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 Eighteen: Homebase
Two Weeks Later
Archangel - Approaching Mendel Colony
"Well, there it is," Kira remarked, as they watched the abandoned colony grow larger in the viewports. "What will be our new base of operations…"
Ryu nodded in agreement. "Took about 90% of our profits from the mission with Desert Dawn and selling the Mugen Kano, but it'll be worth it," he informed. "It's the most intact Colony that was abandoned."
"Yeah… and I just can't explain why it feels so familiar…" she said. "Like I've been here, but I don't remember it."
Ryu nodded in agreement. "I know the feeling," he agreed, patting her shoulder. "How about me, you, and Victor scout out the interior?"
"Sounds like a plan," Kira replied. "Let's suit up and get ready."
Ryu nodded in agreement as he and Lacus left the bridge and headed towards Pilot Ready Room while a page went out for Victor to suit up. "Ryu, Kira!" Lacus shouted out as they came up to the Pilot Ready Room. "Please, take me with you!"
"Lacus?" Kira asked. "You want to join us? We're just doing recon, you don't really need to-"
"I… I feel like I need to go with you," Lacus replied. "That… that there's something you'll find that you'll need me for. I don't know what, or why you'll need me, but… I just feel that you will…"
Ryu placed a hand on her shoulder before pulling her in for a kiss to calm the pinkette, who seemed to melt into his arms. "If you feel so strongly then, you can ride with me," he informed her gently. "There's enough room in the Vidar's cockpit for a secondary seat."
"Alright," Lacus replied. "Thank you, Ryu…"
Ryu smiled comfortingly at her. "One thing I've learned is to listen to intuition, whether my own or someone else's, Lacus," he told her. "Let's get suited up then, shall we?"
"Right," Lacus replied, as the three entered the room to get suited up.
30 Minutes Later
Mendel Colony Interior
"Zone-3, clear," Ryu announced as he and Lacus, who was clad in a custom pink normal suit and sitting in an attachable secondary seat, flew through the Colony. "Shipyards are intact and only minor damage really."
"Zone-2, Clear," Victor called out over the radio. "Central Shaft is clear, although we're going to want to replace the Generator, maybe with one of our power sources…"
"Zone-1, Clear," Kira called out. "Residential areas are clear, though there's this one building that's seriously triggering those familiarity vibes… I'm going to land and take a closer look."
"Hold up, Kira," Ryu advised as he banked the Vidar. "We're on our way, we're going in with you, right, Lacus, Victor?"
"Right," Lacus replied. "We'll go in with you, Kira."
"Agreed, I mean, we're all partners here, right?" Victor asked with a large grin. "We're in this together."
"Thanks, all of you," Kira replied with a smile. "I'm still going to land, but I'll wait for all of you before I go in."
"Roger that," Ryu affirmed as he entered into the section Kira was looking through. "Ready, Lacus?"
"Yeah," Lacus replied. "I think… I think somewhere in that building Kira found is something important… at the very least to you and Kira… and it would be better if I learn it first hand, as well."
Ryu nodded as they came into sight of the building that had the Valkyrie parked outside of it with Kira standing beside the entrance. "I see what Kira meant by recognition," he murmured. "Dammit, what is this place?"
"I don't know, but we'll find out soon enough," Lacus replied as the Vidar set down, soon followed by the Odin.
As Lacus exited the Vidar, floating down to where Kira was, Ryu reached in behind the seat to pulled out an MP5 with a camera attached before joining the others. "So, anything on the outside?" he asked as he floated to the others as they took off their helmets.
"Just that one sign," Kira replied, pointing to a sign above the main entrance. The top of the sign had the acronym GARM R&D, and underneath it were what looked like words, but they were too worn down to be properly read.
"Right, let's do this then," Ryu said as they entered the building into a lobby of some kind, papers and debris floating all over the place, snagging a page, Ryu examined it. "Hmm, looks like… cloning research?"
"I think this may have been a genetics lab," Kira replied, looking through some more papers. "There's a few things about cloning, but most of it seems to be trying to find a solution to the Birthrate problems in Second-Generation and Third-Generation Coordinators."
