Hello, everyone. R-0 here welcoming you to my next chapter of Twin's Fate Entwined. I'm terribly sorry that it's been a while since I last updated. Real life is a cruel mistress and I have a lot on my plate on the moment. Likewise, it's just been hard to find the time or even have the energy to even write a single paragraph. Nevertheless, it has been too long since I last released a chapter, so here you all go; my gift to you.
Anyway, let's begin.
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED or its respective materials.
Chapter 15: The Lioness Strikes
As the crew of the Archangel were all making the most out of this period of peace (A welcome change from the constant skirmishes and conflict in space), the white ship was under scrutiny from afar. A familiar individual with short red-hair, clad in a desert-cloak obscuring his ZAFT uniform, was led in the sand and watching the ship from afar through some binoculars, the otherwise night illuminated slightly by the glare from his glowing, green lenses.
"How is the so-called Legged Ship doing?" A deep voice asks the individual from behind.
"Sir!" The red-head replies in response, turning over from the prone position to regard his superior who was standing with a mug of fresh coffee in his hand. "There hasn't been any recent movement!"
"On Earth's surface, anything to do with electronic waves is affected because of the N-Jammers." He explains. "That's why she's sleeping." He concludes before taking a swill of his brew, eyes still fixated on the Archangel. At the taste, his eyes widen suddenly, causing his subordinate to become alarmed.
"W-what do you see, sir?!" He asks with concern, turning back around to regard the dormant ship.
"Well, this time I blended it with five percent less Mocha Matari." The leader replies, gesturing to his mug. "It tastes great." He surmises before turning to walk away, leaving a bemused subordinate who quickly rises from his position to follow.
Their destination if fairly obvious as, behind them, there is a large congregation of fellow ZAFT Soldiers, similarly dressed in desert cloaks, stood around a variety of jeeps, Linear Tanks, "Heli" Attack Helicopters and many ammunition crates.
The most prominent objects, however, were several large quadrupedal weapons, caked in a mixed colour between navy blue and yellow. As with the ZAFT GINN, a familiar mooneye was present in a long head sticking out of its hunched-over fuselage, giving it an almost canine appearance (The two sensor arrays protruding helped add to the visage) with some heads seemingly holding onto a cylinder, as if biting it. Each of its thin and long legs flattened out at the bottom, emphasising the imagery, but strangely offset by what appear to be treads fitted to the back of each leg. The imagery was further contradicted by the sight of either two long barrels mounted on top, or a large cuboid with holes hollowed out.
This was the TMF/A-802 BuCUE, ZAFT's mobile land warfare unit, armed with either a 2-Barrel 450mm Railgun or a 13 Tube 400mm Missile Launcher, with a few having an optional Double-Edged Beam Sabre mounted in their heads for melee purposes. This unit is considered unparalleled in terms of speed and manoeuvrability in terms of land combat.
The assembled soldiers line up at their leader's arrival (Who had just emptied out his coffee mug and thrown it to his following subordinate), as he prepared to address them, still maintaining his joking visage to help motivate the men for the battle ahead.
"We shall now commence our Operation against the Earth Forces' new ship; The Archangel." He begins. "Our objective is to evaluate the battle strength of the enemy and its Mobile Suit."
"Are we not to destroy it?" A random ZAFT Green, clad in his normal suit, inquired, eliciting a number of snickers from his comrades, clearly sharing his mindset. Their leader even manages a little chuckle at their enthusiasm.
"Mmm, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it." He replies jokingly. "Do remember, though, that the Le Creuset Team failed in its attempts to shoot it down and Admiral Halberton sacrificed both himself and his fleet to allow it passage to Earth. Don't forget that." He reminds them. "I still pray for your success, though!" And with that final words of assurance, the Commander salutes his men who return the gesture before giving them one last encouraging smirk and walking away.
"Alright, all units to your positions!" His red-haired aide steps forward, issuing the command. At his instruction, the soldiers take their positions; The pilots mount their Mobile Units while the other soldiers board the tanks and helicopters, all ready for the combat ahead.
"When the coffee tastes great, everything feels great!" The happy-go-lucky commander remarks as he takes a seat in his jeep. "So let's go fight a war!"
Archangel… Hangar…
As the ZAFT Forces stage their imminent and daring assault on the Earth Forces' ship, the crew are blissfully unaware; going about their daily duties like any other day. For example, within the hangar bay, Engineer Murdoch and Mu La Flaga are tinkering with their recently acquired aircraft, working on the final adjustments to make it ideal for piloting by the Hawk Of Endymion in particular including its OS and targeting systems.
"Commander!" Murdoch calls out to the pilot sat in the Skygrasper's cockpit; the Engineer wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead. "What do you say that we call it a day there?" He inquires, walking towards the dormant aircraft. "You won't get a feeling for the final adjustments until you actually fly it."
Seemingly, in response, the Commander takes a large stretch and yawns loudly, seemingly showing his own exhaustion.
"Yeah, you're right." He agrees, clambering out of the cockpit and descending down its ladder. "Even with both kids still MIA, I think that she's ready for her maiden flight." He then wrapped a hand around his chin in though. "Still, I thought he was feeling better? From what I've heard, he's locked himself in his room for hours on end."
"I heard that as well." Murdoch agrees, nodding to show his affirmation. "Apparently, our little blondie has been on guard dog duty this entire time, spending her free hours sat outside his door, but not much else." He then shrugs. "It's a little odd, if you ask me."
"Well, we can only hope that he gets out of that funk soon, eh?" Mu asks rhetorically, the both of them nodding on that sombre note.
Elsewhere…
While the two veterans are about to conclude their duties for the day, other individuals' day of work is about to begin as a yawning Tolle steps out of his quarters, rubbing his eyes in tiredness, his dress coat only worn in one arm and strewn over the other side. As he slides the remaining sleeve on, Miriallia emerges from the quarters behind him, already ready for the day ahead with her own clothes fully worn, she only finishing straightening the collar while emerging. At her boyfriend's state of disrepair, she lets out a sigh.
