Phase 3: Taking Action
"The latest news from the Plants. The former Chairwoman of the Plants Supreme council Lacus Clyne has been declared an enemy of the Plants," the PLANT newscaster said, "she was to be brought into custody as of yesterday but she has evaded PLANT security and escaped into space. The new PLANT supreme council Chairwoman Jaley Lired has put out a reward for the arrest of Lacus Clyne and declares that no one should harbor this terrorist. If she is caught she will be tried for her crimes under her own laws. Another arrest warrent has been issued for her husband, Kira Yamato, whom has been missing for almost a month; it is believed that Lacus Clyne has kept his wearabouts a secret in order to hide unknown crimes from the council." Emerald eyes glared at the TV screen as two people who have only ever worked for peace were being slammed with suspicision.
"In other news the nations of the world are cheering for the election of Jaley Lired as PLANT Chairwoman. Perhaps now the aid to fight ROW will be given to the nations of the world..." Athrun Zala got up from his chair and turned off the television while sighing. How Lacus could be declared a terrorist he did not know; it seemed that now the world was doomed to plunge back into a battle between coordinators and naturals. With the earth in such turmiol from ROW he was no longer sure what was really happening around him. Yes the world was heading back down an unforgiving path he though as he walked toward the widow.
"Are you all right Athrun?" he turned to see his beautiful wife Cagalli standing in the doorway of the room. Her blonde hair hung down around her face as her golden eyes were illuminated from the slight ways of sunlight peaking over the hills. It was very early and the sun would not be up for another hour; at the same time the sun of peace had set and the terrible night had begun.
"I was just watching the news from the PLANTs," he said with a frustrated tone in his voice and he turned back to the window. Cagalli walked silently toward where he was standing and placed her hand on his shoulder. He looked into her eyes and saw that they were filled with tears and his own pain in the events began to stir within him. He embraced her and she clung to him letting a few tears fall; though neither said it both thought of their older son Uzumi whom they knew was with the Eternal at this time.
"Its going to be alright," Cagalli finally said breaking the silence, "somehow I jut know it has to be." He let go of her and looked into her perfect golden eyes and she wiped a few tears away from them.
"It has to be alright," he said with assurance, "we have each other still and Uzumi will come home to us." Cagalli shook her head wiping the tears from her eyes. They only had two children, Uzumi and Jeffery unlike Kira and Lacus who adopted one then had three to make a total of four.
"Have you been able to get a hold of them?" Cagalli asked, "do you know where they are?"
"No," Athrun said turning away again, "they have been avoiding communication; probably so that the PLANT radars don't pick up anything unusual."
"Do you think they'll head here?" Cagalli asked.
"Yes," Athrun replied walking over to his computer and pulling up some data on the screen, "Uzumi and Yaro sent this to me a few weeks ago with the help of Kiran; the Eternal has been upgraded to enter earths atmosphere and to be more like the Archangel in its ability to sail on the water and to travel better on the earth. Its almost certain that after leaving the plants they would follow the path of a satellite for a short while and then descend to ORB. However if they do not take the calculated path then they will head for a hidden factory held by the Clyne faction for refuge until they can make the descent." Athrun then stood up and faced Cagalli.
"Has the PLANT council released any information about their status?" Cagalli asked.
"All that has been released is that they have escaped," Athrun responded, "I don't think they have a fix on where they are. Lacus would have Kiran send us a coded message if they were in extreme danger."
"Honestly, how good do you think their chances are?" she asked. Athrun stood up and walked toward the window again. "Athrun?" she said his name again staying by the computer.
"If they are not followed they'll make it," he said, "however if they are followed then they only have one mobile suit pilot, unless Uzumi tells them what he can do in a mobile suit. In the situation of being followed by the PLANT fleet..."
"What?"
"They'll be captured or killed." the five words hung between them as if it were their lives being threatened. In a small way though they were; if Lacus's ship was captured Uzumi would be captured and Jaley would immediatley cast blame on ORB.
"Then we have to make a move Athrun," Cagalli responded sitting down at the computer, "we have to send aid."
"How?" Athrun responded following her, "sending the Tranquility would make ORB an enemy of the PLANTs, there is no way to send aid." The Tranquility which had rescued the PLANTs from a huge attack from ROW a month before. Cagalli had acted as captain in Athrun's place during the battle while he used The Infinite Justice to defend the PLANTs.
