Gundam Seed: The Federation

by Blackshadow999

Different telling of Gundam Seed. With the conflict between Naturals and Coordinators getting worse as time passes, some nations have banded together and formed the organization known as the Human Federation. Will the Federation be able to help bring peace or will the hatred between Naturals and Coordinators destroy everything and bring extinction of humanity? Cover by SaddlePatch

8. Phase 8: Approach to the Earth Sphere

A/n

Here's Phase 8, hope you enjoy it!

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Phase 8: Approach to the Earth Sphere

February 9th, 71 C.E.

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-Tyler's pov-

The Archangel

The tension that had been left once George Allster exited the room, quickly lessened, "You three really outdid yourselves out there, you know that, right?" said Sai, smiling as he and the other volunteers crowded around Tyler, Kira and Lacus in the mess hall.

"N-no, not really," said Kira. "We still lost the advance fleet…"

"And all Kira and I did was to keep the ZAFT forces occupied," added Lacus. "If anyone outdid themselves back there, then it was you guys… the Archangel and her crew were the real heroes this time."

I snorted, "I do believe we all need to give ourselves a pat on the back for a job well-done. Kira and Lacus, you need to quit being extremely modest, good a quality though it is, there's a time and a place and this isn't it. So, give yourselves some credit in what you did out there," I said, putting in my two cents.

"Says the one who was the first out on the battlefield and struck the enemy ship directly," put in Krystal.

I shrugged, scratching my head, "I did just say that all of us should be patting ourselves on the back, did I not? As for me, I was just doing what is needed to save lives, that's my story and I'm sticking to it," I answered.

While I'd been giving my reply, Tolle and Miriallia entered the mess hall, "Hey everyone, glad the battle is over, all of us did awesome!" he said.

Turned to Tolle, "Well said Tolle, true indeed. We all did extremely good with the circumstances," I remarked.

"Well, how could we really do any less after Captain Ramius said that she believed in us and was counting on us?" asked Tolle, trying to further lighten the mood. "I mean, how could you live with yourself if you failed to live up to expectations given like that?"

The other bridge volunteers chuckled, which made me wonder just what Murrue Ramius had said to motivate them. "And you shouldn't be so hard on yourselves," said Sai. He'd turned to face Kira, Lacus and I, "We all saw what the ZAFT forces were doing when we arrived. Kira, you managed to beat Le Creuset, and Tye… you were taking on the Aegis and for a bit were fending off the Blitz at the same time. Still, through it all, you managed to save Flay's father. We may have lost the rest of the advance fleet, but you gave them a far greater chance than they would've had otherwise. If we'd gotten there sooner… well, maybe you could've done more. But you did the best that you could under the circumstances, right?"

Kira smiled, "Thanks, Sai."

"But," said Tolle, "I wonder what it is that Mr. Allster wanted to talk to Flay about? It sounded like he was awfully intent on talking to her before meeting with the captain. Even if she is his daughter, I'd expect a vice minister to place work a bit beyond that in this situation."

"Probably just because Flay was already here," said Miriallia, trailing off.

"I think most, if not all of us know that's not the reason the Vice Foreign Minister is having a private talk with his daughter," I commented. Yet, I stopped when Flay entered the mess hall, her eyes downcast, expression unreadable, her head hung uncertainly.

Every one of us could see that the girl was in a gloomy mood, was kind of hard not to see it, "Uh, Flay? What's wrong?" asked Sai.

"Huh?" said Flay, looking up and glancing around, as though only just realizing where she was.

Then she caught sight of Kira and Lacus, and looked away, "My… my dad, he," she tried saying uncertainly, but was having the trouble finding the words I think. "He… isn't happy. He's actually pretty angry, about," Flay bit her lip nervously. "He hates Coordinators," she finally breathed, her words causing all of us to stiffen slightly.

Lacus had never really gotten along with Flay at first, mostly stemming from Flay's obvious dislike/discomfort around the rosette. But ever since what went down at Artemis, the two had become somewhat tentative friends by what I'd seen.

"It's so… ugh… it's so stupid!" said Flay, startling everyone. "I mean, you saved his life, you've protected the people on this ship, and he's gone off to the captain to complain about you, and is telling me to stay away from you and… it's so frustrating!"

This was a reaction that none of us had expected, even me. Flay had shown herself as someone that has at least a slight problem with Coordinators in general. Her father had displayed much stronger signs of being against Coordinators and I had assumed that it had been passed on to Flay herself, but apparently, that's not entirely true. This also showed that like she tends to be, my mother is an amazingly accurate at seeing how people are. I know by now, that doubting her doesn't do much anymore.

"Um," said Lacus, drawing Flay's attention, "You don't… you don't have to argue with him, or anything." Lacus cast her gaze down as everyone looked at her, "Not over us… you shouldn't…"

"Look at me," said Flay sharply, walking over and slamming her open hand on the table in front of Lacus, startling the rosette, who did as she was told.

"The two of you are my friends!" said Flay. "It doesn't matter if you're Coordinators, or Naturals, or Hybrid! So what if I might think it's wrong to have your genes modified, that doesn't change the fact that you two are my friends. That's something that has nothing to do with genetic modifications and without those changes, you wouldn't be able to protect us. All of us would be dead by now, and if my father can't appreciate that fact and blows up at me over who I choose as my friends, then I can be as angry with him as I want!"

I like everyone else, sat frozen, as we all stared in astonishment at Flay and how she was acting. The girl had completely transformed from the spoiled girl I'd been told about and had come to know. She was becoming an honest teenage girl who would stick up for those she considered friends, even against her own father. Put simply, Flay was growing up and it was showing very promising possibilities. My hands came up and came together in the action of clapping and that broke the silence and had everyone looking at me, "Now this is a healthy change, hope you keep it up Flay. It takes courage to stand up and say that the views that you're taught are wrong," I said.

-Line Break-

-Neutral pov-

Murrue wasn't sorry in the slightest to see Minister Allster leave as he was escorted out of her quarters. The man had been extremely different that Murrue or anyone else had thought he would be. The things that Allster had said, had been beyond rude and mean and had been about people that he didn't know. Not only had he shown he had a heavy dislike of Coordinators, but also had made his dislike vocal in such a way to leave no doubt what he thought.

The sound of both Mu and Natarle sighing in relief with the absence of Minister Allster, resinated with her. The man's obvious bigotry had begun to wear even Natarle's strong military discipline and patience thin. And with Natarle's upbringing, it gave her astounding patience and discipline she had shown.

Natarle fully acknowledged that the Coordinator pilots were the major reason if not the only reason, the Archangel had made it this far. While she'd had some reservations about them at first, since they were civilians who shouldn't be in this situation, Natarle herself had nothing against Coordinators personally as she didn't see what difference genes made. She'd come to trust Kira and Lacus with the safety of the entire ship. And even she had been coming to trust Tyler with that, regardless of the teen having a way of getting under her skin, unlike any other member of the crew.

Mu was the first to speak his mind out of the three in the room, "Well, at least that guy's out of our hair for now," he said. "Man, can you say stupid and stubborn? I mean, come on, if it weren't for those 'untrustworthy, filthy, monstrous Coordinators' who fought against ZAFT out there, he'd be lucky to be more than space dust. Heck, the Vice Foreign Minister would be still floating in that lifepod out in space, if Tyler hadn't picked up the beacon's signal and retrieved the pod… I'm starting to kind of wish he hadn't after having to listen to the guy during his rant."

"Agreed, but there's nothing we can do to change his opinion," said Murrue. "Fortunately, he's only a civilian, an influential one true, but he can't stop us from sending any of them out to protect the ship if ZAFT hits us again." She let out a sigh, "And here I was hoping that rescuing his daughter would have him give us his support if anyone wanted to make something out of our three pilots being Coordinators. But apparently, it will be the opposite, we'll just have to deal with it."

-Line Break-

The Vesalius

Two days went by and the repairs were coming along for the Vesalius, there were still more to go, but it was progress. However, then there was a message received that changed things, "Commander Le Creuset, we've received a dispatch from the Homeland addressed specifically to you," said the com-officer.

Le Creuset looked up from the tactical board, where he'd been reviewing footage of the battle, and nodded slightly. "Very well, who is it from and what does it say?" he asked.

Creuset was kind of curious as to whom it would be wanting to talk to him at this point. "It's from Admiral Treize sir," answered the com-officer.

Commander Le Creuset and captain Ades froze at hearing the sender of the message. Le Creuset had previous run-ins with the man and knew this couldn't be ignored. Lanus Treize, the man who was the overall leader of the ZAFT military when it came to movement and deployment of forces as ZAFT's best tactician. He may technically be asked to report to the National Defense Committee, but unofficially, he did whatever he saw fit to and the committee could only suggest actions. In person, he came off as very well-mannered and respectable and was hard to not like. People that were in his presence, would either like him or be wary of him. Treize had no official rank, but he was treated as an "Admiral" within ZAFT, the respect he got from others, made it appear that he had more authority than he his rank gave.

"It says, until further notice, we will be under the command of the Black Zephyr. She has been dispatched from the Homeland to take command of the pursuit of the Earth Forces new warship," the com-officer read.

Le Creuset bit back a curse, 'Damn you Treize! Of all the ones you could send, do you have to pick her?!' "The Black Zephyr? Honestly, I'd been hoping to avoid working with her again. She isn't nice or easy to work with, and she's worse with me specifically," said Le Creuset to himself quietly. The masked commander then returned his attention to those in the room, "Very well, send a return message that we acknowledge, and will place ourselves at the Black Zephyr's disposal when she arrives."

"Yes sir," replied the officer.

The feel on the bridge and shortly the whole ship, gained a fearful tone to it, at knowing that the ZAFT Champion, the Black Zephyr. All of them had heard about her before now, and the fear of her was common between them.

-Line Break-

The Gamow

Three and a half days went by since the pursuit of the legged ship had started and though they had made progress at closing the distance, there was still a distance to go. Now the pilots on board the ZAFT vessel, were gathered around the tactical table display, deciding what tactics to use to obtain the goal assigned them. "Granted, it's possible to catch up to our target before they join the Alliance's 8th Orbital Fleet," admitted Nicol in a reserved tone, studying the data displayed, "But even were we to use that opportunity, we'd only have ten minutes at best, before we are within firing range of the fleet. And as for me, I'd rather not see or experience what it's like trying to dodge the firepower a full Alliance orbital fleet has to work with in only a mobile suit. Especially, not the one that is said to be one of the strongest and have a tactician that can out do a number within ZAFT."

The four stolen machine pilots of the Le Creuset Team, had been using the last three days and almost another to come up with a plan. In fact, they started upon separating from the Vesalius and going after the legged ship. With the Vesalius unable to continue for the time being, the Gamow had gone ahead however, with its inferior speed meant that it had taken very close to three days to come into even a somewhat close range of the Earth Forces' warship.

