Phase-03: Pursuit

Shinn was having a difficult time dealing with the enemy's multi-angled attacks. Even though it was only one mobile armor, the pilot was so skilled and proficient at using the gunbarrels that fighting him was even more arduous than fighting those three stolen machines. However, Rey, whose presence was sensed by the MA operator, quickly arrived to shield his comrade from a beam.

"What are you doing?! If you fly absent-mindedly, you're no better than a target! This enemy's not like the others!" The blonde teen rebuked the Impulse's pilot.

What? What is this? Roanoke wondered. What had been this strange and yet familiar feeling he had had when that white ZAKU had approached? He targeted the newcomer who maneuvered and shot down one of his weapons pod.

"No air leaks. FCS contact. Minerva, all stations satisfactory." Trine reported. The captain ordered them to hurry and find the enemy location and asked them about the Impulse and ZAKU.

"One unidentified ship at Indigo 53, Mark 22, Bravo. Distance 150." Burt Heim, the other communication operator mainly responsible for enemy detection, informed. Gilbert Durandal inferred it must be the mother ship.

"Log the vessel in the database. From now on, we'll refer to it as Bogey One." The captain instructed. Meyrin had located the Impulse and ZAKU at 157, Mark 80, Alpha. They appeared to be involved in a battle! And she couldn't contact them due to the heavy radio interference. There was only one enemy... a mobile armor!

Rey was doing quite well and had yet to take a hit from the Exus' twin beam guns and beam blades, which annoyed the EA commander. Asuka took out his beam saber and flew over but he was kept at bay by two gunbarrels. One shot even grazed his unit's left ankle.

"We'll attack Bogey One!" Gladys declared. "Lower the bridge, course, Indigo, Delta, accelerate 20%, prepare to fire signal flares and anti-beam depth charges!" The upper section of the bridge descended into the dark and more heavily protected combat center. "Arthur, what are you doing?!" She scolded her second-in-command who still hadn't moved. He apologized and hurried down to his post where he sat down.

"Load launcher eight, number 1 through 4 with Neidhardt! Activate "Tristan" 1 and 2, activate "Isolde"! Target Bogey One!" Arthur yelled his instructions. The two XM47 "Tristan" dual beam cannons mounted above the two standard linear catapults allowed them to cover the launching of mobile suits. The powerful M10 "Isolde" 42cm triple cannon, rose from its hidden position under a shutter in front of the Impulse catapult. The Chairman wanted to know why they were not going to rescue the mobile suits, wasn't it their priority? Talia explained that was exactly why they were attacking the mother ship. In this situation, the quickest way to save them was to push the enemy away.

"Heat source approaching! Possibly a battleship! Classification unknown! Red 53, Mark 80, Delta!" A man reported on the bridge of the Girty Lue. The image of the Minerva appeared on their monitor.

"Must be that new model of theirs." Captain Ian Lee deduced. "15 to starboard, accelerate 30%! Activate Igelstellungs! Where's the Exus?"

The Exus was still fighting Za Burrel, and they seemed to be quite well matched... until Rey shot another gunbarrel and the EA pilot detected the arrival of that new vessel. He instantly grasped the situation... 'try to take too much and you can lose everything'... and acted in consequence. He went back. The Minerva shot the retreat signal flare. Shinn was against it (even though he was sweating and breathing hard)... but as composed as ever, Rey pointed out it was an order.

"Neidhardt, fire!" Trine shouted, and the space missiles zoomed towards Bogey One that did an evasive maneuver and fired the underside CIWS guns Igelstellung. They detonated the four missiles but the last one exploded all too close and the Girty Lue rocked, scaring Stella who was still weeping and holding herself. The two boys didn't look well either but it was different... like the fuel that drove them was gone and they were running on fumes right before completely shutting down. Gladys ordered to aim at the engines. The second wave of missiles was also shot down. The very second Roanoke half landed half crashed in the Girty Lue's hangar, he yelled at Lee to withdraw. The vessel accelerated. The retreat was reported in the Minerva, direction Yellow 71, Alpha. As the Impulse and ZAKU were returning, the captain told Meyrin to make them hurry. The ship was going to follow and crush Bogey One, course heading Yellow, Alpha.

