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

33. Phase 33: Meeting of Fate

A/n

I'll say it outright, this Phase is longer than the last few by a margin, but there's an amount to cover in this Phase. My standard disclaimer still as always applies and now, on with the story!

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Phase 33: The meetings of Fate

November 18th, 73 C.E.

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-Neutral pov-

Gibraltar Base

In the days after Operation "Spear of Twilight" had occurred, things had calmed somewhat for ZAFT personnel. More than half of the landing forces that had dropped had made it to where they were assigned to drop to. The reinforcement was appreciated with the increased activities of the Earth Alliance. Many of those on the base were finally able to make contact with loved ones living in the PLANTs, since it had been difficult if not impossible for a time due to the Alliance's jamming.

Shinn Asuka had gotten the time to have a chat with his own family, who lived on Junius One currently. It had been nice to talk with them, as the Minerva had headed out on its first tour on short notice and then there had been the attempted nuclear strike made. Granted, they had known he would be a mobile suit pilot, but Shinn had received surprise and congratulations when he mentioned he had been recently piloting a Gundam-type model. Mayu especially, had been excitedly saying how cool it was to have a brother that was a Gundam-type mobile suit pilot. The talk had given Shinn a needed morale boost at this time with the changes that were soon to come. Aila Lakeen was healed and back on duty, meaning that he would likely no longer pilot the Impulse Gundam. The rumors going around, were that another pilot would be brought onboard to use the X28S Osiris from Gibraltar. That would return Shinn to being a backup pilot for the Impulse and use a ZAKU on the field like Luna did. It had been educational to Shinn, the time that he had been piloting the Impulse and he would remember it for when the next opportunity would come.

He was sitting at his desk on his side of the room that Rey and he shared, thinking about what would happen going forward. It wasn't all that long after Shinn had finished the call with his family, when Lunamaria found him and brought him out of his thoughts. "Shinn, you okay? You didn't answer when I called or knock," she asked.

Shinn turned and faced his fellow pilot who had entered the room, "Luna? Sorry, I didn't hear you knocking, just have been thinking lately," he said.

"Well, a lot has been happening lately, what with the reinforcements dropping to Earth and the Alliance picking a fight with the Federation's Military. I was coming to tell you that Aila has pretty much recovered from the gunshot wound that she received at Armory One. She'll be resuming her full duties soon enough, so she'll be taking charge of field operations going forward," replied Lunamaria.

"Oh, that's nice to hear, it had to be harsh to have been shot," Shinn said absentmindedly.

Meanwhile, Aila reported as requested to Captain Gladys, the meeting between the two lasted for more than an hour. Talia Gladys did first say that she was pleased that Aila had recovered from the injury that she had taken during the chaos that occurred at Armory One. Next, Aila gave her report upon the theft at Armory One, including her observations of those who stole the mobile suits themselves. Talia didn't like hearing what Aila had seen, for it said that the laxness that had come to a portion within ZAFT had caused the deaths of many. Then, to hear and comprehend that the pilots of the Chaos, Abyss and Gaia were teens that were different than others, worried Talia. It sounded more like the three had intense combat training, more than normal soldiers receive. If the Alliance was training and conditioning people to not arouse suspicion, they had been successful in this. That also meant that they could have others like those teens, simply waiting to strike when their targets least expect it.

The conversation turned onto more present matters after the report, which involved the organization of the pilots that the Minerva had. Originally, Aila had been assigned to the Impulse Gundam, Captain Gladys was inclined to put her back to piloting the mobile suit. That however, still left the question of whom would pilot the Osiris. Reports had come saying that the personnel that were supposed to pilot the second stage mobile suits were 'not available'. There was the possibility that a pilot here from Gibraltar could be assigned if need be, but that would take time as it had to done by request. Talia wanted to have all the Minerva's mobile suits available and ready to go as needed.

However, Talia was surprised when Aila spoke, "Captain, I understand that you would want me back piloting the Impulse, but I think it best that I not do so."

Talia stared at Aila Lakeen, "And what is your reasoning Aila," she inquired.

"Well Captain, as things are, I believe that Shinn Asuka is still a good choice for the Impulse's pilot. It may be my opinion, but from the records I've seen, Shinn has performed admirably and should be given the chance to keep doing so. The Osiris needs a pilot and I've had the most experience with it and as it doesn't have anyone assigned, I volunteer for that position," Aila answered.

Talia was somewhat stunned at Aila opinion, for she hadn't seen it coming at all. Yes, Shinn Asuka had performed very well while he piloted the Impulse, there was no denying that. But he was one of the backup pilots for one of the two remaining Gundam-types. Yet, Aila was someone that Talia had come to trust the views of as she had been out on the battle field during the First Alliance-PLANT War. True, what Aila had suggested would work and solve the issue of mobile suit pilot assignment. After a few minutes of consideration, Talia agreed with Aila, but stated that she would be the team field commander as she was before. The other pilots of the Minerva were skilled, but Aila was still the one with the most battlefield experience. That could make a real difference in tight situations.

The next morning, the Minerva received orders to proceed east southeast to the ZAFT base known as "Mahamul". The mission that the Minerva would participate in would be given in more detail when they arrived at the base. The Minerva headed out from Gibraltar and made its way towards the far shores of the sea on the east before heading for the Mahamul Base. Upon reaching the base, the Minerva was quickly assigned to work with several land-based ZAFT ships from two Compton-classes and some Petrie-classes. Talia learned that the mission that the Minerva was to help in, was breaking through the Gulnahan Ravine. The Alliance currently held the pass and with the activity around Suez that other teams were dealing with, the combination could spell possible future issues for Gibraltar and other ZAFT bases in the general area.

The task force traveled towards the ravine and were supposed to meet up with a member of the local rebel group in the area that were fighting the Alliance. Once a vehicle was picked up by the Minerva, the pilots were told to gather in the briefing room, while Aila went down and met with the member of the local resistance that was providing intel for the operation. Aila frowned at finding the one that was bringing the intel was a young teenager, younger than even Shinn, Lunamaria and Rey. It wasn't surprising that a girl so young was a fighting in a resistance group, but it didn't make it any nicer to see a testament of what kind of a world all lived in these days.

Aila approached the girl, "Hello, I would assume that you are the one bringing us intel that will assist in ousting the Alliance and freeing your home at the same time," posed Aila.

The girl, who had brown hair of medium length, focused on Aila, her aqua colored eyes somewhat a rarity in this part of the world. "Yes, who are you," she asked.

Aila smiled, "My name is Aila Lakeen, I'm the mobile suit team leader and will be the mission commander of the operation on the field. It's nice to meet you," Aila left the greeting open for the girl to supply her name.

"My name is Conille Almeta, Miss Lakeen," she replied.

Aila nodded, and gestured to the exit from the hanger, "Then if you would follow me, we can go to the briefing and get down to shooing away the Alliance."

At the same time, the pilots the Minerva had, plus those who weren't on watch currently for the other ships in the group were gathering for the briefing. Shinn and Lunamaria were the last two to enter the room, "So, what does it mean that we're having local cooperation, this is Alliance controlled territory," asked Shinn. "So, does it refer to resistance in the area to the Alliance?"

Lunamaria shrugged, "That would be my guess. The latest intelligence and reports say that things in Gulnahan have gotten pretty bad since the Alliance took control over a year ago," she said back.

Everyone in the room had taken their seats as the deputy captain and Aila came into the room, accompanied by a young teenage girl. All rose and saluted to both Arthur Trine and Aila, who returned the sign, "All please be seated," said Arthur.

All the pilots took their seats and gave their attention to Arthur, "This briefing is to explain the finer details of the operation we are about to embark on, that is of course, to break through the Earth Alliance's 'Lohengrin Gate'. We will be conducting this operation with the Ruddle Team."

Arthur paused for a moment, "I am sure that most if not all of you are aware, the area we're going into is controlled by the Earth Alliance currently. Tension were high but have increased since the Earth Forces' assault on Asgard, especially around here as this area is close to the western border of the Federation's Equatorial Union. That being said, assaulting this enemy position is a tall order, mostly because of the Lohengrin battery they have in place. The Ruddle Team has already made an attempt to break through this enemy position a while ago, but the mission was… unsuccessful. However, this time will be different," Arthur turned to Aila, "Aila, if you would take the briefing from here."

Aila nodded, then brought up a picture on the screen at the front of the room, "Okay everyone, listen up because this mission will be as the Minerva's deputy captain said, difficult and a tall order," she said pointing at the image. "This is an overhead image of the general area that the operation will take place, which is in the territory called Gulnahan, specifically down the ravine the Alliance named 'Lohengrin Gate'." Aila used a rod to point out what she was referencing, "You will note, that there is a town at the opposite end of the ravine we will be coming down and that the powerplant that the Earth Forces use to power the Lohengrin Positron Cannon is next to the town. The only way that one can approach the town or the powerplant is by air or down the ravine itself. An approach by air has been made complicated as the Alliance has setup a formattable anti-air defensive network around the area. That leaves the ravine being the best way to get to the town however, the placement of the enemy's positron cannon high up on the bluffs, allows it to cover the entire approach and fire at will at ships that come down the ravine at will."

Aila shifted her gaze to all the pilots in the room, "Understand, there is little to no cover in the ravine for the whole approach, no matter the route you use. Don't think for a moment that the rock formations will help in that, for they won't. The other issue is the battery is defended in multiple ways, from the natural rock formation shields against long-range attacks and the positron cannon can be lowered into an armored bunker that can take very heavy bombardments. Then of course, there are Earth Forces' mobile suits that are stationed in the base below the battery guarding the bluff. They will be bolstered with a mobile armor the Alliance has equipped with a positron reflector, a new shielding technology of theirs, which can as the name implies block a positron-base and other types of beams. Those facts in mind, setting up for a direct frontal assault is unrealistic as well as suicidal to an extent," Aila stated.

"So then ma'am, what is the plan to get past that," asked Lunamaria.

"I would assume, that a smaller group approaches from a different direction and takes out what defenders are left behind and destroys the positron battery," posed Shinn.

Aila focused on Shinn for a moment, "That is the overall idea, but this briefing is to discuss the details of how that is to be accomplished. I stated before, that an assault even from elsewhere other than the ravine is not simple on this Alliance base. The reason being is first the anti-air defenses and then, as you put it, taking out the defenders, the Lohengrin would be lowered into its armored bunker, which a mobile suit couldn't get through without special equipment. Brute force will not be the way this mission will be completed successfully, it will be tactics, if any of you have ideas speak now."

All in the room were quiet after that, "I take it that since no one is speaking up, that ideas on how to do this are not coming to mind. Thankfully, thanks to our guest here," Aila said, gesturing to Conille, "We have a method that is more realistic and has a good chance of working in breaking through Lohengrin Gate and not have many dying for it."

Aila turned to the girl, "Miss Conille," she said. "If you would give the rundown of the plan to take down the Lohengrin."

Miss Conille nodded and then began the explanation of what the plan to break through and defeat the Alliance's Lohengrin battery that overlooked the ravine. It was crazy by most standards, using a narrow tunnel that was supposed to take you to the area directly where the Lohengrin was. The issue was that the tunnel was too narrow for mobile suits… with the sole exception of the Impulse, and that was only with the fliers and Core Splendor not the combined Impulse. While the Impulse made its way down the canyon and tunnel, everyone else would play the part of distraction.

After finishing up the explanation, Aila took charge again, "That's the plan as it stands. Miss Conille, if you would hand him the data you're carrying," Aila stated, pointing at Shinn.

Conille gawked, first at Shinn, looked to Aila, then back to Shinn, "Wait, you're saying that this guy is the one that supposed to do this," she exclaimed.

"Indeed, he will be the one piloting the machine that will be key to this operation," Aila replied calmly.

Shinn was taken by surprise at being told that he would be piloting the key machine to the operation, and it took a second for him to realize that meant he would be piloting the Impulse. Conille stared at Shinn a bit longer, "I don't know, this plan requires a pilot that can pull off some seriously tricky flying. Are you sure that this guy can handle that," asked Miss Conille, "There is a lot at stake in this." Conille turned back to Aila, "You are the mission commander, aren't you? Wouldn't it be better for you to do this yourself, you have the skills?"

Shinn didn't know whether to be irked at another saying that he couldn't do what was needed, or just stay silent and show himself more mature. He decided to stay silent as Conille continued, "If he," she said, pointing at Shinn, "messes this up, then my town and everyone in it are as good as dead, the Earth Forces will personally make sure of that."

Hearing that an entire village population would be killed forced Shinn to pause in his thought process. Fighting the Earth Alliance was one thing, but for others to have to pay for what happened, especially when things going badly, was wrong to Shinn. Aila put a hand on Conille's shoulder, "You have my word that he can do this mission Miss Conille. I understand your concerns but when this operation is done, then you and those in your village will be able to see many tomorrows," Aila assured.

