Mobile Suit Gundam SEED DESTINY

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Phase 35 - The Ultimate Coordinator

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“All checks are complete,” the mechanic said. “The catapults are being warmed up now.” The hatch closed, and the cockpit went dark for a moment, before the cameras started up and lit the cockpit up with a panoramic view of the Deliverance’s hangar.

Kira Yamato, sitting in the cockpit of the Freedom Gundam, glanced to his right and opened a line to Valentine’s Slash ZAKU Phantom, as it was loaded onto a Guul subflight system.

“Kira,” she said, offering him a sweet smile, “I was afraid you’d forgotten about me.”

Kira blinked. “I wouldn’t do that,” he answered. Valentine shook her head.

“Do you remember Shinn?” she asked, glancing at him. Kira nodded grimly. He remembered Shinn— how could he not? The famous ZAFT ace, the angry boy at Carpentaria, the great traitor to all Coordinators. The one dangerous loose piece in Rau’s final plan for humanity. “Good,” Valentine said, “because I’m sure he remembers you.”

“He can’t possibly be ready for me,” Kira said flatly. “I’ve trained for weeks to bring him down. I won‘t fail.”

“Of course you won’t,” Valentine said with a smile. The transmission ended; Kira sat back and let out a sigh.

In the ZAKU’s cockpit, Valentine cast a devilish glance towards the Providence and opened up a line to Rau.

“Are you bothering me again?” he asked, faking weariness with an amused grin. “Don’t you have better things to do?”

“Well excuse me for letting you know that our little boy is all set to go play with the other kids,” Valentine shot back. Rau chuckled.

“Kira’s never been ready to play with the other kids,” he said.

“What, exactly, is our purpose in doing this?” Valentine asked testily. “We already have the Minerva tailing Asuka.”

“I want to gauge Shinn’s strength,” Rau said, sitting back and leaning his head against his fist. “If he’s really the Newtype superman that Gilbert is afraid of, then he’ll be able to beat Kira relatively easily, and then we‘ll know if he‘s worth worrying about.”

Valentine arched an inquisitive eyebrow at him. “We’re going to sacrifice Kira that easily?”

“Of course not,” Rau chuckled. “Kira’s not done with his penance yet. We won’t let he die, nor will we let the Freedom be destroyed. But,” he smiled, “they can afford to take a beating.”

Valentine sat back, eyeing Rau carefully. “If you say so,” she said at last, shutting the line off.

Rau chuckled again to himself as the Freedom moved onto the Deliverance’s catapult

“You’ve been the most powerful soldier alive for quite a while, Kira,” he said. “But now it is time for you to finally fight a true Newtype.” He leaned his head back as the Deliverance’s hangar doors opened, tilting his head back into the shadows as sunlight flooded the hangar. “And you’ll finally see how inferior you are to us.”

——————————————————————————————————————————

Somehow, before the enemy even entered visual range, Shinn knew who it was already. The pressure was different, unfamiliar…but unmistakable.

“It’s him,” he growled.

He sat back in the Impulse Gundam’s cockpit, as the mobile suit streaked out of the Kasselheim’s hangar. He glanced to the side, at the Megami, as it opened its hangar doors. Athrun would surely be there to fight as well— Shinn clenched his fists around the Impulse’s controls and fired the booster. He could not let Athrun steal his prey— he had to fight this enemy alone.

“Shinn!” a voice exclaimed. Shinn glanced back in annoyance at George, as his CGUE faded into the distance behind him. “What are you doing?!”

“Stay out of this,” Shinn snapped. “I’ll take care of this one.”

“But Shinn— ” George began.

Shinn scowled. “It’s the Freedom,” he said.

George fell silent, blinking in surprise. “The Freedom?” he asked. “From Jachin Due?”

Shinn cut the line and scowled up at the tiny shape on the horizon. That was his enemy. That was who he had to defeat. That was Kira Yamato. Shinn thought back to what Rey had said about Kira. He was the one who had killed his family— he was the one that Rey had begged Shinn to destroy.

He magnified the image— the Freedom Gundam was charging forward towards him resolutely.

Shinn clenched his teeth, glowering at the Freedom. He remembered that Onogoro slope in CE 71, standing before Mayu’s severed arm, surrounded by the flames and smoke and what was left of his mother, his father, and Mayu.

