Gundam SEED Fan Fiction ❯ MS Seed Girls ❯ Silent Run, Silent Cry ( Chapter 4 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Baran 
Kira and Alex rescue Fllay.
The Archangel must flee to Artemis with ZAFT breathing on their neck.
Alex is confronted to one of her fears made real: Her very presence at full power triggers latent New-Type.
Anime/Manga: Gundam SEED Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Sci-fi / Mecha | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 01.10.2007 | Pages: 21 | Words: 16.7K | Visits: 761 | Status: Work In Progress
Kira and Alex rescue Fllay.
The Archangel must flee to Artemis with ZAFT breathing on their neck.
Alex is confronted to one of her fears made real: Her very presence at full power triggers latent New-Type.
Anime/Manga: Gundam SEED Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Sci-fi / Mecha | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 01.10.2007 | Pages: 21 | Words: 16.7K | Visits: 761 | Status: Work In Progress
MS Seed Girls
Disclaimer: I own nothing except Alexandra Kerensky.
Notes: Some words in Russian and their translations.
Da: yes.
Niet: no.
Tovarisch: comrade.
Kak dila: how are you?
Chap 4: Silent Run, Silent Cry.
The worried voice of Natarle Badgiruel echoed on the radio-waves around the debris formed by what was a few minutes ago a mighty colony cylinder floating at the Lagrange Point Three.
“X-105 Strike! NT1 Alex! Respond!”
Among the debris were two armoured forms, drifting. One was the GAT X-105 Strike with its Sword Striker pack, a prototype Mobile Suit for the Alliance Forces. His pilot was currently Kira Yamato, a citizen of Orb and Coordinator. He was still in shock about what happened.
“X-105 Strike! NT1 Alex! Can you hear me? Respond!”
The other form was much smaller. It was the Mobile Suit Power Armour RX-78 NT1 “ALEX” type, the first configuration adopted by its holder: Alexandra Kerensky. She was a New-Type, an Esper, borne into another dimension and currently citizen of Orb. She wasn't being much more coherent than her best friend right now. For her, it was unfortunately not the first colony cylinder that she witnessed the destruction.
“X-105 Strike! NT1 Alex! Respond!”
The same thoughts were inside the mind of both teenagers. `Heliopolis…destroyed?'
“Can you hear me? Respond!”
`Why?'
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Inside the warship Archangel, the situation wasn't better. The few people taken aboard from Morgenroete and the friends of Kira and Alex were still looking numbed at the remains of their home.
On the command bridge, the new captain of the ship, Murrue Ramius gazed, eyes widened, on the main screen. Exiting the CIC, the Mobile Armour pilot Mu La Flaga floated to the command chair.
“Amazing how simple…and fragile it was.”
Murrue didn't answer. Her fist tightened in impotent rage. She turned to follow the progress of Natarle who was still attempting to raise the two persons who protected them during the last battle.
“X-105 Strike! NT1 Alex! X-105 Strike! NT1 Alex!”
Natarle felt frustrated. She didn't know why but she `knew' that they were both alive. So why did they not respond?
“Kira Yamato! Alexandra Kerensky! If one of you is hearing me, please, respond!”
This last burst on her on-board radio roused Alex. She shook herself and looked around for the familiar and shocked psyche she could perceive. There! The Strike was drifting on a parallel vector. She winced as her New-Type power focused on the young Coordinator. Not only, Kira had been forced to kill for the first time, but it had been in vain as the pieces of Heliopolis proved it. There was also something else…
Her thrusters came to life and propelled her to the machine. She couldn't open the hatch since Kira didn't wear a spacesuit but she had other resources. She rapped the hatch. “Kira! Kira, it's me, tovarisch! I'm coming in!”
This seemed to shake the violet-eyed teenager out of his torpor. He didn't hear that! How could she enter without…
Outside, Alex called upon one of her most spectacular power: She teleported as she released her hold on her Power Armour. In a burst of emerald light, Kira assisted to the apparition of his friend within his cockpit. Again clad in her blue and white sailor school uniform, she lightly sat on the lap of the stricken boy and put her hands on his shoulders. A finger on his lips blocked his tentative to speak.
Alex turned to the radio-telegraph and touched the communication touch. “X-105 Strike Alex here!”
Natarle sighed in relief then frowned. Alexandra was responding from within the Strike? “Are you both all right?”
“Da! We need a little time to gather our wits but we are…physically all right.”
Natarle bit her lower lip. Of course, she should have known. Those two were not soldiers. They were civilians plunged into the horrors of the war. She must stay a rock to serve as their anchor. “Do you know our position?”
“Da. I have you on my perception and on the Strike sensors.”
Natarle raised an eyebrow. On her perception? This Esper stuff was quite potent. “Then return. You can return, right?”
“Da. No problem, Ensign Badgiruel. Strike over.” Alex cut the contact. Her formal answer would appease the fears of the military woman. She then considered her best friend. There was so much consternation and confusion in his eyes. “Kak dila, Kira?” She asked gently.
The brown-haired student engineer focused on the green eyes of the young girl. She had helped him before. Could she help him now? “I…I don't know… Heliopolis… All those people… I…I…” He shut his eyes in an attempt to erase what happened. `Mom. Dad. You're safe, right?'
“Kira! Look at me! We are alive and our friends are alive! Do you understand me?”
“Y-Yes… Our friends are alive… Good! That's good, right?” Kira managed to bring back his breathing to something normal. “But… what about the people?”
Alex sighed, dropped her gaze then refocused on Kira. “I will not lie to you!” She whispered hotly to herself. “I will never lie to my friends!”
Kira gulped. “I…I'm listening.”
“Most of the people are all right. They are afraid but still alive. Their shelters-pods are now progressing to safety.”
“Most…?”