The rest of the briefing was mostly giving out assignments to the others who would play the distraction to draw the Alliance's attention. Once done, the pilots began filing out, Shinn was beginning to follow the rest, when he was stopped. "Shinn, a word before you go, in private please," Aila stated clearly.

So, Shinn stayed behind as everyone else other than Aila and the girl left the room, Lunamaria pausing, before Rey moved her along. He turned and faced the Minerva's mobile suit team leader, "You wanted to say something to me ma'am," he asked.

Aila gained a serious expression on her face, "Shinn, say what's on your mind, you kept quiet before, a mature reaction I'll admit, but the expressions that crossed your face still spoke for you," she said.

Shinn didn't say anything for a moment, but finally, "Aila, why would you consider me to play a pivotal role? If the stakes are so high, wouldn't it be better for someone that can do the job for sure do it," he inquired.

Aila didn't answer right away, yet Shinn waited, finally she exhaled heavily, "You may not think so Shinn, but you have abilities and talents that you might not have seen or know of yet. I believe that you are capable of doing this mission and being successful. If I didn't think you were able, then I would be doing the task myself." Shinn was stunned at hearing Aila say what she did, for that was one of the best compliments he had gotten from a superior since enlisting. Aila continued, "And by the way Shinn, you are assigned as the pilot of the Impulse until further notice and not just for this mission. There will be an official announcement later, but you might as well be made aware of the point. You have proven that you are up to the tasks required of a Gundam-type mobile suit pilot, congratulations," she said, holding out a disk to Shinn.

Shinn openly gaped at Aila, "Wait what, did you just say that I'm being assigned to the Impulse going forward?!"

Aila put the disk in one of his hands and had taken a couple of steps towards the door, "I do believe that's what I said Shinn, don't let it go to your head. Being the pilot of a Gundam-type machine isn't as nice as many think it is, makes you into a popular target more often then not."

"But, then what will you do," uttered Shinn.

Aila had made it over to where Conille was, but then she stopped, "I'll be using the Osiris," she replied.

Miss Conille then looked Shinn right in the eyes, "Is there something else you wanted to add," asked Shinn.

Conille's gaze fell to the floor, "The last time ZAFT attacked the battery, my town and its inhabitance pay a horrible price. A rebellion broke out at around the same time that ZAFT was assaulting the battery," she began.

Shinn was quiet at the tone of the girl's voice for it had changed completely from before. "Those who resisted the Earth Forces faced fates worse than what most would imagine, many were simply killed as others were forced to watch. It's been done on other settlements; many people have died because the Earth Forces control this area. And if people try to run for the Federation border for safety, then the Alliance chases them and guns them down. If this operation fails, then all in the town will likely die this time," Conille took a deep breath. "And that's why, the Alliance's Lohengrin battery must be destroyed! It is the source and symbol of their power and dominion! Please, I beg you, do this and succeed! Not just for ZAFT, but for those of us who have suffered under the Earth Forces and the Alliance!"

Aila put an arm around the girl's shoulders and began guiding her out of the room. However, before she exited the room Aila turned back and gazed at Shinn, "Make sure you seriously study the data on that disk, you WILL regret it if you do not later," she recommended.

Shinn was left in the briefing room, gob smacked at what he had been just told. Not only was he now assigned to a Gundam-type mobile suit, a dream of his after his first time seeing one. But, he was expected to play a critical role in the upcoming operation, should he fail, then many lives would be lost. Shinn looked down at the disk Aila had given him, wondering what was on it. The announcement that the operation would soon commence came over the Minerva's speakers and Shinn quickly made his way to the hanger. Shinn went to the Core Splendor and inserted the disk and began to view the contents, while there was still time before the start of the operation.

The data was the map for the alternate path that would allow an undetected approach to the Lohengrin battery. The path was made up of a canyon followed by a tunnel that went through the hill that the bluff was on top of. The issue was Shinn could only use the Chest flier and Leg flier, no Silhouette flier as none would fit down the tunnel due to wing span. So, he would have to keep a close eye on the flyers behind him through the entire journey due to the tight spacing. He would have to travel through a canyon before entering a tunnel that would take him to right below the Lohengrin's housing. The canyon part of the trip didn't worry Shinn, the narrow tunnel, which would be the majority of the trip, did look like it would be much more difficult. Nonetheless, Aila believed that he could do this operation, and Shinn wasn't about to let that compliment have to be taken back by her!

The point that Shinn was to launch came, Shinn headed out with the two fliers flying behind him. Shinn made sure to keep an eye on the two fliers following him and keep them in line. The data indicated the course he needed to take, and he flew down the tight canyon with silence being his boon companion. Recollections of the plan that had been given came back to Shinn's mind, for supposedly, this path was not known to the Alliance, or even many of the locals. According to Miss Conille, the exit below the battery itself was blocked, but the missiles that the Core Splendor carried should be able to clear the rocks blocking the exit.

Shinn spotted the tunnel entrance ahead of him and flew inside it with the other two fliers following in after him. Instantly, Shinn found himself in near complete darkness, he could only see twenty meters ahead due to the one 'headlight' that the Core Splendor had, "What the Hell?!" He looked down at the map that had been on the disk, apparently, he would be flying this by the map alone. "Damn it all! Would it have killed someone to mention that I would be flying this pretty much blind?!"

He clenched his jaw, knowing that complaining would be pointless, since it wouldn't help, and no one would hear him anyways. If he made it out of this alive, then Aila owed him big time! The next stop the Minerva made, he, Rey and Lunamaria would be going out to eat and Aila would be paying the full bill! And it wouldn't be a cheap place either, Shinn would make sure of it, that's how much flying in this 'tunnel' was irking him! As Shinn flew through the dark, he felt the wings of the Core Splendor tapping and scraping the wall, which served to frustrate him more. Aila would be make this worth it, and her compliment wasn't enough, nice as it was! Heck, Shinn partly thought that Aila had given him this assignment, so she hadn't had to do it, but then another part of him took this as a challenge to prove that he could do whatever he set his mind to!

A waterfall appeared in front of him from the dark, and Shinn pulled up hard on the control stick, feeling the G-forces climb. Shinn checked the displays, seeing that he was still on course somehow both the fliers were still following behind him. Gaging his speed, since he needed to not get to his target too soon or too early, the point had been repeated more than once, or those distracting the Earth Forces would be overpowered. All the while, it felt like the tunnel walls were closing in tighter around the Core Splendor as Shinn kept flying forward. It was taking most of Shinn's concentration to fly through tunnel and keep the fliers with him and not have either of them bang into the walls and crash!

Shinn kept steadily making his way through the tunnel, knowing that the Minerva's chief mechanic would be chewing him out for the scrapes and other minor damage he was incurring. He was softly cursing with each bump and scrape that came, it might not make a difference overall, but in Shinn's mind it helped, even if only a little. He couldn't hear the battle that was no doubt going on outside, but timing in this battle was key.

During that same interval, the mobile suit carried by the land-based ships and the Minerva launched out to meet the Alliance mobile suits that were coming their way. Their job of luring away them and the mobile armor from the positron battery so that the Impulse could have the chance to strike was looming. The ships stuck behind the mobile suits, providing support as the approach to the town entered the harder half. The Minerva climbed upward, Talia ordering the use of the Minerva's own positron cannon, telling the weapon controller to make sure they knew what was behind the target. There was no wish to destroy the town, that was the last thing desired, the inhabitance had suffered enough and were helping in this operation.

The Tannhäuser fired at the mobile suits heading for them, yet the Earth Forces' mobile armor moved out in front and used its positron reflector to block the Minerva's attack. The blocked beam didn't penetrate the reflector, and the shockwave that went out from the blocking point forced most of the ZAFT forces backwards a margin. The Lohengrin battery shifted to target the Minerva, to which Talia shouted to the Minerva's pilot to descend. The Minerva barely dodged the shot, scraping the sand before climbing upward. The ZAFT mobile suits had started engaging the Alliance machines, steadily drawing them farther away from the positron battery.

Rey, Lunamaria and Aila were waiting to make their move against the mobile armor. After seeing the Minerva hadn't been hit by the Alliance's cannon, Aila noticed the mobile armor starting to head back toward the battery. "Rey, Lunamaria, the mobile armor is heading back to the Lohengrin, we can't let him get there," Aila commanded. Aila had the Osiris leap into the air, going after the mobile armor, Rey and Lunamaria were about to follow, but were quickly pinned down, this only allowed Aila to chase the mobile armor

As things were taking a grim turn, Shinn reached the last bit of the tunnel and came into range of the blocked exit. "This is it," Shinn said to himself. He fired the Core Splendor's missiles at the rocks, blowing open the exit that would put him right around the Lohengrin battery.

The Gells-Ghe armor was making its way back towards the Lohengrin as the shot at the ZAFT vessel had failed. However, it was brought to a slow crawl and then close to a halt as the Osiris began attacking it from behind. The fight between the two had just got going when part of the mountainside exploded outward. Out of the smoke came the Core Splendor, followed by both the leg and chest fliers. And as soon as all the fliers were clear of the tunnel, Shinn started the combining process for the Impulse. After that, he activated the Impulse's phase shift, Shinn went directly for his target, the Lohengrin battery.

The mobile armor turned its attention to the Impulse, but Aila took the opportunity to close the distance, storing the Osiris' rifle system. She took out the "Defiant" Beam Javelin from its rack on the underside of the Osiris' shield. She impaled the javelin into the mobile armor, piercing the 'mobile suit' section and burying the weapon into the main part of the mobile armor. The mobile armor shortly exploded, Aila having moved back after pegging the machine with the javelin.

At the sight of the Impulse approaching the Lohengrin cannon, those in the Alliance command center initiated the process of lowering the cannon into its bunker. Cables disconnected from the battery, even as the Impulse was quickly closing the distance. Shinn saw that the Lohengrin starting to descend down into its bunker, and he wouldn't let that happen with all that had been done to get here! Shinn was shooting down defending mobile suits, but the sight of the cannon getting lower was making Shinn desperate. So, when Shinn was almost to the cannon, he had the Impulse drop its shield, then just took out the folding razor anti-armor knife and rammed it into the Dagger L in front of him. Shinn continued forward, dropping the beam rifle and taking out the other anti-armor knife, jamming it into the closest Dagger L. He glanced over where the Lohengrin should be and saw that it had lowered, and the shutters were moving into place to seal the bunker.

Shinn did the first thing that he could think of, grabbed the Alliance suit and threw it into the gap there was before the shutters closed, unloading rounds from the 20mm CIWS guns at the suit to get it to explode. The suit dropped into the bunker just before it closed, and then a long moment after the shutters closed, rumbling quickly started followed by a chain reaction of blasts from below within the Alliance base. Shinn maneuvered the Impulse away from the blast that were growing, meeting up with the Osiris and they both headed towards the town.

As soon as smoke and explosions were seen from the bluffs the Alliance were setup on, those in town took that to me the Alliance base had fallen. It was an event that all of them had been hoping and waiting for! All the inhabitance went through town, both collecting Alliance personnel to be punished and destroying symbols of the Earth Alliance.

While this was going on, a force from the Equatorial Union along with some locals that had made it across the border a short period ago, were flying on aircraft. The aircraft was low so that the Earth Forces wouldn't detect them approaching. The local people, made up of older teenagers and some in their early to mid-twenties and they had convinced the Federation military force to give them a ride back close to their home. It would've been preferred that they helped them, but as this was Alliance territory, they couldn't do as much as they once could. Before the Earth Forces had come, it hadn't been uncommon for groups from the Human Federation to come around the settlements to check on the people and assisting when needed.

However, when the scene of smoke and destruction was seen where the Alliance base was, things changed. The Federation force agreed to assist in helping the locals, the exchange for the help was, there were to be no Alliance personnel were to leave so that they could talk about this. When the Federation aircraft had landed behind the town, all but the pilot disembarked and began quickly making their way towards the settlement. A few Earth Forces soldiers were encountered along the way, which were shot without hesitation as the group came the town. The sight of Earth Forces personnel being executed was seen sporadically around the settlement but were ignored. Still, the relatives of those who had come with the Federation group, were quickly found and joy filled reunions ensued.

The Federation personnel from the Equatorial Union, quickly began helping in what ways they could. They even radioed a transport with medical personnel and supplies, as the treatment of the Alliance had done horrible things to a number of the local people. Those from the Federation were welcomed like long lost family and treated as such too, while the ZAFT forces that had destroyed the Lohengrin, were greeted as heroes with cheering. The second Shinn landed the Impulse, and descended from the cockpit, he was surrounded and thanked, congratulated and praised for his efforts. Aila received much the same treatment, which showed her just how bad things had been for these people.

