Neo Mobile Suit Gundam

Disclaimer: I do not own the Gundam name. Gundam belongs to Sunrise/Yoshiyuki Tomino/or anyone else I cannot remember at this time. The Characters of this story however are mine and do represent actual people who I have their concent to use in it.

Episode 03: Defeated/Captured

21 November 34 E.M.

The Fenrir flexed slightly, axe gripped in both hands and ready for the attack, but the unknown Gundam stopped in front of him, straightening it's posture as the two eyed each other. Joshua studied the new Gundam mobile suit before him, and was a little impressed. "So, you're the one who managed to hurt Emerald Hughs and her Sithian?" His Karasu Gundam reached over for the sword, slowly drawing it from the sheath. "Then you must be pretty good. Minaka..."

A screen appeared next to the image of the Fenrir Gundam. In it, sat the small girl with her flight helmit firmly on, one eye peering from behind her hair. "Yes?" she spoke softly. "You need my help, Joshua?"

He smiled. "Nope. Not this time. I just need you stay where you are and make sure nothing happens to the ships till everyone is ready to make the jump. Until then, I'm going to deal with this newbie."

The girl gave a small pout. "But I wanted to have some fun too."

"Okay, okay. If he get's past me," Joshua grinned, "he's all yours."

Kim's eyes moved from the two suits in front of him to the ships behind them. He was sure they were keeping the kidnapped students on board one of those ships, but which one? He needed to be careful. If there was just some way he could find out where they were. "Yumiko," he whispered. "I've got to get them all back." With renewed determination, Kim glanced back to the Gundams, only to see the one with the shield and sword was gone. A warning signal flashed! Kim adjusted the controls, bringing the beam axe up to block sword's blow. His screen was filled with the image of the single green visor staring back at him. Shoved back, Kim flipped the Fenrir around and charged, axe held back and ready for a poweful swing. Again the two clashed and back peddled away, only to charge again.

To the side, Minaka just stared in boredom as Joshua and Kim fought, moving back and towards one another with glancing blows as they passed. "If he's going to hog all the fun, why did he even bring me out here?" she asked herself, crossing her arms in a huff. "If I knew it was going to be this boring, I would have brought a book." The Fenrir charged, but the Karasu Gundam countered the Fenrir's strike. The counter knocked the Fenrir back, slightly out of Kim's control. With the Gundam off balance, the Karasu charged forward, it's sword held high above it's head to bring it down in a death blow. The Karasu swung down to nothing but a shield that had appeared between the unknown Gundam and itself. Minaka leaned forward in her seat when she watched the Gundam upright itself and charge back at the Karasu. "A full body shield?" She blinked, confused by this turn of events. " How's that possible? Even on a mobile suit?" This sparked her curiousity. "Terrans do know how to make a mobile suit," she said with a grin. "Can't wait for my turn!"

Joshua wasn't too thrilled. The shield was causing a problem for him. He could swing as much as he wanted, but he couldn't get past it. The only upside to this was that the Gundam couldn't fire anything long range with the shield up. He had to throw him off guard ut how? It didn't take too long for him to come up with a stratagy. Waiting for the Gundam to back up he threw his sword at the Fenrir. Kim, surprised that his enemy was getting so desperate to get him off by throwing his sword, raised the left arm and swatted the sword aside with only a shield projected around the same limb. When he turned back however, the Karasu held up it's left arm. Too late did Kim realise that his opponent had a three barreled wrist gun under the shield and fired. So surprised by the Gundam's tactics that he forgot to raise his shield as it fired on him. The Fenrir shuddered as round after round bounced off its surface. This violent movement caused Kim to bounce roughly in the Fenrir's cockpit.

Joshua continued to fire till his weapon was emptied onto the red machine, and wasting no time, he moved to claim his discarded sword. Kim getting himself situated back into his seat had noticed the Karasu move for it's weapon, it's attentio no logner on him. Seeing his chance, Kim turned away from his enemy and made a direct B-line for the three ships. He leaned forward in his seat as the view of the ships was getting closer till he was stopped only by the other Gundam which he had forgot was standing at the sideline of his one on one battle. The Fenrir gripped the beam battle-axe in both hands and stood ready for any attack the unknown Gundam was about to make. Minaka on her part smiled evily as the Gundam watched her wearily. "Let's have some fun," she whispered.

