Hello everyone! Here is the next chapter! The first glimpse into the Gundam Seed Astray series.
Also, I do have a Discord server, if you want to join just let me know! The Link is also in my bio page
Phase 03: Red, Blue, and Silver
January 25, C.E 71
Heliopolis, A Few Hours After its Destruction
Outside the destroyed colony three Kimeras were making their way towards it, hoping for a large score of reusable junk. These machines belonged to the Junk Guild, a non-governmental organization devoted to the upkeep, maintenance, and salvaging of technology found in the Cosmic Era.
"What's our path of entry?" One of the pilots asked. He was Lowe Guele, a young man who had been with the Junk Guild since he was sixteen. He had spiky brown hair and warm brown eyes and wore a simple black t-shirt under a yellow vest and blue jeans with black boots. Most noticeably, he had on a light blue headband.
"Forward on course 4C-R3." Liam Garfield, a fellow junk tech, responded he had long, straight black hair and deep blue eyes. He wore a long-sleeved light gray shirt under a short white tunic and black pants.
"Okay! Roger." Lowe said happily, changing the course of his Kimera to follow his fellow junk tech's instructions. The three machines found entrance through an outside shaft and quickly made their way into the immobile colony. "Entrance all clear," Liam called.
"Excellent! We got here first!" Lowe cheered as he raced into the colony.
"This place is a wreck..." The last member on their excursion finally spoke up. Kisato Yamabuki hesitated. She had short, auburn hair in a spiky pixie cut and brown eyes. Unlike the two men, she was wearing a proper space suit that was mostly white, but the middle was red. "EEK!" She let out a scared shout when her Kimera almost crashed into a piece of debris.
"Kisato! Be careful! Don't get all nervous on me!" Lowe called through their comms.
"B-but..." Kisato stammered, tears pricking at her eyes. "Are-are we sure we're safe?" She asked nervously. "The Earth Alliance and ZAFT were fighting here a few hours ago, right?"
"The evacuation was complete. Trust me, we're all alone in here." Liam reassured her, "For Junk Techs like us, this colony is a veritable gold mine!"
'Hey Kisato, you should listen to Liam," Lowe smiled. "That guy's hardly ever wrong! Now let's move! We gotta get the goods before the other guys get here. You can leave, Kisato. But we're staying!"
"Don't kick me out, guys!" Kisato yelled after them, hurrying her Kimera along, but she was still hesitant. "B-but... w-what if the soldiers come back?" It was a fair question.
"Simple, we'll run away." Lowe shrugged. "Besides, if we get mixed up in a fight, good ol' 8 will bail us out!" Lowe grinned, looking at the hand-held artificial intelligent computer that was hooked up to his machine. It was about the size of a tablet and had a handle on the top.
"Affirmative. I am a combat pro. I have the entire history of human warfare in my database. The first rule of combat is..." Words flashed across 8's screen.
"Yeah, yeah," Lowe patted the tablet as if it were a pet, "I'll listen to ya when we're actually in combat."
"Lowe, can you hear me?" A new female voice spoke through the comms of 8.
"Yeah, what's shakin' Professor?" Lowe asked.
In the Junk Guild's ship, the HOME, their last member, simply known as the Professor communicated with them. She had long, wavy, dark brownish-red hair, and brown eyes and wore narrow, rectangular glasses. "Advance about eighty meters in your Kimera, then turn right. Judging by the structure of the colony, there should be a factory that way."
"I'm looking forward to the lovely souvenirs you bring back." The Professor added.
"Yup! You can count on me!" Lowe promised.
"Let's land down here for a little while," Lowe said, landing his Kimera in an open space.
"Roger, please wait for the atmospheric analysis," Liam said, landing his own Kimera.
"Hey! Lowe's already outside!" Kisato cried, alarmed that he had gone out without checking the oxygen levels.
"The air's a bit thin, but it's nothing my lungs can't handle!" Lowe reassured his teammates, holding 8 in his hand. "C'mon Kisato, don't be a baby! Get outta yer tin can and help!"
"Erm... okay..." Kisato agreed nervously, moving out of her Kimera.
Underground Morgenröte Facility
"Damn… I hate ZAFT…" Olivier grumbled, she looked around the ruined Morgenröte factory, frowning at all the destroyed equipment. "Why did they have to come back and destroy Heliopolis?!"
She was uncovering an MAW-01 Mistral she had found buried in the debris. Thankfully, it was undamaged from Heliopolis' destruction.
"I doubt it was their intention," Bryn said, she was looking for any equipment that she could hook up to the Silver Frame. She felt they would need all they could take with them if they wanted to leave Heliopolis in one piece. Hopefully, they wouldn't run into more trouble when they left. "From the reports I heard before the evacuation shuttles were launched, they tried to get the last G-Weapons but failed. I think two of them escaped with the Archangel."
Olivier sighed, "We should have gotten out when we had the chance too! Where the hell is everyone else?! Didn't that idiot Sahaku order us to get the Astrays out? If he wanted them moved so badly, he should have just moved them himself instead of destroying our ceiling!"
"Didn't you order everyone to evacuate?" Bryn asked, unbothered, "I think we're the only ones left here." She looked back up at the MBF-P06 Gundam Silver Frame. It was a good thing that she had been in the Astray when the colony was starting to rip apart if she hadn't shielded Olivier and Evie, then they would have been flattened like a pancake.
"Olivier! Bryn! It's no good!" Evie called out; she had been looking around the area. "I can't find a larger ship to get us out! We only have the pod ship so far!"
"Then how the hell are we supposed to leave?" Olivier demanded.
"Well, we have the Mistral and the Silver Frame. It's enough to get us all out." Bryn said. "We can head to Ame no Mihashira and make our way to Orb from there."
"You want to ask the person who left us to die to give us a way back to Orb?!" Olivier demanded irritated. "Trust me, Sahaku would rather take the Silver Frame and throw us back into space."
Before Bryn could reply, one of the computers they had managed to get back online suddenly beeped rapidly, the monitor showing footage from one of the factory's remaining cameras.