"That's what I'm finding over here as well," Victor informed. "Also, two projects, UC Project, and SS Project, nothing else other than their names and vast sums of money being transferred."
"Kira, Ryu, look at this," Lacus called out, holding what looked like a couple of books and a picture. "One of these books looks like a journal, while the other is a collection of photographs, it looks like."
"Hey, that looks like La Flaga…" Ryu pointed out to one of the pictures of a dirty blond haired boy being held up by a blond man with some resemblance to the former Zero Corps pilot.
"Yeah… it does…" Kira replied. "Let's look in the journal, see if it says anything about this, or those 'UC' and 'SS' Projects."
Lacus skimmed through the journal, quickly reading through the content. "It belongs to Gilbert Durandal…" she informed. "He's a leading expert on the infertility issue… wait… Destiny Plan?"
"Huh? Destiny Plan?" Kira asked. "That doesn't sound good…"
Lacus read through the entry quickly, her eyes flashing back and forth. "Basically, genes decide our place in the world, those whose genes are leaning towards combat are soldiers, while those who lean towards management are managers and so on…" she explained. "This… this is horrible…"
"Yeah… Genetic Determinism at its finest," Victor remarked. "This Durandal guy is a nutjob… wait…"
"What is it, Victor?" Kira asked.
"Gilbert Durandal… I know that name!" Victor said, his voice quickly going into a snarl. "I've never met him in person, but he's Old Mask Face's chief physician!"
"Yeah, found something else as well, Old Mask Face, I think he's a clone," Ryu announced, pulling out a picture and sending it over to Victor. "Put a mask on Mu's old man's face and lengthen the hair and guess who you have…"
This time, Victor did snarl. "Doubt Mu's gonna like this…" he muttered. "Don't think I like it much, either…"
Ryu nodded. "Found something else, who do those kids remind you of?" he asked sending over another picture, this time to Kira, on it was what looked like a kid version of Ryu and Victor along with a second picture of a brown haired woman holding two babies bundled inside of blankets. "Look on the back of the second one…"
Kira did, and was shocked at the names.
'Kira'
'Cagalli'
"That's… me and Cagalli when we were babies?" she asked, shocked. "What, were our parents next door neighbors or something?"
"I don't know," Ryu admitted. "Let's go in deeper, we may find something…"
Kira nodded. "Yeah, let's," she said, though she was definitely worried. Who knew what bombshells were waiting to be revealed further inside?
They found a few odd things that were filed away for later study during their exploration of the facility when they came upon a room filled with what seemed to be artificial incubators. "Data disk here," Victor announced. "Want me to play it?"
"Go for it," Kira replied. "Maybe we can find out more about what was going on here."
Victor nodded as he inserted the disk into a player, causing an image to appear of a haggard looking man in his late forties. "This is Michael Thorton of GARM R&D's Project, Ultimate Coordinator," the recording announced. "Project Day One, this project was the idea of Ulen Hibiki to create a so called 'Ultimate Coordinator' who is perfect in every sense of the word, for this project we have several volunteering mothers, but we're worried about funding, we need financial backers to get the proper equipment we need…" The screen cut out before reappearing. "Day 52: We managed to get three major backers, each want something from us in return for the money, the first one, Al de Flaga, wants a genetic clone of himself, something about bloodline purity, no clue what he means, the second was Admiral Ryuzaki Hisanaga while the third was Charleen Amsel," both Ryu and Victor let out small gasps at the announcement. "And they both wanted the same thing, essentially, super soldiers…"
Kira and Lacus both wrapped their arms around Ryu, giving him their emotional support in the face of this revelation.
"Both requests should be relatively simple, here's hoping it goes as planned," the recording continued on several images appearing before cutting out, showing the degradation of the disk. "Day… fuck… 144: the clone has been shipped off to the Flaga family, and both Ryu and Victor have been born without issue, and both families are pleased with the end result, despite Ulen's adamant declarations that they're not 'perfect', he's become obsessed with this project, Via's actually afraid for him now… none of the children have met his standards and were discarded, I managed to smuggle one out and smudge the reports… but… I'm afraid that's all I can do fo-" the screen cut again before reappearing. "Year One, Day 300: Well, it's happened. Ulen's obsession has gone too far, he actually took one of the fetuses from Via's womb and put it into an artificial one, claiming the mothers make the children 'impure'… she was sobbing all night and he didn't care… what are we doing here?"
