I want to thank you all for the replies I got to my question about Meyrin. The reason why I asked, was because I know a lot of people dislike Meyrin because they feel like she got in the way of Athrun's and Cagalli's relationship, but that is not going to happen in this story.
Chapter 76
Slowly opening her eyes after a good nights sleep, Lacus Yamato looked a few short seconds up at the ceiling before she turned over and took a look at the watch standing on the bedside table.
"Hmmm an hour more, I can sleep for an hour more" Lacus mumbled softly, happy to know, that she did not have to leave her comfortable bed yet. And while smiling happily over that, the girl turned over and pressed her face even deeper into her fluffy pillow.
Yet the pink haired woman had just barely gotten her eyes closed again, when the alarm began ringing loudly throughout the Eternal. And knowing what that meant, Lacus leaped full speed out of the bed, while at the same time pulling her blue silky nightgown up over her head.
And without paying any attention to where the nightgown ended up, Lacus rapidly hurled it over her shoulder, then flew swiftly over to her closet, where she quickly found a bra and that everyday dress she had the most easy time getting into.
Once dressed, Lacus did not waste anymore time in there, she hurried left the room without even putting on her shoes or her hairpin for that matter, heading as fast as she possibly could towards the Eternal's bridge.
Yet even with her being in such a hurry, Lacus Yamato only needed to take one single look around the hallway to figure out, that she was not the only person who had just gotten out of bed. She flew past the ship's doctor who was still buttoning her jacket, while heading in the opposite direction, towards the med-bay.
Whatever the name was of the Zaft team the Eternal and the Factory were about to encounter. The Zaft team's Commander had most certainly chosen a pretty inconvenient time to start attacking them, which was one thing Lacus had no doubt about, was done intentionally to catch them off guard as much as possible.
'Uhhhh I can't shake the feeling that this is going to be quite challenge for us. I just hope that Mr Waltfeld has some sort of plan, that will help us get out of this pinch' the girl thought, just as she arrived at her destination.
And while staring intensely at the door to the bridge, Lacus spent a few short seconds regaining her breath, before she hastily entered the room.
Once in there, the very first thing Lacus noticed, was Commander Waltfeld shouting out orders left and right. Just one single look at the man, made it completely obvious to Lacus, that he too had just gotten there, unlike usual he wasn't wearing his long blue jacket, instead he was dressed in his red and yellow polo shirt, and a pair of pants.
"Tell the hangar to get the GAIA on the catapult, and ready for launch! I am going to need it! Next get in contact with the Factory, we need to coordinate our defense to deal with this threat!", The Desert Tiger ordered, as DaCosta and everybody else up there started doing what the large man had said.
"What's going on, Mr Waltfeld?!" Lacus asked loudly, as she swiftly moved over and sat down in her seat.
Having not seen her enter the room, Andrew looked back at the pink haired girl with a deeply serious expression, on his face. "We got company Lacus, and unfortunately it's not the most friendly kind" the Desert Tiger explained to the young woman, only to immediately afterwards press one of the buttons on his seat, so the main monitor was now showing the five Zaft Nazca-class destroyers surrounding them.
Yet what really caught Lacus' attention, was that one of the Nazca-class was made in a blood red color, instead of the light blue one the Nazca-class ships was usually made off. At first glance it almost looked like the ship itself had flown straight through a pool of human blood, which served to give the Zaft war ship a much more ominous and creepy appearance, unlike the four other Nazca-class.
"Maybe I could try and talk with them" Lacus suggested in a low tone.
"That idea might have worked if it had been anybody else leading these guys, but Commander Akuto Tsuwabuki. That guy is stubborn as hell, and I can pretty much guarantee you Lacus, that he wouldn't listen to a single word you say" Andrew said, not once moving his gaze away, from the red Zaft ship up on the main monitor.
Hearing those words leave Mr Waltfeld's mouth, Lacus found herself blinking rapidly in surprise. "You mean you know the man leading them?"
Forcing his thoughtful gaze away from the screen, Andy once again looked back at Lacus. "Yeeeeah unfortunately I do. That hideous red Nazca-class, the Shinigami, definitely belongs Akuto Tsuwabuki. He and I went through the academy together, to put it mildly he is a real psycho. Truth be told a part of me had kinda hoped, that the crazy bastard would had ended up dead at some point in the first war. He is one of those people Lacus, who wished that Patrick Zala had succeeded in wiping out all of the Naturals" the Desert Tiger explained.
Finding Andrew Waltfeld's description of Akuto Tsuwabuki quite a bit unsettling, Lacus slowly moved her blue gaze away from the Desert Tiger, and looked back at the main monitor, that was still showing the Shinigami. And while starting intensely at the red Zaft ship, the pink haired girl only had one comment to everything Commander Waltfeld had just told her.
"Thiiiiis Akuto Tsuwabuki really does sound like a horrible person" Lacus mumbled just loud enough, for everybody else up there to hear her. The pink haired girl could not even begin to describe, how utterly relieved she was that she had never met this Zaft Commander, in person.
"That he is Lacus, that he is..." Andrew said back, just as the leader of the Factory appeared up on the main monitor. He was an old man, that had just barely turned sixty-five, not that he had time to celebrate that because of the war, he had a full gray beard, and a pair of totally pissed off brown eyes, that could be seen behind a pair of old glasses, that most certainly had seen better days.
To be completely honest, this old soldier truly did look quite a bit like he would much rather be in a old warm bar somewhere far away from the battlefield. Enjoying a nice bottle of whiskey, and telling his old war stories to whoever the hell wanted to listen to him.
Leaning forward in his seat, Andrew smiled slightly at the old man. "So how are things on your end? Are you ready for this?"
"We are as ready as we can be, Andy! We got all of our mobile suits prepped and ready to launch. Even Hilda's DOM Trooper is ready to participate in this little party!" The old guy said.
Narrowing her eyes thoughtfully, Lacus quickly cut into the conversation before either the Desert Tiger, or the other man could say anything else to each other. "What about the other two DOM Troopers? When will they be ready to launch?"
