A/n

I apologize this Phase took longer than expected, I will give a bit of an explanation in the closing notes. But please enjoy the Phase!

Phase 82: Thinking of the Future

October 23rd, 73 C.E.

The Minerva, Asgard, 0300 hours

Talia hadn't been able to sleep even if she had wanted to after the conversation with Captain McGregor. The decision of whether to make Shinn a Gundam pilot or not hadn't left her mind. McGregor had made it rather clear that she would have to make the choice before the Minerva left Asgard. She'd never considered the possibility that someone would force her into the position she would have to decide the fate of someone under her command. The idea was never taught within ZAFT as it was never supposed to come up. And yet, Talia felt that Mr. McGregor would follow through with this threat he laid out. Talia may not know how one could get a ZAFT soldier to be transferred, but McGregor had made it sound like he could and would do it. Should Talia not promote Shinn to a primary Gundam pilot, the Minerva would end up losing him entirely. The whole argument was stressing Talia to a degree. With what potentially lay ahead of the Minerva, Talia felt the ship would need what help and advantages it could have.

On the other hand, Talia wanted the Minerva's pilots to have the opportunities to grow and develop their skills. Aila and Matt may have more battlefield experience than the younger pilots, but that didn't mean they were better in everything when it came to piloting. Each of the Minerva's pilot had a skill set which set them apart from the rest. However, Shinn had begun to stand out somewhat from the others recently. Talia had seen "hints" of Shinn's talent and skills before Aila had brought up the possibility of making Shinn a Gundam pilot. And with the additional opinion of Captain McGregor of Shinn's potential, it was extremely hard not to make the young man a Gundam pilot. If not for the National Defense Committee, Talia would've already assigned Shinn as a Gundam pilot or in that rotation at least. But the Committee had the power to reverse a decision a ship captain made if they "saw a reason" to. And the Committee could even punish Shinn if they saw fit. That was the reason Talia hadn't given Shinn a field promotion, because she didn't want to hurt Shinn's chances in his service in ZAFT.

Nevertheless, from what Captain McGregor had said and even assured, he could get the National Defense Committee to leave Shinn alone. Should he be able to do that, Talia would be more than willing to assign Shinn to the Gundam rotation that Aila and Matt were in. But there was little way for her to know if McGregor could do something to silence the committee. It would be a risk if Talia gave Shinn a field promotion right now, more for Shinn than to her. The Defense Committee was busy so may not look at a field promotion for a bit. However, with tensions climbing, Talia feared tempers would be shorter than they were months ago. Thus, her hesitation to promote Shinn was more for his benefit than anything else. A knock on her door brought Talia out of her thoughts, "Enter," she called tiredly.

Aila would soon be taking a shift on the bridge before the ship would hopefully be heading out in the morning. However, Aila wanted to check on Talia before she took over for Arthur so he could get some rest. Aila suspected the conversation Talia had with Captain McGregor was weighing on her friend. With the operation head back at Gibraltar, Aila felt Talia needed to be closer to her best than she was. And so, with that in mind, Aila entered Talia's quarters hoping she could help. The glimpse Aila got of Talia showed her expectation was on the money with how tired Talia looked. "I take it you haven't been able to get any sleep since our visitor left," Aila remarked. "Or am I wrong and something else is keeping you away from your bed?" Talia glanced up and saw Aila taking a seat looking at her. Aila wasn't exactly wrong about her not getting to her bed since Captain McGregor left. Talia was physically tired, but her brain's gears wouldn't stop turning enough to let her sleep at all. And perhaps, talking with Aila may ease her mind about what McGregor said about Shinn. So, Talia sighed, "You aren't wrong Aila," Talia replied. "What was said won't leave my mind as much as I wish it would."

Aila couldn't help but wonder what had been said between Talia and Captain McGregor once again. Without more information, Aila couldn't do much to help her friend. "Could you give me the general facts discussed," Aila asked. "I'm willing to listen and give advice, but I would need to know more." Talia was quiet for a moment before she began telling Aila what had been said between her and Captain McGregor. Aila said nothing as she was given the summary, but her mind was working hard to process what was being said. The highlights of the conversation, few as there seemed to be, was that Captain McGregor applauded the Minerva coming to get Shinn and the Impulse. Aila felt most in ZAFT wouldn't be doing that as McGregor had. The Minerva was working off the books while away from Gibraltar, that told the story from ZAFT's perspective sadly.

The rest of the conversation was much less pleasant and gave much to think about. The opening question kind of set the tone as much as Aila wanted to argue the point it implied. Aila would say that ZAFT had come a long way from where it had been at the end of the Alliance-PLANT War. And yet, ZAFT wasn't perfect by any measure, though it was trying to improve as it could. So, to be asked it one was blind implied the improvement made was being wasted or wasn't the right kind. Further clarification from McGregor hadn't helped much other than him insulting ZAFT in a different way. It was one of the duties of the National Defense Committee to scout for talent which would benefit ZAFT. They had a department which was responsible for that very idea as far as Aila knew.

Aila wouldn't disagree that Shinn's potential as McGregor referenced was something to be explored. The skill and talent Shinn had shown had impressed Aila and that was why she had brought it up to Talia. Shinn really did have the makings of a Gundam pilot in Aila's opinion. The issue as Talia had laid out to McGregor was the National Defense Committee didn't agree at the moment. Aila would love it if the committee would take the time to look at Shinn's performances since the Minerva's outset. She felt that if they did, then maybe they would see the interest of having Shinn work with a Gundam. But with a war coming soon, they wouldn't see the need to take the time to do such a thing.

The other point which McGregor had made was somewhat more troubling than what involved Shinn. Having what wasn't a public glaring issue pointed out was never a nice thing to have done to you. Gibraltar's response to Shinn's plight was wrong and shouldn't have happened, Aila wouldn't deny that. But that was a single incident, or that was what Aila wanted to say in response. She feared that Gibraltar's night watch's behavior may not be a one-off as she hoped it could be. And if that was so, ZAFT needed to go through things and correct such from potentially happening again. The remarks of McGregor of Shinn being left out in the cold and abandoned hurt. Aila would've wondered as she didn't doubt Shinn had, after the time he'd waited for any news if his allies had forgotten or abandoned him. Of course, Talia had said those on the Minerva knew nothing about what Gibraltar was doing. However, McGregor had a valid point whether Talia or Aila wanted to admit it. What Gibraltar's night watch had done could be seen as potential behavior that ZAFT was practicing if not corrected.

McGregor had shifted the conversation back to Shinn after that. He had focused on iterating about Shinn's skill. McGregor even said that Shinn had a lot of potential and went into some detail about the idea. Aila was kind of impressed with Captain McGregor's assessment of Shinn, more so after Aila had done a bit of research on McGregor. The guy was one of the known Federation Gundam pilots. His record was close if not on par with that of the Champions with how capable he was in a fight. That made the assessment given all the more valid really. A known Gundam pilot saying an upcoming pilot had the potential to be a Gundam pilot was a credible source. Aila would think and hope that such would have the Defense Committee to agree that Shinn was worth giving a chance to.

Nonetheless, the issue came back to the proverbial wall that had kept showing itself again and again. The National Defense Committee had the power to reverse a field promotion if they saw fit. What Aila saw as the problem with that power was the committee didn't have to state a reason for their decision if they didn't feel like it. They normally did state a reason for their decisions but not always. If they said no to the potential promotion for Shinn, they could site age or inexperience and say little more than that. Aila felt because of the chances of the committee reversing the decision, Talia hadn't done the idea. With tension as it was, snapping and overreacting was a real possibility. And so, Aila agreed with Talia that it was unlikely Shinn would be given the chance to be a Gundam pilot until something changed. As much as Aila didn't like that, it was above her pay grade to argue that point as she wished to.

However, then came the "final blow" which hit home the most of what Talia was telling Aila. For McGregor to put out what could be seen as a threat was unexpected from what Aila had gotten from the guy. But to be told that either Talia was to promote Shinn or else he would be taken from the Minerva didn't sit well with Aila. And it wasn't that she believed McGregor couldn't get something to happen to have Shinn vanish from the Minerva, for something in her told her that the guy could do that. Aila felt that should Shinn be taken from the ship, the Minerva would suffer for the lack. It could even lead to the ship being sunk by enemy forces at some point in the future. It had been clear to Aila that McGregor had implied that ZAFT was taking Shinn for granted. And it was more than that, Aila kind of agreed that Shinn could do more if he was given the chance which he wasn't being given. The potential Shinn had was not being looked at by the higher-ups and thus it was being wasted.

Talia's mentioning of McGregor saying he could "arrange" something to get the committee to stay out of Shinn's promotion had caught Aila's attention. It had her wondering what McGregor in which could possibly end with the committee not interfering could be. She couldn't think of what could get the committee not look into a field promotion related to a Gundam. That was the issue, activities with Gundams were researched quickly and handled just a fast by the National Defense Committee. And Aila couldn't come up with any possibility that would have a real chance of working with the Committee. Even crazy ideas she thought about wouldn't have the committee ignoring a pilot getting assigned to a Gundam without their say. Perhaps, if someone like Admiral Treize suggested it and explained the situation to them, then maybe it could happen. But with the admiral retired, there was no chance of that idea coming into play to help Shinn. Talia said she wanted to believe McGregor with him saying he could handle the committee. But much as Aila had gone over in her mind, the chances of such happening were low. And McGregor's arguments for Shinn being promoted were similar to what Aila had given to Talia. Yet, the argument would fall on deaf ears as the committee was busy with other things and wouldn't give Shinn a chance. But McGregor had told Talia he required an answer if she would promote Shinn before the Minerva left in the morning.

The summary Talia had given explained things somewhat of what Talia was having trouble sleeping. The potential future of the Minerva could depend on if Shinn was with it or not. Aila suspected the ship would be sent out against the Alliance more often given some more time. The ship had already had victory against Alliance forces or at least those who were suspected to be working with them. And each encounter thus far had been more difficult than the previous ones. Aila felt that would change in the near future, which was concerning in its own way. "Well," Aila started speaking for the first time since the summary began. "I can see why the conversation is haunting you as it is. There is a lot to take away from it, much of it unsaid which concerns me."

Talia was glad Aila had been listening while she had gotten the conversation off her chest. Talking about what Captain McGregor had said was helping Talia review and thinking about the subject matter. And Talia would love Aila's opinion on what had and hadn't been said. Aila wasn't ignorant or foolish, she listened and observed better than many did. "Care to tell me your takeaways," Talia posed. "I've been going over the conversation again and again, and I wonder if I'm missing something."

Aila thought for a moment, organizing her thoughts to be comprehensible and direct. The first point that Aila wanted to echo Shinn's potential as she felt that was important. "The first thing I took away from your summary is about Shinn," Aila began. "He has real potential as a Gundam pilot. The Federation sees it and a current Gundam pilot sees it as well. We keep getting signs and hints that he is an amazing candidate for a Gundam." Aila paused for a moment, "I don't know what more evidence that Shinn is being wasted as a regular pilot we need to understand the point. We are at a crossroads I believe, in which we either make Shinn a Gundam pilot or we keep him as he is. If we don't let Shinn explore his potential, he may not be able to develop it the best he could. Should ZAFT still wave off Shinn's talent and skills after all the evidence including the two commendations, then truthfully, we don't deserve to have him serving with us."

Talia couldn't disagree with the points that Aila was bringing up. She made a good argument in favor of Shinn being promoted to a Gundam pilot. Shinn had a good defender in Aila. But the issue came back to the response of the National Defense Committee. "It's not that I'm against giving Shinn a field promotion and have him in the rotation you and Matt are in," Talia replied. "I just don't want to do that only to have him punished for being promoted to that." Aila shrugged in response, "Then isn't the question do you believe Captain McGregor can silence or get the response from the Committee to be tailored to help Shinn?"

Talia had to consider what Aila had brought up. Did she believe that Captain McGregor could do as he said in relation to the National Defense Committee. Honestly, when she considered it, she was inclined to say Captain McGregor could manage what he said. But did she put faith in that hunch and put the possibility of Shinn's military career at risk. That really was the question that Talia had been haunting her and keeping her awake. Should she not take the risk, then the Minerva and ZAFT would lose Shinn along with his potential skills. Talia felt that should Shinn leave the Minerva, the ship wouldn't be the only group that would suffer. ZAFT would also suffer and miss out on an advantage Shinn could potentially provide. Thus, the choice was clear enough, Talia just didn't want to head down that path headfirst. Talia couldn't stop the heavy exhale that escaped her, "I suppose I know the answer, I've just been avoiding making the decision out of fear of what could happen. Whether Captain McGregor can help with the National Defense Committee's response doesn't play into this any longer. I'll defend my decision should It be needed with the Committee."

Aila was glad to hear that Talia had come to the decision that involved Shinn. It had to be made and it was better to be done sooner rather than later. "I can tell Shinn should you like, Talia," Aila remarked. "You sound like you could use a break and some sleep." Talia wouldn't be against getting some sleep while there was the time. With the decision about Shinn's position as a pilot made, Talia should be able to get her brain to quiet down enough. "If you could do that, Aila," Talia replied. "That would be appreciated. It has been a very long day I admit. I fear the upcoming operation will keep us busy for a time and it will be accelerated with the attack on Asgard."

