Gundam Wing: Destiny's Call

by operation meteor

Sequel to Journey to a New Battlefield. It's been two years since the Bloody Valentine War and tensions are rising. When a shadowy group attacks the colony of Armory One, a certain Gundam pilot takes to the battlefield once again. However, little to his knowledge, some old friends are on a journey to his new world. M for language and violence (again, it's war. What do you expect?)

10. Chapter 10

Author's Notes: Hello there! Sorry this one took so long! Believe it or not, it's actually shorter than I had originally planned; I decided to shift some content from this one to the next one. I really am I trying to get better at managing the length of these, it's a lot harder than you'd think!

Song list for the chapter, in order of appearance: "Annex", "B7R", "Contact", and "Excalibur", all from Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War.

Enjoy!

Episode Ten: Cloak and Dagger

To say that there was a rather tense silence between Colonel Nazara and Lord Djibril was something of an understatement. The attack on L5 had ended in catastrophe and the Colonel was heading back to the Moon with the battered remnants of a once mighty fleet, and it had taken him a full hour to contact Lord Djibril because he'd been trying to figure out the best way to describe the colossal failure. There was really no way to put a decent spin on things, so in the end he decided to be blunt and get it over with.

Under other circumstance, Nazara might laugh at his erstwhile boss. Djibril's fury was very apparent even over the monitor in the private communications suite of the Nelson-class battleship Fletcher, but the head of LOGOS was still trying to maintain a dignified appearance. The end result was that the most powerful man in the Atlantic Federation and the broader Earth Alliance looked incredibly constipated more than anything else, and the Colonel had to wonder how much longer the floodgates would hold up.

"So," said Lord Djibril slowly, "let me get this straight. I made sure that your armada was armed with every nuclear weapon we had developed over the past two years, and not only was that not enough to accomplish our objective, but in fact they were turned against our fleet. Would that be an accurate description?"

"Yes," Nazara replied, waiting for the hammer to fall.

It didn't take long. Djibril slammed his fist against the arm of his chair, seething with rage.

"You incompetent ass!" he snarled, "This was supposed to be our moment of triumph against those freaks! We were going to burn their precious homeland to cinders and then present that to the world as an example of what happens when you cross the Earth Alliance. Instead we lost a full third of our orbital combat forces in a matter of seconds and the PLANTs still stand! The entire Earth Sphere now knows that we've been violating the treaty, and we lack the victory required to silence them! We played our hand for nothing!"

"Our intelligence reports regarding the Coordinator defenses mentioned nothing about the new device they deployed against our missiles," said Nazara, trying to keep his cool, "If we had known about that weapon we could've countered it."

"Heads will roll within the intelligence community," said Djibril with a glare, "but I'm less concerned with their failure at the moment than I am with yours. What was supposed to be a display of power has instead become a complete debacle! Do you have any idea how far back our efforts to wipe out the Coordinators and unite this world under our banner were just set?"

"Not as far back as you may believe," Nazara countered, "From what I understand, work on the Requiem weapon continues apace. It's still quite some time away from completion, but once it is ready it will be just an effective a means to deal with L5 as our nuclear arsenal would've been."

"Requiem," Djibril hissed, "was meant to bring the Orb Union colonies and the rest of the Earth Sphere into line. By the time the weapon would be ready for deployment we had planned on the PLANTs already being reduced to ashes! Your failure has disrupted our entire strategy for this war!"

"I disagree," Nazara shot back, "Our nukes are gone and our space forces have sustained heavy losses, but we still hold the momentum. ZAFT's fleet took a pounding defending their homeland, and we're still advancing on the surface. We may have to go on the defensive in outer space, but on Earth itself the ball remains in our court."

"But now the renegades from the last war will have more freedom to maneuver," said Djibril, "After nuking the PLANTs we were going to use our heavy artillery to threaten L3. That option's no longer on the table, which means those meddlers and traitors can now focus on moving against us on the surface. We had Wing Zero in check, but now that damn thing will have free reign!"

"You overestimate our abilities if you think we ever had that machine and its pilot in check," said Nazara, "Heero Yuy restrains himself according to the situation, but if pressed hard enough I imagine he would've made a move regardless of the threats we made to the L3 colonies. Now he'll simply be returning to the battlefield earlier than we'd like. As soon as the Nosferatu has been repaired and upgraded I'll be more than happy to sortie against him."

"I'm sure you'll understand if I doubt your ability to provide an effective counter to him," Djibril spat, "From what I understand, you were barely able to hold your own against the Galm Team in this battle, and they were flying machines significantly inferior to yours. You may have survived four battles against Wing Zero, but that's not the same as coming out ahead."

Under the mask, Nazara was scowling at his boss. "You let me worry about taking him on again. Last I checked, mobile suit combat is hardly your area of expertise."

Djibril folded his arms. "Tread carefully, Colonel. Your skills as a pilot and field commander are valuable, but you are not irreplaceable."

"I am Azrael's legacy," Nazara growled, "I am the heir to his cause and his organization. You are just his placeholder!"

"A legacy merely carries sentimental value," Djibril retorted, "It has no practical bearing on your contribution to our campaign. Do not overestimate your importance, Colonel. Remember that I'm well aware as to the project that brought you into our ranks. Replacing you would be something of a hassle at this point in the war, but it can be done nonetheless."

"Replace me," Nazara snarled, "and you won't have a pilot with my level of expertise. You'll only have sheer numbers to throw against Wing Zero and its allies. That wasn't enough in the last war, and our ranks aren't as vast now as they were back then. You're the one who needs to tread carefully, Djibril."

There was silence for a moment, and Nazara wondered who would blink first in their standoff. The Colonel and Djibril were both proud men, but Nazara knew that his mettle was stronger. After all, only one of them had the guts to actually take part in open combat.

Djibril scoffed, but the slight relaxing of his demeanor was all Nazara needed to know that he'd won this round. "Your indiscretions will cost you eventually, but for now we have other matters to attend to. Today's fiasco means that some of our other plans will have to be accelerated if we're to get things back on track. Projects Reaper and Iron Legion in particular will need to be advanced considerably, and we'll have to crank out more Extended as a stopgap measure. Our labs will be quite busy, that's for sure."

"Do we have enough subjects to continue producing viable units?" asked Nazara, "I was under the impression that the Lodonia Institute was chewing through them at a rather extreme rate. Their ruthlessness in pursuit of perfection is commendable, but too high of a body count cuts into our ability to field new warriors."

"I'm well aware of the production figures coming out of Lodonia," Djibril replied, "and I see no reason to worry. The units that survive to join our ranks are all the stronger for the harsh conditions, after all. Your little pet is evidence enough of that, after all."

"Speaking of Stella," said Nazara, "will her and I be joining our surface forces for the next stage of our campaign?"

Djibril nodded. "Yes. I've already had her transferred to the Pacific Fleet since the doctors reported she wasn't in prime condition for the attack on L5. You may join her as soon as the remnants of the armada arrive at Luna."

Nazara smiled. "I look forward to it."

"I'm sure," said Djibril dismissively, "The two of you will likely be going up against ZAFT's new battleship at some point. Do try to destroy it this time; it'll be a nuisance to have to continually contend with that thing as the war drags on."

"The Minerva will fall," said Nazara, "Wing Zero abandoned that ship after the orbital battle, and none of the other pilots aboard it could come close to Heero Yuy's level of skill. They'll have no defense against us."

"They'd better not," said Djibril with a scowl, "An opportunity to strike at it will likely come soon, and we don't want to miss it."

Nazara raised an eyebrow under the mask. "I was under the impression that it was still in Orb. It's rather difficult to see how we can attack it there."

Djibril chuckled. "It won't be there for long. We're going to have our puppets in the Orb Union move the nation decisively into our camp. It won't be that hard; their Chief Representative has been effectively outmaneuvered at this point. She just doesn't know about it. Once the Orb Union has sided with us the Minerva will have no choice but to leave lest she be handed over to us. Our fleet will be positioned between Orb and Carpentaria. She'll have nowhere to run, and we'll be able to overwhelm her."

Nazara nodded. "What of the renegades from the last war? It's an open secret that their activities are based out of the Orb Union and its colonies. Will our friends be able to flush them out once they achieve full power over the nation?"

Djibril shook his head. "Unfortunately, that does not appear to be likely. According to our sources, the Seirans and their allies have been unable to pinpoint the exact locations of all of the enemy's hideouts. However, with their government under our control we'll have the resources required to comb the country and its territories until we're able to find them. They won't stay hidden forever."

Nazara smiled. "I look forward to the day that we're able to crush them once and for all."

Djibril smirked. "Indeed. Once we've flushed them from their hideaway in Orb they'll have nowhere else to go. ZAFT is unlikely to offer them aid given their activities in the last war, and any nation that does attempt to shelter them will face our wrath. Given that threat, I think it's safe to say that no one will be willing to take them in. They cannot survive without state support, official or otherwise. We'll corner them, wear them down, and then eliminate them. They're already on borrowed time; they just don't know it yet."

Nazara's eyes narrowed. "What about the other member states of the Earth Alliance? Can we really be sure that they won't offer them safe haven? The Eurasian Federation in particular might be trouble; they did throw out the leaders that fully supported our ultimate agenda after the end of the last war, after all."

"Moscow will fall into line," said Djibril with a confident smile, "They know that their military is not as strong as ours. Their mobile suit program relies too heavily on the advances made by us, and if we ceased sharing our expertise they would quickly fall behind. They need us and they know it. The same goes for the rest of our partners; we're the key to the Earth Alliance's might, and they cannot afford to get on our bad side by harboring a bunch of fugitives."

Nazara nodded. "Understood. Can we count on them to support our offensives going forward, though? As you said, their militaries aren't as strong as ours; they may be more reluctant to commit forces to our upcoming operations."

"They'll commit," Djibril replied, "Despite the recent setback, we should still be able to manipulate global public opinion and keep our partners in our side. After all, it was the fallout from the Break The World Incident that allowed us to move forward as quickly as we have. There's still plenty of political capital to be had from that if we play our cards right."

"Very well, then" said Nazara, "Is there anything else?"

Djibril shook his head. "Not at this time. You have your orders, Colonel."

With that he vanished from the screen, leaving Nazara alone with his thoughts. The call had gone better than he'd originally imagined, although that didn't change the sour taste it left in his mouth. It was irritating to have to show any semblance of deference to a man that he had absolutely no respect for, but he didn't have much of a choice in the matter. At least he wouldn't have to deal with another call with him for a while now that he had his next few steps planned out.

"To Luna, then," he said softly, "and then to Earth."

I can hardly wait.

….

"No matter how much you look up there, it doesn't change the fact that you're down here," said a familiar female voice from behind him.

Leaning against the railing, Heero turned around and smiled slightly as Murrue came out to join him. Night had fallen, and after dinner he had quietly slipped outside to stargaze. Of course, his attention wasn't really on the night sky itself but rather on what he couldn't see that he knew was up there nonetheless.

"It's not in my nature to sit back and watch for so long," he said, "I'm used to being right in the middle of the action, and a few hours ago the action was up there."

Murrue smiled as she leaned against the railing beside him. "I know what you mean. If there was a way for us to have helped out up there today, I would've been right there with you."

"It might've been for the best that we sat this one out," Heero replied, "It's hard to say what ZAFT's countermeasure might've done to the reactors of our mobile suits. I'm not sure if even Gundanium alloy would be an adequate defense against that thing."

Murrue nodded. "That's true. I know Bristow's scouring his list of contacts for any scrap of information he can get on that new device, but I'm not sure how that's going to turn out. We might be flying blind for a while when it comes to that thing."

"What about Erica Simmons?" asked Heero, "She's running her own analysis, isn't she?"

"Yes," Murrue replied, "but from what I understand her ability to do a proper investigation is somewhat limited. She's relying on data from the satellites, and that's not quite as good as what she had to work with when she was on the Kusanagi during the last war."

Heero closed his eyes to mull that over. "I see. At least the device doesn't appear to be an offensive weapon. That should limit its deployment. Still, we need to learn as much as we can about it, and quickly."

"No argument there," said Murrue, "For the weapon to affect nukes like that, it has to be related to the N-Jammers ZAFT deployed in the last war. Those specific devices were banned by the Treaty of Junius Seven, but this new countermeasure is a different beast altogether."

"At least ZAFT's only use of it so far has been to protect the PLANTs from nuclear assault," said Heero, his gaze returning to the sky, "It was quite spectacular in that use, too. Durandal must be very pleased with himself."

Murrue sighed. "It's strange. You'd think that'd we be more relieved with the fact that ZAFT was able to successfully defend the PLANTs and prevent a massacre, but…"

"We're more worried about the implications of the technology behind their means to pull that off," Heero finished for her, "Sound about right?"

Murrue chuckled ruefully. "Pretty much. Talk about skewed priorities, huh?"

Heero shook his head. "No. I know that we're both glad that the PLANTs are safe and that millions of civilians weren't massacred. At the same time, though, it's perfectly fine to be concerned about ZAFT's new technology, especially given what they ultimately wound up building in the last war. Just because this new device appears to be defensive in nature doesn't mean that there aren't other inventions with more offensive capabilities. Now that hostilities have commenced, we have to be alert for signs that ZAFT may be developing new weapons that go beyond mere mobile suits and warships. The same goes for the Earth Alliance; we can't just assume that their nukes were their only ace in the hole."

Murrue nodded. "You're right. I just wish that we had better intelligence on both sides. For all of our power and knowledge, there's still so much that eludes us."

Heero shrugged. "We've operated with a handicap in the past. Good thing we're used to it."

Murrue smirked. "True. If nothing else, we're certainly adaptable. We've learned to make do with less, and we can still punch far above our weight class when the occasion calls for it."

Heero chuckled. "Spoken like a Gundam pilot."

"I guess you're rubbing off on me," Murrue replied as she took his hand, "I can think of worse influences in my life."

The two of them looked up at the stars together before Heero spoke again. "How's your mother taking all of this? I mean, we're about to start fighting her old country, and your father still serves in their military. That can't be easy for her."

Murrue shook her head. "I don't think she's worried about all of that so much as she is about you and me. She made a clean break from the Atlantic Federation, just like I did. To be honest, I think she handled it better than I did at times. She's a very strong woman, Heero… but I'm sure she'd still appreciate you worrying about her. I know I do."

Heero gave her a small smile. "Well, it's clear that she passed that strength onto you. She should be proud of all you've done since we first met. I know I am."

She kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks."

"Anytime," he replied.

Murrue sighed. "If we're being honest here... I think I'm the one that's worried about my old homeland. Well, more about my father than anything else."

"His message to you in the last war said that he thought you should've died at Alaska," said Heero, his voice almost a growl as he held back a powerful fury at the man that had been smoldering for two years, "He doesn't deserve your concern, Murrue."

"I know that," said Murrue, "but I'm still worried about possibly meeting him on the battlefield."

"You told me in the last war that he had a post in the continental Atlantic Federation itself," Heero pointed out, "I doubt we'll be heading out that way, so our odds of encountering him in combat are pretty remote."

Murrue nodded. "That's true, but there's always the off chance that he's since been moved to a field posting."

Heero met her gaze. "If he has, and we meet him on the field… I'm not holding back, Murrue. I understand why you'd still hold some concern about him even after what he's done, but if we encounter him on the battlefield then that means he'll be trying to kill you directly. I'm not about to let that happen."

Murrue's grip on his hand tightened. "I know… and I accept that. I… I won't be holding back against him either. Even if I know what ship he's on, if I get him under the Archangel's guns… I'll take the shot. I won't allow him to threaten you or my crew. I'll do what I must… and shoulder the consequences."

"You won't shoulder them alone," said Heero, "I'll be with you, Murrue."

She smiled. "I know you will, Heero."

….

Staring at the computer on his desk, Eric Bristow was completely unaware that he had company until he felt a familiar hand on his shoulder. "Why don't you call it a night, dear? You won't do anyone any favors by wearing yourself out."

He looked up at his wife and smiled. "I've been at it long enough for you to worry, huh? Sorry. I know I keep telling you that I'll cut back on it, but…"

"This is important," Shemei finished for him as she nodded at the monitor, "I know, Eric, but you're not responsible for reviewing every single bit of intelligence that we gather. We've got a whole group of data analysts loyal to our cause; they're more than capable of sifting through information while you take a break."

Eric sighed. "I know they are. I guess old habits really do die hard. Back when I was a Field Marshal I used to go over every scrap of intel I could find before I ordered my troops into battle. I had plenty of analysts on my staff to help out with that, but I still wanted to have as comprehensive a grasp of the tactical and strategic picture as possible."

Shemei smiled. "It served you well. If I recall correctly, the forces you led in East Asia were among those that took the least casualties during their campaigns, and that was in no small part thanks to your diligence. I know everyone here appreciates that you give Terminal the same dedication and thoroughness that you committed to ZAFT back in the day, but we don't want you to burn yourself out on our behalf."

Eric nodded. "Yeah… I guess I really should hit the hay. Still, it's hard to just set it all aside."

Shemei leaned down to peer at the screen. "Is this for the Americans' Atlantic Fleet or the Pacific?"

"Atlantic," Eric replied, "They've been on the move for some time now, but ever since hostilities commenced they've really picked up steam. Their heading's still Gibraltar for the most part, although they may divert some forces to secure the Suez Canal too. The Eurasian Federation Navy's been on standby for a while now as well, and there's a decent chance that they could send warships to support the Americans now that the war with ZAFT's officially underway."

"What about on our side of globe?" asked Shemei, "Are they getting any support from the Republic of East Asia?"

"More than I expected," said Eric, "but less than I feared. The Republic of East Asia is expanding its naval patrols, and they could always detach a battle group or two to link up with the Atlantic Federation's Pacific Fleet, but other than that there really hasn't been much activity on their end. They seem to be focusing more on shoring up their defenses than anything else."

Shemei smirked. "They're probably afraid ZAFT's going to send another Field Marshal their way. I bet you left quite an impression on them during your campaign over there."

Eric sighed. "I doubt it was me that left the impression. Don't forget the shit that Zubov pulled out there during the last war. It didn't matter that we had him arrested; Zala's favor meant he could act with impunity. If anyone left an impression, it was him and his massacres."

Shemei took his hand. "You're not still beating yourself up over that, are you? Eric, that was two years ago, and you weren't responsible for his actions. Besides, Heero killed that monster at Alaska, along with the rest of his team. You have to let it go, dear."

Eric chuckled ruefully. "It'd be easier if the Republic of East Asia weren't littered with mass graves thanks to the shit he pulled and my failure to restrain him sooner."

"It would have even more mass graves if you hadn't fought with us to bring that war to an end," said Shemei, "You acted honorably and did your part to save countless more lives from suffering the same fate as his victims. Zubov may never have been brought to trial for war crimes, but justice was still served; it was just meted out in a more direct manner. You can't keep punishing yourself over the actions of monsters that you had no control over. It's not good for you, and it's definitely not good for the rest of us."

She leaned in and kissed him before continuing. "Your actions are one of the reasons the world was able to survive the nightmare of the last war, and they're a big part of why we still have a shot at setting things right this time around too. You're not our top mobile suit pilot, but thanks to you we've got a good intelligence network that helps us plan our moves so we can have the biggest impact. That's worth more than any fighting you do on a personal level, and it'll be compromised if you keep beating yourself up over the past. We're not fighting for the victims of the last war; we're fighting for the people who are threatened by this one, and we need you in top form if we're going to save them."

Eric couldn't help but smile. "You really know how to motivate people, don't you? Have you been getting tips from Lacus lately?"

She giggled. "I was a Commander back in the day, remember? Just ask my girls; I can give a good pep talk when I put my mind to it."

Eric chuckled. "That's right, I forgot. Man, that seems like a lifetime ago, doesn't it?"

"Sometimes, yes," Shemei replied, "but at the same time, not really. I mean, I do still lead my girls into battle, after all. As for you, you may not officially be a Field Marshal now, but your authority in this organization is pretty much on par with Andrew's. You're still a big shot on campus, dear."

Eric smirked. "Yeah, I guess so… although sometimes I think it's a miracle that we hold it all together like this. I mean, we don't even have an official rank structure. Everything's so informal. Even after two years of it I get a little disoriented from time to time."

"You've handled it pretty well from where I'm standing," said Shemei as she sat down on the edge of the desk, "You're much more capable of adapting than other people are. That's part of the reason why we've survived this long; you help keep us flexible."

Eric nodded. "Well, when you're a group as small as us you can't really afford to be rigid. Without that flexibility, our enemies would have a shot at taking us out."

"Speaking of enemies," said Shemei, "we've got more than just the Earth Alliance and ZAFT to worry about this time around."

Eric's eyes narrowed. "You're talking about Cagalli's domestic opponents, right?"

Shemei nodded. "Yup. I'm thinking that Heero had the right idea; we might really have to kidnap Cagalli. It'd be the only way to keep her from being used by the Seirans as a puppet ruler. We need to start planning for that."

"You're right," said Eric, "In fact, I was thinking about talking to Heero and the other Gundam pilots about that tomorrow. They're the ideal candidates for an extraction team."

Shemei smiled. "Can't argue with that. It really shouldn't be that hard; thanks to Kisaka we've got inside information on her security detail. All you have to do is pass that on to Heero and he'll handle the rest."

Eric sighed. "It might be easy to get to her, but I still don't know how Cagalli's going to feel about all this. She takes her duty to her people very seriously, and it might be difficult to convince her to go along with us on this."

"We'll have to figure that out one way or another," said Shemei, "I admire her commitment, but at this point her sticking with the government would really do more harm than good. Her policies might be in complete opposition to the Earth Alliance and their allies within the Orb government, but that doesn't matter if they're successfully able to undermine her. Even worse, her staying would give the Alliance an invaluable public relations tool; it wouldn't be all that hard for them to turn her into an unwilling spokesperson for them within the Orb Union."

Eric nodded. "Agreed. We'll just have to hope that she's willing to play ball with us on this. If she is, it'll be a lot easier. If not… well, you know what they say; easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission, right?"

Shemei smiled. "Works for me. We could always try to get Kira in on this, too. He's Cagalli's brother, after all; having a family member make the approach could help with the sales pitch."

Eric's brow furrowed. "Maybe, but he's not exactly trained in infiltration ops like what we've got in mind. He's one hell of a pilot, but his abilities as a covert operative are rather lacking. Having him cover an extraction might be a better use of his talents."

"Good point," said Shemei, "You know, having Lacus on hand to sweet talk her once we get her out wouldn't be a bad idea either. The two of them get along pretty well, after all."

"I like that idea," Eric replied, "and I think this is something we could convince Lacus to go along with. She's been looking for a way to play a more active role in our operations going forward, so this would be a good place for her to start."

Shemei nodded. "If you want, I can talk to her about it tomorrow. Once I get her on board I don't think it'd be too hard for her to convince Kira to join in. Plus, that'll leave you free to work something out with Heero and the other Gundam pilots."

Eric smiled. "Sounds like a plan to me."

"Good," said Shemei as she reached around him and shut off the monitor, "Now, why don't you get some rest? I think we both could use it after today."

Eric chuckled. "Can't argue with that."

….

On Aprilius One's main plaza, the tension could be cut with a knife. The opening battle of the Second Bloody Valentine War might've been over, but the people of the Coordinator capital were still in shock over the fact that they had once again come to the brink of annihilation. ZAFT's role in the defense of their homeland was to be praised, and rightly so, but the mood of the people was hardly that of a victory celebration.

"I can't believe they'd do that," one man grumbled, "First they declare war, and then they try to nuke us! What the hell?"

"At least none of the missiles made it through to us," said a woman, "Otherwise…"

"I know," said another man, "It'd be another Bloody Valentine… or worse."

"Was this retribution for what happened with the Junius Seven ruins?" asked one woman.

"No way," said a man, "That was a terrorist attack, and one that ZAFT helped to stop! They've got no excuse for what they just tried to pull!"

"They want to wipe us out again…" one woman whispered.

"They just tried to kill us all!" a man shouted, "Those bastards! We have to make them pay!"

The mood with the crowd was slowly coming to a boil. All the anger that was supposed to have been banished with the end of the last war was gradually simmering and working its way towards the surface. They had been brought to the edge of obliteration once again, and the desire to strike back by any means necessary was a natural reaction. However, that sort of fury did not distinguish between perpetrator and innocent, and it was the exact same sentiment that the old regime had harnessed to such tragic effect two years ago. If allowed to fester and grow, public opinion would quickly become toxic, and the PLANTs would once again find themselves heading down the dark road that Patrick Zala had led them to in the last war.

Could anyone restore calm and rationality to a people who had just been in the crosshairs of an attempt at genocide? Was there anyone who had the courage and charisma to even try to confront the mob and risk incurring their wrath?

The answer was provided a moment later. The main screen in the plaza shifted from its current news broadcast to a new image, one that was now appearing on monitors not just in Aprilius One but across the L5 colonies. It was a picture of a pink-haired girl that any Coordinator, regardless of age, interest, or occupation, would instantly recognize.

"My name is Lacus Clyne," the girl said, "People of the PLANTs, please, listen to me!"

"No way…" said a man in the crowd, "Is it… really her?"

"It has to be," a woman replied, "I remember her from the last war!"

"But no one's seen her in two years," said another man, "Why's she showing up now?"

"Shut up and listen and we'll find out!" hissed another woman.

"As I'm sure you're all aware of," said Lacus, "a great battle was just fought on the doorstep of our homeland. The heroic soldiers of ZAFT were able to repel the Earth Alliance's assault, but not before the opposition attempted to launch a nuclear strike on our colonies. However, thanks to ZAFT's peerless scientists and researchers, the PLANTs now possess a device capable of defending us from such attacks. This new device, the Neutron Stampeder, was what saved us all from utter destruction."

"So that's what caused all the missiles to explode," said one woman.

"Who cares?" said a man, "That doesn't change the fact that the Naturals just tried to kill us all!"

