Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot

Chapter 4: Desert Dawn

PLANT:

After stretching her arms, Lacus went out of her bed and do her morning exercise, then after changing on her initial clothes, she decided to go back to her room so she can take a look at the floppy disk Kira gave to her, taking out her laptop and booting it up, she insert the disk and wait for it to load

"I still couldn't believe of all the things Kira told me about this enlarging particles he had..." she thought, remembering all of the things he told her when they're still on Archangel

Flashback:

"Rare group of subatomic and extra dimensional particles?" she repeated, Kira nodded at that while looking at his laptop

"Correct, these unique particles has a special ability to increase the size of one object by adding some of it from an unknown subatomic dimension and thus, increasing the size of an intended object many times it's original one and the better part is...It can bypass the square-cube law..." Kira explain to her

"Square-cube law?" she questioned him

"That's right, a law states that as an object grows larger, its surface area grows quadratically while its volume grows cubically, also, its surface area grows by the square of its growth factor, while its volume grows by the cube of its growth factor. For example, if a human suddenly became 10 times taller, wider, and longer, his bones and tendons would be 10 times longer, his muscles and skin would cover 100 times more surface area, and he would be 1,000 times as big and weigh 1,000 times as much, but thanks to this particle, only the size will be altered but the other properties such as weight isn't affected at all..." Kira explain to her, Lacus lightly gasped at that, she didn't expect his friend researching this kind of thing, or rather, she didn't expect these kind of things do exist...this world is sure full of unknown elements and mysterious phenomenon

"So you mean to say that if that machine or yours was enlarged through this method, it will have the size of an standard mobile suit but retains the volume, surface area and weight of an action figure sized toy...is that what you were trying to tell me?" she asked him

"That's right, and thanks to that, my machine can accelerate much more faster, move it's arms and legs more quicker, and most of all, I can dodge attacks in rapid succession, all while consuming much less energy from just it's main battery, but there are a lot of drawbacks using this, of course..."

Lacus didn't replied and just keep on listening

"The common drawback is that since it's defying a certain law, it can never maintain it's enlarged form forever, as of now, the maximum time my machine can stay enlarged was 40-45 minutes" Kira explain to her

W-What will happen if you exceed that duration?" she asked

"Simple, my machine will abruptly return to it's original size and I will be crushed due to the extremely small space inside..." he simply answer her question, Lacus let out an 'oh' sound

"I see...I guess I shouldn't ask...It's a common sense after all" Lacus said, Kira just nodded at that

"Yeah, and that's the one thing I don't want to happen while I was flying the machine...that would be the dumbest way to die" Kira said

"Yeah, definitely a dumb thing to do, and I assume that's the reason you're always checking it after each sortie you made?" Lacus asked him

"That's one of the reason Lacus...as for the the other reasons...maybe it's better that if you still didn't know...for now" Kira told her

"I guess so..."

End Flashback:

After recalling that, the disk finish loading and then all of the data inside was revealed before her eyes

The first set of data was the initial information about Kira's machine that utilize the particles, it shows the detailed line-art of the machine as well as it's weapons hidden on the wings, like the cannon placed on the long wings and the remote guns that was also disguised as short wings when not in used, the railguns on it's hips and it's handheld one, the beam rifle, it also shows the other armaments like CIWS and the shield it carries and in addition, it also display all of the case that houses the special kind of batteries for the machine, and the last one, the batteries itself, one of them was the standard one located on the main unit, while the others were actually modified to fit the other weapons, they were molded and shaped just like it's respective weapons but in a smaller scale in order to fit inside

The second one is the the same data just like the first set, however, this one has few red patches on it and some modified lines on the joints that indicates the predicted easy joint movements of the machine, assigned power output for the weapons and few other modifications, Lacus wondered for a second there but she quickly realized the purpose of second set of the data

"This must be the machine with Kira's personal data modifications on it...that would explain the patches and modified lines on the joints..." she thought

And then the last set was the enlarging particles, which now appear on the screen before her, it completely replace the first two sets, many words were going upward and then new screens will appear that shows numerous CG display of the components of the said substance, probably the inner structures of the particle, and while reading all of this, there's only one word needed to summarized all the things she just saw right now

"Amazing..." Lacus could only blurt as she read everything, but then...

KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK*

She jolt at that after hearing a knock on the door of her room, she quickly swiveled the screen down and then she turn her attention to the door

"Who is it?" she shouted

"Lacus, are you awake?"

The pink haired woman recognized the voice, it was her father, Siegel Clyne

"Yeah, I am...don't worry father, I'll be down on a minute" she shouted

"Okay, I'll be waiting for you"

Then the man left her, Lacus let out sigh of relief as she swiveled the screen up, the data was still being displayed on the screen, Lacus then pondered for a moment and then she sigh

"Might as well find a right time to talk this to father in secret...I can't let this technology fall on ZAFT Military and especially to Mr. Zala's hands...Kira will never forgive me" Lacus thought, everyone on the PLANT knew the extent of Patrick Zala's influence on the Military along with his desire to win the war on any way he can

Then after that, she eject the disk and hid it somewhere on her room, turn off her laptop and then dressed on her clothes (you already know what type of clothes she's wearing) and then went out of her room to meet her father

JOSH-A, Alaska:

Archangel was docked at one of the ports inside the base that was hidden in guise of a waterfall, engineers and mechanics stationed on the base were inspecting the newest warship and gathering it's data for eventual production, meanwhile, the ship's crew were inside and on stand-by for sortie, and among the crew were Kira's beloved friends

"Boring..."Tolle said, everyone was eating on the cafeteria

"Well, we're already on the Alaska, ZAFT won't even dare to attack one of the stronghold bases of the Earth Alliance, so of course, we're always have free time" Sai told him

"But still..."