They were all looking at the screen in shock, though Kira was also feeling growing realization and horror. If she was guessing right, then the one in the artificial womb was-
"Year Two: Day 15: Well, it was a success," the recording informed. "Via gave birth to a beautiful baby girl named Cagalli while the twin girl Kira was released from the artificial womb and declared a success by Ulen… I need a dri-" the screen cut harshly before reappearing. "Fucking Blue Cosmos, they've been protesting our work here, and have been sending threats, Ulen's upped security and Ryuzaki, as a gesture of friendship with Via sent a group of commandos to help us…" the video cut once again. "This is horrible, Blue Cosmos is attacking! Via was killed in the opening attack, upon her request the twins were taken away to ORB, Cagalli is to go to Via's old friend Uzumi Nara Attha, while Kira is going to the Yamato family, I pray for their lives, we must remove all trace of where they we-" the recording cut out and never restarted, leaving the quartet in stunned silence.
"Wow…" Lacus breathed after a moment. "This… this is all so…"
"That… I…" Kira started, wide eyed and shocked. "Me and Cagalli are… sisters…"
Ryu hugged her closely to him. "Well, talk about rocking your world view…" he breathed out, kissing her scalp as Lacus joined the embrace.
Victor sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose. "I need a drink…" he muttered, fully intending on grabbing a bottle of some of the higher-quality booze they kept on the Archangel and just drinking straight from that bottle as soon as they got back to the ship.
The three lovers chuckled in response. "That… sounds like a good idea," Kira informed. "I think I'm going to really need it when I talk to Cagalli… wow… I have a sister…"
"Yeah…" Lacus replied. "This is really big… and just one of many things we've found here that are just as big…"
Ryu nodded. "Let's get back to the Archangel," he said. "I think we all need time to process this, and talk to some people," he gave Kira and Victor a significant look at this. "I… kind of had some idea about this… just a vague feeling from my talks with dad after the Court Martial, so… I guess I was kind of expecting it…"
"Just didn't realize all the potential implications, or who else might be involved?" Victor asked. "Eh, it happens."
Ryu nodded in agreement. "C'mon, let's go, the others are probably wondering why we didn't report in…" he announced as they began to move to the exit.
"We'll need to brief them on everything," Kira remarked. "No secrets among Fenrir. Between Fenrir and other groups, yes, but we need to trust each other with everything."
The others nodded in agreement. "Well, let's get this over with then," Lacus said. "I think it may also be time to get in touch with my father and tell him what we found about Durandal…"
"Agreed…" Kira replied. "And hope that things aren't getting worse in the rest of the world…"
Back on the Archangel, Captain's quarters, a few hours later
Kira sighed as she leant against Ryu, seeking comfort in his presence as Lacus went to go fetch Cagalli so that they could share with her the news they found. "I don't blame, mom, dad or Take-nii for not telling me I'm adopted," she informed loudly, seemingly out of nowhere. "I just… what am I?"
Ryu was silent for a moment before answering. "You are, whoever you want to be," he said finally. "But… I'd like to think of you as my wife, the beautiful Kira Hisanaga…"
Kira smiled and nodded. "Yeah… and that won't change, no matter what my origins are… thanks, Ryu."
"Anytime, Honey," Ryu informed. "I'm always here for you."
"And I'll be there for you, no matter what," Kira replied. "And we both know Lacus will support us, too."
Ryu smiled and held her closer as the door opened to admit Lacus and Cagalli. "Hey, Kira, Lacus said you needed to tell me something," Cagalli said as she entered, not even batting an eyelash at Ryu and Kira's cuddling, even as Lacus floated over to join them. "About something else you found in GARM?"
"Yeah," Kira said, picking up the picture of her and Cagalli as babies with who was most likely their mother, and passing it to Cagalli. "Take a look at this."
Cagalli accepted the photo and looked it over, before flipping to the back where both her name and Kira's were scrawled. "What…?" Cagalli gasped. "What… does this mean? Kira?"
