7

E Sector

Quatre steered the spaceship in a reverse corkscrew. As expected, the two missiles chasing them follow suit. Quatre then pumped out flares, and seconds later the missiles exploded harmlessly behind them.

But the fighters kept their chase. It will only be a matter of time before they catch the small craft.

"Do you have a plan to get us out of this?" Quatre asked Heero. The copilot is dialing on his phone.

"Yes," he replied. "Just hang on."

The lead fighter went close, firing its cannon. Quatre pulled the nose up and let the throttle rip. The tiny craft went ballistic, as the fighter also pulled up for the chase.

"Relena!" Heero shouted on his phone. "This is Heero."

"Heero, where the heck are you?" the chancellor asked.

"I'll explain later. Right now, we are being chased by hostile fighters on the E Sector. We need assistance, and we need it now."

A pause. "Hold on."

Quatre ease the stick and the craft did a gut wrenching maneuver called Cobra, somersaulting upside down. The chasing fighter didn't expect the maneuver, he slowed down. His fighter went straight on the center of Quatre's gun sight. Quatre pulled the trigger, showering the enemy with lead. The fighter exploded seconds later.

But now there are four bogies chasing them. Unless something happened, they're dead meat…

ESUN Headquarters

Brussels, Belgium

That same time

"We can see four high-speed fighters chasing a small spacecraft near the E2 colony," said the voice on the communication screen.

"Admiral, you will do whatever it takes to rescue that small craft," ordered Relena.

"We will, Madame Chancellor," the reply of Vice Admiral Brian Jennings, the commanding officer of the 3rd Fleet aboard the ENS Barack Obama. He is a handsome 50 year old gentleman with white hair. Jennings is one of the most competent admirals in the Preventers Space Command. "Our fighters are now scrambled."

"Bring them here in Brussels immediately. And I want you to keep this in utter secrecy."

Jennings gulped. This is the first time he had received a direct order from the Chancellor herself. Relena bypassed all the chain of command in the efforts to save the small craft.

"Yes, Madame."

The lead fighter exploded as Preventers missiles found their mark. Taurus fighters screamed like bats out of hell, engaging the enemy with missiles and guns. The unknown fighters were no match for the highly-trained pilots of the Barack Obama air group. Within minutes, all four enemy fighters are blown to pieces.

Quatre breathe a sigh of relief. "That was close."

"Close enough," Heero agreed.

"Unknown craft, unknown craft," came the voice from on the radio. "We have orders to escort you back to the Obama."

"Gladly," Ouatre replied and followed the Taurus towards their carrier.

"Madame Chancellor, we have the craft on board," reported Admiral Jennings to Brussels. "It has two men on their 20's aboard. They refused to tell their names."

Relena was visibly relieved. "Do not interrogate them. Take them planetside, now. I want them here in Brussels as soon as possible."

"It will be done, Madame."

Admiral Jennings watched as the shuttle took off from the deck of the Obama. Escorted by Taurus fighters, the shuttle flew towards the huge blue planet called earth.

"Admiral, who are they?" asked the captain of the Obama.

"I'm not allowed to say it, but I recognized who they are."

The captain bowed. "I understand."

Heero Yuy and Quatre Winner, the admiral thought. Both are Gundam pilots, heroes of past conflicts. Jennings felt a cold shiver on his spine. Seeing the two together, being protected by the Chancellor herself, could spell trouble. Deep trouble.

"Spread the task forces at a bigger area. Raise the level of alertness to Yellow. I want our ships to be on tip top condition."

"Aye, Admiral!" The captain repeated the orders to his crew. As with other fleets, the 3rd has ten Task Forces, each with a maximum of 10 ships. When they spread, a hundred ships could cover a vast amount of space. Their weapons are ready; their soldiers are well discipline professionals.

It didn't relieve the fear in Admiral Jennings.

G5 colony

A few hours later

The operation reached its final leg.

Two hours before, the stealth ship modified by Duo Maxwell reached the steel walls of the G5 colony undetected. Two commandos successfully breached the walls and formed a perimeter around the landing site. Sally and Duo followed, with more commandos on their back. Using the blueprints and maps, they navigated the tight passageways infested by rats and other pests. A space colony is as large as a city, and navigating around its internal could be claustrophobic.

Finally, after two hours of nonstop walking and crawling, they reached the target site. It was a Separatist rally on the town plaza. By tapping on CCTV cameras, they can see hundreds of people in front of a makeshift stage. On the stage, several men dressed in Dominican-styled costumes are addressing the audience with fiery speeches.

Duo thought the outfits are quite strange, but he realized he had met stranger men before.

"Can you ID the leader?" asked Sally.

"No. Their face is concealed by their enormous hoods. It looks like we have to get up close and personal."

Duo took a fiber optic camera from his bag. He stuck the thin cord on the grating of a manhole cover. He spun the camera around, seeing no people on the dark alley behind the stage. He communicated by hand signals to Sally. The Preventers intelligence chief passed the info to her commandos. They disappeared in the darkness.

