Gundam Seed: The Federation

by Blackshadow999

Different telling of Gundam Seed. With the conflict between Naturals and Coordinators getting worse as time passes, some nations have banded together and formed the organization known as the Human Federation. Will the Federation be able to help bring peace or will the hatred between Naturals and Coordinators destroy everything and bring extinction of humanity? Cover by SaddlePatch

39. Phase 39: Past Heroes Dishornored

A/n

Here is Phase 39, and this is the first of the treat of three, yes three Phases that are posted now. Normal Disclaimer applies, enjoy the story as it continues!

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Phase 39: Past Heroes Dishonored

March 13th, 74 C.E.

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-Neutral pov-

Shira, the Republic

It was days after the message Durandal gave to the world, the moon and the colonies, and still the after-effects were rocking all humanity. After immediate damage-control was seen to within the member nations of the Federation, the leaders of each were in agreement that a meeting together was needed. The quick refusal of being involved with the campaign against Logos was given because it was seen to immediate escalation of the bloodshed, but further discussion was required for a more definite answer. That was one of the subjects of the meeting, to discuss Durandal's message and what would be the best course of action to take going forward.

At the appointed time and date, Ellen Blass was in her office and had it locked for security and privacy. A meeting of all the Federation's political leaders didn't happen all that often, two or three talking with one another yes, but not all of them. For such a purpose, a network of emitters had risen from out of the floor and the ceiling, which formed a half circle. The emitters formed a panoramic display with Ellen's desk on the open side so that she could view all displayed. Finally, there was a camera focusing in on Ellen so that those transmitting to her would see her as she would see them. This system was in place so that any leader could see the others in a conference-type setup which tended to work the best. The first that Ellen saw appear on a display was Uzumi Athha, "Uzumi, good to see you, I hope things are going fair in Orb," Ellen greeted.

Uzumi smiled a margin and nodded, "As well as expected for the moment, recent events have made things somewhat uneasy for most overall. I wish the same is true or better for the Republic and you," he returned.

Ellen shrugged, "Chairman Durandal's broadcast has had a ripple effect and portions of it or rather what was missing wasn't taken nicely to put it mildly. There has been many stating just how unhappy they are and how insulting the altered footage is among other things," she replied.

A different portion of the display changed and the image of a man in his late sixties. He had half a head of grey hair and a goatee that was also grey, while his eyes were hazel. He was wearing a crisp white suit and had an almost natural serious expression on his face. "Ellen, Uzumi, I do hope that I'm not too early to this meeting," the man said, whose name was Markus Noventa.

"Not at all Markus, your punctuality is refreshing as it always is. How are things going in the Kingdom of Scandinavia," Ellen asked.

"Yes, it's not far from the path the giant mobile weapon forged into the Euros Coalition," added Uzumi.

With Markus Noventa being the leader of the Kingdom of Scandinavia, its citizens were his responsibility. And at the question, Markus frowned, "Things are okay, fairly stable for the time being. We are doing our best to help the survivors of the first two cities attack by that monstrosity. There are a scant few of them left alive compared to what the population was. So many are still in shock from seeing everything they know vanish in front of their eyes. The current mood is definitely strained for the general public among other things from the blow that this massacre dealt, it is different than anything done before now. Then Durandal's broadcast, whether he intended it to be or not, has stirred things up and not helped stability," Markus said.

As Markus finished, the image Marina Ismail appear on a section of the panoramic display, "I see that I'm not the first here," she greeted.

Ellen shook her head, "No Marina and you're not late. We're still waiting for Dianna and our newest colleague Brian Stegmeyer from the United States of South America's leadership," she replied.

Marina nodded, "I would be shocked if Dianna hasn't been extremely busy since the attack on the Euros Coalition. Truly, a tragic chain of events that has stolen so many lives and distorted others forever. And what was it all done for," she asked sadly.

There was audible agreement to the statement made by Marina, "Indeed, a horrible series of events it has been for great many and I would like to know why it happened as well," said a different female voice flatly.

Another image came up on the display, that of a woman in her thirties. She had a regal-looking face with blue eyes. Her blonde hair was long with two braids, one on either side of her face and framed it. Ellen smiled, "Dianna, it's wonderful to see you."

Dianna Soreil, the current head of the Euros Coalition's republican style government with the title of President. She along with Marina were the youngest of the Federation's political leaders. However, Dianna who normally kept herself well-kept and presentable, looked to have not slept for days. "Dianna, you look as if you haven't seen a bed in days," Uzumi commented worriedly.

"Your observation isn't wrong, I haven't slept for all that long in a while Uzumi. I've been busy cleaning up the mess that a giant mobile suit made," Dianna remarked sharply. Then she rubbed her eyes, "My apologies to you all, the lack of needed sleep has been taking its toll by getting the better of me and it is having me momentarily forgo using manners."

"No Dianna, you are not at fault. What is the condition of your citizens," Marina asked with concerned tones.

Dianna exhaled heavily, "To say that It's not the best by any means would be an understatement, many are still reeling from the destruction made by that monster. I won't regale you with all the details, but I have grown weary and the pain in my heart keeps burning when I listen to the cries of those looking for their loved ones they haven't found, along with the morning for the lost," she returned tiredly.

A fifth image appeared of an older man appeared, "That does sound terrible President Soreil, my deepest heartfelt condolences to you and your people. If there are things that can be done to assist, then please don't hesitate to ask."

The man's name was Brian Stegmeyer, and he was the leader of the United States of South America. He appeared to be in his late sixties but in good health. "Glad you could make it President Stegmeyer, welcome to you," Ellen greeted.

"Thank you, the welcome is appreciated," replied Stegmeyer, "On behalf of the citizens of the United States of South America, we are joyful and relieved our request to join the Human Federation was accepted. With the world and the colonies in the state that they are lately, some stability helps keep people calm somewhat and that is preferred over the alternative."

"Indeed, if only lasting stability was so easy to obtain for all," remarked Uzumi.

Ellen took a breath, "Dianna, I doubt any of us want to know the answer any more than you want to think about it. However, how bad are the estimations of the damage and the death toll thus far from the attacks," she inquired soberly.

Dianna didn't answer the question right away, but the expression that was on her face made it clear that the information was not good. "Reports are still coming in on the more detailed surveying in the Berlin area and the third city assaulted. The two other cities that were attacked… one might as well just say they were essentially demolished." Dianna inclined her head, "Markus, you have my gratitude for the assistance that your nation is providing to the survivors of the first two cities."

Markus merely nodded, "It is the least that can be done right now, I only wish that we could do more for those poor people. Lord knows that they have suffered far more than any should. I highly doubt that I'm the only one that desires to assist those effected by this," he replied.

Dianna gestured to the participants as a whole, "All of your thoughts for the victims are certainly welcome, it's one of the good things any in the Euros Coalition is getting lately. Still back to the subject, it will take years to recover from this sequence of events in many ways. I would rather not talk about the cost other than it won't be small in any way when the total is calculated. As for the most recent estimate on the casualty count, it was rapidly approaching a hundred thousand lost the day before yesterday." Dianna said bitterly. "It is believed that there will be at least double that by the time surveying is done and that's the best-case scenario as much as it pains me to admit."

Hearing the estimations were horrifying, even knowing that things were bad after the tragedy, the figures were staggering! And the pain felt wasn't just from what resulted from the actions of those that attacked the Euros Coalition. With Durandal's announcement of his military campaign against Logos, the pain and suffering of the victims were being used to justify more fighting. Also, much of the aid that could have and would have come for the victims, was now being used by ZAFT for their campaign along with them mostly ignoring the cleanup still going on by this point now.

It was Marina that broke the silence that had fallen, "How did such tragedy turn into a rally cry and call to arms to continue the senseless killing?"

"Sadly, it is because there are those who focus on what they desire more than standing accountable for the trail of bodies they produce," commented Markus sorrowfully.

Ellen listened as the conversation went on, wondering to herself if any kind of change would tip the recent motions back toward moving in the direction of peace. There came a quiet beeping from a small terminal on Ellen's desk, and when she looked down there was a message. The message was from her secretary and it said that there were two incoming calls, one from an individual that Ellen had invited to participate in this meeting.

"I mean, what the hell were the ones that came up with the string of attacks thinking?! If they were at all thinking in any way and I would question that along with their sanity," Dianna was saying angrily.

"We can understand your anger and frustration Dianna," Ellen said cutting over Dianna, "your people have suffered when they shouldn't have, and we feel for you and them. However, perhaps if I might suggest, there may be a way to get an answer or at least some idea as to why the attacks did happen, if any here are interested."

Everyone showed expression of surprise to shock, "Ellen are you saying that you have an idea as to why the attacks on the Euros Coalition happened," asked Markus.

Ellen shrugged, "Do I myself have an answer, no I do not. Nonetheless, I happen to know one that might have information that could enlighten us, or at least some better idea than we do. Does anyone mind letting two others participate in this meeting that I invited without consulting any of you first," she replied.

Uzumi was the first to reply, "I've certainly have no issue with two others joining in if they can help shed light on why these attacks came about."

"I second that opinion," Markus remarked.

"I'm in agreement with Lord Athha and Minister Noventa on that," said Stegmeyer.

"If we might get an explanation, then I am all for as well," Marina stated.

All turned their attention to Dianna, to which she sighed, "Very well Ellen, if whoever you have in mind could provide us insight as to why and preferably a good clue as to whom is responsible, I can and will do my best to keep my frustration and anger in line," she answered.

With all in agreement, Ellen had the two incoming calls put up on the display and so all the Federation leaders saw the two new comers. One was Joseph Copeland and the other was a woman that looked to be in the same age range as Ellen herself. She had brown hair that had two sausage shaped curls on either side of her head behind her ears that went down to her collar bone, while her eyes were dark blue. The woman's name was Sally Po, and she was the head of the Eurasian Federation currently.

Most of the Federation leaders showed visible surprise at seeing the two leaders of the major powers of the Earth Alliance. Dianna quickly gained an expression of displeasure, "Ellen, why are the leaders of the major states of the Alliance joining us? I said I would be tolerant about this suggestion, but there are limits and they are being pressed against hard right now," she all but growled with fury.

"Dianna," Ellen started in a firm tone, "At least hear them out, from what parts of their side I've learned from Joseph, they have been manipulated like many have in this current conflict." Dianna appeared to be about to snap a retort, but Ellen turned her attention to Joseph Copeland and Sally Po. "It is nice that you could both join this meeting, you will have to forgive our colleague, Dianna has been dealing with a great deal of stress from the attacks of the citizens of the Euros Coalition."

"I would imagine so," Copeland said, "My heartfelt condolences to your citizens President Soreil, if there is some sort of aid that can be provided, please name it," Copeland said.

The greeting from Copeland did not get received well by Dianna, for rage came to her face, "Condolences… aid Copeland?! The best aid my nation could have from the Alliance would've been the attacks not occurring in the first place!" snarled Dianna, before she reined in her outburst. "Do you comprehend how many lives were either ended or changed forever from that giant mobile weapon of the Earth Forces made? I attest to you the number is not small and it is still growing as we speak!"

Sally Po then spoke up for Copeland, "We can assure you Miss Soreil, we wish the same as you in the attacks never happening. What has come to pass on your nation and more its citizens should fall on no one." Sally frowned as she continued, "Hard as it may be to believe and accept, the Alliance itself, nor the Earth Forces were responsible for the series events that causes your people's pain. Joseph and I have been working with the leaders of the OMNI Enforcer organization to try and find out who was involved in the incidents so that we might be able to tell you as a way to show that we wish to help the victims, Nonetheless, we have yet to find out definitively who is and who is not involved, not for a lack of trying and it is ongoing."

There was a moment of silence at Sally's statement, before Marina spoke, "If the Alliance itself was not the ones carrying the attacks out as you say, then why were there Alliance mobile suits with the giant weapon?"

"There are groups that are a part of the Earth Forces technically but take orders from others outside of the Earth Forces' top brass. The separation of politics and military has been growing wider and there is also a division developing within the Earth Forces," replied Copeland.

Ellen put a hand to her chin, "When you say division and 'others outside of the Earth Forces' do you refer to Logos or some within the organization and those who listen to them," she inquired.

Sally frowned, "That is what our findings have found thus far, combined with how Logos has shown to work. And Joseph and I have seen enough to say that the way Logos runs internally, is different than is seen from the outside, what you say Minister Blass is more or less accurate," she remarked.

Markus hummed thoughtfully, "Alright, should that be the case, then what reasons could Logos have had to attack the Euros Coalition in the manner it did," he posed to all the participants of the meeting.

No one answered at first, but then, "I can't say for certain, but my best guess would be some wanted to attempt using the Coalition as an example to scare everyone else on Earth into compliance with their ideas of how the war should be going, especially the Federation member nations," Copeland said.

