I own none of this.

Nadesico, hangar, 9 February, C.E. 71

A day of rest and some excellent food (the latter courtesy of one Akito Tenkawa) was enough to get Toya back on his feet. After a sizeable breakfast, he wandered into the hangar, feeling better than he had since Heliopolis. He gave Hikaru Amano a nod of greeting and crossed over to his machine, where Seiya Uribatake and Kosuke Keita were already scrambling over it.

"Mornin', kid," Uribatake said. "What, none of the girls are with you?"

"They're not my personal shadows," Toya countered, shrugging. "Melua's in the bath, Katia last I saw was talking to Ruri about something or other, and Tenia is still eating."

Uribatake snorted. "Of course she is. That girl can really pack it away."

"I've noticed," Toya said wryly. "So what's up here? I only took a few minor hits in my last sortie."

"I wanted to take a closer look," Kosuke explained, "sorry I didn't ask you ahead of time. Anyway, the Cytron core reminds me of something Professor Yotsuya mentioned before we took the Nergal job, but I can't remember what."

Toya wondered about that. As far as he knew, the Cytron was unique; not even technology like the Nadesico's Phase Transition Engine or Combattler's Super Electromagnetism really compared. Both were, he'd been given to understand, exotic power systems, while the Cytron was clearly much more than that. Exactly how much more, neither he nor the girls could say.

"Maybe ask Ms Coulange about it," he suggested. "She mentioned something similar being built at Ash'ari-Kreutzer."

"Sorry, I'm not gonna try and get anything out of the walking refrigerator," Uribatake said. "She could give Ensign Badgiruel lessons."

That Toya could easily believe. Natarle Badgiruel had a marked tendency to be somewhat abrasive, but at least she felt things. He wasn't sure about Calvina Coulange.

"I don't really understand the Cytron myself," he said. "It's more than a power system, though, I can tell you that. It links with my mind somehow, acts kinda like a cross between an operating tutorial and an extra sensor system." He shrugged helplessly. "Beyond that, dunno."

"Eh, we'll figure it out sooner or later," Uribatake said. "Sure as hell not taking it apart, though; who knows if we could put it back together, and we can't exactly afford to have you sidelined."

Especially given where they'd landed. Smack in the middle of ZAFT-controlled territory, with at least one Radam forest a few kilometers away, and a Tulip in the other direction. Plus, now that they were back on Earth, the danger of Doctor Hell's Mechabeasts making an appearance.

Toya pushed the thought aside. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," he said. "Anything else?"

"Just let me know if you learn anything more about this thing," Uribatake said. "The more we know, the better off we are."

Ain't that the truth. After months of travel and combat, Toya was as much in the dark as he had been the day the girls crashed Bellzelute into his school. It wasn't preying on his mind as much, if only because of the many distractions, but it was still irritating. Why was it only he could use the Cytron?

"Guess I'll check the cafeteria, see if Tenia's done eating," he said. "Call me if anything more insane than usual happens."

Uribitake tossed him a jaunty salute. "Will do."

Nadesico, bridge

A Captain's work was never done, Yurika mused. Repairs to Nadesico and Archangel were well underway, all their pilots were okay, the various machines had only sustained moderate damage at worst. By rights, she thought ruefully, she should have been able to relax a little.

Sadly, it was not to be. Not only were they in enemy territory, but there was the matter of the young man Noal had dubbed "D-Boy."

"So what do you plan on doing?" she said for what felt like the eighth time in as many minutes. "We've got plenty of enemies to deal with, so why not help us out?"

"Your battles don't interest me," D-Boy said curtly. "I have my hands full with the Radam." He shook his head in disgust. "This is insane. As it stands the UEFA can't possibly defeat the Radam, yet you waste your time and energy against the PLANTs."

Noal snorted. "Radam this, Radam that, seriously, do you ever think about anything else?"

D-Boy shot him a brief, annoyed look. "You've seen what the Radam can do," he said.

"And we've seen what you can do as well," Inez Fressange put in. "What you can transform into. Just how is it you're capable of that?"

