Author's note: Merry Christmas! Here's the 1st implement of my end-of-year mass release to celebrate!
Phase-16: Attack the Lohengrin
The hazards of geology had turned the whole region into a dry, rocky maze of canyons, but exceptionally few of them were big enough to permit the passage of land battleships. And only the ravine of Gulnahan could allow progression towards the Meditteranean Sea. It was truly a strategic place... not only as a pass, but also due to the power plant, hence the strategically positioned Lohengrin cannon that barred the way. And so, the day following the war meeting, the Lesseps-class land cruiser Desmond, commanded by Joachim Ruddle, and the Petrie-class escort land ship Bagley, followed by the LHM-BB01 Minerva, were sailing on a large river of sand. GAZuOOTs were standing like turret on the land cruisers. They were also accompanied by combat helicopters.
The TMF/S-3 GINN OCHER Type had been created for use in the desert and was colored in three shades of brown, light, medium and dark. OCHER stood for Operation Commando Hard Environment Reinforced. It was fitted with dustproof filters for its air intakes, flexible sleeves on its joints and folding plates on its feet for extra stability on the ground to reduce the strain cause by the abrasiveness of the sand. And all space equipment had been replaced by extra batteries and gas turbine generators in the backpack to extend the suit's operating time. The suit also had improved sensor array in its head fin, smoke dispensers mounted on the right shoulder, and special equipment in the form of a tight-beam ultrasonic scanner and a pulse compression subsurface radar, granting it enhanced scanning abilities. It was armed with a versatile MMI-M8A3 76mm heavy assault machine gun, a M68 "Cattus" 500mm recoilless rifle that could fire various types of rounds, a MA-M3 heavy blade, a Heavy Axe, and a MMI-XM17 Experimental 37.5mm Hyper-velocity Rifle.
The TFA-4DE GAZuOOT model was present too. It was armed with a pair of shoulder-mounted "Furca" 2-barrel Beam Cannon, a pair of chest-mounted MMI-M19 14mm Dual Twin CIWS, MMI-M70 "Trivium" Triple Cannon had been fitted in place of hands, and on each arm were two "Falcone" Surface-to-Air Missiles. Like its predecessor, the ZuOOt, it had poor mobility as a suit and operated as a turret, but it could transform into a tank speeding across the land and firing with greater stability.
And of course there was a detachment of the always reliable TMF/A-802 BuCUE. They hadn't changed since the first Alliance/PLANTs war. They were the same as when Seren had fought them in the Lybia desert. Likewise, GINNS OCHER had once guarded the Desert Tiger – Andrew Waltfeld's residence in Banadiya.
In the Desmond, a soldier reported they were almost at point A. The commander inquired about the signal from Echo, but they had yet to receive it. Joachim worriedly looked at his wrist watch. In the Minerva, Gladys wanted to know if the cargo hatch was ready. Arthur confirmed. Talia instructed to upgrade to Condition Red once they passed point A. Pilots were to assemble in the briefing room. Meyrin relayed the order.
A jeep was driving on a roadless rocky plateau. At the wheel was a little girl with tanned skin and brown hair in a ponytail looking no older that 11 or 12. The vehicle skidded to a halt before a cliff. She took out a device and typed a code. She looked back at the ZAFT ships and started driving again. The Minerva ascended, slowly flew above the plateau, passed the car by, and lowered its cargo hatch. The jeep climbed onto it, stopped, and the hatch rose back in place. The little one removed her goggles, lowered the neck of her sweater that covered her mouth and nose, and looked around. Athrun and Seren were surprised that such a child had come alone but nonetheless greeted her very politely and respectfully. After all war never spared women or children. And they could... and had to fight. The child too was surprised to see a cute robotic flying squirrel on the girl's shoulder but made no mention of it. After the introductions, Seren quickly checked the data and confirmed that there would be no problems and everything could proceed as planned.
