Gundam SEED Fan Fiction ❯ Mobile Suit Gundam SEED: Last Impression ❯ Episode 22: The Sea Dyed Red ( Chapter 22 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

The Archangel finally resumes its trek to Alaska via the Pacific Ocean, entering first by the Red Sea and into the Indian Ocean. However, another ZAFT unit led by Commander Marco Morassim stumbles upon the EA legged-warship, and pushes for an attack.

Meanwhile, tensions flare a bit between Kenji and Kira regarding their beliefs and views on the current war, with both Gundam pilots exchanging their ideas about it.

Anime/Manga: Gundam SEED Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Action / Romance | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 07.13.2006 | Pages: 16 | Words: 18.2K | Visits: 209 | Status: Completed

Last Impression

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Episode 22: The Sea Dyed Red

Legend

Word denotes character thought

Word denotes setting, time

-Word- denotes sound effect

Word denotes flashback dialogue

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Timeline: C.E. 71, March 3; +1200 hours

Location: The Archangel

Leaving the eastern coastline of Africa, the EA legged-warship made its moderate trek over the Red Sea, cruising over its swaying waves. Inside the main bridge, everyone in the room rejoiced at the sight of the Earth's natural body of water they realized the Archangel was cruising on. Deciding to give the bridge crew a break, Murrue stood up from her seat, glancing at everyone around her and getting their attention.

“You may all take a brief break and can go out on the ship's deck to briefly enjoy the view of the ocean. I permit it.”

At cue everyone in the main bridge quickly scampered out of the room, save for Murrue and Natarle, with the latter removing her headset-mic and placing it on her seat in the CIC area after standing up from it. She walked up to the Archangel Captain with a tired sigh, ruffling her short black hair with her right hand.

“Are you feeling well, Natarle? That sigh of yours doesn't tell me so,” Murrue stated with a knowing smile.

“After having gone through many battles ever since we made atmospheric re-entry to Libya instead of Alaska, of course I'm not well! Now that I think about it, we haven't had much time to relax for a while,” the second-in-command replied earnestly.

“Well, I suppose we can take a break as well. Would you like to join me for a brief lunch in the mess hall?”

Natarle paused briefly, thinking about other matters in mind.

“I'm afraid I'll decline your offer, captain. I have something else to discuss with Chief Murdoch in the hangar bay.”

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Entering the Archangel's hangar bay, Natarle walked over to Murdoch, spotting him bellowing orders to his team of engineers/mechanics to continue repairs on the Strike Gundam parked. The head engineer/mechanic was down below facing the Strike, moving his arms to direct commands to some of his team to finalize repairs on the Strike's chassis.

“Alright, finish up with the external repairs on the Strike! We can work on its paint job later. Huh…? Oh, Ensign Badgiruel! What's up?” the head engineer/mechanic asked, noticing Natarle's figure standing by his side and turning to her.

“How much longer will it take you, Kira, and Kenji to finish work on the Gundams?” the Archangel second-in-command inquired, folding her arms.

“Well… both the kids are already done helping out with the repairs on their MS. They really gave me and my team a lighter load of task to accomplish, I'll thank them for that.”

Natarle stared appalled at Murdoch.

“Really now, Chief Murdoch, it's very disorderly of you to call Kira and Kenji `kids', since your rank is higher than them!”

The head engineer/mechanic ruffled behind his head with his left hand in embarrassment.

“Right, right… sorry, I've gotten so used to their company, they're beginning to rub into me. I can't help it!”

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In the Archangel's mess hall, Murrue ate quietly from her tray meal alone on a corner of the room. The ship's cook, Chef Lowe Carte, was busy cleaning up in the kitchen and readying the next set of meals for the ship's crew to indulge in for dinner. After munching on a piece of green salad and swallowing it, Murrue furrowed her eyebrows in thought, pondering on the previous events in hand after the recent battle with the `Desert Tiger'.

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Flashback

After the successful operation of Operation Lesseps Breakthrough, the crew of the Archangel celebrated their victory with the remnants of the Desert Dawn led by Sahib. In the Archangel's main bridge, the ship's high-ranking trio gathered in Murrue's office, along with Sahib and Kisaka.

Seated behind her desk, Murrue glanced at Mwu, who voiced out a concerned statement at the Desert Dawn leader and pocketed his hands in his pants.

“You know, ZAFT will still be around, despite the demise of the `Desert Tiger', will you be ok with that, Sahib?”

The Desert Dawn leader stroked his grizzled beard with his right hand, waving off the Moebius Zero pilot's wonder and worry implied inside his given statement.

“The Desert Dawn will fight on if ZAFT returned to our territory. Don't worry about us, `Hawk of Endymion'. My group can take care of each other well.”

Mwu shrugged his shoulders with a defeated smile.

Natarle then spoke her turn with a thankful bow to Sahib.

“Thank you for your group's assistance in defeating the `Desert Tiger' and his forces. We're grateful to you, Sahib.”

Sahib shook his head in reply, disagreeing with her.

“No… it's I on the behalf of the Desert Dawn who should thank you and your crew of this ship in aiding our cause to drive off ZAFT from our territory.”

Murrue stood up from her seat, walking over to the Desert Dawn leader for a handshake, which he gladly accepted with a wry smile.

“Thank you, Sahib. Before the Archangel resumes its course, let's hold a memorial service for all those who died fighting against the forces of the `Desert Tiger'.”

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True to Murrue's remark, the celebration was followed by a memorial service held on the outskirts of the Desert Dawn main camp, for the brave men who sacrificed their lives in fighting against the `Desert Tiger'. Everyone involved in the Archangel-Desert Dawn alliance participated in the event, some laying down flowers before a large-sized slab with the names of the deceased etched while others quietly grieved and prayed for the departed souls' deserved rest.

