Update: Tweaked/rewritten January 2021.
Picking and Choosing
"This female is also Code Orange and stable at the moment, but I'm tempted to up her to Red given the situation. Shed the rest of this pilot suit and do a more thorough assessment when you get back to the tent. Start her on an IV drip and get antibiotics into her system. I don't like the look of some of these cuts…"
"Sir, we're low on antibiotics."
"Start her on a low dosage of any antibiotic we have left. You're a medical student, right?" There was a pause. "Good, I trust your judgment. If you're still not comfortable, start her on a practically harmless dose until I get there. Although, with all these injured, it might take a while."
"Yes, sir."
"And the lacerations here on her head next to these bruises worry me. CT scan?"
"I'm not sure we have the equipment on hand, sir. Either that or there's going to be a wait."
Eclipse felt the touch of warm fingers brushing over the bruise on her upper cheekbone. Another hand picked up her good wrist and lightly passed over the cut skin on her knuckles.
"Stitch up the wounds and…" The voice faded out, the smooth male timbre slipping into the background as her ears focused on the other sounds around her. Someone—another soldier, she figured—was shouting the words "Code Black" and some other medical ramble Eclipse had never hoped to understand. She knew enough about mass field trauma to know Code Black meant dead and Code Red meant severe, but still able to survive; however when they started throwing out medicine names and amounts, she just zoned out.
"Damn Earth Forces bastards!" she heard a man yell nearby amid someone's painful wails.
"Found the foot!" a different person shouted before her doctors' conversation tuned back in.
"Have you found any kind of identification?"
"None on the bodies, sir, but the suits are listed as part of the Orb Special Forces. These machines don't look made by Morgenroete though."
"They're probably not. We're lucky to have so many allies, soldier. Take good care of them and when you're finally able to identify them, notify the families."
"Roger that."
Eclipse's head was swimming; there was really no other way to describe it. Her eyes, closed, darted behind her eyelids from one voice to the other, trying to discern the male tone, but having no recollection of where she was, let alone who was talking. Heavy. Everything about her felt heavy. She could still feel pain so there were no meds in her system yet, but she just couldn't make that final leap into unconsciousness.
A cold disk slipped under the zipper of her pilot suit, making her eyes jump with the feeling, but her body failed to react. "She's having difficulty breathing. Raspy. Might be fluid in her lungs. Intibate and remove the fluid."
Something clamped onto her left bicep. "Blood pressure's high."
A cool instrument brushed across her forehead. "Temperature's high and rising."
"Get her and the other female to the tents."
Eclipse felt her body moving and then heard the deafening sound of propeller blades. One more medic shouted about her temperature and she finally blacked out.
FS laughed.
It was a familiar sound, and one Eclipse found her body enjoyed no matter how long it had been since she had heard the chuckle. It was like a feather, a silky one used to trace the vertebra down her back and linger at the muscles just above her hips. She shivered and opened her eyes, looking towards the noise, but didn't see the same person she had anticipated. Stray was standing there instead, munching on a sandwich of his own concoction, most likely. She watched him carefully, seeing how his mouth opened and closed with the chews. His jaw muscles bulged with every bite, forcing her to look somewhere else when a familiar itch warmed her cheeks. It had never been unnatural to have that reaction around Stray, but suddenly she felt embarrassed, like she had stepped in on something she shouldn't have. But she just couldn't look away. Turning her eyes upward once more, she followed his hands, watching his fingers tapping to an unheard melody as they squished into the soggy bread. The wetness soaked his fingers, crawling up his fingernails and making a trail down his wrist to soak into the cuff of his sweatshirt. She watched the material gather up the liquid, almost as if it was swallowing the juices and savoring the taste.
Blinking, Eclipse found she was standing right next to her old friend, the fascination with his eating habits bringing her close to him, but she never remembered moving. The thought scared her for a second, but Stray's delicacies had stolen her fascination once more. Staring at the sandwich, she watched the liquid turn red, now bleeding through the white bread and looking more and more like a crimson inkblot as the juice expanded. His teeth sunk in for another bite, the bread giving way with a familiar squish and slurp as if the liquid was too delicious to pass up. When his lips pulled away, red strings stuck to his mouth, oozing spider webs draping from the teeth indents to his ruby lips.
Involuntarily, Eclipse felt her own tongue trace the front of her mouth and her jaw opened, her body leaning over to take a bite of her own. So close; she could feel the hot air bouncing from the sandwich as she breathed. And the smell. "Gorgeous," she moaned, closing her mouth down onto the bread and squishing her own teeth through the red liquid. Closing her eyes, she swashed the food around in her mouth, every taste bud lighting in ecstasy as the substance passed from one side to the other.
Metallic.
She started chewing, but seemed to have grabbed a bigger bite than she had thought. Something hard and round was rolling around in her mouth. Pulling it out, she sucked off the juices before seeing what was in her hand.
Heine's eye.
She wasn't sure how she knew it was his—it could have been anyone's green eye—but her mind was sure. Panicking, she dropped it to the ground and watched it spin, the movement making her so dizzy she took a couple of steps back, trying to get out of its view until it stopped and stared straight up. Then made a slow twist to her direction. She screamed and whipped around.
"Oof, ouch."
She had run into someone. Running her fingers together, she felt the gritty threads as they were stitched next to each other and smelt the rich fragrance of cologne. She didn't know the smell by name, but she recognized it, and that small bit of recollection calmed her, made her sink into the safe material before she turned her eyes upward to look into his face. "Yzak?" she breathed.
The redcoat smiled when she said his name, but the smile was weak, as if he was only happy for the acknowledgement and nothing more. "Why d'ya do it?" he asked, eyes narrowing now to match the seriousness in his voice.
Eclipse blinked, her mouth unable to give an intelligent answer. Hell, she didn't even know what to say. Her throat went dry and her lips smacked together soundlessly, knowing there wasn't any moisture there anymore.
"Why d'ya do it?" he asked again, bringing up a hand to point over her shoulder. She flinched from that movement—thinking he was going to hit her—but didn't turn around to look. "Why would you kill them?"
"I-it wasn't me!" she yelled, but his face, impassive, didn't believe her.
"I saw you do it."
"It wasn't—it's not me! I didn't mean—" She froze, watching him… change.
It started up near his forehead, a deep red dot that slowly grew bigger and longer as it traced its way down his face and under his right eye. A zipper was the only thing she could think to describe it. His skin opened up to display the muscle tissue underneath in a slow rendition of how he had gotten his wound back in space, but this seemed almost worse. The cut festered outward, black and green veins stretching out to grab at the paleness of his cheeks and turn them sickly white until they bled to black. Eclipse stepped back to see his nose fall to the ground and his mouth open and close as he continued his interrogation. "Why d'ya do it?"
She finally turned to see three bodies lying on the ground, lying on top of each other in a pile of limbs. Eclipse didn't have to see their faces to recognize the elite redcoats to know it was Nicol, Dearka, and Athrun. Her breath quickened as she stared.
"It wasn't me!" she screamed.
"I saw you do it!" Yzak yelled and she shut her eyes, the scene shifting again.
Step. Step. Step.
Her breath quickened.
Step. Step.
The work shoes sounded like tap shoes, the noise echoing in the hazy blackness and growing louder as they approached. She should run, she knew, but her feet refused, the familiar feeling of the straps across her ankles as she tried to get her legs to move. She shouldn't be there—they had no right to keep her there. Why was she there?
Step. Step.
Stop.
She squeezed her eyes tight.
