Gundam Wing: Journey to a New Battlefield

by operation meteor

The war is won, yet he cannot find peace. When a mission gone wrong throws Heero into another world, how will he survive? And how will he react when he is confronted with his greatest challenge yet? For love can be trickier than any battlefield foe...

10. Chapter 10

Author's notes: Sorry for the wait, everyone! Ok, a few things before we get started.

One: There are two songs in this chapter. I felt that they both fit the characters. No, this chapter is not done in songfic style or a musical, it's my usual format. Anyway, you'll see why they're here when you come to the part they're in. The songs are "Heavens Divide" by Donna Burke and "When I'm Gone" by 3 Doors Down.

Two: This chapter is, uhm... REALLY LONG! So... you might want to grab some food, probably something to drink too. Maybe take a bathroom break before reading. Trust me, you're gonna be here awhile.

Well, enjoy!

Episode Ten: The Land of Peace

It had been four days since the battle with the Everest, and the Archangel hadn't been engaged by ZAFT once in that time period. That won't last long, thought Murrue. It was early afternoon, and they were closing in on Orb's territorial waters, but at the same time they were well within airstrike distance of ZAFT's Carpentaria base. I'm surprised we haven't been attacked already.

She looked to her right, where Heero was standing. He smiled slightly, and she marveled at how reassured she felt, just having him next to her. Murrue smiled in return. We'll be fine, she though, no matter what ZAFT throws at us, Heero can beat them.

"Hard to believe we're almost to Orb," said Murrue, "it'll be a relief once our two passengers disembark… though we will be one pilot short for the Skygraspers."

"That might not be a problem," said Heero, "I saw Tolle practicing on the flight simulator down in the hangar yesterday. He's not as good as Cagalli, but he does show promise. He might be able to take over piloting Skygrasper Two eventually."

"That would be nice," said Murrue, "though I'm not sure if Miriallia would appreciate her boyfriend flying combat operations."

"She hasn't stopped him from hitting the simulator," he replied, "If she has doubts, she's keeping them to herself."

"Well, in the end it's my call whether or not he gets to fly," said Murrue, "Could you do me a favor and let me know how he progresses? I'll keep that in mind when making my final decision."

"No problem," he said, "I'll check the simulator scores when I'm down in the hangar running maintenance on Wing Zero."

She smiled. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it," said Heero, "we need all the help we can get, after all."

"Agreed," said Murrue. And I want you to have all the support I can get you, she thought, you've taken on such a heavy burden on our behalf… I'll help you in any way I can.

It wasn't just gratitude or practicality that was influencing her decision, though. Over the past few days she had become more and more convinced that she was indeed falling in love with the young man, and she wanted to do something to protect him. Though she knew that, with Wing Zero's power and his own stunning skills, Heero would remain the center of their combat operations, she wanted to make sure that he wasn't fighting alone, that she could back him up one way or another. Whether it be with the Archangel itself, the Strike, or the two Skygraspers, Murrue wanted him to know that he wasn't alone.

Heero, she thought, that night in North Africa, you swore to protect me. I'm grateful for that, I truly am… but someone needs to protect you, whether you realize it or not.

You've become my guardian angel… so let me be yours.

….

"All right, listen up people!" said the base commander.

Athrun looked towards the front of the amphitheater. He, along with Yzak, Nicole, Dearka, and several other pilots were in the briefing room of the Carpentaria base. The son of the Defense Chairman was still having trouble digesting the news his former commander had given him.

"I'm leaving this team for awhile," Creuset had said, "The preparations for Operation Spitbreak demand my full attention. Therefore, I'm placing Athrun in command of this unit. You are now the Zala Team."

The masked ace then smiled. "Good hunting."

Shaking his head, Athrun turned his attention back to the briefing.

"It took us longer than we thought due to the prep work for Spitbreak," said the man at the front of the room, "but we're ready for a decisive attack on the Archangel. As I'm sure you've heard, the Flying Fortress Everest, along with the Morassim Team, was taken out over five days ago by that damned ship and its mobile suits. They've been declared a Priority One Target; their neutralization is vital if Operation Spitbreak is to be a success."

The officer aimed a remote at the screen, which switched from the ZAFT logo to a map of the Oceania region and Australia.

"The legged ship," he said, "is currently passing by here, and is close to Orb's territorial waters. High Command believes that they intend to stop there for resupply, since the ship and its mobile suits were developed with that nation's assistance. However, since we're still neutral with Orb, we cannot cross into their airspace. Therefore, we must eliminate the legged ship before it enters their territorial waters."

A red blip appeared on the map, labeled as the Archangel. A blue line crossed the upper part of the screen, designating Orb's territorial waters. "Timing is crucial, people!" said the officer, "If we want to get that ship and its mobile suits once and for all, we need to move now. All teams at this base capable of airborne combat are being mobilized for this attack."

He turned to Athrun. "Zala, your team will be provided with Gull aerial platforms for flight, since your machines can't fly by themselves. Don't let them get hit, or you'll be sitting ducks for enemy attack. Also, you won't be able to get back to base until we can organize a recovery team."

Athrun nodded. "Understood, sir."

"Any questions?" said the officer.

One of the pilots raised his hand. "Sir, what do we do about Wing Zero?"

"That's a dumb question, soldier," the officer scoffed, "Destroy it, of course. What, were you expecting something else?"

"Sir, with all due respect," said the pilot, "we can't beat that thing! It beat the Valkyrie Team and took down the Everest, for Christ's sake! Not to mention the thrashing it gave the Tiger's forces in North Africa… that thing's a fucking monster!"

"Pipe down, coward!" the officer shouted, "Do you want to be written up for insubordination?"

"No sir," said the pilot, sitting back down. However, his message wasn't lost on the other pilots, who were now trading nervous looks.

"Treat Wing Zero like you would any powerful enemy," said the officer, "surround it and take it down with superior numbers and firepower! That is all. Dismissed!"

The man left the room, and the pilots began to file out as well, though not without comments about their commanding officer.

"'Superior numbers and firepower', he says," one pilot muttered, "Everyone else has tried that, and Wing Zero has beaten them all."

"No joke," said another, "too bad our base commander doesn't take part in front line operations anymore; it'd be nice if Wing Zero did us a favor and got rid of that asshole."

"That bastard," said a third, "does he intend to sacrifice us just to impress the Defense Chairman? Shit, I'd frag his ass myself if I had the opportunity."

"Careful," said the first, looking back at Athrun and his team, "the Council princes are behind you!"

"Eh?" he said, turning around, "Oh, you four. Got a problem with what I just said?"

Athrun stiffened slightly. He knew that everyone looked at him differently because of his father's position, and his friends were in a similar situation. Nicole, Dearka, and Yzak all had parents on the Supreme Council, and as thus were seen almost as a Coordinator aristocracy. Athrun himself had sometimes wondered if it had been due to family connections that the four of them had been made Reds so quickly. While he was confident that their skills were worthy of their ranks, their ascendancy had been quicker than that of other soldiers their age.

All of this was running through his mind as he confronted the three soldiers before him. "I won't report you," he said, "but you should still be more careful about who you say such things in front of."

"Yeah," said Yzak, "after all, we've fought the legged ship and its mobile suits before! We're the best chance you've got at making it through this mission alive."

Damn it, Yzak, thought Athrun, can't you rein in your pride a bit? Our record against them isn't exactly good, you know.

That was something the three pilots in front of them were aware of, and they took full advantage of that. "Forgive me if I'm not all that inspired," said the third soldier, "You guys haven't had much success against them, if I recall."

"Yeah," said the second, "heck, didn't two of you encounter Wing Zero in orbit and get your asses kicked?"

"And the other two couldn't hack it against the Strike and a damn mobile armor," the first chimed in, "hardly a record to boast about."

"Why, you…" growled Yzak. He moved to take a swing at him, but was held back by Dearka.

"Enough, Yzak!" the blond haired, tan skinned pilot said, "We don't have time for this. We need to get to our machines, remember?"

"Grrr, fine!" he said. The two of them moved briskly past the three pilots in front of them.

"He's right, you know?" said Nicole, "We all need to get going."

"Alright, point taken," said the first.

As they turned to walk away, Athrun breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks," he said, turning to Nicole.

"No problem," he said, "but we really do need to get going, you know?"

"Yeah, you're right," said Athrun.

He couldn't help but worry as they moved towards the main hangar. The coming battle would in all likelihood be the most brutal of his career so far.

Kira, he thought, will today be the day that one of us dies?

….

"Enemy contacts on the long range radar!" said the sensor operator, "Looks like a large airstrike force. Getting a number…"

Damn, thought Murrue, we're so close to Orb, too! They had already called ahead to inform Orb that the ship was carrying two of the nation's citizens on board. The reply had been vague, but had stated that a recovery group would be sent out to retrieve them.

"Why now, of all times?" she whispered. She looked over at Heero, who nodded and ran for the bridge exit. Good luck, Heero, she thought.

"Scramble both mobile suits and the Skygraspers!" she ordered.

"Hold on, you're letting Cagalli fly again?" said Natarle, "What if she crashes again?"

"We don't have a choice," Murrue replied, "We need every pilot we can get right now. Skygrasper One will take the Launcher pack, number two will launch with the normal configuration."

I'd rather not have her fight, thought Murrue, not when we're so close to getting her home, but my hands are tied. Besides, I want Heero to have as much backup as possible. Cagalli has proven herself willing to fight for us, regardless of her combat record. That's enough for me.

"Confirmation on the number of enemies," said the sensor operator, "thirty six DINNs, and four other machines. It's… the stolen prototypes!"

"They're back," said Murrue, "I suppose it took them long enough."

"Heero's hailing us, Captain!" said Miriallia.

"Put him on screen," ordered Murrue.

The Gundam pilot appeared on the monitor. "I'll take the DINNs. Can Kira and the others handle the prototypes?"

Murrue nodded. "Kira and La Flaga have fought them before, so I'm sure they can do it again. I'm going to have Cagalli back you up, though. Alright?"

"Ok," said Heero. He smiled slightly. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," said Murrue, "Please, be careful."

"Roger that," said Heero, signing off.

"Wing Zero will launch first," said Murrue to Natarle, "Get the Skygraspers into the air next, followed by the Strike in Aile configuration. Cagalli will form up with Heero, while La Flaga and Kira will fight the G-weapons."

"Yes ma'am," said Natarle, who quickly relayed her orders. "Two on thirty six…" Murrue heard her mutter, "…and Heero doesn't even bat an eye at it. Christ, that guy's nuts…"

A few weeks ago, I would've agreed with you, Natarle, thought Murrue, but I know better now… with Wing Zero and his own skills, those kinds of odds are more than possible for Heero to overcome.

Murrue saw the Gundam fly out of the hangar, followed quickly by the fighters. Kira launched last, and took up position on the upper hull of the Archangel, in front of the bridge. Due to its limited atmospheric flight capabilities, the Strike would have to wait until the enemy closed in before it could engage.

"Prepare for anti-air barrage," said Murrue, "arm Igelstellungs and Helldart missiles! Prime the Wombat missiles!"

"Captain, the scatter-shot from those warheads could hit our own pilots," said Natarle.

"We'll coordinate firing with them, give them a heads up before launching," said Murrue. She glared at the Lieutenant. "I'd never endanger our own pilots with friendly fire, Badgiruel!"

Natarle looked down. "I'm sorry, Captain. I didn't mean to…"

"It doesn't matter right now," said Murrue, "just carry out your orders, Lieutenant."

"Yes, ma'am," she said, and returned her attention to the CIC.

Our pilots face enough danger as is, thought Murrue, does Natarle really think that I would subject them to our own fire as well? While Murrue knew that Wing Zero would not be damaged by the Wombats' scatter-shot warheads, she was keenly aware of the risk posed to the Skygraspers, as well as the drain the impacts could have on the Strike's Phase Shift Armor. Timing and communication would be crucial if the Archangel's anti-air capabilities were to be used to maximum effect. Even with Wing Zero's Gundanium alloy, thought Murrue, I would still warn Heero before launching those missiles into a fight.

Unlike other Alliance commanders Murrue had known, she did not consider any of her soldiers expendable. While it had been accepted by most officers that the Earth forces would take heavy losses in any engagement with ZAFT, Murrue was appalled with how callous her own side's leaders had become regarding the lives of the men and women under their command. She had vowed never to be like them. I won't let this war destroy my humanity, she thought, nor will I allow it to consume the people fighting under my command.

She watched as Wing Zero aimed its Twin Buster rifle at the oncoming swarm of enemy mobile suits. And I sure as hell won't allow it to take you, Heero.

….

"Oh, shit!" screamed a voice over the radio, "Incoming!"

The warning came too late. Athrun watched in horror as Wing Zero cut loose with its rifle, and a wave of golden-yellow hellfire ripped through the ZAFT formation. Seven DINNs were torn apart by the blast, with the rest escaping destruction only by virtue of the weapon not being fired at a higher power setting.

"Damn it," said another pilot, "how does Command expect us to deal with that?"

"Can it, Victor!" said the strike Commander. "All remaining DINN teams fan out and engage Wing Zero. Zala Team, move in on the legged ship. Take it down quickly; they're too damn close to Orb as it is!"

"Understood," said Athrun, "we're on it."

Nicole's voice came over the radio. "One of the fighters is forming up on Wing Zero. The other is holding over the legged ship. It looks like the Strike has taken up position on the top of the vessel."

"Let's get it!" said Yzak, charging forward.

"Hang on, Yzak!" said Athrun, "We need a plan!"

"Screw that," the white haired pilot replied, "I'm tired of your hesitation always costing us our victory! I won't let you hold me back any longer. This time I'm taking them all down!" With that he cut the radio and video communications link.

"Damn it," said Athrun, "Dearka, back him up!"

"I was going to do that anyway," the pilot said with a smirk before signing off as well. The Buster rushed ahead to catch up with the Duel.

"Nicole, you're with me!" said Athrun.

"Got it," the pilot of the Blitz replied, moving in alongside the Aegis.

This isn't good, he thought, the battle's less than a minute old and already Yzak is disregarding me, and Dearka made it clear that he would've ignored any orders not to back up Yzak.

As he and Nicole moved into attack position, Athrun couldn't help but feel uneasy. This whole battle's gotten off to a rotten start, he thought, I have a bad feeling about this.

….

"I'll move in and engage head on," said Heero as he drew his beam saber, "once they're focused on me, you start making strafing runs on their formation. Take out one at a time, pull out, and then come in for another pass. Nothing else, got it? I've got enough to deal with without worrying about saving you again."

"Alright, I get it," said Cagalli, "nothing fancy, I promise."

"Good," he replied. While the Skygrasper was faster than the DINNs, Heero knew that it wasn't as maneuverable. If she gets into a turning fight, he thought, she's screwed. Hit-and-run attacks are her most effective strategy right now.

"I'm engaging," he said, hitting his thrusters, "make your first run at your discretion."

"Copy that," said Cagalli.

The DINNs had already spread themselves out, so Heero had no trouble getting into the center of their formation. Selecting a wing pair, he moved in faster than the pilots could react, and hacked the lead DINN in two. The second released a volley of missiles, but Heero simply took the warheads on his shield and rushed in, impaling the machine.

The remaining twenty-seven mobile suits were quick to counterattack, and tracer rounds and missiles soon filled the sky. However, having already faced off against the best team that ZAFT had to offer, along with the North Africa Corps' seasoned veterans, evading the incoming fire was an easy task for the Gundam pilot. Zigzagging through the storm of lead and metal, Heero sighted in on his next target and gunned Wing Zero's engines. He slashed into another DINN with his saber, then whirled and destroyed another with his shoulder gatlings.

Good, he thought as the enemy swirled around him in every direction, they're reacting just as I anticipated. Cagalli should be starting her run anytime now.

Indeed, mere seconds later he heard her voice over the radio. "Care for some help, flyboy?" A volley of emerald beams cut through the enemy ranks from above, and one DINN exploded. The blue and white Skygrasper dove through the center of the enemy formation, leveled out near the surface of the ocean, and then began to climb again in preparation for another run.

Heero couldn't help but smile slightly. A little bolder than I had anticipated, going for the center of the enemy formation rather than the flanks, but she pulled it off well. She's gotten better since North Africa.

Just then Murrue's voice came over the radio. "Heero, Cagalli," she said, "drop your altitude as low as you can go, we're going to fire a Wombat volley into their formation!"

"Roger that," said Heero, already taking Wing Zero into a dive.

"Got it," said Cagalli, "I'm at your six, Heero!"

"Firing in three, two, one, now!" said Murrue.

Four missiles launched from the Archangel just as Wing Zero and the Skygrasper began to level out near the waves. Spreading out, the warheads burst in front of the enemy DINNs, releasing scores of glowing red 'heavy birdshot rounds'. The ZAFT mobile suits scattered, but even as they did six of them were shredded by the anti-air shrapnel, and several others took hits as well.

Great job, Murrue, thought Heero as he began to climb to reengage the enemy, only eighteen DINNs left. We'll have this wrapped up in no time.

As he slashed another DINN in two, he hit his thrusters and rose above the enemy, giving himself a clear view of the battlefield. Cagalli was already making her next run, this time coming from below the enemy formation, and another DINN fell to her fighter's beam cannon. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Commander La Flaga was engaging the Buster in a long-range artillery duel with the Agni slung beneath the fighter's fuselage, though neither machine had scored a hit yet. The Aegis, Blitz, and Duel were swarming around the Archangel, but were having difficulty dealing with both the warship's anti-aircraft fire and the Strike, which would leap up from the deck to engage the three machines with its beam saber and rifle before dropping back to the ship.

Kira, thought Heero as he impaled another DINN, you'd better protect that ship. If you fail, I swear I'll kill you.

….

Even with the support of the Archangel and Skygrasper One, Kira was having a rough time of it. Not necessarily because of the enemy's actions; Kira had fought the four stolen G-weapons enough to know how they flew, what tricks they had up their sleeves. Rather, it was because he was trying to fight without destroying one particular unit, the Aegis. Athrun's machine was quick and powerful, but Kira could still sense a slight hesitation on his old friend's part as well.

However, the other machines showed no such compunctions. The Blitz launched the three missiles mounted on its shield, forcing Kira to raise his own and take the hits in order to spare the Archangel from damage. Due to the amount of anti-air fire coming from the warship, the black machine could not use its Mirage Colloid system due to the drawback of being unable to use its Phase Shit Armor while doing so. At the same time, the Duel began an attack run. Kira hit his thrusters, rising up to meet the blue and white machine with his beam saber. He swung the violet blade in a horizontal slash, which the enemy took on his own blue shield. The Duel slashed back, but Kira had already hit his thrusters and backed off, instead aiming his rifle at the green platform beneath the machine that allowed it to fly. He fired, but the beam didn't hit the device head on. Rather, it impacted the right side, causing it to trail smoke. It lost some maneuverability, and the Duel backed off. For a moment Kira thought that the enemy might retreat, but the machine instead moved towards the engagement between Skygrasper One and the Buster.

"Lieutenant Commander," said Kira, "the Duel's heading your way!"

"Got it," said the pilot. Kira was amazed at how relaxed he sounded, like he wasn't bothered by the news at all. "Thanks for the heads up!"

Kira didn't have time to respond, as the Blitz and Aegis were moving in again. He fired a volley from his rifle, and combined with the Archangel's anti-air barrage it was enough to make the two machines back off momentarily, but Kira knew they'd be coming back in shortly. Damn, he thought, if I can just take out those platforms beneath their machines, then they won't be able to fight us. He would do all he could to avoid killing his best friend.

He raised his rifle and fired another volley as the two machines approached the ship. They split up, but while a swarm of Helldart missiles from the Archangel was enough to deter the Blitz, the Aegis made it through the barrage and came straight for Kira. He hit his thrusters, and his violet blade met the crimson machine's yellow one.

….

So far, so good, thought Murrue.

The volley of Wombat missiles fired earlier had significantly reduced the amount of enemies facing Heero and Cagalli, and the two pilots were witling down their numbers even further, with Heero having destroyed another three machines and Cagalli one, leaving just a dozen mobile suits to go.

Things were more mixed on Kira and Mu La Flaga's end. On the one hand, they had managed to prevent the four G-weapons from landing any major hits on the Archangel. However, they had still not managed to take down or significantly damage their foes either. The Duel had broken off its attacks on the ship, but was now engaging Skygrasper One, which was still fighting the Buster. The Lieutenant Commander may not be able to handle two of them at once, she thought.

Glancing at her own display, which showed a map of the area, Murrue frowned. We're extremely close to Orb's territorial waters, she thought, if we cross the border, even by accident, who knows what could happen? We need to be careful.

Scarcely a second later, a cry came from the radar operator. "Ships approaching from Orb! Counting a dozen destroyers and two cruisers on radar, along with attack helicopters and fighters!"

Damn, she thought, I knew this might happen. Will they fire on us, ZAFT, or both sides?

"One of the Orb ships is broadcasting on an open channel!" said Miriallia.

"Put it on speaker," said Murrue.

"Attention Alliance and ZAFT forces," said a male voice, "this is the cruiser Kumano of the Orb Navy. You are dangerously close to our territory. Withdraw immediately, or we will exercise our rights to defend our sovereignty and destroy you."

Heero's voice came over the radio, calm and slightly amused. "I'd like to see them try." Bringing up an image of the Gundam on her monitor, Murrue saw Wing Zero climb above the enemy formation and split the Twin Buster Rifle in two. Firing both guns, he took out another seven DINNs with two energy blasts. Cagalli quickly swooped in and fired two missiles, destroying another, leaving a mere four machines left.

Murrue was trying to figure out her next move when Lieutenant Commander La Flaga's voice came over the radio. "Damn, he got past me! Archangel, Buster incoming!"

Checking one of the monitors, Murrue saw that the Duel had succeeded in imposing itself between the Skygrasper and the Buster, despite the machine's damaged flight platform. The green and tan machine was inbound and leveling its guns at the ship's engines.

"Hard to starboard!" shouted Murrue.

The order came too late. An energy beam and heavy rail cannon round impacted the warship's engines. The ship shuddered violently.

"We've lost forty percent thrust!" cried the helmsman, "We're losing altitude!"

The ship shuddered again as the Aegis managed to slip past the Strike and launch a volley of energy beams. Kira quickly lashed out with his beam saber, throwing the crimson mobile suit back on the defensive, but the damage had been done.

"Portside Gottfried cannon has been knocked out!" yelled Sai, "Igelstellungs four and five are also damaged!"

"Buster's preparing to attack again!" said the radar operator.

"Damn it," said Murrue. However, as all eyes turned to the rearview monitor with the Buster leveling its weapons again, a blast of golden-yellow energy cut between it and the ship. Murrue saw Heero approaching, having disengaged from the DINNs, the last four of which had begun to withdraw from the area. Cagalli was close behind him.

Murrue gasped as she heard the Gundam pilot's voice over the radio. "Get the hell away from her!" he snarled.

The Duel imposed itself between the Buster and Wing Zero, igniting its beam saber. It moved to block a strike from the Gundam's emerald blade, and was staggered back by the blow. At the same time, Cagalli fired a volley of green beams at the Buster. Her shots were joined by crimson blasts from La Flaga's fighter, and the mobile suit began to back off. The Lieutenant Commander and Cagalli then double-teamed the Duel, forcing it to pull back and join the Buster. The two mobile suits were back to back, firing at the two jets as they made hit-and-run attacks on them.

Heero whirled around as the Aegis and Blitz moved in to help their comrades. Firing a blast from the Twin Buster Rifle, causing the two machines to split up, he then charged forward, striking at the Blitz with his beam saber. The black mobile suit barely managed to block Wing Zero's attack, and the Aegis moved to assist. Heero hit his thrusters, gaining altitude, before unleashing a rain of gatling fire. Both the Aegis and Blitz suffered hits to their flight platforms, which began belching smoke and sparks.

"No good," said the helmsman, looking up at Murrue, "Captain, our descent angle takes us right into Orb's territory!"

"We have to turn away!" shouted Murrue.

"No," came a voice behind her, "keep going."

