Gundam Seed: The Federation Chapter 37: Phase 37: The True Horrors of War, a gundam seed fanfic

A/n

Sorry for this phase took this long, but it is longer than average as well, so there is reason for it taking the time it has. My standard disclaimer applies, and I hope that you enjoy this Phase!

Phase 37: The True Horrors of War

January 29th, 74 C.E.

-Neutral pov-

Andrew piloted the shuttle through the ascent from Earth's surface without notable incident. The Earth Forces and ZAFT would look into the mix up, no question, but since it had happened at a Federation-controlled spaceport, the other two factions could only inquire, not investigate. The Federation's well-established reputation of handling internal issues and problems was not challenged any longer, even if grumbled about loudly. So, the first step of getting Lacus up into space could be considered successful. What the next step would be, that was harder to say as what would happen once in space hadn't been discussed in great detail yet.

Sakura Clyne had mentioned something to the effect that she had called in a favor for them for transport temporarily, though not much on what she meant by that. Andrew wasn't going to question the woman, he knew better than to make that kind of stupid mistake. He had met the Black Zephyr twice before the ascent into space, both face-to-face encounters during the First Alliance-PLANT War. Andrew had seen that the reputation she had was earned many times over and she knew what she was doing. If she said she had done something, then you better believe she had done what she said and shut up period!

So, when he spotted a Nazca-class vessel approaching, he was a tad worried, but when it came into visual range, things made more sense. The Nazca-class had custom coloration of black and red, which told what ship it was, none other than the Black Jade, the Black Zephyr's person ship. Andrew knew that there were still those who severed the current leaders of ZAFT and the PLANTs, but were still at heart, loyal to ZAFT's Champions and Treize first and foremost, even if they weren't with ZAFT now. Andrew flew the shuttle into the open hanger of the Black Jade without further consideration.

Once the hanger was pressurized, Lacus and Andrew exited the shuttle and looked around. They didn't have long to do so, as they were approached by a member of the ship's crew and escorted them to the Black Jade's bridge. When the both reached the bridge, the captain turned and bowed to Lacus, "Miss Clyne, welcome aboard the Black Jade," he greeted Lacus with deep respect.

"Thank you for letting us onboard captain," Lacus returned.

The captain shook his head and smiled, "Think nothing of it, to be able to help Commander Clyne in what ways we are able is forever an honor and pleasure ma'am. We will be escorting half way towards the moon, where you will be transferred over to the group that will take you wherever you wish or intend to go."

The Black Jade sailed forward through space, to wherever they would meet those that would transport Lacus and Andrew to their destination. Andrew was itching to get into contact with the Eternal when he could. The ship had been hidden after the First Alliance-PLANT War from both ZAFT and the Earth Forces. The Eternal had been the first thought of places that Lacus could go, but with the timing, the Eternal had been on the opposite end of the Debris Belt. The ship had been being supplied by the Federation Military, so the Eternal was okay. DaCosta was making sure things kept running smoothly on the Eternal, which left Andrew little to worry about. However, with the series of events that had been happening, Andrew wanted to know what had been going on up here in space as much as Lacus did.

Lacus on the other hand, simply wanted to know what the conflict had been doing to both space and the moon, for on Earth it had been harsh. Even if this war was not having the same destructive damage here in space, it would still affect those that lived in space and on the moon. While on the Archangel, Lacus had felt a bit useless and that had been getting to her. Sure, like Kira, Lacus could pilot a mobile suit and there had been extra mobile suits on the Archangel, but that wasn't enough to her. It was the difficulty that she had being part of the family she was a member of, the Clyne family. Her father Siegel Clyne was the not just the politician, he was the promoter of their ideal of peace between all of humanity. Sakura was the warrior, the protector and defender of the Clyne ideal, firm and unmovable in that. Even with her retired from ZAFT, that point about Sakura hadn't become less true, if anything she was stronger in that now than before. Yet, what did Lacus stand for or do for the belief that she shared with her father and sister?

It was a question that had been plaguing Lacus a growing amount as of late and she still didn't have an answer to it. Nonetheless, she could see that things as they were wouldn't help find the answer to the question. That was one of the major reasons that Lacus thought that coming into space would help her in the pursuit of searching for the answer to the question. As painful and unwanted as it was for her to leave Kira, Lacus knew that time was of the essence. People were dying every day in increasing numbers, it was a sign that the conflict was getting worse the longer it went on.

A little over an hour went by, before the Black Jade came to the place that the mentioned transfer took place. The ship that appeared was one that Lacus had only seen once, and it had been a glimpse during the Second Battle of Jachin Due, whereas Andrew was in a mild state of shock to see the ship. The vessel they saw was three-hundred-fifty meters in length and was red overall. Its shape was similar to the with the central ship length being connected to a wing structure at the back section. It was clearly well-armed for battle should the needed come, with an array of weaponry. Lacus didn't know why this ship was picked to help her, but she could clearly see that Andrew recognized the ship and that there was something about it that was of note.

"Um, Mr. Waltfeld is there something about that ship that has you as surprised as you are," asked Lacus.

Andrew glanced over at Lacus for a moment, "Well Lacus, that ship is one that most within ZAFT, whether presently or not know for the personal battleship and command center of Admiral Treize, the Salong. I've only heard that the Admiral retired a little over a year ago, so to see his ship makes me wonder if that was merely a way for him to leave ZAFT and do other things," he replied.

Lacus had many thoughts start swirl in her mind with what Andrew had just said. It was no secret or unknown fact that Lanus Treize had a great deal of influence within the ZAFT organization. When the man said he was 'retiring' there were many that attempted to convince him to reconsider the decision. The official reason he gave was that the war had ended, and he wanted to spend time with the family he had. Yet, what Andrew had stated brought the question of the decorated and unofficial leader of ZAFT had to 'retire'.

Lacus herself had only met the man a select few times that she could recall, what she knew mostly came from her father and sister. Her father saw Lanus Treize as a trusted friend and had said that he would always be a loyal defender of the PLANTs. Sakura respected Lanus and she didn't respect just anyone, Lacus's sister's loyalty was earned not given, she had made that clear. But more than that, Sakura would do what Lanus said without question and that was more than mere loyalty from her, that was complete trust and that was extremely rare for Sakura to give out at all.

A shuttle was prepared for Lacus and Andrew, which then took them over to the Salong, where they were welcomed and escorted to the ship's bridge. The bridge of the Salong was slightly different than other ZAFT vessels and clearly bore a resemblance to the Eternal's own. It was even likely that the Eternal's bridge design was based on this ship's own as the Salong was built before the Eternal was.

"Aw, glad to see that you both have arrived safe and sound Miss Clyne, Desert Tiger" said a smooth male voice.

Both Lacus and Andrew turned towards the speaker and saw none other than Lanus Treize himself, in a variation of the ZAFT commander uniform that he was known to have on most times. Andrew bowed, pretty much due to reflex as most ZAFT commanders would do in the presence of this man. "It's an honor to see you as always Admiral Treize," Andrew greeted.

Treize chuckled, "It has been some time since I've heard such a tone in a greeting, though there is no need of such, it is refreshing." Treize then turned to Lacus and bowed his head, "It is a pleasure to see you once more Miss Clyne, it has been far too long. The resemblance you bear to your sister is striking as how much you both look like your late mother."

Lacus was startled a bit at mention of her mother, for it was rare outside of the company of her father and/or sister. Tasara Clyne had died when Lacus had been very young, she couldn't really remember much about her mother other than vague feelings from her earliest memories. Most of the facts Lacus did know came from Sakura and a few from her father and they had said that she had been a caring mother. The pictures that Lacus had seen had shown that she and Sakura did bear a notable resemblance to their mother. However, Lacus knew little about her mother outside of those facts and she had no idea who else would know about her mother.

"So then, you knew my mother Mr. Treize," asked Lacus.

The smile that Treize had softened, "Yes, I knew Tasara, an amazing woman she would show herself to be, stubbornly independent as well. My wife and Tasara were friends from their teenage years by what I understand. It was also my wife and I who introduced Tasara to your father, and those two made a magnificent pair. And it is that I think, which made losing Tasara to the circumstances that we did that made the loss all the harder for Siegel," he remarked sadly.

Lacus frowned at hearing that, for she had been told of the 'circumstances' to which her mother died in. It had in the early part of the fifth decade of the Cosmic Era as the PLANT Supreme Council was being formed. Tasara had "become sick", but really, some sort of toxin had been given to her somehow. The particular poison slipped to her, had been uncurable and she had been given a period of time to live. Lacus vaguely remembered asking both Sakura and her father why so many were sad at some point, though the answers she go were not recallable, still it hadn't helped her understand. It was later determined that her mother had been killed by a terrorist from what was Blue Cosmos.

"Thank you for the information," Lacus said gratefully. "I don't remember a great deal about my mother, she passed away when I was still very young. I've always been curious about what she was like since I don't have many memories of her."

"It is unfortunate that you don', Tasara was woman of conviction much like yourself," Treize commented. Then the man gained an air of business, "So, to the heart of the matter, where can I take you Miss Clyne?"

Lacus thought for a moment, but still could not answer the very question that had been plaguing her. "Honestly, I don't know exactly. I came up into space originally to try and learn what's really going on, for the media isn't trustworthy much anymore. Yet, I can't think of how to go about searching for the truth," she admitted.

Treize appeared to consider what Lacus said for a moment, then he gained an expression of realization, "I believe I might have an idea where you can start in your search. Where the media cannot be taken at face value, I have found that the Federation's Information Network tends to be reliable. There is usually enough there about current events to give a fair picture that is believable than other sources."

What Lanus Treize said about the Federation's Information Network was true as far as Lacus had understood. However, there were two issues which had Lacus not going to it from the beginning; access and the vastness of the network. Access to the Information Network was something she had as being in a Federation member nation, but like all citizens, it was restricted access to a degree for a couple of reasons. If there was classified information, then it wasn't viewable by anyone, one needed access codes and Lacus had none. The other reason that Lacus hadn't been using the Information Network was that it was huge and changed often. She didn't know how it was organized or sorted, and without that knowledge, it would be like looking for a single book in a massive library without any kind of catalogue.

Lacus sighed, "I've considered looking through the network, but I don't know what I'm looking for specifically enough to search effectively or else the information that I want to view is encrypted and locked, so I can't look at it."

Treize had a thoughtful look, "It can seem that way at first, but perhaps if you have those that help run the network to assist you, the task would be more doable."

Andrew spoke up at that comment, "That would be all well and good sir, yet finding an individual that does know how the Federation's network works is difficult."

"Granted Tiger," replied Treize, "That is unless you know where a number of them tend to be, which I do."

Lacus's head snapped up at hearing that Lanus Treize knew where those who understood how the Information Network operated could be. "And how do you know such information sir, if you don't mind me asking," she posed.

"I became aware of such when I accepted an offer to be a part of the Federation Military's leadership. I believe much the same ideals that the Human Federation does, including the work that is needed for true peace to come," Treize answered.

That answer stunned both Andrew and Lacus a great deal, for it wasn't expected at all. Lanus Treize had retired from his position as the unofficial leader of ZAFT to do other things by his own statement. So, to learn that he was now one of the leaders of the Federation's Military gave a feeling of suspicion, not about Treize, but those he left within ZAFT. It wasn't surprising to know the Federation Military had made an offer to Treize to work with them, more that an offer hadn't been made before now, if they hadn't. Lacus refocused on the matter at hand, "Where did you have in mind to find those who understand the workings of the Information Network," she questioned.

Instead of answering directly, Treize face forward, "Helm, set course for Luna Base," he ordered.

"Yes sir," was the prompt reply from the crewmember.

Treize turned back to Lacus and Andrew, "The Federation's Sapientai Luna military complex or Luna Base, I would think fits what you are looking for in your quest."

Hours passed before the Salong came to range of the Moon and it quickly descended to fly a short distance from the silver surface of Earth's satellite. The Salong flew over the moon's surface in the direction of Serenity City, or rather the ship was heading for the Federation's lunar base Sapientai Luna or Luna Base for short. The base represented the major for the Federation presence on the Moon, much to the displeasure of the Earth Alliance with the base was a short distance from Serenity City. The visible section of the base was in a crater at the southwestern edge of the area called Mare Tranquilitatis. There was man-made structure enclosing the crater interior with a dome in the middle looking over the crater's lip. Inside the crater and below it was the majority of the Federation base, so the actual size of the base was unknown to the Earth Forces and ZAFT. The base had natural shielding from the lunar terrain along with the armor plating used to reinforce the crater sides. The most notable purpose of Luna Base was that it served as the main hub in space for the Federation's Information Network. Information from the network's informants would come to Luna Base to be distributed to wherever requested.

