Mobile Suit Gundam SEED DESTINY

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Phase 44 - Rushing Towards Destiny

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“It is indeed ironic,” Rau said with a chuckle, sitting back in his office aboard the Deliverance, “that the little soldier you cultivated from scratch should at last join the forces of the little girl that threatens us all.”

Sitting in his chair in his own office on Messiah, Gilbert Dullindal scowled in annoyance.

“We must not take anymore chances,” Gilbert said resolutely. “The Orb Raiders must be destroyed.”

“Of course they must,” Rau replied, smiling knowingly. “But why try to destroy them yourself? In good time, they will bring themselves to their own destruction. The end of the world is an unstoppable force, but the Orb Raiders are not an unmovable object.”

“Well, we do not have the time to wait for that,” Gilbert said dismissively. “I am sending you, along with the Absolution, the Constantinople, and the Babylon to join the Minerva and destroy the Orb Raiders. Talia will be in charge.”

Rau sat back, still smiling. “So many FAITH units,” he noted. “You certainly aren’t taking chances.”

“Destroy them at all costs,” Gilbert said pointedly. “I will not stand for Shinn Asuka running loose any longer.”

The screen went dark, and Rau chuckled again.

“If you were trying to keep Shinn from becoming too powerful to control,” he said, “it’s a little too late now.” He looked up. “I look forward to meeting you again, Shinn Asuka.”

——————————————————————————————————————————

The pilots had gathered on the bridge, hanging near the back, watching with the bridge crew as the images scrolled by on the main screen.

Shinn Asuka looked around the bridge uneasily, noting the ubiquitous Orb uniforms. He looked down at himself, still clad in the black shirt and blue jeans that Kika had given him a lifetime ago. They were supposed to keep him from standing out, she had said. He looked around and shook his head, looking back up at the screen.

The Earth Alliance was marshaling its 3rd Combined Space Fleet, a gargantuan armada; nearly eight hundred ships were coming together at the Atlantic Federation’s Daedalus Crater lunar base, forming a force that ZAFT, in its weakened and demoralized state, could not possibly resist.

The screen went dark, and all eyes turned to the stoic figure of Lacus Clyne, seated in her typical chair.

“The Alliance is controlled by Blue Cosmos,” she said thoughtfully, “and we already know what Blue Cosmos’s goal is. It is clear that the Alliance intends to end the conflict between Naturals and Coordinators once and for all.” She paused meaningfully. “But we do not know ZAFT’s intention. What Chairman Dullindal plans to do could make this a fight for survival or the brink of Armageddon.”

“So we’re going to find out what Dullindal’s up to, and if necessary, intervene in the conflict and try to keep everyone from destroying the world,” Mwu said, crossing his arms. Lacus nodded grimly.

“Our presence and intervention is once again necessary,” she said.

Shinn scowled. “I sure hope it goes better this time,” he growled.

The bridge’s attention shifted to him, but before anyone else could say anything, Lacus smiled disarmingly.

“This time,” she said, “we have learned from our mistakes and learned what it is we must do in this war.” She sat back. “We cannot change the way people feel about each other. Only they can change that. But as long as we have power, we can still use it, and it is our responsibility to use it to pull apart these two warring sides before they can destroy the world that both are fighting for.”

Shinn shook his head again. Lacus looked down at Murrue.

“We need supplies before we can do anything,” Murrue put in. “Particularly if we’re going to be doing a lot more fighting.”

“I will contact the Junk Guild,” Lacus answered. “They have helped us before in the past. Once we have replenished our supplies, we can begin trying to uncover Chairman Dullindal’s true intentions in this war.”

Lacus cast a knowing glance at Shinn; he stared back somberly and then looked away.

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The Girty Lue shuddered as it entered the dock, and Lee sat back tiredly as the docking tubes attached themselves to his ship. Neo was in his office— Lee was grateful to be away from the Phantom Pain’s ominous presence.

“Inform the Colonel that we have docked,” he said. As one of the crew scurried off to carry out his order, Lee looked around the battleship dock. By his count, there were a dozen of the Izumo-class battleships belonging to the Orb Space Fleet here. He wondered vaguely what they were doing here.

There was a deep rumbling, and one of the massive doors at the end of the dock ponderously ground its way open. A swarm of worker machines began hauling crates through the opened door— Lee looked up past them and blinked in disbelief.

