A/n

Hello all, I know that we have all not liked that Fanfiction has been down for the last few days. I have no idea what caused it any more than any of you do, but let's just be happy it is back up and we can read the fan fiction again. Now, this and the next phase were originally part of a larger one, but due to the length, it has been split. Do enjoy the Phase!

Phase 88: The View Ahead

November 14th, 73 C.E.

Shira, the Republic of East Asia

As sunlight came through the window, Tyler woke up and was quickly reminded how things had ended the previous night. That came in the form of Tyler realizing he was still in Sakura's hold that he'd been pulled into last night. Memories of losing and waving the white flag and letting Sakura do as she wished to an extent weren't pleasant ones. Tyler's chest was still sore from being clotheslined by Sakura. Sure, Tyler hadn't forgotten that Athrun and four others were also in his house. They had arrived last night, the three teens drunk from unknowingly consuming alcohol. Tyler had helped as he could before returning to his bed to end up in the position, he was currently in. The issue Tyler had with being in Sakura's hold was he didn't like encouraging his stalker's behavior. The wins she achieved showed her behavior could get what she wanted, and Tyler didn't want the woman to get that message.

With that in mind, Tyler began working to get out of the woman's hold. He had breakfast to make for his other guests today before giving them a ride to the docks. Sakura would unlikely be of any help with those two tasks, so Tyler wasn't going to let her be involved. That was more an issue with how Sakura tended to be in the mornings, which was clingy. Thus, Tyler's plan was to leave Sakura in the bed and slip out of the room and get to work on the needed tasks of the day. It was a good plan, a great plan in Tyler's mind, but it didn't work out in practice as he had been hoping. Things had been going as planned with Tyler managing to slip out of Sakura's hold. Yet, it was as he was going for the door that he glanced back and found Sakura had woken up. The expression that came to the woman's face told Tyler he had two choices. He could either get back into bed and let Sakura cuddle him or make a break for it and see if he could get away from the woman.

Tyler already had his decision in mind, so he twisted around and bolted for the door. Tyler ripped the door open not caring about the noise it was making and shot out of his bedroom. He sprinted down the hallway so he could get as much of a lead as possible on Sakura. Tyler could already hear footfalls behind him meaning Sakura had taken up the chase as he'd expected. But Tyler had a plan to shake off Sakura for a bit in mind, he would just need to get to the foyer. He was motivated to get Sakura to leave him alone for a bit, for he could then slip away from her for a longer period of time. Tyler had enough of the woman for the time being and wanted her to go away.

At the same time, Athrun woke up to the sound of a door banging open in the direction of Tyler's bedroom. He propped himself up on the sofa and glanced in the direction the sound had come from. It was a moment later that Athrun heard sliding and then got the view of Tyler racing past the kitchen going toward the foyer. Tyler was in a t-shirt and shorts by what Athrun saw as Tyler was going toward the foyer. Less than a minute later, another ran past where Tyler had been. And Athrun had to blink at seeing Commander Clyne also in a t-shirt and shorts as she pursued Tyler. Granted, Athrun knew of what Tyler dealt with when it came to the woman, but it was still something to see with his own eyes. He once again felt sorry for Tyler for having to deal with Sakura and her radically different behavior.

Tyler spun around to face Sakura who was a short distance away. He crouched down preparing to spring when the woman lunged at him. Tyler could reach the main support joist and pull himself up to it. It was wide enough for him to stand on and be out of reach for the woman. He didn't have to wait long as Sakura made her move and lunged at him. Tyler ran at the wall and used it to gain height before he lept and grabbed the joist with his arms and pulled the rest of his body up to not allow Sakura to get a hold on him. He wouldn't be letting his stalker get the better of him today as she had last night. Tyler would be putting forth the effort to deny Sakura the stuff she wanted from him right now.

Sakura had not been happy when Tyler had slipped out of her embrace which had woken her up. She had glared at him with an expression to say it would be wise for him to get back into bed and snuggle up with her. However, Tyler hadn't taken the hint and had made a break for the door and the hallway beyond. Sakura had been quick to take up the chase after her beloved Tyler. She would bring him back to bed and they would cuddle before breakfast. Sakura had pursued him as he had been racing down the hallway toward the foyer. She expected that Tyler was aiming for the front door for his escape. Sakura wouldn't let her beloved escape her so easily, she would catch him before pulling him back to bed. She lunged for Tyler, but he jumped up out of the way. Thus, Sakura slid past Tyler and stopped right in front of the door. She shifted to a sitting position and glanced around to find Tyler so she could get a hold on him.

Tyler swung up his legs and wrapped them around the joist to not let himself fall to the floor. Sakura was down there and he doubted she was ready just yet to give up her pursuit for the morning. Tyler then began working to get his body onto the top of the joist so he didn't have to keep holding onto to it. It took him a bit, but Tyler managed to hoist himself up onto the joist before he shifted into a sitting position. Tyler took a moment to catch his breath from the work he'd been required to do to get up to where he was. He may be out of reach of Sakura for the moment, but he didn't count on that stopping the woman entirely. But now he was in a position where he could tell Sakura to go and cool off. So, he looked down at the woman and cleared his throat to get her attention. "You know, Sakura," Tyler began, "You kind of brought this upon yourself. Your shenanigans have forced me to prepare for when you come around this house. With that in mind, go take a cold shower and cool off while I'm out, would you?"

Sakura glanced up and saw that Tyler was on the support joist the foyer had. The joist was a bit high for Sakura to reach without work. In short, her beloved Tyler had escaped her for the moment as much as she didn't want to admit it. She would give him the win for the moment and wait for the next opportunity came up. There were things that Sakura did need to see to as much as she would prefer to spend more time with her beloved. The denial wasn't pleasant, but she would take it and move forward. There was always next time and there would definitely be a next time, Sakura would make sure of that. So, Sakura rose and headed toward the bathroom so she could get a shower before she got to the day.

Athrun had moved off the sofa as the scene had played out so he could observe it. Commander Clyne chasing Tyler had become an expected thing as odd as it would seem to most for Athrun. He still had trouble quite believing the difference in Commander Clyne's behavior around Tyler and everyone else. No matter how many times Athrun saw the point, it was still odd to witness it with his own eyes. And that Tyler had prepared from when Sakura came around was both impressive and more than interesting. If there was one thing Athrun had learned in his service with ZAFT, it was preparing for Commander Clyne was extremely difficult if it could be done at all. And what's more, Tyler made it look very doable which made his response even more intriguing. Athrun moved into the foyer and stared up at his friend who was still sitting on the joist. "No matter how many times I see you do it, I still find it odd yet incredible that you can escape her," Athrun stated. "I've never heard of nor seen any do the same around the woman."

Tyler glanced down and saw Athrun was standing there and had like watched the scene with Sakura. He didn't think he was doing any better than any other would against Sakura. Sure, the woman wasn't the easiest to get along with, especially with her reputation. But that said reputation had never appeared when she was around Tyler. Honestly, avoiding Sakura had been a matter of planning ahead. Yet within the last year that had changed and become more difficult for Tyler. So, Tyler shrugged in response to Athrun's statement, "I have no way to explain why she is like that around me. I've tried to figure out why Sakura is like she is around me and none other but got nothing." Tyler threw up his hands, "If you can come up with an answer, I'm all ears my friend."

While that was going on, Aila had woken up when there had been some noise. She looked at her com-unit and saw a message from Matt. When she opened the message, she found it contained the story which Matt had given Talia and Arthur for why her group hadn't returned the night before. The general story was a believable one to Aila and she would be thanking Matt for covering for them. If any questions were asked, Aila would be able to answer them and not make the story suspect with the Minerva's commanding officers. Aila didn't like not telling Talia the truth, but for the moment it was necessary. When there was the time, Aila would go and give Talia the truth and tell her why the cover had been needed at the time. She was sure Talia would understand the situation when it was explained to her. Talia wouldn't punish the teens, they would suffer enough from the hangovers, so they didn't need more sent their way for this.

Aila focused back on the noise which had woken her. It had sounded kind of like someone running and a crash of some sort. That was odd as there were no signs that such would happen that Aila had seen last night. So, she got out of the bed she had slept in and left the room to see what was going on. She made her way down the hallway but came to a halt when she got to the foyer. Aila saw Athrun standing in the living room, which wasn't odd as he'd slept on the sofa. However, Athrun was looking upward in the foyer which didn't make sense with the odd noises that Aila had heard. Aila glanced in the direction Athrun was looking and was further confused at seeing the guy from last night on the support beam the foyer had. She couldn't think of a reason or idea that would lead to someone ending out on a support beam as she was seeing. "What is going on," Aila questioned, "What was the noise I just about?"

Athrun and Tyler glanced at the hallway to the other bedrooms to see Aila. Tyler figured there was a chance his guests could be woken up by Sakura chasing him. Even the teens could be waking up with the medication they had been given last night. Tyler had hoped they wouldn't find out about what he dealt with. Every time he'd had to attempt to explain what Sakura was like around him and did, he was called out for lying even when he wasn't. The only reason that Athrun and even Kira believed him when he told them about Sakura was they had seen the point with their own eyes. Tyler couldn't blame others when they denied what Tyler said about Sakura. The woman's reputation within ZAFT was so well-established it was nigh impossible to argue with. And if Sakura didn't stalk him as she did, he wouldn't argue nor talked about the woman around ZAFT personnel. So, Tyler kept silent as there was nothing he could say about what had just happened which would be believed by the guest who had popped up.

Athrun glanced over to the hallway and found Aila there. He couldn't say how much of the scene she'd seen. If she had seen most of it, he couldn't have come up with a way to explain the scene. Athrun doubted that Aila had ever met Commander Clyne in person, so she wouldn't know the woman's appearance specifically other than the pink hair perhaps. Even if she had met the commander, the scene wouldn't make sense. The first time that Athrun had seen the point he had questioned if he'd been dreaming or something like that. That was how strange and outlandish the commander's behavior was around Tyler. Of course, Tyler sitting on the support joist wasn't much more sensible than the scene which had got it to happen. With that in mind, Athrun was forced to consider what he could say to Aila about what she was seeing. The truth of what occurred was difficult to believe for any that didn't have direct knowledge of what Tyler dealt with. After a moment, Athrun sighed, "It's a long story and explanation, neither of which you would probably believe." Athrun hesitated for a moment glancing at Tyler for a second, "I certainly didn't when I first heard about it. It wasn't until I saw displays of it that I understood what was being referred to."

While Tyler appreciated his friend trying to help him with the woman that had popped up, Tyler could defend himself as needed. Yes, few believed what Tyler had to face when it came to Sakura, but that wouldn't stop Tyler from standing up for himself. Tyler ended out his folding his arms in mild frustration with his situation, "That would be an understatement, Athrun," Tyler remarked. "Sure, I rather others not be involved in the problems I get with this. However, I deal with the point when it comes up and do fair at it I would say." Tyler inclined his head toward Aila, "I apologize if the scuffle that occurred woke you up. I wish that it hadn't happened, but the other party involved forced the point, but that is outside my control." Tyler paused, "It would be better if you just not ask for more detail of how things ended out to what you see right now. It would be a painful confusion that you can do without which would give you a horrible headache."

Aila was trying to process what was being said to explain what she'd been seeing. Athrun saying whatever had happened was a long story was believable to Aila. The rest of what Athrun said and what his friend had added hadn't made sense to her at all. What she had gotten from the "explanation" was there was something going on and it was beyond odd in some way. There was more inference about the point than facts from what Aila was hearing. It was confusing and was giving her a bit of a headache. So, she felt it was better to do as was recommended and not ask about the situation further as it would likely make the headache worse. "I'll take your words for it," Aila returned. Then she bowed to Tyler, "I didn't say it last night, but thank you for letting our group stay for the night."

Tyler had no issue helping others out and those with Athrun had clearly needed assistance with what he'd seen last night. The three teens had been drunk and had looked rather sad to be honest. Tyler felt that if the three had gone back to the Minerva as they had been, it wouldn't have likely gone well. So, Tyler had been more than willing to help Athrun as he could along with the rest of his group. The thanks was certainly nice to receive, but unnecessary for Tyler. Thus, Tyler waved a hand in dismissal, "It's no problem. The teens really did need help with them unknowingly consuming alcohol and getting drunk. I doubt it would've gone well for them with a ship officer to see them like that. The thanks is appreciated, but don't worry about it, just glad I could help."

As the three were talking, Lunamaria had woken up and was trying to figure out what was going on. She had found herself in a strange bed in a place she'd never seen before, which was confusing. Luna had tried to recall what had happened last night, which could explain why she was in a strange place. She remembered going out to dinner with Shinn, Rey, and Aila. The food had been amazing, and dinner had been fun from what Luna could remember. However, the latter part of the meal was hazy for Luna couldn't recall things clearly. That was strange as Luna hadn't had an event where she could remember half of it just fine, but the rest be murky.

Luna sat up and instantly grunted as her head was softly pounding and hurt quite a bit. The headache was the worst that Luna had ever experienced. She couldn't stop herself from holding her head with her hands with the pain. It wasn't unbearable, but it certainly was hard to ignore with the pounding. Luna wanted to understand how things could've led to what she was going through. There had been the noise which had brought her out of sleep which she still had nothing to help her know what was going on. So, Luna got of the bed slowly and made her way to the door to try and see what was happening. Hopefully Aila was around, and she could explain what was going on so Luna could make sense of things.

Luna made her way down the hallway the bedroom opened into. She was doing it slowly with the headache was making it hard to concentrate. Luna was managing to walk on her own and it was in a straight line, but keeping her balance was harder than normal for some reason. She used the walls to make sure that she kept on her feet when she got lightheaded which came and went. Luna turned at the end of the hall and spotted Aila ahead. She closed the distance before speaking, "Hey, what's going on," Luna asked. Her speaking up did draw the attention of Aila and another nearby. "And where are we right now?" Luna grabbed her head with the headache surged a bit, "And why do I have a bad headache?"

Aila turned to face her junior when she had spoken up. She couldn't help but wonder if Shinn and Rey had been woken up by the noise as she had been. Luna did look better than she had been last night, Aila would admit that. That lent credence to the medication the three teens had been given last night had helped as had been said it would. But by the sound of it, Luna didn't remember part of last night. That would fit with one being drunk, one of the symptoms of alcohol consumption tended to be gaps in memory. The headache was another symptom which was expected even if it wasn't nice to experience. "The answers to those overall is complicated," Aila answered. Aila paused for a moment, considering how to go about explaining what had happened to bring things to what they were. "What do you remember from last night?"