The Salong communicated with the base and when it came into sight of the crater, an opening revealed itself in the crater wall close to the surface. The ship entered the docking facilities that Luna Base had and the Salong's crew waited for the process to finish. Once fully docked, Lacus and Andrew disembarked the Salong with Treize with them. For the next hour, it was explained to those at Luna Base why Andrew and Lacus were here by Treize himself. After the explanation, Treize apologized that he was leaving them here, but with events as they were, he was needed else where for the time being.

When Lacus and Andrew had settled into the quarters that were given to them, the two got to work. Andrew first contacted DaCosta on the Eternal and gave him a list of tasks for him and the rest of the crew to do. The Eternal might have been repaired from the damage that she had taken during the Second Battle of Jachin Due, but there was more to do to make her ready. Thankfully, there had been others that had left ZAFT and the PLANTs after the First Alliance-PLANT War that had been helping. The new built METEOR units needed to be picked up and there was a need for fine tuning around the ship among other things. DaCosta said that he would see to the tasks and would also arrange for Aisha to come up and get onto the ship as well. Andrew was once again glad he had taken DaCosta under his wing years ago when another commander wanted to get rid of him. DaCosta had got good at anticipating the needed task and could be counted upon to see them done.

Meanwhile, Lacus got 'tutoring' on the system which organized the Information Network. The explanation of how the network was sorted was very helpful and Lacus changed her view about the Information Network. The organization system was actually very clever in her opinion, it made sense overall with seeing what happened here at the main hub.

The system dealt with incoming information from all sources in the same manner, which was to sort into categories. There were three groups for incoming info; critical, needing to be determined, and public. Information that went into the critical group was looked at immediately and was normally encrypted further so that only those who were seen as high enough rank saw it and they would make the call if the info was dangerous and needed instant attention or otherwise. The group that was needing to be determined, was processed to see what the information was and then sorted further. Said sorting was done by groups of people here at Luna Base and other hubs. The public group was where information that was not dangerous either politically or militarily was made accessible to any in the Human Federation.

Seeing the filtering process was interesting to Lacus, for the sheer amount of incoming information was massive and then some. The only thing that was more unbelievable than the amount of information, what where it was coming from, and usually more whom. There were people that were aids to political leaders in both the Earth Alliance and the PLANT Supreme Council. But it didn't stop there, people that were close to or in groups such as Blue Cosmos and other groups of like mind also supplied the network. Lacus couldn't imagine the real risk some were taking to get the information they were, for some would no doubt be arrested and imprisoned, if not just killed outright. And yet, their bravery wasn't seen and would probably only be known to a few other than themselves ever.

As Lacus began sifting through what there was on current events, there were some things that began to pop out to her. The war as it was right now, seemed more to be pushed forward not by the leaders of the Alliance themselves, but others with influence either on them or over others. That was the general consensus on what had sparked the start of this conflict even before the drop of the remains of Junius Seven had done so officially. The incidents that had preceded the colony drop, like the raid on the Milos research station and the attack and theft at ZAFT's Armory One were terrible, but there were facts that could be gleamed from them. The theft at Armory One was fairly obvious to get the latest ZAFT mobile suits and the technology they had for the upcoming war.

The raid on the Federation scientific station, was to gain access to the Information Network itself. While the Alliance team that was responsible for the deaths of all on the station were successful at getting into the network, security measures prevented them from taking info of value without it being made unreadable. The files they had tried to obtain however, were very dangerous in the hands of those who bore ill-will towards the PLANTs, for they gave position of ZAFT forces on a regular basis among other things.

Yet, those were only the first points that implied that there was a group behind the scenes pulling and manipulating the strings. Specifically, the group that was being inferred was a pro-military platform called Logos. The group's existence was known to the Federation before now, since Logos had attempted to make deals to the leaders of the Federation both political and Militarily to do business with them. All those offers had been refused and the Federation had nothing to do with Logos. Instead, it was the view that this Logos should be starved out and allowed to fade from the world with the problems it clearly presented.

After the "Break the World" incident, the Earth Forces had prepared two overall responses, one for the PLANTs and the other for the Federation. The attempt to launch nuclear weapons at the PLANTs was uncalled for and criticized by many, which a number were silenced before being heard. The efforts to cultivate Anti-Coordinator sediment were fairly obvious looking back, but the lengths that were gone to were ridiculous. However, the fact that so few recognized the efforts for what they were lent credence to the skill of those doing the manipulation.

The response intended for the Federation was much less simple than what was done to the PLANTs. Where those in this Logos, seemed only interested in money and/or the destruction of Coordinators, with the Federation there were additional points of conflict. Logos seemed to both wished to control the Federation and destroy it at the same time. Or rather, the non-cooperation from the leaders of the Federation had angered members of Logos yet they desired the 'untapped customer base' they saw the Federation as. Hence, the plan to strike and take the Asgard Base, the Federation's Earth-based headquarters as a show of strength.

After that assault failed, there was a clear change of tactics from the Earth Forces which hadn't been seen so clear since the previous war. The change came in the form of acquiring territory in any way possible including; oppressing the local people, eliminating the leadership of the area or even trying to turn people against the leaders through propaganda. Thanks due in part to the Information Network and the loved leaders of the member nations, no territory had been taken by the Alliance. However, those that weren't part of one of the member nations weren't as lucky, many fell to the Earth Forces and for many, with a lot of blood spilt for the transition. The only place that got out of that for the time being was the United States of South America and it was due to its own military putting a lot of effort in.

Fighting was breaking out at least once a week somewhere in the world or in space and the driving force was only building. To what end this force was driving towards, Lacus couldn't tell with what she knew, but it was clear that the end would not be for peace as the idea is generally accepted.

-Line Break-

Diocuia, Earth

The gossip from local inhabitance from around the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea had given credit to some unconfirmed rumors that ZAFT intelligence had come across. The rumor was that the Alliance had a complex somewhere around the Suez area where they did illegal activities and even possible horrifyingly unspeakable things. There were a few stories of people encountering individuals, normally children that appeared "hollow" and "missing things they shouldn't" to the point that the individuals seemed almost dead. The select few that had seen the "Alliance facility" even at a distance, swore that the place was haunted, for people that went in, never were seen coming out.

Gilbert Durandal after hearing the rumors and a story or two, ordered a search for this "Alliance complex" when he had arrived at Diocuia. And it was a couple of days later that a few potential sites were found, to which it was decided that the Minerva would be assigned to investigate. Chairman Durandal at the last moment, insisted that he would go with the Minerva on this investigation on what the Earth Alliance had been doing. He also hoped to see the successful results of the operation against the Alliance Suez base along the way. Also, there were two more mobile suit pilots assigned to the Minerva; Heine Westenfluss and Heero Collins.

When ready, the Minerva headed out from Diocuia towards the Suez Canal with Chairman Durandal onboard. It two a couple of days for the Minerva to reach the canal, during which Heine put forth effort to get to know his fellow pilots. Heero on the other hand, stayed as stoic as ever, even when Heine tried to involve him. Along the way, more data on the most promising site for the suspicious Alliance site was received. The additional information only solidified the motivation to investigate to be done as soon as possible.

So, when the Minerva got to the Suez Canal, Talia sent Aila, Rey and Shinn with their mobile suits to scout out the Alliance site ahead of the Minerva. The ship would follow after assessing the situation at the Suez base, however long that would take. With their orders, Shinn launched in the Core Splendor and combined into the Force Impulse, while Aila took-off in the Osiris and Rey in his ZAKU Phantom. The three traveled for around fifteen minutes, before they came into range of the site, which was surrounded by trees. The complex itself was in a clear area and was made up of a couple of buildings. Aila, Shinn and Rey circled above the complex for a minute, looking for any signs of activity and saw none.

The overview of the place made it look somewhat like a small town, as there were buildings that were clearly meant to be living habitation. While there were other structures that provided services to the other buildings, but there were structures that the purpose was harder to determine from above. The three landed next to the facility and lowered to the ground and met up at the entryway of the central structure. The feel and the silence that hung thick in the air around this place didn't go unnoticed by any of the three. "Does anyone else feel the ominous air here, is it just me," asked Shinn uneasily as they looked around the area of the building entrance.

Aila faced the stairs that led downward into the largest structure, "It's not just you Shinn, the air here says many things, and none of them are comforting in any way. Both of you are to be on your guard and alert, is that clear Rey, Shinn," posed Aila.

""Yes ma'am,"" both answered promptly.

The three advanced at a steady pace inside, guns out and sweeping for any signs of traps laid for them or others lying in wait to kill them. The interior of the structure was dark, but things were visible enough to see the basic layout for a moderate distance ahead. The first space they came into was some sort of lobby area, but it was messy as if it had been turned into a battlefield. As the three moved forward, Aila kept going forward as Rey went off to the left and was peering into the rooms off the large corridor, while Shinn was doing the same to the right. It quickly became clear that this place was used for scientific work of many sorts, mostly from the medical and science equipment.

Aila kept going down the main corridor, until a door that had a plate above it with writing she couldn't make out with the lack of light currently, caught her attention. She couldn't say what it was that drew her to the door, but she entered the room, which was mostly pitch black except for the dim light coming from the corridor. Aila felt along the wall by the doorway she came in by for a switch to light up the room and find clues as to what this place was. When she found what she was looking for, she pressed the button and lights began coming on throughout the room. The scene that met Aila's eyes was horrifying, and the more she took in the more mortifying the image became.

The room was large, and seemed to be a laboratory, specifically for work done on human beings. There were large tanks filled with liquid and there was even a couple that had something inside them, which vaguely looked human. Other equipment and tools in the room also denoted that this room and perhaps this place had been doing human experimentation.

Aila moved forward slowly, glancing around the room, which was becoming more abhorrent the farther Aila went in. However, she stopped about halfway inside, for Aila saw bodies strewn before her, on one side adults and the other… bodies of children! Aila had to grab onto the nearest object to prevent herself from collapsing to the floor and throwing up. It wasn't the smell, nor even the horrible sight of the signs of human experimentation that sickened Aila, it was this picture before her, children being killed. And by the red stains, the children had been fighting to live when they had been gunned down by whoever it was that killed them. Aila had a good constitution compared to average, after all, she'd seen what war did. But this, was evil even by her standards and was sickening to see the evidence of at all. Yet, Aila ended out retching an amount before she regained control of herself.

Aila had just gotten her gut under control, when the sound of others coming into the room came to her ears. "What the hell is this," uttered the voice of Shinn.

Aila rose and had begun turning towards her two comrades, when the sound of Shinn's voice came again, "What the, Rey! What's the matter, talk to me!"

Hearing that, Aila rushed in the direction of the door to this room, and she found Rey on his knees a hand over his heart. The young man was clearly in a great deal of pain, from what Aila couldn't say, but right now it didn't matter. "Shinn, get on his right. We need to get Rey out of here immediately. We'll call the Minerva when we get outside, hopefully Rey would be able to keep it together until they arrive," Aila ordered.

Shinn did as Aila ordered, while she came up on Rey's left, then they assisted Rey in getting to his feet. The two helped Rey get out of the room and the group made their way toward the steps they had come down to enter this structure. They set Rey down and leaning against a wall as his condition didn't appear to be getting any better. Aila ordered Shinn to use the Impulse's communication equipment to contact the Minerva and tell them they needed help as soon as possible.

Shinn ran to the Impulse and ascended the zip-line to the cockpit and dialed a channel to the Minerva. "Minerva, do you read, this is the Impulse," he asked, keeping the worry about Rey from coming into his voice.

The next near half minute felt much longer than it really was, "We read you Impulse, what's your status," asked Meyrin.

"We reached the site, but something has happened to Rey. We need assistance as soon as possible," Shinn replied.

On the Minerva, Meyrin processed what Shinn had just said, then turned to captain Gladys, "Ma'am, we have just received a message from the Impulse, according to them something has happened to Rey. They are requesting assistance as soon as they can get," Meyrin informed.

Talia didn't like hearing that at all, the three pilots were only supposed to be scouting out the Alliance complex that the Minerva would be inspecting soon. She told Meyrin to reply to the Impulse that the Minerva would be there as soon as they could be and to tell the flag ship here as the Suez base of the current situation. Meyrin did what she was ordered, while Talia ordered the Minerva to ready itself to launch immediately. Within minutes, the Minerva came up out of the water and started flying in the direction that the mobile suits they sent had gone.

Back at the Alliance site, while Shinn went off to do what she had told him to do, Aila stayed with Rey, trying to figure out what was going on with him. Nothing she saw helped her determine what was affecting him, "Rey Za Burrel, if you can hear me talking to you, then look at me," she said clearly. Rey didn't do what she said, which just confirmed that Rey was unable to register the world around him right now. Aila made sure that Rey was breathing well enough to not suffer more harm than he was already was dealing with.

