. He'd been used to being hungry since his father died, but only a loaf of bread for the week was a bit of a challenge. Gara walked around the barracks, back then it was pretty empty, only a few other kids filled the beds, but as time wore on their numbers would increase. For now Gara was the commander over two others, Fareed Al-Shaara and himself.
Fareed was of Middle Eastern origin. His hair like most of the kids in the Barracks was a messy but glowing dark brown. He wore the Black Flag jacket, but over it a linen scarf from his homeland. It was filled with beautiful patterns and blended colors; Fareed always held this scarf close to him. He didn't talk much and most of the time he fiddled around with some rocks or look at a locket that belonged to his late parents. Whenever he did talk, it was mostly to reply to Gara's demands, occasionally he'd open up to Apollo, but those times were fairly rare.
Apollo, at the time, was still coping with the loss of his father and downward spiral of grief his mother went into. He put on a facade of strength and willingness to do what is best, but at times, it was hard to stay like that. He wanted someone to at least get his feelings off his chest with, especially someone like Shirou. Against the orders of the Big Boss, he would sneak out at night to the same hill where he and Shirou would sit out and talk, hoping one day that he'd show up. Apollo would often stay out there for hours waiting for him, but that moment would never come.
During those times, Apollo would look out into the stars and imagine what it was like to live in the colonies. He'd heard tales of the fantastic battles that took place in the skies above; he'd hear tales of fantasy and how the heroes of old like Kira Yamato, Athrun Zala, and Shinn Asuka would bravely fight out there in those skies, fighting for justice and freedom; he'd hear tales of the beauty of the colonies and the wealth of the people there. The world above Apollo seemed to be one that he wanted to make his home. There was nothing left for him on Onogoro Island. His home became a place of sadness and a constant reminder of the struggle to stay on the line between life and death.
On one night, when Apollo sneaked out of the Barracks, Fareed and Gara caught a glimpse of him in a half-asleep daze. They woke up and followed him in silence, wondering where he would go. Eventually, they came across him, sitting in a clearing on top of a lonely hill, staring at the stars. They snuck up on him and jumped onto him when they had the chance. Apollo, surprised, fell over and shoved them off.
"What are you doing out here," Gara asked, "why would you leave the Barracks to sit out here and look at the stars. They're just stars." Fareed sat back and nodded in agreement with Gara.
"They aren't just stars to me," Apollo replied, "I look at them and imagine what it must be like to leave this place, go to the colonies."
"Only rich people get to go up there," Gara retorted. He didn't believe that Apollo could believe in such a naive idea. Going up to the PLANTs requires a fortune which none of them have.
"On this hill, I made a promise to a friend that one day we'll reach the heavens, and to one day meet him up there," Apollo said quietly, "I know this is too much to ask, but you two are all I really have left, and I have no place to return to. Will you help me meet him there?"
"Will we," Fareed blared, "of course we will, you may not see it yet, but we are your brothers, Apollo." Both Gara and Apollo were astonished that Fareed could speak that loud, but he was right. Now that Apollo was a part of Black Flag, they were brothers in arms. "We are your brothers, friends, comrades, whatever. Like you, Gara and I are in this place because we have nothing left to return to either." Fareed clutched his fists around his scarf and began to cry. The sudden memory of the UHFS indiscriminately bombing his town flashed through his mind. The pain and guilt of being a survivor overwhelmed him, the unfortunate luck that he survived while everyone else in his life died, it was all too much. Gara explained this all to Apollo and struck him, "the place I call home was no more."
Gara nodded and put his hand on Apollo's shoulder. "I have to agree with Fareed as well. My family was taken in by UHFS Enforcers, and I never heard from them again. Like Fareed I too don't have anything to return to." Gara sighed and rested his head against Apollo's head, "I hoped everyday that one day they'll return. Maybe if we go up there up there ourselves, I'll find them, and we'll find your friend too, Apollo." Just a little, Apollo felt like he had found a new home among his brothers in the Black Flag. Maybe, they didn't need to go up to the PLANTs at all he thought to himself.
