Disclaimer: None of us own Gundam SEED. Goddamn Sunrise… Furthermore, any franchises that make cameos here belong to their respective owners.

"Talking"

'Thinking'

"Radio"

Chapter Seventeen: Settling In


Archangel, Captain's Quarters


"So, these are our new quarters, huh?" Ryu asked as he brought the box of personal items from his and Kira's room on the Mugen Kano. "Spacey."

"Yeah," Kira agreed. "I guess the EA doesn't spare any expense for its Captains… good for us, though." She then got out her computer. "Sentry, you ready to move into the ship's systems?"

"Affirmative," Sentry informed. "Please open the wireless functions of the computer system."

After making sure her Computer's wireless functions were on, she went over to a computer terminal and began typing in commands. "OK," she said after a moment. "It's ready for you."

"Beginning transfer," Sentry informed before his image flickered a bit before it disappeared completely from her terminal, appearing on the vid screen in the room. "Transfer Complete, I shall begin to integrate myself with this ship's systems, if you have any questions, please ask," with that his image disappeared again.

"Well, that's good," Kira replied, bringing out the computer that was temporarily storing Ryu's upgrade blueprints, placing them back in her computer, with security both she and Ryu trusted. "Well, I guess this is our home now."

Ryu nodded in agreement as he leaned against the desk. "Yeah," he murmured. "I hope this one lasts a while, and… what's about to go down doesn't total it."

"I know…" Kira replied. "Despite our best efforts, it feels like the war is heating up, slowly but surely… And the radicals on both sides, despite losing a lot of their influence, are making moves to regain what authority they lost…"

Ryu nodded. "We need to hit them hard and fast," he informed. "Cripple them and remove them before they have a chance to respond… but to do that, we need information…"

"Yeah… I know…" Kira replied.

Before the conversation could continue, the door opened again and Lacus walked in. "Wow…" the pinkette remarked. "Definitely a lot larger than our old room."

Ryu smiled at Lacus. "Bigger bed too, no risk of any of us falling off like before," he informed, teasing Lacus for the time she ended up rolling off the bed in her sleep. "So that's a plus."

Lacus blushed. "Th-that was only one time!" she sputtered. "Anyway, how did your expedition into those tunnels go?"

"As well as could be expected and even better," Ryu informed. "We found a Virtual Intelligence program left behind by the species who built some sort of observation base that told us some… interesting information…"

"I see…" Lacus replied. "I'll need to hear the whole thing in the morning. For now, we should probably get some rest."

Ryu nodded in agreement as he rubbed his eyelids. "Good idea, I'll be busy connecting with my contacts all day tomorrow," he informed. "And with ZAFT pulling out of Africa, our contract with the Desert Dawn is completed."

"Yeah, and we'll need to start getting ready to head back into space, to start working on a base facility," Kira replied, yawning. "As well as a meeting with Terminal… things are just heating up too fast…"

"One thing at a time, I suppose," Ryu said as he climbed into the bed, the two girls climbing in with him, and taking their usual places on either side of him, their arms entwined around him. "For now, sleep, I'm wiped…"

"Agreed…" Kira said, her eyelids drooping closed. "Good night…"

And the three descended into slumber, resting up to prepare for all that they needed to do the next day.


One Week Later - Kaguya Marketplace


Ryu chuckled as he carried Shiro, watching as Lacus eagerly dragged Kira towards a store, he could understand her excitement, she had been using some of Kira's clothing due to the fact that she came with only the clothes on her back. "Eager, isn't she, Shiro?" he questioned his son who gurgled in response.

Lacus was indeed eager, given that she was finally going to be getting some new clothes again, and likely a few maternity outfits as well. That said, she might have been a bit too eager, given that Kira was stumbling trying to keep up with the Pinkette. "Do you think we could slow down a bit?" Kira asked. "It's not like the clothing store is going to go anywhere."

"I know," Lacus informed, clad in a simple tank top and shorts, her hair pulled into a ponytail - amazing how much such a simple change made people not recognize her. "But, no offense Kira, I just want some clothes I like."

"I can understand that," Kira replied. "Still, at least slow down to the point where I can keep up without losing my balance, alright?"

Lacus giggled, but complied as she eased up, arriving at the store she wanted, it showed off several new fashions. "Oh, that looks cute," she commented looking at a dress shirt/skirt combo that had some frills. "Let's try this store, Kira!"

Kira chuckled. "Alright," she said. "Some of these do look like they'd suit you rather well…"

Lacus giggled. "Who says it's just for me, Kira," she informed teasingly, dragging her lover into the store. "Sure you pull the grizzled soldier well, but… I think we need to pull out your feminine side…"

Kira blinked at that, but nodded. "Alright, just… keep the frills to a minimum for stuff you pick for me, okay?" she asked.

Lacus giggled in response. "Okay~" she confirmed, dragging Kira over to the racks as Ryu entered into the shop.

"Well little guy, get comfy, we're going to be here awhile…" he told his son. "One thing about girls, they're never quick about clothes shopping."