“You…” he snarled.

The Freedom fired its beam rifle— Shinn narrowed his eyes at the approaching blast.

“You…”

The Impulse’s eyes flashed; Shinn slammed on the brakes, and the Impulse stopped, the blast still approaching.

“I finally found you!”

The Impulse smacked the Freedom’s shot aside and charged, returning fire with its beam rifle. Shinn screamed— the seed burst before his eyes, and he watched the Freedom skirt aside, leveling its beam rifle for another shot.

Before it could fire, Shinn darted up into the air and fired down on the Freedom from above. It dove aside again, deflecting a near miss with its shield, and fired back with a full burst from its rifle, plasma cannons, and railguns. Shinn scowled, ducking under the blasts and firing at the Freedom’s exposed torso as he rocketed towards the water’s surface.

The Freedom skirted aside again, firing another full burst and opening its wings, as Shinn pulled up and streaked along the water’s surface.

“You killed them all,” Shinn snarled.

Inside the Freedom’s cockpit, Kira scowled. “Who is this guy…?”

“I’ll make you pay!” Shinn screamed.

The Impulse burst up over the Freedom’s next volley of shots, switching to its beam saber and charging. Kira grunted angrily and drew his own saber, and the two machines slammed together in a shower of sparks.

“You took them away from me!” Shinn shrieked. “I won’t let you get away again!”

The two machines roared apart again— Kira lined up for another full burst, but before he could, the Impulse was back upon him, rocketing up in between the extended cannons to slam its saber against the Freedom’s.

“What is he?” Kira growled. “It’s like he knows what I’m going to do!”

Shinn screamed as the Impulse delivered a jarring kick to the Freedom’s stomach— Kira grunted and fired off his plasma cannons and railguns into the air, forcing the Impulse back. Shinn growled angrily as he dove down towards the ocean— the Freedom had the advantage at long range. But at close range…

“Shinn!” a familiar voice shouted. Shinn ignored it, roaring back up into the Freedom’s face and swinging down towards its exposed shoulder. The Freedom deflected the saber with its shield and swung back— Shinn’s eyes flashed as he caught the Freedom’s blow with his own saber, and the two Gundams were stuck pushing against each other.

“Shinn!” the voice shouted again. Shinn scowled and risked a glance at its source, seeing the Justice Gundam rushing towards him. “I’ll handle— ”

“No you won’t!” Shinn snapped, cutting Athrun off. “He’s MINE!” The Impulse surged forward, pulling its saber back for a killing blow.

“Commander!” Kira shouted, pulling back and dodging the Impulse’s wild swings. “The Justice— !”

“Ignore it,” Rau ordered. The Providence Gundam roared over the battlefield, firing a beam cannon volley in the Justice Gundam’s direction and forcing it back. “We will handle the other mobile suits. Your priority is the Impulse.”

Kira ground his teeth angrily. “Yes sir,” he growled.

“We’ll only keep them busy, Kira,” Valentine added, as the Guul carrying her ZAKU shot by overhead. “You‘ll still get to take him down.”

The Impulse dove up into the Freedom’s field of vision, saber pulled back to strike again. Kira charged back, scowling.

“You can’t be that powerful,” he growled. “You can’t!”

The Freedom came down with a slash— Shinn screamed and slashed back, and the two mobile suits slammed together again.

“You’ve taken everything else from me,” Shinn snarled, fists trembling around the Impulse’s controls. “I won’t let you take anything more!”

The Impulse surged again; Kira grunted in surprise as the Freedom went reeling back. Shinn brought his saber down with a scream; the Freedom swung back, catching the blow.

“Damn you!” Shinn shrieked. “DIE ALREADY!”

——————————————————————————————————————————

“They’ve what?”

Talia turned her angry gaze from Meyrin to the Minerva’s bridge windows, and the tiny flashes of explosions on the horizon.

“The Deliverance reports combat,” Meyrin repeated meekly, “and they say they don’t need assistance.”

Talia glared at the horizon, at the Deliverance far beyond it. “Damn you, Rau,” she growled. “What are you up to?”

“They’ve sent the Freedom after the Impulse,” Meyrin added.

