Chapter 74
It was now four days since Athrun and Meyrin's deaths. And while some of the Minerva's crew, especially Lunamaria and Talia was still greatly affect by what had happened to the two of them, things on board the grey space ship was starting to return to normal, which was a good thing seeing as it wouldn't be very long now before they would be heading off for Iceland, where Djibril and the rest of the Logos leaders was hiding out.
At the current moment in time, Nicol Amalfi and Lunamaria Hawke was down in the Captain's office talking with her and the Chairman.
"So what you are telling me, Sir. Is that a specially designed Guul, has been made for the Adamant, since that mobile suit can not, fly on it's own?" Nicol asked with a hint of a smirk on his face. He was REALLY looking forwards, to test out his new mobile suit, he hadn't piloted a gundam since the Blitz.
Smiling brightly at the green haired man, Gilbert nodded slowly a single time.
"Yes, that is correct. The special thing about this Guul Nicol, is that it can be control by the Minerva in the same manner, as the Impulse's Silhouette Packs. Which means that it can actually, be use by the Impulse gundam as a Silhouette Pack. And whenever it's combine, with either of your machines, it will have Phase Shift armor" the Chairman explained to the two pilots.
Quickly going over everything the Zaft leader had told Nicol and her about this special made Guul, for the Adamant and the Impulse. Lunamaria send the Chairman a slightly curious look, as she asked what kind of armament this Guul had.
Studying the girl's face for a bit, Gilbert could easily tell, from how puffy and red each one of her eyes was. That she had been crying just before Nicol and her had been called down there, not that anybody could blame the girl for being depressed, after what had happened to her sister.
"While it might far from be the most well armed, piece of equipment in the Zaft military. It still a great deal more powerful, than your normal everyday Guul. It has two beam cannons near the center, and ten small yet powerful missiles on once each one of it's wings. Unfortunately, when the Impulse is using this Guul as a Silhouette Pack miss Hawke, all of these weapons will of course be pointing upwards"
Honestly quite disappointed, that this new advance Guul was not of more use to her new mobile suit. Luna let out a disappointed sound, then quickly stepped backwards and leaned against the wall beside the entrance, waiting impatiently for Nicol to be done asking, what other question he might just have about this Guul.
Fortunately much to Lunamaria's small relief, the only other thing Nicol wanted to know about the Guul, was how much faster it was compared to a normal Zaft Guul.
Quickly giving Nicol a response to his question, the Chairman saw a pleased smile appear on the green haired man's lips.
"Hmmm that quite impressive, Sir. So if it can fly as faster as a BABI, that means that it's twice as fast as an old Guul. If you don't mind me saying so Sir, I seriously think Zaft should consider mass production, this special type of Guul. I am certain, that many ZAKU pilots, would very much appreciate having something like that to fly around on, instead of the old Guuls. Those things are frankly becoming a bit outdated, Sir" the green haired man said in a thoughtful tone.
"I believe you are right, Nicol. Truth is, that I have actually consider ordering the mass production of this type of Guul, ever since I was shown the very first drawings of it. But I want to see, what it could do in combat first, before using the Plants money on them. If we do end up having to fight Logos, once we reach Heaven's Base. I do hope my young friend that you are going to put on a good performance" Gilbert said, as he reach out and picked up his cup of coffee, that was standing on Talia's desk.
Nodding slowly a single time, Nicol narrowed each one of his brown eyes in a serious manner. "If Logos do challenge us when we get to Heaven's Base, I can guarantee you Mr Chairman, that I will not hold back against those damn terrorists. I am going to make Lord Djibril, and every single person associated with that psychopath, regret ever taking their first breath" Nicol promised the Zaft leader.
Hearing those words leave Nicol's mouth, Lunamaria stepped over and placed a hand on his left shoulder, which of course immediately made him turn around and look back at her.
"It's not that I don't understand why, you are so eager to get rid of Logos, Nicol. But couldn't you say something, that makes you sound even more like a crazy person?" The female pilot asked, while tilting her head, slightly to the side.
Smiling mischievously at her, Nicol reach up and rub his chin, thoughtfully a couple of times. "Hmm probably Luna, if I concentrate. But I kinda have this nagging feeling that you want me to say no to that question, right?" The green haired man asked with a smirk on his lips, that was clearly meant to annoy the girl as much as possible.
Rolling her blue eyes a single time, and letting out a deep sigh, Luna mumbled something about why, all men had to be so damn childish and annoying.
It was at that point Gilbert cut into their conversation with a small grin on his face. "The reason why, we men are so childish and annoying, is actually quite simple Miss Hawke. We practice being those things whenever you women are not around"
Fearing briefly that she might have overstep her boundaries by insinuating that the Chairman was childish and annoying, too, Lunamaria immediately apologize to the Zaft leader. "I am sorry, Sir. I didn't mean to imply that you were..."
"There is no need to you to apologize, Miss Hawke. I am not so petty, that I can not take a joke" the Chairman calmly reassured the young redhead, who without even realizing it, had taken a hold on Nicol's hand, when he had start talking just now.
Thankful to know, that she hadn't step on any toes here, Luna smile gratefully at the Chairman, as Nicol and him, once more went back to talking about the Adamant, which was not really something that interested Lunamaria a whole lot right now.
Whenever Luna, found herself with nothing to do, it not take many seconds before she start thinking about, Meyrin. Especially the very last time she had seen her little sister, occupied Lunamaria's thoughts quite a bit.
'If only...If only I had enter Meyrin's room back then, I could have done something!...Something to convince Athrun, not to betray all of us! I mean always thought, that Athrun was a nice guy. Could he really, have been a spy for Logos all that time he was on board the Minerva? Was he only pretending to be a nice person? And why?...Why did he have to get my sister killed? Was that just some sick way, for that bastard to get revenge, for what happened to the Archangel...?!" The older Hawke sister somberly asked herself inside her confused mind. Knowing how unbelievable heartbroken, Athrun had been after the Minerva's final encounter, with the Archangel.
Unfortunately much to Lunamaria's deep irritation, the more reasonable part of her mind, just so happened to choose that exact moment, to point out to her that if Athrun's objective truly had been vengeance, for the destruction of the Archangel and Freedom, he would most likely have gone after the Chairman, or Shinn. Instead of Meyrin.
Meyrin had after all, been the only, person on the entire Minerva, Athrun had been on friendly terms with, after the battle with the white spaceship. And as much as Lunamaria, truly hate to admit it, she knew deep inside, that Athrun was the type of person who disliked hurting the people he cared about, more than anything else.