"We aren't sending the tranquility, I can't go anywhere with the world in such a horrendous state but you can. You are not only part of the ORB military but as a part of the Clyne Faction you must go." She was still typing and Athrun saw what she was calling over a secret communications channel. A ship that had been hidden beautifully for many years and a crew that had served ORB on the Tranquility and in many other ways. Cagalli had kept this project a secret from almost everyone. This ship had been re-created to be able to leave the planet without the help of a mass driver for emergency's. Now they would have to take up arms in a vessel that had not been seen since the second bloody valentine war.
"The Minerva!" he exclaimed.
"This is a battle that must be fought," Cagalli said opening up the channel, "For the Destiny of the world a battle will be fought; Recive your orders power of the past." The coded words had been spoken and a great power had been awoken.
Shinn Auska had gone through a lot in his life already. If it weren't for Athrun and his friend Kira a whole lot more might have happened because of him. Since the second bloody valentine war he had joined forces with the two fighters of freedom and justice but he had kept a very low profile through it all. Even not after sixteen years there were still so many scars from the war that he couldn't erase; deeds that he couldn't undo. Of course nothing bothered him as much as it had bothered Kira Yamato, no Shinn was a trained solider and he knew how to control his feelings unlike Kira who held onto the pain of lives lost during war. Shinn understood why what he was doing was not all his fault yet there were times when he still felt a little guilt for it all.
Time had a way of changing things for the mobile suit ace. He had learned more about life during his stay in ORB. He was not a part of the regular military but rather a secret part only known about by Cagalli Yula Attha and a small group of others. He never thought he'd be siding with Attha in the past but he came to ORB because of Athrun and soon he found out why his father had believed so strongly in ORB's ideals. Of course he had boarded the Tranquility in order to protect the PLANTs a month or so earlier but that was not his vessel.
"Shinn," the familiar voice of Captain Meyrin Hawke rang in the halls. Time had changed Meyrin as well she had grown very mature and beautiful; a few years ago she had finished her training to be a ships captain and since then she had been awarded the honorable position of Captain of the Minerva.
"Meyrin, do you have our orders yet," he said solemnly. The entire crew knew that soon they would be heading to space in order to bring aid to the Eternal but none of them knew the details of this. Meyrin beakoned him to follow her for a bit before she started to speak.
"Athrun Zala will be arriving here tomorrow," Meyrin replied, "he is bringing our orders from ORB. We are not to open contact with them in any way, this operation is not being conducted by ORB." Shinn understood these sentiments. The nation would be in jeopardy for harboring Lacus; she was that much of a 'criminal' to the plants.
"So in that case we are not using ORB mobile suits either," in the battle for the PLANTs he had been assigned to an ORB standard suit in order to keep his identity secret. He wanted to be able to use his more powerful mobile suit on the Minerva rather than to be seen as an ORB pilot.
"I have a strong feeling that Athrun is bringing with him orders to use the newly upgraded Destiny and the Impulse 2," was all Meyrin said as she exited the area. Shinn walked down a different hall lost in thought about the recent events. No photos of the Eternal had been released by the PLANTs so it was unknown whether Lacus had to fight her way out of the PLANTs or if she had just slipped out unnoticed. ORB could not get involved with her so in that case Athrun could not get involved with her. If Athrun was coming with only the Impulse 2 and the Destiny then how would he fight.
"So this is your plan Zala," Shinn said allowed to himself, "what will you use if you can not reveal your identity?" With that Shinn walked back to the mobile suit bay of the Minerva to prepare for launch.
"The point is that both of you failed in your mission," Captain Gilligan Manchester said pacing in front of Meiko and Trey. They had been asked to report to the briefing room, "The prejudice is an unfinished ship and there was no way for us to step in so it was both of your responsibility to take out the ship. A lot of money was spent on your training and the building of your mobile suits; your failure does nothing to help the support of our organization do I make myself clear." He was very angry with them.
"Yes sir," they both said. The Captain turned to one of his assistants for papers.
"Both of you will receive due punishment," he said looking toward Meiko who's head hung down and whose mind did not seem present. After battle's Meiko usually was like this; solem, determined, and not all there.
