Gundam SEED Fan Fiction ❯ Chaotic Outbreak Infinite Energy ❯ Chapter 7 Infinite Energy ( Chapter 7 )

Chapter 7 Infinite Energy

 

“Brett… you are so talented, and you saved me out there… I owe you big for this!” Brett smiled at Asagi's despite his exhaustion; “thanks Asagi… I'm really glad I got to save you. I did not think I was going to survive that, but somehow I did. I know it is going to sound corny, but when I thought about dying and never getting to see you. I just could not let that happen; you were the reason that I did what I did out there.”

 

Asagi reached out and grabbed a towel; carefully and gently she started to dry the sweat from his brow. She was so touched by Brett, and she still wanted Brett to know about how she was feeling. “Brett…! I love that you did that for me; because when I thought you died… I could just not go on. I want to wake up to your smiling face everyday; when I first met you, and you smiled at me… well… I wanted you with me for the rest of my life. I love that you were the one to save me, and when we are out of this danger I'm going to make sure you are so overwhelmingly happy.”

 

A nod was offered from Brett in response, and Asagi was suddenly praying for anything to end this conflict. Asagi was carefully inspecting Brett's face for anything out of the ordinary, but nothing was out of place, and Asagi was smiling from ear to ear. “I just don't know how an ordinary girl like me got so lucky.”

 

A smile matching Asagi's was across his face now and he looked up at the roof while trying to relax. “It was so amazing; when I decided I would not die; it was like everything became so clear, and I knew how to dodge it perfectly. It was like I could do everything right; it was amazing, but I will go out there again, and protect everyone that matters to me. Nothing is going to happen to you; ever… I promise Asagi we will make it through this.”

 

The lie was more comforting to Asagi; then the truth ever could have hoped to have been. “Just be careful; even if my boyfriend happens to be the most amazing pilot ever.” When she finished speaking; she jumped into his arms, and Brett was only to glad to receive her. The two hugged and shared a short kiss; this brief reprieve was giving them both the strength to continue. They would make it through for each other, and then they would enjoy each others company.

 

The door opened and Cagalli entered the room; she looked over at the two of them together and turned her head away. “Oh… I'm sorry I did not know you two were alone, but I just came here to tell you that your machine is ready… Just be safe out there alright.” Brett nodded to Asagi, and they both got up, and together hand in hand they pushed off over to Cagalli. “Thanks Cagalli; I will stay safe out there… and I'll protect that guy you like.”

 

Before Cagalli could even become flustered about what Brett meant by that; Asagi and Brett were already out the door. In the Hanger Brett stared at his machine; the spikes coming from the back were bigger and longer, and he was a little nervous. This weapon system had never been tested, and it made his machine slower. Asagi was over at her Astray ready to go, and she looked over at Brett and saw his hesitation. “Brett don't worry; I know you will be fine; I will watch out for you.”

 

Those words gave Brett the strength he needed, he entered his machine and powered it up and exited the Kusanagi. Brett's machine approached Athrun in the Justice, and Brett looked at Athrun on his monitor. “So Athrun… Since Kira is gone I will help you out with those three machines; I know I can do it.” Athrun was happy to hear it but was a little skeptical; “You sure about that; I mean you more then proved your skills, but it might be dangerous and you don't have to do it if you are uncomfortable.”

 

“I'm sure; someone has to help you, and keep you safe… I can at least try to even the odds, and besides someone has to make sure you make it back to Cagalli.” That comment of Brett's caught Athrun off guard, and soon he found himself flustered. “Um… well yeah you see I… Anyways there are three Nazca class ships waiting on the other side of the colony, but they seem to be waiting for something.”

 

“Brett…” Asagi cried, and he knew right away that she was worried. “Don't worry Asagi I will make sure nothing comes close to hurting you… I promise; that way we will both be alive to do what ever you want.” The Archangel suddenly started to move out along with the Eternal and the Kusanagi. Brett looked to Athrun, and then Murrue began to speak to them. “All of you are to head out now… those three machines and the Dominion are attacking!”