Fly Leaf

Alicia sat patiently in her captain's chair, starring ahead at the viewing screen. She couldn't believe how fast the Fenrir was. It managed to cover such a long distance in a matter of minutes before they lost all site. But it wouldn't be too long till the Fly Leaf were to catch up. "The Admiral isn't going to like this," she whispered. "A boy getting his hands on that machine can only mean trouble. And with the device on his wrist..."

"Wouldn't it be better in the boy's hands then the enemy's, captain?" Luna replied from her station.

"Maybe so, but he has no real combat training and IF the device is on his arm, it'll only download the machines main abilities to help him get by. He has no real combat training so him getting this far is pure luck."

Kimbal

The Zetsumei extended an arm out from under the cloak, revealing an oddly shapped object in it's hand. The Fenrir seemed to relax under Kim's control, but his eyes widened when he watched the device unfold, turning into a staff with a double edged scythe. "Oh come on!" Kim shouted a bit irritated, even though the enemy couldn't hear him. The warning signal flashed and Kim brought the Fenrir's axe up in time to block the Karasu's attack from behind. The Zetsumei charged forward, scythe gripped in both hands for the killing blow, but the Fenrir flipped over and kicked the Karasu in the path of the Zetsumei's attack. The Zetsumei, with unbelievable grace, strafed to the side and spun around the Karasu Gundam and continued it's charge towards the Fenrir. The scythe held far to the side, it swung with all it's power but the weapon was blocked, it's blade grazing the left arm of the Fenrir. Had it been only a meter over, it would have taken the whole arm off. Kim could feel the sweat runnning down his face as he pushed off and flew away from this new enemy. It was fast. Maybe as fast as his Gundam, but he wasn't 100 sure of he was using the Gundam's full potential.

Minaka quickly chased after the Gundam. She grinned behind her helmet and the mask of hair. This was too fun and she wasn' about to let him catch his breath. The Zetsumei charged ahead, swinging the scythe down. Kim raised the axe up and blocked the blade, it's tip barely digging into the shoulder. The Zetsumei brought the end of the scythe up, cracking it across the Gundam's chin and sending it hurtling backwards. Kim grit his teeth and struggled to gain control. "Damn it, I forgot the shield," he muttered. Again he was surprised and it had cost him some small damage to his mobile suit. Raising his shield up to block the next blow, he dove under the Gundam and headed straight for the ships once more, but was stopped by the Karasu with it's wrist guns aimed in his direction. It fired and the rounds simply bounced off the newly activated shield's surface.

Joshua was beginning to dislike that shield, and angled the tip of his sword at it. When it was within range, he thrust the sword forward, sparks scratching off it's surface as the blade began to heat up and dig into the shield, it's stip making it through but snapping off under the pressure. With the sword knocked to the side, the Karasu Gundam brought it's shield in the path of the other Fenrir's. The two collided, but neither gaining any space. Minaka charged the Zetsumei towards the Fenrir's back with the scythe held high over head. She came up and swung down, the blade scratching across the shield's surface. Sparks of electrical discharged scratched the space between the blad and shield as it was broguht across. The Karasu's shield was beginning to heat up, it's surface melting under he constant contact from the energy shield. The Zetsumei on it's part continued to swing away at the sheild, followed by firing it's head vulcans to see if it had any effect at all. Kim could they weren't going to get through, and began to push harder against the Karasu's shield, but it too pushed back in order to keep it from reaching the ships. They still needed a little more time before it was time to jump.