Aila felt that Talia was right about the Spear of Twilight operation keeping many busy. With the Alliance's aggressive approach, they were using now, ZAFT needed to strengthen their positions on Earth. If ZAFT didn't do that, the Alliance may be able to overwhelm and take their positions. Should ZAFT lose its foothold on Earth, the coming war would be much harder to potentially turn around. The war was already looking to be a hard and grueling one if the Alliance's persistence was anything to go by. "I bet you're right," Aila agreed. "With the Alliance attacking Asgard, it proves they are determined to see things through until they achieve their goals or are stopped." Aila bid Talia farewell and began making her way toward the Minerva's bridge. Doing a shift on the bridge would distract Aila from what was likely looking ahead. She would get the time to sleep on the Minerva's trip back to Gibraltar.

At the same time, Arthur was on the bridge by himself on watch. The repairs and resupply were moving along and were on schedule to be completed in time for the Minerva to leave at around 0800 in the morning. There was still work to be done but Arthur felt it would be done on time. Yet his hopefulness may be more due to his tiredness which he was fighting against. He'd been on duty and working since 0600 after the Minerva had headed out from Gibraltar. Matt and the captain would take over the bridge in the morning. Arthur could stay awake for the time until the shift change came. He didn't need to do much on the bridge other than just be available should a ship officer be required. There hadn't been much of a need for Arthur or Talia with the Federation workers while the repairs had been going on yet. So, Arthur didn't see a reason for that to change before the shift change.

Arthur wasn't expecting anyone to come onto the bridge, not even to check in with him. The majority of the crew was asleep at the moment. With the Minerva planning to head out tomorrow, the captain wanted the crew to be rested and ready for the ship to head out in the morning. So, Arthur was surprised when the door slid open revealing Aila coming in. "Aila," Arthur uttered, "didn't expect you to pop up here. Was there something you needed?" Aila's intention coming to the bridge was to give Arthur a break before morning. The man had been on duty for approaching twenty hours thus far by what Aila figured. Arthur needed time to rest and hopefully get some sleep before the Minerva reached Gibraltar. "I thought you could use a break, Arthur," Aila replied. "You've been on-duty working for approaching a whole day."

Arthur wasn't against a chance to getting the opportunity to get some sleep before the Minerva headed out from Asgard. It had been a rather long day thus far with getting to Asgard and the battle which had followed. But Aila had been working for as long if not longer than Arthur had been on-duty. She should get a break before him and deserved it with all the work she'd been doing being the go between for the Minerva's crew and the Federation workers. "You've been working for longer than me, Aila," Arthur stated. "I can manage for a few hours until the shift change comes. You could use the time off to sleep more than me." Aila shook her head in response, "I will get some sleep while the Minerva travels to Gibraltar. You need a break more than I do, Arthur. My mind is too active right now for me to sleep, so being here will give me time to sort out my thoughts. If you could just bring me up to speed on the repairs and resupply process."

Arthur saw that Aila wouldn't change her answer about taking over for him to give him a break. And honestly, Arthur wasn't against getting time off-duty to get some sleep. So, he gave a summary about how the repairs and resupply was progressing. Aila listened to Arthur and was a tad surprised at how efficiently the repairs and resupply were going. The Federation's assistance had made a difference for the Minerva. It had accelerated the time required to have the Minerva ready to head out. Granted, there had been certain things that couldn't be properly repaired at Asgard, but besides those, the rest of the repairs were on track to be done in the early morning. The resupply was two thirds of the way done and would be completed in the next few hours. Chief Aves had mentioned to Arthur that all which could be left when the Minerva set out would be work for the two ZAKUs beside the Phantom, the Isolde turret, and minor things with the sensor array. The suits could be finished before the Minerva returned to Gibraltar with how Aves ran things. The sensor array and the turret would be handled at Gibraltar and shouldn't take a great deal of time.

Aila thanked Arthur for the summary before waving him off to get time to rest up for when the Minerva would head out. She took the deputy station and went through the checks for the ship to see the status of its systems. The Minerva's systems were coming back with the expected status for when the ship was operating normally. The workers were finishing up the hull repairs by what Aila could tell at the moment. The engines had been fully fixed, both from what the battle had done and the punishment they had been put through to get to Asgard in the time it had. The general resupply was moving along at a decent pace. The needed food and water stores that the ship kept for its crew had been filled already. Fuel tanks for the engines were being filled currently, and with the speed they were being filled should be done in the next hour. Other fluids that the Minerva carried were the next in like to be topped off after the fuel tanks were done.

Once Aila was done reviewing the Minerva's systems and status, she moved to the captain's chair. She returned to her thoughts and quickly got lost in them. The possibility of Shinn being taken from the Minerva wasn't a pleasant one to Aila. Shinn's potential was more valuable than higher-ups knew and many on the Minerva likely had realized. Aila was confident that Shinn could be a great if not better Gundam pilot than herself or others if he got the chance. And by what Talia had said, things were coming to the point that Talia and ZAFT had to make a decision about Shinn. Either they gave Shinn the chance to prove himself or lose out on the opportunity to benefit from his potential. Should ZAFT not take the chance on Shinn, there wouldn't be the chance to change their minds.

Aila understood that the ZAFT higher-ups were the ones that made "serious" decisions. But she couldn't help but question what their thought process could be for the choices they made. When Admiral Treize had been running ZAFT, the decisions being made were easier to comprehend than they were now. The Admiral's way of doing things along with those he delegated to had been logical. There was no question of reasoning or integrity as they seemed to be these days. And it wasn't the big decisions that were making her, and she didn't doubt others scratching their heads wondering what was going through the heads of ZAFT's leaders. It was the small but important things that didn't make the most sense. And it was the less major things which could nudge ZAFT in a bad direction if not considered carefully.

Meanwhile, Luna had not been able to get any sleep while she'd been off duty. The event with the guy who had beaten her kept going through her mind. The guy had whipped her, as much as she didn't want to admit it. And with that, images of Aila's disappointed expression kept flashing in Luna's mind. The combination of the two were haunting her and wouldn't leave her be. Thus, Luna had been tossing and turning in her bed before she gave up on getting any sleep before the Minerva headed out. Meyrin was sleeping in her bed without seemingly any trouble, which had Luna a tad jealous. Yet, Luna didn't want to bug her little sister with talking about the mistake she'd made. So, she exited her bed and left the quarters that she shared with Meyrin to walk around to sort out her thoughts.

After Luna had wandered the crew decks for a little while. She had come to the conclusion that she had to talk to Aila to get things to settle. Luna felt that once she apologized to Aila for her behavior, the sooner she could move forward and stop beating herself up. The issue was Luna didn't know where Aila was currently. Luna had gone by Aila's quarters and knocked but had gotten no answer. That had Luna ending out on the command deck of the Minerva through her wandering. She didn't know who was on duty at the moment, but Luna figured whoever it was would be able to find out where Aila was. However, to Luna's surprise, when she entered the bridge, she found Aila sitting in the captain's chair.

Aila had been thinking ahead to what the Minerva could possibly be assigned after the Spear of Twilight operation. There were a few areas that Aila had heard there were ongoing issues that ZAFT was looking into. It was possible that the Minerva could be sent to help with that business, but no guarantee that would be the case. With the Minerva being a unique ship class and a Gundam carrier, it was an expectation for it to be on the frontlines. But there wasn't enough information for Aila to be able to predict with much accuracy what was ahead of the Minerva. Even reaching out to friends she had in other positions hadn't helped Aila in considering what could be in the future. It made Aila both curious and concerned with what the National Defense Committee could be thinking. And she wasn't normally one to question higher-ups without good reason, things had been pointing in a potentially problematic direction.

Aila was brought out of her thoughts when the door to the bridge slid open. She turned to see who it was, half expecting it to be Matt. He was the kind to come and check on her before turning in to sleep. It was a sweet quality of his which she found endearing. Matt was really a good guy that truly cared about her. He'd shown Aila that his interest in her was more than just friendship and for her looks. However, Aila found herself gazing at Lunamaria entering the bridge instead of Matt. Aila hadn't spoken much with Luna after what happened with Captain McGregor. That experience seemed to have hit her hard, and Aila had hoped Luna had learned a valuable lesson from it. At least, it had Luna being quiet since that event which Aila wanted to think the girl considering her recent actions. "Lunamaria," Aila began, "What brings you up here at this hour?"

Luna was trying to organize her thoughts so she could tell Aila how sorry she was for what she'd done. Her behavior since the Minerva had left Gibraltar had been anything but acceptable when Luna looked back on it. She had been worried about Shinn and that had made her a bit more emotional than normal. That wasn't much of an excuse for Luna's behavior even if it was the truth. It was the reason she felt the need to apologize to Aila at least for the behavior she had been showing. "Aila," Luna started, "I can't tell you how sorry I am for my behavior over the last two weeks." Luna paused, looking away from Aila, truly embarrassed and ashamed of how she'd been acting. "I know my behavior has been less than nice. And I am aware that saying I was getting more emotional because I was really worried about Shinn isn't an excuse." Luna bowed her head, "Please forgive me, I really am sorry about what I've been doing which you have been dealing with."

Aila could see that Lunamaria was indeed sorry for her behavior and what that had caused. It was good the girl was admitting her mistake since it was the first step to correcting the problem. And while Aila did understand Luna's worry about Shinn, she should've done other things to express that than vent on others as she had. It would be best if Luna took this as a learning experience and worked on emotional control. That would serve her well in the future and Aila would wish that for her. "Well, it is good you noticed what you have been doing," Aila remarked. "And I do forgive you for what your venting did and resulted in. However, I would recommend that you take this as an opportunity to learn and practice emotional control. Or else, you may end out in a similar situation you were in, and it won't end safely as it did earlier."

Luna looked at the floor and frowned as the memory of what the Federation guy had done to her flashed in her mind. The fear she'd felt had been real back then. The guy could've slit her throat and cause her death before any around could have done anything. It had been worse than having to watch allies being killed by the thieves with Bogey One around the Lagrange 4 Colony Cluster. Luna hadn't felt the fear she had earlier since the survival course ZAFT required of every pilot and soldier. The event with the guy had kept coming back to Luna's mind, disrupting her other thoughts with the ice-cold fear that accompanied it. "I'm sorry I embarrassed you during that time," Luna admitted. "I wasn't thinking right," Luna hesitated as her voice began shaking. "I'm the one to blame for being put into the position where my life was in danger." Luna shook her head remembering how helpless she had been back at the time. "No one else was to blame for what happened to me. And yet, all I could do at the time was snap at those around me until I had a knife at my neck."

Aila could see that Luna had been dwelling upon what had befallen her. It was more like the experience had been haunting her since it happened. That she understood her actions led to what ended out occurring was a good sign. She was showing clear remorse and that could lead to a good change for her. "You've been thinking about what happened," Aila commented, "That's a good thing." Luna kept gazing at the deck, not able to bring herself to look at Aila. Aila kept going, "While Captain McGregor didn't do you harm, there are those who would take the opportunity to do that in his place. Matt was saying he figured that McGregor's skill level is likely on par with special forces, and I'm inclined to agree with that. There is the possibility you will encounter others with similar skill levels."

Aila paused for a moment considering Luna's chances against one like McGregor. Luna had as much a chance as Shawn and Dale had against the thieves who had killed them. Put simply, Luna had to understand how to see the difference in skills between herself and another. "I doubt I need to tell you the place you were in with McGregor," Aila stated. Luna nodded her head, but still stared at the floor. Aila kept going, "You're still learning and gaining battlefield experience, so understand there are those who will be able to outdo you no matter what you do. If you can learn to recognize situations that pit you against such, you will know when to avoid them. That can be a key to survival which is something you much keep in mind." Aila then smiled, "And with that said, I would say you've beaten yourself up about this for long enough. Look at me Lunamaria." Luna raised her head slowly and gazed at Aila as she continued, "Stop dwelling on what happened and holding it against yourself. You made a mistake and have recognized it. You are willing to make changes which will make a repeat less likely to happen in the future. That is what I ask, that you make changes so that you are less likely to make the same mistake in the future."

Luna said nothing to what Aila had told her. She'd expected to be lectured about her behavior and rightly so. And while there was a bit of a lecture, it was more advice than being told off to Luna. Not that Luna was against getting advice from Aila, she would take it to heart. But doing as she was being told was easier said than done. "I want to change and improve," Luna admitted. "But I don't know what I can do to not make the same mistake again. What can I do Aila? I've been trying to think of something, yet every time I try, the memory of having a knife at my neck comes back to me. Any thought of what I could do vanishes when that memory comes back to me."

Aila could see the fear Luna had felt was still getting the better of her and making it difficult for her to move forward. Fear wasn't a bad thing in Aila's mind, for it warned one of danger which was part of a survival instinct. But one couldn't let fear overwhelm and cause them to freeze up and be unable to act. That was supposed to be one of the lessons learned from ZAFT's survival course. Not just the value of feeling fear but pushing past it and fighting to live. "The fear is fulfilling its purpose, Luna," Aila said. "It is alerting you to danger. However, you need to not let that fear freeze you and prevent you from acting. Instead of that memory freezing you, take it as motivation to not be put in that position again." Luna took a moment to consider what Aila said. "I'll try," Luna replied. "I don't know how well using that memory as motivation will work, but I'll try."