Seren was sitting on a stool as a nurse was bandaging her head. She was petting Chacha on her lap but from her deep frown, her mind was definitely elsewhere; though when she noticed Athrun and Cagalli worriedly gazing at her, she put on a reassuring smile. And then she spotted the female pilot staring suspiciously at Athrun.

The ZAFT ship fired its "Tristan" beam cannons. Roanoke returned to bridge and apologized for having played for too long. The CIC operator reported the approach of the enemy ship, Blue zero, distance 110. The captain Lee noted it seemed to be an awfully fast vessel. This could be trouble. More Neidhardt missiles sped towards them. He shouted to evade hard to port. The projectiles were shot down once more but still far too close to the ship.

"Detach extra propellant tanks from both sides and detonate them!" The masked commander bellowed. "No need to separate the arms! Let them have a taste of that! In the same time, raise bow 35, turn 10 to port! Maximum thrust!"

Shinn and Rey came out of their mobile suits. The dark-haired boy remarked the presence of a damaged ZAKU. It was... the same one that had saved him? Why?

The arms holding the additional fuel tanks disconnected and drifted towards the LHM-BB01 Minerva.

"Bogey One has detached a section of its hull!" Burt notified. Durandal and Gladys took a closer look at the monitor.

"Stop firing! 10 to starboard! Maximum thrust!" The woman yelled, guessing the contents of those tanks and what would happen if their own fire hit those things so close. But it was too late. The arms collided with the vessel and the tanks exploded. There was a blinding light, Meyrin screamed, gritting their teeth, the others braced themselves, the ship shook. Everyone inside staggered and wondered what was happening. Rey called the bridge and asked what was going on but as he got no answer, he clicked his tongue and left. Shinn swore and returned to his gundam. "Bart! What's the enemy ship's position?!" Gladys questioned urgently. But the outside still hadn't cleared enough for him to detect anything. "Activate CIWS! Fire anti-beam depth charges! They'll be firing at us next." She warned. However, her reading of the situation proved wrong when Bart told her the enemy was located at Red 88, Mark 6, Charlie, distance 500. Bogey One had chosen to use this chance to make a break for it instead of attacking. Rey entered the bridge and was surprised to find the Chairman who smiled at him.

"Seems to be one tough unit we're facing." Durandal commented when Talia grumbled about the opponent using such a strong-arm tactic to escape.

"All the more reason why we must not let them get away. If such a team gained the use of those machines..." Needless to say how detrimental that could be. The chairman agreed. "At this point it's too late to have you disembark, and I believe it is best that we continue our pursuit of that ship. What is your opinion on this, Mr. Chairman?"

"Don't worry about me, captain. Judging from that firepower, it scares me to think of the level of attacks we'd be subject to later if we let them go. Right now, our top priority is to capture them or destroy them." He comforted her. She thanked him.

"Then this ship will resume its pursuit of Bogey One. Course Yellow Alpha! Engines to maximum!" She ordered upon confirmation that they could still trace them. The vessel accelerated.

"Attention, all hands. This ship is commencing pursuit of Bogey One. Due to a sudden change in circumstances this has become our maiden voyage, but the ship will be on a very important mission. All hands, this is your opportunity to show what progress you've made during the daily training sessions." Arthur's declaration was broadcast in the entire ship. Then according to the captain's orders, the bridge was raised and the alert level was lowered to Condition Yellow, although that was only until they entered a combat situation. Talia advised the Chairman to use the captain's quarters to get some rest. The Minerva prided itself on its speed but the enemy vessel was also fast. She couldn't imagine something happening right away. She asked Rey to show him to his quarters. Durandal had just stood up when they received a communication from Lunamaria.