Shiro gurgled a bit, as the brunette and pinkette were going from clothing rack to clothing rack.


Cafe


Athrun grunted as he set down a set of bags that Cagalli 'requested' he carry for her. "You… are even worse than Kira," he informed. "Tied with Lacus…"

"Oh, don't be a baby," Cagalli remarked. "At least it's not all clothes - and nothing all that fancy, either."

"You have six fifty pound weights in these bags," Athrun deadpanned. "Although you get points for variety, never seen someone put five boxes of ammo with lacy unmentionables."

She blushed a little bit at that. "Sh-shut up!" she said. "There wasn't enough room left in any single bag for the ammo, so I had to spread it out!"

Athrun chuckled. "You are unique, I can't quite figure out if you're a tomboy, or just violence oriented," he informed. "Almost a sociology mystery really."

"H-hey!" Cagalli sputtered.

Athrun chuckled as he looked at her, blinking as he realized how cute Cagalli looked when she spluttered like that. Coughing slightly to cover his blush, he recovered himself quickly. "So… what's next?" he asked, sipping on the coffee he ordered.

Cagalli thought about it, even as part of her thought about how handsome Athrun looked, and how well she seemed to be getting on with him… "Not sure," she replied. "Was thinking of possibly finding a tailor who does custom Normal Suits - the suits Kira provided for Fenrir work well and all, but I'm thinking I'd like something to suit my personal tastes."

Athrun hummed in response. "Not a bad idea, I guess," he commented. "Personally, I actually need to get some hardware for the Haros we're producing for Fenrir, the prototype is almost finished so… need to find a bulk supplier."

"Alright," Cagalli replied. "I guess, since neither of us has any idea just what we're looking for, we might as well look together." She paused for a moment. "And I'll see if we can hire someone to take my bags back to the ship - better that we're unencumbered for this."

"Agreed, but you're carrying your weights back," Athrun informed plainly. "I carried them for ten consecutive miles thank you very much."

"Fair enough," Cagalli conceded.


City Hall


"So, you're certain about going through with this, Flay?" Jade asked as she and Flay waited for Shinn to get back from his small errand. "Tying the knot is a pretty big deal…"

"Yeah, I'm sure," Flay replied. "Shinn and I have been engaged since about a month before Heliopolis got attacked, and now that I'm carrying a child fathered by him, I… guess I just feel like taking the next step, from being engaged to being married."

Jade nodded slightly. "Uh… umm…" she began hesitantly. "I… I was wondering…"

"What is it, Jade?" Flay asked.

"Is… that is…" Jade started several time before taking a deep breath. "IwannamarryShinntoo."

Flay blinked a couple of times, then smiled. "Well, we'd need to ask what he thinks about it, but I'd be okay with it," she replied. "After all, we're already a fairly inseparable threesome, and none of us are famous enough that we need to worry about hiding it…" she chuckled a bit. "I feel a bit sorry for Lacus in that respect - she loves Kira and Ryu so much, but given her situation, publicly admitting it would be a bad move for her image…"

Jade nodded. "I know, right?" she replied. "And… thank you… Flay."

"You're welcome, Jade," Flay replied, enfolding her in a hug. "I love you."

Jade melted into the hug as she returned it. "I love you too, Flay," she informed gratefully. "Both you and Shinn…"

Flay smiled, even as she saw Shinn walk up to them. "Hey there, Shinn!" she called out. "You finish your errand?"

Shinn nodded as he looked at the two of them. "Yeah… did something happen?" he asked curiously.

"Nothing much, though Jade has something she'd like to ask you," Flay replied.

Jade blushed as she stepped forward, fiddling with the hem of her sleeveless white dress shirt she was wearing with a black skirt. "Umm… I… want…" she swallowed tightly. "I want to marry you as well, Shinn… if that's alright with you… that is…"

Shinn blinked a couple of times, before looking at Flay, who nodded her approval. "That… I'd be alright with that, Jade," Shinn replied, even as he started rummaging around in his pockets, looking for something. "In fact…"

Shinn pulled out a box, presenting it to Jade and opening it, revealing a ring identical to the one he'd given Flay.

Jade blinked in surprise before tearing up and shouted happily before glomping Shinn. "Thank you, Shinn," she said sobbing happily into his shoulder. "You've made me so… very happy…"

Shinn smiled, even as he returned the hug, even as Flay walked up to them and made it a group hug. "You're welcome, Jade," he said. "I love you… as much as I love Flay…"

Jade laughed happily as she tightly hugged the both of them. "And I love you guys as well," she informed. "Shall we?"

"Yeah," Shinn replied. "Let's declare to the world just how much we love each other." He then paused for a moment. "Though… this does bring up a slight question - when it was just Flay and me, there was never any question that she'd take my last name and become Flay Asuka… but now…"

"Asuka," Jade informed with a nod. "I… had talked about it with Ryu-nii before telling you guys," she admitted. "And he did give his blessing, and he told me not to worry about the Hisanaga name, him and Jinn would be able to take care of it just fine."