'So if we rule out revenge, then what? What reason, could Athrun have had to get my sister killed? I thought he liked her, at least a bit. So WHYY? Why the heck, did he have to take Meyrin with him, when he ran off? If he had just left her alone, she would still be alive now' the redhead thought, not even realizing that she was crying again.
Hearing the unmistakable sound of sobbing from the girl tightly squeezing his left hand, Nicol immediately ceased his conversation with the Chairman about the Adamant gundam, and took a glance at Luna's face, and once he noticed the great deal of tears, presently running down, each one of her cheeks, Nicol looked back at the Chairman with a deep serious glimmer in his eyes.
"If it's all right with you Sir, could we continue this conversation later? I think Lunamaria needs to sit down, and relax a bit, as I am sure you know, the last four days has been hard on all of us, especially her" Nicol said, while using his thumb to gently rub Luna's hand.
Nodding slowly a single time, Gilbert leaned a bit forward in his seat, and smile slightly at the former member of the Le Creuset team. "There isn't really much else, I can tell you about the Adamant, Nicol. The rest you simply have to find out on your own, once you take it out into combat" Gilbert said, then told the two teenagers to get out of there, and go get something to eat since it was almost lunch time.
Glad to know, that they were allowed to leave, Nicol mumbled a small thank you to the Zaft leader, then hurried turned and dragged Lunamaria along with him out of the room.
Watching the door fly back shut after the two teenagers, Gilbert looked back at Talia, who had yet to say a single word, since he had gotten there. "I am really looking forward to see what Nicol, Shinn and Rey can accomplish, in their new mobile suits"
Taking a glance away from the paperwork she was doing, Talia narrowed her eyes slightly in a angry manner. "Good for you, Gil" she said back to him in a severely cold tone.
Letting out a deep sigh, at his lover's hostile attitude towards him. "So I take it that you are still mad at me?"
"Ohh so you where actually able to figure that out, all on your own. Well ain't you a genius, what was you first hint? What gave it away!? You know idiot I really liked Athrun and Meyrin, they where both good kids an NONE of them deserved to die the way they did!" The brown haired woman growled angrily.
Having been given the cold shoulder by Talia for so many days now, Gilbert was actually a bit relieved, that Talia was finally talking to him again. The last time she ignore him for such a long time, she had broken up with him shortly afterwards.
And knowing that he was still on very thin ice here, the Zaft Chairman took a quick look over all the objects on Talia's desk, to see if there was anything there, she might actually throw at him, and once his brown gaze, found it's way to her laptop. He slowly reach out, and pushed the computer out of her reach, just to be on the safe side.
After doing that, Gilbert got up from his seat and step over behind Talia, where he placed both of his hands, on her stiff shoulders, and start gently massaging them.
Feeling him do that, Talia turned her head to glare angrily at him. "Massaging my shoulders like that, is not going to work, idiot. I am NOT going to forgive you so easily" the brunette haired woman growled, while pulling herself away from his hands, Talia SERIOUSLY DID NOT want Gilbert to touch her right now.
Staring silently at the back of Talia's head, Gilbert could not help, but find it a somewhat annoying that there was no where near the Gibraltar base, where he could get some of Talia's, favorite flowers, those would surely have helped getting Talia to forgive him.
'Ok then, guess I got no other choice, but to go after that one weak spot. But that, might just piss her off even more, than she is already' Gilbert thought, as he moved a bit, gently wrapped his arms around her waist.
"Stop that at once, dumbass! Whatever it is you are trying to do, is not going to wor...emmmm..." that was all Talia manage to get out, before Gilbert leaned down and nuzzle her neck a bit, then gave that certain spot just below her left ear a couple of tender kiss', which instantly send a light shiver through Talia's entire body.
Finding it more than just a little difficult, not to moan out loud from Gilbert's present action, Talia tried hard not to think about, how long it had been since Gilbert and her, had last been intimate with each other, and as much as she wanted to say otherwise, Talia simply put could not deny, that what Gilbert was doing right now felt really good, and it took just about all of her willpower to force out the next few words.
"Cut that out you idiot. I am mad at you...mmm..."
"I get that, Talia, and I really do understand why. But please believe me when I tell you, that if there had been any other way, to prevent Athrun Zala and Meyrin Hawke from getting away, with whatever data they had gather together I would have done so without a moments hesitation. But I just couldn't run the risk of the two of them escaping. If that had happened Talia, Operation Ragnarök could have been completely ruined" Gilbert said, as he kiss her neck a few more times, before he slowly moved up and start nibbling softly on Talia's left ear.
Yet even as he doing that, Gilbert sincerely hoped that his beautiful lover would never find out, that he had planned for Athrun, to get kill in this ordeal no matter WHAT. One way or another, it had been absolutely necessary for them to get rid of the last one of the Zalas, before he had ended up becoming a real threat, to what Gilbert was trying to achieve.
Trying to suppress her sighs of enjoyment, Talia went over everything Gilbert had just told her about Athrun and Meyrin. "Emm...Do you...Do you really mean that Gilbert? If Athrun had actually surrendered peacefully to Shinn and Rey, would you have let him return?"
Slowly turning the top part of her swiveling chair around, Gilbert looked directly into Talia's blue eyes, with a deep serious expression on his face.
"Of course I would, Talia. It might have been necessary to lock Meyrin and him up, But if Athrun had surrendered back then, I would have let both him and the girl return here, without a fuss" he said, then before Talia could get her mouth open and ask anything else, Gilbert hurried leaned in and place his lips against her's, kissing her with as much love and passion as possible.
Having no will left to keep on resisting, the brown haired woman moved her arms up and wrapped both of them around Gilbert's neck, and began kissing him back. Yet the exact moment she felt him starting to unbutton her uniform, Talia briefly broke away from the kiss.
"Even if you are lying. I am still glad to hear you say that" she softly told him, just before she once again, pressed her starving red lips back against his, kissing him hungrily. Which the Chairman took as a sign for him, to hurry up and get the last few buttons on her uniform on done.
After doing that, Gilbert took a short glance down, at the plain white bra Talia had on, underneath her uniform. "Hmm, I guess you were not expecting this to happen, were you Talia? Usually when you are in the mood, you always have on that sexy red one, or that black one I gave you for your birthday" the black haired man teased.
Finding it kinda embarrassing, that Gilbert had so much knowledge about her wardrobe, that he knew what her most sexy underwear was, Talia Gladys felt a deep blush appear on both of her cheeks, as she slap his left arm hard while at the same time telling him to knock it off with the teasing.