"Remember what I told everyone about the Ultimate Coordinator Project, and how I was taken from my mother's womb to be developed in an artificial one?" Kira asked. "Well… my mother had another child, my twin, who wasn't removed from her womb and was born normally. That twin… was you, Cagalli…"
Cagalli staggered a bit, even if they were in Zero-Gee. "T… twin… but… how… why…" she stuttered. "How?"
"Fraternal Twins," Kira replied. "I was taken from our mother's womb and turned into that 'Ultimate Coordinator' our father wanted to make, while you were born normally. When Blue Cosmos attacked the place, we were split up for our safety - I went to the Yamatos, while you were given to Lord Uzumi."
Cagalli leaned against the wall, floored by the revelation. "But… why didn't father… tell me?" she questioned. "Why… was I never told?"
"Again, I think it was for our safety, also because I doubt they'd expect a young child to understand it," Kira remarked. "I'd imagine he was planning on telling you when he thought you were able to understand, but… we discovered it before then."
"This… is so much… to take in," Cagalli informed slowly, taking deep breaths. "So… what do we do about this?"
"Well, we obviously can't make it public," Lacus remarked. "That would be painting targets on both of you. We only talk about this to people we can trust." She then smiled. "On the other hand, it also means that you two each have a sibling you never knew about before!"
The two stared at Lacus with a disbelieving expression before giggling uncontrollably. "Only you, Lacus," Kira said as they got their giggles under control. "So… how about we just take it as we have been, little sister?"
"I guess, and what makes you think I'm the younger one?" Cagalli replied.
Kira gave Cagalli a look. "Let's see, hot-headed, impulsive, tomboy, and must I go on?" she asked with a small grin.
"Still doesn't mean I couldn't be the older one between the two of us!" Cagalli replied.
"Doesn't really matter much unless you want to get into bragging rights/pecking order," Lacus remarked. "Given that you are twins, no matter what happened in your origins, any differences in age would come down to seconds, minutes at most."
The two looked at Lacus. "It's a matter of principle!" they both shouted in unison.
Kira turned to Cagalli. "And who is the mother of the two of us and technically your boss!" she continued on.
Lacus just sighed as the two started getting into a shouting match as to which of them was 'older'.
Three days later, Mendel Shipyards
The last three days had been busy for the Fenrir Mercenary Guild as they began working on the Mendel Colony, their priority were the Shipyards and Agricultural areas. "This is Mendel Control to Ryu, our guests from Terminal have arrived," Ryu's radio crackled to life as he was working on some welding for the support struts.
"Understood, Mendel Control, on my way," Ryu informed as he finished his welding. "Nikolai, finish this will you?"
"Yessir," an Engineer informed as he took over the welding.
As Ryu headed back to the docking area, he could see the Terminal Ship through a window… and not just any ship, but their newest ship, the one Kira's brother was stationed on.
He let out a low whistle. "Sending the Gungnir for a meeting, they must be serious about this," he muttered to himself. "Here's hoping they're open to working together…"
He arrived at the entrance to the gangplank, where Kira and Lacus waited for him. "Well, this is it," Kira remarked. "Time to let them know what we know, and hope they're willing and able to help us."
Ryu nodded. "Does Sentry have everything ready?" he asked curiously.
"Yeah," Kira replied. "He's compiled everything he remembers about the Reapers and his own civilization, as well as all we managed to get from the GARM servers. We should be able to make a concise, ordered presentation to the people Terminal sent."
Ryu nodded. "Wonder who they sent for this meeting?" he mused. "I asked for Aeolia to come in, but…"
As they watched, the door to the ship opened, and the delegation emerged. Aeolia and the Gungnir's Captain were obvious, and Takeshi being there wasn't much of a surprise. What was a surprise, though, was…
"Father!" Lacus called out in shock, and indeed, Siegel Clyne was part of the group, as was Uzumi Nara Attha. "What are you doing here?"
"Hello Lacus," Siegel greeted with an amused smile. "I'm here on business actually, as one of the Benefactors of Terminal, along with Lord Uzumi here."
Kira's jaw dropped, as did Ryu's and Lacus'. "You mean to say," Kira began, "that not only are you two the leaders of your own respective governments, but you're also two of the mysterious Benefactors that fund Terminal?"