"Even though our homeland has been saved for the moment," Lacus continued somberly, "I fully understand that this salvation may not ease your fears. A second Bloody Valentine Tragedy has been averted, but this may be cold comfort in the face of the fact that the Earth Alliance just attempted to destroy us. I can only imagine the fear that must grip all of your hearts right now… and the anger."

"She's got that right," hissed a man.

"However," said the songstress, "to give into that terror and fury would be a grave mistake. The PLANTs cannot go down the same road that they travelled during the last war. To embrace our fear and hatred will only lead to further tragedy. Yes, it is a tragedy that we are once again at war and there are those who wish to annihilate us all, but if we allow ourselves to become consumed by the desire for revenge then we will become no better than those who attacked us today!"

"But… we can't just let this go unanswered!" cried a woman.

"What are we supposed to do?" asked a man.

"What is most important now," said Lacus, "is not that we allow terror and rage to guide our hands. We must master our fear, our anger, and remain calm. Fury unleashed is not the answer to this crisis! We must defend our homeland, but we must also remember that those we are fighting do not represent all of the people down on Earth. By answering an attempted atrocity with one of our own, it will not be those who ordered the attack against us that will suffer; it will be innocent lives that are lost, not the guilty. The PLANTs are better than that! We've grown so much over the past two years, and have learned so much from the horrible tragedies of the last war."

"What we must do now," she continued, "is place our faith in those who have dedicated their lives to defending us, and those whom we have elected to lead us. The Supreme Council and ZAFT will keep us safe and find a way to end this conflict, but they cannot do so without our help! It is up to us to support Chairman Durandal, to show him and those working with him that we believe in their ability to resolve this crisis without giving in to our base instincts. We must demonstrate that we are willing to support our leaders as they fight for our defense, and that to allow them the opportunity to forge our path forward. The road will be long and difficult; I have no doubt of that. However, if we stand together in faith and determination, I know that we can persevere. The PLANTs can survive this war, and they can do so without repeating the tragic mistakes of the past!"

"She's right," said one man, "We can do this!"

A woman nodded. "It won't be like last time… thank goodness."

Up on the screen, Lacus smiled. "People of the PLANTs… my friends… today represents both an averted tragedy and a new beginning. Let us mourn those who gave their lives to defend us mere hours ago, and then vow to make sure that their sacrifice was not in vain. Let us pledge to carry on their fight with honor and dignity, so that we may restore true peace and justice to this world. Let us move forward, support our leaders as they work to bring this conflict to a swift resolution, and dedicate ourselves to building a new world once the fighting is over, one where Coordinators and Naturals can truly live together in cooperation and friendship. This is our cause, and it is one worth fighting for."

She bowed her head. "For now, I must bid you farewell. Fear not, though; you shall see me again, and even when you do not, know that my heart is with all of you."

The iconic songstress disappeared from the monitor, leaving the gathered crowd in thoughtful silence. The boiling fury and fear that had been trapped just below the surface was already receding. Across the PLANTs, the effect was much the same. Anger gave way to hope; distrust was beaten back by belief. The people were now prepared to rally behind the Supreme Council and their Chairman. They believed that the legendary Lacus Clyne, the Angel of Peace who had brought together both Naturals and Coordinators to fight for mankind's very survival in the last war, was on their side in this new struggle.

Not a single one of them had the slightest suspicion that the messenger who had just addressed them was an imposter…

…nor were they aware that the ultimate designs of the master she served were a far cry from the ideals of the genuine Lacus Clyne.

….

"Well done, Meer!" said her government handler after the door to her dressing room closed, "You were simply marvelous!"

Meer Campbell smiled. "You really think so? Do you think they believed that I was really Lacus?"

Her handler, a black haired man in his early thirties, nodded. "My dear, if I didn't know better I would swear that I believed you were Lacus. There isn't a soul in all the PLANTs that could believe otherwise after that performance. I know how hard you've been practicing for this, and I'm so glad to see your diligent work pay off so spectacularly! Oh, I just know that the Chairman will be pleased with this!"

His phone rang, and Meer saw him smile as he checked the number. "Speak of the devil, that's his office line. I imagine he's calling to congratulate you on your performance. One moment, miss."

Meer waited patiently while the man addressed the caller. Sure enough, a few seconds later he passed the phone to her.

"Just as I thought," he said with a wink, "It's your biggest fan."

Meer could hardly contain her excitement as she answered the phone. "This is Meer. Is that you, Chairman?"

"Indeed it is," the smooth voice of her benefactor replied, "You put on a splendid show, Miss Campbell. You should be very proud of yourself."

Meer couldn't help but blush at his praise. "Thank you, Chairman! I promise that I'll work even harder so I'll be ready the next time that you need me!"

"I have no doubt of that," the Chairman replied, "I admire the dedication you've given to your role. I'm glad to see that my decision to have you play this part has paid off. There isn't another woman in all of the Earth Sphere who could assume the persona of Lacus Clyne as flawlessly as you have."

"You're too kind, Chairman," said Meer, struggling to keep the embarrassment from creeping into her voice.

"Rest assured, Miss Campbell," said the Chairman, "The people of the PLANTs may have been your audience tonight, but know that the entire Earth Sphere will have seen your performance before too long. You will be a shining beacon of hope for the entire world."

"Thank you, Chairman," said Meer, "As long as I can do my part to bring peace to the world, that's all that I ask."

The Chairman chuckled. "Such a modest young woman you are. If your parents were still alive I'm sure that they'd be as proud of you right now as I am."

"Mister Chairman," said Meer, "Do… do you think that Athrun saw my speech?"

"If he did not, then I imagine he'll see a replay of it soon enough," said the Chairman, "Either way, it will be impossible for him to miss it. Both of you have a vital role to play in my plans going forward, and though you have separate parts now, I'm sure that events will conspire to bring the two of you together soon enough."

Meer smiled and blushed again. "I'd like that."

"Yes," the Chairman replied, "and so would I. The two of you are strong by yourselves, but together your power will be amplified immeasurably."

"Do you think he'd want to be seen with me?" she said nervously, "I mean… he knew the real Lacus Clyne, and he knows I'm not her. Could he really come to like me?"

"I understand your doubts," said the Chairman, "but I think they are misplaced, Meer. You must have more confidence in yourself. Let your passion for your role show in your performance just like you did today, and I believe Athrun will move past his reservations. After all, he wants what's best for both the PLANTs and the world, just like you do. The two of you have much more in common than he realizes, and I believe that you can make him see that."

Meer nodded. "All right. I'll do my best, Chairman."

"I'm sure you will," he replied, "but there's no need for constant work on your part, my dear. Make sure to take a little time for yourself, all right? After today's performance, I think you've definitely earned a little break."

"Thank you, Chairman," she said, "but… well, the war's just begun. I don't think the real Lacus would take a break at a time like this, so I shouldn't either. I have to keep working hard so we can restore peace to this world."

The Chairman chuckled. "Ah, there it is; you sound just like her right now, Meer. Very well, then. I'll be in touch soon enough. Take care, my dear."

Meer nodded. "I will, Chairman."

The call ended there, and Meer passed her manager the phone. The Chairman's praise of her acting skills had put her in a very good mood, but she wasn't completely satisfied. It wasn't enough for her to be told that she was good at pretending to be Lacus Clyne.

She wanted to be Lacus Clyne.

Without that identity, who was she? The answer was depressing; just a girl orphaned by war. If the Chairman hadn't noticed her acting and singing talents, she'd be nobody; no more than a young woman performing with local theater groups, just trying to get by. Maybe her talents would've been recognized by someone and she could break out into show business for real, but even then her fame would be fleeting.

But to become Lacus Clyne? That was to be so much more than just a popular singer or actress. That was to become an icon, a figure that could have an impact far beyond the realm of mere entertainment. No one could ever love plain Meer Campbell, but Lacus Clyne? Everyone loved her, including Meer; she was just taking that love to its ultimate conclusion. With the name and appearance of the legendary songstress, Meer could become something far more important that she could ever hope to be with her given identity. Meer Campbell might be capable of entertaining a few audiences and making a handful of people smile, but Lacus Clyne? The entire Earth Sphere was her stage, and she had the power to bring hope and joy to countless souls. She was a beacon of peace in a world at war, and she had the adoration of millions because of it.

The only people who had ever loved Meer Campbell had died in the war. What point was there in holding on to an identity that no one cared for? The world would never know her, and even if it did it would have no interest in her. The world did know Lacus Clyne, though, and it could give her the adoration and love she had lost when her parents had been taken from her. If the price to assume the identity of Lacus Clyne was that Meer Campbell was lost forever, then so be it. She would have people that would love her again…

…even if it wasn't the real 'her'.

….

Durandal allowed himself a tired smile as he put his phone away. It had been a most eventful day, to put it mildly, and while he thrived off of the activity and the high stakes of it all he would privately admit that even he had his limits. He was very much looking forward to grabbing a few hours of sleep, but as always it was difficult to say for sure when that might be.

Public office rarely allows for a fixed schedule, he thought wearily, I suppose that's one of the necessary sacrifices one makes to pursue political ambition…

Still, based on his current itinerary he believed he was just about wrapped up for the day. There were just a handful of calls that he needed to attend to, and then he could retire for some much needed shuteye, however brief it might end up being.

As if on cue, a chime came from his desk console, and the face of his secretary appeared on the monitor a moment later. "Chairman Durandal, I hope I'm not interrupting anything, but Doctor Peron is on the other line."

Durandal nodded and smiled at the raven-haired woman. "Right on schedule, I see. He's nothing if not punctual. Please, put him through."

"Very well, sir," she replied.

The grim face of Doctor Escobar Peron, one of the leading researchers in the biotech division of ZAFT's R&D sector, appeared on the screen. A First Generation Coordinator in his mid thirties, the scientist was an old friend of Durandal's, and in fact he had been one of the first military appointments the Supreme Council Chairman had made upon assuming office. As opposed to Durandal's background in genetics, Doctor Peron's area of expertise was more in the fields of bionics and cybernetics, and his research was a crucial part of the Chairman's efforts to build an effective countermeasure for what he considered to be the ultimate wild card.

"Doctor," he said, "I'm glad you were able to keep our appointment today."

"You know me, Chairman," Peron replied, "I never miss a meeting if it's been officially scheduled. I trust you won't force me to exchange pleasantries for half of our conversation."

Durandal shook his head. "Hardly. We both know that's not your style, and quite frankly it's a waste of time for both of us. I'll get right to the point; it's been some time since I've had a status update on your latest project. I'm fully aware that research such as yours cannot be rushed, but significant time and resources have already been devoted to this program. Now, tell me, Doctor; where do we stand?"

Peron sighed. "As I informed you in our last report, we were forced to switch from adult to juvenile test subjects due to the implants not taking hold with the former. It's been grim work, Durandal; we may have reduced the fatality rate, but even with the increased survivability of the subjects it's not exactly a clean operation."

Durandal nodded. "Yes, you did make me aware of the… complications several of the survivors have experienced. I trust they're still being treated humanely."

"Of course," said Peron, bristling slightly, "After the sacrifices they've made for us to progress this far, we owe them no less. They're being treated very well; you certainly gave us enough of a budget for that. However… the suicide rates among those who've washed out remain alarmingly high. Given the hell they've been put through, it's hard to blame them for seeking the easy way out. It's fortunate that they're all war orphans… although I suppose that carries a damnation all of its own. There's a special place in Hell waiting for the two of us when this is all over, Chairman."

Durandal's eyes narrowed. "You knew what you were signing up for, Doctor. You've come too far to turn back now; we both have. Now, tell me; does it work?"

Peron nodded slowly. "It does. The performance of the suits modified to accommodate the new pilots has been absolutely remarkable. The subjects have little to no combat experience, but their machines move as if they were piloted by seasoned veterans. They've been given an instinctive grasp over their mobile suits; man and machine synched in near-perfect harmony."

"Excellent," said Durandal, allowing himself a cold smile, "How soon can we have a deployable squadron?"

"It'll still be some time, I'm afraid," Peron replied, "The rejection rate's been reduced to forty percent, but a lot of lives were lost getting to that point. Then there's still the matter of modifying enough mobile suits to carry the new system. We have our work cut out for us, Chairman."

"Move as fast as you can," said Durandal, "The war has only just begun, and we'll need as many trump cards as we can get. You'll have all the funding you could possibly need, Doctor; make good use of it.

Peron nodded. "Of course. Will that be all?"

"Yes," Durandal replied."

"Very well," said his old friend with a glare, "Until next time, Chairman… and until we meet in Hell."

The researcher disappeared from the screen, leaving Durandal with a few free minutes before his next scheduled call. He used that time to pull up the file that detailed the project Peron was working on. The work was a gigantic leap forward for human progress…

…and a horrific step across more ethical boundaries than Durandal cared to think about.

The project name was staring him right in the face, a testament to Durandal's iron will to see his dream of a better world realized and a damning indictment of the lines he would cross to get there.

Ālaya-Vijñāna

….

October 22nd, C.E. 73

"That's absurd!" cried Cagalli, "Are you insane? There's no way I'll sign off on that!"

"Cagalli," said Unato, "please, be reasonable."

"Be reasonable?" Cagalli replied incredulously, "You want the Orb Union to enter into a strategic pact with a nation that just tried to slaughter nearly thirty million people! If you think that I'd ever consent to entering into an alliance with the Americans after what they just tried to pull at L5, then you've lost your damn mind!"

"Their actions yesterday were regrettable," said Yuna, "but, as you said, they only tried to destroy the PLANTs; it's not like they succeeded."

It took every ounce of Cagalli's fortitude to refrain from strangling her cousin on the spot. "And you think that's reason enough to ignore their actions and side with them in this war? They only attempted mass murder and didn't actually pull it off, so we should just let that slide and ally with them? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Well, it's not like they didn't have a good reason for taking such drastic action," Yuna replied, "After all, the Coordinators did try to wipe out all life on Earth in the Break The World Incident. The Earth Alliance's response was simply self-defense."

If glares could kill, Cagalli's would've struck her cousin dead. "The Break The World Incident was the product of renegades and terrorists; ZAFT mobilized to stop the attack. I was there, in case you've forgotten. The Atlantic Federation responded to that by blaming an entire people for the actions of a few extremists and then attempted to commit genocide against them! There are many actions that they could've taken that could be construed as self-defense; a nuclear strike against 119 colonies is not one of them!"

It might've been a very early morning meeting, but Cagalli didn't need the time of day as an excuse to be pissed off. What she was hearing from her uncle and cousin was absolutely disgraceful, and it would've been considered beyond the pale by her late adoptive father's administration.

Is this how far we've fallen?, she thought, trying to fend off the shadowy claws of despair that threatened to grab her, Do our founding ideals mean so little now? Does basic human decency count for nothing with the new ruling elite?

Unato sighed. "Unfortunately, the true facts of the Break The World Incident matter little in the eyes of the global public. What they perceive may not line up with reality, but they believe it nonetheless."

Cagalli scowled. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Yuna shrugged. "It means that the Naturals who make up the overwhelming majority of this planet's population feel threatened at an existential level by the Coordinators. Their hearts are telling them that the denizens of L5 attempted to wipe them out, just like what nearly happened two years ago. They are afraid… and rather angry, too."

"And that anger is the wind that is propelling events now," said Unato firmly, "The Orb Union must now decide if it will bend with that wind and ensure its survival, or stand obstinate and be destroyed by the typhoon. Make no mistake, Chief Representative; those are the stakes confronting us."

Yuna nodded. "The world at large has sided with the Atlantic Federation in this matter. The Earth Alliance is now fully mobilized, and their guns aren't only pointed at the PLANTs. All of the lesser nations of the world are in their sights as well; if anyone decides to go against their will on this matter, their retribution will be swift. The Orb Union suffered enough from that retribution two years ago; it cannot survive another round."

Cagalli shook her head. "The Earth Alliance may be powerful, but they can't afford to pick a fight with both us and ZAFT, especially after the losses they just took up in orbit."

"The fact that the Pacific Fleet is on our doorstep would indicate that the Americans feel otherwise," Unato replied, "and they can call upon the navies of the Republic of East Asia and the Eurasian Federation to reinforce them at any time. Our military may have recovered from the last war, but their power will not be enough to repel what the Earth Alliance is prepared to throw at us."

It was tempting to point out that Terminal would back Orb if the Earth Alliance attacked, but Cagalli held her tongue. Her policy of not officially acknowledging her friends' presence in Orb had served the group well as they'd built up their operations, but right now Cagalli was dearly wishing that she could threaten the gathered nobles and ministers with the wrath of Heero and the others if they continued down this course.

Look at me, she thought ruefully, Considering using threats of armed force against members of my own government just to get them back into line. How did it come to this?

"Cagalli," said Yuna with faux-concern so obvious that a child could've picked up on it, "I truly regret the situation that we now find ourselves in, but our hands are tied. We all have a responsibility to put the Orb Union first; the survival of our people must trump all other concerns. If Orb refuses to openly support the Earth Alliance in this war, it will not matter if we maintain an official stance of neutrality; the entire world will take that as us implicitly siding with ZAFT. We would stand alone against the might of the entire world, and we would be crushed."

Unato nodded. "History will repeat itself if we remain obstinate. The destruction of Heliopolis and the invasion of our homeland two years ago inflicted deep scars upon our people, and they haven't fully healed. ZAFT may have attacked Heliopolis in the last war, but the Earth Alliance tried to invade our surviving colonies later on in the conflict, and they have the capacity to do so again. The devastation that they can rain down upon us both here and up in space is all too real. The noble ideals of the Orb Union mean nothing in the face of that kind of firepower."

"The Earth forces have clearly restored the nuclear stockpile they once possessed in the last war," Yuna added, "ZAFT might've been able to thwart their strike, but Orb lacks that kind of defense. We must assume that the Alliance would be willing to turn those weapons against us."

"If the Atlantic Federation nuked Orb, they would lose all credibility," Cagalli shot back, "Not even Eurasian Federation or the Republic of East Asia would stand for a nuclear attack on a neutral nation. That would be a step too far; the Alliance would break apart!"

"Maybe," said Unato dryly, "but we would still be dead. The political blowback the Americans might suffer would be little comfort to an island nation of charred corpses."

Cagalli clenched her first, resisting the urge to slam it into the table. As much as she despised her uncle and cousin right now, their points regarding what the Earth Alliance could do to Orb were all too valid. Still, to ally with them after what they had just attempted to do to the PLANTs went against everything Cagalli believed in. It would be a betrayal of everything she and her friends had fought for two years ago.

Ever since assuming power in the wake of the Bloody Valentine War, Cagalli's relationship with the Seirans and their political allies had often been on the adversarial side of the scale, but she had still made efforts to work with them for the good of the Orb Union. They might've had different political views, but she had still considered them to be fellow citizens of her country who ultimately wanted the best for the people they governed. They might not exactly be close friends of hers despite the ties of family, but they were still her colleagues within the government.

For the first time, Cagalli no longer held that sentiment. When she looked at both the Seirans and the rest of the gathered nobles and minister at the conference, she did not see colleagues in affairs of state. She did not see any allies or friends among them.

She only saw enemies.

Enemies that had completely outflanked her.

Enemies that were impossible for her to fight in the manner that she was accustomed to because they were citizens of the country that she was supposed to rule.

Enemies that had spat on the legacy of her adopted father and all those who had sacrificed so much in the last war for the sake of peace and cooperation between Coordinators and Naturals.

The ugly truth was now staring her right in the face. The Atlantic Federation's Pacific Fleet had not fired a single shot, but their invasion had already been launched. It was not an invasion conducted through force of arms, though; it was through political influence. They had declared war on her without her being the slightest bit aware of it, and their forces had advanced to the point that the highest levels of her government had been completely subverted. She ruled her country in name only.

Orb had already fallen. The legacy of her adopted father, the ideals that she had hoped to encourage and foster throughout her government, now lived on only within her and her friends in Terminal. Those who claimed to have her nation's best interests at heart had betrayed everything it was supposed to stand for, and had given the Earth's dominant geopolitical power the keys to the kingdom. The country had already surrendered; she was the only one who hadn't submitted to the invaders.

"Cagalli," said Yuna, "Are you feeling all right? You look… unwell."

Unwell?, she thought numbly, You and your father sold out our homeland and are about to side with those who would slaughter innocent people without a second thought. I'm not 'unwell'; I'm disgusted. I can't believe that you and I are even related; you're not even human anymore, you sack of shit!

"Perhaps we should recess for a little bit," said Unato, "It has been a rather long session, after all."

Yuna smiled. "Yes, I think that's a good idea. Shall we reconvene in a half an hour?"

Unato nodded. "I think that would be best."

Their conversation was brief, but it encapsulated all too clearly just how irrelevant Cagalli had become to the governing of her own country. The rest of the assembled nobles and ministers stood up and left, not even bothering to acknowledge her as they departed the room. Unato took his leave a moment later, leaving her alone in the room with Yuna.

As the door shut he walked around the table until he was right next to her. "You do look a little under the weather, Cagalli. If you want to leave early and get some rest, the others would understand. Father and I can handle things from here."

Cagalli glared at him. "You'd like that, wouldn't you? My leaving would make things even easier for you than they already have been."

"Forgive me if I've given you some cause for offense," said Yuna, "I truly do not know what you are talking about, Cagalli."

"Don't play dumb with me!" she snapped, "How long has it been since the Earth Alliance bought you and your father? What was the promised price, Yuna? Did you wait for the highest bid, or did you lowball it to curry additional favor with the Americans?"

Yuna's eyes widened. "Cagalli, surely you can't be serious? How could you ever accuse me of betraying our homeland?"

"Because that's exactly what you and your father have done, you son of a bitch!" she growled, "Ever since I returned to Orb, you've done nothing but move to push our country into the orbit of the Earth Alliance."

"That's hardly treason," Yuna replied, "It's simply good policy. The Orb Union has everything to lose by standing against the Atlantic Federation in this matter."

"We lose everything by allowing ourselves to become subservient to them!" Cagalli shot back, "You would have us become nothing more than a puppet state of the Earth Alliance. We would then become complicit in every one of their war crimes! The Orb Union that we both grew up in would cease to exist, and it would be replaced by a satellite entity that would be a willing participant in the policy of genocide pursued by its masters in America!"

"The Atlantic Federation is only at war with the Coordinators that live under the reign of the PLANT Supreme Council," said Yuna, "I'm sure that they would leave those living as citizens and refugees in the Orb Union alone."

"That is a load of bullshit and you know it!" snapped Cagalli, "The Atlantic Federation hasn't changed one damn bit since the last war; their attack on L5 yesterday proved that. They won't rest until every last Coordinator has been murdered, regardless of whether they reside at L5 or not!"

"You're too eager to assume the worst, Cagalli," Yuna replied, "I think the trauma you experienced in the last war is affecting your judgment. I can certainly understand; your father did perish in the Atlantic Federation's invasion of our country, so it's certainly natural that you would harbor ill will towards the Americans. If you take a step back and assess the situation dispassionately, though, I think you'll find that things aren't really so black and white. The Atlantic Federation has nothing to gain from targeting Coordinators that are outside of ZAFT's sphere of influence. If you wish to protect the ones that are living in the Orb Union, the moving into the Alliance's orbit is the best way to accomplish that. You'd save so many lives, including that of your Coordinator boyfriend."

Cagalli scowled. "What did I tell you about dragging Athrun into our politics, Yuna?"

Yuna held up his hands. "Oh, I'm sorry; I completely forgot! Then again, it's not hard to see why; after all, he's abandoned us, hasn't he?"

"No, he hasn't," said Cagalli firmly.

Yuna smirked. "Oh, really? So that wasn't him that our customs agents saw boarding a shuttle for L5 before this new conflict started? That must've been one very convincing doppelganger, then."

"Athrun's trying to bring this conflict to an end in the manner that he thinks is best," Cagalli shot back, "He may not be in Orb right now, but he's doing what he thinks is right for both this country and the rest of the world."

Yuna folded his arms. "I can see why you'd want to think that, Cagalli; it's only natural to want to assume the very best intentions of those that we love. However, the cold hard facts point to only one conclusion; he's betrayed us. He's returned to his own people, and is now an active participant in their war against the people of Earth. He is our enemy now, Cagalli."

Cagalli clenched her fist. "Get out. Now. You won't get another warning."

Yuna sighed. "Very well. I do hope that you'll at least consider what I've said, though."

"Go to hell," she growled.

He left the room, leaving her alone with her fury. She walked over to the nearest window and opened it up. The fresh morning air felt good on her face, but it did little to ease the rage and sorrow that gripped her heart.

She may have held the title of Chief Representative, but she no longer ruled the Orb Union. She had been overthrown in all but name, and the usurpers were taking her country down the very path that she and her adopted father before her had worked so hard to keep it from. The founding ideals of the nation meant nothing to Yuna and his father; all they cared about was power and their own survival.

Their desire to move Orb into the orbit of the Earth Alliance did make sense if looked at from a purely logical perspective. The Alliance was the dominant power on the planet, after all; there was no way the Orb Union could stand up to them in a head-on clash. Cagalli had no doubt that were the Atlantic Federation to attack her country her friends in Terminal would aid her, and they would put up one hell of a fight, but even they had their limits. Even with the Orb military backing them, at best all they could hope to do was inflict such devastating losses on the Alliance as to force a withdrawal, and even then the defending forces would take casualties of their own. The Earth Alliance would pull back, lick its wounds, and then return with greater numbers. Allying with the Atlantic Federation would spare her nation the horror of a second invasion.

However, there was simply no way that Cagalli could side with a power that had already proven to the world that it had genocidal intent in this war. To support them, even if it was indirectly through logistics, would make her nation a willing backer of a campaign of mass murder. No threat of force against her country could convince her to go along with that…

…and yet, she couldn't bear the thought of how her people would suffer again if the Earth Alliance attacked her homeland.

