Gundam SEED Fan Fiction / Vandread Fan Fiction ❯ GunDread SEED- The Second Stage ❯ The S-G-Weapon and the K-G-Weapon ( Chapter 4 )

GunDread SEED - The Second Stage

 

Disclaimer: Thy shall not affiliate VanDread nor Gundam SEED to me. They do noth belong to this mere writer, but to their respective makers. Fail to understand…and thou shall be purified! (Heh, just kidding! But you do get the general idea, right?)

 

< >: Thoughts

 

Chapter 4

 

The S-G-Weapon and the K-G-Weapon

 

*************

 

Two hundred seventy-one years in the past… before the events of GunDread SEED…

 

“Mom! Dad! Mayu! Hurry inside this is the last convoy to leave!”

 

“We're here Shin!”

 

A young man nodded as he helped several more people into the convoy trucks as several Mobile Suits stood in guard mode to escort the passengers. Once he was done, he immediately helped his family into the last convoy truck and got onboard himself. He and his family, along with the others were left with no choice as they were about to leave their homeland.

 

The Orb Union…

 

It had been nearly three hours when the battle started. The Orb military and the government had tried to avoid this senseless debacle, but it became apparent that the Atlantic Federation and the Alliance forces weren't going to listen. They had already listed their demands, if the Orb Union didn't support the war against Z.A..F.T and the PLANTS then the Orb Nation would be branded as traitors to the Earth and would be attacked, until they gave in and were drafted into the final war between the PLANTS and Earth.

 

Their Prime Minister Uzumi had made the announcement that all civilians were to be escorted with whatever reserve units the Orb military could spare and were to make their way to the Mass-Driver and escape to the Orb controlled Space Colonies, where they would be defended from the Alliance's forces by the space forces while the standing forces of Orb would hold off the Alliance. It made many citizens angry that the Alliance would consider them as traitors to Earth, merely because they didn't involve themselves in the war, and because of their neutrality, they were not going to be aided by the PLANTS and Z.A.F.T. The citizens were a mix of Coordinators who still wished to live on Earth and Naturals who didn't look at their Coordinator neighbors as inhuman abominations as what the Blue Cosmos had been trying to teach. The Prime Minister had made it a point to remove any and all traces of the extremists from Orb, and any influential members of the organization and other organizations as well, it had been hard before, but Uzumi succeeded in doing so.

 

Shin Asuka sighed angrily at the thought of leaving his home just because some big-shots in the Atlantic Federation considered them all as traitors. When he grew up on Orb, he knew that he was a Coordinator and wouldn't be accepted by the other nations, but here in Orb, he found a place along with his family. It had been tough at first, but he made some strong friendships with Natural children, and he no longer saw any form of difference between his play-mates and himself. Some of his older friends were already serving out there in the field of battle and were both Naturals and Coordinators.

 

He looked at his sister and wanted nothing more than to see her happy, and even though he didn't look like it, Shin was no slouch in fighting, but he was still not in the proper age to be in the military, he wanted to help his homeland and his people. It aggravated him as he looked out at the windows as the convoy was already on the move. The view showed him the other side of the island where the battle was raging. He took out his binoculars and looked at the sea, as to where the Alliance forces were and he looked where the might of his home nation was stationed.

 

“Shin?”

 

He turned and looked at his sister Mayu, who was in tears. His parents were there holding her and talking to her.

 

“Yes?”

 

“Why do we have to leave home?” Mayu asked sadly.

 

“Because we have too, if we don't, many will be badly hurt sis.”

 

“Why can't we be left alone, we didn't do anything wrong!” Mayu whimpered.

 

Shin was about to say more when his dad spoke. “Because there are people out there who don't like us, and they're afraid.”

 

“Why? We haven't done anything wrong to any of them!” Mayu said in tears as she held her cell-phone, the one thing she took with her as a keep-sake.

 

“Mayu, there are times when people just don't want to listen to reason. They think that their point of view is better and the only way things should be seen, they've closed their hearts, minds, eyes, and ears to the truth. Lord Uzumi has already tried to reason to them, but they won't listen at all.” The two Asuka siblings' mother answered.

 

“So how can we make them listen?” Mayu asked.

 

“Why don't we go over to the Atlantic Federation and kick their sorry…!” Shin was about to retort when his dad gave him a warning glare.

 

“Shin! There will be no such talk coming from you!”

 

“Why not?! I can't understand why we can't just…!”

 

“Remember this Shin, if we did attack the Atlantic Federation we would be indeed considered as enemies. Besides if we did that, we'd be no worse than either those people in the Alliance and those in Z.A.F.T, and it won't change anything.”

 

“Dad?”

 

“If you were killed by someone, I would hate him, and if you killed another father's son, he would hate you. It's also the same in the case of a mother, a brother, sister, a husband, and a wife. War brings out hatred, and it will still breed even more hatred, until there would be nothing left in this world but death. There would still be war, and more will die, do you think killing will solve it?”

 

“But dad! Doing nothing's even worse! We'll just be letting ourselves be killed off without fighting back!”

 

“That, Shin is where we all must find out what we must do. We must do everything we can to end war. Though, we will have to kill others, and it contradicts what I've told you, we must only take out those that order this senseless fighting. Killing soldiers who follow orders won't help, those responsible will just use it as a way to send more people to die for their plans and desires, they, not the soldiers are the real enemy along with war.”

 

“So what should we…?”

 

“We must fight for our people, but we must recall that we will fight for a reason that makes sense to us and those around us and we fight those responsible for the war in the first place. If we fight merely out of hatred and prejudice, then we will be no better than raving beasts, devoid of hope, love and integrity, we'll be the same as the people who started the war. Remember that.”

 

Shin nodded reluctantly as the convoy was already half-way to the Mass Driver. However, there were enemies on the way…

 

**************

 

“Attack group Alpha! Has there been any activity?”

 

The Alliance's forces were already attempting to secure the Mass Driver despite the interference of the Orb Forces and that of the three G-Weapons in the area. A small group of Strike Daggers were making their way to attack and secure the Mass Driver, though they were facing heavy resistance from the M1 Astray units of Orb and the defensive forces of the Orb Nation.

 

“There's a convoy making their way to the Mass Driver, a large number of them.” The Strike Dagger pilot said to his commander.

 

“Orb Soldiers?”

 

“Negative, from the looks of it, the convoy appears to be a civilian convoy.”

 

“All right, I'll radio Mobile Command on what to do.”

 

**************

 

Alliance Fleet, Main Command Ship…

 

“Sir, forward attack group Alpha has determined the location what appears an Orb civilian convoy heading for the Mass Driver.” An aide spoke to the admiral, head of the Orb invasion force.

 

“Our concern is to secure the Mass Driver, so we'll let them escape…”

 

“No admiral…we will not let them escape.” A man with blonde hair said as he looked at the images of the convoy in the monitors.

 

“Mr. Azrael?”

 

“I want to make it clear that since the Orb Union has not accepted our demands for their aid more than once as a nation of Earth, then they are now considered as enemy combatants.”

 

“I understand that sir, but even if they are now enemies, they are still civilians…”

 

“Are you questioning my orders admiral?” Azrael asked in a polite but very threatening tone. Muruta Azrael was the chairman of the alliance defense commission, but many also knew that he was the current head of Blue Cosmos, and as such, he had a his own personal hatred for the people of both the PLANTS and those on Earth who were Coordinators.

 

“No sir.”

 

“Good. Send the Calamity and some Strike Daggers to take out the convoy…Immediately.”

 

**************

 

The Archangel…

 

“Captain! I've intercepted a transmission from the Alliance's command ship!” Sai said as he got the incoming data while the ship and the rest of the Orb forces were fighting off the multitude of Strike Daggers and assault units from the Alliance.

 

“What's the transmission about?” Milly asked, along with Murrue as they still coordinated the battle along with the Orb's military command center. It had been only the first wave, and the Orb forces were holding on despite the presence of the Alliance's three new Gundam units.

 

“My god! They've dispatched a Gundam unit and several Strike Daggers to attack the civilian convoy!”

 

“WHAT?!” The bridge crew of the Archangel were shocked that the Alliance would strike at civilians.

 

Murrue wasted no time as she got into contact with Kira, Athrun, Cagalli, Mu and Dearka who were busy fighting, Cagalli was coordinating the Orb counter-strike, while Kira, Mu, Dearka and Athrun, in their respective Gundams were busy fighting with the Strike Daggers and the new Gundams of the Alliance.

 

“What?! They're going to attack the civilians?!” Cagalli said in shock and anger as she got the report from Murrue. The convoy had only a few Astray units assigned to it, and would stand no chance against a Gundam unit.

 

“Damn it! I can't believe that the Alliance will do this!” Kira fumed as he was able to beat the Forbidden Gundam back while Athrun was able to also beat away the other Gundam unit, known as the Raider.

 

“We've got to get the civilians to safety!” Athrun said as he was recovering from the battle with his enemy Gundam.

 

“You guys get over there and help the people! Me, Mu and the Orb soldiers can handle it from here!” Dearka said as he and Buster got ready to battle harder with the Alliance.

 

“You sure Dearka?” Kira asked on the inter-comm.

 

The blonde haired tanned Coordinator nodded with a simple smile. “Yeah, I can hold the fort here with my Gundam.”

 

“Take it easy, the power pack for the Buster's nearly depleted, if you're power is low, get back to the Archangel ASAP!” Athrun answered in a tone of voice that brooked no argument.

 

The normally cocky Dearka nodded. “Got you Commander.”

 

Kira's former Gundam the Strike, using the Sword Pack arrived as Mu called in while checking the power packs of his new Mobile Suit. Thanks to Kira's help with the OS, Mu could now fight on equal footing with other Coordinators in a Mobile Suit.

 

“Kira, you and Athrun get to the convoy and get it to safety. Dearka and I will hold off the enemy, along with the Astray units. We'll fall back if our power packs run out.”

 

“Understood Mu. Come on Athrun!”

 

The Freedom took off and headed towards the Mass Driver, with the Justice in tow.

 

*************

 

The convoy came under heavy fire as the Astray units guarding it fought valiantly to take out the Strike Daggers, and all seemed to go well, But that all changed when the Alliance's Calamity Gundam appeared.

 

The Astray units were destroyed and the convoy was now about to be destroyed by the Strike Daggers and the Calamity.

 

Orga Sabnak grinned evilly as he locked in his Gundam's beam arsenal on the convoy. This was fun, to the Extended pilot as he was about to kill the civilians.

 

“Time to die, you stinking patch-workers!” (*)

 

Shin gritted his teeth, as he stood in front of the Calamity with a fallen soldier's assault rifle as he tried to shield Mayu and his parents. They were badly injured, but alive, along with the others in the truck. The truck was nearly hit by a beam bolt, and nearly fell to the side of the road, but the truck's weight stopped it.

 

“Leave us alone you bastard!” Shin shouted as he fired his assault rifle. He knew that is weapons was worthless against a Mobile Suit, namely a G-Weapon, but he would rather fight than let the monster in the machine kill his family and fellow citizens like cattle.

 

Orga laughed evilly as the young man fired at his Gundam, he didn't do anything as he waited for the rifle's ammunition to run out. The little patch-worker fired until he ran out of bullets, but instead of cowering like a rat, he glared defiantly at the Calamity pilot.

 

“You've got guts for a kid, you patch-worker…now let's see what they look like splattered all over this Earth!”

 

Shin saw the Gundam arm up it's beam bazooka, and knew that he was about to die, he held his unconscious sister and parents as the end came, but he wasn't going to give the murderer the satisfaction of seeing him die like a coward.

 

Shin closed his eyes and waited for the end…but it never came as the explosion he expected to tear into his entire family came elsewhere. He opened his eyes and spotted a huge explosion on the sea to his left. He then turned and spotted the Gundam nowhere in sight,. He looked up and saw another Gundam with it's weapons firing, it had wings and cannons on it's hips and shoulders, and it seemed to be firing at the right. He looked and spotted the Alliance Gundam in retreat.