"One day we'll all make it up there," Apollo said.
On the battlefield of the Sanctuary, Apollo looked at Fareed's Gundam Excalibur. "Why are you doing this Fareed," Apollo asked, "this violence, the death, why?"
"They are the reason why we have nothing left to go back to, Apollo," Fareed replied. He clutched his hands around the control sticks of the Excalibur Gundam, "I don't what they did to you in these last three months, if they brainwashed you. But isn't this what we are fighting for."
"No, Fareed, this isn't what I was fighting for," Apollo cried, "No, this isn't what I was fighting for, I just wanted to do what I could to reunite with my friend. To bring peace to my mother and provide for them. I didn't want any of this, I only joined the Black Flag for peaceful reasons, but you know why I quit, eventually I saw it for what it was. This violence only creates more violence."
"Why let the UHFS rule any longer? Look what they did to Gara's Family, what they did to my family. You should know what the UHFS did to you too. First, they denied your family access to the medication your father needed, and then they kidnap you out of nowhere and force you to go on a suicide mission in that deathtrap of a mobile suit" Fareed replied, "this injustice, I won't allow it to exist any longer." Fareed armed the Excalibur Gundam's Sword, "don't make me cut through you to destroy this abomination of a government."
"Do you remember that night on the hill," Apollo replied, "why can't we just put aside these vendettas and just live in harmony with the people here. Maybe you can even start a new home up here in the stars with the rest of us. They pardoned me and let me live among them, why won't you..."
"Enough, Apollo, don't you get it, nothing's the same. That night on the hill maybe meant something to you, but all it did was reinforce my hatred for the UHFS. They did this to us," Fareed exclaimed, "those words are just a petty memory. Nothing will change my stance on this and even if I have to cut through every living soul to get my revenge, then I'll do it." Apollo realizing that his words weren't getting across armed both of his Variable Output Beam Rifles.
"That's enough, Fareed," the Big Boss called over the communications line, "return to the Baron Quinn."
"But sir," Fareed interrupted.
Aboard the Baron Quinn, the Big Boss responded, "I won't risk my best pilot going against a new set of reinforcements and the Gundam Parallel. Return to the Baron Quinn we're pulling out." The Big Boss raised his hand and signaled for a retreat. Flares were shot out of the Baron Quinn's missile chambers and the rest of the fleet followed. All the mobile suit forces retreated along with the Excalibur Gundam and the Wolves. The Omega Gundam returned to the Ptolemaios and the battle came to an end.
"Big Boss," one of the officers queried, "what are we going to do about the Omega Model Gundam Parallel."
"I have plans for that," the Big Boss replied gruffly, "in our last hack we took the plans for the Gundam Parallel, and we think our team was able to recreate a model for us." The Big Boss adjusted his seat and continued, "let's hope that this model will keep up with that suit, it appears they changed something about it but I don't know what."
Aboard the Archangel Mikael, Captain Wengfang opened a communications channel with Captain Sumeragi of the Ptolemaios. Everyone else on the bridge looked at the screen to see who the crew of this mystery ship was. "This is Captain Zhu Wengfang of the UHFS Archangel Mikael. Who am I speaking with?"
"My name is Sumeragi Kari Morales, Captain of the Ptolemaios," Sumeragi replied. She tried her best to sound as authoritative as possible.
"I know that you have the UHFS's classified mobile suit aboard your ship and if it wasn't for the current circumstances, I'd have to order the fleet to fire on you. Can you please explain how you came in possession of the Gundam Parallel."
"We stumbled upon it," Sumeragi fumbled. She didn't really have a good explanation on how they recovered the Omega Gundam. "All I can say is that we, Celestial Being, come in peace and that if you are willing, we can talk about this over some tea." Captain Wengfang thought it about her offer for a second. They had no reason to believe they were enemies. He looked briefly at the rest of his crew on the bridge, they stared back blankly expecting a definitive answer.