"Increase the drug output." It was a man's voice; someone she recognized, but the name escaped her. "The Berserker's sure to come out this time."
A pair of lips curled upwards into a toothy grin.
Eclipse knew it was a nightmare as soon as she had opened her eyes, but the real question then was, did she come out of it? She looked to be in a tent of some kind, too small to hold more than three patients, but the other beds were empty. Two nurses stood off to her right, one trying to find the vein on the top of her hand and the other one setting the controls on a machine next to them. The high-pitched screech of the buttons made her breath quicken each time, a gasp breaking through her lips the moment the redhead saw the nurse reach for the green one labeled "Start."
"No! Stop!" she screamed, pulling her hand away from the female trying to start the IV. "Stop!"
"C-calm down, Miss Rymyr," one female stuttered, but Eclipse couldn't tell which one. She was paying more attention to the fact that they were trying to pump some drug into her system again. The Berserker was at the surface of her subconscious, she could just feel it standing there, one hand poised on the door handle as the other pulled backwards to knock.
"Don't touch me! Not again! Stop!"
She did the only thing she could think of and flailed, one foot painfully making contact with a nurse's gut and one hand raking across the other nurse near the machine. Eclipse knew she had to get her away from that contraption or it would start all over again.
It always started again.
"Don't—just don't! I can't handle it, okay? I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
"What's going on here?" It was a man's voice that time; a doctor, it looked like. Eclipse saw the flash of his white coat and the mask over his mouth, but the thought alone was enough to make her eyes go wide.
The Berserker knocked.
"Hold her down, I'll give her the sedative," he ordered.
"No, no—stop! I'll behave! Please, just don't give me anything!" Eclipse yelled, squirming away from their attempts to apprehend her. One nurse had a good grip on her arm, but Eclipse pulled it and the nurse over her body to nearly bump heads with the other nurse who had run around to her left side.
"H-hey! You're not allowed in here!" a distant voice yelled and there was a reply, but Eclipse had already uttered another plea and drowned out the sound.
When she had pulled the nurse over, Eclipse's body had turned with the momentum, rolling off the cot. The nurse fell over onto the next cot, but the redhead had slipped in the gap between, her upper torso slipping down to the ground first. The redhead's reflexes tried to catch her before she hit the cold earth, but she missed the side of the tent, her fingertips clawing at the material. The IV stand tumbled with her and crashed onto the cot, one of the nurses nearly getting stabbed with it as it fell. Ready for the impact, her muscles tensed, but she fell into a much warmer and softer embrace than the hard dirt. At first, she thought it was the doctor and she was going to start her retaliation all over again, but a glimpse of tan hands and his silky voice made her hesitate.
"Relax, you're fine."
Dearka.
"Holy Helmaya, I'm dead." Her eyes widened. "Because you're dead."
He flashed a smile, his white teeth glowing against his darkened skin. "As blunt as ever."
She stared at him for a couple more seconds, the information trying to soak into her sluggish brain. He was wearing an orange and black jacket typically worn by Morgenroete personnel and his lighter khaki trousers were now a dusty brown from the dirt. He was on his knees and leaning forward, the full weight of Eclipse's upper back against his right arm as his left was across her front, steadying her. The doctor took advantage of the moment and she saw his body move over Dearka's right shoulder.
"No—stop," she started again, her legs falling to the ground next to him as she scrambled to get away, but his hands held firm, gripping her right shoulder. "Y-you're dead. We couldn't find you. A nightmare—a simulation—something. This isn't real!"
The Berserker knocked again.
Twisting, she braced her hands on his chest, her knees collapsing to her chest as the sleeves of her pilot uniform flopped on the ground with the movement. Instead of breaking free, however, he held firm, his strong grip slowly starting to pierce her delusion. No simulation felt that real.
"You're safe so please stop struggling. You're in Orb, Lexi. Orb. I'm alive. You're alive. We'll all be fuckin' alive if you just stop!"
Her antics grew sluggish, but her body refused to stop fighting entirely. Slowly she opened her eyes, catching his cautiously as if waiting for them to fall out of his face much like Yzak's had started to. Her hands clenched the black collar of his jacket, involuntarily shaking as she tried to make some sense of the situation. "P-positive?"
He smiled again and Eclipse finally felt herself relax. Not even her mind would willingly call herself Lexi again and it definitely couldn't fabricate a grin like that. "Want me to pinch you or something?"
"Just get her back onto the bed, Mr. Elsman. Don't add to her injuries," the doctor mumbled, wiping the sweat from his forehead. Dearka did as he was asked and Eclipse welcomed the help. Sliding back onto the cot, she still kept one hand clamped onto the bottom of Dearka's coat. She felt the tug when he tried to pull away, but she didn't hear him argue. In fact, she felt his shoulder move up and down in a shrug.
The nurse to her right took a breath and tried to find a spot on her hand again for the IV. Dearka must have felt the additional tug on his jacket Eclipse did when she tensed because he put a hand on the nurse's. "Can that wait?"
"Yes, yes it can. Her injuries don't seem as severe as I originally diagnosed. Either that or I underestimated her healing abilities," the doctor responded for her and Eclipse watched the nurse push the nearby machine back into the corner of the tent. Both women sighed, but probably not for the same reasons. Eclipse was just happy to know she wasn't back to being a lab rat.
"Now, Miss Rymyr, how're you—"
"Doctor! Doctor, come quick! It's the other one!"
"The other—what?" The man spun on his heels and ran out the flap and to the tent next to hers. Squinting, Eclipse managed to see the silhouettes of three bodies struggling against each other. There were two more cots near the furthest end of the tent and Eclipse could see two injured soldiers huddling there, trying to keep as far away from their newest bunkmate.
Eclipse should have been surprised to hear about the other freak out, but since they both had psychological problems, Namarra's panicking was probably more justified than shocking. "Kai! Kai, help me! Get them the hell away from me!"
The redhead's first reaction was to curse, but her second was a little more helpful. Pulling down on Dearka's jacket, she pointed towards Namarra's silhouette just as one of the nurses started screaming about the syringe stuck in her cheek. "Find me Lathan Rymyr—my brother."
"Wha—"
"Now, damnit!"
"B-but—fine." He turned to leave, but was pulled backwards when Eclipse still refused to let got of his jacket.
Eclipse saw him look back at her and bit her bottom lip. "Just don't be gone long."
"They won't hurt you—"
"Please." He sighed and nodded, running out of the room just as someone fell back against the side of the tent, almost causing the whole thing to collapse entirely. She had to do something. Dearka had put her back on the bed like the nurses had asked—which solidified the fact that he was, in fact, good at talking orders—but since everyone was trying to apprehend Namarra, Eclipse had to get out of the bed herself. Sighing, she peeled off the tape on her arm and pulled out the one IV still in her vein. Grimacing, she grabbed a tissue from one of the carts, put it on her newest wound, and swung her legs around the cot to land on the ground.
"Stop! Don't touch me! Kai!"
Eclipse cringed when she heard an IV stand fall to the ground, the familiar cursing sounding right after. Setting the tissue nearby, she put her hands on the end of the bed and pushed up. She was still partially in her pilot suit, her grey undershirt and bra soaked through with sweat as the top of her suit dangled down near her waist. The cuts on her hands had been bandaged and she felt the tape holding the cuts on her face together as she cringed, taking a very uncomfortable breath. It was not going to be a fun trek.
