While the Minerva was capable of sustained atmospheric flight, the damage it might've occurred during reentry made that unadvisable at the moment, so the bridge crew prepared for an emergency landing on the Pacific Ocean. In the meantime, an order was sent out for the crew to brace for impact, with Shinn, Luna, Rey, Athrun, Cagalli, and some of the mechanics waiting in the ready room. After what felt like an eternity of turbulence, followed by a controlled yet rough landing, the all clear signal was given.

For many of the crew, Rey and Luna among them, this was their first time on Earth, so they took advantage of the lack of subsequent orders to go out on the deck and look around, amazed at the miles of open ocean, with no land in sight, and naturally-occurring storm clouds. Despite living on Earth, Athrun and Cagalli also went outside to get some fresh air and think, both of them concerned about whether or not Orb and their friends had survived Junius Seven, while Shinn lingered in a nearby corner to eavesdrop on them.

Feeling the relief from Athrun's survival settling, she could now think rationally, and wanting to find something that could distract both of them from their mutual stress, Cagalli decided to break the tension. "Athrun, are you okay?"

Hearing his girlfriend's question shook Athrun out of his thoughts on his father, though he knew that wouldn't last.

"Uh, yeah, everything's fine," he weakly assured her, still looking out to the horizon, which did little to assuage her concerns.

"I didn't expect you to go out in a mobile suit," she confessed. "I was worried about you."

Feeling a small pang of guilt in his heart, Athrun looked back at Cagalli, an apologetic smile on his lips. "I'm sorry, I should've told you."

"I accept your apology," she assured him, reciprocating his smile as she walked around him and met him face to face. "And truth be told, it was probably for the best."

Hearing this, Athrun's smile gave way to a confused expression, while Shinn, despite regretting what he said to Cagalli earlier, grit his teeth as he continued listening in on their conversation, slowly becoming furious at her apparent ignorance.

"As bad as it was, it could've been a lot worse had you not gone out and helped. I'm sure Earth will be grateful," Cagalli optimistically mused, sending Shinn over the edge as he walked out to confront her.

"Shut up, you idiot!" he roared, his voice loud enough for everyone outside to hear him, much to Luna's dismay.

"Oh crap, what is it this time?" she rhetorically asked aloud, disappointed in her friend for forgetting what she said to him so quickly, while Rey silently tuned the background noise out and listened.

Gasping in surprise at the sudden outburst, Cagalli turned around to face Shinn as he continued tearing into her, his anger overriding anything else he felt. "You were on the bridge, weren't you!? Didn't you understand what was really happening out there!?"

"Shinn!" Athrun sharply tried to admonish, tired of the young redcoat singling Cagalli out for abuse, while she tried to explain what she knew, but to no avail.

"Junius Seven didn't fall because of some natural disaster, it was a deliberate act! The people who did this were Coordinators, soldiers with a grudge who wanted to kill every Natural on Earth!"

While Cagalli had been on the bridge and knew about the terrorists, the confirmation that they were rogue ZAFT elements left her stammering as she tried to say something in response, while Athrun simply remained silent. He knew that Cagalli meant well and wanted to share her optimism, but at the same time, he reluctantly agreed with the implication carried in Shinn's words.

"I know that, but you guys did everything you could to stop it from falling!" Cagalli tried to explain, which only further enraged Shinn.

"OF COURSE WE DID!" he screamed in absolute frustration, which finally broke Athrun's silence.

"But still, a lot of pieces fell on Earth. We couldn't stop it completely," he mournfully noted, imagining the countless dead and the grief of the survivors, a Bloody Valentine for Earth. "Only a handful of people were responsible for this, but in the end, it doesn't matter. All that matters is that they were Coordinators."

Cagalli wanted to assure Athrun that it wasn't his or anyone else's fault but the terrorists', to convince Shinn that his anger at her was misplaced, but before she could say anything, her boyfriend turned to her and asked her a question.

"Do you think they'll be quick to forgive, once they learn that?"

Unsure of what to say, Cagalli silently took in Athrun's question as he walked back into the Minerva, leaving Shinn to continue heckling her.

"The leader of those terrorists said something right before he died. He said Patrick Zala knew it all along, that the only path for the Coordinators was the one he had chosen for us!"

Shinn's paraphrasing of the late Sato's declaration shocked Cagalli and the rest of the crew present. Remembering the last words Athrun's dying father had said to him at Jachin Due, a plea to keep fighting until the Naturals were wiped out, she kicked herself for not realizing the state Athrun was in until now. Feeling the need to find and comfort her boyfriend, Cagalli moved to go after him, but Shinn wasn't done heckling her.

