Gundam Wing: Journey to a New Battlefield

by operation meteor

The war is won, yet he cannot find peace. When a mission gone wrong throws Heero into another world, how will he survive? And how will he react when he is confronted with his greatest challenge yet? For love can be trickier than any battlefield foe...

16. Chapter 16

Author's Notes: Hey guys, sorry this took so long! Ok, warning up front, this is the longest chapter of the story, so make sure you've got an hour or two of free time before you start reading this. Food and drink are highly recommended, and some caffein as well if you're staying up late.

Since the music was a hit in the last chapter, I'm doing more in this one. It's only one song, and it's not until well into the second half of the chapter. It's called "Ephemeral Dream", and it's from the Soul Calibur Three soundtrack. Beautiful piece, one of my absolute favorites in the series.

Lot's going on in this chapter, I've got a little bit of everything in here, including a brief battle scene for all my action oriented readers. Of course, the next big battle won't be until Episode Seventeen, but I think you'll enjoy the small one that's in here.

Alright, enough from me, I know what you're here for.

Enjoy!

Episode Sixteen: Enter Azrael

"Captain," said the radar operator, "There's still no sign of pursuit. I think it's safe to say they've had enough for one day."

Murrue nodded. They had been cruising for thirty minutes, still on high alert. After the multitude of close calls in the last battle, Murrue wasn't taking any chances. After the hellhole we just fought our way out of, she thought, there's no way I'm letting us get taken down now.

Checking her personal monitor, she saw Wing Zero still above the bridge; Heero had no intention of abandoning his vigil until they were completely out of the enemy's range. Skygrasper One and Kira's new mobile suit were further back, while behind them was the pitiful remnant of the once mighty Eurasian fleet.

The enormity of what they had done by fleeing the battlefield was still sinking in for Murrue, and she needed time to process all that had transpired and plan her next move. She was also worried about the morale of her crew; Murrue had no doubt that they would all be labeled as traitors to their country, and would never be able to go home again. Everyone's still running off the adrenaline from the battle, but it'll wear off soon, and one by one they'll start to realize just what kind of situation we're in. I need to give them strength, I need to give them hope… but how?

She did not yet know how she would lead her crew in the days to come, but as she once again looked at Wing Zero on her screen she felt her resolve strengthen. Heero, no matter what happens, I know you'll stand with me. I cannot begin to express just how grateful I am for that… I'll need your strength more than ever as we move forward.

However, Murrue was also aware that she was not the only one in need of support. For all his phenomenal strength and skill, Heero was still one man. There was only so much he could do, and the battle at Alaska had driven that point home in a way their previous engagements never could. His abilities enabled him to take on odds that would be suicidal to anyone else… but that did not mean he was guaranteed to succeed. Even Heero needed support on the battlefield, something she had already been aware of before the fight at Alaska, but now felt much more acutely than before.

She also knew that it was not just support in combat that he needed. Murrue was fully aware of Heero's own personal issues, his search for a purpose beyond the battlefield, along with his conflict with his own past. Though she knew the young man was more than willing to fight for her and the Archangel, she also knew that all the combat he had engaged in since arriving in the Cosmic Era was only adding to his burden; it wasn't making it easier for him to find a role for himself beyond that of a soldier. He hadn't spoken of his search for a purpose since their voyage through the Red Sea, but she knew that it was still there… along with his doubts as to whether or not he could truly move beyond a life of fighting. He needed someone to stand by him, to give him solace and comfort in their war ravaged world… and Murrue knew that she was the only person capable of giving that to him.

Heero, she thought, that battle was hard on all of us, but for you… you carried the heaviest burden, endured the fiercest fighting. You are by far the strongest person I know… but even your strength has limits. Physically, emotionally… you must be exhausted.

Murrue resolved to find time to talk to him in private once she was able to leave her post. There was a lot she wanted to discuss with him, and she was sure Heero would want to talk as well, especially after all that had happened that day. We can begin planning our next move, she thought, and I can see how he's doing. I know he won't be as worried about being labeled a traitor as the rest of the crew is; hell, he isn't even a part of the Atlantic Federation, so technically he didn't betray anyone. He swore to protect me and this ship, and not once has he broken that vow. Still, after all that happened today, I'm sure there's a lot on his mind. Heero always holds things so close to the chest… I want to give him a chance to air his own concerns and feelings. He would never do that in public, but if it's just us then I know he'll open up… and that he'll allow me to do the same.

"Captain," said the radar operator, "there's a small island about seven kilometers south of our position. We could stop there… and take stock of our situation. After all, considering what we've done…"

Murrue could tell that the officer was nervous about voicing his opinions, and rushed to reassure him. She gave him a small smile as she spoke. "Yes, you're right. Keep an eye on the sensors and make sure there's nothing in the area that can threaten us."

Murrue then turned towards the helmsman. "Ensign Neumann, head for that island. Take us past the shoreline and inland; we'll stop there and do a thorough inspection of the ship, account for our battle damage and supplies."

"Aye, Captain," he said, "setting course."

"Communications," she said, "Any word from the Eurasians?"

"I just received a message from the carrier, ma'am," the radio officer replied, "It and the rest of the Eurasian vessels are going to break off and head for Vladivostok. Their commander wishes us luck, and asks you to pass on his thanks to Heero."

"Tell him that I will, and that we wish them a safe journey home," said Murrue.

"Understood, Captain," he said.

"Miriallia," said Murrue, "tell Kira and La Flaga to come forward and form up on our flanks. Heero can keep his position above us until we reach the island. They can all land then, and we'll begin to figure out what comes next."

"Yes, ma'am," said the girl, and Murrue was pleased to hear the confidence in her voice. Of course she's feeling good, thought Murrue, Kira's back; her friend is alive. It doesn't change the fact that her boyfriend is dead, but at least she regained someone she thought was lost forever.

"Captain," said Miriallia, "Chief Murdoch wants to speak with you."

"Put him on the main monitor," said Murrue.

The grizzled head mechanic appeared on the main screen. "Captain," he said, "our preliminary investigations haven't turned up any damage to major systems, but the hull took quite a pounding in that fight. Any chance we can find somewhere to stop so my teams can look the ship over and do some exterior work?"

Murrue nodded. "We're already heading towards a small island. The sensors haven't picked up any signs of military activity on it, so we'll be stopping there for a bit."

"Oh," said Murdoch, "alright, thanks ma'am."

"You're welcome, Crew Chief," said Murrue, "Is there anything else I should be aware of?"

"Well," he said, "when we get to that island, could you have both Kira and Heero land their mobile suits outside instead of in the hangar? Judging from the images we've seen down here, Kira's new machine is much more massive than the Strike. I know we still have plenty of space down here, but I'd appreciate it if I could take some time to reorganize all our heavy equipment so we can properly hold that new machine before we take off again. I need to shift some things around in the hangar, and we still haven't completely gotten the Spearhead out of the way and secured."

"That won't be a problem," said Murrue, "However, I want one of your resupply teams to come outside the ship when we set down; Wing Zero's shoulder gatlings are empty, and I want them reloaded ASAP."

"Understood, Captain," he replied, "Murdoch out."

As the Crew Chief signed off Murrue contacted Heero on her personal monitor. The Gundam pilot appeared on her screen, and though his face was still calm and composed, Murrue could sense the weariness he was holding back. Her heart went out to the young man. Heero, you've done the impossible yet again. Please, stay strong for just a little longer; I promise you can rest soon.

"Heero," she said, "how are you holding up?"

"I'm alright," he replied, though his sweat matted brow and the tired look in his eyes suggested otherwise, "Wing Zero's fine too; the Twin Buster Rifle's cooling off, and the reactor is replenishing the charge. The Gundanium armor suffered no major damage; ZAFT wasn't able to hit me with a concentrated bombardment. They did scratch the paint though."

Murrue smiled slightly at that last bit, a clear attempt on Heero's part to lessen her worries with a bit of humor. "Well, the hangar crews can always fix that. Heero, we'll be landing on an island to the south shortly. Murdoch wants you and Kira to set down outside until he can clean up and reorganize the hangar to more effectively accommodate the mobile suits."

"Understandable," said Heero, "Kira's new machine is definitely bigger than his last unit, and I imagine the tonnage is considerably greater. Alright, I'll pass that on to him; we'll touch down next to the Archangel."

"Ok," said Murrue, "Also, I'm going to have Murdoch send one of the tech teams out to reload Wing Zero's shoulder gatlings when you land."

"Thanks," he replied, "It'll be good to have those ready for action as soon as possible. After all… ZAFT's no longer our only enemy."

Murrue nodded. "Yes, you're right, Heero. For now, please keep your position over the Archangel. We should reach the island in about twenty minutes."

"Roger that," said Heero. He gave her a nod before signing off.

Murrue leaned back in her chair, and she could feel her own weariness begin to set in. She resolved to hold it at bay for a little while longer; once she was off shift, once she was with Heero, then she could allow herself to take a load off.

As Captain, she thought, I have to appear strong in front of my crew, regardless of how I may feel on the inside. When I'm with Heero, though… I don't have to wear that mask. I can be myself, let out my feelings… thank you, Heero.

...

A little while later Heero could see the island Murrue had mentioned on the horizon. He was relieved at the sight, knowing that he would soon be landing. The adrenaline that had been pumping through his system, sustaining him for the last part of the battle, had worn out awhile ago, and all the strain he had put himself through was catching up to him. His body felt heavy, and his mind, while still alert, was struggling to ward off fatigue. It'll be good to get out of the cockpit, he thought, I could definitely use some fresh air right about now.

Still, his exhaustion did not mean that his guard was down. He was still constantly checking his sensors for threats; there was no way in hell he would allow ZAFT or the Alliance to get within striking distance now.

However, he wasn't just scanning for threats. Heero was also using the Search Eye, Wing Zero's most advanced sensor, to analyze Kira's new mobile suit. He had been impressed by the machine's performance in the battle, especially by the degree of precision with which Kira had been able to operate its weapons. It must have a very sophisticated targeting system, he thought, I know Kira's skills are considerable, but even he would have difficulty acquiring targets for so many weapons simultaneously. I'm betting it has advanced tracking software, possible to use only with the advanced reflexes and mental speeds of Coordinators.

The new mobile suit's firepower was considerable. It had two plasma cannons, two heavy rail guns, a beam rifle, two CIWs mounted on the head, and two beam sabers. On the left arm was a large black shield with a red line down the middle, and Heero was betting it had the same anti-beam coating on it used by the shields of the other GAT-series machines. I'm sure that armor is Phase Shift as well, he thought, that machine bears some resemblance to the stolen prototypes, so I'm betting that aspect of their technology was incorporated into it. He had little doubt the unit was built by ZAFT and that Kira had somehow hijacked it; the only way the boy could've known where Spitbreak was really taking place was if he'd had contact with people in the PLANTs. No doubt there's an interesting story there… someone must've recovered him after the battle in the Marshall Islands and brought him to the Coordinator homeland. How he came by that machine, though… I guess I'll have to wait and hear what he has to say about that.

There was one feature, though, that had caught his attention more than any other; its power source. Heero's eyes narrowed as he studied the unit's emission profile. Those energy readings are nuclear, no doubt about that. That should be impossible; I know for certain that mobile suit isn't made out of Gundanium alloy, so the armor can't block N-jammer emissions.

There was only one possible explanation; the mobile suit was equipped with a device that somehow cancelled out N-jammer emissions. That further reinforced Heero's belief that the machine had been developed by ZAFT; they had built the N-jammers, so they were in the best position to develop technology to counteract those devices since they had access to their schematics. The implications of such technology being developed, however… were unsettling, to say the least.

This was what Erica Simmons feared, he mused, recalling his talks with Morgenroete's Chief Engineer during the month long stopover in Orb, the reintroduction of nuclear arms into this conflict. Granted, this is a mobile suit and not an ICBM, but still… from here it's not much of a step towards fitting this technology to nuclear weapons. According to those Alliance files I read, the radical faction within the PLANTs was gaining support. If they've acquired even more power since those reports were written… then this conflict could escalate far beyond what it is now.

Looking at the machine on his monitor, Heero could not help but feel that it was an ominous sign of things to come. The Perfect Soldier felt uneasy as he realized that he would have to interrogate Kira about his time in the PLANTs; who had rescued him, taken care of him, and enabled him to gain access to that machine. He'd do it gently, of course; he knew the boy wasn't naturally deceptive, and Heero was confident Kira would want to share any major developments that concerned them. He wouldn't want this war to become a nuclear conflict, thought Heero, I'm sure of that. Hopefully all that will be required of me is some gentle questioning. Heero was profoundly grateful to Kira for saving the Archangel – saving Murrue – from the Duel when he had failed, and he felt deeply indebted to him. However, that would not stop him from becoming aggressive in his questioning should the need arise. He wouldn't get physical, of course; he wasn't a torturer. However, that would not stop Heero from using every underhanded trick in his arsenal to get information from Kira… and his knowledge of interrogations was considerable.

I don't want to resort to those, Kira, he thought, and hopefully you'll never have to learn that I have them. Heero would just have to play things by ear when the time came.

His concerns over the new machine aside, Heero was glad that Kira was back from the dead, so to speak. Having his help would make defending the Archangel much easier. More importantly… his friend was back. Granted, he'd only called Kira that when he'd spoken to Murrue, and had never said it to his face, but he did consider the young man to be a friend, and knowing that he was alive gave him a small boost of confidence in their situation. Things were still grim, to be sure; now they would be hunted by ZAFT and the Alliance. However, he now had another comrade to fight alongside, and that did make a difference.

Setting aside his thoughts on Kira and his new mobile suit, Heero's mind returned to the person he'd been thinking of for the majority of the flight from the battle at Alaska; Murrue. Heero was incredibly relieved that she was still alive… and haunted at just how close she had come to death. The image of the Duel about to fire on the Archangel's bridge was all too near his thoughts, and he knew that he had failed her when she'd needed him the most. It did not matter to Heero that he had taken down more of ZAFT's invasion force than the entire combined Eurasian forces and the Archangel, nor did he care that he had destroyed a weapon of mass destruction hidden in one of the most fortified locations on Earth; he had failed to destroy the Duel as it had made its approach. The fact that missile impacts had thrown his shot off meant nothing to him; he had sworn to protect her, no matter what happened. Only Kira's timely arrival had prevented his worst nightmare from becoming reality… and even then, the thought of just how close things had been was enough to send shivers down his spine.

That fear became cold fury as thoughts of the battle inevitably brought to mind those who had done their best to make sure the Archangel and her crew would meet their end there; the Atlantic Federation High Command. Heero managed to force those emotions down before they interfered with his control over the Zero System… but they were still there, lurking like a wraith in the dark recesses of his heart. He was not sure how, when, or where, but he knew exactly what he would do to avenge their attempted murder of the woman he loved; he would hunt down the four Admirals who sat on the High Command and kill them all.

Maybe I'll get lucky, he thought, and they'll come to me. They all have field commands; fleets they're personally responsible for. I'll have to run through the files later, check which ones have which group, what their flagships are… I want to know if they're on the field when we meet the Alliance in combat.

Fear for what had nearly happened to Murrue – and anger at who had arranged it – were not the only feelings Heero was dealing with. The Perfect Soldier was worried about Murrue, concerned over how she was holding up. He knew that she always did her best to maintain the image of strength and determination in front of her crew… but he had seen the fear and dismay in her eyes when she had contacted him during the battle to inform him of the Atlantic Federation's treachery. Though her resolve to get her subordinates out of that mess alive, and to continue to protect them, had been far stronger than her doubts and fears, Heero knew that they were still there. She's now a traitor to her country, he thought, just because she refused to lie down and die when her superiors ordered her to, because she valued the lives of her crew more than defeating ZAFT. She can never go home again, can never see her parents again… I can't imagine how she's feeling. On top of all that, Murrue still has to figure out her next move; where the Archangel goes from here.

He wanted to help her, in any way he could. More importantly, he wanted to comfort her, to reassure her that no matter what happened, he would always stand by her side, that he would never abandon her, that he would take on the entire world for her… he just wasn't sure how to do it. Helping her deal with the death of Tolle and the apparent death of Kira under her command had given him some insight with regards to Murrue's heart, how she dealt with her emotions, dealt with fear and guilt, loss and pain… but that didn't mean he was an expert at it.

There were also his personal feelings about her to consider. Heero now knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he loved Murrue. What he felt in his heart was simply too powerful to just be a strong bond of friendship; she meant more to him than anyone he'd ever met, any woman he'd ever met… Relena included. Just as importantly, Heero was also sure that Murrue felt something for him too, though he could not say for sure just how deep her feelings for him ran.

The passion he felt for Murrue burned within his heart, like a sun had implanted itself in his chest. Holding it back, keeping it inside him, was becoming a monumental struggle, a kind of inner battle that he had never dreamed could take place, and certainly not one he'd ever worried about encountering before.

He wanted to tell her, wanted to land on the Archangel immediately, run to the bridge, and confess to her exactly how he felt… but he couldn't. Putting aside the obvious concerns regarding the age difference between them, Heero knew that Murrue had the lives of her crew riding on her shoulders; she needed to be able to focus, to figure out how to keep them safe, especially now that they were on the run from the Atlantic Federation. Confessing his feelings to her now would only distract her at a critical time, and he couldn't bring himself to do that.

There was another issue that was holding Heero back, preventing him from finally revealing what lay in his heart; his own past. Though he had told Murrue of his worst sins and she had still accepted him, the deaths of the innocents slain by his hands, however accidentally, still weighed heavily on his conscience. With their blood on his soul, how could he ever allow himself to feel the same love and desire that many of them had no doubt experienced in their lives? More importantly… if Murrue shared his affection… how could he ever be worthy of that after what he had done?

Those were questions with no easy answers, and Heero had to wonder if he could ever find them. Murrue would help you, a voice whispered in the back of his mind, how many times has she been willing to listen to you, to comfort you? She's already accepted you for who you are, and has not judged you for your past. You may blame yourself for the deaths of those people, but she does not; is that not enough?

Heero didn't know.

He sighed as he saw the island they were approaching become larger on his monitor, and he pushed his doubts aside for the moment; now was not the time to try and deal with them, and he certainly wouldn't find the answers he was looking for before he landed. I have to focus, he thought, we may have escaped Alaska, but we're not out of the woods yet. Murrue has some difficult decisions to make, and I have to do all I can to help her. She deserves that… and definitely more.

The island was small, only about three kilometers from end to end. Its beaches were gravelly, and the majority of the surface was little more than flat rock. It was barren and lifeless, but a good place for the ship to set down for a little while. Turning his sensors towards the island, Heero detected no signs of human habitation, not even an outpost. It seems the Alliance was content to leave this island alone, he thought, sloppy of them considering its proximity to the Alaska base, although given the circumstances I'm not going to complain.

He increased his altitude slightly as the Archangel did the same as the warship passed over the shoreline. Eventually the white warship settled down on the flat rock that made up the majority of the island. Heero followed suit, landing Wing Zero in front of the vessel. Kira's machine touched down on his right, the unit's Phase Shift Armor powering off, while La Flaga's Skygrasper landed on his left.

As he powered down the Gundam, Heero saw the front loading doors of the Archangel open up. A single truck drove out, and Heero knew it carried the tech crews and the ammo they would be loading Wing Zero's shoulder gatlings with, along with the heavy equipment they would need to accomplish the task.

Heero opened the hatch and lowered the lift line before grabbing the cable and using it to descend to the ground. As the truck pulled up in front of Wing Zero, Heero was surprised to see Murrue climb out of the vehicle with the tech crew.

The Perfect Soldier was caught off guard as an intense emotional wave came over him. The incredible relief he felt at her survival, his guilt at having been unable to adequately protect her, the sheer affection for her that dominated his heart… those powerful emotions overcame the calm, disciplined front he had worked so hard throughout his life to maintain.

Abandoning restraint, Heero ran forward as Murrue approached. He saw her eyes widen as he did so, and he couldn't blame her for her surprise, especially considering how he had conducted himself throughout their voyage until now. Not giving a damn that the mechanics could see everything, along with Kira and La Flaga as they climbed out of their units, he took Murrue into a fierce embrace, holding her tighter than he'd ever done so before.

For a moment he'd feared he'd gone too far, but almost immediately he felt Murrue's arms return the hug, pulling him in with an incredible passion and strength. Heero struggled for words, to find some way to give the storm of emotions swirling within him a voice. After a moment he spoke. "Murrue… I… I'm glad you're alright."

Those words seemed horribly inadequate to him, utterly pathetic in light of what they had just gone through. However, Murrue did not seem to mind. In fact, Heero was surprised to feel her already considerable hold on him become even tighter. "I know, Heero," she replied, "I feel the same way… oh, thank goodness you're not hurt!"

The two of them pulled back a bit, enough so that they could look each other in the eye. Heero saw that Murrue was smiling, and her beautiful brown eyes were full of gratitude and relief. The Gundam pilot could not help but smile slightly in return, and also felt a bit of warmth go to his face. Even though he did not care that people were watching them, he was aware that his and Murrue's actions would cause a stir amongst the crew. I hope I haven't made her situation more difficult, he thought, she has enough problems to deal with as is.

After a few seconds they separated, and Heero thought he saw a hint of red in Murrue's face. She was still smiling as she looked at him though, and it was enough to reassure Heero that his actions had not made her uncomfortable.

The two of them looked over at the tech crews, who only stared for a moment before continuing on with their duties, setting up the equipment they would need to assist them in reloading Wing Zero's shoulder gatlings. Heero and Murrue then turned towards La Flaga, who was walking over from the Skygrasper.

He gave them one of his typical care-free smiles, though Heero could tell that this one was more forced than the usual ones. He knows what kind of trouble we're in now, he thought, it's natural that his usual laid-back attitude is more subdued.

"Man," he said as he came up to them, "Talk about a close call. That was one of the worst battles of my career."

Murrue nodded. "I imagine the same could be said for the rest of us." She then turned to Heero. "Although I wouldn't presume to speak for you, Heero. Only you can really be the judge of that for yourself, especially considering none of us experienced your war."

Heero shook his head. "It's true I've been in bigger battles, with higher stakes… but your High Command's betrayal added a whole different level of savagery and brutality to that engagement. That battle… was definitely the worst I've fought in." Unspoken was the horror he had felt when the Duel had been about to attack the Archangel, to kill the woman he loved… that was what had made the engagement at Alaska the worst he'd been in, and only Kira's timely arrival had prevented it from becoming his own hell on Earth.

Murrue's eyes widened slightly for a moment before she nodded solemnly. "I can understand that, Heero. It's still hard to believe… but the facts are unmistakable; they used us as bait, they wanted us to die there."

"Our survival threw a wrench in their plans," said La Flaga, "You can bet they'll be gunning for us soon enough."

"We need a plan," said a new voice, and everyone turned to see Kira approaching them, his helmet cradled under his left arm, "We need to find somewhere to go, a place that will offer sanctuary from both ZAFT and the Alliance."

Heero nodded, his eyes narrowing as Kira came up to them. "I agree… but not quite yet. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you're still alive… but you've got some explaining to do."

"Yeah," said La Flaga, "like that uniform, for starters. Were you with ZAFT the whole time you were missing? Were you captured by them after the battle in the Marshall Islands?"

"Yes and no," the boy replied, "I was brought to the PLANTs, but I was never a prisoner."

"How is that possible?" asked Murrue, "You were wearing an Alliance flight suit; any ZAFT soldier would've recognized it. Also, we asked Orb to conduct a search and rescue operation in the area after the battle, and they never reported finding you. The only logical conclusion we can make is that ZAFT took you into custody… unless someone else found you and treated your wounds."

Kira nodded. "Someone did, Captain. It's… kinda a long story… and it's complicated."

Murrue gave the boy a small smile. "We're not going anywhere right now, Kira; we have time."

Heero nodded and did his best to soften his expression a little. "Murrue's right, Kira. Take your time, and try to be thorough; we need to know exactly what happened in the time between the fight in the Marshall Islands and the battle today."

"Alright," he said, "Uhm… you guys mind if we sit down? This will take awhile."

"Fine by me," said the Lieutenant Commander, "I wouldn't mind taking a load off… and I'm sure Heero could use it."

The Perfect Soldier turned to Murrue, who smiled at him. "He's right, Heero. I know you're strong… but you must be exhausted after the fighting you did today."

He gave her a small smile in return and nodded, grateful for her consideration. The four of them sat down in a circle on the flat rocky ground. Murrue was on Heero's right, La Flaga on his left, and Kira right across from him.

The young Coordinator began his tale, and Heero was relieved to see that Kira's sincerity and honesty had survived the destruction of the Strike and his brush with death intact; he never once detected a single hint of deception from his fellow mobile suit pilot. Heero did not have to put his interrogation skills to use beyond a few questions here and there as Kira continued his story.

When the young man finished awhile later, a thoughtful silence fell upon the group for a few minutes. Eventually Murrue motioned for everyone to stand up, and as they did so she gave a weary smile. "Well, I'm certainly glad you're back with us now Kira, but that doesn't change our situation. Let's head back inside for now; I'm sure we could all use some rest. We'll have a meeting later to plan our next move."

Kira nodded. "Alright Captain. Can I bring the Freedom inside the Archangel now?"

She nodded. "Crew Chief Murdoch should've completed his hangar rearrangements, so you should be good."

"Heero and I will bring our machines in as well," said La Flaga.

The Gundam pilot nodded, and the three pilots began heading towards their separate units. Before Heero had gone more than a step, though, Murrue put her hand on his shoulder.

He stopped in his tracks and turned to the beautiful Captain. "What is it, Murrue?"

"Listen, Heero," she said, "When I've finished my shift on the bridge later, I'd like to talk to you in private. After all that happened today…"

He nodded and smiled slightly, doing his best to reassure her. "I understand, Murrue. I'd like that."

She smiled at his words. "Thank you, Heero. I know you're exhausted, and you've more than earned the right to rest… forgive my selfishness."

"You have nothing to apologize for, Murrue," he replied, gently grabbing her hand, "I'm always willing to talk to you… just as you are to me."

Her smile grew at his words… and became a little playful as his stomach gave an audible growl. The extended battle and the arduous fighting had taken its toll on the Gundam pilot in more ways than one, and he knew he needed to attend to that.

Heero looked down for a moment before returning his gaze to hers, his smile becoming a little sheepish. "You don't mind if I grab something to eat first though, do you?"

Despite all that had happened that day, Murrue laughed a little at his words. "Not at all, Heero."

They smiled again and nodded nodded before separating, Heero heading for Wing Zero while Murrue climbed inside the tech crew's truck. As Heero boarded the Gundam he was pleased to see that the mechanics had finished reloading his shoulder gatlings, and that all systems were fully operational.

Powering up the mobile suit, he watched as the truck below drove up the main loading ramp and into the hangar. Whatever you need, Murrue, I promise I'll do all I can to help you. After all, you're the best friend I've ever had… and the woman I love.

….

Murrue smiled as she left the bridge, Heero by her side. After securing Wing Zero in the ship's hangar, the young man had gone to the mess and grabbed a quick meal before taking his usual place by her command chair. The ship was still on the island as the sun began to set; Murrue wanted to give the mechanics time to inspect and repair all the hull damage they could before moving out. She knew it would have to be soon; the shock both the Alliance and ZAFT were no doubt going through after what Heero had done at Alaska would only last so long, and Murrue wanted to be underway as soon as possible. Of course, where the Archangel would go from here was another matter, one that she hoped her greatest pilot would be able to help her figure out.

She turned to the Gundam pilot as he spoke. "Do you want to stop by the mess? I know you haven't eaten since before the battle; you must be hungry."

She nodded, and it warmed her heart to see and hear his concern for her. His sudden, passionate embrace of her when she had gone out earlier to meet him when they'd first landed on the island was still at the forefront of her thoughts, and she knew it was a sign of just how deeply Heero cared for her. To have him looking out for me, she thought, how did I get so lucky?

She smiled as she responded to Heero's concern. "I'd appreciate that, Heero. I'll fill up a tray there and then we'll head to my office; I'll eat in there."

Heero nodded, and the two of them continued onward in relative silence. It wasn't an awkward one though; there was an air of relief and quiet joy between the two of them, mainly due to the fact that they had both narrowly escaped death earlier that day. It gave them a chance to reflect upon what had happened earlier… and their feelings for each other.

Murrue recalled how tightly she had held Heero as he'd embraced her, how overwhelming the passion burning in her heart at that moment had been. It had taken every ounce of restraint she could muster to not kiss the incredible young man at that moment, regardless of the fact that other members of her crew had been watching. The thought of being under observation had not mattered to her; Heero's feelings were the only thing she cared about.

Heero's actions were a confirmation of just how much she meant to him, but Murrue was still cautious about… evolving their relationship. She knew she loved Heero with all her heart, and while she was now certain the young man felt some form of romantic attachment to her as well, she was unwilling to put him on the spot, to force him to react to it. I can't force him to act before he's ready, she thought, for all his strength and wisdom, matters of the heart are something Heero has little experience with. Even if he knows what he feels, I have no doubt he'll struggle to figure out how to act on it. I want to help him… but I can't rush him in the process. The best thing I can do is give him more time, and give him whatever support he needs; after all he's done for me, how can I do anything less?

Now was not the time to distract her guardian angel in any case. Murrue was well aware that the two of them, along with everyone aboard the Archangel, were now enemies of both ZAFT and the Earth Alliance. The Earth Sphere's two superpowers now had them in their sights, and Murrue knew that they would need to focus on finding a way to survive in a world that was almost overwhelmingly hostile to them.

I imagine he feels the same way, she thought, looking once again at her handsome protector, Heero's always been so considerate of my own thoughts and feelings, and I'm sure he's trying to figure out how to help me save this ship and its crew. His mind works so fast, sees angles I never could… his insights may well mean the difference between life and death for in the next few days.

As they entered the mess and Murrue filled her tray with a sandwich, fruit and chips, she found herself reflecting on part of Heero's past; more specifically, Operation Meteor. Back then, she thought, Heero and the other Gundam pilots were up against the entire world. Our current situation certainly has some parallels, though there are also differences. I wonder if that might give Heero any ideas as to how we'll move forward from here.

As she grabbed her food she saw Heero move up beside her and grab a pair of water bottles. Once she had everything she needed she nodded at him, and the two of them left the mess and headed towards her office.

When they got there and went inside, Murrue placed her tray on her desk before pulling a chair up for Heero. She then took her own seat and leaned back in the chair, finally allowing herself to relax a little. Looking over at Heero, she saw he was doing the same, all the exertion from the battle finally catching up with him. Murrue had never seen him look so tired before, and for a moment wondered if it would not be better for him to go get some sleep before they talked.

Then her eyes met his, and though she could see the weariness in them, they still possessed the same strength and compassion that she had come to treasure. She could tell that, though he was tired, he still wanted to stay and talk to her. Once again her heart went out in gratitude to the young man. He really is something special…

She spent a few minutes eating her meal, allowing Heero a little time to collect his thoughts and enjoy his drink. Eventually she saw him set the water bottle down on the desk, and she pushed her tray back a bit, the contents having taken a considerable dent.

Murrue spoke first, wanting to finally let out some of the feelings she'd been forced to hide for the sake of the crew. "I can't believe what happened today. I knew our leaders were willing to sacrifice many lives for the sake of victory… but I never imagined they could be that monstrous."

"It's disgusting," said Heero, "I've seen rotten leaders, corrupt rulers, ruthless commanders… but never anything quite like this."

"They'll go to any lengths to win!" she said, her voice rising in outrage, "They treat us as little more than pawns, practically cannon fodder… and now as bait! They hung us out to dry, just so they could kill as many Coordinators as they could!"

"Yes," said Heero, and Murrue was surprised to see his expression become contemplative, "as many as they could, no matter what… they seem almost obsessed with it."

"What are you getting at, Heero?" asked Murrue.

"Remember what we talked about after the debriefing with the High Command?" said Heero, "About possible Blue Cosmos sympathies among your superior officers?"

Murrue nodded, calming down somewhat as she thought about what Heero had said then, and how it applied to now. "I do, Heero… and I think what happened today lends further credence to that theory. It would explain their actions… both today and throughout this war."

"All the way to the start," said Heero, "The nuclear attack on Junius Seven… it wasn't a major military or political target, but an agricultural colony. One of only ten, in fact… which I think was why it was destroyed. Had ZAFT not deployed the N-jammers in response, and strengthened their homeland defenses, the Alliance may well have gone after the other nine colonies in the Junius cluster."

Murrue's eyes widened as pieces of the puzzle fell into place. "You're right, Heero! The PLANT colonies are grouped according to specialization, and the one for the Junius cluster is agriculture; it's the source of food for the entire Coordinator homeland. High Command was aiming to destroy their food supply and starve them into submission!"

"Or extinction," said Heero, "With the vast majority of their population concentrated in the PLANT colonies, they're easy targets for a genocide campaign once the defenses are breached. Taking out their food supply would've made things easier; starvation would've decimated their numbers, and the rest would be easy prey for a mop up."

"I should've seen this from the beginning," said Murrue, looking down in shame, "how could I have been so blind?"

Heero reached over and put his hand on hers. "Murrue, it's not your fault. From the start of this war, you've been doing your best just to keep the people serving under you alive. You've been in no position to really think about the wider picture, the Alliance's long-term goals; you've been focused on your own responsibilities, which is far more than can be said of your superiors."

Murrue looked up at him and smiled slightly. "Heero… thank you. That means a lot to me."

"You're welcome, Murrue," he replied, returning her smile, "You bear no responsibility for the actions of the High Command. You've gone far beyond the call of duty just to keep your crew alive. There's no one I respect more than you… in this world or any other."

Murrue felt a familiar surge of heat rush to her face at his words, and could only hope that it was not as red as it felt. She already knew that he had the highest confidence in her… but it always impacted her emotionally to hear him say it. Pride, gratitude, embarrassment… all ran through her heart at the same time.

Murrue didn't know how to respond, so overwhelmed was she by her feelings. Fortunately she was saved by Heero, who withdrew his hand as he spoke again, his tone becoming more serious. "From what Kira said, it seems the Alliance isn't the only power under the control of extremists. I don't know much about this Patrick Zala beyond the official biography in the Alliance files I downloaded, but it seems he and his followers are as bad as the High Command, with the only difference being who the target of their hatred is."

Murrue nodded. "It's hard to imagine… but if Kira got the information from Lacus and her supporters, it must be true. She wouldn't have gone through all that effort and risk to aid his recovery only to lie to him about something like that. I remember the time she spent aboard the Archangel, and she struck me as a very compassionate and honest young lady. She was very kind to Kira, especially since he rescued her from dying alone in outer space, so I imagine she would feel obligated to tell him the truth."

"There's also her family's supporters and their sources of information to consider," said Heero, "I was very impressed with Waltfeld when I met him in Banadiya, and I have no doubt he'll be a valuable ally to the Clyne family. The fact that one of his friends is a fellow Field Marshal and a member of ZAFT's Defense Council, not to mention Zala's deputy chief of staff, gives him access to very sensitive information."

Murrue saw the Gundam pilot smile slightly. "Commander Rehema and her team has sided with them as well… the Valkyrie Team's support would be very helpful to Lacus and her father." The smile then faded as his expression became grim. "I remember that file you showed me on her; she's a First Generation Coordinator, which means her parents are Naturals. If Zala hates Naturals as much as Kira says, then the Commander's parents are in great peril, especially since they're residing in the PLANT capital. Rehema's stake in this is as much personal as it is moral."

Murrue nodded, and found herself feeling sorry for the Valkyrie. Though the legendary Commander had fought fiercely against Heero in North Africa, Murrue knew the Gundam pilot bore her no ill will; if anything, Heero had the utmost respect for her skill and bravery. Therefore, despite remembering how much she had worried as Heero had clashed with the Valkyrie Team, she could not bring herself to feel any form of hostility towards the ZAFT Commander or her subordinates. How awful for her, she thought, to have to live everyday knowing that her parents could be the target of her own government…

Murrue knew that there was a chance that her own actions that day could have repercussions for her own family, but the key difference was that they were Naturals living in Natural territory, and the Atlantic Federation's most lethal hatreds seemed to be directed at Coordinators. She doubted that her parents would be arrested or anything too serious, but she was still aware that they could face some unwanted attention from their government.

Mother, father, she thought, I'm sorry. I promise I'll try to contact you and explain someday… I pray you'll be alright.

Turning her attention back to Heero, she nodded. "Hopefully her involvement in the Clyne family's activities will remain hidden from Zala. Speaking of which, I was shocked when Kira said that his friend was that man's son… and that he'd been flying the Aegis." She looked down, feelings of guilt weighing upon her. "All this time, he's been fighting his childhood friend…"

She once again felt Heero's hand upon hers. "Murrue, stop. This wasn't your fault. There was no way you could've known who the pilot of the Aegis was; Kira never said anything about it. Besides, even knowing that he'd be fighting his former childhood friend, Kira still choose to keep piloting the Strike even after he was given the chance to stop. You bear no blame in this."

Murrue smiled as she looked up, her eyes meeting Heero's. "You're right, Heero. I appreciate you saying that."

"No problem," he replied.

They were quiet for a moment as they stared at each other, each finding comfort and strength in the eyes of the other. Then they continued their conversation.

"I have to admit," said Heero, "I'm impressed with Lacus Clyne. When I first saw her I thought she was just the daughter of a politician, but it seems there's more to her than meets the eye. She actually reminds me of Relena, in a way."

"I can imagine," said Murrue, "I remember you saying how Relena was devoted to peace. Lacus seems to hold the same ideals in her heart, along with the same passion and strength to act on them."

Heero nodded. "Yes, they are quite similar… though there's a key difference."

"What's that?" she asked.

Heero sighed. "Relena… her convictions were strong, and she did everything in her power to make them a reality, to make the world a better place for everyone… but at heart, I don't think she could ever accept the fact that the only way to overthrow those that were oppressing the people and make the change to a truly peaceful world possible was through fighting. Lacus, on the other hand… she may not want to resort to violence, but she does seem willing to acknowledge it as a means to accomplish her side's goals, albeit as a last resort."

"As it should be," said Murrue, "This world has too many people for whom violence is the first and often only means to an end… and several of them seem to be in positions of great power and influence now. The conflict will only escalate; the death toll will only increase…"

"…and we can't do much about it from where we stand now," said Heero, "I know it sounds selfish, but right now we need to focus on our next move. We can figure out how to stop the escalation of the war once we've found a place to resupply and do it from."

Murrue nodded. "Of course, Heero…although, that's certainly easier said than done."

"Agreed," he replied, "Between the Alliance and ZAFT, our enemies control most of Earth and space. Our options at this point are limited."

"Precisely," said Murrue, "I can only think of one place where we might be safe… and even then, it's a long shot."

"Orb," said Heero.

Murrue couldn't help but smile slightly at the Perfect Soldier. "You know, sometimes I think you're reading my mind, Heero. I don't suppose the Zero System's made you telepathic, has it?"

Heero smirked as he shook his head. "No, at least not outside the battlefield. It was more just process of elimination. They're the only neutral nation left in the Earth Sphere with a military powerful enough to ensure that they can't be conquered easily, and we have past experience with them. The fact that we aided their mobile suit development program, not to mention saved their princess, may make it easier for us to request asylum, or at least seek temporary shelter as refugees."

Murrue nodded, her smile fading as she continued. "Yes… but they'd be undertaking a great risk while doing so. Not only is this ship and its crew now considered renegade by the Alliance, but it's carrying ZAFT's latest model mobile suit… and it can use nuclear power without a Gundanium alloy construction. I can't imagine the lengths ZAFT will go to in order to get it back… or those the Alliance will undertake in an effort to capture it."

"And there's my own unit to consider," said Heero, "I was able to keep the Alliance at bay through the threat of the self-destruct system, but now that we're traitors to them they'll devote considerable resources to either capturing it or destroying it. Not to mention the fact that the entire Earth Sphere has now witnessed the full power of the Twin Buster Rifle; Alaska showed them exactly what Wing Zero can do with that weapon."

"Yes," said Murrue, "before the battle, I imagine the top brass on both sides thought the Twin Buster Rifle's power was limited to that of an anti-ship weapon. Now, though… from the ruins of the Alaska base, they have a much more potent gauge by which to measure Wing Zero's might. Considering that base's fortifications, they'll have no problem imagining what you could do to an orbital construct; ZAFT will see Wing Zero as a direct threat to the PLANTs, and they'll do anything to destroy it… or capture it, especially in light of the new regime's ideology."