Athrun and Tyler listened for a moment as Aila and Lunamaria began discussing what had occurred last night. But after a minute, Tyler lowered himself to the floor as he didn't have an interest in listening. Tyler headed for the kitchen so he could get started on making breakfast for his guests. While the female teen may be the first to appear, Tyler didn't think it would be long before the other two would follow. Hopefully by the time Tyler had breakfast ready, the woman could have her explanation to the teens done. Athrun had implied that they would need to be to the Minerva early in the morning. So, Tyler wanted to give his guests breakfast before giving them a ride to the docks.

Athrun saw Tyler drop down and head to the kitchen, likely to start making breakfast. Athrun glanced back at Aila and the teen as they were talking. From what he was hearing, Aila was giving a brief explanation about how their group had ended up at Tyler's place. There was the mention of alcohol that had unknowingly been consumed by the three teens. Athrun felt Aila was doing a better job than he would be able to do with the teen. He didn't know the three as Aila did, so she had better standing with them than Athrun did. So, Athrun could do better helping Tyler while Aila explained things.

Aila hadn't noticed Athrun or the guy going off to the kitchen, she was busy explaining things to Lunamaria. The explanation was simple enough, but Lunamaria was having a hard time accepting it. Aila couldn't blame the girl for questioning what she was being told. She'd been doubtful when Athrun had first brought up the point of the teens consuming alcohol. But what Athrun had iterated had made sense enough in the end to be sensible. Luna didn't argue as much as Aila had thought she would when the conversation had begun. Although, that could be due to the headache that Luna had to be experiencing with how she kept putting a hand to her head. Aila really did sympathize with what Luna was going through even if Aila had never experienced a hangover.

The conversation was interrupted when Shinn and Rey appeared from the hallway. They were also questioning what was going on and where they were as they didn't recognize the place. So, Aila had to backtrack in the conversation and go back to what she had already said to Lunamaria. The other two had some of the same difficulty as Luna had with accepting what had happened at dinner last night, which had led to the current circumstances. Shinn did apologize for the restaurant he'd picked which had got them to where they were. Aila knew it wasn't Shinn's fault that the three had consumed alcohol. The three teens had drank what had brought to them without thinking or even knowing it contained alcohol. They were facing the consequences of the alcohol so hopefully, they would never partake in it in future knowingly.

Back with Tyler, he was in the process of making pancakes and scrambled eggs for his guests. Tyler's mother had taught him to be a gracious host when it came up. Those lessons were ones that he couldn't forget with how "painful" they had been to learn when Tyler was younger. So, Tyler did what he could to be a good host so that his mother didn't have any reason to have him go through those lessons again. And Tyler did want his mother to be proud of the life skills that he'd learned from her and his dad which he used. Plus, he felt sorry for the teens in what they had gotten roped into last night. They had fallen victim to something they hadn't been aware of so they shouldn't be blamed for the results. The hangover was enough of a punishment for them, they didn't need any more piled onto them.

Athrun was helping Tyler with breakfast as he could. Tyler was cooking pancakes and eggs from what Athrun had seen. He knew his friend had more than decent cooking skills. Athrun couldn't say where or how Tyler had acquired his cooking skills, but Tyler had a knack of learning all sorts of skills. Athrun had just stopped asking where and why Tyler had the skills as it wasn't worth the explanation. Instead, Athrun set the table that was in the corner that was right by the kitchen. Tyler put plates of food on the "bar" counter in the kitchen that faced the living room when things were becoming ready. Athrun spotted the plates of food being placed on the counter. He took that as Tyler asking him silently to take them to the table, which he did as being asked to.

Aila was laying out to the teens what had happened during dinner. She had made sure to make it clear that consuming alcohol wasn't their fault as they hadn't known about it. Aila didn't want Shinn, Rey, and Lunamaria to think they had done something wrong. Arthur would likely dress them down when they got back to the Minerva if he became aware of what happened. With that in mind, Aila was also telling them what they were to say if any asked them about what had occurred last night. She felt there would be at least a few questions asked of the three teens and herself when they returned to the ship. Aila was finishing the general explanation she was giving the teens when the scent of the food began coming to the group. The smell of the food essentially ended the conversation and had the four being drawn to the table.

Tyler brought out the last two plates of food from the kitchen to the table. He saw his four guests coming to the table for the meal. Tyler hoped that whatever the woman had said to them had helped them understand what their situation was. He would try to put in some kind of good word for them when around the Minerva, though Tyler couldn't say how much he could do. But at least Tyler could give the teens a good meal to start what would be a hard day. And with what was ahead of the Minerva, things wouldn't be any nicer for the next day or more unfortunately. Tyler didn't doubt Athrun would get the info that he'd told him to Captain Gladys to use it the best she could.

There was a reason that Tyler felt it would be better if Athrun delivered the information he'd given him to the Minerva's captain was a valid one. The Alliance was showing itself to be petty enough that they would use essentially anything to blame others for the position they had put themselves in. That would include general data which would put a small OMNI fleet at a disadvantage going against the Minerva. If the Alliance could somehow twist Tyler giving his friend information to the Federation giving data to ZAFT, then they would try to. The relations between the Federation and the Alliance were already at an all-time low, no need to give ammo to the Alliance to make it even worse.

After Tyler set the last of the food on the table, Athrun did "officially" introduce Tyler to the other four. Athrun felt it would be best for the moment not to give Tyler's last name as it was well-known much like his was. Aila may have heard his name last night, but little other than that besides him being Athrun's friend. For the teens, they had all seen the guy before, he'd been on the Minerva twice now before this. Rey recognized the guy that had talked with Captain Gladys after the attack on Armory One. Luna knew the guy as it had been him who had outdone her and put a knife to her neck while the Minerva had been at Asgard. She was working past what he'd done which had scared her, but she hadn't fully moved forward from the experience. Shinn already knew Commander McGregor, how could he not with the two weeks he'd spent on the Normandy. It was kind of a surprise to encounter the commander around Shira, but it was nice to see him again.

Breakfast was a somewhat quiet affair with the teens not saying a great deal during it. They quickly concentrated on eating the food after the first taste. Aila didn't eat as quickly as her juniors were, but she had to admit the food was good, better than average. She once again couldn't help but wonder about Athrun's friend. He seemed like a normal guy when she had first met him and at the house too. But while he'd been on the Minerva while it was at Asgard, the guy had shown he was anything but normal. He had skills that those in special forces tended to have but seemed to be able to hide them from others. And yet, this guy also had skills that one wouldn't expect soldiers to have, like cooking in this instance. There were just so many questions about the guy and yet, no answers that she could see to those said questions.

Once breakfast was consumed, Aila did thank Mr. Tyler and then had her juniors do the same. He'd provided them with a meal when he didn't have to after providing a place for them to sleep for the night. Regardless, of how Athrun and meet and befriended the guy, he had been nice and helped them. It was good manners for them to show gratitude for the help they had been shown in their time of need. Tyler appreciated the thanks he was being given for helping the group. He would've done the same thing he had even if there had been no gratitude shown to him in return. That was just the kind of individual that Tyler was and worked to be. And with the group that Athrun had brought to his place, they certainly had needed some help. Tyler responded to the thanks saying it wasn't anything to worry about, he was just glad he could assist them.

Tyler did rise and make the offer of giving the group a ride to the docking area the Minerva was in. He mentioned that his car could carry four and the motorcycle that had come last night could be ridden by the last member of the group. Athrun had known that Tyler would offer to give a ride to them to reach the Minerva, it was the way his friend was, so it wasn't a surprise. On the other hand, Aila was a tad taken aback that the guy would offer to give them a ride to the Minerva's dock. It would certainly solve the issue of getting back to the Minerva as quickly as possible as they should. The ship was going to be leaving Shira today as far as Aila was aware of with the work on the ship being done by this morning. And their cover was only to last for the night and get back to the ship in the morning as they could.

Aila said her group would accept the offer of a ride from Tyler and thanked him for it. She also stated she would ride the motorcycle out of her group rather than any of the teens. Aila would rather she take the motorcycle or even Athrun do so than any of her juniors. She didn't know if any of them knew how to ride and didn't want them to be put in the position that they may have to learn on the fly. Also, with their hangovers, she wouldn't trust they would be able to operate a vehicle competently for the time being. Aila knew how to ride a motorcycle, she had done so before this, so it would be fine for her.

Tyler honestly didn't care who used the motorcycle and those that went with him. As long as he got them to the docking area, Tyler would consider the job done. So, he turned to Athrun and asked him to organize the group. While his friend did so, Tyler would go to his room and change so he could look presentable. Athrun agreed to get the rest ready to go while Tyler went off to change. Thus, Tyler headed off down the hallway to his bedroom and changed his clothes into jeans and a T-shirt. Then Tyler glanced around for the motorcycle's keys which he wouldn't doubt Sakura would've brought in with her. He managed to find the keys before he headed toward the garage.

Tyler reached the garage to find that the rest had gotten there before him. The teens were looking at Tyler's car with fascination while the woman was beside the motorcycle. Tyler went over and gave the motorcycle keys to Aila. Then Tyler turned to the teens who were still staring at his car. Tyler knew the model of car he had was a rarer one to see. It tended to require special ordering of the model and getting repairs done was unpleasant as the parts had to be made by special order as well. So, as Tyler approached, he gained a smile as he normally did when people stared at his car. "I take it this car is one that you three haven't seen before," Tyler posed. The teens turned to him and nodded, to which Tyler chuckled, "Yeah, it is a rarer model to see and drive, I will admit. It is one from before the Cosmic Era started and a racing model at that which I say is neat. It is known as a Lamborghini which probably means nothing to you if you don't know about vehicle history."

Tyler gestured for the teens and Athrun to pile into his car so they could get going. Athrun moved his seat forward so the three teens could get to the vehicle's back seat. He wondered if Tyler was considering drifting on this ride. It wouldn't be the first time that Tyler would do such a thing. Athrun's friend's hobby was an acquired taste, he didn't mind it a great deal, Kira didn't prefer the activity. But for those that weren't aware of Tyler's hobby, some took it in stride, others cursed him for doing it. With that in mind, when the teens were in the back seat, Athrun moved the passenger's seat back into place and made sure his seatbelt was in place snuggly. He glanced over to the driver seat which Tyler had just slid into and was a tad more concerned. The seat had a "racing harness" which Tyler had put in for his drifting hobby. But seeing him tightening the straps said there was a reasonable chance drifting would happen on this ride.

At the same time, the teens were talking about the car model they were now in. Shinn had heard of Lamborghinis before now, though he'd never seen one with his own eyes that weren't pictures. His dad was a bit of a vehicle enthusiast and so Shinn had been shown images of Lamborghinis. Shinn had also heard that there were some Lamborghinis that had been refitted to use modern fuel rather than fossil fuel as they had been built to. However, from what Shinn's dad had said, there weren't all that many Lamborghinis that had gone through the refit to be in use. So, Shinn was answering Luna's questions about the car model that he could while Rey just listened. His two friends were surprised that Shinn knew what he did about the car model. Yet, he told them that his dad liked cars as a hobby and so he'd learned about them from his dad.

Tyler had listened to the conversation the teens were having as he belted in and opened the garage door. It was a tad surprising that Shinn knew about older vehicle models, but his dad being a car enthusiast was a believable explanation. However, Tyler planned to give the teens a treat today before dropping them off. Sure, he'd been told that his "hobby" of drifting was inappropriate, and he should give it up. Tyler ignored such comments so he could share his interest and enjoyment of drifting. And he made sure to give a "warning" to those he showed his drifting skills to, so he wasn't that mean by treating people. It wasn't his problem if his passengers didn't take the warnings seriously as they should. Thus, Tyler turned to the teens, "Okay all, as I say to many of the passengers that have ridden in this vehicle," Tyler began, "buckle up and hang on, this will be a fun ride. I promise it will be one that you won't forget anytime soon."

Athrun kept back the sad smile at what Tyler had said. Instead, he made sure his seatbelt was snug and secure. Tyler's "statement" or rather warning was similar to what Athrun had gotten before his first experience of drifting. So, Athrun took that as Tyler did intend to drift at some point during this ride. He just hoped that the teens would either enjoy the experience or not blame and hold it against Tyler. His friend just liked to share his hobbies with others in the hopes that they would enjoy it like he did. Tyler was really a good person, it was just hard to see that with some of the things he did. Athrun would stand by his friend, but he knew not all could handle some of the things Tyler did as well as he did.

Luna had been in the middle of asking another question of Shinn as he seemed to know about the car model when the guy had spoken. The statement was odd and stuck out for a couple of reasons. The first part said the guy gave rides in this car to others which with the rare model was understandable. What came after it was confusing to Luna, and she would bet the boys were about as confused as her. Buckling up in a car was essentially international law, there was no place that didn't see not doing it as a law violation as far as Luna knew. Yet, something in Luna said that the "fun ride" wouldn't necessarily be what she would see that as. She would've asked what the guy meant, but the car began moving forward before she could. Luna didn't want to distract the driver from the road if she didn't have to.

Tyler pulled out of the garage, starting off slow so he didn't potentially freak out the teens from the get-go. He tapped the dashboard display and had it go to a specific option he had put in for extra money when purchasing the car. Tyler had known his driving style and drifting wasn't appreciated by law enforcement. So, to keep the "peace" between him and them, Tyler made sure to have a system that could see where law enforcement officers were so he could avoid them. They didn't have to witness him driving in a manner they didn't like and would chase him for to ticket him, and Tyler wouldn't have to deal with the tickets they would write him. It was a reasonable solution in Tyler's mind, and it had been working for the times he spent around home. From what Tyler could see from the glance at the display, there were no law enforcement officers along the path he would take. In fact, there weren't any at this time in a reasonable distance of the path Tyler planned to use. And to Tyler's good luck, the camera's that law enforcement used to see things were about to go down for their "scheduled maintenance" for the area he'd be driving in. Thus, he had nothing to worry about with his driving style for this ride which Tyler was happy about.

Tyler was keeping an eye on the clock as he "happened" to know the exact time the camera maintenance would start. He would be putting his foot down when those cameras went down as they wouldn't be used to see him speeding. When Tyler got around the turn out of the neighborhood that Tyler's house was in, the time he'd been waiting for came. Tyler came to a stop at the intersection before gaining a grin. Athrun saw the grin and knew this ride was about to change radically. Athrun knew that Tyler's driving style was different when he wasn't being watched by law enforcement, and it was one that you either get used to or dread having to experience. Athrun himself didn't mind his friend's "other" driving style, though there had been times it scared Athrun a bit. All in all, the style wasn't as bad as some said it was, and Tyler did enjoy driving as he did. But for those who haven't experienced how Tyler drives when not watched, it was something else which words just couldn't describe properly.