When Conille arrived, she smiled at all the rejoicing that she was seeing, for it had been years since there had been anything to celebrate like this. She was shortly surprised when she was found by her older brother, who she had thought was killed with people from another settlement that had been fleeing for the Equatorial Union, he had come with the Federation force. The mood only became better when much needed medical supplies came, which both ZAFT and the Federation provided.

It was as night fell, that the Minerva loaded up its mobile suits, bid farewell to the locals and began its journey to Carpentaria. Orders had come to report there for further assignment in the early evening. There was only one point of the journey that would need to be decided, the place to resupply. ZAFT bases and territory were not available from Gulnahan to the Oceana Union, so a Federation port would fit the need. There were really three main ports of call for such a thing for a ship like the Minerva; the port in the capital of the Equatorial Union, the Republic's capital Shira and the Orb Union's Onogoro Island. Talia and Arthur made the choice that the Republic would do best, for it was close to a straight shot to Carpentaria from there. Plus, the crew was in need of some shore leave and Shira was well known for being able to get effective time off.

Shinn had been swarmed by his friends once back on board the Minerva, all of them saying how amazing he had been, but, when Aila came into the room, everyone went silent. Shinn faced Aila and waited for her to speak first, "I knew you could accomplish the job Shinn, I never had a doubt," she said smiling.

Shinn smiled for a moment, "Thanks, yet, you owe me for saying nothing about having to fly blind and the reprimand I got from the chief down in the hanger," Shinn stated.

Aila chuckled, "Fair enough, though I do recall you being told that you would need the data to fly this mission. And then, I specifically said to look over the data and study it, or you would regret not doing so. So then, do you have something particular in mind for a reward? And sorry to tell you, I have a boyfriends Shinn, so a date with me is off the table," Aila replied, smiling at seeing Shinn blush.

Shinn shook his head, not appreciated being teased by Aila like this, "No, Rey, Lunamaria, you and myself go out to eat, I get to pick the place and you pay the whole bill."

Aila blinked, not having expected that type of request, but she thought for a moment. This request of Shinn gave him room to have fun at her expense, quite literally. However, Shinn had done very well on the mission, and honestly, she didn't see how Shinn could make things horrid for herself with just one meal. "Fine Shinn, when we dock for resupply wherever it will be, you choose the place, I pay for one meal for the four of us," Aila agreed.

The Minerva set course towards the ocean as traveling by water would be smoother going forward. It took hours to reach the coast, once over it, the Minerva dropped into the water and sailed forward towards the Republic. It took a day to come into communications range of Shira, permission to dock was given to the Minerva shortly after communications started. When the ship came closer to Shira, Federation Dolphes-class sea cruisers took up positions alongside and began escorting the Minerva forward. The view of the dock that the Minerva was being assigned for the duration it would stay, was welcome as it symbolized a coming time of relaxation, rest and recuperation that shortly about to begin.

Moving slowly into the submerged dry dock, the Minerva came to a stop in the dock and the docking equipment slid into place, before the water was drained from the dock. The Federation team that came on board the Minerva were quick and efficient at simply locking a select few systems. The crew was allowed then to disembark from the Minerva while the ship was docked at Shira under repair and resupply.

-Line Break-

PLANTs, L5

Athrun took time to consider the offer made by a number here in the PLANTs for Athrun to come back to ZAFT. When he left after the previous war, it had been through discharged, not dishonorably due to the good words from a few ZAFT commanders, including Admiral Treize. But, Athrun had never thought he'd think about returning to PLANT's military and yet, here he was, seriously considering that very thing. Joining ZAFT again, would allow Athrun to make a difference and perhaps cut down the deaths this new conflict would bring. However, there would be things that Athrun wouldn't be able to do anymore, mostly things within the Federation if he worked in ZAFT.

Nonetheless, in the end, Athrun put on the red uniform that he had put down over a year ago and headed to see Chairman Durandal. The current head of the Supreme Council gained a smile when he saw Athrun in the ZAFT elite red uniform. Meer Campbell was also in the room and she had an expression of joy as Athrun wearing the uniform meant he had decided to help Chairman Durandal in his efforts to end the growing conflict. Plus, she thought he looked very handsome in the uniform, but managed to hide the slight blush with just acting excited.

Durandal approached Athrun, "I see you have made your decision. I am confident that your choice will help make a difference in bringing this conflict to an early end." Durandal then presented Athrun with a box that had the white crest that members of ZAFT's Fast Acting Integrate Tactical Headquarters or FAITH had. "Take this, I'm sure it will serve you well in your efforts," remarked Durandal.

Athrun was dumbfounded at being offered to become a member of FAITH, for he hadn't expected this at all. FAITH was ZAFT's elite of elites, best of the best, comparable to the Earth Alliance's SWORD or the Federation Military's SOLAS. Part of Athrun was honored to be considered for such a position, but there was still as before a nagging thought in the back of his mind that said there was something off in this. Still, Athrun took the crest since members of FAITH could take charge on the field as they saw necessary and that ability would be helpful. But the surprises weren't done yet as the explanation came, "I thought it better to not insert you into the regular chain of command as there might be problems with how you left, even with Admiral Treize's words put in for you. As a member of FAITH, all you need to do is pledge your loyalty to your beliefs and to be true to them and you have already shown that you are exactly that kind of person."

What Durandal was saying made sense to Athrun in principle, but then again, so had his father's reasoning at first. Perhaps it was Athrun being paranoid, yet it was validly earned during the previous war. Athrun had learned, to blatantly ignore suspicions without good reason didn't go well in the long run. Still, Athrun could find nothing blatantly wrong in what was being said, even if he tried to. "Chairman, I'll be among the first group that would like to believe what you say about being true to one's beliefs is right, and it was so simple. But if you would pardon the frankness, during the previous war, many fought for what 'they' saw as right, some of them being manipulated to do so. That includes the previous Chairman… Patrick Zala and look what that brought upon all and still does today." Athrun hesitated, but continued, "I guess, what I'm trying to say is, what makes what you fight for more true or valid than another's reason," asked Athrun.

Durandal smiled, "A deep and honest question Athrun, I admire that you would be willing to ask such a pointed inquiry. I do not have a definite answer to it, but I would like to believe that I and others who work with me are fighting for a bright future for humanity. Not just a part of the human race as others before me had fought for, but all types and forms of humanity. For do not all human beings, regardless of the, type deserve a chance at a future to live in?"

"Yes, I agree with all human beings deserving a future," Athrun replied, as thoughts of those who had been lost in the previous war came to his mind. He could think of nothing more to say back to Chairman Durandal.

Durandal continued, "Also, you will be assigned to the new X23S Saviour mobile suit, which is a Gundam-type of the second-stage series. Your first mission will be to join up with the Minerva and assist them in their efforts. I'm sure you can make a real difference, when the time comes, use that extra power and abilities as you see fit to bring peace," he stated.

Athrun gave a salute to Durandal and head out for the bay that the mobile suit that he'd been assigned was waiting. The suit looked at first glance kind of like the green Gundam-type that Athrun had seen at Armory One. However, it also bore some uncanny similarities to the HFS-Z201 Aurora Gundam as well, mainly the wings and long cannons attached to the backpack section. The wings had a bit of a different shape, but the cannons certainly looked to be more than just accidentally similar.

When Athrun entered the cockpit, he activated the OS and the startup screen was different than the last ZAFT designed mobile suit that he had piloted.

MOBILE SUIT NEO OPERATION SYSTEM
Generation
Unrestricted
Network
DriveAssault
Module

G.U.N.D.A.M
_Ver.2.5.3 Rev.07_
Z.A.F.T.

Once the system was up and running, Athrun looked over the arsenal that the mobile suit had. He found it was armed with a beam rifle, a shield, two beam sabers, two CIWS guns, two machine guns in a fight array as well as a pair of beam and plasma beam cannons. Then, as the flight array suggested, this mobile suit had a flight mode to work with. Athrun activated the suits phase shift armor, which turned it red overall, as the airlocks started opening for the launching tunnel.

After the launching tunnel was open, Athrun took off and began his journey to Earth. The most current information, put the Minerva traveling toward Carpentaria. Nonetheless, after a recent operation they had participated in according to reports, they would need repair and resupply before reaching Carpentaria. There were a few possibilities, the majority of them being docking at a Federation port. Of those, there were only really three major ports equipped to handle specialized ships like the Minerva, those being the capitol of the Equatorial Union, Shira in the Republic or Onogoro Island in Orb. Out of those three, the most likely would be Shira, simply because docks there would be able to do repairs the quickest and it would be close to a straight shot to Carpentaria from Shira. And who knows, Athrun might even get the chance to catch up with Tyler and Kira while around Shira and see what had been happening on Earth.

So, Athrun transformed the Saviour into its flying mobile armor mode and headed for Earth. When he made it to the Earth Sphere itself, he descended down towards the Republic. Upon approaching Shira, Athrun spotted the ship that he believed was the Minerva but couldn't confirm at the distance he still was away. As he got closer to Shira, Federation fighters came up alongside Athrun, asking his identity and business. Athrun answered his 'escort' truthfully, that he had been ordered to join up with the ZAFT ship that was now docked at Shira, the Minerva. There was a moment of silence, which Athrun assumed that what he had answered was being checked. And honestly, Athrun didn't blame the Federation for doing so, not after the attack on Asgard the Alliance made recently.

After having lived in Orb for more than a year, some of the "mysterious" actions and policies that the Federation had, made more sense than they did before. Their number one focus and goal was to protect their citizens from anyone and anything that could and/or would threaten them. That stance was the main factor that determined how the Federation's military conducted themselves. Both the Earth Alliance and ZAFT were equals as potential threats and were watched because of that. What had happened with the nuclear strike against the PLANTs had been the Federation defending their diplomats more than it was helping ZAFT. The reason that the Federation and ZAFT were on "good terms" was the PLANTs currently had seemingly the same goal as the Human Federation.

Athrun was then told to keep his suit's weapon systems offline and continue on his present course. Athrun did as he was told and kept going towards Shira's docks where the Minerva. Once in range, he contacted the Minerva and asked for permission to come on board, which was granted. Athrun's escort broke away and let him go the rest of the way on his own to the Minerva. The right leg opened and Athrun shifted the Saviour out of its flight mode before landing inside the outer airlock of the Minerva's hanger.

Inside the hanger, the mechanics were rushing around, readying things for the new unexpected mobile suits coming onboard the Minerva. The Saviour came through the linear catapult and into the main hanger area, those who weren't mechanics simply stared at the machine as it was moved to dock. The Saviour turned grey as its phase shift shut off and it came into the free dock there was available.

Lunamaria managed to get close to the chief mechanic of the Minerva, "So, what's the story with this new mobile suit? Did anyone hear or know anything about the Minerva getting any new machine, let alone a Gundam-type before Carpentaria," asked Lunamaria.

Madd Aves, the man that was in charge of the Minerva's mechanics and engineers shrugged, "I have not the faintest clue, none of us know any more than you lot do," he replied.

When the Saviour was locked into the dock, Athrun opened the cockpit and exited the mobile suit, descending down the zip line with a suitcase in hand. Silence fell over the hanger when Athrun came out into the open and was making his way down to the hanger deck. Once Athrun set foot onto the deck, he set down his suitcase, then removed his helmet. Lunamaria instantly recognized him, "Athrun Zala," she uttered.

Athrun handed his helmet over to an engineer, and then saluted, "Recognition number 2-8-5-0-0-2, Athrun Zala, FAITH Special Forces team, requesting permission to board," he stated.

Shinn entered the hanger, wondering what was going on, from what Meyrin had said as he had passed her that a mobile suit was coming onboard. His gaze was drawn to the Saviour, then flicked down to the crowd that had formed below the machine. Shinn quickly made his way down to the hanger deck and weaved into the gathered crowd to see what was going on. He was going to ask what was with the new Gundam-type mobile suit, but then he saw Athrun. Shinn recognized him from the short time that he had been onboard the Minerva with Representative Athha. "It's you again, what are you doing on the Minerva," Shinn asked puzzled.

Lunamaria jabbed him in his middle, "Show respect Shinn, he's a member of FAITH," she said, pointing to the white wing crest on Athrun's pilot suit.

All there saluted back to Athrun in response, but in the back of the minds of many there, the question of why a member of FAITH would come to the Minerva was bouncing around. Athrun picked up his suitcase and then proceeded to the pilot locker room, then to meet with Captain Gladys in her quarters.