"They won't be underestimating me anymore, that's for sure," said Heero, "still, they haven't seen all the tricks up my sleeve yet. They still don't know about the Zero System, though they have seen the results of its impact on my piloting."

"Hopefully they'll never learn of that system's existence," said Murrue, "You're the only pilot in this world that can handle it, of that I have no doubt. If ZAFT or the Alliance learns of it and tries to replicate it…"

"They'd be turning their pilots into mass-murderers," Heero finished for her, "Don't worry, Murrue; I'll never let them get their hands on the Zero System."

"I know you won't, Heero," she said. The two of them were quiet for a moment before Murrue spoke again. "Heero, do you think Orb would allow us to enter their country again? Should we go to them for help? I know we need a place to shelter and resupply… but we'd be putting them at great risk by doing so."

The Gundam pilot's expression was grim. "I don't think we have a choice, Murrue. The only other truly neutral nation on the planet is the Kingdom of Scandinavia, and they're both too far away and too weak militarily for us to even consider asking them to help. Orb is our only option. It may not be as strong as the Alliance or ZAFT, but it has power, and both sides recognize that. Our personal connection to the nation's nobility gives us a chance of being accepted into the country. Our success is not guaranteed, of course, but it's the only real shot we have."

"You're right, Heero," said Murrue, "I'll call the Lieutenant Commander and Kira in here tomorrow morning to brief them before telling the crew. Could you join us here when I do that?"

Heero nodded, and a small smile appeared on his face. "Of course, Murrue. I'll stand by you while you explain the situation."

Murrue returned the smile. "Thank you, Heero. Your support means the world to me."

"You're welcome, Murrue," he replied.

There was another momentary lull in the conversation as Heero reached over to grab his water. Watching as he gulped down the rest of the bottle, Murrue was once again keenly aware of just how tired he was. She would let him rest soon… but she needed him a little while longer.

Forgive my selfishness, Heero, she thought, I know you're exhausted... but please, let me lean on you for just a few more minutes.

She needed to let out the feelings she could not display in front of the crew… her fears, her worries for the future.

"Heero," she said softly as he put down his drink, "I… I'm scared. For my crew, for myself… for you… the forces arrayed against us now are greater than any I dared to imagine before. We're the targets of both the world's superpowers… I don't know how long we'll be able to survive, especially if Orb doesn't grant us asylum. I…"

Murrue began to tremble in her seat; all the fears and sorrows so long suppressed were now coming to the surface. The weight on her shoulders felt heavier than ever… it was practically overwhelming.

She looked down, determined not to lose her composure, not to shed tears at the seeming hopelessness of their situation. Still, the emotions evoked within her were now quite active, and threatened to crush her resolve.

Suddenly she felt two strong hands gripping her shoulders, slowly pulling her to her feet. Her eyes widened as she saw that Heero had almost instantly moved behind her desk, and his Prussian blue eyes met her brown ones. Once again she saw the same strength and compassion, courage and kindness, flowing from them.

The extraordinary young man she had fallen so deeply in love with pulled her into a fierce embrace, as powerful as the one he had given her hours ago outside the Archangel. Murrue stopped shaking, and felt her strength being renewed as Heero held her. Once again, she felt that, despite the fact that her ship and crew were in more danger now than ever before, nothing could hurt her. She was in the safest place she could imagine; within the arms of Heero Yuy.

"It's alright, Murrue," he said softly in her ear, "No matter what happens, I swear I will not let the Alliance or ZAFT harm you or your crew. I'll fight with everything I have to protect you; we will survive!"

Heero pulled back just a little, enough so that his eyes once again met hers. Murrue felt her resolve come back, conquering her fears. They were still there, of course, and she knew that they would always be at the back of her mind… but she would never let them overtake her again, would never let them prevent her from doing her duty to the people she was responsible for.

And if they ever threatened to do so, she knew she could count on one man to help her find her strength again; Heero Yuy.

Murrue smiled, and her faith and gratitude for the young man before her had never been stronger. "Heero… yes, you're right. We will survive… and we will protect each other. I know you'll protect me… and I'll do the same for you; you won't be fighting alone."

Heero nodded, but Murrue was surprised to see something in his eyes, an emotion she had not expected to find there; guilt.

"Heero?" she said, "What's wrong?"

The Gundam pilot let go of her and looked at the floor. "Murrue… at Alaska… when the Duel attacked… I failed to stop it. I had sworn before to protect you… but I failed when you needed me most. If Kira hadn't arrived when he had…"

Heero looked up at her, and Murrue was confronted with something she had never expected to see on his face; fear. Murrue knew that for Heero to actually show something like that was a sign of just how deeply he cared for her… and how viciously he was beating himself up inside over what had happened.

Murrue realized that it was now her turn to comfort the Gundam pilot, to show him the faith she had in him, to give him the reassurance he so desperately needed, whether he would admit it or not… and she acted without hesitation.

She pulled him into her arms, holding him close as she spoke. "Heero, you never failed me! I know you fought with all your skill and strength, all your heart, to protect us in that battle. You're the most amazing pilot I've ever seen, but even you can only do so much. ZAFT's forces were overwhelming, even for you."

"It doesn't matter," said Heero, "I swore to protect you from anything, and I failed."

"You're wrong, Heero!" cried Murrue, tightening her grip on the young man, "What you did during the battle, taking on that massive force… that was incredible. No one else could've done that; without you we would've been killed long before the Duel had a chance to attack! You fought against what was probably the largest force ZAFT had assembled the entire war, and did more damage to them than the entire combined Eurasian fleet and air force."

"Heero," she continued, pulling back just enough to meet his gaze, "when the Duel broke through… I never once blamed you. I knew that you had fought with everything you had, and were still doing so. When… when I thought I was about to die… I wanted you to live on for me, Heero."

She then smiled at him. "But I didn't die, Heero… and while Kira's arrival may have saved us from the Duel, there was still the threat of the Cyclops system. Even with his help, we were moving too slowly; we never would've escaped the blast radius in time. The only one that had the power to truly save us was you, and you did. Firing the Twin Buster Rifle at maximum power, punching through the base's fortifications, destroying the Cyclops… you saved me, Heero. You saved all of us… you never failed me."

Heero's eyes widened, and Murrue thought she saw a hint of red appear on his face. "Murrue… I…"

Murrue put her finger to his lips. "You don't have to say anything, Heero. From the moment we met, you've protected me, supported me, given me strength when I needed it the most. This is the least I can do to repay you."

Heero then smiled slightly, and Murrue withdrew her finger, allowing him to speak. "Murrue… I… thank you."

Murrue hugged him one more time, and felt Heero return the gesture, his slender yet strong arms wrapping around her. "You're welcome, Heero."

They stood like that for awhile, neither willing to break the embrace, both finding solace and comfort in the arms of the other. Eventually, though, Murrue and Heero parted. Their eyes met, and Murrue was pleased to see that they were once again calm and determined, his doubts and guilt banished. However, Murrue was all too aware of the weariness that still lay within them, and knew that she had to let Heero get some much needed rest.

"Heero," she said, "I'm grateful for all that you've done today. Now it's time for you to rest; you need it more than any of us. Come, I'll walk you to your quarters."

Heero nodded and joined her as she headed towards the door. However, before they exited her office he grabbed her arm. "Murrue, wait," he said quietly, looking down at the floor, "there's something you should know."

"What is it, Heero?" she said.

He looked up at her as he continued. "The second night we were at Alaska… after the debriefing with the High Command… I snuck off the Archangel and infiltrated the base. I was sure they were hiding something, and I wanted to find out what it was. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before, but…"

"You wanted to protect me by giving me deniability," Murrue finished for him. She smiled slightly as she saw his eyes widen a bit at her response. "I know you, Heero. I know that when you say you'll protect someone, you mean from more than just physical threats. I'm grateful that you wanted to prevent any blowback from your actions from falling on me… but I still wish you'd told me."

Heero nodded. "I didn't like hiding it from you… especially since I couldn't find the information I was looking for in the base. I managed to hack into their system, but I couldn't breach their final clearance firewall, and I know now that the plans for the Cyclops system were behind it. I screwed up…. I'm sorry I hid that from you, and that I couldn't find out what High Command was up to."

Murrue put her hand on his shoulder, still smiling. "It's alright, Heero. You did all you could, and put yourself at great risk by doing so. Please, don't apologize for your actions; you undertook them to protect myself and my crew, and I am very grateful for that. Even if you were unable to learn about the Cyclops, you still did not fail me… just as you did not fail me in the battle."

Heero nodded. "Alright."

"Come on," said Murrue, "I've kept you up for far too long; you need to get some sleep."

Heero smiled slightly. "So do you, Murrue; you must be as tired as I am."

Murrue blushed slightly, flattered at the young man's words, as they implied that she had fought as hard as he had. I did the best I could to command the Archangel in the battle, she thought, that's never easy… but it's also nothing compared to what you did, Heero.

Still, she couldn't deny that she was exhausted, and was grateful for Heero's concern. "Yes, I suppose you're right, Heero. Let's go."

The two of them left her office, and were quiet as they went down the hall towards the officers' quarters. A sense of tired relief lay between them; their long day was at last coming to an end, and both would finally be able to get some much needed sleep.

Stopping outside Heero's quarters, the two of them shared one more hug before they went inside their separate rooms. As they parted, Heero and Murrue both gave each other a weary smile.

"Good night, Heero," said Murrue, "Sleep well. I'll see you in the morning."

"You as well, Murrue," he replied, "Get some rest."

She nodded, and the two of them entered their quarters. As the door shut behind her, Murrue didn't even bother to change out of her uniform. The beautiful Captain went right for the bed, and was asleep the instant her head hit the pillow.

….

"Welcome back, Athrun Zala," said a man in a black uniform.

Athrun nodded as he walked up to the soldier, who he recognized as one of his father's aides. It was early evening in the PLANT capital, and his shuttle had arrived and docked less than an hour ago. He had been picked up by a jeep belonging to ZAFT and brought to the organization's central HQ. The young man had just been walking into the main lobby when the aide had waved him over.

The large room was bustling with activity; staff officers, secretaries, and soldiers were bustling about, and there was a very intense energy about the place. I guess that's natural, he thought, Spitbreak was launched today, after all. I wonder if the battle is still ongoing.

As Athrun approached the aide, he saw that, while the man tried to put up a welcoming smile, his expression seemed strained, and the young pilot could detect anxiety in the man's body language.

"It's good to be back," said Athrun, "I was summoned here to meet with my father."

The aide nodded. "Yes, I know; I've been ordered to escort you to the waiting room by his office. Please, come with me."

"Is something wrong?" asked Athrun as he followed the man through the hall.

"Well," said the man, "we're still getting reports from the ground, but… it seems Operation Spitbreak did not go entirely according to plan."

"What do you mean?" inquired Athrun, becoming a little nervous.

"From what I've been able to piece together," answered the aide, "it seems our forces won the battle… but our losses were extremely heavy. I believe at least sixty percent of the armada was lost, quite possibly more. Also, our mobile suit losses were around seventy percent."

Athrun was shocked at what the man said; that meant that ZAFT's presence on the Earth was severely weakened. I wonder if that victory was worth all those lives, he thought.

"There's more," said the aide, "the legged ship and Wing Zero were present at the battle, and were responsible for the majority of our casualties. Also, we weren't able to take them down; they managed to break through our armada and escape, along with the remnants of the fleet the Alliance had in the region. The three Special Operations Squadrons assigned to the armada were completely annihilated by Wing Zero and the legged ship, and your father is quite angry about that… among other things."

The man looked over his shoulder at Athrun. "I assume by now you've heard what the true target of Spitbreak was, yes?"

Athrun nodded. "I was read in on the way here. It was the Alaska base."

The aide nodded. "Correct. The main objective of the battle was to occupy that base, followed by reinforcing it with additional forces before sending an ultimatum to the Alliance. If they did not come to the bargaining table, the base was to be used as a staging area for a full on invasion of the Atlantic Federation."

"Wait," said Athrun, "What do you mean, was?"

The man sighed. "The Alaska base was utterly destroyed. A few secondary facilities on the fringes are still intact… but the main headquarters is now one giant hole in the ground."

Athrun was stunned. "How is that possible? The fortifications of such a base would be extensive, and I know we don't have the firepower to completely destroy that kind of facility. More to the point, if the goal was to occupy the base, why would our forces destroy it?"

"They didn't," replied the aide, "the Alaska base was destroyed by Wing Zero."

"What?" he said, his eyes becoming wider than he'd thought possible, "That can't be… there's no way a single mobile suit has that kind of firepower, not even Wing Zero. To inflict that kind of damage… that's something only nukes could do!"

The aide nodded. "So we all believed… until today." His face was grim. "We've underestimated Wing Zero yet again… and this time the price was far greater than we could ever have imagined."

"Why would Wing Zero destroy the Alaska HQ?" asked Athrun, "Was it carrying out scorched-earth protocols, denying us the facility before withdrawing?"

"I don't know, Athrun," said the aide, "There are a lot of rumors going around, and I don't know what's true and what's false. You'll have to ask the Chairman about that."

The two of them were quiet as they continued walking towards the waiting room. When they finally arrived, the aide turned to leave, but not before giving Athrun one last bit of news. "Athrun," he said, "one of the reason's your father is angry is that one of our newest mobile suits was hijacked just before the start of the battle. It actually made it to Alaska and aided the legged ship's escape from the fight. That unit has top-secret technology that the Chairman was hoping to use to help bring the war to an end if the Alliance didn't surrender after Spitbreak… which, judging by what happened at Alaska, I doubt they'll do. Watch yourself when you go in there."

Athrun nodded. "Thanks. I will."

"Good luck," said the aide before leaving the room.

As the door closed behind him Athrun walked over to the secretary's desk. "Excuse me," he said, "My name is Athrun Zala. I'm here to see my father."

The woman sitting at the desk, wearing a headset and had short-cropped black hair and appeared to be in her mid-twenties, looked up and gave him an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, but the Chairman is still in the middle of a meeting at this time. I'll let him know you're here, but you may not get to go in for a little while."

Athrun nodded. "I understand. Thank you." He turned to go grab a seat by the wall.

He watched as the secretary hit a button on her keyboard. "Mr. Chairman," she said, speaking into her headset, "Athrun Zala is here for his appointment." After listening to the elder Zala's response she spoke again. "Alright, I'll let him know."

She looked over at Athrun. "The Chairman is wrapping up his meeting, and will be ready for you in about five minutes. I'll let you know when you can go inside."

"Thanks," said Athrun. The young man actually didn't mind the wait time; it would give him a chance to process all that he had heard so far.

Father's aide said we won the battle, he thought, but from all I've seen and heard since arriving here, I don't really think we scored a victory. Everyone's too tense, too nervous for something like that. I have a bad feeling about all this…

Athrun knew his father did not take setbacks well; to say Patrick Zala was a sore loser was a considerable understatement. It didn't even have to be a straight up defeat to tick the man off; if something didn't go exactly according to plan, the elder Zala could easily become irritable.

Father always had trouble adapting to sudden deviations from a plan, he thought, and it seems like the outcome of Operation Spitbreak is one giant wrench in his plans. How will he react to all this? What else have I missed, what wasn't I told?

"Athrun," said the secretary, jarring him out of his thoughts, "the Chairman is ready for you."

He nodded and stood up. As he walked towards the door to the office the woman gave him a sympathetic smile. "Please be careful," she said quietly, "the Chairman's mood is… rather foul."

"I will," said Athrun before opening the door.

His father's office was a rather plain room. The only signs of decoration were the ZAFT flag behind his desk, a few military photographs on the wall, and a picture on the desk of Lenore Zala, Athrun's mother.

The Supreme Chairman of the PLANTs and head of the armed forces was sitting behind his desk, while three officers were standing in front of it. Two wore the signature purple and black uniforms reserved for the upper echelons, while the third had on a blue and white ensemble. Athrun recognized the latter as Field Marshal Eric Bristow; he'd met the man a few times and had found him to be quite friendly, and was also impressed by his military record and successes in the East Asian campaign.

All three men turned to leave, but while the first two brushed past Athrun without any acknowledgement, Bristow gave him a slight nod and smile. "Good luck," he whispered as he passed the young pilot.

I have a feeling I'll need it, he thought as he nodded at Bristow before the man left the room. Then the door closed, leaving him alone with his father.

The elder Zala had his hands clasped in front of him, and Athrun was taken aback by just how hard his expression was; there was barely a trace of welcome on it, no sign of relief that his son was alive, no joy at seeing him again.

I suppose informality would be pointless here, Athrun mused as he approached the desk. He saluted his father. "Athrun Zala reporting as ordered, sir."

Patrick Zala nodded. "At ease." The man then stood up and opened a drawer on his desk, pulling out a small black case with a transparent top. He then handed it to Athrun. "Congratulations on taking down the Strike," he said, "you destroyed a significant threat to our forces in that battle… and fought with great courage and little thought for your personal safety in doing so. In recognition for your efforts, Athrun Zala, you have been awarded the Order of Nebula."

Athrun's eyes widened as he accepted the case and saw the violet medal inside it. The young man's feelings on being granted such a reward were mixed. On the one hand, that medal was a rare sign of approval from his father. However, it was also a reward for killing his best friend, and that was something that Athrun took no pride in. Looking at the medal through the glass covering, it seemed to him to summarize his plight as a soldier; he was supposed to follow orders… but at what cost to himself?

Now was not the time to voice his doubts though; Athrun knew that his father would not look kindly on it, and the air around him was filled with thick tension. Still, he felt it wouldn't be appropriate for him to display enthusiasm considering the circumstances under which he had 'earned' the medal he now held, so he settled for nodding at his father. "Thank you, sir."

Apparently that was enough for Patrick Zala, as he decided to cut right to the chase. "A lot has happened in your absence, Athrun. As you've already been told, Operation Spitbreak was launched today, and the target was the Alliance's HQ at Alaska. We defeated the enemy fleet and ground forces protecting the base, although a few survivors managed to escape the battlefield."

His eyes then narrowed, and Athrun's nervousness was heightened as his father's voice became a low, menacing growl. "However… the situation as it is now can hardly be called a victory. I had three Special Operations teams assigned to our assault force: Rot, Grün, and Schwarze. They were all completely wiped out by Wing Zero and the legged ship… both of whom managed to escape the field. That ship and mobile suit were responsible for the majority of our losses; over sixty percent of the assault force was destroyed in the battle."

Athrun nodded, having already heard as much from the aide that had escorted him there. "Father," he said cautiously, "I heard a rumor on the way in here… that Wing Zero completely destroyed the Alaska base."

If the elder Zala had noticed his son's slip out of formality he showed no sign of it. "That rumor is correct," he replied, "With two shots from its main weapon, Wing Zero was able to destroy roughly ninety percent of the Alaska base; all that's left is a few auxiliary facilities that were at the edge of the blast radius. The headquarters, the docks, the air field, the mass driver and the accompanying spaceport were totally wiped out. I'm still waiting on Creuset's final report, but his preliminary messages and the attached video feed make one thing abundantly clear; Wing Zero is a direct threat to ZAFT and the PLANTs. If it could take out a base as heavily fortified as Alaska, then it easily posses the firepower to destroy an entire colony in a single shot."

"Also," he continued, "one of our newest mobile suits, the ZGMF-X10A Freedom, was hijacked prior to the battle, and arrived in time to aid in the escape of the legged ship and Wing Zero. That machine was equipped with our latest technology, including one of our new N-jammer cancellers."

If Athrun had been surprised before, he was shocked at this announcement. We have N-jammer cancellers now? That machine… it's nuclear?!

The young man's nervousness and restraint flew out the window; this was too big to be worried about formalities now. "Father, why? The PLANTs swore to abandon nukes after the Bloody Valentine Tragedy! How could you do this after what happened to mother?!"

The elder Zala's voice became ice cold. "If we want to win this war now, we need that power. In order to assure our survival, we must be willing to use any means necessary, including nuclear energy. The Freedom is not the only machine equipped with N-jammer cancellers; it is but the first. That technology will be the key to our triumph in this war… and defeating Wing Zero."

"Athrun Zala," he continued, his voice taking on a commanding tone, "You have been given a new assignment, which you will embark upon once the necessary intelligence has been gathered, as well as a promotion. From this point on you are now part of Special Operations, and you report directly to me."

Athrun did his best to swallow his shock at all that was unfolding in front of him, but it wasn't easy, and he was barely able to focus as he responded. "Will I be assigned to a squadron?"

"No," the Chairman replied, "you will be given the position of Special Operations Agent, and will undertake your mission independently. You will also be given a new mobile suit, from the same line as the Freedom; the ZGMF-X09A Justice."

"I understand," said Athrun, "what is my mission, sir?"

"You have two objectives," stated his father, "the first is to recapture or, failing that, destroy the Freedom. We're still trying to sort out its whereabouts after the battle, but there is a strong possibility it is with the legged ship. The Alliance cannot be allowed to analyze it and reverse engineer its technology. I assume you can figure out what will happen if they do."

Of course, Father, he thought bitterly, they'll fit N-jammer cancellers to their nukes and come after the homeland. After how mother died, do you really think I wouldn't be able to draw that conclusion?

"Yes," he said, nodding, "what is my second objective, sir?"

"Hunt down and destroy Wing Zero," said the Chairman, "That machine and its pilot are a direct threat to the survival of our race, and have been designated as Top Priority targets. You will most likely encounter it with the legged ship as well, so you should be able to accomplish that and your first objective within moments of each other." He then smiled at Athrun. "I have every confidence that you will succeed. You destroyed the Strike in single combat, and with the power of the Justice your incredible skills will be amplified tenfold; nothing will be able to stand against you!"

Athrun did not share his father's confidence, and though outwardly he remained calm, his mind was another matter. Father, are you insane?! Wing Zero has taken on entire armies, air wings, and armadas and triumphed. It beat the Valkyrie Team, our best mobile suit squad! You just told me that it and the legged ship wiped out THREE of our Special Operation's Squadrons at Alaska, and I saw them annihilate Ofnir and Grabacr in the Marshall Islands! All that's not even counting the fact that the Freedom may well be with them now… I can't beat them. It's a suicide mission!

Athrun Zala was a soldier, and he knew he could not disobey orders from his commander-in-chief. However, he could not help but despair at the realization that his father was so willing to send him to certain death. The elder Zala might not have seen it that way, wrapped in his Coordinator Supremacist ideology… but his son had never shared those beliefs, and his appraisal of the situation was unclouded by the arrogance inherent in them.

His father had signed his death warrant… and he had no choice but to obey.

So he simply nodded at his father's words. "I appreciate your confidence, sir. I won't let you down. When do I leave?"

"As soon as we've located the legged ship," said his father, "we lost track of it after the battle, and it may take some time to find it. Consider yourself on leave until then."

"Understood," said Athrun, "when will I be able to see the Justice? I wish to examine my new unit."

"Within a day or two," the Chairman replied, "The tech crews are making final adjustments to it now. So far all reports have been positive."

"That's good to know," said Athrun.

His father nodded, and then his expression darkened. "There is one more thing that you should be aware of."

Athrun had a feeling he was not going to like what that thing was. "Yes, sir?"

The elder Zala typed on his computer for a few seconds before turning the monitor so his son could see it. "We have obtained footage from the facility where the Freedom was being kept, and have a recording of when it was stolen. We were unable to identify the pilot… but we have no doubt as to who aided him in the theft."

Athrun saw two figures on the screen, their backs to the camera that had taken the footage. The one on the left was a young man with brown hair, and Athrun thought for a moment that it was Kira before chastising himself. Kira's dead; you killed him yourself. Your mind's just playing tricks on you; a lot of people would look like Kira if you only saw them from behind.

The person on the right, though… there was no mistaking who it was… who she was. The long, flowing pink hair, the slender figure, the purple and white dress… anyone in the PLANTs would recognize the girl on the screen.

Lacus Clyne.

His face paled, and his mind went numb with shock. This… this can't be right! There has to be a mistake… she would never do something like this!

But there was no mistaking what was on the screen, and as dearly as Athrun wanted it all to be just a bad dream, he knew what he was looking at was real.

"Lacus Clyne," said Athrun's father, "and former Chairman Clyne aided and abetted this traitor in stealing the Freedom. They are now traitors themselves, and our security forces are hunting for them now; they've gone into hiding, along with several suspected anti-government activists."

Even in the midst of his shock, Athrun was wary of his father's words. Anti-government, he thought, or anti-radical? Father… there must be more to this. Lacus would never betray our people!

"It goes without saying," the Chairman continued, "that Lacus is no longer your fiancé. An official announcement will be made to the public regarding that fact, along with the nature of her crimes. I'm sorry, my son."

There was little sign of apology or comfort in his father's voice, but Athrun was not going to confront him on that now. He simply nodded and did the best he could to regain control over his emotions.

It was not an easy task, and more than a hint of shock remained in his voice as he answered. "I… I understand, sir," he said, "Still… why would she do this?"

"Hopefully we will find the answer to that question when we capture her," the Chairman replied, "Assuming she is captured, of course; treason is a capital offense after all, and the security forces have been authorized to shoot to kill if they are unable to capture Miss Clyne or her father."

A shoot to kill order on Lacus?, he thought, That's insane! Father, what are you thinking? Are you even trying to bring her in for a trial?

"For now," said his father, "the hunt for the Clyne family does not concern you. Go home and get some rest; you will be contacted when the time comes for you to commence your mission." He then handed Athrun a red and white plastic card. "This will grant you access to the facility where the Justice is stored, should you wish to examine the unit; I will send you the exact location via e-mail within the next two hours. Dismissed."

Athrun nodded. As he turned and walked out of the office, an overwhelming sense of despair came over him. In the space of a few minutes he had been given a mission tantamount to a death sentence and had learned that his friend and arranged fiancé was now being hunted by his own father.

The former had been pushed to the back of his mind; his thoughts were focused on Lacus. While Athrun knew that he did not truly love her, he did care about her as a friend… and could not believe that she would betray her people.

Lacus has always believed that we should live in peace with the people of Earth, he thought as he made his way through the headquarters and towards the front entrance, but I know she would never put our own soldiers in danger just because she disagrees with Father's policies. There has to be more to this, she wouldn't just betray us… I have to find her!

He wasn't sure where she had gone, but he knew where he would start looking for clues; the Clyne estate. It was possible that she had left a message for him in one form or another. The odds were slim… but he had to try.

….

"Hey," said Shemei as Eric stepped aside to let her in, "Sorry I'm late; I had to ditch a tail after I left my apartment. Thanks for the heads up on that, by the way; I wouldn't have noticed him without your message earlier."

She smiled as Eric closed the door then moved to grab her brown jacket and hang it on the coat rack in the entrance way of his condo. Shemei had been at her residence when her friend had called, having just wrapped up a series of simulator exercises an hour beforehand. She was dressed casually, wearing jeans and a grey sweater. Eric, for his part, was still in his custom Field Marshal's uniform; he had just returned from the ZAFT HQ about an hour ago.

"No problem," he said as he walked with her into the living room where they sat down on the couch, "My Secret Service buddies had just gotten word to me that Zala had assigned Military Intelligence agents to shadow you right before Spitbreak kicked off. I'm glad they were able to identify the operatives; it'll make it easier to evade them in the future."

"Yeah," she said, sighing, "damn it, I hate this cloak-and-dagger shit. I prefer a straight fight to all this sneaking around."

"At least you're not wanted for treason," Eric replied, "I've got the Clyne family in my safe house network, and I'll be rotating them between contacts every day from now on; I doubt they'll be able to have a permanent residence again until the war is over. Lacus seemed to be ok with it on the outside, but I know it'll be rough on her. At least Waltfeld and Aisha will be with her; those two will be able to keep her spirits up when she needs a morale boost."

Shemei nodded. "Everyone sees her as the heart of our little opposition movement. They look to her as much as they do her father for strength and guidance. She'll do all she can, I have no doubt of that… but she'll need people of her own to turn to for strength." She looked at Eric and smiled slightly. "You did well in making sure Waltfeld and Aisha will accompany her as she goes through safe houses. Those two have been living underground for months now, so we know they can handle it."

Eric sighed. "I know, though I wish it were otherwise. I've got the girls' parents already transferred to September One; Councilor Canaver was very helpful in setting up new IDs for them. I can get Adaline, Lan, and Priscilla into hiding as well at anytime. They'll be safe in the event that Zala turns his ire towards the rest of the Valkyrie Team; right now you're the only one he has under watch."

"It's tough being famous," Shemei replied, chuckling ruefully, "I just had to go and survive two rounds with Wing Zero, and last longer in both than Creuset did in his encounter with Heero in the orbital battle. It seems I really pissed Zala off by upstaging his favorite Commander."

Eric nodded. "The man is petty, even for a politician… and vindictive. Of course, the latter goes without saying."

"Yeah," said Shemei softly, looking down at her lap, "Honestly, I don't care so much that I'm under surveillance now; it's more an annoyance than anything else. But…"

"Your parents," said Eric, putting his hand on her shoulder, "Shemei, I'm so sorry."

She looked up at him and shook her head. "It's alright, Eric; it's thanks to you that I know they're under watch at all. At least Zala hasn't made a move on them… yet."

"I can still get them out," said Eric, "Shemei, just give the word and I can smuggle them out of the capital on the next shuttle. Thanks to Councilor Canaver I've got more contacts and safe houses set up in September City than I know what to do with; I can make your parents completely disappear there."

Shemei gave her dear friend a sad smile. "I know you do, Eric, and I'm grateful you're willing to go to such lengths to help them… but they refuse to go into hiding. Father doesn't believe Zala will make a move on Naturals living in the PLANTs; he says the Chairman would just be stirring up resentment and make a disturbance in the civilian population that he doesn't need, especially in a time of war. Personally, I think his pride is getting the better of him; he never liked the idea of hiding from a threat. Hell, it was hard enough to convince him to move to the PLANTs to get away from Blue Cosmos. As for Mother… where Father goes, she goes. I try almost every time I see them to convince them otherwise, but they're adamant in their decision; they won't run from Zala."

"I can still move them," said Eric, "I'm not asking them, I'm asking you. Say the word and I'll get them underground… whether they're willing or not."

She was touched by how far he was willing to go to help her, but Shemei knew she could never agree to what he was suggesting. "No, Eric, you're not kidnapping my parents… as much as I might want you to."

Eric sighed. "Shemei, I know you don't want to put your parents through any trauma; I don't either. But we don't have many options; the radicals are putting together a set of 'public safety ordinances' all aimed at Naturals in the homeland. They can word it however they want, but everyone knows they're preparing a pogrom… if not a complete round up. They'll move in weeks, Shemei, maybe sooner; I haven't been able to figure out their timetable."

Shemei nodded. "We all knew this was coming… but I can't force my parents to leave against their will, regardless of the fact that it's for their own safety." She looked up at the ceiling. "If there's a god or goddess, it's in their hands now." She then turned to Eric and gave him a weak smile. "Never was one for religion, personally."

"Can't say I blame you," he replied, "not after all you've seen and done."

"No, I suppose not," she said. The two of them were silent for a moment before Shemei spoke again. "As important as it may be, I know Zala's plan for Naturals in the homeland wasn't the only reason you called me here. What happened on Spitbreak, Eric? I've heard a lot of rumors, and normally I wouldn't believe some of them… but after witnessing what Heero was capable of in North Africa, I'm inclined to keep a more open mind."

Shemei was surprised to see Eric chuckle slightly, especially in light of their rather somber previous topic. "You'd be right in that respect. Even after all the carnage it's wrought, our top military and political officials still underestimated Wing Zero… and they paid dearly for it today."

"Start from the beginning," said Shemei, "I want to know everything."

The handsome Field Marshal obliged her, and gave her a full rundown of Operation Spitbreak. It took quite some time for him to get through all the details, and the capital's artificial evening had turned into night by the time he was finished.

Shemei whistled softly, and couldn't help but smile slightly even in light of what the outcome of the battle most likely meant for the overall war. "Damn… Heero was holding back in North Africa."

Eric nodded. "Considerably. Based on the complete destruction of the Alaska base, the Defense Council has been forced to seriously revise its estimates of Wing Zero's power. Its main rifle is now being viewed as less of an anti-ship weapon and more along the lines of anti-colony artillery. Needless to say, Zala was furious when he was shown the new data… while the rest of the Council is now trembling in their boots."

"Zala will use Wing Zero's power to rally further support behind him," said Shemei, "he'll portray it as a direct threat to the homeland. Heero would never use it against a civilian colony, of course; of that I am certain. However, Zala has never met him, and even if he had he would still assume that Wing Zero would eventually be unleashed against the PLANTs themselves."

"Agreed," said Eric, "I, for one, am glad Heero is the pilot of that machine; the fact that he hasn't unleashed that kind of power until now just shows how responsible he is with it. It speaks volumes of his character."

Shemei smiled. "I know what you mean. All that power, and at such a young age, yet he doesn't seem the least bit tempted to use it for his own benefit. That was the impression I got from him back in North Africa, and it seems I wasn't mistaken." Her expression then became more contemplative. "Still… why do you think he targeted the base? I wouldn't think he'd care about whether or not it would fall into our hands; the woman he wants to protect is on board the Archangel, and it was already moving to break through the armada and escape the battlefield. Why destroy the Alaska base when he could've been using that firepower to clear a path for the Archangel?"

"I have a theory on that," Eric replied, "and I actually have a little proof to back it up. Well, it's not proof Zala or the rest of the Defense Council would believe, but it comes from a certain young man who was staying with Lacus not too long ago, so it's enough for me."

"You mean Kira Yamato," said Shemei, "I know you told me that Lacus had helped him hijack the Freedom, and that he made it to Alaska in time to help his friends on board the Archangel. What did Kira do to make you believe that he knew why Heero destroyed the base?"

"He did an open channel broadcast," the Field Marshal replied, "claiming that there was a Cyclops bomb underneath the base, and that it would annihilate everyone in the area. He tried to talk our forces into withdrawing; of course, no one listened. Heero must've realized that Kira's words would go unheeded, so he decided on a more direct approach to the problem."

Shemei nodded. "Makes sense… but how would Kira know about a Cyclops bomb inside the base?"

"My guess," said Eric, "is that someone inside the base either knew of the plan and had an attack of conscience, or that they found out about the plan and rushed to warn the surviving Alliance forces that they'd been set up."

"Hold on a second," said Shemei, her eyes widening in realization, "A Cyclops system is not like an ordinary bomb; it takes a lot of time and effort to set one up. We learned that after the fiasco at the Endymion Crater. Also, you said earlier that the forces defending the Alaska base were composed of Eurasian units, according to recorded IFF transponder signals… Eric, that whole battle was a trap!"

She saw her friend slam his palm into his forehead. "Shemei, you're right! If that bomb had gone off, it would've annihilated most of our fleet and definitely all the defenders. Since the Alliance forces taking part in the battle were composed of Eurasians, the Atlantic Federation would not lose any personnel… except for those on the Archangel, along with Heero and Wing Zero. That machine and that warship, along with the Eurasian forces, were bait to draw us in! The Atlantic Federation would've not only wiped out most of our surface forces, but with the losses incurred by the Eurasians they would've completely blunted their offensive power, leaving the Alliance as a whole under their control! Two birds with one stone… shit, I should've caught that sooner!"

"Hey, Eric," said Shemei, putting her hand on his shoulder, "don't go beating yourself up over this; there's no way you could've known what the Atlantic Federation had planned."

He sighed. "You're right Shemei… still, it goes deeper than that. If their High Command knew where we were going to strike, regardless of Zala's disinformation campaign claiming Panama was the target… Shemei, there's a leak within ZAFT, and it's at the highest levels."

"But who would leak that information?" asked Shemei, "The upper echelons of the military are almost entirely in line with the radical faction, and even those that aren't wouldn't warn the Alliance of Spitbreak's true target; they wouldn't sacrifice our own soldiers just to spite Zala."

"I know," Eric replied, looking down, "Shemei… I have no idea who could've leaked the information."

There was a hint of fear in his words, and Shemei knew why; Eric was fully aware that the budding anti-Zala movement counted on him more than anyone else for intelligence gathering. If he'd screwed up on something like this, then he would begin to wonder what else he had missed, what other threats lurked in the shadows that he had not taken into account. It would invite self-doubt that Shemei knew he could not afford, especially not now.

"Eric, look at me," she said, grabbing him by the shoulders. As he raised his head to meet her gaze she smiled. "This wasn't your fault. With all you've been doing, organizing safe houses, trying to stay a step ahead of Zala, keeping moderates safe… there's no way you could've found a traitor within ZAFT; you've had no time to do that kind of investigation, and none of us would've dreamed that one of our own could turn against us… especially after Junius Seven."

"What you've accomplished in the past few weeks," she continued, "has been nothing short of miraculous. Were it not for you, I doubt we'd have even the beginnings of the resistance movement that we have now. You may no longer be fighting on the front lines, but the war you're waging here at home is far more important than the battlefields we're used to. Stop blaming yourself; you can't afford to doubt yourself now."

After a moment Eric returned her smile, and she saw the fire of renewed confidence and determination blazing in his eyes. "You're right, Shemei… thank you."

"Anytime," she replied. Acting on impulse, she leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Pulling back, feeling the heat rush to her face as she did so, she was surprised to see a hint of red in Eric's face. She felt a little awkward at her sudden display of affection, but that didn't stop her from speaking again. "I've always got your back, Eric, just like you have mine."

Eric nodded. "Roger that."

The two of them were quiet for a moment, and Shemei realized that she was still holding her friend by the shoulders. She let go, her face becoming even warmer as she did so. Shemei looked down for a moment, and as she faced her friend again she saw that his face still had a bit of red in it. His smile looked a bit sheepish, and Shemei thought it was quite cute. I wouldn't mind seeing that a little more often, she mused.

After a moment Eric spoke again. "I suppose I owe Heero one for what he did in the battle; he killed not just Zubov but his entire squadron. Far too quick an end for what they did in China… but I'll take what I can get."

Shemei grinned. "I think it was karmic; all of Schwarze Team was staunchly radical to the point of openly committing genocide in the Far East against the Naturals, and they were killed by a Natural. If there is a Hell, then Zubov's agony will be all the greater from the knowledge that he was so soundly beaten by one of the 'vermin' he so despised."

"You have a point there," said Eric, smirking. Then his expression became thoughtful. "With all the losses they've suffered, Special Operations is now at about half strength. Zala may start promoting teams from the regular forces to bolster them."

"Any possible candidates come to mind?" asked Shemei.

Eric nodded. "A couple, though they're not really radical material, just career soldiers with no political leanings. Zala might choose to elevate them because he'll know they'll follow orders no matter what. Off the top of my head I can think of two teams most likely to get promoted; Sorcerer and Wizard."

"I know of them," said Shemei, "they both have impressive combat records, and they're both eight man teams. Last I heard Sorcerer was on the Hydrian Line, while Wizard was operating with the 6th Fleet between L1 and the Debris Belt."

"That information's still accurate," said Eric, "there's one other unit that might get picked, though I can't be certain."

"Why's that?' asked Shemei.

"Well," said Eric, "they're private military contractors, not ZAFT. I know Zala ran a major recruitment drive for mercenaries about a year ago, despite the protests of then-Chairman Clyne; these guys were part of it. It's actually a two man unit, but they have an impressive battle record. Hell, they were both actually allowed to purchase CGUEs from the government, something that no other mercenary team has been allowed to do. Zala may decide to offer them posts in Special Operations in order to bolster the organization; since they're mercenaries they'll be paid more than the other pilots, of course, but with their skill it would be a worthwhile investment for the Chairman. He may decide to give them new mobile suits too, though I don't know if it would be the GuAIZ or another unit. They're almost as good as your unit, Shemei. Hell, by now they might be your equal."

"Wait a minute," said Shemei, "I know the guys you're talking about; the Galm Team, right?"

"Yup," said Eric, "that's the unit. Team lead goes by the name Cipher; doubt that's his real name, but there's not a whole lot of background info on the guy. The number two is Larry Foulke, aka "Solo Wing Pixy"."

"Right," said Shemei, "I actually met that guy back when our forces used space-fighters, before the ADB built the GINN; he used to be regular military, and I did a few exercises with his squadron. He got that nickname because he lost his fighter's right wing during a skirmish at the edge of PLANT space. The enemy craft weren't broadcasting IFFs; it was probably an Alliance black squad, though of course we can't rule out pirates. Anyway, he lost his wing during a collision in the fight. The guy he hit was worse off; the wing went right through the enemy craft's cockpit, so he wasn't walking away from that one."

"Ouch," said Eric, wincing, "not a pretty way to go."

