Hello everyone, R-0 here and welcome to the next chapter.
First though… Review and Answer time! Remember that people I PM get answered privately.
Don 77: I'm happy that you are enjoying it.
Kevinrock8899: To be honest, I would find it more believable that Cagalli bonded with the male crew members rather than the female members. Even then, she always seemed to be quite a secretive girl and only really opened up to Kira during their journey to ORB. This is only my opinion and you don't have to agree with it.
NaruSaku fan 100: Cagalli only became what she did just to make Lacus look better in comparison as well as make the crappiness that is AsuCaga actually work. After a point, Fukuda's wife just used Destiny to over-glorify the Mary Sue that she created. This is the problem with you (the director) letting your WIFE (who's going through cancer) write the script of your story.
Birds of a Feather… Noooo…. I don't like Highschool AUs under any circumstance. I appreciate the suggestion, but it does not appeal to me in the slightest.
code R.R: What you've seen up to this point is probably as extreme as the changes will be. From now on, it's simply the results of these changes.
edboy4926: I can't think of certain KiraXCagalli fanfiction that are worth reading as they are all quite fun. If I had to recommend something, I would say to check out ExArchMagus' stories as they are all very fun, well-written and make a serious attempt at improving Destiny. His stories are a mix of KiraXCagalli and ShinnXCagalli.
thedarkpokemaster: Clearly, you underestimate Miguel. He isn't an Ace Pilot and the Le Creuset team's instructor for nothing, you know. I won't confirm if Cagalli has feelings for Kira or not up to now. All I will say is that, if she does, she's unaware of them.
Worldwanderer2.0: I am already well aware of Miguel's backstory and that's partly why I have had him survive and not just because I like the guy. Miguel's Custom GINN won't come back into play for a few chapters, though you can probably guess when he will be reunited with it.
Indeed, the overabundance of AsuCaga and AUs is a bit suffocating and why I don't really sift through the Gundam SEED Archive. It's really difficult to find stories that aren't making out Lacus to be the greatest thing ever and/or over-hyping Kira as a pilot and AsuCaga as a pairing.
Again, thank you for the suggestions, but I already know what course that GINN is going to take in this story. The Assault Type wouldn't make a great deal of sense as ZAFT barely produced any on the battlefield so how should the starved-of-supplies Archangel be able to do it? Same for the High Manoeuvre as it utilises the same engines as the METEORs, a technology that ZAFT was developing far into the war. How would the Archangel gain access to this technology? They wouldn't be able to. As I said, this story follows the Canon pretty religiously and I am not going to throw Variants in that make no sense being there. These two, personally, are such examples.
Fireminer: Miguel always seemed, very much to me, like a Big Brother to the Le Creuset Team and that's the sort of dynamic he will have with them. Again, I don't need suggestions regarding Mecha as I already have it all planned out but thank you for them. As I said before, I LOVE the Astrays and the prospect of putting them in would be appealing, however, I couldn't put them in as the Archangel never encounters it in-series. I feel like reasserting that this is not a re-write and only a Canon Following based on how minor changes can affect things. I already know how I am going to develop KiraXCagalli so there's no need to worry about that. I never said that Lacus would be changing in regards to her significance., her role will remain the same within the series. The only difference is that Kira is not her love interest anymore. She'll still give the Kira the Freedom, bring the Eternal and whatever else she does, ergo Andrew will still indeed survive (if I was going to change something, I would change the circumstances of his death a little to make it less "Jesus" Yamato-like).I meant that, if I ever do a Destiny fanfic, it will be much more of a re-write than this and her role would be much less prominent (along with the original cast as Destiny was SUPPOSED to be about the Minerva crew fighting their war (before Kira, Lacus and their merry band of Mary Sues hijacked the show)).
I appreciate these suggestions that fans are giving me, but please understand that I want the story to go a certain way. I already have it thought out and trying to incorporate these suggestions just would not work with what I have planned.
I say this in the nicest way possible: Please stop giving me suggestions for Mobile Suits. If I needed help in this field, I would say so.
Anyway, let's begin the chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED and its respective materials.
Chapter 4: The Journey Begins
"X-105 Strike! Respond!"
These words called out, over the communicator, to the currently drifting Strike. The Mobile Suit lifelessly floating through the debris of Heliopolis and all that remains of its pilot Kira Yamato's home, who is sat in cockpit visibly shaken. His breath is ragged and his hands shake as they hold the Control Levers of his Mobile Suit.
"X-105 Strike, can you hear me? Respond?" The familiar voice of Natarle Badgiruel calls out over the console to the un-answering Kira, "X-105, Respond!"
Meanwhile, Kira seems to be in his own little world and is trying to properly comprehend what happened.
"Heliopolis… Destroyed?" Kira mutters to himself with a disbelieving tone as Natarle keeps repeating her line over the communicator, hoping to hear some sign of confirmed existence from the pilot.
"Why…?"
Archangel…
The White Battleship is also seen within the debris. Unlike the Mobile Suit, however, it is not simply drifting within the destruction. The ship's engines are fully active as the ship navigates through the remains of what used to be ship's alarm that indicates Red Alert has just ceased making any noise and the shade of red cast throughout the ship's corridors has just died off, returning the interior to its original pallet.
Kira's entourage of friends (and the refugees that are located on-board the craft) have just witnessed the devastation, all with their own visible forms of reaction to it.
Mirrialia and Tolle hold each other tightly at the sight of it and feel some sort of protection from the destruction that threatened to engulf the ship.
Sai can only look at what has occurred with upset.
Kuzzey is crouched on the ground whimpering, his hands clutching his head in terror.
Cagalli observes the view screen and tries to maintain a stern expression, however, even she cannot help but be disturbed by what has just occurred in front of her. Very upset and angry thoughts cross her mind all directed at her a certain someone…
"Damn you, Father… This is what us getting involved in this war has caused. Does it make you happy knowing that this is your fault?!"
