A/n
Okay, here is part two of the battle scene that starts Destiny. I hope you are enjoying this rewrite, it takes work to make this happen. Now, as I do every five phases or so, allow me to restate my disclaimer for this story. I do not own anything which comes from the Gundam universe or any other universes I borrow from, as much as I would love to. I only own my original characters and my musings that create this story. And with that out of the way, let's get on with the story!
Phase 66: Catch and Counter
October 2nd, 73 C.E.
Around Armory One, Lagrange 4
The Girty Lue had reached its designated point for the operation's start and was slightly ahead of schedule. Mobile suits had been sent out to take up positions to strike ZAFT with precision. The strikes would hamper any response from ZAFT once the attack began with the theft of the Gundams. The remaining mobile suits were on the Girty Lue's catapult, ready to head out and attack the ZAFT patrols. Even Neo's mobile armor was prepared to sortie if he needed to go out and help things along. By Neo's calculations, everything was in place the best it could be for the operation. And ZAFT didn't show any signs that they had any idea what was about to come upon them. Neo was pleased things were ahead of the timetables they were working with that OMNI had come up with. It gave them a bit of a potential edge over the Federation and a chance to evade them. The farther ahead of the Federation's pursuit of the Girty Lue could be, the better Neo would feel.
The whole mission had been going too smoothly for Neo's liking. A mission without hiccups or hold-ups was more likely to have ones waiting to happen when you needed them the least. That was the philosophy Neo had worked by, and it had served him well so far during his service in the Alliance. Neo was one who didn't wave off the Federation as an irritation as many did. Instead, Neo saw them as a problem that needed to take serious or suffer the consequences. Many an Alliance officer had underestimated the Federation and had paid the price for their mistake. Neo had no intention to be another one of those officers to be so stupid as to discount the Federation's military. That was as likely to end with dismissal from OMNI or getting killed as it was being put on trial by the Federation and vanishing from notice.
Neo had seen the problems that had come to the Alliance because they had underestimated the Federation during the last war. Many had died due to the Federation's actions when they poked their noses where it didn't belong. The Alliance was still paying for decisions made during the war even today. And there was no sign that would change in the near future, so Neo expected it to continue. One of the harshest examples of the point was what went down at JOSH-A during ZAFT's attack on the base. The base personnel hadn't secured the systems as they should have before they abandoned JOSH-A. The Federation had been quick to take advantage of that and had dumped what they could from the Alliance's military network. They were still using what they had acquired from the network dump against the Alliance today. The Federation had been blocking operations OMNI had attempted as they had gotten info from the Alliance's network.
Neo had learned some lessons from the mistakes the Alliance had been making with uncomfortable consistency. You didn't assume with the Federation, because they would take advantage of your foolish assumption. One did the best they could to shore up any weakness of the plan you were going to use. You went over the intended plan multiple times and each time you went over details. A competent commanding officer would look at a plan from multiple angles and considered what could go wrong. So, whenever Neo dealt with the Federation in some way, he double and triple-checked his plans to make sure there was the least chance of screwups. He would go over each and every detail the best he could to make sure it was as solid as possible.
It was due to that mentality that he insisted some take the time back at the Federation outpost to lay traps. It was a delay tactic more than a means to kill those from the Federation sent to investigate. However, it would hopefully buy some time for the Girty Lue to work with. Time was an extremely valuable commodity that the Girty Lue didn't have a lot of. Sure, Neo didn't fool himself into thinking it would stop the Federation from pursuing them. It would be wonderful if that were so, but the historical record with the Federation said it wouldn't happen. The Federation was too suborn and dogmatic to let an attack on something of theirs go uninvestigated and unanswered for. Thus, the sooner this part of the mission was wrapped up, the sooner the Girty Lue could head for Arzechel. Once the Girty Lue reached Alliance Lunar HQ, the Federation would be less likely to use upfront methods.
Nevertheless, at that point, it would no longer be Neo's issue to deal with and he had no intention of "assisting" with a response from the Federation. That was one advantage of being in Phantom Pain, you could pass off things to others to work out. Neo didn't do that often, but when it came to responding to the Federation after something bad happened, he avoided that like a plague. He didn't like having to be paranoid or need to look over his shoulder to make sure he wasn't being followed. Having the Federation tracking him and others never felt nice. It was stressful and then some to have to have that kind of weight on one's shoulders. Neo had experienced that before now and he disliked that type of thing when it was put on him. So, the sooner the Girty Lue could be done with this mission, the happier Neo would be.
His attention shifted when one of the bridge crew reported that the pair at the colony's port entrance was seeing movement. Alarms were going off in the port, which was a significant activity occurring, and the ships there were likely about to head out. Neo took that to mean the operation was rolling and the schedule would be moved up. The Gundams had been stolen by the trio and were causing chaos around the colony interior. Neo had the com-officer tell those waiting at the port's entrance to move in and block and disable the port. Should the port be disabled, the ZAFT patrols would be hard-pressed to make an effective counter to the Girty Lue. A bonus would be if the pair attacking the dock could damage the colony's com-exchange. If the com-exchange went down, the outside couldn't talk with the inside and vice versa, which would be an advantage for the Girty Lue. "Well then," Neo said, "Let's get going, but inconspicuously until the Gundams come out and the patrols are in disarray." The Girty Lue's Gottfreids were activated, and missile launchers were loaded with Korinthos missiles. The mobile suits still on the ship linked into the catapults to launch out after the Girty Lue struck the first Nazca.
The beams blasting through the Nazca didn't go unnoticed by the rest of the patrol ships. Nor did the other two Nazcas on the cluster-facing side miss the ship appearing a short distance away. The ship was of an unknown class but bore some similarities to the Alliance's Archangel class with its structure. Armory One's port control was alerted of the point, and they ordered the vessels in the dock to head out and assist with dispatching the unknown ship. The only answer to why the enemy ship hadn't been detected before now was that it had to possess Mirage Colloid. The search for any potential matches in the database ZAFT had didn't bring back anything.
For the attack to happen while the chairman was here didn't seem like a coincidence. While the attack was out of nowhere, the timing just didn't match up with an attack on a colony that was out of the way. True, the Alliance wanted to take down Chairman Durandal if given the chance. Their leaders had made it clear with their attempts before now. So, all the port control could do was send out forces to help the patrols. There were already messages of trouble inside the colony minutes ago. In response to that call for help, mobile suits had been sent to the interior to check out what was happening. While whatever was happening inside the colony, those in the port could move out and assist the patrols get this unknown vessel brought under control.
As ships were being ordered to move out of the port to strengthen the patrols, the two waiting Daggers moved into the docking area. They were using low-heat thruster bursts to avoid detection by sensors and give warning to those in the port control center. The suits moved into the port and attacked the Larasia class that was leaving first. The bridge was the first point of the ship to be hit, followed by the engines. The damage caused the Larasia class to drift into the port control center, disrupting ZAFT's command structure. As a bonus, the Larasia's crash sent debris into the colony's com-exchange, effectively taking it down. The pair of Daggers didn't stop with the Larasia; they attacked the other ship, plugging up the port for any behind them. Plugging the colony's port would help the Girty Lue have less resistance to deal with while waiting for the stolen Gundams to exit the colony. The few mobile suits ZAFT had were destroyed before they could effectively counter the two Daggers.
The Girty Lue used missiles to disable the second Nazca as ZAFT forces were trying to recover and counter attack them. Neo was glad things were going smoothly since ZAFT wasn't making an effective counterattack against them. He had the Girty Lue turn to meet the third Nazca and launch their mobile suits to help disable that ship. Neo could also see the other three Nazca classes coming from the other side of the colony. So he knew the Girty Lue had to hurry up and be ready to face them to keep attention off the theft. Yet, he spotted the two Daggers that had just headed out from the Girty Lue were making progress. However, it wouldn't be done in time for when more enemies would be in range to attack. So, he told Ian he was going to head out in his mobile armor to speed things along. He would also ensure the stolen Gundams would have a clear path to the ship. Neo headed down to the hangar and boarded his armor. He would get things back on track and going in the right direction. The longer this took, the more likely it was that the Federation would catch up with the Girty Lue. Should the Federation get to them, their chances of getting away would drop dramatically.
At the same time, the Normandy reached the moon-facing side of the colony cluster. Tyler had to admit, Paris had been true to his word and got the ship close to the colony in a little less than haft the time regulation said it should take to reach. Paris had made the Normandy do some fancy turns to avoid colonies and debris as they had raced along. But he had not stressed the Normandy to a horrible extent with the turns he made through the cluster. Tyler would applauded that kind of piloting even if higher-ups would condemn the idea. Sure, the ship had rocked from side to side with Paris weaving around colonies. But Tyler still had to give the man credit his driving skills were not all talk or show; he knew how to pilot a ship better than most. Plus, the Normandy could haul better than previous ship classes, and Tyler was pleased he'd gotten to see what the ship could do when pushed. Granted, the Normandy may only be a frigate, but the size wasn't everything; Tyler could attest to that.
Visuals the Normandy was getting were brought up, and the mess ahead wasn't pretty. Tyler had to admit the group they were after was cunning with their actions. They used that cunning and outright daring to take ZAFT by surprise and whip them. Should the enemy vessel be using mirage colloid as Tyler suspected they were, ZAFT wouldn't have known anything was coming until it was too late. Sensors brought back an outline that matched the records pulled from Milos's black box. Thus, Tyler figured it was the same ship that had attacked the station and killed all there. And now that Tyler got a closer look at the ship, he liked it even less. The readouts suggested it was a new ship class for the Alliance and some type of mobile suit carrier. Tyler also spotted something on the sides and had the tactical display zoom in on that area. What appeared to be exterior fuel tanks connected to the ship would likely contain non-standard fuel. If it had gasoline, it would allow the ship to operate even more undetected as it cuts down the heat output.
All in all, a dangerous ship, to be sure, but Tyler was mad at the vessel for what it did to those on the research outpost. However, the more Tyler looked at the ship, the more similarities he could spot it had in common with the Alliance's Archangel class. It made him wonder if the Alliance had been dumb enough to ignore what he'd done to the Dominion and other flaws the class had possessed. If some of the same structural stuff had been transferred over as the outer appearance suggested, the same exploits would work in theory. Tyler wouldn't say no to testing those points if the opportunity arose. Yet, there were higher priorities to handle first before any "fun" activities could be done. The stolen data had to be dealt with first before Tyler could leave the ship in a mobile suit. He knew his boss would ream him if he went to the field before first seeing to the mission objective. And Tyler didn't wanted his boss breathing down his neck about the crap he could avoid. So, he would do what was required before going out and having fun, keeping under the radar.
Tyler ordered Paris to have the Normandy move to be in line with the Girty Lue but not to be over them just yet. The Normandy could send out its mobile suits first before disabling the Alliance troublemaker. Yet, before the Normandy could position itself over the Alliance vessel, something came out from the ship. From what Tyler saw, the object sensors locked onto appeared to be a mobile armor. It was a new model since Tyler had never seen it before, but it certainly looked to be based on the Moebius Zero armor. Tyler had the tactical display zoom in for a better look at the enemy unit. The image showed it had both an updated arsenal from what the zero had and was more streamlined. This one was a purple color overall with white tips on each gunbarrel and the nose of the main body. The unit also had two linear guns on the forward section of the armor. The gunbarrels also looked different than the zero armor, which Tyler didn't like as that could mean it could do more than the previous models.
Tyler had the display zoom out, and he glanced over the field to figure out what was happening. Debris suggested the Normandy's quarry had dispatched two to three ZAFT Nazca classes on this side of the colony. Three more Nazcas were coming from the other side of the colony. Tyler glanced over to the colony's port and sensors showed debris was coming out of the harbor and that wasn't a good sign. It meant the Alliance group had attacked the port and had done damage and likely clogged the port. That translated to the ZAFT patrol fighting on its own and not getting any help from allies. The picture that Tyler was seeing didn't spell out much if any good for ZAFT in this surprise attack. Should Miss Grace's suggestion be true, some of the Alliance group inside the colony were stealing ZAFT's Gundams. That mess would be a horror of its own and Tyler wouldn't like to witness that one.
Nonetheless, as Tyler was looking things over, he began to notice something that didn't fit what was happening. From what Tyler could tell, there was an air of rushing and slight desperation on Phantom Pain's side. That made no sense to Tyler since Phantom Pain wasn't a group to show desperation or that they were worried about being caught. The group had been frustratingly proficient and was done and gone by the time an incident was looked into. And yet, here they were, trying to hurry their work along and being less proficient than they had shown themselves to be. "Tell me, Lisa," Tyler said, "if you were our quarry, would you have reason to worry right now?" Tyler paused for a moment, "They have established they are proficient with what they do and tend to have confidence they will get away with whatever they do. They are whipping ZAFT after taking them by surprise and having them on the ropes currently. I would bet their theft is going okay, though it is problematic if they take too long. With things going so well for them right now, why would they be showing an air of worry?"
Lisa considered what Tyler was saying and asking as a point of discussion. He was making a point with what he said and the question he was asking. This Phantom Pain had been successful in their mission thus far. They had stolen the data from the Information Network and had kept ahead of their pursuers. Phantom Pain had the clear advantage against ZAFT and were whipping them as Tyler said. But Tyler had rightly pointed out they had an air of worry about their actions which didn't match what she'd been told about them. The only thing that Lisa could come up with was Phantom Pain were concerned with Federation forces catching up with them. "I would assume they are worried about we from the Federation catching up with them after their trip to Milos," Lisa answered. "This Phantom Pain you mentioned has to know it would be investigated, and then they would be tracked down for the data they stole. The explosive traps they left would be motivation rather than a deterrent."