"But by 'local cooperator' do they mean a resistance fighter?" Shinn questioned Luna as they entered the briefing room. She assumed it was the case. She'd heard the situation in the town of Gulnahan was quite severe too. Everyone sat down, and Trine, Athrun, Seren and the local cooperator entered. All the pilots stood up and saluted. "She's just a kid." Asuka noted. The child frowned. From his tone, that guy sounded disappointed and didn't seem like he was going to take her, and thus the situation, seriously.
"Be seated." The vice-captain ordered, and everyone obeyed, except for Seren and Athrun, whose affiliation to FAITH basically outranked everyone here, including Trine. As usual, for the meeting, Chacha had gone down in Seren's pocket. "We will explain to you the details of our Lohengrin Breakthrough Operation which we are conducting jointly with the Ruddle Team. But as you know, defeating this particular enemy is a tall order. The Ruddle Team has attempted this breakthrough in the past, but... well... they failed. So this time around... Athrun... you take over from here. Please explain." He requested to the commander of the Minerva's mobile suits team.
"Yes." Zala gave a signal, the lights went off, and the monitor behind him turned on, showing a map of the Gulnahan area with the ravine, the relief around it, and the town and sea it led to. The position of the Lohengrin was marked by a red dot. There was also a red line starting in a rocky area and going right next up to the Lohengrin. "This is the currently condition of the ravine known as the Gulnahan Lohengrin Gate. Beyond those cliffs is the town, and the power plant further in. The only way we can approach the town from here is through here. However, the enemy has placed a positron cannon on high ground here that is capable of covering the entire ravine. So no matter how we approach, we'll be within firing range with no place to hide." He explained, indicating the places with a pointer. "Even if you try to fire at the cannon or the cliff below from a distance, it's well guarded not only by mobile suits, but also mobile armors equipped with positron reflectors. Therefore we cannot expect an effective hit. I understand you guys encountered a similar mobile armor off the coast of Orb?" He jogged their memory and understanding. Indeed, Luna remembered and Shinn confirmed. "So now about the operation..."
"You want us to destroy that mobile armor, blow up the cannon, and get to Gulnahan, right?" Shinn rudely interrupted, his arms crossed, causing his two friends on either side of him to sigh heavily. Why did he have to be so prickly and immature?
"That's right... but right now we're talking about how exactly to accomplish that, Shinn."
"I can do it, if I put my mind to it." The boy replied carelessly.
"So you'll do it for us then? It'll be fine if the rest of just wait in the rear, right? You'll inform us once you're done."
"Wha-! Ah, no... well... that's..." The startled boy stuttered. Lunamaria snickered and he glared at her. Though that was nothing like the glare the townsgirl was giving him.
"Anyway, leaving that ridiculous conversation aside... Miss Conille... He's the pilot. Can you give him the data?"
"What?! That guy?!" Conille Almeta exclaimed in disbelief. Not like she could be blamed given that since she had first laid eyes on him, Shinn had acted like an irresponsible brat who was all bark and no bite and not once had he showed even an ounce of respect for anyone. She stared at him with a disconcerted expression. Was such a guy really alright for that mission whose success was nothing less than vital for her town?
"What is it?" Notwithstanding the fact that it was his own fault, Asuka was rather put off by her attitude.
"The success or failure of the operation depends on the pilot, right? Will it be alright, with someone like him?" The local collaborator questioned Athrun. Shinn bolted upright in anger, his fists up, causing his friends to sigh again. Athrun spoke her name. "You're the commander, right? Then wouldn't it be better for you to do it? If he fails it will really be over for everyone in town!"
"What did you say, you..."
"Shinn! And you too Miss Conille, stop it."
"I see... Athrun huh... I hadn't thought about that option... Oh, but there's Seren too..." Arthur started thinking outloud.