"No argument there," Shemei replied, "anyway Pixy, as we called him, managed to limp back to base and land the fighter. I actually saw the footage of the landing; it was rough, but impressive considering he didn't have much to work with in the way of stability." She looked down for a moment, taping her finger on the coffee table in front of the couch in thought. "I knew he'd gone mercenary a few months before the war started, but I lost track of him after that. I'd only heard about the Galm Team a few weeks before me and the girls got transferred to surface operations."

"What was your personal impression of him?" asked Eric.

Shemei shrugged. "Easy going, a dry sense of humor… he was pretty low key, really. I don't think he really had the same kind of ego you find in a lot of other pilots; he was proud of his skills, yes, but it wasn't bordering on arrogance like many of the others. One thing's for sure; the guy's a good pilot… which means that if he's flying Number Two, then this Cipher must be even better."

"Have you ever heard of him?" asked Eric.

Shemei shook her head. "Not really, other than the fact that he's the flight lead of the Galm Team. I don't know if he's ex-military like Pixy… hell, I don't know much of anything about him."

"Same here," said Eric, "like I said before, there's not much information on file concerning his past."

"Do you know where the Galm Team's operating at now?" asked Shemei.

"Out by L2," Eric replied, "Zala has them probing the defenses of the Atlantic Federation colonies and shipyards in that region. I don't know if he's preparing for a move on that region. I hope he's not; we're already skirmishing with the Alliance fleets from L1 to the Debris Belt to damn near L3, and our offensive capabilities in space are pretty stretched at the moment. Unless Zala pulls some ships from the Exclusion Grid, which is unlikely, we're in no shape to march on L2."

"That's probably a good thing, considering Zala's ideals," said Shemei, "I can see attacking that area to get at the shipyards, but I'm afraid Zala wouldn't stop an assault there; he'd hit the Natural colonies too."

Eric nodded, and the two of them were quiet as they imagined the carnage that would ensue from such a scenario. The silence was then broken by the ringing of a cell phone. Shemei saw Eric pull one out of his pocket, and she realized it was the same kind as the ones he had distributed at their meeting over a month ago; the ones that were secure from government eavesdropping.

"It's Waltfeld," said Eric as he checked the caller ID, "I wonder what's up."

Shemei watched as he answered the phone. "Hey," said Eric, "What's going on, buddy?" He spent a few seconds listening to his friend's reply before sighing and responding. "Well, that's her call. I can see why she'd want to do it… yeah, I hear ya. Want me to send a few guys over?" Another pause as Waltfeld responded. "Good idea; DaCosta will have her covered well. I've still got my reservations about the whole thing though." One more pause. "Alright; give me a heads up if things go south. Tell Lacus Shemei and I say good luck, and to take care of herself. Later."

"What's going on?" asked Shemei as Eric put the phone away.

"On the way out from my meeting with Zala," he replied, "I saw Athrun come in to the office. I passed on word to Lacus that he was back in the capital; figured she might want to know her former fiancé was in town. I thought she'd try to send him a message in some way, but I didn't think she'd set up a meeting."

"How do you think Athrun will respond?" asked Shemei.

"I imagine he'll want to see her," said Eric, "no doubt his father's told him about her aiding Kira in stealing the Freedom by now. He'll want answers, but I doubt he'll be hostile… at least at first. DaCosta and some of Waltfeld's men will have her covered anyway, so I'm not worried about Athrun doing something rash. The real problem is his father; knowing the Chairman, it's entirely possible that he'll have someone following Athrun in the hope that Lacus will do exactly what she's doing, and that his son will lead him to the songstress. Patrick Zala is more than capable of using Athrun like this."

"I wish we could help Lacus," said Shemei, "but if either of us is caught in the area where she and Athrun are meeting, then the Chairman will have us both shot. We have to trust in Lacus and DaCosta now."

"I know," said Eric, sighing, "I hate sitting on the sidelines like this… but we don't have a lot of options."

Shemei gently grabbed his hand. "Have faith, Eric. Lacus is smart, and DaCosta and his men are more than capable of getting her out of harm's way should the need arise. They'll be alright."

She was heartened to see Eric nod, a small smile on his face. "Yeah… Waltfeld doesn't choose just anyone to serve under him; DaCosta is more than competent, and there's a reason Waltfeld brought him in to our opposition movement. The guy's smart and resourceful; he'll keep our songstress safe."

"Maybe Athrun will help him out, should it come to that," said Shemei, "by now I'm sure their marriage has been called off, and while I'm not sure if Athrun ever loved Lacus, I do believe he cares about her. He may have doubts about her now, and will probably demand answers as to why she betrayed ZAFT, but he won't allow his father to put her before a firing squad."

"At this point," said Eric, "all we can do is hope."

Shemei nodded, and closed her eyes while giving Eric's hand a tight squeeze. Lacus… please, be careful. Your father may be our political leader, and Waltfeld and Eric represent moderates in the military… but you're the heart of our movement. We can't afford to lose you now.

….

The Clyne estate looked strangely serene as Athrun drove up its driveway. In the calm of the artificial night, the house's white paint seemed to shimmer slightly in the moonlight that came through Aprilius One's massive windows. As he parked and climbed out of the jeep he'd borrowed from the HQ motor pool, he couldn't help but grimace as he saw that same moonlight reflected on the Order of Nebula that was now on his chest. Athrun didn't wear the thing out of pride; he had only put it on because he knew his father would get suspicious if he didn't have it on his uniform.

Shaking thoughts of his father out of his mind, he focused on the Clyne estate. There was not a sole in sight as he walked up to the house. After finding that the front door was locked, he decided to head around back rather than break in. Navigating his way through rows of tall bushes, he eventually found the wrought-iron gate that was the only way into the back yard. Opening the gate, he headed over towards the patio, scanning for any possible clues Lacus may have left for him.

As he walked up onto the patio, images of the times that he had spent there with Lacus flashed through his mind. Sitting at the table having tea, surrounded by bouncing Haros… it all seemed like a lifetime ago. The shadow of their arranged marriage had hung over his head, but he had still enjoyed the moments of peace he had shared with her. She was a good friend, a kind and gentle girl… and he could not just accept the fact that she was a traitor without talking to her first.

Finding nothing out of place on the patio, he made his way down the stairs that led to the garden. If he didn't find anything out here, then he would have to break into the house. Fortunately that option proved itself to be unnecessary, for no sooner had he begun passing between rows of white roses did he hear a familiar voice.

"Haro! Haro! Athrun!"

Looking to his right, Athrun saw one of Lacus's many spherical Haro robots hop out from under one of the white rose bushes. His eyes widened when he saw that this was not just any Haro, but the pink one; Lacus's personal favorite of the bunch.

Scooping up the automaton in his hand, he looked the machine in its 'eyes'. "What are you doing here?" he asked, "Where's Lacus?"

"Underneath," it said, "Underneath."

"Huh?" said Athrun, taken aback by the strange answer.

The Haro tried a different approach. "Belly. Belly."

Then Athrun realized what the machine was talking about. Rolling the Haro over in his hand, he saw a message written on the bottom of the pink orb.

'I await you at The White Symphony.'

….

Pulling into the parking lot, Athrun could detect no obvious signs of activity. Of course, there was no reason there should be anyone there; the building before him had fallen into disuse quite some time ago.

As he got out of the jeep, the pink Haro cradled in his left arm, which was still in the sling, Athrun couldn't help but feel sense of nervousness as he walked towards the entrance of The White Symphony.

A concert hall built in the early days of Aprilius One, The White Symphony held the distinction of being the first public venue that Lacus had sang at. The young, almost angelic songstress had become an instant sensation, and her subsequent shows had all been sell out performances. As her fame grew Lacus had eventually been forced to move her performances to the capital's primary sporting arena, where there were more seats, but Athrun knew that the White Symphony would always hold a special place in her heart.

Now the concert hall was a shadow of its former glory. No more shows were held there, and Athrun knew there were discussions as to what to do with the place, though no major decision had been reached yet. So the building was left to languish, lingering on, a pale reflection of its old splendor.

Athrun discovered that the front door was unlocked, and slowly opened it. The only light inside the entrance hall was the moonlight filtering through the colony's massive viewports and in turn through the building's window. Athrun wasn't sure if it made the interior look eerie or serene.

He found no sign of Lacus in the entrance hall and decided to make his way towards the amphitheatre. As he walked through the halls he began to hear a voice. It was soft, gentle, beautiful… and all too familiar. It was singing, and Athrun knew beyond a shadow of a doubt who it was.

"The night time fills the sky
Stars alive go floating by"

She sounded as lovely as ever, and for a moment the lyrics seemed to calm the turmoil of doubts and questions in Athrun's heart. But the effect was fleeting, and the young man continued to follow the voice with an ever growing sense of foreboding; he was not looking forward to the inevitable confrontation.

"So still the evening air
So warm and soft peace everywhere"

Athrun was now, more than ever, mindful of the weight of his sidearm at his waist. He was keenly aware of his father's standing order to either capture or kill her. His father may not have been ordering him personally to attack her… but Athrun knew that the command was meant for all ZAFT soldiers… and that included him.

"I see a world in harmony
A world of peace and humanity
Where people walk free
Like water in a stream
Flowing on forever more"

At last he entered the amphitheater, and he could see her sitting on a piece of rubble on the stage, bathed in moonlight coming through a hole in the ceiling left from an unrepaired collapse. It lent an ethereal affect to her already angelic appearance.

"The breezes softly blow
Caressing warm so sweet and low
Upon my cheek I can feel tenderly
A kiss so real"

She looked beautiful. Athrun had always thought that, regardless of his personal feelings towards her, but tonight she looked even more so. Lacus wore a light blue dress. It was strapless, and showed off her slender frame more than her usual gown; her shoulders were bared, as was her upper back, and her pale skin seemed to almost glow in the moonlight. A collar the same color as the dress was around her neck. Her pink hair was done up in a twin-tail style, held in place by two elaborate blue head pieces. Her usual small yellow-gold hair clip had been replaced by a bright yellow one, consisting of three circles with silver lining.

"Like the brush of a hand
That I cannot see
The sound of a voice
Deep inside of my heart
So I dream of a new day coming
For all the world to see"

Could he bring himself to arrest her, to turn her into his father? Could he bear the thought of the brutal interrogation she would have to go through, followed in all likelihood by a swift tribunal and firing squad? Would he have to kill her himself? As a soldier of ZAFT, he was duty bound to either option… but could he truly bring himself to actually do it? Would he ever be able to look himself in the mirror again if he allowed himself to follow his father's wishes? The storm of emotions whirling through his heart picked up speed, building up to a typhoon that threatened to rip him apart from within.

"Lift your eyes and see a new day dawning
A dream that will soon come true
The day we waited for"

"Lift your heart and see the future for us all
A dream that will soon come true
The day we've waited for"

It was at that moment that the pink Haro hopped out of Athrun's arm and went over to Lacus. She smiled and held out her hands, and the Haro jumped right into them. She then looked up at Athrun. "Hello, Athrun. It has been awhile. I'm glad you're safe."

"Lacus…" said Athrun, struggling for words. Lacus had to know about the orders that had been issued regarding what to do with her if any ZAFT soldier found her. Yet she was so calm and relaxed, speaking to him like it was just another one of his visits to her house… it wasn't what he had expected.

He wasn't sure why, but he found himself grabbing his sidearm and aiming it right at her head. "Lacus," he said, his voice shaking, "is it… is it true what they say? That you've betrayed ZAFT?"

The songstress did not even blink in response to the gun pointed at her. She simply shook her head. "I did not betray anyone. All I did was give Kira a new weapon."

Athrun froze, and his eyes widened. "That… that's impossible! Kira's dead! I…"

"Killed him yourself?" Lacus finished for him.

It had to be a ploy of some sort. Athrun knew that Lacus was way smarter than most people gave her credit for; she was certainly capable of playing on his emotions like this.

And yet… he also knew that it was against her personality to manipulate people in such a manner. Lacus had always been so honest, so sincere… she would never lie about something like this.

"Kira," Lacus continued, "is very much alive. I had him brought here after a friend of mine recovered him in the Marshall Islands, and he has since made a full recovery from the injuries he sustained in your battle. My father and I gave him the Freedom so he could return to Earth and save his friends… and fight against those who truly desire war, whose hatred threatens even now to destroy all of mankind."

"Do you have any idea what you've done?" cried Athrun, "The Freedom…"

"Is equipped with N-jammer cancellers, and is nuclear powered," Lacus finished for him, "I am well aware of that, Athrun, as am I of the consequences of what would happen should that technology fall into the hands of the Earth Alliance."

"Then why did you give it to Kira?" said Athrun, "He'll take it right back to the Earth Forces!"

Lacus shook her head. "No, he will not, Athrun. Kira is no longer with the Earth Alliance… nor is he with ZAFT. He is going to fight for what he believes in, and help his friends find a way to end this war without consuming the Earth Sphere in the fires of extremism."

Her face became more serious as she continued. "Athrun Zala, what are you fighting for? Is it for your father's approval? For honor? For that medal on your chest?"

Her words hit him like a punch to the gut. There was a time when he would've been able to answer her question honestly; that he was fighting for the PLANTs. Now, though… he didn't know, and he realized that he had lost his original reason quite some time ago.

"If that is the case," said Lacus, "Then Kira may still be your enemy… and I will be too."

"If you believe that following your father's orders is what is right," she continued, her light blue eyes looking at him with a piercing intensity he'd never seen in them before, "then you should shoot me now, Athrun Zala, soldier of ZAFT!"

There it was; the moment he'd dreaded. The confirmation that she had turned against ZAFT, against the PLANT Supreme Council Chairman… his orders demanded that he arrest or shoot her.

But… her words and the conviction behind them, along with his personal feelings, meant that he was unable to pull the trigger. What she had chosen to stand for, to believe in… he could not truly think of her as a traitor; she wanted to end the war, to save as many lives as she could. Her actions were in accordance with those beliefs, and she was doing something that Athrun realized that for quite some time now he had been afraid to do; following her heart.

His heart did not agree with his father's political stance. His heart did not see Coordinators as superior to Naturals, nor did it desire vengeance for the tragedy that had inaugurated this long and brutal war. He wanted justice for the victims, yes, especially his mother… but not by swallowing the Earth Sphere in a sea of blood and fire.

In his heart Athrun knew that Lacus's decision to turn against ZAFT was the right thing to do. Also, as strange as it seemed, he accepted that her and her father's choice to entrust Kira with the Freedom was the right thing to do. Regardless of his feelings towards Kira now, after Nicol's death and his own apparent demise, Athrun knew that Kira would never allow the Earth Forces access to the technology that would allow them to once again use nuclear weapons.

Lacus was right; Kira was no longer part of the Earth Forces. He had gone to Earth to help his friends… and find the right path to ending the war.

He was about to lower his gun when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. There was a shadowy form lurking in the middle section of the audience chairs… and Athrun saw them drawing a bead on Lacus with a rifle.

"Get down!" he yelled. Knowing she wouldn't be able to get out of the way in time, Athrun tackled Lacus. A shot rang out, and Athrun could feel the bullet pass mere millimeters over his back as he pushed Lacus to the ground.

As he turned to fire at the assassin, Athrun knew that his unidentified foe was at the same time shifting their aim to him. They were in cover amongst the seats, and Athrun knew that he would never be able to draw a bead on them and take them out in time. He made sure to keep himself between the sniper and Lacus; he had no doubt that whoever was shooting at them had been ordered by his father to follow him in the hopes that he would lead them to Lacus. He had been foolish for not noticing a tail, and he would not let that mistake claim Lacus's life… even if that meant losing his own.

Taking aim, Athrun saw that the shadowy figure already had him squarely in their sights; he was dead to rights. In what he was convinced would be his last moments, Athrun was surprised to find that his thoughts turned to none other than that blond, fiery tomboy he'd met down on the Earth.

I would've liked to see Cagalli again…

A gunshot echoed through the amphitheater.

Athrun's eyes widened in shock as he saw the assassin go down. Turning to the right, he saw that the source of the shot was a tan skinned, red haired man who appeared to be in his mid to late twenties. He was holding an HK-190, the standard issue assault rifle used by ZAFT infantry, and wearing a tan uniform typical of officers assigned to desert theaters of war.

"Carson, Mike!" he yelled. Two soldiers appeared behind him, one with black hair and a trimmed beard, the other with dark skin a very short haircut. Both had rifles slung over their shoulders, and were wearing olive drab jumpsuits.

"Sir!" they said.

"Grab the body and get it to the van," said the red-haired man, "we'll dispose of it later! Make sure to grab their weapon and anything else they might've dropped as well!"

"Yes, sir!" they said.

As the two men rushed to retrieve the fallen assassin, the red-haired man turned to Athrun. "We have this building under a signal jammer curtain," he said, "it only covers this property, and since the building isn't used by anyone ZAFT won't notice. The shooter wouldn't have been able to get off a message, so they'd have to get outside the jammer radius to alert your father, Athrun. We'll make sure the Chairman can't find the body; none of this will fall back on you."

Athrun nodded as he stood up, helping Lacus to her feet. "Thanks. Uhm… not that I'm not grateful for the help, but who are you?"

"It's better if you don't know," he replied, "that way they can't beat it out of you in interrogation. Let's just say I'm helping Miss Lacus realize her vision and leave it at that."

"Why didn't you shoot me when I pulled my gun on Lacus?" he asked.

The man smiled slightly. "You weren't going to shoot her; I could tell just by the look in your eyes. You were angry, confused, looking for answers… but you're not the type that kills an unarmed woman, nor would you haul her off when you knew that what awaited her was torture and death."

"You seem to have a knack for reading people," Athrun replied.

The man chuckled. "I had to get good at that, considering who I've been serving under. Even then, I've never completely been able to understand my own commander… and he knows that all too well."

His expression became serious as he turned to Lacus. "We need to get going, ma'am. Someone outside could've heard the gunfire and alerted the authorities, and Zala could have more operatives nearby."

Athrun looked behind him at Lacus, who nodded and moved towards the strange red-haired man. "I understand. Thank you for your help. Now, let us leave this place."

The two men that had been sent to retrieve the body of the assassin came back to the stage and made towards the emergency exit at the rear, and their commander and Lacus followed suit. Before she left though, Lacus looked over her shoulder and smiled at Athrun.

"I believe Kira will stay with the Archangel and his friends now that they are clear of Alaska," she said, "find that ship, and you will find him. I believe that the two of you have much to talk about. I do pray you don't try to fight them; as I'm sure you know, Wing Zero is with them as well. You are a superb pilot, Athrun… but you're no Heero Yuy. You barely survived your clash with Kira in the Marshall Islands; it would be a shame for you to die in a pointless battle with the man who beat the Valkyrie Team."

"Look inside yourself," she said as she walked out the door and into the night, "and find what you truly wish to fight for."

Then she was gone, her words echoing in Athrun's mind long after they had faded from the wind.

….

The next morning, Heero was once again in Murrue's office, where she sat at her desk. He was standing slightly behind and to the right of her, facing Kira and La Flaga, who were on the other side of the Captain's desk.

The ship's other two pilots nodded as Murrue explained the situation. When she had finished, both were quiet for a moment, contemplating her words.

La Flaga was the first to speak up. "Well, I can see the reasoning behind it. Still, why not try for the Eurasian Federation? They owe Heero after what he did in Alaska, after all; maybe they'll help us out."

Murrue shook her head. "As far as we know, the Eurasian Federation is still a member of the Alliance. I have no doubt the Atlantic Federation High Command's treachery at Alaska has soured relations between the two nations, but Moscow is still part of the organization. Besides, though the fleet remnants Heero saved may be grateful to us, we cannot assume that sentiment is shared by the Eurasian High Command or the Kremlin."

"There's also their past treachery to consider," said Heero, "They've already shown an active interest in the Archangel and its mobile suits, and did try to seize them at Artemis. The Strike may be destroyed, but we do have the Buster in the hangar bay, along with Wing Zero and now the Freedom. Moscow would be quite eager to analyze those machines and use their technology for their own gains. The Eurasian Federation would see us as no more than pawns, the same as the Atlantic Federation."

"Heero is right," said Murrue, "and I will no longer allow the fate of the ship and the people aboard her to be dictated by officers and politicians who see us as nothing more than a piece in a game. It's true that Orb may want something from us in return for offering us sanctuary, but we also have a personal connection with their leadership. We saved Cagalli, and I believe it's safe to say she counts us as friends, or at least considers Kira to be one."

She looked over at Kira. "I don't want to use your friendship with her as a tool, but I will if I must. I hope you can understand that, Kira."

The young Coordinator nodded. "I do, Captain… though I don't think Cagalli would really think of us as using her. She's a kind person, and I know she was grateful for the help we gave her and Kisaka. I think she'd want to help us even if we weren't friends."

Murrue smiled. "I hope you're right, Kira."

"Well, it'll be nice to see our fiery princess again," said La Flaga, smirking slightly. His face became more serious as he continued. "What do we do after we've resupplied, Captain? Assuming Orb allows us to enter the country, of course."

"We plan our next move," she said, her eyes narrowing, burning with resolve, "The battle at Alaska was as clear a sign as any that the war is escalating, and the leadership of neither side gives a damn as to how many people have to die before it is over. We can't let the conflict continue like this."

"Orb may be willing to help us to that end," said Heero, "at the very least, Lord Uzumi has to be aware that the Alliance and ZAFT will not leave his country alone forever. He may see allying himself with us and finding a way to bring the conflict to an end without further escalation as in his nation's interest. At the very least, we should make an attempt find out where he stands; word about what happened at Alaska will spread quickly, and even neutral nations will be affected by that battle."

"We have to try," said Kira, "I know there are plenty of people in ZAFT who want to bring this war to an end without making it worse, and there must be others in the Alliance as well. Orb's neutrality could help us find a way to bring those people together and figure out how to stop the extremist that have taken over both sides. At the very least, I'm sure Cagalli would want to help."

"It's decided, then," said Murrue, nodding, "we'll head for Orb and request asylum, or at least temporary shelter as refugees. I believe Lord Uzumi will want to meet with us after what happened at Alaska." She then smiled slightly. "At the very least, I'm sure Cagalli will want to see us, and will want her father to hear what we have to say."

La Flaga grinned. "Aren't we lucky, being friends with the boss's daughter? We'll have to milk that connection for all it's worth."

"We'll worry about that when we approach their territorial waters," said Murrue, "that's it for now; dismissed."

As Kira and La Flaga left, Murrue stood up and turned to Heero. "I need to get to the bridge. You should relax today, Heero… well, as much as you can, considering our situation; we have pissed off both the Earth Sphere's superpowers, after all."

"I don't think the Alliance or ZAFT will begin pursuit of us quite yet," said Heero, "the fallout from Alaska will keep them occupied for a little while at least. Still, I'll stay on guard. I'll join you on the bridge later; there are some things I want to check up on in the hangar."

"Wing Zero and the Freedom?" Murrue asked.

Heero nodded. "I want to run a system's check on Wing Zero; everything was in working order when I landed in the hangar yesterday evening, I just want to do some calibrations and make sure I didn't miss anything. Then I want to check out Kira's new machine and ask him a few questions about it."

"I can't blame you for that," said Murrue, "I have to admit, even after what he told us yesterday I'm still curious about the Freedom."

They walked out of the office together, and smiled at each other before turning to go their separate ways.

Murrue, thought Heero, nodding at her before heading towards the hangar, if the Alliance or ZAFT thinks they can take this ship, they've got another thing coming. If they need another demonstration of the power of Wing Zero, I'll give them that and more… much more.

….

Down in the hangar, Kira was looking up at the Freedom. The technicians had been worried about keeping the mobile suit secure in its berth as the ship got under way, but ever since the Archangel had started moving a half an hour ago there'd been no sign of trouble.

Kira wasn't down there because he was worried about the Freedom; he trusted Chief Murdoch and his teams to do a good job with securing and maintaining the machine. Rather, he was there because he'd needed to do some thinking, and while the hangar wasn't the first place he'd normally go for doing that, there was something about the Freedom that got his brain ticking. Maybe it was the power of the machine itself, or memories of the girl who had entrusted it to him; he couldn't say for sure.

He was relieved to be back on the Archangel. Kira had been happy to see his friends again, though it bothered him knowing that Flay was no longer on the warship. While it was true that she was now safe, Kira remembered that she had wanted to talk to him about something prior to the battle in the Marshall Islands. He knew that she had been mad at him in the days leading up to the fight, but that morning she had actually seemed worried about him, and he could tell that something important was on her mind. I guess I'll just have to ask her the next time I see her, he thought. Of course, he had no idea when that would be.

After his time in the PLANTs, Kira's feelings regarding Flay were somewhat… mixed. On the one hand, he still cared about her, but as he recalled how he'd felt around her versus how he'd felt with Lacus, he realized that there had been something wrong with his relationship with the red-headed girl. He didn't know what it was, but looking back on things, recalling the time he'd spent with Flay after the Archangel had landed on Earth, he couldn't help but feel that something had been off about her feelings, something that he should've caught onto. Though she had said she'd cared about him, and he had believed her, he now felt as though she had not been entirely sincere. Kira had no factual basis for this feeling, but when Flay's actions with him were compared to those of Lacus… he didn't know what it was, but something about her just seemed off, like there was something behind her feelings, an ulterior motive for caring about him.

By contrast, Kira knew that the concern Lacus had shown him was genuine. It had felt pure, honest, and refreshing in a way that he'd never thought possible. Though he'd been determined to return to Earth and help his friends, Kira now realized that he'd actually been a bit sad to part ways with Lacus. In the weeks they'd spent together, the songstress had created a bond between the two of them that Kira had never experienced before. Just being with her had had a soothing affect on him, and he had known that he could tell her anything without hesitation. Now he was back on Earth, Lacus was still in space… and he missed her.

Looking up at the Freedom, he could not help but be reminded of Lacus. Kira was worried about her, knowing that that the aid she had given him had the potential to land her in hot water with her government. I hope she's alright, he thought, I know Mister Waltfeld and Miss Aisha will look after her and her father… all I can do now is trust them.

"It's an impressive machine," a familiar voice said behind Kira, causing him to jump, "though the implications behind its creation are unsettling."

Kira turned around to see Heero approaching him, wearing his usual green tank-top and blue jeans. "Hey Heero," said Kira after recovering from his surprise, "what are you doing down here?"

"Just running some checks on Wing Zero," he said, looking back at his Gundam before turning to Kira again, "I also wanted to take a look at this unit. Do you mind?"

"Of course not," said Kira, "Did you want to see the cockpit?"

Heero nodded, and followed Kira over to a ladder that went up to the boarding platform. Kira opened up the Freedom and then stood back to allow Heero to board it. Kira then stepped onto the hatch and watched as Heero began the startup sequence.

He saw his fellow mobile suit pilot's eyes narrow as he ran through the Freedom's systems one by one, occasionally nodding to himself or shaking his head. After a few minutes Heero brought up the tracking system and started one of the mobile suit's target practice programs.

Kira's eyes widened as he saw Heero quickly adapt to the system, taking down targets with precision and efficiency. No way!, he thought, That system was designed for a Coordinator's reaction times and mental speed! How's he doing that?

After a minute Heero had apparently decided he'd seen enough. He powered down the simulation and the rest of the Freedom's systems before exiting the mobile suit and motioning for Kira to follow before climbing down the ladder.

When they got back down to the hangar floor Kira turned to Heero. "How did you do that?" he asked, "No offense, but there's no way a Natural should be able to handle a system like that."

Heero shook his head. "None taken. Let's just say that piloting Wing Zero isn't like flying any other mobile suit."

"You mean it has some kind of system like the one on the Freedom?" asked Kira.

"Yes and no," he replied, "There is a system, but it's not just for targeting. I won't go into the details, but I'll tell you this much; it's vital to Wing Zero's operations, and using it is very demanding. It is powerful, it is complex….and it is extremely dangerous. No offense, but compared to that system, utilizing the Freedom's tracking program was easy."

Kira nodded, surprised that Heero had told him as much as he had; the young Coordinator had rarely heard Heero speak of Wing Zero's capabilities or features. I don't think he's given anyone any particulars, he thought, except for Captain Ramius, of course.

"None taken," Kira replied, "So, what did you think of the Freedom?"

Kira saw Heero look up at the machine for a moment before turning back to Kira. "Come with me," he said.

Raising his eyebrow a bit, Kira followed Heero as he headed towards the hangar exit. As they entered one of the corridors Heero started talking again. "As I said before, it's an impressive machine. The weapons layout makes it a potent multi-role unit. Anti-ship combat, MS engagement, close-quarters fighting, bombardment… it has a lot of potential."

"I hadn't thought about all that yet," said Kira, "but yeah, I guess it is pretty well rounded. It's like the Strike, except I don't have to worry about changing weapons packs."

"Yes," said Heero, "though the specializations of the Strike packs weren't necessarily a bad thing. The Launcher's Agni is more powerful than any of the Freedom's weapons singularly, though your new machine's combined guns make up for the one-on-one strength difference, while the Sword pack's anti-ship blade made it just as formidable in close combat. The Freedom is more like the Aile pack on steroids, especially when it comes to mobility; you have full high-speed flight capabilities rather than the Strike's limited ones, making for a much more potent fighting machine."

"Yeah," said Kira, "and unlike all three of those packs, I don't have to worry about running out of power for the weapons or Phase Shift Armor."

"Indeed," said Heero as he led the way through the ship's corridors, "you now have, in theory, the same operating time as I do with Wing Zero; your limits are set only by your physical and mental endurance."

"What do you mean 'in theory', Heero?" asked Kira.

"It's a matter of experience," he replied, "Don't get me wrong, I'm not calling you an amateur; you've been in enough fights to lose that title. However, you haven't been in as many prolonged engagements as I have, nor do you have my training. It doesn't matter how much the human body is modified or enhanced; in the end, our full potential as soldiers is realized once we've built up experience and honed our body and mind through the fiercest engagements, battles that are long and brutal. They show us what our limits are, and therefore give us something to strive towards, to overcome and set new benchmarks to reach. We repeat this process until we reach the peak of our abilities, or at least climb as high as we can at a certain point in time."

"Are you saying you've reached your peak, Heero?" asked Kira.

Heero shook his head. "No, I've still got plenty of time to become stronger, to hone my skills further, to improve my endurance beyond that what it is now; I am only sixteen, after all."

That's right, thought Kira, I keep forgetting that he's my age.

"However," he said as he opened the door to the rear observation deck, stepping outside into the fresh air, "I do have my limits. Even with all my experience and training, there is only so far my body and mind can be pushed… and I was came very close to that in the battle at Alaska."

Kira was surprised to hear Heero make that kind of admission. Following him out onto the deck, he came to a stop as Heero leaned against the railing. Kira came up next to him, and was surprised to see Heero smiling slightly as he turned to face him.

"As strong as I am," said Heero, "it wasn't enough to protect the Archangel against all those mobile suits. Your arrival saved the ship… and Murrue. Thanks, Kira; I owe you one."

Kira smiled. "No problem, Heero. Besides, with all you've done for this ship, you've saved my friends several times, including from the Cyclops system in the last battle. I don't think any of us should have to owe each other; we both have people on this ship we want to protect."

Heero chuckled before looking over the railing at the sun as it rose higher and higher in the morning sky. "Works for me."

As his fellow mobile suit pilot looked out over the ocean, Kira was struck by how Heero had mentioned Murrue separately from the Archangel. He really cares about her, he thought, I wonder if he… After a moment Kira decided Heero's feelings towards Murrue were none of his business. He knew what it was like to protect someone he cared about, and knew that if Heero felt that way about someone aboard the Archangel then that was his own reason to fight; Kira had no place in butting in.

There was something else about Heero's attitude and mannerisms that made Kira curious. The pilot of Wing Zero was still somewhat aloof, but… he seemed a lot looser than he had been when he'd first come aboard the Archangel.

Hell, thought Kira, for Heero, I'd practically call this friendly. The proverbial light bulb went off in his head as he realized that was exactly what Heero's demeanor was right now; calm, cool… and friendly. Granted, others who did not know Heero might be hard pressed to call it that, but Kira had spent enough time around the Gundam pilot to be able to tell that he had loosened up considerably towards him.

Kira, for his part, had actually considered Heero to be a friend ever since the events of North Africa. A distant friend, granted, but the way he had acted towards him and Cagalli during the trip to Banadiya had gone a long way towards helping Kira get some understanding of his fellow mobile suit pilot. Of course, it had only been a very limited understanding given how much Heero kept to himself and only spoke at length with Captain Ramius, but it was still something. It had actually improved somewhat during the stopover in Orb, especially when Cagalli had come down to Morgenroete's testing hangar to speak with the two young men.

Now Kira realized that Heero actually returned the sentiment to a degree, and that he really had made a new friend. He'd take all he could get in the days ahead; he knew things would only get more difficult as events played out.

Both the Alliance and ZAFT will be hunting this ship, he thought, friendship and comradery will be important to keeping everyone together and focused.

"Kira," said Heero, and the young Coordinator realized his tone had become more serious, "the way you fought at Alaska… is that how you intend to fight from here on out?"

Kira nodded. "Yes. The people we fight on the battlefield… they're just being used by their governments. They're not our real enemies; I'm not going to kill them!"

"I understand where you're coming from," said Heero, "however, I disagree with your decision."

"What?" said Kira, his eyes widening, "Why, Heero?"

"Don't get me wrong," he replied, "I agree with you that the soldiers we engage in combat are being used by ZAFT and the Alliance, and that for the most part are not our real enemies. There will, of course, be those that agree with the extremist stance of their rulers, but they will always be in the minority."

"However," he continued, his eyes narrowing as he looked at Kira, "that does not change the fact that, in fighting against us, they're trying to kill the people we care about, not to mention us. Our actions have made us top priority targets of both the Earth Sphere's superpowers. They will show us no mercy when we meet on the battlefield, and it is both foolish and dangerous to give it to them."

"But Heero," said Kira, "if I disable their machines, I remove them as a threat without killing them! You saw that I was able to do that at Alaska, and you just finished trying out the Freedom's targeting system; you know I can fight like that! Why should I kill enemy pilots when I can just disarm them?"

"The answer is twofold," said Heero, "First, in allowing them the chance to withdraw, you've shown the enemy how you fight and are giving them the chance to repair, rearm, and come at you again. What's to stop them from using any knowledge of your fighting style against you in your next encounter?"

"But didn't you do the same thing with the Valkyrie Team in North Africa?" said Kira.

"Their ability to survive fighting me," replied Heero, "was due in no small part to their own skills. It's true that I was not going all out in our first engagement, but I was still trying to kill them. Also, the dynamics are different when you and your foe have a sense of mutual respect and professional courtesy. I allowed Shemei Rehema and her subordinates to withdraw after our first engagement because that was the feeling I got from them; they weren't just soldiers trying to kill us, but highly skilled pilots with a sense of honor… and they were looking for a challenge, just as I was."

Heero smirked. "At the time of that first battle, no one other than that CGUE pilot in the orbital battle had been able to stand against me for a prolonged period, and I wanted to fight them again. When you've spent your entire life on the battlefield, Kira… you can't help but feel a rush when you come up against someone that can push you. Don't get me wrong, I don't enjoy war or killing… but a fight against someone who can stand against me despite using an inferior mobile suit… I won't deny getting a certain thrill from it."

"Was it the same in your second battle?" asked Kira, "Our final fight in North Africa?"

Heero nodded. "I did pay a price in allowing them to survive the prior fight; their skills had improved, and they were much better prepared for what I could do. However, that was the point; I was looking for that challenge, as was Shemei Rehema. Neither of us disappointed each other. Also, unlike our enemies now, both the Valkyrie Team and Waltfeld's army in North Africa would have given the Archangel the chance to surrender if it had come down to it; we can't expect similar conduct from the Alliance or ZAFT now. Of course, that didn't happen, and it would've been a very last resort for Murrue if it had come down to it."

"Was that why you let Commander Rehema go at the end of that battle?" asked Kira, "Because you could still expect professional conduct from her in the future?"

"Not really," said Heero, "My motives there were entirely selfish. I wanted her to have the chance to get a more powerful machine so we could fight each other on even footing. I respected her too much to really consider our battle to be fair, even if it had started four-on-one in her favor. Her skill is incredible, far beyond any other pilot I've seen in the Cosmic Era, and I want a chance to fight her on even ground… and I know she feels the same way."

"The point to all this," he continued, "is that the dynamic between the Valkyrie Team and myself is that of mutual respect for each other's capabilities, along with the desire for a fair fight. There's no real animosity between us; in fact, were we not at war I'd imagine we'd be friends with them. You will find no such sentiments among the forces the Alliance and ZAFT send after us now, and would be wise to fight with the same lethality as you did before acquiring the Freedom; allowing your foes the chance to withdraw and find new ways to fight you after analyzing your tactics may well prove to be your undoing. It also serves to increase the enemy's corps of experienced pilots; they would be at a greater disadvantage if you killed their pilots and forced them to send new ones without prior experience against you."

Kira knew Heero's reasoning was sound, but he couldn't just accept it. Perhaps it was because of their different life experiences, or maybe just a fundamental difference between their own natures… but now that Kira knew he had the ability to fight and protect his friends without killing, he couldn't imagine fighting any other way.

He then remembered that Heero had said that there were two reasons why he had disagreed with his new combat tactics. "What was your second reason, Heero?"

"That soldiers kill because it is necessary," he replied, "we accept that we have to kill in order to survive the battle and protect those we care about. We don't have to like it, and in fact I would say that no true soldier enjoys killing, but we're willing to kill without hesitation. We also accept that there are some enemies that are too dangerous to spare, even if you have that option. Sometimes you have to kill; there is no other option available in those situations."

Heero's eyes met Kira's, and the boy was struck by his piercing glare. "Kira," said Heero, "if you don't accept the fact that there are times when you may have to take your opponent's life, how will you react when confronted by such a situation? When you can't disable your foe's mobile suit, or if they decide even after being disarmed to charge you and self-destruct in the hopes of taking you with them, will you be able to do what is necessary? In such a scenario, a split second of hesitation may cost you your life… or the life of someone you care about."

Kira sighed. "I don't know, Heero. I admit I haven't really thought about it that way… but even so, how I fought at Alaska is how I want to fight from now on. The Freedom gives me the power to stop my foes without killing them, and I'm going to use it."

Heero nodded. "If that's how you feel, then I won't say any more on the matter."

He started walking towards the door, leaving Kira standing by the railing. Before Wing Zero's pilot went inside though, he looked over his shoulder and gave a parting warning.

"Kira, if there's an enemy on the battlefield that I believe must be destroyed, then I will do so without hesitation… regardless of whether or not you try to disable them. When that time comes… don't get in my way."

With that Heero disappeared inside the ship, leaving Kira alone with his thoughts.

….

"What did I miss?" a familiar voice asked behind her.

Murrue looked over her shoulder and smiled as Heero came up and took his usual place beside her command chair. "Nothing much," she replied, "we're heading southwest; we'll need to steer pretty wide around Hawaii to avoid their patrols. We'll be brushing up against the edge of ZAFT-held waters in the process; there's a chance we could be engaged eventually."

"I don't think that's likely," said Heero, "judging by the armada we fought at Alaska, I would imagine that the rest of their surface navy is stretched pretty thin, and their casualties were severe. It'll be much harder for ZAFT to patrol the wide areas they held prior to the battle, and they may pull back their forces to reinforce their key bases. We may see a couple recon drones or an occasional warship at the edge of our scopes, but nothing that would be a serious threat."

Murrue nodded. "You're probably right. Still, I want to stay on guard. I'm having the wide array sonar ping every ten minutes, and the rest of our scopes are covering as wide an area as possible."

"Of course," said Heero, "letting our guard down now would be foolish. I could take Wing Zero up and act as forward reconnaissance; we could rotate between La Flaga, Kira, and myself so we can always have one unit in the air. It would expand our radar capabilities and allow us to already have one fighter or mobile suit airborne in the event of an attack."

"That's a good idea," said Murrue, "especially since Kira's new mobile suit has much greater flight capabilities than the Strike did. I'll set up a rotating flight schedule; what shift do you want?"

"I'll head up now," Heero replied, "I'll stay airborne until early evening, then Kira can take my place for the night, and La Flaga can fly until late morning."

Murrue smiled. "Alright, I'll make sure to let them know. Are you sure you want to head up now, though? Even after a good night's rest, you must still be feeling some of the effects from yesterdays fighting."