Tyler put his foot down and spun the wheel to the left causing the car to surge forward. Tyler had his car slide through the left turn and accelerate out of it. Athrun had been ready for the care leaping forward with how Tyler had put his foot down. However, the teens hadn't been prepared for the change in driving style that came. Lunamaria close to instantly clung to Shinn out of reflex. Shinn was surprised for a moment, he'd grabbed the armrest to his left as the turn had begun. He'd felt Luna latching onto him as the turn had been going on. Shinn glanced over at Rey to see he was being forced into the side of the car but was holding on like the rest. The reeving of the engine filled their ears as the car accelerated out of the turn. Luna was trying to process how a gentle car ride had become something that got her heart pumping in fear in what felt like the blink of an eye.

The ride didn't change much as it continued, it kept being fast and throwing the teens around a bit. Athrun had glanced back at the teens to see they hadn't been entirely prepared for Tyler's current driving style. Then again, how would one prepare for the idea without knowing it was coming their way? Athrun had recognized the warning, and it appeared the teens had not seen it for what it was. And he knew that Tyler wouldn't slow down if he didn't have to which would keep throwing the three teens around in the back. Thankfully, the three had their seatbelts on which prevented them from being thrown around the car. Athrun could only image what Aila could be thinking if she saw Tyler putting his foot down. The car shooting forward would be worrisome enough for any to see. But Aila would likely be falling behind with Tyler accelerating as he was.

The car raced down the streets and only slowed slightly when turns came up so it could handle them and not hit the curbs. The ride for the teens had gone from fine, to something between a nightmare and something from vehicle sport racing. Luna quickly became scared with the car ride. She had stopped looking out the window shortly after the change of the ride. The turns were terrifying to her as the car was swinging in those and would get too close to striking the curbs. There were other times she was sure they would be in a crash, even when they were avoided. On the other hand, Shinn had quickly felt a thrill build within him with the ride. The speed and handling of the car was impressive, like seeing a master at work. Granted, Shinn expected and had seen Commander McGregor was beyond an elite pilot in a mobile suit. But it seemed that he was also a heck of a skilled driver in a car too which was amazing to him.

With Tyler's driving style, those with him had made much better time than they would if they had been following the guidelines the laws set. And Tyler would tell those that would say he was driving unsafely, he would say he didn't crash once and didn't even hit anything during turns. Sure, he got kind of close on a few turns and the one car he zoomed past, but he had been in control and that's what counted. His group arrived at the checkpoint in about half of the time it would take driving how others would. And he had slowed down before coming into view of the checkpoint so no one would see what he'd been doing besides the other car. Thus, Tyler pulled up to the checkpoint and showed the guard his military ID without a care in the world.

Athrun was smiling softly at his friend for getting them there in a shorter time it would be normally. He still expected Tyler to drift likely in the docking area with what he'd said. The speeding and hard turns would've had the warning worded differently. However, Athrun didn't miss the heavy breathing from the back seat. The teens were taking Tyler's driving style fairly so far, at least the boys were, the girl Athrun had seen signs she wasn't having fun in any way. They didn't know what they had just experienced was only the first half of this ride. And the second part would be the part which they had been warned about rather than the first. So, Athrun faced forward as Tyler began slowly pulling forward through the checkpoint. He noted that Tyler was driving slowly while in view of the checkpoint, likely not wanting to be reported by others.

However, once out of view of the checkpoint, Tyler accelerated to get to the place where he normally started his drifting escapades. Once there, Tyler put his foot down and pressed the petal into the floor so he could get the most acceleration he could get from his car. Athrun could see the building of speed for the drifting Tyler was going to do. So, Athrun shifted his body to be able to take the centripetal force that would come with the drift. He then grabbed onto the handle above the door which he knew was reinforced for passengers during drifting to hold to. Athrun just hoped that the three in the back wouldn't hold what was about to happen against his friend.

Luna had been trying to calm down from the ride to the docking area checkpoint which had it slow down. But she hadn't had the time to do much to steady the heartbeat that was pounding rapidly in her chest. She may be apprehensive of the guy driving with what he'd done before, but she wouldn't let this happen and say nothing at its end. Luna would be asking what the hell was wrong with the guy and his driving. Only racers and crazy people drove like this guy did and Luna was heavily leaning toward the guy being crazy rather than a racer. "Isn't this a bit fast to be driving around the docks," Luna barked. "The ride was fast enough to worry me for a while."

If the teens had thought the trip to the docking area was something, they still had the real treat that Tyler had for them. His hobby was misunderstood, Tyler would stand by that and take any that thought that way so they could see the fun. The acceleration was where he needed it to be for a prime drift. So, Tyler grinned broadly, "Nope, this speed is fine," he returned as a hand went to the e-brake, ready to be yanked and start the drift. "I assure you, the more speed you can get makes this more fun and last longer. So, enjoy the treat that you are about to experience." Tyler gripped the wheel now fully ready to initiate the drift, "Here we go~."

Tyler yanked the e-brake and spun the steering wheel in the motion he knew by heart and got his blood pumping the endorphins. The car lost its traction somewhat and began skidding a bit, but Tyler did the fine-tuning movements to get the car into the drift within seconds. The car entered and held the sideways drift with Tyler's grip on the wheel and him working the petals. Tyler knew how to maintain a drift for the longest period possible with how he'd practiced with it since the day after he obtained his driver's license. It was why Tyler aimed for distance of the drift rather than the time he kept it going for.

Moments after the drift started, Lunamaria began screaming with the sideways motion pushing her into Rey. The ride to the docking area had been frightening to her, and she hadn't thought there would be a way for the ride to get worse. Oh, how wrong she was about that point for she was being proven the ride could be terrifying and beyond that. The skidding noise from the tires was only getting Luna's heart to pound faster with the fear coursing through her. Shinn was refocusing on what was going on with the car after the initial jerking motion occurred. Seeing the scenery flying away from what Shinn could see out the window got his eyes to widen. He'd heard of some race car drivers doing what they called "drifting" as a sport. The descriptions that Shinn had read when he was younger had been very interesting. But to see and feel the idea himself really got Shinn to want to know more about "drifting."

Athrun had been prepared for the drift that Tyler put the car into, so hadn't been caught off guard by the initial jerking motion. He glanced over to Tyler and saw the grin his friend had which was the same one the other times Athrun had ridden in the car when it drifted. It was a grin of pure enjoyment which was kind of a rare thing to see with Tyler as he didn't show emotions openly to just anyone. Athrun could only shake his head at seeing his friend enjoy himself as he was while others were clearly having a completely different experience than him. Athrun gained a smile a moment later as he knew Tyler was in control of the car and that those in it couldn't be safer right now.

The long drift came to an end around a minute later with the car sliding to be a moderate distance from the Minerva. It was still in the ship in view from where it came to a stop at which had been viewed by some there. The dock workers had seen the car and instantly knew it was Commander McGregor practicing his drifting hobby. He was the only one that did that around the dock as there was a deal with him and those that ran the docks that he could do such things. Those from the Minerva had been drawn to the scene when the screeching of tires had been heard from further down the docking area. Arthur had been overseeing some checking things from the repairs over before the Minerva headed out. The scene of an unknown model car sliding along the docking area had given Arthur a morbid fascination as he'd viewed it. He would have to admit, whoever was driving was either crazy or extremely skilled with driving the vehicle.

Tyler let out a whoop as the drift came to an end with the car sliding to a stop. He couldn't get enough of drifting when he got the opportunity to do it. Tyler couldn't understand why others would say it was so dangerous for him to do the idea. He had practiced so he didn't crash or anything of that sort, so there was no problem there. Plus, he had paid for a special class for drivers to know how to recover should the vehicle lose traction and go out of control. Tyler knew his mother didn't like the hobby, but she had stopped saying it was unsafe when he'd shown the certificate he'd gotten from his special class. Tyler had done the work to make sure his drifting hobby wouldn't be dangerous for himself or any that were with him. Even those in law enforcement had admitted that as long as Tyler kept the activity to the docking area, they wouldn't say anything about it.

Tyler looked Athrun's way and saw Athrun was smiling softly while shaking his head. His friend knew about the drifting as Tyler had taken him out for some of it. The last time hadn't been the best as Cagalli had been with him, and Tyler would admit Cagalli hadn't reacted the best. No, the girl had screamed the whole way, and Cagalli had a scream that could be hard to shut out and not hurt your ears. Cagalli had been worse than Lacus in Tyler's opinion, even when Lacus's hadn't been the nicest. While Cagalli had screamed during and after the experience, Lacus had merely taken the time to "educate" him. The lecture Tyler had gotten from Lacus hadn't been pleasant, or even just unpleasant. No, it had been downright uncomfortable to Tyler and her being his friend had made it more so. Tyler had found Lacus had a similar knack as his mother when lecturing him about "questionable" activities.

After checking on Athrun, Tyler glanced back at the rear seat to see how the three he'd been treating had taken his treat for them. It was seconds that Tyler understood that they may not have taken the treat in the spirit Tyler had been giving it to them. The three appeared shaken by the drift with the blonde and the girl leaning to one side and Shinn holding onto the armrest next to him. Tyler couldn't think of words to say for a moment as he would rather not make what they could think of him worse right now. But Tyler didn't want to remain silent in this either as he loved sharing his hobby. "Uh," Tyler uttered with a tone of apprehension, "maybe I went a little far in treating them to a show of my hobby."

Athrun knew there were normally two general reactions to Tyler's hobby of drifting. There were those like Athrun and Kira who didn't mind the idea. Athrun may not be as excited about drifting as Tyler was, but he wasn't like Kira who merely tolerated it. Then there was the other general reaction which resulted from Tyler's drifting. Cagalli and Lacus were good examples for the second general reaction. Cagalli had screamed in fear during the drift, and she had yelled at Tyler after that one experience. Lacus hadn't screamed, but she had given Tyler a "lengthy" lecture of how dangerous and non-enjoyable drifting was. Athrun couldn't say how each teen would react, but he doubted they would have to wait long for them. "I would say that sounds accurate Tye, though a good drift this time," agreed Athrun, the two friends looking at one another, then back to the three teens. "I don't think they were fully prepared for your driving style or your hobby of drifting. I doubt they took your warning in the spirit it was given in."

Tyler had tried to warn the teens and have them make sure their seatbelts were properly snug. Athrun had clearly taken that unsaid point for the warning, so Tyler had assumed the teens would follow his example. Apparently, the teens hadn't taken the warning as he'd hoped they would. In the end, Tyler chuckled a bit before he gained a repentant look on his face, "Well, I supposed I can boast my driving style is certainly one you don't forget once you've experienced it," he replied. "Although, to those that would say it is dangerous, I drive seriously when others are in the car with me."

Shinn came out of the stupor that he'd been in by the time the car had slid to a stop. The ride to the docking area was really neat. He'd never been in the car model he'd ridden in before and it had been awesome. And the speed this vehicle was capable of was above what modern mass-production common vehicles could do even when pushed and without special equipment attached. Then the drifting had been amazing to experience. The feel of the force of the car sliding sideways over the concrete had been neat and similar to high-G mobile suit piloting was. That was one of the areas of ZAFT's practical pilot exam which Shinn had excelled at. So, this experience had been amazing and made Shinn's day. "That was freaking awesome," he exclaimed. "I want to do that again."

Tyler gained a smile at Shinn's reaction to the treat he had given them. Perhaps, he had just been a tad too worried that his treat wouldn't be received as he'd hoped. So, Tyler clapped his hands together and laughed, "That's one vote in favor of my driving," Tyler proclaimed proudly. "I had a feeling my treat for them would go well. And here I was starting to get a tad worried I would have a repeat of what happened the last time."

Athrun felt his friend was coming to conclusions a tad quick when it came to reactions. The last time as Tyler referred to the point, Cagalli had screamed and yelled at Tyler which had been easy to see. However, Lacus hadn't shown much of a reaction until later which was what Athrun felt may happen given a bit of time. So, Athrun was about to say Tyler should be patient and remind him what happened with Lacus. He needed to remember not all that experienced his love of drifting shared his enjoyment. Athrun felt at least Lunamaria as Aila had said her name wouldn't be reacting well at all. Her screaming that Athrun had heard said she hadn't liked the ride or the drifting at all.

Luna regained her bearings a long minute after the car had come to a full stop. She hadn't appreciated the ride or what had happened around the docking area. She had feared for her life multiple times while in the car and the guy driving it. Luna had promised herself that she would give a fitting reply to the guy for what he'd put them through. And she would do just that and make him understand how much he'd made her fear for her life. She'd heard the guy's voice talking a moment ago and it had been in front of her. So, Luna brought her head up and glared at the blonde-haired guy. "The ride here was scary enough," she snapped. "My heart was pounding with how close to crashing we got!" Luna released a growl, "And what you did here was terrifying! I thought the car would roll and we would die before the end!"

Athrun had figured that the girl would react in a way like Cagalli had done after her experience. The girl may not have yelled as Cagalli had, but she had screamed through the experience. The tone of her voice had made it clear the girl was both terrified and angry. From what he'd heard from Aila yesterday when he'd asked her about the other pilots, Lunamaria wore her emotions on her sleeves. And what Athrun had seen said that what Aila had mentioned was quite true. Athrun felt it would be best to step in and stop Lunamaria before she had a chance to say more and do something potentially stupid. So, Athrun snickered in response, "And that would be a strike against your driving style my friend," he remarked. "And I doubt you need to be reminded what happened the last time."

Tyler didn't need a reminder of how Cagalli and Lacus had reacted to him taking them drifting. Cagalli's screaming and Lacus's lecture had left enough of an impression that Tyler wouldn't quickly forget it. He'd had a harsh headache for half a day from Cagalli's screaming which had hurt his ears. Then Lacus's lecture had been painful in a different way as it had been more blows to Tyler's pride than physical pain as Cagalli had given him. Tyler still felt his driving style wasn't as bad as some made it out to be, and he would stand by that. But Athrun had a point that not all agreed or liked some of his chosen habits and hobbies. Thus, Tyler was quiet for a minute, even as Lunamaria continued to glare at him angrily. "Okay, you have a valid point Athrun," Tyler admitted. "The way I drive isn't for everyone and I should keep that in mind."

Meanwhile, Aila had come into the docking area. She had tried to follow the car after it had left but hadn't been able to. The motorcycle wasn't a model Aila had been familiar with so it had taken a few minutes to figure out. Once Aila had managed to figure out where the controls for the motorcycle worked, Aila had headed out to catch up with her group. However, she had never managed to catch up with them. Heck, she hadn't even seen a hint of the car ahead of her as she rode. She hadn't encountered any along her way to the docks, which Aila just put to it being early in the morning. But something in the back of her mind wouldn't accept that being the only potential explanation.