 

“Brett were heading out; just don't get to carried away out there ok?” Brett nodded and the Astray girls and the two leaders took off. Brett looked to Asagi and the girls, and took one last deep breath. “Girls…! Stay back and protect the Kusanagi and the Eternal, and Asagi… just please stay safe and call me if you need me.” Juri and Mayura acknowledged immediately, but Asagi paused momentarily; “okay but you just keep yourself alive because I'm not going to die!”

 

It was clear to Athrun that both were very worried about the others safety. “Asagi… I promise I will take good care of Brett… He won't die so long as he is with me.” Athrun's confident voice reassured Asagi; “thank you Athrun; I trust you to bring him back to me.” Athrun smiled and then immediately turned to Brett; “Brett you focus on the Forbidden; I will take the other two.”

 

Brett confirmed that he would follow, and the two shot off into space after the enemy. Brett looked at Athrun with a certain satisfaction; “it will be my pleasure…” While on their approach; the three had already spotted their opponents, and were overjoyed at the odds. Shani let out a small chuckle while studying them; “hey look guys… Now there is just the red one, and that small one…”

 

Orga too was over was overjoyed at the sight; “those are our kinds of odds. Let's take the weaker one out first; then we will finish off the red one together.” Clotho was already smiling thinking of the easy kills to come. “This will be too easy, and this time we will finish that guy off. His luck as to end sometime; so let's finish him now!”

 

The Blue Astray carrying Brett dodged fire of Raider, and slammed into the Forbidden. Shani cursed Brett, but still Brett used his thrusters to push the Forbidden with his shield away from the other two machines. Brett finally broke free and opened fire; only to find the Forbidden's deflectors an aggravation. Shani launched attacks from his rail guns, but Brett dodged and pulled his saber out; only to find it meeting the Forbidden's scythe.

 

Athrun was having a hard time trying to keep his enemies at bay; the two machines were acting together, and it was making fighting back hard. The Justice blocked a beam attack only to have the Raider try an attack from behind. The Justice thru a single beam boomerang in an attempt keep the Calamity busy; while the Justice opened fire on the Raider. The two machines pilots were acting in sync and their skill were getting better all the time; making this fight a challenge even for Athrun's skill.

 

Shani was continuing to block Brett's every move, but to Shani this pilot's skills were considerably worse then before. “Well… this guy is not as good as I remember. Why don't we put him out of his misery?” Clotho and Orga had been waiting for this, and now was an amazing opportunity. Then the Calamity turned and fired at Brett the same time as the Forbidden; Brett pushed his machine to its max to dodge the attacks.

 

The Justice tried to attack the Calamity, but Clotho had Orga covered. The Raider fired a large beam distracting Athrun, and the Calamity fired again at Brett. Brett's Astray dodged and tried to escape each blast, but his power consumption was through the roof. The warning signal went on indicating that Brett had less then ten percent of his power left; somehow he had wasted all the energy in just evading.

 

Erica heard how much trouble Brett was in and cried for him to get out, but there was no way out. Brett was pinned down by these three machines teamwork, and with one final dodge away from the Forbidden's red plasma beam; Brett realized anything that he now did would be his last thing alive. The distraction of despair aloud the Raider to swoop in and pummel Brett with his hammer; the blow rained all the remaining power, and now Brett was a drift the stars; without a prayer.

 

Backing up; the pilot of the Calamity laughed maniacally; “this time you're finished!!!” Brett saw the Calamity begin to charge his shield cannon, but this time there was no escape. Athrun was tied down, and everyone else was preoccupied; it was over and he had lost, and worst of all was he broke his promise to Asagi. The beam traveled from the barrel of the cannon, and Brett closed his eyes, but the sound of something blocking the beam was heard.

 

Slowly Brett opened his eyes to see the back of the Freedom, and then he heard Kira's voice. “Brett…! Are you okay…?” Brett responded that he was but with no way to help; he could only listen to the battle. He heard the battle between the Astrays and the Ginns; the events of all that was happening. Asagi cried out that there was simply to many and Brett struggled to contain his rage. Brett was being driven over the edge, and then his mind snapped and entered seed mode, but it was doing nothing. He needed power, and he was not going to die, and then his true power awakened.