The choice before her was an impossible one. If she went along with the Seirans, she would be placing the Orb Union firmly into the camp of the Earth Alliance. Her country would, implicitly or otherwise, be endorsing a war that had been launched with the intent to exterminate all Coordinators in the Earth Sphere. However, if she defied them and kept the Orb Union neutral in this conflict, it would simply be an invitation for the Earth Alliance to invade and inflict yet another round of death and destruction upon her people. Siding with ZAFT and seeking reinforcements from them was out of the question; the Seirans would never agree to it, and at this point they had amassed enough influence and power within her government to completely block such a move.

No matter which way I turn, I don't have any good options, she thought miserably, I vowed to lead my people and carry on my father's legacy, but I've completely failed. I either defile my father's dream and the ideals that are the foundation of this country… or I condemn my people to slaughter.

What the hell am I supposed to do?

….

Duo smiled as he checked the diagnostic results on the main monitor. "Looks like everything's good to go. You itching for a fight, buddy?"

There was no answer from the Gundam Deathscythe Omega, of course, but Duo didn't need one. His mobile suit was primed for action; all it needed was a time and place to start, and the L2 native was sure that he'd find both of those soon enough. Powering down his machine for the time being, he stepped outside and closed the hatch before looking around the underground hangar.

"Well, well," he said with a smile, "What do we have here?"

His eyes had settled on the Gundam Heavyarms Arsenal and its pilot. Trowa was standing just at the foot of the mobile suit, and he wasn't alone; he appeared to be chatting with none other than the lovely red-headed Wraith pilot Adaline Bellerose.

I'll be damned, he thought, I haven't even made a move on my end, but it looks like the pieces are already in motion. Trowa, you sly dog; you're going for her, aren't you? Can't say I blame you. If I weren't married, I'd take a shot at her myself…

The pretty Coordinator seemed quite animated in their conversation, while Trowa was his usual no-nonsense self. Duo patiently watched and waited for the two of them to go their separate ways, which happened a few minutes later when Adaline headed off, giving the L3 native a wave and a smile as she left.

Duo grinned as he quickly moved in. "Yo, Trowa! You got something you want to share with me?"

"What are you talking about?" he replied.

Duo punched him on the shoulder. "Don't play dumb with me, pal! I saw you chatting it up with Adaline. You're a smooth operator, you know that? When did you start gunning for her?"

Trowa rolled his eyes. "I haven't. I was working on Heavyarms, and she wanted to discuss how best I could use it in cooperation with her and her teammates. Since we're all on the same side and will likely be engaging in battle together soon, I thought it was in our best interests to explore possible combat tactics that combine my unit's firepower with the stealth capabilities of the Wraiths."

Duo smirked. "Is that all? She looked pretty cheerful, much more than a discussion on battle tactics might call for. You sure you didn't make a move on her? Even a first step's still better than nothing. I doubt she'd pass up on an invitation if you sent one her way!"

Trowa folded his arms. "I have no intention of 'sending her an invitation', as you put it. She's a professional fighter, just like us; I've engaged her purely on a level of mutual respect for her combat capabilities and those of her machine. The same goes for Priscilla and Lan."

Duo raised an eyebrow. "So you've been chatting with all three of the Valkyrie's girls, eh? You're becoming a real player, aren't you?"

"That's not what I was implying, and you know it," said Trowa sternly, "Besides, Lan Zhao appears to be engaging in a dalliance with Quatre for the time being, and I have no intention of interfering with that one way or the other."

Duo shook his head. "All right, I get that, but that still leaves two more ace pilot babes for you to take a swing at, man! That's not even counting the support personnel; I've seen a few cuties on the maintenance staff, for starters. I bet one or two of them are single, and they probably wouldn't mind a little attention from you!"

"Any 'attention' they get from me will be strictly professional," Trowa replied, clearly not in the mood to argue.

Always one to push his luck, Duo kept on prodding. "Are you sure about that? I wouldn't mind putting in a word for you. As a married guy, the least I can do for my single compadres is play the part of the wingman."

"That won't be necessary," said Trowa.

"Oh, I think otherwise," said Duo with a grin, "You need all the help that you can get, buddy! How else are you supposed to break the ice with one of the girls around here with that attitude of yours?"

Trowa sighed, his frustration clearly growing. "You're the only one that's trying to get me to 'break the ice' with our new female allies. As I've told you before, I'm quite fine with interacting with them in order to further our common goals, but I have no intention of pursuing romantic connections. You should surrender now, Duo; your campaign's doomed to failure."

Duo smiled. "Come on, man; you think I'd really give up that easy? Besides, I'm a Gundam pilot just like you, which means I'm a sucker for a losing battle."

"Then you'd best brace yourself for your impending defeat," said Trowa as he turned around and headed for the exit, "Catch you later, Duo."

Duo laughed. "Defeat, my ass! You're going to thank me for this before you know it, buddy!"

There was no reply from his fellow Gundam pilot, but Duo hadn't been expecting one. Trowa wasn't the type who felt that he always had to get the last word in, but his stubbornness could sometimes be on par with that of Wufei. Still, if his friend thought Duo was about to throw in the towel, he had another thing coming.

Better watch yourself, Trowa, Duo thought with a smirk, Duo's Operation: Help A Bro Get Some is still in play, and will be until it succeeds!

….

"She's at it again," said Chad Bradford.

One of the Marines charged with security duty onboard the Atlantic Federation carrier John Paul Jones, he cut a rather imposing figure. His buzz-cut blond hair was the typical fashion for Atlantic Federation Marines even after boot camp, and his blue eyes could be quite sharp at times, but more often than not he was actually rather laid back, especially when there was no action pending.

"You mean the girl?" asked Paul Falkland, his black-haired squadmate and buddy since their training days.

Chad rolled his eyes. "Who else would I be talking about?"

The girl in question was none other than Stella Loussier. She was pretty hard to miss considering that she was the only girl on the carrier, and to Chad's knowledge she was in fact one of the few remaining girls in the entire Atlantic Federation military after the big reorganization following the last war. It was a move that had never made any sense to him; women were just as capable of playing roles in the military as men were in his eyes, so to eject them from the service was to cut the armed forces off from a large body of recruits. There was also the fact that the new policy had been somewhat demoralizing to the troops that remained in the military by sole virtue of being male. Having women in the ranks had made the last war a little more bearable since there was always the possibility of a good hookup or two to let off some steam. Now that was no longer an option, leaving grunts like him forced to wait until shore leave for the chance to get some action. A popular rumor going around was that some of the higher ranking officers tended to smuggle mistresses and prostitutes onto their ships or bases while bribing rank and file troops to keep them quiet, but such luxury was naturally off limits to grunts like Chad and Paul.

"She looks like she's in a good mood today," said Paul with a nod.

Chad couldn't argue with that. The cute blonde girl might've been in uniform, but that didn't seem to be stopping her from twirling around on the flight deck of the carrier. There was no music playing, but the girl seemed to have found a rhythm that no one else could hear, and she was dancing to her heart's content. It was certainly an odd sight, but one that Chad actually found some enjoyment in; there was an innocence to it all that helped take his mind away from the fact that the world was at war again.

It was hard to believe that such a sweet girl was not only a mobile suit pilot, but was assigned to pilot the stolen Gaia. Chad had to wonder what made her special enough that the military was willing to make an exception to their new policy and keep her within their ranks. Perhaps she was just that good of a pilot, but it was difficult to imagine her being some sort of super-ace from looking at her now.

"What's her story?" he muttered.

"Don't you mean 'who's screwing her?'" said Paul with a chuckle.

Chad glared at him. "Dude, not cool!"

Paul rolled his eyes. "Come on, man. A pretty face like that in a military that's all men now? If some Admiral or Colonel doesn't have her in his bed, I'll eat my boots."

"But she looks so young," said Chad, "and innocent. It… it doesn't feel right."

"And you think that would stop one of the higher ups from making her their mistress?" asked Paul, "Open your eyes, dude. Just because she doesn't look like a whore doesn't mean she isn't being used like one. You know the kind of people we work for, after all."

Chad sighed; Paul's words hit much closer to home than he would've liked. "I didn't sign up to work for people like that."

Paul nodded. "None of us did, but that's the shit we have to deal with now. It's either that, or we sit back and wait for the Coordinators to kill us all."

"Do you really believe that?" asked Chad, "I don't think it's that clear cut…"

Paul shrugged. "What you and I believe doesn't make much of a difference, buddy. The higher ups think this is Round Two of what happened last time around. They don't give two shits about what leathernecks like you and I think about this whole mess."

Chad looked up at the sky. "I wonder if they've got the same problems. The people on the other side, I mean."

"Well, at least ZAFT didn't institute a dudes-only policy," Paul replied, "They may be Coordinators, but at least they still get a chance to hook up. I bet they've got some real babes in their ranks. Hell, I could defect just for that."

"Careful!" Chad hissed as he looked around nervously, "Talk like that's a one way ticket to the firing squad these days. If you die then I've got no one left to talk to on this damn boat. I'll go nuts!"

Paul sighed. "Right. Sorry."

"Seriously, man," said Chad, "You know how paranoid the brass is these days, right? If we don't watch ourselves it won't be ZAFT that kills us!"

"If Wing Zero doesn't get us first," Paul quipped, "Now that the whole world's at war again, how much you want to bet that we get the pleasure of facing that beast in combat?"

Chad shuddered. Wing Zero was the stuff of nightmares not just for Earth Alliance soldiers in general, but especially for those who were onboard warships. After all, vessels like the John Paul Jones were nothing but giant targets for a machine like that, and unlike the ship's mobile suit pilots he couldn't even fight back if that thing decided to target the carrier.

"I'd really rather not think about that right now," said Chad, "We've got enough crap to worry about as it is."

Paul nodded. "Can't argue with that."

With nothing better to do with their time on guard duty, the two Marines continued to watch the dancing Stella. A few seagulls had landed on the flight deck next to her, and to Chad's surprise her dancing didn't seem to be scaring them off. Quite the opposite; the birds appeared to be gravitating towards her.

"That's weird," said Chad.

"She reminds me a bit of your little sister," said Paul, "Remember back when had shore leave and you invited me to your folks' place for dinner? She was out front when we pulled up to the place, and I swear there were like four or five birds sitting not a meter away from her."

Chad nodded while trying to suppress a wave of homesickness. "Come to think of it, you're right; she does remind me a bit of Cassie. Some girls just have a way with animals, I guess."

Paul smirked and shook his head. "Chicks can be pretty odd sometimes, eh?"

Chad couldn't help but chuckle. "You got that right."

A metal hatch a few meters away from them opened up and three officers in grey and black uniforms came out. They didn't even spare a glance at the two Marines as they headed straight for the girl.

"Her handlers," Chad muttered; he'd seen the three of them with her before, and the arrangement had rubbed him the wrong way for some strange reason.

"Hope they didn't see us eying the merchandise," Paul quipped dryly.

"Stella!" called the lead officer, "It's time to come inside now!"

"Aw, but why?" the girl replied, "I'm having fun out here!"

"The Colonel wants to speak to you," said the officer.

The girl's eyes widened. "The Colonel's here?"

The officer shook his head. "No, but he's on a video conference line waiting for you. He says it's important."

Stella smiled. "Okay! I'm coming."

"So it was a Colonel, not an Admiral," Paul muttered, "What did I tell you?"

"Shut up," hissed Chad.

The girl and her handlers walked by them as they headed back inside the ship. The three officers paid the two Marines no mind, but Stella smiled and waved at them before she disappeared inside the carrier. It was such a simple gesture, but it reminded Chad all too much of the little sister he had left back in the Atlantic Federation when he'd enlisted. He didn't know the exact details behind Stella's situation, but whatever they were he was sure he wouldn't want Cassie to be in her shoes right now.

I signed up to protect my family and my country, he thought, Most people enlist for the same reasons. It's as good a cause as any, so why…

Why does it feel like we're the bad guys in this war?

….

"Colonel!" cried Stella, beaming as she saw his face appear on the screen before her.

Colonel Nazara nodded and smiled. "Hello, my dear Stella. Tell me, how are you feeling?"

"Really good!" she replied, "It's so pretty down here, and the sea air smells so nice!"

"I'm glad to hear that," said the Colonel, "You'll be operating down on Earth for a while, and I was worried after you'd spent so much time in space you might feel uneasy there. I'm glad my fears were misplaced."

Stella nodded. "I'm from Earth, remember, Colonel? I'll always feel at home down here."

Nazara nodded. "Of course. Tell me, how is your training going?"

"Great!" she replied, "I feel like I've really improved. I'm ready to fight anytime you need me to!"

The Colonel smiled. "Excellent. Oh, I have some good news for you, Stella."

"What is it?" she asked.

"When I come down to Earth and we're reunited, I'll be bringing along some new friends for you," said Nazara, "They're pilots like you, and I want you to do your best to get along with them."

Stella smiled. "I will, Colonel. Promise!"

"Very good," said Nazara, "Also, have you been going to the doctors regularly like you were instructed?"

Stella nodded. "Every day, just like you told me to."

"Perfect," said Nazara, "You know that they'll tell me the moment you miss an appointment, so make sure that you keep going, all right?"

"Yes, sir," said Stella.

Nazara nodded. "That's a good girl. I'll be down to join you soon enough, so do keep up your good behavior. Until then, Stella."

"I'll see you soon, Colonel," Stella replied before he vanished from the screen.

She leaned back in her chair as the monitor went blank. That had been a lot for her to take in, and she was having trouble processing it all.

"Are you all right, Stella?" said her primary caretaker, a man she knew only as Simon.

She nodded as she stood up. "Yeah. I just… I need to use the restroom."

Simon nodded. "Of course. Once you're done, please join me in the hangar; we have another round of simulation training scheduled, and we need to keep up the progress you've been making."

Stella smiled. "Don't worry. I'll be there."

It didn't take her long to find the nearest bathroom. Once inside she went up to the mirror. The face looking back at her wasn't that smiling girl who had just spoken to her Colonel; it was of a very confused young woman.

Why did she feel so conflicted about what had just happened? The Colonel was the one person that she trusted above all others. He cared for her and kept her safe, both on and off the battlefield.

But if that was really the case…

…then how did one explain the bruises?

She pulled down the collar of her uniform, looking closely at the faint marks on her neck. There were similar discolorations on her wrists, shoulders, and her thighs, but for the life of her she did not know how she had gotten them. Whenever she tried to think about it, she could get nothing more than the briefest of flashes before her memory just blanked out. The gaps in her memory gnawed at her constantly, and although she could not understand why, a part of her mind kept telling her that the Colonel was responsible for the marks on her.

The lapses in her memory extended well past the bruises. She had been genuinely happy when the Colonel had told her that he would be bringing along some new friends for her when he rejoined her on Earth, but a tiny part of her brain had tried to tell her that she already had friends… or at least, she used to have them, but they were gone now. What had happened to them was a question her mind could not provide an answer for.

It got even worse when she thought about her daily visits to the carrier's chief medical officer. They were mandated by the Colonel, so naturally she made sure to never miss an appointment. The doctor was friendly enough, but after every meeting Stella always felt like a thick haze had fallen over her mind. The gaps in her memory seemed to get worse with each visit, and a small part of her mind kept trying to convince her that those appointments were the reason why.

Why do I feel this way?, she thought as she looked at her reflection, at a complete loss for words, The Colonel and the doctor are my friends. They care about me… right? They're the ones that look after me and keep me healthy so I can fight for them. They wouldn't do anything bad to me…

It was impossible to be certain of that, though. The quick flashes she sometimes had were never pleasant experiences, and the nightmares she had every time she went to sleep spoke of more horrors buried deep in her mind. In her waking hours she was mostly able to bury her doubts and carry on with her duties, but they were still lurking in the shadows just the same.

There was a knock on the bathroom door, followed by the voice of another one of her handlers. "Stella, are you still in there? It's time for training!"

"I…I know!" she stammered, "I'll be out in a minute, I promise!"

She sighed. She didn't have time to be worrying like this. The Colonel was counting on her to make herself stronger before he arrived, so that was what she had to do. If she couldn't become stronger, then she wouldn't be useful to him anymore. If she wasn't useful anymore, then… well, she didn't want to think about what might happen then.

….

"Damn it!" Lan growled as she slammed her fist against the simulator console, "How the hell did you see me coming, Quatre? I was invisible, for crying out loud!"

The face of her friend-with-benefits appeared on the monitor with an all-too cute and disarming smile. "Whenever you cloak, your most common attack vector is from either the rear or one of the flanks. I took a gamble based on your previous attack patterns and was able to intercept you this time. To be fair, though, you came pretty close to beating me. One wrong move on my end and I'd be the one cursing right now."

Lan couldn't help but laugh. "You really don't seem like the type to get that angry. Although it would be kind of funny to see you like that."

He looked down, and Lan was surprised to see what looked like shame in his expression. "I have gotten angry in the past, Lan… and a lot worse than swearing happened when I did."

Clearly she'd hit a raw nerve, and Lan was torn between wanting to pry deeper and trying to avoid making things worse. "Quatre, I…"

Quatre smiled and shook his head. "It's all right. Come on, let's grab something to drink. I don't know about you, but I could definitely use a break after that last round."

Lan nodded. "I'm with you there. Be right out."

She powered down the simulator and opened the hatch. As she got out she saw Quatre climbing out of the one right next to hers. The high-tech devices were yet another benefit of Terminal's connections within Morgenroete; they had access to some of the most advanced training equipment in the Earth Sphere.

Thank you, Erica Simmons, she thought, These things are pretty incredible. The programming's highly adaptable; I still can't believe they're able to recreate units like the Wraiths and Quatre's Gundam with such precision and detail.

It didn't take long for the two of them to get from the underground hangar to the mansion on the surface. From there they went to the kitchen, poured themselves some water, and went out onto the back deck. The crisp and cool breeze felt great on her face after the matches she'd gone through with Quatre.

"Beautiful day," said Quatre as he leaned against the railing, "It's almost enough to make you forget that the world's at war again."

"Yeah," said Lan softly, her mind still on their conversation from down in the hangar.

She must have been doing a poor job of hiding her uneasiness, because Quatre turned to her and smiled. "You're allowed to ask, you know."

Her eyes widened slightly. "What do you mean?"

Quatre shook his head. "You don't need to hold back, Lan. I know you've got questions after the way I acted after our match. We haven't known each other that long, but given all that we've done together in that short amount of time… well, let's just say I've gotten pretty comfortable around you lately."

Lan smiled, and she was surprised to feel the heat come rushing to her face; she was blushing like a schoolgirl. "It's really okay with you?"

Quatre nodded. "It is. Besides, after all you've told me about your past, it would be wrong for me not to return the favor."

"Well, when you put it that way," said Lan cautiously, "then… yeah, I've definitely got some questions. I just… well, I don't really know where to start."

"I might be able to help you with that," Quatre replied, "Tell me, what do you know about Wing Zero?"

Lan raised an eyebrow; she hadn't been expecting that mobile suit to factor into the conversation, but since Quatre was playing along with her she figured she might as well go with it. "Well, it's Heero's machine, ridiculously powerful, has a unique operating system that actually interfaces directly with the pilot's mind, and its design was the basis for the rest of the Gundams in your world. How's that for a summary?"

Quatre nodded. "Pretty good. I'm honestly a little surprised, actually; that's more than I thought Heero would reveal to you guys."

"We've gotten him to open up a little over the past two years," said Lan, "Although Murrue did most of the hard work for us."

Quatre smiled. "I can imagine that. She does seem to have a way with him."

"Yeah," Lan replied, "Anyway, what's Wing Zero got to do with you getting angry and bad things happening?"

He looked out at the sea, and Lan saw a dark look in his eyes. "Did you know that Heero wasn't Wing Zero's first pilot?"

Lan's eyes widened; that was news to her. "No… I didn't. So… who was?"

Quatre closed his eyes for a moment before responding. "It was me."

If Lan's jaw could've dropped any further it'd be on the floor. This was a bombshell if ever she'd heard one. Ever since Wing Zero had arrived in the Cosmic Era, the insanely powerful mobile suit had been inextricably linked with Heero Yuy. It was utterly impossible for most people to think of one without the other. Mobile suit pilots across the Earth Sphere would flip their shit if they found out that another pilot had wielded Wing Zero before the man who had killed Azrael and destroyed GENESIS had taken control of it.

And yet, there was something wrong with the way that Quatre was treating the subject. Any pilot that Lan could think of would've considered piloting Wing Zero to be a point of great pride, but Quatre almost seemed ashamed of it. Something was very wrong here, and Lan couldn't help but wonder if she was treading upon ground that she wasn't supposed to be on.

"Okay…" she said nervously, "How… how did that happen?"

Quatre sighed. "Do you remember what I told you about my father? That he and I didn't always see eye to eye?"

Lan nodded. "Yeah. What's he got to do with this?"

"He was murdered during the war," said Quatre, "In addition to being head of the Winner family and its associated businesses, he was also in charge of a combined resource colony that was part of our conglomeration. However, he was voted out of power due to disagreements with others who had worked to arm the colony and wanted it to manufacture weapons. The colony was handed over to OZ, and rather than see them build tools of war he detached the resource satellite from the rest of the habitat. The new rulers used the beam cannons recently installed on the colony to destroy the resource satellite… and murder my father."

"Shit," Lan hissed, "Quatre… I'm so sorry."

Quatre shook his head. "That's not the worst part. One of the scientists who had helped create the five Gundams we used in Operation Meteor was connected to my family, and much of his work was stored in the Winner archives. Consumed by grief and rage, I scoured the archives for the means to strike back. I told myself I was doing it to rid outer space of all weapons, but in reality, all I wanted was revenge. In the depths of sorrow and fury, I found the last thing someone in my mindset at the time should've found; the designs for Wing Zero. With my family's resources it was a relatively easy matter to construct the Gundam in secret. I thought I was just building a weapon that I could use to fight back against OZ and the colonies that had betrayed us. I knew nothing about the ZERO System… until it was far too late."

So he was the one that built it, thought Lan, struggling to process it all, Heero never said a word. Then again, it's not like we pressed him on it.

"What happened?" she asked cautiously.

Quatre sighed. "The short version? I went insane, Lan. In my mind, all of outer space had become my enemy. Every colony in the Earth Sphere was a potential target, and it didn't take me long to find one. The first habitat I destroyed was an OZ resource satellite… and the next one was an actual colony."

Lan couldn't help but gasp. It had taken an entire Earth Alliance strike force to penetrate ZAFT's defenses and carry out the Bloody Valentine massacre at the start of the last war. If Quatre was telling the truth, he had accomplished the same level of mass destruction singlehandedly. It was a testament to the true power of Wing Zero, along with the terrifying capabilities of its insidious operating system.

"The colony itself had actually been evacuated before I made my strike," Quatre continued, "The only ones left on it were OZ military personnel. Still, I didn't know that at the time of my attack… and even if I had, it wouldn't have stopped me. It took Heero and Trowa to bring me back to my senses… and I almost killed both of them in the process."

She reached out to take his hand. "I can't imagine what that must've been like. What you went through, and what the ZERO System did to your mind…"

Quatre shook his head. "I can't let the System serve as a means to dodge what I did. Wing Zero doesn't force a pilot down the path of evil; it simply amplifies the demons it finds within you. The sheer force of will required to control it was far beyond me at the time I piloted it. I should've realized why Instructor H and the others never went so far as to actually construct that Gundam; they knew that they had designed a weapon that could overpower its pilot and become the enemy of all mankind. The warning signs were right in front of me, but I let my anger and grief get the better of me. If it weren't for my friends… well, I wouldn't be here today, and countless innocent lives would be lost as well."

Lan smiled, doing her best to encourage him. "But you are here, Quatre. Heero and the others brought you back before it was too late. You survived your war and made it out here to my world. You've learned from your mistakes since then, and because of that I was lucky enough to meet you."

She was relieved to see him return her smile. "Yeah. In a way, it was a good thing that I got to experience the ZERO System first. Heero wound up going into a rampage a little while later, and I was the one to pull him back that time. I wouldn't have been able to accomplish that if I didn't know firsthand what that System was capable of. It was because of that experience that I was able to save Heero and give him the opportunity to eventually master the System. From there… well, the rest is history."

She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "History that I now have the privilege of being a part of."

She had the satisfaction of seeing him blush. "Yeah, looks like it. You know… you're taking this all pretty well."

"Yeah, well, I figure that I owe it to you to hear you out," Lan replied, "It's the least that I can do for you."

"So… it really doesn't bother you that I blew up an entire colony?" Quatre asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I'm not exactly thrilled about it," said Lan, "but I'd say that there were definitely some extenuating circumstances involved there. Besides, you said that it was evacuated, so it's not as though you committed your own Bloody Valentine."

"Perhaps," said Quatre, "but I still came pretty close to doing that."

She looped her arm through his. "You can't beat yourself up over that forever, Quatre. Yeah, you made a mistake, but your friends stopped you before you went too far. More importantly, you're self-aware enough to avoid making that mistake again. You learned your lesson, Quatre. That's enough for me."

Quatre nodded. "You're right about that. Actually, I was even able to successfully use the ZERO System later on in the war, and that experience helped me handle it."

Lan's eyes widened. "Really? I would've thought you'd steer clear of that System after what happened with you and Wing Zero."

Quatre chuckled. "Believe me, I wanted to, but Heero had other ideas."

"What do you mean?" asked Lan.

"Later on in the war," said Quatre, "The five of us united to fight against the colonial extremist group known as White Fang. They'd seized a massive battleship and a ton of Mobile Dolls, and we needed every possible edge we could get to take them on. Our Gundams certainly helped with that, but they weren't enough. The enemy had a modified version of the ZERO System that they were using to direct their Mobile Dolls in combat, and we needed a way to counteract that. I wanted Heero to act as our leader in combat since he could successfully use the ZERO System by then, but he refused."

Lan raised an eyebrow. "Why's that?"

"Because he had to focus on his own enemy," Quatre replied, "White Fang didn't just have Mobile Dolls guided by a modified ZERO System; they had their own Gundam which utilized it as well. In fact, your flight lead pilots an upgraded version of that machine."

Lan was stunned. "Wait, you mean these guys had the original Epyon?"

