A/N
Okay, before I get into this Phase, I would like to take a moment to express a thought I've had with recent events. With my writing, I want to make it clear that I do not advocate for violence or that life isn't precious. And so, I want to convey heart-felt sympathies to those that have lost loved ones in recent mass-shooting like what happened down in TX at the elementry. On this Memorial Day, I would ask you readers to take a moment to remember those that were killed and taken early from the world. It is your choice of course, but I just wish to encourage that we remember what might have been were things different. With that out of the way, on to the Phase!
Phase 37: Choosing What's Right
June 15th 71 C.E.
Bay outside of Shira, the Republic
Tyler had been facing the blue Gundam who was about to use its heavy weapon to kill him a moment ago. But now he had an entirely different picture before him which he didn't expect. Heck, Tyler was blinking as he took in there was a mobile suit between him and the one that had attempted to kill him a moment ago. He wouldn't complain that someone else had appeared and saved him from death. However, as Tyler took in the rear of his savior, he realized he was seeing the back of ZAFT's X09A Justice Gundam. It was the first time that Tyler had seen the suit face to face instead of the specs he'd been shown. The Justice was crimson and maroon with its phase shift armor active with white lining on the shoulders, knees, and torso. It was using its backpack called the Fatum-00 to hover in the air. Now, what the Justice was doing there, Tyler couldn't begin to guess
Tyler figured that ZAFT would send someone after the Freedom when the chaos of the theft died down. He had covered his tracks well enough that tracking his path would be extremely difficult. Tyler went to such lengths because he knew there was the possibility someone in the National Defense Committee may be blind and foolish enough to order someone to do a "thorough cleanup." Some pilots ZAFT had that Tyler wouldn't doubt could be convinced to do such a job. So, while Tyler appreciated another bailing him out of a tight spot, a ZAFT operative being here suggests things that weren't necessarily good. Thus, Tyler focused on finding who saved him and what they were doing here. "Unknown mobile suit pilot, I appreciate the help," Tyler started over a comm-channel, "Identify yourself and your intention."
Hearing Tyler's voice really helped Athrun's morale, and he needed that a lot lately. His mood had been low since what happened outside of Orb. Lacus's words helped to an extent much better than what others had been telling him about events. But hearing a friend's voice did wonders on boosting Athrun's mood and helped strengthen his resolve to do what he felt was right. Athrun took a deep breath, "This is a ZAFT special forces agent, Athrun Zala," he replied.
Out of all of those, Tyler would guess ZAFT would choose to pilot the Justice, he hadn't expected his other best friend to be chosen. Heck, Tyler had assumed a special team would be deployed to track down the Freedom. Yet, one unit was sent even if it was equal to the one stolen and a pilot Tyler knew personally. The last time the two had parted ways, Athrun had tried to convince Tyler to come with him, and Tyler had replied that things would be fine. And while Tyler would admit he wasn't perfect or right every time, things hadn't ended out good for any side. However, Athrun would be far more likely to help than other ZAFT special forces would in the current situation. "Thanks for the assist, Athrun," Tyler remarked before his attention was forced back on the battle. Daggers were shooting at both of them even if the Gundams had backed off for a bit. "While it is always nice to see you, Athrun now isn't the time to catch up."
Lisa didn't know who saved Tyler from being taken down by two custom machines, but she wouldn't complain about the newcomer. Instead, she moved over and took down the Strike Daggers attacking the two. The Sinister surged forward at the Aurora again while the Bandit faced the Justice. Tyler used his shield to stop the large sword then punched the Sinister with the Aurora's other hand. The Sinister was sent tumbling away with Lafter screeching how unfair the move had been. Athrun fired his beam rifle at the Gundam facing him, evading it. A channel connected between the Justice and the Aurora, "I have to ask," Tyler began, "are you here on ZAFT's behalf? Because if so, then come back later, man, we are rather busy here if it isn't obvious."
Athrun could sympathize with Tyler's question and being straightforward about what he was doing here. The Republic was defending its territory and more its beliefs right now, taking their full attention. Athrun could hear the strain in Tyler's voice, and it was no wonder as he was giving what he had to protect his home. But the answer to his question gave him more reason to be here. "While I have orders that have nothing to do with this battle," Athrun stated, "I'm here to give my assistance as I can, that is my decision alone."
Tyler blinked at the reply from his friend as he hadn't expected the answer he got. Yes, Tyler knew Athrun had a good heart, and he would stand by that. But it sounded Athrun was possibly defying orders to help the Federation defend the Republic. Tyler doubted ZAFT saw the Federation as friendly, much if at all any more, and if they did, it wouldn't last much longer. So, while Tyler was grateful for Athrun's wish to help, he was unofficially picking a side in the war as it was becoming. That said side was to fight for all of humanity which was best, but ZAFT wasn't on that side anymore. However, Tyler was forced to shoot at the Sinister as it assaulted him again. "That's your choice, Athrun," Tyler said, "But know that this choice is one you will likely have to answer for with ZAFT. Yet as it sounds as you are sure switch your communication channel to frequency 152.46 megahertz with it modulating at a 0.48-kilohertz interval every seven seconds. That will link you into the Federation's radio chatter, so please don't give it out to others."
Tyler was prevented from saying more with the Sinister using its high-energy beam cannon as it closed the distance between it and the Aurora. Athrun's attention was drawn as the Bandit attacked with its machine gun and beam rifle. Tyler dodged the attacks from the Sinister and noted that the shots that missed him mostly hit the water, but some hit other things than the water. Some of the shots from the Sinister flew and hit buildings close to the shore of Shira. Seeing his home hit by enemy weapons and not noticing what they did or even less care about the results of their actions angered him. Tyler knew he needed to keep calm and not resort to his SEED factor in this battle. With his health, the chance of triggering his Recoyal Syndrome was the last thing he needed. However, seeing his home under attack set Tyler off, and the blue Gundam pilot seeing this as some sort of sick game, pushed him to the edge.
The Aurora shot up and began climbing up, the Sinister quickly chased after the Aurora. Tyler flipped after gaining height and charged at his opponent unloading the Aurora's head CIWS guns at the Sinister. Lafter was forced to slow down as the red meanie peppered her, but she kept moving forward with her sword in hand. She was determined to cut them up for the trouble they had caused her. Tyler drew the Aurora's beam sabers, and he came down on the Sinister, striking at the torso. Lafter blocked the attack with her sword, but she was brought to a halt by the meanie as they pushed against her. She attempted to surge forward against the meanie, but the Sinister's thrust wasn't enough to overpower the Aurora.
Tyler threw caution to the winds and let his SEED mode activate as he was tired of the crapshoot he was in. "Enough is enough," Tyler growled, "Taking land that doesn't belong to you by force is still stealing you back-stabbing fools!" He gritted his teeth, "The leaders of the Alliance are vile parasitic worms for either supporting this or not standing up against it. And they will be force-fed disappointment in being denied their wants!" Tyler shoved the Aurora's throttles forward, increasing the machine's forward thrust, and began forcing the Sinister downward with its greater thrust.
Lafter was getting frustrated that the meanie was once again cheating in the fight with her. It had been weaving out of the way of her sword at first when it shouldn't be doing so. Then it had magical bullets that made the power go down faster than it should. Now, it suddenly got more pushing power than she had to work with. But a moment later things became worse as the Aurora gained more momentum and was shoving the Sinister toward the water below. As Lafter realized she was falling, she tried harder to push back both with the Sinister's thrusters and its anti-ship sword.
