Hello everyone, R-0 here with the next chapter of my Fanfic. Before we get down to normal business. There is something I wish to address. My Super Robot Wars Fanfic is NOT on hiatus! I will be going back to it eventually, however, I just wish to make substantial progress on this Fanfic beforehand. My Infinite Stratos fanfics, however, ARE on indefinite Hiatus. I don't when I'll go back to them or if I ever will. I find that the quality is sub-par and will probably do a complete re-do in the future.

Anyway, let's head onto R&A time!

Guest: Err, Here you go? I sincerely hope the F U wasn't meant in an aggressive manner.

mega1987: I don't really know much about characters, stat-wise, in the Super Robot Taisen series of games. My only ventures into the franchise, so far, are the OG games so I'll take your word for it. Though it does make sense to me as Cagalli never really went in for melee combat throughout the Cosmic Era timeline. Then again, we only saw her shoot a couple of Strike Daggers in SEED and get completely raped by the Destiny in… Well, SEED Destiny.

Her role won't be as blatant as a sniper… I'll just leave it at that. Cagalli will play a more active role than just being a mere sniper.

worldwanderer2.0: As I explained, Cagalli's distrust towards Flay simply comes from the fact that she has spent a long time around politicians who say one thing and mean another which has given her the ability to, If you'll pardon my French, see through someone's bullshit like a clear summer's day. Cagalli seeing Flay do this has caused her to put Flay on the radar.

I consider Cagalli to be a fair person. She won't immediately dislike or like Lacus as she knows nothing about her. I ain't going to just make her dislike her for no reason other than to reflect my own dislike for the character. Unfortunately, the existence of a Mary Sue in anime has already happened and Lacus Clyne is just that. Hell, even by Fanfiction standards, Lacus is one of the worst Mary Sues I have ever seen and that's saying a lot considering I have experienced a significant number of Mary Sues during my time on . It disgusts me that a writer, who does this for a living, was able to conjure up such a terrible character. Then again, no one stopped her so she's not completely at fault.

I have a problem with that scenario: I HATE the Federation! Why'd you put me on the Feddie scumbag's side?! Zeon all the way and to hell with the Federation! Give me an old-fashioned Zaku over a Gundam! Mono-eyes all the way! The only Gundams I seriously adore (not to say I don't like others) are the Age-2 Dark Hound, the RX-121-2 Gundam TR-1 (Hazel-II) and the Gundam MK II in Titan Colours.

Fireminer: Well, I'd gladly take two Shortswords over a Spear and Knife. So that's your prerogative. I ain't going to get too much into this as it's going onto a bit of a tangent.

Again choosing to ship KouXChristina is your prerogative. I could never ship Christina with anyone BUT Bernie (God, I love Bernie) and Cima just makes more sense as a viable Love Interest to me (again, If it wasn't done in a fluffy way and in a much darker manner). Christina wasn't really weighted or hurt by the war at all. She didn't know that Bernie was in the cockpit so didn't feel any emotional trauma from the incident. The only thing was her getting injured. We saw that she was relatively unfazed by the incident after it and still was a happy cheerful girl. I'm not trying to disagree with you, but my observations of things seems to differ in relation to Christina. Believe me, if you had said Al, I would have agreed, but not Christina.

edboy4926: See that? THAT's what I hate! The attitude of "I'm the author, I can do whatever I want with these characters even if it means completely changing their character." I don't condone that sort of practice and it's something I hate that Fanfic Authors do. Morosawa had that exact same attitude and raped Cagalli's character as a result, not caring that she was destroying everything that made Cagalli's character awesome just to make her stupid Mary Sue look better all the goddamn time . The only time one can change a character is when they have established that different circumstances have influenced them in a different way. That is it! Any other situations and I can't condone it at all.

RoyalDragoon: Happy to see that you approve of my treatment of Cagalli.

Regarding the IWSP, it has been something that I have been christening for a while so don't concern yourself with that. I will say that I haven't decided if I will or won't include it. Also, no offence, but the way you worded it came off as a tad demanding. Not sure if that was your intention, but it came off that way. Again, I appreciate the input so I am not trying to criticise you. Just telling you that it the way to word some things may be misconstrued by some people.

As I have stated before, this isn't a massive write-up of SEED and will follow Canon pretty much to the letter save for some changes here and there. It's unlikely that I will implement such a plot-point. Destiny is practically guaranteed for some significant rewriting. If anything, there will be a slight canon change here but nothing significant.

Again, you preferring G-Weapons is pretty much your prerogative. They are referred to that in either manner so it does not really matter which. I pretty much alternate between referring to them as such.