"Due to the battle, I was delayed in informing you about the situation. During take off, we found three civilians in the hangar aboard a ZAKU. We detained them and found that one is Representative Cagalli Yula Athha, another is ambassadress Seren Elvira Ledford, both of the Orb Union. The other claims to be their attendant. They requested medical attention and a meeting with Chairman Durandal." The female pilot reported. Both Talia and Gilbert were surprised to hear those girls were on this ship. "I acted on my own and arranged for the necessary medical care and they are currently resting in the officers' quarters." Luna added.

In the Girty Lue, the maintenance staff was fixing the Chaos, Gaia and Abyss and retrieving their data while the three pilots were sleeping soundlessly in some sort of egg or cocoon that regularly emitted a pulsing light, like a beating heart, and on the round glass lid a fractal light was moving. Roanoke-taisa, once more dressed in his dark EA uniform, joined captain Lee on the bridge. Their mission had been a success. There were still two hours until they reached Point B.

"Do you think they will come after us?" Lee questioned.

"I don't know. I don't know, so we should assume they will, and continue along our planned route." His superior replied. "We should always assume the worst, right? Especially on the battlefield."

"How about their recovery?"

"They appear to be fine. They're sleeping like babies. However, I'm a little concerned that Auel used the block word on Stella. That could be problematic." Roanoke remarked. Those cocoons served to remove all potentially dangerous elements from the minds of the pilots, like memories that would arouse feelings that would impede their mission. It was like giving them a clean slate. However, even when sleeping in her cocoon, tears were still beading at the corner of Stella's eyes. That showed just how traumatizing Auel's words had been to her.

"Pilots that need to be returned to the cradle whenever something happens... Does the lab really believe they can be of use to us?"

"Still, they're a lot better than the previous group, don't you think? They fully understand what we tell them and the work they're given." He argued. They were different from those three in the first war who just got excited and went on a rampage. It was clear that the captain still wasn't entirely sold though. "It can't be helped. We're still in the trial stages in many regards... this ship, the mobile suits, the pilots... and the world. The day will eventually come when everything begins in the true sense... under our name." He smiled.

"What are you doing?! You've field stripped ZAKUs a number of times in the training program! Just do exactly as you learned!" Madd Aves, the Minerva MS technical staff team leader scolded his subordinates. Though despite their chatting, it didn't concern Vino and Youlan who were properly doing their work on Lunamaria's ZAKU. Vino still couldn't believe they'd be in actual battle. How did it come to this so suddenly anyway? He was also worried this would lead them straight to another war, although he would try to hide his anxiousness with a light-hearted tone. Yolan shared his sentiment. Shinn who was passing by and drinking from a gourd heard them and frowned. His eyes fell again on that damaged ZAKU that was being repaired too and recalled how it had saved him from the Abyss.

"I don't have the words to express my regret for involving you in this unfortunate situation. However, Princess, please understand our position." Chairman Durandal apologized to Chief Representative Athha. They were sitting at a small table. Ambassadress Ledford was sitting next to her superior (Chacha was curled in one of her pockets) and her escort, Alex Dino was dutifully standing at her side just like Gladys-kanchou was standing behind the Chairman... and staring suspiciously at Alex.

"Don't you know anything about that enemy unit yet?" Cagalli interrogated. Gladys frowned at the aggressive tone the blonde stateswoman was employing.

"Ah well... I guess not. We still have no information... not even on their carrier. However, that's all the more reason why we must take control of the situation as soon as possible. Before it becomes too late." The PLANTs' leader replied.

"Yes, I understand. That's obvious, Mr. Chairman. Right now, we must do everything we can to avoid upsetting the fragile state of our world! No matter what." Athha agreed. She looked desperate. Durandal thanked her for her understanding. He turned to Athrun who averted his eyes, and smiled good-heartedly at Seren who was fixing him rather accusingly. Well, what she wanted to say was written over her face. Although she was holding it in for now because it wasn't the time, certainly he would have to address it very soon. And to appease them, he offered to give them a tour of the ship while there was still time. Talia tried to protest but was silenced.

