"I-It can't be...!" Kira exclaimed, unable to stomach the sight of the now-destroyed Heliopolis. What used to be his home now drifts aimlessly in ruins, forever being erased from the chart as a space habitat. "What have we done?"

His question goes unanswered, the chilling silence of vacuum space serves only to further his ever-growing unease. Before he can dwell on it further, however, his comms spring to life. A part of him is thankful at the reminder that, fortunately, his friends should be ok. Quickly accepting the communication request, Kira is greeted by a non-plussed Viola.

"V-Viola! Are you ok!?" That came out a pitch higher than he would like. At least Viola doesn't deem it fit to tease him about it.

Kira sees Viola operating her GINN, doing something with the control before saying, checking its operational status, maybe? The violet-haired girl then goes on to say with a small, comforting smile.

"Glad to see that you and the Strike have made it, Kira. Although judging from your tone, your mental state is not the best right now." Kira can't help but nod at that, Viola has always been a perceptive lady. "How about this, the coast is cleared for now so you should dock with the Archangel. I will finish up around here so you better go out and unwind. It would be for the best if you can make up your mind on what to and not to do while you still can. Talk to you in a bit?"

Listening to her advice, Kira can't help but slump back, sighing. "Yeah... Guess I will do just that. Sorry."

"Don't be. Viola out." The comms feed goes dead after that. A moment later, an alert saying that the Archangel has accepted his docking request comes about. It does seem like Viola already goes out of her way to hail the Archangel about Kira's circumstance.

He is grateful for her attentiveness because honestly, Kira really doesn't want to see another military officer. Slowly, Kira then pilots the Strike back to the Alliance Battleship, taking care in only using RCS thrusters. Attached to the alert are words of caution against burning the main thrusters, thus painting a giant target on his back for ZAFT to see. Words Kira intents to follow, not wanting another fight any time soon.

By the time Kira makes it back to the Archangel, unharmed after everything, it would have been almost half an hour.

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"Archangel, do me a favor and help me loot whatever is still useable of this GINN, please." I spoke over the comms, accentuating the point by giving the now-dead GINN below a few nudges with my hand. "Kira's gonna be coming in soon, bring him in and make sure not to spook him, alright? The kid just saw his home disintegrating and I don't want to return and see you guys at each other's throat."

From the other end of the video call, I can see Natarle fails to contain herself from flinching. I snicker at that, prompting her to sigh. "Copy that, V1, I will forward the info to the hangar team. The kid will probably want to talk with his friends too."

"Let me guess, you worked on our callsigns and all that, the Strike would be S1?" I questioned with a smile, moving out of the way for the wrecked GINN to be taken below deck by the Archangel's crew.

"Something like that," Natarle admitted. "with two MS currently we would have to standardize their operations. Speaking of MS, are you coming into dock?"

Shaking my head, I then tap a button on my GINN's terminal, forwarding a highlighted part of the debris field to Natalie. "Not yet, I've scanned both Heliopolis and the debris field earlier. I've managed to identify the military district that is now floating without an owner. Gonna go over there and see if I can scrunch up some supplies for the Archangel."

"I see. I will take this up to the Captain though I think it will be approved anyway." Natarle informed me, earning a nod in the process.

"You do that, I will see if there are other points of interest. After this fiasco, ZAFT will be reeling to process the site, just like we are."

I let Natarle works out a scavenging plan with Murrue and Mu while I compile a list of potential locations to fly over and check. While that's happening, the Mobile Armor docking elevator is lowered down alongside the GINN atop it. I just have to trust that the engineers can salvage the cannon that GINN is carrying.

Moments later, Natarle reports back. "Viola, Murrue has approved of the salvaging plan and with it, we have compiled a list of necessities for you to keep an eye out for. Due to time constraints, I will leave it to you to prioritize what you can bring aboard." She then sends over the shopping list.

Giving it a look over, the first thing that is written down is water and then food. "Ok, I will make sure to get a few of these home at least. Do await my return."

Natarle nods and a hint of a smile is shown on her face. Cutting the video feed, I proceed to pilot my GINN to the adrift military district. Along the way, I am forced to keep an eye out for micro-meteor showers, a byproduct of the collapse of Heliopolis. Though the GINN's armor is good enough for a few stray hits, I don't want to incur lasting damage for we don't have spare parts for the former ZAFT MS.