"Well, if you're that bored, why don't you just shut up and let us enjoy our food" Mirallia suggest to him

"Fine..."

Meanwhile at the hangar, another set of engineers were inspecting the last G-Weapon that remain on their possession, the Strike, one of them were inside the cockpit and inspecting the OS of the mobile suit and needless to say, he was impressed at how stable the OS is and that's not all, the software was updated to it's latest version, this cause the engineer to wonder how

"I heard that the factory was attacked by ZAFT on Heliopolis when these machines were only in prototype phase...so how was this one has a complete and working OS already?" he thought as he inspect the machine's software even more and to his surprise, the machine was finely tuned too and ready for combat

"Whoever did this...he's either a monster or a coordinator...or maybe both" he added as he exit the cockpit and joined his comrades

North Africa:

A blonde girl was currently among a certain resistance group known as the Desert Dawn, after she ran away from ORB, she joined a group that was fighting ZAFT forces that occupied a city in order to liberate it, but thanks to the huge difference in firepower as well the weapons they possess, it's only a matter of time before they're annihilated in case they attack them

Right now, they we're having a meeting and planning another attempt to attack on the city and liberate it, but it appears that they're stuck

"We have to do something!" the blonde girl shouted, it appears that she's getting frustrated at their failed attempts of securing the city

"I Know Cagalli, but the difference in firepower was too much, if we attack recklessly, we're going to be wiped out in an instant" a dark skinned muscular man with a dark blue hair told him

"But Kisaka, we can't just-"

"He has a point girl..." another man told her, his name is Sahib Ashman

"Not you too!"

"We have to plan first, I don't want to repeat the events last time..." he told her, causing Cagalli to grit her teeth, every time she remembers it, her conscience was always eating her, part of it was her fault for suggesting that they should attack, and that cause them to lose several of their members

*BOOM*

Everyone gasped at the sound of an explosion, so Cagalli and the rest of the group went out to see that the surroundings were covered in flames, everyone was shocked at the scene and what's more... they were surrounded by several BuCUEs, with their either missile launchers or rail cannons aim at their direction

"That Desert Tiger...they've found our hideout...this is bad" Sahib cursed

"Damn him!"

Cagalli grit her teeth at the sight, not only they lose some of their comrades but they manage to tracked down their hideout, and now, she and her comrades have no way to escape this situation

Not far away:

"Sir! It seems that the Intel was right...that place was their hideout" a man with a red hair and tan skin wearing a dark green ZAFT uniform informed, the man beside him grin

"Is that so...good work"

Then the man took his binoculars and look on it to see that the members of Desert Dawn was surrounded by his BuCUEs

"Okay, let's greet those rebels before taking them somewhere, then-"

Suddenly, a green energy beam flew out from the sky and hit one of the BuCUE on it's weapons and explode, they gasped at that

"An attack! Where?!"

They look around but see nothing first, but after few seconds, something flew downward in a blinding speed, the man holding the binoculars couldn't help but to gasp, recognizing that thing

"That's...a mobile suit"

"What the-"

Cagalli was forced to cover her eyes as she and her comrades was shocked at the green beam emerged from nowhere and hit one of the BuCUE's weapons

"What's that?"

Cagalli and the rest of the resistance group looked up to see a mobile suit was descending towards them in astonishing speed, two of the BuCUE turn to it only to be sliced down by it's beam saber to it's head, rendering them blind, then the mobile suit quickly keep the saber and drew it's beam rifle, shooting the remaining three of the four-legged machine on their weapons in rapid succession

Cagalli then saw it flew and unfold it's winged cannons and railguns, firing it on the remaining BuCUEs, hitting either their weapons or legs, she was shocked not just because a mobile suit suddenly went to their aid but also at how the suit disarmed ZAFT's ground machines in just few seconds

"Who was that?" one of them asked, completely awed at how that white/blue/black machine handled the BuCUEs like nothing, then after that assault and with all of the BuCUEs disabled, the pilots of those four-legged machines do one thing that shock them...they self-destruct, destroying all of the machines on site

"They self-destruct, huh..."

"Those guys...really did kill themselves in order not to get caught...what kind of shit is this?"

Kira:

the brown haired boy was stunned at the sight of freshly destroyed machines on front of him, to think they actually killed themselves after being immobilized...why did they do it? he gave them a second chance to live, but...

Shaking his head, he turn his machine to the resistance group, and then, after taking a good look to them through the screen, his eyes caught sight of a blonde girl among them

"That must be her..." Kira thought as he flew down to them, then after turning off all of the systems, he open the cockpit and went down with the help of the cord

Cagalli:

The blond was looking at the descending pilot and couldn't help but to look at the space suit he's wearing

"T-That's...and ORB space suit" she mutter, clearly stunned

"I see, so that must be him..." Kisaka said

"Eh!"

"I'm sorry Cagalli, but I actually have contact with Lord Uzumi all this time, he told me that he actually sent one of our men to pick us up...it must be him" Kisaka whispered to her

"WHAT!"