Also, for reasons, that she herself cannot seem to comprehend, she finds herself worrying over the missing Strike and its pilot… the latter more than the former.
"Damn… I barely know the guy and he's already got me worried about him!" Were the thoughts of Cagalli as that feeling of worry felt very prominent in her core.
Meanwhile, on the bridge of the Archangel, even the soldiers cannot help but be upset by the disturbing site in front of them. Mu drifts to the front of the bridge to get a better look at the devastation that is visible on the view-screen.
"Amazing how simple… how fragile it was…" Mu comments. Murrue clenches her fist in anger at the destruction. Her lamenting, however, was interrupted by the Ensign located in the CIC behind her, whose voice caused her to swivel her chair around to properly address it.
"X-105 Strike! X-105 Strike!" Natarle keeps calling over the communicator in desperation, "Kira Yamato! If you hear me, if you're okay, respond!"
Kira manages to snap out of his distressed state with a gasp as he activates the communicator to respond.
"X-105 Strike…" Kira calls over the device, taking a brief pause, "Kira here."
Natarle breathes a sigh of relief at the sound of the pilot's voice.
"Are you alright?" She queries.
"Yes!" He confirms.
"Do you know our position?" She questions him.
"Yes." Kira, once again, confirms.
"Then return…" Natarle corrects herself, "You CAN return, right?" She clarifies.
"Yes." He responds. The communicator then shuts off as Kira looks back at the destruction on his view-screen with concern.
"Mom, dad… You're safe, right?" He cannot wonder with concern. He cries a little in distress again until a warning on his console alerts him to an Emergency Beacon that is active nearby. He rotates the View-screen around in search of the signal until he makes out a faint red light. He activate the Zoom-Screen and another, smaller image appears of a drifting lifeboat. He gives a small gasp.
"It's a heliopolis Lifeboat!" Kira exclaims. He mounts the Anti-Ship sword on his back ignites the Strike's boosters to make his way towards the drifting craft.
Back on the Archangel's bridge, Mu is curious about something and decides to clarify it with his Captain.
"So…" He begins, "what do you plan to do now?"
"Our ship is still in battle!" Murrue responds, she then turns her around and addresses Romero, "can you detect the ZAFT ship's movement?"
"Impossible," he declares, "There are lots of heat sources among that debris so our laser and thermal designators are of little use here."
Murrue turns back around and lowers her head slightly in thought.
"The same will be true for them, too." Mu comments, causing Murrue to break out of her thoughts and regard the pilot, "you expect they'll come after us?" He asks.
"I think we should make our moves based on that assumption." Murrue clarifies, "Although, if they attacked us now, we'd be finished."
"You're right." Mu agrees, "all we have is our precious Strike, my damaged Zero and a GINN that we have no one left to pilot," He continues, "And the ship is greatly understaffed. We're in no shape to fight."
Murrue gives a slight sigh.
"Shall we set sail at maximum speed to shake them off?" Mu suggests, "This is quite a fast ship, from what I hear."
"Their Nazca-Class is a high-speed ship as well." Murrue responds, "there's no guarantee that we can shake them off."
"Then should we surrender?" Mu suggests with a slightly sarcastic tone, Murrue gives a little "huh?" in query at his suggestion, "That IS also an option, you know?"
"What did you say?!"
They're broken out of the tense conversation as Natarle's slightly raised voice alerts them to her communiqué with the Strike's pilot.
"Wait a minute!" Natarle protests, "who gave you such authorisation?"
"What's the matter, ensign Badgiruel?" Murrue queries, looking back towards the CIC in confusion at her conversation. Natarle lifts her head up to address her.
"The Strike has returned," begins to explain, "but it has also brought a lifeboat."
Murrue can only give her a confused expression and gasp before turning back around on her chair correctly to see what she is talking about.
"You can't accept it?" Kira asks rhetorically, "what do you mean you can't accept it?!"
"The propulsion section is broken." Kira explains, "it's drifting out of control! Are you telling me to throw it back out there again?! People who have evacuated are on this ship!"
"Reinforcements will be here right away!" Natarle assures him, "But the Archangel is still fighting a battle! There's no way we can take refugees on-board."
"All right." Murrue quickly cuts in, "I will authorise it."
"Captain-" Natarle tries to protest.
"I don't want to waste time arguing over such things!" Murrue states firmly, "Bring it on quickly!"
Natarle quickly salutes her. Her expression is still one laced with annoyance.
"Very well, Captain."
The Launch Bay doors of the right Catapult open and the Strike carefully drifts inside while holding the Lifeboat as safely as it can.
"I am well aware of the severity of our situation," Murrue confirms, "But I have not intention of surrendering!"
Mu turns around in the Co-Pilot's seat to properly take in what she saying.
"I have no intention of handing this ship or the Strike over to ZAFT!" Murrue states firmly, the Strike is safely setting down the Lifeboat in the hangar, "We must take them safely to Atlantic Federation Headquarters no matter what it takes to do so."
"Captain, I suggest that we make our way to Artemis." Natarle interjects.
"Artemis?" Murrue asks, "That's a Eurasian Military Satellite, isn't it?"
"Artemis and its Umbrella," Mu adds to which Natarle nods as they all look at the view-screen that is currently showing the Local Area
"From our present location, it's the easiest Allied Forces location to get to." Natarle justifies.
"But, you realise we're in a situation where neither this ship nor the G-Weapons have a recognition code recognised by the Allied Forces." Murrue protests, "Would Eurasia…?"
"I'm well aware that the Archangel and Strike are both regarded as top secret military secrets of the Atlantic Federation." Natarle confirms, "However, should we set our course to the moon, you can't expect us to get their easy without confrontation"
The view-screen confirms this as the journey to the moon is significantly longer than the journey to Artemis. The crew remain silence as the conversation continues.