"But it wasn't our fault," Trey replied strongly standing up from his seat.
"Excuse me," the Captain said.
"The fault lies in whoever planned the mission." Trey angrily continued, "They failed to give us accurate information on the strength of the vessel, and if I am not mistaken Captain it is you who always say that the soldiers performance is based on the performance of the strategist."
"You step out of your place Likra Day!" the Captain said, "we gave you all the information you needed."
"No you didn't," Trey yelled this time, "you said the only mobile suit aboard was the first one! The one we had information on! We were never told that Clyne had developed a new mobile suit. These errors were not our fault." Trey was tired of them being blamed for everything, he saw this blame is just another effort of the Captain to try and weaken their inner strengths so that they could be controlled. Trey wasn't about to give his free will up that easily and he had to protect Meiko who would not dare defy her superiors. She was to soft, and she took the blame for to much for her young age; she had been fighting for too long.
"You were told that we could not predict every scenario," the Captain said stepping toward him, "You could have beaten that mobile suit."
"You told me to withdraw," Trey pressed on, "its your fault..." Meiko finally looked up her mind coming out of "post battle mode" and all she saw was the commander ready to hit Trey and she jumped up from her seat in a snap.
"DON'T!" she yelled jumping in front of Trey and taking the hard whack that was meant for him. Unprepared for the blow Meiko was sent flying to the hard ground with a small cry.
"Meiko!" the Captain said generally shocked. She was usually the most obedient but he had forgotten how kindhearted and strong she really was. She hated being around physical violence and always ran out of the room when he fought with Trey. Yet on the battlefield Meiko was a deadly weapon filled with anger and hate for whatever got in her way and even in assassination missions she was deadly. This double personality was somewhat of a mystery for the Captain but he realized he had no control over it. Meiko had been trained to be exactly the way she was for whatever reason; he was in no real control over the details of her life so he left that to the top ROW executives. Yet now he wondered what use there could be for Meikos apparent softness outside the battlefield.
"See what your temper has caused," Trey said.
"Guards," the Captain said, "put Ensign Likra Day in detention for now." The took Trey away and Meiko sat up from her position on the cold floor. The blow didn't really hurt her as she had gone through a lot worse in training and other missions but the anger of her Captain troubled her.
"Meiko," the Captain said softly bending down to her and she looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "It's alright now Meiko. I'm not angry anymore, I won't hurt you or Trey."
"I'm sorry," she said; she knew the only reason she had jumped up was because her reflexs were still unvoulntary because of the battle
"You'll be alright Meiko," he said helping her stand up, "you'll get another chance to fight that ship soon and you'll show us what you can do."
"Yes sir," she said wiping the tears from her eyes. With that the Captain and his assistant left.
Meiko reached her hand up to feel the necklace around her neck. It was a simple heart that had been given to her by her mother. It was the only memory she had of her and oftentimes it was her only comfort. She walked out of the room toward the hall which looked out into space. Her mind races wildly with thoughts of sadness as she looked out toward space yet there was something else there in the back of her mind. A presence in the far distance and for a moment she lost herself.
White, everything was glowing yet there was someone there. She could vaguely make out the black silhouette of someone floating in the distance toward her. An outline of his hand reached toward her hand and she reached back floating toward this person. When her hand met his hand suddenly she felt her heart leap within her as if he was the missing part of her life. Who was he?
As quickly and as suddenly as it had come her vision disappeared leaving her empty and alone once again. How could she feel so alone? What was missing in her life? How could she live so emptily?
Yaro watched as the engineers on The Eternal worked on The Visage and Commander Elsman's mobile suits in a hurry. There was no telling when they would be in battle again. Yaro was still amazed about the power of the mobile suit. He was glad that he didn't have to kill anyone, it would have been hard to bear actually ending a life.
"Yaro," he turned to see Uzumi floating toward him.
"Uzumi" he said with a smile, "how were things back here."
"Good," Uzumi said stopping next to him, "I was able to keep Kayla calm though the battle but to tell you the truth I was a bit worried about our situation."
"I was to," Yaro responded, "I wasn't sure I would be able to handle those two but I caught the first one by surprise."