Kissing Talia's neck playfully, a couple of times, Gilbert pulled back slightly and stared directly at her flushed face, a few seconds, easily able to tell from the look in her eyes that she was severely eager to keep going.
"So you want me to stop teasing you. Hmm that's kinda weird, Talia, I always thought you enjoy it immensely, when I tease you" he whispered passionately to her, then moved forward like he was going to kiss her once again. Yet before their lips touched he stopped, now just waiting to see what she was going to say and do next.
Having immediately closed her eyes when Gilbert had start moving towards her, Talia was confused about why their lips hadn't met yet. And after waiting for what felt like an eternity, she opened her eyes again to see what was going on, and that was when she saw him looking at her with a familiar dumb smirk on his face, which could only mean that he was enjoying the fact that she was so frustrate about not being kissed.
"Why...why did you stop?" She sighed.
"Well because you told me to stop teasing you, I believe your exact words my dear sweet Talia, was to knock it off" he answered.
Giving the smirking fool a small unhappy glare, Talia wrapped her arms more tightly around her lover's neck. "God you can be so annoying! I was NOT talking about the kissing, blabbermouth, I was talking about your dumbass comments about my underwear, and you know it" she growled at him, just before she used the grip she had on him, to bring his lips back into contact with her own lips.
Which instantly made her moan loudly, as the two of them kiss with as much love and passion, as humanly possible. The only other break in the kissing was when Gilbert pulled away, yet before she could complain, he swiftly picked her up and carried her over to her bed.
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Yet while the Minerva Captain and the Chairman was showing one another just how much they sincerely loved each other.
Nicol was at the exact same moment, leading a sobbing Lunamaria down the Minerva's long, mostly empty hallway. Truly doing his utmost to comfort the weeping redhead, as much as he could, yet even while doing that a huge part of him sincerely wished, that he could do more to help Lunamaria get through the heart wrenching pain, she was undoubtedly experience.
'Maan, it's a real shame, that we can't take it easy the next few weeks. Getting just a little more time to recuperative is most definitely something Lunamaria could use...Along with the rest of us. To be completely honest I don't really think that a whole lot of people here on board the Minerva, are in the mood to fight these days. I kinda wish, that we could postpone the attack on Heaven's Base until we were all feeling a little better...' Nicol thought. Having noticed almost immediately after being released from the hospital, that the atmosphere around the Minerva had been pretty low spirited these last few days.
The green haired man did however not get long to think about how much all of them could use some downtime, when Lunamaria started talking beside him in a barely understandable voice.
"I am sorry that I lost it back there Nicol. When...When you were having such an important conversation with the Chairman. I am just so mess up right now. No matter what I do I just...just can't get Meyrin out of my head" the redhead sobbed, holding on to Nicol's arm so tightly, that it actually hurt a bit.
Slowly reaching up with his free hand, Nicol gently ran his fingers through Lunamaria's soft red hair. "It's all right Luna...It's all right, I understand what you are going through. I know, what it is like to lose somebody you really care about".
Again letting out a loud painful sob, Lunamaria looked straight into Nicol's brown eyes a couple of short seconds."Nicol umm, is it all right if I ask you personal question?"
Giving her a reassuring look, the young man nodded briefly a single time. "Of course it is. You can ask me anything you want Luna, I promise you, that I will do my best to answer whatever questions you got" he said, still rubbing her hair in that gentle manner.
Still not entirely sure if it was a good idea to ask Nicol this one question. It might very well, make him mad at her, and that was most certainly the last thing Lunamaria want to do. Nicol Amalfi, was after all her biggest support through this difficult time. And if he suddenly started avoiding her because of this question, the young woman felt absolutely certain, that she would break down completely.
And it was only once she heard Nicol reassure her yet again, that she could ask him anything, that Lunamaria finally succeed in forcing out the deeply awkward question.
"When...When that Maruya girl died Nicol...How...How did you handle it?"
Blinking rapidly a half dozen times, while the question itself wasn't really that unexpected, considering the circumstance, it still came as total shock, for Nicol to hear those words.
If he had any choice in the matter he would very much prefer not to talk about Maruya. It always pained him whenever he thought about the red haired M1 Astray pilot. Her death by the Calamity, was one thing the young man still had nightmares about.
'Ohhhh deeeear God, why couldn't she have asked something else, other than that of all things. I know, I told Lunamaria a little, about Maruya before, but I reeally, don't want to talk about how I handle Maruya's death. It was far from the most glorifying time in my life' the Adamant pilot thought, seriously trying to come up with away, he could get out of answering that question.
Yet once the young man took notice of the soft yet sad look Luna had on her face, Nicol immediately realized, that she wasn't going to judge him no matter what he told her. And knowing that, did make it a bit easier for him to get out an answer what she was asking him.
"When I got back home after the last war, the first thing I did Luna was to get drunk, VERY drunk. After that I got in to an argument with my parents, that I hardly remember. The day after that, I made the not so clever decision to get drunk once again. And when I at long last got somewhat sober, my father made the dumb mistake of insulting, Maruya. Which result in me hitting him so hard that I knock out one of his teeth. After that, my mother and I, screamed and yelled at each other for a couple of hours, until she finally told me to pack my things and leave. And with nowhere to go, I slept on a park bench a few days until I made the decision to join the Zaft military again" Nicol explained with a far away look in his eyes.
"Do you ever regret it, Nicol? Do you ever wish, you had handle Maruya's lose differently?" Luna asked, while thinking about, some of Meyrin's more weird habits, like reading those dumb gossip magazines, or playing her video games like there was no tomorrow.
There really was no denying that from time to time, Meyrin could be a tiny bit of an oddball, but she still had been both Lunamaria's dear little sister, and best friend. No matter how many times the older Hawke sister twisted and turned it in her head, she seriously could not even begin to image, how in the world she was EVER, going to get over losing Meyrin.
Yet while Lunamaria was struggling to keep the next waterfall of tears at bay. The thoughtful frown on Nicol's forehead showed that he was giving Luna's last two questions a great deal of thought. With everything that had happened between him and his parents, Nicol had quickly reach the conclusion that both of them, where a couple of Natural hating beasts, that wouldn't even allow him to mourn the death of one of the people that had been so important to him. Yet as much as Nicol hated to admit it out loud, it wasn't like he had behaved much like an angel back then.