"You mean we'd have a full ten minutes," said Dearka smugly.

"I would suggest the cowards keep their traps shut," said Yzak condescendingly, "before you say something embarrassing

Nicol stood his ground and his eyes narrowed, "There are five dangerous faults which may affect a solider of any rank," said Nicol calmly, but he was staring rather pointedly at Yzak. "Here are the three that affect you Yzak: recklessness, which leads to self-destruction, a hasty temper, which can be provoked by insults, and lastly, a sense of honor and pride that are sensitive to shame." Nicol turned his attention back to the tactical board while everyone else stared at him in shock. "It's no wonder you scored so poorly in command abilities." Nicol finished.

'If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him.' Nicol thought to himself as he observed his comrade's reaction.

As Nicol expected, Yzak nearly flew off the handle at that, but Dearka held him back to keep him from completely losing it. Nicol had a bit of a point and most on the bridge knew it, even if they didn't want to admit it. Between the pilots there were from the start of this campaign, out of the ZAFT reds that had been on this mission from the outset, including Rusty, Yzak had scored the worst in command capabilities tests. Athrun had scored the highest, only very narrowly beating out Nicol for best in their academic class. However, it seemed at times like Nicol had taken the lessons from the Black Zephyr more to heart than any of them, which has served him well with the tactical mindset that he had. Regardless, Athrun decided to try and diffuse the situation by turning back to their attack plan.

"Moving on to the matter at hand, timing isn't the only issue that we face in this, whether we wish to say it or not. We've fought against the forces of the legged ship on several different occasions now," Athrun said, drawing everyone's attention. "The ship itself is easily the strongest ever created by the Earth Alliance, as is clearly seen with how it dealt with both Nicol and Dearka well enough in our first fight with it out of Heliopolis. The two mobile armors are piloted by two who can arguably be considered some of the best the Earth Forces have. One is piloted by the Hawk of Endymion, a man who single-handedly brought down five GINNs at Endymion, including one of the Champions of the ZAFT, the Roc and his forces. He even went head-to-head with Commander Rickteth as well as Commander Le Creuset, holding his own against both." Iterated Athrun.

He paused, still thinking how to go over the relevant information and help the others understand, and yet not say the fact that he Athrun himself knew the three mobile suit pilots. "The other mobile armor pilot has a similar record of going against GINNs and good ZAFT pilots and coming off the better. Then moving on to the three mobile suits," Athrun said, inputting commands into the display and bring up the known specs of the last Alliance machine. "The white and blue mobile suit, the GAT- X105 Strike. It has been able to match us in previous battles, and by what we've seen, it has different equipment sets that it can use. The winged suit, there's still little information on it, but what we do have is enough to say that it isn't one to underestimate. It has mobility better than GINNs that are built for the idea, an arsenal that makes it dangerous. Finally, we can't dismiss the black suit, first encountered back at Heliopolis and reappeared again in the recent skirmish…"

Nicol nodded in agreement, "Indeed, it may look very similar to the Blitz, but it has shown that it has capabilities that my suit doesn't. I'll say that ignoring that mobile suit will only bring negative consequences. That being said, we can't underestimate any of these forces," he added.

Yzak grit his teeth, feeling like Nicol and Athrun had stolen the spotlight from him, "That doesn't matter," said Yzak irritably. "If we have a window of opportunity, we need to take it."

"I couldn't agree more," said Dearka. "The success of a surprise attack isn't determined by the actual time spent."

"We weren't saying we shouldn't make the attack," reasoned Nicol. "we're just saying that the window of opportunity is small and with what we know of our opponents, we need to be cautious, right Athrun?"

"Yeah," murmured Athrun.

"It'll be fine," said Dearka confidently. "Yeah, sure, it won't be easy, but so long as we can hold off their mobile suits and armors, the Gamow stays safe, and one of our machines can get up close, we can take them out."

"You make it sound easy, but keep in mind that it'll be three mobile suits and two mobile armors verses our four mobile suits. So then how do we do that?" said Athrun. "The way those pilots are improving, we may not be able to match them all at once. And other than the reports of the battle of Nova, I've only ever heard of the Hawk being taken down by lucky shots."

"Looking at it from a practical point of view," continued Nicol picking up where Athrun left off, a hand ging to his chin. "The Duel and Aegis would be the best to lure away the Strike and the winged machine. …That still leaves the two mobile armors and the third suit. And out of the five machines, the black mobile suit worries me the most by far, it and its pilot are a different matter altogether which the others don't present."

Everyone were looking at Nicol, then Yzak scoffed, "You make it sound like this black suit is the most powerful."

"That black machine will be the wild card in this, I've no doubt about that. The mobile suit and the one piloting it, they have shown to be the most efficient out of the five machines that we will face. I would bet they'll be harder to lure away than any of the others, if we can do that at all. I can't say how to plan for that one… Meanwhile, the Buster would be the best to use against the mobile armors. Dearka, think you can handle it?" Nicol asked.

"That shouldn't be a problem," said Dearka. "The Hawk's a better pilot than me for sure, but he's in that outdated mobile armor. His weapons won't even scratch me, and his mobility has its limits."

"Good, still watch yourself out there. All it takes is a well-aimed shot from the armor's main gun and your mobile suit's armor to go down and they win." said Athrun, before turning to the captain. "Captain Zelman, we'll need the Gamow to provide long-range fire support at the beginning of the battle, but you should pull back if it seems like the legged ship is going to seriously target you. If we lose the Gamow, then we'll be stuck as well."

"It should work in theory," said Zelman. "We'll definitely be cutting it close with the 8th Fleet approaching, but this plan is the best we can come up with."

"In the meantime, the Blitz should be able to close in on the legged ship with relative ease," said Nicol. "If I can get in close, the battle should be over at that point."

"Fine, we'll go with this," said Yzak. "But I want the white winged machine, got it?"

There was silence for a moment, "Yzak, are you sure that's wise?" asked Dearka nervously. "Given what the data and what we've observed, I would say that the Aegis is better suited to fighting that machine out of ours."

"No, that one is mine," said Yzak hotly. "That damn Natural… he's responsible for everything that's gone wrong since Heliopolis!"

Athrun sighed and conceded, there would be no getting Yzak to change his mind about this. Yet, Athrun said nothing about what he knew about the pilots, at least the two out of the three. If he had, then Athrun knew that he would have to answer where he learned the information and he real wanted to answer that question.

-Line Break-

The Archangel

The Archangel had been sailing along without further interference from others, and the mood on board the ship had begun getting better. Once the sensors had detected the first few ships that were with the 8th orbital fleet, a sigh of relief was released by many. "We'll reach the rendezvous point in about thirty minutes," said Murrue, smiling. "Well everyone, we somehow managed to make it this far and are home free."

While a nice sentiment, Natarle would only relax the slightest degree when the Archangel linked up with the fleet itself. "Don't slack off on your monitoring," said Natarle sternly to Pal and Tyler. "Fleets are conspicuous and they'll draw the attention of the enemy. We may be in Federation territory right now, but that certainly didn't stop ZAFT before, and it unlikely would now. We don't want to get shot down just because we relaxed a moment before we were somewhat safe."

It'd come as a surprise when Tyler had asked if he could do some shifts on the bridge, for none had expected him to do so at all. Not only that, Tyler had already known basic operation for half of the stations, not specific on all the control or operations, but he had learned quickly. Murrue hadn't a problem with the request, the Archangel was short on bridge crew, let alone one that had some experience to begin with. Natarle had been against it at first, yet after Mu and Krystal had vouched for him, she had agreed and relented.

"Yes ma'am," said Pal.

"Will do," replied Tyler after Pal.

Murrue shook her head slightly as she gave Natarle a reproachful look, even if Natarle didn't see it. They'd been on high alert for a while now, and while what Natarle said was true, if they didn't relax some, they'd all snap. "Natarle… You should calm down. We've made it, don't be so uptight," remarked Murrue.

The Archangel would soon link up with the 8th fleet, once with the fleet, all of them would proceed to either Lunar HQ or down to JOSH-A. Honestly, who at this point would be stupid enough to attack this close to the 8th fleet?

Natarle just shook her head and kept doing what she was. But the standoff didn't stop there as the voice of Tyler was heard, "Did you honestly just say 'We've made it' captain? Or were my ears deceiving me?" he asked.

Murrue glanced in the direction of the sensor console where Tyler was stationed currently, "Yes, what of it Tyler?" she asked, not understanding what the teen was getting at.

"Those are some of the most famous last words that have been said, before people get killed," Tyler finished.

-Line Break-

All four Heliopolis volunteers had gathered in the mess hall, since for one of the rare times, none of the four of them had a shift right now. They'd agreed to meet together to talk about recent events as what had been happening was not what any had thought at the beginning of the year. "We've gone through a lot," said Kuzzey to Sai in the mess hall, "but we're almost there."

"Yeah," muttered Sai, poking at his food.

"It's hard to believe all that's happened since Heliopolis isn't?" uttered Miriallia.

The three boys gave sounds of agreement to the question. The chain of events that had led to where they were now was unbelievable. They were college students who had been worried about what most students, namely schoolwork, classes and their social lives.

"So, you don't suppose they'll let us off anywhere but on Earth, do you?" asked Kuzzey. Sai looked at Kuzzey, confused. "It's just that… remember what Lieutenant Ramius told us?"

Sai thought back a bit, and realized immediately what Kuzzey was talking about. Just after first introducing themselves to one another, Murrue had warned them that they weren't likely to be allowed to just go anyway, after having seen the Earth Force's prototype mobile suits. They'd have to wait for a decision from the appropriate authorities though, before being certain about anything.

"Hmm, yeah," muttered Sai. "So, under the circumstances, wouldn't the leaders of the Alliance fleet be considered the appropriate authorities?"

"Guess you're right," said Kuzzey. "However…"

"However what Kuzzey? What are you trying to get at?" asked Tolle, looking at Kuzzey.

"What do you think will happen to Kira, Lacus and Tyler? Will they be allowed to leave too?" asked Kuzzey. "They did get involved in a whole bunch of stuff."

With their three Coordinator friends having been the pilots of Alliance mobile suits that were supposed to be made for Naturals. Plus, some of those from the Earth Alliance had treated the three differently, not bad necessarily, yet not good either. So, now that the Archangel was with the 8th fleet, there was the chance that their friends might not be 'released' from the job they've been doing. Sai looked down, frowning in thought, but then looked up in surprise as two of the pilots in question entered the mess hall. They only shared a brief look before the two went to get food and water.

"Flay!" exclaimed Sai, softly, as the redhead entered the mess hall soon after Kira and Lacus. The rest of them had seen very little of Flay over the last few days, with the girl spending most of her time talking with her father. That's what everyone believed, since Allster himself had hardly been seen around the ship at all.

