Hello everyone. R-0 here and welcoming you the next TFE chapter. Sorry for the other delay. It's been a very hectic period in my life currently, so I had to prolong my writing temporarily while I got my affairs in order. Still, I thought I should get this chapter done while I have the chance.

As I've promised, the R&A section will be returning, but I'll be placing at the end of the chapter to not clog this section up too much.

Anyway, without further ado, let's begin!

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED or its respective materials.

Chapter 16: Reunion

After the recent skirmish, the Archangel crew is in full gear as they perform their assigned tasks to the best of their abilities, numerous crew members running through corridors as operators mash their keyboards enthusiastically with diagnostics and scans. The maintenance crew are equally hard at work, patching up whatever traces of damage the Archangel changed as well as the damage incurred on the battered Strike and GINN, all the while, resistance jeeps continue to pile outside the ship.

While all this commotion goes on, Lieutenant Mu La Flaga finally returns from his flight run and lands inside the Hangar Bay skilfully. As he takes off his helmet and begins to get out, he's stopped in his tracks as Engineer Murdoch climbs up the ladder to meet him.

"So it's resistance, is it?" The eldery man comments.

"Yeah, I was surprised at our luck as well." Mu agrees, nodding his head as he stretches his arms. "If they didn't turn up when they did, both kids would have probably bought it." He then perks up in realization as he rises up in his cockpit to look around, as if searching for something. "Which reminds me… Where are they? At Mess?" He asks to which Murdoch shakes his head.

"Nah, they're still outside." He informs him. "You won't believe this, but missy knows one of those rebel guys. Her and the kid are getting reacquainted with him. We're still yet to meet them, though. I think the Captain might be going out to meet them herself soon, if you wanna join her."

"No way!" Mu remarks in surprise. "I didn't take her for the international sort, if you know what I mean."

"Yeah, me too." Murdoch agrees. "She definitely does seem like the sort who's kept to ORB territory all her life, if her reaction to us Earth Forces' way of thinking is anything to go by." He then scratches his stubble thoughtfully. "Maybe he's ORB folk?"

"If that's the case, though." Mu begins with a curious tone. "What's he doin' all the way out here?"

A tense silence passes over the pair as the scenario does indeed appear suspicious to the pair of them. Why would an individual she know be so far from ORB waters and be here to meet her in that case?

"It's almost like… He was waiting for her or something…" He shakes his head. "I'll think about this later. For now, I don't want to miss the welcome party."

"Take care of the Skygrasper for me!" Murrue declares as he vaults out of the Skygrasper and takes off towards one of the exits. As he nears the exit, though, he notices that there are a few members of the Repair Crew working on the GINN specifically. The sight causes him to raise an eyebrow.

"I thought we'd have scrapped it instead of trying to fix it." Mu mutters as he reaches the exit. "I wonder what possessed the Captain to commit manpower to putting the thing back together?"

Meanwhile…

As a small handful of armed soldiers were waiting at the airlock for both their captain and the Hawk of Endymion, a certain brown-haired youth had just finished being informed at the situation between a certain blond-haired individual and the term "Lady".

"So what you're saying…" Kira begins as the last of the land jeeps pull up around him, one of which carrying a large bearded man, the youth somehow oblivious to the tense atmosphere around and the looks the surrounding soldiers were giving him. "… Is that this guy is your Godfather?" He surmises glancing to the towering individual stood behind Cagalli who nods at his question.

"Yep." Cagalli confirms. "He's been around my whole life."

"And that the reason he calls you Lady is because he always thought you were your father's "little princess"?"

"Indeed." The individual who had named himself Ledonir confirmed with a friendly tone. "She was definitely daddy's little girl, if you can understand."

"Really?" Kira responds sceptically.

"Yeah. Really." Cagalli responds firmly. "What's the problem?"

"No problem, it's just that… I find it a little hard to believe with you." Kira admits, causing the blond to give him an annoyed look and grunt aggressively.

"What, how do you mean it's hard to believe?!" She asks with an aggressive tone.

"No, no!" Kira throws up his arms reassuringly. "I just can't imagine you as this little girl in a dress on your father's lap."

"I have picture if you want to see." Ledonir comments amusingly, clearly enjoying the bickering.

"Don't you dare, Kisaka!" She responds threateningly as the surrounding soldiers snicker in amusement before she turns towards Kira who has a clearly intrigued expression. "And get those ideas out of your head!"

"W-wha-"

"You heard me!"

"You two really get along, huh?" A tanned youth with swept-back dark hair remarked, stepping forward to regard them.

"Huh?" Cagalli remarks, momentarily confused before looking at Kira. Both of them exchange embarrassed glances before rubbing the backs of their heads simultaneously. "Yeah…"

"I guess we do, huh?"

"It seems like she managed to make a friend." Kisaka's thoughts are as he smiles to himself subtly. "Her father will be happy to find such a fact out."

He's broken out of his thoughts one of the Archangel's airlock doors slides open as a familiar brunette in military fatigues and a blonde in a purple Normal Suit step out and walk towards the crowd. The looks the locals give this pair are never friendly nor confrontational, indicative of their neutrality in the current situation. Kira and Cagalli move to stand in between both sides, clearly wishing to be observers in the current situation.

"I guess the first thing to do is to thank you for saving us." Murrue comments. "I'm Murrue Ramius of the Earth Alliance Forces' Eighth Fleet."

"Huh?" The youth from before calls out again. "Wasn't the Eighth Fleet completely wiped out?" A sorrowful look passes over Murrue's face before the large bearded individual raises his hand in front of the youth, as if to silence him.