Tyler didn't disagree with Lisa's take, but that brought up a conundrum with him. If Phantom Pain was so concerned with being chased by the Federation, then why strike Milos first? It would make more logical sense to hit ZAFT's colony and then go to Milos before racing back to the moon. Tyler could only think something was missing in the "equation" that he wasn't seeing that made the difference. He put a hand to his chin, "Me thinks there is something we aren't seeing in this. It makes more sense to hit the colony first and then the outpost before going back to the Alliance's lunar HQ. We would've been harder-pressed to catch them before they reached the Alliance's base if they had done it in that order." Tyler paused, "And the point is bugging me in a way I don't like and can't dismiss." Lisa shrugged, "We can board the ship and see if the boarding team can find out anything while they work."
Tyler nodded, liking the idea, "Sounds good," he agreed. "Have our mobile suits head out and keep our quarry busy. But they are to make it look like ZAFT is doing the work for the time being. There is no need to spook our quarry prematurely and have them react unpredictably." Tyler paused, considering the mobile armor appearing on the field moments ago. It going out suggested that those inside ZAFT's colony were taking longer than they should. "I believe our quarry is focused on their task and so have tunnel vision; let's keep it that way for a bit longer. I say if the Normandy can handle the data uninterrupted, all the better."
Lisa called for red alert and got down to managing things for the boarding. Tyler called down to Luke and the other two pilots and told them to prepare to sortie. Federation mobile suits like ZAFT and Alliance machines have changed and improved over the last two years. The current mass-production mobile suit model is based on the Delta Fighter but has been streamlined, and the specs are better than the Delta Fighter by a good margin. For power, the model uses a new version of the Ultracompact Energy Battery, which utilizes two batteries synced together and even has a slow recharging function, derived from the custom suits from Teswa from the last war. The mobile suits also had reinforced Xionium armor plates. From what Tyler understood, it also had a simplified version of phase shift that worked much like the Aurora's. For stealth, the new system the Federation made and uses, called "Wraith," has already frustrated both the Alliance and ZAFT, as well as them showing jealousy at how effective it is from keeping something undetected. It works similarly to the Specter Optical Camouflage field as it also uses image projection.
The mobile suit's arsenal had a little less than the Delta Fighter but better oomph. There were the vulcan guns in the head, which were 70mm caliber, meant for interception, but machines without phase shift can still get holes punched in them by these if they are too close. Next, there was the MKII X80 high-energy beam rifle, which was a long rifle with better firepower than the Alliance prototypes from the last war. And it would attach to the fighter's barrier shield in its flight mode. Then the barrier shield was where the other weapons were, as the shield was as much a weapon system as a defensive piece of equipment. Two beam sabers were stored in the shield, while on top of the shield in hidden compartments, a double-barreled grenade launcher was built into it. Lastly, there was a beam cannon at the forward section of the shield that worked like a plasma cannon and was the Excel Fighter's heaviest weapon.
The Normandy's linear catapult came out to active position, and the three Excel Fighters the Normandy had onboard began launching out. They were not noticed as the Normandy's stealth system was running as they flew down the catapult. Tyler did open a com-channel shortly after the fighters launched, "Luke, as our quarry is busy causing chaos with ZAFT, use that fact to your advantage. When you attack, make it seem like ZAFT is doing the job so they don't suspect we're around here already. Our quarry will not react kindly to what we're about to do, so keep them busy and not suspect us working," Tyler iterated. "Do you understand, Luke? This group is bad, and we don't want to give them more of an excuse to cause issues than they already do."
Luke understood what Tyler was asking him and the other two to do on the field. The group they had been pursuing had been nothing but bad news from what Luke had seen. The boarding team had mentioned some sick stuff while in the common area. The crap, they'd seen horrible things on the research station, and Luke wasn't sorry he'd missed that trek. But the stuff he'd heard had made Luke mad for those who had suffered because of the Alliance group. So, the majority of the Normandy wanted to make the group pay for what they did to the station's inhabitants. Luke was among that group who wanted to make the Alliance group Tyler had called Phantom Pain pay for their actions. But Luke was on board with Tyler's plan as his friend's plans always seemed to work, even after the war. "Mate, it will be a pleasure for us to do that," Luke answered. "The Alliance group is going to pay for what they did to those at Milos."
Tyler smiled at Luke's response as it had been what many in the crew had been saying. What had happened to those at Milos had hit the whole crew of the Normandy. So the urge to make Phantom Pain pay was something most agreed upon. "Give them hell, Luke," Tyler returned. "They deserve little to no mercy for what they did to those on Milos. So, please, scare the bejeebers out of them the best you can, at the very least." Luke was all for scaring the Alliance group for killing those at Milos. However, Luke hadn't gotten around to congratulating Tyler on his promotion to captain. "I've been meaning to say congrats on the promotion to captain, mate," Luke replied. "Hadn't gotten around to telling you that, but you certainly deserve respect, mate."
Tyler couldn't help the smile at Luke, saying he deserved the post of captain. Few had said anything about him deserving the position of captain. With his age, Tyler tended to get the opposite of praise which he ignored most of the time. "Thanks for the compliment, Luke," Tyler remarked. "It's nice to be told congrats for a promotion, even if it isn't one I expected to come to me. Watch yourselves out there and do what you can for the ZAFT forces. They don't deserve the whipping they are receiving from Phantom Pain." The mobile suits launched out from the Normandy shifting to their flight mode and vanishing from sight before leaving the ship's stealth field. Tyler turned his attention from delegating instructions to the mobile suit team to the Alliance vessel.
The enemy vessel violated the Treaty of Junius Seven, among other things it represented. It was standing evidence that the Alliance had blatantly broken the treaty contrary to their claims they were following it. And if they had disregarded part of the treaty, then it was just as likely they had violated more of it and other agreements they had made. The Alliance was employing mirage colloid with black ops if Phantom Pain was anything to judge by. There wouldn't be much of a step to use other technologies that were forbidden for them. The amount of material that could condemn the Alliance's activities was growing. The issue was much of the information was classified with the Federation, so it couldn't be used against them in public yet. However, Tyler was of the mind accusing the Alliance of what they had been doing could reveal who might be holding the reins of the Alliance which didn't have a definitive answer. Tyler was convinced that some group was calling the shots the Alliance listened to.
Tyler smirked, "Let's get down to business and get these punks quaking in their boots, among other things," he announced. Paris moved the Normandy to be above the Girty Lue, with the Alliance vessel being none the wiser. Tyler was about to give the order to deploy the disruptor anchors, but Lisa beat him to it. He knew that his friend had a knack for being able to predict what he would say or plan, but it was still something to see. Tyler was glad to have Lisa as his second-in-command and the right-hand person with how well they worked together. "Fire disruptor anchors at the Alliance vessel," she ordered. Tyler picked up his ship phone attached to the captain's chair, "Boarding team, standby to board the enemy vessel, and give them hell if you can." Tyler said, "Ready the weapon systems for after we're done dealing with the data stolen. We're not going to let them leave without receiving a whipping from us." Tyler observed that the crew was quick to work hard when he or Lisa gave orders. And it looked like they all knew their stations competently and worked together well, benefiting a ship's crew.
On the Girty Lue, Ian was about to order the crew to target one of the approaching Nazcas. Captain Roanoke had already gone out in his mobile armor to help those on the field keep ZAFT distracted. ZAFT's response had improved somewhat in the last five minutes, but it was likely due to their desperation. There still was no sign of the teens that were supposed to be acquiring ZAFT's Gundams. Ian had been kind of hesitant about leaving the theft with the teens, no matter how "skilled" they were supposed to be. As the Captain had said, time was a big factor in this, which Ian had agreed with. Ian was in the same camp as Captain Roanoke the Federation would track them down for what they had done at the research outpost. And the data they'd stolen was supposed to be valuable intel on ZAFT even if it was encrypted currently. Thus, the Federation would likely pursue to try to get back the stolen data. Hopefully, Captain Roanoke had a way to contact the trio and tell them to hurry up and leave the colony.
Nevertheless, the Girty Lue shook before Ian could give the order for the gottfrieds to fire. A moment later, the lights on the bridge flickered and went out, as did the consoles at the bridge stations. Ian glanced around, "What's going on," he demanded. One of the bridge operators turned, "We've lost power to the consoles and lights, sir," they said. "And what is causing the power loss," Ian questioned. He got no answer to that other than one of the operators pointing up. Ian moved forward and paled somewhat as he saw a ship above the Girty Lue. It wasn't a ship class that he knew of, but he would bet it was a Federation vessel. Ian also noted that cables wrapped around the Girty Lue were likely what was causing the power issues the ship was dealing with. Ian had heard of the Federation "disabling" ships but not much about the methods they used to do so.
The Girty Lue was disabled within a minute through the disruptor cables which had wrapped around the enemy ship. The cables held the ship where it was, cutting off the engines so the Girty Lue couldn't move. They would also disrupt the ship's power to all but life-support, making any response less effective. The Normandy shifted to have its lower center airlock line up with a hatch the Girty Lue had. The boarding tunnel extended and connected to the Girty Lue. The boarding team moved through it and worked to get past the hatch. The boarding team was being watched from the bridge, and Tyler couldn't help but smile with pride with the seamlessness of the crew's efforts. Lisa noticed Tyler's smile and couldn't stop the snicker that escaped her. The crew of the Normandy had grown on Tyler and Lisa; they had learned to work well with them.
Marks had his team in spacesuits with body armor built into them. They were in the room with the airlock connected to the boarding tunnel, which was connecting to the Alliance vessel. The captain's orders had been specified when the Normandy caught up with its quarry. The boarding team would go onto the enemy vessel, find and handle the stolen files. The other thing the team was to do was place a beacon on the ship for tracking purposes for the future. If they had the opportunity, the team was to be rough with those on the enemy vessel. It was to make them pay for what had been done to those on the Milos outpost. The job was to be done as quickly as possible before the team returned to the Normandy. The enemy vessel's mobile weapons were immediately distracted, but that wouldn't last. It wouldn't take much for the Alliance group to figure out something was happening to their ship. Marks radioed the bridge and said he and his team were about to board the opposing ship.
Tyler glanced at one of the bridge crew, who nodded in response to tell Tyler the boarding tunnel was connected to the Alliance vessel. He got back on his captain's phone, "Marks, you are go for boarding," Tyler stated. "Get the job done and then get back here; that is the priority." Tyler hadn't missed the non-verbal responses he'd seen from the boarding part that had gone to Milos. And it was more than the horrors that soldiers saw in the trenches as Tyler had witnessed. "As much as I would cheer you on making those on the enemy vessel pay, the job needs to be done more. We wish you the best of luck over there."
Marks acknowledged the parting message Tyler had given his team and him. He then directed his team to enter the boarding tunnel and head over to the enemy ship. The hatch at the other end of the tunnel was hacked through in less than a minute before it popped open. The Normandy's bridge would be able to listen to the team's progress over the encrypted channel the team was using. The boarding team surged into the Girty Lue and searched for a terminal to find the stolen data. It took the team getting to the end of the long corridor they had entered to come up against resistance. There was the sound of guns being used, followed by cries of men dying. Tyler assumed those on the Alliance vessel hadn't expected a boarding party and were scrambling against them.
Marks led his team forward, mowing down soldiers that would pop up in their path. They found a terminal in a room down the second corridor they went down. The team broke into three groups; two of them were guarding the corridor on either side of the room. The last group was working on the terminal to accomplish what they were here to do. Jenkins was managing the defenders who were fending off Alliance soldiers. It took a little over five minutes to locate the data that the Alliance stole. The work to corrupt the data took another five minutes or so. As the stolen data was handled, another hid a tracking beacon in a maintenance panel. All the while, Alliance soldiers were doing what they could to get past the boarding team. Jenkins kept those under his charge in formations that gave no openings for the enemy to use.
Ian on the bridge wasn't liking what was being reported to him via the com-officer. They were using the emergency communication system, which was thankfully working. But they were reporting that the ship had intruders on the ship now. Not only was the Girty Lue working to recover from the power disruption the Federation had caused, but its soldiers had also boarded it. The Girty Lue couldn't signal for help as the multi-purpose launchers weren't up and working yet due to lack of power. And by the time they were, it would be too late since the damage would be done. Ian had some trying to get one of the launchers to fire manually, but that was a hit-or-miss thing at best. Their allies were busy around the colony and had no idea the Girty Lue was in trouble since most ship systems weren't responding. And it wouldn't surprise Ian if somehow the Federation had used its stealth system to hide the ship from its allies. In short, the Girty Lue was between a rock, and a hard place, as the old phrase went.
Once the boarding team finished their work, they began returning to their entry point. Alliance soldiers tried to stop them along the way but failed in their attempts. The boarding team closed the hatch and locked it behind them as they filed through the tunnel. The team hadn't lost one member, nor were any injured. Marks reported the team's success on the enemy vessel to the bridge. The performance was nearly exemplary, and Marks would stand by that if any were judging. Tyler was pleased the boarding team had done the job with essentially no hiccups or serious problems. Enemy forces appeared to be busy with ZAFT forces and the Normandy's pilots acting as ZAFT forces. This part of the mission was going smoother than Tyler had expected it to, with Phantom Pain being involved.