Sally nodded, "That would make sense, twisted as it is Joseph," she agreed.

The sound of a growl drew everyone's attention to Dianna, "So, you're telling me that all the destruction and deaths that have happened from the attacks on my nation and its people was intended to be some sort of ridiculous fear tactic," she demanded angrily.

Copeland looked down, "That would be my educated assumption, though I think the plan itself was made by Lord Djibril," he replied.

Dianna was fuming and shouting as both Markus and Marina tried to calm the woman down. Ellen was thinking since the name Lord Djibril sounded familiar to her, but she couldn't place where she knew it. "Joseph, this Lord Djibril, what do you know about him? What kind of tasks does he do for Logos? I know the name from somewhere but can't place where I've either heard it or if I've even met the man," Ellen asked.

Copeland thought for a moment, "From what I understand, he is one of the more influential members of Logos. He tends to be their salesman to clients, at least he has been the one that I've had contact with the most. He is the one that insisted that a nuclear strike against the PLANTs was a necessity and convinced enough to get it to happen. Also, what happened to the Euros Coalition does seem like something he would encourage and do, since he has made it known that he doesn't think highly of the Human Federation," he replied.

"Djibril is also, one that meets with potential clients, especially ones that could provide a great deal of business. And as the Federation doesn't do any business with Logos, they would like as much as they could get, as well as access to Federation technology I wouldn't doubt," Sally added. "The one time I met Djibril in person, he came off as calm and confident, perhaps had aristocratic mannerisms taught to him at some point. I believe he is also the one leading Blue Cosmos now that Muruta Azrael vanished."

The last line helped things click in Ellen's mind, there had been a man that fit those facts that had approached her during the Horizon Jubilee. The man had been well-kept and had at first seemed charismatic when she had met him. However, when he had turned the conversation towards a possible deal with Logos, Ellen had kindly refused and walked away. "Yes, I think I know to whom you refer now, he has short grey hair and blue eyes, tends to be well-kept in his appearance," she questioned.

"Yes, that is a fair description of Djibril," Copeland returned.

Ellen nodded, "I see, he attended the Horizon Jubilee and used it as an opportunity to attempt to have me agree to a deal for business with 'an interested party' as he put it that he was representing. Although, when I asked further, he didn't mention Logos or any organization specifically, only some known businessmen that I can recall," she commented.

"Wait Ellen," said Dianna, and Ellen glanced at her, "Are you saying that you've met this Lord Djibril before?!"

"Yes, he left a bit of an impression," Ellen replied. "I just hope that he is different than the previous leader of Blue Cosmos, but if recent events are anything to judge by, then he isn't."

"Perhaps, rather than focusing on who is responsible at the moment, we can discuss what can be done to discourage and hopefully prevent another incident like has already happened," Stegmeyer suggested.

Uzumi nodded, "Agreed, one tragedy like this is beyond horrible, we must do what we can to stop a repeat of it from occurring another time," he stated.

Dianna sighed and looked to calm down the most she had since the beginning part of the meeting. "You have a good point Uzumi. I don't like that this happened to the Euros Coalition nor its people, but I would not wish it to be experienced by other nations or colonies either, not even by the PLANTs or the states of the Earth Alliance," she admitted evenly.

The discussion turned to potential options to prevent a giant mobile weapon from making a path of destruction in another nation. This also included both Copeland and Po, as their own nations could be turned into targets if Logos or even maybe Durandal were to learn that they were talking of cooperation with Federation leaders. Vigilance of course was going to be needed to be done by all, yet there would be required to give enough warning to muster the needed force to stop another giant mobile suit. Still, as options were discussed, the conversation shifted to Durandal's broadcast and what had and would come from it.

"With Gilbert Durandal's message, there was a lot said and I believe more unsaid. What I get out of reading between the lines isn't encouraging me that peace will be a likely result for a long while if at all," Ellen remarked.

There were mutterings of agreement to Ellen's statement. "I can't see how the campaign against Logos will do anything other than continue the bloodshed that this war has wrought," commented Marina sadly.

Dianna scoffed, "It's obvious Durandal is using the attacks on my nation to gain support for his goals from as many as he can. And to him, I would say how dare he even consider doing so! Durandal is manipulating people to the same degree as Logos and as far as I'm concerned he's not much better than those he is hunting if at all." Dianna gestured to Ellen, "The only thing that I find a bit more ironic than his hypocrisy, is the words he quoted from Ellen can be applied to himself."

"Indeed, that does appear to be the case," Stegmeyer said, "Yet, that leaves the question, what are Gilbert Durandal's true intentions? Will his campaign on Logos end should he hunt down all its members, or will he simply target others after eliminating Logos that stand in the way of his goals?"

"Durandal said that he wishes for true peace to be experienced by every single member of the human race, but his actions don't say that at all, more the opposite in fact," Uzumi remarked.

Ellen put her hands together and interlaced her fingers before having her chin rest on her fingers. "While I agree with the concern that Durandal won't stop with the members of Logos and believe that there is truth to Dianna saying Durandal is being a hypocrite, I firmly think there is more to his message. I'm of the opinion that Durandal believes that he can bring about something that he himself sees as peace. What that actually is, I cannot say with the facts known as they are available right now, but I feel that his view is not the same vision of peace that those of us here have," she said.

"Yes," Markus agreed, "I too feel that Chairman Durandal has a different vision of peace than any of us. His point in pinning the blame on Logos was one thing, whether it is to the extent he claims or he is exaggerating, who can say at this point. Yet, his emphasis that those who have committed crimes and done wrong 'for Logos' as he put it but aren't known members of Logos are victims in need of help. That set Durandal in the position to be seen as a kind of heroic savior, and such figures can have a great deal of influence, history shows us that. The real potential issue is also given by historical accounts, a number of individuals in that type of position used that influence not for good, but for their own selfish ambitions until their end."

There was an uncomfortable moment of silence with the way Markus painted Gilbert Durandal. "If what Minister Noventa says turns out to be true of Durandal, then does that mean we should assume one of our nations could have ZAFT forces paying a non-friendly visit at some point in the near future should we not agree with his views," asked Stegmeyer.

"I wouldn't be entirely surprised if it happens with how circumstances are developing. I fear that it is more a question of when rather than if such comes to pass," said Copeland soberly.

Ellen sighed, "With how circumstances are indeed heading, more so with how similar they are becoming to the previous war, I would have to agree Joseph. Whatever it may be that Durandal is after, I'm skeptical that those of us who disagree or decline to be a part of Gilbert Durandal's vision and scheme will be allowed to look good to everyone else or be left alone for long."

There was an even more uncomfortable silence at Ellen's assessment, until Sally Po spoke, "I don't know if I speak for all of us here, but do you seriously believe that Chairman Durandal would have ZAFT attack a nation of the world just for not agreeing with as you say Minister Blass? The strength of the Federation's military isn't argued, and it's to their credit and the citizens of the Federation make it clear what lengths your military will go."

"I mean no offense Minister Po, but I hope you have not forgotten what the actions of Muruta Azrael and through him the Earth Forces and the Alliance were responsible for during the First Alliance-PLANT War. A portion of your enlisted people were killed by the stunt he planned and had carried out at JOSH-A. It was all to eliminate ZAFT forces, but oddly, there were no Atlantic Federation personnel, no offense implied against you Joseph. Or we have more recent examples, like some within the Alliance or Logos using the Federation Military helping prevent nuclear missiles from killing the innocent people living in the PLANTs that had nothing to do with the Junius Seven drop, to start attacking member nations." Ellen exhaled heavily before she kept going, "So I regret to say yes Miss Po, I believe it's entirely possible that Gilbert Durandal will order attacks on any of the nations of Earth, using justification that benefits him and his image as a kind of hero of humanity."

"Even if that does not occur somehow, it would be best for us all to prepare for the situation that has been painted I would think," Markus said.

"Indeed, the phrase that does come to mind right now," spoke Stegmeyer, "Is united we shall stand, but divided we will fall."

Marina smile, "Truly wisdom that phrase is, working together can and will make a difference if storms are to come."

And so, measures were talked about to hopefully prevent horrible events of attack on any of the nations of Earth by either Logos or ZAFT as both could do so. An agreement was made between all the political leaders where Earth Forces that hadn't deserted and Federation Military forces could travel into one another's territory without fear of being shot at without provocation. That would help in responses to any unexpected strikes by ZAFT and their new allies. It was also agreed upon that this meeting and what had been discussed would not be revealed to others unless necessary, but all would keep in contact.

-Line Break-

PLANTs, L5

Gilbert Durandal was looking over the responses from his speech that he gave about Logos as there had been mixed reactions in the weeks that had past. Many on Earth and colonies were now supporting ZAFT and Durandal's campaign against Logos, which was one of the intentions of the broadcast. There was a portion of the Earth Alliance that wasn't in full support of Durandal's campaign, but nor were they helping Logos. That being the case, Durandal was fine with leaving them be for the time being, perhaps his speech had shown them the truth about Logos and they just needed time to come to terms with what they had learned. There was time to work with for the moment, so for those that were in support of the campaign against Logos could be given time to think.

Nonetheless, the reactions of the Federation were predicable, yet also disappointing as well. Durandal had hoped that his broadcast would shake things up within the Federation and that they would then be more willing to help in the campaign against Logos. The help of the Federation and specifically their Information Network would speed things along greatly. And at first, there had been impressions that perhaps some of the Federation might be convinced to help which had been encouraging.

The first reply from the Federation leaders had been hurried and hadn't felt definitive, but what followed had been firm. That had been reinforced by the outcries that there had been information left out of the broadcast that shouldn't have been from the Federation had come. Their outcries of things being left out had been annoying and had taken some effort to have looked over by others. And while those claims might be true to an extent, Gilbert didn't let those dampen his work he was pushing forward. But he had to applaud the loyalty of the Federation's citizens toward their military for it was impressive to say the least. Yet, the Federation's military reputation of what they would do for those they served was well-established, so it was understandable even if not helpful in this.

As an overall result, the Federation was ignoring the broadcast and its subject matter, which wasn't what Gilbert had wanted. If anything, then the Federation was now strengthening its standing and position both against Logos and ZAFT itself, they were staying out of the conflict the best they could. Then, the United States of South America had formally announced that they had joined the Human Federation, adding to their numbers and influence on Earth. It was clear that the Federation wouldn't help any from Logos, though that would eliminate a good portion of places in the world for members of Logos to run or hide.

But, that left the issue that the Federation could and likely would become when the Destiny Plan was introduced to be dealt with at a later point. Durandal wanted to be proactive and handle such problems before the Destiny Plan was announced, but that might be possible right now. However, Durandal still believed that shaking the strength of the Federation was feasible. He also saw it as a necessity for the future that he had in mind that the Destiny Plan, for the odds that any within the Federation would agree to be a part of the plan were extremely slim to none as things stood now. And Gilbert had found from past experience that it was better to deal with problems before they became worse, and it was usually easier and simpler as well.

The Federation's strength, both for its military and member nations, had always been and still was in the solid unity in purpose and overall belief they held. If that united front could be shaken, then there was the possibility that the Federation could be convinced to join in and help in the Destiny Plan if it was presented in the right way to them. The difficulty in doing just that, was the united cause they held hadn't changed since the Human Federation's establishment. Yet, neither was the Federation lacking in facts, logic and conviction that kept their standing as strong as it was. Then, the strength of the Federation's military was hard to deny, even by Durandal himself. Nevertheless, if that strength was proven to not be as firm or as solid as was accepted, then maybe that united cause could be portrayed as somewhat faulty. Should that task be accomplished, then citizens of the Federation could be directed to the possibilities that the Destiny Plan could bring about.

It was common fact that the Federation's military had ships that unofficially were symbols of their strength, thought he Federation's military didn't officially say that. Said ships would have records of not only success, but of also going into situations that have harsh odds stacked against them and yet coming out victorious. So in theory, were one of those to go down or made to surrender unlikely as that was, then the opportunity for pointing out weakness could appear. It was a gamble and a risky on if it didn't play out well true, but it seemed the option with the best potential at the moment.

As for which ship Durandal had in mind, the Archangel had become one of those symbols for the Federation as it seemed unsinkable and at least one mobile suit onboard had thus far proven undefeatable. Such facts were established during the previous war and still held true and it was not for the lack of others trying to destroy the X10A Freedom or the Archangel. The pilot of the Freedom was also the 'Ultimate Coordinator' and the 'Perfect Human' Kira Yamato and Durandal would have no qualm if he could be rid of the young man, he preferred it. The young man represented a path for the human race that Durandal had disagreed with and the Destiny Plan couldn't have any like him as he would be an abnormality in it.