"Huh? Flay? What's up?" asked Kira as everyone looked over at her. Flay glanced at them before looking away.

"More problems, with my dad," said Flay. "He's… refusing to leave his quarters. He doesn't want to wander around where Coordinators have been or me to do so either. He's just so… oh, he's just so stupid!"

"Should you really be fighting that hard with your father?" asked Lacus, tilting her head a little. "I understand that you don't agree with him. I happen to agree with you about how our genes don't affect who we are. But still, he's your father; you should try to get along."

"No!" said Flay, shaking her head. "You're right, I still want to be family with him, but I'm not going to share his beliefs about Coordinators, beliefs I now know are wrong!"

Kira and Sai both blinked at hearing that. Flay seemed to be becoming increasingly vehement about her disagreement with her father over the treatment of Coordinators, and neither knew how long it would be before things got ugly… or worse.

Meanwhile,back on the bridge of the Archangel, all was quiet, but things began to change, which came in the form of sensor readings. "Hmm?" murmured Pal on the bridge as he saw a new signal on the radar detection screen. "Is that what I think it is?"

Tyler inspected the sensor feeds in front of him closely, "Yeah, it is. Did I not say, 'We've made it' are famous last words you shouldn't say?!" he commented.

"Electronic interference detected," announced Pal. "N-jammer levels are rising."

Murrue and Natarle both looked in Pal's and Tyler's direction, tensing up, before rushing to their seats. "All hands, level one battle stations!" ordered Murrue as she took her seat. "Tolle, fire up the engines to maximum speed!"

"Yes ma'am," said Tolle, who was currently handling the piloting since Arnold was off-duty.

"Tyler, get to the hanger, Pal can handle sensor detection and fire control himself until the others get here," ordered Murrue.

Tyler got out of his seat and flew over to the elevator without further hesitation, "Laurasia-class identified at Red Charlie one zero three, orange alpha seven two," said Pal as he temporarily ran an enemy search through the detection systems through the main sensor station since Tyler was making his way to the hanger right now.

Kuzzey would take over when he got to the bridge. Pal was looking over the data that was being displayed from the detection systems, "The signals coming in, are mobile suit thermal patterns, comparing to database to see if their matches," Pal paused and gulped, before turning back to look at Murrue. "Thermal patterns all have matches, they're the Duel, the Buster, the Blitz and the Aegis."

"Damn it, all four of them are coming at us," muttered Natarle, "And of course, this happens just moments before our rendezvous."

-Line Break-

-Tyler's pov-

"All hands, level one battle stations!" came Miriallia's voice over the PA. "I repeat, all hands, level one battle stations!"

I sped up my pace to the hanger at the announcement, spotted Sai and Kuzzey coming out of the Mess hall straightening their uniforms as they went. I sailed past them as I continued on, noticing Kira and Lacus shortly falling in behind me. It didn't take long for the three of us to arrive at the pilot locker room, we quickly changed into our suits. After we changed, the three of us headed the rest of the distance to the hanger. When we came into the large room, the three of us caught glimpses of both Mu and Krystal getting into their Zero armors. Wasting no more time, we boarded our respective mobile suits. The mobile armors moved to launch position in the catapults as I went through the system boot up. It was when Miriallia's voice came over the radio that I looked up, "Kira, Lacus and Tye," she said. "The ZAFT force is made up of a Laurasia-class, the Duel, the Buster, the Blitz and the Aegis."

My thoughts ground to a halt at being told what we would be going against, for it wasn't what I had expected. So, the Nazca-class that Le Creuset is on isn't coming? That doesn't sound right, that man is too persistent to give up on this hunt, given any choice. He has earned his reputation of being a dogmatic and obsessive as far as I was concern and seen. So then, why only send the slower class ship on the chase?

"So, all four of them at the same time now?" asked Kira.

I made my voice heard then, "Only the one Laurasia-class is detected? Are you sure the Nazca-class isn't just behind the Laurasia?" I asked in a suspicious tone.

"The Nazca-class isn't in range, so it's unlikely that they'll be in this battle. They must've stayed behind with the damage they took and then just transferred the Aegis over to the Laurasia," answered Miriallia.

So, either Le Creuset is unable to pursue or there's something that's we don't know about at this time. "Well, that means we're on our own on this one, meaning this battle will be five verses four," I commented.

The Asuka moved to the left catapult while the Strike went to the right. Lacus had chosen to have the Strike to have the sword Striker equipment. The set included the 15.78m "Schwert Gewehr" anti-ship sword, "Midas Messer" beam boomerang and "Panzer Eisen" rocket anchor, good for close quarters.

My machine began moving to the left catapult, which I assume Kira had already launched from, yet once in the catapult my suit stopped. I'd asked Chief Murdoch to equip different equipment than normal, since I would like to test some the new optional sets that had become available. The Shadow would still have the shield with rail cannon and beam saber, but I was going to switch out my medium-range beam rifle. This time, I was going to have a longer and beefier beam rifle that could be stored on a rail that was attached to the back-right side of the Shadow's frame, named the "Hallon" beam rifle.

The difference between the long rifle and the normal rifle was the long one was one and a half times the length of the normal one. It would work well with the hidden scope the Shadow had, since both were meant for an extended range. The long rifle would drain the battery of the Shadow more than the midrange beam rifle, but that just meant I needed to make my shots count and I do that anyways. It was one of the pieces of equipment that had been transferred over from the Donnen. After the "Hallon" was attached, I zoomed out to the field and joined my comrades.

-Line Break-

-Neutral pov-

Arnold rushed into the bridge, Sai and Kuzzey right behind him, all three throwing themselves toward their stations. They quickly got down to doing the operations of the station they were in, "The 8th Fleet will be meeting up with us soon enough," said Murrue as they focused on their tasks and duties, "We just need to hang in there."

"Activate CIWS Igelstellungs," ordered Natarle. "Load anti-beam depth charges, ready stern missile launchers with sledgehammer missiles."

The Archangel's "Gottfried" beam turrets rose up out of their storage position in the top of the legs of the ship and the barrels extended out, ready to be used. The "Valiant" linear cannons came out on either side on the back of the ship and then flipped around to point forward. And the defensive "Igelstellung" 75mm CIWS turrets deployed, ready to do their job of interception of incoming enemy fire. Ahead of the Archangel, the nine mobile weapons were constantly decreasing the distance between each other. The seven mobile suits activated their phase shift armor, taking on their colors that made them more identifiable. The four ZAFT machines moved to clustered together, back-to-back, barrel rolling when they had positioned together. Behind them, the Laurasia-class blasted off a shot from its main cannon, and the ZAFT pilots broke away from one another. The shot flying between them to crash into the Archangel, rocking the vessel. But, the beams damage was minimized by the energy being converted into heat by the laminated armor the ship had.

"Using their mobile suits to conceal the firing position," muttered Mu, his grip on the Zero's controls tightening, "that's very cute!"

As Mu sited the stolen G-machine that was the closest to him, which was the Blitz, he let lose a round from his Zero's linear gun. Mu then deployed the gunbarrels of his zero and let loose with the entire arsenal of his armor. Krystal joined in with Mu in shooting at the stolen Alliance suits, deploying her own gunbarrels. There was a bit of satisfaction as the four opposing units broke apart to avoid the incoming fire. Although, none of them would've suffered any real damage, every hit would've drained just a bit more precious battery life to powering the phase shift armor.

With the formation of the four ZAFT suits broken, they picked their targets and headed towards their chosen opponents. The Duel went straight for the Asuka, engaging it without wasting anymore time, forcing Kira onto the defensive. The Aegis faced off against the Strike, while the Shadow began clashing with the Buster. The mobile armors attempted to occupy the Blitz and stopping its progress forward.

"Nicol, go ahead and get the ship immediately," said Yzak over the radio as he shot at the mobile armors, forcing them to dodge and let up on Nicol. "We'll keep these damn Naturals off your back."

Since the three Alliance mobile suits and the two mobile armors were occupied, Nicol was free to go after the real target. Surprisingly, even the black suit was being kept busy, Nicol was surprised that even that one cooperated with the plan. He'd thought the black suit would not fall for the distraction the same as the others had. The mobile armors did attempt to intercept the Blitz however, Nicol dodged them without much effort and continued to his goal. Even Kira and Lacus tried to go after the black suit, but were stopped by the Aegis and the Duel.

The Archangel fired the 'valiants' at the Blitz, but Nicol evaded… and then the Blitz vanished from sight. "Captain, I've lost the Blitz," said Kuzzey.

"Its mirage colloid must've been activated," said Murrue. "Fire another spread of anti-beam depth charges and reload all missile tubes with anti-suit shrapnel missiles."

"Fire anti-beam depth charges," ordered Natarle, echoing Murrue. "Stern missile tubes, switch over to anti-suit shrapnel missiles."

Nicol got into range and fired the Trikeros beam rifle at the Archangel, but the beams never reached the warship, they were dispersed instead by the anti-beam curtain surrounding the warship. So, Nicol moved closer to get around the effects of the anti-beam depth charges.

"Calculate the Blitz's position from the shot's angle," said Natarle. "When you have its position, link the data to the fire control station. Officer Pal, when you have the data, fire with shrapnel missiles!"

"Yes ma'am," said Kuzzey and Pal. Kuzzey ran through several console commands as he narrowed down the stealth mobile suit's location, then linked it to Pal's station as ordered.

"Firing anti-suit shrapnel warheads!" announced Pal as he let them loose.

The missiles blasted off from the Archangel's stern missile tubes, and upon reaching their designated range, the outer shell of the missiles broke apart to reveal small, shrapnel-sized explosive-tipped darts that blasted away from the missile casing. Seeing this, Nicol immediately activated his phase shift armor, which required the mirage colloid to shut off. Nicol brought his shield up covering the cockpit, managing to block the shrapnel darts from putting him directly in danger.

"That's right, this machine once belonged to you," muttered Nicol, as much a remark to the enemy ship as a reminder to himself, "of course you know its weaknesses." With that, Nicol reactivated the stealth system as the shrapnel fire died down, immediately moving to a new position to avoid further fire.

Continuing his approach to the Archangel so as to get passed the anti-beam particle curtain the warship had released, Nicol's eyes widened as the CIWS turrets all began firing wildly on randomized vectors… a barrage of bullets numerous enough to tear any mobile suit to pieces. Nicol reactivated the phase shift armor, his only hope to avoid being turned into Swiss cheese, and began maneuvering away.

Meanwhile, back with the Buster and the Shadow, both were still fighting one another, "You're getting on my nerves black guy," said Dearka firing at the black suit.

