Gundam SEED: Kismet Chapter Fifty-One Preview 12/10/10

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Re: Gundam SEED: Kismet Updated 12/12/09 (Chapter Eighteen)

This chapter features Savior's new pilot, one character completely missing the point on one issue but making the point on another, and a character compromising that may or may not lead the character down a dark and corrupted path.
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Chapter Nineteen: Dissolution

When those states which have become accustomed to live in freedom under their own laws are acquired, there are three ways of trying to keep them. The first is to destroy them, the second to go and live therein, and the third to allow them to continue to live under their own laws, taking a tribute from them and creating within them a new government of a few which will keep the state friendly to you. For since such a government is the creature of the prince it will know that it cannot exist without his friendship and authority. -Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince

Shinn Asuka was awed.

He looked all the way to the top of his new Mobile Suit. A GUNDAM. The Impulse. He had fought against that thing, and had barely survived. Now, it was his. He wouldn't need to fly a Zaku anymore. He would be flying something that could destroy Zakus almost at will.

So much power. It was hard for him not to want to use the power right now. He wanted to use it so much. Even if it was just for a short flight around the Minerva. He wanted to see how it worked, what its capabilities were. He had heard the Impulse was capable of fightinganything. He wanted to find this out for himself.

What a machine. What a design.

And it was his.

The captain had given it to him.

He couldn't let his captain down, could he?

But he could let Stellar down . . .

His amazement faded. His hands became fists. He had chosen a machine over a human being. One he loved. He had betrayed her for a weapon of mass destruction.

How did that make her feel, over in the Earth Alliance? That he had chosen glory in a GUNDAM over her?

He knew that Talia meant to shoot him if he had followed through. Or so she said. But what if she was bluffing? Would she really shoot someone in public? What if he had chosen to call her bluff and remain with Stellar?

He should have stayed with Stellar. He should be with her right now. Not here, staring at a machine that was never meant for him but wound up being his anyway.

"You like it, don't you?" said a voice Shinn didn't recognize.

Shinn turned around and saw a young man who looked a couple of years older than him. He looked to be in his late teens, early twenties. Tanned skin and blond hair.

"Uh . . ."

"It's all right. I had the same reaction when I flew a GUNDAM for the first time, Ensign."

The young man walked and stood at Shinn's side. "I kinda wish I still had it, actually. But it got damaged beyond repair in the Yakin Doe battle. I was lucky to survive."

"Who did you fight for?" Shinn asked.

The young man grinned in embarrassment. "The Three Ships Alliance, actually. I'm Dearka Elsman, Ensign. Your new commander."

Shinn stared. "What are you doing back here, then? I thought all you guys are hiding in Orb?" He realized his mistake and quickly added a "Sir?"

"I don't believe in Orb's ideals," Dearka said. "I only fought for them because I wanted to stop the war. That was all. With the war stopped I don't have any reason to be there anymore."

Shinn wracked his mind and came to a startling realization. "You're Savior's new pilot, aren't you sir?"

Dearka laughed. "Yes, I am. Good guess, Ensign."

He turned to Shinn and smiled. "But call me 'Dearka', and I'll call you 'Shinn'. I hate military formality, and flying a GUNDAM nets you certain privileges they won't give ordinary pilots."

"Uh, yes, sir, I mean, Dearka."

Dearka nodded. He looked at the Impulse. "You have a nifty machine. The Impulse is capable of things not seen since the Aegis. It has something called the 'Silhouette System'. It's meant to help your machine adapt to various situations in battle. There's 'Blast Silhouette', 'Force Silhouette', and 'Sword Silhouette'. Then there's the standard Impulse as well. You have been given a complicated machine, Shinn. Do your homework on it."

Shinn had a headache just by listening to Dearka. He hadn't thought the Impulse could have been that complicated.

"How do I switch?"

Dearka smiled. "There's something called the 'Core Splendor'. It's essentially a classic jet fighter design. You eject it from the Impulse whenever you want to make a switch in configuration. The Splendor can also defend itself with missiles and machine-guns, but it can't really do much against anything other than Mobile Armors."

Shinn's head spun again, and he struggled to keep his focus. His captain hadn't rewarded him by giving him this machine! She had given him the equilvalent of a final exam in Mobile Suit piloting he wasn't ready to take!

Dearka, perhaps sensing Shinn's panic, laughed. "I'm sure it's quite simple in execution. Again, do your homework on this thing. That's what I gotta do with Savior. In the case that both need to be used in a war. I've been hearing that the fighting's going to restart soon."

"They can't be that crazy," Shinn blurted.

"They are that crazy," Dearka said darkly. "Politicians can't be trusted, Shinn. Even Cagalli Yula Athha, Gilbert Durandal, and Naomi Mitsuda can't be trusted. They are out to serve themselves more than the soldiers or the people. And if their goals are served by going to war then they'll go to war."

Shinn's eyes widened. Dearka Elsman certainly had a bleak view of things.

He had to get Dearka off of this topic and fast before he became cynical, too. "Who else is joining the unit? I can't imagine it's just the two of us."

"I don't know yet. I'm sure there'll be five or six of us in the end," Dearka said. "Just who I don't know yet. Either the captain's picking the unit or I'm handpicking them myself."

"All right." Shinn could accept that answer.

"I'll talk to you later, Shinn," Dearka said. He walked away then, leaving Shinn in the hangar alone.

He looked at the Impulse, then the gleaming, spit-shined floor. If there was going to be a war . . .

Stellar.

He would be fighting Stellar.

He had to tell her this. Even if he wasn't going to defect he had to let Stellar know. That way she'd be prepared. That way they could arrange to stay away from each other.

That way they wouldn't accidentally kill each other.

Hopefully the situation hadn't deteriorated so much as to cut off communications. He had to try to reach her one last time, to talk to her one last time.

Before all of Shinn's dreams of life with Stellar were extinguished.
***
Meyrin was exhausted. The stationary bike she had been riding was nothing more than a crutch for her at this point, after relentlessly pushing herself for the last twenty minutes. Her water bottle was empty and her throat was clamoring for fluid. Sweat poured from her brow. Working out was hard. Much harder than she had thought.

Just meeting minimum fitness requirements was hard. Trying to go beyond that seemed to be an impossible feat.

But then again the yearly examinations were going to be coming in a month. Might as well get ready for them now so she could pass them comfortably.

But she knew something else was motivating her as well.

Shinn Asuka liked athletic girls.

Or at least, it seemed to be that way. He loved that Stellar woman and she was quite fit. He had dated a couple of girls before Stellar and they were fit too. It couldn't be just coincedence, could it?

Shinn could have just destroyed his relationship with Stellar. In any case it had to have weakened. He had chosen not to defect, after all. He had chosen the ZAFT, and Meyrin doubted that Stellar girl was happy about that.

Shinn was a handsome boy, an isolated, introverted person, someone who vented his feelings privately to a scorched memento. But he wasn't a bad person. He wasn't off raging against everyone and everything. He had only lashed out against Lunamaria because of Lunamaria taunting him. And Meyrin planned on letting Lunamaria know what she thought about that.

Those honest brown eyes. His unkempt, clean black hair. Damn it, he was handsome! What did him in was that he was half and half, a Slant. But Meyrin didn't care about that. Why should she care what Shinn's genetics and blood were? If he was a Natural it wouldn't make a difference to Meyrin either.

There weren't that many men close to Meyrin's age on board. She was the youngest person on the Minerva, period. Rey za Burrel was too stuffy, like an eighty-year-old man masquerading as someone younger. Vino Dupre was an idiot obsessed with a pop star that had fallen off the face of the Earth. Yolant Kent was the Twiddle-de-dum to Vino's Twiddle-de-dee.

Shinn was the only other male on board close to Meyrin's age, and he wasn't stuffy, idiotic, or sleazy. That alone propelled him above everyone else. He seemed to be hurt on the inside, but that was fine. Meyrin had no plans on pushing Shinn with his issues.

Plus, he was really, really hot.

Damn her hormones. She was acting like a schoolgirl, not a military officer.

She walked over to the drinking fountain and filled her bottle. She should be able to make one more go on that bike then she'd be done for the day. Her entire body was sore, but she knew that if she kept up this rigorous pace she would not only pass the examination easily, but maybe she'd catch Shinn's eyes too.

If he wasn't killed.

No, he had a GUNDAM now. The Impulse. He wasn't going to die, not when flying that thing. He was trained to fly it, unlike those terrorists at Junius Seven. He had far more skills than those terrorists. He wasn't going to die, not easily at any rate.

Unless he fought one of the GUNDAMs that now belonged to the Earth Alliance.

Oh, she was just depressing herself. She didn't need her morale lowered, not now. Not when she had worked harder than she had the previous eleven months since the last examination.

She took a long sip of cold water and exhaled a held-in breath. She felt better already. She could definitely make another go.

But before she could as much as turn around she heard her sister's voice. "You know, when Vino said you were at the gym I didn't believe him. I thought he was messing with me. But here you are."

"Hi, Luna," Meyrin said, immediately embarrassed that her secret was already not a secret.

Lunamaria stretched out her arms as she walked into the gym. "You look like you're working yourself to death," she said nonchalantly.

"There's going to be an examination in a month. I figured I might as well try to pass it easily this time," Meyrin said.

Lunamaria cocked an eyebrow. "If we're in battle I think examinations will be the last thing on everyone's minds."

"I don't think there's going to be a war, okay?" Meyrin lied.

Lunamaria nodded. "That's just like you, the optimistic one."

"I like to believe in the best of people," Meyrin said, folding her arms.

"Or the best of Shinn Asuka," Lunamaria said with a small smile.

Meyrin froze. How could she know that? She thought that she had kept her feelings, or at least her interest in him well hidden.

Lunamaria laughed. "Meyrin, I see you staring at him like he's the best thing since sliced bread. You trying to make it not obvious makes it even more obvious."

Meyrin looked down. "I just like him, okay?"

"And I know why you're working out so hard. Shinn's only ever dated athletic girls. So you think with some curves and muscle you can impress him?" Lunamaria asked. She did not sound convinced.

"I'd like him to be interested in me," Meyrin said softly. "Why do you care?"

"You and I both know he loves that Slant girl from Earth. I think you're just abusing yourself in vain. He's not going to pay an ounce of attention to you. He's a Slant, and he's going to love a Slant. Not Coordinators."

"Oh, just shut up already!" Meyrin yelled.

Now it was Lunamaria's turn to stare. Meyrin had wanted to wait to tear Lunamaria apart but now she didn't care. Lunamaria needed to realize something and it had to be now.

"I don't care what he is. He could be a Natural, Slant, or Coordinator! It doesn't matter to me. It's not like either of us are pure Coordinators either, you know!"

That had done it. Lunamaria's eyes widened with fright, and she frantically looked around the empty gym, making sure there was no one within earshot.

"Don't say that, you idiot!" Lunamaria hissed. "No one can know that!"

Meyrin folded her arms. "We're seventy-five percent Coordinators, Luna. Why are you acting like one of Patrick Zala's followers? He was out to destroy people like us too."

"I told you why! No one can know. No one can even suspect us," Lunamaria said. "The best way not to get suspicion is to act like you're one of them! You think I like treating Shinn like he's subhuman? Or the other Slants?"

"You seem to enjoy it," Meyrin said.

Lunamaria sighed and wiped her forehead. "All right, I get it. I'm too hard on him. I'll lay off."

"Luna, he knows we're not pure Coordinators."

"He what?" Lunamaria looked like she was going to hyperventilate.

"He needs to know. I don't want you to treat him badly anymore and this was my way of guaranteeing it."

Lunamaria gave Meyrin the bird. "Thanks for nothing, sis. Now I look like a hypocrite."

"You are a hypocrite," Meyrin said.

Lunamaria wiped her brow again. "I need to digest this. Damn it, why did you have to tell him?"

Lunamaria walked away slowly, holding her forehead like she had suddenly developed a migraine. Meyrin just watched, but didn't feel any sense of triumph over this.

She only felt she had done what was right. Lunamaria had been the hardest on Shinn, and now she couldn't be that way anymore. Shinn deserved friends. Maybe he wouldn't be tempted by the Earth Alliance if he had friends on the ZAFT, friends besides unreliable Vino and Yolant.

She knew Lunamaria would be unhappy for the next few days, if not spiteful. But she had to realize that the way she acted benefited no one. So she wasn't a pure Coordinator. So she had some Natural blood in her. Big deal. No matter how superior she acted it wasn't going to change that fact.

She needed to learn that sooner or later.

Meyrin guessed the time had to be now.

She returned to the bike and began pedaling again. She didn't want Shinn to leave again. She had to catch his eye. She had to.

The mere thought of embracing him motivated her beyond her original plan, and she finished ten minutes later than she had planned.
***
Cagalli was not happy when Athrun walked into her office adjacent to the conference hall. "Where have you been, Athrun? You've been gone for more than a day!"

"I was at Kira and Lacus' place," Athrun said.

Cagalli sighed. "You said you were going to be there for a few hours, not a day and then some."

"They needed the company," Athrun said.

Cagalli nodded. "My brother isn't doing so well, is he?"

Athrun looked down. "He's falling apart. He needs to know you still care about him, Cagalli."

"I do care about him. I just don't like looking at him. He hasn't gotten any better physically, has he?"

"He might have gotten a bit worse, actually."

Cagalli nodded. "Athrun, the image of my brother I want to keep in my head is the strong hero that he was in the Three Ships Alliance. The more I see him in that depressed and emotional state that image fades away a little more. I don't want to think of him as some decrepit PTSD-afflicted manic-depressive. If I think of him that way, I'll pity him. And I don't want to pity him."

"He doesn't want to be pitied."

Cagalli's eyes lit up. "Then he needs to toughen up and stop being pitiful!"

Athrun froze. What had happened to make Cagalli blow up like this? Clearly something she didn't like was going on. Probably had to do with the war rumors that were all over the news.

Cagalli took a deep breath, exhaled, and then gulped down half a glass of water. "I'm sorry. Bad day and it's getting worse."

Do I want to know how bad a day it's been?

Cagalli brushed a couple of her blonde bangs away from her eyes. "Athrun, Orb looks like it's going to be taking a side if the Earth Alliance and ZAFT go at it again. We're going to be having a conference in just a few minutes to decide which side to take."

Athrun's eyes widened. "What, already?"

"Yuna's pushing hard for the Earth Alliance, and I think his father is leaning that direction as well. I don't know how to stop it. Not like I want to side with the ZAFT but I don't know if I'm going to be able to uphold my father's ideals."

"That is neutrality in keeping with Orb's pacifistic traditions, right?"

"Good way of putting it, Athrun. Problem is, I don't think any of us are pacifists anymore. I don't know if we can be, for that matter."

Cagalli looked down, and then she gulped down some water again. "Staying neutral will get us in trouble the same way it did in the last war. Siding with the ZAFT will make us one of the few land territories under ZAFT control or alliance so our country will become a war zone. The Earth Alliance means that we're just going to be another small power under the control of a bigger one, we'll lose a lot of our sovereignty, of not all of it."

Cagalli slammed her glass on her table, and small droplets of water erupted from the glass and landed on the table. "And Orb children will be sent to die for whatever causes the Earth Alliance feels like supporting."

She looked mournfully at her glass as she picked it back up. "It's times like this when I want to start drinking. Now I see why so many people are alcoholics. It gives them release from the pressures of the world."

She finished off her water and wiped her mouth. "Come on, Athrun. I need you to observe this. You're pretty astute."

"Um, sure." Athrun followed Cagalli out of the office and into the hallway.

The conference room was only a short distance, maybe twenty feet. It didn't give Athrun a lot of time to think about what Cagalli had said. All he knew was that Orb was going to have to make a hard choice, especially with the presence of both Earth Alliance and ZAFT ships in her harbors. It was going to be nearly impossible for Orb to stay neutral.

And if neutral Orb was going to be the center of another war . . .

Cagalli opened the conference room door, and Athrun followed, only to make a right and stand in a corner. Cagalli, meanwhile, walked to her seat at the end closest to the door. Everyone else was already seated, including Unato Sieran at the far end and Yuna to the seat closest to Cagalli on the right.

Too close for Athrun's liking.

The faces of the middle-aged men and women looked grim. Yuna's face was blank, but not in a stupid or dense way, just . . . blank, like he was hiding all emotions. Unato, the eldest person in the room, had his hands folded in front of him.

Unato spoke first. "You all should know why we're all here today. The situation with the GUNDAMs is spiraling out of control, and both the ZAFT and the Earth Alliance are throwing accusations at each other. We're caught in the middle, and repairing all of their ships that could wind up turning this island into a war zone. We need to decide what to do before the situation continues to deteriorate."

Cagalli spoke first, much to Athrun's surprise. "Wouldn't the obvious solution be to throw all of the ships out of Orb waters?"

"That's the neutral standpoint, Cagalli, and that may not be the best idea," Yuna said.

Cagalli folded her arms. "Explain."

"I think the time has come for Orb to choose a side, Cagalli. Right now Orb public opinion has swayed towards siding with the Earth Alliance," Yuna said.

"Thirty-five percent, Yuna! Thirty-two percent advocate neutrality, and twenty-four percent want to side with the ZAFT! There's no majority viewpoint," Cagalli said.

It looks like Cagalli's going to try her father's line, Athrun thought. And here I thought she'd give in and support joining the Earth Alliance.

He smiled inwardly. Cagalli would never give up her father's ideals so easily.

Yuna frowned. "So you say, Cagalli."

The other ministers just watched the argument in silence, as Cagalli and Yuna continued to argue it out. It was clear who was in control of the discussion. Now it would be up to Cagalli and Yuna to encourage everyone else to come to one of their sides.

But then Yuna slammed his fist on the table. "But there's intangibles you don't know yet, and why public opinion will further shift towards favoring the Earth Alliance! Look at the leaked broadcast of this clip on your screens!"

Cagalli's eyes widened, and Athrun was able to get a peek at Cagalli's monitor from his corner. It definitely looked like ZAFT mobile suits, though he recognized them. They were from that radical remnant he had fought. The GINNs in particular looked haphazard and made out of spare parts.

But how would the public know the difference between that and normal ZAFT suits?

Cagalli's fists were so clenched her knuckles were turning white. Finally, she spat "Who released this?"

"It doesn't matter anymore, Princess," Yuna said emphatically. "It appears to have been recovered from Junius Seven wreckage in Europe."

"It was a small group of terrorists that did this, Yuna! Everyone knows that! The ZAFT, the Earth Alliance, us, we all fought these people to prevent catastrophe! The amount of casualties are in the hundreds instead of in the millions because of us! There's no way public opinion will shift in favor of the Earth Alliance because of this!"

Cagalli was being quite persausive with her voice, using all of her skills at making speeches to try to regain any lost ground. However, compared to Yuna, she was a political neophyte. She was raw, inexperienced. She ran the risk of sounding irrational.

It was Yuna's turn to be dramatic. "Your father's ideals don't matter anymore, Cagalli!"