Nonetheless, Tyler wasn't going to go forward, believing things would continue going smoothly. He'd lost count of how often things had gone well with a given situation, then suddenly took a turn and went in a completely different direction. With how cunning this group had proven, Tyler was waiting for when they did something desperate. Lisa ordered the disruptor cables to be released and retracted when Tyler's expectation was proven correct. The Alliance vessel fired off a signal flare from one of its multi-purpose launchers. Tyler would guess they had managed to do the idea manually, which wasn't a simple matter to pull off. The issue that the action created was the Alliance mobile weapons took notice something was off and wrong. They turned their attention towards their vessel, which ZAFT and the Normandy's pilot jumped to stop. Tyler ordered Paris to move the Normandy and bring it around to target the enemy vessel.
Tyler was done waiting for his chance to go out and do what he could on the field. The priority tasks were done so his boss couldn't come down on him, saying he was being an idiot for that. So, with the cleanup still needing to be wrapped up, Tyler was itching to get out and get down to business. Unlike other ship officers, he didn't intend to be stuck in the captain's chair, and others did the work he was good at. It would be one of the differences between Tyler and other ship officers. The Aurora was down in the hangar, waiting for Tyler to suit up, get in, and take it out. Tyler turned to Lisa, "Lisa, can you," he started, but Lisa finished his sentence, "Take over here on the bridge so that you can launch out?" Lisa had known Tyler had been itching to be out on the field in a mobile suit fighting against the Alliance group. He was good at fieldwork and liked it in some ways; Lisa knew that.
Tyler blinked twice at the response from Lisa. It wasn't the first time that Lisa had finished his sentence or thought. It happened off and on with the two of them when they worked together. It wasn't a fluke; Tyler had seen the point enough to know that. That was one of the reasons she and Tyler worked so well together. They were usually on the same wavelength in knowing what needed to be done and the best way to do it. Thus, Tyler smiled a bit, "I see you can still anticipate what I'm going to do, even after the time we haven't been working together," he remarked. "You would be correct, can you please."
Lisa nodded in reply, which was enough for Tyler to push out of his seat and head for the lift. Tyler was looking forward to going out in the Aurora and fighting the Alliance group the Normandy had been chasing. He was sure the group was Phantom Pain or had members of the black opts group. With what Tyler had seen from their work, he'd been sickened and frustrated by the results he'd witnessed. The group seemed to see nothing wrong with murdering innocent people if it benefited their aims. They stirred up chaos and promoted conflict simply to serve whomever they worked for. They had no apparent value on human life that were part of their cult that hated any that had differing views. So, Tyler wanted to take some from Phantom Pain down a notch or more for the horrible things they committed. And Tyler was confident he could give some of those out there a run for their money with his skills. If he could, he would have them quaking in their suits to make them understand what kind of feelings they caused in their victims. Thus, Tyler was focused on what he would do on the field as he put on his pilot suit in the locker room.
He headed for the Normandy's hangar once his suit was on and secured with his helmet in hand. Upon entering the hangar, Tyler stopped and glanced around, taking in the layout. The Normandy's hangar layout was unique, unlike any other he'd seen before. From what Tyler could see, the hangar had five docks for mobile weapons and a shuttle stored under the entryway. The hangar seemed to be based on a gear and track system that went down the center of the area from the docks to the back. At the back appeared to be an airlock of some kind which Tyler assumed would take machines to the catapult. From what Tyler saw, there looked to be two sliding platforms to carry machines to the airlock. It was an efficient setup should it work as designed. Tyler could see potential drawbacks as mobile suits could only be launched one at a time, even if they could be done in somewhat quick succession. It was one thing the Archangel had as an advantage with two linear catapults. Then spare space was hard to find as supplies were stored in those, and there was little space that wasn't used for something.
Tyler didn't fault the ship designers for how they made the hangar, and it was impressive. The Normandy was all about efficiency from what he'd seen and read from the specs. Tyler respected the mentality of making things efficient as being wasteful didn't tend to go well. Yet, the mentality came with a cost, as any other way of thinking did. In the Normandy's case, she may be able to carry almost as many mobile suits as her bigger enemy counterparts and the class above them. However, the ship couldn't spare space nor handle a great deal of damage before needing help from others. Not that Tyler felt the Normandy would be in the position to need help often. He would ensure she performed well against enemy forces and put them on the defensive rather than attacking the Normandy as they pleased.
Tyler focused back on the task at hand. The Aurora was in a dock and looked ready to go, which he appreciated. Tyler also had seen mechanics going about the hangar doing tasks. And he quickly focused on the one delegating the tasks to the crew members there. Tyler took that to mean the gruff-looking man was the chief mechanic of the Normandy. The man appeared to be somewhere in his late forties to early fifties. He had a rough-hewn face with graying chops with a sharp-looking goatee. With the way the guy was barking out orders, Tyler figured the man knew his crew and made them work the best he could. Tyler respected a tough chief mechanic; they tended to be great for a ship, if not better. The position was one that Tyler did his best not to mess with since they were responsible for mobile suit maintenance. So, he floated over to the man and waited for the other mechanics to notice him. It took a minute, but the man turned and looked at Tyler. "I take it you are the chief here in the hangar," Tyler greeted with a bow, "and are responsible for keeping this great ship in working order."
Guy Volyon had been assigned to the Normandy as the job before he took a teaching job for other chief mechanics. Guy hadn't wanted to take a desk job just yet, so he'd accepted the chief mechanic job for the brand-new ship class. The hangar was unique and had taken a little time to get used to, but Guy had managed. The crew had also taken a few hours to whip into shape and have them listen to orders and not question them needlessly. Storing the supplies had been good training for those under his charge. And thus far, none of the ship officers had come down questioning his methods or tried to take charge. Guy certainly wouldn't complain about that; rather, he appreciated being left to do things his way.
The three pilots the ship had right now had already headed out a little while ago. So Guy had been having his boys clean and organize to occupy their time. Granted, there was another mobile suit in a dock, a Gundam no less, but Guy hadn't been told of other pilots. What the Gundam was doing on the Normandy wasn't Guy's business, so he didn't ask questions about it. And yet now, this young man was playing nice for who knew what reason. The kid may be in a pilot suit, but that didn't mean anything to Guy, just the kid wanting to do something he may or may not be supposed to be doing. Yet Guy nodded, "Yeah, damn right, I'm the one who runs this hangar," he said in a firm voice. "Now, who the hell are you, and what might your suited-rear end be doing in my hangar?"
Tyler felt a smile come to his face at the response he got. He appreciated the "no-nonsense" reply to his greeting as he didn't tend to get that specific idea often. Tyler would give those that didn't want to waste time on pleasantries the time to speak out. And he felt the Normandy's Chief Mechanic and he would get along quite well. Sure, this first encounter would be rocky, Tyler didn't doubt, but they would be fine after getting past it. Tyler inclined his head in response, "The name's Tyler McGregor, my good man," he returned, then pointed at the Aurora. "And I'm down here to launch out to the field in the Aurora."
The crew in the hangar were listening to the exchange as they were doing the tasks set to them by the chief. The blunt demand to know whom the kid was happened to be normal for Chief Volyon. The man wasn't one to mince word; he said what he meant to regardless of who was on the other end. So, when the kid just gave his name and then stated he was here to take out the Gundam, it caused a pause with the mechanics. Guy was gazing at the kid, trying to decide whether he was telling the truth or not. McGregor was supposed to be the name of the Normandy's captain. Captains didn't go out in mobile suits as far as Guy had seen. So, that made the kid's claim questionable. "McGregor, you say," Guy started, "ain't you kind of young to claim you're some kind of war hero, kid? And you sayin you're the captain of this ship is certainly hard to swallow?"
Guy could understand a soldier and pilot wanting to go out to the field when fighting was going on. And most of the time, Guy had no issues with pilots being edgy on heading out to battle. But for the kid to claim he was a war hero from the last war was a stretch. Guy had heard the name Tyler McGregor and some of the stories that were told. McGregor was supposed to be some sort of ace pilot that had done impossible things in the Alliance-PLANT War. Guy had wondered if the captain had been the same individual but hadn't looked further into it. And while Guy could understand a pilot claiming to be an ace to have a shot at piloting a Gundam, now wasn't the time for such things. "I can understand fibbin to go out in a mobile suit and a Gundam at that," Guy continued. "but you need to work on the art 'cause you are bad at it, boy."
Irritation flared up in Tyler at the reply as it was along the lines he was used to getting from those who had never met him. Tyler knew of the stories told about him, both the "reasonable ones" and the "stupid crap" others said about him. A couple of points tended to be held against Tyler with his service in the Federation's Military. His age was one brought up often, which annoyed Tyler since his performance should counter it. While Tyler may be young compared to the average Federation soldier, his skills made him an exception. Being treated differently was yet another idea held against Tyler, and it was unfair if he were to give his opinion. Yes, Tyler was treated differently than other soldiers, but he was put into situations that they never saw. Thus, his treatment was something that shouldn't be held against him since it wasn't as some claimed. There were other "things" used against Tyler to say he shouldn't be "allowed" to do one thing or another.
Normally, Tyler would be more than willing to take the time to correct another's view of him when the stupid stories fed it. However, with the fighting going on outside, there wasn't time to waste on the little things. Phantom Pain was inclined to run when seen and disappear, so they couldn't be held accountable. Tyler didn't want them to flee before they got whipped, at least somewhat, for what they had done. So, Tyler glared at the gruff man, "Okay, I know I look too young to be the captain of this vessel. I flat out told the one I have to report to, my boss Admiral Raine when she told me of the promotion and assignment, others would say such things about me. And I did that with a straight face, I might add, which is no small thing with that woman. Any who have faced Admiral Raine will tell you facing her is scary as the woman has the art of intimidation down better than any other I've seen in my life or read about, historically speaking."
Tyler paused momentarily to calm down a bit from the tirade that had almost started coming out of him. Whenever Tyler talked about his boss, things rarely ended well as he fell into venting his frustration about the woman. "I'm well aware of the irritating rumors and stories about me and what I do," Tyler continued a tick mark appearing on his forehead. "I've spent time while I'm not working on a mission and not on vacation dispelling the crap said about me." Tyler shook his head and refocused on the matter, "But that isn't the point right now. There are people out there under my command fighting against an Alliance group who wouldn't hesitate to kill them. Them risking their lives may be expected, but they are my responsibility to bring back and get them home to loved ones. I will not lose anyone that I don't have to, period." Tyler took a breath and gained a deadpanned expression, "Now, either you help me by launching my Gundam, the Aurora, or I launch it myself, and you can deal with the mess I make doing so. The choice is up to you." There was dead silence in the hangar, so much so that one could've heard a pin drop clearly. The sounds of battle were heard faintly from the outside, but one had to listen hard to hear them.
Guy hadn't expected anything like the kid's reply to the questions. The kid had proven he wasn't just a pilot trying to go out and fight. He was trying to meet the responsibilities expected of the captain of a ship. And if the kid had even half the determination he was showing with what he said, Guy was willing to give them the chance to prove themselves. The kid had moxie, more than he'd seen others have for a while. So, after a minute, Guy couldn't help but laugh at the kid's response. "You got serious spunk and moxie, kid, I'll give you that." All the mechanics looked to their chief as he didn't laugh often. "My name is Guy Volyon, and yes, I'm the chief mechanic and boss to all of these and any other mechanics or technicians onboard the Normandy." Guy offered a hand which Tyler shook, "If you can pilot even half as good as you can talk, then I'll not say no to you going out," he replied. Then he turned to his boys, "Right then, you slackers, get the Gundam ready to launch now! If I catch any of you shirking off, then you'll do a full double shift under my watch, and it ain't going to be comfortable I'll personally make sure of that; now get to your work!"
Tyler respected that Chief Volyon wasn't one to take crap from anyone, himself included. Tyler was from a similar mold when it came to not taking crap from others when it wasn't required. Tyler twisted around and floated toward the Aurora so he could get out to the field. He was so glad to see the Aurora again, not just on the Normandy but at Echowas too. Tyler hadn't been optimistic when he'd seen it with the damage it had taken in the Second Battle of Jachin Due. From what Carlos had told Tyler when he'd reached out to him for the verdict on the Aurora's condition, the damage was bad. The damage was so bad that repairs would be nigh impossible and take too long, bringing tears to Tyler's eyes back at the time. Much like the Shadow, the Aurora had served him well, and he had wanted it to do so for longer. The tears hadn't lasted long as Carlos had told him; instead, the Aurora would be rebuilt. Thus, the Aurora would be paired with Tyler for the foreseeable future.
Nevertheless, the good news hadn't stopped there; Carlos had told him they would be doing some upgrades during the rebuild. It would be nothing major, not that Tyler was complaining about the upgrades that were essentially being done for free. Carlos had iterated about somehow making the nuclear reactor safer with some scientific jargon that went over Tyler's head. The missiles had been changed, but Carlos hadn't gone into great detail about that. All the Vulcans had been changed to use anti-phase shift rounds, which would help against Gundams. And then, the deflection system had been tailored to do better and activate quicker when called upon. The same was done with the beam rifle, which Tyler liked. And the final "present" the Aurora was to get was the Phantom Stealth system upgrade, which automatically employs something similar to the Shadow's Echo Trace Emitter. All the changes Tyler was looking forward to putting them through their paces and seeing their performance.