 

SONG Ash Like Snow

 

Listening to all of his friends had set Brett's core a flame, and this was not going to be his end. The energy inside him felt infinite, and now all he had to do was release it, and then he remembered Asagi. “I will protect her; I will protect all of them!!!”

 

Lightning surged out from his body, and deep into the mobile suits core. Each and very last piece of equipment came back to life with the energy that was now flowing through it. The monitor for the Astrays aboard the Kusanagi suddenly jumped at the sight of Brett's power gauge. “Mrs. Simmons; it's Brett's Astray; it is reporting more then a full charge! It's power readings are beyond belief…!” Erica turned and rushed over to look at the monitor, but he was right; “how can this be…?”

 

Sitting in the Astray; Brett did not move; he just starred at his controls. The power flowing from him was alien, but the power felt so good; that all uncertainty disappeared in mere instants. Energy ripped off the frame in form of lightning, and the cloud of energy surrounding the machine only grew. Brett finally to look up slowly from his deep trance, and looked out the monitor, and began to utter a few short words; “I won't let anyone hurt any of my friends!”

 

The thrusters attached to the Blue Astray fired; sending Brett off at a tremendous speed. Kira and Athrun could not comprehend how his machine could be moving, but their opponents did not care. The three Alliance machines were now angry at Kira for preventing yet another kill, and they intended to exact revenge.

 

Traveling at an incredible pace; Brett appeared before Asagi and blocked an incoming laser. Asagi wondered how he could be moving again, and slowly she lowered her guard from the shock. Brett had already noticed, and was not going to let her die; “Asagi keep your guard up… I will get rid of all of these bastards right now!!!”

 

The shock gripped Asagi; Brett had never sounded so angry, and she knew something was driving him into this rage. The blue Astray tossed its rifle and shield above his machine into the darkness of space, and the new additions slowly spat out two daggers of Brett's design. The metal daggers started to glow along the tip when they were removed. Brett quickly took into account every last enemy in his path, and his power surged.

 

Lightning was sparking off every piece of armor, and the machine; this unbelievable power was beyond belief, and it was gripping Brett. The power surge traveled into his thrusters, and Brett traveled at lightning speed through the battle field. Every shot fired only hit the empty space where he had been, and as Brett passed his enemies; he landed a dagger right into their core. To pilots it looked like there were multiple mobile suits because of the speed at which it moved.

 

The speed was to overwhelming for anything to hope to match, and the Zaft pilots were afraid of this blue menace. Brett's Astray whipped from side to side; still moving like lightning, and upon completing a turn would let more daggers fly from his spikes, and into his machines grasp. No sooner then the daggers activate then were they plunged into an enemy. The twelve Ginns that had been launched all mercilessly lay in ruins; destroyed with a shard of mercy, and Erica was quick to order their forces to stop firing while Brett was in the way.

 

Every pilot watched this display; paralyzed of how this could be possible. Twelve Ginns destroyed in less than two minutes; the only word to describe it came from Mayura; “that's impossible…” The blue Astray turned its attention towards the three Nazca class ships; the glowing eyes only caused them to fear it.

 

In the blink of an eye; the menace was gone, and traveling towards them. Every ship tried to open fire, but this machine zipped out of harms way every time. The speed produced by this Astray unmatchable by even the Freedom. Brett landed on the top of the Vesalius, and ripped his laser sabers out and slammed the beam blades into the ships bridge. Leaving the Vesalius to explode from the deep penetration; Brett had already left from his striking point.

 

The blades then sliced into the two other Nazca class ships; disabling there engines, and they were surprised to have been granted mercy. Brett traveled away and stopped in front of them; looking to see if they would attack, but the ships were far to damaged. Juri was quivering over the commander's accomplishments. “How could he take on three ships by himself… the commander is amazing?”

 

Moments after making sure; Brett shot outwards on an ark through space. Rau's abilities aloud him to dodge the coming slash, but other wise he too would have fell victim. He laughed at this enemy of his; who only continued on its path. The Astray just kept barreling through space; till it cam across the Duel Assault Shroud Gundam and with a quick passing slash; removed the arm holding its rifle.