"You don't know anything, do you?" he cruelly asked her, making her stop in her heels as she met his frown with one of her own. "I feel pretty sorry for him."

Cagalli clenched her fist as she listened to Shinn berate her and then leave. What remained of the rebellious princess she had been two years ago wanted to tell him she'd been at Jachin Due before giving him a nonverbal piece of her mind, but ignoring the diplomatic nightmare that would cause, even she had to concede he had a point. This attempt to destroy Earth would only heighten tensions between Naturals and Coordinators, and she didn't know if war could be avoided at this point. Keeping these thoughts in mind, she still went inside and looked for Athrun, if only so she could at least try to lighten his burdens.

Seeing Shinn leave, Luna, despite agreeing with him, felt he needed her to talk some sense into him, but just as she began walking towards the nearest entrance, she felt someone grabbing her arm. Quickly looking around, she saw that it was Rey, which greatly agitated her.

"What the hell are you doing, Rey?"

"Luna, I know you want to talk to Shinn, but now is not the time," he calmly advised her, ignoring her confused expression giving way to a frown. "Give him space, and he'll open up."

While Luna knew Rey had his heart in the right place, she also thought he was vastly overestimating Shinn's emotional maturity.

"You and I both know that Shinn's just going to play with his sister's phone until he's able to bottle up his feelings," she countered before gently breaking his grip on her, regarding him with a stern look he rarely saw from her.

"Alright, Luna, and thank you," Rey said to her in agreement, ignoring the glare, before she turned around and walked inside, leaving him alone with his own thoughts about what might come next.

Despite Lacus sitting next to him, Kira felt his heart race with anticipation as he activated the bunker's two way radio. While the debris from Junius Seven had destroyed Malchio's orphanage, everyone survived. Now Malchio and the children remained outside to see what could be recovered while Kira and Lacus tried to contact Andrew and Murrue to have Orb's government evacuate them, if they were even still alive. Shaking that thought from his head, Kira's trembling fingers adjusted the radio's frequency to the one on Akatsuki Island.

"Ms. Murrue, Mr. Waltfeld, please come in."

The several seconds that passed while Kira waited for a response felt like an eternity and only heightened his fear.

"Please still be alive!" he begged, not only afraid that he, Lacus, Malchio, and the children could be trapped on the island, but that he had failed to protect two more of his friends.

Seeing her partner in such anguish, Lacus swallowed her own fear, reached out to place her hand on Kira's cheek, and turned his head to face her.

"Kira, please be patient," she softly tried to assure him as she began gently caressing his face, her faith telling her that things would work out.

Before Kira could say anything, almost serendipitously, a familiar voice replied through the radio.

"Hey kids, it's Andrew. Glad to know you're still alive."

Feeling an overwhelming sense of relief, Kira was briefly struck dumb, letting Lacus take over for him.

"The feeling is mutual, Mr. Waltfeld," she cheerfully replied, as if they hadn't just all survived what could easily be called the end of the world. "Is Ms. Murrue okay?"

"Murrue? Yeah, she is," Andrew assured them, bringing an actual smile to Kira's lips for the first time since the shelter order was given. "Our home on Akatsuki somehow escaped being flattened by debris, but the same can't be said for most of the archipelago. Murrue's already left to help with rescue and reconstruction efforts at the capital."

Hearing that Orb suffered from the debris storm killed Kira's smile as he realized he had no idea what happened to his parents. He wanted to believe they were okay, but without concrete proof, the fear they weren't was already gnawing at him.

Lacus's heart sank when she saw her partner's face slowly twist with fear. She opened her mouth to ask him what was wrong, but her question was answered with what he said next.

"Mr. Waltfeld, if at all possible, could you or Murrue please get in touch with my parents?" Kira requested, trying not to lose what little composure he had left.

"Also, Malchio's home was destroyed and this is our only surviving means of communication. Please get Orb's government to send a rescue team for us," Lacus interjected.

"You got it, kids. I'll get back to you with more information as soon as I can. Over and out," Andrew confirmed before signing off, leaving Kira and Lacus alone in the bunker again.

Having nothing else he could do but just hope for the best, Kira sat back in his chair and looked at Lacus with a concerned expression, which she reciprocated before scooting next to him, wrapping her arms around him, and letting him rest his head on her shoulder. Despite everything that was going on, having this moment alone with him steadied her nerves.

"I'm sure Mr. Haruma and Mrs. Caridad are alright, Kira."

