A/n
This Phase has been in development for a time, and it had been finished a bit sooner than I thought it would. Don't hold me to two-week releases! I would love it if I could keep that up, but I fear life ain't going to let that be the case, we'll see. Anyways, enough the Phase and the story thus far.
Phase 85: Meeting of Fate
November 12th, 73 CE.
PLANTs, L5
Athrun had been taking the time to consider the offer made by a number around the PLANTs. The offer to come back to ZAFT was a beyond nice one as Athrun looked at. When the Alliance-PLANT War ended, Athrun had chosen to take the discharge option given to him and his comrades. Athrun had figured it would be a discharge with his involvement against Chairman Zala. However, that hadn't been the case due to Athrun assumed the good words from a few ZAFT commanders, including Admiral Treize. It had been a fair way to leave the homeland and move on with his life, or so he thought.
Athrun hadn't considered returning to the PLANTs or ZAFT when he left. With what had gone down with Creuset and the monster, it had been the best option. If Athrun had stayed, he feared he would be constantly reminded of what he'd lost. That wasn't limited to just his father, it was his comrades too. And Athrun thought he'd come to terms with leaving ZAFT and move forward with his life. He didn't know whether that would have him on a battlefield as a soldier or doing something entirely different. Athrun had for a time expected and even accepted that being around Cagalli. But recently, it had become clear he couldn't maintain what he had been doing long-term.
Nonetheless, here Athrun was back around the homeland, being offered a chance to rejoin the ZAFT organization. Chairman Durandal had told Athrun he would clean his record and even expunge his discharge. That was quite the offer for any soldier that had one on their record. And Athrun wouldn't be against working with some he knew, like Nicol, Dearka, or even Yzak. Joining ZAFT again would allow Athrun to make a difference, especially with the offer of joining FAITH. With the privileges that FAITH had, Athrun could do a lot of things and not have to worry about needing permission. If Athrun had such privileges, perhaps even be able to cut down the potential deaths the coming conflict. There were other potentially good benefits of Athrun joining ZAFT. He could work to help shorten the coming war and bring peace. That the same goal the Federation would work on, Athrun was confident about that.
Yet, as good as the offer was to most, it did come with drawbacks. There would be things that Athrun had become accustomed to being able to do. If he rejoined ZAFT that would be cut down, mostly concerning "faction lines." In the time Athrun had been away from the homeland, he had been around the Federation. He had gotten used to some of the perks of being a Federation citizen which he wouldn't have should he accept the offer. The access to the Federation's Information Network would be a loss. Reaching out to his friends within the Federation would likely be more difficult if Athrun was with ZAFT. That was the hardest thing for Athrun, possibly not being able to stay in touch with friend.
If there was one lesson that Athrun had learned from the Alliance-PLANT War, it was the importance of staying in touch with friends. Not doing that regularly had nearly destroyed that which Athrun valued and made his life worth living. Miscommunication between friends was just about as bad as it had a hauntingly similar result. It had nearly cost Athrun one of his best friends. Just following orders and some had insisted soldiers should do, had added to the lesson as it had Athrun being an idiot. Orders expected him to kill his best friends and not hesitate doing so as they were "enemies." Athrun would wish that kind of fate on no one with what it had done to him. Chairman Durandal and other ZAFT leaders didn't seem the type that would go down that path. But then, Athrun hadn't thought his father would fade and turn into a monster bent on destroying humanity. Thus, it was hard to be sure that those leading wouldn't take a turn which would go down a bad path.
Athrun spent days weighing the pros and cons of the offer being extended to him by Durandal. He wanted to help humanity not fall back into a horrible place where it could face its own destruction. And that brought back to mind the speech that Tyler's mother Ellen had given which was still quoted today. The woman had defined very well the type of individuals which were a serious threat to humanity as a whole. "Humankind's True Enemy," the term which Ellen had established that was used now to refer to what she had set out in the definition of the term. There were still those which fell under the term Ellen established as she defined it in the world today. They were the very ones who encouraged the conflict to spread and head toward a war. The ones who had demanded a nuclear strike be made against the PLANTs, and for what? To advance their vendetta of hatred as others had done before. Ellen had put it well, they were as demons dressed in human skin.
After going back and forth with the pros and cons for a while, Athrun did come to his decision. He opened the package which had been delivered with a note saying it was from Chairman Durandal. In the package was a ZAFT red uniform, much like the one he'd worn during the Alliance-PLANT War. He would join up with ZAFT and do what he could to mitigate the effects of the coming war. And if the Chairman would follow through on his insistence of Athrun becoming a member of ZAFT's Fast Acting Integrate Tactical Headquarters or FAITH, he wouldn't say no. Those privileges would be helpful in situations that could come up ahead of Athrun. He wouldn't abuse the privileges, but they would be handy should they be needed to move things in the right direction.
Once Athrun was dressed, he went to the attendant outside and ask them to take him to the Chairman. Athrun was escorted to Aprilius One's governmental complex. He was familiar with the general complex layout. With Athrun's father having been a part of the PLANTs' government since its beginning, he'd been in the set of buildings many times. However, memories of the last time he'd been around here hadn't been nice or really pleasant at all. It had been then when Athrun had been forced to understand the monster was using his father's appearance and voice. Things had taken a horrible turn from there which had Athrun fighting against the monster with others.
Gilbert had been going over recent reports while he was waiting. He hoped that Mr. Zala would be giving his reply to the offer extended. Events were accelerating toward a war quicker than Gilbert had thought they would. The attempted strike on the PLANTs was certainly a bad event which had taken time to smooth over. Miss Meer had been instrumental in that effort and Gilbert had been grateful for. Miss Clyne's reputation had been great and getting people to listen to reason. The people's love of the young woman was strong and it was something to see Gilbert would admit. However, as Gilbert had heard, none in ZAFT's intelligence department hadn't had any luck finding Lacus Clyne. They hadn't even found a hint of the young woman's whereabouts. It had been the same with Siegel Clyne, nothing on where the man could be. It was why Miss Meer's help was so important. She could fill in for the two and give time for others to find them potentially.
In the report Gilbert was reading was over the Alliance's recent assault against the Federation's Asgard base. The idea that OMNI would attack Asgard wasn't unheard of, but it was still rare to occur. From what ZAFT intel had gathered, the size of the Alliance's attacking fleet had been the largest ZAFT had seen the Alliance put together to date. That was concerning, for the Alliance to be able to put together a fleet of that size and it is not noticed by ZAFT. The National Defense Committee was assuring him they would increase intelligence agents' watch on OMNI activity to prevent a repeat of the point. Then there was the "information" which came from the Minerva. It wasn't official, mostly since the Minerva had been off the books, but they had been around Asgard when the Alliance had assaulted the base.
Gilbert would love to talk to Talia about what had been going on at the time, but there hadn't been the chance to yet. But the information which they had provided had given Gilbert and some on the National Defense Committee to think about. The Federation had ground to orbit cannons, that was a new development which would solidify the Federation's position on Earth. Then the Federation further developed shielding technology as well. The advancements weren't that concerning Gilbert as it was the Federation. However, that could come into play at a later time, Gilbert couldn't say yet. But that meant ZAFT intelligence would have to get busy and look into things more.
Gilbert was brought out of his thoughts when a staff member came in and told him that Mr. Zala wished for a meeting with the Chairman. Gilbert told the staff member to show the young man in, he was free for a meeting. It was Gilbert's hope that Athrun coming and wanting a meeting meant he had his answer to the offer extended. One of Athrun's skills would be invaluable to ZAFT in the coming conflict. And Gilbert would follow through with his promise to wipe Athrun's discharge from his record. He also had talked with the Integrated Design Bureau about providing a Gundam type for an expert pilot. Gilbert had been assured the newest last machine of the Second Stage Series was ready for assignment. And Gilbert already had plans to have Athrun assigned to the Minerva.
The moment Athrun entered Gilbert's office, he couldn't help the smile which came to his face. Athrun wearing the uniform Gilbert had sent him strongly implied Athrun's answer to the offer Gilbert had extended. And Gilbert was certainly liking the implications as he really wanted Athrun to work with ZAFT. Gilbert still intended to make Athrun a member of FAITH. It was a given for one of Athrun's skill and experience. He was a war hero after all, it would be foolish not to make him a member of FAITH. Durandal rose from his chair, "I see you have made your decision."
Meer had been the room hoping to get something to do while waiting for Athrun's answer to the offer the Chairman had given him. She had wanted to spend time with Athrun, but the Chairman had told her to leave him be to think about the offer. So, Meer had been doing singing gigs and public appearances, but little more than that. But the Chairman had said he was expecting Athrun's answer at some point today. Meer hoped that would be the case. If Athrun gave his answer, it meant she could spend time with him. Meer wanted to go out and spend time with Athrun, he was such a handsome guy. Thus, when Athrun came into the room Meer was happy, and that he was in the ZAFT red uniform made her even happier. He looked to be intending to accept Chairman Durandal's offer to join up with ZAFT again.
Athrun nodded to the Chairman's question, "Yes, I have," he replied. "I accept your offer Chairman to rejoin ZAFT so I can help try to mitigate the affects of the growing conflict." Athrun paused for a moment, "I fear that Humankind's True Enemies are still at work. Those that can help are needed to stop things from descending into where humanity was at the end of the Alliance-PLANT War."
Gilbert blinked at Athrun's last two sentences. He was clearly referring to the Republic Prime Minister's speech from a few years ago. Gilbert had watched the speech Minister Blass had given several times since she had given it. The term "Humankind's True Enemy" and its definition had intrigued Gilbert. The woman had established a whole new term which was used still today as a reference to specific bad individuals. And her definition was quite an easy one to follow and apply, which was a rare thing with labels in general. The other interest Gilbert had with Minister Blass was the woman who had been the wife of his wonderful Professor Blass. The woman's unyielding stubbornness was commendable, and yet her logical views were interesting. Gilbert nodded in appreciation, "You refer to the Republic of East Asia's Prime Minister's speech she gave towards the end of the Alliance-PLANT War," he posed. "I admit, the woman doesn't only give quite the speech, she also has a gift to make hard subjects simpler to understand."
Athrun knew Ellen's speech had been view by many, but he was surprised that Chairman Durandal had seen it. "You've seen the Minister's speech then," Athrun asked. "The term she came up with referring to "Humankind's True Enemy" and the following explanation certainly is hard to argue with." Gilbert chuckled at Athrun's reply, "Oh, I have viewed the speech multiple times and learn something new each time. I respect what term she established and defined Mr. Zala. Minister Blass helped simplify a subject that Humanity has waved off or avoided historically. And I must say, after meeting Minister Blass face to face, I respect her all the more for how she governs."
Gilbert decided it would be best to return to the original subject this meeting was about. Athrun would need to head out when he could should he wish to get to the Minerva in a reasonable amount of time. He would still have to swing by the armory to pick up the ZGMF-X23S Saviour before heading out. "Well, as nice as it is to talk about that, there is business to attend to," Gilbert stated. "I am confident that your choice will help make a difference in bringing this conflict to an early end. I fear a war is coming and little that can be done will stop it. Thus, I'm glad you are willing to serve and help bring the conflict to a proficient end."
Gilbert opened a drawer and took out the box he had put there which contained the FAITH crest he had for Athrun. He presented the box to Athrun to take, "Take this, I'm sure it will serve you well in your efforts," Gilbert remarked. Athrun took the box and stared for a moment at the white FAITH crest. Chairman Durandal had mentioned he wanted Athrun to become a member of FAITH should he rejoin ZAFT. But he had wondered if the man had really intended to make Athrun a member. FAITH was ZAFT's elite of elites, best of the best, comparable to the Earth Alliance's SWORD or the Federation Military's SOLAS. Being a member was an honor and with it came privileges to do as one saw fit out in the field. Part of Athrun was honored to be considered for such a position, but there was still a nagging thought in the back of his mind about the point. Something felt kind of off about the suddenness of the position. Yet, Athrun couldn't figure out what could be off about being made a member of FAITH.
Athrun took the box before glancing at the Chairman, "Why make me a member of FAITH," he asked. "I know you said you wanted to, but that isn't enough of a reason I would think. A position in FAITH is normally earned through service well above and beyond the call of duty, not just given. Sorry if this seems odd or offends you, but I wish to know why." Gilbert would applaud Athrun for asking for an explanation. The young man wanted to know why things happened the way they did and that was a good quality. "While wiping your record is a good start, there will still be those that remember you left and possibly hold that against you. With what you will likely be doing, there will not be the time to have others question what you say out on the field. Thus, I thought it would be better to not insert you into the regular chain of command from the beginning. As a member of FAITH, all you need to do is pledge your loyalty to your beliefs and be true to them. You showed that very well at the end of the Alliance-PLANT War in a very spectacular fashion. Through that, you have shown what kind of person you are."
The explanation was sound enough as it made sense to Athrun in principle. But then again, so had his father's reasoning at first before it had soured. Perhaps it was previous experience that Athrun had which made him paranoid. Yet, such had been proven valid during the Alliance-PLANT War to the point that Athrun didn't ignore suspicions he had. Athrun had learned, to blatantly ignore suspicions without good reason didn't go well in the long run. He had done things he'd regretted not listening to his suspicions. Athrun didn't want to be forced into that position anytime soon again in the near future if at all. But in this instance, he couldn't find anything wrong with what was being said. However, the same had been true with his father's rhetoric and that had gone badly.
Nonetheless, Athrun didn't want to say Chairman Durandal was wrong when he didn't have evidence to back that up. Athrun wasn't one to accuse another of something which he couldn't prove with reasonable evidence. "Forgive me Chairman for not being accepting of an explanation at face value. I'll be among the first group that would like to believe what you say about being true to one's beliefs is right, and it was so simple. But if you would pardon the frankness, many claimed the same idea during the previous war. Many fought for what "they" saw as right and were willing to do horrible things justifying their actions with doing what's right. I will acknowledge some were being manipulated to do what they were and didn't fully understand what was being worked toward." Athrun hesitated for a moment, "That includes Chairman Zala and what he did. Look what that man's actions brought upon all and still does echo today." Athrun stopped for a second, but continued, "I guess what I'm trying to say is, what makes your fight more true or valid than another's reason?"
Gilbert had nothing against those who asked questions and pushed for answers. In fact, Gilbert encouraged such things as it showed Humanity still had the thirst for the truth. It was a driver which had kept humanity on a path which had kept it from going to its own destruction. It was one of the qualities Humanity had maintained which had ensured its survival in Gilbert's opinion. That was why Gilbert respected Mr. Zala for questioning Gilbert's reason to fight for peace. Athrun mentioning his father couldn't have been easy with what Chairman Zala had dragged ZAFT into. And the boy had been the one to kill the man according to reports which shouldn't have been expected of him. Athrun Zala had done more than any could've expected of him during the Alliance-PLANT War. "That is certainly a deep and honest question, Athrun," Gilbert remarked. "I admire those who are willing to ask such a pointed inquiry. Seeking the truth is a quality of Humanity which has helped in its survival throughout its existence."
Gilbert paused considering how to answer the question of what he fought for and why. He wanted to see peace to come to the human race. Professor Blass had instilled in Gilbert the wish for a world where people could live without fear. Humanity had been stuck in a cycle of war, even in the new and current era. Gilbert felt there was still the chance to get the human race out of the cycle it was in. It wouldn't be easy, but it would be possible, and Gilbert held to that. "I do not have a definite answer to your question supported by evidence. But I would like to believe humanity had become stuck in a cycle of fighting and hate. A cycle is like a bad habit or addiction, it can be overcome and rejected. I wish to see a world that has peace and all of humanity doesn't need to fear others will come and try to kill them for whatever reason one comes up with." Gilbert exhaled heavily, "I'm well-aware it will be anything but easy to achieve. Yet, I believe humanity can still have a bright future if it fights against Humankind's True Enemy. And I don't mean peace or a future for just a part of the human race as others before me had fought for. No, I want to see such for all types and forms of humanity as it is now." Gilbert smiled, "For I would ask, do not all human beings, regardless of their type deserve a chance to live and have a future?"
Chairman Durandal's answer was not the one Athrun expected. The man sounded much like those from the Federation did with their wish for peace. The Federation stated they wanted peace for all people. They never judged upon genetic type, race, or any other difference. Athrun had seen that firsthand during his time living in Orb, and the Federation was true to their word. They judged upon actions, words, and beliefs above that which people couldn't change themselves. The Chairman's last line was essentially what the Federation used to support their principles and beliefs. "Yes, I do agree all human beings deserving to live and have a future," Athrun replied. "The Federation's founding principles hold to that. I've lived in their nations while away from the homeland and seen they believe in those principles."
Gilbert nodded, "You'll find I share many of the same views, beliefs, and principles as the Human Federation. They have the right of it, hatred won't solve anything and focusing on the differences between people will only divide us all. It is why I stressed any response to the attempted nuclear strike against the PLANTs would not attacking the Alliance's member states." Gilbert picked up a datapad and brought up the specs for the Saviour before holding the pad out to Athrun. "I'm assigning you to pilot the X23S Saviour Gundam," Gilbert continued. "It is the last unit of the Second Stage Series. I would also have you go join up with the Minerva and help them in their missions for the time being."
