Update: Tweaked/rewritten September 2020.
Lightheaded
"Why are you sorry?" Eclipse asked, unable to see Lacus's reasoning. She was, technically, someone of higher importance, so why did she feel sorry for Eclipse? Wasn't she supposed to praise her or be impressed by her credentials? Isn't that normally what people in power do?
"You mean I shouldn't be?" Lacus asked, cocking her head to the side and cuddling her squealing Haro.
"Uh, n-no that's—no—I mean you can say whatever you want, it's just that—" She couldn't finish her thought and was forced to look away. Lacus's blue eyes were intimidating and Eclipse didn't like the idea of being an open book to this girl. This person who hadn't even known her for an hour.
"Just what?"
"Why do you care?"
Lacus just started laughing and Eclipse froze. She just couldn't place what she was thinking or what she was trying to achieve. And it was beginning to piss her off.
"I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to laugh, but you're so cute."
"I'm what?"
"Sorry, it's just that you're nervous and I really don't know why."
"I just—don't do this very often."
"Really? Don't they treat you well here? Perhaps I should talk to the commander and—"
"Talk to the commander? You?" Lacus nodded and for the first time, Eclipse felt a genuine laugh bubble up her throat. She chuckled a couple of times, but stopped shy of full on laughter, her pride the only thing keeping the fit at bay. It wasn't out of malice, Eclipse knew, that she found the situation funny. Lacus seemed to be able to connect with anyone, even Eclipse, and yet she still held the heirs of higher authority, understanding that she, the Chairman's daughter, could walk up to a high ranking officer and demand he take better care of a lowly soldier. On some level, the singer understood Eclipse hadn't been treated well and, for whatever reason, she just genuinely cared. She had never met anyone like that before and instead of it being unsettling, it was almost awe inspiring.
"You're amazing you know that, Lacus?"
Now it was the Pink Princess's turn to look confused, but there was still something in her eyes. A small glimmer that proved she really did know what was going on. It was then Eclipse decided not to underestimate her again.
"So Lacus, what should we talk about?"
She smiled and placed the Haro down on the desk before fixing the wrinkles in her white skirt. The nervousness seemed to have disappeared. "What would you like to know?"
"So, what are we going to do with Miss Clyne?" Ades asked, propping his head up with his right hand. It had been a long day and still they were no closer to disposing of the Earth Forces warship. At least they finished their primary mission and found Lacus alive and well.
Too bad they didn't realize they placed her in a room with a rampaging Berserker.
"Well, we can't just let the 'Legged Ship' join up with the Lunar Fleet so easily. However, with Miss Clyne aboard we can't do anything. She'd be in too much danger and I, for one, really don't want to have a heated conversation with the Chairman over the matter." Le Creuset was sitting in much the same manner in his tradition spot to the right of the captain. To some he may have looked bored, but really he was still angry about the situation. They had stopped chasing the 'Legged Ship' in hopes of rendezvousing with the Laconi and Porto teams. What they were going to do after they met up was still under debate.
"That's why I leave all the politics to you; I'm a fish in a skillet when it comes to that stuff. Chairman Clyne may come off as a mild tempered individual, but I've seen him fly off on someone and it wasn't pretty."
"So you understand my reasoning for avoiding the situation?"
"Of course, but let's get back to the real problem. What are we going to do about Lacus?" Ades asked again, swiveling back and forth slowly. It was a very unprofessional habit and Le Creuset had been tempted to tell him so many times, but other, pressing matters usually bumped it to the bottom of the queue.
"The Gamow is pursuing the 'Legged Ship' as we speak, correct?" The captain nodded. "While I think they can defeat the ship on their own, we have had a fair amount of bad luck with it. Keeping that in mind, we should probably join the Gamow as soon as we can."
"Hand Lacus off to either Laconi or Porto, then?"
"That's probably our best option."
"I'll inform Zellman. I'm sure he'll be happy for the backup and no doubt Yzak and Dearka have been giving him one helluva time."
"No doubt, but they are good at what they do."
"If not egotistical about it," Ades muttered.
"Captain, we seem to have received a private message for Lunar Eclipse," said a crewmember. "Would you like me to inform her?"
Le Creuset turned to the soldier at the statement and responded before Ades had a chance. "Send it to my cabin and I'll let her know myself. And for future messages for her, please route them through me as well."
"Yes, sir."
Ades knew about Eclipse's special assignments, but nothing more then that they were special. He had no issue with Le Creuset taking charge of the situation. He would worry about those missions if they came to him directly, but otherwise, he'd let the commander have his fun.
The talk between Lacus and Eclipse was beneficial on both ends, or so the redhead liked to think. She learned about some current events in the PLANTs and on Earth, even a few things concerning Orb. She may have fled the country, but she was still curious about it.
Once the conversation had died down, Eclipse realized the state she was in. She was dirty, sweaty, and exhausted. Not really a good condition with a PLANT celebrity in the room. "Would you mind if I stepped into the shower?"
"No, not at all. Please take your time and don't worry about me."
"Well, I'd offer you something to do, but honestly I don't have much here. I'm terribly sorry."
"Oh, not to worry. I'll keep myself occupied." The smile was priceless and on any other person, Eclipse may have called it the perfect mask; however, knowing this girl, it was genuine. The redhead couldn't help but smiling back after that realization.