D-Boy withdrew the translucent crystal from his pocket. "If you want answers, you should look at this Tek Crystal."

Fressange shook her head. "We can't analyze it with our current technology. Whatever it is, it's beyond anything Earth can do."

"I see," D-Boy said. "I'm sorry to hear that; I wanted to know, too."

"I'll bet you already know," Noal said. "The way you were tearing into them, not to mention that Dagger guy, no way you have amnesia."

The Tekkaman shrugged. "Believe what you want. I have my own battle."

While Noal stepped back, shaking his head, Yurika spoke up again. "There's a Radam forest nearby," she pointed out. "We can help you with that."

D-Boy gave her a measuring glance. "You're different from the UEFA regulars," he conceded with evident reluctance. "Still. . . ."

"We should be getting at least one more unit," Heero said.

All eyes turned to him. "Is that so?" Prospector said. "One of the Colony Gundams, I presume?"

"Gundam Sandrock," Heero confirmed. "Pilot is one Quatre Raberba Winner. The Sandrock is optimized for desert warfare, and he told me before the Heliopolis incident that he'd be in North Africa."

"That's great!" Yurika said. "Any chance of meeting the other two?"

Heero frowned slightly. "The Heavyarms isn't here that I know of; last I heard Trowa was working with a mercenary organization. I have no idea where the Shenlong is."

Duo rolled his eyes. "That's 'cause Wufei has an even thicker head than D-Boy here," he said, "and ain't as friendly."

Fressange nodded thoughtfully. "According to the data the Archangel provided, Gundam 05, the Shenlong as you call it, is the only one still carrying out attacks on UEFA targets at present."

"That sounds like Wufei, all right," Duo said, shaking his head. "Stubborn as they come."

"All right," Yurika said. "Point being, we can expect some reinforcements soon. You really think this Quatre guy will help us?"

"He'll jump at it," Duo assured her. "He's a lot like Kira, come down to it."

That was certainly reassuring. A highly skilled pilot in a powerful unit was a boon regardless; if he was like Kira it would at least make him easy to work with.

"Okay, then," Yurika said. "Anything else we need to discuss?"

"There's that Radam forest near our position," Ruri said. "We should probably check it out, both to learn more about the Radam and to ensure we don't have additional enemies behind us when we're ready to move."

Definitely a thorny problem. They'd had two encounters with the Radam so far, and while they'd been able to win through, the alien monsters hadn't exactly been easy targets. Yurika shuddered at the thought of more of those things ambushing them in the desert.

Not to mention that Dagger guy, she thought. And what if there are more of those Tekkaman things? We've seen two already.

Not a pleasant thought. Aside from D-Boy himself, about the only machines she could think of that could fight a Tekkaman were the Bellzelute and maybe one or two of the Gundams. Dagger would certainly eat Aphrodite or Zechs's Leo alive.

"All right," she said. "We'll send a team to investigate that forest. Let's see, Noal, Aki, Akatsuki, plus Toya and the girls. That should be enough."

"Back to the salt mines," Noal quipped. "Seriously, Captain, you're almost as big a slave driver as our Chief."

That remark drew general laughter; Yurika could have sworn she even saw D-Boy almost crack a smile. Maybe she was imagining it. Still, it provided a welcome release of tension.

Ruri, of course, had a different take on it. "Idiot."

Archangel, cafeteria

Breakfast onboard a warship wasn't the most interesting thing in the world, but it was better than nothing. He had a higher metabolism than most Naturals to begin with; after several days on constant alert, he could've eaten a shark without stopping to skin it first. Something that was already the subject of friendly jokes from the likes of Mu La Flaga.

Kira didn't really mind. It certainly beat being hated for his genes.

"You're really puttin' it away, eh, Kira?" Tolle said by way of greeting. The assistant helmsman was eating at a more sedate pace. "Guess I can't blame ya after we fought those monsters. What is it D-Boy called them?"