Zombyra: Again, I'm not in luxury of giving out spoilers so I am not going to tell you about future events within the Fanfic. I have already stated that this will follow canon so I am sure that you can use your imagination.

NaruSaku fan 100: My condolences. Believe me when I say that I suffer it enough. One of my closest friends is raging Kira and Lacus fanboy.

Anyway, let us continue onto the next chapter of my Fanfic!

Chapter 8: A Proposal

The pink-haired female (Followed by the tennis ball-sized robot) drifts past the residing crowd of Alliance Soldiers and Kira with his friends friends. She seemingly snaps out of whatever trance she is in and looks back down to the assembled crowd, making a confused "Huh" at her current predicament, clearly confused by her current location and who this group of people are. Her robot drifts behind her and repeatedly spoke "Haro" three times. Kira, seeing her confusion, reaches out to grab her, preventing her movement.

"Thank you." She addresses Kira with a grateful tone.

"It's ok." Kira simply said, a bit perplexed at who she is. The girl glances around until she notices the Alliance emblem present on Kira's uniform as well as on the surrounding party. She lets out a slight gasp as she comes to a realisation.

"Oh my!" She remarks, placing her hand on her cheek, "This isn't a ZAFT ship, is it?" She inquires, confusing the assembled crowd.

"Is that so?" Haro adds. Natarle smacks her hand against her face in exasperation.

"Pardon?" Murrue inquires with a confused tone as Kira can only shake his head at her to confirm the girl's suspicions.

PLANTs…

As this rather peculiar scene plays out on the Archangel, Athrun Zala is taking a much needed shower within the barracks of the Military Base located within the insides of Aprilius One. The stress from the recently occurred events flowing out of him.

While this occurs, several GINN's patrol outside and Miguel Aiman sits at the desk within his own quarters, using the computer located on the desk. He is going over the data that was collected on the Strike, trying to determine the best course of action when fighting the powerful Mobile Suit

As Athrun continues to shower, the quarter's communicator starts to sound off. Unfortunately, Athrun does not react to it immediately as he flashes back to the conversation he had with Patrick Zala on the shuttle and reminisces about his mother. Soon enough, he concedes and leaves the shower. He hastily dries himself off and slips on a Gown, the towel still wrapped around his neck. He reaches the communicator and answers, the image of a ZAFT Green female appearing on-screen.

"Athrun Zala here." He responds.

"ID Number 285002, Athrun Zala of the Le Creuset Team." She clarifies, "There's a message for you from Military Headquarters."

"Yes!" He responds swiftly.

"The Vesalius will be leaving 35 hours sooner than initially planned at 18:00 Hours tomorrow." She informs him, surprising the Coordinator, "Everyone is to arrive one hour before departure to board. Repeat what was said to acknowledge receipt of message."

"Vessalius will be leaving at 18:00 Hours tomorrow." He repeats, "Everyone is to arrive and board one hour before departure. Athrun Zala, acknowledged." He finalises before switching off the communicator device (Miguel has also just received a similar message). He starts to dry his hair again and turns on the Multimedia device planted on his desk. As the device comes on, a news report comes on-screen with an image of the Civilian ship Silverwind (the ship that was carrying Lacus Clyne).

"Miss Lacus Clyne, acting representative to this memorial, was also on the ship." An image of the pink-haired songstress appears on-screen, alerting Athrun. "Every effort is being made to confirm her safety." The news continues to scare Athrun as he lets out a gasp and moves closer to the screen, properly taking the news in. "I repeat, Observation Ship Silverwind, which was on its way to Junius Seven for preparations to send a group there for its first anniversary memorial service has been missing since last night." He concludes, causing Athrun to gasp.

"Lacus…?"

Archangel…

As the white battleship continues to fly through the debris belt and remains of Junius Seven, a large crowd of males gather outside of a door (Kira was not present as he has been given a very specific task to accomplish (as such, more Mistrals were dispatched to collect the ice as the Strike was not usable) and Cagalli was told to go wait at the Captain's Office for a meeting). Inside are the three main officers and their most recent visitor that was found inside a pod.

"Thank you very much for picking up the pod." This newest visitor compliments the officers, "My name is Lacus Clyne."

"Haro, Lacus, Haro!" The small robot in her hands chants.

"This is my friend, Haro." Lacus informs them.

"Haro, Haro. You too." The machine continues to chant, "Haro, Haro!" Murrue lets out a long sigh as the realisation of their newest development takes true foot inside her brain.

"Oh boy, Oh boy…" Mu mutters.

"What are they saying?" Tolle asks from outside the quarters, his ear pressed against the door.

"I can't hear!" Kuzzey remarks, "Shut up, Tolle!"

