A/n

Here is the next Phase for you readers. I hope you enjoy it!

Phase 5: Assessment

January 25th, 71 C.E.

Heliopolis, Colony Interior

Shortly after the Aegis had flown off toward where the other mobile suits had been fighting, Tyler had turned to Rusty. There were things to do before they rejoined with others, Tyler was well aware of that. Rusty stuck out badly as he was right now in ways that would be dangerous for him and even Tyler. The major reason that was the case would be them soon being around OMNI personnel for a time. Were Rusty in a ZAFT pilot suit when they encountered OMNI personnel, he would be taken and imprisoned in no time flat. Neither Tyler nor Rusty would be given a chance to explain anything to those from OMNI, most from the organization tended not to be very understanding or willing to listen. That point wasn't helpful, more a detriment to the current situation, but it was what it was. Thus, there needed to be some changes for Rusty before he encountered any OMNI personnel for his own safety. "I believe we need to do a few things before we leave this area and go anywhere else," Tyler remarked. "As we are now, things won't go well for either of us if we go and meet up with others."

Rusty knew that Tyler had a point about needing to change some things before they did anything else. One thing was him still being in his ZAFT red pilot suit as he had been wearing during the whole mission inside the colony. What could be done about that, Rusty couldn't exactly say, but it seemed that Tyler had some ideas to work with in that regard. He needed what assistance he could get while separated from his comrades and allies. Tyler McGregor was the only individual that Rusty could really rely upon for his own safety. Tyler had kept him alive so far when Rusty should've died already in the factory. There may not be a solid trust between the two of them, but Rusty felt he could at least trust Tyler enough that he could keep him alive for the near future. That was enough to work with for the time being even if Rusty would love more. "What did you have in mind," Rusty asked. "I don't disagree with you that changes are needed before going forward much."

The first task they needed to do was get Rusty some different clothes than his pilot suit. It was best to ditch the suit after that so it couldn't be traced back to Rusty. Thankfully, Tyler and he were in the commercial district so there were places they could get the needed clothing. Plus, the shops should have access to the colony's systems, specifically citizen archives which Tyler would need to get to. Tyler would make a profile for Rusty so it would seem he was one of Heliopolis's citizens rather than an outsider. The best way to get Rusty to blend in and not attract attention would be to pass him off as one of Heliopolis's citizens for the time being. "First, we need to get you something else to wear than the pilot suit you're in," Tyler said. "Nothing against ZAFT right now other than the damage to the colony, but we will be around OMNI personnel for a time. You would stick out in that recognizable pilot suit and get thrown in some sort of prison cell faster than you saying, "wait a minute." So, that is the first order of business to get you to blend in better and make it simpler to keep you safer. Thankfully, we are in the colony's commercial district which we can get clothing for you to use. And unfortunately, I do know where some of the clothing shops are due to interactions with some of my friends."

The change in clothing made sense to Rusty with the situation as it was currently. Rusty's pilot suit was recognizable and instantly linked to ZAFT. The priority right now was to blend in with those from the colony as far as Rusty understood. OMNI wouldn't hesitate in apprehending and imprisoning a member of ZAFT if they had the chance. With Rusty's involvement in the theft of OMNI's prototype mobile suit, OMNI personnel wouldn't be inclined to be "nice" to those that had attacked them. Rusty would rather not be captured by OMNI so they could interrogate him among other things they could do. That led to what Tyler suggested once again being the best idea to go with for the time being. Rusty felt it was best not to ask details about what interactions had him know where clothing shops were for the colony. It sounded like Tyler hadn't been the fondest of those experiences for one reason or another. "I'm all for doing something to blend in with the situation as it is," Rusty replied. "My pilot suit will get me into trouble with the OMNI personnel we will likely encounter as you say."

Tyler faced forward again and took the controls before having the Shadow move forward in the direction of the closest clothing store he knew of. It was a store that Miriallia had dragged the gang to a few times on the weekends. Tyler felt it would have enough to make an outfit for Rusty to work with to blend int with other citizens of Heliopolis. It shouldn't take long for Rusty to put together something. While he did that, Tyler could work on creating a profile for Rusty to make him appear like a citizen of Heliopolis. It would take a bit of time, but Tyler could make something which could withstand scrutiny from OMNI personnel. He knew how to create a file which could be very convincing when others looked at it even with suspicion. And with what had happened with ZAFT, Tyler would be surprised if OMNI wasn't suspicious of just about everyone for the time being.

The Shadow moved down the "road" and stopped in front of the shop he had been going for. Tyler had switched off the suit's phase shift armor system along the way to save power for the battery. He hoped there wouldn't be a need for the phase shift for a time, but he feared the time would come sooner than he would want. The ZAFT group had seemed determined to do whatever it was they had come to the colony for. Tyler felt that taking the OMNI prototype mobile suits was but a part of their goal. What that goal was, Tyler couldn't say, but he felt the colony would unlikely do well or even survive if this ZAFT group managed to achieve their goal. Rusty hadn't given much detail as to what ZAFT was after yet that Tyler could recall. Honestly, Tyler was curious who ZAFT's mission commander could be for what had happened. Not just any ZAFT commander would recklessly send a team into the colony like Rusty's had which Tyler could think of.

Tyler had the Shadow power down after opening the cockpit hatch. Tyler came out first and descended with the zip line to the ground before the line retracted back up to the cockpit level. Rusty took the zip line to the ground after it had come back up to the cockpit. He glanced around taking in the shops that they were now around. The shops Rusty could see a few speciality stores, and even a few food shops near where they were. Tyler was facing the nearest shop where the Shadow had been brought to. Rusty looked at the shop and found it was a clothing shop. Tyler had said something about Rusty who needed to change out of his pilot suit, so the clothing shop made sense. He couldn't say what kind of clothes they would find in the shop, but hopefully they would find something which wouldn't have Rusty sticking out.

Tyler approached the shop door and tried the handle first. He hoped that the shop was unlocked, and he wouldn't have to break in the door for the things they would need. To their good fortune, Tyler found the shop doors hadn't been locked in the chaos of the attack on the colony and evacuation. He would pay for the clothes that Rusty would put together, so it wasn't stealing. Those in the colony were dealing with enough right now without theft and looting being added to their plates. He wasn't hurting for money with the salary he earned working within the Federation's Military. Nor was Tyler an impulsive spender, his mother made sure not to allow that habit to develop in him. So, Tyler opened the shop door and waved Rusty to follow him inside so they could get down to the needed business.

The two entered the clothing store and found it was still receiving power from the colony's grid. Tyler was thankful for that as finding an outfit for Rusty would be more annoying if it was done without the shop lights. He just hoped that the shop still had its connection to the colony's system and data network. It would make creating a profile while Rusty put something together much easier. If the shop was disconnected, then Tyler would have to find a console that still had its connection to the network. Time was in rather short supply at the moment from what Tyler could figure with circumstances as they were. So, the two of them needed to be efficient in doing what they needed before meeting up with others. Tyler gestured to the clothing racks, "Put together an outfit for yourself so you can get out of that ZAFT pilot suit Rusty. However, do keep your helmet since I feel it could come in handy in the future, or at least its radio will," he instructed. "While you do, I will see if I can't make a backstory for you to go with should any ask why you are around the colony."

Rusty nodded and went over to the racks to look at what he could pick from. While he did, Tyler went to the shop counter and went around it to get to the console the shop had. He activated the computer console and put in a few commands to check if the machine could do what he wanted it to. Tyler was pleased to find the console still had access to the colony's network as he needed. He wasted no more time getting into the network and giving himself "administrator" privileges which he would need to create a profile for Rusty. Tyler quickly created a profile for Rusty so it would appear that he was a citizen of the colony. He did access the Federation's Information Network so he could get a photo from the PLANTs of Rusty for the profile. The Federation's network was one of the largest advantages it had over the other factions with all the data that it trafficked. With Tyler's rank, he had more access to the Information Network than most even in the Federation's general soldiers did.

For the profile that would help Rusty not be suspicious to any in OMNI, Tyler put in general facts. He had the record say that Rusty had arrived five and a half months ago during a major worker transfer. The profession that Rusty came to the colony with was to be an intern mechanic that would do maintenance for the resource mining equipment. Tyler had chosen that as on ZAFT's personnel file, it had said Rusty had knowledge and some skills with general mobile suit maintenance. That knowledge could be applied to mining equipment and others do not question the position that Tyler was putting on the record. And from what Tyler had heard, most if not all interns that saw to mining equipment were put on the graveyard shift for a few months to test them. Thus, Rusty not being seen around the colony would be waved off with the shift he would've worked by the majority. The profile Tyler was creating would pass most if not the hardest scrutiny that OMNI personnel may have. All he would need to do would be tell Rusty of the back story he would be working with, and things should be fine for the near future.

As Tyler was working behind the shop's counter, Rusty went over to the clothing rack to see what he had to work with to put together an outfit. There were plenty of clothes to chose from, even when more than half were obviously for females. He was going for an outfit that he would wear during time off rather than something that would make him stand out. The colony was essentially under OMNI occupation at this point. All of the colony's citizens would've reached shelters by this point with the warning they had gotten before the attack had started. Any that weren't in shelters would be seeking them out for their own safety with things as they were. That would leave most left to be OMNI personnel other than themselves, and perhaps a few others. Thus, Rusty situation wasn't ideal at all, but it could be far worse than it was. If not for Tyler, Rusty wouldn't be alive right now, so he was counting his blessings right now.

Rusty knew he would have to do his best to blend in with those who lived at the colony for the time being. He assumed that Tyler was doing something to help him with that task as he had implied he would. Tyler had shown himself that he had a knack with arranging things as he wanted when he was pressed. He had certainly surprised Rusty with how he had modified the Shadow's operating system better than any of the ZAFT pilots had in the practice simulations. It wouldn't be shocking at this point to Rusty if Tyler had some sort of hacking skills to work with. The guy was something else even for a Federation agent, though he was the first Federation agent that Rusty had met face to face. So, Rusty couldn't say if Tyler was an accurate bar to judge those in the Federation's Military yet.

Rusty focused back on selecting clothes for an outfit to wear rather than his current situation. He found a blue T-shirt that seemed to be in his size, and it looked comfortable. He took the shirt off the rack and put it on a bench to try on in a bit. Rusty then looked through a rack of pants to see if he could find something in his size and that he would be fine with. It took a minute, but Rusty found some pants that fit the bill. He also spotted a tan button up t-shirt that would go well with the t-shirt he had picked out earlier. He gathered up the clothes and went into the nearby fitting room so he could try on the clothes. In the fitting room, Rusty stripped the pilot suit off and put it aside. He set the helmet to the side so he could take out the radio sometime later before he would ditch the helmet.

Tyler was wrapping up the profile for Rusty when the said individual came out of the fitting room. Tyler twisted around to glance at Rusty to see what he had picked out for himself when it came to clothes. The goal was for him to blend in, not stick out with a "loud" outfit. Rusty was now in a blue T-shirt with a tan button up shirt over it. He was in grey slack-style pants with sneakers that one could find just about anywhere around the colony. The outfit wasn't loud at all, it was something Tyler would expect any in the colony to wear when not at work. As for Rusty being a Coordinator, with Heliopolis belonging to Orb, that will not be too out of place for him. So, Tyler gave him a thumbs up, "That outfit is much better than your pilot suit," he remarked. "OMNI won't suspect you are anyone other than a citizen of the colony with how you look." Tyler waved Rusty to come over to where he was, "With the outfit done, come here so I can tell you the backstory I've whipped up for you to work with."

Rusty walked over and went behind the counter to the console the shop apparently had in it. On the display was what appeared to be an ID profile of some sort with a picture of Rusty while he had been at ZAFT's military academy on it. He glanced over what was being displayed for a moment, taking in what was on the record. It stated he was an "intern mechanic" that worked on the mining equipment for the colony as his profession. The job wasn't something Rusty couldn't pull off if he was put to it. He had better than average knowledge when it came to mobile suit maintenance and repair. That should be transferable to mining equipment well enough that others that weren't mechanics would know the difference. Rusty would do some studying when he could to make the story more believable in case there were others that knew the field. "An intern mechanic huh," Rusty questioned. "I could pull that off, though I would need to study a bit to fool those who know the field more than just at a glance."

Tyler nodded, "When I glanced at your ZAFT profile, it listed general mobile suit maintenance knowledge and some skills with that on it. Thus, I felt that an intern mechanic could be pulled off well enough that OMNI wouldn't be suspicious of you from that." Tyler had the display zoom in on part of the profile which listed the arrival date and shift he worked. "For your story, you arrived five and a half months ago during the major worker transfer. As one of the incoming interns, you were put on the graveyard shifts as is customary. It was to test your skills as you were informed by the head of the equipment mechanics. Your shift would start at 2200 hours and go to 0800 which I assure you is a normal shift even if it is a hard one. I encountered you after the red mobile suit left this district."

Rusty could see the general direction that Tyler was going with the backstory he had created for him to use. His knowledge of mobile suits would work fine for equipment maintenance if any would quiz him. Working a graveyard shift would make him not being seen much more plausible if any questioned his presence. How Tyler knew of interns being put on the graveyard shift when they arrived, Rusty couldn't say, but he seemed sure about it. All that was left was to come up with an explanation for his injury to his leg and Rusty would be okay. So, he nodded at what Tyler told him, "I can work with that," he replied. Rusty thought for a moment to come up with an excuse for his leg. "As for my leg, I'll say I had come out to see what was going on with the noise and alarms going off. I was on my way to a shelter when debris hit me and caused the injury with my leg."