"I'll be alright," said Heero, "compared to my usual sorties, a recon flight will be relaxing." He then gave her a slight smile. "Besides, this way we'll be able to grab dinner together in the mess; I like having your company during the evening meal."

Murrue felt her face warm slightly at his comment. She felt the same way, of course, and she knew he enjoyed the time they spent together… but it was still something else to hear him say it out loud, especially in front of the bridge crew.

Then again, she mused, smiling again, we're not officially Alliance military anymore… so regulations don't apply to us now… not that I paid much heed to them before when it came to Heero.

"I enjoy sharing dinner with you as well, Heero," she said, "I look forward to later."

Heero nodded. "I'll be getting airborne. Radio if you pick up anything on the sonar."

"I will," she replied, "take care, Heero."

"Roger that," he said before leaving the bridge.

Murrue returned her attention to the forward viewport, the ocean waves gleaming in the morning sun. Such a peaceful picture, she thought, it's almost enough to make one think we aren't being hunted by nearly the entire world.

A few minutes later Heero appeared on the main monitor. "I'm ready to head out," he said, "I'll go to Wing Zero's fighter mode and climb to twenty thousand feet; I'll stay up there for the time being."

"Understood," said Murrue, "we'll maintain our present course for now and keep an eye out for submarine patrols."

"Roger that," said Heero. He nodded before cutting the feed.

"Get the hangar doors open," Murrue ordered.

"Yes, ma'am" said Miriallia, "opening the launch bay now." A few seconds later she spoke again. "Doors are open. Wing Zero, you are cleared for launch."

Murrue watched as Heero shot out of the ship, Wing Zero shifting into its fighter mode as it climbed for altitude. It soon became little more than a pinprick in the sky before Murrue lost track of it entirely.

Hopefully we'll be able to stay clear of the Alliance and ZAFT on our journey to Orb, Murrue thought, if not… then we'll just have to make them regret coming after us. I know Heero will have no problem doing that.

….

Sitting down at his desk, Creuset turned on the new monitor that had been set up to replace the one he'd smashed the day before in his fury. His office as a whole had been cleaned up, though there was still a dent in the wall from where he had thrown the flagpole at it. Typing on the keyboard, the masked Commander established a connection with the capital and saw the image on his screen shift to that of the Defense Council chambers.

The entire Council had been assembled for the video conference, and Creuset was amused to see Field Marshal Eric Bristow among the top brass. We kept him in the dark about Spitbreak's true target, he mused, but there's no need for secrecy now. Or perhaps Zala's trying to sooth any ruffled feathers; Bristow's father is one of the leading directors of the Asimov Design Bureau, after all. Alienating him would create political problems for the Chairman, especially since the elder Bristow is a major financial backer of the radical faction.

Patrick Zala sat at the head of the table. The Supreme Council and Defense Council Chairman's expression was as hard and fierce as ever, and Creuset knew that the man was anxious to hear his latest report.

"Commander Le Creuset," said Zala, "this conference has been called in order to ascertain the current situation on the ground, as well as to plan our next campaign. We have already read your preliminary reports, but we know require a more detailed debriefing. Are you prepared?"

The masked Commander nodded. "Yes, Chairman. What do you wish to know first?"

"The extent of the damage to the Alaska headquarters," said Zala, "I trust that by now our ground forces have been able to conduct a more thorough analysis of the area?"

"They have," said Creuset, "Chairman, Council members, I regret to inform you that the base is a near total loss. All primary command and control facilities have been destroyed, along with the mass driver, spaceport, airfield, and docks. There are no useable barracks, the medical wing is destroyed, and all primary storage facilities are demolished; there is little, if anything, to salvage, and no suitable structures for garrisoning troops."

"What about the base's data storage servers?" asked Zala, "The Atlantic Federation would've had those in a hardened facility, and they would also have backup server rooms distributed across the area; surely those must've survived.'

"I'm afraid I have little good news to report on that front," said Creuset, "Wing Zero's attacks were even more destructive than we originally thought. The primary data storage facility was completely destroyed, along with most of the backups. Our engineers have managed to uncover one server bank that did survive the base's destruction, and data mining efforts are underway. However, the devices did suffer some damage, and much of the data is corrupted. We did manage to extract one interesting bit of information, though."

"What is it?" asked Field Marshal Keitel, Zala's Chief of Staff. The man was not a particularly pleasant sight to look at; an over-indulgent lifestyle had resulted in him becoming much more heavyset than a Coordinator should've been, and the thick mustache on his face seemed almost comical to Creuset rather than intimidating, as he knew the man wanted it to be. Creuset also knew that the senior officer had practically no backbone, and held nothing but contempt for him because of it; the man was little more than a rubber stamp for anything Zala wanted to get done in the armed forces.

Creuset actually had more respect for Bristow than the Chief of Staff; while the 'Wolf of the Far East' was a thorn in both his and Zala's sides with his attempts to rein in Special Operations and get several of its members, particularly Schwarze Squadron, tried for war crimes, Creuset appreciated the man's nerve and his refusal to kowtow before superiors. His conscience is a problem for us, Creuset mused, but the fact that the man's no sycophant like Keitel does warrant him more respect… and caution. He is cunning, and his network of contacts is quite wide… and I know less about it than I'd like to.

Returning his attention to the matter at hand, Creuset turned to Keitel. "It would seem, Field Marshal, that the Atlantic Federation knew we were coming."

A collective gasp went through the assembled officers… except for Bristow and Zala. The former simply raised an eyebrow and looked more curious than surprised, while the latter's eyes narrowed, his expression becoming that of restrained anger.

"Commander Creuset," said Zala, "elaborate on you answer. What data was recovered that suggested the Naturals knew of Spitbreak's true target?"

"According to the files we managed to salvage," said Creuset, "the Alliance installed a Cyclops microwave emitter system beneath the base. We have encountered such a weapon before, during the last stage of the fighting along the Grimaldi Front on the moon."

"Yes," said Bristow, speaking up for the first time since the conference had begun, "that campaign lasted over a month… which was enough time for the Alliance to install and conceal the Cyclops bomb in the Endymion Crater, where the final battle took place. Commander, the fact that such a device was present at Alaska implies that the Alliance High Command knew of the attack's true target well in advance." He then turned and glared at Zala. "Certainly well before half this Council did."

Creuset resisted the temptation to smirk, sensing even through the video feed the tension racketing up in the Defense Council chambers. Perhaps it was because Bristow was the youngest member of the Council, but he had a nerve his fellow senior officers lacked. Creuset knew that he would not remain quiet over such a decision by Zala, unlike the other officers that had been left in the dark.

Zala, for his part, brushed aside the Field Marshal's remarks. "The need for secrecy was paramount," said the Chairman, "it was necessary that the true aims of Spitbreak be known to as few people as possible." He then scowled, looking around the room. "Even then, it seems such precautions were not enough."

Once again, only Bristow remained calm and firm in his seat; the rest of the Council members were fidgeting nervously in their seats, nervously trying to anticipate where the Chairman's wrath would fall.

Creuset, for his part, knew he had to act quickly in order to turn the Chairman's fury at the betrayal of Spitbreak's true goals towards his own aims… and keep suspicion from falling on him. Fortunately, he had already prepared for such an event.

"Chairman," he said, "I believe we all know what party was responsible for this leak; the former Chairman and his supporters. They did help hijack the Freedom, after all, and that machine's pilot knew where the battle was taking place, or else he would not have arrived there."

It was a bold accusation to make, primarily because everyone was well aware that Clyne had been kept in the dark as to Spitbreak's true target; Creuset was counting on his skills at manipulating Zala and his cronies to convince them that the former Chairman had betrayed them.

As he'd anticipated, Bristow immediately pounced on the fault of his accusation. "Mr. Clyne was kept in the dark regarding Spitbreak's true target," he said, "along with the rest of the Supreme Council and the majority of ZAFT and the PLANT leadership. Neither Clyne nor his political supporters had no way of knowing where the attack would take place until Chairman Zala's announcement."

"By official means, that would be correct Field Marshal," Creuset replied, "however, it is possible that some of Clyne's more technologically savvy supporters managed to hack into ZAFT's systems; such cyber attacks have happened in the past."

It was true, but the hacking attempts he was referring to had not come from inside the PLANTs… as Bristow was quick to point out.

"Those cyber attacks," said Bristow, "were initiated by the Alliance prior to the start of the war. Back then we still maintained network connections with major service providers on Earth; those attacks were the catalyst for the PLANTs isolating themselves cyber wise on their own network, and those of friendly nations like Oceania. Those were external attacks, not internal; Mr. Clyne and his supporters would gain nothing by hacking ZAFT's secure systems and sharing the true target of Spitbreak with the Alliance. Besides, our cyber warfare specialists have already completed diagnostics of our system, and have found no traces of internal hacking attempts."

"They would also gain nothing by hijacking the Freedom," Creuset pointed out, "yet they did anyway. We may not know why, but the former Chairman and his daughter, along with some of their political allies, were willing to betray the PLANTs when they stole that weapon. Who's to say they would not attempt to sabotage Spitbreak? Also, just because our specialists did not detect traces of hacking attempts in the system does not mean such attacks did not occur."

The logic had its share of holes, and Creuset knew that there was still a chance that Bristow could hit them and turn the Council against him. Fortunately, the masked Commander also knew that Zala's prejudices and personal animosity with the former Chairman would make him less inclined to listen to reason… and he did not disappoint.

"Clyne was always opposed to taking the steps necessary to truly defeat the Naturals," said Zala, "He wanted to put us on parity with them, bring them to the negotiating table and discuss things 'as equals'. He never would've gone along with Operation Spitbreak, and I can easily see him sabotaging the plan. His aiding in the theft of the Freedom is all the evidence I need of his betrayal of us."

Perfect, thought Creuset, once again resisting the urge to smirk, you are so easy to control, Chairman… it's pathetic, really. Having achieved his short-term objective of deflecting suspicion away from himself, the masked Commander knew it was time to move on to the next step needed to get his plans back on track.

"Chairman, Council members, if I may?" said Creuset, "While Clyne's treachery is important, the man and his daughter are now on the run, and other than keep our security forces on the lookout for them there is little we can do about the matter at this time. I believe our larger concern now is our campaign on Earth."

"Agreed," said Zala, "with our forces now on the North American continent, we can now begin pushing inward, keep the Naturals off balance."

"With all due respect, sir," said Bristow, "the position of our surface forces is tenuous, to say the least. We're in no shape to launch an offensive, especially with the losses we incurred in the battle. With the destruction of both the airfield and space port the only way we can bring large numbers of reinforcements to Alaska is by sea from Kaoshiung, and that will take time. Orbital drops can alleviate the situation to a degree, but we can only spare a limited amount of ships for such an operation at this time; most of the fleet is either on the Exclusion Grid or skirmishing with the Alliance space forces, keeping them from organizing for a large scale assault. Also, according to IFF data, aside from the legged ship and Wing Zero the forces we faced at Alaska were Eurasian; the Atlantic Federation suffered no losses apart from the base itself, and if the data recovered by Creuset's men is accurate then they were planning to destroy it anyway. They may have shifted much of their offensive forces to the south, but they still have plenty of reserve divisions on the North American continent to throw at us should we begin an advance. I recommend holding and fortifying our position until we can reinforce. We also need to reorganize the rest of our surface forces; with the amount of units we put into Spitbreak, several of our key points elsewhere on Earth are now vulnerable, even with most of Eurasia's offensive might now destroyed."

"Your concerns are noted, Field Marshal," said Zala, "but we cannot afford to waste time; we must strike again and keep the Naturals off balance. With Alaska HQ reduced to a crater our position there is not well suited to defense; we need to attack."

"Launching a new offensive will only spread out our forces on the mainland," Bristow retorted, "we may make some gains, but the Atlantic Federation reserve divisions still vastly outnumber our current forces at Alaska; eventually our soldiers will get bogged down and eventually be overwhelmed."

"I believe I have a solution to this conundrum," said Creuset, causing the Defense Council to look at him, "while I do agree that a new offensive is needed, Field Marshal Bristow's concerns are valid. Therefore, I propose our next attack be not by land, but by air and sea… and not in North America."

"What do you mean, Creuset?" asked Zala.

"Wing Zero's destruction of the Alaska base created a significant complication for our plans," said Creuset, "but it does have one benefit; with the facility's mass driver destroyed, the only one left for the Alliance to use is at Panama. If we strike there, we can cut them off from outer space."

"Panama has been reinforced, Commander," said Bristow, "with the resources we devoted to Spitbreak, we no longer have the ships and mobile suits needed for such an attack unless we divert some from Alaska, which will weaken our position there."

"Not if we just take some of the Vosgulovs and their DINNs," Creuset replied, "if we combine those with orbital dropped GINNs and the rest of Carpentaria's forces we will be able to take Panama."

"At the expense of our position in Alaska," said Zala, "I do not see how this solves our problem, Creuset."

"Twenty Vosgulovs survived the battle," said Creuset, "along with over a hundred DINNs. Each ship has a carrying capacity of six DINNs; I propose we send ten vessels south for the attack, with full compliments. We cannot do the same for the submersible mobile suits, of course; the few that survived will be needed at Alaska. However, taking this size of a force will not severely impact our ground units, and the Alliance has moved most of its naval assets away from the north so we will be at no risk of a fleet attack to our rear. There will still be over forty DINNs at Alaska, more than enough to provide sufficient air cover to our ground forces there until we can send reinforcements from Kaoshiung."

"Halving the naval and air arms," mused Zala, "while keeping the surface forces intact… it's a gamble, but the potential payoff is substantial. The Naturals are in no position to strike Alaska immediately, so this could work."

"I disagree," said Bristow, "recent analysis has showed a substantial increase in Atlantic Federation industrial activity, and all indications point to a large buildup of their forces. The specifics are unclear; their counter-intelligence efforts have been aggressive, to say the least. However, the sheer scale makes one thing clear; they are producing a lot of new weapons, and their large populations means they'll have more than enough people to use them. They may have moved their mainline forces to South America and Hawaii, but those in North America will be no pushovers."

"They still lack the capacity at this time to make an assault on Alaska," said Field Marshal Keitel, "our position there will hold even with this redeployment."

"Agreed," said Zala, "Creuset, begin preparations for the assault. The fleet you take from Alaska will rendezvous with Carpentaria's forces near Easter Island; I will leave it to you to work out the details."

"Thank you, Chairman," the masked Commander replied, "Also, if I may suggest, the Gungnir device would be most useful in the attack on Panama… that is, if it is ready for deployment."

"It is," said Zala, "unfortunately the cost that went into it means that we will not be building more of them anytime soon, but the prototype is fully functional and has been test fired successfully. We will airdrop it in with the orbital forces we assign to the operation."

"Excellent," said Creuset, "then I will ensure that our units are properly equipped to escape the effects when the time comes."

Bristow folded his arms. "I would like to go on record as being against this whole operation. I will follow orders, Chairman, but I do not believe this attack is a good idea, and suggest concentrating on reinforcing our current positions."

"Once again your concerns are noted, Bristow," said Zala, "however, we must keep the Naturals off balance, and this is the best way to do it. We will attack Panama. You need not concern yourself with the operation, Field Marshal; you will have other matters to attend to."

"Understood, Chairman," said Bristow. The man remained calm, but Creuset knew he had to be fuming underneath. And for good reason, he mused, Zala will most likely saddle him with more paperwork regarding our defensive forces; always plenty of that to do, and it will temporarily remove a thorn from the Chairman's side. Bristow is a man who prefers to lead from the front; not having a field command these days must irritate him to no end.

"Chairman, Council members," said Creuset, "there is one other matter that I believe must be addressed."

"And that is?" said Zala, folding his arms.

"Wing Zero," he replied, "it was seen leaving the battlefield with the legged ship and the Freedom, as I mentioned in my earlier reports. Unfortunately, we have since lost track of them. I would like to increase our aerial reconnaissance flights along their last known trajectory in order to pick them up. Wing Zero is a threat to all we have worked so hard to achieve; it has more than proven how much power it wields. We must capture or destroy that machine."

"You're shooting yourself in the foot here, Commander," said Bristow, "with the forces you've requested for your Panama assault, we will be stretched even further than before; we won't have the resources to deal with Wing Zero."

"I am aware of that, Field Marshal," said the masked Commander, "I am not suggesting we fight that beast at the same time we strike Panama. As the old saying goes, 'he who chases two rabbits at once will end up with neither', and I have no intention of us playing the part of the foolish hunter. Rather, I would like to focus our reconnaissance forces on finding and tracking Wing Zero for the moment; once Panama has fallen we can assemble the forces necessary to taking it out."

"I have already attended to the matter, Creuset," said Zala, "Athrun Zala has been elevated to Special Operations Agent and has been assigned the Justice to track down and destroy Wing Zero, along with the Freedom. Additional recon drones will be shipped to Kaoshiung and Carpentaria and distributed to our naval patrols in order to find the legged ship and Wing Zero; once they've confirmed their heading, Athrun will hunt them down and destroy them."

That will not be enough, thought Creuset, even with the Justice there is no way Athrun can defeat Wing Zero. Chairman, your arrogance blinds you here as it does everywhere else… only now it may prove to be more of a problem to me than an asset.

Still, at the moment there was little Creuset could do about it; going against the Chairman now would earn him ire that he could not afford at the moment. He would just have to wait until the inevitable failure of Athrun's mission before resubmitting his proposal.

At least Athrun will be taken care of, he mused, the boy's a good pilot and was a useful pawn, but he has the conscience his father lacks, and it will prove to be a liability in the days ahead; better he die at the hands of the legged ship's mobile suits and further fan the flames of hatred in his father, make him all the easier for me to manipulate. Perhaps Athrun will at least be able to take out the Freedom before Wing Zero kills him; that would work out nicely for my plans.

"I understand, Chairman," he said, "I wish your son the best of luck in his hunt." It was difficult for him to keep the sarcasm from his voice.

Zala smiled. "Thank you, Commander. I will pass that on to him." He then looked at the assembled Council members. "I believe this concludes our business… except for one matter."

"Creuset," he continued, "though Spitbreak was not the decisive blow we had imagined, thanks to the operation and your leadership in the assault we now have a presence on the Atlantic Federation mainland. In recognition of your achievements and service, you are hereby promoted to Field Marshal."

The masked officer bowed his head. "I am honored, Chairman. I promise I will not disappoint you."

"Of course, Field Marshal Creuset," Zala replied, "Council adjourned. Creuset, I will contact you later to discuss plans for the attack on Panama."

You promote me, yet you still wish to micromanage, he thought, Zala, you can really be a nuisance sometimes. Your only saving grace is that you're a useful pawn.

"Yes, Chairman," said Creuset, "I will have a preliminary draft prepared by the time you call."

"Good," said the Chairman, "Dismissed."

After the video link was terminated Creuset leaned back in his chair for a moment, contemplating all that had just occurred. Well, I suppose that went well. A few bumps in the road, but nothing that can't be adjusted for. So long as I keep my cool… I can ill afford to let my hatred of Wing Zero cloud my judgment now.

But that hatred was still there, seething in the depths of his heart. His plans had been going so smoothly up until the battle at Alaska that he had been caught completely off guard by the demonstration of Wing Zero's true power. The realization that he had so badly underestimated that machine was just one source of his fury; the other was the fact that months of work had been completely derailed, and he had spent nearly every waking hour since then scrambling to get things back on track. It had been difficult, and there were still hurdles in his path… but his efforts were already beginning to payoff, especially with what he had accomplished during the video conference.

He smirked as he pulled up his encrypted e-mail system and began composing a message to his pawn in the Atlantic Federation. The withdrawal of the ten Vosgulovs and their DINNs will be enough to tip the balance at Alaska, he thought, once Azrael knows what the next move is, he will waste little time in responding… and he'll play right into my hand. I know the Atlantic Federation has moved most of their new model mobile suits to South America, Hawaii, and the East Coast in preparation to attack Africa, but with the increase in industrial output their factories in North America will churn out more than enough units to supplement their reserve divisions in a push on Alaska.

After spending a few minutes composing a message he leaned back in his chair, grinning as he sent the e-mail. "The ball is in your court now, Azrael," he said, "I hope you don't disappoint me."

….

Dearka sat up on the bed and smiled as he saw Miriallia approach his cell. "Hey," he said, "I don't suppose you mind telling me what all the racket was yesterday. I could feel shaking even down here."

"We were in a battle," the girl replied, "ZAFT attacked Alaska; we barely managed to escape."

Dearka was surprised to see that the girl was smiling. "You seem in an awfully good mood considering all that. What happened?"

"One of my friends," she replied, "one I thought dead, returned to us during the fight. He and Heero were able to save us all… both from ZAFT and the Alliance."

Dearka raised an eyebrow. "Wait, you're losing me here; why would you need saving from your own side?"

Miriallia sighed. "The battle was a setup; the Alliance had planted a massive bomb beneath the base, and if it had detonated it would've killed everyone on the battlefield, whether they be friend or foe. This ship and Wing Zero, along with the Eurasian Fleet, were bait for the trap."

Dearka was stunned at the news. "They were planning on killing you guys just to beat ZAFT? That's… that's sick! What the fuck is wrong with them?"

"I know what you mean," the girl replied, "I'm still having trouble wrapping my own head around it, to be honest. To think they'd be so willing to sacrifice us… I'm just glad Kira showed up when he did, and that Heero was able to destroy the base."

Dearka's eyes widened in shock. "Hang on, that's Wing Zero's pilot right? That mobile suit has enough firepower to destroy something like the Alaska base?"

Miriallia nodded. "Yeah, I was surprised to see that too. I'm glad he's on our side… although what 'side' we're on now is hard to say. We're now on the run from both the Alliance and ZAFT… we may have escaped the trap at Alaska, but our situation now seems worse than ever."

The girl was clearly worried, and Dearka found himself wanting to reassure her in some way. "Well, having both the Alliance and ZAFT after you guys will be tough, but I'm sure you'll be alright; with what you've just told me about Wing Zero, I don't think anyone can take you guys on now."

Miriallia smiled slightly. "Yeah… though I'm sure even Heero has his limits. Still, I think both sides will think twice before coming after us… at least right away. Hopefully that will give us some time to find a place to rest and figure out what our next move is."

"Any idea where that might be?" asked Dearka.

"We're heading for Orb," she replied, "we have prior history with their leadership, and they're the only neutral nation with a powerful military. We're hopeful that they'll grant us asylum."

Dearka saw a strange look in her eyes, a combination of longing, nostalgia, and worry. "Orb's my homeland," Miriallia continued, "I was studying up in Heliopolis with my friends when ZAFT attacked the colony, but I'm from the Orb mainland, along with them. I hope they'll let us in… but I'm also worried about what will happen to them if they do accept us; I don't think the Alliance or ZAFT will just let that slide after what happened at Alaska."

"Are you afraid they might invade your homeland?" he asked.

She nodded. "I am. Our government has worked hard on building a military capable of preserving our neutrality… but we're no match for the Alliance or ZAFT, even with the losses they've taken in this war. I… I don't know what will happen to my country if they accept us as refugees."

"I'm sorry," said Dearka softly. It sounded pathetic to him, but he wasn't sure what else he could say in response to her words.

He was surprised to see her smile. "It's alright, it's not your fault we're in this mess. I appreciate your concern, though… it means a lot."

Dearka smiled slightly in return. "No problem. You guys may have captured me, but you've also been pretty decent to me since then, not counting that bit of craziness in the sickbay."

"Yeah," she said, looking down sheepishly, "sorry about that."

"Ah, it's cool," he replied, leaning back against the wall, "I'm too lazy to hold a grudge." His expression then became more seriousness. "I don't suppose I'll be getting out of here any time soon, will I? I mean, now that you guys aren't Alliance…"

"We have no real reason to hold you," she finished for him, "They're not going to let you out quite yet, but I heard the Captain saying that if Orb lets us in then she'll ask them to arrange for you to be transferred back to ZAFT. If we aren't allowed entry… well, I'm not sure what the future will hold for you then, but you won't be harmed; no one on this ship will kill you. Unless you try to escape, of course. Please don't do that, ok?"

"Wasn't planning on it," said Dearka, "I couldn't get out of this cell anyway, and I'm not keen on getting shot by security."

"Oh, good," said Miriallia, "well, I've got to go… I hope we'll be able to let you go soon."

"Yeah," he said, "so do I… hey, thanks for coming down. You're better company than the guards, that's for sure."

She smiled at his comment. "No problem. See you later."

As she left, Dearka was surprised to find that he was having mixed thoughts on his possible eminent release. On the one hand, he'd be able to get back to his people. On the other… well, it was doubtful that the ship's crew would let him leave with the Buster, and then there was the matter of Miriallia. He was surprised to find himself growing fond of the Natural girl, and he had come to enjoy talking to her.

I don't know if I'd ever see her again after this, he thought, I'd like to, but with the new situation this ship is in that might not happen; they're now the target of both ZAFT and the Alliance, and even if Orb grants them sanctuary they could still be in danger.

He was worried for Miriallia's future… and he wanted to protect her.

….

Admiral Sutherland fidgeted nervously in his seat. After the submarine transport bearing the High Command had arrived at a naval base further south along the Canadian coast, he and his fellow senior officers had caught a jet to the Atlantic Federation naval base in San Francisco. They had spent their time since then composing and submitting their reports to the man they would be meeting today… and it was a meeting Sutherland was not looking forward to.

Looking around the pale conference room, with its gleaming metal walls, display screen at the end of the room, and the large circular holographic table around which he and the other three admirals were seated, he saw that his colleagues appeared to be as nervous as he did, and were doing little to hide it. He certainly couldn't blame them, especially considering why the meeting had been called.

Damn you, Wing Zero, he thought, we should've shot its pilot the moment he entered the base; then he couldn't have used that machine to ruin our plans! Alaska was a complete debacle; we had no idea Wing Zero had that kind of firepower… and how the hell did they learn of the Cyclops system beneath the base in the first place? Who tipped them off?

He had his suspicions regarding that last bit; according to reports, neither Lieutenant Commander La Flaga nor Flay Allster had boarded the last transport submarine to leave the base. It was possible - though Sutherland didn't know how - that the two of them had somehow found out about the Cyclops trap and had fled the base in order to warn the Archangel and Wing Zero. He had no proof, but the theory was the only one that made sense at the moment.

Now everything was a mess; not only had ZAFT's losses been far fewer than they were supposed to, but the Coordinators now had a foothold on the Atlantic Federation mainland. Granted, they held a bay and a hole in the ground, but they were not supposed to have gained even that much, and they still had roughly forty percent of their invasion force, rather than the projected ten percent survivors had the Cyclops system detonated as planned.

There were also the reports of a new mobile suit to consider, one that had aided the Archangel and Wing Zero, along with the surviving Eurasian forces, in their escape from Alaska. Details were sketchy, but it appeared that the new machine was agile, heavily armed, and could fire with pin point accuracy the likes of which had never been seen in the war until now. Analysts were still going over the footage recovered from recon drones that had been positioned at the edges of the area in order to confirm the detonation of the Cyclops bomb and subsequent destruction of the ZAFT and Eurasian forces, along with the Archangel and Wing Zero. The footage was not of the best quality, but it was clear that the new unit was capable of putting out a large volume of fire very quickly.

Of course, that was nothing compared to the overwhelming power that Wing Zero had demonstrated when it had destroyed the Alaska base and the super weapon within. Sutherland was still having trouble wrapping his mind around the fact that that mobile suit's rifle possessed the power of at least a nuclear weapon; it was impossible to know for certain, but considering that the Alaska base had been designed to take a direct hit from an ICBM and survive and Wing Zero's main weapon had cut through all the fortifications in two shots it was logical to assume that its strength surpassed the mightiest warheads in the Atlantic Federation's massive stockpile.

Not only was it powerful, but Wing Zero had also been able to focus that destructive energy into two precise shots; Sutherland knew from maps and blueprints of the base that the machine's shots had hit right in the center of where the Cyclops was stored, and that precision had played no small part in punching through the bunkers and destroying the weapon. The only way that pilot could've known where to fire, he thought, was if he had access to our base's blueprints. He must've slipped off the ship and infiltrated the facility sometime before the battle… damn that Heero Yuy!

The boy and his machine had proven themselves to be the ultimate wild card in the war; the origins of both the pilot and the mobile suit were a mystery, their full skill and power still impossible to determine, and the boy's motives were completely unknown. The only thing Sutherland knew was that Heero Yuy was determined to protect the Archangel, and it was a task the Admiral had to grudgingly admit the boy had performed par excellence.

Intentions and origins aside, Sutherland was now well aware that Wing Zero and its pilot posed a great risk to the future plans of the rulers of the Atlantic Federation, and that considerable resources would be devoted to dealing with it and the rogue warship. We have no choice, he thought, the power they wield is too great to ignore, and their ideals are clearly not our own; they are not with us, and are therefore against us. They must be destroyed.

There was a chime as the door to the conference room opened, and the Admiral sat up in his chair as the man of the hour entered the room and took his place at the only unoccupied chair, the backdrop to which was the large screen at the back of the room that was currently displaying a map of the Earth's surface. Four men in black suits came in behind him, and each took up a position behind the chair of one of the senior officers. Sutherland could not help but note the pistols holstered at their waists.

The man who held the entire Atlantic Federation in the palm of his hand, wielding more power than even the President, Congress, and the Supreme Court combined, had an appearance that many had described as almost angelic. He had bright blond hair, piercing pale blue eyes, and light skin. Supplementing this was the suit he was wearing, with robin's egg blue jacket and pants, a maroon shirt, and a pink tie. One anyone else the attire would've looked silly, but on him it seemed to enhance his aura, giving him the air of a man destined for greatness… and indeed, he had already achieved it, and still sought to ascend even higher.

Admiral Sutherland and his fellow officers had the utmost faith in the man before them, knowing that this visionary was the only one worthy of leading them in their quest to purify the world, to purge it of the abominations known as Coordinators. Still, despite this… or perhaps because of it… Sutherland thought that this man was something more than just a visionary; he was a devil in human form.

Fitting, I suppose, he thought, according to the Christian beliefs, the Morning Star Lucifer was the fairest of all the angels before he tried to overthrow the heavens themselves… our cause is not dissimilar in the sense that our own foes reside far above our world. But while his foe was divine, ours is simply a freak of nature; it is not omnipotent or invincible, and we will burn the scourge from the Earth Sphere, leaving not even the ashes of the abominations and their hourglass homes to remain once the deed is done.

Admiral Sutherland and his three colleagues all looked anxiously at the man the acknowledged as their true leader; the current head and chief financier of Blue Cosmos, Muruta Azrael.

He seemed eerily calm, and that unnerved the Admiral and his cohorts more than they already were; Azrael was cold and calculating, but it was well known that he did not take failure lightly, and the debacle at Alaska certainly qualified as one.

"Gentleman," he said, looking around the table, "I have finished going over your preliminary reports, and there are several matters that need to be addressed. To say that Alaska did not go according to plan would be an… understatement to say the least, and accounts need to be settled."

The tension in the room ratcheted up even further, and Sutherland had the sinking feeling that someone would be leaving the room in a body bag. This impression was not helped by the presence of the armed man behind him, and Sutherland realized that the gunmen were here not for Azrael's protection, but to help him make an example of one of the top brass should the need arise. His disquiet only grew as Azrael turned to him.

"Admiral Sutherland," said Azrael, "your reports prior to the battle stated that the power of Wing Zero's primary weapon was that of an anti-ship cannon; strong, but nothing we couldn't build on our own."

Sutherland nodded nervously. "Yes, Lord Azrael. Our estimates were based on recording from the Archangel of the mobile suit's performance in battle. We had no way of knowing that Wing Zero's firepower was on the level of magnitude displayed at Alaska…"

"Due to the security precautions taken by the pilot," Azrael finished for him, an icy edge to his voice, "I am aware of that, Admiral. However, you wasted a golden opportunity to interrogate the pilot when he entered the base along with the command staff of the Archangel for debriefing; you could've learned of the mobile suit's power then."

"My lord," Sutherland replied, "you did not issue any orders on the matter other than the fact that Wing Zero was to meet the same fate as the Archangel."

"So you are unable to take initiative?" Azrael asked sarcastically, "You are not helping your case, Sutherland."

"Taking the pilot for a separate interrogation would've aroused the suspicions of the Archangel's crew," said Sutherland, "they could've mutinied; it was noted in the XO's report that Captain Ramius and Heero Yuy have developed a strong friendship, and she would've viewed any hostile action towards him on our part as a reason to rebel against us."

"You mean to say that you were prevented from acting by the possible actions of a woman who had a bond with a teenage boy?" Azrael sneered, "Are you really so weak willed, Admiral?"

"No, my lord," said Sutherland, "I simply felt that the situation would be taken care of when the Cyclops detonated."

"WHICH IT DID NOT!," Azrael roared. As Sutherland and the other officers cringed in their seats, Azrael continued, though his voice had lowered to an ominous hiss. "It was destroyed by a mobile suit you and your colleagues greatly underestimated and did not take the proper measures to uncover more information about. Now, thanks to the giant hole in the ground that is the base and Cyclops system, we now know that it has more firepower than our strongest nuclear warheads!"

A deathly silence came over the room. All four of the senior officers traded frantic glances with each other, and they also looked behind them, as if to gauge the intent of their possible executioners.

Azrael cleared his voice before speaking again. "Putting aside the matter of Wing Zero for the moment, there is also the fact that some of the Eurasian forces survived the battle. While it's a meager flotilla compared to the fleet they sent to Alaska, the fact remains that there were not supposed to be any survivors from the Eurasian forces."

"Lord Azrael," said Bernard, "with all due respect, do they even matter anymore? Eurasia's offensive might has been blunted, and their influence in the Alliance diminished considerably."

"Not as it should be," said Azrael, "when the survivors make their personal reports, it will harden the Eurasian Federation against us; the detonation of the Cyclops would've scrambled all recording and scanning equipment in the area that survived the initial blast, meaning that they would've had no proof beyond the words of the ZAFT survivors. Now they'll have personal accounts of how we set them up, and that only Wing Zero and the Archangel were able to save them and help them break through the ZAFT armada to safety. The Eurasian Federation will become isolationist, and will focus on hardening their defenses; we will not be able to sweep in and claim the rest of their forces as easily as we'd hoped, and they will be well motivated to resist us."

"But if they isolate themselves," said Vickers, "then our power over the Earth Alliance is still increased."

"But not to the degree it could've been had the Cyclops been allowed to detonate," said Azrael, "faced with the complete annihilation of their offensive fleets and having only rumors to go off of as to how they met their end, the Eurasians would've been thrown into confusion, their resources easy pickings for us to grab. That is not the case now."

He then smiled. "Fortunately I did have a contingency plan in the event that something went wrong… though I didn't expect our original operation to be so utterly derailed. With our financial backing, our sister group in the Eurasian Federation, the Chistaya Partiya Krovi, is making preparations for a coup in Moscow. It will still be some time before they are ready to launch it, but they should be ready to stage their takeover of the Eurasian Federation within two to three weeks."

The Chistaya Partiya Krovi, or Pure Blood Party, was an anti-Coordinator organization based in the Eurasian Federation. Founded in 44 C.E. by a group of army officers and Parliamentary officials, the group had gotten off to a rocky start, and in the first decade of its existence hadn't grown beyond more than a few thousand members. However, as relations between the Earth and the PLANTs deteriorated the party gained more support, its platform of preserving Natural humanity and opposing the 'perversion of life by genetic tampering' playing well with the conservative establishment. In surprising moves, both the Orthodox Church and the Vatican had pledged support to the party, and their influence had given the Chistaya Partiya Krovi a more religious flavor than its founders had intended.

The support of the two powerful religious bodies served to draw in more followers, particularly several key senior officers in the Eurasian military. The party had yet to achieve the same level of wealth and influence – and notoriety- as the Atlantic Federation based Blue Cosmos, but it had become a much more powerful organization in the years leading up to the war. However, it still lacked the resources and popular support to become the official ruling party of the Eurasian Federation, so they had reached out to Azrael for assistance. Sutherland had known that Blue Cosmos had provided financial and material support to Chistaya Partiya Krovi, but had not been aware that Lord Azrael had been working to move them into position for a coup d'état.

"In the meanwhile," said Azrael, "we cannot sit by while ZAFT forces defile our mainland. Admiral Sutherland, you must prepare our forces for an attack on their beachhead before the abominations can reinforce their position."

"My lord," said Sutherland, "our forces are out of position for such an attack; our frontline units have all been sent to either Hawaii, Panama, or the East Coast in preparation for the coming African offensive."

"That's not all," said Thompson, "the new GAT-series prototypes are already en route to Pearl Harbor, along with several units of Strike Daggers and Neo-Aile flight packs. Most of the other first-round production units are also being transported to staging areas well away from the North; the only units available to strike the Coordinator beachhead are our homeland divisions; they have little combat experience."

"But they do have numbers," said Vickers, "Massing all the reserve divisions in Canada and Alaska alone would be more than enough to overwhelm the enemy ground forces… of course, their air cover is another matter. According to recon drones ZAFT still has over one hundred DINNs operating in the area; we'd need at least five hundred fighters to have a decent chance at beating them, and massing that many planes will take time."

"That will not be necessary," said Azrael, smiling, "According to my source within ZAFT, the enemy will soon be redeploying over half of its air assets at Alaska, along with ten submarine/carriers, to attack Panama; there will be only 48 DINNs left behind to provide air cover for the ground forces in the area."

"That will make things easier on land," said Sutherland, "and we can turn our planes against their remaining warships once the DINNs are eliminated, but the enemy's ground forces are still considerable, and our losses will be heavy; with all the material we are reallocating for our coming campaigns, those kind of losses will severely weaken our homeland defenses until new recruits can be trained and new machines built."

"When our attack is over ZAFT will have more important things to be worrying about than attacking North America," said Azrael, "besides, though the other mobiles suits are already being shipped out, we do have a freshly made corps of Buster-Daggers still in our homeland army bases; it will be a simple matter to deploy them in support of the reserve divisions when the time comes for our assault on the Coordinator beachhead."

Sutherland nodded, going over everything in his head. There was no reason it wouldn't work; when combined with the tanks and artillery the new Buster-Daggers would be more than sufficient to take the enemy ground forces, and in fact would be well suited to replacing their weaker conventional equivalents in the future. Azrael's source in ZAFT had never been wrong before, so if they said the Coordinators would be diverting forces south to attack Panama then he saw no reason to doubt the information; hell, it had been that same source who had leaked the true target of Operation Spitbreak.

ZAFT's coming attack on Panama did pose a concern, though; even with the reinforcements that had been sent to the spaceport and mass driver there, if ZAFT hit hard enough the facility could fall. If that happened, the Atlantic Federation would be cut off from outer space entirely, and without shipments of supplies from the surface the orbital fleets would be crippled when their own stocks eventually ran out.

That was a serious issue, one Sutherland felt he had to address. "Lord Azrael, if ZAFT's assault on Panama does succeed, what is our plan? We cannot afford to be cut off from outer space for very long."

"I am well aware of that," the Blue Cosmos leader replied, "and that is why I've had you and your colleagues concentrate on building up our forces at Pearl Harbor and the East Coast. The latter fleet and invasion force will be used to take Africa and the Lake Victoria spaceport, with help from the Eurasians once the CPK have seized power in Moscow. As for the former… that will be the sword held over Orb's head when we deliver our ultimatum."

Sutherland nodded. He knew that Azrael had had designs on the neutral island nation for some time, and the Admiral himself was disgusted at how Orb had remained on the sidelines throughout the war. The nation's Morgenroete company and its expertise had been needed to build the prototype mobile suits and warship at Heliopolis, but Sutherland had always resented that backroom deal.

Orb should be unconditionally on our side, he fumed, instead Uzumi tries to play us against the Coordinator scum, and even has diplomatic relations with the space monsters! He used us to enable his country to develop their own mobile suits base on our collaboration, and he refuses to join our struggle against the genetic abominations. He's a traitor to all Naturals; the day we bring that conniving aristocrat and his country to heel is one that cannot come fast enough.

Whether it be by coercion or all-out invasion, Sutherland knew that it would only be a matter of time before Orb was forced to join the Earth Alliance, and he looked forward to adding their considerable resources – including the Kaguya Mass Driver – to their own.

"Now," said Azrael, his eyes narrowing, "returning to the matter of Wing Zero, we must capture that machine; if it could destroy the Alaska base, then it could easily wipe out the Coordinator colonies. The power it wields must be made ours!"

"Agreed," said Bernard, "we greatly underestimated just what that machine was capable of before Alaska. Now we must make every effort to seize that mobile suit, especially before ZAFT has a chance to do the same."