 

Brett ripped by Asagi in his electrified Astray, and showed no signs of stopping. The machine snatched the shield and rifle from the space that he had thrown it, and continued onwards to the Dominion. Kira and Athrun were retreating after the damage they had sustained, and so two were the Raider and the Forbidden.

 

The Raider still fired at the two; hopping to get lucky, but a laser shot through the Raiders arm, and took the shield cannon with it. Quickly Clotho decided to retreat, but Brett followed them towards the Dominion. More shots fired from his rifle at the two, and they were deadly accurate; making them near impossible to avoid. The Forbidden's pilot had enough, and was going to settle this now.

 

The Forbidden and the Astray traded fire, but both were matching the other in terms of accuracy. Brett started to feel the power fading, and now was his last shot. He tossed his shield and rifle into the Forbidden's deflective shield, and ripped out his sabers. The ignited blades crackled with energy, and both pilots prepared for this last strike. This had to be perfect; for either to survive, and they were ready.

 

With one last cry both pilots bolted forwards in an attempt to end the others life. The distance between them shrank rapidly, and both yelled; ready to claim the others life. Brett gazed at the shinning tip of the scythe, and the thought of failure gripped him. He remembered his promise to Asagi; how he would make back to her. Brett started then to remember all his friends, and then all the energy just stopped.

 

The Astray lost all power, and the sabers faded, but Shani was still poised and ready. The anticipation was killing him over the next few seconds, and waiting was no longer possible. The scythe traveled up, and slashed through the Astray. The scythe traveled up just slightly too soon, and cut the front of the Astray. Shani was starting to laugh till he gazed down to see the now floating backwards Astrays pilot in one piece.

 

“No way this bastard is still alive… there is no way his luck is that good.” The Forbidden readied its scythe to deliver the final blow, and this was the end. Asagi could see it, and she was still very faraway, but this was not going to happen. She was not going to lose Brett this way; this was not going to happen. Asagi jammed the controls forward; trying to obtain the maximum velocity; she was not going to lose him.

 

Shani was ready to strike when Azrael commanded him to stop. Azrael could not be more pleased with how this was turning out, and this pilot had to be something special to still be alive. The cockpit torn open, and the prize frozen there for him to take. “Hold on there just a second Shani; I know this guy has been a real pain in our side, but how many times do you get this much of an opportunity.” Natarle looked over at him in disbelief; “sir..? What are you talking about…?”

 

“Look at the prize we were just offered; that machine is disabled and is right there for the taking. If the pilots still alive then we have a double bonus, and no doubt he can provide information on that ship. Just think of this as a sound investment; a new resource for us… I mean look at the damage it caused!” Natarle was against this idea, but had little recourse; “sir… I very much doubt that the pilot will cooperate, and how much information can he really offer?”

 

“I don't know; maybe we can use him for psychological warfare or something? You're the commander, but let me put it this way. That thing disabled and destroyed three Zaft ships, twelve Ginns, and made it back in time to fight us. I have never seen a machine that can do that; wouldn't it be great if we could figure out how to do that. Then we would not only have the advantage, but then we have the pilot to use as a shield.”

 

No objections came from Natarle; even though she was desperately trying to find a reason against this plan, but still Azrael continued. “I mean we will have the machine that did it; so that's easy enough, but the pilot… well we will have him to. If it is all his doing; then all we have to do is persuade him to fight for us…”

 

“Director Azrael…! We can't do that to a prisoner of war, and I very much doubt you can persuade someone from this group. How do think we could even achieve this…?” Azrael was confused, but very curious; “oh really… why preciously can we not? Do these people have some kind of power that means that we can't break? Besides with enough persuasion; anyone will break… I doubt he is that strong. Hopefully it is his machine; then we can just kill him and be done with this nuisance, but sometimes it cannot be helped.”

 

Azrael was starring right at the machine like a kid eyeing a new toy. “Either way this is an amazing opportunity; maybe we can figure how he did it in the first place. Come on… how many chances do we get like this? This is war too… if this situation was reversed; do you think the enemy would be so kind? They would probably kill our guy in an instant; think of this as saving him… then we will see how useful he is to us.”