"Although it's temporary, we are asking them to put their lives in our hands. I believe this is the least our nation can do for our allies in good faith." He looked at the captain meaningfully.

Some time later, Gladys-kanchou returned to her post and looked down in deep thought. In the Girty Lue, Roanoke was reviewing the data on his three newly acquired units with a smile. Stella finally opened her tear-filled eyes. Since Auel had used her block word, her 'maintenance' had taken up more time and her two comrades had already left their cradle. And Lunamaria had joined Shinn in the hangar of the Minerva and was telling him about the latest news...

"Athha and Ledford of Orb?" Asuka exclaimed. Luna had been surprised too when she had heard the names. What were the odds of meeting the heroes of a major war here? But then she noticed his pouting expression as he glared at the damaged green ZAKU and asked about it. "Ah, it's nothing. This machine hadn't been assigned to the Minerva so I was just curious to know who was piloting it."

"Actually, it seems that it was their escort piloting it. He said his name's Alex, but... he could be Athrun." She leant closer to him for confidentiality. "That's what the Representative called him, in the heat of the moment! She called him 'Athrun'. And given how the ambassadress sighed and scolded her, I think it's most probably true. Athrun Zala... it's rumored that he lives in Orb now, right?" She added. 'Athrun... Zala...' Shinn repeated the name thoughtfully.

"But this ship has certainly gotten itself involved in something incredible." The Chairman commented as Rey was giving him and the Orb civilians a tour of the ship. Soldiers saluted as they passed. "To have to fight in an actual battle the day before its own launching ceremony..." They took a lift to the mobile suits deck. That surprised Athrun. Even if Orb and ZAFT were allies, to actually disclose military matters... "Think of this section as the core of the ship. Of course, I'm not at liberty to tell you how many the ship can hold but the ship is not currently loaded to its capacity." The door opened and they came out onto the walkway. The Orb citizens gaped. They were next to a white ZAKU. They could see the regular green ZAKU on which they had come, and a red ZAKU Warrior. Luna was in the open cockpit and speaking with Shinn who was just outside. Youlan was with them too, typing on a laptop. They all raised their heads when the public servants appeared. "I'm sure you already know of the ZGMF-1000, the ZAKU. It's currently the main machine of ZAFT. And then there's the Impulse that utilizes that special launching system, one of the main features of the Minerva." That launching system looked like a gigantic scaffold with a module on each level. "I understand you had a chance to see it at the factory. Apparently, according to the scientists, this is an absolutely new, highly efficient mobile suit system. Although I'm not too knowledgeable about the technical side of things." He glanced sideways at the blonde girl who didn't look too well. "But I take it that the princess does not like this much."

"You seem awfully happy about this, Mr. Chairman." Cagalli noted. Shinn floated down.

"It's not necessarily that I'm happy about it. The thing is, for everyone to work earnestly, starting from that chaos, to come this far to gain this much power..."

"Power... you said that power is necessary because there will always be conflict, Mr. Chairman."

"Yes."

"Then how do you explain what happened here?! The damage suffered by your nation because of the theft of just those three new model mobile suits!" In anger and indignation, the young head of the Orb country raised her voice that echoed in the hangar and drew the attention of all those present.

"Representative!" Alex whispered warningly.

"Please forgive our brusqueness, Mr. Chairman. But I believe we can safely say that it was the very existence of those new models that caused this incident. Had they not been here, this would have never happened. You spoke of a new highly efficient system, but isn't this essentially in order to slaughter people en masse more efficiently? You desired new power. You desired greater power, you created it. This is the consequence of that. And because those were stolen, you will create greater machines to counter them, and so will the others. A wheel that has started spinning won't stop until it's toppled. All I can see... is history repeating itself." Seren's low voice was deceptively calm. Her words, her tone... they couldn't be stronger, colder, heavier, more trenchant.