"We're the Desert Dawn!" He declares before pointing to himself. "My name is Sahib Ashman and you don't need to thank us. I'm sure you understand that we weren't necessarily fighting just to save you." He scoffs a little. "We just attack our enemy and they were so distracted by your commotion it seemed like a perfect opportunity."

"You've been fighting against the Desert Dawn the entire time?" Mu inquires with a fairly amazed tone.

"I thought I recognized you from somewhere."

"I'm Mu La Flaga and I don't know anyone from around her."

"I wouldn't have expected to meet the Hawk of Endymion here." He remarks before glancing over at the observing trio. "Though I guess this has been a day of surprise encounters anyway."

"You seem to be well informed." Murrue comments with an intrigued tone. "Do you also know about us?"

"The crew of the Earth Forces' New Assault Ship; The Archangel, correct?" He confirms knowingly. "You were chased by the Le Creuset Team and escaped here to Earth." He then glances towards the Archangel's hangar. "And that little machine from last night is the X-105 Strike. A Mobile Suit developed by the Earth Forces as a prototype, correct?"

The Captain and Pilot duo exchange a look of confusion at the rebels decent knowledge as Kira also stands there with intrigue at how well-informed the individual is about them. Unbeknownst to them, however, Cagalli gives a firm glance towards Kisaka who only nods solemnly, causing her to grunt in annoyance and turn back to the exchange.

"It's good to know who you are, but were we still surprised to see such a disaster point land right here." He smiles mirthfully. "If it's a blessing or a curse is yet to be seen. Still, since you're not here by intention, I am curious where you intend to go from here."

"Are we able to ask for your assistance?" Murrue asks Sahib hopefully, eliciting a chuckle from the elderly man.

"If you are serious about talking, you need to lower your guns first." He mutters knowingly, surprising the duo. "Then we can see if an arrangement can be made." He then smirks. "After all, a deal has to benefit both sides, doesn't it?"

"What do you-"

"Let's first get back to base and discuss it some more there."

Elsewhere… ZAFT Force's Gibraltr Base…

The ZAFT Gibraltr Base is one of its largest Naval facilities on Earth, housing an exceptionally large complement of aircraft from small helis to large Transport planes as well as numerous Vosgulov-Class Submarines housed within its bays. Numerous Mobile GINNS patrol the base constantly and even more are inactive and stored within its numerous warehouses.

Housed within one of these warehouses, however, is a particularly interesting sight. The trio of the GAT-X102 Duel, GAT-X103 Buster and ZGMF-1017 GINN Miguel Aiman Custom could be seen standing in a line, all of which sported scratches and burn scoring from the previous battle and its ending events. Numerous technicians and mechanics were hard at work repairing whatever damage was incurred on each of these Mobile Suits, particularly the GINN due to its lower damage threshold.

Their pilots, however, are nowhere to be seen in the maintenance area. The two ZAFT reds and the solitary ZAFT Green could be found in the communications tower sat at one of the many terminals, reaching out to their familiar White Commander. The dark-skinned blond sat in a chair while flanked by a standing blond and the bandaged white-hair.

"I was relieved to hear that all three of you made it to Gibraltr safely." Rau reassures them. "You survived quite a battle." He assures before Dearka lets off an annoyed scoff.

"I almost got myself killed." He remarks.

"Hey, I had more chance at biting it than you did in my unprotected GINN." Miguel responds with a cheeky tone.

"Yes, it was fortunate that you came out okay." Rau agreed. "How did you say that you did it again?"

"Well…"

A few days prior… Earth Atmosphere…

The ZAFT is in great distress as sweat trails down his helmet-encased forehead; not just from the tenseness of the situation, but also from the heat being generated as his GINN descends further and further into Earth's atmosphere. He fruitlessly covers the cockpit area with his GINN's arms, but it's for naught as the heat build-up is too severe, the GINN's armour progressively getting more and more warped from the generated heat.

"Is this it? I'm gonna die here? In such a lame way?!" He thinks to himself with irritation. He's broken out his reverie, however, as his viewscreen is suddenly mostly obscured by something. Readjusting himself, he looks to see the rear of a familiar Mobile Suit.

"Dearka?" He exclaims with a confused tone. "What are you doing?!"

"Only Phase Shift will get through atmosphere, right?" Dearka remarks. "Well, what does my Buster have?"

"You don't mean-"

"Yep!" He replies. "I'll use the Buster as a heat shield so your Mobile Suit doesn't take too much of the heat."

"That's crazy!" Miguel fires back. "You're gonna soak up all the heat!"

"I was gonna soak it up anyway even if I was protecting a GINN or not!" He counters. "Besides, this is just Phase One of my plan." He continues before turning on his communicator. "Yzak, forget him! I need your help!"

"I'll come in a second!" The familiar irate youth responds. "Just let me finish this bastard!"

"Yzak? Yzak?!" Dearka calls over the communicator fruitlessly. "Dammit!"

"What do we do now?!"

"We just have to hope Yzak hurries up and we don't burn out!"

Soon enough, the familiar sight of the Duel appears in their viewscreen as the armoured Mobile Suit shambles over to them with much effort.

"Dearka, I'm here what-" He then takes in the sight of the Buster shielding the weaker GINN. "What are you doing?!"

"Trying to save our teammate!" He responds. "So hurry up and help unless you want him and maybe me to die!"

"Well, what do you want?!"

"Alright." Seemingly relieved at his agreeable attitude, Dearka maneuverers his Mobile Suit to the right side of the Orange GINN. "Get on the other side of Miguel."

At his command, the Duel's pilot uses his craft and positions the Mobile Suit to mirror the Buster. Next, the Artillery Suit holds out its hand across the front of the GINN.