"Also, since we left without sufficient provisions, we need supplies badly." Natarle reasons.
"I realise that." Murrue answers with an exasperated tone.
"I'm sure Eurasia will understand our situation." Natarle continues, "As things are, the most realistic measures would be to avoid confrontation replenish at Artemis, and try to contact the Lunar headquarters from there." She concludes.
"Artemis, huh?" Mu interjects, "I wonder if things will go as we hope…"
"However, it does appear to be our only option." Murrue agrees as she looks at the map once again.
In the Hangar…
As the civilians on board Lifeboat disembark one by one, Kira just disembarks the cockpit of the Strike in time to see a familiar Red-Haired Girl exit the craft. He gasps at the sight of her as Birdy slips out from underneath his shirt and flies towards her. Kira tries to reach out and grab the robotic bird, but to no avail. The bird alerts the girl to its presence by way of it signature "birdy" tweet. She sees the bird and then Kira flying through the air to catch the Machine.
"It's you!" She calls out to him, "you're Sai's friend!" She jumps out of the pod and flies in the direction of Kira who stops at this manoeuvre.
"F-Flay!" Kira cries as the girl wraps her arms around his torso, "Is it really you, Flay Allster? So you were on this boat.
"Hey, what happened to Heliopolis?" She asks him with a distressed tone, "What happened there? What went on?"
Kira makes a confused gasp.
"I…I… I got separated from Jessica and Misha from a store in Florence and I ran to a shelter alone and then…!" She trails, Kira gasps again, "this is a ZAFT, right? What's going to happen to us? What are you doing her, anyway?"
"T-this ship belongs to the Earth Forces." Kira corrects her.
"You're lying!" She denies, turning towards the Strike, "There's a Mobile Suit on-board!"
"No, that belongs to the Earth Forces." He clarifies, she regards him with a confused expression.
"B-but I'm glad," Kira trails, "Sai and Miriallia are here, too. You'll be fine."
With the Vessalius and Gamow
"Who would've expected this?" Fredrik mutters before addressing Le Creuset, "What will you do? The Council won't look lightly on a neutral colony being destroyed."
"How can you call a Colony that was manufacturing new weapons for the Earth Forces Neutral?" Rau reasons.
"But.."
"Most of the residents escaped so their should be no issue," Rau gives his logic, "In comparison to the Bloody Valentine Incident, that is." Fredrik lets out a little gasp at that statement as Rau makes his way to the Sensor Officer.
"Can you get the position of the enemy's new warship?" Rau asks the ZAFT Green.
"No," he responds, "not with the current state of things."
"Do you plan to go after them?" Fredrik asks with an incredulous tone, "But we have no Mobile Suits left except for Miguel's salvaged GINN."
"What do you mean?" Rau asks with a confused tone, "we have the four that we took from the Earth Forces."
"You suggests that we use those?!" Fredrik protests, "but…"
"Now that we're finished with the data extraction , we can go ahead and use them." Rau explains, he flies over to the Bridge's central console, "bring up a map, of the region." He commands, "Send a message to the Gamow to expand its search radius."
Meanwhile, Athrun (Who is still wearing is Normal Suit) is flying along one of the Vessalius' corridors. He stops at one of the Ship's side windows and peers out into space, a pensive expression on his face as he narrows his eyes deep in thought.
"Kira…"
Archangel…
Kira and Flay have just made their way to the Mess Hall that all the refugees are currently sat together in. The door opens and they enter as Kira's friends are sat at one of the end tables (Cagalli was stood against the wall to the right of the entrance). They all look at the two with shocked expressions before Sai gets up from his seat. Flay gives out a cry of joy at the sight of him and runs towards Sai, embracing the boy. Kira can only look on with a smile.
"You doing okay?"
A voice to his right alerts him as he sees that Cagalli has moved off of the wall and walked up to him.
"Sorry?" He asks her. She narrows her eyes in annoyance.
"'I'm asking if you're doing okay." She re-asserts, "it was pretty stressful out there from what I saw. Not everyday that you get into a Mobile Suit and fight off ZAFT Forces. Just wondering if you're not hurt or anything."
Kira rubs his right hand against the back of his head in embarrassment .
"Yeah, I'm fine." He assures her, "just a little shaken by the new experience is all. But I'm happy that I managed to rescue some civilians." Cagalli smiles a little.
"That's good…" she quietly says.
Archangel Bridge…
"Prepare Decoy!" Ramius commands, "upon firing, we'll start the main engines to adjust our course to Artemis." She explains.
"We'll then switch to inertial flight to avoid detection by the enemy! Level Two Battle Stations!" She continues, "Finish checking the ship with an absolute minimum time!"
"A silent run to Artemis…" Mu mutters, "That should take about two hours. From this point on, we'll have to rely on luck…"
Vessalius Bridge…
Rau and Fredrik were both stood next to the Central Bridge Console. The data appearing showed a map of potential routes and locations within the area
"Perhaps from the debris from the collapsed Heliopolis they've already left this area unnoticed." Fredrik suggests to Rau.
"No, we can rule that out," Rau discredits, "they're likely sitting very quietly somewhere." He surmises before looking back down towards the data shown on the console.
"How about setting up a net?" Rau wonders out loud.
" 'a net', did you say?" Fredrik queried.
Archangel Bridge…
"Number Three, fire decoy!" Natarle commanded.
One of the Archangel's rear Large Missile Launchers fired off a large missile that went veering in a direction.
A direction that the crew of the Archangel hoped their enemies would take.
Vessalius…
A series of directional arrows appear on the console to help Rau demonstrate what exactly he means by a net.
"The Vessalius will take off first and wait for the enemy here," Rau gestures to a position on the map, "Gamow will follow along the course, intersecting the orbit searching for the enemy ship and staying hidden.