"Radam," Miriallia said, sitting beside Tolle. "I saw the remains of one that Lieutenant Merquise brought onboard." She shuddered. "Creepy."

"They didn't have much of a choice," Sai put in. "We have to know more about those things if we want to stop them." He took a bite, then paused, looking at Kira oddly. "How are you holding up?"

Kira had a feeling he knew what Sai was talking about, but asked anyway. "What do you mean?"

Sai's expression was solemn. "I heard what that ZAFT pilot said," he said quietly. "And how you replied. We all did."

Just as expected. Kira had to think hard before answering. It was true that he'd been able to rescue Lacus Clyne, and she'd somehow gotten the ZAFT force to withdraw. However, it was also true that he and Athrun had once again been separated, with a warning that neither would show mercy should they meet again.

"I don't know," he said finally. "I mean, I know I did the right thing, but. . . ." Kira trailed off, shrugging. "I've got a lot on my mind."

Sai gave a slow nod. "I don't blame you. For what it's worth, we're all behind you." Tolle and Mir nodded agreement.

Kira smiled at that. "Thanks, guys."

The mood lightened after that, the teens chatting about more mundane things. Current events did come up, but more in connection to the amazingly eclectic mix of pilots they had. Tolle in particular seemed fascinated by the alien SPTs, and expressed an interest in learning to pilot one. Mir's look of strained patience had provoked general laughter.

Kira's head came up at the sound of light footsteps behind him. He half-turned in his seat, and almost fell off. A redheaded girl in a pink dress stood in the hatchway, looking at him nervously.

"Flay?" Sai said. "Are you all right?"

Flay gave her fiancé a brief nod, then looked back at Kira. "Kira . . . I'm sorry. I said some horrible things to you. You've been fighting your hardest, against more than just ZAFT, but I still blamed you, and I shouldn't have."

Kira shook his head. "It's all right. There was no way you could have been prepared for all this, not even with the constant Jovian attacks. It was only natural you'd want someone to blame, that you'd lash out after what happened there."

"Kira. . . ." Flay smiled. "That's . . . better than I deserve. Thank you."

Feeling better than he had in some time, Kira went back to his meal. Engrossed as he was in conversation with his friends, he didn't notice the odd glint in Flay's eyes, nor did Sai. Mir did, but she kept it to herself for the moment, filing it away for later investigation.

Radam forest

It was the eeriest thing Toya had ever seen. He'd been to forests before, sure, but nothing like this. Unearthly vegetation had sprung up in the middle of a desert, transforming the landscape. The only Earth creature he saw was a lizard, one unlucky enough to be caught in some kind of snare.

He was very grateful for his flightsuit about then.

"It's hard to believe this is Earth," Aki murmured. "I've never seen anything like it. You'd think we were on another planet."

"This is an all too common sight these days," Akatsuki said. He waved an arm, encompassing the whole alien forest. "This one is actually pretty small; there are much larger ones in the Americas and Asia."

Cheery thought, Toya thought sourly. While far from an expert, the alien tableau made him grateful not just for his suit, but the sidearm Yurika had insisted he bring. Katia and Melua bore similar weapons, though the latter was visibly uneasy with it. Tenia, on the other hand, had taken along an assault rifle of all things, and displayed enough enthusiasm about it to make Heero Yuy nervous.

"Just what do they do, anyway?" he wondered aloud.

"Aside from modifying the landscape like this, practically nothing," Akatsuki said, shrugging. "Given that, the higher-ups have decided to let sleeping plants lie, so to speak. I suppose we could ask D-Boy, but I doubt we'd get much out of him."

Noal snorted. "Yeah, he'd probably just tell some dumb lie about forgetting it. Hey, Aki, what are you up to?"

She had approached one of the Radam trees, and was taking a knife to a branch. "Taking samples, Noal," she said. "The Chief will want as much information as we can give him."

"I'll bet he's already got plenty of samples." Noal shrugged. "Suit yourself. Maybe the Nadesico's gear can tell us something new."