Shinn smiled again, even as they went up to the desk, to arrange for all the details for the three of them to get married.

By the time they left the building, an hour or two later, they had become Shinn, Flay, and Jade Asuka.


With Dearka, Nicol, Yzak, and Fubuki


The three ZAFT Soldiers were accompanying Fubuki as she picked up some necessities for her family while they were still docked in ORB, well, Dearka browbeat the other two into helping that is.

"Ugh, I can't believe we got roped into Sherpa duty!" Yzak muttered to Nicol, low enough that Dearka and Fubuki wouldn't hear. "And all so Dearka can impress this girl! I swear, if they made a fucking Mobile Suit with a miniskirt, he'd likely hit on it!"

Nicol nodded in agreement, sending a rare glare to the blond who was still attempting to woo the silverette. "We need to do something about that…" he informed with a frown. "Or else he'll keep blackmailing us into this shit… how bad is what he has on you?"

"Managed to get some of my baby photos, how I have yet to find out," Yzak snarled. "I've heard it's bad enough when the parents break out the baby photos to show prospective girlfriends, but when your friend gets ahold of them to use as blackmail, it's a lot worse. What about you?"

"Let's just say… I would have nowhere to hide if it got out," Nicol informed with an embarrassed blush.

Yzak shrugged. "But yeah, you're right, we can't let this keep going on."

Nicol nodded in agreement. "Well… at least we're almost at the Archangel."

"What are you guys talking about?" Fubuki tilted her head sideways to look at them, her hands clasped behind her back. "You're falling a little far behind…"

"Nothing really," Nicol assured. "Just guessing where our next assignment will be after we get to Mendel."

"Yeah," Yzak replied. "I mean, who knows what we'll end up doing once we finish establishing our own base."

"I guess so… I'm actually hoping to convince otou-san and oka-san to let me stay on the Archangel… As I expected, I can't just leave onee-chan here alone," Fubuki sighed.

Dearka gave a subtle fist pump at the news. "Concerned about Hanami?" Nicol asked.

The silverette gave a small smile. "She's my only onee-chan after all. And sometimes I get the feeling my parents dote on me too much…" She winced slightly at the thought of her playful mum.

"I think we can understand that," Yzak muttered, thinking of his own mother. "Each of our parents are on the PLANT council."

Fubuki gave a sympathetic look at the rest of the ZAFT pilots. "That must really be hard on you guys… You have a lot of expectations to meet, right? Athrun-san too."

"It certainly does get hard living up to those expectations," Yzak remarked. "And with Athrun, it's a bit worse, because his father isn't the most caring of individuals, and his mother was on Junius Seven when…"

The younger Yukikaze winced as Yzak's sorrow hit her. "That's… sad. If only the world had these kind of conflicts less, if only everyone was able to understand each other…" she clenched her fist. "If only I could do my part to end the fighting…"

Dearka blinked. "Actually…" he spoke up. "I overheard Ryu mentioning to one of the Mechanics that Morgenroete wanted to have us field test a new mobile suit they were developing…"

"I guess I could at least try my hand at the simulators when we get back…" Fubuki scratched her head. "I hope onee-chan's okay with me becoming a pilot."

"Well, I suppose it would depend on how well you do in the simulator," Nicol informed. "If you do well enough, she would probably be fine with it."

"Actually she's more likely to chew me out for it," Fubuki pondered, putting a finger to her lips in a gesture that heavily resembled Hanami's own thinking pose. "She's actually quite protective of me too. The last time that happened in school, she managed to find some really creative ways to get back at them…"

Yzak shuddered. "I still get nightmares thinking of what she did just because I intruded into the kitchen that one time…" he muttered, though Fubuki still heard it.

The silverette stopped dead in her tracks and gave Yzak an odd look. "Umm, last I heard Ryu-san did give a warning not to enter onee-chan's territory…" she stated, studying Yzak's reaction closely. "Does it have something to do with that 'meat boxers' thing I've been hearing around the ship? That sounds like exactly the kind of thing she'd do."

Yzak flinched, then seemed to curl up into a ball, an aura of gloom surrounding him. "P-please… don't… say those two words… around me…" he said.

"I… see…" Fubuki nodded carefully. "Did she also do the demonic sword illusion thing? I still remember that happening last time someone else other than me or our parents entered the kitchen at home…"

If anything, Yzak seemed to curl up into an even tighter ball.

"Same old onee-chan as usual…" Fubuki patted Yzak gently on his head.

The other two pilots laughed in response as they came into the bay where the Archangel was docked. "Home free," Nicol said in relief, the numerous bags he was carrying straining his arms. "Thank god."

Yzak came out of the ball, in time to set his bags down on the floor temporarily. "Dearka…" he growled, "Next time you want to impress a girl, leave Nicol and I out of it!"

"Actually-" Fubuki was interrupted by a drunk Marine crashing into Dearka, bowling him over and stumbling off with a muttered, barely understandable apology. "Dearka-san, are you okay?"