The Shadow evaded and made it look easy, which just served to infuriate Dearka more. "Black guy? That's the best name he can come up with for me?" Tyler mutter to himself. It was then Tyler caught sight of the Blitz reappearing a lot closer to the Archangel than was comfortable. His response, was to bring out the long beam rifle and before the Buster had a chance to combine its two rifles, Tyler brought his own rifle to bear. The weapon let loose a high-powered beam, which the Buster just managed to dodge. While the Buster's pilot allowed his concentration wander, Tyler used the time to activate the Shadow's mirage colloid, vanishing from view and then, switched on a second system. The system was called the "Echo Trace Transmitter" and it was definitely proprietary technology of the Federation Military. The system is designed to make the machine equipped, to disappear from sensors and not show up at all. So, combined with Mirage Colloid, "nobody see, nobody knows" where I be, and that's just the way I like it!

By the time Dearka righted himself, he looked around and saw that his opponent wasn't where they had been before. "What the… Where did that black guy just go?! Uh oh, um, guys we got a problem," said Dearka.

"What?" Asked Athrun, effort in his voice as he was still fighting the Strike. Unbeknownst to Athrun, Lacus was using the lessons that Sakura had given her to push Athrun back.

Dearka gulped hard before answering, "Well, that black suit… It's gone, vanished, haven't a clue where it is anymore… Sorry for losing sight of it."

Athrun, realizing the implication of this change, shouted over the com-channel a warning to their comrade, "Nicol, watch your back! The other black suit just vanished and is probably coming your way!"

Nicol heard the warning that Athrun gave and he took it seriously. He was nervous, the data that there was on the twin of the Blitz was worryingly slim and what there was, had scared Nicol honestly. Still, he kept closing the distance between him and the Archangel steadily.

Meanwhile, on the Archangel's bridge, there was growing panic as the Blitz got closer and closer. "Blitz is still approaching!" said Kuzzey with tones of fear as the black mobile suit weaved through the defensive fire being spat at it. The Laurasia-class was launching a long-range bombardment, and while only a few shots got close, much less hit, they were enough of a distraction for the Blitz to catch them off-guard.

"What are our three mobile suits doing?! Their mission objective is to defend the ship at all costs," demanded Natarle.

"Both the Asuka and Strike are too busy battling the Duel and the Aegis. And I've also lost the Shadow's signal," reported Sai.

At hearing that the Shadow wasn't showing up, the thought of it perhaps being shot down did go through everyone's mind. "The Shadow couldn't have been shot down," Miriallia muttered.

"No, it just vanished from sensors completely," replied Sai.

"But, that shouldn't be possible! Even if it activates its mirage colloid, its signal should still show up to our sensors," uttered Natarle.

Inside the Blitz, Nicol smiled slightly, in slight satisfaction and relief, as the Blitz landed next to the Archangel's bridge tower, out of reach of the ship's defenses. However, there still was a nagging worry in his mind, more so since Athrun had warned him that of the disappearance of the other black machine. Its disappearance had put it back to the top of the list of the most dangerous machine on the battlefield and it had the top by a sizable amount in Nicol's view. That one mobile suit had been nigh impossible to predict in the battles that it had been in previously, it was the point that Nicol had seen that the others besides Athrun had noticed. The only thing that made it somewhat worse, was the pilot that flew it, which had proved to add to the unpredictability and was clearly skilled.

An opponent that's dangerous is one thing, yet when you don't know where they are or where they can strike from… that type of opponent can and usually are lethal! Then, there was the point that had come up in the last battle, its mirage colloid it was slightly different from what the Blitz had. The black suit might have started with the same system of mirage colloid that the Blitz had been built with, but now the systems weren't the same. The other machine had a version of mirage colloid that was improved in a major way. One of the system's critical flaws the heat output from thrusters which could give away the mobile suit's position wasn't happening at all any more.

And if, the enemy machine had corrected the other flaw of power consumption, then there was no telling how effective the application of Mirage Colloid could be. It would truly be undetectable and could strike before an opponent could have any warning of any kind. Even assuming that, Nicol continued firing at the Archangel's bridge tower. He did keep an eye on his sensor screen, hoping for there to be some kind of warning of incoming threats.

The bridge shook as the Blitz kept shooting, "We can't get him with the cannon or the Igelstellungs," muttered Natarle. She was getting frustrated with how the X207 Blitz was in a position that the Archangel could do little to nothing about it. "Where are our mobile suits?!"

"Kira, Lacus, Tye!" called Miriallia desperately. "The enemy is beside the bridge! Get back here now!"

Kira glance back at the Archangel and his eyes widened as he saw that what was going on. The side monitor first zoomed in and then showed the Blitz firing on the side of the bridge tower. "No!" shouted Kira.

"The Archangel!" cried Lacus at the same time.

If they lost that ship, then all they'd done would've been for nothing… the refugees would be lost… and without Murrue and their friends to back them up. 'And Flay…' thought both Kira and Lacus, thoughts straying onto the friend they'd nearly failed once before. Both tried to go back to the Archangel, but were blocked by the stolen suits, all they could do was watch as the Blitz kept shooting. Yet suddenly, the Blitz appeared to be hit by something, as the black mobile suit went flying off a small distance. Then, the Shadow appeared out of nowhere, putting itself between the Archangel and the Blitz, then went for the other mobile suit.

-Line Break-

-Tyler's pov-

Once I had managed to get the Buster off my back and to stop bothering me, I'd changed my course and chased the Blitz as it went towards the Archangel. Admittedly, it was so much easier to move around, now that none could detect me and the freedom was wonderful! In front of me, I caught a glimpse of my mobile suit's 'fraternal twin' before it disappeared for the second time. However, the glimpse was enough for me to be able to predict where the machine now was. It wouldn't be perfect for locating the machine, but it's close enough for me to work with. The Blitz fired off some shots from its beam rifle in its shield, which the anti-beam charges were disbursing.

My attention was shifted when missiles were fired from the Archangel's rear missile tubes. When they got close to where the Shadow and the Blitz were in close proximity, the missile's outer shell blasted off and… Lots of sharp shrapnel darts were shot off in our direction. That forced me to have to hit the brakes and then reverse out of the shower of metal shards that I'd little defense against currently with the Shadow's phase shift off. I managed to avoid the darts, but it was closer than I liked, and my feeling of disgruntled annoyance grew. I couldn't help the groan and grumble at being made to dodge friendly fire. Honestly, my current allies are only a little less dangerous than my opponents are to me! But, it's not their fault, they don't know that I'm in the direction of weapons' fire, so I'll let it slide in this.

I quickly recovered and kept moving forward, spotting the Blitz reappear next to the bridge tower and point its rifle at the bridge itself. Well, that's not going to happen… I'll be dead before I let that happened bub! I soared forward, gaining momentum and speed, aiming at the Shadow's look alike, with my shield out in front of me. Now, do I really need to say what came next in this? Maybe not, but I will anyways, I took the Blitz by complete surprise when I rammed into the suit hard with my shield. My action sent the mobile suit tumbling backwards from the bridge tower. The Blitz took a moment to orient itself and then began scanning around… Looking for me I don't doubt, even if he hasn't figured out where the Shadow is.

Well, why prolong this game of hide-n-seek, I say? I switched from using mirage colloid to the phase shift armor and so naturally, my mobile suit became visible once again. As I did that, I rushed forward at the Blitz, taking out the second beam saber the Shadow had in its arsenal, however, this one wasn't built into the shield like the other one. This second saber was stored in a compartment that sits over the right hip joint of my mobile suit. The Blitz had just enough time to raise its shield to catch my machine's right arm swinging downward at him.

I pointed my shield's railgun at the Blitz's shield and began firing off rounds from it at my opponent's weapon system. At point blank range, I wasn't missing and though the Blitz's shield was taking the pounding, seemingly just fine, I very much doubt it was. I know for a fact that the shields that the Alliance prototype mobile suits had, didn't have phase shift, so can be affected by projectiles.

After five or six shots from my railgun, the Blitz pushed me back, but I didn't let my opponent gain room to work with, I kept up my assault. Within a minute, I'd to admit that the pilot Nicol Amalfi, had talent and skill as well as potential. However, he wasn't at the same level as I was at this time. It was clear that this young man had the mind of a tactician, but on the battle field, you also need to be able to react and adapt well when things throw off your plans. That's an area that I excel in… and very well when it comes to it!

In a short period, I'd made the Blitz fallback a distance from the Archangel, even though the Blitz had been doing its best to gain ground against me. It was failing, but still, I'll give good marks for the effort being made. Yet, I could tell as time ran on, it became clear that the fighting of our opponents were getting more desperate. This led me to the conclusion that they wanted this skirmish to be done quickly. Then, I realized what it was that they wanted to avoid, the Alliance fleet, for it would come into firing range soon enough. The four don't want to have to deal with a full fleet's firepower, don't blame them though, I wouldn't want to either.

The Blitz pointed it's shield at me, and I moved to defend and deflect, but nothing happened. It appears, that the pounding I gave to the shield and the weapons it carried did have an effect, most if not all of the weapons weren't working. I had move back and saw an explosive shot flying past me. Upon glancing in the direction that the shot had come from, I saw the Buster with its combine launcher rifle configuration aimed at me. 'Well, two can play at that game!' I thought to myself.

I turned to face the Buster, grabbing the long beam rifle to use. This was an opportunity to use a piece of equipment that I've wanted to try out, but haven't had a reason to. It was one of the differences between the Shadow and the Blitz, the Shadow has an extended range targeting scope to work with. It's hidden in the right side of the Shadow's head that can pop out when it's activated. Without further hesitation, I brought out my long rifle to point at the Buster along with the ERT scope popping out of the middle of the right-side head plate. In the cockpit, a smaller screen came out from behind the seat and move to be in front of my right eye. I aimed my rifle and fired at the Buster before they could shoot me again. The Buster was forced to move out of the way and ended out sacrificing the beam rifle that it had. That left the Buster with only its gun launcher and that weapon isn't meant for long range.

I sensed danger from behind me, and promptly moved out of the way, only to see a beam saber slice past where I had been. The beam saber belonged to the Blitz and apparently, Nicol was using the time I was shooting at his comrade. Plus, it would seem that the beam saber the Blitz had still worked, but little else with the shield did. In response, I reacted by spinning the Shadow around, storing the long beam rifle on its rail and having it swing back to its storage position. By the time I was facing my opponent, the Shadow's right fist was surging forward and made solid contact with just below the center of the Blitz's torso. Now, I'll be the first to say that Phase Shift armor is an impressive defense, but its weakness is high-powered beams… And sheer heavy impact. After all, if the pilot is shaken around the cockpit and is unable to effectively pilot the machine, the mobile suit is useless… I'm just saying.