She shouted in disbelief, then, after she calmed down, Kira went to them, his helmet was still on his head so they still didn't know his identity

"Thanks for the rescue..." Kisaka said, Kira nodded at that, and then, he finally decided to remove his helmet, Cagalli was even more stunned, recognizing the teen in front of her

"YOU!"

She shouted again, Kira let out a smile as he introduce himself to her

"Greetings, Ms. Attha, I'm Kira Yamato...of ORB Forces"

"S-Sir...that machine...wasn't that supposed to be on Earth forces...why in the world it was here?" the red haired man asked, he and his commander were now on the way back to the ZAFT base stationed here on desert parts of North Africa, the man, who is the commander, beside him just let out a grin

"Who knows, DaCosta...but I think this will be an interesting encounter...If I ever met the pilot, that is..." the man told him

"C-Commander Waltfeld..." Dacosta was alarmed...that grin...he had a bad feeling about that

"Anyway, let's head back to our base first, and this time, I think I'll be able to brew a good coffee since I'm in the mood" he said, DaCosta simply nodded and step on the gas

"W-WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE!?" Cagalli shouted to him, Kira and everyone around was forced to cover their ears from that

"Your father sent me to pick you and Kisaka-san up..." Kira simply answer her

"That's not what I meant, idiot! I mean why are you piloting a mobile suit and why are you wearing an ORB space suit...don't tell me..." Cagalli said, Kira went defensive

"It's not what you think Ms. Attha...it's a long story actually" he replied to her and then he turn his head to the others

"So, I suppose thank you was an appropriate to say, at least" Sahib told the boy, Kira just nodded, accepting it

"Yes...you must be the group Ms. Attha joined..."

"That's right...but anyway, why are you calling her Ms. Attha...is she related to Uzumi Nara Attha of ORB?" Sahib asked him, who just nodded in response

"She was actually Lord Uzumi's daughter" Kira told them

"WHAT!"

Cagalli cursed the brown haired boy for revealing her true identity

"Oh...I see, she didn't mention anything like that to us..." Sahib said

"I apologized for that...I guess she didn't want to because she actually ran away from ORB and then she ended up here" Kira explain to them, Sahib nodded at his explanation

"Anyway, as a thanks for rescuing us, Mr. Yamato, right...you can stay with us for a while...if you know what I mean"

Kira then look at the blond girl, who was scowling at him, he sighed at that and then he nodded at his offer

"I guess that's fine with me...I don't think she'll go with me anytime soon, so thanks" Kira said, Sahib nodded at that and then he turn to his mobile suit

"So, I think we should hide you machine or else someone might have reported it" Sahib told him, Kira smile at that

"No need, I'll take care of it..."

Then Kira went to his machine, and then, with a single tap, it quickly shrunk into it's original size, and then, he catch it on his hand then puting it back to the suitcase he's holding, then, he turn to everyone who has now a very funny expression on their faces

"What? Is there something on my face?"

Andrew and DaCosta reached the base, then after getting off, he instruct the red haired man to park it and then join him, Dacosta nodded at that, and then, he went inside to see his lover, Aisha, who was now finish doing something

"Hi, Babe"

"Andrew, you're back...so how did it go?"

"Unfortunately, all of the BuCUEs pursuing the resistance were wipe out" he told her

"Eh! How?"

"That's the most interesting part...an unknown machine actually arrive and disabled them, so they were forced to self-destruct"

"I see...but to think that one machine was capable of doing that...he must be good" Aisha shared her opinion

"Yeah, you said it"

PLANT:

All the members of the council including Mr. Clyne were gathered on the meeting hall again, Rau was also on the side, watching the council member discuss his new update about the legged ship and the mysterious machine

"That can't be..."

"So, technically, the new warship of the Earth Forces have made it to Alaska...as well as the mysterious machine...this is bad!"

"If they manage to mass produced that deadly weapon of theirs, we're in deep trouble..."

"We should plan an attack immediately! The sooner we do, the better!"

"Are you nuts!? Alaska was one of their stronghold bases on Earth, we have to spent a lot of resources to do so and the success rate was 50-50..."

"Then we'll just have to so that!"

All eyes were now on Patrick, who spoke the last part, he stood up and began his speech

"Those barbaric naturals have already abandoned our wishes for peace by creating this so called 'G-Weapons', therefore, it is our duty to put an end to this war..." he said

"But how are we suppose to fight back, committee chairman Zala? That single machine alone was more than enough to owned the Le Cruset team, one of the elites, not to mention, it overpower the four stolen suits with little difficulty..." Ezalia asked him

"That's what I would like to tell you, I use my influence on the military to reverse-engineered the suits that the team captured and create our own" Patrick told them, this earns mixed reactions from the council member, though almost were quite relieved that they have now their own version of those G weapons, however, one man was actually voice his objection in a delicate way, hiding his shock, and that man was the PLANT Chairman Siegel Clyne

"Why did you do it?" was Siegel's question to him, Patrick look at him with the same look of arrogance while Siegel was waiting for an answer

"In order to win this war"

Back at Earth, it was now night and inside the Desert Dawn's poor makeshift base, which consist of only a single cave with several bulbs to give off light, was Sahib and his comrades discussing something, Cagalli was with them listening to every word that was being spoke, outside the cave, Kira and Kisaka were talking on their own