"Deputy Captain, please stop it. Shinn, sit down." Seren put a stop to the dispute with a quiet but very authoritative voice. Why did sparks have to come her way?! Shinn obeyed sulkily. "I apologize for his behavior." She bowed slightly to Miss Almeta. "However, while he certainly lacks maturity, I can vouch for his skills. He can get things done without a doubt." She asserted with firmess in her voice and eyes.
"Miss Conille, he's capable of doing it. It'll be alright. So please hand over the data." Zala smiled reassuringly. Almeta took a disk from her pocket and gave it to Athrun but she waited before letting go, a sign of her reluctance and desperation. He placed a hand on her shoulder before walking over to Shinn who kept his arms crossed and his eyes closed. "Shinn." He tried to draw his attention but the Impulse's pilot stubbornly kept pouting. "Shinn!" The young man was losing his patience.
"Like she said, wouldn't it be better if you did it? Saying something like 'it'll all be over if he fails'... You also think you're capable of doing a better job, right? Or will you have Seren-san do it? I bet in your eyes she's the only one good enough-"
"Shinn! Stop behaving like a spoiled brat!" Athrun snapped at last. "Too bad, we're not foolish enough to take your so called feelings into consideration and assign you a mission that's beyond your ability. If we thought it impossible for you, Seren or I would have taken the job from the start. But we believed you could do it. That's why we went with this plan. And yet, after all that bragging, you're getting cold feet now?" Athrun scolded him. He was simply trying to face him head-on and speak sincerely, both about the acknowledgement of his abilities and his annoyance... Although to others it would probably sound like he was skillfully manipulating the Impulse's pilot, first by touching him with the acknowledgement and then piquing his pride... a sure-fire way to (relatively) control childish, hot-blooded ones like Shinn who indeed, stood up and snatched the data disk. People usually viewed Athrun as a highly accomplished, self-assured elite. But only Seren could tell since she knew him best. She knew just how awkward he actually was and how much he was struggling... struggling to find what he must do, and how to do it, struggling with his own emotions and immaturity... struggling with how to relate to others...
"Well, it's indeed hard to trust someone like him who starts pouting and sulking as soon as someone says something, and doesn't seem to understand the meaning of 'responsibility', what it truly means to be an ace that shoulders the weight of people's hopes, of their lives on his back. Still, we chose him because he could do it, because we thought we could rely on him, and he'd learn something from this mission..." Canaver placed her folded left arm over Shinn's shoulder and her right hand gripped the data disk that was still in Shinn's hand, like she was going to take it from him, though she made no motion to.
"Seren...!" Athrun scolded her. What was she doing making things worse like that?!
"But Shinn, if you're truly so childish a soldier that you'd sulk and refuse orders because of your pettiness or some useless pride, if you don't have the confidence and hide behind bravado, if our trust in you is indeed misplaced, you should come right out and say it. It's not a game. It's not enough to just be needled into doing it. I want you to understand. Many lives are at stake. Those people have no choice but to rely on us to be protected. If we fail, they'll die. So, say it clearly, can you protect them? Or can't you?" Her hazel eyes bore into his. She wanted to make sure that he didn't take the data just because he had been provoked.
"I will protect them." Asuka placed his other hand on hers and stood up to her gaze. When she saw his seriousness she was relieved and smiled so warmly, so sweetly that he couldn't help but blush slightly.
Then Conille explained about the red line on the map. There was a tunnel passing through a cave system that even the locals didn't know much about. It wasn't wide inside so it was too small for mobile suits. However, it came out right at the base of the battery. The exit was closed off, but if you just blasted it a little you could pass through. Hence the choice of the Impulse for this mission. The Core Splendor was the smallest and most compact fighter, its missiles could open the exit, and with the lazer lock system, the other modules would follow it like on a rail so the suit would reassemble once out of the tunnel. Seren also warned Shinn about not getting sidetracked and focusing on the cannon.