Athrun took the datapad and glanced at it. There were mobile suit specs on it which Athrun took in. The Gundam appeared to be close to the same level as the Freedom and Justice had been when ZAFT produced them. The data stated the Saviour was in Aprilius One's armory currently for him to pick up. Gilbert kept going, "The Minerva was last seen in the Middle Eastern area of the Eurasian Federation. But the most recent information says it will be heading for the Republic's Shira to repair and resupply after an operation. So, I would suggest going to Shira to meet up with them before the ship heads for Carpentaria. I'm sure you can make a real difference in the conflict growing. When the time comes, use that extra power and abilities as you see fit to bring peace."
Athrun gave a salute to Chairman Durandal in reply. He then headed out for the colony's armor where the Saviour was stored currently. The drive to the armory was quiet. However, Athrun could see the signs that the PLANTs' citizens were still worried about recent events. He couldn't blame the people concerned with what was going on. A war seemed to be coming and memories of the Alliance-PLANT War were coming back. The attempted nuclear strike against the PLANTs would've been hauntingly familiar for the citizens of the colonies. It helped Athrun understand why Yzak was as angry has he had been the last time he'd seen him.
Athrun arrived at the armory and exited the vehicle he'd used. He entered the armory and showed his newly made creds the Chairman had given him. Athrun was let through the security checkpoint after that. He mentioned that he was here to pick up the Saviour at the Chairman's orders. Athrun was escorted to a mobile suits dock which the Integrated Design Bureau had stored the machine in. Athrun simply stared at the Gundam he would be piloting for a long moment. The suit looked at first glance kind of like the green Gunda that Athrun had seen at Armory One. He figured since they were a part of the same series, they would bear similarities. However, the Saviour also bore some uncanny resemblance to Tyler's Aurora Gundam as well. That resemblance was mainly with the wings and long cannons attached to the backpack section. The wings had a bit of a different shape, but the cannons certainly looked to be more than just accidentally similar.
Athrun went and put on a ZAFT pilot suit which had been prepared for him. It even had a FAITH crest on it and was slightly more a magenta color rather than the normal red ZAFT pilot suits were. Athrun returned to the dock the Saviour was in and sailed to the cockpit hatch. When Athrun entered the cockpit, he settled himself into the seat and belted in. Athrun activated the OS and the startup screen flashed on. As Athrun watched, he saw the message was slightly different than the last ZAFT designed mobile suit that he had worked with.
MOBILE SUIT NEO OPERATION SYSTEM
Generation
Unrestricted
Network
DriveAssault
Module
G.U.N.D.A.M
_Ver.2.5.3 Rev.07_
Z.A.F.T.
It took about a minute for the whole system to boot up and be ready for use. Once the system was up and running, Athrun took the time to look over the onboard systems and arsenal that the mobile suit had to work with, so he knew what he had. It had phase shift armor, though it was a different version than what the Justice had originally. There was a something titled as the "Deuterion Beam Energy Transfer System" which didn't make a great deal of sense to Athrun. The explanation of it inferred there was a system with a ship which would help with energy resupply, but little more than that. The other system of note was a "power extender" which was supposed to increase the suit's output and operation time. It appeared to work with the battery in some fashion to stretch out the suit's operation time. The Saviour also had a mobile armor mode which more looked like a flight mode like the Federation had for their mobile suits.
The arsenal the Saviour had to use was made up of three basic categories. There was the first which was rapid-fire guns like CIWS and machine guns. The CIWS guns were in the head much as the Justice had to work with. There was a pair of machine guns, but they were only usable while the Gundam was in its armor mode. They were set into the flight array from what Athrun could tell. The second category was handheld beam weapons, like beam sabers and rifles. There was the MA-BAR70 high-energy beam rifle bases on the Lupis rifle the Freedom and Justice had to use. The Saviour had a pair of Vajra beam sabers, stored in the Gundam's shoulder armor. And the final category was cannons which the Saviour had four in total to work with. They were built into the same general structure which housed the two heavier Amfortas plasma cannons. The other two cannons were mounted above the plasma cannons and were similar to the Justice's Fortis cannons.
After looking over what the Saviour had to use, Athrun activated the phase shift armor for the Gundam. The Saviour went fuzzy and became red overall with it armor up. Athrun then told those in the docking area he was ready to head out. Supply cables were disconnected from the Saviour so it could head out. Athrun glanced up and saw the personnel leaving the docking area so the airlocks could open without harming anyone. He looked upward and saw the airlocks were beginning to open to form the launching tunnel. Athrun had the Saviour use the launching tunnel to leave the PLANT and head off toward Earth.
Athrun shifted the Saviour to its armor mode which had a better cruising speed. He then set course for Earth as that was where he was to go. From what the Chairman had said the Minerva was going to stop over in the Republic's Shira for repair and resupply. If the ship was heading out from the Middle Eastern area of the Eurasian Federation, it should take them two days or so to reach Shira. Athrun could get there in half of that time if not slightly less time. He shouldn't have too much trouble with flying to Shira. Athrun could use his Federation ID to have Federation military forces at least listen to what he had to say. He could have the Saviour stored in a Federation area while waiting for the Minerva. And who knows, Athrun might even get the chance to catch up with Tyler and Kira while around Shira and see what had been happening on Earth.
The flight to the Earth sphere was quiet for Athrun, but it gave him time to think. ZAFT was setting themselves up in a defensive posture against any potential actions the Alliance might take. From what Athrun had heard from the gossip, ZAFT had sent reinforcements down to Gibraltar and Carpentaria. Forces would be distributed out to other bases from those two to strengthen ZAFT's position on Earth. Athrun didn't disagree with what ZAFT was doing in response to the Alliance's attempted nuclear strike on the PLANTs. There was a worrisome yet ridiculous rumor that OMNI had attacked a Federation base. There were too many rumors to say which base if that was true that Athrun had heard.
It was having to work with the rumors that Athrun had heard which had him missing access to the Federation's Information Network. He may not have the same level of access that those like Tyler had, but even a citizen's access gave data which was vetted and checked before it was viewed by the general public in the Federation. It made Athrun realize how dependent he had become on the Federation's procedures which made sure to cut down seriously on potential disinformation. The Federation had a system to check all data they were disseminating to others to be true before being allowed out. It was really an advantage the Federation had which was so often underestimated. If Athrun was lucky enough to get to see Tyler, he would ask him about the Alliance potentially attack a Federation base.
When Athrun reached upper orbit above Earth, he held his orbital path. He calculated the best descent vector to have Athrun ended out close to the Republic's eastern coastline. Athrun found he would have to orbit the Earth a bit before he got to where he could start his descent. He watched Earth's surface pass by down below him. The Americas passed which transitioned into the Atlantic Ocean. The Euros Coalition crawled by as did the African Community. As the western end of the Republic of East Asia, Athrun positioned the Saviour to begin its atmospheric descent. He found doing reentry with the Saviour was about the same as it had been with the Justice. Athrun leveled out the Saviour after he came out of the Thermosphere to be a respectable distance above the ocean to the southeast of the Republic. He swung suit around to point toward Shira as that was his planned destination. Yet, before Athrun got into close view of the city, three Federation mobile suits came to be alongside and behind him.
For the Federation patrol group, which was made up of three Dolphes classes, the unknown machine was spotted shortly after it came out of the Thermosphere. Mobile suits were sent out to approach and determine the intentions of the unknown. As the suits took off, data from the Information Network matched the unknown machine, identifying it as ZAFT's X23S Saviour. The data stated it was one of the new ZAFT Gundams, but that it had only just been assigned and deployed. There was no standing reason for a ZAFT machine to be around the Republic at this time which could be found. That a lone ZAFT Gundam had appeared around here was a tad odd and didn't make sense with the facts as they stood. The three mobile suits which had been sent out took up formation with one of them on each side of the Gundam and the last behind it. "Unidentified craft," the group leader began, "Identify yourself and state your business."
Athrun had expected some from the Federation's Military to come up to him and "ask" him who he was and why he would be around the Republic. Their response was as efficient as Athrun had come to expect from the Federation. And with the time Athrun had lived in Orb, this and other things the Federation did made much more sense than before. The Federation kept close watch on the behavior of those that weren't their citizens. It was a type of preventative measure the Federation employed to stop potential issues coming up with the other factions. Athrun respected the Federation doing prevention rather than reaction to things. The stance the Federation had served them well and would likely continue to do so. Their number one focus and goal was to protect their citizens from anyone and anything that could and/or would threaten them. That stance was the main factor that determined how the Federation's military conducted themselves. The Earth Alliance and ZAFT were equal as potential threats and were watched because of that. What had happened with the nuclear strike against the PLANTs had been the Federation defending their diplomats more than it was helping ZAFT. The reason that the Federation and ZAFT were on "good terms" was the PLANTs currently had seemingly the same goal as the Human Federation.
Athrun had prepared to be asked who he was and what he was doing around the Republic. He planned to give his Federation citizen's ID to those questioning him. That should get Athrun a chance to explain what he was doing around the Republic and why. Athrun was confident he could explain properly to those from the Federation what he was doing. If they asked Athrun to do simple things, that was fine, and he would be willing to cooperate the best he could. "My name is Athrun Zala," Athrun began, "Federation citizen ID OU12902934." There was a pause as Athrun waited for the reply. He knew that what information he had given was being checked. After a moment, Athrun got the reply he was waiting for, "We have confirmed your ID, what is your business around the Republic with a ZAFT Gundam?"
Athrun was confident that he could explain what task he was working on for ZAFT given the chance. While Athrun may not know what was exactly ahead of him with the Minerva, reaching the ship was straightforward. "I'm working on getting to a ZAFT ship," Athrun began, "The latest information says the one I'm searching for will be stopping by Shira soon. I was hoping to stay at Shira until the ship does dock and then transferring to it." There was another pause to Athrun's reply and it was longer than the last. "Permission has been granted for you to enter Shira," the Federation pilot returned. "You are asked to lockdown your weapons before beginning your approach. We will escort you in and guide you to the hangar you can store your mobile suit in."
Athrun had no issue doing as he was being told. Locking down his weapons was expected as it was standard as far as Athrun knew with one from a non-Federation military force. It was as expected as the Federation already knowing the Saviour was a mobile suit rather than an aircraft as it appeared in its armor mode. Athrun wasn't at all surprised the Federation was aware of the Saviour's existence and it being a Gundam type. And there was no reason nor situation that Athrun could foresee that he would need the Saviour's weapons to be unlocked before getting to the Minerva. So, he went through the process of locking down the Saviour's weapons so they couldn't be used. "Thank you for the permission," Athrun answered, "I have locked down my machine's weapon systems per request." The three around the Saviour took a moment to double check that the ZAFT machine's weapons were not powered currently. All sensors confirmed the ZAFT Gundam's weapons were essentially locked and couldn't be used. "We have confirmed your weapon systems are locked," the trio's leader, "Stay on course and we will escort you to the hangar which your mobile suit can be stored in."
Athrun did as he was told by keeping the Saviour on course toward Shira. He did see the three Dolphes ships following them. The point wasn't exactly odd to Athrun, but something felt different than when he was in Federation territory. It made Athrun wonder if the rumors he'd been hearing around the PLANTs about the Alliance attacking a Federation complex could be true. If the Alliance had indeed been foolish enough to attack the Federation, a war was closer than Athrun had feared and assumed. The weird thing about the rumor if true was the Alliance was not normally so foolish to turn essentially all against them. And the Alliance had already declared war on ZAFT, so it made little if any sense for them to turn the Federation against them.
In the Alliance-PLANT War, the Alliance had avoided drawing in the Federation for years. The general consensus as to the reason why the Alliance did that was to not be in the position of fighting both the other factions. It hadn't been a secret that the Alliance didn't like the Federation, but that dislike didn't have them being beyond foolish. However, with some of the things which those supposedly supported by the Alliance recently, it certainly could point to something major changing with them. If the radicals had enough control of the Alliance to have them pushing for a war with both factions, that was certainly troubling. And if the Alliance had already drawn in the Federation into their growing conflict, a war was on the horizon for humanity. It could potentially explain the different air Athrun was feeling. The Federation was on-guard about things more than they normally were.
Athrun began his descent when Shira was right in front of him, but those escorting him led him to the mountains to the northwest of the actual city. Shira felt fine, there wasn't the air of worry or tension as there was with the Federation's military. He hoped that he could get in contact with Tyler while he was around Shira. Tyler would know what had happened to cause the chance with the Federation's stance. Athrun's friend always seemed to know what was going on, even what the public didn't know. And Athrun really wanted to know what was going on lately. The rumors around the PLANTs ranged from somewhat believable and outright ridiculous. Athrun wanted facts to work with before he came to his own conclusions.
Athrun followed the three with him and came to land in front of a hangar. Other Federation mobile suits came up to where Athrun was shortly after he'd landed the Saviour. Those that had escorted him took off and went in the direction their ships had been in. Athrun was directed into the hangar and to a dock. Once the Saviour was in a dock, Athrun came out of the cockpit. Some Federation personnel there then told him he was to explain his presence and business to an officer. Athrun didn't have an issue with giving a summary of his current assignment given to him by the Chairman. So, he let himself be led off into the military complex built within the mountains.
The officer which Athrun talked with was an understanding one, which Athrun appreciated. There wasn't a list of questions as Athrun might expected from several in ZAFT when probing for information from an outsider. He was allowed to give his summary without interruption. There were a couple of follow-up questions put to Athrun, but nothing that he saw as a problem. He was told that the Minerva had been around the Middle Eastern area of the Eurasian Federation a little over twenty-four hours ago. There was little other detail given about the Minerva beyond that, but Athrun could find out what it had been doing later. Athrun was thanked for the time he took to give his summary and was free to go. Athrun exited the complex and entered Shira, wondering what he should do next. He decided after a couple of minutes to try reaching out to Tyler and see if by chance he was around Shira. If Tyler wasn't around Shira, Athrun would take a time to talk to him and catch up and ask him about recent events.
At the same time, Tyler had been at his place looking into something while he had the time. The Normandy still didn't have orders yet and it had been over a week. Not that Tyler was complaining exactly, but he didn't like just sitting around waiting for things to happen. It was why he would spend his time off duty looking into things rather than "relaxing" as some did. The Normandy's crew was getting shore leave, Tyler was making sure of that. But he couldn't just wait around for things to happen, not after the Alliance's assault on Asgard. There was much which could be done that Tyler had been doing, but his patience was wearing thin.
Tyler had checked on Kira and asked him how the orphanage was doing after the disasters. He hadn't liked Kira's answer with the orphanage being destroyed by the high waves crashing into it. Tyler was grateful no one had gotten hurt during the destruction of the place since all were in the shelter built below the orphanage. By what Kira said, Andrew Waltfeld and his partner had gotten everyone there to the shelter in time, having seen the coming danger. Tyler respected the two former ZAFT soldiers which lived at the orphanage. He had come to trust them with keeping those around the orphanage safe. And Tyler's friend had told him a new place was almost finished being built for everyone. Tyler had told Kira to put Waltfeld on for a bit, which then Tyler had asked some detailed questions of the man. With the recent change in the Alliance, Tyler wanted to make sure the new place had essential means to protect those there.
The other thing which Tyler had checked in on what the girl Stella Loussier. From what Tyler had found, the girl had arrived at Shangri-La. She was already undergoing treatment and, by what those from the complex said, was responding well to it. Tyler wished the girl well, even if she wouldn't hear that from him. The treatment was the best thing which could happen to her. It would give Stella a second chance at having a life of her choosing. He felt every human should have that chance at a life of freedom. The Alliance wouldn't be able to make her do horrible things to innocent people.
However, Tyler was brought out of his thoughts when his com-device began going off. He took the device out and looked at the ID to see who would be calling him at his time. Tyler was a tad surprised when the ID showed it was Athrun calling in. The last Tyler knew, Athrun had been heading out to the PLANTs. That had been what Kira had mentioned during the call Tyler had made to him. So, Tyler hadn't expected Athrun to reach out to him anytime soon with him working with ZAFT. Thus, he was left to wonder what Athrun could be calling about. There was also the possibility that the caller may not be Athrun and just someone using his com-device. Were that the case, Tyler would be finding out who it was and how they had gotten his friend's com-device in the first place. So, Tyler opened the call to find out who it was on the other end, "Hello."
Athrun was relieved to hear his friend's voice even if it hadn't been all that long. Hearing the voice of a friend relieved some of the stress that Athrun had on his shoulder which he hadn't been paying attention to. However, Athrun was aware his call could be interrupting Tyler's duties as a ship captain. "Hey Tye," Athrun greeted, "Sorry if I'm interrupting anything." Tyler's mood, which had been sluggish with the waiting instantly improved. The last Tyler had heard of Athrun was Kira saying he was heading to the PLANTs. Tyler had assumed Athrun heading to the colonies meant he would be using his skills and talents with ZAFT. He had nothing against Athrun working with ZAFT, it was his friend's decision. "Athrun," Tyler remarked, "Well this is a nice surprise for you to call. And I assure you, you ain't interrupting anything for me. You are more helping me out of my dull boredom." Tyler paused for a moment, "So, to what do I owe the pleasure of the call my friend? I assume you have a reason, not that talking isn't a good one."