“The Freedom?” Arthur echoed in disbelief. “Captain, they— ”

“They’re a FAITH unit too,” Talia explained, “so they can attack whenever and wherever they wish.” She scowled. “Still, I wish Rau had consulted me before doing this.” She glanced at Meyrin. “Go to Condition Red. We’re going forward at flank speed to reach the combat zone. Tell the pilots to stand by.”

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“Captain, there’s a heat source approaching from the southeast!” Mike exclaimed. “It’s the Minerva!”

Mev sat back in his seat, looking up at the main screen as it displayed the battle in front of him.

“We’ve got fifteen minutes until the Minerva is in range to fire on us,” Murrue Ramius’s voice warned from a smaller screen to the side. “And these FAITH units we’re fighting aren’t ordinary ZAFT grunts.”

“They’ve never sent ordinary grunts after Shinn,” Mev said dismissively. “What’s the Impulse’s status?”

“Still fighting a single unit,” Kika reported. “But I can’t figure out what unit it is.”

“It’s the Freedom.”

All eyes turned up to the screen next to Murrue’s, displaying George’s dour face.

“The Freedom?” Kika echoed. “What is he fighting that thing for?”

“He’s still lasting against it,” Mike said. “I’ve got two mobile suits to port in a pretty heated duel.”

The main screen abruptly changed, to show the Impulse charging down onto the Freedom, saber upraised. The Freedom swung its own saber up to block the Impulse’s killing blow at the last second.

“Shinn…” Kika murmured.

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The Freedom and Impulse crashed together, beam sabers locked, as sparks flew around the two straining machines.

“This guy’s just a Coordinator,” Kira grunted. “He can’t be that powerful!”

Shinn let out a scream; the Impulse lunged back, dodging a horizontal saber swipe from the Freedom, cursing as the flailing beam managed to tear a wicked scar across the Impulse's chest. Kira narrowed his eyes and fired a full burst at the Impulse; Shinn rocketed up over the Freedom’s shots and charged back down into its face with another beam saber slash.

“You bastard!” Shinn screamed. “Hold still!”

The Freedom rocketed backward, firing another full burst. Shinn snarled angrily as he dove aside, letting the shots streak past.

“You can’t beat me in that thing!” Kira growled.

The Freedom swept in, saber raised; Shinn narrowed his eyes, swinging back and catching the Freedom’s blow overhead. The two mobile suits rocketed apart again, circling each other. The Impulse charged; the Freedom charged back.

Shinn’s eyes flashed; a white bolt of energy pierced the air in front of him. Kira blinked in surprise as the Impulse screeched to a halt, and with a crash, the Impulse delivered a devastating roundhouse kick to the Freedom’s face. Kira screamed as the Freedom reeled back, and swung forward blindly with his saber. Shinn let out a shriek of rage, ducking aside from the Freedom’s desperate saber swing—

Kira’s eyes widened in disbelief as the Impulse severed the Freedom’s right arm at the elbow. A second kick to the stomach sent the Freedom reeling back again; Shinn narrowed his eyes, charging after the falling Freedom.

Kira grunted angrily and moved to abandon his shield and draw the Freedom’s remaining saber. A noise from one of the cockpit panels stopped him.

“Kira!” he heard Valentine’s voice shout. “Return to the Deliverance!”

“What?” Kira exclaimed. “But— ”

“It’s an order!” Valentine snapped.

Kira looked back up angrily at the charging Impulse and raised the Freedom’s left hand. The armor over the knuckle opened up; inside the Impulse, Shinn blinked in surprise. A moment later, he squeezed his eyes shut and slammed on the brakes, just as the Freedom launched an array of attack flares into the Impulse’s face.

Kira scowled as he wheeled the Freedom around and took off towards the Deliverance.

Inside the Impulse, Shinn took cover behind his shield, backing away from the flares and glowering at the dim shape of the Freedom as it escaped.

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The bridge was silent as all eyes watched the ZAFT mobile suits retreat. Murrue sat back, watching the dim shape of the Freedom Gundam retreat into the distance, behind the blazing inferno of a half-dozen ZAFT attack flares.

“Their target was Shinn,” she said. “They could’ve cared less about us. They were just keeping us out of their duel.”

At the helm, Neumann sank into his seat. “But they already had the Minerva chasing him,” he said, “so why would they send Kira?”