Aila arrived at the docking area's checkpoint which the guard asked to see her ID. She flashed her ZAFT ID to the guard before she was let through into the docking area. Aila rode over to the dock the Minerva was in and found the car there. The teens were in the process of exiting the car along with Athrun and the blonde guy. Aila glanced in the Minerva's direction and blinked at seeing some watching the scene instead of doing other things. A car pulling up shouldn't draw attention off of needed tasks normally. The whisper in the back of her mind came back that there was more going on than she was seeing. She rode the motorcycle to be right behind the car and was further confused. Rey and Shinn appeared to be supporting Lunamaria who looked to be a tad shaky on her legs. And it wasn't the same as she had been last night with her being drunk. Aila took a long moment to stare at her three juniors before she found her voice. "What's wrong with you three," she asked. "You look to have been put through something harsh. But you were just driven here, so that can't have happened."

Luna looked at Aila before she sent an angry glare at Tyler. Athrun saw the glare and felt it would be best for him to speak up first and give an explanation rather than the girl. Tyler hadn't been trying to shake or scare them, he just had a knack of doing that with some. So Athrun took a step forward to draw attention to him, "Well, my friend has a different driving style than the average person practices," Athrun answered. "And he wanted to show that off along with showing one of his hobbies. It doesn't always get received the best unfortunately."

Tyler sent a weak glower at his friend with the last statement which had been delivered. His behavior did get some to call him out for "bad behavior" that he displayed. He stood up and defended his chosen behavior as he saw necessary. But Tyler didn't think that his behavior and hobbies were as bad as Athrun implied they could be. Most didn't seem to mind the behavior that Tyler chose to go with that he'd seen. "Hey now Athrun," Tyler started with a bit of an indignant tone. "You make it sound like my driving among other behaviors I choose are horrible or wrong saying it that way." Tyler put his hands on his hips, "When it comes to my driving, I'll have you know that I'm a very safe driver. I've never crashed this car since the day I purchased it, not even once."

Athrun didn't blame his friend for standing up for his behavior, that was how Tyler tended to be. But his record wasn't as clean as Athrun's friend may imply with his defense. Tyler may not have what some would call "black marks" on that record, but it had plenty of near misses and close calls. Oh, Athrun wouldn't deny that Tyler had skills to survive and do a job he set his mind to. But Tyler had a streak of luck that may not be seen by most but got him through many situations. Thus, Athrun turned to Tyler and gave him a knowing smile, "And how many near misses have you had," he posed. "You may not have horrible marks from the things you do, but you don't always get through without difficulty."

Tyler didn't give a retort to what Athrun said as he couldn't exactly deny the point. Near misses and close calls were Tyler's "bread and butter" as the old phrase went. Tyler wouldn't deny that he tended to be lucky and do well when under pressure and thinking on the fly when he had to. However, he knew that there were people that did horribly in those types of situations that Tyler thrived in. The answer to Athrun's question was Tyler didn't know, he stopped counting near misses and close calls with his driving quite some time ago. So, Tyler instantly gained a sheepish grin, then rubbed the back of his head with a hand, "Um well, I kind of lost count a while ago, so I haven't the faintest idea honestly. Plus, I stopped counting about six months after obtaining my driver license. I imagine that Shira's law enforcement would have a better guess than me as they tend to keep a record and remind me of it every now and then. But I'm human, so do cut me some slack would you."

Aila had been looking between Athrun, the blonde guy, and her juniors. What she had been hearing didn't make sense with what she knew. Sure, she hadn't seen the car as it had made its way here, but what could've happened? The conversation had implied that something had happened which hadn't been mentioned directly. She shook her head and moved over to where the teens were. Hopefully, they could give details about what had gone on so Aila could understand. Luna and Shinn were arguing about the "ride" from what Aila could heard and take away. Aila focused on Rey who looked at her, "Rey, should I ask what happened," she questioned. "There have been implications thrown out, but nothing stated to say what actually went on."

Rey had not said much about the "experience" he and his fellow pilots had gone through. Luna and Shinn had been the ones arguing whether it had been good and bad. Rey had seen no reason to add to the conversation the two had been having off and on. But he had also seen the "marks" the car's tires had made to end out where it was. That said more in Rey's mind about what they had gone through than just using words to explain the point. So, Rey said nothing, merely pointing at the ground where the skid marks were. Aila gazed the way that Rey had pointed and froze at what she saw. There were black skid marks which the car had to have made getting to where it was now. However, her shock grew as she flowed the marks back and took in their length. The only way a car could make what Aila was seeing was for it to slide sideways for an extended period. That alone took skill to pull off and not lose control which there was no sign that the car had spun or anything. After taking in what Rey had been pointing to, Aila ended up nodding. "Point taken Rey," Aila remarked. "You and the others had what appears to have been a hell of a ride." Rey simply nodded in reply and said nothing in reply.

The group began making their way toward the Minerva after that. Shinn and Luna were still arguing as they were heading toward the ship. Aila was going over the general points that Matt had sent her about the cover story he'd given Talia and Arthur. She had the story essentially down should Arthur or Talia asked questioned about what had happened. Aila didn't like the idea of misleading the Minerva's officers, but until a proper explanation could be given, it would have to be done. Aila would explain what happened to Talia in more detail once the Minerva got underway. Once the group got closer, Shinn and Luna stopped their arguing at the sight of both Captain Gladys and Deputy Captain Arthur Trine waiting for them. Aila told her juniors to let her do the talking and answering questions posed to them. The three teens were to stay silent and let Aila explain things to the Minerva's commanding officers.

Arthur was the first to reach the group, and he was intent on getting answers for what had happened. Mr. Dems had come to Talia and him saying that "something" had come up unexpectedly and the four pilots wouldn't be able to make it back to the Minerva until the morning. Matt hadn't given a great amount of detail of what the event had come up which had ended out keeping the four away from the ship. Matt had assured the Minerva's officers that the event wasn't dangerous or criminal in any way. But that still left a lot of unanswered questions about what had occurred and why the four hadn't said anything themselves. Arthur wouldn't expect Aila to do anything to embarrass the Minerva, the woman had great manners to work with. He wanted to think the teen pilots could be held to the same standard as Aila, but they were young and not as disciplined as Aila and Matt. So, Arthur folded his arms, "What do you have to say for yourselves," Arthur posed. "You were away from the ship last night and little was said as to why that was."

Aila stepped forward to be in front of the three teens. She would defend the three as they weren't at fault for what really happened last night. Matt had come up with the story that a fight had broken out in the place they had gone to dinner. The story went with them Aila looked between Athrun and the teens, but before she could ask what he meant, trying to help calm things down but hadn't been able to do much. With what Matt had sent Aila, the three teens had been in scuffles but nothing major. However, they weren't "able" to return to the ship after the altercation which was believable. "Arthur," Aila started shifting attention to her, "Matt was covering for us as I asked him to do. We went out to dinner and an altercation broke out. We couldn't have planned for that, but they tried their best to help keep things from getting worse. Unfortunately, in doing so, they didn't come off unscathed from the altercation, so I felt it better they slept off the takeaways before returning to the ship. I didn't want you or Talia to be up all night concerned and looking into an altercation that isn't our business to deal with."

Arthur was forced to pause at Aila's explanation. It was believable and Aila had no reason to lie in telling him what had happened. If what she said was true, then the three helping did ZAFT and the Minerva proud as helping was what ZAFT tried to do. Arthur really couldn't find it in himself to chide the teen pilots for an event they had no influence over what was happening around them. Nor could he blame them for wanting to help the situation be contained as that was an admirable thing to do. "Well, if that's what happened," Athrun remarked. "I don't think there would really be a need for any chastising them for not coming back last night."

While Aila was talking to Arthur, Athrun and Tyler were making their way toward Captain Gladys. Talia saw Athrun coming toward her, but he wasn't alone. The young man with Mr. Zala was one that Talia had encountered twice before now, talked to him more than that. The Federation's Captain McGregor was unlike any other individual that Talia had met in her life. The young man certainly got around as he seemed to pop up in all sorts of places. Case and point, the chances for McGregor to appear around Shira while the Minerva was in dock would be so unlikely in Talia's mind that it should be a non-event, yet here he was. If that wasn't as odd a coincidence as could be, McGregor then crossed paths with the Minerva's pilots.

Talia had trouble before trying to figure out the Federation captain before this and hadn't had much luck. The young man was supposed to be some sort of war hero with his actions during the Alliance-PLANT War. From what Aila said, he had shown he had skills that were expected from special forces or better. Yet, the Federation had assigned him to a ship as a captain when his skillsets were geared toward field work. McGregor had popped up three times now, and none of the occurrences had made a great deal of logical sense at the time. The first time Talia could wave off as an odd coincidence for him to be around Armory One. The second time Talia could pass it off as a ridiculous chain of events that led to it. But for him to appear here when the Minerva was in dock, Talia couldn't pass it off as a chance. It more felt like the young man was following the Minerva somehow for some reason. When the two came to a stop in front of Talia, she was all the more curious. "Mr. McGregor," Talia greeted, "I didn't imagine that our paths would cross again. This is the third time our paths have crossed as far as I can figure. It is quite an oddity that you seem to keep crossing paths with us, wouldn't you agree?"

Arthur had been about to ask for some more details about the "scuffle" Aila had mentioned. It was more to be able to enter what had happened with the pilots so if questions were asked by the Federation, they could be given the accounting. However, his thoughts had come to a halt when he heard Talia talking and mention the name McGregor. The name McGregor was stated normally in relation to one of the Federation's war heroes from the Alliance-PLANT War. It was much like the name Zala was used to point to Athrun Zala rather than the previous Supreme Council Chairman. So, Arthur turned to look at the one the captain was talking about and found a young blonde-haired man conversing with Talia. If what Talia was saying the young man was, then she was speaking to a war hero. "Wait, McGregor," he questioned, "As in the Federation's war hero Tyler McGregor?"

There was silence after Arthur's question for the name Tyler McGregor was one of the war heroes from the Alliance-PLANT War. And not was it only the name of one of the war heroes, but one of the more decorated ones that played key parts during the final days of the war. If that wasn't enough to make Tyler McGregor known from the war, then him piloting a Gundam during the last year certainly made him stand out. He was one of the examples of what Gundam pilots were capable of doing with the mobile suit type. McGregor was an example that fed stories and expectation of what Gundam pilots would do on the battlefields. He was essentially a legend that the Federation had to work with.

For Aila and the three teen pilots, it was a surreal experience. The blonde guy had been the one whose how they had stayed at. The one who had provided them breakfast and given them a ride to the docking area. Athrun had mentioned his friend's name was Tyler, but there had been no mention of McGregor with it. The moment felt kind of like when Aila had told the three who Athrun was. The teens had heard the name as all at ZAFT's military academy when stories of the Alliance-PLANT War were spoken about. But much like Athrun, the stories didn't build an image of the person as they were in real life. For Aila, she'd heard the name McGregor, but she hadn't thought it was the Federation's war hero. The guy hadn't come off as one who was a war hero at all, he just seemed like a normal guy. However, like Athrun, he looked like an ordinary person that you could meet on the streets, but that's how many "heroes" normally were.

Tyler didn't like the "hero" treatment that he got from some. What he'd done to help end the Alliance-PLANT War wasn't notable in Tyler's mind even if others disagreed. Tyler did his service in the Federation's Military so he could do something to help humanity. Sure, he did things that others didn't know about with his "specialized" skills, but that was beside the point. So, Tyler shrugged his shoulders, "Some people consider and call me a war hero, but honestly, I don't see myself as one." Tyler waved a hand in dismissal, "The stuff I did during the previous war was nothing to really note I say, I would think others in my position would've done the same things." Then Tyler focused on Talia, "I brought back those that are assigned to your ship, and I would ask you go easy on the teens, last night was not a fun one for them and they have already suffered the consequences for it. As for popping up where the Minerva seems to turn up, that is just a coincidence if you ask me."

Tyler paused for a moment as he knew it would be better for Athrun to deliver the info of what was ahead of the Minerva. It would be best for him to say good luck and leave so the Minerva could head out. There was little more that Tyler could do for his friend for the time being. "Well, as I have brought back your pilots," Tyler continued. "I suppose the only other thing I can think to say is good luck to you and your ship, Captain Gladys. I have a feeling that you will need such sooner than any would like to think, but that is just my opinion." Tyler gave a smile to Athrun before turning and heading back to his car.

Athrun watched his friend get into his car and drive away down the docking area toward the entry checkpoint. He understood why Tyler had gone without saying a great deal to the Minerva's captain. The Alliance was looking for anything to use as an excuse to play the "victim card" for themselves. That would include giving simple facts to another which was a warning of something the Alliance was doing even if it should be obvious. Athrun giving the captain the data could be seen as ZAFT intel being exchanged which the Alliance would complain about but couldn't pin the blame on others. He would just have to make it clear to Captain Gladys that the source of the data was better kept nameless. Athrun turned his attention to what was going on around the area as Tyler's car vanished.

From what Athrun was hearing, the repairs on the ship were done with the help of Federation's workers. The resupply was being done currently and would be finished in the next hour or so. The one that Athrun assumed was the Minerva's deputy captain was saying that the ship's crew was back with the pilots that had stayed at Tyler's. Athrun expected that would mean the Minerva would be heading out after the resupply was completed. The ship was going to be heading for Carpentaria. Athrun couldn't say what the Minerva would do after getting to the base. He hadn't heard of any orders or missions the ship would be seeing to after reaching Carpentaria. Not that such meant Carpentaria couldn't have orders from the National Defense Committee waiting for them.

Nevertheless, the Minerva had the obstacle ahead which was the OMNI fleet to deal with before reaching Carpentaria. From the information that Tyler had given Athrun, the enemy fleet ahead should be taken seriously. That they were waiting in international waters just outside the normal shipping lanes which ships used to travel was problematic. The fleet's position was clearly to intercept enemy forces that came by them so could be seen as a trap. And with them not being in the shipping lanes, the Federation and ZAFT couldn't call OMNI out on that. For all Athrun knew, ZAFT could know about the fleet, but the Minerva hadn't been given data on it yet. Regardless, Athrun felt the OMNI fleet would be nothing but trouble for the Minerva along its journey. Athrun would have to find the time and opportunity to speak with Captain Gladys about the OMNI fleet.