"Come on, can't you wear it properly?" She asks. Tolle answers with a loud groan to signify his exhaustion. "If you arrive on the bridge looking like that, you know you'll just be yelled at by lieutenant Badgiruel." She admonishes him.
"Flay?" A voice calls out, alerting the two. The pair look over Tolle's shoulder to see the sight of their orange-haired friend stood in one of the quarters' entranceways, addressing one of the many bunks which has its curtains closed. "I'm sorry to bother you so late, but I couldn't find the time to sit down and talk to you until now." He continues. "It's about what you said before." He then looks over his shoulder, seemingly aware of the listening audience. "Hey, can you please get up so we can talk?"
As he receives no answer from the bunk, his two friends look on in concern for their clearly distressed individual. Nevertheless, they both make a confident decision that this isn't their business and take off down one of the numerous corridors, allowing their friend the space he needs.
"What a surprise." Tolle whispers to Miriallia. "To hear that they were engaged, I mean."
"Not engaged." She corrects. "It was only a verbal agreement."
"What's the difference?"
"Flay was acting weird, wasn't she?" Miriallia asks after a prolongued pause. "Before, it wasn't like she hated just Kira, but…"
"She just hates Coordinators, right?" Tolle concludes knowingly. "She might have been a year behind us, but she was in all your extracurricular activities, so we crossed paths once or twice and Kira did used to think she was cute." He continues.
"I'm not sure, though, with everything that's happened." Miriallia responds in her head.
"I just hope this whole situation doesn't turn ugly." Tolle admits.
"I agree."
Archangel Bridge…
"We'll keep the ship's temperature down by cooling it with the ventilation system." Dalida states, countering the recent complaint made by the increased heat from close proximity to the desert. "As long as we can fool the infrared ray scans, we can pull it off and, since their radar is just unreliable as ours, it should be a cinch."
Their reverie is broken as the entranceway slides open to the sight of Tolle and Miriallia walking in.
"We're here to begin our shift." Miriallia declares.
"Hey, you're late!" Arnold admonishes them, turning in his seat to regard the duo. Eventually, the pair take their respective positions before Kuzzey and Dalida go back to their previous subject regarding a map detailing the location of every Neutron Jammer on the planet.
"Can't we ever get rid of these things?" Kuzzey asks wearily.
"That's impossible." Dalida responds. "They're shot in so deep below the Earth's surface that we don't even know how many there are. If it was possible to break them, somebody would have already done so." He clarifies. "Radio waves and fission-based energy are adversely affected, but it's still a lot better than just having nuclear missiles flying everywhere, because if they had retaliated in kind to that attack on Junius Seven, we wouldn't have an Earth anymore."
Before the conversation can continue, the entrance slides open once again to the familiar sight of the ship XO.
"Anything unusual?" She asks as she enters, alerting the relaxed Dalida who immediately stands at attention, saluting stiffly.
"Ma'am!" He addresses her with a nervous tone. "Nothing out of the ordinary!" He confirms before quickly moving back to his assigned, lest he risk the XO's wrath. Nonplussed, the black-haired woman approached Arnold, still focused on the view ahead of him before regarding a liquid packet being presented to him by the XO.
"Do we have the data on the hull's distortion?" She inquiries.
"Yes, thank you." He responds, gratefully accepting the supplement. "Based on simplified measurements, the stress-strain has stopped within the permissible range." He continues as he let goes of the supplement absent-mindedly. "In other words-" The supplement drop to the floor, giving the helmsman pause as he regards the fallen item with realization.
"Ensign, please do remember that we are no longer in a weightless state." Natarle scolds Arnold. Regardless, the woman walks over and picks up the drink.
"I'm sorry." He apologizes before accepting it again.
"There are irregularities in the gravitational field." Natarle observes before leaning in slightly. "Perhaps an effect caused by the underground caves."
"What's that?" Tolle asks with some degree of confusion."
"Although based on pre-war data, and we don't know the accurate locations, we do still know that the surrounding area is full of abandoned oil, natural gas and mineral deposit mines." Arnold explains. "Landing in the wrong spot could be disastrous."
"Is the spot we're on now okay?" Tolle asks with a concerned tone.
"It is, right?" Arnold asks the XO, his own tone betraying the smallest hint of doubt.
A prolonged silence passes over the trio. The potential knowledge that they might be hovering over a potential minefield enters their respective mind, filling them with a sense of apprehension. No sooner can these thoughts be vocalized, however, does the proximity sensor blare loudly, alerting the bridge crew. Momentarily surprised, Kuzzey and Dalida set to work determining the disturbances origins.
"Laser detected and aimed at the ship!" Dalida calls out. "Matching it now…! Confirmed, it's a target designator!"
Moments later…
The ship is now in full pandemonium as its numerous crew members, regardless of whether or not they were roused from slumber, are dashing through the ship attempting to reach their respective positions as the battle is already in full swing. This also applies to a certain blond now napping outside of the door a certain brown-haired individual. Eventually, she is roused from her sleep due to all the noise and vibrations. She lazily opens her eyes before suddenly jolting upwards at the sight of numerous personnel entering and exiting her peripheral vision.
"W-what's going on?" Cagalli asks a random crewmember walking by.
"ZAFT's attacking! It's all hands on deck!" He replies before dashing off.
"Oh, man, now of all times?!" She exclaims, furiously rubbing her head in frustration, before turning around and banging on the quarters door. "Kira, please open up! We need your help!" A massive shockwave strikes the ship. "Do you hear that? We're all gonna die if you don't get your ass in your Mobile Suit!"
As suddenly as she makes that final statement does the door slide open to reveal its solitary resident… Whose condition left much to be desired. His eyes were weary and bloodshot (Cagalli assumed that it was from his crying) and bags had started to develop. It was obvious that he couldn't even cry himself to sleep. He also doesn't really look at her. His eyes just stay transfixed to the ground, almost still not fully awake.
