Hey everyone. I know it's been a long time. What with working and trying to move, and working on other writing projects Fanfiction takes something of a backseat these days. I'll try my best because I still want to finish these stories I have unfinished.

Anyway, Silver And Gold.

I am pleased to upload another chapter. I hope you all enjoy it.

I know I've had a few reviews for this story even though I'm long to update and I just want to say thank you. Every single review and comment I have ever gotten for this story has been so happy and little lights in my day. I hope you all continue to enjoy this story and I hope to keep the plot interesting and the characters as in character as I can.

Enjoy!

Silver And Gold

Chapter Nineteen: Man With A Mission

"Shinn!" Luna burst in to the shooting range and leapt on her friend like an elephant.

"Ow!" Shinn growled "Luna! I could have shot you, idiot!" he set the gun down and glared at her "what'd you want?"

"It's Athrun" Luna gasped totally oblivious "he's gone!"

"He's the Admiral of Orb" Shinn sighed irritably "he's bound to be in Orb some of the time" still feeling somewhat venomous from his last encounter with the Admiral he picked up his gun again and aimed it at the target.

"No, I mean he's vanished!" Luna snatched the gun from him "and Rey has too" she added after a little pause.

Shinn looked at her "what do you mean Rey's gone?" he demanded "he's locked up in the bottom of a Zaft Ship, it's not like he can just walk out"

"He and Athrun have just gone" Luna insisted dramatically, desperate to make Shinn realise the seriousness of the situation "no one can find them. The guards were knocked out and just left there"

"What?" Shinn stared at her "what the hell?" he snorted in disbelief "are people on this ship blind or something?"

Then he remembered Athrun.

The strange way he'd pressed Shinn for a promise, his urgency to leave, his reluctance to stay. The Pilot had tried everything he could to make Athrun stay and the Admiral had resisted him because he'd been desperate to leave. Shinn's blood went ice cold.

"What happened?" he demanded "tell me everything"

Surprised by his sudden change of mind Luna widened her eyes and repeated what she'd said when she'd burst in on him "Athrun's gone, so is Rey. They've both just gone. Rey escaped somehow, I have no idea where Athrun is. He's just disappeared, not even Captain Yamato or the Princess of Orb know where he is"

"What, that's crazy" Shinn argued back at her, determined to ignore the voice in his head that was trying to tell him something "people don't just vanish"

Luna shrugged helplessly "Captain Yamato told me to come and find you"

"Me? Why?"

"I don't know, maybe he thinks you might know where Athrun is"
"Like hell I know where Athrun is"

Shinn's heart skipped a beat. Horror filled him. Did Captain Yamato know about him and Athrun? No, that wasn't possible. They'd only done it the once. There was no way anyone could have found out about it. Or at least he hoped they hadn't.

But Captain Yamato was smart, and he knew Athrun so well.

And there was always the risk that Athrun would tell Kira anyway.

Something in Shinn's heart caught; he'd always hoped Athrun wouldn't tell the Zaft Captain a damn thing. Shinn didn't want anyone to know. At all. Ever. Athrun knew that.

Didn't he?

"I don't know where Athrun is" he said testily "and I don't know why Captain Yamato would think that I would"

Turning away he faced the targets and aimed his gun once more.

"Shinn!" Luna tugged at him, shocked by his coldness and apparent intent to continue his target practice.

He ignored her and tried to focus forwards again.

"Shinn, aren't you listening to me!" Luna glared at him and tugged at his clothes "Athrun is missing, so is Rey! That's a pretty serious situation"

"I'm not deaf, Luna, I heard you the first time" he gave her a scowl "and I'm not stupid, I know it's a serious situation"

"Then do something" she said in exasperation "why are you acting like nothing is happening, we need to do something"

"Captain Yamato will give us our orders soon enough, they'll find Rey and we'll be ordered to go and get him. Until then there's not much for us to do"

"And Athrun?"