Now the fleet and other pilots... Of course their job was to draw the enemy. But unlike them, ZAFT had no 'shield', so the enemy was going to fire with no hesitation. However, not just the beams, they had to protect themselves from the shockwave too. They couldn't come too forward or Shinn would be surrounded once he came out and the positron cannon would be retracted. They had to maintain a certain distance and speed while maintaining the enemy mobile suits at bay. That was the most difficult part. And because they could not fully commit themselves, the Earth Forces could easily tip the balance and overwhelm them. While Athrun was to stay with the bulk of their mobile suits and command them, Seren was to use her suit's mobility and speciality to navigate through the battlefield and reinforce the squads in trouble. If Shinn was being delayed, she'd break through on her own and help him out.
The ZAFT forces neared point B, the operation's starting point. Distance to the firing range enemy battery, 15 000. The captain of the Minerva inquired about the pilots and Arthur since it was almost time to start the mission. Meyrin relayed the situation to the briefing room, and required all hands to be on standby. Deputy Captain Trine was to report to the bridge. Arthur left in a hurry and the pilots stood up. Shinn noticed that Conille Almeta was still glaring at him and petulantly asked what it was, if she still had something to say. The girl looked down.
"Last time ZAFT attacked the battery, it was dreadful for the town, because a rebellion took place at the same time. Those who had opposed the Earth Forces literally went through hell, many people were killed too!" Pain and fear were seeping through the child's voice. And Asuka deeply felt for her as shown by his pained expression. "And who knows what'll happen if we fail again this time! That's why I really want you to finish them off... and destroy that cannon... this time for sure!" She looked at him and he saw all her desperation as she started sobbing. Athrun placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and took her away. And Shinn resolutely started at the data disk. He had – finally – realized the weight of the lives that rested on his shoulders and his responsibility. And seeing that, Seren smiled faintly before joining Athrun and Conille.
Athrun pressed the button of the elevator when Lunamaria caught up and praised him for the way he had managed Shinn. Rey had followed too. That guy had always been hard to handle, even at the academy where he would always quarrel with the instructors and superiors. But commander Zala had been able to keep him on track and make him listen.
"It's nothing like that, I wasn't trying to handle him. He's just awkward in a lot of ways. He's not a bad person." He smiled faintly and entered the elevator with Seren and the resistance representative. "I'm not that good at it either, getting along with people..." Right, they were just awkward the two of them... But Athrun being older, he had to do his best to be the mature one and keep his cool. "Though she's still got her sharp tongue, Seren's worked hard these last years and became better at touching people. I must learn and work hard too." The door closed.
"Have I just been brushed off?" Luna pondered.
"Who knows..." Rey replied like he didn't really care.
ZAFT arrived at point B, and the operation began. Ruddle gave the order the send out all mobile suits. The bridge of the Minerva lowered into the CIC. The ship was to get in front of the Desmond and Bagley as soon as the Impulse had launched. The pilots boarded their units and prepared for take off. The CIWS, the XM47 "Tristan" dual beam cannons, and M10 "Isolde" 42cm triple cannons were activated, and "Parsifal" missiles were loaded into tubes 1 to 5 of launchers 1 and 7. The Savior and Fortuna waited on standby while the Core Splendor took off, followed by the Chest Flyer and Leg Flyer. However, the modules didn't combine and kept flying separately, with the Flyers following the Core Splendor like on an invisible rail. Conille had been taken to a rest area from where she could watch the battle on a screen.
"Heat source approaching from Area One. Scramble. Mobile suits, sortie at once." The alarm rang in the EA base, and orders were issued for the defense. They identified ZAFT land battleships, one Lesseps-class, one Petrie-class... and the Minerva! However, that did not scare the commander of the Earth Forces who had absolute confidence that they could repel any attack, and that even the Minerva could not do anything against the Lohengrin protected by the Gells Ghes. So he ordered the activation of the Lohengrin and the sortie of all mobile suits and the Gells Ghes.