Athrun couldn't help the smile that came to his face with Tyler normal behavior which shattered any attempts at any form of formality. Tyler was the kind of individual that didn't like or want formality, and he made that clear by "blasting" any attempt to put it in a conversation. Talking with Chairman Durandal had been "stiff" and that was putting it mildly. Athrun was glad he could relax and not worry about what he could say. Yet, Athrun also was coming to Tyler for a place to stay for at least a night. He may not be in Shira at the moment, but Tyler had told Athrun where the spare key was for his place. "Well," Athrun began, "I happen to be around Shira in the Republic at the moment. I'm waiting for something but need a place to crash for at least a night. I was hoping you might be able to help me with that."
Tyler blinked at Athrun telling him he was around his "neck of the woods" as the phrase went. He couldn't help but wonder what the odds were for Athrun to end out around Shira around the same time Tyler was. Of course, Tyler was more than willing to have Athrun stay at his place as long as he might need. He was curious what could've brought Athrun to Shira. Athrun had mentioned he was waiting for someone, but nothing about how it could be. "You should know that my place is always open to you, my friend. And that's regardless if I'm around or away, I assure you," Tyler remarked. "Yet, as it happens, I'm around Shira right now. The Normandy is waiting for orders for the time being, so stuck here until the ship receives some." Tyler paused, "But you coming around does help fight the doldrums which has been hanging over me at least. And I'm all for such things on top of being able to help you out as a friend should." Tyler grabbed the datapad he'd been using, "So, where are you so I can come and pick you up?"
Athrun gave the location of the hangar he had stored the Saviour in. After the call, Tyler got into his car and headed out from his house to pick up his friend. As Tyler was making his way toward the hangar which Athrun had mentioned, he couldn't help but wonder what his friend was doing around Shira right now once again. Athrun hadn't said or really hinted what he was doing for ZAFT if he had gone back to them, which was probable. Tyler couldn't come up with a reason ZAFT could have to send anyone of their people around here that weren't some sort of political representative. As good of a peacemaker as Athrun could be, he wasn't the political representative type. Thus, Tyler hoped to have a chat with Athrun and understand what he was doing around Shira.
It was a little more than ten minutes after Athrun called Tyler that he saw his friend's car coming into view. Athrun still had a hard time figuring out how Tyler had obtained and bought a rarer model car. He knew Tyler had some "odd" hobbies which others wouldn't consider doing which his vehicle could do well. But for as long as Athrun had known him, Tyler hadn't come off as an impulsive or big spender. So, buying a rare model car didn't fit, but Tyler had said he'd bought the vehicle, so Athrun took him at his word. The car came to a stop a short distance from Athrun before he picked up his suitcase and went to the passenger side and opened the vehicle door. Tyler smiled as Athrun slid into the seat beside him, "Hey man, nice to see you," he greeted. "Hope your journey here was uneventful. With things as they are going lately, an uneventful trip shouldn't be rejected or waved off as nothing."
Athrun shut the car door, glad to hear Tyler's voice. His storm of thoughts wouldn't calm down as much as Athrun had tried to do that. However, Tyler had a gift to help make things clearer when they were confusing by Athrun's personal experience. And he hoped his friend could help him make sense of things he'd learned of recently. It was hard to know what was fact and what was rumor. Athrun had noticed that point since leaving for the PLANTs. It had shown him the Federation's protocol and policies both helped and protected their citizens from potential disinformation. Neither of the other factions did that for their people like the Federation did. And there were a few rumors that concerned Athrun, and he wanted to know if they were true or not.
The drive back to Tyler's place was a short one. Athrun said nothing, merely looking out the window as the buildings in Shira were passing by. The familiar sights of Shira were helping Athrun let an amount of his worries fade to the back of his mind. There were no signs of the coming war among the citizens. People appeared to be going about their lives happily without showing any concern what the Alliance may do. Yet, Athrun couldn't see the Federation's military just standing by and let the Alliance cause chaos where they pleased. Athrun was brought out of his thoughts when the car came to a stop in front of Tyler's place. The two exited the car and entered the house. Tyler gestured down the hallway which led to the non-master bedroom, "You may choose whichever room you like to use for your stay," he remarked. "All of them should be ready as I cleaned them before heading out the last time. You can drop off your suitcase then come back to the living room where we can chat."
Athrun was glad that Tyler had suggested a chat happen between them. He had questions that he hoped Tyler could shed some light upon, especially with the current conflict was directing things toward another war. So, Athrun went down the hallway Tyler had directed toward and picked the first room he came to. He put his suitcase down before he headed back to the living room for the conversation Tyler had suggested. While Athrun was taking his things to a room, Tyler went to the kitchen to prepare something to drink for the two of them. It had been obvious to Tyler that Athrun had a lot on his mind, and some of that was troubling Tyler's friend. The silence and body language that Tyler had seen made that clear. A discussion should help Athrun get out what was bugging him and perhaps assist in potential solutions for said issues. Tyler brought two cups of water and entered the living room. He set the cups on the coffee table and took a seat for himself to wait for Athrun.
Athrun returned to the living room to find Tyler waiting there for him. Tyler waved a hand at the cup on the coffee table saying it was for him. Athrun smiled gratefully and took the sofa opposite of Tyler and picked up the cup and sipped the water. "While it is always nice to have you visit," Tyler began, "something tells me you aren't here for a social call, correct?" Athrun knew Tyler would get straight to the "heart of the matter," it was how he normally was. It was a quality that Athrun respected as not all were like that whether it was needed or not. So, Athrun nodded, "You are right, as much as I wish this was a social call, it isn't," he replied. "I'm just having trouble figuring out where to begin."
Tyler could understand having issues determining where to begin an explanation. It could be a hard thing to explain a situation if one had too many facts and little way to properly organize them. "Well," Tyler started, "how about what happened to you around the PLANTs as that's where Kira said you were heading last time I talked to him. You can move on from there and we'll see what may need to be answered in more detail." Athrun was once again grateful that Tyler had the analytical mindset he did. It made figuring out things that were confusing much easier than just trying to go through piece by piece. "I took your advice and decided to see if I could go work with ZAFT," Athrun stated. "I had to wait after arriving at Aprilius One for a meeting with Chairman Durandal." Athrun sighed at the thoughts which had come to him when he was told about the Alliance's attempted nuclear strike against the colonies. "Then the Alliance shot nuclear weapons at the colonies."
Tyler shook his head at the remark of the Alliance using nuclear weapons on the PLANTs. The Alliance "should have" known better than to pull that stunt, or that it would not have consequences they would be forced to face. And then they had the gall to use the event as an excuse to try and force the Federation into doing what they wanted. If the Alliance heeded wisdom much, they would have admitted their mistake and tried to ask for forgiveness. However, instead, the Alliance had doubled down and made their position worse tactically speaking. "Yeah, I heard about the Alliance's "stunt" which was the attempted nuclear strike," Tyler grumbled. "It isn't a surprise with the radicals in charge of the Alliance as they clearly are now. But one would think there would be some which would argue what foolishness it was. Yet, those likely were ignored or silenced, so wisdom isn't something that the Alliance uses regularly if you ask me." Tyler waved a hand, "But forgive me for grumbling about the Alliance's stupidity at work, do continue."
Athrun wouldn't blame his friend for "grumbling" as he put it. He didn't disagree with Tyler's assessment of the Alliance's attempted nuclear strike. With radicals in control of the Alliance, it wasn't shocking that they would employ nuclear weapons against their enemies. Nor did Athrun doubt what Tyler said about those who would stand against the foolishness the Alliance was up to had been ignored or silenced. But while Athrun would like Tyler's opinion of Durandal's offer, the encounter with Meer was something Athrun couldn't figure out properly. He hoped Tyler could come up with reasons why some would insist someone would stand in or Lacus, it didn't make much sense to him. "During the wait, something did come up which was confusing," Athrun said before pausing. Tyler waiting for a moment, but Athrun didn't say anything, so he circled his hand in a motion to keep going. "Well, do tell. Don't leave me hanging in suspense about what occurred man."
"I don't know if you would believe this, but I met another who looked pretty much like Lacus," Athrun remarked. Tyler blinked as he processed Athrun saying he'd seen someone that looked a lot like Lacus. It couldn't be Lacus herself, the girl was in Orb territory, and she wouldn't be leaving anytime soon. Tyler knew the girl was sticking around his clueless friend as she had serious feelings for him. Tyler shook his head, "How similar looking are we talking Athrun? I mean, I wouldn't doubt there are some that like dressing up like her, but fans can do odd things I've found." Athrun recalled Meer had mentioned she was a "fan" of Lacus in the first meeting with Chairman Durandal. But the similarity between Meer and Lacus was beyond what fans would do that Athrun had seen. Thus, he shook his head in response, "This wasn't just dressing up, the girl looked exactly like Lacus. She would fool any that don't know Lacus very personally."
Tyler wasn't the fondest of what Athrun was describing about this "Lacus" girl that wasn't his friend. He knew Lacus had a reputation with her singing career, but she didn't abuse it that Tyler was ever aware of. The girl loved those who were her fans, much like she cared about the citizens of the PLANTs. Tyler didn't like there being another which appeared as Lacus and potentially using her image for other purposes. "So, you're saying a girl we've never met is posing as Lacus," Tyler asked evenly. Athrun nodded in answer, to which Tyler sighed, "I don't like that point. It makes me suspicious some or a group are attempting to use Lacus's reputation and image for their own purposes. Lacus has the ability to influence the masses, she just doesn't do that often since she loves those around the PLANTs."
Athrun was in agreement with Tyler. Meer's appearance and "standing in" for Lacus didn't add up for him any more than it did for Tyler. And Athrun had thought of the possibility of what Tyler had mentioned of others trying to use Lacus's image being true. It was a horrible idea to have someone abuse Lacus's image and reputation. She had become famous through her singing career, but she truly did love the citizens of the PLANTs and made that point clear to them. But it wasn't just that Meer looked like Lacus, it was that she didn't act like Lacus much if at all which had thrown him for a loop. "While the girl looks like Lacus, she doesn't act like the girl we know much if at all."
Tyler stared at his friend for a long moment, wondering what he meant with the one sentence. Someone looking like Lacus and likely sounding like her was bad enough to be concerning. Tyler didn't want think about what this "mystery girl" could do to Lacus's reputation with acting unlike Lacus. And yet, his curiosity got the better of him, "I feel I could regret asking for more detail, but I will anyway," Tyler said in a tired tone. "What kind of behavior is this girl doing which Lacus wouldn't?" Athrun frowned slightly, "She is much more clingy than Lacus has ever been." Tyler scoffed, "You have seen her with Kira, right? The girl is certainly clingy around him," Tyler mused, but nodded putting a hand to his chin, "But I get the point you're getting at. Lacus wasn't that way with you as she had eyes for our clueless naïve friend." Tyler paused after referencing Kira and Lacus's behavior. He had a thought which he couldn't confirm with what he knew. "Say Athrun," Tyler began, "I know the monster who wore your father's face canceled your engagement, but was that ever made public knowledge?"
Athrun blinked at the question not understanding what Tyler was getting at. But as he took the time to think about the answer, Athrun gained an expression of realization. "No, he never got around to making any sort of public announcement because of what was going on in the war." Tyler nodded seeing his friend was getting to what Tyler was hinting at, "Which means that this stand-in doesn't have facts which we who know Lacus do. Nor those that have made her what she is right now do not have the truth as we do. That is an advantage which we can use in the future to prove whoever is behind this are likely trying to use you and Lacus's reputation for themselves." Tyler waggled a finger, "But be careful when you use it, for it will show we know the girl is a fake. I want to say she is likely unknowingly being used to have a connection of some sort to you for ZAFT." Athrun considered what Tyler was saying and his reasoning was sound and airtight. "I would say you're right about this stand-in Lacus, so I will keep an eye on this."
Athrun moved on from talking about Meer to meeting his former teammates. Tyler listened to Athrun as he spoke of visiting the markers of those they had worked with during the war. Tyler could sympathize with what Athrun experienced visiting the gravels of friends. He had similar feelings going to places where he'd been those he'd fought alongside with. It was the memories of the people you knew which weren't around anymore which reminded people what war took. "I completely understand what you're trying to portray my friend," Tyler remarked. Then he frowned slightly before he continued, "I've had the same set of feelings myself from time to time, visiting certain places, usually graves of those I've known. You wonder why they were the ones that are gone rather than you or someone else. The condition known as "survivor's guilt" is documented and it is a real thing, I assure you."
Athrun continued with the "first" meeting he had with Chairman Durandal. Tyler would admit the man who led the PLANTs and ZAFT currently would be a tempting one for most. To have someone offer to wipe the "black marks" off one's record and be able to do that to just get you back in the organization was impressive. And Gilbert Durandal had seemed like a good honest man when Tyler had met him on the Minerva. Thus, Tyler was inclined to think Durandal was trying to help Athrun with the offer of wiping the bad stuff off his record. However, for Athrun to be offered more than a fresh start also made him suspicious of others trying to butter his friend up for something. Then again, Tyler had an amount of paranoia about the actions of others which had developed over the years of his military service. Yet, that paranoia had saved him many times which was why he listened to it rather than dismissing the notions it gave.
The other thing which caught Tyler's attention with Athrun's first meeting with Durandal was the mention of some searching for Lacus. It wasn't a surprise exactly, especially not with the revelation of the stand in which Athrun had met. Athrun assured Tyler he hadn't said anything to Durandal about knowing where Lacus actually was. Not that Tyler had doubted his friend would do so as he'd promised to not reveal such things to others. But that Gilbert Durandal was searching was a tad concerning. Durandal may have told Athrun he would be willing to help Lacus have a peaceful life after she helped him, but Tyler wasn't inclined to believe it. And it wasn't just Durandal which was the point of concern, but those who reported to him too. The man was the head of the PLANTs' Supreme Council currently which position had a lot of power at its disposal. The man could order ZAFT to search and retrieve a person if he had a reason to do so. Yet, Lacus had done several steps to make finding her much more difficult. The Federation had helped with that process which should make it less likely ZAFT would find out where she was for now.
Tyler said nothing as Athrun kept going about what he'd been going through while around the PLANTs. He had been smart and didn't accept the offer right off the bat without really taking the time to consider the implications. Tyler was proud and glad Athrun had come to the point where he did think about what others may offer him. That seemed to be one good lesson that had come out of the Alliance-PLANT War for his friend. He had also according to Athrun met with some of his old comrades while on Aprilius One. Tyler felt that had been arranged to convince Athrun to go back to ZAFT. He wouldn't blame Nicol or the other two for wanting Athrun to return to ZAFT and be willing to help him do so. The three clearly cared about Athrun, and Tyler respected that. It was someone had gone through the work to arrange the three to meet with Athrun which had Tyler suspicious. Some had been going through more trouble to get Athrun to rejoin ZAFT than most soldiers were seen to be worth. It fed Tyler's paranoia that something was off about the offer Durandal had extended to Athrun.
Athrun said he had taken time to consider the offer he was being given to rejoin ZAFT. And after a few days, he had made his decision and had met with the Chairman a second time. Tyler blinked at the mention the Lacus stand in was in Durandal's office when Athrun came to see him. It made Tyler surer the girl would possibly be used to chain Athrun to ZAFT in some way or fashion. He made a mental note to look into the point further at a later time so see if there were other signs which would agree with Tyler's assumption. Tyler gained a smile when Athrun said he used Tyler's mother's words to support his decision. However, he was somewhat surprised that Durandal seemed to know the speech better than average. It wasn't a bad thing for the man to have watched the speech multiple times. Tyler would applaud that some in seats of influence were listening and learning from powerful words. It could change things for the better if they were really doing what they claimed.
Athrun shifted to him being made a member of ZAFT's FAITH. Tyler would've been proud that his friend was being recognized for his talents and convictions normally. However, as with the offer when stated, something in the back of Tyler's mind was saying something was off. ZAFT's FAITH was a position that was usually earned, not just handed out. And while Athrun had done a great deal to earn such a position, he had been dishonorably discharged instead. For that to be suddenly reversed raised some red flags to Tyler. The privileges would undoubtedly be nice to work with as they would give more freedom for Athrun to get things done. But Athrun was rather young to be considered for FAITH, much in the same way some said Tyler was to be in SOLAS. It added to the suspicion that Tyler was having about the deal Athrun had gotten for rejoining ZAFT.
Tyler's friend did state he had his own suspicions about the offer he had been given. Tyler agreed that Durandal's "sell" sounded good, great even when he had pitched it. However, memories had come to Athrun as they should to warn him not to be too quick to accept. ZAFT had started with the idea they would defend the PLANTs, but the war had morphed them slowly but surely into a horrible monster as bad as the Alliance had become. Tyler nodded strongly, "I'm glad you hesitated with the offer being made, man," Tyler remarked. "It is good that you haven't forgotten the monster sounded reasonable at first before he led ZAFT down to hell. I would hope you asked the Chairman in some form what is goals are then?"