After the memorial service and giving their farewells to Sahib and the Desert Dawn, the Archangel's crew proceeded to board ship and leave. However, their departure didn't go unnoticed, for a certain short blonde-haired female teen rebel along with her bodyguard managed to sneak onboard the EA legged-warship and immediately headed over to Murrue's office, catching her in a short meeting with Natarle and Mwu.

“What on earth… why are you still here, Cagalli? Shouldn't you be with the Desert Dawn?” Murrue asked, surprised by her presence.

Cagalli went over to her desk and slammed her hands firmly on it, eyeing the Archangel Captain with stubbornness etched on her face.

“I insist that I go along with you in this ship, Captain Ramius! I don't like to stay in the Desert Dawn any much longer than I have.”

The Archangel high-ranking trio glanced inquisitively at Kisaka, hoping for a possible solution on this small dilemma presented before them. The male guerilla sheepishly shrugged his shoulders with a defeated look on his face.

Natarle let out a confused sigh, placing her left hand on her forehead in disbelief. Mwu on the other hand simply chuckled to himself, finding Kisaka's look on his face funny and guessing what his expression was telling.

End Flashback

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Murrue shook her head amusedly, marveling at the present situation she was on now.

But then again, I suppose it's for the best that Cagalli and her bodyguard join the ship for now. Still… there's something about her that I can't get over with though.

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As the Archangel continued flying over the Red Sea and now entering the Indian Ocean, Miriallia, Tolle, and Kuzzey went outside the ship's left deck for some sight-seeing.

“Wow… this is amazing! Look at the entire water we're flying over!” Miriallia commented amazingly, shielding her eyes from the sun's glaring rays with her left hand. Her eyes squinted to get a better look at the ocean shown before her. Standing behind her, Tolle took a deep breath of the ocean breeze, then exhaling it gladly.

“Ah… I never got to smell what the Earth's ocean was like until now.”

Kuzzey pursed his lips in wonder, hearing the particular word `ocean' for the first time. He neared the deck railing warily, his eyes never leaving from the ocean.

“Woah… so this is an ocean then? I've never seen it before because I used to live in Heliopolis.”

He then turned around to find Miriallia edging close to him with a scary look on her face. He glanced at her with wide eyes of fear.

“What's with that look on your face, Miriallia?” Kuzzey warily asked.

“You know… maybe there are some monsters lurking about deep inside the ocean, Kuzzey. So, if you ever think about swimming…” Miriallia remarked, emphasizing each word in her remark with implied fear. She gave herself a high-five deep down after noticing her desired effect creeping in Kuzzey's expression, as he took a step back away from her.

“R-Really… come on! You're joking, right?”

Fighting to urge to laugh at Kuzzey's reaction, Tolle sounded out a chuckle, stretching his arms to loosen some stiffness held.

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On the Archangel's right deck, a lone Kenji leaned against the deck railing, with his arms propped on it. The ocean breeze ran through his hair, swaying it fro and about. His amethyst eyes remained fixed on the bright blue, cloudy sky, as the image of the destroyed LaGOWE surfaced in his mind.

Waltfeld-sensei… was this… acceptable?

The Seraph pilot then recalled his best times studying under the `Desert Tiger' during his ZAFT academy days. A wistful smile etched on his face as he could remember the gentle and supportive side of his former teacher.

You were right all along… to know thy enemy, you must be the enemy. I've upheld that motto and have become the broken, unsure ex-soldier I am now.

Unable to hold back the willpower to cry, he allowed silent tears leaving quickly from his eyes and dropping on the sleeves of his EA uniform, lightly wetting them. His wistful smile now turned into a shaky, tightened frown. His hands clenched the deck railing tightly, with his knuckles seemingly turning white slowly from the pressure adding on his grip.

Damn it… you didn't deserve that fate… and to be killed by Kira's hands. But then again, you were a soldier after all, and one who rather sees fit to fight for his country.

Suddenly, the right deck door opened, allowing a distraught Kira to step outside the right deck. He looked up to find the familiar back of Kenji facing him, invoking a surprised cry from the Strike pilot.

“…Kenji?”

The Seraph pilot's ears perked up at hearing his name being called by Kira, prompting him to quickly wipe off his tears with the back of his right hand in one quick motion. He then turned to the Strike pilot with a passive face. As the two Gundam pilots stared at each others eyes, brief memories of the recent battle with the `Desert Tiger' pictured in their minds, triggering mixed feelings from both of them.

Kira… you… did you have to kill Waltfeld-sensei?

…Kenji… I'm sorry for having to kill your former teacher. I… had no choice.

In an instant, Kenji reached out and grabbed Kira by the collar of his EA uniform with both hands, staring at him with mixed feelings of anguish, confusion, and reluctance mirrored in his eyes. This action caught Kira off-guard, as he barely let out a cry of surprise and stared back at his fellow comrade with shimmering, sad eyes.

“Kenji… I… I didn't want to… but he made me did it,” the Strike pilot shakily stated.

Gritting his teeth to hold back the seeping anguish just felt from the witness of his former teacher's demise, Kenji slowly saw an image of his 15-year old innocent self in Kira, wearing his former ZAFT red-coat uniform. He looked down at the ground for the moment, coming up with the right words to voice out before glancing up at the Strike pilot he was grabbing onto and lifting slightly up from the ground, while his legs dangled from the height he was carried up into.

“Kira… I was like you… innocent, and not a care for the world but just focus in your own life. All that changed when I joined ZAFT around your age. 2 years of serving them was enough to change my mind and regret my decision of joining. I felt the same way as you, being thrown surprisingly into the world of war!” the Seraph pilot stated.

Kira's eyes shimmered with confusion and regret. Deep down, he was startled by Kenji's statement and finding a possible answer to his present situation, which he still couldn't help to bear and get used to.

“But…! You don't understand the feeling when you take a human life with your own bare hands… you don't know how hard it was for me to avoid bloodshed with the enemy!” he retorted.