"Will you guys be quiet?" Sai scolds them. Unfortunately, they lose their wall to lean on as the door slides open to reveal a very displeased Natarle stood there, her hands on her hips.

"You guys haven't finished loading yet!" She remarks as they turn to quickly flee away in terror at the sight of the Alliance Officer. "Get back to work right now!"

"Clyne, is it?" Mu wonders knowingly as Natarle slides the door behind them, "You have the same name as the current Supreme Council Chairman, Siegel Clyne." Murrue lets out a nervous gasp.

"Why, Siegel Clyne is my father." Lacus replies with a cheerful tone, "Do you know him." She asks air-headedly as Mu simply face-palms hard at her obliviousness as Murrue leans into her chair and sighs heavily at the recent revelation.

"What's somebody like you doing all the way out here?" Murrue queries.

"I was here for a preliminary examination prior to a memorial visit to Junius Seven." Lacus explains, "Then my ship came across another ship belonging to the Earth Forces." She continues, "They said they only wanted to board for an official inspection, so I accepted. However, the purpose of our visit seemed to have upset members of the Earth Forces" She informs them, "This led to minor quarrels which soon ballooned into a major incident concerning the ship." Murrue narrows her eyes slightly, "The next thing I knew, people had forced me into the pod so I could escape."

"That's terrible." Murrue remarks with a sympathetic tone, a saddened look on her face is clear.

"And what happened to your ship?" Mu inquires.

"I don't know." Lacus responds, "I just hope that the people from the Earth Forces have calmed down since then."

PLANTs…

As this tense conversation occurs within the depths of the Debris Belt, a shuttle carrying Miguel and Athrun ferries them to the repaired Nazca-Class known as the Vesalius.

"The Vesalius will be taking off as scheduled." A voice calls over the docking area, "Crew members are to board promptly from Gate 12."

Athrun and Miguel exit an elevator into the Airlock area. Two Green Coats salute them, which they return back, as they move out of Elevator and down the corridor. Both of them notice that Rau Le Creuset and Patrick Zala are stood there. As they both float past the men, they both respectfully salute and are about to enter the ship when a voice calls out to the Red Coat.

"Athrun!" Patrick addresses his son sternly, causing them both to pause. Athrun looks back at Miguel who simply nods and continues down the corridor onto the Vesalius, leaving Athrun alone with Rau and Patrick. "I assume you've heard about Miss Lacus?"

"Yes." Athrun responds with a sombre tone, "However, Commander…" He turns to Rau, "You're not suggesting a rescue mission with the Vesalius, are you?"

"You're a cold man." Rau remarks playfully, "Of course we'll be searching for her."

"But we don't know if something has actually happened to her ship." Athrun protests, "And it's a Civilian Ship."

"Although not publicised, a Reconnaissance GINN from the Yun Law Team hasn't returned from a search." This detail elicits a gasp of surprise from Athrun.

"Junius Seven has been pulled by Earth's gravity and is now within the Debris Belt." Rau states, " Not an ideal location." He remarks, "Besides, the Gamow lost the Legged Ship at Artemis."

"Are you saying…?" Athrun trails.

"All the PLANTs are aware that you and Miss Lacus are destined to be together." Patrick remarks, "So the Le Creuset Team, which you're part of, can't exactly sit back and do nothing."

"Then…" Athrun trails, looking at Rau who sports a slight smile.

"She's an idol." Patrick declares, "We're counting on you Le Creuset, Athrun."

"Yes, sir!" Rau responds, saluting the Chairman along with Athrun. Soon enough, he drifts out of sight and Athrun addresses his superior.

"So I'm to save her and come back playing the part of the hero?" Athrun asks with a sarcastic tone.

"Or come back with her body and cry like crazy." Rau responds, surprising Athrun. "Whichever it is, Committee Chairman Zala believes that you're the one to go." He says with finality and enters the ship's airlock as Athrun narrows his eyes at them.

Archangel…

After amassing a sufficient amount of ice from the Debris Belt, the Archangel is finally leaving the debris belt and all of the terrible horrors that they witnessed there. Lacus Clyne has been "Requested" to stay within the confines of her quarters. Murrue can only watch as they leave the place with a relieved expression, along with Miriallia and Tolle.

Currently, Kira and Cagalli are on their way, together, to the Mess Hall to satisfy their first and hunger with some good food and fresh water. There is not much difference, however, if one looks, they can see that Cagalli has a small Data Disk around her neck, the storage device hanging loosely from chains. Where exactly did this device come from? Well, we must go back to some time prior…

Flashback… 15 Minutes ago…

After their rather revealing discussion with Lacus Clyne, the officers finally made their way to address another issue that they want resolving. The three of them arrived at the Captain's Office to see Cagalli waiting outside, an impatient look on her face as she leaned on the wall adjacent from the Office. Her face was a mixture of satisfaction and annoyance at the sight of them.