Eclipse had barely turned off the water after her short shower when she heard the main door open to her quarters. On instinct, she tensed because she was neither expecting Lacus to leave the room, nor did she hear anyone knock to enter. It made her nervous, but when she heard the high-pitched squealing of a particular pink blob, she could only sigh.
"Haro is overly excited," Eclipse heard Lacus say before the machine's squealing became inaudible and the clear sound of metal hitting skin as someone, most likely, caught the singer's pink companion.
Eclipse tried to hurry in order to stop Lacus and keep her out of trouble, but when she heard the door reopen and the singer's voice again, she calmed down. Apparently, she hadn't strayed too far.
Eclipse did feel better, at least until she heard Athrun.
"Can't be helped can it? That's the situation you're in right now." He sounded exhausted, or, perhaps, frustrated? Either way, Eclipse was suddenly very aware of what she was—or wasn't—wearing. Going out then seemed like a bad idea for many reasons so she continued finishing up as quickly as she could.
"Athrun? Is something wrong?"
"Uh—it's just that I was wondering how you are getting along. I mean, you were taken hostage and were forced to go through so much."
"I'm in very good spirits, thank you. Rest assured, your friend treated me with respect and dignity while I was on their vessel."
"Is that right?"
"I found Mr. Yamato to be a kind individual. And he has a very strong character." Eclipse paused at the name and heard Athrun's short intake of breath. Was this, finally, the one; the reason behind Athrun's hesitance? Or just a name to a faceless soldier currently on board the 'Legged Ship?' It was never a good idea to know the names of those on the opposite teams, so even if she had no face to the name, Eclipse felt that knowing this much information was dangerous. It made their enemies too human and if she knew anything, it was how hard it was knowing the people on the other side of your barrel.
"He's nothing but a misguided fool. He insists that he's not a soldier and yet he's still on that ship. He's just being used, but he justifies it. Something about protecting his friends. It's because his parents are Naturals. That's why—" he stopped, and even Eclipse could hear the frustration in his voice.
"He told me himself that he'd much rather not fight against you."
"He's not the only one! Why would I want to—" He paused and Eclipse sighed, leaning back against the wall in her small shower. So, there it was. This Mr. Yamato—no, wait, Kira? Hadn't Athrun muttered that name before? He was on the 'Legged Ship' then and the reason for a lot of Athrun's distress on the battlefield.
"I ask for your forgiveness. If you'll please excuse me."
"When I look upon you, there's a different person there. Lately, I can only see bitterness."
"I can't exactly fight a war with a big smile on my face." Eclipse heard him sigh one last time before he shut the door. At first, she wondered if Lacus had gone after him or if he had, indeed, left standing there alone with Haro in her hands. She listened a little longer, but when she heard the chair creak with the representative's weight, the redhead figured he had left Lacus behind.
Eclipse gave her a moment and walked out dressed about 10 minutes later to what she thought was going to be an upset Lacus, but, surprisingly, she had recovered quickly. Her Haro was on the floor spinning and muttering something like "Lacus, sing! Lacus sing!" The girl giggled and shook her head, holding out her hands to the mechanical ball. "Damnit!" the thing squealed, startling the redhead with its choice of words.
Did that thing just swear?
"Oh, Miss Eclipse, do you feel much better now?" The redhead couldn't tell whether Lacus might have been concerned Eclipse might have heard her whole conversation with Athrun or not.
"Uh, yes I do thanks. I hope you weren't bored or anything."
"Not at all, I had my Haro here with me."
Yelling another "Yay Lacus!" it jumped from her hands over to Eclipse who caught it rather awkwardly.
Pink.
Why did it have to be pink?
"Who are you?" it asked and Eclipse turned it around in her hands, finding herself interested in its structure. She had originally thought it had a random series of phrases, but somehow she doubted priming it with a vocabulary of swear words was a good idea given her position in the PLANTs. Did that mean it was some sort of AI? "Hello?"
Ignoring the ball, Eclipse turned back to Lacus. "This looks like something my older brother would be interested in."
"You have a brother?" Lacus asked, catching Haro when he left Eclipse's observation.
"Yeah, he's a pretty big geek when it comes to electronics and stuff. I know a little and I must say that your pink—what's it called? Haro? Anyway, that's quite impressive. Where did you get it?
"Athrun made it for me."
"Really?"
"Yes, I liked the first one so much that he kept making them for me. I really do adore them."
"Don't they ever get to be too much?"
"No, not at all. They make very good company."
"Whatever you say," Eclipse mumbled, clearly not holding the same affinity towards them as the Pink Princess.
"He's very sweet, Athrun is. I'm a little worried about him though," she continued sadly.
Remembering the conversation, Eclipse could see why Lacus would be concerned. While the redhead only knew the Athrun he was currently, no doubt there was a history between those two that would be well beyond what Eclipse observed. "I've only known him to be a bit spacy and rather depressed. Haven't known him long enough to learn why."
"I may have an idea. One of the pilots on the Earth Alliance battleship is a good friend of his. It's actually thanks to him that I'm here right now." She turned towards the pink ball when it squealed another "Damnit!" but her look was very solemn.
So Eclipse's deductions had been right. Did anyone else know?
"War is a very ugly thing," she continued quietly. "Both Athrun and Mr. Yamato are kind individuals and not ones that should be forced to fight each other. If only this would come to an end."