"Acha…" Dearka groaned as he rubbed his head where he crashed. "Yeah, more bruised ego than anything…"

"I'm going to find a trolley or something so we have an easier time getting these into the Archangel, be right back," the silverette looked around for a bit before leaving the group.

"The point I said holds true on so many levels Dearka," Yzak growled. "We are not SHERPAS!"

"Yeah," Nicol replied. "If you want to impress a girl by taking her shopping, go right ahead, just leave us out of it!"

"Hey hey hey," Dearka said waving his hands placatingly. "I needed someone to help me with the bags!"

"Grab one of the Marines, then, or hire a professional!" Yzak growled. "Just don't drag us into it again!"

"Fine fine, I won't force you guys again," Dearka informed with a sigh. "'Sides, I think I'm this close," he held his fingers scant millimetres apart, "to sealing the deal."

"I found a trolley, guys!" Fubuki called out to them from a fair distance away, pushing along a trolley.

"Good to hear, Fubuki," Dearka replied, smiling at her. "What do you say we get our stuff into the Archangel, then we go have lunch?"

"I heard onee-chan's got a few new recipes she wants to try out these days," the silverette nodded. "Let's!"


Archangel, Mess Hall


"Something smells really good," Dearka commented as they entered into the mess hall. "Hanami seems to have outdone herself on this."

"Jinn-nii is helping her out today after all. I guess he has to be quite good at dodging flying utensils and ingredients, the way onee-chan uses the kitchen…" Fubuki agreed.

"Looked in once," Nicol admitted. "Jinn didn't even move or flinch as he worked with Hanami… it was… eerie…"

"After that experience, I am never entering that kitchen again," Yzak remarked with a shiver. "I don't want to risk her wrath a second time…"

"I don't know what you're talking about~" Hanami sang in an innocent tone as she practically glided into the dining area pushing along a trolley full of food. "Fubuki-chan, have you seen otou-san and oka-san around?"

"Last I saw they were getting ready to leave…" the younger Yukikaze mused.

"Really?" Jinn asked as he pushed in a second cart. "I thought they would've stayed around longer…"

"As much as they want to stay, otou-san can't be absent from work for too long, he does have a big team to manage after all. And oka-san is already starting to worry about the state of our house… she left Mori-san to take care of it, but her OCD is starting to kick in again and she wants to do some housework," Fubuki explained.

"Actually, I saw her in the hangar," one of the technicians remarked. "She was trying to use a mop to make the whole hangar so clean it shone." He snorted. "Good luck doing that without a power washer."

"Oka-san…" Hanami smacked her own forehead in a rare display of exasperation. "Knowing her she's figured out how to do it already… her OCD is that bad," she sighed as she sat down at the table beside her younger sister, waiting for the rest to start grabbing plates first.

The others loaded up on the assortment of foods before taking their seats, Jinn sitting on the other side of Hanami while the ZAFT pilots sat across from them. "I know Ryu-nii, if she's that good he may try and hire her permanently."

"Umm…" the elder silverette sighed hesitantly. "That would be a bad idea… Oka-san is li-like me in the kitchen, she doesn't take too kindly to people… messing the place up. And I'm pretty sure that happens too often…"

Jinn sighed. "Ryu tends to get the hangar really messy when working on the mobile suits… things tend to lay about quite a bit," he informed. "And he doesn't like anyone messing with his… order of things - if it could even be called that…"

Nicol shuddered. "If Ryu and Setsuna got into a clash of wills… I have no idea who would come out on top…"

"So… Fubuki-chan," Dearka started, trying to be smooth. "Want to go out to a movie tonight, just you and me?"

"Well, I don't really mind, but why just the two of us?" Fubuki returned, cocking her head to one side curiously. "We could ask the others…"

Hanami was smiling widely for some reason.

"Well, I was hoping to get to know you better," Dearka informed. "After all, it's a shame that a beautiful woman like you doesn't have a boyfriend."

"Ummm…" Fubuki's expression plummeted slightly as she began to scratch the back of her head nervously.

Hanami's smile had evolved into a snicker while Jinn's shoulders began to shake in repressed laughter.

"What is it, Fubuki-chan?" Dearka asked curiously.

"Well… I hate to break it to you after you went to all this effort, but…" Fubuki's scratching got a bit harder and she started nibbling at her lower lip in consternation.

Hanami hid her face behind Jinn, who somehow managed to keep a straight face in his amusement, as she started shaking in mirth.

"What's wrong?" Dearka asked apprehensively. "Are… you dating someone?"

The elder silverette let out a loud snort as she barely managed to stop herself from letting out a bark of laughter, a grin managing to force itself onto Jinn's face.

"I'm a guy," Fubuki finally got it out.

Dearka stared. Yzak and Nicol stared. Anyone in earshot who wasn't Hanami or Jinn stared. The latter two couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out in laughter at everyone else's looks.

"Ummm… you're kidding right, Fubuki-chan?" Dearka asked desperately. "Please tell me you're kidding, please? You're… you're just a little flat chested, right? I mean, just a late bloomer with an aversion towards skirts?"

Fubuki stared at Dearka like he had grown a second head.