“IDIOT…! Of course I understand that feeling! I suffered mentally a lot when I was forced to take the lives of the enemy… but I learned one thing from this. This is war we're in… war doesn't take sides with either the innocent or the guilty… the righteous or the wicked… the ones who think they're superior over the other just because of race… its all the same! You either kill or become killed… that's the way it goes in war! And that's the way you have to undertake in order to carry on living!” Kenji exclaimed back angrily.

Tears slowly streamed from the Strike pilot's eyes as he forced himself to understand the Seraph pilot's implied remark. He then started to recall his last fight with the `Desert Tiger'.

“That man… your former teacher… he believed that this war could end by destroying all enemies.”

Kenji shook his grip tightly on Kira, giving him a sudden jolt of movement. His expression etched in a comprehensive and resolute look.

“You're definitely wrong about that. This war between Coordinators and Naturals can only be extinguished when both sides cease their useless overzealous hatred of each other because of genetics… this war goes to show us what it'd be like for them to take up arms and decide their superiority through conflict… Waltfeld-sensei said that to us because it's his belief on this war. Nothing more, nothing less...!”

It was then that Kira brought up another sensitive issue.

“Do you remember when we fought the ZAFT forces fighting against the EA 8th Fleet up in the Earth's atmosphere?”

Kenji gave a puzzled look, then deciding to release his hold and drop him back to place.

“Yeah, I do. Why…?”

“This got me arguing with you about this war between the EA and ZAFT. Remember the Heliopolis civilians we managed to rescue before their home colony collapsed? They all boarded in a civilian shuttle that was launched moments while the Archangel began its atmospheric-reentry to Earth. As I was fighting against the Duel, which was one of the prototype MS units the ZAFT forces managed to steal, the civilian shuttle happened to be in the way. The Duel was about to fire its beam rifle at the shuttle and I tried to reach for it first and prevent the shot from happening…”

As Kira explained the events regarding his fight with the Duel Assault Shroud back up in the Earth's atmosphere during the battle between the ZAFT forces and the EA 8th Fleet, an image of the little girl, Yumi, he promised to protect etched in his mind, with her childish, innocent face beaming at him.

“This is for protecting everyone, Kira! Thank you!”

The thought of Yumi made the Strike pilot clenched his hands into shaky fists, but he continued on.

“…When something extraordinary happened… suddenly, a falling piece of debris took the beam shot fired by the Duel, and I managed to reach the civilian shuttle first. After I checked up with its occupants, I was about to engage the Duel. But then… out of nowhere, two beam shots went through the shuttle… and destroyed it… -Hic- I turned around to find it -Hic- -Hic- explode into pieces…!”

After taking in Kira's words, Kenji managed to recall his part in the battle between the ZAFT forces and the EA 8th Fleet. When his thoughts loomed in his battle with Eiji, his eyes widen with realization.

No… those two beam shots Imanaged to parry from Eiji… oh god, what have I done?

Slumping down on his knees, Kenji shockingly looked down at the deck floor, bringing upthe open palms of his hands and diverted his gaze to them instead. Noticing his peculiar reaction, Kira glanced wonderingly at his fellow comrade.

“What is it, Kenji? What's wrong?” he asked.

“…Kira… you said the civilian shuttle took 2 beam shots from out of nowhere. Could you also have noticed they traveled from below instead?”

The Strike pilot furrowed his eyebrows in thought, rubbing underneath his chin with his left hand.

“Now that you mentioned it, they did appear from below the shuttle. Why?”

Kenji then explained briefly his fight with Eiji back up in the Earth's atmosphere. It was now Kira's turn to be stunned, widening his eyes in realization. His mouth was agape, expressing his shock.

“No… it was you all along who caused those beam shots to destroy the shuttle! Why? Why? Why of all this time you're telling me this!”

With a surge of emotional strength, the Strike pilot lifted up the Seraph pilot by the collar of his EA uniform slightly, due to their current height discrepancy, with his left hand, while his right hand poised a clenched fist to deliver a punch at the Seraph pilot. Kira's amethyst eyes shimmered brightly, while his eyebrows narrowed down angrily.

“ANSWER ME, KENJI! Why…!”

Kenji looked away from Kira ashamed, feeling unable to put up resistance.

“I'm sorry… I didn't know the civilian shuttle was destroyed until I heard from Captain Ramius mentioning about it during a meeting with her. I was sure those beam shots would have traveled to empty space instead…”

Unable to bear the Seraph pilot's ashamed state any longer, the Strike pilot delivered a right hook to his right cheek, releasing his grip on him and watching him drop down to the deck floor. The Seraph pilot gingerly caressed his bruised right cheek with his right hand, unable to look the Strike pilot in the eye.

“You…! How dare you lecture me about war? Especially when you're the one who clearly can't see his own point delivered to me!” Kira retorted helplessly, dropping down his arms and remained standing in his position. He felt emotionally drained after all that shouting he delivered to his fellow comrade.

It was then that the right deck door opened, revealing Cagalli docked in her rebel attire, minus her combat vest, and stepping inside finding the two Gundam pilots in a personal conflict. She stared at them with wide, surprised eyes and an agape mouth.

“What's going on here?” she inquired.

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Meanwhile in Murrue's office, the important people were gathered once again (the Archangel high-ranking trio, the Atlantic Federation Vice-Minister, and Peter Hyne) along with Kisaka. They all stood around Murrue's desk respectively.

“I find it odd that the Earth Alliance wants the Archangel to reach its main HQ in Alaska with no supplies or support,” Kisaka started, folding his muscular-toned arms. He was currently docked in rebel attire minus his weapons.

Natarle shared the same feeling, with her face etched in a worry manner as she glanced at Kisaka.

“But still… flying over the Indian Ocean…? Are you positive we might encounter less resistance from ZAFT forces in that area?” she inquired.

Cagalli's bodyguard gave an affirmative nod in reply.

“Yes, it's the best place because it's not too concentrated with ZAFT forces. That much I know.”

George pursed his lips in wonder, rubbing behind his head with his right hand.