Onboard the Takanami

Ruby stood at his sister's side, watching as they carried her from her suit and on towards the medical bay. He looked at the damage that was done and could hardly believe it was the same menacing suit his sister was so proud of. When he looked down at her on the stretcher, she wasn't looking at him. Emerald wasn't hurt much, but remaind still, lost in her own thoughts of the fight she had. Her eyes narrowed as she got a glimps of her suit and she felt her stomach turn. In the years she had become a Mobile Suit pilot, she had never experianced such a defeat before, and by the hands of a high school student. Her gaze moved to the Jester, just as Brian was coming out and floating down towards the exit hatch. Though she wasn't too fond of Brian, she had to admit he fared no less then she did. "Maybe he wasn't just a student?" she muttered, catching Ruby's ear.

Ruby looked down at his sister as they got closer to the exit. He brushed some floating hair away from her face and leaned towards her. "Did you say something, Emerald?"

Emerald's eyes glanced at her brother, then turned away. "The pilot, brother. The pilot of that Gundam was just some boy."

Ruby gasped. "That can't be right. What would a boy be doing in a Gundam? You must have hit your head during the fight."

"No, it was when he had me pinned down. I spoke with him. He was nothing more then a...a school boy." She began to grind her teeth. "If I ever see him again..."

"Don't worry, Emerald," Ruby said, brushing her hair back. "I'm sure you'll make him pay for embaressing you." Much like I will too. He'll pay for hurting my precious Emerald. He stopped as they continued on down the hall, watching her and the medical team stop at a lift to take her down to the sick bay. His fist clenched tightly and he turned to head for the hanger, planning to launch when some crew members passed. His ears picked up their conversation as the moved past. "I hear they're keeping those kids from the colony in one of our break rooms."

"Odd place to putting prisoners, isn't it?" the other spoke.

"Yea I know. I wonder what makes them so speical."

A whicked grin crossed Ruby's lips. "Hmm. If it was a meere school boy that was piloting that Gundam, he may have some friends amongst the group." His smirk began to broaden into a sick smile as a fraction of his plan for revenge began to take hold. "Yes, I'm sure they know who he is. And they're going to tell me," he said heading for the room they were being held in, "one way or another."

Brian pased the area Ruby had once been, just missing him. He floated casually on down the hall, hands ehind his head as he thought back to his fight with the Earthe Gundam. He was impressed to say the least. It wasn't too surprising, being that he was on Mars all this time till recently. He looked thoughtfully to the corner, feeling the ship rumble slightly. He smirked and pushed further down the hall. "Looks like they'll be making the jump soon," he said. As he rounded the corner, he caught someone who almost made a head to head collision with him. "Yo, Cameron!" he said, holding the foxy bruenett in his arms, who gave him a dejected look. "How've you been?"

"What did you do to the Jester Gundam, Lt. Fielding?" she said sharp, pushing herself out of his arms. "And you know where I stand when it comes to married men."

Brian winched at that. "I'm not married, and not going to be. At least as soon as I find a way out of it. Besides, it's not my fault the Gundam's in the shape it's in."

Cameron's eyes began to swell with tears. "What'd you do to my baby!" She turned and pushed on down the hall.

Brian's left eye twitched. "Just because she's head of mechanics on my suit doesn't mean its HERS." He glanced at his hand. "At least I got a feel out of it."

"DON'T THINK I DIDN'T FEEL THAT, BRIAN!" Cameron shouted from seemingly nowhere. "I'LL GET YOU BACK, I SWEAR!...PERVERT!"

Again Brian whensed at her shout, looking to see if anyone else was around to hear it. He gave a sigh seeing there was no one around. The ship began to rumble again, giving him the signal that the jump preperations were almost complete. "I better go to my quarters. When the jump is made, I'm going to get cleaned up."

Back to Kimbal

Kimbal wasn't too worried, seeing as his shields were still holding strong to their attacks, but the one in front of him wasn't budging. But his cockpit was alive with warning lights as an attack was approaching. Minaka and Joshua both picked up on their own warning signal and pushed away as a large green energy beam came raining down on their position, engulfing the Fenrir completely. The Zetsumei and Karasu Gundams flew to each other, looking up at the approaching Fly Leaf, accompanied by their small squad of Jag mobile suits. On board the Fly Leaf, Alicia sighed in relief. She wasn't too sure if the Fenrir's shield would have with stood the blast of their main gun, but was glad to see it was still functional. If it had failed, at least they would have destroyed the suit before it fell into enemy hands. Below her, however, Luna wasn't too thrilled about shooting the poor boy, even though he placed himself in the situation he was in.