In a hangar across from the battleship dock, Lee could see the towering forms of five Destroy Gundams.

“There’s…five Destroys…?” the helmsman murmured in disbelief.

Lee looked on solemnly at the five behemoths.

“This battle,” he said quietly, “will be the final judgment.”

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Shiho found Aoma in the observation deck, floating silently before the panorama of the stars, staring out into the depths of space.

“Ruumari was with me, the last time I was here,” she said quietly.

Shiho closed the door behind her. “This is war,” she began uneasily. “Anyone can die.”

Aoma closed her eyes, drifting away and catching herself on the rail with her foot. “His parents must know by now,” she went on, “that I couldn’t protect him.”

Shiho pulled Aoma down closer, glaring. “Don’t start talking like that. You did all that you could. Shinn simply outclassed you both.”

“He died on my sword!” Aoma cried, whirling around, tears in her eyes. “I tried to take down the Force Impulse, it cut off my machine’s arm and took my sword, and it killed Ruumari with my own weapon!” She looked angrily back at the stars. “That’s why I want to destroy him! I have to destroy him! He…” She trailed off, squeezing her eyes shut. “He…took my friend from me…”

“That’s what happens in war,” Shiho said, taking Aoma by the shoulders. “That’s why it’s a terrible thing.”

“Am I supposed to just write it off, then?!” Aoma protested, eyes flashing.

“You’re supposed to learn from it,” Shiho answered crossly. “Ruumari was going insane with his obsession. It was a release for him to die. If he’d lived, he would have just been consumed with hatred, and either way you would have lost your friend.”

Aoma wrenched herself out of Shiho’s grip. “I was going to save him!” she cried. “I was going to bring him back to his senses! I don’t know how, but I was the only person he had to rely on! I would’ve brought him back!”

Shiho regarded the angry, broken girl for a moment. Her friend had been killed, taken away by a faceless specter that was her enemy…

It sounded familiar.

“His death was unfortunate,” Shiho said carefully. “But the ultimate way to honor his death is to survive this war.” Aoma looked up at Shiho in surprise. “You carry your memories of him, memories of him long before either of you joined ZAFT or were assigned to this ship. You knew him, and you carry that with you. If you truly want to honor his death, survive, so that in some way, he can too.”

“C-Commander…” Aoma began.

Shiho looked out somberly at the stars. “This war has killed so many people already,” she said. “It does not need to kill anymore.”

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“Shinn is mad again,” Stella observed, floating near the window of the Megami’s crew lounge. Shinn glanced across the room at her, looking up from a stack of papers from the Destiny Gundam.

“Am I?” he asked absently, looking away again.

“Stella doesn’t like it when Shinn is mad,” Stella added quietly. “Shinn is scary when he’s mad.”

“I don’t mean to be,” he said quietly.

Stella glanced back at him for a moment. “They’re nice here,” she said quietly. “They’re our friends.” She paused. “Stella doesn’t want Shinn’s friends to get hurt.”

Shinn looked up at her, blinking. “You were protecting Luna,” he said.

“Luna is Shinn’s friend,” Stella replied. She paused again. “Stella likes Luna too…”

Shinn regarded Stella carefully for a moment. “I don’t like what they’re doing,” he said at last. “They want to try to stop the war. But they tried to do it during the last war and they didn’t do anything.”

Stella slowly glanced over at him. “…but they want to stop the war,” she said. “And wars are scary…doesn’t Shinn want to stop the war…?”

Shinn looked out the window himself, staring ruefully at the stars. “I want the war to end,” he said, “but I don’t think one person can make it end.”

Blankly, Stella gazed out at the stars herself, following Shinn’s line of sight. “Stella wants the war to end,” she murmured, “…so she doesn’t have to go back…to the lab…”

Shinn turned toward her sharply. “You’ll never have to go back,” he said resolutely; she turned her eyes towards him in surprise. “I promise you. I’ll make sure you never have to go back to that…” He paused, shaking his head. “That place.”

Stella smiled and threw her arms around Shinn; he blinked in surprise, stumbling backward. “Stella doesn’t wanna go back,” she said. “Stella wants to stay with Shinn.”