Tyler had a modicum of respect for those that could come up with a believable story on the fly when they needed to. It was a skill that many thought they had but really didn't and were just liers. Rusty was one of those that could come up with an explanation that was more than feasible when pressed to explain things without revealing the truth. He had taken the backstory that Tyler had whipped up and run with it. Then he had added to it in coming up with an explanation for what happened to his leg which had been shot. "I applaud your ability to work with a story and come up with a reason for something happening to you. Not all can pull such off successfully, I assure you," Tyler commented. "Although, I might say that a piece of debris either made a puncture wound or stabbed you so further questions aren't asked about the gunshot wound were it me."

Tyler closed the console after saving the profile he had created for Rusty. He told Rusty to grab his helmet so they could see if they could extract the radio here or if it would have to be done later. The only reason the helmet needed to be saved was for the radio, so extracting it would allow them to leave the helmet along with the pilot suit. The less potential evidence that could be traced back to Rusty the better in Tyler's opinion. But getting equipment out of a pilot suit could be difficult without tools. Tyler was grateful to find that he should be able to remove the helmet radio with what he had found around the shop. It took Tyler a few minutes, but he managed to extract the radio and handed it to Rusty to hang onto. Then he chucked the helmet into the fitting room where Rusty had left his pilot suit. Leaving the suit here would make others finding it less likely until Tyler could do some arranging to not have Rusty implicated.

At the same time, Sai and Kuzzey found themselves alone save for one another. They had been with Miriallia and Tolle a little while ago during all the chaos the announcement and the attack had brought on. The four had been heading toward a shelter, but they had decided to search for Tyler, Kira, and Lacus so they could help them reach one too. But the attack of the mobile suits had forced Sai and Kuzzey to go one way while their two friends had gone another. Once they had regained their bearings, they had found themselves around the commercial district. The district was deserted as far as either could tell. That was understandable as most would've reached shelters by this point. However, from what Sai had been able to learn from a colony terminal he had got working, things were bad. The colony was doing poorly even with things seeming to quiet down since the attack had occurred. Sai led Kuzzey on through the district in hopes they could find something to communicate with their friends on. If they could contact Tolle and Miriallia, then they could determine what to do next.

The two were making their way through the district with Sai in the lead, when they were brought to a halt. What had brought them to a stop was the sight of a mobile suit when they came around a corner. The two ducked back around the corner they had come around. After a moment, Sai peeked around the corner of the building and studied the machine. It appeared it was powered down and the cockpit seemed to be open. That implied its pilot was nearby somewhere doing who knew what. The pilot could be a threat to Sai and Kuzzey since the mobile suits from earlier had been doing damage to the colony. They would need to be careful with getting anywhere from where they were.

Nevertheless, Sai's attention was drawn to a shop where two individuals exited a moment later. He blinked as he quickly identified one of them as none other than Tyler. There had been no hint as to where he'd gone after he had ducked out saying he had work to do. Sure, it was wonderful to see Tyler was alive and seemingly okay after the attack that Sai and the others had witnessed. But that didn't explain how their friend had ended up in the commercial district around where an unknown mobile suit was. Sai tapped Kuzzey and waved him forward, he wanted to make sure he wasn't seeing things. He would love nothing more than for Tyler to be in front of them with circumstances as they were. If there was ever the need for one of Tyler's plans for what to do next, then now was certainly it in Sai's mind.

Kuzzey had been scared ever since the announcement colony-wide that all the citizens were to head for shelters. Heliopolis was supposed to be a neutral colony where the war wasn't supposed to draw in. Heck, he and the rest of the gang were supposed to be planning what to do with their school break, not running for their lives. Tyler disappearing had worried Kuzzey, both since he was a friend and the point that things seemed to go better when Tyler was around. Because of that, Kuzzey always felt more at ease when Tyler was present than when he was somewhere else. He always knew what to say and what was going on better than anyone else that Kuzzey knew. That was why he had agreed with the others when they had suggested they should go looking for Tyler, Kira, and Lacus. If Tyler was with them, then things would more likely be okay for all of them.

So, it wasn't a surprise that Kuzzey was rather on edge and jittery with the attack and all the explosions that they had been around. Then Sai and he had been separated from the rest of the gang which made things more concerning for him. Thus, Kuzzey was hesitant to move forward when Sai gestured for him to. But Kuzzey took a few deep breaths before he moved forward to where Sai was. When he reached Sai, his friend pointed ahead. Kuzzey glanced in the direction Sai had pointed and was shocked to see Tyler standing next to another. He felt relief at seeing Tyler was alive and okay. Finding him would improve their situation somehow even if only a little and Kuzzey would take that. Who the other person was could be answered later in Kuzzey's opinion. Tyler would know what was going on and could come up with a plan for what they could do next. That alone was helping Kuzzey calm down a bit from the fear that had been gripping him. "Thank goodness, Tyler is alive, and we found him," Kuzzey whispered. "He will have an idea of what's going on and what to do."

Sai didn't disagree with Kuzzey's remark about Tyler. It was a relief to find their friend alive and okay with the attack having happened. If anyone knew what was going on right now, it would be Tyler, and they could really use something to go off of. Sai was curious as to who the other person with Tyler was, but that could be answered later. So, he inclined his head at Kuzzey to say they should go to Tyler and move on from there. The two came out from the corner they had been taken cover behind and began approaching Tyler and the other with them. As Sai and Kuzzey got closer, they began hearing Tyler talking to the other. It sounded like Tyler at least knew the other person somewhat, though neither of them had seen the guy before. Sai was the first to speak up, "Tye," he called, "Are you okay?"

Tyler had been going over the general plan for their next step forward with Rusty when he heard his name being called. He turned to find two of the gang approaching, Sai and Kuzzey specifically. What the two were doing in the commercial district at a time like this, Tyler couldn't say. He would've thought the rest of the gang would've headed for shelters with the colony-wide announcement, but here they were for one reason or another. It was concerning as them not being in shelters put them in danger, which Tyler wasn't okay with. "Sai, Kuzzey," Tyler uttered in reply, "What are the two of you doing around here? Why haven't you headed for shelters with all the chaos and mess that had been going on? It is dangerous to be out and about right now if it isn't obvious. So, why are the two of you around here?"

Sai could understand the questions Tyler was asking of them, he would have them too. But they could also be put to Tyler as well just as much. He should've headed for a shelter just as much as them for his own safety. Thus, Sai folded his arms in response, "The same can be said of you, Tye," he remarked. "You vanished and then we find you here, what happened?" Sai then gestured at Rusty, "And who is this with you? You seem to know them at least a little with how you were talking with them. Then, what is going on Tye? You always seem to have some idea of what is happening even when others don't. Please, tell us what has been happening with the colony to have the alarms going off."

Tyler took a moment to consider what to tell his two friends. He couldn't give the entire truth at the moment, they wouldn't understand it just yet. It was better they weren't involved in the mess that had been made, but there was little way to avoid that now. However, Tyler could mitigate their direct involvement, and he would do his utmost to do so. But that would require him telling them something other than the truth for the time being. Tyler could tell them a story with the general facts which were the truth and not give many details. So, Tyler took a deep breath, "I was off to do research for the journalist that I had been handed when the chaos started. When the announcement was given, I was heading to a shelter, but my path was blocked multiple times. Because of that, I had to make some detours through the Morgenröte complex to get to the area where the shelters were. When I reached the shelter, I was told it was full and to find another one by those inside. I was going to head to the next nearest shelter, but things got complicated."

While Tyler's explanation did explain how he could've ended up in the commercial district, it didn't clear up what the mobile suit was doing there. Sai couldn't say how Tyler got through Morgenröte as there was supposed to be security in place to prevent just anyone from being there. Yet, his friend had a knack for using what was around him to make things more doable for him when pressed. So, it wouldn't be surprising if Tyler put something together to work with and get him through Morgenröte. That still didn't answer what the mobile suit was doing here, and Sai had a suspicion that Tyler had something to do with that. So, he pointed at the Shadow, "Okay, how does that mobile suit fit into that, Tye?"

Tyler knew the Shadow's presence would be brought up at some point, it was impossible to miss. He hadn't known of its existence any more than the one Kira had been working with. Morgenröte had hid them from the investigation team as much as OMNI personnel. Granted, the Shadow had already served Tyler well for what he needed after he had made its operating system workable. And he feared he would have to use the mobile suit in the near future to defend the colony and his friends as much as he wished that wasn't going to be the case. "I came across it traveling along the detours I had to make," Tyler stated. "After being told to find another shelter, I didn't much like my chances on getting to another without getting hurt or killed. It was a riskier venture than I like to go into if there is a way to improve my chances. Thus, I decided to take that mobile suit and use it to better my chances of survival."

Sai didn't question Tyler's logic in boarding the mobile suit, it made sense to him. What he did question was how Tyler was even able to pilot a mobile suit. From what Sai understood, the idea took practice and know-how to do it decently. As far as he was aware, Tyler didn't have that skill set, or he'd never mentioned anything to that effect. And the glimpse Sai had gotten of the fighting, one machine had been not moving smoothly at all. It could've been that unit but something in Sai said it wasn't. If that movement was due to the operating system it was using, then why would other unknown machines that came out of Morgenröte not have the same issues? Tyler may be good with systems, but even he would have trouble making a non-working system usable for a machine. "And you were just able to pilot that mobile suit," Sai asked. "You may be good with working on systems, but even you would have trouble with using a mobile suit."

Tyler couldn't tell the truth that he'd had specialized training from the Federation's Military to pilot essentially any mobile weapon. Taking into account the work that Kato was pushing onto Kira and himself, it wasn't that much of a leap that he would be familiar with what the Shadow had. At least that was how Tyler planned to pass off him being able to make the OS usable for himself. Kato had been using a robotic suit as a test platform, so it was believable. Sai was aware of the general work that Kato had been shoving onto Tyler and Kira out of all the gang or seemed to be. "Not exactly," Tyler returned, "The work Kato had Kira and me doing was for robotic suits and so it isn't that far of a stretch for that to be applied to a mobile suit. I can tell you the operating system did have pieces which were Kira and my work, so making the rest workable wasn't impossible."

What Tyler said was sensible, Sai would admit that even if it wasn't the answer he was asking for. Yet, that was Tyler, he gave an "answer" to a question, though there was no way to guarantee it would be the answer one wanted from him. Dancing around a question without seeming to was a speciality of Tyler's. And trying to force him into getting the answer you wanted was an exercise in futility. Frankly, there were more pressing matters to see to than getting more details from him. So, Sai looked at the one with Tyler, "And who is this with you," Sai asked. "I can't say I've seen him before now."

Tyler turned to Rusty, a story already prepared for any that would ask him about the two of them meeting. They had encountered one another as Tyler had been searching for a terminal to check on the colony's condition. Rusty already had an explanation for what happened to his leg with the gunshot wound. And Tyler didn't doubt Rusty would come up with something that would put him in the commercial district when he'd been coming by. So, Tyler shrugged in response to the question, "I came across Mr. Mackenzie here when I ended up in this district. I was looking for a usable console to check on the colony's condition but was having bad luck with that. While I was going from shop to shop looking for a good console that still had a connection to the colony's network, I found him." Tyler looked back at his two friends, "You know me, I can't just leave another when they are in serious need."

Neither Sai nor Kuzzey would deny that Tyler was the type to help another when he crossed paths with them. If Tyler had found this Mr. Mackenzie as he said and there was no reason to doubt him, then he would've helped him as much as he was able. Sai sighed, "Fair enough I guess," he answered. Then Sai turned to face Rusty, "Mr. Mackenzie, was it?" Rusty nodded in response before Sai continued, "You live around the colony I assume, but I haven't seen you at all before now. Do you go to the college or do something else for work around the colony?"

Rusty had seen that Tyler knew the two that had come up to them. From the way they had conversed with one another, Tyler was likely friends with the two. The way Tyler had passed off what he'd been doing as something else other than him fighting against OMNI was impressive. Rusty would question if ZAFT interrogators could see any hint of a lie in what Tyler had said without having seen what Rusty had. Yet, Rusty was ready when others would question him being around the colony and why they may have not seen him until now. The backstory that Tyler had come up with was easy enough to work with and stick to for him. "That isn't that surprising actually," Rusty began. "I arrived a little over five months ago with the major worker transfer. I'm an intern for the mechanics that maintain and repair the mining equipment. I've been working the graveyard shift since arriving per the crew chief's instruction." Rusty gave a tired sigh, "The chief said something to the effect of putting all interns on the graveyard shift to assess their skills and work ethic on the first day."

Tyler would do what he could to corroborate Rusty's "story" to make it more than convincing. Keeping Rusty alive and out of OMNI hands and brig cell was an ongoing goal of his for the time being. And he had facts on his side when it came to having Rusty on the graveyard shift. Tyler had mentioned the head of the mechanics normally put interns on the graveyard shift and it was true. But Rusty's delivery on working the graveyard shift was one of the better performances that he'd seen in a while. "Yeah, I've heard the chief of the mechanics is a hard boss to work for," Tyler chimed in. When Sai and Kuzzey looked at Tyler curiously, Tyler shrugged, "One of the random facts I've learned while doing research for the journalist I work with. The one over those that do maintenance on the mining equipment works those under him hard. Although, that is also likely why the mining equipment works as well as it does as an exchange."