Murrue turned around, surprised to see Kisaka standing at the entrance to the bridge. How long has he been there? She hadn't even heard him enter the bridge.

She looked at him, and he simply nodded. "Just keep going, trust me. Let me talk to the Orb fleet."

Murrue nodded. "Alright, take the radio. I hope you know what you're doing."

He smiled. "I suppose I should've said something earlier; I'm not entirely what I seem. You'll see what I mean soon enough. The fact that the lead warship is the Kumano only helps matters; the skipper's an old buddy of mine."

As he moved towards the radio station, the voice of the Orb officer came over the radio again. "Alliance warship, you are about to enter our territory. Alter course immediately or you will be fired upon!"

"How dare you say that!" came Cagalli's voice over the radio, much to Murrue's surprise. "Orb helped build the Archangel!"

"Who is this?" said the officer, "Identify yourself!"

"My name," said the girl, "is Cagalli Yula Athha. I'm the daughter of Lord Uzumi Nara Athha!"

Murrue's eyes widened in shock. The leader of Orb is her father?

"The Archangel will enter Orb's waters," said Cagalli, "if you are soldiers of Orb, you will not fire upon that ship!"

Heero's voice came over the radio. "Well," he said, "I didn't see this one coming. Murrue, what are your orders?"

Checking the display, Murrue saw that the four prototypes had pulled back slightly, though they were still firing at the Skygraspers and Wing Zero. "Continue engaging the prototypes," she said, "but do not fire upon the Orb ships. Come back to the Archangel as soon as ZAFT withdraws, alright?"

"Roger that," said Heero.

"Kisaka," said Murrue, nodding to the desert fighter standing near the radio station, "go ahead. Whatever you have planed, I hope it works."

He nodded, and turned to the display, adjusting the frequency. "Kumano, this is Ledonir Kisaka. You still on that oversized tin can, Takeshi?"

"Kisaka?" said the officer, "I should've known. Figures Lord Uzumi would have you keeping an eye on his daughter."

"Listen, buddy," said Kisaka, "are you really gonna blow her out of the sky? Besides, I know the old man got into that arrangement to help the Alliance with this ship and its mobile suits for a reason, and he'll want to protect his investment."

"That's what we were sent out here for," the man replied, "but ZAFT's attack has made things a bit more complicated. Go back to the open channel and play along; we have to sell this right."

"Hang on," said Kisaka. He turned to Murrue.

She nodded. "Alright, stay at the radio. I'll go along with this for now."

"Thank you," he said, "as soon as they start, recall the fighters and Wing Zero."

"Start what?" said Murrue.

"Don't worry," replied Kisaka, "you'll see soon enough." He turned back to the radio. "Alright, Takeshi, we'll go back to the open channel. The Captain's willing to play ball."

"Good," said the officer, "nice to see someone intelligent is in charge of that ship, at least. Alright, we're switching frequencies. Get ready."

….

Athrun couldn't believe what he had just heard. That, he thought, was Cagalli! I had no idea…

…that she was Orb nobility.

He had little time to think about that at the moment though. Hitting his thrusters, he barely managed to dodge a blast from Wing Zero's devastating rifle. The insanely powerful mobile suit had backed off somewhat, and was maintaining position between the legged ship and the Zala Team, seemingly content to bombard them for now. The two blue and white fighter jets had been performing hit-and-run strikes on the four pilots, but now they were suddenly pulling back towards the ship, with the one-of-a-kind mobile suit covering them.

"Very well," came a voice over the radio, and Athrun realized that it was the Orb military officer from earlier, "since you have refused to acknowledge our warnings, we have no choice but to fire on you."

"Now hold on," said another, and Athrun assumed it was coming from the legged ship, "there's no need for that. We'll alter course soon, just let us get our ship under control."

"No, it's too late for that," said the first voice, "you've already crossed the territorial boundary. All ships, open fire!"

Athrun saw the legged ship touchdown in the water, smoke trailing from its engines and portside beam cannon, along with several other wounds. The fourteen warships all began firing, but their rounds impacted the water around the ship. Several missiles burst above the ship, but rather than be engulfed in fiery explosions, the vessel was instead enveloped in a smoke screen. At the same time, Athrun lost the ship on his radar. A chaff and smoke screen, he realized, I should've known they'd pull something like this!

However, there was nothing he could do about it. The two fighters had pulled back into the grey clouds that now obscured the ship, and Wing Zero was hovering at the periphery.

A voice came over an open channel, and Athrun was struck by how it cold it sounded, like a blast of arctic wind. "I'll give you one chance," it said, and the Coordinator realized that it was the pilot of Wing Zero, "withdraw, or die. Choose now."

Athrun nodded, though he knew the pilot couldn't see him since the communication was strictly audio. "Understood. Zala Team, we're leaving."

"What?" said Yzak, "You coward! They're vulnerable, we can finish them off!"

"No, you're wrong!" said Nicole, worry clear in his tone, "They're in neutral territory now; if we attack it'll provoke a war between us and Orb!"

"And there's Wing Zero to consider," said Dearka, surprising Athrun by coming to his side, "Much as I hate to admit it, with our flight platforms damaged we're no match for it… if we ever were to begin with."

For him to admit that much is really something, Athrun mused, I guess his pride has taken more of a hit than I thought. I suppose I ought to thank Wing Zero for that.

"Damn it!" said Yzak, "Fine, let's go."

The four machines turned to withdraw, struggling to catch up to the four surviving DINNs due to their damaged flight platforms. As they did, Athrun saw Wing Zero disappear into the clouds of smoke. "This isn't over," he said, "I'm sure our superiors will want to organize an infiltration eventually, since we can't attack Orb directly. We're not done yet."

"And they'll have to leave Orb sooner or later," said Nicole, "When they do, we'll be ready."

Will we though?, thought Athrun. He had once again managed to escape killing his best friend. While certainly a cause for relief, he had to wonder if his luck would hold come the next battle. Also, there was Wing Zero to consider. Though he'd witnessed its power first hand in the orbital battle, Athrun was just now beginning to realize that that encounter had only been a taste of what it could do. Those pilots were right, he thought, how the hell are we supposed to defeat that thing?

….

"All fighters and mobile suits recovered safely," said Miriallia.

"The Orb Navy has formed up around us," said the helmsman, "should I maintain formation with them?"

"Yes," said Murrue, "follow whatever instructions you receive."

"Aye, Captain," he said, turning back to piloting the ship.

Murrue breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm glad that's over."

"I wouldn't get too relaxed," said Kisaka, "Lord Uzumi does not do favors like these for free."

"Indeed," said Lieutenant Badgiruel, "there's a reason why he's known as the Lion of Orb."

"I suppose you're right," said Murrue, "I appreciate your help, but now I'm afraid I need you to tell us who you really are."

"Of course," said Kisaka, "I am Colonel Ledonir Kisaka, from the 27th Airborne Division of Orb's Special Forces."

"Well," said a familiar voice from the rear of the bridge, "that explains a lot."

Murrue turned to see Heero standing in the doorway. It's always amazing how fast he gets here from the hangar, she thought.

He walked up to her, and she could see concern in his eyes, though she was sure that the others didn't detect it. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Murrue smiled. "Yes, thanks to you. I'm glad you were able to make it over here before the Buster could get another shot off."

Heero sighed. "I screwed up. I took too long fighting the DINNs; I should've finished them quickly and gotten over to the ship faster."

"It's alright," said Murrue, "what's important is that we made it out alive, and didn't take any further damage."

"Though the damage we did receive was bad enough," said Natarle, turning to Murrue, "Captain, I've just finished going over the reports from engineering, and it seems the engines were hit worse than we thought. Repairs could take weeks!"

"Not to mention the damage suffered by the portside Gottfried and several of your anti-air guns," said Kisaka, "I believe Lord Uzumi will allow you to stay and even have our nation assist in the repairs… but it will cost you."

"How so?" said Heero.

Murrue saw his and Kisaka's eyes meet, and it looked as though the two soldiers were sizing each other up. The tension between them seemed to be building, but then Kisaka gave a short laugh. "You'll just have to see for yourself, young man. I hope you can negotiate as fiercely as you fight. Lord Uzumi doesn't pull his punches."

"When will we be meeting with him?" asked Murrue.

"Soon enough," said Kisaka, "In the meantime, I suggest you continue following our fleet. They'll be leading you to one of our secret dock facilities. Work on the Archangel will probably commence as soon as your negotiations with him are complete."

He looked over at Heero, who was still dressed in his trademark green tank-top and black shorts. "I know you weren't really worried about impressions when meeting with the Desert Dawn leaders, and I can understand that. Hell, I even respect it; it shows remarkable confidence in your abilities. However, I suggest you find yourself something more appropriate to wear for this meeting."

"What makes you think this Lord Uzumi will want to see me?" asked Heero.

"As soon as I present my report, I can all but guarantee he'll want you to come with Captain Ramius and her command staff," Kisaka replied.

Heero nodded. "Fair enough, but why give me a heads up like this? Seems to me like you're taking away an edge from your side of the table."

"Considering the shape of the Archangel," said Kisaka, "I believe the deck's already stacked in Lord Uzumi's favor. I'm doing this out of respect for your abilities, and the fact that in all likelihood Lady Cagalli and I would've died in North Africa without you."

"I see," said Heero, "in that case, I appreciate your warning." He turned to Murrue and smiled. "I have something that should do nicely."

Murrue smiled back. "You, in formal wear? That's something I have to see."

"You will soon enough," he replied, before turning to leave the bridge.

Watching him go, Murrue realized that she was genuinely interested in what he had brought along that he felt would work for a meeting with Orb's top leaders. I know he said he'd packed light for his mission to intercept the falling Barge reactor, she thought, so I suppose it's something he's kept within Wing Zero at all times, just in case a situation called for it. Knowing Heero, she assumed it was a uniform of some kind.

She couldn't help but smile again. He's quite handsome as it is, she thought, I have to admit, I'm really looking forward to this…

….

After running maintenance checks on the Wing Zero and making sure its shoulder gatlings were reloaded, Heero returned to his quarters. Looking out the window, he saw that the ship was approaching a large inlet. There appeared to be nothing there but a large cliff wall, but then the Gundam pilot saw a section of it begin to fall, slowly and deliberately.

He smiled slightly. A large scale dock hidden behind a cliff, he mused, I have to hand it to Orb; they have some nice tricks up their sleeves.

He turned back to the room, and went for his duffle bag. Removing everything else, he finally got to the items at the bottom of the bag. He took them out and laid them on the bed. Looking at them for a moment, he sighed. Never considered myself one for nostalgia, he thought, but this…

….this takes me back… to the old world.

….

"Hello, Heero," said Relena, "I'm glad you could make it."

It had been a week since the end of the Eve Wars and the official declaration of a new Earth Sphere Unified Nations. Heero had been surprised to receive a call from Relena, asking him to come to Brussels, the capital of the fledgling government. Now he was standing in an office, with Relena, Lucrezia Noin, and Lady Une standing behind a desk. The tall, black-blue haired woman was holding a small briefcase in her hands. The other woman, with long brown hair and a wise, dignified air about her, was holding a slender blue tube-like package that looked to be about a meter in length, perhaps a little less.

"I suppose I should congratulate you," said Heero to the girl who had become his first true friend, "I hear you've been named Vice-Foreign Minister. You're father… both fathers, I should say, would've been proud."

She smiled, her long, flowing brown-blond hair catching the sunlight coming through the window behind her, gleaming slightly. "Yes, through this position I hope to be able to carry on the ideals of both my biological father, King Peacecraft, and my adoptive father, the late Vice-Foreign Minister Darlian of the former United Earth Sphere Alliance."

"And I'll be helping her do exactly that," said Noin, smiling as well, "along with a few old friends of mine. It's too bad we can't convince you to join up with us."

"Indeed," said Une, "I would instantly accept you into the ranks of the Preventers. I know our organization needs people like you."

"Sorry," said Heero, "but I work best on my own."

"Yes, I suppose you do," said Relena, "Heero, I did not call you here today to persuade you to join the new government; I think I know you well enough to know that you would turn down any position. However, there is something Miss Noin, Lady Une, and I wanted to give you."

Noin walked over to him. She winked as she held out the briefcase, opening it. As Heero viewed the contents, she spoke. "Miss Relena had it made as soon as I told her you were coming to the Sanc Kingdom. That feels like a long time ago now, doesn't it?"

Heero nodded, then turned to Relena. "Why make me this?"

"Well," said Relena, "at the time, I had hoped that you would perhaps settle down in the kingdom; walk away from the battlefields. I knew you wouldn't do so right away, but I still wished that you would with time. I'd planned on giving that to you eventually, but the time never seemed right… and then you left to fight at Luxembourg. After that, and Romefeller's subsequent invasion of the Sanc Kingdom… well, we all had more important things to deal with, didn't we?"

Her eyes met his. "Heero, please take it. Though the Sanc Kingdom may no longer exist, I still want you to have that. I don't know if you will need it in the future; perhaps, perhaps not. In any case, I want the memory of the Sanc Kingdom to live on in places and people other than myself. I will do all I can to carry on its ideals, but in the end I'm just one person. I understand that there is only so much that I can do, though I may wish that it were otherwise."

Heero nodded and took the case, gently closing it. "Alright… and thank you."

Relena smiled. "You're welcome, Heero."

She turned to Lady Une and nodded. The woman who had been the confidant and dearest companion to the late leader of OZ came up to him. She held out the tube-like package in her front of her. Heero took it, and slowly removed the lid at one end of it. His eyes widened slightly as he saw what was inside.

He looked up at Lady Une, who smiled. "Other than Wufei," she said, "you were the only one of the Gundam pilots that His Excellency met face to face. This was his; he left it behind when he went to fight in the Battle of the Libra. I believe he would've liked it if you took it."

"But why?" said Heero, "Treize had more of a connection with Wufei than me; shouldn't this go to him?"

Une shook her head. "To Mister Treize, his rematch with Wufei was, in a way, his own gift to him. I was unconscious until shortly before the final battle, so His Excellency never had the chance to elaborate on what the two of you spoke of at Luxembourg, but I know that he respected and admired you Gundam pilots more than anyone else in the Earth Sphere. Please, take it. I believe it would go well with Miss Relena's gift."

Heero nodded. "Very well. I don't know if I'll ever have a need for it… but thank you."

….

Now, though he hadn't kept the case itself with him, the contents of it were lain out on the bed in Heero's quarters aboard the Archangel. Likewise, the blue tube-like package was gone, but its contents were still with Heero. He couldn't help but smile as he looked at them. "Well, Relena," he said, "it seems I'll be wearing this sooner that I had anticipated. And Lady Une, I think you were right; this should go nicely with it."

Though he knew that it would help to present a favorable impression at the upcoming meeting, Heero realized that that wouldn't be the main reason he would be wearing Relena's and Une's gifts. As he moved towards the bathroom to shower before changing, he found himself wondering what Murrue would think when she saw him with them.

Never thought I'd be dressing to impress someone, he thought, I wonder if Murrue will like it. I hope she does…

….

About an hour later, Murrue was standing near the portside exit hatch of the Archangel, along with Lieutenant Commander La Flaga and Lieutenant Badgiruel. Kisaka had already left the ship to report to Lord Uzumi, and the three Alliance officers were waiting for permission from the government agent next to them to disembark. A few Orb dignitaries had come aboard earlier, including the man next to them and two ladies that Murrue was surprised to learn were handmaidens for Cagalli. I'm surprised that Orb has that little custom, she mused, or maybe I'm just surprised that Cagalli has to adhere to it. She's just struck me as such a rough-and-tumble type of girl, I never would've known she was Orb nobility had she not revealed that herself. Murrue had directed the two women to the quarters Cagalli was using, and as she looked down the hallway she saw them approaching now, with their princess between them.

Murrue was surprised to see that the blond girl had traded her usual khakis and red shirt for a flowing sea-green dress. It looks quite lovely on her, she thought.

Cagalli forced a smile as she approached. "This isn't really my style," she said, looking down at the dress, "but Waltfeld gave it to me in Banadiya, and it's the only bit of formal wear I have. I insisted that I accompany you guys to your meeting, so they in turn said that I had to wear something more fitting of my station." She sighed. "I just can't argue with them; when my father gives them an order, they carry it out no matter what."

"I don't envy you," said Murrue, "still, you look nice. I think that dress goes well with you."

"Thanks," said Cagalli, "Waltfeld said something along those lines." She looked around. "By the way, where's Heero? I would've thought he'd be with you guys."

"I called his quarters a little while ago," Murrue replied, "he said he'd be joining us shortly; apparently he was having difficulty with something, but he assured me he didn't need any help."

"Huh," said Cagalli, "I wonder what was giving him problems…" Her voice trailed off as she looked past Murrue down the opposite hallway. Murrue saw her eyes widen. "Oh, wow…" The two handmaidens with her had a similar reaction.

Natarle turned around a bit before Murrue and gasped.

La Flaga chuckled. "I'll be damned…"

Murrue turned around… and what she saw took her breath away.

Heero was walking up to them, and what he was wearing completely blew her away. While she had suspected his 'formal wear' would be some kind of uniform, she had never imagined that it would be anything quite like what he was wearing now. The shirt was simple enough; blue with a single row of buttons, but over it was a white shoulder sash than ran across his chest from his right down to the left, with a thin red trim on both sides. Over that was a stunning blue jacket, with yellow-gold epaulets on the shoulders, a row of silver buttons on the right side, and an intricate light blue embroidery pattern that ran from the end of the shoulder epaulets down to the midsection. The pants were plainer, a simple white, and he wore black boots, but at his waist was a black belt with a small but ornate golden buckle, with the image of a horse raised up on its hind legs in the center of it. On the left of his waist hung a saber, with an elegant curved guard at the hilt, glistening in gold sheen.

Murrue could've sworn her eyes widened nearly to the size of dinner plates. I already knew he was handsome, she thought, I will be the first to admit that. But now… he's just incredible!

She knew she was blushing as Heero came up to her. He looked at her, concern in his eyes. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Oh, you have no idea, she thought. She was half surprised that she hadn't swooned. As it was, Murrue needed a moment to catch her breath… not an easy thing to do when the young man she was slowly falling in love with was standing before her looking like a 19th century officer or aristocrat, and an extremely handsome one at that.

She managed a smile, and hoped her face wasn't as red as it felt. "Yes, thanks for asking," said Murrue.

"Oh, good," said Heero, "I was a little worried." He looked down at himself and then back to her. "So… how do I look?"

Murrue was struck by an uncharacteristic nervousness that seemed to hang in that question. She put her hand on his shoulder, her smile growing a bit bigger. "You look amazing," she said.

"You can say that again," said Cagalli, still starring at Heero.

Heero smiled, his eyes meeting Murrue's. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Heero," she said.

"Have you had that this whole time?" said La Flaga.

Heero nodded. "Yes, I just didn't see a need for it until now."

"I don't recognize the uniform," said Natarle, "What nation is it from?"

Heero closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, he had a far off expression on his face, and Murrue knew he was thinking of his old world. "A kingdom lost to the fires of war," he said softly.

Natarle waited for him to elaborate, but after a few seconds it became clear that he wouldn't, so she simply went back to starring again, trying to figure it out for herself.

You'll never guess right, Lieutenant Badgiruel, thought Murrue, after all, it's from a monarchy that never existed in our world. Heero's words had been more than enough hint for her after what he had told her in North Africa. It's from the Sanc Kingdom.

"A gift from Relena?" she asked.

Heero nodded. "Yes… she gave it to me at the end of the last war. Although… I never thought I'd be wearing it in a place like this."

"Who's Relena?" asked Cagalli.

"An old friend of mine," he replied.

"What about the sword?" said Murrue, "From what you told me, I don't think Relena would be the type to give you something like that."

Heero smiled. "It was from Lady Une. It belonged to Treize."

"More friends of yours?" asked La Flaga.

Heero chuckled. "You could say that." He turned to Murrue. "Sorry it took me so long to get here. This thing's a pain to get on properly."

"It's alright," said Murrue. She motioned to the Orb agent standing by the hatch. "He hasn't said anything about disembarking yet anyway."

"Well, that's a relief," he said. He turned to Cagalli. "Mind if I ask you something?"

"Of course," she said, "go right ahead."

"How exactly is Orb governed?" he asked, "The files I've read on it so far have spoken only of its military capabilities and Morgenroete Incorporated, the top defense contractor. Is your father the sole ruler of Orb, or is he the head of a council of some kind?"

"Well," said Cagalli, "it's a bit complicated. There is an elected legislature, which handles the municipalities and day-to-day administration, but major decisions on domestic and foreign policy are the purview of the five noble families. A prominent member of each family is chosen as representative at the Council, usually the patriarch, though others have held Council positions at times. The Athha family has been the largest and most powerful of the ruling families since the nation's inception. As a result, you could consider my father to be the head executive of the government, though his decisions can be overruled if the other four families vote unanimously against him. My father is the Chief Representative of Orb- our equivalent of Prime Minister- and the head of state, or at least he was; after I got back to Earth following Heliopolis, I learned that the fallout from that attack had actually forced him to resign. His younger brother, my uncle Homura, is now the ruler, but I know my father is using him as a puppet, and a willing one at that. My father might as well still be in charge of our country; he certainly acts like it. "

Heero sighed. "A bunch of blue bloods and plutocrats." He turned to Murrue and smirked. "This feels like Romefeller all over again."

Murrue nodded. "Yes, you have a point there. It's fortunate that you have experience in dealing with such people."

"Most of the time I just fought them," said Heero. He smiled. "Didn't do much negotiating with them, really. Easier to just tear through their armies."

Murrue couldn't help but laugh a little at that. Heero joined her, then the two of them turned to see Natarle, La Flaga, and Cagalli starring at them.

"What are you two talking about?" asked Natarle.

"It's a long story," said Heero.

"Very," said Murrue, "take my word for it; I've heard the whole thing." She turned back to Heero and smiled. "Though I don't regret a minute of it."

"Good," he replied, "I'd feel bad if I bored you."

"Trust me," said Murrue, "the last thing I find you to be is boring."

In fact, she thought, you're the most fascinating man I've ever met… one of several reasons why I may be falling for you.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Orb agent step away and reach for his radio. She couldn't make out what he was saying, but after about a minute he put the device away and turned to the group. "I'm to escort you to the waiting room," he said, "Unfortunately the ruling council is still in session, and it may take a little more time before Lord Uzumi is ready to meet with you. In the meanwhile, food and drinks will be provided for you during your wait. Please, follow me. Also, I must ask that you leave your side-arms behind."

Murrue nodded. "Of course." She handed her weapon over to a nearby Alliance soldier. The other officers did the same, as did Heero.

"Don't mess with that," he said as he turned the weapon over.

"Of course not," the enlisted man said.

Murrue noted that Heero did not hand over his sword, nor did the Orb agent make any mention of it. Perhaps he thinks it's merely for decoration, she mused, but considering Heero said it belonged to Treize, along with what he told me about that man, I doubt that's the case. They'll be in for a surprise if they do anything to provoke him.

They moved to the hatch, which the Alliance soldier standing guard there proceeded to open. As they left the ship, Murrue looked around in amazement at the docking facility. It was massive, with catwalks running overhead, along with cranes and rows of lights. Workers and soldiers alike looked on as they disembarked.

Murrue couldn't help but smile as Heero moved slightly ahead of her, eyes darting back and forth, scanning for threats. When he says he'll protect someone, she thought, he doesn't do it halfway. She felt incredibly fortunate to have him with her, and drew strength from his presence, his alertness, ready to react instantly at the slightest hint of ill intent on the part of their hosts.

She put a hand on his shoulder and moved a bit closer to him. "Thank you," she whispered.

He glanced over and nodded, giving her a small smile before turning back to the docking facility and the people gathered around the ship.

"I trust no one will enter the Archangel while we are away?" said Natarle.

"Of course," said their escort, "Lord Uzumi has issued strict orders; no personnel are permitted to enter without your approval. However, he has also made it clear that until your meeting has taken place, none of your crew are to leave the ship unless he summons you."