 

He then looked and spotted another Gundam taking out the other Strike Daggers, which were trying their best to beat back the new attacker. It didn't take long for more Astray units to arrive on the scene.

 

**************

 

Kira fought with his full power as he engaged the Calamity. He arrived in time to spot the Alliance Gundam from firing, and had charged in, striking the Calamity's beam bazooka aside, stopping the Gundam and it's pilot from attacking the civilians of Orb.

 

In his Gundam, Orga was totally irate…

 

“Damn you! I'll kill you!” he shouted as he continued to blast away at the elusive Freedom, but kept missing as the Gundam dodged his beam attacks. Orga had no choice has he had to dodge the Freedom's own bean cannons and beam sabers.

 

He was about to use the Calamity's Scylla cannon, but he realized that his power supply was already near the redlines. Though he was seeing red, he knew that he couldn't keep this battle up. Plus the pain was increasing as his booster drugs were wearing off, and Shani was out of action as his Forbidden was running out of juice, and Clotho was in the same shape and so was the Raider. He was lucky that the Calamity had enough power to make it back to the fleet. But not enough to make the blasted Gundam of Z.A.F.T or wherever the Mobile Suit in front of him sided with pay with it's destruction.

 

“You bastard! I'll kill you yet!” Orga swore as he retreated.

 

Kira wasted little time pursuing the Calamity. He made his way to the convoy after Athrun and his Justice Gundam had dispatched the Strike Daggers. The two friends then made their way to the convoy as the Astray units that arrived went into defensive positions around the convoy as it got back into order.

 

Kira then got into open audio and began talking to the people on the ground as he made Freedom kneel in front of the people that gathered around, including Shin.

 

“Is everyone all right?”

 

The people nodded and began thanking the Gundam for making it's timely rescue. Thankfully, before the Calamity showed up, the Strike Daggers had to retreat as the Astray units held them off evenly when the fighting started. Shin smiled and spoke to the Gundam and it's pilot as his parents and sister smiled as well to their savior.

 

“Thank you for getting here on time!”

 

“Not a problem! Me and the Justice will escort you to the Mass Driver, get whatever you need once the medical crews have dealt with the wounded.”

 

An hour later, Shin, his family, and the last of the Orb citizens were able to board the last shuttles to the Orb space stations safely as the Freedom and the Justice went back to the battle for the second assault.

 

Shin nodded as he looked at both the Freedom and Justice, thankful for the pilots that came in time to save his family and fellow citizens

 

**************

 

In the Orb Union's space colony Heliopolis 4… hours later…

 

Shin sighed as he walked the streets with his sister Mayu, they were happy to have made it to the Colony without incident with the rest of their fellow citizens. The colony wasn't like their homes, but the two siblings had been in space before and were just as at home in a colony as they were at home on Earth.

 

It had been a bittersweet moment for all the citizens of Orb, they had escaped from the Alliance and the Blue Cosmos leader, but they had learned that most of Orb was ravaged by the invaders, and Lord Uzumi Athha had given up his life along with his fellow ministers in preventing all of Orb's weapons and the Mass Driver being used by the Alliance. It was a moment that Shin never forgot and he knew that, despite his dislike for some of the Prime Minister's policies at times, he felt at home in Orb, and that man had made it so…and now because of prejudice and hatred, he was dead, his home was destroyed and many of his friends murdered.

 

“Shin, are you all right?” Mayu asked as she saw her brother's brooding look. She didn't like the idea of her brother looking like that.

 

“Huh? Oh, I'm okay, just thinking about what happened.”

 

“Don't worry, we're all safe and one day, we can go back home, so quit giving that gloomy face Shin, I don't like it.” Mayu pouted cutely to make Shin laugh.

 

And Shin did laugh, it was then that they entered a restaurant, and spotted several people there talking silently. Shin was instantly on edge when he spotted a brunette male in an Alliance uniform talking with two other men, one with dark blue hair and another with blonde hair, both wearing Z.A.F.T uniforms. He was about to let part of his impulsive nature kick in and hit the guys for having the guts to be here, but he stopped when he spotted Cagalli Ulla Athha with them, with a sad look in her face. He wondered about that, as he was already familiar with Prime Minister Uzumi's daughter. He was even more surprised when she was being held by the blue haired Z.A.F.T pilot and being spoke to by the brown haired Alliance pilot. Before he could stop himself he came up and grabbed the Alliance pilot by the shoulder.

 

“What are you doing with Miss Athha?!”

 

Kira turned and spotted himself looking at an angry looking boy with black hair and red eyes, and next to him was a young woman, who apparently was trying to placate him, and he could tell that these two were brother and sister.

 

“Whoever you are…please stop that, Kira's not doing anything wrong.” Cagalli answered as she stopped crying for a bit and glared at Shin.

 

“But what's an Alliance pilot doing here Miss Athha?!” Shin asked.

 

“I'm no longer part of the Alliance, I've already defected to Orb, besides, before being in the Alliance I was a citizen of Orb before, and I still am. So there's no need for you and me to fight.” Kira answered as he too tried to calm the young man.

 

Shin looked at Kira and then could tell that he wasn't lying, besides, there appeared to be no insignia on his Alliance uniform. Shin sighed and released Kira, and then looked at the Yamato youngster. “I'm sorry…I'm not feeling all that happy about what happened just a few hours ago.”

 

Kira smiled. “It's all right. My name's Kira, Kira Yamato. And you are?”

 

“My name's Shin, Shin Asuka, this is my sister Mayu.”

 

“Pleased to meet you Shin, you too Mayu…” Kira said as he shook Shin and Mayu's hands, he then gave a curious look to Shin. “You know…you sound familiar Shin, and you look familiar, have we met before?”

 

“Not that I…wait, I do know your voice! You were the pilot of the Gundam that stopped that other Gundam from the Alliance from destroying the convoy me and my family were on!”

 

Kira nodded. “No wonder you look and sound familiar, You were the one I saw shooting an assault rifle at the Alliance Gundam when I arrived on the scene.”

 

Shin smiled widely. “I'm really sorry now for acting this way! I'm thankful for you saving my sister and family Mr. Yamato!”

 

Kira smiled and shook Shin's hand. “I'm thankful that you and everyone else are safe. How are your parents? I heard that a good number of people were injured in the attack.”

 

“They're all fine, thanks to you and the pilot of that other Gundam, Mr. Yamato!” Shin said as Mayu also shook hands with their savior.

 

“You can thank that pilot now, since he's right next to you. This is my friend from my childhood days, Athrun Zala. And I'm not that old Shin, so just call me Kira.”

 

Shin and Athrun shook hands, as they began to talk about the past events.

 

It was several minutes later that Cagalli was picked up by her body-guard Kisaka, who then told Kira and Athrun that they had to leave soon to assemble for their next move to stop the war between the Alliance and Z.A.F.T. on the Kusanagi and they were needed on the Archangel.

 

Kira then turned to face Athrun as soon as Cagalli was out of hearing range. “You didn't tell her about your plan Athrun.”

 

Athrun sighed. “I know that Kira, but I have to go anyway. I need to go back to the PLANTS and try to reason with my father. I've got to also see just how far my dad would go in this war between the PLANTS and Earth.”

 

“You realize what you're about to do Mr. Zala? You're already a..” Shin was about to say more, but decided to keep silent on this part. He knew enough of military leadership and protocol to know that Athrun had deserted Z.A.F.T, along with Dearka. It was a bad enough move that would earn Athrun and Dearka a shot at being imprisoned or executed, it was bad enough if Athrun's father was a general, but Shin now knew that Patrick Zala, head of the Z.A.F.T military and the PLANTS' Governing Council was Athrun's father, and Dearka's father was a decorated hero of Z.A.F.T. That would make their punishments even worse, Mayu also knew that much and showed worry for Athrun.

 

“I know what you mean Shin, but I have to do this. When my mother died on Junius 7 my father and I grieved for a long time for her, along with those who died and we hated what the Alliance did, namely the terrorist force Blue Cosmos. But my father went even further. Even if I grieved for my mother, I fought without my emotions getting in my way…but I've been noticing some changes in my father. He's acting more withdrawn, angry, and more extreme as the war continued. He began talking about things in a very radical fashion, much harder than anyone, he's been gathering people who share the same views as he does. He thinks we're a superior race, us Coordinators, you, me Kira, and Dearka, but we're subject to death like anyone else on Earth, and I've seen what war has done to people, even children when I was fighting, children on either side began to hate the other without reason. I know that such things will lead to total disaster in the end.”

 

“And you fear that your dad will bring that on the citizens of the PLANTS?” Kira asked.

 

“I don't just fear it Kira…I know that he will do it. Lacus, who I was ordered to either arrest or kill before I came to Earth told me that something was terribly wrong with the way my father was handling the military and what he was speaking to the people on the PLANTS, at first I wanted to deny it, but I knew in my heart that she was right. And against my father's will, I saved Lacus instead, she's already trying to get people on the PLANTS to renounce what my father plans. And I won't be surprised in the least if she's being hunted by his agents now. I have to try and reason with him, before what he plans will ruin not just Z.A.F.T and the PLANTS, but the whole world's future, and I want to stop this war before it gets out of hand.”

 

Dearka nodded. “I'm with Athrun, I've already seen how people struggle in Earth and there in the PLANTS, and there really is no difference between each, I heard what happened in Panama a few hours when Z.A.F.T took over it. I hate to think whatever Patrick's been telling them, of course what happened at Alaska was no surprise at all. I'm not liking the idea of fighting my own comrades, but if we don't put a stop to this, there's no telling how much longer this war will last, and how many will die needlessly.”

 

Shin nodded as he listened to the conversation, and in time he realized that what his father told him was true. There was no true end to war, no victory, no glory, only death and suffering. He also realized that unless the people who started the war were dealt with, it would never end, until there would be nothing but graves and dust.

 

A few minutes later…

 

Shin said his farewells to Athrun and Kira as they left for the shuttle to get to the Kusanagi, he watched the two friends leave for the battle-field and he thought back on his conversations with them, and their own ideas of the war.

 

“Do you think Kira and Athrun will be all right?” Mayu asked.

 

Shin nodded with a smile. “I know that they'll be okay. They've the power to save this future of ours. All we have to do now is believe.”

 

Mayu nodded with a smile. You don't act like this Shin, what's up?”

 

“I want to fight.”

 

“As a soldier?!” Mayu gasped. “You know dad would never…”

 

“No, not as a soldier. But as a man who wants peace, and would fight for it and protect it.”

 

“You want to be like Kira and Athrun?”

 

“I want to be able to fight for peace, not for revenge or anger, but to stop those who want to start war.”

 

Shin stopped talking and looked to where Kira and Athrun's shuttle had gone.

 

< I want to protect the peace, the ones you two will bring to all of us. >

 

**************

 

Two years later…

 

A soldier was busy checking enlistment papers and as he was finished he processed another one, he looked up and spotted a young man with black hair and red eyes.

 

“Name?”

 

The young man saluted and answered. “Shin, Shin Asuka.”

 

“Age?”

 

“Sixteen.”

 

“You've got a good record Private Shin Asuka. You've been assigned with the Guardians for the next few years. Your commanding officer will pick you up in the lobby, so you wait for him there. And you better not cause any disturbances, I've heard rumors of that part a few months back.”

 

“Yes sir!”

 

Shin sighed as he took his duffel bags and headed into the Guardians' main Command center on it's own station known as Echo Station 10, it was his latest combat assignment since becoming a transferee from Orb to the Z.A.F.T forces. He didn't defect, but was given the option to learn about Z.A.F.T tactics and methods when he had become part of the Orb's special combat personnel exchange program.

 

Once he arrived he waited as he set down his bags and began scoping out the room. It was comfortable, but not too showy. And there was a refreshment booth nearby. Shrugging his shoulders he went to it and ordered a soda.

 

“Nice to see you made it, Shin.”