It was a deep statement, Eclipse knew, and despite the sad look on Lacus's face, the redhead just wasn't ready to take part in such a heavy conversation. Her outlook on the war would vary greatly from Lacus's, she knew, and to compound on the pain she was currently feeling with Eclipse's rather harsh realism—well, even Eclipse had to acknowledge it was not a smart move.
"That young man, Mr. Yamato," she began instead. "Is he the pilot of the Strike?"
"I don't know of the machine, but I've heard that name before." When Lacus turned to look back at Eclipse, she noticed something and despite this girl's obvious pureness, Eclipse felt a shiver run up her spine. Lacus knew something but she was hiding it and her eyes said it all, her smile never looking as disingenuous as in that moment. Was she protecting someone?
Before the conversation could go any further, a private at the door told Eclipse to see the commander at his quarters. He saluted and left soon after, leaving no room for follow-up queries. Sighing, she apologized to Lacus, slipped into her elite jacket, and left the room, rolling her eyes when the Haro muttered a "Whatever" before the door closed.
L4 was about two hours from the Vesalius's current position, giving Eclipse a grand total of seven hours to dispose of the SIN-ED representative—taking into account the return trip and the ship's new location—in order to get back in time to attack the Lunar Fleet. That should be plenty, she reminded herself, although, she was still worried she was being a bit too optimistic. Going back to the colony cluster made her nervous, she realized, and found the location even more curious since the rebels were supposed to have been completely forced out after going there the first time. It seemed foolish to her to return to the scene of the crime, so to speak, but perhaps that was the whole purpose.
From what she was told, this was just going to be a meeting between some SIN-ED operatives and the EA, and she had been tasked with gathering information and stop any transfer of goods, if that was the reason for the contact. Le Creuset had his guesses on the meet up and that one was at the top, but there was no proof, which made information gathering all the more important. The meeting was taking place on a different colony than the one she had met FS and Stray, but despite the fact that she doubted she would meet them again so soon, the fact that there was a probability they had already set up some sort of weapons drop made her nervous.
They were gaining clout faster than she had thought they would.
The ride was boring, even if she was studying blueprints, and the fact that she was ordered to take her GINN made things very uncomfortable. Not wanting to waste battery life, she took advantage of there being no gravity in space, setting her course and then hurling herself forward to follow it. Saving battery also comprised no temperature adjusting—or at least minimally. That meant most of the ride was her huddled in her cockpit, a blanket around her shoulders, blueprints in her hands, and nothing but the pure isolation of space around her. The redhead had always enjoyed staring into space and watching the stars, but now that she was surrounded by them, they were getting redundant and there was still an hour of flight left.
Her plan was to drop her machine off at the harbor, hide it, and get to the location well before the meeting was meant to take place. The entrance is at the southern end of the building and I should be arriving an hour before the meeting, she thought with a nod. Most likely no one will be scouting the area just yet. She had brought two semi-automatic pistols this time around, one per holster around each upper thigh, with enough spare ammunition packed in the pouch at her lower back along with a recorder and silencer. She had another two combat-styled knives sheathed and connected to each holster, three double-sided throwing knives in sheaths on her ankles and one up near her right breast, and had also grabbed a thin but sturdy bit of braided metal wire she had found in the hangar. She had some ideas on how she might use it, and none of them were particularly pretty.
Mirage Colloid should initiate in three hours unless I set it off myself. Hopefully stealth won't be an issue on the return trip. She had gone over her plan numerous times in her head since her briefing with Le Creuset and still she wasn't sure she had it right.
Wing it.
Out of all the strategies that genius knew, the best thing he could come up with was wing it? There wasn't a lot of solid information on the meeting, only the location, time, and some person named Greed. The one thing that made the whole ordeal look suspicious was that SIN-ED was meeting an officer from the Earth Forces. If that wasn't in the report, it could've just been a tea party at noon.
But wherever SIN-ED went, Eclipse was supposed to be there as well, and not for party treats.
Even though ad-libbing was the best plan, Le Creuset did provide a personal spacesuit to keep her fairly anonymous. Its only use was for SIN-ED related missions, however, and knowing what problems could develop if Eclipse was unmasked as a ZAFT soldier, the decision was reasonable. The suit was black through and through. Nothing fashionable, but far enough away in design to ZAFT's that no one could tell she was in the military. As long as it kept her safe and hidden, Eclipse really didn't care what it looked like.
Another half hour passed before the redhead figured she should switch on the colloid now to avoid detection. The system was good for a maximum of 90 minutes, but Eclipse was able to alter some programs and to extend that amount to 120 minutes. The addition meant she would have to allot more battery life to the colloid, but at the moment invisible was a very healthy option. Switching on the system, she checked her radars and advanced as quickly as she dared.
There were two harbors located on the colony. One had been used for civilian ships and the other was for product transport. Knowing the civilian dock was the more damaged of the two, Eclipse anticipated the Earth Alliance squad to use the other. It was the correct decision on her part and when she arrived safely in the civilian harbor, she released the breath she didn't realize she was holding.
If the merchandise dock was in good condition than this one was a dump heap. Debris littered the ground, making it look more like the junk yard next to the facility than anything shuttles could pass through. Three mounds of scrap metal were piled in the northern corner, making it an ideal spot to hide a mobile suit, but knowing the door was on the opposite end of the dock made Eclipse nervous. She would have to cross a fairly large expanse in order to reach her suit and if she was being chased, she might be shot before she even reached the zip chord. However, there were few other options and piling up the remaining shuttles in the port would have looked suspicious. Making a small hole for the GINN, she set it in carefully, cut the colloid and stepped out to admire her handy work.
