Gundam Seed: The Federation ver 2

by Blackshadow999

Different telling of Gundam Seed. With the conflict between Naturals and Coordinators getting worse as time passes, some nations have banded together and formed the organization known as the Human Federation. Will the Federation be able to help bring peace or will the hatred between Naturals and Coordinators destroy everything and bring extinction of humanity? Cover by Saddle Patch

5. Phase 5: Collapse

A/n

This chapter is now more 'average' length for my writing, not as long and beefy as before, but still covering a lot of material. I'd like to thank those who have written reviews as they help me to improve my writing. As always, I don't own nothing but my own characters and inspiration, nothing else. Hope you all enjoy the chapter.

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Phase 5: Collapse

January 25th, 71 C.E.

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Heliopolis Interior

Kira and Lacus went to where the Auska was and traveled back to the ship with the mobile suit. While they had been doing that, Tyler moved the Shadow to a dock in the hangar and then was doing the same process for the Strike when the Auska came on board the Archangel. Other supplies were also being collected and brought on the ship at the same time as the suits were being shifted around.

After getting two of the suits into docks, Tyler slipped away and disappeared without notice. It was a talent that he had developed in the two years of military service, being able to seemingly vanish. Tyler wanted off the ship to get some fresh air or what was still left of it as the colony was slowly losing its atmosphere. There wasn't an immediate risk as there weren't many people breathing the air. So, Tyler took the opportunity to walk and contemplate his standing issue and dilemma as things took a real turn today.

The original mission the investigation team was sent to do was to first either confirm or dismiss whether the Alliance was developing weapons here. Then if they were developing weapons as the rumor entails, the team gather information on the weapons being made before the decision is made to either confiscate or destroy the weapons. It had seemed so simple at first and as of a week ago, the decision came down from Federation High Command that the ship and mobile suits that the Atlantic Federation were developing illegally would be seized. That should have been the end of this situation, but ZAFT struck before that could be done had complicated things a great deal. Tyler couldn't say what would happen going forward, there was just not enough information to make a good call at this point.

It was as Tyler was walking around thinking that he found he wasn't the only one clearing their head. Lacus was on a bench and she looked like she was thinking about troubling things as well. So Tyler strode over to the bench which Lacus didn't seem to notice him coming up to the bench and spoke. "Hey Lacus, want some company," he posed. "You look like you're trying to figure out a harsh dilemma of some kind?"

Lacus had been trying to consider how to tell Kira about the potential point that Athrun Zala could be one of those that was a part of the attack. He had been assigned to the Creuset Team recently, so it was very possible. She was aware that Athrun was friends with both Kira and Tyler, good friends by how Kira had told her. So, she didn't want them fighting one another and if things kept going as they were now, the three would likely be put into the position they would have to fight each other. But neither did Lacus wish to make Kira hesitate about things as that had its own set of consequences. She was so deep in thought that she jumped at hearing Tyler's voice having no expected to hear anyone out here. Lacus twisted around to see Tyler smiling reassuringly at her, "Tye, what are you doing here," she asked.

Tyler came around and sat on the bench next to Lacus, "Oh, I needed time to clear my head with things as they are, and it would be much harder on board the Archangel. There are just too many people on that ship that are panicking about things they can't do much about, not helpful for thinking. Then the change in events has shaken things up and someone needs to have a clear head to make smart decision if you ask me." Tyler took a deep breath, "I take it that you are doing something similar to thinking about something troubling you as well, am I right Lacus?"

Lacus looked away from Tyler, not wanting to say what was troubling her as it had to do with Tyler in a fashion. Still she nodded in reply to his question, to which Tyler exhaled, "Then some advice for you Lacus, it helps to talk about what's troubling you with someone, keeping it in tends to make it worse." Tyler stretched and put his hands behind his head, "I'll listen if you want Lacus, I'm rather good about keeping my mouth closed on things I'm told by others. Plus, we're friends, are we not? Who better to talk to in times of difficulty than friends who care?"

Lacus didn't disagree with what Tyler had said, talking about one's problems did help in most cases. But again, as the issue involved Athrun talking to Tyler or Kira about it was more difficult.

Tyler while waiting for Lacus to decide whether to talk or to say nothing about what was bothering her, thought about what could be stressing the blonde. He knew Lacus was good at managing stress, he had seen her do the idea well during her short singing career. Tyler assumed that whatever was giving Lacus stress and grief was likely a personal matter. That single thought worried Tyler a bit as that could involve Lacus's older sister Sakura which was a subject Tyler himself didn't like at all.

Tyler didn't have anything specifically against Sakura Clyne, at least not that he would mention in public. It was more that the woman that was four years older than Tyler had what some people could call a 'thing' for Tyler. Sakura had shown that she was fond of Tyler and beyond fond of him when she could do so and he not attempt to squirm out of it. Tyler didn't like recalling how Sakura would flirt and cuddle with him for the experiences weren't pleasant ones for him. He never gave her permission, not like would ask for it from Tyler as Sakura did what she wanted most of the time. Tyler avoided Lacus sister Sakura as a temporary solution to not have to deal with what she did around him.

What made it harder to bear, no one ever believed Tyler when he would give details of what Sakura did to him. It was because Sakura had a reputation that came from her military service in the ZAFT forces. That reputation painted her to be cold, calculating and unshakeable which was earned by her but was the opposite of what she showed Tyler other than the unshakeable. Tyler had even told Kira and Lacus about what Sakura did yet neither took it seriously thinking Tyler was exaggerating. So Tyler had been left to his own methods and devices to managed dealing with the woman.

That's not to say that Tyler didn't notice that Sakura was beautiful and could be consider cute. It was just to him the girl was one who likes to be in full control and he wasn't going to be dominated by another. That being established, most would think that Tyler and Sakura wouldn't get along with each other as their personalities countered one another. Yet, that was just not so as Sakura was one that didn't take no and seemed to not register what the refusal meant. In fact, every time Tyler refused, it had only spurred her onward to catch him more.

Tyler was of the opinion that Siegel Clyne, Lacus's and Sakura's father had noticed his oldest daughter's interest in Tyler himself. The man had helped Tyler escape from Sakura a couple of times which Tyler blessed him for. Still Tyler didn't know if Lacus really knew about her sister having a serious liking of him that has gone beyond just being uncomfortable, so Tyler hadn't brought up the subject for a while. The times he had, like most Lacus didn't seem to believe what he was describing to them. That in mind, Tyler's smile faltered a margin, "Um, Lacus," he started but hesitated slightly, "the issue that's occupying you," Tyler paused again, "it wouldn't have to do with your sister Sakura, would it?"

Lacus blinked at Tyler's question for it was completely unexpected from Tyler. Oh yes, he was one that listened to others when they talked, she had seen the idea and experienced it herself. Where Tyler had learned or acquired the skill of listening, Lacus couldn't say with much confidence. Yet, how it was that Tyler jumped to the conclusion that what was troubling her had to do with her older sister Sakura Lacus couldn't begin to guess.

That was not to say there wasn't strain on the relationship that Lacus had with her sister Sakura as there was to an extent. Lacus loved her sister Sakura, but there was a distance that had come between them and the war made it worse. The distance was uncomfortable to Lacus and she had tried to lessen it, but ever since the war started Sakura had begun changing. Then there had been the times she came home after missions and in one memorable instance, Lacus's sister had been extremely despondent. That had scared Lacus to see Sakura like that, yet though Sakura improved somewhat since then. But she had never been the same older sister that Lacus remembered fondly when she was younger.

Now, how Tyler had ever met or encountered Sakura, Lacus had never been told by either of them. Tyler would shutter the times that she had inquired yet say nothing specific at all and would quickly change the subject to avoid further questions. Sakura wouldn't give a straight answer either which was different for her as she tended to be straight to the point and blunt. The few things that Lacus had gleamed from the two was that they somehow knew each other. Tyler did not much like being around Sakura, but then few did, yet it wasn't in the same way as everyone else by what Lacus could tell. On the other hand, Sakura seemed to be interested being around Tyler for whatever reason. Those were the best details Lacus could figure out when it came to Tyler and her older sister. So, Lacus gave Tyler a slightly confused expression before she shook her head, "No, it's commander Creuset and the team he commands right now," she replied.

That one line explained a great deal to Tyler even if it wouldn't make any sense to anyone else. He had been coming to some conclusions recently from what had happened earlier today, some were unpleasant and others were nasty. The point perhaps irking Tyler the most had come with the fight against the Aegis. The voice Tyler had heard briefly had been familiar and with time to contemplate, he had figured out why. He did know the voice for it belonged to Athrun Zala who was Tyler's other best friend aside from Kira. Tyler had begun to connect the dots of how Athrun could have ended out being at Heliopolis and in a stolen mobile suit prototype. Athrun had to have enlisted in the ZAFT and had eventually ended out under the command of Rau Le Creuset.

Creuset reputation for bending the rules and regulations or usually disregarding them and blowing past them was well-established at least among the Federation military. Tyler had heard about the man and read a report or two about his style of doing things and Tyler hadn't liked what he had learned about Creuset. Nonetheless, Tyler had never been fond of or inclined to be very tolerant of those that seemed to go out of their way to cause trouble for their own selfish benefit. Now Tyler could and did cause trouble for others from time to time and intentionally at that, but he always did it for a reason that in the end wasn't about or for himself.

So Tyler assumed that Lacus had in some way figured out that Athrun was involved and she knew that Athrun, Kira, and Tyler were friends. They hadn't seen each other for a while, a year or more really, but that certainly didn't mean that they would be in any way okay with fighting one another. Tyler knew that he didn't want to fight with Athrun, but also knew that circumstances hadn't presented an alternative that would work as of yet. And with Kira's naïveté, Tyler doubted that he had any idea that they could and likely had faced off against a friend they shared. Tyler gazed at Lacus and exhaled, "I see, then I take it your dilemma is how to tell Kira that there is a high likelihood that he'll be fighting Athrun Zala, am I right," Tyler posed.

Lacus's head snapped up and she stared at Tyler in shock with him guessing or rather knowing what she was stressing over. Had she been so transparent that Tyler had gotten that by just looking at her for a time? And Tyler sounded like he had come to accept that he and Athrun could end out fighting each other with little hesitation that Lacus could detect. "How did you," Lacus started.

