Disclaimer: I dont own Gundam
This one took some thinking, I went through some concepts on what would get people hating Vincent, but I finally settled on this one
So enjoy!
Gundam Seed Destiny Or Liberty?
Chapter 7: Confrontations
Repairs to the Minerva would take a while, that much the staff knew before they began work on the ship. Captain Noa had several teams put on the Minerva to assist with repairs. Mechanics wearing space work were working on the exterior damages while the Minerva's regular crew was working on the inside. Meyrin floated into the elevator as the pilots began to get out of their machines. She couldn't wait to tell her friends about what Athrun Zala had done. Zack shoved his flight suit back into his bag, floating to Shinn and Branden, both of whom were outside of Vincent's cockpit.
"What's up?" Zack asked.
"Another flashback!" Branden sighed.
"What's that?" Shinn asked.
"None of your business Zaftie, run back along to your friends" Branden said.
"Hey, I'm just a little worried about the commander all right" Shinn said, moving his face towards Branden.
Kojiro pulled his helmet off, looking at the scene as Luna and Rey floated behind Shinn. A few of the Sensou mechanics began to work on the Jegan as the cockpit began to open.
"He doesn't need a rookie looking out for him all right, he can look after himself" Branden said.
"Evident from the way he conducted himself in battle" Zack smirked.
"Up yours Zack you cant leave Sensou and expect to know what the guy went through" Branden growled.
"What happened a year ago…I can't entirely agree with it but I can see that the Commander isn't the kind of guy to just do something without a regret" Shinn pointed out.
"But Shinn what he did was unethical, something no other military organisation would have done so openly, and he was never prosecuted for it so…" Luna put her hand to her mouth as Vincent floated out of the Jegan.
He removed his helmet, rubbing his eyes as he stopped in front of Luna and Rey.
"I'm sorry about those Guaiz pilots…could you tell me their names?" Vincent asked.
Luna widened her eyes in shock, unable to speak with the man so close to her. Rey sighed, saluting the commander before he floated away.
"Shawn, Dale, Kevin and Neil" Luna said.
"Thank you" Vincent whispered. "I'll remember them too" He muttered as he floated past Luna.
Branden lowered his head while Shinn blinked in confusion. When Vincent reached his locker he grinded his teeth together. Joe and Rey stopped midway through removing their flight suit as they heard Vincent groan. He pulled his fist back and slammed it into the locker.
"Damn it!" He said, shaking his head, his hair hanging over his eyes. "I've seen men die, most of the time they've been right next to me, most of the time I could have done something to save them…so I learn the name, and the face if possible so that I can remind myself that I failed…I know too many names, I remember too many faces, too many failures…DAMN IT!" Vincent yelled, slamming his fist against the locker again.
Rey and Joe looked at the man's back for a moment before he began unzipping his suit. They went back to their own duties, something that all soldiers had to do when they lost a comrade. In the girls changing room, Anna looked at the other women around her, shifting uncomfortably at their figures.
"Hurry it up Anna or you'll fall behind" Mayura smiled, patting Anna on the back.
"Sorry Mayura" Anna squeaked.
"Hell Luna's changing faster than you and she was talking to Vincent all that time"
"You know he isn't what I expected, what do you think of him Nia?" Luna asked.
"I don't give a shit!" Nia muttered.
"Watch your language Ensign, and Hawke, for your information the reputations of aces are rarely true…my own commander hardly lives up to the nicknames he is given, he and others like him and merely effective and battle hardened soldiers, Commander Rach is no different" Linda explained, buttoning up her collar before she closed her locker.
"He used to be such a nice guy, I don't know what happened a year ago but I really miss seeing him smile like he used to in the old days" Mayura said.
"You mean you don't know, Commander Rach…"
"Lunamaria enough, if Miss Labatt wants to know then she can find out by asking the man himself" Linda said, walking out of the room with Nia following behind her.
Branden and Kojiro had changed back into their uniforms and were now floating towards the Minerva's mess hall. They remained casually silent, content with one another's company. Of course they didn't have much to talk about until they reached the hall. Athrun was sitting by himself, looking at the floor. He was lost in a deep thought, remembering the countless battles he had fought. Rusty was killed right in front of him, Nichol had been ripped apart after trying to protect him and Miguel had died before finding out what ZAFT's true goals had been. But during those times, Athrun had the power to fight; now he was just another civilian.