"But you, yourself, were a most accomplished mobile suit pilot, and you contributed so much in the previous war. You had many occasions to drop your weapons, but you always returned to the battlefield. You must be more keenly aware than many... about the necessity to have power... more than the others... otherwise, you cannot enforce your will. You seem to now view it as something evil, but in the end, power is just power, it all depends on who wields it, isn't that why you became the pilot of the Independence? It was because you took up arms, because you obtained a greater strength and kept fighting... and won... that this peace we're enjoying came to be, am I right?" Durandal argued. And again, he was entirely right. And Seren remembered... when she had received that discharge paper after the Archangel had joined up with the 8th Fleet... when the Le Creuset Team had cornered her and Kira in Orb and her father had offered to make her withdraw... when Kira and her had been in Lacus' care after that fated battle in the Marshall Islands... But...! She could also recall all those tears she had cried, all the pain she had gone through, all the suffering she had caused, Kira, Flay, Athrun... and destruction she had brought about... everyone on all sides had brought about... the escalating war, the escalating destructive power of the weapons... Heliopolis, Artemis, the 8th Fleet, Alaska, Panama, Orb, Boaz, GENESIS...

"Because I was a mobile suit pilot, I know... power only calls for more power... and weapons only spread hate and sorrow."

"So you're saying that there's reason enough not to have power?"

"Why are such things necessary in the first place?! In this time and day?! We made a pledge not to repeat the tragedies of the past! We were committed to following a path that we could proceed along hand in hand!" Cagalli bellowed. She knew just how much Seren had suffered as a mobile suit pilot... and Kira too... and Athrun...

"Well... however, Princess..."

"Idealism has always been a specialty of the Athhas, hasn't it?! And as I thought the Ledfords are just the Athhas' good little lackeys!" Shinn, who had been gritting his teeth and clenching his fists for a while with a wrathful expression finally burst out. Everyone turned to him. Vino yelled his name in surprise and Rey in a berating manner. Such insolence towards the head of a state! Asuka slowly turned to Cagalli his brownish red eyes seething with deep hate and rancor that overwhelmed her and left her speechless. But Seren faced him and his enmity without wavering. As a spokesperson, she had grown used to being confronted by others, but still, not like this. He had spoken so openly and brazenly despite the difference in ranks... On the opposite, it made her curious. Who was he? What had happened to him? In the bridge, Burt Heim caught Bogey One's signal, Orange 55, Mark 90, Alpha... just like they were detected by the Girty Lue at Yellow 50, Mark 82, Charlie, distance 8000.

"Located enemy vessel. Distance 8000. Condition Red announced! Pilots, standby in your machines." Meyrin's voice was heard through the speakers. Aves ordered his subalterns to hurry with the final checks. It was starting. Vino snapped out of it and complied. Rey who had left the Chairman's side, joined Shinn and grabbed him by the collar but the boy angrily broke free and floated to his unit. His blonde friend called after him.

"I'm very sorry, Chairman. He will be punished for his actions later!" Za Burrel apologized for his comrade's rudeness to the Chairman's guests and hurried to his own machine. Cagalli looked quite dejected.

"I'm terribly sorry, Princess, Miss Ledford. He's an immigrant from Orb so that was the last thing I expected from him." Gilbert also expressed his wonder and regrets. Cagalli and Seren were surprised to learn that child was from Orb. That was some serious hate in his eyes... or more than hate... resentment. The girls watched him. And Ledford was fixing him especially intently... resentment... and... a sense of betrayal? He... resented the Athhas because of their idealism... so he believed it was their fault that the Earth Alliance had attacked... and accused them of being unable to protect Orb... to protect... his family? That was the only thing she could think of to explain what she had seen in that boy's eyes. "His family died in the war. Despite, or perhaps because he hates war so strongly, he chose to enroll in ZAFT and become a mobile suit pilot. He chose to use his strength to shield us from the ravages of war. Without strength, you can't protect what you must protect. What do you think, Alex-kun?"