"You sure kept me waiting." She remarked. Natarle moved to scold her when Murrue put a hand up in front of her.

"Right, we're sorry." She responded, "There is something we would like to discuss with you." She remarks as the Captain opens the door and gestured inside, "Could we do it privately?"

"Sure." Cagalli responded and moved off of the wall. She walkde into the office and the officers quickly entered inside behind her. Murrue moved to sit at her chair while gesturing to the seat on the other side of the desk. Mu and Natarle moved to stand behind her.

"Please sit down." Murrue requested to which Cagalli responded by sitting firmly down in the chair. "I wish to discuss the incident with the Reconnaissance GINN with you." Cagalli let out an exasperated sigh.

"I saw a Mistral being shot at and Kira was nowhere in sight." Cagalli responded in a seemingly rehearsed tone, "I couldn't let them die so I went for it and managed to take it out."

"Something that you should pat yourself on the back for." Mu remarks.

"It was luck." Cagalli responded swiftly.

"Luck or not, it still says that you have some capabilities in a cockpit." Murrue assured her, "Which is why I would like to make a Proposal to you."

"Proposal?"

"Yes, I-" Before Murrue can respond, a knock at the door could be heard, "Come in!" She called out and the door slides open to reveal Kira stood there, a data disk in his hand.

"Ms. Murrue!" He addressed the captain, "I finished it!"

"Good, Kira." Murrue complimented the boy, "I was just about to tell her, so if you want to wait a second…"

"Tell me what?" Cagalli asked with an increasingly irritated tone.

"I would like you to be the Strike's backup pilot." She declared, causing Cagalli to go wide-eyed.

"Backup pilot?!" She asked incredulously. "Why the hell do you want me?! I'm still just a Natural and, last I checked, Naturals can barely move those things!" Cagalli countered.

"That's where Kira come in." Murrue glanced at the boy, "You can give it to her now." Kira walked over to Cagalli and raised the Data Disk at her.

"There is a patch on this Disk that makes a Mobile Suit's OS Natural Friendly." Kira explains, "All you have to do is insert this into the Mobile Suit's computer and it will install the patch. Once you remove the disk, the patch will delete itself. The disk itself is password-locked so not just anyone can use it." Kira then leaned onto Cagalli's ear, "The password is…" He said it so quiet so that the officers couldn't hear, which Murrue wanted as she even wanted to not know the password.

"Why not just put this patch on the Mobile Suit's OS itself?" Cagalli asked, her protesting tone disappearing.

"If we put a Natural-Friendly OS on the Strike, one of the other soldiers onboard may get cocky and attempt to take it and use it for themselves which could result in its destruction." Murrue explained for Kira, "This way, you can still do that, but not risk the Strike being used by somebody else with less noble intentions and potential"

"I see…" Cagalli trailed.

"This won't be made official." Murrue assured her, "You'll still work in the Maintenance Bay like normal and won't have this detail be made public. It's only in the case of severe emergencies so it's not like I'll be asking you to take his place every other sortie. You won't need any training as I understand that you know your way around a cockpit after the incident with the GINN Recon Type as well as your work in maintenance." Murrue listed out the details of the agreement, "Also, I have discussed this with Lieutenant La Flaga and Ensign Badgiruel and they agree with my assessment." She gestures behind her and Mu gives Cagalli a cheerful wave.

"Sometimes, the Kid may need a break." He remarks simply while Natarle just stands there with an expression that says that she's only tolerating this decision because the Captain authorised it.

"So, will you do it?" Murrue asks with a final tone.

Cagalli sits there for a few moments, looking at the ground, with a pensive expression before glancing at Kira who seems to encourage her to say yes, shaking the Disk at her ever so slightly. She turns to look back at the ground for a few more seconds before snatching the Disk out of Kira's hands and placing the device around her neck for safe keeping.

"Alright, alright!" She responded, "Jesus, if you keep looking at me with those pathetic eyes, you'll make me cry."

"Perfect." Murrue responded with a smile, "That's all for now so you can leave and rejoin your friends."

And with that, Cagalli and Kira departed from the room together to make their way to the Mess Hall.

Current time…

Kira and Cagalli are soon outside of the Mess Hall after the secretive meeting and are making casual conversation about the recent development. It was also during this time that Kira thought it appropriate to finally tell Cagalli about Athrun. While it surprised her at first, Cagalli understood that he doesn't fight against his best friend lightly and only does it out of necessity to protect the Archangel's crew and refugees. Suddenly, a heated tone alerts them.