"To be honest Luna, I somewhat regret it. While I don't really, feel a whole lot of regret for punching my father the way I did, after what he said about Maruya, I really do feel like the man got what he deserved. If he said something like that about you Luna, or anybody else I care about for that matter, I would punch him again without the least bit hesitation. But what I do regret Luna, is what happened between my mother and I afterwards. She is such a sweet and kind-hearted woman. I really do miss having her in my life" Nicol explained, while trying not to think about the awful things he had said to his mother, after knocking out his father.
Knowing that it took a lot, to get Nicol angry, the slightly weeping redhead, while curious was quick to decide, that she could live without knowing what exactly Nicol's father had said about Maruya. Whatever it was, Lunamaria felt absolutely certain, that the man had gotten what he so rightfully deserved.
"Maybe you should consider contacting your mother once the war is over. I am sure that she misses you too" Luna suggest softly.
Taking a brief glance down at the floor, Nicol gave his lower lips a small bite before he again, looked back at the girl. "I will think about it, perhaps I could send her a letter. It might just make her happy, getting some sign of life from me" the young man mumbled, then step over and wrapped both of his arms around the girl.
"So do you feel a little better now?" He asked rubbing her back gently, as she press her face into his shoulder.
Slowly shaking her head. "Not really...I don't know what to do with myself, Nicol. At times, I just feel like crawling into my bed, and sleep the rest of the year away. Other times I feel like I want to beat up everybody around me, especially Shinn. I can't even remember how many times I felt like giving him a good slap or two, these last few days. The only reason why I haven't done that, is because I seriously don't feel like getting thrown in the brig, for assaulting a fellow crew member" she cried softly.
It was at that moment, the two of them suddenly heard a familiar voice addressing the female pilot. "If that is what it takes to make you feel a little better Luna, then I would complain if you do hit me" Shinn Asuka said, sincerely believing that he deserved a good hard slap, for taking Meyrin away from Lunmaria.
Having not expect Shinn to be anywhere near Nicol and her, Lunamaria let out a short shriek at the sound of his voice, and while almost tripping over her own feet, the redhead immediately pulled away from Nicol. Then swirled around and glared angrily at the red eyed boy.
"How long have you been there?" She asked in a hostile tone.
Rubbing the back of his neck slightly, Shinn kept on staring down at the hard metal floor, like it was the most interesting thing in existence. "Em about two or three minutes ago when Nicol asked you if you were feeling better" Shinn said, not once looking away from the floor.
Making certain that the angry glare in her eyes, did not waver at all, Lunamaria took a single step closer, towards Shinn. Unable to keep a small wicked smile from appearing on her lips, which send a light shiver down Nicol's spine.
"Soooo I can slap you as hard as I want, huh?" Lunamaria asked, the Destiny pilot in a low creepy tone.
Finally tearing his low spirited gaze, away from the floor, Shinn swallowed loudly a single time, when he noticed the ominously expression the new pilot of the Impulse, had on her face. The way Lunamaria was looking at him right now, really made him feel uncomfortable. It was almost like when a wild tiger, that had been hiding out deep in some scrub, got ready to sprint out and hunt down and kill a much smaller animal.
"If that in anyway helps you forgive me, Lunamaria, a slap or two is fine with me" the dark haired teen said, doing nothing to hide the hint of nervousness in his voice. With his not so clever habit of pissing Lunamaria off, with some of his more mindless comments, Shinn felt absolutely certain, that he knew better than anybody else on board the Minerva, just how unbelievable hard Lunamaria could hit somebody, when she was really mad.
And the very instant the wicked looking female pilot, took one more step towards him, Shinn immediately closed both of his eyes tightly, mentally preparing himself for the pain he was about to receive. And when he heard Nicol tell Luna not to hurt him to badly, seeing as they where going to need him to pilot the Destiny, once the reached Heaven's Base, Shinn seriously had to fight down the temptation to swirl around, and sprint of full speed away from the red haired girl.
It was at that point he felt a soft hand, gently caressing his left cheek. "Mmm Shinn getting your personal permission to slap you a few times, is like getting an early Christmas present" Lunamaria said in a creepy tone, that matched the likewise creepy look, Shinn had last seen in her blue eyes.
"Just hurry UP already and get it over with Luna, I don't have all day!" Shinn said, seriously hoping that Lunamaria was not planing on tormenting him too long. He reeally wanted to get this over and done with, as fast as possible. And then maybe go find some ice afterwards to put on whatever place she was planning on hitting.
"As you wish" the redhead said back. And it was only a brief moment later when the sound of two slaps could be heard far and wide.
"Ouch! Damn it, that really hurts...!" The Destiny pilot cried loudly, while rubbing both of his cheeks, that now each had a red hand print on them. Yet what happened next, came as quite a surprise to him, and served to make him momentarily forget about the pain emanating from his cheeks. Lunamaria stepped over, and slowly wrapped each one of her arms around him, hugging him in a friendly manner.
"Shinn, please don't blame yourself, for what happened to, Meyrin. You were only following orders. The one who is really to blame...The one who's fault it was, that my sister lost her life, is none other than Athrun. I can't believe that I ever trust that, bastard. If only we had found out sooner, that Athrun was a Logos spy we might have been able to save, Meyrin" she said, doing nothing to hide how much she truly regretted, having met Athrun Zala.
Nodding slowly a couple of times, Shinn stepped away from the girl and smiled sadly at her. "Thank you Luna, I am glad to hear that you don't blame me too much, I really did everything I could to get Athrun to surrender and return here without a fight. But he just wouldn't listen to me!" Shinn said back, then struggled a few seconds to get rid of Athrun's loud voice, at the back his skull, that kept on loudly telling him that the Chairman's true objective with this war, was to become dictator of the entire world.
'NOOOO! I refuse to believe a word of what Athrun said. With everything the Chairman done to end this war, there is no way in hell Athrun was telling the truth. He was just saying that garbage to make me doubt the Chairman, so he could escape. That whole dictator thing, was just another one of his many lies. I wonder how many times that dumb bastard, actually lied to all us in the time he was on board the Minerva...?!' Shinn asked inside his head, with a totally furious look in his blood red eyes. In someways the boy actually felt like he was on the brink of going berserk, like he had done so often, when he was fighting against somebody or something that really pissed him off.
Yet just before that familiar red flash could go through his head, that indicated that his seed factor, was now again activated. Lunamaria's soft voice, interrupted Shinn's hateful thoughts about Athrun.
"Shinn...Do you want to come with Nicol and me down to the mess hall and get something to eat?" The girl asked.