"What?" Cagalli snarled.

Unato finally spoke. "Cease, both of you! A shouting match is not going to get us anywhere!"

Cagalli and Yuna both looked at Unato.

"We need to seriously consider our options. The clip was broadcast this morning worldwide and remains on the networks. We won't know public opinion for some time to come. What matters is how the Earth Alliance and the ZAFT will react to this. They, not public opinion, will dictate our choice."

"I apologize, Father," Yuna said and he sat back down.

"I apologize as well," Cagalli said, but even from Athrun's perspective he could tell that Cagalli was giving Yuna the evil eye.

Unato took control of the conversation. "We have two ZAFT ships in port as well as two Earth Alliance ships. If the situation spirals out of control they will begin shooting each other, and both sides have GUNDAM machines. The devestation will be catastrophic."

"The obvious solution would be to throw them off from our harbors," a minister said.

"Yes, but it's not quite that simple," Unato said. "Even if they leave the island they will still be in Orb waters long enough that if a war is declared they could begin dragging us into a conflict."

"How long will it take for us to throw them out?" asked a different minister.

"They have to be given twenty-four hours' notice, that's the standard law for removal from a neutral port. That's an entire day before they'll pull out."

Everyone froze in silence. That meant that if the situation continued to fall apart war could break out before either side's ships were out of Orb waters.

"So the best way to protect ourselves is to pick a side," Yuna said. "The ZAFT or the Earth Alliance."

Many ministers murmured in agreement.

Then Cagalli spoke, and her words caused Athrun's mouth to fall open. "Then the logical step would be to approach the Earth Alliance, wouldn't it?"

Everyone froze, especially Athrun. Yuna looked shocked. Even Unato looked a little fazed. Nobody had expected Cagalli to say something like that.

Cagalli, what are you thinking?

"Allying with the ZAFT makes little sense. We'd be alone on this planet, inviting the Earth Alliance to turn our country into a battleground. If we're to ally with someone we have no choice but choose the Earth Alliance. That makes it doubly important we approach the EA instead of them approaching us. We need to dictate the terms of an alliance."

Suddenly, Athrun realized what Cagalli was doing. Unato seemed to know as well. "In other words we're offering the Earth Alliance assistance instead of the other way around."

"That's right. We're the ones making the move, we're the ones telling the Earth Alliance how everything's gonna be. This includes letting the ZAFT ships out of Orb waters. That'll prevent any combat from happening in our waters or our land," Cagalli said.

Yuna was fuming, Athrun could tell. But Yuna was the one who advocated an alliance in the first place. He couldn't side against Cagalli here, not without looking hypocritical.

"And we'll dictate how our ships and soldiers will be deployed. I don't think all of our conditions will be accepted but we'll make a few we can concede without really changing everything."

Cagalli folded her arms. "In short, I will not let the Orb become another fleet to be thrown into war to be carved up. We'll become the Earth Alliance's factory. We designed the GUNDAMs in the first place. We can build them more. Let the Earth Alliance waste money and lives fighting the ZAFT again. If we're a factory, the Earth Alliance will have to protect us. We get nothing but benefits from this. We make no offensive manuevers and generally stay out of the war, and if the Earth Alliance wants our factories to produce they'll have to protect them."

It was her father's strategy from the first war, only remade with more security guarantees . . . and no diplomatic relations with the ZAFT. Her father's strategy had bought Orb eleven months of peace during the war. If war broke out again, if Cagalli's strategy gained Orb even half that amount, she would look like a genius.

She had made her move to protect her country, and minimize the Sierans' power. But it seemed to come at the cost of something, Cagalli's own ideals. It was almost sad for Athrun to observe this, watching Cagalli sacrifice what she believed in order to prevent political marginalization and keep Orb safe.

"Well, is it a bad plan?" Cagalli finally asked.

"No," Unato said. "It's a good plan. I'll have the alliance offer drafted immediately. That is, if we have a sixty percent majority."

The votes swung Cagalli's way by about eighty percent, including Yuna's vote.

"All right, let's hope this works, Princess," Unato said. "It's a gamble but it effectively keeps us out of the war. Your father would be proud of you."

Cagalli nodded, but there was a solemn grace to her movements that suggested she didn't believe that at all.

But then before anything else could be said, an aide busted into the room. "I'm sorry for interrupting, but turn your monitors to channel 267! Hurry!"

"Why?" Unato asked.

"It's Lacus Clyne! She's about to make a speech to the ZAFT!"

Lacus?

"Lacus Clyne?" Cagalli sputtered.

Yuna looked completely flabbergasted. "What's she doing? She fell off the face of the planet!"

This makes no sense. I just left the orphanage this morning and Lacus was still there! There's no way she could have gotten to the PLANTs from there in time and there's no broadcasting equipment in the orphanage. Then that means . . .

Cagalli and Athrun looked at each other. She had come to the same conclusion from the look on her face.

She's a fake.
***
It was time for the performance of her career. She had played many roles in her lifetime, but none required such a perfect transformation from her usual self into someone else. She couldn't just play the role this time. She had to become it. She had to become Lacus Clyne, and believe in the ideals, however naive and insipid they were, that Lacus Clyne preached.

She had some minor modifications to the speech, ones that reflected Lacus' character more than the speechwriter knew. She had watched clips of Lacus Clyne for hours on end. Making sure she knew everything Lacus Clyne did, her facial tics, her manner of speaking, her honest, idealistic tone.

She even had to appreciate the girl's crazed taste in fashion. If she hated Lacus' fashion taste, she couldn't become Lacus completely.

Not only that, but she had to be an older Lacus, a wiser Lacus. The Lacus from the end of Yakin Doe, only even more mature and persuasive.

The moment the camera flickered on, all doubts, all dislike of Lacus vanished. Meer Campbell shifted completely into Lacus Clyne. As long as the camera was turned on, she would be Lacus Clyne.

And so Lacus spoke.

"This is Lacus Clyne, speaking in response to current events," Lacus Clyne said. "Please listen to me."

She had no doubt people were now. Not just in the ZAFT, but on Earth too.

The world's eyes were on her like never before.

And so Lacus spoke.

And drove her ideals home.
Last edited by rebel_cheese on Sat Dec 19, 2009 3:49 am, edited 1 time in total.
MURRUE: Infallible accuracy?? I thought you just usually shot all your weapons at random and they just happened to hit stuff.

KIRA: What do you think this is; a cartoon?
rebel_cheese
Posts: 305
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Re: Gundam SEED: Kismet Updated 12/15/09 (Chapter Nineteen)

Chapter 20's done and will go up Saturday. Working on 21 now.

I would appreciate some comments in the meantime so I know I'm going in the right direction/characters aren't acting OOC (unless its obviously intentional). The silence is making me just a bit nervous. I'm hoping to finally put this fic on FanFiction.Net soon and I'd like some concric on the current storyline and characterizations beforehand.

Chapter 21 should be up on Tuesday but then there will be a break until January 5 2010.
MURRUE: Infallible accuracy?? I thought you just usually shot all your weapons at random and they just happened to hit stuff.

KIRA: What do you think this is; a cartoon?
Antares
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Re: Gundam SEED: Kismet Updated 12/15/09 (Chapter Nineteen)

Well, making Kira a manic-depressive with suicidal tendencies was not necessarily a bad call given all he went through, but it seem a bit pronounced at this point of the story. Maybe a little bit too much too fast. If you intend to keep that line of characterization, you will need to give it due time and severity, because that is what that mental state of being demands. The scene with Athrun seemed a little overtly dramatic, but it wasn't bad.

I like the way you portray Cagalli, because she has a spine. When GSD went the other way and really rammed in the point that she was no politician and didn't really understand the ideals she was supposed to defend, your Cagalli is not only active but capable of politicizing quite smoothly. I don't know if that is more "realistic" or not, but at least she isn't crying all the time. :P That also makes the situation less black and white the dilemmas the characters face more demanding (and more rewarding for their development).

Meyrin is also given more room, which is nice, although you risk (like all writers with large casts) to sideline other characters when you give others room. Prioritizing is important here. That all of course depends on where you plan to take Meyrin (and others) in the story. And I laughed out loud at the Shinn-comment; while Shinn has been described everything from a willful imbecile to an adorable failure, he has never been called "hot" before. By anyone that I know of. :D

Finally, giving Dearka a role was a nice touch, too. Savior definitely is a Gundam way differently oriented than the Buster was, so let's see how he does with it. I am guessing his cynical worldview is attributable to getting dumped? ;) :D
-We will not be caught by surprise!
*Almost everyone I've killed uttered similar last words.
-Then I am glad once again that you are on my side.
*They've often said that too.
rebel_cheese
Posts: 305
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Location: Illinois, USA

Re: Gundam SEED: Kismet Updated 12/15/09 (Chapter Nineteen)

Antares wrote:Well, making Kira a manic-depressive with suicidal tendencies was not necessarily a bad call given all he went through, but it seem a bit pronounced at this point of the story. Maybe a little bit too much too fast. If you intend to keep that line of characterization, you will need to give it due time and severity, because that is what that mental state of being demands. The scene with Athrun seemed a little overtly dramatic, but it wasn't bad.

I like the way you portray Cagalli, because she has a spine. When GSD went the other way and really rammed in the point that she was no politician and didn't really understand the ideals she was supposed to defend, your Cagalli is not only active but capable of politicizing quite smoothly. I don't know if that is more "realistic" or not, but at least she isn't crying all the time. :P That also makes the situation less black and white the dilemmas the characters face more demanding (and more rewarding for their development).

Meyrin is also given more room, which is nice, although you risk (like all writers with large casts) to sideline other characters when you give others room. Prioritizing is important here. That all of course depends on where you plan to take Meyrin (and others) in the story. And I laughed out loud at the Shinn-comment; while Shinn has been described everything from a willful imbecile to an adorable failure, he has never been called "hot" before. By anyone that I know of. :D

Finally, giving Dearka a role was a nice touch, too. Savior definitely is a Gundam way differently oriented than the Buster was, so let's see how he does with it. I am guessing his cynical worldview is attributable to getting dumped? ;) :D
Yeah, I think I overdid it with Kira a bit too much, too fast. In fact this was one of the few aspects of this fanfic not planned beforehand, that whole "Kira falling apart" thing just kinda came out of nowhere. I'll probably retroactively tone it down because of the melodrama in the future. But I also wanted to show that Kira has many, many problems. And yes, it is going to keep going. Kira is not going to suddenly recover. Thanks for your advice, I hope to not screw this take on Kira up.

Cagalli . . . yeah, she is a major question mark to me. I wanted to show a stronger Cagalli, but also a more corruptible Cagalli. You can't survive in politics without making dealsand three years in the political arena ought to have taught her that. The main issue is whether that is consistent with Cagalli's character. I felt that the way she was portrayed in Destiny to be woefully inconsistent with her SEED self, and I wanted to show a parallel to Kira with Cagalli, who seemingly is in complete control of herself.

The main issue with upping Meyrin is that I've shafted Luna and Rey quite a bit. I still haven't figured out how to get all three of them equal numbers of screen time. Luna's suffered the most by far, though. I had wanted to reveal her motivations earlier than this. I hope to stop shafting Luna so much in the future.

In a lot of ways Dearka is filling Athrun's role in GSD here. Athrun has a very different path in front of him in this fic, and Dearka's basically there to take on Athrun's viewpoint. And yes, part of the reason he has that viewpoint is Miriallia dumping him. XD But not completely. Dearka's always been a cynical type and I wanted to bring that out.

Post coming very soon. I have been having trouble logging on from my home PC, though, so if it doesn't show up Saturday, well . . . it'll show up the moment my home PC allows me to log on again. ^^;
MURRUE: Infallible accuracy?? I thought you just usually shot all your weapons at random and they just happened to hit stuff.

KIRA: What do you think this is; a cartoon?
rebel_cheese
Posts: 305
Joined: Wed May 02, 2007 7:43 pm
Location: Illinois, USA

Re: Gundam SEED: Kismet Updated 12/15/09 (Chapter Nineteen)

I have a family emergency that will impact Chapter 21. It will either be posted early or around/later than Christmas.

___________________________________________________________________________
Chapter Twenty: Separation

We stood by a pond that winter day,
And the sun was white, as though chidden of God,
And a few leaves lay on the starving sod;
----They had fallen from an ash, and were gray.

Your eyes on me were as eyes that rove
Over tedious riddles or years ago;
And some words played between us to and fro
On which lost the more by our love

The smile on your mouth was the deadest thing
Alive enough to have strength to die;
And a grin of bitterness swept thereby
Like an ominous bird a-wing . . .

Since then, keen lessons that love deceives
And wrings with wrong, have shaped to me
Your face, and God-curst sun, and tree
And a pond edged with grayish leaves.

-Thomas Hardy, Neutral Tones

Shinn Asuka was one of the few in the world who had no idea that Lacus Clyne was speaking as he floored it to the meeting place. The ZAFT motorcycle was surprisingly manuverable, he was able to weave between traffic in a way he had never imagined before.

He had no idea when diplomatic relations would be severed. He had to get there as fast as he could. He had spotted the place on the way into the city in his planned attempt to defect. The moments relations were gone, he couldn't talk to Stellar anymore.

In all likelihood he would be facing her soon on the battlefield. They would have to try to find a way to avoid each other. They couldn't fight. It would be murder on his soul if he killed Stellar. Even more so if he didn't initially realize it was her until she was dead.

Why was the world like this? Why would people want another war? Why couldn't they try to keep the peace? Why let the GUNDAM machines dictate everything?

The world was crazy.

Or was controlled by the crazy.

Dearka Elsman probably wasn't too far off the mark when describing the politicians of the world. They all wanted power. Power corrupted. A deal here, a compromise there, and suddenly they had no principles other than to be re-elected over and over.

If this was what democracy was like, Shinn dreaded true dictatorships or monarchies.

Where these politicians why people like Mayu had to die? Was their greed and desire the power why he had no sister anymore? Why he and Stellar could soon be shooting at each other?

Bastards.

He made a left and pulled into the small parking lot by the memorial. He left his motorbike and began to walk slowly towards the memorial. Stellar wasn't here yet. Maybe she'd never show up. She had been heartbroken when he chose to return to the ZAFT.

Maybe she hated him now.

It would make sense, wouldn't it? He had betrayed her. But he couldn't very well go back now. He had no doubt he was being watched by someone. If Shinn went too close to the Earth Alliance he'd probably be a dead man in short order.

He looked at the memorial, which was in tribute to the Orb soldiers and civilians who lost their lives in the Earth Alliance assault three years ago. This simple pillar of stone surrounded by flowers was the only payment those people had gotten for losing their lives. It was a hollow remembrance, probably ignored by the majority of the populace.

But at least this one was still standing, unlike Junius Seven. It hadn't been destroyed yet.

"Yet" was the operative term. It could still be destroyed in the future. Who knew? Maybe humanity would go extinct. How long would writing like linger for the centuries, millenniums that would pass by after humanity was gone? How long before the traces of human civilization were gone forever?

You had to be lucky to discover dinosaur bones. Humans weren't dinosaurs. They weren't as likely to be perserved.

To any race that inherited a recovered Earth, there would likely be few, if any signs, of humanity's presence. A complete flash in the pan.

Suddenly, he heard a motor vehicle pull up in the parking lot and Shinn turned to see a small car, with only Stellar in it.

Shinn nearly cried. She had come after all.

He ran over to her as she stepped out of the car. He embraced her, and a joyful smile crossed his face as he felt Stellar's arms wrap around him.

"Stellar," he said.

"Shinn, it's okay," she said softly.

Shinn kissed her on the cheek and separated. "Stellar, thank you for coming."

Stellar nodded. She didn't smile, and Shinn felt a sinking feeling fill his heart.

"Stellar, I'm sorry. She had a gun. I didn't know what to do."

"It's all right. You can come with me now instead," Stellar said.

"What? Now?" Shinn asked, his eyes widening.

"Yes, now." Stellar's eyes began to water. "Please, Shinn. I've been hearing we're about to break diplomatic relations with the ZAFT. I don't want to fight you."

"I want to come with you," Shinn said. But then he looked away. "But I'm being watched. I've had a tail from the moment I left the base and I don't think I shook it off."

Stellar's face fell and she looked away. "Damn ZAFT," she said softly.

"What about you coming with me?" Shinn asked. "I'll make sure you'd be happy."

Stellar shook her head. "I've had a tail the whole way too."

They stared at each other for a long time in complete silence. Shinn's heart felt like it was going to explode. He realized there was no avoiding it now. If he tried to bring Stellar with him, she'd die. Vice versa, he'd die. And if they fought each other . . .

Either one of them could die. Or both.

"This isn't fair," Shinn finally said.

"I know," Stellar replied.

"I love you," Shinn said.

"I love you too."

They embraced each other again.

"What'll happen if we fight each other? I don't want you to die, Stellar," Shinn said.

"I don't know," Stellar replied. "I can't imagine what it would be like fighting you. I can't stand thinking about it."

"We have to avoid each other somehow."

"How? I fly just another random Windam. How would you know it's me?"

Shinn's voice broke. "I don't know. I just don't know."

"Remember how we met?"

"I know, right in the colony. Neither of us knew we were soldiers," Shinn said.

"You looked vulnerable but honest. You looked so sad," Stellar said. "You looked like you were calling for help but you put others before yourself."

"I never thought of myself that way," Shinn said.

"You always put Mayu before yourself, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"And you decided to protect me by heading back to the ZAFT. You put my life before your happiness."

"What are you trying to say?"

"You're an altruist, Shinn," Stellar said. "You never think of yourself. You only want to protect and help others. And I saw that the moment I met you. I loved that part about you. That's why I wanted to know you."

Stellar made a choking noise, and then pushed him back, yet keeping both of her hands on his shoulders. "That's why you need to think for yourself this time, okay? Don't worry about me."

"W-Why?"

"Because it's the only way that either of us will survive this," Stellar said. "If you're always worrying about killing me you won't be able to protect yourself. You'll be shot down in your first battle."

"Stellar, I can't-"

"Then hate me." Stellar reached into her coat and pulled out a pistol and aimed it at his head. "Hate me!"

"Stellar, you're being stupid," Shinn said, though he couldn't keep his eyes off the barrel of Stellar's gun.

"Just go and forget about me, all right?" Stellar shook her head several times as she sobbed. "Forget about me. Hate me. I don't care!"

Shinn simply embraced Stellar tightly. She was torn up even more than he was over this. Neither of them wanted to be separated, and yet, they were.

"Stellar, I can't hate you. I love you. You pointing a gun at me isn't going to change that, because I know you won't shoot."

"I hate this," Stellar sobbed. "I hate this. Why are they doing this?"

"I don't know," Shinn said, his voice becoming hollow. "I just don't know. It doesn't make any sense to start fighting again."

Suddenly, Shinn heard the noise of a ZAFT military car pulling up, and Shinn's guess about being tailed was apparently true. He turned and saw Rey za Burrel walking towards the two of them, striding purposefully and confidently.