"The element of surprise is a good one," Uzumi floated in front of another mobile suit in the bay. "The Journey," he said with a wondering voice, "I talked to Commander Waltfeld about the element of surprise and we decided that I would pilot this machine in the future if we needed any more help."
"Really?" Yaro said in surprise. It would be nice to have Uzmui out there though. As the 'Prince' of ORB he had received some of the best mobile suit training in the world. His father Athrun Zala, a legendary pilot, had personally overseen his training.
"Yes," the two were silent for a moment when Uzmui spoke up, "have you heard about Commander Elsman's condition?"
"No, is it bad." Yaro watched as Uzmui sighed.
"He's in treatment right now, but the doctor said he shouldn't pilot his mobile suit at least for the time being. He's pretty upset about it but there is nothing he can do but work on the bridge."
"Those two were that good huh?" Yaro's eyes flashed with pain, "They were good enough to set a veteran ZAFT pilot back."
"I saw them fight on the monitors and i can say that they are no amateurs," Uzumi and Yaro floated toward the exit that would lead them out of the mobile suit bay, "and their machines are very impressive as well."
"They were good," Yaro reminisced.
"Yes," Uzumi replied opening the door in front of him, "and I have a feeling inside me we will see them again which is why I spoke to Commander Waltfeld. I would hate for you to have to handle them all alone."
"Kids," they turned their heads down the hall and saw Commander Julianna Miuri floating down it toward them. She was a member of the bridge crew and worked with some of the main guns on the ship.
"Yes Commander Miuri," Uzumi said.
"I want to thank you both for offering to protect the ship," she simply said warmly. Everyone knew Julianna as a very kindhearted person who had followed Lacus Clynes ideals since she was a teenager watching the wars unfold in front of her.
"You're welcome commander," both boys said together. It was good to know that they were appreciated.
A pair of dark blue eyes watched the view of the rather large computer monitor in front of her. File after file opened revealing things to her expertise. Her shoulder length red hair was pulled back into a pony tail as she sat unblinking. Though she had discovered a lot recently she felt very strongly that something important was evading her. She always had been able to put together every piece of information she got but some recent things were troubling her. Suddenly she spotted something on her screen. In front her her images of The Eternal in battle popped up. Her eyes widened at the pictures.
So its begun, she thought. She typed a few more words and pulled up an image of a large ship. The Prejudice was written underneath the ship. Interested she delved deeper into the files of the ships design and layout. Her well trained mind understood everything about the ship instantly as she paid special attention to its weaknesses and its secret strengths. She then pulled up a layout of its chief mobile suit; the Pain. It was a simple Gundam throwing away the leads that she wanted.
"She isn't ready yet?" the woman said aloud, "when will her battle begin?"
"Have you found it Milady," she turned around in the dark room and saw one of her most trusted commanders standing in the doorway. His platinum hair shone from the light of the computer screen. She smiled crookedly.
"Come see it," she simply said. He needed no further invitation to walk toward the display of the ship. This was all their enemies could whip up? No they both knew that they had to be wary of what the enemy could really achieve.
"What move are we making," he spoke his thoughts out loud. There was not much they really could do at the moment with much of their strength depending on new projects and developments.
"We will make no move until we find her," Milady said, "so much depends on our stealth in this mission. No one must know of our existence. We must especially stay hidden from Kira Yamato."
"Why do you fear him so," the man asked.
"I do not fear him," she said closing the documents, "I am trying to save him, his family and the whole world. In this I believe secrecy is the best path, even though we might be too late."
"But surely they need us now," he said.
"ROW still has a trump card," Milady stood up, "so much of our plan depends on successfully that care from their hands and I know that it has to have been revealed in some way before now its just the information keeps slipping away from me!"
"The world is at stake," the commander said, "we must speed up our efforts."
"He's making it so difficult to do that," she said angrily, "it's as if he knows I'm still here watching, waiting, knowing what I want! Understanding how much I have seen." Her last line was a whisper as her mind though of the past.
"But that's impossible!"
"Nothing is impossible with him," she saig clenching her fists before leaving the room. No they couldn't move now! Her plans were so fragile that one mistake could cost them but then again they were so perfect. She shook her head and bit her lip to keep the painful memories of the past from entering her mind again. Her redemption depended on the future and not the past though she knew that both Kira Yamato and Lacus Clyne would probably disagree with her actions.