"I got just about all of the mechanics over here working on the last two DOM Troopers, Miss Lacus. And according to the last report I got, the second one of the machines should be up and running, in less than an hour. Unfortunately it will take quite a bit longer getting the third DOM Trooper working since it's missing both arms" the gray haired man said, with a sour look in his eyes that very much made it seem like he was just about ready to pick up his desk, and break it in half with his bare hands.
"Please let Hilda know, that her sole objective in this battle, is to keep the Eternal safe no matter what!" Andy said, just as one of the Eternal's crew members loudly informed him, that the enemy Nazca-class was starting to send out their mobile suits.
Nodding hastily a single time in understanding, the gray haired leader of the Factory hurried got up from his seat, and grabbed a wooden cane that was standing nearby.
"I'll make sure to tell her that before she heads out. Now one last thing Andy, if you are really planning on fighting in this battle, you better make certain to come back alive, otherwise I will be telling everybody on the Eternal all those embarrassing stories from you childhood, you got that?!" The old man said in tone that left little room for disagreement.
Smiling confidently at the other man, Andy raised his hand and gave him the thumbs up sign. "I definitely can't allow that to happen. So I will do my best to return in one piece dad"
With that said, the conversation between Jason Waltfeld and Andrew Waltfeld was brought to an end.
Quickly turning around afterwards, Andrew stared straight into DaCosta's eyes with a deeply serious expression on his face.
"You are in charge DaCosta! Keep moving around guys, and do what you can to make yourself as hard a target to hit as possible! And keep an eye out for any enemy mobile suits that might go after the Eternal's engine, if that gets destroyed you will be a sitting duck!" The Commander ordered, then immediately left the room, before DaCosta could even get out a simple yes sir.
Watching the door to the bridge fly back shut after his long time best friend and mentor. Martin DaCosta swallowed loudly a single time before yelling out a few orders of his own.
"You heard the man! Discard the camouflage and lets get moving! Our main target are the Gunner ZAKU Warriors those are the biggest threat! And if we get the chance, fire whatever weapon you can at the Nazca-class ships, see if you can't take out some of their weapons, and possibly their engines" the red haired man said.
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At the exact same time over on the Nazca-class Shinigami, Commander Akuto Tsuwabuki was watching the Eternal and the huge space station with a confident yet nasty smirk on his face.
He was a very muscular man with dark cold blue eyes, and only a bit of black hair on top of his head, and since he didn't have on a jacket one could see the Zaft-logo tattoo on to both his left and right arm.
"So how are things proceeding?" He asked his Second in Command in a cold tone that, matched the look in his eyes perfectly.
Hearing the Commander ask that, the Deputy Captain of the Shinigami turned in his seat, and smiled reassuringly at Akuto. "Everything is going according to your plan Commander! We already got half of our mobile suits out there and ready to engage them, when you say the word. The Eternal will not escape Zaft's wrath and punishment, this time around. Those traitors will all burn in hell!" The Second in Command said in a prideful voice.
"Excellent! Make certain that all of the pilots know that our main objective here, is to destroy the Eternal, and try to capture that space station somewhat intact, I have a feeling that there is a lot of interesting things over there Zaft can use. Now then what about my friendly little surprise for that treacherous Desert Tiger, is that ready to go?" Akuto asked coldly, not once moving his deeply serious blue gaze away from the Eternal, which at that very moment was getting rid of the meteor camouflage, that had been used to hide the pink spaceship.
Nodding hastily a couple of times, the Second in Command hurried swirled back around in his seat, and looked out at the pink spaceship that could be seen in the distance. "The surprise should already be on the catapult ready to head out, Sir! I almost wish, I could somehow see the expression on Andrew Waltfeld's treacherous mug, when he realize what he has to go up against" the Second in Command said, sounding highly self-assured about the Tsuwabuki team's victory in the upcoming battle. It was almost like the cocky man was ready to leap up from his chair, crack open a bottle of champagne, and start celebrating the destruction of the Eternal already.
Hearing those words leave the Deputy Captain's mouth, Akuto let out a light yet wicked chuckle. "Heh! I can't help you with that old friend. Buuut you can at the very least take some comfort in knowing, that it wouldn't be much longer now, before Andrew Waltfeld, and all those other traitors on the Eternal, will take their last breath"
With that said, Akuto slowly got up on to his feet, clearly getting ready to leave the bridge and head on down to the pilot ready room so he could get into his spacesuit.
Ever since hearing about how Andrew Waltfeld and all those other Clyne Faction bastards, had ran off with the Eternal. Akuto had sincerely hoped, that he would one day, get the opportunity to make each and everyone of those damn traitors pay, for their betrayal.
And FINALLY after waiting so damn long that time was upon him.
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Meanwhile out in a dark blue ZAKU Warrior that had been launched not long ago from one of the other Nazca-class', a certain brown haired young woman was honestly feeling more than just little hesitation and doubt, about attacking the Eternal and the large space station.
'I don't want to do this, I really don't! It isn't right! If it wasn't for the Clyne Faction and the Freedom, my home colony would have been destroyed by the Earth Alliance's nuclear missile attack in the last war. If it wasn't for these people I would have lost both of my parents two years ago" the female pilot thought bitterly, while turning her mobile suit's round shaped head a bit to the side, so she could get a good look at the Shinigami, the ship in charge of this attack on the Clyne Faction.
Yet the very instant the girl did that, she spotted a blood red mobile suit leave the likewise red Nazca-class. And after quickly making the ZAKU's camera zoom in as much as possible, on the somewhat peculiar looking mobile suit she realized that it was a gundam.
"Ch...Chaos gundam! I did not think Zaft made anymore of those machines after the Earth Alliance's stole the first one at Armory One" the girl whispered to herself.
The young brunette did however not get long to look the new Chaos gundam over, when she heard Akuto Tsuwabuki or whatever the hell the Commander's name was, starting to talk loudly out over the radio.