Joshua looked to the remains of the Fenrir. It's body was ragged and limp. It's shield still surrounded it's body, but flickered violently with small sparks of green energy running across its body. Even it's eyes were flickering, but only till it's shield stabilized. The Gundam's form uprighted itself and looked in his direction. "It seems the Gundam's shield does have a limit," he commented. He dodged to the side as another blast came towards him and the Zetsumei. Giving a rough growl that his fight was interrupted, he turned to his second in command. "Minaka, we need to get back to the ship."

The Zetsumei turned to the Fenrir's direction. "And I was beginning to have some fun," Minaka said. The eyes of the Zetsumei flickered brightly before it turned around completely and charged for their mother ship.

Kim watched as the scythe weilding Gundam flew away, but the second one with the sword stopped not too far in front of him, the tip of the blade pointed at him. His dash flashed at his side.He pressed a button to open the small iamge of the enemy Gundam's pilot. "Who...who are you?" Kim asked, still a little shaken by the attack and finding that he was still alive.

"I am the Raven of Phobos, Lt. Joshua Baily of Chronos, Mars' ellite military force," Joshua said. The Karasu twisted it's blade slightly. "And your name?"

"My name?" His eyes narrowed. What was the idea? They had been fighting only a few seconds ago and now he wanted to talk? "Why would you want to know mine?"

"Most warriors want to know each others names, so they will know how to properly address one another the next time they meet."

Kim swallowed a lump that appeared in his throat. He was expecting that as an answer. "Kimbal. Kimbal Hajime...of the...Fenrir Gundam?" he said in more of a question then a responce.

Joshua nodded and gave a salute. "I look forward to our next encounter. Later." In a blink of an eye, the sword was sheathed and the Karasu Gundam turned for it's ship.

Kim was about to give chase, but another beam from the Fly Leaf's main cannon blocked his path. Two Jags flew in front, facing the ships to shield the Fenrir from any attacks, and to try and prevent the Gundam's escape. Kim was about to push through, but stopped when he saw two other Jags fly down, aiming their weapons at him.

On board the Chronos main ship

The Zetsumei and Karasu Gundams landing in the docking bay, it's massive doors closing shut behind them. Air was quickly flooding the open room and the Gundam's cockpits opened. Joshua surveyed the room and took in the damage of the Jester and the Sithian, not to mention his own. He enver really paid attention to his own MS's damage, but could see how much was done during his brief encounter. "Damn, did that Gundam actually do all of that?" he asked to no one.

Minaka flew up next to him and gave a whistle when she too noticed the Fenrir's handy work. "It's their own fault though. They shouldn't underestimate someone by looks," she said, eyes closed and nose pointed up, as if speaking from experiance. "Can't judge a book by it's cover, ya'know."

Josh gave her a light shove towards the ground. "Come on. They'll be making the jump soon. We need to get down to the floor."

"Right!"

On the Bridge

"Sir, all personel are on board," the ensign spoke.

"All main hatches are closed," another shouted.

"Systems ar charged. We are ready to make the jump captain."

The old captain sat silently for a second, staring at the viewing screen before him. In it's center was the unknown Earth ship. He could easily tell from looking at it, that dispite it's size that it had more bite then bark. He inhaled deeply, nodding his head slowly before leaning onto his right arm. "Yes sir," then ensign spoke and turned back to his console. "Commensing jump. All hands prepare for jump. I repeat, prepare for jump!"

Down in the lounge room where the students were held, Aralia lifted her head as she heard the announcement of the jump. Her mind began to wonder as to what they were planning to do and what this jump meant for them. Yumiko however, was lost on other thoughts. She was curled into a ball on the floor, hovering only a few inches off the floor, thinking if Kim was okay or not. Her eyes wondered over to Collin and Koname huddled together at a table with some other students. Lee seemed to be enjoying the weak gravity of the ship. He was floating face down with his hands behind his head. Yumiko's right eye twitched in irritation at how calm he was taking all of this. They had just been kidnapped and he was laying back like nothing had happened.