"No way!" The familiar voice of Flay calls out, alerting the two.

"Flay!" A protesting Miriallia calls out.

"When I say 'no way', I mean 'no way'!" Flay responds with a stubborn tone.

"Why not?" Miriallia asks as Kira and Cagalli enter the dining room to see Kuzzey stood away from Miriallia and Flay who stand at the Mess Hall's counter.

"What's wrong?" Kira asks his friend.

"It's about that girl's meal." Kuzzey informs him, "Milly wants Flay to take to her, but Flay refuses. That's all they're quarrelling about."

"I'm not going to!" Flay declares with an adamant tone, "I'm too afraid to go near a Coordinator!" This declaration causes a sombre expression to pass over Kira's face while a masked anger over Cagalli's. Miriallia notices this.

"Flay!" She scolds her as Flay realises who they're in the company with.

"Of course, it's different with you, Kira! I know that much!" She assures them, "But that girl's with ZAFT, right?"

"Just because they live on the PLANTs doesn't mean they're ZAFT." Cagalli corrects her.

"But we don't know if she is or isn't!" Flay responds hotly, "Coordinators are not only smarter, but have better reflexes than us. What if she attacks me?" She turns to Kira, "Right?" Surprising Kira, he hesitates.

"Again, Coordinators aren't just altered to make them better killers as you seem to believe" Cagalli corrects her once again, coming to his aid. "Some are better cooks or teachers. Some are better at construction. They weren't made the way they were to undermine Naturals, just give them a more fulfilling life."

"She doesn't seem like the type to attack someone either." Kuzzey adds.

"You don't know that for sure!" Flay remarks, "You can't determine the capabilities of a Coordinator by looking at them."

"And how many Coordinators have you met?" Cagalli asks with a knowing tone.

"W-what?" Flay asks, seemingly offended.

"Well, you talk like you're some big expert on them." Cagalli remarks, "You must have met plenty in your time, right?" She asks with a sarcastic tone.

"And how many have YOU met?!" Flay responds heatedly, seemingly avoiding the question.

"I live on Onogoro Island where the Coordinator/ Natural Count is roughly 50/50 so take a guess." Cagalli responds smoothly. "Barely any are in ORB's Military either which is made up of mostly Naturals. They're just content with living peacefully like farmers."

"But we still don't know anything about her!" Flay declares with an angry tone.

"My, who is this 'her' you speak of?" A voice calls from the door, breaking the group out of their quarrel. They all turn to see the pink-haired Lacus Clyne stood there with her small robotic companion jumping ecstatically at the girl's side, making it's usual chants. The sight of the girl brings a mixed reaction from the group.

Bridge…

As this rather tense discussion occurs within the Mess Hall, another sort of tense discussion is about to take foot. Mu La Flaga has just entered the Bridge and has decided it's worth addressing their most recent problem/ development.

"Give me a break." Mu complains as he floats past Murrue, garnering her attention, "We just solved the Supply Problem and now a pink-haired Princess? There is no limit to the problems we face Ms. Captain." Mu says the last part with a playful tone, causing Murrue to let out a nervous sigh.

"I guess we have choice but to take the girl with us to Lunar Headquarters." She mutters.

"We don't have any more planned stops along the way, right?" Mu inquires.

"But if we took her to Military Headquarters, she'd…" Murrue trails knowingly, "Even though she's a civilian…"

"They'd greet her with open arms." Mu assures her, "She's Clyne's daughter, after all. There's many ways that she'll come in handy."

"I hope she doesn't go through any of that, if possible." Murrue remarks, "Not a little Civilian Girl like her…"

"If you're bringing that up, what about them?" Natarle interjects, alerting the Captain to her presence as she looks to the right to properly address the Ensign, "These guys, who have navigated the ship and fought with us in battle, are also young civilians."

"Ensign Badgiruel, that…" Murrue trails as the ones involved in this (Sai and Tolle) listen intently to what is being said.

"Though you couldn't help it, you involved Kira Yamato and the others in this war." Natarle continues undeterred, "But if I hear you correctly, you're now saying you don't want to involve that girl." A tense silence passes over the Bridge briefly before Natarle continues, "That girl is Clyne's daughter. That fact alone means that is not an ordinary civilian."

Mess Hall…

As tension increases on the bridge, tension is at an all-time high within the confines of the Mess Hall as Lacus has just entered the room.

"My, if I caused some sort of commotion, I apologise." Lacus addresses the group in an apologetic manner. "I was thirsty and, please don't laugh at me when I say this, but I am quite hungry as well." As she continues on, the group looks at her with a distressed expression. "Is this the dining room?"