“Because,” someone said, “Commander Le Creuset is up to something.”

Lacus Clyne stepped onto the bridge, taking the seat behind Murrue’s captain’s chair.

“What makes you say that?” Murrue asked, glancing skeptically at Lacus.

“Kira is serving Commander Le Creuset,” Lacus said. Murrue frowned as she watched Lacus’ eyes glimmer almost imperceptibly with well-masked sadness. “He wanted to see how strong Shinn is, so he used his own troops to hold ours back and let Shinn and Kira battle alone. Now he has an idea of how powerful Shinn is, using Kira as his yardstick.”

Murrue looked back at the battlefield, as the ZAFT units vanished into the distance. The Orb Raiders and Mad Typhoon mobile suits were beginning to return as well. It made sense, but it also put them in a most dangerous position. So far, the Deliverance had fought far from Orb and far from the Orb Raiders, but now there was no avoiding that Kira was their enemy.

Murrue risked a glance at Lacus again. If she was upset, she was doing a good job of hiding it.

But, she reflected grimly, she always did.

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Right away, Shinn was reluctant to meet Kika’s gaze as he stepped out of the Impulse Gundam’s cockpit. But he had no choice; the mess of emotion swirling around her was too great to ignore. He looked up at her, his helmet in hand, as he opened the collar of his flight suit.

“So that was him, huh?” she asked, leaning against the railing, staring sadly at him. “The one who killed your family?”

Shinn looked away, nodding grimly. Kika was silent a moment.

“I’m going to take him down,” Shinn added. He glanced back at Kika; she was staring at him in surprise. “I have to.”

“Why?” Kika asked, arching an eyebrow.

“He’s the one who killed my family,” Shinn said, clenching his fists. “He took everything away from me.” He looked back at her. “And now I finally have something to fight for again. I won’t let him take that away too.”

Kika paused for a moment. “What makes you think he’s going to take everything away from you?”

Shinn shook his head. “It doesn’t matter,” he said. “I’ve beat him once. I can do it again.”

Kika watched Shinn skeptically as he turned and stalked down the gantry.

——————————————————————————————————————————

“He is indeed powerful,” Rau said, sitting back in his office, staring at the lone ice cube floating in his glass of bourbon. “Given a hard enough push, he could tear Kira apart.”

“You don’t think you can take him over like we did to Kira?” Valentine asked, sitting across from Rau, pausing to finish off the rest of her own drink. “He already ran away from Dullindal. He’s not going to be in the mood to accept another all-knowing father figure.”

“Do I look like Dullindal to you?” Rau asked amusedly, glancing up at her. “Anyway, no, I’m not going to try to get Shinn on our side. Dullindal has ensured that that won’t be an option.” He sat back. “Besides, Kira is still too valuable to sacrifice so easily.” Rau smiled. “He can always protect something.”

“Then what are we going to do about Shinn?” Valentine asked, staring squarely at Rau. “He’s better than Kira. He’s a threat.”

“He’s not that much better,” Rau answered. “As he is now, armed with only the Impulse, Shinn isn’t a threat that can’t be dealt with. If he gets his hands on the Destiny, that’s when we have cause for concern.”

“Why is that?” Valentine ventured, narrowing her eyes. Rau chuckled, pausing for a sip of bourbon.

“The Destiny is built around him and his combat data from while he was still with ZAFT,” Rau said, sitting back and smiling wistfully. “It’s a Newtype machine. It’s built to use his powers to create a blindingly-fast machine that can take on hundreds of enemies at once, and use its speed to deliver just enough firepower to overcome all odds.” He chuckled. “It’s like if Shinn himself was a Gundam.”

“It doesn’t mean anything if he can’t get it,” Valentine said.

“Even if Shinn does get a hold of the Destiny,” Rau went on, “it’s not like he’s the greatest threat there is to our little Kira.” He tapped the side of his glass, sending ripples over the surface of its contents and shaking the shrinking ice cube about. “His old friends always have the potential of convincing him to return under their wings.”

“Then we’ll have to do something about them,” Valentine said flatly. “We can’t afford to have enemies in Shinn and Kira.”

Rau eyed Valentine amusedly for a moment. “Of course,” he agreed.