"I see, so you're just a college student on Heliopolis when the ZAFT attacked" The tan man spoke, Kira nodded, after hearing the young pilot's story, he was amazed at how well he handle a mobile suit despite not having any military experience, well, what would you expect on a coordinator

"Yes, me and my friends were caught up on shootout and then we ended up on the Earth Alliance's warship, we were there until we manage to evacuate, but unfortunately, my friends decided to stay on board" he said

Kisaka nodded at his answer, he felt sorry for him and his friends, he just tried to get away from this stupid war by living in ORB's neutral colony but they ended up being dragged on it after all, then he look at Kira's suitcase and couldn't help but to ask a question, a question that everyone asked this morning

"I know it wasn't my place to ask, but what with that machine you have?" Kisaka told him, Kira then look at the suitcase on the ground beside him

"Ah, this..." he then lift it up

"This is just an prototype mobile suit that I created, it was infuse with a special particle that I was researching during my college days" Kira answered

Kisaka didn't give any reply, he just nodded, well, it seems that the kid has something extraordinary with him and-

"Kisaka..."

the two then turn to the source, it was Cagalli, she went to the two but her attention was only on the mentioned man

"Sahib need you inside, he wants to tell you something important" she said

Kisaka nodded and then he asked her to keep Kira company, she cringed but obliged, and with that, the tan skinned man went in the cave, after he left, the two fell on a extremely uncomfortable silence, no one dare to break it, until...

"I'm sorry for yelling at you this morning" Cagalli was the first one to spoke, Kira look at her and let out a small smile

"It's ok, I somewhat expect that already, so no harm was done" Kira replied, Cagalli was quite relieve at that

"So, how did you become an ORB pilot? I don't remember your face on the registration at all" she asked, Kira wasn't surprised at that

"Oh that, well, since we have time, I guess I should tell you the entire story, this may take a while" Kira told her, Cagalli then sit on the rock

"It's okay, I have all the time" she replied, Kira then followed her action and sat down

"Well then, it all started after me and Lacus secure you on one of the shelters..."

Siegel was on his way home, feeling even more stressed after the meeting, however, it was not the recent meeting that stressed him the most, but rather, it was the private conversation he had with Partick regarding the units he manufactured based on EA's G weapons

"I knew it will end up this way" he muttered

Flashback:

Inside the conference room, Patrick was watching a footage of a mobile suit battle, it shows Kira's machine disabling several mobile suits including the stolen Units from the alliance, he let out a grin as he look at the machine, whoever made this, he was a genius, it's a combination of speed, power and accuracy in one machine, the way he maneuver in empty space and weaving around beam attacks, is really impressive, he was interrupted by footsteps from behind, he move his eyes to see Siegel approaching him

"What's the meaning of this?" the blonde man asked/demanded him, Patrick then resume watching the footage, unconcerned at the tone of his voice

"It's exactly what you are thinking right now..."

Siegel clenched his hand into fist as if he will punch the man on face

"Is this what you really want? Do you really want us to kill each other until everyone perish? We're all humans Patrick, we shouldn't be fighting and taking each other's life as if it was a game, in fact, this war shouldn't be existing at all" Siegel said, Patrick couldn't hold back a snort at that, especially at 'we're all humans' part

"Are you saying that we are equal to those barbaric Naturals?" Patrick asked

"We, Coordinators, are the new species that was far superior from those Natural bastards! I don't want you comparing us to them, We're the ones who were fated to replace them and this war gave us the chance to do so" he continued, his eyes still glued on the footage

"What did you say?"

"You heard me so I won't repeat it, besides, no matter how you look at it, we completely outclass them in any aspects, Naturals were nothing but an old relic that should perish long time ago"

"And to remind you Siegel, your term as a PLANT chairman was almost up and I'll be replacing you sooner, so enjoy it while you can" Patrick told him as he completely ignored his presence, Siegel was angry but it was not on his nature to show it so with no other choice, he left him alone

End Flashback:

Siegel finally arrive, and then, he notice another car that was parked in front of the house, the man immediately knew that it belongs to Athrun and so, wasting no more time, Siegel went inside to greet him and Lacus, he eventually found the two on the back of the house

"Okay, follow the one with a mustache"

He heard Lacus said before throwing a dark blue haro with a white mustache marker, it flew and was being followed by the rest of the haros, Lacus look at it then she went back to her seat

"Lacus!"

Lacus and Athrun turn to see him, the blue-haired man show respect by saluting, Siegel chuckled at his actions

"No need to be so formal, Athrun, we're outside our duties so please put your hand down and treat me as an ordinary person" Siegel said, Athrun nodded and then he went back to his seat and resume his tea, Siegel joined them

"So, how was the meeting, father?" Lacus asked

"Well, it was a bit stressful but I'm glad it's finally over" he replied, Lacus nodded and then she poured a tea on a teacup and handed it to him

"Father, here..."

Siegel smile and then he took a sip

"It was delicious, it's just the way your mother made when she's still alive" Siegel said

"Thanks"

"So, Athrun..." the man then turn to the blue haired boy

"Yes"

"What brings you here? Did you pay a visit to your fiancee, or you have something important to discuss?" he asked

"Well, I'm just here to see Lacus if she was doing okay, after I heard that she finally came home after she was dragged on the mess during our raid on Heliopolis, I rush here as fast as I can to see her" Athrun answered

"I see, you really care for her well being, aren't you" Siegel said

"...Yes" Athrun said

But in truth, Athrun never really viewed Lacus in a romantic way, she was just a friend for him, and that's it, and he had a feeling that she also felt the same way as him, which is good, the engagement they have was for political purpose only and can still be voided

"And also, there's a question I want to ask her, that's the other reason I want to see her" Athrun said, Siegel look at him

"What what would it be?"