The two nodded, smirks on their faces. "We fund Terminal so that they are able to defend those caught up in the war," Uzumi explained. "Much like yourselves, only on a much larger scale."
Kira managed to nod. "I see… it makes sense… and it likely makes you at least partially familiar with some of the information we have to share."
"I take it you found another Alien base, Mr. Hisanaga?" Aeolia asked as he stepped forward. "Must be rather important if you called this meeting."
"We did," Kira replied. "And it is very important, but we also found a few things here in Mendel that we'll need to share with you, as well. I'd imagine Lord Uzumi knows at least some of it."
Uzumi nodded. "I take it my daughter wishes to have a few words with me?" he asked, a small smile on his face.
"Yeah… she was definitely shocked when we told her about it… and is definitely wanting some words with you… She'll be there in the briefing with us, though I'd imagine she'll want to speak with you more privately later."
Uzumi nodded in understanding. "Please, follow us, gentlemen," Ryu said as he began to lead deeper into the Archangel and to a room repurposed as a conference room.
As the group entered, Cagalli was revealed to be waiting for them - as were Jinn, Hanami, Hughes, Murrue, and Natarle.
"Right, first things first, Gentlemen, I would like to introduce you to Sentry," Ryu informed. "Sentry?"
"Present, Ryu," Sentry informed as he appeared. "Is it time for the briefing?"
"Wow…" Takeshi whispered as he took in Sentry's appearance. "An AI… not just that, but an Alien AI… this is incredible!"
"Actually, I am a Virtual Intelligence Program, a VI for short," Sentry informed. "AI research was - Error: Data Corrupted."
Takeshi sighed. "VI, then… that works," he said. "And I'm guessing he's missing a fair bit of data due to age?"
Kira nodded. "He let me take a look through his programming and I'd say… 40% of his data is corrupted," she informed. "But, it's the data he does have that we called you here for."
"So, what data does he have?" Aeolia asked. "Technology? Cultural data?"
"Some, but the most critical data I have, is on the threat of the Reaper Invasion," Sentry informed. "Every 50,000 years, the Reapers harvest the galaxy's space faring life forms to create more of themselves."
The eyes of the Terminal group widened in shock. "H… harvest?" Takeshi asked. "They… wipe out space-faring life… to make more of themselves?"
"Affirmative, they use the -Error- to take the galaxy by surprise," Sentry confirmed. "I also hold data for developing FTL technology."
"FTL Technology…" Aeolia murmured. "This is big… if mankind were united, this would allow us to explore the stars…"
"And that's why we asked you here today," Ryu informed. "We need to end this war, permanently."
"Makes sense," Takeshi remarked. "The sooner we can end this war, the sooner we can start exploring the cosmos… and preparing for an even bigger war, one of survival."
"The question is, how do we do this?" Kira asked. "I mean, if you, Lord Uzumi, and yourself, Chairman, are in on this, how do we get the Earth Alliance with us as well?"
"It'll be a bit tricky," Uzumi replied. "One of the other Benefactors is in EA territory, but he doesn't hold much political power - and he also has to deal with LOGOS manipulating things behind the scenes…"
"LOGOS?" Ryu asked. "Sounds familiar…"
"It should," Hughes said, speaking up. "LOGOS is the driving force of Blue Cosmos, they're the thorn in the side of those who are actually concerned with OMNI being a real military."
"Indeed," Siegel remarked. "LOGOS is a shadow organization, comprised primarily of businessmen and arms dealers. They control most nations on Earth from the shadows, and have members in prominent positions in the nations they don't control… and all they seek is profit. Now, how do arms dealers and weapons manufacturers make the most profit?"
"With war," Kira concluded. "So… how do we take them out of the picture?"
"We need to expose them, first," Uzumi replied. "Gather concrete evidence on their existence, their activities, and how they started the war. We can operate against them in secret, cripple their operations, but if we declare their existence to the world without proof, the world won't believe us."
Ryu nodded. "Well, Hughes, looks like you and I are going on a field trip," he informed his father's 2IC. "Any suggestions where to start?"
"Most of their power base is in the Atlantic Federation," Siegel informed. "It would be best to start there. Perhaps you could see if there is anything still left in Muruta Azrael's old mansion? Most of it has likely been cleared away by now, but there might be clues that you can use to search further."