“It's hard to take your word for it, Mr. Kisaka, but I suppose there's no other choice. Peter, what do you think about this?”

The said Hyne merely pocketed his hands in his lab coat and shrugged his shoulders.

“I share your sentiments, George, but we can only trust his word and move on quietly. Hopefully we won't be bothered much by ZAFT forces, unlike back there in Africa, where we encountered heavy resistance from the now late `Desert Tiger'.”

Murrue and Mwu opted not to comment further, with the former crossing her hands to form a temple and ponder on the present situation and the latter placing both his hands behind his head while he leaned against the wall behind him.

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Back in the Archangel's right deck, a small drama involving the two Gundam pilots was being played out in front of Cagalli, who had unknowingly stepped in the scene.

“What are you doing? Stop this!” she exclaimed, rushing over and stepping between Kenji and Kira with outstretched arms, hoping for a peaceful resolution to their supposed differences.

“-Hic- Kenji… you… I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU FOR WHAT YOU DONE!” Kira cried angrily, pointing accusingly at the Seraph pilot with his right hand and gritted teeth.

Cagalli turned facing the downed Seraph pilot, watching him slowly pick himself up to his feet with an ashamed look on his face. She noticed his bruised right cheek.

“Kenji… what happened here between you and Kira? What's he saying?”

Guilt and regret filled Kenji's heart as he managed to bring himself facing both Cagalli and Kira. The Seraph pilot's lips etched in a sad, small arch.

“It's… somewhat delicate to explain, Cagalli. Maybe some other time we can talk.”

Glancing at Kira one last time with a heavy heart, Kenji headed inside the Archangel through the right deck door, leaving the scene. After watching his retreating form, Cagalli turned to Kira and huddled close by his side, finding him suddenly breaking down in tears. Reactively, she enveloped her arms around him, cradling his face crying against her left shoulder.

“Everything will be okay. There, there…” she softly cooed, patting his back with her right hand, consoling him.

After waiting several minutes for Kira's cries to finally cease, Cagalli slowly broke her embrace, holding his left hand with hers and guiding the grief-stricken Strike pilot to the wall near the right deck door. Both teens sat down together, with their backs leaning against the wall and staring at the calm tranquility of the Indian Ocean before them.

Wiping off remnants of his tears with the back of his left hand, Kira looked down to find his right hand being held by Cagalli's left hand, glancing up to find her staring at him annoyingly with a slight blush of embarrassment on her cheeks.

“H-Hey, don't get the wrong idea!” she stated, prompting a small, amused smile from him. She then released his right hand, propping both her hands on top of her knees brought up to her chest.

“I'm wondering… why you're with the Earth Alliance when you're a Coordinator?” she then piped, glancing at him with curious eyes.

To Kira, it was probably the question asked to him for the umpteenth time as he recalled being asked that question by so many people who took interest in him.

“I remember being asked that question so many times,” he replied.

“What can Coordinators do by the way? Are they so different from Naturals?” Cagalli asked again.

Kira shook his head in reply, resting his hands on his stomach.

“The Coordinators' abilities come from studying and training, not just by virtue of birth.”

“Oh… I see. So I guess they're like Naturals in a little way then, huh? Um, I don't mean to intrude, but what were you and Kenji talking about when I stepped in? Were you two in a fight?”

The Strike pilot felt disturbed by her inquiry, not wanting to maintain eye contact with her.

“…I'm sorry… but it was something personal we had to talk about. I don't mean to sound rude to you, Cagalli.”

Cagalli shook her head with a worried look, shrugging off the sincere apology implied in the Strike pilot's remark.

“That's ok, I was just curious, that's all. I've no right to meddle in your business.”

On the other side of the right deck door, a feminine figure overheard the conversation between the two teens nearby. Satisfied hearing enough, Fllay took a step back and frowned jealously.

Why is Kira talking along with that blonde girl? Who does she think she is, stealing his time away from me?

A delightful idea popped in her mind, eliciting a snap of her right fingers.

“Well, I better make a good impression on her, and show her he's mine,” she smirked to herself. Fllay took off the top of her EA uniform, exposing a light-green undershirt worn underneath, and tied it around her waist. Next, she loosened her tucked-in undershirt and tied its bottom half in a knot, purposely showing her naked belly. Giving herself one last check, she then triggered the automatic right deck door to open before her and stepped outside, stumbling upon Kira and Cagalli.

“Kira, there you are! Why didn't you invite me out as well?” Fllay feigned disappointment. She immediately held onto the Strike pilot's right arm as he picked himself up to his feet along with Cagalli, with their attention drawn to the dark-red haired female teen. Fllay eyed Cagalli jealously while holding onto Kira, who was silent due to the fact that he was trying to come up with a good reason for his conversation with Cagalli deep down.

Noticing Fllay's jealous stare directed to her, the Desert Dawn female teen decided to make her exit and stay out of possible trouble. She cautiously glanced at Kira, getting eye contact from him.

“That reminds me… I've got something else to do right now. Thanks for the chat, Kira. I'll be going now,” she remarked, turning around to head back inside the Archangel through the right deck door. As she was making her exit, she quickly glanced from the corner of her right eye at Fllay, taking a mental note of her jealous behavior.

Jeez… she's weird. Is she and Kira close, perhaps?

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As to Kenji, no sooner had he unknowingly found himself stepping back inside the observation room, where he remembered two events occurring there --- listening to the pink-haired princess Lacus Clyne's beautiful singing, and his last meeting with the late EA Admiral Halberton. Withdrawing his hands from his EA uniformed pant pockets, Kenji tried to shrug off the memory of the sad, tragic conversation he had with Kira a while back. He went over to one of the room's windows, laying his right hand gingerly touching it while staring outside with hurt filled in his heart.

Does that make me a murderer then, directing those beam shots fired by Eiji towards the civilian shuttle Kira was talking about?

Damn it… how could I have been so careless…!

Now recalling the image of Kira's teary, angered face, Kenji closed his eyes briefly, running his right hand through his hair while letting out a tired sigh.