"Kira…?" Cagalli asks with a concerned tone. Her voice seemingly snaps him out his trance as he slowly looks up at her.
"Cagalli, hey…" He mutters tiredly. "I have to fight again, don't I?"
"Yeah, we need you to-"
"Protect the ship?" Kira asks bitterly. "As if I can do that…"
And with that, the youth walks past her, seemingly dragging himself down the corridor. Before Cagalli can chase after him, however…
"Oi, what are you still doing up here?!" A fellow engineer calls out. "You're needed in the hangar!"
"R-right, I'm coming!" Cagalli responds before turning back to see that the youth has already disappeared down some corridor. A sombre expression passes her features before she turns and makes her way to the Hangar.
"Please be fine to fight Kira!"
Meanwhile…
As the oncoming fire alerted the ship to an impending attack, a duo could only watch from their jeep in amusement at the wayward ship trying to properly orientate itself.
"Okay." The commander declares, lowering his binoculaurs. "Let's begin."
At his command, his subordinate grabs the vehicle's communicator and taps into the main channel.
"All Air units, begin attack."
Almost immediately, the attack helicopters hiding from plain view emerged and made their way directly towards the idle battleship which is still not ready to receive said invaders.
Hangar Bay…
"Look, just get the thing ready!" Mu exclaims with some concern, his aircraft still wired up, not ready to launch.
"And I told you that it's impossible!" He responds heatedly. "We don't even have time to get the ammunition loaded!"
"What about loading a pack?"
"That'll take even MORE time!" Cagalli, also present, rebuts him.
At that titbit of information, Mu lets out an annoyed grunt.
"Well, we need to do someth-" A familiar brown-haired individual walks past, entering Mu's peripheral vision and giving him a chance. "Oi, kid, help me out here!"
"It doesn't really matter." He responds, stopping in his place. "We'll all probably die with me here."
As quick as he makes that chilling statement, he walks back on, leaving Mu a little bewildered.
"Cagalli." Mu turns to regard his fellow blond. "He's alright, isn't he?"
"Huh?" She responds momentarily before shaking her head assuredly. "Oh, don't worry, he's still just a little worn out! Once he's back in a cockpit, he'll back to normal!"
"I sure hope so." Another missile strikes the hull from the inbound helicopters, causing vibrations. "Or, soon enough, those will really start to hurt!"
Moments later… Archangel Bridge…
"More missiles inbound from the three attack copters!" Dalida calls out.
"Lost sight of the enemies!" Jackie adds.
"Scatter Flare shells and intercept!" Natarle commands. Said order is relayed as the Archangel's missile pods open and numerous flares are shot out to intercept the impeding missiles. The ploy works as the missiles chase after the flares while the remaining few are shredded apart by the Archangel's CIWS.
"Can I go out yet?" A weary voice calls out over the communicator, surprising Miriallia as his face appears on-screen. Like Cagalli, she can immediately see his tired features.
"Kira?" Miriallia asks with a concerned tone. "We're not ready yet
"We still don't know the size and position of the enemy!" Natarle admonishes him.
"Does that really matter?" He mutters with a defeatist tone. "I'm gonna need to sortie anyway or you wouldn't have called me to position. Either way, I need to go out, so either I go out now or later when the Archangel is full of holes." He responds. "Though will it make a difference… People will still die because I can't protect them."
"Kira, are you okay?" Miriallia asks.
"I'm just fine."
"Captain!" Natarle regards Murrue.
"There's something wrong with him…" Murrue thinks to herself worriedly. "But we could be dealing with a significant force and the Skygrasper isn't ready. Any way you look at it, the Strike needs to sortie…" The image of a blond youngster crosses her features. "No, I can't ask her. She doesn't have any training or experience, especially in these situations." A firm expression crosses her features. "I have to do it!"
"I may not like his attitude, but he can take off! We can't make any sudden movements with the ship anyway." She explains. "Have the Strike lift off!"
"Load the Strike onto the catapult!" Natarle commands. "Intercept the enemy helicopters."
Loading Catapult…
As per her command, the Strike is swiftly loaded onto the platform. The movement rack drops the Mobile Suit into the launch clamps as the numerous compartments slide open.
"Equip the Launcher Striker!" Mirallia commands over the communicator. As such, the familiar Beam Cannon slides out of its Birth and onto the Strike's back, along with the appropriate power pack and mount as well as the shoulder guard. "Power connections, okay!" She confirms before the bay doors slide open and the Linear Catapult folds out. "Route clear, Strike please launch!" The launch signs all read clear and the Strike takes off down the runway, detaching its power cable.
The moment it leaves the confines of the Archangel, however, the Mobile Suit is hit with the equivalent of a sack of bricks as it falls harshly to the ground. Seemingly in a trance, the pilot activates the thrusters at the last second. It's not adequate, however, as the Mobile Suit collapses to its knees.
"W-what just happened?" Kira asks confusedly. He has no time to muse, however, as the hidden attack helicopters appear and open fire on the Strike. Still dazed, he tries to move the unit, but the terrain beneath him gives out and he's unable to move as the missiles strike the area surrounding him. "What's going on?" He asks, seemingly disturbed.
"Kira!" Miriallia's voice calls out. "Activate your Phase Shift!"
"Oh right, yeah…" He mutters in realization before doing so, the familiar shade of white, red and blue encasing his unit. "I guess I should start shooting them as well… If I can even…" He mutters bitterly before equipping the Beam Cannon and aiming it at the Helicopters. Almost as immediate as they appeared, however, they move back behind the hills. "Probably wouldn't have been able to hit them anyway…" The sand gives way beneath him again. "Why can't I move?! Am I just powerless to help again?!"
Unbeknownst to the youth, however, his actions are being observed by a certain ZAFT Commander and his subordinate.
"It's come out now!" DaCosta remarks. "That's the X-105 Strike, isn't it?"
"Deploy the BuCUE's." Andrew commands, seemingly ignoring the question. "I want to test its reactions."