"Detach that shield and pass it over here." At his command, he removes the large shield from his left arm and reaches over with it. "Miguel, grab it just like that!" As instructed, the GINN uses both of its arms to grab hold of the shield. "Alright, this should hopefully work!"

"Work how?!" Yzak remarks.

"Your shield can take a lot more abuse than his can right?!" He counters. "If that's the case, then it should be able to protect him for a lot longer and we're covering his blind spots. Also, since we're at an angle, we might absorb a lot less heat ourselves."

"I see…" Yzak trials before grunting in annoyance. "It's still a big risk for all of us, though!"

"Well, I'll tell you what. If we all make it through this," Miguel begins with a smile. "I'll have to treat you guys to some soda!"

Present time…

"Ah, so that's how it happened." He nods in realization.

"Oh, which reminds me." Dearka begins, turning his backwards to regard Miguel. "You still owe us those soda."

"Yeah, yeah, you'll get them!"

"Still, it was definitely a gamble that your Mobile Suits would absorb the heat, but manage to handle it themselves while not burning yourselves up, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, maybe." Dearka remarks. "But you never get anywhere not taking risks."

"And we weren't leaving our comrade to die, no matter how likely it was." Yzak declares, causing Miguel to glance at the two of them before flashing a genuine smile.

"Thanks, guys."

"While it is very fortunate you all survived." Rau assures them. "We still couldn't regretfully dispatch neither the Legged Ship nor the Strike." He then grasps his chin thoughtfully. "Still, it's fortunate that your Mobile Suits are still in working order as you can now continue your pursuit while still on Earth." He surmises, confusing the trio. "The Legged Ship will definitely be the target of the ground forces stationed on Earth, so it's your task to remain in base and assist them in their pursuit." He then smirks a little. "Obviously, though, if you get the chance to destroy it, please do so." And with that statement, the masked man shuts down the Communicator.

"Is he telling us to not return to space?" Dearka wonder out loud, turning towards his two comrades. "He wants us to crawl around with the Ground forces trailing after the Legged ship?"

"I guess we can see it as a blessing in disguise." Miguel remarks as Yzak silently regards the pair. "We can finish what we started in-"

He stops short as the pair see the youth start to undo the bandages obscuring his face.

"Oi, Yzak!" Dearka tries to warn his comrade fruitlessly as he removes the coverings to reveal a prominent scar running down the left side of his face, a fierce expression clear on his features.

"If we get the chance?" He mutters in annoyance. "I'll shoot it down. Next time we see it! It'll be me to do it!"

Meanwhile…

After the tense encounter and the following mutual agreement, the Archangel is following the rebel convoy back to their specified base. Rather worryingly, the rebels lead them into a narrow ravine which is an issue for the exceptionally wide battleship as the underside wings accidentally graze the rock faces once or twice, worrying both the Captain and XO who are starting to feel a little enclosed… Said worry also coming from the numerous rebels hiding in said cliff faces wielding rocket launchers and machine guns.

Much to their relief, however, the jeep driven by Sahib soon grinds to a halt as the bearded individual steps out. There is indeed much controversy at the sight of the large white battleship from the base-dwellers before Sahib quells their worry, declaring it to be their "guest".

Wasting no time becoming acclimated the current situation, the Captain, XO and Lieutenant enter the hidden base and follow the Rebel Leader, taking in the sight of a rather surprisingly well-equipped rebellion. Numerous supply containers litter the area, toting both the ZAFT insignia and the Earth Forces'.

Elsewhere, Cagalli has, due to her personal connection, been allowed to spare some extra time with Kisaka and converse with the individual in private. Meanwhile, Kira was using the Strike to place coverings over the large battleship in the effort to keep it obscured.

Soon enough, the quartet arrive at the base's command centre which is, once again, surprisingly well stocked, sporting a central podium for map reading purposes as well as a large board for similar reasons. Likewise, terminals are placed on either side as some rebel soldiers are hard at work on them. At the such a sight, the Hawk of Endymion lets out a wolf whistle, clearly impressed.

"You guys live in a place like this?"

"This is just our frontline base." Sahib responds as he pours himself a cup of coffee from the nearby kettle. "Our homes are in the towns." He takes a sip, his back still turned to the trio. "That is to say if they haven't been burnt down yet."

"Towns?" Murrue inquires.

"Tassil, Moula…" Sahib begins to list off as he turns to regard the Captain. "We even have guys from Banadiya. Our group is made up of volunteers from such towns." He then gestures to his mug. "Coffee."

"Thank you." She confirms.

"Use any mugs you want." He responds, breezing past them and walking to the central pedestal. As they do just that, he reminisces to his previous conversation with Kisaka… The promise that this ship will end our suffering.

"So how did that big guy end up here?" Mu inquires, clearly curious.

"Big guy?"

"The one our little miss knows." He clarifies. "She could have only met him in ORB and this, well, clearly isn't ORB. Curious to see how he wounded up in ZAFT territory."

"I see…" Sahib responds, placing his coffee mug on the ground, contemplating his response.

"Judging by their reaction, I assume that she's kept most of her origins to herself. Might as well not blow her cover from what Kisaka's told me."

"To be honest, I don't really know the reasons myself." He answers. "From what I do understand, however, he's been searching for her for a while after the Heliopolis incident. Eventually, though, he decided to help with our rebellion so that he'd get safe passage into the surrounding areas to continue his search. It's luck that your ship landed here and saved him a lot of time.

"Wow." Mu responds sceptically. "A lot of effort for just one girl."