He stopped precisely five feet away from Shinn and Stellar. "Ensign Asuka," Rey said, "I've just been informed that the ZAFT is breaking diplomatic relations with the Earth Alliance effective immediately. You are to leave the area at once and return to the Minerva."

"What the hell?" Shinn cried. "Come on!"

Rey was now the one to produce a pistol. "The first shot of the war can be fired right here and now, Asuka. Come with me, or the first casualty will be her."

"You wouldn't!" Shinn yelled.

Rey responded by firing the pistol. The bullet zinged so close that Shinn could feel the wind being warped, and the bullet flew into Stellar's driver-side door.

"I would," Rey said.

Shinn and Stellar both stared at Rey, and then Stellar pushed Shinn towards Rey. "Go."

"But Stellar-"

"Go, Shinn! Please."

Shinn looked away, and he stared at Rey. Never before had he wanted to punch someone in the face so bad, but Rey's pistol left him thinking otherwise. Rey would have him on the ground long before a punch would land.

So Shinn walked past Rey and towards the car. Rey had bought a couple of soldiers with him, they were attaching the motorcycle to the trunk. Shinn turned around and looked back at Stellar.

"Goodbye, Stellar. I'll see you again sometime," Shinn managed.

"Bye, Shinn," Stellar said, in a voice so soft it barely carried over to him.

Then the Earth Alliance pilot turned and walked back to her vehicle, which now had a battle scar courtesy of Rey za Burrel.

Shinn wondered whether he would ever see Stellar again. What would happen to either of them now?

War was inevitable. It was unfair. Why? It made no sense at all.

None of it did.

It all seemed designed to tear him and Stellar apart.
***
Lacus Clyne continued her speech, continuing to preach the virtues of peace.

"I know what has happened over the last few days have been emotional for every human being, whether in the ZAFT, Orb, or the Earth Alliance," Lacus said. "I know a lot of people in every country are angry. But we can only think back to three years ago, as to what happened the last time we chose to let our anger take control."

Lacus closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and continued. "Uncontrolled anger will only lead to another war. Please get involved publicly with your governments to stop this rush to arms and keep the peace! Every country lost a generation of children and parents, sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Do we want to lose another generation, especially over GUNDAMs or the terrorist attack that destroyed Junius Seven?"

She had modified the speech there. It has originally been more ZAFT-biased. But Lacus Clyne would never take sides when it came to war. She'd plead for every citizen in every country to calm down.

"I don't think so! The last war nearly led to a total apocalypse that would have condemned the Earth to a swift death and the ZAFT to a slow one! If we let ourselves rush to war, how long would it be before the horrors of nuclear war and Mirage Celloids would be unleashed again? Everyone must calm down and think about the consequences of another war! Encourage your politicians to find a peaceful solution to this crisis! We barely survived the last war. Could we survive another one that could even be more destructive?"

She was almost done. "This is Lacus Clyne. Please do not succumb to hatred. Find peace, and end this war before it begins. Thank you."

The camera switched off, and Meer Campbell broke character. "I thought that would never be done," she said, still in Lacus' voice.

The cameraman grinned in embarrassment. "Lacus Clyne has a flair for the dramatic," he said.

Suddenly, the cameraman's face became more serious. "If you are caught publicly you have to remain in character, all right? Say things Lacus Clyne would say. Very few know you aren't the real Lacus."

"You don't think I know that? That's part of the reason I demanded so much money. I have to live someone else's life." Meer sighed. "I guess I should be going."

Then as Meer opened the door, she found herself staring at Gilbert Durandal. He didn't look happy.

"You changed the script," Durandal said.

Meer looked at Durandal's small posse and took a deep breath. She wasn't sure which bodyguards were privy to the knowledge of her real identity, so she slipped back into character. "I will not let myself be caught in a partisan divide. I want peace for all. War is not justified for any side under these circumstances."

"Meer, stop it. Everyone here knows it's you and not Lacus. Good improvisation, however."

"Oh," Meer said, immediately embarrassed. "I changed it because Lacus would never take a firm side. She wouldn't direct the speech directly at the ZAFT, or the Earth Alliance for the matter. She'd want it to reach everyone. It's a message of peace."

"It wasn't my message," Durandal said.

"If I spoke your message people would wonder if I was an impostor," Meer said. "And that would defeat the purpose of me pretending to be Lacus, wouldn't it?"

If Durandal was embarrassed by that, he didn't show it. He did sigh. "I suppose so," he said.

"If the Earth Alliance does more warmongering or whatever, then Lacus can take a pro-ZAFT stance," Meer said. "So if you want Lacus to be pro-ZAFT, do things that would make her want to be pro-ZAFT. Simple as that."

"Fine, you win," Durandal said.

"That's something Lacus does a lot too," Meer said, and then she strided past Durandal until she was outside, where she adopted the shyer, more innocent stance of Lacus Clyne.

That'll get him going. If it doesn't he's a machine.
***
Gilbert Durandal rubbed his forehead. "Damn Method actresses," he growled.

He caught the cameraman covering his mouth, presumably to hide laughter.

"What?" Gilbert asked.

"Nothing, Chairman, nothing," the cameraman said, and he began dismantling and folding the portable camera.

He should have taken a stupid young girl and made her become Lacus instead. It would have been so much easier, and cheaper, than paying big bucks for a tempermental Method starlet.

The scary thing was that Meer was probably right. She had said things Lacus, particularly an older, savvy Lacus, would say. The public was going to listen to her. He would be flooded with peacenik messages over the last few days.

But it did give him an opportunity to claim the moral high ground. He had just broken off diplomatic relations while the speech was in progress, after all. Now all he needed to do was provoke the Earth Alliance into firing the first shot.

Things had already gone past the point of no return, though Meer didn't know that. She wasn't privy to everything that Gilbert knew.

Gilbert's objective reached far beyond merely fighting the Earth Alliance, or purifying the human race or whatever garbage Patrick Zala said to justify his actions.

No, his goals stretched further than that.

It was a fight that he could not lose, no matter what the price.
***
Athrun had thought the meeting had been loud when Cagalli and Yuna had been going at it. It turned out he had no concept of loud was until after the end of the fake Lacus' speech.

Everyone was chattering, arguing, yelling. There was no concept of order anymore. It was like Lacus had proclaimed that God had come to smite them all.

Cagalli had walked over to Athrun while everyone was fighting, and Unato futilely trying to keep order. "This throws a monkey wrench into things," Cagalli said.

"Not really. If anything it might end the brinksmanship and everything will return to normal."

"One speech isn't going to do that, Athrun," Cagalli said.

"No, but it's going to make people pause. And that's what matters most of all," Athrun replied.

"How the heck did the ZAFT get such a perfect impersonator? She looks more like Lacus than the real Lacus!" Cagalli hissed.

"I don't know. I wish I knew," Athrun said.

Cagalli sighed. "Theories aren't going to get us anywhere. We need facts, Athrun."

"Well, I don't have any facts as to how they found a perfect impersonator!"

Cagalli looked at everyone, who remained absorbed in their own arguments, then made eye contact with Athrun again. "We need to get the group together. The Three Ships Alliance, those who can make it anyway. Waltfield, Ramius, Lacus, everyone. Try to get Dearka too before Orb breaks diplomatic relations with ZAFT."

"Including Kira?"

"Including Kira," Cagalli said. "We have to find out a way to stop this war again. I don't think what the fake Lacus said is going to be enough. ZAFT seems hellbent on war."

"I don't understand it myself," Athrun said. "Durandal doesn't seem to be the type of man who'd start a war."

"Well, he is. While fake Lacus was doing her speech something showed up on the monitor that no one else seems to have noticed. ZAFT just broke diplomatic relations with the Earth Alliance."

Athrun's eyes widened. "He has poor timing."

"No, this is a game. Durandal snuck this in hoping we'd be obsessed with the fake Lacus' speech to not notice. He's probably trying to provoke the Earth Alliance to strike preemptively. Make them think war's inevitable so they'd attack to have the advantage."

"That's frightening just to think about," Athrun said. Had he been wrong about Durandal? He was a doctor. It didn't make sense for him to provoke a war. Why would he do such a thing?

"That's why we need the group together. I'm going to try to keep diplomatic channels open with the ZAFT as long as possible. I'll gather the people in Morgenroete and the Orb military. You go after the people who scattered. Miriallia. Kira. Lacus. Dearka. There's a few others to add to that."

"Dearka's in the ZAFT though. How would I get him?" Athrun asked.

"At least get in contact with him and we can wire him to the meeting," Cagalli said. "Maybe Dearka can get us some sympathizers in the ZAFT so we can find out what's going on."

"Good plan. You want me to start with Dearka or start with the others?"

"Get an encrypted message to him, don't try to meet him in person. I know Kira and Lacus have the equipment to do it, so get to him from their place," Cagalli said.

"Meeting date?" Athrun asked.

"Three days. That should be enough time for those who scattered to get back here."

"The war could-"

"We can't get everyone together any faster than that, Athrun. Now go. Once this damn meeting's over I'll do my thing," Cagalli said.

Athrun nodded. He walked towards the door, and shut it behind him.

The Three Ships Alliance was coming back.

But could the Alliance stop another war?

That was a question that even Athrun couldn't answer.
MURRUE: Infallible accuracy?? I thought you just usually shot all your weapons at random and they just happened to hit stuff.

KIRA: What do you think this is; a cartoon?
rebel_cheese
Posts: 305
Joined: Wed May 02, 2007 7:43 pm
Location: Illinois, USA

Re: Gundam SEED: Kismet Updated 12/19/09 (Chapter Twenty)

What do you know, it's being posted early! This fic will not return until Jan 5 in order to form a buffer so I'm several chapters ahead of postings (plus the afore-mentioned emergency). I hope to post this on FF.net in January 2010 as well, likely a double or triple-shot to kick things off.

Feedback is, as always, appreciated.
___________________________________________________________________________
Chapter Twenty-One: Orders

The objective of war is not to die for your country, but to make the other bastard die for his.-General George Patton

It was one day after Rey had violently yanked Shinn from his happiness. Shinn still wanted to punch Rey in the face for what he had done, but it wouldn't get Stellar back. He was separated from Stellar, and would remain separated from Stellar as long as diplomatic relations remained severed.

They'd likely be severed for a long time. It didn't take a genius to see that the Minerva was on a war footing now. Everyone on board was moving with a greater sense of purpose than they had just days prior. Plus there was an absence of Morgenroete personnel, which made the ship seem emptier than usual. Orb was detecting an upcoming war too, and Orb being Orb, they were pulling back at some feeble attempt at neutrality.

Never mind the rumors that Orb had given an alliance offer to the EA.

Shinn had thought better of Orb and their ideals. Some of their people, particularly Cagalli Yula Athha, seemed to stand for what they believed in, they had seemed like honorable individuals. But if Cagalli and her people had agreed to the alliance, or brokered it . . .

They were all scum.

It was like Dearka had said. Politicians were only out to better themselves, no matter how many people died in the process.

Dearka Elsman was appropriately grim, for his part. Inside the briefing room were three other pilots.

Rey za Burrel. Somehow this didn't surprise Shinn at all. Rey always kissed up to the powerful.

Lunamaria Hawke. Shinn sighed in disgust. Great. She was here too. Though she didn't give him a look of contempt like she usually did. That was a surprise.

Then there was a young woman Shinn had never seen before.

There was also Lunamaria's sister, Meyrin, who was standing by Dearka in front of some map, as well as a holographic projector. Meyrin smiled at Shinn. Shinn returned it, though he didn't feel like smiling at all. He collapsed on his chair.

Dearka cleared his throat. "All right, all of you are early, even if it's only by ten seconds in Shinn's case."

Lunamaria chuckled a bit, but everyone else stayed stoic, so much so that Lunamaria looked at everyone like they were alien beings before settling down.

Dearka sighed. "Tough crowd."

He cleared his throat again. "In any case, this is a good thing. In war, in battle, it is best to be early instead of late. When you're late, people die. When you're early, you catch the enemy off guard. You have to strike early and swift in order to survive, and defeat your enemy. All of you having the ability to arrive early is just part of the reason why I selected the four of you to join my unit."

He pointed at the map. "We are leaving in precisely ten hours. We don't know when war will be declared, and whether the Orb will let us go if that happens while we're still in their waters. We do know that we should be underway before a war declaration."

"What about a sneak attack?" Rey asked.

Dearka nodded. "I can't obviously predict when a sneak attack will happen, if it does happen. But yes, that can't be discounted. Good point, Rey."

Rey seemed momentarily flummoxed over being addressed by his first name before he relaxed and returned to his normally serious self.

Dearka said "It's not like we'll be working alone. We have another ship that will fly escort and we have three ships coming in to reinforce us. Problem is, if the EA and Orb ally together, we'll be outnumbered four to one, even five to one. And those are conservative estimates. We have to work together if we want to survive the upcoming battle."

No one answered, but a solemn weight seemed to fill the room. It truly did seem that war was inevitable.

"The five of us are going to be the backbone of the Mobile Suit defense. We have the two GUNDAMs in our unit, Savior and Impulse. I have Savior, Shinn has the Impulse. The rest of you will be using Zaku Warriors. I've arranged to have Zaku Phantoms delivered to the Minerva, but the Phantoms will not be here for a week, so the rest of you will have to make do with the mass-production version. The Zakus aren't bad machines by any means, in fact I think they're slightly superior to the Windams."

Dearka sighed. "Shinn and I will be the leaders. Shinn will have one wingmate, Shiho Wenhenfuss. Rey and Lunamaria, you two are attached to me. Shinn, when I can have a sixth pilot he or she will be attached to you, understood?"

Shinn nodded. He looked at the dark-haired woman he didn't recognize. That had to be Shiho. She seemed to be about the same age as Dearka, and she looked like a deadly serious person. Someone Shinn wouldn't want to piss off.

"Now, Meyrin, explain our strategy in the meantime," Dearka said, stepping aside as he activated the holographic projector.

"Right," Meyrin said, clearing her throat. "The Minerva is the most sophisticated ship in the area. The EA will gun for us because we're the centerpiece. We go down, we're toast in the Pacific/Oceanic theaters."

She sighed. "As Dearka said, our reinforcements are coming but they may not make it in time. If things go rotten we'll be fighting with just two ships, ten-to-one. The captain thinks this is the most likely scenario. She told me that the five of you pretty much have to do everything at once, defend the Minerva and take out EA and Orb forces by going on the offensive when 'the opportunity presents itself' as she put it."

She looked at Dearka, who nodded supportively. Seeming to get some confidence, Meyrin said "There's a possibility we could become surrounded. The Orb have kept diplomatic relations with us but who knows how long that'll be. If that happens, the only option is to keep a continous patrol around the Minerva, attacking any Mobile Suits that get close. The Tristan and Isolde cannons will be able to keep the ships at bay. You must not attack the ships, especially by yourself, in this situation. Even GUNDAMs can be shot down."

"Thank you, Meyrin," Dearka said. He switched off the holographic projector.

"You all get some rest," Dearka said after a moment. "This may be our last chance to get any sleep for a while. The moment we leave port we are to be on standby in case of attack. Be ready by then. Dismissed."

Shinn was glad to get out of the room. The weight of the situation had become a ton of metal pressed against his chest. Everything seemed impossible. How could they fight off a ten-to-one advantage? Even Impulse couldn't be capable of taking out ten Windams, could it? It had been worn down in Junius Seven, hadn't it?

Damn it, he was scared.

He felt a hand behind him and Shinn spun to see the Shiho woman looking at him in the eye. "Calm down, dammit."

"Uh, right, Shiho. I-I can call you 'Shiho', right?"

"Of course you can, it's Dearka's orders," Shiho said. "But stop looking like a deer in headlights. You're not making me feel good at all about being your wingmate."

"Yes, Shiho," Shinn said, head down.

"I have your back, Shinn," Shiho said. "Just watch my back too, all right? We can make it through this. We've all survived impossible situations by this point."

Then she walked past him and vanished in the hangar.

It didn't make Shinn feel any better. Now he needed to try to win the respect of Shiho Wenhenfuss as well. Plus learn how to fly the GUNDAM. And not kill Stellar. And survive a ten-to-one mismatch.

An impossibly tall order was now looking to collapse like a house of cards.

And he was about to be flattened by it all.
***
Stellar Loussier was not a happy young woman. It was twice now that Shinn Asuka had been taken from her at gunpoint. The second time she didn't even have a chance to intervene. That blonde-haired man had been more than willing to kill her in order to make Shinn Asuka return.

This wasn't what she had wanted. Shinn should be here right now. After getting information interrogated out of him, he should be right here, right by her. Why did things have to fall apart? Why did she have to live with the prospect of killing Shinn?

Auel suddenly emanated in front of her, grinning like an idiot. "Why're you still moping, Stellar?"

"You don't understand anything, do you?" Stellar asked as she stirred her fork into the crap food on her tray. It was total mystery meat.

"What's there to understand? Auel understands we're going to kick ZAFT ass!"

Sting spoke up then. "Her boyfriend's on their side, you moron."

Auel's smile faded. "Oh."

Stellar stuck a piece of the mystery meat in her mouth and chewed the tasteless gunk. The Girty Lue was supposed to be the best ship the Earth Alliance had, but the food here was just as bad as it was on other EA ships.

It still mystified Stellar why she, Sting, and Auel had been transferred here. What had they accomplished in order to be sent here? It didn't make much sense at all.

She had a feeling that the three of them were being dropped into something way over their heads. But what? Stellar went through as many conspiracies as she could. Maybe they were being transferred to an all-Slant unit. Maybe they were being consolidated like cattle. The Earth Alliance always deployed their Slant soldiers in interesting ways, treating them like pieces of meat to be distributed where the most bloodshed was going to happen.

Slants never got rest in the Earth Alliance. Not when they were military.

Auel kicked back. "We got nothing to worry about. This will be a wash, trust Auel, he knows."

Sting gave Auel a wry look. "I ain't trusting a thing you say in that weird third-person talk."

"You two are no fun," Auel whined. He looked up at the ceiling. "Look, Stellar, all we gotta do is disable the Impulse and bring it back, right?"

"It's easier said than done, Auel," Stellar said. She liked the idea, but knew it would be difficult to do. The Impulse would outclass any Windam, and without a way to contact Shinn, there was no guarantee that they wouldn't be killed.

The thought of the Impulse charging her, with Shinn having no idea who she was, was terrifying. It was a threat all too real.

Along with Shinn dying because he didn't know which Windam to shoot.

"Everything's easier said than done, Stellar," Auel said. "But I don't think there's any reason to worry. Even if Orb doesn't get off their butts we outnumber them big time. We even have more GUNDAMs than they do. We're gonna win."

"Nice amount of confidence, young pilot," said a masculine voice Stellar had never heard before.