"Pay attention boys and girls! The GOUFs are to engage and keep the enemy mobile suits distract as much as they can. And while they do that the ZAKU's will slip by and target the Eternal, do whatever you can to destroy that damn ship. And LAST but definitely not least, leave Gaia gundam to me, I want the pleasure of giving Andrew Waltfeld, the most painful death imaginable!" The Commander said, doing nothing at all to hide, just how utterly enthusiastic he was about getting this battle started.
Feeling a long almost freezing cold shiver make it's way down her spine upon hearing those creepy words. The female ZAKU pilot shook her head violently a couple of times, in an attempt to get her thoughts straighten out. And as she watched the other Zaft mobile suits rush off to do battle with the Eternal. The girl finally made up her mind about what she was going to do.
"Ahh damn it! I am going to help the Clyne Faction out. There is just no way hell, I'll help that crazy maniac in the Chaos, kill the very people that save my family and so many others two years ago" the girl mumbled angrily to herself. And so without any further hesitation, she hurried pushed the control forward thereby making her machine take off after the four GOUF mobile suits, flying not that far in front of her.
But as the young brunette took careful aim at the closed GOUF's head, she could not help but feel slightly relieved, that it had not been all that long since she had been transfer to the Nazca-class Caernarvon. Having only been station on that ship a little over a week, meant that she of course had yet to make any real friends on board the Caernarvon, and that honestly made what she was about to do a bit easier.
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Yet while the many Zaft mobile suit was rushing full speed towards the Eternal and the Factory. Andrew Waltfeld and Hilda Harken was having a bit of a chat with each other.
"Here they come!" Andy yelled as he tighten his grip on the Gaia's controls.
"No shit Sherlock, what gave it away?!" The orange haired one eyed woman asked, doing nothing to keep the irritation and sarcasm out of her voice.
Taking a quick glance over at the DOM Trooper next to him. "Elementary my dear Watson. They are getting closer and closer, with every second that goes by. This really isn't the way I wanted to start my morning!"
"How would you rather start it then?" Hilda asked.
"Hmm I guess with a cup of black scalding coffee, and a well made piece of toast!" Andrew yelled, as he quickly got the Gaia over into it's mobile armor mode, where he immediately fired all three beam weapons at the first one of the many hastily approaching Zaft mobile suits. And while it did not take a genius to tell, that the pilot of the ZAKU Phantom did try his or her best to evade the attack. The Desert Tiger still succeeded in blowing off the left arm plus the lower part of the left leg, and a quick well aimed shot from Hilda was enough to destroy the ZAKU's ugly head.
But seeing as this little party was just getting start, Andrew quickly got the Gaia to transform yet again, and without wasting even a second he took off full speed towards their many uninvited guests.
And while the Desert Tiger swiftly evaded up over the attacks from two incoming GOUFs, he rapidly fired two shots into the chest area of the first one of the light blue mobile suits, thereby making it blow up.
Yet as Andy used the Gaia's shield, to defend himself from the large amount of beams the second GOUF was firing at him, the large one eyed man mentally cursed the fact, that Akuto Tsuwabuki, that evil bastard, had brought such a huge force to fight them. The sheer number of enemy mobile suits out there, really did seem to be endless.
Andrew did however not get very long to daydream about traveling ten years or so back in time, so he could then find and hire a few hundred professional assassins to take Akuto Tsuwabuki out. When three totally black GINNs rushed right past him, and destroyed the head and right arm on the GOUF he was fighting.
"There sure is a lot of these guys! How the heck are we suppose to defeat all of them?!" Andy heard one of the GINN pilots ask.
'Thaaaat's a good question, I reeeeally wish I knew the answer to it' Andrew thought, then rushed over and took a hold on the now headless GOUF, and just as one of the many Gunner ZAKU Warriors, aimed it's beam cannon at the GINNs, he hurled the disabled GOUF into the side of the ZAKU, which was more than enough to stop it, from opening fire on the GINNs.
Yet as the pilot of the ZAKU reached over to move the GOUF aside, Andy flew straight towards the two Zaft mobile suits, firing the machine guns into the back of the GOUF. Mentally apologizing to the pilot of the blue mobile suit as it blow up, taking the ZAKU along with it.
'With so many enemies here we can't afford to fight leniently. Especially with Akuto being the one leading them. That stupid son of a bitch wouldn't show us any mercy, even if we did surrender' the one eyed man thought, then took a quick glance in the direction of the Eternal, that was rapidly firing all of it's weapons.
'I have to make certain that Lacus gets out of here alive. I promised Kira that I would keep her safe, that boy really doesn't deserve to go through the pain of losing the woman he loves' Andrew thought, as Aisha's beautiful smiling face momentarily flashed through his mind. The heart wrenching sadness, he had felt when his wife had been killed, was something Andrew was absolutely determined to prevent Kira from going through.
And while still trying hard to figure out what their best option would be to get Lacus safely out of the area, Andy swiftly throw the Gaia hard to the right, to avoid a half dozen missiles or so heading his way. Yet even after evading that attack, the Desert Tiger did not stay still for even a second, seeing as the missile attack was followed shortly by a couple powerful red beams, which he just barely manage to evade.
"Damn it you bastards! Can't you see I'm trying to think here!" He growled out through his teeth, while quickly firing a single beam at each of the two ZAKU Warriors responsible for the attacks. Unfortunately much to his deep and utter annoyance he was only able to hit something of real importance on the first ZAKU, that made it blow up. The second one however only lost the lower part of it's right leg.
Yet before the pilot of the now one legged ZAKU Warrior had a chance to try and avenge his dead comrade. A almost totally black GuAIZ flew in from above and violently slammed it's beam claw into the back of the ZAKU, then instantly kick it away before the it could explode.
But while the Desert Tiger did find himself momentarily thinking that the pilot of the GuAIZ had some impressive skills in that old machine. He could only watch unable to do anything as the black GuAIZ, was ripped apart a second later by a pair of GOUFs.