Her legs complained at first; a sharp and painful whine that almost made her fall back down. Eclipse was stubborn, however, and bit her bottom lip. Breathe, she thought, taking a step towards the entrance. A stethoscope flew out of Namarra's tent just as Eclipse pulled aside the material. She looked down at the instrument and then took some more painful steps towards the commotion.
Peeking inside, she finally let loose the string of curses she was holding back. The medical staff had managed to get one wrist strapped to the cot—two brave male nurses were making sure the bed stayed on the ground—and it was constantly pulling at the frame, Namarra's hand clenched into a tight fist as it pulled against the restraint. The rest of her body was flailing around, dodging the doctor's attempts at grabbing her. One male nurse grabbed her right knee and calf, but she twisted her body awkwardly so the hold loosened. Her right free hand grabbed his hair and shoved him off to the side, taking a few brown locks in the meantime. Eclipse's eyes grew wide as she watched, seeing Namarra's left shoulder—on her bound side—lock then snap back into place when her body twisted back to a more normal position.
Eclipse gulped.
"Lexi, why are you standing out here?" Lathan asked as he ran over with Dearka trailing right behind. Her brother must have been hanging around if it took mere minutes to find him. Dearka turned and looked into the tent, a couple of curses leaving his lips as he ran in to help. Eclipse pointed and Lathan followed her finger, not like he couldn't hear the commotion anyway.
"And what the hell am I supposed to do?"
"You have to pretend to be her brother Kai; that's who she's yelling for."
He looked at the redhead then into the tent just as the doctor managed to strap Namarra's other arm to the cot. There were definitely some teeth marks on his forearm. "Why do I have to be her brother when I already have a monster as a sibling?"
"Lathan."
"What?"
"The only way to calm her down is to tell her she's safe and that you're right there. Don't leave her side either."
"What?"
"Now go," she said, pushing him on the shoulder. "Namarra's body can't handle much more of this."
"Why the hell should I?"
"Because you're so good at these things."
"What does that mean?" A clipboard and papers clattered at their feet, the metal clip stopping just shy of Eclipse's toes. Lathan looked from the ground up to his sister's face. "Hell no."
"Hell yes."
"I can only stand one psychotic sister."
"Just do it! I promise to do my own maintenance on the Stealth if you just get in there!"
That must have been the trigger because soon after he was stomping into the room and pushing the nurses aside to get to Namarra. He ducked under one of her high kicks and managed to get near her head without getting hit. Eclipse saw him take a deep breath and reach out to touch the Natural's forehead. She snapped her teeth at his fingers.
Dearka helped strap the last restraint over her left ankle and turned to make eye contact with Eclipse. The slow glance and worried glimmer in his eyes told her they were thinking the same thing.
Fuck.
"Namarra, calm down." She didn't seem to hear him. "Namarra, it's Kai. You're safe now."
She turned her head that time and stared at him. Eclipse couldn't see what was on her face, but she saw Lathan's body relax. He reached over and put his hand on her forehead, brushing aside some stray strands. "Don't let them hurt me," she pleaded.
"No one's gonna hurt you." He sounded so confident, but woven together with that confidence was fear, Eclipse could hear it when he said "gonna," as if he wasn't totally sure what was going to happen after all.
Namarra sniffed and gasped at the same time, her hands flexing under the restraints. "I'm stuck."
"Because we don't want you to hurt yourself."
Her toes curled as both feet kicked against the bed. "It hurts. Get if off."
"Namarra—"
"Please, Kai!"
"Sis—"
Eclipse bit her bottom lip when she saw the Natural's body twitch violently. Namarra couldn't handle another fit. She had said her body just lost all control whenever she heard her dead brother's name. No wonder she embraced her Berserker side even more than Eclipse did. It seemed to be so much easier to handle.
"Mr. Rymyr, I really don't think—" the doctor started when Lathan's fingers started undoing the buckle on her right wrist, but Dearka put a hand on his shoulder and started unbuckling the leather strap across her thighs.
Lathan gave him a light smile of thanks. "Alright," he began, turning back to Namarra, "they're coming off. Just stay calm."
Eclipse started getting nervous. She didn't know what would happen after she calmed down. It was a good thing they were near medical equipment because at least no one in the room could die. Well, maybe not quickly at least.
They were all off but one and when Lathan unbuckled the last restraint, the air around them just stopped moving. No one dared breathe, probably fearing the Natural would react to the sudden movement and start her fit all over again. With everyone having at least one injury from either her hands or her feet—hell, even her teeth—getting her restrained again wasn't going to be easy.
In the end, it was all rather anti-climatic. Namarra took the first breath and curled up on her side, hugging Lathan's hand to her chest and crying quietly. Lathan rubbed her head and back with his free hand, trying to soothe her as best as he could. Most of the medical personnel left the room—some staying to tend to the other injured in the tent—and one nurse bent down to grab the objects keeping the flap from fully closing.
Dearka walked to Eclipse, his right hand scratching the back of his head as he shook it. "Friend of yours?"
She gave a small laugh. "Something like that."
Dearka shrugged and helped her back to her cot. "You know, I was enjoying how quiet it was when you weren't around."
"Now that's a lie," she countered and they shared a laugh.
Yes, her and Namarra were definitely an interesting pair.
"Now, are you sure you wanna be walking around out here?" Dearka asked, his arms involuntarily reaching out to steady Eclipse when she leaned forward on her crutches.
She slapped his hands away. "You've never chided me before, Dearka, and you've seen me on these things plenty of times."
"Well, seeing as it's only been four hours since you were found mangled in your suit, I wouldn't exactly say you're healthy."
"Healthy is a state of mind," she muttered and Dearka rolled his eyes. "I don't trust Lathan's damage report, so I want to see the Stealth." She held up a hand before he could say anything. "Yes, he's the mechanic, but my suit can handle its own and no two, cowardly Strike Daggers could have done that much more damage to it," she grumbled. Lathan had said that just before the recovery crew had picked up them and their suits, two Strike Daggers had attacked their descending machines. The Decay hadn't taken much more damage, but apparently the Stealth had fought them off and sustained more than a few dents. Perfect.
"A little cocky for someone who doesn't have Phase Shift armor, don't cha think?"
"And you're a little faint-hearted for someone who knows my talents. Say that again when I'm fully healed."
Dearka cocked an eyebrow, but didn't reply. Probably knowing anything he could say would only make the matter worse for him. That reaction actually made her curious. Dearka had never been the one to fly off the hook like Yzak, but he always had some kind of smart remark.
"You okay?" she asked. When he didn't seem to read her mind, she explained. "You're more reserved."
"Reserved?"
"You actually think before you talk now."
His response that time was intriguing. Slowly, the muscles around his eyes loosened and the questioning expression slipped from his face. His shoulders slumped as well, but not like his body was getting ready for anger—as Eclipse expected—but like he was reviewing some kind of memory in his head. She was going to watch his eyes and try to figure out what memory was haunting him, but she turned away at the last moment, feeling like she was intruding on something too personal. That actually worried her.
"A lot's happened." Was all he said and went quiet.
She looked back at him and saw his attention elsewhere. Following his eyes, she almost knocked him upside the head. He was staring at a girl—about the same age as her—with light brown hair cut short at the chin. Wearing a pink Earth Forces uniform with a yellow skirt, Eclipse figured she was a Natural and that made her even more curious. While Dearka had never said as much outright, his feelings on Naturals had always been clear to the redhead, and so had his father's, which Dearka seemed to echo. His face in that moment, however, told the opposite story. The girl wasn't terribly tall, didn't stand out as overly gorgeous, but, for some reason, Dearka looked at her like—well, she had never seen him look at anyone like that.