"It's about my friend, Kira"

Lacus gasp slightly while Siegel raise an eyebrow at that

"Kira Yamato, right?"

"Yes"

"That's right, it's all thanks to him that Lacus manage to get home safe and sound, but then, what kind of question you have regarding Kira?"

"Is It true that he was piloting one of the mobile suits that belong to Earth forces?" he asked

At that question, Siegel gasp at that while Lacus stiffened, she seems nervous but did her best to hide it from them

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, Nicol's Blitz manage to record the conversation they have with the pilot and he let me hear it, and after hearing that, I'm definitely sure that it was Kira, I know him for a long time and there's no way that it was just some random pilot who had the same voice as him" Athrun said

Siegel give it a thought for some time until he turn to his daughter for answers

"Lacus..."

The pink haired woman let out a heavy sigh and then, she look at her fiancee

"Yes, it was Kira..."

Athrun's eyes widen and his body slightly shiver at the confirmation, so all this time they're pursuing the legged ship, his best friend Kira was piloting one of the G-weapons of Earth alliance, and in extension, his fiancee, Lacus was onboard as well, he cringed at that thought of what will happen to them if they actually manage to take down the legged ship at that time

"Kira didn't have a choice, He did it not just to protect me, but every civilians onboard Archangel" she continued

"Civilians?" Siegel and Athrun gasped

"After the attack, the colony sustained major damage and all of the life pods that carry the residents were ejected, but some of it malfunctioned and were found by Archangel and it's crew" Lacus continue her tale

"That can't be...you're kidding me"

"It's true Athrun, it's not just me, Kira and his friends, but many innocent lives were onboard, imagine what would happen if you and your team manage to destroy that ship" Lacus said

Athrun's eyes widen at that, he didn't want to even think about it

"I see..."

"So, what happend to the civilians? Did they get evacuated?" Athrun asked

"Yes, after reaching the Earth Forces' 8th fleet, all of them were evacuated to ORB, including me and Kira, so..."

Athrun breath a sigh of relief at that, that means Kira was no longer on that ship and he's on ORB

"...Unfortunately, his friends stay on Archangel and volunteer to work, as for the reason, I don't know and neither is Kira" Lacus finish her story, she keep the fact that the unknown machine was actually owned by Kira, it's not the right time to tell him, at least not yet

"So, that's what happened..." Siegel conclude

"Yes"

Few hours later:

Athrun was not outside the Clyne mansion, Lacus and Siegel was with him, bidding farewell to the former

"Well, have a safe trip, Athrun" Lacus said

"Yeah"

Then after the car left, Lacus think that it was now the right time to tell his father about something

"Father..."

Siegel turn to her daughter with a confused look

"What is it?"

"There's something I would like to discuss to you in private, can we go inside?" Lacus said, Siegel gasp at her serious tone, then after few seconds he nodded

"It seems it was something very important, let me hear it"

JOSH-A, Alaska:

"I see, so the original captain and the majority of the crew members died on the attack..." Captain William Sutherland told them

Murrue, Mu, Natarle and the rest of the crew including Tolle and the others were now in a conference room, after catching a long rest due to the events on space and their descend on this base, they were ordered to go there so they can discuss on what really happen on Heliopolis until now

"Yes, sir I had to take the position for the time being so that we were able to get away" Murrue said

"That's a wise decision, Lieutenant Ramius" he praised her

"Thank you"

"And Commander La Flaga?" William turn to the blonde moebius pilot

"Well, as for me sir, the squad were I came from were wiped out so I didn't have a choice but to join the Archangel crew to escape" he explained to him

"I see, well I was thankful that you guys were alive, but unfortunately, 4 out of the 5 of our new models were taken by ZAFT forces" he then push the topic regarding the G-weapons

"We're so sorry about that, sir, it seems that ZAFT somehow manage to caught wind of the project and took advantage of it" she said

Wiliam didn't replied to her, but he just close his eyes and ponder on what to do

"Well, the damage was done so It can't be helped, at least you manage to secure the last one, the GAT-X105 Strike" he told them

"Yes"

"And who is the current pilot of that machine?" he followed up, Mu raise his hand

"I am, sir"

"Really? You..." William asked in disbelief

"Yes, sir"

"Well, it was possible considering your background experience, commander, so that makes sense"

Mu sigh in relief at that

"Okay, then let's move on, about these youngsters, who volunteered to join the military, how did they ended up on your custody, Lieutenant Ramius?" Willam asked, turning his attention to Kira's friends, who wore a military uniform that was meant for the volunteered persons

"About that sir, during the attack, some civilians were stranded and these people happened to be on the scene when I was injured, they nurse me back to health and at the same time, they saw the last G-Weapon so I didn't have a choice but to take all of them with me to Archangel..."

"I see"

"Then along the way, after learning that the ship is short of manpower, they actually volunteered to help us, thanks to these people, we manage to arrive here in one piece" Murrue finish her story

"Oh, It seems that we owe these youngsters a favor then..."