"To Artemis?" Fredrik asked, "but what if they were to leave for the moon?"
"A large heat source is detected!" One of the Bridgecrew interrupted the conversation with this call-out to his captain, causing them to turn away from the console and listen, "Information analyse estimated course ship will swing by Earth and head for the moon to the Earth Forces Atlantic Federation Headquarters!"
Fredrik narrows his eyebrows at this.
Archangel…
"Start main engines!" Murrue commands the Bridgecrew, "Adjust ship's course for Artemis!"
The White Ship made a sudden and harsh turn as the ship swivelled in an almost perfect 360 motion, its engines roaring into life as it quickly took off in the opposite direction. This action alerted all of the ship's passengers as the vibrations could be felt throughout the ship, scaring a few and merely surprising others.
Vessalius…
"Commander!" Fredrik turned his attention to Rau and addressed his compatriot.
"That was a decoy." Rau responded smoothly, undeterred by the occurance.
"But we should confirm with the Gamow, just in case." He protested.
"No." Rau simply responded, "they're heading for Artemis. I'm even more sure of that now."
Rau took a commanding pose and swept his hand out to his right.
"The Vessalius will set sail," Rau commanded, "get Zelman online."
Meanwhile, Athrun was lead on the bed of his quarters heavily lost in thought. Unfortunately, this moment of serenity was interrupted as the room shook for a second, indicating that the ship had just started to move, causing Athrun to slightly float into the air. He widens his eyes a little and rolls his body to the right. This, unfortunately, only caused him to be graced with the sight of his dead comrade, Rusty Mackenzie's, belongings that had already been packed away with the exception of his ZAFT Red uniform that was neatly folded next to his bags.
"Rusty…!" He thought with despair as tears came to his eyes.
Unfortunately, these tears would have to wait as his doors intercom beeped into life, informing the ZAFT Red that there was a presence outside his door. He righted himself, wiped the tears from his eyes and drifted over to the door. He hit the button for the intercom.
"Who is it?" He asked.
"It's me, Athrun." The familiar and cheery voice of Miguel called over the intercom, "Got something to tell you, do you mind if come in?"
"Yeah, sure." Athrun responded, opening the door to see the familiar face of Miguel stood there, clad in a standard ZAFT Green uniform, a cheerful smile was on his face. Athrun went to sit back down on the bed as Miguel elected to simply float in the middle of the bedroom. Miguel's eyes travelled to the packed belongings of Rusty and a sombre expression crossed his features.
"They already had you clean his stuff up then, Athrun?" He enquired to which Athrun responds with a simple nod. "That figures, it's the same with me cleaning up all the Greens we've lost up to this point: Olor, Matthew and the rest of them."
"That must be hard for you, Miguel." Athrun remarks with sadness in his tone, Miguel gives him a false laugh.
"I hate to say this, but…" Miguel pauses for a moment, "…I'm used to it."
"Does it ever stop?" Miguel regards him with a confused expression, "the pain of the loss, I mean?"
"You… get used to it." Miguel vaguely replies before waving one of his hands, "anyways, I didn't come here for that, Athrun." He quickly straightened himself and saluted Athrun, "thanks for the help back then, Athrun."
"Oh, it's nothing…" Athrun saluted back.
"No, I'm serious," Miguel asserts, "if it wasn't for you, the Strike would have killed me. But you managed to stop it so I may live another day and kick that bastards ass the next time." A distressed look passes over Athrun for a second before quickly vanishing. Unfortunately, Miguel managed to notice it.
"There was something else I wanted to talk to you about," Miguel continues, "did something… happen between you and the Strike's pilot?" Athrun's eyes widened in alarm.
"What makes you think that?" He responds defensively. Miguel raises his hands at him in a relaxing motion.
"Just chill," he assures him, "while I was drifting there, my communicator was broken, but you and the Strike's pilot just seemed to eye each other for a good few moments like a showdown or something. I just thought you may have been talking to each other."
"T-that's…" Athrun trails.
"If you don't want to talk to me about it…"
"No, no, no…" Athrun assures him, "I do want to…"
"But…?"
"Look…" Athrun begins, "it's complicated, alright?"
"Well," Miguel drifted over to one of the desk's chairs and perched himself down on it, taking a comfortable position as he swivelled it around and looked Athrun, "I got time."
Athrun sits there for a moment pondering whether or not to tell him. This was something that he knew could cause some seeds of doubt in their squad. On the other hand, this is Miguel. While Miguel may not be an official therapist, the team (Rusty, Athrun, Dearka, Yzak, Nicol) always did confide in him issues that may have been concerning for them, but did not want to reveal it to others. Miguel has a few embarrassing stories about Yzak stored in his head that he swore he would never tell anyone. And the team knew this: That Miguel could keep a secret for them.
It was this fact that has brought Athrun to a decision.
"Well, here's the problem…"
A Few minutes later…
"…And that brings us to now." Athrun finishes explaining his relationship with the Strike's pilot.
"Uh uh…" Miguel responds, "so let me get this straight: this 'Kira' was a buddy of yours, and a coordinator, when you were kids and before you left for the PLANTS?"
"That's right."
"You didn't stay in contact after that so you had no idea where he went?"
"No, I didn't."
"During the Heliopolis mission, you were about to kill an Alliance chick guarding the Strike when you saw that this 'Kira' was there with her?"
"Not like a solider, I think he just stumbled his way there."
"That means that he was in the Strike when I fought it at first, right?"
"I think so."
"That would explain why it suddenly started putting up a better fight…" Miguel mutters, "you believed that it was this Kira so, to confirm it, you tailed along with me when I went to fight the Strike again?"
"Right."
"Again, that explains some things. You didn't seem very reluctant to help out and kept a distance from our battle."
"That's correct, I didn't know what to do."
"And that brings us to now." Miguel concludes, "so?" Athrun regards him with a confused look.