 

Floating there in the Forbidden; Shani had enough waiting, and was ready to speak up. “Hey…! Have you guys decided what I'm doing yet…! I'm tired of floating here… so tell me what to do!” Natarle finally broke; if she did not save this pilot; then Azrael would kill him, and it was the lesser of two evils. “Forbidden; retrieve that mobile suit, but do not damage anything.”

 

Shani was a little disappointed that they were letting him live, but orders were orders. The Forbidden reached down, and carefully started to grab, but then a laser shot just to his left. Shani backed up his machine to an Astray firing like mad down upon him. This Astray was showing no signs of stopping, and the pilot was not going to; Asagi was berserk, and was not going to let his machine take her loved one away.

 

The Forbidden switched to close combat mode, and readied its main cannon. Shani carefully aimed and pulled the trigger, but nothing fired at the Astray. Asagi was screaming her lungs out with multiple cries of desperation, while she descended upon this machine that was trying to steal Brett away from her. The Forbidden however had no power left, and Shani was so angry; “Damn it…! How the hell can this be… I have to retreat…”

 

“Forbidden; get out of there now and forget about him!” Natarle commanded and Shani had to obey, but he scowled at his failure. No he had been ruined twice by these machines, and next time he would have his revenge. Asagi continued to fire mercilessly; trying to drive off the last enemy, but then she released her shield and rifle. Carefully but still quickly; she grabbed the damaged mobile suit and left the area quickly.

 

Asagi could barely see the Kusanagi, and she was worried about any enemies. Her eyes slipped away to look over at Brett; she could see so many shards of metal imbedded in his suit; she realized she needed help for him now. Her heart was pounding and her concern for Brett was torturing her. She was praying for aid from anyone, and then her prayer was answered; “Asagi… Asagi…! This is Mir; Murrue is ordering you to come to the Archangel immediately. Please bring Brett here now…!”

 

It was more then just an order; it was Asagi's prayer answered, and she rushed to the Archangel. The two Astrays landed on board, and Asagi could not even look at Brett in this state. She was trying to hold back any tears, but she could not hold them back for long. She transported the two inside, and once in the middle of the hanger; she powered down and shot out of her machine.

 

Ripping Brett out of his seatbelts, and bringing Brett up to her face; she could now see how bad he was. His visor was shattered, but thankfully not broken. She brought op her hand that had been touching his waist to see her hand covered in blood. His suit was starting to turn dark red, and it was all coming from a metal shard that had pierced his suit.

 

Asagi was starting to lose control; she could not bear to see him like this. She took his helmet off and thru it way, but his face was fine. Brett was unconscious, but Asagi could not tell if he was alive or not from her state. “Brett…! Please wake up…! SAY ANYTHING…!” Asagi shook Brett; just wanting to hear his voice and sooth her soul. She prayed for him to be alive, and no longer could she hold back her own tears.

 

Dearka had already made it back, and could hear Asagi from his mobile suit. He pushed off his machine and made it over to the two Astrays; not for a second did Asagi stop shouting Brett's name. Dearka pulled his way into the wide open cockpit; he grabbed hold of Asagi by the arm, and began to try and calm her down. “Hey what are you crazy; stop it or you'll only make his injuries worse!”

 

Asagi suddenly stopped moving Brett at all, and Dearka could see through the visor that she was crying. “Hey just calm down… he's alive; he just has some injuries. He will be ok; so let's just make sure he gets to the medic before he gets worse.” Asagi nodded, and grabbed Brett in her arms, and together they made their way quickly to the exit from the hanger.

 

“Hurry up you two; the medics already waiting to take Brett in!” Mir shouted from the exit, and when she saw Brett she gasped at his blood soaked suit. Mir looked at him and sighed; she was just happy to see that he was alive. After what she had watched him do; she could not believe he was still here. “I'm just glad he is still alive; come on I will show you the way to the medics.”

 

Mu sat in his bed; trying to recover from the bullet wounds he had received from Rau. After being able to talk with Murrue about Rau and his father; Mu still could not help but wonder about the others. Murrue looked away momentarily before she began to deliver the report. “The Freedom took some major damage, but Kira is fine… and mostly everyone else is alright.”