Talia Gladys was surprised and somewhat shocked to see Athrun Zala again, and in a ZAFT uniform with a FAITH Crest on the collar. But she hid her surprise by staring at Athrun, "I must say Athrun Zala, you being here makes me wonder quite a lot about you," she remarked.

"I can understand the feeling ma'am," Athrun returned.

"Do you Mr. Zala," posed Talia.

"Indeed ma'am, I've been given a great deal to think about since being reinstated," Athrun replied.

Talia paused at that, then continued, "You're made a member of FAITH, given one of the newest mobile suit and then assigned to this ship. Would you not say that's rather unusual Mr. Zala," asked Talia, trying to figure out what was going on.

Athrun nodded, "I can comprehend that it all may seem strange, I feel the same. And I'm sorry for complicating things further," Athrun stated, before taking out the two boxes that had FAITH crests in them. "These are from Chairman Durandal, for you and Miss Aila Lakeen."

Talia stared at the FAITH crests that were stated to be for herself and Aila, for this was something that she didn't see coming and doubted Aila was anymore expecting this than Talia was. She tried to come up with an explanation as to what Gilbert could be thinking with not only assigning Athrun to the Minerva with the newest Gundam-type mobile suit, but also making Aila and herself members of FAITH. For none of this made sense at this point, yet she couldn't come up with any logical explanation.

-Line Break-

Shangri-La, the Republic

The weeks that had followed arriving at Shangri-La, Stella felt the happiest that she had been that she could remember clearly. This place, Shangri-La was different than any other that she knew or had heard about. Everyone here was… nice, even the doctors didn't regularly say what one was doing wrong, they were nice and patient, which was unheard of back at Lodonia. Instead of 'training sessions' and 'practice' for missions and combat, there were short treatment appointments and then what the doctors called 'relaxation and meditation time'. Those parts of the day were interesting, most of the time Stella would take 'Max' the puppy that stuck with her almost all the time, for walks to explore Shangri-La in more detail.

There was only one thing missing to Stella here in this place, Tanya. If her older sister were here, Shangri-La would be the perfect place in Stella's view. Apparently, Tanya had been here earlier, but now Tanya was going through 'recovery' which required living around other people according to some of the doctors here. For the current morning, Max had laid down for a nap and Stella had gone in for her daily treatment. Just after she was done, Stella was approached by Lafter Galiena, "Stella!" Lafter called before hugging her.

Stella was still getting used to how Lafter Galiena acted, for it was different than any other she had ever been around. Lafter had been friendly to Sella and had shown her around Shangri-La in the days following Stella's arrival. She was nice and Stella was starting to like some of the things that Lafter did, she had also told Stella about when Tanya had been here. The older girl wasn't alone at this time either, for Stella also saw that Lafter's two sisters Deborah and Rossweisse were with her. These three had talked to her and had helped her settle in here at Shangri-La. "Lafter," questioned Stella.

Lafter giggled, "Oh Stella, today is such a fun filled day and we want to include you in the activities," she exclaimed.

That said nothing to Stella, but that was common with Lafter Galiena she was coming to find. Not to say that Lafter was bad to be around, she was nice and could get Stella to laugh and there were few that could do that. Deborah sighed, "Lafter, once again, you're leaving out key details and confusing others," she remarked.

The orange-haired woman then closed the distance between herself and Stella, smiling at her, "Sorry about Lafter confusing you Stella, she gets that way when she's excited, please don't hold it against her. What she is trying to say to you, is ask if you would like to join us in going to visit Shira for part of the day," Deborah explained.

Stella was taken aback at what Deborah had just said, for that's not what she had gotten from what Lafter had said. She had heard of the city that was the capital of the Republic, but that was about it, she'd not been there. The conversation that followed between Stella and the Galiena sisters, involved the older girls convincing Stella to come with them to Shira. Stella didn't exactly know if it would be a good idea for her to go, for she didn't have the easiest time around other people. In the end, Stella agreed to go with the Galiena sisters, though she was still apprehensive about it.

The four took the Republic's underground transit system and traveled to Shira and when they came up into the city, Stella was amazed. Similar to her experience when entering Shangri-La, the capital of the Republic had an unknown charm to Stella. The Galiena sisters took her around the city and Stella began to enjoy the experience not too long after she and those with her entered Shira. People treated her much like those at Shangri-La, they were nice and didn't avoid her and other candidates like what was normal at the lab.

Then, the Galiena sisters took Stella to what they called 'the shopping district' and there Stella started having fun, something she didn't have all that often. The four girls tried on clothing and toured many stores in Shira's shopping district, before the went to a restaurant for lunch. Stella was coming to the conclusion, that if what she had experienced thus far today was part of what a "normal life" was, it would be something that she would like to try. She could even imagine doing these kinds of activities with Tanya and the thoughts of having times like this with her older sister caused Stella to smile happily. However, this trip was also bringing feelings and sensations that were strange to Stella. Images and fragments of memories from long ago were swimming around in her mind. They were vague, but Stella could tell the images and memories were from the time before she and Tanya had gone to Lodonia. Before now, Stella would have either panicked or do the best she could make what was coming to her mind go away. But, these memories didn't feel scary as others from the distant past would and they felt… somehow more natural than other memories that she had recalled.

"Hey Stella, you doing okay," asked Lafter, sounding a bit worried.

Stella came out of her thoughts, to find all three of the Galiena sisters looking at her with concern. "Sorry, I was… remembering things that I never have before," Stella replied.

The next thing that Stella registered, Lafter had rushed over to her side and embraced her, saying Lafter's sisters and her, felt for Stella. Rossweisse moved to try and get Lafter to let go of tell and give her space. Deborah on the other hand, gazed at Stella who was looking confused, "Don't be afraid of what you are starting to remember Stella. It happens to all of the candidates that are treated at Shangri-La, it means the treatments are working." Deborah then frowned sadly, "At Lodonia, they made all of us forget things and for some, those there made us think past events happened differently than they really did," she said. Then, Deborah smiled warmly, "But the treatments are undoing that work and it sounds like you are starting to remember your past."

Stella didn't know how to take what Deborah had just told her. To be told that those at Lodonia had messed with her memories gave her a feeling of sadness, but also made her angry. For if it were true and Stella believed it was, then the scary memories could be wrong and not actually have happened to her. Most of what Stella knew of her past, was vague and most of it was from what Tanya had told her. Not knowing what her past had been before the lab, quickly began bugging her, because within the new images and memories there had been a girl with golden blonde hair and red eyes, which made Stella think that the girl was Tanya when she was younger. The girl in the memories had been smiling in a fashion that Stella had only seen once from her older sister.

After lunch, the four young women continued going around Shira, leaving the shopping district, heading for what the Galiena sisters called a 'park'. Along the way however, the four bumped into another group and some toppled to the ground. Lafter had gone down with a female teen in the other group, while Stella fell over on top of a guy. When Stella raised her head to see what she fell over, she found herself looking at someone with black hair and red chestnut colored eyes. For some reason the combination was familiar to Stella, but she was having trouble recalling where she would have encountered it.

Meanwhile, Shinn was rubbing his head after being knocked down by whoever it was that had run into him. When he opened his eyes, Shinn found himself staring at an admittedly pretty face with violet eyes and golden blonde hair. He realized that the owner, who was a girl around the same age as Shinn, was lying on top of him and was staring at him. Shinn looked away from the girl, "I'm sorry, are you okay Miss," he asked.

Stella tilted her head, "I'm fine, but you look familiar," she said in reply.

Shinn glanced back to the girl staring at him, agreeing that this girl looked familiar, yet before he could ask her anything, noise from his left drew his attention. "What did I hit," questioned Lunamaria as she sat up.

The person that had crashed into Lunamaria rose up, "Ow ow ow owchies, that fall hurt," Lafter uttered.

The gazes of Lafter and Lunamaria met and the simply stared at one another, then Lunamaria gained an irritated look, "Why don't you watch where you're going," she growled.

Lafter blinked then stuck out her tongue at Lunamaria, "Same to you stupid, you crashed into me," she shot back.

The two girls quickly began to argue about who was at fault for the crashing, and it would have gone on, if not for outside interference. Deborah chopped Lafter's head, while Rey pulled the collar of Lunamaria's uniform back. Lafter was clutching the top of her head, "Ow, Deborah, that hurt! Why did you chop my head?!"

Deborah glared sternly at her younger sister, "Because you were misbehaving," she stated. Lafter flinched as Deborah kept going, "Mother has taught us manners, you need to use them regularly."

While that was going on, Rey was chastising Lunamaria for her actions and by the way Lunamaria was slumping her shoulders, she didn't have a defense against Rey. The sound of Stella giggling, gained Shinn's attention and he turned back to look at her, and as he gazed at her face again, he remembered where he had seen this girl. Shinn had actually bumped into this very girl around Armory One before the incident with the Gundam-type mobile suits being stolen. "You're that girl that I bumped into at Armory One at L4," Shinn stated.

The statement helped Stella recall where she had met this guy, it had been during the mission to steal the ZAFT mobile suits. In fact, she had as he had said bumped into him and he had stopped her from falling. His grip had felt different, as he had grabbed one of her breasts, but unlike the sensation that came when lab doctors touched Stella in the same area, this guy's touch hadn't felt horrible. Stella then started to note that she was sitting on top of the guy and that was rude, so she moved off.

As soon as the girl had moved off, Shinn scooted back a bit and sat up. He then looked at the girl again, seeing that it wasn't just her face that was pretty, her whole appearance was. Shinn gave her a small smile, "I'm glad to see you got away safely from everything that went down at Armory One. By the way, my name is Shinn Asuka, what's yours" he asked.

"My name," uttered Stella, she rarely gave out her name, most of the time it wasn't necessary with those she was around. "My name is Stella, Stella Loussier," she replied.

Shinn smiled a bit more, "Stella, that's a pretty name, it's nice to meet you," he returned.

At hearing that, Stella felt a warm flutter in her chest that she had never felt before and it was odd to her, but it wasn't an unpleasant sensation. Yet, the sensation mystified her none the less and she was still wondering about it as Rossweisse helped her to stand. Nevertheless, Stella couldn't explain why the sensation had come or what it was implying to her.

Apologies were made on both sides for the crashing into each other incident. Rey doing it for Shinn, Lunamaria and the two others with them, while Deborah did the same for her sisters and Stella. Following that, Stella and the Galiena sisters continued on their journey and those from the Minerva did the same. Yet, before the two groups were out of sight of each other, Shinn and Stella gazed at one another once more.

Once those from the Minerva were out of sight of the four girls, they continued on to do the 'shopping' they were out to do. But, along the way, Vino Dupre got alongside Shinn, "Hey Shinn, how did she feel," he asked

Shinn stared at one of the friends he had on the Minerva, "What are you talking about?"

Vino smirked a bit and softly jabbed an elbow into Shinn's side, "Come on man, we're friends, so you can tell me the truth. That blonde girl fell on top of you man, you got a feel for her figure for a short period, what did it feel like?"

Shinn felt his cheeks heat up as he understood what Vino was referring to. He had indeed noticed Stella's front falling against him, but that wasn't the point. Sure, her skin had felt smooth and her chest had been really soft, yet Shinn couldn't say that out loud! Before the conversation continued, Lunamaria smacked Vino on the backside of his head, "Don't ask Shinn that kind of question! Get that mind of yours out of the gutter Vino," she barked.

Shinn kept his mouth shut, but he did snicker as Vino was arguing back and their group went into Shira's shopping district.

-Line Break-

As Athrun was in the Republic, Shira no less, Athrun gave a called to Tyler, for there was the chance that he could be around here at the same time as Athrun himself. Stranger things have happened before now, so there was the possibility. He hoped that Tyler would answer, but understood if he didn't, when you were on the job, you couldn't always take a call, especially when you're in the middle of something.

"Hello, who's calling for Tyler McGregor," asked Tyler's voice through the com-unit Athrun had.

"Hey Tye, it's Athrun," he replied.

"Athrun! Always nice to hear from you, to what do I owe the pleasure my friend," posed Tyler.

Athrun smiled at hearing the upbeat tone in Tyler's voice, he always had a way of brightening a mood. "Well, I'm around Shira at this time and have shore leave for the moment. So, I thought if you were around the area as well, maybe we could get together and catch up," Athrun remarked.

There was a pause, "Funny you should say that, for as it so happens, I am in town for the moment and also have shore leave. It's the wonderful situation that comes when one is between assignments and are waiting for orders. So, meeting and catching up sounds good to me, and I just happen to know an amazing restaurant here in Shira that has great food. I know the owner and so get the friend rate, which is cheaper than the regular payments expected," Tyler suggested.

"That sounds good to me, when did you want to do this," inquired Athrun.