Athrun was fighting the Bandit while Tyler was dealing with the Sinister. He had combined the Justice's beam sabers and had rushed forward swinging at the Bandit. Deborah in response took out the Bandit's two beam sabers and parried the attacks. The new opponent was another "different-looking" mobile suit. However, this one was not like the red unit, or any of the others that she'd spotted. And that it had come from a different direction than the land suggested it wasn't a suit made by the Federation. Nonetheless, after a few minutes, Deborah saw that Lafter was being forced downward to the water by the red Gundam. So, she blocked her opponent's beam saber while she grabbed her machine gun and pointed at the Justice. Athrun had just enough time to see the machine gun aimed at his cockpit before it started to fire at him. The gunfire got Athrun to back up and Deborah took the opportunity to rush forward to help Lafter.
However, by the time the Bandit was closing in to assist the Sinister, the Aurora had pressed its advantage enough. Tyler slashed his sabers forward and cut through the anti-ship sword, slicing it into three pieces. Lafter was angry with this meanie, for they had destroyed her sword she liked to use. However, none had ever gotten as far as to destroy her main weapon before now, not even in simulations. She fired her CIWS guns to get the meanie to go away and leave her alone so she could recover. But the Aurora merely shifted its shield to intercept the projectiles and kept coming. Tyler planned to send his opponent into the water, whether it was through a punch or ramming the Gundam. Yet, Tyler sensed another coming at him from his right, so he had the Aurora spin to have the shield face the oncoming attacker. He had the Aurora's shield expand to have its vertical length increase and fins swing out to form an X shape.
Deborah took out and aimed her beam rifle and fired at the red machine. However, the beam appeared to ricochet just before striking the shield's surface. It was much like what the specs on the Sinister had described with the Geschmeidig Panzer would do. Athrun had turned to reacquire the Gundam he'd been fighting, but the sight was one he didn't expect. The Aurora's shield had expended and instead of intercepting the beam sent at it, the beam redirected just before contact. For a mobile suit to have a shield that could deflect rather than disburse was a new technology as far as Athrun knew. Yes, OMNI's Artemis base had its lightwave umbrella, but that wasn't something practical for a mobile suit. And yet, the Federation had apparently come up with a similar idea that was feasible for mobile suit which could deflect beams.
Tyler flipped the Aurora to have its feet pointing downward at the Sinister. Then Tyler "stomped" on the blue Gundam hard and used it as a springboard. The Sinister splashed heavily into the water while Tyler pulled up hard and shifted the Aurora into its flight mode. Athrun saw Aurora zoom just above the ocean's surface after sending its opponent into the water. From an objective view, Athrun couldn't help but be in awe at the "transformation" ability the Federation had developed. It had hidden the fact they had mobile suits, likely for years were he to make a guess. And it appeared to be quick and seamless in the transition from an onlooker's perspective. The Aegis could transform, but it had been jerky from Athrun's experience and needed improvement. Then having an alternative form would give an advantage to the Federation in combat.
And while the unit Tyler was piloting was impressive as it displayed Federation technology as it was, Athrun's friend's piloting just added to it. Athrun had glimpsed the idea before once back during the battle with OMNI's Eighth Orbital Fleet. The same signs were showing again with Tyler, like somehow sensing where shots aimed at him were coming from. Or there was the insane maneuvers that Tyler was pulling off that should be extremely difficult. Tyler had never explained how he did such or what allowed it to be possible during their last conversation. However, Athrun focused back on the battle and moved forward attacking the Bandit to get its attention off the Aurora.
Meanwhile, Tyler was zooming towards OMNI ships after sending his opponent for a serious dip. And so, he fired his missiles at them before he made an arc to turn and face the blue Gundam. Lafter got the Sinister to the surface and out of the water after she had been thrown into it. She was more than angry now, she was mad at the red meanie for not just cheating but making her look bad. And upon looking around, Lafter spotted the object of her fury turning away from the ships. The red meanie now looked like an aircraft, but it was clearly the same machine that Lafter had been fighting. The Sinister shot forward, Lafter intending to grab the meanie and use her multi-phase cannon to put holes in them. However, Lafter's first lunge at the meanie as they passed missed and just frustrated her more. They had weaved out of the way and changed back to a mobile suit. The next thing Lafter knew, there was a bang and when she glanced to her left, the meanie had latched onto her shield.
Tyler had grabbed the Sinister's shield to stop his momentum and then grabbed the Gundam's shoulder with the other hand. Tyler then started to work on separating the blue Gundam from its shield by pulling them apart and straining the connection. The Sinister losing its shield Tyler suspected would take away its deflection capabilities which would move things along. That should leave the high-energy beam cannon and the multi-phase cannon and those Tyler could deal with.
Lafter was fuming that the meanie was still cheating with how they were fighting her. However, an alarm began going off and upon looking down, Lafter saw the Sinister's shield was being strained. The meanie was trying to rip her shield off, they were taking her ability to fight piece by piece. That brought a flavor of panic to her and got her shrieking over the comm-channel for the meanie to let her go. Deborah's attention was snapped over to the Sinister when Lafter started shrieking. And she saw the red machine was working on ripping off its shield and was in a position that Lafter couldn't reach. Thus, Deborah twisted around slashing upward with both her beam sabers at the Justice. Athrun was forced to use his shield to block the attack and was sent back a margin.
Tyler felt he was making progress with his opponent, when his senses alerted him of impending danger. Tyler glanced left and saw the black and blue Gundam rushing at him with beam sabers in hands. He had to let the blue Gundam go just before the other swung at him and the Aurora dodged. Athrun stabilized the Justice and witnessed the Aurora being assaulted by the Bandit. So, Athrun shot forward to assist Tyler, but the Sinister fired its high-energy beam cannon at the Justice. He dodged the beam and the following multi-phased beam sent his way as Athrun kept getting closer to the Aurora. Then Athrun used the Fortis beam cannons and fired them at the bandit making it back up a bit. Next, the Justice detached the Fatum-00 and had it zoom at the Bandit.
Deborah had avoided the beams sent at her, but when she glanced that way, she saw something coming straight at her. She moved back to evade a collision as the Fatum-00 flew over her. However, the Aurora had taken advantage of the distraction the Justice had provided and surged forward. Deborah blinked and found the red machine right in front of her before the Aurora's knee slammed into the Bandit. The Bandit was sent tumbling backward, forcing Deborah to work to right her machine. The Fatum-00 swung around and returned to the Justice and docked back with it. A few Valkyries moved to help the Justice and the Aurora with their fight. Yet, Lafter merely turned and used her cannons to destroy the helpers. Athrun shot at the Sinister with his beam rifle which drew attention back to him. Tyler brought out the Aurora's plasma cannons aiming one at the Sinister and the other at the Bandit.
Deborah had just managed to right the Bandit before she found herself facing one of the red machine's cannons. She avoided the plasma beam just barely and Deborah knew that this battle was as good as done. With how things were going, there was no way even with Deborah and her sisters to breach the enemy's defense. There was too much resistance from the enemy and they kept them from moving forward at a fair pace. The enemy wasn't ZAFT as they had been trained to go against, this enemy was better than anything from the simulations. Deborah and her sisters had gather lots of data on their machines which was the expectation. Then Deborah saw the crimson enemy rush forward and swing its beam sabers and send Lafter flying. Deborah got on a channel to the Sinister, "Lafter," she started, "head back to the ship with mother on it."
Lafter was infuriated, but hearing Deborah caused her pause, "But we still haven't finished our task, Debbie," she replied.
"We have done what we can," Deborah returned, "time to cut our losses and wait to do better the next time." She changed the Bandit back over to its mobile armor mode with the intent to go and retrieve the Raptor. And when she looked in the direction of the Republic's mainland, Deborah spotted the Raptor. Rossweisse was fighting two other "different-looking" machines and some of the fighter jet suits. Deborah could see that Rossweisse was being slowly overwhelmed by the enemy. So, she rushed over to the Raptor and fired at the enemy to disburse them. After those that had been attacking the Raptor backed off, Deborah used the Bandit's talons to grab the Raptor.