"Who is she?"
"Hm?"
Eclipse reached across his body and put two fingers on the far side of his chin. Pulling his attention back to her, she narrowed her eyes. "The girl. Given her uniform, I'd say she's on the Archangel." She recalled the conversation they had had about a half hour before and smirked. "Was she your bodyguard when you were in the brig or something? I didn't know you were into that."
He blushed; Dearka actually blushed.
"I—well—no—I mean—" He sighed. "It's a long story." The redhead swept her arms out wide, indicating her crutches. He seemed to get that she had plenty of time to listen. "One of us killed her boyfriend and I made a really stupid comment."
"Wait, she told you one of our team killed the possible love of her life and you mocked her?" She blinked, mouth open. "You bastard."
"No, no, it wasn't like that. She—ugh, it all happened so fast. The bottom line is—"
"You feel bad and want to make it up to her, but she's holding a grudge. I get it."
"That's part of it, but I think I realized then the enemy's human, like we are." Eclipse watched him go quiet as he looked back over at the girl. His face softened as his hands slowly clenched in anger. Or was it guilt? "I do feel really bad about what I said—and she didn't let me get shot because of it—but I don't pity her. I'm curious, actually."
"Curious?"
He turned back to the redhead. "Yeah—wait—what's the face? That's not creepy."
"Depends on where you're going with this."
"I'm curious about her, okay? I hurt her, yes, but she was strong enough to stop another grieving girl from killing me. I made the comment to her," he pointed towards the brunette, "and she saved me." He pointed back at himself. "When Nicol was killed, I never would have—I mean, he wasn't even my—it's just so—" Fading out, his tense shoulders slumped again.
"That is strength," Eclipse agreed, watching the girl stop and lean back against the Freedom's leg. Eclipse kept looking past where she had stopped to see Cagalli in her Orb uniform running nearby with two white cups. Shaking her head, she returned to Dearka before she could get distracted. "So, what'cha gonna do about it?"
"Nothing."
"Nothing?"
"She's grieving."
"And as a worried friend, your duty is to keep your distance, but still be close by if she needs someone to rely on."
"Friend?"
Eclipse sighed, but mainly because his face looked genuinely confused. "What, you expected all or nothing?" He shrugged and Eclipse pushed him in the shoulder. "C'mon, let's see what the commotion's all about. I see the captain of the Archangel over there too."
"Oh, I guess you didn't hear. Athrun jumped in and helped out Orb in the battle."
Her crutch slipped on the cement, well, more like she was so shocked by the news her body collapsed on its own. Trying to cover her surprise, she grumbled a little about the crutches. "Does that mean ZAFT is backing Orb?" she asked once they started moving again.
Dearka shrugged. He hadn't tried to catch her that time. Good. "I thought that's why you were here originally, but then I heard snippets about your time in the PLANTs. Lathan," he answered when she looked quizzical. "I'm sorry, Lexi—I hear that's what you're going by nowadays," he added with a soft smile before his face turned sour once more. "I wasn't told everything, but if it's worse than what I do know, I didn't realize ZAFT did that type of thing. Somehow this goes beyond the typical 'destroy the Earth Forces' mantra."
Her eye twitched at the name, but she shrugged off the other comments. "Shit happens."
"Yes, and it always seems to happen to you. You just have awful luck."
She shrugged again and followed Dearka over to where the brunette had stopped behind Kira and Athrun. Kira had already changed back into his Earth Alliance uniform, but Athrun was still in his ZAFT pilot suit, the two of them sitting together a stark reminder of their desperate battle not too long ago. Eclipse started paying attention to the conversation then and was pleased to hear that Athrun was starting to think for himself. Plenty of things had happened back in the PLANTs so he had to have had questions for a while and no doubt his discussion with Lacus had added to his confusion. But his concerns mirrored her own.
What now?
"I believe that what Cagalli's father says is true," Kira began, accepting the drink from the Orb princess. "If Orb was to side with the Earth Forces, the Atlantic Federation would take advantage of its power and attack the PLANTs. And the same thing would happen if Orb sided with ZAFT, the only difference would be in which country they were designated as the enemy. But either way," he continued, stopping Athrun before he could interrupt his thought, "there'd be no real change for the better. I can't let it go on like that. And that's the reason why."
"But you—" Athrun started and Kira interrupted him again.
"I know, I killed a comrade of yours; a personal friend."
Eclipse and Dearka tensed at the statement. The redhead turned away and cursed quietly while the blond just sighed. The girl glanced back and looked at them both but didn't say anything. She locked eyes with Dearka for a second, but soon turned away.
"But I—" Kira paused, probably seeing the pain on Athrun's face. "I never knew him or even met the guy, and it's not as if I wanted to kill him."
Now he's just making excuses, Eclipse thought, her anger growing once again. She didn't necessarily blame him for Nicol's death—at least she was trying to convince herself of that—but the way he went about it bothered her. Take responsibility for once.
It was probably a good thing Kira didn't notice the angry redhead behind him. "And you killed Tolle."
Now it was the brunette's turn to gasp and turn away, but the look on her face was nowhere near what had just been etched on Eclipse's. Hers was pure anguish accented by quick, raspy breaths and trembling. It looked so bad Eclipse almost reached out to comfort her, but Dearka made the move first. His hands went out to steady her, but they stopped halfway and fell back to his sides, fingers curling in frustration.
"But you never knew him either. You didn't wanna kill him, right?"
"No," Athrun responded and Eclipse looked back at the two pilots. "But I tried my hardest to kill you."
"Same here." Kira turned away and looked up at Athrun's mobile suit in front of them. "Look, Athrun, it would be great if we lived in a world where we never had to fight. If only we could all live in that world forever, but this war keeps escalating." He paused and looked back at his drink. "If it goes on like this, PLANTs and Earth will have no choice but to destroy each other. And that's why I decided to fight."
"Kira…"
"I just wanted to protect others, but now that I've pulled a trigger, it's too late to go back." Kira and Athrun looked at each other, but only for a brief moment before the ZAFT pilot looked down. "Are we gonna have to fight each other again?" Athrun's muscles tensed at the question, but he neither looked up nor made any kind of vocalized answer. That was what he had come to figure out.
Kira smiled softly then stood, putting the cup down where he had just been sitting. "I should get back to my duties now. We never know when they'll attack us again."
Athrun rose at the same time. "I just have one question. The Freedom is equipped with a Neutron Jammer Canceller. What would happen if that data—"
"If anyone tried to get that data from me for their own purposes, I'd shoot them." It was a bold statement, but one Eclipse was actually happy he made. Hell, if anyone else got that data, she would shoot both people involved. *(1)
The brunette's grief spilled out then, her quivering eyes turning to tear-filled ones once the conversation had ended. Turning away, she started running, but Dearka grabbed her elbow before she had gotten too far. "H-hey!"
"What d'you want?" she yelled.
"Ah, well—uh—look—I—he's the one that killed that guy—y'know—Tolle?"
"So, what's your point? Weren't you listening to Kira? This is what he meant!"
"Uh, well—"
"Would killing him bring Tolle back to me?" Everyone went silent, the statement most likely touching each person who had been listening to the conversation. Eclipse even turned back to see Athrun, but his face held a different kind of grief, one that made the redhead's stomach sink just watching him.
Shit.