Having paid no attention whatsoever to Lunamaria these last few minutes, the pilot of the Destiny gundam, practically had to force himself to stay out of seed mode. And after rapidly shaking his head a couple of times to get rid of those dark thoughts about Athrun, Shinn smiled slightly at the new pilot of Impulse, who was presently giving him a nasty look, that made it totally clear to him, that if he said no to go with Nicol and her, down to the mess hall, she would most definitely slap him again.
And since he had already been hit twice now, Shinn was quick to decide, that he did not want to give Lunamaria another excuse, to hit him, both of his cheeks hurt bad enough, already.
Beside he was actually kinda hungry, truth was that he had actually been on his way to the mess hall, when he had ran into Nicol and Lunamaria. "You just lead the way Luna. I am right behind you"
"Glad to hear, Shinn. Now lets hurry up and get going, you guys, I have not gotten a crumb to eat, since yesterday" the girl told the two men, then without saying another word to either of them. She took a hold on Nicol's left arm, and began hastily dragging him along with her, down the grey spaceship's long hallway.
Looking silently the two of them, Shinn truly was relieved to know that Nicol had been there for Lunamaria, these last four days, since Athrun and Meyrin had tried to escape. Shinn seriously could not even begin to image how much more heartbroken Luna would be, if she had to deal with the lose of her sister all on her own.
'Damn it, everything is just so mess up these days. I really hope that all of us will be all right, once we reach Heaven's Base. I do not want to lose anybody else' the red eyed boy thought.
"Hey no lollygagging back there! Hurry it up you Slowpoke, or I will put you in your pokeball!" Lunamaria's voice call back after him.
Quickly catching up to his two friends, Shinn send the girl a minor displeased glare. "If you reeally have to compare me to a Pokemon, Luna. I would much rather be either Zapdos, or Moltres"
Tilting her head a bit to the side, Luna smiled wickedly, at Shinn. "Slowpoke it is then" she informed him.
"Oh God, I really hope that nickname doesn't catch on. I do not want the rest of the ship to start calling me that" Shinn mumbled just loud enough for Nicol and Luna to hear him.
Letting out a thoughtful teasing sound. "Hmm well if you have so much against being call Slowpoke Shinn, what about Slowbro, then? Since that one evolves from Slowpoke, it should be more powerful" Nicol suggest playfully. Finding this conversation about what Pokemon Shinn was mostly like, greatly amusing. Not that Nicol knew a whole lot about Pokemon, he had never been a fan of the games, or the old anime series. He only knew that names of a few Pokemons.
"Slowbro ain't that much better than Slowpoke. Couldn't you guys at least call something that doesn't have the word 'slow' in them? It makes it sound like I am lazy" the Destiny pilot said, while glaring slightly at the two other pilots.
Immediately acting like she was giving that whole slow thing, a lot of thought, truth was, that Lunamaria did not need many seconds, to come up with the name of the most lazy Pokemon of them all. The one that was known for being able to sleep, just about anywhere and when it at long last finally woke up, it did nothing but stuff it's face.
"Ok I got, since you don't want us to call you Slowpoke or Slowbro. We will be calling you Snorlax from now on, Shinn" she told him.
Smacking his forehead in sheer annoyance, Shinn could do nothing to keep a long frustrated sigh, from leaving his mouth. "Ohh geez Lunamaria, being call Snorlax instead of Slowbro, or Slowpoke, ain't really that much better" Shinn complained.
Even though Nicol knew that if Luna and him, continued provoking Shinn like this, there was a high possibility that Shinn would get mad, at them. The Adamant pilot just couldn't resist making one last suggestion, for what Pokemon Shinn might just be.
"What about Muk, Shinn? You and that Pokemon do look a bit like each other"
Hearing Nicol say that, instantly made Lunamaria chuckle softly. Shinn on the other hand, did not find it funny being compared to that Pokemon. The small vein on his forehead grow double in size. "Ahh shut up both of you! I do not look like that, Pokemon! NOW lets talk about something ELSE!" He shouted so loudly, that it could probably be heard, all over the Minerva.
"Heh! All right Shinn we will knock it off with the teasing, but only because you asked so nicely. Now, how are things with the Destiny? Do you have it ready for whatever awaits us, once we reach Iceland?" Nicol asked, honestly having a tough time sounding as serious as he wanted, seeing as Lunamaria was still chuckling softly over the whole Muk thing.
Rolling his red eyes a single time at Lunamaria's childish behavior, Shinn looked over at Nicol, and smiled confidently at his green haired friend. "Of course I got it ready, Nicol. I can barely wait, to show Logos what I can do in that mobile suit, I am SOO going to make Djibril pay for everything he has done" Shinn answered in a tone, that matched the confident smirk on his face perfectly.
"Since you always made certain to keep your old GOUF in tiptop condition, Nicol? I guess that I don't need to ask, if you got the Adamant ready kick the ass of whatever Logos can throw at us" Shinn said, knowing that whenever Nicol had been in combat in his old yellow machine, he would always run a completely check-up, on all of it's systems afterwards. And Shinn seriously doubted, that Nicol was suddenly going to change that habit, just because he had gotten a new mobile suit.
"You got that right, Shinn. The Adamant is as ready as it can be" Nicol answered. Then after taking a short breath, he began telling Shinn a few things about the advanced GUUL, which had been made for the Adamant, and the Impulse.
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Nicol and Shinn was still talking about their mobile suits, when they arrived at the mess hall three minutes later. Yet the very instant Shinn saw the Minerva's newest crew member, Abbey Windsor sitting by herself, reading in a thick green book, he immediately stopped talking and half ran over to the blond haired girl.
Sensing somebody standing beside her, Abbey reluctantly forced her concentrated gaze away from the letters on the paper. She really hated being interrupt when she was reading. Yet once she saw that it was Shinn, presently her only friend on board the Minerva, the sore expression on her face immediately disappeared and got replaced by a gentle smile.
"Hello there Shinn, how are you doing this fine day...Hey wait a sec what's with those red marks on your face? It looks like somebody slapped you" Abbey said, having unknowingly needed a couple of short seconds to determine that the marks on both of Shinn's cheeks, could be hand prints from being slap by somebody.
Having been so cut up in his and Nicol's highly interesting conversation about the Adamant, Shinn had momentarily forgotten all about the slap marks on his cheeks.