"Yes"

"Very well, I'm glad that you guys manage this far, but it won't change the fact that they're still young and inexperience, so I will be assigning you an additional crew, they're more experienced, and I think they will help these volunteers to accustomed to their military life in no time" William said

"That would be great"

"Well, then, you're free to go..."

After:

Tolle was the first to voice his opinion

"That was intense, I can feel that guy's glance was so intimidating" he said

"I know, it was expected on a high ranking official, after all, we're in Alaska" Sai said

"But still, I feel that he's hiding something" Mir said

"Huh?"

"What do you mean, Mir?" Tolle asked her girlfriend

"All of the questions he asked was so simple, I mean, he didn't even wonder how did we manage to outrun ZAFT during our journey here" she said

"Come to think of it..."

"Now that you mention it, It was pretty strange for me too, After all, Kira was the reas-" Kuzzy's mouth was shut off by Sai

"Shhh...Not here!" he told the boy

"Mmmrrrppgghh!"

Then Sai let go of his mouth

"Didn't we already agreed that we'll never mention anything about Kira while we're on this base?" he said

"If they found out that we manage to survive because of a coordinator, we're in big trouble" Tolle followed up

"That's right..."

"I know, I know! Sorry..."

"Good"

Then, the group went to the mess hall to grab a bite

Back at his office, William was watching the video footage taken by one of the security cameras on Archangel's hangar, it was the time when the Archangel was still on space, it shows the strike with it's cockpit open and after few seconds, Kira came out of it and went to Mu and talk about something, the man was intrigued and interested on what is a kid doing on an advanced mobile suit

"Who is that kid?" he asked himself, many possibilities arose on the back of his mind, the fact that the unknown kid was inside the cockpit, possibly doing something on the Strike, there's only one answer on it

"Is he a coordinator?"

It was now morning, Kira woke up only to find that the base was already busy, he stretch his arms, and then, he saw Cagalli and Kisaka approaching him

"Kira!"

"Oh, Ms. Attha, you need-"

"I told you stop calling me that, it's irritating, Cagali was fine" she cut him off

"Okay, so...Cagalli, what's with them" Kira pointed at the people running back and forth

"ZAFT launch another assault on this place" she informed him, Kira gasp

"What!"

"But fortunately, our men manage to caught wind of it early so it give us time to leave this place, fighting them was out of option, considering our equipment and firepower" Kisaka told him

Kira ponder for few seconds and then, he look at the two

"In that case, l'll go out there" he said, earning him a furious reaction from the blonde girl

"Are you nuts?! Do you want to get yourself killed, you maybe a skilled pilot but you're completely outnumbered by those BuCUEs" she shouted

"Relax Cagalli, I'm not going to pick a fight, I'm just going to buy you more time to ensure that everyone here will leave this place alive" Kira reasoned to her

"But still-"

"Are you sure about that?" Kisaka cut her off, Cagalli shaprly turn to him

"Kisaka!"

"Kisaka-san...yes, I am, don't worry, they may outnumbered me but I can outmaneuver them, their BuCUEs were designed for ground combat, so no worries, just contact me if everyone manage to get into a safe place so I can retreat immediately"

"Is that so...well then, we're counting on you, but don't die yet, you still have your orders, you know" Kisaka said, making Kira smile

"I understand"

Far away from their location, a Lesseps-class ship accompanied with several BuCUEs were approaching in moderate speed, inside the hangar of the ground-type vessel was an orange BuCUE like unit but instead of a railgun or a missile launcher, it was outfitted with a pair of beam cannon, then below it, Andrew and Aisha was preparing to get on the machine

"Sir! Is it really necessary for you and Miss Aisha to get out there? I mean, they're just simple resistance, so I think the BuCUEs were more than enough to deal with them" DaCosta tried to explain, but Andrew just grin

"Relax, I know that, the main reason we're going out was the mobile suit we saw, I had a feeling that we will encounter it here, he just taken down several of our machines and we don't want to repeat that again, so we're just playing safe here" he told his subordinate

"But still..."

"No need to worry DaCosta, if anything happens, we will leave you in charge of here, okay?" Aisha said

"It's sound like you're not going to come back alive"

"Well, we're in a war, once you get out there, there's a high chance that you won't make it back" Andrew said

*BEEEP*

the surroundings rock them back and forth after that, then a personnel emerge on the door

"Sir! two of our BuCUEs were disabled, an unknown unit has open fire at the distance of 1100 meters"

"What!"

"That's quite far"

"There's no mistaking it, it was that mobile suit, Aisha! We're going out" Andrew then proceed to enter the orange unit, his lover followed suit

"Okay! Open the hatch!"

Then the front of the Lesseps-class ship opened, and then, the unit was cleared for take off

"Andrew Waltfeld! LaGOWE! Launching!"

Then the orange machine named LaGOWE jump from the ship and enter tank mode, sliding on the sand, they make their way to the unknown suit

Kira:

The brown haired pilot retract the scope from his eyes after successfully sniping a couple of BuCUEs using the winged cannons, then, stepping on the pedal, he made his way to the ZAFT forces in blinding speed, but then...

"Sir! Unknown machine approaching!" his A.I Mendel reported, Kira gasp a bit, and then, a part of the screen zoomed to see an orange BuCUE, but the equipment was different

"What's that unit? It's different from a BuCUE..." Kira wonder to himself and from he can see, it appears that it's heading straight to him

"No choice then..."