Smiling himself, Shinn hugged her back. “No matter what happens,” he answered, “we’ll always have each other.”

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Kira gazed out silently at the dark specter of space. Somewhere out there were the Orb Raiders. They were still alive. Lacus was still alive. They would have to be destroyed. They were going to get in the way of the final plan— their eyes were blind; they would stumble forward and destroy everything again, as they always did, unless he stopped them.

He moved his arm forward to steady himself on the guardrail on the Deliverance’s observation deck. He looked down at the skeletal metal hand jutting out from his ZAFT uniform; he narrowed his remaining eye at the sound of the servos underneath.

“We’ll be attacking in a couple of days,” he heard Valentine’s voice say. He spun around in surprise, finding her drifting towards him from the door of the observation deck. “You’ll get to fight them soon. And this time you’ll finish them off.”

Kira looked away at the stars, squeezing his eye shut in shame. “Of course,” he said quietly. He glanced back at her. “But…what about Shinn?”

Valentine arched an inquisitive eyebrow, coming to a rest against the railing next to him. “What about him?” she asked.

“Will he be in our way too?” he went on, looking back down at his mechanical hand.

“He’s joined the Orb Raiders,” Valentine answered, dubiously looking out at space. “But we’ll worry about him. You have to fight the people from your past. It’s the only way you’ll ever be free.”

“I know,” Kira murmured, looking back at her. “And…after that, we’ll use the Sword…?”

Valentine was silent a moment. “Just follow my instructions,” she said at last. “I still need you…to protect me.”

“I understand,” said Kira, his eye turning back to the stars.

With a smile, Valentine put her arms around him. “It will all be over soon,” she said, “and the world will finally be set right.”

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January 10th, CE 74 - Atlantic Federation Daedalus Crater base, the Moon

Three columns of pilots marched by, in black and white Earth Alliance flight suits, their footsteps echoing sharply down the corridors. Sting and Auel blinked in surprise, skirting aside and dutifully saluting as a black-uniformed officer led the pilots down the hall, towards one of the base’s countless mobile suit hangars.

“What are they…?” Auel murmured, glancing at Sting.

Sting narrowed his eyes at them— the young faces, the soulless eyes, the blank expressions, all of them marching in perfect sync behind a stoic, steely-eyed major. They rounded a corner, slowly filing past and out of sight.

“They’re like us,” Sting said, narrowing his eyes at them. “They’re Extended.”

“All of them?” Auel repeated, eyes widening in disbelief. “But I thought there were only a couple dozen of us!”

“They’ve been busy,” growled Sting. “C’mon, let’s go.” He took off after the troop of Extended, glancing anxiously around the corner.

“Why would they want so many here?” Auel asked.

Sting glanced at Auel over his shoulder and proceeded down the hallway, towards a set of double doors near the hallway’s end. “You remember when we went back to Lodonia, and Stella got captured?”

Auel’s eyes darkened in anger. “Yeah.”

“They moved all the operations at Lodonia up to Althea Crater,” Sting went on. “So I guess those guys are here for those five Destroys.”

“But there were more than five of them,” Auel countered. “What would they be doing with the others?”

The doors slid open with a hiss, and Sting stepped into the hangar, narrowing his eyes in anger. Auel looked up, blinking in confusion.

“That,” Sting said flatly.

Towering above them along the side of the hangar were twelve Windams, all outfitted with the distinctive orange and white shape of a Gunbarrel Striker pack.

“I thought Extended couldn’t use those,” Auel protested.

“I guess they can now,” Sting answered quietly, crossing his arms. “Our plan just got a little more complicated.”

“What? Says who?”

Sting’s eyes darkened, frustrated. “They probably have all these mobile armors and crap here to defend the Requiem,” he said. “ZAFT’s gonna attack. They’re gonna gun for the Requiem. And I would guess that these guys are there to protect it.”

Auel scowled up at the Gunbarrel Windams. “Then we’ll have to go through them too,” he growled.

“Come on,” Sting said, glancing at Auel. “Let’s get back to the ship. We have work to do.”

Auel smirked and followed Sting out.