Luna exited the bridge after that leaving Aila alone once again. Over the next few hours, little came up for Aila to handle. And when Talia came onto the bridge, she found Aila looking rather tired in her chair. Talia wasn't surprised that Aila was looking tired, she'd been awake for around a full day by this point. She came up to the captain's chair and put a hand on it, "I would say it's about time for you to go get some sleep, Aila," Talia remarked. "With what you've done today and since we left Gibraltar, you certainly deserve the opportunity to get some sleep."

Aila glanced up at Talia wondering how the last few hours had just flown by. There was still one question that Aila had of Talia. Captain McGregor had put a question/ultimatum to her and it had sounded like the guy would ask for an answer before the Minerva left Asgard. So, either Captain McGregor would've called back already or would do so soon. Aila knew the answer, but she would love to hear the response Talia may have gotten from the guy. "Well, I can't say I would refuse the chance at sleep," Aila returned, "It has been a long day." Aila shook her head to fight off the exhaustion creeping upon her. "Has Captain McGregor reached back out to you already? I got the impression that he would be insisting on an answer before we leave Asgard."

Talia sighed in response to Aila's question. Captain McGregor had indeed called her already. It had come just after she had gotten ready to head to the bridge to take over the watch. She'd known the call would come, McGregor hadn't come off as someone that wouldn't follow up on something he started. Talia had her answer ready by that point and had given it to McGregor. The guy had accepted it and assured her that he would somehow get the National Defense Committee to not step in and reverse her decision. He still gave no hint as to how he could have any sway over the committee. McGregor's acceptance had not lessened Talia's curiosity about his methods. "Captain McGregor has already reached out," Talia returned. "He accepted my answer without fuss. He also assured me that he would make sure the National Defense Committee wouldn't interfere with my field promotion. McGregor still gave no hint as to how he can do that, but that is neither here nor there I suppose."

Aila had figured McGregor would follow up, the guy seemed the type to do such things. She hadn't seen an issue with Talia's agreement to promote Shinn to a Gundam pilot and felt Captain McGregor would have one either. Yet like Talia, Aila couldn't help but wonder how Captain McGregor could have any influence on the National Defense Committee. He was a Federation captain, and probably had a background in some sort of special forces work. That alone made the guy odd as ship officers normally didn't have backgrounds or experience in special forces or something similar. "I guess we'll have to leave it at he will do something and be left wondering," Aila admitted. "I honestly am having trouble figuring out Captain McGregor. The guy has shown signs he had special forces training and experience or better. I don't see why the Federation's military would have someone with that kind of skill set and experience be made a ship officer."

Talia smiled, "I suppose you have a point, Aila," Talia returned. "You are not the only one who wonders why someone like McGregor would be made a ship officer. However, I would assume the Federation's military leadership had something in mind with doing that. An individual of McGregor's talent and skill is I don't doubt a valuable asset for the Federation." Alia nodded in agreement before shifting to passing the information about the Minerva's status. "As for the Minerva," Aila started, "The resupply is wrapping up and should be done in the next hour. The needed repairs were finished around thirty minutes ago. So, the ship should be ready to move out at 0800 hours as planned."

Talia was happy to hear things were on track for the Minerva to head back to Gibraltar soon. the sooner the ship returned to Gibraltar, the better standing it would be in. Being off the books was fine for some things, but it wasn't the best position to be in for longer than needed. Commander Hersey had done a solid favor for Talia allowing the Minerva to go and retrieve the Impulse and Shinn. And Talia didn't want her first mission commander to have to take a flak for her decision. Thus, she wanted the Minerva back at Gibraltar before there was too many questions asked about why the Minerva had left and where it had gone. "I'll take over the watch until the bridge crew comes on duty," Talia said, "Go and get some sleep Aila. I fear there will be less time when we get back to Gibraltar. The upcoming operation will likely have been accelerated with the Alliance's attack on Asgard." Aila nodded before rising from the captain's chair and leaving the bridge.

Talia moved over to the deputy station to check over the Minerva's systems and overall status. She trusted Aila's remarks about the repairs and resupply were accurate, but she just wanted to scan over details. Talia knew the Minerva would need some work when it got back to Gibraltar. Special systems and equipment would need to be fixed, which the Federation hadn't been able to do the job. And Talia wanted to have a list ready for those at Gibraltar could get to work as soon as possible. Talia's intuition told her that after the Spear of Twilight operation, the Minerva wouldn't get much of a break if any. The way the Minerva had been given missions suggested to Talia that her ship was being used as a symbol for ZAFT. She didn't have an issue with that exactly, but being sent from one thing to another and having no break was hard on any crew.

Talia returned to her chair after looking over the Minerva's status and her thoughts returned to what her mind had been going over a moment ago. The Minerva as a symbol had always been a possibility, Talia had known that from the outset. The Alliance's Archangel had proven limited production ship classes tended to be different than any that had come before. The Archangel had introduced new technology which the Minerva had built into it. And like the Alliance vessel, the Minerva seemed to find itself in unexpected and normally unheard-of situations. The Minerva and her crew had managed in what had come their direction thus far. However, Talia felt what was ahead of the Minerva would test and stress the ship and her crew further.

Nevertheless, Talia couldn't help but wonder what the higher-ups were planning with the Minerva. Specifically, Talia had the nagging feeling that Gilbert was one of those pulling strings of what assignments the Minerva was handed. If that were true, then Talia would love to know what he had in mind for the Minerva. Gilbert would have a goal in mind he was having the Minerva "help" with. Talia had thought Gilbert had been working for peaceful existence with Earth. Yet, with things going as they were, Talia couldn't help but wonder if there was more to what Gilbert was working toward. Gilbert was brilliant, Talia would be one of the first to admit that. However, he tended to get stuck or as he said "focused" on what was ahead rather than the way to potentially get there. Talia kept trying to figure out what Gilbert and others were planning as the remaining hours before 0800 hours drew closer.

The primary bridge crew began filing in at around 0730, which got Talia to dismiss the questions that were bouncing around her mind. Instead, she focused on having things checked and prepared so the Minerva could leave as planned. Talia had Burt look over the status of the resupply as it was wrapping up the last she had checked. She had Meyrin reach out to Chief Aves to see where he stood with the Minerva's status. Talia then had Arthur work on getting the needed crew to their stations for the Minerva to head out when it was ready. Burt reported that the resupply was finished, and the equipment used for it was being removed and retracted. Arthur was working on getting crew to their stations but needed a little more time to get people where they needed to be. Meyrin called that Aves said everything was essentially ready on his end. During the half an hour, the Minerva was made ready to leave Asgard.

When 0800 came around, Talia got the signal from Arthur that the needed crew were ready at their stations. Talia had Meyrin reach out to Asgard's port control and tell them the Minerva was ready to leave. Meyrin did as ordered and was told that the dock would be flooded so the Minerva could head out. She was relaying the message as Malik noticed water starting to rush into the dry dock. So, when Meyrin finished saying what had been relayed to her from the Federation's port control, Malik called the dock was being flooded. Talia noted the dry dock was filling with water at a more efficient rate than ZAFT's dry docks did. It was an expectation that the Federation tended to be more prepared and efficient at what they did than the other factions. It was a sign that the Federation still had advantages over the other factions even after the Alliance-PLANT War.

Once the dry dock was fully filled with ocean water, the outer gates to the dock retracted. Meyrin then told Talia Asgard's port control was giving the go ahead for the Minerva to leave the dock. Talia ordered Malik to have the Minerva proceed forward slowly and steadily and take them out of the dock. The Minerva surged forward in the flooded dry dock at a slow pace. As the Minerva came into open waters, Talia noticed Federation ships sailing both close to the island and further away. It wasn't all that surprising Asgard's defense forces out on patrols, not after the Alliance's assault. It also appeared that some ships were working on salvaging around the previous battlefield area. Such were signs that even if the battle was over, what it had caused was still being dealt with and would be for a time. Talia had Malik set the Minerva's course to the south and to keep the ship's speed steady until they were a couple kilometers from Asgard. The route the Minerva was to take had been planned out between Arthur and Talia yesterday. The journey was estimated to be around fourteen hours, which would have the Minerva there by late evening.

Meanwhile, Tyler had been on duty on the Normandy's bridge when the Minerva had headed out. He had observed it for a minute as it had been leaving the dry dock it had been in. Tyler had expected the Minerva to leave when the morning came. According to what he'd heard, the ship was off the books right now and so needed to get back to Gibraltar. Tyler had mixed feelings about the ZAFT vessel leaving Asgard. On the one hand, the ship had been built and was used by ZAFT. The ship was a good one in Tyler's opinion. The Minerva had good firepower but decent defense as well. That balance tended to be rare in non-Federation ships from what Tyler had seen. With that in mind, Tyler couldn't help but wonder for what purpose the Minerva had really been designed and constructed for.

The Minerva seemed to have the same luck and expectations as the Archangel had in the Alliance-PLANT War. That was both a good and bad thing depending on one's perspective. The ship was strong and would likely become a symbol for ZAFT and the hope they had. However, it would be popular in a bad way as well with the Alliance because of that point. The ship was in an unenviable position because of the two points as it would be in danger often. Tyler had seen the idea with the Archangel while he'd been on it. So, he felt a tad sorry for Talia Gladys being in charge of ZAFT's new flagship. Sure, she would get praise for the victories it would give ZAFT. Yet, it would also be blamed for unpleasant results of operations it was involved with even if the Minerva had nothing to do with what came about.

Nevertheless, Tyler had gotten his answer from Captain Gladys before the Minerva had left Asgard. He had woken up early and "reached out" to the Minerva, or really, he had used his specialized skills to get to the computer station in the captain's quarters directly. The task hadn't been that difficult for Tyler. ZAFT's security had been improved "slightly" from what Tyler had seen recently, and he would applaud that. However, it was still no where near good enough to keep him out for all that long when Tyler put forth the effort to get in. The answer that Captain Gladys had given Tyler was what he'd expected. She would make Shinn a primary Gundam pilot, though she said it would be in "good time." Tyler had told her that was fine as long as she did it efficiently and didn't put the point off out of fear or for other ridiculous reasons. He had also informed the woman that he would hold up his end and make sure the PLANTs' National Defense Committee would stay out of her decision.

True to his word, the moment Tyler had gotten off the call with Captain Gladys, Tyler had called Admiral Treize. The Admiral had acknowledged the information from Tyler and said he would get a message to the National Defense Committee and explain things to them properly. That had Tyler dead curious as to what Treize could tell those on the Committee to get them to back off. He would love to be on the call with the Admiral when he talked with those on the committee. If only for the interest of what Treize would say as for the reactions of those who listened to the man. At least with Admiral Treize talking with the Committee, Shinn's promotion would be solid and wouldn't be reversed. That was what Tyler had been aiming for when helping the kid. Shinn would be a great if not an amazing Gundam pilot, Tyler was sure of that.

Tyler shifted his attention from the Minerva leaving back to getting the Normandy ready to head out as well. The Normandy would be going to the Republic to deliver Stella to those who would take her to Shangri-La. The repairs that the Normandy had needed had been completed hours ago. The resupply was wrapping up currently and would be finished in less than thirty minutes. The only thing which Tyler wasn't the most pleased about was Miss Thevalley was still undergoing medical treatment. That would be followed by recovery which would have her at Asgard for a time. The point put the Normandy down one pilot which Tyler didn't like. While it was unlikely the Normandy would encounter any enemy forces along its journey to the Republic, there still was the chance it could happen. However, Tyler couldn't do much to change the position the Normandy was in being a pilot down.

Tyler was brought out of his thoughts when Miss Alloy told him resupply was finished and the Normandy was unhooked from supply equipment. That told Tyler the Normandy was ready to head out from Asgard. With that in mind, Tyler asked Miss Alloy to contact the port control and tell them the Normandy was ready to depart from the dock. Tyler was taking his seat when he was informed the dock was being flooded. The primary bridge crew were at their stations already, so there was no reason to call an alert for the ship. Tyler did call down to Chief Volyon and told him to have the engines primed and ready for use. The reply Tyler got was the Normandy's engines were more than primed and Volyon was asking what the hold up was for the Normandy heading out. Tyler had to hold in the chuckle which came to him at Volyon's response.

Once the dock was full of water, the gates opened and got out of the way for the Normandy to depart from the dock. Tyler ordered Paris to get the Normandy underway before the ship began moving forward. Tyler noted that recovery efforts were still ongoing from the results of the Alliance's assault. The efforts were coming along with the pace, which was being set, but Tyler understood the push for things to be done quickly. While the OMNI force which had assaulted Asgard had sustained heavy losses, that didn't mean the Alliance wouldn't try attacking again. There was also a possibility, slim as it was, that ZAFT may try something with Asgard in its weaken state. Thus, the push for getting Asgard back into operational order enough it could function properly.

The Normandy swung to have its bow pointing north and continued forward. The planned route of the ship would take a few days for the Normandy to arrive at Shira. The ship would do most of the journey underwater, which would help avoid potential nasty encounters. The route would have the Normandy go around the northern part of the Asian continent before turning south and going down the coastline. The journey was simple enough in the planning phase, and Tyler hoped it would be similar during its execution. There shouldn't be any unexpected things ahead for the Normandy before it arrived at Shira. But as Tyler had learned during his military service, you didn't put all your faith in things going perfectly and having no issues along the way. As the old phrase went, "you hoped for the best, but planned for the worst." It was a phrase that Tyler had observed and had been saved by many times.