Yet once he was remind of them, the dark haired teen hurried turn his head away, so Abbey was only able to the right side of his face, which he quickly covered up, with his right hand. By doing that, Shinn was actually able to conceal both of the slap marks. Even if Abbey were to ask about it a million times, Shinn seriously did NOT want the blonde girl to know why, Lunamaria had slapped him not too long ago.
"It's nothing, Abbey. I...emm just walked into a wall" Shinn said, knowing that it was highly doubtful that she was actually going to believe that.
Raising one of her eyebrows in a skeptical manner. "Oohhh I see, and when you walked in to thiiis 'wall', Shinn, did it miraculously grew hands, that slapped you?" Abbey asked, with a hint of mischief in her eyes. It was after all pretty obvious that Shinn would very much prefer, to avoid the subject, concerning the hand prints on his face.
Knowing that she got him there, with that question, Shinn stared awkwardly down at the floor a short moment or two. "No it did not, Abbey. But I really don't want to talk about it. Lets just say, that I deserved getting slapped, and leave it at that, please? Now what are doing sitting all by yourself, in the farthest corner of the mess hall?" The boy asked, in a obvious attempt to change the subject.
Honestly feeling quite a bit tempted to ask, who it was that had slapped him, Abbey stared silently at Shinn for a couple seconds, before she slowly reach out and picked up the green soda can, standing on the table. And after taking a small sip of the liquid inside the can, she place it back down on the table.
"It's not like I don't want to talk with other people, Shinn. It's just that I don't know anybody here on the Minerva, other than you and the Captain" she told him, while brushing a bit of hair away from her eyes.
Nodding slowly a single time in understanding, Shinn turned and took a quick look around the mess hall to see where Lunamaria and Nicol was now. And once he spotted the two of them, heading towards Abbey and him, with three trays of food, Shinn grinned slightly to himself. He felt absolutely certain that Lunamaria and Abbey could become very good friends, seeing as the book laying in front of Abbey, was one of those trashy romance novels Lunamaria liked so much.
"Me, and two of my friends came down here to get something to eat. Let me introduce you to the two of them, Abbey. They are both very nice, I am sure that you are going to like them" the dark haired man, all but yelled, just as his two fellow pilots got over beside him, where Nicol immediately shoved a tray of food into his hands.
"This guy here is Nicol Amalfi, and the girl is Lunamaria Hawke. Guys this is Abbey Windsor, she is the Minerva's new CIC"
Hearing what this girl's job on the Minerva, was going to be, Lunamaria could not help but blinked rapidly a half dozen times. While it really shouldn't come as much as a surprise that the Minerva was getting a new CIC. It still shocked Luna to the core to be told that this girl Abbey, was here to take over her little sister's position, up on the bridge. It just served as another reminder, that she would never see Meyrin again.
And it was only once she heard Nicol tell the blonde, that it was a pleasure to meet her, that Lunamaria was able to shake away those thoughts, about how loud Meyrin's voice, sounded through the Minerva's speakers.
'Stop acting like a anti-social idiot, and say hello to the girl, Luna. It's not like she is here to completely take over everything that was Meyrin's life...!' Luna mentally scolded herself.
"It's nice to meet you, Abbey. Welcome onboard, I hope that you are going to like it here, on the Minerva" Luna said, clearly trying to sound much more cheerful than she actually was.
Tilting her slightly to the side, Abbey wondered why the expression on the redhead's face had looked what could only be described, as somewhat down in the dumps. Yet seeing as there was no sign of that now, Abbey quickly decide that whatever it was, that might be bothering the other girl, was not something she should interfere in, Abbey had never been the type of person who enjoyed sticking nose, into other people's business.
"I am sure that I will, Lunamaria, this really is a great ship, it's so much more powerful, than I image it would be, and it is a really big honor for me, being a part of the Minerva's crew".
And so with the introduction over and done with. It did not take very long before the four teenagers sat comfortably at the table. Three of them slowly eating their lunch.
"So what's that book you are reading there, Abbey?" Lunamaria asked with a hint of curiosity in her voice.
Hearing the other girl ask that, Abbey immediately took a quick glance down at the still opened book. "I don't really know much about it, Luna. I just start reading it shortly before, you guys showed up. It's not even mine, I found it up on the observation deck, when I was taking a small morning walk around the ship"
Narrowing her eyes thoughtfully, Lunamaria asked what the title of the book was. And once she heard Abbey's response she could not help but let out a soft chuckle.
"That's actually mine, and I haven't finished reading it yet. But you can borrow it, Abbey. I am not really in the mood to read romance novels these days. Perhaps I should start reading horror novels instead" Luna mumbled, just before she jammed her fork, down in to the well made fried egg on her plate, like an assassin would jam a knife into the gut or throat of his or her target.
Yet as Lunamaria sat there pretending that her meal, was her worst enemy, Abbey found it next impossible not to wonder yet again why the other girl was in such a bad mood. She seemed more than ready to tear the head off just about ANYBODY, who said one wrong word to her.
Abbey did however not get long to ponder over what could be bothering the redhead, when the Deputy Captain's voice could suddenly be heard through the Minerva, loudly informing the bridge crew, that all of them where to return to their stations.
Letting out a sound of annoyance, Abbey jumped up on to her feet. "I am sorry guys, but I have to go now. I will talk with you later" the blonde said, before she swirled around, and walked hastily towards the exit of the mess hall.
Watching as Abbey disappeared from sight, Lunamaria turned, and looked across the table at Shinn, and once she got eye contact with him, she smiled mischievously at him.
"She is cute, Shinn. I understand why you like her" the redhead said, the smile on her face not waving one bit.
Blinking rapidly at few times, Shinn tilted his head a bit to the side. "Ok I admit that she is cute. But...But I do not like her the way you guys think. I just like hanging out with her, she is really fun to be around" the Destiny pilot said with a light blush on each one of his cheeks, which frankly served as a pretty obvious sign, that he was lying through his teeth.
Raising his right eyebrow slightly, Nicol leaned forward and rest both of his elbows on the table. "So what you are saying to us Shinn, is that you only like Abbey as a friend, Mm I don't know if it's just me, old buddy, but I find that kinda difficult to believe, when I think about how you immediately rushed over to her, the very instant you realized, that she was down here. Annnnnd do seem quite eager to make sure, that she is having a good time here on the Minerva" the green haired pilot state observantly, likewise with a mischievous grin on his lips.
"Besides Shinn, I just so happen to notice that whenever you looked at Abbey, you would always blush slightly, I highly doubt that you would do that, if you did NOT find her, at least a little attractive" Lunamaria told him softly.