Athrun appreciated Tyler's reassurance that his reaction had been the right one. His friend always seemed to know the general right thing to do when pressed. So, Athrun nodded to the comment and kept going on with what he'd asked Chairman Durandal. Tyler listened as Athrun recounted his question of Durandal and the man's goals for ZAFT and the PLANTs. Athrun had laid out the claim of "fighting for what's right" had been used by several in the Alliance-PLANT War and rightly so. Tyler could see Athrun still was haunted by what the monster Chairman Zala had done. Athrun shouldn't blame himself for what the monster had done. Tyler knew there was nothing his friend could've done to prevent the monster from destroying his father and taking his place. Patrick Zala's death had been slow since the Bloody Valentine. What was kind of surprising was the answer which Athrun had received from Durandal. The man hadn't dodged the question like some in seats of power did when pressed. In fact, according to Athrun, he applauded it and said seeking the truth was an essential quality of Humanity which had helped in its survival. Tyler didn't disagree with the idea of seeking truth being an important aspect of humanity.
Tyler was further puzzled and surprised by what Athrun said had followed that. Some of the lines Durandal had given were like what Tyler expected his father would give to similar questions. It made him curious if there was the chance Gilbert Durandal could be one of Tyler's father's students. Tyler had found them in all sorts of places, so it wasn't impossible that Durandal could be one of them. The man was certainly educated enough to have been around the crowds that Tyler's dad would be. And Durandal had stated his principles which closely aligned with the Federation's own. Tyler was still suspicious of the man which led the PLANTs right now. But he would watch for Durandal's actions before he made any kind of judgment upon his character. Athrun then moved on to the "assignment" he was given which had brought him to Shira. He'd been given a Gundam type which according to Athrun was a part of the series which the three Phantom Pain had stolen from Armory One belonged to. Athrun being given a Gundam made sense with his experience with such to Tyler. But him being sent to help the Minerva made Tyler wonder some things.
The Minerva was a heck of a ship, Tyler would be one of those to admit that point. It had proven itself against the Alliance already since it had sent out from Armory One. The ship had been making a name and reputation for itself from what Tyler had heard, much as the Archangel had. Perhaps, that was what had Tyler concerned and suspicious with ZAFT's insistence of sending the Minerva on the missions it did. The Minerva had become ZAFT's current symbol of power and strength, which had made it a focus of OMNI. The reason that Tyler had begun taking an interest in the ship as of late was because of Shinn being on it. The kid was a rare kind of individual that Humanity only saw once in a generation if that. Shinn was one of those that could and Tyler didn't doubt would change the world and the course humanity was on currently. That was why Tyler had been so insistent that Shinn be a Gundam pilot, the kid would need to be one for whatever he would do to change things.
With all that in mind, Tyler would be scratching his head why Athrun would be assigned to the Minerva. Sure, Athrun had amazing skills as a mobile suit pilot, but that couldn't be the only reason he was being sent to work with the ship. And that Athrun was a member of FAITH made the assignment all the stranger. Those in FAITH weren't normally assigned to a specific ship, more to places that need serious help by what Tyler understood. Athrun had finished with him coming to Shira by the time Tyler had ordered his thoughts about the situation that Athrun was in. "While being sent to Earth is all well and good," Tyler started, "you being with the Minerva is kind of odd to me." Athrun blinked at Tyler's comment as he couldn't figure out why he would see working with the Minerva being odd. "What do you mean?"
"The Minerva is quite the ship, I'll admit it," Tyler said. "And I say that after seeing its performance more since the Alliance's attack on ZAFT's Armory One. It is making a reputation for itself much as the Archangel did during the Alliance-PLANT War. That's what is kind of worrying me, that kind of popularity isn't easy to deal with for extended periods. And the Minerva seems to be used not just on the front lines, but also as a symbol for ZAFT's power. I'm just concerned that the Minerva will be put in a harsh if not untenable position in the near future." Tyler paused for a moment as memories of Shinn came to his mind. "And there is one other point which I would mention to you before you get to the ship."
Athrun was curious as to what Tyler could want to tell him. It was clear that Tyler had seen and heard a great deal about the Minerva. His own research of the ship while traveling toward Earth had lined up with Tyler's view. What Tyler had said about the ship being forced into a harsh position was very possible with the conflict driving toward another war. But for Tyler to have a specific point about the ship was odd. Tyler didn't call out things unless he felt there was a valid reason. "And what point is that, Tye?"
Tyler didn't answer right away as he was trying to figure out how to deliver his view of Shinn properly. The kid deserved a real chance to make a difference, which ZAFT hadn't been giving him. He didn't doubt Athrun would see the same potential and talent that Tyler had seen with Shinn after they met. Tyler was still tempted to have Shinn transferred to the Federation's Military, even after Talia Gladys had promised to make him a Gundam pilot. The woman had kept her word, Tyler had checked in on that to make sure. Yet, with Athrun around the kid, Tyler felt Shinn would have more of a chance to prove he had serious potential. "There is a pilot on the Minerva by the name of Shinn Asuka," Tyler began. "I happen to get to know the kid when he was separated from the Minerva after the ruins falling were dealt with." Tyler paused for a moment, "I'll just straight out say it, the kid has amazing potential, Athrun. He can and likely will change the world if he's given the chance to do so. He's like Kira, you, and me, those who have the power to change and influence others on the battlefield. I don't doubt you will see this after you meet him, but I wanted to mention it so you might help the kid. ZAFT didn't give the kid a chance until recently and that's after I made the Minerva's captain do so. I also went the distance and made arrangements to get ZAFT's National Defense Committee to keep their mouths shut and not interfere."
Athrun was somewhat shocked about this "Shinn" Tyler was talking about. Tyler had a good eye for talent, he always had as long as Athrun had known him. But for Tyler to compare this kid to Kira, Tyler, and himself said a lot. That Tyler would force the Minerva's captain to promote this Shinn was something. Yet, for Tyler to then make sure the National Defense Committee wouldn't reverse it somehow was mind-boggling. It had Athrun wonder if Tyler really didn't have some sort of point that this Shinn was unique. "You really think this Shinn has that much talent and potential," Athrun questioned. "You normally don't go out of your way that much other than for friends and family." Tyler nodded, "The kid is special, I could see that plain as day. I was seriously tempted to have him transferred to the Federation's Military if that is anything to go by since ZAFT was wasting his potential." Tyler sighed, "But anyways, you mentioned the Minerva is supposed to be heading toward Shira, correct?"
By the information Athrun had received, the Minerva was heading from where it had been working in the Middle Eastern part of the Eurasian Federation. Athrun would assume the ship was heading for Carpentaria but was stopping in Shira for repair and resupply. Shira was a logical port to swing by on the way to Carpentaria. ZAFT ships would often do so and give their crew's shore leave while there. "That is what I was told," Athrun replied. "I assume it will resupply and do any needed repairs before heading to Carpentaria from here." Tyler nodded in agreement, "That sounds logical." Athrun was glad Tyler had been willing to listen to what had been happening to him. Having a friend listen made things easier to handle. And yet, there were still the rumors which Athrun had heard which he would like confirmed or denied. "Tyler," Athrun started, "I heard some rumors while I was on Aprilius One which I hope you can either confirm or dismiss for me."
Tyler wondered what "rumors" Athrun could've heard which had him asking. Athrun wasn't one to put much stock into random rumors going around. Tyler knew Athrun tended to check information before accepting it if things sounded odd. "Sure, what kind of rumors are we talking about," Tyler inquired. "You're not normally one to put stock into rumors that I recall." Tyler was correct that Athrun didn't usually put much interest or belief into rumors he couldn't check. But after the Alliance's attempted nuclear strike against the PLANTs had thrown many things into question. "Well," Athrun started, "the biggest rumor which concerns me is the Alliance attacking a Federation complex. There has been a lot of talk about that, ranging from fairly believable to ridiculous. So, I was hoping you could help shed some light upon that. Has the Alliance really done something as foolish and stupid as strike a Federation complex recently?"
Tyler had wondered more in passing what ZAFT would say about the Alliance's assault on Asgard when they became aware of it. There was no way they would miss some of the signs of the battle going on around Asgard. And Tyler would imagine those on the Minerva would say a few things about what they had done around the base. Now, what would be believed from those on the Minerva about Asgard or the Alliance's assault was an entirely different story. Thus, Tyler hesitated for moment at Athrun's question, trying to think of how to answer it and no have Athrun ask several more questions. Tyler's hesitation and lack of an immediate answer concerned Athrun. It suggested that the rumors of the Alliance striking a Federation complex could actually be true. It was difficult to see the Alliance being that stupid already in Athrun's mind. "Tye, please tell me that the Alliance hasn't actually been stupid enough to attack a Federation complex," Athrun inquired evenly. "Them making an attempted nuclear strike is bad enough without them doing something even more foolish."
Tyler exhaled heavily, knowing he shouldn't lie to Athrun, and he wouldn't. However, there was the point of how much information to give Athrun about what the Alliance had done and the response. As Athrun was with ZAFT, Tyler couldn't tell his friend things as freely as he did while Athrun was not with the organization. "Well, as much as I would love to say the Alliance isn't so stupid to do such crap, I would be lying if I did that and I won't do that with you," Tyler replied. "An OMNI force did strike a Federation base recently, thus the rumor you heard is true to an extent."
Athrun had hoped the rumors of the Alliance being so foolish as to attack the Federation after declaring war on ZAFT were untrue. The Alliance essentially fighting both factions at the same time would accelerate the conflict heading to a full blown war. Athrun knew the Federation wouldn't stand by and take an attack without a response. The Federation weren't ones to do that even if they didn't inform others why they did what they did. The Alliance striking at a Federation complex would've been bad enough. That they had struck at a base by Tyler's words made it potentially far worse than any of the rumors had suggested. It would depend on which Federation base the Alliance had gone against which would determine how serious things would be. "That wasn't what I was hoping to hear," Athrun admitted soberly. "Which Federation base did the Alliance attack then?"
Tyler didn't answer right away, ordering his thoughts as he knew what was coming would be unpleasant. Athrun would understand far better than most in ZAFT the problems with the Alliance assaulting Asgard. Then there was the revelations which came with what was used to oust OMNI which ZAFT would be concerned about. After a long minute Tyler spoke up, "I know you will not like hearing this," Tyler began, "And I ask you keep calm and let me finish before peppering me with the many questions you will have." Athrun was getting more worried with how Tyler was prefacing his answer. It implied the base the Alliance had struck wasn't just any base but an important one. Athrun nodded slowly in agreement that he would contain himself the best he could. Tyler continued, "The Alliance assaulted Asgard over a week ago."
Athrun's eyes widened at Tyler saying the Alliance had attacked the Federation Asgard base. It was the Federation's Military headquarters on Earth, their unassailable fortress which none had ever gotten close to taking from them. Of all the bases the Alliance could've chosen to attack, they had gone with the strongest enemy base that even ZAFT wouldn't assault anytime in the near future. If Tyler wasn't the one telling Athrun this, he would be questioning the validity of the point as the Alliance assaulting Asgard was crazy. But Athrun said nothing as Tyler kept going, "I know it sounds crazy. And had the Normandy not been there and alongside the defense forces, I would be having a double take myself. However, the Alliance put together a massive fleet and threw that at Asgard. The assault lasted for over eight hours before the OMNI fleet finally made their retreat." Tyler paused as he took in Athrun's expression of worry and slight horror of what he'd been telling him. Tyler ended out shrugging, "It is the truth, and that is the official record which may be admitted to some who insist on an explanation."
Tyler stopped as he wanted to give Athrun more information, but he had to make sure his friend understood that what he could tell him was not to get to ZAFT or their National Defense Committee. It was the thing that Athrun being with ZAFT created a potential complication. "Now, I can give you more details, but that would be with the understanding you don't relay it to ZAFT or their National Defense Committee. Having lived around the Federation, you know that we don't share data just because we could. Are you okay with that? I don't want to put you in an awkward or harsh situation if you aren't willing man." Athrun comprehended and appreciated that Tyler was trying to not make his position with ZAFT harder unnecessarily. And Athrun didn't see a reason to say anything Tyler would say to other from ZAFT. The Federation didn't hold back information without a good reason, Athrun believed that with his own personal experience. So, he nodded, "I'm alright with that," he returned. "Unlike many in ZAFT, I know the Federation regulates what information is released to the public for very good reason. So, please, continued and given what details you can."
Tyler was sure Athrun would understand why Tyler was hesitant to give details about the Alliance's assault. With his friend having lived around the Federation, he had come to understand why the Federation regulated information as they did. So, Tyler nodded, "I figured you would understand, but I wanted to give you the opportunity to refuse with your current position." He then picked up where he had left off, "With the size of OMNI's fleet, it was clear they were serious about attacking Asgard and would be drawing out the battle for a while. Asgard's defenses held firm and kept enemy forces from making landfall, though the Alliance did try hard to push the fighting into a land battle." Tyler paused for a moment before going on about the ground to orbit cannons. "The Alliance did attempt to drop landing forces in from orbit. They seemed to have developed their own version of entry capsules like ZAFT uses. However, the new anti-orbital cannons Asgard has were able to counter those attempts overall."
Athrun said nothing as Tyler kept going about the Alliance's assault on the Federation's Asgard base. What Tyler was iterating was beyond concerning in Athrun's mind. That the Alliance had put together a fleet the size Tyler was implying without it being noticed was worrisome. And for them to have developed working entry capsules of their own to use nullified the advantage ZAFT had in the area. For there to be cannons which could counter orbital drops was kind of surprising to Athrun. The idea had been under research by all three factions as far as Athrun would guess. The Alliance had wanted such to use against ZAFT for a while now. But Athrun was grateful the Federation had been the ones to make the idea practical first as they would use such responsibly where the Alliance wouldn't.
Athrun kept listening, keeping his questions to himself as Tyler kept going. He did mention that Shinn Asuka had volunteered to help Asgard's defending forces as the assault began. Athrun had to applaud the kid for doing that likely knowing the job would be anything but easy. That Asuka had held his own until the Minerva had arrived was to be commended. And for the Minerva to have gone to Asgard to retrieve Asuka and the Gundam he had hadn't been mentioned to Athrun. He assumed the ship had been off the books while they had gone to Asgard. Athrun couldn't see a reason any officer would allow a ZAFT vessel go to the Federation's Asgard base for official business. Tyler also mentioned the stolen ZAFT Gundams had popped up with the Alliance's assault. Athrun's friend had danced with all three at some point and even captured one of them. Athrun was left to be impressed once again at Tyler's skills as a mobile suit pilot.
The conversation between the two went on for a solid hour before Tyler said they should see to dinner. Athrun had a lot to think about with what Tyler had told him by the time he laid down in bed for the night. The Alliance's actions had shifted it position to be a bad one by most metrics that would measure things. They had declared war against ZAFT before trying to strike the PLANTs. After that, they had attacked the Federation's strongest base on Earth. The Alliance had failed at both of the attempts but were still pushing the conflict. By what Tyler had said, the Alliance had attempted to do a political stunt with putting forth a treaty of some sort to "unite" the world. Tyler hadn't gone into a great amount of detail about the treaty, but Athrun didn't doubt it had been horrible but made to look "nice." It just showed a war was coming very soon and things wouldn't be much if any better than what it had been during the Alliance-PLANT War.
Meanwhile, night had fallen around the town at the eastern end of the Gulnahan Ravine. The Minerva had loaded up its mobile suits and bid farewell to the locals they had helped liberate from the Alliance's oppression. The Federation had assisted with helping the town, which Talia would openly admit. However, what the Federation had used to do so did concern Talia somewhat. The "suits" they used were unknown to ZAFT as far as Talia was aware. The stories she'd overheard from some of the locals were frightening honestly. They were made to sound like it made the wearer superhuman to an extent. Were that true, that would make such problematic for ZAFT should it ever become necessary for it to go against the Federation's Military. The other new "technology" which the Federation had employed was their new transport aircraft. The mobility they seemed to have made them hard to go against or stop by what Talia were to guess.
Nevertheless, the Minerva had received communications that it would receive new orders once it arrived at Carpentaria. That made clear what the Minerva would be doing going forward for the immediate future. However, with the battle against the Alliance in the ravine, the Minerva had taken damage and needed work to be at its best again. The chances of avoiding encounters with the Alliance between the Middle Eastern area of the Eurasian Federation and Carpentaria were low. Thus, Talia was of the opinion it would be best for the Minerva to find a port to resupply and repair along the way. And with the part of the world the Minerva was in, there were few ZAFT-controlled ports to choose from. So, a Federation port was the best option to go with for repair and resupply.
Of the Federation ports that Talia had looked at which a ship like the Minerva could use effectively, there were really three main ports of call. The closest port to the Minerva's current position was in the capital of the Equatorial Union. The next in line was the Republic's capital Shira. And lastly, the Orb Union's Onogoro Island was the other port which could handle a ship like the Minerva. The Equatorial Union's Delias port still left a sizable distance between it and Carpentaria. The issue was similar with Orb's Onogoro as it would be more a detour than something along the way. Thus, out of the three, the Republic's Shira port was the most logical as it was along the way and a reasonable distance from Carpentaria. That was the reason Talia had the Minerva set its course toward the Republic of East Asia's capital Shira.