Athrun rubbed his eyes, cursing his inaction in the battle that had taken place. Kojiro watched him from a distance while Branden walked to the vending machines. He rubbed his chin as he looked at the selection: orange soda, coke, lemonade, coffee and an assortment of energy drinks he had never heard of. The Middle Eastern teen rubbed his hair, hair that he had let grow to his neck after he had left the Earth Alliance. He hadn't gotten used to being on a ZAFT ship, and considering his dislike for coordinators he would be a difficult adjustment. But Vincent had still given him orders, and Branden respected Vincent enough to at least not cause "too much" trouble.
Kojiro on the other hand didn't particularly mind. He was a soldier with orders to follow, plus it gave him a break from fighting and the opportunity to read. What he was reading was something he often kept to himself. Educational books about psychology, philosophy and comedy; including biographies of famous twenty first century comedians. The results of his studies were mixed.
Noah Bagal kept his hands in his pockets as he walked down the corridors of the ship. He scowled at the pilots and other staff members that saluted him, causing them to drop their hands as they scurried away. Ahead he saw Linda speaking with Cagalli and Flay.
"Where's the captain?" Noah asked.
"In her room, the Chairman also followed" Flay giggled.
"Wait a minute…chairman Durandal and Linda's sister, did you know about this Linda?"
"Whom my sister dates is no concern of mine commander" Linda said.
"Maybe you should talk with her…when it's a good opportunity of course"
"Maybe you should mind your own business" Linda said as she walked away.
Noah sighed, leaning his head against his arms.
"Touchy subject I see" Cagalli said.
"As touchy as saying that Vincent did the right thing a year ago" Noah muttered.
"But he didn't!" Cagalli snipped.
"Um Commander Bagal I think it would be a good idea if you left it alone" Flay said.
"No I'm really interested in hearing Commander Bagal's opinion" Cagalli put her hands to her hips as he awaited Noah's response.
"I don't have time for a debate Princess, I need to get something to eat" Noah growled as he walked past them.
"Cagalli, please don't start something, Vincent's having a tough enough time as it is" Flay said.
"Flay how could you stay with Sensou after what they had done a year ago?" Cagalli asked.
"It wasn't Sensou, it was Vincent and to this day Vincent punishes himself for what he had done, for what he had been forced to do, one day you as a leader might be forced to do something you don't like for the sake of the people you must protect, maybe you'll hate yourself for it or maybe you wont regret it, but sometimes the smallest evil can save the most lives" Flay explained.
Cagalli narrowed her eyes at Flay, her brother's girlfriend. Once she believed they could be friends. Now it seemed that their differences were irreconcilable. She walked away from Flay, intending to find Athrun.
Joe Daigoji overlooked the repairs to the mobile suits. He had to admit the Sensou mechanics knew their stuff, but the Minerva's crew wasn't so bad either. If he didn't know better he would have assumed they had years of experience. Vino and Youlan were good kids though they talked a little too much. The Sensou engineering corps also had some young and innocent rookies. One such mechanic was Donald Willis, the brown haired mechanic that had defended Vincent when Vino and Youlan had started speculating about what he had done a year ago. The young man smiled as another Sensou team floated into the hanger. Leading the team was a girl wearing a white and purple flight suit.
"DON!" she yelled.
"NENA!" Donald yelled.
The girl threw off her helmet, revealing her long red hair and freckled face. Nena Trinity wrapped her hands around Don, smiling as they floated onto the Jegan's leg. Joe looked at the scene, judging from the girl's expression and passion she was Don's girlfriend.
'It makes sense that the people of Sensou would grow close to one another' Joe thought.
His eyes drifted away from the scene and fixed onto the back of the mysterious Silver Mask. He floated into the elevator, going upwards towards the crew decks. Joe then looked at the Dusk Aero. The machine's eyes glowed a red colour before they faded.
'It seems our masked mans machine is just as strange as the pilot' Joe thought.
Meyrin had just gotten off duty when Arthur had begun his talk with the White Base's captain. From Meyrin had read Bright Noa had been in the Earth Alliance, but had left when Gekido Jaeger disappeared behind ZAFT's lines. Bright's clean-shaven face was on the Minerva's main screen. He wore a customised uniform, a brown jacket with black parts on the shoulders and the collar. Yellow markings on the collar also indicated his status as a captain first class, a rank given to Sensou captains that were a cut above the rest. And it was clear that Bright was a no nonsense captain as he spoke to Arthur.
"Where is your captain Mr Trine?" Bright asked.