'Ahh to hell with it! Maybe it would be best if I tell Lacus to get into the Strike Freedom, that mobile suit might be her best chance to survive this nightmare. With this obviously being only about half of their mobile suits, and since Akuto have yet to join the battle, I have a feeling that this is only going to get worse' Andrew thought angrily, as he used the shield to knock away a Heat Rod from one of the GOUFs.
Yet just when he was about to pull out the Gaia's right beam saber and go show the two dumb bastards piloting those GOUFs, that he really DIDN'T appreciate the fact that they had killed, whoever it was that had been inside that old GuAIZ.
Andrew spotted something behind the GOUFs, that could only be described as kinda weird. A dark blue Blaze ZAKU Warrior, was flying dangerously close behind a third GOUF, when it suddenly without warning opened fire, blowing the head the straight off the Zaft mobile suit. Then quickly maneuvered up over the now disabled mobile suit, and flew with great haste directly towards the two machines he was about to do battle with, and seeing the strange mobile suit get out it's beam tomahawk, served as a pretty obvious sign to Andrew that the pilot of the ZAKU was planning on giving the two GOUFs, the exact same treatment as the last one.
"I have no idea who might been inside that machine. But if that ZAKU pilot is willing to help us out, I am not going to complain" Andy mumbled to himself, as he hurried took aim with the beam rifle, and began shooting at three normal green ZAKUs that was clearly heading for the Eternal.
It was about a minute later, when Andrew suddenly heard a familiar beeping sound from the Gaia's controls, which told him that somebody was trying to get in contact with him, and so while evading in between a couple of green beams, and while shooting back at the ZAKUs, Andy pressed a small black button on his left side.
"Hello can anybody out there hear me? Eternal, Mr Waltfeld please response if you can hear me!" An unknown slightly panicky voice said.
Having honestly not expected, that the pilot of the helpful ZAKU Warrior was a woman, and judging from her voice a very young woman too. If Andy had to make a quick random guess, he would say that this girl might just be the same age as married couple, maybe a year or two older or younger.
"I hear you miss friendly ZAKU pilot, how are you doing this NOT so great morning? Unfortunately young lady, as much as I would like to have a good long chat with you, I am kinda preoccupied at the moment. So if it's not too much to ask, could you please make it fast?" Andrew asked the girl.
Just before flew he full speed towards the remains of one of the ZAKUs he had just destroyed, and once close enough Andrew swiftly got the Gaia over into it's mobile armor mode, then immediately used the almost totally wrecked ZAKU Warrior as a springboard to leap head first straight towards an incoming GOUF Ignited, that clearly had not expect him to do something so downright crazy.
But while the individual piloting the GOUF did make a desperate attempt to reduce the machine's speed, he or she had neither the time to evade or fight back, before the GOUF Ignited was brutally cut in half by one of the Gaia gundam's beam blades. Yet even as the blue close-quarters combat mobile suit exploded behind him, the Desert Tiger hurried fired the beam assault cannons, destroying the head on a ZAKU Phantom, that was trying to slip by him to get to the Eternal.
Watching Mr Waltfeld, the Desert Tiger fight so ferociously, like the fate of the entire galaxy was at stake in this battle. The young brown haired woman quickly ran her tongue over her slightly dry lips, and with the images of both her father's proud smiling face, and her mother's likewise proud smiling face flashing through her mind, and while wondering if her parents were still going to be proud of her after this, the female pilot, began telling Andrew Waltfeld the reason for her action.
"I do of course realize that this might be a bit of an awkward time to do this, but I would like official join the Clyne Faction or whatever you guys call your self these days"
Yet even as those words was leaving the brunette's mouth, she made a shape turn to the left, where she practically crash landed on a small asteroid, that was about half the size of a Nazca-class, and as she ran as fast as possible across the asteroid, one beam after another hit the rocky surface, either right behind her, or beside her, it was actually somewhat of a miracle that she was able to stay ahead, and not get hit by the many of beams raining down after her.
It was to tell the truth more luck than anything else, that she just so happen to choose that exact moment to leap away from the asteroid, as who knew how many missiles blow it to smithereens. So while using her shield to quickly bash away a few of the rocks flying around her, the young woman spotted a brief opening, which she immediately took advantage of by firing a single shot into the cockpit of one of the ZAKU Warriors, that had been chasing her all over the place in the last few minutes.
'Damn it, that was close, if I had been just a little slower, I would have ended up like that asteroid' the girl thought, getting her mobile suits moving again as she saw the remaining GOUF and a ZAKU coming right at her.
Both impressed by the girl's skills in that blue mobile suit, but also greatly relieved, that she had not been killed by her opponents destruction of that asteroid, Andy finally gave the girl a response, to what she had said about joining them a few minutes ago.
"Welcome aboard young lady, I hope that you are going to like being a part of the Clyne Faction. It's a real shame, that we can not throw you a less violent welcoming party with cake, instead of this totally crappy one with all these mindless idiots, trying to kill us. It doesn't really make a very good first impression!" Andy said with a great deal of sarcasm in his voice.
Rolling her blue eyes a single time, at the man's in her opinion bad attempt at humor, she really didn't understand how the hell somebody could be joking around in such a dire situation as this. People who did that, really did seem to be having a few screws loose in her eyes.
Yet the matter of behaving like a total goofball and making dumb jokes while in combat, instantly disappeared from the girl's mind, when Waltfeld began talking to her again, now in a much more serious tone, instead of playful one he had used before.
"Can I get you young lady, to go help the pilot of that purple mobile suit protect the Eternal. As good a pilot as Hilda is, she is obviously starting to have her fair share of trouble keeping all those GOUFs and ZAKUs away from the Eternal, and with your skills I am certain that she would very much appreciate your help young lady!" Andrew said.
Yet truthfully the reason why he was asking the girl to go assist Hilda, was because he could see that the new red Chaos gundam was coming straight towards him, and he want the girl out of the way, so she did not get caught up in his and Akuto's battle.
Hastily moving upwards to evade a GOUF's slayer whip, then immediately aiming her's ZAKU's rifle and firing a single shot at the GOUF that removed it's head before it could do anything else.