"So what?"
"Athrun…" Miguel begins, "like it or not, he's our enemy. He's fighting for the Alliance."
"They have to be forcing him or something!" Athrun retorts, "Kira hates fighting!"
"Whatever his reason, he's going to stand in our way and there may come a time when you have to fight and have to point your gun at him," Miguel states, "regardless of your past with him, an enemy is an enemy. It sucks, but it's true."
"There has to be something I can do."
"If you can think of some way for him to switch sides, then I won't stop you." Miguel assures him, "I may have a grudge against that pilot, but even I will admit that capturing that Mobile Suit is very tempting and I don't like the idea of killing my own people."
"Thank you."
"But if you screw this up…" Miguel continues as he gets up and starts to walk towards the door "I will be trying to kill him and you will have to as well. It's your duty as a soldier, Athrun."
"But-"
"We've talked enough for now…" Miguel concludes as he opens the door, "just think it over." He steps through the door and it closes behind him, leaving Athrun alone to his thoughts and to think of some way that he can prevent the impending wrath of his comrades on Kira's life.
Some Time Later, Archangel…
There was bustling activity in the ship's quarters as a long line of refugees and civilians stretched on as far as one could see. A small group of Alliance Soldiers were positioned around a Machine designed to bring up personal details of people based on their ID Card. A middle-aged man was currently having his ID taken.
"You're a doctor?" The Alliance Soldier using the console asked the man, reading the information displayed on the console.
"Yes, I am." The man responds.
"The captain has injured her shoulder ." The soldier informs him, "could you look at it later?"
In the quarters located immediately behind the alliance soldiers mounting this device, Kira's entourage of friends (with the recently added Flay) all sit together.
"I wonder where we're heading." Sai speaks out loud, "They changed course, didn't they? I wonder if ZAFT is still around."
"They're after this ship and that Mobile Suit, right?" Tolle queries, "then maybe they're still after us."
"Huh, what?!" Flay exclaims, "Then you're saying that we're less safe now that we boarded the ship. No way!" Kira eyes widen at that remark as a sorrowful expression crosses his features.
"Would you have rather remained on that broken Lifeboat?" Miriallia counters.
"Running the risk of either being captured by ZAFT or losing oxygen?" Cagalli adds.
"W-well, not exactly…" Flay trails, leaning closer on Sai for support.
"I hope my parents are safe." Kuzzey remarks.
"Evacuation orders were issued to all districts, I'm sure they're okay." Sai assures him with a smile.
"Kira Yamato!" A voice calls out, breaking their reverie. They all turn towards the entrance of their quarters to Mu La Flaga stood there, one of his hands scrunched in a fist and on his hips.
"Y-yes?" Kira addresses him.
"Petty Officer Murdoch is furious. He doesn't have enough people as they're too busy using the parts we salvaged from the battle to fix up the GINN." Mu informs hi,m "it's your responsibility for maintaining your own machine."
"My machine?" Kira exclaims, "Wait, what do you mean 'my machine'?"
"Let's just say that's what's been decided." Mu informs him, "The fact is, you're the only capable of piloting that thing. It can't be helped."
"Sure, I used the thing twice, but only because I had no choice!" Kira protests, "I'm not a soldier or anything!" Mu rubs his forehead in frustration.
"So when the fighting starts, you'll say that again." Mu starts, "You'll refuse to pilot it, and we'll all die, right?" This statement causes them all to gasp slightly while Cagalli feels herself getting annoyed with the blatant guilt trip occurring here.
"Right now, me and you are the only ones who can protect this ship." Mu reasons.
"But I…"
"You have the ability to make a difference, right?" Mu asks rhetorically, "then put those abilities to use."
"We have little time, including time to think this over." Mu concludes before starting to walk away.
"Excuse me!" Sai calls out to Mu, ceasing his departure, "where are we going exactly?"
"A Eurasian Military Fortress" Mu informs him, "well, we'll be lucky if THEY don't let us go without incident." Mu comments before walking away, leaving Kira and his entourage to mull over his words as Kira lets a distressed expression grace his features.
"I…!" He mutters before running out of the room, surprising his friends.
"Oi, Kira!" Tolle calls out to him, but to no avail.
"Dammit!" Cagalli grinds out of her teeth as she runs out of the quarters to give chase.
"What? What was that supposed to mean?" Flay asks in clueless manner, "You mean that Kira kid was on…?"
"You heard that a Mobile Suit carried your lifeboat onto this ship, right?" Sai asks her, "that guy, Kira, was the one piloting it."
As he told her this, Kira embarked one of the small elevators that lead to the Hangar Bay. Cagalli followed suit a few moments later by getting onto the next elevator.
"What?" Flay exclaimed incredulously as Miriallia and Tolle share a look "Him? But why? Why would he be in a Mobile Suit?" They all narrow their eyes as they don't wish to divulge that information.
"Because Kira's a Coordinator." Kuzzey informs her to which she gasps and her face takes a more aggressive expression and Sai also glances at him.
"Kuzzey!" Tolle scolds him.
"Kira is a Coordinator," Sai confirms, "but he isn't with ZAFT." He tries to assure her, unfortunately, a distressed expression is clear on her face.
"He's one of our closest friends." Miriallia assures her.
"I see." Flay says with a monotone.
Meanwhile, Kira is stood outside the Strike, thinking over what Mu just said to him.
"I may be able to pilot the Mobile Suit, but that doesn't mean I can fight a battle!" He mutters.
"Kira."
Kira is broken out of his thought process as he glances to the right to see Cagalli stood there, slightly out of breath.
"Cagalli…"
"I…" She tries to find the right words, "I disagree and agree with what he's saying." He gives her a confused expression.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that it's true that you're the only one who could use this Mobile Suit to protect us," she gestures to the Strike, "believe me, if anyone could pilot this Mobile Suit in your place, I'd gladly do it. You need a break."