Rusty nodded in agreement to what Tyler had said as he could expand upon it. That Tyler said the "crew chief" of the mechanics was hard on their workers was something that he could use for his story. A ten-hour shift was long to begin with, but being pushed made them seem longer than the ten hours. That could play into Rusty being unseen most of the time around the colony other than just before his shift and right after it. "You are quite right," Rusty said in a tired tone. "The chief is tough and holds us to a high standard because of the miners' demands on the equipment. So, the ten-hour shifts feel more like fourteen-hour shifts by the end. Because of that, I normally go straight to my place after shifts to get some sleep."

Sai wasn't aware that the mechanics that worked on the resource miners' equipment were worked so hard. As far as he knew, the mines Heliopolis had a good production level which kept the colony relevant for Orb and others. Sai and those from the college didn't interact with the miners or those who worked around them much. Thus, what Mr. Mackenzie said was probably true if he was worked as hard as he said. If he was working graveyard shifts, then he wouldn't be around colony common areas when others were. "I see," Sai commented. "Sorry if it seems like I'm prying. It is just with how this day has been, it is hard not to be suspicious right now."

Tyler wouldn't blame his friends for being on edge and suspicious with the attack and what had come with it. It would be more shocking if they weren't that way right now with circumstances as they were. So, he waved a hand in dismissal, "Don't worry about it Sai," Tyler returned. "Today has certainly not gone the way any had imagined it would. At least, it hasn't gone the way I thought it would and then some. The chaos and mess have really thrown a wrench into any plans that had been made before today." Tyler shook his head, "Honestly, I've been flying by the seat of my pants more than I normally am pressed to on occasion today with all that has gone down. And it hasn't been fun in the slightest I can tell you." Tyler gestured at the Shadow, "I didn't think I would be in a mobile suit today, but I did to survive and get through all the crap happening."

It was clear that Tyler was stressed to Sai, more so than he had been for a while that he could remember. Tyler normally didn't show signs of stress outwardly most of the time. The few times that Sai had seen the point was when Kato had dumped lots of work onto Tyler and Kira. For Tyler to be stressing about the current situation didn't bode well for them. He was still the best chance they had for a potential plan to get through what was going on alive. Sai firmly believed that Tyler could figure out something to keep them all alive with whatever was going on today. That didn't say things weren't bad for them right now, but one like Tyler could at least give hope of something improving. "Are things really as bad as you are implying, Tye," Sai asked. "You're making it sound like things are really bad for all of us."

Tyler knew things for Heliopolis weren't good to put it mildly, more the opposite really. That some in Orb had made a deal with some in OMNI was coming back to bite them. The issue with that was the colony citizens were paying the price more immediately than those who brought this about. Things were grim right now, Tyler wouldn't dispute that fact or even sugar-coat the point. There were tasks that could be done to improve things, but most of those options were incredibly difficult to do currently. Even if they were to get OMNI's help, their position would be little improved from what it was. In the end, Tyler sighed heavily, "Things aren't great at all," he admitted. "And things are likely worse than I have implied, I can't say as of yet."

Tyler knew that staying where they were wouldn't do anything to change the situation for the better. The next best step they could take was to find and meet up with Kira and then go on from there. What would happen after that, Tyler couldn't say at the moment. Yet, there was strength in numbers, a fact that Tyler wouldn't deny. There was little way to say how many of the OMNI personnel were still alive. He'd seen a lot of dead bodies while in the Morgenröte complex and the uniforms were OMNI. Right now, it would be best to to regroup with those that Tyler knew could be trusted. "But I think it would be best to go and find allies we can work with," Tyler remarked. "I have an idea where Kira could be as it happens." Tyler looked to the Shadow, "And to save time that it would take to walk there, I will give you three a ride with this mobile suit." Tyler didn't wait for an answer from his two friends, merely went to the zip line and rode it up to the cockpit hatch. He ducked into the cockpit and swung into the seat and went through the process of having the operating system boot up.

The three outside watched Tyler as he ascended with the zip line to the mobile suit's cockpit. The Shadow's eyes flashed a moment later before the machine shifted into a kneeling position, stretching out its right hand toward them touching the ground. Rusty had figured that when Tyler had mentioned a ride, it would be in one of the hands of the mobile suit. So, he moved forward and climbed onto the suit's hand that was touching the ground. His injury to his leg did make climbing a tad difficult, but not undoable. Rusty knew he would have to have the gunshot wound looked at and attended to at some point in the near future. It would likely require stitches to close up the wound for it to heal properly. But the wrapping Rusty had done in the factory and redone in the clothing shop would suffice for a time longer before things would become more serious that attention would be required.

Unlike Rusty, Sai and Kuzzey were hesitant to move forward toward the mobile suit. The attack a little while ago had mobile suits in the colony being destructive. Because of that, being so close to another machine like that was more than unsettling. Sai was only moderately okay with being so close since Tyler was in the suit's cockpit. Sure, the suit didn't resemble what ZAFT used, but it was still unmistakably a mobile suit which the ongoing war employed. The colony was essentially silent other than the alarms still sounding because of mobile suits coming into the colony and attacking Morgenröte. Sai was still trying to wrap his head around all that he'd witnessed with his own eyes in the last hour. He couldn't come up with any logical explanation as to why ZAFT would do what they had. The things Tyler had said already didn't help in trying to figure out why the colony was facing what it was.

Sai glanced at Kuzzey and found his friend was still clearly scared of the current situation. He couldn't blame Kuzzey for fearing for his life with what had been going on around them. However, with them finding Tyler, it had seemed that things would start looking up for them. It was normally easy for any in the gang to see things improving or going better when Tyler was around. Yet, the current circumstances were harsh and made seeing much good harder than it would be normally, even with Tyler involved. But Tyler implied that he had an idea where Kira could be and was willing to give them a ride there. As apprehensive as Sai was, he trusted Tyler was more informed and likely had a plan which they could follow at this point. So, Sai pulled Kuzzey forward toward the mobile suit's hand touching the ground where Rusty already was.

Rusty positioned himself to help the other two up should they needed as they approached after a moment. Their hesitation was understandable with recent events that had occurred. But it was best for them to stick together for whatever Tyler had in mind for the time being. Rusty didn't kid himself, Commander Creuset wouldn't leave things as they were. With the mission team pulling back, there would be reassessment, more so when Athrun delivered what he had been told. There should be communications with ZAFT's administration with this kind of situation, Rusty didn't doubt that. While OMNI's activities and what had come out of them were dangerous, what had been done to the colony would be seen as acceptable. Yet, ZAFT forces around the colony couldn't leave with the last OMNI prototype mobile suit in enemy hands if at all possible. The remaining OMNI prototype was concerning, but the two unknown machines added to the complications that ZAFT would see as more problematic. Rusty focused back on the present and first helped Sai up to the Shadow's hand.

Sai had Kuzzey take Mr. Mackenzie's offered hand to boost him up to the mobile suit's hand. It was nice of Mr. Mackenzie to help them up, showed he was a nice guy. Sai would take what niceties that could be received right now with things as they were. Things were so out of place from what they normally were that Sai didn't know what point there was in questioning it. Sai took Rusty's offered hand and was brought up to the Shadow's hand.

Once the three were on the hand, Tyler had the hand curl slightly. It was to provide places that any of the three could hold onto should they wish. Then Tyler had the Shadow slowly rise up from its kneeling position. Kuzzey and Sai quickly grabbed the nearest finger to them as the Shadow's hand began going upward. Tyler kept the movement smooth and steady, not letting it be too quick to take his three passengers by surprise. With his alterations to the Shadow's operating system, the movement wasn't that difficult to manage. When the Shadow was at its full height, Tyler had it turn toward the direction of the park area that was near Morgenröte. That was where he felt Kira would end up with the last OMNI machine which had been going against ZAFT. Tyler then had the Shadow begin a steady pace forward walking toward the park area to find their friends.

At the same time, Tolle and Miriallia had ended up at the western end of Morgenröte. The gang had been heading toward the nearest shelter since the colony-wide warning had been heard. But along the way, Tolle had brought up the point that Tyler wasn't with them and that Kira had gone after the stranger that had been in Kato's workspace. Lacus had followed Kira just after the announcement for citizens to head for shelters came. None of the gang had liked their three friends having gone off on their own before the announcement. Tolle had been the one to suggest they all go look for their three missing friends. Once found, they all could seek out shelter for their safety. The gang didn't want their friends to be in danger from whatever was going on inside the colony.

However, while they had been searching for Tyler, Kira, and Lacus during the chaos, things had changed. The attack had forced people to run in all directions to avoid getting caught up in the chaos. Other people had been running in the same general direction as their group toward shelters. The crowd they were among had been moving away from the explosions and mobile suits dragging the two with it. Due to that, Tolle and Miriallia had gotten separated from Sai and Kuzzey. The two stuck together as they sought shelter from the effects of the attack going on. The panic around Tolle and Miriallia was making it hard to keep calm and concentrate on the circumstances at hand. Tolle had grabbed Miriallia's hand and didn't let go as the crowd had been rushing away from the mobile suits, so they didn't separate further.

After a few minutes, the crowd seemed to move on, leaving Tolle and Miriallia behind. Tolle glanced around to try and figure out where they had ended up after being caught up in the crowd. The buildings around them suggested that they had ended up around the edge of the residential sector of the colony that bordered Morgenröte. Tolle turned to make sure Miriallia was still with him as he didn't want to her to get separated from him with what was going on. They had already lost sight of Sai and Kuzzey when they had been caught up in the crowd and that had divided them. And there was little way right now that could have them reuniting with their friends without putting themselves in danger.

The glimpses that Tolle had gotten had said those attacking was ZAFT. The mobile suits appeared to be the same as in many news reports that were covering the ongoing war. While it didn't make sense for ZAFT to come into Heliopolis, that didn't matter anymore. They had come in and attacked Morgenröte for whatever reason they could have. Then there had been the other mobile suits which had appeared after ZAFT had begun their attack on Morgenröte. Some of them looked to have been going against and attempting to push ZAFT back from where people were. But the battle was still causing damage and panic for all those in the colony, which wasn't helpful. Thus, things were already pretty bad for the two of them right now and it could easily get worse without much on their part.

Nevertheless, a few minutes after Tolle had caught his breath and checked on Miriallia, he noticed that things had gone quiet. He scanned around and didn't see any sign the fighting was still going on as it had been. Tolle was still on edge and concerned with Miriallia's and his own safety with recent events. He knew that he and Miriallia should find a shelter and enter so they could be safe from whatever could happen in the near future. However, Tolle couldn't do that while his friends were out in the colony with their own lives in potential danger. He turned back to Miriallia and gave a weak smile, "Let's get going and see if we can find our friends," he suggested. "Then we can head for a shelter together and put all of this crazy chaos behind us. That sound good?"

Miriallia had been working hard to not have some sort of an anxiety attack right now. With all that was going on, it was very difficult not to panic like those in the crowd they had been swept up in for a bit. Heliopolis was supposed to be a peaceful place as it shouldn't be involved in the war between the Alliance and ZAFT. The Orb Union which controlled the colony was a neutral nation on Earth, not a member of the Earth Alliance. ZAFT shouldn't have any reason to send mobile suits of theirs into Heliopolis, let alone attack Morgenröte. Now, she and Tolle were alone, separated from their friends who had been with them and those they had been looking for were still missing as far as they were concerned. Things may be quiet right now, but who could say how long that would last.

Sure, Miriallia was still worried about Kira, Lacus, Sai and Kuzzey with them still missing. She was even worried about Tyler though she still clashed with him from time to time. Yet, there was no sign of things being any safer for them now than they had been when the attack had started. They could go out in the open and be targeted by those attacking Morgenröte and be killed just as likely as not. So, while she would agree with Tolle in wanting to find their friends, there was still a part of Miriallia that was scared as to what could happen. "Are you sure things are safer than they were," she asked. "There was gunfire and things crashing all around us before as we were running. It may be quiet at the moment, but how long will it stay like that?"

Tolle could completely understand Miriallia's concerns she was bringing up with him. He wasn't comfortable with what had occurred thus far today when it came to the attack by ZAFT. However, there was little either of them could do to affect that collection of events as things stood right now. Yet, doing nothing other than hiding was about as bad if not worse than going out and searching for their friends. Should they be able to find Kira, Lacus, or Tyler, then they could take better stock of the situation. Even should the three not be together, Kira may know if Tyler was alive and potentially where he could be. Finding Lacus would also be better as she could know where Kira could be as his girlfriend. Friends working together would be the best thing to go with in the bad situation they were facing.

If any knew something about what was going on, it would be Tyler since he always seemed to know some facts about events crazy as they could be. Not only would Tyler know something, but he would also likely have some sort of plan for the gang to go with. Tolle knew that a plan would help the current circumstances, and he would take what he could get with that. But the weak smile he'd had a moment ago faded, "I know things aren't good right now," Tolle admitted. "But I couldn't live with myself if I didn't go out and find the gang before seeking safety with a colony shelter. I'm confident that they would do the same for us were they in our position and so I feel they owe them that." Tolle paused for a moment, thinking how he could word what he had in mind. "We'll manage the best we can while searching for our friends. If anyone has a plan to get us through this the best possible, Tyler will have some ideas to work with."