Darkness fell before the Minerva spotted the Impulse, the Osiris and the Phantom at the Alliance site. The ship landed and quickly afterwards, personnel were on the ground setting up floodlights and securing the area. The ship's doctor and his assistants were off with a gurney and made their way over to where Rey was with Aila next to him. Rey was taken back to the Minerva while setup for the inspection of this site continued. By the time the setup was completed, more ZAFT forces had arrived to reinforce the Minerva, including Chairman Durandal himself who had been transferred to a different ship before the Minerva had set out for here.

The first teams entered the main structure with Athrun and Heero at their head, while Aila and Shinn went kept back on the Minerva with Rey to get checked over. Aila was given a clean bill of health ahead of Shinn and she instantly went and joined those looking the site over and searching for traps left by the Alliance. The initial investigation took hours to search from top to bottom and disarm and remove the explosives and other ideas left behind by the Alliance. It quickly became clear that those that had been here, had put forth effort to make things hard if not fatal for any that should come after them. It was also obvious that the Alliance was trying to hide something, for they had cleaned this place of certain things, data being one of the main ones. But, something had forced the Alliance to leave before doing a thorough cleaning, what had happened was unknown.

Shinn worried about Rey, for his reaction had come after seeing the large room with medical equipment didn't make sense to him. The Minerva's doctor was saying how the captain was being careless sending the three pilots to an unknown Alliance facility with the information that there was. Shinn would have argued, telling the doctor that Aila, Rey and he had looked around hard before entering the main building. Aila had even told them to be on guard and they had been proceeding cautiously, so there was something to be said with that. Yet, before Shinn could give a defense, Rey woke up in the bed he had been placed when brought back onboard, saying that he was fine and thanking the doctor and nurses for their hard work.

Once the complex was deemed safe enough, both from traps and biological dangers, it was reported to Talia as she had been made the head of this operation by the Chairman. The report was appreciated, but it also left the question of what had triggered the condition that had affected Rey. Talia and Arthur entered the complex and the stench of rotting flesh hit them both as they continued forward. The two met up with Athrun who had a respirator on, further inside and upon seeing them, reached into a pack nearby and drew out two more respirators and offered them to both Talia and Arthur. "The smell is strong, these do help, but they don't fully filter the stench, but it's better than nothing," Athrun stated.

The two took the respirators and put them on and the magnitude of the rotting smell went down a good margin. Talia then faced Athrun, "Doubt I want to know, but what is the source of the rotting smell," asked Talia.

Athrun looked away, "The source is actually two things we're finding, the first is that some of the equipment here has stopped working, and in turn, what the equipment has been preserving has… spoiled I suppose you could say." Athrun paused, before he continued, "The other contributing factor, is that opening the way further into this complex have revealed dead bodies, a growing number of them."

"What do you mean dead bodies Athrun," questioned Arthur.

Athrun didn't answer right away, but he did after some time, "It might make more sense if you see what I'm talking about. However, I warn you, what you will see will sicken and disgust you in ways words don't do well describing."

Athrun motioned for Talia and Arthur to follow him and they did so. As they passed some of the soldiers, both Talia and Arthur noticed that they were all shaken to some degree, which increased the feeling of foreboding. The three came to a stop in front of a large heavy door with soldiers on either side, including Heero Collins. They stepped aside as the door began opening, the stench of rotting dead bodies got a great deal stronger. When the way forward was fully open, Talia and Arthur entered the room and stopped at what was before them. The room itself appeared to be a gathering area of some kind, for there were tables and groups of chairs with them, even if they were strewn around the room. What drew the most attention, were the bodies and the blood stains around them.

Bodies were in several places were around the area, adults were mostly together in groups, whereas the bodies of children were seemed to be in trios mostly. There had been fighting, of what kind and/or reason for it were hard to determine from just looking at the what laid before them. That scene was only the beginning of the horrors that this place contained, the further that those trying to piece together what this complex could be for, the less the desire to know more became. The clear evidence of work and experimentation being done on human beings were hard to see. The images of adults herding children, the bodies of children in tanks hooked up to wires, along with the holding cells. The air of mortification and fear was heavy and very difficult to ignore even for those that had the discipline to normally do so.

The investigation of the place was done in shifts to give breaks in this terrible work, to help handle the physical and mental stress. The effects of the stress were obvious with most, the sights seen inside the complex were traumatic to many. When Athrun was given a break, he went back to the Minerva and sat in his quarters, trying to make some kind of sense to the things he had seen. He had heard a rumor that there were those in the Alliance that would do things that were covered up and this place would definitely qualify for that description. Yet, to do human experimentation and on children no less, that was a low for even the Earth Forces.

However, feeling what he was right now, Athrun recalled a conversation he'd had with Tyler more than a year ago. The reason that the memory was coming up was Tyler had appeared and acted very unlike his usual self. At the time, Tyler had appeared extremely haggard and sickened and he had been somewhat despondent, like Athrun felt like now. Tyler had said something to the effect of he had just gotten off a hard assignment but have given no addition detail. Perhaps he knew about something like this, and right now, Athrun could really use someone to talk to about what he had seen.

That in mind, Athrun asked for a secure channel outbound and used the information that Tyler had given him. A minute later, Tyler's face appeared on the screen Athrun was using, "Athrun, this is an unexpected call, what's going on my friend," Tyler asked.

Athrun took a steadying breath, "Tyler, I'm sorry if this is an inconvenient time, but I need someone to talk to right now and I would think you could help me understand some things," he replied.

Tyler didn't answer right away, but did eventually give a reply, "I take it that whatever is going on with you is hard to swallow in some way?" Athrun nodded, "I see. I have the time at the moment to lend a listening ear, so what's happened?"

Athrun gave a summary of some being sent to look over a site that was assumed to have belonged to the Earth Alliance. Something had gone wrong as one of those sent had medical issues, so the Minerva had gone to the site. Upon arrival, the three sent ahead were given medical examinations, others including Athrun entered the complex to search it and make sure it was safe for investigation. The sights Athrun had to see while searching the facilities had been horrible and Athrun had some difficulty recounting them.

Tyler quickly had an expression of pity mixed with anger set on his face and Athrun told him of what he had seen. When Athrun finished he was silent, Tyler exhaled before speaking, "Athrun, word cannot express how much I wish you hadn't seen any that you had, it is truly mortifying, disgusting and above all, evil."

It was as Tyler said that, which had things click in Athrun's mind and a realization came, "You seen a place like I've been describing, haven't you Tyler," Athrun posed.

Tyler didn't answer immediately, but that told more to Athrun than the answer when it came, "Yes, I have unfortunately been in a place like you've described my friend… a little more than a year ago. And I'll tell you, the images that have been burned into your mind, you can't get rid of them, I've tried and haven't been able to."

Athrun then asked the question that had been bouncing around his head, "What is such a place even used for?"

Again, Tyler was silent for a moment, "There are things I can tell you that you can repeat to others, but there is also thing I could say that you'll have to keep to yourself Athrun, understand that," he stated before pausing as if to gather his thoughts. "I imagine you recognized equipment that is used for… work on human beings for medical purposes normally. That should've been your first clue that the place did human experimentation, which by law of all the factions is illegal if it isn't to save a life and guideline on that are pretty specific."

Yes, the equipment Athrun had seen had given the impression that human experimentation could be done among other things. Nonetheless, that didn't explain the bodies that had clearly killed by bullets. Tyler kept going, "However, it's not like there aren't those who think themselves above the rules and law set, we both know that." Athrun nodded in agreement as the statement was true, "Honestly, the place it sounds like you found was used for altering humans, natural-types pretty much so that they are able to fight on par with your average Coordinator soldier."

That revelation from Tyler shocked Athrun for a moment, more for the implications rather than the fact stated. It would mean that the children had likely been the subjects of such work, "Tye," Athrun started.

Yet Tyler cut over him, "I know is can sound crazy, but there is proof of this already. Heck, you, Kira and I have encountered and fought a few of those that came from these kinds of places. As an example, and you are not to go talking about this in much detail, you remember those three sisters we met around April of last year?"

Athrun thought for a moment about the question and did recall meeting three girls that appeared to be a little more than a year apart in age. "You mean the three… Galena Sisters I think they called themselves," Athrun inquired.

"Yep, they are who I refer to, they came from such a place. I'm not the fondest of admitting it, two out of those three just about did me in for good during the Battle of the Republic, since they are the ones that were piloting those custom Alliance mobile suits," Tyler shot back. That nagged at Athrun, those three girls had seemed to him like normal girls you might find anywhere at the time. Still, Tyler continued, "I'm aware it doesn't seem like they're capable of such, but they are. The reason they are so normal looking now, as I understand it, would be that they and others like them that are found are sent to be treated and stabilized at a place which I can't actually tell you where it is. It's a deal that was made for some that used to make kids into living weapons during the previous war or something along those lines. That's kept hush hush, but for most I've met that come from laboratories such as the one you found are not at fault themselves. Those that alter them do some really messed up and horrible things to them to get what those funding such want apparently."

-Line Break-

Heaven's Base, Greenland

The aircraft that Neo and the others had escaped with, had gotten a view of the Eurasian base in flames and smoke rising from the ruins as they left. The three Gundam-type mobile suits had been efficiently bringing the destruction of the base. With how efficient the machines were doing the job, Neo wondered if they were like or similar to Stella, Sting and Auel. Stella had been restrained for the whole trip, as she was still resisting Alliance personnel that came near her. The line she kept repeating was that she wanted to go back to 'Shangri-La', which Neo guessed was where she had been. What had happened to her there, Neo couldn't say, he had tried to ask her, but honestly, her response was the same, she wanted to go back. It was clear that this Shangri-La, had some sort of effect on Stella, and one she had responded well to and wanted. But, her recall was out of his hands, she had been called for and she was to be brought for whatever it was that she was needed for.

Neo looked out the window down at their destination as the aircraft he was on swung around to begin its approach to the current Earth Alliance headquarters. Heaven's base was surrounded by mountains on the west and to the north, while there are snowfields to the south and the sea to the east. It had snow most of the time, but there were also means to keep the snow and cold from interfering with the operation of the base. The aircraft Neo was in touched down on a runway brought Neo out of his thoughts about how close things had been with leaving the Eurasian Federation base near the Republic's border.

Stella was taken off to be 'treated' and reconditioned, to fix whatever had been done was what the medical personnel said. What that would entail, Neo couldn't say, and he didn't exactly want to know what was going to be done to Stella. Sting did express that he was worried about her, for a couple of reasons, chiefly that there was clearly changes that shouldn't happen with Extendeds. Stella didn't show signs that she had undergone maintenance for weeks and for Extendeds, that was extremely risky to their health. Yet, Stella didn't have any of the symptoms that come from lack of maintenance, which was pretty much unheard of. The reaction she had displayed when hearing her block word was completely different from before, it didn't 'disable' her like it was supposed to.

Stella was taken to a lab here, while Auel and Sting were taken elsewhere to get the maintenance they needed. While the three were getting work done on them, Neo took the time to catch up on what had been happening in the Alliance's efforts in the war. To say that the Alliance was doing not so well in the current conflict, would be a gross understatement in a way that words weren't said in public due to common manners. The Earth Alliance was not losing just yet, but they certainly weren't winning against ZAFT and definitely not against the Federation's military. ZAFT was holding the Alliance off and forcing them into the defensive, and the Alliance's attempts to change that hadn't yielded the desired results. The fight against the Federation and to have them 'fall into line' were failures each and every one of them. Each loss to the Federation, seemed to make them stronger in the next encounter, or at least they became more efficient at forcing the Earth Forces back.

Honestly, it would take something close to or equal to a miracle to reverse and have momentum going the Alliance's way. The real risk of the Federation and ZAFT getting together in an Alliance was becoming more a possibility with every skirmish. If they did work together, then the Alliance hadn't a prayer of winning the war, the only thing that could be seen as mercy if the two other factions allying, was that they would be quick to finish things and feel generous. There was also rumors that some of the leaders of the Alliance were having second thoughts about the war, and it was hard to blame them thinking that way with how things had been going.

Neo was 'treated' to a lecture from Lord Djibril personally, which was rare, about the work he had been doing. The lecture wasn't nice, as it was pretty much having his failures pointed out and no one likes that, nor did Neo. He was not given a chance to put forth a defense for what had resulted from his efforts. Although, Djibril wasn't yelling, simply saying that the Minerva had been too much for Neo to handle, but Neo would be given another chance since his record before now had been a shining example of success. He would be given the newest mobile suit developed by Logos, so he could deliver and observe its performance, the GFAS-X1 Destroy Gundam.