The bonus with Shira was the crew could get some deserved shore leave while the ship was docked there. Talia wasn't against giving the Minerva's crew time to unwind with the stress they had been under lately. And Shira was a well-known vacation spot which many raved about, so had a lot to provide for visitors. Talia could only hope that the Minerva's time in Shira would finally be quiet. It was something that the Minerva hadn't been able to get much since it had been forced early into active service. And with Shira being a Federation port, the Alliance would unlikely do anything against the Minerva while it was in dock. Talia felt that when the Minerva arrived at Carpentaria, whatever orders were waiting would not give much quiet time to her or her crew. The Supreme Council and the National Defense Committee hadn't really let the Minerva get much time between missions. Only enough to repair and resupply for the most part which was rare for ZAFT vessels. And there was little sign such would change in the near future for the Minerva as much as Talia would like it to.
At the same time, down in the Minerva's hangar, Shinn had just brought the Impulse in. He hadn't even reached the deck before he was swarmed by his friends. They were all saying how amazing he had been getting to and taking out the enemy positron battery. Shinn didn't like being in the direct spotlight of attention for long if he didn't have to. All he did was do his best to help, Shinn didn't think what he did was as impossible as some said it was. It did remind Shinn of some of the things which Commander McGregor had told Shinn during his time on the Normandy. The Commander had told Shinn he had not just good potential, but incredible potential by his own words. Shinn had wanted to believe Commander McGregor, but him being special didn't fit in his mind. And yet, after what Shinn had pulled off, he couldn't help but wonder if Commander McGregor had a point with him having incredible potential in some way.
Nevertheless, Shinn was brought out of his thoughts when he noticed Aila and Matt approaching where he was. Those around Shinn began falling silent as the two older Minerva pilots came up to the group. Shinn still fully intended to get Aila to pay him back in some form for flying the cave system blind and not telling him straight out. That hadn't been a pleasant experience for him, and he was still somewhat ticked at the point. Aila could've told him the data would be all he would have to work with to get through the caves in some form. Shinn would've taken that seriously if she'd said that. But all she had done is told him to study the data and nothing more. He still felt to an extent that she had given him the task so she didn't have to do the flight herself.
Aila approached Shinn who was surrounded by much of the crew in the hangar. She had been sure Shinn could manage to accomplish the needed task of taking out the enemy positron battery. And he had proven the point during the operation even to a degree that had impressed Aila. Matt was slightly behind her, likely wanting to congratulate Shinn as she did. His efforts had made the operation a success and saved the town in the process. Aila waited for Shinn to focus on her before she spoke, "I knew you could accomplish the job Shinn, I never had a doubt." Aila smiled a bit, "And you did an impressive job with the task you had."
While Shinn appreciated being praised and congratulated for his efforts, that wasn't enough for what he'd gone through. Memories of the flight through the caves were coming back to Shinn's mind, and with them came the feelings of irritation and frustration that had come to him back then. Those memories made sure Shinn would get Aila to promise some sort of reward beyond just words. The Minerva would have to stop at some port, whether a ZAFT one or Federation before reaching its next destination. And wherever the port, it would have some restaurants around it which Shinn could get Aila to pay for a meal with. "While the praise and compliment are nice," Shinn started. "I can't say I appreciate you didn't tell me I would be essentially flying blind."
Lunamaria had been near Shinn, waiting her turn to congratulate him for his success when Aila had approached. She had been generally aware that the task Shinn would have going through the cave system to strike the enemy battery wouldn't be easy. However, there had been no mention of Shinn having to fly through the caves blind that Luna could recall. True, there had been the period when Aila had spoken privately with Shinn. Yet, according to what Shinn had said, there hadn't been anything said to the effect of him having to fly blind through the caves. To leave a person to do something so dangerous was not just mean, but rather irresponsible. Aila wasn't the type to do that to another that Luna had seen, so something didn't fit.
Aila didn't blame Shinn for being miffed about having to fly through the cave system as he had. However, she did tell him to study the data on the disk which was the map and flight path he'd be using. That had been his responsibility even if Aila hadn't stated the point bluntly as she could have. "While I can understand and sympathize with your response, I recall telling you the data on the disk was important and you would be using it," Aila countered. "In fact, I believe I said something to the effect of you regretting not going over the data while you had the chance. Perhaps I could've said you would be flying by the data alone directly, but I would ask if that would've made much of a difference before you entered the cave system."
Shinn didn't want to admit that Aila had a point, but she did have a valid point. He had been curious when looking at the simulation view the data on the disk he'd been given. It hadn't made sense when Shinn had first glanced at it. Not until entering the cave system did the data in its form had made complete sense. Sure, Shinn would've liked Aila to tell him the data would be all he had to use to get through the caves directly. However, Shinn couldn't say if he would've believed her fully before flying into the darkness of the caves. The chiding from Chief Aves wouldn't been fun for the scrapes and dents the Core Splendor had received during the journey. Yet, Shinn would take that as there was little he could do to get around it. "I suppose it likely wouldn't have made a difference back at the time," Shinn admitted. "Although, it won't make the lecture I'll get from Chief Aves about the scrapes and dents with the Core Splendor any nicer." But then Shinn glared at Aila, "Still, you owe me, and I plan to collect in the near future, Aila."
Aila could understand having to look ahead to a lecture one didn't want to listen to nor really deserve. She had her own experiences with chief mechanics reprimanding her for bringing back mobile suits back damaged. But Aila felt that Aves would go easy on Shinn with the success of the operation. As for the "reward" Shinn was saying he should get, Aila didn't see much of an issue with that. Granted, the kinds and types of rewards that Aila could give did have some limitations. However, Aila doubted the teen would ask for things which she couldn't or wouldn't give him. "Fair enough, I suppose a reward wouldn't be an issue for the effort you put in," Aila stated. "But there will be some things which I can't really give." Aila glanced back at Matt with a slight smile, "Such as be your girlfriend for example. I very much doubt Matt would appreciate or allow such an idea for a reward."
Matt wasn't going to let another date Aila while he was around. Yet, Matt doubted Shinn would ask for that type of thing. The kid was young and hadn't shown interest in girls enough yet to want to have a date from what Matt had seen. However, Matt wouldn't be against having a date with Aila in the next port the Minerva docked at. They hadn't had much of a chance to spend a great deal of time with one another. So, Matt snickered, "No, I ain't going to be letting another swipe you from me Aila," he agreed. "But I can't see Shinn asking you on a date in the way he is asking for a reward. If he is, he has a lot of work to impress the ladies and get himself a girlfriend, I assure you."
Shinn felt a blush come to his cheeks when Aila suggested him asking her to be his girlfriend. He hadn't been in any way implying he had some sort of romantic interest in Aila. And Matt saying he was with Aila was the first that Shinn had ever heard of the two dating. What Shinn had in mind for a reward was nothing like what Aila was joking about. He didn't want some like Lunamaria to think Shinn had an interest in older women. While Shinn wasn't at the point he was interested in dating girls, that didn't mean he didn't notice some of them weren't pretty. Yes, Shinn thought Lunamaria was pretty, though he wouldn't be telling her that in the near future. Shinn instead, focused back on stating what he intended to have Aila do as a "reward." "Don't joke about that Aila," Shinn replied. "I don't want a date or anything like that. No, what I want is when the Minerva gets to the next port, you take Rey, Lunamaria, and myself to dinner, to a place I will choose. And that meal would be paid by you in full for what you put me through."
There was silence after Shinn stated what he wanted for a reward for the job he'd done. Luna couldn't quite believe that Shinn had asked or rather demanded a meal from Aila. That he had pulled Rey and her into the point took Luna by surprise. Why Shinn had thought to rope in Rey and her into whatever reward he wanted, Luna couldn't begin to guess. Not that she was against a meal she wouldn't have to pay for. But she didn't want to take advantage of Aila even if through Shinn. Also, there was no word as of yet where the Minerva was heading for now it was about to get underway. So, there was no way right now for Shinn to select a place to eat at without knowing where the Minerva was going.
Aila on the other hand, blinked at what Shinn stated he wanted as a reward. A full paid meal wasn't the kind of reward she had expected Shinn to ask for. That in itself would unlikely be a horrendous issue, but that was dependent upon where Shinn would choose for that said meal to come from. Aila wasn't aware as of yet where the Minerva would stop over for repair and resupply. Its eventual destination was Carpentaria, but the ship would need work and a stopover before that. Sure, there weren't a great number of ports which could handle the Minerva, so there would be limited places they would end out. However, Shinn could do research and find an expensive restaurant to have Aila pay for. And yet, with the job he'd done, he did deserve something to say it was appreciated. Aila sighed and nodded, "Very well Shinn," she returned, "when we dock for repair and resupply wherever it will be, I will pay for a meal. Once we find out which port it will be, do what research you feel is needed to choose the place and the four of us can go while Matt stays with the Minerva."
The Minerva lifted off from the desert sand, leaving the town at the eastern end of the Gulnahan Ravine. Talia had already given their farewells to their allies who would head back to the Malamul Base. She did see that many from the town were waving and cheering as the Minerva lifted off from the sands. Talia had Malik set the Minerva's course for the coast to the south of the current position. Talia knew the ship travelled better through the water than over land. And over the ocean there should be less chance of encountering OMNI forces since it would be Federation territory. The Minerva would cruise once reaching the ocean and from there, the ship would head for the Republic's capital Shira. Talia didn't see a reason the Minerva couldn't get repaired and resupply at Shira before it would head to Carpentaria. And the journey from Shira to Carpentaria should be a straight shot which should be uneventful.
The span between the town and the coastline to the south took hours to reach. Traveling the span was quiet as the Minerva met nothing along the way as the desert sands were racing by below. Once the Minerva reached the ocean, it lowered down into the water before moving up to cruising speed heading east. When the ship was cruising at a good pace, Talia and Arthur discussed duty shifts during the trip to Shira. Talia wanted to give the crew some downtime to relax as she could. And since the journey to Shira should be quiet, that was as good a time as any to give what downtime she could. A skeleton crew was put on duty while the rest was allowed time to relax.
During the journey, Talia was given a report from Aila about what happened on the field during the operation. Talia would applaud Shinn's performance in the operation, for it was impressive. The other pilots from the Minerva also performed well in the operation, which Talia was proud of. Yet, Aila's observations about the Federation had caught Talia's attention. She'd seen the new equipment which the Federation had been employing. Aila's report confirmed what Talia had seen and fed her concerns. The Federation clearly still hung onto its "technological" advantage as they had during the Alliance-PLANT War. Talia had hoped that ZAFT had closed that gap somewhat with what had been developed both at Armory One and by others for ZAFT mobile suits and ships. But clearly, ZAFT's efforts hadn't closed the difference and divide between them and the Federation. If anything, the divide was wider than it had been before, which ZAFT was only getting hints of now.
It was more than a day before the Minerva came into communication range of Shira. Talia laid out the Minerva's situation and the request she had to the Federation's port control center. The Minerva was asked a couple of questions, such as where they came from and where they were heading for. Those were "normal" questions which the Federation asked of those who docked at their ports. There were a few conditions put forth by the port control center, which Talia did expect to come. The Minerva's offensive options were to be locked down before and while in port. The ship's engines were to be shut down while in dock unless they were being worked upon for repairs. And lastly, all mobile suits were to be secured and remain in their docking cages upon approach to the dock and while the ship was in dock. The conditions were very reasonable to Talia and made logical sense. It cut down on potential surprise attacks and other issues which could come up while in dock. So, Talia agreed to the conditions given by Shira's port control center. Permission was received to dock at Shira shortly after Talia agreed to the conditions given.
Shortly after the communication to get permission was finished, two Federation Dolphes-class sea cruisers came into detection range of the Minerva. They came to be along both sides of the Minerva saying they would be escorting the ship to the final approach to the dry dock the Minerva would use. The sun was rising as the Minerva came into view of Shira's docking facilities and the city beyond them. Talia couldn't stop the relieved sigh which came out of her at seeing the docking facilities and the city beyond them. Shira was deep within Federation territory, so the chances of OMNI attacking were slim to none. The crew of the Minerva could get some well-deserved shore leave while the ship was in dock here. Repairs and resupply should take two days, or so should the Federation be as efficient as they normally were. That was enough time for all on the Minerva to get some time to do what they wished in the city if they chose to enter it.
The two cruisers broke off as the Minerva continued forward toward the dock which had opened its gates. Talia had Meyrin route the line with Shira's port control center to the bridge speaker so Malik could follow instructions being given without having to get them from Meyrin. The Minerva slowly moved into the dock, Malik making the fine adjustments Shira's port control center were giving. From what Talia was hearing, Shira's port control center was instructing Malik to position the Minerva come onto the pilons in the dry dock when it drained the water. Talia would applaud Malik's piloting of the Minerva and his quick response to the instructions he was being given. Once the Minerva came to a stop, the dock gates closed and locked before the water began draining. The Minerva began lowering with the water level until there was a soft bump of the ship settling onto the dock pilons. The water level kept going down as Talia observed equipment began sliding and swinging over the Minerva.
Talia focused forward on what needed to happen before any disembarked from the ship. She told Arthur to announce to the ship as a whole none were to leave just yet. For those who planned to leave were to have their ZAFT ID ready to show the dock authorities. Arthur was announcing what Talia had told him when Meyrin told her a Federation team was waiting to be allowed onboard. Talia told her to let the Federation team on the Minerva so they could get to the needed work. Meyrin did what she was told and opened the port side airlock to allow the Federation personnel onto the ship.
The Federation inspection team entered the airlock when it opened, not wanting to waste time. Half the team headed toward the ship's hangar to check on the engines and the mobile weapons the ship carried. The other half of the inspection team began making their way to the ship's navigation bridge. The routes were already known as information on the Minerva had been pulled when it had asked for permission to dock at Shira. Chief Aves blinked when some in Federation uniforms entered the Minerva's hangar. Aves had appreciated those from Asgard who had helped repair the Minerva. It had shown him that the Federation didn't waste time nor words for what they did, which he could respect. So, he went up to the group and asked them what they needed down in the Minerva's hangar. Aves was told the Federation personnel were there to check that the Minerva's mobile suits were secured, and the engines were being shut down. Aves guided the visitors to a console and showed them all the Minerva's machines were secured in their docking cages and couldn't be moved without his say so. He also said the large engines were shut down and the others were in the process of doing so.
At the same time, on the Minerva's bridge, Talia was getting Meyrin to tell her what Shira's port control center was telling her. However, her attention was shifted when the door to the bridge slid open, and through the door came Federation personnel. "Hello, welcome onto the Minerva," Talia greeted, "What can we do for you?" The leader of the inspection team focused on Talia, "You are the captain of this vessel, correct?" Talia nodded in response, to which the leader continued, "Please have your crew step away from their consoles. We are checking to make sure offensive systems are locked down." Talia nodded and ordered all the bridge crew to step away from their consoles so they could be looked over. The Federation personnel moved forward and checked over the bridge consoles for a minute while the leader watched. After the inspection was done, the Federation personnel pulled back. The leader turned back to Talia, "We have confirmed your ship is locked down as per conditions for docking here. It is asked that any who disembark from the ship while it is dock are to have their ZAFT ID ready to show. Work crews will begin repairs as quickly as possible, and resupply will be seen to after that."
Talia nodded to the point and assured them that all on the ship had just been told to have IDs ready. She also thanked the team leader for being polite and professional, for she appreciated the manner. The Federation inspection team exited the bridge after that. Talia turned to Arthur, "Arthur, if you would announce group one is free to disembark from the Minerva and they have the next eight hours to do with what they will before being back on the ship. They are to remember they represent the Minerva and ZAFT while going around Shira." Arthur acknowledged Talia's request and relayed it to the ship as a whole.
Meyrin left her station as she was a part of "group one" which was being allowed to leave the Minerva and go into Shira first. She and Luna had discussed what they could do while in Shira when the port the Minerva was heading for. There were some personal supplies which both Luna and Meyrin needed to search for. Shira should not just have what they were looking for, but a better variety than what ZAFT bases would stock. And it had been a while since Meyrin had got to go shopping with her sister, so she was looking forward to it. Luna had told her that she was meeting up with Shinn and Rey later in the day, but they could go shopping first. Thus, Meyrin rushed to the quarters she shared with her sister so she could change out of her uniform and into more comfortable clothes.
Lunamaria had headed back to her quarters when it was announced group one could disembark. The plan Meyrin and she had made would have them going shopping in Shira once they were allowed to leave the ship. As Luna thought back, it had been a while since she and Meyrin had gotten to spend time together outside of their quarters or in the Minerva's mess. So, the shopping trip, even if it was for simple supplies would be a nice change in Luna's mind. And with Shira being a city rather than a ZAFT base, the selection which Meyrin and she would get to browse through would be better than "ZAFT issued" supplies. Luna was looking forward to the time she would get with her sister and the activity they hadn't really gotten to do since Armory One weeks before the Minerva had gone into service. She would be meeting up with Rey and Shinn later, but that was hours away. Luna wanted to have time with Meyrin without others being around for the shopping trip.