Rossweisse had been getting irritated with being swarmed by the enemy. The two "beast-looking" machines had been annoyingly quick with their movements, making them hard to hit. Shooting down the fighter jet machines was simple enough even if more challenging than the simulations at the lab had been. But Rossweisse would prove that she could handle a challenge give to her. However, then some of the fighter jets had grabbed onto her shoulder mounted cannons and turned upward. That had made the cannons unusable as they were being help where they were. Rossweisse was still using the bazooka and shield weapons she could work with. Yet, no matter how many enemies Rossweisse took out, more appeared in their place and the numbers never went down. However, then there was a clunk and Rossweisse was moving away from the ground. Rossweisse twisted around and found the Bandit had her machine in its talons and was carrying her away. Rossweisse let out a frustrated breath and folded her arms, "Take it we're done," she posed to Deborah.
"Yep," Deborah answered, "continuing further right now wouldn't end well. We'll do better next time, Rossweisse, that's a promise."
Rossweisse scoffed, "You got that right, we'll cream them the next chance we get."
The three Gundams flew back to one of OMNI's carriers as Tyler and Athrun watched. A moment later, the lead Spangler-class fired off a retreat signal that stood out from the sky. The defenders of the Republic positioned themselves between the retreating OMNI and the Republic's mainland. Any Strike Daggers that turned toward the Republic were shot at, and if they didn't keep going back to the fleet were destroyed. Most of the Alliance ships were moving away from the Republic, away from the battle they were losing. Once they were a sizable distance away, Tyler scanned over the battlefield, which brought feelings of pain and sadness to wash over him.
The city of Shira had taken a beating and would need an amount of reconstruction and repairs to look as good as it normally did. Out of the twenty-four Federation vessels that had defended the Republic, three had been sunk in the bay, and their outline could be seen underwater, and there was a fourth in the process of sinking. Six ships were sluggish, and two were dead in the water and couldn't move. So, that meant that around half of the Republic's defensive fleet was out of commission until major repairs were completed on them. Tyler wasn't interested in knowing how many people had been killed in the Republic's defense. The three Gundams had caused more damage than OMNI's mass-production mobile suits. The Republic hadn't fallen, but a price had been paid to make sure it stood through the storm. The sight made Tyler angry as to damage another's home in the attempt to take it from its proper owners was wrong.
The Earth Alliance had essentially declared war on the Human Federation with their actions. They hadn't stated the idea technically in public, but that no longer mattered. They had no justification that the Alliance could honestly make and prove it valid that would stand. The Alliance had made the Federation their enemy, and the Federation's Military would respond appropriately. If getting the Alliance to understand the mistakes they were making required extreme measures, they could lose the vast majority of OMNI's fighting force. And Tyler would guess the first response would be wiping out their Orbital Fleets and defending the member nations.
Tyler turned to face the Justice as there was still a question or two that really needed answers from Athrun. Not to say Tyler was unhappy that Athrun had come and literally saved him from getting nailed and killed, for he was grateful. However, Athrun had the Justice and was likely here to track down the Freedom. It would depend on what orders Athrun had regarding the Freedom and how things would proceed. Tyler wanted to think Athrun was here for the best of intentions, but the war had made it clear one couldn't take things at face value without complete trust. Such trust was earned, not simply given as it once was like in times before the war. So, Tyler took a deep breath, "While I'm grateful for the bailout and assist, Athrun," he started, "I doubt you're here for a simple social call. And I do hate to press the matter, but what are you here for?"
Athrun could understand why Tyler would be asking the question he was, and he didn't blame him for inquiring. He only wished he was here to see how Tyler was doing, to make sure his health which Lacus had described as poor, had improved. But no, Athrun was here while tracking the Freedom and to get answers. However, Athrun had chosen to help himself even when it could be seen as against orders. And with how the war had made things, Athrun knew he needed to be candid with his best friend. Thus, the Justice had the Fatum-00's engine block fold down for better hovering. Then, Athrun toggled the switch to have the bulkhead above him slide down and the pilot seat raise up. "Truthfully, I came here seeking answers," he replied. "And I'm hoping you can help me understand things as they are and then possibly clarify a couple of things too."
Athrun's tone said to Tyler that his friend had been doing some honest thinking, what one might call "soul searching." And he would applaud those kinds of efforts as that was the best thing one could do before making serious decisions. He wished more people would turn to do that type of consideration these days. Should that occur more, then the ongoing war may never have happened in the first place. Tyler had his own experiences of soul searching in this life, and while they hadn't been fun to do, they had made a huge difference. So, Tyler would do his best to help a friend to do such consideration. With that in mind, Tyler had the Aurora's wings shift to be open somewhat for better hovering. Then he also had his cockpit open and his seat rise and looked at his friend. "I will never refuse a friend's request for help in an honest search for answers," Tyler stated. "And it sounds like you are ready to hear the truth even if it is hard to accept. So then, let's help finish sending OMNI packing and clean up a bit, after that, we can go and have a serious conversation."
Athrun knew if there was ever someone he could count on to get help with answering questions, it was Tyler. It was why he had sought him out first, Tyler always seemed to have answers to questions, even if they weren't complete. "That sounds like a good place to start," Athrun replied before he lowered back into the Justice's cockpit.
Tyler and Athrun joined the rest of the Federation's defending forces to make sure OMNI kept falling back. Half an hour passed by while the clean-up from the assault proceeded and got underway. The OMNI forces that had been unable to retreat were apprehended and detained. Tyler was assigned to do flyovers and do damaged assessments of Shira and the surrounding areas. On the other hand, Athrun was put on finding OMNI survivors and transmitting their locations to the ground teams.
As Tyler was doing his flyovers, his heart ached at the destruction he saw around Shira. The city had been beautiful before the battle and appeared welcoming to anyone coming. Shira had been a thriving place people had called home, yet one wouldn't know it with its current state. There were buildings on fire, others with open sections due to damage, and even some fully collapsed into rubble. Tyler knew Shira would be repaired and the collapsed buildings rebuilt, thus, the city would go back to being beautiful, but that would take months if not years. But being hit "close to home" quite literally still hit in a way that other actions didn't. Some of the damage Tyler saw was clearly caused by the beam weapons the artillery wielder had. It forced Tyler to admit OMNI had designed some effectively destructive machines to work with.
Meanwhile, Athrun was helping in the search for OMNI forces on the ground. He was also seeing the wreckage of Federation machines, both their mobile suits and the vehicles that had been part of the defenders. The sheer wreckage gave a general view of how many lives had been ended today. Athrun realized that he'd never gotten "clean up" duty before now, such was always assigned to others. Athrun would be out on the frontlines of the war doing the work that caused the destruction he was seeing before now. He wondered if his father had something to do with his assignments. And if so, why would his father keep him from seeing what this war was doing to people?
Athrun could comprehend that war took lives, it was logical with what war involved. But seeing it firsthand drove the point of how horrible war really was. And this had been going on for more than five years now, longer unofficially. Athrun was left to wonder just how many lives had been lost, just numbers that may not even be recorded. It added to the confusion and the questions of what the war was being waged for. The fighting was making less and less sense the more Athrun saw and thought about it. The results advertised and the ones that Athrun was seeing were worlds apart. So, either the leaders on the National Defense Committee didn't know what they were bringing about, or they didn't care. Unfortunately, Athrun suspected it was the latter rather than the former.