"Course clear. Savior, please launch." Meyrin's instructed as the linear catapult deployed. Enemy mobile suits were approaching, more exactly, arrays of GAT-04+AQM/E-A4E1 Jet Windams.
"Athrun Zala, Savior, taking off!" He launched into the sky actived his Variable Phase-Shift Armor. Then it was the Fortuna's turn.
"Seren Canaver, Fortuna, taking off!" She sortied too after getting Meyrin's authorization. Rey's white ZAKU and Luna's red ZAKU soon went after them.
"Alright, spread out!" Ruddle commanded.
"Ascend. Activate Tannhäuser. When you aim, pay special attention to what's behind your target. Be careful not to blow up the town. We'll lure the mobile armors." Gladys ordered. The Minerva's positron cannon deployed and charged, targeting the enemy mobile suits. In response, the Gells Ghe came up front and activated the reflectors. They were going to blast them away. The "Tannhäuser" fired and the ray hit the beam shield. The collision caused a shockwave powerful enough to blow the airborne Minerva backwards as well as the 'light' ZAFT mobile suits that were unable to take cover. The sand clouds started settling. Zala gave the order to advance. They had to lure the enemies as far as possible. Everyone rogered. After all, although the ZAKUs and GINNs could hover, it was not like they could properly fly in the atmosphere. They were not suited for air battles. There was no choice but to attack from the ground, so they were more or less concealed among the asperities of the rocky terrain. But they were weak against attacks from the sky. Out of all the ZAFT units present, since the Impulse was busy on a solo mission, only the Savior and Fortuna could fight in the air and defend their allies.
Shinn was slithering through the crevices and arrived at the cave entrance. He dived inside and started panicking when he saw... nothing! It was pitch black! He really couldn't see anything! Data was really the only thing he could rely on! He recalled Commander Zala's words. "It might be impossible for mobile suits, but the Impulse can pass through. Just fly according to the data."
"That's not the problem here, is it?! Damn it!" He ranted. That jerk had made it sound so easy! That phony! The Core Splendor slightly hit the cliffside and bulleted though a waterfall."We'll draw the enemy battery's attention and keep the mobile armor at a distance so you can fly through the tunnel and attack the cannon." Shinn veered violently and rocketed up another waterfall and followed the river upstream, keeping close to the water so he wouldn't crash against the low ceiling. "To hell with his 'I believe you can do it.' ! That bastard! And Seren-san too! "Don't worry, I've checked everything, you'll have no problems." Was it?! How could she trick me with that smile?! That devil! You just didn't want to do this yourself!" The tip of the Core Splendor's right wing scratched the rock. A single second of inattention and he would die! "If you're too slow we'll be overpowered, but you can't be too quick either, or we won't have enough time to draw the enemy away. Understood?" Geez, passing through that place was already difficult enough but he even had to carefully time the attack to top it off?! But after all he didn't want to die, he wanted the mission to succeed to matter what, he wanted to save those people... and he wanted to be acknowledged by those two! "I'll do it! Damnit!" He swore to give himself strength and courage as he zoomed through a particularly narrow tunnel.
The EA base commander devised that ZAFT's plan must be to rattle them by firing their own positron cannons from both the air and the land. Not a bad plan... but ZAFT had no 'shield'. The Lohengrin aimed at the Minerva.
"Engines at maximum! Descend! Evade!" Captain Gladys yelled. The positron cannon fired but missed. The LHM-BB01 dived and skidded on the river of sand before ascending again. The affiliated pilots were relieved that their ship was fine. The officer of the Earth Forces swore and commanded that the cannon be recharged right away and to bring back the Gells Ghes. What were the Dagger teams doing?!