Luna entered her quarters and found Meyrin waiting for her. Her little sister was in the civilian clothes she had already and appeared eager to head out on their shopping trip. Luna snickered at seeing her sister ready to go as she was, "That eager for our shopping trip Meyrin," Luna questioned. Meyrin had missed time she used to get with Luna before the military service they had decided to do together. The little time together they did get was in the quarters they shared and that hadn't allowed much time for fun. "This is the first time in a while that we've been able to do something fun together in a while," Meyrin replied. "So of course, I'm excited. I'm more surprised that you aren't. We used to do most things together, but we haven't been able to while doing military service with ZAFT." Luna smiled, "Sorry, with what the Minerva has been doing lately, I guess there hasn't been a lot of time to do things together. Give me a moment to change and we can head out. And make sure you have your ZAFT ID with you. The dock authority will likely want to see it."
Meanwhile, it had been weeks since Stella had come to be around Shangri-La. Her treatment had been going well according to those that were checking on her progress regularly. Stella had been feeling much better than she used to. She didn't need the pod maintenance anymore, only regular sleep to not feel unwell. Stella had also gotten to know her roommates better in the weeks which had gone by. This place, Shangri-La was different than any other that she knew or had heard about. It had taken some time to become accustomed to, but everyone here was nice and that seemed genuine. That included the doctors doing the treatment which was close to foreign to Stella. Those on the project weren't nice, not even a little bit to candidates. They had been strict and firm at best, mean at worst.
That was only one of many things which had Stella confused at first with Shangri-La. The "routines" which were set were unlike anything Stella had seen or participated in. Instead of "training sessions" and "practice" for missions and combat, there were short treatment appointments and what the doctors called "relaxation and meditation time." The progress in treatments were somewhat results driven, but nowhere near what candidate's performance had been for the project. Stella had used the time she wasn't undergoing treatment to explore Shangri-La among other things.
She had also gotten to know her roommates during her short time at Shangri-La. John was very nice and thoughtful, seeming to go out of his way to do nice things for Stella and Kassy. Kassy had been shy but after a few days, Stella had managed to talk to her without her running away. From those conversations, Stella had learned that Tanya had been busy while at the Tartarus lab. Her sister and her trio had quickly moved into the position of protecting candidates from the Alliance personnel as they could after arriving. Kassy was one of those who had benefited from those efforts since Tanya had stopped the abuse she had been facing. And finally, Stella's puppy who she had named Max had been growing and was energetic. The love which Max showed Stella had warmed her heart. The other thing which had come because of that was Stella thinking about revisiting her earliest memories. She hadn't decided to do such yet, but it was something she was still considering.
All in all, Stella felt the happiest that she had been that she could remember clearly. There was just one thing missing to Stella for Shangri-La to be about perfect. If her older sister were here along with the other two from her trio, Shangri-La would be the perfect place. From what Stella was told, Tanya, Vali, and Allelujah had been here earlier. They had already gone through treatment and the recovery process. They had left Shangri-La afterward as most of the candidates did. However, there was no word as to where they had gone or what they were doing right now.
For the current morning, Max had just laid down for a nap. Stella had gone in for her daily treatment after Max had gone down for a nap. The treatment routine took around thirty minutes before Stella was told she could go. It was just after Stella exited the medical building when any plans she could have changed. That came in the form of Lafter Galiena approaching her, "Stella," Lafter called before hugging her.
Stella hadn't gotten used to how Lafter Galiena acted during her time around Shangri-La. The girl was not like any of the stories which Stella had heard about the Galiena girls. Lafter was bubbly and open to others, which was the opposite of what had been said about the star girls. It had been odd to see so many of the stories about Lafter and her sisters were completely wrong. Some of the things which Lafter did had begun feeling nice mostly since they were similar to what Tanya would do for her. Lafter had also been the one who had told Stella about Tanya and the other two having been at Shangri-La. However, Stella noticed that Lafter wasn't alone this time as her two sisters were with her. Stella had spoken with both Rossweisse and Deborah Galiena, but she normally interacted with Lafter more than her sisters. "Lafter," questioned Stella, "What are you doing here?"
Lafter was so excited at what was planned for today. Deborah had told her last night that she, Rossweisse and Lafter would be taking someone into the city. Lafter had instantly wanted to take Stella to Shira. The girl was far enough along with her treatment that she should be okay to be around people and have no issues with control. And going around cities like Shira was so much fun that Lafter wanted to share that fun with Stella. Tanya hadn't given anywhere near as good of reactions as Stella had been. Tanya didn't show expressions like her little sister did, which Lafter liked to see. Thus, Lafter couldn't hold in the giggles, "Oh Stella, I was hoping I would find you. Today will be such a fun filled day," she exclaimed. "We are going out and were told to take another with us. And you instantly came to my mind on the one who we could take with us."
Little of what Lafter had just said made logical sense to Stella. There were pieces that Stella had picked out, but it had been confusing. Lafter had said something about fun, but nothing more about that. The other thing which Stella had taken out of the iteration which Lafter had said fairly fast was she and her sisters were going somewhere. Beyond those two things, the rest had sounded like gibberish to Stella. Honestly, Lafter was a fast talker and rambled a lot which made understanding her difficult. That wasn't to say being around Lafter Galiena was an unpleasant experience. Lafter did and said things which got Stella to laugh which was not something just anyone could do.
Deborah could see the signs of Stella being confused at what Lafter had said. It certainly wasn't the first time which Lafter had confused another. No, that was a normal thing for Lafter even if she didn't think what she said should confuse others. Deborah, Rossweisse, and their mother had been attempting to help Lafter improve her delivery of subjects. However, their efforts hadn't had the desired effect as of yet. So, instead of informing Stella she could accompany them into Shira, Lafter had confused Stella. Thus, Deborah sighed, "Lafter, once again, you're leaving out key details and confusing others," she remarked. Lafter glanced at her older sister and gave her a pouting expression, "Did not!" Deborah shook her head before focusing back on Stella, "Sorry about Lafter confusing you Stella, she gets that way when she's excited." Deborah smiled at Stella, "Please don't hold it against her."
Stella nodded slowly at what Deborah was telling her. She still didn't understand what Lafter had been saying exactly, and she hoped that someone would explain it better. Lafter was trying to tell Stella about something that much had been obvious, but Stella couldn't figure out what. Stella hoped that one of Lafter's sisters would, so she looked between Deborah and Rossweisse for an answer. Deborah could see that Stella was looking to her and Rossweisse for further explanation of what Lafter was trying to say. "What my youngest sister was trying to say," Deborah continued, "is ask if you would like to join us with our visit to Shira for part of the day today."
Stella blinked in confusion, being taken aback at what Deborah Galiena was telling her. It did explain what Lafter had been trying to say, but the subject itself didn't make sense to her. She had heard from others around Shangri-La there were the opportunity to go outside which came up. John had mentioned he had gone outside to a city, though she couldn't recall the name at the moment. The name Shira was one that Stella had heard from some around Shangri-La. From what she could recall, it was one of the larger cities in the country and was supposedly important in some way. Stella hadn't been outside of Shangri-La since arriving, so didn't know much about the Republic other than what others had said about it.
Deborah went into giving a short summary of what the "plans" were for the trip the three were going on and wanted her to come with them. The trip into the city didn't sound like a horrible idea to Stella. It wouldn't be without potential issue as Stella still wasn't the best around lots of people. She had improved with crowds around Shangri-La, but that was around fellow candidates, which was different. Yet, the doctors at Shangri-La did encourage the candidates to try new things as best they could. And Stella was curious as to if what others said about this Shira was as neat and fun as they said. Thus, in the end, Stella agreed to go with the Galiena sisters to Shira. She was still apprehensive about the trip, but Stella wanted to try new things with her experiences at Shangri-La.
Stella went to get ready to go with the Galiena sisters, telling John she would be going out for a portion of the day. She met the three sisters at Shangri-La's transit station at the appointed time which Stella was given. The four got onto the train which came into the station around five minutes after descending into the station. The ride into Shira's central station took a little under thirty minutes. Once there, they boarded another train which Deborah said they would be taking to Shira's Xing Mall station. The mall was where Deborah said they would be spending a good portion of the day in Shira. The second train ride was about ten minutes, which Rossweisse mentioned was because the trains inside the city traveled slower than those that came from other places outside of Shira.
Stella got off the train following the Galiena's but came to a halt shortly after she exited the train. Her surroundings were the reason that she had come to a halt. The sights combined with the lights and the noise from all around were unlike anything Stella had seen. She had heard of "malls" as places where there were a lot of stores in one central area. But there had been nothing said about all the lights, sounds from every direction, or that there would be so many people going around it. Stella did have a slight feeling of apprehension and fear with so many people. Yet, that was overridden by the amazement she was experiencing with the new experience of the place. It was kind of similar to what Stella had felt when she had entered Shangri-La for the first time.
Lafter came up to be in Stella's right and saw she was in awe of the mall. Lafter always liked coming to Shira's Xing mall, for there was so much fun stuff to do there. She had no doubt that Stella would have the same kind of fun as Lafter did around the mall. So, Lafter smiled at the expression of awe Stella had, "Neat isn't it," Lafter asked. "I was sure you would be surprised when you came here." Stella glanced at Lafter, not quite understanding what she was referring to. Stella didn't know where to start on taking in this "place," there was just so much to take in. "What do you mean," Stella questioned. "What is this place? There is so much here."
Deborah could see Stella's confusion with what Lafter was saying to her along with the environment she was now in. As normal, Lafter was getting ahead and not doing the proper explanation she should before she said something. And Stella was clearly having trouble taking in a completely new environment that she'd never been in something similar enough to give her a taste of a mall. Deborah ended out shaking her head, "Lafter, once again, you are getting ahead of yourself, thereby confusing another," she remarked. Lafter glanced over at her older sister, not understanding what she was talking about. Lafter felt she hadn't said anything confusing to Stella, at least not that she could think of. "What are you talking about Debbie," Lafter inquired. "The mall is neat, what else needs to be said about that for others to understand?"
Deborah loved her youngest sister, she really did. But there were days that Lafter's view of things really did frustrate Deborah a great deal, and this was definitely one of those times. It wasn't Lafter trying to seem ignorant but wasn't at heart. That potential possibility had been dismissed long ago as not the reason Lafter acted the way she did. Her excitement just seemed to get the better of her and had her miss what most would see. "Yes, you see it that way, I'm well aware," Deborah replied. "But not all see the world as you do, Lafter. I know Rossweisse and I have told you that countless times. But this is likely Stella's first experience with a place like a mall which you unlikely considered."
Lafter blinked at Deborah saying Stella not ever being around a place like the Xing Mall. She couldn't see how that would be possible. Stella would've gone to all sorts of places on missions, so surely, she had been around a mall or shopping district. Granted, Stella hadn't known what a dog was, but that could've been from the nasty work those in the labs did to candidates. Thus, Debbie had to be the one missing something, not Lafter. So, Lafter shook her head, "That can't be right, Debbie," Lafter reasoned. "Stella had to have been to a place like this while on missions." Deborah shook her head firmly, "Her confusion and awe says that isn't the case, Lafter," Deborah returned tiredly. "But instead of arguing about this point, we can show her what places like the mall are like and why going to them can be fun."
Stella was led around the "mall" by the Galiena sisters. She was taken to all sorts of shops, some were filled with clothes while others had different items. In the clothing stores, the Galiena sisters looked through and tried on clothing. They also encouraged Stella to do the same thing they were. Stella didn't see the point of "trying on" clothes as the Galiena sisters were doing, but she did what they suggested. And yet, as Stella began putting on clothes and looking at herself in a mirror, she had an unfamiliar feeling. Stella hadn't really taken much pride or interest in her appearance before now. However, now that she gazed at herself in the mirror the urge to make herself look nice or better began filling her. That transitioned into the enjoyment of seeing herself in different clothes.
The other "strange" thing which Stella noticed while she and the Galiena sisters went about the mall was people. There had always been an air of fear around the lab, and it "latched" onto all there, so there was no feel of fun. No one had smiled around the lab, not the candidates or the lab workers. Yet, around the mall, all the people seemed to be happy, which was very odd to Stella. The only times she "felt" happy before this and Shangri-La was when she was with her sister Tanya. It made Stella wonder if life not being a candidate could be like this more. Those at Shangri-La had stated that once the treatment was done, they would have a "normal" life that non-candidates lived. If what Stella was experiencing today was a part of a normal life, she wanted to have it. She could see herself and Tanya doing things like Stella was with the Galiena sisters.
The four girls spent close to two hours browsing the shops in Shira's Xing Mall. It was Deborah that suggested they break from shopping and find a place to eat lunch. The four traveled to the mall's food court to find a place to eat. As Stella sat down to eat, she was coming to the conclusion that the things she had gotten to do today was something she wanted to do it more. She hoped the next time she could do "shopping" with her sister Tanya. The thought of that had Stella smiling softly as she felt shopping would be more fun with her sister. Stella was glad she had agreed to Lafter's invitation for this trip. It had opened her eyes to what being around people could be a happy experience.
Nevertheless, something else was coming to Stella's mind during this trip that she hadn't expected. Feelings and sensations were coming to Stella along with flashes of what she believed were memories. From some of the images that were coming to Stella made her feel the memories were from times long ago in her life. The "memories" seemed vague and didn't make sense as normal memories would. One of the few facts that Stella could determine with the images were they came from times before she and Tanya had gone to Lodonia. Memories from times before Lodonia had been scary things to Stella. She had avoided and buried those memories, so she didn't have to deal with panic or let fear overwhelm her. However, the images she was recalling weren't ones she had seen before, and they were unlike any which had come of the time before the lab. To the contrary, the memories brought warm feelings with the "people" that were in them.
Lafter was the first to notice that Stella was distracted from the food by something. Stella had appeared to have been having fun while they had been shopping and trying on clothes before lunch. Lafter couldn't think of anything which should've distracted Stella from the fun they had been having. The distraction was getting Lafter to worry that Stella was starting to not have fun at Xing Mall. Lafter didn't want that at all as there was still more that she wanted to show Stella. "Hey Stella, you doing okay," she asked, sounding a bit worried. "Haven't you been having fun here at the mall? You looked to like trying on clothes and the other stores that we went to before this."
Stella came out of her thoughts at hearing Lafter talking in her direction. She found all three Galiena sisters gazing at her with varying worried expressions on their faces. Stella hadn't meant to worry those she was with. It was just the memories she was seeing hadn't ever come to her before now. And that they weren't scary memories from before the lab had made Stella curious as such hadn't come up before this. Plus, something about the memories coming to her mind felt different than any of the other memories from the past. They felt more "natural" than others along with not being scary. She didn't know how to explain that to the Galiena sisters. "Sorry, I was," Stella hesitated for a moment, "remembering things that I never have before."
That one line explained what was going on to the three Galiena sisters. It referred to an event which every candidate that came to Shangri-La and underwent treatment experienced. Mina and Dr. Kall had told the three Galienas about some of the specifics of what was done to candidates when they go to any of the labs. "Memory modification" was something that those at the labs did to individuals that were deemed "candidate material." According to their mother, it was done to most candidates to motivate them to comply and be obedient. False memories, or at least fragments were inserted to existing memories to incited fear and pain. Deborah and her sisters had been no exception to that point. Their early memories had returned to them to find they technically were not sisters by blood. However, they had been friends before being caught by Alliance soldiers in the town they'd lived in before the lab. That hadn't changed the relationship they had with one another, but each of them looking different from the other two now made more sense.
Lafter was the first to move, which she rushed over to Stella's side and hugged her. Stella was caught slightly off guard as she hadn't expected Lafter embracing her with what she'd said. Oh it wasn't a strange event for Lafter Galiena to embrace others around Shangri-La, she did it often enough. But there was normally some sort of warning or hint that preceded Lafter hugging another, even if it was missed. Stella couldn't think of any reason that Lafter would want to hug her with saying unknown memories were coming to her. "Uh, Lafter," Stella started, "Why are you hugging me?"
Deborah shook her head as Lafter went off saying that she, Rossweisse, and Deborah felt for Stella. It wasn't that Deborah felt Lafter was saying things she shouldn't or didn't need to. Deborah and her sisters did feel sympathy for what other candidates went through during the treatment. Deborah and her sisters were among the first candidates that had received treatment at Shangri-La. And they had watched others experience what effects came with the treatment working on them. Thus, they knew what Stella was going through at the moment, yet Lafter's reaction wasn't helping.
Stella was likely confused with her memories which had been buried or altered coming back to her. Deborah watched as Rossweisse rise and move forward toward their sister. She then began trying to get Lafter to stop hugging Stella and back off a bit to give the girl some space. It was needed, Lafter hugging Stella would make explaining what was happening harder. It took a few minutes for Rossweisse to "pry" Lafter off of Stella. Deborah waited for Rossweisse to get their youngest sister off before focusing on Stella. Once Rossweisse pulled Lafter off of her, Stella was still confused at what was going on. Her gaze shifted over to Deborah Galiena hoping for an explanation. The oldest Galiena had always given understandable explanations when she answered Stella's questions. "Why did Lafter hug me," Stella questioned. "I didn't understand what she was saying while she was hugging me."