It would do.
Careful to stay behind the debris, Eclipse made her way to the far door and then out into the colony itself. Judging by the state of the harbor, she expected the inside to be quite trashy and damaged, but actually it was fairly well preserved. Like Mendel, the gravity system was still functioning and, most likely, the oxygen was on as well. She didn't want to risk it, however, keeping her helmet on. Many of the buildings were still standing and the abandoned cars on the streets added some flavor to the landscape. The interior weathering system was still functioning, but not at a high capacity, from what she could gather. It was a sunny day at the time, but the sunlight flickered inside the colony, turning the landscape into a dull orange instead of a bright yellow or white. The only sound she could comprehend was her breathing and she almost missed the company of a partner in that moment.
Almost.
The meeting place was located in a warehouse just off the docking district. It was still intact with cement walls halfway up the structure that then turned to steel sliding up to a flat roof. It was quite large, but that might have had more to do with most of the roof and the upper part of the southern wall missing. The inside wasn't gutted, which meant there were plenty of places to hide, so Eclipse wasn't going to complain. A solid catwalk wrapped itself around the upper wall where the cement hit steel siding and littered with enough debris from the roof and random storage crates to make for ideal hiding. The next question was, where?
Based on the positioning of the artificial sun, she had come in from the south and it looked to be the only viable entrance. She didn't want to be stuck at the northern end with no clear way out unless it was through a barrage of bullets, so she figured she would take either the east or the west side of the building. Taking a moment, she surveyed both ends and found her left to have better cover. West it is, she thought and carefully ascended the stairs as quietly as she could.
Six feet or so past the stairs was a rectangular crate, about 3x5 ft. and 4 ft. high with a smaller 3x3 ft. crate next to it. The larger one was positioned parallel to the railing—only a few degrees off—and about 3 ft. from the wall, making it a decent spot to hide out. The 3x3 was angled enough to provide ample cover to the north and helped make a nice corner for Eclipse to camp out in. Diagonals were going to be tough, but at least her enemies didn't have a clear shot at her. The only huge problem was the ceiling. While she didn't think an attack from above was something she would have to worry about, Eclipse knew she couldn't write it off entirely.
As anticipated, no scouts had appeared, just yet and, hopefully, she could avoid their watchful eyes long enough to learn something at the meeting.
And to keep her life.
She was well tucked in and prepared by the time the scouts had arrived exactly a half hour after her arrival. She saw them before she heard them, but that had nothing to do with their lack of skill. Eclipse had done two things at the entrance. She had buried a couple of things in the debris and dirt outside the entrance. If anyone had stepped on one trap, she would hear a rattling much like a marble in a tin can and the other was a curved piece of metal that when stepped on would pop up from the ground and hit the sun enough to cause a glare. They hadn't stumbled into the first one, it seemed, but when she saw the unusual beam of light reflect on to the wall across from her, she knew her wait was over.
They spread out around the warehouse perimeter and given Eclipse's position, she had a really good chance at taking out one of the scouts before any of his comrades would notice. She wouldn't be able to keep hidden for long if someone came up the catwalk near her position, so the best she could do was silence him before he alerted the others.
She had done a little preparation just in case, using the wire to her advantage as well as the shadows being made by the crates she was hiding behind. The best-case scenario would be if the scout didn't look hard enough into her hiding spot to realize there was more person there than shadow and the worst-case scenario would be if he started shooting right away. If he shot first, she was in hot water and "wing it" would then actually be a really good strategy.
A scout did show up then, wearing a similar black pilot suit to her own, and a unique helmet that skewed her vision of the person inside. He was following her same path up the stairs and reached the top a few minutes after he began, checking his left side before taking the sharp right. Despite her sureness of her plan before, Eclipse had never felt so vulnerable. She was wide open for a direct kill and if it wasn't for her black spacesuit and the shadowed corner, she may have been slaughtered within minutes of her first mission. Her gun was the thing giving the impression she wasn't some random piece of debris, but she wasn't about to put it away. Staring at the wire she had prepared on the ground, she felt a small surge of anticipation.
The soldier stalked towards her, his own semi-automatic pistol in hand and aimed high on her figure. A little closer, she thought. He shuffled towards the wall, trying to get a better look, but since Eclipse was in such a good position, he saw nothing else of substance. That's when he tried kicking the blob he was observing.
Eclipse caught the foot and pulled, startling him enough to allow an entrance at his remaining leg. Crouching, she hooked her right foot around his ankle and kicked outward, knocking him down, face up onto the catwalk. She had tried to control his descent as he fell, still holding onto the captive leg in an attempt to both make his fall as soundless as possible and guide him to her trap, but the best she could get was him not yelping during his descent. He landed with an audible thud and knew she didn't have much time.
She was on top of him quickly, her legs straddling his upper body and her knees leaning into his biceps as she crossed her arms. They made eye contact briefly and she smirked, grasping the ends of the wire on either side of his head and pulling hard. The wire dug cleanly into his throat right down to the bone until it stopped, killing him in one swift motion and leaving no time between his shock and death to cry for help. Sure, she could've taken off the head entirely, but she had already made too much noise. Maybe next time.