As they have this conversation, Kira has tried to boost over the hills and get after the Helicopters. Unfortunately, he lands on another patch of loose sand and his Mobile Suit tumbles back down.
"Dammit, why can't I do anything?!" He cries out with a tone of frustration. He has no time to christen his thoughts, however, as his proximity sensor starts blaring and his vision is filled with the sight of hound-like blue machines which fly past him. "W-what are those?" He asks with concern before his Mobile Suit falls back down again. Wasting no time, the weapons land and transform into their tread form followed by a volley from their mounted missile launchers. The youth's unfortunate as some of the missiles impact his unit directly.
"Kira!" Miriallia cries out worriedly.
"Confirmed as TMF-A-802 ZAFT Forces Mobile Suit; BuCUE!" Sai informs the bridge crew.
"Did you say BuCUE's?!" Natarle responds worriedly, realizing that predicament the Strike might be in.
"J-just go away!" Kira exclaims with terror. He arms the Beam Cannon and begins to open fire. His mind elsewhere, however, he forgets to aim and just starts to randomly fire at the BuCUE's. None of his shots are successful which prompts a wave of confidence to slide over the BuCUE pilots.
"I don't know how you did in space…" One begins to remark.
"…But BuCUE's rule on land!" Another finishes as he unleashes a blast from his unit's Railgun. The blast impacts the Strike and shakes the pilot about.
"W-what can I do?!" Kira exclaims again. The distress in his tone apparent. "Like hell I can save anyone!"
The bridge crew can only continue to observe worriedly at the Strike's rather poor response and aiming.
"Fire Sledgehammers!" Natarle commands, trying to salvage the situation.
"But it might hit the Strike!" Jackie exclaims worriedly.
"It has PS Armour, doesn't it?!"
"But-"
"That's an order!" Natarle finalizes. "Right now, it stands no chance! Both with this terrain and the pilot's current condition!"
"R-roger!" Jackie confirms with a disgruntled tone. "Firing Sledgehammers!"
"Kira!" Mirallia calls, trying to warn him. The warning, however, is for naught as the missiles veer towards him. The BuCUE pilots use their superior mobility to easily evade away from the oncoming missiles. Kira, however, isn't so lucky as a few of the Missiles impact his Mobile Suit.
"I got hit again?!" He exclaims. "How can I protect them when I can't even protect myself?!"
"Oh my?!" Andrew remarks playfully. "Either that Captain isn't too kind to his pilots or they REALLY trust him to not get hit." He concludes. "I'm guessing it's the former with his piloting…"
Wasting no time, the BuCUE's continue their assault, raining Missiles and Railgun bolts on the Mobile Suit and its distressed pilot.
"I can't do anything, I can't do anything, I can't do anything…" Kira continues to mutter, worrying his comrades over the communicator. "I CAN'T DO ANYTHING AT ALL!" He screams, continuing to blind-fire with his Beam Cannon, constantly unsuccessful at even grazing them, the pilots finding this almost amusing as some laugh at the blatant panic-firing, playfully firing missiles which continue to impact it.
"Huh, even if the pilot was any good…" Andrew starts. "Which he isn't." "Nothing's got a chance against BuCUE in a desert field!"
"Huh, this is almost sad now!" A BuCUE pilot calls out.
"I know!" Another calls out joyfully.
"In fact, I'm starting to feel confident enough…" His BuCUE ignites its Double-Sided Beam Sabre. "TO DO THIS!" He ignites his Mobile Suit's thrusters and rushes the Strike. Kira's still too grief-stricken to even register his contact sensors blaring in alarm at the rushing opponent. It isn't until the Mobile Suit leaps at him that Kira turns around and cries out in terror, raising his Beam Cannon in defence. The Mobile Suit cleaves the massive weapon in half before boosting away to avoid the explosion generated (Which the Strike is unfortunate enough to be engulfed in).
"I've lost my weapon now…" Kira mutters with a defeatist tone as his Mobile Suit just lies there, his own arms lazily hanging off of the cockpit controls. "I'm completely helpless… Like the people on the shuttle…"
"Status report!" Natarle commands.
"He's not doing anything!" Mirallia responds. "The Strike refuses to move and is just taking every attack! It's also starting to run low on energy due to sustained attacks and repetitive use of the Cannon!"
"Get Kira on the line!" Murrue commands, attempting to salvage the situation.
"I've been trying, but he's not responding! The Communicator's open, but he's not responding!"
"Dammit!" Natarle remarks.
Meanwhile…
Elsewhere, within the Hangar, the maintenance crew have been observing the battle in worry, particularly Cagalli. Then the Beam Cannon was cut in half the crew collectively gulped in nervousness at the Strike's helplessness.
"Why did I let him go, why did I let him go?!" Cagalli mutters within the recesses of her mind as the Strike's continuing punishment is causing unrest and panic. "I could have stopped this! What do I do?!" She clenches her chest in worry. "I don't want him to die!"
Suddenly, she feels the solid object underneath her tank top still wrapped around her neck. She pulls out the small device and looks at it. All of a sudden, a look of clarity passes her features as her features become firm and she looks towards the only remaining Mobile Suit in the Hangar. A wave of conviction hits her as she sprints towards its general direction.
"Oi, girl!" Murdoch remarks. "Where are you going?!"
"To try and get us out of this mess!"
Moments later…
"Is the Skygrasper ready to take off yet?" Murrue asks with frustration.
"No, not yet, they're still finishing loading the-" She pauses as a bleeping from her console alerts her. "That can't be right…" She mutters before clarifying the details on her terminal as her eyes go wide in disbelief. "Err, Captain!"
"What is it?"
"We have a Mobile Suit ready to take off." All eyes turn to her in confusion. Seemingly to respond, she activates the Hangar Bay cameras to the sight of the long-dormant GINN out of its berth, trying to open the hangar bay doors, a Recoiless Rifle grasped in its right, Machine Gun on the back skirt and Heavy Sword on the left skirt.
"W-who's in that?" Natarle calls out with confusion.
"According to Engineer Murdoch… It's Cagalli."