"Thank you! Thank you!" He robot companion chanted from her side.

"I'd be very grateful if I could have a bite of something." She continues, making her way to the counter.

"Wait a minute!" Kira tries to prevent the girl from igniting an already explosive situation.

"Didn't they bother to lock her room?" Kuzzey mutters.

"This is nuts!" Flay mutters with a distressed tone, "Why is someone from ZAFT allowed to walk around from permission?"

"But I had no intention of going out without permission." Lacus counters, "So I called out from my room and said 'May I leave this room?' I asked three times." Lacus explains as Kuzzey lets out a confused gasp before the girl continues, "Besides, I don't belong to ZAFT. ZAFT is the name of the Military and stands for Zodiac Alliance of Freedom…"

"It makes no difference!" Flay interrupts her, "You're still a Coordinator!"

"It is different." Lacus responds after a tense silence. "Yes, I am a Coordinator, but I don't belong to the military."

"THANK YOU!" Cagalli chips in, "That's the point I've been trying to make! Being a Coordinator doesn't automatically make you ZAFT!"

"You don't belong to the Military either, do you?" Lacus continues, "Then you and I are the same." She concludes before reaching her hand out for Flay to shake, "Excuse me for not introducing myself. My name is…"

"Hey, no, stop it!" Flay interrupts her again with a seemingly disgusted tone, surprising the surrounding group and further angering Cagalli. "You must be outta your mind! Why should I have to shake hands with you? I don't want any Coordinators like you being friendly with me!"

That statement causes a surprised gasp to resound throughout the group. There is an unbelievable silence that resounds throughout the room before-

SLAP!

The group goes wide eyed as Flay Allster collapses to the floor with an extremely angry Cagalli stood over here. Her left hand hovers in the air while Flay's cheek in now red as a tomato and she places her hand over it. Before the red-head can respond to this action, the blonde speaks.

"People like you make me sick!" She simply says before grabbing a tray of food and turning to Lacus. "This is what you came for, right? You'll have to eat it back in the Quarters unless you want guards to lock you in the brig."

"Of course. I never thought to overstep my boundaries." Lacus assures her, the two girls move to walk outside before Cagalli turned back towards him.

"You coming?" She asks. Kira turns to look at Flay who sits on the ground with a shocked expression before turning towards them and walking to meet them. The three of them depart from the Mess Hall together.

Some time later…

As Kira, Cagalli and Lacus make their way back to the latter's quarters. Kuzzey and Miriallia stayed in the Mess Hall with Flay who sat with a napkin, nursing her cheek. There was tense silence as Flay had an angered look on her face before Kuzzey spoke up.

"Flay, are you a member of Blue Cosmos?" Kuzzey asked with a concerned tone.

"No, I'm not!" She denies hotly, receiving a sigh of relief from Miriallia as her reward. "But what those people are saying isn't wrong, is it?" At that moment, the trio reached Lacus' quarters and enter, "People who have their genes manipulated, even if their not sick or anything are a mistaken existence that opposes nature's providence." She says, almost rehearsing some form of propaganda. "The truth is you all agree with me, right?" A guilty look passes over the two of them before Miriallia speaks up.

"But I can't help but agree with the things Cagalli says as well." She counters, "In the end, they're still humans like us. Their parents just wanted good lives for them."

"Are you kidding?!" Flay responds hotly, "That girl slapped me!"

"Only because you said something incredibly cruel towards Coordinators." Kuzzey counters.

"That just makes her some ZAFT sympathiser then!" Flay reasons to which Miriallia shakes her head.

"People raised in ORB, Flay," Miriallia begins to explain, "They believe in peace between Naturals and Coordinators. It's their number one principle. You saying what you did insulted that and, in some ways, insulted Cagalli's homeland. Kira was right there, in case you forgot, and he means a lot to Cagalli so, in some ways, you insulted Kira and herself with your comment." Flay's eyes widen at this.

"I-I see…" She trails.

"Just watch what you say around Cagalli." Kuzzey warns her, "She would probably willingly get along with you as she's open-minded about people and their views. You just need to be less vocal about your attitude towards Coordinators and watch what you say around her, alright?"

"I'll try." She simply responds.

"Try and remember that, if Kira wasn't a Coordinator, we'd probably all be dead." Kuzzey concluded with a final tone and getting out of his chair to leave, leaving Miriallia and Flay alone.

As this conversation occurred, another was being instigated in Lacus' quarters.

"Must I stay here again?" Lacus asks Kira and Cagalli.

"Yes, you should." He responds.

"That's no fun." Lacus remarks, "I'm all alone here and I'd prefer to enjoy my meal there and talk to everybody."