Shinn looked at her "what about him?" he shrugged "Athrun is Orb, not my problem"

Luna hit his arm "how can you say that?!" she scowled "you're acting like Athrun means nothing to us at all"

"That's because he doesn't. Athrun's not our Superior anymore, I don't have to give a crap about him"

"You don't have to," Luna agreed "but you do" she stared at him, unable to believe the Shinn standing before her eyes "you know, I'm surprised at you. I thought you might show just a little bit of alarm"

Shinn lifted his eyebrows "why? Like I said, Athrun's not my problem. And it's not like he's my property" he added "I don't know where he goes. For all I know, he's going to found at any moment"

Luna only grew angrier than she had before "stop it, stop acting like you don't care. This isn't about Athrun hurting your precious feelings. An Orb Admiral and a prisoner have gone missing. Don't you get what that might mean?"

"Yeah, that Rey escaped and Athrun sucks at being a guard" Shinn replied.
His lack of interest was clear on in his face but in his head he kept going back to that moment. He'd practically begged Athrun to stay; it was humiliating just to think about how desperate he'd been and he only got more embarrassed when he'd failed.

Athrun had been so intent on leaving, so determined.

And now Rey was gone.

It was too coincidental now that Rey had disappeared too. Did that mean Athrun and Rey had left the ship…together? Shinn's heart started pounded in his chest. He couldn't believe the ideas going through his head. He couldn't believe Athrun might have taken Rey. Athrun would never steal a prisoner, nor would he help a prisoner escape.

But what other thought process was there?

That Athrun had gone to see Rey and Rey had overpowered him? Not possible.

Athrun had been so insisted that Shinn listen to him, and that Shinn should be there for Captain Yamato; the Admiral had been planning something. Shinn had known Athrun was planning to leave again. It had been clear as day.

But Rey disappearing too…

Maybe their disappearances had nothing to do with each other.

Maybe they had totally different reasons for disappearing…on the same day…at the same time…from the same place.

The words sounded so ridiculous in his head.

They could only have left together. Their disappearance had to be linked. It was the only explanation that made any sense, unbelievable as it was to understand. Shinn had no idea why Athrun would disappear with Rey, he didn't know why Rey would leave with Athrun. But it had to be the case.

So where did that leave Shinn?

Rey and Athrun were gone and he knew a little more than everybody else on the ship; he honestly didn't know what to do next. What the hell did Athrun want him to do? Did he tell a Commander about the conversation that Athrun had pushed him in to?

But that would lead to questions.

Such as why Athrun would confide in Shinn?

Shinn couldn't think of any reason that would convince anyone except the truth. Shinn didn't want them to know the truth. But if he kept quiet about what he knew and his Superiors found out they'd bury him alive. He'd probably be sent to jail. He'd lose his professional position for sure. It made him hate Athrun just thinking about it. The guy was a jerk just for putting Shinn in this mess.

On the other hand he wasn't sure what it was he did know.

Athrun hadn't exactly been forthcoming about what his plan actually was, he'd just insisted that Shinn be a good boy solider for Captain Yamato.

"Shinn, are you listening to me?"

"Hmm, what?"

Luna lost her patience. Pulling Shinn around she smacked him straight across the face with a stinging blow that caught him by such surprise he flinched.

"Ow, Luna!"

"You are unbelievable!" she raged "an Admiral of Orb and your dead best friend disappear off this ship and you're acting like the brat Athrun thinks you are! Why are you just standing there!"

"Luna-"

"Come on, Shinn, this isn't like you. I know you care about Athrun, and I know that Rey coming back really messed you up. So stop acting like you're above it all and report to your Captain so you can help with the situation"

"Report to my Captain" Shinn repeated rubbing his cheek "and tell him what? I don't know anything"

"That's not the point" Luna argued back "Captain Yamato will be relying on us, he's expecting us to report to him immediately. But how am I supposed to stand there in front of him knowing that you're just playing a jerk and pretending that none of it matters to you"

She stared at him, pinning him down with her eyes. Shinn sighed and gave in.

There was no fighting with her when she got all demon like.

Silence fell between them as Shinn battled with his inner being. Honestly he wanted to tell her about Athrun; she was Luna, probably the only person he had left. He'd lost everybody else; Rey coming back from the dead didn't suddenly mean Shinn had him back. And Athrun, Shinn just didn't know what to make of the Admiral of Orb; one minute they were clawing at each other and the next they were snarling at each other. And now…

"I don't know anything, Luna" he said quietly "I don't know what you want me to say"

"I don't want you to say anything, Shinn" she stared deeply in to his eyes, trying to read the forlorn expression on his face and understand what it meant "I just want you to realise how serious this is, I want you to stop pretending like you don't care about any of this, I want you to be the Shinn I know"

There was another brief pause and then she flung her arms around him in a big hug. She wanted him to stop hiding away from his hurt; he always seemed to be running away from his emotions. It was exhausting to watch and now wasn't the time for Shinn to withdraw.