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The ReHOME hummed with activity, the salvaging arms ponderously transferring crates into the Megami’s open hangar, as Murasames and a handful of worker pods and mobile suits scurried between the two docked warships. Inside the Destiny, Shinn sat back and sighed quietly, as his machine set down another stack of crates filled with missiles. It was better to be doing this, he told himself, than to be sitting around brooding. He turned around, making for the open catapult, to hop back out into space and head back to the ReHOME for another load. As he cleared the Megami’s hull, he glanced to his right— the Gundam Astray Red Frame glanced back at him, delivering two armfuls of weapons to the hangar.

“Shinn!” he heard an excited voice shout. A moment later, the Red Frame came back out the Megami’s starboard catapult, rushing towards the Destiny and attaching a link wire to the Destiny’s shoulder. The grinning face of Lowe Gear appeared on Shinn’s monitor. “Shinn! Holy crap, you’re alive!”

Shinn blinked in confusion. “Am I not supposed to be?” he asked, arching an eyebrow.

“I heard you were involved in those two crazy battles on Earth,” Lowe went on. “Man, I’m surprised you made it out!” He paused. “But, wait, what about the Mad Typhoon Gang?”

Shinn’s eyes darkened, as he glanced away. Lowe blinked in disbelief.

“What?!” he exclaimed. “Did they— ”

“All of them,” Shinn said quietly.

Lowe stared at him for a moment, crestfallen. “Wow,” he said at last, “I’m sorry, man…I dunno what to say.” Shinn shook his head. “Well…um…what happened to the Impulse?”

“Shot down at Antarctica,” Shinn answered, glancing back at Lowe.

“And, uh, how’d you get this thing?” Lowe went on, the Red Frame pointing at the Destiny.

Shinn glanced down at the Destiny’s controls. “I stole it from the Minerva,” he said with a shrug.

“From the Minerva?!” Lowe exclaimed. “During the battle?!” Shinn nodded, still confused. “Oh my God, man, you are insane!”

A widely grinning face popped up over Lowe’s image; Shinn blinked again. “He’s not insane, Lowe!” the man said, pointing skyward melodramatically. “He’s living up to his potential!”

“What the— ” Shinn began. “Who is this?”

“Oh, that’s George,” Lowe said with a shrug.

“Not just George!” the man interrupted. “I am the one, the only, the first Coordinator, George Glenn!” Fireworks went off in the background, his uniform coat fluttering dramatically in the wind.

Shinn blinked in disbelief. “You’re what?!”

“Yeah,” Lowe went on, scratching his head awkwardly. “Eh, it wouldn’t hurt to tell ya, I guess. We’ve got this thing called the GG unit— ”

“You talk of me as if I’m a mere machine, Lowe!” Glenn protested. “I thought we were friends!”

“We are!” Lowe grunted. “But…well, anyway, he’s not the real George Glenn, he’s just a hologram.”

“A hologram of the real George Glenn,” Glenn put in.

“His brain’s floating around in a jar inside the ReHOME,” Lowe added. “Anyway, don’t let him scare ya.”

Shinn stared at them both blinkingly.

“And, uh, what the hell’s the point of having George Glenn’s brain floating around your ship?” he ventured. Lowe blinked in surprise, while Glenn swiftly adopted an offended air.

“I serve as this ship’s captain, heart, soul, spirit, guide, and friend!” George cried, offense vanishing in favor of a beaming grin.

“So you’re really George Glenn,” Shinn said, arching a dubious eyebrow at the grinning first Coordinator.

“Either that or he’s a holographic goof-off,” Lowe said, as the Red Frame shrugged its shoulders.

“Stop goofing around, Lowe!” a tinny voice put in angrily. “We have work to do!”

“Oh for Pete’s sake, chill out, Eight,” Lowe grumbled. He looked up at Shinn. “Well, I have to work, so don’t let George scare you too much.”

“I am not scary!” Glenn protested.

“You are an apparition,” Eight put in.

The Red Frame disconnected its wire and moved back towards the ReHOME; Shinn glanced at his screen, noting wryly that George Glenn was still grinning widely at him.

“Um, if you really are George Glenn…” Shinn began.

“I am George Glenn,” Glen insisted. “Why doesn’t anyone believe me?”

“…well, anyway,” Shinn went on, deciding not to touch that comment, “you said the Coordinators were supposed to bridge the gap between normal humans and the people of the future…?”

“Indeed I did.”

Shinn’s visage darkened. “Some people call those humans Newtypes,” he added.