Over the next day, the work to secure the Republic and assess the damage continued. It was as the sun was starting to set on the day after the battle when both Tyler and Athrun were told to switch out and come in while others took over the tasks they were on. The Republic's borders were relatively secure now, and it was in the process of being locked down. There was still the search for those that hadn't reported in after the battle who were missing in action. And with some radio chatter, Tyler heard that OMNI had attempted to come into the Republic from Eurasia. While it was a small force, mobile suits were sent to head them off, including the two Ground Runner series machines. Tyler led Athrun to the valley Teswa was in as they could go there and talk while their suits were resupplied.
Athrun was behind the Aurora and to its right, wondering where Tyler was taking him. He didn't know where military complexes were in the Republic. ZAFT intelligence reports suspected such were around the mountains in the Republic but they couldn't get more detail beyond that. Really, the locations of the major cities and the Republic's mass driver were the only definitive things that intelligence could state. Athrun figured that ZAFT's intelligence department had been "looking into" Federation member nations to find specific targets if it came to fighting. ZAFT wanted to know where the Federation's development facilities were and military complexes were located. As far as Athrun had heard, there had been little success other than the obvious places like Asgard. He had to applaud the Federation for hiding their valuable assets as they did, it couldn't be easy to hide them.
Athrun's attention was brought back to the present when Tyler slowed down after entering a wide canyon area. What caught his notice was that the ground appeared to be shifting in the bottom of the center of the area. As Athrun watched, a large section of the ground opened, leading to a dark space below. The Aurora hovered slowly down into the revealed area, and Athrun took that as a signal to follow. Just as the Justice left the sunlight and transitioned into the space below, Athrun couldn't help his eyes widening. A glance around his surroundings told him he was in a huge underground part of a much larger complex. But his awe and shock grew as scanning around got Athrun to realize he was inside the Federation's Teswa R&D complex. Athrun began to understand possibly why the Federation's development facilities were so hard to find by the other factions.
If Teswa was anything to go by, a lot of thought went into hiding such places, from the natural landscape to something that scrambled sensors. Satellite scans would not be able to tell the difference between its vantage point above the ground and what was below it. Should such care be taken with other development facilities be spent, no wonder, no locations were known. Military complexes were likely treated much the same in how they were hidden and defended, were Athrun to guess. It stood as an example to Athrun how much thought and preparation the Federation put into what they did. He couldn't help but be impressed with the amount of thought they put into their preparation. It was no wonder the Federation had done so well for so long in this war and before that.
Athrun spotted the Aurora going to land on a platform that had been extended out into the canyon space. He had the Fatum-00's engine block shift to be vertical and moved over to where another platform was out. Athrun landed and had the Fatum-00's wings fold down into their stored position just before the platform began moving inside. Tyler touched down on the landing platform before it was brought in, and airtight shutters were closed behind him. He shut down the Aurora's systems before he had his seat rise out of the cockpit. Having informed the Republic's military command that the Justice was an ally, the Justice would have been allowed inside Teswa. Tyler hoped that he and Athrun could have the conversation they seriously needed here.
Once out of the cockpit, Tyler crawled to where the zipline was and used it to descend to the ground. As Tyler was going toward the deck, he looked over to his right and saw the Justice had landed and been brought inside. Tyler was proud that he stepped down smoothly and didn't stumble or collapse as he had been the last few times he had dismounted from a mobile suit. It was a sign that his health had made good strides to get back to a normal modicum. Tyler noted that Teswa techs were already starting to connect the Aurora to cables for resupply. He appreciated the efficiency of those at Teswa, they kept on top of things, which was helpful.
Athrun came up from the Justice's cockpit and moved to the zipline so he could descend to the floor. He stepped down to the deck, turned to the machine Tyler had been piloting, and saw his friend taking off his helmet. Athrun stepped forward, walking toward Tyler, removing his own helmet as he went. Words couldn't say how happy Athrun was that Tyler was alive right now. A mobile suits explosion was a near-guaranteed death sentence for anyone caught in the influence of one, let alone being in the middle of it. And yet, Tyler had somehow defied the heavily stacked odds and survived what was essentially a deathtrap. Then he had somehow gotten to Aprilius One and got roped into stealing a newly developed mobile suit. Lacus hadn't given the whole story about how that came to be. Athrun hoped Tyler could fill in the holes that were causing so much confusion that he was dealing with.
Tyler was making his way towards Athrun simultaneously, glad to see his friend. The last time their paths crossed, Tyler had nearly died, and Athrun had been trying to kill Kira. And Tyler wouldn't doubt that Athrun had been spending the time since the incident, blaming himself for what occurred. Tyler didn't blame Athrun for the Shadow's destruction, it wasn't his fault in the end. Athrun had been following orders he'd been given and had clearly been questioning said orders. Tyler held the "mission commander" responsible for all that went down in that battle. After some research, Tyler found out that the mission commander for that mess had been none other than Rau Le Creuset. Knowing that the masked man had been involved both explained much about the battle and made Tyler suspicious. Every single thing that Creuset seemed to be "involved in" ended out in some kind of a mess. However, the crap the man had a hand in starting this year seemed to have "odd" circumstances. For example, in the attack on Heliopolis, the man had "evidence" on the Atlantic Federation's pet project, which ZAFT intelligence hadn't acquired themselves. Or how the man knew the Archangel's route when it wasn't the normal shipping lane. Creuset was definitely on the list of those who could be the rat Tyler had seen the work of. And the man was rising toward the top of the list quickly enough to make Tyler seriously wonder if he could be the one.
Still, here Tyler and Athrun were, facing one another again after all the problems they had endured through. Tyler felt their friendship could be somewhat strained but was still intact and would continue. The world seemed to fade around them as the two teens got closer to each other step by step. They came to stand in front of one another, and neither said anything for a long moment. Athrun attempted to find the proper words to convey how sorry he was for what he did with the Aegis. How did one apologize to a friend for almost killing them? "Tyler," Athrun began, "I can't tell you how sorry I am for what I did." He stopped as tears were coming to his eyes, "I don't know how I can make it up to you, but I will-"
Tyler didn't like being right about Athrun beating himself up for something that he only played an unknowing part in. Obviously, his friend had been torturing himself, and Tyler hated that Athrun would do such things. Athrun had a kind heart, he worried about others before himself, which was a good quality. One of the few good things that Tyler could think of for Athrun right now was that he wasn't facing Sakura. Should Sakura find out Tyler had been seriously injured AND Athrun played a part in the point, Athrun would face hell. And the hell Sakura could bring upon another was scarier than normal misery was expected to be. Instead of stopping and countering what Athrun was trying to get across, Tyler moved forward and embraced his friend.
Athrun went silent after Tyler hugged him. He felt that Tyler should be angry at him, he'd detonated the Aegis and nearly killed him. Tyler had every right to curse him and blame him for the injuries he received. However, Tyler's voice broke through Athrun's thoughts, "Athrun, I cannot tell you how glad I am to know you are okay." Athrun didn't have anything to say in reply to what was a greeting from one of his best friends. Yet, Tyler continued, "You have nothing to be sorry about, Athrun. What happened around Orb wasn't your fault, and you won't be able to win an argument with me on that. Those that instigated the battle are the ones to blame for what happened."
Athrun knew Tyler rarely blamed others for what hardships he faced, he'd seen the idea enough to know of it. But it was Athrun who had activated the Aegis's self-destruct, which had destroyed the Shadow. And still, Tyler wasn't blaming him for what happened, words couldn't express the gratitude in his heart at realizing that. Thus, Athrun returned the embrace, "Why do you have to be so damn forgiving," he questioned.
Tyler smiled, "It's one of the things friends do for each other," he replied. "And honestly, I wouldn't doubt you've been beating yourself up and torturing yourself already. Why the heck should I add to such things?"
Athrun shook his head, "But I thought you died when the Shadow was destroyed," he insisted.