Then Kira face the unknown machine first

Several trucks start to leave the cave that became their base for the time being, Cagalli and Kisaka were still there, it's been a while after Kira took off

"I hope he manage to hold them off" she said out loud

"I'm sure he will, well, let's get going too" Kisaka said

"I'm staying" Cagalli said

"What!"

"I said I'm staying here"

"We have to move, ZAFT will be here any minute, they'll kill us if they saw us that we're still here"

"But we can't just leave him alone out there, there must be something we can do to help" Cagalli told him

"In that case, you can help him by staying alive" Kisaka said, causing the blonde woman to gasp

"Eh!"

"Remember, the main reason he's here is to pick us up, if either of us die here, he'll fail his mission" he continue

Cagalli pondered for a moment and then, after few moment, she finally agreed to him, Kisaka nodded at her answer and then, the two proceed to the last truck and leave the base, which will be invaded by BuCUEs later

Andrew smirk, seeing the unknown machine flying straight to him, it seems that the pilot accept the challenge, and so, he open fire first using the beam cannon mounted on the back, releasing a green energy that was heading straight to Kira's machine but it effortlessly evade it, he hummed at that

"Aisha, I'm leaving the controls to you, I've got to focus on the weapons" Andrew told her

"Okay, you got it"

Re-adjusting the calibrations properly, Andrew prepare another shot

Kira:

"Beam weapons? That orange BuCUE has it?! Mendel, unit's energy level?" he asked after dodging the unit's beam attack

"Overall Power level at 97%"

Kira hummed at that, the machine's energy was still stable, but he had to finish this quick

"Machine's state?"

"Enlarged state, 43 minutes remaining"

"Mendel, proceed analysis of the machine, display the data to me after you're done" Kira told his A.I

"Affirmative!"

And then with that set, Kira then focus on the battle, using the railgun, he tried to hit the orange four-legged unit but the speed allows it to evade by gliding

Retaliating, the LaGOWE fire two beam shots in attempt to hit any parts of Kira's unit but failed because it's wings suddenly unfold and then it weave around it, dodging them in no time

"He's good" Aisha commented as she maneuver the LaGOWE in a position when Andrew can get a clean shot, stepping on the pedal, she increase speed causing some sand to get washed away, and then...

*FWOOSH*

Andrew fire another two shots from the beam cannon, thanks to Aisha's skills, she manage to quickly get behind it and the sand that was being washed away while they're gliding help them cover their machine

Kira:

"Damn it!" he cursed as he was forced to sharply turn around and bring the shield in front to block the beams, it seems that the pilot was better that he thought, on which puts the brown haired pilot in a tough situation

"Sir, Machine analysis complete!" Mendel reported

"Good, show it to me"

"Yes, sir"

Then on a separate screen, a linear picture of the machine was displayed along with it's name

"LaGOWE? So it's not a BuCUE"

*BEEP*

Kira gasp as he saw a beam heading in front, bringing up the shield, he block it, he retaliate using the beam rifle but the LaGOWE simply glide again and the sand do the cover for them, he grunted at that

"I have to do something about it's speed, it's so annoying"

"Sir, that LaGOWE was trying to establish a communication, should I allow it?"

"What!"

Then Kira flew higher on the air and then he took aim at the machine using the beam rifle, he was trying to find a pattern of LaGOWE's movements so that he can predict on where it will go next

Andrew smirk as he saw the machine flew higher

"Oh, keeping a safe distance, eh..." he told himself and then he turn to Aisha

"So, how did it go?"

"Just a moment, It appears that something was actually holding off the connection, it may take a while before you can speak with the pilot" she said

"I see"

"By the way, why do you want to talk to the pilot, don't you think talking to your enemies during a fight was very idiotic?" Aisha asked him

"Nah, I'm just curious, the way he fight yesterday was something intrigues me, it's as if he has no intention to take a life at all, and just everyone know, if you want answers, talk to the one who has it" Andrew said

"Sometimes, you're weird, Andy" she said

"Call me weird, but that's how I roll"

"Okay, put it through" Kira said after thinking things, why would the enemy pilot want to talk to him? What kind of intention he/she has by doing this

"Affirmative!"

Then, after few seconds, Andrew's voice can be heard on the other line

"Yo, nice finally meeting you, pilot of that unknown machine"

Kira gasp at that, is it him or or the pilot of the enemy unit was actually talking to him casually

"Who are you?!"

"Nice to meet you, I'm Andrew Waltfeld, also known as the Desert Tiger...ever heard of that name?" Andrew asked him

Kira didn't respond, but he realized that he's the one that Sahib and the others were talking about, the one who ordered those BuCUEs yesterday

"Not really...now, what is it you want? Why are you going to attack those rebels?" Kira asked him, trying to gather information out of him and this might be the best opportunity

"Those rebels are nothing but a trouble in my turf, young lad...I have no intention of harming them, but they prove themselves to be persistent, so as a ZAFT commander, I have no choice but to get rid of them...well, that was the plan until you interfere" Anderw told him

Kira couldn't say that he was wrong, he was just doing his job as a commander, but...

"Some people there are innocent, mere children and women were just trying to survive and live on their fullest despite the war and yet...you're still planning on attacking them!" Kira shouted on the comm.