"Thanks, I know, but…"
"That still doesn't excuse them forcing this responsibility on you, all of a sudden." Cagalli walks a bit closer to him, "it isn't fair for you."
"I know." He agrees, "but if I don't do this, then my friends will be in harm's way."
"That's why I've decided to help you." She informs him.
"W-what?" He asks with a confused tone.
"I may not be able to help you pilot the thing," she agrees, taking off her jacket and wrapping it around her waist, leaving her torso clad in a simple shirt. "But I'll help you with maintenance and stuff."
"Why?"
"It's hard enough for you to fight, but to have you do all this other work, alone, as well is just cruel." Cagalli informs him, "don't worry, I know a fair bit about Mobile Suits and probably know my way around a spanner better than your friends do."
"I-I couldn't…"
"I WANT to help alright?" She asserts to him, "and you're getting it whether you like it or not."
"But what about Mr. Murdoch?" he tries to protest, "he won't just let a civilian work on this with me."
"Already asked him," she counters, "his words were 'I'll take any help I can get for the kid' so it's all fine." She then takes a long stretch.
"Now then," She begins, smiling a little at him, "shall we get started?"
Kira sighs a little in annoyance at this development. Why did he have to make friends with such an impulsive girl? There is one thing, though, that he secretly thinks to himself.
He really is glad for the help.
Vessalius…
The Large battleship is currently flying through the remains of the Colony in the hopes of intercepting the Enemy Ship sometime soon. Meanwhile, Athrun Zala has just reached the Private Quarters of Rau Le Creuset and uses the intercom to inform the White Coat of his presence
"Athrun Zala, Reporting as ordered!" Athrun addresses his superior.
"Yes, please come in." He requests the Red Coat. The Automatic door slides open and Athrun steps through as Rau is frantically typing at his Computer. Athrun swiftly salutes his superior.
"I was hoping to speak to you earlier but things got out of hand, with the collapse of Heliopolis." He explains to Athrun, ceasing his actions at the computer and turning his chair to the left to properly address Athrun.
"Sir, I apologise for what happened during the previous battle." Athrun quickly responds.
"I have no intention of punishing you," Rau assures him, "but I would like to hear your side of the story. Particularly since it wasn't like you, Athrun."
Athrun clenches his teeth together a little, making a quiet grunt.
"I understand you were near that machine when it was activated." Rau clarifies with him.
"I am sorry about that," Athrun apologises again, "I was stunned by what had happened and failed to report the incident" He pauses for a moments.
"That final machine." Athrun addresses, "the person piloting it is Kira Yamato. A Coordinator friend from the military preparatory school I intended on the moon."
"Oh...!" Rau silently exclaims, clearly surprised at the interesting turn of events.
"I never dreamed that we would meet again under such circumstances so I just had to be sure." Athrun explains to his superior.
"I see. War is full of such irony." Rau comments, getting out his chair to better address the ZAFT Red, "I don't blame you for being so stunned. I imagine that you were quite close to this friend."
"Yes." Athrun confirms.
"Very well." Rau concludes, "if that's the case, then I will take you off the upcoming sortie." Athrun lets out a confused gasp at this conclusion.
"You wouldn't be able to point a gun at such a friend." Rau reasons, "and I do not want you to, either."
"No, Commander!" Athrun protests, "that's…
"Even if he's your friend, we must shoot him now that he is an enemy." Rau counters smoothly, "Surely you can understand that, right?"
"Kira is…" Athrun starts to protest again, "he's being used by the Naturals," he tries to explain.
"He's brilliant, but he's also good-natured and absent-minded so he fails to see when he is being taken advantage of." He continues, "that's why I want to try and persuade him! He's also a Coordinator! I know he'll understand what we have to say!"
"I understand what you are trying to say," Rau sympathises, "but… what if he won't be persuaded?" Athrun's eyes widen for a few moments before looking back down towards the ground with a mix of guilt and sadness.
"If that happens," Athrun responds, "I'll shoot him myself."
Archangel…
"Large Heat Source detected!" Romero calls out to the bridge-crew, "based on its size, it's probably a warship. Distance two hundred, yellow, 33,17. Mark 02 Charlie, course zero, shift zero!"
"Beside us?!" Mu exclaims, "its headed in the same direction."
"Have they caught on to us?" Murrue queries.
"But it's a fair distance away," Natarle interjects.
"The target is passing out ship." Romero continues, "Ship type confirmed. It's a Nazca-Class." Mu lets out an aggravated grunt at this piece of information.
"They're getting in front of us to stop us in our tracks!" Mu theorises.
"Where's their Laurasia-Class?" Natarle asks Romero.
"Wait a moment," he responds as he sets to work finding something else on the radar, "There's a heat source following us! Three-Hundred to stern. When did that get there?!"
"At this rate, the Laurasia-Class will eventually catch up to us." Mu begins to explain, "But if we use our engines to try and escape, the Nazca-Class will spot us." He concludes, "Hey, bring up data on the two vessels and a map over here!" He calls over to Romero.
"Do you have a plan?" Natarle asks. Mu swivels his chair around to properly address her.
"That's what I'm getting ready to think about." He responds.
The alarms blare throughout the ship, alerting the crew and somewhat scaring the refugees.
"Enemy unit, silhouette detected! Level One Battle Stations!" The voice calls over the intercom. This alert manages to garner Kira and Cagalli's attention who were still working on the Strike's maintenance.
"All Military Personnel, get to your positions at once. Repeat…!"
Jackie and Dalida run out of their bedrooms, sheer aggravation and annoyance clear on their faces.
"Damn!" Jackie complains.
"I just got into bed." Dalida adds.
A little girl named Elle dives into her mothers arms in distress.
"Mommy!" She cries out.
"It will be alright." She assures her daughter.
"Is this ship going into battle." Another refugee wonders.