What's done is done. But Kira sure gave me a good wake-up call.

“Kenji…? What are you doing here?” a feminine voice inquired from behind, getting his attention. Kenji slowly turned around to find Cagalli standing about with a concerned look on her face.

“Oh… Cagalli… I needed to be alone for a while, that's all. What are you doing here?”

The Desert Dawn female teen rebel fidgeted with her hands in slight embarrassment.

“It seems Kira was getting busy with his girlfriend… Fllay, that is. So, I just left him and was on my way to my quarters when I stumbled upon you here.”

Taking the opportunity, Kenji quickly ran his gaze up and down at Cagalli, noting her physical features. It was a habit of his to gauge people he just made acquaintance with.

Hmm… there's something about her that's familiar, and even her name. But what was it? Never mind. I'll have to look into that matter another time then.

The Desert Dawn female teen noticed his inquisitive gaze and stared wonderingly at him.

“What? Why are you staring me like that?”

The Seraph pilot shrugged off her wonder with a small smile, pocketing his hands in his EA uniformed pants.

“-Chuckle- It's nothing. Shouldn't you be on your way to your quarters? Anyways, it was nice chatting with you, so I'll take my leave now.”

Before he could take a few steps forward to leave the observation room, he found his left hand being held by Cagalli's hurried hands, prompting him to glance up at her in minute surprise. Cagalli looked down at her hands holding Kenji's with a slight tinge of pink on her cheeks before meeting his gaze once more.

“Don't go. Um, I'd like to spend some time with you… if that's ok with you.”

The Seraph pilot had a raised right eyebrow curiously, while his lips pursed, trying to come up with an appropriate response.

“Ahem… well, actually I don't have anything else to do, so sure. What do you have in mind?”

Cagalli's face beamed with a glad smile directed at him.

“Would you like to take eat lunch with me? I was wondering what this ship's food tastes like.”

Scratching his right cheek with his free hand, Kenji chuckled delightedly.

“I'm afraid that the Archangel's food wouldn't cater to your taste, but I'll take up on your offer. Shall we go?”

With that said, he offered his left arm for her to hold onto, which she reluctantly complied with another slight blush on her face. She felt little heated by his gaze, which she noticed an instant change of feeling in his eyes.

His eyes… I've never seen such color as them before.

“Whatever… just don't get the wrong idea! I only wanted to talk more with you, that's all!” she huffed, glancing away from him.

The Seraph pilot shook his head amusedly, juggling his eyebrows up and down.

“Sure. Well, then, shall we?”

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Timeline: C.E. 71, March 3; +1245 hours

Location: The Cousteau

Meanwhile, inside a ZAFT Bosugolof-class submarine launched from ZAFT's Carpentaria Base, its commander stood with folded arms watching a taped transmission on one of his communication operator's com-link. On screen was the masked Rau discussing the situation regarding the EA legged-warship the Archangel.

“I'm sorry to hear about Commander Waltfeld's untimely demise. I take blame for that event to happen due to my fault for letting the Archangel reach Earth. I'm coming down to Earth soon for `Operation Spitbreak' and hope to count on you, Commander Morassim, for help in stopping the EA legged-warship.”

With that said, Rau's transmission was finished, flickering off screen. Stroking his grizzled olive beard with his right hand, the said Cousteau Captain and ZAFT Commander Marco Morassim sneered in contempt.

“Bah, that arrogant Creuset…! I can't believe he'd fail to destroy that EA legged-warship and let it escape here in Earth. I'll show him that I'll have the upper hand in destroying that said ship, the Archangel, here in the Indian Ocean!” he vowed.

One of his sonar operators reported his findings from his terminal, after detecting an incoming object approaching the Cousteau in moderate speed.

“Commander Morassim, sonar has detected an incoming object cruising towards us in moderate speed. It seems to be the reported EA legged-warship!”

Morassim beamed triumphantly, letting out a delighted chuckle. He then cut the air before him with an outstretched left hand, turning face to his submarine deck crew.

“Excellent… prepare for battle! Have two DINNs and GOOhNs ready for launch! We shall intercept the legged-warship immediately!”

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Timeline: C.E. 71, March 3; +1300 hours

Location: The Archangel

In the ship's bridge, two incoming heat sources were detected on Sai's terminal, alerting the said yellow-spectacled male teen to run a background check on them. A MS diagram showed them onscreen to be ZAFT aerial MS known as DINN.

“Captain, two incoming heat sources are heading fast towards the ship! They're identified as DINNs!” Sai reported aloud to Murrue, who immediately went serious at the aspect of an oncoming battle happening.

“Raise level-two battle stations immediately!” the Archangel Captain ordered from her seat.

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The warning sirens of level-two battle stations sounded throughout the speakers scattered all over the ship, alerting its crew of an impending battle. Immediately they headed for their respective posts in the ship.

Inside the ship's mess hall, Chef Carte, Kenji, and Cagalli glanced upwards at the sound of the warning sirens.

“Oh my… a battle so soon…?” Chef Carte wondered, drying off the last set of silverware with a small white towel inside the kitchen. He placed them inside a drawer housing the remaining set of silverware after drying.

“What a time to have an interrupted lunch,” the Seraph pilot commented, who was half-way eating his tray meal. Ceasing his eating, he laid down his fork and spoon on his half-eaten tray meal, and got up from his seat. He glanced at Cagalli with a sorry look on his face.

“Duty calls… huh? You plan on joining along?”

The said short blonde-haired female teen stood up from her seat as well, but was stopped immediately by Kenji's right hand placed on her left shoulder.

“What are you talking about? Of course, I'm coming along! I can fight too!” she stated.

Kenji shook his head in disagreement, giving her a serious look.

“As determined as you are, I have to remind you that you'll give Chief Murdoch a headache if he found out you took a Skygrasper again for battle. Look, just relax and finish your food. Let me, Kira, and Lieutenant La Flaga handle this, ok? I'll ask Captain Ramius for permission for you to join alongside us in battle next time.”