Stella Loussier was to be the suit's pilot as a natural human couldn't handle working with the machine and a Coordinator would never be used as it would be an insult. So, an Extended fit the need, really only an enhanced human could pilot the Destroy Gundam.

Neo was briefed upon what the Destroy was to do, and it took effort to keep his mouth shut when he was told the machine's purpose. In 'simple terms', the Destroy Gundam was to cause destruction across the Euros Coalition and put large amounts of fear into the leaders of the Human Federation, the goal was to get them to do what the Alliance or rather members of Logos and Blue Cosmos told them to and go on from there. Neo wasn't sure about this assignment, true it could work out the way it was being explained to him. However, it was just as likely if not more so, that the Federation would take down the Destroy Gundam and then turn what they still had at the Alliance. Granted, until he saw the Destroy Gundam, Neo couldn't be sure, but powerful as it could be, the Federation's military would probably find a way to take it down, it was a matter of time.

Hypothetically speaking, if the Federation sent most if not all they would have at the Alliance, the toll would be high and that was putting it mildly. If the Earth Forces survived, then ZAFT could wipe what was left. So, the plan to use the Destroy Gundam, was a serious gamble with extremely high risk with potential marginal gains. And while Neo was known for making a gutsy gamble from time to time, and this plan likely authored by Djibril was one that he wouldn't seriously consider this idea. There were just too many points that could cause this idea to fail and far too many unknown factors. Neo had learned from observing others and personal experience that making assumptions about things was asking for trouble.

While the final adjustments and preparation were being made with the Destroy Gundam and the planned operation for the giant mobile suit, Neo took the time to go over the details of the operation. The Destroy Gundam wouldn't be alone in the destructive trek across the Euros Coalition, it would be supported by Windams along the way. The specs for the Destroy Gundam did give the impression that the machine would give any that would attack it serious issues if not just destroy them. The arsenal the unit had was no joke nor small in any way with six heavy beam cannons, twenty-two non-heavy beam guns just to name a few.

Then there was the matter of Stella, according to the doctors that had examined her, she shouldn't be functioning effectively at all. None of the medical personnel could even say what had actually been done to her. Such news hadn't been pleasing to the higher ups, especially when it was said that her performance had drop slightly. Personally, Neo thought that Stella seemed fine other than resisting Alliance personnel, in fact, she appeared more stable overall than before. From experience, stability was more preferred over extremely high performance as such was more reliable more often than the other, but that wasn't his call to make.

To bring Stella's performance back up to the level it had been before, she underwent reconditioning. Again, Neo didn't ask what that involved, but the cries from Stella didn't give good impressions to what was going into the idea. A part of Neo urged him to stop the process, a part of him that made itself heard from time to time. Normally, the part of him would be fairly simple to ignore with his military discipline, but in this instance, it was harder to refuse the urge. Neo had thought it was a sense of justice or honor, but at a time like this, he wasn't as sure about that. This part of himself, really made him question what he was doing and who he was on a level that little else did.

The first view of the mobile suit that Neo got of the Destroy Gundam, caused him pause for a few reasons. The first of a number of points was the sheer size of the machine, for it wasn't around the average or expected size of a mobile suit. It was around three times larger than other mobile suits, it could probably crush other mobile suits under its feet. It had features that were common with Gundam-type mobile suits besides the backpack it had attached. The machine shouted 'weapon of mass destruction' with every part of its body, not just by the weapons equipped. The Destroy Gundam itself, was classified as a transformable mobile suit, and would launch in its mobile armor mode, which hovered over the ground at low altitudes through the use of thrusters mounted in its backpack. It could transform into MS mode by rotating its lower half 180 degrees, lowering the arms and flipping the backpack to the back.

Its designation, "GFAS-X", stands for "Gressorial Fortress Armament Strategic - EXperimental". However, despite the suit's large size, the Destroy Gundam required only a single pilot unlike the mobile suit models that it was developed from, such as the Gells-Ghe. Stella Loussier was determined to be the most compatible for the first Destroy unit and so, was chosen to be the pilot.

For its complete arsenal, on the main body there were a couple of weapons, but most were on the backpack section and arms. The main body weapons consisted of the head-mounted 200mm energy cannon and four 75mm CIWS, three chest-mounted 1580mm multi-phase energy cannons. Both arms could detach, and each were equipped with a beam cannon and 5-barrel hand beam guns. The detachable arms also function like DRAGOON pods, thus allowing the suit to attack its target at any range, regardless of obstacles standing in the way. The suit's backpack was equipped with three sets of weapons, including the two twin barrel high-energy beam cannons, the twenty thermal plasma composite cannons mounted around the backpack's outsides circumference, and the four 6-tube multipurpose missile launchers. Besides the vast arsenal of offensive weaponry, the Destroy still had the three positron reflectors for defense, mounted on the arms and the forward part of the backpack.

Once the final preparations for the operation that involved the Destroy Gundam were finished, those that would participate readied themselves to go. Yet, before leaving, Neo went to those that managed the mainframe and when he found the head of that task he got down to the beef he had. "Listen, when the Destroy is transported away from here, you need to remove the data on it from the mainframe completely and leave no trace. It needs to happen before the start of the upcoming operation, it will be too late if you do it later," Neo said firmly.

Neo would have gone on in enforcing the reasoning as to why what he was saying needed to happen, but the base's head came into view, "Roanoke, trying to arrange things are you," said the base commander.

The one that Neo had been talking to slipped away and Neo faced the base's commander, "Arranging sir? I can't say I know what you mean, I was merely suggesting a wise course of action, that's all," Neo replied.

The base's commander came to a stop in front of Neo, "I've read portions of your record Roanoke, your performance and drive to get results is something else and I can respect that. However, your habit of stepping on the feet of others above you or going around them is just as well-stated and recorded. You are not in command here Roanoke, so if you have a suggestion to give, do it through the proper channels."

Neo held in the sigh of frustration, as he went around high-ranking officers as many of them did nothing until it was too late! "Very well sir, I was suggesting to those that manage this base's mainframe, that any data on the GFAS-X1 Destroy be removed before the operation begins," Neo said.

The base's commander folded his arms, "And what is your logic in suggesting that Roanoke?"

"Because sir, when the Destroy begins making its path towards Paris, I guarantee that the Federation's military will do serious digging into finding any information they can get on it. Should they acquire specs on it, they will exploit every weakness the Destroy has to take it down. Hence the reason I'm saying to remove data from the mainframe, for this will be the first place they will come digging," Neo explained.

Neo expected the base commander to scoff or even laugh at his logic, though it was true and proven over and over. Yet, the man did neither, "I'll admit that you have a point with the Federation coming looking for information on the Destroy Roanoke. Nevertheless, this base's security on its systems are being prepared as we speak for such a thing. So, while your concerns are appreciated, they are not needed," the man answered.

"Sir, the same was said about JOSH-A in Alaska, and the Earth Forces have been paying for that the rest of the previous war and years after that. If the information is in anyway accessible, they find a way to get it, that's why it needs to be removed from the mainframe," Neo shot back.

The base commander was silent for a moment, "Your suggestion will be taken into consideration Roanoke. Now, I believe that you have a transport to catch or you will be left behind captain."

Neo knew that he had done as much as he could in this, now he could only hope that someone would do what he suggested. The Destroy along with Neo, Sting, Auel and their machines were shortly transported to an Earth Forces base in the Eurasian Federation. They were all loaded onto a new land battleship that had been built during the time between the previous war and the current conflict. The Hannibal-class looked much like a giant tank with four large tank-like tracks and a large dome in the center for large mobile armors. The ground battleship was design to function as a carrier on Earth when not close to the sea for the Earth Forces.

The Hannibal-class Bonaparte sailed across the Eurasian Federation without much of a hassle. Doctors were keeping a close eye on Stella, for whatever they had done had come at a price according to them. The change that had happened in Stella was starker than how she had been before being captured during the assault on Asgard. She was clearly scared of most things around her and that fear was being used to get her to do what she was told. Neo felt bad at using the same fear that had been instilled along with the trust Stella still showed she had in Neo.

Upon approaching the border between the Eurasian Federation and the Euros Coalition, the Destroy Gundam was deployed. The first city in Federation territory was taken by surprise by the Destroy and the Windams. There was minor resistance, which was beaten back quickly and the Alliance group kept going forward. The eventual target/destination was to be Paris, the capitol of the Euros Coalition. The mentality was that if its capitol fell, the rest of the Euros Coalition would follow shortly thereafter. Neo knew better than to believe that this operation would be so simple or easy. It may be going well now, but it wouldn't be for long, the Federation's military would keep fighting back and the longer this went on, the more Neo and the those with him would have to fight against.

The Destroy Gundam quickly showed that it was a war machine that could raze a city on its own and repel assaults against it. The positron reflectors it had combined were able to protect the mobile suit from attacks from most ranges. Between the reflectors, CIWS guns and its arsenal, approaching the Destroy was very difficult. The Destroy and those with it continued onward into the Euros Coalition, carving a path of destruction as they drew closer to Paris. Around each city they passed, they met resistance in the form of Federation's military forces, and the size of the defending force grew with each settlement. However, the counter offensives merely slowed the progress of the Destroy Gundam and not stop it completely.

-Line Break-

Luna Base, Moon

When the news of an unknown giant mobile suit starting a path of destruction from the border between the Eurasian Federation and the Euros Coalition, work to stop the attack started. That involved more than those fighting against the unknown machine, but also groups attempting to minimize the number of people in the projected path of the giant mobile armor. Those at Luna Base were scrambling to try and supply information for those fighting the giant mobile weapon. The first place information gathering was done, was the Alliance's headquarters at Heaven's Base. The security merely delayed those hacking the system, once inside the base's mainframe, it took just a few minutes to find specs on the giant machine slaughtering people. The specs were copied and examined for anything that could assist those fighting and giving their lives.

Even Andrew and Lacus were trying to do what they could to help after hearing about the unexpected attack. This move may seem to be coming out of nowhere, but there were some clear facts that pointed to a group that wasn't the Earth Forces doing this. The question that was unanswered was why this action was being done at all, there was little benefit that would result for any that made much if any sense.

After some examination, potential flaws and weaknesses were found and that information was sent to Earth in the hope of assisting with stopping this rampaging machine. The alarming point discovered, the giant mobile suit was powered by a nuclear reactor for a power source. That fact alone would make dealing with the mobile suit more difficult and its arsenal made things hard enough. Then, the death toll was already climbing, and it was doing so at a heart wrenching and staggering rate. Those that had hacked into Heaven's Base got back to work to perhaps find more information that could explain why this event was happening.

-Line Break-

The Destroy kept making its way towards Paris, only slowing somewhat around cities and pretty much razing the city, along with resupplying when needed. It was when the Destroy Gundam reached the eastern outskirts of the city of Berlin when it and the Alliance Windams were brought to a halt. The force they met at Berlin was the largest thus far and the Windams were hard pressed to follow the Destroy Gundam. The Destroy was using its weapons to try to mow down those that were in its way, but this force was better at not getting hit than those that had tried to stop the Destroy before.

Inhabitance of Berlin were being evacuated as fast as possible, but with the Destroy was making the task extremely difficult. The Destroy Gundam was taking out Federation mobile suits, but their numbers didn't seem to be going down as quickly as predicted. Neo himself, had to admit being impressed with the efforts of the Federation Military forces, they were having little success and were dying in high numbers, but that apparently wasn't deterring them. But the fact was the Destroy had been halted and the longer that was the case the riskier this operation would become. Neo didn't kid himself, the Federation would somehow find information on the Destroy Gundam and they would then use that to handle the mobile suit, it really was only a matter of time.

After a period of time, the Destroy managed to make some progress forward, but the momentum didn't last long. Reinforcements began arriving for the Federation, the first were ZAFT forces from their Gibraltar Base. They were shortly followed by Federation forces coming from multiple directions, stopping the Destroy's progress and bringing it to a complete halt again. Within a period of less than half an hour, the defending forces had increased by double what it had been when the Destroy reached the city. The Destroy didn't take extensive damage from those obstructing it, though many were trying.

Yet, with the state Stella was put in by those at Heaven's Base, she saw all the approaching mobile suits as frightening monsters. That in mind, Stella was shooting down any that got close to her, she could think of little else due to the adjustments made to her. In that task, Stella was utilizing the Destroy's full arsenal to great effect, as seen by the destruction produced around it. The positron reflectors would be activated to block incoming beams and other weapons, thus the Destroy still stood, and moved forward at a pace that even a snail could match. The city of Berlin was suffering from the battle, structures taking damage and collapsing, the people that lived in the city were running for cover, many not making it to any before they died from the effects of the battle.