"W-what?" Murrue asks with confusion before shaking her head. "Patch me through to her!"
"O-ok!" She confirms before opening a communique to the GINN. The viewscreen lights up in front of her to, indeed, confirm the presence of the blond girl sat in its seat, in the moment properly settling her seat's restraints.
"Can you open these doors for me!" Cagalli demands.
"What are you doing?!" Murrue asks with a confused tone.
"Trying to save your Mobile Suit and my friend!"
"And how are you going to do that in a GINN?!"
"It's better than sitting here waiting for the next BuCUE to rip him open!" She fires back heatedly.
"I understand that you-"
"You don't understand!" Cagalli cuts her off, her tone becoming sad as a solemn expression crosses her features. "The moment I saw Kira, I should have locked him in his room and let him recover, rushed up here and told everyone to figure out an alternative. Instead, I let him go on and look where we are now!" She remarks. "It's my fault that he's alone out there ready to die!" Her tone almost becomes pleading. "Please let me go."
"Cagalli-"
"You made me his backup for when he needs help, didn't you?" Cagalli remarks, confusing the assembled crowd at her statement. "Well, he needs it now."
A prolonged silence passes over the bridge as Murrue sits there motionless, brooding over the blonde's words.
"Don't be ridiculous." Natarle speaks up. "We won't so readily throw away-"
"Okay." The authoritative tone of the Captain cuts her off, startling the XO before the woman turns towards Miriallia. "Open the bay doors and prep the catapult." At her command, Mirallia appears momentarily shocked before nodding and turning back around to follow the order. Murrue turns to regard the GINN's pilot. "Your objective it to assist the Strike and, if possible, try and break Ensign Yamato out his condition."
"Ok." Cagalli responds, breathing a sigh of relief. The doors slide open as she marches the Mobile Suit into the launch catapult, orientating its feet to land in the launch clamps.
"Maintain your distance also." A voice from behind alerts them, surprising the pair to see Natarle providing the input. "The GINN isn't designed for desert warfare and is significantly slower."
"Alright, I will!" She responds. "Thank you."
The viewscreen goes blank as Murrue turn back towards Natarle.
"The Captain's decision is final." The XO declares. "All I can do is make sure this doesn't go poorly for the ship."
"Captain!" Miriallia calls out again. "The Skygrasper's also ready for take-off momentarily!"
"I guess this battle might just go our way after all." Murrue remarks with a slight smile.
"Inbound heat source!" Dalida calls out before a strong attack impacts the surface.
"Where did that come from?" Natarle enquires.
"Projected source: 20 Kilometres southwest." Sai replies.
"The ship's not equipped to counter this attack." Jackie calls out, earning a grunt of annoyance from Natarle.
"Once Cagalli has taken off, I'll follow after that blast and spot the target with a designator!" Mu calls out over the communicator, his Skygrasper rolling up behind the GINN for takeoff. "You can then fire missiles at the target."
"We don't have time to be searching!"
"Well, I guess this is a day for firsts as we don't have a choice!" Mu responds. "We won't know until we try, so just keep the ship in one piece until then!"
Meanwhile…
"Alright, here I go!" Cagalli mutters as she unlatches the Data Disk around her and slides it into the receptacle on the Console. As informed, a password confirmation screen comes up and the girl quickly inputs the code in. The computer makes a beep of confirmation as the GINN's monoeye momentarily flashes, recognizing the software. The timing is fortunate as the sign reads "CLEAR" straight after. "Now to see if this disk was really worth it!"
"GINN, Take off!"
"Cagalli, launching!" She declares as the clamps skate down the runway, her body momentarily chucked backwards due to the unfamiliar sensations before reaching the end and taking off from the edge, not needing to detach a cable due to the girl's rather aggressive departure from the Hangar. Soon enough, she lands on the surface and quickly orientates herself, the Onogoro resident much more familiar with the gravity than the Heliopolis resident. "Man, this thing is slow!" She remarks at the GINN's sluggish reaction. "Never mind that!" She remarks, turning the GINN around to try and locate the intended Mobile Suit, its Monoeye rapidly sliding from side to side. Soon enough, she spots the Strike not too far away, still being bombarded and harassed by BuCUEs.
"Man, this isn't funny anymore!" A ZAFT Green calls out. "Let's finish this!" He exclaims before charging forward, Beam Sabre ignited.
"Oh no, Kira!" Cagalli exclaims at the sight, quickly brandishing her Mobile Suit's Recoiless Rifle and aiming it. Soon enough, the targeting computer corrects for trajectory and wind and fully locking on. "Take this!" She exclaims before firing a round from the Rocket Launcher, the missile veering out of the weapon and toward its intended target. As the hound Mobile Suit leaps and descends down on the helpless Strike, its pilot cackling wildly, he remains unaware as the rocket impacts against the underside of the Mobile Suit. The reaction is immediate as it explodes from the inside out, causing the surrounding other Mobile Suits to give pause, their pilots all turning towards the direction the missile came from.
"Where the hell did that come from?!" One of the pilots called out.
"Someone… Saved me?" Kira asks confusedly.
From afar, Andrew observes as his eyes widen slightly at the sight before orientating his binoculars, turning them to the right to confirm who shot the rocket.
"Well, this is new." He remarks casually. "A GINN, huh? Reports did say one was probably captured, but it's been inactive the whole time since Heliopolis. Surprising to see it operational." He smirks a little. "Still… It's no match for a BuCUE."
"How dare they?!" An angered ZAFT pilot exclaims.
"Let's make that bastard pay!" Another shouts in anger. "This weakling Strike will still be here after we're done anyway!"
And with that, the remaining five BuCUE's all take off away from the Strike towards the solitary GINN.
"Oh, that's not good!" Cagalli remarks before reaching over to the console and tapping in a frequency. She rubs her head in frustration. "Dammit! What was the Strike's?!" While doing this, she has to multitask and continuously fire at the approaching Mobile Suits. The sluggish and slow rocket launcher might have been effect as a surprise weapon, but its unwieldy nature is being made apparent as the rockets are easily dodged.
