Ra had sent out a search party to find Selena. He was forced to stay in his secret compound as the recent battle with the Minerva had opened up a spillway of followers. He could not leave his post. He found out three other people were missing from the compound as well. He was a toss between emotions. On one hand, those around him were finally following his lead without questions but the woman that was to rule by his side had fled. Ra made Diana continue being Selena's substitute until Selena was back under his control again. Since Diana was ordered to be by Ra's side to keep up with appearances, Sai couldn't see Diana anymore. He even visited the town to try to find Miriallia but she was gone. Things weren't going the way he wanted to, either.
Sai could not leave Diana and the rest of them. He had to continue following their commands. He didn't want to risk using the network to reach out. Not yet at least when four people escaped. The security had gotten tighter. The connections had gotten further. The recent battle was a catalyst. Sai wished he had never came to this side. He felt like he was Earth Alliance all over again, which in a way he technically was as he noticed the influx of Earth Alliance members seeking meetings with Ra through secured lines.
Jess and 8 had picked up Miriallia and her bike along the way. The two of them were following 8's lead as he moved them along a route only known to the AI system.
"What are we looking for?" Jess was confused.
"You can at least tell us!" Miriallia was getting irritated from staying in the mobile suit for too long. They only stopped to camp and resupply at night.
There will be a sign. Right now, we must be warry of the enemy. Once I have the signal again, we will be following it. Please understand that I cannot reveal anything as of yet. Don't worry. We're headed to the coast line though. That's all I can give.
Selena and the rest continued their journey towards the coastline. They had been going nonstop for a few days. Canard followed Selena's guide to maneuver through without being suspected. No one thought anything suspicious of them in their garb. They did run into people who tried to scam them or steal their money, but Selena was quick to take them down without notice. Canard started to wonder if the rewired weapon was meant for her to wield. She was deadly. Even hiding a venomous snake in her outfit to release it at a scammer trying to threaten them. He never questioned her again. He only hoped he was doing a good enough job when Selena threw her voice over to him when it was needed. The place Selena guided them towards was Sao Luis.
The Minerva was given an order to leave the base to head to Gibraltar as the supplies from their current base was wiped out from their last skirmish. However, the command was to move along the coastline, still keeping an eye of the enemy popping up again. They weren't too far from Sao Luis. They weren't fully restored but they were at seventy percent restored.
Sao Luis was a bustling port city. Selena guided the group to a warehouse by the docks. Inside were four torpedoes. She headed to one of them, opening them up. Inside it was lined with padding and fabric along with some oxygen tanks with a hose and masks. The rest came over to her to see.
"I had these made while we traveled," Selena explained in her sweet voice. "Our disguise can only help us for so long. Once you are in, do not open these until they are opened. I will make sure your journey is comfortable. You will mostly be in a sedated state to keep calm." Selena explained further that they only had an hour to rest up a bit before entering the container. "If for any circumstances that your disguise has opened, and the rest haven't, do not open the rest unless dire circumstances." Her voice was sweet but it was full of warning. She stared at each of them to get her point across. "If yours has opened up and your life is in danger, open them all up until you get to mine." She stared at them with an intensity that made two of them have chills. "I will continue to protect you by any means necessary." Canard and one of the boys gulped as they didn't want to know how she did it, but thinking back to the compound. It had got Canard to believe that maybe the person was the weapon itself. She hardly slept, carried two full grown men with ease over long stretches, captured deadly snakes and released them onto people, easily maneuvered through sketchy areas, and showed no fear or any emotion. Whoever she was, he was happy that he was on her good side. He never wanted to be on the side against her.
The two boys took off their garbs to reveal white bandages wrapped around them. They got into the torpedoes first. Selena hooked them up to the oxygen tanks and placed a few others things to allow them to have a comfortable journey. She looked over to Canard who had taken off his head cloth. He got into his next. Selena helped him settle in and attached the oxygen tanks. He started to doze off once he took a few breaths in. Selena got into hers last. As she shut the torpedo, workers came in off of break to put the four torpedoes on a pallet together to get them ready to ship off.
8 got the notification that a shipment was ready. 8 warned the two to hold on, as the mobile suit was launched into the sky. They were just out of Sao Luis in the forest still. They came to a warehouse.
"8 we shouldn't be here!" Jess was seeing all the frantic workers getting scared and moving out of the way as mobile suit stormed into the warehouse, seeking out the giant packages.
Hold on, 8 explained. 8 walked the mobile suit towards the four torpedoes. The machine picked them up with ease.
"Those are torpedoes!" Miriallia pointed out.
Precious cargo! 8 countered. Hold on! The GUNDAM started to fly out towards the ocean.
"Why are we flying that way?!" Jess tried to take over the controls.
8 didn't argue with him. The AI system continued to head North. Miriallia held on as she was being jostled around.
