I own none of this

Nadesico, bridge, 25 January, C.E. 71

Theoretically, the Heliopolis stopover was a chance to catch their breath, after the insanity of the Mars trip. Docked at a private Nergal facility (the conglomerate seemed to have branches everywhere, save for the PLANTs and Orphan), the Nadesico was able to undergo proper repair and resupply, along with taking on additional crew. It was supposed to give them a chance to relax, if only for a moment.

Toya, however, found himself unable to. Leaving aside his personal anxieties about cooperating with the UEFA, one of the new arrivals irritated him from the moment he laid eyes on her.

"I'm Erina Kinjo Won, the new co-helmsman," she said. Medium height, with short brown hair, tacky (in Toya's opinion) earrings, and a decidedly self-important demeanor, something about the woman made Toya uneasy in much the same way Akatsuki did.

If Yurika felt the same way, she gave no sign. "Welcome aboard," she said. "I'm Captain Yurika Misumaru. Sorry if I seem in a bit of a rush, but I have plans with Akito for today, so I want to get things sorted out as quickly as possible."

That comment drew Erina up short. "Excuse me?" she said, visibly taken aback. "You're the Captain! Don't you have more important things to deal with than a simple date!?"

Much as he already disliked her, Toya had to agree. He liked and respected Yurika after all they'd been through, but just skipping out while her ship was undergoing repair and resupply was irresponsible to say the least. And that was leaving aside the question of how willing Akito would be; he seemed more resigned than anything else whenever Yurika's antics came up.

Toya almost said as much, but stopped short when he caught a glimpse of Prospector. The Nergal exec was looking at Erina with a mixture of recognition and faint distaste; evidently he'd crossed paths with her before, and hadn't enjoyed the experience.

"This is highly unusual," Prospector mused when she'd left. "Why did they decide to send her?"

Better question: what the hell is a former secretary doing at the helm of a top-of-the-line warship? Toya thought. This tub is still better than anything the UEFA or ZAFT have.

Ruri seemed to have picked up on something else. " 'Decide to send her'?" she repeated.

"That's not your concern, Ruri!" Prospector said.

Definitely something odd up. Toya didn't know Prospector all that well, but this seemed unlike him. Glancing at Katia, he twitched his head at the main bridge hatch. She gave a faint nod in return, and the trio followed him into the corridor. No one else was in sight save for Noal, Aki, and Koji, all of whom they trusted completely.

"So we get a secretary working with Minato now," Noal said. "Any idea what's up with that, Toya? You've seen the Captain more than I have."

"Now a clue," Toya said, "but I get the impression Prospector knows more than he's letting on. He sure didn't look happy, not that I blame him. Something's not right here."

Aki gave him a look of concern. "Are you still staying with Nergal?"

Toya snorted. "It's still better than the UEFA; I'll take some wacky corporate conspiracy over whatever the military would put the girls through. At least here I can be sure they'll be safe from that." His eyes briefly took on a distant look. "Besides, it's not like I really have anywhere else to go."

"What about your school?" Melua asked.

"I'd like to see Kaname again, but it's not really a place to return to, not really home." Toya shook his head. "That was true even before the Mars trip. Now, after everything that's happened, I don't know that I'd really fit in anymore. Not that I ever did."

Koji chuckled softly. "Talk about a switch," he said. "You were complaining nonstop until we got past that UEFA fleet; now you're acting like this is home! What's up with that?"

"I got tossed off the deep end when the school was attacked," Toya reminded him. "It's been long enough that I've had a chance to get used to things. I still don't like to fight, but it's not like I'd be safe anywhere else."

"I know, I'm just messing with you," Koji said, clapping him on the shoulder.

Toya grunted. "Yeah, sure," he said. "Anyone up for some lunch? Yeah, I know you are, Tenia," he added before the redhead could reply. "You're always ready for lunch, and breakfast, and dinner, and everything in between."

Tenia just grinned, not even slightly abashed.

Shaking his head in fond amusement, Toya led the way to the Nadesico's cafeteria, banishing any concerns about Erina Won for the moment. Prospector had promised him and the girls fair treatment, and he for the most part trusted the Nergal man. In the back of his mind, though, he couldn't help wondering what fresh disaster awaited them.

As usual, his musings would soon prove prophetic.

Akatsuki's quarters

"I'm surprised they sent you out here," Akatsuki said. "Things must be very tense at headquarters."

Erina waved a hand. "They wanted someone in the know to find out exactly what happened with the Nadesico," she said. Her gaze sharpened. "This ship passed through one of the Jovians' Tulips and lived to tell the tale. That boy, Akito Tenkawa, is the key, I'm sure of it!"

"Well, I'm certainly not doubting your judgment." Akatsuki drummed his fingers on the desk. "All right, I'll talk to Mister Tenkawa myself, see if I can draw him out. What about the second ship?"

"Nearing completion at our lunar dock," Erina said. "However, there's something else of interest right here at Heliopolis. Apparently the UEFA is building their own mobile suits."

Akatsuki's eyebrows lifted. "Here? Why at a neutral colony?"

Erina shrugged. "Probably to keep things out of sight. The point is, these new models are supposed to be superior not only to the Specials' Leo and Aries models, but also to ZAFT's GINN and CGUE line. Possibly equaling the colony Gundams."

"That is interesting," Akatsuki said. "Morgenroete, I suppose. Anything else?"

"Just that the Specials seem to be taking an interest," Erina said. "Rumor has it Zechs Merquise is here."

Akatsuki smiled slightly. "The Lightning Count, eh? Khushrenada must be up to something, if he sent Merquise all the way to Heliopolis. I suppose we'll find out soon enough."

Outside Heliopolis

A dozen figures, five of them clad in red, the rest in green, drifted in the absolute silence of vacuum, unnoticed by any in the colony. Coming to a halt next to a seldom-used maintenance shaft, they paused, seeing it secured by a series of laser tripwires. Breaking one of those beams would no doubt trigger alarms.

There were ways around that. One of the red-clad figures did something with a device on his wrist, and the beams vanished, allowing them access to the harbor interior.

So far, so good, he thought. If our data are accurate, the new warship should be at the end of the next shaft.

Not that he assumed it was all going to go smoothly, of course. It was axiomatic that no plan survived contact with the enemy, and they were virtually guaranteed to make contact. More, Nergal's warship and collection of mobile weapons -including a Gundam, apparently- made them a dangerous wild card. Some of his squad, he knew, were probably going to die.

Maybe he was. Maybe they all were. It didn't matter. What mattered was the mission, and though he was only sixteen, Athrun Zala was a professional. He would accomplish his mission, or die trying.