"Oh, from the sound of it, it seems that you care about them, huh...despite meeting them yesterday" Andrew said

the LaGOWE and Kira's unit engaged again, bringing out his weapons, Kira aim at the head of the machine but Aisha evade it, Andrew retaliate using the beam cannon, firing a pair of green beam towards Kira, but he just dodge by strafing to the left, then unfolding the wing cannons, he fire a blue-red plasma beam towards the LaGOWE

Aisha narrow her eyes as she maneuver the LaGOWE sideways to dodge the beam, but...

"Aisha! Above!"

Kira's machine burst in front of them, it's thruster were flaring with energy giving it an enormous speed, drawing one of it's beam sabers, he slice the beam cannon of the LaGOWE, therefore, removing it's only range weaponry on the process

Andrew and Aisha hang one as their machine shook at the damage they sustained

"What speed!"

"When did he...?"

Aisha turn the LaGOWE around and meet it's enemy, but it was already far away, it turn to them and unleash it's railguns and winged cannons, firing two pairs of yellow beam and blue-red beam at the same time

The LaGOWE was now left with a beam saber that emit a beal blade on both side, the weapon was located on it's mouth, they barely dodge the beams and then, hitting the pedals hard, the LaGOWE went towards Kira

"He's better than I expected, at this rate we'll be..." Aisha said in concern

"Yeah, In that case, there's only one thing left to do"

Kira then took out another one of his beam sabers, dual wielding it on the process, he then charged towards the LaGOWE

Now, the two machines were approaching each other in blinding speed, LaGOWE's twin beam blade and Kira's dual beam sabers were ready

3...

Kira's eyes were narrowed and were focused on the LaGOWE in case he made an surprise movement

2...

Andrew and Aisha were so equally focus, just like him, but they had other plans

1...

the LaGOWE and Kira's unit were now close enough to each other, the orange machine jump forward with it's beam blade ready to slice Kira into half

"Now! Mendel!"

"Sir!"

The wings suddenly unfold, causing Kira's unit to change direction by flying upwards, he was now above LaGOWE for just a couple of seconds, barely avoiding the blade, Kira then swung both beam saber, slicing the wing part of the LaGOWE

"AHH!"

"GUH!"

The LaGOWE dive down to the sandy dessert with a very hard thud, it slid for a while until it stopped, the destroyed wings were emitting sparks, Kira quickly turn his unit around and face the LaGOWE

"That's enough, Waltfeld-san, you lost" Kira said, knowing that the communication was still on

"Hehe...is that so...well, you're right about that, young lad" Andrew smirk

"Now you understand, this is how war was played, one must live and other must die..." he continued, Kira gasp at that

"What!"

"Having compassion towards your enemy was useless, you'll ended up dead before you know it..."

"!"

"Or so that's what I thought, until I saw you..."

Kira, again, was stunned at what he just said

"You pilot that machine of yours, yet you have no intention of taking away lives, it makes me wonder why..."

"Waltfeld-san..." Kira couldn't help but to sympathize at him, judging on his voice, it appear that he also dislike war too but he can't do anything to stop it

"I think that this war may have a chance of not breaking out if they actually think the way you are, lad"

"!"

"I guess this is goodbye...for now, Kira Yamato" Andrew said and then, a click and a ticking sound was heard, he relaized that it was the sound of self-destruct sequence, Kira gasp

"Waltfeld-san! Don't-"

But it was too late, the damaged LaGOWE explode, sending tiny scraps of metal everywhere, chunks and parts of it such as the head was blown off, Kira could only watch from his seat, another pointless death

"Why? Why did you do it?" was Kira's question to himself, but after watching the flaming remains of the four-legged machine, he then turn his attention to the base, where the remaining BuCUEs were raiding it, he was about to go there when a beep sound was heard on his cockpit

"Kira! Are you okay there!?" the brown haired boy realized that it was Cagalli

"I-I'm okay, what about you over there?" he asked, a little bit worried

"We all got away, the base was completely abandoned so don't mind the BuCUEs anymore, we'll send you the coordinates of our new location, go and rendezvous with us there" she said

"I understand"

Then after few seconds, he received the coordinates, firing it's thrusters, Kira flew off, leaving the destroyed LaGOWE behind

Few minutes after Kira left, the destroyed LaGOWE was being approached by the Lesseps-class ship

"Commander!" DaCosta's voice can be heard from the ship, he sounded worried, thinking that they both died at the explosion, and then, after few seconds, something was moving on the wrecked machine, wasting no time, DaCosta ordered the men to quickly went on that location, they successfully took something from the wreckage, it was a small cylindrical pod

"Commander!"

Then the pod was forcibly opened to reveal Andrew and Aisha, completely fine, they don't have their helmets anymore, Aisha got out first and took a deep breath

"Shouldn't you at least install a pod that's a little bit larger than that, it was completely cramped in there" she complain while stretching her muscles

"Well, that's the only available pod we have on the ship, we should consider ourselves lucky that something like that was actually there and we manage to install it before we sortie" Andrew countered after getting out as well

"Commander! Are you alright?" DaCosta asked in concern

"Yeah, we're fine" he said

"Well, what should we do next? that kid think that we really died there" Aisha said, the Desert Tiger smirk

"Well, let's get back to the ship first before I tell you" he answered

"Alright"

Then, they all went back the the ship, Andrew was now focued on his thoughts

"He's a good guy, no wonder Lacus fell for him, according to Chairman Clyne...that is"