Tyler could see where Athrun was coming from as he'd heard similar things from those on the Archangel. With the explosion that had come from the Aegis detonating, he wouldn't doubt it would have looked that way. So much so it would make those who witnessed it sure beyond a reasonable doubt that Tyler had been killed by it. However, the truth was that Tyler had survived and recovered somewhat from experience. "I suppose to the vast majority that saw the Aegis blowing up, they would think anything in that explosion would be gone too." Tyler paused and chuckled a bit, "I accepted that I was going to kick the bucket and going to meet my dad and sister. And yet, here I am alive, even if not at my normal best in the kicking department, so I'll manage. With that said, stop blaming yourself for something you weren't at fault for, Athrun. You've done more than enough of such, and it isn't helpful for you or anyone else. We are good so stop apologizing to me as there is no reason for you to do so."
Athrun processed what Tyler said, and once he did, a smile found its way to his face. Tyler's reasoning had pulled him forward and out of the place he had been in for the last month and almost a half. But with that out of the way, Athrun still had questions that he hoped Tyler could shed some light on. "Tye," Athrun started, "We need to discuss recent events, like what happened around Aprilius One that you participated in."
Tyler pulled back, knowing Athrun was right, they needed to talk about the Freedom's theft and its result. However, the conversation should not be public knowledge of what Siegel and Lacus faced. So, Tyler gestured for Athrun to follow him, and he led the way to a quiet corner of the development floor. The two sat down on some crates before they faced one another again. "I assume when you say recent events, you are in some way referring to the theft of the X10A Freedom," Tyler posed.
Athrun nodded, "How did you even get pulled into stealing a mobile suit, or get to Aprilius One for that matter? None of that makes any sense to me."
"A fair question," Tyler remarked, "by what I understand, I was moved to Aprilius One to receive help from their medical institute. From what a friend and Siegel said, the institute did an amazing job at saving my life and patching me up. Siegel had agreed to host me while I recovered, thus why I was on Aprilius One." Now the room with medical-looking equipment and red stains made more sense. That had been the room Tyler had more than likely been put in for the said recovery. Tyler kept going, "As for the Freedom, what have you been told about it "disappearing" from the PLANTs?"
Athrun hesitated at recalling what had been said about Lacus and her father. It had been so unbelievable, and Athrun knew he wasn't the only one that had thought so. "That an enemy spy stole the mobile suits, and they were assisted by Lacus and her father," he admitted. "They are being seen as traitors to the PLANTs and ZAFT."
Tyler had expected both Lacus and Siegel would be branded traitors by those in power with the theft of the Freedom. It would've been amusing to be called an enemy spy by the leaders of the PLANTs if not for what Lacus and Siegel faced. So, Tyler shrugged and sighed, "I figured the two would be forced to shoulder the blame for the theft. It's why I hesitated when I was asked to help with the idea." Tyler paused, "To help you dismiss the garbage you've been fed and fill it with the truth, let me tell you the whole story and then the why I believe it was all necessary." Tyler took a breath before continuing, "First, Siegel came to me and asked for my help. I've never known the man to ask for something he didn't feel was the right thing to do, that hasn't changed. I feel that he showed me the specs on the Freedom and the Justice for two reasons. Yet, both reasons lead to the same point, he wanted the Federation to know about the two machine and nuclear technology returning."
Athrun nodded, seeing the logical reasoning that Tyler iterated Siegel was working under. The return of nuclear tech was bad for all, it meant that nuclear weapons weren't far away. And Athrun would have wondered why Siegel didn't bring such concerns to the Council if not for his father strongly implying ZAFT saw it "necessary" to use nuclear power for the war. Tyler kept going, "After I looked over the specs, I expressed my professional opinion that the development was something. Then I gave my opinion where I flat-out said ZAFT was making an extremely dangerous gamble that will likely come back to haunt them. Nuclear tech leads not to the solution of the energy crisis as some would claim, it brings nuclear weapons which will be used if given an opportunity." Tyler paused again, "Siegel then requested that I take one of the two units along with files on both and get them to the Federation." Athrun was about to speak, but Tyler held up a hand to stop him. "He stated it was for the hope that the Federation would invent countermeasures for the n-jammer cancellers, and I agree such is needed as soon as possible. The Alliance won't even think of doing that, they will be too busy being excited to have nukes again. I think we both know that ZAFT isn't going to make countermeasures, for like the Alliance, they are too focused on how nuclear tech can be used on their enemies. That leaves the Federation to develop a way to make sure nukes don't kill us all."
Athrun had been worried when his father had insisted that nuclear power was needed. However, he was more concerned now than he had been when Patrick revealed the Justice had a nuclear reactor. Now Siegel asking Tyler to get information on the Freedom and the Justice to the Federation made complete sense. As Tyler said, countermeasures would be needed to prevent nuclear weapons from being used on Earth or the PLANTs. The gamble Tyler spoke of was terrifying when Athrun thought about it. Making nuclear weapons was frightening enough, but to have such turned against you was worse. That could and likely would lead to the Alliance and ZAFT wiping each other out before either could declare victory. Even if one side survived, both the PLANTs and Earth would deal with nuclear fallout, finishing the survivors off. The impending nightmare was horrific, and yet, no one was even admitting it could happen, they were so focused on killing their enemies they didn't consider it.
Tyler saw the understanding on Athrun's face, he could see what the Federation was trying to prevent. Nuclear war had no winners, it just wiped out populations, if not species entirely. It was why the N-jammer was invented, to turn humanity from that dark end. It had been a cooperative operation between the Federation and ZAFT to invent and deploy the n-jammers. At the time, ZAFT had been completely onboard with the goal and offered all the help they could. Now, all that effort and goodwill were being ripped up with nuclear tech returning. Tyler exhaled, "I don't know how Siegel got the files, but I take it to mean there are others like him that are very worried about the direction ZAFT is going in." Tyler stopped and took a breath, "Lacus insisted on helping even when Siegel and I tried to tell her it was better that she not." Tyler paused, not liking what happened next, "Lacus got me into the complex the Freedom was stored in. Others helped us in the theft, and in the end, I took the Freedom from the PLANTs as I assume someone told you since you already knew it was me."
Athrun nodded, "Lacus told me she found out you were at Aprilius One and that your health was bad at the time. She also mentioned that you stole the Freedom but never said the reason you did." Athrun stopped remembering what he'd seen in the video. The "spy" had clearly known about the cameras being there. And now that Athrun knew it was Tyler, the message he was delivering was not his normal style. "While I can understand what you were trying to say to the viewers of the security footage, why do it?"
Tyler snickered, "Oh, that," he laughed quietly, "It was what I wanted to say, which I couldn't do with my voice since it would risk me being identified. I was also drawing attention to myself and off Lacus and Siegel the best I could." Tyler gazed at Athrun with a gleeful smile, "How would you say I did with being an attention magnet?"
Athrun shook his head, "You certainly ticked some people off with what you did, that's for sure. So, I would say you achieved your aim of drawing attention to yourself as there are orders to capture you, have you tortured while interrogated before you're executed."
Tyler blinked, "Hmm, I guess I should take that as a compliment I can get attention when I really try. I understand the capturing piece and even the non-nice interrogations order. But I didn't think my performance rated good enough for an execution sentence on my head. Glad I'm a Federation soldier, and that should protect me to an extent." Tyler sighed, "At least you comprehended what I was trying to say, Kira didn't know when I told him."
Athrun smiled softly, "His naiveté help him in that lack of understanding?"
Tyler groaned, "You have to ask," he shot back. "Of course, his damn naiveté makes him ignorant to the obvious. I literally had to get him to look up what giving the middle finger means for him to get the point." Tyler shook his head before continuing, "After leaving the PLANTs, I headed for Teswa and handed over the files on the Freedom and the Justice so they could be used for countermeasure invention. Then I headed to JOSH-A to bail out Kira and the rest since they had been foolish enough to ignore my warnings."
