Natarle barked orders, Arnold Neumann fumbled at the controls, Murrue gripped the arms of her Captain's chair tightly and Mu La Flaga fisted his hands.

Winry Rockbell squinted her eyes shut.

"We aren't going to make it if we can't find someplace to land the ship!" Neumann cried, jerking at the joystick when the thrusters didn't respond.

"Those jackasses!" Mu La Flaga burst out, slamming his fist into the wall by the entrance of the bridge, where they all stood clustered. "To send GINNs after us like that, from some hidden fortress in Natural territory. In a peaceful rural town, no less! And to think that alchemist pipsqueak just fixed the ship, yet we're struggling to stay in the air again, like wounded birds..."

Mu didn't have time to finish his outburst. The Archangel lurched and listed to one side. Red lights flashed and alarms blared, while Winry began to wish she'd stayed with Pinako in Resembool.

"Excuse me," Sai ventured, squinting through his glasses at an image on the screen he was monitoring, "But Captain, couldn't we land there?"

Murrue Ramius opened her mouth to answer, but Natarle Badgiruel snapped a response before the brunette in charge had a chance to reply. "Mr. Argyle, you seriously want us to consider landing on the roof of a building?" Her glare was severe.

"It was just a suggestion," Sai muttered, while Winry let out a little cry and exclaimed, "That's the top of the Fuhrer's building!"

The office building rose over the roofs of all the others, a beacon in their current crisis, and a monument in the middle of the melee below. ZAFT soldiers fought State soldiers on the ground, scrambling across the cobblestone expanse – shouting, bleeding, and struggling.

La Flaga was watching the blonde girl from the corner of his eye. "The Fuhrer's building, huh?" His gaze shifted to the Captain, who had frowned as if considering Sai's proposition. "That might be just the place for us to land, eh Captain Ramius?"

Murrue met his gaze with a determined nod. "Yes, I believe you're right, Lieutenant La Flaga." Winry's mouth dropped open.

Natarle raised her hand to crush it to her forehead in disbelief, but she was forced to stop short as her screen blipped perilously. "Captain," she screeched, distracted. "Incoming missiles!"

"What?" Murrue whipped around to face forward again. "But the Lesseps is engaged on the ground! Who could be—"

"There's no time!"

"Evade! Helldarts, fire! Don't let them hit us. Find where those missiles are coming from!"

La Flaga stumbled across the rocking ship to the Captain's side. "There's no need," he said darkly. "Look to your left, Captain, into those trees. It's the Vesalius."

Lieutenant Badgiruel gasped. "Can't be! The Vesalius shot us down from space. Did they honestly follow us all the way to Central?"

"Think about it." Mu jammed his helmet onto his head in a fury. "Those disguised ZAFT soldiers Ed and Al claimed were in Resembool. The GINNs that came out of nowhere to attack us while we were headed here. It wasn't all for the Tiger – Andrew Waltfeld wouldn't need that much reassurance. It was for us. Which means that Le Creuset's ship has been tailing us this whole time, giving orders to have us taken down. He's working with Waltfeld; he's got to be. They figure they can eliminate the State and us at the same time. I should have known."

He ignored the looks of horror plastered on various faces as he buckled his helmet and raced for the hangar.

"The Zero should be ready for launch now," he alerted them, "Land on the roof of that building of the Fuhrer's. Let Winry guide you in."

"Whaaat? Me?!" The blonde mechanic felt a wave of hysteria wash over her.

Murrue looked to her crew and nodded curtly. "Do as Lieutenant La Flaga says. Miss Rockbell, can you help us?"

Winry looked to the Hawk of Endymion, but he was already gone. The other teens appeared nervous; Miriallia sucked on her lip as she called out specifics from her position as CIC, while Sai and Kuzzey seemed to be silently praying for god's good graces. Natarle was glaring at her, ready to spring up and take control herself should the blonde girl take too long to respond. Then Winry peered out the window, saw the smoking rubble that was Central, and made her decision.

"I-I'm just an automail mechanic," she said quietly, "And I haven't spent much time in Central, but… But Edward and Alphonse are down there somewhere, and Major Armstrong, and Kira too. I'll try to help you as best I can, Captain Ramius."

Murrue's warm smile reassured her. "Thank you, Miss Rockbell."

The Archangel trembled, and Winry staggered toward where Neumann sweated at the controls. "The building is right there," she pointed, determining not to listen to the harried commands of the crewmembers behind her as they yelled orders to fire and evade the assault of the green ZAFT ship. Her palms were sweaty, and she wiped them on her cargo pants.

"Land on the right side of the roof," she said, "Closest to the library. If what Edward told me once was correct, the left side is above the living quarters where the employees stay."

"Yes," Neumann agreed. "We should try to avoid any residences."

But Winry wasn't listening. "This is dangerous. If Edward and Alphonse are getting into scrapes like this, then I swear I'll have Den eat Ed's pocket watch the next time I see him!"

"You'll never see him if we can't shake this ZAFT ship!" Natarle hauled the mechanic back into reality as another blast from Le Creuset's ship rocked the Archangel to its core.

"We have to find Kira and get the Strike to him," Murrue Ramius announced, as La Flaga in his Zero zipped by them on the screens and prepared to fire on his hated enemy's ship. "We can't depend only on La Flaga and our own skills aboard the Archangel. I hate to say it, but this may be too big for us to handle alone in our current state. We need the Strike."

Natarle hissed through her teeth. "We have no way to contact Ensign Yamato," she reminded. "How will we find him?"

Winry fidgeted, then took a breath. "I'll do it." The crew stared at her. "Let me off! I'm not a soldier, so they won't suspect me of anything. I'll find Ed – short as he is, he's hard to miss. Kira is bound to be with him, so let me go!"

Natarle's face was the picture of uncertainty. Murrue held her breath, then nodded at the antsy blonde girl and motioned her to go ahead.

"Find them, Miss Rockbell," the Captain of the Archangel said, and her brown eyes glittered with determination. "We're counting on you."