She paused, listening for any other footsteps that might be headed in her direction, but she seemed to have gotten away with her disposal this time around. The blood was her next issue, however, and trying to keep it hidden wasn't easy. While the light was still distorted in the colony and the artificial evening fast approaching, a trail of blood was suspicious no matter the situation and she wanted neither herself nor the body to be discovered. At least not yet. Her attack had cut through his main artery, and even though the heart had stopped beating, the fluids refused to listen to reason. I should start packing towels, she thought with a frown and reached down to remove one of her combat knives. She circled a ring around her victim's left bicep, cutting through the fabric and pulling it down off his arm before wrapping it around the partially severed neck. She did similarly with the other arm and did her best to mop up the trailing blood, keen to keep herself as hidden as possible and briefly wondering if it would have just been easier to use her gun and silencer.
A small, red button flared near the victim's left breast, reminding Eclipse of the "all clear" signal she obvious forgot about. She cursed inwardly when another one lit and the third one caused a little panic. Praying there was no little trick involved, the redhead pressed the final button and listened. Good, no movement. She let out a sigh of relief and twisted the helmet off the nearly decapitated body, sending another prayer that she didn't take the head with it.
Looking down at the body, she watched his now exposed arm, trying to see if it would change color or warp. If it did, that would mean the life support system wasn't functioning and switching out the helmets would probably be suicide. If it didn't, she just might get away with being able to act as this fallen scout and fool the others on his team. Or, at least, from head down. She was clearly female and he was clearly male, so the moment she was clear of cover completely the whole ruse would be blown. Still, she just needed them to believe he had found his position, and when the arm didn't turn blue, she swapped helmets and peeked over the crates, overjoyed when no one shot. Swapping the helmets again, she listened and waited for the formal meeting members to join the party.
The next ones to arrive were more SIN-ED members, or so Eclipse deducted by the attire. Even though both sides were probably incognito, Earth Forces members in old jeans and tank tops didn't seem to fit. One she recognized as Spencer—the quiet member she and Heine had the pleasure to meet last time—but the other three were unfamiliar. Two were bodyguards, she decided, and the other tall, brunette looked to be a personal colleague. Maybe he's a Natural, she thought, remembering the other renegades who signed up with FS.
"Tell me, why are we getting all of this fire power again? We don't have a warship, as far as I know," the Natural groaned, leaning on a crate with his arms folded over one another. Spencer sighed in response, but apparently that wasn't good enough. "Greed?"
Greed? Eclipse thought, remembering the name listed in the report. Is Spencer, Greed?
"Obviously not to appease your better nature," the Coordinator growled. "We already went over this, Lyke, and I'm not about to amuse your curiosity by explaining it again."
"Don't trust the scouts?"
"Don't trust our allies," he went on, turning and posing a fake smile when seven others walked through the entrance. They were each wearing blue and white space suits with no insignia, though the colors alone could place them as the EA crowd of the posse. They were meeting on abandoned satellites in uninhabited areas of space. Perhaps she couldn't blame them for not changing too much.
"You're late."
"Greed, I assume, the representative from SIN-ED? No, you're just early." He was an older gentleman with graying black hair and average height. Not very intimidating, but he had to be of higher rank to be making the transaction. Or so she figured. There was still the possibility he was the fallout guy, which made her wonder why such an unassuming person had been chosen for the transaction.
"Have what we need?" Greed asked.
"In the harbor. Cash?"
"No, credit," Lyke mocked, rolling his eyes to exaggerate the phrase. The officer obviously wasn't pleased, but Greed held a faint smile.
"Stop being a smartass," he snapped, receiving a glare from Greed across from him.
"Since you need us and our cash so badly, I'd keep your mouth shut."
"Perhaps you need to tie your colleagues' tongues a tad tighter, Greed. Now, do you have the money?"
"Of course. Who do you think you're dealing with?"
Eclipse watched the face-off, that display alone telling her more about the situation than any money and goods exchange. It was a fragile alliance between SIN-ED and the Earth Forces, she knew, but they needed each other. There might have been many reasons for the meeting, but if the Earth Forces wanted SIN-ED for the extra power and support, then SIN-ED needed the EA for supplies. The confusing thing, however, was why did the Earth Forces need SIN-ED?
Thud.
There wasn't any other way to describe the body that suddenly fell to the ground in the middle of the group. It was unnerving to witness—especially when Greed kicked it onto its back and the gruesome details were present—but no one seemed fazed. It lay on its back, black spacesuit still intact, but missing a rather vital part of its body: the head. It was much like the corpse lying next to Eclipse, she realized, just cleaner shaven and missing the part the redhead wasn't able to detach. Hm, same methods as myself, she thought. Interesting. Though the dropped body both put her on edge and in an awkward position. Was there another person crashing the meeting? That jeopardized her chances of getting out unscathed unless this newcomer was a potential ally.
"What the hell?" the EA officer remarked first, pulling out his handgun as his team did the same.
"This is a scout of ours," Lyke muttered, receiving a glare from Greed. Perhaps SIN-ED's Earth Alliance allies weren't aware that they had sent in scouts first, which was dangerous, especially if SIN-ED had hoped this transaction would run smoothly. A dead body in any negotiation was either meant to be an open threat from one of the sides or they could be ambushed. Either way, friendly relations might be paused for a while.