Stellar turned and saw a handsome, tall man standing right behind Sting and Auel. Both of them freaked out and scooted away from the man a bit. He had long blonde hair and deep blue eyes, with several scars on his face.

It took a moment for Stellar to realize who the man was. And then she knew.

Neo Roanoke. The Earth Alliance's greatest ace who survived the Bloody Valentine War. He was mentioned in the same breath as the great Mu La Flaga. But unlike La Flaga, who perished in the final battle, Neo escaped, albeit with a badly damaged Mobile Suit and shard from his helmet embedded in his face.

He was a man to be respected.

Stellar got up and saluted him, and Sting and Auel promptly scrambled to do the same. "It's an honor to see you, sir!" Stellar barked.

Neo sighed. "Please dispense with the formalities. We have extremely urgent business we have to take care of as soon as possible."

"Business?" Stellar asked.

Neo nodded. "Business. Specifically, I've taken command of the entire Mobile Suit contingent in this theater, and I have heard of your three's exploits in the Junius Seven battle."

"You have?" Sting asked, mouth agape.

"Unbelievable," Auel added.

"The Earth Alliance was impressed by you three subduing the GUNDAM machines. You in particular, Stellar, have earned a lot of attention for actually beating a GUNDAM. As a result, the Earth Alliance is rewarding you with the three captured GUNDAMs."

I have a GUNDAM? Stellar thought. She couldn't believe it. It had to be a dream. She was getting a GUNDAM, even over Roanoke? This was crazy. It must be a dream.

No one spoke for a second, and Neo sighed. "I've been out of practice too long to get one of them, I'm afraid. I'll need hands-on experience with a Windam just to be considered. But here, I want to introduce you to another pilot."

He waved over, and a woman walked over. She looked surprisingly diminutive for a soldier, shy and soft-looking. Her hair, raven-colored, was longer than military regulations by far. Even her voice was soft and gentle, with none of the aggression or spirit of a typical soldier. "Hello. My name is Feizhi Aloquin, Mobile Armor pilot. Neo's already briefed me on the three of you, Stellar, Auel, Sting."

"Auel's in love," Auel blurted. He quickly covered his mouth and shrunk in his chair after saying those words, but Feizhi seemed to ignore the words.

"Mobile Armor? I thought Mobile Armor were like extinct," Sting said.

Neo spoke then. "The Mobile Armor isn't quite dead yet. Feizhi here flies a very different Mobile Armor than the Skygrasper. It's an experimental model we hope to mass-produce, and we're going to field test in on the ZAFT."

"We're really going to fight?" Auel asked.

"We are," Neo said. "All signs point to the ZAFT declaring war on us, so we're going to launch a surprise attack on the Minerva and take it out of the war as well as her two GUNDAM machines. We're shooting to have the upper hand quickly and efficiently."

So it really has come to this, Stellar thought. She looked at her food, and shook her head. Not only was she going to fight, but piloting a GUNDAM guaranteed that she'd be fighting Shinn. He was based on the Minerva.

"What the heck do you fly?" Sting asked Feizhi.

Feizhi smiled slightly. "It's called the Zamzasa. You kinda have to see it for yourself."

"Which we will very soon," Neo said quickly. "The four of you are going to be leading the assault on the Minerva, and wipe it out in one swift blow. The three GUNDAMs will be escorting the Zamzasa to the Minerva, and, well . . . boom."

"Auel likes that plan," Auel said.

Stellar remained silent, lost in thought. She wasn't just going to fight Shinn, she was being thrown towards him. She was a javelin being aimed right for Shinn's heart.

Why did this have to happen?

She saw Sting look at her with a warning look on his face, and Stellar forced herself to refocus. She could fall apart in her room later. Not here. Not in the cafeteria. Not in front of the greatest ace in the Earth Alliance.

"Are there any more details?" she managed to ask.

"No, the mission is quite simple honestly," Neo said.

"Will you be fighting, sir?" Sting asked.

Neo shook his head. "Like I said, I'm out of practice. I'm going to need to learn how to fight in a Windam, preferably out of battle. Granted, I am on emergency duty if necessary but I don't think there's going to be a need for that."

"Aw," Auel moaned.

"It's probably the right decision, sir," Sting said.

Neo nodded. "Most likely is," he said.

He sighed. "You four get to know each other. I have a meeting with the captain to make. Enjoy this moment, you're about to strike a lethal blow to the ZAFT."

And then he vanished into the cafeteria crowd.

Feizhi sat down, her tray filled with mystery meat as well. "I hope we win," she said.

"Auel hopes we kick ass," Auel said.

Feizhi gave Sting a look. Sting waved his hands. "You hang around the guy, you put up with his third-person crap," Sting said.

Feizhi nodded. "Oh."

How can they be so casual? We're about to fight the ZAFT all over again. We're being thrown right into the fire, Stellar thought.

She didn't last long before she left the table. She was going to fight, and she was going to fight Shinn, who had no idea she'd be piloting a GUNDAM.

How could she let him know? Diplomatic channels were gone, and military lines were already encrypted.

There was no way he'd know, not unless she broke the ZAFT's own encryption.

What was she going to do? Could she do anything at all?

Stellar had an omnious feeling she could do nothing. Nothing other than hope that Shinn didn't die.

She had the power of the GUNDAM but was completely powerless in so many other ways.

What a cruel irony.

An irony she'd never be able to fix.
***
Athrun had no idea how he was going to track down Miriallia Haw, Sai Argyle, or many of the others who went their own ways. He could, however, find Kira and Lacus. They weren't going to leave that orphanage, not unless something really bad went down.

He hoped they had a plan to escape, though, if things went wrong in a hurry. The ZAFT were using a fake Lacus. They had to be searching for the real one. Lacus had to be made aware of this at least, so if she didn't have an escape plan she'd be able to make one.

Instead of walking up the hill, Athrun ran up it, and nearly tripped twice. He made it to the door to discover it was locked this time. Not surprising. At least this meant no absurd trap.

He knocked, and then rang the doorbell. He sighed, and adjusted his collar. He hoped Kira and Lacus weren't taking a field trip or something-

The door opened.

"Kira, Lacus, I-"

A weight crashed into his shin, and Athrun dropped to one knee, to find himself face to face with a boy. No, the boy. The boy who-

The boy slammed a pie into Athrun's face then. It smelled and tasted like blueberry.

The boy then ran down the hallway, yelling "Ms. Lacus, Ms. Lacus! Your creepy friend is back!"

Oh God, not again, Athrun thought, as he wiped remnants of pie from his face.

"Fletcher, please tell me you didn't waste the-" Athrun looked to see Lacus standing in the hallway, looking quite bemused. "He did."

"Yeah. He did," Athrun said.

He struggled to his feet, to find his shin still hurt a lot. He tried to hide a limp but failed. Lacus gasped and said "Fletcher used the baseball bat, didn't he?"

"It felt like it," Athrun said, as he rubbed his shin.

"That's it, Fletcher! It's one thing to do that to a real intruder, but doing that to someone you know is one of my friends crosses the line! You're getting punished this time!"

"Come on, Ms. Lacus-"

"No 'Ms. Lacus' me! You do not do that to a friend! If I catch you doing that ever-" The voices faded away as Lacus presumably was dragging or chasing Fletcher out of earshot.

Kira appeared then, and he cocked an eyebrow. "Defeated by Fletcher again, I see."

"Ha ha. Get me to the sink so I can wash this off," Athrun replied.

"Yeah, sure." Despite the joking sound of Kira's voice, there was a tired weariness that was obvious. His face was hollow, and looked like it had shriveled a bit from the previous night, when he had-

Athrun didn't want to think about it anymore.

Athrun rinsed the pie off of his face, though he did taste some of it beforehand. It was pretty good. He didn't know Lacus, or Kira possibly, was that good of a cook. Heck, it could even be one of the kids for all he knew. Still, pie in the face wasn't pleasant, and he felt sticky even after applying soap.

Lacus returned a moment later, looking quite annoyed. She relaxed when Athrun made eye contact. "Athrun, I wasn't expecting to see you back so soon."

"I wasn't expecting such an unexpected greeting," Athrun said with an embarrassed smile. "Good pie, by the way."

"Thanks," Lacus said. She shook her head. "I made two for the kids with Kira's help. One cherry, the other blueberry. Fletcher hates blueberry, no wonder he used that one on you. Now I have to make a new one from scratch."

She sighed. "Sometimes that kid is uncontrollable. He knows never to play tricks on Kira, Malchio, or I, but everyone else is fair game as far as he's concerned."

Athrun sighed. "It's not good news that brings me back here. Have you or Kira been watching the news?"

"We usually try to when Malchio's around but he's still hung up trying to get back from the PLANTs," Lacus said. "He was able to message me, though. He's bringing four new orphans here, and he's already arranged to bring in a new teacher. She's supposed to arrive here this evening, but right now Kira and I are too busy trying to keep everything under control to watch the news."

Of course, Athrun thought. Now I gotta be the bearer of bad news.

"Lacus, you're not going to believe this, but there's an impostor of you that made a speech this morning. She looked like you, talked like you, even did a couple of your mannerisms. Like she was a clone."

Lacus' eyes widened. "They did?"

"Yes. It appears to be from a PLANT location. That's why Cagalli and I know ZAFT is behind this. They have to be looking for you."

"Are you saying that Kira and I have to evacuate?" Lacus asked.

"Probably wouldn't be a bad idea. This place isn't that defensible," Athrun said.

Lacus' gaze became dead serious. "You are aware Kira and I can't leave without the kids."

"Look, Lacus, I didn't come here to tell you to evacuate. I'm telling you that someone in ZAFT is pretending to be you, and she has convinced a lot of people that she is you."

"And what would you like me to do about it?" Lacus asked.

Athrun stared at her. "What do you mean by that?"

"I can't do anything about it, can I? No one's going to believe that I'm me. Why would Lacus Clyne, the real Lacus Clyne, throw all of her fame away to take care of children? The public doesn't know me. They don't think I'd do something like that."

Athrun sighed. "That's not all I'm here for. Cagalli's calling for a meeting of the Three Ships Alliance three days from now. I don't know what location she has in mind but I bet it is where the [i[Archangel[/i] and Eternal are hidden."

Lacus nodded. "Now [i[that[/i] I can do something about. Hopefully Malchio and the new teacher will be here by then so Kira and I can go."

She turned to Kira. "You feel up to it?"

Kira, who had been silent the whole time, nodded slightly. "I guess," he said.

"Kira, either you can or you can't."

"I'll go, then," Kira said quickly.

Lacus seemed to accept that answer and she turned to Athrun. "If Kira and I can't make it in person we'll still attend by vidcom."

"Speaking of that, I need to borrow your system for a bit to get in contact with Dearka."

Lacus nodded. "That's fine. How many people are you trying to track down?"

"Everyone who went their separate ways," Athrun said. "Cagalli's handling those who are in Morgenroete or remained close by. I'm tracking down everyone else. If you have any info as to where they went . . ."

"I think Miriallia became a reporter," Lacus said. "She's probably where a big story is. That probably means she's at one of the military bses right now. I don't know where Sai went and neither does Kira."

"And don't ask me where Kuzzey went," Kira added. "He fell off of the planet. No one's had any luck tracking him down over the last three years. We don't think he's dead, but . . ."

Athrun nodded. "Your info on Miriallia is a big help, trust me."

Lacus sighed. "How bad is everything, Athrun? Who's being the aggressor?"

"The ZAFT," Athrun said. "They just broke diplomatic relations with the Earth Alliance. Cagalli thinks that the ZAFT are trying to provoke the EA into restarting the war."

"And how is Orb going to respond to this?" Lacus asked.

"Cagalli decided to side with the Earth Alliance under conditions dictated by Orb. Basically she's shooting for Orb to become the EA's supply base and keeping her soldiers out of the fighting."

Kira's eyes widened. "She decided to go against Lord Uzumi's ideals?"

"She faced political marginalization if she chose to stick to them," Athrun said. "I don't like it either but I understand why she did."

Lacus frowned. "I hope she didn't make a big mistake. Letting go of your ideals, even slightly, starts a slippery slope, Athrun. Cagalli just let herself be corrupted."

"I'm not sure I'd put it that way," Athrun said. He suddenly felt some pressurei n his chest. He didn't want ot think of Cagalli as corrupted, he really didn't. Thinking of her as corrupted meant the woman he loved was-

"It's one little thing," Lacus said darkly. "And once you let your ideals slide, even just a little, it gets easier to do so more and more until you have no ideals other than staying in power."

"You need to tell Cagalli this instead of me," Athrun said.

"I will," Lacus said with finalty. "Now get in contact with Dearka. I'll try to track down Miriallia and the others while you do that so you have some direction. Kira, you stay in the kitchen and make a new pie."

I feel like i'm being lectured by a schoolteacher, Athrun thought. Of course, Lacus actually was a teacher, so . . .

He ran to Lacus' vidcom equipment and began setting it up. He hoped that he wouldn't have to break encryptions. He didn't want to get Dearka in more trouble than he already was . . .
***
Talia Gladys knew she was in trouble. The Orb had issued a removal order, and Talia knew that meant war was coming, and Orb didn't want to be caught in the middle again. Problem was, if war broke out right now, she was stuck in harbor. A complete sitting duck.

"Arthur," Talia finally said, "Is there any way to make this process go faster? The sooner we're out on open sea, and closer to our reinforcements, the better off we'll be?"

"Everyone's moving as fast as they can," Arthur Trine said. "It would be going faster if Morgenroete was still helping us."

"We're professional soldiers, Arthur," Talia growled. "We don't need help from contractors to repair our ship. Now get everyone to move it. Our escort's already at sea and is racing to our position. We need to meet up with it on the open sea and get to our reinforcements."

"I don't understand why we want to be at sea," Arthur said. "There's more cover here, and the Orb will provide-"

"Don't be naive, Arthur," Talia said. "It's likely the Orb will pick a side, and that'll be the Earth Allance. The sooner we are out of here, the better. I don't need Orb's troops breathing down our necks too."

Arthur froze. He rubbed his forehead. "Damn it."

"Now you understand our predicament," Talia said.

"But I don't understand why Orb would do that," Arthur said.

"They're doing it so they don't get attacked like in the last war," Talia said. "It's to survive more than any personal feelings."

"I'll get everyone get this ship preppred for launch immediately," Arthur said, but before he could take off Meyrin intervened.

"Captain, we have a civilian communication from someone claiming to be Andrew Waltfeld!" Meyrin yelled.

Andrew Waltfeld? Talia knew the man's voice, no one could imitate it. She decided to check him. She would know quickly whether the Desert Tiger was real or an impostor.

"Patch him through. I'll know if he's the real Waltfeld," Talia said.

"Yes, Captain!"

Immediately, the gravelly voice of Waltfield emanated in the bridge. There was no doubt this was Waltfield. But why would he be hailing Minerva?

"This is Andrew Waltfeld! Am I speaking to the captain of the Minerva?" Waltfeld asked.

"Yes, you are," Talia said.

"Talia Gladys? That you?"

So he does remember me from the last war, Talia thought. That pretty much confirmed her assumptions right there.

"Yes."

"You must take off immediately. I've received word from the Orb government that the Earth Alliance plans to declare war in approximately five hours. They will attack you the moment war is declared."

"What is your source?" Talia asked.

"I am connected to the highest levels in the Orb government," Waltfeld said. "I can't give you any more information than that, but I can tell you this: Orb will be siding with the Earth Alliance. Diplomatic relations will be severed the moment the EA declares war, and Orb's own war declaration will follow twenty-four hours afterwards."

Talia's eyes widened. This put her ship at a ten-to-one disadvantage immediately. Fighting a sizable EA fleet combined with the Orb fleet was suicidal. Even with the reinforcements it would be a nearly insurmountable task.

The worst part of it was there was no way the Minerva would meet up with the reinforcements before the EA declared war and struck. The only thing she could do now was get out and as close as possible, and prepare for the worst.

At the least Waltfeld had given her that much.

"Understood. We will depart immediately," Talia said.

Waltfeld said "I will be joining you."

"You what[/i[?"

"I'm not eager to fight again, but I will not let my home country's forces become sitting ducks. I will be launching in two hours. Hopefully I'll make it to you before the war declaration. That way you will know it's me."

The Desert Tiger, actually intervening for her? She hoped Waltfeld could provide actual assistance.

"What are you going to bring?" Talia asked.

"All I can give you is for Mobile Suits, but it's better than nothing," Waltfeld said. "But trust me, what I have will even the odds, if only a little."

"U-Understood, Waltfeld. We will depart and await your forces' arrival," Talia said.

"This is Andrew Waltfeld. Out."

Then there was a lcick noise, leaving the bridge completely silent.
***
Andrew Waltfeld sighed as he placed the phone down. "I could be too late. I don't think they'll make it to their reinforcements in time. Even if they do, it'll be a hard fight."

"Then why are you doing it?" Murrue Ramius asked.

Andrew's one good eye looked at Murrue. "Because I have to. Because the Minerva has some people I care about on it, people who fought with me in the desert. I'm not going to let them die."

Murrue sighed. "I wish I could stop you. Cagalli just messaged us, she wants to have a meeting."

"Well, look at it this way, the Three Ships Alliance will have a spy in the ZAFT," Andrew said with a grin. "I'm not facing the death penalty for my actions either. Demotion, obviously, but not death. And when I rescue the Minerva I will have redeemed myself, becoming trustworthy. We need to find out what ZAFT is up to, and I'm basically it."

Murrue looked away. "I understand," she said softly.

"Decosta and I can set up an intelligence network with Dearka Elsman and possibly Yzak Joule if he's up to it," Andrew said. "We'll be able to give the Alliance information, which may be enough to stop the war. We can also get to the bottom of the 'fake Lacus'. We just need to earn their trust again."

"That's not it, Andrew," Murrue said.

Andrew looked away. "I'm not going to die like Mu. I promise. Especially with what I'm going to use."

Murrue put her hands on his shoulders. They were soft and warm. "Just don't get killed. I'm tired of losing friends."

"I won't, Murrue," Andrew said firmly. "That's a promise."

Then he rose from his chair and kissed her.

Murrue smiled when they separated. "I know. At least Decosta will take care of you."

"That young punk needs to learn to look out for himself," Andrew said. "I'll be watching his back the whole time."

Murrue laughed, and then patted his shoulder. "You should get going. You said you were."

"Yeah, I guess I will. I'll see you again soon," Andrew said, and he walked past Murrue and into the hallways of Morgenroete.

There isn't enough justice in the world. But that's why we rebuilt Justice, after all. So if justice ever needed to be served again . . .

He just hoped that those new GUNDAM machines weren't going to outclass Justice, even with its METEOR system. If they did, his heroic actions weren't going to amount to much.

And he wouldn't just be breaking Murrue's heart.

He would be breaking the heart of a new life for every day of her life once she was born.

Aisha, Andrew thought. I'm not going to join you yet. You gave your life so I can continue mine. And I am not going to throw it away, not with what I have lost and gained in return.