Deborah hoped one day that Lafter would improve her behavior, but it would be either a while or not happen. But Deborah loved her sister Lafter, even with her bubbly personality when it caused difficulties. Deborah sighed, "Please forgive Lafter for her enthusiasm, she has trouble controlling it at times." Deborah paused for a moment trying to think how to explain to Stella was going through. "First, don't be afraid of the memories you are starting to see, Stella." Deborah smiled slightly, "Every candidate that comes to Shangri-La and undergoes treatment experiences what you are. It is a sign that the treatments are working, and it is a good one." Stella blinked at what Deborah just said to her, processing what Deborah was trying to tell her. Memories that she'd never seen were coming back to her, how did that say the treatment was working? "What do you mean these memories I'm seeing that I've never recalled before are related to the treatments," Stella questioned. "The treatments are supposed to help me not need maintenance regularly and not have the violent tendencies."
It was a sad thing to Deborah to see Stella and others not understand before they would come to the realization of what had been done to the candidates and why. Every candidate reacted differently when they realized they had been changed and important things taken from them. And that realization normally came at the point Stella was at when their original memories started coming back. Deborah hadn't been happy when she had realized the point, but she had quickly understood her mother had her reasons for what her project did. Rossweisse had a meltdown and had messed up her room and destroyed furniture through her venting at her realization. Lafter had cried for one of the longest periods she had ever done that Deborah had remembered when she realized the point. So, Deborah could only frown sadly in empathy, "After those who become candidates are brought to one of the labs and determined to be good enough to be a candidate, they undergo "adjustments." You are aware of that, correct Stella?"
Stella was even more confused at what Debora was saying as it didn't appear to relate to what Stella had asked. All candidates of the Enhanced Human Project had adjustments done before they began regiments they would be expected to do. But Stella couldn't figure out what that would have to do with the memories she was seeing. Still, she nodded to Deborah, "Of course, all candidates have adjustments done to get them ready to do the regiments they will be assigned." Stella tilted her head, "Why do you bring that up?"
It was the expected and classic response any candidate would give to such a question. It was part of the adjustment process Deborah knew, make it clear to candidates questioning what you were told from "those that mattered" was something you didn't do if you wanted to survive. Getting candidates out of that mentality was part of Shangri-La's treatments, and it was normally one of the parts which took a while to be successful for the vast majority. Deborah's mother really had created an amazingly successful system to control candidates as much as she didn't want to admit it. Deborah believed there was good in her mother Mina, even if others would deny such a thing. So, Deborah exhaled heavily, "Your response is what is expected from a candidate." Deborah took a deep breath, "I ask you keep calm with what I'm about to tell you." Stella nodded and waited for Deborah to go on, not understanding why she would say to keep calm. Deborah continued, "Part of the adjustments to candidates is memory alteration. Those who do it do one of two things to a candidate's memories before they're brought to the labs. They either bury the happy and good memories you have or alter them to make your memories either scary or seem like miserable ones."
Deborah paused as she recalled her own experience with her memories returning. Her "altered" memories had Deborah believing she and her sisters had been abandoned and left to die by those who had lived in town they had been found in. The truth was the Alliance had bombed the town and then gone in slaughtering the majority of survivors. Friends and family had hid Deborah and her sisters before they had been killed, trying to save them. It was unfortunately a common theme with most candidates when they got their memories back. But Deborah hoped Stella was seeing happy memories for the moment before she may see her parents giving their lives for her and Tanya. So, Deborah smiled warmly, "You seeing memories that you haven't seen before is a good thing. It means the treatments are undoing that work done during the adjustments you were given in the lab. The memories are your own and are of your past which were taken from you."
Stella didn't know how to take what Deborah had just told her. Being told that the adjustments candidates were given had taken things from her both hurt and made her angry. Stella didn't like the idea of others "messing" with her memories without her permission which she wouldn't have given. The images that kept coming back to Stella's mind had a blonde girl in them which certainly looked like a younger version of Tanya. The girl in Stella's memories before looked much the same but hadn't smiled at all like the one she'd been seeing. Tanya had told Stella before that they had been abandoned before those from the lab had brought them in.
Now, Stella wondered if that was true at all with the images she was seeing. And with the memories Stella was seeing had two other people in them which she couldn't identify. The point bugged her as there was something familiar about the two adults Stella had been seeing. One of the adults had been a woman with blonde hair who had looked similar to Tanya and Stella. That woman was smiling and laughing in the memories, and the smile brought warmth to Stella's heart in a way she couldn't explain. There had also been a brown-haired man who was in the memories too. Staring at him and hearing him laughing caused much the same type of feeling as the woman's smile and actions had. "So then," Stella started, "Tanya had memories come back to her too?"
Deborah didn't answer Stella right away recalling how Tanya had reacted when her memories started coming back. She hoped Stella would not be extremely angry as Tanya had been at first. Allelujah and Vali had been forced to hold Tanya back while she had cursed and swore vengeance upon those who had changed her memories. Tanya had "said" or rather screeched while Allelujah and Vali restrained her that Stella and her parents had died trying to defend them from Alliance soldiers there to take them. She had also promised to go and find Stella to rescue her, likely leaving a trail of blood to do that. Tanya had calmed down given some time, and some sedation from the Shangri-La staff. Deborah didn't think Stella would "blow up" like her sister Tanya did, she had a better demeanor. Thus, Deborah nodded, "Yes, her memories came back," she hesitated for a moment, "To say her reaction was bad is putting it mildly. Your sister was extremely unhappy realizing her memories had been altered. I can still clearly recall the meltdown she had screeching and yelling about how she would go and find you, rescuing you from those who were using you. Allelujah and Vali had to restrain her during that meltdown. It was also them who convinced her to not go running off searching for you." Deborah shrugged, "The sedations were done to her assured that Tanya didn't sneak off to go to find you and bring you to Shangri-La."
Stella blinked at hearing Tanya had a "meltdown" when her memories came back to her. Tanya wasn't one to meltdown or throw a tantrum about things she didn't like. No, Tanya was calm and collected through almost anything that Stella had seen. So, to hear Deborah say Tanya took getting her memories back badly, made her wonder what Tanya had seen. It was also extremely comforting to know Tanya had been thinking of her while they had been separated. Tears came to the corners of Stella's eyes as the realization Tanya had wanted to help her so much that others had to hold her back. "She was thinking of me even around Shangri-La," Stella said to herself as her shoulders began shaking. "She was even willing to come and get me after being around Shangri-La." The tears began flowing without Stella being able to stop them. "I wanted to see my sister so badly, just because of the warmth I feel around her. She was held back by Allelujah and Vali as well as being sedated to keep her safe. She was thinking about what was best for me and was desperate to get me away from those at the lab. It shows how much she loves me."
The sound of sobbing drew the attention of Lafter. She looked over and saw Stella crying facing her sister Deborah. Lafter wasn't happy to see Stella sobbing, and most likely the cause of it is something Deborah had said or did. Stella was supposed to be having fun on the trip into Shira, not sobbing. So, Lafter left Rossweisse and stomped over to her oldest sister, "Debbie, what did you do to make Stella cry," she demanded. "This trip is supposed to be fun for her." Lafter puffed out her cheeks in frustration before she continued, "And yet you make her cry. How could you do that Debbie?!"
Deborah held in the tired sigh which tried to escape her at Lafter's behavior. Her youngest sister had once again misunderstood what was going on that she was now complaining about. Stella was "sobbing" not out of sadness, but understanding her sister cared about her. Lafter was missing that point which changed the whole situation. "You aren't reading the situation completely as you should, Lafter," Deborah stated. "Stella is working on coming to terms with her memories coming back. That can come with heavy emotional reactions as it does with some from Shangri-La."
At the same time, Shinn, Rey, and Vino had headed out from the Minerva to meet up with Lunamaria and Meyrin. The plan was for Rey and Shinn to take Lunamaria and go to other places while Vino would take Meyrin back to the Minerva. The trio was going to scope out potential places to have the dinner that Aila would be paying for tomorrow. Shinn had narrowed the places that had looked good down, but he wanted a closer look before making a decision. Rey had agreed to help Shinn out with narrowing down the choices of places to eat tomorrow. Shinn was grateful for Rey helping him, he really was a great friend to have. Shinn hoped with Rey and Luna's help, they could agree upon a place for dinner tomorrow which Aila would come with them to.
The three traveled into Shira and went to the general shopping district the city had. Lunamaria had said she and Meyrin would be going there for "supplies" as she put it. There hadn't been mention of what the supplies were, but Shinn had felt it was better he not ask her. Meeting up with Lunamaria and Meyrin was simple enough. Rey, Vino, and he found them in the shopping district looking at clothes. The two girls joined the boys, but Meyrin wanted to see the nearby park before she and Vino headed back to the Minerva. None in the group had an issue walking through the part in the shopping district, so the group headed in that direction. When they arrived at the park, they began walking through it. There weren't many in the park at the time the group was there. With that being the case, Shinn's group wasn't paying much attention to those around them.
Meanwhile, the Galiena sisters along with Stella had finished their lunch and headed to the park in the shopping district. Lafter had suggested the destination as she always like the park and insisted going there whenever she got around the shopping district. Stella knew what parks were supposed to be, there had been mention of them in the education for candidates. But she hadn't really been to one that she was aware of, not even on missions. So this would be the first "park" which Stella had been to. She was curious what could be so different about these parks that made them stand out. When they arrived at the park, Stella blinked at the sight that met her eyes. There were many trees all around with paths that wound through them. Families were sporadically around the park walking and playing there. The whole scene was strange to Stella as she didn't have anything to compare it to within her memory.
The group was distracted by their surroundings that they didn't notice another group of teens were on the same path they were. The two groups collided with Lafter going down with a female teen in the other group, while Stella fell over on top of a guy. Deborah and Rossweisse managed to not hit some from those from the other group. Rey had managed to prevent Vino and Meyrin from crashing into the women in the group that Shinn and Lunamaria had already gone to the ground with. Luna had been talking and holding the attention of those in the group so they hadn't seen the other group coming. Rey just hoped that Luna showed better control of her emotions than she had been lately.
Stella had fallen to the ground after colliding with something which she'd not seen coming. It was a tad embarrassing as training candidates received was supposed to make it clear that knowing what was going on around you was important. Failure in that could mean horrible punishment or other harmful consequences. But Stella was still working on not reacting in the engrained ways candidates would. It was part of the treatments from Shangri-La to change the expected behavior of candidates. But Lafter had been distracting her with what she'd been saying before Stella had bumped into whatever she had. Lafter had been saying something about how the park was the neatest place or something like that.
Stella raised her head slowly taking in her surroundings and try to figure out what she had crashed into. The only thing that seemed to have changed was there was a person was under her. That implied the guy under Stella was the one she had crashed into before falling to the ground. The guy had black hair and red chestnut-colored eyes from what Stella could see. His face didn't look that out of place from those Stella had seen around Shira. However, the longer Stella stared at the guy, the more the feeling of familiarity came to her. She felt that she'd seen the guy somewhere before, but she couldn't recall where that could've happened. But the nagging feeling would leave Stella's mind.
Shinn had hit the ground hard after crashing into something or someone. His head was throbbing a bit, but he didn't think he had done serious harm to himself. Shinn couldn't help but rub his head to get the throbbing to fade from his head. He opened his eyes to try and figure out who he had run into. What met his eyes had him pause and blink a bit as the sight was one he'd didn't think he would see. Shinn found himself looking at a admittedly pretty face above him. Said face was framed with golden blonde hair and had violet eyes within the pretty face. A moment later, Shinn realized that he was looking at a girl around his own age. The girl was laying on top of him with her head raised and glancing around. Shinn realized the position he was in with the girl and was embarrassed. The girl also was now staring at his face as Shinn looked away from her, "I'm sorry, are you okay Miss?"
Stella still couldn't figure out why the guy seemed familiar. He wasn't a candidate she'd seen before that she could recall. Heck, there were none of the signs that he was a candidate of the project at all. That implied should Stella have met the guy, then it would've been on a mission since there was no other logical explanation. Yet, Stella and her trio hadn't had many missions thus far officially. They had been sent to places within Alliance territory to train themselves to blend in and not stick out around crowds. But again, the guy didn't look like someone that would be around Alliance territory. His appearance suggested he was more likely a person born in Federation territory if Stella were to guess. There was really only one place that a mission had took her where there were people around that wasn't Alliance territory. Stella tilted her head at his statement, "I'm fine," she replied, "but you look familiar."
At the girl saying he looked familiar, Shinn glanced back at the girl. The girl was pretty, Shinn wouldn't deny that, but the longer he looked at her, the more he had to admit there was a familiarity. The weird thing for Shinn was he would normally remember a girl like the on in front of him. Yet, he couldn't figure out where he could've met the girl before now. Her appearance was "normal" enough to say she could easily be a Natural. There was the chance he'd met her before his family moved to the PLANTs, but he doubted it. And Shinn hadn't been doing service with ZAFT for long enough to have been many places yet with the Minerva. So, if he had met the girl, there weren't many places they could have crossed paths.
While the two were trying to figure out where they could've met one another, Lafter was dazed from hitting the ground. The event had occurred so quickly that Lafter hadn't been able to see what she had hit to fall. "Ow ow ow owchies, that fall hurt," Lafter uttered in response to the pain in her head. Lafter had never hit anyone walking through the park when she and come her before. And Lafter had been acting like she normally did, so the crash made no sense to her as to why it happened. The people that tended to frequent the park watched where they were going enough so that Lafter didn't have to worry about her behavior to a great degree. So, Lafter rose up, shaking her head to clear it so she could see what she had hit to have her fall to the ground.
Lunamaria was shaking off the daze of smacking into something. She had been asking Shinn about what places he wanted to look into dinner for tomorrow when Luna had hit something and gone down. The collision had hurt, not just the initial hit, but the crash Luna had then experienced upon hitting the ground. Sure, she hadn't been paying attention to where she had been going as she should have to avoid a collision. Her first reaction was to snap at whoever had crashed into her. However, the conversation with Aila came back to Luna's mind and she knew she should apologize rather than snap. And as Luna was trying to improve herself, she would do the apology as Aila would expect of her. "What or who did I hit," questioned Lunamaria as she sat up. "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention."
Lafter gazed forward and found a red-violet haired girl right in front of her on the ground. The girl wasn't one of those that Lafter had seen before when she had come to the park previously. While that was odd, that didn't change the fact that they had crashed into Lafter. They should've been watching where they were going. Lafter was doing what she normally did so she wasn't at fault for this event. Thus, Lafter wasn't going to let the other side pin the blame on her for the crash. "Hey stupid, why did you crash into me," Lafter demanded. "You should've been watching where you were going. This is your fault dummy."
Luna had apologized for her not paying attention and playing a part of the altercation. She had done that to be nice and behavior properly as ZAFT expected from their personnel. However, the girl which Lunamaria had bumped into was shoving all the blame on Luna. The urge to snap at the girl and set her straight on what had happened. But Luna stopped herself from heeding that urge right away, exercising emotional control. "As I said," Luna said evenly, biting her tongue to not snarl back at the girl, "I apologize for not paying attention. But you weren't watching where you were going either, so I'm not completely at fault."
Lafter wasn't going to let the redhead get away from taking responsibility for the crash. She would make sure the girl admitted she caused the issue they were in. "I've been here before and haven't crashed into anyone," Lafter stated. "So, since you are not a normie in the park, you should pay extra attention and not crash into others like me." Lafter stuck out her tongue at Luna, "So you are at fault for this stupid!"
Luna had been trying to not blow up and rip into this girl, and her response was making that even harder. But this lady was acting like a child, using logic that didn't make any sense. And the lady was older than Lunamaria, so should be more mature than Luna was. Luna tried to keep calm, yet her control slipped a bit, "I was walking like you," she stated firmly. "You should've been watching where you were going too. There is no reason to expect all those around you to watch their surroundings while you don't." Luna would've kept going, but Lafter cut over her, "You're dumb, I've gone around her before and never ran into anyone. It's your fault!" Luna lost her temper, and the two girls quickly began to argue about who was at fault for the crashing into one another.
Deborah had been watching her youngest sister as she had been going back and forth with the girl she'd crashed into. Stella had also bumped into another and gone to the ground, but she looked okay. From what Deborah had heard, the guy had apologized, and Stella had seemed to accept that from him. Honestly, Deborah was kind of embarrassed with Lafter's behavior. Her sister was supposed to be improving, and she was in some ways. But Lafter still could be childish when met with confrontation from another. Lafter should know better than to be childish with another. Their mother had been lecturing Lafter about that, but apparently, Lafter hadn't been listening as she should have. And as it normally ended out, it felt to Deborah to "remind" Lafter she needed to behave better than she was. Thus, Deborah moved forward and brought her hand down in a chop to Lafter's head.
Rey had been watching Lunamaria exchanging with the woman she had run into. Luna had been in control of her emotions at the start, which Rey applauded. Luna had been having a hard time controlling her emotions lately and it was nice to see she was working on improving that. However, that hadn't lasted long as the woman acted childishly which set off Luna. Rey couldn't help the tired sigh that escaped him at Luna's response to the childish behavior from the other side. As a member of ZAFT, Lunamaria shouldn't let herself to snap at another for poor behavior. It was expected that members of ZAFT to hold themselves to a higher standard and not lose their temper just because another drew a rise out of them. Rey strode forward, grabbing Luna's collar and pulling her back and away from the woman.