Not wanting to look at the smug look on his face, Yumiko stared back down at the floor. "I want to go," she said.

Aralia glided over and stopped next to Yumiko. She rested a hand on her shoulder, startling her slightly. "We shouldn't worry. I think if they meant to harm us they would have already." She gave the girl a light squeeze, but turned her attention away when she began to hear a humming noise move through the room. She glanced at the others in the room and watched them all look in confusion. "Something's happening."

Yumiko lookd to Aralia and then to the others. Koname, Collin, and even Lee noticed it too. She began to worry now. Was the ship about to explode? Her knees began to dig into her forehead as she began to repeat the words, "I want to go home."

Back to Kim

The Fenrir ducked to the side as another Jag made a pop shot to it's back. He was getting closer to the ships, but the glow from their engines were beginning to worry him. Something was happening, and he could feel something coming from the center ship. Something familiar. "Yumiko?" With renewed vigor, Kim pushed the Gundam. The length of it's body straightened out as it's speed increased. His view of the ships were beginning to grow larger as he drew closer. So focused now on reaching the ship, he never saw the small lgiht flashing on the device which had found a home on his arm. The Fenrir's right hand reached out as it came in closer. Kim's breath was quickening, as if he had been running the whole time and was getting tired, but refused to give in and focused. His friends were on board that ship and he wasn't about to let them go. The claw of the Fenrir was only a few meters away before Kim noticed a wave at the front of the ship that stretched to the back just between him and the ship. All three had the same wave move around them, their engines giving off a blinding light that forced Kim to shield his eyes. Even the Jag pilots couldn't take the light and had stopped their attack/persuit. The crew of the Fly Leaf as well couldn't take it.

One by one, the ripples around the ships began to pull forward, and in an instant, all three ships disappeared. A wave, caused as an after effect of the ship's jump, knocked the Fenrir back and into two Jag suits. Kim cried out, unprepared for the hit and hung limp in the pilots seat for only a few seconds. With a groan, he shook the cobwebs out of his head and looked at his screen. There was a momentary interferance, but the screens cleared and Kim could see nothing. His view was fine, but there was nothing to look at. He moved the Fenrir away from the recovering Jag suits and looked at the possition where the three Chronos ships first sat, and there was nothing. He moved further out, hoping they just somehow turned inviseble, but to no effect. They were gone. Chronos had taken his friends and try as he might, he couldn't save them. He looked to the device on his wrist, finally noticing it was blinking. The adrinalen was dropping, and his headaches were getting worse. He couldn't even put up any effort to get away as two Jags flew along side his mobile suit and began to tow it to the Fly Leaf. As his vision begain to fade, he could see something approaching the ship he was being towed to. Not too far behind the Fly Leaf, a much larger carrier was approaching. It was roughly the size of a small colony, lined with multiple guns and numerious mobile suits flying around it's surface. The Fly Leaf was just that, a leaf in the wind compared to it.

Alicia gulped as she stared at the image of the Jugernaut, the flag ship of the EUA was slowly approaching, and was well aware that the Admiral was onboard. "Commence all docking proceedures with the Jugernaut," she announced. She began to figett in her captain's chair. "This won't look good."

Luna moved up to the captain's side, leaning close to speak privately. "Is everything okay, captain?" she asked, glancing at the screen.

Alicia took in a deep breath before answering. "I'm not so sure. We've taken heavy casulties and lost a proto-type mobile suit to the hands of the enemy. She let out a sigh, slumping slightly in her chair. "I'm sure the Admiral will not be pleased."

"On the bright side," Luna said, looking back to the approaching ship, "we still have one suit left." Alicia nodded, looking to the screen that showed the Fenrir being brought in by the Jag mobile suits.