Ra's system picked up the GUNDAM carrying the torpedoes. It was odd but Selena was always a different type of woman.
"Where's it headed?" Ra asked the informant.
"It's projected to reach the Minerva," the informant mentioned.
Ra thought about it. "Bring out the Morningstar, obtain those torpedoes by any means necessary." The soldier nodded before turning around. He went off to relay orders. "You can't hide from me, Selena, I will get you back."
The Morningstar was shipped out once the order was received. It made haste to catch up. Near there were two groups. A Laurasia Class ZAFT vessel was cruising the waters, and a Lesseps Class ZAFT vessel was perusing a nearby junk debris.
On the Laurasia Class vessel, Reed was notified of an incoming call. Gai was talking with a man of silver hair and a scar that was slashed above his eyebrow down to this cheek on the right side. Reed looked over to Gai. Gai nodded. Reed accepted the incoming call. On the screen was Selena in her royal military uniform.
"Greetings Serpent Tail," she spoke with a smile.
Gai raised his eyebrows as it had been a while since he spoke with her. "Your Highness, what is the job you would like for us to do this time?" The two only interacted for jobs for the most part.
"You get right to the point, as always," Selena beamed. "You're in the vicinity of a package I need delivered to the Kingdom." A screen showed an Astray GUNDAM carrying four torpedoes flying off towards the ocean. "It doesn't matter who gets the package delivered. I just need it delivered. If you become the ones who can hand deliver it, a bonus will be given."
Gai never turned down a request from Selena. She paid well, her jobs were tough but she didn't ask for the impossible. "Who else are you asking?"
Selena smirked. "The Junk Guild is also in the area." Gai frowned a bit, he hated competition. "This is a package of most importance. I need all I can to help deliver it."
Gai asked another question. "Then did you ask Nosey Jess to help too?"
Selena raised her eyebrows. "No, he caught wind of my package and picked it up himself. By his trajectory, he will be landing on the Minerva. Neither of them knows that the package is mine."
Gai glanced at his friend who was frozen in a trance watching the screen. "Why aren't you helping then?"
"I'm a bit busy at the moment," Selena explained. "Held up, more like it. If the Minerva takes in Jess and the torpedoes, that will be fine. The fee won't change. However, you must have heard, the Minerva, and its mobile suits had taken a loss." Another image popped on the screen, showing the mysterious Archangel on the move. "I do have someone else trying to intercept my package. They must not get it. The mission will not only end in failure but it will also compromise what I have intended for this package. Also, the Minerva cannot stand against them for now. Do you take the job or not?"
"Your Highness, we will," Gai was a bit interested in this mission. "We just have to get it delivered to the Kingdom. Same as usual, resupplying and refurbishing anything that gets broken?"
"Of course!" Selena was happy that they had taken the job. "Good luck!" She ended the call.
"Are you sure this wasn't a death wish?" Reed was intimidated by the mysterious Archangel.
"When has Her Highness ever done us wrong?" Gai rebutted. "She pays good. All we have to do is keep those torpedoes out of their hands. Nothing too hard. Junk Guild will be helping." He looked over to his wingman. "Even if we took it to a vote, Elijah and the rest would agree to take the job." He liked teasing him. "Isn't that right, Mistletoe?"
Elijah didn't pay attention, he headed off to get ready to fight. Reed and Gai watched him leave.
"Head towards the Minerva," Gai commanded. "We'll be there before that Archangel but we're going to need to escort it to the Kingdom. If things get bleak, we'll take the package form them and continue on."
On the Junk Guild's vessel, the call was similar. Lowe agreed as always. He could never say no when it comes to Her Highness. The group gathered their belongings, before headed off to catch up to the
Minerva.
On the Minerva, one of the bridge soldiers informed Declan of an incoming mobile suit.
"What?!" Declan and Arthur were both perplexed.
"It's carrying a pallet four torpedoes," the soldier explained. "They're also asking to land and resupply." Declan didn't know what to think. "They say it's an emergency!"
"Alright, let them in," Declan ordered. "Make sure a team is there to meet them."
The Minerva opened up the hull for the mobile suit to enter. The hanger was a buzz with the recent activity. They watched the Astray GUNDAM walk in holding four torpedoes. It headed over to an empty lot which used to house one of the mobile suits. Lunamaria and Shinn were there as they were curious as to why Jess Rabble had torpedoes. The GUNDAM set down the pallet gently in front of it. A group of soldiers with guns swarmed around them. The torso that held the pilot, opened up.
"Don't touch any of those!" Jess yelled out. He was following 8's order. "We are not here to harm anyone. We just want to resupply and head out." He came out with his hands raised. Miriallia hid behind the seat of the cockpit.