"Huh, looks like we were worried for nothing!" A cocky ZAFT Green exclaims.
"This isn't working!" Cagalli exclaims, constantly diverting her attention between the two tasks. As such, she only has a last second as a volley of missiles almost impact her Mobile Suit. Luckily, she manages to evade a few and impulsively throw the Rifle at the remaining missiles, evading the blows while the weapon explodes, all the while still cycling through frequencies until…
"Yes, that's it!" She exclaims with relief as she patches. "Kira, it's Cagalli!"
"Cagalli?"
"Yes, it's me!"
"You're in a Mobile Suit?"
"Yeah, because I'm trying to save you!" She remarks, suddenly igniting her GINN's thrusters to boost out her current spot as a railgun blast almost strikes her. "I can't imagine how you must be feeling right now… What burden you have, but we need your help!"
"What can I do…? Everyone just dies when I try to protect them…"
Before she can reply, a daring BuCUE charges her with its Beam Sabre ignited from behind. Due to the GINN's slower reactions, she can only just evade as the Mobile Suit cuts her GINN's left thruster assembly to pieces. She doesn't waste the close combat, however, brandishing the Heavy Sword prematurely and grabbing the BuCUE by the top of its neck with her empty hand. She runs the sword through its chest before sliding it out and boosting away as it explodes.
At the sight, the Desert Tiger lets out a whistle.
"That old junk got another." Andrew remarks. "I wonder if they got the piloting roster mixed up today?"
"Commander!" DaCosta calls out, pointing in a direction. "Look there!"
Momentarily confused, Andrew turns toward the pointed direction to see the Earth Forces' new fighter take off from the Archangel.
"That wasn't in the report." He remarks before smirking a little. "This has been a day of surprises."
"Everyone dies, Kira?" Cagalli remarks. "Well what about me?! You protected me, didn't you?!" She counters, making his otherwise blank eyes widen. "I'm still alive, aren't I?"
"I protected you…?" Kira asks.
"That's right! Me and all your friends! If you weren't here…" Before she can finish, a blast hits from behind, knocking her Mobile Suit down and damaging the remaining right Vernier. Another BuCUE charges in for the finishing kill, leaping up to strike down. "WE'D ALL BE DEAD!" She cries as she rises back up and spins to face the BuCUE. Her GINN's head sensor gets a large portion cut off before she retaliates and swipes her Heavy Sword, the blade coming into contact with the quadrupedal Mobile Suit's knees, slicing its four legs off. The BuCUE continues its journey before slamming onto the ground in a slump.
"Y-you punk!" The disorientated pilot exclaims, grinding his teeth in frustration. Refusing to accept defeat, he quickly aims his Railgun and fires. Cagalli, unfortunately, has no time to react and instead just blocks with her right hand. The bolt impacts against it and explodes, obliterating the arm as the Heavy Sword survives and goes flying into the air before dropping to the ground nearby.
"It's true that those innocent people died, Kira, and that, in a better world, you might have been able to save him." She admits before brandishing her Machine Gun in her remaining arm and opening fire on the immobilized BuCUE. The pilot can only cry out in terror as the bullets rip into his helpless Mobile Suit, causing it to explode. "But what you can do now is try even harder to protect everyone else so the deaths stop!"
"I can… stop the dying…?" Kira wonders to himself, his hollow eyes regaining clarity as his body subconsciously moves towards the keypad, trying to solve the Strike's current problem.
"Cagalli!" A voice calls over the communicator. "Another volley of missiles are inbound on the Archangel! Can you do something about it?"
"Alright, then!" She responds before glancing around at the remaining three BuCUEs, all staring her down like a piece of prey. "The only way I can is to get close enough to use my gun. If I do that, though, I'll be a sitting duck. My only chance is…" She glances towards the still-dormant Strike. "I'm counting on you, Kira!" She affirms before igniting her GINN's remaining central thruster. "Please have enough power for this!" She exclaims as the GINN takes off upwards, intending to meet the missiles.
"Ha! What an idiot!" One of the remaining BuCUE pilots exclaims. "Left himself a sitting duck!" He comments in glee before the remaining trio unleash fire on the ascending GINN with a barrage of missiles and Railgun bolts. This doesn't deter Cagalli, however, as she soon manages to reach a similar height to the approaching missiles.
"And that's why, Kira…" She begins, aiming her Machine Gun at the missiles and unleashing fire. Through luck, the swarm of bullets manages to engulf the inbound missiles. The Archangel bridge crew breathe a sigh of relief before a stray missile strikes the GINN in its left thigh, blowing the leg off as the Mobile Suit cannot maintain its height and goes falling back to ground level. "I know you'll save me from dying now!"
Her Mobile Suit impacts the ground, leaving the Lioness dazed and confused as her Mobile Suit lies there motionless.
The Coordinator's eyes widen at that passionate declaration.
"Save you from dying…?" He mutters, his body just finishing recalibrating the Strike for gravity. "I have to save you… stop the dying… I can do it!" He mutters passionately. "I CAN END IT!" He declares passionately as a purple SEED explodes within the recesses of his mind, filling himself with a strange sense of clarity and inner peace.
"Time to end it here!" An approaching BuCUE declares. "Since you're a ZAFT unit as well, I'll give you a quick death!" He declares, charging forward. All of a sudden, though, the wind is knocked out of him as an intense impact strikes him from the left, his Mobile Suit tumbling to the ground. The pilot has no time to recover, however, as his Mobile Suit is roughly turned over, head facing upwards, to see the previously vegetative Strike towering over him, its yellow optics glowing eerily. Before he can react, however, the Strike brandishes one of its Assault Knives and wastes no time descending downwards with it, running the Knife through its head and shredding its cockpit apart.
"You did it, Kira…!" Cagalli mutters with relief, managing to make out the sight of the Strike swiftly ramming the approaching BuCUE with its shoulder and stabbing it.