"She is currently indisposed Captain Noa, I will be happy to deal with any concerns you have" Arthur said.
"What is the physical condition of the Commander and the Chairwoman?"
"Flay Alster is fine Captain, she was remarkably calm in the prior fire fight, as for the commander I'm afraid I haven't spoken more than two words to him"
"So you have no idea how our top ranked combat operative is doing? I suggest you find him and allow me to speak with him"
Meyrin did her best to hide a giggle as Arthur trembled under the sound of Noa's voice. There was one thing that Bright Noa was infamous for, his extreme military discipline; one that he had slapped into his crew. The younger Hawke left the bridge and floated to meet her sister and friends. Luna had just finished changing and left the locker room with a rather distraught Mayura.
"I can't believe him" She said.
Anna kept her hands to her chest as Mayura floated into Zack's arms.
"Mayura what's wrong?" Zack asked, touching a tear on Mayura's cheek.
"Vincent…he, he forgot everything that Gekido fought for"
Mayura buried her head into Zack's chest and Zack couldn't help but shed a tear as he felt his lover's sadness. Luna had a heavy look across her face as she floated to Meyrin. One thing that Meyrin was good at besides communication was research. She had looked over the files of Athrun Zala, reading about his exploits during the war. Luna had seen pictures of Athrun and had heard of his reputation from others, but hadn't actually looked into much of his background.
"So he saved the ship?" Luna asked, after Meyrin had told her, Rey and Shinn of what had happened on the bridge.
"Yeah, he just spat out a strategy as we were getting hit, after the Chairman called him Athrun" Meyrin said.
"So he really is Athrun Zala"
"You can't blame him for changing his name, I mean after everything that happened to him that is"
Rey and Shinn merely stood at the back as they walked towards the mess hall. The sisters were talking about Athrun, speculating like a pair of schoolgirls. Shinn had no idea whether this "Alex" was really Athrun Zala, but what he did know was that the man followed Athha, the family that ruined his life. Rey paid no real attention to the conversation. He already knew that Athrun Zala was on the ship; after all he was a part of the chairman's plans as well.
"What…listen Meyrin whatever his reasons he's still" But Luna cut off her speech whilst Meyrin put her hands to her mouth.
"Alex" was sitting inside the mess hall, just inches from the door. Meyrin hid behind her sister as she stepped up to Alex.
"I'd heard you saved the crew during the fire fight earlier" Luna said.
Branden and the recently arrived Joe and Noah watched the scene with interest. (Joe and Noah kept their eyes on the pink skirt :).
"Thanks Athrun!"
"You're mistaken, I'm Alex" Athrun said.
"Oh is that why you don't pilot mobile suits now?" Luna asked.
"Leave him alone Luna, who cares what people from Orb think anyway? They don't know anything!" Shinn said snidely as he walked the other way.
But his path was halted as Vincent bumped into his shoulder.
"Sorry!" Vincent whispered, brushing past Shinn as he entered the mess hall.
"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Zack yelled, floating down the corridor.
"Who me?" Shinn asked.
"NOT YOU IDIOT!"
Zack pushed past Shinn and planted a hand on Vincent's shoulder. The Newtype pilot swung the commander round and slammed his fist into the mans cheek. Luna and Meyrin widened their eyes as Vincent hung his head back, flying into the wall past Athrun. Linda prepared to move but stopped as Noah raised his hand, looking at the scene with eager eyes.
"Zack what are you doing?" Athrun asked.
"Giving this murdering son of a bitch what he deserves" Zack growled.
He rolled his sleeves up, grabbing Vincent by the collar of his shirt and slamming a fist into his gut. Vincent coughed but looked into Zack's eyes. The former Earth Alliance pilot had empty eyes, eyes that invited another punch from the Newtype.
"Zack!" Mayura gasped, floating into the room.
"What's going on here?" Cagalli asked, standing beside Flay and Anna.
"You don't want to miss this Cagalli" Vincent said, still looking Zack in the eyes.
"What…. WHAT GAVE YOU THE RIGHT!" Zack yelled, slamming Vincent against the wall.
"Multiple government sanctions, a lot of people voting and a suggestion from the Earth Alliance's greatest soldier…so pretty much everything I needed to do what needed to be done"
"HOW CAN YOU BE SO CASUAL ABOUT WHAT YOU DID!"
"AND HOW CAN YOU STAND THERE AND JUDGE HIM!" a voice yelled from the doorway.