“Da! Most! A few persons have died during and before the catastrophe. But!” She fiercely held the boy by the shoulders. “Compared to the total population of Heliopolis, those losses are very low! Much more would have died, should we didn't do what we did!”
“You sure?”
Something coming from a long forgotten past obscured the displaced Russian girl's gaze and softened her voice. “Oh, yes. It would have been much worse.”
Something seemed to unlock inside of Kira. He could now swallow and breathe more easily. There was still darkness lurking in his subconscious but he could deal with it for now. “Al-All right… Let's go.”
Alex smiled then frowned as the early-warning system of the Strike biped to their attention. Kira manoeuvred the Mobile Suit as Alex went to the back of the seat. On the screen, a pod flashing its emergency beacon appeared. Kira frowned. “It's a Heliopolis lifeboat.”
“Hum… It looks damaged.”
Kira brought up his sensors on the lifeboat and gasped. “Their thrusters are broken!”
“And I don' like the view of its outer hull. It could have some micro-fractures.”
“We must rescue them!”
Alex nodded as Kira approached the damaged pod. She frowned as she felt the brush of a familiar aura. “FLLAY?!”
“What?”
Alex turned an incredulous face to Kira. “Fllay! Fllay is aboard this boat!”
Kira's eyes widened. The girl they both liked was inside this drifting life-pod? He gently manoeuvred the Strike and touched the outer hull to initiate skin-contact communication. Only static answered him. “Looks like their com-unit is damaged as well.”
“But people inside have sense the bump. They are afraid!” The redheaded frowned. “They're on the verge of panic.” She turned to Kira, her eyes glowing with power. “I'm going to teleport inside to reassure them. Bring us back quickly to the Archangel.”
Kira hesitated. “Are you sure it's a good idea…? I mean… When you'll appear…er…”
Alex smiled and winked to him. “Don't worry. I have the proper technique to deal with it.” She disappeared in a burst of emerald light. Kira sighed and begin to take the pod in order to bring it back to the Alliance warship.
Inside the life-pod, people were almost panicking. After the destruction of Heliopolis, their shelter had hit some debris and now the onboard-computer was locked into Emergency Status. Suddenly, a flare of green light stopped all actions. The citizens of the Orb Colony looked in awe and fear to the feminine silhouette materializing inside their capsule.
Alex opened her eyes and expanded her New-Type aura. She couldn't create yet an emotion within someone but she could reduce significantly the existing ones. “Peace! I am not an enemy! I am here as a part of your rescue!”
The people gazed to her, their emotions barely in check. The smallest action could incline the balance in any direction. It was the incredulous cry of relief of a young girl among them that decided everything. “Alex? Alexandra Kerensky?!”
Despite an intuition that never left her, Fllay Allster wasn't very optimist on her chances of survival when she heard the computer announcing the thrusters' failure. She jumped literally into the arms of, at last, someone she knew and propelled them into the wall.
The obvious relief of the blue-eyed redhead pushed the fears of the other people to manageable levels for the New-Type. She continued to hold Fllay as she gave instructions. “Please, everybody seat down and fasten your belts. My partner outside is going to bring us to a vessel nearby.”
The Russian girl smiled as they obeyed her. It had been touch-and-go for a time. She looked to the teenager in her arms and spoke gently. “Fllay? I must check the status of the pod during the transfer. Do you think you can seat down for a time?”
The girl nodded weakly and fastened her belt. She never lost sight of the green-eyed girl during her checking.
Alex internally swore as she verified the status of the capsule. Bypassing the security was child-play for the New-Type and the results were not pretty: Thrusters and communications were out. Several micro-fractures had been detected and the cherry on the cake was the projected malfunction of the life-support system in a few hours. If Kira and the Strike hadn't been in vicinity of the lifeboat…
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Aboard the Archangel, Mu turned to Murrue. “So, what do you plan to do now?”
“Our ship is still in battle.” She turned to Romero Pal. “Can you detect the ZAFT ships' movement?”
The crewman shook his head. “Impossible. There are lots of heat sources among that debris so our laser and thermal detectors are of little use here.”
Murrue sighed but Mu showed the silver-lining. “The same will be true for them, too. You expect they'll come after us?”
Murrue nodded grimly. “I think we should move based on that assumption. Although if they attack us right now, we'd be finished.”
“You're right. All we have is that precious Strike, our dear and lethally mysterious Alex and my damaged Zero. And the ship itself is greatly understaffed. We're in no shape to fight. Shall we sail at maximum speed to shake them off? This is quite a speedy ship, I understand.”
“Their Nazca-class is a high-speed ship as well. There's no guarantee that we can shake them off.”
Mu smiled. “Then shall we surrender?”
Murrue blinked and looked incredulous to the blond man.
Mu smirked. “That's also an option, you know.”
The angered voice of Natarle sounded on the bridge. “What did you say? Wait a minute! Who gave you such authorization?”
Murrue raised an eyebrow. What her two charges had done now? “What's the matter, Ensign Badgiruel?”
“The Strike has returned. But it brought a lifeboat.”
Murrue and Mu blinked to each other.
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Inside the Strike, Kira was listening dismayed to his instructions. “You can't accept it? What do you mean you can't accept it? The propulsion section is broken. It's drifting out of control. Are you telling me to throw this back out there again? People who have evacuated are on this ship.”
Natarle managed to bring herself under control and tried to reason the confused teenager. “Reinforcements will be here right away! But the Archangel is fighting a battle! There's no way we can accept refugees at this time!” She paused. “By the way, where is Alexandra?”
“She's reassuring the passengers inside the capsule.”
Natarle blinked. “What…? How did she manage to…?” Those models of life-pod didn't have a dedicated hatch.
Despite his frustration before inhuman orders for him, Kira smirked. “She's an Esper. She can teleport.”