Tyler didn't answer right away, probably thinking about the timing. "How about I come by and pick you up in an hour, that should get us at the beginning of the dinner rush and we'll be able to talk without worry of others listening in should that be an issue. Just tell me where to come and get you from and I'll be there," Tyler returned.

Athrun told Tyler that he would be waiting at the entrance to Shira's docking area and Tyler said he would see Athrun in an hour before disconnecting the com-channel. An hour later, Athrun was dressed in a semi-casual collared shirt and pants, waiting for Tyler. A good portion of the Minerva's crew were going into Shira this evening. Heck, even the other mobile suit pilots had headed into town just before Athrun had headed out to wait for Tyler. There had been something said about Aila Lakeen paying for a meal or something to that effect by what Athrun had heard. He assumed that it had to do with some kind of be or agreement between the pilots, such happened off the record.

Athrun didn't have to wait long for his ride, as Tyler pulled up in his car. Athrun opened the passenger side door and slid into the car, "Hey Tyler, good to see you," Athrun greeted his friend.

Tyler smile, "Same to you Athrun. You are looking nice and neat this evening. I admit that the place I have in mind is popular, but it isn't the fanciest," he replied, as Athrun pulled the car door shut.

Tyler turned the car around and headed off towards the restaurant he had mention. The two engaged in some small talk as the drive continued as it had been a few weeks since the last time the two had been around each other. It wasn't all that long before they reached the place and Tyler parked his car and the two entered the restaurant. Athrun could see that the place was busy, business booming and the delicious smells in the air certainly gave reason as to why. Tyler went up and chatted with one of the people manning the front desk, who nodded to whatever Tyler had said, and he waved Athrun to follow him.

Both Tyler and Athrun were led to an empty table and given menus. One glance, and Athrun saw that pasta was one of the main dish bases here. "So Tyler, how do you have connections at a busy place like this," Athrun asked, while looking over the menu.

Tyler hummed, "Well, the owner and head cook here was a special forces trainer for the Federation Military before he retired. The man was my trainer as it happens, he's a good guy and a damn fine cook! I heard him say a few times that he dreamed to own a restaurant and cook good food with his family, and he's living his dream these days," he answered. Then Tyler gasped, "The Tonkotsu Ramen has been brought back, awesome," Tyler exclaimed. Then Tyler looked at Athrun, "The Tonkotsu Ramen here is a taste of heaven, believe me!"

Athrun snickered, "I'll take your word for it."

At the same time, a group of four were being led to a table a moderate distance from the pair of friends. Lunamaria was looking forward to dinner here, especially with the scents floating in the air as they were amazing. She hadn't a clue how Shinn had found this place, but she would thank him later when Aila wasn't around. She felt kind of bad that Shinn was making her pay for the bill for dinner, but Shinn had been the one to invite her and Rey. So, Lunamaria wouldn't complain about it plus, they got to get a taste of Shira's night life.

Aila looked over the menu as did the others, but she was gazing at the pricing of the restaurant. It was clear by the expense she would be paying for, that Shinn was getting her back for the mission against the Lohengrin, likely flying through a narrow tunnel blind. Yet, Aila had agreed to this, and she would keep her word, she just hoped that this restaurant was worth what she would be paying for four. At least the place was packed, so that spoke well for the food served here, so Aila relaxed.

Back with Athrun and Tyler, they both ordered the Tonkotus ramen, which was a pork-based ramen mix as Tyler had spoken so highly of it. Although, Tyler warned Athrun to not even sample anything from the menu when it came to drinks if they weren't in the family section, and it was better to stick with water if nothing else. The reason according to Tyler, was at this time of day, it wasn't uncommon for non-family drinks to have some 'hard kick' mixed in. Athrun took the advice and stuck with water like Tyler did, figuring that 'hard kick' meant alcoholic substances. Once they had placed their orders and their drinks were brought to the table, the catch-up session started.

Athrun started with his trip to the PLANTs and how he had waited to meet with Chairman Durandal. With the attempted nuclear strike that Alliance had made, the leaders and ZAFT had been kept busy. During that wait, he mentioned encountering the one standing in for Lacus, Meer Campbell. That event explanation caused Tyler to gain a confused expression, "You're telling me, someone or a group within the PLANTs have found and made a look-alike of Lacus and is using her to have influence on the masses," he questioned.

Athrun nodded, "Yeah, I was confused as well at first. It was odd to hear and see someone that looks close to the same as Lacus but acts so differently. But that's the impression that I got," he stated.

Athrun continued with his tale, by getting into the meeting with his former teammates; Nicol, Dearka and Yzak. The visit to the memorials had been sober, but then remembering those that are gone, yet you wished were still alive is that way. Tyler was nodding in understanding to the emotions that Athrun wasn't able to properly put into words. "I completely understand what you're trying to portray my friend, I've had the same set of feelings myself from time to time, visiting certain places, usually graves of those I've known" Tyler commented.

Then came the meeting with Chairman Durandal and that had been a different experience that expected. First there had been the nostalgia Athrun felt on being in the office that had been his father's and what had happened in there. There were good, neutral and bad memories of that room, even before Patrick Zala had become Chairman of the PLANT Supreme Council. Next had been the more detailed explanation about Meer Campbell and the part she was playing from Durandal. "You say that the Chairman Durandal was looking for Lacus," Tyler asked in a flat tone.

Athrun nodded slowly, "Yes, and I found that odd as you clearly do. I mean, he promised that if she were to help bring peace, that he would personally do what he could to help Lacus find a peaceful life."

Tyler put a hand to his chin, "I'm sure Chairman Durandal said that. What I would question, is what helping bringing peace would entail in his view. For I feel, it differs from what you or I would think is involved with bringing about peace. You didn't tell the man where Lacus is actually living, did you?"

"No, I gave my word that I wouldn't reveal where either Lacus or Siegel are without their personal permission," Athrun replied.

Tyler nodded, "I figured as much, just checking," he said.

Athrun was about to continue, but their food came at that time and there was a pause as dinner was seen to and tucked into as well. The food was amazingly delicious as it smelled, and both ate with gusto. Athrun had to admit that the ramen was the best he had ever had in his life, Tyler hadn't been joking when he had said that the ramen was a taste of heaven!

After both had gotten a taste of the food, Athrun went on where he had left off about how he had decided to join with ZAFT again in the hope of bring the current conflict to a quicker end. The mentioning of being made a member of ZAFT's FAITH took Tyler by surprise, though he believed Athrun deserved such. However, the word that Gilbert Durandal had said for the reason that he made Athrun part of FAITH, caught Tyler's attention. The words said sounded right in principle and they were, but the one from who they were delivered gave a different impression. Athrun had caught onto it, which made Tyler smile as his friend told of his suspicions. The smile grew as Athrun said his reply to Durandal word for word, ending out with Tyler chuckling a bit and pausing his consuming of ramen.

"Athrun, if your reply to Durandal doesn't say how far you have come and matured, then I don't know what could do so better," Tyler assured, grabbing one of Athrun's hand and shaking it firmly. "What the man said is right in pure principle and many including myself would agree with it. However, it is in the application where the idea gets messy and goes off the pure principle. You should be asking the tough questions of what makes another's view right and true, and then why it is the case. If the one you ask that question can give you a decent answer that doesn't have 'just because' or some form of 'why not' without some thought, then their views should be seen as questionable. Even then, if they give you a set answer, I would wonder how much thought they have given the idea personally."

Athrun then told of being given the X23S Saviour and assigned to the Minerva. Of course, there had been questions asked about Athrun's sudden appearance and membership in FAITH, it had blown over shortly thereafter. Athrun had spoken with Captain Gladys, who was also made a member of FAITH by Chairman Durandal along with the mobile suit pilot Aila Lakeen. Athrun's account did give Tyler an amount to think about, though he kept his thoughts to himself to the time being.

Then it was Tyler's turn to tell Athrun about what had been happening with him since they parted ways. Tyler gave sparse details about the "social gathering" he had been roped into by his mother. Saying that the party was as boring as expected, other than the few meetings Tyler himself had. He made mention of the Aurora being taken off the Normandy and the Justice being placed on in its place. Tyler even bowed his head, "Sorry man, I know that it would have been better to ask you first, but you understand how it feels to have little to nothing to work with if a situation comes up. And honestly, I was glad I did have that happen, for when news of the ruins of Junius Seven had started moving towards Earth, the Normandy was ordered back up to space," Tyler said.

Athrun understood the reason Tyler had borrowed the Justice and it had been put to good use in the operation to break up the mass that was left of Junius Seven. Tyler moved on to saying the Normandy headed to Asgard after landing back on Earth.

Then, Tyler began telling of an event that Athrun had thought to be rumor rather than truth, the Alliance's assault on Asgard. The overall result was good in Athrun's opinion, were the Alliance to somehow take Asgard, that would act as a morale boost that would be hard to counter. Nevertheless, there were some facts that Tyler said that didn't sit well with Athrun at all. First, the Gundam-type mobile suits stolen from Armory One appeared on the field. Second, which came from the first to a degree, the pilot of the machine Tyler had disabled and taken back to the Normandy. Tyler had described 'her' as clearly one from the "Enhanced Human Project", which from the details that Athrun knew, was horrible. But that also inferred that the other two pilots of the other stolen machines were also the same. The third fact that was somewhat troubling, but wasn't unexpected, Asgard's anti-orbital cannons were built, not for the Alliance originally, but for countering ZAFT in mind. Lastly, the resulting affects that came after the siege of Asgard, were swift and firm, the Alliance was pretty much banned from entering Federation territory. The Earth Alliance's citizens were now under more scrutiny than before and political talks had for the time being, been blown to hell.

After the long battle and repairs, the Normandy had headed for the Republic. It was to drop off the Alliance pilot to the place within the Republic that had been established to help those from the Enhanced Human Project. The Normandy had remained docked at Shira since then, waiting for their next assignment to be given to them. It was clear that both Athrun and Tyler had been busy to varying degrees by their accountings.

"We certainly are good at keeping busy, aren't we Tye," posed Athrun.

Tyler snickered the question, "I'd say we are, all that's missing right now is Kira telling us of his quiet life looking after kids with Lacus. But then, our friend still lives with his ongoing naiveté, so is his bane and Lacus' frustration."

Athrun smiled and nodded, "Yes, I wonder as you do, if Kira will ever fully shed his naiveté."

Tyler gained an expression that was a mix of mirth and care, "We can continue to hope and pray for our other best friend Athrun, that's the best I've come up with these days," he returned, before draining the last of the ramen from his bowl.

Once Athrun and Tyler had finished their food, Tyler paid the check for them both and they rose to exit the restaurant. They had gotten to the door and stepped outside, when Tyler felt an all too hauntingly familiar shiver run down his spine. Athrun noted that Tyler had frozen where he was, before starting to glance from side to side. "Tyler, you okay," Athrun asked.

Tyler turned to Athrun, a growing expression of panic and sad acceptance, "Athrun, I'm sorry to uh, cut out and run without warning my friend, but um, circumstances require me doing so."

Athrun, then understood what was going on, and he couldn't help but feel sorry for Tyler in this, "I understand. It's probably better you go before she gets here, I'll cover for you the best I can," Athrun returned.

Tyler nodded, "Athrun, you are a true friend, thanks a million," he said before sprinting off towards his car.

There shortly came the screeching of tires, which quickly followed by the sight of Tyler's car shooting out of the parking lot. The back end of the vehicle was swinging back and forth as the tires fought to gain traction. Once the tires got tractions, the car shot forward into the night, and Athrun silently wished Tyler good luck at escaping the one pursuing him. Sakura Clyne wasn't known for giving up on something she's set her sights on before, more the opposite and that had only gotten stronger, Athrun knew that as fact.

The sound a motorcycle came and grew louder, headlights appeared and came to a stop in front of Athrun. The rider of the vehicle was in full leathers, which did show the figure of the woman, not that Athrun needed that to tell him who she was. The visor of the helmet was slid up and the face of Sakura Clyne became visible. Athrun gulped as he felt her gaze settle on himself. Even if Sakura had 'retired' from ZAFT, that didn't change the feel she put off to others, especially those from ZAFT who had encountered her before. So, he did the best thing he could think of, which was to salute, "You're looking well Commander Clyne," Athrun greeted.

Sakura glared at Athrun, then took a deep breath, "Zala… which way did he go, tell me that and I'll leave you alone. Should you not tell me, then things will become very unpleasant for you. And don't use having duties tomorrow as an excuse to get you out of consequences, I'll make sure you're able to show up at the very least, nothing more than that," Sakura said in a cold voice.