"I don't mind helping this Hilda person out Mr Waltfeld, just make sure that she and everybody else on the Eternal knows that I am on your side, I really don't want to get killed by any of my new comrades. And last will you please stop calling me young lady or young woman Mr Waltfeld, you sound like my father. My name is Shiho Hahnenfuss, please use that instead" she said. Then took off towards the Eternal, and that strange looking purple mobile suit that was fighting so intensely to defend the pink spaceship.
Relieved to know that the Eternal, Hilda and the new girl would at least be a little safe now that they could back each other up. Andrew glared out at the still rapidly approaching Chaos gundam, then looked down at the Gaia's controls to see how much power his machine had left, and seeing that, he had already used half of the Gaia's power, instantly made him curse loudly inside his mind, as he mentally asked why, Akuto couldn't just go to hell.
'I have to come up with someway to take down Akuto, in a hurry. I can not afford to have my battle with him drag out, otherwise the Gaia will surely run out of power before his machine does' Andrew thought, seriously cursing the fact that the Eternal did not have a Deuterion beam, like the Minerva, he could really use something like that, to recharge the Gaia's battery.
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Yet while the Eternal crew was doing their very best to keep the enemies at bay, and while Andrew Waltfeld was practically twisting his brain to come up with some kind of plan that would help him beat the world's biggest son of a bitch.
The atmosphere down on the Archangel was still calm and peaceful since nobody on the white spaceship had any knowledge about, what their allies was presently going through out in space.
Neo had finished his game of solitaire a few minutes ago, and was now lying quietly on his bed, listening to Kira answering whatever questions that Meyrin girl had.
Yet while the redhead's questions, might be pretty mundane and uninteresting to most people. Neo found himself, paying close attention to what Kira was saying, while at the same time struggling hard to keep the tension from showing on his face.
While it was true that some of his old memories had returned, Neo of course realized, that he was still missing something important. And hearing Kira describe to the young redhead how one got down to the hangar, made an unclear image of the Archangel's interior, appear in his mind. Unfortunately that image also came with the side effect of the now familiar migraine that was slowly creeping into his mind.
'Stop hurting you stupid head...I need to know these things'..."Aww no I...I want to know these things" Neo growled out through his teeth, being so caught up in suppressing his headache, that he did not realize that he said the last part, out loud.
"Are you ok over there Mu?" Miriallia asked, sincerely a bit worried about the blond man. He really did seem like he was in pain right now.
"Yesss...ummmm no...Kira please be quiet for a second I need a little time to process everything you are saying..."
Hearing Mu say those words, immediately made everybody in there stop what they were doing and look surprised at the blond man, like he had just grown a second head.
And it was with a great deal of hesitation, but also with a hint of expectation in her voice, that Miriallia asked the one question that each and every one of them want an answer to now. "Mu...is...is listening to Kira tell Meyrin all those trivial things helping you remember?"
Still holding on to his head like he feared that it was actually going to explode right then and there, Neo forced out a response "Yeaaahhh...it...it definitely sooundsss familiar, but it's also giving me...uhh the world's largest headache. It really do feel like a...couple of Strike Daggers, have been dancing around on top of my head the last hour and a half..."
Strangely enough, it was at that exact moment the alarms began ringing loudly throughout the entire Archangel. "Ah daaamn it, that's not really helping much on my headache! Will somebody pleeease for the love of God turn that noisy thing off!" Neo half begged.
Yet before any of the teenagers, could do anything to stop the unbearable loud noise. Arnold Neumann began talking loudly through the Archangel's speakers, telling all of them, that at this very moment the Eternal was under attack by Zaft forces, and that the Captain and Kira needed to get up to the bridge immediately.
"Ahhh to HELL with it! I knew it...I just knew that something was wrong!" Kira screamed at the top of his lungs, and while telling no one specific how much he sincerely wanted to see Gilbert Durandal rot in hell for threatening his wife yet again, Kira Yamato rushed out of the room in such a haste, that even the Flash had he been real, would have been a tiny bit impressed, by how fast the young concerned husband was moving right now.
Watching the door fly back shut after Kira, Miriallia who was also more than just a little concerned about her pink haired friend, grab tightly on to Dearka's hand. "We are going TOO!" She loudly informed him, then without waiting for a response, she began dragging her likewise worried boyfriend along with her towards the exit of the small room.
Miriallia and Dearka did however not get very far, before Meyrin called out after them. "Please wait for me you two! I know a lot about how Zaft does things, so perhaps I can do something to help you guys out!" The redhead yelled, as she hurried went after the young couple, sincerely hoping that there was something she could do, to help out.
Blinking rapidly a half dozen times, Cagalli just stood there looking after her three friends as they disappeared out through the door. Once gone the blond slowly turned her head, and looked back at her fiancé, who was laying on his bed looking at the door, and just seeing the pained far away look in his green eyes, was all Cagalli need to tell, that Athrun did NOT want to be in there any longer, that he want to get out of the bed, and go after Kira and the others up to the bridge.
"You have better stay put in your BED, Athrun. If you move around too much in your condition, you might accidentally open up some of your wounds" Cagalli told him, sounding both somewhat bossy but also very absent minded.
And it only took Athrun one single glance at his fiancée's face to tell, that she was just as troubled and worried about Lacus and the Eternal as he was. And seeing the nervous manner, she kept on twirling her index fingers, and playing around with her engagement ring, made it even clearer to him just how deeply concerned Cagalli was about her sister-in-law right now.
And knowing that Athrun forced himself up into an upright sitting position, which of course immediately caught Cagalli's attention. Yet before the young blond had a chance to start scolding him for moving around like that, Athrun reached out and took a hold on her hand, and looked straight into her golden brown eyes.