"I know, Lacus, but I'm still scared," he replied, still convinced that the dropping of Junius Seven was the result of human intervention that he could've stopped.

Hearing the guilt in Kira's voice, Lacus sighed in understanding and began stroking his hair.

"There is nothing wrong with being scared, Kira, but it breaks my heart to see you beating yourself up about something beyond your control," she tried to console him, only to unintentionally reopen old wounds.

"But I should've done more!" he protested, tears welling in his eyes as the weight of his past failures began crushing him. "If I'd done more, then maybe this wouldn't have happened, and maybe everyone we lost wouldn't have died in vain!"

Unable to contain his emotions any further, Kira began crying into Lacus's shoulder, his messy and mournful anguish breaking her heart.

"It's okay, Kira, I'm here," she comfortingly told him, her voice shaking and tears of her own running down her cheeks as she tightened her embrace. "I… we…"

At a loss for words and feeling her composure slipping away, Lacus cried with Kira. Seeing her partner in such pain hurt her as much as her father's murder. He had done so much to protect her and everyone else, but no matter what she did, she couldn't protect him from his guilt, and it made her feel so powerless.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Kira," she choked out between sobs, wishing she herself could've done more to stop this tragedy from happening as she continued holding her partner.

A multitude of thoughts and fears went through Athrun's head as he walked into his and Cagalli's quarters and sat down on their bed. As much as he hated to admit it, Shinn had a point. Coordinators had dropped Junius Seven on Earth, and that's all most people would care about when it came out, the efforts of ZAFT to stop them be damned. And to make matters worse, it had all been done in his father's name.

"Why couldn't you see that mother wouldn't have wanted this, father?" Athrun mournfully asked in his head.

As he continued stewing, he heard the door slide open. Looking over, he saw Cagalli, panting from running after him, enter the room, an apologetic look on her face as she sat down next to him, debating whether or not it was appropriate to hug him right now.

"Athrun, I'm so sorry. I should've kept my big mouth shut and… and…"

Stammering as she searched for the appropriate words, Cagalli then lost her train of thought when she saw Athrun giving her a soft smile.

"I know you meant well, Cagalli," he sadly assured her, his smile disappearing as quickly as it formed. "But I don't think good intentions are going to get us out of this."

Knowing, albeit reluctantly, that Athrun was right and unsure of what else to say, Cagalli instead asked a question she had on her mind for a while now. "Do you think Kira, Lacus, and everyone else survived?"

Having been asking himself that same question ever since they got to Earth, Athrun thought about it for a few seconds before giving his answer.

"If I couldn't kill Kira with a self-destructing mobile suit, I think he'll survive Junius Seven," he jokingly replied in an attempt to lighten the mood, but neither of them felt any better. "And Lacus will be fine since she's with him. As for everyone else, though, I honestly don't know."

Cagalli said nothing as she took this answer in. She wanted to believe Athrun, and most of her did, but a small part of her wouldn't be sure until she saw her brother herself.

"I'm sorry, Cagalli, but I'm going to take a walk, and I'd like to be alone," Athrun told her as his thoughts about his father returned, prompting her out of her own thoughts as she regarded him with a mixed expression.

"Okay, I understand," she replied, unable to keep from feeling slightly offended. "But I'm here if you need me."

"Thank you," he said with a brief smile before getting up and leaving their room, leaving her alone before she decided to go to the bridge and see if the Minerva could contact Orb. She needed to make sure her country had survived, and, perhaps more importantly, she felt it was the least she could do to repay the ship and the crew that had done so much for her in such a short span of time.

Having been fighting the urge to talk to Shinn for a while now, Luna decided the most productive thing she could do with her time was to get her mandatory firearms practice out of the way, especially since Meyrin was also going to the outdoor firing range while on her break. Her eagerness to impress her sister quickly gave way to frustration, however, as she remembered exactly why she loathed going to the range.

Despite having performed well enough at the academy to be presented with a red uniform upon graduation, Luna's greatest weakness had been her proficiency, or lack thereof, with firearms, to the point where she wondered why her ZAKU had even been issued with a Gunner Wizard. Her embarrassment over a good chunk of her shots failing to even hit the target's center mass was compounded by watching Rey, who had gotten to the range before her and Meyrin, turn his target's head into a cluster of bullet holes.

Unable to keep from feeling that her friend was silently mocking her, Luna jealously glared at Rey until she noticed Athrun was watching them.

"Well look who's here," Luna remarked in a friendly tone as she removed her safety gear and turned to face him.