"I accept your offer. We'll be sending out a mobile suit team to assist your ship in docking with the Sanctuary," Wengfang replied. "Send orders to the rest of the ships in the fleet to back down and return to the Sanctuary for repairs. Send out some Murasames to bring in the Ptolemaios. I expect we have a new ally and we should establish good relations with them."
"Yes, sir," the officer replied. Elsewhere on the Archangel, Shinji drifted around towards his living quarters aboard the Archangel. He tried to think of everything he did wrong, but it was no use, he did his best, but the other mobile suit was overwhelmingly powerful. The Strike Impulse wasn't enough for some reason, and there wasn't anything he could do to fight a mobile suit of that caliber. The Excalibur Gundam could match him no matter what he threw at it. He drifted towards the recreational area and rested on one of the couches there. Guile conveniently walks in and joins him. He hadn't yet changed out of his pilot suit and his blonde hair was dripping with sweat.
Shinji turned to him and laughed, "I think no one would guess a politician like you would like you do now, let alone smell like you do," pointing out Guile's body odor. Guile chuckled and quickly checked, his face cringed when he realized how badly he smelled.
"Yes, I guess you're right, " Guile stretched, "It's been too long since I've last flown in the Akatsuki." He lifted up a bottle of water and took a couple of sips out of it. "I'm getting too old to fly, but you guys needed all the help you can get, isn't that right, Shinji," Guile added, "I don't want my brightest pupil going to waste out there." He tapped Shinji on the shoulder, Shinji didn't respond and just looked downtrodden. "You did good, don't be disappointed. That new model and the group of custom Zaku units almost did us all in."
"Isn't there something I could've done better, Guile, " Shinji asked, "I ran through simulations of this battle countless numbers of times, I did everything I could, yet we still almost lost. If it wasn't for the entrance of that other mobile suit..."
"Well that's one thing we haven't covered, " Guile replied. He took a few more sips from his water, "it's a rather important lesson, that I'm still learning myself. Our grandparents knew this lesson better than anyone because they were so involved with war just as much as peace during their lifetimes. But the battlefield is a place full of unpredictability. One small move and ' poof' you could be dead, just plain unlucky, or in our case we were fortunate for the appearance of that ship and that red mobile suit."
"I see," Shinji sighed. He got up and stretched his arms out and sat back down. Still a bit down, but Guile's wisdom really helped him out.
"Don't sweat it," Guile concluded, "I should really get changed though. The peace conference with the other ship is going to start soon, and I want to at least look presentable to their crew, after all I'm just as much a pilot as I am a politician, and I have to carry myself that way." Shinji nodded, and Guile walked off. Shinji headed towards the exit of the Archangel and onto the Sanctuary Colony. As he crossed the sky-bridge leading into the colony, he saw the Ptolemaios stationed next to the Archangel. It was an interesting design for a ship. It looked like it had four launch pads for mobile suits, and above it were two main cannons and many missile launch pads. The bridge wasn't visible from his vantage point, but he guessed it was nestled in between two of the launch bays for protection. In the back of the ship were several conically shaped engines which didn't lead into any propulsion system he recognized. The Ptolemaios unlike the Archangel, was painted a navy blue with white beneath it. Squinting a bit, he could see the crew aboard the Ptolemaios disembarking and heading towards the Sanctuary.
Following the lit pathway, he walked into the main area of the Sanctuary colony. The artificial sun filled the sky above him and the whole building rotated around a fixed axis to maintain a gravitational pull to the surface of the colony. The scenery looked like any you could find with the exception of looking up and only seeing more land. Having lived on the PLANTs most of his life, Shinji was not surprised by the scene, but always enjoyed looking at it and imagining what it must have been like for humans in the past to even conceive such an idea as building a giant colony in the vastness of space. Despite knowing he was far away from his home colony that had fallen into Black Flag control, Shinji felt at peace here like it was his home.