Quatre nodded. "Yes, and it was piloted by Zechs Merquise. Heero might talk about how the five of us are all equal when it comes to skill, but we know the truth; there's only one pilot in our world who's truly an even match for Heero, and it's Zechs. There was no way Heero could direct us in combat and fight against the Epyon at the same time, so that duty fell to me. I installed the ZERO System in Sandrock… and I was able to use it without going on a rampage."

Lan nodded. "Well, that's definitely a good thing. Still, after what you went through, I can't believe you were willing to risk using the System again."

Quatre sighed. "I'm with you there. We didn't really have a choice, to be honest. We were ridiculously outnumbered, and since Mobile Dolls don't have actual pilots they don't suffer from the weaknesses inherent in the human body. Individually they couldn't match us head to head, but with their numbers and the coordination provided by the modified ZERO System it would've been just a matter of time before they'd have worn us down. Through the ZERO System installed on Sandrock I was able to effectively coordinate our group, and we were able to fend off White Fang's attacks."

"Is that System still installed on your Gundam?" asked Lan.

Quatre shook his head. "No. I got rid of it after I knew I could effectively lead us into battle without its help. I'm glad I did; I hated having that thing hanging over me, and it's incredibly stressful to have to fight while using it. That's one of the reasons why I think Heero's the strongest out of all of us; every time he goes into battle, he's using the ZERO System. The mastery he's achieved over it was matched only by Zechs in our world… and it seems by your flight lead in this one."

Lan sighed. "You know, it wasn't easy for Shemei to get a handle on that thing. It was really touch-and-go there for a while. To be honest, I started to think that she wasn't going to be able to do it. Hell, I wanted her to stop training with it, and I know I wasn't the only one. I was afraid that it would destroy her."

Quatre nodded. "That's a fear that you were very much justified in having."

Lan smiled. "I'm just glad that I was wrong. She handled it fine in the battle up in orbit. I wish she didn't have to deal with it at all, but it seems she's gotten a good grip on it now."

"I hope it stays that way," said Quatre.

Lan nodded. "Me too."

She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to put her thoughts in order. "Quatre?"

"What is it?" he replied.

"Do… do you think we can do this?" she asked, "Win this war, I mean."

Quatre raised an eyebrow. "Where's this coming from?"

"You saw how far the Earth Alliance is willing to go yesterday," she said, "Their opening move for this war was to launch a nuclear strike on the PLANTs. They'll stop at nothing to wipe my people out. There's also ZAFT to worry about. I mean, they're not the aggressors in this fight, but Shemei and the others don't trust Durandal, and that's enough for me to be nervous. We might have to take on both sides. I know we pulled it off before, but it wasn't exactly a walk in the park."

Quatre nodded. "I can't blame you for having doubts. Honestly, I'd be questioning your sanity if you didn't have any. We're outnumbered pretty badly, and we know for sure that at least one side has completely thrown its moral compass out the window. The stakes for this fight are as high as the ones in the last war. We may have an advantage in pilot quality and technology, but the odds are definitely stacked against us."

Lan sighed. "I know. What's worse is that this will be just like the last war; winner takes all. The Earth Alliance will show no quarter for my people, and they'll extend that policy to any other enemies they have in the Earth Sphere. It won't just be Coordinators that suffer; everyone in Terminal will be hunted to the ends of the Earth, and the Americans won't stop until they've killed every last one of us."

"That's just one more incentive for us to fight with everything we've got," said Quatre firmly, "We have everything to lose, and we know it. Our enemies are ruthless, but they won't fight with the same level of determination as us."

"Determination's all well and good," said Lan, "but I'd rather have more resources in our corner. We're good, but we're not invincible."

Quatre smiled. "I know, but I think we've still got a shot at pulling this off. Our enemies may have us outnumbered, but their resources will be deployed on multiple fronts. The Earth Alliance and ZAFT will have the bulk of their forces fighting each other; they won't be focusing on us. That gives us greater freedom of movement and the chance to hit them from the flanks. Besides, we're not actually looking to win this war in the traditional sense, but find a way to stop the fighting before Coordinators or Naturals are massacred. There could be multiple paths to achieving our goal; force of arms is merely one of the tools at our disposal."

Lan nodded. "I get what you're saying, but still… if we fail, this is the end of the line for us, Quatre. We've got nowhere to run... unless you'd be willing to offer us asylum in your world."

"Of course I would," Quatre replied without hesitation, "If it comes down to it, I'll vouch for you and everyone else in Terminal. I don't think you'd find much opposition from my friends back home, and we're connected to some pretty powerful people in the Earth Sphere Unified Nation government too. Still, that kind of talk's a little premature. I, for one, think that we've still got a chance to pull this off, and if Heero's taught you anything about us Gundam pilots, it should be that we don't throw in the towel that easily."

Lan couldn't help but smile. There was a gentle confidence to Quatre that she found to be quite infectious. It was easy to see why Heero had wanted him to lead the other Gundam pilots during their war; he could be pretty charismatic when he put his mind to it.

"Well, I wasn't planning on giving up so early myself," she said, "Still, it's nice to know that we've got a place to run to if this all goes south. Hopefully Erica will have been able to come up with a way to get us all to your world by then should it come to that."

Quatre nodded. "I've already given her the data she would need for that. She did say that it would be a few months before anything concrete would be ready, though, so we've at least got to hold out until then."

"Right," said Lan, "Well, I think I'm about as ready for a fight as I'll ever be. You?"

"Well, I'm never exactly eager to hit the battlefield," said Quatre, "but I'm ready to engage. For us, it all comes down to when and where. Timing's crucial when you don't have overwhelming numbers on your side."

Lan nodded. "We learned that during the last war. I just hope we'll be able to make good use of those lessons this time around."

Quatre smiled. "Your group has some pretty smart leaders, Lan. I wouldn't be too worried about that."

Lan smiled and kissed him. "You know just what to say at just the right time, don't you? I like that."

She had the satisfaction of seeing him blush. "I wouldn't go that far. Half the time I feel like I'm just winging it."

"Well, you're good at it," said Lan, "You know how to put a girl at ease, and I for one appreciate that. I'm glad you found your way out here, Quatre. I know what's coming isn't going to be easy to handle, but I feel a hell of a lot better about our chances with you by my side. Thank you, Quatre."

"Anytime, Lan," he replied.

….

"Are you doing all right?" asked a familiar voice from behind him.

Athrun nearly jumped out of his boots before he turned towards Heine. "I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, it's just that you've been a little withdrawn since the fighting yesterday," Heine replied as he joined him by the viewport, "Then again, for all I know that's the way you always are after a battle. If that's the case, I can leave you be if you want."

Athrun shook his head. "It's all right."

The two of them were in one of the lounges that were set aside for the carrier Gondwana's many mobile suit pilots. With the way the ship was currently oriented Athrun had a decent view of the L5 colonies, and it was there that his attention had been focused for quite some time.

Heine wasn't wrong when he'd said that Athrun had been withdrawn following yesterday's engagement, but it wasn't actually due to the battle itself that Athrun had retreated inward. Rather, it was due to the speech that Durandal's 'Lacus Clyne', or as he knew her, Meer Campbell, had given shortly after the fighting had ceased.

The Supreme Council Chairman clearly taken a great deal of time and effort to train his puppet, and based on the performance she had given the other day Athrun could see why he had selected Meer Campbell for the role. Her speech had been quite effective, and if one didn't know the real Lacus Clyne as well as Athrun did it was one that was quite easy to imagine the genuine article giving. The word choice and tone of the speech had been carefully calibrated to suit both the situation and the audience, and Athrun had actually watched it several times since then to compare Meer's performance versus what he had seen from Lacus in the past.

Had the others in Terminal seen the broadcast? Had Lacus seen it? Given Terminal's intelligence connections within ZAFT, Athrun had a hard time believing that his friends would remain ignorant of the broadcast for long. How would they react when they saw the speech? Obviously they would instantly know that the Lacus in that address was a fake. Would they take steps to expose her, or let it slide for now?

For all of Athrun's initial misgivings when Durandal had revealed the existence of Meer Campbell as a fake Lacus Clyne to him, after watching the speech he was coming to appreciate more what exactly the Chairman had done. If the real Lacus had given more speeches like that to the public during the Bloody Valentine War, it was entirely possible that the people would not have been seduced by the path of hatred and violence that his father had led them down. If Durandal was using Meer as a means to keep the people calm and prevent them from embarking on another campaign of genocide, Athrun couldn't exactly call that a bad thing. Maybe it was a little underhanded, but if it preserved the peace within the PLANTs and served to keep the people's fear and anger in check, then it could very well be worth the deception.

"So," said Heine, snapping Athrun out of his thoughts, "I finally got my report sent off to the Chairman. I imagine with all he's got on his plate it might take him a little while to get to it, but since I'm a member of FAITH it should get moved close to the top of the pile."

"Should I be worried?" asked Athrun.

Heine shook his head. "Honestly, it was pretty hard for me to find anything to complain about. Your performance in the battle yesterday was superb. The final judgment call is naturally still the Chairman's to make, but based on everything I saw yesterday I'm pretty sure he's going to want to bring you into our organization."

Athrun raised an eyebrow. "Really? What happens then?"

Heine shrugged. "Hard to say. It all depends on where he thinks you'll be able to do the most good. If I had to place a bet, he'll probably send you down to the surface. ZAFT's already mobilizing to shift a good deal of resources down there, so there's no reason why he wouldn't include a pilot of your skill in Operation: Spear Of Twilight."

"Spear Of Twilight?" Athrun echoed, "I'm not sure that I've heard that term before."

"No surprise there," Heine replied, "It just came down the pipeline a little while ago. Long story short, it's the Defense Council's plan to beef up our surface forces. They're sending down ships and mobile suits to reinforce Gibraltar and Carpentaria before the enemy's able to completely cut them off. The battle yesterday actually helped things out a great deal on that end; since the Earth Alliance is consolidating its remaining orbital forces after taking such heavy losses, they're not deploying fleet groups to intercept the reinforcements before they move into position for their descent to the surface."

Athrun nodded. "I see. So if I'm likely to be included with the reinforcements heading down to Earth, would it be safe to say that the same applies to you?"

"Sooner or later, yeah," said Heine, "I haven't received official orders from the Chairman yet, but I imagine it's just a matter of time at this point."

"Is it always like this?" Athrun asked, "You do a job and then just sit around and wait for the next assignment from the Chairman?"

Heine nodded. "More or less. It's not all that different from the regular forces, really."

"The regular forces usually run through drills in the time periods between major operations," said Athrun replied, "They have Captains and Commanders to organize those; the higher ups don't need to micromanage them there. FAITH reports directly to the Chairman, though, so it lacks that same structure. I highly doubt that the Chairman takes the time to personally issue you orders for training exercises."

Heine chuckled. "Yes, he's a little too busy running a nation to handle small items such as that. FAITH pilots are expected to keep their skills sharp, but how we do that is up to each individual member of the organization. There's plenty of incentive for one to maintain a training regimen; those whose skills are found to be lacking can be removed from the organization. The Chairman and the Supreme Council appoint us; they can force us out at anytime and for any reason that they see fit."

"I see," said Athrun, "Are there performance evaluations?"

"Not in the traditional sense of the term," said Heine, "Rather, the after action reports for our missions serve as our evaluations. Since every battle is unique it's naturally impractical to develop a one-size-fits all set of standards to judge FAITH members by, but there are still certain factors that the Chairman and the Supreme Council take into account when deciding whether or not to eject a soldier from our ranks."

"What would those be?" asked Athrun.

"The ability to follow orders and complete the mission at hand are the most obvious ones," said Heine, "Beyond that it can get more complicated. FAITH members are expected to display a great deal of initiative in combat; the Chairman wants us to be more flexible and proactive than the rank and file forces. We're given a great deal of latitude in the field, and a pilot's inability to properly exercise that increased flexibility and authority can be taken as a sign of them being overly rigid, better suited to operating with the regular forces rather than our group. Kill counts are taken into consideration, although they're actually a relatively small factor. What FAITH is really meant to provide is a group of soldiers who can exercise their greater authority and freedom in a manner that proves decisive in both individual battles and larger campaigns. Naturally, there's a great deal of variability in what fits that criteria."

Athrun's eyes narrowed. "It sounds pretty subjective. Doesn't that pave the way for the Chairman to pick and choose favorites regardless of ability?"

"It's not a perfect system by any means," Heine admitted, "but it's in the Chairman's interest to be as objective as possible in order to ensure that he has the most efficient fighting force at his disposal."

Athrun folded his arms. "Just the Chairman's? I thought the Supreme Council had an interest in our performance as well."

Heine sighed. "Poor word choice on my part. Although… if we are being honest here, the office of the Chairman tends to play a larger role in FAITH's day-to-day matters than the Supreme Council. The Council does have a great deal of power when it comes to our affairs in theory, but in practice they don't exercise it as much as the Chairman does."

"Is that intentional or coincidence?" asked Athrun.

"I can understand your misgivings," said Heine, "Especially with regards to your experience with our predecessors. Your father wielded the Special Operations Squadrons as a Praetorian Guard, and I can tell that you're concerned about Chairman Durandal utilizing FAITH in a similar manner."

"The thought had crossed my mind," Athrun quipped dryly, "I'd rather avoid any reruns of my father's administration."

"A sentiment shared by the Chairman and those of us who belong to FAITH, I can assure you of that," Heine replied with a smile, "The power that the Supreme Council holds over our organization is quite real; they need only choose to exercise it."

It wasn't the best reassurance that Athrun could ask for, but at this point he supposed it was the best he could get. He supposed he was being a little paranoid in any case; from all the indicators he'd seen so far, Chairman Durandal seemed to be ruling the PLANTs in a much calmer and more even-handed manner than Patrick Zala had. If nothing else, the Chairman and his public surrogates had avoided the same vitriolic bile that the late head of the radical faction had espoused, and that was definitely a step in the right direction.

Athrun nodded. "Well, as long as the system that's set up avoids repeating the mistakes of my father, I suppose I can't ask for more than that."

"All I ask of you is that you give both FAITH and the Chairman a chance to prove our sincere desire for reform and ethical conduct in this war," said Heine as he put a hand on Athrun's shoulder, "If anything, I'm glad to hear you voicing such concerns, and am even more hopeful that the Chairman will induct you into our organization because of them."

Athrun raised an eyebrow. "Wait, I'm confused. You want me to be brought into FAITH because I'm worried about it being misused?"

Heine nodded enthusiastically. "Oh, quite so! You have an absolute treasure trove of experience with how groups like ours can be put to dark purpose thank to the events of the last war. I think that having you as a FAITH member could serve as a useful check and balance for our organization. You have the clarity of mind and the knowledge to see if we are following in the footsteps of our predecessors, and I know that you would have the courage to voice your opinions and make us stop to reconsider our course of action. I believe that you could provide a means to help us stay true to our founding vision; to serve the Chairman and the Supreme Council as an elite force with the power to not only make a difference on the battlefield but also help keep ZAFT and the PLANTs on the right path."

Athrun was surprised by Heine's sincerity. Before meeting the young man, Athrun might've assumed that the ZAFT Red would take a position of absolute loyalty to the Chairman due to being brought into the FAITH organization. The devotion was there as far as he could tell, but Heine also seemed to have a genuine interest in taking steps to make sure that FAITH could be held accountable and kept on the right path regardless of the Chairman's desires.

If I'm brought into FAITH, he thought, that could be my ticket for making the biggest difference in this war, both on and off the battlefield. It'll give me greater flexibility and authority, which means I can maximize my impact during combat while at the same time working within ZAFT to make sure it doesn't start turning in the direction my father took it in the last war.

In the end, he nodded and smiled. "Well, if that's how you really feel, then I hope the Chairman does see fit to bring me into your group. It'll be an honor to join such an elite organization, and a privilege to help it maintain an ethical standard of conduct in this war."

Heine held out his hand. "Well said. I'm looking forward to working with you in the future, Athrun."

Athrun shook his hand. "Likewise, Heine."

….

"Heero!" said Lacus with a smile as her friend entered the room, "Thank you so much for agreeing to meet me here like this! I hope I didn't take you away from anything important."

"It's all right," Heero replied as he joined her at the table next to the window, "I was just going over some the intelligence we got on yesterday's battle with Murrue. There's a lot of material to go over there, and we were planning on taking a break anyway."

Lacus nodded. "I see. If you wish to take a moment to rest your mind, I'd be more than happy to reschedule this."

Heero shook his head. "No, it's fine. You said this was important to you, and I don't like to keep my friends waiting."

"I appreciate that," said Lacus before nodding at the cups and pot before her, "I made some tea in preparation for this. Would you like some?"

"Thank you," said Heero, "Yes, please."

As she poured the tea she saw Heero look out the window. "Where's Kira at?"

"He's over at the Archangel's secret dock working on the Freedom," said Lacus, "That's why I wanted to meet with you now; I wanted this to remain between the two of us."

"Is something wrong?" asked Heero, "Did you two have an argument?"

Lacus smiled and shook her head. "Oh, no, it's nothing like that at all! I just didn't want to worry him. You know how he can be sometimes."

Heero chuckled. "Indeed. He's a brilliant pilot and a good friend, but… well, he can still get overly emotional from time to time. His heart's in the right place, though."

"I agree," said Lacus, "I'm glad the two of you have remained close since the last war. I know that Kira values your friendship quite highly, and sees you as a role model. He really looks up to you, Heero."

Heero sighed. "That's good to hear, but he can do better for role models than me. I'd rather he avoid making the mistakes that I did."

Lacus reached across the table and laid her hand over his. "I know that your past is dark, but I have also known you long enough to see you strive for atonement and redemption. Your actions both in the last war and since then are proof enough for me that you are on the right path. I'm sure that Murrue thinks the same."

Heero gave her a small smile. "She does, and she's made that quite clear over the past two years. You didn't ask to meet me to discuss the path I'm currently on though, did you?"

Lacus took a sip of her tea. "No, I'm afraid I did not. I have some concerns regarding yesterday's battle that I wanted to discuss with you."

"The battle itself," said Heero, his eyes narrowing, "or what happened afterwards?"

Lacus closed her eyes, taking a moment to gather her thoughts. She should've known that Heero would cut right to the heart of the matter; his powers of insight were nearly as formidable as his piloting abilities.

"The aftermath, to be precise," she said, opening her eyes and meeting his gaze, "I trust you, Mister Waltfeld, Mister Bristow and the others to handle analysis of the engagement itself and draw the appropriate conclusions, but my focus lies on the actions of the current PLANT administration after the fighting ended."

Heero nodded. "That speech the imposter gave to calm the populace… I wouldn't exactly call it vintage you, but it was well crafted and expertly delivered. Durandal put a great deal of work into your doppelganger."

"You're that confident that his hand is directly at work here?" asked Lacus, her eyes narrowing.

"Yes," Heero replied, "This isn't some mid-level administrator's doing. Your image and reputation hold incredible power, and they're not to be used lightly. At the same time, there're also the resources given to that broadcast to consider; that address was heard throughout L5. It takes serious backing to arrange something like that. The question's not whether Durandal was behind this; it's how long has this been in the making, and why did he only choose now to play this card."

Lacus sighed. "To be honest, I'm torn regarding this matter. On the one hand, her speech yesterday was clearly meant to reassure the people of the PLANTs and keep them from giving into their fear and anger. That's a laudable goal, especially if it keeps them from embracing the same demons that brought us to the brink of annihilation in the last war. If that were all there was to this, then I would be tempted to let this slide. After all, it's not as though I've maintained a public profile over the past two years, and if this girl and whoever's backing her are able to keep the peace in L5 then it may very well justify the slight-of-hand. However…"

"We have to wonder what else Durandal and his administration intend to use her for," Heero finished for her, "Does that sound about right?"

Lacus nodded. "Yes."

Heero took a sip of his tea before speaking again. "A calming and charismatic voice can be used to advance multiple agendas. I don't believe that Durandal intends to limit ZAFT's role in this war to a simple defensive campaign. He has a broader vision, and he would need popular support in order to bring it to fruition. If the people believed that Lacus Clyne was backing him, then that could act as a means to assuage whatever doubts they might have. The imposter would be incredibly valuable as a propaganda tool…that is, so long as the deception was maintained."

His eyes met hers, and Lacus was struck by the darkness in his gaze. "The question then becomes this; how far will Durandal go to keep up the masquerade?"

Lacus shuddered at the very clear implication. "Do you think he'd really…?"

"I think we need to talk to Eric about increasing our security here," said Heero grimly, "This doppelganger act might currently be keeping the peace in the PLANTs, but from where I'm sitting it's also painted a giant target on your back. If the imposter is exposed, she loses all her power. It's impossible to say for sure what lengths Durandal will go to in order to keep her secret safe, and I don't want to take any chances here."

"I pray it doesn't come to that," said Lacus, "but I can certainly appreciate your desire to take precautions. Thank you, Heero."

Heero shook his head. "You don't have to thank me. What kind of friend would I be if I didn't do all I could to keep you safe?"

Lacus smiled. "Still, you have my gratitude all the same. Kira's as well, I imagine."

There was a moment of silence as the two of them drank their tea and Lacus tried to process everything Heero had told her. This wasn't the first time she might potentially have someone gunning for her; the Zala regime had certainly tried its best to kill her in the last war. Oddly enough, it wasn't her safety that she feared for, but that of her friends; her companions were a fiercely loyal group, and Lacus knew that they would have no qualms about risking their lives to keep her safe.

I understand the part I play here, she thought, I am the heart of this group's ideology. My beliefs and desire for peace and friendship between Coordinators and Naturals are what we fight for, and I act as the spokesperson for our faction in addition to being one of its financiers. I am the one that articulates our goals and philosophy while the others fight for them. I've accepted my role here, but still… it's times like this that I wish I actually could fight like Kira and the others. They risk their lives for our ideals on the battlefield, but the best I can do is ride along in our warships and act as an inspiration to the others. I wish I could do more…

"Heero," she said, "What do you think of the girl they've chosen to play my part?"

Heero raised his eyebrow. "The imposter? It's hard to form an honest impression since I haven't met her myself. She's good at public speaking, but we can't say for sure if those are remarks she prepared herself or if others wrote them for her. Cosmetically, she's a near splitting image of you, but I doubt that was the case before she assumed this role."

Lacus nodded. "I see. Do you think there's any way that we can help her?"

"I'm not sure that I follow you there," Heero replied, "Durandal's using her to further his agenda, and this very act of deception potentially puts your life in danger since you could undo the whole act should you decide to intervene. She may not be hostile to us on a personal level, but in her current capacity I wouldn't exactly call her an ally either."

Lacus sighed. "Heero… do you remember my position in the last war? Before we defected and formed the Three Ships Alliance, I mean."

Heero nodded. "When you were still in the PLANTs, you were engaged to Athrun at the behest of your father and his. It wasn't a love match, but a public relations stunt; it was designed to facilitate the people's happiness at the expense of yours."

"Yes," said Lacus, "and in that respect, can you really look at my double and say she's all that different from me?"

Heero shook his head. "We don't know enough about her, Lacus. I agree that her current role is similar to your old one in that it's meant for public consumption, but that's where the similarities end. For all we know, she could've volunteered for this and is quite happy with the part she's playing."

"I'm aware of that possibility," said Lacus, "but whatever enthusiasm she may have had when she entered this role will be difficult for her to maintain."

Heero's eyes narrowed. "Why do you say that?"

"To be in the spotlight, to take the center of such a grand stage, may seem like every girl's dream," said Lacus somberly, "Even I couldn't entirely deny that allure in my days in the PLANTs. However, all too soon I realized that there's a real isolation when it comes to being the star of a performance. Thanks to my father and friends like Athrun I was able to avoid the worst of it, but for her… if she truly is just a tool for Durandal, then I imagine he will do all he can to keep her under his control. That will mean cutting off potential sources of outside influence. She'll have people around her, but they will only see her for the role that her master wants her to play. She won't have anyone that will help her remember her true self. She won't have friends, Heero; only people who will want to use her."

Heero nodded. "I hadn't considered that. In that light, I can definitely understand why you might relate to her. However, we have to be realistic, Lacus. Eric Bristow has built an extensive and invaluable intelligence network within L5, but even they were unaware of the imposter's existence until her public debut. That means that we have no one within her immediate circle of handlers who can reach out to her. We could always make an attempt to plant someone inside her retinue, but that would carry great risk for the informant assigned to that task. We need every possible intelligence source inside the PLANTs to monitor military and political developments, and while the imposter may have a real impact on the atmosphere within L5 it's still difficult to justify the risk to one of our assets in trying to get someone close to her. We lack the manpower of the Earth Alliance and ZAFT; we have to carefully prioritize the allocation of our available personnel."

Lacus sighed. "I understand that, Heero, but still… whoever she may be, I have no doubt that she's in over her head. She needs outside help, whether she realizes it or not. I can't write her off in good conscience just because she's working to advance Durandal's agenda. I want to help her, Heero."

"And what if it's a trap?" Heero replied pointedly, "What if Durandal revealed your doppelganger now because he's hoping you'll expose yourself? I can understand you sympathizing with her position, but that's not enough for you to put yourself or any of our personnel at risk."

"But removing her from Durandal's grasp could serve to undermine him," Lacus shot back, "We could help her and our larger goals at the same time!"

"Yes," said Heero, "but we still don't exactly know what kind of agenda we'd be acting to undermine. Besides, extracting her from the PLANTs while ZAFT's Home Fleet is on wartime alert is a tall order. More to the point, it's not a play that I have the authority to make. You'd have to take that up with Andrew and Eric, and I don't think they'd go for it at this stage of the campaign."

Lacus nodded reluctantly. "I understand. Still… if the chance presents itself, I believe we should make an effort to reach out to her."

"We'll see how things play out," Heero replied, "It's still early, Lacus. We've got a long way to go until this is all said and done."

"That's entirely too true, I fear," said Lacus grimly, "It's hard to say how this will all end. I only pray that we're able to pull humanity back from the brink again."