-Line Break-

-Neutral pov-

Nicol aimed the Trikeros shield at his opponent and pulled the trigger for the beam rifle, but nothing happened. There then came a beeping from the main display by his knees and when Nicol looked down to see what was being said, he started to wonder if he would make it out of this battle alive. The Trikeros was not responding as it should, and Nicol saw why now from the readouts. Earlier, when his enemy had been up close, it had used its railgun, which Nicol hadn't known about and shot the Trikeros with multiple rounds, Nicol had thought that it hadn't been too bad as there hadn't been visible damage. But he could see now, that wasn't how things were at all. The 50mm high-energy beam rifle was misfiring and the circuitry was damaged, so was unusable essentially. The Lancer Darts were now stuck or rather jammed where they were and couldn't be fired. The beam saber was the only weapon system that worked at all in the Trikeros shield and Nicol couldn't tell how well it would perform.

Nicol had planned to rush forward and try using his beam saber, yet the Buster fired off its combined rifles in their snipe configuration at the black machine. The black mobile suit had turned to face the Buster after Dearka had fired at them and Nicol would've taken the opportunity to attack, but didn't. the reason Nicol didn't, was he froze as he saw the rifle that his enemy had been carrying taken out and aim it at the Buster. It wasn't the obvious long-range rifle that made Nicol stop, it was the section of the mobile suit's head on the right side coming out, revealing a camera that was similar to what a Reconnaissance GINN had with its sniper rifle that caused Nicol to pause. The black suit fired a beam at the Buster, thankfully Dearka moved out of the way in time, but the beam rifle the Buster had was destroyed in the process.

Nicol shook himself out of the stooper that he'd been in and sped forward, igniting the Blitz's beam saber. His slash just missed as the other suit weaved out of the way, but it didn't stop there. The mobile suit spun around, storing its rifle and when it faced the Blitz again, its right fist was coming at the Blitz's cockpit. Nicol's eyes widened, then he braced himself for the blow coming. Nicol was thrown forward against the mobile suit controls as the impact came and it was hard! Phase Shift armor might block projectiles, but Nicol had believed that there were ways around that, and now being shown how right he was.

After a few seconds, Nicol regained control and stabilized the Blitz, to find he ended out a short distance from his opponent. With only one option left for ranged attacks left, Nicol raised the Blitz's left arm, aiming the Gleipnir at the Blitz's "odd twin". He pulled the trigger and released the rocket claw to zoom at the other mobile suit. Yet somehow, the black machine managed to evade the Gleipnir at the last second, and Nicol couldn't understand how the pilot had done it. Ice cold dread filled Nicol at seeing that action and it increased quickly. It happened when Nicol was about to recall the Gleipnir back to its mount, but then his opponent got ahold of the cable that connected the Gleipnir to its mount. Nicol swallowed hard, really afraid to find out what would come next, for his enemy had complete control of the current situation. This opponent had out done him better than any he'd faced in his life… even with the one "spar" Nicol had gotten from the Black Zephyr and she'd whipped him horribly, it had been the scariest fight of his life, until now, this trumped the previous experience.

Nicol had gone beyond being afraid of potentially dying in this battle, to believing that he was facing his last moments. The Blitz was jerked and then pulled forward towards its twin, then put into a violent spin that Nicol had no control over. The Shadow used the cable of the Gleipnir to spin the Blitz around and around. The stress that was put on the cable had approached the breaking point, so much so that Nicol had to admit to himself that the Alliance had built an impressive cable for the Blitz's Gleipnir, for it didn't break. Nicol tried to keep calm while being pressed back into his seat by the G-force that the centripetal force from the spin his mobile suit was in.

Then, the Blitz was released and went flying and tumbling in a direction that Nicol couldn't determine. Nicol was definitely sweating a great deal as he worked to stabilize the Blitz. That shot up dramatically when the Blitz shook hard as the Shadow shot its railgun at the Blitz. That shot been aimed well enough to have the round strike the Blitz in such a way to increase its forward momentum. Minutes later, Nicol had regained control of his mobile suit's flight again after the insanity. The green-haired pilot forced himself to take a moment to both fully process what had just occurred and to regain his wits and calm down. It had been unreal what had just happened, Nicol knew that, but that didn't explain it nor help him stop shaking.

Yes, Nicol was physically shaking, he brought his hands up and saw clearly that they were trembling. He'd just been whipped so badly, that it was as the phrase goes, "placed on a silver platter" and so cleanly, that Nicol had seriously thought he would be killed! If the pilot he'd been fighting had used their beam rifle instead of their railgun, then Nicol would be dead, and he knew it! None of what had happened in this battle had even come into the ridiculous thoughts that had crossed Nicol's mind, certainly nothing that the Blitz's odd twin had done. Although, it proved beyond a shadow of a doubt to Nicol, the pilot of the black suit was the most dangerous out of the three enemy pilots and by a terrifying margin! Nicol had clearly underestimated them, for Nicol didn't doubt that his opponent could have killed him multiple time throughout their fight and could have destroyed the Buster.

Once Nicol had gotten back his bearings, he took in what was going on around the rest of the field. He saw that the Duel had taken serious damage the Buster was having trouble only using its gun launcher. Nicol flew the Blitz forward, grabbing hold of the Duel and began to drag it back to the ship, away from the winged suit. "Yzak?! Yzak are you okay in there?!" cried Nicol in an even voice.

Yes, Nicol had said that Yzak had issues, but that didn't mean that he wanted his comrade hurt.

"It burns!" came Yzak's pained voice over the radio. "It burns, it BURNS!"

Nicol came to realize that this battle had done a full one-eighty from the outset and now he and the others were losing badly. It had occurred without any of them knowing it and much faster than any of them could've imagined possible. The Aegis was already heading back to the Gamow with both legs cut off. The Blitz had taken significant damage to its shield and Gleipnir while the Duel had taken an unknown amount of punishment, but enough to have Yzak crying in pain. The Buster was being swarmed by the two mobile armors with the gun launcher being the only weapon to fend them off. A tactical retreat was the best option and Nicol knew it, "Dearka!" he called, continuing to pull back the Duel away from the battle.

The winged suit pressed forward, so Nicol grabbed the Duel's shield and used it to defend them from the shots that were coming their way. "We have to retreat! Yzak has been injured and Athrun is falling back. Neither you or I have a lot of options to work with and the enemy fleet is almost here anyways. We've taken way too much damage between the four of us, it's time to cut our losses and leave!"

"Ugh, damn it!" said Dearka as he realized that Nicol was right. So, shortly the Buster retreated back following the others back towards the Gamow.

-Line Break-

On the Archangel's bridge, Murrue sighed in relief as the ZAFT forces retreated and she wasn't the only one doing so. The Strike and Asuka came back to the ship and landed together on the upper deck of the ship above the hangar. While those two machines do so, the Shadow flew close to the Archangel appearing to look over the vessel. By the sound of the heavy breathing coming from the Asuka and the Strike, both Kira and Lacus were tired from the skirmish. However, there was nothing like that coming from Tyler, but what he said himself, he was a Federation pilot, so perhaps he was somewhat used to this. That certainly didn't explain the skill he'd shown on the battlefield, for it was well above what had been seen in the mock fights.

"Wow…" muttered Mu over the com-channel, "You three are unbelievable."

"What happened out there?" asked Kira.

"You two piloted amazingly… no, it was more than that," remarked Krystal in awe.

There was a sigh heard over the radio, "Kira, Lacus, no matter what anyone else says, you two did exactly what we launched out to do. Well done to us all," said Tyler.

Smiling slightly at what Tyler just said, for it did sum up the feeling all five pilots felt right at the current moment, Kira and Lacus closed their eyes. Tyler brought the Shadow to set down in the middle of the upper deck, "Well, the fight is over for now and we're still alive, that's what counts," Tyler remarked.

"No joke kid, I've never seen piloting like those two just did! That's before saying anything about your performance Tyler," said Mu.

"At least it's over, we made it through the fight." comment Krystal, as the blue Zero slowly came alongside the Archangel. "And we finished just before the 8th Orbital came into range."

"The 8th fleet is here!" called Kuzzey to the bridge and over the radio, drawing the eyes of all the pilots and those on board, up to the massive collection of blinking lights… The Earth Alliance Force's 8th Orbital Fleet. At long last… Things were finally going well for the white warship and its crew and passengers. The sight of the vessels of the Earth Forces 8th Orbital Fleet glided forward a distance ahead of the Archangel, waiting for the Archangel to join their ranks was a comforting one for most. The Alliance fleet was made up of fifty-one vessels; five Agamemnon-classes, twenty-five Drake-classes and twenty-one Nelson-class vessels.

-Line Break-

-Tyler's pov-

It was an hour after the battle that I was finally able to make it back to my quarters and boy, did I need time to rest and recuperate. That's after I made sure that Kira and Lacus got back to their rooms and to their beds. Those two weren't just tired, it was beyond that for them, the battle had drained them, so they needed the sleep. Not to say that the skirmish hadn't taken it out of me, but I've developed the stamina to handle times like this for a period of time. And with them doing what they did… well, bet it was the first time for both of them.

I wasn't an idiot, it was clear to me that they not only had the Super Evolutionary Element Destined factor, or SEED factor like I did. The signs are fairly easy to spot when you know what to look for. The first time someone with SEED factor enters the SEED mode, they come into a state of enhanced awareness and peak physical ability, and when it ends, you are dead tired. It's happened to me a few times, so I know how it works to an extent. If you are unlucky enough fight someone that is in SEED mode, it sucks! It will be like your opponent has eyes in the back of their head at the very least and their reaction time will be faster than yours, those are the common traits, that's before the individual traits and those can be scary!

Anyways, I was taking the time to relax and wind down, so that I could get sleep while I could. I feel that more problems will come before things get better. That's when the call came…

I had settled down on the bed and was just lying there, when a quiet beeping came to my ears. Upon homing in on its source, I realized that things were going to be tense for me. Why might you ask? The signal was coming from not the Federation com-unit I tend to use, but from a second and more versatile communication unit I had. It had a built-in image projector that could put out the image of the person on the other end and scans the one talking to do the same for the one on the other end. This device however, is usually used for serious or emergency calls… which begs the question, am I in some sort of trouble or is this serious business of some sort? Neither idea was appealing to me or something I look forward to when it has happened, especially if the one calling is the one I technically report to. I'm not so fond of my "boss", nope, I'm actually kind of scared of them if I were honest.

Well, the only one way to find out, I just hope that it isn't my boss, I'm not in the best mood right now. I got off the bed and set the communicator on the desk and switched it on. When the device came on, the image of the Human Federation Flag came up, then changed over to a different one that isn't the normal one that the general public known. No, it was the insignia that represents Federation Military High Command. I instantly straitened once I'd seen the symbol, for it meant that I was likely about to talk to a member of the Federation's Admiralty, and I had respect for their job, it's not one I would ever want to have or be in!

