The delivery was successful and without delay I made my way to Earth, leaving my mobile suit on the Moon until I would return. It felt good to be in the fresh and alive air of Earth and to feel the soil under my feet. It made my spirit come alive once again. It was soothing, and healing for my soul. I would look up into the star laden sky at night, wondering where he was. He was a stranger, Array. You barely even knew him.

Sometimes I wondered how I got to be where I was. It was a whirlwind. I never expected to be a mercenary, sometimes only living by a single thread. My life seemed to rush from one moment to the next, ever in a flux within time. Always changing. Never the same. Sometimes, I longed for the past, but I knew better then to dwell on it. It was called the past for a reason, and I knew that no matter how much I dwelled on it, I could never be in that moment again. There were moments when Nicol would come into my mind but I dismissed them as quickly as I could. That was the only way I knew how to survive in an ever-changing and amoral world. I only let my heart dwell with a few. Days turned into weeks. Time passed by, and I did whatever was asked of me. And so, that was the pattern of my life. I had settle into a 'routine' once again.

Over a month had passed, and things had become rather slow for us. So, for my own sanity, I did my own exploring. I probed into areas that some would recommend were best left untouched. Before I could delve too deep though, I was contacted that the Sargon had requested our help. The Sargon was on a special mission, and the Earth forces were short on combat commanders. They had specifically requested me. By the evening of that same day, Cara and I had departed for the Moon. Little did I know that me returning to space would be the catalyst for a whole string of events.

As we entered the docking port to get to the Sargon, we were greeted by Captain Gideon along with a few of his highest-ranking officers.

"Captain Gideon, it is good to see you again." I saluted him promptly. Cara followed my lead.

"You as well, Array. I am glad you were able to make it. You as well, Cara."

"It is our pleasure Captain. How soon do we depart?"

"We leave at 1200 hours. An hour from now."

"Sounds good. Will my mobile suit be loaded onto the ship soon?"

"Yes, I think it will be loaded once we resupply the ship. We will have someone bring you down to the loading dock, and then they can escort the both of you to your room before we depart. After our departure I will meet with you to orientate you on our mission." He handed Cara and I Earth Alliance uniforms. "But before you do anything else I would like you to change. I don't want the rest of the crew to become suspicious of who you are. They don't know that we 'hired' you."

"I understand, Captain. We will be back momentarily." Cara and I turned around and made our way to the change room to put on the uniforms.

Once we were settled into our room, a soldier came to our room to escort us to meet with Captain Gideon. We were brought to his personal quarters by the soldier who quickly left after 'delivering' us.

I pressed on the intercom button for his ring. "Captain Gideon? It is Array and Cara."

"Please come in."

We both stepped into his room to find Gideon at his desk, staring at his screen intently. Before entering furthering we saluted him, which he nodded to and then gestured towards two chairs.

"Please take a seat."

After we had settled in, the Captain projected what was on his smaller screen so we also could see it. "I know you are aware of for the most part about this mission but I want to fill in any missing gaps. I do not want the crew to become suspicious."

"I understand, sir."

"So, our mission is to deliver cargo to Morgenroete but the problem is that we should have no relation with Morgenroete as they are a part of Orb."

"So it needs to be done quietly and stealthily. That is why there is only one ship going."

"Precisely. We can never be spotted by any forces. Be that ZAFT, Orb or even the Earth Forces. This is a confidential mission, Array."

"I understand that Captain Gideon. You can completely trust the both of us. What I want to know though is why did you ask for our help?"

"Honestly Array, the Earth Forces is short on competent combat commanders, especially ones we can trust with classified information. We have no idea what trouble we may face. We hope though there will be no need to put you or Cara to full use."

"I would hope so too, Captain."

"I am glad we can agree on that. You have been appointed as an non-commissioned officer who will be charge of the flight squadron for this ship. I will also be looking to you for tactical and strategic advice if needed. Array, I don't know if you are a Coordinator or a Natural, and honestly I do not want to know. But I told the Council you were a Natural, so I ask that you wouldn't raise the suspicions of anyone on the ship. The same for you, Cara."

"I understand, sir." Cara nodded.

"That is all for now. If there is anything else I will notify you when necessary." He started to stand up.

Cara and I followed his example and saluted him, exiting his room promptly. As we walked back I looked over at Cara.

"How do you feel about all of this Cara?"

"Fine. Why do you ask Array?"

"I just want to make sure you are okay with it. But know Cara, you are not to go out onto the battlefield unless I tell you to. Understand?"

"I understand, Array. But you know I can handle myself out there."

"Yes, I know that Cara. But even if you are the best out there, there is still that unpredictability of war, that game of chance. I can't afford to lose you, Cara."

Cara gave me her warm, congenial smile. She knew I said those things out of love. The rest of the walk back to our room was silent but my thoughts were wandering.

"Kadin!" I caught up to him as he was walking away from the mess hall.

"Yes?" He turned around.

"Could you outfit one of our spare mobile suits for a Coordinator. OS and everything."

He nodded his head. "Who is this for?"

"Cara."

"But Array – she's a Natural."

Even though in our team we never directly told the others what we were –or in the case of Coordinators, flaunt their abilities – usually people had their assumptions. In Cara's case, we knew.

"I know but just amuse Kadin – please?"

He sighed. "Fine, Array. I don't know what you are up to but I will do it."

Our first few sessions were especially rough out in space but I knew it was in her. I knew she had the determination to overcome. The secret between Kadin and I, I hadn't even told Cara. She had no idea it was meant for a Coordinator. I had a theory though and I wanted it to be proved right.

I was almost losing hope but then – it finally clicked. One day we were going through the same exercise repeatedly. And then, she caught me off guard. I took a swing to her left side when suddenly I was abruptly stopped. Before I even had time to react, she then grabbed my arm and flung me across the deep space.

My eyes widened in surprise but also excitement. "Cara! You did it! You blocked my blow!"

I could hear her laughing on the other end. "Yes, I did. I think I understand it now, Cara. It is all making sense."

There were moments where she was still slow but the change had happened, something had clicked. The change was drastic.

When we had landed in the hangar and were walked back to our rooms we were stopped by Kadin.

"Array!" He came up to me in excitement.

I turned to Cara. "You can keep going Cara. I will catch up with you."

She gave me her genial smile. "Okay."

Kadin looked at me in disbelief. "What happened out there? How did she– but that was a– Coordinator."

"I had a theory, and I wanted to test it out. Cara has proved my point. I knew that it was in her."

"What kind of theory is this Array?" He looked at me curiously.

"I haven't quite formulated it yet but I know it has to deal with trying to find the differences between Coordinator and Naturals but also their similarities. I want to bridge the gap, Kadin."

"I see." He nodded his head.

"So can we keep this secret between us a little while longer Kadin?"

"We can."

I looked over at Cara as we reached our room. Cara was one of our best pilots. She was still very young, and I knew that we had just seen the tip of the iceberg in her potential. I hoped though we would never see her full potential. My hope was that soon this war would end and there would be no need for war machines. But it looked like my hope would be deferred, I saw no end to this war in sight.

"Well Cara, I think I am going to head down to the hangar to check out my suit and touch base with the mechanics."

"Sounds good." She gave a small yawn. "Is it okay if I stay behind and take a nap?"

I smiled at her. "Of course you can. Sweet dreams, Cara."