The Normandy entered open waters north of Asgard before Tyler told Paris to have the Normandy dive under the surface. The transition was smoother than it appeared, or rather Tyler felt very little as the Normandy sunk into the water. And the cruising speed the ship was going at didn't change a great deal. The reason Tyler had been set on the Normandy traveling under the water was the Alliance used few subs for their patrols. The Normandy would be going through Alliance territory, or areas they claimed as theirs at least. Tyler was of the opinion that the less attention the Normandy drew to itself, the better on this journey. Stella had gotten luck with Tyler bringing her onto the Normandy. She had unknowingly escaped further abuse from the Alliance and could have a second chance at a good life. Tyler didn't want the Alliance stealing her back and dooming her to being used and abused.

Over the days that the Normandy traveled around the icy north of the Asian continent, Tyler took the morning to evening shift. Lisa did the evening to early morning time. It had been the agreement that the two had come to when they had discussed the plan for the journey. The rest of the Normandy's crew took the turns in eight-hour shifts rather than twelve-hour ones as Tyler and Lisa did. All the crew knew what was expected of them while they were on their shifts, so there wasn't much discussion while on-duty. Tyler would wander the Normandy while off-duty and not in his quarters sleeping. The things he overheard and saw told that the crew were still processing the Alliance's assault on Asgard. Tyler didn't blame any for being concerned about what had happened. The Alliance's persistence had caused trouble and had shown they were going to push a war on the rest of Humanity. He didn't like the fact, but Tyler feared there was little any could do to prevent a war coming now.

The other interesting point that Tyler did notice while he walked the decks of the Normandy had to do with the ship's guest. Stella had been scared the last time Tyler had seen and interacted with the girl, but that had changed. The crew were being nice to her, and that seemed to cause her to pause, like she didn't expect anything like that to be shown to her. Tyler had the impression that those with the Enhanced Human Project were treated poorly, but he was starting to think he had underestimated the extent to which that went. The girl's reactions to the crew the first day made Tyler seriously wonder if the Alliance went out of their way to abuse the kids like Stella or worse. But on the second day, Stella began opening up to the kindness she was being shown somewhat.

Tyler specifically observed Stella quickly "attach" herself to Feldt by the end of the second day. Feldt had been trying to be nice to the girl and make her feel welcome. That had translated into Stella being drawn to Feldt, like a moth to flames, if not stronger than that. Feldt hadn't appeared to have an issue with the girl sticking close to her. Instead, by what Tyler had seen, Feldt had taken Stella under her wing, even giving her clothes, eating with her and spending time with her. While Tyler was glad the girl was opening up to those on the Normandy, he couldn't help but worry about what her behavior implied. It was almost like Stella had been starving for kindness and hadn't even known it. Tyler had shaken his head when that thought came to him. It had been worse than that, and Tyler was both angry for Stella and felt sorry for her. Her behavior strongly suggested she knew what kindness was, but it had been so long since she had received it regularly that she craved it like a starved person would food. Tyler hoped kindness and the like would be the start for the girl's recovery and change for a better life. Heaven knew the crap Stella had been through because of the project she had been forced into.

At the same time, Stella was having an experience unlike any she could remember in her life. The time on this Federation ship had been different in a way that Stella had thought wouldn't happen to her. First, she had been assured she wouldn't suffer punishment by the captain of the ship as long as she behaved. And the guy had been true to his word, Stella hadn't been punished at all, not even locked in a room like was normal at the lab. Granted, she had to go to the ship's doctor once a day for a dose to keep the pain manageable, but that wasn't as bad as the lab's discipline system. The ship's crew had been "nice" to her as well. Their behavior had her on-guard for much of the first day the ship had been moving. But when the behavior hadn't changed, Stella had been slightly confused. Those that worked on the project didn't act like the people on the ship were to her. Stella couldn't remember a time when any of the scientist at the labs smiled and talked nicely to the candidates. The behavior was so foreign to Stella, she hadn't known had to response to it.

While the crew of the Normandy had been nice to her, there had been one in particular which had stood out to Stella. It had been a pink-haired woman who was older than Stella herself. The woman had approached Stella had introduced herself as "Feldt Grace." Miss Grace had talked to her and been smiling at her more than others were. It had been odd at first, but over time, a feeling similar to what Stella felt around Tanya came to her. With the warm feeling Stella was getting with the pink-haired woman, Stella was drawn to her. Miss Grace didn't seem to have an issue with Stella being around her. She even gave Stella different clothes to wear. Stella wasn't used to being given gifts, so she didn't know what to expect from them. But being given things felt nice, though Stella couldn't say why the feeling was hitting her as it was.

On the day the Normandy came into range of Shira, the ship got into contact with the port control. While that was going on, a car pulled up to the dock which the Normandy was being assigned. A small group exited the car made up of three women one an amount older than the other two. The oldest of the women was Lori Kall one of the former scientists that had worked at Lodonia Lab on the "Enhanced Human Project" or the EH project. The other two young women, twenty-one and twenty were Rossweisse and Lafter Galiena who were accompanying Doctor Kall. They were here to meet with those from the Normandy due to a message that had been sent from the ship days ago.

Lori had been the one who had seen the message first, and what it had contained had piqued her interest. It had been from the Normandy's doctor who happened to be a former scientist from the project. Dr. Noll had worked at the Tartarus facility and by what Lori had recalled, the woman was competent with tasks she was given. Noll's message had mentioned that a candidate had been brought onto the Normandy, and that they were an Extended specifically. The message mentioned the individual was from one of the better performing trios of the Extendeds. That sentence had caught Lori's attention and got her to tell Mina about the message.

After Lori had talked with Mina, her friend had said the information in the message did sound legitimate enough to warrant looking into further. Mina said she was "unable" to investigate herself as she was overseeing the work for candidate recovery. Lori's friend had been focused on "undoing" what the Alliance had twisted the Enhanced Human Project. That had been what those who had left Lodonia had been doing since the Alliance-PLANT War had come to an end. It had been the price or exchange for getting asylum with the Federation. The Federation agreed to allow continued research into some of the EH project if the main focus was to help the candidates live with others and not be violent.

Lori had been rather surprised that Mina had agreed to the terms the Federation had set, but the woman had. And it had been Mina that had made many crucial breakthroughs to get a treatment which had proven to be successful thus far. She had put the same drive which had created the EH project into finding a way to help the candidates. Lori felt it was something that Mina had considered, but more for stabilizing candidates long term without risky methods. Granted, Lori would be among the first to say Mina's people and interactions skills were still less than what the average person had. But at least she was trying to honestly improve in that which Lori would also say and Mina had made some progress even if most didn't see it. In all the years that Lori had known Mina, she had seen the woman rarely changed herself personally. One either had to accept how she was and become accustomed to it, or you avoided Mina as much as possible. Lori believed that Mina's change was more due to the interaction with Deborah, Rossweisse, and Lafter Galiena. Those girls who had been treating Mina as a mother had been slowly changing Mina for the better, even if only slightly.

Mina had not been pleased to see what the Alliance had done to candidates that had been brought to Shangri-La. Lori had seen and heard the cursing tirades that Mina had gone into since they had come to the Republic and begun working. Lori knew that Mina had put a portion of her life into the project and so, she was visibly angry with how others twisted it. Mina wasn't one to show her emotions, which was one of the reasons why candidates had grown to fear her. Still, with Mina not willing to leave Shangri-La and look into the message's contents herself, Lori had to go in her place. However, Mina had been "nice" enough to have two of her girls to accompany Lori to Shira should things be out of hand. It was Mina's way of showing she wasn't completely unfeeling as she had seemed to be. Deborah had stayed behind to help with things with Shangri-La. That had left Lafter and Rossweisse to go with Lori. Lori wasn't against the girls accompanying her. The girls had gained more control after the treatment even if they had kept more strength and quicker reaction time than other candidates would.

Lori's thought shifted from Mina to the Extended which had been mentioned in the message. There had been no detail as to who it could be that Lori had seen. She assumed Dr. Noll had some sort of reason not to include that information. It was possible that the candidate could be valuable to the Alliance and were searching for them actively, unlikely as that probably was. However, there had been the implication the candidate was from a high performing trio which narrowed down who they could be somewhat. Yet, that wasn't enough to make a good prediction by Lori or Mina. Thus, yet another reason why Lori had been sent to look into this further. "Hey, Dr. Kall," Lafter began, "So, who are we going to meet here?"

Lori glanced at Lafter after she asked her question. She'd assumed Mina had told them the general content of the message received. But apparently, Mina had only said they would go with Lori to meet up with someone. That wasn't exactly untrue, but there was more to the point than that. Lori knew that Mina was of the mentality to tell candidates only what they needed to know and little more. The Galiena girls were no exception to that mentality, so Mina wouldn't have given them more detail than she felt they would need to complete the task given to them. "I take it your mother didn't tell you much about this other than picking someone up, correct," Lori asked. Lafter nodded before she tilted her head to the side, "I think mama said something about the one we are helping you pick up, but I can't exactly remember what she said specifically."

Rossweisse's head fell at hearing her younger sister was still so forgetful about the details with instructions. Lafter had always been that way, remembering the general facts but forgetting the important details. Normally, Deborah or Rossweisse would have to remind Lafter of the parts she forgot. Thus, Rossweisse couldn't stop the sigh with Lafter not recalling the details, "She told us that we were coming as insurance should problems arise, Lafter," Rossweisse iterated. "Since the individual Dr. Kall is picking up is a candidate, there is the chance they could act up and cause issues. We are to step in should that occur and restrain them as needed." Lafter's expression morphed to be one of realization, "Oh yeah, mama did say something like that," Lafter remarked. "I was just so excited that mama had a job she would give us that it slipped my mind."

Lori was glad that at least Rossweisse remembered what she and Lafter were here. Lafter wasn't as forgetful as she used to be, but she still had to be told important details multiple times to have them stick. As "boosted men," the two girls would be able to restrain any Extended without too much difficulty. The Boosted Men had possessed more physical strength than Extendeds. The Extendeds were supposed to be more stable and less erratic than the Boosted Men but that had been somewhat a hit or miss result. It was more due to what went into the conditioning of the two which had produced different results. Boosted Men had relied on drugs and surgeries to get them to the acceptable level of performance. On the other hand, Extendeds had relied far more on psychological conditioning than the drugs or surgeries.

Nonetheless, Lori was more concerned with the Extended's condition for a different reason than their type. The message had mentioned they had received some "drug injections" for stabilization. That implied the Extended hadn't had regular maintenance as they should get. Boosted Men hadn't needed consistent maintenances as strictly as the Extendeds required. Drugs had given more of a grace period for maintenance than the psychological conditioning did. So, if the Extended had been missing their time in the pod they were supposed to be getting once or more a day, that tended to cause serious issues. And Lori had heard of and seen cases where Extendeds lost control and had to be sedated when maintenance was missed. Thus, retrieving the Extended in question could be simple or it could be an arduous task, Lori couldn't say. With that in mind, Lori looked to Rossweisse, "The both of you are to be ready to step in to restrain the Extended should that be required," Lori stated. "From what impression I got from the message sent to us, the individual hadn't been getting the regular maintenance they are supposed to receive."

Lafter was more than willing to do the restraining Dr. Kall was talking about. But she was kind of confused why such would be needed. If she or her sisters missed maintenance before the treatments, it hadn't been that bad of a thing. Sure, it was painful, but missing maintenance wasn't detrimental. "Why would an Extended missing maintenance be such a bad thing, Dr. Kall," Lafter questioned. "If we missed one, it wasn't as bad as you're saying it is." Lori glanced at Lafter, wondering what Mina had told her girls about the other half of the EH project. Mina's mentality was a double-edged sword, for it helped and hindered things. "I assume that Mina didn't tell you of the specific differences between Boosted Men and Extendeds," Lori posed. Lafter shook her head in response. Lori looked over to Rossweisse who shook her head as well. Lori sighed, "I figured that was the case," she remarked. "With Boosted Men, missing maintenance every once and a while isn't detrimental or do permanent damage. That is due to the drugs you used to get sticking around in your bodies covering your performance enough to not cause serious issues. Extendeds don't have the extent of surgeries Boosted Men do nor do they have drugs given to them regularly. The maintenance done for them to keep the effects of the psychological conditioning in place is much less lenient than the drugs were. Thus, them missing a maintenance period is more problematic than it would've been for you."

Lori would have kept going, but voices from the dock workers shouting drew her attention. She noticed the dock was starting to flood, presumably for a ship to come into it shortly. It meant the conversation needed to be put on hold or finished and focus given to the task at hand. "But an iteration about the difference between Boosted Men and Extendeds will have to be finished a different time. If you are still interested, you can ask Mina and she can give you the general explanation of the subject," Lori said. "The ship we are waiting for is likely about to come into dock. So, prepare yourselves to step in should things get messy."

At the same time, the Normandy surfaced and was closing the distance between it and the dock it had been directed to. Tyler was on the bridge overseeing the docking process, wondering what would be next for him and the Normandy. Dr. Noll had mentioned to him that there would be "some" waiting to receive and escort Stella to wherever those like her went to get treatment. The girl had been doing fair while onboard the Normandy, for she had been behaving quite well for those that came from the Enhanced Human Project that Tyler had met. But Tyler wanted Stella to get whatever the treatment was for those like her to live a normal life. The kids had suffered because of greed and selfishness of others. Tyler assumed the kids dragged into the project had no say in what had been done to them. Thus, they deserved the chance to make their own choices how to live their lives again after the torture they had been through.