"But they have us on-board!" Another replies. Meanwhile, Miriallia sits there with a sombre expression before something alerts her and the rest of her friends.
"Kira Yamato! Kira Yamato to the bridge!"
At this Kira pauses for a few moments before Cagalli calls out to him.
"Get going, moron!" She urges him, "I'll finish up in time for you to get back!" Kira nods in response as he sets off towards the ordered destination, waving at Cagalli as he left.
"Thanks!" He calls out to her.
"I wonder what Kira's decided…" Miriallia wonders with a sombre tone.
"We'll likely be in quite an unenviable position if doesn't fight." Flay's expression becomes slightly darker at this remark.
"Hey Tolle," Miriallia turns to her Love Interest, "We're always on the sidelines relying on Kira to protect us. Even Cagalli has gone to help him in whatever way she can." Tolle looks away from her with a dark expression.
"If we have the ability to make a difference, put it to use, right?" He quotes the familiar words. He then looks up towards the rest of his friends, they all exchange a silent look before nodding.
A few minutes later…
"Captain!" Dalida calls out to Ramius, "I have some civilians who wish to speak to you about something."
"We have no time for that!" Natarle answers for her, "I'll listen to their complaints later! Tell them to be quiet!"
"Well, uh the students that were with us from Heliopolis want to offer their help with the ship's operation!" He exclaims, garnering Murrue's attention as she turns around and looks at him with a confused expression.
"What?"
A few minutes later…
Kira is utilising the Automatic Railings to traverse through the ships corridor. He's incredibly silent as a pensive expression is clear on his features.
"Kira!"
A familiar voice calls out to him as he looks up to see his entourage of friends approach him, all clad in Alliance Uniforms, Dalida follows behind.
"Tolle," He responds, "all of you."
"Hi, Kira!"
"What's the deal with the outfits?" He queries.
"We've decided to help out with tasks aboard the ship," Sai explains, "they're understaffed, right?"
"They require us to wear uniforms if we're going to work on the bridge." Kuzzey adds.
"ZAFT's uniforms are much cooler, right?" Tolle asks with a joking expression, "with no badge or rank, these look kind of silly."
"Don't be a wise guy!" Dalida scolds him.
"We can't have you be the one doing all the work all the time." Tolle explains.
"Given the situation we're in, we'll help." Miriallia adds, "in whatever way we can." Kira smiles at the gesture.
"Move on, kids." Dalida exclaims as he urges them to move on.
"Bye, Kira!"
"See you later."
"Oh, and if you're talking off again," Dalida turns back around to address Kira, "Make sure you wear a Pilot Suit, this time!"
"U-um, Mr Chandra!"
Vessalius
"So that's…!" Fredrik trails. He looks towards a large protective barrier around a large station.
"The Umbrella of Artemis." Rau confirms for his cohort, "It appears that they have already caught onto us. It's in effect."
"We've arrived here without meeting the Earth Forces' new ship." Fredrik observes.
"We're in their path," Rau assures him, "we'll get them here!"
"Turn ship 180 degrees!" Fredrik commands the pilot, "Match velocity to Artemis and proceed astern!"
The Nazca-Class swivels around using the large side-thrusters to easily turn the ship around to have its back towards Artemis. Upon completing this action, the Ship's engines roared into life to stop the craft drifting backwards towards the station. The large, blue ship eventually comes to a dead halt.
Archangel…
Kira is in the locker room currently changing into an Alliance Normal suits. Unlike standard ones with their generic yellow and orange colour scheme, this suit had a white, blue and black colour scheme. Upon fastening the suit at the top, Kira looks down at himself with a thoughtful expression.
"So…" A new voice surprises Kira who turns towards the door to see Mu La Flaga stood there, also dressed in his normal suit, "Judging from that outfit, I see that you have finally decided to do it."
"You said so yourself, Lieutenant." Kira explains, "Right now, you and I are the only ones who can protect this ship."
As this goes on, Kira's friends are getting accustomed to their positions on the Bridge. Tolle manning the Co-Pilot's chair, Kuzzey manning one of the two main Communications Consoles and Sai and Miriallia manning some of the CIC consoles.
"It's not that I want to fight," Kira clarifies, "But I do wanna protect this ship. Because of the people on-board."
"It's the same for all of us." Mu counters, "You won't find many people who fight for no reason, at all. We fight because unless we fight, we cannot protect."
Kira stands there for a few moments before breathing a sigh of relief.
"Okay, let me explain our plan to you…"
Some time later…
"Laurasia-Class approaching , 90 to stern!"
"In any case, think only about protecting this ship and yourself." Mu finally says to Kira as he embarks his Moebius Zero, both pilots fully clad in their Mobile Suits (including helmets).
"Y-yes!" Kira quickly responds, "Be careful, Lieutenant." And with that, Kira boosts himself away from the Mobile Armour and towards the Strike, still lost in thought.
"Athrun, will you come back as well to sink this ship?" Kira cannot help but think to himself. He's broken out of his thoughts when he sees Cagalli stood outside of the Strike's cockpit. She has lost her previous outfit and has adopted a standard maintenance uniform. The only difference is that she has tied the jacket around her waste and is wearing a tank-top. Kira feels a little embarrassed as the sight reminds him that she is a very pretty girl. He drifts over to the Strike and starts to get inside.
"Is the Mobile Suit alright?" He asks her as he settles into the seat, applying the restraints.
"Yeah, I didn't find anything wrong with it." Cagalli responds, "I'll see you later, okay?"
"Of course."
"Watch yourself and kick some ass!" With that she gave him quick thumbs up before closing the cockpit shut for him and floating away so he could make his way over to the catapult.
The hangar doors open and the Moebius Zero is pulled onto the Launch Catapult by the conveyor and tether.