Tolle convinced Miriallia to follow him before he moved forward from the structure they had been hiding behind. The two moved steadily through the completely deserted streets. There was debris and wreckage spread around from the attack on Morgenröte. There was still a clear enough path through the streets for the two to keep going. The silence that surrounded them was pressing in on them and making their feelings of being on edge increase. Tolle kept telling himself that he needed to keep calm as they kept searching. Miriallia was already not doing well with recent events. His girlfriend was scared, she was trying to hide it, but Tolle could see enough of the signs. She was leaning on him in this situation, and he didn't want to let her down by showing he was scared too about the attack and what had come with it. Tolle led Miriallia toward a park at the edge of the district that was near Morgenröte. It was where the two of them had been separated from Sai and Kuzzey when the crowd had split in two different directions. He felt that if they could get back around Morgenröte, perhaps they could find clues to where their friends were. The sooner they could get the gang back together, the sooner they could find a shelter they could enter and leave this whole troublesome situation behind themselves.

T he two came into view of the park before there was noise to their right. Tolle pulled Miriallia into the cover of the nearest building at the noise since it was coming closer. He peeked around the corner of the building to see what he could observe and figure out what was making the noise. Tolle's eyes widened at seeing two mobile suits coming into his view. They appeared to be moving toward the park with one in front of the other. The two looked to be the "non-ZAFT" machines that had appeared around Morgenröte earlier from what Tolle could tell. The one in the lead looked to be moving jerkily and was stumbling a bit as it was moving forward. He couldn't say what the two were doing around here with the fighting seeming to have died down. It could mean the fighting wasn't over yet which was very bad for all in the colony. The one behind the other did move forward and ended up catching the other before it fell in the park.

As Tolle kept watching, the one who had caught the other and helped the lead machine shift into a kneeling position. The two mobile suits then seemed to lose their color as they turned to grey from what colors they had been. Then the one who had helped the other moved back a few steps before a part of it opened up. Tolle kept observing to try and figure out what was going on with all of this when a sight got him to halt. The sight was none other than Kira coming out of the standing mobile suit. Kira was the last one that Tolle would have expected or even thought would come out of a mobile suit. The last Tolle knew, Kira had gone after Tyler when the colony-wide announcement had sounded. Lacus had gone after him before he got too far and that was the last Tolle had seen of the two. "What the," Tolle uttered, "Kira?"

Miriallia's heart had jumped when Tolle had pulled her into the cover the nearest building had provided. She had heard the noise that was steadily getting closer to where they were as much as Tolle had. He had gone to the building corner and peeked around it while Miriallia had merely stuck close to him. All the fighting had been getting to her and wearing her nerves and making them very brittle for the moment. However, then Tolle had uttered Kira's name which had caught Miriallia's attention. She moved to be by Tolle and looked in the same direction as him. It took a moment for her to see what Tolle was looking at which turned out to indeed be none other than their friend Kira. He looked to have come out of one of the two mobile suits a short distance from them with him being right outside its cockpit.

It was a relief to see Kira was okay, but she couldn't begin to guess what he was doing around a mobile suit. Miriallia would've said something to Tolle and say they should go and make sure Kira was okay. He could explain things to them which had him end up around and inside that mobile suit after checking him over. However, then another came out from inside the mobile suit right after Kira. Miriallia blinked and found she wasn't seeing things, Lacus had come out of the mobile suit that Kira was on right now. Kira was one thing, but Lacus being with him in a mobile suit made absolutely no sense. "Wait," Miriallia started, "Is that Lacus with him?"

Tolle had spotted that Lacus had come out of the suit cockpit shortly after Miriallia had come out to look with him. The two being together made sense, they had gone off in the same direction before all the chaos had broken out. That didn't give any hints as to where Tyler or their other two friends may have ended up. But perhaps Kira would have some idea where Tyler could be right now, at least Tolle hoped Kira would have an idea. Tyler had been the best at coming up with plans on the fly when needed. And they certainly needed a plan on what to do with circumstances as they were currently. "It certainly looks like she is up there with Kira," Tolle remarked. Then he turned to Miriallia, "Let's go make sure they're okay and move on from there, shall we?" Miriallia nodded before Tolle started forward with her right behind him toward the park.

At the same time, Kira had been the first to exit the Asuka's cockpit. He wanted to make sure things were okay before Lacus came out. It was safer in the cockpit for the moment while potential danger was still a real possibility. Kira didn't want Lacus to be in anymore danger than she absolutely had to be with the current situation. He would do what he could to defend her as required as Lacus was a dear friend. It was just the two of them right now with whoever was in the other mobile suit. Kira had nothing about or on the other pilot yet, they could be a friend or a foe for all he knew. From what he'd seen from the journey here, the colony seemed deserted at this point, likely from all the citizens heading for shelters.

Kira wished more than ever that Tyler was here with them right now. He always seemed to know what the best course of action would be in unexpected situations. Granted, Tyler had assured Kira that he would find them after the fighting was done and he believed Tyler would do just that as he could. Nevertheless, Tyler wasn't around for the moment, so Kira would have to manage for himself and Lacus for the time being. He hoped Tyler would get here sooner rather than later as he would know what to do. Kira shook his head and focused back on the situation at hand. He had the zip line extend to its usable position before he put a foot into the stirrup. Kira then extended his hand to Lacus so he could help her down from the mobile suit's cockpit.

Lacus was concerned about circumstances as they were, there was no question about that. Kira had kept her safe thus far and she was grateful for his efforts. He was really sweet even if he was frustratingly naïve and she couldn't help but love him for it. Kira didn't have to help her descend from the Asuka's cockpit via the zip line. Her sister Sakura had given her some lessons about mobile suits, even piloting them. Lacus hadn't mentioned that to Kira as there had been no reason to do so. She felt safer being around Kira right now with the attack on the colony by ZAFT. Lacus couldn't say why ZAFT would attack Heliopolis, they had no reason that she could figure out. She would remind herself to make some inquiries when she got back to the PLANTs on the whole situation. Lacus moved forward and took Kira's offered hand, and he brought her to his side and wrapped his arm around her waist.

Kira held onto Lacus as he had the zip line descend and bring them to the ground. He had glanced around as the zip line had brought them to the ground to take in the situation. The other mobile suit had changed from the colors it had before to being all grey now. The cockpit hatch had opened by the time Kira and Lacus had reached the ground. There was still no sight of the pilot, yet that Kira had seen. He hoped to see something of them so he could get an idea of who he may be dealing with now. A moment later, a woman came out of the cockpit of the other machine. She was in an orange jumpsuit by what Kira could see. The woman had shoulder length brown hair and from what Tyler could see, her eyes were brown, and she was shorter than him by a couple of inches.

Murrue had shutdown the Strike after it had been shifted into a kneeling position. She was glad to still be alive, but circumstances were far from ideal right now. Four out of the five G-Weapons had been stolen and were now under ZAFT control. All that had been with her were dead now while trying to defend the fruits of the G-Project. Corts had gone off with others to do what they could, but Murrue hadn't heard anything from them. It was likely she was the only one of the OMNI personnel that had been around the factory area now. Should that be the case, there had been a lot of good people lost today and that weighed heavily on her. All those under her and Corts had looked to them for safety and orders. For them all to be dead felt like a serious failure on Murrue's part which she didn't like at all.

She had tried reaching out to the Archangel and had no luck thus far. Murrue didn't want to think about the implications of being unable to reach her allies right now. There had been the shaking before the attack. That could mean the Archangel and the surrounding area had been attacked just as the factory. Murrue didn't want to consider that she was the only survivor from the G-Project just yet. She knew it was a real possibility, but she didn't want to accept that being potentially true. Murrue wanted to believe at least some of her allies were still alive somewhere. Regardless of the potential number still alive, Murrue would take any from the G-Project still being alive and hopefully able. She needed any help she could get right now with having just the Strike and none of its optional equipment.

Murrue was still dealing with the gunshot injuries that she had gotten before boarding the Strike. She knew that she would need to seek medical attention as soon as possible. It would need to be at least wrapped up soon or the bleeding would take a dangerous tole on her. Even with that being the case, Murrue managed to exit the Strike's cockpit on her own. She glanced at the unknown mobile suit and was shocked at what she saw. The last thing she had expected to find was teens coming out of the unknown machine. Sure, the pilot had sounded young, but not in their mid teens. That didn't change the fact she had been saved by one of them. Murrue wouldn't dispute the two unknown machines had rescued her from ZAFT's attack.

She was still scratching her head of where the two unknown mobile suits had come from. Murrue had never seen either of them before today around Morgenröte. Heck, there had been no hint of anything like an unknown mobile suit while the work on the G-Project had been going on. Murrue couldn't recall hearing any of Morgenröte's workers saying anything which could be related to either of the unknowns. Nor had any of those under her said anything they had heard from Morgenröte's works to that effect either. There would have to be some investigation into the point later, but that would be out of her hands. Murrue would just be grateful to those that had saved her life and prevented the Strike from falling into enemy hands. It was one of the few good things that had happened today, and she would take what she could get right now. Thus, Murrue made her way down to the ground which took some effort with her shoulder throbbing as it was. But once on the ground, she walked over waving at the teens, "You two," she called, "Thanks for your assistance."

Kira inclined his head in reply to the gratitude of the help he had provided. He was all for helping others when he could. However, the fighting he'd been required to do hadn't sat right with Kira though he understood there had been little other choice at the time. He still didn't like fighting, and Kira feared there would be more fighting he would be pushed to do in the near future. If it was to defend Lacus, Kira would do that even if he didn't like fighting. He once again wished Tyler would pop back up and help direct the situation. Tyler was a better "people" person than Kira had ever been. Kira guessed that Tyler had developed that skill set being around his parents. Tyler's parents had been surrounded by people the vast majority of the time, so Kira just assumed his friend picked up his people skills from being around that type of thing.

Lacus smiled in response to the woman's showing of gratitude. She didn't seem to be a bad person even if she was likely involved with those that had brought about the situation they were in. Lacus knew the war and what it brought about was horrible. She had seen the news reports and heard enough from her father and others not to be blind to the war. The war was a horrible thing, and it was only seeming to be getting worse as time wore on. Yet, Lacus hadn't thought it had come to the point that neutral territory or the places under the control of those like the Federation would be drawn into it. And it was worse to see the point firsthand in Lacus's opinion, for it pained her heart. The people who lived in the colony didn't deserve any of what had come to them today.

Tolle and Miriallia had closed most of the distance between where they had been hiding and the park. As they had been getting closer, an older woman came out of the other mobile suit. Tolle couldn't say who the woman was, but that didn't matter at the moment. They needed to check on their friends and make sure they were okay, that was the priority. Discussions on what could be done going forward could follow that. "Kira," Tolle called as they came to the edge of the park. "Kira are you and Lacus okay?"

Kira and Lacus turned at hearing their names being called. They were both shocked to see Tolle and Miriallia were coming up to where they were. Kira hadn't expected to see any of his friends until all the mess was over at the very least. They along with Sai and Kuzzey should've headed for shelters for their own safety as much as anything else. But with all the chaos the attack had brought about, he wouldn't be completely surprised at what could happen right now. Kira was happy some of his friends were alive and okay, he wouldn't deny that. Yet, as it was only Tolle and Miriallia, it brought up the question of where Sai and Kuzzey could be. So, Kira nodded to Tolle, "We're okay," he replied. "But what are the two of you doing here? Why didn't you head for one of the shelters? And where are Sai and Kuzzey? Are they alright?"

Tolle and Miriallia came to a stop in front of their friends while Kira was asking his questions. They were reminded of the separations from Sai and Kuzzey while the crowds had been running away from the fighting. Neither had liked being separated from their other friends when they had been running, but they could do nothing about that for the moment. They hoped Sai and Kuzzey were alright and safe wherever they were currently. The whole reason they had gone out and not headed for a shelter was to find Kira, Lacus, and Tyler. They had been worried about their friends and wanted to make sure they would make it to safety too. Tolle rubbed the back of his head, "The gang decided to go looking for you two and Tyler before we all headed for a shelter," he answered. "As for Sai and Kuzzey, we don't know where they are now. We got separated while caught up in the crowds running away from the fighting."

Tolle glanced at the nearby mobile suit that Kira had come out of for a moment. There had still been nothing said about how Kira and Lacus had ended up in the machine. He then looked over at the other mobile suit the woman had come out of. The woman was still making her way toward them slowly, but her presence was still a mystery. "So," Tolle began, "how did the two of you even end out in that mobile suit," he asked pointing to the Asuka. "You went after Tyler, but how did that come to where you are now?"

How Kira and Lacus had ended up around Morgenröte's factories and taken the Asuka out from there was a long story. Going after Tyler after he had vanished was just where things started for the path they had been on. Kira was still trying to process and figure out how things had gone the way they had with the fighting. He hadn't been looking for or wanted to go into the fight against ZAFT that he had been forced into. Kira had just been doing what he could to protect Lacus and help Tyler. "We did go after Tyler, but we bumped into the individual that was around Professor Kato's workspace. The two of us helped them get to a shelter in the factory district that Morgenröte has. That's how we ended up around the factory sector in the Morgenröte district." Kira paused for a moment ordering his thoughts, "With all the fighting going on, we ended up around this mobile suit. We did see Tyler, but he went ahead of us before we could reach him. So, the mobile suit seemed the best option to work with to get out safely and stay alive."

