Chapter 4
Mendel Space Colony
The Three Ship Alliance retreated after Battle of Jachin Due had a rather anti-climatic end and petered out after the unexpected event happening aboard the Dominion,wary of both the Earth and ZAFT forces who had taken heavy losses and came close to annihilating one other.
The ad-hoc Alliance had themselves suffered heavy losses and needed time and facilities for them to rest and carry out critical repairs and replenishment of supplies.
Luckily the Earth Forces had evacuated the space colony at L4 in a hurry so they were able to dock for the time being.
The leaders were now gathered aboard the Archangel's bridge to plan their next move.
"There seems of be a coup in progress in PLANT against Chairman Zala." Lacus stated.
"Indeed. The Chairman has too far gone in his hatred for Naturals to not order a counterstrike at the opportunity practically handed to him. GENESIS is still intact and he would have certainly chosen Earth as next target after obliterating the Lunar base." Watfield opinioned.
Arthrun Zala was uneasy about the Chairman,his father being mentioned. After all the crimes he commited,he didn't know if his old man could even be saved at this point let alone forgiven. Cagalli sensed his inner turmoil and held his hand to reassure him.
Everyone in the room were quiet and in deep thought about what would happen now and what was next for them.
Yzak Jule,pilot of the Duel was also present with Dearka. He wanted to return to PLANT but his friend talked him out of it and waited to see how situation unfolded. He did desert from his post even for a while and could be tried for treason if he ended up with the wrong faction.
"Makes me wonder what will become of us." Dearka said half-jovially, half-concerned said to his fellow ZAFT pilot and friend.
"Be quiet"
Yzak gave his usual response to difficult questions but lacking any bite.
He was concerned about his mother,Ezalia Jule who was strong supporter Chairman Zala in PLANT Supreme Council and would certainly be a target if a coup was indeed taking place.
Murrue Ramius stated
"We still don't know what exactly happened on the Dominion. Even if it's a temporary respite,we probably owe our still being alive due to the ultimatum given out to Earth Forces and showing Muruta Azrael's capture. I am still surprised that it worked somehow"
That was still a factor which no one had foreseen and not sure what to make of it. From testimonies of surviving crewmembers of the Dominion,an electrician by the name and rank of Private Hachiman Hikigaya had refused to evacuate and only asked them where Captain Natarle was and moved on,presumably to the bridge where Muruta Azrael had fired his gun and trying to wrestle it off his hands.
Many officers expressed regret to leaving their Captain behind and were clearly too stressed in their situation.
The Three Ship Alliance had to retreat as ZAFT came forward and the Earth Forces retreated and last observed the Dominion being approached,possibly with intention of seizing it by the former.
What was the fate of Private Hachiman,Captain Natarle,if they were even alive at this point was still unknown to them and ZAFT released no official official statement regarding the matter.
"If the story about this Hachiman fella is true then I'll love to personal thank him. For a moment I was sure that I'm toast"
Commander Mu La Flaga quipped in his usual manner with a of hint of light-heartedness in otherwise dead serious situation.
He had explained to Murrue and other officers at the bridge that he had a feeling that Dominion was about to open fire.
Indeed the Archangel's recordings did show the Dominion's Positron Gun being activated and a power surge meaning it was ready to fire at full blast and only a miracle intervention inside that warship averted this at the last moment.
Murrue concluded by saying,
"The matter is not over yet. Earth Forces haven't yet replied to ZAFT's ceasefire and I'm uneasy with GENESIS still intact and can be fired on Earth."
While the discussion continued,Kira Yamato found himself thinking about someone else. He knew this meeting was of grave importance and possibly the fate of humanity depended on them but he couldn't help it.
He only met her once since she got on board and didn't respond to his calling or even meet his eyes.
He decided to try talking to her again after the meeting was over and put his complex emotions to rest once and for all.
Flay...
The Dining Area of the Archangel was crowded since the crew of the Dominion who took refuge were also being catered for.
Many areas of the ship had been sealed off due to heavy damage during the battle and needed to be repaired so they had to make do with whatever space that was available
Flay Allster stood out among that crowd. She was a young woman with long,red hair and she sat quietly,slowly eating her meal while keeping her head down and not conversing with people around her.
She had been looking forward to meeting and reconciling with Kira, perhaps expressing apology so how she manipulated his feelings for her for selfish reasons and maybe ask to give her another chance if he was willing.
When Kira finally returned victoriously to Archangel in his Gundam Freedom,she felt elevated but was soon crushed when Lacus Clyne embraced him and he reciprocated.
She felt her jealousy appearing again but managed to quash it and decided it would be better to move on. She was hurt but Kira deserved better and she avoided him since.
So here she was,with her meal alone. Or so she thought.
"May I sit here" A young girl of about the same age as her asked,eyeing an empty spot opposite to where Flay had seated.
"Oh,of course! Miss... Labatt"
"I've told you,Mayu is fine."
Mayura Labatt* . She was also a redhead albeit short-haired and tomboyish and it was nothing but short of miracle that she survived after fighting to the point of exhaustion.
By miracle it meant narrowly surviving being impaled as the attacking Earth Forces mobile suit narrowly missed the cockpit,successfully initiated Engine shutdown just in before it blew up her mobile suit with her inside to bits and finally the shielding was just enough to protect her from the exploding enemy Mobile Suit which she stabbed with her own blade.
After being stranded in space without power for some time she was rescued by the Duel which was also carrying the Buster.
The silver-haired ZAFT pilot was actually flustered despite trying to act like a cool hotshot when she expressed gratitude for bringing her to the Archangel which also lead to Dearka teasing him.
She did got some injuries which required stitches and bandages but she thanked God or whoever out there to survive in one piece.
She was devastated when she learned that her Astray Test pilot colleagues and friends,Asagi and Juri didn't survive the battle. Not even their bodies could be recovered and she'd seen firsthand that a destabilized Mobile suit becomes a death trap for the pilot.
Since then she tried to maintain a positive,upbeat front in front of others or despair would consume her.
She eventually found herself bonding with Flay.
"How are your injuries?" Flay asked.
"Doc said I'll no longer need painkillers" Mayu said with a smirk "my bandages will be off next time I see him"
"Is there something that's bothering you? You always seem wary and as if something on your mind. We can talk about it if you want" she offered.
Flay considered her offer. Maybe she should be more honest and open up more.
* I retconned Mayu's death from the canon because I liked the Astray trio and didn't like them being killed off so quickly and unceremoniously. It's not like Gundam Seed isn't guilty of retconning deaths of popular characters in Seed Destiny *ahem* Mu La Flaga