Tyler cut over her, "Know that Athrun is probably one of the ZAFT pilots that stole the prototype suits?" Lacus nodded slowly, so Tyler continued after he took a deep breath, "When I went against the red machine the Aegis as it's named it told me a lot. The way the pilot moved the machine and even if the suit had an OS that's horrid, it was calculating in the way they move to accurately counter their opponent in a very quick fashion." Tyler paused, "I know a select few that have a talent to do that while in a fight with a machine they couldn't know a great deal about. Athrun is one of those few and there are few enough in ZAFT that I can count them on one hand." Tyler shrugged, "That said, it wasn't all that hard to connect the dots that led me to the conclusion that Athrun was in the Aegis."

Lacus turned her gaze away from Tyler, "You sound like you're fine with fighting Athrun," she mumbled.

Tyler sighed tiredly, "If that's what you think then you are dead wrong," Tyler stated firmly. "I am not and will never be 'okay' fighting a friend let alone one of my best friends." Tyler paused in hesitation of how to say what he wanted to get across, "I may be able to fight with a mobile suit or other machines, but that doesn't mean I enjoy doing it. I dislike war for it forces many to either kill or be killed and I firmly believe that it isn't naturally in the nature of humans to wish to do that. We have to train and change ourselves to do such things and even then," Tyler trailed off.

Lacus was a tad surprised to hear this coming from Tyler. Lacus had found Tyler to be a fun-loving teenager albeit with a mischievous side to him that came out sometimes. But right now, he was talking about the war as if he had maybe fought in it, yet that couldn't be right. Lacus didn't disagree about how war does horrible things and it wasn't in human nature as she believed much the same. "Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that you would like fighting Athrun or anything," Lacus returned.

Tyler waved a hand, "No worries, I know you didn't mean to say that," he answered. Lacus slumped at Tyler's statement, to which he sighed, "My suggestion to you is to just tell Kira outright about Athrun, then let him make the decision for himself what to do." Tyler leaned back and glanced upward as he continued, "I doubt it'll be pretty at first, Kira won't like the fact that he may be put into a position to have to fight Athrun anymore than I do. But he'll get over it given some time and understand that some things happen not due to our choices but because of others' decisions. I would guess that were, or rather when Athrun finds out he's fighting Kira and myself, he'll do some serious reconsideration about what he is doing and what he's fighting for."

Tyler brought his head to rest on his interlaced hands, "I think Athrun is being influenced by his father, yet at heart Athrun hates this war as much as Kira, myself, and you do. It has taken from him like it has so many others, so he understands the pain of war and what it does causes personally. I'm confident that Athrun will also come around given time Lacus, he has a good heart and that will do well for him."

Lacus considered what Tyler was saying as she was afraid somewhat of what Kira's reaction would be to understanding Athrun was probably with those attacking. She did think Tyler was right that when Athrun found out more details about this and that he would be fighting against Kira and Tyler, he would not want to keep going on his current path. And so, Tyler had in the end been right about talking helping in dealing with her troubles. Lacus nodded, "Yes, thanks Tye, you were right, talking about this issue with you has help a lot," she said moving over and hugging him.

Tyler gained a genuine smile and hugged Lacus back, "Hey now, what are friends for," he questioned, "We support each other through the hard times and stand together during the good ones."

Lacus then remembered Tyler's original question of what could be troubling her and she gained a look of curiosity. "Say Tye, why did you think I was having problems with my sister Sakura," she asked.

Tyler's smile vanished at the inquiry since Sakura was close to a nay-say subject to him due to the things she would do to him. And yet, he didn't want to just not answer the question as Lacus was a friend, but neither did he want Lacus to think badly of Sakura. So Tyler was left with the dilemma of what to say in reply. After a moment, he used his right hand to scratch the back of his head, "Oh um," Tyler hesitated, "it's been a while since I've seen her and well," Tyler paused for a moment considering the wording to use, "your sister can at times be hard to be around and everything so, I just thought," Tyler trailed off.

At the same time, Mu, Murrue, and Natarle had made their way to the Archangel's navigation bridge to get a bit of privacy. Natarle began to check over the systems of the ship, mostly for something to occupy herself to ignore the rising tensions. Murrue was considering the current situation and how they could best accomplish and escape so the Archangel could set out on its mission. Mu was doing similar thinking, but he knew that with Creuset causing issues, being rid of him would be anything but simple. Mu sighed slightly while he looked out the front viewport watching the activity of resupplying occurring.

As things stood, the few remaining crew of the ship were small in number, less than a usual skeleton crew for a ship this size or even a class smaller. This ship by what Mu had been told and led to believe was meant to carry a crew of between two hundred to a hundred-fifty, yet it was being run by twenty-five currently, a sixth of its intended bare minimum crew compliment. Of that compliment, around a third or so would normally be commissioned officers while the rest would be non-commissioned crew, engineers and mechanics. The Archangel now had five commissioned officers including Krystal and Mu himself instead of around fifty. One of the current officers was in the sickbay unconscious and with what had been said of his injuries, he may not pull through. For the rest of the ship's crew, there were four non-commissioned crew left and around fourteen mechanics.

The Archangel's navigation bridge wouldn't have all its seats filled with the crew on hand, it just wouldn't be possible and Mu knew that just by looking. By the seats he counted, there should be eight officers, ten including the captain and vice-captain. With what was left of her crew, the best possible scenario would have six out of those ten seats filled, eight if Mu and Krystal filled in. So to say the Archangel was and would suffer due to a crew and personnel shortage was a given and an understatement.

The mechanics along with the highest-ranking non-commissioned officer Arnold Nueman were grabbing what supplies they could from Morgenroete and the surrounding area, then bringing them onto the ship. A few mechanics were working with Nueman to basic supplies while Murdoch and others were fetching what was left of the suit equipment.

And then, Mu had observed one of the Coordinator teens bring the last mobile suit onto the Archangel and it had been fascinating and yet harsh at the same time. Kira Yamato, the younger one of the two had moved the winged suit onto and then into the Archangel's hangar making the task look not all that difficult to do. And where Mu could accept that the kid could be smart and gifted for the reasons that it looked doable for the teenager, that wasn't what made him swallow his pride and bite his tongue. That came having to watch Tyler McGregor use the black machine to help bring heavy supplies onboard. The older kid had made maneuvering a mobile suit look to be as easy as a 'walk in the park'.

Yet Mu was thinking about the more pressing issues than the ease which the two teens had made using a mobile suit look. Mu was suspicious of Creuset and what the man was up to as he hadn't made a move since retreating. That wasn't Creuset style, he didn't wait because he could, only if he had to or if it would provide a better benefit in the long run. That said, the man's silence and inaction was odd and Mu didn't like it in the least.

Putting aside the feelings of foreboding, Mu turned to face the acting captain of the Archangel Murrue Ramius. She was currently sitting in the captain's chair using the phone attached to the armrest giving out instructions. And Mu couldn't help but think about what a right old mess that he and Krystal had gotten themselves into with this mission that was supposed to be simple from the start to the finish. That was how this had been portrayed to Mu at least by OMNI Admiral Koe, but Mu was wondering if there had been information withheld during the briefing now.

After a few minutes, Murrue sighed after putting the phone down, "The colony interior is as far as any can tell one-hundred percent evacuated," she said. "However, I'm told the recent incident has upped the hazard level to nine," Murrue stated as she stood up and walked over to the forward viewport.

"That means the shelters have been locked down completely," remarked Mu with another exhale of frustration. He looked at Murrue, "So then, since that's the case, what do we do with those kids?" Murrue stopped right in front of him and looked at him. "It's too late now to find a shelter to toss them into, isn't it? And leaving them off the ship is pretty much a death sentence so that's out of the question," Mu mused.

Natarle who had been double-checking one of the control stations in the Combat Information Center in the lower area of the navigation bridge below the captain's chair perked up at hearing Mu's last line. She came up and glanced over at Mu, "Lieutenant Ramius detained those children because they'd been exposed to military secrets Lieutenant La Flaga," Natarle stated.

It was ridiculous for La Flaga to assume that they could simply toss off the teens into a random shelter. They had seen one of the G-Project's prototypes, that couldn't be ignored or dismissed whether good or not. OMNI regulation made it clear that the teens would have to be processed by the appropriate authorities. Until that was finished, they couldn't be left unsupervised or allowed to converse with members of other factions' military, scientist or politicians period. Even if the teenagers were the nicest kind one could meet, they would have to be processed after witnessing fruits of a top-secret project. And yet, La Flaga did have a point on there being no possibility to send the teens on their way.

Murrue kept silent at Natarle's statement as she hadn't said that she had never actually detained the teens at all. She had merely temporarily recruited them, mostly because they couldn't find a shelter. Yes, Murrue knew of the regulations that Natarle inferred that the students couldn't be allowed to leave until a superior officer say they could. But if one when by technicalities, the officer in-charge currently would be Murrue herself and so she would have to decide their fate. Honestly, Murrue had been thinking about just having a stern talking to them about how they couldn't saying anything about what they had seen of the G-Project. After the teens would promise they wouldn't Murrue would send them on their way, or at least that would be her plan if not for looming issues.

"We can't exactly let them go free after seeing what they have," Natarle added in her defense.

Mu stared at Natarle seriously for apparently, she had forgotten what had happened down in the catapult area. McGregor had shown dealing with him would not be the same as other teenagers his age at least to Mu that's what had become clear. The kid had hidden weapons that no one had an idea he possessed, he moved faster than the soldiers on the ship. And Mu wouldn't exactly be surprised if McGregor somehow had impeccable aim too, the kid was full of surprises. "I'd say you'd be hard-pressed to stop them," Mu commented. "I mean, did you even see that tan-haired McGregor kid have a gun on him let alone two before he had them pointing at your men?" Mu shook his head, "Clearly that kid has seen fighting," he paused for a moment as a thought came to him and he voiced it, "likely been in some fights too by how he moves and reacts. Hell, it's possible that he could have military training of some kind, the kid's a mystery to me." Mu paused for a long moment thinking, "So then, are you proposing to have them join us in our escape," he questioned sounding somewhat incredulous. "Once outside, we'll be involved in some pretty heavy fighting, it would be a complete miracle if we aren't."