"I'm with you there," said Heero as he finished his tea, "Was there anything else that you wanted to talk about?"

Lacus shook her head and smiled. "Not at this time. Thank you, Heero. Even if we might disagree on some points, I always value your insights."

"Likewise," said Heero as he stood up, "You have a gentle heart, Lacus, and I'm not opposed on principle to helping your doppelganger if possible. I'm just trying to be realistic about where things stand."

"I know," said Lacus, "For now, we must focus on our efforts closer to home. Still, sometime in the future I would like the chance to meet the girl who is impersonating me. I imagine we would have much to talk about."

Heero nodded. "I'm sure you would. I'll see you around, Lacus."

Lacus smiled. "Try not to work too hard, Heero. You won't do yourself or Murrue any favors if you become exhausted."

Heero chuckled. "Yes, and she's said as much to me already. I'll try to pace myself appropriately."

He left the room as Lacus continued to drink her tea. Their conversation had given her a great deal to think about, not the least of which was the role she would play going forward in this conflict. She would have to discuss the matter of the imposter at L5 with some of the others, especially Terminal's senior leadership like Heero had suggested. There was a great deal of uncertainty in her mind, but one thing had already become crystal clear; the time was rapidly approaching where she would no longer be able to sit on the sidelines in this war. One way or another, she would soon be wading into the fray.

The question, she thought, is how?

….

Sitting down behind the desk in his private office, Unato sighed as he poured two glasses of whisky. "She's as obstinate and stubborn as her father."

On the other side of the desk, Yuna smiled. "Oh? I think we made real progress today with her, father."

Unato raised an eyebrow while sliding one glass over to his son. "Were you and I attending the same meetings? She's still refusing to put her weight behind a pact with the Atlantic Federation."

"Oh, I was indeed there with you, father," Yuna replied as he partook in the alcohol, "but I think I saw something you didn't."

"And what would that be?" asked Unato before taking a sip.

Yuna leaned forward, his smile morphing into a triumphant smirk. "She's broken, father. She refuses to come out in favor of a partnership with the Americans, but the fire behind her opposition has gone out. I saw it in her eyes today; she knows that her power is gone."

Unato shook his head. "Her government may be more or less under our control now, but she still has formal power. Therefore, she remains an obstacle, however much reduced in strength she might be."

"She'll cave," said Yuna confidently, "She cares too much for her people to allow them to suffer through another Earth Alliance invasion. It's only a matter of time now, father. In fact, I daresay we could start making arrangements for marriage between her and I tomorrow with the way things are going."

Unato chuckled. "Is that so? Well, I certainly wouldn't be opposed to putting that into motion. After all, binding the two of you by marriage will make it even easier to control her. Besides, the people do love a public spectacle, and the pageantry of a state wedding will certainly fit the bill."

Yuna grinned. "My thoughts exactly. It will be the perfect way to cement our hold over the country and will win us the hearts and minds of the people. They can't accuse us of seizing power if she agrees to marry me, and she'll still hold her official title of Chief Representative so the opposition will have little ground to make a stand on."

Unato's eyes narrowed. "The official opposition may be brought to heel, but the unofficial opposition will still need to be dealt with."

Yuna scoffed. "You mean those friends of Cagalli playing paramilitary? They're a bunch of brutes who know nothing of the intricate subtleties of politics. More to the point, they haven't interfered in the affairs of the Orb government at all, even though their staunchest ally has been all but overthrown. If they were going to move against us they should've done so a long time ago. Besides, if they act now we can simply paint them as armed thugs being utilized by Cagalli to maintain her grip on power through brutal force. The public would see it as a self-coup by Cagalli, and they would turn against her in a heartbeat."

"You take them too lightly," Unato replied, "They are a threat, my son. We must contend with them one way or another."

Yuna shrugged. "How are we supposed to do that when we don't know where their base of operations is? They pretty much dropped off the map after the war, and all our efforts to find them since then have come up empty. I say we wait until we officially join forces with the Earth Alliance. Once that's done we can simply invite the Americans in to comb the islands until they find Cagalli's thugs and crush them. It would save us a lot of trouble."

Unato sighed. "It's not that simple. Our partners in the Atlantic Federation have been rather insistent with me that we step up our efforts to locate the members of the Three Ships Alliance that reside in Orb. They won't take too kindly to us sitting idly and waiting for them to do the work for us."

Yuna smirked. "What are they going to do? Withdraw support? They can't afford to do that now; they need us as much as we need them if the Orb Union is to move into their camp. Let Djibril posture and make his threats; I think we can endure some scolding while we make the final arrangements to secure our grip on power."

Unato shook his head. "You may be cavalier on this matter, but I will step up our efforts to root out the Three Ships Alliance just the same. If we don't at least put in a good faith effort to find them it won't go over well with LOGOS."

"You're the head of the family," said Yuna nonchalantly, "Do as you see fit, father."

Indeed, I shall, thought Unato as he took a sip of his whisky, Someone has to treat this matter with the gravity that it deserves…

"By the way," said Yuna, "I took another look at the plans for the Takemikazuchi. I must say that I'm looking forward to bringing her onto the battlefield. It will be fun to see the looks on the Coordinators' faces when Orb's mightiest carrier deploys against them."

Unato groaned. "You're still planning on heading out with the fleet when we declare war on ZAFT?"

Yuna grinned. "Of course, father. You know how gifted I am with strategy, after all. It's only natural that I should take command when we launch our campaign."

"You play strategy games," said Unato pointedly, "Actual war is best left to the professionals, my son. It's what the taxpayers fund them for, after all."

Yuna shook his head. "They're not just games, father. I'll have you know that they're simulations with an impeccable attention to detail. They're quite realistic, and involve units that are employed in armies across the Earth Sphere, including the Orb Union."

"I don't care how detailed they might be," Unato shot back, "I'm no soldier, but I'm old enough to have witnessed my share of wars. Computer models will only take you so far, Yuna."

"Which is why I intend to surround myself with the best officers in Orb's military," Yuna replied, "After all, I want nothing less than the most qualified people giving me input before I give my orders."

Unato's eyes narrowed. "And how can you be sure that those officers will be loyal to you? Cagalli was a fool in the last war for being willing to risk her life on the front lines, but it did serve to inspire our nation's soldiers. Their level of respect for her is quite high; it's why we've had so much trouble extending our influence over the military when compared to the other institutions in our government."

"I think you're overestimating Cagalli's impact on them," said Yuna, "Our soldiers took oaths of loyalty to their country, not to her. If they resist us because of some misguided affection for Cagalli, then they'll be committing treason. They won't risk the firing the squad for her sake; they'll follow whatever commands we give them."

Unato sighed. "I hope you're right. I won't stop you if you still desire this path, even if I still believe it to be a needless risk. You may not be a mobile suit pilot, but having you on the bridge of our flagship when it sails forth to commence its campaign may serve as a useful symbol for the military. It may well convince them that we're willing to share their risks, and it could serve to bind them to us rather than Cagalli."

Yuna smiled as he raised his glass. "I shall be more than a symbol, father. Under my orders, our military will do its part to drive the Coordinators from the surface of our world. Through our alliance with the Atlantic Federation, we can complete what was started at Junius Seven and Elysium."

"Mind yourself," Unato cautioned, "I've gone to great lengths to keep our involvement in what happened at Elysium a secret. If that comes out, then we are finished."

"My lips are sealed, father," Yuna replied.

Unato nodded. "Good. We've come too far to turn back now, or to be undone by our past deeds. Soon the Orb Union will be ours in both fact and name. We shall join with the Earth Alliance, mobilize our forces, and declare war on ZAFT."

"Speaking of ZAFT," said Yuna, "There is the small matter of that battleship of theirs that is still resting at our dock. It's a mighty fine piece of military hardware; it'd be a shame to just let the Coordinators keep it."

"Agreed," said Unato, "but it is not ours for the taking. I've already decided that we'll be presenting it to the Earth Alliance as a good faith gesture of Orb's commitment to our new pact with them."

Yuna nodded. "Sounds reasonable enough. What about the crew, though? Cagalli seems to hold them in high regard, mistaken though she may be."

"We'll take them into custody as prisoners of war," said Unato, "and arrange to have them sent to the Americans for interrogation."

Yuna smirked. "Interrogation or execution?"

"Both, knowing the Atlantic Federation's past conduct with Coordinator prisoners," Unato replied, "Regardless, it'll be another token of good will that should help us secure our standing with the Earth Alliance. We'll make the necessary moves tomorrow."

"I'm looking forward to it," said Yuna.

….

"You wanted to see us?" asked Heero as he and Murrue entered the data analysis room.

Over at one of the consoles, Eric Bristow looked over his should and nodded. "I really only needed you, Heero, but I figured you'd tell Murrue about this right after we we're done, so I figured we'd save her the delay."

Next to him, Shemei smiled. "She has just as much a right to know about this as you, Heero. After all, she's got a stake in this, too."

"What's going on?" asked Murrue nervously.

Heero's eyes narrowed as they joined Eric and Shemei by the console. "I don't like where this is going."

"Nor should you," said Eric as he turned back to the monitor, "Shemei and I were looking over some flight data sent over from one of my contacts within ZAFT's Home Fleet. It's from yesterday's battle."

Murrue sighed. "Because we haven't seen enough footage of that fight for one day?"

Shemei nodded. "I'm with you there; I thought we'd seen all we really needed to as far as that battle's concerned. That was before this was sent over, however."

Heero and Murrue leaned forward as the combat footage began to play. Based on the data stamp in the bottom right corner, it had been taken directly from a ZAFT mobile suit flight recorder. The unit was right in the thick of the action, and based on the accuracy of its beam rifle shots the pilot seemed to have a decent level of skill.

"What are we looking for here?" asked Heero.

"Give it a minute," Eric replied, "Trust me, it's coming."

Continuing to observe the fight from the ZAFT pilot's perspective, Heero saw an Earth Alliance Juggernaut assault mobile armor moving up the field. Two ZAFT machines rushed towards it, and while Heero recognized one of them as a Gunner ZAKU, the other appeared to be a new model.

That was where Eric decided to freeze the footage. "There we are. Check this out."

He zoomed in on the two machines, and Heero's eyes widened as he saw their color schemes.

It can't be…

I killed them…

…didn't I?

His mind flashed back to the final battle of the previous war, and the fierce two-on-one match he had waged with a pair of mercenary hellhounds in the shadow of GENESIS. All too soon, the footage had zeroed in on an emblem painted on the lead machine, and Heero recognized it instantly.

The crimson hound biting its chain.

"Oh, my god…" said Murrue softly.

"So," said Heero grimly, "Galm Team lives."

"Yes," said Eric, "I was really hoping that wasn't the case, but that emblem combined with the skill they show in the rest of the video… it's them, Heero."

Shemei sighed. "I know we'd never confirmed that they were dead, but after that fight at Jachin Due I was really hoping that they'd bitten the dust."

Murrue nodded. "I know what you mean. To have them on the field again… this isn't good."

"I recognize one of the units they're flying," said Heero, "but the lead machine looks like a new model. It appears geared for close combat, so I'm betting Cipher's flying that one. Eric, do we have any information on it?"

Eric nodded. "According to my sources, it's the ZGMF-X2000 GOUF Ignited. It's a prototype commander unit that's slated to enter limited production soon. No Phase Shift Armor, but it's still a pretty high performance mobile suit. If it does well, I imagine they'll move it to full mass production status and use it to phase out the Slash Wizard Pack for the ZAKU Warrior and Phantom."

Shemei's eyes narrowed. "It's impressive for a non-nuclear machine, but it's also a considerable downgrade from what Cipher was flying at Jachin Due. Pixy's is even worse; his is a regular Gunner ZAKU Warrior. Giving them machines like that is a serious waste of their combat abilities. It's almost an insult, really."

Eric shrugged. "Insult or not, they still handled themselves well. I've got confirmation that both of them survived the fight, and they racked up considerable kill counts in the engagement."

"Do we know what ship they were based out of?" asked Murrue.

"The flagship Gondwana," Eric replied, "That's prime real estate for ZAFT pilots these days; whoever brought them back at least appreciates their abilities enough to give them one hell of a launching platform."

"If they're flying for ZAFT," said Heero, "then we shouldn't have to engage them right away. However, we need to be prepared for a confrontation with them. If this war plays out at all like the last one, we'll likely be going up against ZAFT sooner or later."

"And there's no guarantee that they'll be flying those machines forever," said Murrue grimly, "Who knows what ZAFT might be working on behind the scenes?"

"No kidding," said Shemei, "We need to find a way to keep an eye on these guys."

"Easier said than done," said Eric with a sigh, "My sources in the fleet didn't pick up on these guys being in the fray until after the battle was over. I'd bet anything that Durandal was keeping the Galm Team in the shadows until hostilities commenced. They're one hell of an ace in the hole, even with less powerful machines than what they had last time around."

"Are there any other nasty surprises that you were able to find with this latest intel?" asked Heero.

"Not really a surprise," said Eric, "and it's not directly related to the battle, but I did get a separate update regarding ZAFT fleet movements. They've moved a bunch of warships into orbit over Gibraltar and Carpentaria in preparation for dropping reinforcements down to the surface."

"It's not a moment too soon," said Shemei, "The Earth Alliance is already positioning their forces for sieges of those bases. This move should help ZAFT keep their footholds on the surface, at least for a little while."

Heero's eyes narrowed. "Their ground forces took heavy losses in the last war. They can't have many veteran troops among the reinforcements."

"Not to mention they lack the main advantage they had in the last war," said Murrue grimly, "Both sides have mass production mobile suits now. This is going to get bloody."

"No argument there," said Eric, "but it does give us an opportunity to score an early victory against the Earth Alliance once they move on Carpentaria. Hitting them from behind while they're focused on the assault will devastate their forces, and they'll be in very poor position to counterattack."

"True," said Shemei, "but we have no guarantee that ZAFT won't turn their guns on us during the fighting. We could just as easily trigger a three-way brawl."

Murrue nodded. "We might be doing ZAFT a favor by hitting the Earth Alliance from the rear, but it'd be foolish to assume Carpentaria's commander will see things from the same perspective. For all we know they could just assume that we're against the Alliance and ZAFT right from the get-go; we did take on both sides in the final campaigns of the last war, after all."

"We'll need to tread carefully," said Heero, "Still, if the opportunity presents itself, we should take the chance. It could be the opening we need to cripple the Atlantic Federation's naval power in the Pacific."

Eric nodded. "That's true. We'll keep our ears to the wind and see how things develop from here."

"Was there anything else that you wanted to show us?" asked Murrue.

Eric shook his head. "Not at this time."

"You two should take it easy for a little bit," said Shemei with a smile, "Hard to say what the next batch of intel will bring when it comes in, so grab a break while you can."

"Make sure that you two do the same," Murrue replied, "You won't be doing us any good if you work yourselves to exhaustion."

"No argument there," said Eric.

With that, Heero and Murrue left the room. They quickly made their way back to the aboveground portion of Terminal's estate and went up to their room.

"Well," said Murrue, "That definitely wasn't good news."

Heero nodded. "At least we're aware of them now. We'll be able to prepare accordingly."

Murrue sighed. "I know, but still… I don't like this, Heero. Apart from Shemei, they were the only pilots able to fight you on relatively even ground during the last war. I don't care that we're not fighting ZAFT right now; those are still the last two pilots that I want on the field in this war."

Heero reached over and took her hand. "Believe me, Murrue, I feel the same way. Still, we have to accept the fact that they're back. We don't get to pick what aces our enemies send against us. All we can do is be ready to face them when the time comes. Don't worry; if we encounter them on the battlefield, I'll keep them away from the Archangel."

Murrue shook her head. "It's not the Archangel that I'm worried about, Heero; it's you. I know that you're as strong as ever, and Wing Zero's more powerful now, but the Galm Team knows how to fight you. They've had two years to retrain and refine their abilities, Heero, and they'll put their knowledge to good use when they face you again."

"I'm well aware of that," said Heero, "I know that they'll leverage their experience when we meet again, and I'll be doing the same. They're not the only ones that can learn new tricks, Murrue."

Murrue smiled. "I know. Still… you can't blame me for worrying."

"And I don't," said Heero, "I'm actually grateful for it; it means you care."

She squeezed his hand. "Of course I do, Heero. I always will."

"So will I," he replied, "and that's all the more incentive for me to beat the Galm Team again… and put them down for good this time. Recurring clashes aren't healthy for mobile suit pilots, and I intend to make sure that the Galm Team meets their end in this war should we cross paths with them."

"Just don't go too far," Murrue cautioned him, "I agree that they need to be taken down, but we have to do it right. We can't just finish them off if they surrender or their suits are disabled."

Heero nodded. "I know. Still, one way or another, this little rivalry of ours has to end. I know they'll come gunning for me sooner or later. They might get their kicks from fighting me, but the feeling's not mutual. I'm fighting to defend you and the rest of this world. If they pose a threat to that, I'll act accordingly."

They won't pull their punches when we meet on the field, he thought grimly, and I can't afford to do the same. We all walked away from our last fight, so this time…

…we'll be playing for keeps.

….

October 23rd, C.E. 73

The sun hadn't even risen yet, but the Desert Tiger had already finished showering and cleaning up. He had forced himself to become a habitual early riser over the course of his military career, and that hadn't changed since his move from ZAFT to Terminal. There always seemed to be so much to do in his role as one of the group's senior leaders and not enough time to do it; with the world at war again, he was sure that today would be no exception.

The bedroom door opened, and he smiled as Aisha walked in with two steaming coffee mugs. "Today's special, coming right up!"

"Thanks," he said as he accept a cup and took a sip, "Mmmm… this is one of my blends, isn't it?"

Aisha winked. "I may have liberated it from your stash while you were still snoozing. I figured you'd want an extra boost; we've got a lot on our plates today."

Andrew chuckled. "Well, you won't hear me complaining. This is just what the doctor ordered."

Aisha leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "There's still some in the pot downstairs if you want seconds."

"I'll probably take you up on that," said Andrew before he got distracted by his phone ringing, "Just a second."

Checking the caller identification, he saw that it was Kisaka's secure line. His good eye immediately narrowed; based on the last update he'd gotten from the Orb Colonel he doubted the man was calling in with good news.

"Morning, Kisaka," he said, "Hitting me right out of the gate, aren't you?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Kisaka replied, "and it's worse than you may suspect."

Andrew sighed. "Well, don't pull your punches. What are we dealing with now?"

"Cagalli no longer holds power," said Kisaka.

Andrew's face paled. "What? Kisaka, what happened? Is she okay?"

"For the moment," said Kisaka, "It wasn't an actual coup; there was no violence, and I don't think her opponents have any interest in physically harming her. However, the Seirans have made their move; all government agencies are answering to them now, and their control extends to the military. Cagalli's government has fallen, Andrew."

"Damn it," hissed Andrew, "This couldn't have come at a worse time!"

"I know," said Kisaka grimly, "and the bad news doesn't end there."

"Of course it doesn't," said Andrew wearily, "What else are we dealing with?"

"There's been a string of rapid-fire communiqués between representatives of the Orb Union and the Atlantic Federation," said Kisaka, "The Seirans have begun positioning the country as an ally of the Americans, and there's nothing Cagalli can do to stop them. Soon the Orb Union will officially enter the war on the side of the Earth Alliance."

Andrew's good eye widened as he realized something. "If that's the case… what about the Minerva?"

"That's another thing I wanted to give you a heads up on," said Kisaka, "The Seirans are mobilizing forces to seize the ship. They plan on handing over both the vessel and its crew to the Atlantic Federation. I think we both know what that really means."

Oh, yeah, thought Andrew grimly, Standard American operating procedure for captured ZAFT soldiers in the last war was torture and murder. Based on the way they opened up this new war, I doubt that's changed.

"There's still time for the Minerva to make its escape," Kisaka continued, "but not much. The Orb Union Navy is mobilizing, and the Atlantic Federation's Pacific Fleet is conducting maneuvers offshore. It'll be tight, but the Minerva should be able to slip the noose and head to Carpentaria if they leave now."

Andrew nodded, his mind rapidly formulating a plan to get the ship out of the country. "I've got someone here that can contact them; the ship's Captain should listen to him considering that he and his buddies saved their hides at Armory One."

"Move quickly, Waltfeld," said Kisaka, "Time is not on our side."

"I hear you there," Andrew replied, "Watch your back, all right?"

Kisaka chuckled. "Same goes for you. I don't think the Seirans and their allies know where Terminal's basing out of in the Orb Union, but a few extra precautions couldn't hurt."

"We're already taking them," said Andrew, "Home One, out."

"Well," said Aisha as he put his phone away, "That didn't sound good."

Andrew took a sip of his coffee. "You got that right. I'd better go track down Heero. I need him to pass on a message to the Minerva."

Hopefully they'll get it before Orb hands them over to the Americans…

….

The bridge had been relatively quiet so far this morning, which made it rather jarring when Talia heard Meyrin's cry shatter the peace. "Captain, incoming transmission! It's Heero Yuy!"

Talia's eyes widened. "What? Put him on at once!"

He dropped off the grid after Operation Redemption, she thought, I don't know why he's reaching out to us now out of the blue like this, but I doubt this is a social call.

The young man appeared on the main bridge monitor a few seconds later, and he didn't waste any time in getting down to business. "Captain Gladys, you need to get your ship out of Orb immediately."

"What are you talking about?" asked Talia.

"Since when do we take orders from you?" said Arthur pointedly.

"You'll take this one if you want to live," said Heero firmly, "The Orb Union is about to enter a strategic pact with the Earth Alliance. This isn't the will of Cagalli, but unfortunately she's no longer calling the shots in Orb. Security teams are mobilizing; they'll be at the docks to seize your ship and hand it and you over to the Atlantic Federation within the hour. You have to leave now."

Talia was flabbergasted. "I… I don't believe this! We haven't received any updates from the Defense Council regarding Orb siding with the Alliance!"

"ZAFT doesn't have the same intelligence sources within the Orb government that I do," Heero replied, "By the time they learn what's happened, it will be too late. Your ship will be in enemy hands, and you and your crew will likely be carted off to Guantanamo Bay for torture and execution. You have no time to wait for orders from the Defense Council, Captain; you have to flee right away."

Talia was torn. On the one hand, she would be leaving the Orb Union without orders from the Defense Council. If Heero was wrong about Orb allying itself with the Atlantic Federation and the imminent threat that posed to her ship and her crew, then she would be facing serious charges for insubordination. However, the young man had already helped her and her crew several times since their encounter at Armory One. Talia could not think of any reason why he might lie to her now given his past behavior.

My crew's safety comes first, she thought, and if he's wrong about this, then I will take the blame; either way, my crew will remain unharmed. When viewed in that light, I suppose the choice is an easy one.

Talia nodded. "Very well. Thank you for the warning, Heero."

"You're welcome," he replied, "Be on your guard; you won't be safe just because you've left the docks. The Pacific Fleet has split into multiple battle groups, and there's no guarantee that you won't come across one of them in your flight to Carpentaria. Also, the Orb Union Navy is mobilizing as well; there's a good chance that they'll attack you if you try to turn back. Get to Carpentaria as fast as you can. You should be relatively safe once you're within the defensive umbrella ZAFT has established in that area. Good luck."

He disappeared from the screen, and Talia wasted no time in barking out orders. "Helm, fire up the engines and get us out of here! All hands will go to standby alert until the Minerva is clear of the Orb Union's territorial waters. Have the hangar crews double check the mobile suits; I want them ready to sortie at a moment's notice!"

"Captain," said Arthur, "We're really taking Heero Yuy's word on this?"

"We have nothing to lose at this point, Arthur," Talia replied with a smile, "Don't worry; I'll shoulder the blame if the Defense Council finds us in the wrong here."

"Captain…" said Arthur, looking conflicted about the matter.

"We have no time for doubts now, Arthur," said Talia, "You and I have a responsibility to make sure that this ship does not fall into enemy hands. Can I count on you to help me keep her safe?"

Arthur nodded and smiled. "Yes, Captain!"

All right, she thought as she felt the rumble of the ship's engines coming online, I guess it's time to run the gauntlet. I hope we make it through.

….

Down in the communications section of the Terminal's underground complex, Heero leaned back in his chair and turned to the others. "Well, they have their warning. The rest is up to them."

Murrue smiled. "They'll make it. They might still be new to all of this, but I could tell during the orbital battle that they have potential."

Eric nodded. "The Minerva's the most advanced ship in ZAFT's fleet, and they didn't skimp when it comes to her mobile suits either. If any vessel can make the dash to Carpentaria, my money's on that one."

Shemei smirked. "Plus they've got Wufei with them. I mean, they'd be better off if they had all five of you, but one Gundam pilot's better than nothing, right?"

Andrew chuckled. "We certainly made it work for us in the last war."

Aisha winked at Heero. "You know, I've always thought of you as our good luck charm, Heero. Hopefully Wufei has that same effect on the Minerva."

Heero couldn't help but smirk at the thought. "I'm not sure that Wufei would like being described as a good luck charm, but as long as he's with the Minerva I think that ship's odds of survival are pretty good."

"You know," said Duo, "we could always chase after them. We don't have to go with them all the way to Carpentaria, but we could at least help them make the first leg of the trip and then fly back here."

"I don't know," said Quatre, "Can Terminal really afford to divide its forces right now? Even if it'd just be temporary, with the way things are going it might be better for us to stick around here for now."

Trowa nodded. "I agree. We've seen no indication that the Seirans have learned of our location and have betrayed it to the Atlantic Federation, but I still favor caution. With the rest of us here, we can help defend the compound and cover an evacuation if it comes down to that."

"That was my line of thinking, too," said Heero, meeting Murrue's gaze, "For the time being, I'd rather us stay together."

Murrue nodded. "I'm with you there."

Heero looked at his fellow Gundam pilots. "If any of you want to help the Minerva make its escape, I won't stop you."

Duo shrugged. "It was just a thought. I'm cool sticking around here, too. Either way's fine by me."