“People come up with lots of names for things,” Glenn said with a shrug. “I could've called them Oompa-Loompas if I really wanted to. But the Coordinators are supposed to help people bridge gaps in understanding. That is what I believe the people of the future will be able to do.”

“Then they aren’t some super-soldier who can change the world?” Shinn asked.

“Not one of them, no,” Glenn answered. “Anyone can be a Coordinator, or a Newtype, or whatever you’d like to call it. All you need is the will and the power to help people, to understand them. There’s no need for some all-reaching philosophy or plan.” He smiled helpfully. “Since I was awoken, I’ve met many people, both Coordinators and Naturals. But only a few of them have lived up to what Coordinators are supposed to be. Shinn Asuka, you are one of those people.”

“M-Me?” Shinn exclaimed, blinking again. “But…but I’m a soldier. I fight in wars just like everyone else. How am I helping anyone or understanding anyone?”

“What will have you tried to impose on anyone?” Glenn countered, smiling broadly. “You have true powers of understanding; you have what people of the future will all have someday. Whether or not you choose to accept this power of understanding is another story, but nevertheless, you are the kind of person the Coordinators should have been.”

“I still kill people,” Shinn said. “I still fight in this war. I may not be trying to change the world, but I’m still fighting in it. How am I any better than anyone else?”

Glenn smiled again. “I’m glad you have so much power, Shinn,” he said. “Someday, people will understand your gifts. Until then, you must protect them from those who don’t. Would you allow everyone to be destroyed by this war?”

“Of course not.”

“Then don’t.”
Shinn blinked at the simplicity of it. He looked away. “Everyone’s been telling me that if I keep fighting and suffering, someday it will all create some new world where I won’t have to fight anymore.” He looked back at Glenn bitterly. “And now you’re telling me that too.”

“No,” Glenn said, shaking his head, “I’m telling you to be who you are. Don’t lose your kind and loving heart. Don’t let this war destroy it. Remain who you are, and protect what’s important to you. Never lose your kindness and your power to understand, and someday, the world will understand too.”

Shinn turned that over in his mind for a moment, and smiled. “I can do that,” he said at last.

Glenn smiled back. “Everybody can.”

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The tapping of keys came to a halt as Lunamaria gingerly entered the crew lounge, finding Athrun Zala at the terminal, schematics of the Infinite Justice arrayed before him.

“They’re almost done with the supplies,” Luna said quietly, slowly approaching Athrun. “We’re going to leave soon.”

“We’re going to the PLANTs,” Athrun finished tonelessly. “If you want to leave, that would be the best time to do it.”

Luna frowned. “I’m not going to leave.”

Athrun looked up at her, surprised. “Why not?”

“As far as ZAFT is concerned, I’m dead,” Luna said. She looked up at the screen, staring almost resentfully at it. “Meyrin and my family have probably already shed all their tears for it. How can I just pop back into their lives after all that pain?”

“It would be better than not having you,” Athrun said. Luna shrugged.

“As long as the war’s on, I’d probably get dragged back onto the battlefield anyway.” She looked towards Athrun, smiling. “And I’d rather be on the side where I can do something to make it all come to an end.”

Athrun looked back at the screen. “This time it’s different,” he said. “They ignored us last time and couldn’t stop us from taking out their superweapons and stopping them before they could destroy everything. This time they’ll be expecting us.”

“It’s better than doing nothing,” Luna insisted.

Athrun brought up a different image on the screen; Luna blinked in surprise at what looked like the schematics of a new Striker pack.

“This is for you,” Athrun said. “The Junk Guild said that they’ll look for one. It’s the Integrated Weapons Striker Pack— it combines all of the Strike’s various Striker packs into one unit, and it has increased performance. It will help you on the battlefield.”

“I’m not that bad a pilot,” Luna protested awkwardly.

Athrun narrowed his eyes. “It doesn’t matter how good you are,” he said. “The Strike Rouge is outdated. Your equipment needs to be upgraded, or else…” He trailed off, shaking his head. “You shouldn’t have to die like Cagalli did.”

“Athrun…”

“I couldn’t protect her, and I couldn’t take down Kira…but I’m not useless yet.” He went back to the Infinite Justice’s schematics. He paused and looked back up at Luna. “Just promise me that you’ll be careful.”