While Athrun's thoughts were still troubled, part of him couldn't help but smile with amusement at Luna's performance. "Mandatory training?"

"Yep. They're giving us a break and letting us do it outside for now, but I don't seem to be doing too well," she lamented before putting her safety gear back on and turning around to inspect and reload her pistol. Just as she prepared to try again, however, an idea came to her head, prompting her to turn back to Athrun. "Hey, want to join us?"

"It's okay, I'll pass," Athrun tried to politely decline, but all he did was remind Luna of what Shinn had said to him and Cagalli.

"Hey, I know Shinn said some things about your father to you and the Chief Representative, but I don't think that's important," Luna assured Athrun, her choice of words shocking him and drawing Rey and Meyrin's attention. "I'll admit to not knowing much about what happened at Jachin Due, but from what I've heard, you're a hero, so you shouldn't let what some terrorist said bring you down."

Initially taken aback by Luna's praise, Athrun couldn't help but smile at the realization that there were people in ZAFT who didn't begrudge him for the choices he made after receiving the Justice. Noticing the smile, Luna walked forward and presented her gun, grip first, to him.

"I've also heard you're pretty handy with a gun, and I could really use some pointers."

"Alright, fine," Athrun relented as he accepted the firearm, went to the range, and set multiple targets to pop up and down in quick succession, whereupon, almost machine-like, he scored perfect kill shots on each of them.

Luna, Rey, Meyrin, and even Shinn, who had come to the range to get his training out of the way, could only watch, amazed at how precise he was. Once he finished the training level, he stepped back, switched the safety on, and handed the pistol back to Luna, tactfully nodding at Shinn to acknowledge his presence.

"You have a tendency to twist your wrist as you pull the trigger, that's why your shots are spaced so wildly," Athrun observantly explained to Luna, who took a mental note of this, before noticing that Cagalli, who had just been talking to Talia about bringing the Minerva to Orb, was now looking at him from the observation deck window, a confused expression on her face.

Suddenly feeling self-conscious at how easily he slipped back into being a soldier of ZAFT, Athrun decided to wrap up the lecture before things got awkward.

"Anyway, I don't really think knowing how to use firearms is that useful anymore. It's just a skill," he explained before beginning to leave, but Luna had one more thing to say.

"I disagree. I think it's important to know how to protect yourself and your friends from the enemy."

Stopping in his tracks, Athrun looked back at Luna, a disappointed expression on his face, and asked her a question in response.

"'From the enemy?' And who are they?"

Before Luna could explain herself, Shinn interjected with his own two cents, doing his best to hide the venom in his remark.

"I've heard the Minerva might be docking at Orb for repairs. What about you? Are you going back to Orb?"

"Yeah, I am," Athrun replied, not even looking at Shinn, who wasn't satisfied with the answer.

"But why? What do you even do there?"

There were several ways Athrun could answer that question, all of which involved Cagalli or Kira, but for some reason, at that moment, none of them felt honest, so he simply let his silence be his answer as he left the firing range, leaving Shinn, Rey, Luna, and Meyrin to reflect on his words. Having no other reason to remain as well, Cagalli left the observation deck, her thoughts troubled from what she could make out from the conversation, especially her boyfriend's lack of response to Shinn's question. She wanted him to be happy in Orb, but that sometimes felt like a task more difficult than actually leading the country, a realization made her look down with a sullen expression. Hopefully, once they got home and the inevitable affairs of state were out of the way, she could provide the comfort he needed, but that did little to improve her mood.

If any word could be used to describe the temporary quarters provided to Neo after he and the Extendeds arrived at Arzachel Lunar Base and disembarked from the Girty Lue, it would probably be "austere." The navy blue-walled room consisted of little more than a bed, nightstand, desk, and adjoining bathroom, with a communications terminal on the desk, which he'd been ordered to contact Djibril with.

Tossing his duffel bag aside, Neo switched the lights on, which did little to actually brighten the room up, before sitting down at the desk and powering up the terminal. Because he never wanted anyone to see weakness in his expression, especially his superiors in Phantom Pain and its benefactors in Logos, he kept his mask on as he waited for the connection to be established. Eventually, the screen came to life, revealing an effeminate, richly-dressed man with silver hair and blue lipstick on the other side of the connection.

"Djibril," Neo greeted in a professional and neutral tone, already knowing he wasn't going to like this conversation as he saw the industrialist's lips curl into a hollow smile.

"Captain Roanoke," Lord Djibril replied in a faux friendly tone before getting to business. "I've read your report, and while I'm pleased by the overall success of the mission, I noticed there were some… lapses in your judgement."