The Ensign was thunder-stricken. Not only this girl could send and read thoughts, manipulate matter with her mind, summon from who-know-where a Power Armour with the same power as a Mobile Suit, but she could ALSO TELEPORT!
Murrue sighed. “All right. I authorize it.”
That roused the Ensign. “Captain!”
Murrue quietly explained herself to Natarle. “I don't want to waste time arguing over such things.” She paused. “Beside, I don't think we could stop them if they decide to ignore our orders.” She raised her voice. “Bring it in quickly!”
Natarle sighed and saluted. Her headache had worsened and she `knew' she couldn't reason the Russian teenager if she decided to be headstrong. “Very well, Captain!”
As the Strike manoeuvred the damaged pod inside the main hangar, Murrue Ramius turned her attention to the command crew. “I'm well aware of the severity of our situation. But I have no intention of surrendering. There's no way I'm going to hand over this ship or the Strike to ZAFT. We must take them safely to Atlantic Federation Headquarters no matter what it takes to do so.”
Natarle Badgiruel was reassured by the determination in the Murrue's voice. “Captain. I suggest that we make our way to Artemis.”
“Artemis? That's a Eurasian military satellite, isn't it?”
Mu understood the plan of the Ensign. “Artemis and its umbrella.”
Natarle nodded and brought on the main screen the Flight Management Guidance Envelop System. “From our present location, it's the easiest allied forces location to get to.”
Murrue nodded. Artemis was after all also at Lagrange Three. But there was a problem. “You realize that we're in a situation where neither G-weapons nor this ship has a recognition code acknowledged by allied forces. Would Eurasia…?”
“I'm aware that the Archangel and the Strike are both regarded as top military secrets of the Atlantic Federation. However, should we set our course for the Moon you can't expect us to get there easily without confrontation. Also, since we left without sufficient provisions, we need supplies badly.”
Murrue sighed. “I realize that.”
Natarle hesitated. “I know that trouble await us at Artemis, but we can't afford to follow our intuition in this situation! As things are the most realistic measures would be to avoid confrontation, replenish at Artemis, and try to contact the lunar headquarters from there.”
Mu turned back to his controls. “Artemis, huh? I wonder if things will go as we hope.”
Murrue gazed on the route on the screen. “However, it truly appears to be our only option.” She then blinked as something odd hit her. “Ensign Badgiruel?”
“Yes, captain?”
“Did you realize that you were talking like Alexandra?”
Natarle stopped and turned to her superior. “I…I did…? Yes, I did, didn't I?” She frowned. “I think a little conversation with our resident Esper is overdue!”
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Aboard the lifeboat, Alex smiled when she felt the bumps announcing that they were inside the Archangel. She quickly checked that the hangar was pressurized then equalized the pressure with the capsule. She turned to the passengers. “We are now safely inside a pressurized environment.” The people cheered. One of them, impatient, tried to open the hatch to no avail. As she helped Fllay out of her seat, the teenager girl reassured the passengers. “Do not worry. I can open the hatch with no problem. Beside, technicians, outside, could also do it.”
Alex floated to the jammed hatch and scanned it with her power. It was nothing too big, just a cracked rod that blocked the aperture's system. She focused her telekinesis and `pushed': The hatch opened to the surprise of the deck crew outside.
She smiled to the blue-eyed girl as she helped her to exit. “I think you are going to have a nice surprise outside, Fllay.”
The girl blinked as she accepted the boost of the Russian girl and grabbed the hands of the technicians outside.
“Torii.”
The redhead gasped when a familiar robotic green bird circled around her: A violet-eyed boy was at its pursuit. With incredulous joy, she recognized him. “It's you! You're Sai's friend!”
Kira braced himself as the girl threw herself to him. “F-Fllay! It's you, Fllay Allster? So you were really on this boat!”
Now that she was in a relative safe place, Fllay's curiosity and anxiety manifested. “Hey, what happened to Heliopolis? What happened there? What went on?”
The teenager boy gulped. What could he tell her?
“I…I…I got separated from Jessica and Misha in a store in Florence and I ran to a shelter alone, and then…! This is a ZAFT ship, right? What's gonna happen to us? What are you doing here, anyway?”
Kira tried to reassure the frightened girl. “Th-This ship belongs to the Earth Forces.”
“You're lying! There's a Mobile Suit on board.”
“No, that also belongs to the Earth Forces. B-But, boy am I glad. Sai and Miriallia are here, too. You'll be fine.”
“Fine, for now, tovarisch.” Alex's voice sounded behind them and startled them.
Fllay looked into the serious green eyes. “Wha-What do you mean?”
Grimly, Alexandra Kerensky exposed the facts. “Heliopolis has been destroyed by a military attack of ZAFT because of the presence of those Earth Forces inside the Colony. And you are now in the very thing that ZAFT want.”
“HEEE!?”
Kira was dismayed. “Alex! No need to frighten her!”
“A lie is a lie, tovarisch. Even if it was with good intentions.”
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On the command bridge of the Vesalius, the captain Fredrick Ades looked sadly on the remains of the colony. “Who would've expected this?” He turned to the commander Rau Le Creuset. “What will you do? The council won't look lightly on a neutral nation's colony being destroyed.”
Rau was amused. “How can you call a colony that's manufacturing new weapons for the Earth Forces `neutral'?”
“However…”
“Most of the residents have escaped. So we really have no problem.” Rau turned to Ades. “Compared to the Bloody Valentine tragedy.”
Ades frowned as Rau approached a bridge operator. “Can you get the position of the enemy's new warship?”
“No, not with the present state of things.”
Ades raised an eyebrow. “Do you still plan to go after them? But we've lost our Mobile Suits.”
“What do you mean? We have four that we took from the Earth Forces.”
Ades blinked. “You suggest that we use those? But…!”