"I thought you only brought these three," the EA officer hissed.
"For personal protection, but there were four others sent to clear the area first. Would you have rather come in here not knowing if there was some prowler waiting to devour your ass?"
"So, I'm to believe this is not your doing?"
"You think I'd kill my own men? Damnit, we have enemies too."
And with that, the heavens opened again, this time in the form of a torn-up slip of paper. This one, unlike the body before, floated slowly into the waiting hands of Greed who read it aloud: "Sorry, Bob had to go home sick. He felt a little lightheaded."
Eclipse smirked, but the others weren't as amused. She tried to see if she could see where the body and paper had dropped from, but her vision was skewed and she didn't want to break her cover just yet. It was a risk to assume the party crasher wouldn't see her, but she didn't have much of a choice. Hopefully, the dead body at her side was enough of an indication that the two of them might have the same agenda.
The older EA officer started issuing commands to his troops, ordering some to go outside and try to search the roof themselves, but two well-placed shots took out Lyke and an Earth Forces' guard near him.
The shots were indeed coming from above, if the angle of the bullets and entrance locations was any indication. Where they were coming from was still the question that needed and answer, but this particular sniper seemed bent on causing chaos and not gathering information.
"There he is!" one soldier yelled and pointed up.
The redhead couldn't see the target, but she wasn't about to just sit back and let this newcomer have all the fun. If she was lucky, Eclipse might be able to get further information on this particular meeting. She just needed to get her hands on someone in the party before the sniper finished them off. Besides, if this particular individual was dumb enough to take out SIN-ED too then all the more reason to help.
People like that need to stick together.
Because of the commotion, the scout to Eclipse's left, on the north side, blew his cover, attempting to try and get the sniper from above in his sights. Eclipse twisted and aimed from her position, managing to keep the one crate on her right shoulder to not expose herself to the party below. She aimed and fired after he took a shot at the gap in the roof. Her shot went wide and landed in the steel frame just in front of him, but it had done enough as far as Eclipse was concerned. He stopped his movement and turned towards her location instead, his otherwise confused expression darkened by his helmet and then wiped off entirely as her next bullet went through the glass.
"There's more than one!"
While the falling body had been amusing, Eclipse wasn't sure which scout had been taken out. There were four in total and she had taken care of two so there was either another one this side of the building with her, or there was one still hidden on the catwalk on the other side.
Her sniper "friend" was still making some choice shots at the others on the ground floor, but most had run to cover by that time and unless the sniper wanted to keep wasting ammo, he needed to break contact and get a new vantage point quickly. Eclipse knew she was in about to be in a similar position and took a steadying breath.
She couldn't see much on the floor and took a risk, sliding out from her cover to aim at and Earth Forces' soldier who looked to be trying to use the debris on the ground floor to get a clear shot up at the roof. Her bullet went into his right shoulder and—she hoped—through to rest just under his collar bone given the angle, but he wavered instead of fell and she cursed silently. If he didn't go down, she might pay for that shot later. She couldn't afford to be that exposed for long, but she gambled on his fate and took aim at another soldier who had turned her direction, aiming down near the edge of the catwalk and getting a shot off into his upper chest. He got one off at her as well, but it went high, the distinct chink sounding as it ricocheted off the steel above her head.
There were still four SIN-ED and four Earth Forces soldiers to worry about, she deduced, but that was the high count. The sniper might have been able to take out another one, but she hadn't seen the kill so she bet on the higher number. Her immediate concern, however, was the remaining scout and her breaking cover was too juicy of an opportunity to miss, she knew. She could either abandon her vantage point and get on the ground floor to avoid getting surrounded or risk an open run to her left and around the catwalk. Facing the warehouse floor, she seriously considered it and even began leaning left to bolt, but she saw the scout on the other side of the catwalk in that moment and cursed. His shot landed to her left—and might have hit her if she hadn't had a change of heart—and she was forced to reclaim her original position behind the crates. She was a sitting duck there, she knew, and the sniper didn't seem to have eyes on her side of the catwalk. That meant she had to get out of the situation on her own.
Two SIN-ED operatives deduced similarly, she figured, because she heard their footsteps on the stairs, attempting to overrun her. Two on one wasn't good odds, but she didn't have a clear shot at the stairs and that scout would hit her the moment she broke cover. There were still others on the ground who could hit her too, she knew, but their exact positions were unknown.
Eclipse smirked; she couldn't help it. The scene was so complicated and amusing at the same time that it was exciting.
The Berserker was just having the time of her life.
Using as much strength as she could muster, she grabbed the dead body at her feet and hoisted it into a sitting position, turning it so its back was to the warehouse floor below. She waited until the first sign of her assailants crested the end of the stairwell and she shot. The bullet wasn't meant to hit anything, the shot doing enough by just halting their approach. Pushing the dead body's right shoulder, it fell out from behind the crates and into the quick trigger of the scout across the way. Two other bullets flew high as the body crumbled, but the window was enough for Eclipse to make her run.