"Good afternoon!" Haro chants.

"This is still an Earth Alliance Military Ship and, civilian or not, a girl from the PLANTs onboard makes people tense." Cagalli explains. "What with a war occurring between the PLANT's Military and Earth Forces after all."

"That's a shame." Lacus remarks, "But you're both very kind. Thank you."

"I-I'm also a Coordinator." Kira informs her.

"You too!" Haro chants.

"I'm not, though." Cagalli adds which makes Lacus shake her head.

"That's a good thing. You, a Natural, came to my aid despite the war going on."

"It was how I was raised to think, alright?" Cagalli explains.

"Still, I hope more people will take the attitude that you two share." Lacus remarks, "Will you tell me your names?"

"Kira Yamato."

"Cagalli."

"Thank you, Mr. Kira. Ms. Cagalli." Lacus said with a final smile.

As the conversation continued, Romero was working on his console, while drinking a Liquid Supplement, when a file appeared on his screen, all of a sudden. He quickly went to work deciphering the message.

"Captain!" He called out, alerting the woman as she swivelled her chair around to properly address him.

At the same time, roughly, Miriallia had finally decided to leave the awkward atmosphere of the Mess Hall, and Flay, who sported a stubborn expression (along with a slightly swollen cheek), alone. Tolle, coincidentally, had just arrived there and floated over to his Love Interest. Miriallia, nervously looking around, grabbed the boy and pulled him over to one side to discuss what had just recently happened and the most recent revelation surrounding Flay.

"Are you sure?" Murrue queried Romero.

"There's no mistaking it!" Romero assures her, "This is a code pulse from the Earth Forces' 8th Fleet!" He confirmed as Natarle drifted up from the CIC to join them.

"Can you decode it?" She asks with a hopeful tone.

"I'm doing that!" He responds as he attempts to decrypt the message. It starts out as being only audible static as he tries varying methods to decrypt it which causes the static to become disjointed, "I'm analysing it!"

"This is… 8th Fleet Advanced… Montgomery, Arch… Angel, reply." A extremely garbled voice calls through the Communicator. This garbled voice, however, fills the surrounding people with a sense of hope.

"It's a force under Admiral Halberton's command!" Murrue informs the surrounding people with a relieved tone. The bridge crew let out varying sounds indicating delight with even Natarle managing a slightly relieved smile at the news.

"Are they looking for us?" Arnold asks with a hopeful tone, getting out of his seat to come investigate.

"What's their position?" Dalida asks out loud, coming out of CIC to join the group along with Jackie.

"Is that Koopman's unit?" Jackie also asks.

"Wait a minute!" Daldia continues.

"Great!" Arnold mutters as he and Jackie high-five each other in the air.

"Wait a minute, I believe they're still a significant distance from us." Romero explains with a somewhat disappointed tone.

"But if we could join them…" Jackie wonders.

"Yeah!" Arnold agrees, "Finally, something we can be relieved about!"

The three bridge crewmen (Jackie, Arnold, Dalida) all share a joyous laugh at their recent good news as Murrue even gives a small smile to herself, believing that things are finally looking up for them.

As this good news is joyfully indulged by the Bridge Crew. Kira and Cagalli now decide to leave Lacus to their devices and go on with their own business. They both walk out of the Quarters, Kira first and then Cagalli, when a voice calls out to them. They both look to see Sai approaching as the door closes behind the two of them.

"I heard from Miri" Sai informs his friend, causing Kira's expression to turn sombre. "Don't let it bother you." Sai comforts his friend while Cagalli simply hovers there, waiting to see what his intentions are. She gets her answer when Sai places a hand on Kira's shoulder to signify this, "I'll talk to Flay later."

All of a sudden, a singing voice starts to become audible as the three of them look towards whose quarters they are stood outside. Their suspicions are confirmed as the voice comes from the room, meaning it is Lacus. As she sings, smiles are brought to the three of their faces as Kira and Cagalli reminisce about the conversation which they shared with her.

"Is it that girl singing?" Sai asks Kira, breaking the two out of their memories. "What a beautiful voice. But I can't help but wonder if that voice is a result of fiddling with her genes." Sai remarks as moves down the corridor, causing a surprised gasp from Kira and a frown from Cagalli. "Shall we go? You two need to eat as well." He says before taking off down the corridor. Instead of remarking over what was just said, the two of them simply follow after the bespectacled male.

Vesalius…

As the ship continued its journey to reunite with the Gamow and pursue the now-named Legged Ship (along with saving a certain pink-haired songstress), a small detour has caught their attention that Rau decides that he needs some clarification over.

"What's the matter?" He asks Ades, drifting to the right of the man sat in the captain's chair.