Hanami had to be caught by a snickering Jinn before she fell off her chair in her laughter, which only really served to further confirm the fact.

"It's just… oka-san has this tendency to introduce me as a girl… be-because I'm so feminine…" Fubuki started fidgeting under everyone else's stares. "And I can never say anything against it in her presence or she pulls out the mask…"

"I'd heard rumors about Traps before…" a tech remarked. "But… this is my first time ever seeing one in real life…"

"I'm just lucky oka-san didn't force me into a skirt on this trip…" Fubuki shuddered, looking down at his jeans. "The last time it happened she didn't let me wear anything boyish for a full week afterwards…"

"Really?" Jinn asked. "That's… pretty extreme…"

"I… think… you… you broke them… Fubuki-chan!" Hanami got out between peals of laughter as she pointed at the ZAFT recruits, whose metaphorical jaws had dropped all the way to the floor.

"And I'm still sure onee-chan gets a kick out of watching people's reactions when they find out," Fubuki pouted.

Jinn laughed himself as he looked at the trio. "Serves Dearka right at the very least," he informed. "He'd hit on anything in a skirt."

"That's for sure," another tech reported. "Some of us have even considered putting a skirt on a tree and leading him to it, see if he hits on it."

"PRICELESS!" Kagami announced as she switched in, grabbed her smartphone, and aimed it at the shocked senseless trio. "Oooh, definitely keeping this picture for blackmail material!" Just as quickly, she was gone and Hanami was back, laughing madly as she stowed her smartphone.

"What should we use that for, Hanami-chan?" Jinn asked curiously. "We could probably have them walking in 'pretty princess' dresses with that."

Hanami was too busy laughing to properly respond as she clutched at her sides.

Dearka was the first to return to some semblance of his senses, and his first action was to seemingly teleport to a corner of the room, curled up into a ball with an Aura of Gloom surrounding him. "I… I was hitting on a guy…" he muttered dejectedly.

That snapped Yzak and Nicol out of their funk as they began to laugh hysterically along with several others who heard the bombshell. "That teaches you, Dearka!" Nicol informed between his bouts of laughter. "Maybe you won't hit on absolutely everything now!"

"Shut up…" Dearka moaned, as the Aura of Gloom seemed to intensify.

"Fu-Fubuki-chan… I need to… I need to bring you… out shopping… some time…" Hanami tried to stop her laughter, but failed at it when her glance moved over the cowering Dearka.

"Onee-chan! It was bad enough the last time you put a padded bra on me!" her recently-identified younger brother complained. "The guys in my class that accidentally ran into me in the shopping mall were utterly convinced I was a girl after that!"

Hanami's laughing intensified again - she would've fallen off her chair if Jinn hadn't caught her.

"Really? They went that far?" Nicol asked Fubuki. "My word, let me guess, the long hair is their idea?"

The younger Yukikaze slumped on the table, banging his head on the metal surface.

"My god… that is so funny, but so sad at the same time…" Nicol choked out in his laughter. "So… Sorry… but… I can't help it…"

Dearka's Aura of Gloom just seemed to intensify the more people laughed.

"Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow," Fubuki banged his head harder as he attempted to knock himself out and spare himself the embarrassment.

"There, there, Fubuki-kun," Jinn soothed, fighting back his laughter. "I'll try my best to help you in the future…"

Meanwhile, the laughter continued, even as Dearka's Aura of Gloom just kept intensifying.

He was never speaking of this again.

Ever.


Later that day, Archangel Docking Bay


"So, absolutely nothing we say will be able to get you to go back to Heliopolis and finish your studies?" Akihiro asked her daughter.

"My… My home's here now, with Jinn-kun," Hanami nodded, cuddling into Jinn's side. "Besides… I have something I want to do with Fenrir, otou-san."

"And even Fubuki-chan wants to stay here with you… Honestly, Hanami-chan, did you have to bring your younger sister with you too?" Setsuna smiled, having already been told about the so-called Dearka incident but still wanting to tease her feminine son anyway.

"Oka-san… they know already…" Fubuki groaned, deciding that he would attempt to hypnotize himself to forget the incident.

Jinn chuckled slightly as he patted Fubuki's back. "I'll make sure to watch out for the both of them," he informed. "Ryu has some… upgrades planned for the Viral that should make it easier for me to do so."

"And last I heard the Exodus was equipped with Phase Shift Armour so we won't have a repeat of the incident that pu-put me in the infirmary," Hanami added, still feeling the phantom pain in her left arm. "Otou-san, oka-san, I'll be fine. And I'll watch out for Fubuki-chan too."

"You've changed, haven't you, Hanami-chan?" Setsuna nodded approvingly. "You're stuttering less and less these days…"

Hanami blushed and hugged Jinn's arm tightly into her bosom, causing Akihiro to groan and look away as a small hint of killing intent escaped his wife in warning. "Jinn-kun's been he-helping me a lot… I don't know what I'd do without him," she confessed.