Quatre sighed. "We'll likely see our share of fighting soon enough. There's no reason to rush into it."

"What do we do about the Orb Union?" asked Trowa, "Will we have to engage their forces in combat?"

"I hope it doesn't come to that," said Eric, "but we have to be ready for anything."

"If they're going all in with the Earth Alliance, then they'll get thrown right into the meat grinder," said Shemei grimly, "The Atlantic Federation won't settle for using Orb's military as an auxiliary; they'll put them right on the front lines so they can take the hits while the Americans get to save their forces for another fight."

"If it does go that way, then their pact with the Earth Alliance may prove to be short lived," said Andrew, "Soldiers tend to take poorly to being used as another nation's cannon fodder."

Aisha's brow furrowed. "Do you think the Orb Union's military would stage a coup if things got severe enough?"

Heero nodded. "Down the line, it's a distinct possibility. We should definitely maintain contact with our sources in their ranks. If we can sow the seeds of doubt amongst the regarding the Seirans it'll go a long way towards helping our cause. However, in the short term our primary concern should be Cagalli."

Duo shook his head. "Man, it sucks to be her right now."

"I'm sure she would agree with that sentiment," said Quatre, "The question is how do we help her?"

"I believe Heero's already proposed our course of action on that front," said Trowa.

Heero nodded before turning to Eric. "How soon do you think we can put that plan into action?"

Eric's eyes narrowed. "It'll be tricky. We've got sources inside her security detail, so they won't pose a problem. However, the Seirans will want to keep her in line as their puppet, so it's possible that they've got their own forces watching over her now."

"We can handle any security precautions the Seirans have taken," said Murrue, "The real problem is Cagalli herself. Her situation is dire, but she won't abandon her countrymen without a fight."

"I'll deal with her on that front," said Heero, "We just need to set a time and place for the op to go down."

"We'll keep our eyes and ears open and plan accordingly," said Andrew with a smirk, "You really think you can sweet talk her, Heero?"

"Yes," he replied.

Aisha smiled. "You never seem to lack for confidence, do you? I hope you can back it up, otherwise Cagalli will be pissed if you knock her unconscious and haul her out like a sack of potatoes."

Shemei chuckled. "Well, like they always say, easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission."

"Hopefully it won't come to that," said Murrue with a smile.

Heero nodded. "Agreed."

….

Yuna smiled as he walked into the central war-room of the Orb Union's primary military headquarters. It was alive with activity as officers rushed to and from, relaying orders and coordinating forces. The mobilization of the nation's military was well underway, and Yuna couldn't wait for the next step.

"Lord Seiran!" called one of the officers, "Urgent news from the security teams assigned to the docks!"

"Ah, excellent," said Yuna, "I take it the Minerva has been captured, then?"

"No," the young man replied, "She put to sea before the teams were able to board her!"

Yuna sighed. "So they were tipped off, then. No matter. They're only delaying the inevitable. Have our coastal forces been tracking her?"

The officer nodded. "Aerial reconnaissance has picked up the ship. Her current vector will take her straight to Carpentaria. For the moment, though, she's still within our territorial waters."

Yuna smirked. "Perfect. Inform our Alliance liaison officer of this development, and dispatch a battle group to pursue her. We'll drive the Minerva right into the hands of the Americans."

"What about Chief Representative Cagalli?" asked the officer, "Shouldn't she be informed of this matter?"

Yuna shook his head. "She's preoccupied with other affairs of state. This is a small matter that does not require her attention. We can handle the details on our end here."

The officer nodded, although he did seem a little uneasy. "Very well, Lord Seiran."

So they're still having some doubts about our leadership, he mused, No matter. We'll bring the officer corps into line soon enough.

He looked up at one of the monitors on the far wall, smiling as he zeroed in on one display in particular. It was a map of the Orb Union's southeastern territorial waters where the Minerva was currently located. He could already picture the ZAFT ship getting caught in the vice-grip of the Alliance and Orb Union forces. Soon enough, his mental image would become reality.

Intelligence had reported that one of the five new mobile suits that had made their debut at Armory One, a so-called 'Gundam', had remained with the Minerva after the battleship had descended to Earth. However, the other four machines had apparently parted ways with the vessel and had not been sighted by the dock crews since. There would be no Heero Yuy for the Alliance and Orb Union forces to worry about in the coming battle. The Minerva was already dead in the water; the Coordinators just didn't know it yet.

"This should be interesting," he murmured, "I can't wait to get started!"

….

Shinn slammed his hand against the nearby bulkhead. "They sided with the Earth forces? Those bastards! Just how corrupt can Orb possibly get?"

Rey put a hand on his shoulder. "Calm down, Shinn. What's done is done. There's no sense in letting anger at the Orb Union distract us from our current situation, regardless of how well-deserved that anger may be."

Lunamaria sighed. "I get where you're coming from, Shinn. It's too bad, really. I liked Orb, and I thought Cagalli was on our side. I guess I was wrong there."

"Not quite," said a familiar male voice.

The three pilots turned to see Wufei leaning against the doorframe of the entrance to the pilots' ready room. He looked more or less unfazed by the current situation, which just frustrated Shinn even more. How could the Gundam pilot remain so at-ease when they'd just been betrayed by the country whose leader they had saved just a few weeks ago?

Lunamaria folded her arms. "What makes you say that?"

Wufei shrugged. "I don't know Cagalli as well as Heero does, but based on the impression I got from her while she was on this ship I doubt she wanted to sell you guys out to the Earth Alliance. Someone else in the Orb Union government's probably responsible for this."

Rey's eyes narrowed. "And who would that be?"

Wufei shook his head. "Don't know. Frankly, I don't care. It really doesn't matter at this point, though. The Orb Union has turned against ZAFT now, which means the only course of action available now for this ship is to get to Carpentaria… something that should've been done quite some time ago."

Shinn didn't often find himself in agreement with Wufei, but this occasion certainly qualified as one such instance. If the Captain had departed the Orb Union before the Alliance's attack on L5 they would already be well clear of any potential threats. Now they were making a mad dash for the base, and they were still well within range of attack from the forces of both the Earth Alliance and the Orb Union.

"So," said Lunamaria, eyeing Wufei, "what are you going to do?"

"Fight," Wufei replied casually, "It's why I'm here, after all."

Shinn nodded. "That's why we're all here now. Earth Alliance, Orb Union… it doesn't matter. We'll take down anyone that threatens this ship."

"Well spoken," said Rey, "Lunamaria and I don't have full-flight capable machines, so if we are attacked at sea the two of us will focus on defending the Minerva. The two of you will have to serve as our offensive force."

Wufei smirked. "I was going to take that role regardless of your input."

Lunamaria glared at him. "Just don't blame us if your cockiness gets you shot down, you got that?"

"I doubt the Alliance has anyone on the field capable of taking me down," Wufei replied, "The only one that comes close is that mercenary. If he's on the field today, then things should be quite interesting…"

Shinn scowled. "You don't even care about the Minerva, do you? You're just out here so you can have a good fight."

Wufei rolled his eyes. "Think whatever you want. I don't have to justify myself to you. It's not worth my time to do so."

"Why, you…" Shinn growled.

Rey held out his arm between the two of them. "That's enough. If we're going to make it to Carpentaria, we have to work together. We can't afford to have you two at each other's throats before the fighting even starts."

"Rey's right," said Lunamaria, "Save it for the enemy."

"I'm not the one with the problem," said Wufei, nodding at Shinn, "He's the one who needs to get a grip."

"At least I'm out here fighting for a cause," Shinn shot back, "You're just out for yourself."

"I have my own reasons for fighting," said Wufei, "and I don't have to explain them to you. I doubt you'd understand them, anyway."

Shinn folded his arms and shook his head. "You know what? Forget about it. As long as you fight and don't run off on us, that's all that matters."

Lunamaria sighed with relief. "Well… I guess that's progress."

Rey shrugged. "We'll have to take what we can get."

Yeah, thought Shinn as he glared at Wufei one more time, although why we got stuck with this guy I really don't understand. Couldn't one of the other Gundam pilots have stuck around instead? I mean, maybe not Heero, but the other three seemed okay…

It didn't matter. They were here, now, and in all likelihood about to go into battle against the Earth Alliance and possibly the Orb Union. He could wish all he wanted to that they had a different Gundam pilot backing them up, but the fact remained that Wufei was the one that had decided to stick around after the orbital battle. They were stuck with him, and Shinn would just have to make the most of it.

….

"Contacts!" cried the Minerva's sensor officer, "Multiple warships approaching! Captain, they're at our twelve and six o'clock!"

"On screen, now!" Talia ordered.

A tactical display appeared on the main monitor. Talia knew that the blue dot in the middle was the Minerva, and she saw that it was bracketed from the front and back by two more rows of dots. The row up front was red; ZAFT's color of choice for the Earth Alliance forces. The row behind the ship was yellow, which meant that the ships trailing them belonged to the Orb Union Navy.

Our back's to the wall, she thought as she studied the display, and that wall just so happens to be armed. This could get ugly…

"Give me the numbers," she said, "What are we looking at?"

"The Atlantic Federation force is composed of three carriers and eight destroyers," the sensor officer replied, "The Orb Union group has one carrier, two cruisers, and five destroyers."

Talia sighed. "So they're not just going to let us waltz right out of their territory. We're Orb's gift to the Earth Alliance. I wish it hadn't come to this."

"What should we do, Captain?" asked Arthur.

"The only thing we can do," Talia replied grimly before issuing new orders, "All hands to battle stations! Get the Impulse in the air with a Force Silhouette and have him and Wufei take the fight to the enemy. Lunamaria and Rey will stay with the Minerva. We'll move forward and punch through the Earth Alliance force!"

"What about the Orb Union battle group?" asked Arthur.

Talia shook her head. "We can't afford to fight on two fronts right now. We'll concentrate on the Americans and only engage Orb's forces if they move to attack us!"

Hopefully the Orb forces will hang back and only engage us if we move back towards them, she thought as she checked the display again, We're right on the border of their territory, so it all depends on how aggressive their commander's feeling. No matter what happens, we can't afford to get pushed back. We have to keep moving forward!

….

Rotund and grey haired, Rear Admiral Sean Bannon studied the tactical display on the bridge of the Atlantic Federation Spengler-class carrier Sessions. With the ZAFT battleship caught between the forces of the Earth Alliance and the Orb Union, he was expecting an easy victory. The mobile suits of a single carrier would outnumber what the ZAFT vessel could put into the air, and even if much of the hangar space onboard the Sessions was taken up by the new weapon that still left two full carriers with more conventional machines, not to mention the supporting destroyers.

"Rear Admiral!" called the carrier's flight coordinator, "The Zamza-Zah is ready to move to the flight deck!"

Bannon shook his head. "Launch our mobile suits, but hold that thing back for now. It's our ace in the hole for this fight."

The flight coordinator nodded. "Understood."

"Comms," he said, "Get me a line with the battle group."

The communications officer nodded. "Got it. You're live, sir!"

Bannon cleared his throat. "Attention all hands! Launch all mobile suits and engage the ZAFT battleship. Destroyers will target the warship directly while our mobile suits will eliminate enemy air support before commencing attack runs on the vessel. Do not let up the attack until that ship is destroyed!"

There was no mention of the possibility of surrender, and that was quite intentional. Orders had already been passed down from the Atlantic Federation High Command; the same policy that had gone into effect in the last war applied here as well.

That ship and its crew die here, thought Bannon, for the preservation of our blue and pure world!

….

Start "Annex"

As the Core Splendor was moved to the catapult Shinn say Meyrin appear on his monitor. "Shinn, are you all set?"

Shinn nodded. "Ready when you are."

"Good," she replied, "We'll launch a Force Silhouette as soon as you're clear. Wufei's already airborne, so he'll cover you while you link up with it. Once that's done, help him clear out the enemy air units. Rey and Luna will try to pick off the ones that come at the ship, but they won't be able to move out from the Minerva, so they'll be counting on you."

"What about the warships?" asked Shinn.

"The Captain wants the Minerva to engage them directly," said Meyrin, "We might be outnumbered, but this ship's much tougher than anything they have on the field. I just hope it's tough enough to get us through this."

Shinn smiled. "Don't worry. I won't let them take down the Minerva!"

"Be careful out there," said Meyrin, smiling as well, "Core Splendor, you are clear for launch!"

Shinn nodded. "Shinn Asuka, launching!"

He was thrown back in his chair as the fighter shot out of the hangar like a cannonball. Quickly reorienting his craft, he saw the remaining components of the Impulse flying out of the ship as well, and he immediately moved to link up with them.

I can't believe I'm counting on Wufei to keep me safe while I do this, he thought as he searched the sky for the Altron Gundam, He'd better not let me get shot down…

It wasn't hard to find Wufei's machine; it was rushing right for the approaching Alliance mobile suits. Glancing at his sensors, Shinn saw that the enemy force was a mix of Dagger-Ls and the newer Windam model units. Both types were outfitted with Jet Striker Packs, an augmentation set that was optimized for airborne atmospheric combat. It gave the mobile suits advanced jet engines to allow for fully independent flight, while hard-points mounted on the wings could be fixed with guided and unguided munitions including air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles and unguided rocket pods.

The lead units were already opening up on Wufei with their air-to-air ordinance along with their beam rifles. Nothing so much as touched the Altron; it was too fast, and Wufei was already closing the distance. The Gundam's Dragon Fangs shot forward, crushing two Dagger-Ls and sending their mangled frames falling to the sea.

At least he's got me covered, thought Shinn as the Impulse's remaining components approached the Core Splendor, I'd better focus on the linkup here.

He made a few adjustments to line up his craft before triggering the merging sequence. Right on cue the Core Splendor shifted as the fighter jet became the mobile suit's chest and cockpit module. The rest of the components linked up on cue, and as Shinn powered up the Impulse's Variable Phase Shift Armor the Force Silhouette attached itself to the unit's back.

"All right," he said as he drew his beam rifle and saber, "Let's do this!"

The Impulse shot forward as he gunned the engines. Up ahead he could see the Altron's double-ended beam trident whirling a cyclone of emerald energy around the Gundam. A Windam tried to engage with its violet beam saber, only to be shredded by Wufei's blades. Other Alliance units opened fire with their rifles and wing-mounted ordinance, but Wufei simply accelerated and dived towards the sea before shooting right back up like a rocket. Before the enemy could react he was among them and cutting through them like a buzz-saw.

"Don't forget me!" shouted Shinn as he opened fire, blasting a Dagger-L through the cockpit.

"Took you long enough," said Wufei as he struck down a Windam with his left Dragon Fang.

"Hey!" Shinn snapped while picking off another Dagger-L with his rifle, "The Impulse isn't like your Gundam, you know?"

"I'm well aware of that," Wufei deadpanned before spearing a Windam with his beam trident, "That's not important now. Let's split up. Can you handle the units coming in on the right flank?"

Shinn nodded. "Sure. You got the left?"

"Naturally," Wufei replied as he crushed a Dagger-L with his Dragon Fang, "We won't be able to stop them all, but we should be able to thin them out enough for Lunamaria and Rey to pick off the survivors."

"I hope you're right," said Shinn while blocking incoming beam rifle fire on his shield.

"Let's get to work," said Wufei as he charged head-on into the enemy ranks.

Shinn did the same, hitting his thrusters and pushing forward, firing as he went. His assault caused the Alliance suits to scatter, and he was able to pick off a Windam with particle beam fire before he got into saber range. A stream of bullets flew forth from his CIWS as he shot down a handful of missiles that were heading his way before he deflected a beam saber strike and counterattacked, stabbing a Dagger-L through the cockpit.

Stay calm, he mentally told himself, You can do this.

That didn't change the fact that he had a daunting task before him. There were plenty of mobile suits in the air, and even if the enemy squadrons were divided that still left more than enough machines to give Shinn a run for his money. On his side of the field Wufei seemed to be keeping the enemy occupied, but some mobile suits were bypassing the two pilots altogether and heading for the Minerva.

"Rey, Luna, look out!" Shinn shouted as he took down another cluster of missiles with his CIWS, "You've got incoming!"

"I see them," said Rey.

"Me too," Lunamaria chimed in, "Don't worry about us, Shinn. We got this!"

Indeed, Shinn could see the white Blaze ZAKU Phantom and the red Gunner ZAKU Warrior positioned on the Minerva's upper hull, their weapons pointed skywards and locking onto targets. A stream of crimson fire ripped forth from Lunamaria's heavy cannon, blasting a Dagger-L to bits of heated shrapnel. Rey opened fire with his beam rifle, and a volley of emerald particle bolts sent a Windam plunging towards the sea, smoke trailing from its damaged thrusters.

The mobile suits weren't the only units on the field getting in on the action. The Minerva's twin Tristan dual beam cannons swiveled in their turret mounts as each weapon locked onto a target before opening fire. The heavy particle beams they unleashed found their marks, setting the aft section of one Alliance destroyer ablaze and blasting away the command bridge of a second vessel. The ship's Isolde triple cannon also unleashed a volley, and the rounds it fired knocked out one of the missile batteries of the first destroyer to have been hit by the Tristan turrets.

However, the Earth Alliance naval forces weren't taking the hits lying down. The assembled destroyers returned fire, cannon rounds and missiles filling the sky while the white foam tracks of incoming torpedoes billowed just beneath the surface of the water. The Minerva's CIWS opened up, and while a few warheads were successfully intercepted others impacted the upper hull of the battleship.

"Damn it!" hissed Shinn as he stabbed a Dagger-L through the cockpit, "They'll pay for that!"

"Stay focused," said Wufei as he cut down a Windam with his beam trident, "You won't do them any good if you get shot down."

Shinn grimaced but held his tongue. As much as Wufei might get on this nerve, Shinn knew that his advice this time was sound. He would have to trust Lunamaria and Rey to defend the Minerva while he and Wufei took the fight to the enemy.

If there was any good news to be found in this mess, it was that the Orb Union battle group appeared to be hanging back. Checking his display, Shinn quickly found the reason why; the Minerva and the Alliance task force were positioned just outside of Orb's territorial waters. He supposed that as long as the battleship wasn't forced to fall back the Orb ships wouldn't interfere, but Shinn wouldn't discount the possibility of his former homeland stabbing them in the back.

They've already done that once today, he thought disdainfully as he tore open a pair of missiles with his CIWS, I don't see why they wouldn't do it again. Damn them! The Alliance, Orb…

…damn them all!

End "Annex"

….

Start "B7R"

Glaring at her target, Lunamaria sighted in and pulled the trigger. "Back off, you son of a bitch!"

A crimson lance of energy flew forth from her heavy cannon, but the blast failed to find its mark; the Windam was too agile. However, the Alliance machine's evasive maneuver inadvertently took it right into Rey's firing line, and the machine was taken down by a volley of emerald beams from her comrade's rifle.

"Nice setup," said Rey.

"Uhm, right," said Lunamaria sheepishly, "Yeah, I meant to do that!"

"Naturally," Rey replied.

It was times like this that Lunamaria hated just how calm Rey could be. Sure, it was good that he could keep a cool head under pretty much any set of circumstances, but it also made him pretty damn hard to read, and right now she really wanted to know if he was mocking her or just being, well, Rey.

Worry about that later, she mentally chided herself, Your sister's on this ship, and she's counting on you to keep her from getting blasted out of the water!

As much as she hated to agree with Wufei on anything, she couldn't help recalling what he had told her up in orbit about having personal reasons to fight. In situations like this, Meyrin's safety was a pretty powerful motivator, and while it might not be one of the reasons why the Defense Council wanted her to fight, it was more than enough for Lunamaria.

If the enemy was just fielding Dagger-Ls then Lunamaria wouldn't be so worried; even with Jet Striker Packs the units weren't too hard to handle. However, the fact that a handful of Windams were flying with them as well made things much more difficult. Not only could they utilize the Jet Striker Packs as well, but they were much more maneuverable than their predecessors. While Lunamaria loved her ZAKU Warrior, its lack of full flight capability was definitely something she was cursing right about now.

Sighting in on another target, Lunamaria opened up with her heavy cannon again. This time her shot found its mark, and the crimson lance of energy speared a Dagger-L and blew it to pieces. Unfortunately there were plenty more where that unit had come from, and the only thing keeping their numbers manageable was Shinn and Wufei fighting out front to occupy the bulk of the enemy mobile suits.

Making matters even more difficult was the fact that her current platform wasn't entirely stable. The Minerva was a tough ship, but even a vessel as durable as she was designed to be would still rock under impacts, and with all the fire the Atlantic Federation task force was directing her way it was inevitable that the enemy would score some hits. The ship's CIWS were pulling their weight, but it was impossible for them to intercept all of the incoming fire.

"Shit!" she snarled as a missile impacted nearby her position, scorching the vessel's armor and throwing off her attempts to lock on to another target.

"Are you all right?" asked Rey.

Lunamaria nodded. "Still in one piece. How about you?"

"I can still fight," he replied, "That's enough."

Lunamaria couldn't help but smile; her friend didn't mince words, and she liked that. "Agreed. Let's take these bastards down!"

Locking on to another target, she opened fire. The lance of crimson energy found its mark, destroying a Dagger-L. A volley of emerald beams flew from Rey's rifle, and another Earth Alliance was blown out of the sky.

At least the Orb carrier hasn't launched any mobile suits, Lunamaria thought as she checked her sensors, I don't think Rey and I could handle mobile suits coming in from both fronts. I just hope that they stay out of the fight. Otherwise we'll really be in trouble.

She looked out ahead of the Minerva to check on Wufei and Shinn. Both pilots still seemed to be in one piece, although they definitely had their hands full. The Altron Custom was carving up Dagger-Ls and Windams left and right with its beam trident, but Shinn seemed to be moving at a slower pace. The Impulse in its Force configuration was a good counter to the Alliance's airborne units, but Lunamaria knew that Shinn was unused to fighting against so many enemies at once without support. There was also the fact that the Impulse was a much more energy-intensive mobile suit than Lunamaria's ZAKU Warrior; Shinn's power reserves would not last as long as hers, especially if he continued to fight the way he was now.

Unfortunately, there was little that Lunamaria could do to help Shinn from her position. The best she was currently capable of was to fend off the Dagger-Ls and Windams that made it past him and Wufei. Apart from that, she could only hope that the Minerva would inflict enough damage on the Atlantic Federation's warships to convince the enemy to withdraw before the Orb Union forces decided to get in on the action.

I just want to get out of here in one piece, she thought as she sent crimson fire into the sky, The war's only just begun, so there's no way I'm going to let myself die here!

….

Talia braced herself against the arms of her chair as the ship shuddered under the latest impact. "Report!"

"Torpedo hits on the bottom hull!" the damage control officer replied, "No breaches!"

"Return fire!" she ordered, "Launch Wolfram torpedoes!"

"Aye, Captain!" shouted the main gunnery officer, "Torpedoes away! Tracking…"

On the main tactical display Talia saw four white dots symbolizing the torpedoes racing away from the Minerva. A few seconds later the dots disappeared as they met with a crimson triangle; an Alliance destroyer.

"Direct hit!" called the gunnery officer, "Target is dead in the water!"

The display shifted to a visual image of the stricken shift, and Talia saw that it was already beginning to list heavily to starboard. It was still capable of firing its gun turrets and missile launchers for now, but at this rate its upper decks would be swamped with seawater in minutes.

One down, she thought, and plenty more to go.

All things considered, the Minerva was doing quite well in the battle so far. The ship had been designed to take a beating, and it was still holding up under the Atlantic Federation's barrage. She was giving as good as she got, with particle beams, cannon rounds, and missiles filling the sky and racing towards the enemy ships. Still, as tough and powerful as ZAFT's new battleship was, Talia wasn't interested in pushing her to her limits; she wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible.

"Parsifal missiles locked onto targets!" shouted Arthur.

Talia nodded. "Fire!"

A volley of surface-to-surface missiles flew from the battleship. Arcing high into the air, they rained down on one of the Atlantic Federation destroyers. A couple of the warheads were intercepted by the ship's CIWS, but the rest found their mark and devastated the vessel's upper decks.

"Tristans, Isolde, fire!" barked Talia, "Finish her off!"

The battleship's beam cannons and triple gun opened up. The salvo punched straight through the center of the destroyer, ripping the Alliance ship in half. Unfortunately, the Earth forces still had four destroyers and three carriers left on the field, and they were continuing to hammer the Minerva. Matters were only made worse by the Dagger-Ls and Windams taking potshots at the ship from above. Rey and Lunamaria were doing their best to supplement the ship's CIWS and anti-air missiles, but they still weren't able to completely eliminate the mobile suits that were raining fire down on the Minerva.

Damn it, she thought as the ship shuddered under another enemy salvo, We have absolutely no room to maneuver thanks to that Orb task force at our backs. We have to punch through the group in front of us quickly or we're not getting out of here at all!

End "B7R"

….

"That's one tough ship," said the Captain of the Sessions.

Rear Admiral Bannon nodded. As much as he might despise the Coordinators, he could at least admit that they knew how to build a solid warship. It was almost a shame that the vessel would be destroyed in this battle; he would've preferred to capture it and add it to the ranks of the Earth Alliance forces.

No matter, he thought, As long as it's removed from the field, that's all that really counts.

The Minerva might've been taking hits from the Atlantic Federation task force, but it was dishing out more than it took. The vessel's firepower had been amply demonstrated both in this battle and in the engagements up in space, and the Rear Admiral decided that now was the time to neutralize the threat for good.

"Captain," he said, "Bring the Zamza-Zah up to the flight deck. It's time we finished off that ship."

The Captain nodded. "Understood, Rear Admiral."

Bannon turned his attention to the carrier's upper hull. Towards the rear the flight elevator began to rise a few seconds later, bearing the Alliance's ace in the hole for this battle.