Natarle seemed to freeze at being told that but said nothing in response to Mu's inquiry. Murrue while she agreed that Mu was right on there being fighting once outside the colony. She didn't kid herself, ZAFT forces wouldn't let the Archangel go on its merry way to the Ptolemaeus base unchallenged. And while the Archangel had an arsenal that could let the ship hold its own against ZAFT warships, the same couldn't be said if suits swarmed the ship. Then with the lack of needed crew, the arsenal wasn't fully usable really. The ship's best option and hope at this point were using the suits now onboard, preferably all three, but at least one. "I'm thinking that we'll have to rely on the power of the Strike and if possible, one of the other mobile suits as well," Murrue remarked.

"Then you mean to send both of those machines into battle," questioned Natarle. She thought for a moment that she heard wrong as sending out suits was risky at this point. "We don't have enough pilots for all three machines, even if we did I would doubt that we could have them at their full combat ability."

"What do you think our chances of escaping are without one or more of the suits onboard," asked Murrue in a serious tone. Natarle couldn't argue with the question, but the suits were supposed to be a secret still though they weren't any more.

They were all silent for a minute, thinking how to say what was on their minds. "Okay, I guess we'll be relying on that precious Strike and one of the other ones," said Mu drawing their attention back to the issue. "However, do you think either of those kids would be okay with piloting either of those machines?"

Both women gained a confused expression as what the Lieutenant had just said made little to no sense. Yes, the two Coordinator teens had piloted the suits, but they were intended to be piloted by naturals and not Coordinators. "What are you talking about Lieutenant," questioned Natarle sharply irked at the suggestion of having the teens pilot.

There were protocols and rules that were adhered to by all three factions about having civilians fighting. Simply put, it wasn't to be done or there would be trouble for those that did. Usually the Federation enforced the idea the most, but ZAFT would as well were the Alliance or OMNI to use non-combatants against their will on the battlefield. The Alliance was having enough difficulties already, so no need to make more. Natarle took a moment to calm down and then continued. "Why don't you and Major McAlester pilot the Strike and one of the other mobile suits? In the best-case scenario, it's better to keep civilians uninvolved in the fighting itself, meaning the less those two are involved, the better."

Mu was made to pause at that reply for it said a lot of things to him. Either these women hadn't gone down to the hangar and looked at what the two teens had done to the OS the suits had or they were plain ignorant. Mu was leaning towards the former rather than the latter as a viable explanation. Mu and Krystal had gone down there while everyone had been busy working. They both wanted a quick look at the suits as the closest view of a mobile suit either of them had gotten was as an opponent trying to kill them. However, one look at the OS said that the suits as they were couldn't be piloted by naturals. The systems were too complex and went far outside either Mu's or Krystal's grasp. The odd thing was there was a difference between the Strike's and Shadow's OS and the difference wasn't exactly small. The overall system structure had appeared similar enough at first glance, but how it was put together didn't match at all.

So, Mu was left to ask a question he tended to avoid asking women, "Are you joking or are you just crazy," he asked with incredulous in his voice. Both women stared at Mu as he continued, "Listen, there's no way Krystal or I can operate any of those three machines as they are." Murrue and Natarle continued to look confused at the exclamation, to which Mu rubbed his forehead with a hand. "I take it you don't know what I'm talking about," he uttered. "Have either of you taken the time to go down to the hangar and glance over what those kids did to the OSs on any of those given suits?"

Mu paused to wait for a response, which turned out to be the women shaking their heads slowly. Murrue was the one to answer vocally, "No, there hasn't been the time with the loading and making sure the ship is as ready as we can possibly make it."

Mu sight tiredly, "Then let me save you the time, with what Krystal and I saw when we glanced over the OSs, neither of us couldn't make heads or tails of any of it. A regular human being couldn't possibly grasp the system or its complexity anymore without years of training and practice." Mu put a hand to his chin, "The other weird thing is the Strike's and the Shadow's OSs may function similarly I can't say for sure, but they are not the same. The structure is different with how the systems are organized and work.

"What do you mean different Lieutenant," questioned Natarle as what he was saying didn't make sense to her.

"The Shadow's OS is unlike anything I've ever seen before though it makes slightly more sense overall than the Strike's system does. There is a chance that Krystal or I may be able to comprehend it," Mu paused for a moment considering how to put the point, "given a year or more. But as it is right now, it might as well be written in gibberish as that's what it is to Krystal and myself."

Neither Natarle or Murrue like what they were hearing, if the OSs were now only usable by Coordinators, that was an issue. "Then make Kira Yamato change the Strike's OS back to the previous state and the same for Tyler McGregor to the Shadow. They honestly shouldn't," started Natarle before falling short remembering that the OS had been incomplete before the alterations. That caused the problem as the incomplete state was not usable much either.

The original plan had been after leaving Heliopolis and heading discreetly for the Alliance's Ptolemaeus lunar base was to do field testing and adjusting for the G-Weapons. So by the time the Archangel would reach Ptolemaeus the prototype suits would be functional in theory. That wasn't going to be possible anymore, but that didn't mean that OMNI would want an OS designed by Coordinators for them to use that just defeated the purpose of the G-Project. Natarle shook her head to clear it, "In any case, this is supposed to be our battle, not one for children," she stated clearly. "Even if we keep those kids detained, it is inappropriate to then force them to fight for us and they shouldn't be in those machines anyways."

Mu had to admit, he had met some stubborn women before, but Natarle Badgiruel was certainly towards the top of his list for stubborn women. She was grasping at straws that just weren't going to pan out and Mu was not going to let that keep going with circumstance as they were. "You're not suggesting that we should go out and make ourselves a nice sitting duck for ZAFT forces to use for target practice," asked Mu in challenge. "From what I saw the OS as it was wouldn't do well against ZAFT suits and their pilots."

"No, of course I'm not suggesting that," snapped Natarle clearly trying to come up with a solution to the current problem. "But still," she started yet didn't keep going for a bit, "perhaps it would be more ethical to ask either Mr. Yamato or Mr. McGregor to put together an OS to let McAlester and you pilot two of the suits at least? They seem to know how to write one if they could change them, so…"

Mu sighed at how this woman was asking for things that would not happen and most children would be able to understand that. "While that's a nice thought, I doubt either of them could manage to do that in the time we have available," said Mu. "I know enough about programming to understand that it's easy enough to design a system for your own use on the fly. To tailor it for another to use and comprehension, especially a machine as complex as a mobile suit would probably take days at the very least and that's without testing for fine-tuning the system. We don't have that kind of time, Creuset will not be anywhere near that generous to let us have that kind of time."

The argument probably would have continued as it was obvious that Natarle wouldn't back down and Mu wasn't going to let her ignore the situation's restraints. Murrue knew that Mu's points were valid, but then Natarle's weren't without their merit. However, a decision needed to be made very soon for the best outcome to be achieved and going by rank, that responsibility fell to Murrue herself. "So, our survival hinges on Kira and Tyler with the suits," stated Murrue giving the line to bring the discussion to a close as she stared out the window watching the continued loading of supplies. She caught sight of the third and final trailer that was carrying equipment for the Strike making its way onboard. Murrue released a sigh of acceptance, "As much as I hate to do this, I'll ask them both." With that, she turned and left the bridge to go and do what she had just said.

Meanwhile, after the conversation with Lacus both the teens headed back to the hangar of the Archangel as there was work that could be done while there was quiet. Once back in the hangar, Lacus went to help Kira and Tyler climbed up to the cockpit of the Shadow. Tyler knew there was still adjustments and tweaking to do on the OS to streamline it for proper use. Plus, Tyler was getting a tad jittery though he didn't let it show, the stress of waiting for the ZAFT forces' next move was not healthy for Tyler. He needed to be doing something to keep his brain from worrying no matter if it was tedious or thrilling.

From what the Shadow's operating system had started as, Tyler had basically rewritten the vast majority of it. What he had whipped up and put in to work with was essentially a rolling version of the OS the Federation military employed in their fighters. It was what Tyler was used to working with and he liked how the system structure and functionality ran. The wrinkle or issue there was with using the Federation system was OMNI and those at Morgenroete had not designed the suits constructed at Heliopolis with such in mind. The OS that was onboard was meant to work more like the ZAFT forces' OS model which differed from the Federation's standard.

Tyler had managed to get the suit to run fairly well through adapting what he needed to for things to work somewhat smoothly. Yet that task had been a lot of work and there were still sub-systems and functions that didn't work well if at all with the rest of the system. Nonetheless, as Tyler got down to doing work on the OS, a smile crept onto his face. Tyler enjoyed using some of the unique skills he had and changing and altering systems was one of those skillsets that he didn't get to use the majority of the time. And it had been a while since Tyler had used them to not brake systems but make them work better and it was a nice change.

However, as Tyler worked he began noticing some odd points within the suit and its systems. The things that Tyler was starting to pick out pointed to the fact that there was the framework to work with Federation OS. Someone had just put the OMNI's operating system on top of the framework and just ignored it being there. So, Tyler had been unknowingly removing OMNI's system and working with the framework that was there under the main programming. Some of the equipment, internal network and controls in general were more like what is standard within the Federation military.

The picture that came to Tyler's mind was there likely had been a division of those working on this machine on whether to go with OMNI or Federation mentality. Some systems worked more with OMNI while others did better with Federation standards. It made fixing things for the OS for Tyler a challenge as there were two different programming schemes going into the system. And those two schemes didn't tend to agree rather they clashed and argued about how the system would run. It had caused Tyler some frustration and he knew time was of the essence and a streamline system to work with would be helpful.

So, Tyler was pretty much ripping out the parts that didn't work with the Federation framework and then building connections and functions that replaced what had been there. And Tyler was being forced to do the task one painstakingly function at a time and each one was adding to his growing annoyance. Then once an individual function worked Tyler would then need it to work with the rest of the system and some didn't like to work with other programming than others did. The process was time-consuming, but Tyler knew it would pay off later, hence why he was taking the time to do this. He wanted to continue to live and so, Tyler would do the needed work to give himself the best chance of doing just that in the long run.

Tolle and Kuzzey came up while Tyler was working and watched him for a bit before Tyler acknowledged them being there. "Is there something you two needed," he asked without looking up, "I am kind of busy with things."

"Well," started Kuzzey.

Yet, Tolle took over, "We just wanted to see if we could help in any way with all the tension in the air on this ship."

Tyler stopped for a moment, appreciating that his friends here at Heliopolis were trying to help. "While the offer is appreciated Tolle, Kuzzey, what I'm doing is something I would rather do myself, helps keep my mind off how things are," Tyler replied with a smile. The programming for the Shadow's OS had to be done right and it was more a one-person job and Tyler knew he would be depending on it, so he wanted to do personally.