Zack looked behind him and widened his eyes. Silver Mask was stood just inches from his face. He was slightly taller than Zack and his glowing eye was flaring with fury.
"Let go of him Zack, or I'll force your hands off him" Silver Mask growled.
The ZAFT pilots watched the scene with mixed emotions. They were partly concerned that a full on fistfight would break out. But another part of them wanted their curiosity to be pleased. Vincent shoved Zack's hands away and stood tall as he looked around the room.
"Zack here was thinking the same thing that Cagalli was thinking, that I was wrong to eliminate a terrorist threat completely, as you all know a fear years ago northern African terrorists had been abducting and attacking European tourists and American soldiers…well some of you have probably read the papers, well this is what I'll tell you in vivid detail, all facts, no opinions just the truth" Vincent explained.
A number of years before the Bloody Valentine War began a small group of people had immigrated from Latvia into the jungles of Bosnia. They set up a small civilisation, a village that slowly grew over the years. The government ignored them because they sent a small majority of their crops to the capital. After the Blood Valentine War however that all changed. A man from that part of the region had begun preaching to the villagers, particularly the children. He had also travelled to places like Azadistan and the Kurdish Republic, controversially preaching in Middle Eastern countries as well. Soon he disappeared from public life.
Then began a tirade of kidnappings across the world. American embassies were shown videos of the executions of American tourists while suicide bombers frequently attacked Earth Alliance soldiers.
Sensou began investigating the attacks, dropping spies and black ops teams into the regions of the attacks. In fact it was one of the first cases that warranted the need for a black ops team. Vincent had sanctioned the team, consisting of former stealth operatives from both ZAFT and the Earth Alliance to undertake undercover work, raids on local gangs and tapping the phones of numerous citizens within the regions attacked. Eventually they caught a break and discovered an international call between people from Bosnia and Iran.
"Did you give the package to our expert in the town?" The man from Iran had asked.
"Yes, he's done this type of job before, he assures me any damage to the house will be to a minimum, and he's also beginning to follow the True Faith"
"Ah he is a good man then"
The leader of the black ops team was a paranoid one, so she followed her hunch. Her investigations led her to an address where multiple chemicals had been sent. The neighbours had reported hearing smells that would never occur in the region and also of meetings between men in business suits as well as holy uniforms. Often their own daily prayers were interrupted by the chants of members of the true faith.
"Thank you!" The woman said, bowing to the family that had allowed her into their home.
She walked into the alleyways, pulling out her Sensou radio. Days later the owner of the house next door was arrested, and several components and chemicals for a bomb were removed from his garage. However the attack didn't take place in the Middle East, but in the Atlantic. Suicide bombs had been set off in numerous cities, while attempts had been made on Earth Alliance head quarters. The religious group known as the True Faith published a video on the Internet taking credit for the attacks. Vincent growled in frustration as he watched the video, they claimed that the Earth Alliance was but a means for the Americans to corrupt the cultures of the world and their destruction was the will of God.
"I want spies placed in Bosnia now" Vincent said.
He gave the command and so it was done. The black ops unit began working over time, sending undercover agents into the jungle where the "true faith" had been formed. They also shook down the businesses that supplied the materials, trying to discover the possibility of them knowing who they were selling bomb materials to. A young man with green hair covering his eye lit up a blow torch, the music blaring in his earphones kept him from listening to the mans pained cries. He took the torch away from the man's foot, removing one of his earpieces.
"Are you ready to talk?" Shani Andras asked.
"YES JUST PLEASE NO MORE!" The tied up man yelled.
"Yes, as I recall people who support the True Faith look down on cripples, you wont be able to carry on your worship of the true god without your feet will you?" A green haired man asked, reading a bible of the True faith, then throwing it aside for a traditional book. "I suggest you answer any questions we have for you my friend, perhaps we'll change your sentence to fifty years instead of death, after all you were seen talking with one of the bombers and you possessed materials used in the manufacture of the said bomb that he used" Orga Sabnak explained as he walked around the prisoner.
"What do you want to know?"
"The company you worked for claims to have never have been responsible for the bombings and yet you had given materials to the bombers, did they ever discuss motivations or plans?" Shani asked.
"The Americans have corrupted our society and the foolish scholars have destroyed our religions, we all gather under the True Faith under the true god to fight the fools who cast aside religion and live in ignorance over the pains of our culture, the leaders of the Alliance force their ways on us so we will force our ways on their citizens" The man explained.