That included Murrue, and that included the three brave pilots that would be joining him on this mission, to not only save the Minerva, but to find out the motivations behind the ZAFT.

Including Gilbert Durandal himself.

It was a risky gamble but one that would succeed if everything went right. And Andrew planned on things going right.

He didn't become known as the Desert Tiger because he made mistakes, after all.
MURRUE: Infallible accuracy?? I thought you just usually shot all your weapons at random and they just happened to hit stuff.

KIRA: What do you think this is; a cartoon?
rebel_cheese
Posts: 305
Joined: Wed May 02, 2007 7:43 pm
Location: Illinois, USA

Re: Gundam SEED: Kismet Updated 12/20/09 (Chapter Twenty-one)

Back with a new chapter.

One thing I'm curious about is whether anyone agrees with my decision to kill Yzak off early. I'm not even sure why I did it anymore, but I think I wanted to bring him full circle, instead of murdering civilians like he did in GS to have him die to save civilians in this fanfic. I don't really know.

Anyway, action-packed chapter here, lots of fighting. Hope anyone reading this enjoys the action.
__________________________________________________________________________
Chapter Twenty-Two: Chance Encounter

I should have been a pair of ragged claws
Scuttling across the floors of silent seas.

-T.S. Eliot, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prefrock

Gaia felt weird. It had a different control system than Stellar was used to. Then again, it had been designed by the enemy. She couldn't expect complete familiarity with the GUNDAM machine.

She had managed to read the manual and study her machine. Apparently, it was transformable, into a BuCue-like machine that looked bestial. It even ran on all fours in that mode. Right now, though, that aspect of the GUNDAM was useless. She was over the ocean. She wasn't going to need any advanced mobility on the ground, not when there wasn't any ground.

Supposedly all of the GUNDAM machines had some kind of transformable ability. She had no idea what Abyss' and Chaos' abilities were, though. She didn't much care. All that mattered was surviving this battle, and avoiding Shinn as much as she could.

He would have no idea that she was in this machine. He would only think she wasn't. The Gaia would be taking an all-out assault, Shinn would think Stellar was still a Windam pilot. He wouldn't fathom that Stellar would be flying a hijacked GUNDAM.

Why was life like this?

The Gaia was loaded onto the Girty Lue's catapult. It was supposedly based off of the design of the Archangel, capable of traversing both space and land. It was one of the Earth Alliance's finest battleships, and one that the EA was pinning a lot of hopes on.

There would be no escorting Windams launching from this ship. Stellar, Sting, and Auel would be on their own. The Zamzasa took way too much room to allow for any Windam backup. Then again, they had several escort ships packed with Windams. Stellar had a feeling the Zamzasa would be more valuable than another group of Windams.

She heard the mission control officer launch a countdown. Stellar gripped her control stick and stared out at the partly cloudy daytime sky in front of her.

She was going to be launching into war.

Why?

Why did everything have to come apart?

Why was she-

Countdown ended.

"Stellar Loussier, Gaia, launching!"

The Gaia accelerated out of the catapult with a fury that took Stellar by surprise. This thing was fast. Faster than any Windam.

She could outmaneuver any Zaku in this thing.

After that heady moment, though, she realized a flaw. She hadn't calibrated this thing to operate in the atmosphere. The moment after liftoff, she began hurtling towards the ocean.

Damn it!

Quickly, she prepared a countermeasure. She typed on the GUNDAM's keyboard as fast as she could with her left hand while steering with the right hand. She needed to set up an atmospheric program before she slammed into the ocean.

The ocean was looking really close. C'mon, hurry up!

With five seconds to go, her juryrigged setup activated and Stellar accelerated from the water, and she breathed a sigh of relief. As she got to a safe distance above the water, she continued to adjust her operating system. She needed it to be combat-ready as soon as possible.

Before she could send out a warning to Sting and Auel, though, one of her friends was already taking off. "Auel Neider, Abyss, launching!"

"Wait, Auel, they didn't reconfigure the OS!" Stellar yelled.

"What are you-" Auel then gasped, and screamed as he plummeted into the ocean.

"Auel!" Stellar cried.

Then, much to her amazement, she heard laughing.

"Holy crap!" Auel cried as he laughed wildly. "Look at this! Auel's a submarine!"

Stellar sighed in relief again, and then shook her head. He did that on purpose, didn't he?

"No time to be screwing around, Ensign Neider," Neo Roanoke growled over the com. "Get your OS combat-ready. Ensign Oakley, I assume you won't be making the same mistake as your teammates."

"I, uh, will not, sir," Sting said. A moment later, he launched and joined Stellar and Auel without a hitch.

Auel was still laughing. "Jeez! If this thing couldn't go underwater Auel'd be a dead guy! This is a frickin' submarine GUNDAM!"

Neo's voice interrupted the conversation before it even had a chance to start. "You three are going on ahead and leading the attack on the ZAFT frigates. Zamzasa will be joining you shortly. Your primary target is destroying the Minerva and disabling the other two GUNDAMs. If the Minerva's escort gets in the way, blow it out of the water, but if it doesn't, let the fleet and Windams take care of it."

"Got it, sir," Stellar said. At least "disabling" the Impulse will mean I'm not going to kill Shinn.

Sting and Auel had to know that. There was no way she'd forgive either of them if they killed Shinn.

She looked ahead at the ZAFT fleet. There, Shinn awaited. Along with hundreds of ZAFT soldiers she was going to have to kill.

Shinn, I'm sorry. Please forgive me if I kill your friends. Please.

She accelerated towards the two ZAFT ships, and looked at the small army of Mobile Suits that trailed her. She was going to be firing the first shot of this war.

Her tight grip on her control stick became even tighter. What a weight on her shoulders. She was the aggressor. She was going to be the first response of the Earth Alliance. This was what the ZAFT and their political maneuvering was going to get.

The war.

And with war, came killing.

She never thought she would have to kill again, after killing the terrorist that had gotten inside the barracks. She had done that to protect Sting and Auel.

Then came the fighting against those terrorists who hijacked these GUNDAMs in the first place. She had destroyed a Zaku from top to bottom, among many other kills.

But that killing was done to preserve the peace and protect people.

This? This was just going to be murder.

Organized chaotic murder on a wide scale.

She was never going to be ready for that. Not unless . . .

The rage she had felt twice in her life came back.

What would happen if she got angry again? What if she lost herself in that rage, and killed Shinn?

Never before had Stellar truly been afraid of herself.

But now, she was.

Because if she snapped again, if she lost herself again . . .

She could kill Shinn without thinking.

And that . . .

She wouldn't be able to bear it.

Please, Shinn. Please, by some miracle, stay away from me. Don't make me fight you. Please.

But she already knew that wasn't going to happen. Because she was in the one thing Shinn would never expect her to fly.

Shinn would make a beeline right for her, and have no idea he was fighting the woman he loved. And she would be holding back. And if she didn't go all out against a GUNDAM, she was going to-

Please stay away.
***
The girl, Meyrin Hawke, was in a complete panic. "There's eighty-odd Mobile Suits coming right towards us! Six Earth Alliance ships coming towards us as well! They're spreading out and coming right towards us!"

"What are the ships?" Talia asked.

"One airship, three cruisers, two destroyers! Make that three destroyers! A seventh just joined their group!"

Seven against two. Not good odds, Talia thought. Especially as they have three GUNDAM machines.

Arthur Trine suddenly hung up the phone. "Captain," he said, "We've just received word from the Supreme Council. Orb just broke diplomatic relations with the ZAFT."

So they made their choice, Talia thought. That meant that the Orb would not be a refuge in the case of an emergency. She hadn't planned on that being the case anyway, but this meant that she had virtually nowhere to run other than the reinforcements.

"All right, it can't be helped. We're going to fight. Inform our escort," Talia said.

"Yes, ma'am!" Arthur said.

"Get Tristan and Isolde online as well as all of our anti-air weaponry. Deploy the entire Mobile Suit contingent. We need to hold out until our reinforcements come."

"But our reinforcements won't come for another hour!" Meyrin yelled.

"That's not the reinforcements I'm talking about," Talia said.

Andrew Waltfield, if you're really out there, the ZAFT has never needed you more than they do now. Please come, if that was really you.

"Be ready to open fire! They want a war, they get one!"

Talia stared out at the massive force arrayed to kill her. She was going to take every last one of them down with her if she wasn't going to survive this. The Earth Alliance was going to pay a hefty price for making war on the Minerva. She was sure of it.
***
The Impulse had to be assembled in mid-air. It was a clumsy manuever, and Shinn barely got all of the pieces together before he saw Windams coming right for him.

Oh damn.

There was no way to tell if any of them were Stellar or not. He had no choice. He needed to shoot, and pray that she wasn't in any of those cockpits.

But one of the Windams shot first. Shinn turned away from the shot and it blasted straight into the sea.

The war had begun.

Shinn pulled out his MA-BAR72 Beam Rifle and began shooting at the three Windams who had come charging towards him. He managed to blast one in the leg, and sent it smoking and spiraling out of control, but the other two Windams managed to dodge him.

I don't have enough practice on this thing!

Shiho charged into the fray, her beam sword ablaze. She sliced the first Windam into two pieces, the lower half exploding and the other half spiraling away in flames. The other Windam was speared right in the cockpit, and Shiho barely got a away before it exploded as well.

I hope that wasn't Stellar, Shinn thought.

"Get your head out of the clouds, Ensign!" Shiho shouted.

"Uh, yeah. Got it," Shinn said, and he shook the cobwebs out of his brain. He was going to die if he struggled like that too often. He was given this thing because he was supposedly a good pilot. A good pilot didn't get caught in situations like that.

He rejoined Shiho, and quickly saw the battle had devolved into a mess, with Mobile Suits flying everywhere and crashing into each other. The escort ship was already in a state of siege, with Windams blasting at her missile and gun emplacements.

We can't lose the escort so fast! Shinn was about to charge after it, but immediately he heard Dearka.

"Shinn, Shiho, I'm going to protect the escort! You two stay by the Minerva!"

"Uh, right!" Shinn said, and immediately reassumed his defensive position a hundred yards or so in front of the Minerva's bridge.

I can't worry about Stellar. If I worry about her, I'll die. I have to shoot. I have to kill.

The sobering thought was blasted from his mind as a Windam came charging right for him. Shinn aimed his rifle and blasted it right into the cockpit of the Windam, sending it spiraling into the ocean before it exploded, causing a geyser of water to shoot up into the air.

"That's what we're talking about, Shinn," Shiho said firmly.

"I guess," Shinn said. He shook his head. Stellar would know to stay away from him anyway. She knew he was flying this beast. She wouldn't come anywhere near him.

And that was all he could hope for, in the frenzy of battle.
***
I really wish Athrun was flying this instead of me. This kind of thing is up his alley, not mine, Dearka thought. He had already accidently transformed his GUNDAM into a Mobile Armor, and had nearly been shot down in the process. He had barely scraped away with some scratches, and a couple of Windam kills.

Now, Savior was back in its Mobile Suit form, which Dearka was far more comfortable in. The Savior had nice weaponry, better weaponry than the Zakus. The superior equipment gave Dearka a nice advantage over the Windams.

An advantage he was going to have to exploit for all it was worth. A quarter of the Zaku contingent had already been shot down. The Earth Alliance had numbers. In mere minutes they were already close to being overwhelmed.

The more Zakus lost, the more hopeless the battle was going to be.

He put his rifle away and drew his Beam Sabre as he spotted an opportunity. "Rey, Luna, cover me!"

He charged straight ahead, and saw four Windams neatly arrayed in a curve, trying to take a shot at something stationary. In one curving motion, he sliced all four of them in half, causing all to explode moments later.

It took him a moment to realize why they had stopped still like that. They were trying to destroy the escort's bridge.

The battle to save the escort was already becoming hopeless, if the bridge was coming under attack already.

Before he could process those glum news, Luna began screaming. "There's something coming our way! It's huge!"

"What?" Dearka asked.

The moment he saw, he wished he hadn't.

How the hell are we going to stop that thing?
***
"You know the plan, Feizhi," Neo said calmly over Feizhi Aloquin's com.

"I do," Feizhi said, staring straight at the ZAFT escort ship. This was going to be the preliminary test. She needed to make sure the weapons worked correctly before the real test. Destroying the Minerva.

Her tiny hands barely fit over the handle of the control stick, but there was nothing small or fragile about Feizhi. Not when she was flying this thing. She was four-foot-eleven, and looked more like a gymnast than a soldier, but she could fly this thing.

And for the first time in her life, she had someone who believed in her.

Neo believed in her. He knew she could fly this thing and succeed in it. And as long as he trusted her, she was never going to let him down.

She aimed the massive cannon right at the bridge of the escort. She could tell immediately this was going to be a successful test. No ZAFT Mobile Suit was close enough to stop her.

She fired.

She smiled cheerfully as the shot hit its target. "Preliminary test complete."
***
Talia Gladys stared in horror as the escort ship, her only ally, was blasted almost out of existence by that flying monster's weapon. It looked almost like a flying crab, but far more terrifying. Like a hornet, or maybe a spider, crossed with a crab.

No, words could not describe the thing that had now left the Minerva all alone. It was enormous, disgusting, jagged. And had destroyed a ship in a single shot.

The smoking wreckage of what had been her escort began to sink, and the flying mechanical monster was already turning direction and coming right towards her.

"Damn it, don't let that thing come near us! Get Dearka or Shinn or both on that thing now!" Talia yelled.

"Dearka's already engaging!" Meyrin yelled.

"Get Shinn on there too! Take it down at all costs! It takes a shot at us we're finished!"
***
Dearka was surprised as his lunge missed the flying crab/spider/thing. This thing is quick for its size! They really designed this thing well.

Rey came in for his own attack, but the monster accelerated and rammed into Rey, and that sent him spiraling away out of control towards the ocean.

"Luna, keep that thing busy! I'm going to try to make another attack!"

"Right, sure, whatever!" Luna yelled in clear sarcasm. But she opened fire anyway, but the shots merely glanced off of the armor.

There has to be a weak point. The cannon? Or maybe this thing has a soft underbelly. I need to find it before we're all dead, Dearka thought.

"Dearka, I'm coming!" Shinn yelled as the Impulse appeared on close-range radar.

"Shinn, you and I team up on this thing! Sword strikes! Try to hit the cannon or the underbelly!"

"You got it!"

"Shiho, you and Luna give cover fire! Keep that thing's attention!"

"Understood," Shiho said.

As another set of laser fire joined in the fray, Dearka dove-bomb on the monster, and missed. Shinn came from under but the monster dodged that as well, and simply backhanded Shinn with one of its claws, sending the Impulse spiraling away, bits and pieces coming off of it.

What can I do to destroy this thing? Dearka thought.

Shiho's voice took that thought out of his mind, then. "Dearka, we've got the three GUNDAMs coming towards us!"

Great, as if this fight wasn't hard enough, Dearka thought.

How was he going to be able to destroy this colossal mechanical beast and three GUNDAMs?

How?

It was an impossible task. But one that would have to be accomplished.

Or everyone here was going to die.
***
Meyrin was shaking in fear, and a stutter had entered her voice. "Savior and I-Impulse have been ineffective, m-ma'am! The monster is still coming towards us!"

Talia frowned. C'mon, Dearka, Shinn. Do something.

She decided she couldn't be helpless. "Fire the Tannhauser! That should obliterate it!"

She gritted her teeth. It was going to be a waste of valuable energy, but it would remove the threat. If the monster destroyed the Minerva then there would be no enemy fleet to use the Tannhauser on. Talia and the crew wouldn't have any cares in the world, for they'd all be dead.

Please let this work, Talia thought, as the Tannhauser charged up.

The Minerva's massive gun fired.
***
Feizhi shook her head as the massive beam was stopped and winked out of existence. It was like it had been absorbed by thin air.

Test of the positron deflector, complete, Feizhi thought.

She could sense the morale of the ZAFT completely deflating now. She was winning. Almost by herself, she was repelling two GUNDAMs and ramming her way through the entire Mobile Suit contingent, and there was nothing the Minerva had that could stop her.

A feminine voice came through on her com. "Feizhi, this is Stellar! We're coming!"

About time, Slants. They were supposed to be better than this. Why was the Earth Alliance so enamored of Slants? They were still freaks of science, just less so than the Coordinators.

Oh, well. At least they were here now, and she wasn't going to refuse their assistance. The GUNDAMs and the Zakus were making this more difficult than it should be.

In any way, she knew she had to be making Neo proud. No one else had believed in her. She was so small, so girlish-looking, that she always got passed up by others despite her raw ability. But now, she finally had an opportunity to show her skills, and she was proving that their ignorance of her had been a complete mistake.

But she could make a difference now. And with the Slants, and the massive Zamzasa, she would end the ZAFT's presence on Earth before it really began.

The three GUNDAMs charged into the fray, and Feizhi smiled. The way was clear now, with Stellar, Auel, and Sting doing their jobs. The four of them would make a good team, even though they were Slants.

Freaks they were, they were still amazing pilots. The Earth Alliance had been wrong to shunt them aside for so long too, in favor of drug addicts and nuclear weapons.

But that mistake was being rectified too.

And now, the Earth Alliance would decisively win this battle, and the war. The Slants would gradually fade away as their genetics became tampered by Natural blood. And then everything would be as it should be.

And that would start by winning this battle.

The Zamzasa flew towards the Minerva's bridge. With one more good shot, the battle would be won.

And for good, she would elevate herself to the top of the Earth Alliance's aces.

This was going to be an amazing day.
***
Stellar was gasping for air after her charge, which managed to help clear the way for Feizhi to break through and head towards the Minerva.

She still couldn't see the Impulse. Had it already been shot down? She couldn't believe that Shinn could have been shot down already-

Suddenly, she saw the Impulse, and she smiled. Good, Shinn's still alive. I was getting worried.

Then Stellar realized the Impulse was coming right for her. Oh shi-

Stellar barely got her sword out in time to meet the Impulse, and Stellar was knocked out of the battle, and she skirted the ocean before regaining the control and knocking the Impulse away.

He doesn't know it's me. He can go all out on me because he thinks I'm still in a Windam, Stellar thought.

She scrambled with her OS. She had to hail the Impulse. She had to let Shinn know. Before he attacked again. That way, he wouldn't kill her. And then, maybe, just maybe, she could . . .

Could get him on her side, and then . . .

The Impulse charged again, and Stellar blocked the blow, but was knocked into an awkward position. Stellar barely dodged the next two strikes, and continued to try to hail the Impulse. Please, let this work. Please.

Suddenly, she heard Shinn's voice. "Why the hell are you hailing me? What are you trying to say, you warmongerer?"

Those words hurt Stellar, but then she realized Shinn had no idea who he was talking to.

"Shinn, please stop, it's me," she cried.

There was silence, and the Impulse just loomed right in front of her, completely still.

"S-Stellar?" Shinn choked out.