Over the next ten seconds, an image was built and it was about halfway through that I figured out who I was about to talk to. As the image of the man sharpened to being recognizable, his height was 6'3". His hair was short and silvery-grey and the fine groomed mustache was the same color. The man's eye color was blue and gave a feel of trust and experience. He was in his mid-seventies, around seventy-five if I would to narrow the age down. His name was Ben Moses and he is one of the Admirals, specifically one of the two that lead the rest of the Federation Admiralty which led the Federation military. He's a Coordinator that's from the Euros Coalition and is a man that has earned my respect time and time again.

I saluted the man, "Admiral Moses sir, to what do I owe the honor of talking to you like this sir?" I asked politely.

"Commander McGregor, it's good to see you are doing okay. The reason for this call is two-fold, the first is to give you another chance to opt out of the assignment you have, none would blame you or think any less of you, I can assure you. The Second reason is a warning," replied Moses.

I smiled slightly, "Kind of you to offer that to me and it's appreciated sir, but my answer hasn't changed, still is no. I'm the best person to do the job, and other than a mask man's interference providing a growing pain in my butt, it's going swimmingly," I answered.

Admiral Moses sighed, "By masked man, would you be referring to Rau Le Creuset I take it?" he asked.

I nodded, "You know him?" I inquired.

"Yes, unfortunately, have had the displeasure of meeting the man, a long story as to how and why and is not the time to get into it. But back to the matter at hand, if the Archangel has linked up with the Alliance's 8th orbital fleet by this point, then the warning I have is valid. A ZAFT force is on an intercept course, probable intent is to target the Archangel. The force is made up of four Nazca-class and two Laurasia-class and they are under the command of the ZAFT champion, the Black Zephyr, Sakura Clyne. A Federation force is on route to assist as Duane Halberton has done the Federation some favors. However, the time of their arrival is uncertain," returned Moses.

I stiffened at hearing that Sakura would be coming for the Archangel I mean, a ZAFT force coming at us isn't pleasant but not unexpected, especially with Le Creuset likely within those forces. Yet, to make matters worse, Sakura herself has to be the one in charge of the said force! The coming battle is one that I can't guess how it will go. With one of ZAFT's best tacticians, who's pretty much second only to the one who leads the ZAFT military, going against the Earth Forces' best tactical commanding officer, Duane Halberton. All I can say, is this will be a hell of a mess! I brought up a hand to rub my temple, "Would you have any timeframe of when contact with the ZAFT force sir?" I asked tiredly.

"Current estimations put ETA of contact at around twenty-four hours from now," replied Admiral Moses.

I was about to say that I understood the information, when a knock on the door to my quarters, "Tye, Miss Ramius and Miss Badgiruel said they wanted to talk to all of us pilots," said my friend Kira Yamato.

I did some very quick thinking, for I don't want this to be discovered just yet. I held up a hand to ask Admiral Moses to wait a moment, "Uh Kira, I'm busy with something right this second. Go ahead of me and I'll be along shortly when I'm finished," I replied.

"Okay" returned Kira, before the sound of his footsteps told me my friend had left.

I turned back to Admiral Moses, "Thank you for the information sir, I'll keep it in mind," I said.

"Of course commander, but remember, your mission is of the utmost importance. For the future safety of our citizens and the Human Federation itself, the Earth Alliance and Earth Forces must not obtain usable mobile suit data. Moses out," he finished, before the communication line was severed.

Well, my assignment certainly is much easier said than done, but I knew that would be the case from just reading the orders. And now things have suddenly become more complicated for me as well as others, that's for sure. I stored the com-device and then headed towards the Archangel's navigation bridge to see what the two leading officers wanted.

Once I reached the bridge, I was redirected to the Captain's cabin, which I went to, getting all the more curious about what the officers wanted. In the cabin, I saw that Murrue Ramius had already been speaking to the four in the room when I slipped in. It was Natarle Badgiruel that noticed my appearance, "Good to see you were able to join us Mr. McGregor," she said flatly.

Everyone turned and faced me, putting me on the spot, "Oh um, yeah, sorry for not being here earlier, something came up that needed my attention," I returned with a slight smile.

"Well, as was being said, once we join up with the 8th orbital fleet, the plan is for the refugees along with the volunteers to be transferred over to the Menelaos. From there, they will be sent down to Earth and this journey for them will be over and done. That of course would include Kira, Lacus and yourself Tyler," said Murrue.

I gained a deadpanned expression, "I believe I've stated the fact before now, I'm a member of the Federation Military, giving some of my services to this ship, not a volunteer. That said, I'm free to do whatever the hell I freaking see fit to, whether my actions go against your orders or not, there's a difference, do remember that," I replied.

"Still, your performance and services have been appreciated, thank you," spoke up Natarle.

I glanced over at the Ensign, my eyebrows raised, "I think that's the first time I've heard you vocally say thank you in my presence Ensign Badgiruel," I remarked.

-Line Break-

-Neutral pov-

The 8th orbital fleet was now all around the Archangel, the white vessel having received its orders as to where it was to position itself among the fleet moved forward. "Turn about one-hundred and eighty degrees," ordered Murrue. "Reduce speed another twenty percent, and prepare to match velocity with the 8th Fleet." Murrue ordered.

The Archangel turned a hundred and eighty degrees, now facing the same direction as the 8th Fleet. The engines fired, countering the powerful warship's previous momentum, began to move it forward at the same speed as the other ships around her. The Archangel It didn't take long for the Archangel to sidled up alongside the fleet and the flagship, the Agamemnon-class carrier Menelaos moved to be beside the Archangel.

"Is this really a good idea?" asked Arnold, turning the pilot's chair slightly to look back at Murrue. "For us to cruise alongside the Menelaos?"

"It's what Admiral Halberton ordered, he most likely wants to get a better look at the ship," said Murrue with a slight smile. "He has informed us that, later on, he will be paying us a personal visit. As you may know, he was one of the biggest supporter of the development project that produced this ship and the G-weapons."

While that was happening, in the mess hall and in the midship corridors, the civilians were watching the displays which were showing the 8th orbital fleet. And when the Menelaos came on, many gain expressions of relief, for the Agamemnon-class and its commanding officer was well-known. Duane Halberton had a reputation that preceded him, and he was known for wishing to protect innocent people, no matter the side they were on.

Not too long after the Archangel linked up with the 8th fleet, the news of the plan to move the civilians over to the Menelaos spread. All the volunteers from Heliopolis were off duty once the Archangel started moving alongside the Menelaos. And so, they were going towards the mess hall, discussing what would happen next, "Civilians are really going to be transferred to the Menelaos," Miriallia informed her friends. "There'll be two shuttles doing that, one is on its way here now, then they're supposed to transport us all to Orb." Since she'd manned communications, it was only Natural that she knew that information.

"You said 'them'," commented Kuzzey. "What about us?"

"We'll be disembarking too, of course," said Miriallia, looking down at herself briefly.

"Yeah," said Tolle, "We may be wearing these uniforms, but we're still civilians, after all."

Sai then spoke up, "Yes, but if Kira, Lacus and Tye leave, then what happens to the Asuka. It doesn't belong to the Earth Alliance, yet I don't see them just giving it back to Orb. Problem is there has been no talk about it, like the subject is being avoided. And I'm worried that there will be some that won't be as willing to let them leave, none onboard the Archangel, but others in the fleet."

Flay listened to the conversation between Miriallia, Sai, Tolle and Kuzzey, and felt conflicted. While it was true that those who had been helping out were volunteers, and so, not officially assigned to this ship, that didn't mean that they didn't feel like any less than any other member of the crew. With all the fighting and other things that had occurred to the Archangel and those on her, Flay didn't want to think about what could've happened if Kira and Lacus hadn't been here along with Sai, Tolle, Miriallia and Kuzzey. So then, if they leave… Then what will happen to the Archangel when trouble come its way? The questions didn't sit well with Flay at all.

Back on the bridge, Murrue was satisfied at seeing that the Archangel was now where it was supposed to be positioned within the 8th Fleet. There was still one thing left to do in her mind, and that was to thank those who had been protecting the Archangel personally. So, Murrue told the crew on the bridge to keep an eye on things, before she headed towards the lift to the rest of the ship. However, Natarle came up from the CIC and followed the captain into the lift as there was a topic she wanted to discuss. "Captain, tell me, what do you plan to do about the mobile suits onboard?" Asked Natarle.

Murrue was taken aback at the question, "Plan to do what the mobile suits? What are you talking about Natarle?" She questioned.

Natarle fixed Murrue Ramius with her gaze, "Captain, everyone aboard this ship knows that we wouldn't have made it this far without at least one of those mobile suits or their pilots. Having three admittedly was in our favor and helped us make it through even better, but the point still stands, those machines and their abilities have proven crucial. And if we honest with one another, the machines' pilots are the reason the mobile suits are as powerful as they are." She reasoned.

Murrue was not disagreeing with her second in command, she had a fair point in this subject. But, what it was that Natarle was trying to say, eluded Murrue, "What are you getting at Natarle?" Murrue asked.

"Are you just going to let the three of them go?" Posed Natarle.

Murrue was shocked at what Natarle was suggesting, for it could be seen as extortion and exploitation. Kira and Lacus had been put and forced into that position at the beginning due to the nature of the situation at that time. But, Natarle was suggesting to make them enlist in the Earth Forces and then fight others like themselves. Murrue couldn't think of a way to answer the question right away, instead when the lift doors slid open, Murrue sailed out of the elevator.

"Captain?!" Natarle exclaimed, before she followed Murrue.

Natarle caught up with Murrue quickly and Murrue looked towards her, "I see what you're trying to say Natarle. But, Kira and Lacus aren't members of the military, and Tyler… well, I would imagine you of all people know that he won't do something he doesn't want to. After all, the two of you clash often enough for that to be made clear," Murrue stated.

Natarle held back her thoughts from being said out loud, for she knew to what Murrue was referring to. Tyler McGregor had been a frequent irritation to Natarle so they didn't get along. Natarle had seriously considered dragging the teen to one of the brig cells on the Archangel and throw him in it for a while. She knew that physically doing that might be an issue, since Tyler could probably out do Natarle herself in a fight. However, Natarle knew were to acquire cords to tie the male teenager up and it had been a temptation multiple time to go and fetch some. In the end, Natarle sighed, "I'm say, that after seeing their performance, with their help there could be real hope for the Alliance in this war. There has been very little of that, less the longer the war has been going and you know that as well as I do," Natarle said. She paused, then continued, "Should we really let such hope slip away?"

Murrue gazed at Natarle, "That is not a decision that either of us get to make Natarle, that's up to Kira, Lacus and Tyler themselves."