The Normandy swung around so it could back into the flooded dry dock. By the time the ship was in position, the dock gates had retracted to allow entry into the dock itself. The Normandy sailed backward slowly and came into the dock. The ship came to a halt before it touched the rear of the dock before things began swinging into place. The dock gates slid back into place while scaffolding and docking clamps moved to secure the Normandy into place. The docking gangway shifted to be against the ship and link to the Normandy's starboard mid-crew deck airlock. Once the Normandy was secured in the dock, Tyler had Feldt announce to the ship that group one could leave for shore leave. The crew had been divided into two groups to allow shore leave by a fair lottery. Each group would get twelve hours of free time before they would have to return to the ship to let the other get their turn. Tyler was with the first group, but he would have to report in with the Republic's military command during his free time.

Meanwhile, Lori and the girls were waiting on shore while the Normandy came into dock. Lori noted when people began coming down the gangway and signaled to Rossweisse and Lafter to stay behind her for the moment. It was best that whoever the Extended was not see Rossweisse or Lafter. Lori was well-aware that Mina's girls were known to all the candidates. Or rather they were hated and cursed mostly because they were the bar of comparison Mina had for candidates. They had been nicknamed the "star girls" for that reason and other candidates knew them for the comparison made, even if they had never encountered them face to face. Thus, Lori had the two behind her not to spook and potentially set off the Extended needlessly. The few dock workers around were helpful and Lori didn't want that spoiled by the Extended spotting Lafter and Rossweisse.

Lori observed and scanned the people coming off the Federation vessel, looking for any that she potentially recognized. The lack of a name and reference to a top performing trio member implied Lori would have seen them enough to recognize them. It was close to a minute after people started filing off the ship onto the docking area that Lori caught sight of the one, she was here for. At first, Lori couldn't exactly believe she was seeing the Extended she was. Lori had blinked several times to make sure she wasn't just seeing things. But the blonde teenager hadn't disappeared which said Lori was indeed seeing the girl she thought she was. The one who had come off the Federation ship was none other than Stella Loussier. It was odd that the girl was the one popping up at this time. Although, it now made sense to Lori why the girl's name was left out of the message sent.

Since Mina, Lori, and those from Lodonia had come to the Republic and began their work here, there had been times when there had been unexpected surprises. Most of the time it came in the form of candidates that Lori, Mina, or both recognized from the time at the labs. In the early days here, it had mostly been Boosted Men type candidates. However, then slowly, Extended candidates had started coming to Shangri-La. Most of them had been average candidates, not top performers. Really, Mina's girls had been the most recognizable ones from the project that were notable. But then back in February had come a true surprise when the top Extended trio had been brought to Shangri-La. Even Mina had shown interest when Tanya, Allelujah, and Vali had come to the complex. Getting one of them had been completely unexpected, but the whole trio had been brought. And now, one of the Extendeds from the other top trio had come to them.

It brought up several questions about the Alliance's handling of the Enhanced Human Project. There had been rumors about the change in the project since the Alliance had taken it over. Reports suggested that there had been "losses" of candidates since those at Shangri-La had left. In fact, the Federation stated the Alliance had lost of more than half of the Boosted Men they had kept so far. That showed they were wasteful with the candidates which had set Mina off for a bit. Yet then had come the fall of the Tartarus Lab which had Tanya's trio brought to Shangri-La. They had already gone through treatment and had decided to go out and do other things as of around two months ago. And now, one of those from the other top Extended trio had popped up.

Lori did note Stella was sticking very close to a pink-haired woman that had come off the ship as well. The identity of the woman wasn't as interesting as the fact Stella seemed to be remaining calm around her. The girl should be having issues with the lack of maintenance she would be dealing with. The drugs she would've been given should've made it manageable for Stella to not lash out violently. However, the girl shouldn't be able to have the control she was showing that Lori was aware of. The conditioning process for Extended had a tendency to make it difficult for them to be around crowds. But then, Extendeds were trained to be soldiers and/or living killing machines. All they had been taught was how to blend in enough for infiltration tasks and not long-term missions. According to what Lori remembered reading, Stella had decent control over herself, but not enough for it to be seen as out of the ordinary. So, Stella's current behavior was surprising, and Lori hoped it was maintained.

Stella had been following Feldt down the ramp to the docking area. The ship's doctor had told Stella that there would some here that would escort her somewhere. There had been something said about "treatment," but there hadn't been much detail given about that. Dr. Noll had assured Stella the treatment was a good thing for her, so she would give it a chance. When Stella had come out into the open air, she had to blink for a moment at the sight she saw. The city she was viewing was unlike any she'd seen before now. Stella had never been allowed to a place like the city in front of her, none of the candidates had as far as she knew. The city was beautiful and seemed so lively, the liveliest place that Stella had ever seen.

Nonetheless, as Stella had been scanning around, her gaze came to a halt upon seeing a woman a distance away. Stella recognized the woman she was seeing and a moment after recognizing her, ice-cold fear began flooding her. The woman was one of the higher-ups from the project, not just one of the labs, which made them far more dangerous to candidates. The woman was none other than Dr. Kall, the unofficial second in charge of the Enhanced Human. Only Dr. Moss had more authority than Dr. Kall, but the woman wasn't a great deal nicer than Dr. Moss was. For a project higher-up to be here had Stella's mind racing fueled by the fear flooding her. Meeting with an upper higher-up was almost never good for any candidate. It was normally because something wasn't going well, and things needed to have a serious adjustment to get back on track. That was the main reason when any upper higher-up came around the response to their presence was fear and terror.

After seeing Dr. Kall, Stella couldn't help herself as she instinctively moved to be behind Feldt and clung to her. The pink-haired woman had been nice to her and the warm feelings she had helped Stella experience was the only defense she could think of to use against Dr. Kall. Stella couldn't think of anything she had done which would require someone like Dr. Kall to come to see her. She certainly hadn't done anything which should deserve punishment. Stella had been on her best behavior while on the Federation ship as she had promised. However, not being able to recall what had been done to receive punishment had never prevented it from being given out. No candidate had been able to successfully argue something they had done whether they could recall it or not and get out of punishment.

Lori hadn't missed Stella spotting her and hiding behind the pink-haired woman, clinging to her out of fear. Unfortunately, it was what the expected response from candidates would express upon seeing those like her. Those that managed the labs controlled the candidate through fear which had been accordance to Mina's discipline system that they all employed. However, for those that were over the project and not just a lab, the fear filled response was more pronounced from the candidates. Of course, Mina pulled the harshest response from the candidates. Mina had used that to obtain compliance from candidates which had worked for her. Yet, with how Mina had designed the discipline system, all the candidates were completely terrified of her. And when candidates got to Shangri-La and encountered Mina, they still had the same reactions. But that couldn't be helped since Mina was the one who tailored the treatment plans for candidates.

Yet, there was no helping Stella's reaction right now. So, all Lori could do in this was to get the girl moving to take her to Shangri-La. Stella would learn what was ahead of her would be more helpful to her than she could be told at this time. Lori began striding forward with Rossweisse and Lafter a short distance behind her. She didn't think the two girls would have to step in to restrain Stella, but there was still a chance it would be needed. Hopefully, the girl would do as she was told without much argument. The why could be explained at a later time so that she would understand the need for her to cooperate. As Lori was getting closer to Stella, the girl clung more to the woman with her. It showed the fear the girl was feeling was growing even if she was staying in moderate control.

Feldt had been accompanying Stella down the ramp as she had asked her to. The girl had said something about others who were supposed to escort her somewhere else. Stella hadn't said anything as to where she would go or who would meet her, but Feldt guessed that Stella may not know. She really hoped that wherever Stella went that she would find good people that would be kind to her. How Stella had been acting told Feldt to say the girl hadn't been shown kindness regularly. Feldt had felt sorry for Stella to have been so mistreated. It was why Feldt had been trying to show Stella what kindness was about. And things were going fine until shortly after she and Stella had reached the ground. It was around a minute after that which Stella had moved behind Feldt and clung to her. When Feldt glanced back at Stella, she found the girl's face had an expression of terror on it. That made no sense to Feldt as there should be nothing around Shira to scare Stella. Feldt tried to calm Stella down but wasn't having much luck. "Stella, what is wrong," Feldt asked. "There should be nothing around that will harm you."

Lori overheard the pink-haired woman trying to comfort Stella. Lori would applaud another attempting such a thing. But it was pointless for the woman to do that for Stella as it wouldn't help her with Lori around. The response of fear and the promise of compliance which followed was essentially an engrained response for candidates. Mina's disciplinary system was geared to install such responses and make them as close to absolutely consistent as possible. "Her reaction is to be expected," Lori stated. "Those like her have such engrained reactions to specific individuals, of which I am one of those. She should be okay physically for the moment, so there is no need for concern."

Feldt stared at the woman who had come up and spoken to her. The woman appeared to be in her forties and was slightly taller than Feldt herself. She had long tan hair styled in a ponytail and light blue eyes. The woman's figure was more defined than Feldt's, whose was average. The clothes that she wore suggested that she was some kind of doctor or scientist. Yet, her appearance didn't explain why Stella was acting like she was. Stella was clearly afraid and with the woman close by, that fear had increased notably, which suggested it was the woman who was scaring Stella. There should not be a reason whoever this woman was should make Stella's terrified reaction "normal." Feldt focused back on the woman, not exactly willing to let her closer to Stella yet. "What do you mean Stella's reaction is expected," Feldt questioned. "And who are you? Why would Stella be terrified of you?"

Outsiders to the Enhanced Human Project wouldn't understand how it worked and ran. That was by design and Mina had made sure of that for "her own" reasons among other things. She had determined the best method to get consistent obedience and following orders was to "motivate" the candidates to do so. That motivation had been obtained by instilling fear of harsh punishment and of those who dished them out. Lori couldn't really deny that Mina's system for that had been effective at getting the candidates to do as they were told and work hard to achieve results. But then, Mina's idea of "punishment" could be seen as extreme by the average person were they to know about it. And that was why what happened in the labs on the project wasn't talked about outside of the labs. "Her reaction to seeing me is an engrained response which was established over time," Lori iterated. "Put simply, it came about to get obedience from those like her consistently. That is the best way I can put it, more details would not be of help for you to understand the point."

Feldt didn't understand what the woman meant by her "explanation." The establishment of an engrained response was normally through practice. Yet, Feldt couldn't imagine what kind of things had to be practiced for Stella's reaction to be established as normal. The refusal to provide detail was suspicious, but the tone the woman had said it in said she wouldn't give anything more. The reference to obedience somewhat horrified Feldt as it sounded like it was forced to the point it was given to avoid some kind of torture. But that very idea was horrifying to imagine anyone doing to another human being. "You're saying Stella was scared to the point that she is obedient," Feldt challenged. Lori shrugged her shoulder, "Essentially yes, that is was the idea," she answered. "And my name is Lori Kall to answer your other question."

Feldt didn't know how much to believe from this woman. This Lori Kall was coming off as an unfeeling person, or nearly so. However, Feldt didn't have the time to question further as she may have wanted. Lori's gaze shifted to Stella, "Stella Loussier," Lori stated firmly, "Front and center, now." Stella's response was instinctual which had her moving out from behind Feldt and coming to stand stiffly in front of Dr. Kall. The panic she was feeling was getting harder to keep in check. The urges to fight and lash out were getting stronger quickly as much as Stella was fighting them. Lori could see Stella's control was slipping as she was following instructions. That was one of the reasons she had the girl separate herself from the woman she had been hiding behind. Stella would become dangerous to those around her if she lost control. It was a potential issue with Extendeds, them losing control and going into a killing frenzy. It was a common side-effect of the psychological conditioning used on them. Lori signaled Rossweisse and Lafter to move forward with her right hand to make sure Stella didn't cause a problem.

Stella noted the movement and when her eyes scanned the area in front of her, things went from bad to worse for her. Coming to be on either side of Stella was two of Dr. Moss's "star girls." They were at times enforcers for the disciplinary system the project had. And unlike the brutes that Dr. Moss had in the labs for enforcement, the Galiena girls were different. They had abilities that were better than the other candidates. They could do essentially whatever they wanted, and Dr. Moss wouldn't punish them. And yet, there was a tinge of hatred which came to Stella as it did when the star girls were mentioned. Every candidate knew of them, there was no way for any not to with how all candidates were compared to them. They were the perfect trio for the project that none could reach or outdo. And in this instance, Stella knew she could do nothing to change her position because of the two here. Stella wouldn't win in a fight against even one of the star girls, and she would be facing two of them.

Feldt had watched as two older girls came out from behind Miss Kall and come to stand on either side of Stella. The one on Stella's right was a tad younger than Feldt herself and was taller by larger margin than Miss Kall. She had light brown hair that was tied into twin tails. She also had green eyes. The expression on the girl's face was the complete opposite of Stella's, a cheerful and bubbly one. The other girl on Stella's left side was a hair taller than the other. She had black hair and blue eyes. And unlike the other, her expression was a serious one, but lacked much emotion. The two girls seemed to be there to prevent something from happening, but Feldt couldn't figure out what. Lori could tell that Stella was coming to understand that it was in her best interest to cooperate and do as instructed. "They are here to prevent an incident," Lori stated, "Nothing more than that. Do as you're told and there will be nothing to be concerned with." Lori shifted her gaze to the young man coming up to where they were. His uniform implied he was the ship captain that had brought Stella here. "You are the ship's captain, yes," Lori posed. "If so, then thank you for bringing her here."