"We humans do irrational things for dear ones." He responds vaguely before regarding the world map on the desk. "So you guys are trying to get to Alaska, correct?"

"I guess that's all he's willing to say on the subject." Are the thoughts of the Blonde-Haired pilot present, clearly sceptical over the circumstances. "Yeah, that's right. Won't be so easy now that we've landed in ZAFT-Controlled territory."

"While that may be true, please do look at the size of this area." He counters, sweeping over the area on the map where they are located; as if to emphasize the size. "Their forces can't cover the whole area, so you might be able to slip through… Or that would have been the case up to three days ago." At that extra bit of information, the trio all raised inquisitive eyebrows.

"Three days ago?" Murrue asks with a confused tone.

"The Victoria Spaceport was taken three days ago." He explains, causing the trio to recoil slightly in alarm. "As a result, they've increased their pressure."

"That's not good news." Natarle comments. "That was one of the few footholds had left in the African Continent."

"As you know, the African Continent has always traditionally sided more with the PLANTs. The South African Union, however, did try to render aid to the Earth Forces, but they abandoned them anyway." He flashes them a harsh look, as if equally judging the trio by the aforementioned runaways. "Their lines move daily now."

"Yet, you guys continue the fight." Mu jokingly comments, surprised when he's rewarded with sharp look from the hardened rebel leader before he glances away and takes another swig of his coffee.

"The way we see it, ZAFT and the Earth Forces are the same." He responds with a bitter tone. "They both come here to take control and take away what is ours." The scathing comment unsettles the trio. Such comments must be common place for this individual, however, due to his rather sudden question. "How is that ship in atmospheres?"

"It cannot fly in high atmosphere." Natarle replies.

"If you cannot go over the Mountain Range in it, your alternative would be to go through Gibraltar."

"With our battle strength?" Mu asks with a sarcastic tone. "You've gotta be kidding."

"Or try to get past to the Red Sea through the Indian Ocean and over the Pacific."

"The Pacific…" Murrue trails thoughtfully.

"We wouldn't be able to take such a route without replenishment." Natarle adds.

"The Oceanic is also completely under ZAFT control." Mu also adds, joining to the brainstorming session session. "I wonder if the Equatorial Union is still neutral?"

"Aren't you thinking too far ahead?" Sahib cuts in rather bluntly, breaking the trio out of their reverie as they turn to him in confusion. As if in response, he gestures to the map and indicates the surrounding area. "The Lesseps is still nearby in Banadiya."

"Oh, so that's what you meant by trying to get past." Mu comments knowingly.

Meanwhile… Near Banadiya on the Lesseps Battleship…

The familiar right-hand of the Desert Tiger has just arrived at the door of his commander's quarters, eager to dispense with the latest progress report. Politely, he knocks on the door.

"DaCosta here."

In response, he simply gets a "hmmm" from beyond the door; from a voice which sounds moderately distracted.

"Excuse me, sir." He continues, the door opening for him as he steps inside. As quickly as he does, though, his sense are harshly hit by the overwhelming smell of burnt coffee and caffeine. Grimacing slightly, the XO covers his mouth and nose reflexively to protect his senses, taking in the sight of his commander indulging in his favourite past-time: mixing blends of coffee.

"Commander, could we perhaps vent the room?"

"Is that what you've come to tell me?" Andrew responds, continuing his activities as if to answer the subordinate's question.

"O-of course not, sir!" He responds as Andrew finishes brewing the coffee and pours it into a cup. "The preparations for sortie have finished, sir!"

He refers to the stationed BuCUEs which have taken spots outside of the Lesseps. The canine Mobile Suits have been fully stocked up on power and ammunition, ready for their next mission as well as their pilots; keen to enact revenge on those who killed their comrades.

"Okay." He responds, gently swinging the cup from left to right to let the coffee settle before giving it a sniff. "I would've preferred not to do anything quite so drastic, but I guess it can't be helped."

"Erm-"

"This is good." He continues, sipping at his recently-poured drink. "I added a little Hawaiian Kona this time. This is nice, too." He comments offhandedly before rising from his chair. "Now's not the time for that, though. Now's the time for punishing naughty children." He continues, grabbing his coat and sliding it on. "We move to strike Tassil, DaCosta."

"Yes, sir."

Elsewhere…

A certain brunette youth stood atop a small hill overlooking the canyon, the inactive Strike stood next to him, taking a break from the manual work and contemplating the most recent eventss

"What a surprise that we met an acquaintance of Cagalli, and her Godfather no less." Kira surmised to himself, laughing internally at the amazing coincidence. "I wonder what he was doing all the way out here? Maybe he shares Cagalli's views on this war?" Kira wonders to himself. "If that's the case, though, why wasn't he with her in Heliopolis? And why-"

"Erm…"

Kira's broken out of his thoughts as he turns to see a familiar red-head stood there, the memories of all the recent events surrounding her filling his head, causing him to gulp nervously.

"Flay…"

"Kira…" The redhead answered in kind, fiddling with her hands. "I wanted to apologize."

"A-apologize?" The brunette inquired with a confused tone.

"It was my fault that you got so upset before that battle and that Cagalli got hurt." She explains, a sorrowful expression crossing her features. "If I'd known better, none of that would have happened."

"N-no, it's not your fault." The brunette assures her. "You couldn't have known."

"Even so, I'm very sorry." She apologizes again. "I'm also sorry for being a little, er, forward before that fight in space."

"No, it's fine, I understand." Kira responds, waving his hands reassuringly. "A lot happened and you were still confused and upset. Can we just move on from all this and start again?" He asks hopefully, surprising the redhead at his choice as he reaches out a tentative hand. "I'd like to be able to be friends with you."