“Now that we're finished with the data extraction, we can go ahead and use them. Bring up a map of the region. Send a message to the Gamov to expand its search radius.”
Inside the corridors of the Vesalius, Athrun Zala drifted and looked through a window. His eyes narrowed as he remembered what happened. `Kira.'
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Meanwhile on the Archangel, Kira and Alex escorted Fllay to the passenger lounge. Sai, Kuzzey, Tolle and Miriallia gasped when they recognized the young girl. Fllay leaped with joy into the arms of a bewildered Sai who couldn't believe what was happening. Kira smiled in front of the joy of the reunited couple.
But Alex was not smiling. With dread, she focused her New-Type power on Miriallia and Fllay and, with consternation, found what she prayed to never found in this dimension. She sighed and gazed to the ceiling. She could now bet that she could also sense `it' within two members of the command bridge.
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On the bridge, Murrue prepared the ship for their ruse. “Prepare decoy! Upon firing, we'll start the main engines to adjust our course to Artemis. We'll then switch to inertial flight to avoid detection by the enemy! Take level 2 battle stations! Finish checking the ship within an absolute minimum time!”
Mu thought about everything that could go wrong. “A silent run until we get to Artemis. That should take about 2 hours. From this point on, we'll have to rely on luck.”
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On the Vesalius, Ades was examined the map. “Perhaps because of the debris from the collapsed Heliopolis they've already left this area, unnoticed.”
Le Creuset turned to the ZAFT captain. “No. We can rule that out. They're likely sitting very quietly somewhere.” Rau looked closely the map and nodded to himself. “How about setting up a net?”
““A net,” did you say?”
On the Archangel, Natarle opened the festivities. “Number three, fire decoy!” From the “Korinthos” launchers, a single missile flew into space then activated its decoy function on a pre-programmed trajectory.
The commander Rau Le Creuset exposed his plan to Ades. “The Vesalius will take off first and wait here for the enemy ship. Gamov will follow along the course, intersecting the orbit, searching for the enemy, staying hidden.”
Ades was sceptical. “To Artemis? But what if they were to leave for the Moon?”
An operator sounded an alarm. “Large heat source detected! Information analysis estimated course, ship will swing by Earth and head for the Moon to the Earth Forces, Atlantic Federation headquarters.”
Murrue Ramius pursued her gambit. “Start main engines! Adjust ship's course to Artemis!” The powerful warship rushed to its new trajectory. The vibrations alerted the Orb residents. Alex frowned and decided it was time to visit the bridge.
Ades whirled to Le Creuset. “Commander!”
“That's a decoy.”
“But we should confirm with the Gamov just in case.”
“No. They'll be heading to Artemis. I'm even more sure of that now. The Vesalius will set sail. Get Zelman online.”
In his cabin, Ahtrun was trying to rest. The vibrations of the departure sent him to the ceiling. He turned on himself and gazed mournfully on the second bed of the cabin: A bed with the personal belongings of his friend Rusty. `Rusty! Miguel…!' He closed his tearing eyes.
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EYECATCH
The Strike Gundam appears in its “Sword” configuration and demonstrates its abilities: His high agility. The dual 75mm automatic multi-barrel CIWS "Igelstellung" on a close Mobile Suit. The assault knife "Armor Schneider" in melee combat. The Beam Boomerang “Midas Messer” and its amazing returning function. The shield with the Rocket Anchor “Panzer Eisen” which grabs and pulls a target to the Strike. And, finally, the 15.78 metres Anti-Ship Blade “Schwert Gewerh” cutting through everything with its laser edge.
EYECATCH
Alex appears with a Power Armour like the RX-75 Guntank. She demonstrates the armament and capabilities: The two Long Range 18 mm Beam Cannon on the shoulders. The Quad-Guns on each forearm. The mobility conferred by the treads on the feet. And, finally, the thickness of the armour.
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Alexandra Kerensky found herself on the command bridge. One moment she gazed on two of its members and frowned. It was worse than what she thought first. A burst of rage fuelled by guilt and she punched the bulkhead.
The sharp impact drew the attention of everyone on her. Natarle scowled. She had a few things to tell to this young girl.
Recomposing herself, Alex floated to a secondary screen and examined the course taken by the Archangel. Behind her, Murrue stalled all tentative to speak to the teenager. She was interested in her answers to the situation.
“Artemis, huh? I guess that was the only solution to take.” The Russian girl paused as she listened to her power. “Especially with our limited resources.”
Natarle opened fire. “So, you knew!”
The emerald gaze plunged into the violet eyes. “I guess. Nothing more.”
“Are you responsible for my idea about it?”
Alex raised an eyebrow. “Your idea?” She proceeded to pace, visibly weary. “Niet, I didn't, at least, not directly.”
Murrue seized the control of the discussion. “Please, explain yourself, Alexandra. Did you influence the Ensign?”
Alex sighed and sat on a vacant seat. “Niet… It's worse. I am indirectly responsible of her probable headaches and her possible sudden intuitions.”
Natarle blinked. “How did you know that I have headaches?”
The redheaded teenager looked squarely to the young woman. “I am a catalyst. You were a… latent New-Type. My…presence activated your power.”
“WHAT!”
Murrue looked bewildered to the green-eyed girl. “You mean… she's like you!?”
Alex nodded grimly. “Her… and another crewmember.” She turned to the blue-eyed blond man near the command chair.
Mu La Flaga blinked, blinked again and then pointed to himself. “ME!?”
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The crew of the Archangel was proceeding to welcome and process the passengers of the Heliopolis' lifeboat. Jackie Tonomura had a good surprise with one of them. “You're a doctor?”
The elderly nodded. “Yes, I am.”
Jackie smiled. He knew that the strange Russian girl had healed Murrue Ramius but he preferred true and tried methods. “The captain has injured her shoulder. Could you look at it later?”