 

“Mostly…? What about the kid that I know that cannot take care of himself? What happened out there Captain…?” Mu sounded a little impatient, and Murrue told him everything about Brett and what he had done. Mu lay there and became a little annoyed with the young man he had spoken to so strictly. “You know… you try and tell the kids of today to be careful, and that one pulls a miracle out of no where, and he almost ended up dead or worse… still he survived somehow; the problem is that he is starting to sound a little like me.”

 

Murrue gave a small chuckle at the thought; “that's just what the world needs… another Mu Laflaga… I made sure that Miriallia would take him straight to the medic; I just hope he is not too injured.” Mu closed his eyes and smiled; “well regardless… it will probably not hold him back for long. Just hope that girl can talk some sense into him; oops I mean Asagi… something tells me we will see another battle soon, and both those kids need a brake from battles. Even worse then him being like me, is him being like Kira, and he really reminds me of Kira…”

 

Asagi set Brett down on the bed, and the Medic was quick to go to work. For the next half an hour; Asagi, Dearka, and Mir all sat and watched the Medic fix Brett. Only the one shard had pierced Brett's pilot suit had truly hurt him, but it had been harder on Asagi. It took a while for Mir to calm her down, but soon the sobbing stopped when she realized he was okay. It did not take long for the medic to have him bandaged and resting peacefully.

 

The instant the medic said he was finished; Asagi pushed off the bed she sat on, and floated over to Brett's side. She stopped beside him, and landed on the bed; her eyes were fixed on his resting face. Her hand started gently rubbing his face, and traveled upwards and started brushing through his hair. She was just happy that he was safe, and Mir and Dearka watched this sweet loving scene.

 

It was time to go, and Mir started pulling Dearka out of the room; the medic had already left, and Mir knew they had to leave. On the way out Mir turned and pressed the door lock button; wanting the two to be alone. This had been a hard day on both; Brett had earned plenty of rest and relaxation, and Asagi just needed time to settle after losing control. The sight of Brett almost dying must have been so hard for her, but now she could relax.

 

The medic had been stopped by Murrue; she had many questions, and medic was happy for the news. “Brett will be fine; except for the injury to his side… which should have no ramifications; he will be fine in a few days I would imagine. Nothing else is wrong with his health; considering what he experienced though… I would keep an eye out for trauma, but that girl is probably his girlfriend, and if they are close he will be fine. Also just keep an eye out for any other health issues… it may be possible that he will get sick from the metal, or possibly from the cold of space… just some things to watch for. I still am worried though for trauma, so definitely keep an eye on that too.”

 

Murrue thanked the medic for his aid, and the medic left without another word. Mir and Dearka approached Murrue; both unsure of what they should be doing. “Mrs. Murrue; we decided to give them some alone time… is there anything you want either of us to be doing?”

 

The question caused a smile to blossom on Murrue's face; “no that is quite alright… The battle situation is over, so I think it would be best if the both of you got some rest. I will go talk to the others about the situation, but thank you Mirrialia for aiding with that situation, and to be honest right now I'm just glad that everyone is safe and sound. Hopefully we will all have time to rest before any more battles take place; you both are dismissed.”

 

Both Mir and Dearka saluted and left the area happy with the break they had received. Murrue paused for a moment, but realized that everyone was probably waiting for any good news. Murrue wanted to be with Mu, but this was more important then her own personal feelings. There would be time later, but for now she headed off towards the bridge to speak with the other ships.

 

Quiet sobs still came from Asagi; every time she thought about how close he was to being lost. She could only imagine what they may have done if they had captured him. Brett slowly woke to the sound of Asagi gentle sobs, and he came slowly to terms with what had happened. He turned his head slowly and kissed Asagi on the forehead; Asagi made a small confused sound. She could not believe Brett was already awake, but she got up and looked over to see Brett looking at her.

 

“Asagi… you saved me out there… didn't you?” Asagi smiled and nodded, and Brett lifted his hand and gently grabbed one of her hands. “I'm so glad you did… I did not want to leave you; that is why I stopped. I could not let that rage take hold of me; because then I may never have came back. Besides I did not want to go with the Alliance anyways, so thanks for saving me. It really means a lot that you did that for me.”