Back on the Takanami

Yumiko pulled her legs as close as she could. Even though she was sitting on the floor, she could still feel the ship shake around her. Even with the reassurance from Aralia, she was still scared. She glanced to the other students. They looked just as scared as she was. The lights brightened, but not much, just enough that it caught everyone's attention. A weight seemed to set down on Yumiko and she felt her rear hit the floor. "Ow!" she said, leaning over to rub her rear, stopping when she realised she was sitting on the floor. The others had fallen as well, some hitting the floor harder then others since they were floating high up. She stood, surprised she wasn't floating away again and realised that there was no gravity. "Did we enter an atmosphere?" she whispered.

Aralia caughter her question and placed a hand on her shoulder, getting her attention. "Artificial gravity," she said to the girl. "It seems the Martiens have advanced further then just with weapon technology. The entrance to their "cell" opened and she, along with the others turned to see two armed guards and one pilot enter. The guards stood on either side of the door, while the pilot stepped up, eying the students carefully.

Ruby's eyes glanced around the room. He wanted to choose his first target perfectly for his interrogation. He stepped closer, smiling as the students shrunk back from his presence. Perhaps not just from the way he looked at them, but for the side-arm he carried, holstered at his right hip. He could taste their fear, it so thick in the air. When he glanced at Aralia, however, his smile faded. She had no signs of fear on her face and she didn't seem to move away when he looked in her direction. She looked more defiant then anything. His eyes moved to the girl next to her and smiled, seeing she was visbily scared. He took a step in their direction, the guards following close. Aralia continued to stand her ground, but Yumiko was ducking far behind her new friend. "You," Ruby spoke, his eyes moving back and forth from Aralia to Yumiko. "Tell me what you know about the red mobile suit."

Aralia lifted her nose slightly. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I'm sure you do. But I wasn't talking to you," he said, his eyes going directly into Yumiko's. "You."

The guards approached, moving around and taking Yumiko by the arms. Aralia reached for them, but Ruby grabbed her arm and seemingly with ease shoved her aside and into the far wall. She collapsed to the floor, craddeling a wounded shoulder caused from the impact. Seeing his friend in danger, Collin and Lee rushed over, but were both cuaght in Ruby's grip, his fingers wrapping tightly around their necks. The guards proceeded to escourt a struggling Yumiko towards the door. Ruby smiled happily as he looked at the students, who were too scared to do anything, and the two brave boys who tried to get in his way. With a little strain, he hefted them up off their feet and allowed them to dangle in the air. Not wanting to give up though, Collin swing a foot into Ruby's side. Ruby flinched and his smile faded again. His grip on Collin tightened. The boy began to choke more as now he could no longer breathe. He scratched and clawed at Ruby's hand, but he refused to let go.

Ruby was having fun, but the fun quickly ended when he felt the ede of a blade press against the left side of his throat. Collin was still fighting Ruby's grip, but Lee could see the blade was not a knife, but a sword, and it's owner stood at the entrance with the guads who still held onto Yumiko. Next to him was a short girl in a flight suit, similar to the one the two pilots wore. Ruby rolled his eyes and looked over his shoulder at Joshua. "What do you want?" Ruby asked in an annoyed tone.

"To kick your ass," Joshua said. "But for now I'd like you to drop them." He pressed harder into Ruby's neck to get his point around. "Or do I need to put you in your place?"

Ruby dropped them, but immediately turned to face Joshua. The two eyed one another, never blinking. Minaka stayed to the side, watching carefully behind the shelter of her bangs. She glanced about the room, and sighed as she saw no one shorter then her. "Why am I always the smallest?" she whispered.

"I was about to begin the interrogation," Ruby stated.

"Yea," Joshua said, with-drawing his sword and sheathing. "I bet you were. Even though there were no orders given by Col. Murasame?" He glanced over a Yumiko, and then to the guards.

When the guards didn't move or release Yumiko, Minaka stepped forward. "Release her now!" she stated. "Or do you want to get Lt. Baily angry?"