In their assigned room, Tolle, Miriallia, Kuzzey, Sai, Fllay and Kira were waiting, trying to not be bored by controlling their anxieties.
Kuzzey asked the question that everybody would like to know. “I wonder where we're headed.”
Sai nodded. “They changed course once, didn't they? I wonder if ZAFT is still around.”
Tolle was not very optimist. “They're after this ship and that Mobile Suit, right? Then maybe they're still after us.”
Fllay looked alarmed. “Huh? Then what? Are you saying that…?” She stopped herself under a sudden intuition and spoke to herself, incredulous. “Alex was right? ZAFT will target this ship?” She looked to Sai, eyes shining with unshed tears. “We're less safe now that we boarded the ship.” Her voice was soft, resigned and grim. Kira looked away, ashamed of his participation in this catastrophe.
Miriallia turned to the redhead. “Would you rather…?” She stopped when she read something the eyes of Fllay. “You…knew…?” She blinked and listened to a little voice in her mind. “You knew that your lifeboat was broken and doomed?”
Fllay sighed and gazed on the floor. “W-Well, not exactly…” She looked back to her green-eyed friend. “I…looked behind Alex's shoulder when she called up the diagnostic of our lifeboat, but…” She continued softly, her eyes opened on the past. “I knew long before that we were doomed if someone didn't come.” She shook her head. “And someone came. What is happening to me, Mir?”
Miriallia smiled. “Something marvellous. Something that will help you to surmount this ordeal. Ask Alex, she will explain everything.”
Sai took the hand of the girl he loved. “Don't worry. Our friend Alex will help you like she helped us.”
Kuzzey smirked to the mushy scene then sighed. “I hope my parents are safe.”
Sai turned to him. “Evacuation orders were issued to all districts so I'm sure they're okay. Beside, you know that Alex managed to contact them and reassured them about us.”
Fllay's eyes widened. “So… It was her…” She continued, awed. “When I was alone in the shelter, I suddenly felt as if…” She turned to her boyfriend. “…you have put your arm around my shoulder and…” She blushed and stopped. She couldn't say that she also felt that Alex had caressed her cheek.
“Kira Yamato!” The voice of Mu La Flaga interrupted what could have been an embarrassing moment for the young girl.
Kira blinked. What could the pilot want of him? “Y-Yes?”
“Petty officer Murdoch is furious. He doesn't have enough people. He says you're responsible for maintaining your own machine.”
Kira frowned. “My machine? Wait! What do you mean, “my machine”?”
“Let's just say that's what's been decided.”
The friends of Kira listened to the rather amazing conversation.
Mu shrugged. “The fact is you're the only one capable of piloting that thing. It can't be helped.”
Kira was becoming angry. “Sure, I rode the thing twice, only because I had no choice! But I'm not a soldier or anything!”
Mu shook his head. He had hoped his association with the visibly experienced Russian Esper would have show something to the young boy. “So when the fighting starts again, you'll say that again. You'll refuse to pilot it, and we'll all die, right?”
Kira gasped: It was true. All his friends looked at him alarmed. Without Kira and Alex, they were doomed.
Mu continued. “Right now, you, Alex and I are the only ones who can protect this ship.”
“But I…!”
“You have the ability to make a difference, right? Then put those abilities to use. We have little time, including time to think this over.”
Sai tried to know about the situation. “Excuse me! Where is this ship heading?”
“Well, since Alexandra already knows, I can tell you: A Eurasian military fortress.” Mu shrugged as he walked away. “Well, we'll be lucky if they let us in without incident.”
“I…!” Kira grinded its teeth and ran away to the main hangar.
Tolle and Miriallia saw the distress of their friend and tried to call him back. “Hey, Kira!”
Even with her now boosted intuition, there were some things that Fllay didn't know. “What? What's that supposed to mean? You mean that Kira kid was on…?”
Sai began to explain. “You heard that a Mobile Suit carried your lifeboat to this ship, right? That guy, Kira, was the one piloting it.”
“What? Him? But why? Why would he be in a Mobile Suit?”
Kuzzey launched his bomb. “Because Kira's a Coordinator.”
Tolle scowled. “Kuzzey!”
Sai sighed then continued. “Kira is a Coordinator. But he isn't with ZAFT.”
Miriallia spoke with tranquil assurance. “He's one of us. A treasured friend.”
“I see.” Fllay blinked. “I see indeed.” It was strange. She had been educated with a good dose of prejudice against Coordinator. Her childhood environment had been tainted by Blue Cosmos theories and yet… “Say, Mir? Is… Is Alex a Coordinator too?”
Miriallia didn't loose her smile as if she was waiting for this question. “No. She passed herself as a first-generation Coordinator because of her capacities.”
“Then, what is she?”
“She called herself a New-Type. A Natural being born with the gift of Esper powers.” Miriallia paused. “Like you and me.”
Fllay's eyes widened.
In front of the cockpit of the Strike, Kira reminded the words of the Mobile Armour pilot. `“You have the ability to make a difference, right? Then put those abilities to use.”'
Kira lowered his head and looked to the floor. “I may be able to operate the Mobile Suit but that doesn't mean I can fight a battle!”
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Aboard the Vesalius, Athrun Zala presented himself to the door of the office of the commander Rau Le Creuset. “Athrun Zala. Reporting as requested.”
“Right. Come in.”
As he was typing a report, Rau continued. “I was hoping to speak with you earlier but things got a bit out of hand, with the collapse of Heliopolis.” He finished, saved his work and turned to Athrun.
“Sir, I apologize for what happened during the previous battle.”
“I have no intention of punishing you but I do want to hear your side of the story. Particularly since it wasn't like you, Athrun.”
Athrun lower his head and bit his lower lip.