Athrun boarded the Minerva while the deputy captain was handling things outside. He'd seen Captain Gladys had already gone back onto the Minerva. With the deputy captain taking care of things outside, the captain should be free for a bit by what Athrun figured. The sooner he had the needed conversation about the OMNI fleet the better in Athrun's mind. He may not have all the answers to the questions that the captain would ask, but he had enough information to give a warning. There was still time to gather and figure out more details about the enemy fleet before the Minerva encountered it. Athrun was more than willing to do more research into the enemy fleet to help plan a counter offensive against the OMNI force. With that in mind, Athrun dropped his suitcase by the quarters he had been assigned while on the Minerva before heading to the captain's quarters.

At the same time, Talia had boarded the Minerva so she could go over things while the ship's resupply was being finished up. Arthur was looking over the repairs which had been done to make sure they were up to standard. Aves was working on storing supplies being given to the Minerva by the Federation. Much of what the Minerva was receiving was not mobile suit parts but other necessary things that were used regularly. Chief Aves was also having his mechanics work on doing the minor repairs which the ship's mobile suits needed. From what Arthur had told her, Aves said the repairs would be finished in the next few hours. That would have all of the mobile suits the Minerva had ready should a need come up before the ship reached Carpentaria.

As far as Talia was aware, there shouldn't be any combat for the Minerva before it traveled to and reached Carpentaria. The most current intel from the PLANTs' Intelligence Division said the route from Shira to Carpentaria should be clear. Yet, there was the chance that the Minerva could encounter Alliance forces along the way to the base. The Alliance did control the southern half of the African continent and the United States of South America so had influence in the waters in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. But the Federation had the most influence through what was the Philippine Sea since the old Indonesian Islands which were part of the Federation's Equatorial Union. But territory hadn't meant much to the Alliance and its OMNI as of late reflected by their actions. Thus, Talia preferred to have the Minerva prepared for the worst-case scenario should it come up unlikely as it was.

Nevertheless, Talia was brought out of her thoughts when a knock came at her door. She looked up as Arthur was busy with looking over the repairs and the other pilots should be heading back to their quarters. There wasn't anyone that Talia could think of which would have a reason to talk to her right now. That had her curious who it could be and why they would be coming to speak to her. "Enter," Talia called. The door opened and to Talia's slight surprise,
Athrun came in. Talia couldn't say what Athrun was doing coming to her. After the conversation when he'd introduced himself and gave her the letter from Gilbert, she hadn't expected to see the young man for a time. "Athrun," Talia began, "What brings you here?"

Athrun entered the captain's quarters, still organizing his thoughts with the subject he had come to talk about. He was here to give the warning about the OMNI fleet ahead, which ZAFT intel may not know about yet. But he didn't doubt that Captain Gladys would want to know the source which Athrun had obtained the information from. However, it was better that the woman does not know the source and just take the data as it was given. It would complicate things less for ZAFT and the Minerva in the near future for the source to remain nameless. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything captain," Athrun started. "But I have something I wanted to talk to you about as soon as possible. I don't doubt you will understand the reason a little way into the conversation we will have."

Talia was both curious and a tad concerned about what the "conversation" Athrun wanted could involve. It was nice that he didn't want to interrupt or mess with things Talia was working on. Not all FAITH agents were courteous enough to try and not cause issue with those they worked with from what Talia had heard. However, there were two things which stuck out to Talia with what Athrun said which weren't encouraging to her. That the young man had something he wanted to talk to her about as soon as possible was rarely a good thing. And for him to say she would understand shortly into the conversation was an additional sign of some type of bad news. So, Talia sighed, "Can I assume whatever it is you want to talk about is bad news of some sort," she asked. "The Minerva seems to get more than its fair share of such things since it came into service."

Athrun could understand not wanting bad news, he could certainly sympathize with the response. But it wasn't as bad of news the ship had been getting from what Athrun had read about the Minerva's exploits. Sure, that there was an enemy fleet ahead of them who would block their progress wasn't helpful or nice. However, there was still time for plans to be made to make the most of the situation the ship would face, which the Minerva hadn't been getting much. Still, Athrun nodded sadly, "It can be seen as bad news of a sort, but not as horrible as you may imagine." Talia gestured for Athrun to take the chair in front of her desk, which he did before continuing. "What I have come to talk about is more a warning which comes from something I was told about recently."

Talia wasn't getting nice feelings with what Athrun said. A warning may not be bad news directly, but it usually wasn't nice to receive. And honestly, Talia was getting a nagging feeling the warning would mean the Minerva wouldn't get an easy journey to Carpentaria in some way. Then the way Athrun had worded that he had been told about whatever he was bringing to her had Talia kind of suspicious of the potential source. "What is the warning you have to give," Talia questioned. "It is apparently of enough interest you saw fit to bring it to me as quickly as you could which make me think waving it off right away would be unwise."

Athrun could see the indirect doubt of the data he had or rather its source. He didn't blame Captain Gladys for doubting a warning from an unnamed source. But Athrun had the utmost confidence in Tyler's information being as accurate as possible so he wouldn't doubt it. Yet, Athrun knew Tyler and was aware that his friend tended to check data he gave out before handing it to others. That came from past experience which Captain Gladys didn't have nor would she be aware of the source. "The source is reliable, of that I am sure," Athrun stated. "However, it is best that you do not ask or insist for more information as to who the source is and I will explain that as I can."

Talia gestured for Athrun to go on, now all the more curious as to what the warning could be about. Athrun took a moment to figure out how to deliver the warning about the OMNI fleet in a way to get across what the Minerva would face. He didn't have as much data as he would like about the fleet, at least not yet. Athrun planned to look into the fleet more as he could given a bit more time to do so. And Athrun had ways of getting data from not just the PLANTs' Intelligence Division but some from the Federation too. It was the Federation source that he couldn't necessarily say he had outright as others would likely rely upon such if they knew. "It is my understanding that the Minerva will be heading for Carpentaria via the Eastern Equa Shipping lane using the Ceram eastern passage," Athrun stated, "Is that correct?"

Talia nodded still not seeing what Athrun could be implying with the "warning" he had mentioned. The international Eastern Equa Shipping Lane was used by ZAFT ships that were coming from the northwest. Those from the west used the Sunda lane which passed islands that were a part of the Equatorial Union so the Federation made sure the shipping lane was maintained. Athrun continued after she nodded, "Then my warning is a valid one. The information I was given says there will be an OMNI fleet ahead which will block the Minerva's path. I doubt it is just the Minerva they would stop, but our path just has us likely crossing paths with them."

The mention of an enemy fleet waiting for the Minerva ahead wasn't pleasant to Talia. There had been a chance of such happening, but Talia had hoped the Minerva would luck out this time. Yet, the Minerva hadn't had much good luck when it came to encounters with OMNI. So, of course, the Minerva wouldn't have that changing in the near future as much as Talia wished it would. But with the warning, it brought the question as to the source Athrun could have for this information. Talia believed what Athrun said was true, for it sounded right unfortunately. However, Athrun had asked for the source to remain anonymous for one reason or another and Talia would honor that for the time being. "I see," Talia remarked. "That isn't what I wanted to hear, but that wouldn't be the most surprising either with the record the Minerva has been making."

With an OMNI fleet ahead, that meant there was work that needed to be done. The warning was helpful as it gave time for the Minerva to plan for the fleet and how to counter it. However, any plan would need more data to make it more effective at dealing with the enemy force. Athrun hadn't mentioned details about the fleet yet. Talia hoped he had some as the Minerva could use whatever advantage it could get. The fleet would likely outnumber and have more power to work with than the Minerva had to utilize. Things like the general location of the fleet and its make-up would certainly be a good place for any plan to start. But the question was if Athrun's source had given that kind of detail if they had it which Talia couldn't be sure of. "Did this anonymous source of yours give you details about the fleet when they told you about it," Talia inquired. "That would certainly be helpful on planning ways to counter the said fleet."

Athrun wished he had details about the fleet he could give to Captain Gladys. However, Tyler hadn't given many with the warning he'd delivered to Athrun. And the details that Tyler did give were concerning which he would be working with to help plan the counteroffensive. Athrun was more than willing to do research to find out more and have better estimations to work with for planning the counter for the enemy fleet. "My source did give me a few, but not as much as I would like to help plan a counteroffensive sorry to say," Athrun replied. "I am willing to do some research and see what else I can find out. Or at the very least, get enough data to make educated guesses to work with to have a plan for the Minerva to work with. However, I wanted to bring this up with you, so the Minerva at least knew what was ahead of it."

While Talia didn't like the point that an OMNI fleet was ahead of the Minerva and would have to be dealt with before the ship reached Carpentaria, that wasn't point. Dealing with the OMNI fleet would be a task and being forewarned was better than to come upon it without knowing it. One with Athrun's battlefield experience would be very helpful for the planning of the counteroffensive the Minerva would need to make. He would also be the field team leader, so he needed to be in on the planning anyways. Talia gritted her teeth, "Well, I do appreciate that you are bringing up the point, even if I wish it wasn't relevant," she returned. "I feel the need to question the source you got this data from."

Athrun figured that Captain Gladys would be doubtful of the source that gave the information about the OMNI fleet to Athrun. If it wasn't from Tyler, then Athrun would be a tad doubtful even if it was from the Federation. Not that Athrun didn't doubt findings of the Federation as some did, for he had come to have a general understanding of how incredible their Information Network. It just seemed too convenient and coincidental that an OMNI fleet was in the intended path the Minerva was planning to take. The point was a haunting reminder of what had been happening in the shadows during the Alliance-PLANT War. Those like Creuset had made the war far worse than it should have been. And there were some signs that there could be some like that at work currently. There was no proof of the suspicion, but the signs seemed too similar to not have something potential be the same.

However, the issue with revealing the source that Athrun had was how that could be seen by others. If Captain Gladys were not to say anything nor reveal the source, then it wouldn't be such an issue. Yet, from what Athrun had read, the woman tended to be fairly thorough with her reports. That meant Captain Gladys would more than likely record Athrun's source were he to tell who it was. And it wasn't that Athrun felt ZAFT would be careless with the information, but all it would take was one mistake or careless action. Were the Alliance to find out that the Minerva was warned about the OMNI fleet they had set in its path, they would not be silent. They would raise a stink which could've been avoided by just not revealing the source. Without an official source, the Alliance would assume that ZAFT intel had found out about the trap somehow. So, Athrun sighed, "I understand your wish to know the source," Athrun started. "However, it is best that is not revealed at this time if at all." Athrun paused for a moment, "Correct me should I be wrong, but you would record the source were I to tell you its identity."

Talia was curious why Athrun was specifically not giving information which could help in knowing about the source he had. She saw no concern with recording down a source of information, especially one that helped ZAFT avoid problematic situations or make them less messy. However, there was something about the source which Athrun felt was better to be anonymous. "That is ZAFT policy," Talia responded. "What do you see as an issue with that in this instance? That is the point that I can't figure out in this."

Athrun didn't answer right away as it was partly his opinion, but also the logic he shared with Tyler. The Alliance's behavior hadn't been the best since the Alliance-PLANT War, but since the current year had started, it had been getting worse. The smallest thing would seemingly set them off and have them blaming others for what they were dealing with. It didn't matter that they used lies to get such to happen, their media spread their narratives. Athrun didn't want to help them in any way to do such things and use their lies to justify the horrors they committed. Athrun exhaled heavily, "While I get the policy and why it exists, the Alliance's behavior as of this year suggests there needs to be changes with how that is done." Athrun stopped for a moment ordering his thoughts before continuing, "The Alliance is set off much easier than they used to be if that hasn't been made clear. They will use essentially anything they can to play the victim card and justify their actions. That is why it is best my source isn't identified and recorded."

Talia thought for a moment at what Athrun was saying and implying about this source of his. From what she could figure, the source wasn't from ZAFT, which left either the Alliance or the Federation. Talia doubted the source was from the Alliance, for as Athrun said, the faction's behavior was getting worse these days. That left the likely source being from the Federation which should be fine. But by what Athrun said, there was the possibility that the Alliance may use such to blame the Federation for helping ZAFT. ZAFT policy should make sure that source identities weren't spread around, but accidents did happen. Talia didn't want to believe the Alliance had come to the point that they would sink so low that they would use the smallest things to make accusations. Talia frowned and her gaze fell, "Has the Alliance truly sunk so low that they look for the smallest things to justify their actions?"

From the things Athrun had seen both from the Federation and ZAFT, things had become as Captain Gladys stated. The Alliance had lost what credibility it had gotten back from putting aside differences and helping against the nuclear threat there had been at the end of the Alliance-PLANT War. The Federation had more data on what was really expected from the Alliance in the current year. But ZAFT was also seeing some of the signs that the Alliance had pushed for the war that was going on. "Unfortunately," Athrun began, "It does seem that is so. And that is why it is better that this source is not identified or recorded on ZAFT records. It shouldn't happen, but there is a chance that the Alliance could find out and then use it to accuse others of helping ZAFT and more. I trust the source and know they tend to check their info before giving what they have. So, I'm confident that there is an OMNI fleet ahead of us. I will do research to find out more so a plan can be made to counter them before they come into range, I assure you."

Talia didn't exactly like not knowing the source of the information that the Minerva would be depending on. However, it sounded like that was the best they would have, and she would accept that even if begrudgingly so. If Athrun did the research he said he would and found more, then she would be less apprehensive about the whole situation. Talia trusted that Athrun would do his utmost to get more information for them. His battlefield experience would also help in the planning of the counteroffensive. So, if Athrun insisted that the source remain anonymous, then Talia would just say it came to them unexpectedly. "Very well," Talia remarked, "I will not insist on the source's identity in this and defer to you as to the reason why." Talia paused for a moment, "In regards to your research, please do it in a timely manner. Prioritize narrowing down where the fleet likely is and what its make up could be. Those are facts we really need to plan a proper counterattack against such."

Athrun had already figured that location and general enemy force make up were important facts to have more data on. Tyler hadn't had that info when he'd told Athrun about the fleet, but that could've changed by this point. But the research that Athrun would do needed to be unsupervised as he would be going to some places that ZAFT would ask too many questions about. Athrun wanted to keep his connection with the Federation to himself so others wouldn't insist on using it for their own interests. But he nodded to Captain Gladys and said he would be as efficient as possible in his research. Then Athrun left the room and headed to his own quarters to get to the task.

It was a little over an hour before the Minerva was ready to leave the port and set out for Carpentaria. All the needed repairs that had resulted from the operation in the Gulnahan Ravine for the ship had been completed. The resupply had essentially filled the needed stores that the Minerva depended on while out in the field. There was no issue with Shira's port authority for the Minerva to leave the dock it was in. The dock was flooded and the Minerva set out from Shira traveling along the main international shipping lane. Talia had made sure the ship's course was to have the Minerva enter the Philippine shipping lane heading for the Ceram Eastern Passage. From there the Minerva would proceed to ZAFT's Carpentaria base in the Oceania Union per standing orders.