 

Shin turned about in surprise and there was a tall man in front of him. And he looked…

 

“Kira?!”

 

Kira nodded with a grin. “Good guess, Shin, or should I call you Private Shin Asuka?”

 

“You're…my commanding officer?” Shin asked.

 

Kira nodded. “Yeah, but only here in the Guardian HQ, not in other areas, understand?”

 

“Yeah…uh, I mean! Yes Sir!” Shin said as he saluted Kira.

 

“Knock it off Shin, when we're with the officials, then you can salute me.” Kira reprimanded gently.

 

“Uh, right.”

 

Shin and Kira then took their drinks and got into a discussion, about their new jobs, two years after they met.

 

“What happened with you Kira?”

 

“After the war, I decided to take some time for myself, along with my sister Cagalli. I got wind of the Guardians being formed up, a couple of months when I was in exile. I helped with the orphanage with Cagalli and Lacus. I decided to enlist in the Guardians after I got married.”

 

“To Miss Clyne? Man, you're lucky, a lot of guys I know tried to get her attention a lot. Kind of weird when I think about it. Wasn't she supposed to be your friend Athrun's fiancée?”

 

“Former fiancée Shin.” Another voice called in. Kira and Shin turned and spotted Athrun as he walked into the lobby. He was still in his civilian clothes but now had a Guardian symbol on his jacket.

 

“Athrun, you're a little late… My sister kept you busy for a while or something?” Kira asked with a slight smirk.

 

“Ha ha, very funny. But you were close.” Athrun said with a grin. He then handed a letter to Kira.

 

“Cagalli wanted you to have this. She didn't tell me what it was though.”

 

Kira opened the letter and when he was done reading he was grinning from ear to ear.

 

“It says that I've got to make sure you come back home to her.”

 

Athrun sighed, but smiled a bit. Ever since he was married to Cagalli, she showed a side of herself that really endeared her to him. She would blush and get mad and do things that went against her tough girl image, and yet look even more radiant than before, and that made Athrun laugh a lot.

 

Shin was grinning; he had kept in touch with his friends and enjoyed the company. He acted like a stuck-up fanboy when he met Lacus, and he served as best man along with Athrun when Kira and Lacus were married. He had been there as well, in Athrun and Cagalli's wedding, he was surprised to learn that Kira and Cagalli were siblings, and he was excused anyway.

 

Kira then spoke to Shin and Athrun. “We'll go give the briefing to the rest of the new arrivals, plus we're going to begin assignment to partners soon.”

 

Shin nodded as he picked up his duffel bag but he wasn't aware of the fact that there was another person in front of him and naturally…

 

“OOF!”

 

“AAAH!”

 

Shin recovered his balance and spotted the person he collided with was falling, reacting instantly he caught the person, and when he accidentally held the person's chest, he found them to have feminine breasts, he immediately blushed and realized that he had just groped a woman. He looked at the person in question…

 

And found himself staring at a blonde woman, with short slightly puffy deep yellow hair and had light brown eyes. She was about his height, had a figure that was really beyond pretty and looked like a real babe, he then noted that she wore an Alliance uniform, but had two different articles, a Z.A.F.T belt and a Guardian badge.

 

“Uh…”

 

“Excuse me, but do you mind letting go?” The woman asked politely as she smirked at his raging blush, while she was also blushing slightly.

 

“Oh! Sorry!” Shin said as he and the girl released each other, he then muttered an apology to the young woman he had accidentally groped.

 

“It's okay. I'm sorry for bumping into you, but there's only a few minutes left before the briefing, maybe I'll see you again?”

 

“Um…sure.” Shin stammered a bit as the blonde woman walked away with her gear. He sighed and then noticed Kira and Athrun with smirks on their faces.

 

“W-W-What?”

 

“We saw that.” Athrun smirked a bit.

 

“T-T-T-That was an accident!”

 

“Yeah, sure it was.” Kira joined in the teasing.

 

“I'm dead serious! It was an accident!!!”

 

“She's cute, isn't she?”

 

Shin nodded. “Yeah she's really… Hey! Will you guys knock it off!” he said as he realized what had just slipped out of his mouth as he still blushed.

 

“Sure, come on let's go to the briefing room.”

 

The trio then went on their way to the main command room.

 

*************

 

The Command Room…

 

Kira nodded as he and Athrun began speaking to the selected cadets from both the Earth and Z.A.F.T.

 

“The reason why you are all here is that both the Earth and the PLANTS have called a cease-fire that has now been going on for over two years, along with a still in progress peace process. To ensure the success of the peace-talks between the Earth and the PLANTS, the Guardians were created to ensure that there would be no incident that would endanger the lives of ordinary citizens on both the PLANTS and Earth, and to subdue and resolve conflicts as humanely and covertly as possible without the full intervention of the military.”

 

“Many of you know the reason for the first war. It was because of not just the founding of Coordinator technology, but also of those who used fear, hatred, envy and prejudice as an excuse to wage war. In the end result was the destruction of Junius 7, by the organization known Blue Cosmos, who as you are now aware have been very dominant in the Alliance military leadership ladder. Likewise, there were radical elements in Z.A.F.T and the PLANTS as well. Both sides had grown more radical over the months of the wars and their radicalism, led to the battles such as Alaska, Panama, and the battle of Yachim Due, with the use of both nuclear arsenals and gamma laser weapons. This scenario, if it had gone on, would have not resulted in victory for anyone, but the destruction of the entire human race as we all know it. The Earth and PLANTS as of today have begun a slow process of healing the wounds on both our sides, Alliance, and Z.A.F.T, PLANTS and Earth. But as you know, there are still radical elements in both the PLANTS and Earth that are hell-bent on completing their plans of eradication, despite how many lives have been lost on both sides, and the near genocide on the PLANTS and Earth.”

 

Athrun then took over. “The Guardians' supporters are those who are deep in the peace process, and nations on Earth and the PLANTS that want to see the end of such conflicts on both sides that bring only sorrow and hatred to both the existing generations, and those that will come after them. Our job is to make the path to peace less bloody and less costly as possible. Most of you are aware that Orb itself is a supporter of these efforts, along with a few other selected nations of Earth. The new Z.A.F.T Council is also a supporter of the Guardians. Thus the organization is a co-operative force to halt terrorist acts committed by Blue Cosmos, the radicals in Z.A.F.T, and other possible organizations that will try to re-ignite the conflict between our people. We will be provided with weapons from Z.A.F.T and the Alliance, along with intelligence reports from both sides, and other selected sources. The key reason is to stop war before it has a chance to spread. But we will not use force initially, we will attempt to defuse the situation peacefully, and force will only be used if all options are exhausted. Thus, kill only if it cannot be avoided or if civilians or fellow Guardians are threatened, and if there is no reasoning with the targets in question. Is that understood?”

 

“Yes sir!”

 

“To make sure that both sides can see eye to eye, each member of Z.A.F.T's contingent will be paired with a member of the Alliance's contingent. If there is any difficulty with the arrangements, then the question must be given to the upper command for correction and verification. This is a multi-faceted team, and each member's skills must compliment each other's so as to ensure the success of each mission. You have been given numbers to your dorm-rooms, bunks and offices, and so will your bunk mate. The training will begin at exactly 0600 hours sharp tomorrow. All cadets dismissed!”

 

*************

 

Later…

 

Shin sighed a bit as he got his things together. His bunk was clean, and very comfortable, he had a table, locker, cabinet, and a computer to do any personal work that he would prefer to keep to himself.

 

He took out his clothes and placed them in separate portions in the cabinet and locker, it was then that he heard the door open, meaning that he was now about to meet his bunk-mate. He was having a hard time getting used to the idea, he wasn't sure that he would like working with a member of the Alliance forces. Though it's been over two years since the invasion of Orb, he still didn't like to hear working with the Alliance.

 

“Look, I don't want to sound rather…” Shin was saying until he turned and spotted that his bunk-mate was a gorgeous blonde woman…who was the very same one he had met in the hallways.

 

“Hello…you're my partner?” The blonde woman asked Shin who was speechless.

 

“Uh…yeah, from the looks of things…I am.”

 

The two stared at each other for a few more moments, until the girl laughed a bit, shaking Shin out of his stupor.

 

“Uh, yeah?”

 

“I'd like it more that if you're done staring at me, I'd like to know your name?”

 

Shin realized that in all the time they had met, he had never told her his name. He walked up to the young woman and smiled.

 

“My name is Shin, Shin Asuka.”

 

The girl nodded with a smile as they shook their hands.

 

“Mine's Stellar, Stellar Loussier.”

 

*************

 

Over the course of the Guardians' existence as a covert counter-terrorist unit, they had succeeded in quelling various disturbances in both the Earth and the PLANST without any full scale violence being unleashed on the people of the PLANTS, Colonies, and the Earth. In the years that followed, Shin and Stellar became a great team in countless sorties, alongside Kira, Athrun, Dearka, and others such as Lunamarie Hawke, her sister Meyrin Hawke, Yzak Joule, and those of the Alliance forces and other nations, namely Cagalli's body-guard Kisaka, Murrue and the Archangel crew, members of Orb's specialist Astray pilots, and Talia, captain of the Minerva battle-ship, her crew and the fighter-commandos in Z.A.F.T.

 

In the course of the time that passed, Shin had let go of his distrust with the Alliance as he worked with Stellar on many missions. He had gotten to know Stellar, and had met Stellar's care-taker and mentor. Dr. Catherine Hensley. It was at this time that he learned about Stellar's past.

 

Flashback…

 

“You are…an Extended?” Shin asked in surprise as he and Stellar had some time alone in the Guardians' secret Earth Head-Quarters in one of the islands of the Pacific. He was shocked to see Stellar in battle in her Mobile Suit and in person. He had heard about the Extended program made once by the Alliance, and he was surprised to know that Stellar was once a member of that project.

 

He immediately regretted asking that question when Stellar's normally care-free and happy expression became grief-stricken and sad. In all the time he had known his partner, she loved to have a pleasant time and was care-free, he had never seen her so terrified but for the mention of the Extended program.

 

“I'm sorry, I guess that…”

 

“No…” Stellar began to wipe away the tears in her eyes. “I guess the time's right for me to talk about it with someone other than just Dr. Catherine, Kira and Athrun. Yeah, I was part of the Extended program. The program was intended to train and condition normal pilots to fight in the level of Coordinators using extreme physical conditioning, mental conditioning, surgery, biological enhancements and implants, along with mental and physical boosting drugs, and therapy. We were…synthetic Coordinators, or combat computers to the people that ran the program.”

 

“I was…I have no knowledge of my parents, so I'm not sure where I was born, but I knew that I was in the project from the moment I was able to walk and speak. The program used gene therapy and mental conditioning to increase our biological functions and our natural abilities to make us the best warriors to match up to Z.A.F.T and it's own elite forces, along with neural implants, and drugs. I was among those chosen to lead the Second Generation of Extended pilots. The first generation was the trio of Orga Sabnak, Shani Andras, and Clotho Buer, they were the first generation and the pilots of the Alliance's Calamity, Forbidden, and Raider Gundams, respectively. They had been criminals given the choice of death or be Gundam pilots, and to be turned into biological CPUs to battle the Z.A.F.T forces.”

 

“They agreed?” Shin knew the Calamity was the one that tried to kill his family, and he was a little unsteady when he learned of the fact that Stellar was part of the project.

 

“Yes. When they were destroyed, the Alliance had no choice but move the Extended program to another location. I was only fourteen then, and my other companions, Auel and Sting were finally ready to finish the process of Extended pilots…”

 

“One question, how does Dr. Catherine fit in this?”