It was dwelling upon those facts, which gave Durandal an idea to perhaps justify a moderate scale attempt to deal with that ship and the Freedom. Defeating the Freedom, let alone the Archangel as well would be a tall order, but the Minerva had shown itself to be up to tall tasks. The X10A Freedom Gundam was formidable by its specs alone, but its pilot made the machine equal to if not exceeding a super-weapon. Kira Yamato had shown clear signs that he had the "power of change" from the records of the Freedom's battles and the other mobile suits that he was assumed to have piloted. Whether that was by the design of Kira Yamato's father and chief engineer Ulen Hibiki, Giblert couldn't say for sure, it wouldn't be a shock if it was. To have a fair chance to best the young man, one with the same kind of power would be required and the Minerva had such pilots. Durandal had noticed that Shinn Asuka had the power of change or as some called it, "SEED Factor". Athrun Zala did as well, but Durandal had some doubts that he would willingly fight and defeat Kira Yamato, there was too much evidence that they were friends still and that would probably affect his judgement.

As the facts were, there would need to be a story as to why the Archangel needed to be dealt with, for just saying so would be seriously questioned. The justification Durandal had in mind that could work was that the Archangel, was to say that ship still working for the Earth Forces, and through them, were at the command of Logos. Granted, with their actions during this war and the previous one, passing them off as an enemy would be hard, but not impossible. All that was needed was something that could be seen as a connection to Logos in somewhat and then the Archangel could be passed off as a 'sleeper agent' of Logos.

Durandal was searching through videos of the war and stopped when he came to a specific recording. The recording was of the custom Federation fighter bringing back the remains of an Alliance Windam to the Archangel. The Windam was purple overall and had been glimpsed a few times by the Minerva before now with the Alliance forces they had encountered, with the stolen mobiles suits from Armory One no less. The video fit so well that it was like it was made for this purpose alone, for it meant the suit was part of the Alliance's "Phantom Pain" regiment and they had a connection to Logos.

Durandal smiled a bit as this recording fit what he needed to make it appear that the Archangel was actually working for Logos. It could be portrayed that the Archangel was rescuing them, revealing their true colors. With the video clip in hand, Durandal called on some of the heads of ZAFT and got down to telling them why the Archangel needed to be dealt with. Kira Yamato and the Archangel would only become a problem if not handled and they would become a larger one the longer they were ignored. And the less obstructions there were for the Destiny Plan, the better Durandal saw thing to be.

The operation, named "Angel Down", was conceived for the purpose of dealing with the Archangel and the X10A Freedom, whether by surrender or destroying them. Durandal even gave a fairly detailed narrative of how the Archangel and the Freedom had been playing everyone around them for fools the whole time as they were rescuing an enemy. This translated to both of them being spies and supplying information for Logos while staying hidden from all others and now had helped an ally of theirs hoping no one noticed. The other point that was made was that the operation was to be kept quiet and not made known to the public.

The first step of the operation was to find the Archangel as it had vanished after the Battle of Berlin and hadn't been seen since. However, over the next day, an AWACS reconnaissance DINN caught sight of the Archangel traveling east across Eurasia. With knowing the location of the Archangel, ZAFT top brass have one of the newer Compton-class land ship and two smaller Petrie-class land ships pursue it. The vessels headed out from the ZAFT base by the Black Sea, chasing the Archangel. Orders were sent to the Minerva to head towards the area that the Archangel was in to assist in the operation.

-Line Break-

The Archangel

The Archangel had been traveling across Eurasia, heading back towards Orb at the request of Cagalli. She was getting worried about Orb with the start of the campaign against Logos had announced, not that it would be attacked necessarily, but for the unrest that would come after the broadcast from Durandal. Also, it was obvious that the battlefield that the city of Berlin had been turned into had an effect on Cagalli. Not only solidifying her resolve in helping end this war, but also that talking alone wasn't enough, but it could help on the path forward. She even started to see why her father had possibly done nothing to stop Kira and Tyler from 'kidnapping' her from her wedding. She had learned many things while on the Archangel that she wouldn't have doing the politics of Orb among other things.

The trip thus far had been uneventful, no Earth Forces had paid any attention to the Archangel at all. The feeling on the ship was somber since the Battle of Berlin, for the battlefield had been beyond horrifying. That was followed by the man that Cormag had brought back being positively identified as Mu La Flaga beyond all doubt. So, the quiet trip was taken as a time to reflect as there had been little time to do so before now.

Murrue wasn't saying much other than giving instructions to the crew since finding out that the man identifying himself as Neo Roanoke was Mu. Learning that the man was one-hundred percent Mu La Flaga had taken her by complete surprise as she had seen the Strike destroyed to save the Archangel and thought that was the end of Mu. However, the man that was Mu, didn't seem to remember anything from before, yet had many of the personality quirks he possessed before. The whole situation was making her heart ache and strain from pain of seeing the man she loved and yet, it not be the man she knew.

For those that had known Mu, most were wondering how this Neo Roanoke could be Mu La Flaga. Kira was the first one who put forth the theory that somehow Mu's memories had been overwritten. Cormag mentioned that it was possible and even likely that such had been done, because the Alliance wasn't above doing that. Even knowing that, it was painful to see a man that many respected, had become a black-opts captain for Logos. Neo was not allowed to roam the ship, he was not at this time seen as trustworthy and he was still healing, confined to the bed he was in.

The Archangel had made it halfway across the Eurasian Federation territory, when the quiet time came to the end. Sensors detected ZAFT vessels coming up from behind and closing in on the Archangel. Battle stations were called and the ship was made ready for combat as the ZAFT vessels drew closer. Kira and Cormag boarded their mobile suits and prepared to launch out to defend the Archangel from this force. What the reason was for ZAFT to be pursuing the Archangel, none knew. The ZAFT vessels might just be wanting to talk, since ZAFT forces had been helping the Federation lately, but better safe than sorry with what had been happening recently.

Nonetheless, the answer to why three ZAFT land ships were following the Archangel came when they sent a demand that the Archangel surrender or be destroyed. The command was completely out of the blue and didn't make sense in any logical way to be sent. When the question of what was going on was sent from the Archangel, the message demanding the Archangel's surrender was repeated. The Archangel wasn't given much more time to wonder or question the demand of surrender than that, for the ZAFT vessels open fired on them shortly after the second demand was sent. As ZAFT began deploying mobile suits, Kira and Cormag headed out to defend the Archangel. Even with the odds being two against a growing number of mobile suits, Cormag and Kira were far from ordinary or new mobile suit pilots. They proved their skills by quickly throwing their opponents into disarray, which helped the Archangel in not having to intercept as many incoming shots.

Ten minutes into the skirmish, and the Archangel was keeping as low as it could to be less of a target. ZAFT BuCUEs were working their way closer to the Archangel in order to surround it to end the fight but were having trouble with the Freedom and Cormag's Excel fighter. While back on the lead Compton-class land battleship, the ZAFT commander that was in charge of this operation was looking at the displays with mild surprise. He had heard and read reports about the "Archangel" and the "X10A Freedom" but seeing why they had gotten the reputation they had was different.

It was when the command for most of the BABI suits to be called back for repair was given, that the commander spoke, "It's no wonder that the Archangel and the Freedom have the reputation that they do." He turned to his second in command, "Tell all mobile suit pilots to be on-guard and to not be reckless on their approach or attacks or we may be wiped out before help arrives. Hasty action in this will get good men and women killed, relay that to the other ships so that they can get the message to their pilots. Reinforcements are on route and when they get here, we can finish this with the least amount dying for it."

"Sir, as we're getting close to boxing them in, would it not be more efficient to just hit them with everything that we have and end things now. The reinforcements can help with the cleanup when they reach us," was the reply from the officer.

The captain sighed, "You have no idea what this ship is capable of, surviving what happened at the Alliance's JOSH-A base and the Second Battle of Jachin Due were no small feats. If we act too quickly and the Archangel gets away, then there will be serious consequences and lives will be lost. Do not be impatient, try looking at the big picture," he returned.

The skirmish lasted for around twenty minutes more before the ZAFT vessels and what remained of the mobile suit ceased pursuing the Archangel pulled back. The whole pursuit by ZAFT felt odd to the crew of the Archangel, ZAFT demanding surrender made no sense with the known facts as they were. There was no reason for ZAFT to want to do anything to the Archangel, it had been helping in the fight between the Federation and the Alliance. All onboard the ship were left to wonder why ZAFT had an interest in taking the Archangel either out of commission or down all together.

-Line Break-

-Tyler's pov-

Shira, the Republic

My mood hadn't improved over the time that went by since Durandal's speech as the responses came. There were two major ways of reacting, support for ZAFT or not wanting anything to do with Durandal's campaign. There was also a bit of an argument about the validity of the footage shown by Durandal, mostly from Federation nations. Those from the PLANTs had yet to admit that there was anything wrong with what was in the broadcast, and I doubt they will any time soon.

Then, Durandal's campaign or vendetta against Logos was a mess in potentia just waiting to blow up if you ask me. Sure, he could possibly take down members of Logos if that's what he really is after, which I doubt. Yet, the bloodshed that will come because of that will be harsh and it will unlikely stop there, which in turn means the war will keep going for the foreseeable future. Thankfully, the Federation had made it perfectly clear that we would have nothing to do with the campaign against Logos. The Federation won't participate nor interfere in it or help either side period was the statement I believe. I don't know how long that will stand, but hopefully it will help for a time, especially as the United States of South America joined the Human Federation. Assistance was being sent their way since the war wasn't on its way to ending, and it was assumed that the Federation member nations would at some point become targets of Durandal or Logos.

It was a few days after Durandal's broadcast, that I was contacted by Kira, which I didn't expect. I mean, I had communicated with Kira after the Battle of Berlin briefly before I had gone looking for Stella Loussier in order to help her. So, I figured that Kira was calling to discuss Durandal's speech for there was a lot said and more unsaid I believe in the broadcast. I had been at my place at the time and sitting down as it happens thankfully, as what Kira told me instantly had me putting aside Durandal's speech and would have had me floored. "Hey Tye, I know that I'm calling out of the blue, but I have something I thought you should know," he opened.

"Oh, and what would that be my friend, does it have something to do with Durandal's broadcast? I'll give the man that he is long winded and can make things sound nice, but he's not as good a man as I thought he was before now," I said.

Then came the line that came out of nowhere and if I hadn't been sitting I could have gone to the floor. "Well no, you see, during the take down of that giant mobile suit, an Alliance mobile suit was brought on the Archangel by the other pilot assigned to the ship. The Alliance pilot was knocked out, but… when we saw his face, it was like seeing Mu La Flaga again," Kira said.

What Kira was saying and implying shouldn't be possible, Mu La Flaga had died during the Second Battle of Jachin Due when he had been defending and saving the Archangel. The man was one of those that had earned my respect for he had proven that he would go freaking above and beyond the line of duty to defend those he cared about without any hesitation. That was one of the reasons I had pled his case to get him the Federation's Medal of Honor. I mean sure, it's possible that Mu could have survived somehow, but it would have been slim and come with a heavy price I wouldn't doubt. Surgery on someone is more likely explanation, Durandal had done it for his 'Lacus Clyne' puppet after all. Kira kept going, "Then after some tests were performed, it was discovered that the man is Mu, his DNA and other vitals were a one-hundred percent match to the Archangel's records."

That flabbergasted me good, for that meant that the one they found had to be Mu La Flaga and he had survived the destruction of the Strike. If it was a fake, then he wouldn't have been a complete match to the medical records the Archangel has. Kira further went on to tell me that 'Mu' had apparently said that his name was Neo Roanoke and he was part of the 81st autonomous mobile group. The name didn't ring any bells for me, but the mention of the '81st autonomous mobile group' certainly did, for it was nicknamed 'Phantom Pain'. It was assumed to be a black opts part of the Earth Forces, since they tended to do dirty work more often than not.

Of course, the crew of the Archangel that had known Mu were confused, for the guy had a personality that wasn't like Mu's much at all yet, there were 'quirks' that Mu had that were coming up. When I asked how others were taking the news, Kira said that confusion was the most prevalent, but Murrue was not handling it well at all. I can't say I blame her, to hear Mu is alive but not Mu La Flaga had to be hard to hear with the relationship those two had been developing. It was likely that some in the Alliance or Logos went through the effort to put a different personality in Mu, it is possible even if it isn't nice.

Kira summed up the conversation by saying that it had been decided for the Archangel to head back to Orb for the time being. The chances that Federation member nations could come under attack were on the rise and I would bet that Cagalli was worrying about that. They would cross the Eurasian Federation, which should go unnoticed with the chaos that's going on right now. I wished him and the Archangel good luck and safe travel before the contact was ended, but I was still left with a feeling of unease. Perhaps it was from the tension that was hanging around everywhere or something else, I don't know.