"What?!" One of the remaining soldiers calls out in confusion. "That thing was dead a few moments ago!" He declares with confusion before charging towards the Strike, opening fire with its Missile Launcher. Kira is unfazed, however, as he brandishes the other knife and runs it into the deceased BuCUE's stomach. He then grabs the BuCUE with the impaled knives and, using his Mobile Suit's sheer strength, lift the carcass and lob it at the approaching one. The pilot, so shocked by this unorthodox method, can only hesitate as the husk collides with him, knocking him backwards. Kira wastes no time then unleashing a barrage of missiles and bullets with its shoulder-mounted armaments, shredding the dead BuCUE apart and engulfing its comrade in the explosion.
"Cagalli!" A familiar voice calls over the GINN's communicator. "Are you okay?"
"Kira!" Cagalli responds with a relieved tone. "I'm fine. Just a little shaken up."
"You were right." He declares. "I shouldn't have let the guild eat at me. Instead, I should have tried to learn from it so that that tragedy never happens again! As much as I hate killing, I can't let any more innocent people die!"
"Well, it's nice to see that you finally learnt that!" She replies.
"Kira, are you okay now?" Mirialia calls over the communicator. "Are you okay now?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." He responds with an assuring tone. "I'll be even better once we get rid of this last foe.
"Dammit! They've got everyone else!" The remaining ZAFT fighter remarks, clearly shaken by the unarmed Strike rather swiftly dispatching two of his comrades. Despite this, though, he smirks a little. "But…"
Coincidentally, the enemy commander currently has a PDA out, detailing the X-105's weapons and statistics.
"While it is certainly an incredible machine and its pilot seems to have gotten out of whatever funk he was in." Andrew admits. "It's taken enough hits that its power must be running pretty low. Probably run out, momentarily." He closes the PDA shut. "Sorry, but we win this one. Even if you take down the last BuCUE, the attack Helicopters will finish you off." He refers to the trio of aircraft that emerge from their hiding spot to assist the lone BuCUE. Said Helicopters unleash a volley of missiles at the Strike. While most miss, a few do hit the Strike and force the Mobile Suit into its critical state, losing its coloured coat and protective armour. Andrew smirks a little. "Told you." He remarks as Kira detaches the rear mount and shoulder pad to conserve power.
Archangel Bridge…
Up until a few moments ago, the Bridge Crew were breathing sighs of relief at Kira apparently snapping out of whatever funk he was in as well as Cagalli's efforts to protect both him and that ship. That relief, however, was replaced with fear as the Strike is now surrounded; its Phase Shift inactive. Not only that, but they all share the same realization that Kira might be safe, but Cagalli is a sitting duck in her immobilized GINN.
"Protect them!" Murrue commands. "Archangel, slow advance!"
"That's dangerous." Natarle counters. "The Strike's PS armour is inactive. Even small arms fire could damage it now! That's ignoring the GINN which can handle even less punishment!"
Murrue clenches her fist tightly, ashamed to acknowledge that her Second is very much correct in her assessment.
"Hasn't the Skygrasper returned yet?"
"Not yet!" Miriallia confirms. "He's still trying to locate the target!"
"Dammit! What can we do!"
Battlefield…
The sun begins to rise. Normally, this may mark the conclusion of a tense battle, but the victor in this battle may be ominous as the Coordinator now sits surrounded, breathing heavily out of exhaustion. Even with his mental clarity, he still can't devise a method out of this situation. With his Phase Shift inactive, he feels even more exposed that normally, as if a piece of straw could destroy the Strike. Even if he could escape… His eyes wander to the GINN lying nearby, his refusal to let his fellow pilot die heavy in his mind.
As if answering his hopes, however, his proximity sensors blare into life as a single missile flies past his Mobile Suit and veers directly for one of the attack helicopters. No one saw it coming, so it's unsurprising that the missile impacts against it, destroying the craft. The assembled party all gasp in confusion before looking to the same direction the missile came from, each using their own magnification systems to analyse the approaching force.
On the horizon approached several desert vehicles, a mixture between half-tracks carrying missile pods and 4x4s carrying Machine Turrets. The occupants do not fly any particular colours, instead clad in body armour, goggles and the local clothing. Wasting no time on their surprise attack, the small formation continue to open fire with missiles and bullets.
"Is that…?" Natarle asks.
"Resistance." Murrue responds knowingly.
"Captain, they're from the Desert Dawn!" DaCosta informs his leader.
"Trying to save the Earth Forces' Mobile Suit, eh?" He remarks.
One of the jeeps pulls up near the Strike and its passenger, an older man with medium-length black hair and tanned skin, shoots a communication cable at the Strike.
"Attention pilot!" A deep voice calls out. "We shall distract the BuCUE so that you can dispatch it as well as keep the Helicopters away!"
"W-what?" He asks. "But I-"
"You've been resourceful enough so far." He cuts Kira off. "I'm sure you can deal with this last threat."
And without hearing the youth out, the small vehicles begin opening fire and encircling the solitary BuCUE while a small number open fire on the remaining two Helicopters. Wasting no time, the youth scans around, looking for some item that could be useful. Out of the corner of his eyes, he spies the resting Heavy Sword from previously. Quickly manoeuvring his weary Mobile Suit over, he picks the Sword up.
"This'll be useful if I can get close enough to him." He remarks. "But how do I-"
"Kira!" A familiar voice calls out.
"Huh?"
"Use this!" She calls out as she operates her battered GINN to grab the Machine Gun and throw it towards the Strike who catches it in its free hand by the barrel. "Get that last one and end this battle!"
"Right!" He replies with a determined tone as he turns his Mobile Suit to face the remaining BuCUE, who's completely distracted by the small jeeps. Seizing the opportunity, Kira ignites his thrusters and charges towards the last hostile. Soon enough, said hostile notices the approaching foe.