"I'm not sure I appreciate being at this guy's beck and call like this," said La Flaga.

"If everything goes well," said Murrue, "then it shouldn't be for long… though we will be stuck here for awhile, considering the extent of the damage."

"At least we'll have time for some shore leave," said La Flaga.

"I doubt the Orb will just let us wander around," said Natarle.

"I'm sure we can come to some kind of arrangement on that," said Murrue, "I know the crew could use some rest and relaxation after all that's happened."

Including myself, she thought. The near constant fighting and running since the attack on Heliopolis was definitely wearing on her, and she dearly wished to explore the island nation a little during their stay. She looked over at Heero. With him at my side… yes, I'd like that very much.

They made their way towards the far end of the dock, and the agent pressed a button on the wall. A portion of the massive steel surface slid away, revealing a magnetic tram line.

"Please board quickly," he said, "this tram line runs directly beneath Onogoro Island's Morgenroete headquarters; Lord Uzumi has called the ruling families and his cabinet out here to meet you."

"Why not just take us to the capital?" asked Natarle.

"Considering Orb's position as a neutral nation," said Murrue, "I imagine they're taking all possible precautions to avoid having this meeting exposed to the public. Transporting us to Orb's capital increases the probability of that happening, so in this case it's easier for Lord Uzumi to come to us."

"That is correct," said the agent, smiling. "You are quite astute, Captain."

They boarded the tram car and took their seats. A few seconds later, the vehicle began to move, picking up speed at a remarkable pace. Murrue looked over at Heero, who was examining the interior. After a moment he turned to her and whispered, "Six cameras; one in each corner, and two on the ceiling. They're hiding them behind fake light panels."

Murrue nodded, and without thinking reached over and gave his hand a squeeze. Glancing over, she saw his eyes widen slightly for a second, then he gave her a small smile and returned it, holding her hand for the rest of the tram ride.

A few minutes later, the subway began to slow, then came to a stop at a well lit platform. "This way, please," said the agent as he led the group out of the vehicle. They made their way up a flight of stairs that was guarded by a pair of soldiers with assault rifles. The two men didn't as much as blink as they passed them.

They reached the top after about a minute, though there was no obvious door. The agent pushed a pad on the wall, and the metal surface moved to the left, revealing a bright hallway. There were no windows and as they climbed another flight of stairs Murrue realized that were still underground. "Quite the elaborate setup they have here," she said to Heero.

He nodded. "I have to say, I'm impressed. I wonder if this was the government's doing, or Morgenroete's?"

"It was a collaborative effort," said the agent as they finally came to a floor with a view of the outside, revealing clear blue skies and a crowded parking lot. Beyond that was the skyline of a nearby city. "Lord Uzumi himself proposed the project around the same time construction commenced on the Archangel and the prototype mobile suits at Heliopolis. Morgenroete provided the funds and blueprints; the government brought in the manpower. Direct access between the company's headquarters and the secret dock was deemed vital to continued development of our defense technologies."

"You anticipated that the Archangel would come to Orb, didn't you?" said Murrue.

The agent shook his head. "I cannot speak for Lord Uzumi on that matter." He then smiled. "However, if I had to guess, I would say that the former Chief Representative had hoped to use the facility to construct improved warships based upon the Archangel's designs, or at least to conduct repairs on them and conceal them."

"You're being remarkably helpful for a government minder," said Heero, "I don't suppose there's a reason behind that, is there?"

"Consider it gratitude," the man replied, "you people helped keep our princess safe and brought her home. She's well-liked by the people, along with many of us within the government. It's the least I can do, considering your situation. I'm sure Kisaka already warned you guys, but you're going to have a rough time of it once the meeting starts."

"We're aware of the risks Orb is taking in sheltering us," said Murrue, "I know it's only natural that Lord Uzumi will want something in return. We'll try to be accommodating, but there are limits as to what we can cooperate on."

"Good," said the agent as he pushed open a set of mahogany doors. He led them into a large room. There were no windows, but the walls were adorned with large paintings, all of landscapes from the island nation. The walls were lined with chairs, and interspersed between them were small tables, each with an assortment of food and beverages on them. At the far end was a receptionist's desk. The lady sitting behind it had her black hair tied up in a bun, and she looked up as they entered.

"I'm sorry," she said, "but they're still in session at the moment. You'll have to wait awhile longer."

"This is where we part ways," said the agent as the group filed into the room. Cagalli's handmaidens joined him in his departure. "Good luck," he said just before the doors closed.

The fiery princess wasted no time in marching up to the desk. "Just how long will they be?" she said.

"I'm afraid I can't say," the secretary replied, "Lord Uzumi is conducting a joint meeting between the ruling families and his cabinet; it could stretch on for quite some time."

"Oh, come on," said Lieutenant Badgiruel, "you mean to say that they call us over here and then expect us to sit and wait without at least giving us a timetable?"

"Can't be helped," said La Flaga. He put a hand on her shoulder. "Look, I don't like it either, but there's no point in fussing over it."

For some reason, the blond pilot seemed to have a calming effect on her. "Alright, fine," she said, moving towards one of the chairs. The Lieutenant Commander went with her.

Interesting, Murrue thought, I wonder if there's something going on there. Then again, who am I to talk? If they decide to get involved romantically, I won't stop them. She smiled as she looked over at Heero, who was walking around the room, apparently examining the paintings. Murrue smiled. After all, I'm pretty sure I'm developing feelings for another pilot myself.

After a few minutes of investigating she saw Heero make his way over towards her. "A nice little façade they have going on here," he said.

"What do you mean?" asked Murrue.

"Those pictures are fakes," he replied, "each one has both a camera and a listening device mounted in them, though they were pretty hard to make out. I'll give the Orb credit; they don't half-ass their bugs."

"Did you get a fix on how many there are?" she asked, looking around nervously.

"I found eight listeners in the paintings, along with an equal amount of cameras," said Heero, "and there are at least another ten cameras hidden in the room. That's all I've found so far."

"Is it wise to be discussing this so openly?" she asked, "You're not even whispering this time."

"It was different in the tram car," he said, "I wasn't sure of the agent's disposition, and I didn't want to arouse his suspicion. He's gone now, and even if the secretary's paying attention, all this lets her know is that I'm observant. Same with whoever's on the other end of the bugs. Sure, it means they'll take me more seriously once our meeting starts, and there will be less of a chance of them underestimating me, but at the same time it may also encourage them to play things a bit more openly."

"I hope you're right," said Murrue.

"I wouldn't worry about it too much," said Heero, "us knowing how many surveillance devices they have in the room doesn't change our bargaining position, and the Orb know it." He glanced over at one of the tables, then turned to Murrue. "Might as well get some food and sit down. Who knows how long we'll be here for."

Murrue smiled. "Yes, I could definitely use something to eat right now."

The table they went to had a bowl full of shrimp, with smaller plates set aside, along with napkins, glasses of water, and a small bowl of cocktail sauce.

"This looks good," said Heero as he dished up.

Murrue grabbed some herself, and the two of them sat down. "You're not eating, Cagalli?" she said.

"Not really hungry," she said, folding her arms and glaring at the door to the meeting room.

Murrue remembered something Kisaka had said before they had left North Africa. "Did you and your father have a falling out?" she asked.

The girl sighed. "Not quite… it's complicated."

"Do you want to talk about it?" said Murrue.

Cagalli smiled and shook her head. "No, but thanks for asking. It's just politics, really, and you have enough to worry about in any case."

"Alright, fair enough," said Murrue. She leaned back in her chair, taking the opportunity to relax.

I'll take all the rest I can get, she thought, Lord Uzumi isn't known as the Lion of Orb for nothing, after all. Then she looked to her left and smiled as she saw Heero, kicking back and digging into his food. I'm worried, but not nearly as much as I would be if you weren't here. Thank you, Heero.

….

Meanwhile, in Aprilius One, another soldier was anything but relaxed. Moving with the incredible speed and grace of not only a Coordinator but a seasoned fighter as well, Commander Rehema pressed her advantage. Wearing black pants and a white tank-top, ZAFT's top pilot was barely even breathing hard as she went in for her final strike. Feinting low, she swung her blade upward faster than her foe could react, slicing across his chest. The man groaned in pain and lowered his own saber, knowing the fight was over.

Shemei smiled, knowing the cut was shallow and not life-threatening. "Match," she said.

The man nodded and winced as another soldier came up to him to take him to the side of the 'ring' to clean and bandage the wound. "Damn, Commander," he said as he left, "can't you go a little easier on us?"

Shemei chuckled. "Come on, Mark, you know none of us got into this game just to have someone 'go easy on us'."

Her opponent gave her a slightly pained smile. "Point taken… in more ways than one, I guess."

Shemei moved aside to make room for the next pair of fighters. There were a dozen people in the gymnasium. Officially closed down for renovation, the Commander and her colleagues had paid off the watchman to look the other was while they used the facility to indulge in their sport; underground dueling.

While there were fencing leagues in the PLANT, as well as a few teams in ZAFT, Shemei had quickly become bored with how there was no risk involve. Sure, the matches had been exhilarating when she'd first started out, and she had found that practicing the sport also made her reflexes sharper- a valuable trait in pilots- but after experiencing real combat the Egyptian woman had realized that nothing could quite match the adrenaline rush that came with putting her life on the line. It had been this need for something more challenging that had led her to search out the illegal dueling clubs she'd heard rumors about. When they'd heard that she wanted to join, the members had welcomed her with open arms. Shemei had come to enjoy her fights with them. They were all pilots like herself, and she felt at ease in the presence of fellow adrenaline junkies. The rules were simple; victory was decided by either first blood drawn or concession by one fighter or the other.

From an early age, Shemei had been fascinated by sword fighting. Her parents had encouraged this passion, and she had quickly shot to the top of the Cairo University fencing team. During her time on the squad she had been careful to hold back so that no one would realize that she was a Coordinator, as well as to give her competitors a fair chance to win.

However, eventually her secret had gotten out when, during a heated match with a rival student, she had lost her temper and moved far faster than was possible for a Natural. While she had won the fight, she knew she had exposed herself, and it was from that moment onward that she and her family had begun to be persecuted by the people around them. It had been gradual at first, but due to her attendance of a high profile university it had quickly escalated, culminating in no less than five attempted murders by members of Blue Cosmos. The last one had been a car bomb at her graduation ceremony that had killed six students and ten family members but had failed to even injure Shemei or her parents.

It was the last incident that had resulted in the family moving to the PLANTs. Somewhat surprisingly, it had not been her parents that had argued for the move, but Shemei herself. She had been horrified at the possibility that her mother and father could be targeted because of her, and she had resolved to find some way to ensure their safety. While they had been against moving away from their homeland at first, they had relented when Shemei had finally broken down in tears before them and begged them to listen to her.

The incident during the fencing match had taught Shemei a valuable lesson in self-control, but despite all that had happened in the aftermath her love of swordsmanship had not died, and within weeks of immigrating to the PLANTs she had already joined a team.

Now, she thought as she leaned against a wall, taking a sip from her water bottle, here I am, participating in an illegal dueling club. I suppose it was natural that I'd get here eventually. After all, I'm a sucker for a good fight.

However, something was different now. The fights weren't giving her the same sense of fulfillment, the same rush that they had before. After thinking on it for awhile, she slowly smiled as she realized what, or rather who the culprit was.

She chuckled softly. "Damn it, Heero." Their fights in North Africa had given her a sense of exhilaration that no other foe had come close to eliciting. Whether it be a rival pilot or fencer, no one else could measure up to that extraordinary young man and his incredible mobile suit.

Shemei looked up at her colleagues. "I'm done for the day. Later, guys."

The others bid her farewell as she grabbed her sword and made her way towards the locker room. Putting her blade in her duffle bag, she turned on the sink and ran water through her hands, splashing some on her face. It's too bad officers aren't allowed to wear swords as well as our side-arms, she thought, I don't see why Command makes such a big deal out of it. Though she obeyed the regulations, she still kept her saber in the duffel bag she always stored beneath the pilot's seat of whatever mobile suit she was operating at the time. Wiping off with a towel, she put on a grey t-shirt and grabbed her bag, heading for the exit.

"Heading home early?" said the guard as she went out the door.

"Yeah," Shemei replied, "later."

Entering the parking lot, she made her way to an open-topped green jeep. Putting her bag in the passenger seat, she started up the vehicle and headed out to the main road. It was mid-afternoon in the capital, and Shemei smiled as an artificial breeze blew through her violet-black hair.

Having returned to the capital six days ago, Shemei had wasted no time in contacting her friends working in the myriad research groups devoted to mobile suit technology. The information provided by Bristow had been intriguing, but had only served to whet her appetite for more.

After meeting with the recently, and reluctantly, promoted Field Marshal, Shemei had called up a few former academy classmates of hers who had gone on to ZAFT's Mobile Suit Research and Development Cooperative. Developed independently of the Asimov Design Bureau, the engineering teams involved in the program had originally worked on modifications and additional weaponry for the machines developed by the company, but later on they had begun forays into mobile suit design and production as well. Their first combat models had been the massive ZuOOTs favored by the ground forces, followed by the GOOhNs favored by the surface navy, in competition to the BuCue and ZnO units respectively. Now the government organization was effectively a rival to the mostly independent ADB.

Shemei's former colleagues had assured her that several new models were in the works, and that her and the rest of the Valkyrie Team would be called up soon for simulation and trial-flight testing, but for now they were still in the development process and would not divulge further details. Commander Rehema had been frustrated at first, but it had subsided quickly enough as she rationalized that it would only be natural that ZAFT would have the engineers and scientists working under code-word clearance and other heavy security measures.

Can't be helped, she thought as she turned off onto another road, this one leading to the apartment complex for the officers of the capital's military base, Fort Jupiter. Making her way to the parking garage, she pulled into her spot, grabbed her bag, and left the vehicle. After a brief elevator ride to the fourth floor, she finally arrived at her residence.

"Home sweet home," she muttered as she walked in.

The layout was simple enough. There was a small closet to the right of the door, and immediately in front of her was the living room. The kitchen off to the left, along with a small dining room, while to the right was her bedroom and a bathroom, along with a storage closed. At the far side of the living room there was a sliding glass door that led out to a balcony with a table and four chairs on it.

Walking into the living room, Shemei put her bag down on a reclining chair and then plopped down on the couch. Reaching for the laptop that was on the coffee table in front of her, she powered the device on. At the same time, she grabbed a remote and turned on the flat screen T.V. mounted on the opposite wall. She skimmed through the channels until she came to one of the major news channels, then turned to her laptop to check her email.

Shemei smiled when she saw that she had a message from Bristow. Maybe he's gotten more info on ADB's latest suit designs. However, what came up instead was a message detailing ZAFT's latest encounter with the Archangel. She smirked as she read the report. They only sent forty machines, she thought, of course they got annihilated. The Defense Council continues to underestimate Wing Zero. Did Zala really think that just because his son's unit was involved in the attack that they'd have better luck? What an arrogant bastard… gotta feel sorry for Athrun, though; having to live with those kinds of expectations from his father must be pretty rough.

She had met the young man a few times before, and had found him to be a pleasant, if somewhat quiet and brooding, individual. Shemei suspected that his arranged marriage to Lacus Clyne might be playing a role in that. I've seen the two of them together, she thought, and they're always polite and kind to each other. I know they're friends, but I have to wonder if marrying her is what Athrun really wants. I'm sure that both of them believe that the whole affair is part of doing their duty for the people; the wedding will surely be quite the spectacle, after all. Still, it doesn't seem right that neither of them were really offered a choice in the matter.

Having grown up in the Middle East, Shemei was all too familiar with arranged marriages, and considered herself fortunate that both her parents were incredibly open minded when it came to their daughter's future. She smiled. Then again, they both defied their families when they got married, so of course they'd be more lenient with me on that issue.

She turned her mind back to Bristow's report. Shemei raised her eyebrows slightly as she reached the ending, where by all accounts the ship had crossed into Orb's territory. I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised, she thought, considering they helped build the ship. Still, the Orb government would have to know that letting that ship into their country could risk a declaration of war by ZAFT… especially considering the current political climate around here. Shemei noted Bristow's final paragraph, stating that Orb had released an official statement saying that the Archangel had been forced out of their territory shortly after the battle. She laughed softly as Bristow so elegantly called the announcement 'a load of horseshit.'

"If you talk like that in your formal reports Eric, you're likely to get sent back to the front," she said, "although knowing you, you'd probably like that a hell of a lot more than having meetings with Zala every day."

She logged out of her email and went to her Facebook page. The commander smiled when she saw a message from Lan asking if she wanted to meet later for drinks. Apparently she had already roped in Adaline and Priscilla. "Why not?" said Shemei as she typed her response, "Might as well hit a bar or two while we've got the time to."

She leaned back and watched the news program as she waited for Lan to either message or call her. Shemei frowned as she saw the latest round of poll numbers Hardly seems like there's much of a point in them posting those any more, she thought, the election is mere weeks away. The numbers were now an even sixty to forty in Zala's favor.

Shemei sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "So, Zala," she said, "knowing you, your plans for ending this war probably involve one massive campaign; probably even bigger than Uroboros was. If Panama really is the target for Spitbreak, you have to know that just taking that mass driver won't end the war by itself. Do you plan to strike at Alaska next, cut off Earth from space entirely, conquer the Atlantic Federation, and then proclaim Coordinator hegemony over the entire solar system?"

"If you intend to take us down the road of empire," Shemei continued, "then you should take a closer look at the past. All powers meet their end when they overreach; do you really think we'll be any different just because we were created through science rather than nature?"

She closed her eyes. "You fool… you arrogant, racist, blood-thirsty fool."

….

"Damn it," growled Cagalli, "how much longer are they going to make us wait?"

It had been nearly three hours since they had arrived in the waiting room, and the blond haired girl wasn't the only one getting impatient. Natarle and even the ever-relaxed La Flaga had been fidgeting for awhile now, clearly anxious to get things started.

Heero couldn't help but smirk a little as the Orb princess fumed. Clearly, patience was never her strong point, he thought. He looked over at Murrue, who seemed content to sit back and rest. She, on the other hand, is as level-headed as ever… yet another trait of hers that I admire.

She looked over at him and smiled, and he gave her a small one of his own. Heero turned to Cagalli. "As long as they feel like it," he said, "not much we can really do about that. I am surprised you've chosen to stay with us, rather than head home. What do you hope to accomplish by going in there with us?"

"I want to give my father a piece of my mind!" she snapped.

Heero turned as Murrue laughed softly. "Don't you think that sort of thing could wait until after negotiations like these?" she said.

Cagalli sighed. "No… mainly because he's always so busy. If I don't take this chance to call him out for his actions, who knows when I'll get another?"

"By 'actions'," said Heero, "I'm assuming you're referring to Orb's role in the construction of the Archangel and its mobile suits."

"There's more to it than that," said Cagalli, "you'll see what I mean later… if they ever get around to meeting with us."

Heero nodded. "Fair enough."

After about a minute of silence, the blond girl turned to Heero, this time with curiosity on her face. "Hey….mind if I ask you something?"

"Go ahead," he said, "though I might not answer, depending on the question."

"In the war you fought in," said Cagalli, "did you… fight alone?"

Heero raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think that?"

"It's just a vibe I get from you," she said, "in all the battles I've seen you in so far, you never ask for help. I mean, in the last battle I was on your wing, but that was because Captain Ramius assigned me there. Even then, the only command you really gave me was to attack at my discretion, and only after you had the enemy focused on you."

"Lieutenant Commander La Flaga helped me take down the Everest," he reminded her.

"Yeah, but from what I heard when you brought me back to the ship, you handled the situation similar to our last engagement," Cagalli replied, "Your fighting style is almost entirely lone wolf… and it seems to come naturally to you."

Heero was surprised at her analysis. That's more in depth and thought out than I would've expected. She's actually quite insightful when she's not ruled by that temper of hers.

"For the most part, you're right," he said, "While I did have comrades, most of my battles I fought by myself. It wasn't really until towards the end of the war that we all started working together."

"Were they like you?" asked Natarle, her own curiosity getting the better of her, "Lone fighters, I mean."

"In the beginning, yes," said Heero, "however, some of them found it easier to team up earlier on. It was really me and one other pilot who had the hardest time adjusting to fighting as a group."

"Which one of the other four was it?" asked Murrue.

"Hold on, other four?" said La Flaga, "You mean there are four other pilots like Heero?"

"Well, I wouldn't say 'like me'," said Heero, unable to resist a smirk, "We were all part of the same operation, and our mobile suits were all Gundams, but the each machine was as unique as the pilot that controlled it."

"As for your question, Murrue," he continued, giving her a small smile, "it was Chang Wufei. His pride combined with his unique code of honor and justice meant that it took the most convincing to get him to join us in time for the final campaign."

"I remember you talking about him" said Murrue, "he was the one you let pilot the Wing Zero, correct? You said the Zero system helped him figure out who his real enemies were."

"Whoa, hang on," said La Flaga, "You mean Heero here actually let someone else pilot that thing?"

"That's correct," said Heero, "it was necessary in order to convince him that working with us was the best way to accomplish his own goals."

"What's this 'Zero system' you mentioned?" asked Natarle, "I've heard you talking about it before on the bridge. Is it Wing Zero's operating system?"

"It's far more than just that," said Heero, "I won't go into the details, but suffice to say it is beyond anything ever conceived for mobile suit operations. It's one of the reasons Wing Zero is so dangerous. That's all I'll say on the matter."

He wouldn't have had time to say more in any case. The secretary's phone rang, and after a moment of listening to the voice on the other end she hung up and looked over at them. "They're ready for you," she said, "please, go right on it."

"Finally," said Cagalli, "I bet the sun's already starting to set. We've certainly been waiting long enough for that."

The secretary didn't respond as the girl led the group into the meeting room. As she opened the doors, Heero quickly moved in front of Murrue, eyes darting back and forth, taking in the room's features in an instant. It was quite large, with a long rectangular table in the center. On one side a dozen people in suits were sitting, facing the doorway. At the center of them was a man that Heero assumed to be Lord Uzumi.

The Lion of Orb indeed, he thought, he certainly carries himself as one might expect the bearer of that moniker to. Even sitting it was apparent that he was a tall individual, and his long hair and well-trimmed beard definitely had the feel of a lion's mane on him. The hair was black and grey, but middle-age seemed to have little effect on the sense of presence the man exuded. He was dressed simply enough, wearing a plain burgundy suit over a white button-up shirt, and the others in the meeting room were dressed in similar attire.

His fierce brown eyes met Heero's, and the Gundam pilot knew instantly that the leader had identified him. It seems Kisaka's report was quite thorough, if this is anything to go by, he thought. Heero could feel the intensity in them, but was not about to back down. For a second, unnoticed by anyone else in the room, the two were matched off in a staring contest; a preview of the battle of iron wills that was to come.

Then the man smiled slightly, and nodded his head. A concession?, thought Heero, No, it didn't have that feel to it. More like an acknowledgement… but of what?

Still, the young man couldn't help but return the small smile. This should be interesting.

Lord Uzumi stood up, along with the rest of the people on his side of the table. "Thank you for your patience," he said, "as you might imagine, the manner of your arrival has caused quite a stir… although your visit here in and of itself was not unanticipated."

"The hell it wasn't!" said Cagalli, slamming her hands down on the table. "Father, you've been planning from the beginning to use the technology behind the Archangel and the Alliance's new mobile suits to your own ends! What are you trying to gain here?"

"Enough!" he shouted, "You've forgotten your place, Cagalli. If you were in possession of your wits, you would know that my actions are for the sake of our country! Now pipe down, my foolish daughter!"

Much to Heero's surprise, the fiery princess actually backed down, though she still glared at her father.

Lord Uzumi sighed. "Please, be seated. We have much to discuss."

"Of course," said Murrue as she sat down, Heero settling in on her left, "We are aware of the great risks that you have taken in allowing us to take shelter here. I would like to thank you for being so willing to help us despite the inconvenience."