"I know being in Orb puts you on edge" she added letting him go so she could stare up at him "but you're a solider, Shinn, and your Captain needs you"

Shinn lifted his eyebrows and snorted "hn, everybody keeps saying that to me like I don't already know it"

"That's because you look like you need reminding all the time" Luna sighed terribly and reached up to prod his nose "you're the best of all of us, just not when you're being a jerk"

He softened, and let his shoulders fall "sorry"

She gave him a look of surprise; an apology from Shinn was a rare thing. The last time he'd said anything close to an apology had been the first time they'd kissed. Luna smiled and took his hand, glad that she seemed to have got through to him.

"We should go, Captain Yamato is waiting for us. Commander Joule will skin us alive if we don't show up soon"

"I still don't see what we can do" Shinn argued half-heartedly as he grabbed his gun and let Lunamaria tug him along "it's not like a Pilot can do anything until we have a destination, and Orb won't want us going anywhere now that their precious Admiral is vanished in to thin air. They'll probably blame us for losing him"

His mind snapped back to the pressure Athrun had tried to enforce on him and worried again. For another moment he felt compelled to tell Luna everything Athrun had said to him, but then he remembered the desperateness that had taken over him like an animal. He'd kissed Athrun so hard he could still make his heart race thinking about it. Feeling flushed he kept his mouth pinned shut and pulled his hand free of Luna, embarrassed to be so close to her when he was thinking about Athrun.

"I wonder what happened to Athrun" Luna muttered, for the first time revealing how much the situation had scared her. Athrun going missing was one thing, but Rey disappearing from the cell of a guarded populated Zaft ship had really upset her. As if his return from dead hadn't been traumatic enough. Now he'd gone again. It was too horrible.

"I wonder if they've found anything?" she glanced behind her to make sure that Shinn was still following her "I hope so, the thought of Athrun and Rey out there somewhere unknown is horrible. Do you think they're together?"

"Why would they be together?" Shinn asked, snorting "don't say anything so stupid"

"Well it's strange that they disappeared together, don't you think?" she reasoned "I mean within hours of each other? It's like they somewhere with each other together or something"

"Luna!" Shinn grabbed her and put his hand over her mouth. Glancing around he made sure they were alone "don't say things like that" he scolded "Athrun's an Admiral of Orb, you'll get him in to trouble if you say things like that"

Luna was so surprised that Shinn was sticking up for Athrun she stared at him "I didn't mean anything by it, I was just wondering aloud. There are similarities is all I'm saying"

"You mean like the time Athrun ran off with Meyrin and abandoned Zaft?" Shinn demanded "yeah, I notice that too"

He walked off leaving her behind.

Honestly Luna's words had shaken him up. The thought that Athrun and Rey were together was becoming the most logical solution. But now it seemed to be the only thing his imagination could come up with and he hated the very idea. And he didn't understand why Rey and Athrun would be together? It didn't make any sense. His insides curled up.

What had Athrun done?

Why had he been so insistent with Shinn? Why had he been so determined to leave with the knowledge that Shinn would obey Captain Yamato's every word?

And now he was gone. Again. He'd just left. Anger filled Shinn up inside. It had been selfish of Athrun to lay something like that on him and then just vanish. But then again it was nothing new. Memories came back to Shinn. Memories of the day he'd shot Athrun and Meyrin out from the skies. Even now he could it as if he was there back in the moment and he was shooting Athrun and Meyrin out of the sky all over again. He still couldn't believe he'd done that to them, to Luna too.

He'd just gotten so angry with Athrun for leaving, and then the idiot had tried talking to him like Shinn was the bad guy. It had just made Shinn so mad.

And now he had the same madness building up inside him. It wasn't fair. What was Athrun expecting of him? How could have he abandoned them again?

And why?

Why now?

Why had Rey vanished?

Were they together?

Why?

Questions ran around Shinn's brain almost as badly as they ran around Athrun's head. Rey had to be connected somehow. But how? Why would Rey be with Athrun? Why would Athrun be with Rey?

