CE 74, after the Battle of Mesiah, and the end of the war, the recently formed Earth Sphere United Federation is still cleaning the remnants of both LOGOS and Gilbert Dullindal's followers. The Confederation Space Force, a fleet with Naturals and Coordinators who once fought for the Clyne Faction and the Alliance of Three Ships, are the main force for Chairman Lacus Clyne of PLANT and Representative Cagalli Yula Athha of Orb, the head who created the Federation. As the battle for a true peaceful Earth Sphere continues on, in a remote PLANT controlled space zone, a ZAFT patrol catch up an unusual signal…
"What the…? Gabe, I'm picking a strange signal" Said the newbie to his wing commander.
"Specify that"
"The signal's ID is from ZAFT, but is broadcasting on an old EAF frequency"
"Say again!"
"As a matter of fact, the ID code is similar of the old squad of Colonel Zala when he fought on the Valentine War. Is on the IFF records, but the EAF frequency is making the whole system nuts"
If the fact of the ID signal was strange, the whole issue startled the ZAFT wing leader "Mark the location of the beacon and secure the area. I'll radioed the Regal and make them found Colonel Zala on the PLANTS"
"What did you think we've found?"
"A ton of troubles…"
Aprilius was the center of the PLANTS and the headquarters of ZAFT, the central administration for all Coordinators and their allies. For Colonel Athrun Zala of Confed Space Forces, dealing with former ZAFT renegades and EAF rouges loyal to Blue Cosmos were becoming a routine. With all the paperwork he has to deal, he wished that Meyrin Hawke were at his side instead of being on the Eternal, helping with the field tests of the newly repaired Destiny Gundam. As he was to sigh, his screen flashed with an incoming transmission.
"Zala here"
"Colonel, the Nazca-Class vessel Regal has sent an encoded transmission. They said that is on Priority One"
Athrun knows that even in peaceful times an alert of some class break up once in a while, but a Priority One was a critical issue. It could mean an offensive strike or something bigger.
"Send the data" As he read the file, Athrun paled…
"Put the fleet on full alert in all sectors, prepare the I-Justice for an emergency dispatch and notify the Eternal and the Archangel to meet me at the Rendezvous point designated!"
Athrun was sweating hard, and he has a very good reason for that…
He recognized the ID signal.
Shinn Asuka wasn't a very happy man. Since he was assigned to the Confederation Space Force he expected that he could make the difference this time. Unfortunately, his "flight instructor" wasn't making things easier for him.
"C'mon, Shinn! You're getting sloppier than before! Even your performance at Messiah was better than this."
Shinn was very pissed. Not only he was powerless, but deep inside he knew his instructor could own him anytime… again. And boy, General Kira Yamato was giving him a very detailed combat flying lesson with the Strike Freedom... in pain.
"Gimme a break, General! Unless you want Lacus-sama to pay for Destiny's overhauling once again!"
"He's right Kira-kun. Give the poor guy a break" Captain Murrue Ramius interceded, since this was the third time in a row that Shinn lost to the Sword of Freedom. Before that, Lunamaria Hawke, who now was watching the whole ordeal as the defender of both Archangel and Eternal, also didn't have any luck against him in the Impulse. The rest of the newbies from EAF, ZAFT and Orb were training with the DOM Troopers in close vicinity of the Archangel.
"Alright. Meyrin, bring home Impulse and Destiny. They deserve a well earned break."
"Hold on a second, General. We're picking a transmission from the PLANTS."
"What is it?"
"It's from Athrun-san! And it's encoded Priority One." As Meyrin started to blush as she tought on Athrun, Kira reed the whole file, and just like the Sword of Justice, he also paled.
"Miriallia, I need this clarified ASAP, got a bad feeling about this" Kira was right on the mark, as Miriallia confirmed his fears.
"It's genuine."
"Everybody back to the ships, immediately!"
As Kira barked the orders and everyone was returning to the ships, a single name crossed his mind, and his blood started to boil
"Raw Le Creuset…!"