A day went by and tension was building, to what I couldn't say, but it didn't feel good at all to me. In the evening, my mother did come by to visit me as she tries to do when I come around home and it was nice to see her. We did catch up a bit and my mother did say something that didn't just catch my attention, but pretty much floored me. It came when I asked what she had done today no less, "Well, I did attend a meeting with other leaders today," my mother told me.

Now it wasn't unusual for leaders and diplomats within the Federation to talk to each other, after all, communication is key in keeping things going well. "Oh, is that so mom, who did you talk to," I asked.

"With recent events, it was seen as a good idea for the member nation leaders to discuss the best path forward," she replied.

I had a double take, for the way my mother had said the member nation leaders, it sounded like she implied all of them. The political leaders of the Federation didn't all get together often, and when they did, it is usually for very good reason. "Um mom, when you say member nation leaders, do you mean just some or all five, I mean six of them now," I questioned.

My mother put a hand to her chin, "There were six of us, admittedly, Dianna was rather unhappy and appeared to be very tired. But with what has happened to the Euros Coalition recently, it's not surprising that is the case, she has a great deal on her plate," she iterated.

The Dianna that my mother was referring to was Dianna Soreil, the leader of the Euros Coalition right now. I've met her once, she seemed really nice and the citizens of the Coalition loved her, much like the inhabitance of the Republic do my mother. And with the ruin that the giant mobile suit caused, I don't doubt that she is being kept busy with cleaning and picking up the aftermath. Then, for all of the Federation leaders to meet, it kind of said the strained state of the world as well. "I would bet Miss Soreil has been busy, I feel for her in that, especially seeing the results of the Berlin attack in person," I said soberly.

"Yes, the poor woman has been worrying about her people greatly in the last few weeks, she showed signs of missing sleep," mother replied. "However, the meeting did end out with very good results I think."

I gazed at my mom, "Really, such as," I posed.

"It is the first time in my memory, that the leaders of the two major states of the Earth Alliance talked on genuinely friendly terms in any way with any leaders of the Federation," she answered.

I openly gaped, "Wait, leaders from the Atlantic and Eurasia Federation were involved in the meeting?!"

My mother nodded, "Indeed, they have been having serious misgivings about Logos who has been influencing them overall. Plus, the major point that came out of the meeting was that borders between Alliance and Federation territory are of less consequence to the Federation Military and what Earth Forces haven't deserted."

That was huge news to me, for it pretty much implied that there could be an unofficial truce and possible alliance between the two factions in the works. That would be helpful if ZAFT forces attacked any of the member nations or Alliance states and that was a serious possibility in my mind. It was really a matter of time I think, Durandal has started whatever he is working for and I doubt he'll stop soon.

The chat with my mother came to a close and my mom left, and I went to bed for the night but was still restless and didn't sleep well. Very early the next morning, my com-unit began going off, I rolled over and grabbed it and took the call whoever it was from. "Whoever this is, it's too freaking early, call," I started saying, but I didn't finish.

"Tye, I know it's early and I'm sorry, but things had shifted to being bad for us on the Archangel," said the voice of Kira.

My brain did a hard restart and began becoming more aware of the world around me at hearing my friend's voice. "Kira? What are you referring to when you say things are getting bad for the Archangel," I questioned.

"Hours ago, a couple of ZAFT land ships caught up with us. When we asked them what was going on, they just demanded our surrender and then attacked us," Kira answered.

ZAFT chasing the Archangel and demanding them to surrender? That makes as much sense as Blue Cosmos loving Coordinators. The Archangel has done nothing that would get close to justifying such an action from ZAFT. "What do you mean demanded surrender? What kind of crap did they use to justify even stating such malarkey," I asked irritated.

"They didn't give a reason, the lead vessel just demanded that we surrender or be destroyed. Then they just started attacking after the second time," Kira replied.

I sighed, as none of what Kira was telling me anything that could possibly explain what ZAFT thinking. With the Archangel being a Federation vessel technically, ZAFT assaulting it was an extremely risky action and violated standing agreements. Then to do so without a reason or even stating it if they had one which I doubt, it was more than just weird and just says ZAFT is more in the wrong. Let's just say that ZAFT was playing with what's akin to a roaring blaze of a fire that would easily become an unstoppable forest fire, and they weren't showing much worry about the serious chance of being burned to a crisp to charred. "I take it that you shooed them away," I posed.

"Yes, but with how far they pursued us already, it's unlikely that they'll give up with one attempt," Kira answered.

Kira wasn't wrong, for ZAFT to chase the Archangel into the Siberian area where communication and sensors tend to be spotty, says they are determined. I didn't like this development at all, it worried me and made me wonder what Durandal was after, for he would know by now that this kind of thing is a very dangerous gamble. He clearly wanted the Archangel out of the way and probably the Freedom destroyed. What I couldn't figure out was why he wanted that or how it could benefit the man or his potential scheme.

The other question was what could I do to help in this situation? I was around Shira right now, that's a fair distance away from where the Archangel was traveling. I did some quick thinking and knew that a ship would have difficulty in getting to where it could help the Archangel. A mobile suit could get there faster, but power supply would be a serious shortcoming. Granted, the Aurora had a nuclear reactor, but that's the only mobile suit I know of that does right now. It would be better if I don't go alone, though I would if I had to. "I'll figure out a way to get to the Archangel as soon as possible to help you out in getting the Archangel to the water. If the ship can dive underwater, then it should be able to get to Orb and ZAFT should then leave it alone, provided they don't do something completely idiotic," I said.

"Okay, if ZAFT attacks again, we'll hold them off the best we can. Hope to see you soon Tye," Kira said and ended the call.

The very next thing I did, was contact Lisa, who had been staying around the Normandy to keep an eye on things. "Lisa, a real emergency has come up and I have a favor to ask of you as a friend," I opened.

Lisa was quiet for a moment, "Should I ask what the emergency is, or should I just tell you to state to me what the favor is?"

"The Archangel was attacked by ZAFT for whatever reason, and are likely to do it again, don't ask me why," I said. Then I took a deep breath as I'm not one to ask for help from others normally, but I was getting kind of desperate. "My favor is I'm asking you to come with me to aid the Archangel and keep me from doing something stupid, it might happen with how things stand."

Lisa was quiet for another moment, "Okay fine, I'm in, where do you want to meet up at," she asked.

"Meet me at the Northern Transit station, we'll go to Teswa from there," I said, before I hung up and raced to my car.

I will neither deny nor confirm that my foot was pressing firmly down on the accelerator and may or may not have had my car going faster than is posted for vehicles to go. However, I have friends that are either in or will probably be in danger soon, so I don't care! Besides, I wasn't caught, so there is nothing more that needs to be said. Not only that, I'm stressed from recent events and so I want something to do instead of sitting around waiting! I waited at the station for Lisa and kept my mouth shut when she finally arrived, it felt like she had taken her sweet time, doubt that she did, it's just me. Lisa just said we should get going, likely seeing that my stress levels were much higher than they normally are on average.

We got to Teswa and as it was very early morning right now, there were few here. Lisa and I headed for where mobile suits go for work to be done and we found a few people there. I went to the nearest scientist and laid out the situation that I was hoping to help stop ending badly. Thankfully, the Aurora was ready to go and upon talking further with those here, the Athena was one of the mobile suits in storage here at Teswa and it was good to go.

I was about to get to the Aurora, but was stopped when I was addressed, "Captain McGregor, I didn't imagine we would meet again here of all places."

I turned and of all people, saw Quatre Winters, the one that had been with Athrun and Cagalli around Lagrange 4. What he was doing here, I haven't the faintest clue, but… I recall him saying that he was a mobile suit pilot himself. Honestly, at this point, I need what help I could get, though I don't like admitting it out loud. And the one that had mentioned that the Athena was in storage at Teswa did also say that the Thanatos was here as well. So, the more the merrier in this jaunt I say, "Mr. Winters, I could say the same of you," I greeted. Then I got down to business, "You said that you were a pilot, did you not?"

Mr. Winters nodded, "Yes, why do you ask," he questioned.

I took a breath, "Would you be up to piloting a mobile suit to save lives that are either in danger or will be soon Mr. Winters?"

Mr. Winters put a hand on his chin, "Well first, call me Quatre, not Mr. Winters. As for piloting, since I have no current assignment, I don't see an issue with helping you out," he replied.

With Quatre agreeing, the Thanatos was also brought out of storage with the Athena and both were given a quick once over. The three of us suited up, and it was as I did, that the point of power supply for the mobile suits came back to my mind. The Aurora would be fine, the nuclear reactor would produce enough energy to get to where the Archangel would be and fight the battle. The other two of the same series, had batteries and those would unlikely have the power needed to do both tasks. However, upon getting back to the mobile suit floor, those here explained that both the Thanatos and Athena had been equipped with nuclear reactors like the Aurora, which solved the problem.

We boarded our respective mobile suits; Lisa to the Athena, Quatre to the Thanatos and I to the Aurora. I double checked the Aurora's systems out of habit, and saw they were all good to go. I launched first out of the upper shutter that was opened, followed by Lisa and then Quatre. We shifted our machines into their flight modes and moved into a V formation with me in the lead and we headed towards where the Archangel was traveling, going supersonic after gaining enough height.

-Line Break-

-Neutral pov-

The Minerva

Athrun was frustrated, not just at the current orders that the ship had, but about how so many things seemed to make no sense recently. The Minerva was now assigned to join up with allied forces that were in the Eurasia Federation territory. Said force had tracked down the Archangel to deal with her along with its mobile suits. It made absolutely no logical sense to Athrun, Chairman Durandal had talked about fighting Logos during his broadcast. How that translated to the current operation, Athrun had no clue and couldn't even imagine even a ridiculous reason that could justify this.

So irked was Athrun that he had gone to Captain Gladys to ask her for an explanation as to why Operation: Angel Down as it was being referred to as was necessary, and why the Minerva was put on it. Talia had Athrun come into her quarters and it was shortly after he entered that Athrun started, "Captain, forgive me if it sounds out of line, but the orders that the ship is under make no sense whatsoever. The Chairman talked about fighting Logos, how does that translate to headquarters ordering us and others to attack the Archangel ma'am," Athrun demanded. Talia said nothing as she actually agreed with Athrun to an extent, still he continued, "Contact headquarters and ask them their reasoning for this operation."

"I did so twice already Athrun," Talia snapped, forcing Athrun to stop in his tirade. Talia brought up what she had been given to explain the operation, "All I got was the orders being repeated and this video clip showing an Alliance mobile suit being taken onboard the Archangel!" Talia brought of the said clip, and it didn't help Athrun understand, for to him it was a recording taken out of context. "It has been stated by our superiors that the Archangel and its mobile suits have been playing all of us for fools. I know this operation makes no sense, I agree with you on that, but those are our orders and I can't change them. Things and people change over time, you need to understand that, even if you might not see it or like it," Talia said.

"Captain, we've received a feed from the AWACS and we're about to enter the operation area," reported Arthur over a com-channel interrupting the two.

"Understood," answered Talia, before leaving her quarters, Athrun a short distance behind her. "Athrun, if you don't wish to participate in this operation, then you should stay in your quarters. I wouldn't blame you should you choose to do so, but what headquarters has made it clear that the Archangel is to be sunk whatever the cost."

Talia arrived on the bridge and it lowered down into its position for combat. Meyrin declared condition red and all the crew went to their stations. Even Athrun suited up and went to the hanger, still with doubts in his mind. He didn't want the Minerva to be taken down, but nor did he wish to see the Archangel sunk either. When Athrun arrived in the hanger, he saw that the Minerva's five other pilots were already there. Athrun was walking up to the others when he overheard Aila speaking, "Shinn, apparently, you are to take on the Freedom according to the orders that were given to the Minerva."

That brought Athrun to a halt, "Aila, are you sure that orders have state that Shinn is to fight the Freedom," Athrun asked.

Everyone turned to Athrun, Aila shrugged, "That's what they said, it's rather surprising if you ask me." She twisted to look at Shinn, "Not that I'm saying that you can't handle the job Shinn." Aila turned back to Athrun, "I merely expected the one who had the most experience and knowledge of the Freedom would be given the task."

Athrun shrugged weakly, "Honestly, these orders have been different than those previous, so I can't say much about them," he replied.

The Minerva came into visual range of the battle against the Archangel and it was looking harsh for ZAFT forces. After contacting the Compton-class, it was learned that there had already been an attempt to slow the Archangel down and that hadn't worked very well. With addition force now on hand, the operation was to be resumed and completed. Should the Archangel get to the sea and dive, then it would escape and the operation would be considered a failure.