"Of course it wouldn't," the girl continued, her voice cracking. "So why don't you just stop talking about it?" Her sobs nearly drowned out the last three words, and when she started running away again, Eclipse figured there were some crew members who understood her grief, but knew few would want to revisit that pain again.
Such strength though, the redhead thought, watching Dearka chase after her. She has the perfect chance to take revenge and she just turns the other way. I guess I can't blame the guy for being curious after all. She didn't follow Dearka. She let him handle it and after the affection he had shown earlier, Eclipse was certain he would handle the girl better than she ever could.
Cagalli lingered a bit after the talk, watching Athrun fall back into his seat before attempting to say something. Her mouth opened then closed and opened again after she took a moment to think about what she wanted to say. Eclipse wasn't sure what her cousin asked Athrun, but seeing the apprehensive smile on her lips as she spoke and the disappointment on her face when he shook his head no, gave her the impression Athrun had too much on his mind. The redhead gave a secret smile after the exchange, knowing her old comrade rarely wanted to do anything when he was in a thinking mood.
"Eclipse?"
Or not.
She was turning away to find the Stealth—and was actually in the middle of the half circle to point her in the right direction—when her good knee locked and her eyes grew to liking their lids closed, even if they were shut in pain. But she couldn't just leave without accomplishing anything. Leave it to Athrun to make her stay just a little bit longer. Lifting her crutches up one at a time, she turned back to see him. "Yo."
He laughed—a strained sound, but it was a chuckle nonetheless—and, at the same time, Eclipse saw her cousin's face droop. "You're on crutches and that's the first thing you think of to say?"
"I'm sorry. Does, why the hell are you here, sound better?"
"That's a start." He stood and walked towards her, probably seeing that she wasn't about to hobble in his direction. Perhaps noticed her reluctance and assumed it was fatigue.
Eclipse watched him come over and caught another glimpse of Cagalli behind him. There were a number of different expressions swirling across her face. One was confusion, another curiosity, and still another was, Jealousy? the redhead thought, surprised to see such an ugly look contorting her fair face. But why the emotion at all? She had to have known they were on the same team for the better part of six months.
"Funny," she grumbled back to Athrun and resisted the urge to smack him across the head with her crutch for the comment. It probably wouldn't have done much for her physical condition, but, damn, it would have made her feel a lot better emotionally. And maybe him as well since the past conversation wasn't exactly a happy one.
"So, seriously, what are you doing here? Is ZAFT planning to help Orb?"
Athrun shook his head slowly. "Not that I know of, my mission is to reclaim the Freedom and nothing more."
"With your new machine?"
"The Justice, yes." He nodded back and to his right, indicating the suit Kira had been looking at earlier. It looked a lot like his old suit, the Aegis, just with a few more armaments on its shoulders. She would have to get the full spec from him later if he planned on sticking around. "I see you still have the same machine, or what's left of it." He pointed to the Stealth in the back corner of the hangar. Nodding her head in that direction, they made their way towards it.
"What? You expected me to be welcomed back with a three-day party and newly fashioned mobile suits for me to choose from?" Athrun shrugged. "Damn, what do you think of me?"
"I know you're a decent pilot."
"Decent?"
"Sorry, did I exaggerate?"
She narrowed her eyes and shoved him in the shoulder. "And when did you become so playful—or is it sarcasm, Athrun Zala? Trying to pawn your pain off on me?" She expected him to deny it or make some snarky remark, but instead, he sighed and looked off to his left. Eclipse followed his gaze and saw the vanishing strands of Cagalli's familiar blonde hair. The redhead shook her head, but didn't say anything.
"Something like that."
"You admit it?" He ignored the retort and they finished their walk to the Stealth in silence.
Stopping just in front of the lift, Eclipse gazed up at her suit. The left arm was completely severed at the shoulder, wires dangling from the limb as if someone had tried to fix it and gave up. The head was also cut off and there was no sign of it lying around nearby. Eclipse sighed. The armor looked battered and she knew the Mirage Colloid was fried, but apart from the missing arm and head, it looked to be in fine condition.
Just not in fighting condition.
"C'mon," she started, motioning Athrun over to the lift and pulling the lever back once they were both aboard. It stopped at the cockpit and Eclipse leaned forward to peer inside. She was going to try and sit down, but Athrun grabbed her elbow, shaking his head. The redhead was angry at first, but eventually let him pull her back against the rail. She stared up at her suit—realizing the CA must not be working either since it had been so quiet—while he watched the people walking below.
"Tell me, if you weren't kicked out of ZAFT, would you have left soon anyway?"
She paused before answering, watching his face for some kind of indication of what he wanted to hear. He looked genuinely curious, but anxious as well. His eyes shifted nervously from side to side, looking into each of her eyes most likely. "The truth?" she asked and he nodded. Turning away, she stared at one of the deep gashes in the Stealth's good shoulder. "I never thought about it until I was transferred," she paused, realizing she had never told him what had happened to her. DaCosta and Waltfeld had been against the idea at the time. Sighing, she continued despite their initial fears. "I had never thought about it until I was transferred to the medical facility."
"Medical facility?" Athrun asked and she gave a weak smiled with another shrug.
"A tale for another day, I suppose," she said softly, turning back to look at the Stealth. "Some of my friends started putting the idea in my head, but I had never seriously considered it. When I saw Commander Waltfeld again—"
"Waltfeld?"
She smiled and nodded. "When I saw him alive again, my fighting resolve was practically gone. I had been fighting for his memory, Aisha's, and for Nicol's, but once I found out at least one of those people had survived I couldn't help but think, I didn't let all of them die after all. So, who cares? He offered me a chance to get out and, for some reason, I couldn't say yes."
"SIN-ED?"
She shrugged. "Maybe, but I don't think that was all of it. I don't know how to live without fighting, I think."
"Well, that's not true. You're in Orb, aren't you?"
"Yes, and how do you think I got on these crutches?"
He shook his head, indicating he didn't want to know. "So, to answer my first question, you wouldn't have left willingly?"
"Honestly, I can't answer that. I don't know. Events made the decision for me and now I have to live with it." Turning, she watched him go silent, the muscles in his face and body slumping in response. "You're considering it, aren't you?"
"I'm sure you heard most of the conversation I just had with Kira and some things don't make sense anymore. People I care for are turning into people I should be opposing and those I've sworn to protect are now people I would have normally chosen to oppose. Making sense?" She nodded and he continued. "So, where does that leave me? I'm supposed to either destroy or bring back the Freedom. But then what? Could I even live with knowing that I could be killing Kira to finish the mission? I barely got through the first time. But to disobey my father? The Supreme Council Chairman? And to take a new mobile suit to boot?"
"Yeah, you're right." He turned to her then, curious and eager to hear her opinion. "You're fucked."
"Thanks," he muttered. "You got nothing more helpful than that to say?"
"From what I've observed, I know the PLANTs have gotten a little crazy of late." Athrun gave her a funny look and she just shrugged. "And I know reasoning won't work. I'm going to wash my mouth out with hydrogen peroxide after this, but you're a lot like Kira and this country. You're smart, Athrun; observant. This war isn't what we expected—no, that didn't sound right. It's become more than a war of jealousy. It seems to have excelled into—uh—into…"
"No man or woman left standing?" he chimed in and she nodded.
"Something like that. I don't have enough power to change anything on a large scale, but I can do what I can with the little power I was given."
"How so? Protect people like Kira's doing?"
"I dunno yet," she replied, an innocent shrug making her body whine in resentment. "But we're not supposed to be talking about my inner turmoil. You're the one who's fucked. At least I kinda have a bed I'm comfortable in."