"That will be far easier said than done," said Thompson, "we lost track of both Wing Zero and the Archangel after the battle. Yuy has displayed an almost fanatical willingness to protect that ship, so if we find it then we will find him."

"I will increase the amount of recon flights out of Hawaii and Midway," said Vickers, "when they find the Archangel we will then be able to marshal a fleet capable of taking back both the ship and that mobile suit."

"Aren't we forgetting something?" said Sutherland, "Our drones observing the battle at Alaska recorded another mobile suit join the battle on the side of the Archangel. While not as strong as Wing Zero, this new machine still wielded considerable power, and was able to protect the warship while Wing Zero destroyed the Alaska base. That unit's presence will complicate our attempts to capture Wing Zero."

"There is also the Hawk of Endymion to consider," said Thompson, "according to our reports he did not board his transport submarine; it is possible that he somehow found out about the Cyclops and fled the base in order to warn the Archangel. It would explain why Wing Zero broke off from the main engagement to target the base."

"Lieutenant Commander La Flaga is just one pilot," said Vickers, "the Skygrasper he pilots, even augmented with Strike packs, is hardly a threat when compared to Wing Zero and the new mobile suit."

"Yes," said Azrael, "especially since that new machine is also nuclear powered."

Sutherland's eyes widened at that announcement. "It has a nuclear reactor? How is that possible?"

"According to my source," said Azrael, "ZAFT has created a device that counteracts the affects of N-jammers, allowing for the use of nuclear power. Unfortunately my source was unable to provide us with the schematics for such a device, but the fact remains that ZAFT has now developed that technology. We must make every effort to capture that machine along with Wing Zero."

"Agreed," said Bernard, "if we can reverse engineer that technology we can finally bring our most powerful weapons back into the fight!"

"We will finally be able to purge the abominations through nuclear fire," growled Vickers.

Sutherland cleared his throat. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but capturing those two machines will be an extremely costly undertaking. They are extremely powerful, and if our forces our ordered to engage with the intent to capture rather than destroy they will have to hold back, and we will take heavy losses."

"Those machines are worth any expense on our part," said Azrael, "now is not the time to be squeamish, Admiral."

"I am not concerned with the sacrifices that will be needed in order to capture those machines," Sutherland replied, "however, if our material losses are too heavy then we will not have the forces needed to drive ZAFT from the Earth, even with Eurasia's might combined with ours once the coup in Moscow is complete."

"That is why we will not be moving to capture those units right away," said Azrael, "for now, retaking Alaska, reinforcing Panama, and preparing for the African invasion are our top priorities. That being said, I still want our fleets at Hawaii bulked up and augmented with as many of the new mobile suits as we can give them, along with the Neo-Aile flight packs; we must begin our preparations now so we will be ready when the opportunity presents itself. Reinforcing those fleets will also serve us well when the time comes to bring Orb into line."

"Understood, Lord Azrael," said Sutherland, "We will begin assembling the reserve divisions and air wings for an attack on Alaska as soon as possible. When shall we strike?"

"Once the ships ZAFT is redeploying to attack Panama are underway and well south of that position," Azrael replied, "I will inform you when it is time to begin the assault, Admiral. The new Buster-Daggers will be assigned to the reserve divisions, and any more units that we complete within the next few days will join them as well." His eyes then narrowed. "I expect better results this time, Sutherland; if you fail, the consequences will be dire, both for our war effort and for you personally."

The Admiral nodded. "I understand, my lord. Victory will be ours."

"Good," he said, looking around the table, "the same goes for the rest of you. Admiral Sutherland may be in charge of the Alaska campaign, but the rest of you won't be standing by doing nothing. Vice-Admiral Vickers, you will head out to Hawaii to take charge of the buildup there; you will also be commanding the invasion fleet should Uzumi refuse to join us. I will personally join you for that campaign."

"Yes, my lord," said Vickers, bowing his head.

"Rear-Admiral Thompson," said Azrael, "You will be heading to Panama to take charge of the base there." His voice then took on an icy edge. "You will hold that facility, or you will die in the attempt; retreat is not an option."

The rail-thin officer bowed his head, unable to completely mask his fear despite how hard he worked to convey resolve. "Understood, my lord. Panama will not fall."

"You will be held to that, Thompson," Azrael replied, "see to it that it doesn't become your epitaph."

He then turned to Bernard. "Rear-Admiral Bernard, you will fly out to Norfolk to take command of the buildup for the coming African campaign; the carrier Kennedy will be your flagship. That vessel and the fleet's other carriers are being modified to hold mobile suits along with their fighters. Once the buildup is complete the fleet will set sail for Ireland and rendezvous with our British Isles naval squadrons. You will then standby for the assault order; your landing points will be Casablanca and Tangiers. From there you will sweep through North Africa all the way to the Suez Canal before turning south and making your way to the Lake Victoria spaceport. By the time the invasion begins the CPK will have taken complete control of the Eurasian Federation, and their forces will be launching simultaneous attacks through the Caucasus as well as an amphibious assault on the Libyan coast."

"Understood, my lord," said Bernard, "Will the Eurasians have access to the new mass-produced mobile suits?"

"Not for this invasion," Azrael replied, "but once Lake Victoria is taken we will send them the schematics for the Strike-Dagger and Buster-Dagger as a reward for their cooperation, along with the new Operating System. The Eurasians will then be able to build those units and use them to help us finish driving ZAFT from the Earth."

The head of Blue Cosmos looked around the table again. "Gentlemen, the hour of our counterattack is fast approaching. It is imperative that our operations go according to plan; we cannot afford another fiasco like Alaska. Failure is not an option… and the consequences for any who forgets that will be fatal."

He stood up, but before Sutherland and his colleagues could follow suit they were pushed back down into their chairs by the men standing behind them. The Admiral's apprehension increased when he saw a cruel grin appear on Azrael's face.

"You all claim to understand the price of failure," he said, "but I believe having a reminder to take with you to your new assignments will serve you well."

In the blink of an eye Azrael's underlings drew their pistols and fired in unison. Sutherland felt a searing pain go through his right shoulder and could not suppress a yelp of pain. His fellow three senior officers had been shot in the exact same spot, and were clutching their wounds and grimacing in pain.

Azrael continued to smile, and when he spoke his voice was eerily calm. "Do not worry, gentlemen; your wounds will not be fatal, and medical personnel will be here momentarily to treat them. Consider them the price paid for the failure at Alaska… and a warning against doing so again. Next time I will not show such tender mercy. Good day, gentlemen."

With that Azrael and his gunmen left the room. A few seconds later medics came into the room and began treating the top brass's wounds. Clenching his teeth in pain, Sutherland felt both fear and resolve war within him; the former from knowing what would happen should he fail again, and the latter from the desire to triumph in the coming campaigns and make the Coordinators pay for the humiliation he had suffered today.

….

Three days had passed since the Archangel had begun its trip to Orb. The vessel was past the halfway point, and Murrue knew they would be at the edge of the neutral nation's territorial waters within the next thirty-six hours. She was pushing the engines as hard as she dared within atmosphere in order to get their as soon as possible, ever mindful of the vast forces now arrayed against them.

So far the voyage had been relatively uneventful. There had been no sightings of either ZAFT or Alliance forces and no major incidents with the ship's crew. Murrue was proud of her subordinates; they had continued to work together as a team just as they had before and during the battle at Alaska. Though she was sure they were worried about the future, especially now that they were officially traitors to the Atlantic Federation, they had not let their fears and doubts interfere with their duties, and Murrue could not ask for more than that.

Looking over at her personal monitor, she saw Wing Zero displayed on it. The Gundam was in its fighter mode once again, flying at a lower altitude than previous flights. Heero hadn't given a reason, but Murrue had a feeling it was because he wanted the Archangel within visual range. Murrue was well aware that the path the ship was on took it though a narrow strip of ocean between Alliance and ZAFT naval and air patrols, and enemies could appear from any direction. Undoubtedly Heero knew this as well, and Murrue surmised that the Gundam pilot wanted to keep close to the ship so that he could quickly move into a defensive position in the event of attack.

He felt that he failed me at Alaska, she thought, when the Duel got through our anti-aircraft fire and attempted to take out the bridge… I never once blamed Heero for that, and I told him as much. I'm sure he knew I was sincere... he must be trying to make sure that never happens again.

She was touched by his protectiveness, but she also felt that he was still beating himself up internally over what had happened at Alaska, and that the way he was flying now was a result of that self-incrimination. Murrue knew that there was little she could do about that other than continue to show Heero the faith she had in him; she had already told him that she did not hold him responsible for the close call at Alaska, and all she could do now in hopes of convincing him to let go of his guilt was to continue to show her gratitude for his efforts on their behalf.

At least he knows he's not the only one flying for us, she thought, Lieutenant Commander La Flaga is back, along with Kira and his new mobile suit. We may only have three air combat units to field, but they're the most formidable machines in the Earth Sphere, and their pilots are all extraordinary. The burden of defending this ship does not rest on Heero's shoulders alone… I just hope he's aware of that. He's so used to fighting by himself… I imagine he's still getting used to having allies to back him up.

Miriallia's voice came up from the CIC. "Heero's on the line, Captain. Patching him through."

The Gundam pilot appeared on the main monitor. "I've got a contact at the edge of my sensors, altitude fourteen kilometers. It's not broadcasting an IFF; might be a recon drone. Moving to intercept."

Murrue nodded. "Understood, Heero. I'll have Kira and La Flaga on standby in case they need to launch."

Heero nodded. "Roger that."

As the screen went blank Murrue began issuing orders. "All hands, Level Two battle stations; we'll go to Level One if hostiles appear. Miriallia, contact Kira and La Flaga; have them get to their machines and standby."

"Yes ma'am," said Miriallia.

"Weapons checks," said Murrue, "Have all our missile tubes loaded, and all warheads primed and ready to fire! Have all heavy weapons ready to fire, and prepare the anti-air defenses. Increase rate of active sonar pings to one a minute."

The atmosphere on the bridge became tense as the crew carried out Murrue's orders. Everyone was alert, on edge, waiting anxiously for the next report from Heero.

A minute later Heero contacted the ship again. "Contact destroyed. I ran the profile through Alliance files and came up with a match; an Apollo long-range reconnaissance drone. If the Atlantic Federation didn't know our heading before, they do now."

Murrue nodded. "I suppose it was only a matter of time; a ship this size can't stay hidden forever. Do you have any suggestions, Heero?"

"There's no sense in changing our plan now at this point," said Heero, "on the bright side, there's no way they can bring forces to intercept us before we cross into Orb territory; the distance is too great. As long as we maintain our current course and speed we'll be fine."

Unspoken of course was the question of whether or not Orb would allow the Archangel to even enter their territory, but there was little point in worrying about that at the moment. Murrue knew they'd deal with that problem when the time came, and could only hope that their past relationship with that nation's leadership would help their case.

"You're right, Heero," she replied, "Have you picked up any additional contacts?"

"No," said Heero, "but I wouldn't be surprised if we have a ZAFT flyover soon; their patrol coverage overlaps with the Alliance's in this area. I'm returning to my previous position; I'll keep an eye out for any additional contacts."

"Got it," said Murrue, smiling, "good work, Heero."

The Gundam pilot nodded, and Murrue saw a hint of a smile on his face before he signed off. Returning her attention to the forward viewport, she saw the afternoon sun shining down from its perch in the clear sky. The view would've been beautiful on any other occasion, but to Murrue and her crew it just meant they had no cloud cover to aid in concealing their presence from high-altitude patrols.

Still, Murrue wasn't too worried; they were ready for anyone that tried to attack them. More importantly, to her at least, Heero was on watch right now; any hostiles approaching would be swiftly greeted by a blast from the Twin Buster Rifle.

By now ZAFT and the Alliance are aware of the full power of that weapon, she thought, and they must have a great deal of fear and respect for its capabilities. Granted, that means they won't underestimate Heero as much as they might've previously… but it also gives him a psychological weapon to use against them. The prospect of having to go up against Wing Zero now will have a severe impact on the morale of both ZAFT and Alliance soldiers, and I'm sure Heero is aware of that. If he's not their worst nightmare yet, it's only a matter of time before he will be.

….

Slowly but surely, Flay Allster began to regain consciousness. Her vision was blurry as she came to, but eventually she was able to make out her surroundings. She was in what appeared to be a cabin on a warship of some sort; the accommodations were Spartan enough to give her that impression. The room consisted of little more than a bunk, a small storage closet, and a washroom.

"Where am I?" she groaned.

"On the ZAFT submarine/carrier Vespucci," said a voice coming from the edge of her vision. Turning around, she saw a man leaning against the cabin door, arms folded. He wore a uniform that was clearly not Alliance, which meant he served on the other side.

She recognized him immediately as the masked figure she had run into at the Alaska base before losing consciousness. It took her a moment to process what he said; there was a minor throbbing in her head, making it a little difficult to think clearly.

"You've been unconscious for over three days," said the man, "you hit your head pretty hard."

"I remember you…" said Flay, "you were at Alaska… did you bring me here?"

"Yes," said the man, "and it is quite fortunate for you that I did so; the base was destroyed shortly after we left. Had you remained there any longer you would be dead."

A shiver went down her spine as the girl realized just how narrowly she had escaped death. That was soon overridden though by what he had said earlier. "Wait, this is a ZAFT ship? Then am I…"

"Normally you would be a prisoner and locked in the brig," said the man, "however, I do not believe that is necessary. After all, you and I want the same thing, don't we Flay Allster?"

Her eyes widened at his words. "How do you know my name?"

"Oh, I hear things from time to time," he relied, smiling slightly, "such as the fact that the daughter of the Atlantic Federation's Vice-Foreign Minister was aboard the warship Archangel… and had volunteered to avenge the death of her father."

That had been the original reason why she had decided to join the Alliance forces, manipulating Kira into staying as well and using him as the tool of her vengeance. Now, though… well, things had certainly changed, that much was certain.

Her feelings had changed… but by the time she was ready to admit that, it was too late, and the boy she had manipulated and then genuinely come to care about had been killed.

Killed… by ZAFT.

A burning rage took hold of her, a combination of grief for Kira and rage at being held on a ship belonging to the forces that had taken his life. Shrieking like a banshee, she flew off the bed and lunged at the masked man with the intent of grabbing his neck and wringing the life out of him, slowly and painfully.

She never got the chance. The masked soldier effortlessly caught her arms and twisted them around behind her back. Glaring at him over her shoulder, Flay saw the man smirk.

"I can understand your reaction to what I just said," he stated, "it is natural to want revenge for the death of your father, along with your friends. I believe the pilot of the Strike was a fellow classmate of yours from Heliopolis; Kira Yamato was it?"

"Don't you dare say that name!" she growled, "Your forces took the life of a boy who never wanted any part of this war, who only wanted to protect the people he cared about! Kira was kind, thoughtful, sensitive… and ZAFT murdered him! You have no right to say his name!"

"I understand your grief," he said, "but you need to open your eyes, Miss Allster; the words you use to describe that boy, while no doubt true, can also be applied to any number of the soldiers in this army. Many of them fell fighting the Strike, or against Wing Zero and the Archangel. Many more have died in this long war as a whole; would it not be fair to say that they were murdered by this conflict as much as Kira was?"

Flay could not come up with a response. Her feelings on the matter were conflicted, to say the least. On the one hand, the hatred she still felt for Coordinators had not completely abated. However, by getting to truly know Kira as a person, Flay had slowly come to realize that her views on both him and his kind were not entirely accurate. Intellectually, she knew that there were probably other Coordinators a lot like Kira serving in ZAFT, fighting to protect the people they cared about. The fact that the war had started with a nuclear attack on one of their colonies undoubtedly made the stakes personal for many of them, and Flay had to wonder how many of them were like her, having joined the armed forces to avenge the death of a loved one.

Her fury subsided, and she felt herself go limp. Flay's legs went weak, and she fell to her knees as the masked soldier let go of her. The fight had gone out of her, and she could only wait to see what her captor would do to her next.

She was surprised when he knelt down and cupped her chin in his hand, raising her face so she would look at him. "You may not believe this now," he said, "but eventually you will be able to help me put an end to this war. If Kira was as kind as you say he was, then surely he would want you to do all you could to help end this conflict, wouldn't he?"

Flay nodded. It's true, she thought, Kira knew he had the power to make a difference, to protect people from suffering. That was another reason why he fought; he wanted to find a way to end this war. Now he's gone… so I have to carry on for him. I may not be able to fight like him, but if what this man say's is true, if I have the potential to help end this war… who am I to refuse?

"Alright," she said, "I'll help you. What do you need?"

"For now," he replied, "I'm afraid there is little you can do; the time has not yet come for you to play your part, and it will be quite awhile before it does. Until then, I would suggest you try to stay out of trouble."

He let go of her and stood up to leave. "There is a uniform in the closet. It should fit you. This cabin will be yours for the time being. You may leave to go eat if you wish, but other than that I think you should stay in here. I will come get you when the time comes to leave this ship." After that he walked out of the room, the door shutting behind him.

After a few minutes had passed Flay stood up and went over to the closet. Opening it, she saw that there was indeed a green uniform in there, and it was her size. Her stomach growled, and she knew that she should go grab something to eat.

I shouldn't be walking around a ZAFT ship in an Alliance uniform, she thought as she grabbed the clothes in the closet, I guess I'm stuck with this for now.

As she changed her clothes, her thoughts wandered to her friends on the Archangel, as well as the rest of the crew. Even Heero briefly entered her thoughts; it was true that her limited encounters with him hadn't exactly been friendly, but she knew that that was more her fault than his.

Be safe, everyone, she thought, I hope I'll be able to see you all again soon.

….

The chill wind of the far North seemed to cut right through Admiral Sutherland's jacket, its frigid edge stinging the still healing gunshot wound in his right shoulder. Even in mid May the Arctic breeze still held bite, and the Supreme Commander of the Atlantic Federation armed forces looked forward to heading below deck soon. However, he felt that it was imperative that he make this final visual inspection of his fleet before it began its journey out of the Bering Sea and towards the now-occupied ruins of the Alaska base.

While most of the Atlantic Federation's naval assets had been redeployed to priority theaters, one group of warships had remained untouched; the Arctic Fleet. Comprised primarily of submarines and supplemented by a few destroyers, cruisers, and Angler-class escort carriers, along with one heavy carrier, the task force mainly served as a kind of field-training post for fresh Academy graduates, giving them a taste of life on patrol and hands-on experience with combat maneuvers before sending them into the fray. Now its untested sailors and airmen would be taking part in the naval portion of Sutherland's attack on ZAFT's Alaska beachhead.

By itself an attack with the Arctic Fleet against ZAFT's forces at Alaska would be suicide; even with the heavy losses they had taken in the battle, along with the redeployment of ten Vosgulovs and sixty DINNs to the south for the coming invasion of Panama, the remaining ZAFT naval forces at Alaska were still formidable, and with shore based fire support from the ground forces they would make short work of Sutherland's ships and planes.

But the Arctic Fleet, consisting of twenty Barracuda-class attack submarines, fourteen destroyers, seven cruisers, three tankers, two Angler-class escort carriers and one Spengler-class heavy carrier was only one part of the pincer attack that would soon be hitting Alaska. Sutherland's naval force was merely intended to catch the ZAFT ship's that survived the initial attacks from Alliance strike planes off guard and keep them penned in the bay until they could be finished off. The true muscle behind the coming assault had just finished massing fifty kilometers east of ZAFT's beachhead under Atlantic Federation General Martin Bradford.

Consisting of nearly all the Canadian reserve divisions and American West Coast divisions, along with twenty fighter squadrons and eight bomber wings, the assault force was a marvel to behold… at least as far as the numbers were concerned. Like the Arctic Fleet the forces assigned to the ground and air attacks were untested, recruits fresh out of the Academy; all the Atlantic Federation's veteran combat units were far removed from Alaska, and Sutherland would have to make do with the rookies.

Fortunately, the Admiral was sure that their sheer weight of numbers would more than make up for their lack of fighting experience. The ground armies alone had over five hundred tanks and seven hundred artillery pieces of varying types. A formidable force, but its true fangs were to be found in the new mass produced mobile suits assigned to it; the Buster-Daggers.

Based upon the GAT-X103 Buster, the Buster-Dagger was a cheaper version of the long-range combat unit developed in the Heliopolis project. Sharing the same color scheme as its predecessor, the unit lacked the Phase Shift Armor of the prototype, which gave it increased operating time at the cost of defensive capability. Its armaments were similar to the original Busters, with a 350mm Gun Launcher, a 94mm high energy rifle, and missile pods on its shoulders, though these only had three barrels apiece instead of six. The unit's greatest deviation from the original model was the inclusion of a pair of beam sabers for close quarters combat. Sixty-eight machines had been built so far, and all of them were present in the force that would soon be assaulting ZAFT's Alaska beachhead.

I wish I could've gotten my hands on some Strike-Daggers as well, thought Sutherland, but the completed units are already assigned to other theaters, and we're trying to ship as many additional machines from the factories as we can to space before ZAFT hits Panama. I suppose I'll just have to make due.

Though the Alliance mobile suits were outnumbered by their ZAFT counter-parts, when combined with the conventional units they would be more than enough to defeat the Coordinator forces. Of course, given the fact that nearly all the Atlantic Federation soldiers committed to the attack were green heavy casualties were to be expected, but that did not matter to Sutherland; only driving the humanoid abominations from North American soil concerned him. The Admiral viewed his soldiers as just pawns in the larger game; he had long ago ceased to care about them as actual human beings.

In addition to the tanks, artillery, and Buster-Daggers was a massive force of trucks, APCs, and transport helicopters ready to bring the infantry to the front lines. All in all, combining the grunts, officers, and support personnel, the ground army had over two hundred thousand soldiers to throw into the fray.

Numerically speaking, the air wings were quite impressive as well. Alliance fighter squadrons were composed of twelve planes each, and as there were twenty squadrons taking part in the assault that meant that there would be 240 F-7D Spearheads taking part in the attack. Bomber wings were composed of six B-97 Olympus heavy strategic bombers, massive eight-engine planes each capable of carrying over 45,000 kg, or approximately 100,000 pounds of ordinance. Forty-eight such aircraft would unleash a massive saturation bombardment once the fighters had engaged the DINNs. The Arctic Fleet would be contributing its own aircraft to the attack as well, with the Angler-class escort carriers holding two squadrons of fighters each while the Spengler-class carrier Halsey had a compliment of four squadrons.

In a departure from tradition the larger carrier would not be serving as the Admiral's flagship. Sutherland had thoroughly studied the battle at Alaska, and he was well aware of the heavy casualties suffered by the Eurasian carriers. Therefore he had made the attack submarine Tiger Shark his flagship; the boat would be at the rear of the formation, only firing occasional torpedo volleys while the rest of the fleet engaged in the heavy fighting. This would ensure that the Admiral didn't have a bull's eye on him, so to speak, as he would if he had made the fleet's sole heavy carrier his flagship.

"Admiral," said an aide from behind him, "a message just came through from Lord Azrael. He has ordered that we begin the operation."

Sutherland nodded. "Relay the transmission to General Bradford. I will head to the con and address the fleet."

The aide nodded and disappeared below deck, with the Admiral quickly following him. As the hatch closed over his head Sutherland allowed himself a cruel smile. It had been over four days since the first battle of Alaska. That engagement had not inflicted nearly as many casualties against ZAFT as it had been supposed to; now they would make up the difference.

….

It was another clear day as Heero flew above the Archangel. Wing Zero was once again in its fighter mode, and the Gundam pilot was constantly scanning the horizon for signs of enemy activity.

It had been nearly two days since the encounter with the Alliance recon drone, and they were now fast approaching Orb's territorial waters. Heero refused to let his guard down now, though; earlier that morning he had found and destroyed another recon drone, this one belonging to ZAFT. Now both the Earth Sphere's superpowers knew which way the ship was heading, and Heero was alert for any signs of hostile activity.

ZAFT has already proven itself willing to attack practically on Orb's doorstep in order to get the Archangel, he thought, and there's no reason to assume that the Alliance wouldn't try a similar move.

Truth be told, he wasn't too worried about the Orb military, mainly because he didn't think there would be a fight with them. Heero felt that the chances of the Archangel being allowed entrance into the nation were actually higher than most of the crew suspected, due not just to the personal connection established between them and the ruling family but also due to the time Heero and Kira had spent working for Morgenroete. The Gundam pilot suspected that Erica Simmons had made quite a bit of progress with the data he and Kira had given her company since their departure, and he was willing to bet that the Chief Engineer would want his input on what they had accomplished. He also knew that she had enjoyed working with him and sharing technical expertise, and that was another point in their favor.

The real question, he thought, is what will the terms of our being allowed to stay in Orb be? Lord Uzumi is a stern but fair ruler; I think he'll allow us in as refugees, but he must be aware of the risks that poses to his country. He'll want something in return, just like last time.

Due to their desperate situation, Heero was willing to be a little more generous with the data he had in his possession than during their previous visit should the need arise. He would not, of course, give Orb schematics for any of the Gundams, nor would he share the Zero System with them. However, he was willing to give them select combat recordings from the mobile suit as a bargaining chip. They wouldn't be of any of his battles in his old world, but he would give them all the footage of his engagements in the Cosmic Era. Of course, this was assuming Lord Uzumi would want something from him personally as opposed to the rest of the Archangel's crew and combat units.

Still, Heero liked to expect the worst. There was always the chance he'd be pleasantly surprised and be proven wrong, and he was ok with that, but until that time came he would be ready for anything.

Checking the map on his sensors, he saw that the ship's position now less than ten kilometers from Orb's borders. We should be seeing patrol flights soon, he thought, from there it will be only a matter of time before they assemble a flotilla to intercept us. Hopefully the commanding officer will be as reasonable as the last one; the last thing we can afford now is a fight due to a misunderstanding.

Indeed, mere seconds later two contacts appeared on his long-range radar. Running the profiles through the databanks, he came up with a match; I-220 Suzume interceptors. Sleek, silver delta-winged aircraft each armed with a 20mm machine gun and six missiles, the jet fighters were the mainstay of the Orb Army Air Force; the Navy air arm preferred the CF-89 Washi.

Heero contacted the Archangel. As Murrue's face appeared onscreen he spoke. "Murrue, I've got a pair of Orb fighters to the south, looks like a recon flight."

"Have they turned to intercept?" she asked.

Heero shook his head as he saw the planes pull back on his radar. "No, they're withdrawing, probably sending word to their superiors that we're inbound. We'll probably be seeing ships from the Orb fleet on the horizon soon enough."

"Ok," said Murrue, "in that case I want you to lower your altitude and take up position over us; we need to be ready for anything. Hopefully we can avoid a confrontation, but I'm taking no chances."

"Roger that," he said. Signing out, he began to descend, changing Wing Zero back into its mobile suit form as he did so.

Positioning himself about two-hundred meters over the warship's bridge, Heero settled into a quiet watchfulness as he and the Archangel continued south under the afternoon sun. At the rate the ship was going it would be a matter of minutes before they were hailed by vessels of the Orb Navy. By now Heero was sure that word had reached high government officials that the Archangel was approaching Orb, and Lord Uzumi was doubtlessly considering how to handle the situation… if he didn't already have a plan formed; Heero wouldn't be surprised if the Lion of Orb had already drawn up a contingency or two for such a scenario.

He's a very intelligent leader, Heero mused, he has to be, considering Orb's delicate position in the world. I may not particularly like politicians, but that doesn't mean I can't admire the way Lord Uzumi's managed to walk the tightrope up until now. Playing both ZAFT and the Alliance against each other, taking what he can and giving some assistance in return while not truly allying himself with either… the guy's got nerve, no questioning that. He's no Treize, but it's not for lack of trying.

His thoughts turned from Orb's leader to the woman he regarded as its greatest ace in the hole; Erica Simmons. Heero had to admit to himself that he was looking forward to seeing what Morgenroete's Chief Engineer had done with the data he had given her, along with the work Kira had done regarding the M1 Astray's operating system. Considering the state the Orb-designed machines had been in before, Heero wouldn't have been surprised if they were now in a limited production run. However, the M1 was only suited for ground and space warfare, and as an island nation Orb would need other mobile suit types to be able to effectively defend its sovereignty.

That's where the data I gave Erica Simmons comes into play, he thought, Cancer, Pisces, Aries… those three models alone would give a considerable boost to Orb's combat capabilities. That's not including the other designs I sent her. Taurus could augment the M1s in the space forces, while the Tragos would work well as an artillery platform for defending the coastline. I doubt they'll produce the Leo; it would end up serving the same role as the M1 Astray, so there's little point in wasting resources on it. That just leaves the Tallgeese… knowing Simmons, I doubt she was able to resist the temptation to work on it. I don't know if Morgenroete's completed a unit yet, much less found someone able to pilot it… I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

Heero hoped that Morgenroete had made serious progress with their mobile suit program since the Archangel had left the country. With the escalation of the conflict, Orb's status as a neutral nation would eventually be unable to protect it as it once had… and Heero had a sinking feeling that that day would come much sooner than later.

If they're not ready, he thought grimly, then we might be the only one's able to defend them from invasion. I'm sure Uzumi's considering that now, if he hasn't already. Still, even with the Archangel, Wing Zero, and the Freedom there's only so much we can do to help them.

It felt like the Sanc Kingdom all over again. True, unlike the fallen pacifist nation of the After Colony world Orb had a strong military… but the forces that would soon be arrayed against it would be far greater than Romefeller's invasion of the Sanc Kingdom, and Heero had to wonder if Orb could withstand the coming onslaught.

Despite the grim situation, Heero found himself smirking slightly as an odd thought went through his head. Looks like I'm heading towards another losing battle… just like old times.

He spent the next several minutes contemplating the similarities and differences between his last war and the one he found himself in now. Unfortunately his thoughts were eventually interrupted by a beeping coming from his sensors, and Heero knew that the moment of truth had come; Orb warships were approaching.

It was a squadron of five vessels; four destroyers and a cruiser. There were also a dozen attack helicopters overhead along with half as many Suzume interceptors. It wasn't nearly enough to take on Wing Zero should a fight occur, and Heero had a feeling the Orb leaders were aware of that. That alone reinforced the Gundam pilot's belief that Lord Uzumi had already decided to let them into the country, and that the squadron in front of him and the Archangel was meant as an escort more than a deterrent or show of force.

Heero established a link with the Archangel. "Murrue," he said, "we've got incoming."

"We see them too, Heero," she replied, "We'll begin broadcasting over an open channel." She gave him a nervous smile. "I hope this works."

Heero nodded, and gave her a small smile in the hope that it would reassure her. "It will, Murrue; I'm sure of it."

Murrue nodded. "Alright. Well, here goes nothing."

Her image faded from his monitor, but her voice remained on his speakers as she began broadcasting. "Attention Orb forces. This is Captain Murrue Ramius of the Archangel. We are here to request asylum in your country; we are no longer part of the Earth Alliance armed forces."

The response came swiftly. "This is Captain Takeshi of the cruiser Kumano. We heard about what happened at Alaska, and your arrival here was expected. We're under orders to escort you to dock; Lord Uzumi wishes to meet with you and your command staff."

I thought so, Heero mused, now we'll see what he wants this time in return for helping us.

He was sure Murrue was thinking along those lines as well, but to her credit that suspicion was not apparent in her voice. "Thank you, Kumano. We'll follow your lead."

As the Archangel entered formation with the Orb squadron Murrue's face appeared on Heero's screen. "Well," she said, smiling, "we're off to a good start. I just hope Lord Uzumi doesn't ask for what we can't deliver when we meet with him."

Heero nodded. "The ball's in his court now, and he knows he has the upper hand. Still, I don't think he'll be unreasonable; now that we're no longer part of the Earth Alliance he may be seeing us as a potential asset for Orb's defense forces when ZAFT or the Alliance invade the country."

"Do you really think either of them will undertake such an operation?" asked Murrue, "I know the war is escalating, but Orb is still a neutral nation, and its armed forces are not to be taken lightly."

"I think it's inevitable," said Heero, "the battle at Alaska has shifted the balance of power. With the mass driver there destroyed, the only one left for the Atlantic Federation is at Panama, and ZAFT is well aware of that. Even with the losses they suffered at Alaska, they could still decide to pool their resources and launch an assault in South America to take the last mass driver. If that happens, Orb will have the only mass driver not in ZAFT hands; it'll make the country a prime target for both sides."

"And there's the Atlantic Federation leadership to consider," said Murrue, a thoughtful look on her face, "I'm now more convinced than ever that the country is in the hands of either Blue Cosmos members or people sympathetic to them, and their extremist views will not allow for a nation as powerful as Orb to stand on the sidelines. They will take the stance that if Orb is not with them, it is against them, and must be dealt accordingly."

"A possibility that Orb's leadership has no doubt already considered," Heero replied, "that's probably one of the main reasons Lord Uzumi is allowing us to enter the country; he'll need our help if Orb is to stand a chance against an invasion force."

Murrue nodded. "If Orb is willing to give us shelter, then I will do all I can to help them preserve their independence… but I can't force the rest of the crew to do the same. When the time comes, I'll only ask for volunteers to stay on board the Archangel; anyone who wishes to leave will be free to do so."

"We can always ask the Orb military to provide replacement personnel should it come down to it," said Heero, "I'm sure they would be willing to do that if it meant having us on their side."

Murrue smiled. "You're probably right about that, Heero. And… thank you, for staying with us. We would never have made it this far without you… and we'll need you now more than ever."

Heero nodded, giving her a slight smile in return. "I told you before, Murrue; I will never abandon you. I'll stand by you and the Archangel for as long as you'll have me, through hell or high-water."

Murrue's smile grew at his words, becoming more genuine. "Heero… you have my sincerest gratitude, and that of my crew. We're forever in your debt."

Heero shook his head. "No, Murrue. You and your crew have done as much for me as I have for you. No one owes anyone anything; I think we're well past that."

Murrue nodded. "You're right, Heero. Still… thank you."

Heero nodded as well. "You're welcome, Murrue."

"Why don't you bring Wing Zero inside now," she said, "if Lord Uzumi wishes to meet with us then I doubt the Orb task force will attack."

"Roger that," he replied, "I'm coming in for landing."

….

As the Archangel made its way towards Orb with its escorts, Murrue took a moment to observe her bridge crew. She was pleased to see a sense of tired relief on all of their faces, and she understood the sentiment perfectly. There had been no confrontation with the Orb military, and they were being allowed entry into the country. Of course, there was still the meeting with the nation's leadership looming over their heads, but for now at least one hurdle had been cleared.

A familiar hand gently fell on her shoulder, and Murrue smiled as she looked up at Heero, who had just entered the bridge and had taken up his place beside her chair.

"You doing ok?" he asked.

She nodded. "I'm fine, Heero. It's a relief that Orb's letting us through the border, though I know we're not out of the woods yet."

"It'll be alright," said Heero, "I'm sure Lord Uzumi wants something from us in return for this, but I doubt he'll be unreasonable. He was willing to compromise the last time we were here, after all.'

"Yes," she said, smiling again, "and I'm sure Cagalli will do all she can to help us as well… plus I imagine she will want to see Kira again, especially considering what happened in the Marshall Islands."

Heero nodded. "She'll be relieved that he's alive… and probably a little upset at the same time; she thought he was dead for quite awhile, after all."

Murrue couldn't help but laugh a little. "Knowing her temper, she'll probably want to slap him for putting her through that. Kira had better be ready when we hit the dock."

"He'll be fine," said Heero, smirking slightly.

Their eyes met briefly, and Murrue was reassured by the calm confidence that radiated from Heero's Prussian blue irises. We'll be alright, she thought, the coming days will not be easy, but we'll get through them. I know we will, Heero.

The two of them then turned their gazes towards the forward viewport. The late afternoon sun slowly crept across the sky, and soon it would begin its descent as dusk approached. The silhouette of an island appeared in the distance, growing larger with each passing minute. Eventually Murrue realized that it was the same island that they had been taken to during their first visit to Orb.

Sure enough, they eventually came upon the hidden docking facility, the massive fake-cliffs parting to reveal the top secret ship berth. Ensign Neumann expertly maneuvered the Archangel into position before setting the ship down.

A familiar voice came over the ship's radio. "Archangel, this is Kisaka. I will be at the dock in about five minutes. Captain Ramius, Lord Uzumi wishes to speak with you and your command staff, along with pilots Heero Yuy and Kira Yamato."

So they do know Kira's alive, she thought, Orb's intelligence network is quite extensive… then again, Kira did make that open channel broadcast at Alaska when he showed up in the Freedom; Orb probably managed to hack into radio transmission logs and found those easily.

"Understood," said Murrue, "we'll meet you down on the dock."

Standing up, she turned to Heero. "Well, shall we?"

He nodded. As they turned to go Murrue looked over at the radio officer. "Contact Lieutenant Commander La Flaga and Kira; have them meet us at the starboard hatch."

"Yes ma'am," the officer replied.

The two of them then left the bridge and headed for the hatch. As they walked through the corridors Murrue turned to Heero. "I wonder if the Alliance or ZAFT know we've arrived here."

"Likely," the Gundam pilot replied, "with the data from their recon drones they'd have little trouble plotting our course, and they know that we've had dealings with the Orb leadership in the past. The real question is when they will decide to strike. ZAFT would have to withdraw a significant amount of its forces from Alaska in order to amass a sizeable invasion force, and even then they'd still need to combine it with whatever ships are left at Carpentaria and Kaoshiung in order to win. The Alliance would have an easier time of it, at least logistically; from the files and communiqués I read during my infiltration of the Alaska base they've been undertaking a massive fleet buildup at Pearl Harbor. We saw some of that during our stopover there, but I'm sure it's gone well above what we witnessed since then. They've also diverted a considerable amount of material and personnel to South America; they could stage an invasion from either location."

"I don't think they'll attack from South America," said Murrue, "now that the Alaska mass driver has been destroyed, the one at Panama is the only one left for the Atlantic Federation; any forces they divert there will in all likelihood stay there to defend the spaceport."

"Good point," said Heero, nodding, "in that case, we can expect the attack to come from Hawaii. It will take time for any fleet setting sail from there to reach Orb, and it would be picked up by recon flights, so at least we'd have some advance warning… a small favor, considering the likely size of the invasion force."

The two of them were quiet for the rest of the way, each contemplating the battle that they could well be fighting in the near future.

As they approached the hatch they saw La Flaga and Kira already standing there. The blond fighter pilot smirked at Heero. "No fancy uniform this time?"

Heero shook his head. "That thing takes awhile to put on properly, and Orb hasn't given us the same amount of time as they did during our last visit. Besides, I don't think they'll care much about what I'm wearing this time."

I don't think it matters, thought Murrue. Even in his typical jeans and tank-top Heero still had a way of exerting his presence, along with an aura of quiet intensity; no one would be taking him lightly just because he wasn't in formal military attire.

La Flaga nodded. "Good point. I thought our own uniforms could be a hassle, but yours is something else. Ah well, no point in worrying about that sort of thing now."

"We should head out there," said Kira, "Kisaka's probably waiting for us."

"Agreed," said Murrue, "let's go."

The hatch opened and the four of them made their way down the gangway. At the bottom they were greeted by Kisaka, who had exchanged his desert combat gear for an Orb military uniform; white pants and shirt with purple trim.

He smiled as they approached him. "It's good to see you alive," he said as he looked them over, "we heard Alaska was a bloodbath, and that's without the planned detonation of the Cyclops system."

"How do you know about that?" asked Murrue, "I wasn't aware that that had been made public knowledge."

"Lord Uzumi will explain," he replied, "a lot has happened since you left Alaska."

"We've been out of the loop," said La Flaga, "we're persona non grata with both sides now, to put it lightly."

Kisaka chuckled. "Understatement of the year, Hawk of Endymion. Still, you all don't look much worse for the wear. Where's Lieutenant Badgiruel? Last I remember she was the ship's Executive Officer, and part of your command staff."

"She was transferred," said Murrue, "Natarle left Alaska via the mass driver four days before the battle; High Command reassigned her to the space forces."

Kisaka nodded. "I see. Well, let's get a move on; as you might imagine, Lord Uzumi has a great deal he wishes to discuss with you."

"Of course," said Murrue.

As they started walking Murrue saw Kisaka look at Heero and smile. "As eager as I am for that sparring match, I'm afraid I won't be able to go to the mat with you anytime soon; Lord Uzumi has me working near round the clock these days, and I think it will only get busier from here on out."

Heero nodded. "Understandable, considering your country's situation. Maybe when all this is over we can have that fight."