-Line Break-

The Normandy had headed out from Rome to assist in the western Pacific Ocean with deterring Alliance activity. However, when the news of the group rampaging across the Euros Coalition came, the Normandy turned around and sped back towards the Coalition. The information that was coming in as the Normandy traveled towards where the 'giant monstrous machine' was causing destruction, the reports were not encouraging in any way. The mounting death toll was horrible and getting more so with the more that came in about the group that was carving a path to wherever they were. The group would be brought to a stop at the city of Berlin, which the Normandy headed for at high speed.

The view of the battle was hard to see, flames were burning from ruins, the smoke rising acting as a marker from a great distance. The destruction silhouetting a large form, around three times large than an average mobile suit. The figure was assumed to be the giant machine that had been sighted and described in the reports thus far. The Normandy came to the surface of the water, launching its three Excel fighters and the Aurora Gundam. Not too far behind the Normandy, the Archangel appeared as well and sent out its own mobile suits. The Freedom, the Strike Rogue along with the custom Excel fighter and some of Orb's MVF-M11C Murasame suits zoomed towards the battle. Then both ships came out of the water after sending out their mobile suits to join the other defenders in this battle.

It became clear to those just jumping in to the event, that the giant mobile armor had other Earth Forces Windams with it to help protect it from any that tried to execute close-quarters attacks and strikes from behind. The only reason that those Windams weren't being shot down and focus turned on the large machine, was the giant's arsenal was making that a much more difficult task to accomplish. The weapons that were the real issue were the plasma cannons mounted on the sides of the dish structure at the top of the mobile armor, making approaching the suit pretty much suicidal. Being in front of the giant was slightly worse as that's where the heavy cannons were pointed and those caught in their path didn't usually survive.

Things were not looking very good, the unknown and the Windams with it had been brought to a halt, but not disabled. The casualties were mounting at an alarming rate and that didn't look like it would change very soon as things stood. Reinforcements were being scrambled from Asgard, but they would take time to arrive and time was not on the side of the Federation. Then there was a shift in the fight as ZAFT forces started appearing on the field assisting the Federation forces. A lot of the ZAFT force was from their Gibraltar Base, but there were others from places other than Gibraltar, including the Minerva.

Talia was shocked and even angry to see the destruction unfolding before them, for the scale was massive and horrifying. The scene wasn't enough to rob her of her mental facilities, and she ordered her crew to Condition Red and the Minerva's pilots to get to their mobile suits. Shortly after arriving on the field, the Saviour and Osiris launched from the side catapults. They were followed by Heero's black custom ZAKU Phantom and Heine's GOUF Ignite, then Luna's red ZAKU and Rey's white ZAKU Phantom. The Impulse shot out of its catapult and combined into the Force Impulse then joined the other machines from the Minerva.

The sheer destruction the battle had and was bringing was staggering to the ZAFT forces joining in. This was easily one of the harshest battles in the ongoing war thus far, mostly from the death toll that was mounting, both those involved and those not. The giant mobile suit was clearly well-armed and didn't seem to be worried about running low or out of power anytime soon. Then, the Windams with the giant machine were doing a fair job at keeping Federation suits at enough of a distance to keep them in the range of the weapons of the giant machine.

The Gundam-type mobile suits headed to different areas of the battlefield to be more effective. The Aurora headed straight for the giant mobile armor and was joined by the Impulse and other ZAFT and Federation machines. Tyler knew that things in this fight would improve when the large mobile weapon was disabled and/or taken down, even if a little. For Shinn, seeing the people below running away in fear reminded and brought back memories of when the Alliance had attacked Orb during the First Alliance-PLANT War. He had never forgotten the fear he had felt back then, nor the gratitude to those that had defended him and his family. He did not wish for any to feel what he had back then.

Cagalli in the Strike Rogue went towards the Windams with the giant machine, with her were the Murasames. Athrun joined the group with Cagalli, for a few reasons, though he wasn't sure if Cagalli was piloting the Strike Rogue, but he suspected that she was. Cagalli was in pain seeing the destruction all around, along with the people that were dying in the crossfire. It also fueled anger in her as events such as these did nothing good, only brought misery and it was that which made no sense! Athrun, even after reenlisting with ZAFT, he knew that battles and what they involved would be things he would see. However, that didn't justify what was being done right here, even with the Alliance doing what they have, this move didn't make logical sense. Yet, the group came against the Chaos before they could get to the Windams and were forced to start fighting the green mobile suit.

Aila, Heero and Heine stayed together and headed towards the Alliance Windams as many were. All three didn't like seeing the battlefield that this city had been made into. War wasn't unknown or uncommon to Aila, Heero or Heine, but this went beyond the price of war, this was massacre and slaughter. The three ended out bumping into the stolen X31S Abyss, who was appearing to be 'enjoying' shooting at the people down below. The three quickly occupied the Abyss and stopped it from killing people on the ground.

The Freedom, and the custom Excel Fighter were joined by the red ZAKU and the white ZAKU Phantom as they also headed for the Windams. The sight of what was being done to this city was painful for Kira and filled him with sorrow. The people that lived here hadn't asked for any of this and many were dying for it right now. Lunamaria was angry as well as sorrowful at the scene that this fight was. True, the people on the ground weren't with the PLANTs, but with the Federation, yet that shouldn't mean that they should be dying for this war. Rey was focused in on the battle and the orders to assist in the efforts to repel this force from here. Cormag was doing much the same as Rey was, but there was pain as his home was within the Euros Coalition.

The Archangel, the Normandy and the Minerva also moved forward supporting their mobile suits from a distance. They were also some of the few ships that could move over land and not bound to the water.

-Line Break-

-Tyler's pov-

This whole battle shouldn't be happening in the first place and whoever is responsible for the "bright idea" that brought things to this point will be made to pay at some point! That thought and other similar to it ran through my mind as I took in the death and destruction that was being done all around. I was still making my way closer to the giant mobile armor, since with the addition of ZAFT forces was making the task easier. Others were now keeping the attention of the Windams that had been making getting close to the large machine much harder. There was a white and blue Gundam-type following me now, and I won't say no to extra help right now with how things are.

As shots began to fly from the giant mobile suit, I evaded out of reflex, and I witnessed that some with me were destroyed. That made me angrier, but I reined in my emotions as they would only interfere and get me to be stupid in decision making and that was a very bad idea currently. It was obvious that taking down or even disabling this mobile suit would be a serious challenge. And thinking that there was little that could make this task harder or worse, fate as it does around half of the time, proved me wrong. That came in form of being contacted by Lisa, "Tyler, new information has come in on that big machine."

I was weaving out of the way of beams coming at me as I received the communication, so I was not much in the mood to talk. "Lisa, I'm rather busy with not getting shot down at the moment, this giant mobile armor has a vast arsenal and is showing it off heavily! So, if whatever you got isn't going to help me with that task or getting it to stop, then it can wait," I replied.

"I can see the machine is making trouble, yet part of the information is specs for that thing, meaning we know the weapons shooting you," Lisa started.

Well, as nice as it is to be able to know what weaponry is being sent in my directions is, that's not what I would call very helpful. "That's nice and everything Lisa, but if that's all you have, then it isn't the most helpful to me right now," I shot back, returning fire against my opponent.

There was a slight pause, "The main fact that you should know, which you won't appreciate, is what is powering that thing, a nuclear reactor," Lisa told me.

Hearing that caused me to have a double take, "You're telling me that tall and gruesome who's shooting without regard for anyone else has a nuclear reactor onboard Lisa," I asked flatly.

"Unfortunately, yes," Lisa returned.

I sighed, "Thanks for the info Lisa, I'll keep that in mind," I replied, before closing the com-line.

Knowing that the giant machine had a nuclear reactor powering it, complicated the situation further in several ways. First and most importantly, shooting my opponent right now through the torso would have catastrophic consequences. Second, with nuclear power, this machine would keep going for a while as it had a large power supply. So, the task of handling the big mobile weapon safely, required that its reactor be shut down or drained before the machine is dealt with… great. I suppose that the best course of action forward would be start disarming the thing weapon by weapon.

Before I could get to doing just that, the 'giant mobile armor' shifted parts of itself and changed into a mobile suit. …Things just keep getting better and better, don't they?! The suit raised one of its arms and on the ends of the fingers were beam emitters, which were aimed at myself and my allies. I moved in front of the blue and while ZAFT suit, activating the Aurora's shield's deflector. The beams bounced off my deflector and forced my opponent to bring up their own positron reflectors to block what went back in their direction.

Then, I surged forward, drawing a beam saber, focusing on one of the large vents on the backpack the large mobile suit possessed. My thoughts were that if I could take out enough of the vents I could find, then the hovering that my opponent was doing would be hindered, less mobility, easier target to hit. I did acrobatics to close the distance between me and my opponent aiming for the left side. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught glimpses of the ZAFT Gundam doing much the same as I on the opposite side as I was approaching.

However, the large mobile suit charged the beams on the sides of the backpack then fired forward, forcing my allies and I to break off from our approach. Yet, I was not going to accept nothing for the attempt I made with the lives being put in danger or being lost! I threw the activated beam saber I had, knowing that it would be destroyed regardless if it hit the intended target or not. Nevertheless, even as I dodged the beams aimed at me, I also saw the Aurora's beam saber sail behind the enemy's reflectors which activated a second too late to prevent the saber's flight and penetration of one of the large vents. The vent seconds later exploded, rocking the mobile suit and caused hesitation on the machine's pilot's part.

That moment of hesitation was just what was needed for my allies and I to rush forward and begin our assault. Up close, the positron reflectors didn't help our opponent, the weapons it had still were a constant worry, but the task of disabling this mobile suit became a more doable thing. Less than a minute later, the ZAFT Gundam scored a hit on the vent on the right side, rocking our enemy again. The next thing I registered, the arms of the giant mobile suit detached, telling me that they were like DRAGOON pods. I flew upward and drew the attention of my opponent completely on me, giving an opening for one of my allies to take to get an attack on the cockpit.

To say that evading the arms using the finger beam cannons was hard, was not quite accurate. The combination of the pilot's skill and the weapons being used against me was having me call on piloting skills that I don't use in every battle or regularly. The ZAFT Gundam did take advantage of the opening I had created and got in a clean slash with a beam saber at the lower torso. Once that happened, the arms attacking me returned back to the docks, giving me the chance to back up a bit. I saw that the slash had revealed the cockpit of the giant mobile suit and when I had the optics zoom in to hopefully get some view of the interior of the cockpit.

The view that I got of the pilot inside got me to pause for a moment, for I swear that there was something about the pilot that was familiar. As I continued to gaze at the zoomed in image of the cockpit, the pilot looked up and I got a view of their face. Seeing the face of the girl, it took me a bit to realize that it was the same girl that I had picked up around Asgard and had taken to Shangri-La. How the girl had gotten to be in this giant mobile suit, I couldn't begin to guess since she should be at Shangri-La. What I could see of her expression, Stella… if I recall her name correctly, was terrified to the point that she was unlikely fully coherent if much at all.

The point that to deal with this machine required its reactor to be shutdown came back to my mind. If Stella could calm down enough to stop attacking and cooperate, then this mobile suit could be disable and Stella alive in the end. That outcome is much more preferred than the alternative of her dying along with much of the city's inhabitance in a nuclear explosion. My attention was caught by the ZAFT Gundam readying itself to rush forward and deal a likely devastating blow. I opened a channel that the pilot of that suit would hear, "ZAFT pilot wait, hold on and don't attack yet."

"What are you talking about?! This is a chance to take down this suit and bring this battle to an end," returned the ZAFT pilot.

The voice sounded younger than mine, the middle of the adolescence age range were I to guess, likely sixteen or seventeen. Not that he didn't have a point, but he was missing the fact of our opponent had a nuclear power source that could potentially detonate and that was to be avoided best as possible. "I doubt that the pilot in that giant machine is doing what she is by choice," I said.

"Wait, the pilot is a girl," was the reply I heard.

There was a pause, before the sound of a gasp, "It's her, what is she doing here?"

So, the guy knows Stella, that's interesting and everything, and I don't doubt that there is a story to how the two met. However, the current situation is kind of something we shouldn't leave to stew as it is. "How she got inside that cockpit, I can't say, but it's clear that things had been done to her to have the world around her not be as it appears would be my wager. She looks scared to the point that she's close to being out of her mind. If we can calm her down and have her lower that mobile suit's weapons, then there is a chance to get her out alive. Plus, that giant machine has a nuclear reactor in it, and while it is running, then it would be a bad idea to just shoot the machine carelessly. Doing so would have drastic and horrible consequences to those who are close in the air and on the ground," I explained.

-Line Break-

-Neutral pov-

The fight against the giant mobile armor to stop it from continuing its rampage was the major task of those defending Berlin, but it was only part of this battle. There were smaller skirmishes around and mostly behind the mobile armor. While Tyler and Shinn had gone straight for the armor along with others joining them along the way, groups formed to go against the Windams, the Chaos and the Abyss.