Heliopolis Factory District, Morgenroete facility

Inside the colony, no one had the slightest idea that their lives were about to be changed for the worse. People went about their daily lives as they always had, little different from how things played out on Earth. News of the war meant little to them; Orb remained neutral, neither Doctor Hell nor the Reclaimers had any kind of space capability, and both the Jovian Lizards and the new aliens had ignored their little oasis of peace. It was, in short, a typical day in Heliopolis.

For Kira Yamato, a teenage engineering student at the local college, that meant another day at the Morgenroete annex, working on some kind of program or other. He had no idea what was up with it, and in all honesty didn't really care.

"Hi, guys," he greeted his friends. "I came as soon as I could."

Sai Argyle looked up through orange-tinted glasses. "Ah, Kira. Professor Kato's been asking for you."

"Of course he has," Kira said, running a hand through his messy brown hair in exasperation. "He's always asking for me. Now what?"

The blond student handed him a computer disc. "He wanted you to analyze this," Sai said. "Something to do with the work for Morgenroete."

Kira groaned. "Figures. Looks like it's just a programming analysis. More of the usual stuff."

It was then that movement caught his eye. An unfamiliar girl was leaning against the wall by the Professor's office door. Blonde, with golden eyes, dressed in a nondescript outfit topped with a brown beret, something about her nagged at Kira's mind, but he couldn't place it.

"Hey, Tolle, who's the girl?" he whispered.

Tolle Koenig shrugged. "Got me. Somebody looking for the Prof, I guess. Mir?"

"That's what I heard," Tolle's girlfriend, Miriallia Haw, agreed. "She was told to wait here for now."

"No sign of Professor Kato, eh?" Kira sighed. "Figures. All right, guess we'd better get to it."

His mind wasn't really on the assignment, though. He was three years in the past, before so much of the Earth Sphere had been engulfed in chaos. In his mind's eye Kira saw a park, and a blue-haired young man directly in front of him.

"The PLANTs and Earth will see eye to eye. There will be no war. This evacuation doesn't mean a thing." He raised a hand, and the robot bird he held leapt lightly into Kira's hands.

Kira looked down at the robot, then back up at his friend.

Athrun smiled. "You'll join me later in the PLANTs, right, Kira?

There had been days Kira wished he had followed Athrun to the PLANTs. He'd made friends in Heliopolis, true, but keeping certain truths about himself secret was difficult at times. More than once he'd longed to just let the whole thing out and be done with it.

"Hey, Kira," Kuzzey Buskirk said, drawing him back to the present. "Can you give me a hand here? There's a glitch in the system, and I can't quite nail it down."

Kira gave himself a mental shake. "Yeah, sure, sorry."

OSDG, Heliopolis branch

"I see," the albino man on the screen said. "And you have no idea who he is, or even if he's from Earth?"

"He was encased in some kind of heterogeneous crystal," Aki told him. "Every examination suggests he's an Earthling, but we have no way to be sure."

Heinrich von Freeman nodded slowly. "Especially in light of Eiji Asuka. Very well. Whatever happens, bring that boy back to Earth by any means necessary."

"Got it, Chief," Noal said. "Dunno when we'll be able to make it back, what with everything that's hit us so far."

"Yes, your team seems to be a magnet for trouble." Freeman allowed himself a very faint smile, though it quickly faded. "If he has any information on those creatures, we need it. Aside from wreaking havoc on a local scale, they mostly seem to content themselves with burrowing into the ground and transforming into some kind of alien tree, but I believe them to be ultimately a greater threat than the Gradosians or ZAFT."

"Understood," Aki said. "Chief, what about Nergal? It seems out of character for them to be cooperating with the UEFA."

Freeman shook his head. "That, I don't know. Nergal is very secretive; we don't even know who their directors are, beyond this Prospector fellow you've been working with. What can be said for certain is they're bound to have their own agenda. Continue to cooperate with them, but keep your eyes open. I would prefer not to get caught up in whatever it is they're planning."

Noal tossed him a jaunty salute. "No prob. Captain Misumaru's nuts, but whatever it is I don't think she's in on it." he sobered, slightly. "There's one other thing. There's this one kid who signed on at the last minute. He has some kind of freaky mobile weapon, looks a bit like a mobile suit, said he was there to get away from the military. Why are they still after him? You'd think they'd have bigger fish to fry."

"Most likely for the war against the PLANTs," Freeman said. "The mobile suits the Specials have provided are better than mobile armors, but still no match for a GINN except in the hands of a truly skilled pilot, so the UEFA remains at something of a disadvantage. The Specials seem to do better, but their goals are as unclear as Nergal's."

"Figures," Noal grumbled. "After what Colbert pulled last year, no way would they let Bellzelute go so easily."

Freeman smiled slightly at his tone. "Quite. For now, keep an eye on the boy, and try to stay on his good side. Should relations with the UEFA sour, Toya Shiun could be a powerful ally."

"That shouldn't be difficult," Aki said, smiling herself. "He and his companions seem to like us, at least."

"Good. I'll be in touch." Freeman's image vanished.

Noal sighed, folding his arms. "A powerful ally, he says. Does he think about anything else?"

"He doesn't really have much of a choice right now," Aki reminded him. "And you know he wouldn't try to coerce Toya into aiding us."

"I know, I know." Noal shrugged. "So, back to the Nadesico, or are you going shopping?"

Aki shook her head regretfully. "I don't have time for that right now. Too much to do."

"Yeah, that's what I thought."

Heliopolis, shopping district

It hadn't taken her long to decide Heliopolis was preferable to living on Earth. Her father had sent her there for her own safety, noting the gradually worsening situation on Earth, but even without that she'd have been delighted by the change. The neutral colony was a fascinating place, in her opinion, and of course there was the sheer romance of life in space, something she'd first notice when her father took her on a trip to the PLANTs, before the war.

Relena Darlian, daughter of the Atlantic Federation's Foreign Minister, was quite popular at her new school, both for her looks (a fair complexion, long, light brown hair, and light blue eyes) and kind, friendly demeanor, not at all like the stuck-up rich girl many expected at first glance. To be sure, there were those who tried to ingratiate themselves with her in order to get to her father, but such were few and far between at Heliopolis.

Not that her life was entirely free of complications. Sitting at an outdoor café in the colony's shopping district, Relena spotted one of those complications, red-haired, blue-eyed Flay Allster. She'd known the other girl before coming to Heliopolis, as Flay's father was the direct subordinate of Relena's, and didn't much like her. Though nice on the surface, Flay had always struck her as somewhat spoiled, and the anti-Coordinator prejudice she occasionally displayed didn't help. Relena Darlian had neither sympathy nor patience with such nonsense.