"Huh?" Alex's head suddenly snapped up. The Chairman had noticed his thoughtful and conflicted expression.

"Don't you think power is necessary to stop such tragedies from occurring again?"

"No... I..." The boy stammered, unsure.

"Sorry, the answer might not be obvious for the current 'you'... If and once that day comes though, I'd be happy to talk about it with the 'real' you... " Durandal apologized good-heartedly... the way he was phrasing things though... he definitely knew about Alex's identity... not only that, it sounded as though he had something in mind. Athrun clenched his fists.

"The problem is when people become drunk on their own power, when you can kill thousands just by pressing a button, when you don't see the faces, you lose your sense of guilt, your humanity... when they become so engrossed in protecting that they become possessed by their weapons and their feelings. Grief, hatred, sorrow, fear, revenge... they so completely consume your mind that you lose sight of the fact that the 'enemy' you're so set on killing are humans just like you... More than bolstering your armies which makes the people feel anxiety and hostility and lets them think you're preparing for war... we should do everything to appease them." Seren argued, trying to return the Chairman's attention to her and away from the troubled Athrun.

"They came after all." Ian Lee commented.

"Yes, well, it goes to show that ZAFT aren't a bunch of sleepyheads. We're going to crush them!" Roanoke asserted. "All hands to battle stations! Pilots are to proceed to the briefing room!"

"I don't expect the enemy to deliberately proceed into the debris, but this is a dangerous area to do battle in, just the same. Helm, we're counting on you." Gladys-kanchou warned. "We'll send Shinn and Lunamaria first. The crew's ready, aren't they?" She turned to Meyrin who confirmed.

"6500 to target!" A man reported. The Chairman and the three Orb envoys entered the bridge, surprising the captain.

"Is that alright, captain? I'd like to invite our guests from Orb to join us on the bridge." The PLANTs' leader requested, troubling Talia who stammered. "As you're well aware, the Representative took command of a battleship during the previous war and Ambassadress Ledford has experienced many battles from the first launching of the Archangel and become a super ace pilot and war hero. I also vouch for her insight and strategic skills... although I only had to suffer from it in chess. I'd like to have their perspective as they observe our combat methods." He smiled at Seren, who didn't look the slightest bit happy from the praise. Lip service. And being hailed as a war hero wasn't a source of pride for her. She'd much rather be a pillar supporting an era of peace. And it was the same for Cagalli. But then, Durandal also smiled at Athrun. Gladys agreed since it was the Chairman's request and he felt so strongly about it. He thanked her. And the four sat on the armchairs around the table when the map was usually displayed during briefings.

"Lower the bridge! Prepare for battle against a battleship and mobile suits!" Talia ordered. The three guests were surprised when the part of the bridge they were on descended into the ship.

The three EA pilots were also getting ready and donning their pilot suits. The boys had same type uniform but with differing color themes, blue for Auel and green for Sting. They guessed this sortie was about that ZAFT new model battleship and wondered if they were going to fight the combining bastard again. This time, they were going to make sure to either break him apart or capture him. Either way, they were gonna have some fun. They asked Stella her opinion. She just turned to them and stared at them cluelessly. She clearly hadn't listened at all. Her pilot suit was the same as them, only with a pink color instead of blue or green. The boys smiled at each other. It was just the same as usual. As the Girty Lue passed below a very large asteroid, mobile suits came out of its two catapults.

"Cast anchor! Cut engines after firing! Launch decoy!" The commander barked after the catapults had retracted and the latches closed. "Don't mess the timing." He smirked. The anchor was cast and planted in the underside of the asteroid. The bow rose sharply and the momentum caused the ship to circle the asteroid and ascend on the other side.