Athrun started to sweat heavily at the ultimatum he was just handed, it would take a miracle to save him from this. Still, for Tyler, Athrun would endure whatever Sakura had in mind to try persuading him to tell her where Tyler had gone. He knew that Tyler would do the same for him were he in Athrun's current position. Athrun took a deep breath and steeled himself, "I am sorry ma'am, but I can't say I know which way the one you're chasing went. I do apologize, but that will be my answer and it is final commander."

Sakura was silent for a moment, then a frown formed on her face, and the blood in Athrun's face began to quickly drain. "I'll commend your willingness to help and protect your friend Athrun Zala, especially when you know what kind of fate awaits you by doing so. For the courage you are showing, I'll make the consequences quick, but no less horrible," Sakura stated emotionlessly.

That reply made Athrun's blood run colder than it had been before and he was trying to come up with how he would explain to Captain Gladys why he would be in the state Sakura would put him in tonight. However, a voice from the doorway behind Athrun, interrupted the impending doom, "Athrun? What are you doing around here," asked Aila.

Athrun turned and saw his fellow pilots from the Minerva, though Aila was the only one standing steadily on her legs. Shinn and Lunamaria were leaning up against Aila and Rey was holding onto the doorframe, clearly having issues standing and walking. There was a click behind Athrun, "You are very lucky tonight Zala, don't mistake that. I'll find him myself, he might have managed to evade me a few times before, but he won't tonight," Sakura said, before she raced off.

Athrun let out a heavy sigh of relief, for somehow, he had gotten out of facing whatever Sakura would have done to him. Such a thing rarely happened when Sakura Clyne was involved, so Athrun was counting his blessings. He then, took in the scene again, to end focusing on Aila, "So, do you want to give me the story of how these three ended out the way they are, or is it something I don't want to know?"

Aila had to work to keep Shinn and Lunamaria as the two were having problems staying on their feet. Athrun moved forward and took Lunamaria away from Aila and supported the teen himself, "I haven't an idea how they got like this. Shinn managed to get me to pay for dinner at a place of his choosing and he chose here. I admit, that the food here was incredible, but what did this to these three, I don't know Athrun," Aila replied.

Athrun recalled the advice that Tyler had given him when ordering and grimaced. "They wouldn't have order drinks from somewhere other than the section labeled as family, did they," Athrun inquired.

Aila blinked, "Uh well, possibly, why?"

Athrun gave a sad smile, "Apparently, during the evening and nights, non-family drinks can be spiked with an 'extra kick'. That was the advice I was given, and I take that to mean that alcohol can be added, the amounts may vary."

Aila's head fell and she shock it, "That would explain why they've been acting like their tipsy or worse."

Athrun took out the com-unit he had and called for transportation back to the Minerva. While waiting for the vehicle, Aila mentioned that it might be better that their group not go back to the Minerva with how the three teens were. They hadn't known they were served alcohol and that even though the legal age was eighteen, it wasn't strictly observed during nighttime. Athrun had to agree, and when the vehicle arrived, Aila and Athrun got all three teens into the car. Athrun gave the address of Tyler's place, then contacted the Minerva. He talked to Captain Galdys and explained that an unforeseen and unpreventable situation had come up. Because of that, he, Aila and the other pilots won't be able to come back to the ship tonight, but Athrun would make arrangements for them for the night. Captain Gladys said she understood and told Athrun to make sure they all knew to be on their best behavior as they represented the Minerva.

-Line Break-

-Tyler's pov-

The drive home from the restaurant was one of the tenser trips that I've had for a while, and it was all due to one factor, Sakura Clyne. That woman is persistent in ways that I'd never encountered or really imagined that I would ever have to deal with in my lifetime. Lacus' older sister had forced me to redefine what I considered stalking and those who did the idea. I've had to get creative in the methods that I utilize in my attempts to avoid and escape Sakura and I mean VERY creative, and then some!

The last time I had shaken her was the last time I was around home, but she had disappeared. For her to have tracked me here again, didn't bode well for me at all, and the shiver I had was too specific to mistake. I did the sensible thing that most sane people do when they know somethings coming that you wish to avoid, I ran for it! Did I believe that getting to my place would be the end of this chase? No, not really but, if I get to my house, lock all the doors and any other means to enter, it should at least slow Sakura down and I'll take that.

I zoomed back to my place, fully expecting Sakura to be behind me somewhere. I don't doubt that Athrun will help in delaying her somewhat, and I'm thankful for a friend that's willing to put themselves in the line of fire for me. I prayed that Sakura didn't do anything too horrid to Athrun, he was helping me, not doing anything wrong. Yet, I can't predict what Sakura does to others when they don't help her, though her reputation doesn't speak well of the idea.

When I came into sight of my place, I quickly drove into the garage and shut the door to not give an extra opportunity to my stalker. Next, I rushed inside and began the task of locking down my place in every way I could think of and imagine. I locked every door, all my doors now having two locks bare minimum, my attempt to prevent Sakura from coming in unannounced, hadn't worked completely. I flicked every catch for each window to make them unusable as a means of entry, unless Sakura brakes the glass, and that would be a warning to me! It was as I was in the motions of double checking the locks on the doors and windows, that the sound of a motorcycle came to my ears.

I shivered, and I knew that Sakura had tracked me down, I had hoped for more time to work with. I had planned to move some furniture to make particular windows and doors more difficult to potentially force open. But, Sakura had gotten here faster than I had expected her to, so I hadn't had a chance to put up all the planned defensive measures. However, as she was here, I was out of time and I would have to make do with what I had and hope my preparation paid off. I headed for the living room as that was the best position to work from, both to defend and retreat if things came to that.

The sound of the motorcycle engine died and then there was silence, which upped the tension level I was feeling. I was breathing in and out in a calculated manner, so that I could keep calm with my stalker trying to capture me. Hearing nothing after a few minutes I gazed around, listening for anything, be it a creak from the floor, anything that could tell me which way Sakura would come from. I heard a creak from my left and I weaved back just in time to view a head of pink hair fly pass, right through where I had just been. Leaping up and flipping forward, I narrowly avoided Sakura's second lunge at me. Nonetheless, the woman swept my legs out from under me and she latched onto me before I hit the floor.

Giggling snapped me out of the daze that had come from my head banging into the wood floor, "~You're so cute when you play hard to get honey~" sang Sakura.

A shiver shot through me at hearing the woman sing that, a feeling that was a mix between disgust and oddly some warmth went through me when she referred to me as 'honey'. The term sounded wrong, especially coming for Sakura Clyne, it was sickly sweet! Like anyone with a working mind would, I struggled against that which confined me, in every way I possibly could! Sakura like normal, simply was amused by my efforts and went on about how cute it was that I was struggling.

However, after a little while, I managed to break Sakura's hold and get her off me momentarily. I made distance quickly and faced the woman that was my stalker, "I'm not going to admit defeat tonight that easily Sakura. But out of curiosity, how did you get in? I locked all the doors and windows, and you've shown that the curtesy of using the front door isn't your thing," I said flatly.

Sakura laughed, "Well, your bedroom window opened easily and provided a wonderful entry," she replied.

DANG IT! The one that I should've checked first was the one that I missed?! I dodged Sakura rushing me by jumping onto the furniture and got her to lunge headlong into a chair. The second that she had hit that chair, I bolted to the nearest window thrust it open and dove out of the window without hesitation. I rolled and was on my feet and sprinting as fast as I could away from the window and around the house. For a short period, I thought I had managed to shake Sakura for a bit, but I was proven wrong. I had rounded the far corner and had ran along most of the length of the west side of the house. Yet, I missed the last window being open… and Sakura's arms shot out and clotheslined me. I kid you not, I did a full flip, legs first as Sakura's arms had been at the level of my upper chest. Still, I never hit the ground, since my stalker caught me and pulled me inside and into her embrace.

I was coughing as I had experienced what it was to be clotheslined and it didn't feel nice or funny in any way. No, I had broken anything that I could tell, but my ribs hurt something awful! Once I was able to catch my breath again, I grumbled, "Fine Sakura, you win tonight. That clothesline hurt more than it's worth, to keep avoiding you for now." I'm not proud to admit defeat, but my body is telling me to step down before I actually hurt myself.

My admittance, caused Sakura to giggle happily as she hugged and nuzzled me, and I let it happen. But, I grumbled and cursed under my breath as Sakura dragged me towards my bedroom, clearly happy as she got what she wanted.

-Line Break-

-Neutral pov-

The transport dropped the five off in front of a house which matched the address given by Athrun. Aila didn't know why Athrun would have them dropped off here, but right now, she was having enough to deal with. Athrun set down Lunamaria, leaning her up against a support beam of the house. Then, he moved forward, fiddled with something, then took a key that he had gotten from seemingly nowhere and unlocked the front door of the house. Athrun picked up Lunamaria again and all five of them entered the house, and by that time, Aila couldn't keep her opinion to herself, "Athrun, is this a house you own?"

"No," Athrun replied shaking his head. "However, it belongs to a very good friend of mine and I know he wouldn't mind."

"I wouldn't mind what Athrun," asked a voice down a hall to the right of the group, and the voice's owner soon came into the room.

Aila found that the one who had spoken was a handsome young man who appeared to be the same age as herself. He had tan hair of medium length, which complimented his green eyes and other facial features. The other point of note to Aila, the guy looked very tired and haggard, why he was, Aila couldn't say. There was silence for a bit, other than the odd hiccup that came from Lunamaria. "Okay my friend, should I ask why you're with this group and why you brought them to my place, or should I just assume that it's better that I not know the details," Tyler posed.

Athrun set Lunamaria on the sofa, "Um, simply put, I think they had a non-family drink from the restaurant we were at," he said gesturing to the teens.

Tyler gained an expression of comprehension, "Ah, I take it they didn't know that alcohol finds its way into them more than half the time? Much like I warned you about when we ordered dinner."

Athrun shook his head, "No, I doubt it. My sober companion and I thought it would be unwise for them to show up to the Minerva like they are currently."

Tyler nodded, "Gotcha, those three returning somewhere between tipsy and drunk would be bad for them as it isn't their fault. It's an unsaid part of the culture in the Republic that alcohol sampling is done before the legal age, not much seen wrong with the idea if the individual is fifteen or older." Tyler looked over the three teens, "I take it you want to crash at my place then for the night, right?"

Athrun nodded, "If you don't mind."

Aila gave her assent as well, "Yes please, if we could, but, we can find somewhere else if needed."

Tyler paused, appeared to be thinking for a moment, in which time, Athrun took in that some of the furniture was out of place and there was at least one chair tipped over. Tyler then exhaled heavily, which kind of worried Aila, "Sure, why the hell not, the more the merrier I suppose," he said somewhat disparagingly, rubbing his upper chest a bit.

Aila was even more confused, for the reaction and the replied didn't make sense with things as they currently stood. Athrun on the other hand winced, understanding instantly why Tyler looked the way he did, "I take it she caught up and found you then, at least the furniture rearrangement would suggest that," he remarked.

Aila looked around the immediate area and saw that Athrun was not kidding, then she twisted her head to stare at Athrun. The rest of what had been said did not add up, not with the expression of pity he had. "I would have thought my tired appearance would tell you that man," Tyler responded. Then Tyler's shoulders slumped, "Yes Athrun, Sakura found me like she does more than half the time, she is my stalker after all. Although, I've put great effort to change that with her, none of the desired result has ever been shown. Hell, I got to experience what it's like to be clotheslined this night and it isn't nice or funny at all, let me tell you." Tyler let out a long sigh, "If you would divvy out who gets what room and/or piece of furniture each person will get to sleep on, it would be appreciated, I'm not interested to do that."

Athrun nodded, before Tyler went down the hallway he had come down before and disappeared into the dark. Athrun turned to Aila and the two of them managed to get Rey and Shinn in one room that had two beds in it. The two were out minutes after they tossed onto the beds, while Lunamaria was placed in one of the single rooms and she followed the other two teens. Aila did protest against it, but in the end, she took the other single room in Tyler's house. Athrun took the sofa for his bed for the night, the morning would unlikely be dull anyways with Sakura Clyne here. The house went quiet after all settled in for the rest of the night.

Athrun's prediction was proven right the next morning, as Athrun was woken up by the sound of scuffling down the hall that Tyler's room was down. He propped himself up and glanced the way the sound had come and got the view of Tyler sliding down the last bit of the hallway, before he bolted towards the front door, wearing sweat pants and a t-shirt. A second set of footfalls came from the same direction that Tyler had come down and the next instant Sakura Clyne, in a tight t-shirt and shorts appeared down the same hallway. She spotted Tyler and lunged in his direction. Tyler in response, leapt upward, grabbed one of the rafters and pulled himself out of reach by latching onto the wood rafter. Thus, Sakura missed Tyler and hit the floor and slid a few feet before coming to a halt, she shifted to a sitting position and found that her target wasn't in her grasp. Meanwhile, Tyler scrambled and hauled himself up to stand the rafter he had latched onto.