It's because of attitudes like that that we're at war with the PLANTs, she thought. Especially people like General Colbert. She'd met the balding general a couple of times while accompanying her father, and while Colbert had been polite on the surface, his distaste for Minister Darlian had been plain, and Relena loathed him.

Sighing, she let her eyes wander, banishing both Flay Allster and General Colbert from her mind. A distraction presented itself soon enough; a boy about her age, with messy brown hair and Prussian blue eyes, dressed in dark brown pants and an olive drab tank top.

Heero Yuy was an enigma. Arriving at Heliopolis not long after Relena had, he was cold and distant; not necessarily impolite (though he was occasionally that), but not exactly approachable, either. Yet he fascinated her, drawing her in a way she didn't really understand. If he was doing it deliberately, or was even aware of it, he gave no sign.

Probably unintentional, though; Heero was too much the loner for it to be anything else. With a mental shrug, Relena went back to her lunch, glad she had the day off from classes. Blissfully unaware that her days as a mere schoolgirl, however well-connected, were about to come to an abrupt, violent end.

Heliopolis harbor control, comm room

One of the advantages to being a member of the Specials, he mused distantly, was the ability to arrange for private comm usage when he needed it. It wasn't something he bothered with very much, but recent events had underscored how useful it could be. This was not a conversation he wanted overheard.

"It's confirmed," he said. "Nergal's new warship docked this morning, with orders to cooperate with the UEFA."

The man on the screen nodded slowly. "As anticipated. I don't know what Nergal is up to, but this could work to our advantage. Given what happened last year, I doubt the Nadesico's crew will be kindly disposed toward the Federation, especially since Gundam 02 is supposed to be onboard." He leaned forward. "What about the G-Project?"

Zechs Merquise smiled slightly. "The new mobile suits are to be rolled out today. They still need some fine-tuning, but according to the specs they should be far superior to anything ZAFT has."

"That would also make them superior to anything we have, but there are ways around that." Treize Khushrenada stroked his chin thoughtfully. "And the Archangel?"

"According to Captain Foster, almost ready to launch," Zechs said. "They're still loading supplies; the G-weapons are in the factory district." He grimaced. "Unfortunately, we've spotted several ZAFT ships in the vicinity. Trust them to appear when we're at our most vulnerable."

"Rau Le Creuset," Treize murmured. "I doubt anyone else would try something like this. All right, I'll do what I can on this end. For now, continue to cooperate with the UEFA, and do everything possible to minimize civilian casualties should Le Creuset attack."

"Yes, sir." Zechs saluted, and Treize's image vanished.

The order to cooperate rankled a little, but he knew it wasn't Treize's fault, and truthfully he had nothing against the common soldiers of the UEFA. More importantly, he'd seen something not long after being assigned to the Heliopolis detachment, something that had given him a reason to fight beyond mere revenge.

She's still alive. If working with the UEFA is what it takes, then I'll do it. For her sake. His blue eyes glinted behind the metal half-mask he wore. But you, Colbert. One day, you will pay for what you have done.

"Lieutenant Merquise." Archangel captain Brian Foster stood in the doorway. "I thought you should know, the ZAFT ships are deploying mobile suits." There was the faintest hint of distaste in his eyes, probably at Zechs's anachronistic red-and-white uniform. The Specials weren't exactly popular with the regular military.

Zechs didn't fault him for it. "I see," he said. "Any response?"

Foster's eyes narrowed. "We're focusing on transferring the G-weapons. Heliopolis is dealing with the attack."

"It won't last." Zechs shook his head. "Nothing they have can stop even a single GINN, much less the forces arrayed against us here. We'll have to hope the Nadesico intervenes. In the meantime," he strode past the UEFA officer, "I'll be launching personally."

"Lieutenant?" Foster blinked in surprise. "But a Leo-"

Zechs gave a wintry smile. "Is inferior to a GINN? Believe me, Captain, I'm well aware of that. However, inferior is not the same as helpless."

It was no idle boast. Zechs Merquise was one of the few who could fight even one of ZAFT's new CGUE models on even terms with a mere Leo. The "Lightning Count," as he was known in some circles, commanded a certain degree of respect -and more than a little fear- even from ZAFT.

And Captain Foster knew it. "Good luck, Lieutenant," he said.

I think he actually means it, Zechs thought. "Thank you," he said, tossing the man a salute.

Minutes later, strapping himself into his Leo's cockpit, he found himself musing on the irony of it all. With his background, it would have seemed more logical to side with ZAFT. Instead he'd chosen the UEFA, the same organization that had taken away his homeland and his family.

Or so it appeared. The Federation, Zechs thought with a tight smile, would learn the truth in due course.

Factory district

In an instant, everything changed.

Kira and his friends had been having an more or less normal day. Technical problems aside, they'd spent their time as teenagers are wont to, idly chatting as they worked. The mysterious girl had shown signs of impatience, but not, as far as they could tell, directed at them. It was more like she was waiting for something.

Then it happened. The room seemed to buck, almost jolting Kira out of his chair and throwing Tolle clear off his feet.

What was that!? Kira clutched at the worktable for stability. The shaking subsided, but his sudden fear did not. "Everyone okay?"

"I think so." Tolle picked himself up off the floor. "What the hell was that, anyway?"

"Sounded like a meteor impact," Sai said. He looked at worried as Kira felt at the prospect. "We'd better get moving. If it was a meteor. . . ."

He didn't have to finish. Space colonies were generally safe, but an accident in one was far more dangerous than an equivalent mishap on Earth, owing to the inherent hazards of life in space. Anything powerful enough to breach the colony wall could mean the end.

Dashing into the corridor, they soon found it was even worse than a meteor hit. The colony was under attack; ZAFT mobile suits had breached the colony. Heliopolis, their home away from the chaos of the PLANT-Federation war, had suddenly become a battlefield.

And the mysterious blonde girl appeared to have an idea why. Her expression shifting from shock to grim determination, she dashed down a side passage.

"Hey, where are you going!?" Cursing the girl's impulsiveness, Kira took off after her.

"Kira!" Tolle protested.

"I'll be back!" Kira said over his shoulder.

He'd nearly caught up with her when another explosion rocked the colony, throwing both of them off their feet and partially collapsing the corridor behind them. Pushing himself upright, Kira stifled a groan. There goes my escape route, he thought despairingly. Now what!?

The girl had already recovered, resuming her single-minded course. Racing after her, Kira caught up just as a doorway came into view. "What are you doing!?" he demanded.

"Why are you chasing after me!?" the girl countered. "Go back and link up with your friends!"

"It's too late for that," Kira said, wondering what he'd gotten himself into. "The ceiling collapsed back there; only way out is forward."

The girl hissed at that. "Damn. There's something I need to see for myself."

Kira cast about, searching desperately for some kind of alternative. "No choice, come on!" He grabbed the girl's hand, tugging her along.