Of course, letting Rey go was the perfect way of finding Yuna Roma.

The thought popped in to Shinn's mind with a thud. As he walked on with Luna following behind him his mind stopped in its tracks. Surely that wasn't Athrun's plan. Next second Shinn's mind was racing. It wasn't possible.

Anger bubbled inside Shinn. Athrun had abandoned Zaft, Orb and Lady Lacus and gone with Rey to Yuna Roma. What was he going to do when he got there? Was he going to talk to Yuna Roma? Was he going to give himself up to Yuna Roma? Why would he do something like that?

The answer finally dawned on Shinn as he remembered the sacrificial nature Athrun had. The way the Admiral felt the urge to sacrifice himself for the greater good and suddenly the Orb Official's plan slipped in to Shinn's mind. The Pilot felt his blood run cold. Athrun had taken Rey to give to Yuna Roma so that Lacus Clyne would be free.

"Dammit" he cursed under his breath.

The urge to track Athrun down just to punch the jerk in the face was overwhelming. Shinn didn't know what he was going to do. He couldn't just let Athrun wander off with Rey; the guy was crazy and he was a fool if he thought it was going to work.

Shinn had to do something.

He couldn't let Athrun walk off without doing something about it.

But he still didn't want to tell anyone. He wanted to do this alone; he wanted to find Athrun himself. That way he could break the Admiral's nose without anyone trying to stop him. He glanced sideways at Luna; a part of him did still want to be honest with her, but he knew she'd go straight to the Captain and tell him absolutely everything.

Shinn didn't want that at all.

He had to do this himself.

The skies above were clear and blue. The sand under his feet was soft and slightly dampened by the gentle waves lapping up on to the shore. There was a slow warm breeze; the beach was so peaceful it was like Orb had never seen war and destruction. Flowers bloomed and widened in the light of the sun and the salt in the air made everything seem like a summer holiday.

Athrun glanced behind him to ensure they were not being followed. Getting Rey safely away from the ship had been no easy task; as a prisoner he was well known by all on the ship and finding a way without being seen had been near impossible. Athrun had been given no choice when it came to the guards protecting the cells; they would have known something was wrong the moment Athrun tried to escort a prisoner alone and without written Captain Permission.
Just to be on the safe side Athrun had insisted on putting Rey in chains in case they were found out. The younger Coordinator hadn't liked it one bit and had protested gravely on the matter. But Athrun's reasoning had been logical and the Orb Admiral had refused to move until the ex-Zaft Solider had agreed on his terms.
Now Rey was moving next to him unchained and untied. It was almost surreal in the way he was so calm and silent; it took Athrun back to the days when he'd been Rey's Superior and Rey had obeyed his every word until Athrun had abandoned Zaft and taken Meyrin with him.

The changes that had happened since then were almost too much to believe. Now Rey and he were on opposites sides, because of Yuna Roma of all people. Even now Athrun couldn't really understand how Yuna Roma had managed to get Rey Za Burrel of all people. How could a supposedly dead Zaft Pilot and a Blue Cosmos fanatic connect? And how could a Zaft Pilot be manipulated in to obeying his every whim and totally forgetting who he truly was?

Of course there was the theory of those machines that manipulated the mind. It was the most logical answer. It explained why all those people had been forced in to fixing Requiem. But those people had all been Naturals.

There had been nothing to suggest that those machines could work on Coordinators. And it was even less possible to think that the entire life of the Coordinator had been wiped away.

But there was something else that troubled Athrun even more.

Yuna Roma was not a smart man.

The more Athrun thought it through the less he could imagine that Yuna Roma, the man who ran away from Mobile Suits, could think up this elaborate plan. The only part of this situation that Athrun did believe that Yuna Roma would want revenge. He was selfish enough.

Which meant he was easily manipulated.

Which led to the possibility that there was someone else, somewhere, pulling all the strings.

Unseen.

Athrun couldn't help wondering if that was the truth.

Of course it was always possible that Yuna Roma was behind this all. It was entirely possible that he was a good deal smarter than Athrun had given him credit for. But even if that was the case Yuna Roma's way of seeking his supposed revenge then it was a strange and long stretched out way of receiving it. There were other ways of gaining his revenge. He could have attacked Cagalli directly. He could have attacked Orb in general. He could have done a thousand different things and Athrun would have understood his methods more than he understood the kidnapping of Lacus.