"I don't know what I'd do without you, Hanami-chan," Jinn informed. "You've helped out a lot too, y'know…"

"Jinn-kun…" Hanami stared lovingly into Jinn's eyes.

"Ara ara, young love… Hanami-chan, did you make sure you were safe?" Setsuna chuckled.

"Ummm, ahh… Ho-how…" a shocked Hanami gaped at her mother.

"You think I wouldn't notice the way you were limping and glowing that day at lunch?" her mother chuckled in a ladylike manner with one hand covering her mouth as she materialized a significantly larger mask in front of a charging Akihiro, stopping him dead in his tracks. "Just make sure that when you decide to have children, Hanami-chan, Jinn-kun, that you're ready for them."

The two flushed in embarrassment in response to her teasing. "I don't think that it will happen anytime soon, Setsuna-san," Jinn informed trying to repress his blush.

"Maa, maa, it's fine," the silverette's mother giggled. "Just make sure they come before I get old - I want to be able to hold my grandkids in my arms and happily show them off to all the neighbours~"

"Koi…" An exasperated Akihiro dragged his fingers down his face. "Don't talk about this stuff in front of me or I might regret giving my blessings… then again I already am."

Jinn and Hanami blushed again in embarrassment. "I don't think I'm ready to be a father yet, I'm already an uncle and about to be one again…" he informed. "I'm definitely not ready to be a dad…"

"Remind me again, koi, why we decided to drop our kids off with this debauchery mercenary guild?" Akihiro grumbled.

Setsuna completely ignored her husband, instead just smiling at her children and leaning in for a hug that both of them reciprocated, with Hanami dragging Jinn into it as well. "I'll see you two again, stay safe, in more ways than one, Hanami-chan," she whispered, adopting a more serious tone. "Jinn-kun, make sure you protect both of my children, and Fubuki-chan, listen to your sister and brother-in-law…"

The Yukikaze children started to tear up as they hugged their mother back. "We'll miss you, oka-san," Hanami sniffed.

"It was a pleasure to meet you," Jinn informed.

"Likewise, Jinn-kun. You'll always be welcome in our house," Setsuna nodded, motioning her husband forward. "So long as I keep this big oaf under control I guess."

"Oi."

Hanami and Fubuki hugged their father as well as he drew closer, though Jinn opted to retreat once the overprotective parent shot him a glare. "Hanami-chan, Fubuki-chan, your oka-san has already said most of it, but I just want to add, Hanami-chan if HE hurts you, just tell me about it and I'll make sure to come running no matter where you are," Akihiro gently rubbed his childrens' heads.

"You'd have to scrape whatever's left of me from the walls after the ship's crew was finished with me," Jinn muttered. "Let alone what my sister and Kira would do to me…"

"I'm still not sure whether to beat that Dearka kid up or laugh at him, to be honest," Akihiro muttered. "But Fubuki-chan, the same goes for you if anyone hurts you. I must apologize for my wife's behaviour though - she has always been like that with Fubuki-chan…"

"Otou-san… you call me Fubuki-chan too anyway…" an indignant Fubuki complained.

"No thanks to your oka-san," his father glanced at Setsuna, who was chuckling in her usual ladylike pose. "Just… take care. I better leave before I start regretting this decision."

"Have a safe trip," Jinn said politely. "I'll see if I can get a secure line set up so they can call you when we get to Mendel."

"Thank you for taking care of my children, Jinn-kun. I'll leave them in your care," Setsuna curtsied politely as she retreated down the ramp together with her husband towards a waiting jeep with their bags in it.

Jinn nodded. "Of course, I'll take good care of them," he informed smiling at Hanami as an arm found its way around her waist. "I don't want Hanami-chan to get hurt again…"

Hanami smiled as she leaned towards Jinn's mouth, pulling him into a deep kiss that lasted about half a minute as her parents left. When they broke apart, she lapped up the trail of saliva seductively, revealing her red eyes that indicated the presence of her alter ego. "Jinn-kun, I'm pretty sure I'm still safe, so… what do you say?"

"Onee-chan, Jinn-nii, I'll go try out the simulators first," Fubuki quickly left, not wanting to be around the two when the heat started.

Jinn didn't respond to Fubuki as he captured Kagami's lips in a heated kiss as they somehow managed to make their way to the bay exit to 'break in' their new room on the Archangel.


Archangel, Hangar


"Alright! It's free from the truck!" Ryu shouted to the driver as the unit delivered from Morgenroete was lifted using two cranes. "Move it out! Get that unit to the locking bay!"

"Gotcha," the crane operator replied.

"Thank you for testing the unit for us, Ryu," Erica said gratefully as she assisted in overseeing the unloading of the unit. "Here's the paperwork."

Ryu nodded as he looked it over quickly and signed his name on it. "Not a problem," he informed. "Always glad to have an extra unit on board, and we have a volunteer for it already."

"Oh?" Erica asked. "Well, that's good… and you definitely have a more powerful ship now…"

Ryu smirked. "Well, it won't be the only one we'll have, soon enough," he informed. "Got one rolling out from IDB soon enough."