"What is it?" Olivier asked, floating away from the Mistral to look at the screen. Evie was already there, trying to focus the feed. The footage was fuzzy but she could see three people moving about the factory, looking through the debris. "Do we have audio?"
"I'm working on it," Evie said, typing in some commands on the keyboard. It took a few minutes, but eventually, she was able to get audio, even if the voices were drowned out by static and constantly cutting out.
"I found- chips! Brand new!" That was an excited female voice.
"Trash them!" A male voice ordered.
There was a garbled sound of protest, and Olivier exchanged a look with Bryn when the older woman finally joined them.
"We ain't here for little trinkets! We gotta find something big!" The male voice insisted.
"Pirates already?" Bryn asked, her eyes narrowing, she reached along her hip, relief going through her when she felt that her gun was still with her. If they were dealing with looters, then things were bound to get violent.
"Whatever- sell the chips- dress- fancy restaurant- and not invited Mister!" The female huffed. Her voice was cutting out, but there was no denying how young it sounded.
"We'll- discover a fortune! I can just- it!" The male cheered, clearly ignoring his companion.
"Those are the most cheerful pirates I've ever heard," Olivier observed, watching as the fuzzy male on the screen walked further away from the camera.
"Oh? How many space pirates have you met?" Bryn asked, glancing at her charge.
"None, but I'm sure that's a good thing," Olivier huffed. "Besides, I'm not sure they are pirates. Evie, can you zoom in on their machines? I think I saw something."
The nine-year-old did as she requested, though, for a moment, the image just looked like broken pixels before clearing up to show the Junk Guild emblem.
"Junk Guild already? Talk about a fast response time." Olivier muttered, leaning against the desk. "Don't they feel any shame for raiding a newly destroyed Colony?" She muttered annoyed. It hadn't even been a whole day since Heliopolis was destroyed.
"Well, they have to do their jobs," Bryn shrugged. She pushed away from the monitor and headed for one of the hallways leading out of the hangar.
"Where the hell are you going?!" Olivier demanded, hands on her hips. "We still have to figure a way out!"
"Those Junkers are the way out," Bryn called back, a plan already formulating in her head.
With Junk Guild
"Look at that!" Lowe cried excitedly, staring at the sight in front of them, Liam and Kisato were stunned speechless at what they saw. "It's an arm from a gold mobile suit!"
"I've never seen one like this before... And it looks brand new!" Lowe said, lifting the fingers of the arm and examining them.
Kisato hid behind a piece of debris as she watched Lowe, "Why would a neutral colony have something like this?!"
"It's not possible! Orb doesn't have any mobile suits!" Liam protested, unable to believe his eyes.
"Well, here it is, right before our eyes," Lowe said, excited. "This was probably a secret factory."
"In secret... I wonder if it was destroyed to hide evidence..." Liam wondered.
"Let's get outta here!" Kisato pleaded she was clinging to the rubble desperately, fear in her eyes.
"We found the arm, the body's gotta be close. We can't pass this baby up!" Lowe countered, eager.
He hopped back into his Kimera and started to drill into the ground. "Stand back guys!" He called cheerfully as the Kimera started to dig. In truth, he was going a bit wild in his excitement, the drill digging into the ground more forcefully than it should have.
"He's going crazy..." Liam observed from inside his own Kimera.
"What an idiot..." Kisato sighed, shoulders drooping.
"Keep it up!" Lowe cheered, not paying attention to his surroundings, so when the ground started to crumble and break below him, the feet of the Kimera lost their grip, causing the machine to plummet down the hole it created.
"Lowe!" He heard Kisato scream his name as he fell through a black void.
"Shit!" He cried, bracing himself for impact, his body bouncing against the cockpit once it his solid ground. "Ow..." He rubbed his head, before checking himself over, relief flooding him when he realized he came out of the fall relatively unscratched.
"Lowe! Are you okay?!" Liam asked over comms.
"I'm good, but the Kimera won't budge," Lowe said.
"We're coming to get you. Can you get out?"
"Yeah, yeah but hold yer' horses. Let me look around first." He said, pulling himself out of the busted Kimera. He turned the flashlight around his wrist on and looked around the pitch-black room, freezing in shock when he saw something unbelievable.
He made his way further into the room, being careful of where he walked, but each step was more eager, and he couldn't help the large grin that formed on his face when the flashlight illuminated the heads of two brand-new mobile suits.
He laughed, unable to help himself. "Lowe! Lowe! What the hell are you doing?!" Kisato's frantic voice sounded from his comms.
"8! Give our coordinates to Liam! Liam! Kisato! Get yer asses down here!" Lowe's voice was practically vibrating with excitement as he looked at what was in front of him. "My friends, we have just hit pay dirt!"
Once Liam and Kisato were down, the headlights of their Kimeras helped to illuminate the room, allowing all three Junk Techs to marvel at what they had found.
"Whoa! A red and a blue one!" Kisato said in amazement.
"See? I was right." Lowe sounded pleased with himself as he took the two mobile suits in. They were amazing. "Hey 8, run a systems check!" Lowe said excitedly, turning to the computer that was already hooked up to one of the machines.
"Wow! Look at this! They even work, it even has a beam rifle! Hell yeah!" Lowe cheered.
"Unbelievable. These are brand-new, fully intact mobile suits. Why are they buried down here?" Liam asked.
"Maybe because there was no time to move them," A voice floated from the darkness behind them, causing both Liam and Lowe to jump. Kisato on the other hand, let out an ear-piercing scream, and she quickly hid behind Lowe.
A surprised laugh filled the air and eventually, a woman stepped into the light of the Kimeras, a smile on her face, "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."
Slowly, Kisato peeked out from behind Lowe's shoulder, tears in her eyes. "A-are you a ghost?" She whimpered.
"When I need to be," The woman shrugged. "But nowadays, I'm just a glorified babysitter. Name's Bryn," She moved closer, gently brushing her fingers against the sleek metal of the blue mobile suit. "I'm surprised you found these..."