"Really?" She asks confusedly." You want to be friends with me? Even after how much I've hurt you?"

"I really do." He counters with a firm tone. "If we spent our lives never forgiving one another for our mistakes, we'd never get anyway and go on just hating each other." He gestures his outstretched hand again. "So, yes, let's go back to being friends."

For the longest moment, the redhead merely stands there, as if contemplating her next move, unnerving the brunette slightly as her previous actions makes her a hard individual to read. He breathes a sigh of relief, however, as she returns the gesture, grasping his hand firmly and shaking it.

"Ok, Kira." She affirms, smiling. "Friends it is."

"A friend, huh? I suppose I need to start somewhere." Are a certain redhead's thoughts. "Forgiving people so easily? What's up with that?"

"Though, please do me one favour." Kira declares, breaking the red-head out of her thoughts as she regards him again.

"Of course." She assures him, flashing a friendly smile. "What is it?"

"Please… Please sort out your problems with Sai, okay?" He asks softly, earning a confused look from the opposing party. "He… He must be feeling pretty confused and lost at the moment, if what Cagalli said is true." He explained, scratching his head slightly and glancing downwards. Unbeknownst to him, the redhead frowned slightly at the name drop.

"You have to understand that I had my reasons, Kira."

"When you've been feeling down, he's been there to make you feel better in the past. I don't know why you don't want a relationship anymore, but maybe you having that shoulder to cry on will make you feel better, especially with everything that's going on?" The youth explains, his arms held out slightly as his tone takes on a pleading increment. In response, Flay sighs a little.

"Look, Kira, I-" She starts before seeing his expression. His expression matches the tone of his voice perfectly as his expression remains hopefully, as if praying with his whole being that he can repair the situation at hand. Seeing the expression, the redhead recoils slightly before seemingly making a decision. "A-alright." He smiles slightly.

"Thank you."

Meanwhile…

Elsewhere, the familiar fiery blond finally has a spare free moment with her elder compatriot, accompanying him to an isolated spot overlooking the base, free from wandering ears. Kisaka, however, can see that his junior isn't in a particularly pleasant mood as an annoyed expression is clear on her face. Confused, the large man tries to make light of the situation, smiling at the blonde.

"It is good to see you well, Princess." Kisaka declares, causing the girl to recoil slightly and her frown to soften ever-so-little.

"Yeah, it's nice to see you again." She responds with a hint of happiness in her tone. "What are you even doing here?"

"Searching for you actually." He admits, prompting a look of confusion from the male, almost encouraging him to elaborate. "After I returned, your father was distraught to see you not by my side."

"Somehow, I find that a little hard to believe."

"Believe it or not, it does not change the assignment he then gave me." He counters sharply, seemingly annoyed by her bitterness. "I was tasked with searching for you amongst the numerous escaped refugees who managed to get away from the colony. As you can imagine, I managed to conclude that you were onboard that ship." He then glanced over her maintenance apparel. "Though I did not expect to see you in such an outfit. And piloting a Mobile Suit no less."

"A lot of things happened." She bluntly retorts. "How did you get here?"

"Pure luck, actually." He admits. "These rebels were willing to grant me safe passage if I assisted them in their crusade for a time. By sheer coincidence, your ship has come while I was here, so I suppose it worked out for the both of us."

A part of Cagalli felt that her long-time cohort wasn't being entirely honest with her. For how explicit the rest of his retelling was, he was oddly vague in this particular piece of history. Regardless, that doubt was replaced with annoyance as his recount of events brought back the recent memory of her close call.

"And then you found me and, like an idiot, almost blew my cover!" She fires hotly, causing Kisaka to sigh slightly. "That could have gone really badly for the both of us if they learnt about who I was!"

"And so the whole time you have travelled with them, you've kept your identity a secret?" Kisaka declares knowingly, causing the fiery blond to recoil slightly before lowering her eyes to the ground. "That's could be very dangerous for you."

"I really do want to tell them." She assures him. "But I just can't. I don't trust everyone on that ship yet, so there's a chance they might use it against me. You want to talk about dangerous, they didn't hesitate to take advantage of when we had another VIP onboard, so who knows how they'll react to me."

"Still, though, dishonesty breeds discontent, Princess." He answers sagely. "If you're not honest with them, it might hurt you down the road." At that, a look of confliction passes her face. "The boy you were with… You trust him, don't you?"

"W-what?" She responds with an embarrassed tone, recoiling slightly at the question. As if in response, Kisaka just narrows his gaze at her knowingly, causing the blond to glance down, her hair obscuring her eyes. "I guess…"

"Then would it not be a shame if that trust was broken because you kept secrets which he learnt the hard way?" He reasons. Almost taking her silence as answer, Kisaka continues. "I do understand why you would wish to keep it a secret and I applaud you for hiding it for this long; In fact, I advise against making your origins public knowledge on this ship, but there might come a time when him not knowing your identity may pose as many problems as him knowing."

"I know that!" She fires back hotly. "I'm just finding the right time to tell him and away from the ears of everyone else! If the rest of the crew found out, it could be really bad for the both of us!" Her eyes become downcast. "It's just… It's just that…"

"Just what?"

"I don't want things to change." She admits with sombre tone, her head still downcast. "I like the way things are now, and I'm afraid that him finding out the truth will change things which might not even be for the better." She then looks at up at her confidant. "Just… Just let me figure it out, okay? You have got to promise me you won't tell anyone. I want to keep things the way they are for as long as I can."