Magnificent…

Indeed, the YMAF-X6BD was quite an imposing sight. An experimental attack mobile armor, the weapon looked like a monstrous four-legged mechanized crab. Its heavy armor was a mix of olive drab and dark grey, while a bright orange crest jutted up from the center of the top hull. Since it was so large and complex it required a crew of three, consisting of one pilot and two gunners situated in a cockpit within the well-protected center of the craft. The unit was the product of two years of top secret research and was designed to be capable of utterly eviscerating swarms of enemy mobile suits. To accomplish that task, the mobile armor was equipped a formidable arsenal of weapons. At the end of each leg was a claw-like Vasiliev hyper-oscillator crusher, designed to reduce even the toughest mobile suits to crumpled scrap metal. When close-range-combat was not possible the crushers could retract, exposing M534 Gamzatov multi-phase energy cannons. In addition to these, atop each leg was a turret-mounted GAU111 cannons capable of firing conventional high-velocity slugs. Four Mk79 low-pressure guns were also mounted on the upper hull, in this case two on each side. Rounding out the arsenal were 16 75mm Igelstellung CIWs.

As formidable as the unit's offensive capabilities were, its ability to absorb enemy fire was no less impressive. The unit had incredibly thick armor, and testing had shown that only sustained and concentrated fire from conventional weaponry would give regular mobile suits a chance to penetrate it. In addition to that was a special gem straight from the research labs of Adukurf Mechano-Industries; prototype positron reflectors, one mounted on each leg of the mobile armor. When all four were activated during trials they had proven capable of withstanding fire from battleship-grade positron cannons like those mounted aboard the renegade Archangel, and the Rear Admiral couldn't wait to see them cancel out the might of the Minerva's Tannhäuser.

"Flight deck is clear of obstructions!" called the carrier's flight controller, "Zamza-Zah is cleared for launch!"

The Captain turned to Bannon. "Rear Admiral?"

Bannon simply nodded, and the Captain gave the order. "Launch the Zamza-Zah!"

The Rear Admiral smiled as the mechanical beast surged forward. The Coordinators had made the world fear the mobile suit, and while the Earth Alliance had adopted the weapons originally developed by their hated enemy to counter the threat that transition had never sat entirely at ease with much of the Atlantic Federation top brass. Bannon was in that camp, and he was eager to see the world's faith in the mobile suit be proven wrong today.

The age of the mobile armor begins anew, he thought, Crush them, Zamza-Zah!

….

"Captain!" cried the sensor officer, "New contact has launched from one of the Earth Alliance carriers! It's huge!"

"Identify it!" Talia ordered.

The main bridge monitor shifted, revealing what looked like a giant mechanical crab flying over the waves. Talia was completely taken aback by what she was seeing; the intelligence reports from the Defense Council hadn't mentioned the Earth Alliance having anything like this in their arsenal.

"What the hell is that?" asked Arthur.

"It looks like a new model mobile armor," said Talia.

"The new contact is heading right for us!" shouted the sensor officer.

"That looks like some pretty think armor on it," said Arthur nervously, "I don't think conventional weapons are going to cut it here."

Talia agreed. "Target the new contact with the Tannhäuser. Open fire as soon as we have a full charge!"

"Deploying Tannhäuser now!" called the main gunnery officer, "Charging up… firing!"

A torrent of crimson energy was unleashed and ripped across the ocean waves. There was a bright flash as the shot met the target, and Talia strained to see what kind of damage the new mobile armor had taken.

If it's not destroyed, it has to be severely wounded, she thought, Nothing in the Alliance's arsenal can take a positron blast head-on like that and remain in one piece…

Then the light faded, and Talia's jaw dropped at what she saw. The mobile armor was completely intact. Crimson sparks from the Tannhäuser's hot danced around the machine, and as she saw the air shimmer she realized that the mobile armor had deployed some kind of energy field.

"Impossible!" cried Arthur.

"It completely repelled the positron beam…" said Talia softly, "I can't believe it…"

Arthur turned to her. "Captain, how are we supposed to fight that thing?"

Talia gritted her teeth as the Minerva shuddered under a series of fresh impacts. That was the million dollar question, and if she didn't find an answer to it quickly then her ship would not survive the battle.

Come on, she thought as she checked the small display on her personal monitor, use your head! How can you use the assets that you have on the field? How can you counter this thing? Your crew's counting on you!

Assessing the situation, she decided to gamble. The Earth Alliance still had its fair share of mobile suits on the field, but their numbers had been thinned out considerably since the start of the fight. Their warships had also taken a beating since the engagement began, but the Orb task force was still floating menacingly behind the Minerva. She could only move forward, and as soon as she advanced the new mobile armor would doubtlessly move to intercept it. The machine's full power had yet to be displayed, but just from its appearance Talia did not doubt that it was fully capable of ripping her ship apart. If the Minerva was to survive this battle then the newcomer would have to be eliminated.

"Meyrin, contact the Impulse and Altron!" she ordered, "Redirect Shinn to take on the new mobile armor. Wufei will have to keep the enemy mobile suits off his back! Lunamaria and Rey will have to keep the rest of them away from us."

"Aye, Captain!" Meyrin replied.

"Helm!" she shouted, "Take us twenty degrees to port! Weapons, concentrate all fire on the left wing of the enemy force!"

We can do this, she thought as her crew rushed to carry out her commands, Our odds aren't good, but we're not down for the count yet. As long as there's the slimmest chance to save my crew, I'm taking it.

I just hope Shinn's up for this…

….

Start "Contact"

Shinn's eyes widened as he shot down a flock of missiles with his CIWS. "Are you serious? The Captain wants me to solo that thing?"

Meyrin nodded. "It's the only way we have a shot at getting out of here. I know it's big, and it looks pretty tough, but the Impulse is faster. Use your speed and you can take it, Shinn!"

Shinn couldn't help but smile; after the way the battle was going so far, he definitely didn't mind her little pep talk. "All right. I'll keep that thing away from you guys, Meyrin; count on it!"

"Be careful," she replied, "and good luck."

"Hey, Wufei!" called Shinn as he sliced a Dagger-L in half, "Did you get all that?"

"Loud and clear," the Gundam pilot replied as he pulverized a Windam with his Dragon Fangs, "Get going; I'll keep the pests off your back."

Shinn was surprised at Wufei's tone. There wasn't any of the disdain in his voice that he usually directed at him. Right now he was all business, and Shinn knew instinctively that he could count on Wufei to cover his rear.

"Thanks," said Shinn as he broke off and headed for the mobile armor, "Watch yourself; you can't die until I've had the chance to surpass you!"

Wufei chuckled as he whirled his beam trident around his Gundam, fending off saber strikes from mobile suits left and right. "You sound like Lunamaria. Very well, then; show me what you've got."

Shinn gunned his thrusters and charged towards the mobile armor, firing as he went. The air around the mechanical titan shimmered, and Shinn found his shots deflected harmlessly into the sea.

"Son of a bitch!" he snarled, "I guess I'll just have to take you on up close!"

As he approached one of the machine's claws retracted, revealing a cannon. Shinn immediately climbed, and it wasn't a moment too soon. A blast of crimson energy ripped through the air, and while it wasn't on the level of the Minerva's Tannhäuser Shinn knew that it would still wreck the Impulse if it connected.

He dived towards the mobile armor, and this time the machine opened up on him with its conventional cannons. Shinn twisted and turned his mobile suit as he tried to work his way through the barrage, but even with the Impulse's speed he still had to use his shield to tank some of the rounds. The impacts threw him off course and only made it easier for other shots to actually hit his machine. The Impulse's Variable Phase Shift Armor was able to absorb the impacts, but doing so cost him power that his unit desperately needed if it was going to triumph in this fight.

Closing the gap, Shinn was finally able to get into saber range of his target. However, the thrusters on the bottom of the machine suddenly shot out a burst of blue and white flame, causing the mobile armor to climb at a surprisingly rapid rate for such a large craft. It then brought back out the claw it had retraced earlier and took a swing at Shinn, forcing him to dive to avoid getting hit.

"Shit!" he hissed, "It's faster than it looks!"

The mobile armor opened fire with its cannons and CIWS, forcing Shinn to fall back under the barrage. His mobile suit shuddered under fresh impacts, and every time he returned fire his particle beams were simply deflected by the mobile armor's energy shields.

Damn it, he thought as he frantically checked his gauges, I'm using too much power! I have to turn this around quickly!

….

Talia was nearly thrown from her chair as the Minerva was rocked by a particularly vicious salvo. "Report!"

"Breach confirmed on the upper hull!" shouted the damage control officer, "There's a fire on Deck Nine, Section Five!"

"Get it under control immediately!" Talia ordered.

This isn't good, she thought as she grimly checked her display, Shinn's keeping the mobile armor at bay, but the rest… we're in trouble.

"Return fire!" Arthur commanded, "Target the closest destroyer!"

On the main monitor Talia saw two pairs of heavy emerald particle beams race across the sky as the Minerva's Tristan turrets opened up. The salvo slammed into the midsection of an Alliance destroyer, and when combined with a follow-up attack from the Isolde triple gun it was enough to break the ship in half. Unfortunately, that still left three destroyers and three carriers for the Alliance to attack her ship with, and that wasn't counting all the remaining mobile suits. With Wufei now focused on keeping the Atlantic Federation machines away from Shinn as the Impulse battled the new mobile armor it was much easier for the remaining units to attack the Minerva directly. Lunamaria and Rey were doing their best to fend them off, but their lack of full-flight capability was a serious handicap.

No choice, she thought as she scanned the field, I guess we'll have to risk it…

"Helm, go thirty to port!" she ordered, "We'll skirt the territorial boundary and try to put some distance between us and them!"

"Aye, Captain!" the helmsman replied.

"Captain," said Arthur nervously, "are you sure about this? The ships from the Orb Union…"

"They haven't fired on us yet," said Talia, hoping she sounded more confident than she felt, "As long as we don't actually cross back into their territorial waters we should be fine."

Arthur nodded. "Understood, Captain."

We're playing with fire here, she thought as her ship began to turn, but we need a way to take some of the heat off from the Alliance. I just hope this doesn't draw the Orb ships into the fray…

….

Yuna folded his arm as he watched the battle continue to unfold on the displays lining the far wall of the war-room. Things weren't going quite as smoothly as he'd originally hoped, and he was beginning to get frustrated.

The ZAFT ship is still intact even though the Earth forces deployed their new mobile armor, he thought, and none of the enemy's mobile suits have been taken down either. After all the trouble I went through to coordinate our efforts with those of the Atlantic Federation… how irksome.

"The Minerva is changing course!" called one of the officers, "She's approaching our territorial waters!"

Yuna smirked; finally, he would have an excuse to get the Orb Navy in on the action. "Give them one warning, then fire at will!"

A collective murmur went through the war-room, and Yuna was a bit taken aback by the notes of dissent he was hearing.

"Just one warning?" said an officer, "But that's…."

"That ship helped destroy the Junius Seven ruins," said another, "It may be with ZAFT, but it helped save the world."

"They're heroes," a third muttered, "Are we really supposed to fire on them?"

Yuna glared at the assembled officers. "I'll say this again so we're all on the same page; give them a single warning, then open fire. That ship is a threat to the Orb Union, and your orders are to destroy it before it can re-enter our territory! Is that understood?"

"Yes, my lord!" they replied.

Whether by our hands or those of the Earth Alliance, he thought, one way or another, that ship goes down here!

….

"Damn it!" snarled Shinn as the Impulse rocked under another hit.

Things were looking grim. No madder how hard he tried he couldn't make as much as a dent in the Alliance's new mobile armor. Every particle beam he fired was deflected by the unit's energy shields, and every time he tried to get up close to hit it with his saber the machine would either lash out with its claws or hit him with its cannons. Shinn was losing precious power and time with each exchange, and the Impulse could not sustain this.

Wufei might've been keeping the Earth Alliance mobile suits from shooting Shinn in the back, but the Gundam pilot couldn't cover both the Impulse and the Minerva at the same time. The Altron Custom had significantly thinned out the enemy numbers since the fighting had began, but there were still just enough Dagger-Ls and Windams left on the field to both keep Wufei occupied and to pose a threat to the Minerva. When he looked back at the battleship, Shinn could see Lunamaria and Rey in the fight of their lives trying to defend the vessel. They were both still in one piece, but their machines were starting to show signs of damage from glancing hits from particle beams and missile detonations. The two of them had to be getting tired, and Shinn knew that the best way to end this fight quickly was to take down the mobile armor that stood between the Minerva and escape.

The ZAFT battleship itself had altered course in order to take some of the heat off of itself, but Shinn doubted it would work. Its new path took it perilously close to the Orb Union's border, and Shinn had no doubt that the warships of his former homeland would open fire if the Minerva crossed the territorial divide.

Sure enough, as cannon rounds shook the Impulse, he heard a broadcast over an open channel. "This is a warning to the Minerva. You are approaching our territorial waters! Alter course at once or we shall open fire! This is your only warning!"

Those bastards, he thought, They'll backstab anyone if it suits their needs. Damn you, Orb!

An alarm went off in his cockpit, and Shinn's eyes widened as he saw the Impulse's energy gauge dip into the red. The unit would now shift over to emergency power, and that meant only one thing; the Variable Phase Shift Armor would deactivate, and Shinn would be vulnerable.

"Damn it!" cried Shinn as he took a cannon round on his shield, "Not now!"

His protests did him no good; the Variable Phase Shift Armor was already coming down, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. It would be impossible for the enemy to miss the shift in the Impulse's color scheme as its defenses failed, and the giant mobile armor wasted no time in taking advantage of it. The machine lunged forward, and Shinn raised his shield to fend off the attack. He was only partially successful; the shield did take the worst of the blow, but the sheer power behind the strike shattered Shinn's sole remaining means of defense and sent the Impulse falling towards the sea.

"No!" he yelled, "Shit!"

Time seemed to slow as Shinn plummeted towards the waves below. As he fell he caught glimpses of the rest of the battlefield. There was Wufei continuing to fend off Alliance mobile suits, his beam trident a whirlwind of emerald death. There was the Minerva under fire from the remaining enemy warships and mobile suits that darted about above her. There were Lunamaria and Rey, both atop the ship and fighting desperately to keep the vessel intact.

And there was his overwhelming anger and desperation to save them all.

It can't end like this…

…I can't die here!

I can't let them die here!

It was in that moment that a strange image formed in his mind's eye. He could see what looked like a seed slowly spinning as it descended towards a pool of water. The tip of the seed touched the surface, a single ripple went across the water…

….and then the seed itself burst with brilliant light.

End "Contact"

….

Start "Excalibur"

"Impulse is hit!" called the sensor operator, "It's falling to the sea!"

"Shinn!" cried Meyrin, "Come on, Shinn, talk to me! Come in, Shinn!"

On the main monitor, Talia could see the Impulse descending towards the waves below. Its fall seemed to be a sign of how the broader battle was going. Despite the best efforts of Wufei to thin out the crowd and Lunamaria and Rey to supplement the Minerva's weapons, the ZAFT battleship was getting hammered by the surviving Earth Alliance forces. Their current position, so close now to Orb's territorial boundary, did them no favors; if the battleship strayed any closer to the demarcation Talia was certain that the warships just on the other side of the border would open fire, and that would be the end of the Minerva.

Is this really our fate?, she thought, Are we truly to fall just at the start of this war? I cannot accept that, and yet…

Suddenly Shinn's voice came over the bridge speakers. "Minerva, this is Impulse! Meyrin, I need a Deuterion Beam and a Sword Silhouette!"

Meyrin turned to Talia. "Captain?"

"Give it to him!" Talia replied.

There was something different in the young pilot's voice. To Talia, Shinn seemed to have become more focused than she'd seen from him before. There was a new intensity in his voice, along with a feeling of certainty. Talia wasn't quite sure what her hotheaded pilot had in mind, but he definitely seemed confident enough, and with the situation as desperate as it was she decided to take a gamble on him.

All right, Shinn, she thought, Let's see what you've got up your sleeve…

A pulse of light shot from one of the Minerva's Deuterion Beam emitters. It hit the Impulse right in the head, swiftly recharging its batteries. At the same time a Sword Silhouette was catapulted into the air and went racing towards the mobile suit. However, it didn't have a clear path to the Impulse; a Windam was already moving to intercept it.

"Shit!" she hissed, "Get a missile lock on that Windam before it shoots down the Sword Silhouette!"

Even as she gave the order, she knew it was too late; the Alliance mobile suit already drawing a bead on the Sword Silhouette. However, just before it could take the shot it was hit from behind by a familiar and most welcome sight; one of the Altron Custom's Dragon Fangs. Its thrusters crushed, the Windam spiraled down towards the sea, leaving the Sword Silhouette with an open path to Shinn. The Impulse jettisoned the Force Silhouette, and almost immediately the new augmentation pack took its place. The unit's Variable Phase Shift Armor switched to the red and white color scheme associated with the Sword Silhouette, and Shinn swiftly drew the pack's twin anti-ship blades.

The giant Earth Alliance mobile armor didn't simply sit back and wait for the Impulse to take the offensive. It opened up with every cannon it had, filling the sky with slugs. However, with fresh energy reserves and seemingly a new sense of resolve, Shinn was able to thread his way through the barrage. Talia watched in awe as the Impulse practically danced through the sky; it felt like she was seeing an entirely different pilot at the controls of the prototype mobile suit.

Is… is that really Shinn in there?, she thought numbly, The way he's moving… I've never seen him fly like this before. Was he always capable of this? It's almost like…

…one of the Gundam pilots is in there.

She had studied the training records of each of her ship's pilots once she had been put in command of the Minerva, and nowhere in Shinn's dossier had there been any mention of this level of skill. Of course, since he'd still been at the academy at the time there was naturally plenty of room for his abilities to develop after graduation, but Talia still felt that there should've been something in his record indicating the kind of combat potential that she was seeing now.

Finally making it into sword range, the Impulse wasted no time in carving into the Alliance mobile armor. First to go were the four heavy topside cannons, each sliced away as easily as a sharp axe might cleave through dry wood. The mobile armor tried to shake Shinn off, but the ZAFT Red was able to maintain his position through expert manipulation of his maneuvering thrusters. Raising both anti-ship swords, the Impulse then plunged the blades into the heart of mechanical beast. Sparks and gouts of flame spewed forth from the wounds, and as Shinn pulled away the mobile armor was torn apart by a fierce internal blast.

"Unbelievable…" Arthur murmured.

Talia was just as stunned as her XO, but as the ship's Captain she did not have the luxury of remaining dumbfounded. The loss of the enemy mobile armor gave her an opening that she immediately moved to exploit.

"Helm, go forty to starboard!" she ordered, "Weapons, charge up the Tannhäuser again! Target the central carrier!"

As she issued her commands she saw that both Shinn and Wufei were already altering their own deployments now that the mobile armor was destroyed. The Altron Custom was rushing back towards the Minerva; Lunamaria and Rey were about to get some much needed cover in the sky. Meanwhile, the Impulse was charging forward, and Talia saw it was making a beeline for one of the three remaining Earth Alliance destroyers. The entire battle seemed to have shifted with the destruction of the large mobile armor, and Talia felt a renewed sense of hope that she and her crew might yet live to fight another day.

"Tannhäuser is fully charged!" shouted the main gunnery officer.

"Fire!" Talia yelled.

A fresh crimson blast ripped forth from the front of the battleship. In the blink of an eye it raced across the ocean waves before slamming into the carrier at the rear of the Atlantic Federation's formation. The vessel was completely torn apart by the wave of energy, and based on its position Talia felt reasonably confident that they had just destroyed the battle group's command ship.

The Minerva shuddered under another barrage of particle beam fire from the mobile suits zipping about above the warship, but it was the last such blow the vessel would take. Wufei was now among the ranks of the harassing Earth Alliance units, and he wasted no time in carving into them. A Windam was cut in half by the whirling double-ended beam trident before a Dagger-L was crushed by a blow from one of the Gundam's Dragon Fangs. The surviving Earth Alliance machines quickly reoriented themselves to face Wufei, but they fared little better than their fallen compatriots. Lunamaria and Rey were sending fire skyward, and the same went for the Minerva's anti-air weaponry, but they couldn't hold a candle to the Altron Custom.

He's tearing them apart, thought Talia as she watched Wufei impale a Windam straight through the cockpit, I'd love to know where he learned to fight like this…

Meanwhile, Shinn was starting his assault on the surviving Earth Alliance warships. The first destroyer in his path opened up on him with everything it had, but it was to no avail. Shinn's advance was too fast, and he was right on top of the vessel before its crew knew what hit them. The ZAFT Red's first target was the ship's bow cannon, which it cleaved clean off the destroyer. It moved on to the warship's missile launchers, and after those were destroyed the machine plunged its blades into the vessel's bridge.

With one destroyer neutralized and two more remaining, Shinn quickly moved on to his next target. Talia could only watch as the Impulse combined its two blades into a single weapon before letting fly with one of the mobile suit's beam boomerangs. The energy projectile cut across the vessel's rear decks before returning the Impulse, and Shinn followed that up by bringing his combined sword down and cleaving the ship in half.

Confident that Shinn would soon have the last destroyer taken care of, Talia turned her attention to the Alliance carriers. There were two of them left, and while they were lightly armed and armored when compared to the Minerva they were still capable of attacking her.

"Target the left carrier with the Tristans and Isolde," she ordered, "Fire as soon as you have a solution!"

"Copy that," replied the main gunnery officer, "Targeting solutions locked in. Firing!"

The Minerva's beam cannons and triple gun opened up, raining hell down on their target. The salvo blasted a gaping hole in the carrier's portside, and a follow-up shot ripped the vessel apart. Meanwhile, the Impulse was already assaulting the final destroyer, proceeding to cleave the ship's bridge clean off the vessel. Talia was about to order her gunnery officer to target the last carrier, but Shinn was already moving on that vessel.

He's shifting seamlessly from one target to the next, she thought, I've never seen him fight so fluidly before.

The Impulse's charge was a death sentence for the last Alliance ship on the field. The carrier opened up on the mobile suit with its anti-air beam turret, but the shots failed to find their mark. Talia knew that Shinn would have no problem landing his blow on the carrier, and he wasted no time in doing so. She saw the Impulse twirl its combined anti-ship swords, ripping apart the carrier's flight deck before thrusting one end of the weapon right through the vessel's bridge.

"All Earth Alliance vessels are down!" the sensor officer reported.

Arthur let out a sigh of relief. "We did it… I can't believe it."

"The battle's not quite over yet," Talia gently admonished him, "There are still some enemy mobile suits left on the field, and they're not retreating."

Then again, she mused, Wufei hasn't really given them a chance to.

Indeed, the pilot of the Altron Custom was carving through the survivors like a buzz-saw. A Dagger-L was sliced in half with a swipe from the Gundam's beam trident before a Windam was impaled by the same weapon. Supporting fire from Lunamaria and Rey took down two more machines, leaving just a handful left in the air. The enemy force had been all but annihilated, and at this rate Talia was sure that the mopping up of the survivors would be a swift affair assuming they did not take their last chance to withdraw.

"Recall the Impulse," Talia ordered, "Wufei can handle the remaining hostile mobile suits. Helm, get us back on course to Carpentaria."

"Aye, Captain!" the officer replied.

"Shinn, this is the Minerva," said Meyrin, "You can come back to the ship now."

"No," Shinn replied.

Talia's eyes widened; the boy was picking now of all times to defy a direct order? "Shinn Asuka, this is your Captain. Get back to the Minerva now!"

"No," Shinn repeated, "This battle's not over yet."

"Wufei has the remaining Alliance units under control," Talia countered, "The Impulse needs to be brought in for repairs. Return to the ship at once!"

"Orb's still on the field," Shinn shoot back, his tone as sharp as a knife, "I'm taking them down!"

"Impulse is accelerating," said the sensor officer, "It's heading straight for the Orb battle group behind us!"

No, thought Talia with a mix of fear and fury, He's going to get us thrown into another fight that we don't want!

"Shinn Asuka, stand down!" she snapped, "Orb has not engaged us, and you will not attack them without provocation! That's an order!"

There was no response this time. On the main monitor she could see the Impulse charging towards the Orb Union forces, and he showed no signs of stopping. While it was true that Orb had turned against them, the fact remained that the battle group behind them had not yet attacked the Minerva. There was still a chance for the ship to get away without engaging them, but Shinn was about to throw that right out the window.

"Captain!" cried Arthur frantically, "What should we do? He's still heading straight for them!"

"I can see that," said Talia grimly, knowing exactly what she had to do, "Keep our current course; we're getting out of here as fast as we can. If Shinn attacks Orb, he will do so alone."

"But he could get killed or captured," Arthur protested, "We can't afford to lose him or the Impulse!"

"The Minerva and all of those aboard her are more important now," Talia shot back, "Shinn's brought this upon himself."

It might've been harsh, but in Talia's eyes it was the only way to salvage the situation. If Shinn was unable to set aside his personal issues with the Orb Union, Talia was by no means obligated to go along with his vendetta. Shinn would be stuck in a mess of his own making, and even if it meant losing him and the Impulse Talia did not intend to put her ship and crew at risk to save him from his own anger and insubordination.

If you survive this, Shinn Asuka, she thought, you will have a lot of explaining to do!

End "Excalibur"

….

"Shinn, stop it!" cried Meyrin, "Shinn, come back!"

Shinn cut the connection without a word. Her protests, and those of Captain Gladys, meant little to the fury that was driving him now. Ever since that strange vision he'd experience earlier in the fight he'd been driven by a single-minded desire to eliminate any threat to himself and his friends. It didn't matter that the Earth Alliance forces had been dealt with; the Orb Union ships were still there and capable of firing on the Minerva at any time. The fact that they had already issued a verbal threat to the ship earlier in the fight only made it easier for Shinn in his rage-filled mind to target them after the Atlantic Federation units had been dealt with, and with the new energy and focus the vision had granted him he knew that he could easily take them all down.

And that's when something green and heavy slammed into the Impulse from the side.

"What the hell?" cried Shinn as he was thrown violently off course.

Another sudden impact rocked his machine, causing it to further deviate from its flight path. Reorienting himself, Shinn quickly found the source of the hits; the Dragon Fangs of the Altron Custom.