The Dagger teams had found Zala's team and were attacking them from above with their missiles. Athrun took to the sky, but homing missiles went after him so he shot a few whose explosions engulfed the others, detonating them all. Seren also had waves of warheads zooming towards her. Her binders rotated, firing its "Eos" beam cannons and "Orcus" machine guns, detonating the projectiles in the same time as she shot the Daggers with her beam rifle. Rey launched his own back-mounted missiles that successfully destroyed some of their targets. The Minerva also fired its CIWS guns. Luna's powerful "Orthros" beam cannon was also a great fit here. Firing straight into the mass of enemies, she dispatched three in a single shot and dispersed them. Cannaver heard Heine's squad requesting reinforcement and headed over there. The Fortuna in MA mode skilfully evaded being shot while firing its "Caelestis" Plasma beam cannons and "Invictus" rail cannons. She arrived at Heine's place and incapacited two of the Windams overwhelming Heine's squad. The X22S turned back into a mobile suit and beheaded others with its beam sabers. Seren flew horizontally, shielding her allies and herself with the binders, while simultaneously firing the binders' weapons. Driven back by the barrage, the Windams let up on their attack and Seren fired with a rifle, her binders-mounted "Honos" railguns, as well as her "Caelestis" and "Invictus" cannons. All her beams and shells reached their targets. Since Heine and his friends were alright now, Seren went to check on the others. By giving her allies enough room to breathe and reorganize, Canaver was minimalizing their own losses, making the front hold and steadily advance and whittling down the enemy forces without alerting them. It would be no good if they suddenly got scared and retracted the Lohengrin. And by scurrying around she also acted as a decoy.
Meantime, Shinn was close to reach his destination with the exit being only at a distance of 500. The Core Splendor launched its AGM33 "Ladybird" guided missiles, blasting an opening through which it darted, shocking the Earth Forces. The X56S Impulse gundam assembled in the open sky.
"What's that?! Intercept! Retract the Lohengrin!" The Gulnahan base commander barked, clearly panicking now. Anti-air batteries fired at the approaching Impulse. The Gells Ghes also attacked from the ground. Athrun roared, discarded his shield, and swooped down on the EA mobile armor, swinging his two "Vajra" beam sabers and severed at the shoulders both arms of humanoid torso of the Gells Ghe. Asuka landed and shot the batteries as the power conduits disconnected from the positron cannon. Seren suddenly broke through and swooped down on the second Gells Gue. It fired at her but she dodged, took out her two MMID-706 "Libra" anti-ship swords and slashed, parrying the beams and bisecting the enemy unit's torso. She swung again, cutting its legs. The young woman looked up and swore. Shinn was shooting Daggers down, allowing the Lohengrin to be lowered back into the mountain. Athrun yelled his name warningly while jumping back to avoid being shot by the beam cannon mounted on 'his' Gells Ghe's pincer-like front leg.
"Shinn! What are you doing?! The cannon! Hurry up!" Seren shouted. Shinn cursed, turned back, and headed to the Lohengrin, while being targeted both by the defenders before him and the Daggers above him. He lost his rifle to a beam from above, stabbed a Dagger's cockpit with his shield before defending himself. Seren came to his help and dispatched the Daggers attacking him from the sky. Although he easily finished the guards, they still made him lose precious seconds. Then he threw his shield and took out his M71-AAK "Folding Razor" anti-armor knife and stabbed the last Dagger. He was right before the alcove where the Lohengrin should have been but it had already gone down into the shaft and the hatch was shutting. The mission will have failed if it completely closed! Glaring and gritting his teeth, he threw the Dagger he had stabbed towards the hole and shot it repeatedly with the Impulse's chest-mounted 20mm CIWS. The wrecked mobile suit fell down the shaft and onto the Lohengrin, engulfing the cannon in its explosion. The explosion of the positron blaster was so important it spread to the rest of the base and caused more explosions when they'd reached rooms with electronics or flammables. After all, the produce of the power plant was all stocked here. Shinn escaped. Athrun fired his M106 "Amfortas" plasma beam cannons, destroying the two front pincer-like legs of the Gells Ghe. The damage reached into the cockpit, frying the systems.