"Of course we did!" Lowe said proudly, hands on his hips. "I'm the luckiest guy in the universe!"
"Why are there mobile suits here?" Liam broke in, face serious. "Orb is supposed to be neutral. They aren't supposed to have mobile suits."
"Only a fool would believe Orb could stay neutral, but it is a nice thought," Bryn sighed, regret in her voice. "Naturally, ZAFT and the EA will eventually turn their sights on us, after all, the Earth Forces already forced South America into their Alliance, no doubt they'll eventually force neutral states to join them. Some want to be ready when force is used against us." She finished, once again looking at the mobile suits.
"You shouldn't be so cynical," Lowe waved his hand through the air. "Either way, if you know about these mobile suits, can you-" He cut off when a message from the H.O.M.E flashed across 8's screen, the Professor's face flashing onto the monitor.
"There's a mobile armor headed your way, watch out." The Professor said seriously.
"A business rival?! Lowe demanded.
"No. It's a mercenary. Fully armed. He's got a boatload of weaponry, don't fight him, you don't have a chance of winning." She said before cutting off the communication.
"No! We're going to die!" Kisato screamed.
"What is a mercenary doing here?!" Liam demanded.
"Probably to destroy these machines," Bryn observed, looking thoughtful. "Damn... those higher-ups are persistent." She turned to the Junkers. "You guys may not be able to win, but I can. I suggest-" She blinked when she noticed that Lowe was gone and the Blue Frame was powering up. "What the hell are you doing?!"
"Lowe?" Liam looked equally alarmed.
"Our Kimeras aren't made for combat, but this Blue Frame thing is!" Lowe said as he started the machine up.
"But-" Bryn started to protest before she laughed, "I like the way you think kid." She said smiling. She pushed off the floor and started to head back the way she came.
"W-where are you going?!" Kisato demanded, she was shaking in her boots.
"To get something that'll help in the fight, you Junkers have the right idea." She said before disappearing into the darkness.
"Wouldn't it make more sense to run from a lost cause?" Liam demanded as the Blue Frame started to stand. "Naturals have such a strange sense of logic."
"Guys! Haul that Red Frame out of here for me, thanks!" Lowe said from the Blue Frame's cockpit.
"Roger," Liam said.
"Be careful!" Kisato pleaded.
"I'm always careful Kisato! I'll even try not to scratch this baby's fresh paint job." Lowe reassured her, " I wonder what that person will bring to the fight..." He mused before he turned on the mobile suit's thrusters and blasted out of the room.
Junk Guild Ship, H.O.M.E
Outside Heliopolis, a Marseille III-Class transport ship with the Junk Guild symbol and a customized GINN with a serpentine emblem and a "2" on its shoulder floated nearby. Inside, a man and woman stood, facing off.
"I've warned my team about your crew," The Professor said to a teenage boy with fair skin, silver hair, and blue eyes, he was beautiful, the only thing that marred it was the scar that went vertically down his right eye. He was wearing an altered version of the green ZAFT uniform.
"That's fine," he said, keeping his gun pointed at her. He was the mercenary group, Serpent Tail's second, Elijah Kiel.
"Yes, but... why did you let me?" She questioned.
"We're mercenaries. For us, combat is our bread and butter." Elijah explained. "Besides, most people surrender in the face of such overwhelming superior firepower."
The Professor smiled back, "Yeah, most people do."
Underground Morgenröte Hangar
"Get ready to move!" Bryn said the moment she returned to the hangar. "Olivier! Evie! Get in the Mistral!" She ordered.
"Did I hear that right?!" Olivier demanded. They had been listening in on Bryn's conversation with the Junkers through her communicator. "Mercenaries are here?! Those stupid old farts don't know when to stop!" She snapped, knowing that it must have been someone high up in Orb who had sent them.
"Your Uncle is one of those old farts," Bryn commented, seamlessly sliding into the Silver Frame's cockpit and activating it. She noted that there was a "Panzer Eisen" rocket anchor now attached to the Silver Frame's left forearm and a "Midas Messer" beam boomerang attached to the left shoulder. "Where did you find these?"
"We weren't idle when you were chatting," Olivier huffed, "They're extra from the Sword Striker package. Be careful when you use them,"
"Of course," Bryn nodded, there was an unmistakable hum going through her veins. She was excited for the thrill of battle.
She couldn't deny that being Olivier's guard had its perks, and working for Morgenröte on a secret mobile suit project was fun, but simulated battles didn't cut it for her. First and foremost, she was and had always been a soldier, her body always ached for action, it was just how she was programmed.
"Bryn, are you really going to fight with that Junker?" Evie asked as she got into the Mistral, Olivier behind her.
"She better." Olivier huffed. "It's fate that Red and Blue weren't destroyed. After this, I'll buy them both off the Junk Guild if I have to. They're coming back to Orb with us."
Bryn laughed, "Good luck with that, I'm pretty sure that the Junker in Blue Frame is already attached. "
"Shut it." Olivier huffed, she stumbled into the Mistral's controls when they felt something rumble above them. "And get going, the mercenaries are here, don't let my mobile suits get destroyed!"
"Yes, brat!" Bryn did a mock salute before shooting off.
In the deserted halls of Heliopolis, a lone, well-equipped Moebius flew through quickly and silently, looking for its target; the Moebius was marked by a serpentine emblem and a "1" in the center. He didn't have to search long since the mobile suit jumped out of a hatch on the floor, surprising him.
"There you are!" Lowe cried, aiming the beam rifle at the mobile armor. "The first to strike wins!" He fired the rifle.
He was sure he'd hit his target but he let out a shocked cry when the Moebius dodged low while simultaneously firing its turret gun at him.
"Woah!" Lowe barely dodged the attack from the Moebius, "Tsk." He glared at the mobile armor before flying the Blue Frame up through another opening.
"What the hell! He dodged my beam?! That ain't fair!" He complained as he ran from the Moebius. "He didn't hesitate to fire back, so he must not be interested in getting this mobile suit back unharmed, right? He mused to himself, thinking quickly.