The land ships stayed back a bit as the Minerva moved forward towards the Archangel. The closer the Minerva got, the worse the fight became. The Freedom and the custom Excel Fighter were giving ZAFT forces a fight that was far harder than predicted and that was saying something with the Freedom involved. Talia focused on the operation at hand, "Fire jamming shells, then have the Impulse launch out, after that, have the first group of mobile suits head out," she ordered.

Jamming shells were shot and the Archangel's sensors were made useless temporarily, which would hide the deployment of the Impulse. Shinn shot out of the Minerva, his mind on the fight with the X10A Freedom as he believed it would be the hardest fight thus far that he had been in. As that was the case, Shinn was going with the Force Silhouette as it was the most rounded set of equipment the Impulse had. Shinn headed for the Freedom ahead of him right when the combination sequence was done.

The Minerva began attacking the Archangel after the Impulse had launched, also sending out three of the remaining five machines that it had. Shinn fired his beam rifle at the Freedom, stopping Kira from following the Archangel as it traveled forward. The Excel fighter was quickly occupied by the Osiris and drawn away from the Archangel, while the Saviour and Heero's Phantom defended the Minerva. The barrage from the land ships ceased as the Minerva began its assault on the Archangel.

Kira tried to get back to defend the Archangel as the Minerva began attacking, but the Impulse kept stopping him in his path. Shinn used the hours of study he had spent watching the Freedom in how it fought. That time used to study was paying off as the Freedom's pilot was having trouble hitting the Impulse. Kira knew that Tyler would get here at some point, he had faith in his friend, when that would be he didn't know, but he knew Tyler wouldn't let him down or their other friends.

As the Archangel kept going, it fired missiles back at the Minerva, yet it didn't take long for Talia to realize that the Archangel wasn't aiming for the ship directly. Her doubts about this operation came back, but she ignored them. The orders in this operation didn't specify what condition the Archangel had to be in by the end, just that the Archangel was 'dealt with'. Talia had Meyrin use an internationally used communication channel so that the Archangel would hear her. She picked up the ship phone, "This is the captain of the Minerva speaking, Talia Gladys. Archangel, do you read me?"

On the Archangel, it was the first time in this series of events that any from ZAFT had contacted them for anything other than to demand their surrender. "Our orders are to help in dealing with the Archangel and its mobile suits as there is evidence that has you working for Logos. Yet, due to your past actions, I'm giving you the chance to get out of this without your crew or pilots being killed for this," continued Talia.

The explanation that the Minerva's captain was giving was ludicrous, for the Archangel to be accused of working for Logos when it had been working alongside the Federation didn't make sense. And this evidence that was mentioned, made all the Archangel's crew wonder what possible thing could be used to come to the stated conclusion. The message continued, "This will be your final chance and warning, refuse now and we will destroy the Archangel. I trust that you will make the best decision for your crew, Gladys out."

There was a moment of silence on the bridge of the Archangel, "Well, that was the first hint to why ZAFT has been chasing us," Murrue said.

From down within the CIC, the newer executive officer Todd Amagi made his voice heard, "With all due respect, for ZAFT to believe the Archangel is working for Logos is completely ridiculous. It sounds more like someone lying to make a reason to get this ship out of the way. Then, if we were to surrender to ZAFT, then they could use Lady Cagalli to try and force either Orb into an agreement with ZAFT or change its current standing."

Murrue nodded slowly, "Then our path forward is clear," she said. Then Murrue turned to Miriallia, "Have us broadcast on the same channel that the Minerva's captain did."

"Yes ma'am," replied Miriallia.

Murrue picked up her ship phone, "This is Murrue Ramius, captain of the Archangel. While I truly do appreciate the offer you extend, we cannot accept it as things stand. We are simply traveling towards the Orb Union, and still have tasks to perform. Your claim that we are working for Logos is emphatically false and what evidence is being used to portray any hint of the idea is being use for another's benefit out of context. I hope you allow us to leave the battle."

-Line Break-

-Tyler's pov-

Lisa, Quatre and I headed for the Eurasian Federation border as fast as was reasonable to push the machines we were in. Thanks to what my mother informed me of, we need not worry about Alliance responding to us crossing the border. As we went, I kept going over what possible reasons there could be for ZAFT attacking the Archangel. The only thought that I had come to mind that made any sense whatsoever, was someone wanted to be rid of the Archangel. I was inclined to believe it was Durandal, but I couldn't figure out what he gains from trying to destroy the Archangel.

Along our way close to the border, a number of Federation fighters joined the three of us, making our trio, into a group of twelve. Apparently, there had been increased activity from ZAFT forces to the north and some were being scrambled to see what was going on. The longer we traveled, the higher my stress was climbing as the thoughts of what could be happening to the Archangel were going through my head. I was keeping myself calm as I could, but that was becoming harder as time was moving forward.

However, after what seemed like hours, but wasn't passed by, we came into view of the action. The Archangel was cruising towards the water that led to the ocean and ZAFT forces were trying to slow them down. For ZAFT, there were a couple of small land battleships and one larger land ship, along with of all ships, the Minerva. The Minerva being here added to the oddity in my opinion, they had been at Gibraltar last I heard. Kira was fighting the blue and white mobile suit, the Impulse I think Athrun and Shinn had called it. There was a custom Excel fighter fighting other mobile suits, both were being drawn away from the Archangel.

The attacks on the Archangel ceased and over an open channel came the voice of Talia Gladys, "This is the captain of the Minerva speaking, Talia Gladys. Archangel, do you read me?"

Our group was descending down closer to the battle as the Minerva's captain kept going, "Our orders are to help in dealing with the Archangel and its mobile suits as there is evidence that has you working for Logos. Yet, due to your past actions, I'm giving you the chance to get out of this without your crew or pilots being killed for this," continued Talia.

That explanation was a freaking load of crap if ever I've heard any, and I've heard some really pathetic and downright lousy justifications! For the Archangel to be accused of working for Logos when it was a part of the Federation and her actions made that clear enough one would think, but apparently, someone thinks they can pass off something like this. And this evidence that was mentioned, what the hell could anyone has gotten and taken out of context enough to come out with this crap?! Talia Gladys continued, "This will be your final chance and warning, refuse now and we will destroy the Archangel. I trust that you will make the best decision for your crew, Gladys out."

If this doesn't say that either Durandal has started losing his mind or is up to something, I don't know what would say the point better! A minute later, Murrue's voice came over the same open channel, "This is Murrue Ramius, captain of the Archangel. While I truly do appreciate the offer you extend, we cannot accept it as things stand. We are simply traveling towards the Orb Union, and still have tasks to perform. Your claim that we are working for Logos is emphatically false and what evidence is being used to portray any hint of the idea is being use for another's benefit out of context. I hope you allow us to leave the battle," she stated.

The reply that came at Murrue's statement was all ZAFT forces resumed attacking the Archangel and her defenders. Well, not like any of us who came were going to just sit back and do nothing when ZAFT forces are attacking our allies. We went for the ZAFT forces of course and forced them to pay attention to us as if they didn't, we destroy them. I went for the largest land battleship and began peppering the ship's guns with my 90mm vulcans and a set of missiles. The whole dynamic of the battle had changed within a minute of those of us who traveled here entered the fight. Even when ZAFT could see us, their attempt to counter the additional Federation forces didn't do much since we kept them hard pressed.

Next thing I knew, I found myself facing the red ZAFT suit that Athrun had been flying as far as I know lately. Seeing the mobile suit that Athrun pilots didn't bring me any comfort, it hurt to face off against a friend, for I'd done so in the previous war and so am doing again. I opened a com-channel to Athrun's machine, "So tell me friend, can you explain to me what the hell this whole situation is about. Because, I'm having a very hard time figuring out why this is happening when it shouldn't be at all," I said flatly.

"Tye, this isn't," Athrun started, but didn't say more.

So as Athrun wasn't explaining anything, I continued, "The explanation that the Minerva's captain gave makes no sense in any way and you know it. The Archangel has not, does not and will not work for an organization like Logos, we both can say that without reservations. The only thing I can come up with as to why ZAFT is attacking the Archangel, is that someone wants her gone, but I can't come up with is how that benefit someone else."

"Tye, what you're saying is crazy," Athrun shot back.

"If you have a better way of explaining how this situation came to be, then I'm listening Athrun," I replied. Athrun said nothing, "Or perhaps you can tell me why Chairman Durandal has resorted to telling part truths and lies in order to make him look better, rather that tell the whole truth," I posed.

Athrun sputtered a bit, "The Chairman is making the world a safer place," he said unconvincingly.

"Safe place huh, for whom I would ask," I remarked. "Durandal says he wants to get rid of Logos, but what then? I doubt he would stop after getting rid of Logos members, so where does the campaign end friend?"

"Tye, what are you saying," Athrun uttered.

"Okay then, let me spell it out for you," I said. "If what has been going on doesn't feel somewhat familiar Athrun, then you've forgotten a great deal. Sorry, but this is very much the same direction that Chairman Zala began with and used to the end of trying to destroy all Natural-type human beings." I stopped saying what I was, for what I stated and thoughts that came with it, helped things start clicking into place and things were beginning to make sense, twisted but understandable sense. Like Chairman Zala had or rather Le Creuset, Durandal was going through the process of getting as many on his side as possible and making those that wouldn't side with him disappear. The realization about Durandal made me very angry as it explained so much that had occurred already, "Oh that sneaky punk, he's on the same level as the dirty rat!" I growled.

However, before either Athrun or I could say anything else, we were separated by the fighting. I was still mad at realizing what this was about and though, it is unlike me to take out frustrations and anger on others, I brought out my plasma cannons and fired at the largest ZAFT land ship, destroying the bridge in the process to vent a bit. I focused on the battle with renewed fervor, determined to deny Durandal what he wants from this even if I don't know what it was. The onset of my SEED mode came, increasing my effectiveness in piloting and the speed of me taking down opposing mobile suits.

Yet, I was brought to a halt in my path towards the Archangel by the gold mobile suit that the was assigned to the Minerva as I recall. A minute into dancing with the machine, I could tell the pilot of this machine wasn't half bad at what they do. But then, I'm no ordinary pilot and I'm going pretty much all out and that makes a serious different! My opponent held on for a few minutes, and I applaud them for that as doing that when I'm using SEED mode, that's not something most can do, but I wouldn't let them keep me from defending my friends. Not to say that this mobile suit was not equipped well or anything like that, if had a fair arsenal. However, my opponent's machine seemed to be geared towards fighting enemies that didn't have phase shift armor, for most weapons were projectile based. It did have a beam rifle system with machine guns, but I was able to either avoid the shots or block them with my shield.

However, as time dragged on, frustration grew within me, which I then made the effort and closed the distance between my opponent and myself. Drawing a beam saber, I got a slice in on the rifle system, destroying it by it exploding after being cut. I did not make that hit without paying a price in the form of my opponent taking out a beam javelin and get some gashes at the Aurora's leg and chest vents. Still, I got past the gold mobile suit, but noted that the ZAFT land ships were still bombarding the Archangel, which I didn't like. I aimed my plasma cannons at the lead vessel, and fired, this time dealing a crippling blow, stopping the advance of the ship, then I resumed my path towards the Archangel.

-Line Break-

-Neutral pov-

The reply that came at Murrue's statement was all ZAFT forces resumed their assault on the Archangel and her defenders. Kira was being occupied by one of the Gundam-types from the Minerva and kept from helping the Archangel and Cormag was much in the same position with other mobile suits from the Minerva. Things were looking grim for the Archangel and her crew as time passed and it would take something close to a miracle to change the situation. Kira had said that he had contacted Tyler and mentioned that he would come to their aid as soon as possible. Many had faith in Tyler and his abilities as he'd proven himself, but the question of him making it in time was running through just as many minds.

The Archangel was still heading for the water to dive and escape, but the Minerva had gotten behind them. As the first shot from the Minerva's triple cannon flew towards the Archangel, Arnold turned the navigation wheel hard to the right, changing the ship's orientation and through doing so, evaded the close to point-blank ranged shot. Yet, before the Minerva could continue its attacks on the Archangel, the flow of the battle changed as Federation mobile suits appeared on the battlefield. It was a surprise for the ZAFT forces, more so when the Federation forces quickly began attacking them.

On the Archangel, the crew was gaping at the ally reinforcement that had appeared at the darkest point in this battle. The feeling of shock was broken by Sai speaking, "Well, as Kira said, Tyler delivers on his claim on getting here to help as soon as he could."

Tolle chuckled at hearing that, "Right you are as usual Sai, Tye is a friend that goes above and beyond for others," he said.