Athrun kept observing the scene as it played out, for even though he had seen Sakura chase after Tyler a number of times before, there was no time that went the same way. Tyler was looking down at the woman that was so insistent on pursuing him, "For your information Sakura, I've been preparing for the next time you popped up around here. You forced me to plan for this, so you have only yourself to blame. So, go take a cold shower and cool off while I'm out, would you? The clotheslined was bad enough last night, no more of that," Tyler stated.

Sakura glanced up at Tyler, who walked over to the 'skylight' at the end of the rafter, opened the it and exited the house. Sakura grumbled at Tyler escaping her for the time being, then got up and headed back down the hallway that led to Tyler's bedroom and bathroom. Athrun merely shook his head at the scene that he had just witnessed, for it wasn't new by any means. He sat up on the sofa he had slept on and rubbed the tiredness that remained from his eyes. Sounds from Athrun's right, drew his attention and he saw a tired looking Aila coming into the room. She glanced over at Athrun, "What was all the noise I heard minutes ago," she asked.

Athrun exhaled, for the question was complicated in ways words could not properly say, especially with Sakura Clyne's reputation. "It's a long story and explanation, neither of which you would probably believe. I certainly didn't when I first heard about it and it wasn't until I saw displays of it that I understood what was being referred to. But, let's just say that my friend has an issue with another individual and its ongoing. It has been going on for years according to him and I believe that, don't ask for more details, you don't want to know, trust me there," he replied.

Aila had a confused expression, but she nodded slowly and didn't ask for further information. "Hey, what's going on and where are we," asked the voice of Lunamaria. The female teen came into the room behind Aila, holding her head, "And why do I have a bad headache?"

Aila turned and began telling Lunamaria what had transpired the night before and what she knew of the current situation. While the two girls were talking, Athrun got up and started the day, wonder how long it would be before Tyler show back up. It was around twenty minutes, Rey and Shinn had woken up as well, confused at being in a place they didn't know. Aila was trying to explain what had happened to get them all here, while Athrun headed for the kitchen. Athrun stopped in the doorway, at seeing Tyler was there and already cooking breakfast, "I see you're back from your outing already," commented Athrun.

Tyler paused in cooking to look at Athrun, "Yep, and it sounds like the other guests that I have are awake. It's good that I'm nice and cooking breakfast for everyone here. My mother would be proud of me, practicing the manners she taught me while I was growing up," Tyler replied.

A smile formed on Athrun's face, before he moved forward and began helping Tyler with meal preparations. As the meal was making its way to the table; Aila, Lunamaria, Rey and Shinn were drawn to the food. Athrun made the introductions between Tyler and the others and the three teens had been too far out of it last night to have been up to meeting Tyler. Tyler was thanked for breakfast, and he said it was fine and to eat up before the food got cold. He even offered to take his guests to the docks where the Minerva was, which was accepted.

Once breakfast was finished, Tyler faced to his room and threw on cloths and raced to his car, while everyone else simply headed for the vehicles. Aila volunteered to ride the motorcycle which Sakura had ridden, Tyler gave her the key to it. Everyone else piled into Tyler's Lamborghini, the three teens in the backseats, Athrun took the front passenger seat, while Tyler of course, took the driver's seat. Shinn and Lunamaria were chatting about Tyler's car, for it was a rarer model, Rey just listened, but didn't add to the conversation.

"Okay all, as I say to many of the passengers that have ridden in this vehicle; buckle up, shut up, and hang on for the ride, it will be one that you won't forget anytime soon," Tyler stated with a growing smile.

The three teens had enough time to look forward and then at each other at hearing Tyler's statement, before Tyler put his foot down and his Lamborghini leapt forward. Athrun knew that Tyler's driving style was one that you either get use to or dread having to experience. Athrun himself, didn't mind his friend's driving style, there had been times it scared Athrun a bit, but still it wasn't all that bad. But, for those who haven't experienced how Tyler drives, it was something else and words just couldn't say properly what it's like. Lunamaria close to instantly clung to Shinn, while Rey grabbed what he could and held on, Shinn had grasped the armrest next to himself.

To say the "ride" to the docking area of Shira was an unforgettable experience, would have been a unanimous agreed upon understatement. Lunamaria in particular, was very unhappy with the ride, for she thought they would crash a couple of times and had been panicking by the time they were half way to the docks. But when they reached the checkpoint at the entrance to the docking area, the three passengers in the back were breathing hard. Tyler showed his credentials to the personnel at the security checkpoint, before driving forward at a slower pace while in the view of the checkpoint.

However, once out of view, Tyler floored the accelerator and built up speed. Athrun had a good guess as to what Tyler was planning to do and felt a tad sorry for those in the back who didn't know what they were in for. For those who knew Tyler, his hobby of drifting in a car when he could do so was well-known. He didn't miss an opportunity to show off the skill or use his car to create skid marks, and the docks at Shira was one of the few place Tyler could do the idea and not get into trouble doing the activity.

"Isn't this a bit fast to be driving," barked the voice of Lunamaria.

Tyler grinned broadly, "Nope, this speed is fine," he returned as a hand went to the e-brake. "It makes this fun and last longer, so here we go~."

Tyler yanked the e-brake and spun the steering wheel, all this causing the car to go into a drifting skid that had the car going sideways down the area towards the Minerva. Lunamaria quickly began screaming as the drift kept going while Shinn and Rey held on. Athrun simply glanced at Tyler and saw the grin he had, and just shook his head, but had a knowing smile as Tyler was in control of the car. The long drift came to an end by the car sliding to be a moderate distance from the Minerva, but with the ship in view. Tyler let out a whoop, then looked back to the rear seat and went silent at seeing the variety of expressions his passengers had. "Uh… maybe I went a little far in showing the interest of my hobby," he commented with a tone of apprehension.

"I would say that sounds accurate Tye, though a good drift this time," agreed Athrun, the two friends looking at one another, then back to the three teens. "I don't think they were fully prepared for your driving style or your hobby of drifting."

Tyler chuckled a bit, before he gained a repentant look on his face, "Well, I can boast that my way of I drive a car is certainly one you don't forget once you've experienced it," he replied.

Shinn was the first to regain his bearings, "That was awesome," he exclaimed.

Athrun and Tyler stared at Shinn, then Tyler smiled and laughed, "That's one vote in favor of my driving," Tyler proclaimed proudly.

Athrun was about to say for Tyler to be patient, but then Lunamaria came out of the daze she had been in. "That was terrifying! I thought we were going to die before we got here," she nearly shouted before glaring at Tyler.

Athrun snickered, "And that would be a strike against your driving style my friend," he remarked.

Tyler was quiet for a minute, even as Lunamaria glared angrily at him, "Okay, valid point, the way I drive isn't for everyone," Tyler admitted to Athrun, then exited the car.

The teens quickly exited after Tyler and Athrun got out of the car, Rey and Shinn supporting Lunamaria as she was somewhat shaky on her legs. Aila shortly rode up on the motorcycle and stared at her three juniors, "What's wrong with you three," she asked.

"Well, my friend has a different driving style than the average person practices," Athrun answered Aila.

Aila looked between Athrun and the teens, but before she could ask what he meant, Tyler spoke. "Hey now Athrun, you make it sound like my driving is horrible or wrong saying it like that," he said. Tyler put his hands on his hips, "I'm a very save driver I'll have you know, I've never crashed this car, not even once."

Athrun turned to Tyler and gave him a knowing smile, "And how many near misses have you had," he posed.

Tyler instantly gained a sheepish grin, then rubbed the back of his head with a hand, "Um well, I kind of lost count a while ago and stopped as well, but I'm human, so cut me some slack would you," he returned.

Aila moved over to Rey, since Shinn and Lunamaria had started arguing about the 'ride' they had getting here. "Rey, should I ask what happened," she questioned.

Rey merely pointed at the ground and when Aila looked down, she spotted the black skid marks. Her gaze followed their path and her eyes widened the longer that she traced the long skid marks. Aila ended out nodding, "Point taken Rey, you and the others had what appears to have been a hell of a ride," she remarked while Rey simply nodded in reply and said nothing.

The group of six, Tyler included started walking towards the Minerva and once they got closer, the sight of both Captain Gladys and Deputy Captain Arthur Trine didn't comfort the pilots. Arthur quickly got down to chastising the teenagers for getting into a situation that would have them not able to come back the Minerva last night. Aila did try to help by defending the teens as they were not at fault for what had happened last night.

However, Talia was staring at Athrun then her gaze moved over to the other with them and was surprised to see a young man that she had encountered close to two months ago. Tyler McGregor was one of the last person that she would have imagined that she would encounter here in the Republic. Then what chain of events could have led to him to cross paths with the pilots of the Minerva, Talia couldn't begin to guess. "Mr. McGregor, didn't imagine that our paths would cross again," Talia greeted.

Arthur paused in his reprimanding, and twisted his head to stare at Tyler, "McGregor," he questioned, "As in the War hero Tyler McGregor?"

There was silence after Arthur's question, for the name Tyler McGregor was known from the First Alliance-PLANT War. It was one of the names of the notable and decorated 'war heroes' that played key parts in the final battle of the war. But also, Tyler McGregor was also one of the individuals like Athrun that was one of those who fought in several battles in the war and come out of them against horrendous odds.

For the three teen pilots of the Minerva, it was similar to how it felt when they had met Athrun. Tyler McGregor was a name they had all heard around the ZAFT military academy, but the stories about him and the image of him that they created, didn't match his appearance. Aila was somewhat surprised to find out that the host that she and the others had been with, was one of the notable war heroes. However, like Athrun, he looked like an ordinary person that you could meet on the streets, but that's how many 'heroes' normally were.

Tyler shrugged his shoulders, "Some people consider and call me a war hero, but honestly, I don't see myself as one." Tyler waved a hand in dismissal, "The stuff I did during the previous war was nothing to really note I say, I would think others in my position would've done the same things." Then Tyler focused on Talia, "Then, the other reason I personally brought your pilots back, was to hopefully have a moment of your time Talia Gladys," he finished.

Talia nodded and gestured for Tyler to follow her onto the Minerva and he grabbed Athrun as he started walking after Captain Gladys. Yet, as they were passing the other pilots of the Minerva, Tyler glanced at the Deputy Captain, "Please go easy on them. They unfortunately got caught up in the unsaid culture here in the Republic that involves the sampling of alcohol in the evenings and nighttime," he said before resuming following Talia.

Tyler and Athrun were led to Talia's quarters, the captain of the Minerva took the seat behind the desk in her room and looked to Tyler. "What is it that I can do for you Mr. McGregor," she asked.

Athrun was also curious as to both, why Tyler had brought him along and what it was that he wanted to discuss with Talia Gladys. Tyler said nothing for a moment, but put a hand to his chin, both Athrun and Talia waited. "First, let me say thanks for what ZAFT did in Gulnahan, the people that live there have really been suffering there since the Alliance had setup around there," Tyler started. Then he clearly hesitated, "The reason that I asked for a moment of your time, was to… give you a warning," he said.

"A warning," inquired Talia, wondering what he was referring to.

Athrun was also paying closer attention, "You didn't hear this from me, I make that clear for the record. Honestly, I debated telling Athrun here," Tyler iterated, pointing at Athrun, "about this last night, but I figured it would probably be better to deliver this information in person. It is my understanding that you'll be heading for Carpentaria when you leave the Republic, is that a correct assumption?"

Talia nodded, "Yes, we've been ordered to head there."

"Then along your way, you will come across an Alliance fleet and I highly doubt they will let you pass without uh, trying to delay if not stop you," Tyler stated.

Talia, gritted her teeth at hearing that, for that would make things harder if it were true. Athrun was staring at his friend, "Tye, how do you know such a thing," he asked.

Tyler's eyes met Athrun's, "I happen to come across the information while I was perusing the Information Network. What that fleet is supposed to be doing, I couldn't say, but I would guess it would have something to do with Carpentaria. Still, that they're there at all, will be I would think an issue for this ship and its crew." Tyler turned and faced Talia again, "I've always been of the mentality that good people dying when it can be prevented is bad and undesirable. Even from the short period on this ship, I saw good people and so, the warning about the Alliance," Tyler reasoned.