As Declan was watching the scene from the bridge, he had received a command from the higher ups to keep the stray GUNDAM along with the torpedoes on board, and to head to the Kingdom instead. Everyone was shocked at the command. Declan nodded. Declan looked over to Arthur who then relayed the command to everyone else. Those in the hanger were told through chain of command.
"Head towards the Kingdom?" Lunamaria didn't understand. "I thought we were going to get new mobile suits and resupply at Gibraltar?"
"Change of plans," Shinn watched a commanding officer explain to Jess from a bridge that was being moved over to the cockpit, that the group along with the pallet were no longer allowed to leave the vessel.
Ah, at last some help. 8 mentioned. Miriallia moved around the seat to meet with Jess and the commanding officer. Don't let them mess with those torpedoes. Those need to be handed over to the Kingdom.
Miriallia was curious as to what was so special about those torpedoes. This was her time to inspect them. She stood next to Jess as the commanding officer explained the situation between them. The two cooperated with ZAFT as they both needed to head to the Kingdom. Shinn was surprised to see Miriallia with Jess. He headed over to the area with Lunamaria following behind him. He had heard about her as she was the Archangel's CIC operator. She was someone who had fought alongside Kira.
The bridge kept getting more surprises as they were locked on in a long range attack. A missile was coming their way.
"All hands to level 2 battle stations," the alarms buzzed. "All hands to level 2 battle stations."
Those in the hanger were the most shocked. Shinn and Lunamaria came over to Jess and Miriallia. They explained to commanding officer they would watch over them as the rest needed to get back to their post. The commanding officer agreed as those two didn't have mobile suits anymore.
The Minerva was about to evade when the missile was shot down. An MBF-PO3R GUNDAM Astray Blue Frame 2nd revise was flying close to them.
"Minerva, this is Serpent Tail," Gai was in his mobile suit. "I hear you have recently acquired a pallet of four torpedoes that need to be delivered to the Kingdom."
"Uh, yes!" Arthur answered. Arthur and Declan glanced at one another with the same thought. How did they know already?
As the two were talking with one another, another missile was launched, coming on close to the Minerva. It was shot down by an MBF-PO2 GUNDAM Astray Red Frame.
"Minerva this is Junk Guild," Lowe was flying in closer. "We're here to help you get to get to the Kingdom to deliver a package to them."
The crew onboard the Minerva were perplexed. Arthur was at a complete shock. As two of the screens showed the two men in charge of their respective groups. Declan didn't like this. How did two groups knew about this predicament and helped out so readily.
"This may come as a shock but your friend doesn't want you to leave," Gai pulled up an image of the mysterious Archangel, moving fast to them. "I would be moving along. We can't help you out if you're dead in the water."
Declan commanded for the fastest they could go. Arthur relayed orders to the rest to level 3 battle stations. The Minerva picked up its pace with Junk Guild and Serpent Tail flanking them on either side.
"Seems likes Selena hires just about anyone," Gai spoke only to Lowe.
"You could say that again," Lowe teased back. "It's going to be an endurance race."
"Make sure you don't lag behind," Gai teased him back.
Declan didn't care at the moment how Junk Guild and Serpent Tail came by to help, he needed to find the quickest route to the Kingdom without causing a lot of damage if that Archangel was pursuing after them.
The three vessels had gotten the upper hand quickly that it went back down to level 2 battle stations as they put much needed distance in between them and the Archangel. It was still showing that the Archangel was still chasing after them. Declan had a meeting with Lowe and Gai again on the best way to get to the Kingdom along with areas where they could resupply. Lowe and Gai explained they could resupply while on the run. It wasn't hard just a little risky. They would need some of the mobile suits to carry tanks of food, water, ammo, and fuel. Declan agreed on the riskiness but it may be helpful. Declan would call ahead to the ZAFT bases to get supplies ready, and have some of the mobile suits leave to grab them and come back.
Declan believe that if they stopped for too long, that Archangel would gain footing. He also wanted to know what those torpedoes were that made them highly valuable.
Shinn and Lunamaria looked over the torpedoes with Jess and Miriallia.
"They look like regular torpedoes to me," Lunamaria spoke aloud.
"Yeah," Jess agreed. "However, it seems they're highly sought after. 8 wouldn't let up. He brought us all the way out to get them, and just continued on." He looked them over. "There's no seal or knicks to look like they have been tampered with. Just new torpedoes ready to be used."
"There has to be something," Miriallia thought out loud. She glanced over to Shinn and Lunamaria. She couldn't investigate fully with ZAFT watching. If she did find something, she didn't want to tell them first. When she was alone with Jess, she let him know her idea of keeping watch over the torpedoes. One of them would have to stay with them at all times. They would take turns to leave to use the restroom and such. Jess agreed. He didn't want ZAFT to takeover something so interesting.