 

“She was…my care-taker or observer. She actually maintained a professional façade around her colleagues in the program. But in private she told me that she had never loved what the Alliance did to me and others like me. She understood the need for weapons of war, but not the way the Alliance and it's supporters were running the Extended program. Plus…she had a boy-friend, named Vince Reno, he was a Coordinator, but he was the kindest and most honest man she ever met. Despite what could have been the consequences, he planned to take her with him to the PLANTS. But he was killed before he could propose to her, by Blue Cosmos terrorists. She was able to keep the affair a deep secret, and when she graduated from med school, majoring in gene therapy and bio-medical technology, she was drafted by the Alliance. She learned quickly that many Blue Cosmos members were in the Alliance and she wanted to make sure that others like Vince wouldn't be hunted by the group. So she infiltrated the Extended program…and that's where we met. I knew her for fourteen years and she…was a mother to me. When the Extended program was disrupted, she was able to escape undetected with me in tow. We fled to Orb, and there she began petitioning scientists in Orb and those who were both Naturals and Coordinators to try and correct the enhancements done to me by the program.”

 

“Why? I mean, you've got some serious abilities.”

 

“But not without a price. All Extended pilots need to undergo regular drug doses and gene therapy to heal their wounds and keep them alive. If one of us didn't do that, we'd suffer severe mental and physical collapse, our bodies would go into severe nerve shock, and our implants would cause immeasurable pain to us, both mentally and physically. The first Extended pilots had to take enhancement drugs almost regularly, as they needed to fight in par with Z.A.F.T. The effects would make them powerful, but totally violent and unpredictable, they would attack allies and each other, and they would suffer severe withdrawal symptoms once the drugs wore off.”

 

“So…did you?” Shin asked slowly.

 

Stellar nodded as despite her best efforts, she began to cry. “I had a hard time fighting the mental and physical conditioning plus the desire for the enhancement drugs. But the scientists in Orb were able to at least lessen my dependence on the drugs and allowed me a chance to live like a normal girl, I kept my Extended abilities, and only wear the Alliance uniform as a way to show my own disgust at what the supporters of the Extended and those in the program for what they did to me. I'm hoping…that after the war is over…I can finally be cured of all that happened to me… and well…be a normal young woman, and, not to be called a disposable…killing doll.”

 

Shin felt sadness and sorrow for Stellar as the young girl cried a bit harder than before. He reached out to her and held her closely.

 

“I will never, ever call you that, Stellar... I want to say something to you.”

 

“What?”

 

“No matter what happens, I'll protect you.”

 

Stellar looked at Shin and smiled a bit, despite her tears. “Are you trying to say…you want to be…my guardian angel, Mister Shin Asuka?”

 

Shin laughed a bit and nodded solemnly. “Only if you will allow me to be…Miss Stellar Loussier.”

 

“Then…I accept.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

Those were the last words between Shin and Stellar, when they gave each other a light kiss, as they looked at the setting sun. (*)

 

End of Flashback…

 

*************

 

The years went on, and it was then that the Guardians, got their youngest, but most talented member. Eight year old Kyo Clyne Yamato was a bit of an oddity, considering that he was originally a visitor, to the Guardians, under the eye of his dad Kira, but he quickly got the attention of many of the teams as his own skills in strategic and tactical maneuvers began to show.

 

He then accepted to be a junior member of the Guardians, and made quick friendships with many of his dad and uncle's colleagues, namely with Shin and Stellar. The three got along rather well as Kyo made no bones about teasing his older comrades about their budding relationship, along with the rest of them. His talents in the Murumase Mobile Suit allowed him to pilot his dad's Freedom Gundam quite effectively, and he became a trusted member of the Guardians in many combat missions.

 

In the end of the two years, the Guardians were able to remove all members of not just Blue Cosmos, but it's supporters, another shadowy group known as Logos, and the radical followers of Patrick's old plans in Z.A.F.T without a single major incident occurring to disrupt the peace process and ignite another war.

 

Following this, Shin and Stellar were married, and their children Alex and Claire were born. Kyo at the time of Shin and Stellar's marriage had also retired from the Guardians and went on with his education.

 

Shin and Stellar were devastated years later when they heard that Kyo was supposedly killed in the new reactor accident, and made it to where Kyo was buried, along with their kids who wanted to see their big brother.

 

*************

 

Flashback…

 

Kira shook hands with Shin he and Stellar arrived in time with their kids. Shin was taller now and he wore his normal Guardian uniform as a symbol of his friendship with both Kira, his family, and Kyo. Stellar also wore her uniform as her two children were holding her hand.

 

Alex was like Shin, but he had his mom's hair and eyes, he loved hanging out with his `big brother Kyo' a lot whenever they would meet. He loved to play games, and was a good basketball player in his school. His sister Claire had her dad's hair and eyes, and had her mom's intensity, and cheerfulness. She too was sad to know that her big brother was no longer with them.

 

“I'm sorry Kira, I am really sorry about Kyo.”

 

Kira nodded as he spoke to Shin. “I know, but I know that he thought about others, and not just himself. He did what he felt was right, and I…I think that he did all of us a great service. Lacus and I, will always keep him close to our hearts.”

 

“I know, Stellar and I will do the same, along with my children.”

 

Stellar also spoke counseling words to Lacus, along with Cagalli, Murrue, and Talia. Talia had grown to admire the young Kyo and considered him a good man. It was understandable, that countless other Guardian members looked up to Kyo, they called him their baby, and their closest friend. And they all came in their usual team rosters to pay their respects to their comrade…who gave up all so that the world and future generations may live.

 

*************

 

Flash-Forward to one year before GunDread SEED…

 

“The Harvesters are breaking through!” A soldier said to his commanding officer as they heard that most of their orbital defense fleet were destroyed or in retreat.

 

“We're getting reports that their deploying their ground assault units on the surface. Three cities have already been hit and the ground forces are getting hammered!” Another aide reported as she too was in fear of the invasion.

 

“Damn it!” the general swore as he read the tactical reports and knew that his world of Yureni Prime would eventually fall. The Harvesters had attacked their colonial outposts and stripped their people of their hearts, and the enemy had just arrived to claim their primary homeland. Like the people of Megele and Talark, the Yunrenian people were descendants of the colonists who left Earth to explore the stars.

 

Now it seemed that death had found them…

 

*************

 

A group of people were rushing towards what appeared to be an underground shelter, along with a large number of trucks and other citizens. Explosions were echoing all around them and debris were falling like mad rain of steel and stone.

 

The man in front of them was tall, and had the build of a young soldier. He was looking left and right, hoping that none of the Harvester forces had found the shelter that he and the others were fleeing in. He kept a powerful assault rifle close to him as he guided the people to safety, beside them a large pair of trucks were being brought in the shelter as well.

 

The other person next to the man was also another soldier, but this one was a woman, she too was looking left and right, but also behind them, also hoping that none of the vile servants of the Harvesters were in pursuit. She held her own rifle as she ran with the others.

 

Lt. Kouji Asuka and Sgt. Maia Asuka, who both were brother and sister had managed to rescue a good number of the civilians and fellow ground combat personnel as they had been ordered by high command to retreat from space to aid in the defense of their planet, they were able to get their in time and got into the fight.

 

Kouji was a tall man, and had his father's deep black hair and his mother's amber eyes, along with a tough demeanor. He proved himself to be a great soldier at the age of twelve and had joined the space defense fleet of Yureni when he was fourteen, rising to the rank of Lieutenant when he became sixteen. He had the skills and the experience for the rank and was respected by his fellow soldiers and officers, and he also proved himself to be a tough master of both piloting machines, weapons training, and hand to hand combat. He was a hit to many of the women, both in the military and civilian quarter, and had been approached on many occasions as he was now twenty-one years of age. He also had a big hatred for the Harvesters, having seen their atrocities first hand on his missions.

 

His father Vince Asuka, was also a top ranking officer in the military and was very respectful and proud of his son's achievements, but he also acted as a real father, giving help to his son and daughter when they needed it, and allowed them a sense of freedom, but also reprimanded them when it was needed. He also had a strong relationship with not just his children, but with his wife Helena, and they both would spent as much time together, and with their kids, as long as they could do so.

 

Kouji's mother Helena Asuka was a civilian nurse and had met her husband when he was still in training. It was love at first sight for Helena and Vince, and their relationship had been very strong, though she had some reservations of her son and daughter being in the military, but she nevertheless supported them, and also taught them more gentle arts than just warfare, such as medicine, arts, and cooking. She was a gentle person, but had a fire in her that anyone with a reasonable regard for their health was better off not igniting.

 

Maia Asuka was part of the Intelligence department, she had her mother's deep blonde hair and her dad's blue eyes, and looked like a real babe to most men in her team, and had to leave off the love declarations of many admirers. But she was not all looks, she had brains, will, and brawn to go with it, joining the fleet alongside her big brother at the age of thirteen, rising quickly in the ranks of the intelligence division. She had lead countless sorties in battle, and wasn't the least bit shy about joining in the front lines when it came to that. She also had skills with machines, weapons, and hand to hand combat as her brother at the age of eighteen. She too had a hatred for the Harvesters having seen the atrocities committed by their vile servants.

 

At this time, they had to retreat as the Harvesters began attacking the outlying cities and the capital was soon under siege.

 

“We're almost there!” Kouji shouted out to the others as they reached the main entrance as the two automated trucks went in first. The trucks were rumored to carrying two special weapons newly developed by the military and were meant to battle the Harvesters. When the Harvesters invaded, the weapons had to be rushed into development, but they were only finished as the Harvesters had broken through.

 

“Go! Get inside!” Vince shouted as his family got into the shelter, but before anything could be done…

 

BOOM!

 

A massive explosion filled the area as a side of the wall and the roof fell in front of the married couple, separating them from their two children, as debris and flames got between them all.

 

Kouji and Maia were inside the shelter and were knocked unconscious, but were very much alive. Vince and Helena decided to do the impossible. Vince accessed the emergency control panel and shut the door from the outside. This effectively left the two Asuka elders outside of the shelter at the mercy of their enemies, but their children would be safe. The shelter was a special one, armed with a shield system that made anyone outside believe that no one was inside, alive or otherwise, even with advanced scanners. Helena calmly took out a small recording, and held it tight.

 

The couple then faced the outside and spoke to their children in their minds.

 

“Kouji…Maia, be strong, and be safe.”

 

Those were their last words as an explosion tore through the outer security doors, signifying the arrival of the Harvester units.

 

*************

 

Hours later…

 

Kouji and Maia awoke and immediately realized the situation as they looked about for their parents in desperation.

 

“Mom! Dad! Where are you?!” Kouji shouted out fear as he tried to recall what had happened.

 

“Brother…where are they?!” Maia asked in growing fear as she could find no trace of their parents.

 

The two then realized what had happened hours before, and in terror, realized that their parents were trapped outside to the monsters. They then began to reactivate the shelter and open the doorway. They found a mess of debris in front of them, which were now easy to climb over due to the fact that they no longer burned. Carefully climbing the barrier and avoiding the sharp areas of the debris, they came to the place where their parents were… but found only bullet casings, and blood-stains where their parents once stood.

 

“No…”

 

“Mom…Dad…”

 

Kouji picked up the small record unit and recognized it as the one their mother made for them when they were still kids. He and sister knew despite their denials what it meant…their parents, along with all the people they knew and loved had been…harvested.

 

Two screams of anguish, sorrow, and rage filled the shelter, and seemed to fill the entire wasteland of what was once the lush and prosperous world of Yureni Prime.

 

*************

 

Current time…

 

The bridge of the Nirvana…

 

"So you're saying K, that you have been here before?" Magno asked as she and the Gundam pilot looked at the main monitor at another Mission station. Unlike the previous one that would have passed for a ghost town, this one had several hundred people occupying it.

 

Kyo nodded, as he began to explain. "Yep, I've been here, this one's called Delta 6. It was one of the stops I've made when Freedom and I were still planet hopping around, before we joined up with you here on the Nirvana. The people there happen to be a real rowdy and crazy bunch, and, they think that the only way they can offer you something is when you fight to prove that you're worthy of it.”

 

“So they love a good brawl?” Magno asked

 

“Yeah, very much, though they do have their own reasons, but when I was here, they were pretty tight-lipped about it. So, why don't we pay those folks a visit?"