He sighed and shook his head, a small smile gracing his serious appearance. "Leave it to you to avoid the issue." She punched him on the shoulder again and he rubbed the spot before talking. "I'm not totally sure what I wanna do yet, but being here—with these people who seem to agree with me—I've never felt so comfortable; so sure of myself."
"Wait, you just said you didn't know what you were going to do and yet you've just never felt so confident?"
"Confusing, I know. Try having it run a marathon in your head."
"Actually, it might be your answer," she mused, rocking back and forth on her crutches. "Stay here a while and think about it. Right now, every moment is important, but not every one has to contain some kind of life-changing decision. Relax and observe; figure out what you want. And for Helmaya's sake go talk to my cousin." He blinked—surprised at the comment—and followed the redhead's pointer finger to Cagalli below talking with a mechanic. "Whatever playboy charm you enchanted her with either act on it or rip it out of her because I'm sick of her jealous glares and secret feminine loathing."
"She's the girl I met on the island; the time I was stranded."
"I figured as much, but please don't go into detail or anything. I really don't want to know."
"W-what?" Athrun stuttered, not blushing but still taking up some kind of defensive position.
Eclipse laughed. "Your denial's cute, Athrun, but remember, she is Orb's princess."
"Honestly, Eclipse, who do you think I am?"
The redhead surprised herself, or—more accurately—her emotions shocked her. Athrun had been the first person to not correct himself and call her by her real name. Dearka had just done it and even Namarra—although, mostly out of spite—had begun calling her Lexi. She shouldn't have been upset, hell, she didn't even consider herself "Lexi" yet, but her cocky smile fell nonetheless. The sides of her mouth slipped into a frown, one so obvious she turned away before Athrun had time to digest it.
"Wow, that bad, huh?" he asked, the blind happiness never leaving his lips. "I will talk to her eventually and," he added quickly, holding up a finger, "I'll tell her to stop sending you jealous vibes."
"Sounds good to me," she replied, turning around again to lean back against the lift's railing and stare at the Stealth. She needed to think about something that made sense instead of all the stupid emotions running around in her head. "But you should rest as well," she continued. "We probably won't get attacked until dawn, but I wouldn't put it past the Atlantic Federation to try something rash."
Sighing, he turned and looked at her suit as well, putting his hands on the railing as he took in the damage. "My body's rested enough and my mind's too confused to go to sleep now. Besides, if I only have until dawn, I have quite the decision to make in the meantime."
Eclipse nodded, but cast him a stern look nonetheless. "Yes, sleeping might be difficult, but resting merely involves just relaxing for a change. Please rest, Athrun."
"Then you promise to do the same. You probably don't want to hear this, but she isn't gonna be ready to fly by dawn." He nodded towards the Stealth then brought up his hand and flicked her on the forehead. She blinked, surprised by the gesture, but even more shocked by the genuine concern on his face. "And you won't be ready either, I'm afraid. Now, go rest and I'll try to save you from your cousin." He smiled and Eclipse felt her lips curl in the same movement. She was happy he was there, and even more impressed with how comfortable he seemed to be while in such a delicate position. Yes, she could tell he was struggling with loyalties, but he didn't seem to want to worry her. It was a change.
But definitely a good one.
Eclipse got very little rest that night. Dearka had come out to her medical tent to check on her and even slept on one of the other open cots, claiming his only bed was a jail cell. The doctors had been forced to keep Namarra in a deep sleep because her temperature refused to stabilize and she would often have fits. Lathan, to his credit, stayed close to her until the two of them had been transferred to Kaguya Island, Orb's last safe house and the location of its Mass Driver. Lathan had been assigned to an internal engineering team and Namarra could rest safely in one of the medical facilities. Even with so much time staring at the ripples in the tent cloth—or counting the seconds between Dearka's snores—dawn came quickly.
And she had no idea what to do.
The Stealth was still a standing piece of rubble and even though she could probably snatch an Astray, she was in no condition to pilot it. Her stubbornness could only go so far and she really didn't want to worry everyone by being so stupid. Besides, she wouldn't be of much help anyway. But there was the other promise she made to Namarra that was really eating her nerves.
To save her brothers.
With Namarra out and Eclipse practically bed-ridden, there was no one to talk some sense into the Earth Forces pilots and after the time she had seen the four of them together, she couldn't imagine not extending her help even a little bit. Besides, wouldn't talking Orb's three biggest threats into joining them be a gamble worth taking? The redhead could just sit in the Stealth's cockpit and use the radio, but Lathan had taken both the Decay and her suit with him to Kaguya. His new appointment was rather suspicious, actually, and Eclipse found herself more than concerned, but she wasn't about to tell him to disobey a direct order.
"Kaguya it is then," she admitted with a sigh, watching the sun peek through the small slit in the tent. She wouldn't argue with the nurse that time when she came back to take her vitals.
Dearka awoke minutes later, stretching loudly to her left. "Dear God, these are uncomfortable."
"At least you slept."
"You'll have a chance to rest more today."
Shifting on the cot, she turned to offer a glare. "Hah, good one; rest."
"But you're heading to Kaguya, right?" He winked when she looked confused. "You weren't the only one thinking."
"Could've fooled me. You snore like a sailor."
"And you moan like a—well—I won't finish that since you're not one of my guy friends."
"What?" She laughed. "Think I'd be offended?"
He thought about that then shrugged. "You have a point. You're the manliest female I've ever met."
"Hey!"
"Oh, now you're offended?"
"Glad to see both of you awake," the nurse interrupted, seemingly not apologetic for barging in unannounced. "Did you sleep well?" She just smiled knowingly when she got blank stares. Walking over to Eclipse's cot, she checked the IV bag before taking the redhead's temperature and blood pressure. "Now, Miss Rymyr, I know you're not going to like this, but we've been evacuating as many injured as we can to Kaguya. Given your current state, you're going too."
Eclipse sighed and looked down at her wrapped ankle. Her pilot suit was folded beneath it, the lack of pillows making it the only thing left to prop up the injury to keep down the swelling. Lifting her hands, she wiggled her fingers and felt the bandages there sliding across the medical cream helping her stitches heal the skin underneath.
"Yeah, I figured as much. You're right."
"Good. Your parents wanted—"
"What?"
"—me to tell you they'll see you when you get there."
"Oh, another family reunion," Dearka commented, receiving a glare from Eclipse. "I heard how fun the first one went."
"Shut up."
"Princess Cagalli has asked that you join her in her transport. Your infection wasn't too severe, but since you refused regular treatment, we'll give you one more shot to boost your system just in case. Your temp is normal and your blood pressure's a little bit high, but that's to be expected." She rattled a bottle of pills and tossed them into her lap. "For pain. Take one every five hours or as needed." The two females made eye contact and the nurse pointed at the pills with her pen. "I strongly advise you to take them."
"I have a high pain tolerance."
"And I have a high tolerance for bitching patients, but it doesn't mean I enjoy listening to them. Just take the pills."
Dearka covered up at laugh and was awarded with two icy glares from the females. He held up his hands in surrender and rose, shuffling his way to the exit. "Point taken. I gotta check on the Buster anyway."
"Hey, could you find Athrun for me? I want to talk to the both of you before I leave."
"What, last will and testament?" he joked, though not even he found it funny. "Yeah, I'll go get him."
"She'll be here. We have to change the bandages," the nurse said, pulling over a stool. Eclipse and Dearka exchanged glances then he was gone. "Now," she continued, helping the redhead sit up, "we'll start with your back."