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Jona Roma Seiran stood at the head of the command center of Onogoro Island’s sprawling military facilities, arms crossed, watching dourly as the mechanics scrambled to repair the Takemikazuchi, the fleet’s surviving ships, and their mobile suits, all while frantically setting up defenses for the country. ZAFT was making no bones about its invasion— they had committed the bulk of their remaining Earthbound military forces to this assault, clearly designed to attract attention away from its allies. The Muslim League had at last collapsed under the combined force of the Destroy Gundam and the Earth Alliance’s invading armies, but that wasn’t stopping ZAFT. Carpentaria couldn’t possibly survive the Alliance’s siege much longer, but if they pulled this off, ZAFT could ease the pain of losing Carpentaria and set the Alliance back.

Jona, however, was not about to let Orb become the springboard for ZAFT’s resurgence on Earth.

He turned in annoyance at the sound of footsteps, and found Unato approaching angrily.

“What are you doing here?” Unato demanded. “We’re in the middle of war preparations and all you’re doing is— ”

“Relax,” Jona interrupted testily. “We will not be burned down so easily again.”

“ZAFT is coming with most of their military force, Jona,” Unato snapped. “They are bringing down the hammer and we cannot allow ourselves to rely on the Earth Alliance for help in defending ourselves.” He scowled at the Takemikazuchi as the mechanics hurried to repair it. “And to think our grand Takemikazuchi Fleet was so ravaged by a single machine— ”

“That ‘single machine,’” Joan growled, “was the Impulse Gundam, father.”

Unato scowled. “I don’t care what it was,” he shot back. “It’s only one mobile suit and it cost us dearly. We have an invasion to fend off, and we cannot rely on technological superiority against ZAFT.”

“I am fully aware of the situation, father,” Jona said through gritted teeth. “I will not allow Orb to be destroyed again, nor shall I allow the Atlantic Federation to sweep in and control us again. Rest assured that you shall never again see Orb bowing to the control of another nation.”

Unato snorted in disgust and stormed away. Jona glowered down at the fleet.

During an invasion, he thought, many things happen…so much chaos, no one can keep track of anything, and so many people die.

He glanced at the retreating back of his father and smirked.

——————————————————————————————————————————
December 24th, CE 73 - Orb Raiders dreadnaught Megami, Pacific Ocean

“I guess this is another Christmas we won’t be able to enjoy,” Cagalli said quietly, leaning against the railing of the Megami’s deck. She glanced at Athrun Zala, standing next to her. “But we’ll have a chance to take back Orb during the invasion.”

“I hope so,” he agreed. “We can’t keep fighting forever.”

Cagalli looked out across the ocean, towards Orb.

“Are they coming?” she asked, nodding towards the Kasselheim. Athrun glanced at the ship and shrugged.

“They said they would,” he said. “And I’m sure Kira will be there…so Shinn will probably be there too, to finish their fight.”

“I hope he at least leaves Kira alive,” Cagalli said. “So that we don’t have to bury him.”

Athrun looked down at the water. “I think the Kira we knew has been dead for a long time,” he said quietly.

Cagalli looked at him, and then back at Orb. “I guess,” she agreed. She was silent a moment, glancing at Athrun out of the corner of her eye. “Athrun,” she spoke up, catching his attention. “Um…when this is all over…I mean, when we retake Orb and all…” She looked away, back towards her country. “Would you…stay with me?”

Athrun blinked in surprise. “What do you mean?”

“…to help me,” Cagalli said. She paused. “I can’t do it alone.”

Athrun smiled. “Of course I will,” he said, looking out at Orb. “I figured that went without saying.”

“I just wanted to make sure,” Cagalli said awkwardly, looking back at Athrun out of the corner of her eye.

“We’ve come this far together,” Athrun said. “And I’ll be by your side the whole way through.”

Cagalli looked back at the ocean, blushing. “Thank you,” she whispered.

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Three gleaming new mobile suits stood in the Japanese sun at the Yokosuka Naval Station. Standing on the deck of the Girty Lue, watching Neo admire them from afar, Lee had to admit that they were fine machines.

The GAT-X107 Calypso Gundam was the first to move, raised by a crane into the cavernous hangar bay of the Spengler-class carrier William McKinley. The Calypso had torso and shoulder armor reminiscent of the Blitz Gundam, legs and arms like the Strike‘s, and a pair of green hyper impulse cannons slung underneath a pair of folding red and black wings.