"I'd like that," said Kisaka, "you may be a mobile suit pilot, but I know your skills extend far beyond mechanized warfare; I can only imagine what you're capable of in hand-to-hand combat."

"You'd be surprised," said Heero, and Murrue thought she saw a hint of a smirk on his face. She remembered what Heero had said when they had left Orb the first time, about Kisaka sizing him up back in North Africa, along with his message about wanting a sparring match the next time he was in the area. I have no doubt Heero would be deadly in hand-to-hand combat, she thought, and that he'd be more than capable of beating Kisaka, regardless of his training in Orb's Special Forces. Still, I'm glad they're not going to go at it any time soon; I want Heero to have a break from fighting, and that includes sparring matches. He needs time to relax, even if it's only for a few days.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice yelling their way. "Kira!"

Murrue smiled as she saw Cagalli running towards them. Like Kisaka she was dressed in an Orb military uniform, though hers also had yellow shoulder epaulets added to the ensemble. Any sign of professionalism that might've gone with the uniform, though, had already been thrown out the window as the girl ran to and all but tackled the boy she had thought dead in the Marshall Islands several weeks ago.

Kira was caught off guard, but to his credit the young Coordinator recovered quickly, returning her embrace and smiling as she continued to yell at him. "You idiot!" she cried, "I thought you were dead!"

She pulled away from him slightly, though still keeping her hands on his shoulders. "You're… you're too reckless, you know that? You have to be more careful! I… I thought I'd lost you."

As she spoke she calmed down, and Kira put his hand on her shoulder. "It's good to see you too, Cagalli. I'm… sorry I worried you."

She let go of him and smiled. "It's alright… I'm just glad you're ok. I don't need to know the details right this minute, but I do expect you to tell me what happened later, you got that?"

Kira nodded. "Sure, no problem."

Cagalli then turned to Heero, and Murrue was amused to see her gentle smile once again be replaced by a mixture of anger and worry. "And you! I heard about what happened at Alaska; what the hell were you thinking? Instead of trying to get out of the Cyclops blast zone, you flew right towards the bomb! What if it had detonated before you could destroy it? Were you trying to commit suicide?"

Heero shook his head. "At the rate the ship was moving, there was no way the Archangel would've made it out before the Cyclops system detonated; I wasn't going to abandon Murrue to save myself. I knew I had the firepower needed to punch through the base's fortifications and destroy the bomb, I just needed Kira and La Flaga to cover the ship while I took the shots."

Murrue felt a hint of red come to her cheeks at Heero's words; she had expected him to just say that he wouldn't abandon the Archangel, not her specifically. Though she already knew that she was the real reason he had refused to leave the battlefield, she was still touched by how he was willing to say so in front of others without the slightest bit of hesitation.

Cagalli looked over at Murrue for a second, and the lovely Captain was surprised to see her smile slightly before turning back to Heero. "I see… well, I still think you're crazy, but I understand why you did that. I'm just surprised you were able to pull that off; I didn't think Wing Zero had that kind of firepower."

"You were holding back in North Africa," said Kisaka, smirking slightly.

Heero nodded. "That sort of power isn't something I throw at just anything; the environmental damage from such a blast is severe, and nearby residential areas would be affected. Normally I would only use the full power of the Twin Buster Rifle in outer space; the Alliance and ZAFT forced my hand."

"And now the entire world knows that you wield a weapon stronger than anything else in it," said Kisaka, "you must realize that you've made yourself a priority target for both ZAFT and the Alliance."

Heero shrugged. "It's nothing I can't handle."

Kisaka chuckled, while Cagalli shook her head. "Crazy…" she muttered. After a moment she looked at Heero again and smiled. "All that being said, I'm glad you're ok, Heero. It's good to see you again."

The Gundam pilot nodded. "Likewise."

"You haven't changed a bit, have you little lady?" said La Flaga, smirking.

"Neither have you, Lieutenant Commander," she replied, "I guess that's a good thing though. Considering how much the rest of the world is changing… well, it's good to have some constants in life, I suppose."

Murrue was pleasantly surprised at the girl's display of wisdom and insight. She still has her temper, she mused, but she appears to have gained a little more control over it. That will serve her well in the days ahead. I wonder how much of an influence the time she spent with us played on her personality…

Orb's tomboyish princess then turned to Murrue, smiling again. "It's good to see you again as well, Captain Ramius."

Murrue nodded, returning the smile. "You as well, Cagalli. How have you been?"

"It was rough going for awhile," she said, looking down, "after we heard about what happened in the Marshall Islands… and when we didn't find Kira there… I don't like to think about it." She then looked over at Kira before turning back to Murrue. "But that's changed now, so I'd say things are definitely looking up."

"On a personal level, at any rate," chimed in Kisaka, "but the larger picture is another matter, and one Lord Uzumi is rather anxious to discuss. We really should get going now."

"Of course," said Murrue, "it was nice seeing you again, Cagalli."

"Hey, I'm not leaving yet," she replied, "I'm coming with you guys." She then folded her arms and glared at Kisaka. "Whether my father likes it or not."

Kisaka chuckled at her words. "Lord Uzumi expected you'd say as much, Lady Cagalli; he said to bring you along with them."

"Good," said Cagalli, a smirk on her face, "then let's get going."

….

They took the same route to the meeting room as they had the last time they were on Onogoro Island. Once again Heero was on alert, checking the locations of security staff and cameras, noting any features that had been changed since their last visit. He noted only a few minor deviations, and chalked them up to routine maintenance and schedule changes among the facility's personnel.

When they arrived at the meeting room they found only two people standing behind the long mahogany table; Lord Uzumi and Erica Simmons. Both of them smiled and nodded as the entourage entered the room and the doors closed behind them.

"It is good to see you all alive," said Lord Uzumi, "when our intelligence agencies first heard word of what was happening at Alaska we feared the worst. Fortunately subsequent reports carried word of your survival."

"We're grateful for your concern," said Murrue, bowing her head slightly, "though I am surprised that were worried for us. I mean no offense, but I would've thought after we ceased to be of use to you that we would no longer be worth you worrying about."

"Under other circumstances you might've been right, Captain Ramius," he said, "but I'm a man who keeps an eye towards the future; our collaboration proved to be very helpful to my country, and I was hopeful for a future venture between our two groups."

"Now you have that opportunity, it seems," said Murrue, "after all, we're not exactly in a position to make demands right now."

"No," said Lord Uzumi, "but the situation has changed. You and your crew are no longer Alliance soldiers… or freelance fighters." He looked over at Heero as he said those last words for a moment, and the Perfect Soldier once again felt himself enter a silent contest of wills with the man. It was the briefest of staring contests, both men sizing each other up, taking the measure of the other. After only a second though Uzumi turned back towards Murrue, though it did not feel to Heero like a concession of defeat; merely an acknowledgement of his own strength and influence.

"You have come to us as refugees," the Lion of Orb continued, "aligned with neither of the two great powers, seeking safety for your comrades and yourselves." He then smiled. "Orb has not turned away refugees in the past, and we will not start doing so now; you have our hospitality, and we will provide you with sanctuary and asylum. This I offer without any preconditions; Orb welcomes you with open arms."

Looking to his left, Heero saw Murrue smile, and he knew a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She bowed her head again, and when she spoke it was with the utmost gratitude and respect. "On behalf of my crew," she said, "I thank you from the bottom of my heart, Lord Uzumi." She raised her head. "You have no idea how much this means to us."

"Perhaps," he replied, "but you are welcome all the same, Captain Ramius."

Kira and La Flaga bowed as well, and Heero tilted his head down slightly too. Uzumi nodded at them before gesturing to the chairs in front of them. "All that being said, please sit down; there is much we need to discuss. While you are free to stay in our country, I'm afraid it may be a less than idyllic refuge, especially in the near future."

"You are referring to the Alliance and ZAFT," said Heero as he sat down, "have they already sent you ultimatums?"

Lord Uzumi chuckled. "You are as perceptive and cunning as ever, Heero Yuy. No, I have yet to receive demands of allegiance from either side yet, though I am sure it is now only a matter of days until word comes through their consulates."

"Has the situation truly deteriorated that quickly?" said Murrue, "I would've thought both sides would still be regrouping after Alaska."

"The aftermath of the battle did throw them into disarray," he replied, "but it was a much shorter reprieve than I had hoped for. The violence has already resumed… in the worst possible manner."

"What's happened?" asked La Flaga, grim anticipation in his voice.

"Yesterday," said Lord Uzumi, "the Atlantic Federation launched an assault on the ZAFT forces at Alaska."

Heero saw Murrue's eyes widen. "How is that possible? The Atlantic Federation's primary combat forces are far from Alaska; the only units available in the area would be the North American reserve divisions, and none of them have frontline combat experience. Even with overwhelming numbers they would only be able to drive ZAFT from their beachhead at exorbitant losses; they'd lose almost eighty percent of the army! That would cripple their homeland defenses."

"The High Command caught a lucky break," said Erica Simmons, speaking for the first time since the meeting began, "ZAFT withdrew ten of their Vosgulov-class submarine/carriers, along with sixty DINNs; that weakened their air defenses in the region enough to give the Alliance an opening."

"Where did the Vosgulovs go?" asked Kira.

"South," said Lord Uzumi, "though for the moment we do not know what their intended destination is."

"The Alliance made a classic pincer attack," said Kisaka, "the reserve divisions and fighter squadrons attacked from inland, while the Arctic Fleet hit them from behind. Once the DINNs were occupied Olympus bombers carpeted the area; the Alliance took significant losses due to friendly fire from the sheer weight of ordinance dropped, but ZAFT caught the bulk of the barrage."

"That's not all," said Erica, "according to our reports, the Alliance fielded a new mass-production mobile suit based on the Buster. They only had a few dozen at the battle, but they were enough to help the conventional ground forces take on ZAFT's surface mobile suits in coordination with the aerial bombardment."

"The bombers also hit ZAFT's naval forces," said Uzumi, "in cooperation with the Arctic Fleet. We believe that Admiral Sutherland himself planned and commanded the attack."

The wrath that had been smoldering in the depths of Heero's heart since the battle of Alaska heated up a notch at the mention of one of the four members of the High Command… one of the men that Heero had sworn to personally hunt down and kill. His eyes narrowed, and it took him a moment to force the seething fury down again. Glancing furtively around, he saw no sign that anyone had noticed his reaction to the name. The beast that had taken up residence in the dark pits of his soul was subdued for the moment… biding its time until it could break its bonds and tear into those that had earned its burning wrath.

"What was the outcome of the battle?" asked Murrue, trepidation in her voice.

"Utter carnage," said Erica, shaking her head with dismay, "ZAFT may have been taken by surprise, as well as outnumbered and outgunned, but they put up one hell of a fight. Alliance losses were staggering; over seventy percent KIA, and more than half of the survivors wounded or missing."

"What about ZAFT's losses?" asked Heero.

Uzumi sighed. "All but total; the only survivors were two destroyers and a Vosgulov that managed to break through the Arctic Fleet and withdraw, along with their crew and whatever wounded they were able to evacuate… which wasn't many."

"The Atlantic Federation killed every soldier they found," said Kisaka, disgust clear in his voice, "including those who had surrendered. The last stage of the battle was nothing less than a massacre."

"My god…" said Murrue softly, putting left hand to her mouth. Heero reached over and gently held her right hand with his left, giving it a small squeeze. He was surprised by how tightly Murrue returned the gesture; the news of the slaughter had greatly upset her, and Heero couldn't blame her.

Considering the amount of ZAFT forces that survived the first battle at Alaska, he thought grimly, her homeland just committed one of the greatest war crimes in history. I can't begin to imagine how she must be feeling. Murrue… I'm here; I won't let you face this alone.

The beautiful Captain wasn't the only one affected by the news; Heero saw the others react in their own way. La Flaga had a grimace on his face that was quite similar to Kisaka's, while Kira's eyes were widened in utter horror at the news. Cagalli's response was uncharacteristically subdued; Heero was surprised to see her head bowed and her eyes closed in what could only be prayer for the victims of the monstrosity committed by the Atlantic Federation. It was truly a sign of just how repulsive an act it was; it might not have been equal to the Bloody Valentine Tragedy, but it was definitely a close second.

"The shockwaves from the battle have already begun rippling across the Earth Sphere," said Uzumi, "ZAFT's propaganda machine has gone into overdrive, and Patrick Zala is fanning the flames of hatred to a fever pitch with cries for vengeance. The Atlantic Federation has put its own spin on the matter, but they aren't working very hard to deny the fact that they committed a massacre."

"The need to deceive the public is waning," Heero mused aloud, "Blue Cosmos has consolidated its hold on power. Now they're becoming more open as to their intentions."

"Correct," said Lord Uzumi, nodding at Heero, "once again your insights impress me, young man. Our agents report that the Executive branch is firmly under the control of Muruta Azrael and his cohorts. They've also corrupted much of the Judiciary and Legislature; they have taken the Atlantic Federation firmly by the reins, and have harnessed its massive resources for their campaign of genocide."

"This will not be the last such atrocity they commit," said Murrue, her eyes narrowing, "if they have their way it will be only the beginning of the horrors to come. They will drown the Earth Sphere in an ocean of blood."

"And ZAFT will be all too willing to return the favor," said Uzumi, "the first battle of Alaska had already stoked tensions, especially with the revelation of the true firepower Wing Zero wields; the second already has them howling for blood."

"They'll destroy the entire word if they continue like this," said Kira, his voice rising, "we can't let this continue!"

"Agreed," said La Flaga, "too many people have already died in this war; the body count will become astronomical now that both sides are escalating things again!"

"We have to find a way to stop them!" cried Cagalli, "We can't just sit on the sidelines any longer!"

"Everyone, please calm down," said Lord Uzumi, holding out his hands, "passion and outrage are understandable, but we must keep our wits about us. If we act rashly we may well destroy what slim hope remains for peace before the Alliance or ZAFT does."

"Yes," said Murrue, nodding, "there's nothing wrong with acting on our emotions, but we can't let them control us and compel us to act without thinking." She turned to Heero and smiled, giving his hand another squeeze as she did so.

He nodded and smiled slightly in return, pleasantly surprised to see that she had taken his own words to heart and adopting them for herself. Murrue… you're really something special, you know that?

It was little wonder that he had fallen in love with her.

"Wise words, Captain Ramius," said Lord Uzumi.

"Thank you," she replied, "but I cannot take credit for them; the one who gave them to me is Heero."

The Lion of Orb looked at the Gundam pilot and chuckled. "Is that so? You are full of surprises, young man."

Heero shrugged. "I wouldn't go that far. I'm just a soldier who's drifted from one battlefield to the next trying to survive; I've simply picked up a few bits of wisdom along the way."

"I'd say more than just a few," said Erica, "your skills and insights may be our key to survival in the days ahead."

"I couldn't agree more," said Murrue, once again smiling at him, "don't sell yourself short, Heero."

Heero nodded, smiling slightly at the woman he'd sworn to protect. "Alright, Murrue."

"That skill and insight allowed you to throw a severe wrench in the plans of both the Alliance and ZAFT," said Lord Uzumi, "but it has also garnered you their full attention. Destroying the Alaska base and the Cyclops demonstrated to both sides that the power you wield is far greater than anyone had ever thought possible for a mobile suit; it would not be a stretch to say that they view you as the ultimate wild card… one that must be neutralized post haste."

"About Alaska," said Heero, "how do you know about the Cyclops system planted beneath the base? We only learned of it because La Flaga stumbled across the countdown sequence for it in the base's control room and then warned us about it. Setting up their Eurasian allies to die is not something the Atlantic Federation would publicize. ZAFT might view it as a useful propaganda tool, but the only word they have of the system's presence at Alaska is Kira's open air broadcast, and as he had just hijacked one of their prototype mobile suits and was fighting against them he would not be viewed as a credible source."

"Not by ZAFT, certainly," said Lord Uzumi, "but our spies have managed to break into ZAFT communication logs before, and Kira's broadcast was easy enough to find; we consider his statement to be proof enough. Your destruction of the base merely reinforced his claim."

"And there is more," said Kisaka, "before the Atlantic Federation's counter-attack, ZAFT excavation teams apparently uncovered one of the base's auxiliary data storage server rooms, and were able to extract data regarding the Alliance's plan for the battle. We know this because Zala is indeed using it as a propaganda tool in order to paint all Naturals in the same barbaric light as the Atlantic Federation High Command."

"There's a problem with that though," said Heero, his eyes narrowing, "according to La Flaga, a Cyclops system takes a considerable amount of time to set up. Combine that with the fact that, aside from us, the majority of the Alaska base's defenders were composed of Eurasian forces and only one conclusion can be drawn; the High Command knew what the true target of Spitbreak was all along."

"That's right!" said Murrue, "And the only way they would know that would be through a leak in ZAFT!"

"A fact that Zala would not be eager to include in a propaganda statement," said Heero, "but I'm sure plenty of viewers would be able to read between the lines and discern the truth for themselves, especially among intelligence and military circles."

"Actually," said Uzumi, "Zala did name a traitor, though I doubt he was the true source of the leak; former Supreme Council Chairman Siegel Clyne."

"Using him as a scapegoat," said Heero, nodding, "makes sense, considering he and his daughter helped Kira hijack the Freedom. It paints them and their supporters as enemies of the PLANTs and gives Zala a pretense under which to begin purging his rivals."

"I know Waltfeld and Aisha were helping Lacus and her father get underground," said Kira, "I hope they're alright."

"Wait," said Cagalli, her eyes widening, "those two are alive? I thought you killed them in North Africa!"

Kira nodded. "So did I. It turns out they managed to survive, and are now working with the moderates in the PLANTs to undermine the new Chairman and find a way to keep the war from escalating further."

"A noble goal," said Lord Uzumi, smiling, "it would seem we are not as alone in our struggle as I'd first imagined. If we could find a way to contact them…"

"I doubt you'd be able to do so," said Heero, "by now the Coordinator homeland is in all likelihood under martial law; contacting an underground opposition movement in that environment would be extremely difficult, and you could wind up exposing them to the authorities by accident."

"Sir, Heero is right," said Erica, "reaching out to the Clyne family and their supporters right now could end up inadvertently endangering them; we must look to our own problems for the time being."

"Yes, I suppose you are correct, Miss Simmons," Lord Uzumi replied. He then turned to Heero and the others. "This is where I must ask for your help. I know that you have already fought many battles, and have struggled hard just to survive them all… but we need your aid in defending our country. As I said earlier, it is only a matter of time before the Alliance and ZAFT send messages demanding our allegiance. Orb will not join either side in this bloodbath… and they will consider our refusal to do so to be equivalent of a declaration of war. If our nation is to have a chance at surviving the inevitable onslaught, we need your help. I will not force you to do so; as I said before, we are allowing you to stay in our country without preconditions. However, as you are all now traitors to the Alliance and remain enemies of ZAFT, I doubt either party will leave you in peace once when they attack Orb."

Murrue nodded. "I understand, Lord Uzumi. I would be more than willing to lend you the aide of the Archangel when the time comes… but I will not force my crew to fight in this battle. I will ask for volunteers, and I wish that anyone who desires to leave the ship be allowed to do so and join your citizens as they evacuate."

"Of course, Captain Ramius," Uzumi replied, "if you will let me know how many chose to stay and leave when the time comes I can have the military send replacement personnel to man their stations."

"I appreciate it" said Murrue, "also, if it is not too much of an imposition, the Archangel did not leave Heliopolis with a full crew to begin with, and I would be grateful if you could send additional personnel to fill those vacancies."

"No problem," said Orb's leader, "I will leave that matter in Kisaka's hands."

"If Murrue's staying, then I'm staying," said Heero. He looked to his left and gave the brown haired beauty a small smile. "I swore to protect you, and to stay by your side no matter what; no way in hell I'm going back on that now."

Murrue smiled in return, her brown eyes gleaming with gratitude. "Thank you, Heero."

"I would like to thank you as well, young man," said Lord Uzumi, smiling, "I do not know the details of your past, but I can tell that you have been down a long, difficult road, one fraught with war and death. Orb will be forever in your debt, and we will not forget it."

"I'm staying too," Kira chimed in, "I believe that your country has chosen the right path, Lord Uzumi; I won't let the Alliance or ZAFT force you to join their cause."

"Guess I'm in as well," said La Flaga, smirking, "can't let you guys have all the fun, and it'd be a dick move for me to cut and run now."

"Thank you, all of you," said Cagalli, smiling.

"I will talk to the crew within the next few days," said Murrue, "I want to give them a little time to rest before I push such an important decision onto them."

"Of course, Captain," said Lord Uzumi, "please contact Kisaka once you know how many replacement personnel you need."

"On that note, sir," said Murrue, "one of the specialists the ship did not have when leaving Heliopolis was a counselor officer. Does Orb have anyone filling a similar role in its armed forces that can take that position?"

"I will put together a list of candidates," said Kisaka, "I'm sure we have someone that would be able to work in that capacity on board the Archangel."

Murrue nodded. "Thank you, Colonel Kisaka."

"I believe we've covered everything of major importance today," said Lord Uzumi, "however, I know Chief Engineer Simmons has something she would like to ask of you, or rather your pilots." He then turned to Erica and nodded.

Morgenroete's lovely top scientist returned the gesture before looking across the table. "Captain Ramius, if you do not mind I would like to bring Heero, Kira, and Lieutenant Commander La Flaga to one of our research and testing facilities tomorrow morning; there are some things I would like their expertise on."

Murrue nodded. "I understand, though I won't speak for them; it's their call."

"Of course, Captain," said Erica before turning to each of the pilots in question, "I cannot force any of you to come, naturally, but I would be very grateful if you did so."

"It's alright," said Kira, "I don't mind coming by again."

"I'll come along too," said La Flaga, "though I'm not sure what you need me for, considering I have no mobile suit flight experience."

"You are still a highly skilled pilot, Lieutenant Commander," Erica replied, "as for not having any mobile suit flight experience… we may be able to change that." A small smile appeared on her face at those last words.

La Flaga grinned, anticipation and excitement coming to the surface. "Is that so? Well, then I'll be looking forward to tomorrow."

Erica then turned to Heero. "What about you, Heero? The data and expertise you provided to us last time was invaluable to our work, and I would very much like your input on what we've managed to accomplish with it."

Heero nodded. "Sure, no problem. I was wondering when you'd get around to extending that invite."

Morgenroete's Chief Engineer laughed slightly. "As perceptive and intelligent as ever, I see. I look forward to working with you again, Heero."

"Likewise," the Gundam pilot replied, "I'm interested in seeing what you've done with the data I gave you."

"You will not be disappointed, I assure you," said Erica, "we may not be able to make something like Wing Zero, but our work is still top quality."

"I don't doubt that," said Heero.

"We appreciate your cooperation," said Lord Uzumi, standing up. As everyone else followed suit the Lion of Orb gave them a small formal bow. "With your help I believe we may yet survive the approaching storm."

"We'll do all we can to help you in that endeavor," said Murrue.

"Likewise," said Heero, "we will be ready when the time comes to fight."

Ready… and eager. Heero was now sure that, with the losses ZAFT had just suffered in the Second Battle of Alaska, it would be the Alliance that would eventually march on Orb; they would be the only force with the numbers and resources needed for such an invasion. The Perfect Soldier knew that such an important attack would be led personally by at least one of the members of the Atlantic Federation High Command… and they would pay the ultimate price for their betrayal of Murrue at Alaska.

However, Heero's feelings weren't entirely that of eager anticipation. He was keenly aware of the need to keep his desire for vengeance under control so that he wouldn't lose control of the Zero System, and did not want to risk going on a rampage… but the wrath that lay in the depths of his heart was stronger than any fury he had ever felt before, and even the Perfect Soldier had to wonder if he was strong enough to contain it and keep it from ruling his actions.

For the moment, he could keep the dark beast that lurked within him at bay, but when the battle started, when he would engage Atlantic Federation forces on the field… that was another matter, and one that troubled him considerably.

He looked to his left at the woman who had come to mean more to him than anyone else ever had in his life. Heero knew that the love he had for Murrue was at least in part responsible for the intensity of the wrath he felt towards her treacherous superiors. He didn't blame her for the new fight he was in to keep his emotions from ruling him, but he was aware that the affection he held for her was impacting the way he handled his feelings, and he was struggling to adapt to that. The passion that Murrue had awoken within him, the fierce desire to protect her from any danger the world threw at her, was unlike anything Heero had ever felt before, and he knew that he still didn't have it entirely under control. He needed to figure out a way to sort out what he felt, to make his newfound passion more manageable so that it wouldn't interfere with his control over the Zero System, and he had to do as soon as possible.

Of course, Heero didn't know whether or not he'd be able to do that before the Alliance attacked Orb.

All I know for certain is this, he thought as Murrue turned and smiled at him, I love Murrue, and I'll do whatever it takes to protect her. I may still not know exactly how to handle these feelings… but I'll find a way. For her sake, I have to.

"Heero," said Murrue, "everything alright?"

He nodded and gave her a small smile. "I'm ok, Murrue." He didn't want to worry her; Heero knew Murrue had enough concerns hanging over her head as it was, and he had no intention of adding to them.

For now, though, Heero knew her worries were somewhat alleviated simply by the fact that Lord Uzumi had so easily allowed them to stay in Orb. Of course, the threat of the inevitable Alliance invasion still loomed on the horizon, made all the more ominous by the fact that they knew the Archangel had been heading for Orb, but for the moment it was enough to know that they could take a small breather and relax without worrying about getting shot at.

The Lion of Orb began to head towards the door, but stopped short when a soldier burst into the room. "Lord Uzumi!" he said, "Colonel Kisaka! Urgent news from Intelligence, sirs!"

"What is it?" asked Uzumi, "Has the Alliance fleet already set sail for Orb?"

The soldier shook his head. "No sir. It's ZAFT; they've just launched an assault on Panama!"

Uzumi's eyes widened in dismay. "So soon? Spitbreak was less than a week ago, and they just lost their Alaska beachhead yesterday! Is this Zala's idea of retaliation?"

"No," said Kisaka, "this was probably planned before the Atlantic Federation attacked ZAFT's beachhead."

"Now we know where those ten Vosgulovs and their DINNs were heading," said Heero.

Lord Uzumi shook his head. "I should've seen this coming. There was activity a few days ago at Carpentaria; several warships left dock and headed east. We thought they were going to harass Alliance patrols though; there was no way the squadron that left the base would be enough to take Panama by itself."

"Even with the ships that left Alaska they would still be facing an uphill battle," said Kisaka, his eyes narrowed, "ZAFT is probably dropping additional MS from orbit in coordination with the naval and air attack."

"Damn it," said Cagalli, "after what happened at Alaska, ZAFT will be eager for payback. They may have launched before that attack, but I'm sure they've heard about what happened by now, and their commanders will want payback. All they'll be doing is furthering this cycle of hatred!"

"That's why we need to find a way to stop it," said Kira, "otherwise it'll eventually consume the entire Earth Sphere!"

Heero nodded. "Agreed, but for the moment there's little we can do. There's no point in us rushing off to Panama; the battle will be over long before we can get there. All we can do now is look to our own defenses and prepare for the next stage of the conflict."

"Heero's right," said Murrue, "we have to stay focused and make sure we're ready for when the Alliance and ZAFT turn their attention towards Orb. We can find a way to end the war after we've survived whatever the extremists on both sides decide to throw at us."

"Yeah," said La Flaga, looking out the window, "still… I think we all know what's going to happen at Panama. It doesn't feel right just sitting here while… well, you know what I mean."

Indeed, thought Heero, following the Lieutenant Commander's gaze out the window as the sun set on the horizon. The sky had turned a mix of orange and red, and would be considered beautiful under other circumstances… but the hue towards the bottom of the vista looked all too much like blood.

And considering how much had been spilled at Alaska, how it would inflame the hearts and minds of the ZAFT soldiers attacking Panama… it seemed like a harbinger of the slaughter to come.

Massacre repaid by massacre, he mused grimly, a vicious cycle indeed, and one that will continue to play out unless we find a way to end this war.

Of course, how to accomplish that was another matter entirely. There was no Treize Kushrenada or Zechs Marquise to orchestrate a grand endgame, nor a Relena Peacecraft to bring people together after the final campaign. Heero supposed that Lacus Clyne might be able to fill the latter's role at some point, but she would first have to survive Zala's assassins and security forces. As for a final confrontation, one that would end the war without destroying humanity in the process… that was a much more complicated issue.

One that is still a ways off in any case, he thought, and I can't afford to waste time worrying about it. Protecting Murrue and the Archangel is all that matters right now, and the Alliance and ZAFT will not make that easy.

Of course, he never expected they would in the first place.

….

Weaving through a volley of missiles coming up from the ground, Yzak took the Duel into a dive. Raising his beam rifle he quickly dispatched the two mobile launchers that had fired the warheads before gaining altitude to take a quick assessment of the situation and find new targets. The dark green flight platform responded perfectly to his commands, blue thruster fire jetting from its engines as he ascended, aided by the Duel's own propulsion.

The mechanics aboard the Vespucci had outdone themselves in their repairs of Yzak's unit; he had expected to be grounded for weeks, but replacement parts had been flown in and installed four days after the mauling he had taken at the hands of the strange and powerful new mobile suit that had so easily defeated him at Alaska. The silver haired young man was still puzzled as to why the pilot had let him live, but he wasn't going to complain. He was glad to be alive, and more so to be able to fly again… but this latest battle was dampening his mood considerably.

The assault had begun in the early evening after the Vespucci and its accompanying warships had rendezvoused with a task force out of Carpentaria. The squadron had been comprised of three Vosgulovs and ten surface destroyers. Even when combined with the group from Alaska it would've been extremely difficult if not impossible to attack the Alliance fortifications at Panama, but a GINN drop by orbital forces had helped matters considerably.

Still, the battle was not going as well as Yzak nor his superior, newly promoted Field Marshal Creuset, would've liked it to. It had been clear the instant the attack had begun that the Atlantic Federation had considerably reinforced the spaceport, both on the ground and at sea. The presence of an Alliance naval task force had meant that the DINNs and ZAFT ships had had to first take care of the enemy ships before supporting the mobile suits dropped from outer space. The forty-eight GINNs had thus spent the first few crucial minutes of the battle without air support as the DINNs and Yzak, along with Creuset in his DINN Mk. II, had focused on eliminating Alliance carrier planes and helping the Vosgulovs, destroyers, and the twelve underwater MS operating with the Carpentaria ships neutralize the Atlantic Federation navy. In that time the GINNs had been forced to confront attacks from both the ground and the air as land-based fighter squadrons commenced strafing runs while enemy land forces had fired at them from fortified positions in the hills and mountains around the spaceport.

The GINNs had taken losses, with a quarter of the drop force destroyed before ZAFT's air units had thinned out the Natural fighters enough to begin providing critical air support. Now ZAFT had the upper hand, but it was by a slim margin, and the battle had bogged down and dragged on for far longer than Yzak had thought it would. Night had fallen on the battlefield, and the young pilot could see flames dotting the sea as burning warships floated off the coast.

The Alliance naval forces, comprised of two Spengler-class carriers, two Angler-class escort carriers, eight cruisers and twenty-five destroyers, along with five submarines, had been completely eliminated. However, their destruction had come at a high cost to the ZAFT fleet; all the destroyers were either burning or already beneath the waves, and seven Vosgulovs had been sunk. The underwater MS, consisting of nine GOOhNs and three ZnOs, had survived the naval battle without losses, but had since been whittled down to six and one machines respectively after they had waded ashore to support the GINNs. The main ground forces had suffered additional losses as well, and there were now thirty GINNs left. ZAFT's air forces had taken casualties too, and fifty-four DINNs remained airborne out of the original seventy-eight.

However, the battle had turned in ZAFT's favor, with the GINNs beginning to advance closer towards the spaceport while isolating Alliance positions and taking them out piecemeal. Scores of tanks and artillery pieces had been reduced to flaming wrecks, and more were being destroyed with each passing second. There were still several squadrons worth of fighters in the air, but they were falling into increasing disarray, and unit cohesion was breaking down. Yzak noted that the pilots were more frantic and desperate by the minute, and it was becoming easier to score kills. Twisting and jinking to avoid missiles from a dozen planes, the young man let loose a volley of emerald beams from his rifle, taking down five of his attackers in as many seconds. A white and grey DINN Mk. II then swooped in and destroyed the other seven; Field Marshal Creuset's machine, and the only one of its type taking part in the battle.

The masked officer appeared on his monitor. "Yzak, drop altitude and provide support for fire team Foxtrot; they need help clearing the LZ for the Gungnir."

"Yes, sir," he replied. He began a descent towards the three-GINN team Creuset had designated; the green and grey machines were trading fire with a formation of tanks.

As he came into range he opened up with the rail-gun on the Duel's right shoulder. Three yellow slugs hit three targets, and they all exploded. He let loose a volley from the missile launchers on his left shoulder as well, and two more tanks were destroyed in the barrage. The reprieve from enemy fire allowed the three GINNs to take down the other seven tanks without difficulty before they turned their attention to the infantry that were peppering them with shoulder-fired missiles.

Yzak turned away, preferring not to watch what he knew would be a mess as the mobile suits shredded their attackers with their heavy machine guns. Thankfully a group of attack helicopters provided a welcome excuse to distance himself from the gruesome scene below, and he swiftly engaged the incoming enemies.

A new blip appeared on his radar at high altitude as he destroyed three choppers, and Yzak knew it was the drop pod that contained the Gungnir device. I sure hope that thing works, he thought, along with the electronic hardening gear the techs distributed to our units before the battle. Otherwise both sides units will be shut down, and this will turn into an ugly man-to-man fight on the ground.

It was then that several new contacts appeared on his sensors, both on the ground and in the air. Yzak's eyes widened in shock as images of them appeared on his monitors. "No way…" he muttered.

Concealed doors had opened up along several of the hillsides, and out of them were pouring dozens of mobile suits. They were all clearly based on the Strike frame wise, though their paint jobs were different; dark blue and grey base, along with red, white, and yellow shields mounted on their left arms. The mobile suits carried beam rifles in their left hands and yellow beam sabers in their right. The machines ran down the hillside and began engaging the GINNs in both mid and close-range combat.

That wasn't all; Yzak saw that several of the machines had red and black packs mounted on them, similar to one of the Strike's load outs. However, as their wings unfolded Yzak saw that their wingspans were wider, and that they had their own high-powered engines mounted on them in addition to the mobile suit's own thrusters. Thirty such machines took to the sky and began dogfighting the DINNs, and Yzak realized that their packs allowed for full sustained flight unlike the limited capabilities of the Strike's high-mobility load out. Supported by the remaining fighter squadrons, who had regrouped around the Alliance mobile suits, the new machines were enough to even the odds in the air battle.

The Alliance now has mass-production MS, thought Yzak as he dodged emerald beams from two machines, damn it, not good! Things became even worse as Yzak saw the machines on the ground systematically begin to eliminate GINNs by attacking from multiple directions with their rifles or closing in to impale them with their beam sabers. The GINNs metal swords were hopelessly inferior to the yellow energy blades, and the broad shields of mass-production Strikes were well suited to blocking their return fire from their heavy machine guns. Still, some of the new MS took hits, and Yzak noted that they did not appear to have Phase Shift Armor like the original Strike or the other Heliopolis units did.

They sacrifice armor protection for greater battery power, he thought as he managed to get a shot past one of his enemies shields, sending an emerald beam right through the unit's chest, still, the lack of Phase Shift Armor would make them much cheaper to produce, and the Alliance has the resources needed to build an army of them. The young man grimaced as the new reality set in; ZAFT had finally lost its greatest advantage.

The playing field was finally even.

"So you've got new mobile suits now," he growled, "you're still no match for me!"

Zigzagging low to the ground, Yzak took advantage of the mobility allowed by his flight platform to flank the enemy ground mobile suits before either shooting them or stabbing them with his beam rifle. The silver haired pilot decided to focus on supporting the GINNs while entrusting the skies above to Field Marshal Creuset and the remaining DINNs.

My orders are to keep this LZ clear, he thought as he dodged beam rifle fire from three machines, and that's just what I'll do!

The three GINNs of fire team Foxtrot were still in one piece, but the other ground units were taking losses as they struggled to adapt to their new foes. The kill ratios seemed to be even for the moment, with the ZAFT pilots' greater experience with mobile suit combat helping out considerably, but the Alliance's new machines were clearly superior in the technology department, and it was hard to say who had the advantage as the engagement became a series of running firefights between both sides' MS teams, each one slowly picking off the other's units whenever they got the chance.

Shit, he thought as he impaled one of the new mobile suits from behind before whirling around and shooting another through the chest with his rifle, this is going to become a battle of attrition, and that favors the Alliance!

Working with fire team Foxtrot to hold the perimeter they had established around the LZ, the ZAFT Red was able to keep the new mass produced Strikes from taking over their position. Checking his sensors he saw that the air battle, which had before been a sweep in ZAFT's favor, had bogged down as much as the ground fighting, with both sides slugging it out and taking losses. Though the DINNs were actually more agile than the new enemy machines, the fact that the Alliance units had beam weaponry gave them more firepower, and the addition of a beam saber gave their mobile suits a critical edge in close combat since ZAFT's mainline aerial MS had no such weapon to counter with; only the DINN Mk. II had a beam saber, and the only one at Panama was piloted by Creuset.

The masked Field Marshal was more than holding his own; he'd already downed three of the new mobile suits and another dozen fighters, and the way he maneuvered his machine made the enemy pilots look like bumbling amateurs. However, the rest of ZAFT's air units were having a much harder time of it, and several DINNs had already been destroyed. Though they still outnumbered the new enemy air mobile suits, their foes technological edge combined with the fighters supporting them meant that, like the ground engagement, the air battle would soon become one of attrition, and even if ZAFT won the price would be so high that the victory would be pyrrhic at best.

Yzak swore as he saw a group of six of the mass-production Strikes approaching his position. He fired a volley of emerald beams at them, but they were all blocked by the enemies' large shields. His three allies were likewise unable to get past their enemies defenses, while the Alliance units were able to fire from behind their shields, protected from most of their foes' shots. One of the GINNs exploded as a beam pierced its chest, and Yzak knew the other two wouldn't last long.

"Hold position," he ordered his comrades, "I'm going to take them from above!"

"Yes sir!" they both said.

Gaining altitude, Yzak cut loose with the last of the missiles in the Duel's Assault Shroud shoulder launchers. The warheads were all blocked as the Alliance units raised their shields, but this left them vulnerable to rifle fire from Foxtrot, and one of the machines took machine gun fire to its knees and fell to the ground. As the other five mobile suits attempted to adjust their position Yzak dove in, hitting them from the right flank. He destroyed one unit with his beam rifle before impaling another in the side with his violet energy blade. He then pulled back as the last two machines turned their guns on him, and he raised his shield to block their shots. Yzak was about to return fire when the two units were destroyed as another fire team of three GINNs hit them from behind.

The Field Marshal must have sent them to reinforce the LZ, he thought. The prideful pilot did not like to admit it, but he knew that Creuset had been right in sending him backup; more of the mass-production Strikes were already advancing on his position.

Checking his sensors, he saw that the pod containing the Gungnir device had deployed its parachute and was now less than a hundred meters from the ground. "Alright guys," he said, "we just have to hold here a little longer. One of you get ready to activate the Gungnir! The rest of us will hold the enemy back!"

One of the GINNs turned away from the fighting and moved towards the point where the dark green pod was projected to touch down. The other four reformed their perimeter and redoubled their outgoing fire, with Yzak providing close air support.

Damn it, he thought as he watched the device land while at the same time he fired his shoulder mounted rail gun at an enemy mobile suit, hurry up! The ground forces were slowly being worn down; there were now eighteen GINNs remaining in the fray out of the original forty-eight. The Alliance mobile suits had taken losses as well, but as soon as one fell another took its place, freshly deployed from one of the many hangars scattered around the battlefield, hidden in the hillsides. The enemy was clearly determined not to lose Panama, and it was obvious that the spaceport had been heavily reinforced prior to the attack.

Things were looking slightly better in the sky, if only due to Creuset's presence. The masked ace was on a tear, mauling the Alliance fighters and taking down another four of the new mobile suits as well. However, the DINNs had suffered additional losses, and there were now forty of ZAFT's airborne mobile suits left operational.

A welcome announcement came over the radio on the tactical channel. "Gungnir armed! Firing sequence initiated; t minus ten seconds to EMP burst!"