Tyler typed in the command into his right arm control pad and had the Aurora's cockpit open. Tyler grabbed the seat and pulled himself into it, settling in and letting his suit's backpack lock into the seat. It was one of the changes for the Aurora, which was becoming a standard for Federation mobile suits. Tyler preferred the new form of restraints rather than the belts and buckles that used to be employed. The Federation's pilot suit's dynamic frame it had felt more natural than belts potentially cutting into the shoulders and one's front. The frame could become ridged but wouldn't cut into the pilot's body as belts could.
Tyler had the seat lower into the cockpit while mechanics began checking over the Aurora. The cockpit layout hadn't changed from what it had been before. The controls were where Tyler remembered them being during the Alliance-PLANT War. Tyler had the Aurora start booting up its operating system, and seeing the familiar start-up message was comforting. And yet, Tyler did note that the version of the system had been updated as the version number was different than it had been.
MOBILE SUIT NEX OPERATION SYSTEM
Generation
Unsubdued
Nuclear
Drive
Assault
Module
G.U.N.D.A.M Intrigue
_Series GN125-O7 NR 03-13868_
Federation Military
Tyler checked over the Aurora's systems, as this was the first time he'd been in the rebuilt Gundam. The nuclear reactor was running as it should, and the power output was what Tyler expected. He did note there were a few more safety interlocks for the reactor than before, which Tyler wouldn't be saying no to. Tyler looked over the "changes" Carlos had mentioned would be going into the rebuild. The Micro-Missile launchers in the hip skirts had been modified to have five missile tubes instead of three. Those missiles were in collections or swarms of three per tube, meaning the Aurora could shoot fifteen missiles rather than three. And each missile had remote detonators that Tyler could activate at any time after firing. The Aurora's 90mm Vulcans the Aurora's flight array was now loaded with anti-phase shift rounds. The shield could deploy faster, and its projected deflection field consumed less power when active. The beam rifle had received the same treatment as the shield had gotten. And lastly, the stealth system had been updated, as Carlos had said, which would improve it.
Mechanics were checking over the outside of the Aurora to ensure there was nothing off they could find. They were also disconnecting the supply cables linked with the Gundam. They had been glancing at the machine off and on since it had come onto the Normandy. For most of them, it was the first "Gundam-type" they'd seen so close up. The stories about Gundams had been circulating since the war like wildfire. They were supposed to be akin to super weapons when in the hands of a good pilot. Once the inspection was done, one of the mechanics floated up to the Gundam's cockpit entrance. Tyler finished up his system check which had everything green and ready to go for combat. He was putting on his helmet when he saw movement at the cockpit entrance. When he looked up, Tyler saw one of the mechanics there, "Everything looks good, Captain," they said. "We'll move you through the airlock system and to the catapult momentarily." Tyler nodded to the information, "Thanks, it's appreciated."
Tyler closed the cockpit hatch after the mechanic drew back. That threw the cockpit into darkness for a moment before the panoramic displays came up with the view of the outside. There was a jerk as the Aurora was connected to one of the platforms in the hangar's rail system. The platform then drew out of the dock and brought the Aurora to the rear of the hangar to be by the airlock system. The Aurora was spun around one-hundred-eighty degrees and began to be tilted backward. The Gundam was moved into the airlock system between the hangar and the catapult. Tyler found the space between the two airlocks was enough for a mobile suit or shuttle with little space to spare. And he was glad he didn't have claustrophobia with the little space to spare around him. Tyler noted that his forward display alerted him that a launch cable was being connected, as was standard for mobile suits.
The lower airlock opened after cycling, and the Aurora moved to the catapult. The Normandy's stealth field covered the linear catapult so none would see the Aurora heading out. Yet, Tyler switched on the Aurora's stealth system, so it was on when he left the Normandy's field. The platform the Aurora was connected to slid down to align with the electron rails. Tyler had the Aurora glance "upward," which was forward, and saw the electron rails had expanded much as the Archangel's rails would slide out. The Normandy's rails had pieces that unfolded up and down when in the active position. Tyler looked "forward" again and saw the launch display appear in front of him along the ship's hull. There was a clunk below as the clamps that held the Aurora to the platform were released. Tyler grasped the throttle and control stick, focusing on the display for him going out.
On the bridge, Feldt reported that the Aurora was on the catapult and ready for deployment. Lisa gave the go-ahead to let the Aurora head out to the field. The launch signal popped up for Tyler, and he accelerated the Aurora down the catapult. The cable ejected and snapped back as Tyler shot off the catapult away from the Normandy. Tyler shifted the Aurora into its flight mode and quickly spotted where the battle was going on ahead. ZAFT was still hanging on, but they were slipping in their defense. Luke and the other pilots from the Normandy were "helping" ZAFT while making it appear that ZAFT was attacking the Alliance group. However, Tyler locked in on the mobile armor as that seemed to be the group's leader. And a smile formed on his face as he had a "fun" idea to torment the armor pilot and humiliate them for the crap they had caused.
Meanwhile, inside the colony, Stella, Auel, and Sting were still fighting ZAFT forces that were putting up resistance. ZAFT's resistance was growing stronger the longer the three stolen Gundams fought them. Sting knew they were working on borrowed time and needed to leave the colony interior as soon as possible. The longer Sting and his tiro stayed, the more likely they would be worn down and the Gundams run out of power. Should the Gundams run out of power, they could be recaptured. Things would be bad if Sting and the other two be captured; they would be as good as dead. And Sting was busy fighting against the ZAFT machine that had recently appeared and was helping the gold Gundam. He figured the enemy pilot wasn't an average one, not with how they were holding their own against Sting. The gold Gundam and the ZAKU were fighting him and keeping his attention focused on them. Things were going south, and Sting knew that needed to be dealt with quickly.
Sting had gotten glimpses of the Gaia going against the new unknown Gundam that had appeared. There was the ZAKU that Stella had been working on, which the unknown Gundam was assisting. The two forced the Gaia back slowly but surely, which wouldn't help their plight in any way. Sting had glanced around as he could, hoping he could spot the Abyss and somehow get Auel to help them before they were overwhelmed. The three of them needed to leave the colony as fast as they could before ZAFT found ways to overwhelm them. And ZAFT had been working on separating them so they could wear them down one-by-one. Sting couldn't do much to help Stella or Auel with their fights to finish them until he got the gold Gundam and the ZAKU off of him.
Stella was forced to back up as the Impulse swung one side of its combined blade at the Gaia. She was going to respond by drawing her own beam saber and stabbing the enemy for the surprise attack. However, Shinn didn't let up his assault on the Gaia, as he whipped his swords around and made a second swing at the opposing Gundam. He would help his allies stay alive through this battle's end. Shinn had seen that Aila was fighting against the Chaos, helped by a ZAKU Blaze. The Abyss had been a distance away from them fighting ZAFT machines but was out of sight of where the battle against the Chaos and Gaia was. There had been a lot of wreckage he'd seen along the way here. That said to him many allies had already given their lives to try and get this under control but had failed.
Sting was still trying to get the gold machine to back off from the Chaos, but the Osiris wasn't letting up. And the ZAKU Blaze, which was close, was working with the Osiris and not giving Sting much of a chance to go on the offensive. As Sting dodged, he caught sight of the Abyss, which made him hopeful for a brief moment. However, those hopes of assistance faded as he saw that Auel was taking on another ZAFT suit. Auel's opponent was holding their own and keeping the Abyss's attention from straying. So, Auel was much in the same position as Sting and Stella were. They were all being kept busy and kept inside the colony, defending themselves. If that went unchanged, then the trio would fail the mission and likely die in the end for it.
Sting had the Chaos leap into the air and shift into its mobile armor mode. He hoped to distance himself from his enemy and stop being on the defensive. Sting had to switch to being on the attack if he was to make progress. This battle needed to end quickly, or there would only become worse for two reasons. The first was that the longer it continued, the more likely the Gundams would run out of power. ZAFT could win if the Gundams ran out of power and recapture them. And the second reason was the chance of missing their ride if they didn't get outside quickly. Neo had clarified that they were on a tight schedule, and there wasn't room for detours. He had said the Federations would chase them until they reached the moon and Arzechel. Neo had been convinced of the point enough to make Sting believe him.
Aila pursued the Chaos even when it had retreated into the air. The Osiris also had an alternative mode that gave it an advantage in the air over other machines. She wouldn't let the stolen Gundams get away so easily. They would only produce trouble for all that went against them. Three Gundams in the hands of an Alliance group that would attack others for little reason was too dangerous. If they could be worn down, they would run out of power and then be much simpler to recapture. The teens would be interrogated, and whatever they told them would be used by ZAFT to protect its citizens. So, she shifted the Osiris into its flight mode as she chased the Chaos. Flying wasn't easy with one damaged stabilizer, but Aila would manage the point. Matt was firing upon the Chaos and distracting the pilot while Aila got closer. Aila had the Osiris use its Vulcans and machine guns to pepper the Chaos as she closed the distance even more.
Between the gold Gundam shooting him and the ZAKU firing upon him, Sting could not counter effectively. He was trying to fight back against his two opponents, but everything he tried didn't work. The two he was fighting were working together well enough that he couldn't catch a break. They wouldn't let him try to help Stella or go to free up Auel so they could finish fighting. Thus, the enemy separated them to prevent them from working together. Their opponents had forced them into a difficult position that they could do little to change.
At the same time, Talia had reached the "forward operation camp," which ZAFT forces had put up shortly after the attack had begun. She found Gilbert at the outpost, giving out orders and doing what he could to direct things. Talia hoped she could get Gilbert to leave this place and come to the Minerva, as the camp wasn't safe with Gundams on the loose. Before she'd left the ship, the Minerva's com-officer hadn't been able to contact the port control or the colony's control center. That was a bad sign inferring something could've happened to either or both places; the com-exchange could also have been damaged. With the shaking there had been earlier, Talia feared there had been an attack on the port. The interior was at risk if a battle was going on outside the colony. All it would take was a hole made from the outside or inside, and the atmosphere would become hazardous for the inhabitance of the colony.
Should the port have been attacked, that could cause other issues that would need to be faced by those inside the colony. Around the port was other infrastructure that was to help the colony in a couple of ways. Some of that involved "dangerous" chemicals that were used to clean the atmospheric equipment. However, if those chemicals were released from where they were used, they would become toxic. The citizens would be safe should they get to shelters since those could separate from the colony's air supply should it be toxic. Those around the armory would be hard-pressed to get to shelters that were still intact. But the soldiers had stepped forward to fight those who were attacking the colony and had done so knowing the risk. Gilbert was the hope for the PLANTs right now, and they needed him. Should the PLANTs lose him, it would be a serious blow to them. The Alliance would be more than willing to take that chance and kill Gilbert if they could. So, for the PLANTs, Gilbert's safety was a priority for ZAFT to see to.
With that in mind, Talia approached the nearest officers and inquired what they knew of the current situation. She was told things were bad as she had known they were, but it was worse than Talia had feared. Contact had been lost with the colony's control center and the port control. It was assumed that the colony's com-exchange had been damaged somehow. The losses that ZAFT was taking from the attack of the stolen Gundams were not small. Many groups weren't reporting in and were assumed dead from the attack. Other groups were working to help with evacuations, but they had also taken losses during the work. Then there were those fighting against the stolen Gundams, who had also taken the heaviest losses. The other worrisome point was that the air quality was changing slowly, implying that some of the "dangerous" chemicals were contaminating the colony's atmosphere. Talia insisted that the Chairman could go to the Minerva and still do the delegation he was here. It would also be safer for Gilbert on the Minerva as the toxins wouldn't be able to reach him, and the Gundams would be hard-pressed to get to him. The officers agreed with Talia, and they all walked up to Gilbert, who was still giving out orders to those around him.
Gilbert faced the officers that had come up behind him and found Talia was with them. They all told him it was too dangerous for him to stay where he was. Their reasoning was simple yet logical, which he couldn't argue. With toxins contaminating the colony's atmosphere, being out in the open wasn't safe for much longer. The fighting was moving, and there was a chance it would come in his direction. No matter the results of the Alliance's attack, he would be needed around the homeland after this. So, Gilbert agreed with the reasoning and told the majority to grab what they could and prepare to move. Soldiers stayed to hold the position for as long as they could while the rest began making their way toward the Minerva. The group found vehicles to work with, and the convoy forged a path toward the Minerva's port.
The route the convoy had to take to get to the dock was winding with the damage the fighting had caused. They would have to detour when they came to debris blocking their way. Gilbert didn't like what he saw around the colony as the convoy kept moving. The colony was suffering from the thieves' attack, and it wasn't just limited to the armory. The colony's citizens were under an evacuation order and had been since the stolen Gundams had broken out of their hangar. If the Alliance was supporting the thieves, then this was the first openly blatant attack on ZAFT by them since the Alliance-PLANT War. However, Gilbert figured proving a connection between the thieves and the Alliance would be extremely difficult. If ZAFT could capture one or more of the thieves or those supporting them, that task could be easier.
Gilbert did get a view of the stolen Gundams fighting ZAFT machines which were trying to stop them. The ZAKUs, GuAIZ, and GINNs were not having much success against the Gundams, but Gilbert would applaud the soldiers' efforts. The sight of the Osiris and the Impulse in the fight against the stolen Gundams was comforting to Gilbert. Beating a Gundam normally took another to accomplish the task. Gilbert wasn't the only one to notice the Osiris and Impulse in the fight against the other Gundams. Seeing the Osiris fighting the three that had been causing destruction around the armory gave Talia hope that it was still under ZAFT's control. And for the Impulse to have been sent out from the Minerva would help the bad situation. She would thank Arthur for ordering the Impulse to launch, and Talia would've done the same in his position.