Miriallia was going to ask more questions for clarification, but a thumping sound drew her attention. When she glanced in the direction the sound had come from, she saw the woman that had come out of the other machine collapsed on the ground. One of her shoulders was red, the same shade as blood tended to be. Miriallia felt that was very bad not just for the woman, but for them as well. She couldn't explain why the well-being for the woman would matter for them, but they clearly needed help. "Um," she started and pointed at the woman, "She just collapsed and isn't looking good at all. I think she needs first-aid or something like that."

Meanwhile, the Shadow was making its way through the commercial district towards Morgenröte. Sai, Kuzzey, and Rusty were on the Shadow's right had which Tyler was having stay level and steady. Sai and Kuzzey were holding onto the closest "finger" of the Shadow's hand as the mobile suit was moving along. On the other hand, Rusty was maintaining his balance as the suit was traveling. He was surprised with how steady Tyler was keeping the Shadow's hand, more so with the operating system as it had been. It was a testament to the modifications that Tyler had made to the systems and how effective they were. It also showed potentially how skilled a pilot Tyler could be in Rusty's view. Rusty couldn't say what the destination Tyler was taking them was, but he seemed to know at least.

In the cockpit, Tyler was managing to move the Shadow in the direction he wanted smoothly enough. His modifications to the OS were paying off, though he knew and could see there was still work that would be needed, when possible, for smooth operation. He was keeping the suit's right hand up, level, and steady where it was. Tyler wouldn't let that change as there were two of his friends there and a friend of one of his best friends. The lives of those three were a priority for Tyler to keep alive and well the best he was able. Things were still chaotic enough for the situation to be unstable which wasn't helpful for Tyler. He would be busy into the near future, Tyler knew that even if he didn't like it. The reason that Tyler was transporting his group to where he figured Kira and Lacus were located was they could go forward and work together from there. The more working toward the same goal, the better chance of reaching and accomplishing the goal became.

Tyler figured that Kira had ended up in or around the park that bordered the district Morgenröte was in and the main residential area of the colony. That area made the most sense in Tyler's mind for Kira to be as it was the closest open space mobile suits could go and not cause damage. Kira would be mindful about causing potential damage to the colony even if OMNI didn't share that concern. Sure, the amount of OMNI personnel that could've survived was likely low from what Tyler had seen thus far. But that didn't mean that there weren't any survivors that managed to make it through what ZAFT had done. For those survivors, Tyler wasn't expecting much on the part of sympathy for the colony and what it had suffered because of them and ZAFT. They would be probably looking after their own interests and what was left of their project more than what their actions had done.

The path Tyler was using was clear enough for the Shadow to get through so far. There was debris spread around the further he had brought his group. However, Tyler was managing the journey well enough. After around five minutes, Tyler came to a cross street that should take him the rest of the way to the park. So, at the intersection Tyler had the Shadow turn to the left to continue the trip his group was on. The sight that Tyler saw ahead after the turn was a welcome one as the mobile suit Kira had been using was around the park. The last OMNI prototype was also in the park, facing Kira's machine. Finding Kira and likely Lacus if Tyler were to guess would certainly help in improving the situation.

At the same time, Miriallia and Lacus had managed to use the material that Kira and Tolle had found to wrap the woman's bloody shoulder. The makeshift bandage had appeared to help stem and stop the bleeding for the moment. From what Lacus had seen, the woman had appeared to have been shot recently. She would need to have the injury looked at by a doctor when she could for it to properly heal. But the bandage would save her from immediate issues as long as she didn't do anything seriously strenuous. The hope was the woman could give them some information as to what was going on since they knew little. Yet, they would have to wait for her to wake up before they could ask any questions.

Tolle had been watching the girls bandage up the woman's shoulder. He was glad that Miriallia and apparently Lacus knew first-aid. Tolle had been through the mandatory course education required for that, but he hadn't paid a lot of attention or even remembered a great deal from the class as it had been years ago. However, noise coming from behind had Tolle turn to see what was making the noise. His eyes widened as he saw another mobile suit was coming in their direction. "Guys," Tolle snapped, pointing at the approaching mobile suit, "Another mobile suit is coming our way. Should we hide before it reaches us?"

Kira twisted around to see what Tolle was talking about. ZAFT machines coming back already would cause a serious problem. Sure, there were less people that could get hurt, but their group wasn't among that collection of people. Kira would be responsible for protecting his friends along with the woman that was out cold right now. He had no issue protecting his friends, he was willing even if he didn't like fighting. They meant more to him than his adverseness to fighting. But ZAFT had what they wanted from the attack they had made, right? Tyler had said he had a plan to get ZAFT to go away and Kira hadn't doubted that. Yet, if ZAFT had come back into the colony, then Tyler's plan hadn't worked as hoped. It was a rare thing since Tyler's plans tended to work and result in the general way Tyler intended them to, even if they didn't play out as he intended.

Nevertheless, Kira felt relief at seeing the machine Tyler had been using approaching. It may have taken longer than Kira would've liked for Tyler to catch up with him, but the point was he had. With Tyler around, they could come up with a plan to work with to move forward and get to safety. Heck, Tyler may have some idea how to find Sai and Kuzzey if he hadn't already found them. Tyler would help improve the current situation even if only a little and Kira was more than willing to take that for the moment. He moved over and pushed Tolle's arm down, "It's okay, Tolle," Kira assured. "That machine is not going to hurt us. If anything, it is a relief that it is coming our way."

Miriallia had risen when Tolle had called out that another mobile suit was coming in their direction. Mobile suits had fought and done damage to the colony, it may not look like one of ZAFT's machines, but did that make it any safer? Lacus could see her friend was scared at the approaching mobile suit, and there was no need for her to be. Seeing the machine brought relief to Lacus's heart as it meant Tyler had caught up with them. He was safe and could help them figure out what they could do next. So, Lacus put a hand on Miriallia's shoulder, "It's going to be okay," she said, "I promise."

Miriallia wanted to believe Lacus, but how could she be so sure the machine coming toward them wouldn't hurt or kill them? With everything that had happened in the last hour, Miriallia was still scared and that was making her doubt. "Are you sure?" Lacus nodded and gained a smile, "I'm completely confident in that," she returned. "And the reason I am is Tyler is the one piloting it. He won't do anything to hurt us, you know he wouldn't. If anything, it is a relief that he has caught up with us. He will have some ideas on what we can do to improve things."

Miriallia blinked at Lacus saying Tyler was the one in the cockpit of the mobile suit. Should that be true, then Lacus was right with there being nothing to worry about when it came to the machine. Tyler protected the gang no matter what, even when some of them disagreed with the things he said. He had proven that as crazy as things he may say could sound, if he told them to do something in a serious tone, it was in the best interest of all of them to do what Tyler said. "Tyler is in there," Miriallia questioned, "He's, okay?" Miriallia looked at the ground, "He disappeared before all the chaos started." She knew she had accused Tyler of slacking and leaving Kira to do work from Professor Kato. Tyler wouldn't do that to Kira and after some time to think about it, Miriallia knew that. She had intended to apologize later, but then Tyler had vanished, and the attack had started. Miriallia had been haunted that her last words to Tyler had been a stupid accusation, and she didn't want that. "I need to apologize to him for accusing him leaving Kira with work that the professor dumped on him."

Lacus padded Miriallia's shoulder with her showing she had a good heart even when she lost her temper sometimes. She glanced back at the woman whose shoulder they had wrapped up with the first-aid kit that had been nearby. It would be best if she was not left lying on the ground as she was. So, Lacus looked back to Miriallia, "Let's get this woman to the bench," Lacus suggested gesturing to the nearby bench. "It will help her to be off the ground I would say." Miriallia whipped her eyes and nodded in agreement. She and Lacus then got above the woman and lifted her up before carrying her to the bench.

Tolle was also surprised much as Miriallia when Kira told him that Tyler was the pilot for the approaching mobile suit. Not to say Tolle wasn't relieved that Tyler was alive and okay for he was. But Tyler was no pilot as far as Tolle was aware. Sure, he was talented so it was possible that he could pilot something like a mobile suit. And with the chaos that had been going on, Tyler would've likely had to resort to more drastic actions. Yet, it was still hard to wrap his head around Tyler entering a mobile suit and piloting it. However, Tolle didn't question Kira on this since he wouldn't lie about Tyler in this situation. Tyler appearing was a good omen in Tolle's mind and they needed some good going for themselves.

As the Shadow drew closer, those in the park heard voices coming from the direction of the mobile suit. Kira looked to the machine's right hand which was raised and found there were people on it. He blinked as he comprehended that two of the three on the hand were his two missing friends. It was a further relief to see that Sai and Kuzzey were safe and had found Tyler before his friend had made his way here. He did note that there appeared to be a third person on the hand which Kira didn't recognize. That brought up some questions that Kira couldn't come up with answers to. It was possible that Tyler came across someone while separated from them and helped them. Tyler was the type to help others as he could when he came across another in need.

The Shadow came to a halt meters away from the Asuka before it shifted to have its right leg bend while keeping its foot flat on the ground while the other leg went into a kneeling position. Once in the kneeling position, the suit slowly lowered its right hand, making sure to keep it level as it did so. Tyler made sure he was steady on lowering his passengers to the ground so they could get off. They had all seen far more of the war than they should have, minus Rusty, though he hadn't intended to be a part of what had happened to Heliopolis thus far. From what Tyler had seen, Rusty wasn't the type of individual that would do what ZAFT had to the colony if he had been told about it beforehand. And his temperament would help his story and not be seen as suspicious to those they would be around in Tyler's opinion. He didn't feel his friends would question Rusty much with what Tyler would tell them when they asked about how the two had met. OMNI would take more work and convincing to get them to not be suspicious of him.

The mess which the fight between OMNI and ZAFT had created would still be a problem and ongoing issue that Tyler would have to take into account. That would be an annoying and frustrating factor Tyler would have to keep in mind for the time being. His colleagues would help as they could Tyler didn't doubt. Yet, when it came to what happened inside Heliopolis, Tyler was the most able to do much effect it. And Tyler was essentially on his own with that point other than perhaps Kira helping him. Kira was already involved with him boarding a mobile suit and fighting against ZAFT. Rusty couldn't do much to help or he would be discovered for being both a Coordinator and a ZAFT soldier. That was to be avoided the best possible for his safety and wellbeing to continue as it was. So, Kira was the only help that Tyler could rely upon that was close at hand for what could come up for the moment.

The current circumstances were far from ideal to work with, Tyler would be the first to admit that. The colony had taken a beating already from ZAFT coming in and going after OMNI. The Island 3 Type colony wasn't designed for assault from a military force, Tyler knew the colony specs enough to be well-aware of the fact. Thus, it wouldn't be able to take much more without there being a serious risk of the colony collapsing and coming apart by the seams. The issue with that point and made it a real possibility was OMNI keeping one of their prototypes and ZAFT being insistent on taking the other. Tyler would be shocked if ZAFT's mission commander would stop with what they had already done. They had crossed a line without much of a problem, so until they were forced to stop, they would keep coming.

Once the Shadow's hand was touching the ground Sai was the first to slide off and have his feet touch the solid ground. He saw Kira and Tolle heading to where he had come down from the suit's hand. Lacus and Miriallia were a distance away looking to be carrying a woman toward a bench. It was a relief to see his other friends were okay and safe. It didn't explain why there were two of the mobile suits that had been seen during the attack there. However, Sai assumed that Kira, much like Tyler, had been forced to work with one of the mobile suits with the situation having been what it was. The two were good with machines, so it wasn't that unreasonable to imagine they could pilot a mobile suit if they had little other choice. And they were still alive and seemed to be okay, that was the takeaway from the whole mess. "Am I glad to see you two are okay," Sai greeted. "With how crazy a day it has become, I'll take what good I can get."

Kira and Tolle came to a stop in front of Sai as he had greeted them. Kira was relieved that his missing friends were here and safe. It was the best fortune that they had come across and met up with Tyler in Kira's opinion. With ZAFT attacking, Tyler was able and more than willing to protect his friends, Kira knew that for a fact. Kira smiled in response to Sai's greeting, "The feeling is mutual, Sai," he replied. "I glad you are safe and managed to meet up with Tyler with everything that has been going on."

Sai turned and smiled to comfort Kuzzey who had been scared during the ride to the park. With friends waiting below, Kuzzey should be able to come down without too much issue. "Hey, slide down Kuzzey," Sai called. "We will make sure you have an okay landing, I promise."

Kuzzey had watched Sai slide off the mobile suit's hand a moment ago. Frankly, Kuzzey was still scared and had just let go of the "finger" he had been during the trip. If not for Mr. Mackenzie assuring him, they had stopped, then Kuzzey would still be holding onto the finger. But when Kuzzey plucked up the courage to move to the edge and look down, he froze up. The distance to the ground wasn't that far, but with all that had happened today, Kuzzey's mind was making it seem much farther than it really was. A hand on his shoulder got Kuzzey to glance to his right and found Mr. Mackenzie was there to reassure him. Then Kuzzey heard voices from below, and when he looked in that direction, he saw his friends were calling to him, saying things would be okay. He took a few deep breaths and swallowed hard before he shifted his position then slid down to the ground where his friends were waiting.

Rusty had seen that the blue-haired guy had been freezing up since he'd appeared with the other of Tyler's friends. He couldn't blame the guy, he was a civilian, not a soldier so he wasn't used to being around the fighting the war produced. Non-soldiers weren't accustomed to the battles and fights that the ongoing war brought about, nor should they be. So, the fear the guy was showing wasn't much of a surprise with the attack that the infiltration had turned into. Rusty wouldn't blame him at all for the fear driving him somewhat. Thus, Rusty put a comforting hand on Kuzzey's shoulder to say everything was okay for the moment. He had already seen three below waiting for Kuzzey to slide down to them. Rusty would make his own way down after Kuzzey got to the ground.