"Well, he might be a combat pro, but we're pros at making good use of junk! I'll show him a different way to fight!" Lowe said encouragingly to 8 who was hooked up to the Blue Frame's cockpit and acting as his co-pilot.
Once he exited into a large open space, Lowe placed the Blue Frame into a squatting position and exited the cockpit, but left 8 hooked in. He floated a few feet above the Blue Frame's head, smiling confidently.
It didn't take the mercenary long to catch up, but the sight before him confused him slightly. What was the pilot doing outside the mobile suit? "Hm?"
Unknown to him, inside the cockpit, 8 was doing a silent countdown: 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1!
"Do it now 8!" Lowe ordered.
"OK!" 8 immediately complied and reactivated the Blue Frame, causing the mobile to lift its beam rifle and fire directly at the Moebius.
The shot destroyed the Moebius, but the mercenary jumped out of the machine at the last second, stunning Lowe.
"No way!" Lowe shouted in disbelief. He watched in stunned awe as the mercenary jumped from different pieces of debris, launching himself closer and closer to him. "For real?!" He shouted just as the mercenary collided with him, grabbing onto his wrists to restrain him.
"That was a pretty good plan," The mercenary admitted, his deep voice slightly muffled by his helmet. The visor was so dark that Lowe couldn't even see his face.
"What's your aim here?" Lowe demanded he lost this round but Bryn should be back with a weapon soon, right?
"I'm here to destroy that mobile suit," The mercenary said before throwing Lowe through the room.
"Shit!" Lowe cried as he flew through the large space until he hit a large chunk of floating debris. "Ouch! You asshole!" He snapped, rubbing his head.
"Our objective is to destroy that thing," The mercenary said, standing on the top of the cockpit and pulling out a gun, which he aimed at Lowe. "And get rid of any witnesses along with it."
Lowe swung his arms frantically when he saw the gun, looking around for a place to hide, but there was nowhere, he was floating in open space. Oh well, if he couldn't hide then...
"That thing is mine!" Lowe protested. "There's no way I'd hand it over to someone who'd destroy it! It'd go against my pride as a junk dealer! And it'd be a big waste!"
The mercenary pulled off his helmet, revealing tanned skin, thick, wavy dark brown hair, and orange-tinted sunglasses that covered his eyes. He was Gai Murakumo, leader of Serpent Tail.
"Ah, such an interesting way to view things but... considering the situation, what exactly can you do to stop me?" He asked.
"I'm not sure yet, but I'm the luckiest man in the cosmos," Lowe said confidently. "After all, I struck gold by finding these mobile suits just a little bit ago, today."
"One does not survive combat with luck alone," Gai countered, readying himself to pull the trigger when Bryn in the Silver Frame burst in, shocking them both.
"He may not be able to do anything, but I certainly can." Lowe grinned at Bryn's voice, and he grew even more excited when he noted that the mobile suit looked exactly like the Blue Frame, but silver, and it also seemed to have extra equipment.
Gai for his part was finally looking surprised.
"Bryn!" Lowe called cheerfully, "You're right on time."
"What business do you have here?" Gai questioned, he still held his gun out but everyone there knew it would be useless against a mobile suit.
"My orders are to protect these mobile suits at all costs," Bryn replied, slowly looking him over. She recognized his face. Serpent Tail, huh? The bigwigs certainly went all out in trying to destroy the Astrays. Meaning, the people who hired him weren't ones she would normally associate with, and neither would Olivier. "Who hired you? Orb? Or Morgenröte?" She asked, the Earth Alliance was also a possibility but she was certain they never found out Orb was developing their mobile suits.
"None of your concern," Gai said coldly. He could still shoot the boy before the woman could react. But before he could pull the trigger 8 suddenly beeped with an incoming call and Elijah suddenly appeared on the screen, looking panicked.
"Gai! We've got an emergency! Elijah cried, his face close to the monitor, allowing Gai to see how nervous he was.
"Elijah!" His voice didn't hide his surprise.
"We've been double-crossed! Our clients are attacking us!" Elijah cried, seeing a cluster of Moebiuses on the monitor of the H.O.M.E. He was clinging to the keyboard of the monitor, body visibly shaking. "I need backup now! Come back here!" Elijah practically screamed into the monitor while the Professor was glancing back at him, looking embarrassed by his panicking.
Lowe smiled, "Seems like, according to these clients of yours "get rid of any witnesses" applies to you too!"
Bryn sighed, "That doesn't surprise me. If it got out that Orb created their own mobile suits there'll be hell to pay." She then remembered the G Projects and what had happened to Heliopolis. "It's too late to clean up anyways..." She added to herself, louder she added, looking at Gai. "Guess you have to reap what you sow."
Gai glowered at her before suddenly tossing 8 to Lowe. "Do not toss me!" 8 snapped as he flew through the air, crashing against Lowe's stomach.
"H-hey!" Lowe cried, catching 8.
"I'll be borrowing this!" Gai said, sliding into the Blue Frame and activating it.
"What the?!" Bryn stared stunned at the sudden change of circumstances, she never thought the mercenary would take the Blue Frame.
"If you damage it in any way, you're paying for it!" Lowe yelled after him as the Blue Frame took off.
"Bryn!" Olivier's voice suddenly crackled across her comms. "What the hell is happening? We were able to get out with the Mistral, but there's a fight happening outside!"
"On my way," Bryn promised, she looked at Lowe. "I'm heading out. You okay to get out by yourself?"
"Of course," Lowe grinned, giving her a thumbs up. "Go take care of your friends."
Bryn smiled back and took off after the Blue Frame, seeing a GINN trying to fight out a group of Moebiuses next to a tan-colored Marseille III-Class transport ship.
"You... you Bastards!" Elijah cried out as he fired shot after shot at the Moebiuses, but they all evaded him.
"C'mon, you're a mercenary." The Professor was saying from the safety of her ship. "Can't you fight a bit better than this?" She couldn't hide her disappointment in him. "I said that I'd pay you if you could protect me." She said over his comms.