Cagalli had been aiming for some of the Windams originally, but she and the Murasames with her here brought to a halt by the Chaos getting in their way. The stolen mobile suit began firing its weapons at those from Orb but was shortly forced to evade attacks sent its way. Cagalli scanned around for the one responsible, and she spotted the same machine that Athrun had come to the meeting weeks ago outside Diocuia. She did have the mind to communicate to her allies that the red Gundam-type was not an enemy and to not shoot it down. Athrun made sure not to lose sight of the Chaos, nor underestimate the machine or its pilot as they had proven potentially dangerous. He kept shooting at the Chaos, keeping his opponent on their toes, and he was helped by Orb mobile suits and the Strike Rogue.

Sting quickly found himself in a bad situation that was growing worse the longer he was in it. He was outnumbered by those attacking him, and they were working as a team. When Sting aimed at one of them, they would start moving and Sting would fire one of the Chaos's weapons, but his aim was off as others would force him to dodge. There was also the red mobile suit from the times that he and the Auel were helping Neo pursue the ship he had been chasing. That one was more than just annoying, mostly since the guy had skill and was more than good at piloting. Sting did manage to hold his own for a time while the Destroy Gundam was doing what it was meant to. But then, Stella for some reason stopped firing the arsenal the giant mobile suit possessed.

Sting's situation didn't improve as those fighting him pressed forward against him, forcing him to pay attention to them and not the Destroy Gundam. Nearly two minutes went by, before Sting decided that it would be in his best interest to fallback and retreat. He was outnumbered and outgunned right now by those attacking him and they would overwhelm him given enough time. Sting made contact with the land ship that he had been on during the travel to here, telling them that he was returning.

However, just after Sting broke away from those swarming him, two of the Murasames got above the Chaos and came down shooting at Sting. The Chaos tried to evade, but the third shot from the two mobile suits from above pierced one of the DRAGOON pods, destroying it. The other pod followed, severely cutting down the Chaos's thrusting power, causing Sting to panic and try to fly towards the Bonaparte. Yet, as he went, the Murasame team leader moved up from below and the Saviour did the same from above, both rushing at the Chaos. Sting saw the attacks coming too late and wasn't able to move out of the way when the Saviour used a beam saber and sliced just below the Chaos's head and the Murasame slashed off its legs at the hips.

The three sections of the Chaos fell towards the ground, the legs caught by a beam, while the torso and head dropped into the smoke below and disappearing. The Strike Rogue, the Murasames and the Saviour after seeing the Chaos disappear, moved on to a different part of the battlefield.

At the same time, the Osiris, the GOUF Ignited and the black ZAKU Phantom were going against the Abyss. While doing so, the three were also helping defend the routes the city's inhabitance were using to escape the battle. The Abyss and the three Windams with it weren't making fighting while defending easy at all. Nevertheless, working together; Aila, Heine and Heero managed to take down the three Windams, leaving the Abyss. The stolen ZAFT mobile suit, then took up to shooting at the ground at the fleeing people to get back at its opponents. Aila took up blocking the weapon fire from the Abyss as did Heine, while Heero kept shooting at the Abyss.

The Abyss's pilot quickly became more reckless as their attacks had little to no effect on their intended targets. Things didn't change as time moved on, and Auel was getting more than just frustrated with the unchanging result. No matter the weapon he used, whether beam, projectile or physical blade, none of them could destroy his opponents. The beams were evaded or blocked, the dual cannon couldn't find Auel's targets and score an effective hit, nor could the beam lance ignited or not, cut any of them into pieces. What frustrated Auel the most was the gold machine was one that had escaped destruction before and was doing so again. Failure was not acceptable repeatedly from any that were a part of the Enhanced Human Project, not before or now.

Auel ended out swinging the beam lance at the Osiris and when he had lunged forward with what looked to be a clean puncture. However, at the last moment, a metal whip wrapped around the lance and jerked it off course from hitting the Osiris. Heine took out his suits beam sword and swung at the Abyss, still holding the lance with his slayer whip. Auel dodged and let go of the beam lance since the whip wouldn't release it. Heine threw the Abyss's lance away and continued trying to disable or destroy the Abyss and was joined by Heero, while Aila kept on the defensive.

Auel's anger got the better of him and he became more violent in his attacks on all around them. Aila had her work cut out for her defending those fleeing the destruction and chaos as her allies kept the pressure on the Abyss. The Osiris was blocking and deflecting shots from the Abyss, not noticing the mobile suit quickly closing the distance. Before Aila realized it, the Abyss was in front of her, aiming its multi-phase beam cannon at her. The cannon was charging and there was no way at this point for Aila to get out of the way in time. Yet, Aila was thrown hard to the left in her cockpit and as she looked to what could cause this, she saw Heine's GOUF where the Osiris had just been. The Abyss's multi-phase beam fired and hit the GOUF's shield, before shortly blasting through and going through the torso. The orange GOUF exploded as Aila watched, and the pain that came at seeing the death of a comrade washed over her.

On the other hand, Auel was a bit satisfied to see that he had taken down one of his opponents, but the feeling didn't last very long. The Osiris and the ZAKU Phantom both rushed the Abyss from different directions before Auel got his mind back on task. Next thing Auel knew, his two opponents had gotten close, the Osiris had a beam saber and the Phantom its beam tomahawk. They slashed at the Abyss and Auel thought his opponents had missed, but the shaking that came from behind said otherwise. The Abyss's shoulder binders had been severed from the main body and they dropped towards the ground.

Auel realized that he was losing and if he stayed much longer, he would not return from this fight at all! The Abyss had lost its beam lance and its shoulder binders, which included the dual cannons and the 3-barrel beam cannons, along with the torpedo launchers, more than half of the Abyss's arsenal. So, he figured that it would be best to cut the loss and retreat so that he could live to fight another day.

While that was going on, the Freedom, custom Excel Fighter and the Minerva's other two mobile suits were going against the Windams. The fight was made more arduous as the giant mobile armor was firing at all around it, then the Windams were not easy opponents either. However, the Windams were being worn down by the defenders and then destroyed when they were overwhelmed.

Neo was fending off the combination of the Federation and ZAFT forces defending the city and trying to stop the Destroy Gundam. The defenders were making fighting them and keeping all of them from getting closer to the Destroy a laborious job. The Gundam-type and the custom Federation machine were seemingly more powerful than their allies. Although, the red ZAFT ZAKU and the white Phantom were also adding to the issues that the defenders were making for the Destroy and those with it.

Out of that group, Neo ended out fighting the Freedom and the custom Federation suit switching between the two. Neither pilot of the mobile suits were unskilled, Neo knew that from the data there was on the Freedom and could tell the same was true with the Federation machine. Both seemed to be able to know attacks would come from beforehand and so could evade them with apparent ease.

Neo did kid himself, he had read what information there was on the X10A Freedom after seeing it around the Dardanelles Channel. It was certainly one of the top mobile suits when it had come to power and capabilities during the previous war and still was a machine to be reckoned with. The official records said that the Freedom had been badly damaged or destroyed in the Second Battle of Jachin Due. However, that was clearly either false or some group had built a new one or rebuilt the original Freedom.

The custom Federation fighter was based on the current model they had, which had been proving more difficult to deal with than the ZAFT ZAKUs among other models. This version had two thruster packs, one behind each shoulder attached to the large wings. The high-energy beam rifle and the weapons built into its shield were annoying as they were frustrating to dodge. Also, on both thruster packs' outsides, a pair of beam cannons could swivel and fire at their target. Neo in a short period came to realize that luck played a part in his continuing survival if not a little more than his piloting skill.

Neo just managed to get some distance from the Freedom and threw one of his anti-armor penetrators. The Freedom intercepted the penetrator with its shield but had to throw it away before the penetrating dagger got through. Neo had taken out his beam rifle and would have started firing at the Freedom, but never got the chance. His suit's jet striker was punctured in two separate places, one on either side of the wings that allowed the Windam atmospheric flight. The next thing that Neo knew, the jet striker wing was sliced into three pieces as the Federation machine shot upwards behind Neo himself. It instantly became clear to Neo that he had lost most of his thrust and hovering ability from the last enemy attack. Still, the bad news wasn't done coming his way, as the Freedom then followed its ally up with shooting off his suit's arms. Then, as Neo started falling downward, he knew he had lost in such a way that he couldn't blame any other or deny the fact. Neo's head was bounced around as his Windam was caught by Cormag, and he blacked out from the restraints breaking and his head smacking the forward console.

Kira still had an odd feeling around this custom colored Windam, somewhat familiar and yet different, more with whomever was piloting it than the machine itself. That in mind, Kira asked if Cormag could take it back to the Archangel and the man said he would be back out on the field shortly.

-Line Break-

-Tyler's pov-

The task ahead of calming Stella down was looking to be a tall one, especially with her appearing as terrified as she was. Nonetheless, I believed it was possible and who knows how much the girl has been put through that she didn't ask for or deserve. I stored the Aurora's beam rifle put up my suit's hand showing that I had no weapon to work with in them and then began carefully approaching the large mobile suit's cockpit. As I got closer, I took off my helmet and set it on the forward display, then flipped the switch to have the Aurora's cockpit open and my seat rise upward.

I came into the open air, looking forward towards the gash that had been made in the huge suit. The battle was still going on around us, my allies keeping others from interfering with the attempt to calm the girl down. I still had a communication device to work with, so I connected an open channel, "Stella, my name is Tyler McGregor. We met over a month ago before you were taken to Shangri-La, do you remember that?"

Stella froze and then looked at me, "Shangri-La," she questioned.

"Yes, the place that you were getting help to be able to live a normal life without violence," I said clearly and slowly so that she understood what I was saying to her. The less confusion she experiences, the less likely she will pick up shooting again.

Stella stared at me for a moment, "You mean, I can go back there and get away from this scary place," she asked with the tones that made it sound like I was offering her salvation.

I nodded strongly so that she could see the motion, "Yes, all you need to do is have the machine you're in lower its weapons and keep calm."

The huge machine started lowering its weapons and had me sure that I had her convinced to do as I told her. With that being the case, this could be settled shortly and in the better case-scenario. However, suddenly Stella gained an expression of terror and raised weapons up again, "NO! DON'T COME NEAR ME!"

Quickly glancing around for a source for the girl to possibly act like she was, and the only difference I saw was that Kira in the Freedom had come around where I was. "Kira stop stop," I shouted, and my friend came to a halt, "I got this man, I need you to back off steadily and let me handle this Kira, trust me."

"You sure Tye," asked Kira.

"Yes, I can handle this, go help somewhere else for the time being, I'll explain later," I replied.

Kira backed off and thankfully Stella hadn't fired any weapons, she was frozen where she was, shaking a bit if I was seeing correctly at the moment. I refocused on the scared girl in the machine in front of me, "Calm down Stella," I said evenly to her. "Tell me what is making this place so scary to you, use words, not weapons."

There was a short period of silence, then Stella began speaking, "There's so many monsters here… there everywhere I look, I'm so scared of dying," she said, her breathing pattern reflecting the fear she was experiencing. "I was told that destroying the monsters was the only way to make them go away, but no matter how many I shoot at, more appear…"

The way she said monsters, it gave me the impression that someone conditioned her to think any that approached her were enemies or 'monsters'. It did explain why the Windams had been staying behind and a distance from this giant mobile suit, otherwise they would get mistaken for enemies. "Stella, listen to my voice, the monsters you're seeing won't hurt you as long as you keep calm. Don't let the fear you're feeling overwhelm you, do that and we can help you get away from these monsters and back to Shangri-La," I assured.

"That's right Stella, lower the weapons and we'll help you leave this place," the ZAFT pilot said. "Let us save you so that you don't die, we can help you live safely and happily."

The ZAFT pilot and I waited for a bit to see what Stella would do, yet after a short period, the giant mobile suit lowered its weapons fully. I took that to mean that the girl was doing as we had been telling her to do. So, I slowly moved the Aurora forward towards the revealed cockpit, which I can do with the pilot seat up and outside the cockpit itself. Once I had my mobile suit close enough, I had one of the Aurora's hands rise up and give me a path to the huge suit's cockpit and switch the Aurora to autopilot to keep it where it was.

The restraints that held my pilot suit to the seat released and I rose carefully to maintain my balance, for it was a LONG way to ground below. I jumped to the Aurora's hand and then leapt the moderate distance to where the gash the other Gundam had made in the lower torso. I smile a bit when I looked at Stella, trying to show her that there was little to worry about and I certainly wasn't a danger to her. Seeing that she was secured into the pilot seat by normal restraints, I moved forward slowly so not to startle her. "Okay Stella, nothing to worry about, I'll get you out of here and then we can get you back to Shangri-La and this nightmare can end," I remarked.