The Lion of Orb smiled. "You are too kind, Captain Ramius. I'm sure you realize we are not offering you this temporary haven for free."

Murrue nodded. "Of course, I'm well aware of that. Nevertheless, you still have my gratitude, and that of my crew."

"In that case, you are welcome," said Lord Uzumi. He then looked over at Heero. "Although, according to Kisaka, this young man here is not officially a member of your crew, or even of the Alliance military, for that matter. Do you speak on his behalf?"

Murrue shook her head. "I would never presume to do such a thing. Though he is not a member of our military, the fact is that Heero Yuy has saved our lives more times than I can count." She turned to the young man and smiled. "Though he has promised to fight with us, I do not command him. He has his own reasons for doing battle, and if you seek anything concerning him or Wing Zero, Heero is the one you must speak to."

Uzumi laughed. "You are quite perceptive, Captain. Yes, your mysterious ally and his machine are of interest to me, but I will speak of that later." His expression became more serious. "I will get to the point; we have allowed the Archangel to enter our territory due to our own involvement in its construction. I'm not sure if you are aware of this, Captain Ramius, but our original agreement with the Alliance was that, upon completion of the units and the conclusion of their initial combat trials, data regarding the Archangel and its mobile suits was to be sent to Orb; our reward for assisting the Alliance and the Atlantic Federation in particular in this endeavor."

"I was not told of this," said Murrue, "but I believe I understand now why Orb gave its cooperation in the project; you had hoped to use that data as a base for your nation's own mobile suit and warship development programs."

"Precisely," replied Uzumi, "however, due to ZAFT's attack we were never able to proceed with the data transfer. This was compounded by the theft of four of the machines, the Blitz in particular; we had high hopes regarding the Mirage Colloid system. However, the most versatile unit, the Strike, does remain in your possession."

"Lord Uzumi," said Murrue, "we have struggled greatly to keep that machine out of enemy hands. Surely you do not expect us to hand it over to you?"

"Of course not," he replied, "the project was cooperative, after all; we could not have developed such a weapon by ourselves. Our agreement was for the Alliance to take the weapons themselves, and I do not go back on my word once it has been given."

"A rarity, for a politician," said Heero, speaking up for the first time since the meeting began. He looked at the Lion of Orb. "Forgive me if I remain somewhat skeptical of that claim; experience with your kind has left me jaded, to say the least."

Uzumi chuckled. "Blunt and to the point… Kisaka was right about you, Heero Yuy."

"In that regard, yes," Heero replied, "I don't suppose you'll tell me what else his report on me said."

"Perhaps, perhaps not," said Uzumi. He turned back to Murrue. "Our original agreement with the Alliance has, of course, fallen through. However, I am willing to make a new one with you. Here are my terms: in exchange for giving your vessel a safe harbor and complete repairs, we would like all of its combat and technical data, as well as that of the mobile suit Strike. In addition, we would also like to borrow the expertise of the pilot, Kira Yamato. I understand that he was able to significantly rewrite the machine's operating system; that kind of skill would be greatly beneficial to us, even if we only have access to it for the time you are here."

"I understand," said Murrue, "and if we refuse one or all of these terms?"

"Then we will force you to leave," he replied, his tone becoming hard as stone, "with the damage sustained by your vessel, I imagine ZAFT would find it to be easy prey… even with the Reaper of North Africa on your side."

"I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't use that nickname," said Heero.

"Oh?" said Uzumi, "Forgive me; it's just that Kisaka had told me that the crew had taken to calling you that."

"Only some of the crew," said Murrue, and Heero was surprised to notice that there was an undercurrent of anger in her voice. She must not have known, he realized. Of course, he'd known that she would never call him a name like that, but he still thought she would've heard it by now. Then again, he thought, she's been so busy just trying to keep her crew alive. Not to mention that almost every bit of free time she gets she spends either talking to me or resting, and I never mentioned that name to her. I didn't want to worry her any more than I already do.

Out of sight of the others, he reached over underneath the table and gently grabbed her hand. To her credit, she didn't visibly react, but Heero felt her squeeze his hand, and her voice became calmer. "It's true that Heero is the best pilot on the ship," she said, "but I would never call him such a thing. This may be my own opinion, but I feel that such a moniker implies that he enjoys killing, and I know him well enough to assure you that he is not that kind of man."

Heero couldn't help but smile slightly. Murrue... thank you.

"I believe you," said Lord Uzumi, "but I believe we are getting distracted here. Regarding my terms; do you accept, or no?"

Murrue sighed. "Yes, I do."

"Captain!" cried Natarle, "The Strike and the Archangel are top-secret Alliance weapons. We can't just give out their data!"

"As of Heliopolis," Murrue replied, "the veil of secrecy has been lifted for quite some time. Besides, Orb was originally intended to get this data anyway; we're doing nothing more than fulfilling the Alliance's end of the bargain. Or at least parts of it, considering we only have one of the five prototypes now."

"Besides," said La Flaga, "the Orb are going out on a limb here, helping us like this. We owe them, whether we like it or not."

"Agreed," said Murrue. She turned to Uzumi. "However, there is one favor I must ask of you."

"And that is?" he asked.

"Please," she said, "allow my crew to take some shore leave here. We've been fighting almost non-stop since Heliopolis… they need the rest."

"As do you, I'm sure," said Lord Uzumi with a small smile, "I will grant this favor. However, I must insist that you wear only civilian clothes when off the ship. I'm sure you can understand that."

"Of course," said Murrue, "although, I'm afraid many of the crew members may have left Heliopolis with little more than the uniforms they were wearing, considering the suddenness of the attack."

"I understand," replied Uzumi, "I will look into having some clothing provided to those crew members who need it."

Murrue bowed her head. "Thank you, Lord Uzumi."

"You are welcome, Captain Ramius," he said, "Now, that just leaves one final matter to discuss."

Here it comes, thought Heero, this should be entertaining.

Lord Uzumi turned to him. "In addition to the Strike's combat data, we would also like that of the Wing Zero."

"Not a chance," said Heero.

"I thought you would say that," said Lord Uzumi, "need I remind you that I could have my soldiers storm the ship and take the mobile suit by force?"

Heero's eyes narrowed as he gave the Orb aristocrat an icy glare. "Clearly Kisaka's report to you wasn't as thorough as I had anticipated. I'm actually disappointed."

"What do you mean?" said Uzumi.

Heero's voice became cool and menacing. "If anyone that has not been cleared by me in Wing Zero's computer attempts to enter or even move the Gundam… you'll be standing at ground zero of a nuclear blast."

Uzumi's eyes widened. "Impossible… nuclear power cannot be used; ZAFT's N-jammers have rendered both fission and fusion impotent."

"Wing Zero is immune to those devices and their interference," said Heero.

"You're bluffing," said the nobleman.

"Only one way to find out," the Gundam pilot replied, locking his gaze with that of Orb's unofficial ruler.

The room was completely silent. After a moment, Heero spoke again. "That being said… I do respect the risks you have taken in allowing the Archangel to stay here. Therefore, I will offer you terms of my own: your men will not go anywhere near Wing Zero. Any maintenance on it will be done by myself and whatever members of the ship's crew I deem necessary. In return, I will provide my own expertise, as well as data and schematics on several mobile suit designs and pieces of technology. I can assure you that neither the Alliance nor ZAFT have access to the information or blueprints that I can give you. That is my offer; take it or leave it."

After a moment, Lord Uzumi sighed. "Very well, I accept your terms." He stood up, and the rest of the Orb dignitaries followed suit. "Now, if you will excuse me, I must take my leave for now. I will have Miss Simmons contact you shortly; she is the Chief Engineer for Morgenroete. In the meanwhile, I suggest you return to your ship and get some rest; though this room has no windows, I am quite certain that the sun has about set by now, and I am sure you all could use some rest." With that, he and the rest of Orb's ruling elite left the room.

After a moment, Murrue sighed in relief. "That went well."

"Well?" said Natarle, eyes wide, "Heero just threatened to nuke Orb, and you call that 'well'?"

"As strange as it may seem, I agree with the Captain," said La Flaga, putting a hand on the Lieutenant's shoulder, "Orb allowed us to stay and is going to help us repair the ship; that little showdown between Lord Uzumi and Heero is irrelevant now."

"Indeed," said Murrue, standing up, "we should head back to the ship for now." She looked over at Cagalli, still sitting. "Would you like to come with us?"

The girl smiled and shook her head. "No, but thanks. I'll head home for now; I'll see you guys tomorrow."

As they all filed out of the room, they saw the agent from before standing outside the doors. He smiled. "I'll escort you back to the ship. Please, follow me."

As they began walking back down the elaborate route they had taken to get there, Murrue turned to Heero. "I thought you had set Wing Zero's self-destruct mechanism so that it could only be detonated manually?" she whispered.

He nodded. "I did," he replied quietly, "but you and I are the only ones that know that." He surprised himself by once again grabbing her hand. "Murrue, I told you back in North Africa; I won't let my trust issues get you killed."

His eyes met hers. "I would never do anything that would result in your death. I swore to protect you, and that includes from myself, if it comes to it."

Murrue smiled, and Heero was surprised to feel her tightly squeeze his hand. "I know you wouldn't, Heero. I trust you with my life," she said, "still… that was quite the performance you put on back there. You almost had me convinced that Wing Zero was about to blow us to kingdom come."

"Sorry, but I had to be convincing," he whispered "I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's alright," she said, "it's over now; no sense in dwelling on it."

Heero nodded. "You're right," he said. He turned his attention back to the group, and saw that La Flaga and Natarle were giving them odd looks, but apparently neither they nor the Orb agent had caught what the two of them were whispering about.

I'll protect her, thought Heero as they descended back into the basement and made their way towards the tram. I'll protect Murrue, no matter what happens. She deserves that much… and definitely more.

….

As they reentered the dock and approached the Archangel, Murrue saw a woman standing by the gangway leading up to the starboard hatch. She was fairly tall, had brown hair and grey eyes, and was wearing a red and black shirt and khaki pants, the typical attire of a Morgenroete employee.

The woman smiled as Murrue and her comrades approached. She held out her hand. "My name is Erica Simmons. I'm assuming Lord Uzumi spoke of me during your meeting?"

Murrue nodded and shook her hand. "Yes, he did. I'm Murrue Ramius, Captain of the Archangel. You are Morgenroete's Chief Engineer?"

"Yes," said Erica, "essentially I'm in charge of all the company's current projects, including those we'd like to keep out of the public eye."

"Such as your mobile suit program," said Heero. It wasn't a question.

Erica smiled. "You must be Heero Yuy." She held out her hand, and the Gundam pilot shook it. "It's nice to meet you… though I'll admit to being a bit disappointed in not being allowed to study Wing Zero."

"Nothing personal," said Heero, "but there's only one other person I trust with that machine, and you're not her."

Erica laughed softly, and at the same time Murrue felt herself blush slightly. I know he trusts me with it, she thought, otherwise he wouldn't have given me that override code… but it's still something else to hear him say it in front of others. Still, she couldn't deny how good it made her feel to know that he trusted her with something that important to him.

"So it's a woman," said Erica, "I must say, I'm actually a bit jealous. Still, that's beside the point." Her expression became more serious, and she turned to Murrue. "Captain, I've come to make arrangements with you regarding the cooperation of Kira Yamato and Heero Yuy."

"I won't speak for Heero," Murrue replied, "but as an Earth Alliance pilot, Kira will follow whatever orders I give him."

"That's fine," said Erica, "Lord Uzumi told me as much. I would like to come by here tomorrow at six in the morning to pick him up and take him to our primary research facility, along with the Strike's combat data and that of the Archangel." She turned to Heero. "I would like you to come along as well. Also, could you please bring the information you mentioned to Lord Uzumi. Even if it's not Wing Zero's combat data, I am still quite eager to see what it is."

Heero nodded. "I'll have it ready in the morning. How long will you need us for?"

"Quite some time," said Erica, "fortunately, since your ship will be laid up here for awhile, we don't need to do everything in one day. We'll stop at around one or two in the afternoon. Does that work for you?"

"Sure," said Heero.

Erica turned to Murrue. "And you, Captain Ramius?"

She nodded. "I see no problem with it. I'll let Kira know."

"Excellent," the Orb engineer replied, smiling, "I'll see you all tomorrow, then. Oh, and I'll also have some people bring you Morgenroete uniforms. Those will be the clothes you and your crew wear when you take your shore leave." She turned and made her way towards one of the exits of the facility.

"Well, I'm glad we got all that sorted out," said La Flaga. He turned to Natarle. "I'm gonna grab a bite to eat. Want to come?"

Murrue couldn't help but smile as she saw the Lieutenant blush slightly. "Oh, uhm, sure."

I don't know about La Flaga, she thought as she watched the two of them board the ship, but I'm pretty sure there's some interest on Natarle's part. Kind of ironic, considering how much of a stickler she is for regulations. If she continues like this, she'll be violating the rules on fraternization. Still, I won't report anything. If they do wind up together and it brings them happiness, then who am I to take that away? Especially in the midst of this war…

She turned to Heero, who was still standing next to her. "Well," she said, "I don't know about you, but I filled up on snacks in the waiting room. I think I'm good on food for the evening."

Heero nodded. "Yeah, same here. We should probably both get some rest. It looks like we'll be getting an early start tomorrow."

"You're right," said Murrue. She was about to turn to board the ship, but stopped when she saw Heero staring at the floor. "Heero? What's wrong?"

He looked up at her. "Nothing. It's just…" He paused, looking like he was trying to figure out what to say.

Murrue then realized something. He's nervous! But why?

However, before she could ask, he spoke. His voice was quiet and uncharacteristically hesitant. "Listen, Murrue… when I get back tomorrow from Morgenroete… I was thinking of exploring Orb a bit, or at least the city outside this facility."

His eyes met hers. "Would you like to come with me?"

Murrue's eyes widened slightly and an odd thought ran through her mind. Is he… asking me out? I think… he is!

She smiled and put a hand on his shoulder. "Yes!" she said, unable to completely hide her excitement, "I'd love to, Heero."

She saw Heero's eyes widen slightly before he returned her smile. "Alright… what time do you want to go? If Erica was right, then I'll probably be back here sometime around one or two in the afternoon."

"I'll give you a little time to clean up if you need it when you get back," said Murrue, "Why don't we meet outside our quarters at two-thirty, since we're right next door to each other? Or three, if you wind up getting back a little late."

"Sure," said Heero, "that works."

"Great," said Murrue. She looked at the Archangel and then back to him. "Well, shall we? Like you said, we'll both need to rest up for tomorrow. I'll have to inform Kira of his morning appointment first."

Heero nodded, and he led the way up the gangway. As she followed him, Murrue looked down at the blue stone of the necklace that lay against her chest. That bond he spoke of… maybe his own feelings towards me are changing… growing…

She looked up at him. Could he… like me as well?

….

"Hey, guys!" said Tolle, running into the mess.

The only occupants of the room at the moment were Sai, Kuzzey, and Miriallia. The young man's girlfriend looked up at him. "Tolle, what's wrong?" she asked, worried.

Tolle smiled and hugged her. "Nothing's wrong. I just got some great news!"

"Really?" she said as they parted, "What is it?"

"I just talked to Lieutenant Commander La Flaga," he said, "and not only is Orb letting us stay for awhile, they're going to let us off the ship starting tomorrow. We're getting shore leave!"

"Finally," said Kuzzey, "we're not going to get shot at for awhile."

"It will be nice to have some time to relax," said Sai. He was still sore over Flay's abandonment of him, but he had begun to brighten up a little recently. "Hey, do you think they'll let us see our families?"

Tolle smacked himself on the forehead. "Aw, man, I totally didn't think of that! I gotta go find La Flaga again!"

"Relax, Tolle," said Miriallia, smiling, "no need to go running off right this second. We can ask him next time we run into him. It's not that big of a ship, so I doubt it'll take too long."

"Do you think they'll let us see our families?" said Kuzzey, "I mean we are Alliance soldiers now; technically our Orb citizenship doesn't mean anything now."

"That'd be a pretty dumb reason for them to stop us," said Sai, "and I don't think Captain Ramius would let something like that get in the way. So don't worry; once we find the Lieutenant Commander, we'll ask him to run it by the Captain. Everything will be fine."

"Hey, someone should go tell Kira," said Miriallia.

"I think the Captain just went to see him," said Tolle, "I guess the Orb government is asking for his help with their mobile suit program."

"Where did you hear that?" said Kuzzey.

"I ran into Heero on the way over here," said Tolle, "I tried to get some more details out of him, but he wouldn't say much beyond that. I think he's going with Kira tomorrow."

"Well, that's a relief," said Miriallia, "at least we can count on him to watch out for Kira like he did during that trip to Banadiya."

"Yeah," said Kuzzey, "but still, there's something about that guy that gives me the chills."

"No joke," said Sai, "whenever I see him he's always so quiet… unless the Captain's with him."

"Heero's not that bad," said Miriallia, "I think he's just a little on edge. I mean, he has seen a lot of action, and from what I've heard from Kira I think he' been fighting for a very long time."

"Man, that's gotta be rough," said Tolle, "speaking of Heero, when I saw him earlier he was wearing this weird uniform, like nothing I've ever seen. He even had a sword!"

"Are you serious?" said Miriallia, "I wonder where he got that?"

"Maybe he's had it this whole time and just hasn't worn it yet?" said Sai.

"Who knows?" said Kuzzey, "Does it really matter, though? I mean, it's not like we really know anything about him anyway."

"True," said Tolle, "I'm glad he's on our side, though."

The others nodded in agreement.

….

Flay sat back on the bed. Captain Ramius had just come by to inform Kira that he would be meeting with Morgenroete in the morning. She had watched as the Coordinator nodded and thanked her for letting him know. After the Captain had left, Kira had gone off to the Strike, mentioning something about downloading a copy of the operating system in order to make his work easier tomorrow. Flay had simply nodded and said goodbye, and now she was alone in the room, lost in thought. Kira's robotic pet bird, Birdy, was standing on the nearby desk. It would occasionally glance over at her, but other than that the green mechanical avian just seemed content to sit and wait for its master. I wonder where he got it, she thought, now that I think about it, he's never said anything about it other than its name. No matter… She had more important things to concern herself with.

Her revenge was going smoothly. Sure, there were some misgivings in the back of her mind, feelings that she was working to keep at bay, but other than that she still had the boy wrapped around her finger. Flay had been glad to hear that Cagalli had left the ship; it would be easier to maintain control over him without that desert rat running around.

However, she still was not satisfied. She felt that something was wrong with her revenge scheme, that it was missing something. After a moment, she realized what it was, and could've smacked herself for not thinking of it sooner.

She had focused on Kira because he was a Coordinator, but there was another pilot who had allowed her father to die; Heero Yuy. I've made no effort to get back at him, she realized, it's time to change that.

Flay didn't really know anything about the young man; Kira hadn't spoken of him much, beyond his apparently incredible skills in battle. She doubted she could just walk up to him and get him to dance to her tune, so she would have to get to know him first, understand what drove him… and then turn it against him.

No time like the present, she thought, getting up. Leaving the room, she decided to go looking for him. She'd heard that he had been given officer's quarters, so she decided to start in that section of the ship.

When she arrived, she struggled to figure out what to do next. She didn't know what quarters were his, after all; she couldn't just go knocking on ever door in the area and hope he would answer. That would be embarrassing.

However, she was saved from her dilemma when she saw the target of her hunt walking down the hallway. Flay couldn't help but gasp when she saw him though, mainly because of his stunning uniform.

Focus, Flay, she admonished herself, remember, this guy's supposed to be the deadliest man on this ship. Keep your guard up.

"Uhm, hello, Heero," she said as she walked up to him.

He had turned towards a door which she assumed led to his quarters. The young man looked over at her, raising an eyebrow. "Allster? What do you want?"

Well, she thought sourly, this is off to a great start. "Well, you see," she said, "I realize this might be a little late… but I wanted to apologize for my actions when we first met."

Flay saw his eyes narrow. "You wait until now to say that? Forgive me if I'm a little suspicious."

Damn, he's definitely not like Kira. He's much more guarded. "Look," she said, "I understand that, but I still…"

"What are you after?" said Heero, cutting her off. "You wait until you have Kira completely under your thumb, then you approach me?"

"What are you talking about?" she said.

"I'm not blind or deaf," said Heero, "it's true that I spend most of my time either on the bridge or in the hangar, but I still keep an ear to the wind. I've heard how you abandoned Sai for Kira, along with how you dislike Coordinators. Those two facts put together do not add up, and that's not even factoring in the fact that I know you hold him at least partly responsible for your father's death… and that I'm the other pilot you've placed in that category." His eyes met hers, and she was struck by how cold his gaze seemed. "When you survive as many battles as I have, it becomes quite easy to read people, especially when they're not trained soldiers. The only reason I haven't gotten a solid bead on you is that you've stayed out of my way until now."

Flay was completely stunned. "I… I don't know what you're talking about…"

"Sure," said Heero, turning back to the door, "whatever you say."

He opened the door, but before he entered his quarters, he turned to her one more time. "I don't know what your intentions are regarding Kira, and I suppose it's none of my business as long as it doesn't affect his combat performance. The guy's old enough to make his own decisions; I'm not going to babysit him both on and off the battlefield. I will say this, though; I'd advise you keep your distance from me. I can't say for certain, but I'm pretty sure your interest in Kira is linked to your perception of his responsibility for your father's death, and that you've been so focused on him that this is the first time you've seriously turned your attention to me. If you intend to exact vengeance on me, rest assured that I will strike back."

Moving so fast that all Flay saw was a blur, the girl suddenly felt cold steel at her throat. Slowly looking down, she starred in amazement at the saber as it rested gently against her neck. One wrong move and he'd slice right into her carotid artery.

"When we first met and you attacked me, I restrained myself out of respect for the fact that your father had just died. Do not mistake that courtesy for weakness. Do I make myself clear?" said Heero.

Flay gave him the smallest of nods, all too aware of the razor's edge she was walking on. "Crystal," she said softly.

"Good," he said, withdrawing the blade so fast she didn't even have time to blink. Sheathing the saber, he entered his quarters. "Good night." With that the door slid shut.

Flay stepped back, her hand reaching up to touch the spot on her neck where skin had met steel. After a few seconds, she began walking back to her quarters. Her feet seemed to move by themselves; she barely registered her journey. The girl was still in shock at what had transpired.

That guy, she thought numbly, he isn't human… there's no way a Natural can move that fast. But… the others said he wasn't a Coordinator… this makes no sense!

She reached Kira's quarters and entered, noting that the boy still hadn't returned from the hangar. Flay sat down on the bed. She'd have to rethink her plans. I'll just focus on Kira, she thought, that other freak can wait. One abomination is about all I can take right now.

It made sense to her, yet she still found herself wincing at the thought. Why? Kira's a Coordinator; they're all freaks. Monsters who killed daddy…

And yet, she was finding herself more and more reluctant to apply that term to the young man whose quarters and bed she now shared. The boy she had labeled a 'freak' had shown himself to be all too human in the time she had spent with him… and it was affecting her, whether she would admit it or not.

….

Early the next morning, Heero was standing in the dock facility, just outside the Archangel along with Kira and Murrue. The Gundam pilot was wearing his green tank-top again, although this time he had jeans and a dark blue jacket on as well. Kira was wearing a blue and white jumpsuit provided by Morgenroete, while Murrue was still wearing her uniform as she would not be accompanying them today.

She smiled at the two young men. "Do you two have everything you need?"

Heero nodded, reaching into his pocket and taking out a black flash drive. "All set," he said, showing it to her before putting it away.

"I'm ready too," said Kira, pulling out two data disks from one of the many pockets on the jumpsuit. "The data on this thing should be enough to help me get started, at any rate," he said, referring to one of them, "and this one has all the Strike's combat data." He put both of them away.

"Glad to hear it," said Murrue. She looked past them as a familiar woman approached. "I see Erica coming now. You two watch yourselves, alright?"

They both nodded. "We will," said Heero.

"Alright," she said. As they turned to go, Murrue put a hand on Heero's shoulder. "Heero?"