 

*************

 

Deep within the Mission Station, two other individuals were busy working on something, or in this case, two special weapons. They stopped their work as they heard from the communications systems that a strange ship was requesting docking clearance with the station.

 

*************

 

A little bit later…

 

"So you're the leader of this station?" Buzam asked as she and the Nirvana's diplomatic party stood in front of what appeared to be a throne at the front of a large room that passed off as a type of arena. Behind her was Kyo, Dita, Jura, Gascogne, Sara, Mai, and Barnette, who happened to taking with her part of her collection of antique firearms, namely a few assault pistols, pistols, SMGs, shotguns, assault rifles, and a lot of other weapons. Sitting on the throne was a tall, slender woman with long blue-black hair, and dressed in a skintight bodysuit. On her left was a large, muscular, bald man who looked like he never took a bath for a matter of weeks, if not months.

 

"Yeah, I guess you could call me the leader here, though it ain't exactly something great." The woman replied. "It's just that no one here's been having the guts to challenge me." She then addressed the man on her left. "Isn't that right Patch?"

 

The one named Patch nodded. "Yeah, I mean nobody's suicidal enough to go one on one with you, Ms. Liz."

 

"I guess you could have called ME a suicidal nut last time I was here."

 

Everyone's attention turned to the three who spoke out, and many, including the leader and her subordinate, gasped when they recognized the person behind Buzam. He had been avoiding detection, and never took in eye contact with anyone. Now he stepped out into the open as he looked at the leader of Delta 6. "Just how long has it been since I kicked your butt, Liz?"

 

"KYO!! What the hell are YOU doing back here?!" Liz was in an absolute fury and shock as she got off her throne and gripped her weapon, which was a beam sword.

 

Dita became confused and a little bit jealous as she spotted the look of amusement on Kyo's face. "Do you know this person, Mr. Alien?"

 

Kyo nodded and smiled. "Oh yeah. Don't let her Tough Girl act fool you. Deep down Liz is just a lovable character and…"

 

"AAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!"

 

Liz gave out a bloodcurdling scream of rage as she leaped down with her weapon activated. The energy blade was aimed at Kyo. In an instant Kyo moved Dita to one side and leaped into the ring, just as Liz's blade slammed into the area where he was all before. The rest of the Nirvana's party gave a wide berth for the station leader as she went after Kyo as she focused her attention to the brown haired Mobile Suit pilot and swung wildly. All around them, people shouted and cheered as the impromptu battle went underway.

 

“Minus the fact that she's a little hot tempered.” Kyo finished.

 

"Don't you think we should help Kyo?" Mai asked as she gripped her battle sword. Behind her Barnette and the others were tensing up for battle.

 

Sara shook her head. "Nope, I don't think the Commander will need any help. Look at Kyo. He's toying with her. If he wanted to win, he would have taken her out the very moment she attacked."

 

*************

 

In the arena, Liz was getting frustrated as every one of her attacks were blocked by the former Yamato in an almost lazy fashion. Kyo was merely smiling as he casually commented on each of her attempts to slash him, he then took out his own sword. He had the sword coated with special chemical agents that made it highly resistant to beam weapons…and he knew that Liz knew it too.

 

SLASH!

 

"Hmmm, you're STILL swinging at too wide an arc. Didn't I tell you how easy it is to avoid?"

 

"Hold still!"

 

WHOOSH!

 

CLANG!

 

"Still too choppy. That's a sword you know, not a club."

 

"I said hold still!"

 

SWOOSH!

 

"Again? Come on Liz. I though I taught you how to compensate for that move!"

 

"Damn you!"

 

SLASH!

 

CLANG!

 

"Oh boy, what did I tell you about losing your temper in a battle?"

 

"SHUT UP AND FIGHT ME!"

 

SHOOM!

 

"All right then, have it your way."

 

Kyo immediately gripped his sword and charged as he attacked.

 

CLANG! WHOMP! KTANG! WHOMP!

 

Liz staggered back as she received a kick in the midsection, and she lost her sword as Kyo enveloped it with a few simple motions with his sword and tossed the weapon aside without cutting her. He then placed away his sword and with a simple judo toss and a restraining hold, subdued Liz in a span of seconds. As she tried to struggle to her feet, Kyo applied a little extra pressure and kept her restrained while he still smiled.

 

"Give up Elizabeth?"

 

"Don't call me that!" Liz spat back as she tried her best to free herself, but she discovered that she didn't have the needed leverage.

 

"Okay then, how about Lizzie?"

 

"Or maybe, Lizard?"

 

"Grrrrr!!!"

 

"Well?"

 

The longhaired woman growled a little bit more, then reluctantly gave the signal to Kyo that she would surrender.

 

The Gundam operator immediately released his grip and stood back, as the Mission station leader got to her feet. Seeing that her weapon was too far away for her to try and grab, she settled to just glaring at the young man for a long time. The silence in the arena was deafening for several moments, as the two people then trembled and finally broke into peals of laughter.

 

The crew from the Nirvana were in a state of puzzlement over this new development as the two continued to laugh. As they tried to figure out what was going on, two other people were giving Kyo contemplative looks.

 

<He's good…better than anyone I've seen. >

 

<But why does it seem. That he looks…familiar. >

 

<Like we're supposed to know him. >

 

*************

 

Later…in the Station's bar…

 

"You were always an unbeatable bastard." Liz commented with a sigh as she looked at her friend Kyo, while sipping her drink in her favorite wineglass. She and the Mobile Suit pilot were privately discussing some very important things, while the rest of the Nirvana's party were mingling with the rest of the Station's populace. Since Kyo was already acquainted with the leader of the Mission Delta 6, Buzam appointed him as the negotiation representative.

 

"Not exactly Liz, I'm not indestructible." Kyo said with a smile as he took in his own glass of club soda. He had learned that no one, even he was unbeatable, from the battle with the Harvesters and the Gundam clones. “I'm just not planning on dying early.”

 

"Hmm, I suppose so…anyway, what brings you and your Gundam back to this side of Hell? Are you with those other women and men?"

 

"You're right, but it's a LONG story. Besides, right now, we're stopping here for supplies and other items that might come in handy. We're dropping by the Megele and Talark home worlds to warn them about the Harvesters, you know them by any chance Liz?" Kyo asked.

 

Liz let out a snort of anger and sadness. "Know them? Hell, nearly every refugee on this station are here because of those bastards!"

 

That statement caught the former Earthling by surprise; Liz never mentioned anything about this when he was here. "Really? I never knew about this and nobody here told me about it when I was here last time. Freedom and I met with the Harvesters six months ago and I've just received more information concerning those organ hungry lunatics two months ago."

 

Liz nodded. "Well, I'm not all that surprised that you don't know about it the last time you were here. It's not something people want to discuss, especially since they become the last remnants of their own worlds."

 

"Say what?"

 

Liz made a sad and tired sigh as she began to explain. "That's how things are out here in Delta 6. Nearly everyday, we take in a few stragglers who managed to make it out from the Harvester invasions of their home planets. The real dagger wound in the guts, is that they don't have a world to go home back to anymore. The Harvesters usually take their entire populations and leave nothing behind, but barren wastelands. Patch and me…we're all that's left of our own home world."

 

"I'm sorry…I never knew that."

 

The station leader nodded. "Yeah, I guess you can see now why things are like this here on Delta 6. We don't nearly have enough food and supplies for HALF of the people here, let alone for all the new arrivals that we pick up. So the only rule here is to take what you want anyway you can. Only the strong survive here, but then…you already knew that, and you proved that you're not somebody to take lightly."

 

The young man nodded, as he recalled his last visit to Delta 6. It had been rather interesting, and he nearly resorted to just activating Freedom's beam arsenals and aiming them on the Station. "Sorry that things had to be that way, but things will change, you can bet on that." Kyo said with concern.

 

"I don't see how things are going to be better honestly. We're barely able to hold on together as it is. The fights and duels are probably the only things that keep everyone going and sane."

 

"We can help you, and the crew on the Nirvana can as well."

 

"How?"

 

"Well…I can see that the first order of business is to get this Station's systems repaired and operational. When I was here last time, the place looks so busted up, and I can tell that things aren't getting any better."

 

"That's an understatement." Liz agreed. "Nearly forty percent of the Mission is either on it's last legs, or totally unusable. The generators are barely creating enough power to sustain life support and most of the people here live in the dark. Water, food, and anything essential won't last for much longer. Medical supplies are basically nonexistent. We're barely holding on. And I won't even begin with the Mission's defensive systems. If the Harvesters pay this place a visit, then it's all over for us."

 

"We can deal with those parts. That Nirvana's got a great team of engineers, and they can really help get all your systems back online, I'll do some of the repair work myself too. I might be able to get a water recycler and purifying unit here for the water problems." Kyo answered.

 

"How about medical supplies and food?"

 

"That's going to be a little harder, since we're needing a little of that ourselves, but we can manage. Our doctor Duero can help out, treating the sick and injured, not to mention that the Talark doctor can spare some of his own supplies of medicine, the stuff's not as high tech as Megele technology, but they work. As for food, well…that can be fixed, though normal food's a little dry." Kyo said with a slight chuckle.

 

"Excuse me? What do you mean by normal food?"

 

The young man scratched his head a bit. "Well…we've still got good supplies on the four basic food groups, and we've got a real large surplus of Talark nutrition pills, that stuff can feed at least four thousand men for twenty years. The reason we've got that much is that none of the women want anything to do with the pills that we already have. We were hoping to stock up on the normal rations, but we can see that's a little out of the question." Kyo explained.

 

"Maybe not." Liz interjected. "What sort of food are these pills?"

 

Kyo nodded as he explained. "They aren't exactly on the level in terms of taste. They taste like hell, but the can provide enough nutrients, vitamins, and energy for three hundred hours of work per serving. The men of Talark have that as their staple meals and as far as I could tell when I was there, they're just healthy relying on the stuff."

 

"I want them."

 

"Really? Why would you want the stuff?" Kyo asked

 

The attractive leader replied. "They may seem terrible to you and the women, but they can be lifesavers for everyone here on the station. Think of it. Enough food to feed four thousand people for twenty years! Regardless of the taste, they would ensure that no one here goes hungry until we're able to get back on our feet! Considering that we've got only enough food for three hundred people for only a few months, those pills would be the best answer for everyone here on Delta 6 to survive!"

 

"You know, you've changed…a lot since I've seen you Liz. And I can say it's for the best." Kyo interjected with a smile.

 

Liz smiled while giving Kyo a whimsical look. "I guess when I become the official leader of this Mission, I feel the pain of everyone else onboard. Maybe giving everyone three square meals a day might ease the tension here. So is it a deal? We'll trade a portion of our own rations for say…half of your supply of pills."

 

"To me it's a done deal, I'll need to speak with the captain first, but I've got no doubt that she'll agree to it." The young Coordinator then decided to look at the crowds of people milling around.

 

Liz nodded. "That's great news. Now, we'll need to talk about medical supplies and…" Liz stopped talking as she noticed that Kyo wasn't paying attention, and his normally friendly expression became dark and extremely hostile. "Kyo, what's wrong?"

 

Kyo gave a very ominous growl as his answer as he got to his feet and walked towards a table in the far corner. He had just spotted an old…'friend.'

 

*************

 

Rabat was taking a good sip of his glass of whiskey, when he noticed that someone was making his/her way towards him. His eyes widened as he got a good look on who was approaching…

 

"FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTTTTTTT….ACK!"

 

Immediately after his spit-take, he got to his feet and went immediately reached for his sidearm. He had heard that a large vessel had docked on the Station, he never expected the ship to be the Nirvana.

 

However, as fast as he was on the draw. Kyo was even FASTER…

 

"You little punk! I'll……arrrrrrgggggghhhhhh!"

 

“Shut up traitor!”