Luna blinked in surprise. “I-I will,” she said.

Athrun’s eyes darkened, as he looked away. “I’ve watched too many of my friends die already,” he said.

Luna smiled back. “Don’t worry,” she said. “I won’t die on you too.”

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“Working together again, I see,” Rau Le Creuset’s ever-amused voice chuckled through the speakers, as his smiling masked face stared down onto the Minerva’s bridge from the screen. “Ah, but this time we’re after bigger game.”

“Where are the other ships?” Talia asked, narrowing her eyes at Rau. She glanced to the Minerva’s starboard wing, where the aquamarine Absolution was lazily cruising next to the Minerva— they were still two vessels short.

“The Constantinople and the Babylon will be arriving shortly,” Rau said with a grin, sitting back in his chair on the Deliverance. “In the meantime, captain, enlighten me on our plan of attack. The Orb Raiders are no pushovers, after all.”

“I will lay that out when the other ships arrive,” Talia said crossly. “For now, fall into formation on the Minerva’s port wing.”

Rau chuckled wordlessly as the screen went dark. Talia glared up ahead at the bone-white Deliverance as it ponderously swung around. She was going to have to attack Shinn again— to follow him and try to destroy the power he had taken for himself, to end this war.

She sat back, staring ahead resolutely. Shinn would just have to be strong.

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Rey sat back inside the Legend Gundam, as the operating system loaded its recalibrated settings, the result of his hours of work. He closed his eyes, reaching out and feeling the familiar presence of Rau Le Creuset. Something cold and white, something that would be with him. He felt Valentine, her dark, electric presence punching through him.

And he felt Kira Yamato.

Rey opened his eyes, glowering in the direction of Kira’s presence. He was here, that twisted amalgam of science and sin. There was his power as well, to be seen in this battle against the Orb Raiders.

Rey frowned, turning the feeling over in his mind. It was unmistakably Kira Yamato…but it was different. There was something dark at its core, twisted and hateful. Kira had been disastrously defeated at Antarctica; the Freedom had been destroyed, and Kira himself had required reconstructive surgery of the most literal fashion. But now there was something dark under the feeling, a black mass of decay eating him away.

And of course, there was pressure.

Rey narrowed his eyes. So he had their gift too— but it was no matter. This pressure was nil compared to the true Newtype that Rey would have to destroy.

His thoughts turned to Shinn. The mighty Newtype— but what did that matter? He had lost his place in the world.

And yet he had been the one to defeat Kira. He was the one who could destroy Kira. The world was near its end already— there was nothing anyone could do to stop it now. But there would be people who would try— and so Kira was still necessary, to protect Solomon’s Sword, until the very end. And yet Shinn had been the one to defeat Kira.

Rey scowled, returning to work. He would do what he was told— that was all he could do.

——————————————————————————————————————————

Standing before the main window of his cavernous office, Gilbert stared ruefully at the stars. Somewhere out there, he reminded himself, his flotilla of FAITH units was gathering, to strike down the Orb Raiders before they could get in his way.

Lacus Clyne was out there, and she had to be destroyed. She was too inquisitive, too manipulative, too powerful. She had the will to step in and manipulate political events, and the military power to resist the armies sent to crush her time and time again. He fully expected to hear news of some horrible loss…but all that really mattered was that Lacus be delayed, long enough for ZAFT to move into position. After that, she didn’t matter. This time, ZAFT would not make the same mistakes.

“Chairman,” a voice began. Gilbert glanced at his office’s main screen— Horatio’s face appeared, and he dutifully saluted. “The fleet has been gathered, sir. Our reinforcement fleet has been marshaled at Armory 1. We are awaiting your orders.”

Gilbert glanced back, at the sinister shape of Solomon’s Sword. Small machines began to spread around it in a complex polyhedral configuration— the Mirage Colloid generators spread around the massive weapon to keep it hidden until the time was right to reveal it.

“Activate the Sword’s Mirage Colloid,” he ordered. “As for the fleet, stand by for my orders. We’ll let the Alliance make the first move.”

“Yes sir,” Horatio answered, the screen going dark.

Gilbert returned to his desk, staring down at the computer screen and the speech on it.

One final act of eloquence and diplomacy, he told himself, before the guns sound for the last time.

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To be continued…