He turned back to her. "Yeah?"

Murrue smiled. "I'll be waiting for you. I'm looking forward to later."

He gave her a small smile. "Yeah, me too. Take care, Murrue. I'll be back… count on it."

"I know you will," she said, "take care."

"Roger that," he said. He turned to catch up to Kira.

Murrue continued to smile as the three of them exited the facility. She sighed. "It's going to be a long day," she said to herself. Having to wait until he gets back… even the minutes will seem entirely too long.

But he's worth it… I know he is.

Heero…

….

The two pilots settled into the back of the black car as Erica hopped into the driver seat. "The drive will be quick," she said, "we're going to a secondary facility. The one that's connected to the dock is primarily the corporate headquarters."

Heero nodded. "Your show," he said.

She smiled. "Nice to see you can roll with the punches, Mr. Yuy." She keyed the ignition. "This will just take about ten minutes."

It was actually a little less than that. Before the two young men knew it, no sooner had they left one security checkpoint that it seemed they were approaching another. Erica rolled down the window and flashed her I.D., and the guards let them through. The area behind the gate didn't look like much; a few large buildings surrounded by a tall chain-link fence, with the ocean visible not too far in the distance. The car rolled into what appeared to be an empty warehouse, stopping in the middle of a seemingly random section of concrete.

Suddenly Heero felt the car jerk a bit beneath him, and as he looked out the window he saw that they were moving down. A concealed elevator, he mused, so the real facility is underground. Orb's taking no chances with this program of theirs.

"Wow," said Kira, eyes wide, "I had no idea that Morgenroete had facilities like this."

Erica smiled. "This is only the entryway, Mr. Yamato. Trust me; the best is yet to come."

After a few minutes, the elevator came to a stop in a parking garage. Erica drove for a few seconds until she came to a spot with a sign, clearly reserved for her. "This way, please," she said after she had parked and everyone had gotten out of the vehicle. Walking through a nearby door, they approached a scanner.

Erica turned to Heero. "If you are armed, Mr. Yuy, might I suggest handing over your weapons? The alarms here are a real pain in the ass. I promise to return them on the other side of the detectors."

Heero nodded, and slowly drew both his pistol and his knife. "You're not concerned about Kira?" he said as he handed them over.

Erica smiled and glanced at Kira. "No offense, Mr. Yamato, but just from the way you carry yourself I can tell you're not armed. Plus, and I realize it's strange to say this of a mobile suit pilot, I just can't see you carrying a gun."

Kira blushed slightly. "Uhm, no, I'm unarmed."

"Too honest, too," said Erica, "oh well, I suppose that's just how you are."

Kira looked down, unsure how to respond.

"Hey," said Heero, causing the Coordinator to look at him, "she's right; it's who you are. No sense in brooding over it."

"Ok," said Kira, eyes widening slightly, "thanks, Heero."

Man, he thought as he went through the scanner, I really am going soft. When was the last time I gave out friendly advice? He smiled slightly as he thought of the woman waiting for him back on the Archangel. With Murrue, of course. I suppose she's impacted me more than I thought. Still, I don't particularly mind it. I haven't lost my combat edge or my ability to read people, after all.

Once he cleared the detectors, Erica gave him back his weapons. "Thank you for cooperating, Mr. Yuy," she said as Kira followed him through.

"Don't mention it," he replied, "and just call me Heero. I never really cared much for formality."

"Very well, then," she said, "Follow me, you two."

They walked down a corridor until they came to a large door with a hand scanner next to it. Erica put her hand on it, and after a moment a green light flashed. "Identification confirmed," said an electronic voice, with a feminine sound to it, "Welcome, Miss Simmons." The door opened, and the three of them walked in.

Kira's eyes widened, and even Heero raised an eyebrow. They were in a control facility overlooking a large hangar. There were three rows of computer consoles arranged in a terrace, all staffed by busy technicians wearing outfits similar to Erica's. In front of the lowest work station was a large window, and Heero saw several slots at the far end of the hangar that he presumed were for mobile suits, judging by the fact that three of them were occupied by units he'd never seen before.

Frame wise, there was some similarity to the Strike, though the machines' bright white, red, and black paint jobs indicated that they did not use Phase Shift Armor. Mounted on the back of each machine were two vertical red fins that Heero assumed were meant to help with stability and maneuverability, and were perhaps even capable of providing limited aerial mobility in a manner similar to the Strike's Aile Pack. Like the Strike, they also had a head crest, in this case a red v-shaped one. Heero didn't see any weapons mounted on them and assumed those were being developed separately.

"Well, what do you think? This is Orb's secret weapon, the MBF-M1 Astray." said Erica as the three of them walked up to the front of the room, looking out the window.

"Amazing!" said Kira.

Heero was more ambivalent. "They look decent, but you wouldn't have asked for our help if you weren't having some serious problems with them."

She sighed. "Quite correct, Heero… as much as it pains me to admit." She walked up to a console with a microphone and spoke into it. "Alright, girls. Begin the test."

"Yes, ma'am," came a voice, bright and cheery. Two others, also female, followed suit.

Heero watched as the three machines began to move… slowly and clumsily. At least they're not falling over, thought Heero, remembering what Murrue had told him about Sai's attempt to pilot the Strike. Still, I can definitely see why Orb wanted our expertise; these things aren't anywhere near ready for even a performance demonstration, much less full scale production.

He turned to Erica. "I've seen enough."

She nodded glumly. "They're moving twice as fast as they were last week… which really doesn't mean much in this state, I suppose." She turned to the console. "Shut down, ladies. That's enough for now."

The mobile suits made their way back to their docking ports and powered off. The hatches opened, and Heero saw three girls climb out. They appeared to be no older than he was. Either Orb's desperate for pilots, he thought, or they're prodigies. Considering the limited progress made on mobile suit operating systems in this era, I'm actually betting it's the latter.

"So," said Kira as Erica turned to them again, "I'm assuming you wanted help with the O.S.?"

She nodded. "Yes, we'd like to get it to the point where a Natural can operate it. Of course, that's not the only issue plaguing us. The internal gyroscopes, hydraulic lines, joint movement coordination… we've got a problem list a kilometer long." She moved towards a side door. "Please, come with me. I think it be better if the two of you could examine the units up-close."

They followed her through the door, which turned out to be an elevator that led directly down to the hangar floor. As they made their way towards the machines, the three pilots walked up to meet them. One had curly blond hair, another had straight blue-black hair and wore glasses, and the third had brown hair in a bowl-cut. All three seemed to be in good spirits despite the poor performance of their mobile suits.

"Girls," said Erica as the approached, "this is Kira Yamato and Heero Yuy. They're here to help us get these machines moving properly."

"Nice to meet you," said the blond, "I'm Asagi Caldwell, Private First Class."

"Juri Wu Nien," said the girl with the glasses, "also Private First Class."

"And I'm Mayura Labatt," said the third, smiling, "and yes, I'm also a Private First Class."

"Nice to meet you all," said Kira.

Heero simply nodded.

Asagi grinned as she looked at the two of them. "Two cuties like you to work with? Thank you, Erica!"

The Chief Engineer smiled. "Settle down, Caldwell. These two are vital to getting the M1 program back on track. Ogle when they're not on the clock."

"Aw, no fun," she said, pouting. The other two had similar expressions on their faces.

"How long has Orb had these machines?" said Kira.

"We started building them about the same time as the Heliopolis project got underway," said a familiar voice from behind them. The two young men turned around to see Cagalli walking up to them, clad in her usual khakis and red t-shirt.

"Lady Cagalli," said Erica, "I'm surprised you came here. I was under the impression you had returned home."

"Just for the night," the blond girl replied, "I knew that you'd bring Kira and Heero here eventually, so I figured I'd come over."

She looked at the two pilots. "So, now you guys know. The reason why we aided the Alliance's mobile suit program." She looked over at the M1s. "The fruit of my father's hypocrisy."

"Lady Cagalli," said Erica, "Lord Uzumi is only acting in the interests of this country."

"By betraying its ideals, its core beliefs!" she retorted, "Have you forgotten our nation's motto? 'Orb will not attack another nation, will not allow another nation to attack them, and will not intervene in the conflicts of other nations.' In assisting the Alliance, we've violated the last part of that vow! At the same time, my father still maintains diplomatic relations with the PLANTs as well… he's playing both sides for his own benefit. We should be above this!"

"Just because you're a neutral nation?" said Heero, "You need to open your eyes, Cagalli. The war is spreading, and both sides are fielding more and more powerful weapons. How long do you really think Orb can avoid getting caught up in the conflagration? Though it may not be able to match the Alliance or ZAFT, it still has a considerable military. The other powers will not ignore it forever. The methods may be dirty, but the fact remains that Orb needs to strengthen its defenses."

"A very astute observation," said Erica. She turned to Cagalli. "Lord Uzumi is merely making use of one of the oldest ruling philosophies; Realpolitik. If you paid as much attention to governance as you did to ideals, you would have a better appreciation for the tightrope your father is walking in order to strengthen this nation."

"But if Orb continues to violate its principals," said Kira, "does that make it any better than the Alliance or ZAFT.?"

"Exactly," said Cagalli, clearly glad that someone was taking her side, "and it will only serve to draw us into the conflict anyway!"

"A moot argument," said Heero, "this is a world war, whether people choose to call it that or not. Your father may not be openly participating in hostilities, but he is well aware that the fighting will not stay away from his country forever. In fact, as of yesterday it is officially on your doorstep, and that's not even counting the attack on Heliopolis."

His eyes met Cagalli's. "There's no mercy in war," he said, "and ideals mean little once the shots start flying. It's a collision of powers; right or wrong have only a limited meaning, and all too often they only serve as justification for both sides to intensify the fighting. All we can do as soldiers is protect those who are important to us, and do all we can to keep civilians out of the crossfire."

"So that's it?" said Cagalli, "You just accept it and go on with the fighting? I thought you had fought your war to open humanity's eyes, to make them lay down their arms once and for all!"

Heero's eyes narrowed. "Now is not the time to be discussing my past, or my reasons for fighting. Understood?"

The girl stepped back a bit, intimidated by his piercing glare. She looked around and saw that Erica and the three Orb pilots were staring at them. "Alright… I'm sorry, Heero."

He sighed. "It's fine, no point in worrying about it. Just… drop it for now."

She nodded, and Heero dug into his pocket, pulling out the flash drive. He handed it to Erica. "This contains the information I spoke of yesterday. If you don't mind, I'd like to get inside one of the M1s and start working."

"Of course," said Erica, taking the drive. She looked over at Kira. "I'm assuming you wish to start as well, Mr. Yamato?"

He nodded, and pulled out his disks. "This will be enough to get me started; I'll build off it as I go. And this one has the Strike's data." He handed the second disk over to her. "Also, if you don't mind, could you just call me Kira?"

"Sure," said Erica, "no problem. Now, if you two will excuse me, I'm going to go analyze this data. Asagi, Juri, Mayura? You three help them access the M1s and give them whatever other assistance they ask for."

"Yes, ma'am," they said, saluting.

She sighed. "Stop doing that. I'm not military; I'm just a civilian engineer. Stay out of trouble everyone." With that she headed off towards the elevator.

"Well," said Asagi, "let's get started. Kira, you can take my unit. Juri, take Heero to yours, alright?"

"Sure," she said, turning to the Gundam pilot and smiling, "this way, please."

As he followed her over to her mobile suit, Heero found himself looking back at the control room overlooking the hangar. It's too bad I won't be able to see the looks on their faces when they pull up that data, he mused, smirking slightly, oh well, better get to work.

He climbed up a ladder and waited while Juri entered her access code. He climbed in as soon as the hatch opened and got to work, fingers flying across the keyboard as he pulled up the machine's specs and operating parameters. As he did so, he found his mind wandering back to the Archangel… and to a certain brown haired, brown eyed woman.

Heero smiled slightly. Murrue… thank you. I promise I'll show you a good time tonight. You deserve that, and definitely more.

….

"Well, this should prove to be interesting," said Erica as she walked back into the control room. Heading towards one of the consoles, she handed the flash drive Heero had given her to the man sitting there. "Download the contents and synchronize your screen with the main monitor."

"Yes, ma'am," said the engineer.

After a few seconds, images began flashing on the large screen above the window overlooking the hangar. Erica's jaw dropped. "Unbelievable…"

Another engineer looked over at her, surprise evident in his face as well. "Ma'am… these are complete designs… but they're not like anything being fielded by ZAFT."

"Not quite," said another, "I can see some similarities… but the overall frames and design concepts are completely original…"

She nodded. "Looks like we better get comfortable," she said as she sat down at her own station, "I have a feeling we're gonna be here awhile."

….

"So, who are you working for?" said Juri.

Heero looked up from the M1's controls. He'd been working for about an hour, and the girl had been relatively quiet until now. "I'm protecting the Archangel. Doesn't that answer your question?"

"But you're not Alliance military," the girl said, "or at least, that's what I've heard. And if the Alliance could build something like Wing Zero, they would have gone with multiple versions, like the suits we helped them build at Heliopolis."

"You're right in that I'm not part of the Earth Forces," said Heero, "and Wing Zero isn't an Alliance machine. But I'm not working for any organization. This mobile suit's mine, simple as that."

Juri laughed. "So I'm not going to get anything else out of you on that front, huh?"

"No," he replied as he turned back to the M1. "How'd you get into this line of work?"

"Huh?" she said, surprised.

"You don't strike me as someone suited to life as a soldier," said Heero as he worked.

"Well," she said, "I won't argue with you on that, but I need this job. Orb has a program where if you serve in the armed forces for three years, they'll help pay for your college education if you decide to go onto a university after that time period. My family's middle-class, and I don't want to spend half of my life repaying student loans. So I enlisted in the Army, or more specifically the air service of it. It's more or less the same story for the others, too."

"Orb doesn't have an independent Air Force branch?" asked Heero.

"No," said Juri, "aerial combat and support units are divided into Army and Navy branches, respectively. I scored high enough in flight training to be listed as a candidate for the M1 program, and… well, here I am."

"Why you three and not more experienced pilots?" he asked.

"Because fighter and helicopter maneuvers aren't as ingrained into us the way they are veteran pilots," she replied, "As you know, mobile suit combat is quite different from conventional war. Morgenroete didn't want to waste money in forcing pilots to unlearn everything they had worked so hard to master over the years. The M1 program is costly enough as is in any case. They just needed pilots who scored high enough on testing that they could, in theory, adapt to mobile suit operations. Basic flight training does provide a good foundation to work off of for mobile suit piloting, but flexibility and the ability to learn new skills were considered to be top traits needed in the test pilots for this project."

"Of course," said Heero, "that's all strictly theoretical. Putting it into practice seems to be giving Orb no end of problems."

"I'm well aware of that," said Juri, letting out a sigh, "but once we get past the technical issues, things should go much more smoothly. That's what you guys are here for, after all."

"Yeah," he said absently, his fingers slowing down as he typed. For some reason, he couldn't focus. It wasn't because of Juri; Heero was more than capable of holding a conversation and working at the same time should the occasion call for it.

No, it was because his mind kept wandering… back to the Archangel…

….back to Murrue.

Ever since the previous day, he kept thinking about her… and why it had been so difficult to ask her to come with him to check out the island they were on later. They were friends, after all. More than that; in the short time they had known each other, she had become the best friend he'd ever had. Asking her should have been no big deal; he had told her about events in his past that continued to haunt him even now, had come to trust her with not only knowledge of Operation Meteor and the Eve Wars but also with the very machine that all the major powers of the Cosmic Era wanted to get their hands on. So why… why had it been so difficult to ask something so simple?

And then it hit him. His hands froze, his eyes widened, and he could have smacked himself for not realizing it sooner.

He hadn't been asking her to come with him as a friend.

He'd been asking her out. On a date.

No way, he thought, all other thoughts vanishing from his mind except for this, I couldn't have been… but if I hadn't… then I wouldn't have hesitated. No… it's the only explanation. Yesterday… I asked her out.

I like her! I asked her out like that because I like her, I have feelings for her beyond this friendship, this bond we share. I asked her out… and she said yes!

It was nearly impossible to believe. He was the Perfect Soldier; he'd been learning to fight, to kill, since an age when most kids would have been in grade school. He'd had a difficult enough time learning to trust people, and had only made his first real friends in the past year of his life. He'd hardly ever given romance a thought; he hadn't been on a single date in his life.

Now a sensation he had rarely felt took hold; fear.

He didn't know what to do, didn't know anything about dating. What was he supposed to do? How was he supposed to act? What was he supposed to say? All these and a million similar thoughts flew through his mind in mere seconds, and they scared him. He'd come to value their friendship more than anything else, including his own life. What if he did something stupid, something that could destroy the bond that had grown between them?

Then, unbidden, unlooked for, a single memory surfaced in his mind, one from nearly a week ago. When he had been at his weakest, his most vulnerable, tormented by his worst sins…

He heard Murrue's voice, almost as clearly as if she was in the M1 cockpit with him at that moment, speaking to him.

"Please…let me help you."

"I care about you."

Slowly, the fear seemed to melt away. A warm feeling was replacing it, the same as when she had kissed him on the cheek after listening to his confession, after comforting him and reassuring him, showing her belief that he was a good man, not a heartless killer.

He felt himself smile. He hadn't thought about doing it, but he didn't stop himself. This is Murrue I'm thinking about. I don't need to be afraid; I know she cares about me, and if I slip up somehow tonight, she'll forgive me. She understands me in a way no one else ever has… in a way that no one else ever could.

That didn't mean his worries had subsided entirely. The closest he had come to romance had been Relena, and that had turned into something more akin to a close friendship, one forged in the fires of war and the whirlwind of a rapidly changing world. He still couldn't say for certain if his feelings towards Murrue were truly evolving into a romantic affection. And even if they were, that opened up a whole new can of worms. There was a ten year age difference between them, and while that in and of itself didn't bother Heero, he knew that it could get Murrue into serious trouble.

Then he remembered something else she'd told him. "You can't just force something like this. You'll find the answers when you're ready for them."

At the time, she had been referring to his struggle to find his larger purpose in life, but Heero realized that those words of wisdom also applied to this situation. If this is romance, he thought, it's something completely new to me. I can't afford to rush it. I need to take my time, let things evolve as they will, and just take things as they come. I also need to figure out how Murrue feels as well. If her feelings aren't the same as mine, that's alright. I could never hold that against her; her friendship alone is far more than I deserve. If, however, they have deepened as mine may well be… I'll have to trust my feelings, my instincts, and react as the situation dictates.

He exhaled, unaware until then that he'd been holding his breath. He took another deep one, and then let it out a few seconds later. The action had a calming effect on his nerves, allowing him to regain his center, his focus. Just move forward as you always do, he thought, one step at a time. Face whatever comes your way, and go with the flow. Above all else, remember to act on your emotions.

"Hey, Heero?" came a voice.

He looked up, slightly startled. He'd become so caught up in his own thoughts that he'd completely neglected his own surroundings. The Gundam pilot saw Juri standing in the hatchway of the M1.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I just got a call from Miss Simmons," she said, "I guess she wants to see you in the control room." She held out a disk. "You can save your work onto this and come back here later."

He took it. "Alright, tell her I'll be right there. Thanks."

"No problem," Juri replied, smiling.

Heero quickly saved his data and pocketed the disk before exiting the mobile suit. "Do I need a card key or anything for the elevator?"

Juri shook her head. "No, you've already gotten through all the security checkpoints; if someone's this far into the facility, they're either supposed to be here or we royally screwed up somewhere." She laughed slightly at that last bit.

Heero shrugged before heading over to the elevator. As he entered the lift and activated it, he wondered how Kira was doing on his end. I'll have to check after this, he thought.

Entering the control room, he saw Erica walking up to him. "Heero," she said, "may I have a word with you in my office?"

Looks like the data I gave them really touched a nerve, he thought dryly, not that I'm surprised. "Sure," he said.

The two of them left the control room and went down the hallway for about a minute. Then Erica turned to a door on the right and punched in an access code. The door slid open, revealing a rather spacious work area, with a large desk in the center, a table surrounded by four chairs off to one side, a small fridge, a coffee machine, and even a couch towards the back. Heero noted that it had a blanket thrown over one of the arm rests. She must use it during all nighters, he thought, I have to admire her dedication to her work.

Erica moved behind the desk and took the chair there. "Please," she said, waving at the two chairs in front of the desk, "sit down."

As he did so, he saw her power up the computer on the desk. After a few seconds she rotated the screen so he could see it. Heero had to refrain from smirking as he saw images of several familiar mobile suits appear on it.

Leo, Aries, Taurus, Pisces, Cancer, Tragos…

…Tallgeese.

"Heero," said Erica, "I've read Kisaka's report, so I am fully aware of your talents as a pilot… but I have a hard time believing that you're also prodigy engineer. With all due respect, I don't think for an instant that you designed these machines, or at least you didn't do it by yourself."

Heero met her gaze. "But you're not disputing the fact that those designs could well be built by Orb if the government chose to do so."

"No," she said, "I don't. Granted, we would need to make modifications; since all these designs are powered by fusion reactors, we would need an alternative power source, but I don't think it would be too difficult to install high-capacity batteries like those used on the Strike or the M1 Astray."

"So why the concern?" asked Heero, though he was pretty sure he knew what she was getting at.

"This," said Erica, "while I do believe that you are indeed a one-man army, I simply cannot see you as a one-man design bureau. I'm sure you are quite intelligent, but this kind of work is beyond one individual, especially someone as young as yourself."

"True enough," said Heero, "I can run my own maintenance just fine, but I'm not an engineer."

"I appreciate your candor," she replied, "Now, my question is this; what group built these machines? And it's not just them." She pulled up several other images. "We found several designs for individual mobile suit weapons and equipment as well; laser rifle, Planet Defensors, high-powered vernier thrusters, heavy beam cannon… there's enough data here for us to build not only the complete models, but several variants with different load-outs."

"Are you dissatisfied?" he asked, a slight smirk on his face.

"You're dodging my question," said Erica, "What group designed these mobile suits and weapons? If the Alliance or ZAFT had access to these blueprints, they would have begun mass producing new models already, so I know it's not them."

"The Alliance would still need to work through the software issues first," he reminded her.

"I would agree," said Erica, "save that while the rest of my team were drooling over these designs, I found something they missed; a fully developed operating system, simplified to the point that a Natural could pilot any of these units with ease. Or most of them, anyway; the Tallgeese is perhaps too high spec, especially with regards to the vernier thrusters. I don't know if there are any pilots in Orb capable of handling such speeds."

"If you have that system," said Heero, "then it would seem that the work Kira and I are doing would be redundant."

"Not true," said Erica, "the operating system in these files would still need to be adapted in order to work with the M1 series machines. In addition, I am quite interested in seeing what you and Kira will develop. Kira in particular; I've heard about how he was able to change the Strike's system in a very short amount of time, and in a combat situation no less. But it would seem I've allowed you to distract me yet again. Now, please tell me; what group is responsible for these designs?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," said Heero, "isn't it enough to have those designs to aid your company's mobile suit development program?"

Erica sighed. "Most people would say yes, and I'm dearly tempted to do so myself. I'm well aware of the old saying 'don't look a gift horse in the mouth', and perhaps it is foolish of me to do so now. However, these plans are evidence of a group that is both highly skilled and extremely well funded… and has remained completely off the radar until now. An organization that powerful must have a long-term agenda, and considering the fact that the Earth Sphere is engulfed in the largest war it has ever seen, a faction with these weapons in sufficient numbers could very well tip the balance of power, end the war… or throw the world into greater chaos, perhaps even seek to destroy not only the Alliance and ZAFT, but Orb as well, and forge a new dominion of iron and blood. Also, the fact that those suits were designed with fusion reactors would indicate that the builders have figured out a way to cancel out the effects of ZAFT's N-jammers, though I could find no such technology in the blueprints. Nevertheless, from there it would only be a short step to the reintroduction of nuclear arms into this conflict."