Moving his red gaze swiftly between Nicol and Lunamaria. Shinn finally narrowed both of his eyes thoughtfully. "You guys really shouldn't talk to loudly about blushing, whenever you look at each other, the two of you have been doing that ever since we arrive at Gibraltar. Why the hell don't you guys just admit, that you are hot for each other?!" The dark haired teenager said in a tone that made it clear to both Luna and Nicol, that he was more than ready to retaliate, if they kept on making comments about him blushing whenever he saw Abbey.
Hearing those words leave Shinn's mouth, both Nicol and Luna immediately send one another a uncertain, slightly worried look. While there truly was no denying that the two of them had grown severely close, ever since Lunamaria had been hurt by that Murasame, doing the battle at Crete.
Yet being told that they were were hot for each other, honestly came as a bit of a shock and surprise, to each one of them, seeing as they were still kinda uncertain about, what exactly their feelings was for one another.
Fortunately both Lunamaria and Nicol realized, that if they start yelling up and denying the hot comment now, it would very much make it seem like Shinn was right, and neither of them want to give Shinn, such an easy victory. So with a small barely visible nod, they agree to act like the whole hot matter was no big deal. Even though deep in their hearts the young man and woman both knew, that they really need to have serious talk about their feelings, once they had some time alone.
And so with that unspoken agreement made, between Nicol and herself, Luna asked the two quiet boys, if any of them knew where Rey was, and what he was up.
"Now that you mention it Luna, I haven't seen him all day. He wasn't in our room when I woke up this morning, but knowing him, he is probably down in the hangar messing around with the Legend's OS" Shinn said thoughtfully.
"That does sound like something Rey would do" Nicol mumbled just loud enough for Luna and Shinn to hear him.
After that the three teenagers continued eating their meals, in a peaceful and calm silence.
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Meanwhile Abbey was standing up by the bridge, staring thoughtfully at the think metal door, with a small displeased frown on her forehead. Since she did not know a whole lot of people here on the Minerva, the young blonde haired woman, had really enjoyed spending time with Shinn, and getting to know his two friends, Nicol and Lunamaria.
So it seriously bothered Abbey quite a bit, that she had been called up there, when she was having such a good time. She would much rather have stayed, down in the mess hall, and kept on talking with the three pilots.
"I really hope that whatever I was called up here for, wouldn't take too long. I want to hurry, and get back to the mess hall" she sighed. Then while forcing herself to smile, Abbey reached out and opened the door to the bridge.
Once inside, Abbey could not help but take a quick look around, since this was her first time up there. And just one single glance around the ship's most important chamber, was enough to impress her greatly. The Minerva's bridge was a lot different than anything she had ever seen before on a Laurasia-class frigate, or a Nazca-class destroyer. It just looked so much more comfortable, and definitely a lot more advanced.
Abbey did however not get very long to take in the sight of the bridge, when a grey haired man suddenly step over in front of her. "Can we help you with something young lady?" He asked, clearly wondering what she was doing up there.
Quickly forcing back the small surprised shriek that was threatening to leave her mouth, Abbey straighten her back and gave the man a short salute. "I'm sorry that I just barged in here, without saying anything, Sir. I guess that I got a tiny bit distract there for a moment" she explained politely.
Then after using a brief moment to regain her breath, she continued. "My name is Abbey Windsor. I have been assigned as the Minerva's new CIC, it's nice to meet you Sir"
Hearing the young woman say that, Arthur found himself taking a short glance over at Meyrin's seat. And just the mere thought of how the younger Hawke sister had lost her life, was enough to make a hint of sadness appear in each one of Arthur's eyes. While it was certainly understandable why they needed a new CIC, it seem somewhat wrong to him, that somebody else other than the pigtailed redhead, would be sitting in that seat.
But since what happened to Meyrin was in no way this Abbey girl's fault, and since he did not want the young woman, to feel unwelcome up there, Arthur smiled brightly at her.
"I am Arthur Trine, the ship's second in command. Me and everybody else up here look forward to be working together with you, Abbey. Now then I apologize for cutting this short, but we need to get back to work. It wouldn't be long now, before we will leave for Iceland" Arthur said, only to mumbled something about where in God's name, the Captain was right now, and while still mumbling to himself, Arthur hurried went back over to his station, almost tripping over his own feet in the process.
Narrowing her eyes slightly, Abbey stared thoughtfully at the Deputy Captain a few short seconds. 'Hmmm I don't know if it's just me, but I can't help but feel like this man is a bit of a scatterbrain. I wonder what the heeeck he did to become the second top dog, here on the Minerva?' The blonde silently asked inside her mind, while taking a glance around the other people up there, and it was honestly a bit of a relief to Abbey, that everybody else presence up there didn't seem nearly as clumsy, and confused as the Deputy Captain.
And so while still thinking about that, Abbey slowly stepped over and sat down in the empty seat, that was most likely her's. And without paying all that much attention to what the second in command, and the others was doing she start familiarizing herself with the ship's system.
'Ok this does not look too hard. I should be able to figure everything out relatively fast. Even the controls for launching the Impulse's Silhouette Packs or whatever those things are call, doesn't look too overly complicated' Abbey thought, completely and utterly determined, to find out as much as she could about the Minerva's system, before they reached Iceland. The more she knew the better she would be able to assist Shinn, Lunamaria, and Nicol.
It took Abbey a little over twenty minutes, to read everything she could find about the Impulse's Silhouette Packs, and what her role was in making them work like they where supposed to. After that, she spent another ten minutes reading up on the other mobile suits the ship had onboard.
Yet once she saw a few images of a red gundam, Abbey could not help but feel somewhat confused. She had not seen that machine, on any of her trips down to the hangar.
"Excuse me Deputy Captain Sir can I ask you something?"
Quickly turning his seat around, Arthur looked over at the blonde. Since he had been so preoccupied, with his own work, Arthur had almost completely forgotten, that the girl was up there. And it took a moment or two for him to comprehend, what she had just said.
"Umm yes of course just ask away" he answered.
"That red mobile suit called Saviour where is that one now?" She asked.
Hearing Abbey ask him that of all things, Arthur found himself blinking rapidly a couple of times. While the man honestly did not know what he had expected the blonde, to ask him, just the mere her mention of the Saviour, was to put it mildly a bit of a shock to Arthur. And even as he sat there staring at the young woman, with an unfocused look in his eyes, Arthur could clearly see, Athrun Zala standing in front of him with a confident expression on his face.