Immediately, the two dropped their hold and stepped back, leaving a surprised Yumiko to look down at the girl who seemed to hold high authority over them. Josh smiled and nodded a thanks to Minaka, before turning his eyes back to the fuming Ruby. "Now, do you want to tell me what you were realy doing down here or do I have to beat it out of you?" He stepped closer. Yumiko slipped away from the two and made her way over to a coughing Collin and Lee. Both boys pushed her behind them, making themselves a human shield should the flamboyant looking pilot try anything. She glanced to Aralia and watched as the short girl that came in with Joshua moved over to Aralia, kneeling down to examine her arm. "Well, Ruby?" Yumiko looked back to the two, feeling the air growing cold all of a sudden. She coudl tell these two, though on the same side, did not enjoy one another's company.

"You talk a lot when your carrying that sword," Ruby stated.

"Oh, I don't need it to kick your rear end. I'm surprised you're not hiding behind your sister's skirt though." He smiled, seeing Ruby visibly become angrier at his remark towards Emerald. "Oh yea, that's right. She's insick bay after getting her butt handed to her by the pilot of that red Gundam."

"I'm sure you didn't fare any better."

"Oh I did much better. More then what I can say about the Colonel's little pet."

That was enough to push Ruby. He stepped forward, fist ready for the swing; Joshua reached for his sword, the blade drawn only a few inches. But that wasn't the real reason they both stopped. Ruby stared past his opponent and at the door, seeing formentioned Col. Juzo Murasame. Joshua, knowing someone was behind him and seeing Ruby's surprised reaction, sheathed his sword and turned sharp, raising his hand for a salute. Minaka did as well, followed by Ruby and the two soldiers. The man entered, his colonel's coat drapped over his shoulders which hid his arms from view. Underneath he wore what looked to be an EUA uniform. His hair was slicked back and gave a shine in the brightly lit room. His strong, cold blue eyes scanned the room and his own men. He returned their solute and watched them move to attention. "Please, at-ease," he spoke, the coldness in his eyes vanishing. "Could someone kindly explain to me as to what is going on here?"

"Sir, I was planning to interrogate the prisoners when Lt. Baily interfered," Ruby explained, glaring over to Joshua, who returned the glare.

"Under who's orders?" Juzo Murasame asked.

Ruby looked back to the colonel, a little lost for words. "I...I wasn't given any...sir. I had assumed that...that they would..."

"Rubius, you obviously do not know what all this is for." Juzo said, interrupting the slightly shaken Ruby. He walked past the two fueding pilots and towards the students, stopping just in front of Lee, Collin, and Yumiko. "They are not our prisoners. They are our guest, and should be treated as such."

"But sir..."

"Ruby, where is Emerald?" Juzo spoke suddenly.

Ruby paused, surprised that the colonel would bring up his sister in the middle of this. "She's...she's in sick bay. Caused by the pilot of that red Gundam. I was going to get the information out of them about it and the pilot."

"That doesn't matter now, Ruby, go tend to your sister."

"But sir..."

"Go, Ruby," Juzo said, slightly annoyed.

Defeated, Ruby turned and left, passing a very ammused Joshua who had a smile on his face. "I'll deal with you later," he remarked before exiting the room.

"I look forward to it," Joshua remarked.

"Sir," Minaka spoke up, gaining everyone's attention. She kneeled down next to Aralia. "This girl is wounded. I think her arm was knocked out of it's socket."

Joshua gave off a growl, knowing who was responcible. Before he could storm off after Ruby, he felt a hand rest on his shoulder and looked to Juzo. "I will deal with Ruby later. You and Minaka need to rest. You've fought very well today and deserve your rest."

"Thank you sir," he gave his solute and left the room with Minaka doing the same.

Juzo looked to the two guards. "You two," he said, gaining their attention. "Take her down to the doctor." Without another word, the two moved over and gently helped Aralia to her feet and escourted her out of the room, leaving the Colonel alone with the captives. He turned to the students with a warm smile. "I am so sorry for the inconveniance. It was never our wish to harm any of you, but you can understand that it was going to be difficult to secure you from the Earth forces. For now, it would be better for you all if you stayed here till the end of the jump. Afterwords, everything will be explained to you."