"If I can take you down, this will be all worth it!" He declares, engaging his Tank Mode and charging towards the Strike. The Resistance vehicles, however, cause him to only travel towards the Strike by surrounding him. Throwing caution to the wind, he unleashes fire with his remaining salvo of missiles, the ordinance veering towards the Strike. Kira retaliates by raising his left arm and unleashing a barrage with the Machine Gun. The slugs rip through the missiles and causing them to explode, forming a small layer of smoke. Both Coordinators, however, continue to charge towards each other. As the BuCUE goes to jump, a lucky shot from a missile truck hits a critical part of his leg, causing him to be momentarily stunned. That moment is all that's needed, however, as the pilot's last image is the tip of the Heavy Sword impaling the BuCUE's head. Due to the Strike's velocity, however, the Sword continues its journey through the neck column to the hilt. Instead of trying to pull the weapon out, Kira merely lets go and uses the Strike's last ounce of strength to boost away as the last BuCUE explodes.
The sight of the last foe obliterating causes a wave of relief to hit the Archangel crew as well as the Resistance members. Kira, meanwhile, stands there regaining his breath while Cagalli just smiles in recognition.
"You did it, Kira…"
On the other hand, the two ZAFT officers watch the event with silence, a solemn atmosphere over the two of them.
"We're withdrawing." Andrew eventually says. "We met our objective for this battle." He turns away, his facial features betraying no emotion. "Have the rest of our men pull back."
"Yes, sir!"
Archangel…
As the wave of relief passes over the Archangel crew at their successful victory, Murrue is deep in thought, absorbing the recent events.
"Today… Today we almost lost Kira and the Strike." She reminds herself. "And as much as I want to say it's just his guilt, I know better. We've overworked him and forced so much on him and today he broke. But, Cagalli… She pulled him back from that and gave him the strength to fight. They were working so well together as well. First time on the battlefield together and they really helped each other out."
She regards the damaged GINN, taking in how, despite its missing arm and leg, it looks mostly salvageable.
"Maybe just making her a backup in name only wasn't such a good idea. The X-Numbers probably won't be after us for a while, so maybe we could-"
"A message from Commander La Flaga!" Miriallia calls out, interrupting her thoughts. "Located enemy ship, but decided against attacking. Enemy ship is the Lesseps." Murrue's eyes widen at that piece of information.
"The Lesseps?" She clarifies with a concerned tone.
"I repeat: The enemy ship is the Lesseps." Miriallia confirms. "On my way back. End of message."
"What's the Lesseps?" Natarle enquiries.
"That's Andrew Waltfeld's personal battleship." Her eyes narrowed at the startling news as she clenched her fists in frustration. "That means our enemy is the Desert Tiger."
"That idea I just had… I might want to consider it further after that piece of news. We need all the help we can get."
Wasteland...
Kira manages to limp the Strike over to the GINN wreckage with what little of its power remains. Choosing to conserve the last ounce so that it can re-enter the Archangel on its own two feet. The Coordinator swiftly powered down and disembarked the craft, using the wire lift. He runs over to the damaged GINN with some degree of worry, clambering on top of the Mobile Suit to be greeted to the sight of… Cagalli lying on its chest, seemingly enjoying the sunlight.
"Cagalli?" Kira asks with a confused tone.
"Oh hey, Kira." She responds casually. "Took you a while."
"A-are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"
"Well, you did get knocked around a lot and it was your first time in a Mobile Suit, so I thought you'd be-"
"Battered, bruised and exhausted?" She responds knowingly. "Oh, I am all those things don't worry. Once I'm done here, I'm going straight to the infirmary."
"They why aren't you?"
"I guess that's how a colony-dweller would think." She mutters. "It's the sun, Kira."
"The sun?"
"Yeah…" She trails, a smile on her face. "I've missed its warmth. It feels good to feel the real sun once again…"
"I-I see…" He trails, content to give her that satisfaction. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"For what you did." He clarifies. "For helping me out back there; helping me see the light and just having my back, you know." A solemn expression passes his features. "I still don't like killing, but I'm gonna have to in order protect those I care about.
"Oh, don't worry about. After all…" She lifts up the Data-Disk around her neck again. "I'm your backup, aren't I?"
"Heh, I guess you are."
As soon as they finish the conversation, one of the Resistance Jeeps pulls up and the large, tanned man from before clambers out followed by a short boy with mousey swept-back hair.
"Congratulations on that kill, boy." The man shouts up to Kira before climbing up onto the GINN himself. "But don't forget to-" He pauses, his attention taken away from the Coordinator and towards the Blonde lying down. She also suddenly sits up at the sounds of his voice. The both of them stare at each other, disbelief in the girl's eyes while relief in the man's eyes.
"K-Kisaka?!" Cagalli asks, surprising Kira at the familiarity.
"It's such a relief to see you, Lady Cagalli." The named Kisaka replies, causing Kira's eyes to widen in recognition.
"Oh, so they're acquaintances. Well, that's good to..." His eyes go wider even more somehow as what was just uttered properly registers in his brain.
"Did… Did he just say… LADY Cagalli?!"
So now we finally have Cagalli's debut actually piloting and engaging in combat... Took long enough. Believe me when I say that, if I could have fit it in earlier and at a more appropriate point, I would have. Unfortunately, there really wasn't any sort of moment before this that would have been adequate without causing immense suspension of disbelief or really contrive circumstances to allow it. As such, through a lot of trial and error, I felt like this was the most appropriate point to have the event occur at.
Now I know that some people will take issue to Kira's angst this episode, but do consider that Flay opened old wounds and then didn't try to fill them with her "love". They were just left gaping which in turn left him broken. I think it's pretty sensible to go a little angsty after an event like that.
Likewise, Ledonir has made an appearance. Hopefully, his little slip-up doesn't blow her cover, but you'll just have to see.
I'm actually really excited now. This is the point of the story where it starts to diverge a lot more and the content starts to become a little more inventive and original. My motivation to write the coming chapters should be much greater than the previous now that I've reached the point where I can be much more creative.
Just a friendly reminder: The R&A section starts up next chapter, so please post any thoughts that have been swirling around in your head now and I'll reply to them for you.
R-0 Out!