Finally, thought Yzak. The young man quickly ran one last check on his systems, double checking the mobile suit's hardening and countermeasures against the Gungnir. Everything was reading fully operational, and all he had to do now was evade enemy fire until the device activated.

It didn't take long. A bright flash of blue and white light illuminated the night, and Yzak had to maximize the tint on his visual scanners to avoid being blinded. A bright blue hemisphere radiated out from the Gungnir, rippling across the battlefield, small bolts of lightning arcing ahead of it as it swept over the spaceport and the surrounding area.

Yzak felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as the pulse went over the Duel, but to his relief none of the systems failed; the countermeasures installed by the techs had worked perfectly. I owe those guys a drink, he thought, well, I guess they'll have to wait until I'm old enough to buy alcohol in the first place.

The rest of the ZAFT forces were similarly unaffected, but the Alliance machines weren't so lucky. The armored vehicles and mobile suits on the ground ceased to fire or even move, and the remaining fighters and airborne MS fell from the sky. The former exploded as they hit the ground, while most of the latter simply crumpled on impact, their tougher hulls preventing out-and-out detonation.

Yzak sighed, knowing that the battle was over. They'll have to surrender now, he thought, their radios won't be working, so they'll have to fire white flares or run up a flag of truce to signal it… we've won.

Indeed, mere seconds later he saw several flares arc into the night sky, and in their light he saw Alliance soldiers exiting their vehicles and coming out of cover, their hands raised and weapons thrown to the ground. GINNs and DINNs alike advanced towards the defeated soldiers, and Yzak waited for orders from Field Marshal Creuset. In the meanwhile, he continued watching as more Alliance soldiers joined their comrades in surrender, grouping together and waiting for instruction from the victors. The young pilot wondered what they were thinking, if they were ashamed to have to admit defeat or simply relieved that they no longer had to fight anymore.

The war's over for them, he mused. Strangely, Yzak's feelings on the matter were mixed. The prideful pilot had tended towards a disdainful attitude towards Naturals in the past, but months on active duty had opened his mind a little more. Though he was proud of his service, Yzak was now also beginning to tire of the fighting. The loss of Nicole and Dearka had played a significant part in that, and he found himself wondering how many of the soldiers below had lost friends as well, either today or in some other battle in the war. They might've been Naturals… but they were soldiers like him as well.

Man, I feel strange, he mused, I never would've thought like this a few months ago. I guess war really does have a way of changing one's perspective on things. I wonder what mother would think of this…

Then the ZAFT mobile suits started shooting.

Yzak's eyes widened in horror as he saw his comrades begin to mercilessly gun down the men and women that had just thrown down their weapons. No! What the hell are they doing?

He immediately got on the tactical channel. "Cease fire at once!" he shouted, "They've surrendered! Cease fire!"

The voices that replied were full of a vicious hatred the likes of which he had never seen before. "My sister died at Alaska!" one said, "The Naturals killed her and the rest of our soldiers there even after they surrendered! This is for them!"

"Kill em all!" said another.

"Ha ha ha," another cackled, "not so tough now that your new toys don't work, are ya?"

Yzak gritted his teeth as he watched hundreds of unarmed people be shredded by the heavy machine guns of the GINNs and DINNs. "Enough!" he yelled, aiming his rifle at one of the units. He may not have had much love for Naturals… but this slaughter was going too far. He knew about the massacre that had taken place at Alaska, but that was no excuse for them to sink this low.

However, before he could fire, Yzak was shocked to see Field Marshal Creuset's machine interpose itself between him and his target. "Field Marshal!" Yzak cried, "We have to stop this!"

"No, Yzak," Creuset replied, his voice as calm as ever, "our soldiers were shocked and disgusted by the Alliance's actions at Alaska, and they have a great deal of pent up anger and hatred within them. This way they can vent it without harming our own forces."

"Sir!" cried Yzak, appalled at what his superior officer was saying, "We can't allow this! How can you say that? This is barbarism!"

"This is war, Yzak," the Field Marshal replied, "and by its nature, war is barbaric. Besides, the Chairman wishes for the blood spilt at Alaska to be avenged; we will not interfere with that desire."

"Creuset!" he yelled.

"Enough, Yzak," said the masked ace, his voice taking on a cold edge, "If you cannot stomach this, then you have leave to return to the Vespucci. However, you are forbidden to interfere with any friendly actions. If you do so you will be charged with treason and dealt with accordingly. Is that understood?"

Yzak nodded numbly. "Yes sir." What choice did he have? The Field Marshal had pretty much said that interference would result in him being shot down, and in all likelihood by Creuset himself. Yzak was confident in his own skills and the power of the Duel, but he knew he was no match for Creuset.

As he began his withdrawal the silver haired young man looked back one last time at the unfolding massacre. An unbidden image flashed through his mind; the unarmed shuttle he had shot down during the orbital battle.

At the time he had thought it was full of soldiers attempting to flee, but he had later learned, much to his horror, that it had been attempting to transport civilians to Orb. They had had nothing to do with the war, they had been trying to go home… and he had incinerated them just to get a shot at the Strike.

Yzak had not told anyone this, but ever since that revelation he'd begun having nightmares. Ghostly figures haunted his dreams, the innocent victims of his rash and selfish actions. They hadn't occurred every night, but they were intense enough that he could never forget them, and the ghosts came back usually once or twice a week.

Now, as he flew away from the slaughter, he knew that more ghosts would soon be haunting his sleep. The fact that he had refused to take part in the massacre itself meant nothing to him; he hadn't been able to stop it, and to him that made him as guilty as those who were doing the shooting.

What's happening to us? Is it just because of how long the war has dragged on, or is something more sinister at work? How… how has it come to this?

….

Rear-admiral Thompson looked on from the command post as the slaughter unfolded. His thoughts were not full of sympathy and sorrow for the soldiers under his command, but fury that they had surrendered after the EMP bomb had detonated. They should've fought to the death, he thought, this serves the cowards right!

He now had to tend to the final stage of the battle himself. The EMP burst may have knocked out all combat vehicles and mobile suits, along with many of the spaceports systems, but a few crucial ones were hardened against such an attack, and Thompson set about initiating the one he had hoped he wouldn't have to use.

I've failed to hold Panama, he thought grimly as he armed the self-destruct sequence for the command post and the mass driver, I'm a dead man no matter what happens, if not by the abominations' hands then by Azrael's agents. This way I can at least make my exit honorable, and deny ZAFT their prize.

He turned a key, which removed the security panel covering the detonation trigger for the explosives, and hit the button.

His world became fire and pain, and then nothing at all.

….

Looking on the massacre taking place below with approval, Field Marshal Creuset saw a series of explosions light up the spaceport. The command post and several important buildings went up in flames, and charges began to detonate along the length of the mass driver.

Exactly as planned, he thought, smiling, Azrael's information was once again correct; the self-destruct system was hardened against an electromagnetic pulse. Things are back on track now.

With the loss of the Panama mass driver, the Alliance was now cut off from space. All the other mass drivers on the planet were in the hands of ZAFT… except for one.

The Kaguya facility in Orb.

I know Azrael has already begun preparing an invasion force, he thought, now he will accelerate his plans for the attack. Orb's military is potent, but they won't be able to withstand the Atlantic Federation's overwhelming force. Not even the legged ship and Wing Zero will be able to save them. At least one wild card will be removed from the game, perhaps another as well if I'm lucky.

He began chuckling to himself, and it built up until he was cackling wildly. Grinning as he watched the mass driver collapse and the Alliance soldiers die in droves below him, he reveled in the carnage surrounding him.

"That's it, that's it!" he yelled, "Kill, burn, destroy… let your hatred build into a crescendo until it consumes the Earth Sphere itself!"

….

Sitting at her desk in the temporary quarters assigned to her on the moon base while she awaited the completion of the warship that was to be her new command, Lieutenant Commander Natarle Badgiruel leaned back in her chair and sighed. Over a week and a half had gone by since her transfer from the Archangel… and she'd had plenty to think about in that time.

There was, of course, the usual mix of nervousness and excitement that came with a promotion, though this was magnified by the prospect of commanding her own ship. A whole new list of responsibilities would soon be upon her, and Natarle could already feel the weight of them on her shoulders.

I haven't even officially taken charge of the ship yet, she thought, and I already feel like I'm carrying a mountain on my back. How on Earth did Captain Ramius command the Archangel like she did without buckling under the pressure? Natarle's respect for her commanding officer had gradually increased over the course of their voyage from Heliopolis, but know that she was about to be saddled with the same responsibilities that admiration had increased tenfold. Now she wanted to talk to her former Captain, to ask her just how she had dealt with the duties of command without losing her mind.

However, that was no longer possible, and not just because of her transfer to outer space. Natarle had been shocked when she had learned that the entire crew of the Archangel, save for herself, had been declared to be traitors. She had tried to get more information, but had been unable to learn much other than the official story; the ship had abandoned its post at the battle of Alaska, and Heero Yuy had gone rogue and destroyed the base to distract ZAFT while the ship made its escape.

That was the line being spouted by the Atlantic Federation and OMNI Enforcer, but Natarle was sure there was more to it. While Captain Ramius repeatedly bent or defied rules and regulations, Natarle knew that it was always for the sake of the people serving under her. More to the point, she wasn't a coward; she wouldn't just take her ship and leave the battle.

There was Heero to consider as well. Though Natarle had always been a little uneasy around him due to the fact that he was outside the chain of command, she knew that the young man was loyal to the Captain and the Archangel, and steadfast in his resolve to protect both; she had seen more than enough proof of that in the many battles they had fought since their first encounter with Wing Zero. Also, Natarle had a hard time believing Heero would destroy an entire allied base just as a distraction; there had to be more to it, just like Captain Ramius's decision to withdraw.

Finally, but certainly not least, there was Lieutenant Commander La Flaga. Natarle had been shocked to see his name added to the list of traitors as well; there had been no way he could've been involved since he had been due to ship out to California and would not have taken part in the battle. Yet the official reports stated that he had joined the Archangel in its desertion, and was now an enemy of the state. This can't be right, she had thought, Mu may not have the highest reverence for the rules, but he wouldn't betray his country. What's going on here?

She had been unable to get any satisfactory answers through official channels... but as of ten minutes ago, that no longer mattered. Natarle once again leaned forward and looked at the computer monitor on her desk, on which was displayed an email that she had just finished reading. It was from none other than Mu La Flaga, the man she had slowly but surely begun to fall in love with… and who was now officially stated to be an enemy of the Atlantic Federation.

Natarle,

I'm sure the Alliance has spies trying to read its soldiers emails by now, but you don't have to worry about that. I asked Heero for help in getting this to you securely, and he did some sort of encryption trick. Not sure how it works, but that's not important. What matters is that no one will be able to read this other than you. Don't worry, Heero didn't read what I wrote in here; the guy's actually pretty respective of other people's privacy. Personally I think he knew why I was writing to you, but that's to be expected really; you know how sharp he is.

By now I'm sure you've heard the worst about us; that we've betrayed the Alliance and ran from Alaska during the battle. I have no doubt that's the official line, anyway. As for the rumor mill, well, you know how stories wind their way through the military, getting distorted with each retelling. I'll understand if you view what I'm about to tell you with some skepticism, but I swear it's the truth. You need to know what really happened, Natarle... and I care about you too much to lie to you.

The entire battle was a setup. I'm not sure how, but apparently there's a leak in ZAFT, and whoever the double agent is managed to get word to the Atlantic Federation High Command that the true target of Operation Spitbreak was Alaska. In response, the High Command set up a Cyclops system within the base. It's a massive microwave emitter array, and its power is amplified to that of a nuke due to the effects of ZAFT's N-jammers. Anyway, the top brass were planning to detonate it and wipe out the entire ZAFT armada… along with the base's defenders.

They stacked the deck; the Archangel was the only Atlantic Federation ship taking part in the fight, while the rest belonged to the Eurasians. I think Captain Ramius's conduct, along with Heero's refusal to share Wing Zero's technology with the Alliance, made the High Command view them as expendable. At any rate, they were more than happy to use the Archangel and Wing Zero, along with the Eurasian fleet, as bait for ZAFT.

I thought something was up, so rather than board my transport I headed to the control room. That's how I found out about the Cyclops system. I was able to get out of the base and return to the Archangel, and I warned them about the trap. The Captain decided she wasn't going to let the top brass sacrifice us just so they could inflict mass casualties on ZAFT, so she ordered a breakout attempt. It was rough going, and for a moment I thought we were done for, but Kira of all people showed up to help us out. Apparently he'd actually survived the battle in the Marshal Islands, and someone took him to the PLANTs for treatment. Anyway, I guess some people who disagreed with the government's current policies helped him hijack an advanced prototype mobile suit, and he brought it to Alaska to help us. He showed up at the perfect time; ZAFT's force was massive, and Heero and I really had our work cut out for us. Kira managed to take some of the heat off us, and his new machine was capable of covering the Archangel while Heero went to destroy the Cyclops system.

I know it's hard to believe that one mobile suit has enough firepower to destroy a base with the kind of fortifications that Alaska has… hell, I had a hard time wrapping my head around it as well. But Wing Zero really is one incredible machine; its rifle destroyed the entire base in two shots, taking out the Cyclops system along with it. You don't need to worry about our own personnel; the base was empty when I was heading towards the control room, and I'm sure that last transport submarine left well before Heero attacked. Anyway, the fact is that Heero destroyed the base and saved our lives; we were moving too slow to get out before the Cyclops system would've detonated. We only survived thanks to Wing Zero's raw power… a power I'm sure the top brass want now more than ever.

Natarle, our superiors set the Captain and her crew up to die at Alaska. I can't serve under them anymore, and the others feel the same way. That's why we left the Atlantic Federation armed forces; we won't let ourselves be used as tools of a regime that wants to commit massacres. And we sure as hell won't just sit back and let them try to kill us.

We're in Orb now; they've granted us sanctuary and political asylum, free of charge. Of course, I know this means the Alliance will come after them now; with the Archangel, Wing Zero, and Kira's new mobile suit they'll view us as a wild card and a major threat, not to mention they want Orb's resources anyways and will use us as justification to invade. The Captain, Heero, and Kira want to help them defend their country, and I'm going to pitch in too; these people deserve to live free of foreign rule, and shouldn't be forced to take sides in this war. I'll understand if this is hard to accept to you; after all, they'll soon be fighting against the Atlantic Federation, your country… sorry, but I can no longer call it mine. I think helping them is the right thing to do, so if it comes down to it I'll stand against the Alliance.

Natarle, I know you believe in following orders and regulations regardless of personal feelings. Most of the time that serves you well; your discipline keeps you calm under fire, and you're a model soldier. Sure, it makes you a little stiff sometimes, but I actually like that side of you; when you were on the Archangel it helped keep me sharp, kept me from getting too relaxed. But if you keep following orders without question you could find yourself being commanded to do something horrible… like that slaughter at Alaska yesterday. Yeah, I've heard about that battle, and while I'm sure you weren't part of it I'm afraid you could be forced into a similar situation eventually.

You're a good person Natarle. You're strong, intelligent, responsible, and you have a soft side as well. Not many people on the Archangel saw it, but in the time we spent together I saw it come out. At heart you're a kind and gentle woman, and I know you would never order such a slaughter like the one at Alaska to take place. However, the Atlantic Federation High Command has proven itself capable of issuing just such orders, and if you continue to follow their commands without question then you could wind up partaking in something monstrous. Natarle, I don't want you to get caught up in something like that, and I know you don't want to face such a situation either.

There comes a time when we have to start questioning what we've been taught, what others would have us believe. Natarle, the others and I left the Alliance because we finally realized something; what our leaders believe in is an ideology of hatred and genocide, and they won't be satisfied until everyone they perceive as an enemy is dead. They won't limit themselves to just members of ZAFT; every Coordinator man, woman, and child is a target in their eyes. I've heard there's a faction within the PLANTs and ZAFT that feels the same way towards Naturals, and that they're the ruling elite now. However, I don't believe that their feelings towards Naturals are those shared by the majority of the Coordinators; most of them want to live in peace, just like the majority of us Naturals. They're normal people, just like us; the only difference is genes.

Too bad that's the one thing the leaders of both sides seem to be so hung up on.

Natarle, please, think about what you're doing, what you're fighting for. I don't believe you wish for the deaths of everyone who isn't a Natural, but your superiors desire exactly that. If you stay with the Alliance then you'll just be making yourself a tool in their campaign of genocide. I don't want to see you become an accessory to mass murder. I don't want the woman I've come to know and care about lose her humanity in this war.

Natarle, it may sound strange for me to say this, but the months we spent together aboard the Archangel were the best time of my life. Sure, we were in near constant danger, never knowing when the enemy would hit us next… but I shared that danger with you, and that made it special. Becoming friends with you was the best thing that ever happened to me, of that I have no doubt. Getting to know you was an incredible experience… and it was only towards the end, when you received the order to leave us… that I realized I wanted more. Natarle…

…I think I'm in love with you.

I know, it's not exactly romantic to confess one's feelings over email, but it's all I've got to work with right now. God, I was such a fool; I probably started falling for you back during our time in North Africa, but I didn't even notice. Our outing together in Orb… no, our date in Orb, because I know it was exactly that, was incredible. That, along with the times we just spent sitting together in the officers' lounge talking, or sharing meals in the mess hall… moments like those, when it was just us, were what made our journey bearable. No, more than bearable, enjoyable. Again, strange to say, I know, but every minute I spent with you made all the battles and narrow escapes more than worth it. If I'd known going in that I'd have to put up with all that just to get to know you, I wouldn't have changed anything, would've jumped headlong into the fireworks.

I can't begin to describe how much it hurts to not have you around anymore. I keep expecting to hear your voice over the comm, or to run into you in the hall… I miss you, Natarle. I never thought I'd feel this way about a woman; all my previous relationships have really been little more than flings. But you… well, you're something special. Your bravery, your intelligence, your beauty… hell, even your stiffness… you're an incredible woman, Natarle.

I don't know what the future holds, and what scares me more than anything is the possibility that we might end up fighting against each other. The last thing I want to do is to engage a ship commanded by you on the battlefield. Hopefully it won't come to that.

Natarle, I don't know when we'll meet in person again. When we do, though… I think we should talk, find out where we go from here. I don't know if you'll be able to reply to this message; Heero's encryption trick only works from the sender's end, and I have no idea if you're skilled enough with computers to pull a similar stunt. If you don't think you can reply without the chance of someone else reading your message, then don't; I don't want you to risk your life just to reply to me.

Until the next time we meet, stay safe, wherever you are now. Please, think about what you're fighting for, and don't let yourself be ordered to commit an atrocity. Don't let this war destroy the woman I've come to love.

Be careful, and think about what I said.

Love,

Mu La Flaga

Natarle could've cried, though from happiness or despair she did not know. On the one hand, the message was proof that the man she had fallen in love with did return her feelings, more than even that brief kiss as she'd left the Archangel had been. The affections that had so shaken her world, that had created a storm of conflicting emotions within her, were shared by the one whom they were for. Were La Flaga in the room with her at that moment she would've tackled him to the floor and kissed him without a second's hesitation.

On the other hand, the message was confirmation of her worst fears; the man she loved was now an enemy of her country. Granted, the circumstances were much different than what had been reported through official channels, and Natarle did not doubt La Flaga's story… but that did not change the fact that he was now regarded as hostile.

She was confronted by a dilemma she had never expected to face; a choice between duty to her country, to the military, or the man she loved. Natarle had never felt so torn, so conflicted, in her life. She had always followed the rules, first by trying to be a good daughter, then a perfect student, an exceptional trainee, and now a model officer. Her adherence to the regulations along with tried and true military tactics had won her praise and promotion, eventually leading to her being assigned to the Archangel and G-weapon project. Following orders from above and maintaining discipline were to her the foundations for what it meant to be a good soldier.

But to do so now meant denying what she felt in her heart to be true; that to bring herself to fight the man she loved would crush her very soul, inflict an agony upon her that no physical wound could ever come close to matching. Just as important was the haunting prospect of being ordered to take part in a massacre such as what had occurred at Alaska; when she'd made inquiries, senior officers had made little effort to hide what had happened to the ZAFT soldiers that had surrendered, and she'd been horrified at her side's actions.

Natarle held no personal animosity towards Coordinators. It was true that she had some distrust towards them, but that was only because ZAFT was comprised exclusively of them; it was their military, after all. That suspicion had played itself out in her initial reactions to Captain Ramius's decision to let Kira pilot the Strike, but over time it had lessened as she'd witnessed the boy's courage and willingness to put himself in danger to protect his friends. He was as human as the rest of them, and that was Natarle's opinion of Coordinators in general. Were they not at war, she could easily imagine herself having met and made friends with at least a few of them by now.

She did not hate them, and believed that as enemy combatants they should be afforded the same respect and rights as any foe under the conventions of war. Natarle regarded what had taken place in the Second Battle of Alaska as a clear-cut war crime, and was appalled not only at the fact that it had happened at all, but also that nothing was being done to arrest and bring to trial those who had ordered the massacre.

And she had the sinking feeling that that was because the orders had come from the highest levels of the government and the armed forces.

What La Flaga had said about the First Battle of Alaska was all she needed to know that the Alliance top brass were more than capable of ordering such a slaughter… but that did not change the fact that they were her lawful superiors. To defy them was treason, and as the child of a military family to Natarle the very word was equated with the lowest and most vulgar profanity. She had been raised to despise and loath traitors…

… but she could not bring herself to do that for Captain Ramius and the crew of the Archangel, and especially not Mu La Flaga.

Natarle looked down at her desktop, a feeling of utter hopelessness falling over her. Either I abandon my duties, refuse to serve my country… or I may have to fight against the man I love, or take part in a war crime. What do I do? Do I follow orders… or my heart?

She would've given nearly anything for answers… and everything for a chance to see Mu again.

For now, there was little she could do but wait; she was on standby at the lunar base until her new command was ready for launch, and she had received no word yet as to when that would be. Natarle could only sit back, watch the days go by… and pray for an answer to her questions, along with the safety for the people that were now officially her enemies.

"Mu," she said softly to herself, struggling to hold back tears, "please, be safe. I love you… I just don't know what to do. I'm sorry…"

….

(Start "Ephemeral Dream")

Winding his way through the bushes, Eric finally emerged in the clearing that Shemei had asked to meet at. It was a secluded area in the capital's main park, one that in the past had been a favorite hangout spot for the two of them and Waltfeld and Aisha; it was a place that, when they were younger, they had gone to from time to time to kick back, pop open a few beers, and relax without a care in the world. It was also removed from any surveillance, one of the main reasons he knew she had chosen this place.

Shemei was already there, of course; she had been the one who had arranged the meeting, and Eric had expected her to be there first. She wasn't just standing by idly, though; the Valkyrie was in midst of a practice routine with her saber, her blade moving almost too fast for the Field Marshal to follow.

Eric knew that his dearest friend loved fencing and sword fighting, and had seen her practice and spar a few times. It was always an incredible thing to watch; she was leagues beyond any of her peers, and her moves were swift and graceful.

Her performance now was no exception as far as skill went, yet it was different from what he had witnessed before. Dressed in a white button up t-shirt and a black skirt, her long purple-black hair tied up in a pony tail, she was bathed in moonlight filtered through the colony's massive windows, and it gave her blade an elegant gleam, scintillated in the drops of sweat on her brow. Shemei's attacks, blocks, and parries all flowed together seamlessly, an elegant sword dance the likes of which Eric had never seen before. It was beautiful…

…she was beautiful.

Her eyes were closed, yet Eric was sure that she was aware of his presence. She continued her exercise under his gaze, weaving circles and figure eights through the air with her saber. She would balance on the tips of her toes or on the back of her heels, on the edge of losing her footing yet at the same time completely in control, as if she were a performer walking a tightrope. There was not an instant of hesitation or second guessing as she transitioned from one sequence to the next; her moves were guided by pure instinct, yet at the same time there was method to them, and not a single strike or parry was out of place or mistimed. Shemei had a perfect balance of speed, power, and grace in her blade work, and while Eric was nowhere near the expert she was in the art, he knew that this was her best swordplay yet.

It was incredible, awe inspiring… but the sword dance also had a tragic feel to it. Eric felt as if Shemei was abandoning herself to her swordplay in an attempt to exorcise inner demons, trying to find some way to relieve a sense of sorrow that had fallen upon her. When she had called Eric she had not mentioned specifically why she'd wanted to meet, but the 'Wolf of the Far East' had a feeling he already knew the reason. He would, of course, let her tell him what had happened, but if the news he had received earlier that day from his allies in the Secret Service was correct, then Eric was sure he already knew what she was about to tell him.

His heart went out to her, unable to imagine the burden she was struggling under now, wanting to do something, anything, to help her. The affection that had been growing within him over the past months now felt stronger than ever, and he knew that the only thing that it could be now was love. He had fallen for his dearest friend, and he would deny it no more.

He continued to watch as Shemei continued her practice routine. Her pace built, her already swift movements becoming even faster, more precise. Yet there was also a sense of frantic energy to them, as if she was accelerating her performance to a crescendo, hoping against hope to purge the doubts that assaulted her heart and mind through physical action.

Her performance became more acrobatic as she leapt into the air, performing a series of wide slashes as she curled into a back flip. Shemei came back down to the ground and landed with the catlike grace Eric had come to expect from her, an instantly moved into one final, ferocious series of cuts and thrust, releasing the last of her pent up energy. Eventually she began to wind down, going into one last sequence of parries before finishing up with a final stab at where her foe's heart would've been.

Shemei then sheathed her saber before turning to Eric. She smiled slightly, but there was little joy behind it; her gleaming silver eyes were full of pain. She reached up with her left hand undo the hair tie, letting her purple-black hair fall freely. Her light brown skin glistened with drops of sweat, but to Eric they did nothing to detract from her beauty.

"Eric," she said softly, "I'm… I'm glad you came."

"Shemei," he replied, walking up to her, "of course I came. I will always come when you call, you know that."

She nodded. "Yes… you always do. You've always been so dependable… I don't know what I'd do without you… especially now."

Eric put his hand on her shoulder. "Shemei, why did you call? What's happened?"

Her smile faded. "I would've thought you'd already know, Eric."

"I think I have an idea," he said, "I've heard a few things. Still, I want to hear it from you."

Shemei nodded. "Of course." She looked down for a moment, and when she turned to face him again he saw her struggling to hold back tears. "Eric… Zala's had my parents arrested."

There it was; confirmation of what he had learned just hours ago. Foreknowledge, though, did not make hearing Shemei say it any easier, especially not when she looked so despondent. Her beautiful silver eyes, normally burning with life and energy, were now windows into a soul in agony. She was a warrior confronted with a foe she did not know how to fight, a maiden of the battlefields who could not face down her enemy without forfeiting the lives of her mother and father.

"Shemei…" he said softly, struggling to figure out what else he could say. Even though he had learned of the arrests before she had called, that had not made it any easier to prepare for meeting her face to face when she broke the news herself. All he could do was keep his hand on her shoulder as she spoke again.

"Zala didn't name charges," she said, "he just called me to HQ and informed me that they had been taken to Charon Prison, to be held indefinitely." Her voice took on a low growl as she continued. "Bastard was smirking the whole time… I wanted to take my knife and jam it right in his neck."

"I can't blame you for that," Eric replied, "Shemei… I'm so sorry. I'd heard about it just before you called. I… I was still trying to figure out how to tell you when you contacted me."

She nodded, and gave him a sad smile. "I figured as much, Eric. I don't blame you at all… Christ, you've done so much for us, for me; you've put yourself in grave danger… I know you've been doing all you can to figure out Zala's next move, to find a way to stop him… you offered me a way to get my parents into hiding, but my father wouldn't hear of it. Now he and mom are locked up, at Zala's mercy… but it wasn't your fault."

"Still," he said, looking down, "I should've done… something."

Shemei shook her head. "No, there was nothing you could've done about this."

They were quiet for a moment before Eric spoke again. "Did Zala say anything else?"

"Yeah," said Shemei, "he's giving me a new unit soon, one of the prototypes you've been trying to dig up info on; the ZGMF-X14A Judgment." She grimaced. "Zala may not trust me, but he still needs my piloting skills. With the threat to my parents' lives hanging over my head, he knows I can't use the new mobile suit against him, no matter how strong it is."

"Have you been given access to it yet?" he asked, "Or an assignment?"

"Not yet for either," she replied, "but it will be within a few weeks, I think. I have a feeling I know what my first target will be."

"What is it?" said Eric.

"The Chairman may be arrogant enough to think Athrun has a chance against Heero and Kira," she said, "but he's not a complete fool; he'll have a contingency plan in the works. If Athrun fails… when he fails, Zala will send me against them."

"What about the girls?" asked Eric.

"He didn't mention them," said Shemei, "I've been the only one on the Valkyrie Team to earn his personal animosity so far, and I don't think he's taken them into consideration yet. Besides, you already got their parents underground, so he's lost that leverage against them."

"He could still find a way to come after them," said Eric.

Shemei nodded. "I know… Eric, I want you to get them underground with Lacus; they can help Waltfeld and Aisha protect her."

"I'll do it," he replied, "but you know they won't want to go into hiding without you."

"I'll talk to them," she said, "I may not have been able to convince my parents to take your offer, but I can get the girls to accept."

"It still won't be easy on them," said Eric, "I know they'll be able to adapt to life on the run, but the guilt about leaving you behind is another matter; it'll stick with them."

"I know," said Shemei, "but they're strong; they'll survive it. Adaline will look after the other two; she has a knack for leadership." She smiled slightly. "I always thought she'd make a good commander. She'll lead them well in my absence."

"When are you going to tell them?" he asked.

"Tomorrow morning," she replied, "can you start making arrangements for them?"

"No problem," said Eric, nodding, "though I won't have to do much other than call Waltfeld; he'll take care of the rest."

"Still," said Shemei, a weak smile on her face, "thanks, Eric. Knowing the girls will be safe… that means a lot to me."

"I know how much you care about them," said Eric, putting both hands on her shoulders, "Shemei, I swear I won't let Zala hurt them."

"Eric…" she said. She looked down for a moment, and when she turned back to face him he saw that her silver eyes were struggling to hold back tears, "I know you won't… I believe in you."

A strange quiet fell between them. There she was, his dearest friend for the past six years, a woman in his eyes of unmatched valor, wit, and beauty. She was a fearsome soldier, a pilot that was practically a living legend, a daring and cunning Commander. She was a woman with a playful, mischievous spark to her, a lady who desired above all else to live, laugh, and love with the people she cared about.

Shemei Rehema was all of these things, and yet, at this moment, she was none of them. Now she was a frightened girl, whose parents had been taken hostage by someone who had already expressed vile hatred against their kind, who would kill them without hesitation or remorse. She was lost and alone, turning to the one person she felt that she could trust absolutely, who had always stood by her side even when they were thousands of miles apart.

To all others she was ZAFT's Valkyrie, but to Field Marshal Eric Bristow she was the woman he had fallen in love with… and she needed his help. She needed someone to give her comfort, solace… some form of shelter and protection against the dark night that had fallen over her life.

The 'Wolf of the Far East', a cunning strategist and tactician, a leader who always had a plan and was quick to adapt to the ebb and flow of both warfare and politics, found himself in a situation where he did not have a conscious idea about what to do. His mind had no answer to how to help the woman he loved… but his instincts did.

Slowly at first, practically unconsciously, he pulled her closer to him. Shemei's silver eyes widened slightly in surprise, but then they closed, and she leaned in to meet him halfway as Eric's lips met hers.

The kiss was soft at first, tentative, both of them excited and nervous that the other might break it off at any second. After that first moment though the realization hit; they finally knew how the other felt about them. Eric put his hand behind Shemei's head and pulled her in, the fires of passion finally coming to the surface.

Shemei's response was swift and fierce. Fueled by a combination of despair at her situation and desperation for hope, she wrapped her arms around Eric's neck and pulled him to her as the kiss deepened. Their mouths opened slightly, tongues meeting as they explored where they had been longing to go, finally granted permission to do so.

The two of them stayed that way for as long as they could, until finally the need for air forced their lips to part. They did not let go of each other though, and after brief gasp for oxygen they plunged back in for more, this time without any hesitation. Eric felt as though his body was on fire, the fierce passion burning inside him, and his response to it was to hold Shemei tighter than he'd previously thought possible, pressing his lips to hers so hard that it was almost painful.

Eventually their lips parted again, though they still held each other close. As his eyes opened Eric saw Shemei's do the same, a fire unlike any he had ever seen before gleaming in her sliver gems. There was still pain there as well, sorrow at the situation of her parents… but there was also life, passion… love.

Neither of them spoke for a minute or two, both coming to grips with what they had just done. Eric felt himself smiling; he was almost giddy with the heat that burned within him. He'd thought she'd felt something, was almost sure of it… and now he had proof. He felt a little selfish, thinking that while Shemei's parents were essentially held hostage by Zala, but he couldn't help himself.

He saw that Shemei was smiling again, and while the pain did not completely leave her face, there was also affection and adoration in her expression.

She was the one that broke the silence. "Eric… how long have you…?"

"Felt this way about you?" he finished for her.

She nodded.

"I first realized I felt something… more…" he answered, "when you came back to the capital, after North Africa. It still took a little time to realize exactly what it was. At first I thought it was just relief that you had made it back alive, and that I was simply happy to see you again. But really, now that I think about it… I probably fell for you a long time ago. I was just unable to see it. Maybe I was worried about what would happen to us if I made a move… I don't know."

She leaned forward and kissed him again, a brief one compared to their previous lip locking. Pulling back, she smiled again. "I understand. Believe it or not… I think it was the same for me. At first I thought I was just happy to see you again, and that you'd gotten out of Asia unscathed, but… as time went on, as you started risking your neck to help us… to help me… I became terrified that something would happen to you. I didn't want to lose you… and I finally realized just what my feelings for you actually were. They were so far beyond the friendship we developed over the years, but I didn't realize it until a few weeks ago. Eric… I love you."

This time it was Eric that leaned in for the kiss, though again it was brief. Like Shemei had before, he smiled as he pulled away, though he still held her in his arms. "I love you too, Shemei."

They stared at each other for a moment, content to stay in each other's arms, not wanting to part. Both of them were smiling, despite the shadows that hung over them. Here, in the quiet, secluded clearing in the park, with the moonlight shining down on them through the colony's windows… it was just the two of them, and nothing else.

Still, they both knew it couldn't last forever, despite how badly they wanted it to be otherwise. They had to return to reality, to the new challenges before them… ones that Eric would face undaunted, determined to do what he could to help his people and the woman he loved.

"Shemei," he said, "I don't know what I can do now, but I promise I will find a way to save your parents. It probably won't be any time soon, but I'll find out exactly where in Charon Prison they're being held. I find out what the security measures are, who's guarding him, what their shift schedules are, when they're vulnerable… I won't let Zala use them against you like this."

"I appreciate that," she replied, "but… please, don't do anything risky. You're already putting yourself in danger by helping Lacus and her supporters covertly; focus on them for now. If we can help them remove Zala from power, then my parents will be freed."

"I'll still try to find a way to get them out," said Eric, "I'll let Waltfeld know what's happened too. Between the two of us we should be able to work something out eventually."

Shemei nodded, clearly knowing that she wouldn't be able to dissuade him. "Alright, Eric… and thank you."

They were quiet for a moment before she spoke again. "We should get going… tomorrow's going to be a busy day."

Eric nodded, and the two of them made their way towards the edge of the clearing. Slowly working their way through the bushed in order to avoid being seen by any potential spies, they eventually came to the more public area of the park.

"Shemei," said Eric, grabbing her hand. As she turned to him, he pulled her close. "Listen… I… I don't think you should be alone tonight."

Her eyes widened in surprise, and for a moment Eric thought he had gone too far. However, a familiar mischievous glint came to them a second later, and she smiled again. It was a relief to see that look in her eyes, especially considering the pain he knew she was still hiding behind them.

"I think you're right," she said, taking her free hand and caressing his cheek with it, "I could use the companionship. So… your place or mine?"

Eric chuckled, heat rushing to his face as images of what would be happening in the very near future flashed through his mind. "I was thinking mine; less chance of Zala operatives hanging around there. Plus… well, my bed's bigger than yours."

"Indeed," she said, smirking, "I guess I'll ride with you over there then; you can drop me off here so I can pick my car up tomorrow morning." She looped her arm through his and leaned against him. "Lead on, Wolf."

He nodded, smirking as well. "As you wish, Valkyrie."

(End "Ephemeral Dream")

….

Murrue smiled and nodded as she saw Erica Simmons heading their way. It was early morning, and the beautiful Captain was standing on the dock beside the Archangel with Heero, Kira, and La Flaga. The whole scene reminded her of what had happened the first time they had entered the country nearly two months ago, only now one more person was joining her two mobile suit pilots in their trip to Morgenroete's testing facility.

Murrue was surprised to see that Cagalli was with the lovely engineer as well, wearing the Orb uniform she'd had on yesterday. She probably wants to see Kira again, she thought, I know those two talked quite a bit while she was on the ship with us, along with during our last stay in Orb.

She then turned over to Heero, who was nodding in greeting at Erica and Cagalli as they approached. Her guardian angel then looked over at her. "What is it, Murrue?"

"Oh, nothing important," she replied, "I was just thinking how much this reminds me of the last time we were here."

Heero nodded. "Yeah, I know what you mean… only the stakes are higher now, I think."

"You're right, Heero," said Murrue, "Orb will need all the help we can give them to prepare for an invasion by either the Alliance or ZAFT. I hope that they put the data you and Kira gave them to good use."

"I'm sure they did," the Gundam pilot replied, "still, if they need my expertise, I'll give them everything I've got… minus Wing Zero's data, of course."

Murrue smiled. "Of course, Heero. I can't say I blame you for that."

"Neither can I," said Erica as she came up to them, "especially considering the power it wields. I don't think it's a stretch to say that Wing Zero is the ultimate weapon in this war." Morgenroete's Chief Engineer smiled and looked over at Heero. "I'm glad Heero's the one piloting it; he's more than proven that he's capable of handling such power responsibly."

Murrue nodded and looked at Heero again. "I couldn't agree more."

The young man gave her a slight smile. "Thanks, Murrue."

"You're welcome, Heero," she replied, still smiling.

"Well," said Cagalli, smiling at the three pilots, "you guys ready to go?"

Kira nodded. "Sure… but what are you doing here, Cagalli?"

"Hey," she said, "I wanted to come with you guys today. I like hanging out with you all. You're definitely better company than my handmaidens, that's for sure."

La Flaga smirked. "So the princess doesn't like the royal lifestyle, does she?"

Cagalli folded her arms. "Took you that long to figure that out, La Flaga? For an officer you're not that sharp."

"Hey, ease up there, little lady," he replied, "I'm not the one who flew off on their own and got shot down by a transport plane."

"That was months ago," said Cagalli, "it hardly matters now."

"No," said La Flaga, chuckling again, "but I'm still gonna rub you on it."

Murrue was expecting a fiery outburst from Cagalli, but to her surprise the blond tomboy just sighed. "Alright, fine," she said, "I guess I kinda brought that on myself anyway."

"Now that we've got that out of the way," said Erica, "shall we get going?"

"Sure, why not?" said La Flaga.

"Alright," said Kira.

Heero nodded. "Before we do," he said, "there's something I'd like to ask."

"What is it?" said Erica.

"Do you have any news regarding Panama?" the Gundam pilot asked, "Other than what the messenger said to Lord Uzumi at the meeting yesterday, we don't have any idea what happened in the battle."

"We're cut off from Alliance tactical and strategic broadcasts now," said Murrue, "so we have no way to get news with the Archangel's communication's suite; the Alliance has changed their encryption codes, and anything that we can get through N-jammer interference we can no longer decipher."

Erica nodded. "I see. We just received word from our intelligence service late last night; Panama has fallen. Reports are still coming in, but apparently ZAFT took heavy losses in the attack on the spaceport… and they repaid the massacre at Alaska with one of their own."

Murrue shuddered, unable to guess how many had died in the bloodbath that was implied in that statement. She felt Heero's hand gently grab her own, and was able to take some small comfort in the gesture. Murrue nodded her thanks at the young man, which he returned.

"Do you have anything else?" the Perfect Soldier asked Erica.

She nodded again. "A few things, and they don't bode well for Orb. The first is that the mass driver was destroyed in the battle; even if the Atlantic Federation retook the base, they could no longer use it to ship material and personnel into space."

"Making an invasion of Orb even more likely now," said Murrue, her eyes narrowing, "The Kaguya mass driver would allow them to regain access to space, and it's the last such facility that's not in ZAFT hands."