Athrun heard the announcement of the Minerva heading out from Shira. He was already in his quarters doing research about the enemy fleet ahead. Athrun was already working to narrow down where the OMNI fleet would likely be waiting for the Minerva. He knew there would be certain points that OMNI had to take into account for where they were positioned. That was so because of their proximity to Federation territory as they had gotten quick and strong responses since their attack on Asgard. The Alliance didn't like the Federation stepping in more as they had, but they at least had figured out prodding the Federation needlessly wasn't a smart idea. So, the enemy fleet would have to not be in Federation territory and far enough from such to not clearly be not asking for serious trouble.

Athrun brought up maps of the Northeastern part of the Indonesian Sea. It contained the Eastern Equa Shipping Lane which was maintained normally by forces from the Equatorial Union. It allowed passage from the southeastern part of the Asian continent to the Oceanic Union. The shipping lane was an international path which none of the factions could claim official ownership of. The commercial traffic was protected by international laws which none of the factions could violate without solid consequences. It was a passage that ZAFT used often enough for forces to travel from Gibraltar and the North African Community to the Oceanic Union.

Athrun doubted the OMNI fleet would be around the Cream passage as that was in Federation territory. That left the shipping lane up to a distance from the islands that framed the entrance to the Cream passage. As Athrun studied the shipping lane, his eyes kept going back to a general area of it which was in the southern stretch of the lane. The area was between the southern part of what had been called the Philippine Islands and Palau before the Reconstruction War. That section of the shipping lane was close to ideal for the OMNI fleet to be around. There was space to be outside of the direct shipping lane but close enough to "step in" when ships came by. Plus, it was far enough away from Federation territory that they couldn't be accused of toeing the line.

The more Athrun stared at the map of that area, the surer he became that OMNI would position their blockade there. He decided to make the educated assumption that the fleet would be where he figured it would be and moved forward. Athrun then put in a request to the PLANTs' Intelligence Division for a current image of the coordinates he sent them. He assumed that it would take time for an image to be obtained and sent to him. Athrun would work on other things while he waited for an image to come to him to prove he was right or not.

With the general position of the enemy fleet was positioned done, Athrun moved onto the next major point he needed more data on. It was safe to assume that the OMNI fleet would be using some sort of blockade formation. That was to get vessels approaching to slow and stop so the OMNI fleet could do what they saw fit. With a blockade formation in mind, the fleet would have to be large enough to support such but small enough not to stick out and bring shipping traffic to a complete halt. Should the Alliance bring international shipping to a stop, they would be called out for it and then force would be used to break up the blockade. The Alliance would be aware of that so they would keep the fleet not too large but not too small either. Those points would help predict the general size of the enemy fleet.

Athrun brought up known formations that OMNI currently used for their seaborne fleets. He looked over the recorded formation trying to determine which was the most likely the opposing fleet would use in this instance. While battle required fighting forces to adapt and change their strategy to a given situation, blockades were a bit more straightforward in how they operated normally. Blockades were intended to regulate and control the main path of travel to a destination and stop those who they didn't want to get there. They weren't intended to deal with a complex situation that came to them which they weren't equipped to handle effectively. Thus, Athrun assumed the enemy fleet would be organized in a way which would stretch them across the shipping lane instead of on a focused path.

He took a few minutes to glance over OMNI's known blockade formation which ZAFT had on file. Yet, none of them quite fit what Athrun felt for the path the Minerva was taking to get to Carpentaria. The Alliance knew this shipping lane was used by ZAFT forces that came from the north and northeast. They would have some sort of formation that could deploy quickly and be like a net to stop incoming vessels. That would take into account that ZAFT subs didn't travel alone but in groups as they sailed along. And nothing that ZAFT had on record quite fit those requirements in Athrun's view. He sighed as he knew he would need to go to the "other" source of information to help in this. That source was Tyler and Athrun felt his friend would get him data that would help even if it wasn't all of what he could access.

With that in mind, Athrun set up an outgoing non-audio communication channel that was secure and not something others would be watching as he used it. Once that was done, Athrun sent Tyler his request for the data he really hoped to work with to help the Minerva. Athrun turned to looking into what the enemy fleet's makeup would be while he waited for Tyler's response to his request. It was around five minutes later when Athrun heard a signal saying he had just received a reply from Tyler. He opened the channel to see what Tyler had sent him for his request. Athrun was pleased to see Tyler had provided what blockade formations OMNI used that the Federation knew of. He made a reminder for himself to thank Tyler for the help he was providing and likely would provide in the future for him.

Athrun opened the file set that Tyler had sent him and found as he'd suspected more formations OMNI used than what ZAFT files had. The Federation tended to do a more thorough job of documenting things than the other two factions. It may seem overkill to most, but it usually paid off and Athrun wouldn't question that with what he was seeing. ZAFT had around twelve different formations OMNI used for blockades, the Federation had thirty different ones. That was one of the things that showed the difference between factions and why the Federation was a faction to be reckoned with. Athrun ignored the twelve formations he'd seen in the ZAFT files and moved onto glancing over the others. He felt that there would be one that would catch his eye and would feel like the right one. And it was within the first ten that Athrun found what he was looking for and hoped Tyler could get for him.

The formation was a "variation" of one ZAFT had but was different enough that the previous hadn't felt like it fit to Athrun. It had three lines or rather two loose lines the ships would move into to meet the approaching ship(s). The front line was a collection of five three-ship arrow formation in a row side-by-side. The back line was where larger ships and those which supported them were a short distance behind the front line. The formation overall was a sound one for the purpose of a general blockade, Athrun would admit. The front line would pound the approaching ships while the back line would send out mobile suits to speed that alone. Athrun didn't doubt some of the front line and support ships had equipment to counter subs too.

However, the formation wasn't without its vulnerabilities and points where it could be pushed through. In fact, the files that Tyler had provided included those with it which Athrun was grateful for. Half of the vulnerabilities were what Athrun would expect of the formation. The space between the arrow formations was harder for the enemy fleet to cover without putting allies in the line of fire. Then there was just a smaller ship which was more likely a support ship or a small combat ship which the Minerva could easily take on. That was logical to Athrun, and he figured that would likely be the case. Yet, the file even iterated OMNI tended to put ships with less experienced crews on the edges of the front-line formations than in the center. That was data which would be taken into account for the counteroffensive planning meeting which Athrun would be in soon enough.

While the information the file listed on the ships and their formations, it wasn't as set in stone that such would work with enemy mobile suits involved. Athrun had assumed that would be the case and was going to figure out something different but happened to scroll down further in the file. The Federation had apparently already had experience with this type of circumstance with their encounters with OMNI this year. The notes said that the space between the arrow formations on the front line were still vulnerable due to the possibility of friendly fire. Apparently, OMNI told their pilots to watch it and not take risks when that was coming into place as Athrun wouldn't have expected. That was great info to be aware of as that would really play into the place of countering the fleet.

The issue with using what he got from the file for Athrun was it happened to be a Federation file. If that point came up in the meeting, then he would be questioned how he got his hands on the file. Athrun would have to pass the data off as him taking a ZAFT file and just making educated guesses. That wasn't impossible for him, he could manage to do that. It was convincing the Minerva's commanding officers his guesses were solid enough to use in the planning which would be kind of difficult. It was more the deputy captain that Athrun saw the issue with as Captain Gladys seemed to accept Athrun had knowledge which he couldn't say where he got it from. But as a member of FAITH, Athrun could use the privileges that came with to have them not ask too many questions about the data and how it was acquired.

There was still one point that Athrun had nagging at him about this fleet. It was the "special equipment" that Tyler had mentioned when he brought up his warning. The fleet having more mobile suits than the Minerva was expected and could be dealt with using tactics. However, having a "wrench" thrown in with a mystery mobile suit or armor complicated things. With the report that Athrun had read about the operation the Minerva had been in before coming to Shira, Athrun was inclined to say the equipment was a mobile armor. It seemed that the Alliance's development of deflection technology was progressing as rumors had suggested. However, it was being used with mobile armors only by what Athrun was gathering. That could mean that the equipment wasn't usable by mobile suits just yet, which was a reasonable assumption. The power such systems would use wouldn't be small Athrun imagined. The Federation's developments according to Tyler were still a good amount ahead of what the Alliance was using. Yet, the Federation had its issues with power consumption during the development of deflection technology.

Athrun brought up video records for the enemy mobile armor which the Minerva had encountered in the Eurasian Federation. What he viewed wasn't encouraging to Athrun, but about what he expected with what he'd heard thus far. It was a view into the Alliance's development of deflection technology. That they could intercept a positron beam from the Minerva's blaster cannon was concerning. He wondered if there was a limit to the deflection system the mobile armor used. Athrun figured there was since the Alliance wasn't inclined to think about or deal with "flaws" their equipment had. He didn't doubt the Federation was looking into that point, but he couldn't say if they had found credible data to use yet.

Should the special equipment be a mobile armor, it could be the same model. However, Athrun doubted that if it was a mobile armor, it would be the same model as this would be a battle over sea. With that in mind, if there was going to be a new model mobile armor in the battle, there were other factors to take into account. It would need the ability to fly over the water which wouldn't be a surprise if OMNI had developed that idea. But the arsenal it could have was a concern to Athrun. Depending on a mobile armor's size, its arsenal could be problematic to deal with and avoid. And the Alliance had a knack for giving large mobile weapons nasty weapons to use as they could put in larger power storage devices onboard. The potential mobile armor was the more dangerous machine ahead than the Alliance's Windams which would be deployed.

The battle ahead would be one of tactics over brute force, that much was clear to Athrun. The Alliance could fight smart and wear down the Minerva and its mobile suits to push for an advantage to win. So, the Minerva would need to press forward and not let itself be stopped and let enemy forces wear them down. The Minerva would need to go on the offensive more than the defensive to break through the blockade and reach Carpentaria. It couldn't depend on any allied reinforcement from Carpentaria, they wouldn't be able to reach them before the Minerva would be worn down and sunk. Athrun had to admit he may have to use his "SEED mode" in this battle. Tyler had explained the idea and why it was called SEED factor. It had explained the signs Athrun had seen with Kira at times and why he suddenly became a super pilot. Tyler had said something about more individualist qualities coming out later on, but that hadn't made a great deal of sense to Athrun. He would keep his SEED mode as an option if things got desperate for the Minerva.

Over the next two hours, Athrun began putting together a rough plan which he could present to the captain and deputy. There would be the general plan and then some more specific points that he would need to bring up for them. The enemy fleet formation would be simple enough to bring up. Showing the exploit, he would suggest using to get through the blockade would also be straightforward. The mobile suits and the probable mobile armor would be where the plan would start getting complicated. Athrun did have a fair idea of how to pass off how and where he acquired the data he was using. He also had a loose plan for the Minerva's mobile suits to work with against the enemy machines before the end of the two hours. The image he requested did come to Athrun's terminal as he was starting to consolidate the data. When he looked at the image, he found he had been absolutely right on the fleet's position. Athrun put his findings and suggestions on a data pad before he reached out to the captain and said he'd completed his research and was ready to share his findings with her and the deputy.

The Minerva left the general waters that were a part of Shira and had headed to the open sea. It had been going along for two hours or so without anything of note coming up. Talia was still concerned with what Athrun had brought up about an enemy fleet ahead of them. They could be anywhere along the way to Carpentaria as far as she was concerned right now. She hoped that Athrun could narrow down where the OMNI forces would likely be so they could plan ahead before meeting them. Talia had faith that Athrun was doing what research he could and would show results given some time. But with the two hours that had gone by, she was getting a tad worried the Minerva would encounter the enemy fleet before Athrun was done.

However, Talia was brought out of her thoughts when a beeping came from her captain's phone. Talia picked it up and asked who it was calling the bridge. She was relieved to hear Athrun's voice and him saying he'd finished his research and was ready to show his findings. Talia told Athrun to report to the briefing room and wait for Arthur and her to come down to hear what he had found. She put the phone back in its cradle before turning to Meyrin, "Meyrin, contact Aila and have her report to the bridge please," Talia ordered. "And tell her to be quick about it if you would."

Meyrin nodded, doing what she was told, not asking the questions that were coming to her mind. She reached out to Aila and told her that the captain wanted her on the bridge as soon as possible. It was minutes later that Aila appeared on the bridge. Aila faced Talia and saluted, "I was told you wanted to see me, captain?"

Talia trusted that Aila could manage the running of the Minerva while she and Arthur went to see and hear what Athrun had found. She felt the meeting wouldn't be the shortest as it would also serve as a general planning meeting too. If it were just to hear Athrun's research, then Talia would've just gone herself and had Arthur run things. But with the planning of a counteroffensive likely to be done, Arthur should be involved in it as well. So, Talia nodded, "I need you to take command here for a time. Arthur and I have a meeting to get to."

Arthur blinked and turned to look at Talia, feeling he'd not quite heard right. There was no meeting that he'd been told about which was taking place today. However, he had noticed something had been bugging the captain since leaving Shira. Arthur hadn't been able to figure out what could be concerning the captain. The Minerva had clear sailing ahead all the way to Carpentaria from the last reports that Arthur had seen. So, either that had or was changing and he'd heard nothing about it, or there was something else going on. "A meeting, ma'am," Arthur questioned. "What are you talking about?"

Talia didn't want the crew to know about the enemy fleet ahead of them quite yet. She wanted more information before she explained the situation to the ship as a whole. Arthur, as good a commanding officer as he was, didn't do subtlety well at all, she'd found. "I will explain along the way, Arthur," Talia replied. "Aila can manage things while we are in the meeting. Now, let's go. This will be important, so it is best that we don't delay."

Aila took the captain's chair wondering what kind of "meeting" the two could be going to. The two left the bridge as Aila was asking for status from all stations. Everything was fine as to be expected so far. The Minerva had a nine-hour journey ahead of it if nothing came up which would delay it. However, Aila was getting a nagging feeling that it wouldn't be the smooth sailing that most were saying it would be to Carpentaria. That Talia and Arthur were going to a meeting at this time didn't bode well in Aila's mind. It further suggested that something was up but being kept quiet from the crew for the moment. Aila hadn't seen Athrun either since the Minerva headed out from Shira which had her curious. The unsaid implications wouldn't leave Aila's mind even though she was just hoping she was being paranoid.