"Kira, Tyler," called Miss Ramius drawing everyone's attention as she rushed over to where the Auska and the Shadow were docked.

Tyler saved the work he'd done and then turned off the system before popping out of the Shadow's cockpit. He saw the acting captain of the ship in the hangar, but he couldn't figure out why with what he knew. With OMNI personnel, Tyler tended to lean toward them making not the smartest decisions for themselves or those around them. Kira also came out of the cockpit of the Asuka and started at the ship captain, "Miss Ramius," greeted Kira.

Tyler's current mood was not good, doing work on the Shadow's OS had both relieved some stress, but also had kindled a dislike of OMNI personnel or rather what they do. And there was a sense of serious foreboding in the air to Tyler with the acting captain coming into the hangar herself. However, Tyler plastered the best smile he could, "So, what brings the acting captain down to the hangar," he asked as he climbed down the ladder from the cage that the Shadow was in.

Kira followed by Lacus came down the ladder from the cage that the Auska was in and then came over along with Tyler facing Murrue Ramius. "Listen Tyler, Kira," Murrue said when she reached the teen. "I don't know how much time we have, so I'm going to be blunt about how grave our situation is. The shelters are locked down, so we can't put you and your friends in one now. On top of that, the colony itself is in danger, so the only safe place for you and your friends is aboard the Archangel."

Tyler was feeling annoyed and it was quickly morphing into irritation with what Murrue was saying as she was stating the obvious. But Tyler breathed in and then he exhaled to calm down and keep in control which caused Murrue to pause. Tyler took the opportunity to speak, "Are you one that normally states the obvious Miss Ramius, or is this an admittance of what you got yourself into with the Alliance's actions?"

Miriallia who had come down to the hanger with Tolle, Sai and Kuzzey, punched Tyler's shoulder at his comment as it was rude. Tyler glanced over at her and saw the expression on her face was a serious one that he had gotten before now. He knew the look was Miriallia's way of saying to be nicer to the one he was facing. If he didn't start being nice, Miriallia might just punch or hit a more sensitive area and Tyler wanted to avoid that if possible. Tyler sighed. "Okay, what I meant to say is what's your point Miss Ramius? You said there wasn't much time, so please just get to the reason why you're down here," Tyler restated.

Kira was the next to speak, "ZAFT forces are targeting this ship, aren't they?" Kira looked back at the Auska before his hands clenched into fists, "And you want Tyler and me to pilot again, don't you?"

Tyler was a tad impressed as Kira wasn't always this observant about circumstance. It was times like this Tyler found himself wonder if Kira's naïveté was inherent or him putting on an amazing act. Kira had his moments of realization from time to time, Tyler had seen some of them but most of the time he was not the most aware of the situation around himself. Kira was right in assuming that the acting captain was here to essentially beg for help, Tyler could see that and it did irk him.

It was one of the major points that remained a standing one in Tyler's mind that was a flaw with the Earth Alliance and their OMNI Enforcers. They dive into situations headfirst and then if, or normally when it takes a turn for the worst, they put those who can help them out of situation into the horrible position of having to help them or suffer the harsh consequences themselves. It also created a contradiction as those that hated Coordinators then keep their mouths shut for the time it takes to be rescued only. After being helped by those they claim need to be punished, enslaved, or wiped from existence, those who hate Coordinators go back to voicing their hatred.

Tyler knew that not all that were members of the Alliance or OMNI hated Coordinators to the extreme that anti-Coordinator organizations did. Yet there were enough of those that fouled the waters that it made it bad to most everyone else. So that he and Kira were being asked to bail out the OMNI personnel that had contributed to the current situation was not nice.

"I'm afraid so," said Murrue, "I'm sorry Kira, Tyler, but we don't have any choice but to ask this of both you."

The woman appeared to be sincere in her apology by what Tyler saw, but that didn't make it any nicer with what she's asking. Kira closed his eyes, hands clenching and unclenching clearly saying how irritated he was at being told this. Tyler moved over to Kira and placed a hand on his shoulder and when Kira looked to him. Tyler gave Kira a look to say let him handle this and Kira nodded slowly to his friend. Tyler then turned back to acting captain Murrue Ramius that was begging for help. As things stood for Tyler, Kira and their friends, the shelters were locked down, and the colony itself wasn't safe to be in due to recent events. In short, the teens were stuck on the Archangel for the foreseeable future and not by choice. Tyler too a deep breath and kept firm hold on his emotions, "Tell me Miss Ramius, have you ever wondered or asked yourself why Coordinators not involved in the ongoing war avoid the Alliance more then ZAFT," he questioned.

Murrue blinked at the question for honestly it had never crossed her mind, at least not in the way that Tyler McGregor had stated it. And yet, the point that Coordinators avoided the Alliance and OMNI was something she had seen personally a few times. Or rather she had seen a few instances where Coordinators were treated non-nicely and it hadn't sat right with her. But it sounded like there was more to the question Tyler was saying, "Truthfully no, I have not," Murrue replied evenly.

Tyler was a bit taken aback as he hadn't expected a truthful answer from the acting captain since he was used to be lied to by the majority of OMNI officers he had encountered. Nonetheless, Tyler spoke up after a moment, "I applaud your honesty, it is refreshing," he remarked. "Well then, allow me to enlighten you a bit, the Alliance and their OMNI are not known for being nice and friendly to Coordinators. Of course, there are those that hate Coordinators and think we should either be treated less than human or just kill us, but they are more in the minority most of the time." Tyler paused took a breath and kept going, "However, you also have those that use Coordinators after getting into problematic situation or circumstances to get them out like you're doing now. And I can assure you, I'm not the only Coordinator that doesn't appreciate when it's done."

Murrue's expression shifted to shock as the last thing she had thought would be in the response was accusation of using both Kira and Tyler. That was not the intention of any of the crew of the Archangel, all were in the same boat and things were bad, that was the reality. Murrue shook her head, "That's not…"

Tyler cut her off, "Not what you intended to happen? Yeah, heard that line quite a few times before now," he said flatly, "Did you seriously think you would be able to finish your precious mobile suits and this ship, then just slip away without being noticed? Please don't say that you're so ignorant and/or blind, you've shown yourself to be smarter than that already."

Kira set one of his hands on Tyler's shoulder and squeezed, which stopped Tyler from talking. Tyler glanced over to his friend in question of what he was doing, but Kira then spoke, "Alright, fine," he said, opening his eyes and glaring at Murrue. "Our current situation can't be helped, so we need to work together for the time being. Besides, I can't just let you walk to your deaths, even if," Kira paused and frowned, "even if it is because of you that ZAFT forces came here in the first place."

Tyler was quiet though internally he was fighting himself with whether he should help the idiotic OMNI personnel or leave them to deal with the crap they had created for themselves. Should Tyler refuse, then he would feel like a real mean fool and he wasn't one but the common sense he had been taught and acquired told him to let them learn their lesson. Nevertheless, in the end Tyler sighed, "Okay sure, I said a bit too much just now whether the subject matter is true or not. Since Kira has agreed to help, so then shall I," was Tyler's curt reply.

With the two teens agreeing to help defend the Archangel, it was a bit of a load off Murrue's mind as she had been worrying what to do. She was learning the position of being in-charge, the captain in this instance was anything by easy. At one time, Murrue had wanted to be a captain, but now, she wondered what appeal there had been in it. "I'm grateful," Murrue returned with a slight bow, "Again, I'm sorry it came to this. It was never our intent, but… well, you know what they say about the road to hell."

Tyler gave Murrue a look that simply said, 'really', "Did you really ask about how the path to hell is paved with damned," Tyler stopped after cursing since Miriallia was glaring at him. He cleared his throat, "I'm sorry, I meant to say darn good intentions? Yeah, not the best phrase to go with for yourself as the current situation is as prime an example as can be of that saying and how it applies."

Once again, Murrue was left to wonder a number of things about Tyler McGregor and she felt it wouldn't be the last time she would. The teen was different than any she had met in several ways, and he gave mixed messages. One moment he could be friendly and appear to be a nice kid, the next be stern and yet sarcastic. He knew things he should have no clue about and he gave no evidence as to how he could have learned of the facts. Murrue straightened up, "Due to the present circumstances, we'll allow you access to the Strike and the Shadow, you can both use them or the other titan at either your own discretions."

"It's apparently its framework is similar to the Orb Union's mobile suits have, but it's been nicknamed the Auska," said Kira.

Lacus had been listening in on the exchange and had been thinking about what laid ahead of them all. From what Sakura had mentioned, Rau LeCreuset was not one to let those he chased go, so he was persistent. Lacus didn't want to see Kira die nor Tyler or any of their friends either. Lacus didn't doubt that Kira and Tyler could and would do their utmost to protect this ship because those they care about were on it. However, even knowing that Lacus couldn't accept that as it was, she wanted to do something to help as well. But the problem was Lacus was having issues of coming up with a way to help the two that she considered friends. Lacus was talented in singing, not operating systems on a ship or management. Yet the last lines said by Miss Ramius and Kira started echoing in her head and it hit her what she could do. There were three suits yet only two pilots at the moment to work with the machines, so Lacus could pilot the third machine. Sakura had given her some private lessons of using a mobile suit, Lacus had not had reason to use the skills learned from her older sister yet. With solidifying determination Lacus took a step forward, "If Kira and Tyler are going out there, then please allow me to pilot as well," she said.

There was dead silence in the hangar, even the mechanics had paused in their work and stared at the pink-haired girl after she made her request. Kira was dumbfounded at Lacus asking to pilot a mobile suit as it was only supposed to be Tyler and him putting their lives at risk. Kira didn't want to lose Lacus, he couldn't exactly say what their relationship was at this point, but he didn't want it to end.

Tyler was also shocked and he wasn't an easy one to take by surprise or shock at all. Lacus was good at singing, though Tyler would say good wasn't the word to use, more like amazing. It was her older sister Sakura that was the warrior of the family and there was no question or contest in that point. Lacus's older sister's military record was the clearest testament to how good she was at fighting. So for Lacus to ask to go out in a mobile suit was so unexpected that it caught Tyler off-guard a good amount. He didn't doubt that she had the knowhow with how protective he knew Sakura was of Lacus, he bet she had taught Lacus how to pilot a mobile suit.

To help her request, Lacus continued, "I'm a Coordinator as well, so if we put a proper OS in, I can handle piloting a mobile suit."