Why kidnap Lacus?

It made no real sense.

Rey said it was because Yuna Roma wanted Alex Dina, Kira and Cagalli all in one place. But if that was the case then it would have made more sense to kidnapped Cagalli herself. It would have been much easier to achieve. Instead, Athrun was supposed to believe that Yuna Roma had taken charge of a mind altering machine, stolen a supposedly dead Coordinator, totally altered his mind in order to gain a spy in to the Plants all so that he could organise the kidnapping of Lacus.

Some part of Athrun's mind couldn't understand the logic.

Unless there was someone else.

Someone else behind everything that had a different goal, one that wasn't revenge.

But Athrun didn't know who.

"So what happens now?" Athrun asked "I don't see Yuna Roma around anywhere"

"My Master will not reveal himself until he is convinced that we are alone and that this is not a trap"

"And what has to happen for him to figure out that we're alone?" the Admiral pressed "it's not as though I can wait here forever for him to decide that he has his way"

"My Master will show himself when he is convinced we are alone" Rey replied just as calm but with a slight hint of force in his voice "you will be patient and we must wait"

He came to a stop.

Athrun looked around; they were in the middle of the open. Yuna Roma had managed to choose the most exposed part of Orb he could possibly find. Athrun glanced sideways at his once prisoner.

"How do you know Yuna Roma will meet you here?"

"At this present moment My Master does not know I am free" Rey replied "I must send him a message so that he knows what has happened and that he should bring Lady Lacus Clyne with him"

"And how are you going to do that?" Athrun looked around the empty sand covered beach again "there's nothing here, no way to send any kind of message"

"That is for me to be concerned with" Rey replied. He looked emotionlessly at Athrun "stay here, my Master will want to be sure you haven't planned any tricks"

"Wait a minute" Athrun argued "you sound like you're going somewhere"

"I must make contact with my Master"

"Not without me, you're not" the older Coordinator answered darkly "for all I know you could just walk off and leave me here"

"I will not let you see my methods of contacting my Master"

Athrun glared "stop calling him your Master, Yuna Roma is nothing but a foolish lunatic" he said sharply "you have nothing to do with him"

Rey stared at him blankly.

Athrun waited, hoping…for what?

He didn't know. Deep in his mind there was still some part of him that couldn't believe that Rey's mind had been wiped so completely. Rey wasn't a Natural after all, and the machines had been designed to trick Naturals. Without research there was no way to confirm that the same mind alterations could be done to a Coordinator. They were different to Naturals.

Even Naturals were not totally changed by the machines. Mu La Flaga had regained a good ninety-five percent of his memories that he had lost. That girl, Stellar, had not been totally controlled by the machines either; Shinn had got through to her, even when she had lost all memory of him.

That meant that even if Rey's mind had been so terribly changed there was a chance that he could be brought back to the person he had been.

If that was true, then Shinn could get his friend back…

Athrun stopped. It seemed strange and unnatural to be thinking about Shinn at a time like this. The Admiral should have been focused on the situation before him but somehow the hot headed Pilot slipped in to his mind and all Athrun could think was that if Rey remembered who he was then Shinn would have something back in his life.

But Rey didn't change. His expression remained as ever emotionless.

So Athrun gave up.

He couldn't keep pressing the issue when they were short for time. It had all played out smoothly getting Rey from the ship. But Athrun knew it wouldn't take Kira long to figure out what Athrun had done. Athrun was a fast runner, but not even he could outrun the Freedom Mobile Suit while on foot.

And once Kira knew what was happening he'd come after Athrun with the full force of the Zaft army behind him. As he thought of Kira Athrun checked the skies to ensure they were still as clear as they'd been before. Not for the first time Athrun wondered if he was doing the right thing. He couldn't help thinking that this amazing plan he was acting out was more the craziest thing he'd ever done.

He'd left Zaft, again. He'd left Orb. He'd sacrificed himself to a mad man who had the power to do whatever he wanted to do Athrun, because as long as he had Lacus then Athrun was prepared to do anything to keep her safe. With all this in mind Athrun couldn't help feeling that maybe this time he really was walking towards his own end.

There was no telling what would happen to him if he found no way of outsmarting Yuna Roma.

And even if he did make it back…it was unlikely either Orb or Zaft would want him back. Not even Cagalli's love would protect him from the betrayal he would be forever blackened with.