Her two teammates returned just as Eclipse was finishing her ankle exercises. Athrun pulled aside the tent flap and cringed when he saw how swollen it was. The purple and blue bruising probably didn't help matters.
"Here, I'll leave the ice with you and you keep your foot in there while you talk. Don't," the nurse waved a finger at her, "take it out until I get back." Grabbing the end of the bucket, she slid it over to the side of the bed and pointed to the ice water.
"You're very demanding," Eclipse muttered and finished wrapping the bandage around her toes to keep them from freezing. She was used to the rehab, but still found it all exhausting. Bracing herself, she slipped her sprained foot into the ice water. There was no feeling at first, but then a biting cold that seemed to attack the bruising itself. Shivering once, she grabbed the sheet on her bed and wrapped it around her shoulders.
The nurse, satisfied, left soon afterwards. Athrun sat down on the vacant stool and Dearka plopped onto the end of the bed.
"Did you make a decision?" she asked Athrun, bringing her healthy ankle up and under her other thigh to keep those toes warm. Wrapping the sheet around the knee too, she hugged herself even tighter.
He sighed, but didn't respond right away. Dearka and Eclipse exchanged glances, knowing he was running out of time.
"Tough choice, isn't it?" the blonde began. "Your orders are to take the Freedom back, right?" Athrun nodded and shrugged at the same time. It seemed like everyone knew his mission by now. "It's not gonna go over very well. We're all ZAFT soldiers—" Eclipse cleared her throat. "Oh, well you and I are, but if we keep intervening like this…" He trailed off, leaving the rest of the statement for their imagination. They all knew the consequences very well.
A part of Eclipse felt relieved. She didn't have to make the decision with them, hell, she couldn't even fight in the battle, so despite being stuck to a medical bed for the next couple of days, her future was looking a bit better. It was hard, however, to be on the bench while everyone else sacrificed themselves. Her Berserker half wasn't too happy either. More likely than not, that was the reason why she was healing so quickly. After all, she had felt good enough to be on crutches almost four hours after being found half dead. It was a good thing the doctors and nurses were too busy to really be paying close attention to her condition other than the positive results she was garnering.
Athrun and Dearka kept to their own thoughts a little bit longer, most likely having loyalties to contemplate. Both had parents on the Supreme Council and had willingly joined ZAFT in the first place. Eclipse may have been in that boat before, but a lot had happened since her volunteer entrance exam.
"Just tell me one thing," Eclipse started, looking from one to the other. "Would you always regret leaving?"
Dearka and Athrun looked at each other before thinking it over again. Athrun was the first to speak. "I don't want them to—" He paused, probably trying to find the right words. "I don't want any of them to die."
Dearka smirked, his left eyebrow arching in surprise. "Now that is amazing. For the first time we agree on something." *(2) They looked at each other then, locking eyes and matching smiles. Eclipse almost expected them to spit on their hands and shake or share blood. Well, that among other things.
"Did you guys want me to leave or something? I feel like I'm about to witness a porno."
The looks were priceless. Each of their faces said something different. Athrun looked surprised, appalled, and amused all jumbled together. Dearka just looked proud. But they both did the same thing and ruffled her hair.
"Just don't die, okay?" Eclipse muttered as their fingers made a mangled knot out of her red strands. They stopped and pulled their hands back, forcing her to look at each of them in turn. "I'm not going to be out there to save your asses, so you'd better not do something stupid."
"Don't worry, we'll kick some Earth Forces booty," Dearka said, a wink ending his declaration. Athrun sighed, but soon agreed. He muttered something about his dumb cliché, but Eclipse's smile had faded when she remembered Namarra again.
"Shit," she muttered. The guys looked at her, but she waved them off.
"Alright, but what do we do about those three machines?" Dearka asked and Eclipse cursed again.
"I didn't get to see much of their fighting style, but I don't think they have any strong attachment to each other," Athrun remarked.
"So, make them angry."
"They're a bit too powerful to piss off, Dearka."
"Pansy," the blond mumbled.
"Hey, just because you get the small fry doesn't mean you can make fun of my fighting style."
"Wait, you have style?"
Eclipse let them bicker until the nurse came back to shoo them outside. They said their goodbyes after that, the redhead impressed with how well they could hide their nerves. Perhaps only one of them could be worried at once and it was definitely Eclipse's turn. She was benched with only a promise keeping a very powerful, Berserker alliance together. And neither side of that alliance could keep the promise in the next fight. She couldn't believe what she was about to do but she closed her eyes and prayed.
Prayed Orb's three biggest threats survived the battle.
Cagalli came to pick her up about half an hour after the guys left. Eclipse had changed into some loose pants and an orange Morgenroete jacket before following her cousin over to Kisaka and the helicopter. The sun was just peeking over the horizon as they flew to Kaguya, a series of tall buildings standing square formations next to a long steel track rising skyward, the Mass Driver. Eclipse glared at the device, knowing that something looking like nothing more than a giant rollercoaster was the reason most of Orb territory was now in ruins. She resisted the urge to spit out the side of the copter, realizing the problem wasn't the Mass Driver, but the stupid Atlantic Federation bobbing in the ocean.
Cagalli didn't say much during the ride, a nervous look about her and an even more scared glimmer in her eye as she wrung her fingers in her lap. Eclipse reached across the row and grabbed her hand. Cagalli turned away from the burning landscape outside to her cousin, her eyes not hiding behind her strong confidence like they normally did in front of the army. It was unnerving, to say the least. The helicopter was too loud to say anything comforting—even with headsets—so Eclipse just smiled and squeezed her hand. Cagalli squeezed back.
They arrived at Kaguya headquarters soon afterwards. Cagalli handed Eclipse her crutches as Kisaka helped her down onto the helipad. She said thank you to both of them and followed them through the halls to the command center. Kisaka stopped her at the door and looked like he was about to order her to the infirmary when an alarm went off inside. All three if them hurried into the room after that.
Cagalli and Kisaka went straight to the command table.
"What's happening?" the princess asked.
"Radar's picking up bogeys!" a soldier shouted, followed by another.
"Incoming missiles!"
Eclipse bit her bottom lip, hobbling into the room while trying to stay out of the way as much as possible.
"Cagalli," Kisaka said, his tone soft as he addressed the blonde. It seemed he was thinking much the same as everyone else in the room.
"They never even responded to any of our attempts to open discussions. Bastards." Taking a moment, Cagalli cursed again under her breath then slammed both hands down on the table. "Give the order for the mobile suits to deploy and have Murayama's team intercept those missiles."
"Yes, ma'am!" came the reply.
The redhead had never been on this side of the battle; the place where the orders were given. She wasn't sure how long she stood there and watched, but the whole thing was fascinating. Kisaka and Cagalli were relaying commands, moving troops and sending support teams wherever they were needed. Cagalli looked confident again and the soldiers running the communication lines were more than happy to relay her orders. Eclipse had no idea when her cousin had even learned those skills and yet there she was, giving commands to Kisaka. Damn, she thought, now thinking Cagalli really did deserve that white general's uniform.
The next few moments were kind of a blur, even if Eclipse had been in her right mind. One of the communication soldiers left his post, running off to deliver a message personally on the other side of the base. This looked to be a normal occurrence for a selected few, but usually the next person watched their monitors or another person came and filled their spot. This time, however, no one seemed to have noticed. The soldier put his headset down on the console and ran out. Eclipse looked around the room, but saw no one looking at her and her eye caught the three Earth Forces machines fighting Kira and Athrun.