"I promise." He simply states, the blonde teen unaware that Kisaka never intended to reveal her secret; that this entire scenario was but a test, a test to see if his Princess had revealed the secret to even anyone. Much to his relief, however, her obvious confliction and guilt over the matter is very much telling in this regard. Likewise, however, his keen eyes who had observed much in his lifetime was able to determine certain undertones to the dynamics of Cagalli and Kira's friendship and that, indeed, it would be a shame if that friendship was lost because of her circumstances.

"I can only hope that a decent resolution is brought about from this scenario…" Another brainwave then hits him. "Still, if what Cagalli is saying is true about the rest of the crew, I'll have to make sure no one else finds out."

Later on in the day…

The resistance area is bustling with activity in the largest plateau as numerous stalls have been set-up, it's owners passing out supplies to both the weary resistance fighters and beaten Earth Forces Soldiers, the sun setting in the distance. From a distance, the quartet of Kira's friends regard the sight with interest, surprised to see that such outclassed fighters still possess such spirit. Rather frustratingly, Sai lets out an exhausted sigh.

"How'd we end up in a Resistance Base?" He asks rhetorically. "It just gets crazier everyday."

"In the desert as well." Kuzzey adds, also sighing loudly. "If I knew I'd end up here, I wouldn't have said to stay back on-board then."

"But if you'd gotten on that shuttle, you'd be dead now." Tolle rebuts him as a sombre atmosphere passes over the group at the memory.

"I wonder what's going to happen to us now." Miriallia comments off-handedly, leaning into Tolle as his embraces her for comfort.

As Sai stands there pensively, he's greeted to the sight of a familiar red-head walking in their general direction. She glances around before her eyes rest on him and she starts to walk much clearer towards him, as if with a purpose.

"Flay…" Sai calls out to her cautiously, the recent memories still in his brain.

"Sai…" She begins, her voice apparently soft and welcoming. "Would it be okay if we talk?"

"Talk?" He repeats in a confused tone.

"Please?" She asks in a pleading tone. "It's important."

"I…" He trail, glancing towards his friends, as if asking for their support. They all flash him encouraging smiles. "Okay."

"Good." She comments with a smile. "Meet me at the Archangel Airlock at Ten."

"Why can't we talk?" He asks sceptically.

"I have a few errands to run, but I just wanted to make sure you were free." She explains before turning to walk away, waving back at him as she goes. "See you later."

"Yeah… See you…" Sai trails as he waves back at her, scratching the back of his head as he does. As she exits their line of sight, he glances back towards his friends. "I wonder what it could be?"

"Maybe she realized what a huge catch you were and regrets her decision." Tolle comments jokingly, winking at his bespectacled friend who doesn't reply, his gaze instead choosing to linger on the direction Flay went.

Meanwhile… Archangel Hangar…

As the darkness of night started to descend over the desert, much of the crew has been exhausted from the harsh few days and are taking the lull as opportunity to rest and recuperate. There are some, however, still hard at work, as if harbouring the belief that even relenting for a second will spell doom.

One such individual is Kira Yamato. The brown-haired youth is currently sat in the cockpit of his currently-berthed Mobile Suit, keyboard in his lap as screen after screen closes and opens as the youth maintains complete focus on the screen as he works. His focus is broken, however, as he hears the familiar sound of approaching footsteps down the catwalk. He looks up slightly just as the figure leans around the side of his Mobile Suit's hatch and he's granted to the familiar sight of the elderly chief engineer.

"Well, well, kid." He jokingly addresses the hard-at-work pilot. "What're you up to now?"

"I played a little with the landing pressure during the last battle." Kira responds, moving the display screen out of the way to regard the man. "As a result, I need to make adjustments to compensate."

"I suppose that makes sense." Murdoch agrees, grasping his chin thoughtfully. "Still, it's nice to see you putting your best foot forward, Ensign Yamato." He then points to the left thoughtfully. "With the Captain also making us fix the Strike's bunkmate over there, we haven't had much time for the big guy himself, so your help is very much appreciated."

At the declaration of his official rank, an uncharacteristic chill goes up Kira's spine. For some reason, he doesn't like that description nor the two words being used together. To say he's unsettled by it is an understatement. Trying to ignore the feeling, however, he poses a questions that's been on his thoughts for a while:

"I haven't seen Cagalli for a while." Kira mentions, alerting Murdoch. "Do you have any idea where she could be?"

"The little miss?" He responds before grasping his chin again pensively. "Now that you mention it, I haven't seen her around…" He starts muttering to himself thoughtfully "I remember that she went to spend some time with old pal of hers, but where did she…" Suddenly, a look of realisation passes his features as he snaps his fingers together. "Oh, wait, now I remember! Mu mentioned after their little meeting with the Rebel leader. He said the Captain wanted words with the Little Miss." He then shrugs. "My guess is they're still talking."

"Cagalli's talking with Ms Murrue?" He asks out loud with intrigue clear in his tone. "I wonder what they could-"

Before he could continue to voice his thoughts, however, a beeping came from one of Kira's pockets. Rather frantically, the youth fumbles with said pockets in a panic as he pulls out a small spherical device with a viewscreen. Almost immediately, he deactivates the console and clambers out of the Strike before taking off in a rush.

"Hey, kid, where're you going?" Murdoch calls out to him.

"Birdy's in trouble!" Kira replies, his voice getting progressively quieter and quieter as the distance between them widens. "I'll explain later!"

"Wait a sec-" Murdoch starts to say but seems to cease as he watches the youth descend the catwalk, clearly too focused on whatever he is doing. The elderly man then plants his hands on his hips and sighs to himself. "Man, that kid never gives himself a break."