Rau restarted the discussion. “I understand you were near that machine when it was activated.”
“I'm terribly sorry. I was stunned by what had happened and failed to report the incident. That final machine: The person piloting it is Kira Yamato, a Coordinator friend from the military preparatory school I attended on the Moon.”
Now, Rau was surprised. “Well…!”
“I never dreamed that we'd meet again in such a situation so I needed to be sure.”
“I see. War is full of irony.” Rau get up. “I don't blame you for being stunned. I imagine you were quite close to this friend.”
“Yes.”
“Very well. If that's the case, I shall take you off the upcoming sortie.”
“Huh?”
“You wouldn't be able to point a gun at such a friend. And I don't want to force you to, either.”
“No, commander! That's…!”
“Even if he was once your friend we must shoot him if he's now an enemy. I'm sure you can understand that.”
“Kira is… He's being used by the Naturals! He's brilliant, but also absent-minded and good-natured so he fails to see that he's being taken advantage of. That's why I wanna persuade him! He's also a Coordinator! Like Alex! I know he'll understand what we have to say!”
Rau frowned. “I understand how you feel. But…what if he won't be persuaded?”
Athrun gasped. That was the question now. He lowered his head. “If that should happen…I'll shoot him myself.”
Rau nodded then blinked. “By the way. Who is Alex?”
Athrun smiled a little. “Another Coordinator that I met along with Kira on the Moon. Her name is Alexandra Kerensky.” He sighed as he remembered fondly memories. “We later met again on the PLANTs and she befriended Yzak, Dearka and Nicol.” He chuckled. “Sometimes, I think they had the same crush on my beautiful redheaded friend.” He didn't say that it never worked because she was revealed a lesbian to the dismay of the others.
Rau whirled to Athrun. “A redheaded girl? With green eyes? And a Russian accent?”
Athrun blinked. “How do you know?”
Rau called on his screen a picture. “This image is an enhancement and filtering of various pictures taken during my fight at Heliopolis. Do you recognize the subject?”
Confounded, Athrun gazed into the face of his best friend, wearing the Exo-Frame that proved to be so lethal during the battle at Heliopolis. Even with the armoured headset, it was impossible to not recognize her. “Tha-That's impossible…” He whispered. “Alex…hates war with such a passion that she had problems with the discipline of the military preparatory school.” He looked back to Rau. “She took the classes only because it was the best way for the engineering school she wanted…” Athrun abruptly stopped and whispered. “…in Heliopolis…”
Rau said nothing and called another file. “This is the message she sent the fist time on all our frequencies. We simply filtered the background noise. Do you recognize the voice?”
The recognizable Russian-accented feminine voice sounded in the office. ““ATTENTION, ZAFT UNITS! YOU ARE ENDANGERING THE CIVILIAN POPULATION. WITHDRAW IMMEDIATELY OR I WILL SHOOT TO KILL! THIS IS YOUR ONLY AND LAST WARNING!””
Athrun felt numbed. “It's…her…”
“Then I fear you have to take the same decision about her too.”
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Inside the command bridge of the Archangel, Natarle Badgiruel suddenly jumped to her feet. “Mr Pal!”
Romero Pal jerked, startled by the sudden and sharp voice. “Yes, Ma'am?”
“Passive scans at full power to port!”
Romero blinked as he checked his sensors and reported, bewildered. “Large heat source detected! Believed to be the engine of a warship! Distance 250, Yellow 33, 17. Mark 02 Charlie, course zero-shift-zero!”
Mu La Flaga's eyes narrowed. “Beside us? It's headed in the same direction.”
Murrue concentrated on the crisis. The sudden intuition of her second will have to wait. “Have they caught on to us?”
Startled by the accuracy of her feeling, Natarle voiced her impressions. “No! And it's a fair distance from us.”
Romero continued his analysis. “The target is passing our ship. Ship type confirmed. It's a Nazca-class.”
Mu swore. “They're getting in front of us to stop us in our tracks!”
Natarle turned to Romero “Mr. Pal. Check our stern. We should be able to detect their Laurasia-class there.”
“Wait a moment.” Romero's eyes widened. “There's a heat source following us, 350 to stern. When did that get there?”
Mu resumed the situation. “At this rate, the Laurasia-class will eventually catch up to us. But if we use our engines to escape, the Nazca-class will find us instantly. Hey, bring up data on the two vessels and a map of space over here.”
“Do you have a plan?” Natarle considered her new-found New-Type Abilities rather limited. Her military training didn't allow her to blindly follow her intuitions regardless of their accuracy.
Mu smirked. “That's what I'm getting ready to think about!”
The alarm sounded through the warship. “Enemy unit, silhouette detected. Level 1 battle stations! All military personnel, get to your positions at once. Repeat…!”
In an obscured small office room, Alexandra Kerensky shut down the computer she was using. She had profited of a lull in the intense activity onboard to read the data chip that Cagalli had given to her at Morgenroete. It contained all the specs of the G-weapons. It had been very interesting. After a stream of Russian curses, she had used the opportunity to dive a little with her power inside the onboard net of the warship.
Jackie Tonomura and Chandra ran from their bunk-room.
“Damn.”
“I just got into bed.”
In the lounge, the Orb residents were afraid. A little girl rushed into the arms of her mother. “Mommy!”
The poor woman tried to reassure her. “It's going to be all right.”
“Is this ship entering a battle?”
“But they've got us on board.”
Miriallia Haw suddenly jerked as the speaker called people she knew. “Kira Yamato, Alexandra Kerensky, to the bridge.”
The honey-haired girl was anxious. “I wonder what Kira and Alex have decided.”
Sai Argyle had a sad smile. “We'll likely be in quite an unenviable position if they don't fight.”
Fllay Allster's eyes narrowed. “Alex will fight! I `know' it!”