"I'm already doing that!" Elijah protested, tears in his eyes. Or he was trying to, but he was failing miserably.
"... you've got a pretty face, kid. But your skill leaves something to be desired." The Professor observed.
"Ugh... what a Bitch! Loretta was a total angel compared to you!" Elijah grumbled, glaring at the screen. He was so focused on his conversation that he failed to notice the mobile armor that was charging at him from behind.
Elijah let out a shocked shout and prepared himself for the shot when a beam shot past his GINN, destroying the Moebius that had been charging at him.
"What the?!" Elijah looked behind him and saw the Blue Frame coming up from behind him. Gai?!"
"Looks like I made it just in time," He observed, keeping his eyes on the Moebiuses. But he also noticed a Maw-01 Mistral floating nearby, trying to avoid as much attention as possible.
"That mobile suit... was that our target?" Elijah asked, taking in the brand-new tech.
"I'll explain later, right now..." Gai refocused on the Moebiuses that were charging at them. "These damn traitors are gonna pay!" With that, both Gai and Elijah started firing on the mobile armors that were trying to surround them.
"What is the Blue Frame doing out?!" Olivier's sounded through all the comms. "Bryn!" She called when she saw the Silver Frame burst out of Heliopolis.
"I'll explain later," The burgundy-haired woman said, easily dodging a charging Moebius and firing her beam rifle at it. She blocked bullets from another Moebius with the "Panzer Eisen" rocket anchor before launching the anchor at the mobile armor, crushing it with the anchor's claws.
"Who's that?" Elijah asked, glancing at the silver mobile suit in shock. He watched as the Silver Frame drew its beam sabers and slashed through two of the Moebiuses.
Gai's brows furrowed as he also watched the pilot of the silver mobile work, she was certainly skilled. "I have no idea." He then went back to destroying the Moebiuses, Elijah trying to cover him until the leg of his GINN got blown off. "Get outta here! I'll take care of them!"
"Thanks, Gai..." Elijah said, pulling back until he was closer to the H.O.M.E.
This mobile suit... Gai thought to himself, he was amazed by how well it ran. It was the best mobile suit he had ever piloted.
On the H.O.M.E the Professor was having similar thoughts, "That boy's partner is good... so is the girl... These mobile suits are a hell of a lot more than Erica led on, which means..." Her eyes narrowed slightly. So, I don't think this is just a regular old pick-up job.
"Bryn! Use the 'Midas Messer'!" Olivier called through comms.
"Sure," Bryn muttered, she pulled out the beam boomerang and threw it at one of the remaining Moebiuses, the Moebius dodged but was destroyed from behind as the boomerang came back to her.
"Gai! Take out that last ship!" Elijah called.
"Got it, just one more shot," Gai said, but before he could fire he felt a presence behind him and glanced back to see another red mobile suit. Before he could react the red mobile suit fired its beam rifle at the last Moebius.
"It can't be..." Gai said in disbelief.
"Great job kid," Bryn said, a small smirk on her face.
"Keep your hands," The Red Frame charged at the last Moebius, "8! Which weapon?"
"Use the beam saber!" 8 instructed.
Lowe did as he was told and destroyed the last Moebius with the saber. "How's that? See what I mean by luckiest man in the cosmos?"
"Heh," Gai gave a smile back and Bryn let out a soft sigh of relief, bringing the Silver Frame closer to the Mistral.
"How are you guys?" She asked, speaking to Olivier and Evie. "No injuries?"
"We're fine, just confused," Evie admitted. "Why are the Red and Blue Frames out?"
"Things happened?" Bryn shrugged. "What do you want to do now?"
"Why don't you guys come to the H.O.M.E?" The Professor suddenly contacted them. "The mercenaries too, it seems like we all have a lot to talk about."
There was a moment of silence before Olivier finally agreed.
"Fine," Gai said after a moment, leading the broken GINN back to the H.O.M.E while the Silver Frame and Mistral trailed behind.
Once everything was explained, Lowe stretched out his back before grinning at Gai and Bryn. "Looks like we're all on the same page. They'll be coming after you guys too."
"Seems that way," Gai agreed.
Olivier huffed, "They'd regret it if they came for me." She crossed her arms and started to pace. "I'll have their jobs..." she muttered to herself, brows furrowed.
Everyone watched her pace for a moment before Lowe spoke, quickly looking at Bryn, "About the blue mobile suit... and if it's alright with you guys... you can keep it."
"That's probably for the best," Bryn agreed, she didn't think it would be good or plausible to have two Astrays with them. No one besides her could pilot any of them today.
Gai glanced between the two, slightly suspicious. He weighed his options, making sure to think the offer through; it had been a nice mobile suit. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, after all, you protected our ship too. A debt owed must always be repaid." Lowe shrugged. "That's what my late grandad used to say." He grinned.
"... in that case, I'll accept without reservation." Gai smiled back.
"Gai," Elijah stepped to his side, a communicator in his hands. "We have to meet up with Reed and the rest of the crew."
"Okay, let's go." Gai nodded and the two of them started to walk away.
"What will you guys do?" Lowe asked, turning to Bryn.
In response, Bryn looked to Olivier who was still pacing thoughtfully. "I don't know... the best course of action would be to go to the orb Satellite, Ame no Mihashira. We can get to Orb from there."
"No!" Olivier's protest was loud, it even stopped Gai and Elijah from leaving, both men stopped and turned back to look at her in confusion.
"Olivier..." Bryn sighed, looking annoyed. She knew the teen didn't like the Sahaku but that was their best chance to get to Orb. Ghina would have gone there after leaving Heliopolis, we can make it."
"I'll go..." Olivier said, staring Bryn straight in the eyes. "If you can say that you have absolute trust in that family here and now."
The silence was deafening as the two young women stared at each other. Finally, Bryn sighed in defeat, "What do you suggest then?"
"We gather battle data." She said determinedly and she marched up to Gai, back straight. Bryn stared after her, a headache forming in her head. "Hey, you, you're a mercenary right? You've probably been in all kinds of battle situations."