"Lacus," uttered Kira with shock and slight worry.

Tyler stared for a moment longer and then snorted, "I have to admit, quite surprising you'd volunteer for the job Lacus," Tyler remarked. Lacus turned to gaze at Tyler as he kept going, "I don't see anything wrong with it though."

Kira had entertained the hope that when Tyler spoke up that he would talk Lacus out of piloting a mobile suit. He knew what dangers there were with the idea and what they would face better than Kira himself did. But when Tyler said it was okay for Lacus to do what she said, Kira couldn't stay silent, "Tye, she can't!"

Tyler twisted to look at Kira, seeing that his friend's naïveté was asserting itself again and as normal, at the most inconvenient times. Tyler was about to tell Kira that he was going to have to accept the point, when the girl in question beat him to it. "I won't let you or Tye fight alone Kira," said Lacus firmly. The single statement got both boys to shut their mouths for the moment as Lacus turned back to Murrue, "There isn't any harm in me piloting, right? Trust me, I can be of help in this capacity."

Murrue took a moment to consider the request the girl was making. Murrue wouldn't say no to a third pilot helping defend the ship with circumstances as they were. But like the other two that had said they would help, Lacus Christopher was a teenager and shouldn't be piloting a mobile suit. Whether it was true or not that the girl had the skills needed for using a suit, Murrue couldn't say with what she knew. Yet honestly, Murrue was well-aware that she nor this ship's crew were really in any position to refuse help offered right now. Natarle had said it would be better if the teens weren't involved and where that may be true, circumstances would not allow such to matter if the ship and its crew wanted to live for much longer.

Murrue after a moment nodded, "Very well, the request is granted," she stated.

Tyler snickered, "Well, I guess that means you and I will need to do some tweaking to an OS for Lacus then, doesn't Kira," he posed.

Kira gave a weak glare to Tyler as his friend was supposed to be helping keep others from danger before he let out a heavy sigh, "Yeah, I guess so," he replied.

Murrue bowed again, "Thank you for helping," she said and then made her way out of the hangar.

Once the acting captain was gone, Tyler turned to Kira, "So, do correct me should I be wrong, but the Strike and the Auska have pretty much the same OS, right," Tyler asked.

Kira nodded, "The OS I built for both machines are identical," he said brushing some hair out of his eyes. "So, between the two of us, it shouldn't be too hard to modify one of them for Lacus to use but can't say how long it would take."

Tyler put a hand on his friend's shoulder, "As we're modifying instead of building an OS from scratch, it shouldn't take us more than an hour I would think, likely less," he said. Tyler paused and glanced around the hangar observing that the mechanics were running around with the woman from before barking orders at them. "And it looks like it will take time for things to get done around here anyways," Tyler remarked.

"Well then," Sai spoke up, "it sounds like that you three will be busy for a little while and I think we would be a distraction."

Tolle sighed, "Yeah, I supposed we would right now," he admitted.

With that said, Sai led Tolle, Miriallia, and Kuzzey out of the hangar to the ship's interior. The support by them for Kira and Tyler was appreciated by the both of them. However, while Kira and Tyler were making adjustments to the suits that they would be using now to defend the ship along with Lacus now, it wasn't needed actively.

When Lacus was given the opportunity to select which machine to pilot between the Strike and the Auska, she went with the Strike. Tyler couldn't explain the logic in her choice and he didn't really try to figure it out. Kira got into the cockpit first getting behind the pilot seat and Lacus followed him though she sat in the seat while Tyler got on the hatch itself and then leaned in over the forward controls. The cockpit did act as an area that provided a private setting to have a conversation and the three had said in an unspoken way that there needed to be one.

"Lacus, are you really sure about this," asked Kira softly when he was certain they wouldn't be overheard. Kira still didn't like the idea of Lacus fighting on a battlefield, whether in a mobile suit or not. And if she did, then she would be going against those from the PLANTs colonies who she cared about and Kira didn't want that to happen. "It's one thing for me to fight, another for Tye, but you're from the PLANTs and you love the people there."

Tyler was in agreement with Kira in this though he wasn't entirely against Lacus piloting either as Kira was. Tyler had always been an advocate of free-will and choice with the understanding that it could be abused and there were certain ways it shouldn't be used without serious consequences for the individual. That didn't mean Tyler endorsed reckless or clearly stupid and dumb behavior for he didn't even if he did do such ideas himself from time to time, but that came with good reason normally. But if Lacus wanted to pilot a mobile suit and was willing to do so, Tyler was willing to let her have a shot at it. "In this, I would agree with Kira having a bit of a point though I still say it's up to you Lacus," Tyler stated, "so, are you sure about this?"

Lacus looked at both Kira and Tyler as they were both worried about her clearly. It was nice of them to care enough to worry about her as they were, but she didn't want them to fight out there alone. Lacus didn't want to lose Tyler and she most definitely didn't want Kira to die out in battle. Lacus's dreams required Kira being alive and she wanted those dreams to become a reality some day in the near future. So Lacus took a deep breath before she answered, "I know what you both are saying, but it'll be fine," she said. "I want to protect you both too and all of your friends as well. I don't just want to sit by and watch, doing nothing when I know I can do something to help."

"Lacus," muttered Kira in surprise.

Tyler snickered, "And the lady has spoken Kira, there is no arguing with that and winning, I doubt we could stop her if we tried anyways." Tyler then gained a smirk, "I got to say Kira, must be nice to be told by your girlfriend that she wants to protect you as well. You lucky boy you," Tyler said with a smirk while poking Kira in a teasing manner.

Kira blushed noticeably yet, what Lacus said to us next, surprised both of us, "Besides, I can probably do better than both of you in battle. At least, better than Kira for sure, I can't say if I could do better than you Tye, but possibly."

"Huh," both Kira and Tyler uttered at the same time in response to what Lacus had said.

"I never told either you, did I? I've gotten lessons and some training from my sister Sakura," replied Lacus serious.

"Oh, is that so? You two have made up after the disagreement you two had then," asked Kira.

Tyler was thinking about the claim Lacus had just made to Kira and himself as it wasn't small. Granted, Kira wasn't a mobile suit pilot by profession, but with his ability to adapt, Tyler knew that each encounter, however many there would be would help Kira improve. And to have conformation that Lacus had indeed had lesson on piloting from her older sister Sakura say that the girl would have a general knowledge.

Of course, neither Kira nor Lacus had any idea that Tyler had been trained how to pilot and he had shown he was good at the idea. In fact, Tyler was a distinguished pilot within the Federation with his skills though he didn't boast about it. So with Lacus not knowing that collection of facts, she didn't know that she was quite wrong with her skill level compared to his skill level. However, Tyler saw no reason to mention those fact at this time any more than he was a member of the Federation's military.

Then what Kira had said about Lacus and Sakura making up after a disagreement was news to Tyler as he hadn't be aware they two had a disagreement recently. But then, with how Tyler put forth effort to avoid Sakura, he didn't get around her any more often then he had to. In the end, Tyler frowned, "I wasn't aware that you two had a disagreement, but if Sakura taught you how to pilot a mobile suit then that's good enough for me. I can't argue with the skills that woman has when it comes to piloting."

The journey back to the bridge of the Archangel was a quiet one for Murrue and gave her a bit of time to think. Things were tense with the rush there was on getting what available supplies there were onto the ship. The looming attack was motivation everyone that was left to give their hardest efforts. Still when Murrue sunk down into the captain's chair on the bridge of Archangel she let out a small sigh. Mu and Krystal were there along with Natarle talking in Mu and Krystal's case and Natarle was busying herself with checking systems over. But when Murrue sunk into the chair, they all looked towards Murrue. The three had the same question, did Murrue convince the teens to help them out in the current circumstances. "Did you manage to convince them," asked Mu voicing the question.

"Yes," said Murrue, "Both Kira and Tyler did agree to pilot for the time being and then Lacus Christopher volunteered to pilot one of the machines as well. Apparently, she's also a Coordinator like Tyler and Kira are."

"The pink princess," questioned Mu a little surprised.

Krystal was as surprised as Mu was, "It's not exactly unexpected that the girl is a Coordinator. Her pink hair and other features are something you don't see naturally occur. Although I'm impressed that she would volunteer to pilot just like that, it takes guts to do it and mean it," Krystal admitted.

Natarle still had reservations about this decision to depend on teens to protect the Archangel against ZAFT forces. They had no visible training, like little to no discipline to handle stress under combat conditions. Put those together and it was problems waiting to happen and could get those teens and others killed. "Lieutenant Ramius," Natarle said drawing attention to her, "Forgive me if it sounds like I'm questioning your judgment but are you really sure about letting those three teenagers pilot what suits we still have?"

Murrue had asked herself the very same question already yet what other choice was there for the Archangel and her crew to get out of the current situation alive. "Under the circumstances, do we have much of another option Natarle? If you have any coming to mind that are doable in the little time we have, I'm listening," Murrue posed.

Natarle was forced to pause and she couldn't come up with a good answer to the question she had been just given. Options were limited at this point and with the OS the suits apparently had according Lieutenant La Flaga been changed to, the teens were the only ones that could pilot them. Internally the facts as they were irked Natarle, but she couldn't deny them either and that only further served to irritate her.

Murrue took Natarle's inability to answer as she didn't have any ideas that would work in this. "As it happens, Kira said that with the current situation it's best for us to work together to survive. And those three have the best chance at piloting those suits, so it can't be helped." Murrue hesitated at remember the reaction of Tyler McGregor, but she continued, "Tyler McGregor however, viewed the present circumstances as ones that we got ourselves in, and seem to think that we were putting them into this to use their abilities."

Natarle's head snapped up with an expression of shock, "McGregor believes that we're trying to use them for their abilities as Coordinators?"

Murrue's face fell, "He said, 'the Alliance and OMNI are not known for being nice and friendly to Coordinators' and 'you also have those that use Coordinators after to getting into problematic situation or circumstances to get them out like you're doing now'. What you said about Tyler McGregor being in fights of some kind before now Lieutenant La Flaga, I think you're right. And I think some of those fights involved OMNI soldiers in some way and were not nice ones were I to guess."

Mu didn't like being proven right in this about the older teen, if anything, then it made him feel sorry for the kid that he had met those that enforced the view. "I've heard the view you say he brought up, Coordinators being taken advantage of, being use and seen for their abilities alone," Mu said. There was silence to his statement until Mu spoke up again, "Well, at least they all agreed for now, Tyler McGregor doesn't seem to be a bad person just has had some hard times I guess."