"I'd heard rumors about that… a reward for saving Lacus Clyne, if I remember correctly," Erica replied. "With two warships, you're starting your way to becoming bigger… part of me thinks Fenrir might eventually become as large as Terminal…"

"Perhaps," Ryu said noncommittally. "We have a big operation coming up, so we may end up recruiting soon."

"Right…" Erica replied. "Well, I'll let you get to it." She turned to walk away. "See you guys again when you arrive here next!"

Ryu waved distractedly as the tarps were removed from the mobile suit, showing the bulky frame. "Alright, time to get to work!" he called out. "Dearka, you're to look over the weapons! Let me know what you find!"

"Sure thing, Boss!" Dearka replied as he hopped into the cockpit and powered the machine up just enough to look at the computer screens within.

Ryu meanwhile popped a panel off on one of the arms and began to inspect the wiring underneath. "So I hear you learned something interesting about Hanami's 'sister'," he announced teasingly.

Dearka seemed to curl up in a ball at that, an Aura of Gloom appearing around him. "I don't want to talk about it," he muttered.

Ryu chuckled as he looked through the wiring of the Ariete Gundam. "Don't get too hung up on it, Dearka," he advised. "Just be glad Fubuki decided he 'likes' you."

Dearka seemed to uncurl from his ball a bit, the Aura of Gloom fading. "R… right…" he replied. "Still, I am never speaking of that incident to anyone."

Ryu laughed. "Check the weapon readouts to take your mind off of it, then," he requested. "This is a completely experimental unit, so I want to know its potential."

"Got it," Dearka replied as he looked over the readouts. He blinked once as he checked it. "Wow, it's damn heavily armed. What did ORB put into this thing? The standard weapon is a TRIPLE-mode 'Atlas' multi-phase beam cannon, 120mm linear cannon and anti-ship sword all rolled into one! And it can carry up to three of them if you put two on the weapon hangers and hand-carry one… Was this based on the Exodus?"

"Looks like it, if those hardpoints on the back are any indication," Ryu looked up at the two unoccupied hardpoints on the Ariete's backpack. "Pretty sure those are the exact same ones that are used on the Exodus' heavy weapons backpack."

"Wait… you mean…" Dearka blanked out for a moment as he considered the potential firepower the new unit could carry.

"Yep," Ryu nodded sagely. "All that weight's definitely going to slow it down quite badly, so that's why they put all that armour on it - hell, it has Phase Shift armour with warship-grade Laminated Plating. It sacrifices mobility for incredible firepower and armour."

Dearka returned to the weapon readouts, salivating at the idea of a mobile suit entirely dedicated to heavy weapons. "And boss, ORB somehow put 90mm CIWS on the thing. And a pair of rocket anchors. And a combine shield with THREE beam cannons slash beam horns on it."

"I heard it's supposed to be transformable too. Can you check up on that?" Ryu continued to fiddle with the wiring experimentally.

"One moment…" Dearka brought up the appropriate readout. "Boss. It transforms into a triceratops. Or something like a triceratops."

Ryu whistled. "Four legs for better firing stability eh? ORB thought this through. Without this kind of thing it'd knock itself flat on its back if it fired everything at once."

"Yeah," Dearka replied. "This thing is a serious artillery piece… and I'd imagine that much recoil could kick this thing back a fair distance if used in space unless somehow compensated for…" Dearka then paused. "But a skilled enough pilot in space could use that recoil to his or her advantage, to rapidly get out of the way of an incoming shot or relocate into position to strike at another target…"

Ryu nodded in agreement. "Any mobile suit's downside can quickly turn into an upside when used right," he instructed. "What are the power ratings and drains like?"

Dearka made a face. "There's a reason they put a huge battery on this thing - it's at least four times the size of the Exodus' one. And if I estimate the operational limit using the energy usage from operating the hover thrusters at full power, two of those Atlases, and Phase Shift armour, it'll be lucky to last half an hour in combat. The Atlas is still a prototype design so it's very unbalanced. On the bright side, the thing could probably send a GINN flying two hundred meters with a single punch… if it can even catch up to it."

"We'll do some field tests when we get to Mendel on it's power usage," Ryu called out. "If needed we can slap some Battery Extenders on, or completely replace the powersource."

"Gotcha," Dearka replied. "Well, I think that covers the stats for this thing… definitely a powerhouse, but if you don't use it the right way…"

"Anything is a liability when improperly used," Ryu announced. "Dearka, you scored pretty high for heavy weapons in your training, right?"

"Yeah," Dearka replied. "Wouldn't mind seeing what I can do in this thing, if that's what you're thinking."

"No, Fubuki's got claim on this unit," Ryu informed with a shake of his head as he replaced the panelling. "No, I'm talking about customizations to your Dagger Unit."

"Ah," Dearka replied. "Yeah, I definitely wouldn't mind some heavy weapons… think we could try mounting a couple of Launcher Packs on that thing?"