-Line Break-

The Minerva left Shira the next morning, her repairs and resupply had been completed late the previous day. The ship's course was set towards Carpentaria as they had been ordered to do. However, in the back of Talia's mind, the warning from Tyler McGregor about what was ahead of them. The expectation of the Earth Forces would make attacks and try to stop the Minerva had been in place ever since the Minerva landed on Earth. But to know that there was an Alliance fleet was waiting for them in international waters before Carpentaria didn't sit well with any of the Minerva's officers. Granted, the Minerva was better prepared that she had been before and had more mobile suits and experienced pilots.

It was midday, when the Minerva had come into range of the first group of the Indonesian Islands and the Alliance fleet came into visual range. The fleet was made up of; four Spengler-class carriers, five Arkansas-class cruisers and eight to ten mid-size to small vessels. Burt Heim reported that the Earth Forces' fleet was in a formation was setup to prevent the Minerva from advancing forward. "Condition Red" was declared, the crew rushed to their battle station and the pilots were to standby in their machines. The Minerva deployed its defenses and offensive options for the upcoming battle against the Alliance.

For the mobile suits and their pilots, Athrun was to be the field commander for combat operations, Aila would be the deputy field commander. Captain Gladys made it clear that it would be best for the mobile suits to not go too far from the Minerva as the Earth Forces fleet could overwhelm the ship if given the opportunity. Athrun delegated the job of defending the ship to Rey and Lunamaria, as well as intercepting incoming enemy forces from the Minerva's upper deck. Athrun, Aila and Shinn would intercept the incoming Alliance mobile suits as the Minerva moved forward, firing on the enemy vessels.

The mobile suits began launching from the Minerva, Rey's ZAKU Phantom came out of the left linear catapult and came to land about the catapult. While Lunamaria's red ZAKU, equipped with a gunner wizard took up position on the opposite side from Rey. The Impulse flew out of its catapult and combined, then equipping the Blast Silhouette for this battle. The Saviour and the Osiris headed out to the field ahead of the Minerva.

Larger numbers of Earth Forces mobile suits had launched from the carriers and were approaching the Minerva and its defenders. The mobile suits began clashing, and shortly after they did, the Alliance vessels fired at the Minerva. The Minerva returned fire and quickly disabled some of the smaller vessels in the Alliance fleet through the use of "Parsifal" ground missiles and the Minerva's 'Isolde' triple cannon. That was followed by the launching of torpedoes and both Tristan beam cannons being used against their enemies.

The Impulse was fighting against the Alliance Daggers, which unbeknownst to Shinn were drawing him slowly away from the Minerva. Aila was forced to keep a relative distance from the Minerva by both ships and mobile suits. The Saviour was making its way towards the Impulse, since it was gaining distance from the ship and that was dangerous in this battle. Drawn away from the Minerva, the Impulse could be worn down and then destroyed given time. As the Alliance fleet closed around the Minerva, Shinn finally noticed that the Minerva was getting into trouble and he was quite a ways from being able to help them.

Shinn tried to get back closer to the Minerva, but Dagger machines blocked his way and delayed his progress. Then the Saviour came down on the Alliance Daggers that were attempting to pin the Impulse down. Athrun pushed enough of the Alliance force to free Shinn up a bit and they both made their way back towards the Minerva. Along the way, the sight of one of the carriers opening their main deck and deployed an unknown type of mobile armor, caught Athrun's attention. The craft was larger than an average mobile armor by a notable margin, it was green overall and had an orange stripe up the middle. It appeared to be well armed and could take on opponents from multiple directions, if the weapon positioning was anything to go by. Shinn also noticed the new mobile armor heading for the Minerva and he like the look of it as much as Athrun did.

"Shinn, we need to stop the progress of that mobile armor before it reaches the Minerva," ordered Athrun.

"Yes sir," responded Shinn promptly.

On the Minerva, the approach of the mobile armor was hard to miss, and Talia didn't like the look of the machine. It was large and had a number of weapons on it that she didn't want to see how effective they could be. She ordered the Tannhäuser to be brought out and use it to take out the mobile armor and hopefully some of the Alliance fleet with it. As the Minerva got its positron cannon out, the mobile armor, the Zamza Zah, tilted forwards to bring the emitters for the positron reflector into position to block the incoming shot. The Minerva fired its Tannhäuser, but the beam came to a halt when it came into contact with the reflector. The armor was pushed back and the Alliance vessels in the front were destroyed, but that was all.

The Zamaz Zah surged forward towards the Minerva, yet the Osiris put itself between the oncoming mobile armor. The Saviour and the Impulse came flying in from behind, but the armor's weapons shifted and began to fire at the three mobile suits that were attacking it. The machine chose to focus on the Impulse and flew at it, extending claws that had been hidden in its 'front legs'. The claws began glow red as they opened all while the Zamaz Zah got closer to the Impulse. Earth Forces mobile suits quickly occupied the Saviour and the Osiris, leaving the Impulse to fend for itself.

It was as the mobile armor got a hold of one of the Impulse's legs and began pulling down, things came to a breaking point. Athrun wasn't about to let things to end like this, and such resolve, SEED mode activated for Athrun. He stored the Saviour's beam rifle then drew both beam sabers. The two Alliance Dagger L charged at Athrun, but he spun around, slicing both suits in two. Athrun then raced towards the mobile armor from below, focusing his sights on the back antenna and the two rear ones. If those went away, then in theory, the machine should lose its ability to block incoming beams. Plus, it would likely let go of the Impulse and it was probably that Shinn's was running low on power.

Sinn meanwhile, was doing everything to not lose his head as he was being dragged downward towards the ocean below. Alarms were screeching in the cockpit, but the screen that showed the Impulse's power levels was what caught Shinn's attention. His suit's battery was critically lower on supply and when it dropped to five percent, the phase shift armor would shut off and it just dipped below ten percent! Shinn could only watch as the battery power hit five percent and the Impulse's phase shift go down. Once the phase shift armor was off, the mobile armor's claw started cutting through the leg it was holding, but before it did, the mobile armor tossed the Impulse downward.

As Impulse fell, Shinn felt resolve swelling within him and for a moment, everything became clear. If that mobile armor were to reach the Minerva, then the ship would be destroyed and all those onboard with it. For the first time in Shinn's life, the clearest mental clarity came and with it the single thought came to him. He, Shinn Asuka, would not allow anyone or anything hurt his friends or the ship they were on! Shinn shoved the throttle forward and had the Impulse stop from going into the water and then flew out of the way of the mobile armor's attacks. The Impulse climbed after that, "Minerva, ready the Deuterion Beam system," Shinn ordered as he dodged the Zamaz Zah that was behind him. "Meyrin, get a leg flier and the Sword Silhouette ready to launch," Shinn continued.

Shinn moved the Impulse into position to receive the Deuterion Beam, yet the mobile armor wasn't far behind. However, before the Zamza Zah could attack the Impulse again, the Saviour came speeding up from behind and Athrun swung his beam sabers at the reflector emitters. He missed the back one, but Athrun clipped the two rear spars that the reflector emitters were. "Shinn get what you need, I'll distract this mobile armor," Athrun commanded.

A beam shot from the Minerva and made contact with the Impulse's head where the Deuterion receiver was. The beam filled the battery's power back up to one-hundred percent, causing the phase shift armor to reactivate. The second the Impulse had full power again, Shinn turned and shot towards the Zamza Zah that was fighting the Saviour. Shinn drew one of the Impulse's beam javelins and then rammed it into the underside of the armor. At the same time, Athrun drove both of his beam sabers into the middle of the top of the armor.

The mobile armor started to fall, Shinn and Athrun backed off, watching the mobile armor hit the surface of the water and explode. "Minerva, send out the leg flier and Silhouette," Shinn ordered.

Shinn set up for the incoming fliers as they launched from the Minerva, he ejected the Impulse's legs and the Blast Silhouette. The second that the Impulse had new legs and the sword equipment, Shinn shot forward towards the Alliance fleet. Athrun went for the ships on the right while Shinn went for those on the left. Word nor orders were necessary between the two, they both knew what needed to be done. Shinn used the combined two anti-ship swords to cut into ships and slice them the up. Athrun switched between using the Saviour's beam and plasma cannons, along with his beam rifle to destroy the Alliance vessels.

Those on the Minerva and the other mobile suit pilots simply stared at the incredible scene playing out in front of them. Of course, Athrun Zala was seen as a war hero from the previous war, so his skills were not argued. However, to see those skills in action was completely different than just hearing about them from others. Then, Shinn was performing at a level he'd never reached before now and making it look like it was normal. Ship after Earth Forces ship took damage and either sunk or had serious trouble keeping afloat from the efforts of Athrun and Shinn.

What remained of the Earth Forces fleet, quickly retreated from the battle, and left the Minerva alone for the time being. The Minerva, though she took an amount of damage in the battle, resumed sailing forward toward Carpentaria after its mobile suits returned. On the bridge, Talia was letting out a sigh of relief that the battle was over, "If not for the Saviour and the Impulse, along with their pilots, I doubt we would have made it through that battle," she remarked.

Arthur turned in his seat, "I would agree ma'am, both Athrun and Shinn were simply incredible out there! I would expect Mr. Zala to be skilled and pilot well out on the battlefield with the experience that he has. But both he and Shinn took down more than five ships each and a carrier or more," he replied.

Arthur wasn't wrong, Talia knew, but still, the turn had been completely unexpected in this situation. Nonetheless, Talia had the bridge crew, including Arthur get back on task by doing what could be done before arriving at Carpentaria.

Down in the hanger, the mechanics were gathered along with Aila, Rey and Lunamaria as the Saviour and Impulse entered the hanger. By the time that Athrun and Shinn got to the deck, they were both surrounded, being thanked and congratulated by crew members. It took a few minutes, yet Athrun made his way over to the other group, "Shinn."

Shinn faced Athrun, "Yeah?"

Athrun smiled a bit, "Well-done out there," Athrun said.

Shinn was kind of shocked to hear that from Athrun, but he didn't have time reply as Athrun kept going. "You keep working on your skill, and I do not doubt that you'll go far. Heck," Athrun commented, looking towards Aila, "It may not be long before Aila and I have to work hard to not having you pass us by."

The sound of clapping was heard, started by Rey, others joined in and shortly, everyone in the hanger were clapping for Shinn and Athrun. Chief Aves, got all there organized and back to working on repairs, leaving the mobile suit pilots. The five began heading for the locker room, along the way Lunamaria got next to Shinn, "What happened out there Shinn? It was like you became a super ace or something like that, how did you do that," she asked.

Shinn thought about the question but didn't really have an answer to it for he hadn't a clue how he had suddenly started owning all of his opponents. "I don't exactly know, it just sort of happened, I can't explain what or how it occurred," Shinn replied.

Lunamaria didn't drop the subject, even when Aila told her to give it a rest. Rey was not saying anything, he was just smiling as the conversation kept going. Athrun was listening, but didn't add to the conversation, even though he had an educated guess what had happened to Shinn.

The qualities that Shinn had exhibited, they were like what he had seen in the previous war with a few individuals; some of his friends particularly. And the idea itself was controversial and hard to actually prove without specific data, which was not available to most people. SEED Factor, was something that Athrun knew about, after all, he had it himself and he couldn't exactly deny it. Those who had SEED factor, had some common abilities, some being "having eyes in the back of your head", which came from enhanced awareness. The two best examples that Athrun had seen this with, was Tyler and Kira. With Kira, going against him when he was in SEED mode was… the best word for it was 'ridiculous'. When Tyler used his SEED factor, it was 'ludicrous' and terrifying as hell! The one experience that he'd had, the battle above orbit in the previous war had proven that without any doubt.

So, if Shinn did have SEED factor, and Athrun was of the mind that he did from seeing this last battle, then that could be either a good or bad thing. The increase that SEED mode gave was helpful, but it was as a double-edged blade, as Athrun had learned from Tyler. And yet, SEED factor was fairly rare in people, regardless of the type of human they were. So, it was unexpected to find someone on the Minerva. It was almost like Shinn was assigned to this ship by someone that believed Shinn had something like SEED factor. Whether that was the case or not, Athrun couldn't say at this point with the information he knew.

Phase End

A/n

This will be the place I'll leave off, as this place will work as a wonderful transition point for the next set of events. I know that in this Phase Tyler had less of a part, but he'll have more a part in the next Phase. Some would point out that the events that I have arrange in this Phase is out of order of what canon has, I say so what, that's what I want in this. I hope that you readers enjoyed this Phase, it was a more interesting one to write. Please some of you continue to write reviews, they are helpful. Until next time and Phase!

Duked

I hope I answered you review, if not PM me and tell me, I'll answer the best I can.

Titanic X

I wouldn't disagree with the idea that were footage to be released about the Enhanced Human Project it would have quite an effect. But, do understand, there would be a spread of effects and then for the parents, you assume they're still alive. For many of the candidates, they aren't for one reason or another, I'll get into more detail later on.