A minute later, I soon reach the military district where cold corpses float around aimlessly. From what I can gather, there should be supply warehouses that I can loot. With a target in mind, I search around for any warehouse before coming across an entrance leading deeper below the military district. Curious and knowing that whatever is tucked between the armor plating of Heliopolis may still be intact, I fly my GINN down the entrance. Turning on night vision due to poor visibility, I soon come across a damaged blast door with the marking 'Supply Hangar B-2'. "Bingo." I exclaimed.

Placing the GINN's fingers in between the crack of the blast door and the wall, I push the blast door to the side with a small groan coming from my GINN.  With the way forward cleared, I control the GINN to step inside, its floodlight illuminating a yellow vessel with a design language similar to that of the Archangel. Flying closer to it, I can see the name of the vessel, Cornelius, and notice that it lacks visible weaponry. Judging from the hull shape and size, it may be a fleet tender, possibly made to support the Archangel. Think up to there, I turn to look for supplies caches, there ought to be some that are not loaded into the deactivated ship. It doesn't take long till I spot a well-stocked containers yard.

"Gotta thanks the Alliance for keeping their containers well-marked and easily identifiable, otherwise it would be a hassle to figure out which one to bring aboard." I gave a compliment to no one in particular, glad that my job was made easier.

Thanks to Zero-G, I manage to pick up a large flatbed and top it off with four containers in total. A yellow container containing food and water, a white and red container for medical supplies, and a pair of gray and red containers holding spare parts and munitions for standard Alliance units. With the loading done, it's high time I make the trip back to the Archangel. 

"It's a shame but I guess Cornelius will have to stay here for now." The Archangel doesn't even have enough crew to operate on its own, not to mention another ship half its size.

Contacting the Archangel, I am greeted by Natarle who has a hopeful look on her face. "Viola! I hope the trip is a fruitful one?"

Giggling at her wistful look, I answer. "Consider Christmas comes early then. Food, water, medical, and even munition supplies are coming in abundant. Better clear a docking bay because I'm bringing back a lot."

"Finally, good news for one!" Natarle exclaimed. I could even hear Mu shouting "Good job!" on the other end.

Grabbing the fully-stocked flatbed with both hands of my GINN, I then say over comms. "I am returning right now, ETA ten minutes if there are no showers. Also, Natarle."

Perking up, Natarle replies. "Yes?"

"Do give Murrue a head up, I have a plan that can help us even the odd a little bit to make a break to safety."

Turning serious, Natarle nods. "Will do."

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"Docking procedure completed!" A deck crew said overcome. "It's safe to lower the flatbed now, V1!"

"Copy that. I'm gonna leave these here for you guys to pick open, ok?" I said as I deposited the flatbed on an available loading bay.

"Gotcha, just leave it to us! Gosh, I sure hope somebody packed a can of Pringles inside."

I chuckle. "Crossed your fingers then. Though I like Slide more."

"Heresy!" I laughed at the shocked exclamation the guy had. Because of our banter, the hangar bay suddenly descends into a discussion about what chips brand is the best.

Chuckling at the absurdity of the situation, I then walk my GINN over to an empty service station, next to the Strike and Mu's Zero. It seems like Kira has safely made it aboard, and with something else to boot. I thought that as I gaze at the now-empty lifeboat sitting in a corner of the deck.

Here's hoping the teen makes up his mind, soon.

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Stepping aboard the bridge of the Archangel, I'm greeted by Natarle and Murrue who are analyzing the space topography. "Welcome back, Viola!"

I nod with a light smile. "It's good to be back. So, anything interesting?"

Murrue nods, saying. "We've decided on a course of action going from here on out." On a big screen in front of the bridge, Murrue highlighted a flight path.

"Hoh? We're heading to Artemis, I see." I then fold my arms, a finger beneath my chin. "It belongs to the Eurasian Federation, no? Are you sure they will accept us without a hassle?"

It's Natarle that shakes her head. "I highly doubt it but..."

Murrue finishes it for her. "It's the best bet we can get to shake off ZAFT. Unless we can get a confirmation that ZAFT will be standing down, we are treating them as hostile till further notice. Artemis is also the only safe place for us to contact Lunar Headquarters without painting a giant target on our back."

"I see. Considering that ZAFT has fielded the Aegis earlier, it's safe to say that they will be fielding the other three G-units if it means getting us out of the picture. Artemis and its Umbrella is our best bet indeed." I commented. "Where's Mu though?"

Murrue and Natarle share a look as I take a seat in front of them. Natarle answers my inquiry a moment later. "The Lieutenant has gone out to talk to Kira Yamato."