"Moebius Zero, La Flaga, to the Linear Catapult!" Natarle calls over the intercom as the hangar doors shut behind the Mobile Armour and the burn shield rises behind it. The Catapult doors open, allowing the Mobile Armour to take off. Mu brings down his helmet's visor in signal that he's ready.
"Mu La Flaga, taking off!" Mu calls over the communicator, "don't let them sink you before I return!" THE Moebius is released from its clamp as "Launch Clear" appears three times on the Catapult Indicator, informing Mu's allowance to launch.
Meanwhile, on the bridge, Romero informs his Captain some pressing news.
"Laurasia-Class approaching, 50 to stern!" Romero calls out.
"Start Main Engine in two minutes!" She commands, "Strike, prepare to take off!"
"Strike, proceed to position!" Romero calls over the intercom. The Mobile Suit is manoeuvred, while still attached to its docking mount, onto the Launch Pad's foot clamps.
"Catapult connection! System, all green!"
This confirmation is heard upon deaf ears as Kira is currently rehearsing the strategy for this skirmish over in his head.
"The Lieutenant will move ahead secretly and hit the enemy in front of us." He evaluates as brings down his helmet's visor, "In the meantime, I will protect the ship from the enemy to the rear. Is this going to work?" He wonders doubtfully.
"Kira." Miriallia's voice calls over the communicator as well as he image appearing on the Communications Screen.
"Miriallia?" Kira exclaims.
"From now on, I will act as Combat Controller for the Mobile Suit and Mobile Armour." She informs him, "I'm counting on you!" She winks and gives him a peace sign.
"We're all counting on you!" Tolle interjects, to which Kira smiles.
The roof opens up as a Loading Arm descends through it, carrying the large red and black Boosters that Make up a part of the AQM/E-X01 "Aile" Striker Pack. The right hatch opens as another loading arm carrying the 57MM High Energy Beam Rifle with the left hatch carrying the red and yellow shield.
"Mount the Aile Striker!" Natarle commands over the Communicator, "The enemy will be here as soon as the Archangel fires its engines! Be ready!"
"Right!"
The left and right Launch Catapult opens up to reveal the "Lohengrin" Positron Cannon armed and ready to fire.
"Start engines!" Murrue commands, "Fire main cannons. Target: The Nazca-Class directly ahead of us."
The Archangel's engines roar into life as the White Ship begins to make its advance.
"Lohengrin, fire!" Natarle commands. The two cannons let off their large intense beams of Red Light that go streaming directly towards the Vessalius.
Vessalius…
"Heat Source approaching from ahead and large heat source detected behind it!" the Sensor Officer calls out to Fredrik, "It's a warship!"
"Evasive Action!" He orders.
"I see that they're firing in confusion, now that they've seen us." Rau surmises.
Meanwhile, Mu watches from his Moebius Zero as the large, intense red beam veers straight past him and continues its course towards the Nazca-Class.
Gamow…
"Heat Source detected!" The communications Officer informed Captain Zelman, "supposedly from the enemy warship!"
"Launch Mobile Suits!" He commands.
The Three G-Weapons located in the Hangar (Duel, Buster, Blitz)'s eyes all blare into life as the Duel is the first to detach itself from its mount, ready to launch.
"I'll believe what you said earlier, Athrun Zala." Rau Le Creuset, aboard the Vessalius, informs the Red soldier who is currently located in the cockpit of the Aegis and clad in a ZAFT Red Normal Suit.
"Yes, sir!" Athrun replies. His communicator screen suddenly bursts into life as Miguel who is in the GINN (it was easily and quickly repaired due the large number of GINN parts on board) appears on the screen clad in the ZAFT Green Normal Suit. "What is it, Miguel?" Athrun asks with curiosity in his tone.
"Just wondering if you're going to be able to carry this mission through with no issue." He replies, "you won't let what we discussed affect you,right?" Athrun smiles at this.
"Don't worry, I know the importance of this mission." Miguel smiles back.
"That's good, then."
The Launch Catapult for the Vessalius opens as the Aegis prepares to launch as it levitates itself into the air. The Sign confirms that the Mobile Suit is clear for launch so the Aegis is flung out of the Launch Bay, detaching its power cable and activating its Phase Shift. Miguel's standard GINN (armed with a Heavy Sword and Heavy Machine Gun (they ran out of "D" Equipment)) then follows suit and launches from the Vessalius after the Aegis.
Archangel…
"Two Mobile Suits have launched from the Nazca-Class!" Dalida informs Natarle.
"Captain?!" Natarle queries Murrue.
"Please!" She responds. Natarle the directs her attention to Miriallia, the Combat Operator.
"Have Kira Yamato take off in the Strike!" She commands. Miriallia grasps hold of her headset's microphone.
"Kira!"
"Roger!" Kira responds.
The Archangel's right catapult doors opens, once again, as the Strike stands there patiently on the Launch Catapult. Kira takes a nervours breath and wraps his fingers around one of the Control Sticks to try and calm himself, taking a firm grip on the device.
Meanwhile, the Duel, Blitz and Buster have all launched from the Gamow their Mobile Suits colouring themselves to signify that they have activated their Phase Shift Armour. The Duel's White, Blue and Orange. The Buster's sandy yellow and green and the Blitz's red and black.
Kira shuts his eyes as he reminisces over the strong words that his friends and comrades have given him over the course of these few hours. As the Launch Sign reads "Launch Clear," Kira's eyes open with new found determination.
"Kira Yamato, Gundam, Taking off!"
The Mobile Suit flies across the Catapult and flings off the end, detaching its power cable. The Aile Strike's wings fold up as the Phase Shift activates, colouring the Mobile Suit and preparing it for battle.
Nothing spectacular happened here and I hated every moment I had to write Flay (wonder how I am going to cope with Lacus), but here's chapter 4. I hope you enjoy it.
Now if you don't mind, I am going to take a break.
R-0 out!