Ryu nodded. "We'll check it out and go from there," he assured with a nod. "Shall we, Hughes?"
"Right," Hughes replied. "I'll go ahead and get ready while you get to the next phase of the briefing." Hughes then left the room.
Ryu nodded. "There's one other thing we need to share with you, apparently there's an Alien outpost on Mars that holds a large data cache," Kira said, continuing on with the briefing. "We need to secure the location and excavate it."
"Right," 'Odin' replied. "I'll contact the base and get them to send an expedition to Mars." He paused, and then continued, "Also, I think earlier you mentioned you'd obtained data from Mendel that you wanted to share with us?"
Kira nodded. "There's actually something critical you should know," she informed, looking at Siegel. "Gilbert Durandal must be removed, he has a plan he calls the Destiny Plan and wants to remove the free will of everyone."
Siegel looked rather shocked. "Rau le Creuset's physician?" he asked. "That is a rather bold accusation…"
"We have proof, though, Father," Lacus replied, handing him the journal they'd found in Mendel. "Take a look."
Siegel looked through the journal, his expression growing more and more concerned. "I'll order his 'disappearance' immediately," he informed. "We will also need to deal with Rau and Patrick, unfortunately, they are becoming more and more vocal about 'stepping up' the war."
"We'll need to do a fair bit of planning, then," Kira remarked. "Patrick seems to be more fanatical than anything, but according to Victor, Rau has backup plans within backup plans."
"Let's deal with it one step at a time," Ryu informed. "If we take Patrick and Durandal out, that will reduce Rau's footing, and then we'll be able to go in for the kill."
"Right," Kira replied. "Well, I guess we have a bit of planning to do…"
Ryu nodded. "If you'll excuse me," he said. "I have some recon to do."
They nodded, though as everyone started to leave, Cagalli and Uzumi both stayed, as did Kira, Lacus, and Takeshi.
"So… I take it you found out the truth about your origins, Imouto?" Takeshi asked.
Kira nodded. "How did you know?" she asked softly.
"Tou-san and Kaa-san told me about it when I was twelve," he admitted. "And I figured that was why Lord Uzumi needed to talk to Cagalli, as well." He paused. "To be honest, that was part of why I joined Terminal - if anyone found out the truth about you, I wanted to be strong enough to keep you safe…"
Kira nodded. "It was rather shocking to find out, to be honest," she admitted. "Ryu and Lacus were really helpful with keeping me grounded."
"I'm glad," Takeshi replied. "I'm glad you found two someones who love you for you, and not for what you could do for them… I hope they continue to make you happy, Imouto."
Kira smiled happily as she and Lacus shared a brief kiss. "Who would've thought that I would be in a threesome relationship with a superstar, huh?" she asked with a giggle.
Takeshi nodded. "Oh, also thought you should know, you're going to be an aunt in a few months."
Kira blinked, before squeeing a bit. "Really, Linda's pregnant, oh my god, that is amazing!" she cried out. "Congratulations, Take-nii!"
Takeshi smiled. "We don't know what gender the baby will be yet, but we've already decided that if it's a girl, we'll name her Larcei, or Kouji if it's a boy."
"Ohh, I can't wait to meet them!" Kira said excitedly. "Make sure you call me as soon as they're born, alright?"
"Sure thing, Imouto," Takeshi replied. "Well, I should get back to the Gungnir - take care of yourself, alright?"
Kira nodded in agreement. "Same with you, Take-nii," she informed. "Make sure you don't get shot down, alright?"
"Sure thing," Takeshi replied, as he left the briefing room.
Archangel - Hanger
"You ready for this, Hughes?" Ryu questioned as they powered up the single commando shuttle that had been brought over during the mass defection (1).
"Never thought I'd be going back to the EA territory," Hughes replied. "But yeah, I'm ready."
"Let's do this then, Bridge!" Ryu shouted out. "This is Away Team, we're launching!"
"You're clear to launch, Away Team," Naomi replied. "Good luck out there."
"Thanks," Ryu said as they began to take off, before launching out of the Hanger and into the inky darkness of space. "So… got any cards?"