After around ten minutes, the convoy arrived at the docking area. Talia guided the group toward the boarding ramp while the soldiers surrounded the chairman to protect him from any potential enemy attack. Once on the Minerva, Talia suggested Gilbert be escorted to quarters. Gilbert refused the suggestion, insisting he would help organize resistance against the thieves. The deal had been stated that had convinced him to leave the forward outpost. Talia could see Gilbert would be stubborn and insist he be involved with the ongoing situation. As much as Talia would like Gilbert to leave dealing with the crisis of the stolen Gundams, she knew his personality wouldn't allow it. So, she didn't try to talk him out of taking charge of ZAFT forces still inside the colony though the officers with him did.
Instead, Talia made her way to the Minerva's navigation bridge. She wanted to confer with Arthur and see how things stood from the Minerva's perspective. Arthur had already sent out the Impulse, which was the right decision. Talia hoped he might have gotten more information about where things stood. The Minerva was not in the ongoing battle's direct line but could change at any time. The unpredictable movements and attacks of the stolen Gundams had shown that anything was possible with them. Hopefully, Arthur would've gotten a channel to some field outposts and could tell her more about what was happening.
Arthur did what he could on the bridge to get things in good working order for the ship. The info coming in from the Impulse wasn't encouraging for what was going on. Three of the Gundams from the second-generation series were under enemy control. The Osiris appeared to be in allied hands, but Mr. Asuka hadn't mentioned specifics. Making contact with the Osiris was being attempted, but there had been no success yet. The com-officer had contacted two field outposts, yet what had come from that wasn't good. The three stolen machines had been slaughtering ZAFT soldiers badly. Resistance was being mounted, but it wasn't enough to stop or slow the enemy down thus far. Clearly, the enemy group infiltrating the colony had caught ZAFT off-guard. ZAFT was trying to recover, but the enemy was making that difficult.
The Minerva was just about ready to go into active service should that be required. With how things were going, Arthur was inclined to think the Minerva would be called upon soon enough. If the enemy managed to get the stolen machine out of the colony, hunting them down would be necessary. Arthur wanted to believe the patrols outside would help slow enemy forces, but he couldn't be sure of that. The colony's com-exchange was having issues of some kind since the Minerva couldn't get in contact with allies outside. So, Arthur had to assume the port and outside patrols had their own issues, as it was the worst-case scenario. The Minerva's dock had its own airlock system, which could let the ship leave the colony's interior. But with the situation as it was and unknown factors everywhere, Arthur could only do what he could and prepare the Minerva for combat should it come.
The sound of the door to the bridge opening drew Arthur's attention away from the thoughts plaguing him. He turned and saw Captain Gladys there, which was a slight relief to him. She had gone to attempt retrieving the Chairman from where he was last said to be in the colony. Arthur didn't want to be promoted to acting captain because his superior was killed in battle. Talia moved forward and took her seat, "Arthur, what information has the Minerva been able to acquire about the current situation," she asked. "Ma'am, enemy forces have stolen three of the Gundams developed here," Arthur replied. "They are currently fighting our forces, putting up a resistance against them, but our forces aren't doing well at the moment." Arthur would've kept going, but he noticed more coming onto the bridge. He took seconds to recognize the Supreme Council's Chairman Gilbert Durandal in front. "Chairman Durandal," Arthur stuttered.
Talia knew Gilbert's presence on the Minerva would put off a few, but not wasn't the time for distractions. A crisis was going on that needed to be dealt with before anything else. It was one of the reasons that Talia had hoped Gilbert would go to quarters, so his presence didn't become a distraction. "Focus, Arthur," Talia chided, "I'm aware three of our machines have fallen into hostile hands. What of the Osiris? That unit appeared to be fighting the other three before the Impulse arrived on the scene." Arthur looked away from his captain, "We've been trying to get into contact with the Osiris but haven't had success yet. I sent out the Impulse to attempt to gather more information on the ongoing situation. I'm sorry I did that without your permission, captain."
Talia shook her head, "Don't be, Arthur," she returned, "it was the right decision. I would've done the same in your position. The stolen Gundams must be dealt with as quickly as possible, and the Impulse can help in that task. I assume Aila got back to take out the Impulse, then?"
Arthur hesitated at the question, "No captain," he answered, "I'm sorry to say nothing has been heard from Miss Lakeen since she went to meet up with the other pilots. Mr. Za Burrel and Miss Hawke went to the Armory to get the mobile suits they were going to use. That left three of our pilots on the ship to select, and Mr. Asuka is the only one who has had any experience with Gundam piloting, even if only through simulations. So, I had him take out the Impulse to gather information about what was going on. From his reports, things are going badly, and that matches what we've gotten from the two field outposts we've reached. I ordered him to do what he can to recapture the Gundams, but I'm not optimistic about the chances of that happening."
According to the deputy captain's orders, Meyrin had been working hard to reach the Osiris. She'd also been trying to gather information from others she could get ahold of, helping the com-officer with that task. Those they had been able to reach had repeated the message in some way that the stolen Gundams were slaughtering ZAFT forces. Meyrin had hoped to get ahold of Rey or Luna as they had gone off to get their ZAKUs. However, she had been able to get nothing on them, which worried her. Meyrin didn't want her older sister to get hurt or die during this crisis. However, as the deputy captain gave his report, Meyrin managed to connect a channel to the Osiris. It was audio only, but it was something to work with, and that was better than nothing right now. "Captain," Meyrin announced, "I've managed to connect a com-channel to the Osiris, audio only."
Talia turned to gaze at Meyrin with her announcement. It gave Talia some hope that things weren't as dire as she feared they were. The pilot assigned to work with the X28S Osiris Gundam was supposed to be Matthew Dems. Aila had told her she knew the guy and that he was a good person and a competent pilot. ZAFT needed what pilots it could have working to contain the stolen Gundams. So, Talia hoped he was the one inside right now, as that would be one of ZAFT's few good things. Heck, if it were a ZAFT pilot in the Osiris, Talia would take that for the moment as a good sign. "X28S Osiris, report," she ordered, "What is your status?"
The call had come as Aila had been chasing the Chaos, with Matt keeping its attention split between them. She wasn't much in the position to talk with others or give a report. The fight was demanding the majority if not her full attention. The thieves were utilizing the Gundams better than an average pilot could hope to do. The teens that had stolen the Gundams were all hard to read and differed in the difficulty they provided in battle. Plus, they seemed to know somehow how to pilot a mobile suit they should not know existed. Changing an operating system isn't easy to do, especially if the system is new and was supposed to have been kept secret. Nevertheless, while hearing Talia's voice was nice because it said the Minerva was okay for the moment, she was busy with the fight. Talia could get more information from Ryan as he was organizing resistance against the enemy group. He would be more likely in the position to talk than her. Thus, Aila opened her side of the com-channel to tell Talia to contact Ryan. "I'm sorry, captain," Aila stated, "I'm really busy at the moment. I can't give a detailed report about the current situation," Aila wasn't trying to be mean or rude to captain Gladys, but she was doing her best to concentrate. "Contact Ryan Peters," Aila insisted, "He can brief you better than I can right now with what we know."
Talia would forgive Aila for the blunt tone as she was clearly stressed with the fight she was in. And she had given an alternative to work with, which Talia appreciated since it meant those on the Minerva could still get more information. Talia told Meyrin to contact a specific com-unit which she had been informed Ryan Peters had while he was at the colony. Meyrin did as told and quickly got the com-channel linked in, "Captain, got the com-unit you requested," she stated. "Put it on the main speaker, Meyrin," Talia ordered. A moment later, a voice came over the bridge's speakers, "This is Peters; who is this?"
Talia was glad to hear her expectation of Peters answering, as it could mean the original Gundam pilots were alive. They could help with the crisis going on, whether piloting or other things, and ZAFT needed what it could get. "Peters, this is Captain Gladys on the Minerva," Talia replied. "We tried contacting Aila, and she referred to you as she is busy. What can you tell us about the ongoing situation with the enemy acquiring our Gundams?"
Ryan had been helping at one of the field outposts, which had been having trouble delegating orders to soldiers. Dems and Nome had gotten mobile suits to work with and were assisting as they could. Dems had reached the main battle and were helping Aila from what Ryan had last heard. Nome was helping the evacuations along by organizing those in mobile suits to help guard those running away from the fighting. Strode was going from hangar to hangar to see what was still usable. If suits were found in working condition, they were boarded by a pilot and sent out to help with the situation. So, as far as Ryan could tell, things were going as good as they could given the circumstances, even when they were still bad. However, by the sound of it, the Minerva could be acting as a go-between for ZAFT forces inside the colony. That was needed more than anything right now to help get a proper resistance going and the crisis under control.
Ryan glanced at the officer he'd been working with and got a worried expression that said more than words did. While the evacuations were going as smoothly as one could hope with things as they were, that was only half of the standing problems. Ryan had gotten reports that chemicals were slowly contaminating the colony's atmosphere but still a problem for those inside. The colony's inhabitants would get to shelters in time before the toxicity levels became serious. ZAFT's soldiers out fighting and doing what they could to help the circumstances change would be in hazardous conditions soon enough. So, anything that could help things along was better than nothing. "From what Aila said, an enemy group infiltrated the armory and got to the Gundam hangar," Ryan iterated. "They killed most there, stole three machines, and headed out. Aila took the Osiris and took up the chase after we touched bases. She felt that the group was with the Alliance or getting their support, and I'm inclined to agree with that. I've sent Dems and Nome to find mobile suits and help get things under control. As far as I would guess, Dems went to assist Aila, and Nomes was supposed to follow. However, Nomes got caught up in other things and is helping with the evacuations. Strode is working on finding machines to work with for putting up a resistance. I'm working with the field outposts."
The report was about what Talia would expect with what she'd see on the way back; things were bad. There was still no word on Rey or Lunamaria other than them going to retrieve their ZAKUs, which worried her. But it sounded like Peters was doing a fine job in the crisis and helping others effectively respond. Talia would love to have Peters and the other four Gundam pilots make their way to the Minerva. However, she knew what they were doing right now was the better choice with the current circumstances. So, Talia sighed with things as they were, "Understood, Peters," Talia replied. "Keep doing what you are. When circumstances allow it, see what you and the others can do about making your way to the Minerva. We could still use the skills you all have with the probable chase we have ahead."
"Copy that, captain," Ryan returned, "I'll keep you in the loop the best I can. Also, came across two that claimed to be assigned to the Minerva. I sent them out in ZAKUs to help as they could, one to help Aila and the other to assist with evacuations." Talia figured the two Peters mentioned were Rey and Lunamaria, which was good to hear. "Thanks; we'll get in touch and coordinate with them. Watch yourself out there, Peters. We've already lost good people, don't add to those numbers," Talia replied. Talia signaled Meyrin to close the channel, "See what you can do with getting ahold of Rey and Lunamaria, Meyrin."
Gilbert was pleased with ZAFT personnel responding as they were under the current crisis. They were making the organization proud with their performance, and he would ensure it was remembered. By what Gilbert had been told, Peters had been under the Zephyr's command during the war. The woman had said Peters was a competent pilot, and she was confident in delegating tasks to him. It was high praise coming from the woman known for not accepting less than one's best performances. Gilbert had assigned Peters to the Minerva with that kind of recommendation as the field team lead. "It sounds like we have good personnel leading the counter actions against those who infiltrated the colony, Talia," Gilbert remarked. "Be proud that your crew is doing their best under unexpected circumstances. ZAFT is lucky to have them serving us as they do." Talia appreciated Gilbert complimenting her and her crew, but now wasn't the time for that.
Back with Aila, she was still on the tail of the Chaos, not letting the thieving teen get away from her. Matt was shooting at the Chaos, ensuring the enemy pilot had no time to pay attention to anything else. With how the fight was going, Aila was starting to entertain the hope that Matt and she could force the Chaos to the ground. The Chaos would be slightly disadvantaged on the ground since its DRAGOON pods wouldn't be an effective option. Aila and Matt could disable the machine before boarding it and extracting the thief. Matt could take the Chaos, have the Minerva use its Deuterion beam, and resupply the Gundam for battle. That would change the sides of three Gundams versus two Gundams and allies to three Gundams and allies going against the two remaining stolen machines.
Nevertheless, an explosion to the left drew Aila's attention for a moment. When she looked, two objects popped out of the smoke. One was a GuAIZ R, the other was the Abyss, and they were locked in combat. The appearance of the Abyss had the hope Aila had a moment ago fade as it would have all three stolen Gundams in the same general area. It would give them the opportunity to work together and become harder to deal with. Aila got on the radio with the ZAKU Blaze, "Matt, the Abyss just appeared," she stated, "Things are about to get harder."
Matt had been concentrating on the Chaos, but at Aila's statement, he turned and saw the machine. It was the one Strode had been selected for, as Matt recalled. In Matt's opinion, the guy was a pessimist and really just a grump. He had been complaining about how Aila shouldn't be assigned to the Impulse and that he should've been instead as a "better choice." Yet, they now faced it as an opponent rather than an ally. The GuAIZ R had come with the Abyss, which would help, even if only a little. "Yeah, I see it," Matt returned, "Work with what you got, Aila. That's the best any of us can do."