Deep inside, Yzak Joule knew that he would do this someday, and, as you can imagine, Yzak was fuming at his own bad luck.
"Explain why do I have to take you to some place as if my ship were a damn taxi!"
In any other time, Athrun would laugh at expense of his friend, but this particular mission was very important.
"Because if I'm right, the whole Earth Sphere might be in danger, and one of the worst kind. I cannot say anything else until we verify that place"
"Whatever you say…. Anyways, I send Dearka and Shiho ahead of us to meet the Archangel. Just to be sure."
"Still stomping on Dearka after Miriallia dump him?"
"A Coordinator dumped by a Natural… I still can't imagine that."
After the uneventful encounter, both ships arrived minutes later to the facility, and after securing the area, they move into place. Chandra was searching any signs inside.
"Sensors detect breathable atmosphere inside, but all the entry codes are disabled"
"That means we're gonna need help. Miri, radioed the Eternal and have Meyrin to join the rest of the landing crew."
"Roger!"
"Stay on guard. Anything could happen inside."
"I hope not, Captain."
Minutes later, the whole landed crew entered the facility. While Shinn and Lunamaria's group searched the lower levels, Kira, Athrun and Meyrin's team found a rather disturbing lab in the upper levels.
"Recognize this, Kira?"
"I wish I don't. It's like the lab we found in Mendel during the Valentine War"
"Colonel!" One of the soldiers of the group alerted Athrun.
"What do we have?"
"Cartridges and signs of a heavy gunfight. Some of the traces are newer. I'd say a couple of weeks max."
"So, someone found this and then… what?"
"Question here is, who found it first and what do they found. Meyrin, crack the main computer and try to recover any bit of data…" Before Athrun finish the sentence, the little red headed was already diving into the facility's server.
"Did you say something?"
"Never mind…"
At the same time, Kira received a transmission from Shinn and Luna.
"General, there's a hangar in here. Big enough for a battleship and at least a mobile suit. The markers have been erased, but there's a lot of materials from both ZAFT and the EAF"
"Undrestood. Secure the area, and wait for further orders"
"Roger!"
"What do you think?" Athrun had a slight idea of the place, but wanted to hear Kira's viewpoint.
"An Extended lab for Coordinators, maybe. That doesn't make any sense, but having in mind Creuset's code in here…"
"Athrun-san! Kira-san!" Meyrin's voice alerted both officers.
"What is it?"
"Some kind of list. In a way, it's similar to the one founded months ago in Lodonia on Earth"
"So, it's really and Extended lab…" Athrun's thoughts were right on the spot.
"What do you mean by similar?"
"Because there are not only Coordinators here. Even more, there's something else that's strange"
If things were very bad in that moment, they turned into bizarre status.
"There's also a list of KIA, and most of them are dated from the Valentine War. Specially from the EAF"
"What!"
"Cloning…" Kira's statement was clear, and with Creuset involved, it was a logical deduction.
"It may be another of Dullindal's works of his Destiny Plan"
"And an accelerated one. I found the file of a successful experiment. The date is only a couple months ago"
As Kira searched the file, what he found will change his point of view, and also, his way of fighting, even if he didn't know at that moment.
- Subject growing proceeded normally and steady. Although some parts of it's mental processes are still erratic, it may become a formidable asset for the cause and the main piece of the final task assigned.
Subject ID Number: 105201
Former Alignment: Earth Alliance Forces
Former Rank: Crewman Second Class
Status: Deceased / All data erased from the EAF database
Name: Flay Allster
Alright, this marks my official return as a writer.
I wanted to make a story with Flay, and based with the so-so final act of GSD, Kira and company need a more substantial reason to fight, or at least, to have a real antagonist faction, even if Kira and Athrun fight with the Strike Freedom or the I-Justice.
Bear with me for a while, since I still have problems adapting to writing style (my former fics were on script), and my limited time is hampering me.