Her eyes met his, and Heero was struck by the fire within them. "I am the Chief Engineer of Morgenroete Incorporated. My position has given me power and status, and wealth. However, none of these are my reasons for taking this job. I love engineering, but I love my country even more. If any nation or organization threatens the survival of Orb, I will do all within my power to stop them. I may be a civilian, but do not underestimate me, Heero Yuy."

Heero couldn't help but smile slightly. That strength, that determination… she's just like Murrue.

"Alright," he said after a moment, "I'll tell you… but don't say I didn't warn you; I promise that no rumor you've heard will come close to the truth."

"Try me," she said, "Orb may be removed from the fighting for the moment, but we still get plenty of battlefield legends and tall tales around here."

"Trust me," he said, "you've heard nothing like this."

….

A few minutes later, Erica leaned back in her chair, struggling to absorb what the young man in front of her had just said. I know he warned me, she thought, but still, I never expected anything quite like this…

"Well," said Heero, startling her a bit, "do you believe me or not?"

She looked at him, studying the pilot closely. Though machines were her area of expertise, her position meant that she also had to deal routinely with the corporate management of the company, up to and including the board of directors. Morgenroete was like any other major business entity; the higher one rose, the more intricate and ruthless the power struggles became, until one felt like they were wading through a bog of schemers, backstabbers, sycophants, sociopaths, and just all around incredibly greedy people. It was a disgusting environment, one that Erica tried to avoid as much as she could, but it had also given her insights into judging a person's character. More importantly, it had given her a knack for knowing when someone was either lying to her or being completely honest.

And as she looked at the young man in front of her, there was not a doubt in her mind that he was telling the truth.

She sighed. "As strange, as improbable… no, impossible as it seems… yes, I do. Of course, now I have even more questions… but I suppose you've told me enough for right now. I'm not going to pry further… at least, not today."

"I appreciate that," said Heero, "and no offense, but you wouldn't get much more out of me in any case. Don't get me wrong; I respect your love for your country and your desire to help it in any way you can, but there's only one person in this world I trust with the more detailed information on my past and where I'm from, and you aren't her."

"None taken," she said, "I suppose I'll have to forgo any further inquiries for the time being. That being said, there is one thing that I must know."

"And that is?" said Heero.

"I'm assuming that N-jammers were never developed in your world," said Erica, "based on the fact that the mobile suits in these designs are all powered by fusion reactors. Also, based on what I heard of your meeting with Lord Uzumi yesterday, it seems Wing Zero has one as well. My question is this; how is Wing Zero able to function with a fusion reactor with the N-jammers seeded throughout the Earth Sphere?"

"I won't go into details," said Heero, "but I will say this; its armor is composed of a new and highly complex alloy, the strongest ever created by man. Though it was not designed with N-jammers in mind, the material has the rather beneficial side effect of blocking the energy created by those devices and its effects. The machines in those blueprints use regular titanium alloy, which of course has no such properties."

"I see," said Erica, "then you can guarantee that the Cosmic Era is not at risk from renewed nuclear proliferation and the use of atomic weapons in this war?"

"If either side manages to reintroduce nuclear arms into this war," said Heero, "it will not be through technology from my world. I have kept Wing Zero's data secret to insure against that, and Morgenroete is now the only major entity in the Cosmic Era with access to MS designs from the After Colony timeline, and even the specs I gave you will not be enough to overcome the effects of ZAFT's N-jammers."

Erica breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness."

"However," said Heero, "that does not change the fact that your company is now in the possession of information that could seriously shift the balance of power within the Earth Sphere."

"Yes," said Erica, "but I can take steps to insure that that power is used responsibly. Right now, the only people within Morgenroete that have access to this data are myself and the M1 team. Those engineers are my immediate subordinates, and I can assure you that they are quite loyal to me. I have only copied your data onto our team's computers, and when I go back in their later I am going to delete it. I will retain possession of the flash drive you gave me, but it will be the only source of those blueprints within Morgenroete; I will of course show them to Lord Uzumi, but he and I will be the ones who control what elements of your world's technology is used for our weapons programs."

"What about the company's board of directors?" said Heero, "Surely they must know that you've enlisted the help of the pilot of Wing Zero, along with that of the Strike."

"Yes," she replied, "but those people don't have an engineering bone in their bodies. All they care about is the company's profits, and all I will be showing them is mobile suits that we have developed to the point that we believe they are ready for mass production. In all likelihood these will include features from both the Strike and some of the mobile suits from your world. I will not reveal the full contents of this flash drive; they may be my superiors, but that does not mean I trust them, and my position gives me quite a bit of influence in the company. They can't afford to lose someone like me, so I'm not worried about getting fired over this."

She saw him smile. "You have strong convictions," he said, "I'm sure you won't allow that information to be abused."

"I appreciate that vote of confidence," she said as she stood up. "Well, are you ready to head back?"

"I suppose so," said Heero, standing as well, "I should probably check on Kira's progress. Considering his own piloting experience, he's probably going with a different approach on the operating system than I am."

"About that," said Erica as they left the office, "I've had a slight change of heart. You can wrap up your work in the M1; I'll leave the development of the operating system to Kira. We'll probably add elements from the system in the files you gave us to it as well. As for you, I'd like you to stay in the control room and act as a technical advisor. I believe you'd be well suited to the task since you are not only familiar with the machines in those blueprints but also perform your own mobile suit maintenance. Grab the work you've done in the M1 and bring it to me first, and after that I'd like to begin going over the finer details of some of those mobile suits, along with your own experience with them."

"Sounds good," said Heero, "but don't expect to get more information about my past that way. I'll be giving you advice on how they were used in combat both tactically and strategically, along with their strengths and weaknesses, but nothing beyond that."

"Fair enough," she replied as they approached the control room door.

When they entered the facility, Erica went to her work station while Heero walked over to the elevator. As he entered and shut the lift, she sat down and began going over two specific items in the flash drive; the designs for the Tallgeese and the strange devices called 'Planet Defensors'.

A machine like this, she thought, with this kind of mobility and agility… if we added these shield drones… replaced the dober gun with a beam rifle… I still can't think of anyone in our military who could pilot it, but there's so much potential...

Dozens of possibilities flashed through her mind as she looked at the images. Pulling up other schematics from the drive, she couldn't help but smile. I'm going to have fun with these. I owe you big time, Heero Yuy.

….

"Hey."

Heero saw Kira jump, caught off guard by the voice. He'd become so focused on his work that he'd completely neglected to pay attention to his immediate surroundings. You really need to work on your situational awareness, Kira, thought Heero, honestly, I'm almost amazed you haven't been shot down already with the way you zoom in on one objective and ignore the bigger picture. That's not a trait suited to long term survival.

The young Coordinator looked up and saw Heero standing in the hatchway. "Oh, hey Heero. What's up?"

"Change of plans," he replied. He held up a disk. "I'm taking my work up to the control room already; the rest of the operating system is up to you. Miss Simmons wants me to assist with developing the designs I gave her team into new units for Orb." He leaned in and looked at the M1's main monitor. The Gundam pilot raised an eyebrow. "Not bad… I'm impressed that you've gotten this much done already. Keep this up and you'll have the M1 ready for trial runs in no time."

"You think so?" said Kira, surprised at the praise he was getting from the normally withdrawn pilot.

Heero nodded. "I have to say, you're a natural when it comes to programming, and I'm pretty sure it goes beyond the fact that you're a Coordinator. Did you take any engineering classes while at Heliopolis?"

"Yeah," said Kira, "that was my major at the college I was attending. The professor in one of my classes even had me work as a lab assistant on one of his projects. I think it was an O.S. for a heavy labor suit, like the kinds used in colony construction."

Or, Heero mused, considering his skills and Orb's collaboration with the Alliance, it's entirely possible that Kira's professor was in fact part of the GAT-series project, and was planning on adapting Kira's work for the operating systems of the Earth Forces new mobile suits. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. A college professor working on a new labor suit O.S. in the same colony where the Alliance is cooperating with Orb in order to develop prototype mobile suits? I highly doubt that was just a coincidence. Of course, it's no surprise Kira hasn't drawn that connection yet; he's still too trusting, too willing to take things at face value.

It hardly mattered now, but Heero still couldn't help but feel a little sorry for his fellow mobile suit pilot. In all likelihood he was already involved in this war whether he realized it or not. Even if ZAFT hadn't attacked Heliopolis, how much longer could he have worked on that project without the professor realizing that he was a Coordinator, if he hadn't already? It's entirely possible that the professor could have eventually reported the skills of his prized student to his superiors, and that they may have been planning to bring him into the project… whether he liked it or not. I have no doubt the Alliance top brass would've had no qualms over forcing him to work for them. From what I've read, it seems officers like Murrue are the exception rather than the rule.

He turned his attention back to Kira. "Alright, I'm heading back up to the control room."

"Ok," said Kira, "I'll see you later then."

Heero made his way back to the control room, noting Asagi, Mayura, and Juri staring at him as he did so. The blond even smiled and gave a wink, clearly attempting to catch his eye, most likely so she could engage in some flirting. Heero chuckled slightly. Sorry, girls, but I'm not interested.

At least, not in you three…

Images of a certain brown haired beauty flashed through his mind.

Murrue…

Just thinking about her made him want to smile, and indeed he could feel a small one creep onto his face. A warm feeling he was unaccustomed to seemed to well up within him. He wasn't sure what it was, but he definitely didn't mind it.

If this is what falling in love feels like, he thought as he entered the elevator, I could definitely get used to it…

….

On the bridge of the Archangel, Murrue checked the small display on the arm of her chair. It was currently linked to one of the ship's external cameras and showed the outer hull of the vessel crawling with Morgenroete workers. They don't waste any time, she thought.

Though it would take a few weeks to repair the extensive damage, Murrue could already see signs of progress. Several mauled hull plates had already been removed, allowing the technicians to access areas beneath them that would need repairs. Workers were also taking out pieces of the portside Gottfried, which had been thrashed by the Aegis in the battle. Eventually new parts would be brought in and the weapon reassembled, but the damage to the cannon was so extensive that the repair work on it would be some of the most time consuming of the maintenance needed. Meanwhile, down in engineering, Chief Mechanic Murdoch and his crew were quite literally crawling around inside the ship's massive thrusters, ripping out components that had been fried by the Buster's attacks.

Murrue sighed. I wish I could help, but I don't want to get in their way. Watching the progress of the work was really just a way for her to pass the time. She had already spent most of the morning in her quarters writing up combat reports and individual commendations that she hoped to present to the top brass at Alaska. My crew deserves to be rewarded for all they've done, especially in the face of such adversity, she thought, I hope command will at least take the evaluations I've written into consideration.

Even writing up her reports, while certainly something that had needed to be done, had in the end been little more than an exercise in killing time. She smiled slightly. I can't recall the last time I've felt so excited! She checked the time and saw that it was about ten minutes after noon. An hour or two left until he gets back…

Easy, girl, chided a voice in the back of her mind, you're getting all worked up over a sixteen year old boy.

"No," she whispered to herself, "he's much more than that…" So much more…

Indeed he was. To her, the young man who had so greatly impacted her life in the space of a few weeks seemed as grown up as any of her colleagues. But there was more to it than that. While the other members of her crew had only seen the strong but withdrawn side of him, Murrue had seen him at his most vulnerable, tortured by memories from a past that no person should ever have had to endure, especially someone like him. She had come to know him as a truly kind individual, whose quiet nature was the result of a lifetime of fighting, of struggling just to survive.

When we go out later, she thought, I can give him something that no one else has; a fun night on the town. While it was true that he had been the one that asked her out, Murrue knew that he had no real experience when it came to romance and matters of the heart. I'm sure he wants to show me a good time, but I'm not going to let him do all the work. She knew that, if she truly was falling for him, she would have to be more proactive than other women might be in such a situation, especially if she really wanted to discover if the bond the two of them shared was growing into something more.

Murrue had already made some preparations. When a member of Morgenroete's staff had brought over several cases of company clothing for the crew to wear while they enjoyed their leave, Murrue had arranged an exchange of currency as well so that the Archangel's crew would be able to spend some money and enjoy themselves. Naturally, she had also included herself in that category, and she now had enough cash for what she was sure would be a fun night out. I know it's usually the guy that pays for things in situations like this, she thought with a smile, but Heero's from another world, so of course any money he has other than those Alliance dollars I gave him in North Africa won't be of any use in the Cosmic Era. I certainly don't mind dishing out some cash for an occasion like this; he deserves to have someone treat him. He's earned that, and certainly much more.

Heero… please come back soon.

….

"Man, we owe the Captain big time!" said Lieutenant Commander La Flaga as he leaned back in his chair.

Indeed, thought Natarle as she raised her glass to her lips, savoring the rum-and-coke as she drank. She had been surprised when Captain Ramius had offered her and the dashing blonde pilot across the table from her one of the first shore leave rotations. She had been about to go to the bridge to start her shift early that morning when she had received a call from the Captain asking her to come to the officer's lounge. Along the way, she had run into the Lieutenant Commander and had learned that he had received a similar call. Upon their arrival, Captain Ramius had delivered some surprising news.

"Morgenroete just dropped off some clothing that's usually worn by their employees," she said, smiling, "I'm having them distributed to the crew right now. I've already begun working up a rotating leave schedule; considering the fact that our stay in Orb shall last a few weeks, I want to make sure everyone has plenty of opportunities to relax and take in some of the sights. You've all certainly earned it."

It had been then that Natarle had learned that she and La Flaga had been listed as the first of the officers to be allowed to go ashore, and that their liberty period for the day would go from nine that morning until two in the afternoon. They would be able to request different times for subsequent excursions, but for today the Captain had already written up a schedule. As soon as Captain Ramius had left for the bridge, the ever-relaxed, incredibly handsome pilot had turned to her and asked if she wanted to join him for a look around the city. Feeling a familiar warmth rushing to her face, she had barely been able to reply 'yes'.

After the two of them had changed into the red and black shirts, khaki pants, and black shoes, they had left the ship and exited the docking facility. To their surprise, they found an Orb military jeep parked outside, the driver smiling as he told them that he would drop them off in the city, and that they could radio him at anytime they were ready to head back to the ship. After being dropped off in the city's downtown shopping district, the two had actually enjoyed a pleasant walk around the area, checking out several shops. Natarle smiled slightly as she recalled La Flaga's excitement at finding a sporting goods shop, although the subsequent half hour he'd spent marveling at all the gear was somewhat less entertaining for her. Still, it had been interesting to see him get so enthusiastic over things like the latest soccer cleats, and she had actually found herself making mental notes of which items he liked the most- and were within her spending range.

Silly girl, she thought as she set her glass down, you're not actually thinking of buying something for him later… are you? Natarle blushed slightly as she realized that she was doing exactly that. What has gotten into me?

The fighter pilot had not been the only one to find something to his liking, though. Awhile later Natarle had nearly gasped as they came across a Barnes and Nobles bookstore, and it had been all her compatriot could do to convince her to only buy one book today and not blow all her money in one go. She smiled slightly as she glanced down at the bag next to her chair, containing a copy of one of her favorite novels, Moby Dick. Her father had read it to her several times when she was younger, and she had come to love the story. She had her own copy back home but had forgotten to pack it when she'd shipped out at the start of the war. Theoretically, during prolonged conflicts Alliance soldiers were supposed to get a rotation home every eight months, but in practice that regulation had been completely ignored as the conflict had bogged down and the situation became ever-more difficult for the Earth Forces in the face of ZAFTs overwhelming mobile suits. Nowadays troops were lucky to get so much as two days of shore leave for every six months they spent at a front line post. Natarle knew that it was one of the reasons why overall troop morale had fallen so low among the regular forces, and privately was disgusted with the situation. I don't care how desperate High Command is, she thought, the Home Rotation Article was written precisely to avoid this kind of burnout among front-line soldiers. We deserve better from our superiors, damn it!

Still, there was nothing she could do about it. She sighed, turning back to her drink as she took another sip. It was now about twelve-thirty, and the two of them had found a nice restaurant a little further out from the center of the city overlooking a park. It was a very nice place, advertising itself as a western style grill and family eatery, and Natarle had been unable to contain a smile as she saw her favorite food on the menu; a bacon double cheese burger, and in the case of this particular restaurant, one that supposedly weighed over a full pound! She had been all but drooling when the waiter had brought out their meal and she saw the massive burger, along with a side of garlic fries. La Flaga, on the other hand, had ordered a plate of ribs and a pale lager, and even now was turning back to his food, chowing down, determined to get every last scrap of meat off the bones, the large glass of beer half finished next to the plate.

Natarle set her drink down and picked up what remained of her sandwich, determined to finish it off despite protests from her stomach urging her to surrender. It's been five damn months since I've last had one of these, she thought, recalling her fury when she had realized upon her arrival at Heliopolis oh-so long ago that no joint in that colony had served them, I am going to enjoy every last scrap of this burger!

After taking a few small bites, she set the remnant down, vowing to finish it off before they left. "I agree," she said with a small smile, "especially considering how hard it is to come by even the smallest leave time these days."

"And that goes double for our situation," said La Flaga, "hell, I actually feel like thanking ZAFT for attacking us when they did; without all that battle damage, we would've just dropped off Cagalli and Kisaka and continued on our merry way. Man, it feels great to kick back and relax without worrying whether or not we're going to be attacked in the next five minutes!"

"Don't talk so loudly about that," Natarle admonished him, "remember, officially we aren't even supposed to be in this country."

"Right," he replied, "sorry. Guess I got a little carried away." He gave her another one of those charming smiles, the kind that never failed to make her heart beat a bit faster. "Still," he continued, a little softer now, "you got to admit that this certainly beats a combat cruise."

"I won't argue there," she sighed, "though I imagine this will be over all too soon."

"Which is why we have to enjoy this while we can" said La Flaga, finishing up the last of his ribs. As Natarle picked up what was left of her burger, he continued. "Before we know it we'll be back on our way to Alaska."

"Yeah," she said between bites. Finally finishing off her meal, she leaned back and downed the rest of her drink. "Well, shall we pay and leave?"

"Not quite yet," said La Flaga, his smile becoming mischievous. He waved a server over. "Could we get a dessert menu, please?"

"Of course," said the waitress, "I'll be right back."

Natarle stared at the fighter pilot. "You mean you're still hungry after all that?"

"Only a little," said La Flaga, "I really just want to get some quality food while I have the chance. Sure, the ship's mess isn't bad, but it does get old after awhile. Now, you and I are going to share some ice cream, assuming they have some here!"

"Hold on," said Natarle, "I just finished my burger; I can't eat another bite!"

"Oh, come on," said La Flaga, "lighten up, pig out a little. We go back to the ship in less than an hour and a half; you can worry about an upset stomach then."

She looked down, sighing in defeat. "Alright, you win."

As the waitress came back and La Flaga picked their desert, Natarle couldn't help but blush slightly as an image of the two of them leaning over an ice cream bowl went through her mind, faces mere inches apart….

Will you stop this, she berated herself, you're an Alliance officer, not some small-town schoolgirl. Besides, fraternization within the ranks is prohibited by Earth Forces regulations.

However, despite her firm beliefs that the rules and protocols must be obeyed, she couldn't stop herself from running that scene through her mind again… along with several others.

Oh dear lord, she realized, I'm falling for a fellow officer… and laid-back goofball of one at that!

Yet, try as she might, she could not deny that it was true… and she grudgingly admitted to herself that his relaxed nature was one of the reasons why she was doing so.

She could hear a small voice whispering in the back of her mind, one she thought had died near the end of her teenage years, telling her to screw the rules and go with her feelings.

No! The regulations are there for a reason! They're essential to maintain the cohesiveness and effectiveness of our military!

But aren't some of those rules, the little voice whispered in her head, a little… overbearing? Redundant? Pointless? Silly, even? Besides, all you have to do is look around to see the Fraternization Articles being violated left and right. Why should you be the only one that toes the line on that one?

She had seen Kira and Flay together on the ship during the voyage, and while both of them were now technically Alliance soldiers and subject to Earth Forces rules, she hadn't had the heart to punish or report them. It was uncharacteristic of her, and she suspected that part of the reason why she didn't do it was because she actually felt sorry for them, having been dragged into the war against their will. More than that, she was beginning to realize that she wanted something like that herself; someone to take comfort in while the conflict raged across the Earth Sphere. Someone to be with, to share herself with… she wanted a relationship.

And she suspected she wasn't the only one. She had noticed how their other mobile suit pilot seemed to be growing closer to Captain Ramius, and that she was making a considerable effort to get to know him. Could she and Heero be… no, they couldn't. Even with all the rules she's already broken, I doubt Captain Ramius would go that far. And yet…

There was something in their behavior that suggested that more than a close friendship was forming between them…

"Alright, it's here!" said La Flaga, snapping her out of her thoughts. Turning her attention back to the table in front of her, she saw a rather large bowl of vanilla ice cream had been set between her and the Lieutenant Commander.

My stomach is going to hate me for this, she thought as she grabbed a spoon. Still, as the two of them began to dig in, one of her previous mental images flashed through her mind again, causing her to smile slightly. Still, I suppose I can put up with an upset tummy this time… but we're not going to eat nearly this much on our next date, Mu La Flaga! I'll make sure of that…

….

Murrue smiled as she saw Heero, Kira, and Erica on one of the outer hull monitors. The three of them had just entered the dock facility. Checking the time, she saw that it was about five minutes until two. Natarle and La Flaga had come back about ten minutes early, and the black-haired Lieutenant had already changed into her uniform and was on the bridge. Murrue had noticed that she seemed unusually cheerful, a warm smile on her face as she took her place in the CIC. I wonder if something happened with La Flaga, she thought. After a moment, Murrue decided that it was none of her business. She had more important things to concern herself with in any case.

Such as the Gundam pilot that was approaching the ship.

"Lieutenant Badgiruel," said Murrue, "the bridge is yours. I'll be leaving the ship in a little while, so you're in command for the evening. Ensign Neumann will relieve you and take swing shift later."

The Lieutenant's eyes widened slightly at that, but she didn't raise any objections. "Understood, Captain."

At that, Murrue stood up and quickly left the bridge, moving as fast as she could without breaking into a jog towards the ship's portside hatch. Her smile would not disappear, and she could not deny her excitement as she exited the vessel and went down the gangway to meet the approaching trio. When she reached the bottom, she took a moment to compose herself as they walked up to her, hoping she didn't look as giddy as she felt. He's back, and almost exactly on time! I'll give him a chance to change and get cleaned up, and then we can go out!

"How did everything go?" she asked as they approached.

Erica smiled. "Quite well. I'd like to borrow them again tomorrow, though I'll come by a little later next time. Does, say, oh eight hundred work for you?"

"That's fine," Murrue replied. "How about you two?" she asked the pilots.

"Sure," said Heero.

"Yeah, sounds great," said Kira.

"Splendid," said Erica, "I'll see you all tomorrow then."

As the engineer walked away, Kira turned to Murrue. "Mind if I go grab something to eat and shower? I could really use it."

Murrue smiled. "Of course. In fact, consider yourself free for the rest of the day. The same goes for any other day after you've completed working with Morgenroete."

Kira's eyes widened slightly. "Really? Thank you, Captain!"

"It's the least I can do," she said, "now go, get a meal and clean up."

"Yes, ma'am," he said, and headed up the gangway.

She turned to Heero, who had a slight smile on his face. "I'm assuming that goes for me, too?"

Murrue couldn't help but giggle a bit. "Yes, or at least the clean up bit. By the way, I've laid some clothes out on your bed. Morgenroete brought them over; they're for whenever we go outside their facilities."

Heero nodded. "I guess it'll be nice to have something different to wear. I'll change into those after I shower."

"Do you need something to eat too?" she asked.

He shook his head. His eyes met hers. "I was thinking I'd save that for when we go out in a little while. Maybe we could hit a restaurant later."

Murrue smiled. "I'd like that. Shall we head aboard? I'll come by your quarters in about a half an hour."

Heero nodded, and the two of them made their way towards the hatch. As they boarded the ship, Murrue felt her excitement building. A half hour for me to get changed and freshen up a little, she thought, that should be enough.