"So, we have names for two of the suits," Krystal commented, "have we got anything for the third one yet?"

"He said it's based on the Orb Union's mobile suit framework, and is designated as the Auska," replied Murrue.

Mu quirked an eyebrow at that while Natarle barely suppressed a snort at the information even if it didn't matter right now. "Auska you say," murmured Mu. "Interesting name for a near sixty-foot death machine I guess…"

From the hangar, Sai, Tolle, Miriallia and Kuzzey came to end out in the Archangel's mess hall to wait and not be in the way with the process of bringing supplies onto the ship. A lot had changed for the four teens recently, and the day had started out so average, but it certainly hadn't ended out that way. "So, what do you guys think of all the crazy stuff," asked Tolle glancing around at the others a little nervously. "Seeing that two of your friends are more different than you as they do crazy things, right?"

Sai shrugged slightly as an answer while Miriallia seemed to chew on her bottom lip a little. Although, it was Kuzzey who ultimately answered the question vocally, "We always knew that Kira, Tyler, and Lacus were Coordinators. Kira and Tye told us outright that they were, and with Lacus, it was fairly obvious." he said. "Yet, before today, how many of us here really thought about what them being Coordinator actually meant? I mean, none of us even know Lacus all that much other than she's friends with Kira and Tye and some other basic facts." Sai shifted imperceptibly at the statement, since he knew more than they did, but he had promised to not say anything, none seemed to notice Sai's reaction.

Kuzzey continued, "As for Kira, sure, we always knew that he was more 'advanced' than the rest of us," he iterated, "but Sai is just as accomplished in schooling, so I don't think any of us really thought about it. With Tyler, when he arrived a year ago, Kira greeted him as an old friend and so we just took it like that. But you heard what those officers said," Kuzzey paused, "That Kira managed to reprogram that mobile suit's OS, and Tye did the same for that black machine at some point and fought off the red suit. Then Tye gets a hit on that silver machine followed by Kira getting a near bull's-eye on the same silver suit. That ZAFT pilot and those they fought before that have probably gone through combat training and are Coordinators themselves. Yet both of them are our friends, but at the same time, can we really look at him the same after witnessing what they can do?"

"I can see where you're coming from Kuzzey," said Sai. He pushed up his glasses a little before he kept going, "However, you're missing something in this, Tye and Kira have been building parts of the original operating systems those machines were using."

"Huh," uttered everyone else.

It was not a moment later, Miriallia gained an expression of comprehension, "That's right," she said. "While we were traveling to the college earlier, we asked them about what Professor Kato had both of them working on and Kira said he thought it was some kind of new operating system and Tye seemed to agree."

Sai nodded, "Exactly right," he said. "I did a little work on it too, but Kira and Tye were the main contributors, it seems likely that this is where the work was going, looking back now. The OS was incomplete, just like Professor Kato's project. Given the likelihood of that, both Tye and Kira were very likely already pretty familiar with much of the system. I doubt it would take as much for them to get it to a state where it could work well for themselves. Think about how the other suits had trouble at first and then still had difficulty moving the machines, the ZAFT pilots wouldn't have been so capable. Finally, the machines are protected by that phase shift armor system making ZAFT suit's weapons ineffective."

"I get what you're saying, Kira and Tye would be intimate with the working of the incomplete OS, where the guys from the ZAFT forces would be new to the system that the suits and so, the two machines that worked better would worry them. So, they would be more likely to just walk away more easily," said Tolle, Sai nodded in response, "Thanks for that… it's reassuring, in a weird way," replied Tolle.

Around fifty minutes passed without anything happening to the Archangel, ZAFT forces hadn't come to attack them. Of course, the crew of the new Alliance warship wasn't fool enough to think that the ZAFT forces would leave them alone for long enough to fully supply the ship and leave Heliopolis. It was not long after the resupply on the mobile suits was done and a little bit of basic supplies, when Petty Officer 2nd-class Jackie Tonomura who was manning the fire control station on the bridge, watched as his screen quickly blurred out. "Electrical interference throughout the whole colony occurring," he announced, "N-jammer levels rising."

"Dang, looks like ZAFT forces are coming our way again," cursed Murrue before she turned her chair slightly to face Jackie.

"Well, appears Creuset is done waiting for us to come out and has decided to come in after us, curse that man," cursed Mu angrily, standing up.

Krystal glanced over at Mu with a serious expression, "Did you really believe that the man would wait all that long before he would come or send others in to finish what he started?"

"No, but I was hope he'd hesitate a tad longer, enough for us to be ready. Yet, that's too much to hope for, I know," replied Mu.

Natarle heard the two strike fighter pilots exchange and though what they said was right, Heliopolis was still a colony. The citizens might be in shelters right now, but that didn't mean their lives weren't put at risk if fighting broke out. Surely the ZAFT officers knew that and understood the consequences of doing something so reckless. "They don't really plan to hit us again while we're inside the colony, do they," Natarle asked to the room at large.

"For them, it's an easy choice," said Mu with a sarcastic tone. "They can fire all they want, the inhabitance has been completely evacuated, so much less risk of hurting the citizens now. But we on the other hand, have to aim so carefully we might as well not shoot back," Mu paused for a moment, and sighed, "Great, that's not nice."

"Order all hands to level one battle stations," said Murrue grimly. "Have Kira, Tyler and Lacus prepare for takeoff in their suits. Ensign Badgiruel, please equip the Strike with the Sword Striker set. Lieutenant La Flaga, since neither your mobile armor nor Major McAlester's is ready for launch, please man the CIC. Major McAlester, take the electronic warfare station."

When the call for battle stations came, the three teen pilots entered their respective suit cockpit as they were already in the hangar. Tyler appeared completely calm and collected while Kira and Lacus looked more nervous. Mechanics were scrambling to get the suits ready to launch out to the colony interior.

Tyler had seen that the chief mechanic that the Archangel had knew their job and disliked others saying to him in some way, shape, or form that he didn't. Tyler could respect that as he himself had learned how irritating it was to have someone else you don't know all that well tell you what to do. So, he wasn't all that worried about those scrambling around the ship's hangar with the one managing them. Tyler buckled the restraint belts after settling into the seat and had the OS start booting-up. He also had the entry hatch close and seal which had the forward screen slide into place afterwards.

Kira was doing much the same inside the Auska as Tyler was doing in the Shadow. He was also taking long deep breaths to slow down his heartbeat and calm his nerves even if only a little. The idea of fighting others and aiming to likely kill them didn't sit well with Kira as he detested the idea of killing. So, he would disable the best he could before aiming for the cockpit of an opponent. However, Kira didn't like the idea of his friends in danger and potentially dying either. How Tyler was keeping so calm Kira couldn't guess, other than his amazing emotional control he seemed to have.

Lacus inside the Strike's cockpit was still not entirely used to nor accustom with the cockpit setup. It was similar to a ZAFT's machines, which Sakura had used to teach her how to pilot, but it wasn't the same. She was nervous of course, this would be the first time she would pilot a mobile suit with the purpose to fight in battle. Combat was something Sakura did and was expert in far more than Lacus and their father could be. Nonetheless, Lacus didn't want to have to watch people die and do nothing to stop that from happening.

"Hey you three, listen," came the voice of Chief Murdoch with an image of the woman appearing on a com-screen in each cockpit. "I just want all you kids to know, it doesn't matter your type to any of us down here. If you protect the ship, that's all that matters to us so, good luck to the three of you and give 'em hell."

"Thanks Mr. Murdoch," said Kira over the radio.

"That's a good chief mechanic if ever I've seen one," Tyler remarked, "Him and his whole team, I won't deny that at all."

There was the sound of Lacus giggling for a moment before the voice of Chief Murdoch was heard again, "Alright you slackers, open the number three container and attach the Sword Striker, and be quick about it! Let's minimize the chances of causing the kids to damage their own home colony!"

Again, Tyler found himself starting to like Murdoch, he was a good man even if he works with the Alliance. Tyler knew that not all within the Alliance or OMNI were bad or mean people, just a small number that were very loud.

Moments later, the cages that the suits were in were moved along rails towards the linear catapults. The Shadow as moved to the left catapult and the airtight shutters were closed behind the machine. The Shadow was placed in the catapult ram and locked in as Tyler finished his final check over of the Shadow. Upon looking up he found that on one com-screen was Kira and the other was Lacus.

"Nervous," Kira asked.

Tyler took a deep breath and cleared his mind to be able to focus on the upcoming battle, "Not really, focus on the goal," Tyler said, "We are protecting our friends, that's our motivation."

"You make it sound so easy Tye," Kira replied hesitantly.

"But Tye has a point, that is the reason we are doing this," Lacus said, "still is doing a lot to my heart and nerves though."

"I would have thought with training that sister of yours gave you, this should be fine comparably Lacus," Tyler remarked. "Plus, Kira and I will be out there with you, so things will be okay."

"Yeah," mumbled Lacus, "even with 'that', this is still a whole different experience for me," she said. "Kira, Tye," Lacus hesitated for a moment, "promise me you'll both be alright?"

Both Kira and Tyler gained looks of slight confusion at the request from Lacus, which this was kind of out of place for the girl. "I promise," Kira said after a moment.

Lacus focused on Tyler waiting for his answer, "Uh yeah sure Lacus, you got it. I'll be good and will help you both, my personal guarantee," Tyler returned a bit awkwardly.

"And," Lacus trailed off for a second, "Promise me that you won't hesitate no matter what happens you two."

Tyler was finding this getting more than awkward and in an uncomfortable zone, "Listen Lacus, it'll be fine out there, the goal is to get those coming to go away." Tyler paused momentarily, "That doesn't mean that we have to kill them though it doesn't mean that we won't have to either, but you get the idea. However, if it makes you feel better, I promise you I'll be careful and do the job and I wouldn't doubt Kira will do the same."

"Like Tye said Lacus, we'll be fine," was Kira's intelligent reply. Tyler had to hold in the groan at hearing Kira's naïveté coming out once again and irking him so. Tyler swore at times like this, Kira's naïveté should be a crime to have, he didn't have a clue how lucky he was. Kira shook his head before he continued, "Alright, I promise too Lacus."

Lacus was quiet for a moment after Kira and Tyler made their promises, "Thank you Kira, Tye."