Nodding, I say. "Kira gonna be needing another round of pep talk. He might agree to pilot the Strike earlier once or twice out of necessity but to have him fly it on a permanent basis? It will take some work to convince him. Fingers crossed he will help us break away from Heliopolis."

The two women nod, though a bit uncomfortable with the decision they have to make. Shaking her head with a sigh, Murrue then asks. "Earlier, you said you have a plan or something?"

I smirk. "Yup! It should alleviate some pressure on our back, at least till we can reach Artemis. I assume we will be taken on an inertial flight path?"

Natarle nods. "That's the plan, Viola. We will be launching decoys heading for Lunar Base while the ship drifts to Artemis. The only issue is ZAFT's Nazca-class may reach it ahead of us if they sniff out our plan."

"It's a risk we have to take then." I then turn around, operating a nearby terminal to add a few details to the flight map. "Assuming the enemy is smart, which Le Creuset is, they will figure out our true destination. After all, flying a long distance in open space is not preferable considering the disadvantages we've shown them so far. Thus, this will prompt them to utilize their advantages of number and speed, creating a net to draw us in before reaching Artemis."

With Natarle's and Murrue's faces pensive, I continue. "Le Creuset will be sending the Nazca ahead, as expected, while the slower Laurasia will be coming upon our rear, trapping us at the end of the line. With us boxed in, they will then send out all of their G-units, further shutting down any attempt of resistance. If they do just that, we will be hard-pressed to counter anything they throw at us. So, let's say we even out the odds a bit. Create the weakest link amidst their line to force a breakthrough."

Having piqued their interest, I explain my plan. "When we move out, Laurasia will no doubt ford a path through the Heliopolis's debris fields. Before that, we can cold launch a few anti-ship missiles, and position them among the debris to camouflage them. That Laurasia-class will be firing their active scanner all the way so by setting up the missiles to run on passive scanners, we can surprise ZAFT with a swarm of missiles at point-blank. I seriously doubt ZAFT CIWS is good enough to intercept all of the missiles when catches off-guard."

Nodding their heads at my words, the pair of ladies seem to agree that my suggestion is feasible. "If we can deal some serious damage that way, the Laurasia may not be that much of a concern. I will see to it that it gets implemented immediately." Natarle said before moving to CIC post-haste.

Soon, the plan is updated with ambush spots highlighted in red. Murrue then adds. "We still have to be worried about the G-units. Just one of them is more than enough to turn the tide in ZAFT's favor, not to mention four of them. If they can get close, we're done for."

"We will deal with them when the time comes. If it's just buying time, then my GINN, after rearming with an ion cannon, can do just that. Lieutenant Mu's Zero, however, will be needed elsewhere." I said, prompting Murrue to raise an eyebrow.

"Heliopolis's collapse has left behind debris fields everywhere, they're even presented on our path to Artemis. If Mu's up for it, we can have him and his Zero launches ahead of us, utilizing the debris to stay hidden until he either reaches Artemis. Or he has a clean shot on a Nazca that's awaiting us in an ambush position. With the element of surprise, Mu can easily disable the Nazca's engines, especially when they may have already sent all of their MS to intercept us."

"By that logic, if Mu succeeds, we will only have to fend off the G-units." Murrue commented, sold on the idea. "I don't see why we can't implement that then. It's a blessing that you're willing to help us this far, Viola. Thank you."

Seeing the grateful smile on Murrue, I can't help but smile lightly in return. "We're on the same boat now. I will help whenever I can."

Murrue gives me a respectful nod, her brown eyes twinkling in relief. Natarle then approaches us after finishing up her task in CIC. "Captain, Viola, the trap is set. I also got word from Mu that Kira is willing to stick to the gun, for now. While the Lieutenant will be going to perform a pre-flight check on his fixed Zero. Engineering also said that the installation of the captured Barrus Kai is done and additional magazines for it are recharged. Though Petty Officer Murdoch advised that it would be best if Viola retains the magazines so he can have them recharged off-combat."

I nod at Natarle. "I will do just that, it's not like we can come across compatible magazines for that cartridge-based beam cannon. I'm actually impressed that the officer can scramble up a charging station for it."

Natarle offers a wry smile. "Apparently, he jury-rigged a contraption that broke every known safety law of the Alliance."

I chuckle at that. "Desperate times call for desperate measures. We're lucky that the man was resourceful enough to do that. It also means that if any of our stuff gets damaged, he can easily fix them right up."