Auel was beyond frustrated and irritated dealing with the ZAFT machine, which had pestered him. The GuAIZ hadn't left him alone for even a moment, it just kept attacking him and evading his counters. And that it wasn't a Gundam made it even more embarrassing that Auel hadn't taken it down yet. He had tried losing it among the structures around, but that hadn't worked at all; the meddler had kept up with him. Then, Sting had been giving orders about how they needed to hurry and leave, which were slightly less annoying but distracting. Auel had been trying to get over to where the other two were, but the meddler had drawn out the fight between them, slowing him down. Auel had tried everything he could think of, shove his opponent into buildings before shooting them, straight out unloading his arsenal at the meddler, but nothing had taken them down. And they were still on his tail like some sort of fungus attached to him that he couldn't get rid of.
Auel blocked a shot from the GuAIZ R before taking a quick glance around to take in the situation. Stella was fighting off another ZAFT mobile suit and what appeared to be an unknown Gundam. She was holding them off, but they were pushing her back and gaining ground from her. That would've been a barely passing to failing grade back at the lab; losing ground without gaining something was seen as a failure by most. Sting was still trying to get the gold Gundam off of him as he had before Auel had been separated from them. However, there was another ZAFT machine helping the gold Gundam now. The two of them were effectively pinning Sting and making it difficult to counter his opponents. The whole mess was dumb, and they were making it worse. If nothing changed, they would fail, which would be followed up by punishment for all three. With the Enhanced Human Project, all three would be punished if one trio member failed. It was the motivation for each member of the trio to help out the others to avoid punishment.
The Abyss used its dual beam cannons to force the GuAIZ R back a bit to give Auel some working room. He then turned and faced the golden Gundam before he aimed his M68 Dual Cannons at it and fired. The first volley missed, but Auel aimed again and pulled the trigger, determined to hit the gold machine. A smile came to Auel's face when he saw that at least one of his shots from the second attempt had struck the intended target. The explosion which came from the Gundam was satisfying to see for Auel. Now, maybe Sting would let up and not berate Auel so much as he'd helped him out of the jam he was in. Auel would've kept firing at the gold Gundam until it was destroyed but was forced to evade as beams came his way. He looked in the direction the beams had come from and saw a white ZAKU approaching.
Rey had been working his way toward where the battle was going on, per the orders from Peters. The closer Rey got, had only shown that the three stolen machines were causing horrible trouble and killing many. The Abyss had been the closer of the three stolen units and was fighting an ally. Thus, Rey had been heading toward the two to help whoever was fighting the Abyss. When he had reached an effective distance to do anything, Rey found it was a GuAIZ R fighting the Abyss. Rey had to applaud the pilot in the GuAIZ R since they were holding their own against the Gundam. A mass-production model was at a disadvantage against a Gundam; history had shown that clearly. And yet, the pilot of the GuAIZ was using their skills to make up the difference, and it was impressive.
Rey spotted the Abyss forcing the GuAIZ back and attacking the Osiris. He'd tried to hurry to a closer range where he could shoot at the Abyss and get it off the Osiris. But it had fired twice at the allied Gundam before Rey had gotten close enough to use his weapons. Rey had fired his beam assault rifle at the Abyss to get it to leave the Osiris alone. But the explosion Rey saw from the Osiris said the damage had been done to it. Instead of worrying about Aila, which he could do little about, he rushed forward at the Abyss and began his assault.
Aila felt the impact of the Abyss' shot when it struck the Osiris. She had managed to avoid the first volley from the enemy machine. Matt was keeping the Chaos busy for the moment, but he couldn't do that for long. She had seen the white ZAKU, which appeared to be the one Rey was supposed to work with. The ZAKU attacked the Abyss, helping the GuAIZ out, which was good. Aila heard the alarm going off right after the projectile connected with the Osiris. And a simple glance down at the display told her things had become much worse for her in this battle. Readouts indicated that the second flight stabilizer had been hit, and the damage was bad enough that the stabilizer was starting an emergency shutdown. The barely working stabilize couldn't make up the difference even as it was straining to do so. The Osiris would fall shortly to the ground, and there was little she could do about it.
Instead, Aila got on the radio to the ZAKU Phantom to give Rey orders before she had to deal with the Osiris's issues. "Rey," Aila started, "Keep helping against the Abyss and assist Shinn as you can." Rey had been shooting at the Abyss when Aila began speaking to him and giving orders. He was okay with fighting the Abyss; the GuAIZ working with him should be able to get the Abyss to back off. The Gaia was fighting, and ZAKU and the Impulse were doing alright for the moment. "Matt," Aila continued, "Take over the team lead position, the Osiris won't be in the air much longer." Matt didn't like having to take charge from Aila due to the Osiris not being able to maintain flight. He'd never wanted the position, and definitely not from his girlfriend because she had to focus on landing and not crashing. But he knew arguing with her at this point would not help things, so he didn't say anything and kept assaulting the Chaos.
The Osiris began to sink shortly after Aila gave her orders to Matt and Rey. Aila gripped her control hard as they fought her input with the Osiris falling. She got the Osiris into a glide to slow the descent but knew it would only delay what was coming. The thrusters which still responded were helping Aila keep the Osiris on the course she had put it on. But her flight sticks were trying to drift and wrench in different directions than she wanted them to be in. The ground was approaching faster than Aila liked, but she could do nothing to change what she saw. Aila could only mitigate the crash somewhat, and there was nothing that could be done to avoid or prevent it.
On the Minerva, some scenes from the battle were viewed on the main forward display screen. The stolen Gundams were fighting back against allies, and ZAFT's side was working to pin them down. The losses ZAFT was taking were horrible to witness, but more stepped forward and took the place of the fallen. Talia watched the Osiris going against the Chaos with the help of a ZAKU. She assumed Matthew Dems piloted the ZAKU as Peters had stated he had headed toward Aila's position. The Impulse was helping a ZAKU, which had been fighting the Gaia. The two looked to be forcing the Gaia back and wearing it down. The Abyss had been a distance away from the other two stolen machines, but that didn't last. The Abyss suddenly moved to the same general area with a GuAIZ R chasing after it.
The Abyss got the GuAIZ R back, fired at the Osiris, and scored what appeared to be a hit. There was no report immediately after the strike, but Talia had the sensor operator, Burt Heim to look into it. A white ZAKU appeared on the scene, and Talia hoped Rey was in it and willing to help those fighting the Gundams. The ZAKU engaged the Abyss in battle, taking its attention off the Osiris. Talia was still watching when Burt Heim spoke up, "Captain, the Osiris did take serious damage, she is going down, and it looks like it will crash."
The news announced didn't sit well with any on the Minerva. Talia didn't want Aila injured as she was a friend to her. Chairman Durandal frowned at hearing the Osiris was going to crash as it was one of the Gundams ZAFT still controlled. Talia turned to Meyrin and ordered her to get Aila on the line. Meyrin had been trying since the moment the Osiris had been hit by a shot from the Abyss. Aila had always been nice to Lunamaria and Meyrin whenever they interacted with her, so Meyrin didn't want her to be killed. But every attempt, no matter the method she tried to use, didn't work on connecting to the Osiris. The Osiris's radio just wouldn't respond to a connection request. That could either mean the radios had been damaged or something that worked with them had. "I'm sorry, captain," Meyrin replied, "I've been trying to reach the Osiris, but nothing I've done has worked."
Aila had a white-knuckled grip on the throttle and control stick as alarms were blaring around her. The Osiris glided downward in a semi-controlled flight, but the smoke streaming out from where the second stabilizer was marked its path. The ground came closer rapidly, but Aila wouldn't go out before doing something to help the others. She swung the Osiris around, shifted it into its suit mode, and aimed at the Chaos. Aila fired all her weapons at the Chaos and was satisfied to see the Chaos have to stop and block her attack. It was less than half a minute later that the Osiris crashed into the ground, shaking Aila with the impact. The buckle restraints held her in the pilot seat, preventing her from being whipped around the cockpit.
Sting had been avoiding the assault of the ZAKU Blaze, who was still attacking him after Auel had hit the gold Gundam. But then the gold Gundam had aimed at him before it crashed and attacked him. Sting hadn't expected the enemy to shoot at him as it was falling to the ground. It had forced him to stop, shift the Chaos into its suit mode and move his shield in front of him to block the enemy fire. While he was defending himself, a second message came to him via his communicator from the outside. Sting brought up the message and saw it was from Neo again. The message was simple and straight to the point; things were going south and doing so fast. According to the message, the Federation had likely caught up with the Girty Lue and was causing problems. It meant it was time to leave if they wanted any chance to escape to the moon and Alliance territory. They had wasted more time than they should have and now had to make up for that time.
It took Aila a bit to regain her bearings after the crash. The pain forced her to recognize that her shoulder was still a problem and was becoming one she couldn't ignore for much longer. When she glanced at her shoulder, the cloth she'd tied it with had crimson blood soaking through. It explained the lightheadedness she was experiencing right now due to blood loss. The panoramic display had gone out during the crash, so Aila rebooted the operating system to get things going again. The surrounding displays came back up, showing the outside view, and Aila saw the Osiris had carved a bit of a path when it hit the ground. When she looked over the displays, Aila noted that most of the Osiris' systems were still operational. The stabilizers were definitely out of commission until they were repaired or replaced. But other than that, the mobile suit was doing okay with just minor damage overall, so it could still fight. Glancing back to the forward display, Aila got a view she wasn't glad to see, for the Gaia was approaching her.
Stella had shaken off the two, pestering her for a bit when the gold machine crashed to the ground. With it disabled, Stella figured it was best to destroy the machine and be done with it. She moved the Gaia over to the Osiris and saw it kept its color, meaning its armor system was still active. That could imply that the Gundam could still fight and slow them down in their escape. Stella took out a beam saber to stab the torso, killing the pilot and finishing this enemy. However, before she could follow through, Sting's voice came onto the radio, "Stella, Auel, Neo sent a message," he said. "We're out of time, and we need to leave this place now and head back to the ship. If we stay any longer, the ship may not be there to help us get away."
Stella instantly became worried for Neo as the message said bad things were happening outside the colony. Neo had been nice to her and made her feel safe, which she clung to as she could. Stella glanced at the interior colony wall since that would be the best way out. However, colony walls could take a beating, more from the inside than out, so making a hole wouldn't be easy. The Gaia's beam assault cannons should be able to make a hole after enough shots focused in a small area. The other two could help out as their weapons could help with making a way out of the colony. If Neo said it was time to go, it was time to stop fighting, leave the colony's interior, and head back to the ship.
So, Stella focused back on the golden Gundam to stab it before moving to leave the colony interior. Yet, an alarm went off before she could stab, drawing her attention away from the task. Upon turning, Stella saw the ZAKU she had been fighting before rushing forward to attack her. The unknown Gundam had been drawn to the Chaos, and Stella had hoped the other would also go do other things and not attack her. But the Zaku hadn't gone and left her alone to work as she had wanted. Stella managed to get her shield up and block the tomahawk swung at her by the ZAKU. The surprise attack had Stella reacting, but she started pushing forward against the ZAKU.
Athrun had moved forward after seeing that the Gaia's attention had moved from the gold Gundam to the colony wall. The Gaia could dispatch the other Gundam before moving on to other activities. And the glance at the colony wall implied that the stolen machines might be looking for a way out. Should they consider using their weapons to blast a hole in the colony's interior wall, that would create more problems for those inside the colony. A hole in a colony wall would suck out a colony's atmosphere, given time. Any not in shelters would die of asphyxiation within minutes which was a horrible way to die. Although, Athrun feared the thieves wouldn't care about those who would lose their lives in such a thing. They hadn't had an issue with those who had died during their attack thus far it was unlikely to change now. And with Cagalli in danger, as long as the battle was going, the sooner it ended, the better it would be.
Athrun had used the ZAKU's beam tomahawk and brought it down on the enemy Gundam. However, the Gaia had used its shield to block his attack and bring him to a halt. It wasn't long before Athrun realized his opponent had more pushing power than the ZAKU he was using. The Gundam would win a contest of strength against what Athrun was using; there was no question about that. Athrun had to shift the ZAKU's shield forward as the Gaia drew a beam saber and ignited it. Athrun took the blade on his shield and dug in the best he could as the Gaia pressed against him. He wasn't seeing a chance to get out of the current position he found himself in. Athrun needed help from another to get Cagalli and himself out of this fight with the Gundam alive.
Quatre had been fighting the Abyss, but another had joined the fight and had made it easier. An unknown Gundam had appeared a few minutes later and, with the ZAKU, had drawn all the attention off of Quatre. It freed him up to search for Representative Athha and Athrun and help them out as needed. The representative's safety was the priority of the mission, which had been made clear in the briefing. The loss of a prospective future leader of Federation politics was to be avoided the best possible. Thus, Quatre began scanning around to find where Athrun had gotten to. He spotted a ZAKU going against the black Gundam a short distance away from where he was. Quatre assumed Athrun would be inside, likely with Representative Athha. Athrun had been a Gundam pilot, so he would be one that could hold his own against one. So, Quatre moved forward, aimed at the enemy Gundam with his railguns, and fired.
Athrun was gritting his teeth as he was being forced back inch by inch. He was determined not to lose this fight, as Cagalli would die, and Athrun wouldn't let that happen. However, as the Gaia kept pushing its advantage, two projectiles struck it from its right side. Athrun glanced in that direction and saw an older ZAFT mass-production model. It was one that came after the original Gundams had been stolen and inspected. Athrun didn't have to wonder long as a voice came over the radio, "Alex, hope you're doing okay," Quatre remarked. "And I hope the same for Representative Athha too. I would think we would both prefer not to fail in our bodyguarding job even with what is going on."