While Arthur could honestly say without lying, that he hadn't liked Athrun overly much, the first time he had met the blue haired teenager. Yet once Athrun had joined up with the Minerva crew, and Arthur had gotten to know the young man a little better, he had realized that Athrun was a nice guy. And it truly sadden Arthur a great deal, just thinking about how Athrun had lost his life, not that many days ago.
And as Arthur sat there so far away in his own thoughts, it was only when Abbey call out to him again, that he finally snapped back out of his thoughts about Athrun.
"Well you see, Abbey. The Saviour got completely wrecked, by the Freedom gundam, during the battle at Crete" Arthur explained.
Narrowing her eyes slightly. "And judging from your expression Sir, the pilot of the Saviour died back then, didn't he?" She asked softly. Even though she could easily tell, that the ship's second in command, did not like talking about what had happened, to whoever had piloted that red gundam.
Letting out a long frustrate sigh, Arthur tried his best not to glare at the young woman. Why for God sake did she have to ask him of all people about, what had happened to, Athrun. Why couldn't she go ask the Captain or somebody else about it.
Yet in the end there was noway around it, Abbey was asking him, probably the last question he want to answer these days. And it took Arthur almost a whole minute to force out some sort of response.
"Weeell he is dead...But he did not die in that battle, Abbey. He was killed not that long ago, by another gundam...Now then, is there anything else you would like to ask me?"
While even though, Abbey was still somewhat curious about the Saviour pilot. The young woman quickly decide, that it was a dumb idea for her to poke the bear, anymore than she already had, she really didn't want to the Deputy Captain to get even more mad at her, than he was already. So in the end, she decide to ask about the Deuterion beam, and how exactly that piece of equipment functioned.
Honestly quite a bit relieved, that the girl didn't ask anymore questions about Athrun. Arthur step over beside the girl, and looked down at the small screen at her station.
"The purpose of the Deuterion beam Abbey, is to recharge the gundams that does not have a long lasting battery. Actually now that I think about it, I believe that the only mobile suit we have ever actually used it on, is the Impulse..." the man explained thoughtfully.
Letting out a thoughtful sound, Abbey looked away from the screen and over at the man standing beside her "Hm that sounds like a bit of a waste. It seems to me like it's a very useful piece of equipment"
"I agree with you, Abbey. We haven't used the Deuterion beam all the much. But with the lose of the Chaos, Gaia and Abyss at Armory One, and with the Saviour destroyed. The Impulse, is as far as I know, the only mobile suit that can use the Deuterion beam, now" Arthur explained.
Only afterwards remembering that the Gaia gundam, could likewise be recharged with the use of the Deuterion beam. Yet no matter how Arthur looked at it, he honestly thought that it was somewhat pointless mention that machine, since he highly doubt that Zaft would get their hands on the Gaia again, considering that it had been stolen by Andrew Waltfeld, the Desert Tiger.
Yet before either Abbey or Arthur could say anything else about the Deuterion beam. The door to the bridge flew open and in step the Captain followed by the Chairman, and a few other people, like the Commander of the Gibraltar Base, who's uniform showed that he had a lower rank now, than when the Minerva had first arrived at Gibraltar.
Taking a quick look around the room, Talia smiled brightly at the sight of everybody up there so hard at work. It really pleased her to know that her crew was so efficient. "Listen up people! How far along is the preparation? When can we leave?!" Talia asked loudly, just as she dropped down in to her seat.
"Everything is checked out Captain, the Minerva is fully ready for combat. And so is the rest of the fleet. We can move out Ma'am at anytime!" Bart informed her, and everybody else up there, in a loud voice.
"Then lets not waste any more time people. Lets go teach Djibril and Logos a lesson they will never forget" Gilbert said, as he got comfortable in the empty chair closest to Talia.
It was only about ten minutes after that, when the Minerva slowly left the port and began making it's way to Iceland. With who knew how many warships of different types and sizes, following her.
'I hope that you put a good show when we get there 'Lord' Djibril the more chaos you make through our upcoming encounter, the better' Gilbert thought wickedly. Knowing that if Djibril actually surrender without making some kind of fuss first, it would kinda complicated the plans Gilbert had for this world. Yet knowing the terrorist leader's personality, Gilbert honestly doubted quite a bit, that Djibril wasn't going to do something, that create a lot of bloodshed. Especially considering how Gilbert was planning on provoking Djibril.
'If all of this goes like it's suppose to. Then Orb will be the only thing left for me to worry about, and once that bothersome country is out of the picture. I can at long last finally start changing and reforming this world the way I want' the black haired man thought with a hint of a wicked smirk on his face, which Talia was the only one up there, who noticed.
'I wonder what he is thinking about, to make him smirk like that?' the Minerva Captain mentally asked herself. She did however not get long to wonder what exactly was going on inside her lover's head, when Abbey's voice, call out to her with a bit of bad news.
"Captain we just received a message from the Vosgulov Gauntlet. Apparently they are having some sort of engine problem, and they need about an hour to repair it!" The blonde loudly informed the Captain.
Narrowing her blue eyes thoughtfully, Talia honestly was a tiny bit uncertain about what her response should be, to what Abbey had just told her. It was not like this whole operation, would be completely ruined by not having that one Vosgulov class, along with them, besides, it would probably frustrate and anger quite few people, if they actually waste a whole hour waiting for the Gauntlet to be repaired.
Yet before Talia could figure out the best way to tell the Gauntlet crew, that they where leaving without them, Gilbert coughed loudly, which immediately got him, her's and Abbey's attention.
"Please tell them young lady to get the repairs done as fast as possible. Then join us at Iceland, I don't believe anybody here wants to be left out from this party. Am I right people?!" He asked loudly.
Yet as almost everybody up there let out a small cheer at Gilbert's few yet highly inspiring words.
Talia did not say anything, she just sat there in her own thoughts, thoroughly studying her lover's face, for any signs of that wicked smirk that had been there before. Yet seeing no sign of it now, Talia decided that maybe she had just imaged, seeing that nasty look on Gilbert's face. She was after all quite third since she had not slept all that well, these last four days. Thankfully there was plenty of time for her, to get some much need sleep, before the Minerva and the rest of the fleet, reached Logos' hideout, Heaven's Base.
To be continued.
I am not really happy with the ending of this chapter, but I do hope you guys like it. Another thing, the last few times I needed to name a ship belonging to Zaft, I simply borrow the name from an Imperial Star Destroyer, I hope none of you have anything against that, I am a huge Star Wars fan.