Tyler had come up to where Miss Grace was along with Stella. The girl looked scared badly, and if the woman in front of her was from the Enhanced Human Project, it was likely because of her. What was a tad surprising was two of the Galiena sisters were around too. From what the oldest had said to Tyler before, they did help out when the project candidates had issues and prevented them from hurting others. Tyler had nothing against that, but it certainly didn't appear that way from an observer's perspective. "Indeed," Tyler greeted slowly, "I would be the captain of the vessel that brought Stella here to Shira." Tyler paused, "I must say it doesn't feel nice to have Stella terrified like she is. But I would assume that is normal for those like her around you and some others." Tyler gestured at Rossweisse and Lafter, "These two and their older sister mentioned "candidates" were scared of those from the project, especially higher ups. It had something to do with compliance or something like that by what they said."

Lafter stared at the guy that had come up to where they were. He definitely looked familiar for some reason, but Lafter wasn't able to figure out why. She kept thinking harder and harder to recall why she could've seen this guy and where it could've happened. After a minute, the answer came to Lafter, and she remembered that she had met the tan-haired guy. She and her sisters had met the guy months ago around Shira. His name was McG… something from what Lafter could recall. The reason she was remembering him now was he had been the pilot of the red meanie she had gone against a few times. The guy turned out to be nice enough. But Lafter couldn't remember much of the conversation which had gone on between him and Deborah. Lafter pointed at Tyler, "You're the red meanie's pilot that Debbie talked to months ago," she stated. She then paused before tilting her head up and gaining a bewildered expression, "I think your name was Mc something."

The youngest Galiena girl was as airheaded as she had been the last time Tyler had seen her. Deborah Galiena had something about her youngest sister having trouble remembering things. Supposedly, the young Galiena was very impulsive and had a short attention span, which Tyler could believe. And it appeared that hadn't changed a great deal, but some people were like that, which wasn't a bad thing necessarily. "My name is Tyler McGregor," Tyler replied before he turned to Lori. "I would hope that you are here to escort Stella to wherever those like her get the treatment to help them." Tyler waved his arm gesturing at Lafter and Rossweisse, "If she can improve to be somewhere like these two, that would be a good place to start for Stella." Tyler waved Miss Grace to move along since it appeared she was hesitating to leave Stella with the three. Feldt hesitated for a moment more with Captain McGregor waving her along, but she did as he suggested. Captain McGregor seemed to know at least two of the women around Stella, so Feldt hoped things would be okay. Tyler bowed to the group and headed off to report to the ones in charge around the Republic.

Lori had Rossweisse and Lafter help Stella to calm down enough she wouldn't be a possible danger to those who were in the immediate area. Once Stella was in control enough, Lori led the girls back to the car they had taken to get here. Stella was doing her best to keep in control and not lash out. She knew that things would not go well for her and there was no doubt she would be punished if that occurred. The car stopped in front of what appeared to be a station of some kind by what Stella could see after exiting the car. Dr. Kall led the group down into the train station and they sat on a bench to wait for the train which would take them to Shangri-La. It was around ten minutes before the sound of the train was heard and one of the Republic's trains came into the station.

The group boarded the train and sat in the seats in it before the train began moving. Stella couldn't help but wonder where she was being taken to. There had been no mention of the place Stella was going beyond Captain McGregor saying the name Shangri-La. That Dr. Kall had come to get her to take her to this Shangri-La worried Stella somewhat. There was also the possibility that others from the project could be at this place. That possibility scared Stella, but there was one which she didn't want to think about. So, Stella was getting nervous about the place she was getting closer to. Although, she was doing her best to keep in control so she wouldn't be punished.

The train ride seemed to fly by for Stella, for all too soon, there was an announcement of the Shangri-La station coming up. When the train stopped, the group exited the train and headed toward the stairs that led up from the station. Stella followed the Galiena girls and entered a lobby/office area from the stairwell into the station. There were questions that Stella had but she couldn't find the words to ask them. Also, Stella couldn't find the courage to ask the questions with an authority figure around her. The group came to a desk and Stella was asked some questions. They were similar to the ones Stella would get normally around Lodonia and so she answered them out of habit. Once the business at the desk was done, Stella was then led forward to the doors behind the desk. She had to squint from the sunlight that was shining down as the light quality was noticeably different from what it had been in the lobby area.

It took a long moment for Stella to become used to the light levels outside. After her eyes adjusted, she looked around before her mouth fell open at what met her sight. Stella saw a large valley that was mostly green with plant life with a mix of blue, various grays and brownish red laid out before her. The blue color was of the lake at the opposite side of the valley along with the waterfalls flowing down the mountainside. The grays were of the stone paths and walkways for the lighter grays, while the darker grays were the roofs of buildings that were scattered around the valley. The brownish red was also part of the structures but were the sides. There were trees all over the valley, thicker in some places more than others. Overall, this valley was unlike any Stella had ever seen before, so she didn't know what to think. There were sounds, smells, and sights which were completely unfamiliar to her. Some were intriguing, others not so much but many were new to her. Stella wasn't left to take in more as she was led over to one of the closer and larger buildings. While she was being led along, Stella was glancing around her, taking in all the unfamiliar scenery. All the new sights and sounds gave Stella feelings of awe.

Lori was leading Stella toward the main medical building at Shangri-La. Stella needed an initial exam before a plan could be made up for her treatment. Lori felt it would be best to get that part over for Stella as soon as possible. The initial exam was always tense for each and every candidate. The reason that was the case was the examination was done by Mina. When Mina was involved directly, candidates normally panicked in some fashion. It was a sad fact which came from the enforcement of Mina's discipline system in all the labs. Thus, Lori had Rossweisse and Lafter remain outside of the building and left Stella with the staff there. Lori then went to get Mina so she could do Stella's exam so a treatment plan could be drawn up.

Stella was still wondering what this place was all about. There were those like there had been around Lodonia, but the feel of the place was completely different. The scientists were doing tests that all candidates had regularly. Stella ignored the staff performing work on her, left to her thoughts about this place. This place, which was called Shangri-La didn't make sense to Stella. She couldn't figure out what it was supposed to be for. The reference to "treatment" confused Stella even more. The Normandy's doctor had said something to the effect of the treatment helping Stella be able to live like others. Stella could only hope that some of the staff here would explain things further for her.

Meanwhile, Lori had made her way to Mina's "office" which was her personal workspace. Lori found Mina looking over a trio of treatment plans for some recently arrived candidates. While Lori didn't like to interrupt Mina as she could take it badly if she was focused on something, Stella arriving was of note and worth asking Mina for some time. "Mina," Lori began, "I need a moment of your time." Mina had been working on finalizing a trio of Extendeds' treatment plans. Extended treatment plans were more complex and involved more steps and time than the plans for Boosted Men. And the staff here were well aware Mina was not to be interrupted without an extremely good reason. Mina paused at hearing Lori's voice since her friend knew she didn't like to be disturbed. Mina turned slowly to face Lori with a deadpanned expression, "I assume you have a reason for disturbing me while I'm working on treatment plans," Mina inquired flatly. "I'm working on plans for a trio of Extendeds and theirs is always more complicated and need fine tuning for success." Mina stopped for a moment and glared at her friend, "So what might I ask needs my attention that you can't handle just fine?"

Lori could hear Mina's irritation loud and clear, which she had expected. However, Mina had also told Lori that if any "notable" candidates came to Shangri-La to inform her about it. Stella fell into that category, so Lori had come to tell Mina about her. "Well, the results of what I was looking into were notable and I thought you would want to know about them as soon as possible," Lori in a matching flat tone. Mina stared at Lori for a long moment at the reply. As Mina recalled, Lori had gone to look into the validity of a message that had come to Shangri-La. From what Lori had mentioned, the message had said something about a Federation bringing a candidate to Shira so they could be escorted to Shangri-La. Such information came up often enough, so Mina didn't pay much attention to that until the candidate came and their initial examination being done.

What was odd about Lori coming to her about whatever candidate the message had been pointing to was Mina's friend knew the process Shangri-La used. There was a line for examination and a process as to how and who did the job. There was a group that did Boosted Men and did a fair job at getting the data Mina needed to create a treatment plan for the candidates. There was another group which focused on the Extended candidates which were brought to Shangri-La. Mina may check in on the examinations, but not much more than that beyond the explanation of how the treatment plans she came up with would work for the candidates. There were rare occasions which Mina would do the examination herself, but that was normally with specific candidates. Thus, Lori coming to Mina and asking for some time could mean a "unique" candidate had arrived at Shangri-La. "I take it whatever candidate that message was talking about is a notable one," Mina questioned. "That is the only reason I can think of for you to come to me after returning from Shira."

Lori knew it wouldn't take Mina long to come to the right conclusion which had brought her here to get Mina. Of all the things which could be said about Mina, her being slow on the uptake or figuring out the overall reason a situation was going the way it was wasn't one of those. "As quick on figuring out things as ever, Mina," Lori admitted. "You would be correct. The one which I picked up is indeed a notable one. Rossweisse and Lafter were able to make sure things didn't go in a potentially bad direction. My thanks for having them accompanying me to pick up the candidate."

Mina took a moment to consider the implications of Rossweisse and Lafter helping prevent things from going bad. A candidate losing control was a possibility depending on a few factors which Mina couldn't determine without more information. Her girls were more than capable of restraining other candidates should that be needed. That was why she sent Rossweisse and Lafter with Lori with the lack of information in the message. A potentially risky candidate which Lori was suggesting they could have on their hands would be best dealt with by Mina personally. So, Mina sighed after a moment, "So, we have a potentially volatile candidate on our hands," she stated. Mina glanced back at her workstation for a moment, "I was almost done with these treatment plans. I can finalize them after seeing and likely examining this candidate you brought back with you."

Mina rose from her chair and gestured to Lori to lead the way to wherever the candidate she had been referring to was. Lori led Mina through the corridor back to the main examination room. The moment Mina stepped into the room, all the staff stiffened a bit. Dr. Moss rarely did the initial exams of incoming candidates. Normally, there were only three reasons that the woman came into the same room as the candidates. The most common one was to explain to a candidate their personally tailored treatment plan which she had made for them. The second reason was to get a candidate back on track with their plan when they had strayed. The last reason, which was rather rare in particular candidates arrived which were different from the others.

Stella had noticed the staff that had been doing tests had stiffened for some reason all of the sudden. She glanced around the room and her gaze came to a halt at the doorway Dr. Kall had left through a little while ago. Dr. Kall was back, but that wasn't what had caught Stella's attention and had her frozen. No, that was caused by the woman with Dr. Kall which Stella knew all too well. The woman was known to every single candidate in the project. Stella blinked hard hoping with all her heart that she was just seeing things and her condition was getting the better of her for a moment. But Dr. Moss didn't disappear from the room, which only made things worse for Stella. All feelings of awe and literally every good feeling Sella had vanished in a split second. She'd seen the former head of the Enhanced Human Project a select few times before now. And each time had left an extremely bad memory in its wake.

Dr. Moss was feared by every candidate, one of the few things which all of them could agree upon. The main reason was the woman had established and maintained the disciplinary system the candidates were held to. While the woman may have spent more of her time around Lodonia, she did go and visit the other two labs. The punishments the disciplinary system handed out were horrible, none of the candidates would argue that. However, none of those punishments were as harsh as those given out by Dr. Moss personally. Stella hadn't received one of Dr. Moss's punishments, but she had talked with candidates who had. The descriptions they had given had scared Stella horrendously. Stella stiffened and ice-cold fear roared through her as Dr. Moss gazed at her. "So, this is the candidate that the message was referring to then," posed Mina. Stella couldn't stop the trembling that her body started doing at hearing Dr. Moss's voice. "Indeed Mina," Dr. Kall replied. "She did have a little trouble at first which Rossweisse and Lafter helped with. But as I said, she is a notable candidate and you specifically said to inform you when such arrived here."

Mina stared at Stella for a long moment. The girl was familiar, from one of the better performing Extended trios as Mina recalled. Her resemblance to the leader of the best Extended trio was quite something. There was a note on the files of the girls about them being sisters or something like that from what Mina remembered. That fact wasn't of much interest to Mina as she hadn't involved herself in the acquisition of the children which became candidates. "Yes, I did say that to you and others," Mina admitted. "And as I recall, her name is Stella Loussier, and she was a member of one of the top Extended trios from the project. They weren't as good as the older Extended trio with the older blonde leader. Her trio had issues which were being worked on the last I looked at their data." Mina paused, which terrified Stella more, "The trio clashed with each other even if they did get good results. There was also an issue with one of the males causing problems for the trio overall."

Stella was terrified by what Dr. Moss was saying about her, Auel, and Sting. The analysis of her trio was one she'd heard, but it was harsher when it came from Dr. Moss. She couldn't think of anything she could've done to make Dr. Moss displeased, but that didn't matter. The best thing she could think to do was apologize to Dr. Moss and beg for the woman to give her another chance. If that begging required Stella to promise she would do anything to please the woman, then Stella would do that without hesitation. Stella slipped off the exam table and got down on her knees pressing her head to the floor. "Please Doctor Moss," Stella begged loudly. Her voice was wavering, but she managed to keep it from being a shriek infused with the terror she was feeling. Stella's outburst drew the attention of all in the room as she kept going, "I promise I'll be good. I don't know what I did to displease you, but I'll do whatever I'm told to by the lab staff. I'll do whatever it takes to get acceptable results. So, please, don't punish me!"