Duo lifted the cover and pushed himself out. He then helped Sally get out of the sewer. Guns drawn, they slowly advance towards the backstage, making no sound whatsoever. They could hear the loud speech on the stage as another leader unleashed a fiery rhetoric against the ESUN.

Duo smiled when he spotted something on the table. A pile of hooded costumes lay there. Duo took two and passed one to Sally. Donning the outfits, they inconspicuously went towards the front of the stage. No one recognized them as they climbed the stage and stood next to other hooded men and women.

The leader finished his speech and went on to shake the hands of his followers behind him. Sally shook his hand too. When it comes to Duo, the Gundam pilot held the hand firmly.

The leader smiled at Duo. But his smile vanished when he saw the stone cold face of the God of Death. Duo grabbed the man, wrapping his left arm on his neck. The other arm drew his pistol. "Nobody moves!" he shouted.

The audience erupted in pandemonium. The other hooded persons started to draw their pistols, but Sally Po ripped her hood off. Two pistols filled both her hands. "Freeze!" she shouted too.

At the same time, armed commandos rose from the sewers and dark alleys, pointing their weapons at the crowd. They swiftly confined all inside the plaza, setting a perimeter around them with machine guns and snipers. Nobody moved a muscle.

Duo kept his arm around the neck of the unfortunate man. "You are the leader, right?" he asked.

"No," the man replied.

"Then who is your leader?"

"I am," a voice spoke from the crowd. A hooded figure stood up. All eyes turned on him. Another hooded figure stood behind the first one.

Duo threw his hostage away and pointed his gun on the hooded pair. "Alright, remove your hoods. Slowly."

The first removed his hood, brown hair escaped on the front. Duo was shocked when he recognized the individual. Sally too, recognized him and she was also shocked.

"It's been a long time, Duo," the leader said. His companion removed her hood, revealing a beautiful woman that Duo and Sally also recognized.

"No…it can't be…" Duo stammered.

"Yes Duo," the man said. "It's me, Trowa Barton. And this is my wife, Catherine. I am the leader of the liberation army here in G5 colony."

ESUN Headquarters

Brussels, Belgium

A few minutes later

"No…no way…" Relena remarked, mimicking Duo's shock.

"Yes Madame Chancellor," confirmed Colonel Po on the other line. "It is indeed Trowa Barton. He was the leader of the G5 insurrection. We have him on custody, as well as his wife and most followers."

"Good work, Colonel." General Zechs Merquise was on the second line of the conference. "You may have earned your general star because of this mission."

"Thank you, General. We couldn't have done it without Duo Maxwell."

First Wufei, then Heero, then Duo and Quatre, now Trowa. It's coming full circle, Relena thought. "General Merquise?"

"Yes, Madame?"

"I want you to promote Colonel Sally Po to the rank of Brigadier General and award her the Distinguished Service Medal."

Zechs smiled on the video screen. "As ordered, Madame Chancellor."

Sally seems doubly shocked by the news. "Thank you, Madame. It's a…great honor…"

"Keep up the good work, General Po. The ESUN is proud to have an innovative leader like you."

"Again, I thank you for your graciousness. By the way, Madame, what will I do with the prisoners?"

Relena thought about it for a few seconds. "Bring them here," she finally said. "I want to talk to Trowa personally."

"It will be done."

"You're dismissed, General Po." Sally saluted and her image disappeared.

"She deserves it," Zechs remarked.

"Indeed. Brother, are you still on Mars?"

"Yes I am, Relena."

"I talked with Robert earlier, and I discussed the possibility of reinforcing the Martian outposts."

"Yes, we talked about that." Zechs noticed that his younger sister's worried look. "Do you have a problem, Relena?"

Relena closed her eyes and shook her head. "No, brother. I want you to send the 10th Fleet to Mars as reinforcements."

"It will take three days for them to reach us, but your order is my command."

"Good. And brother, I want you to return to the Lunar Base."

"May I know why, Relena?"

"You are needed in the overall command. General Une has filed a leave of absence for a few days."

"Strange, this is the first time she ever filed for a leave, ever."

Relena nodded. "I think it has something to do with Mariemaia. So I order you to return to the moon with your wife. Vice Admiral Wong will relieve you."

Zechs looked disapproving, but he nodded. "I will leave for the moon in a few minutes. But can I ask for a favor?"

"Sure, brother."

"I'd like to leave Lucreiza here. She is the only one that I fully trust in guarding your husband. She will be the interim commander of the Martian forces until Admiral Wong arrives."

"I understand. Very well, I approve."

"Thank you, Relena." Zechs saluted and his image also disappeared.

Relena stretches her neck and looks back at the gentlemen guarding her. Chang Wufei still had his left hand on the sling, but he stood like a proud warrior. On his shoulders are new insignias, however. He was promoted to major because of his heroism in saving Relena's life.

"Unbelievable, isn't it?" Relena said. "Trowa was the leader of the G5 rebels."