She looked at the young man next to her, who to her surprise still had that slight smile on his face. I wonder… is he as excited about this as I am?

Does he feel the same way I feel?

….

A little while later, Heero found himself in front of the mirror in the washroom of his quarters. It felt strange, after wearing if for so long, to be out of that green tank-top. Still, as he looked himself over, he had to admit he liked his new outfit; a simple red and black shirt, khaki pants, black shoes and a belt, just like most of the employees he had seen at the Morgenroete facility earlier that day, or at least those not involved in heavy mechanical work. They tended to wear jumpsuits like the one Kira had been given before they had left that morning.

He took a deep breath in an effort to quell the nervousness in his gut. It subsided somewhat, but a little bit remained. I suppose I'll just have to put up with it, he thought, maybe it's natural to feel this way… it is my first date, after all.

Leaving the washroom, he picked up the knife on his bed and put it in his pocket. While he couldn't conceal his gun in this outfit, he still didn't want to go out unarmed, so the blade was his only option. He knew that in theory they would have nothing to worry about, but he still wanted to be able to protect Murrue if they were attacked.

Despite the remaining flicker of anxiety, he couldn't help but smile slightly. It's time. Taking a moment to collect himself, he opened the door and left his quarters.

As he stepped into the hallway, he saw that Murrue was already there waiting for him. She smiled, and he returned it as he walked up to her. She was wearing the same basic outfit as he was, but it didn't matter to him; she was as beautiful as ever and perhaps even more so now that he could finally see her in something other than a military uniform. While the Morgenroete garb might not be considered to be truly casual wear, it still struck him as more informal on her than the Alliance uniform. Though she had never seemed tense to him, Heero realized that she seemed a little more relaxed to him, as though the simple act of changing out of her military attire had removed a weight from her shoulders.

"You look nice," said Murrue as he came up to her.

"Thanks," said Heero, noting the flicker of blue light as he saw the stone of the necklace he'd given her against her chest. His eyes met hers. "You look… beautiful."

He felt the heat rushing to his face immediately after he said those words. Couldn't you have said something a little lower key, Heero? 'Good',' great', 'lovely', something like that?

However, as he was mentally berating himself on his word choice, Heero saw her smile grow a little bigger, and he could feel his doubts wash away. "Thank you, Heero!" she said, "Shall we get going?"

"Yeah," he replied. As they left the ship, they took the same rout La Flaga and Natarle had out of the facility earlier. Waiting for them was their own open-topped jeep and driver, another friendly company employee.

"You're the Captain, right?" he asked Murrue as they climbed into the back seats.

She nodded. "Yes," she said, and then turned to Heero, smiling, "and this is my best pilot, Heero Yuy."

"I've heard of you," said the driver as he revved up the engine, "you're the pilot of Wing Zero, right?"

"Yeah," Heero replied. I wonder where he heard that? I wouldn't think a simple driver would have access to that kind of information?

Fortunately for him, the driver gave him the answer without prompting. "I've got a few buddies in the military," he said as they drove out of the Morgenroete complex and turned onto the main road heading into the city, "and one of them was on the Kumano when it led the task force out to escort you guys. He said Colonel Kisaka was talking about you to the skipper later on. I think it was after you guys ditched the ZAFT forces at the border."

"I see," said Heero.

"You know," the driver continued, "your name's really starting to get around military circles. I guess you must be pretty good."

Heero shrugged. "Whatever you say."

The driver took that as his cue to turn his attention back to the road. Heero felt Murrue nudge him with her elbow. "What's up?" he asked.

She smiled at him. "Don't be so modest. I certainly wouldn't blame you for bragging a little."

Heero gave a small laugh. "It's not really my style."

"I know," she said, and he was surprised to feel her grab his hand and give it a soft squeeze, "still, you should have a little more pride in your abilities. I wasn't exaggerating when I said you're my best pilot."

"I figured that," he said, smiling a little, "I've just never been one to really boast about my skills. I prefer to let my actions do the talking." Without thinking, he gripped her hand a little tighter.

"I think that's a good attitude to have," said Murrue, "and your actions since you've joined us have spoken volumes about you. Not to mention they've saved my life several times."

"A trend I plan to continue," he said. He glanced to the side as the jeep approached the city, the buildings growing taller with each passing minute. "I promised to protect you, and that's a vow I will not break."

"I know you won't," she said, "I trust you with my life, Heero."

He looked at her, and their eyes met. "I know I'll be alright as long as you're around," said Murrue, "I believe in you."

His eyes widened slightly. No one had talked to him like this since Relena. "Murrue… I…" In the end, all he could do was smile at her. "Thank you," he said.

"You're welcome, Heero," she said. A silence fell between them, broken only by the sound of the jeep's engine and passing traffic. It wasn't awkward though, and Heero found himself content just to sit there with her, holding her hand while the wind tussled their hair. As Murrue smiled at him, Heero was sure that she felt the same way.

After about ten minutes they came to a bustling shopping district. The driver pulled to the side of the road. "Alright, we're here."

As the climbed out of the jeep, he spoke again. "A couple blocks east of here there's this huge park. They always got something interesting going on there, no matter what day of the year it is. You two should check it out when you're done here."

Heero nodded. "Thanks." He turned to Murrue. "What do you think; you want to head by there a little later?"

She smiled. "Sure, I think I'd enjoy a nice walk through a park. It feels like forever since I've done something like that."

"Have fun, you two!" said the driver. Then he drove off, leaving the two of them standing on the edge of a busy sidewalk.

Heero turned and saw that they were actually in front of the entrance to a large shopping mall. "Do you want to look around here for awhile?" he asked.

"Oh, I was hopping you'd ask that," she said, her face glowing, "I'd love to do a little shopping." She giggled as he raised an eyebrow, feeling slightly apprehensive. "Just a little, Heero. Trust me; I'm not one of those women that buy out half a clothing store's worth of merchandise."

Heero couldn't help but smile slightly at that. "You don't strike me as that type," he said, "but I've still heard a few wild stories from some of my friends, so I was a little worried."

"Don't be," she said, "so, shall we?"

He nodded. "Lead the way, Murrue."

They wound up spending about forty-five minutes in the mall, much to Heero's relief. They went into a few clothing stores, and Murrue spent most of the time just trying things on. Heero was half-convinced that she was doing it as much for him as she was for herself, as all of the outfits had looked stunning on her. When she'd asked for his opinions on them, he'd had a hard time answering; how could he say which one was the best when he was more focused on the beautiful woman that was wearing them? In the end though, she had forced him to make up his mind on which one was the best for her, and it had been that one she'd bought. It was a simple enough outfit; a white blouse and a pair of blue jeans, but to Heero that simplicity had been part of what had made it so lovely on her. The clothes seemed to put more emphasis on the woman wearing them than on themselves, and served merely to accentuate her beauty in a subtle, almost classical sense. The Gundam pilot really couldn't find the right words to describe it, but he definitely felt it had been better suited to Murrue than some of the other, more complicated ensembles she had tried on.

When he'd asked why his opinion had mattered so much, Murrue had smiled and replied, "because I trust you to speak your mind. I know you'll be honest with me, and not just tell me what I want to hear."

Watching her pay for it, he'd suddenly felt guilty for not having any money of his own to help her with her purchase. It was silly, but he wanted to buy something for her, especially considering all she had done for him since he had arrived. However, Murrue had just smiled at him and said that she didn't mind at all. "Trust me," she had said, "I have no problem being the one paying for things tonight. Not just for myself, but for you as well; you deserve to have someone treat you, especially after all you've done for us."

Now, as they walked out of the mall, she was wearing the outfit she'd just bought, her clothes from Morgenroete in the bag she'd gotten from the store. The blue stone of the necklace shimmered in the late afternoon sun as they walked east along the busy avenue towards the park the driver had mentioned, taking in the sights along the way. They moved slowly, pausing to look in the windows of the many shops in the area, several with exotic merchandise. Heero had never considered himself one for window shopping, but found that he was actually enjoying it, mainly because it was with someone he was coming to care more for with each passing day.

As they continued to explore the town, he had noticed that they were drawing looks from people of both genders. Several men had begun staring at Murrue, and they were hardly being subtle about it, but Heero had been somewhat surprised to see that he was being ogled as well by many of the women in the area. Some of them were even giving Murrue jealous glares, which had proceeded to turn into shock when, much to Heero's surprise, she looped her arm through his, drawing herself closer to him.

The move had caught him completely off guard, and he had momentarily frozen, but as he looked over and saw her smiling at him, he felt himself relax. After about a minute, Heero had even found himself gently pulling her a bit closer to him with his arm. Surprising himself with his boldness –or at least, it felt bold to him-, he was even more shocked when Murrue let him do it, with no signs of resistance or hesitation. The feeling had only lasted for a second though, and soon he had relaxed again, and was now smiling as they continued their stroll through town. The warmth that flowed through his body reminded him of their ride into the city in the jeep, only now it was actually stronger.

He looked over at her as they stopped in front of another shop, this one with several pieces of jewelry from Central Asia in the window. Could I… really be falling for her? The thought would not leave him alone. It continued to hover there in the back of his mind, but he was alright with that. He knew that all he could do was allow things to play out as they would; he would know for sure eventually. For the moment, he was having a good time just being with Murrue, and that was enough for him.

"This is wonderful," she said as they moved along, "I almost feel like I'm back in my hometown… and that we're at peace." She smiled wistfully, and Heero could see the longing in her eyes.

At the same time, her comments made him realize something; for all that he had told Murrue about himself, he realized that he knew so little about her life before they had met. How could I have been so selfish? All I've ever talked about is myself; I've asked her nothing about her own life! He resolved to fix that immediately.

"What was your hometown like?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing special," said Murrue, "nothing worth talking about."

"I disagree," he said, stopping in his tracks. He looked at her. "Murrue… I haven't once asked you about yourself since we've met. I've been so damn selfish, just talking about my own problems, my past life… it never occurred to me to ask you about your own."

"Heero…" she said, her eyes widening.

"Murrue," he said, "if it's alright… I want to know more about you. About your life, how you came into the military…" He looked down for a moment. "If that's ok with you, that is. I'm sorry if I'm prying; you don't have to answer if you don't want to. It's just… I feel like such a self-centered bastard… I should've asked you sooner…"

"Heero," she said, putting a hand on his cheek. He looked at her, and saw that she was smiling. "It's alright, really. We've both been so busy just trying to survive, and I wanted so badly to learn more about you… I never once thought of telling you about my own life. Believe me; I don't think you've been selfish at all. Stop beating yourself up like this, alright? You have nothing to apologize for."

"Murrue…" he said. After a moment, he gave her a small smile of his own. "Alright. Still… I want to know more about you… if you want to tell me, anyway. You don't have to."

"Of course I'll tell you," she said, "actually, to be honest I'm the one who should feel selfish. You told me so much about your past, including your worst memories, and I've told you nothing in return. Let's find somewhere to sit down, and I'll tell you whatever you want to know."

He nodded, and they walked for a few more minutes until they found a coffee shop. They could see entrance to the park further up the street and decided they'd go there after their talk. They went to the counter and just ordered two waters, and when they got their drinks they grabbed a table by one of the windows.

"So," she said smiling, "what do you want to know?"

"Whatever you want to tell me," he said, returning her smile, "You respected my privacy back in North Africa, so the least I can do is return the favor."

"Well, I guess I'll start from the beginning then," she said, "my early life wasn't very interesting. My family's from Norfolk, Virginia, and that's where I was born and raised. My mother's a secretary for a law firm based in the city, and my father's an Alliance naval officer. I was born on October 12, Cosmic Era 45. Back then the Earth Alliance didn't exist, so he was serving in the Atlantic Federation forces."

"Do you know where he's posted right now?" asked Heero.

"He's actually the base commandant at the Norfolk Navy Yard," she said, smiling slightly, "father always loved the sea… I suppose it was natural for him to join the navy, though having a desk job now probably irks him a bit."

"I'm glad he's still alive, along with your mother," said Heero.

"As am I" she said, "I can't imagine the pain you must have gone through, growing up without your parents."

"I don't know," he replied, "I mean, I never knew them, so it's not like they were just suddenly taken from me in an accident one day. It's true that I've wondered sometimes who they were… but it doesn't hurt, really. There's just emptinessthere, I guess. But we're getting sidetracked; we're talking about you this time, remember?"

"Of course," said Murrue, "but I still wish you had at least known who they were; you deserve that."

"I appreciate the thought, Murrue," said Heero, "but I'm alright, really. Now, what about your childhood?"

She smiled. "Not too exciting, really. I attended the usual twelve years of school. I had some good friends. There was one boyfriend in my senior year, but that only lasted about a month; I found out the guy was a player, and was just trying to add me to his list of 'conquests'. Not to mention he was sleeping with three other girls in that time period. I dumped him pretty quickly after that."

"So you two didn't…" said Heero, blushing a bit as he found himself unable to finish the sentence.

Murrue laughed. "No, Heero, I never went all the way with him. Even back then, I was the type of girl who needed to have a meaningful relationship with a guy before I would sleep with him. That hasn't changed."

"I see," he said, feeling somewhat relieved. What's wrong with you, Heero? So what if she had slept with him back then; it would've been her call to make. Still, he could not deny that he was glad to hear that she hadn't decided to become more intimate with the bastard, so to speak.

"Enough about that jerk," said Murrue, "anyway, I graduated near the top of my class. I could have gone to any of the state universities, but I decided to enroll in the Atlantic Federations Naval Reserves. It was actually around that time that the space forces were being brought under the umbrella of the Navy. Before then they had actually been an independent branch of the armed forces. I think they consolidated the two services due to budget cuts; they were trying to funnel as much cash and resources as they could into developing new warships and the mobile armor program, so there was a huge effort to trim down spending in other areas like administration."

"Why the reserves and not the full service?" asked Heero.

"Well," said Murrue, "at the time, I was torn between two possible career paths. On the one hand was the desire to follow in my father's footsteps and join the Navy, but on the other… I had also thought about being a teacher. At the time, the Atlantic Federation was offering full college scholarships to those who scored at the top of the reservist program, so I figured it was a good way to kill two birds with one stone; I'd get a taste of military life and at the same time be able to prepare for college. I sure as hell didn't want to be saddled with student loans to pay back for the rest of my life."

"I take it the military suited you better?" said Heero.

"Well, here's the thing," said Murrue, "I completed my training at the Virginia Military Institute, and even graduated from the program as a Reserve Lieutenant two years later, but I was still undecided. I took a year off from further schooling and worked as a waitress at a restaurant in order to save up some extra cash, then decided to take advantage of the scholarship program. I enrolled at James Madison University and started attending classes fall quarter of C.E. 66. My declared major was education."

"How was college life?" he asked.

"Oh, interesting," replied Murrue with a smile, "I had another shot at romance early on in my freshman year. The guy seemed nice enough, but about three months into the relationship I found out that he was cheating on me, so I broke things off. I'm not sure why he did it; I actually did wind up 'going all the way' with him, you might say, but he still apparently thought I wasn't good enough. I enjoyed being with him, and thought we might have a shot at something more long-term… oh, well. Loyalty is important to me, and apparently he hadn't gotten that message. From then on I decided to focus solely on my education."

"'Not good enough'?" said Heero, feeling an unexpected surge of anger. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, his eyes met hers. "I'd like to find that guy and beat the hell out of him for treating you like that. Forget 'not good enough'; you were too good for him."

She smiled and reached across the table, grabbing his hand. "Heero… thank you. That means a lot to me." She laughed slightly. "And that 'beat the hell out of him' line certainly didn't hurt either, though I slugged him pretty good when I broke things off. Reserve training gave me a mean right hook."

"I don't doubt it," said Heero, laughing a bit with her. After a moment, he became more serious. "Still, you didn't deserve that."

"I don't think anyone does," she replied, "but it happens. The best we can do is move on. So long as we're alive, there's always the chance to meet someone new. Besides, life is too short to get stuck on such things; we need to enjoy it while we can."

"So how did the rest of your college experience go?" asked Heero.

"Well," she said, "I got my associates degree in C.E. 68 and began working on my bachelor's degree. However, I had only been two months into my junior year when I was called up to active service."

"What?" said Heero, surprised, "But I thought that hostilities between Earth and the PLANTs didn't begin until C.E. 70."

"That's correct," said Murrue, "but relationships were already deteriorating at the point I was called up. They had actually been increasing recruitment for the past year and a half, and had begun activating some of the reserves about six months before I received my notice. I shipped out to the Lunar Base to receive new training in extraterrestrial warfare. I had gotten basic courses in it during reserve training, but my military education had been focused primarily on surface operations. The GINN had been rolled out by ZAFT the previous year, so the Atlantic Federation was extremely nervous, as were several of the other terrestrial powers. Rapid military expansion was inevitable in that climate."

"Anyway," she continued, "after about six months of training, I received my first assignment as a Brevet Lieutenant aboard the Nelson-class battleship Patton as a navigator. Three months after that I was made a full Lieutenant and switched over to the role of managing the ship's CIC. It was a bit rough, changing jobs like that, but I managed to adapt well enough. Apparently my skills caught the eyes of my superiors, and by the time hostilities broke out in C.E. 70 I actually had my own command; the Drake-class escort ship Antietam."

"Was it unusual for a Lieutenant to have their own command?" asked Heero, "I know you were forced to take charge of the Archangel at that rank, but those were extreme circumstances."

"You're right on the second bit," Murrue replied, "but as for the first, full Lieutenants routinely got command of escort ships, mainly because we had so many of them. We still do as far as I know, but the navy has taken heavy losses since the war began, so there just aren't as many ships now as there were back then, regardless of how fast the Alliance tries to replace the vessels destroyed in action."

She smiled. "It was around that time that I had begun to fall in love again. This time it was with one of the ship's mobile armor pilots; a Drake typically carries two of them, though I know quite a few have been running empty these days. Anyway, this guy wasn't like the last ones. He was kind, idealistic… perhaps a bit naïve, but I could forgive him for that."

"What was his name?" said Heero, feeling a bit uneasy. Knowing her, she wouldn't have been allowing herself to grow closer to the Gundam pilot if the person in question was still alive. He was treading on painful ground for her, and was worried that he might open up an old wound by mistake.

However, she showed no sign of hesitation as she answered him. "Patrick James. He was a Private when the war broke out; my ship was his first field assignment. We started talking during lunch breaks, and eventually we grew close." She sighed, her smile becoming bittersweet. "I thought I might finally have a chance at a real relationship this time… but the life spans of mobile armor pilots had been projected to be mere months even before the fighting began, and it turned out even those estimates were generous."

"How did he die?" Heero asked softly.

"Quickly," said Murrue, "My ship was one of those assigned to the first major engagement of the war; the Battle of Yggdrasil. It lasted for about a month; the Alliance and ZAFT were trying to gain control over the space station that the battle was named for. The casualties on both sides were… appalling. The battle ended in a draw, and the station was destroyed in the final confrontation. Patrick… died on the second day of fighting. His mobile armor was destroyed by a GINN. It went down with a single shot through the cockpit; his death would've been instantaneous."

"I'm sorry," said Heero, his voice so soft it was almost a whisper. He felt foolish, but he couldn't think of anything else to say.

He was surprised when Murrue once again grabbed his hand. Giving him a soft smile, she spoke. "It's alright; you weren't the one that killed him after all. Besides, you told me about memories that were incredibly painful to you; how can I not do the same?"

"You don't have to," said Heero, "I don't want to cause you to feel that pain again."

"You aren't," she replied, still smiling, "Patrick's death was a heavy blow to me, and I did mourn for awhile… but the human heart is truly a resilient thing, Heero. It may hurt for a time, but eventually it helps us move forward."

Her eyes met his. "After a few months, I found the strength to move on. I missed Patrick, of course, but I knew he wouldn't want his death to stop me from finding happiness in my life. My heart is ready to love again, should I find someone I can believe in and devote myself to."

Could that be me, Heero thought, am I even worthy of the love of someone like her? His mind argued against it, but his instincts were leaning in favor. There was just something about her behavior over the past week, something that seemed to indicate a deepening of the bond that was between them. Maybe… I suppose I'll find out when the time is right.

"Heero," she said, bringing him back to the conversation, "thank you."

"For what?" he said, a little confused.

"For your words, your condolences," said Murrue, "they may seem hollow to you, but I assure you that they are not to me. I truly appreciate your thoughtfulness, your consideration… you really are a wonderfully compassionate man."

"Oh," he said, "in that case… you're welcome, Murrue. Do you still want to continue? If you don't, that's fine."

She smiled. "It's alright, I don't have that much further to go in any case. My ship was damaged in the fighting, and we were forced to return to the Lunar Base for repairs. It was during that time I received transfer orders to Project G, the program under which our prototype mobile suits and the Archangel were developed under. After I was read in, Command transferred me to Heliopolis, where I began working as one of the supervisors for the construction of the mobile suits and the warship. It was in that time that I familiarized myself with most of the workings of the Archangel. I wasn't sure exactly where I would be posted once the project was completed. I thought that if I made myself an expert on the new warship, I could convince my superiors to assign me to her; I really was impressed with the vessel, and had even become somewhat attached to it after awhile."

"I suppose the ZAFT attack did you a favor in a sense, then" said Heero.

"Yes, you do have a point," Murrue replied, smiling slightly, "though I would have preferred to earn my captaincy under different circumstances… but in the end, I got to meet you, so I'm not going to complain."

"Yeah," Heero nodded, "I guess I owe ZAFT for that."

Murrue laughed a little. "Perhaps, but I'm not sure they appreciate the way you've been repaying them."

Heero gave a small laugh as well. "If they want me to repay them without killing them, they should stop shooting at us."

"Wouldn't that be nice?" she replied. After a moment, she stood up. "Well, I think I've told you everything important." She held out her hand. "Shall we?"

Heero nodded and took it. As she pulled him to his feet, he met her gaze. "Thank you, Murrue. I'm sure some of that wasn't easy for you."

"It's alright," she said, "I really didn't mind telling you." As they left the shop they saw the park a little further down the road. "Well," Murrue said, smiling, "do you want to head on over there?"

He nodded. "Yeah." As they started walking, he felt her put her arm around his again. They looked at each other and smiled, happy just to be able to spend such a peaceful afternoon together without having to worry about a possible enemy attack.

Eventually they reached the park, and Heero was surprised to see that it was much larger than he had expected. In fact, he couldn't even see the other side of it. There were many trees, open areas for families to relax and have a picnic, several trails… it reminded him of pictures he'd seen of New York's famous Central Park. Sure, the vegetation was different-Orb was just beneath the equator, after all- and this park was nowhere near the size of the one in the Big Apple, but it still had that same friendly, soothing atmosphere to it. As they went through a large archway, Heero saw a map posted near the entrance to the park. Apparently, there was a pond near the center of the area, and the park itself took up a few city blocks. Near the pond was a large open concrete area for staging events.

"Well," he said after studying the layout for a few seconds, "should we head towards the center?"

"Sure," she said. As they continued inward, he saw her smile. "This place is wonderful… it feels like it's been ages since I've been in a park like this."

"Yeah," Heero replied, "I know what you mean."

They walked in silence for awhile, content to slowly stroll through the area and take in their surroundings. There were many people there, even as late afternoon was slowly turning into early evening. Families enjoying time together after a busy day, joggers either by themselves or with friends or pets… to Heero, it almost felt like he was in another world. Not literally, his present situation aside, but it was like the shadow of war that had always hung over his life just didn't exist here. It's so strange, he thought, back when the Eve Wars ended, these kinds of places actually made me a bit uncomfortable; with all the blood on my hands, I didn't feel right being in such a serene area like this.

He looked over at Murrue, whose arm was once again linked with his, clearly enjoying herself. As she turned to him and smiled, he couldn't help but do the same. He realized that the feeling of not belonging in such a place was no longer with him… because he was with her. Her very presence almost seemed to lift some unknown weight from his shoulders, some burden that he couldn't describe. He didn't know what it was, only that it was there, had always been there… until he'd met her and gotten to know her.