Lori frowned slightly at what Stella was doing. While it may be an expectation for candidates to do what Stella was around Mina, it was still regrettable to see. The candidates' fear of Mina was beyond established fact with those who knew about the project and what it involved. The system Mina had put in place had gotten compliance from the candidates, but it came with them doing it out of fear. And that fear was of being punished, which had been consistent in the execution. Even with Mina gone from being directly involved in the project's management since the War, the fear was still engrained in candidates. Stella's expectation should be corrected before it made things harder. "You are not in trouble Stella," Lori stated kindly. "As I was saying along the ride here, you've been brought here to receive treatment. The treatment will give you a chance at having a normal life."

Dr. Kall's voice had brought Stella out of her intense state of fear which seeing Dr. Moss. Then she processed what Dr. Kall had just told her. That Stella wasn't in trouble helped her calm down a little. However, the other part of what Dr. Kall had said sunk in and brought back the questions Stella had about the "treatment." None of her questions had been answered yet and so Stella didn't understand what was being referred to with treatment. Dr. Kall then gave an explanation about what the "treatment" would entail. Stella listened to what was being said but was still confused with the subject. There were some words and phrases that did stick out to Stella from the explanation. Among those was phrases like "living on her own terms" and "not needing maintenance."

The idea of not needing maintenance was foreign to Stella. The pods which Extendeds used to maintain their heighten performance had been stated they would always be a requirement. She and all other Extendeds and been told sleeping in the pods regularly would prevent Extendeds from being in pain and functioning properly. Horror stories of what could happen if regular pod use wasn't observed were told to all Extendeds. The pain and disfunction had frightened Stella so she had been strict about sleeping in a maintenance pod as instructed. The possibility of not needing to do that was something that Stella couldn't imagine. However, while not needing maintenance had been confusing, it was not as much as "living on her own terms" was. The idea of having the freedom to make choices outside missions and tasks was unheard of for Stella. Candidates were taught to follow instructions and little beyond that that didn't relate to the tasks given or missions assigned.

After the explanation, Dr. Moss took over the examination that Stella had been undergoing. Stella was nervous as Dr. Moss was doing the test. The woman was the top of the project and pleasing her was everything or it had been for as far back as Stella could remember. Once the tests were done, Dr. Moss told the staff to get her the results so she could create a plan for Stella. The woman then left the room without another word. Lori then called Lafter back in and gave her instructions as to where to guide Stella. Lori had already looked over the roster which said where candidates were assigned living quarters. Candidates at Shangri-La were still put in trios as they were used to that, and it gave a system of motivation for them to success with their treatments plans. There were a couple of places which had two candidates and had space for a third to live with them. However, the groups were normally kept to type and not mixed for most since there had been issues between Boosted Men and Extended. As of right now, there were only two groups of Extendeds with room for a third. So, Stella was going to be put with one of them and Lori had chosen the one Stella would be assigned to.

After Lafter was told by Dr. Kall where Stella would be staying and to guide her there, Lafter nodded and grabbed Stella, leading her along to the door. Stella didn't fight Lafter, still somewhat confused at the "treatment" she was going to be getting. Lafter said something about taking her to the "place" which she would be staying while here at Shangri-La. Stella noted that she was being guided toward the collection of smaller buildings she'd caught glimpses of after arriving. She assumed the buildings were living quarters of some kind. There had been mentioned Stella would be living around this place for a time. So, being given living quarters was logical which Stella could understand. It could end out being something like Stella had been in sharing a living space with others like she had with Auel and Sting. And Stella wouldn't have an issue with sharing a space with others, whoever it might be.

However, along the way, someone called out to Lafter from a medium-sized building and waved to come in. Stella followed Lafter as she didn't know where the girl had been taking her before being called over. The adult that had called out led the two inside the building and showed them into a room. When Stella came into the room, she saw several low covered fenced off area with some animals in them. There were sounds from deeper inside the building of animals, many of which Stella didn't recognize. Stella had been told about animals from some of the candidates from things they had seen and remembered. But this was the closest she'd ever come to animals that Stella could recall in her life. And this place having a building where animals were housed made no sense to Stella. She couldn't think of a reason there would be for animals to be here where candidates were being "treated."

While Stella was glancing around the place, Lafter was holding in her excitement. This building contained so much fun and exciting creatures. Lafter had come her many times to play with the animals here. She'd even asked if she could have one of her own but had been told she had to wait for a time and prove she was up to the task. For one of the staff here to call her over hopefully meant Lafter could get an animal for herself. Lafter had wanted a dog if given a choice, and one of the dogs had been expecting puppies. Those puppies had been born over a week ago. Lafter had been told the puppies needed to have around two weeks with their mother before getting homes of their own. Lafter had begged to be on the list to be a receiver of one of the cute puppies. Thus, Lafter was hoping being called over to the animal shelter meant she may be getting one of the puppies. "I was hoping to catch you, Lafter," the man who had called Lafter over greeted. "Lyla's puppies are to the point that they are ready to have their own home and owners. I know that you made it clear you wanted one with how you were begging us. And you have proven that you are responsible enough to have a puppy and take care of one."

Stella had loosely listened to the exchange between Lafter and the adult, but her attention had been on the sounds from the fenced areas ahead of her. Stella had moved forward slowly passing the counter in the building and over to the fenced areas. The closest one had high-pitched barking coming from it. The sound was oddly familiar to Stella, like something she'd heard a long time ago. However, Stella couldn't say exactly why the barking was causing the warm feeling that was coming to her. Some of the terms that had been in the conversation Stella had heard made little sense to her. There had been a name referenced, but the word "puppies" which had been with it was unfamiliar to Stella. She moved to the fenced area the barking was coming from to see what was making the sounds.

The fenced area was one of the smaller ones and had a collection of small furry creatures contained within it. The creatures had four legs and a tail, with their fur being mostly brown along with patches of black and white mixed in. They also had long floppy ears and long noses. Stella felt she'd seen something like these creatures before, but she didn't know what they were called. There was a bigger version of the animal which all the small ones were staying close to. The animals were quite cute to Stella and the feeling of warmth had increased at seeing them. She knelt down to watch the animals closer as something about them held her interest. A minute after Stella started watching them, one of the small animals turned around and looked at Stella. She gazed at the small creature and saw its tail had begun wagging side to side vigorously. After a moment, Stella stretched a hand towards the animal, though she didn't know where the urge had come from. The small animal moved forward and used its tongue to lick Stella's hand. Stella giggled at the ticklish sensation that came with the licking and there also came a warm feeling in her heart.

The giggling drew the attention of the staff in the Animal Shelter to the girl. The girl had been with Lafter Galiena when she had been called in. None of the staff had seen the blonde girl before so it had been assumed she was a candidate that had recently arrived at Shangri-La. The Animal Shelter had been included in this complex as animals had proven to help candidates with their treatment and recovery. But it was a rare thing for candidates to be given an animal shortly after arriving at Shangri-La, though it wasn't unheard of. The head of the staff at the shelter moved over to where Stella was and studied the scene. The puppy which was interacting with the girl was one of the older ones of Lyla's. And the young pup certainly was showing signs that he liked the girl, and the girl was reacting very well to the love the puppy was showing. "Oh my, it looks like this little guy has taken a liking to you Miss," posed the male doctor. "I wasn't expecting any of them to take a liking to another so quick."

Stella had liked the unfamiliar attention the creature had been giving her. She still had no idea what the creature was, but the attention it was giving had been fueling the warm feeling in Stella's heart. It was similar to the feeling that Stella got when she was around Tanya. The little creature barked playfully and nuzzled Stella's hand which got her to smile in response. Yet, the question of what the creature was wouldn't leave Stella's mind. The staff here may be able to answer her question as they had been back at the lab. "What is this creature," Stella asked before she giggled at the nuzzling. "I don't know what it is."

Lafter had come up to where Stella was and had been watching her. Dr. Kall had tasked her to get Stella to the place she would be staying. The shelter was but a detour, Lafter would still get Stella over to where she would be staying. However, Stella's question had taken aback Lafter as it was so unexpected. The answer to her question should be obvious, the creature as she had called it was a puppy, a baby dog. "He's a dog, a puppy" Lafter stated as fact as everyone should be aware of. Yet, Lafter stared at Stella who was giving her a blank expression in response to her answer. But Lafter couldn't see how Stella wouldn't know about dogs and other animals. Granted, animals weren't allowed back at the lab, but while Stella had been out on missions, she should've seen animals like dogs. So, Lafter gain an incredulous look, "Are you saying that you've never seen or even know what a dog is?"

The term "dog" which Lafter had used meant little to Stella. The word dog sounded oddly familiar, but she couldn't place why the word was familiar in any way. Stella wondered for a moment if the familiarity came from her earliest memories which she kept buried. Those memories scared her so she didn't want to remember them. Yet, if this creature was there and it brought warmth to her heart, it made her question those memories. Stella would have to ask Tanya when she saw her next. Tanya always seemed to know about oddly familiar things which came to Stella's mind. She had meant to ask some of the doctors and staff if they knew anything about where Tanya could be. However, the encounter with Dr. Moss had made her forget to ask anyone about her sister. Stella stared at Lafter and shook her head in reply, "I don't know what a dog is," she said. "The term sounds kind of familiar, but I don't know why."

Lafter felt a pain in her heart at Stella saying she didn't know what a dog was. She apparently heard the word but hadn't been able to connect it to the creature. That could mean that Stella didn't know of the joy spending time with animals could be. Lafter had learned the joy spending time with animals, and she couldn't get enough of it. She had thought most of those here felt the same if they got the opportunity to get time with the animals here at the shelter. Lafter was sure once Stella spent time with animals that she would learn of the same joy Lafter felt. So, Lafter couldn't resist the urge to hug the girl, "YOU POOR GIRL!" she cried in sorrow. "TO NOT KNOW OF THE JOYS OF PLAYING WITH ANIMALS, YOU'VE HAD SUCH A HARD LIFE!"

Stella had been slightly surprised when Lafter had embraced her. She didn't understand why Lafter was hugging her or why it had come so suddenly. Lafter Galiena wasn't anything like the stories about any of the star girls that Stella had heard from others. The stories about Dr. Moss's star Galiena girls varied from making them seem unpleasant to horrible. There had been nothing said about any of the star girls being "emotional." The stories normally talked about the Galiena girls' performance and how great it was. So, this unexpected behavior had taken Stella by surprise and she didn't know how to react. And that was before Lafter had shouted as she had which had made what she'd said much harder to understand. Lafter was definitely the stranger of the two Galiena sisters that Stella had met.

The shout that Lafter had done had been bad enough by itself for the staff. However, it had also riled up the animals in the shelter which members of the staff had moved forward to try and calm down. The result was one that came up sometimes when Miss Galiena visited the shelter. It was one of the reasons she had to be supervised when interacting with the animals. The girl could rile them up and make it very hard to calm them all down. "Miss Galiena," the head staff member stated firmly. "Do remember to use your inside voice, please. We do not need the shelter turned into a circus with you riling up all the animals." Lafter let go of Stella and looked at the floor in shame, "Sorry," she apologized. "I just felt so sorry for Stella that she doesn't know the joy of spending times with animals like I do."

Lafter's excitement was something most of the staff had become aware of during their time working at Shangri-La. Most planned the best they could to prepare and manage the girl's enthusiastic excitement, but that could only go so far. The head of the staff turned to Stella and wanted to bring the conversation back to the girl potentially taken the puppy. The girl could benefit from the animal's company and some candidates had. Anything that could help the treatment and recovery of candidates was encouraged. "Perhaps, you might be interested in keeping him, young lady?" The man asked Stella, then he pointed at the puppy. "But you must understand, he is not an object that you can play with and then throw away. That little beagle puppy is a living creature and will require care, affection, and attention daily without fail."

Stella blinked at the question and what had come after it. The creature did give Stella warm feelings which she liked. But she hadn't been given something to take care of before. She didn't know if it was anything like watching out for one's fellow trio members. Candidates weren't really given something to call their own. The only thing which could perhaps called one's own was the weapon each candidate made out of necessity. The Gaia Gundam she had stolen from the ZAFT colony wasn't the same as what was being offered. The machine had been assigned to her, not given to her. And Stella didn't know if she would see the Gaia again, though that didn't worry about that so much right now. Yet, the warm feeling that came with the puppy was one Stella wanted to keep. Should that require she do work, then Stella was willing to learn and try her best. "I'm willing to learn what I need to know," Stella replied. "I like what I feel around the," she paused trying to recall the proper word, "puppy."

The man nodded with a soft smile, "Alright then," he said. The man then began giving Stella instructions on how to take care of a small animal. The instructions were simple and straightforward enough for Stella to understand. Looking after the beagle puppy would require work and time. That was okay to Stella, and she was willing to do what she was being instructed. She was told where to get the food the puppy would need and other needed supplies. Stella was also told that she would have to spend time with the puppy every day, multiple times in fact. The puppy would need walks multiple times a day and it would have to be done outside. After Stella understood the instructions given, the puppy was lifted out of the fenced area and given a collar. Then the puppy was given to Stella which the puppy nuzzled against her in response. She was also given a bag with the "things" her puppy would need to begin with.