Meanwhile…

Unbeknownst to both the Archangel Crew and the Rebel Fighters, a familiar company was perched atop a cliff overlooking the nearby settlement, the familiar canine Mobile Suits towering over a few Military Jeeps as the trench-coat wearing leader and his XO were perched in one.

"It's about that time of day when the town start to call it a night." DaCosta comments as he scans over the settlement with Binoculars.

"Some might consider putting them to sleep permanently." Andrew remarks eerily. He then smirks as he turns to face his subordinate. "Luckily, I'm not that kinda guy." He turns back towards the settlement thoughtfully. "We'll issue a warning first and then attack 15 minutes later." He turns back towards DaCosta who's gazing at him thoughtfully. "Well, get going then!"

"Er, yes sir!" He replies hastily, placing his Binoculars in the Passenger Seat before clambering into one of the other jeeps, starting the vehicle up and taking off down the hill towards the village.

"Hopefully, this spurs that Mobile Suit back into life." Andrew thinks to himself bitterly, the memories of his fallen comrades still fresh in his mind. "Otherwise, this will all be for nothing."

Elsewhere… Near the Archangel's airlock.

While a quiet and complacent atmosphere overtook the encampment, Kira Yamato was very much not so. Beads of sweat permeated his face while a concerned expression was clear on his face. His eyes were fixed squarely on the small device in his hands, a small dot getting progressively closer to the centre.

"Please be okay, Birdy…" Kira mutters to himself worriedly. He can feel exhaustion creeping on him ever so surely due to not slowing down and maintaining a more efficient jog. Nevertheless, he continues abated.

Soon enough, the youth closes in on the signal and starts to slow down in response, eventually slowing to a hurried walk. Once the dot closes to the centre, however, he comes to a complete stop and begins to pan around, looking for his robotic companion, breathing heavily from exhaustion.

As he attempts to spot the missing avian, his senses begin to return to normal and his hearing begins to make out a slight sound.

"…Dy…Bir…Birdy…"

Immediately recognising the familiar automated voice, the youth tries to listen for the direction of sound with his ears. After a few more abortive attempts, he starts to decipher which direction the sound is coming from.

"I'm coming, Birdy!" He calls out. He follows the sound to a cluster of rocks. Wasting no time, he clambers over them, continuing to follow the sound, scanning his surroundings.

Eventually, his eyes make out a familiar tinge of green. Closing in on the sound, he happens upon his companion who is not in the greatest of shape.

"Oh, man, Birdy. How did this happen?" He asks out loud, aware that the robot cannot answer him. He quickly glances over the robot to inspect the damage. "Oh, thank god, it's just some general damage. You won't be flying for a while though." He grabs the bird in his arms and begins to stand up. Let's get you-"

"So what did you want to talk about, Flay?" A voice calls out. Almost instinctively, the youth ducks behind one of the rocks to avoid being seen.

"I'm happy that you came." A soft voice calls back. Unable to appease his curious mind, Kira begins to peer over the rock to observe the situation. Surprised, he's greeted to the familiar sight of a certain redhead, her hands behind her back and spectacled individual, a wary expression clear on his face.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Sai asked with an inquisitive tone.

"I…" The redhead pauses, as if trying to find the words. "I want to apologize."

"A-apologize?" Sai reiterates with a confused tone, the recent memories playing across his head, feeling him with a sense of anger. "Why?" He asks, his tone slightly bitter.

"I did a terrible thing to you." She admits. "Even after being there for me through all of this, I turned my back on you just like that." She bit her lip. "I feel terrible."

"Then why did you?!" He fires back, his tone flaring in anger. "Huh? Why'd you just throw me away like that?! Why'd you suddenly decide Kira was worth your time?!" The mention of his name caused Kira's heart to momentarily stop. "You didn't care about him before, so why now?!" He clenched his fist as he stared at the ground, shaking slightly in anger. "After I've stayed by your side…"

"Sai…" Flay trails with a sad tone. "I am so sorry for hurting you like that. It's just been so hard for me, you know?" Her eyes start to tear up a little. "My father died and I just felt so helpless. I've felt lost and confused, but I'm thinking clearer now." She cleans her eyes. "I promise."

"Flay…"

"So… Can we try again?" She asks with a hopeful tone.

"Try again..?"

"Now we're not trapped by that marriage arrangement, Sai." She clarifies. "We can try properly this time, you know? Start from the beginning as friends and try to make it work this time."

"I… I don't know…" He responds honestly, eliciting a look of disappointment from Flay. "I just… I need some time to think about it, okay?" He scratches the back of his head. "It's just… I need to think, you know? I do… I do still have feelings, but I just need to make sure I won't get hurt again."

"I understand, Sai." Flay responds, smiling slightly. "Will you at least hug me?"

"Er? Hug you?" Flay asks with an unsure tone. "I'm not sure that's…"

"Is it too much to ask?"

"Well, I…" He seems to look at her hopeful expression, pausing his sentence as if to contemplate. "Alright…"

And with that, the redhead smiles and the pair close the gap. She wraps her arms around him and rests her head on his shoulder. Sai, in return, merely reciprocates by placing his hands on her waist, as if simply content.

Watching from a distance, Kira sees the embrace and smiles happily, the knowledge that their drama has been resolved a massive relief to the youth as he decides now would be the most appropriate time to depart. He uses the opportunity to slip off from behind the rocks and walk out of sight. Looking down at the robot now that he's in better light, Kira notices something peculiar.

"Huh, this damage. It looks… inflicted. Like Birdy was hit by something."