In the same time, the townspeople who had heard the explosions and seen the black smoke rising from various places on the mountain, sure sign of ZAFT's victory, started rebelling. The EA soldiers fled... at least those who could... the ones who were caught were mercilessly lynched... being shot, beaten, having rocks thrown at them by the angry mob. The people gleefully called for a purge, not to let a single Alliance soldier alive. And they also reclaimed all the goods and supplies that had been commandeered by the Earth Forces. They tore, stomped, and burned every flag of the OMNI Enforcers they found and cheered, hailing their liberators, when they saw the ZAFT vessel... the Minerva landing close by. Their cheers redoubled when the Impulse, the Fortuna, and the Savior landed in the town square and Asuka came down. Shinn was also brimming with joy when the civilians he had fought to protect hugged him and patted him and one even sat him on their shoulders and ran around. Conille Almeta returned to her village and was also praised and held in the air.
Athrun and Seren gazed at them with a gentle, amused smile. The town was finally free. It was great. But then their eyes fell on the Alliance soldiers that were kneeling down in a row and being executed with a bullet to the back of their heads, and they frowned deeply. Although they understood the townspeople and had no right to interfere in that case, this really wasn't a pleasant sight after all, to see the people giving in to their resentment, their bloodlust like this. Certainly, it was natural, and they had once been the same... but they also knew that if peace was to be achieved in the truest of sense, one had to be able to rise above those murky feelings, like they had done. And they also knew just how impossibly difficult that was. Gladys contacted them and praised them on their job well done. She ordered them to return and leave the rest to the Ruddle team. She cut the communication and told Arthur to hurry with the updates on the situation of the ship. Zala also came down and walked to his fellow pilot.
"What's wrong, did you get hurt, you of all people?" However, Shinn's usual offensive, belittling words completely lacked their usual sharpness and malice. He had spoken out of habit but he was just in too good of a mood to be truly mean. Only friendly teasing could be heard. Athrun sighed with a smile and reassured him. "But the operation was a success!"
"Yeah, a great success." The commander of the MS squad looked around at the civilians who were happily chattering about their newfound freedom and bright future now that they no longer had to fear oppression. "You did well, Shinn. It's all thanks to your power." He sincerely praised the boy.
"No, no, not at all." The pilot of the Impulse replied modestly. "But it was awful, you know, I thought I was going to die for sure! You never told me I wouldn't be able to see a single thing." He whined sulkily, crossing his arms, turning away, but still glancing back.
"Didn't I? I'm sure I said that you wouldn't be able to rely on anything but the data."
"W-well... that's true, but..."
"But you were able to do it. You were successful... I also said that." Athrun smiled warmly... proudly at him.
"...That's true too..."
"Come on two, we're heading back, our mission is complete. We opened the path, so we must be on our way." Seren opened her cockpit and called them. Athrun returned to his gundam. Slightly but poutily glaring at him, Shinn was miffed at having lost the 'argument'. But when he had been about to follow them, he was stopped by Conille.
"Ah... uhm... I..." She started but was too embarrassed to continue.
"Do you have a better opinion of me now?" He smiled genuinely.
"Yes! Thank you very much!" She exclaimed gratefully. Shinn ruffled her hair while laughing. As he boarded the Impulse, he was still innocently, happily smiling at the cheering people. But Athrun and Seren had a doubt in their hearts. Certainly, the mission had been a success... they had destroyed the Lohengrin Gate, freed the town, opened a path and dealt a blow to the Earth Alliance... but after witnessing the villagers' hatred, they had felt that their goal... that peace had grown even more distant.
We proceeded along the path. It's really not simple to determine the 'outcome' of battle. Is it the number of lives lost? Is it the number of lives saved? Or is humanity as a whole that lost as soon as hatred corroded it and more blood spilled? We must break through. Can we break through? We are definitely moving forward, right?
Author's note: next one that should be out tomorrow will be 'The Hidden Truth'.