"Yes." He said, looking down at her neutrally.
"Then I have a proposal for you," Olivier said confidently, "Take us with you."
"Huh?" Elijah looked dumbfounded at the suggestion.
"We need to collect data from how the Astrays perform in battle. How about you take us with you during a few of your future jobs, give me a copy of the data recordings from each mission, and then take us to Orb." Olivier explained.
"T-that's ridiculous!" Elijah snapped at her.
"It's not. I'd also pay you for the time spent with you and the extra supplies you'd need to gather. It'll also make up for the payment you lost from the clients who told you to destroy the Astrays. And I'll also lend you her if you need extra help on jobs." Olivier nodded to Bryn, catching her by surprise.
"Don't volunteer me for stuff." Bryn huffed annoyed. But unfortunately, she had to admit it didn't seem like a bad plan. Morgenröte could do a lot with legitimate battle records, especially from a skilled mobile suit pilot.
Gai stared impassively at Olivier before switching his gaze to Bryn. She wondered what he was thinking, his eyes were thoughtful, once again weighing his options. Was he upset that he had lost a payment from his previous clients?
"What do you think?" He asked, surprising her. Was he considering Olivier's deal?
"My job is to protect Olivier and this kid." She patted Evie's head, much to the nine-year-old's annoyance. "If you accept her deal, I'd have to agree." She shrugged.
There was another moment of silence, "I get the final say on what data you get to keep from my jobs," Gai stated, no room for negotiation in his voice, "Also if we need any information about the mobile suit, you'll answer it," Gai said, looking down at Olivier.
The teen nodded. Realizing that it was probably the best deal she'd get. "Just tell me your price. It's no issue."
Gai smirked back, "We'll discuss the price for tagging along with my team once we get back to my ship."
"Is this really, okay?" Lowe asked, leaning closer to Bryn in confusion.
Bryn laughed slightly. "It should be fine. Her Uncle will kill her when we get home though."
"Gai," Elijah spoke up again, "We need to go."
Gai nodded again and started walking again, "If you're coming, then we're leaving now."
Olivier nodded and Bryn quickly followed with Evie at her side.
"See ya," Lowe called after them, "Though, I feel like we'll probably meet again."
"Yeah, but at that point we may be enemies." Gai acknowledged.
"Hey, that's life." Lowe grinned back.
With that, the group broke apart, the Junk Guild one way and the mercenaries the other. Bryn turned back towards the H.O.M.E before it disappeared, feeling like Lowe was right; they'd see each other again.
Bryn was silent as she flew the Silver Frame, trailing after the Blue Frame and the damaged GINN. The Mistral was flying at her side, Evie in the pilot seat instead of Olivier; she always thought it was funny that while Olivier was a mechanical genius, she couldn't fly anything.
Her monitor beeped and she blinked, confused when she saw a private comm request from the Blue Frame. She accepted the request and Gai's face flashed onto one of the smaller monitors.
"Are we almost to your ship?" She asked, glancing at him, cautious; she didn't trust him and part of her was expecting a betrayal when they got to his ship. She was tempted to fly away and get to Ame no Mihashira despite how Olivier felt, but she also knew the teen had a point about the Sahaku. If they hadn't kickstarted everything, would Heliopolis still be standing?
"Almost," Gai nodded, he looked like he was trying to get a read on her through the screen, she couldn't blame him, she was doing the same thing. "I have to ask; are you really okay with this deal? I know you wanted to go elsewhere."
Bryn shrugged, "Only an idiot outright trusts a mercenary. But I'll go along with what she wants. Just so you don't think she's a complete idiot, I'll let you know that Olivier is being cautious too. But she's never been someone to let an opportunity slide by her. It would have been better to get to Orb, but she just can't let the chance go to collect battle data." She shrugged again.
"She also trusts your ability to protect her," Gai said, catching her off guard. "After seeing you fight, I understand why."
"She has more faith in me than I do," Bryn agreed, before going silent, wondering what Gai's plan was. Why was he talking solely to her? What was his end game? Question after question shot through her head and with each new question came a plan in case, he decided to turn on her. She hadn't survived this long by openly trusting others.
"I won't do anything," Gai said, reading her expression through the monitor, an almost smile appearing on her face when she gave him a distrustful look. "If you don't do anything."
"Truce then," She sighed, eyes going immediately to a different monitor when she got an alert that they were approaching a Laurasia-class vessel with the Serpent Tail emblem on it. "Did you steal that from ZAFT?" She asked.
"It was part of a payment from a job we did," Gai explained as the hangar of the Serpent Tail ship opened to allow them to land. "Follow me." He said, cutting off communication as he began to dock land inside the hangar.
"As if I have any other choice," She muttered, she entered the ship and docked the Silver Frame next to the Blue Frame, watching silently as Elijah maneuvered the one-legged GINN into a space opposite them.
Once she was sure the Silver Frame was properly secured to the hangar Bryn opened the cockpit and floated down to the Mistral, feet touching the platform just as Olivier and Evie came out. The teen looked annoyed at her while the nine-year-old looked exasperated. "What's wrong with you?" Bryn asked innocently.
"Evie didn't let me pilot the ship," Olivier huffed, glaring at the nine-year-old.
Bryn laughed, "You're letting a kid bully you? And if you piloted, the Mistral would have been lost to space." She beamed at her two teammates but all traces of mirth vanished when Gai joined them.
"Come on, you need to meet the rest of my team, then Miss d'Quintus we can talk about payment for your job offer." He said.
Olivier silently nodded and they followed Gai to the bridge, taking in the ship as they went through the halls.
When they reached the bridge, they saw that Elijah was already there with four other people. The first was an older man with short blonde hair, a neatly trimmed beard, and blue eyes. He was leaning against the captain's chair and even though he had a beer in his hands, Bryn could still see the calculating glimmer in his eyes.
The next member was a woman with light brown skin, wavy dark brown hair in a ponytail, and brown eyes, next to her stood a young female child with short lighter brown hair and brown eyes. The child wore a black t-shirt under a denim vest that looked like it had wool lining the inside and tan pants with knee-high creamy brown boots.