"Hey, let go!" she snapped. "You can't just-"

"You wanna die?" Kira shot back. "Look, we can still make it. There should still be shelters left in the factory district."

The girl glared at him a moment longer, then subsided, evidently seeing his point. She wasn't resisting anymore, at least. Kira was just as glad; things had gone crazy enough without her turning suicidal.

He had no idea just how important this encounter would be, in the months to come.

He had to admit, the UEFA had built some nice machines. Just give them a working OS (to be fair, the units clearly weren't quite ready for action), and they surpassed any other mobile suit in existence save for the rogue Gundams. All the more reason to ensure they didn't remain in Federation hands.

"Hey, not bad," Yzak said, impressed despite himself. GAT-X102 Duel was a fairly simple unit, but that suited him just fine. A beam rifle and dual beam sabers were more than enough. "Dearka, how about you?"

His dark-skinned friend had just wrapped up his own rewrite. "Everything's ready," he said. "OS wasn't worth much, but what do you expect?" GAT-X103 Buster rose to join the Duel. This one was evidently meant for artillery support, with a beam rifle, gun launcher, and shoulder-mounted missile pods.

"And Nicol?" Yzak said, looking at their third member.

Rapid typing was audible over the comm link. "This one's a bit more complicated," Nicol said absently. "Okay, rewrite complete; I'm ready to go." GAT-X207 Blitz had a certain menacing look to it, similar to the machine the UEFA had codenamed Gundam 02.

"Where are Athrun and Rusty?" Dearka wondered. "Taking their time, aren't they?"

Yzak smirked. "I doubt those two will have any real trouble. C'mon, let's get going."

Kira had wondered since the whole thing started just why ZAFT would suddenly attack a neutral space colony. It wasn't like Heliopolis had any kind of strategic importance; even he knew that much. It just didn't make sense.

Then he and the blonde girl burst into the open air, onto some kind of catwalk, and he knew.

"Gundams!?" he said incredulously. Though oddly colorless, there was no mistaking the distinctive facial design of a Gundam, not after the rash of attacks a year or so before. Now there were two of them inside a Morgenroete factory.

The girl sank to her knees beside him, clutching the guardrail. "I knew it," she moaned in tones of despair. "The UEFA's new mobile weapons. . . . Father, you've betrayed us all!"

Kira didn't have time to wonder what she meant. One of the combatants down below, apparently hearing, spun and opened up on them with an assault rifle. Cursing, he grabbed the girl's hand again, making a mad dash for the shelters he knew -hoped- were nearby.

Finding one, the two teens skidded to a stop, breathing heavily. Kira touched the hatch control, and his heart sank; it was full.

"Could you at least take one more?" he pleaded. "It's sheer chaos out here."

There was a pause. "We can still fit one," a voice said. "There's just barely enough room, now hurry!"

"Right, thanks." As the hatch slid open, Kira turned and pushed the girl in. "Here, you'll be safe now."

"Wait," she said, too startled to put up much resistance. "What about-" The elevator whisked her away before she could finish.

Kira let out a deep breath. At least she's safe, he thought, dashing back the way he'd come. Now I just have to worry about myself. There was a twinge of concern for his friends in the back of his mind, but only slightly; he was sure they'd be able to find shelter.

It was worse than when he'd left just moments before. While there were only a couple of ZAFT commandos left, only one defender remained, the brown-haired woman who'd shot at him before. Kira was almost through when yet another explosion rocked the area, throwing him off balance.

"Down here!" the woman said, spotting him. "That area's been cut off!"

Kira didn't like it, to put it mildly, but he knew there was no real choice. Suppressing a grimace, he vaulted over the guardrail, to the woman's visible astonishment, and landed in a crouch on the Gundam she was guarding.

Things seemed to speed up. Her assault rifle out of ammunition, the woman opened up with a pistol, striking one of two red-suited ZAFT attackers full in the face and dropping him. The other responded with a burst from his own rifle, catching the woman in the shoulder, and then his gun jammed. Snarling under his breath, he drew a knife from his shoulder harness and charged.

Time stopped. Kira Yamato, moving to aid the injured woman, froze, staring in disbelief. The ZAFT man likewise came to a startled halt, gaze locked on Kira. Neither could believe what he saw.

"Athrun?" Kira whispered, eyes wide as saucers.

Athrun Zala's mind went blank. "K-Kira?" No! That's impossible! He can't be here!

They could only stare, stunned by a twist of fate neither had conceived of even in their worst nightmares. All they could think was a single word: Why!?

The woman chose that moment to break the moment. She brought her pistol up and snapped off two quick shots, but with her shoulder injury she was forced to use her left hand, and missed wide. Snapping back to the present, Athrun beat a retreat, seeking refuge inside the dormant GAT-X303 Aegis.

Kira stared after him, grunted in surprise as the woman knocked him into the cockpit and dropped in after him.

"At least I can save this one," she murmured, bringing the machine online. "Even I should be able to operate this." She glanced back at Kira, an apologetic look on her face. "I'm Lieutenant Murrue Ramius, UEFA," she said. "I'm sorry to have gotten you involved in all this."

Though no fan of the UEFA, Kira couldn't bring himself to blame her. She had just saved his life. "My name's Kira, Kira Yamato," he said.

"Well, Kira," Murrue said, managing a brief smile, "after everything that's happened, the least I can do is try to make sure you get out alive."

More explosions rocked the doomed factory, flames spreading all around them. With a low whirring sound, and the loud, metallic pop of snapping restraints, GAT-X105 Strike, the last remaining G-weapon, rose to its feet, backlit by the raging fire.

Heliopolis was in chaos.

Sprinting along with a quartet of college students she'd somehow fallen in with, Relena risked a brief glance back. At least three ZAFT mobile suits were prowling the area, probably more, and she and her companions were nowhere near any of the shelters. Briefly wishing she knew where Heero was, she faced forward again, just as another explosion knocked her clear off her feet.

The bespectacled blond student caught her, but Relena barely noticed. Her eyes were on the pair of mobile suits that had appeared seemingly out of nowhere, bursting out of the conflagration the Morgenroete facility had become. One came to a stop a few meters behind the nearest GINN, the other landed hard and seemed to stagger along.

Within the cockpit of that GINN, Miguel Aiman grinned. "Good job, guys! A clean sweep." He eyed the unbalanced machine curiously. "What's the problem, Rusty? Pick up the pace."

Athrun's words wiped the grin off his face. "Rusty's dead," he said grimly. "A UEFA officer is piloting that one."

Elation quickly gave way to fury. "What!? Damn them!" Clenching his teeth, Miguel lifted his machine gun. "Okay, I'll take care of this one. You get yours out of here."