She leapt over the legs of the body and fell into a forward roll, aiming and getting clean shot through the neck of the first soldier on the stairs to pop up. She had to keep with the momentum though, and switched her attention to the other soldier on the stairs. She outright abandoned the gun and her last remaining bullet and reached down to grasp one combat knife at her thigh. He got off a shot, but it went wide and under her right armpit, her arm already high with the knife. She bridged the distance before he could get off another attack and reached across him with her left arm, grabbing onto his left shoulder and pulling herself to his chest, using him as a shield when the others in the room had reloaded and brazenly shot at her despite the friendly fire. One bullet went through his right shoulder, and just above Eclipse's left, but her knife was up under his ribcage and his body abandoned by the time he could comprehend his betrayal.
Instead of taking the remainder of the flight down, she cleared the stair railing, landing down into a roll that took the breath out of her on impact, but she had landed behind cover and by the sounds of it, the sniper had managed to take out the scout on the other end for her. Safe for now, the Berserker knew and she grabbed the other gun from her other holster, catching her breath for round two.
The high count of enemies remaining was six, Eclipse deduced, but based on the dialogue she was hearing, either the sniper had managed to pick off more than she had thought or the two parties had started shooting at each other as well in the chaos and almost everyone had gone down in that initial barrage. It sounded as if only two were left, but that seemed improbable no matter how good of a shot the sniper had.
She had anywhere between two and six enemies yet and a strangely friendly sniper.
The Berserker smirked.
"What is that? An assassin? Two of them?" Eclipse heard the banter and almost laughed, knowing the EA officer was just giving away their position. "You have got to be kidding me! You set this up, didn't you?" He must have been talking to Greed and they were directly across from her position. They were pinned down, most likely, because the sniper fired off another shot. By the sounds of it, the bullet embedded itself in a crate near the voices, and based on their cursing, they knew they were stuck.
"And why the hell would I send an assassin after my own men?" Greed hissed.
"So you wouldn't have to pay for your supplies, merely take them by force."
"Money is not an issue here!"
Eclipse slowed her breath, trying to hear if there were any others remaining. She heard some moaning further down to her right at the northern end of the warehouse, and figured that might be the EA soldier she had buried a bullet in earlier. If that was the case, he was still alive, but definitely not enjoying the experience. Whether or not he was a threat remained to be seen and she frowned. There were even more pressing matters however, and ones she knew might hinder her sniper comrade unless he had come prepared. The artificial sun was officially setting and they were losing light fast. Eclipse wasn't sure how prepared either SIN-ED or the EA officer was, but she sure didn't want to wait around for complete darkness.
"More to the point," Greed continued, his attempt to whisper meaningless in the silence. "You know the size of our organization. Do you think I'd risk such valuable men? You're a fool if you think SIN-ED set this up."
"Am I? Maybe I should dispose of you and then ask your superiors. Perhaps they'll listen to reason with your corpse in hand."
"Yeah, there's a good idea. 'I think your representative here tried to have me and my men killed so they could take off with the goods. Don't worry, I killed him so you don't have to worry about it.' You don't even have any proof."
"I'll make my own."
The Berserker sighed and shook her head, knowing there was only one outcome to the end of the conversation and the gunshot the next moment solidified that narrative, just not who the victim was.
A few more moments passed before Greed's voice sounded. "I know there's one on the roof and the other on the floor and any potential allies of mine are either dead or are about to be. I'm not stupid enough to play with those odds. What d'ya say we just drop our firearms and talk? I might have something interesting to say."
Nice choice of words, Eclipse thought, but couldn't help the smirk on her lips. She noticed he said firearms and not weapons, so that meant her daggers were still okay.
"Here, I'll make my move." The magazine came sliding out first, followed by the handgun and two more spare ammo clips.
Eclipse still hesitated, however, knowing the sniper had yet to utter a word. But, perhaps, there was no need. A shower of bullet casings and rounds fell to the floor, bouncing off the cement in something that vaguely reminded Eclipse of windchimes. He still uttered no words, but that was probably the best response they were going to get.
"I know there were two of you behind that crate and there's only one gun out here," Eclipse said, flexing her grip on the handle of her gun. "Either you slide out your partner's or you can forget the cease fire."
"Ah, observant, are we?"
"Just good at math."
There was a pause and an audible sigh before the surrender came. "Very well," Greed said and slid both the magazine and gun onto the floor.
The Berserker sighed, but ended up giving in. She was tasked with gathering info, so she needed whatever he was willing, or unwilling, to give her. She unlatched her remaining clips and threw them out before her remaining pistol and magazine. Now they were both unarmed.
Well, in theory anyway.
"As long as you both keep your end of the deal, I can tell you what you want to know." Greed rose first, his hands up and out at his sides. His eyes shifted upwards as if anticipating a bullet in the forehead, but none came. The artificial light was truly waning then and Eclipse stepped out the next moment, keen to hear what he had to say. She also held her hands up, motioning for Greed to come closer. While she trusted the sniper to some degree, she was still keen to stay out of direct shot and Greed's confused look in that moment made her frown. He probably just realized they weren't on the same team.
"Who are you?" he asked as he walked forward, but paused once Eclipse took off her helmet. She saw his eyes grow wide but whether that was from recognition or something else, she wasn't sure. "Ah, fuck, seriously? It's you? Pride and Envy's little whore?" Eclipse's eyes narrowed at the insult, but Greed's hands dropped to his stomach and he laughed.
Laughing? the Berserker thought, but didn't say anything out loud.
"Lunar Eclipse? Seriously? You're still ZAFT's dog?"
Her eye twitched at the accusation. "I'm not ZAFT's anything, or anyone's whore for that matter. Do you have info for me or not?"