"They're assumed to be naval vessels of the Earth Forces." Ades informs his cohort, gesturing to the bridge's view-screen that shows the large number. "What are they doing out here?" Ades wonders out loud. Rau hovers there for a few seconds silently before turning to regard the console in the centre of the bridge.

"If the Legged Ship were planning to go from Artemis to the Earth Forces' Lunar Headquarters, what would they do?" Rau asks hypothetically as Ades joins him next to the console.

"Then those naval vessels are out there to provide supplies or maybe greet them?" Ades theorises.

"They haven't caught on to our position, have they?" Rau asks rhetorically, "Don't lose sight of them. Follow them carefully." He instructs his cohort.

"We're following them? But…" Ades protests.

"Of course, we'll also be continuing our search for Lacus Clyne." Rau assures him, "But at the same time, we can't overlook this because of one little girl. I'd hate to be laughed at by historians of future generations."

As this conversation occurs, Miguel Aiman and Athrun Zala both hover in the room overlooking the Vesalius' Hangar Bay. The powered-down Aegis occupies one berth while two standard GINN occupy another across from it and Miguel's Custom GINN stands on the other side. There is a tense silence between the two as they simply watch the Mobile Suits, thinking about their soon-to-occur skirmish before Miguel speaks up.

"So, Athrun…" He addresses the Red-Coat, alerting Athrun who turns to look at him, "Are you ready?"

"Yes." Athrun simply responds, still deep in thought.

"I mean are your ready to do what you must?" Miguel clarifies, surprising Athrun a little. The Red-Coat looks at his mentor figure for a few seconds as Miguel's eyes simply looking at him, not turning his head from looking at the Mobile Suit bay.

"Yes." Athrun responds again. Miguel's eyes turn back to the Mobile Suits along with Athrun as Miguel adopts a little smile.

"That's good."

Archangel…

The battleship's engines roar into life, speeding up the ship even further as the prospect of being united with more forces greatly appeals to all on-board.

"Direction 45, mark 10, Alpha." Romero calls out, "Route change completed. Engines at 60%"

The Civilians were all gathered in the Mess Hall as the recent news of soon linking up with reinforcements fills them with a sense of great hope.

"There's nothing to worry about." A random civilian male said.

"I wonder how long before we join them?" Another wondered.

"I'm sick and tired of this ship." An older woman complained.

Flay and Sai were also present within the Mess Hall as Flay just received news that greatly pleases her.

"What? Papa is…?" She asks with a joyful tone.

"Yes! He's here with the advance force greeting us." He clarifies for her.

"Really?" Flay responds with a relieved tone.

"I'm sure he had no idea that you're onboard, Flay, but we just forwarded our crew list to them." Sai informs her, a joyous expression crossing her face.

"Papa's coming?" She asks rhetorically, "I'm so glad…"

"Great news, huh?" Sai mutters.

Elsewhere, after a fulfilling meal, Kira and Cagalli arrived back at the Hangar to inspect the Strike.

"Sorry we're late." Kira apologises for the two of them to Murdoch.

"Oh, right." Murdoch responds, "I made changes to the standing geometry offset values. I want you to check it over while you, little girl, can check that all the hydraulics are still working fine.

"Right." They both reply.

"Although you may never use this guy again." Murdoch informs Kira. "Shame about the GINN as well. 8th Fleet will probably want it scrapped and we never got any use out of the damn thing. And right after we got a weapon with some ammo for it, as well!"

Both Kira and Cagalli look towards the Strike with a somewhat relieved expression. Kira thinking that being able to take a nice long break is a good thing while Cagalli is just happy that Kira will finally have some stress and pressure taken off of him.

Elsewhere, a pink-haired princess sat in her quarters, idly playing with her robotic companion.

"Haro. Are you okay?" The robot chants.

"Here's a question, where are we currently headed." Lacus asks out loud. Haro rolls around the desk they're sat at as a result to which Lacus giggles.

Throughout the ship, this news has catapulted the crew's morale to an all-time high. Little do they know that it would all soon go away.

God, this chapter was soul destroying to write. What the hell's the matter with Morosawa and writing all this crap with Lacus?! Having Cagalli defend her killed me inside, but, given the circumstances, it seemed logical. I mean, it's not like she'd take Flay's side on the matter and she was less defending Lacus and more defending Kira.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. If it seems poorer quality compared to my others, it's because my soul felt like it was being progressively torn apart as I wrote this chapter. Luckily, I only have to put up with Lacus for two more chapters before she goes away for a while.

Next chapter I look forward to writing. I mean, it's a battle so that'll be fun to write. That, and Miguel's GINN will make its debut.

R-0 Out!