 

Rabat's right arm was caught in Kyo's iron grip, he immediately twisted the guy's wrist and arm as he disabled the trader's grip on his blaster pistol, making the man lose his weapon. He took the pistol and casually tore it into nothing but scrap like paper. He tossed the now worthless pile of junk and slammed a punch into Rabat's solar plexus. Kyo then tossed the trader over his shoulder into another unoccupied table, and then got out his sword and placed it on Rabat's neck and placed his foot on his left shoulder blade.

 

By this time, everyone in the bar stopped at what they were doing and turned their attention to the source of the commotion.

 

Kyo glared hatefully at the man he universally despised and gave him a smile that was totally devoid of any friendly emotion. "Well…I never expected to meet up with you here in Delta 6 of all places, you Rotting Corpse. What's the matter? Your old Harvester clients aren't paying as well as they used to?" Kyo asked in a mocking tone filled with loathing, hatred, and contempt.

 

That immediately got Liz and a few other people's attention as the leader of the Station began running towards them. "Kyo? What's going on here?"

 

He didn't answer as he concentrated on his discussion on the man…no the genetic reject, he pinned down. "So how has my favorite TRAITOR to the human race been doing all this time? Looking for more planets and people to sell out to your masters? Or you still planning on finishing off the people that you sold out to the Earth before, by telling them where Delta 6 is?" Kyo asked.

 

Rabat merely struggled, but the man merely added extra incentive for the trader not to move. Kyo twisted the arm in his grip a bit more. "I'd stop moving if I were you. I can pull upwards and bring my foot down and rip out your arm and use it scratch my back or I could just press down with my sword and relieve you of all your sins, namely that one you call your head…Your choice."

 

Upon hearing his alternatives, Rabat immediately stopped struggling and settled for glaring at the young man with hate filled eyes. He could say anything as of the moment since Kyo's sword was on his throat.

 

The cosmic warrior looked up to Liz without paying any attention to Rabat's gaze. "What's this worthless pile of reject tissue doing here anyway?" Kyo asked.

 

"You know Rabat?"

 

"I know him all right, all too well. This cancerous excuse for human DNA should be dumped along with the garbage…no, we'd be insulting the garbage to call HIM one anyway." Kyo replied as he withdrew his sword.

 

"I don't understand, Rabat's a liar and a cheat, I'll admit to that, but why are you…?"

 

"Let's just say he's got a LOT to answer for." Kyo explained as he glared deeply at Rabat. "Now I neither have the time to catch up on old times with you Sleaze Bucket, so why don't you take a nap?" He instantly lifted the con man to his feet and belted him in the face.

 

WHAM!

 

Rabat dropped to the floor out cold like a puppet cut loose from the strings.

 

"I still don't…"

 

Kyo held up his hand, stopping Liz's question as he reached for his communicator and contacted the Nirvana.

 

“We've got a problem, Captain, and it's got the name of a certain traitor on it.”

 

*************

 

The Nirvana's Command Bridge…

 

"What? Rabat's onboard the Mission?" Magno asked in surprise.

 

"Yes, Grandmother." Kyo nodded as he went on. "And when he's onboard, you can bet the Harvesters won't be far behind either."

 

The pirate captain began concerned as she ordered all the Dread pilots and the Vanguard pilots on combat standby. Things just took a turn for the worst.

 

*************

 

A few minutes, and an abridged explanation later…

 

"I…don't believe it." Liz whispered in shock as Rabat was dragged away to a holding cell. "He sold us all to the Harvesters?!"

 

"Believe it." Kyo said with a grim expression as he stood next to Buzam and the others. "I got enough proof from the people of Melanos and from one of Rabat's own data modules. If you ask all the refugees on the Mission, I've got no doubt that a lot of them will confirm that Rabat had been on their planet a few days or hours before the Harvesters came. Probably, no one made the connection at first, that's why he's gotten away with the crimes he's made of every human in space."

 

"I…still don't believe it."

 

"It's the truth, I'll show you the evidence soon." Kyo answered.

 

"But right now, we don't have the time for it. We can deal with Rabat later." Buzam interjected. "We need to get ready for the Harvesters. The Nirvana and our Dread and Vanguard forces will work with your people to fight them. Exactly what do you have in terms of weapons and defense?"

 

"Not…much. A few firearms and ranged weapons, but those are only for personal protection. The shielding on the station's pathetic, and…well, all of you have already seen how much repairs this place needs. The reason we've been able to hold out for this long what due to the two Asuka siblings."

 

That name suddenly sent a shiver of recognition in Kyo, though he didn't know why. He then recalled a vague image of a couple, a man with what appeared black hair, and vague red eyes, and a woman with green eyes and blonde hair.

 

Buzam noticed this change in Kyo along with Liz. “Kyo…are you okay?”

 

“Huh…nothing. But…Liz, did you say that their last name was…Asuka?”

 

“Yeah, Kouji and Maia Asuka, they're both brother and sister. You know them?”

 

"No…I've never met them in my whole life…But they…sound familiar. Who are they?" Kyo asked.

 

"They came here a few months ago." Liz explained. "They're the last survivors of the planet Yureni Prime, after the Harvesters massacred the entire population for their hearts. They told us everything they've learned about the Harvesters and their fleets. They each have some sort of secret weapon that kept the enemy at bay so far."

 

"Secret weapon? What exactly is it?" Kyo asked with a curious eye.

 

"We don't know and they never tell us. It's just that every time our long-range scanners pick up any Harvester ships coming in, then they take off in two scout ships to locate them. Usually after a few minutes, they arrive back and there's no more signs of the Harvester ships. We don't know how they destroyed them, but in return for their help, we give them some food and their own places in the station."

 

Patch walked up to Liz and asked. "You think we should call them now?"

 

"Not yet Patch, there's still no sign of the Harvester forces and I still want to question Rabat."

 

"I'll need to speak to those two, if you don't mind. I'd like…to see these secret weapons of theirs. Those might be able to aid us battling the Harvesters also." Kyo said with certainty.

 

The longhaired woman shrugged a little. "Be my guest, though you might not get much out of them, they are very much loners and prefer their privacy. You can usually find them there at the fourth level of the station, D-Block, Section Thirteen. Just look for Kouji, he normally shows up first, his sister shows up next."

 

"Got it." Kyo turned and was ready to leave.

 

"I want to come with you, Mr. Alien!" Dita called out as she began to follow him.

 

Kyo stopped and shook his head. "No, it's better that I handle this, you stay with the others, I'm sure that the Captain's going to need your help real soon when and if the Harvesters decide to show themselves. I'll try to be right back as soon as possible."

 

BC nodded as she turned to Dita. "We're going to need you to start prepping up your Dread along with Jura and Meia." She then turned to Kyo. "Stay in contact with us. We might have to use the GunDreads real soon."

 

“GunDreads?" Liz asked in puzzlement.

 

Kyo shrugged his shoulders as he left for the fourth level. "You've got your secret weapons, and we've got our own." He ran down the corridor and turned around a corner.

 

*************

 

A little bit later…

 

Kyo looked around intently as he was in the fourth level Section Thirteen, D-Block.. Aside from the normal piles of debris and junked station components, there was nothing else, there were signs of habitation though. There were two makeshift cots, a large table for communal eating, and a good amount of personal effects, but Kyo could see no sign of the area's residents. His senses were on high alert as he scanned the area for the people he was looking for. Then, suddenly, his danger senses were online as he turned around, sword drawn, he then came face to face with…him.

 

The former Yamato wondered just how did he miss the two strangers, they weren't there the last time. So how did they manage of evade him? It seems that these two were trained in evasion and concealment the way he was.

 

"Kouji Asuka I take it?" Jin asked as he sheathed his sword to show that he was not an enemy, as he then spotted a woman who no doubt was Kouji's sister Maia.

 

The tall, raven-haired warrior nodded as he assessed the young man front of him, then replied. "You know…after seeing you battle Liz today, I had this feeling that you were going to look for me and my sister. She probably told you about the secret weapons my sister and I possess, and you want to know what they are, don't you?"

 

"Yeah, pretty much." Kyo said with a nod.

 

"Sorry, but we don't let anyone know what our weapons are. So you can forget it.” Maia replied.

 

"So why not tell me?" Kyo replied with a smile. "I think we might be able to help each other out against the Harvesters."

 

Kouji snorted. "You don't have anything that we want and I doubt that you could help us against those Harvester bastards. You have no idea how powerful we are with our Gundams."

 

Kyo's eyes narrowed at that. He didn't know why, but he can't help but feel that these two were telling the truth.

 

“A pair of Gundams? You can't be serious, right, as far as I know the only place where Gundams could be made is on Earth. My own Gundam was built there, a long time ago.”

 

Kouji and Maia became even more hostile as they heard that. “You're from Earth?! There you're one of them!”

 

They were about to attack Kyo, but he merely shock his head. “No…I'm not one of those organ hungry bastards of Earth, and I NEVER will be. I have no idea where I am from, and why my Gundam was built there on Earth, but you can bet I have my own reasons to fight the Harvesters.”

 

Maia noted this, and since she had been in the intelligence division, she knew when one was lying or telling the truth.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Let me put it this way, I want to defeat them and make sure that no more worlds suffer because of them. And I KNOW for a fact that you want the same. Liz told me that your planet of Yureni Prime was invaded by the Harvesters, and everyone, except you two, were butchered for their hearts. You want justice and revenge for what happened, so do I.”

 

It was then that Kyo's communicator came online.

 

*************

 

"Kyo! The enemy is attacking the station and they've sent in some kind of plasma drones that have a prismatic effect that's making beam weapons useless on them!" Buzam said, as she and the others were busy using the antique projectile weapons that Barnette had brought along with her, along with any other physical weapon they could get their hands on.

 

"How did they get past the station and the Nirvana's long range sensors?" Kyo asked.

 

"We're not certain, but apparently, they seem to have some sort of high grade jamming field that hid them from our sensors. I've already deployed Dita, Mai and Sara to their fighters, along with the Crusader Squadron to help Meia and the others, while the others are getting the civilians to a safer location. Did you find those secret weapons?"

 

Jin glanced at Kouji and his sister, and shrugged. "Yeah, I found them…er, I mean, I've found the weapons."

 

"Well, we can really use all the help we can get right now. They're going to need you and Freedom outside."

 

"I'm on it."

 

*************

 

After making the call, Kyo turned back to Kouji, and his sister. "Well, seems the Harvesters got the drop on us and we're going to have to fight them today. Now, I won't have to convince or…”

 

"You don't need to bother with that idea." Kouji replied, cutting off Kyo. "After what those monsters did to our home planet, you couldn't hold either of us back with a fleet of capital ships. We all have the power and skill in our hands and our Gundams to destroy them, and we're not going to allow them to butcher this station the way they butchered Yureni Prime. Just remember one thing…you've got some explaining to do."

 

“Yeah, by the way, my Gundam's name is Infinite-Freedom. What are the names of your Gundams?”

 

Kouji looked at Kyo and answered. “The name of mine is Shinobi, ancient Japanese for `male Ninja'

 

Maia then came out with her own. “Mine's Kunoichi, also ancient Japanese for `female Ninja.'

 

*************

 

"Mr. Alien, where are you?" Dita cried out as her Dread was being pursued by several of the new Cube Fighters, Meia had made the request to Bart if he could take out the enemy using the Nirvana's guns, but the navigator refused, saying that the Dreads and Vanguards were too close to Delta 6. Even if he did manage to miss the Dreads and Vanguards, it was a big possibility that the station would be caught in the firing paths.

 

Just then Dita gave out a cry of joy as she sighted a familiar mecha launch from the station, however, no one was prepared to witness two more flashes of light following Kyo and his Infinite-Freedom Gundam. For the first time, everyone was about to see a new pair of Gundams, and on the side of humanity.