Athrun was left to wonder what "warnings" Tyler could have given Kira and the rest on the Archangel. The way Tyler said it, he hadn't said whatever he had been implying straight out but had gotten as close as he could without doing so. "What were you trying to warn them about," Athrun asked.
Tyler sighed, "Oh that their blind faith in their so-called allies would get them not just into trouble but could get them killed." Tyler shook his head, "I would have told them the Alliance didn't value them, but the Archangel's crew wouldn't have believed me. It had become a circular argument a while back, nothing I said to them about what the Alliance was like convinced them their allies were going to throw them aside when it was convenient." He paused, shifting back to his story, "Then came ZAFT's Operation Spitbreak fiasco, and that was a different mess altogether."
"By what I was told," Athrun started, "You helped ZAFT have fewer losses than could have been suffered.
Tyler rolled his eyes, "Yeah, my first warning went ignored before the Duel attacked me. None of that was appreciated, ZAFT could have taken a moment to consider the possibility of a trap being set, but little to no hesitation. If not for your friend Nicol, ZAFT would've lost much more than they did. I gave him clear evidence to get to the mission commander as from what you said, he is reasonable." Tyler waved a hand in dismissal, "Anyway, after the battle, I pulled Kira aside and explained to him in detail what piloting the Freedom involved before giving it to him."
"When you say explained to Kira, what do you mean," Athrun questioned.
Tyler exhaled, "We had a non-fun conversation in which I gave him the rundown I've essentially given you but in a bit more detail as Kira doesn't know how to take inference well as we both know. I made him promise that he wouldn't let others take the Freedom or what it contains and to shoot any that try." Tyler looked at Athrun, "But moving on, you implied you have orders that involved the Freedom, care to elaborate?"
Athrun hesitated for a moment as his orders looked more ridiculous the more he thought about them. The orders seemed worse after what Tyler had told him, so Athrun didn't know where to begin. "Well," Athrun started, "The orders I was given was to track down and capture the Freedom."
Athrun stopped after the first sentence, which didn't sit well with Tyler. It implied that there was more to the orders and the other part of them Athrun either didn't agree with or had serious problems with, it could be both. "Okay," Tyler said, "I take it there is more to your orders than just capturing the Freedom."
Athrun nodded, "Unfortunately, yes," he confirmed. "If I can't capture the Freedom, I am to destroy it." Athrun hesitated, "Then I'm to eliminate all persons and facilities that the Freedom could've come into contact with. I found such more than excessive, and it concerns me that some want it to go so far."
Tyler knew that ZAFT would want the Freedom back and would do more than they should to get it. However, the part of eliminating everything the Freedom could've come into contact with was beyond excessive. That transitioned into how horrid Tyler felt that Athrun really didn't understand what he was being asked to do. The mission was outright suicidal, even for someone like Graham, it was pretty much suicidal. Thus, either ZAFT didn't understand their orders, or they were crazy. And Tyler felt the latter was becoming more likely than the former as the answer. That Athrun had been given his mission and was expected to complete it, his life was being thrown away. Tyler sighed, "Seriously, that's what you are expected to do?" Tyler shook his head, "Okay, who gave you those orders then?"
Athrun didn't understand what difference it made who gave him his orders as much as what the orders would have him do. "The Supreme Council Chairman gave me them," he replied.
Tyler's head snapped up, and he glared at Athrun, "You're telling me that the one who is supposed to be your father assigned you these crappy orders?" Athrun nodded slowly, not comprehending why Tyler was getting angry about this. Something about his orders was irking Tyler and that Athrun could agree with. But why his friend was concerned with who gave Athrun his orders didn't make sense. Tyler held up a hand and calmed down, "Athrun, I think it would be good of me to explain the issue as I see it with your orders." Athrun gestured for Tyler to go on as he wanted to know what was bothering Tyler so much. Tyler breathed in and out, "Tracking down the Freedom and capturing it is not where I see the major problem, even if you have to deal with Kira. Sadly, that is the logical part of your orders that I can see being feasible." Tyler paused, "The rest of your orders are beyond dumb and has me questioning if any on the PLANTs' National Defense Committee have sanity in their heads or if they've lost their marbles."
Tyler put his hands to his forehead as Athrun tried to process what Tyler could be referring to. Yet, his friend kept going, "Let me lay out the scenario of what your mission requires, and then you may understand why I say what I do." Tyler stopped and ordered his thoughts, "First, let's assume you capture the Freedom, and Kira didn't need to die for that to be done. Before you go back to the PLANTs and say you did your mission, you would have to take care of the places the Freedom went. With that being the case, you would have to destroy Teswa R&D, and I mean raze it completely. And let's assume that you miraculously managed to do that and not be taken down by the Republic's defenders, you are one step forward. Never mind that you slaughtered thousands of people, if not more, to get the job done. That's what your orders demand, so why should you care and all that." Tyler held up a hand when Athrun was about to give a counterargument. "I know that you are not so unfeeling or monstrous as I'm saying to assume you are Athrun. I'm merely painting what the one who got this mission has to do to be seen as completing it."
Athrun was silent as anger filled him and horror coursed thought him at what Tyler was describing his mission "required" him to do. Tyler continued, "After destroying Teswa and likely beating many of the Republic's defenders, which honestly I can't see even ZAFT's champions doing without serious issue, you would move onto the next targets." Athrun bit his lips as Tyler said destroying Teswa wasn't enough. "Next, you would have to find two Federation bases that one has never been identified and the other ZAFT has never found. You would need to find the Federation's Information Network Hub, which is a closely guarded secret, and like Teswa isn't a base, you would be just let in to blow it to kingdom come. And let's say you again, by another serious miracle, managed to do that with the same kind of price attached, you would have to move on to the last target. By this point, if you somehow managed to complete what I stated, you would be a damn war hero and have outdone everything ZAFT's champions have done combined. If you weren't seen as the most valuable and decorated soldier ZAFT had with such accomplishment, then ZAFT is blind and nuts."
Athrun didn't know what was crazier, what Tyler said he was expected to do, or how he would be seen if he somehow finished his mission. Athrun's father couldn't understand what he'd been asking him to do, there was no way. Tyler took a breath and kept going, "The two miracles you managed to do while amazing themselves, they would be dwarfed by the last piece of this. Your final target is the Federation's High Command's base, which neither of the other factions has ever found. So finding it is a feat, destroying it," Tyler paused, "you would have more luck assaulting Asgard by yourself, Athrun." Tyler smiled slightly, "Do I need to keep going on about the impossible mission you've been given requires of you, or have I made my point about how suicidal your mission really is?"
The way Tyler had iterated what Athrun was being expected to do was hard to argue. It was, as he said, impossible and completely suicidal for any pilot to do by themselves. Athrun would even say any of the champions, even Commander Clyne, wouldn't be able to finish what Tyler has said he was to do successfully. Thus, as Tyler stated, Athrun had been handed a mission he was expected to die attempting to do. And he was expected to kill both of his best friends in the process and countless others. Having the point spelled out just sickened Athrun so much that he didn't have words to say how horrified he was. Yet, Tyler cleared his throat, "But for argument's sake, let's say you miraculously completed your mission somehow. Let's talk about the fallout ZAFT and the PLANTs would then face from the mission you were assigned by the Supreme Council Chairman no less. Your attack on Teswa has already put ZAFT and the Federation at war, no question on that. And with the Chairman having assigned you these orders, there is little to nothing that will get peace talks to happen."