I took out a knife and cut the restraints holding Stella in the seat and then took her hands and helped her get up. However, before I could get her and myself back to the Aurora and away from here, beams began zipping past my mobile suit too closely for comfort. In fact, I had to send remote commands to the Aurora and move out of the way of the beams that whizzed by. That still left Stella and I with the issue of not having a way to leave where we were, then I got a glimpse of the ZAFT Gundam and an idea. It would be best for Stella to get away from this huge machine, but there was still the need of shutting down the giant's power source.

I activated my com-unit, "ZAFT pilot, I need you to come close to the cockpit of the giant mobile suit. I had to move my machine to not get hit, but Stella here still needs a ride," I stated.

The response I received, was that white and blue Gundam to come and hover in front of the where Stella and I were. A hatch opened in the torso, revealing the cockpit of the mobile suit and the red suited pilot inside. The pilot then got out of his seat and stretched an arm out towards the girl, "Stella, come here, I'll help you get down and get help, everything will be okay," he said.

"Shinn," questioned Stella.

So, these two have met somewhere before now, the plot thickens, I wonder what there could be between these two teens. Yet, as there is a battle raging around us, there is not the time for them to have a reunion or catchup time right now. I gently pushed Stella towards this 'Shinn', "Go with him Stella, I believe he will keep you safe. I promise that you will get to go back to Shangri-La and I don't make promises that I don't fully intend to keep."

Stella did as I said to and climbed into the cockpit of the ZAFT Gundam, but before the hatch closed, Shinn glanced at me, "What will you do?"

I waved the teen to go, "There is one more job to be done, this machine's power source needs to be shut down before this mobile suit is taken down. Just focus on keeping Stella safe and not being shot down, we are still on a battlefield after all," I replied.

The kid nodded and then shut the cockpit and moved away from the giant mobile suit, leaving me where I was. I activated the Aurora's stealth system remotely, before I reentered the cockpit of the huge machine. I was just about to get down to the process of safely shutting down the nuclear reactor on this thing, but the second I sat in the pilot seat, weapon fire came in my direction and I was forced to deploy the giant's positron reflectors. The need of attention to get off of me was obvious to me, the question was how do I do that? I rapidly figured that help was the best option to go with that may give me the time to get this machine's reactor to turn off.

I used my com-unit and opened a channel, "This is Captain Tyler McGregor, I need some cover for a bit from anyone that is able," I stated.

The rain of beams and projectiles didn't let up immediately, so I couldn't drop the reflectors and I needed to have the least amount running with this suit to disable the nuclear reactor. Then a short period past, and the barrage lessened enough for me to look up to see what was going on. In front of me was the red ZAFT Gundam that Athrun used to get to the meeting that happened recently. Along with that mobile suit, was the Freedom, both working to keep weapons to be fired in my direction.

"Tye, we'll distract those firing on this thing, so get out of it quick," Athrun said to me over the radio.

"I will leave in a minute or two, I need to shut off the powerplant this thing has first," I returned.

"What are you talking about, just get out of there," Kira interjected.

I sighed, "While this machine's reactor is still up and running, I can't do that. As long as this suit's nuclear reactor is active, there is too much a risk of it detonating from being punctured by a beam or projectile," I stated firmly.

"Wait, that giant mobile suit is powered by a nuclear reactor," uttered Athrun.

"Yep, I'm not happy about it either, that's why I'm in the cockpit of this thing, so I can shut the reactor off. So, if you two could buy me a little time, it would be ever so appreciated," I replied as I got down to the task I was here to do.

Let me tell you, shutting down the nuclear reactor was going to be no small task, the designers made sure of that. Diving into the mobile suit's operating system required me to employ my hacking skills and so did getting to the programs that controlled the reactor. But I managed to get to what I needed, and it took me about a minute to get through the process of a reactor shutdown. With the nuclear reactor turned off, the mobile suit stopped and stood like a statue, all its weapons returning to inactive positions.

I didn't waste any more time, I clambered out of the cockpit, sending commands to the Aurora to come to hover in front of this machine's torso. I had the Aurora move a hand to close the gap and make it less likely that I fall to the ground and my death. Leaping to my mobile suit's hand first, then getting back to my pilot seat, I sat back in my seat and felt the restraint system lock my suit in. My seat lowered into the cockpit and the hatch slid into place and I focused back on the ongoing fight. I did thank my two best friends for their help, since they had been keeping unwanted attention off of me.

The first order of business in my view, take down the giant mobile suit/armor that had been razing the city and killing people en mass. I brought the Aurora's plasma cannons out, charged them up and aimed for the beam cannon emitters in the upper torso. I opened a communication channel for all to hear, "Attention all defenders of Berlin, the giant machine has been neutralized from a dangerous detonation, let the shots fly!"

After saying that, I fired my plasma cannons and was satisfied to see the beams make neat holes in the giant mobile suit. My shots were soon followed by others that quickly peppered the huge machine along with my continued weapon fire. It didn't take long before the giant mobile suit to lose parts and then toppled over and crashed down to the ground.

-Line Break-

-Neutral pov-

Heaven's Base

Lord Djibril was not pleased at the feeds of the operation that the Destroy Gundam was involved in. Things had been going so well, everything was going according to plan as they should be for a change. The Destroy was beautifully showing off its destructive power and that it could grasp victory even over the "Mighty Federation". Even his colleagues were impressed by the machine's performance and were not telling him how his plans were stupid and worthless. And Djibril was basking in the praise he was receiving and feeling things were going their way at last. With the Destroy Gundam and the others that were being finished, the world would come to understand that Coordinators were the parasites they truly were and should be exterminated. Naturals were the rightful leaders of humanity and any that said anything to the contrary, were only fooling themselves. The Destroy would keep others in line or simply wipe them out and rid the world of the foolish ideal that Coordinators were not mistakes that needed to be dealt with.

There were a few of Djibril's colleagues that grumbled about the destruction and the rebuilding that would need to happen later. Djibril ignored them and stated that as the Federation was being forced back for once, this was progress. The current operation that the Destroy Gundam was carving a path to the capitol of the Euros Coalition, would be an example and lesson. Wherever there were Coordinators free and treated as human beings, destruction would come and change that. Such would be the mentality that would deal with the problem that all Coordinators posed, not just ZAFT but also those within the Human Federation.

The momentum the Destroy created kept going for a couple of cities that it razed, no one seemed to be able to stop the machine. That was one of the point of the Destroy's design, it could overwhelm and eliminate anything in its path and little could do anything about that. Granted, the price for such capabilities was the pilot couldn't be a Natural-Type human, but the Extendeds could handle the job, so it wasn't much of an issue. So, Djibril was proud to see what the feeds were showing and was enjoying the show itself. To him, this was poetic justice served up to the leaders of the Human Federation and he believed it was about time they have some sent their way.

However, that changed when the Destroy Gundam reached the city of Berlin, there it was brought to a halt. Djibril saw it more as an annoyance at first, but that morphed into anger and then fury as the Federation's military swarmed the Destroy. Before, they had been simple flies buzzing around the Destroy, but around Berlin, they were having marginal success against the Destroy Gundam somehow. Like before, the Federation somehow seemed to figure out weaknesses of their opponents when they shouldn't have any clue. The quality had thoroughly frustrated Djibril again and again, for it was one that made getting the Federation into line more of a serious issue.

When the toppling of the Destroy Gundam occurred, followed by its destruction, Djibril was having difficulty not losing control. Somehow, the Federation had turned the tables and pulled a victory out of sure defeat that they were being forced to experience. Even ZAFT sticking their noses into this shouldn't have done that, it shouldn't have made much of a difference. Still, the Destroy had been taken down in the end and hadn't managed to reach the Euros Coalition's capitol to rain terror down and scare the Federation into compliance!

-Line Break-

Berlin, Euros Coalition

With the Destroy Gundam down, it was quickly blasted into pieces, and the work to end the fight came swiftly with the Federation and ZAFT forces working together. The majority of the Windams were destroyed or rapidly surrendered, those that didn't ran away the best they could. The land battleship the group had was found and disabled but not destroyed, so they could stand as witnesses against those who were responsible for this destruction. Mobile suits were staggering resupply during the assessment of the damage and death toll went on.

When it came time for Shinn to return to the Minerva, Stella began showing signs that whatever was wrong with her was getting worse. The expression that she had told that she was feeling pain, from what, Shinn couldn't guess, but it worried him. So, when he landed the Impulse in the Minerva and got to the hanger, he helped Stella to the infirmary as he condition was worsening as time went on.

Once Stella was brought to the Minerva's infirmary, the doctors began examining her to try and figure out what was going on. Unfortunately, even with the tests that were done, the Minerva's medical staff couldn't identify what was wrong with Stella other than things were off. In fact, they were baffled by the results of the tests, for the readings for somethings were higher than they should be and there were others that were lower than was normal. That only explained some of what was happening with Stella, there were still parts that none could come up with a way to explain the reactions she was having. The ship doctor told Shinn that he really couldn't think of what could be done for the girl, though they were trying to stabilize her.

Meanwhile, Tyler returned to the Normandy as the cleanup had been going on for the battlefield that Berlin had become. Tyler had lost sight of the blue and white ZAFT suit that had helped him against the giant mobile suit. The reason Tyler worried about not knowing where that machine was located, was that the girl Stella Loussier was onboard. That girl had clearly had things done to her which she needed medical help for by those that had stolen her from Shangri-La. If memory served him right, the ZAFT suit was one of the Minerva's own, which would mean that it likely returned there. The problem with that was ZAFT vessels aren't normally equipped with what's needed to treat any from the Enhanced Human project. That in mind, the sooner that the girl be transferred to the Normandy and taken back to Shangri-La, the better for her. So, Tyler had Doctor Noll and some of the others from the Normandy's medical staff prepare what they needed to transfer Stella to the Normandy as smooth as possible. The Normandy made landfall by the time the needed preparations were completed and with Tyler in the lead, the group left the Normandy and headed for the Minerva.

With things as they were currently, getting onboard the Minerva would be difficult without assistance of a member of the crew preferably. Then Tyler spotted the Saviour heading towards the Minerva and an idea came to his mind. Tyler contacted Athrun while he approached the ship, "Hey Athrun, sorry for calling you at the moment, but I need a big favor, which is getting me and some others onto the Minerva ASAP," Tyler said.

Athrun was first of all, a tad surprised to hear Tyler's voice, but the tones said he was serious with what he was saying. But the question of what Tyler required getting onto the Minerva wouldn't leave Athrun. "What do you need to do on the Minerva?"

Tyler then gave a short explanation of how the Impulse had likely brought someone back with it. He made a summary of how the Impulse had been helping him against the Destroy Gundam and had taken the pilot as Tyler himself had been unable to at the time. Tyler had lost sight of the Impulse and the logical explanation was that the pilot of the giant mobile suit had been still with the Impulse when it had returned. Tyler mentioned that the pilot was one of those that the Alliance had secretly altered, and such had issues they couldn't change themselves. The Minerva wouldn't have the needed equipment to help the individual and that was why Tyler and those with him needed to get on the Minerva ASAP.

Athrun understood that time was critical in this situation, so after landing on the Minerva, he used his authority as a member of FAITH and ordered that the chief mechanic of the Minerva lower the bottom lift the ship had in its hanger. Once the lift was down, Tyler and those with him got on it and they were shortly brought into the Minerva's hanger.

By the time that Tyler's group came into the hanger, Athrun had gotten out of the Saviour after moving it to a dock and descended to the hanger floor. He saw that Tyler was still in his Federation pilot suit, meaning that he hadn't taken the time to change, which showed how time-sensitive this situation likely was. So, Athrun simply led the way for Tyler and the medical personnel with him to the Minerva's infirmary. By the time the group arrived at the ship's infirmary, Stella's condition was taking a turn in a much less nice direction. She had begun to have bodily convulsion to the point that she was quickly strapped down on the bed she was on.

Doctor Noll seeing the all too familiar symptoms of poorly done, if not botched conditioning, knew things were very bad. "Smith, get a dose of Straton Serum ready," Noll ordered.

The assistant stared at Doctor Noll for a few seconds then nodded and slid the case he had onto a flat surface. While that was being done, Stella was turned over with the help of the ZAFT medical personnel and held her down. A vail and needle was handed to Doctor Noll, who made sure that there was no air in the needle or vail, as she muttered that she couldn't believe she was doing what she was again. The needle was put in around the middle of Stella's neck and the substance was injected into her. It was less than half a minute after the injections that the convulsion began subsiding and Stella became still.