Neo let out a quiet sigh as he prepared himself for the dressing down he knew he was about to receive, but he still asked for clarification as a formality.

"Such as, sir?" his question made Djibril's smile disappear, something he had to fight back a smile of his own at the sight of. He enjoyed making his smug superior unhappy, since it was the only act of rebellion he could get away with.

"What the hell were you thinking risking the Girty Lue and the stolen prototypes helping Coordinators!?" the unofficial director of Logos demanded to know, his voice tinged with frustration.

"Sir, with all due respect, ensuring our weapons technology outpaces the PLANTs' means nothing without Earth," Neo defensively began to explain, what little satisfaction he felt being strangled in its crib. "You saw in the images I included with my report that ZAFT engineers were trying to break the colony up to mitigate its impact, while-"

"I saw Coordinators trying to kill every Natural on the planet!" the industrialist angrily interrupted, unwilling to accept that Coordinators could act without ulterior motives. "Of course the PLANTs will tell the Alliance Council that the terrorists weren't affiliated with them, but it doesn't change that they were part of ZAFT."

Neo could feel his blood boiling as he continued putting up with his superior's ranting, glad he couldn't see the look of pure hatred he gave him under his helmet. He wanted to kill the racist warmonger he was forced to take orders from, but he knew it wouldn't affect the rotten edifice they were both part of, so he just took it like a good little soldier.

"We protect you and give a lot of leeway because of who you are, Roanoke, but our patience is not infinite. Toe the line we set for you, or we'll find a Neo who will," Djibril ominously warned, the implications in his threat making Neo grit his teeth. "Do you understand?"

"Yes sir," the Earth Alliance officer replied, his resentful obedience bringing a cruel smirk to Djibril's lips.

"Very good," the man replied before briefly looking away to review some paperwork. "Alliance brass has informed me that you and your Extendeds will be transferred to the leased territory in Sumatra to protect the forward base being constructed there from local guerrillas and possible ZAFT sympathizers. We look forward to gathering more combat data about the prototypes, so don't disappoint us. For the preservation of our blue and pure world."

"For the preservation of our blue and pure world," Neo repeated, feeling bile rising in his throat as he said those words, after which Djibril ended the call, leaving him to stew in silent solitude.

After what felt like an eternity of staring into the terminal, Neo slowly reached over to the screen and forcefully slammed it shut, the resulting thud echoing in his ears as he followed it up by punching the desk with a resounding "damnit!" He knew Djibril and his cronies would deliberately take the images he included in his report out of context to start a war, rendering his small act of outreach to ZAFT pointless.

Needing to calm down, Neo got up and went to the bathroom to wash his face. Removing his helmet and gloves, he set them next to the sink before turning on the water and splashing his face with the cool liquid. After he felt like he had enough, he turned the water off and looked up into the mirror. Instead of his reflection, with his shoulder-length blond hair and black Earth Alliance uniform, he saw a man with shorter hair and a white uniform that had its sleeves rolled up, an indicator of his laid-back personality. Neo saw this man every time he looked in the mirror, and while he would never meet him in person, he knew exactly who he was.

Mu La Flaga. The Hawk of Endymion. His donor and the source of his conscience.

Even though the reflection copied his every movement, Neo could see the judgment in its eyes, as if Mu himself had returned from the dead to possess every mirror in the universe, just to condemn him.

"It's easy to judge a man when you're dead," Neo contemptuously said to the mirror in an attempt to justify himself, but, just like every other time he tried to have a conversation with his reflection, all he got in response was Mu's damning silence.

Realizing this wouldn't get him anywhere, Neo walked away from the mirror, took off his uniform, and entered the shower in a vain attempt to wash his guilt away. When that didn't work, he got out and, still wet and naked, climbed into his bed and quickly fell asleep, where only his dreams of Murrue provided him a fleeting solace.

Author's Notes

Originally, I was going to make Chapters 5 and 6 a single chapter, but it dragged on for too long, so I decided to split it in two. While it means I wasn't able to advance the plot as much as I planned for this month, it did let me add some more content to both chapters, which I think makes the split worthwhile.

While I haven't focused on Kira and Lacus that much as of right now, they're my favorite couple in Gundam, so it's always fun to write about them, even if my editor hates me for keeping Kira's buckle outfit. Don't judge me. Kira's a dork (affectionately), so why shouldn't he dress like a dork (affectionately)?

Thank you for reading this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it, and, as always, feedback is appreciated. Until next time.