Wufei agreed. "It is quite surprising. If there is a Gundam pilot that would lead an insurgency, it would have to be me."

Wufei speaks the truth. He is a fierce warrior descended from a long, proud line of Chinese warriors, and thus despises weakness in character and body. He loves to fight and finds pleasure in taking down powerful opponents. Wufei's wife died while protecting their colony, he then chose to carry out her path of justice in honor of her sacrifice. Wufei looks down on those who he deems weak and cowardly. He found his match on OZ leader Treize Khushrenada. On their first man-to-man sword duel, Wufei was defeated by the skillful fencer Treize, and then he refused to kill him. This was a big blow to Wufei's pride, and he took it hard. On their second battle, this time piloting their respective mobile suits, Wufei killed Treize. But Wufei is fully convinced that Treize was defeated at his own behest. During the Mariemaia Crisis, Wufei sided with Mariemaia but later defected back to the ESUN. After the conflict, and because of Sally Po's persuasion, he joined the Preventers.

Wufei pilots the Gundam Shenlong, which he nicknamed "Nataku" as a tribute to his wife. The Shenlong is perfectly designed for an elite martial artist like Wufei. It's a close combat Gundam, armed with a Beam Spear and an extendable Dragon Fang right arm that could be used to grapple and crush enemy units and is also equipped with two flamethrowers that shoot fire hot enough melt steel. The next generation Shenlong is the Gundam Altron, this time with both arms equipped with Dragon Fang and flamethrowers. Its spear is replaced with a double-bladed Beam Trident and a new "Stinger Tail" weapon is added on the back. Altron is a very formidable foe, and Wufei's skill enhances its capability. Its greatest triumph is when Altron stabs the Tallgeese II with its trident, killing Treize Khushrenada. Despite armed with a powerful Gundam, Wufei struggled to match the uncanny skill of Treize in combat. The Tallgeese II proved to be a stubborn opponent, and it wasn't until Treize relented and let himself get killed that the battle was finally won.

"I think Trowa is also disillusioned about this so-called peace," Relena remarked.

"We wouldn't know that until we talk to him," Wufei concedes.

Trowa is a stoic young man who has spent almost his entire life on the battlefield. Reserved by nature, he can be seen to be as emotionless as Heero, but is in fact a warm-hearted person who is very protective of those he cares about. His past is quite murky; no one exactly knows where he came from and who he really is. But he is a very capable Gundam pilot. Besides this, Trowa is also an accomplished acrobat, which serves him well in his cover identity as a clown in a traveling circus.

Trowa pilots the Gundam Heavyarms, which is aptly named because it is the most heavily armed of all Gundams. Heavyarms is best described as a walking fortress, specializing in firepower and ranged attacks. Despite its weight, Trowa is able to do some slick moves with it, because of his circus background. The primary weapon of Heavyarms is a massive beam Gatling Gun mounted on the left arm and two Gatling guns on the chest. Supplementing this trio of guns are dozens of Homing and Micro missiles. Trowa's tactic is to soften the target area with his gatling guns then launch his missiles to finish the job. For short-range self-defense, Heavyarms is equipped with an army knife. The Gundam was modified for space combat and reequipped with Double Gatling Guns on the left arm. But the ultimate incarceration of Heavyarms is the Heavyarms Custom used by Trowa in the Mariemaia Crisis. Custom is the most heavily armed mobile suit in the history of mobile suit design. The Beam Gatlings are replaced with twin shell-firing Gatling Guns on both arms. These four Gatlings fire super-dense tungsten rounds at a thousand rounds a minute each. Trowa can saturate targets in a typhoon of steel. Aside from these powerful weapons, four more Gatling guns were mounted on the chest and hundreds of missiles were also mounted on every conceivable area that can mount a launcher. Perhaps the best part is the paintjob. The brightly colored paintjob is changed into a dull camouflage that blends well in space combat.

"What will happen now?" Relena said to herself.

The door burst open and Dorothy Catalonia rushed inside. "Chancellor!" she shouted. "Have you seen the news?"

"I'm too busy to watch TV, Dorothy. What is it?"

"The president had a heart attack. He's dead."

Relena shot up from her chair. "What? Is this true?"

"I confirmed it myself. His body will be taken here for the funeral."

Relena sagged back to her seat. "Just what we need. Make all the arrangements for his state funeral. And tell Johanna to make a speech to express our grief."

"Will do."

"The president must be replaced, quickly."

"Yes. According to our constitution, the chancellor can choose a cabinet official to replace a deceased official, even if he or she is elected."

Relena thought about it. "I'll call the Chief Justice. He must be here ASAP for the oathtaking."

"Why?" Dorothy asked.

"I've found a replacement for the deceased president."

"Oh? Who?"

"You, Dorothy. I mean, President Catalonia."

Before Dorothy could say anything, Relena stood up and tapped her shoulder. She smiled mischievously. "You have five minutes to prepare. Please wear your most elegant dress."