"If...if I have to stay in this damn bed, then you go up to the bridge instead Cagalli. I...I need to know what's going on with the Eternal...And I know that you are just as eager to find out, as I am, so please, please GET GOING CAGALLI!" Athrun said, doing nothing at all to hide that he was pretty much on the verge of tears. If Zaft, the very people who he himself had worked for not all that long ago, did anything that might hurt Lacus, Athrun knew that it would take an unbelievable long time, before he would be able to look his best friend in the eyes again.
Narrowing both of her brown eyes slightly, Cagalli did not saying anything at first, she just stood there, thoroughly studying the pained expression Athrun had on his face. While it was impossible for the pregnant blond to deny how unbelievable much she want to go up to the bridge right now, Cagalli just had this small nagging feeling deep in the pit of her stomach, that Athrun might do something stupid like leaving the bed, if she was not there, to keep an eye on him.
And while thinking about some of the more foolhardy and down right crazy things the man she loved had done, in the two years they had been together. Like him going inside GENESIS, and then blowing up the Justice gundam inside the Zaft superweapon to destroy it, Cagalli began talking softly to the third person presence in the small room.
"Mu, please do me a favor and make certain that Athrun doesn't do anything stupid while I am gone, I do not want him leaving that bed even for a second, before he is fully healed" Cagalli said, as she step over to the door.
"Don't worry, girl, I'll keep an eye on the little scoundrel, and do my best to make sure that he doesn't misbehave. But just so we are clear on one thing girl, you do realize that if the troublemaker here really does want to leave this room, there isn't really a whole lot I can do to stop him, seeing as you people still got me tied up" Neo informed her.
It was at that point, Athrun's slightly displeased voice cut into their conversation. "Will you two please stop talking about me like I am a small ill-mannered child, I promise you, that I wouldn't leave this bed Cagalli" the blue haired man said with a small unhappy frown on his forehead.
"I am sorry about that Athrun, it was not my intention to talk about you like you were a child. But please try and look at it from my point of view, I love you, and seeing you all beaten up like this is pretty hard on me, I just can't help being worried about right now, I do NOT want anything else to happen to you, Athrun. Now please wait for me, I will be back as soon as I find out what's going on with the Eternal". With that said the blond haired girl quickly left the room, before Athrun could even think of a reply.
Moving around a bit on the bed in an attempt to get just a bit more comfortable. "Hmm maybe I overreact a bit about the child thing just now" Athrun mumbled to himself.
"I don't think she blames you kid, all of us are pretty rattled up right now with the Pink Princess' ship, being under attack" Neo said, then narrowed his blue eyes thoughtfully a few seconds, as he tried to figure out why it felt so natural for him to address the pink haired girl by the name.
"Guess your right, Mu" Athrun mumbled in a barely understandable voice, while at the same time mentally cursing the fact that almost everything on his body hurt.
If there was one thing Athrun really hated himself for right now, then it was that the only thing he could do, while Lacus and the Eternal was in danger, was to lie there being completely and totally useless. He was actually so caught up in scolding himself over that, that he did not even notice that Mu had referred to Lacus just now by calling her Pink Princess.
Athrun did however not get long to wail in self-pity, when Mu in a half serious tone interrupt his thoughts. "So, have you seen any good movies lately?" The blond haired man joked in a pretty bad attempt to lighten the mood, and take some of the tension and seriousness out of the situation.
Forcing his gaze away from the ceiling and over at the Hawk of Endymion, Athrun found himself despite the crappy mood he was presently in, smiling slightly, but not because of the overall bad joke. "It's good to see, that even with your memory loss Mu, your sense of humor remains the same" Athrun softly told the other man.
"Great, it is kinda nice to know that at least somethings haven't changed" Neo said back in a likewise soft tone, then reached slowly out and turn on the TV in there, not that he paid all that much attention to what was happening on the screen, he just needed some sort of noise, to distract himself from worrying too much about what was going on right now.
And one single look over at his blue haired roommate on the other bed, made it clear to Neo that even though Athrun wasn't watching the television, he was still listening to Bugs Bunny annoying and making life miserable for Yosemite Sam, that could be heard muttering under his breath, just how much he hated rabbits.
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At the exact same time up on the bridge, Kira was so jumpy and on edge that he could barely stand still, as he listened intensely to Arnold explain what was going on.
"We don't really have a lot of information! The message we got from the Factory was short and hard to understand because of static interference. But what I did understand, was that the Eternal and the Factory was surround by an unknown number of Nazca Class ships, and that they had no other choice but to fight them" the blue haired man said, doing nothing to hide that he was somewhat mad at himself for not understanding more of the message, since it was so damn important.
Rubbing his chin thoughtfully Dearka began talking in a loud angry tone. "Damn it! That's not really much to go on, but we have to do something, we can't just sit around down here twiddling our thumbs, and hope for the best! We have to help them out, somehow! It's a damn shame that we can't get the Archangel out there!"
Looking over at him, Murrue could only nod in agreement. "I can not even begin to describe how much I sincerely wish we could do that, Dearka, that we could get out there somehow, but that is impossible. So we have to think of something else, fast" the brown haired woman said, just as Cagall entered the room and walked slowly over to Kira, who was surprisingly quiet at the moment. Yet one single look at his face, was all the pregnant blond needed to tell, that her brother was thinking very hard about what they should do.
And it was only half a second later, when Kira's determined voice could be heard throughout the bridge. "Our only option is the Duel Rouge, that is the only mobile suit on board the Archangel, that can make it out into space on it's own. So Murrue would you please tell Murdoch and the other mechanics to get that machine ready for take off, I am going out there, it is a husband's job to keep his wife safe!" The male Yamato said, then without waiting for a response he hastily made his way over to the door.
"Wait for me, Kira! I'll head on down to the hangar, and help the mechanics with the Duel Rouge! If I don't do something right now, I'll go nuts" Dearka yelled to his friend, even though Kira was already gone.
Watching her boyfriend disappear through the door after his best friend, Miriallia sat down at her station and immediately start typing away at the keyboard in front of her.