There was a brief, odd hesitation. "Understood," Athrun said at last, and the Aegis's thrusters flared.

Murrue watched it go with decidedly mixed emotions. On the one hand, it meant ZAFT had another of the G-weapons; she had no illusions about the fate of Duel, Buster, and Blitz. On the other, it meant she had one less threat to deal with. On the other other hand, there was still a veritable swarm of GINNs in her way, and Murrue Ramius was no combat pilot.

It appeared, however, that she had little choice. Fortunately, even in its incomplete state the Strike had a trump card. She pressed a button on the main panel just as the GINN fired, and color seemed to flow over the Strike, changing it from a dull gray to a primary blue, with red trim and white limbs and torso.

"What the!?" Kira gasped, the gunfire shaking them up but doing no real damage.

Murrue flashed him a grim smile. "Phase-Shift Armor, a new system we developed with Morgenroete," she said. "Physical weapons are useless against it." She grimaced, fighting the machine's control's. "Unfortunately, that doesn't help any with maneuvering."

"Well, of course not," Kira said, frowning at the display. "With this kind of OS, it wouldn't work even with a Leo, let alone something like this."

"There's no help for it; it hasn't reached the completion stage," Murrue said, wondering what this kid was getting at.

Kira shook his head, then froze, seeing four familiar figures all too close by. Sai, Kuzzey, Tolle, Mir? No. . . . "Please, move over," he said. "There are still people around here; we can't afford to be staggering around like this." Murrue looked like she wanted to protest, but after the briefest of hesitations she nodded, switching places with him.

It was then they found out they weren't completely alone. A blade of red fire pierced through a GINN's cockpit, and it crashed to the ground. Behind it was the brown, blocky form of a Leo, the workhorse mobile suit of both the Specials and the UEFA.

A face appeared on the Strike's comm screen, half obscured by some kind of metal mask. "This is Lieutenant Zechs Merquise of the Specials," he said. "Can I be of assistance?"

Murrue felt a wave of relief wash over her. She didn't like the Specials any more than most UEFA officers, but this was a definite case of beggars can't be choosers, and having Zechs Merquise on her side was a major boost indeed. "Yes, thank you. I was able to save this unit, but the OS needs some adjustment before it can even move, so we're in no position to fight back."

If Zechs saw anything odd about modifying a mobile suit's operating system mid-battle, he gave no sign. "Understood," he said. "I'll do what I can."

Kira was feeling slightly better about the whole thing -even he had heard of the Lightning Count- but he knew it wasn't over yet. He focused on the computer screen. Adjust molecular ion pump, switch neural linkage parameters, almost there. . . . Done!

Just as the Strike began to move more smoothly, there was a rumbling sound, and a large white shape appeared on the outskirts of the district.

"That's Nergal's new warship," Murrue said. "So they survived." Reaching past Kira, she keyed the Strike's comm. "This is Lieutenant Murrue Ramius, UEFA," she said. "Nadesico, I demand that you rescue us at once!"

The Nadesico's captain appeared on their display. "This is Captain Yurika Misumaru of the Nadesico," she said. "I'm sorry, Lieutenant Ramius, but I refuse to start a battle inside the colony."

Murrue grunted as the Strike surged forward, driving its Armor Schneider assault knives into a GINN. There was more to Kira Yamato, it seemed, than met the eye. "Misumaru?" she repeated. "You mean you're Admiral Misumaru's-?"

"Yup, I'm his daughter," Yurika said cheerfully.

"Incredible." Murrue shook her head. "Captain Misumaru, the battle has already started. ZAFT has four of the G-weapons; it's imperative that we protect this one."

Yurika glanced at something off-screen. After a few moments of inaudible murmuring, she turned back to Murrue. "All right," she said reluctantly. We're deploying our machines now. Keep in mind we can't use the Distortion Field or Gravity Blast; too much risk of damage to the colony."

"That's plenty," Murrue assured her. "Thank you." It looked like they had a chance of pulling this off after all.

Nadesico, hangar/Heliopolis interior

It was a measure of how routine combat was becoming that Toya didn't even grumble as he settled into the Bellzelute's cockpit. At least this time he'd known in advance it was coming; working with the UEFA meant fighting ZAFT, and they'd spotted several ZAFT ships on arrival.

"Ready to go, Tenia?" he asked his partner.

She grinned. "Yepper! Let's go kick some ZAFT keister, Toya!"

"Lunatic," Toya said, shaking his head fondly. "Toya Shiun, Bellzelute launching!"

Outside was pure, unadulterated mayhem. Several ZAFT GINNs were moving more or less with impunity, while the home team consisted of a single Leo and what looked like a Gundam-type mobile suit. They were giving a good accounting of themselves, but the odds were still very much against them.

Which was why Toya and his comrades had launched to begin with. "Time's up, ZAFT!" Koji said, shifting his machine into a fighting stance. "It's time to meet your Mazinger!" Even Tenia groaned at the pun.

Duo ignored it. "Hey, what gives?" he said, sounding oddly peeved. "Since when does the UEFA have Gundams?"

"It's a new design meant expressly for anti-mobile suit combat," Akatsuki told him, amused. "The similarity to your machine is purely coincidental." He whistled softly as the UEFA machine knocked a GINN flying. "Those Morgenroete people sure earned their paychecks on this one."

A GINN charging in with a sword diverted Toya's attention. In no mood to play games, he snapped the Shot Launchers up and fired, catching the ZAFT machine in the head and torso. A second tried to avenge his partner, but was distracted when the Blue Earth buzzed it; Toya blew it in half before it could recover.

"Sorry we can't do more," Noal apologized, "but this isn't our kind of fight."

"Hey, don't worry about it," Tenia told him. "You gave us an opening, that's the important thing."

Judging by the sudden disarray among the ZAFT force, the Nadesico's intervention had caught them flat-footed. Eiji took out two before they had a chance to react, while Koji's Mazinger literally beat one into submission. Koji Kabuto was not known for finesse.

A red Aestivalis flashed past; Akito had apparently recovered from his panic attack. His rifle flashed, catching a GINN in the shoulder, and while the ZAFT unit's armor held, it was visibly thrown off balance. The Strike, taking advantage of the sudden opening, shoulder-checked it before driving a knife into its torso.

Whoever's in that new Gundam, he's good, Toya thought, then jerked his own machine around just in time to dodge a machine gun burst. "Dammit, this is ridiculous! How'd they get this many mobile suits in here, anyway!?"

"Who knows?" Tenia said. "We've still gotta knock 'em down!"

That at least wasn't proving overly difficult. While ZAFT's GINN was overall superior to the few mobile suit's the UEFA had (though that was apparently relative, judging by the way the lone Leo was tearing things up), against the Strike and Nergal's ragtag collection of mechs it was proving somewhat lacking.