"Lunamaria Hawke, ZAKU Warrior, standby for launch. All systems online, commencing launching sequence." Meyrin announced as her big sister's unit was moved laterally along the line. A shutter closed and the red machine was placed on the catapult. "Impulse, standby for launch. Blast module selected. Silhouette hangar number three to be released. Platform setup is complete. Central catapult online. Opening airtight shutters. Core Splendor, all systems online. Commencing takeoff sequence. Hatch opened. Linear launch system engaged."

"Target, on our present course. Distance, 4700." Someone reported on the bridge of the Minerva.

"ZAKU, Impulse, take off!" Talia commanded. Cagalli was looking down, recalling that boy's hateful eyes and words "Idealism has always been a specialty of the Athhas, hasn't it?! And as I thought the Ledfords are the Athhas' good little lackeys!" He was an immigrant from Orb?

"Gunner ZAKU Warrior, catapult engaged." Meyrin said. The Gunner pack was fixed to the back of the red unit. Indeed, to deal with the restriction placed on mobile suit number by the Junius Treaty, ZAFT had designed the ZAKU Warrior with the ability to mount Wizard Packs to adapt to different combat roles. There were three main Wizard Packs, the Gunner Wizard (for long-range fire support), the Blaze Wizard (for high mobility combat), and the Slash Wizard (for close combat). But it could also mount packs which were only produced in limited numbers to grant the ZAKU series features for non-combat roles. Commanders and ace pilots were usually given the higher performance ZGMF-1001 ZAKU Phantom that was also Wizard Pack compatible. The Gunner ZAKU did not have the optional M68 "Cattus" 500mm Recoilless Rifle and was instead was equipped with the M1500 "Orthros" high-energy long-range beam cannon powerful enough to destroy a warship in one hit. However, it had a slow rate of fire and the recoil was also important. And the pack came with its own battery to charge the power-hungry Orthros.

"Lunamaria Hawke, ZAKU, taking off!" She closed her visor and sortied.

"Bogey One, huh? I wonder what that ship's real name is." The Chairman pondered. Alex and Seren turned to him.

"Impulse, you're next. Go ahead."

"Shinn Asuka, Core Splendor, taking off!" The Core Splendor launched too, followed by the other Flyers. It docked with the legs, the chest, and the Blast Silhouette pack for long range heavy assault, although it possessed additional thrusters that enable the Blast Impulse to hover over earth surfaces such as water and improve its overall mobility. When the Variable Phase-Shift armor activated, the shoulders and chest were black with a light green line. The feet and flanks were still blue. This pack's most powerful ranged weapons were two large M2000F "Kerberos" high-energy long-range beam cannons on the sides of the Blast Silhouette pack and are positioned underneath the MS's shoulders, with their trigger held in each hand when in use. It also featured the GMF39 Quadruple Missile Launcher, usually loaded with "Firefly" guided missiles. However, the missiles could not be used in the same time as the "Kerberos" cannons. The pack had two MMI-M16XE2 "Deluge" Hyper-Velocity Rail Cannons mounted at the top of the Blast Silhouette and positioned over the shoulders when in use. They fired solid projectiles via electromagnetic fields. And although designed for ranged combat, the pack contained two MA-M80 "Defiant" beam javelins, stored inside the "Kerberos" and that could be used for close-combat or thrown.

"The name of a thing is an indicator to its existence. Then what if that name is not real?" Chairman Durandal questioned as he turned to smile at Alex. The brown-haired girl fixed him intently. "If it's not real, would that mean its existence is not real either? I wonder... Alex... or rather... Athrun Zala-kun." He called to mind, and upset Athrun. Seren frowned.

Distorted purity. From within innocent eyes, a deep darkness guides. It is said that dreams are always accompanied by struggle. Is there a way to rise above this pain? What is it that we, that people have learned? Repeating mistakes, is the desire for strength the cause or consequence? Must we necessarily prepare for war if we wish for peace? We still haven't reached the place we had pictured in our mind. What we're pursuing... is a frighteningly frail and fleeting dream.