Unbeknownst to the youth, a pair of blue eyes was watching him depart, it's owner smirking to themselves ever-so-slightly…

Suddenly, however, a loud whirring sound blares and the couple break away from one another while the disappearing youth pauses ever-so-slightly. Wasting no time, however, he rushes forward into the central assembly area to see all of the rebels quite active, hastily grabbing their weapons and rushing off to the direction of the town.

Despite the commotion, however, Kira spots a familiar face to him.

"Erm, Ahmed, right?" Kira asks the tanned youth. "What's going on? Why is the alarm going off and everyone-"

"What do you think it could be?" He asks rhetorically, his aggravation clear. "The town is under attack!"

And just like that, the momentary semblance of peace was lost as plumes of fire became visible on the night horizon.

So, yeah, we had another build-up chapter here, but a few things were alluded to that will come to fruition soon enough. I know that some people might take issue with the whole "Birdy Locator" concept, but I feel like it makes contextual sense. Birdy is very precious to Kira, so it makes sense that he'd devise a way to know when it's in danger due to its predisposition for flying off on its own.

Anyway, it's time for that section you've all been waiting for! It's time for R&A! Again, a friendly reminder that I might not respond to some of yours if I feel I've already addressed it in another, so if that's the case, please don't hate. Likewise, some are addressed in PMs, so they won't be included either. Anyway, let's begin:

ThePizziaMan: Well, the story won't change THAT much this chapter. All I mean was that there is MORE of a progressive effort to diverge at certain points from this point onwards. Hopefully, that satisfies you.

Edboy4926: Thank you.

Plutone-pilot: Well, you know what they say: The power of boners is a powerful thing. Seriously, though, I suppose being sexed up right before a sortie does sorta instil that need to do it again in your head, so you subconsciously go into the battlefield with the desire to win and do it as quickly as possible. In regards to darker subtexts… It might go there or it might not. That's all I'll say on the matter.

Xinweng95: I am afraid to say that I won't be addressing your review. The simple reason is that I've had this argument time and time again with fans who disagree with my opinions and I don't wish to clog up this section with me just repeating the same things over and over again. Please note that this is not me ignoring your review, but that I've addressed it so many times now that it's become redundant.

Regardless, if you post another similar review next chapter, then I might address your points. I literally have a 2000 word analysis dissecting your review in a separate file that I'd be happy to send to you if you wish to properly understand the way I think. I feel like that you have grossly misinterpreted a lot of my statements and what I mean when I say certain things, but, again, I'd rather not repeat what I've already said to annoyed fans before.

If you could, just please accept that I have my own perception of things and my own opinions of certain characters and elements. I would greatly appreciate if you could accept this.

Rydan fall: I'm not taking suggestions. I've said this before. Likewise, I already have upgrade ideas for the Strike and I don't need to piggyback off of the Duel or Buster to do so. A Sonar seems completely redundant with how little the Strike fights the Blitz and how little the Blitz uses its camouflage from now on.

worldwanderer2.0: Well, I'm sad to hear you've gone off Gundam SEED, but I'll still address what you said.

I've repeatedly stated this isn't a carbon copy of canon. There are significant divergences from the original story at certain points that I feel make contextual sense. It's just a coincidence that none of them happened up to this point which I am annoyed about myself. Likewise, once I get to the Destiny re-write, there's barely any similarities to the original canon. I'm just sad that you'll have probably given up on seeing them by then.

In regards to Kira going emo… I'm just writing him in a way that I feel he would have reacted in this situation. He was just left emotionally broken due to Flay leaving a job half-finished, reminding of his errors but not giving him a tether to latch onto. I think letting hopelessness fill you is par for the norm in this sorta situation. When all you've got on your mind is your failure, you probably would feel like your actions are futile and useless. I don't really see any other way Kira would have come out of that situation. Not everyone has to come out as some emotionless badass who's lost tears to shed some more fragile people (Like Kira) suffer a little more.

In regards to Cagalli, her role in Destiny will be much more extensive this time around and she won't lose the edge that makes her loveable as a character, so you're wrong she's gonna turn out the same way. Likewise, she'll remain useful and significant both there and here.

In regards to how it ends, it's much more intended to set up Destiny, so there are certain elements that are going to be introduced with that in mind. It might be most similar to the original ending in a lot of ways, but it will be different in others.

Likewise, ORB will be making advancements that it didn't originally. That's just a fact. They're not going to be the same underpowered faction they were originally. New ships and new units will be a thing.

The romantic side of things… I can't spoil it, but it doesn't just end because they find out about their backstory. That's something I'm actively trying to avoid, in fact.

There will be some Astray appearances. Just the ones from characters who I feel make sense being here and not ones that just overcrowd the cast list. I'm not gonna throw Astray characters in and make it too much for anyone to handle.

While this SEED story might be not that much different, once again, the changes in the Destiny sequel will be much more extraneous. I'm just sad you probably won't have the patience to see them.

I've watched Cross Ange and I enjoyed it purely as a comedy that knew how silly it was. It didn't care about what it was trying to be and just had fun with it. This is something I can appreciate out of a series and I agree it's much more enjoyable than SEED or Destiny, but just in a different way.

YuNaru19: Okay? I don't really know what context you mean that in, but I feel like he gets enough attention. Heck, in my opinion, a series that doesn't have its protagonist hog the screentime is doing something right.

AlastorGodOfVengeance: Thing is that I don't think Yzak deserves for crimes he didn't even know he committed. I don't think he deserves to be punished when he thought he was just rightfully punishing cowardly soldiers who ran from their duty. He didn't know he was killing civilians, so he shouldn't be made to feel bad for that.

Jetslinger333: Okay…?

Doomedsoul74: Roughly as long as original canon.

Anyway, that's it folks!

R-0 out!