"You have a simple choice" he said at length "either you contact Yuna Roma while I can see you or you forget the whole thing and we return to the Zaft ship"

Rey's eyes narrowed "I am able of escaping you" he replied, disliking Athrun's threat "you will not take me back to your precious ship"

"You're not armed" Athrun answered weighing his options and calculating his chances "when it comes to a choice between you and me I think you'll realize that I have the upper hand"

The younger Coordinator set his jaw and for a long stretching out moment he thought about the situation Athrun was putting before him. Seemingly he came to the same conclusion that Athrun had come to.

"I suppose you are Alex Dino" he admitted "you didn't become an Admiral for nothing after all" he gave a small emotionless sigh "very well, there is a cavern over under the rock of the cliff at the edge of the beach. It is there I contact my Master"

He turned round abruptly and started to walk. As Athrun followed he stared out the layout ahead and realized that Rey had been aiming towards the cliff side ever since they'd set foot on the beach. Glancing over his shoulders he made sure for the hundredth time that Kira was not behind them.

As they walked the cliff side lurched out over them so suddenly it took the Admiral by surprise. He had to see the irony that as an Admiral of Orb he didn't actually know the country all that well. Maybe one day it would be a good idea for him to actually get to know this country as well as Shinn did.

The wall stretched up above them and as Athrun stepped in to the shadow it cast Rey pointed out an opening that appeared out of nowhere.

"This is the cavern" he announced, he turned back to Athrun "the equipment I need to contact my Master is in there"

"Why?" it was the first question that came to Athrun's mind "why was it necessary to place contact equipment here? How did you know you would need it?"

"I didn't," Rey answered "my Master simply thought it would be a good idea to set it up like this should the need ever arise"

Athrun almost laughed. There was no way Yuna Roma had the brain capacity to be so prepared. The fool wasn't capable of organizing anything so carefully or think through anything so thoroughly. So Athrun's next thought was sobering and dark "there's someone else behind all of this" he murmured "isn't there?"

Rey stopped in his tracks and turned.

He looked back at Athrun with bright all-knowing eyes.

"I'm right," Athrun spoke in the same quiet voice "Yuna Roma is pawn, isn't he? Someone else is the Master Mind of all of this"

Yzak's expression was dark, angrier than anyone had ever seen it. Even Dearka was wary. But Yzak said nothing and Kira didn't know whether that was better or not. Either way he kept silent, not wishing to rock the boat any further than he already had.

Coming clean had been brutal, almost traumatizing. The way Yzak's expression had changed Kira had never seen anything swap so fast. Yzak had not been delighted to discover that the Captain of a Zaft ship had been planning to steal a prisoner in order to sacrifice himself to the enemy. He'd been even less pleased to discover that an Admiral of Orb had taken it upon himself to do that exact same thing. And that same Admiral of Orb had succeeded on completing this mission with something verging on relative ease.

It was a mess.

And Kira wasn't sure how to fix it. He didn't even know how Athrun had managed to take Rey before Kira had been given the chance. And he couldn't believe it. After everything Athrun had been through he was sacrificing himself, his life, all so Kira didn't have to. Kira didn't know what to feel. Lately he'd begun to think that Athrun wasn't solely focused on Lacus at all. And now Athrun had given everything for her.

Kira hadn't wanted that. He'd never wanted to save Lacus at the risk of losing Athrun instead.

So now Kira was going to save them both.

"Is there anything else you need to tell me?" Yzak asked sharply, his voice was dark.

Kira looked at him worriedly "no, I've told you everything I know" he said quietly.

Yzak stared at him with evil suspicion and then came to the conclusion that Kira Yamato was many things, but a liar was not one of them. The Captain had admitted enough to land him in a jail cell for a good few years. The only thing that stopped Yzak from arresting on the spot was the fact that Lacus Clyne was still missing and it had been Kira's intention to retrieve her and return her to safety.

To make matters worse than that Athrun had actually gone and done the very mistake that Kira had been planning to do. Yzak could have killed him; he was half tempted to leave Athrun in the hands of Yuna Roma just to make him suffer.

But the other side of Yzak was worried. Athrun had effectively ruined his career, and possible given his life. He felt as strongly as Kira that they had to get Athrun back before the Admiral went through with this plan. But unlike Kira Yzak was concerned that they were already too late.