Seeing the serious look in his eyes, Cagalli heeded not to argue further, glancing down in defeat and seating herself back down.

“Fine… I won't go. But, be careful, ok?”

Kenji gave a firm pat on her left shoulder and added an affirmative nod, before exiting the mess hall. Cagalli watched his retreating form concerned before turning attention to her tray meal laid before her.

Argh… what's wrong with me? I can't even bring myself to talk much to him before he left! Jeez… I suppose I'll take his word for it then. But still, it's quite boring doing nothing else in this ship.

Noticing his half-eaten tray meal, Cagalli sneaked in a few pieces of it to her mouth, chewing slowly to judge the taste and texture of the food.

“Hmm… not bad… since he's not going to finish this, I might as well finish his meal as well.”

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In Kira's quarters, its owner hurriedly buttoned the top of his EA uniform as he checked himself on a medium-sized wall mirror. Seeing himself finalizing his uniform, Kira turned attention to his girlfriend embracing him affectionately from behind, resting her head on his back.

“Do you have to go so soon?” Fllay whined.

“Yeah… there's a battle going on, so I can't ignore it. I'll be back soon.”

Fllay reluctantly broke her embrace as she wrapped her arms around Kira's head as he turned facing her, pulling him into a needy kiss. The Strike pilot enveloped his arms around her waist, pulling her close to his body. The two teens broke the kiss after 10 seconds.

“I was wondering… how did your father take it? I mean, about us?” Kira wondered before taking a few steps near his quarters' automatic door.

Fllay smiled mischievously in response.

“Let's just say I convinced him you were a better guy for me, that's all. He was an understanding person, you know.”

Relieved hearing her reply, Kira gave her one last smile, then exited his quarters and heading for the hangar bay. After watching his quarters' automatic door closing after his retreating form, Fllay plopped herself down on his bed, smelling his lingering scent and clutching his pillow close to her body.

“Kira…”

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Back in the ship's main bridge, Murrue glanced over at Miriallia routinely from her seat.

“Call Kenji, Kira, and Lieutenant La Flaga immediately… we need them to sortie right away!” the Archangel Captain exclaimed in earnest.

Nodding back in reply, Miriallia began calling the Archangel's cadre of pilots using the PA system in her terminal and through her headset-mic.

“Pilots Kenji Hyne, Kira Yamato, and Lieutenant La Flaga, please proceed immediately to the hangar bay for your sortie. I repeat…”

In the CIC area, Natarle ordered her crew to begin countermeasures.

“Prepare for anti mobile suit combat! Load up the CIWS, anti-aircraft missiles, “Gottfrieds”, and “Valiants”!”

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In the ship's hangar bay, Skygrasper-1 was retrofitted with the Launcher pack. Behind its controls, Mwu finalized last-minute checks and was good to go. Skygrasper-1 was then transferred to the linear catapult.

LINEAR CATAPULT LAUNCH SYSTEM

FX-550 SKYGRASPER-1

…3

…2

…1

LAUNCH!

“Mwu La Flaga, Skygrasper-1 launching!” Mwu exclaimed as his fighter aircraft kicked in its thrusters and roared away instantly from the linear catapult, then climbing up towards the sky.

Meanwhile, the Seraph and the Strike Gundams were ready for launch, with the latter's PS armor kicking in within seconds after activation by its pilot. The Seraph was then automatically transferred to the linear catapult. Inside its cockpit, Kenji received a brief transmission from Kira, who was first bewildered at seeing him go.

“You're taking off, then, Kenji? But we're over the ocean!” Kira wondered.

Kenji glanced at the Strike pilot's image with a raised left eyebrow.

“What are you talking about? The Seraph can also fly as the Strike. Speaking of which, how come your MS isn't retrofitted with the Aile pack? Normally in circumstances like this, you're more adapted in piloting the Strike with that pack.”

Kira shook his head in disagreement.

“Mr. Murdoch informed me that the Aile and the Sword packs were still in the midst of repairs. His crew hasn't finished making adjustments to them yet. He recommended to me that I stay onboard the ship inside the Strike without them, and just hold off the enemy from there. Unfortunately, the Strike itself can't swim or fly, so I'm stuck here.”

The Seraph pilot smiled wryly at Kira's image on the Seraph's com-link.

“Well, just make the best out of the situation you're in, that's all I can suggest. I'll help Lieutenant La Flaga mop up any enemy aerial MS harassing the Archangel.”

With that said, he watched Kira gave an affirmative nod in reply before his transmission ended. He glanced up at the Seraph's CIS showing the launching area before him.

LINEAR CATAPULT LAUNCH SYSTEM

GAT-XP01 SERAPH GUNDAM

…3

…2

…1

LAUNCH!

“Kenji Hyne, Seraph taking off!” Kenji exclaimed before flooring in the Seraph's thrusters and prompting the linear catapult sending the Seraph flying outside. The Seraph extended its 2 wings while crossing its arms, clenching its fists and then uncrossing its arms with its outstretched body. A glimmering shade of white chromed all over the body, indicating its PS armor activation.

“I wonder which ZAFT unit I'm facing against?” Kenji asked himself, checking up the Seraph's radar systems. In a second or two, four detected heat sources were traveling fast towards Archangel.

Don't tell me it's that squad fighting alongside Eiji. Nah… it can't be them. Well, might as well find out.

Meanwhile, the Strike Gundam stepped near the edge of the opened, unused second linear catapult, watching guard particularly at the water below.

“Hmm… they'll also attack underwater. But how I can fight those ZAFT units specialized in underwater?” Kira wondered, bringing up the Strike's radar systems.

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Docked inside a DINN aerial MS, Morassim looked smugly at his DINN's CIS showing the Archangel cruising on the ocean.

“Ah… my opportunity has come! Franco, we'll proceed to attack the legged-warship from above immediately!”