"I guess it would depend on you're looking for," Ryu informed as he scratched his scalp. "The Launcher Pack is the most power intensive one we have…"

"We'd likely need to mount a second battery pack on an external rack, or something like that," Dearka remarked. "But I'm thinking a doubled up Launcher Pack - shoulder mounts in addition to the twin Agnis - would have enough firepower for me."

"That… will take some doing," he informed. "Alright, second part of the job for Mobile Suit Maintenance, Dearka, making things work via modification, let's get a Launcher Pack into my workshop and see where we can go from there…"


Archangel - Bridge


Murrue sat back in her Captain's chair, currently on watch but taking the opportunity of being in ORB to relax for a bit. "Well, it's nice to know that it won't be a free for all on the bridge in battle now that we got a Combat Captain," Joker announced from his seat that was transferred over from the Mugen Kano. "A certain gunner wouldn't listen to a word I say while complaining about my driving…"

"Well, you made the Mugen Kano dance almost like it was a fighter sometimes," Lasse retorted. "Good at evading fire, not so good at keeping the crew from being injured or experiencing motion sickness - not everyone has time to properly strap in, or has the stomach to withstand high-G's on a regular basis."

"Well sorry that I didn't want our ship gutted," Joker informed sarcastically. "But I'd rather not die a fiery death, thank you."

The door to the bridge opened, and Naomi walked in, pushing a cart often used by transit line stewardesses, full of mostly thermos bottles with a plate full of food on the top-most level of the cart. "Coffee's here!" she called out as she moved further into the Bridge.

"Thank the virgin Mary!" Joker called out. "I thought I was going to starve to death!"

Naomi walked over to Joker's seat first. "Here's your coffee," she said, handing him a thermos. "And here's your food, straight from the kitchen," she continued, handing him the plate.

Joker drooled unashamedly over the steak and potato meals that seemed to glow as the lid was taken off. "Oh sweet mother in heaven thank you for giving us our chef?" he said reverently before digging into the meal.

Murrue giggled a bit. "Yes, she really is a good chef," she remarked, even as Naomi brought Murrue a thermos next. "I don't think I'd had anything near as good before."

Naomi giggled in response. "Well, the only one in Fenrir who can get close is the Boss, and even she admits Hanami far surpasses her," she informed. "I just don't know how she can keep up with all the Marine's requests…"

"Who cares?" someone else said. "Best not to look a gift horse in the mouth - don't ask how she does it, just enjoy that she does it."

"Agreed," Lasse spoke up, accepting the Thermos of coffee. "Thank god we don't have to eat that gruel from the Medea anymore, I swear, that shit should've been outlawed by the Geneva Convention."

"Yeah," Mu said as he walked into the bridge, having overheard the conversation. "EA shipboard food seems to be grouped into three categories: Slop, Gruel, and Soup. It's only when you get supplies from bases that you get actual food, but it still tastes fairly bland."

"Well, that's the benefit of being a Mercenary I suppose," Jace commented from his new location at the CIC. "We can buy our own supplies and not just get handed slop."

"True," Murrue remarked. "Very glad that we can get our own supplies, and we have one of the best chefs ever to turn it into good meals."

"You know, I am jealous of Jinn for dating that girl," Mu admitted. "Hell, I think I saw some of the Female Marines trying to beg their way into the relationship… not sure what to think about that, to be honest…"

"Yeah… and, it's also a bit hard to believe that Lacus Clyne is aboard the ship, and is… involved… with Ryu and Kira," Murrue remarked. "That's one of those things that is extremely rare to have happen."

Mu nodded in agreement. "Then look at the Asuka Three," he said. "If this keeps up, people are going to start wondering if we're all Mormons or something!"

Murrue giggled. "True… but from what they briefed us all on the day after they explored those mines, I'd say that public opinion is the least of our worries," she remarked.

Mu nodded. "Alien life, kinda freaky man, and now we got an alien computer program running half the programs on this ship," he said.

"Hey! Ease off Sentry, man, he's increased efficiency by 150% y'know!" Joker shouted out. "Takes care of the minor things that take up too much time."

"Agreed," Lasse replied. "But I'm a bit worried about what he told us about, you know? Those 'Reapers'?"

"Who wouldn't be worried?" Naomi questioned. "I mean they are quite literally giant death machines, granted, we have some of our own that should provide quite the nasty surprise…"

"True," Murrue remarked. "Well, I'm hopeful we can figure out all the potential uses of that 'Element Zero' that they brought back, too… Do we even know why it's called 'Element Zero'?"

"Well, so far, all we know is that when it's subjected to an electrical current, it generates a 'mass effect' field," Jace informed with a sigh. "Which can be used to lighten ships enough to allow for FTL travel, Boss and Athrun are going over it in their workshop right now, seeing what else they can find out about it."

Murrue nodded. "Really wondering why it's called 'Element Zero', though," she said. "I mean, to me, that denotes that some numerical property it has is at zero."

"Perhaps the fact that it can reduce weight to Zero?" Joker offered. "Other than that, I have no clue."

"Possibly," Murrue agreed. "Well, I guess we'll find out soon enough."


END CHAPTER