"Shinn, it's me. I'm the pilot of the Gaia," Stellar said, as tears began to fall down her face. "Please don't fight me anymore. I don't want to fight you, Shinn."

All she could do now, was wait for Shinn's response.

And pray that the response was the right one. So they could finally be together. So that the war couldn't keep them apart.

Please, Shinn, she thought.

The silence was deafening.
MURRUE: Infallible accuracy?? I thought you just usually shot all your weapons at random and they just happened to hit stuff.

KIRA: What do you think this is; a cartoon?
Antares
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Re: Gundam SEED: Kismet Updated 1/4/10 (Chapter Twenty-two)

A few points of critique, if I may. :)

-Stellar's internal monologue before the battle is a bit repetitive and a little too long. It borders on angsty. Don't make all characters angsty; dealing with Shinn can sometimes be quite enough. :D
-Some repetitive language. E.g. Dearka talking about Saviour, saying "nice" in two consecutive sentences. I think Meyrin describing the EA forces had a bit of the same. Diversify the language a little. And don't press in the point about "if X doesn't do Y, then EVERYBODY WILL DIE". It is redundant; you do a fine job describing their dire straits even without such dramatic statements. :)
-Minerva's Tannhäuser: The shot is taken while several mobile suits are engaged in combat with the EA mobile armor. Friendly fire too risky. Have them at least disperse first.

On the other hand, the little chick piloting the mobile armor seemed pretty interesting. I don't know if you end up killing her in the next episode, but she seemed somehow a bit different and a welcome addition to EA's guys.
-We will not be caught by surprise!
*Almost everyone I've killed uttered similar last words.
-Then I am glad once again that you are on my side.
*They've often said that too.
rebel_cheese
Posts: 305
Joined: Wed May 02, 2007 7:43 pm
Location: Illinois, USA

Re: Gundam SEED: Kismet Updated 1/4/10 (Chapter Twenty-two)

Antares wrote:A few points of critique, if I may. :)

-Stellar's internal monologue before the battle is a bit repetitive and a little too long. It borders on angsty. Don't make all characters angsty; dealing with Shinn can sometimes be quite enough. :D
-Some repetitive language. E.g. Dearka talking about Saviour, saying "nice" in two consecutive sentences. I think Meyrin describing the EA forces had a bit of the same. Diversify the language a little. And don't press in the point about "if X doesn't do Y, then EVERYBODY WILL DIE". It is redundant; you do a fine job describing their dire straits even without such dramatic statements. :)
-Minerva's Tannhäuser: The shot is taken while several mobile suits are engaged in combat with the EA mobile armor. Friendly fire too risky. Have them at least disperse first.

On the other hand, the little chick piloting the mobile armor seemed pretty interesting. I don't know if you end up killing her in the next episode, but she seemed somehow a bit different and a welcome addition to EA's guys.
Thanks on Stellar. I think I did overdo it a little, and I may cut down on it in places, Stellar's not supposed to be a sob story character like the way Shinn's supposed to be portrayed (or Kira for that matter).

The repetitive language made me headdesk once I read through the thing. Not my most well-written chapter overall. That will definitely be corrected, maybe even here if not on FF.net once I post it. I guess I overdid how desperate the situation is, I wanted to present the Zamzasa as this massive threat, more so than DESTINY did.

The third point was a veeeery good point, I should have included a line at least telling the Mobile Suits to get out of the way so only EAs would be hit. That will also be fixed, thanks for pointing that out.

Feizhi was intended to be a very different type of character from the usual Gundam stereotypes. I wanted her to be a badass Natural without being a druggie or a Coordinator working for them, and while she has prejudices she doesn't let them get in the way of her work. She's very professional and talented. As for her dying . . . wait and see.

___________________________________________________________________________
Chapter Twenty-Three: A New Berserker

A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is braver five minutes longer.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Shinn Asuka was in total disbelief. I was fighting Stellar. I was trying to kill Stellar. Oh God. I can't believe it. What is she doing in that thing? Why?

He tried to search his mind for any logical explanation for this. She should have been flying a Windam. What was she doing inside a GUNDAM instead? Had she lied to him?

No, if she had lied to him, she wouldn't have tried to hail him. She would have just killed him.

But why? Why was she flying a GUNDAM? Out of everyone in the Earth Alliance, why her?

That meant her friends were in the other two GUNDAMs too. That meant every time he would engage a GUNDAM he would be fighting someone he knew. Someone who he was friends with, had goofed around with, even fought with.

Not fair, not fair at all.

He heard yelling in his ear a moment later. "Shinn, what are you doing? Help us!" Luna yelled.

Shinn ignored the plea. He finally said "Stellar, why are you in that thing?"

"They said I was the best, Shinn," Stellar said. "I didn't even know until yesterday. This is my first time flying the GUNDAM, actually."

"You fly it pretty well."

"Thanks."

Shinn looked at his controls. "Stellar, what are we going to do?"

"I don't know. Do you think you could-"

Suddenly, another voice screamed in Shinn's ear. "Shinn, help me!"

It was Meyrin's voice.

"Meyrin?" Shinn asked, and he brought up a visual of Meyrin, wide-eyed and teary.

"Shinn," she cried, "Help me! That monster's going to kill us! It just swatted Dearka away! Please, I don't want to die!"

"Meyrin, get a hold of-" The captain's voice was cut off by the loss of communication, and Shinn shook his head violently. He couldn't refuse a desperate request from that. Not from the one person in the ZAFT who didn't seem out to screw him or use him.

"Stellar, I have to go, I'm sorry."

"Shinn, what are you doing?"

"I have to stop that monster. I can't let it destroy the bridge."

"Shinn, I have to protect that machine. It's the Zamzasa. I can't let you destroy it," Stellar said.

"Then try and stop me." Shinn blinked away his tears, turned towards the Zam-whatever, and charged straight forward, leaving Stellar behind.

I'm sorry, Stellar. But I'm your enemy, I guess. There's people I have to protect now. If this . . .

Damn it.


He came right for the Zamzasa, and readied his beam sword. Luna and Shiho were still in action, but they were desperately trying to hold off repeated assaults by the other GUNDAMs. Rey was limping towards the hangar bay, his machine was badly damaged. Most of the other Zakus were gone. Dearka was nowhere to be seen.

He was really all that was left to stop that thing.

He heard Stellar's voice. "Shinn, please! Don't make me fight you!"

He had to ignore it. He had to concentrate on Meyrin's plea.

She was the one person in the ZAFT who didn't dislike him.

If only for her, he had to defend that bridge.

He charged.
***
Feizhi saw the Impulse coming, and knocked it away. "Insect," she spat. The Mobile Armor was something thought obsolete, but when redesigned and improved, it was just as good, if not better, than GUNDAMs.

Just a distraction. That's all the Impulse was. The Zamzasa was just such a powerful and manueverable machine that she could knock it away with ease, even without the escorts. And now, she was about to get a clear shot at the bridge, and prove her worth to Neo and the Earth Alliance once and for all.

Suddenly, the Impulse came back again, much to Feizhi's surprise.

I can't believe he wants some more . . . or could take more.

She deflected the sword strike, and suddenly found herself locked in a duel with the ZAFT GUNDAM. The Impulse looked to be a decent machine, and the pilot was quite brave. But that wasn't going to be good enough.

Not when Feizhi was just as determined, and flying better equipment.

"Out of my way!" She knocked the Mobile Suit into the Minerva, just below the bridge. She took a claw and pinned the Impulse to the hull.

She could finish off the Impulse and the Minerva in one shot. Sure, the order was to disable the GUNDAMs, but she was sure Neo wouldn't complain about the Impulse being destroyed.

No, she couldn't do that. She had to follow orders like everyone else. She couldn't get too giddy with all of the power she had.

So she took the claw and swung the Impulse around, ramming it against the metal of the Minerva, and then the bridge, causing the glass to crack, and then against the metal again. There was no way the Impulse would take abuse like that for long. Not before being removed from the battle.

She began charging the cannon as she thrashed the Impulse. With this, the field test would finally be completed. More Zamzasas would be produced. And this war would be won.

And the Impulse would be in Earth hands where it belonged.
***
Shinn was surprised to see himself suddenly in a dark world, where only he was illuminated. He was staring in shadow. Was this the afterlife? Had he been killed? Was this purgatory or something?

Suddenly, there was a brown light from his left. Shinn walked towards it. He was still in his pilot's uniform, although his helmet had been removed. He walked towards the light, and was quite surprised to see what the source was.

A crystallized seed.

A figure suddenly appeared next to it, and Shinn stared in surprise. His mouth was numb, he could barely speak.

"Mayu?"

Mayu looked at him sadly. "You want to live, don't you, big brother?" she asked.

"I, uh . . ."

Mayu nodded softly. "I know you still do. It's all right. I'm your angel, Shinn. I'll protect you."

She walked over to the floating brown seed, and cupped it in her hands. Suddenly, it began to crack.

"Use this power to live, Shinn, and protect those you care about."

"Mayu-"

"I will protect you from here. Just worry about protecting the others that still live, big brother."

Shinn stared at the glow became brighter as the seed shattered into pieces. He felt so warm, like his sister was so close, like she was embracing him. He felt powerful, almost like a god. He-
***
Shinn snapped back into reality.

I won't die!

Shinn, with Impulse's right arm, chipped at the claw with the sword, and broke free. He fell away and accelerated a good distance before stopping and turning around. He had mere seconds to shoot the Zamzasa down. The Minerva had taken a lot of damage, but it would survive, if the Zamzasa was destroyed.

"Meyrin," he yelled. "Get me a Sword Silhouette. Do it now!"

Meyrin sounded heartened as she spoke, even though her voice was breaking. "It's coming, Shinn."

The Zamzasa, as Shinn expected, was trying to line up a shot directly at the bridge. It wasn't going to come after Shinn, not when it was pursuing its objective.

The Sword Silhouette pack came his way, and Shinn transformed the Impulse as fast as he could, and converted the machine into the Sword Impulse.

He took the anti-ship swords and merged them together. He stared at the Zamzasa with a determination he had never had before. He felt powerful, but warm. He almost felt his sister's arms wrapped around him as he readied his counterattack.

No, he could feel them. So small, yet so warm. He could smell her sweet breath, hear her soft breathing.

I know you're here, Mayu. Thank you. I'll protect this ship.

One of the Earth GUNDAMs suddenly got in the way, but Shinn was already charging. He cleaved one of the legs off and sped on right for the Zamzasa, resetting his attack as he accelerated.

He swung right at the cannon. He connected, and immediately realized he had hit the weak point. He followed through, and sliced the Zamzasa into two pieces before accelerating away as sparks flew from the dying machine.

He wasn't done yet.

He could see the fleet approaching, trying to circle around the Minerva like sharks.

He was going to wipe them out too.

Windams tried to get in his way, but he defeated them all in one swing apiece. He flung his beam boomerang at two and cleaved them in the cockpit, destroying both machines, and bludgeoned his way through.

He would protect Meyrin.

As long as she cared for him, he would not abandon her.
***
Feizhi coughed blood violently as sparks flew around her cabin, as miniature explosions set off all over the Zamzasa. She was out of power, she couldn't even ram the Minerva in a kamikaze strike.

She was completely useless in her final moments.

And she had come so close!

"Neo, I'm so sorry. I didn't want to disappoint you . . ."

The Zamzasa exploded.
***
Stellar stared in horror as the Zamzasa was incinerated. Her GUNDAM was badly damaged, she couldn't believe Shinn had rammed through her like she was nothing. But defeating the Zamzasa, which had been throwing him around like a rag doll?

How had he managed to do that?

How?

And why had he treated Stellar like that, like she was his enemy?

Why?

Stellar began to shake. She had failed her mission, and now Shinn seemed to hate her. Or had made his choice. Something.

She had no choice but to try to make it back to base. She was losing energy fast with her machine's injury. Fighting was completely pointless, especially with her objective a smoldering pile of wreckage falling towards the ocean.

But what Shinn had done had shaken her to the core. She hadn't raised a finger in self-defense, all she had done was try to reason with Shinn. And he had just charged through her like a man possessed.

She heard Sting's voice. "Stellar! Are you all right?"

"I'm still here," Stellar said.

"Get back to base! Auel and I will try to catch the Impulse! He's attacking the fleet directly!"

"He's what?" Stellar's eyes widened. Shinn wasn't that brazen, was he?

He was fighting like a man possessed . . .

What if he had fallen prey to the same rage that had taken Stellar over twice before? What if he suffered from the same thing?

"Sting, please, don't kill him," Stellar said.

"I can't make promises. But I will stop him," Sting said. Immediately, Chaos and Abyss went flying towards the Impulse, and Stellar was left helpless.

All she could do now was retreat, and wonder what had befallen Shinn.
***
Neo Roanoke was angry.

The Zamzasa had cost more than it had to produce those GUNDAM machines from the last war combined. It was the most expensive piece of machinery put to war yet. Feizhi Aloquin had been a determined pilot whose motivation was to prove that she was just as good of a soldier as everyone else. She had a bias against the Slants, but she did not let it control her.

She had been a good soldier, and she had been completely wasted along with the Zamzasa, unless she had miraculously ejected in time.

What had destroyed the mighty Zamzasa, the replacement for Mobile Suits?

A Mobile Suit, of course. One of the GUNDAMs.

Damn those things, Neo thought. They're always getting in my way, whether in the last war or this one.

Stellar Loussier was retreating back to base, her machine wounded by a blow from the same GUNDAM that had wiped out the Zamzasa. Now, that GUNDAM was wreaking havoc on the left flank. The Impulse GUNDAM was literally cleaving ships into chunks, and leaving them all to explode.

Sting and Auel were in pursuit, but Neo knew that neither pilot would likely stand a chance. Neo briefly considering suiting up himself, but he knew it was pointless in the end. He probably wouldn't be able to stop the Impulse either.

But if nothing could stop the Impulse . . .

This is why everyone keeps returning to the GUNDAM design. Few things can cause such destruction in a compact package like those machines.

But then, the reports worsened.

An ensign cried out from his console "We've got Mobile Suits coming from behind! They're assaulting the right flank!"

"From behind?"

"Bringing up visual!"

Neo was dumbstruck to see the Justice GUNDAM flying around his right flank, decimating the fleet there. How or why it was doing there baffled Neo to no end, but there it was. And Neo had nothing that could stop that thing. Nothing other than the lost Zamzasa . . .

With the left flank under heavy pressure, and the right flank being obliterated, he was out of options. He was taking far too many casualties. He was going to have to wait for reinforcements before he could try again.

The politicians weren't going to be happy about this.

"Pull back," Neo growled. "We're not going to win this battle, too many intangibles have gone their way."

The captain of the Girty Lue nodded. "Good idea, Roanoke. Best to wait for reinforcements, right?"

"We don't have much of a choice," Neo said. "We're going to need to overwhelm them with sheer numbers next time."

That was the modern-day equilvalent to the Russians sending thousands of soldiers at a time to die to German machine-guns in World War II. But the Russians had ultimately won that war, at a Pyrrhic cost. With three GUNDAMs on the ZAFT side and no Zamzasa on his, it was looking like Neo was going to have to use that strategy to win this time.

But Neo was prepared to do that.

He had hundreds of thousands of soldiers to send to die. All that mattered . . . was victory.
***
Talia Gladys was still in disbelief twenty minutes after the battle. A hopeless situation had turned into a truly miraculous victory. They had been all about to die, and suddenly, there was salvation. Coordinators were generally athiest or agnostic, Talia included, but today was the closest she had come to believe there was a God.

From the cameras in the hangar bay, Shinn was being fawned over by his Slant contemporaries. He had been a role model of sorts, a symbol of hope, and now he had proven himself a great hero in that machine. The decision to put Shinn in the Impulse GUNDAM, possible disloyalties and all, had completely paid off. Talia almost couldn't believe it.

Perhaps the most incredible moment, though, was seeing Andrew Waltfield standing right before her. He looked extremely battle-scarred, and was missing an eye and wearing a prosthetic, but he had never been a more welcome sight.

"General Waltfield," Talia said, smiling as she spoke. "What brings you out here?"

"I couldn't let such an uneven fight go on," Waltfield said. "I did what I could. Problem is, I used up the METEOR's energy blasting through the fleet. The Minerva doesn't have the recharging ports for it, so it is dead weight."

"It doesn't matter. Part of the reason we're alive today is because of you," Talia said.

"Yeah, about staying alive," Waltfield said as he scratched the back of his head. "I believe I'm considered a traitor by many in the Supreme Council, so . . ."

"Don't worry, I can arrange to have the charges dismissed. I am sure you're going to be eating several demotions, though," Talia said.

"That's fine," Waltfield said. He looked around the ship with his one good eye. "I came here to do what needs to be done."

That was a good enough answer for Talia. "All right, Waltfield, I've bothered you enough. I believe you should meet up with Dearka's team and plan out a coordinated battle plan with them. You being here evens the odds nicely."

"I'll do that, thanks," Waltfield said, and he walked away, though not before giving her a salute, which she returned.

Now, Talia could return to other duties.

Like finding out why Waltfield was here, and how Shinn Asuka had been able to do that.

She wasn't sure she wanted to know the answers.
***
Lacus was shaking her head violently as she was watching the news. Even during the worst moments of the Bloody Valentine War, Athrun had never seen Lacus so frustrated.

"I can't believe this," she said finally. "Why are they doing this? The last war was bad enough! Do we need to completely destroy the current generation to realize how insipid restarting the war is?"

"I don't know," Athrun replied.

Lacus buried her face in her hands. "And now you say Cagalli's dragging Orb into the war."

"She doesn't have much of a choice, unless she wants to be politically marginalized," Athrun said. "Cagalli's still a friend, and the only member of the Alliance that has any political influence right now. She has to stay in position in order for any chance of peace being negotiated."

"And what's this about General Waltfield being dispatched to the ZAFT?" Lacus asked.

"That one's new, something I got from Ms. Ramius just a short time ago, right after I got through to Miriallia. We need an obvious plant in the ZAFT to draw attention from Dearka. Waltfield is going to eat all of the suspicions while Dearka and his people can do the actual investigating, and see why the ZAFT wants to refight the war."

Lacus nodded. "At least I'm glad we're remaining active. Maybe we can stop the conflict quicker this time."

"Right now, we should be glad there's only been one battle fought so far," Athrun said.

Athrun then realized he was going to eat his words, as the broadcast shifted focus to ZAFT attacks in Madagascar and Sydney. Athrun's jaw dropped. The ZAFT had a counterattack planned, all right. Maybe it had even been the initial war plan before the battle by Orb.

"Never mind," Athrun said softly.

"These are just the first battles," Lacus said. "There will be more. The fighting will ignite along all fronts. Europe, South America, North America, Africa, Asia, Oceania, everywhere. If the last war was this generation's World War I, this war will be the World War II."

"Then I hope we have a new Greatest Generation," Athrun said softly.

"Do we?" Lacus asked.