Miriallia smiled the turned to Tolle Koenig. “Hey, Tolle. We're always sitting on the sidelines relying on Kira and Alex to protect us.”
Tolle thought about what the Lieutenant La Flaga had told to Kira. “If we have the ability to make a difference, then put that ability to use, right?” Tolle looked to his friends and they nodded to each other.
Chandra raised an eyebrow when he received a call to the bridge. “Captain! I have civilians here wishing to speak with you.”
Natarle sighed. It was not the moment! “We have no time for that! I'll listen to their complaints later! Tell them to be quiet!”
“Well, uh…the students that are with us from Heliopolis are offering to help with the ship's operation.”
Murrue blinked. “What?”
Kira was letting himself pulled by the moving band that helped the crew to circulate inside the ship in period of no gravity. A familiar male voice interrupted his introspection.
“Kira!”
“Tolle. All of you.”
His friends stopped in front of him. They were dressed in military uniforms: Blue vest and white pants for the boys, Light purple vest and light-orange short for the only girl.
Tolle smirked. “Hi, Kira.”
“What's the deal with the outfits?”
Sai answered. “We've decided to help out with tasks aboard this ship. They're understaffed, right?”
Kuzzey smiled. “They required us to wear military uniforms if we're gonna be on the bridge.”
Tolle shrugged. “ZAFT's military uniforms are cooler, aren't they? With no badge of rank, these look kinda silly.”
Chandra that was accompanying the youngsters, scowled. “Don't be a wise guy.”
Kira was touched by what his friends were doing.
Tolle smiled gently to the young Coordinator. “We can't have just you fighting all the time.”
Miriallia followed. “Given the situation we're in, we'll help. However we can.”
“Well, if you are very sure of your own decision…”
All turned to the voice coming from the other corridor. Alex stopped before her friends. She considered them gravely and sighed. “I am reliving some episodes of my past here.” She smiled sadly. “But it does not mean it will be the same thing.” She bowed to the surprise of her group of friends. “Thank you for your help, we appreciate it.”
Chandra smiled but decided to stop here. Time was limited here. “Move on, youngsters!”
“Bye, Kira!”
“See you later.”
Chandra whirled to the two pilots as he passed. “Oh, and if you're taking off again, make sure that you wear a pilot suit this time, Kira!” He then turned to Alex. “Be in uniform also, next time, Alexandra.”
Fine to Kira, but he had a small problem. “U-Um, Mr. Chandra!” Where was the pilots' locker?
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The Vesalius arrived in sight of a small and strange looking asteroid. Ades looked upon it. “So that's…!”
Rau nodded. “The Umbrella of Artemis. It appears that they've already caught onto us. It's in effect.”
“We've arrived here without catching the Earth Forces' new ship.”
“We're in their path. We'll get them here.”
Rapidly, the ZAFT crew prepared the ship for the trap.
“Turn ship 180 degrees!”
“Match velocity to Artemis and proceed astern!”
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In the pilots' locker, Kira finished to put on his blue-green and white with black trim pilot suit.
“So…” The young boy turned to Mu La Flaga in his violet and black with grey trim pilot suit. “Judging from that outfit, I see that you've finally decided to do it.”
Kira grabbed his helmet. “You said so yourself, Lieutenant.”
On the command bridge, the friends of Kira and Alex were receiving an accelerated crash course on the operations of the Archangel.
“Right now, you, Alex and I are the only ones who can protect this ship. It's not that I wanna fight but I do wanna protect this ship. Because of the people on board.”
“It's the same for us all. You won't find too many people who wish to fight for no reason at all. We fight because unless we fight, we cannot protect.”
Mu smirked and searched the room. “Okay, where is the young Miss. I need to explain our plan to both of you.”
“I'm here, Lieutenant.”
Mu turned and gawked to the sight.
Alexandra Kerensky exited a small room in only her leotard like blue with white trim inner-suit. Apart of that, she had only slippers of white colour, white gloves and the blue metal band on her right thigh. The amount of flesh showed and the skin-tight nature of her suit left no doubt about her sex.
Mu blushed, coughed a little and began his explications.
As the Laurasia-class vessel approached the Archangel by the stern, Mu finished to explain his plan and entered his Moebius Zero Mobile Armour. “In any case, think only about this ship and yourselves.”
“Y-Yes! Be careful, Lieutenant.” Kira jumped to his own cockpit. `Athrun, will you come back as well to sink this ship?' He suddenly gasped as a thought hit him. `Oh, my God! I forget to speak about Athrun to Alex! I…'
I already know, Tovarisch.
The clear and concise mind voice curiously appeased the young Coordinator. He tried to respond to the New-Type. `You knew? Since when?'
Since I sensed him at Morgenroete and when I saw that you faced him during the last battle.
Kira sensed a hesitation then. Right now, we have to focus on only two things. Protecting this ship and protecting our lives. Nothing more, nothing less.
Natarle began the plan. “Moebius Zero, La Flaga, to the linear catapult!”
The left electromagnetic catapult deployed and took the Mobile Armour in its field.
Mu closed his helmet marked with a white feather. “Mu La Flaga, taking off! Don't let them sink you before I return!”
As the Mobile Armour used the inertia of its catapulting to its advantage, Romero Pal surveyed the enemy. “Laurasia-class approaching, 50 to stern!”
It was time. Murrue braced herself. “Start main engines in 2 minutes! Strike, NT1 Alex, prepare to take off!”
The technician manoeuvred the powerful machine to the right catapult. “Strike, proceed to takeoff position…! Catapult connection: System, all green!”
Kira thought about the plan as he continued his checklist. `The lieutenant will secretly move ahead and hit the enemy in front of us. In the meantime, Alex and I will protect the ship from the enemy to the rear. Is this gonna work?'
The voice of Miriallia sounded on his radio. “Kira. Alex.”