Hearing Quatre's voice comforted Cagalli since she'd feared he was dead after being separated from them. Sure, Athrun had assured her Quatre was fine and would meet them when he was able. But truthfully, Cagalli hadn't been convinced Athrun had been right about Quatre being alive and okay. Cagalli didn't like to see others die because of something she could've been involved in. "Qua," Cagalli began saying, but Athrun cut over her, "Marcus, good to hear your voice. I was hoping you would pop up soon, and thanks for the help. The quicker that this fight ends, the better for all concerned." Athrun would've said more and gotten down to working with Quatre with a plan, but that never happened.
The Abyss had broken away from the two which had been attacking him. Auel spotted the two non-Gundams that Stella was supposed to be dealing with. So, since Stella wasn't doing her part, Auel took aim and fired his multi-phase beam cannon at the two. Athrun was forced to use the ZAKU's shield while Quatre shifted to the side as the beam zoomed at them. The multi-phase blast slammed against the ZAKU's shield, destroying it and throwing it back against a wall. The restraints for the pilot kept Athrun from whipping around the cockpit with being thrown back by the beam. However, Cagalli wasn't as lucky as Athrun to have restraints for being buffeted around. Thus, she was thrown around the cockpit and hit her head against equipment as she tried to stop herself.
Athrun had to catch Cagalli to stop her flying around, but she buffeted around before he could catch her. At least, after Athrun caught her, he found his hand used to cradle her head had blood on it. He was horrified that Cagalli had gotten hurt while he'd been defending her. Quatre had seen the ZAKU take the beam which had destroyed the shield and thrown it back. He moved his GuAIZ R to be in front of the ZAKU and faced the Abyss, which was still looking in their direction. Quatre prepared himself to block and defend the two behind him by whatever necessary means.
At the same time, Shinn had been thrown off the Abyss, and it had gone for allied suits. Rey had been helping with that task, and they had the Abyss on the ropes before it had gotten away from them. Shinn would've gone after it, but the one in the ZAKU Blaze who had taken command after Aila had crashed the gold Gundam told him not to. Instead, "Dems," told Shinn to regroup and help him with the Chaos, working to pin it down. Shinn had no issue battling to help disable the Chaos if it got the battle to come to a close, then all the better. Many allies had died due to the Gundams being stolen and used against them. They had to be stopped before they could do more to kill people in the colony.
After Rey had been assisting Shinn against the Abyss and the enemy had gotten away, Rey had been ready to turn to the Chaos. But before he could focus on the Chaos, "Dems" gave Rey different orders to carry out. Rey was ordered to continue fighting against the Abyss, get it to back off, and pin it down the best he could. Rey didn't question the orders just got down to carrying them out to the best of his abilities. He may be using a ZAKU against a Gundam, which would normally put him at a disadvantage. However, Rey's skills were better than the thief's, and that would make the difference.
Sting knew things were going badly for them, and it was getting worse the longer they stayed inside the colony. And by Neo's message, things weren't much better outside the colony with the Federation catching up. He was dealing with the ZAKU Blaze that hadn't let up with its assault on him and the unknown Gundams that had joined earlier. Stella was facing two ZAFT mass-production models working together. Auel was fighting the white ZAKU and wasn't making much progress against them. And as Sting glanced over at the area the Gaia was around, the gold Gundam was rising to its feet. The odds Sting and the other two were facing were changing, and it wasn't in their favor. Their best option was to leave the colony interior and do so quickly. "Stella, Auel, I told you we need to be going," Sting stated. "Neo's message says we're out of time here. There isn't the time to deal with these guys right now. We'll have to wait and try again later. Our ride is about to head out, and we need to be on it; we can't be late."
Auel swung his lance at the white ZAKU when Sting had spoken. He was saying nonsense about them leaving right in the middle of a battle. They hadn't finished those who had pestered them as they had been disabling ZAFT. There should be the time to kill them before leaving and returning to the Girty Lue. So, Auel swung his lance again to force his opponent to back away from him. "Leave," Auel challenged, "In the middle of a fight?! We can finish these idiots and head back to the ship."
Auel had always been stubborn, and Sting had known he wouldn't be inclined to listen to him with Neo's message. Auel was too interested in fighting and proving he was better than others with performance. The issue was that if this kept going, the advantage they had started with would morph into a disadvantage that would only get stronger. The Gundams had limited operational time due to the battery-provided power supply. Their enemies could endure beyond the point where the Gundams would run out of power. Should that happen, they could be captured, which would be the end for all three of them. So, Sting gained a stern tone, "Do you want to run out of power and be captured, Auel," he asked. "That's what will happen if you keep going in the fight. Let it go this time, and accept we got the minimum done. The lack of information has cost us, along with unforeseen factors. We fail in our mission if we don't get these Gundams back to the ship." Sting paused, "Do you want to be the one who gets us punished for failing and not getting the minimum done?"
It was frustrating that Sting was being so logical, as it made arguing against him harder. But were Auel to be the cause of his trio getting punished, he wouldn't hear the end of it from the other two for a while. Thus, he couldn't argue with Sting and win without paying a high price which Auel didn't want to face. "Fine," Auel admitted, "I still don't like running away with the enemy still standing." Auel had the Abyss back off, leap into the air, and fly away from the battle.
Sting moved the Chaos away from the Impulse but noticed the Gaia wasn't following suit. She was still facing off and fighting the two ZAFT machines as if Sting had said nothing to her. Stella needed to leave with them, or ZAFT would capture her. "Stella, we need to leave," Sting repeated. "Neo's message says we're out of time. If we don't go, we get caught and fail our mission. The fight is done for now; we may get a chance later." Sting hoped explaining to Stella would get her to follow instructions and leave with Sting and Auel. Using Neo's name should also help convince Stella to do as she was told. There wasn't the time to argue about little things with circumstances as they were.
Stella wouldn't accept all the work done and none of those hindering them from being taken down. She was worried about Neo since Sting said his message made it sound like things outside were going badly. However, she wanted to make Neo proud of her and what she could do on an assignment. If she took down just one of the enemies, Neo would be proud of her, which Stella wanted. "No," Stella cried angrily, "I can destroy at least one of them before we leave! I will take one of them down and have their head!" Stella then shot at the two suits facing her, determined to destroy one of them. And yet, both the GuAIZ and the ZAKU evaded Stella's attacks, much to her frustration. Stella would've kept going until she took one down, but the Osiris had pointed its rifle and fired at the Gaia. She had to use her shield to block the beam, which got her to see she was going against three opponents now.
Normally, Auel would tease Stella for her stubbornness, getting her into trouble. As long as he didn't have to pay for the problem, he was all for teasing Stella, as she tended to give amusing reactions. But in this instance, her stubbornness would get Sting and Auel in trouble along with her. Her dragging Sting and him down wasn't okay and made teasing her uninteresting and not worth doing. There was one way Auel knew of to get Stella to snap out of her stubbornness that was successful almost every single time. Sting would never do the point even when it worked well enough though it came with a consequence. Yet, Stella paid that consequence rather than Sting and Auel. The means was using Stella's block word as it would have her focus on one thing, getting away. Since getting away was the point the trio was to do, the block word was the way to go, in Auel's opinion. Auel opened a channel so Stella would hear him, "Well then," he began, "I guess you'll die here." Auel paused and then added a sting to spur Stella to more frenzied heights. "I'll make sure to tell that sister of yours you said goodbye before your end."
Sting had been trying to devise a way to convince Stella to break off fighting, and they all left. She was being stubborn, and that tended not to end well by the finish of a given situation. Talking her down would be difficult, and it took time to have a chance of success. But that was better than just letting her fight out her stubbornness as they had to do sometimes. Yet then, Auel had to speak up and use Stella's block word. The moment Auel had done that, it opened up a "can of worms" that would only make things harder to deal with. The problems Stella would have and spread to others would pile on for what Auel did, and Sting knew that. It was irritating that Auel was doing what he knew he shouldn't be doing. "Auel, you idiot, you know what that does to her," Sting shouted.
The moment Stella heard the word "die," overwhelming feelings of terror and hysteria flooded her. Flashes of places and scenes that were vaguely familiar to her went through her mind, so clearly, it was like she was there or in the scene herself for a brief moment. The scenes scared her, for some of the places popped up in her worst nightmares. All thoughts of taking down the ZAFT mobile suits instantly morphed into completely the opposite. The need to escape, run, hide, do whatever it took to survive, and live overrode all else. Stella hugged her shoulder, muttering panic-induced thoughts. So afraid was she of her own death that little to nothing would be able to calm her down. Normally, only her sister Tanya could calm her down from this when it started.
Sting continued to dress down Auel as Stella descended into her frenzy. "Auel, I told you not to use another's word," Sting snapped, "you know what it does." Auel didn't want to hear chiding from Sting. Nothing Sting had done had been helping the situation move in the direction he stated was needed. Auel got things moving along with the best option, which would have success. He wouldn't back down to Sting for doing what he wouldn't do. "Well, she didn't give us another option," Auel shot back. "She wouldn't stop with what you were saying and wasn't even listening. So, using her word was the most efficient way to get her to do what is needed."
Stella didn't hear anything the other two of her trio said. The fear frenzy which came from her block word had taken control of her. Those whom she'd been fighting had vanished from her notice and attention. All that mattered to her now was getting away and not being killed by any around. "NOOOO!" she screamed in terror, flying the Gaia at the closest colony wall. The Chaos and the Abyss followed the Gaia, shooting at the mobile suits that attempted to chase them.
Matt fired his beam assault rifle at the Chaos, which did nothing to sway the three. The Abyss did fire back at the ZAKU blaze and scored a hit. Matt did dodge the beams hitting vital areas but lost an arm and shield via the multi-phased beam. The hit also caused some shrapnel to burst into the cockpit, some hitting Matt but not doing serious injury. Matt knew that with the shrapnel that had hit him, he wouldn't be able to pursue the stolen Gundams. In fact, as Matt glanced around, only the Impulse and the ZAKU phantom were in the condition to pursue the enemy. The other ZAKU and the GuAIZ R had been damaged enough that it would be dangerous for them to follow the Gundams. The Osiris couldn't fly properly as its flight stabilizers had been damaged.
Aila had noticed the standing of those around the stolen Gundams as Matt had. However, some had to go after the stolen machines and do what could be done to stop them from escaping. She was certainly not in any condition to keep fighting with her shoulder bleeding as it was. Matt's machine had been hit, and that could've injured him potentially. The ZAKU and the GuAIZ R were damaged enough to be destroyed if they were pursued. That left Shinn with the Impulse and Rey with the ZAKU phantom to chase the stolen Gundams. Aila got on the radio to Impulse and the Phantom, "Shinn, Rey, go after the stolen Gundams," she ordered. "Shinn, have another silhouette flyer launch and switch equipment before pursuing. Others will help you outside the colony. I'll head back to the Minerva and tell them you two took up the chase and you needing support."
Shinn saw the wisdom of switching equipment for the Impulse before chasing the stolen Gundams. The sword equipment had been okay for combat inside the colony since it was close-quarter fighting. Yet, he'd used the swords, and one had been destroyed during the fight with the Gundams. However, outside the colony, it would be an open field, not close-quarter combat. Thus, the sword set wouldn't be as effective during the chase of the Gundams. The force silhouette would give Shinn a more rounded equipment set to work with against the stolen machines. Rey could distract the three Gundams while Shinn attached the force silhouette and not be interrupted. "Understood, ma'am," Shinn acknowledged. The Impulse and the ZAKU Phantom went after the stolen machines as they went toward the colony wall.
Athrun watched as the Gundam and white ZAKU flew off after the Gundams that had been causing chaos. He knew the ZAKU he had been using wouldn't be able to chase and fight the thieves effectively. And Athrun had to look after Cagalli after her being injured during the fight. Athrun didn't know how badly Cagalli could be injured or what kind of medical attention she could need. However, he knew it would be best to regroup with Quatre and look for a means to help Cagalli. The sooner she got needed medical attention, the better off she would be in the long run. So, Athrun shifted the ZAKU to look at the GuAIZ R, "Marcus, are you alright," he asked. "Things got dicey for a bit there."
Athrun wasn't wrong about things getting dicey, Quatre wouldn't deny that point. The attack had certainly thrown things off and forced Quatre to improvise. Sure, he was a mobile suit pilot when called upon, that was a given being a member of the Federation's Mobile Suit Core. However, this assignment was supposed to be a simple bodyguard job, no fighting required. The group, which was likely Alliance, had made sure things were more complicated than that. Not that Quatre was complaining exactly about having to fight with a mobile suit, it was something he was good at. "There's nothing to write home about for me," Quatre replied. Yet, he knew that the middle of a ruined armory and potentially hazardous environment was not the place to have a conversation. "However, I would suggest that we get to a safer place before we compare accounts of what happened, Alex. Is Representative Athha okay?"
Athrun agreed with Quatre about the need to go elsewhere to catch up on things. Cagalli soon needed medical help to ensure striking her head didn't do serious damage. He glanced down at her and found Cagalli was starting to wake up. Her waking up was a good sign that her injury wasn't immediately serious. It didn't mean she was okay or didn't need medical attention for her to be fine. "Overall, she should be fine," Athrun returned, "but she took a fairly hard bang to the back of her head."