With one notable exception. The lead GINN's pilot was evidently a cut above the rest; he was actually managing to last against the Strike. It was a delaying action, of course, since he literally had no way to directly damage the new UEFA model, but the mere fact that he hadn't been destroyed yet was impressive in and of itself.

Then the inevitable happened. The GINN overextended itself with a hastily-aimed thrust, a mistake the Strike pilot was quick to capitalize on. A knife buried itself in the GINN's right shoulder, rendering the limb useless; apparently deciding discretion was the better part of valor, the ZAFT pilot hit his thrusters and withdrew.

Just in time for the paradigm to change yet again. A titanic explosion erupted just beyond the destroyed factory, and a white shape, oddly similar to the Nadesico, emerged from the cloud of smoke and debris. Around 350 meters long, if Toya's rangefinder was accurate, white with red trim, winged, with two projections on the bow and a towering superstructure, the new ship looked majestic somehow.

"The Archangel!" Murrue said, her relief almost palpable. "This is Murrue Ramius aboard X105 Strike. Archangel, do you read?"

"This is Ensign Natarle Badgiruel on the Archangel," another female voice said. "We read you loud and clear, Lieutenant." A pause. "Is that the only G-weapon remaining?"

Murrue sighed. "I'm afraid so. ZAFT has the Aegis at the very least, and at this point I don't doubt they were able to capture the other three."

"We're not in much better shape," Natarle admitted. "Captain Foster and the rest of the senior officers were killed in the initial attack. Based on that, I suggest you come onboard and take command."

"The Captain? No. . . ." Murrue seemed to shake herself. "All right. Kira, please take me to the Archangel."

"Right." Toya blinked; the Strike pilot sounded like he was Toya's age. "Lieutenant, some friends of mine were caught out in the open, and can't get to a shelter now. Could you. . .?"

Murrue nodded sympathetically. "Of course. Ensign Badgiruel, there are a handful of civilians nearby. Please take them onboard."

"Lieutenant?" The ensign sounded incredulous.

"The shelters are locked down; we can't just leave them out there to die," Murrue pointed out. "Four, no, five of them."

Judging by the slight pause, Natarle wanted to argue, but knew it would be useless. "Understood."

Toya and Duo moved to escort the Strike. This is getting crazier by the minute, Toya thought. Seriously, Heliopolis was supposed to be just a stopover; what kind of nutcase pulls something like this? He had a good idea of what Kira was probably feeling, having gone through much the same experience.

At least things were calm for the time being, though he highly doubted it would last. If ZAFT was willing to commit that kind of force in an attack on an ostensibly neutral colony, there was no way they'd leave with the mission incomplete.

"Heat signature inbound," Ruri said. "This one is friendly; Moebius Zero mobile armor incoming."

"Interesting," Akatsuki said. "Only one person that can be."

Toya glanced at the Deathscythe. "Any idea what he's talking about, Duo?"

The Gundam pilot shrugged. "Got me."

Their answer arrived seconds later. Orange, deceptively ungainly looking with four weapon pods of some kind spaced evenly around the fuselage, a single linear cannon under the nose, the Moebius Zero was the only mobile armor known to be able to fight mobile suits on anything close to even terms.

"A new warship? Nobody told me about that one," the pilot murmured. "This is Lieutenant Mu La Flaga, of the Seventh Orbital Fleet."

"Just as expected, the Hawk of Endymion himself," Akatsuki said. "A pleasure to meet you."

Mu seemed a bit nonplussed by that. "Likewise, I think, but I'd appreciate if you not bring up ancient history. We don't have time for this; the Le Creuset team is breathing down our necks."

That explained a great deal. Nergal's update on the state of affairs in the Earth Sphere had mentioned Rau Le Creuset. A highly skilled pilot and downright diabolical strategist, he was known for his ruthlessness; if anyone would stage an attack on a neutral colony, he was the one.

"I suspected it was him," the Leo pilot put in. "It's been a while, Lieutenant La Flaga. Since Nova, I believe."

"Zechs Merquise." There was a very faint note of dislike in Mu's voice. "Never thought I'd say this, but I'm glad to see you. We need all the help we can get right now; there's more incoming."

Wonderful. Exactly what they didn't need, handicapped as they were by the need to minimize collateral damage. Knowing Le Creuset's reputation, he would have no such compunctions.

Kira, meanwhile, was back on the field, his reluctance to fight evidently eclipsed by the danger they were all in. This time he at least had something better to work with; the Strike was now equipped with a giant sword, buckler style shield, and some kind of throwing weapon mounted on the left shoulder. Morgenroete had, indeed, earned their pay; such a design made the Strike probably the most versatile of the G-weapons.

"Second wave approaching," Ruri said. "Several more GINNs, and one CGUE."

Here we go again, Toya thought. The GINNs were already visible in a loose formation, with the white, more angular form of a CGUE in their midst. CGUEs, from what he recalled of the data they'd been given, hadn't been produced in particularly large numbers, and were assigned mainly as command units. Which mean that CGUE was almost certainly Rau Le Creuset himself.

"So, the Nadesico and the new UEFA warship," a smooth, slightly English-accented voice said, making Toya jump. He's broadcasting in the clear? "This will prove more difficult than expected. Especially," there was a definite smile in the voice now, "with a certain annoying fly buzzing around. You always seem to get in my way, Mu La Flaga, though I imagine you'd probably say the same thing about me."

"Rau Le Creuset!" The Zero pulled into a turn that looked almost physics-defying, the odd weapon pods separating at the same time, connected to the main fuselage by wires. "This time I'm taking you out!"

Judging by the way the Strike abruptly lunged forward, Kira agreed. Which, Toya supposed, was only to be expected, since ZAFT had attacked his home and put his friends in mortal danger. Much as Toya himself had felt when the Jovian Lizards had attacked his school, what felt like a lifetime ago.

Whatever his motives, Kira wasn't holding back. The Strike's giant blade hacked downward, chopping a GINN clean in half. Push past, its left arm thrust forward, a grappling device of some kind shooting out from the buckler. It clamped onto a second GINN; Kira then jerked the Strike's arm back, bringing his target into reach of the blade.

A third closed to melee range, only for a yellow-green beam blade to slice through it at the waist. Stepping into view as the bisected GINN slid apart was another Gundam, similar in color to the Strike, with wings on its back and a rifle of some kind currently mounted on its side; presumably the pilot was, like the UEFA/Nergal force, attempting to minimize collateral damage.

"Another one?" Yurika said. "Captain Ramius, is that one of yours?"