He suddenly stopped as a laser trailed over his forehead. Vincent stepped out of the shadows, grinding his teeth together.
"The Earth Alliance has left your people alone, the war is over and yet you seek more blood shed, why, what's the point because the people walking down your street don't call god by the same name as you do, because the women are shot when they aren't covering themselves with cloths anymore, because the leaders were suits and not uniforms…you people are all the same, you complain about the tyrants but when we remove them you cry to have them back because you think we've given you something worse, your right, we were better off not getting involved with your country's problems because maybe then we wouldn't have had terrorists seeking our deaths…no, there are still stupid, crazy and down right evil people within our societies that need to be destroyed, no matter what the cost" Vincent explained.
The man's lip trembled before Vincent pulled the trigger.
"Vincent what have you done? I thought we were just scaring him a little" Shani said.
"NO!" Vincent yelled, causing Orga and Shani to back away from the body.
Vincent slammed his hand against the wall.
'Why did it come to this?' he wondered.
He left the interrogation room to receive another report from his spies. The Village in the Bosnian Jungle was indeed hiding terrorists. If Sensou wanted the terrorists then they would need to either negotiate with the government there or attack the village directly. Of course he chose the first option and as usual it didn't get any results. According to the spies report the people in the jungle treated the planners and leaders as heroes and each day they prayed for their success. Vincent looked over photos of children being trained in how to use a gun and how to assemble guns. They were being brain washed into becoming suicide bombers, driven to hate those who simply wanted to live in peace.
"DAMN IT!" Vincent yelled.
The village leader refused to turn over the terrorists, even when Sensou showed evidence, even when Sensou mobilised troops around the region. Vincent smacked the wall as he read the reports of the civilian population. No one moved, no one left, no one surrendered and that left Vincent with only one conclusion.
"They're fanatics, fanatics that refuse to hand over the murderers of hundreds…this is no longer a simple terrorist crime, it is an act of war, if you do not hand over those responsible for the terrorist attacks across the world then we will assume that every single person in the village is responsible and you will force me to take desperate action" He explained.
But still they ignored him, instead preaching something about the righteousness of their cause. Days later, Vincent put on his flight suit helmet as he climbed into a prototype Ground Gundam. While it had the standard dark grey and blue colours of the Mass Production Gundam's it was also built with jet rockets and wings on its back and waist. As Vincent activated the Gundam, a machine gun was put into the machines left hand.
"I don't understand, what do you mean your going alone?" Don asked.
"If this goes either way, it has to be me and me alone who takes the fall, I don't want anyone else to have to cross the line" Vincent as he moved the Gundam towards the edge of the troop transport jet.
He jumped off the jet, igniting the Gundam's rockets and flying across the jungle. His hands trembled as he gripped the controls sticks and triggers. With a heavy heart he landed in the middle of the village. Sensou didn't have access to nuclear weapons, so this was the only way to get rid of the threat to the Earth alliance citizens. Vincent Rach never once blinked as he unleashed a storm of bullets on a village of terrorists.
There was a bitter silence in the mess hall, one that was interrupted by Noah.
"He took the fight to the scumbags, good for him" Noah said.
"You don't understand, he didn't assassinate a bunch of terrorists, he destroyed the entire civilisation, killed thousands" Zack said, glaring at Vincent.
"He bought down an entire village, destroyed churches, the hospital, huts…he killed soldiers, priests, elders, women, children and even babies were buried underneath the rubble" Silver Mask explained. "Didn't make what he did right but terrorist organisations got the message, he'll kill anyone who tries to hide war mongers, so nations stopped hiding their "freedom fighters" and handed them over the Sensou, all the blood…it got results"
"HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT!" Cagalli yelled.
"Orb has never suffered from terrorist attacks, tell me princes if you nation was attacked and you knew who had committed it would you stand idly by and let them plan again? Would you allow others to be attacked by a known threat that would not yield until their enemies are completely destroyed? Vincent destroyed the priests so that they wouldn't pass their foolish fanatical ways and he killed the children because they were being trained to fight a future war…that village was preparing itself for war, so Vincent struck first, he got into a fight with their mobile suit Corps and then he gunned down the rest of the villagers, neither of whom refused to surrender"
Silver Mask looked around the room, making sure he made eye contact with each person as he spoke.