The ally forces quickly pressed ZAFT onto the defensive, which took a good portion of the pressure off the Archangel. However, the Minerva still assaulted them, but it was more manageable to keep the Archangel moving forward. A flash of red caught attention from both the Archangel and the Minerva, and it didn't take long to see the flash had been the largest

ZAFT land ship being struck around the bridge area, which stopped the progress of the ship was halted. This was quickly followed by a red mobile suit speeding around the field, shooting down ZAFT mobile suits with great efficiency.

As the Archangel got closer and closer to the water, the efforts of the Minerva and a small number of ZAFT mobile suits became more desperate. At the same time, Kira was still fighting the Impulse, trying to get past the mobile suit that was in his way in getting to the Archangel. Kira tried to shoot his beam rifle close by to cause his opponent to retreat, but that didn't work with this pilot. So, he moved on to hitting body part of the machine, yet that still didn't have the desired result of having this mobile suit stop keeping him from the Archangel.

When the Impulse began losing body parts, Shinn decided to try a potentially crazy stunt, but then conventional tactics didn't work on the Freedom well if at all. So, the moment that the Impulse lost its main cameras, Shinn had the Impulse disassemble into its modules. The Force Silhouette shot forward towards the Freedom, and Shinn added the guns on the Core Splendor to distract and then cause the silhouette flier to detonate to throw the Freedom off balance and tumbling away. Shinn next ordered the Minerva to send out a chest flier and a Force Silhouette.

Kira hadn't expected to be blindsided in the manner that his opponent had used. The Gundam-type he was facing was the one that was assembled from parts as he had seen before now. But the pilot had sacrificed parts of their equipment and caused it to explode in Kira's face. The phase shift armor the Freedom had saved him from the damaging effects of the explosion, but not the concussive force that came with it. Kira tried to recover for the blast sent him flying yet had ended out touching down on the closest snowy slope. For a couple of seconds, Kira thought he might have recovered, but the Freedom then lost its footing and tumbled then rolled down the slope.

Shinn recombined the Impulse with the Force equipment set, and shot forward at the Freedom, drawing a beam saber as he went. The Freedom got back into the air as the Impulse rushed at it, slashing at Kira. Shinn didn't let his opponent gain any distance from him as he continued his assault, if the Freedom was able to use its distance weapons, Shinn would lose his advantage. A few minutes into the assault, Shinn had destroyed one of the Freedom's wing sets and forced it to drop its beam rifle. He called for the Sword Silhouette to be launched out as the Freedom made a dash towards the Archangel. The Sword Silhouette flew up to where Shinn was, and he took both anti-ship swords off the flier. Shinn threw one of the swords at the Freedom, forcing Kira to turn and use his shield to deflect the sword.

The Impulse was approaching the Freedom as the Minerva fired its positron cannon at the Archangel. Kira glanced at where the beam had struck, panicking about what had happened to the Archangel just now. However, he was forced to focus back on the Impulse as it was zooming at him with another anti-ship sword in hand. Kira realized that it was too late for him to make this mobile suit veer off at this point, "NOOO!" Kira set the Freedom's shield over the torso, specifically the Freedom's cockpit itself. He could only watch as the anti-ship sword came and ran through the lower half of the torso. Kira had just enough time to shut off the nuclear reactor the Freedom had to attempt to minimize the damage that would be incurred by others. Nevertheless, the explosion that came from the destruction of the Freedom was still larger than an average mobile suit gave off when destroyed.

As soon as the water below the Archangel was deep enough, the Archangel began diving into the water. At seeing the Archangel begin to go into the water, Talia was frantically thinking of what to do to stop the ship. More than haft of the ZAFT force that had been put to this operation had been eliminated but the Archangel and the Federation forces. After racking her brain, she decided to attempt to destroy the Archangel one more time, utilizing the Minerva's Tannhäuser positron cannon. So, the Minerva brought its Tannhäuser and aimed it at the Archangel as it was sinking deeper into the ocean. The positron cannon fired, and though it missed a direct strike on the Archangel, the hit on the ocean's surface generated a massive explosion that did extensive damage to the Archangel itself.

The defeat and destruction of the Freedom as painful as was to witness for the crew of the Archangel, they could do nothing at the moment. The positron cannon shot from the Minerva had not hit the Archangel directly, but the explosive shockwave that resulted did damage to the ship. Then, the explosion that came from the Freedom's destruction only added to the damage, but not as much as the shockwave from the positron cannon. The fact was that the Archangel took neither blast well and the damage had the ship taking on water to the point that Amagi was ordering the sections that were now flooding sealed. While that was being done, Murrue ordered that the one large damaged engines to be jettisoned and then seconds later detonated to make what was left of ZAFT forces would think the Archangel had been sunk. The sacrifice would hopefully buy enough time for the Archangel to escaped to open water and head to Orb.

At seeing the destruction of the Freedom, Cagalli had raced to the hanger to get into the Strike Rouge to go out and look for the remains of the Freedom. The explosion's size that the Freedom gave off implied that the mobile suits had not had its reactor detonate, which meant that Kira could have survived. The explosion that resulted from running the Freedom through, shoved Shinn back hard, and the Minerva experienced the same shockwave a moment later. Any visual of what happened to the Freedom or the Archangel was obscured by the shockwave throwing up spray and snow as it went outward.

-Line Break-

-Tyler's pov-

The battle that had been ZAFT attacking the Archangel, had morphed into ZAFT defending themselves and not getting to do much about the Archangel. I intend to keep the momentum going until the Archangel gets beyond their reach and this battle is said and done. I was helping by taking out ZAFT machines as I worked to close the distance between the Archangel and myself. The Minerva was getting too close for my liking, and I would convince them to back off whether that required me disabling her or she retreated by her own choice, that's up to her captain. I would include the ship's mobile suits in that task, I would rather not destroy and kill the pilots if I don't have to.

The outlook I had changed drastically with one sight that I thought I would never see as long as I would live. That sight was the Freedom getting impaled in the torso by an anti-ship sword and it made my blood run ice cold. The closest I'd seen to Kira getting defeated was when I came upon the rat Le Creuset during the latter half of the Second Battle of Jachin Due, this was worse to see. Words failed me as the Freedom fell to the water below it and exploded, but feelings of rage and injustice swelled up and filled me rapidly.

Kira was not a person who deserved to die for any reason as he had done his best to be nice to others around him, even to those that didn't deserve it. He wasn't a soldier like Athrun and I are, Kira was an individual that wanted peace for everyone, that was one of the major reasons that he got back into the cockpit of the Freedom again. Yet, all that Kira's efforts had brought him in his pursuit for a peaceful world that included the Moon and the Colonies was hardship. He wasn't inclined to fight and kill others, the opposite actually, yet he did what he saw as needed to bring peace. And yet, that had now brought this upon one of my best friend's injuries at the very least and possibly had killed him.

You would think things would have difficulty to become worse in this situation, but you would be wrong. The Archangel had sunk into the water for a successful escape, but before it could get deep, the Minerva shot its positron cannon at the Archangel. The shot didn't hit the Archangel directly, but the explosion that was caused I would bet did something to the Archangel, I just don't know what. There was a large explosion a short period after the Archangel disappeared under the water, sending water flying outward.

I could only gaze at what had just occurred in front of me, my emotions boiling within me hotter than they had for a long time. And why was all of this happening one would ask? From what I've seen and comprehend, it's due to a man that is portraying himself as some sort of savior of the human race being a snake! Durandal was presenting his actions and intentions as the best and only way to bring a future for humanity that has the war ending. What was irking me so, was what had clicked in my mind during this battle, Durandal was going through the process of getting rid of those that could and would stand against him and his views. This 'operation' was but the first I feel of many that will attempt to deal with those that would stand up against Durandal's goals.

The fury raging within me, was making it hard for me to keep control over myself. Seeing what happened to Kira hurt me at the same level the understanding my dad and sister were killed in the Bloody Valentine. My hands held the controls of my mobile suit in death grips along with my body began shaking with sheer anger. My mouth was open, but words didn't come at first, yet they did come, "Why… why did this… Kira had done nothing… this shouldn't have happened!" I couldn't form complete sentences at all, the pain and fury I felt made me unable to do such a task at the moment.

Nevertheless, a thought set itself clearly in my mind as my anger coursed through me, that was I couldn't let Durandal get away with this. The man that was the current Chairman of the PLANT's Supreme Council, had shown that he liked and depended on the Minerva. What the reason was for that, I didn't know, nor did I care right now. All that I could figure, was if the Minerva was damaged or destroyed, it would make Durandal's day a bad one and I wanted that more than close to anything else currently. I would try not to destroy the ship, Athrun's on it after all and I don't want to kill my other best friend. His presence on the Minerva is the ship's and its crew's saving grace, if he wasn't there, I would aim to destroy that ship.

An idea of how to accomplish my intention, came to me and it made more a statement to Durandal and that's what I wanted. I brought out the keyboard the Aurora had and got down to setting up the stunt I was about to set into motion. The stunt would end out with the Aurora's destruction, but to get payback for Kira, I was willing to sacrifice my mobile suit. I programmed the Aurora's reactor to rupture and detonate, turning it into a nuclear bomb in essence. However, I programmed it in such a way that there would be a period that those that had come with me could get out of range, including myself. Plus, I would have an electro-magnetic pulse emitted to disable ships and add to the damage induced.

Once I had things set the way I wanted, I contacted Lisa, "Lisa, I need a bailout now," I said.

"On my way," she replied.

I took one last look around the cockpit of my mobile suit which I had piloted off and on for close three years. Then I flipped the switch that had my seat rise up out of the main cockpit area and saw the Athena approaching me. The restraint system holding my suit to the pilot seat released and I got to my feet. Lisa came out of her cockpit and had one of the Athena's hands come up and provide a bridge for me to cross the gap between us. I sent the remote command to the Aurora for the pilot seat to go back down into the cockpit before I headed over to Lisa.

Lisa glanced at me, "What's going on," she asked.

"The battle is pretty much done," I answered flatly, "However, I will not let the man responsible have a victory to boast about."

Lisa brought both of us into the Athena's cockpit, and I saw that it was similar to the Aurora's own. I then, sent the final remote command to the Aurora, to have the program or command set execute and have the nuclear reactor begin its journey to destruction. I let out a sigh, "Now the Aurora is a nuclear bomb ticking down to detonate," I admitted weakly.

Lisa told everyone else to fallback immediately after I had said the line and then threw the Athena's throttle forward all the way after shifting the machine into its flight mode. While I silently vowed that I would apologize to Athrun for adding to the pain he was already no doubt in right now the next time I would see him.

-Line Break-

-Neutral pov-

Shinn managed to stabilize the Impulse's flight, the blast from the Freedom had done a number on the Impulse. The phase shift was deactivating as Shinn came to the conclusion that the fight against the Freedom was over. The explosion would more than likely destroyed a mobile suit and its pilot, meaning Shinn had won. While he was pleased he had been able to defeat such a powerful opponent, there was also a sick feeling developing in the pit of his stomach.

The Freedom and its pilot, Shinn had admired them both even if others didn't. The records on the Freedom had always fascinated Shinn, as the way it fought was incredible. The Freedom could take on multiple or single opponents efficiently and cleanly most of the time. Yet, the pilot had a tendency to disarm their opponents more than killing them and Shinn respected the idea of not killing others needlessly. Shinn's feelings were conflicted at the conclusion of this battle, but then the orders for this operation had seemed kind of odd to begin with.

With the three explosions occurring, Aila let out a sigh of slight relief as it appeared the battle was coming to an end. The operation had started okay, but it had changed into something entirely different and much more problematic. The appearance of Federation forces had complicated things quite fast and had forced all of ZAFT forces onto the defensive. The Archangel had been shot before it had escaped completely and the Freedom had been taken down and that's what counted.

And yet, Aila spotted the red Federation Gundam-type suit was hovering a distance away, doing seemingly nothing. When she had fought the machine it had been unreal, mostly since Aila had been outdone pretty cleanly she had to admit. The pilot had somehow known where other mobile suits would be without looking, where shots would come from and dodge or blocked the attacks with seemingly great ease. By the end of the fight with the red suit, Aila had lost the rifle system and had taken more damage than she had given in exchange. The other oddity was that the other Federation forces had left already, so why hadn't the red Gundam-type followed?

As Aila watched, a few of ZAFT mobile suits were cautiously approaching the red Gundam-type as it had done a lot of destruction during the battle. Aila gained a bad feeling about the Federation machine and its inaction and that feeling grew every passing second. She had no evidence upon which this feeling was based on, but something in Aila told her that something was wrong in this.

The next thing Aila saw and knew, there came a wave of energy that passed through the Osiris and the mobile suits in close proximity to the red Gundam-type. Aila scanned over her suit's displays and found nothing had changed much, but the wave had been noted. However, as Aila looked back up, she noticed that the Petrie-class vessels had stopped and seemed to be having issues. It was that, which helped Aila realize what that 'wave' had been, it was an electro-magnetic pulse. The strength of the pulse was not something that just any device produces, in fact, there was one idea that could put out the magnitude of pulse and knowing that caused Aila's eyes to widen with horror.