The Archangel had lifted off into the air by this point and as ZAFT suits were going to be attacking the ship. Back on the bridge most stations were being operated, some were doing multiple stations. Murrue was the only one that wasn't operating a station as she was in the captain chair. Mu was at the countermeasure station while Natarle was at the search and detection console. "One heat source approaching," Natarle announced, but then saw that she was incorrect, "no, make that two."

Natarle input some commands to see what kind of suits they would be dealing with, "Matching thermal patterns," Natarle said, then the results came up, "heat source confirmed to be two GINNs."

The suits in question suddenly came up on the front screen shortly followed by a second one. The sight of heavy missiles attached to each arm and the legs of both suits was a horrifying picture to the crew. "What are they thinking," cried Mu. "They're both equipped with heavy artillery used for taking out bases!" Mu looked over his shoulder at Natarle sitting at the station behind him, "Are they planning on using that here?!"

"Unfortunately, I do believe they are Mu," Krystal pipped up from the mobile suit controller station. "Creuset wouldn't have had them equipped with such weaponry if there was no intend to use them. I bet they're not thinking about Heliopolis much if at all by this point."

As if to confirm Krystal's view, an explosion rocked Heliopolis and a second sizable hole was created in the colony wall allowing a second pair of GINN suits entry to the colony through it with the similar artillery type load out as the first two. "Two separate contacts approaching from the Tannenbaun district, also equipped with heavy artillery," called Natarle showing slight apprehension now with four suits in sensor range.

"Send out the Strike, the Shadow, and the Auska. Activate Gottfrieds and Valiants," ordered Murrue.

The Archangel's weapon systems began coming out of their stored positions, the two Gottried high-energy beam cannons rose up from the top portion of the legs of the ship and expanded out with their barrels. Then both Valiant 110cm linear cannons came out from the sides of the ship. Both linear catapults opened, the electron rails used for acceleration process rose out of their stored position as the catapult became fully activated. The sight of the colony interior had Tyler focused and ready for the fight as he gripped his titan's controls. The Shadow crouched a bit as it awaited launching sequence, "Catapults voltage flow stabilizing, Shadow and Auska standby for launch," came the voice of Krystal McAlester.

Tyler kept his eyes forward waiting for the launching signal to appear so that he could fly out to the field. A small projected display appeared just in front of the Shadow, at the top was "Launch Control System". Under the first line was the Shadow's designation followed by six rectangles, the three rectangles on the right displayed the status of the catapult's systems while the other three showed "Abort". The catapult status display showed clear one by one from the top down, and once the three boxes on the right showed clear, the three displaying abort switched to "Launch".

The moment the launching signal showed good, Tyler shoved the throttles forward and the Shadow shot forward along the catapult. The Shadow zoomed along the catapult's length and when the power cable detached, Tyler ignited the Shadow's thrusters just before hitting the end of the catapult. The Shadow shot out the left catapult less than a minute after the order from the bridge had been given shocking some of the crew members on the bridge. The suit had gone out at high-speed, higher than what most expected from someone that was supposed to be a mere college student piloting.

The Auska quickly followed the Shadow going out from the right-side catapult and the Strike from the left catapult. The three machines headed towards the ZAFT suits shortly after launching. "Have the Igelstellungs ready for interception and link target laser designator for Gottfrieds to aim for the GINN directly ahead of us. Load all stern missile launchers with Korinthos," continued Murrue.

The Shadow was gaining height in the air and Tyler was scanning around to take in the field including the four GINN suits. Tyler did activate the Shadow's phase shift armor as did Kira for the Auska and the Strike. When Tyler saw the equipment that the ZAFT suits were carrying, he was not happy at all. They had artillery and to use such in a colony under most circumstance was not good for the structure keeping together. Heliopolis Tyler knew was having a lot of trouble right now, artillery would not help in any way.

The Archangel began to fire at the ZAFT suits who avoided the shots sent at them and separated. All four ZAFT pilots were not as worried about the warship as much as the suits that had come from it. There had been jokes made about what recordings had been taken about the machines but facing them was anything but a joke and they knew that. Numbers were on the ZAFT forces side, but the performance of two of the suits proved that numbers wouldn't be of much help.

Tyler, Kira, and Lacus matched the ZAFT suits the best they could. Kira and Lacus picked one GINN each leaving Tyler to deal with the other two opposing suits. The two suits that Tyler faced, one had a heavy beam cannon while the other missiles on one arm and an assault rifle in the other. The GINN with the cannon aimed the cannon at Shadow and fired to which Tyler moved to the right hard and avoided the shot. Tyler wasn't given time to line up any of his weapons as he was forced to throw himself to the left as the other ZAFT suit shot its assault rifle in his direction.

As Tyler maneuvered and evade out of the line of fire, he had the Shadow bring out its "Oscillator" machine rifles from the hidden stored position. The cannon wielding GINN came under a barrage of bullets as the Shadow began unloading its machine rifles. Tyler noticed as he was making one of his opponents to back up the other suit was setting up to shoot him. The Shadow spun to point its shield at the other GINN aiming the railgun built into the Shadow's shield.

Kegan and Paul had been doing their best to keep this black mobile suit the recording showed from using its weapons. The machine had shown that it was dangerous, so it was far better to not let it work with its arsenal. That said, Kegan and Paul had been working together to achieve that point and at first, they had been doing fine. Sure, the black machine was evading the attacks and the more they did, the more impressive it was and it was making both ZAFT pilots more uneasy. Both Paul and Kegan were fair mobile suit pilots, but they quickly found out that their opponent was not just a random person. The way that Commander Creuset's CGUE coming back was starting to make sense to both of them now.

However, there came a point that two rifles flipped up from the edges of the torso area and they began unloading on Paul. Paul got his suit's shield up in time, but the barrage of projectiles made it so he couldn't use the ion-cannon. Kegan moved forward to distract the enemy machine, but it spun and pointed its shield and Kegan found himself looking at a gun barrel. Kegan moved his shield in front of the GINN's cockpit and a moment later there was a heavy impact. A weapon that could make the impact that Kegan felt being attached to a suit was scary to a degree.

On the Archangel, some of the crew on the bridge were finding kind of hard to keep on task at viewing the suits fighting. Even Mu and Krystal were impressed as well as shocked at how the teens were fighting. The three were going against ZAFT pilots, ones who had training to do what they were, the kids as far as any knew didn't have training like that. Kira and Lacus were holding their own against their opponent, yet Tyler was doing the same against two GINNs at the same time. It made a number wonder just what kind of skills the teens had if they could do what they were.

As the battle kept going, the colony structure suffered with support cables being severed and crashing down into the buildings below. That sight infuriated Tyler as it just enforced that the battle shouldn't be happening. So, Tyler took out the Shadow's beam rifle adding it to the mix he was using to fight the two ZAFT suits. The Shadow fired both its beam rifle and railgun at the same time, the rifle at the missile and rifle carrier while the railgun was fired out the cannon wielder.

Kegan managed to weave just enough out of the way to avoid his cockpit being nailed good, but in exchange his assault rifle was destroyed. And after righting his GINN, he saw Paul hadn't been as lucky with the enemy's attack. Kegan witnessed Paul's GINN explode due the effects of their opponent's railgun in their shield.

Tyler knew he taken down one of his opponents with pretty much a textbook "money shot" with the railgun round to the GINN's torso. The ZAFT suit ended up exploding killing the pilot along with the machine. In response, a bitter taste filled Tyler's mouth at seeing what his action had done though he didn't regret what he'd done. Tyler didn't like killing another if he could help it, the action didn't feel right in his heart. However, if it came down to either Tyler or those he was fighting, he would choose himself and his friends pretty much every time.

Tyler had just turned the Shadow to face the other GINN, but as he did, a volley from the Archangel's right beam cannon hit the enemy suit destroying it. Yet, the shot missed the missiles which fired off from their racks before the suit exploded. The Shadow shot forward using my beam rifle to shoot at the missiles to prevent them from striking any part of the colony. Tyler managed to intercept both missiles before they hit any of the colony structure much to his relief. He wasn't all that happy that the Archangel was making things more difficult though he doubted that was the intention.

Kira was still going at one of the two remaining GINN and was in close-quarters while Lacus had taking up to defending the Archangel from the other GINN. The Archangel was still showing signs of being incomplete, systems not working as envisioned or fully as intended. Tyler saw alone proof that the targeting system from the defensive and offensive options of the ship needed work and tuning for proper use. Although, Tyler had to applaud whomever it was at the helm of the ship as they were doing good with what they had to work with.

Tyler glanced back in Kira's direction and he appeared to be doing fine against his opponent for the time being. So Tyler flew off towards the Archangel to give Lacus a hand in getting this battle closer to an end. Along the way, he turned off the Shadow's phase shift armor system, instead using the Shadow's Mirage Colloid system. A field was projected around the Shadow from the network of projectors on the suit that made it invisible.

This was a system that Tyler had been doing quiet research into what OMNI had been working with. The concept was arguably going in the same direction as the Federation's use of stealth technology. Tyler wasn't fond of the idea of the Alliance's OMNI Enforcers having the capabilities of striking without warning. He also knew that the higher-ups in Federation High Command didn't like the idea any more than he did and were seriously concerned by the possibilities.

And now seeing the system in action, Tyler saw some flaws in how it was designed to work. The first issue Tyler saw with the stealth system was its power consumption for it drained power more than other systems did. Another problem was while the field was deployed, the phase shift armor couldn't be activated for they interfered with each other somehow according to the data. The power consumption was a point that Tyler believed could be solved with tweaking and tuning the system. The other issue of the field and the armor not working together was another matter on if it could be worked around or not.

Becoming invisible was nice to Tyler and he was accustom to that as all Federation space fighters had a system that would make the craft unseen by their opponents. And so, no one paid attention to the Shadow nor it vanishing from the naked-eye. Tyler headed at for the GINN Lacus was fighting which was equipped with four heavy missiles and two somewhat smaller missiles pods attached to its legs. Just before Tyler got into attack range, the GINN fired off the missiles from its leg-mounted launchers. The Archangel's CIWS opened fire but as its targeting was not aligned correctly, they couldn't lock onto the missiles for interception effectively.