 

*************

 

Infinite Freedom opened it's wings unleashed it's crystal feathers as it went deep into the fight. Kouji's Gundam was powerful enough, decked in grey, red, silver and black armor, and looked like a powerful but slender Gundam unit with some similarities to Freedom in terms of appearance. It had two wing like projectors on it's back, two weapons that appeared to be beam boomerangs on it's shoulders, a high grade beam cannon, a special beam rifle, a set of Japanese style swords stowed in the back, a powerful looking anti-ship sword, and what appeared to be a set of shield projectors on the hands. The other Gundam appeared to be of the same armor specifications but was red, black and yellow, it had a more slender profile and seemed slightly beast like. It too was armed with beam sabers, head-mounted guns, a high power beam rifle, a collapsible shield on it's left arm, two beam cannons on it's shoulders. The two Gundams then flew in tandem with Freedom as they began to engage the Harvester units.

 

“WOW! More good aliens and their Gundams!” Dita squealed in joy.

 

*************

 

Rabat groaned in pain as he regained his senses and found himself in one of the Station's holding cells. He winced as a throbbing sensation of pain flowed into the front of his face. Kyo certainly didn't hold back any punches. (Unknown to Rabat, Kyo DID pull back his punch, since if in full force, that blow should have split Rabat's skull open like a can filled with firecrackers). The walls shuddered and echoing noises were heard in every direction.

 

<The station must be under attack. They must not know that I'm still onboard.> Rabat had originally come to the station in search of the 'secret weapons' that had been preventing the Harvesters the opportunity to approaching Delta 6. He figured that once he got a hold of these so-called weapons, he could either use those for his own purposes, or sell them to the highest bidder. At the very least, he could gather some needed information for his best clients, the Harvesters.

 

The trader looked at the bars of his prison cell and noted that they were of the same type used onboard the Nirvana. As luck would have it, the guards didn't make a thorough search of their prisoner for any hidden weapons or tools. Taking off the heel of his right boot, he used the remote unit to deactivate the cell bars. He then used another device to call in his primate companion Utan, who happened to be lurking about the station.

 

*************

 

"Fall back!" BC ordered while firing several more shell rounds from the automatic shotgun she got from Barnette, who in the mean time was busy using an M-16 to back the others up.

 

Early on she and the other girls found that beam weapons were useless on the latest Harvester creations, which were floating green blobs, which the Cube Fighters had delivered into the station. They had a prismatic effect that caused light to be refracted, therefore rendering beam weapons useless, however, physical attacks were far more effective against the things, and Barnette's collection of old handguns, rifles, SMGs, and machine guns were the perfect tools against them. But they had two major problems, the first that they could only keep things up as long as they had the ammunition to shoot with, and two, the plasma drones had the advantage in numbers.

 

Gascogne and Parfet were in charge of getting the civilians out of the danger zones and into a better location while BC, Jura, and Barnette laid down the support fire. Liz, who was armed with a flame-thrower, soon came into the fight. Meanwhile Dita, Sara, and Mai were out with the Crusader Squadron in beating back the Harvesters. Just recently, Mai had signed in as a member of the Crusader Squadron and was a certified Vanguard pilot.

 

*************

 

After obtaining a gun from one of the guards, Rabat and Utan soon found themselves on a balcony overlooking the action as the Megele pirates were battling it out with the plasma drones. The trader and informant had to give the women credit. Here they were, risking their very lives to help the people they were also going to rob blind. As he watched a small part of his character, namely his conscience got into action, soon he found himself in the one dilemma he's been avoiding for a long time, and that was the moral dilemma.

 

On one hand, he could simply get to his ship and escape as he did with the Nirvana before. He was pretty certain that the Cube Fighters wouldn't hinder his escape progress, as Rabat usually did with every planet he sold out to the Harvesters. He had left the pirates to their fate back at that battle on the gas planet and hadn't thought about any of them, until today. After all, he was an informant of Earth, and it certainly won't be of any good to his health and well being if he helped those who opposed the Harvesters. That was how he survived for so long, and it was very lucrative…until he met Kyo.

 

Thinking about the Gundam pilot made Rabat furious, and he had been longing for some measure of revenge against the punk for every injury, insult, and humiliation he had caused him. The problems were that Kyo was NO pushover, either with or without his Gundam. Attacking him head-on was like committing suicide. The con man then had to think of other ways to gain his revenge on the Mobile Suit pilot. He had been bidding his time, gathering whatever evidence on Kyo and any weakness of his Gundam as he could, so the he could report it to the Harvesters and let them gain his revenge for him.

 

Then again, what would happen once the Harvesters DID defeat Kyo and his Freedom Gundam? That would leave the rest of the human worlds open to their invasion fleets, and the Harvesters would have no trouble taking all the human organs they wanted, and then…what was next? Would that mean that his services as an informant were no longer needed? And what would be next for him then? The con man had no other choice but to think that the possibility that the Harvesters would then turn on him once they took everything they needed from the other worlds. The way that they were desperate for human organs made that fact very obvious and Rabat would become nothing more than spare parts to them once they were done.

 

It was then that Rabat decided that things would be in his favor if he aided the pirates this time. Since the Cube Fighters had released mindless plasma drones, it wasn't going to take a genius to know that those things couldn't ell the difference between ally and enemy. Therefore, for his own survival, and to perhaps, score points with Liz, he'd fight alongside the Megele pirates.

 

As he leapt down and joined the fray, that small part of his being, namely his conscience began to grow.

 

*************

 

Liz was quite surprised when she caught sight of Rabat out of his cell, even more so when he went to battle the Harvester units inside the Mission. She became confused by this turn of events and wondered if Kyo's information about Rabat's connection with the Harvesters was wrong. From her long-time relationship with the scoundrel, she had gotten to the point of actually liking the trader. He was a free spirit like herself, never obeying other rules except his own.

 

Then Kyo's words came back to her and she also recalled the look of pure hatred, disgust, and rage in the face of Kyo when he had Rabat in his mercy. She knew that the young Mobile Suit pilot was blessed with a very even disposition and it took a LOT to make him that angry, and he said they had irrefutable proof of Rabat's dealings with the Harvesters to his claims. If that was true, then that meant the Rabat was totally responsible for every massacre on the planets they conquered, including the massacre on her own home-planet. As the time wasn't appropriate for her to sort out her feelings for him, and her sense of justice, she decided to reserve her judgment for later, once the threat to Delta 6 passed away.

 

*************

 

Out in space…

 

Kyo had to admit one thing. Kouji and his sister knew how to kick someone's ass REAL hard! For over a few minutes, they were raking in the Harvester forces by the seconds. The Harvesters now didn't contend with just one Paeksis powered Gundam, but two new and totally unknown Gundams

 

With the appearance of three Gundam types, not on their side, the Cube Fighters went en masse to try and box them out, therefore taking away the incoming pressure on the Dreads and Vanguards and the Mission. However, that meant that the space pilots had more Harvester units to send to the scrap pile, as they tore through them like hungry wolves on a dead reindeer.

 

Unlike the weapons wielded by Freedom, Kouji's Shinobi Gundam was really hamming it up. Kouji used his anti-ship sword and began hacking out any Harvester fighter crazy enough to get closer. Once he scrapped more of them, he unleashed his beam boomerangs and the beam edged weapons were hacking anything in their flight path. Once they returned, Kouji took out his stored beam cannon and rained shot after shot, along with his beam rifle, atomizing any foe that came in range. Once the Harvester forces were torn up, Kouji then showed another surprise for Kyo. An amber seed appeared in front of him and exploded in the same kaleidoscope of lights.

 

Kouji also had SEED mode!

 

He then took out his other swords and began hacking away at any target in range. Kyo was speechless, but he then became concerned when the blades of the swords broke, but he was shocked to see the broken blades being jettisoned from the handles…and being replaced with beam blades! The new beam swords were supported by the head mounted guns, and it appeared that Kouji's Gundam was armed with Phase Shift Armor, and what appeared to be an all purpose energy shield emitter on the fore arms, and the hands of the Gundam was also armed with smaller but no less lethal beam cannons.

 

Maia's Kunoichi Gundam was also bashing in any foe trying to bushwhack her brother. The Kunoichi tore through it's foes with it's beam sabers, beam cannons, and with one saber stored away, it's beam rifle. Any blast from the Harvesters was blocked by it's own Phase Shift Armor and a collapsible shield on the left arm. Maia also had another surprise as a blue seed appeared in front of her eyes and exploded in a mass of color.

 

Maia also had SEED mode!

 

Kyo watched as the Kunoichi then began to change form, and it became a four-legged beast machine. Apparently, Maia Asuka's Gundam was a transformable type and had a secondary mode similar to that of Jura's GunDread. Once it's second form appeared, it's normal mode weapons were altered and some were disabled, but the Kunoichi was far from helpless. It's beam rifle merged with the shoulder and became a high energy beam cannon, four guns were now present on the head, and it's sides now showed a pair of high powered beam blades. The transformed Kunoichi began raining beam bolts, and gun-fire on any foe at any range, and any Harvester force that came too close was diced by the beam blades.

 

Kyo may have been impressed, but he was about to learn why Delta 6 was still in one piece for all this time.

 

The wing-like projectors on the Shinobi Gundam had unleashed glowing wings of light that augmented the speed of the Shinobi, but they began to retract into the body, and then a strange shimmering effect surrounded the Shinobi Gundam, and in a second…The Shinobi…vanished.

 

"What the…?"

 

He turned and spotted the Kunoichi also have the same shimmering effect for a few seconds, then it too vanished.

 

"Where'd they go to?!"

 

The Gundam pilot got his answer as several waves of Cube Fighters were decimated just before they could get close enough, cut into chunks, as if some invisible blades were right in front of them, others were blasted to bits by what appeared to be weapons fire, but with no visible source. The Freedom Gundam and it's pilot were busy tracking the battle and wondered what was going on.

 

< What's going on?! The two Gundams vanished, but the Harvesters are getting trashed!>

 

Kyo then got an idea as he looked on. <I get it! The Shinobi and the Kunoichi are named as such since they must have some sort of advanced cloaking system that renders them invisible to both human eyes and electrical sensors. That must explain how Delta 6 has been intact all this time against the Harvesters. Both the Asuka siblings must use the stealth systems of their Gundams to hide themselves from the Harvester sensors and ambush the lot of them.>

 

After taking out more enemy units, Both the Kunoichi and the Shinobi reappeared beside Freedom.

 

"How was that?" Kouji asked as he got into contact with Freedom and Kyo.

 

"Not bad! No wonder the Harvesters haven't seen the Delta 6 and attacked it for a long time.”

 

Maia was about to join the conversation, but her Gundam's OS began issuing warning signals to her console. She looked and realized that her power supply was hitting the red-lines. She understood that their Gundams had reached the prescribed time limit for their combat endurance and had to recharge.

 

“Brother! We have to get back to the Station!”

 

“What?! Why?!”

 

“The Kunoichi's already reaching critical power loss levels, I can't keep fighting forever!”

 

“Damn! I forgot!” Kouji looked at his own power indicators and found out that the Shinobi was also reaching redline power levels. They had also forgotten to bring along their spare power packs, but since those would interfere with the cloaking systems of their Gundams they had to leave them behind.

 

“What's going on? Why are you…?”

 

“I'm sorry Kyo, but it seems that you'll have to be on your own for a while.” With that, both Kouji and Maia made their way back to the Mission in their Gundams. They had no choice but to leave Kyo and his Gundam to the Harvester assault.

 

They however weren't alone as a certain Dread pilot came on the scene.

 

"Mr. Alien! Let's combine!

 

When GunDread Dita came on the scene, it wasn't a contest anymore as it went through the Harvester ranks, being, to aid those inside the station. As for the Dreads and their Vanguard allies, Meia and the others dealt with whatever was left as they lead them away from the station, and right into Bart's gun sights, as the self guiding plasma bolt cannons of the Nirvana took them out. In a matter of seconds the whole battle was over.

 

*************

 

After dealing with the remaining plasma drones and getting the inhabitants of Delta 6 to better locations, Kyo, Parfet, BC, and Magno handed all the data they had on Rabat's crimes to Liz and the rest of the Delta 6 personnel and the Gundam pilot offered his own data concerning the worlds hit by the Harvesters, including that of Kouji and Maia Asuka. The former Yamato then went in search of Kouji and his sister, they found them leaning back on the walls while their Gundams were powered down.