She turned towards the Minerva and saw that the Minerva was plowing through the snow, showing that the pulse had hit her too. Aila opened a channel to the Minerva, "MINERVA, FLY AS FAST AS YOU CAN AWAY FROM HERE! THERE'S ABOUT TO BE A NUCLEAR BLAST!"

Meanwhile, on the Minerva, there were an array of problems being dealt with. The odd pulse had hit ZAFT ships and mobile suits, but while the mobile suits were overall unaffected due to shielding, the ships were not. The Minerva's systems were shorting or just shutting off without being told to, the crew was scrambling to try and stabilize the ship's operation. Meyrin was trying to get the catapults to respond to commands, when a really broken up message came in from the Osiris, "MINERVA… FAST AS… CAN… HERE! THERE'S ABOUT… BLAST!"

What Meyrin had caught from Aila made no sense to her, "Osiris, your message was really broken up, please repeat," she said.

Talia turned to Meyrin, "What's going on Meyrin," she asked.

"Well ma'am," Meyrin responded, "We were getting a communication from the Osiris, but is was breaking up badly, so I can't say what the message is."

"Play what you got Meyrin," ordered Talia.

Meyrin routed the message to the bridge's speakers, "MINERVA… FAST AS… CAN… HERE! THERE'S ABOUT… BLAST," static crackling a great deal throughout the message.

Talia didn't like what she heard, the word 'blast' stuck out to her, and the tone Aila was using made the message even more worrisome. She turned forward, "Malik, use what engines that are working and get us moving forward now!"

"Yes ma'am," Malik replied.

The Minerva had begun slowly moving forward, when a blinding light appeared behind them, getting brighter by the second. Then came the roar that was followed by the earthshattering rumble which lasted longer than the light or the roar. Talia was trying to figure out what was going on, little did she know what was unfolding behind her. The nuclear blast expanded from where the Aurora had been but a moment ago, the influence of the explosion larger than what had come from the Freedom. The four remaining Petrie-classes and the Compton-class vanishing when the blast rocketed past them. All the mobile suits other than the Osiris who had barely gotten out of range, disappeared as their land ships had.

Although the Minerva had just past the edge of the explosion, the objects that the nuclear blast didn't disintegrate were hurled in almost every direction including at the Minerva. Many of the objects turned to shrapnel missed the Minerva by varying margins, but some did find the ship. When the shrapnel struck, or rather crashed into the ship, the Minerva was shaken harder than the rumbling was doing. Of the areas that were barraged by shrapnel, the engines and what wasn't shielded by something from the rear took the worst. Most on the Minerva were simply holding on to whatever they could find that was anchored and hoped the shaking would stop soon.

Down in pilot lounge above the hanger, Athrun was still staring in disbelief at the screen that had been showing the battle outside. What he had witnessed was sinking in, and the pain was growing rapidly, for he had just watched one of his best friends get killed. Granted, he may not agree with Kira or Tyler on everything, but that didn't mean by any stretch of the imagination that he wanted to see either of them dead! It took all the control Athrun had to not scream to give voice to the pain that was bursting within him. Then, there had been the flash of light followed by the roar and rumbling, and now the sound and shaking of objects striking the ship, but Athrun ignored all of that. The pain was clawing at him, demanding his undivided attention, which Athrun wasn't giving it, but it was difficult.

The whole operation that the Minerva had been put to in sinking the Archangel had made no sense to Athrun, and it made even less now. What Tyler had said when they had met on the battlefield was coming back to mind now. It had been clear that Tyler didn't see any reason for the Archangel to be under assault by ZAFT forces and Athrun agreed with the view. Athrun couldn't explain the orders, nor had the explanation that he had gotten from the captain help at all, just made things more confusing. Tyler's claim about the Archangel was hard to argue with logically, but that was Tyler, straight and to the point. But, his own view as to why this situation had been happening, though hard to believe, did make some sense after taking the time to see this operation from a neutral view.

The accusations with Durandal were harsh and yet again, Tyler wasn't exactly wrong, the part truths and lies being utilized a point that couldn't be denied. The question with where the campaign would end was one that Athrun had been asking himself as of late, for Durandal hadn't said anything specific. Then, connecting what was happening to what events had occurred in the previous war hurt. And then, Tyler had stopped in the middle, then had said something that didn't make complete sense. The reference of 'dirty rat' was clearly Tyler's inference to Rau Le Creuset, but who else he had been talking about, Athrun couldn't say for sure, it could be Durandal himself for all Athrun knew.

Lastly, the flash and what followed… Athrun couldn't mistake the signs of the event that was to blame. He'd seen enough recordings and real occurrences of the event to know it was a nuclear detonation. That fact along only increased the pain rip Athrun up inside, as that pointed to the Aurora being destroyed, it had been the only other suit with a nuclear reactor other than the Freedom. Both of his best friends had just been killed for trying to fight for what they believed in and that wasn't wrong.

Athrun shook himself and dashed out of the pilot longue even as Lunamaria and Heero called for him then followed Athrun as he went towards the hanger. The shaking was dying down by the time that Athrun reached the hanger, and it was close to near complete chaos. There was equipment scattered all over, some landing where it had been thrown to, others fallen to where they lay. Mechanics were scrambling around from one place to another, trying to strap down things, putting out fires that had started from objects falling from impacts.

When Athrun heard a mechanic calling that there were fires in the engine room, he used everything in him to focus on the needs of the moment and not give the pain inside him a lot of attention. Athrun turned to Heero and Lunamaria, "Heero, Lunamaria, the mechanics need help right now. Heero, go to the left liner catapult and do what you can to open it," he ordered, to which Heero nodded and went to do as instructed. Athrun gazed at Lunamaria, "Go and do the same for the right catapult Lunamaria. It would be best to have Rey, Aila and Shinn come back onto the Minerva as soon as possible."

"Understood Commander," Luna replied, not wanting to argue with Athrun, and went off to do what she was told to. The expression he had right now was one she'd never seen before and she couldn't tell what it was saying other than 'don't talk back to me'. Athrun had been acting a tad different ever since the Minerva had been assigned to Operation: Angel Down.

The air in the hanger got more tense as more personnel were pulled to work on putting out the fires in the engine room. The shaking and rumbling did cease after a period of time, which only seemed to make more problems come to light. Athrun had quickly taken charge of damage control and keeping order for the crew down in the hanger and the immediate surrounding area. He showed his skills in commander and leading groups of people quickly enough that most didn't questioning his orders, but just did what he said.

Heero managed to get the left mobile suit catapult to open manually as the energy pulse that had hit the Minerva had made some systems not responsive to commands. The mobile suit catapults and the Impulse's own hadn't been doing as the bridge had been telling them to, so manual control was required to get them to work. Heero jogged over to help Luna get the other catapult to open as she was getting frustrated at not have success. The ZAKU Phantom came in first, and Rey instantly saw that getting his suit into a dock wasn't going to happen right now with the rushing around that was going on. So, he moved his mobile suit to a corner of the hanger so that it was out of the way, before he descended to the floor and began to do what he could to help.

The Osiris and the Impulse came in at around the same time, both clearly damaged from the battles they fought. Both Aila and Shinn opened their cockpits and were assaulted by the sounds of people running and shouting things as they went. The both descended to the hanger floor and saw that Athrun was barking orders to crew members and others, who were doing things to get problems under control. Aila had Shinn join up and help Rey and Lunamaria, while she headed for where Athrun was.

As Aila approached Athrun she heard him speaking or rather shouting, "Has there been any word from Chief Aves yet about the status of the engine room?"

"None yet sir, but one of the mechanics was brought out and taken to the infirmary a minute ago," called a crew member as they ran by.

Aila did not like hearing any of that and was worried what could be happening, after all, the Minerva was terrifyingly close to a nuclear detonation. The ship had been peppered by debris by what Aila had seen, but other than that, she couldn't say how bad things were. "Athrun," called Aila as she closed the rest of the distance between them.

Athrun twisted to look towards Aila with a stone-faced expression, "Aila, good to see you alive," he said flatly.

Aila hesitated, "How bad are things," she asked.

Athrun gained a frown, "There bad right now. Chief Aves and pretty much ever mechanic and those that can be spared are in the engine room fighting a blaze that is burning. As you've likely just heard, one of those fighting the fire has been taken to the infirmary. If the fire doesn't get contained, the engines will probably be shut down until the blaze is brought under control. That's the worst part at the moment, but the Minerva has lots of problems right now to say the least," Athrun iterated.

Aila sighed, "I can believe that, what can I do to help the best," she posed.

Athrun paused for a moment, "I have things manageable down here, go to the forward half of the ship and do your best to get things in order there. Chaos will not be helpful right now, more detrimental and there are enough issues to deal with. Take either Rey or Shinn with you to help out, I'll stay here and keep things moving to get what problems there are in hand," he said.

Aila nodded, then went off and snagged Rey along her way and the two headed to the forward half of the ship to get things in order. When Aila went off, Athrun headed for the engine room to see what the situation was himself. The second the door slid open, the heat slammed into Athrun, saying the blaze Aves and others had been fighting was not being contained much at all. Athrun could see that the fire suppression system was working, at least more than half of it was, but it wasn't doing much to the blaze. The flames appeared to be most dense around the engines themselves, suggesting that the engine fuel was feeding them.

Athrun spotted two mechanics close to the door, both with bad burns, everyone else was trying their hardest to keep the flames from gaining more ground than they had. Athrun turned and shouted for some people to get over to where he was quickly. Four crew members one being Shinn came and Athrun had them take the two injured mechanics to the infirmary. Then Athrun went over to one of the com-panels and called the bridge. He didn't get a chance to speak as Talia Gladys spoke, "What is going on down there?! We've been trying to contact anyone down there, but no one had picked up until now, and now we're getting lots of noise from your end."

"Captain, all of us are trying to stop or prevent problems from becoming worse than they are right now," Athrun snapped. "Please, we need you to shut all the engines down immediately!"

On the bridge, Talia was first surprised to hear Athrun's voice, but more shocked he was asking they shut down all the engines. The Minerva was battered, so she needed to get to a port as soon as possible and that required the engines to be running. Then as internal communication systems were having issues, Talia was having the bridge speakers project the reply from the other end and what was heard wasn't nice. "I need a reason to consider shutting down the engines Athrun, you saying so isn't enough," she replied. "Now what is going on down there?"

"Captain, there is a huge blaze in the engine room, there have been three mechanics that have been taken to the infirmary due to serious burns. The fire appears to be using engine fuel to keep building, Aves and those with him are doing all they can to keep it from spreading further. I repeat, we need you to shut down all the engines quickly," Athrun shot back.

A blaze in the engine room?! But even were that the case, the fire suppression system there should be helping get it under control. There should be no need for the engines to be shut off, "The fire suppression system should be helping Chief Aves and his people with quelling the fire," Talia reasoned.

Yet, Athrun interrupted her, "The system isn't enough, a little more than half of it is working right now and the blaze is not dying down at all. The best option is to cut off its fuel, if the engines are shut down, then their fuel will stop feeding the flames. So please captain, shut off the engines before more are injured and the extinguishing equipment runs out! The fire will spread if that occurs and there will be little way to stop it." There was a scream in the background which all on the bridge hear and most cringed at. "Sorry Captain, things are getting worse, we can't afford losing more if we want the blaze to not spread to other parts of the ship, I got to go."

The line to the hanger cut out a second after that, but in that second the sounds heard weren't encouraging. Talia exhaled frustratedly, "Shut the engines down," she ordered.

"But captain, we need them to get to port," Arthur said incredulously.

"You heard Athrun Arthur, if the blaze down there is as bad as it sounds, and it's being fed by the engines' fuel, then shutting off the engines should help them down there. If the blaze isn't brought under control, then we might lose more than the engines in the end and we can't afford that," Talia stated.

Arthur hesitated for a moment, "Understood ma'am, shutting down engines now," he said.

Back in the hanger, Athrun had been telling the captain to shut down the engines, when one of the mechanics had screamed in pain. When Athrun had seen that the man was trying to put out flames that had gotten on his clothes and were burning his skin, he had repeated the need to shut down the engines, before rushing forward and helped the man put out the fire on him. By the time the fire on the man was out, it was easy to see that his burns were bad. Athrun helped the mechanic to the door to the hanger, then ran back and picked up the extinguisher equipment the mechanic had dropped and took over the job they had been doing.