Tyler observed his three passengers slide off the Shadow's hand to the ground. The process took a bit as Kuzzey did take some time likely due to the fear he was experiencing with recent events. He couldn't blame any of his friends for being shaken to some degree by ZAFT's attack on Morgenröte. Granted, ZAFT hadn't been aiming for Morgenröte directly, rather OMNI's project, but in the end, that didn't make much difference. Tyler wished that the crazy events could be over for the day for him and his friends. Yet, he wasn't so foolish to believe ZAFT would leave things as they were. The "quiet" they were getting currently was nothing more than a lull between the attacks and the like in Tyler's mind. He just hoped the "lull" lasted long enough for himself and others to make some progress in improving their positions.

When his passengers were off the Shadow's right hand, Tyler had the hand move to be on the right thigh. Then he had the torso straighten up so the cockpit would be as level as possible, for Tyler wanted his exit to be as simple as possible. Once the torso was oriented so the hatch would be a level surface, he flipped the switch to have the suit's cockpit open. Tyler had the Shadow's systems shutdown before he undid the restraint belts. By the time he was free from the seat, the forward display had split and moved aside. Tyler moved forward toward the cockpit entry, putting his hands on either side of the hole and hoisted himself out.

Tolle and Kira had been watching as the Shadow had shifted to its new position. Tolle was curious as the mobile suit was all grey while the two in the park had been colored earlier. The process seemed to happen when the suits were shut down for some reason. Tolle couldn't say how or why the coloration was related to the suit and its systems. He'd never seen videos of something like that happening with ZAFT mobile suits before. However, Tolle focused back on the matters at hand with what they could do next. If any could help with that, it would be Tyler, he would come up with a plan for them to use. He always would have the makings of some sort of plan which would put them on the best path forward. And with how crazy things had become in the last hour, the gang certainly needed a plan to work with.

Tyler stepped out onto the lower hatch and moved out toward where the zip line was located. He shifted the zip line out from its stored position and had it extend a bit so he could use it to descend to the ground. Tyler put his right foot in the stirrup and grabbed the handle control with his hand before pulling himself up and putting his full weight on the zip line. He then squeezed down on the handle control to have the zip line begin lowering him down toward the ground. It was half a minute later before Tyler touched down and stepped off the zip line. He glanced over the general area and was somewhat relieved to see his friends all there and safe. It was among some of the good things he had going for him currently with what had been happening today. Tyler knew things could be worse than they already were, so he would take what he could get and work from there.

Kira was relieved to see Tyler and he appeared to be okay from what he could see. He had trusted his friend would manage as he would need to with all the crazy stuff going on today. With Tyler around, things would improve even if only slightly, they always did before this, so there was no reason to expect otherwise now. The gang needed a plan for what they were to do, and Tyler had always been good at coming up with plans. Kira smiled, "Tyler, am I ever glad to see you," he greeted. "While it may have taken you a bit to catch up with us, I'm happy that you did." Kira's gaze shifted to Rusty who was a short distance away from Tyler. There had been nothing said as to who they were yet, and Kira had never seen the individual before. "Who is this with you?"

Tyler glanced at Rusty when Kira had asked about him. He knew questions about Rusty would come up with those he would encounter. His friends would be understanding enough and accept the explanation he would give without much push back. Tyler had the trust of his friends enough that they knew it was best not to ask for details he didn't give them at a point in time. It was best that Rusty was not seen or known as part of the ZAFT team that infiltrated the colony for the moment. That could be brought up later after the gang learned that Rusty wasn't a bad person at heart. So, Tyler gestured at Rusty, "His name is Rusty Mackenzie," he began. "I came across him while I was trying to find out what was going on after we separated. He was injured so I just couldn't leave him, that's not my style at all." Tyler shrugged, "From what he told me, he was woken up by all the noise and went out to see what was going on. Debris falling was what injured his leg, so I patched him up the best I could and had him come with me."

Rusty could see that Tyler was setting him up to work with his backstory that he'd created for him. This would be the first test of how well he could carry that story with those that would be likely more accepting than those from OMNI would be. He had to get it right here so he could convince OMNI personnel when encountering them in the near future. From what Rusty had seen, Tyler's friends were all good people. One girl had made him take a second look as she had appeared to be Lacus Clyne for a moment. But Rusty dismissed that possibility since the chances of Miss Clyne being around the colony were beyond low. So, Rusty bowed his head to those near him, "As he said, my name is Rusty Mackenzie," he said introducing himself. "I'm an intern mechanic that does work on the resource mining equipment. I got to the colony around five months ago with the major worker transfer."

Rusty's greeting was accepted by the gang which Tyler was grateful for. He hadn't doubted that the gang would accept the backstory that he'd created for Rusty to use. But this was essentially the first test for the act the two of them would have to put up around OMNI personnel. Rusty was doing well with the story, he was convincing with it, even Tyler would have to admit that so far. Yet, this was the easy run compared to those they would have to fool in the near future. Tyler didn't think his friends would point fingers at Rusty even if they were to find out he was with ZAFT. They would at least give him the chance to explain things as he could before judging him. OMNI wouldn't be anywhere near as kind or willing to give that kind of chance to Rusty were they to find out he was from ZAFT.

What Tyler and Mr. Mackenzie had said made sense to Kira. Tyler wasn't the kind of person who would leave another in a bad situation or to die if he could do something to help. Kira didn't know much about the mechanics that worked on the mining equipment. From what Sai and Tyler had said, they did long shifts so didn't have a great deal of time to interact with others around the colony. If Mr. Mackenzie was on a late shift, not seeing him made even more logical sense since they worked when most were sleeping. The noise from the attack along with the announcement before it started would've woken any in the colony sleeping. And with circumstances as they were currently, it would be best to stick together. Kira nodded, "I see," he replied. "Well, it good that things are improving in some way."

Tyler had to stop himself from smacking his forehead at Kira's response. It was "classic" Kira which Tyler wished was different. It was a show of his friend's naïveté which he cursed with fervor when he saw it. The naïveté was something Tyler had quickly picked up upon after meeting and befriending Kira when they were younger. It was an ongoing frustration that Tyler tried to keep to himself the best he could when it didn't "screw" Kira over actively and do potential harm. And yet, Kira's naïveté was a part of his "charm" as much as Tyler would love it not to be. He didn't want his friend to change from the way he was even should it mean that the naïveté was a part of it. So, Tyler decided to say nothing in response to his friend's naïveté showing itself at a frustrating time.

Instead, Tyler turned his attention to the OMNI machine that was on the other side of the park. He had heard nothing about the pilot, whether they were alive, dead, or merely injured with all that had happened. Things in the factory had been dicey before the mobile suits had headed out from there, Tyler wouldn't argue that point. Tyler had gotten out of there without a scratch, but that was his luck and military training working together to give him the best chance he had to do what he had to. Not everyone was as fortunate and lucky as Tyler had a knack for, in fact, he was a rarity more than a standard. What could've occurred to Rusty was more what most people got compared to Tyler. So, Tyler sighed, "While I don't disagree with you Kira, you could've put it differently," he remarked. "But where did the one from the other mobile suit end out? I'm hoping they can provide some additional information to us about how things came to be the mess we are in."

Kira led Tyler over to the bench that Lacus and Miriallia had taken the woman who had come out of the other machine. The rest came with them as they went, sticking together out of instinct with the danger they had already faced today. Tyler looked over the woman with a critical eye but said nothing to those around him. She was in an orange jumpsuit that OMNI workers wore that spent time around Morgenröte. It was them trying to blend in and not stick out from those they were working around from what he'd seen. The attempt was one of the better ones that the OMNI personnel had done around Heliopolis Tyler would begrudgingly admit. There was wrapping around the woman's right shoulder, appearing to be made of cloth rather than normal bandaging material. It suggested that the woman hadn't gotten out of Morgenröte's factory without getting hit at least once.

After a moment of looking at the woman, Tyler felt that he'd seen her before this. He felt that she was among the OMNI personnel that had been around Morgenröte the times that he'd been doing investigations of their project. Yet, Tyler had a nagging feeling that the woman was not the run of the mill OMNI worker that he'd glimpsed during his observations. It was possible and even likely she was one of the OMNI officers that had been overseeing the mobile suit side of their project. There were supposed to be at least two that were in that position from what Luke and Allen had been able to find out. Neither had been able to confirm if there were more than two or who those two could be, but it hadn't mattered in the end. Should the woman be one of those officers, they may know more that would help Tyler's group could use to help their situation. Yet, with her unconscious, there was little that could be done to get more information, so patience would be needed.

Tyler pulled back a bit after his glance over he'd done of the woman, "Well, until she wakes up, we are a tad stuck," he stated. "With what has happened, getting to a shelter that isn't full will be difficult for any of us. And the damage to the colony has probably forced those shelters into lockdown essentially by this point." Tyler gazed over his friends who were showing stress with his statement. While things may be grim, they weren't as bad as some may think as of yet. There were still things which they could do to improve the situation they found themselves in. "That doesn't mean that we are screwed over," Tyler said firmly. "There are things which we can still do to help the situation we find ourselves in. It will be best if we stick together until further notice the best we can. If we work together, then we should be able to get through this mess alive and okay."

Tyler, being as calm as he was did ease some of the stress that the gang had been feeling with circumstances as they were. He sounded sure of what he said about them not being in serious trouble. It was once again a show that Tyler was an anchor for the gang in hard times. He was always the calm and collected one that could come up with a plan and direct them how to get out of troublesome situations. Granted, Tyler hadn't said anything specific about what they could do right now, but he had given them some hope which they were more than willing to take for the moment. Tyler glanced back at the woman, "I believe we should wait until this woman wakes up," he remarked. "I'm hoping she can shed some light on what is going on so we can better understand what we are working with."

The gang didn't leave the park with Tyler's suggestion of waiting for the woman to regain consciousness. Tolle looked to the machine that the woman had come out of, for he was curious about the mobile suit. It was the closest he had been to a mobile suit himself. If not for their use in the war, mobile suits would be fascinating in Tolle's view. Giant mechanized suits had been something from science fiction until the current decade of the Cosmic Era. He would love a closer look inside one and this was the first opportunity Tolle had ever gotten to potentially do that. The chances of that coming up in his lifetime was slim, so he decided to take the chance to look inside the cockpit. The machine the woman had come out of was the easiest to access out of the three around the park. Thus, Tolle walked over to the Strike and began climbing up toward the entry hatch.

Kuzzey followed Tolle shortly after he had headed for the Strike. He was a tad concerned Tolle was going to one of the mobile suits. And when Tolle began climbing up toward its cockpit entry, Kuzzey was starting to wonder if he should say something. None of the mobile suits belonged to any of them, they had come from Morgenröte. There had been mention of the Alliance during all the chaos and the fight happening because of them for some reason. However, Kuzzey didn't know if that was true or not. If some from the Alliance were here at the colony, it could potentially explain why ZAFT had come. But Kuzzey couldn't think of any reason for any from the Alliance to come around a mining colony like Heliopolis. Yet should one of the mobile suits belong to the Alliance, then Tolle should stay away from it.

Tyler watched as his two friends went toward the OMNI prototype machine. Them investigating the machine should be fine as long as they didn't activate it. It was something to do while waiting for the woman to wake up. And with her not awake, Tyler's mind turned to helping Rusty with his bullet wound in his leg. It really should be stitched up as soon as it could be so it could begin healing. Tyler could do the stitching himself with the general field medic knowledge he had. Sure, a certified nurse would be far better than Tyler, but such wasn't available and probably wouldn't be for a time. He knew there was a pharmacy not too far from the park that would have the things he would need to stitch up Rusty's injury. And with the time they would be waiting, it could be used to take care of that. So, Tyler turned to Kira, "Say Kira," Tyler began, "You mind keeping an eye on things here for a bit?" Tyler gestured at Rusty, "The one I picked up has an injury that should be treated better than it is right now. There is a pharmacy near here which should have the stuff needed to do the better treatment. I can take him there and get it done in around ten to fifteen minutes or so."

Kira didn't see an issue with Tyler going off to help the one he had brought with him. Tyler could look after himself as needed, and he shouldn't be gone for long. So, he nodded and returned his attention to what Tolle was doing around the Strike. Tyler went over to Rusty and told him to follow him to get his leg worked on. Rusty didn't question Tyler's idea to get his leg worked on even if it was out of the blue. His leg had been throbbing dully after the bullet had passed through. The wrapping had helped dull that to something he could ignore for a time. However, Rusty wouldn't say no to getting it taken care of better and the throbbing to potentially go away. He knew that for his leg to properly heal, it would need to be stitched up or something like that. Whether Tyler intended to do that or something else, Rusty couldn't say. For all he knew, Tyler could have the skills expected of a field medic, it wouldn't be shocking to Rusty if he somehow did.