“Miriallia?”
Miriallia winked. “From now on, I will act as the combat controller for the Mobile Suit, Power Armour and Mobile Armour. I'm counting on you!”
Chandra smiled at his post. “We're all counting on you!”
Kira smiled.
Natarle gave her instructions. “Mount the Aile Striker. The enemy will be here as soon as the Archangel fires its engines! Be ready!”
“Right!”
On the left electromagnetic catapult, Alex prepared herself. “Affirmative!” In this battle, she needed mobility, protection and firepower. It wasn't easy to obtain such a perfect blend, but her configuration had a trick very useful in a zero-gee environment. She focused on the proper form.
“Mobile Suit Power-Armour… ON!”
On her sleeveless inner suit, the blue upper torso-armour with red trim materialized. The white coloured shoulder-pads and hip-protections followed. Then the forearms were covered by a large blue armour piece with white trim. White with blue trim armoured knee boots with the secondary propulsion unit appeared next to the blue metal band already circling the middle of the right thigh. The white backpack, with the main propulsion unit, locked in the rear of the torso. The white headpiece blue trimmed with the golden V-fins should have completed the Power-Armour but Alex was not finished.
Another layer of armour materialized on the Power Armour: A dark grey assemblage of heavy-plates with integrated verniers and thrusters. It was the Chobham Full Armour option: Very heavy and bulky in an atmosphere but perfect for heavy-duty space-combat. The Full Armour was also ejectable should it would be heavily damaged.
As the emerald sphere of New-Type energy dissolved around her, Alex summoned her external weaponry: The two Beam Sabers on the backpack, the Standard Shield with its Anti-Beam Coating and finally, her handheld Beam Rifle.
Around her and on the bridge, the crew of the Archangel was rendered speechless by the spectacle of her transformation. Only Miriallia and her friends had already seen it and were quietly chuckling among themselves.
Murrue shook herself and focused on the enemy. She and Natarle couldn't not think about the military potential of the Esper. Especially now that they knew that some members of the crew had the same power. “Start engines! Fire Assault Cannons! Target: the Nazca-class ahead of us.”
Natarle narrowed her eyes on the enemy vessel. ““Lohengrin”, fire!”
A destructive lance of energy rushed across space.
Alarms sounded on the bridge of the Vesalius. “Heat source approaching from ahead and large heat source detected behind it! It's a warship!”
Ades tightened his fists. “Evasive action!”
Rau smirked. “I see that they're firing in confusion, now that they've seen us.”
Mu smiled as he saw the destructive path of the “Lohengrin”. The first part of his plan had passed.
Aboard the Gamov, the crew reacted to the commencing battle. “Heat source detected! Supposedly from the enemy warship.”
The captain Zelman gave his orders. “Launch Mobile Suits!”
Rau addressed his elite pilot. “I'll believe what you said earlier, Athrun Zala.”
“Yes, sir.”
The electromagnetic catapult deployed and the Aegis was ejected into space.
In the CIC, Chandra detected the electromagnetic pulse of the operation. “A Mobile Suit has taken off from the Nazca-class ahead! Only the one!”
Responsible of the CIC, Ensign Natarle Badgiruel addressed her superior. “Captain!”
“Please!”
Natarle turned to Miriallia. “Have Kira Yamato and Alexandra Kerensky take off in the Strike and in the NT1 Alex!”
Miriallia touched her mike. “Kira! Alex!”
The two teenagers responded: One tense, the other cool as an iceberg. “Roger.”
The two electromagnetic catapults of the Archangel deployed.
Aboard the Strike, Kira tried to calm himself. The words of Mu La Flaga, Alexandra Kerensky, Tolle Koenig and Miriallia Haw were echoing in his mind. `“Right now, you, Alex and I are the only ones who can protect this ship.” “Right now, we have to focus on only two things. Protecting this ship and protecting our lives. Nothing more, nothing less.” “We can't have just you fighting all the time.” “Given the situation we're in, we'll help.”'
The young Coordinator opened his eyes and his words awake something in the heart of the Russian girl. “Kira Yamoto! Gundam, taking off!”
The redheaded MS Girl let the energy field of the catapult captured her and spoke words of another epoch in another world. “Alexandra Kerensky! Gundam Armour, taking off!”
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Preview:
What they decided on was each one's respective, rightful cause.
Without the chance to learn why they had been thrown in the position the youngsters select a path.
Ahead of the gunfire tearing through silent darkness the shouting voice of Athrun and Kira pass each other in vain etching a new memory instead.
She was her friend, now she has betrayed them. Alex is once again confronted to those she loves on the other side of the fence.
What will be blooded, the hands or the heart?
Next, on MS Seed Girls, “Phase-Shift Down, Power Up”. Soar through space, Gundam!
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Notes: Vampwriter has asked about a poll to determine with which girl Alex finish.
I say why not?
So here are the candidates and the results so far:
Fllay: 2.
Cagalli: 0.
Lacus: 0.
Mir: 0.
Murrue: 0.
Natarle: 0.
Aïsha: 0.
Here is the Strike with its “Sword” Striker pack.
Name: Gat X-105 Strike Gundam.
Height: 17.72 meters. Weight: 74.1 tons.
Armament:
75 mm automatic multi-barrel CIWS "Igelstellung" x 2, in the head.
Assault knife "Armor Schneider" x 2, hip-storage, handheld.
Beam Boomerang “Midas Messer”, on the left shoulder.
Rocket Anchor “Panzer Eisen” on the left Small Shield with Anti-Beam Coating.
15.78 m Anti-Ship Blade “Schwert Gewehr”, backpack-storage, two-handed.
Thank you to Vampwriter and James Axelrad for their reviews.
Don't forget to vote for the poll.
Read, review, comment and send your ideas, please and thank you.