Athrun hadn't thought about what eliminating what the Freedom could have had contact with would result with. War with the Federation wouldn't end well, there was no question with that. But with what Athrun had seen with this father, Patrick Zala didn't care and felt ZAFT would win against any that opposed them. Tyler continued, "So, by the time you were going for your second target, I imagine either ZAFT's lunar fleet or the PLANTs' defending fleet would be fighting for their lives against the Federation's military. Any ZAFT forces on Earth would be far busier fighting the Federation to worry about n-jammer cancellers getting into the wrong hands." Tyler paused, "If ZAFT has anything left of its organizational structure, which I doubt it would have by that point, they would be doing everything to defend the PLANTs. Unfortunately, in the end, I'm sorry to say the PLANTs' best option would be to surrender and have the radicals imprisoned for all the lives needlessly sacrificed. That's what will likely come should you fulfill your orders, Athrun, I hope you can understand."
Athrun's head fell, "I guess I hadn't thought about how much would be included in "eliminating" those with which the Freedom came in contact." Athrun sighed, "When did this damn war become like this?"
Tyler moved over to be next to Athrun, "I fear it had been sliding in this direction for a time now, it has just been accelerating recently. And with the attack on the Republic, factions no longer factor into this war anymore."
Athrun looked at Tyler, "What do you mean?"
Tyler frowned, "There are two sides in this war now, and it isn't OMNI vs. ZAFT any longer. It is those who want to save Humanity fighting those who are hell-bent on destroying it in some way, whether a part of Humanity or the whole species. And neutrality is no longer an option in this, all will have to choose a side they will fight on." Tyler shook his head, "But discussing that more will have to happen a different time. There are things to be done that are more urgent first."
Athrun knew that Tyler was right, there were more pressing matters that needed attention than talking more. "Agreed, so then, what will you do, Tye?"
Before Tyler could answer, a Teswa worker came up to Tyler and handed him a datapad. Tyler glanced over the information on the pad and found it contained orders for Tyler to go into space. "Well, this datapad says I will be going up to space and work around there," Tyler stated. "Plus, I have a promise to keep, which going to space helps me be in a better position to do."
Athrun knew that Tyler didn't make promises he didn't fully intend to keep, it was how seriously he took them. When Tyler made a promise to another, he didn't do so lightly, Tyler's integrity was not something to be questioned. Athrun wondered who it was that Tyler made whatever promise he had. But Athrun also had to decide what he would do now that he'd helped the Federation to protect the Republic. He couldn't complete his mission as Tyler had laid it out, and Athrun felt the way his friend had said it was accurate enough to be right. So, now that he would be defying orders, Athrun was free to do what he thought was right. Athrun realized it was the first time in years that he could remember having the real freedom to make his own decision. "Do you believe OMNI will attack the other Federation member nations," Athrun asked.
Tyler nodded, "Unfortunately yes," he replied, "It's a matter of time before they do the same to the other member nations. The Alliance has always wanted to have a go at the Federation if only to prove they are "better" than us." Tyler paused, "And if I were to guess, Orb will be the next nation to be assaulted. So, if you are inclined to help, I wouldn't doubt Kira could use a hand with OMNI forces that will be attacking there. I bet the three of us will meet back up in space, as that's where the war will shift to, by what I figure. We really need to catch up so we can do it there and compare notes and stories then."
Athrun agreed that Tyler, Kira, and he needed to sit down and talk to each other about things. So much had happened since the beginning of this year that they needed to seriously discuss that it boggled Athrun's mind. The "catchup session" they had done in Shira had helped, but there hadn't been enough time to talk about things the way they needed to. If they were to do something to help in the war, they would need to be on the same page. Athrun could see now that working together with Tyler and Kira would be the best thing they could do. If he didn't work with them, he would be required to kill them, and Athrun couldn't bring himself to do that anymore. "Indeed," Athrun replied, "the three of us need to have a heart-to-heart discussion. So, stay alive so that we can all sit down and talk about things, Tyler."
Tyler bowed his head, "You know I will," he returned. "Talk to Kira, he will give you the chance to speak your mind. And remember, his naiveté that we curse means we sometimes have to explain differently than we would with others. But Kira has a good heart, as we know, so that he will listen, I assure you."
Athrun knew if there was ever a loyal defender to have as a friend, it was Tyler. He stood up for Kira even when the guy's naiveté would drive a firmly sober individual to drink. Tyler even frankly forgave Athrun when many would agree with and expect him to blame Athrun for nearly killing him. It was a friendship that was less than one in a million that was rarely seen, and Athrun felt he didn't deserve such a bond with another. However, instead of disparaging the friendship, Athrun would value it through fighting alongside Tyler. Thus, Athrun held out a hand to Tyler, "Then until we meet again," Athrun said in farewell.
Tyler grasped his friend's hand and shook it, "Yes, till our paths intersect once more, Athrun. May you find allies along the way that will assist you in your endeavors." Athrun headed off back to the Justice while Tyler glanced over his orders once again. Tyler found that he wasn't the only one that would be going up into space, Lisa and Graham would be going with him. They were to assist the space forces in the response with OMNI due to their attacks on the Federation. The three would be sent up with the mobile suits they had piloted during OMNI's assault on the Republic. The mission would provide a reason for Tyler to be ready to speed off to the PLANTs and help both Lacus and Siegel when the time came.
Over the next hour, the Justice finished its resupply, and Athrun was told his mobile suit was ready to launch. He had watched the Aurora and two other Gundams be moved elsewhere, likely to some form of transportation. From what Tyler said, he would be going up to space so that he would use the Republic's mass driver, Shen Lóng, as Athrun recalled. He wished Tyler the best of luck with whatever he would do up in space. Athrun had been using the time to gather information on what was going around Orb. At Teswa, Athrun could access the Federation's Information Network, even if it was limited. From what Athrun read, Orb had been sent a message from the Alliance on the day the Republic was attacked. It had said something to the effect of joining the Alliance or becoming an enemy. Apparently, Carpentaria had reached out to Orb, asking what was going on. The long and short of it was Orb was going to be assaulted like Tyler said it would be soon enough. It was clearer now that the Alliance was claiming their superiority and was attempting to enforce such with their mobile suits. The war was definitely entering a new and far more horrible phase with the Federation being pulled into it.
At the same time, Tyler boarded the train that already had the Aurora, the Athena, and the Thanatos loaded on it. Lisa and Graham followed him as they had the same orders to go up to space as he did. Tyler was confident Athrun would reach and help Kira in time before things took a potentially fatal turn. He wished he was going with Athrun, but orders said no, and Tyler still wanted to help Lacus too. Thus, as much as Tyler didn't prefer it, he knew there was a need to divide the tasks between those who could work on them. So, Athrun would help with Orb while Tyler would go and lay the groundwork in space, that would work best right now. At least, that was what Tyler was telling himself to hush the urge to go to Orb while the train traveled to the Shen Lóng station. Once arriving at the station, Tyler and his two companions exited the train, and the unloading of the three mobile suits began. A shuttle was already locked onto the mass driver track when Tyler's group got there.
Tyler knew that the Republic's Shen Lóng was different from the other mass drivers in how it flung craft into space. Every mass driver was still simply put a large electromagnetic linear catapult, even if they were modeled or set up differently from one to another. The Shen Lóng did not utilize a long track that had some sort of cart that ran along with them, it was one of the two that didn't use a form of that method. Instead, the mass driver was designed the way it was due to the mountains surrounding the long valley the mass driver was built-in. The solution with the driver track having a limited length due to the valley's layout was to have it accelerate faster and over a shorter distance. So, the Republic's mass driver used heavy rams to accelerate module connectors built into the track. The last fourth of the mass driver's track climbed upward along the mountain at the end of the valley to give the ascent vector. The natural landscape also acted as a shelter for the mass driver and a very defensible position for the complex.