"We're not your enemies," Orga had said those many weeks ago and she felt herself shift to slip out of her crutches, leaning them up against the wall. They had been so worried about Namarra that day, so much so that their soldier facades had faded, showing even Eclipse that vulnerability. "We're not your enemies," the phrase repeated in her mind and the faces of FS and Stray popped into her mind. In the end, she might not have been able to save them from their insanity and her fists clenched at the realization. But maybe, just maybe, she could save someone else instead. Hopping over to the seat, she sat down and put on the headset.
The frequency wasn't easy to pinpoint at first—and it took her a couple of minutes to tap into the line—but eventually she was hearing Namarra's brothers easily enough. They didn't say much to each other during the fight—and she could only hear snippets of their orders—but she knew she had to try and talk to them. Biting her bottom lip once more, she opened her mouth to talk, but stopped. What if her interference caused one of them to lose concentration and die? Namarra would never forgive her. Then again, she'd never forgive her if she didn't try either.
"S-Shani, this is Eclipse. I'm a friend of Namarra's." She couldn't believe what she was doing and thought herself even more insane given she was doing it in Kaguya's command center. "I need you to—"
"What the fuck? Shani, who's the chick?" It sounded like Clotho's voice.
"Beats the hell outta me," was his slow response.
"I've met you a couple—Orga, I was the one who saved Namarra near Carpentaria. Remember? You and I—"
"Yeah, Orga and Shani, you talk to the chick and I'll handle these two machines."
"Clotho, you bas—"
"Don't think you're doing it alone," Shani responded, and Eclipse watched their two suits start another series of attacks against the Justice and the Freedom.
"Shani!" Orga cursed and hovered just above the water. At first, she thought he was honestly going to talk, but she saw his machine take aim and fire into the chaos. He was trying to hit the Justice's detachable armor as it flew towards him. Every shot missed.
"Orga, you have to stop fighting and listen to reason. You're being manipulated—"
"You're still yapping?" came his reply, his suit aiming and firing once more.
"The Atlantic Federation is giving you drugs to—"
"I don't even know who the hell you are, but I fight because I—"
"If you keep going, you'll kill Namarra."
"Don't interrupt me, bitch, and I don't give a fuck who this Namarra is." His suit fired again, and she heard him curse and bang on the console. Given the time and his hasty antics, Eclipse assumed he was running out of power. "You stupid mobile suit!"
"It's because you're firing all over the place, dumbass." That sounded like Clotho again.
"Say what?"
"If you're gonna leave, then do it yourself. You're on your own now. Huh?"
Eclipse stared at the screens as she watched the Justice rise out of the water and surprise Clotho, water dripping from the elbows and feet of the red suit. Athrun had combined two beam sabers and held the weapon high above his suit's head, its hands tightening around the weapon and ready to strike down at the surprised Raider.
She gasped as she watched, her lips parting in horror. "Athrun, don't—"
The Justice swung downward in what should have been a killing blow, but the Raider had managed to avoid major damage. Its hand weapon, the Mjolnir hammer, was sliced in two as the suit transformed and fled, the piece falling harmlessly into the water. Athrun's suit moved as if it was going to pursue the Earth Alliance's machine, but it seemed to second guess itself and fly in the opposite direction to help out the ground forces. Eclipse exhaled slowly, more than happy to see him find a different objective.
"Hey, you're the dumbass!" Orga yelled.
"Who d'you think you—" The Calamity crashed onto the Raider. "Who said you could get on? Freeloader!"
"Shut your mouth!"
"Guys, the EA's just—" Eclipse tried again, but someone must have noticed her sitting at the radio because there were two hands locked onto her shoulders and pulling her backwards.
"Broken record, blah, blah—"
She broke Orga's transmission just as she was torn from the chair, hoping no one would name her a traitor for trying to contact the Earth Alliance machines. Somehow, she didn't think her excuse would make sense to most people. When she turned to see her captor, however, she caught a glimpse of a purple uniform and dark skin. "Kisaka," she breathed when they locked eyes, her once guardian dragging her back to her corner, having no sympathy for her injuries.
Still clutching her shoulders, he stared at her hard, his eyebrows deepening into the closest thing to rage she had ever seen on his face. She opened her mouth to explain, but he just shoved her hard enough to make her stumble against the wall and turned back to the command table just as Cagalli spit out another order.
"Fall back! Tell all forces to retreat and gather at Kaguya! We're abandoning Onogoro!"
A/N: Hey guys! Again, another chapter that came out a little later than expected, but at the same time I had so many ideas for it I made it a bit long. I know there are some readers out there who don't like long chapters—and for that I am sorry—but I don't just want to stop at a bad spot and leave everyone in a cliffhanger. Well, not saying this chapter doesn't end in a cliffhanger, but I'm just throwing it out there.
There were some interesting things that happened in this chapter that surprised me as I was writing it; the ending especially. I never thought Lexi would do that and I can't decide whether to be proud of her or appalled. Hm, maybe you guys will have some cool insights on that.
Let's see, what else. Oh, I had a little fun with the medical terminology. I was looking through some writing books I've picked up over the years and started reading through my trauma and injury book. One section was talking about field trauma and I started going at it. *shrugs* I suck at the whole medication amount thing so I tried to avoid it as best I could. When in doubt, have the doctor jump around the specifics by having the character zone/black out. A trade secret, I guess.
It was also nice to see Lexi officially become part of the guys. I mean, she was slowly getting there, but I think this chapter solidifies her position as a friend. I'm kinda jealous of her, actually. Especially since no one seems to get mad at her for having a deep hatred of Kira. Hm, definitely jealous.
Anyway, I've had some readers suggest things—plots, mobile suits, etc.—and I'd like to say thank you. I enjoy hearing from you all and am even happier to see you take such an interest in my story. As you all probably know by now I'm sticking to the canon, but am not afraid to have my original characters get a little banged up or even break a few rules. Okay, more than a few. Well, thank you all and I take everything into consideration, but I can't make any promises, I'm afraid.
On that note, thank you for reading and reviewing the story so far. I enjoy writing this and I'm happy to know you enjoy reading it.
Special thanks to my Betas, especially since they're the ones who know how much trouble Lexi is going to be in next chapter.
Corrections to the Narrative:
*(1): I changed this conversation a little bit mainly because there was a lot of the typical Gundam SEED "single name callings" and Athrun sounded like a dolt. Well, even more so than usual. Maybe that's why I have intelligent conversations between him and Lexi. Hm, another trade secret I think.
*(2): This conversation I changed in the course of the canon itself. This is originally supposed to take place in the hanger right after Kira leaves for the fight and Dearka comes over to talk to Athrun. Remembering Athrun's face, he looked utterly surprised to see Dearka—doing the single name thing again—even though he had a lot of time to see him earlier. Hence the conversation. Also, I wanted Lexi to chime in so I made it in the medical tent instead of the seconds before they boarded their mobile suits. Besides, I feel as if it was a decision they should have had before. Yes, this originally shows some rashness in Athrun, but I think it would have worked this way as well.
Questions/Gripes:
DevilGirl101: FS's fate is still up in the air, but he doesn't seem to be going down the right path right now, does he? You'll just have to watch and see what happens, but—believe it or not—whatever happens will be for the best.
Well, thanks again to all the WW fans out there and I'll be seeing you in the next chapter. Even I'm interested in seeing what happens to Lexi.
Strata