It was a minute later, the hum of the engines died, and they shut down, and those fighting the fire finally started to slowly force it back. While fighting the fire, Athrun was forced to rip off the top of his uniform when embers floated down to the left sleeve. He stamped out the fire had started to build from the embers but ended out losing the sleeve as the fire burned a line that separated the sleeve from the shoulder of the uniform. The fighting of the fire continued, and it took another fifteen minutes to get the blaze under control and put out.

Once the blaze was out, moral went up a margin for those trying to keep the Minerva from going down. Yet, they all knew that the job of dealing with the problems that the Minerva now had on its plate. Athrun returned to managing the people in the hanger and the immediate surrounding area. Chief Aves and half of the remaining mechanics were looking over the engines to see their condition.

Athrun quickly saw that there was still large debris on the hanger floor that was making things difficult for work to be done. To help in changing that, he ordered Shinn to board the Osiris and Luna to get in Rey's Phantom and use the suits to get the large objects out of the way. Those were two usable mobile suit, as the Impulse had taken a sizable amount of punishment from fighting the Freedom.

Over the next few hours, the situation for the Minerva was improved to an extent, though she was still not in good condition. Talia had sent Arthur down to the hanger to see how things were with Athrun and those trying to clean things up. When Arthur got to the hanger, he cringed as there were still clear signs of standing problems. However, Arthur also saw that Athrun was keeping things under control as they could be with recent events. Arthur approached Athrun as he was giving assignments to a couple of crew members, "Do the best you are able, the job doesn't need to be perfect right now," Athrun said sending the crew members off.

"Athrun, words can't say how grateful the captain and I are for keeping order down here," Arthur remarked in a form of a greeting.

Athrun turned to Arthur, "Sir," he saluted, "Honestly, it's been helping take my mind off of thing and I need that right now. We could have done without the fire in the engine room, but there's nothing that can be done about that."

"How bad is the damage so far," Arthur asked hesitantly.

Athrun thought about how to lay out how things were, "Things could be worse, but not by all that much after being so close to a nuclear blast," he stated.

Arthur's eyes went wide, "A nuclear blast?!"

Athrun nodded, "The flash, roar and shaking and rumbling are clear signs of a nuclear detonation, seen enough reports and explosions to know them," he returned.

Arthur was reeling from the information, "I see, how are the engines then," he asked.

"I can't say for sure yet, Chief Aves is looking them over right now, but I think we may have lost a couple, but we'll see," replied Athrun.

It was then that Arthur noticed that Athrun was missing the left sleeve of his uniform, "Uh Athrun, what happened to the left sleeve of your uniform," Arthur inquired.

"I was fighting the engine room fire and some embers got to my sleeve, I got the jacket off before the flames got to my skin, but lost the sleeve as a result," Athrun answered.

Arthur nodded slowly, "I see, well, when you know the state of the engines, please inform the captain," he said.

Athrun nodded, "I will, hopefully won't be all that long," he returned.

Arthur left the hanger to see how things were in the forward half of the ship, Athrun continued to manage the cleanup efforts. It was about fifteen minutes later that Chief Aves found Athrun, "The inspection of the engines is done and it's not as bad as I originally thought they would be, but it still not nice," Aves stated.

Deciding to get the worst out of the way first, Athrun began, "How many engines are unusable," he posed.

Aves frowned, "Out of the fourteen, five are to the point that they are essential out of commission. Three are damaged but, could still work, though I wouldn't recommend using them as I can't say how reliable they will be. The others have varying amounts of damage, but overall are okay, but I wouldn't put them up to full output right away," Aves iterated.

As Chief Aves had said, the status of the engines wasn't as bad as they could be, especially with the blaze that had been going. However, the report wasn't nice with five engines being down, and it depended which engines weren't working to say how things would go. "Which engines are not working Chief, or would it be better not to ask," questioned Athrun.

Aves's head fell, "Engines 2, 3, 6, 7, and 13," he replied hollowly.

The engines mentioned were one that would have been better not to lose, for they were all large ones. Heck, the first four mentioned were the inside engines on both the left and right quadruple engine cluster, the last one was one of two large engines in the center. That would cut the potential thrusting power the Minerva could use to get to a port to repair. Athrun sighed, "Aves, what about the overall fuel supply," he asked.

"It's lower than I would like between the engines," Aves answered.

"Then siphon the fuel from the non-working engines and divide that between the working ones, that should help them last," Athrun said.

"Already having that done," Aves replied, "Like you, I figure we're going to have to make things last until we can get to a port Commander."

Athrun nodded and had Aves go back to overseeing the engines, before he went over to the com-panel and reported the situation with the engines to the captain.

-Line Break-

The Archangel

The dive into the water for the Archangel had been rough, and between the two explosions, both from the Freedom and the positron beam fired, the damage to the ship was extensive. The sealing off of flooded areas had helped and the sacrifice of one of the six large engines the ship had to make it appear that the Archangel had been destroyed seemed to work so far. Now the Archangel was cruising under water toward Orb, even if it wasn't in the best condition.

Cagalli had gone out in the Strike Rouge and had brought back remains of the Freedom, the upper torso to be exact. It was discovered that the Freedom's cockpit was still intact overall, which was quite amazing with the blast it had survived. However, when the cockpit was opened, it was clear that Kira had paid a price to get through the Freedom's destruction. He had injuries all over his body and was quickly taken to the Archangel's infirmary to be helped. Cagalli had followed in tears at seeing how hurt Kira was.

Kira was pronounced stable, but he remained unconscious while the Archangel traveled. The Freedom's defeat was hard to accept for much of the crew, since Kira hadn't been defeated like this before. Most of the crew was somber and feeling down with how close the Archangel had come to being sunk. Among the volunteers, Sai thought to contact Tyler and inform him of Kira's condition along with the Archangel's own. Tyler thanked Sai and told him to make sure Kira didn't do anything stupid or reckless for a while, and to have others help if necessary.

Days later, Kira did wake up in the infirmary, pain registering from much of his body as he did, more than he had felt before now. Then, memories of the fights against ZAFT forces while the Archangel had been traveling towards the ocean crossing Siberia. During the second one, Kira himself had been beaten and outdone, and that hadn't happened for a while to Kira. It wasn't the loss that was paining Kira as much as it was the Freedom being gone forever now. It left Kira with few options to work with to be busy and help change the current situation for the better. Yet now, Kira could say that he knew what Tyler had felt like when the Shadow was destroyed, and Kira had to admit, it sucked! It could have been worse, and if not for Cormag fighting alongside him it probably would have been.

The sound of the infirmary door opening caught his attention and Kira tried sitting up, which proved to be far more difficult than he imagined it would be. Kira felt a hand on his back helping him up, and when he turned in that direction, he found Cagalli there. Miriallia was in front of him, looking worried as she gazed at Kira. "Should you really be moving like this yet Kira," questioned Cagalli, then she sighed. "Or rather, should I even be asking that of you, instead of just making sure that you stay in bed and heal?"

Kira gave a weak smile, "Sorry," he replied.

"I'm more glad you're okay, especially after what happened," Cagalli said, tears coming to her eyes with seeing Kira awake. "The doctor said that your injuries aren't as bad as they could've been, but they will still need time to heal."

Kira frowned with being reminded what the current situation was for him now, "But, the Freedom is gone, what am I to do now? I can't fight properly with the mobile suits on board the Archangel," Kira said in a slight frustrated tone.

Cagalli got in front of Kira's face, wearing a stern expression, "What are you talking about right now, you should be focusing on resting and healing Kira."

"So," spoke up Neo, drawing attention to him in the bed across from Kira's, "The white and blue Gundam-type did you in did it?" No one said anything to the question, which cause Neo to scoff, "It serves you right really, the pilot of that machine has the focus and determination to do whatever they set their mind to." Murrue entered the room at that moment, as Neo continued, "The kid just keeps on getting better and better, never ceasing to improve."

Kira stared at Neo, "Have you ever met him in person?"

Neo shook his head, "Nope, but my encounters with him tell the story. He is a rare kind of pilot and individual," Neo said.

Murrue approached Neo's bed, "Moving on though, perhaps someone can tell me what's the deal with this ship, and the Federation for that matter. I mean, at first you seemed all chummy with ZAFT, yet now," Murrue came to stand above Neo and look at him which got him to hesitate, "you seem to be enemies."

"That's one way of putting it," Murrue answered and then turned to Kira. "How are you feeling Kira?"

"Well, I'm okay. I definitely know to a degree what Tyler felt after the Shadow was destroyed, but I'll pull through," Kira assured.

Murrue smiled, "That's good to hear, I wish the same could be said of the Archangel, for she's in pretty bad shape. We should make it back to the Marshal Island dock, but there will be work to do before she's ready for combat again."

As Neo listened, there were images and scenes going through his head, most of which he'd never seen before. Murrue Ramius, the sound of her voice brought some, but not the majority of them, Neo didn't know what to make of any of it. "So then," Neo spoke up drawing attention to himself again, "This is a Federation vessel is it?"

Murrue paused, "Technically, I suppose you could say that, but I've asked myself what that actually means since setting out."

The door opened to the infirmary again, "Officially it tis ma'am," said Cormag.

The conflicting answers were not helping, but if this ship was part of the Federation's military, that still left the question of what would happen to Neo himself unanswered and there were a growing number of those lately. "Yes, but honestly, I don't know what will happen to any of us for the time being," Murrue said.

"Aye," spoke up Cormag, "but, we're all lucky to be alive with how ZAFT was tryin to do us in." Cormag turned to face Neo, "Specially you La Flaga, you might have avoided death once before now and a feat it tis, but it's best to not make such a habit, more like to get you killed permanently."

Neo glared weakly at Cormag, yet was silent for a bit, then spoke again, "Whoever you are mister, my name is Neo Roanoke, I'm a captain in the Earth Forces."

Cormag stared at Neo for a moment, "You can say that all you want, even believe it to be the truth if you like, but you are who you are, even if you deny it," he replied. Neo was about to retort, but Cormag spoke before Neo could, "Ask yourself this, have you seen things that cause you feelings of unexplainable familiarity? Cause if so, then I would start questioning the motives of those who told you that your name is Neo Roanoke were I you, for they are not lookin out for your best interests La Flaga, of that I assure you."

Neo was frustrated, but also couldn't deny what this guy with the odd accent was saying exactly as he had indeed seen images that he couldn't explain why they were familiar. He ended out exhaling instead, "This Mu La Flaga I keep being mistaken for, who was he?"

Murrue looked away from Neo, "A fallen comrade and friend… truly one of a kind," she muttered.

"Aye, he was quite the man, stuck to his beliefs and morals even if it had him going against orders that he was given. If there were more like him in the Earth Alliance, then it wouldn't have gotten to where it is now," Cormag added.

Neo was left to wonder what he had just heard meant, for it tickled something in the back of his mind that he couldn't identify. Once again, Neo was left to question things he wouldn't normally, mostly about his identity. The other oddity that he was experiencing was with the kid in the bed opposite him. Yes, he had teased him about his loss a bit, but he also felt sorry for the kid in a way he didn't regularly with anyone.

Phase end

A/n

I'll leave off here for the next Phase. I know that this Phase was longer than I tend to make them on average, but for the stuff I covered, that's how it goes. I'm sorry for those that don't like multiple characters to be introduced in a single chapter, but the 'conference' was a fun and interesting scene to make and that required me to have multiple new characters. If any wish for a challenge, guess which leader belongs to which series, they are all Gundam series characters.

I know that Durandal's reasoning for wanting the Archangel and the Freedom out of the way is a tad spotty. I'm working on a back story for Durandal disliking Kira, it's not done yet. As for Shinn feeling bad to an extent about destroying the Freedom, there is a reason for that which will become somewhat more obvious in the next two phases. Finally, I will state for the record as there have been those that have said something about the idea. There will be no "Strike Freedom" nor "Infinite Justice", I've been working on creating custom machines that will replace them. For those that like that, you will be pleased I believe, those you don't like replacement of canon mobile suits, you aren't writing this story so not your call.

As always, I appreciate those that read then follow and favorite this story, reviews are nicer, but I like both forms of appreciation of my writings. The story continues in the next Phase!

ZAFT Prime

This idea has been fun to go with as the third faction can give a lot of 'what ifs' a chance to see where they go. And as much as I like reading others' fanfiction, I've started a new full-time job and that gives me little time free to do all the things I would like to.

HolyDragoon

It may seem that Durandal is an idiot, but he isn't as much as it may look, he is more the cunning type. In this Phase he is portrayed as a kind of hero to the public image where behind that he is different, at least that's what I was trying to get across. As for the people in the PLANTs, kind of like in canon, Meer is used to calm the masses and to influence them in the direction that Durandal wants them to. And more realized the difference in the footage, but the focus was shifted to Logos being to blame for the war.

REVANOFSITHLORD

Your welcome, hope you like this and the other two Phases