Onboard the Jugernaut

Captain Alicia Miura and Lieutenant Commander Luna Gallagher slowly glided down the weightless halls of the massive ship Jugernaut. They were ordered to meet with the Admiral in his office for the debriefing. Luna had never personally met with the Admiral before, but she was well aware that her captain had. She was worried though. Since they were given the orders to meet with the Admiral, Alicia had been quiet the whole time they boarded the massive carrier. And that was no thrilling task either. They had been moving throughout the ship for the past ten minutes, and still had a ways to go. The Jugernaut was by far the largest and most well armored ship of the entire EUA armada. It could easily be mistaken for a small colony, if not for the array of turrets that lined it's surface, or the massive thrusters at the rear.

They stopped once again at another elevator, the last one they hoped. Luna pressed the up button and waited. She stole another glance at her captain, who was lost in deep thought. "Is something the matter, Captain?"

Alicia blinked from her thoughts and turned to her Lt. "What...oh, it's nothing. I'm just a little exhausted."

"I can imagine." Luna commented, looking to the elevator as it opened. The two entered, Alicia pressing the floor button they needed. "After a breather of two years without any battles with Mars, they suddenly show up."

"I know. I'm afraid to say it, but we may have some spies. It's the only way they could have gotten in so easily and new where to hit us."

"But how? The gate is closed and heavily guarded with three of our Constitution class ships. There's no way they could have shown up without us knowing."

"But they did, and you saw how they disappeared." Alicia looked Luna in the eyes.

"Perhaps they are...cloaked?" Alicia just stared at her. "Or perhaps not." Her captain turned away. The silence fell again and they were still no where near thier floor. "What about the boy?" Luna asked, wanting to change the subject. "What will happen to him?"

"If anything, they'll take him to the science or medical bay to remove the Link from his arm, if it isn't past the point of no return."

"What about that docter we brought aboard the Fly Leaf with us?"

Alicia looked back at Luna, lost for who she was thinking about before she remembered they had brought that injured man with them during the attack. "Oh yes. I had forgotten about him. Doctor Jonas Grear, I believe." She shook her head. "I doubt he could be of much help. His field was with the development of the Fenrir, not the Link. The others are dead, killed from the explosion, remember." She didn't see it, but Luna looked at the floor in disgust. She didn't want to remember. She could still see the stains of their blood on her uniform, same as Alicia.

The talk of death killed the air once more and silence fell between them. They road the elevator the rest of the way in silence till it reached their stop. When the doors opened, they were greeted by a crewmember, who gave a quick salute. They returned the salute and pushed on, moving down the hall till they reached the Admiral's office. The doors hissed open as they approached. They immediately took in the cite of the large room, the wall to their right decorated with medals and awards for his work in the EUA. At the far back, placed just in front of a window that gave a beautiful view of the earth, was the Admiral's desk, where that man sat quietly watching the hologram footage of the battle that had took place earlier. Alicia could see did not look too thrilled at the footage. The two approached quietly and stopped just the foot of his desk. The hologram faded and the admiral stood, striaghtening his uniform before addressing the two young women. They saluted, and he returned it. He was a tall man, at least in his late fifties, but still held a build fitting for someone in their thirties. Luna felt very small, but Alicia stood her ground, or more like floated in place, under his pressance. "Alicia," he spoke.

Alicia averted her eyes to the desk. "Father..."

It wasn't heard between the two, but Luna had let a gasp escape her lips. She looked to her captain, seeing her eyes downcast and then to the Admiral, the man she had just addressed as her father. The look he was giving was not a kind one. He almost looked ashamed...

To Be Continued...

Episode 4: The Choice/The Truth

Time passes before Kim awakes from a horrible dream to find himself in an unfamiliar place. Scared and alone, he makes an attempt to escape only to find students who were not taken during the raid, and discovers a horrifying truth, with a choice that could either keep him alive, or will end his life. While onboard the Takanami Yumiko and her friends adjust to the comfort that is given to them by their would-be capturers, but learns it comes with a price that seems to spand as far back to the middle of the war between Earth and Mars.