And now they had another problem.

Yzak saw it the moment Lunamaria walked in to the room and went to her Captain with a sober expression on her face. Yzak pursed his lips, irritated that their departure was being delayed.

"We're running on a tight schedule" he said sharply before Luna had chance to speak "where is Pilot Asuka?"

Luna swallowed and glanced sideways at her Captain.

"Oh no" Kira murmured. He'd been half expecting Shinn to cause trouble when the Pilot hadn't shown up for the Strategy Conference and he'd been even more convinced when Shinn hadn't arrived immediately the moment he discovered Athrun was pronounced missing and gone.

But Lunamaria's face was bleak, and her expression only got worse when Kira met her eyes and dreaded the words that she hadn't even said yet.

"I'm very sorry, Captain" Luna wished to the skies above that she wasn't here but there was no going back now. Shinn had muttered something incomprehensibly and left so fast she hadn't known what was happening until he was a distant memory "Shinn has gone…"

She wasn't even sure how to put it. She knew that Captain Yamato wouldn't overreact, but Commander Joule was another matter and she didn't want to put Shinn in to more trouble than he already was.

On the other hand, Shinn had disappeared from sight after red alert had been announced.

"…He's not here" she said finally, she cast her eyes down "…I don't know where he is"

Kira stared at her "I don't understand. Where did he go?"

Luna opened her mouth; then she realized she had no idea what it was she was going to say. That Shinn had vanished? That he had left under the cloud of Red Alert. The same Red Alert that dictated all soldiers above the ship were to report, secure the ship and remain on board on duty until Red Alert had been deactivated. Luna wanted to sink in to the floor. She was half tempted to simply abandon Shinn and leave her ex-boyfriend to face Commander Joule alone.

Damn, that was sorely tempting.

But no matter how bad she wanted to she couldn't do it.

Stupid Shinn.

She knew what he'd done, that was easy; lately Shinn's inner obsession with Athrun seemed to have intensified. He'd tried to hide it but he was useless at keeping things hidden and she'd seen the way he kept looking at Athrun, not to mention his almost desperate need for Athrun's approval. So Luna knew that Shinn had gone after Athrun.

But what did she say now?

Did she say the truth?

As an Officer of Zaft it was her duty to come clean.

But…

"I don't know where he is, Captain" she said at length. It wasn't exactly lying, was it? Maybe this wasn't the worst career move she'd ever made.

The look on Commander Joule's face told her otherwise.

Yzak's expression was so dark he looked almost demonized.

"He must have gone after Athrun" Kira murmured, more to himself and Luna rather than to his fellow officer. He felt his heart sink; Athrun leaving was one thing, but Shinn too "we have to go after them"

For the first time Kira looked over at Yzak.

Yzak looked from Luna to Kira and then back again.

The line of his jaw was sharper than a knife.

Silence fell on the room like a wool blanket.

Even Dearka looked apprehensive.
"We don't have time for this" Yzak said at length "we need to get Athrun and retrieve Rey Za Burrel" he turned the full flare of his glare on to Kira "if we find Shinn Asuka then he will be arrested and placed in solitary confinement until our return to the Plants. After that," his eyes flashed as he stared hard at Kira and gritted his teeth "we'll discuss your skills as a Captain"

Kira watched him go with worry in his heart; Yzak was losing faith in him, and he hadn't had much to start with. For a moment it looked like Dearka was about to intervene or at least say something to appease the situation. But Kira shook his head.

"Yzak is right" he continued to prepare for departure "we need to get Athrun back, and Shinn if he is there"

Dearka nodded and left without a word, probably to make arrangements Kira had forgotten to do. Kira sighed to himself; being a Captain was complicated, and to make matters worse he wasn't doing the best he could. His lack of experience was working against him. Failure in at any other time would have been fixable, but Kira was working against inexperience in a time when he needed to be the best. Lacus needed him to be the best he could be.

He just had to hope that his best would save Lacus, and Athrun.

Thank you all very much for reading this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it and I hope to return some of my attention back to Fanfiction, at least until I have finished all of the unfinished stories I have on here. They plague me because they are there...unfinished...uncompleted...it haunts me O.O...

Please leave a review and give an opinion.

Thanks again.

Kiki

Kizzes!