“It’s a shame we won’t see them in action at Orb,” Neo commented.

Lee looked with dutiful puzzlement at him. “We’re not?” he asked.

“High Command is holding them in reserve,” Neo said. “Instead we get treated to front-row seats for the Destroy Gundam.”

To punctuate the moment, there was a deep and ominous rumbling. Lee looked to the side, towards the Girty Lue’s prow, finding the hulking monster of the Destroy Gundam setting down on a massive helipad.

“Our fleet is well-equipped,” Lee commented, trying to hide his disbelief at finally laying on eyes on the monster that had destroyed a nation. He looked back towards the William McKinley, finding them loading the GAT-X135 Judicator Gundam, an evolution of the Buster Gundam that looked overloaded with rotating beam cannons, railguns, and a chest beam cannon taken from the Abyss Gundam.

“Indeed it is,” Neo agreed, smirking. “Jona is going to owe us big for this.”

“I would bet that’s what he’s trying to avoid,” Lee said, looking back towards the Destroy. It towered over everything, glowering down with shimmering green eyes. He looked back at the new Gundams. “If those things aren’t going to be deployed at Orb, where will they be sent?” he asked.

“Antarctica,” Neo answered. “Our battle plan is to put the ZAFT invasion force on the run and chase them to Antarctica. Other fleets will join us along the way and we’ll all come crashing down on them at Antarctica.”

Lee nodded; a sound plan, he supposed, if they could indeed crush ZAFT at Orb like they were hoping. He looked back at the William McKinley, at the last new model— the GAT-X201 Mustang Gundam, a machine that sported a commander’s crest reminiscent of ZAFT’s GINN, sporting a pair of Schwert Gewehr anti-ship swords on its back, beam boomerangs on its shoulders, and a Scylla cannon on its head. He glanced at Neo, remembering that this new Gundam project had involved four machines— but there were only three here.

“We’ll go into action at Orb in an auxiliary role,” Neo said. “We’ll just join the defense. You stay put— the Windams will defend the ship. I’m taking the Chaos and the Abyss on a little errand.”

Lee looked suspiciously at Neo. “Yes sir,” he answered.

——————————————————————————————————————————

“Our ETA at the rendezvous point for the Fourth Combined Assault Force is one hours,” Meyrin announced, as the Minerva glided over the water. Far ahead in the distance, tiny specks could be seen on the horizon— the bulk of ZAFT’s Vosgulov-class submarine fleet was here, along with the land battleships that had survived ZAFT’s failed invasion attempts all over the world. There was a Petrie-class cutting across the ocean’s surface up ahead. The face of a grizzled ZAFT Black Shirt appeared on the Minerva’s main monitor.

“Captain Gladys,” the Petrie captain said. “I’m Captain Carter, commander of the Maslow. Good to see a familiar face.”

“You look well, Captain Carter,” Talia answered with a smile. “I suppose you have some bureaucratic duties to fulfill first?”

“Afraid so,” Carter answered. He gestured to someone off-screen. “Ship name, captain, clearance code, and we’ll give you the rundown of our plan.”

“LHM-BB01 Minerva, Captain Talia Gladys, clearance code Delta seven ten,” Talia answered. Carter consulted a screen to his right and blinked in surprise.

“You’re in FAITH now?” he asked. Talia shrugged. “Well, I guess giving you orders is kind of pointless, then.”

“We’re here to bolster the Fourth Combined Assault Force,” Talia answered. “The brass know better than to play political games when the stakes are this high. We’ll join a unit with an opening if need be.”

Carter nodded and gestured to a subordinate. “The commanding officer will figure out what to do with you. We’ll escort you in.”

Talia sat back, crossing one leg over the other. “How have things been going here? The Fourth’s been gathering here for the better part of a week, if I recall.”

“It’s a mess,” Carter sighed, sinking into his chair, looking thoroughly beleaguered. “We got assigned to run perimeter patrols, and this is after getting back with our lives from that fiasco at the Cape of Good Hope. They just patched us up at Antarctica and shipped us back out in three days.”

“We’re all having to make do with less,” Talia said. “Is there a Kaskirov-class around here to give us a resupply?”