-Line Break-

The Gamow

Athrun was examining the footage from their last battle with the legged ship again for the fourth time the whole way through. He had taken records from every source available; the Gamow, the Duel, the Buster, the Blitz and the Aegis. Athrun had then spent the last day reexamined all the data from every angle he could. He'd even froze the images and further examined specific ones, studying them for hours on end to try and help. Yet, Athrun couldn't figure out or explain how the chain events happened the way they had, even knowing who two of the three pilots didn't help him understand. And Athrun once again, growled one word that voiced his frustration, "How?!"

The battle had started out as planned, the Aegis, Duel and Buster, had kept the enemy mobile suits and armors busy. While the enemy force was kept occupied, the Blitz had gone for the ship itself, a simple plan working as it should. And even the mobile suit that Tyler said he was piloting, which was considered the 'wild card' by Nicol and himself, had been occupied by the Buster. No matter how you looked at the battle up to that point, things had been going in their favor. Sure, there was some trouble, but that was part of preparation for a battle, calculating for the unexpected to come up. So, when Nicol reached the legged ship and began his attack, it should've been over right then and there!

However, then the skirmish morphed and twisted in two different ways, which changed the battle so completely, it was crazy! Those changes were the machine that Tyler flew vanished from not just sight, but also, seemingly all forms of detection. The ability was far better than the Blitz had been capable of with its stealth capabilities, and they were supposed to have the same system. Then and perhaps the more horrifying change, the winged mobile suit and the other Alliance machine… Kira and whoever the other pilot was as Tyler never had said the Strike's pilot was, they had suddenly begun to move differently that they had ever before.

That sudden shift in the two enemy mobile suits had been beyond scary, it had been outright frightening! Both pilots moved like they had eyes in the backs of their heads, their reaction time sped up to a ridiculous level and they sped about as if G-forces had no effect on them! Even for a Coordinator, those maneuvers… they shouldn't have been feasible by any but the most experienced pilots and even they don't tend to do such things due to the stress induced. An example, happened when the white one had dodged the Duel's shots then somehow closed the distance between them in no time flat. Then, the Duel had gained gashes from the winged machines beam sabers and then… well Yzak had in the end lost. And how the X-105 Strike had gotten below and behind the Aegis, to cut off its legs and damaging the visual cameras, all before Athrun had been able to comprehend what had happened… it boggled his mind.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that they'd been dancing almost literal circles around the four elite ZAFT Reds! Not only that, each ZAFT pilot was completely trounced by one of the three enemy suits, inflicting heavy damage along the way by the end. Then there was the Shadow as Tyler had called the black enemy machine. The visual records had made Athrun seriously wonder just how good Tyler could possibly be. Tyler had taken the Blitz by surprise true… but, for Tyler to proceeded to whip Nicol as if he was a green pilot fresh out of training, that was nuts! If what happened to Nicol was anything to go by, Tyler was in another league above all of them. From what Athrun had observed, the only reason that Nicol and Dearka were even alive right now, was Tyler didn't want to kill them. Tyler could have, there was no question in that to Athrun, had he employed beam weapons, he would be helping plan the funerals of both of his comrades.

The results of the battle had been harsh to all… as well as humbling to some, they had underestimated their opponents and had paid the price of that. Yzak was still recovering in the infirmary from the explosion in the Duel's cockpit and the shrapnel that had accompanied it. The shrapnel the he had taken in his face had shattered Yzak's visor, it had been only an extra security block designed to slam shut when the cockpit was threatened with exposure that had saved Yzak from the vacuum of space and the death it brings.

Technically, that was the only pilot injury that had been sustained, yet the pride of the ZAFT pilots was hit hard and that couldn't be denied. Nonetheless, the damage to the mobile suits was much worse than the pilots' pride as and served as a proof of the failure. Between the four mobile suits, the Aegis's losing its legs and head cameras being disabled were pretty light compared to what the others received.

The Buster had lost its high-energy beam rifle, even if its gun launcher was relatively undamaged. The rifle could be replace if not for its combining ability with the gun launcher, it had been a difficulty up to this point. Of course, that meant Dearka would be unable to use the sniper rifle or shotgun configurations until the rifle could be replicated. Granted, it was better that than Dearka get killed, but the sacrifice of one of the Buster's guns to defend the cockpit would take time to undo.

Then the Blitz… could be considered even more severely damaged. Its shield had been its main weapon since its beam rifle and saber were built into it, now that shield would need major repair and parts of it likely would need replacing. The beam saber was the only weapon that worked now, the beam rifle had a series of problems and the rocket darts' launching system would need replacing. The problem was that they hadn't gotten everything together to reproduce it or fix some of the Alliance machines' parts. So, for the time being, the suit would have to go into combat armed with conventional rifles and sabers. The other issue for the Blitz, the 'Gleipnir' the grapple claw itself was fine, but its cable had been stressed hard. The cable that allowed retraction had become dangerous to use after the pulling the Shadow had done to the Blitz.

The Duel, well… Yzak had been fairly reckless, yet amazingly, the external damage wasn't as bad as first expected. However, the same couldn't be said of the internal damage that had been done. The length of time that it would take to undo the problems there were, the engineers weren't even giving estimations on that. If anything, the engineers and the mechanics were 'pretty miffed' at the pilots for the condition they brought their machines back in to put it mildly. When they had seen the Duel… Athrun swore he had heard a quite a few muttered curses and complains about Yzak and the work he provided them and he probably did. However, at seeing the other three machines' condition… those in the hanger became visibly angry. So, Athrun, Nicol and Dearka were avoiding them for the time being, in the hope of getting back into their good graces.

Granted, ZAFT had been working on mobile suit-scale beam weaponry for some time, so they'd been pretty quick in reverse-engineering the basics. Although, there were some issues with mass production and deployment. So, to replace weapons such as rifles or blade is fairly simple, but more customize weapons and equipment isn't as easy. What this meant for the Le Creuset Team, was that they could easily replace beam rifles and beam sabers… but the weaponry for the Blitz and the Buster were different.

"Hey Athrun, what's up with you?" asked Dearka as he walked into the lounge and spotted Athrun working on his laptop.

Dearka had brought Athrun out of his thoughts and he looked up at his comrade, "I'm still examining footage from the last battle," said Athrun distractedly, "What happened out there makes no sense to me. I'll admit that the black mobile suit has proven to be the best performer in the two battles it has participated in, but that's not all. We figured and prepared for that opponent, but that doesn't explain what happened out there.

Athrun paused, ordering his thoughts, "The other two suits have been improving unusually quickly, which I can't come up with what can have cause such. When all this started out, things were going according to plan. We were better than them by a small margin overall, even with the black one, we should be able to beat it with teamwork. Yet now, those two other pilots seem to be at least our equals, then halfway through the fight, something really provoked them, and then… I can't even describe what happened. However, we all saw and witnessed with our own eyes what occurred. Those pilots… they just snapped, after that, it was like we were fresh green pilots or novices getting taught by a seasoned instructor. Four machines, piloted by ZAFT Reds, completely trounced by only three others and these machines are supposed to be of comparable power."

Athrun was breathing a little hard after getting out what had been really bugging him, Dearka said nothing, yet he understood Athrun's feelings, his were similar. The door to the room slid open and Nicol entered the room, "Yeah, I know what you mean," he said. "I've been looking over the records as well and I've been unable to explain what happened out there and how either. I can't recall ever seeing anything like what occurred to us or what we witnessed. That precise movement of mobile suits, the agility and battlefield awareness, that isn't something normal pilots are capable, it usually takes years to learn. Whether they are Naturals or Coordinators, that was unlike anything I've even seen, read or heard about before."

Both Dearka and Athrun stared at Nicol, Dearka spoke first, "Wait Nicol, you think that the pilots of those machines could be Coordinators like us?"

Nicol shrugged, "It is a possibility, and honestly, with the luck we've had lately, I'm open to even crazy sounding ideas in order to understand things."

"What do you mean luck Nicol," asked Athrun curiously.

Nicol pinned both Athrun and Dearka with his gaze, "We're lucky to be alive right now, with what those three mobile suit pilots did out there, I believe if we're all truthful, we know all of us could have had far worse injuries and damaged machines than we do," Nicol said. He paused, before he kept going, "However, I still say the pilot of the black machine is the most dangerous of the three."

Dearka swallowed hard and then asked what was on his mind, "Okay Nicol, I'll say that with what happened out there, things could have ended worse than they are. But why do you think the black suit's pilot is the most dangerous? Sure, I'll admit they good and skilled, probably a lucky pilot too but come on, how much more dangerous can that one pilot be?" asked Dearka, curious as to the reason that his comrade had.

Nicol gazed hard at Dearka, which made his comrade stiffen a little, "The reason Dearka, is that machine has shown abilities that are different than the others. If it were just that, then we wouldn't need to worry as much. But, the pilot did things that I've only read of the most elite pilots doing." Nicol shivered, before he kept going, "The Buster lost it beam rifle, but think what would have happened if you hadn't moved when you did."

Dearka thought back for a moment to the point of the battle that Nicol was talking about. It hadn't been nice to lose the rifle, but as Dearka thought on how the Buster had been positioned. His thoughts came to a dead halt, as he realized that instead of the Buster losing the beam rifle, that shot would have hit the torso… and then gone through the cockpit.

Nicol saw that Dearka was understanding just how close things had been for him, then Nicol continued. "I'll admit, I was terrified and was shaking by the end of the fight I had with the black suit."

Both Athrun and Dearka stared at Nicol, for he wasn't one to let emotion show during a battle. For him to show fear and terror, that said a lot about how bad the fight had been going for Nicol. And yet, Nicol still had more to say, "Call it a hunch if you wish nevertheless, I don't think we've seen that pilot's full abilities and capabilities as of yet, and that's what scares me the most." Nicol's gaze flicked between his comrades, "Imagine if that pilot was able to hold their own against one of the ZAFT champions, and as far as I can tell thus far, it's possible," said Nicol.

Both Athrun and Dearka froze at what Nicol was suggesting. For them to have been going against a pilot that had the potential to fight ZAFT champions and hold their own in that fight. It was a very frightening idea to imagine, more so for Athrun as he knew who the pilot was. "You got to be kidding," uttered Dearka in a slightly shaky tone, "You seriously think that black machine's pilot is that much better than us?"

Athrun, bit his tongue at Dearka's question. Yes, Tyler was likely a skilled pilot, Athrun couldn't say how skilled, but Nicol had more a point that even he had thought. Even back during the time that Tyler, Kira and Athrun himself were at the Lunar pep academy, Tyler was notorious for not showing more than he saw as necessary to outdo those going against him. On the few times that Athrun had seen Tyler show what he could do… it had been ridiculous in its own way! "Dearka, I believe Nicol may be right in this," remarked Athrun, gaining the attention of the two other pilots. "Think back, at Heliopolis, that machine forced myself back along with two GINNs on their own. Yes, with the assistance of the white winged suit true, but still. Then, in this most recent battle, it was more dancing around us, rather than fighting us and you should know what I'm talking about. I would not doubt if that pilot had put their mind to it… Nicol and you would likely not be standing here right now."