As the GINN fired its weapons at the Archangel the bridge crew attempted to have the CIWS the ship have intercept the missiles. However, the ship's targeting was still not adjusted to what was hoped yet so the CIWS were unable to intercept them. Arnold seeing the missiles coming at them twisted the helm and had the Archangel move to the right and avoid being hit. The missiles instead zoomed passed the ship and slammed into the ground of the colony before detonating. The weapons couldn't tell the difference between the Archangel and the colony structure because of the radio interference.

Lacus didn't like seeing the colony getting damaged further as it had already taken a beating from what had been happening. There were still the citizen in the shelters that were in danger because of this fighting. The shelters were built with protecting those inside, but not necessarily against what happened on a battlefield. None of the people in those shelters had wanted to be a part of this yet they were being forced to be instead. Lacus had the Strike rush forward with the titan's large sword, "Stop this," she cried.

Lester dodged the sword swing from his opponent and aimed the large missiles his machine had to bear on the suit. Tyler wasn't going to let Lacus get hurt let alone killed when he could prevent it. Plus, he knew without a doubt, that if Sakura learned her little sister had gotten hurt, whoever was involved would suffer greatly before they died. And Tyler was coming into the range that he could strike the GINN down.

Lacus threw the Strike into a quick spin and bring the anti-ship sword around, clearly to cleave the GINN in half at the waist. Lester barely moved out of the way of the sword with beam edge on one side though it was much too close for comfort. But the next moment, Lester caught sight of something below and too late say the blue line coming upward at him. The Shadow's beam saber sliced through the GINN's torso from bottom to top a hot knife through butter. Yet, before the two haves that were made from the cut exploded, the heavy missiles launched from their racks.

Tyler's eyes went wide as the missiles headed for the central shaft of the colony as it was the largest object in the area. The Shadow's Mirage Colliod disburse making the Shadow visible again just not with phase shift active. Tyler hesitation lasted a split-second before he had the Shadow shoot forward after the missiles. He had the machines rifles out and was using every offensive option the Shadow had to work with. The machine rifles and the vulcans the suit had were unloading while Tyler fired volleys from the Shadow's beam rifle and railgun at the missiles. Tyler was doing his utmost to keep Heliopolis in one piece, no matter how damaged it became.

Lacus had been surprised when the Shadow had appeared nearby her, but she had assumed that Tyler had been the one that had cut her opponent in half. The sight of a mobile suit being destroyed right in front of her gave Lacus a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. Knowing someone was just killed in front of her didn't sit well at all for Lacus. But the missiles that the GINN had been carrying had fired off before the machine had been destroyed. Those missiles had zoomed towards the colony's central shaft which was already having trouble keeping together. So shortly after the Shadow shot forward, Lacus had the Strike pursue the missiles as well to hopefully keep them from striking the shaft.

Through their efforts Tyler took down two of the missiles before they could do harm and Lacus got one of the other two. Yet the last of the missiles got out of range of the two suits and hit Heliopolis's central support shaft. The moment the missile made contact against the shaft it exploded and shredded a good section of metal and other material that made of the shaft structure. Tyler stared in horror as parts of the central shaft either blew out or fell apart, yet to his intense relief, the central shaft held together overall and the colony itself kept together. However, there was not good news as with the damage that had just been delivered, the shaft and the colony were hanging by mere threads.

Tyler connected the radio of his titan to the Strike to see Lacus was visibly scared at what was happening. "Lacus, listen to me," Tyler stated clearly. "Heliopolis is still in one piece, we haven't failed yet as long as that it the case. Focus on the last suit, once that machine is either gone or taken care of, we can worry about Heliopolis and the citizens then."

Lacus knew what Tyler was saying was right and he was trying to help her calm down and keep in control so as to not panic. She appreciated the gesture and knew Tyler was doing it as a friend though it was sort of surprising how calm he seemed to be in this situation. That didn't dismiss the terrible concern she was feeling at this situation, "I," Lacus hesitated for a moment, "I know, it's just…"

Tyler cut over her, "Trust me Lacus, whatever way this ends, I promise that Kira and I will see it through with you." Tyler made the statement in a tone that was firm and left no room for argument.

Lacus wanted to believe what Tyler said and so she nodded at his statement, "Okay."

As the colony shook from the battle of suits, the citizen in the locked down shelters were looking at each other scared at what was happening. It was as much for them having no control over the situation as it was not knowing fully what was going on in the colony interior. In particular, inside one of the shelters which was in the factory district section of Heliopolis, the civilians looked around as everything shook around them for a moment. "Has another battle started up," one of them asked in a worried tone.

Then, lights in the shelter suddenly turned red and a soft alarm sounded, "The hazard level has now been increased to ten," came a feminine, yet mechanical voice over the speakers. "This shelter may be ejected as a lifeboat if the colony suffers collapse. All personnel are to fasten their seatbelts for safety."

Glancing around briefly, a blonde with bronze-colored eyed girl bit her lip nervously, worried about the two who had helped her and pushed her into this shelter. Both the light brown-haired boy and the pink-haired girl had run off in the direction they had dragged her from when they had headed to the shelter. She didn't know what had happened to them, but she hoped they were alright, they both seemed like good people.

Back in the colony interior, Lacus and Tyler were flying over to where Kira was still in combat with the last ZAFT suit. Tyler had the Shadow reactivate its voltage armor plate which turned the titan back to being black overall. While approaching the fight, Tyler spotted the Auska using an energy blade much like the Shadow could deploy from the underside of its shield. But Kira's opponent was dodging and weaving out of the way of the swings expertly, even Tyler had to admit. Yet, the ZAFT pilot was not having much luck either with their shots missing the Auska with Kira evading. That essentially had the two suits fighting into a stalemate if it went on unimpeded.

Lacus at seeing Kira fighting as he was, took the Strike's long sword rushed forward and slashed at the GINN. Miguel dodged the blade swing but one quick glance around showed him he was now facing all three of the enemy suits. And Miguel had to admit, whether the pilots inside these machines were natural-types or otherwise, they weren't half bad at fighting.

Tyler knowing that with the odds being three against one would make this fight more manageable and could end with no one dying in the end. Tyler got the radio connected to the Auska and the Strike, "Kira, Lacus, surround this mobile suit so that we can bring this to an end while the colony is still in one piece!"

Miguel had his GINN take up a defensive stance observing the movements of the three suits and a moment later found they surrounded him. The one that he had been fighting was now on his right the last OMNI machine was on the left which had the black unknown in front. Miguel knew he was trapped, fighting his way out of this was more likely to get him killed. However, that these three suits hadn't just worked together and killed him said that there may be a chance he could get out of this alive.

Tyler after Kira, Lacus and he had surrounded the ZAFT suit, switched the radio to an open channel, so that the ZAFT pilot could hear him, "ZAFT pilot, you can see you're surrounded. None of us want to kill or be killed in this, so put away your weapons and come out of your cockpit. You do that, and I promise you that we'll let you walk away from this battle with your life," Tyler stated with clarity so that the pilot wouldn't misunderstand.

Miguel was a tad stunned at what had just been said for a couple of reasons. The voice sounded like it belonged to someone around his own age range. Then with what was being offered a chance to get out of this battle alive by an enemy was extremely rare. He wouldn't expect that from an OMNI pilot, which meant that the three which he was fighting were possibly not with OMNI. So, Miguel decided to store his GINN's weapons taking the chance that the one that had spoken had meant what they had said.

Tyler was somewhat relieved to see that the ZAFT pilot was cooperating and doing as he was asked. There were also two sighs from Kira and Lacus at the hope that this fight was possibly coming to an end yet, the whole situation changed in a moment. Miguel heard an alarm going off and looking forward, he saw the OMNI ship with one of its beam turrets aimed at him. Reacting on instinct, Miguel opened his GINN's cockpit and threw himself out of it before the enemy could fire their weapon.

Suddenly, an alarm blared in the Shadow's cockpit and when Tyler looked down at the forward display, sensors told him that danger was coming his way. Tyler returned his gaze forward and saw the ZAFT pilot was exiting their cockpit in a hurry. So Tyler steered the Shadow forward and grabbed the pilot with the Shadow's hands before diving downward. Beams passed over where Tyler had been and came from the direction of the Archangel and struck the GINN. Honestly, Tyler wasn't happy that shots from the Archangel had come in his direction at all, nor that they had come so close to hitting him.

Tyler was fully intending to get on the radio and give a serious chewing out to the crew members of the Archangel that would be able to hear him. After all, their poor decision-making was putting Kira, Lacus, and himself at risk when they were sticking their necks out for them. But before Tyler could do just that, the screeching of metal twisting came through the sound channels gaining his attention. Tyler shifted his suit to be able to look upward and a horrific sight filled his vision.

The central shaft of Heliopolis was starting to rip itself apart, the beam from the Archangel had struck the shaft and destroyed the remain integrity of the shaft that held it together. Even as the shaft was being rent asunder, Tyler's thoughts turned to his comrades. Tyler switched over to a Federation communication channel and shouted the thought that had come to his mind, "HELIOPOLIS IS COLLAPSING, DISCONNECT NOW!"

The beating that the space colony had taken what was beyond it's rated for or meant to take in any way. Those who engineered the colony never imagined that this structure would be put under the strain it had undergone. Now the colony's rotation which gave the colony itself gravity was now tearing the central shaft into pieces. The inertia from the rotation tugged at the shaft causing parts to began to come off in fragments.

Tyler had to force himself not to close his eyes at what came next though he was well-aware what going to happen and it was painful to watch. As Heliopolis is designed, the central shaft provides the main support to literally hold the colony together and without the shaft doing that, Heliopolis's colony wall came apart in chunks, pieces separating from one another at the seams.

In all of the lifeboats, the message of ejection sounded before there was a jerk felt by the passengers as the shelters were launched away from the colony structure. And as Heliopolis came apart, the atmosphere that was still inside the space colony was sucked out through the openings into space. That was created strong winds that were pulling in multiple directions as the air was rushing out into the vacuum of space. The Strike, the Auska, and the Shadow were all pulled in different directions from where they were. Tyler was thrown forward as his suit was pulled backward. He was forced to concentrate on dodging debris and objects as he was in an uncontrollable flight path out of the colony at a breakneck pace. Tyler did manage to keep ahold of the ZAFT pilot in the Shadow's hands and not have him get sucked away to parts unknown along with other random debris.

Phase End!

A/n

Again thus ends the events at Heliopolis! It took a few chapters more than it did originally but I like who this worked better. Hope you readers are liking the changes and the flow that the story is developing. Please take the time to write a review and tell me what you think or make comments.