Athrun didn't have a ready answer. Instead, he got up and began walking towards the door. It was best to leave now, anyway, he had accomplished what he was here for other than contacting Dearka, which Waltfield would do anyway. He didn't want to see Kira's issues flaring again.

He finally said "I hope we do, Lacus."

Lacus got up and walked towards the door. "Be careful, Athrun. And tell Cagalli not to lose sight of what she believes in for the sake of power."

"Trust me, I was going to tell her that anyway," Athrun said.

They hugged each other, and then Athrun walked into the cool nighttime air, heading to the first home he had had since Junius Seven.

The home he would soon share with Cagalli.
MURRUE: Infallible accuracy?? I thought you just usually shot all your weapons at random and they just happened to hit stuff.

KIRA: What do you think this is; a cartoon?
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Re: Gundam SEED: Kismet Updated 1/11/10 (Chapter Twenty-three)

Just read everything up to and including CH 23, this is an awesome read. I love that the EA seems, dare I say it, COMPETENT!
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Re: Gundam SEED: Kismet Updated 1/11/10 (Chapter Twenty-three)

Must say, this is one of the very few fanfics that I have actually totally read, and not just 'skimmed' like most other ones. Anyway, really enjoying the current fanfiction. My compliments for not drowning us with a plague of OCs. The concepts that make it different from the original GSD are very nice, especially how the character of Cagalli and Shinn's origins are being handled. Anyway, keep up the great work and I am eagerly waiting for your next update.
Kallor said: 'I walked this land when the T'lan Imass were but children. I have commanded armies a hundred thousand strong. I have spread the fire of my wrath across entire continents, and sat alone upon tall thrones. Do you grasp the meaning of this?'

'Yes,' said Caladan Brood, 'you never learn.'
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Re: Gundam SEED: Kismet Updated 1/11/10 (Chapter Twenty-three)

Just read everything up to and including CH 23, this is an awesome read. I love that the EA seems, dare I say it, COMPETENT!
Thanks, Flame. 23 chapters in one go, not bad for going through going-on-3-years-of-work. XD I'm glad you enjoyed the trip so much and I hope future chapters continue to be fun for you.
Must say, this is one of the very few fanfics that I have actually totally read, and not just 'skimmed' like most other ones. Anyway, really enjoying the current fanfiction. My compliments for not drowning us with a plague of OCs. The concepts that make it different from the original GSD are very nice, especially how the character of Cagalli and Shinn's origins are being handled. Anyway, keep up the great work and I am eagerly waiting for your next update.
Thanks for the praise! I felt that OCs weren't as necessary considering how so many characters are being reimagined, not that OCs aren't going to be in this, but they don't have as much importance as canon characters. I'm glad you like Cagalli and Shinn's origins, those were two things that I think needed to be changed from their canon incarnations.

I think I will be updating on Monday afternoons/nights for the foreseeable future. Glad you're interested!
MURRUE: Infallible accuracy?? I thought you just usually shot all your weapons at random and they just happened to hit stuff.

KIRA: What do you think this is; a cartoon?
rebel_cheese
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Re: Gundam SEED: Kismet Updated 1/11/10 (Chapter Twenty-three)

All right, I have a real good excuse for the lack of updating the last couple of weeks . . .

I've been concentrating the bulk of my writing time on finishing my novel. I'm currently on the last scene of the final chapter. Only a couple of pages left to go.

If I can get it done and there's still time to write on Sunday, I'll try to bang out another chapter quickly as I already know what I'm going to write.
MURRUE: Infallible accuracy?? I thought you just usually shot all your weapons at random and they just happened to hit stuff.

KIRA: What do you think this is; a cartoon?
rebel_cheese
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Re: Gundam SEED: Kismet Updated 1/11/10 (Chapter Twenty-three)

My novel has been completed. I will work to get a couple of chapters done this week so we have a couple of weeks of consistent updates.
MURRUE: Infallible accuracy?? I thought you just usually shot all your weapons at random and they just happened to hit stuff.

KIRA: What do you think this is; a cartoon?
rebel_cheese
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Re: Gundam SEED: Kismet Updated 1/11/10 (Chapter Twenty-three)

Trying to sell my novel, along with real life responsibilities, has been killing me for the last several months. I can't believe my last update was in January.

Anyway, here's Chapter 24. Chapter 25's WIP, hopefully it'll be ready soon. If previous patterns are consistent, I should be able to get a decent burst of chapters out.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Chapter Twenty-Four: Rewrites

How did I get into this and how do I get out of it again, how does it end?
-Soren Kiergerarrd

Stellar was still mystified the day after the battle. The Earth Alliance was already in hot pursuit of the Minerva and her reinforcements, but they hadn't caught the ZAFT ship yet. In any case, Stellar's GUNDAM was still too badly injured to fly. Replacement parts were hard to come by, apparently. Rumor had it they were stripping secret GUNDAM prototypes to maintain the stolen ZAFT machines.

But that was only rumor, rumor that hadn't been substantiated. Which meant Stellar in general had no idea what was going on.

It was frustrating to feel this way.

Even Auel looked serious as he toyed with his mystery meat ration. "We got our asses kicked yesterday."

"No kidding," Sting said. "I thought we had them too. We wiped out their escort ship so easily."

"And then the Zamzasa got blown up," Auel said with a sigh.

Sting eyed Stellar. "Your boyfriend blew it up and cost us the battle."

Stellar glared at Sting. "Shinn is fighting for his side just like we're fighting for ours. That's the way war is."

"Auel remembers you promising time and time again that you'd bring Shinn on our side," Auel said.

Stellar clenched her fists, and took a deep breath. She wanted to punch Auel's lights out, but that would solve nothing. Auel was right. She had promised that Shinn would defect, and it had never happened.

In fact, the opposite could have happened instead. Stellar could have defected. She knew she would if it was the only way to be with Shinn.

Or did she?

Would she abandon her friends for the rest of her life just to be with Shinn? Unlike Shinn, she had friends here. She had people who respected her. Life was comfortable in a way. But if she left for ZAFT, she would be considered inferior and close to useless. Slants were second-class citizens, maybe even third class. They were considered alien people for entirely different reasons than they were here.

Despite the likelihood of her friends becoming foes and respect being a thing of the past, she was still tempted to defect. It didn't feel right to be fighting against Shinn, more so than it felt right fighting with her friends.

Her heart was telling her to go to Shinn. Her head was telling her to stay here.

She wondered how long it would be until Roanoke found out about her relationship with Shinn. How long before they all discovered an EA ace that they all counted on was in love with a ZAFT pilot. Would they consider her a traitor? A mole? Would she be thrown into the brig and then executed? Or just thrown into the brig and never see the light of day?

Auel raised an eyebrow. "Geez, Auel's never seen you so sad."

"You don't know me," Stellar whispered.

Auel's other eyebrow went up. "What?"

"Nothing," Stellar said, and she stood up from the table and picked up her half-eaten ration. "Nothing at all."

As she walked over to the garbage disposal where she tossed her slab of something that was supposed to be steak, she suddenly heard a disturbance from the hallway.

"God damn it! Where is he? Where is the Impulse? Where is it?"

That voice! Stellar dropped her food, carrying pan and all, into the disposal, and ran outside as the disposal grinded the pan, causing plastic shards to fly everywhere. The chaos was ignored by Stellar, though, as she saw someone she never expected to be alive again.

Feizhi Aloquin, smelling vaguely of fire and charred flesh, the entire right side of her face covered in messy, bloody bandages, was being wheeled down the hall by paramedics. Her left hand was outreached towards the ceiling. Her left arm and hand looked like the only parts of her body that were completely unscathed.

And her soft, gentle voice had been distorted into a cracking, raspy shriek. "Where is that goddamn Slant? Where is the Minerva? Let me kill them! Abominations need to die!"

"Feizhi," Stellar said softly as the cart wheeled past her. The paramedics stopped the cart, and eyed her curiously.

"You're a friend?" the male paramedic asked.

"Yes, let me come with you," Stellar said, and she ran beside the cart as the paramedics wheeled her down.

"How did you find her?" Stellar asked.

"We've been picking up survivors all day from the battle site," the female paramedic said. "We found life signs around where the Zamzasa exploded. She's in critical condition."

Stellar looked at Feizhi, who was still staring at the ceiling with her good eye intently, like a demon was emerging above.

"It's all right, Feizhi. We're here for you," Stellar said.

Feizhi's good eye widened and looked directly into Stellar's eyes. Her voice became a harsh whisper. "You."

Uh oh.

"You bitch!" The left arm immediately went straight for Stellar's neck and pinched Stellar's throat. Stellar's legs were caught in the cart and it nearly flipped over in the hallway, and both paramedics fell to the ground as their momentum carried them past the cart.

Stellar's hands immediately reached up, and barely yanked Feizhi's hand away from her throat. The girl was surprisingly strong for someone in so much pain and had lost so much blood.

"Where the hell were you, Slant bitch? You were supposed to protect me! Superior blood my ass! I oughta kill you for letting the Coordinators ruin my life!"

The male paramedic had recovered enough to immediately put himself between Stellar and Feizhi.

"Maybe it's best that you don't see her until she's sedated," he said.

"Yeah," Stellar said. "This was a bad idea."

The paramedics wheeled Feizhi down the hallway, turned the corner, and vanished, leaving Stellar alone.

I tried, Feizhi, it wasn't my fault.

But despite that thought, Stellar knew she was lying to herself.

It didn't have to happen. I could have shot Shinn down. Then Feizhi wouldn't be like this.

But she had chosen love over her duty. And this was the price paid for that.

Had she paid her price for not attacking Shinn? Or was her punishment just beginning?

Stellar wasn't sure she wanted to know.
***
Somehow, Reverend Malchio had managed a miracle.

He had managed to get into Orb right before diplomatic relations had been severed. With him came five young orphans and a young Coordinator schoolteacher who had been jailed during the brief Patrick Zala regime, Senna Maskew.

Senna had been a pacifist who had resisted conscription after the Bloody Valentine massacre, but wasn't punished for it until Zala came to be in power. Prison had left a thick slash across her cheek that extended in a curve towards her chin, but Kira thought the woman still looked pretty. She looked nearly as pretty as Lacus did, actually, in a more homely way.

Five seconds into staring at Senna's blue eyes and wavy orange-ish hair, Lacus had elbowed Kira in the stomach. Any thoughts of having eyes for Senna vanished from Kira's mind.

Senna had raised an eyebrow and adjusted her glasses at the sight. "You're not my type anyway," she had said.

Kira had promptly hung his head in shame.

Three hours later, the kitchen seemed more crowded than usual. The small table the adults sat at was suitable for two or even three, but with four it was hard for their elbows not to bump each other when passing the food around.

Malchio smiled. "We're going to need a bigger table."

Senna sighed. "Sure, blame the new teacher for everything."

Kira remained silent, as did Lacus. Kira knew full well why he was remaining silent, but he had no clue why Lacus had no interest in conversation.

Senna looked at Lacus. "You know, even though you look less like Lacus Clyne than your doppleganger, I know its you."

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?" Lacus asked.

"They forgot an important detail with their fake Lacus I don't think anyone's noticed. They haven't changed her enough. The fake Lacus barely looks any older or wiser than you from three years ago. You, on the other hand, look like an older, wiser Lacus Clyne."

"How much older?"

"I dunno, maybe twenty-five, twenty-seven."

"I'm twenty."

Senna froze. "Oops. Well, I never paid much attention to you when you were big any-"

Senna froze again. "Oops."

Lacus sighed. "How old are you?"

"Uh, twenty-seven."

"You look twenty, other than the big slash across your face."

"I've been told I have good genes," Senna said, chuckling nervously. "Not that I'm saying you don't have good genes, Lacus, but I . . . well . . ."

"Go on, say it," Lacus said, folding her arms.

They are not getting off on the right foot, Kira thought.

Senna, obviously eager to change the conversation, looked at Kira. "Uh, I recognize you too. You were involved in ending the war if I remember right."

"I fired the last shot in a lot of ways," Kira said.

"The world can't thank you and the Orb enough. You people saved the Earth from a swift death and the PLANTs from a slow, creeping one."

"Thanks," Kira said. Wait until she finds out my problems, Kira thought.

Senna looked away. "I believe all fighting is wrong, but I'll admit that I have a naive outlook. I want to believe that by refusing to fight others will refuse too, but that doesn't happen the way you want it to."

"That's true," Lacus said. "You can't just set an example. You need to have charisma. You need to motivate people to follow you."

"Which is something you're remarkably good at," Senna said, with a small smile. "I'm curious as to why you did not pursue politics. Why did you choose to withdraw from public life, Lacus Clyne?"

It was a question Lacus despised answering, but it wasn't because of anger at her current position. She just hated the way people viewed her choice, like she was crazy. And she answered this question the same way every time.

"I choose to take care of those who were left alone because of war," Lacus said. "Orphaned children deserve to be loved and educated as much as any child."

"And I agree with you, otherwise I would not have taken this job," Senna said. She smiled again in that thin way. "I apologize for all of the questions, but I like feeling my new associates out thoroughly."

Malchio laughed. "She was asking me questions all the way back from the PLANTs. You two have gotten off easy."

I just hope she doesn't probe me too much, Kira thought.

Then, all of a sudden, the phone rang. Lacus picked it up. "Athrun, what is it?"

Kira couldn't hear a word, but Lacus was livid. She leapt to her feet and began shouting into the phone. "Are they crazy? What the hell is the Earth Alliance doing? Can't you get Cagalli to make them stop? What do you mean, no? Get them to call it off, damn it!" It took a lot to make Lacus curse. And Kira could guess why.

"Nukes, isn't it?" he asked.

Lacus' eyes peered towards Kira, and she nodded. She calmed down then, after taking a long, deep breath. "Yes, Athrun, I'm sorry. I know Orb is still independent from the Earth Alliance and everything. It's just . . . everything is so aggravating. And now the EA is putting everything at the risk of doomsday."

"What's going on?" Senna asked.

Lacus responded by hitting the holoview. Athrun's image appeared in front of everyone. Other than a brief pause where he seemed surprised to be looking at everybody, he didn't react to Lacus' switch from private call at all.

"The Earth Alliance is doing this to try to cripple the PLANTs. Problem is, according to the info Dearka's ferried to Orb, the PLANTs are much better defended from nuclear attack. We're trying to get our intel to the EA as quickly as possible to get them to call this off. All this will do is get an Earth fleet killed."

"Then concentrate on doing that, call us back when you're done," Lacus said, and she killed the connection. She looked at everyone. "Well . . . this is probably something that shouldn't be mentioned to the students."

Senna chuckled sarcastically. "They'll skip class because the world could be ending. What would be the point?"

Even Lacus managed a small lopsided smile at that remark. "Right."

She sighed. "Let's get everything set up for tomorrow. Kira and I have a meeting in a couple of days, but we should be able to show you around and give you an introduction to everything, Senna."

Senna nodded. "Looking forward to it."

Kira supposed he was glad someone was looking forward to something, with the world on the verge of falling apart for the second time in three years.
***
Distant flashes were all that was needed to tell Gilbert the story.

The Earth Alliance had gambled on shortening the war by wiping out the PLANTs. The gamble was failing. Their fleet was being chewed up not just by the ZAFT fleet, but by the automated and manned defenses set up all around and on the PLANTs. The few nuclear missiles being shot off were being stopped well before they could cause real damage.

There had been a couple of other Earth fleets approaching the system. Their assistance could have made things more difficult for the ZAFT, but just as they had been about to enter the battle, they had pulled back. And now, the tiny remnant of the first Earth fleet was desperately trying to flee.

Gilbert had no intentions of letting them get away. He needed to make a point. The Earth Alliance needed to be believe he had no mercy. That way they wouldn't try this strategy again.

And he did have mercy. If he didn't, he would've tried to destroy the other two Earth fleets. But the illusion was there by destroying this one.

"I see you're finally giving Lacus Clyne her excuse to become pro-ZAFT," Meer said.

Gilbert turned around. The genetic Method actress was still in her Lacus Clyne form, her voice a flawless imitation of the real thing. Her face, however, looked just a bit too smug to be a perfect match for Lacus.

"The Earth Alliance just attempted to use nuclear weapons to destroy us all," Gilbert said.

"They're scared," Meer said. "The Minerva escaping from them's already made them desperate. The East Asians are afraid of losing control. Naomi Mitsuda obviously isn't as mentally stable as you pegged her to be."

"Either that or this decision was out of her hands, and there's a good possibility of that," Gilbert said. Naomi Mitsuda was a smart, crafty woman, but she was losing the game. He had the leader of the EA reacting to every move he made. No one could win purely by reacting.

The flashes were becoming fewer and farther between. The battle had to be nearly over. Another victory was coming for the ZAFT.

"So," Meer said, "Care to tell me why you've restarted the war?"

"If you're trying to seduce me, Lacus Clyne's form is paradoxical for those aims."

Meer just laughed. "I suppose so! I guess a more womanly form would be better!"

"Don't bother, Meer. I have a new speech for you to deliver."

Meer sighed. "Of course. I must condemn the Earth Alliance now."

"Good. Now no duplicity this time. I want my message heard, however you can deliver it."

"Yes, sir," Meer said with another sigh, and she turned and walked away.

Actresses were always bothersome. They were narcissitic, thinking they were all more important than everyone else, thinking it was all about them, and trying to get attention. Meer was no different. The problem was actually worse with her because she was a good actress.

But he had to tolerate Meer. His plan was only just getting underway, and Meer was important to continue the plan. There would come a time where she wouldn't be needed, but that wasn't due to happen yet.

But a lot of things were due to happen.

And Meer was going to set some of them in motion.

His enemies were going to set others.

And what remained, he'd do himself.

And then, he'd see if all of his efforts would bear the fruition he sought, once and for all.
MURRUE: Infallible accuracy?? I thought you just usually shot all your weapons at random and they just happened to hit stuff.

KIRA: What do you think this is; a cartoon?
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Re: Gundam SEED: Kismet Updated 8/3/10 (Chapter Twenty-four)

Well, great to see another chapter out again!

And you're trying to sell a novel...whatever it is, I look forward to it, since you've clearly got a great writing style.
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Re: Gundam SEED: Kismet Updated 8/3/10 (Chapter Twenty-four)

It's really nice to see this fic get updated again, I'm really looking forward to the next chapter rebel_cheese.
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Re: Gundam SEED: Kismet Updated 8/3/10 (Chapter Twenty-four)

Almost choked on a orange slice in suprise when I saw an update. In a good way I suppose. Glad to see the updates are back.

Gilbert has been portrayed brilliantly in this chapter, his understanding of not only politics, but they way people work makes him a wonderful character. Meer is alot more standable, and I dare say, actually likable. Feizhi's survival was a suprise to me and she seems to be going down the same path as Yzak did when Strike defeated him, only with more scarring. Scars make you manly anyway, or so I hear.

Eagerly looking foward to your next update.