Morassim's DINN then motioned another DINN piloted by his said subordinate to follow, which nodded its head in reply and flew off in a different direction before heading towards the Archangel from one side. It then brought up its heavy assault machine gun wielded in its left hand, and immediately peppered bullets at its intended target.

-BA-DA-DA-DA-DA- -BA-DA-DA-DA-DA-

The Archangel immediately retaliated back with its “Igelstellung”, raining anti-air machine gun fire at the ZAFT aerial MS. Franco's DINN weaved slightly away from the Archangel, avoiding its machine gun fire then deciding to swoop in swiftly, bringing up its anti-armor shotgun with its right hand, firing point-blank range on its intended flight path.

-BLAM- -BLAM- -BLAM- -BLAM-

The four shotgun shots dispersed widely, taking down three of the Archangel's 16 CIWS.

Down below underwater, two GOOhNs fired off several torpedoes trailing towards the Archangel's underbelly, finding them to be a weak spot.

Inside the Archangel's main bridge, Dalida detected the incoming torpedoes using sonar in his terminal. He glanced alarmingly at his terminal's radar.

“Sonar has detected incoming torpedoes! They're cruising fast towards the ship!” he reported.

Widening her eyes in alarm after hearing his remark, Murrue banged a right fist on her seat's right armrest.

“Driver, initiate emergency takeoff immediately to dodge those torpedoes!” she yelled.

Gritting his teeth in concentration, Arnold brought the steering wheel hard up, propelling the Archangel to climb up hurriedly at once.

“Feh… hang on!” he warned.

The EA legged-warship barely escaped being hit by the GOOhN's torpedoes, which managed to head supposedly at its underbelly, then blowing up simultaneously. The explosions' impact rocked the Archangel about. A few seconds later, the Archangel then landed back on the ocean water, resuming its oceanic trek. Back in its unused second linear catapult, the Strike managed to balance itself after holding on to the catapult's side during the explosions' impact. With its beam rifle in its right hand, the Strike fired off beam shots at the two GOOhNs passing by underwater; unfortunately, the ZAFT specialized underwater MS were able to dodge the beam shots easily.

“Tch… it's no good shooting at them from here. Mr. Murdoch, this is Kira! Please give me the bazooka for the Strike, for I'll go underwater and fight there!” Kira stated, switching on the Strike's com-link to the said chief mechanic/engineer, whose image appeared on screen.

“-Sigh- Alright, I'm sending one of my men to drive the Strike's bazooka to you right now!” Murdoch replied, ruffling his unkempt hair with his gloved left hand.

Within a few seconds, one of Murdoch's crew drove fast to the waiting Strike with its bazooka laid on a mini-trailer. Noticing his required weapon, Kira motioned the Strike to grab its bazooka with its right hand, then propping it ready on its right shoulder. With a small leap from the Archangel's unused second linear catapult, the Strike then plunged into the ocean water, with its head looking around over its shoulder.

“Ok… now where did they go? What! Ugh!” Kira yelped in surprise as he lurched about inside the Strike's cockpit while it was slammed constantly from both sides by the GOOhNs, causing the Strike to drop its bazooka. Shaking off the aftereffect of the impact, the Strike quickly reached out and grabbed hold of one GOOhN by its right arm, then slamming it into the sea ground. Seizing the chance, its “Armor Schneider” was then ejected out from their hip holsters and held by the Strike's both hands.

“Take this!” Kira battle-cried, shoving the Strike's control sticks forward. The Strike then shoved its “Armor Schneider” on the GOOhN's sides, catching the ZAFT underwater MS off-guard. The stabs' mark created small leaks in the GOOhN, causing it to swell like a balloon.

“Wah…!” the GOOhN pilot shrieked in fear, flailing his arms in front of him to shield himself from the electrical sparks cackling throughout the GOOhN's cockpit, with water quickly seeping in.

Noticing the swelled GOOhN about to erupt in any second, the Strike quickly swam away from its inevitable explosion, forcing the ocean water around it to burst upwards to the surface.

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Meanwhile in the air, Franco's DINN barely avoided a missile barrage from the Archangel while it retaliated back with its heavy assault machine gun, destroying some of the missiles catching up to it. A mix of beam and rail projectiles followed, and the DINN barely barrel-rolled out of the way to avoid them.

-BLI-

“What the…!” Franco exclaimed astounded as the warning sirens in his DINN's cockpit alerted him of an incoming attack. He was a second late to react avoiding a beam shot coming out of nowhere and blasting off his DINN's right arm carrying its heavy assault machine gun.

“Ugh…!”

Franco's DINN hovered momentarily from the incurred damage, with its head swaying left to right, finding out the original source of the beam shot.

“Where did that shot come from?” he wondered.

Suddenly from behind his DINN, the Seraph de-cloaked sneakily in view, with its right “Swallow Edge” wielded ready in hand.

“Good-bye,” Kenji uttered inside the Seraph's cockpit. The Seraph's eyes flashed a menacing yellow glow, expressing its pilot's remark.

-SHWAK-

The Seraph quickly boosted away from Franco's DINN, as it was slowly broken into two halves vertically before it erupted in a ball of flames.

“Hmm… Lieutenant La Flaga should have taken care of the other DINN by now,” Kenji remarked, watching signs for more enemies in the Seraph's radar. Hovering momentarily, the Seraph deactivated its right “Swallow Edge”, holstering it back in its right “Angelus”, before it flew off once more.

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Back underwater, the Strike found itself losing its “Armor Schneider” after being slammed into the sea ground by the other GOOhN, which employed a hit-and-run tactic. After getting up from the attack, the Strike was knocked back again by the GOOhN and grasped firmly by the ZAFT underwater MS.

“Tch… I got no more weapons to use against this MS!" Kira exclaimed worriedly after checking up the Strike's weapon systems for any available attack to employ against the GOOhN. In the Strike's CIS, he saw the GOOhN trying to charge its photon maser cannons before firing them off, forcing him to move the Strike's arms to struggle pushing the GOOhN away from him.