"This man though he acted against what Gekido Jaeger would have done saved lives…his actions though unethical and disgusting to you saved lives, you guys had better be ready to cross the line one day because when the time comes you might find that a thousand people have to die so that billions can live, unless you gain the strength and the wisdom that Gekido had to fight and to change the entire world"
Zack's senses flared for a moment as he rubbed his head. This mans passion felt familiar to him. Vincent rubbed his eyes as he walked away from Zack. But he promptly stopped at the door as he turned to face the young man.
"I make no apologies for what I did, there's no one left for me to apologise to, but know this Zack, I would have been open to peace, I would have accepted a surrender but as we all know they weren't willing to compromise" Vincent said.
Arthur rushed down the corridor, stopping as he reached Vincent.
"Commander Rach, Captain Noa really wishes to speak with you, Chairman Durandal and Captain Gladys are also preparing a video meeting with him, it concerns the colony Junius Seven"
Vincent could tell from Trine's rushed voice that it wasn't anything good that was happening. Zack, Cagalli, Athrun, Vincent and Flay and Silver Mask quickly gathered in Talia's office. She had set up a video link with Captain Noa, whom had a serious expression on his face shared by the Chairman.
"We discovered it an hour ago, Junius Seven is falling out of its orbit towards Earth" Chairman Durandal said.
The group widened their eyes while Silver Mask's eye faded.
"What's being done about it?" he asked.
"We've deployed a team to stop its descent in anyway they can" Durandal said.
"I've called Captain Badgiruel and told her to abandon pursuit of Bogey One, we're also having any available teams fly to the Junius Seven wreck, right now stopping it is our top priority" Bright explained.
"What is the Earth Alliance doing about it?" Vincent asked.
"We've sent news but they're doing nothing"
"Send multiple teams across Earth and evacuate major populations, particularly those by the sea, those regions are our priority" Vincent said.
"Yes sir!"
Silver Mask ignored the discussions as he walked out of the office. His eyes took on a fierce glow as he growled.
"Those bastards, they better hope that Sensou gets them first" He said.
"What are you babbling about?" Zack asked.
"This wasn't an accident"
"What makes you say that?"
"Call it intuition, either way there will be blood in space and most definitely Earth, unless we stop Junius Seven…if my instincts prove to be correct then there will still be blood in space" Silver Mask said as he walked away from the New type mercenary.
With repairs complete the Minerva and the White Base flew alongside one another, intending to reach Junius Seven before it struck the Earth. Flay sat in her room, communicating with Sensou headquarters via her laptop.
"Call in anyone whose off duty, have them deploy to support civilians and keep poking the Alliance until they start moving to help, call the Shadow unit as well, I want Mizura's team in space with whatever heavy weapons we have, I don't care how experimental, if it makes a big bang we use it" She explained.
The Sensou member nodded his head before cutting the line. Flay sighed, leaning her head against her chair as she looked at the picture of her and Kira, taken just after the battle of Jachin Due. She suppressed tears; instead she prayed that her lover would be safe. Branden slammed his hands into his locker, an act that Kojiro was tempted to follow. They both knew that whatever had pushed Junius Seven out of the debris belt wasn't an accident. Silver Mask was right, there would be blood in space.
Soon, the Minerva's crew would go back to work, though for now they would rest. Shinn and his small group of friends sat in the Mess hall, with Nia sitting to the side while Zack, Anna and Mayura were further away from them. Branden and Kojiro entered when the group started discussing Junius Seven.
"How are we going to stop something that size?" Luna asked.
"Its not as if you could fucking push the thing out of orbit" Nia muttered.
"What can we do, I mean with the sheer size of it if it hits then its game over for the Earth" Youlan said.
"I see coordinators don't watch many movies, any of you guys seen Armageddon?" Branden asked with a snide smile.
"Break it up!" Rey said, catching everyone's attention. "A simple explosion on the surface wont do anything to sway its course, but in theory if we drilled multiple holes into the core of the colony then the explosion will split it apart, sending at least one piece floating away from the Earth" He explained.
"But that still leaves a lot of distance that the remaining piece covers, and not to mention the amount of debris that would still be falling to Earth" Youlan said.
"And what about all the bodies still inside?" Meyrin asked.
Zack shook his head as he got off his chair.
"The dead wont shed any tears, its either the memory of the dead or the continued existence of humanities original home, Earth" He said.
"Mr Tempest's right, if we don't act then either two things will happen, the colony hits and triggers a nuclear winter, or it destroys the planet entirely" Rey said.
An eerie silence fell over the crew as they contemplated the importance of their upcoming mission. Of course there was always one person amongst any group that would break the silence with an inappropriate comment.