Two days later
Mendel Colony
Kira was supervising the restoration efforts in the colony, the Gungnir having left the day earlier. She and Lacus were missing Ryu at the moment, but were at least able to have fun with each other.
"I hope Ryu's alright," she murmured to herself from the recently finished control tower of the Mendel Spaceport. "I know he said they'd be in a comm blackout throughout the mission… but…"
"He'll be fine," Lacus replied reassuringly as she stepped up to Kira's side. "There's no way he'd be taken down on a simple recon mission…"
Kira nodded. "I know, but… I still worry," she sighed before smiling at Lacus, who was beginning to show the signs of her pregnancy. "How are you feeling?"
"Alright," Lacus replied. "Not too different yet, but I know getting around's going to start getting awkward the closer I get to my due date."
Kira giggled. "Believe me, I understand," she informed. "Although, I admit… when I got to the second trimester I really started to miss Ryu's… special attention…"
Lacus giggled. "Yeah, and I'm not looking forward to needing to waddle around everywhere," she remarked, before she grinned. "It'll be worth it in the end, though…"
Kira nodded. "I can't wait to meet the little one when they come out," she informed.
"Yeah… still need to determine a name…" Lacus remarked. "I know I could wait until the baby is born, but I'd like to be prepared."
"I… is it alright if it's a girl we name her Via?" Kira asked her lover hesitantly.
"After your mother?" Lacus asked, before smiling. "Yeah, that could work."
Kira smiled in return. "Thanks," she said gratefully. "I just… she seemed to care so much so…"
"I understand," Lacus replied. "She did seem like a wonderful mother from what we could tell… I wish we could have known her…"
Kira nodded in agreement when an alert went off. "What's going on?" she shouted to the staffers. "Report!"
"We've got a ship coming in, Ma'am," one of the operators reported. "Profile looks like an Agamemnon-Class."
"What's its IFF, who are they with?" she asked as she moved up next to the operator.
"IFF reads as… huh, apparently it's Eurasian," the operator replied. "Name seems to be Ortigia."
"Open up a hailing channel," she ordered. "Eurasian Ship Ortigia, this is Kira Hisanaga of Fenrir, you are hereby ordered to stand down and state your intentions, you are entering Private space."
"Kira Hisanaga…" growled a masculine voice in reply. "I finally found you! You may call me Canard Pars, the one who is going to KILL YOU!" As he said this, the Ortigia's forward launch bay opened, and a single machine launched forth, resembling the G-Weapons, but with a few noticeable differences.
Kira sighed. "Fine, I'll be out in a few moments," she informed. "Send the Lockdown alert, and have the Archangel preload the Valkyrie with both the Warrior and Aegis' packs."
"Kira…" Lacus whispered in worry as the operators confirmed her orders.
Kira pulled Lacus into a deep kiss, holding her close as she did so. "I'll return, I promise," she told her. "You won't even notice I'm gone…"
Lacus tried to smile. "Good luck out there…" she whispered, before kissing her again.
Kira smiled as she moved off, focusing on the battle to come.
Later - Archangel Pilot Ready Room
"Are you sure you want to go out alone, boss?" Mu questioned as he and the other pilots gathered in the ready room as Kira finished changing.
"I feel like I have to," she replied. "He wants me, so I don't want to think about what he would do if others launched with me."
Mu nodded as they watched Kira enter into the hanger and climb into the prepped Valkyrie. "This is Kira Hisanaga, Valkyrie, Launching!" she announced shortly before she was launched from the Archangel.
"So, you're not a coward after all…" Canard growled. "But… I will prove I am the superior Product!"
'Superior product?' Kira asked herself, before she realized what was going on. "You're the other survivor of the Ultimate Coordinator Project, aren't you?" she asked.
"So, you know about it, of course you do! You're the perfect one!" Canard shouted, his unit drawing out the 'Zastava Stigmate' Beam Sub Machine Gun as he charged Kira. "But I'll prove here and now that I am the superior one!"
Kira tsked as she blocked the shots fired by the weapon using the Ramming Shield to block the shots before returning fire with her own. "Why would you need to do that?!" she yelled out. "You're alive, and as far as I'm concerned that makes you a success!"