From the corner of his left eye, he saw the Strike's left CIS displaying wreckage from Franco's DINN. Amongst them that caught his utmost attention was the anti-armor shotgun sinking close to the Strike's left side.

“There, a weapon…!” Kira cried out.

With a surge of strength, the Strike reached out its left arm and grabbed the anti-armor shotgun, then jamming it point-blank range against the GOOhN's chest area.

“What the…!” the GOOhN pilot exclaimed astounded as he saw the Strike pointing a weapon at him through the GOOhN's CIS.

-BLAM-

The shotgun shot tore through the GOOhN like a hot knife through butter, enabling the Strike to break free from its grasp and kick away from it as a small boost to swim away before its following explosion.

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Meanwhile back above the skies, Skygrasper-1 managed to blow off one of Morassim's DINN wings using its “Agni”, after going through an intense dogfight with the ZAFT commander moments ago.

“Gotcha, bud…!” Mwu exclaimed triumphantly, as his fighter aircraft made a lazy turnaround to face Morassim's damaged DINN.

“Tch… there's no response from Franco, and even from the two GOOhN units. Gah, this isn't my day. I'll have to retreat!” Morassim cursed inside his DINN's cockpit, after trying to contact his respective units brought along with him. With a sneer, he prompted his MS to pull back from the battlefield.

A second or two later after Morassim's retreat, the Seraph flew by alongside Skygrasper-1, catching Mwu's attention.

“Lieutenant La Flaga, are you ok? How did you fare?” Kenji inquired, activating the Seraph's com-link to Skygrasper-1.

“Yeah, I'm fine. I managed to force the enemy commander to retreat,” Mwu replied.

Kenji raised a curious right eyebrow.

“Hmm…? You mean that DINN that pulled back? How did you know it was him?

Mwu shrugged his shoulders in reply with a wry smile.

“We had a short chit-chat during our fight. It turns out he's Marco Morassim, a known ZAFT commander for his naval exploits around the Carpentaria area. I had a chance meeting with him a few years back before the Grimaldi Front.”

The Seraph pilot kept quiet to himself, taking in Mwu's reply considerably. Checking the Seraph's right CIS, he noticed the Strike surfacing from the ocean water in view, and proceeding to swim nearby towards the Archangel.

“Kira seems to be doing ok down there. Let's head back to the Archangel, Kenji,” Mwu remarked, also spotting the Strike heading for the Archangel from below.

“Copy that.”

Cutting off their transmissions from each other, the Seraph and Skygrasper-1 headed back to the Archangel for landing procedures.

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Inside the Archangel's main bridge, the warning sirens of level-two battle stations were switched off, as by Murrue's orders after surveying the battle's aftermath to be another small victory for the Archangel.

From his terminal post in the CIC area, Sai relayed his findings from his radar, pressing his headset-mic firmly to hear clearly small transmissions from Kenji, Kira, and Mwu regarding the enemy count faced.

“Three enemy units are confirmed destroyed! It seems one of them managed to retreat. According to Lieutenant La Flaga, it seems that surviving unit was the enemy commander,” he reported aloud.

From her seat, Natarle let out a small breath of relief.

“Well, that turned out short than the previous battles. Captain, let's continue on our course to Alaska,” she stated to Murrue, who swiveled her seat around facing her and nodding in reply.

“We'll continue on our original course to Alaska as soon as Kenji, Kira, and Lieutenant La Flaga are back in the ship. I want a quick systems diagnostic check throughout the ship for any damages incurred from the battle at once!” the Archangel Captain ordered.

At her command, the rest of the bridge crew hurriedly complied, typing feverishly in their keyboard terminals.

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Timeline: C.E. 71, March 3; +1415 hours

Location: ZAFT-PLANTs, Maius-One--- Docking Bay

Standing in one of the colony's docking bay corridors Nicol gave his good-byes to his parents, who decided to see him off.

“Good-bye, mother, father. I'll be off now,” the Blitz pilot hugged his mother, who returned his hug with a more affectionate one.

“Please be careful, Nicol. I pray for your safe return,” Isadora Amalfi spoke concerned after breaking away from her only son's embrace. Her brown eyes shimmered lightly, showing her maternal instincts for her child. Standing next her, Yuri Amalfi placed his right hand firmly on his son's left shoulder with a small smile.

“Take care now. Godspeed…”

The Blitz pilot nodded affirmatively with his own smile.

“I will father.”

With that said he turned around and trekked deeper in the corridor leading to his assigned ship, the Vesalius, which was docked nearby ready for departure. Carrying a small gym bag containing extra clothes and other necessary belongings around his right shoulder, Nicol encountered Athrun waiting by the Vesalius's deck door, giving him a small wave of his right wave in greeting.

“Hello, Athrun! You're early as always.”

The Aegis pilot waved back in reply with a small smile.

“Hey. Are you all set to go?”

“Yes, I am. I had to see my parents off first. Oh, by the way, thank you for attending my concert yesterday. It was kind of you.”

“Oh, it's nothing. Besides, I wanted to hear how well you're up to your piano playing. After attending your concert, my opinion on your piano skills has changed. It's nice and soothing to say the least.”

Nicol blushed little at his comrade's compliment, while the two boarded inside the Vesalius through the deck door. Behind them, the door locked automatically, with the boarding corridor slowly being whisked away from the Vesalius as it proceeded with launching procedures. The procedure took several minutes to occur, and had the Vesalius whisked off into space. Looking outside one of the Vesalius's deck windows, Athrun and Nicol watched the PLANT Maius-One colony growing smaller as they left.

”Say, this would be our first atmospheric descent to Earth, right? What would the planet be like?” the Blitz pilot commented to his slight reflection shown before him by the deck window.

Folding his arms, Athrun let out an agreeable mumble loud enough for his comrade standing next him to hear. His thoughts were currently on Kira.

Kira…