The three pilots had to wait while the three Gundams were loaded onto the shuttle. Lisa insisted that Tyler get a nap while they waited, and while Tyler argued a bit, he begrudgingly agreed in the end. Tyler boarded the shuttle and plopped down in a passenger seat folding his arms, showing he was not pleased with waiting. Lisa shook her head at Tyler's stubbornness but left him brooding while he dropped off to his nap. While the other two were doing what they were, Graham took the time to "register" with the Federation's Military. He was given the rank of Commander straight away and had a "piloting license" as well without much questions put to him. The rank didn't really matter to Graham as any would do, he was a soldier working to make a difference, that was his story, and he would stick to it.
At the same time, with dawn just a short period away, Athrun figured it was time for him to head out. Orb was expected to come under attack later today, and it would take hours for Athrun to get over there. So, he launched from Teswa through the upper shutter as he had entered through earlier. Athrun had the Justice disconnect the Fatum-00 and then jump onto it before riding it down the canyon. He hadn't activated the Justice's phase shift armor as it would unnecessarily drain the suit's power. And with OMNI attacking Orb, Athrun wanted what resources he could have available. As the shoreline came into view, Athrun glanced around and saw Federation forces were still patrolling and doing damage control. While OMNI hadn't gotten far after landing on the Republic's mainland, they had still damaged the city.
The sun was peeking over the horizon as Athrun went over the ocean and kept going forward. While he went, Athrun was left to his own thoughts, which had changed from what they had been at Carpentaria. He was glad he'd come to the Republic and talked with Tyler, it had made a world of difference. And helping the Federation defend the Republic had felt right, righter than any of the previous battles in this year had. Protecting another's home to defend innocent people had not just made sense to Athrun, it had revived his moral compass. It had shown Athrun he had been dangerously ignoring his moral compass to the point it had almost become silent. If one threw away their morals, then they lost one of the defining qualities of human beings, they became empty followers or, worse, monsters.
Fighting alongside and speaking with Tyler had wiped the confusion in Athrun's mind away. It was nothing short of astonishing how talking to a friend could help one's perspective. Tyler had explained what had confused him about Lacus and even Siegel. Athrun knew in his heart they would never betray the PLANT's they loved them and their citizens too much to do such a thing. And Tyler saying their actions were to make sure nuclear technology would have the means to be countered to prevent the massive loss of life made all the sense in the world. Athrun would've been more shocked that others weren't cooperating with the two and having ZAFT R&D invent countermeasures if not for the interaction with his father. Whether he meant to or not, Patrick Zala had made it clear that ZAFT would use nuclear tech to "win" the war. Athrun feared that it would end much as Tyler had said and implied. ZAFT was making a horribly dangerous gamble that the odds of coming back to kill them were extremely high. Nuclear power wouldn't win the war, it would end the human race, even if not all at once.
And it had been during the battle to defend the Republic that Athrun decided to defy and disobey his standing orders. Tyler's iteration of what would result if Athrun's order were completed showed how radical leaders were becoming. Thus, Athrun knew he would no longer be welcomed by ZAFT when their leaders found out he was not following orders. It would be worse when the chairman found out he was going to use the Justice for other things than capturing the Freedom and "cleaning up" the theft. However, the conversation with Tyler had helped Athrun start preparing for when he would have to fight against ZAFT and any others that were trying to destroy humanity. He had chosen his side in this war's new direction, he would fight to save and defend humanity. Athrun didn't doubt Kira would make the same choice if he hadn't done so already.
Meanwhile, Tyler was jerked awake when the shuttle pilot announced the craft was being sealed in preparation for launch. He glanced around and found Lisa and Graham were strapping into their seats. Tyler straightened up and strapped himself into the seat he had been napping in while they had been waiting. He looked down at his suit's data panel on the right forearm and saw from the time he'd been sleeping for around an hour. The sun was rising behind the shuttle as the signal came, and the craft began its launching sequence. The shuttle began moving forward and quickly picked up speed as it raced down the electron rails with the connectors pulling the craft. Halfway down the track, Tyler felt himself being pushed back into his seat as the acceleration increased. A moment later, the shuttle's orientation began shifting from horizontal to near vertical as they shot up the last fourth of the track. The modulus accelerator platforms the rams were pushing disconnected their link to the shuttle as the wings supported the shuttle's ascent. The shuttle's pilot ignited the craft's boosters and shot off the end of Shen Lóng, heading upward away from Earth's surface.
At the same time, Athrun had set the Justice's course to have him around Orb mid to late afternoon. However, a thunderous boom from behind him got Athrun to turn and see a large craft surging upward from where the Republic's mass driver was located. He assumed that was Tyler and whoever else was with him heading up to space. Athrun wasn't happy about going separate ways, but Tyler had made a good point. There was too much to be done for them to work on the same collection of things. Thus, it was better for both Tyler and Athrun to handle different tasks. Kira, Tyler, and he would meet up again somewhere in space, and then they would get on the same page.
A/N
I'll leave off there for the next Phase to continue from. There are a couple of things to cover in this Phase that changed from the original version as I wouldn't doubt some may have noticed. I'll divide this into two groups which are the things involved in the battle and what came afterward. So, the battle itself as some readers noticed, the flow went a tad differently this go than the previous. First, Tyler used SEED mode in it which he didn't do originally and might I say he whipped ass with it. I decided that was something to add as honestly, Tyler was seeing his home being ruined, so I don't blame the guy for losing it. Also I was asked about the Aurora's shield, for us Gundam lovers, I would hope you remember the Unicorn Gundam , the Aurora's shield is based on the Unicorn's shield. Next, I added the side of the Galiena sisters and I would say it brought in another layer to the story. It let me flesh out some of the personalities of the girls who I did enjoy creating. Finally, I would like to state the team work that Athrun and Tyler did was even better than before. I wanted to make it clear the friends can work very will together as I'll be having that more later on.
Moving on to what came after the battle since there is quite a bit that changed from the original. I'll get to the conversation between Tyler and Athrun in a moment, but let me talk about the time shift I did. I wanted to have Athrun getting to Orb when the battle was going on there, which will happen a day later, so I had to add time Athrun spent around the Republic. That came in the form of Athrun helping with the damage control and assessment done after the fight. And yes, they do get resupply which I don't mention in the Phase itself, reading between the lines and everything. Now, onto the conversation between the two characters as it changed quite a bit from what it was. I'll point out more the points of importance rather than everything the conversation involved. In this talk, keep in mind that Athrun is seeking answers to clear the confusion he's been dealing with. Thus, Tyler's explanation about the theft is what Athrun was missing and filled in holes that others either didn't know or wouldn't say.
Then there is the section about Athrun's orders which was added in this as I wanted to show just what they involved. In canon, the orders Athrun gets imply what he is expected to do, but we really don't get much as to what he would have to do were he to fulfill his orders from Chairman Zala. So, I thought I would lay out what Athrun would have to do and show just how impossible the mission really is. And not only that, but what would most likely happen if Athrun somehow managed to complete his mission. Yes, were Athrun to "follow orders" it would in the end doom ZAFT and have the PLANTs surrender to the Federation. It shows how far gone Athrun's father really is by this point in the series which I think is important. The other thing I would like to point out is Athrun's realization and accompanying horror with what Tyler lays out. It helps Athrun come to the conclusion he needed to decide himself what he would do and not just follow orders.
That is pretty much all I have that I wanted to highlight from this Phase specifically. Should any of you have questions, either PM me or write a review and ask them and I'll answer the best I can. Please some of you write reviews and tell me what you think about the Phase, I really appreciate those. The next Phase is titled, "Looming Attack" and will be out in two weeks as things are going. Thanks for reading this Phase, hope you enjoyed it and have a great Memorial Day this weekend should you celebrate it. Peace out until the next Phase!