"Well, if it's meant to be it's meant to be" Youlan said. "I mean think about it, this'll settle a loud of problems for the Plants!"
Branden growled in fury, only for Kojiro to grab his shoulder as Cagalli stepped into the room.
"How could you say that?" She asked. "Its meant to be, is this how ZAFT thinks of the Earth, I thought that things had changed under Chairman Durandal's guidance, is this how ZAFT thinks?"
Vincent walked into the room just as Shinn got off his chair.
"You don't have to take it so seriously, Youlan was only trying to lighten the mood" He said.
"I'm not known for my sense of humour but I do know a sick joke when I hear one" Kojiro said.
Shinn ignored the comment and carried on.
"Shinn, watch how you speak" Rey said.
"Oh yeah she is the representative of another country, a princess of Orb" He said snidely.
Cagalli growled but stopped as Athrun stepped in front of him.
"You seem to have some kind of grudge against Orb, even though you once lived there right?" Athrun asked.
Shinn ignored the question, turning his head away.
"Whatever your problem is I wont allow you to draw the representative into a trivial reason to hate Orb"
"Trivial…I wont let anyone call it trivial" Shinn growled.
Vincent raised his head, watching as Shinn's smugness became outright hostility. His eyes flared and his shoulders shook. Shinn Asuka had a temper as quick as Gekido's.
"I lost my entire family because of the Athha's"
Cagalli widened her eyes at the accusation while Vincent's hand shook. Silver Mask walked into the room, stroking his mask as he watched the scene.
"They believed in the nation, but in the end they were killed at…"
"Onogoro!" Vincent interrupted.
Shinn widened his eyes in shock, stepping back slightly while the others focused their attention on the two pilots. Zack felt an immense tinge of guilt from Vincent and he immediately regretted the stance he had taken earlier. Kojiro closed his eyes while Branden lowered his head, both of them knew that Vincent had been at Onogoro. Though Branden had put two and two together, Kojiro himself had seen Vincent's Strike Dagger aiding in the evacuation of civilians. Unfortunately some people didn't listen to the EA pilot's advice.
"Only stop for someone!"
Good words, it was too bad one group didn't follow his orders. Vincent walked in front of Cagalli and looked Shinn in the eyes.
"You hate the Athha's because they didn't surrender to the Earth Alliance, even when Uzumi Nara took responsibility and ended his own life" Vincent said.
"Did they ever think about the people that would suffer because they insisted on holding onto their ideals? My parents and my sister died because of them, that's why I'll never believe their self serving lies again!"
"Self serving lies, Cagalli isn't like that…the one to blame was Saint Yuri, he was the one who shot off my Dagger's arm"
Shinn gasped, his fierce gaze dropped as he lowered his hands. Luna and Meyrin looked at Vincent in shock while Rey narrowed his eyes. Even Nia looked over her shoulder at the scene. Silver Mask however crossed his arms.
"The Dagger that was over Mayu, that was you?" Shinn asked.
Vincent simply nodded his head, still looking Shinn in the eyes.
"Saint Yuri committed a terrible crime, but now he's dead" Vincent said.
"THAT DOESN'T CHANGE WHAT THE ATHHA'S SHOULD HAVE DONE! NOR DOES IT CHANGE WHAT YOU SHOULD HAVE DONE! You…you should have been more alert, Uzumi Nara Athha should have surrendered when he had the chance"
"If I could take back what happened I would"
"Shut up" Shinn growled. "I wish people who didn't understand anything didn't talk as if they did" he said as he walked past Vincent.
"Shinn wait just hear me out" Vincent said as he planted his hand on Shinn's shoulder.
Shinn swung around, slamming his fist against Vincent's cheek. The punch sent Vincent floating into the side of the mess hall window. Meyrin and Luna gasped while Branden and Kojiro got off their seats. Ready to punish the boy that attacked their commander. But Silver Mask raised his hands, and the two pilots stopped. He crossed his arms and looked Shinn in the eyes as he passed him.
"What are you looking at?" Shinn asked.
"Either a righteous man or a foolish man, some day you'll have to decide which one you are" Silver Mask said.
The rest of the journey towards Junius Seven continued to be awkward and bitter for the Minerva crew. Cagalli spent the majority of the time resting in her room and confessing to Athrun her fathers feelings on his choice. He had to make the choice he did, no matter how badly it hurt.
"Cagallli, you should have known you'd come across people like that" Athrun said.