"Of course you don't understand!" Canard shouted. "You weren't a failure, you're the one everyone wanted!" he quickly reloaded the clip for his weapon before the Fortantere Beam Cannons unfolded over his shoulders and launched a massive blast that Kira dodged. "But… I'll show you who is truly the better one!"
Kira returned fire with the 50mm gatling cannon shield. "The man who deemed 'failures' and 'successes' was obsessed!" she yelled. "Just because he labeled you a 'failure' doesn't make you one!"
"What does it matter what you think!" Canard shouted. "I'll show you the power of my Hyperion Gundam!" a series of emitters deployed around the Hyperion and began to generate a green tinted shield. "NO ONE CAN GET PAST THE ARMURE LUMIERE!"
Kira tsked again as she dodged another cannon blast from the Hyperion. "Damn, that looks like the Umbrella Shield I heard Artemis had," she muttered. "Might not be able to pierce it, but I doubt a Mobile Suit can maintain it for long - just need to outlast him." She began flying around him, making sure to keep him out of melee range and avoid his shots, while occasionally peppering his machine with fire, attempting to get it to wear out faster.
"HAHAHAHA!" Canard laughed wildly as he fired his cannons wildly trying to hit Kira. "DIE!"
Kira gritted her teeth as one of the cannon blasts skimmed the colony's walls. "Watch your fire!" she shouted, maneuvering herself so that the colony wasn't behind her. "There are innocents in the colony!"
"I DON'T CARE!" Canard shouted. "I just want to prove that I am the true Ultimate Coordinator."
Kira gritted her teeth. "Then fine! Take the title!" she shouted, blocking shots from the Sub Machine Gun, before closing in and trying to break past the Armor Lumiere barrier with the Ramming shield. "I never even knew about it until five days ago!"
"What!?" Canard shouted as the Ramming Shield and Armor Lumiere clashed.
"Besides, how you were born does not dictate who you are!" She shouted. "Who you are is dictated by your actions alone!"
Canard's eyes widened in response to Kira's words. "My… actions?" he responded quietly before gritting his teeth. "Stop… stop trying to confuse me!"
Kira gritted her teeth as the cannons swung around and aimed directly at her suit. "I'm not the one confusing you! It is your own actions!" she shouted. "Don't you ever take responsibility for your own actions and choices?"
Canard gritted his teeth as he pulled the trigger, launching a blast from the beam cannons, forcing Kira to disengage in order to dodge. "It… I… nothing matters if I can just prove that I'm not a failure!" he shouted desperately. "I… I DON'T WANT TO BE A FAILURE!"
"You're not!" she called out. "Just because someone obsessed with perfection was in charge does not mean that anything less than perfection is a failure!"
"THEN WHAT'S THE USE OF ME BEING ALIVE?" he shouted out desperately. "THEN WHY DO I EXIST!?"
"That's something only you can decide!" Kira replied. "Only you can determine a purpose to your life - no-one else!"
"Then… then… what was the point to everything I was doing?" he asked imploringly. "What… what should I do…"
"Whatever you want," Kira replied. "And if you need any help… I'd be willing to provide it as your sister."
Canard gasped as he stared at the Valkyrie from the cockpit of the Hyperion, he could swear he saw a vision of her reaching out for him, his hand rose up. "My… sister?" he asked, tears building up. "I… I'm so sorry…"
"It's alright… otouto…" she replied. "I may not have known about you before now… but I'm here now…"
Canard let out a choked sob. "Ortigia, we're… standing down," he informed. "I… we… after Terminal bought out Artemis, we've… had nowhere to go…"
"We can take you in until you find someplace else," Kira replied. "And if you want to join us permanently, we can arrange that, too."
"Thank you… sister…" Canard said, a calm smile blooming on his face. "I… appreciate that…"
"Come on, let's get inside," she replied. "I'm sure we have a lot to talk about and catch up on."
"Y… yeah, I guess we do," he agreed. "I… look forward to it."
"So do I," Kira replied as they moved towards the colony, the Armure Lumiere on Canard's machine shutting down, and the Ortigia following them.
END CHAPTER
Footnotes
1 - Think of the Kodiak Drop Shuttle from Mass Effect 2&3