"Precisely," said Erica, "and I'm afraid the bad news doesn't end there."

"What do you mean?" asked Murrue.

"Just like at the Second Battle of Alaska," said Erica, "the Alliance deployed new mass production mobile suits. The ones fielded at Panama were based on the Strike, and were used on both the ground and the air. The latter units had upgraded Aile packs, allowing for sustained flight."

"All the ones at Panama were probably wiped out," said Heero, his eyes narrowing, "but the Alliance will be sure to deploy more with any invasion force that comes for Orb."

Erica nodded. "I'm sure you're right, Heero. The only questions now are how many and of what types; a combined force of mass-production Strikes and Busters would be a formidable foe, even if they lacked the Phase Shift Armor of the prototypes."

"It sounds like your company's work is now more important than ever," said Murrue. She felt sorry for the lovely engineer, knowing that she was under an enormous amount of pressure to help her homeland prepare for the coming assault.

"I couldn't agree more, Captain Ramius," Erica replied, a haunted look in her eyes, "the odds against us now are even more severe. If you and your crew were not here now… I think I would've already written us off. As it is… we face an uphill battle, no doubt about that."

"The Alliance won't defeat us," said Cagalli, her amber eyes burning with determination, "we can't let them force us to join them, no matter what; Orb will remain independent."

Erica sighed. "I hope you're right, Lady Cagalli. Come, let's get going."

"Engineer Simmons," said Murrue, "If I may ask, when do you think my pilots will be back by?"

"We'll be pretty busy today," Erica replied, "but I won't overwork them; they'll be back around three or four in the afternoon."

Murrue nodded. "I see. Thank you."

She saw Heero turn to her and smile slightly. "Looks like I'll be back before your watch is over. We'll be able to have dinner together later."

Murrue smiled in return, aware of the slight flush of heat going to her face. "Yes, I'll be looking forward to that, Heero."

Heero nodded. "Likewise." He then turned to Erica. "Let's go."

Erica nodded, and she led the three pilots and Cagalli towards the exit. As they left Murrue saw Heero look back and give her one last nod, a slight smile on his face again.

Murrue returned the gesture, her heart fluttering as her eyes met his. I'll be waiting for you, Heero. I know you'll do your best to help Orb. I'll see you later...take care of yourself.

As Heero and the others passed out of sight, Murrue turned and headed up the ramp into the Archangel. She had work of her own to do: going through the files Orb had sent her regarding candidates for the ship's counselor officer, figuring out how to address the crew when the time came to prepare for battle, coordinating with Orb to make sure those who didn't want to stay would be able to evacuate with the civilians, making sure the ship was properly restocked with supplies and ammunition… she was going to be busy for awhile.

….

Erica took Heero and the others to the same building they had gone to during their last visit to Orb. The Gundam pilot looked around as they entered the facility and began making their way towards the underground research and design areas, noting that very little had changed security wise from the last time he had been there. There was an increase in activity amongst the staff though, and Heero could feel a mix of tension and excitement coming from the workers. He couldn't blame them for feeling the way they did. On the one hand, Heero was sure word was already spreading about what had happened at Panama, and that it was likely Orb would soon become the target of the Alliance. On the other, the Perfect Soldier figured they were excited because of the progress they had made on their MS program since the last time he had been there.

I wonder what Erica Simmons and her team were able to do with the data I gave them, he thought. He figured that they had at least focused on a few of the OZ mass production suits that were in the blueprints he'd provided, though he was also curious as to whether or not they had done anything with the Tallgeese design. That unit was high spec, and would be a challenge to work on… one he suspected that Morgenroete's Chief Engineer wouldn't be able to resist.

"Quite the facility you guys got here," said La Flaga as they made their way through a long white hallway.

"This is where our most sensitive and advanced research takes place," Erica replied, "great care was taken in its construction, and it is a very large facility. The buildings up top are just for show; most of the actual structure is underground."

"It's really useful for avoiding satellite surveillance," said Cagalli, "and considering how many of those things the Atlantic Federation has in orbit, building underground was the only real way to keep our work secret."

"Quite so," said Erica as they approached the door to the primary control room overlooking the main storage hangar. She slid her ID card in a slot and peered into a retina scanner. "This way please," she said as the door opened.

The control room was much the same as it had been the last time Heero and Kira were there, though the Gundam pilot noted that there were more technicians and scientists in it than there had been during their previous visit. Several of them looked up as Erica and Cagalli led the three pilots into the room and towards the large windows overlooking the hangar, and Heero saw more than a few of them glance at him before turning to their neighbors and whispering. He couldn't make out their individual words, but their attitudes seemed to be a mix of awe and fear.

I guess they've heard about what I did at Alaska, he mused, word travels fast.

"Got a few things I'd like to show you guys," said Erica as she approached the control console at the front of the room. She hit a switch, and a set of lights illuminated three MS slots on the far wall, each with an M1 Astray in it. The Chief Engineer then spoke into a nearby microphone. "Ok, ladies, fire them up. Your favorite pilots are back; give them a show."

"Yes ma'am," three female voices replied, and Heero instantly recognized them; Juri, Mayura, and Asagi. Should've guessed they'd be here today, he thought, they've been working with the M1s for quite awhile, and if Erica wanted to demonstrate how far the units have come then they're the perfect test pilots.

The white, black, and red machines all powered on and began to move. Heero was impressed to see that the three machines appeared to be operating normally now, walking around the hangar with no difficulties. They even fired off their thrusters briefly, hovering a few feet of the ground before touching back down. I imagine they don't have true flight capabilities, at least in atmosphere, he thought, still, the mobility provided by those thrusters will be helpful even in surface engagements. As far as space battles go, I wouldn't be surprised if they're as agile as GINNs, or even the Strike for that matter.

After a few minutes Erica spoke into the microphone again. "Alright girls, take them back to their slots and power down."

As the three pilots acknowledged and returned their machines to their berths, Erica turned to her guests and smiled. "Well, what do you think?"

"Amazing!" said Kira, "They're operating much better than last time."

"Nice job," said La Flaga, smiling, "I can't wait to try one of those out!"

Heero simply nodded, maintaining his cool, professional image. "Well done," he said, "did you just apply Kira's OS, or did you use elements from the other system I gave you?"

"We combined elements of the two, actually," she replied, "We experimented with a few different setups until we found one that best fit the specs of the M1. Follow me, please." She headed over towards the elevator on the right side of the control room, and the others followed suit.

"Has Orb begun mass-production?" asked Heero as they entered the elevator.

Erica nodded as they began their descent. "We already have a few squads outfitted with the units, and more are rolling off the factory lines as we speak. Of course, we haven't reached the point where we can outfit the entire army with them yet; that's still a long ways off, and there's no way it'll happen before the Alliance invades. Still, it's progress. Pilot training is going well too; we certainly don't lack for volunteers now that we have a working OS."

"They're actually really simple to operate," said Cagalli, smiling, "I've done some training in them as well, and they handle great."

"Are you planning on fighting in a mobile suit, Cagalli?" asked Kira, looking a bit nervous.

"Hell yes!" she replied, "I'm not about to sit back and do nothing while my homeland is invaded!"

"Whether you fight or not is up to your father, Lady Cagalli," said Erica as the elevator reached the hangar floor, "and I sincerely doubt he'll want you on the front lines."

"Bullshit," Cagalli growled, "I'm going to fight alongside Kira and Heero, and there's nothing father can do to stop me!"

"Sorry," said Heero quietly, "but you won't be anywhere near me when the fighting starts."

"What do you mean, Heero?" she asked, her eyes narrowing.

"The M1 wouldn't be able to keep up with Wing Zero," he said matter-of-factly, "besides, in all likelihood I'll be directly engaging the enemy fleet, and I can't have you getting in my way."

"Hey!" she snapped, "I wouldn't get in your way!"

"So you say," Heero replied, "you still won't be on my wing. Perhaps Kira's, but not mine."

He wasn't trying to be mean, just deliver an honest assessment of the facts. There was more to it than that, though; he was well aware of the wrath that was for the moment still lying in wait in the depths of his heart, and he didn't want anyone getting caught up in the ensuing carnage should he lose control. When the time came for battle, he was planning on fighting separately from the others, and preferably in the heart of the enemy's main offensive force.

Sorry, Murrue, he thought, I know how much you want to support me with the Archangel… but I don't want to risk you getting caught in the crossfire if I lose control of the Zero System. I'll do my best to avoid that, but still…

As much as he hated to admit it, even to himself, he had serious doubts about his ability to keep his fury in check once the battle with the Alliance forces got underway. The sheer wrath that the Atlantic Federation High Command had earned when they had betrayed Murrue at Alaska was unlike any that Heero had ever felt before, and even the Perfect Soldier did not know if he would be able to restrain it when the time to fight those responsible for the treachery finally came. The best he could do was take steps to ensure that the woman he loved, along with his allies, were out of reach should he slip into a rampage.

Shaking his head, he turned back to Erica, who was watching the argument play out. "As I said before, Lady Cagalli, whether or not you fight will be up to your father. There's no point in discussing it right now anyways; there's something I want to show our guests."

Cagalli huffed. "Fine. I'll deal with the old man myself when the time comes."

"This way, please," said Erica, leading them off towards the far right side of the hangar. There were no lights on, but as Heero squinted he could make out a silhouette in the shadows… a very familiar one. So she did work on it, he thought, well, this should be interesting.

They came to a halt right at the edge of the darkness. Erica grabbed a radio that had been clipped to her belt. "Alright, hit the lights," she said into it.

Everyone else shielded their eyes as several floodlights snapped on. After they had adjusted to the glare, the three pilots and Cagalli saw a single mobile suit along the wall. Kira, La Flaga, and Cagalli's eyes all widened in surprised as they took in the machine, while Heero simply folded his arms, the slightest hint of a smile on his face. Glancing over at Morgenroete's Chief Engineer, he saw that she was looking at him, clearly trying to gauge his reaction. He gave her a small nod before returning his attention to the new mobile suit in front of them. Or, more specifically…

…the new Tallgeese.

Frame wise, there was little difference between it and the original Tallgeese, and Heero was surprised to see that its blue and white color scheme was actually similar to Treize's Tallgeese II. The unit still had the high powered vernier engines mounted on the back, and a round blue shield was attached to the left forearm. The head crest was the same red vertical flare that had been on Zech's machine.

However, Heero's expert eyes quickly zoomed in on the key differences, the improvements and modifications Erica Simmons and her team had made to the original design. The dober gun had been replaced by the same type of beam rifle used by the Strike, and at its hips were a pair of Armor Schneider knives along with the standard beam sabers. On its shoulders were two green disk-like devices each, and Heero instantly recognized them as Planet Defensors. Two Vulcan cannons had been added to the mobile suit's head, and the Perfect Soldier saw several small slots along the outside of the legs; smoke grenade launchers.

"Wow," said Kira, clearly impressed, "I've never seen a mobile suit like this before!"

"Man," said La Flaga, grinning, "this is really something… I've gotta get inside that cockpit."

"Incredible," said Cagalli, "I knew we had improved the M1s… but I had no idea we'd built a whole new unit."

"New for us," said Erica, smiling, "but to someone else in this room, it's only a modified machine… isn't that right, Heero?"

The other three turned towards the Gundam pilot. "Wait a minute," said Cagalli, her eyes widening, "you mean this machine…"

"… Is from your world, Heero?" Kira finished for her.

Heero nodded. "Yes. It's called the Tallgeese, and it was the first true combat mobile suit developed in the After Colony era. However, the design was too high spec for it to be put into mass production, so a less powerful version called the Leo was created shortly afterward, and the Tallgeese was put into storage. The design was not forgotten though, and the scientists that designed it would go on to build new mobile suits based off its design; the Gundams. This machine is the base on which the units my allies and I used in our own war were built off of… including Wing Zero."

Even Erica seemed surprised at his statement. "I wish you had told me that when you had first given me the designs for it," she said.

Heero shook his head. "It wouldn't have mattered; even with the Tallgeese, you still can't build a true Gundam like Wing Zero or the other machines that the other four pilots and I used in our war."

"I suppose you are right," said Erica, turning to the others, "This mobile suit is called the Tallgeese Kai. Its armor composition is not the same as Wing Zero's, so it can't use a nuclear reactor. However, we've installed a new model high-capacity battery pack, and since the machine doesn't use Phase Shift Armor its operational range is far greater than that of the Heliopolis prototypes, and it even exceeds the M1s and the MS used by ZAFT, though we can't say for certain whether or not that is also the same for the new Alliance mass-production units."

"It's still damned impressive," said La Flaga, "I don't suppose there's any chance I can give it a whirl, is there?"

Erica smiled. "Actually, I was hoping you'd ask that, Mister La Flaga. The fact of the matter is that, even with the new OS we've developed with Kira and Heero's help, we haven't been able to find a pilot capable of effectively piloting the Tallgeese Kai. As Heero said before, it's simply too high spec, too sophisticated, to be flown by just any pilot."

"What makes you think I can handle it?" asked La Flaga, "Not to go against myself, but if none of your pilots have been able to handle it, then why should I be different? I know Orb has a sizeable population of Coordinators in it; you couldn't find one to try it out?"

"It isn't a matter of being a Natural or a Coordinator," Erica replied, "as a matter of fact, members of both races have tried and failed in simulations to truly master the sheer speed provided by the Tallgeese Kai's vernier engines, let alone actual flight exercises."

"For a mobile suit like this," said Heero, "genes are not the determining factor when it comes to a pilot, especially since Erica Simmons was able to install an OS that either Naturals or Coordinators could use. Skill and experience are what matter, and you have both."

"I'm flattered, Heero," said La Flaga, looking from him back to the machine, "still, you sure about this?"

Heero nodded. "La Flaga, you yourself are one of the few pilots that are able to fight against mobile suits in a plane and come out ahead. More importantly, you were able to master the multi-gun pod system of the Moebius Zero, which takes a very advanced degree of spatial awareness, honed reflexes, and skill. You're perfect for the Tallgeese Kai."

La Flaga grinned and looked at Erica. "Well, if Heero says so, then who am I to argue? Do you mind if I check out the cockpit, start familiarizing myself with the machine?"

Erica nodded. "Please, feel free to do so. The techs will give you full access. Kira, Cagalli, why don't you stay here in the hangar for now; I know the girls are eager to give you an up close look at their own units now that we've gotten them operational."

"Hey, what about Heero?" asked Cagalli.

"There are a few things I need to discuss with him in my office," she said, turning back to Heero, "you don't mind, do you Heero?"

He shook his head. "Not at all. Let's go."

As Heero and Erica headed towards the elevator he saw Juri, Asagi, and Mayura wave at him. He gave them a brief nod before he entered the elevator. Before the doors shut he saw the three of them gather around Kira and Cagalli, looking very pleased to see the teenage Coordinator again.

"They're quite taken with you," said Erica, smiling slightly, "and Kira as well. They were overjoyed to hear that the two of you were coming today."

"I see," said Heero coolly, nodding.

"Am I to take that as a lack of interest on your part?" she asked coyly.

Heero couldn't help but smirk slightly. "They're good girls, all three of them… but my heart belongs to someone else."

"I never thought I'd hear you admit something like that," said Erica, "I don't suppose you'll tell me who the lucky woman is."

Heero shook his head. "Sorry, that's private."

"Fair enough," said Erica, "although… I have a feeling I know who that woman is. Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?"

She's quite perceptive, he thought, mildly impressed. Still, he didn't feel comfortable talking about the affection he held for Murrue with Erica, at least not now. He simply shook his head again.

For her part, Erica seemed willing to let the matter go for the time being. "Alright," she said as the elevator door opened, "well, follow me."

The two of them made their way through the control room and down the halls towards the Chief Engineer's office. When they arrived she pulled a chair in front of her desk for Heero before moving to her own seat.

"Can I get you anything?" she asked, "Coffee or tea, perhaps?"

"I'm fine, thanks," said Heero, "What did you want to talk about?"

"Talk and show, more like," Erica replied, powering on the computer on her desk. After a few seconds of typing she turned the monitor so Heero could see it. "The M1 Astray and the Tallgeese Kai are not the only units I've been working on; I wanted to show you what we've done with the data you've given us."

A slideshow program appeared on the screen, and the engineer began scrolling through the pages one at a time as she spoke. "The M1 will be our main ground and space unit," she said, "but it will hardly be the only mobile suit model in our armed forces. The data you gave us has allowed Morgenroete to construct a well balanced mix of MS, though production only began recently, so we don't have anywhere near the numbers of ZAFT… or the Alliance, for that matter."

"It's still better than nothing," said Heero.

"True enough," said Erica, nodding. A click of the mouse brought a familiar image on the screen. "The Aries," she continued as OZ's mainline air combat mobile suit appeared, "is in the process of being integrated into the Army Air Force. We've changed the weapon load out from the original specs; the machine gun has been replaced with the M1's Type 71 Beam Rifle, and we've also given it a beam saber as well. We managed to improve on the original engine design, so mobility is superior to the ones you fought against. The missile launcher will still be kept as an alternate weapon, and we'll have squadrons operating with units armed with both guns in order to have a well-balanced load out."

"Smart move," said Heero, nodding.

"Unfortunately," said Erica, "the Navy's been slow to modify our aircraft carriers to accommodate the units; most vessels are currently out on patrol, with only one at berth right now. I asked Lord Uzumi to recall the fleets, but he wanted them at sea as a visible deterrent. I think he now realizes the futility of that gesture though; I received word earlier that our carrier groups are coming home. Still, I doubt we'll have more than the one vessel outfitted with Aries MS by the time the Alliance strikes."

"So we'll be stuck with land-based air support mobile suits and carrier fighters," said Heero, folding his arms, "that'll restrict the reach of the Aries teams."

"Yes," Erica replied, "underwater MS are another matter, though."

She clicked and brought up the next slide, which had yet another familiar unit on it; the Pisces.

"The Navy was very quick to adopt the Pisces," she said, smiling, "we don't have any designated carrier craft for it like the Eurasian Theta-class submarines or the Atlantic Federation Angler-class escort carriers, but we are in the process of refitting several freighters to serve that role. Granted, their armaments will be poor, but they'll be operating with fleet support, and will be under escort. The vessels will carry four Pisces underwater mobile suits each. We'll also have units based in shoreline facilities."

"Any major upgrades to the units?" asked Heero.

"Not really," sighed Erica, "we did manage to improve on dive depth and acceleration by modest amounts, and we've installed our latest passive and active sensor arrays. Underwater beam weaponry is an area we've always struggled in, but we do have a prototype maser device that has been tested successfully; each Pisces is in the process of being modified to house one such device."

"How's it stack up compared to the Alliance Aqua Darts?" asked Heero.

Now the Chief Engineer had a downright predatory smile on her face. "It blows them right out of the water in all categories. Better armaments, better armor, better engine specs, superior dive depth and maneuverability… and the ability to transform between sub and mobile suit forms is a huge advantage; for an underwater MS the Pisces is remarkably flexible. If the Atlantic Federation beats us beneath the waves, it'll only be due to superior numbers, and even then we'll make them pay dearly for it."

"Good to hear," said Heero.

Erica nodded and moved onto the next image. "Tragos we're adopting as a heavy artillery platform. We're using it in both mobile suit and hovercraft forms; the latter can actually operate in the shallows, making it a very useful coastal defense unit. The armor plating has been reinforced; it can take tank rounds head on without suffering significant damage, though a concentrated barrage will still bring it down. Of course, that armor's no defense against beam weaponry. We've redone the shoulder armaments; the weapons are now two heavy beam cannons. For additional firepower the suit is also armed with a beam rifle and a variable warhead missile launcher; it can fire both surface-to-air and surface-to-surface missiles. Like the original, it has no close in weaponry, and its mobility is crap, even with the hovercraft configuration. Still, it packs more of a punch than our conventional artillery, and when used in combination with other units its firepower will more than make up for the fact that it's basically a heavily armed turtle."

"It sounds like you have your homeland defenses covered, then," said Heero.

"As much as we can, given the odds that we'll be up against," said Erica, "however, that's not all I wanted to show you."

The next slide that came up was not an image of a mobile suit, but a map of the L3 Lagrange point. "Heliopolis was our most well known colony and resource satellite," said Erica, "but it wasn't our only one. We actually have a larger presence out at L3 than the Alliance, though they don't like to advertise that fact; makes them look weak."

Heero nodded, his eyes narrowing as he studied the map. He had studied the blueprints of the Heliopolis colony, and on the map he saw two more colonies that were of the same design, well removed from their ill fated sister and the ruins of the Eurasian Federation Artemis Base. There were also a half-dozen smaller resource satellites, little more than hollowed out asteroids. Heero surmised that they were probably now used as bases for expeditionary craft to dock at in between trips to richer asteroids further out in the Earth Sphere.

The two colonies were highlighted in green, while the location of the former Heliopolis colony was colored red, indicating its destruction. "Morgenroete has facilities at our Elysium and Eden colonies as well, and I sent some of the data you gave us to them," said Erica. Another click of the mouse brought an image of OZ's Taurus space mobile suit to the screen.

"The Taurus," Erica continued, "is being built at those colonies, and will supplement the M1s we have in space. Though the unit lacks the shield of the M1 and has lighter armor, it is faster and more maneuverable. To be honest, apart from adding a beam saber there was very little we could do to modify the Taurus; it's already well suited to our needs. Its high mobility allows us to use it as an interceptor and long range patrol unit, and we've already begun positioning teams of them at our resource satellites for defense. Operating in cooperation with the M1s we've shipped to our space forces will increase their effectiveness."

"That doesn't help us much down here," Heero noted.

Erica shook her head. "No, but the colonies have another purpose other than simple expansion into space; they're a redoubt for the government in case our homeland is overrun. When… if that time comes, those mobile suits will be vital to protecting the people that manage to evacuate to the colonies. Elysium and Eden are younger than Heliopolis, and still have room for population growth. They can survive an influx of refugees… up to a point, anyway."

"What about those that can't take the mass driver to flee the country?" asked Heero, "Orb will want to reserve it for priority flights, after all."

Erica nodded. "Yes, you are correct. Orb has maintained diplomatic ties with the Central Asian Republics – the last non-aligned nations in Asia – and they will accept the bulk of our refugees. We have a similar agreement with Oceania, though their friendship with ZAFT complicates the matter; the Alliance would be all too eager to conquer the region… and kill any Coordinators they find there. That's why we'll be giving evacuation priority to space to our Coordinator minority; we can best protect them in the colonies."

"Until the Alliance space fleet comes calling," said Heero.

"I never said it was a foolproof plan," said Erica, sighing, "but it's all we have. The only good news is that the Alliance space forces are too busy dealing with ZAFT's fleet to pay much heed to our colonies; with the destruction of Artemis and Heliopolis, the Alliance presence has vanished from L3. That's our saving grace."

"I hope it lasts until the war ends," said Heero.

Erica nodded, and the Gundam pilot could sense the concern in her voice. "As do I."

They were quiet for a moment before Erica spoke again. "Well, that's all I really had to show you. Would you mind working in the control room with me for the rest of your time here? I could use your expertise in coordinating tests for the Tallgeese Kai and the other mobile suits."

"No problem," said Heero.

Erica smiled. "Thank you, Heero. Regardless of how high the stakes are, it's good to be working with you again."

….

"Bullshit!" yelled Lan, slamming her fist on the coffee table, "We're not abandoning you, Commander!"

She was at Field Marshal Bristow's apartment, along with Adaline and Priscilla. The three of them were sitting on the couch in the living room, while Eric and Shemei were standing in front of them. It had been mid-morning when Lan and her teammates had received the call from the Valkyrie, and they had rushed over to Bristow's place as fast as they could.

Lan and the others had listened with shock and sorrow as their Commander told them about her parents' arrest. The Chinese Coordinator had felt a righteous fury take hold within her as she'd listened, burning inside like nothing else she'd felt before. Patrick Zala, she'd fumed, you will pay dearly for what you've done, you son of a bitch!

"That's right!" said Priscilla, the usually soft spoken blond being unusually loud and forceful, "We're a team; we should stick together!"

"You brought us together," said Adaline, "you helped us develop our skills, forged us into the squadron we are now. There's no way we can just go into hiding and leave you to face Zala and his cronies alone!"

Commander Rehema gave the three of them a sad smile. "Girls… you have no idea how much that means to me. Training and fighting alongside the three of you, becoming friends with you, has been an incredible experience. If I could I wouldn't split us up… but this is too important; Zala will not ignore the three of you forever."

"You won't just be hiding," said Bristow, "Waltfeld has an operation in the works, and he needs skilled pilots to help him out. You three are the elite of the elite; Shemei would've picked nothing less to fly at her side. Also, you going underground will eliminate another vulnerability Zala can use against Shemei; the threat to her parents is bad enough, but having you three held hostage would be even worse."

"Eric's right," said Shemei, "your families are already in hiding, which means Zala can't use them against you. Lacus, Waltfeld, and the others will need your help if they're going to be able to find a way to remove Zala from power and end this war before it escalates into a genocide campaign. I know you don't like this, but you can do more to help me by going underground and helping the opposition movement."

Lan gritted her teeth, and she could see the others doing the same, looking down and begrudgingly accepting the fact that their Commander and the Field Marshal were right. I hate this, she thought, after all the Commander's done for us, to just leave her like this… god damn it!

Adaline was the first to speak up. "Alright, Commander. I don't like it, and I know Lan and Priscilla feel the same way… but we'll go underground, join Waltfeld and the others."

Shemei nodded, and turned towards Lan and Priscilla.

The blond European Coordinator nodded as well, resignation in her emerald eyes. "Alright, ma'am. I'm… I'm sorry we can't do more."

Shemei smiled softly. "It's alright, Pris. This isn't your fault, and there's nothing you could've done to change it." She looked over at Bristow, who put his hand on her shoulder. "I'll be alright," she said.

Despite the gravity of the situation, Lan saw the two of them share a slight smile. It was a special kind that she had seen before… from couples.

So they actually hooked up, she thought, I wonder when that happened.

Shemei then turned to her. "Lan, please… I know this isn't how you'd prefer to handle things, but…"

The Chinese Coordinator shook her head, forcing a small smile as she replied. "I know, Commander. It makes me sick, having to slip away instead of facing Zala and his thugs head on… but I understand why we have to do it."

She then turned to Bristow. "Field Marshal, you're staying, right?"

He nodded. "Zala may not like my recent stances, but he still trusts me as his deputy chief of staff and a member of the Defense Council. I'll use that to forward all the information I can to you guys and find a way to stop whatever it is they're planning."

"What about Commander Rehema?" asked Lan.

Bristow's eyes narrowed, a determined look in them. "I'll do all I can to protect Shemei. I may have been unable to prevent Zala from taking her parents hostage, but that's as far as that bastard's going to get. If he does anything to try and hurt her, I'll kill him myself."

"Eric," said Shemei, grabbing his hand, "I appreciate the thought, but please, don't do anything reckless. I don't want to lose you."

"I know, Shemei," said Eric, "still, if that scumbag tries anything…"

Lan smiled again, confident that her Commander would be in good hands. "I'll hold you to that, sir. Protect the Commander, and we'll do our part to help Lacus and Waltfeld."

Bristow nodded. "You got it, Miss Zhao."

…

After her subordinates left, Shemei turned to Eric. "Well, I don't suppose you can give me a lift to the park; I need to pick up my car."

"In a minute," he replied, and Shemei was surprised when he gently pulled her in for a kiss. She swiftly returned it, looping her arms over his shoulders.

When their lips parted she looked into his brown eyes and saw the fires of determination and passion within them. "Shemei, I meant what I said earlier. If Zala does anything else to try and hurt you, I'll put a bullet between his eyes."

She smiled as she shook her head. "Eric, I believe you, but please, don't go that far. I don't want you to become an assassin, even if it's for my sake."

"Shemei…" he said, looking down for a moment before facing her again, "...alright. I just… I don't want him to get away with what he's done, both to you and to countless others. Back in the East Asian Federation, I had a chance to kill Zubov, and I didn't take it. Because of that, the bastard was allowed to walk free and keep killing until Heero took him down at Alaska. I don't want to give Zala the same chance, and the damage he can do is far greater than any Schwarze Team could."

"We'll take him down," said Shemei, "but we'll do it right. Eric, please… I don't want the man I love to become a murderer. Promise me you won't kill Zala unless there's no other choice."

He nodded, and gave her a brief kiss before replying. "Alright, I promise, Shemei."

Shemei smiled again. "Good. Just keep doing what you've been doing; spy on him, gather information for us, and help Waltfeld get ready to move against him."

Eric grinned. "I've actually made some big progress on that last bit. Remember that support ship I showed you awhile back? The one that was supposed to operate with the Freedom and the other new model mobile suits?"

Shemei nodded. "What about it, Eric?"

"Waltfeld's got a plan to hijack it," he replied, "and I'm helping. I've managed to access the list of personnel assigned to the dock where it's at, and I've made some alterations to it. Now several soldiers that are secretly Clyne faction supporters are on the Eternal, along with a couple key members of the dock security staff. When the time comes we'll be able to take the ship with little resistance; hell, I can set it up so the regulars and Zala loyalists will be off duty and off the vessel when we make our move."

"Nice job," said Shemei, "that'll be a huge blow to the radicals if you can get that ship away from them."

"It gets even better," Eric said, "three more new model mobile suits have already been moved onto the ship. They're all nuclear powered MS, but unlike the Freedom or Justice they're all the same model; the ZGMF-X08A Wraith."

"Three of a kind?" said Shemei, raising an eyebrow, "They must be meant to operate as a team."

"Not sure about that," Eric replied, "I don't know much about their intended use. However, I was able to get a key bit of information on them; they're all outfitted with Mirage Colloid systems."

Shemei whistled softly. "With nuclear reactors their cloaks would have an infinite run time… they'd be lethal in a fight."

"Provided that they could avoid getting hit," said Eric, "they still can't use the Mirage Colloid system without powering down their Phase Shift Armor. Think of them as a more heavily armed version of the Blitz that was stolen from Heliopolis. Even uncloaked I imagine they'll still be formidable machines."

"And you want the girls to fly them," said Shemei knowingly.

Eric nodded. "Exactly. I've managed to hack their schematics from ZAFT's network, and I've sent them to Waltfeld. He'll be showing them to the girls, giving them a chance to study their new machines before they have to fly them."

"Will Lacus and her father be taking part in the hijacking of the Eternal?" asked Shemei, unable to completely hide her concern.

"They'll have to," said Eric, "Zala's intensifying his hunt for them; we need to get them out of the capital before he finds them. With the Eternal they'll have a mobile base of operations, and a well defended one at that. I'm going to get one of the new GuAIZs rotated to the ship as well so Aisha will have something to fly. Waltfeld will command from the bridge; with his wounds he's not fit for MS piloting, at least until he gets a prosthetic."

"I hope he can adjust to space naval warfare," said Shemei, "It's a different animal from surface operations."

"He'll be fine," said Eric, smirking, "you know how flexible he is, not to mention crafty."

Shemei smirked as well. "Good point. I'm sure he can handle it."

"That's what I thought," said Eric. The two of them finally let each other go as Eric led the way towards the door. "Come on, let's get you back to your car."

Shemei nodded. After she had put her shoes on and grabbed her sword she turned to her newfound lover and smiled. "Hey, Eric… thank you. For everything."

"You're more than welcome, Shemei," he said. He looked down for a moment before continuing. "I know it doesn't make up for your parents' situation, but I'm glad I could do something to help ease the weight on your shoulders."

She gave him a coy smile. "You were doing more than 'easing' last night, lover boy."

He blushed at her words, and Shemei moved closer to him, putting her hand on his cheek, her smile becoming softer. "Seriously, Eric; thanks. You've always been there when I've needed you, and you made all the difference yesterday." She gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "I'll never forget that."

Eric nodded. "Anytime, Shemei."

….

"Welcome back," said Murrue, smiling as her three pilots walked up towards the ship. She was standing out on the dock, the gangway lowered behind her. She gave a small nod to Erica as the Chief Engineer turned to go her separate way. It was a little past four in the afternoon, and Murrue had just ended her shift when she had seen Heero, Kira, and La Flaga approaching the Archangel.

"Good to be back," said La Flaga, smiling, "man, I'm beat. Think I'll go take break, if you don't mind."

"That's fine," said Murrue, nodding.

"So will I," said Kira, "unless you need me for something, Captain."

Murrue shook her head. "Go ahead, Kira. You've worked hard today, and have more than earned some rest."

As the young Coordinator and the Hawk of Endymion went up the gangway, Murrue turned to Heero. "The same goes for you, Heero; you don't have to stay up on my account if you want to go lie down for awhile."

Heero shook his head. "It's alright, I'm not really tired. I just had a meeting with Erica, and after that I helped her and her staff oversee testing for the MS they've been developing. It wasn't exactly labor intensive work."

Murrue smiled. "In that case, would you care to join me for a bite to eat?"

Heero nodded. "I was about to suggest the same thing, actually."

"Perfect," Murrue replied, "let's go."

As they entered the ship and made their way towards the mess hall Murrue listened as Heero gave a brief description of the work being done by Morgenroete's top scientists. She was impressed at the progress they'd made, especially with the construction of the Tallgeese Kai. I never thought they'd actually build a machine like that, she thought, I hope La Flaga has what it takes to master it. Heero has faith in him… that's enough for me.

After they'd arrived and dished up they grabbed a table by the viewport. As they sat down they had a clear view of the dock crews as they scrambled to load fresh supplies and munitions onto the ship.

"I take it things have been busy on your end," said Heero as he glanced out before digging into his food.

Murrue nodded. "It's mostly been logistical work here. Restocking, requesting specific personnel from Orb… boring stuff, but necessary."

"Better to get it out of the way now than just before the next battle," said Heero, "this'll make it easier to prepare for the coming assault."

"Yes," said Murrue. The two of them spent a minute eating before Murrue spoke again. "Do you think Orb is ready?"

"Hard to say," Heero replied, "Even if they know it's coming, it's still not easy to prepare for an assault of the magnitude that the Alliance will throw at Orb. The new mobile suits will increase the strength of their armed forces, and we'll be able to provide a significant boost as well, but I'm sure the Alliance will be thorough in its preparation for the invasion. They may have lost any forces that were stationed at Panama, but they still have most of the Pacific Fleets at Hawaii and Midway; plenty of firepower to bring Orb to its knees."

"The sheer numbers it would take is hard to imagine," said Murrue, "It would be a massive undertaking, especially since they know by now that we're in Orb. I have no doubt they'll take the Archangel and Wing Zero into their calculations when planning for the attack, along with the Freedom."

"They might underestimate that last one," said Heero, "Alaska would've been the only time the Alliance witnessed the Freedom in action, and even then it would've been at a distance, probably through drones they set up to monitor the battle and give visual confirmation of the Cyclops detonation. Sure, they might have some idea of its power, but one engagement isn't enough to truly take the measure of a machine like that. They might consider it a threat, but how much of one is another matter."

"True enough," Murrue replied, "I remember when you first saved us, when the Montgomery was destroyed. In that first battle, we could see that Wing Zero was strong, and that you were a skilled pilot… but it wasn't until much later that we learned just how powerful you really were."

"A good comparison," said Heero, "but there is a difference. Kira's not hiding what he can do with the Freedom. However, I held back with the Wing Zero for quite some time after we met. I didn't want to reveal its full power unless I had no other choice."

Murrue smiled. "I know, Heero, and I understand your decision perfectly. If the Atlantic Federation High Command had known that the Twin Buster Rifle could rival a nuclear weapon… well, I think they would've made it much more difficult for us to let you stay on board the Archangel. They would've been determined to drag you off to some research facility. I'm glad that didn't happen."

"They wouldn't have been able to," said Heero, "you know what I'm capable of, Murrue."

She nodded. "Yes, I do. I'm glad you're with us, Heero; we'll need you more than ever in the days ahead."

I'll need you, she thought as she gazed at the young man before her, I'll need your strength, your cunning, your courage… it's the only way I'll be able to lead my crew in the coming battles. Heero… thank you.

….

The following day Heero stood in the conference room with Murrue, Kira, and La Flaga on one side of the table, while Lord Uzumi, Cagalli, and Colonel Kisaka were on the other. The Lion of Orb's demeanor was grim, and the Perfect Soldier had a feeling he knew what the nation's leader had called them there to tell them.

"Please," said Lord Uzumi, "sit down."

After everyone did so he spoke again. "This morning we received a message from the Atlantic Federation through their consulate. It was an ultimatum; Orb has one week to officially declare its support for the Earth Alliance and put its military and economic resources at its disposal."

"And if you refuse?" asked La Flaga.

The Lion of Orb chuckled ruefully. "You have to ask, Hawk of Endymion? The bulk of the Atlantic Federation's Pacific Fleets will set sail for Orb to commence the military takeover of our country."

"How will you respond?" asked Kira nervously.

"The way we have always responded to such messages," Lord Uzumi said firmly, "we will not support either side in their campaigns against each other."

"The envoy from the PLANTs has sent an offer of support," said Kisaka, "but we know that they would ask for our own allegiance in return; it would be the same as accepting the Atlantic Federation's offer."

"At least you won't have to worry about an attack from ZAFT," said Heero, "with the losses they've suffered at Alaska combined with the forces they're using to hold Panama, they won't have much left that they can use in an invasion of Orb."

"That's the only bit of good news in this mess," said Lord Uzumi, "The hour of decision is upon you all. We will not demand that you stay and help us fight the Atlantic Federation's invasion; whether or not you do so is entirely up to you."

"We're staying," said Murrue, her brown eyes burning with resolve, "I will inform my crew of what has happened, and give them the chance to evacuate with your civilians, but the Archangel will remain to help defend Orb. We owe you that much, and we will not stand by while the Alliance drags you into this war."

"Yeah," said La Flaga, "count us in."

"I'll do all I can to help," said Kira, "Orb has the right to remain out of this war, and I'll fight to protect its people."

Everyone then turned to Heero, who nodded. "I'm in," he said, looking over at Murrue and smiling slightly, "I haven't come all this way just to cut and run now."

Murrue smiled at him in return before turning back to Lord Uzumi. "You have our answer then," she said, "we will fight against the Atlantic Federation invasion."

Lord Uzumi smiled. "Thank you, all of you."

Kisaka and Cagalli bowed their heads in gratitude. When they looked back up, Cagalli smiled. "With you all on our side, we'll make the Alliance wish they'd decided to leave us alone."

Kisaka seemed more reserved, but didn't say anything that would dampen the Orb princess's optimism.

Heero, for his part, had mixed feelings. One side of him was already preparing for the coming battle, thinking of possible strategies and outcomes in the same calm, analytical manner that had helped define him as a Gundam pilot. His determination to protect Murrue was in there as well, and he vowed once again to do whatever it took to keep her safe.

However, a small part of him was not nearly as cool, professional, or noble. The beast that was the wrath lying in wait in his heart stirred, as if testing the chains that bound it. For the most part, Heero was determined to keep the beast at bay, to prevent his fury and desire to make the Alliance pay for their betrayal of Murrue at Alaska from taking control of him.

But part of him didn't want to hold back the flame of wrath, the beast of vengeance that was now eager for blood and battle.

Part of him…

… wanted to unleash it.

Preview for next time!

The Atlantic Federation launches a massive attack against the nation of Orb. Murrue takes the Archangel into battle in support of the Orb military, with Heero and the other pilots flying into the fray. The Gundam pilot attacks the largest part of the enemy armada head on in an effort to blunt the offensive. However, over the course of the fighting, the wrath that has slowly been burning in the back of Heero's heart comes to the surface, and he begins to lose himself to the Zero system. As he rampages across the battlefield, Murrue come up with a desperate plan to save the young man she's fallen in love with from himself. Meanwhile, Zala moves in force against Siegel Clyne and his daughter in the PLANT capital, and a violent raid kills the former chairmen and forces Waltfeld to accelerate his plans to challenge the radicals. Next time, on 'Journey to a New Battlefield', Episode Seventeen: Wrath of the Perfect Soldier.

Author's Notes: Phew, glad that's done, I was really struggling to find a good place to end the chapter, hence the insane length. Sigh, really got to work on that in future! On a brighter and unrelated note, went to Sakura con in Seattle this weeked, and it was a blast! My cosplay was Lelouch from Code Geass, and I must say it's one I pulled off quite well.

As always, please review, I'm sure you guys have a lot of questions after this chapter. I'll do the best I can to answer, but if it involves a major spoiler then all bets are off. Sorry, but that's the way I'm playing this.

Take care my friends, and see you next time!