 

Between the sobs came laughter; Asagi could not help but smile at what Brett said. She lay back down beside him, and started nuzzling her head into his; her soft voice started to speak how she felt. “You had me so worried, but you were so amazing! I'm just glad I could save you… you really were amazing, but now I just want you to sleep here with me till I know you are really here.”

 

That sounded like the best idea Brett had heard in a long time; right now that is what his heart desired more then anything. “That sounds great Asagi; right now I don't want to do anymore fighting. All I want to do is lay here with you and get some rest; later I promise we will spend all the time in the world together. You can have me doing anything you want.”

 

“You already know what I want…” Brett just smiled and nodded, and Asagi was happy. The two were soon asleep together; just happy with warmth the other was providing. Everything about the other was right for them, and they finally were able to rest away from the battle, and find a brief moment of peace.

 

Murrue sat in the captain's chair looking into the monitor; the Eternal and the Kusanagi were hooked up through a direct link. Erica, Mayura, Juri, and a large portion of the Astray pilots were all on the bridge; each one waiting the news nervous of the results. Cagalli, Lacus, and Athrun were aboard the Eternal's bridge along with Andrew Waltfeld. Everyone there was very eager to hear what had become of Brett.

 

“First of all let me all tell you Brett is alive and well…” The sentence finally eased everyone's nerves, but still they were eager to find what had happened. “He has some injuries, but nothing to threatening; and he is sleeping right now with Asagi. If it had not been for her; I think the Alliance would have taken him. To be clear about one thing; his machine is nothing any different from the others? Right…”

 

Erica moved forward slightly; offering a small laugh at the question. “To tell the truth; the machine has slightly better equipment based on the Strike… however… You see I put sensors inside Brett's machine to measure everything he has been doing; especially since Orb, but that is what makes this so amazing. His machine had no power, and then it was reporting more power then it could handle. The speeds surpassed even what the Freedom is capable of… to tell the truth I cannot figure out how he accomplished that.”

 

“Hey…!” Andrew Waltfeld shouted; not wanting some other over achiever to be forgotten. “Let's not forget we have other damaged machines; according to Athrun; Kira got banged up to… but we got a front row seat to that performance. I have never seen a machine capable of those speeds; nothing of Zaft can do that… as for the power issue; you could see Lightning coming off the armor. Something else had to be going on; three Nazca class ships along with twelve Ginns were taken down in under two minutes, and there is no way an Astray could ever do that.”

 

Erica looked back momentarily to look and see how the other pilots were doing; each could not even imagine the reasons for what accomplishments had been done. “True the Astray is not that strong; what ever did happen out there… is best classed as a miracle that we cannot describe. Because there is simply no way to describe it, but it does not matter; all that matters is that Brett is safe, and everyone is still alive.”

 

Andrew let lose a chuckle at the idea; “yes we are for the moment, but we need to get to work and fix our machines before the next battle. The Freedom is in the worst shape…” Andrew stopped speaking when he saw a mechanic approach Murrue's ear, and after moments the mechanic left. “Well the report just came in on Brett's machine; every circuit in it is singed, and the machine is finished…”

 

A gasp came from Erica at the thought of the machines destruction; “the energy needed to fry every circuit would be massive… Mrs. Murrue; when we rendezvous at the set points; I will send over pilots to bring both Astrays back. We can find Brett a new machine if need be, but right now I would like to inquire about his machine. We also; as Mr. Walfeld put… need to fix the other machines. We simply do not know when the next battle will happen, and there is one more thing I need…”

 

Murrue was already onto her, and could only smile; “yes I know… I will send them back to you aboard a shuttle when we rendezvous, but I do have a favor to ask of both ships.” Both Andrew and Erica were quick to agree, but Erica knew what one request was. “Do not worry about Brett; except for maintaining his health; Brett will not be lifting a finger. Both Asagi and Brett are on stress leave till next battle; they should be aloud the time they have earned together. Right now they need time together…”

 

Andrew was laughing at the sentiment; “young love between the two, huh? Well he is part of your crew so you can do what you want with him… but all things considering; that kid has earned a long break. I suppose Murrue wants me to give Kira some time off too. Would be nice if all these kids could get away from the war… I guess I could give them sometime off…”