Like Dearka, Miriallia knew that she would likely go nuts with concern for for Lacus and the others out on the Eternal, if she did not have something to keep herself occupied with right now. And listening to the message they had receive from the Factory to see if Arnold had missed anything, was the only thing she could come up with to do, while waiting for the Archangel mechanics to finish preparation on the Duel Rouge.
Yet while Miriallia was doing that, Murrue was talking loudly with Dalida. "Tell everybody to support and help out Kira as much as they can, and then get in contact with Erica and Kisaka they need to know what's going on, ask them if they have someway that makes it harder for anyone that supports the Seirans to spot the Duel Rouge, when it launches" the woman said.
Readjusting his glasses slightly, Dalida moved over and drop quickly down into his seat, where he immediately began working on the task the Captain had given him, and it was only a minute later when Erica Simmons' slightly cranky face appeared up on the main monitor.
"What is it?! I am very busy right now!" The female scientist yelled, before she hurried turned around, and began yelling at somebody else, who neither Dalida or anybody else up on the Archangel's bridge could see.
"Pay attention to what you are doing numb nuts! Those two parts have to fit together perfectly! I want everything on this mobile suit to be perfect!" She loudly informed whoever was helping her out.
"I get that Miss Simmons, but you do know that I am a mobile suit pilot, not an engineer!" Kazuma Tokai yelled back, then cursed loudly over whatever work she had him doing.
"That I know, Kazuma. But you were the one who told me that you want to do something to help out, and I need as many hands as possible to assemble this thing" Erica said.
"Ohhh that reminds me that I have been meaning to ask you, what you are planning on calling this thing, Miss Simmons? I have honestly been quite a bit curious about that, since I start helping you assemble this gundam, a few days ago" the Murasame pilot told her.
Yet before Erica could give Kazuma a reply to his question, Cagalli's loud voice cut her off. "Could you two please wait for another time to come up with a name for the mobile suit you are working on! We got an emergency HERE!" The pregnant blonde practically screamed at the top of her lungs, it seriously pissed Cagalli off, that Kazuma and Erica, had to discuss the name of that new gundam now. Why the heck couldn't the two of them wait with that until the matter of getting Kira out into space unnoticed, had been dealt with.
Honestly a bit surprised, by the volume of Cagalli's voice. Erica look back at the screen, where she immediately got eye contact with the blond haired girl, which Erica could not deny, was bit like a daughter to her.
"I'm sorry about that Cagalli, I guess Kazuma and I were a bit distracted just now. So what's up?" The scientist asked concerned, knowing that while it was nothing new for Cagalli Yula Athha to short like that, when she was angry. It was more the tone of voice the blonde happened to be using, that caused Erica to be alarmed and made it clear to her, that something was very wrong right now.
Quickly telling Erica everything she knew about the present station, Cagalli watched anxiously as the clever brunette narrowed both of her blue eyes in a deep thoughtful manner.
"Ahh daaamn, that's not good. Let me think for a second here Cagalli. Hmm, we need to create some sort of diversion, so Kira can get out to the Eternal without any Seiran supports noticing the Duel leaving...Hmm, maybe that would work...Ok I think I got an idea. With all of Orb's military installation having their own power supply, I'll simply cut the power to everything for a few minutes, I can easily do that from here" Erica said with a hint of a smirk on her face, that really did make her look like a mad scientist.
"Wouldn't that affect us too, Erica?" Murrue asked.
"No you guys have your own power supply, so you should be just fine. Now I have to go make a few preparation for this little 'magic show'. So give me a call on my cell phone when Kira is ready to leave" Erica told them, then cut off the communication, before either Cagalli or Murrue, could say anything else to her.
Watching the screen go back, Cagalli let out a deep frustrated sigh, as she looked down at the floor. "I seriously do hope that Kira makes it in time, if he ends up losing Lacus in this battle, I don't think he will EVER be able to get over it..." the blonde mumbled, knowing that she herself would likely cry herself to sleep many nights, should something terrible happen to Lacus.
Taking a glance over at the young blonde, that was presently rubbing her slightly round belly in a somewhat nervous manner, Murrue could only nod slowly in agreement.
"Yeah...I hope he makes it too, Cagalli..." Murrue said, sincerely hoping with all of her being, that Kira would not have to go through the heartache of losing the woman he loved so dearly. Like Cagalli said, Kira might never recover should Lacus lose her life here.
It was at that exact moment the door to the bridge flew open and Mayu rushed in. "Mom, MOM! What's going on?! There is so much commotion around the ship! What's happening?!" The girl asked confused, dressed only in her sleeping attire that consisted of a long blue and green nightgown, that went almost all the way down to her small bare feet.
"The Eternal is under attack by Zaft forces, Mayu" Murrue told her daughter in a low tone, guessing that the reason why, Mayu hadn't heard what Arnold had said over the loudspeakers earlier, was because she had still be asleep at that point.
Upon hearing her mother say those words, Mayu's first reaction was to stare dumbly at her mom like she had just grown a second head, and it took almost half a minute for the eleven-year-old girl to get her bearing back, and voice her displeasure over what Zaft was doing.
"Those damn Zaft BASTARDS! We have to do something, MOM! We have to help out big sister Lacus, and grandpa Waltfeld!" The girl cried unable to stop herself from crying.
While Murrue would under normal circumstance have scolded Mayu for using such foul language. This time however Murrue felt like if she actually did that, she would kinda be scolding her daughter for being concerned about two of the people that was important to her. It was no big secret just how much Mayu loved both her big sister Lacus and grandpa Waltfeld. And the older Ramius really didn't want to image how traumatized the girl would be, should they lose the two of them.
And while inwardly praying to God for everything to be alright, Murrue kneeled slowly down and wrapped her arms gently around the still weeping child. "Kira is already hard at working getting the Duel Rouge ready to take off, he is going out there to help them, sweetie. So I am sure that both Lacus and Andrew are going to be alright" the young mother said, sincerely hoping that she wouldn't end up lying to her daughter just now.
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Yet while Murrue Ramius was doing her best to comfort her daughter.