Rusty followed Tyler who led him over to a small vehicle that was by a nearby structure. The two got in the car before Tyler managed to start the vehicle and drove them away from the park. Tyler drove the car a short distance to the pharmacy he knew of which was close to Morgenröte. He parked the car outside of the pharmacy and gestured Rusty to follow him as he headed for the entrance. When the two entered the pharmacy, Tyler glanced around, trying to find the supplies he was after. He knew they wouldn't be on the general shelves of the place, but likely in the back somewhere. So, Tyler had Rusty go and sit down by the "consultation" office the pharmacy had before he went into the storage area the place had. It took Tyler a few minutes to find what he was looking for, but he found the stuff nonetheless. Tyler returned to where Rusty was with the kit meant for doing stitches along with a few pain killers and numbing agents.

Rusty had heard Tyler rummaging around in what he assumed was the pharmacy's back storage area. He was left to wonder what Tyler was looking for to help with his gunshot injury. Tyler hadn't said anything specific on what he had in mind to do to assist Rusty that he could recall. Rusty knew he wasn't much in a position to complain about the help he would get for the moment. He was on his own, other than Tyler to help him not be caught by OMNI. He may not know a great deal about Tyler yet, but Athrun certainly seemed to trust him. That Athrun trusted Tyler was enough for Rusty to put his faith in him for the time being. So, when Tyler came back into his view, Rusty blinked as he saw he had a kit, and a bag filled with bottles and syringes.

Tyler moved a box so it could act as a footrest to have Rusty's foot elevated for Tyler to work on. He put the stitching kit to his right so he could have ready access to it in a moment. He planned to do what he could to numb the area around the wound before he would stitch it shut. Tyler had stitches put in before without painkillers and/or numbing agents being used, and he didn't have fond memories of those times. Thus, Tyler didn't want to subject Rusty to that kind of miserable experience if he could help it. He looked at Rusty and gave a weak smile, "I'm going to stitch the gunshot wound shut if that wasn't clear already," Tyler stated. "I will be using painkillers and numbing agents before I do the stitching. I assure you, I've had stitches done without such and it ain't nice at all and I would rather not put you through that if I don't have to."

Rusty appreciated that Tyler was going to try and numb the pain he would've felt from the stitching needle. In the circumstances they were in, niceties were normally overlooked by most in favor of necessity. So, that Tyler was willing to take some extra time to do what he could to help Rusty not be in so much pain was extremely nice of him. Thus, Rusty put his right leg up on the box and unwrapped it so Tyler would have clear access to his wound to do what he would. "I appreciate that you are willing to do that," Rusty replied. "I figured that stitches would be the best thing to have done." He paused for a moment, "How experienced are you with doing them? Do you have skills expected of a field medic?"

Tyler paused for a moment with a bottle with painkillers in it in one hand and a syringe in the other. He didn't technically have a certification in field medicine, though he had considered the idea once or twice. However, he had never gotten around to taking the written and practical tests that such would require. The skills that he had were more ones that he'd picked up through personal experience and observation. That didn't make them less valid, but they weren't professionally taught to him. Sure, Tyler was a tad messier with his "bedside manner" and the way he went about medical stuff was less elegant. Yet, Tyler had some skill, and he would use it to save what lives he could regardless of the means he had to use. "I'm not certified as a field medic, though I have considered it," Tyler replied. "I more have the skills they would from personal experience and observation. I may not have the best bedside manner and I'm a bit rough, but I can get the job done well enough for it to work well."

Tyler filled one of the syringes with a quick numbing agent before priming it for use. Rusty had unwrapped his leg around the ankle area by the time that Tyler had the syringe ready. He could see the wound that the bullet had made in Rusty's leg. Tyler twisted Rusty's ankle to see the exit wound and found it was around the same size of the entry. The wounds should take five to ten stitches each which shouldn't be that difficult. So, Tyler started with the front wound, stabbing a couple of times and injecting the numbing agent around the entry. He then did the same around the exit wound on the back of Rusty's leg. After using the numbing agent, Tyler turned to get the painkiller ready to inject. The numbing agent would make doing the stitches far less painful immediately, the painkillers would make it not throb later. Tyler glanced at Rusty, "Does the area where the wound feel numb yet," he asked. "I'll be injecting painkillers next before doing the actual stitching."

The stabs and injection of the numbing agent had been a minor discomfort to Rusty. It implied that Tyler was at least skilled enough to do injections well enough that they weren't overly painful. And the area around the entry and exit had begun to tingle which was a normal sign of numbing agents. With how Tyler had done the numbing, it led Rusty to assume Tyler would be as skilled with stitching the wounds shut. So, Rusty nodded in response, "It is numbing, yes," he replied. "I'm more curious why you would have these skills as a Federation agent." Tyler shrugged at the question, "Just picked them up during my service in the Federation."

M eanwhile, back in the park, Tolle had clambered into the Strike's cockpit and swung himself into the pilot's seat. He glanced around to take in the control layout for the machine. The cockpit was not exactly what Tolle would've imagined but then he hadn't really thought much about what the inside of a mobile suit cockpit would look like. There were the joysticks which he expected to be there, but they were more complex than he would've thought. There were buttons and switches all over along with screens in front and to the side. Tolle was left to wonder how a pilot didn't get confused or distracted by all the stuff in the space. As confusing as the cockpit layout was, it was still fascinating to Tolle, like something out of a sci-fi book.

Kuzzey had climbed up to the hatch shortly after Tolle had disappeared into the machine's cockpit. When he stepped onto the lower hatch, Kuzzey found that Tolle had sat down in the pilot seat. Tolle appeared to be touching some of the controls which worried Kuzzey. None of them other than Kira and Tyler had any experience with using a mobile suit. The machines were dangerous in experienced hands, the damage to the colony proved that. Thus, it was unwise for Tolle to potentially play with the machine's controls and accidentally do something bad. "Tolle," Kuzzey began, "Maybe you shouldn't be touching the controls. What if you accidentally turn this mobile suit on and it does something bad?"

Tolle gave a tired expression to Kuzzey. He wasn't going to turn the mobile suit on, he knew better than to do something that stupid. Sure, he had helped a little with the robotic suit in Professor Kato's lab. The controls were somewhat similar to the ones in the lab, even if there was notably more in the mobile suit. Tolle was well-aware he wasn't fit or skilled to use something as complex as a mobile suit. But being able to look at what pilots had to work with wasn't doing what Kuzzey was saying. This may be one of the few if not only opportunity he would have to see the inside of a mobile suit cockpit. "I'm not going to turn it on, Kuzzey," Tolle said. "This may be the only chance any of us get to see the inside of a mobile suit cockpit. I don't want that to fly by and I not at least take one look."

Sai had been exchanging information with Kira to try and put together a better picture as to what had happened to the colony. What Kira had told him didn't paint a nicer picture than he already had from what he'd witnessed thus far. Tyler's comments before he had headed off to a pharmacy had only solidified the grim view. The quiet that was filling the colony besides the alarms still echoing throughout was pressing. It made sure that Sai couldn't dismiss his unease his fear had become since the attack had ended. He didn't doubt that what Tyler had said about reaching shelters would be more difficult now than before. The damage done to the colony would've increased the threat level. The higher the threat level to the colony, the more secured and locked down the shelters would become. It was for the protection of the citizens which Sai wouldn't blame the system it used for. However, it didn't change the fact that the gang was in a tight spot that would be extremely difficult to change with how things stood right now.

After talking to Kira, Sai scanned around the park to make sure all the gang was still around besides Tyler and Mr. Mackenzie. The girls were still over at the bench they had taken the woman to when Tyler's group had arrived. However, Sai couldn't find Tolle and Kuzzey where they had been a moment ago. It was a minute later that Sai found Kuzzey who was on the entry hatch of the kneeling mobile suit. That made him think that Tolle was likely inside the mobile suit's cockpit. Neither should be goofing off around the machine since it could be a dangerous thing. So, Sai strode over to the Strike and called up to Kuzzey, asking if Tolle was in the cockpit as he suspected. Kuzzey looked down at Sai and answered the affirmative to the question. Thus, Sai called out so that Tolle would hear him and told him to come out and stop playing around inside the machine.

As Sai was telling off Tolle and Kuzzey for what they had been doing, Lacus turned away from the woman and faced Kira. What could be done for the woman had been done by Miriallia and her already. Lacus was more worried about Kira with what had happened with the fighting and attack on the colony. Kira had a good heart so didn't like fighting and didn't want anything to do with the ongoing war. His good heart made him a really sweet guy and had her loving him all the more. And yet, he had been forced to fight to protect her and others because ZAFT had attacked the colony for whatever reason. So, she walked over to where Kira was so she could talk to him and make sure he was doing okay.

Kira moved to a nearby bench, sitting down so he could think about what could be done. Sticking together as Tyler had suggested was a good place to start, but not a real plan to move forward. His friend had also said it would be good to wait for the woman to wake up and get more facts to work with. However, as Tyler had mentioned, they really couldn't go and seek shelters to get in by this point. Kira couldn't say what the current threat level was for the colony, but it had to have move to being to the top of the scale with ZAFT attacking. If it was level eight or higher, then entering a shelter would be difficult if not impossible for the gang. Should that be the case, then the question of what they could do for their safety would need an answer, which Kira didn't have. He wanted to protect his friends, but he couldn't come up with a sensible way to do that right now. Kira was brought out of his thoughts when a hand touched his shoulder. When he looked up, he found Lacus taking a seat next to him on the bench. "Lacus," he uttered looking at the ground, "Sorry, I was lost in thought."

Lacus wouldn't blame Kira for being lost in thought with recent events as they were. She would be surprised if almost anyone wouldn't be trying to think of what to do next were they in Kira's position. It was easy to see that Kira was trying to come up with a way to keep all of them safe from what could be next. Lacus would bet that Tyler was doing the same thing even if not actively at the moment with whatever he was doing currently. Most, herself included, were looking to Tyler and Kira for a plan on moving forward from where they were. She gave Kira a weak smile, "It is fine, Kira," she assured. "With what has happened in the last hour, I can't blame you for trying to think of what to do."

Kira was grateful that Lacus was being so understanding with him being lost in thought. He was attempting to wrap his brain around what had happened and what to do next. He wanted to help and protect his friends to the best of his abilities. Yet, Kira didn't want to have to fight against others and potentially have to kill another in order to protect his friends. However, he was really starting to fear he may be forced into that type of position in the near future. Kira didn't like that idea, but he couldn't dismiss the real possibility of it coming up. He hoped Tyler would come up with something to avoid that, yet he didn't want to just leave everything to Tyler if he could assist. That wasn't the thing to do to a friend, Kira wasn't that type of individual to saddle Tyler with so much to deal with.

Frankly, Kira was supposed to be wrapping up the work Professor Kato had forced upon him so he could enjoy his school break. And yet, here he had to seriously consider how he could protect his friends from potential danger. He hadn't imagined anything like this happening today or any other day to Heliopolis. The colony was owned by Orb who was neutral and not involved in the war between the Earth Alliance and ZAFT. The news reports he'd seen lately hadn't hinted at anything that had changed for either side to pull in neutral territory into the war. Yet, here he and the gang were facing all of that without having done anything to be pulled into the mess. It was frustrating to him as innocent people were being put in real serious danger when they shouldn't be. "What happened shouldn't be occurring at all to begin with," Kira said with a frustrated tone. "The colony is owned by Orb who is a neutral nation of Earth. They aren't involved in the war between the Alliance and ZAFT. However, ZAFT's actions have put all the colony's citizens in danger, and for what?"

Lacus couldn't argue with Kira about his statements, nor could she blame him for his frustration. He was correct, the colony shouldn't have been attacked by ZAFT for any reason. Even should the Alliance have been doing work inside the colony, that was no reason or excuse for ZAFT attacking the colony. It made her wonder who the mission commander could be that would have given the "go-ahead" for the attack. From what her older sister who worked within ZAFT had told her, actions that could cause a political issue were supposed to be discussed with either the National Defense Committee and/or ZAFT's administration. But Lacus was starting to suspect that whoever the commander was, they hadn't done that at all.

With the colony belonging to the Orb Union, the attack would be a political issue, no question about that. Such would require the PLANTs' Supreme Council to step in and manage the fallout that would come from this. The Council was already kept rather busy with how the war was going lately, they didn't need more to put on their plate. And from what her sister had said, Mr. Treize who essentially ran ZAFT wouldn't let the attack stand. Lacus would agree with that as the times she had interacted with Mr. Treize, he had shown he was a very nice and good man. His honor wouldn't let him just let an attack like this be waved off by a mission commander. So, Lacus frowned, "I don't know why ZAFT attacked the colony, I really wish I did," she admitted. "I can't see the Council or those that lead ZAFT being okay or allowing this to go unpunished."

Kira knew that Lacus was right that the PLANTs' Supreme Council and those leading ZAFT wouldn't have ordered this to be done. But with how fresh the events were in his mind, it was hard to think those that ran ZAFT weren't aware of what had been done. He was also aware it would be best that he kept calm and not let his irritation get the better of him. Cool and level-headed thinking was the best mindset to come up with a plan to go forward. Kira gained a soft smile at Lacus's comment, "Sorry for seeming like I'm blaming the Council for the attack. It's just fresh right now and my frustration got the better of me for a moment." Kira exhaled heavily, "Nothing like this was on the agenda for today or this week. You were supposed to be having fun with the gang during our school break, not worrying about your safety."