 

"Kouji! The battle's over, we've won."

 

The former Yunrenian soldier gave a small nod as he and his sister walked up to Kyo. "We're glad to hear that. Sorry about throwing in the towel early."

 

Kyo nodded. "It's cool, though I'd like to know why you and your sis turned tail and ran, no offense meant though."

 

Kouji was a bit angry at that comment, but decided to at least explain, noting that his sister gave her approval, besides, he felt that he could really trust this Kyo, though for some reason, his name seemed…somewhat…familiar. "It happened a year ago, before we came to Delta 6, when we were back on our world…"

 

*************

 

"Now hold on a minute. What's this all about?"

 

Rabat was quite surprised to see his old flame now pointing a gun at his chest with the activated laser designator straight to his heart. All around him were other people, brandishing a wide assortment of projectile and melee class weapons as they all glared at him with hateful and enraged eyes. The trader had decided to grab a drink at the bar after the battle, and perhaps get reacquainted with Liz. But the moment he walked in, he was immediately surrounded and with the leader of the station the first to draw her weapon at him.

 

It seemed that Rabat's many crimes had finally come back to demand a long overdue payment.

 

*************

 

Meanwhile…

 

As Kyo listened to Kouji and Maia's story as to how they had gained their own Gundams, he was very intrigued. Apparently, and old section of the Cosmic Alliance of the old Earth had indeed created the first generation Gundams, and the old government of Z.A.F.T had used the designs to make their own Gundams, and the second generation. Apparently, there were people who had taken the older blue-prints of the Gundam series and those developed by Z.A.F.T to create their own Gundam units. Shinobi and it's sister, the Kunoichi were the descendants of the Second Generation Z.A.F.T Mobile Suits, respectively the Destiny, and the Gaia Gundams.

 

“So you're ancestors, piloted these Gundams, since they were part of the Guardians?”

 

“Yeah, They were great pilots and good friends to many. Our male ancestor's name was Shin…Shin Asuka, and his partner and wife's name was Stellar, Stellar Loussier Asuka.” Kouji began.

 

The two siblings began speaking of their family history, but unknown to them, Kyo was only listening partially. Kyo was waging another matter in his head.

 

Kyo once more felt a shiver of recognition, this time not at the Asuka name, but the names of Shin and Stellar. It was as if he had…met these two before. But that was impossible! They were alive no more than three hundred years ago, and he had just awakened from his sleep no more than a year after that…yet, he felt that he…DID know of them.

 

“We have this little family tradition, you know. We talk about the friends that our ancestors had for the last few generations. This had something to do with a very dear friend of our ancestor Shin and Stellar. The strange thing is…” Maia began to say.

 

“Is what?” Kyo asked once he shook himself clear.

 

“That person's first name is Kyo…same as yours. But you couldn't be that same person, you know, he was supposedly killed no more than three hundred fifty years ago. He was the one that allowed the rest of the colonists and their descendants the chance to live in the worlds they do now. Though I think…he would be horrified as to what's going on if he was still alive.” Kouji said with a far-away look.

 

“I wager that he would. What was his full name, if you don't mind me asking?”

 

“His parents were very famous, and when he was older he met our ancestors. His parents' names were Kira and Lacus Yamato. His full name is Kyo Clyne Yamato.”

 

Kyo became deathly silent at this. He was wagering now an even greater conflict in his mind. Though it was impossible to believe, he couldn't help but feel that he DIOD know this man named Kyo Clyne Yamato. But it went deeper than he and this man having the same name.

 

He felt…that he and that person…were…one…and the same.

 

Once his thoughts subsided, Kyo began talking to Kouji and Maia about other matters, namely about their plans and if he could help them with their Gundams along with anything else of importance.

 

*************

 

"Get out!"

 

"Hold on a second here Liz. Let's sit down and talk about…"

 

"There's absolutely nothing for us to talk about…you filthy traitor!" Liz hissed with venom as she deactivated the safety of her gun. Several others with firearms were also cocking up their weapons, and were a heartbeat away from pulling the triggers.

 

"What's this all about?" Rabat demanded. Sure he made a good number of people on Delta 6 rather angry the last time he was here, but that wasn't enough to warrant this kind of reception, or so he thought.

 

Liz glared hatefully as she began to explain. "I had a little chat with the crew of the whole Nirvana and they showed me QUITE a few things about you. You're the reason why ALL of us are here on this station! We lost our homes, our friends, OUR FAMILIES, BECAUSE OF YOU!!!! YOU SOLD US OUT!!!!!"

 

"Now hold on a minute, I…"

 

"SHUT UP!!" Liz snapped as she fired a shot that hit the floor, millimeters away from Rabat's right foot. "I SAW KYO'S EVIDENCE! ALL OF US DID! Every planet you've visited, the Harvesters came afterwards and decimated it! You're nothing but a gutless parasite! A slime bag, A FILTHY TRAITOR!!! Give us one good reason WHY we shouldn't send you to Hell right now!"

 

"Hey, I helped you! With great risk to myself if I should add!"

 

"And that's the only line that keeps you on the side of being able to breathe a little bit longer!" Liz shot back. "I don't know why you decided to betray your Harvester clients, and frankly, I don't give a damn! Probably just to save your own skin. But one good turn will NEVER excuse you for all the grief and pain and the HELL you've put all of us through! Now you've got exactly two minutes to get you parasitic hide out of Delta 6!"

 

"Now can't we talk…?"

 

"No talking, no deals, nothing! Two minutes." Liz answered with a deadly tone. "If you're not out of this station in two minutes, we'll toss your bloody carcass out the nearest airlock! And if you EVER come back here…then we'll kill you on sight!"

 

Rabat wanted to protest a bit more, but when everyone aimed his or her weapons on him, he knew that negotiation was completely useless. With a deep scowl, he turned and ran out of the bar, and towards the space dock. Along the way, he contacted Utan to follow him. Within two minutes, his ship was out of the docking bay, and went into the star-studded void of space.

 

*************

 

A week and a half later…

 

The Nirvana pulled away from Delta 6, after gaining fresh supplies and making the much needed repairs and upgrades to the station's systems, including the communication systems and defense networks to better prepare itself for future Harvester attacks. As the ship went on it's way to Talark and Megele, Kyo was on the observation decks and looked back at Delta 6. Meia and BC soon came to his side and joined him.

 

"So, do you think they'll be okay?" The Dread squadron leader asked.

 

"Yeah, they'll do all right." Kyo answered. "After all, they've got two pilots with their own Gundams to aid them." Kyo had spent time in helping Kouji and Maia come up with new tactics and strategies for their defense of their place in Delta 6, plus he helped create an automatic power recharge system for both the Shinobi and the Kunoichi, this new power system allowed the Delta 6 to send a powerful charge pulse to refuel the battery reactors of the Gundams, to allow for much longer fighting periods. It wasn't perfect, but it gave a better edge for Kouji and Maia to defend their new home from the Harvesters. And in return, Kouji and Maia helped getting more information about the group of people on the old Earth known as Coordinators and any other notes that Kyo felt could help him unravel his greatest mystery…himself.

 

"Are you sure they want to stay on that Mission?" BC asked. "They could come with us. We could use all the support we can get in this war, especially with their Gundams."

 

"No." Kyo answered. “Kouji and Maia told me that they've found a place where they belong now, just like I call this ship my own home, they call Delta 6 their new home, and they won't leave it behind after losing their own world to the Harvesters. They have a purpose in defending all those refugees and they told us that they'll be all right on their own. They told me however, that if we need their help, then we could just page them. The new Tachyon transmitter/receiver Parfet installed will allow them to receive and transmit signals across the entire galaxy."

 

"I suppose they'll be okay." Meia answered, but then frowned as she recalled something. "I'm only sorry that louse Rabat got away so easily after this."

 

"Actually, he didn't get away so easily this time." Kyo said with a grim chuckle.

 

"What do you mean?" Buzam asked curiously.

 

Kyo turned around. "I told Rabat that when I got the chance, I'll send him to Satan's cookout, and I meant it too. However, after I heard that he fought alongside us against the Harvesters, I decided that there just MIGHT be SOMETHING worth salvaging in that reject. So I decided that LIVING in Hell will be the next best thing to sending him there personally."

 

"What do you mean by that?"

 

Kyo nodded and explained. "Rabat's going to take ALL the medicine he forced down other people's throats. He's going to know that it feels like to be hunted and denied the right to even exist in this world. With that new tachyon transmitter, Delta 6 is going to send all the data concerning Rabat's crimes to every human world in the universe. He won't be able to trade or land on any habitable planet. And if he can't land on a planet, he can't get any information to sell back to his Harvester masters. And to make things even more interesting, he won't be able to resupply his ship in EVERY sense of the word. Let's see just how long it will take before the Harvesters decide that Rabat is now nothing more than a pack of spare body parts."

 

The two women became a little bit disturbed at just how harsh Kyo had become; though they had to admit that Rabat had this coming to him.

 

The Gundam pilot's expression softened as he continued to look out to space. "It isn't about revenge, if that's what you're thinking. No, this is about justice and retribution."

 

"Revenge usually leaves you with a feeling of great emptiness. All the people that Rabat sold out to the Harvesters deserve justice for their suffering and pain. I have every intention to see that they can rest easier knowing that the monster responsible for their deaths gets his due." Kyo replied as he looked at the blanket of stars.

 

Meia and BC wanted to say some more, but decided that there was nothing more needed, they looked back as Delta 6 became a dot in space.

 

*************

 

Author's notes…(Final)

 

I feel better now! Everything's been resolved and I'm back in the saddle. So now I'm updating today and the following days afterwards. So…this is what I've got in the hotpot.

 

This chapter's going to be rather long since we're going to go back to the event that changed the happening of Gundam SEED Destiny, since in the Prologue, Shin and Kira are not enemies, and Stellar is not killed in this story, nor is she part of the Extended commando force that steals the Z.A.F.T Mobile Suits in Destiny. Instead she and Shin are partners, becoming fast friends, as Shin is with Kira and Athrun. He's not as impulsive or angst-ridden in this story, unlike in SEED Destiny, and Stellar's not a kid in the mind, but is more mature and apparently, is more than ready to tease Shin. Though I have to admit that I've seen pictures of Lunamarie Hawke, and Shin does cultivate a relationship with her. I'm more partial to the Shin + Stellar paring than most.

 

I think that Bandai kind of wasted Stellar on her getting killed by Kira in Gundam SEED Destiny, giving Shin a greater reason to kill Kira. So I changed the outcome, and although it's not totally good, it's a lot better in my mind than just watching Stellar die needlessly.

 

Plus, I know I said in the previous chapter that there would only be one character in the GunDread SEED story who had a tie to Kyo's past life, but I decided to make things…more interesting with a duo instead, not to mention a duo of Gundams.

 

As you may have read, Kouji's Gundam is the same as Shin's Destiny Gundam, and Maia's Gundam is the same as Stellar's first Gundam, the Gaia. But they have the Mirage Colloid feature of the Blitz, but in a more compact and useful form, though they use battery reactors and that does limit their combat time, another Gundam SEED element there.

 

Plus, Rabat, didn't get free this time, now his leaving the Mission of Delta 6 will no longer be smooth sailing, now that Kyo's revealed what else he and Liz had planned for the scum-eating trader, just what will the broadcasts do to Rabat? Wait and see!

 

On the next chapter, I decided to shed more light on two of the major characters, namely our man-hating Dread pilot Barnette, and our cool doctor Duero, plus another Gundam SEED and SEED Destiny Element will come into play in this special chapter. I don't know how many parts I have in mind. But this will be worth the time and effort.

 

(*) Okay, this was a little too sappy and vague, but hey, love can make you do things and say things that are totally off base from your normal character, right?