"No," Murrue said, a definite note of unease in her voice. "According to our data, it's one of the colony Gundams. Which means while it's no ally of ZAFT, it may not be friendly to us, either."

Duo chuckled. "I don't think you've got anything to worry about," he said. "Hey, Heero, long time no see."

"Duo." Heero's voice was flat, almost completely unemotional. "Glad to see you survived the Mars trip."

"No thanks to the Federation or the Jovians," Duo said. "Anyway, mind lending us a hand? I know you don't like the UEFA -hell, I don't, either- but we've got bigger fish to fry."

The new Gundam -01, according to the data Toya had received, Wing Gundam- batted a GINN aside with its shield. "Mission accepted," Heero said.

"And that's that," Duo said, grinning. "Don't mind him, guys; sure he's a cold fish, but he's got a heart deep down."

Toya, for one, was just glad of the additional help. Even as he blasted a GINN to scrap with his Shot Launchers, he could see the Strike and Zero engaged in a furious duel with Le Creuset's CGUE. The masked man's skill was unreal, simultaneously holding off the Hawk of Endymion and the UEFA's brand-new Gundam with little apparent effort, though Toya suspected that if Kira had been more experienced the battle would already be over.

As it was, Le Creuset was being slowly forced back, hampered by his simple inability to actually damage the Strike. One misjudged thrust proved his undoing; he slid just too far, and the Strike's giant sword came down as if by fate. With a wordless yell, Kira chopped the CGUE's right arm off at the shoulder.

"No choice," Le Creuset said; oddly, he sounded only mildly annoyed. "All remaining units, fall back. Nergal's machines and the new UEFA model appear to be more powerful than anticipated; we will have to reassess our strategy."

Suddenly drained of energy, Toya didn't need Calvina Coulange's order not to pursue. He just wasn't up to it, and he suspected none of the others -with the possible exception of Heero Yuy- were, either. For sure Kira wasn't; Toya recalled his first battle all too well, and knew from experience the first was in many ways the worst. He was amazed Kira could even move.

"Well, that was crazy," Tenia said; she, too, was breathing hard. "A couple of new Gundams, some big-name UEFA aces we've never heard of, and ZAFT comin' out of nowhere. Story of our lives, eh, Toya?"

"You got that right," he agreed. He looked over at the now-quiescent Strike. "I hope that Kira guy's okay."

Archangel, hangar

Kira's friends gathered around him as he slumped against the Strike's leg, breathing heavily. Combat, he'd just found, was not simply terrifying, it was exhausting. Added to the physical and emotional toll ZAFT's sudden attack had already taken on him, and he was ready to fall asleep on his feet.

And there was that other matter, the one he was afraid to mention. . . .

"That was incredible, Kira!" Tolle said. "They came out of nowhere, and you took 'em down just like that!"

"You saved our lives, Kira," Mir added.

Kira wanted to say they were giving him too much credit, that he'd had no idea what he was doing and was scared the entire time. He didn't have it in him, however, so he just gave a nod of acknowledgement.

"I wonder what's going on over there," Sai murmured thoughtfully, looking at the gaggle of UEFA people. "For that matter, why they're here in the first place. Heliopolis is supposed to be neutral; what's the UEFA doing here?"

"That's what I'd like to know!" Kuzzey put in. "Everything was fine this morning!"

The UEFA crew were ignoring them for the moment, engaged in a discussion of their own. Zechs mostly stayed out of it, well aware of his status as an interloper and content to let the regulars hash it out. He merely listened, expression unreadable behind his mask.

"Only a few of us are left, mostly noncombatants," Natarle was saying. The black-haired ensign's face was grim. "Of the line officers, I believe only Lieutenant Ramius and I remain."

Mu winced. "Man, this is one hell of a disaster. And we've still got the Le Creuset team hanging around outside, so we can't stick around for long."

"Agreed," Natarle said. "With Captain Foster and the other senior officers gone, Lieutenant Ramius is next in command."

Murrue frowned. Certainly she'd assumed command briefly during the crisis, but there were at least two officers present who were senior to her. "But Lieutenant La Flaga and Lieutenant Merquise both have seniority."

Mu shook his head. "I may be senior to you, but I don't know the first thing about ship command. I'll strut my stuff on the battlefield, thanks."

"And I doubt having one of the Specials in charge of a regular warship, even one as . . . unusual as this, would go over very well," Zechs added, a soft chuckle escaping him. "I'm content to serve just as a pilot here."

"In that case, I suppose I don't have a choice, do I?" Murrue sighed. "All right. Our first order of business is to get out of here. We can probably count on the Nadesico's aid for the time being, as they're in the same situation we are."

"Makes sense," Mu agreed. "What about him?" He nodded to Kira and his friends, still huddled together by the Strike.

Murrue followed his gaze. "As you can see, he's a teenage civilian. For some reason he was in the factory district during the attack, and I was forced to bring him with me in the Strike. He took over mid-battle, managed to rewrite the machine's OS, and fought off several GINNs in the process." Several people inhaled audibly at that; Zechs, strangely, was not one of them. "His name is Kira Yamato."

"That so?" Mu casually wandered over, giving the teen an appraising look.

Kira met Mu's blue eyes, trying to hide his nervousness. There was no hostility in the UEFA pilot's gaze, merely curiosity. "What is it?"

"So tell me," Mu said, voice as casual as his manner. "You're a Coordinator?"

The tension level in the hangar shot up several notches in an instant. While none of those present had any use for the likes of Blue Cosmos, the status of Coordinators within the Federation was hotly debated. To have one suddenly appear onboard their newest warship, piloting their only remaining G-weapon, was enough to make anyone nervous.

Resigned, Kira gave a small nod. "Yes." Before he could say anything more, four rifles were leveled at him. Despite his inner tension, Kira made no move.

Then his vision was partly obscured as Tolle stepped in front of him. "Just what do you think you're doing!?" he demanded. "Kira just saved your lieutenant's life and made sure ZAFT didn't get the last of those machines, and you're suddenly gonna treat him like some kind of criminal!? You're out of your minds, all of you!"

Murrue seemed at agree. "Lower your weapons, men," she said.

"Lieutenant, I request an explanation," Natarle said, eying Kira uneasily.

"It's really quite simple," Murrue said. "Heliopolis is a colony controlled by the Orb Union, a neutral nation. It's only logical that some Coordinators who wanted nothing to do with either side would find refuge here." She gave Kira a reassuring smile. "Am I wrong, Kira?"

Kira's muscles slowly began to relax. "No, you're right," he said. "Especially since I'm a first generation Coordinator." He was careful not to mention he had a friend from the PLANTs, a friend who was all too likely to be among the attackers.

"Which means, of course, that your parents are Naturals," Mu said. "Anyway, I'm sorry about the fuss, kid. I was just curious is all."