Dearka was leaving his and Miriallia's room, and after quickly getting past two of the Archangel's kitchen staff members. The former Zaft pilot began running as fast as possible down the long hallway, being extremely careful not to drop the white bundle he was carrying, he really didn't want to object he had wrapped up in the old towel to break.
Once he reached the hangar only a few seconds later Dearka, immediately step over to Murdoch, and asked him where Kira was.
"The kid is already inside the Duel Rouge. If you have something you need to talk with him about, you should hurry! It wouldn't be long now before he is ready to leave!" The chief mechanic said, then swiftly turned around and yelled something to the other mechanics.
Not that Dearka was paying the least bit attention to that, he was already making his way up towards the Duel Rouge's still opened cockpit. Once up there, Dearka immediately poked his head inside the mobile suit, and began talking loudly to his best friend.
"Kira, give this to Mr Waltfeld when you see him!" The blonde man said, as he placed the white bundle beside Kira, making extra sure to place it in such a way that it would NOT under any circumstance, get in Kira's way while he was piloting the Duel Rouge.
Taking a brief glance away from his typing on the keyboard, and over at the bundle. "What is it, Dearka?" Kira asked, as he once more turned his full attention towards the keyboard.
"It's that large picture of Aisha, Erica found Kira! I know, that this is not the best time to discuss this, but I can't help but feel like it's wrong for Miriallia and I to have that stash away in our room, I would feel much more at easy knowing that it is back with the person who it rightfully belongs to" Dearka quickly explained.
Nodding hastily a single time in understanding, the young husband kept on rapidly moving his fingers over the keyboard. "I'll make certain that it is returned back to Waltfeld, Dearka. Now one last thing before I head out, if you guys run into any kind of trouble while I am gone, and Mu then offers to help you out, then accept his help. You can trust him, he remembers a lot more then he lets on!" Kira said.
"I kinda figure that was the case, after seeing how he react from hearing you tell Meyrin about, how things works around the Archangel. It's nice to know that he at least remembers something. Now enough chit-chat Kira, you need to get out to the Eternal and protect your adorable wife, you are waaaay too young buddy, to become a widower!" Dearka loudly informed his best friend.
Then without waiting for Kira to give him a reply, the blonde at times childish Coordinator, pressed one of buttons on the control panel, so the cockpit hatch would close immediately after he had gotten out of the away. There wasn't any danger of him being crushed by the hatch, seeing as it function almost in the exact same manner as an elevator door, that would always reopen, when somebody was trying to get inside, just as it was about to close.
And so after giving Kira a small yet confident smirk. Dearka hurried turned around and left, now determined to get the hell out of the way as fast as possible, so Kira could take off without having to worry about roasting him alive with the Duel's thrusters.
Not paying any attention to the cockpit hatch closing after Dearka, Kira kept his full attention turned towards finishing the task of getting the Duel Rouge gundam ready do battle in outer space. And finally after a few more seconds he hurried raised his head, and yelled out to Murdoch, that he was done with the preparation and ready to take off.
Having been waiting for Kira to tell him that, Murdoch did not waste any time, he immediately swirl around on one foot, and began telling the other mechanics in a loud bossy tone that just couldn't be ignored, that their task down there was over and done with, and it was time for them to leave.
"Listen up 'ladies'! The Knight in Shining Armour, is now ready to head out to save his Princess! So lets get the hell out of here! You too Dearka, hurry up!" The chief engineer yelled at the other pilot.
"Yeah, yeah keep your shirt on Murdoch! I am almost there!" Dearka yelled back, knowing that the only other way he could get down to the ground any faster then going there by foot, was if he simply leaped over the railing. Yet since he was still pretty far up from the ground, and had yet to learn how to float or walk on air, Dearka figured that he would most likely end up with a couple of broken legs, if he were to take the more hasty way down, from up there.
And so while mentally complaining about the fact that it wasn't possible for him to go with Kira, and help his friend protect the woman he loved. Dearka knew deep inside as much as he hate to admit it, that even if they had another mobile suit, other then the Rouge, that could make it out into space on it's own. He might still not have been able to go along with Kira, since somebody needed to stay behind to protect the Archangel, incase something happened.
"Ahh damn it, this is frustrating" Dearka cursed bitterly, as he increased his speed, running as fast as his legs would carry him.
It was about five minutes later when the Duel Rouge gundam blasted off for space. "Please, pleease be ok Lacus, I'll be there soon" Kira whispered softly under his breath.
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Meanwhile back out in space. The Gaia gundam and the blood red Chaos gundam, was only about ten meters away from each other, yet neither one of the men piloting the powerful mobile suits was doing anything, the two gundams was simply hanging there, having the most intense staring match ever.
Yet finally after almost five minute of that, Akuto broke the silence. "It is SO good to see you again Waltfeld, it has been such a long time since the two of us saw each other. How have you been doing? How is Aisha doing these days? Ohh wait don't answer that, I totally forget that she is dead" Akuto said, with a hint of laughter in his voice.
Yet while it was true that losing Aisha, his beautiful loving wife still pained Andrew Waltfeld greatly, and that he seriously despised having a guy as heartless and ruthless as Akuto Tsuwabuki remind him of his wife's death. The one eyed man knew better than fall for Akuto's obvious attempt to provoke him.
"I see you have change a bit since the last time I saw you, Akuto. You are an even bigger son of a bitch now" Andrew said back.
After that the two veteran soldiers fell silent once more.
Then it happened almost simultaneously. The Gaia transformed over into it's mobile armor then rushed full speed straight towards the other Second Stage mobile suit, shooting off all three beam weapons at the Chaos.
Yet as Andrew Waltfeld did that, the Mobile Weapon Pods left the Chaos' back, and while evading up over the three incoming beams, Akuto swiftly pulled out the right beam sabers, then immediately took off to met the Gaia gundam, that judging from the activated beam blades on each of it's side, was hoping to cut him in half. Not that Akuto was going to allow Waltfeld to do that, he was so going to show the Desert Tiger once and for all, that he wasn't messing around with an amateur here.
To be continued.