"Stand down, Shinn," said Wufei, "Now."

"No!" Shinn shot back, "They're the enemy! We have to take them down!"

Wufei's reply was another Dragon Fang, and this one nailed the Impulse right in the torso. The impact threw Shinn back in his seat, and it was only thanks to his helmet that he wasn't knocked unconscious.

"The battle's over," said Wufei, "The enemy has been defeated. It's time to go."

"Bullshit!" snarled Shinn as he brought his machine back up, "Orb stabbed us in the back! They have to pay!"

"They haven't attacked us yet," Wufei replied calmly, "The enemy that blocked our path has been defeated. Yes, the Orb Union did betray us, but engaging them now when we have a clear path out of here is beyond pointless. The Minerva took some serious damage, Shinn; she needs to retreat, and so do you."

"What do you care about the Minerva?" Shinn growled, "I thought you were just here so you could fight!"

"I'm here to fight according to my sense of justice," said Wufei, "While the Orb Union may have sided with the Earth Alliance, the fact remains that they have not attacked us yet. They are still on their side of the territorial line and have not moved to cross it. Besides, attacking a single battle group will accomplish nothing at this point. The Orb Union will answer for the course of action it chose today sooner or later, but the Earth Alliance is the main enemy. The forces they deployed against us today have been defeated, and there's not justice in continuing this fight just to satisfy whatever petty vendetta you have with Orb."

"Petty vendetta?" Shinn repeated incredulously, "You son of a bitch! You have no idea what I lost because of them!"

"Regardless, the fact remains that we need to leave here," Wufei replied, "One Alliance battle group has been defeated, but another could show up at any time. Are you willing to take the chance of one arriving here and killing your friends all for the sake of your grudge with the Orb Union?"

That hit Shinn like a bucket of cold water. Checking his sensors, he quickly found the Minerva, along with Lunamaria and Rey. They were all still in one piece, but they had also sustained damage during the battle. If the Orb Union forces were provoked into an attack there was no guarantee that his comrades would be able to survive another round of combat. There was also the fact that the Minerva was not moving to join Shinn in his charge; it was actually heading in the opposite direction out to the open ocean.

"So," said Wufei, "what's it going to be? Are you going to follow your rage, or will you finally listen to reason? If you choose combat, I won't stop you, but know this; you will fight alone, and you will likely die alone."

Shinn grit his teeth; he wanted nothing more than to punch Wufei in the face at the moment, but at the same time he could feel the adrenaline and fury that he'd been mainlining start to seep out of his system. That renewed energy and focus that he had gained after the vision with the seed was fading, and he was increasingly becoming aware of how ragged his breathing was. The battle had taken a heavier toll on him than he'd realized, and if he attacked the Orb Union forces in this state he would very likely be shot down.

"Fine," he said, "Let's head back to the ship."

"You first," Wufei replied, "I'll follow once I'm sure the Orb force isn't about to launch its mobile suits against us."

Shinn nodded and hit his thrusters, making a beeline for the Minerva. Now that his head was starting to clear, he realized that he was going to be in a lot of trouble once he returned to the ship. He had disobeyed a direct order from the Captain, and he doubted she would take that lying down.

I'll worry about that later, he thought as he spared one last glance back the Orb battle group, I just want to get the hell out of here.

I never want to see this damn country again.

….

"Impulse is lined up for hangar approach," said Meyrin, "Shinn, you're clear to enter the ship!"

Talia sighed with relief as she watched the Impulse make its final descent. That machine's hot-headed pilot had given her quite a headache, and despite the talent he had displayed on the battlefield today she had no intention of letting him get away with it. There were very clear protocols in place for situations like this, and she intended to follow them to the letter.

"Arthur," she said, "Send a security detail down to the hangar. As soon as Shinn leaves the Impulse, they're to escort him to the brig."

Arthur's eyes widened. "Captain, are you serious? Without Shinn's actions today…"

"I'm well aware of what he accomplished against the Earth Alliance forces," Talia shot back sternly, "and that this ship would likely have been destroyed were it not for him. However, that does not excuse the fact that he disobeyed orders and moved to attack the Orb Union battle group after the Alliance forces had been neutralized. He damn near got us into another fight, and there's been enough combat for one day. As this ship's Captain it's my duty to enforce discipline amongst the crew, and clearly I've been lax if Shinn thinks he can defy direct orders without consequences. I would rather rectify that now than have it bite us in the rear down the road and get us all killed."

Arthur nodded. "Very well, Captain."

She turned to the sensor officer. "Where's the Altron?"

"Heading towards us now," the officer replied, "It'll be set for hangar approach soon."

At least Wufei's not picking unnecessary fights today, she thought, I suppose I should thank him for pulling Shinn back from the brink, although the manner in which he did so is a little concerning. Still, it worked, and I guess that's enough for now.

The battle was over, but Talia knew that today's troubles still weren't behind her yet. Not only would she have to file a report regarding the battle, but she would also have to send a disciplinary notice to the Defense Council regarding Shinn's actions. Due to his status as the Impulse's pilot it was hard to say how the Council would rule on this matter, and there was always the possibility of Durandal exerting influence on their decision. While Talia valued Shinn's skills and the power of the Impulse that did not change the fact that such a blatant breakdown of discipline in her top pilot had to be addressed immediately.

"Damn it, Shinn," she muttered, "Get that temper of yours under control…"

Preferably before I really have to throw the book at you!

….

"You can't be serious!" Shinn cried, "What the hell, Arthur?"

Shinn had been expecting to get a cold reception upon his return to the Minerva. He'd even been prepared to spend a little time in the brig, but the Executive Officer's notification was like a punch to the face.

Arthur folded his arms. "Don't act so surprised, Shinn. You're a soldier and are supposed to follow the chain of command, but you violated explicit orders from the Captain. If you ask me, you're lucky you got off this easy."

Shinn was flabbergasted. "How does 'indefinite confinement' qualify as easy?"

"There is an exception built into it," Arthur countered, "The Captain recognizes your piloting skills, which is why if the ship comes under attack again you will be allowed to sortie in the Impulse. That's a luxury you get only out of necessity. Your ultimate fate will likely be decided by the Defense Council."

Shinn sighed. "When will that be?"

Arthur shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't say for sure. We are at war now, after all, which means that the Council has its hands full. Disciplinary action regarding a single soldier, regardless of talent and the mobile suit they pilot, is likely a low priority for them at the moment."

"So you're saying I could be stuck in here for the whole war?" asked Shinn incredulously.

"That is a distinct possibility," Arthur replied, "apart from combat, of course. I'm sorry, Shinn, I really am. I won't deny that your piloting skills and what you were able to accomplish today are why the Minerva is still standing. However, the Captain is well within her rights to confine you. After all, you nearly started another fight after the Earth forces were defeated. Our top priority has been the same since we left the dock; to escape the Orb Union and make it to Carpentaria. You put that in jeopardy; the Captain had to take action, Shinn!"

Shinn slammed his fist against the wall. "Damn it!"

Arthur gave him a pitying look. "You should get comfortable, Shinn… and try to avoid further outbursts. I suggest you think long and hard about how you're going to defend your actions to the Captain. She won't go as easy on you as I just did."

"Whatever," Shinn replied, all but spitting out the word.

Arthur shook his head. "I don't have time for this; I'm needed back on the bridge. Farewell, Shinn… and good luck."

Shinn leaned back against the wall of his cell as the ship's XO left the room. Apart from a bunk, a small shower, a sink and a toilet it was about as sparse one might expect. It offered very little in the way of privacy and was far less comfortable than the modest quarters he was used to as a ZAFT Red.

"What the hell was I thinking?" he muttered.

It was a very good question. His animosity towards the Orb Union was common knowledge amongst the crew of the Minerva; Shinn had never exactly been subtle about it. However, even with the grudge he bore against his former homeland it was still hard for him in retrospect to understand why he had moved to attack the Orb battle group after the Alliance forces had been defeated. He might not have liked Orb, and the fact that they had deployed warships against the Minerva didn't help things on that front, but he still couldn't believe that he had openly defied the Captain in such a manner.

That vision I had, he thought, recalling the seed bursting into light, What was that? After I saw it, I felt powerful. I was furious, but I was also focused. I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I was going to save my friends no matter what…

The sheer rush he had felt was unlike anything he had experienced before. At the same time he'd gained what seemed like an intuitive grasp of the entire battlefield. He had known exactly what he needed to do to accomplish his goals, and he had the power to take down anyone that stood in his way.

Except for Wufei, that is. Shinn still couldn't believe that the pilot of the Altron Custom had stopped him in his tracks so easily. The first two hits from the Dragon Fangs might've been surprise attacks, but the third had been a head-on strike and he still hadn't been able to dodge it. Even in his state of heightened adrenaline and focus Shinn had been slapped across the sky by Wufei in a manner so casual it was downright embarrassing. It reminded him of his encounter with Heero on the Minerva shortly after the attack on Armory One; the Albion's pilot had knocked him out cold with a single blow. As strong as he had grown since then, the dominance Wufei had shown against him today was a harsh reminder of how far he still had to go.

I'll catch up to them, thought Shinn, Heero, Wufei, all of them. I'll surpass them all, and then no one will be able to stop me ever again.

He was sidetracked by the sound of a nearby door sliding open. Sitting upright, he saw Lunamaria and Rey appear outside his cell a moment later.

Lunamaria shook her head when she saw him. "You really screwed up this time, you know that?"

"I concur," said Rey, "Shinn, what happened out there?"

He sighed. "I… I don't know. I just… snapped."

"Come on, Shinn," said Lunamaria, "We want to help you out here, but you've got to give us more to work with than that!"

"It's the truth!" Shinn protested, "I just… I lost it. I remember seeing the Alliance attacking the ship, you and Rey trying to fight them off, and I was so… so angry…"

"Your fury is understandable given the circumstances," said Rey, his eyes narrowing, "but there had to be more to it than that. We both saw the way you took down that mobile armor and the rest of the Alliance ships, Shinn."

Lunamaria nodded. "No kidding. Where did that come from, Shinn?"

Shinn shook his head. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Oh, yeah?" Lunamaria replied, raising an eyebrow, "Try us."

"We're your friends, Shinn," said Rey, "The least we can do is hear you out."

Figuring that he had nothing to lose at this point, Shinn described the vision he'd experienced during the battle. Much to his surprise, neither Lunamaria nor Rey dismissed it out of hand. They simply listened patiently as he ran through everything and withheld judgment until he was finished.

"Interesting," said Rey, his brow furrowed in thought.

"Yeah," said Lunamaria, "That's definitely a new one for me."

"I'm not lying about this," said Shinn.

Lunamaria smiled. "Easy there, Shinn. I never said you were lying. I'd know if you were; you suck at it. I've just never heard of anything like this before."

"I might have," said Rey, causing both Shinn and Lunamaria to turn to him in surprise.

"Really?" asked Shinn, his eyes widening.

"What are you talking about?" asked Lunamaria.

"There was a rumor going around during the last war," said Rey, "It was about one of the pilots on the Archangel."

Shinn rolled his eyes. "Let me guess; Heero."

Rey shook his head. "Actually, it was about the pilot of the Strike. Before it was destroyed, several soldiers reported witnessing a sudden surge in its performance during certain battles. It was as if the pilot had undergone some sort of transformation that amplified their combat abilities. What you're describing might be the same phenomenon."

"Are you serious?" asked Shinn.

Rey nodded. "The closest analogue that comes to mind for something like this would be the berserkers of old. The way you depicted your mental state after experiencing the vision certainly falls in line with that. Have you ever experienced anything like this before?"

Shinn shook his head. "No, this was the first time."

"Wait, did you just call Shinn a berserker?" asked Lunamaria nervously, "I know he's got some anger issues, but that seems a little extreme."

Rey shrugged. "I'm simply telling you how this all fits together based on past reports from the last war. Some analysts within ZAFT applied the label to the pilot of the Strike after witnessing those performance surges I mentioned earlier. Shinn, if you could gain control over this phenomenon and activate it at will you would have a very formidable weapon in your arsenal."

Shinn sighed. "Easy for you to say. I still have no idea how it happened to begin with. I mean, I've gotten angry before and it hasn't triggered."

"Maybe it was a one-off," said Lunamaria, "I mean, we've been in dicey situations on the battlefield before now and this didn't happen to Shinn."

"Our combat experience is rather limited," Rey replied, his eyes narrowing, "and none of them brought the Minerva closer to destruction than today's fight. The desperation of our battle today might have something to do with triggering your ability, Shinn."

"Honestly, I have no clue," said Shinn, "I don't think I'll be able to pull this off outside of combat, so I've got no way to test it."

Rey nodded. "Well, if you do trigger it again, let us know. We need to study this ability of yours. If it's not a one-time thing, then we need to figure out how you can gain mastery over it."

Lunamaria smiled. "Rey's right. I mean, I still don't like that he called you a berserker because of it, but I saw what you did to that mobile armor earlier. A power surge like that could really save our hides in a pinch. It definitely did so today."

Shinn smiled in return; it was nice to at least have someone complimenting the new abilities he'd displayed today rather focusing on the second fight he'd nearly picked with the Orb Union. Lunamaria and Rey might get frustrated with him, but times like these were proof to Shinn that they always had his back. He couldn't ask for better friends than them.

"Well," he said, "I can't make any promises. I'll just try my best like I always do the next time we get in a fight and go from there."

Lunamaria nodded. "Sounds good to me."

"We'd better get going," said Rey, "I don't think the Captain would be too happy to find us down here when she comes to read you the riot act."

"Rey's right," said Lunamaria, "Sorry, Shinn. We'll try to visit again later. Hang in there… and try not to make an ass of yourself, okay?"

Shinn couldn't help but laugh. "All right. I'll see you guys later."

….

Leaning towards the monitor on his desk, Durandal's eyes narrowed as he processed the information just given to him. "A berserker? You're certain?"

Rey shook his head. "Not completely, but the possibility cannot be ignored. At the very least, the behavior Shinn displayed today does show parallels to that of the pilot of the Strike… and the Freedom."

"I trust you left that second part out when you spoke to him?" said Durandal, "Asuka's file indicates a certain level of hostility towards that machine."

Rey nodded. "I refrained from that. It wasn't hard. After all, it's not common knowledge that the pilot of the Strike is the same one that wields the Freedom."

Durandal smiled. "True enough. Kira Yamato didn't become a household name in the last war due in large part to the fact that for much of it he was a Coordinator fighting for the Earth forces. That peculiar set of circumstances made the likes of Patrick Zala and his supporters rather uncomfortable."

"It also helped bury his association with the research conducted at the Mendel colony," Rey added, "I imagine that was a bonus for my… predecessor."

"And one for us as well," Durandal replied, "It gives us more room to maneuver where Kira Yamato and his allies are concerned."

"What will we do when they show up on the battlefield?" asked Rey, "Their only action so far was the intervention in Operation Redemption, but with the war heating up they won't remain on the sidelines forever."

"There are contingencies in place, Rey," said Durandal, "Which ones we act upon will depend on how our rogue actors next take to the stage. I'll give you further instructions on that matter when the time comes."

Rey nodded. "Very well. Is there anything else you need from me at this time?"

"Yes," said Durandal, "I'd like an assessment of the Gundam pilot that remains with the Minerva."

Rey's eyes narrowed. "Is there something in particular that you're looking for?"

"Amenability," Durandal replied, "I want to know if he's really in line with our way of thinking. The fact that he's remained with the Minerva since Operation Redemption is certainly a positive sign, but I need more concrete information."

Rey shook his head. "That's difficult for me to provide at the moment. He's a highly skilled pilot, but his motives are hard to properly discern. He claims to be fighting for his idea of justice, although I cannot say for sure what exactly that entails. Also, it would appear that he has a certain… affinity for the battlefield that I've yet to observe in any of our pilots."

Durandal raised an eyebrow. "I'm assuming you're referring to something separate from his fighting abilities, correct?"

Rey nodded. "Yes. From what I've observed, it seems that he considers the battlefield to be as much of a home for him as L5 is to us Coordinators. It appears that he stayed with the Minerva in large part because he considered it to be a pivotal ship in this conflict. He sees it as at the heart of the new campaign, and so he's inclined to stay since it provides him with the most direct means to engage the enemy head-on."

Durandal smiled. "Interesting. There are pilots in our ranks that I've seen express a similar mentality to what you're describing. We may be able to make use of this."

"I would advise proceeding cautiously," said Rey, "Wufei is still a rather unpredictable individual. In that he follows in the lineage of Wing Zero's pilot."

Durandal shook his head. "No man is a complete enigma. In one way or another, they give away their true motivations. One simply has to learn to read them and look for the signs."

"I'll defer to your judgment on that front," Rey replied, "There is another angle that we might be able to pursue with him, though."

Durandal was intrigued. "Oh? What might that be?"

"He's kept his distance from most of the crew," said Rey, "and only interacts with Shinn and I on more or less a professional basis. However… he has spent some time with Lunamaria. More so than he has with any other crewmember, at any rate."

"Interesting," said Durandal, "Are you detecting any inclinations on his part?"

"I can't make any assumptions there as of yet," said Rey, "but I believe it bears further monitoring."

Durandal concurred. "Indeed. Please inform me of any future developments on that front."

"Of course," Rey replied.

"Is there anything else that I should be aware of?" asked Durandal.

"Well," said Rey, "there's the matter of Captain Gladys. She's furious with Shinn at the moment, and not without reason; he did disobey a direct order."

Durandal nodded. "Of course. I concur with Talia's decision to withdraw once the Alliance forces were defeated, and it's a shame that Shinn felt otherwise. However, if he did enter into this 'berserker' state, it's possible that his reasoning abilities may have been adversely affected by it."

The ZAFT Red raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying that should be a defense for Shinn's action? I doubt the Captain will agree with that."

"It's merely something we should keep in mind," said Durandal, "especially if Shinn goes into this state again."

"What will you do regarding his sentence?" asked Rey, "He is currently in the brig, after all."

"Well, I'm certainly glad that Talia made an exception for combat operations," said Durandal, "Still, it's unproductive for him to be stuck in there for the rest of the war. I'll intervene on his behalf with the Defense Council. He should be released from confinement once the Minerva reaches Carpentaria.

"That's only a few days worth of confinement," said Rey, "The Captain won't be happy with him having such a light sentence. I agree that his value as the Impulse's pilot means that it's not conducive to the war effort to keep him in the brig indefinitely, but letting him off this easily could send the wrong message."

Durandal nodded. "I'm aware of that. Harsher measures will have to be imposed in the future, and I'll make sure that the Council stresses that point when they send their next transmission to Talia. The fact of the matter is that Shinn needs every possible opportunity to develop his gifts, whether it is on the battlefield or in simulation. If he truly does have the same berserker capabilities as those displayed by Kira Yamato in the last war, then we should do all in our power to cultivate them. It could give us a decisive advantage in this conflict."

"I agree," said Rey, "However, if we want him to have as big an impact as Kira Yamato, then we'll need to get him a better mobile suit. The Impulse is formidable and has the capacity to play a vital role on the battlefield, but it's still not quite on the same level as the likes of the Freedom or Justice."

Durandal smiled. "You're right about that. I was already considering him as a possible pilot candidate for the Destiny once it's operational. Thanks to your report, I think he just shot to the top of the list."

"What about the Legend?" asked Rey.

"Don't worry," Durandal replied, "That one's meant for you and you alone. It's only fitting, after all."

Rey nodded. "Of course."

"By the way," said Durandal, "How have you been holding up? You're staying up to date on your medication, I trust?"

"I take it regularly," said Rey, "and I've been keeping up with my visits to the ship's doctor, just like you ordered. Everything's under control."

Durandal nodded. "That's good to hear. Do give me notice if things change on that front."

"I will," Rey replied.

"Now," said Durandal, "did you have anything else to report?"

Rey shook his head. "No, but if you don't mind I do have a question."

"Go ahead," said Durandal.

"What will we do about the Orb Union?" he asked, "They're now on the Alliance's side unofficially, and I suspect an official statement formalizing their pact will be not long in coming. They've rebuilt their military since the last war, and while it's not as powerful as ours or that of the Alliance it is still nothing to be taken lightly."

"Orb's pact with the Earth Alliance is a contingency that was planned for by the Defense Council," Durandal replied smoothly, "Our plan was always to assume a defensive posture during the initial phase of the war; Orb throwing their hat into the ring simply puts greater urgency on our need to reinforce our positions down on the surface. We'll be on the lookout for their units in combat areas, but for now we are not actively seeking to engage them; countering the Earth forces remains our top priority."

"I hope the Captain's decision to leave Orb without permission from the Defense Council has not adversely impacted your campaign plans," said Rey.

Durandal smiled. "On the contrary; I approve of Talia seizing the initiative in the manner that she did. The Defense Council has been overly preoccupied with orbital affairs and Operation: Spear Of Twilight. I'm afraid the status of the Minerva got lost in the shuffle. It's most unfortunate; were it not for that tip from Heero Yuy the vessel could very well have been captured and handed over to the Alliance, along with all of you. I'm most pleased that did not come to pass."

Rey's eyes narrowed. "I can understand the Defense Council forgetting about a single ship given the scope of the war, but the fact that Heero Yuy of all people tipped us off about Orb's intentions and gave us the chance to escape concerns me. The Surface Intelligence Bureau should've caught wind of the attempt to seize the ship and given us the warning to get out of the country. Failing that, they should've at least considered the chance of Orb falling into the Alliance's orbit and given us direction to depart before that happened. I find it worrying that a single pilot seems to have better on-the-ground information sources within the Orb Union than the entire SIB."

"The Orb Union has always been suspected of being Heero Yuy's primary base of operations since the end of the Bloody Valentine War," Durandal countered, "It's not all that surprising that he would've cultivated contacts within the nation's military and civilian government to support his activities. You forget that he's more than just a pilot; he was a pivotal leader in his own right in the last war, although I doubt he saw himself as such. His abilities have likely made him a senior member of Miss Clyne's new organization, and I'm willing to bet his authority and access to information sources within it is considerable."

"That seems like an awful lot of power to give to one pilot," said Rey, "Even if the pilot in question is Heero Yuy."

Durandal smiled. "In a way, one could make the argument that his position with Miss Clyne's supporters is not all that different from our FAITH organization. If what we observed up in orbit along with his role in the Minerva's escape from the Orb Union is any indication, he has a great deal of latitude and is able to act in the way he sees is best to accomplish larger strategic goals. It's a fitting role for one as gifted as him. I just think it's a shame that he refused to join us in such a capacity."

Rey shook his head. "Heero Yuy is too unpredictable. Forgive me for speaking frankly, but I don't think a long-term alliance with him would ever be viable. The same goes for the other pilots that were with him up in orbit. Even Wufei should be treated as suspect, regardless of his current position with us."

Durandal nodded. "Your concerns are noted and appreciated, Rey. Still, I do hold out some hope that we might at least be able to coax Wufei into the sort of partnership that Heero turned down. His skills are as impressive as his machine, and he has a consistently high performance baseline."

"Indeed," said Rey, "Is there anything else you require of me?"

"Not at this time," said Durandal, "Please, get some rest; I'm sure you've had a trying day, and you must remain in top form to ensure that the Minerva makes it to Carpentaria in one piece."

Rey nodded. "I shall. Farewell, Chairman."

Durandal smiled. "Until next time, Rey."

The ZAFT Red disappeared from the screen, leaving the Chairman a few moments alone with his thoughts. His unofficial set of eyes and ears on board the Minerva had certainly given him plenty to mull over, not the least of which being the newfound abilities of the Impulse's pilot.

His instructors did note a certain natural talent within him, he mused as he pulled up Shinn's file, I suspected that he had great untapped potential, but I never realized that it might be on this order of magnitude. Such a fascinating development... and one that bodes quite well for the future. You will most certainly bear watching, Shinn Asuka. I hope you don't disappoint me.

He would've liked to spend a little more time mulling over the matter, but unfortunately he had a schedule to keep. Exiting out of the file, his fingers danced across the keyboard as he set up the link for a new transmission. It did not take long for the man on the other end of his call to appear on the screen.

"Chairman Durandal," said Major Adam Langley, "What can I do for you?"

Durandal did not mince words. "Is the Case Black Rose strike team ready to move out?"

The Special Forces officer's gaze darkened at the mention of that particular black op. "Yes, but… permission to speak frankly, Chairman?"

Durandal nodded. "I insist upon it."

"The team will follow their orders," said the Major, "I can guarantee that. However, if we do this, there's no turning back. It won't sit well with them after the deed is done. We could face serious repercussions down the line, especially if word of it leaks out. Chairman… do we have to do this?"

"Yes," said Durandal without hesitation, "She's had her chance to come home, Major. There is too much at stake for her to be permitted such freedom any longer. This must be done."

The Major slowly nodded. "Very well. We can launch in two hours."

"Do it," said Durandal coldly, "The songstress dies tonight."

Preview for next time!

Having successfully run the gauntlet thrown up by the forces of the Earth Alliance and the Orb Union, the Minerva makes for Carpentaria. With no enemy forces in pursuit, she arrives without incident, and the crew soon find themselves joined by an unexpected arrival: Athrun Zala, newly inducted into ZAFT's FAITH organization and given a new mobile suit to aid them in their next campaign. Meanwhile, Terminal engages a strike force targeting none other than Lacus Clyne, forcing Heero and the others to accelerate their plans and jump right into the fray of the Second Bloody Valentine War. The Seirans seek to bring Cagalli into their camp once and for all, but the Gundam pilots have other plans for Orb's Chief Representative. Next time, on "Destiny's Call", Episode Eleven: Tipping Point.

Come at the king, you best not miss…

Author's Notes: All right, it feels good to have another chapter posted! Sorry for the delay here. I'm not going to lie; over the past two weeks in particular I've been a bit distracted with this little thing called The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Seriously, I'm pretty sure I'm addicted, this game's amazing!

Hope you all liked the chapter. Please review!