"Nor will you have any problems from me," Zechs added. "I have little patience with such things."

Kira wasn't sure whether to be reassured by that or not. On the one hand, the Lightning Count's metal mask gave him a somewhat sinister look. On the other, he seemed friendly enough, certainly more so than Natarle. There was just something beneath the surface, something Kira couldn't quite make out. Probably best to worry about it later, he decided.

"Now that that's out of the way, we need to decide our next move," Mu said. "Le Creuset is persistent; he's not going to leave us alone for long."

He was right, Kira knew. ZAFT had the other G-weapons, but the Strike, the Archangel, and the Nadesico still remained. There was no way they would just be allowed to leave. Which only added to Kira's very personal, private fear.

Athrun. . . .

Nadesico, bridge

Though they didn't have the worry about a Coordinator in their midst -such an attitude would have been the height of idiocy anyway, since they already had a half-alien- the mood on the Nadesico was very tense. Cooperating with the UEFA was one thing, a sudden ZAFT attack on a neutral colony was something else, and none of them had any illusions that it was over.

"I think we should remain with the Archangel for the time being, at least," Prospector was saying. "It's as good a way as any to get on the UEFA's good side."

"And it isn't like we have a choice," Akatsuki noted. "We're undoubtedly just as much a target as they are."

"If not more of one," Calvina put in. "The Archangel is untried, and they have just the one mobile suit. We have a number of powerful mobile weapons, including two," here she glanced at Heero Yuy, "Gundams, and we made it all the way to Mars and back. It's unlikely that Le Creuset would just let us go."

Standing with the girls and Koji near the bridge hatch, Toya frowned slightly. Though certainly no strategist, he'd been gradually picking up a knowledge of the basics, and he knew their position wasn't exactly favorable. Cooperation with the Archangel was their best chance, but even that wouldn't necessarily assure their survival.

"We'll stick with them, then," Yurika said. "Fellow travelers and all that. Say, Duo, any chance of some more Gundams showing up?"

"Got me," the God of Death said. "I've been out of touch. Heero?"

Heero shook his head briefly. "Quatre is busy with some kind of investigation in North Africa, he didn't say exactly. Trowa is working with Mithril at the moment. I have no idea what Wufei is up to."

"Nobody knows what Wufei is up to," Duo said, rolling his eyes. "Sorry, Captain, I guess that's the breaks."

"Oh, well." Yurika sounded only mildly disappointed. "We'll make do with what we've got. First order of business is to get out of Heliopolis; we can't fight at full strength inside, and we're putting the residents in danger as it is."

That had been Toya's main worry. He had few compunctions about fighting out in open space (a change he wasn't at all certain he liked), but battle in an urban area made him twitchy. His memory of how he'd first met the girls remained vivid, and while he wouldn't give them up for anything, he had no desire to inflict it on anyone else.

"Just how much damage has been done already?" he said.

Ruri glanced at her board. "Aside from a breach in the colony wall inflicted during Le Creuset's fight with Lieutenant La Flaga, damage has been mostly confined to the factory district," she said, voice nearly toneless as usual. "There is some minor damage to outlying areas, but the shelters should be intact."

"All the more reason to get moving ASAP," Prospector said. "Ms Coulange, your assessment?"

A slight frown creased the former UEFA pilot's face. Toya hid his surprise; it was the first real expression he'd seen on her beyond mild annoyance. "It's possible," she said. "We should use the smaller units, Aestivalis and SPTs, if we have to fight our way out; they'll cause less damage overall. It should be enough to get clear."

"Assuming Le Creuset gives us the chance," Noal muttered.

Toya drifted away at that point. Wandering into the Nadesico's corridors, he found himself near a vending machine in the residential block. He leaned against the bulkhead, closing his eyes. His thoughts drifted elsewhere, back to when he was just an ordinary student. Something, he was coming to realize, he could never be again.

"Hey, Toya, you okay?"

He blinked, meeting a pair of green eyes. "Yeah, Tenia, sorry. My mind was wandering; guess I'm just tired."

"Hey, I don't blame ya," Tenia said, smiling. "We've been running all-out for months; we're lucky nobody's collapsed."

"Akito almost did when we fought those invaders," Katia pointed out. She looked at him, concerned. "Are you sure you're all right?"

Toya raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure," he said. "What's with this all of a sudden?"

"You've been brooding ever since we reached Heliopolis," Melua said quietly. "We were worried about you."

"Oh, that?" Toya sighed. "It's mainly the whole having to work with the UEFA thing. I know they can't really touch us, since we're with Nergal, so it's not that big a deal. It just gets to me sometimes."

"If you say so." Katia didn't look completely convinced, but she let it go. "Just remember, we're all here for you. You've done so much for us, it's only right that we return the favor. You can tell us anything." Smiling now, she gave his arm a gentle squeeze.

Toya found himself smiling back. "Thanks, I'll remember that."

"You'd better," Tenia said with a grin.

Vesalius, bridge

"You really saved my hide, Miguel," Le Creuset said. "Without this data I'd have been a laughingstock, allowing myself to be driven away by a UEFA mobile suit."

Miguel grunted. "Tell me about it. That thing is unreal; hate to say it, but a GINN is no match."

"Nor is even a CGUE," Le Creuset agreed. "And that's without the other complication. Ades, do we have an ID on the Gundam that appeared during the battle?"

"We're pretty sure it's Wing Gundam, sent by the L1 colony cluster," Ades said. "There isn't any data on the pilot, but judging by the observational data we have it's extremely dangerous."

Le Creuset nodded. "That was my assessment as well," he said. "The fact that the pilot appears willing to cooperate with the UEFA is troubling. It's unfortunate, but we have no choice but to consider it a target, along with Deathscythe. Having two Colony Gundams working with the Federation is too great a danger to ignore, to say nothing of the new UEFA unit."

"Then we're going in again?" Miguel said.

Another nod. "We have no choice. This is perhaps the greatest threat the Homeland has yet seen; if we do not nip it in the bud now, it will only grow." He looked at the quartet of redcoats. "You four will participate in the assault with the machines you captured."

Dearka pumped a fist. "You got it, Commander. We'll show those Naturals how mobile suits are supposed to fight!"

"Of that I have no doubt." Le Creuset smiled. "All units, prepare for launch. We will put an end to this here and now."

Author's note: Well, I tried to get this one up faster, but real life kept getting in the way. Still, my speed does seem to be improving some.

I should mention here that Gundam Wing will be one of the more heavily altered storylines featured; there are a number of things that made no sense to me in canon (Zechs's Heel-Face Revolving Door comes to mind), much less in an SRW setting. If anyone has any suggestions on this or any other aspect, I will at least consider them. Until next time.