Turning his attention back to his surroundings, he realized that a new sound was floating on the wind. It was soft, but as they kept walking towards the center of the park it got louder, and Heero realized that it was music.

"That's a flute," he said, "You hear that, right?"

Murrue nodded. "Yes, and I think there's some violins as well."

Closing his eyes and focusing just on his sense of hearing, Heero realized that she was right. He could hear a mix of string instruments along with the flute.

He opened his eyes and looked at Murrue. "Well, you want to go check it out?"

She smiled. "Sure, I'd like that. I can't quite make out the melody from here, but it sounds lovely."

They headed a little further up the path, and after a few minutes they came to the center of the park. As they walked around the pond, they saw an entire orchestra, along with several rows of folding chairs full of spectators. More people were standing behind them, observing the performance.

Murrue smiled. "An outdoor concert, and a classical one at that! I haven't seen one of these since college." She turned to Heero. "Do you mind if we stick around and watch for awhile?"

He returned her smile. "Not at all. It'd be a nice way to relax."

Together, they made their way towards the crowd, standing at the back of the audience. The music softened as the orchestra wound down their current piece. When the song ended, the crowd broke into applause and cheers.

After a few minutes the performers began their next piece, and Heero's eyes widened in shock as a familiar tune was played by the flutes and violins. No way! They have this one… in this world… His mind went back to his days as a student at the St. Gabriel Institute, his first cover during Operation Meteor…

More specifically, to the night when OZ had attacked the facility in an attempt to kill Relena, during the school ball….when he'd danced with her.

An odd thought flashed through his mind, and he was going to dismiss it outright, but his instincts, his feelings… were telling him to go for it.

He turned to the wonderful, beautiful woman at his side. "Murrue," he said, "will you dance with me?"

Her eyes widened slightly, and then she smiled. "Yes, of course," she said, "but do you even know how?"

He nodded. "Let me lead."

After she set her bag down, Heero took her left hand in his right. At the same time, he gently pulled her in with his left hand, putting it on her right shoulder. She smiled as he did so, and put her right hand on his left shoulder.

"You've done this before," she said as they moved, Heero gently guiding her steps. It wasn't a question; his moves were deliberate, with no hesitation, flowing with the music.

"Yes," he replied, "with Relena, the night OZ attacked her school and tried to kill her."

"Now I remember," said Murrue, "you talked about that in North Africa. It was after they killed her father, right?"

"Yes," said Heero, "I was forced to sortie in the Wing Gundam in order to save her."

"That must've been quite a sight for those kids," she said as he guided her through a smooth twirl.

"I suppose it was," he said as he caught her at the end of her spin, leading her back into the main steps of the waltz, "I was a little too busy fighting to pay much attention to them."

Murrue gave a soft laugh. "Of course," she said.

They were quiet for a moment, and then Heero spoke up. "Murrue, this song… was played at that ball."

Her eyes widened in surprise. "Are you serious? This exact song?"

"Yes," he replied. He gave her a small smile. "I guess the composer existed in both of our worlds… who knows? Dimensional physics and alternate universes aren't exactly my areas of expertise."

"Mine neither," said Murrue, "you know, I bet there are other artists and song writers that both our worlds have in common."

"Maybe," said Heero, "I haven't exactly been doing fine arts research lately."

"I know," Murrue replied, "but still, it's interesting to think about."

"Yeah," he said softly. Silence came between the two of them, and they just continued to move with the music.

About halfway into the song, without thinking about it, Heero felt himself pulling Murrue in a little closer to him. He was about to stop himself, but then he felt her move even closer on her own. She smiled at him, and Heero was relieved to see that his actions hadn't disturbed her. They continued to dance, and the rest of the world around them seemed to fade, until all Heero saw was the woman in his arms, all he heard was the song…

…he wanted it to last forever.

Unfortunately, it was not to be. All too soon, it seemed, the song began to wind down, softly fading out. When the last note was played, his eyes met Murrue's. Her face was radiant, and her smile was the most beautiful one he'd seen yet.

"Heero," she said, "that was wonderful. Thank you."

All he could do was give her a small smile of his own in return. "You're welcome, Murrue."

The crowd broke into applause, and as the two of them pulled apart they saw that many of the people were actually looking at them, smiling and cheering as they clapped. Heero immediately felt a surge of heat rushing to his face. I didn't think people were watching us!

He felt Murrue grab his hand, and as he looked over at her he felt his nerves calm a little. Smiling again, the two of them did a small bow before their audience. Then Murrue picked up her bag, looped her arm through Heero's again, and the two of them moved away as the next song started.

"I don't know about you," said Murrue, "but I'm getting hungry. Would you like to go grab something to eat?"

Heero nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good right now."

As late afternoon gave way to evening, the two of them made their way towards the opposite end of the park. When they got towards the edge, they saw that that side of the park bordered a street that was lined on the opposite side with several different kinds of restaurants.

"How convenient," said Heero as the crossed the street and began evaluating their options.

"I'll say," said Murrue. Her eyes widened slightly, and she dragged Heero over to an eatery specializing in seafood. "Check this out," she said, pointing at a notice underneath the sign, "they have karaoke in the evenings. Let's go here!"

Heero was slightly taken aback. "Karaoke… Murrue, I can't sing."

"Oh, sure you can, Heero," she said, smiling, "it's not hard, you'll be fine."

He wanted to protest further, but upon seeing how excited she was, he just didn't have the heart to do it. "Alright," he said, "I suppose I can try one song, but only if you go first."

"Of course," said Murrue as they walked into the establishment, "I was going to say that anyway!"

They walked up to the hostess, who immediately took them to a table. It was against a wall, and had a good view of the stage that occupied the rear of the dining area. As they took their seats, she smiled and handed out the menus. "By the way," she said, "we'll be passing around our sign-up sheet and song list for our evening karaoke in about five minutes. Please, feel free to join in. The more we get, the more fun the night is!"

"Of course," said Murrue, smiling, "that's one of the reasons we choose this place to begin with."

"Excellent," she said, "I'll come by with the list soon, and I'll take your orders then too. Can I get you two something to drink in the meantime?"

"Just water for me," said Murrue.

"How about you, sir?" asked the hostess as she turned to Heero.

"The same for me," he said.

"Alright, I'll be back in a few minutes," she said. Before she left she winked at Heero. "I can't wait to see you on stage, cutie."

Heero looked down nervously at that. He'd never done anything like this in his life. Should I back out? No… I told Murrue I'd do one song, so I'll do one. No more than that.

"Heero," said Murrue, causing him to look up at her, "It's alright, you'll do fine. In a place like this, it doesn't matter if you think you're a good singer or not. All that counts is that you try to have some fun while you're doing it."

"Alright," he said. After a moment he asked her, "Was this something you did in college, too?"

She smiled. "A couple times, yes. I loved it, but I haven't had a chance to do it since then. That's why I wanted to come here when I saw that sign. Thank you for going along with me, Heero. I realize I must've caught you off guard, and I apologize for that."

Heero smiled slightly. "It's alright. I couldn't refuse, not after I saw how happy you looked."

"Oh, Heero…," she said, reaching across the table and giving his hand a squeeze, "I'll only do one song, so you only have to do one as well, alright?"

"Sure," he replied, "maybe they'll have some I know from A.C. on the list."

"I hope so," she said, "Do me a favor though; I'll sign up first, so don't look at the piece I select on the list when you write your name and song down, alright? I want to surprise you, just in case the song I pick happens to be from your world."

"Alright," he said. He looked at the menu in front of him. "Shall we figure out what we want to eat?"

"Yes," she said. After about a minute she looked at him. "I know we just had it yesterday before the meeting, but they have a shrimp platter in here that looks amazing. Do you want to split it?"

"Sure," said Heero, "that's fine with me."

"Great," she said.

A few minutes later their hostess returned. As she came up to the table, she put two sheets on it, along with two glasses of water. "Here's the list and sign-up sheet," she said, "and have you two figured out what you want to eat?"

"Yes," said Murrue, "we'll split your shrimp platter."

"An excellent choice," she said, "oh, here." She gave Murrue a pen. "I'll wait here until you two have picked your songs. You're in luck; yours is the first table that gets to choose!"

"Thank you," said Murrue. She looked at the list, and Heero saw her eyes light up as one piece apparently caught her attention. "Oh, you have it…" Smiling, she wrote her name and the name of the song on the list. She passed the papers and pen over to Heero. "Remember, no peeking at my song."

He smiled slightly. "Alright." Heero made sure to cover the top of the sign-up sheet with his arm so he wouldn't see her pick. Scanning the list, he was surprised to see that quite a few of the songs were ones he was familiar with. How about that…

After a moment, he saw on in particular, and he couldn't help but smile again. I hadn't counted on finding this one… I wonder if she'll like it… Writing his name and song pick down, he passed the papers and pen back to the hostess.

"Thank you so much for participating," she said as she took them, "I'll call your names when we're ready to start. It should be in about twenty minutes. We'll have your food ready by then, too."

"Great," said Murrue, "thank you."

She nodded before moving on to the next table. For a few minutes, neither Heero nor Murrue spoke; both were content to just look around, observing the restaurant's clientele. It was a rather diverse crowd; tables full of friends, families, coworkers… all enjoying good food and a relaxing evening. This place, he thought, I could certainly get used to it… especially if I came with Murrue again.

"Hey, Heero," said Murrue, causing him to turn his attention back to her, "Mind if I ask you something?"

"Of course not," he replied, "what is it?"

"What were the other Gundam pilots like?" she said.

"Well," he said, "they're an interesting bunch, that's for sure. Our pasts we tended to keep to ourselves, but I was able to get some general information on the others. Duo Maxwell, the pilot of the Deathscythe, was from one of the L2 colonies. A lot of families in that area are from the old United States, so I'm pretty sure his ancestry is American. He was definitely the most energetic of the five of us. Very outgoing, pretty optimistic and cheerful… not what you'd expect from the pilot whose nickname was the 'God of Death'."

"The God of Death?" Murrue repeated, eyes wide.

"Well," said Heero, "he called himself that, but it certainly helped that his Gundam's primary weapon was a beam scythe."

"I see," said Murrue, "what about the others?"

"Heavyarms's pilot," he said, "Trowa Barton, was from the L3 cluster. The demographic out that way is pretty diverse, but there were a significant amount of families who could trace their ancestry back to Eastern Europe. It's possible his was one of them, though I don't know any details on that. Personality wise, he was actually a bit like me. Quiet, calm… though I think he was better with people than I am."

"I don't think you're bad with people," said Murrue, "you just have a hard time opening up. Believe me, I completely understand that, considering what you've been through."

"Thanks," said Heero, "though I think that even without all that, I still would've been a quiet individual."

"There's nothing wrong with that," said Murrue, "it's who you are… although you certainly talk to me quite a bit."

Heero smiled. "Well, you're different. We're friends, and I trust you… more than anyone I've ever met."

She reached across the table and grabbed his hand. "Thank you, Heero. I truly appreciate that you have that kind of faith in me… I promise I won't betray it."

"I know, Murrue," he said, "you're… truly amazing, you know that?"

"I know you believe that," she replied, "and that's all I need. Now, about the last two pilots?"

"Right," he said, "Quatre, Sandrock's pilot, was from L4. Though he looked European, he and his family are actually Arabic, Berber descent to be more specific. I'm not sure if that's the norm out in L4; the overall population is quite diverse from what I've heard. If you met him, you'd probably have a hard time believing he was a Gundam pilot. He's very compassionate, hates fighting… hell, he's damn near pacifistic. Nevertheless, something drove him to fight on behalf of the colonies, though I don't know what it was."

"I would imagine it would be something in his past," said Murrue, "and I'm sure it was the same for the others. If your own life is any indication, your fellow pilots must have suffered a great deal in their own way."

"I don't doubt it," said Heero, "life under the iron fist of the United Earth Sphere Alliance was no picnic for those who lived in the colonies."

"Which was why you rebelled, of course," said Murrue, "What about the last pilot? Chang Wufei, right?"

"Yes, that's correct," said Heero, "As you can no doubt tell from the name, his ancestry's Chinese. The colony he was from was in the L5 cluster, and that particular habitat was dominated by the Chinese, though I'm not sure if that's true for the rest of the colonies in that region. He was prideful, but not without reason. In addition to his piloting skills, he's also a martial artist, and a damn good one. Wufei… I suppose you could call him unique, even by the standards of us Gundam pilots. He had a very strong and unique sense of honor and justice, and I think it was that more than anything else that drove him to fight. I believe it was also those ideals that made him strive to defeat Treize, especially after their first duel ended with the Colonel handily defeating him. I don't know the details, but I think Wufei came to respect Treize a great deal after their first match, and he may actually have not wanted to kill him in their second battle."

"I suppose the only one who would be able to say that for certain would be Wufei himself," said Murrue.

"Yeah, you're right," said Heero.

"Heero," she asked, "of all your fellow pilots, who would you say was the strongest?"

"The strongest?" said Heero, "I'm not sure; our skills were all unique, our fighting styles one of a kind, suited for different types of battles."

"Oh, come on," said Murrue, "you must have some idea. I have no doubt that you were the best pilot in the group, but there must have been one that you thought could give you a serious tussle."

"Well, when you put it that way," he said, thinking for a moment, "I suppose it would be Wufei. Shenlong, and its later form, Altron, was the most well balanced of the Gundams other than the Wing Gundam and the Wing Zero. In long range combat, I have an overwhelming advantage, but if we fought close quarters I think we'd be just about even. Plus I believe his martial arts skills boost his piloting abilities in a way, though it's hard to explain how. The best explanation I can think of is that they aid in decreasing his reaction times. I have to admit, it'd be interesting to fight him, that's for sure."

"Yes," said Murrue, "though I'm glad you never had to."

"Same here," Heero replied, "I had enough to people to fight in any case."

It was at that moment that the hostess came over, carrying their food. "Here you are," she said, placing the large shrimp platter between them, along with some napkins, "I'm actually on my way over to the stage after this to start calling people for our karaoke, so I hope you two are ready!"

Murrue smiled. "Don't worry, we are."

"Yeah," said Heero, nodding. He was still nervous over the whole thing, but knowing that Murrue believed in him was enough for him to steel his resolve. I'm doing this for her, he thought, if going up on stage and singing a song will make her smile, take her away from this war for awhile, then I'll do it without protest.

He looked towards the stage and saw the lady go up to it. She spent a few minutes turning on the karaoke machine and making sure everything was in working order, and then she went to the microphone. "Good evening, everyone!" she said, "I'm pleased to announce that we have enough participants to begin our first round of singing for the evening. Let's get started!"

She looked down at the list she was holding. "Miss Murrue Ramius? You're up first!"

Murrue smiled at Heero and stood up. He gave her a small one of his own. "I… I'm sure you'll do great. I can't wait to hear you sing."

"Thank you, Heero," she said. She walked up to the stage and went in front of the mic.

The hostess moved to a console off to the side and pressed a few buttons… then the music started.

Heero's eyes widened in shock as he heard the first few notes. A harp chord, then a piano came in, then a violin, a soft acoustic guitar… I know this song!

And then… Murrue began to sing.

Her voice was soft, and yet at the same time it was strong, and Heero could feel himself get caught up in it, carried aloft on her gentle yet firm voice… it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever heard. The words swept over him, and he felt as though, despite all the other people in the audience…she was singing for him alone.

"Petals of white
Cover fields flowing in grieving tears
And all the hearts once new, old and shattered now
Love can kill, love will die
Give me wings to fly
Fleeing this world so cold
I just wonder why"

"Cold as the dark
Now my words, are frosted with every breath
Still the hate burns wild, growing inside this heart
When the wind changes course when the stars align
I will reach out to you and leave this all behind
When heavens divide"

"When heavens divide
I will see the choices within my hands
How can we ever protect and fight with our tiny souls?
Let me shine like the sun through the doubts and fear
Do you feel the storm approach as the end draws near?"

"When heavens divide
Time will come to softly lay me down
Then I can see a face that I long to see
And for you, only you I would give anything
Leaving a trace for love to find a way"

"When heavens divide…"

"I will dive into the fire
Spilling the blood of my desire
The very last time
My name scorched into the sky"

"When heavens divide
I will see the choices within my hands
How can we ever protect and fight with our tiny souls?
Let me shine like the sun through the doubts and fear
Do you feel the storm approach as the end draws near?"

"When heavens divide
Time will come to softly lay me down
Then I can see a face that I long to see
And for you, only you I would give anything
Leaving a trace for love to find a way"

"When heavens divide…"

"And for you, only you I would give anything
Leaving a trace for love to find a way…"

"When heavens divide…"

….

The entire restaurant burst into applause. The patrons, the staff… everyone clapped and cheered. But to Murrue, standing up on the stage, the center of attention… all that mattered was the Gundam pilot back at their table.

She scanned the audience, found their table, and saw Heero… smiling and clapping with the rest of the audience.

Murrue smiled at him, and as she came down from the stage and made her way back to their table, he stood up and met her half-way.

"Murrue," he said, and she saw that his eyes were wide with wonder, "that was… you were incredible!"

Hearing him say that and seeing the look in his eyes filled her with joy. Without thinking, she threw her arms around him. "Oh, Heero! Thank you so much!"

Realizing that several of the patrons were staring, she quickly released him. Heero didn't seem to mind the attention though, and just kept smiling at her as she let go. "You're welcome."

At that moment, the hostess took the microphone. "Wow, what a performance! What a great way to kick off tonight's entertainment, eh people?" As the crowd cheered, she continued. "Alright, next on the list is Mister Heero Yuy!"

At that announcement, Murrue saw the young man stiffen slightly, the nervousness she knew he had felt earlier clearly returning. She put her hand on his shoulder. "Heero," she said, smiling as their eyes met, "You'll do just fine. I know you will. So relax, go up there… and sing from your heart, alright?"

He nodded, his smile returning again. "Alright. Wish me luck."

"Trust me," she said, "you won't need it."

With that, the Gundam pilot walked up to the stage as Murrue returned to the table. As she took her seat, she saw Heero go in front of the microphone. He took a deep breath, gave the audience a small smile, and nodded at the hostess.

A few seconds later, Murrue gasped as she heard a familiar series of electric guitar notes. No way, she thought, this song's in his world too?!

And then Heero began to sing. His voice became slightly deeper, and was filled with a mixture of both strength and… longing. To Murrue, it was simply breathtaking.

"There's another world inside of me
That you may never see
There's secrets in this life
That I can't hide
Somewhere in this darkness
There's a light that I can't find
Maybe it's too far away...
Or maybe I'm just blind...
Or maybe I'm just blind..."

"So hold me when I'm here
Right me when I'm wrong
Hold me when I'm scared
And love me when I'm gone
Everything I am
And everything in me
Wants to be the one
You wanted me to be
I'll never let you down
Even if I could
I'd give up everything
If only for your good
So hold me when I'm here
Right me when I'm wrong
You can hold me when I'm scared
You won't always be there
So love me when I'm gone
Love me when I'm gone..."

"When your education x-ray
Can not see under my skin
I won't tell you a damn thing
That I could not tell my friends
Now roaming through this darkness
I'm alive but I'm alone
Part of me is fighting this
But part of me is gone"

"So hold me when I'm here
Right me when I'm wrong
Hold me when I'm scared
And love me when I'm gone
Everything I am
And everything in me
wants to be the one
You wanted me to be
I'll never let you down
Even if I could
I'd give up everything
If only for your good
So hold me when I'm here
Right me when I'm wrong
You can hold me when I'm scared
You won't always be there
So love me when I'm gone"

"Maybe I'm just blind..."

"So hold me when I'm here
Right me when I'm wrong
Hold me when I'm scared
And love me when I'm gone
Everything I am
And everything in me
Wants to be the one
You wanted me to be
I'll never let you down
Even if I could
I'd give up everything
If only for your good
So hold me when I'm here
Right me when I'm wrong
You can hold me when I'm scared
You won't always be there
So love me when I'm gone
Love me when I'm gone..."

"Whoa, whoa…"

"Love me when I'm gone
When I'm Gone
When I'm Gone
When I'm Gone..."

As the song ended, the audience once again broke into applause and cheers, the latter particularly from the women in the crowd. Murrue was no exception, and was in fact the most enthusiastic. As Heero looked around the room, their eyes met, and he smiled as he saw her. When he came down from the stage and made his way back to their table, Murrue sprang to her feet and embraced him.

"Heero, that was wonderful!" she said as she let him go, "Thank you so much for doing that for me!"

His eyes widened slightly, and his smile grew a little bigger. "You're welcome, Murrue. I'm glad you liked it."

"Liked it?" said Murrue as they sat back down, "I loved it! You have an incredible singing voice. And here you were worried."

"Well," he said, "getting up in front of crowds isn't really my style. Shall we eat? The food will get cold soon."

She nodded. "Yes, let's dig in."

As they did so and the next person took the stage, Murrue looked across the table at Heero again. He's so incredible, she thought, I know he was nervous about doing that, but he went up there anyway… just for me!

….

They'd stayed at the restaurant for about an hour, eating and listening to the other singers. Eventually though, both Heero and Murrue had to leave, knowing that they would have to get up early again tomorrow. As they rode back in the jeep towards the Morgenroete facility, Heero looked over at the amazing woman sitting next to him.

"Murrue," he said as the jeep sped down the road, their hair blowing in the wind, "thank you… for coming with me tonight. I think… no, I know that that was the most fun I've ever had."

She smiled at him, and before he could react she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, just as she had that night nearly a week ago. However, this time her lips lingered on his skin a little longer, and she was slower in parting.

Their eyes met, their faces mere inches from each other, and Heero knew that his face was red. He could still feel her warm, moist lips on his cheek…

She smiled. "You're very welcome, Heero. And I would like to thank you, as well. I enjoyed every second we had together today."

He nodded. "You're welcome, Murrue. Would you… like to go out again tomorrow? To a different part of the island this time, I mean. I'm sure there's a lot more for us to see while we're here; we might as well take in as much as we can."

"I'd love to, Heero," she replied.

They starred at each other for a moment, and then, as Heero leaned back in his seat, he felt Murrue lay her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes for a moment.

Heero felt himself smile again, and shut his eyes as well, basking in the cool wind hitting his face. Well, he mused, I think it's safe to say that I am falling for her. I'm still not entirely sure if her feelings for me are the same… hell, I don't even know if this is right. My age could cause problems for her, and I don't want to get her in trouble. However… if her feelings are the same as mine, and she's willing to take the risk… well, I guess I'll find out in due time. For now, I'll just do what I did tonight; act on my emotions.

Lowe… you were right… trusting my feelings is the best way to live my life. And maybe, just maybe…

… those feelings could be love.

Preview for next time!

On an infiltration mission ordered by none other than his father, Atrhun Zala and his team sneak into Orb in order to determine if the Archangel is still hiding within the nation. In doing so, he runs into none other than Kira Yamato. Standing on oposite sides of the war, can even a friendship as strong as theirs continue to survive under the mounting strain and escalation of the conflict? Meanwhile, the long awaited elections for the position of Chairman of the PLANT Supreme Council finally take place, and Patrick Zala triumphs in a landslide. With the head of the radical faction now at the height of his power, a shadow begins to spread over life in the Coordinator homeland, and the daughter of the ousted chairman fears that the worst is yet to come. Next time, on "Journey to a New Battlefield", Episode Eleven: Fall of House Clyne.

With the warlord at the reins, the beasts growl in anticipation of the coming carnage...

Author's notes: Writing battles is my strong point. This chapter was a great oppurtunity for me to truly grow and develope my skills in political and romantic writing, both of which are fields I know I need to improve in.

Thank you for your patience regarding the delay in updating. This chapter was very important to me, and I wanted to be extra careful before posting. Plus, as you all well know by now, I don't do rush jobs. Just not my style...

The next chapter shouldn't be as long as this one was, though it will be awhile before posting, there's a great deal I need to cover, and I do have a life outside of this to attend to as well. It bites, but you gotta roll with the punches. That's my way of living, anyway.

As always, your reviews would be greatly appreciated. I'm always eager to hear what you guys and girls have to say!

Until next time, my friends!