"As much as it pains me to admit it, I would agree with you Athrun. That black suit's pilot could have killed me multiple times, but they didn't. I don't know why they didn't do so, but I think the Black Zephyr and Admiral Treize will be interested in what we saw in this battle," commented Nicol.

Dearka snorted, "Oh yeah, Treize is gonna be real interested if he hears about this," said Dearka. "He'll probably fly out here personally to check it out… Along with giving a lecture on learning from this failure."

"Well, you know how he is," said Nicol. He shook his head. "If we're to be candid with ourselves, if they'd pursued, we would've been done for. As it was, we probably could've been beaten by Moebius Zero armors."

"And that, is a scary thought," said Dearka.

"Yes, but it's true nonetheless," said Athrun. "The Buster's missile supply was all used up and one of its rifles was gone, the Aegis had lost both legs and the main camera, the Blitz for the time being has lost the use of its shield and the Gleipnir, and the Duel was as good as pilotless right now." Athrun snorted slightly, shaking his head. "The machines are impressive," he continued. "They definitely retained the most powerful of them. But looking at the records, it's the pilots that I'm really interested in. Those pilots are anything but ordinary, no normal pilot could possibly do what they did. Not even an average Coordinator."

"Yeah, I agree," said Dearka. "That's what really worries me. Wonder what Commander Le Creuset will think of all this…"

-Line Break-

-Tyler's pov-

The Archangel

Now that the Archangel had linked up with the 8th orbital fleet, there was much less to do. I'm one that dislikes being idol, especially during the time you're waiting for an event to happen that you're not looking forward to, so I headed to the hanger to find something to do. And with the approaching event involving Sakura being the very thing I wanted to take my mind off of… I needed a job that would need most of my attention.

After entering the hanger, I saw that it was busy with activity as it usually was. Spotted Kira's head going into the cockpit of the red Zero, likely with Mu asking him to work on it and with Kira's inability to refuse… bless his heart, even though he should learn to say no, was doing as Mu had asked. While I was floating over towards the mobile suits, I overheard Kira and Mu talking. "We've already hooked up with the fleet," grumbled Kira, popping out of the Zero and startling Mu. "So, would you tell me why we're in a rush?"

"I don't feel secure while it's still damaged," said Mu, shrugging slightly.

Really? Honestly, I don't blame the man, more so since I know what's coming and haven't told anyone, mostly because I doubt they would believe me. If they did, then they would demand to know where and how I got the info and I wouldn't give them an answer they would like. "The pilots joining us from the 8th Fleet most of them are all wet behind the ears," added Murdoch. "If anything happens to them, we'll need both La Flaga and McAlester to sortie."

I came to a stop as I really don't like the sound of that at all, "Wet behind the ears you say Chief?" I spoke up and all in the hanger turn to face me as I floated closer. "I'm almost afraid to ask just how inexperienced you're implying the pilots in the 8th orbital are Chief Murdoch."

The 8th fleet is about to go against one of the best, probably second only to ZAFT's Admiral Treize. To have inexperience pilots… you might as well be having them sign their death certificates before they go out to the field. It will pretty much be what they're going out to, they'll be used as target practice for the ZAFT pilots. Things are already going to be hard, if what Chief Murdoch says is true, then things will be harder still. I'm not saying that the 8th fleet is completely doomed. The 8th Fleet is large, and it was led by one of the most brilliant tacticians and strategists in the entire Atlantic Federation if not the Earth Forces themselves. Yet, novice mobile armor pilots, that's more than simply fatal against ZAFT's mobile suits, it's suicidal!

"Why do you ask about the 8th fleet pilots Tyler?" asked Krystal coming closer to where I was.

Oh dear, what do I say to that?! I smiled a bit and waved a hand in dismissal, "Oh, just wondering what Chief Murdoch was implying, that's all," I said.

"Okay, but what will happen with the Strike, the Asuka and the Shadow?" asked Kira. "Is it really okay if we leave them as they are?"

That drew everyone's attention, the reactions were that all in the hanger looked over at the mobile suits that Kira and Lacus had piloted since fleeing Heliopolis, then at the Shadow. They had all but forgotten that it was pretty much impossible for any Natural to pilot any of the three mobile suits. The OS of the Strike had been so heavily tailored to Lacus's specifications at this point that even many Coordinators would have difficulty with the machine. The Asuka was similar but for Kira instead of Lacus, even if it was an Orb Union mobile suit. However, the Earth Alliance might discreetly deliver it to Orb in an attempt to soothe relations with the nation whose colony they'd helped destroy. The Shadow… well, with the 'changes' I had made, I dare any to try to pilot it. Sure, it's based on the Federation OS that Naturals can use, but it isn't the same!

"Hmm, that's a good question," said Mu, "I guess none of us really thought of that. But I'm not so sure we should return it to its original state, since that would reduce its performance by a noticeable margin."

"Well then, let's hope we can get someone who can pilot them as is," came Murrue's voice suddenly.

All of us looked to the entrance of the hanger as the acting captain Murrue Ramius, floating towards us with a smile on her face. "Uh, captain?" asked Kira.

"What's this? To what do we owe the honor?" asked Mu.

"Indeed," I added.

"Sorry to interrupt," said Murrue, landing on the Zero next to Kira. "I just wanted to have a chat with Tyler and Kira."

"Huh?" murmured Kira, while I just stared at the woman a little suspiciously.

Murrue chuckled slightly, "Oh don't give me that suspicious look of yours," she said, "although, I can't really say that I blame you."

The acting captain motioned for us to follow her, which Kira and I did. We went over to a corner of the hanger and to my surprise, Lacus was there as well. Once we gathered and face Murrue Ramius, she smiled before speaking, "I've hardly had a free moment," she said, "So, I could never find the time to really talk to the three of you and, well… I just wanted to thank you all properly this time." Kira looked at her curiously as did Lacus and myself. She continued, "I'm well aware that I've put you two through a great deal of hardship," continued Murrue, referring to Kira and Lacus, "And I'm truly grateful for what you've done for us." She then turned to me, "The same goes for you Tyler, and I would like to personally apologize to you for the distrust that you've experienced while on the Archangel. You shouldn't have to face that just because you're a pilot in the Federation military."

I was taken aback by the apology as it was unexpected, then Murrue bowed in thanks to all of us. "I put a lot on all of your shoulders, and made you give us your all. I can't thank you enough."

"Uh, it's alright," said Kira quickly, uncomfortable with this show of gratitude. "Really, captain."

"Just don't lose this respect and gratitude captain, it's rare in the Earth Alliance and it shouldn't be," I commented.

"The others may not actually say it to your face," she said, "but each of us are deeply grateful."

"The way things are going right now," she continued, suddenly changing the subject, "I imagine it will be hectic even on Earth. So, I wish you three the best of luck." Murrue held out a hand to Kira, who pretty much spoke for Lacus and himself. The two had always supported one another, and Lacus was possibly a better pilot, though with the one that taught her… not that surprising though. Yet, Kira tended to stand out more, especially with the way he would always be the first to speak up if he disagreed with them. It's a good and not so good quality that Kira has. For a moment, Kira just stared at Murrue's offered hand before reaching out and shaking it.

-Line Break-

-Neutral pov-

The Gamow

It had been over twelve hours since their trouncing by the legged ship, and they'd rendezvoused not only with the Vesalius, the Ziegler and the Galvani, but also with the destroyers the Black Jade and the Fairchild. The pilots on the Gamow stared out of viewing ports on the bridge, "I still can't believe it," muttered Athrun as he looked on at the ZAFT ships coming into formation. "I know Captain Ades said that Admiral Treize had said that she would be coming, but I didn't actually believe she would come."

"Agreed Athrun, to think they deployed her," said Nicol. "They actually deployed her for this."

"I would guess Trays asked her directly," added Dearka. "It would be just like him. Probably can't get away himself, so he sends the Black Zephyr out to do the job instead, the legged ship must be seen as more of a problem than we thought it was."

"The Black Jade is ordering full six-way communication sir," said the com-officer, Zelman nodded.

"Put them on screen," he said.

Everyone turned their attention to the screen as the faces of the four ZAFT Commanders appeared, along with the face of the Fairchild's captain, Neil Harlous and a woman. She was the woman that every soldier in ZAFT had heard of from the first day of basic training, the ZAFT champion that was known as the Black Zephyr. She was a woman feared by most and could easily be seen as the most feared ZAFT commander.

"Zephyr, how good to see you again," said Le Creuset

"The feeling isn't mutual Creuset," replied the Black Zephyr, her tone almost completely devoid of any emotion. "I've always said you enjoyed being needlessly destructive and I'll take the fate of Heliopolis as proof of that. I don't believe your claims about what happened for a second, you instigated it and your claims are more justification of your interests for even a second. However, Lanus asked me to take over this job and to my misfortune you appear to be permanently attached to this mission thanks to the National Defense Committee."

"You wound me Zephyr and after all the times we worked together…"

Le Creuset was cut off, "You're a hell of a pilot Le Creuset, and you can get results, but that doesn't mean I agree or like the way you tend to go about it. This situation is as it is, that doesn't mean I have to be pleased with it," the Zephyr said bluntly, a bit of emotion in her tone this time. "But, personal matters aside, we have a mission to attend to. As of this moment, I will be taking full command of the pursuit of the Earth Forces prototype warship and the mobile weapons aboard her. I'll be expecting you all to be giving it your utmost; Commander Le Creuset, Commander Porto, Commander Laconi, you will all follow my orders. Is that understood?"

"Ma'am!" said all three commanders, saluting the General even though she was formally one rank above them, then for her to be at least a couple of years younger than any of them on top of that, yet her authority was highly respected within the ZAFT military, yet she was a champion after all.

Athrun shifted uncomfortably though, he'd wanted to talk to her back at the PLANTs, but that was during circumstances where he'd felt secure in his ability to bolt if things soured. He'd known her for years, but since the war began, the rosette ZAFT commander had begun to even scare him more than a little. After all, Sakura Clyne, the Black Zephyr and Blood Princess of ZAFT as her other nicknames that she had earned, had never really cared much for her baby sister's fiancée.

Phase End

A/n

End chapter 8 revised! Hope you're all liking the changes thus far, has taken a sizable amount of time to do them. Please take the time to write a review to say what you think, point out errors you see that I haven't… yes, I admit that I make mistakes like everyone else. I take people telling me that, it helps me to make less of them going forward. Until the next chapter (Whenever that will come) peace out all!