Once the puppy had snuggled against Stella, she looked to Lafter as they still hadn't gotten to wherever they had been traveling toward. Lafter got the message and said to the head of the staff at the shelter she would be back in a little while. Lafter guided Stella and resumed once again showing her the way to where the small house she would be staying at was. In was after a few minutes' walk that Lafter stopped at the small house that Dr. Kall had told Lafter to bring Stella to. Lafter told Stella there was two already living at the house and they would be her new roommates. Lafter also said the two were Extendeds like Stella, so she should be able to get along with the two alright. Lafter left Stella at the door and began making her way back to the shelter.

Stella stared at the door before taking a deep breath and opening it and stepping inside. She couldn't help but wonder who her roommates would be and what they'd be like. It almost felt the same as when Stella was waiting to know which trio she would be assigned to. Stella glanced around the room she had stepped into. It looked to be made up of an open area to her right and a kitchen and dining area to her left. There was a hallway just right of center of the wall ahead of Stella. She saw doors down the hallway, five in total, two on the right and left and one at the end of the hall. Stella assumed that three of the five doors were to bedrooms for those in the house, which one would supposedly become hers. Stella took another step forward trying to figure out where those she was supposed to be living with could be. "Oh, I thought I heard the door opening and closing," said a male voice. Stella's gaze snapped back to the hallway which now had someone coming down it. A boy around Stella's own age came into the open space. She stared at the boy who had dark brown hair and hazel eyes behind his rectangular glasses. He was wearing long purple pants and a black shirt currently. Stella swallowed and began her introduction, "My name is Stella," she began, "I was told this would be where I would live while I was undergoing treatment."

The boy whose name was John smiled a bit at Stella's introduction. There had been the chance another would be assigned to the same place John and another shared, it was a matter of time. The new girl was likely an Extended like John, and his fellow roommate were. Those in charge of Shangri-La kept living arrangements to have the two types of the Enhanced Human Project separated. And this Stella appeared to be nice enough so, John hoped that his other roommate who was very skittish of others. "Greetings," John replied, "My name is John. I don't know what my last name could've been, I was never told. So, just John will be fine when talking to me." John paused for a moment, "I can't say I've seen you, so you must be new around Shangri-La. Forgive me if the question seems odd, but what lab were you at most of the time?"

Stella was curious as to why the question of which lab she had been around had come up. It wasn't one that normally came up with candidates. But Shangri-La had been different than any other place which Stella had been, so maybe the question was expected. "I was around Lodonia the most, why," Stella asked. John nodded in understanding, "Sorry, I was just curious," he answered. "My roommate was from a different lab than me and I was wondering if things were different depending on the lab you were around. I was around Lumaria before coming here after being left for dead by the others in my trio." John paused remembering the horror and loneliness he'd felt at being abandoned by his trio members. "Regardless how you come to Shangri-La, it is a place for a good change, I can promise you that." Stella had heard about the Lumaria Lab which was supposed to be somewhere around the Americas. But much like Tartarus, Stella hadn't heard a great deal and didn't know if what she'd been told was true or not. She assumed the other two labs were like Lodonia in most ways like the disciplinary system and the like.

Stella was going to ask a question but caught movement from the hallway. She squinted in that direction and saw a face peeking around the nearer door on the right side. The face had brown hair surrounding it and eyes which were different in color, one being green and the other being bronze. John noted that Stella was staring down the hallway, so he glanced down it and found his other roommate peeking out her door. He smiled and waved her to come forward, "Come out and say hello Kassy," John said in encouragement. "She is going to be our roommate. It is proper to say hello and not hide from her. I'm sure she will be nice to you."

Kassy hesitated at John's encouragement for her to come out of her room. All too often when she had left her room at Tartarus, bad things had happened to her. There had been the nice trio who had helped most of the candidates at Tartarus out of trouble with the mean soldiers there. Kassy looked at the new person again and as she stared at the girl, the more she looked like the nice blonde girl who had protected Kassy many times. The resemblance helped Kassy's heart pounding slow down somewhat. And John had said it would be okay, he had been nice to her and looked after her, so she believed what he said. So, Kassy took a deep breath and came out of her room and slowly shuffled to the common area. Stella gazed at the girl who was a year or two younger than Stella was herself. Her brown hair was tied in a ponytail in the back which when to her waist. She was wearing a pink sundress with a light sweater around her shoulders. The expression on the girl's face told of fear which Stella could understand.

Kassy looked to John who came over and put a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Come now, you can tell her you name right," he said. With the treatment she had faced at Tartarus, Kassy didn't talk much, it had been a coping mechanism for her. At Shangri-La, Kassy was learning the best she could to talk to others, but it was still hard for her. "My name is," she said in just above a whisper, but her voice got caught in her throat. She took another breath, "My name is Kassy." She looked back at Stella, "Were you at Tartarus," she asked. "You look a lot like someone that was nice who lived there." Stella shook her head, "I've never been to the Tartarus Lab," she replied, but remembered that Tanya had said the last time Stella had seen her that she would be going to Tartarus for a time. "But my sister Tanya was around there."

The name Tanya was familiar to Kassy. It had been the name the nice girl had given to the other candidates. She and the two boys in her trio had protected the other candidates from the mean soldiers. They had even taken punishment meant for others and suffered it themselves. "Tanya," Kassy stated, "That was the name the nice girl gave for herself." Stella was happy to be talking to someone that knew her sister. "Do you know where Tanya is," Stella asked, getting right in front of Kassy. "I haven't heard anything about her for months, and I've been worried about her." Kassy went into a panic with someone she didn't know well so close to her. She squeaked and shot back down the hallway and into her room shutting the door behind herself.

Stella blinked at what the girl had just done. It didn't make sense for the girl to run off and her reactions said she was scared of something. Stella glanced at John in hopes of an explanation of what Kassy had shot back down the hall and was hiding in her room. John knew Kassy was skittish around any she didn't know besides doctors who she did whatever they told her. That she had come out and done more than gave her name was quite impressive. From what information John had gathered from the girl, her treatment at Tartarus had been horrible and that had scarred her bad. The treatments were helping, but the emotional problems were taking longer to get through. So, John sighed, "Do forgive Kassy's behavior," he remarked. "From what I've gotten from her, the time at Tartarus was bad for her. I think some of those there abused her in different ways, but I can't be sure about that." John gave Stella a weak smile, "Give her some time to open up to you," he suggested, "She really is nice, just scared of those she doesn't know. She is working on that with her treatments. The emotional stuff is taking more time with her which is why I think she was abused."

Stella nodded not knowing what to say about Kassy. She had heard abuse had started happening since Dr. Moss had disappeared. The woman's disciplinary system was horrible, but abuse by staff or other hadn't been permitted. "I'd heard rumors that it was happening, but I didn't know if that was true," Stella replied. "I was just so excited that I was meeting someone that had seen my sister I couldn't help myself." John nodded, "Oh I figured that, it isn't you that had Kassy run for her room. She is just afraid of new faced and will need time to get used to you, you'll see." John gestured to the hallway, "Let me show you about."

John showed Stella the rest of the house, which included the bathroom they would share and the other utilities. Stella's room ended out being the one right next to Kassy's. The room had a bed, simple furniture, and basic other things. Stella put her puppy down who was still sleeping as he had been since leaving the shelter. She put out the things that were in the bag she'd been given for the puppy. Stella just hoped that whatever the treatment turned out to be would go well. Also, she wanted to talk to Kassy and see what the girl knew about Tanya. Any news about her sister was welcome to Stella. But this new stage of life was turning out very different than anything Stella had imagined.

A/n

And that's where I'll leave off for this Phase. Okay, sorry again about the time it took to get this Phase out, life has been hectic as of late and that has cut into writing time. Add to that some writer's block, and that's the reason this is taking longer. I fear it will be that way for a time, school and work are weighing down sorry to say. Anyways, let's get to the highlighting for what is in this Phase and dig in from there, shall we?

Now, if you readers recall, in the last Phase, Tyler gave an ultimatum to Talia to make Shinn a Gundam pilot or else. And as we know, Tyler can be very convincing when he wants to be, so he made said ultimatum serious I assure you. Like I said before, without interference, Shinn's field promotion would be slapped down and he likely never get to be a Gundam pilot in the future. Now we know that Tyler will make sure that won't happen, but Talia doesn't know that at all. Sure, Tyler had told her she wouldn't have to worry, but if someone you barely know told you such things, would you believe them straight away? I can't blame her for doubting Tyler, she doesn't know what he's capable of as we are. And Talia wants to help the Minerva's pilots progress and have better opportunities, Shinn included.

So, before this I have implied that Talia and Aila are more than acquaintances and it is true. They served on the same ship during the latter part of the Alliance-PLANT War. Thus, they had gotten to know each other and established a bond of trust. For you Star Trek fans, I would compare this relationship to Jean Luke Pickard and Ginine to an extent. So, they are willing to act as a sounding board for the other when it helps. That is what the first scene is kind of showing among other things.

Aila's view of the conversation that went on between Talia and Tyler does bring up a few things. Tyler essentially has given a commendation for Shinn to be a Gundam pilot. That is significant as Tyler is a Gundam pilot himself, it carries more weight than other who are not Gundam pilots. Another point is the actions of Gibraltar's night watch, which has come up already a bit. The actions or rather response to the Federation reaching out to Gibraltar is bad to put it mildly, not going to deny it. However, that action can be taken as the direction ZAFT is going in, and that is the real issue. Then the final part where Tyler put simply said either Shinn is made a Gundam pilot or the Minerva loses him is another thing. Tyler doesn't normally "threaten" with ultimatums of one option or another, we know that. But Talia and Aila aren't as familiar with Tyler as we are, so Tyler doesn't tend to come off as one who resorts to threats. And we know Tyler will follow through on his ultimatum if he has to for Shinn.

Let's move on to the next scene between Aila and Lunamaria. This scene is one for Luna's character development if that wasn't obvious. What Tyler did to her did serve as a wakeup call as it was intended to be. This is the start of Luna's development of emotional control which I think we all have seen she needs. There will be more of those in future phases I assure you. Luna is one of those characters in canon which I say doesn't get the proper attention that other characters get. And in my story, I try to give those kinds of characters some attention and development.

Now let's shift to what the rest of the Phase is about with the Normandy and its journey. So, for those who read the original version of this story, you know that the Normandy takes Stella to Shangri-La. I want to highlight some of the time that Stella spends on the Normandy. I did expand this to include Stella's view of the experience. I ask you readers to understand something about Stella and the Enhanced Human Project. The project does things to the candidates that change them overall and things that we take for granted as unknown or strange. So, in Stella's case, she has "forgotten" what it is to have kindness shown to her by any beyond her sister Tanya. With that in mind, Stella is confused with the Normandy's crew being nice to her. Remember those involved with the project weren't nice, Dr. Moss's discipline system wouldn't allow that. So the show of kindness is foreign to her even though she unknowingly craves it for himself.

Let's turn to those who are at Shangri-La, we know some of those there. If you remember from the Alliance-PLANT War, some from the project defected and went to the Federation, this would be the result of that. We'll get to specifics of some individuals in a bit, but let me explain the changes for those that came to the Federation. As a price to those that left which Mina and Lori brokered required them to change the work they were doing. That work is coming up with a solution to under a portion of the project's work and more stabilizing those they altered. The project originally had planned for figuring out how to stabilize candidates long-term, but funders didn't care about that project goal. Thus, the goal of Shangri-La is to help candidates to stabilize and transition into the life around people.

Moving onto Stella's "retrieval" and escorting to Shangri-La. Lori Kall is still the face of those that do the work that Mina manages, that point has not changed. So, she does the interaction with the public facing side of things. However, that doesn't mean that Lori can't "borrow" the Galiena sisters when needed. The Galiena sister are a good example of what the treatments can do for candidates. They still have heighten performance but not to the same extent as they did during the project. That is a common point and a "price" paid for the candidates to have a chance at a normal life. Lori goes with Lafter and Rossweisse to escort Stella back. The two girls are on hand in case things go bad which can happen with candidates. And remember that Stella hasn't had maintenance she is using to getting regularly, so she isn't doing the best.

I would also like to point out some things which happen around Shangri-La as there is at least one new scene. First, Dr. Moss, the woman that is responsible for the project and its disciplinary system, you readers know she isn't a nice lady. But for the record, the Galiena sister have changed the woman somewhat from the cold one she was. Don't get me wrong, Mina Moss is still a cold woman that I wouldn't want to tick off. You'll see an example of that later on and I assure you it will leave no doubt Mina can still be scary as heck. But the woman is working on helping candidates get the treatment, which is best for them, which is a good thing. However, the candidates may never get over the engrained reaction they have to Mina Moss. Stella's reaction to her is a prime example of the point of how much candidates fear Dr. Moss. The new scene with Stella's "roommates" I added for a reason. One I wanted to kind of show candidates from the other two labs besides Lodonia. There will also be more with Stella's two roommates later on, I assure you.

In conclusion to this Phase, I'm sorry it took so long, things happen in life with me. I hope you readers are liking the story thus far. As normal, please some of you take the time to write a review and tell me what you think of the Phase, story, or questions you may have. I do read the reviews even if I don't answer them right away. As for the next Phase, with how long this one took, I hope to have it ready in three weeks, I can't make a guarantee on that. At the moment, the title of it is: The Spear of Twilight. Peace out until the next Phase.