In contrast, the man and woman wore altered versions of the OMNI uniform like Gai. Elijah on the other hand wore an altered version of a ZAFT uniform. What an odd set of clothes for a mercenary group to wear. Or at least, that's what Bryn thought until her name pulled her out of her thoughts.
"Bryn?" The last member of Gai's group pushed to the front, eyes wide. It was a teenage girl with creamy-fair skin, light brown hair that brushed her shoulder blades, and large cinnamon-brown eyes. She was dressed in a long white medical coat, light blue shirt, and black pants.
Even though she was caught off guard by the teen's appearance, Bryn made sure her face remained neutral. "It's been a while Leigh," She allowed a small smile to form on her face as she looked the teen over.
"You know her?" Olivier asked.
"She was a medical apprentice under a friend of mine," Bryn explained, "I never thought I'd run into her again, especially on the ship of a mercenary group." She kept her gaze on Leigh as she spoke before glancing at Gai when she felt his gaze on her face, his brows slightly furrowed.
"Well, we have to all follow our paths, right? That's what my teacher always said." Leigh grinned, "I never thought you'd become a babysitter-test pilot."
Bryn's smile became more genuine, "Neither did I," She turned her attention to the rest of Serpent Tail, catching their confused gazes, "Sorry, Bryn Westalyn, nice to meet you." She held out her hand and the dark-haired woman immediately shook it, a smile on her face. "Loretta Azure and this is my daughter Kazahana." She looked at the girl who stepped forward eagerly, curious eyes on Evie who met her gaze shyly.
"I'm Reed Weller, Captain of the ship." The man said, shaking her hand next.
"It's nice to meet you," Kazahana said excitedly, holding her hand out for Evie to shake.
"Nice to meet you too, I'm Evalyn Tayte, but please call me Evie," Evie said, a small smile on her face as she shook the younger girl's hand and Bryn couldn't help but smile. Evie didn't get the chance to interact with people her age often so hopefully, interacting with Kazahana would help her open up.
Leigh looked surprised to see the young girl and shot Bryn a questioning look. Bryn caught her gaze and quickly shook her head, signifying that she would explain later.
"I'm Olivier d'Quintus, your new client if you guys want to finally talk price," Olivier stepped up, holding her head proudly, she looked at Gai and he nodded.
"Reed," Gai said, and the older man fell into place beside him. "We can finalize the details of our agreement in our briefing room. Kazahana, show the other two around.
"Bryn," Olivier motioned for her to join them as they left the bridge, but she shook her head.
"I trust you to make this deal and I'll enforce it," Bryn said dismissively, she then gave the teen an amused grin. "Just don't break the bank. Your Uncle is already going to kill you for delaying your return to Orb."
"You'll protect me." Olivier shrugged.
"Not from my employer." Bryn shot back, amusement glittering in her eyes as she imagined Olivier's Uncle's reaction.
Olivier scowled at her but trailed after Gai. Once they were gone Bryn turned an easy smile toward the rest of the crew. "So, about that tour for the ship..."
Serpent Tail's Laurasia-class Vessel, Briefing Room
Olivier sat silently across from Gai and Reed, feeling slightly intimidated by the looks they gave her, but she still held her head high. She was an engineering prodigy, which was why she was allowed to assist with the Astray project even though she had been much younger than most of her fellow engineers and mechanics. She was also the proud niece of the Lion of Orb and head of the d'Quintus family.
"How long do you plan to travel with us?" Reed asked, looking through an electrical tablet. Before they had arrived, Gai had sent him a message about their new potential client and the interesting details of her request: To be allowed some of the data Blue Frame collected through their other jobs... honestly, he was surprised Gai agreed, it wasn't like the man at all.
Olivier thought silently, she wanted to stay for as long as she thought she needed but knew if she had her way, she'd become a nuisance to them sooner rather than later. "How much longer do you plan to be in space?" She countered.
"We've had other job offers since Gai's been gone," Reed said, looking through the tablet. "We'll be in space for a few months before heading down to Earth if that's what you're asking."
Olivier nodded, "Then if you don't mind, we'll tag along until you decide to go down to Earth."
"That's a high price to pay mercenaries, and a large burden on the group," Gai noted.
"I understand that three additional people on a ship will add to the price of supplies, but I'm willing to help pay for that too," she said, she had a long time on the ride over to think of her offer and needed to word it perfectly to get them to agree. "If you're comfortable letting me, I'd also be willing to help upgrade or fix any of your current mobile armors or suits and help maintain them."
"You're not allowed to do work on the units we already have or the Blue Frame. Work on the Silver Frame as much as you please." Gai rebutted, distrust in his gaze. For all he knew, she would try to sabotage their units, for what purpose, he couldn't say.
Olivier sighed, "Fine. That's understandable. And finally for price how about..." She thought for a moment and offered an obnoxiously large sum of money and watched the two men exchange neutral gazes. It was a bit too generous, even for the job she offered.
"Olivier, we're going to need the room to discuss your contract," Gai said, dismissing her. "Wait outside."
"Sure, sure." She stood and left, leaning against the wall of the briefing room as the two men talked. She was certain it was a fair and solid deal; she didn't see any reason why they'd reject her... unless they didn't want any tag-a-longs. If they wanted to keep their group close and protected, that was reason enough.
She didn't know how long she was waiting in the hall before Gai ordered her back in. "So?" She asked, suddenly feeling nervous, Reed was grinning but Gai's face was neutrally cold, giving nothing away.
"We'll accept you as an extended client." Gai finally said, "But, if your group causes trouble, we will drop you off at the nearest space station at any time and you will not protest. And you offered up your guard to assist us with jobs if we needed the support, I assume that's still on the table."
Olivier nodded. "She's a skilled pilot and can take care of herself."
He nodded back, "I saw a bit of her skill outside Heliopolis but I'd still like to test her out for myself before agreeing to have her out on the field. And for the price..." He told her a lower number than what she had originally offered and Reed laughed.