EDIT: Query, Throughout the story, Shinn and Stellar's eyes have been depicted as brown. Wondering, is this to show their natural/coordinator heritage, or a different plot reasoning?
Kallor said: 'I walked this land when the T'lan Imass were but children. I have commanded armies a hundred thousand strong. I have spread the fire of my wrath across entire continents, and sat alone upon tall thrones. Do you grasp the meaning of this?'

'Yes,' said Caladan Brood, 'you never learn.'
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Re: Gundam SEED: Kismet Updated 8/3/10 (Chapter Twenty-four)

@DAG101:

Thank you for the feedback and support. ^^ Yeah, I'm trying to pitch a novel to agents right now. It's written differently than this one but hopefully it'll be good stuff.

@yazi88:

I hope I can keep the updates coming. Glad you enjoyed this return, hopefully this comeback will be longer than a typical Brett Favre return.

@Brightstrider:

Gilbert I'm trying to portray like I think the anime meant to portray him as before the story fell apart. He was a fascinating character in Destiny pre-story collapse and I'm trying to bring that mysterious, enigmatic, intelligent feel to the character. As for Meer, the main reason why she's been altered so much is because I couldn't stand her either but I tried to make it so she still has some similarities to the original Meer, except more intelligent and sultry, if that makes sense.

Feizhi . . . she's a girl so I don't think she wants to look more "manly". XD She has a rather different character path than Yzak's however, so expect some different circumstances to arise.

Shinn/Stellar: I'm sorry to say that there is no special reasoning. I decided to keep their appearances consistent with official character art. Both Shinn and Stellar officially have brown eyes so I decided to keep it that way. I feel all bad now for not coming up with special plot reasons. XD


Thanks again, everyone! Hopefully I'll have something good soon!
MURRUE: Infallible accuracy?? I thought you just usually shot all your weapons at random and they just happened to hit stuff.

KIRA: What do you think this is; a cartoon?
rebel_cheese
Posts: 305
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Location: Illinois, USA

Re: Gundam SEED: Kismet Updated 8/3/10 (Chapter Twenty-four)

Chapter Twenty-Five: "I can't do it"

History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it.
-Winston Churchill


There was a dragnet closing in on them. Talia Gladys could see it, as she stared at the holographic map arrayed in front of her. Radar had picked up dozens of Earth Alliance ships charging after the Minerva and her motley group of reinforcements as they fled to Madagascar, one of the few Earth territories controlled by the ZAFT. The chase had been going on for the last two days, and Talia hadn't been able to get a bit of sleep, bags were forming under her eyes. She knew that she was approaching collapse, but she had to make sure the ship, and the crew, was safe.

It was important they made it there. Madagascar had a Mass Driver. It was the only way the Minerva could escape back into Space, where the ZAFT was on a more equal footing with the Earth Alliance. This was doubly important because the Earth Alliance had to know this too. The Minerva could be making its escape under heavy fire.

If the ZAFT was going to make any permanent gains in this war, they were going to need to seize more land, before the Earth Alliance took all of it. Africa and some regions of South America were traditionally sympathetic to the ZAFT, but their militaries were poorly trained and equipped, they had to rely on the ZAFT for any protection. This meant that if the ZAFT buckled, even briefly, their only allies on Earth would be doomed.

Talia knew that Gilbert Durandal had a plan. Men like him always did. But right now, she couldn't see it.

Though, perhaps, she had someone who could.

Andrew Waltfield emerged onto the bridge, a sheepish look on his face. "I've been busted down to Colonel."

"But you're not facing a firing squad, are you?" Talia asked.

"No."

"Good. Now, I need your help, Colonel Waltfield. I need to come up with a defense for when the Earth Alliance catches us again."

"Right," Waltfield said, and he sighed as he pored over the same information Talia had.

He cleared his throat. "It looks like the Earth Alliance is trying to marshal reinforcements. They could catch us within hours if they wanted to, but it seems they're planning something more."

"Like what?" Talia asked.

"Probably seizing Madagascar," Waltfield said.

Talia nodded. "Good. I was testing you. You still have strategic knowledge, Colonel Waltfield."

Waltfield gave her a lopsided smile. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means your civilian life hasn't made you stupid. Now I need your help with planning a defense for when the Earth Alliance assaults Madagascar," Talia said. "They'll be trying to make sure we can't get away, so they'll either go for us directly or attack the Mass Driver."

"I'd attack the Mass Driver," Waltfield said. "That way escape will be much more difficult for the Minerva. But, then again, hurl enough ships at us, and we'll go down anyway, and you can seize Madagascar, and the Mass Driver, at your leisure."

"Madagascar's Mass Driver is only useful for the enemy, though. It's not war-winning for the Earth Alliance," Talia said.

"It doesn't have to be. That Mass Driver is one of the few places in the world where ZAFT forces can launch from Earth into space. It goes down, and we're in deep trouble." Waltfield cleared his throat again, and yawned. "Damn, I need some coffee."

"There's some instant in the kitchen," Talia said.

"I hate instant," Waltfield said, almost like he was pouting.

"That's all we have. Unfortunately, you no longer have the privilege of making your infamous 'special blends', Colonel Waltfield," Talia said. She was hoping that her constant use of 'Colonel' would make the man realize his place. He was of a lower rank than her now, as she was captain of a whole ship and he only was part of the Mobile Suit contingent.

"I know. I should have brought my blend with me," Waltfield said. He looked at the map again. "Madagascar won't be besieged, though. That's one thing we have on our side. That island is just too big to be surrounded. The EA has no choice but to make a frontal assault to take us down or the Mass Driver down."

"So, if we have to, there is an escape," Talia said.

"Yes, though that means the only place we can go is South America," Waltfield said. "There's a few places that are sympathetic. Not the Brazilian Republic, they're allied with the North Americans, but there's a couple of countries near Panama that tend to see things our way."

Talia shook her head. "Crossing the whole Atlantic Ocean . . . not looking forward to it."

"We're already speeding through the Indian Ocean. What's one more?" Waltfield said with a grin.

Talia wondered where the man got his optimism from. "I suppose from that perspective you're right. What's one more?"

She sighed. "We'll be in Madagascar in roughly eight days. Put everyone on high alert. We don't know when the Earth Alliance will decide to swoop in on us."

"I'll get right on that, ma'am," Waltfield said, and he left the bridge.

Talia sighed. Eight days. That's all she needed. Eight days, then she'd be able to get back into space, and out of this nightmare.

But time was something that was never granted to the military. It was always something taken away.

And she had little precious time to lose.
***
What a sad picture.

He supposed he should be happy that she was still alive. This meant she could still be useful, she could still fight, she could continue to strive.

But, on the other hand, it would almost be better if she had died. It was obvious the woman was no longer mentally stable, and that meant she could no longer be trusted with expensive military equipment. She was a decent possibility for a kamakaze or friendly fire now. Not something he wanted to consider.

But here she was.

Feizhi Aloquin, who had miraculously survived the destruction of the Zamzasa to be carried into a hospital ward, and was now heavily sedated after attempting to choke one of the pilots. Despite the sedation, there were times she still seemed to be intense and alert, and she knew full well who was standing over her.

"Neo," Feizhi whispered.

"I'm here," Neo Roanoke said.

"I failed you. I wasted so much money and time. I should have been ready for it . . ."

"You managed to take one of their ships out with a single blast. That is something even a GUNDAM has difficulty doing," Neo said, trying to keep her placated. He knew of soldiers who could break through sedation, and Feizhi had that potential. It was best to keep her mollified, so she would not burn off the narcotics and pain-killers.

Then things could potentially get ugly.

"One ship wasn't worth the cost," Feizhi whispered.

"You took out hundreds of ZAFT personnel. That stands for something, Feizhi," Neo said.

"I want to go back out there," Feizhi said. "I'm going to kill the Impulse. I'm going to smash it into little pieces."

That's what I'm afraid of.

"Just concentrate on recovering. I'll give you a new role soon enough," Neo said. "But now, I have something else that needs to be done. This war isn't over, not by a long shot."

"Those Slants," Feizhi said. "They failed to protect me."

"They did all they could," Neo said, and that was honestly the truth. They had manhandled the ZAFT forces, up until the Impulse had gone berserk and went on a rampage. No one could stop a GUNDAM then.

"No. That Stellar girl, she hesitated. She didn't destroy the Impulse when she had the chance," Feizhi said, determination in her voice.

That was news to Neo. By most accounts Stellar had accounted for herself well in that battle. Why would she hesitate before a GUNDAM when she was piloting one herself? He wasn't sure how much of this was the truth and what was Feizhi's hazy mind distorting things, but it was worth investigating. Feizhi wasn't the type to lie, and she never showed any sign of being biased against the Slants.

All she wanted was a chance to prove herself, and she had seen that chance literally explode in her face. Her entire right side was burned, and so was much of her midsection. Only parts of her left arm, leg, and the left side of her face had escaped damage. This was going to cost a small fortune in surgery in order to repair her appearance and fix all of her wounds so she could fight again.

Feizhi Aloquin, the compact, underrespected Mobile Armor pilot, who strove only for respect. Now, she must feel she had none of that, not after being beaten so easily. Neo could understand, but he also knew that Feizhi's inferiority complex was dangerous now. She would have to be handled with special care right now.

"I'll investigate the matter personally. Just rest. I'll get to the bottom of this," Neo said.

Feizhi nodded slowly. "Thank you."

And then she was asleep, just like that.

She must really have something against Stellar Loussier in order to fight strong sedatives meant to put Coordinators asleep for so long. This meant that either Feizhi was completely insane or Stellar really had held back, which meant Stellar was a liability.

He was going to get to the bottom of this.

And get a plan ready in case the worst was true.
***
"Hello again."

He saw the girl again, just standing in front of him, illuminated by an eerie glow that effected her and only her among a sea of pitch black.

"Not you again. Leave me alone!" he yelled.

"You haven't been listening to me. Do I need to show you my demonstration again?"

"I don't want to see it. Just leave me alone. You're not real!"

"I
was real."

He looked back at her, and there she was, standing ever so resolute. "You were, huh?"

"I died for my big brother. He sacrificed so much for me, so I made the ultimate sacrifice for him. I promised him I would always protect him. I cannot protect him from what is coming. This is something you have to do."
"
Why me?" he yelled.

"Because you're the Ultimate Coordinator," she said.

He was stunned. "How do you know that?"

"I would tell you if I was allowed to." She looked away for a second. "I can say this. You have this type of extrasensory perception, a psychic flash. That's how I can communicate with you. That's how I can still communicate with my big brother."

"Great, so I'm even more special! Leave me the hell alone!"

"If I left you alone, your nightmares would return," she said.

He froze. "What?"

"You haven't noticed you haven't been having nightmares lately?" she asked.

He tried to think about it. Come to think of it, he either hadn't been dreaming at all or he had been talking to this girl for the last few days . . . was she telling the truth? Had she been shielding him from his nightmares?

How was that possible?

He had so many questions, but then the girl turned, and seemed to begin emanating away. "I must go, Kira. Please, you must recover as soon as possible. You're running out of time. You must save my brother."

"Why your brother? Why is he so special?"

"Because if he dies, so will everyone else," she said, without any emotion at all.

And then, she was gone, leaving him to contemplate her words in the black.

***
It was the day of the meeting between the Three Ships Alliance members. Athrun Zala was tired from having to track everyone down and organize everyone at a certain confidential meeting place when everyone could make it. A much harder task than anyone could have imagined, considering how the alliance had split. Many, many members could only make it through vidscreen, and that meant that everything had to be encrypted many times over so no one could listen in.

With Cagalli busy being a politician, and Lacus only able to offer limited help, Athrun had to rely on Murrue Ramius for everything. She was up to the task, though no expert. He tried not to stress her out too much, she was pregnant with a girl. Murrue's stomach was expanding, and Athrun wondered how it would feel if Cagalli got pregnant at some point.

Considering how uneasy he was just looking at Murrue, he was probably going to have a heart attack the day he and Cagalli had their first child.

Did all fathers feel that way? Andrew Waltfield had joked once that men were the ones who fainted when their children were born, not the women who were actually going through the joys of childbirth. Athrun hoped it was a just an urban legend and Waltfield had just been having fun. Cagalli would never let Athrun live it down if he fainted when their first child was born.

Of course, before then, Cagalli would actually have to get pregnant.

And before that could happen, this crisis had to be resolved.

A door whisked open, and Cagalli Yula Athha entered the conference room. She sighed in an almost wistful way. "While I'm happy we had the foresight to build this place, it frankly sucks that we actually have to use it."

Murrue shook her head. "It can't be helped. Not at this point."

Cagalli nodded. "At least this way we can actually plan a way to end this war before it gets much worse."

Unlike last time, Athrun thought.

Cagalli looked at Murrue. "How many people can we trust in either the ZAFT or Earth Alliance forces?"

Murrue shrugged. "We have Dearka and Waltfield in ZAFT, plus there's a strong likelihood Yzak Joule will be on our side too. It's strange that unlike Dearka, though, Yzak hasn't made any attempt to communicate with us. It's like he's vanished off the face of the Earth.:"

Cagalli nodded. "But Yzak Joule has always put his nation first. He fought for the ZAFT even after Genesis was fired multiple times. He only changed sides reluctantly, after Dearka spoke to him in the battle." She sighed. 'We can't count on him."

Athrun spoke up. "What abou tthe Earth Alliance? That's our weakest link."

Cagalli smiled deviously. "I have a friend in a very high place."

Athrun and Murrue both stared. "Who?" Athrun finally asked.

"You'll see," Cagalli said. "I've been having a lot of productive talks with my contact over the last few days since war broke out. My contact thinks there may be a way to restart negotiations with the ZAFT and end the war. I-"

The door to the conference room shuttered open again, and this time it was Kira and Lacus. Athrun turned and smiled warmly. "You both made it."

Lacus nodded. "We both felt it's our responsibility to be here."

Cagalli walked over. "It's great to see you, Lacus."

Lacus scoffed. "Cagalli, maybe those words should be said to someone else before me."

Cagalli froze, and then finally looked at Kira. "Oh," Cagalli said softly. "Kira. Hi."

Kira looked away. "Yeah, I know."

Cagalli sighed. "You're still . . . having problems, I see. Don't you ever eat?"

"I do eat," Kira said defensively.

Athrun immediately stepped in. Clearly distance had frayed the relationship, and attempting to fix it cold turkey was just going to make it worse. "Look, we have time to catch up later. Once this meeting's over, we'll have a talk and discuss the current personal situation."

One of the vidscreens suddenly began to ring. Cagalli smiled. "My contact's early."

She walked over to the screen, and switched it on. Athrun promptly got the biggest non-battlefield shock of his life.

Cagalli's contact, the would-be Three Ships Alliance mole in the Earth Alliance, was none other than the leader of the Earth Alliance itself.

Naomi Mitsuda.
***
Stellar had no idea why she was being called into Neo Roanoke's office on the Girty Lue. All she knew was that it was urgent, and she could not skip this meeting for any reason whatsoever. She wondered why. Did someone finally tell Neo that she was in a relationship with a ZAFT pilot? If so, who did?

Neither Auel or Sting would bring themselves to do it. As much as they desired her, they both knew that if they pulled a stunt like this they'd never have a chance to date her. So it couldn't be them. But who else knew? Stellar's circle of friends were tiny.

Had Feizhi figured it out in the short time she had known Stellar?

That was the only possibility. It had to be. Feizhi seemed to revere Neo, and it seemed that Neo regarded Feizhi almost as a protege. He had probably given Feizhi a private hospital visit and she told him.

Her heart began to pound in her chest. She was afraid now. What was going to happen to her? Neo couldn't be too ruthless, could he? He had to understand that she hadn't meant to get Feizhi hurt or have the Zamzasa destroyed, she had just been trying to get a ZAFT pilot, a Slant, to switch sides. It was a worthy decision!

She had to play it like that. Keep the personal feelings to a minimum. If she didn't, who knew what would happen. She'd probably get based in Siberia, if not court-martialed all together.

The door shuttered open when she approached it. Odd, usually commanders kept their offices locked. Stellar entered the office. "Hello?"

Neo's chair swung around, revealing his handsome, scarred face. "2nd Lieutenant, good for you to be so punctual."

Stellar gulped. "What is this about, sir?"

"2nd Lieutenant, I have an understanding from a witness that you hesitated to destroy a GUNDAM machine, the very same GUNDAM machine that went berserk moments later, destroyed the Zamzasa, and annihilated multiple ships of the Earth Alliance fleet." He paused. "Is this true?"

There was no use hiding it, Stellar knew the truth was showing on her face. "It is."
"Care to explain yourself?"
"Sir, I was trying to persuade the pilot to change sides. I know him personally and I believe he can be a valuable ally," Stellar said.

"It didn't work out too well, apparently. He seemed to have a rather violent reaction to your 'persuasion', 2nd Lieutenant."

"I don't think that was it," Stellar said. "He didn't go berserk until the Zamzasa pinned him against the Minerva."

"Do you really think you can make him change sides?" Neo asked.

"Yes, sir," Stellar said.

"What if he won't?"

"I would fight him," Stellar said, perhaps a bit too slow.

Neo leaned forward. "I don't believe you, 2nd Lieutenant. There is something in your eyes that hints that this ZAFT pilot isn't just a friend. I've seen that look on many pilots before. The relationship is something more than friendship, isn't it?"

"So what if it is, sir?" Stellar asked, hoping against hope Neo wasn't leading this in the direction she feared it was.

Neo got up from his chair and began pacing. "I am not sure, 2nd Lieutenant, that you would be able to shoot this 'friend' down. You weren't able to pull the trigger once already. How can I think you can do it again."

He paused. "You can't do it, can you?"

Stellar bit her lip. "No. I can't do it. I love him, sir. He's . . . he's special to me. I almost got him to defect already, but his captain intervened and prevented him from leaving at a rendezvous. I know I can convince him."

"While you're out convincing him you're wasting time destroying the enemy or protecting your real allies!" Neo yelled. "I can't have that, not when we must either capture or destroy the Impulse! I will not tolerate subversion of this kind."

Suddenly, much to Stellar's surprise, Neo pulled out a weapon. It was a tranquilizer gun.

"You're really going to shoot me?" she yelled.

Neo shook his head. "As far as you're concerned, no. As for the future you's concerned, it was Shinn Asuka who shot you."

Before Stellar could even finish her surprised thought, He knows Shinn's name, she was hit with the tranq dart. She could only look at her stomach, and see the dart firmly on her, and a slight pain arising from the impact.

Her eyes were already getting drowsy as she looked at Neo's increasingly blurry form. "Why?"

"Love only gets soldiers killed on the battlefield. I will take care of this problem, 2nd Lieutenant," Neo said, "And you will be the perfect, motivated soldier I know you can be."

That was all Stellar heard before her world was completely shrouded in darkness.
MURRUE: Infallible accuracy?? I thought you just usually shot all your weapons at random and they just happened to hit stuff.

KIRA: What do you think this is; a cartoon?
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