“The commander is sending the Faraday to take care of that,” Carter answered. He let out a quiet sigh. “Take care of yourself, captain. It’s going to be ugly out there tomorrow.”

The line went out. Talia looked up ahead, at the gathering ZAFT fleet, and sighed.

——————————————————————————————————————————

Ruumari stood on the Minerva’s deck, staring out at Orb, wondering if he would be there.

Of course, there was no reason why he would be. But the Kasselheim had been tracked with the Orb Raiders, heading straight for Orb. He would have to be there. Finally he would get another chance to fight.

The door behind him opened; he glanced in surprise at Aoma as she stepped out onto the deck.

“There you are,” she said. “What are you doing out here?”

Ruumari said nothing, looking back at Orb.

Aoma came up next to him, glancing at him. “If you’re going to go after the Impulse— ”

“Don’t try to talk me out of it,” Ruumari snapped. “I’ve trained for weeks to kill that guy. I’m finally going to do it.”

“He’s beaten us all before,” Aoma insisted. “At least stick to the plan. There’s no reason for you to go and do something stupid.”

Ruumari clenched his fists angrily around the railing. “I finally have a chance to prove myself,” he growled. “I wear this uniform for a reason. I pilot my Impulse unit for a reason. I am a ZAFT Red for a reason. And during Operation Fury, you will all see that reason.”

Aoma looked back at Orb sadly. “It doesn’t mean anything if you get yourself killed,” she said. “Just let me fight alongside you, alright?” She looked back at him. “That’s how we’ve always done it. We’ll fight the Impulse together.”

Ruumari glanced at her; she stared in surprise at the coldness in his eyes.

“That’s how we used to do it,” Ruumari said. “I’ll ask for your help if I need it.” He looked back at Orb, his eyes darkening. “But one way or another, I will destroy him.”

——————————————————————————————————————————

“The plan is to focus our firepower on Onogoro Island,” Horatio Vandemant said, standing before Gilbert Dullindal’s desk and gesturing to the main screen behind him. Gilbert sat back in his seat, staring dourly at the screen. “Onogoro is Orb’s primary military installation and the center of their command structure. If we destroy it, the Orb military will be headless and easily divided and destroyed.” The screen shifted. “Our three primary targets are the Kaguya mass driver facility, the Orb National Defense Headquarters, and the Morgenroete facilities.”

“I’ve heard far too much for my liking about Earth Alliance moves around the area,” Gilbert said, casting a narrow glance at Horatio. “What about that?”

“Our reports indicate that the only Alliance forces nearby are the forces laying siege to Carpentaria,” Horatio answered, looking confident. “The Alliance forces involved in conquering the Oceania Union are too busy quelling regional resistance to respond, and it is unlikely that the Alliance would abandon its siege of Carpentaria to rescue Orb.”

Gilbert glanced to the side thoughtfully. Would the Alliance so easily sacrifice Orb? They had proven that they were capable of making technological leaps and bounds without Orb’s help— they still couldn’t match that damned Windam, although hopefully the cutting-edge new DOM Trooper would be able to make a difference. It was too late to deploy them to the Orb invasion, but Carpentaria had rolled out a squad, and they were gearing up to break through the Alliance blockade.

Which, of course, was imperative— the Infinite Justice, Strike Freedom, Destiny, and Legend were being kept at Carpentaria, and had to be removed and shipped to Antarctica, for transport back to the PLANTs. The Alliance could not be allowed to get its hands on those four machines. Hopefully the DOM Troopers would be able to break open the Alliance lines long enough to get a transport with those four machines aboard through to Antarctica.

The Muslim League had finally imploded three days ago. The Oceania Union had fallen almost two weeks ago. The United States of South America, the Kingdom of Scandinavia, and the African Community had collapsed long ago. Everywhere, ZAFT had been thrown back, and now they were in danger of losing Carpentaria. After that, only Antarctica remained.

ZAFT had to win at Orb, or else it would have all been for naught.

“Mr. Chairman?” Horatio asked. Gilbert looked up at him testily.

“How is Solomon’s Sword coming?” he asked. Horatio checked his clipboard for a moment.

“It is still fifteen days away from completion,” he reported. “All reports indicate that construction is proceeding smoothly.”

“Have them hurry up,” Gilbert said. “We do not have the luxury of waiting any longer.”

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To be continued…