Talia had begun striding down the corridor toward the deck lift with Arthur in tow. Arthur was asking questions even when Talia wasn't answering them. She didn't want the crew to just get pieces of information and then spread rumors and gossip. When she reached the lift Talia gestured for Arthur to get in so they could descend to the deck with the briefing room. Once the lift doors closed, Talia faced Arthur, "While I can appreciate you questions and wish to know more, Arthur," Talia remarked. "I would ask you to keep that in check for the time being. The meeting we are going to is with Athrun."

Arthur blinked at being told they were about to meet with the Minerva's newest pilot. He hadn't had the time to meet and introduce himself the Mr. Zala yet, Arthur had just been busy with the Minerva. Arthur had been meaning to find the young man and do introductions. The Minerva was lucky to get another Gundam, Arthur wouldn't dispute that. However, the pilot it had come with was more valuable in Arthur's mind than the machine. Athrun Zala was a war hero from the Alliance-PLANT War, he had fought on the front lines. He had battlefield experience that most didn't, and it was with Gundams and the Archangel. But that didn't explain what this meeting was going to be about. "I have been meaning to introduce myself to our newest pilot," Arthur admitted. "But what is this meeting about?"

Talia really wanted Arthur to be involved in the planning of a counterattack against the OMNI fleet ahead. He really should be included in the process so he would be aware of the plans for dealing with what was going to come against them. But Arthur wasn't the best listener all the time Talia had found and that could be frustrating. She needed him to listen rather than ask for more information right now. Athrun could hopefully give more data on what the Minerva would be facing soon enough. "Arthur, I know you want to know what is going on, I can sympathize with that," Talia remarked. "But the subject of the meeting is to be kept to yourself until I say otherwise. I don't want rumors and gossip spreading around the ship right now. I will give an explanation to the crew when we know more and can state facts rather than just wild guesses." The lift opened and the two exited, turning to the left and began heading to the briefing room.

At the same time, Athrun was in the briefing room, loading the data on the main screen so he could show it when he needed to the Minerva's officers. While he had met the captain, Athrun hadn't met the deputy captain as of yet. Still Athrun was confident in his findings about the enemy fleet that was ahead of the Minerva. The data he had would support the views he had and show his findings were sound. He also felt the general plan he had an outline of would be a good place to start and go from for the counterattack that would need to be planned. As long as the two didn't ask too much where he got some of the data, this presentation would go fine. Captain Gladys had seemed to understand that the source he'd gotten info from was better left unidentified. However, Athrun could say with the Minerva's deputy captain whether it would be the same or different.

This wouldn't be the first presentation Athrun had given to others while doing service in ZAFT. With the research he'd done, the presentation should be as good as it could be as far as Athrun could foresee. The subject wasn't going to be a pleasant one with it being about the looming OMNI fleet. Athrun had organized his data in the categories he had looked into so he could show the captain and deputy what he'd found. Unless OMNI had something hidden with this blockade fleet, the Minerva should be okay with the general plan he had drawn up. And the image that Athrun had gotten back from the PLANTs' Intelligence Division had matched the formation file Tyler had given him. Thus, there shouldn't be anything, but the Alliance wasn't above doing something unexpected and dirty, so it was a possibility they could do that in this.

Athrun was finishing up having the data he had ready on the main display when the door to the room slid open. He turned and saw that the captain coming in with the deputy right behind her. Athrun shut off the display as the two came into the briefing room and bowed to them, "Thank you for coming captain," Athrun greeted. "And thank you for giving me the time to do the research for this meeting. My findings will show it will be worth the two hours you have given me for what we are going to be facing." Athrun focused on the deputy and inclined his head, "I don't think we've been properly introduced. My name is Athrun Zala, only recently assigned to the Minerva."

Arthur had heard and read things about Athrun Zala, he was a war hero after all. He didn't seem like any of those that had an ego which was nice. Athrun seemed to be more "down-to-Earth" kind of individual which Arthur wasn't against. And one with his experience from the battlefield would be most welcome with what the Minerva had faced thus far. So, Arthur returned the greeting, "I'm the Minerva's deputy captain, Arthur Trine. I am sorry that we haven't introduced but getting the Minerva ready to head out has been taking priority."

While the introduction was all well and good, this meeting was for planning the counteroffensive against the OMNI ahead of them. Time was of the essence, more so depending on where Athrun had determined where the enemy fleet was located. His research could help in the planning and give the ship a real chance of getting past the OMNI fleet set to block them from getting to Carpentaria. "Introductions aside," Talia stated, turning to Athrun, "Athrun, I hope your research has been fruitful. With what you told me, we need to figure out and plan for what is ahead of us."

Arthur blinked at what Talia had just said. It implied there was something ahead which he didn't know about yet. The captain had implied the meeting was about something which was to be kept from the crew for the moment. That point had concerned Arthur as it suggested there was something worrisome ahead which wasn't being mentioned. And the way that Talia spoke of it made Arthur think whatever was being referred to was not going to be a good thing at all for the Minerva. "Plan," Arthur questioned, "what for?"

Athrun looked to Captain Gladys as it sounded like she hadn't informed the Minerva's deputy captain of the looming situation. He assumed that the captain didn't want the crew at large to know about the OMNI fleet ahead of them just yet. Athrun would agree with the sentiment as telling the crew of the situation which they didn't have solid facts on was unwise. Rumor and gossip weren't normally good things to let run free if it could be helped. This meeting would establish some facts which the captain and the deputy could work with in informing the crew at a later point. "I will get to that if you and the captain would take a seat Deputy Trine," Athrun remarked. He waited for Talia and Arthur to take seats before he continued. "As I told you before Talia, I have done the research I said I would and have come up with findings we can work with." Athrun input commands on the console which had the main display light up. The display still had the data he had set to it those the things in the forefront were the most visible.

Arthur stared for a long moment at what had come up on the main display. From what he could see, the data looked to be on an OMNI force, but that was all he could really tell. Why Athrun was showing data on OMNI was somewhat confusing. The Minerva didn't have a current assignment to deal with an OMNI force. The ship was to head for Carpentaria to get work done and receive an assignment. Several questions were coming to Arthur's mind, but he couldn't form a reasonable one as he continued to stare at the display. He glanced at Talia wanting to know more about what he was seeing, "Uh captain," Arthur began, "What are we seeing?"

Athrun was to report his findings and in doing so, he would answer an amount of Arthur's questions he wouldn't doubt. It wasn't Athrun's business why she hadn't told her deputy about the OMNI fleet ahead. He was just giving the data he had dug up and the general plan he had put together to deal with the force. "With my research into the OMNI fleet ahead of us, I have been able to narrow down and even confirm its location and overall formation. From that, I can make educated guesses as to its makeup and compliment that it will most likely have to work with. The data I have gathered and complied allowed me to make a rough general plan that can be used to counter the enemy fleet. It is hoped that in this meeting I can answer what questions you have and fine tune the plan for a counteroffensive."

Talia had been relieved when Athrun had reached out and told her his research had born some fruit. At hearing him detail what those fruits were, she was less worried about the enemy fleet which loomed ahead of the Minerva. That didn't mean Talia wasn't concerned about what the OMNI fleet could do to the Minerva before they were passed. The Alliance hadn't been the type to let ZAFT get past them without a fight, more so in the current year than previously. But it sounded like Athrun's time researching the point had been well spent and she would take that. So, she gestured at Athrun, "Then please tell us what you've found, Athrun," Talia replied. "The more we can know, the better we can be prepared for what will be sent our way."

Athrun nodded before he put in a command to bring up the map of the shipping lane which the Minerva was traveling on. "While I was narrowing down the potential location of the OMNI fleet, I was considering what factors would play into their thinking," Athrun began. "The Equa passage the Minerva is traveling down does get close to Federation territory in several places and the Cream passage is directly in such. And with the Alliance's recent issues with the Federation, they have shown they are trying to avoid direct confrontation for the time being. Thus, they will want to avoid being too close to Federation territory while doing their blockade." Athrun had the display highlight a couple of areas which were close to Federation territory, "That makes the highlighted areas unlikely for the enemy fleet to position themselves."

Athrun had the display of the map zoom in on the area he had determined the OMNI fleet would be waiting for the Minerva along with any other ZAFT vessel. "The area displayed is where I determined the enemy fleet would be positioned to avoid direct confrontation with the Federation," Athrun stated. He pointed out the islands which were in the area, "On the west side is islands which are a part of the Equatorial Union. The small island on the east side is recorded to be uninhabited. The area is an ideal location for the OMNI fleet to set itself as it provides them to be outside the international shipping lane. However, it is close enough for the fleet to move into position to block ships traveling in the lane if they choose to. The position also allows the Alliance to do their blockade enough and not be accused of halting traffic in an international shipping lane by others."

Talia had to admit that Athrun's reasoning and logic were solidly sound that she couldn't really argue it. The points he had brought up about why the area was ideal for an enemy position were very good. Besides the Federation point, the ability the location gave OMNI to block traffic was indeed ideal, especially as ZAFT vessels were known to use the shipping lane in question. Then with Athrun saying the Alliance was avoiding direct confrontation with the Federation made sense to her. After what they had done attacking Asgard, the Federation hadn't been letting the Alliance to get away with much. They hadn't gotten away with a great deal before, but it was even less now with attacking Federation territory. But Athrun had stated he had confirmed the enemy fleet's location, meaning it wasn't guess work anymore. So, Talia assumed he had acquired proof which confirmed the data he was showing. "What proof do you have to say this is fact, Athrun," Talia inquired. "You said you had confirmed the fleet's location, not just guessed where it was."

Athrun brought up the image that he had been sent from the PLANTs' Intelligence Division. Both Talia and Arthur blinked a bit as they stared at the image Athrun had brought up. It was the first time they had seen it and didn't match what ZAFT intel had given them for their journey to Carpentaria. "I got this image from the PLANTs' Intelligence Division after putting in a request with them," Athrun remarked. "And as you can see, it does confirm the OMNI fleet is where I said it would be. It also gives us a rough view of the fleet's makeup which I will get to in a moment." Athrun paused bringing up the file he had on the data pad and had it come to the front on the display. "Let's discuss the formation the fleet will likely be using when we get close enough for them to know we're coming. As you can see with the file I have brought up, this is the formation I suspect OMNI will be using."

The information thus far had been confusing Arthur even if he didn't let that show. That there was an OMNI fleet ahead of the Minerva in its path was worrisome. And the image certainly did show that was fact so there was no reason to question the point anymore. Sure, Arthur had heard from Talia that Mr. Zala was a member of FAITH, so he had privileges that others didn't. He wouldn't be surprised if that included asking other departments for things like the image they were looking at. But the formation of an enemy fleet shouldn't make a great deal of difference when it came to combat. They tended to change quickly during battle, so a fleet's formation wasn't normally a factor in plans. "Okay, so there is an enemy fleet ahead of us," Athrun iterated trying to wrap his head around what information he was getting. "But what would fleet formation matter in this?"

Athrun knew that usually fleet formation wasn't taken into account or thought about after a battle started. However, the fight up ahead was a tad different with the enemy fleet having the purpose of being a blockade. A regular fighting force would be larger and not need to be concerned about formation during battle. This enemy fleet's purpose was not to actively fight, more stop and block specific ships from proceeding. "If this was a regular fighting force, I would be asking the same thing," Athrun returned. "However, this OMNI fleet's purpose is not fighting directly, but to put up a blockade. When it comes to blockades, they do rely on formations to halt those coming at them and not let them move forward. That is why a blockade fleet can and tends to be smaller than a normal fighting force."

Athrun pointed at the file on fleet formation he had on the display, "This file fits what is seen in the image the best as I can figure," he continued. "The formation is made up of two basic lines, which has one in front and the other behind the first. I've studied the image and have come to the conclusion for the fleet's makeup. I'll start with the rear line first as that is where the enemy fleet will have its mobile suit carriers. From the image, it appears to have four Spengler-class carriers and five smaller support ships with them. I would guess those support ships are likely OMNI's Fraser classes or something similar." Athrun pointed at the front line of the formation which was on the file. "The front line has five arrow formation which make the line up. Those will have the fleet's battleships which are to pound approaching ships as needed. I would say that line will have OMNI's Des Moines and Arkansas classes. And while I can confirm the point, I wouldn't doubt some of those ships have equipment to counter subs."

Talia would applaud Athrun for what his research had found. The data he had presented would be very helpful in planning the counterattack against this OMNI fleet. It was more than Talia had been expecting and even more than she'd been hoping for from Athrun. The location and the image from the PLANTs' Intelligence Division alone were great. Talia hadn't expected the details on the fleet's formation and its general makeup. That would help just as much as the location of the fleet when it came to the planning. It also explained a rumor that Talia had heard that some Vosgulov subs had disappeared recently north of Carpentaria. But Talia had the feeling that Athrun had more data to go over which she wasn't against listening to. "The data you've provided thus far is extremely helpful," Talia stated, "But please continue on what you have."

Athrun did want to give more, but the vulnerabilities of the formation came from the Federation file. He didn't want it said that he was using a Federation source as that would be questioned and wished to be used by others. He ended out gesturing back at the file he had displayed, "As I told you before, Captain Gladys," Athrun continued. "Most of the information I'm working with is from ZAFT, but I have gotten an amount of it from an unidentified source which I want to remain anonymous."

Arthur didn't quite understand what Athrun was implying with what he'd just said. He'd assumed that Athrun had been getting data from ZAFT intelligence as the Minerva or any other vessel in ZAFT did. But what Athrun said implied that may not be the case which had Arthur curious. Rumor said that Mr. Zala had been living around the Federation while he'd been away from ZAFT. If that were true, then he could have knowledge the Federation did which would be a serious advantage. Yet, Athrun hadn't given any identifying fact which could say if the source he mentioned was with the Federation. "An unidentified source," Arthur questioned. "Where did this source come from, and can you even trust it?"

Athrun would not get into having Tyler as a source when he felt the need to ask his friend to help. There were too many potential issues which would come if he a ZAFT soldier was known to have a Federation source. It was far better than Tyler remain an unidentified source and not be defined further. There would be those that would try and insist, but Athrun's answer wouldn't be changing. Athrun had told Captain Gladys it was better to have the source not be identified and recorded. He'd even said the reason why that was better it was that way with how the Alliance was these days. "I trust the source," Athrun stated. "I will say no more about the subject. Captain Gladys had been given an explanation as to why it is better that it is the case."

Athrun turned back to the display with the formation file still on it. "As I was about to say," Athrun iterated. "The fleet formation isn't without its weaknesses and vulnerabilities that can be used against it." He pointed out the spots that had been noted as weak points which could be broken through. "The space between the outer arrows and the ones next to them are places that can be broken through. From what data I was able to gather, OMNI had a habit of putting less expert crews on the edges of the formation. The other point which I found of interest is the fact that OMNI instructs its ships and mobile weapons to avoid friendly fire. So, once between the arrow formations, the enemy ships will be more careful with attacks. It should be the same with enemy mobile suits that will be out on the field."