Lafter had been arguing with the stupid girl and winning the said argument when something came down on her head hard. She clutched her head as pain shot through it with the hit she'd just taken. She twisted around and saw it had been Deborah that had hit her. Deborah's hand was in the form when she chopped another's head. But Lafter hadn't been doing anything to deserve a chop to the head. Lafter was sure she was in the right when it came to the girl that had crashed into her. "Ow, Deborah, that hurt," Lafter exclaimed still holding her head. "Why did you chop my head? I did nothing wrong to deserve a chop to my head!"
Deborah glared sternly at her youngest sister with the response she gave to the reminder that she had given her. She should know her behavior was poor and needed to be called out so it could be corrected. "You have earned the chop to your head, Lafter," Deborah stated firmly. Lafter shut her mouth at the serious tone that her sister was using. It was a tone Lafter knew meant she was in trouble and arguing would only make her situation worse. "You were misbehaving by being childish." Lafter flinched as Deborah kept going, "Mother has taught us manners, and given you lessons on this specifically as this is a hard subject for you. And in this, you are being childish which you are supposed to be working on changing, remember?"
While Deborah was chiding her younger sister, Rey was chastising Lunamaria for her actions. Lunamaria had tried to speak in her defense for a moment, but Rey didn't let her say much as he lectured her. Rey's lecture was one that as it went on, Luna couldn't effectively argue against. He was right with her reaction in the end being improper, Luna wouldn't deny that. Luna's shoulders began slumping as Rey kept going as his lecture kept pounding her response to the woman that crashed into her. Luna knew Rey may be a quiet one, but he knew more about ZAFT protocol and expectations than most ZAFT personnel would recall that weren't in ZAFT administration. And Rey seemed to know just the right way to quote ZAFT protocol to have the greatest impact. Luna couldn't come up with a defense to counter Rey's lecture and stopped trying not too long after it started.
Both Stella and Shinn had glanced over in the direction of Lafter and Luna when the two had begun their exchange. Shinn had seen Luna had been trying to control her emotions dealing with the woman that had bumped into her. The attempt was better than any Shinn had seen from Luna as of late. Granted, she had still lost her temper in the end, but at least she tried to control herself before that. Rey was dressing down Luna as Shinn watched and from what he could tell, Rey was chewing out Luna with her shoulder's slumping. On the other hand, Stella observed Lafter getting chided by the eldest Galiena. She had seen the eldest Galiena was the leader of the three. Stella couldn't stop the giggle that escaped her at the scene.
The sound of Stella giggling drew Shinn's attention back to her. He was still trying to figure out where he could have met her before. Something about her was familiar, like he'd seen it recently somewhere. Shinn kept staring at her face and slowly he began to realize he had seen this girl before. The memory came back to Shinn's mind slowly, but as it did, he realized they had crossed paths around Armory One. It had been on the day the Gundams were stolen, but around an hour before that. Shinn had been with Vino and Yolan out doing some shopping for things at the time. The girl had been with a group that had two adults and two teens around her age as Shinn recalled. Shinn had bumped into the girl as their paths had crossed before her group had moved on shortly after the altercation. "You're the girl that I bumped into at Armory One colony," Shinn stated. "You were with a group of two adults and two teens around your age."
Stella blinked at the statement, but it did help her recall where she'd see the guy. She did remember that she had bumped into someone around the colony as her group had been working their way toward their target. After their arrival at the colony, it was to take about an hour to get to the hangar where the Gundams had been stored. The time was figured and planned so they wouldn't draw bad attention before getting to the Gundams. She had gotten slightly ahead of her group when she had bumped into the guy. He had caught her before she fell to the ground as Stella recalled. His grip which had stopped her from hitting the ground had been on one of her breasts. Any that had done so before that had gotten Stella to lash out at them as it felt horrid. But the guy's grip had felt different than any of the staff at the labs, or even Auel who touched her like that once. It hadn't felt horrible, which would translate into her attacking whoever tried to touch her that way. Stella then noted that she was sitting on top of the guy and that was rude, so she moved off of him.
As soon as the girl had moved off, Shinn scooted back a bit and sat up. He'd never had such a pretty girl that close to him before and it made him nervous and self-conscious. He then looked at the girl again seeing that it wasn't just her face that was pretty, her whole appearance was pretty. Now, Shinn wasn't exactly a stranger to pretty girls, Luna and Meyrin were pretty, but they were comrades. Not that Shinn was looking for that kind of relationship, he was still a teenager after all. So, he focused back on the first encounter they had at Armory One to get his brain off of how pretty she was. With the mess that was the theft of the Gundams, there hadn't been the time to think about the safety of the citizens back at the time. Shinn had thought about those who had been in danger because of the theft after the event. He'd been told that most of the colony's citizens had made it to shelters, but that hadn't stopped Shinn being concerned for what the theft had done. To see one of the colony's citizens was okay warmed Shinn's heart.
It brought back to Shinn's mind something that Commander McGregor had said during one of their conversations. Commander McGregor had been trying to help Shinn see there was still hope for humanity. Shinn couldn't remember the exact words the Commander said, but it had going along the lines of small mercies keeping the flames of hope alive. Shinn was starting to understand what the Commander meant about "small mercies" being as important for an individual as the large events. Knowing that some lives had been saved during the theft of the Gundams was a mercy. It didn't change the lives lost, but it at least was a good thing to have happened and Shinn would hold on to that. So, Shinn gained a small smile, "I'm glad to see you got away safely from what befell Armory One," Shinn admitted. "By the way, my name is Shinn Asuka, what's yours?"
The guy being concerned about her safety during the mission she had been on was odd. Candidates didn't get worried about, they were expected to get acceptable results or better by those on the project. It was another new thing which Stella was experiencing since coming to Shangri-La and undergoing treatments. However, this was an opportunity for Stella to put into practice the "skills" which she'd been learning during the treatments. "My name," Stella uttered in response to the question. It was rare for her to give out her name as it wasn't important for candidates to do that. Those that were in the trio or the staff knew her name, so she didn't need to give it to them. But lessons at Shangri-La had been saying it was "good manners" to introduce herself to another that asked. "My name is Stella, Stella Loussier."
Her name was a pretty one to Shinn. Sure, it was one he hadn't heard before, sounded a little like something that could be used around the Atlantic Federation's territory. Shinn smiled a bit more, "Stella, that's a pretty name, it's nice to meet you," he returned. At hearing that, Stella felt a warm flutter in her chest that she had never felt before and it was odd to her, but it wasn't an unpleasant sensation. Yet, the sensation mystified her nonetheless and she was still wondering about it as Rossweisse came over and helped her to stand. Nevertheless, Stella couldn't explain why the sensation had come or what it was implying to her. The feeling was foreign to her since she had never felt anything quite like it before.
Shinn got to his feet while Meyrin and Vino came over asking if he was alright. He assured them he was fine before he glanced over to where the argument had gone on. The sight of Rey apologizing for Luna's actions to the older woman got Shinn to blink. The older woman was doing much the same as Rey for her "sister." The two groups turned and began going different directions from there. Stella and the Galiena sisters continued on their journey for their day in Shira while those from the Minerva went the opposite direction. Yet, before the two groups were out of sight of each other, Shinn and Stella gazed at one another once more.
After Shinn's group got to the "shopping mall" in Shira's commercial district, they began looking around. Vino would take Meyrin back to the Minerva after getting one more "item" according to Meyrin. As Meyrin was looking in a shop with Rey keeping an eye on her, Vino came up to be alongside Shinn. The two had been friends since their academy days. And Vino hadn't missed Shinn had crashed into a good-looking girl and that said girl had landed on top of him. Vino couldn't say how jealous he was that Shinn seemed to get the good luck. It wasn't the first time that Shinn had gotten "lucky" when it came to being in the right place at the right time. Vino had asked Shinn how he did it, but his friend didn't understand what Vino had been talking about. But this recent instance of luck for Shinn had really been something to see. So, Vino put a hand on Shinn's shoulder, "Hey Shinn," Vino started, "With this recent instance of luck you seem to have, how did she feel?"
Shinn stared at his friend Vino for a long moment at the question. Vino had brought up the subject of "luck" in relation to Shinn before now. The events that Vino brought up saying Shinn was lucky hadn't made sense to Shinn himself. Vino said that Shinn always seemed to be able to get good thing to happen. Shinn didn't necessarily agree with Vino's view, Shinn just did what he could, that was all. However, his question about how "she" felts didn't make sense to Shinn, there was missing context. "What are you talking about," Shinn questioned, "What do you mean how did she feel?"
Shinn could miss some things, Vino had seen that and didn't hold it against his friend. But he had got a "feel" of the girl who had fallen on top of him. Guys their age rarely if ever got to do something like that without a willing girlfriend. And the girl hadn't even slapped Shinn which Vino felt his friend was among the few who could come out of a situation like that. So, Vino smirked a bit and softly jabbed an elbow into Shinn's side, "Come on man, we're friends, aren't we? So, you know you can tell me the truth. That blonde girl fell on top of you man, you got a feel for her figure for a short period, what did it feel like?"
Shinn realized what Vino was referring to and his cheeks began getting red at the thought. He hadn't been thinking about what Stella felt like until Vino brought it up. Shinn had more been worried about if Stella was okay rather than how her body felt. That wasn't to say he had noticed how Stella's body felt. Sure, her skin had felt smooth, and her chest had been really soft, Shinn hadn't been able to fully ignore that. However, Shinn couldn't say that out loud to Vino with what his friend had said. In fact, Shinn couldn't think of anything he could say to Vino which couldn't be taken the wrong way. But the expression on Vino's face said that Shinn's friend wouldn't let him not answer the question.
Luna had been close enough to her Vino talking to Shinn. She didn't plan to get into the conversation, that is until Vino asked his first question. It was clear to Luna that Vino was referring to when the blonde girl had fallen on top of Shinn. Shinn hadn't done anything to the girl, nor would Luna expect him to do such things. Shinn had good manners and respected women unlike some, such as Vino to an extent. Luna was holding herself back from smacking Vino for asking the question he did of Shinn. Thankfully, Shinn didn't seem to understand what Vino was asking about. But then Vino pushed forward and went into detail about his question. That was the last straw for Luna. She had been lectured by Rey and dealt with the woman that acted like a child. She wasn't going to allow Vino to express his dirty mind, "Don't ask Shinn that kind of question," Luna snapped before she slapped Vino on the backside of his head. "Get that mind of yours out of the gutter Vino."
Vino twisted around to see Luna glaring at him. The girl did have a habit of ruining conversations between guys. He hadn't done anything that deserved Vino's head getting smacked by Lunamaria, especially with the force she used. So, Vino glared back at Luna, "Dang it Luna, you did not need to hit me in the back of my head," he snapped. "That really hurt. Did you punch me with everything you got or something?!" Luna didn't let Vino's complaint phase her, "Then maybe you need to keep the thoughts in that dirty mind of yours to yourself. If you do that, then I won't have to smack sense into you so hard. Did you ever consider that, Vino?"
A/n
Okay, I'll leave off there for this Phase and pick up in the next one from there. So, much to talk about which will make this phase over what I generally try to keep below on word count. I apologize for the length of this Phase, I do try to keep them under 30,000 words the best I can, but even I can't do it every time. Sometimes getting from point A to point B just takes time and planning which ends out with this kind of thing. Anyways, let's get to the highlights and expanding of what happened in this phase shall we?
Let me start with the first scene with Athrun and Gilbert Durandal. So, for those who have watched SEED Destiny or canon, you will recall Athrun wants to help with things as they are. That has come with a conflict somewhat which Athrun will be dealing with off and on for a time, but that's all I will say about that. Now, the "offer" he is being given by Durandal. I feel the need to explain it a bit as canon doesn't do a really good job at it in my opinion. Athrun was a pilot before the discharge, a Gundam pilot true, but a pilot nonetheless. I state that to say Athrun didn't have special rank or station during the Alliance-PLANT War. Yes, the monster (father-lookalike) was the Chairman, but that didn't mean Athrun had a special position technically. He was just a ZAFT red, that was the only notoriety he had back then before leaving ZAFT. Should he come back, not only will he be given a clear record, but other privileges. Any in the military can correct me, but as I understand it, getting one's record cleaned and wiped isn't a simple nor easy task. If that wasn't enough, he was to be made part of FAITH, the best of the best in ZAFT, who can do whatever they see fit on the battlefield.
It sounds too good to be true if you ask me without some sort of strings attached. And Athrun is suspicious of the point because it sounds too good to be true. This will not be the last time he questions Durandal's view sounding too good to be true, I assure you. The exchange of Athrun taking the offer as was stated that working with those like Tyler and Kira will be more difficult. Athrun hasn't forgotten what losing touch with friends did during the SEED part of this story. No, he doesn't want that to come up again and will try to prevent it. So, I would think most will understand the difficulty that Athrun is while he considers this offer.
The other thing I wanted to show in this scene which often gets glossed over in Destiny is about Gilbert Durandal. I know there will be those who will disagree with me on this, but I think that Durandal didn't start as the guy he ends out being by the end of canon. Perhaps it is me trying to see the good in others or something else, I can't say. But I want to believe Durandal wanted to help the human race as a whole with the best of intentions in the start. Unlike canon, Durandal was a student of Tyler's dad which does make a difference. Gilbert respected Professor Blass and took away a lot of things away from his time as a student from the man. Thus, Gilbert has hope that humanity can still save itself at this point. He takes Tyler's mother's speech to heart which shows he still hopes humanity can and will choose a different path. I also want to point out that Durandal sees that Humanity has serious issues that need to be addressed that others ignore or don't see as they are. That will come into play off and on in this story so this is the first introduction to it.
Moving onto the next scene and section which Athrun goes to Earth. Upon coming down to Earth, the Federation confronted Athrun. Remember, he is with ZAFT now, so isn't technically a Federation citizen at the moment, though he can be seen as one. Federation IDs are kept by those who are assigned to, normally just deactivated. Athrun's hasn't been shut off, (yes, Tyler had a hand in that) so is still acceptable. And it is the citizen id which at least gets the Federation to listen in this, with the Alliance's actions and all. If he didn't have it, he would've gotten the same type of reception that he did in canon around Orb. Of course, Tyler lets Athrun stay at his place, why wouldn't he I would ask. The two do have a catch-up session, which Athrun needs to clear up things. I know it is a summary of the battle around Asgard, but I feel the summary and Athrun's views of it are valuable.
Shifting on to the next scene with the Minerva around the Gulnahan Ravine. Let me start with Talia's views. Remember, the Federation haven't shown their Pelicans and Exo-Suits to the world at large. The Alliance may be becoming aware of such, but they have a hard time proving they exist before this. I would point back to the raid on the Tartarus lab in Siberia as examples to what the Exo suits can do. Those are the kind of stories that Talia had heard from some of the townsfolk. I would state once again, the Federation has a technological advantage over the other two factions. It has kept that even after the last war and they will maintain that going forward until further notice. It may be expected of the Federation, but that doesn't mean the other two factions appreciate or like they have that advantage.
So, I mention three ports that the Minerva could go to, and I considered all three when writing this. Shira made the most sense in the end for a few reasons. First, Athrun went there to meet up with the Minerva. I could've changed that, but I felt that Athrun needed to see Tyler more than Cagalli at this point. Second, a later scene which I will get to soon enough does hold significance for the story. And third, an event which comes later will be too much fun and hilarity to not put in this story. Also, remember, Shira is seen as a "vacation" spot that many around the world go to for time off. That's my reasoning and I'm sticking to that if anyone else asks why I wrote this the way I did.
Moving onto the scene with Stella as this one has changed somewhat from the original. As came earlier, Stella has roommates while around Shangri-La who are Extended like her. Her treatment is undoing the work that the EH project had done to her, like her not needing to go into the pods anymore. The biggest thing which stands out is the change in what Stella is experiencing. Those in the project be it candidates or staff are NOT kind nor do they show anything like that to any of the candidates. So for Stella, being shown genuine kindness and other good things is something she hasn't experienced in literal years except by few specific individuals like her sister. Shangri-La is such a stark difference it is beyond night and day for her if I haven't made that clear.
Let me touch on Stella seeing "memories" she didn't know before this Phase. I state for the record, candidates of the project normally have memories blocked or altered when they arrive at the labs, it's part of the process. That sets the scene up for parts that come up in it, so I wanted to state the point. Each candidate experiences their real memories coming back and reacts differently to the whole experience. Those reactions can range from anger and fury to crying and sadness as Deborah gives examples of. This is a turning point for candidates like Stella, one for them to get out of the "prison" they were thrust into. I just wanted to show just how horrible it has been for candidates and what was done to them. It is a darker side of humanity that I wanted to show exists for this story. The last scene with the meeting of Stella's group and Shinn's does not need embellishment I would say.
In conclusion, I'm sorry this Phase is so long, it happens but I hoped you enjoyed it. As I said, this update is not to be seen as normal necessarily, as much as I would love that to be the case. I can't be sure I can keep up this pace for the moment, we will have to see. As always I ask some of you to take the time and write a review. Tell me what you think of the Phase and the story thus far or just ask questions as you wish. Peace out until the next Phase!