Quatre was concerned about being told Representative Athha had taken a blow to the head. Blows to the head were normally more problematic than injuries to other parts of one's body. Representative Athha's safety was the priority of Athrun and him, no matter what else could happen. So, Quatre paused, thinking of the best course of action. "I see," he began, "then said shelter will need some sort of medical assistance available." Quatre knew the idea was the tall order the two of them had to work on. "That could make things somewhat more difficult for us, yet it is what it is." Quatre sighed and then gained a smile, "No rest for the weary, as the phrase goes, and everything."
Aila had checked on Matt and hadn't liked the reply she'd gotten. He had told her some shrapnel had hit him and would likely need a doctor to help him at some point in the near future. Aila was much in the same boat in needing medical attention sooner rather than later. And yet, she had been listening to the conversation going on between the ZAKU and the GuAIZ R. There had been mention of the name Athha. The only reference to Athha that Aila knew of was the current leader of the Federation's Orb Union. It hadn't been a great surprise to her that Orb had joined the Federation during the Alliance-PLANT War. They were similar enough to the Federation that it made sense.
Nevertheless, Aila couldn't think of any reason for a representative of the Federation around Armory One. True, the colony was at the edge of Lagrange 4, which the Federation controlled officially. But that wasn't much of a reason for the Federation to send a representative to the colony. And yet, the Supreme Council Chairman was here for some reason that Aila hadn't heard. It made the theft and attack even odder with the timing of it, almost like it had been planned with potentially making an attempt on the Chairman. She knew such questions weren't worth dwelling upon right now, but she couldn't help but wonder. However, there were more pressing matters to look to first. And it sounded like the pair needed medical help, which could be provided on the Minerva. She and Matt needed to head to the ship, but neither would be able to do so quickly without help. The two could help them along to the Minerva, and Ailla hoped they would if offered help. "Perhaps we could help you two with your issue," Aila said. "You two did take the Gaia's attention off of me when it was approaching to kill me, so I do owe you for that."
Matt couldn't agree more with Aila with the two that were around them. They had helped in a time of need for the colony regardless of their reasons. It took courage to get into a mobile suit and take on a Gundam when you shouldn't be involved. To offer help for them was a good means to show gratitude for these strangers. "Yeah," Matt stated, "You two really helped us out with the stolen machines. We do appreciate your actions and want to show you gratitude for your efforts. If we can help you, just name what we can do to assist."
Athrun and Quatre glanced toward the gold Gundam and the ZAKU Blaze nearby. They hadn't forgotten about the two mobile suits that had been fighting against the Gundams, causing chaos. They couldn't pass up the offered assistance so quickly as Cagalli needed a doctor to look at her. Athrun believed the attack and the shaking they had felt before was the colony's harbor being attacked. The shuttle wouldn't be reachable, and the Kusanagi wouldn't be back for at least thirty-six hours, if not longer. Thus, he and Quatre had no help they could access immediately. So, the offer for help from this ZAFT pilot was the best thing they could work with right now. "Think nothing of it," Quatre replied, "We are glad to help as we are able while fulfilling our duty as bodyguards. There has been more than enough death around here today, there was no need to add to it by standing by. My name is Marcus Lune, a bodyguard of Representative Athha." Quatre had his suit gesture to the ZAKU, "And my companion is Alex Dino, who is also a bodyguard for the representative. May I inquire as to whom we have saved from the troublemakers?"
Neither Aila nor Matt had heard of bodyguards that were also pilots assigned to a political representative. But with the Federation, it was entirely possible they would assign soldiers who were also pilots to guard some of their people. It wouldn't be a shock if the Federation set such for the protection of their powerful representatives. Regardless, Aila wouldn't question why two competent Federation pilots had been around the colony. That they had boarded mobile suits and fought against the thieves had been a great help and had likely saved lives. "My name is Aila Lakeen," Aila introduced. Matt followed her up, "And I'm Matt Dems, thanks for the help."
Introductions were nice and everything, but other priorities needed to be seen to. The two offered medical assistance, and Cagalli needed that kind of help with banging her head during the fighting. She could have a concussion which was the last thing she needed to deal with. So, Athrun spoke up, "You said that you could help us out with our issue of the representative needing a doctor to look at her, did you not? I don't mean to be rude, but we would be in your debt if that could be done. However, time is of the essence, so please, direct us so we can obtain the needed help."
It was clear that someone with them needed medical attention and that at least one was worried about the said individual. "If you have someone that is in need of medical attention, that should be available on the ship to which we're assigned to," Aila returned. "She should still be in dock if nothing has changed," Matt added, "Correct me if I'm wrong, Aila." There was a pause before Aila replied, "Not that I know of, the Minerva should still be in its dock. And we can head that way and get the help you need," she continued turning back to the other two. "Although, our machines are damaged enough getting there as they are quickly won't happen. Neither of us can fly or sustain flight for long. But should you two help us, we can arrive sooner by what I can figure on the ground."
There wasn't a need for a discussion between Athrun and Quatre. They both knew what needed to be done, and helping the two would help that long. A ZAFT ship was the best chance they had for getting Cagalli the help she required. "That is good enough for me," Quatre replied, "We are limited on options right now with the circumstances as they are." Quatre turned his GuAIZ to gaze at the ZAKU, "What about you, Alex? This Minerva seems the best choice we have before us right now." Athrun could see that Quatre was right, with the ZAFT vessel being their best choice. He would have to be blind not to see they couldn't be picky about where they got help from right now. Athrun held in the sigh that wanted to escape him, "Yeah, certainly does appear to be the best choice."
The four mobile suits set out for the dock that Aila directed them toward in the armory area the Minerva was in. Quatre moved to be on the right side of the Osiris since he'd seen the signs of issues from the damage it had taken. Athrun followed suit and did much the same for the ZAKU Blaze. He was glad that Cagalli wasn't hurt worse than she was, as she was stirring at least. It took around ten minutes for the group to reach the docking area. Athrun and Quatre gazed at the ship, which had been called the "Minerva" by the other two. The warship had the same name Durandal had mentioned the two soldiers escorting them to. The ship was different than any ZAFT vessel Athrun had seen before. The linear catapult on the left and right was opened as the four mobile suits approached. Athrun entered the left one with the ZAKU Blaze while Quatre and Aila went to the right.
A/n
I'll leave off there and pick up in part three of this event in the next Phase. Alrighty then, lets get to the highlighting of the phase that I do for you readers. How about we start with Neo's thoughts as I want to make a bit of a point with that. Now, if I haven't made it obvious before a few phases ago, Neo isn't the average Alliance personnel, and I'm not referring to skill or position. I have implied that the Alliance and OMNI in general underestimate the Federation or at least don't take them seriously. This happened during the Alliance-PLANT War if you readers recall and it continues into this portion of the story. However, Neo isn't in those groups as he is cautious and wary of the Federation, thus doesn't underestimate them as badly. Now this is different than when Neo faces Tyler, but that will come in the next phase.
Things are going well for the Girty Lue and Neo appreciates that, but doesn't let that go to his head as some might. Everything is going to plan up to this point and ZAFT's response appeared to be posed to be a bad one. In fact, things are slightly ahead of schedule which Neo hopes could translate into the Girty Lue potentially getting away and back to OMNI lunar HQ before Federation forces catch up with them. Now, I'm aware that isn't true since I'm the author, but Neo knows nothing about what is to come. Remember I see story characters whether my originals or not as real people, so I treat them as such. That's not to say Neo isn't feeling paranoia with things going as well as they are for the Girty Lue. He is suspicious of things going too smoothly which can you blame the guy for that? I doubt I'm the only one who has had a time where things seemed to be going well only to flip and go the opposite. Neo still expects the Federation to chase the Girty Lue and rightly so. He prepares the best he can for when that comes up, but there is only so much he could prepare for. And Tyler as we know is someone who it is extremely hard to plan for.
Neo even gives examples of how the Alliance had underestimated the Federation and the consequences they face because of it. Yes, I refer to Operation Spitbreak during the Alliance-PLANT War with the point of JOSH-A. The Federation took that opportunity of the Alliance abandoning their Earth-based HQ to get prime information about them. As Neo implies, the Alliance didn't secure their network connection at JOSH-A, thinking they would be destroyed before it became an issue. The Federation took advantage of that and dumped as much of the Alliance's network as they could before the cyclops system destroyed the base. And let me tell you, the sheer amount of data the Federation go wasn't small. The Alliance is still paying for that short sightedness since some of that data was future plans OMNI and the Alliance had intended to carry out. You would think the Alliance's leaders would learn something from that, but well… not going to say much about that as it speaks for itself. However, Neo unlike others learn from the mistakes made by the Alliance somewhat. He doesn't make assumptions about the Federation, and that is smarter than not.
Neo knows once the Girty Lue reaches Alliance lunar HQ, it will no longer be his issue what the response to the Federation would be. I know I can understand that position of letting others above you have the responsibility of choosing what will happen next. And I ask again, can you blame Neo for wanting to "wash his hands" of the mission he is on? He is so paranoid about the Federation coming upon him and the Girty Lue and capturing them he is fidgety beyond what he normally is. Perhaps it is just me and a few others, but when doing something uncomfortable, you want to get it over with as quickly as possible. It is one advantage Neo has with being in Phantom Pain, he can do work, but not have to deal with what can result from it.
Moving to the next scene when the Normandy gets on site, let me give a brief recap of what plays into this. As you readers may recall two phases ago, the Girty Lue attacked the Milos outpost. The Normandy went to inspect it and found the results of what they had done. None on the Normandy are pleased with what the Girty Lue had done to the people on the station. So, those on the Normandy have motivation to be non-nice to the Girty Lue and its crew. With that in mind, when the Normandy comes into range of Armory One, they see the mess growing with the Girty Lue attacking ZAFT patrols. Understand, the Federation has means to get around mirage colloid with sensors.
Now, some of you readers may have noticed Tyler was comparing the similarities between the Girty Lue and the Archangel. I mention such for a reason which will come into play in the next Phase. For those who had read the original, you know to what I refer. It is an example of the Alliance being foolish with them ignoring flaws in their equipment. I also wanted to once again show that Tyler has a "mischievous" side to him which comes out sometimes. However, he does have restraint which he employs when he needs to. The fear of his boss is great motivation for Tyler to remember priorities and to see to them first before having fun. It is all a part of Tyler's character which should be rather clear by now.
Now shifting to the scene in the Normandy's hangar with Tyler going out in the Aurora. The design of the hangar is unique to the Normandy I admit. The Normandy can carry a maximum of five machine, though it is intended to carry four on average. Thus, there are not too many pilots for the ship, but as a frigate, it doesn't need many for the jobs it has. Unlike the Archangel and other ships, the Normandy's hangar has a system that has the docks integrated into it. The Archangel and others can move their docking cages to the catapults and lock a machine in, but the Normandy doesn't move the dock. Instead, it uses magnetic platforms the suits are on to move them around and not the docking cages. The single linear catapult the Normandy has is different than the original one, since it now has a portion that lowers down for shuttles and the like. The catapult system is designed and built for quick successive launches of mobile weapons, which is an advantage.
Next, you readers should be aware by now as I've implied it several times, Tyler has a reputation within the Federation's Military. He is seen to be "too young" and "unable to handle" the tasks he is given to do. Tyler has proven that view wrong time after time, but the reputation still remains for those who haven't met him to go off of. It is both amusing and frustrating for our main character as is seen in this scene. Where Tyler where normally correct the mistaken view, he is more focused on going out in the Aurora. I also am glad to introduce Guy Volyon who is the Normandy's chief mechanic. He is the no nonsense type of leader that won't take guff from any, even a superior officer. So, someone that you can imagine Tyler will be getting along with even if their start is rough.
The other point I would highlight in this scene has to do with the Aurora and its changes. The "new" restraint system the Aurora has is similar to what it had been but is more robust than before. The Federation's spacesuits have framework in them that can shift and change as stated. It can act somewhat as armor to protect the wearer should it be needed. Some of the other things that have changed with the Aurora are small things but will make a difference. The first is the nuclear reactor which has been tuned and improved to have better output than before. I would ask you readers to remember the Treaty of Junius Seven stated there was to be no new nuclear development and the Aurora had nuclear tech in it already, so doesn't count. Plus, the Aurora's reactor has more safety systems than the original which neither of the other two factions would do. The increase of missiles will come into play in the next Phase I assure you. The other improvements are as I stated and will be shown in future when the opportunity comes up.
The battle inside the colony isn't a great deal different than it was in canon, though there are some differences. The Osiris is of course different, and to Aila's credit, she does amazingly with the situation as it is. The new piece in this version that wasn't in the original is Matt Dems coming into it. I merely mentioned him in passing in the original, but I thought, why not bring him into the story and have another character to work with? Yes, he is Aila's boyfriend, so they will have scenes of their own later on. There is nothing else in this Phase I see a need to highlight at this time.
In conclusion, I apologize this is later than two weeks, school and overtime at work has been keeping me busy. The battle scene should be wrapped up in the next Phase, but I don't promise that point at this time. As I always say at the end of these Phases, please some of you take the time to write a review and tell me what you think of the story thus far, ask questions, or give constructive feedback. I do read them even if I don't reply immediately if at all publicly. The next Phase is currently titled: "Out of the Frying Pan" and should be ready in two weeks hopefully. Peace out until the next Phase!