Shinji continued strolling through the streets of the Sanctuary and witnessed the sorry state of the refugees. There were tents lined up around the colony and many of the houses and other buildings became shelters for others. Families were huddled together and braving the storm while others looked for relatives or anyone close to them to stay close to. The once proud people of the colonies had suddenly been stripped of everything they owned all because the Black Flag wanted some form of revenge on them. For what, Shinji asked himself, these people did nothing wrong, to go from the safety and comfort of their homes to barely surviving disgusted him, and the Black Flag claimed it as vengeance for the state the UHFS left them in after the Valentine Wars.
Shinji made his way toward the town center. The guards, recognizing his blue and white ORB Union uniform, let him into the building. Inside the banquet hall of the town center, the preparations for the meeting had already been finished with enough seats for at least the number of crew the Ptolemaios that were joining them for the meeting and seats for Shinji, Guile, and Captain Wengfang. A few moments later, Captain Wengfang emerged from the doorway with the person who appeared to be the Captain of the Ptolemaios and two others who he assumed were guards.
"This is Captain Sumeragi of the Ptolemaios, " Wengfang introduced. She wore a magenta Celestial Being Uniform with white gloves. Her brown-red hair was curled unlike usual, and she held a very commanding presence, like Captain Wengfang, but she seemed like the type of person to also have a lenient side. Beside her were her two guards, one of which was a Middle Eastern man with messy, gray hair and oddly multicolored eyes. He wore a blue version of the uniform that Sumeragi wore, but her crew became even more odd when Shinji examined the other guard. The other guard wore a red mask which covered his eyes and his long black hair was slick back and rested on his shoulders. He wore the orange uniform, but seemed less comfortable in it unlike the others, but more or less belonged in it. Upon looking at his hands, Shinji noticed that one of them was natural, but the other looked like a very advanced prosthetic hand that was textured realistically and moved almost as naturally as the other.
"You must be Shinji," Captain Sumeragi stated, "I'm Sumeragi, it's nice to meet you." She held out her hand and Shinji shook it. Then the Middle Eastern man stepped up in front of Sumeragi and held out his hand.
"Setsuna, Setsuna F. Seiei," he said. Shinji shook his hand reluctantly. The other man in the mask stood up and held out his hand. Shinji shook it and expected him to say his name, but it didn't come by.
Sumeragi introduced him, "This is Hallelujah, he's a bit of the silent type, but he was eager to join us at this conference. " Sumeragi glared at Apollo, expecting him to add more, but she realized that it was important to keep his identity a secret from the people from his home "dimension." If they found out he was alive, they'd most likely try to take him back as he is a valuable asset to the UHFS. Soon, Captain Wengfang, Shinji and Guile, escorted them into the banquet hall where they began to talk about the current state of affairs between the two parties.
Elsewhere aboard the Baron Quinn, Fareed and Gara sat in the briefing chamber where they met the Big Boss. Instead of wearing his normal trench coat and other wares, he wore a customized Black Flag military uniform with his rank as leader on it. "I have your assignments," he commanded. The Big Boss handed them two tablets with their mission being displayed on it. It displayed a lone station in orbit around Mars and a couple of ships nearby.
"What is this," Gara asked. He poked around on the tablet to get more details but his answer had yet to be received.
"These are the UHFS supply stations 'Ares One' and 'Ares Two.' Our next mission is simple, we either take the supply stations for our own or destroy them if the resistance proves to be too heavy," the Big Boss informed, "we'll be arriving from the mission launch point in a couple of weeks, rest up and get ready." The Big Boss smiled, "I trust that you two will be more than capable of completing this mission with ease." He left the room, and after a few moments, Gara and Fareed got up and left as well.
Fareed walked over to the living quarters for the Wolves. Out of the several faces that were there before the battle only a few remained. Empty beds and empty tables were all that was left. It felt like this after every battle, many of them would go into the fight proud and only a few would leave. The familiar scene had grown on Fareed, but rather than being heartbroken by the loss of his comrades, their deaths only fueled the fire for revenge in his heart. He clenched his fist and vowed that one day he'll avenge them.