Back with Tyler, he finished injecting the painkillers and putting aside the syringe he had used. He was thinking of how to reply to Rusty's remark about his curiosity about where he picked up the medical skills he had. Tyler's service in the Federation's military was a complicated subject to put it mildly. There were parts he could talk about, but there were far more that he couldn't due to protocol. Tyler had done missions that the public would never know about due to what it had been to do or what it had involved. Then he rarely mentioned he was a member of the Federation's SOLAS orSpecialized deplOyment tacticaLAntiphonSquadron. The branch of the Federation's Military was made up of the best of the best that the Federation had at its disposal. As such, they were given some special privileges that others weren't but in exchange they were expected to do things others couldn't. SOLAS was equivalent to ZAFT's "FAITH" pilots or OMNI's "SWORD" agents. Due to his young age, most that heard Tyler was a part of S.O.L.A.S. wouldn't believe it. If not for his talents with systems and getting information, he wouldn't be in S.O.L.A.S.

With the things Tyler was handed to get done from higher-ups, he had gotten used to giving vague answers. He didn't necessarily like that he had to keep others in the dark about most of the things he did for the Federation. However, Tyler wasn't so dim to not know there were reasons that his work wasn't made public and he was told to keep it to himself. It was a lesson that he'd learned better during his service but had seen the start from his mom and her work in politics. And Tyler hoped that Rusty wouldn't push too hard against the answers he was given since he served in a military force himself, he should know there are times it was better to just not ask further. "My service has been anything but dull, I'll say that," Tyler remarked. "However, I would rather you not ask for details. Since you are in ZAFT, you should know there are times when it is best not to ask for more, and this would be one of those times."

Tyler picked up the lighter he had grabbed and ignited it and held the stitching needle in the flame. It was to sterilize the needle as it would be going into Rusty's body, even if only shallowly. It was the best method that Tyler could work with as he had found no cleaning alcohol in the back when he had dug for what he'd needed. After ten seconds, Tyler brought out the needle and dunked it in water to cool it down. Then Tyler pulled out the medical stitching thread and got it connected to the needle. "Okay," Tyler stated, "Let's get down to business and get your wound stitched up. This will likely feel weird, but it shouldn't burn with pain with the numbing and painkillers I injected." Tyler glanced at Rusty's face, "You ready to get this done? Once I start, it is best I go through to the finish instead of stopping in the middle."

Rusty was aware that field medical treatment was less nice, rougher and more practical in exchange. It would be nice for a professional doctor to do this, but neither of them knew when or if that would be possible in the time this could be put off. And Tyler had proven he was skilled enough with what he'd done so far, Rusty wouldn't deny that. It didn't make what he was about to get done any nicer, but any pain would be better to go through with it making sure the gunshot wounds would heal properly. So, he took a deep breath to prepare himself the best he could, "I'm as ready as I can be for this," he answered. "I would rather you just get it done right than fast, though please don't go slow if you don't have to."

Tyler nodded, "Thankfully, I've actually done stitching before on a comrade during an operation." He paused for a moment remembering the experience, which wasn't the nicest one to recall. The guy he had been stitching up had screeched rather loudly while Tyler had been doing the job. Granted, no painkillers had been available during that experience, which had contributed to the point. He didn't see Rusty being like that, or at least, Tyler hoped he wouldn't be so loud. Tyler wanted full use of his hearing in case anything came up. "Although, that guy screeched as I did so, which really hurt the ears I'll say. I doubt you will be doing that, correct me should I be wrong of course."

Rusty didn't know whether to be relieved or concerned with what Tyler had mentioned. He could believe that Tyler had stitched up a comrade during some sort of operation the Federation had been doing. But saying the guy he had been stitching had been screeching while he'd been doing was concerning. Maybe supplies had been limited so there had been no painkillers used, Rusty could see that. Rusty wasn't so weak to let some pain have him yell or shout in response. Thus, Rusty shook his head, "No, I will manage through it," he replied. "Plus, with the numbing and painkillers, I should be okay while you stitch me up."

Tyler appreciated the answer from Rusty. So, he took a deep breath and put an arm on Rusty's leg to hold it in place as he worked. Tyler used one hand to hold the skin and muscle firmly so it wouldn't move when he punched holes for the stitching. Then he got to work with punching the first hole before moving to the other side of the wound and doing the same. It took five minutes for Tyler to sew up the entry wound from the bullet had made in Rusty's leg. He had also seen clear evidence that the bullet had passed through cleanly, not hitting anything during its travel. It was a relief as Tyler wouldn't be able to do anything if the bone had been nicked or worse. He tied off the last stitch and glanced over the closed wound and found it was done right. Tyler then twisted Rusty's leg so he could get at the exit wound. Tyler was as efficient on the exit as he was on the entry with stitching it up. Once the stitching was done to Tyler's satisfaction, he took the bandaging and rewrapped Rusty's leg.

Rusty was surprised at how proficient Tyler had been at the stitching of his wounds. He may not be a doctor technically, but he had done the job better than one who had been guessing how to stitch up another. Sure, there had been some minor pain as the wounds had been closed, but nothing Rusty couldn't handle. There was little throbbing left where the bullet had passed through his leg. He would be able to walk on his leg without much trouble by what he could tell. Rusty moved his leg to the floor and tested it out a bit as Tyler was cleaning up. There was less pain than before, which could be due to the painkillers, but with the wounds closed, things felt better somewhat. Tyler finished cleaning up the stuff he had used to help Rusty. He glanced over at Rusty and found he had put back on socks and shoes. Tyler directed Rusty back to the entrance of the pharmacy so they could return to the group in the park.

Tyler and Rusty drove the short distance back to the park and found the group was still there. When Tyler glanced over his friends, he found little had changed while they had been gone. Kuzzey was on the OMNI prototype and looked to be talking to someone inside. Tyler assumed the one inside was Tolle as he was the only one, he didn't see at the moment. Sai seemed to be chiding Kuzzey and Tolle for whatever they were doing. Tyler's gaze shifted to the bench where the OMNI woman was still lying unconscious. There didn't appear to have been any sign she had moved or woken up at all since he and Rusty had gone off that Tyler could see. The situation the those in the park were in hadn't changed much from where it had come to. That wasn't helpful in Tyler's view but there was little he could do right now to force movement.

The issue with the situation being unchanged was time wasn't on their side in this, more against them. By Tyler's figuring, the longer they waited and did nothing to progress their circumstances, the less influence they would have for the near future. With the state the colony was in, should ZAFT come back, it would only get worse than it already was. The worse the colony's state, the harder things would be for them all. While Federation forces were on route, Tyler didn't have a means to see how long they would be. He didn't have access to the Information Network as things were currently, which was the only real way Tyler could get that information. So, Tyler had to go with the assumption that he would be on his own in this should things take a turn for the worse.

The small hope his group had for the time being was for the woman to wake up rather soon. She could have more info they could work with to change their situation for the better. Yet, with her unconscious, a way to force her to wake up was very limited without doing her harm in the process. Tyler would rather not hurt the woman without knowing more. She could be an ally for the time being, and they needed such really bad right now. Plus, the woman could have a means to contact any OMNI personnel that could still be alive. Tyler hadn't really looked very hard while in the docking area for any that may be alive and just have minor injuries. He'd been focused on getting through and to the factory to mitigate what he could at the time. Not that Tyler had been able to mitigate as much as he had wanted, but that was beside the point.

Tyler was brought out of his thoughts when he heard a moan. He homed in on it and found it was the woman, and she was starting to move around somewhat. That could be the change that Tyler had been hoping for at this time. He didn't count on that being true, the woman was with OMNI after all so she could be as likely to be a problem. So instead, Tyler waved Rusty to follow him for a moment which Rusty did. Tyler went over to where he had put his pack, grabbed it before moving behind a tree for a moment. Tyler made sure Rusty's submachine gun was accessible for him if that was needed. Then he took out the pistol and held it out to Rusty with a knowing look. Rusty immediately picked up what Tyler was silently telling him. If things went bad, it would be up to the two of them to stop the OMNI officer by whatever means were necessary. So, he nodded and took the pistol and stashed it in a pocket.

A/n

That's where I'll leave off for this Phase to pick up in the next. Okay, now onto the highlighting and explanations that I give at the end of phases. It seems that we are back to longer phases than I normally have again, but that's how it goes sometimes. However, I do hope that you readers are enjoying the depth I've now put into this story beyond the new pieces I'm inserting.

Now, let's start with the first scene with Tyler and Rusty. I know that Rusty surviving is a new piece I added, and it doesn't seem like there is much to saving him. Yet, I assure you, he will have a part to play in this story even if you can't see it at this point. He is much like Nicol and others that die in canon which I don't allow to vanish, and they make a difference in events. Rusty will join that group in his own way, but that's all I'll say on this subject for the moment. I see no reason to give spoilers as I have plans for Rusty. But back to the scene rather than the reasons I have for saving Rusty. It shouldn't be surprising he needs to get away from his pilot suit since they will be around those with the Archangel. His outfit was one I picked at random, there was no other real thought that went into it beyond that.

Let me touch on the profile Tyler made for Rusty so that he could blend in with the "locals." I did put in some thought as this will be mentioned and relied upon going forward for Rusty. This profile will be seen by the Archangel's officers. I know that there isn't much or really a great deal on Rusty from canon, so I have to make it up as I go. I wanted to give him some skills that could help him in the story and general mobile suit maintenance and repair felt like a good set to give to him. Thus, he can pass off as a mechanic somewhat and not be seen as an actor by those on the Archangel. Remember Rusty is not among allies, so he had to hide he is from ZAFT for the time being. And Tyler's friends don't know about Rusty being from ZAFT either yet, though they will learn of it somewhat later.

Moving onto Sai and Kuzzey coming into the picture for this phase. I want to highlight a point I heavily imply in this Phase more than those previously. That point is a facet of the friendship between Tyler and his friends from Heliopolis. Specifically, I want to talk about how they see Tyler's presence and the "knack" he has for helping them. You readers know that Tyler is informed and skilled to do things that the average person can't, comes from his military training and other things. However, his friends don't know that so just think it is a quality of Tyler's that they notice sometimes. This comes through in the form of Sai and Kuzzey, then later Tolle and Miriallia that they notice things tend to go better when Tyler is around. It shows that for his friends, Tyler is a pillar of strength and dependability. They also tend to go to him to learn what is going on when chaos ensues if that wasn't obvious. Not that they are aware Tyler has access to Federation information as he does.

Shifting to the next scene in this Phase with Tolle and Miriallia, they of course were separated from Sai and Kuzzey. I felt the separation would work out better for bringing Tyler and his group back to the rest, or at least more sensible. Plus, it gives Tolle a chance at character development which he doesn't get in canon much. I also wanted to show that Tolle can take on the "leader" role when he has to which isn't seen in canon at all. As for Miriallia's behavior, I would challenge most that aren't soldiers to not be scared with what the colony had been experiencing. I certainly don't blame Miriallia for being scared, I would be in her position. Meeting up with Kira and Lacus was a fair transition even if Tyler was there originally but isn't in this one.

I want to talk about Murrue a bit next with this scene. In canon, she meets Kira in the factory and then watches Kira pilot during the battle, none of that happened in my story. This scene is the first time she is seeing Kira or Lacus before this. Those from the G-Project didn't interact heavily with those from the colony, or at least the not more than necessary. In Murrue's case, she rarely interacted with those who lived in the colony instead working on the G-Weapons. And for her, all those under her had been killed during ZAFT's attack and theft of the G-Weapons. She can't reach the Archangel at this time with the electrical interference from ZAFT and the colony's com-exchange not working properly. Neither she nor any that she talked to were aware of the Shadow or Asuka's existence before this. It was one of the things which Morgenröte had kept from them some time after the G-Project started.

I also wanted to state for the record that Kira isn't a coward as he may come off as in this story. He has an adverseness to fighting and more killing others which I can't hold against him. Some may see that as cowardice, but it more comes from his naivety of the world and the current reality Humanity faces in my story. However, Kira will do what is required to protect his friends even if that means he has to fight and even kill. He will avoid killing whenever possible, that's just the Kira that we all know and love. This can be seen as a form of "plot armor" as some refer to it as. But I would counter that with saying what would you do in Kira's position? Would you be able to pull the trigger without a problem and fighting as he did?

Let's go to when the Shadow and that group reunite which is the final part of this scene. I want to point out Rusty's observations and thoughts as they weren't in the last version of this story. He knows that his position is not nice or going to be easy with him being separated from this allies. He also notices Lacus but doesn't believe she is the person he thought she was for a moment. Rusty isn't exactly an outsider in what has happened to Heliopolis, but he gets to see the aftermath of what the mission has done. This is the first point which will begin the change in his view that I wanted to highlight.

Now for the last "scene" which I will discuss is the one between Tyler and Rusty while in the pharmacy. Yes, this shows that Tyler has some knowledge when it comes to medical stuff, more like a field medic would have. This is part of the "skills" Tyler has picked up during his military service, no formal training or what others would consider such. The "stabbing" for the numbing agent I wrote based upon what a dentist does when they numb you to do their work. I imagined it would be similar in how it would be done. Now, back to the skills, Rusty has no idea at this point that Tyler isn't just any kind of Federation agent, but a member of SOLAS. This comes since Tyler doesn't seem like the type that would be part of the Federation's best of the best when you first meet him.

In conclusion to this Phase, I know it is closer to the longer end of what I try to keep Phases at. However, it was going to be longer originally so I decided to split it which I thinks works out for the better. As I always ask at the end of each Phase, I would be ever so grateful if some of you readers took the time to write a review and tell me your thoughts on this Phase and story. Do be civil and constructive in you reviews if you would, I like when that is the case. Peace out until the next Phase!