There was no lecture, only comfort in his voice.
"Making that choice, choosing the path he took…it tore him apart" Cagalli cried, wrapping her arms around Athrun's neck.
Athrun held onto the girl he had grown to love, allowing her to cry into his shoulder.
"Perhaps you'll remember your father the next time you choose to judge others!"
Athrun and Cagalli looked at the edge of their cabin door. Silver Mask stood with his arms crossed, looking down at them.
"See through another's eyes and you'll understand them, even if you don't want to" He said.
When the elevator door opened, Luna floated out with a smile on her face.
"How's the princess doing?" She asked the masked man.
Silver Mask tilted his head, his eye shifting into a continuously twitching line.
"She's just been reminded of her fathers death, people are pretending that she hasn't lost friends either and she's been faced with rather disturbing news that a large colony is going to crash into her planet…she's just dandy Miss Hawke" Silver Mask growled.
He grabbed Luna's shoulder and floated into the elevator.
"Now come on, its time for us to get ready, you can apologise for your idiocy later"
The pilots mounted their machines, everyone had to launch for a mission this important. Elsewhere a former Le Creuscet team member commented about the importance of the mission just before he and his new Commander launched. The Joule team was the first team to be sent in with the colony breakers. Nearby Sensou ships also began to launch their own machines. A blue and white Gundam with red and orange cannons also launched. The black haired pilot narrowed his eyes at the sight of the falling colony.
Athrun floated into the Minerva's bridge and solemnly asked the captain for a mobile suit. Durandal kindly granted Athrun his request, allowing him to fight again. Branden gripped his controls tightly while Kojiro calmly meditated.
"Damn those fuckers, I'm gonna shoot them all down" Nia said.
"We cant let the Earth be destroyed" Zack said.
The Dusk's eyes glowed a red colour, causing the mechanics to shiver. Silver Mask sat with his arms crossed inside the cockpit. He tilted his head, pressing a finger against the side of his helmet.
"Vincent, don't let anything hold you back in this battle, fight with every bit of fury you've got" Silver Mask said.
"What do you mean?" Vincent asked.
"Your distracted, but turn your guilt into anger and unleash your anger on your opponent, anger will bring you victory in this situation because this is a situation that calls for anger"
Vincent widened his eyes, flipping to a page in Gekido's book.
When the situation calls for it, anger can be the weapon you can use to claim victory!
The Girty Lue pilots had watched the confrontation between Tyrant and Neo with a mixture of excitement and stress.
"Why didn't your machines work the way the were supposed to?" Neo asked.
"I don't know, we never programmed those kinds of responses into them" Tyrant said.
"Then the impossible has happened"
"No Captain, it hasn't, The Purpose Mark 2's will never reach Sentience, and Unit 1 is just a slight miss calculation, one that is easily rectified"
Just then, Darcel began to clutch his head, trembling in fear as the ship shook. Stella shivered while Jone ran to one of the comm. Stations.
"What's going on down there?" He asked a mechanic.
"It's the Unit 1!"
Tyrant turned to the screen, his eyes widened in shock.
"WHAT!" The General yelled.
"We connected it to the ships computer and we were ready to delete its combat data like you suggested, when all of a sudden its eyes started…"
The ship shook again and Stella screamed as Darcel fell into a fit. Foam fell from his mouth as his Newtype pulse caused Neo to grip his head in pain. The Cyber Newtype Extended screamed out before his voice turned to one of pure fury.
"LET ME OUT OR I'LL RIP THESE DOORS DOWN!"
"DARCEL!" Jone yelled, rushing to his fellow Extended's side.
Darcel passed out just as Unit 1 Purpose Gundam 2 began tearing apart the hanger door. It's eyes generated an intense red glow before it ignited its rockets, burning half of the engineering crew as it flew out of the Girty Lue. Tyrant looked out of the window in shock as the Gundam flew towards Junius Seven. Neo breathed a sigh of relief as his headache passed.
'For some reason that things actions make me happy, as if it reminds me of someone' Neo thought. 'But I've never met Gekido Jaeger!'
Tyrant pressed his hand against his helmet, making communication with his contacts.
"Tell his lordship that any one of his theories has happened, Unit 1 has either gained complete sentience or it thinks that it's Gekido Jaeger!"
Next Chapter 8: Falling graveyard
Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, next will be the big battle of Junius Seven. Please tell me what you thought of the chapter, plus tell me what your OC's think of Vincent's actions a year ago
Thanks for reading