Gara gave a quick glance at him; he worried about his state of mind since the day Apollo was "killed." Fareed's demeanor darkened as each day passed. Even going as far as ditching the red scarf he always used to wear, in order to further himself away from his tragic past. But that tragic past never left him, all that did was throw away the memories, the good ones, that came from that time long ago in the desert. Now that he encountered Apollo face to face on the battlefield, fighting for the enemy, there must have been some form of new development.
"Yo, Fareed," Gara said to him, "do you think that was Apollo, out there in that mobile suit. "
"If it was or wasn't doesn't matter to me," Fareed replied, "he was fighting for the enemy. He defended the man that killed so many of our own." Gara knew he was right, Apollo defended him, but knowing Apollo, it probably wasn't because he was fighting for the UHFS. Gara recalled Apollo's absolute belief in the preciousness of life. Even facing enemies sworn to kill him, Apollo never took kill shots, only disarming them when it seemed possible. Whoever was in that mobile suit, the Gundam Parallel, acted the same way, moved the same way, his voice was the same as the Apollo they knew.
"I'm sure that was Apollo out there," Gara said confidently, "I sure as hell don't want to face him in the next fight, that mobile suit he has packs some serious power."
"Then stand back there and I'll deal with him."
"Are you really ready to kill him?"
"Gara, I think you know my answer."
"But why, Fareed? Our fight is against the UHFS not against him, not against anyone from that ship."
"In that moment, when he stopped me from killing that transforming Gundam, he became friends with the enemy, claiming to find a place among them. That's b***s*** and you know it. The real Apollo would never do such a thing."
"Is that the real Apollo or is that you inserting yourself into the real Apollo," Gara replied angrily. He slammed his fist against the door, "I hate seeing you like this. I don't want you doing something you'll regret just for some personal vendetta, as if its your destiny to bring down the UHFS and kill as many as you can in the process. It doesn't sit right with me."
"How can you say that, Gara? You know what they did to your parents."
"And you know what I did. I got over it. I still fight because I have to, because without this place I don't have anything else to return to, we're too far gone."
Fareed grabbed Gara's shirt and pushed him against the wall, "the find your resolve, coward." He pulled the gun from his holster and pointed it at Gara's head, "if you don't have the resolve to kill him then I'll force you to have it."
"Look at yourself, Fareed," Gara walked up and put his head against the barrel in a threatening way, "if this is how it is then pull the trigger and fight this fight on your own. You've already decided to fight it like that."
"Don't make me do it, Gara," Fareed pushed the gun into his skull.
"You let our comrades die out there because you had to chase down that transforming mobile suit."
"Dammit Gara," he pulled back the hammer and released the safety, slowly putting pressure on the trigger.
"Those empty beds there are the result of your actions. You wanted to lead the wolves and deserted them to kill as many UHFS suits as you could on your own. I'm not surprised you'll do the same here and kill me here because I don't have the same suicidal and pointless resolve to murder each and every person claiming even a speck of loyalty to your enemy. So pull the trigger and prove to me that I'm right, you idiot." A dead air was set between them in that moment. Every second that passed grew more and more tense as Fareed was running through the options. Their muscles were tensing up as the moment the choice would be made came closer and closer. It was inevitable that Fareed would pull the trigger, but Gara wanted to only do what was best for his friend and longtime comrade. Then the time came, Gara tensed up even further.
"AAAAAHHHHHHHHH," Fareed yelled as he pulled the trigger, aiming it away from Gara and shooting one of the beds of the fallen wolves. Several shots rang in the living space and Fareed broke down. Gara came up to him and put his hand on his back.
"I'll follow you, Fareed. The Big Boss has shown you favor by giving you that Excalibur Gundam, but don't use its power rashly," Gara comforted, "I'll fight Apollo so you won't have to. I know how much he means to you and I. Maybe I can convince him to rejoin us here."
Then another shot rang through the room and Gara collapsed onto the ground.