"This is a fairer price than what you said. Yes, it's a long-term contract but the price you offered was still a bit too much. How does a kid like you have so much money?"
Olivier nodded, "I'm from a well-off family," She shrugged, but she couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. "So, we have a deal?" She asked to make sure.
Gai nodded. "We accept you as our client."
Olivier beamed, "So what now?"
"Now, I test that pilot of yours," Gai said, the barest hint of a smile appearing on his face.
Bryn once again found herself in the cockpit of Silver Frame, her bullets and beam weapons replaced by blanks and stunners. She had also removed the "Panzer Eisen" and "Midas Messer" so that their spar was fair.
"You really want to do this?" Bryn asked uncertainly looking at the Blue Frame through her monitors.
"Yes," Gai said, a calculating look on his face. "If there's a chance that you help us with missions I need to know your skill. I need to make sure Heliopolis wasn't some fluke. Ready?" He asked.
"I guess I don't have a choice," Bryn sighed, getting herself ready for the battle. But she felt a bit insulted by his comment, of course, her skills at Heliopolis weren't just luck!
Without warning Blue Frame charged her and she fired a volley of shots at the machine.
Blue Frame easily dodged the valley and charged at her with his beam saber drawn, swinging down towards the Silver Frame from the top.
Bryn scowled, raising the shield and allowing the saber to crash against the metal. The force of the impact pushed her back slightly and she quickly shoved him back, firing another volley of blanks at him before charging forward, switching out the rifle for the saber.
Gai used the Blue Frame's shield to parry her attack before switching the beam saber into the other hand and slashing at the unprotected side of the Silver Frame.
Bryn quickly maneuvered the Silver Frame out of the way, propelling the mobile suit back with its thrusters and allowing the saber to safely sail over the mobile suit's head.
The Blue Frame charged towards her again and Bryn used the Silver Frame's thrusters to throw the machine back, flipping the machine backward and kicking out at the other Astray, the leg of the Silver Frame connecting hard against the cockpit of Blue.
Blue Frame stumbled through space before righting itself and Bryn allowed the Silver Frame to simply flip through space before righting the mobile suit, a small smile forming on her face. She had the advantage in that she was the test pilot of the Astrays while the suit was still fairly new to Gai. Though from what she had seen at Heliopolis he was a talented mobile suit pilot and had already adapted fairly well to piloting the Blue Frame.
"Not bad," Gai murmured, reattaching the beam saber to switch it out with the riffle. He fired a volley of shots at her, forcing Bryn to dodge. As he fired at her he closed the gap between their two machines and slammed the shield against the body of the Silver Frame, causing the mobile suit to tumble through the air and the cockpit to shake slightly at the impact.
Bryn immediately righted the Silver Frame, drawing her saber to clash against Blue Frame's shield as Gai tried to swing it at her again.
Her grip on the controls tightened as she forced the Blue Frame back, raising one of her mobile suit's legs and having it kick out and pushing the Blue Frame away, she followed by repeatedly shooting at the Blue Frame before hiding behind a piece of debris to regain her thoughts.
"He's not a bad pilot at all..." She murmured to herself before she suddenly felt a tingling sensation on the back of her neck. She piloted the Silver Frame away from the debris just as the Blue Frame burst down from above her, missing the Silver Frame by just inches.
As the Blue Frame passed her Bryn fired on it again, a small smirk forming on her face when a few of the bullets grazed against the Blue Frame. She then charged forward, chasing the Blue Frame through the small debris field around Serpent Tail's ship until Gai turned around and faced her.
He swung the Blue Frame's arm out, trying to smash it against the Silver Frame's middle to throw her off balance but she maneuvered the Silver Frame out of the way, twisting the mobile suit around Blue Frame and firing a few blanks into the Blue Frame's back.
The thrusters came to life on the Blue Frame and the suit burst away, spinning around when there was a good distance between them. Much to her shock, Gai threw the Blue Frame's shield at her before she could react, the momentum of his turn and thrusters gave the shield more momentum before Bryn could properly block, causing the Blue's shield to smash into her cockpit with enough force to make her justle in the seat.
"Owww..." Bryn muttered, feeling like a bruise was forming on the back of her head despite her helmet.
"That's enough," Reed's voice sounded through the speakers just as the Blue Frame started to charge at her again. "I think we've seen enough for today. No need to wreck those mobile suits before any jobs can get done."
Bryn sighed and relaxed, loosening her grip on the controls. "You're not half bad," Bryn said, when she saw Gai's face appear on her monitor, there was a small genuine smile on his face.
"I was going to say the same," Gai said, allowing her to dock with the ship first.
The two of them made sure that both Silver and Blue Frame were secured properly to the hangar before pushing themselves through the hangar until they reached the catwalk, slipping into the hallway of the ship.
"So do I pass your test?" Bryn asked, a small smile on her face, though Gai's face had returned to a thoughtful look.
He nodded. "I don't see any problems with you joining Elijah and me for some missions. You'd be good to watch our backs."
"As long as you watch mine too, I'll gladly help," Bryn reassured. She had been reluctant to join them on missions at first, but after sparring with Gai, she was honestly starting to feel excited. The subtle hum that flowed through her veins was back, it was like an electrical charge, and she had missed it.
"Of course, I'll have your back." He said, stopping her and meeting her eyes. "As long as we work together I will."
Bryn held his gaze, trying to get another read on him but she couldn't tell anything about him, though she did see the outline of a pendant she hadn't noticed before under his uniform.
"Then you have yourself a deal," Bryn said, nodding at him one more time before she started walking away. "Let me know when we start our first mission together."
"Our mission starts now." He called after her.
Bryn stopped and turned, of course, she supposed mercenaries didn't sleep or rest. She sighed, "Then let's not waste time."
And that's the end of this chapter! As always, let me know what you guys think!
This chapter just covered Ch. 2 of the Gundam Seed Astray Manga, which if you haven't yet, you should give a try! The Astray series is pretty fun!