His laughter continued and the Berserker started to frown, watching the hysteria with far less amusement. He wasn't making much sense and based on the way this was going, he wasn't about to. In a brief moment, she had thought her face might make him comfortable enough to share, but apparently only FS and Stray were the ones who trusted her. That was important info enough, she supposed, but it wasn't going to help her with this conversation.
"There were rumors, yes sweet rumors of some broad coming to send us all to Hell, but who would've thought it'd be you? Ironic, how ironic."
"Who are Pride and Envy?" she asked anyway, hoping to get some sense from his muttering.
"Oh, and you're the perfect one for the job, aren't you? I mean if only we had a mirror you might be as afraid of yourself as I was at first. I get it, I get it now…" His voice tapered off as he began another fit of laughter. Perhaps she should just put him out of his misery.
"You remember me, don't you?" he began again, this time taking a couple steps towards her. "And that lovely day you were ordered to torture me?"
Eclipse had tried to repress most of those specific facility memories, so most of the faces she had been tasked to deal with were a blur, nothing but featureless blobs in an attempt to save her sanity, she supposed. Back at the facility, if the tortures had gotten a little scarce during the week, Vindur usually had trainees punish their comrades instead. Greed's memory must have been from one of those times, but the Berserker wasn't about to appease his ramblings. "You're a masochistic freak," she spat, pulling her remaining combat dagger from its holster and bridging the distance to stab it high into his right shoulder between his neck and collarbone. He wasn't going to tell her anything without provocation, it seemed.
He merely laughed again and fell to his knees with the force, not able to keep the tears out of his eyes. Although, they weren't from the pain. "Now that's hilarious. Pride's little pet is calling me a freak!"
Eclipse tugged the knife free and squatted down to twist it into his upper thigh. "Stop babbling and tell me, who the fuck is this Pride you're always referencing?"
He just kept laughing. "Y-you stand there, torturing me now like back then and you think I'm the monster? Oh, by all means continue the mutilation because why should I live? I want to destroy all humanity remember? Oh, but you're so righteous because you want to destroy me, is that it? You're a pathetic liar that doesn't deserve Pride's attention, or Gluttony's and Envy's for that matter!"
Perhaps he had finally gone insane.
"How long, huh? How long do you think it'll take before ZAFT figures you out? Before they hunt you down? You're just like us, or perhaps even worse." He smiled.
And the Berserker put her knife straight through it.
The figure on the roof just smiled, kicking its feet back and forth as it watched the scene below. In some ways it was inspiring. "So, the devil brought a double-bladed scythe to the festivities after all. Interesting." It smiled and got to its feet, wiping off some dirt before grabbing the sniper rifle. "How about a race, then? Yes, a race to get the most spirits in Hell to curse our names."
A/N: Hey all, this'll probably be my last chapter for a while. School started again and the schedule's pretty hectic. As you know, I'll try my best with the story and, no matter what, I always end up writing some things here and there. But be patient okay?
New character! Be excited. Be very excited. :) I tried not to give the gender away or anything, so the person's not an 'it', don't worry. An interesting character, and one who'll give Eclipse a hard time later on. You'll see what I mean.
I hope all the action made sense. I tried to describe it best I could, but I know all the jumping around and visualizations are a bit difficult to follow. If you have any huge problems feel free to let me know either by e-mail or review. I'll reply as soon as I can.
Oh, one thing about the snapping into Berserker moments. I'm trying to find an obvious, but not redundant way of letting you guys know when she switches over. I hope you can pick it out, but if not, the main indicator is "Berserker." When Eclipse is just being her normal, humanish self I use descriptions like "redhead," "redcoat" and the like. When she's in battle, I use "weapon" mostly and when she snaps, I use "Berserker." I'm trying to keep it consistent like that, but if there's any mistakes on my part, please let me know so I can fix them right away and not confuse any more people. Thanks!
Other than that, thanks again to all the readers and reviewers out there. You're the ones keeping this going so kudos! I'll see you all next chapter! I wonder what Eclipse's Berserker side is going to do this time? O.o
Darkangelsonic: Let's just say Athrun versing those four wouldn't be pretty. Well, on some levels. I'm sure the whole thing would be downright sexy, but that's just me. I wonder who'd ultimately win? (shrugs) Anyway, it's always great to hear from you! Your energy and exclamation marks are so much fun. :)
CSS Stravag: Actually, Athrun's disclosure surprises me. I might have to tone it down a bit 'cause sometimes I can't see him saying certain things... (shrugs) But, I'll work on those battle scenes for ya. Yes, it was horrible and as soon as I get the hang of things I'll go back and fix it, but for right now, everyone's stuck with mediocre work. Next time, though, I'll make sure it's the most awesome thing you've ever read! Maybe...
Death-Scimitar: Thanks for the sane review! It means so much to me that you can be civil about this, but after this chapter I dunno. You do really like the new character and all... Anyway, I was really mad when I had to put Kira in the story. Well, I knew he had to come in eventually, but... why? O.o He was really heroic/naive in that part with Lacus though. It was kind of amusing actually 'cause he isn't naive often but he is, unfortunately, always heroic. Oh well. Yeah, I think Athrun and Eclipse sleeping together would be cute... and we both know why that is. O.o Anyway, the new character finally made an appearance and gotta love that first line, huh?
Strata