The process of moving Stella to the stretcher so that she could be transferred over to the Normandy to get treatment didn't take all that long. Shinn was still looking worried at the girl as she was being pushed out of the Minerva's infirmary. He couldn't say what it was about Stella that held his attention as much as it did, but his thought kept returning to her. Shinn watched as Stella was wheeled towards the hanger to be taken to a different ship, the one that had apparently descended with the Minerva after the Break the World incident, the Normandy. Shinn was trying to think if there was a possible way that he could accompany Stella to wherever she was going to be taken to.

Captain Gladys was entered the corridor as Shinn made up his mind of what he would attempt to do. "What is going on here," posed Talia.

Tyler and Athrun turned and faced the captain of the Minerva, and they both bowed slightly, "Captain Gladys, nice to see you again. I apologize for coming onboard your ship without asking first, but time was rather critical and so," answered Tyler.

Athrun took up the narrative where Tyler left off, "I had Chief Aves lower the Minerva's vehicle lift to help him and those with him onto the Minerva after he gave a short explanation of the situation."

Tyler took over from Athrun, "The young lady that you might have glimpsed being wheeled towards the hanger, needs medical attention that unfortunately can't be found on the Minerva, no offense intended. So, she is being transferred to the Normandy where she can be helped, nothing to worry about on your part."

Tyler bowed again, "Nice to be on the Minerva, even for a short time, but think I best be on my way," he said then turned and took a few steps towards the hanger.

"Captain, I request permission to accompany the girl to her destination," Shinn stated, taking everyone there by surprise.

There was silence for a minute, but then Tyler spoke, "Captain Gladys, a word in private if you could spare the time."

Talia nodded and led the way towards her quarters, Tyler grabbing Athrun as he followed the woman. Once the three arrived at Talia's quarters, Talia took a seat behind her desk while Tyler and Athrun stood in front of the desk. "I apologize for the outburst from him, I did not foresee that coming from him," Talia said.

"Yes, about this Shinn… uh, can't say I know his last name now that I think about it," Tyler replied, leaving it open to have a name supplied.

"Asuka, his name is Shinn Asuka," Athrun answered.

Tyler nodded, "Right, Shinn Asuka, under normal circumstances, his request would be refused as non-Federation personnel aren't allowed to be on Federation Military vessels. However, there are exceptions to that policy of course, rare as the can be. From a previous observation, Mr. Asuka has a positive effect on the young lady and she needs as many of those as she can get right now." Tyler gazed at Talia, "Which brings me to the question I would ask, what is your honest opinion of Shinn Asuka, that may not be on his service record?"

Talia took time to consider the question about Shinn, for it made her think. Shinn had originally been a ZAKU Warrior pilot and a backup for the Impulse Gundam, but still had shown that he was a hard worker. Aila had recommended him to be the pilot of the Impulse when she had volunteered to take the Osiris, saying he had experience and her choice had been proven a very good one. Talia had to admit, the crew of Minerva had come to depend on Shinn piloting the Impulse in the defense of the ship. "Overall, I would say that he is dependable, perhaps he is still somewhat lacking in experience, but he tries," Talia replied.

Tyler twisted to look at Athrun, "He's been under your command Athrun, anything you care to add?"

"The only other point I can think to add, would be that he does have times that he will sometimes not think his actions through," Athrun said.

Tyler gave Athrun a deadpanned look, "Only sometimes? This Shinn is in his mid-teens is he not? I know that I had times that I was reckless and didn't think things through much at his age, it's part of adolescence. We in this room I would think all know and have experience in such things, don't we?"

Neither Athrun nor Talia answered, for what Tyler had said was true, the teenage years were the ones that many could be reckless and not think actions through. Tyler sighed, "I guess the last thing I would need to know would be where he should be sent to return him to this ship, were he to travel onboard the Normandy," he stated.

"The Minerva will be at ZAFT's Gibraltar Base for the next two or so weeks if no major event comes up," Talia remarked.

Tyler was quiet for a few minutes, considering whether it was worth letting the teen travel on the Normandy. There were a number of policies in the Federation Military that the action would go against and Tyler himself would have to justify with the higher-ups. It was standing policy that non-Federation personnel were not to be onboard a Federation Military vessels unless specific circumstances are present. The list of exceptions wasn't long, nor gave a great deal of loopholes to use, the idea had been made pretty clear. Although in this case, Tyler could pass letting Shinn be on the Normandy as part of a medical emergency.

The real issue was if Shinn Asuka could be trusted to not talk about what he may see. The Federation was well-known for not being open about what it does or why and that hadn't change yet and there was no hint that such would. The internal workings of Federation vessels were not known to those outside of the Federation Military and the leaders preferred it that way for the time being. "Can Mr. Asuka be trusted to keep his mouth shut about things he may see that are not made public," Tyler posed.

"Why would you ask that Mr. McGregor," asked Talia curiously.

Tyler put up his hands, "I don't make the rules or policies, but I'm held to the standard set by them, whether I like it or not. There are things and ideas with Federation vessels that are not public knowledge that are not to become so right now. Being in a military organization, I think you would understand there are things that individuals are not to talk about without permission, this is the same idea," Tyler explained.

It wasn't Talia that answered Tyler's inquiry, but Athrun, "I believe that Shinn can be trusted with information that isn't public."

Tyler nodded slowly, "That's good enough for me. That just leaves permission or denial to the request by the ship's captain. If you grant Mr. Asuka's request, then understand that he will be treated as any other member of a Federation vessel's crew. He will be expected to follow the rules after having them given to him and pull his own weight."

That left Talia with a decision to consider, did she grant Shinn's request to accompany this girl he mentioned and travel onboard the Normandy or not. There were pros and cons to letting Shinn go and telling him that he was to say on the Minerva. If Shinn's request was approved, then it could be a good experience for him that few get. Nevertheless, the teen would also be representing ZAFT on a Federation vessel. The relationship between ZAFT and the Federation's military were fine, but seemingly the smallest things could change relation with factions these days. However, should Talia refuse to grant the request, should there be something that came up, it would be very helpful to have him on hand. Yet, Talia herself had been under officers that weren't inclined to grant requests and she didn't want to be like that with her crew. So, Talia took some time to weigh both sides of the choice and said nothing for a few minutes.

Tyler and Athrun waited for Talia to give her answer to whether Shinn would be permitted to go or not. Finally, Talia exhaled, "I suppose that with the clean up around here taking some time, so it should be okay with me," she admitted.

Tyler hummed, "Sounds good to me," he said, before turning to Athrun, "Tell the kid he's got six minutes to be outside if he wants a ride, otherwise he's got fifteen minutes to be at the east end of the landing area, the other end in essence from here or he misses out. Time is not something that is in abundance right now, so we can't wait too long."

Athrun acknowledged the point and headed off to tell Shinn his request was granted and to get moving. Tyler headed for the hanger and used the vehicle lift to leave the ship and went looking for a working vehicle. Athrun found Shinn in his quarters, looking to be packing some things, it told Athrun that Shinn either thought his request would be granted or he was going to go anyways and ignore orders. Athrun cleared his throat, getting Shinn to look up, "Planning to go somewhere Shinn," he posed.

Shinn looked away, "Uh, maybe, I don't know just yet," he answered unconvincingly.

Athrun smiled a bit, "Well, the captain has acknowledged your request and has approved it," he stated.

Shinn did a double take, "S-She approved me accompanying Stella?"

Athrun nodded, "Yes, and if you hurry off the ship in the next few minutes, then you'll get a ride to the ship you'll be traveling on. Should you miss that, the ship is all the way on the other side of the ship landing area."

At hearing and processing what Athrun had said, Shinn grabbed the bag he had been packing things into and rushed out of his quarters. Along Shinn's way to leave the Minerva, Lunamaria and Rey who had just come back in minutes earlier tried to ask him where he was off to, but Shinn kept going. Athrun came upon the confused Luna and Rey staring the way that Shinn had gone, "I take it that Shinn ran by here then?"

Both Luna and Rey turned to face Athrun, "Where was he going in such a hurry," asked Luna.

"It is my understanding that he brought someone back and that individual was transferred to another ship. Shinn wished to accompany them, and Captain Gladys granted the request," Athrun explained.

Shinn managed to get off the Minerva and was looking around as a jeep type car was driving up to where he was. Tyler looked at Shinn for a moment and simply stared, "Okay, I'll give you that you got a healthy amount of determination kid," he admitted.

"Thank you sir," Shinn replied.

Tyler sighed, "I'm not one for formalities, so are you getting in, or are you walking the whole way," he posed.

Shinn put his bag in the back and took front passenger seat, then Tyler drove in the direction that the Normandy was in. When they got into sight of the vessel, Shinn was in slight awe at seeing the Federation ship up closer than he had been before. Tyler stopped a short distance from the ramp that led into the Normandy's hanger and exited the jeep. Shinn grabbed his bag and followed Tyler up the ramp.

The first sight of the Normandy's hanger was intriguing to Shinn as it was unique and different from the Minerva's own hanger. The rail system in the floor to move around mobile suits looked neat and the imagination of how it worked went through Shinn's mind. Right now, there were four mobile suits, three current Federation fighter models and the red Gundam-type, though it wasn't red with its phase shift deactivated.

As Shinn was looking around the hanger, Tyler asked Chief Volyon to have the ramp retract and close. Then he went over to a console and contacted the bridge, "Lisa, let's get underway. Tell Paris that once we're underwater, he can drive as he likes, he is just to do his best not to be caught doing things that are discouraged."

The Normandy's ramp retracted and was stored before the frigate lifted-off and headed northeast towards the Arctic Ocean.

-Line Break-

The Minerva

Aila and Heero came back to the Minerva when their shift ended and saw the Saviour and the white ZAKU Phantom launching from the ship. Aila was exhausted even with the battle over, it had taken more of a toll than she had thought it would. Having to witness Heine's death had been hard, more so with it having occurred with Heine taking a shot that was meant for herself. The only point that made the matter worse, was Aila would need to inform the captain officially of Heine's fate.

She went looking for Captain Gladys to get the task of stating what happened to Heine over and done with. It didn't take all that long to find her for Aila, when she found her she saluted, "Captain, I have something to inform you of," she stated.

Talia didn't know what to expect from Aila after she said that, but there was a feeling of a bad omen. However, she gestured for Aila to go on, "I regret to inform you that Heine Westenfluss was killed in battle," Aila said.

Talia had to exert effort not to flinch at hearing that Heine Westenfluss had been killed. The loss of one of the pilots the Minerva had was always hoped not to happen even if there was the chance. Aila then gave some detail about the circumstances in which Heine had died in. It was clear that Aila felt that she bore a portion of the blame for Heine's end as he took an attack meant for her. Talia thanked Aila for informing her of what had occurred to Heine even if it was painful it was to her. Before Aila went off to get some sleep, Talia did inform her of the other change there had been, "Also Aila so that you know, for the time being, if the need comes up, then Rey will be piloting the Impulse."

Aila blinked at that, "Alright, and why wouldn't Shinn be doing so captain? Was he injured during the battle," she asked.

Talia shook her head, "No, he brought another back and unfortunately, the ship doctor couldn't do anything for them. The individual was transferred to a different ship and Shinn requested to accompany them to their destination."

Phase end

A/n

All righty then, I'll leave off there for this phase and pick it back up in the next phase. There are a few things that I would like to clarify/point out. The first is thing I would like to state, is that there is a reason I had Lacus go to where I did instead of the Eternal, I will reveal that later. Second, there have been some that wanted me to not kill Stella, you're welcome for doing just that, but there is more to why I did, you'll have to wait to learn that. Finally, I have nothing against Heine Westenfluss, his death came as I really don't have much else I can do. However, I had his death mean more I think than what happened to him in canon, so that's just how it will be.

The other thing that I wanted to state a few of the reasons I've taken so long to write this Phase. First and foremost, a serious case of writer's block, the Battle of Berlin was not so bad, it was what came before and after that which caused frustrations. Second, I've been looking for a job, and finally found one recently. For those who have been out of work and no money inflow, you understand what I'm talking about. Lastly, and perhaps the oddest, inspiration for future events have been coming to me during the period of writer's block. Whether that means that upcoming chapters come faster, I have no clue, I hope so, but no promises.

Please keep the reviews coming, they do help me improve my writing and move the story forward. It might not seem like they do, but they do, so write one and tell me what you think. I don't care if there's misspelling as long as I understand what is being implied or said, I value the input. Sorry if it sounds like I'm preaching, it's been rough the last few weeks, just cut me a bit of slack for now. Peace out until the next Phase!

Titanic X

The groundwork I have laid so far are the start of Logos's downfall, but I'm not going to reveal how I'm planning to do the idea.

Just a Crazy-Man

Glad you like the story so far, it makes the work and time put into it worth it.

KakeruPB

There will be more to what goes down with the Freedom than is done in canon. But that comes over the next few Phase.