Talia had said she wouldn't ask further questions about Athrun's unnamed source, and she would stick to that. However, she couldn't help but wonder if the said source was in the Federation. Some of the data was stuff that she would expect the Federation to know rather than ZAFT. Talia wouldn't refuse to use that kind of data and just not ask where it was coming from. Athrun had stated he was sure of the source's credibility and Talia would trust him at his word. The Minerva was going into a situation where it would be at a disadvantage. Talia would take what she could to level out that battlefield for the Minerva regardless of where it would come from. And she was starting to see a rough potential plan the Minerva could use to get past the OMNI blockade.

Athrun paused for a moment as the next part of the data he had was the one he couldn't confirm with fact. It was also the more dangerous point the Minerva would likely be facing when going against the enemy fleet. He assumed that the OMNI force had a mobile armor with it, but he couldn't be a hundred percent sure. But that fit the type of response that Athrun was coming to expect from OMNI and the Alliance. They were trying to pump out machines with deflection systems so they could employ such on the battlefield. It was a fair counter to beams, even positron blaster cannons from what videos he'd seen. "There was one other thing which I found that had my attention and concerned me," Athrun said. "Information stated that the fleet has some sort of "special equipment" with it."

The pause had gotten Talia's attention and had a feeling of concern come to her. But the mention of special equipment had that concern morph into worry. Special equipment could refer to several different things, most of which weren't nice to deal with. Talia hoped that Athrun had something which could say what the special equipment could be. If that could be identified, then it could be planned for more effectively. "Special equipment you say Athrun," Talia posed. "I hope you have more about that. The Alliance has been rather good at springing nasty surprises on ZAFT lately which haven't always ended well. I would rather not go in blind if that can be helped. I'll even take educated guesses if that's all you got."

Athrun wished he had solid facts to give about what the enemy fleet could have ready. But even Tyler and through him the Federation hadn't been able to find out yet. So, all he had was his educated guess of it being a mobile armor of some sort. And the video the Minerva had with the mobile armor it had encountered hadn't been encouraging. Should the special equipment be a mobile armor, the potential arsenal was worrisome in Athrun's mind. It wouldn't likely be the same model that the Minerva had come across before. Athrun shrugged, "I wish I had facts, but all I have are educated guesses as to what the special equipment could be. My guess is it is some kind of mobile armor. That seems to me to be the most likely type of equipment we would encounter with the fleet ahead. And I say that mostly as the Alliance seems to favor using their newly developed deflection technology. Mobile armors are the mobile weapon which can have a large enough power storage device to handle such systems."

It wasn't that Talia didn't believe what Athrun was saying about a mobile armor, she felt he was likely right. It was the second point he brought up which she wasn't pleased about. The mobile armor which had been encountered in the Gulnahan Ravine had been able to block the Minerva's positron cannon. Talia had reported that to the higher-ups and the response said they hadn't seen that from the Alliance before that. If the Alliance had been developing deflection technology, then they would use it which would be a problem. The Federation had already been developing such things, but the Alliance doing it was far more worrisome. And if the mobile armor ahead was the same or anything like the model the Minerva had encountered, it would be a serious issue. "I'm inclined to agree with you with the special equipment likely being a mobile armor," Talia commented. "Your logic would fit what the Alliance has been doing as of late."

Athrun was glad that Talia seemed to be on the same page as him. It would make the planning part of this meeting much smoother. He glanced over at Arthur to find the man appeared to be thinking at the moment. Athrun didn't want to only have the captain onboard with the data he'd given them. It was best that both were on the same page before the planning portion started. "Did you have any questions, sir," Athrun asked Arthur. "Or did you need clarification on anything I've presented? I would like you both to be on the same page before giving you the rough plan I have put together. The discussion that will ensue would be best if we are all in agreement with what data has been put forth."

The data overall which had been presented in this meeting made general sense to Arthur. There was an enemy fleet ahead of them and they knew where it was located thanks to Athrun's data. Then Athrun's explanation about the enemy fleet and its use of the stated formation made enough sense for Arthur to get the point. Arthur still wasn't entirely comfortable with some of the data coming from an unidentified source. However, if Captain Gladys was okay with it, then Arthur wouldn't bring it up and accept the point. The problem Arthur had with the presentation was the mention of a mobile armor. There had been facts to confirm the stuff before had made things easier to understand. Yet, there had been no facts that Arthur had heard when it came to the mobile armor. "For the mobile armor," Arthur started, "are there no solid facts we have to work with?"

Athrun wished there was data about the point, but he didn't have anything. His educated guess about the special equipment being a mobile armor was more assuming Alliance behavior. Yet, Athrun felt it was important to mention the special equipment and that he thought it was probably a mobile armor. Even if the equipment wasn't a mobile armor, that the OMNI fleet ahead had something out of the ordinary was an issue. Thus, Athrun shook his head, "I'm afraid I don't have any solid facts about this. I wish I did and could give such," Athrun returned. "But I felt it would be best to mention the special equipment and what I suspect it would be for this planning meeting."

Talia saw Arthur wanted more information and more facts that would make things cut and dry. She would prefer that to be the case for this, but it was clear that wouldn't happen in everything. That they had the data which Athrun had brought them was more than they would've had to work with had Athrun not done his research. They knew enough to plan a fair counterattack and path forward to get to Carpentaria. The three of them could move forward and begin to plan how the Minerva would break through this enemy fleet and proceed to Carpentaria. "And the thought is appreciated, Athrun," Talia remarked. "So, let's move on to planning the response the Minerva will go with to get through this fleet and to Carpentaria."

Athrun laid out his general plan of how the Minerva could do as Talia had stated. His idea was to break through the weak point on either side of the fleet's formation and rush between two of the Spengler classes and race onward. The Minerva's mobile suits would have the non-Gundams defend the ship and make a path forward. The Gundams would keep enemy forces back while looking out for the mobile armor. When the mobile armor or whatever the special equipment was appeared on the field, the Gundams would dispatch it. The plan overall was simple yet solid enough it could work for the Minerva to get past the OMNI blockade. Athrun was confident the plan could work and could adapt to things that could come up during the battle.

Talia wasn't against the plan Athrun had laid out for the Minerva to go against the enemy force ahead. The fight ahead was one where tactics were needed more than brute force to get through the enemy fleet. She knew the Minerva would be at a disadvantage if it tried to just blast through the OMNI forces in their path. The ship would be outnumbered with the Alliance having more vessels and mobile suits. There was no real chance to get help from allies that were at Carpentaria which was the closest base. Forces from Carpentaria would not be able to reach the Minerva in time before things with the OMNI fleet could go bad. Were the Minerva to go with brute force, the ship would be hard-pressed to not be sunk in the end. The OMNI force would likely know the Minerva could be overwhelmed if it was brought to a halt and enough enemy forces were sent against it. Thus, the Minerva had to press forward and not stop when it came against the enemy blockade. An offensive strategy would be required rather than a defensive one in this.

Arthur was also onboard with the plan that Athrun put forth to use. There was some fine tuning to do with it but overall, it seemed like a plan which could be successful. He and Talia agreed to break through the west side of the blockade formation. The way that Athrun suggested the mobile suits be deployed and utilized was sound and reasonable. And as he would be the team lead for those on the field, it was up to him how they would operate with out there. Thus, Arthur was more than willing to defer to Athrun for field operations with his experience. But getting past the formation's front line was just the first part. Depending on the space between the lines, the Minerva may have to deal with enemy mobile suits while closing on the rear line. The image provided by Athrun didn't say the space between the two lines.

It was around forty-five minutes before the meeting between the three came to a close. Talia was pleased that a plan had been made and agreed upon for the Minerva to use against the enemy fleet ahead of them. Athrun had assured Talia that he would give a rundown to the rest of the Minerva's mobile suit pilots. His presentation had shown Talia that Athrun could get a subject across to a group well enough if not great. So, Talia wasn't worried about Athrun's explanation to the other pilots he would do later. The Minerva had around five hours before it would start to come into detection range of the enemy fleet. She had told Athrun to do more detailed planning with the other pilots in a timely manner before the Minerva came into detection range of the OMNI force.

Talia and Arthur headed back to the bridge while Athrun remained in the briefing room. He was deciding how to present the plan discussed to the other pilots the Minerva had. Athrun would need to introduce himself to the younger pilots as he hadn't done that officially yet. Then he would need to give them the general facts as were known of the situation ahead of the Minerva. Explaining the plan wasn't the concern that Athrun had about the field planning meeting/briefing. No, it was potentially finding out the temperament of one or more of the Minerva's pilots would cause conflict.

Athrun was of the mind that one should put personal issues aside when combat came around. Should that not happen, it could and tended to cause problems for the individual and those around them. A good example had been Yzak in Athrun's mind. Yzak was better now but he had been a serious pain in the butt to work with. Yzak had argued about almost everything that he didn't like or felt was going to go the way it should. Athrun seriously hoped that there were none like Yzak had been during the Alliance-PLANT War on the Minerva. That would make things complicated and require specific handling that Athrun wasn't fond of. He would do such if that was required, but that rarely ended well or quickly for either side.

A/n

And that's where I'll leave off for this Phase. As it should be clear by now, this event of the Minerva heading out from Shira to Carpentaria with be more than one part, likely two by the end. I state again, that I try to keep phases 30k words or less so I don't have readers say things are too long and the like. Where I left off was the best place to split the event, I wish there was a better reason but it's the truth. Now onto the highlights and explanations I do at the end of each Phase.

The first scene, in which Tyler is hosting Athrun's group after what happened the night before, there are a few things to point out. So, the chase of Tyler running from Sakura should be expected, and of course Tyler won this one. In the original, Tyler leaves for a time, but I didn't see that serving a purpose any longer. This won't be the last time that Sakura and Tyler have their moment. As you readers should know by now, this is an ongoing gag of sorts. I am aware some of you don't like this gag, but it does play a part for things down the road in the story. So, whether you enjoy reading about these events or not, they are going to keep coming up every once and a while. Athrun's comment about Sakura is to remind you readers that her reputation that she has earned back in ZAFT hasn't gone away. Remember, Sakura is seen as a cold calculating individual that is unyielding and stubborn as can be. The way she is around Tyler is completely different than her reputation, that's why it is so unbelievable.

Let's move onto to the others in Athrun's group and what comes up for them in this scene. Aila is up first, woken up by the sounds from the chase going on. She does get the story that Matt came up with, which is explained later. Aila then goes and see what all the noise is about which had her up like I would think most of us would do in her position. Remember, Aila has no idea Sakura is there, and yes, Aila knows who Sakura is to ZAFT though not on a personal level, but that comes up later. Aila is smart and doesn't ask for details about what she was seeing. She didn't see the chase, just the results of it after Sakura left.

Now onto the teens and what they get to deal with from dinner the previous night. For those who have dealt with hangovers, you can feel free to correct me in my descriptions about what it feels like. I've never had a hangover since I don't drink alcohol, so I'm going off what I've heard from others in this. But I do feel sorry for the three teens, waking up in a place they don't know with pounding headaches, it would be disconcerting. Yet, the morning after getting drunk isn't supposed to be nice or easy. The drug is helping cut down the magnitude of the hangover, which I really do wish existed in the real world. It is much the same for the boys as it is for Lunamaria.

The next scene is of course, the "ride" Tyler gives all but Aila to the dock where the Minerva is. Now, for those that read the original, you knew what was coming with this scene, but the additional pieces made it better if you ask me. Athrun knew what was coming, he's experienced Tyler's drifting hobby already. But I also wanted to have the teens talking about the car model, so Shinn's dad is a car enthusiast and told Shinn about the Lamborghini model car. Tyler does give a "warning" to his passengers, which Athrun understands it for what it is, but the teens don't. Let me touch on the "equipment" that Tyler has in the dashboard which I talk about. Yes, as many of you readers may have guessed, it is a system which tells Tyler were the on-duty law-enforcement are. Tyler also uses his special "skills" which has him in SOLAS to know how to get around the equipment law enforcement uses. That is Tyler's way to not have issues with those from law enforcement and they not have to deal with him. Yes, I know that such wouldn't fly in the real world, but this isn't the world as we know it.

Moving to when the ride changes from smooth to nail biting. I don't know if you readers have been in a car when someone is driving it like they are racing, I've watched cars driving as if they were. So, I believe what I described is accurate for what those in Tyler's car went through. Athrun knew what was coming from the drive to the dock to the drifting that followed, it wasn't his first time. The teens on the other hand, had no idea what they were in for and so were take off-guard. Shinn liked the ride as you may have picked up upon, while Luna hated it entirely. But let me highlight the two examples of reactions to Tyler's hobby which I mention in this phase. Let me start with Cagalli as she is the closest to what Luna does. Tyler admits that Cagalli's response to his hobby was not good. Cagalli did scream the whole drift when she was "treated" to the idea. Then she screamed/yelled at Tyler afterwards and telling him about how horrible his hobby is and to never do that to her again. Lacus's reaction wasn't all that better than Cagalli's though Lacus didn't scream during the ride. Instead, Tyler got lectured by her which showed Tyler his friend could be as "good" as his mom when it came to doing uncomfortable lectures.

The next scene with Arthur and Talia meeting up with the group is where I will go next. Remember Matt gave a story to cover Aila and the teens not coming back to the Minerva. Talia will learn the truth at a later time. It is also in this scene that Arthur and the pilots learn Tyler is one of the war heroes they had heard about. Tyler may not see himself as a legend, but others see him that way with his efforts during the war. Tyler does wish the Minerva luck before he leaves, and that is a change. I felt that it was better for Athrun to tell Talia about what was ahead of the Minerva rather than Tyler. It gives Athrun a chance to show he can help the Minerva as its newest pilot among other things.

Let's move to the planning meeting which is the last scene in this phase. Athrun is a fair tactician if that isn't becoming clear in this phase. He lays out the general plan the Minerva will use in the fight which is ahead. This battle is based mostly off canon's ep 12 when the Minerva is leaving Orb for Carpentaria. That's where I got the formations and other things which will go into this and the next Phase. The plan is straightforward as it can be with the facts as they are for the Minerva. So, I will leave it at that and it will be seen more in the next phase.

In conclusion, sorry this phase took so long, school and work have been taking up time which I would love to write with. Please, some of you take the time to write reviews and tell me what you think of the phase and story as it is. You can ask questions or offer ideas, I do read the reviews I assure you. Until the next Phase, peace out!