Toya and the girls drifted away soon after, making sure to stay in sight of the rest of the team. Any inclination he might still have had to jump ship had vanished on seeing the Radam forest. If there were even larger such forests, to say nothing of the Gradosians and ZAFT running loose, he couldn't leave, not if he wanted to be able to sleep at night.

"Sure is creepy, isn't it," Tenia commented. "All these freaky trees, it's like we're in some wacky alternate dimension."

"And this is in the middle of a desert," Katia agreed. "I'd hate to see what it's like in more fertile areas."

Probably downright nightmarish. Places like the Great Plains in North America, the South American jungles, stuff like that, would be prime real estate for the Radam. Not to mention it would put a lot more people in danger.

"D-Boy has a point," Toya murmured. "We've got the Radam and the Gradosians invading, and the UEFA just wants to keep hammering away at the PLANTs. It's not just crazy, it's suicide."

"To be fair, ZAFT isn't making it any easier," Katia said. "Kira's friend Athrun seems like a decent sort, but he's not exactly a high-ranking officer."

Tenia shuddered. "Yeah, I bet ZAFT's got people like that Colbert jerk, too. Not that they'd give a damn what happens here on Earth. They're all safe in the colonies." She gave Toya a brief, guilty look. "I don't mean all of them. I know you've got a friend in the PLANTs, and Lacus was nice."

He waved a hand. "It's okay, I know what you're saying." Movement caught his eye; Noal beckoning to him. "Looks like they're wrapping things up. Let's go."

They were indeed finishing up when Toya and the girls rejoined the main group. Aki was wrapping her samples in some kind of plastic and tucking them in her bag, while Noal watched over her with an air of unease. Akatsuki stood nearby with his arms folded casually, a look of studied unconcern on his face.

"So, how did you like your first look at a Radam forest?" the Nergal man asked.

"Creepy as hell," Toya said, shuddering. "I'll be glad to get back to the Nadesico."

Akatsuki chuckled softly. "I certainly can't blame you. These places are unnerving to say the least."

As the group filed into the Blue Earth for the trip back, Toya found his thoughts drifting elsewhere. He'd been dreaming again, the same recurring dream from back when he was still an ordinary high school student, before one Jovian raid had forever changed his life. It wasn't exactly unusual to have bizarre dreams, true, but this one was strangely persistent.

Tenia nudged him. "Hey, Toya, you okay?"

He shook himself. "Yeah. I've just been having a crazy dream again."

"What kind of dream?" Melua asked, curious.

"I see some girl in a dark space," Toya said. "She says something about being sorry, but I can never really remember more than that. It always makes my head hurt when I wake up."

The girls, he noted, were looking at each other. Melua appeared uneasy, Katia thoughtful, and Tenia puzzled, but whatever it was they were thinking, they didn't seem to want to share it. Toya didn't press them; if they thought it was something he needed to know, they would say so. In the meantime, he would respect their privacy.

He was lost in his own thoughts again when the Nadesico and Archangel came into view.

Archangel, hangar

Mu La Flaga had always appreciated a new machine, be it a mobile armor or a more conventional fighter jet. Sure, they usually had a few kinks to work out, but that at least kept things interesting. He looked forward to seeing how the new birds stood up to ZAFT or the Gradosians.

"FX-550 Skygrasper," Murdoch said, inspecting a clipboard. "Support fighters for the Strike, but I'll bet you can make them do more than that, eh, Lieutenant?"

"Sure beats being just a delivery boy," Mu agreed. "How are the repairs coming?"

Murdoch shrugged. "Pretty good; that Uribatake guy's been a big help. Couple of hours now, and we'll be good to go." He spotted something outside Mu's field of view. "Speaking of which. . . ." He waved a hand. "Yo, Uribatake. On break?"

The Nadesico mechanic came around Mu's fighter. "Yeah, thought I'd grab a quick cup of coffee." He took a sip. "Gotta say, this is one hell of a ship. Better than almost anything else I've heard of, 'cept for the Nadesico."

"Glad you like it," Mu said, slightly nonplussed by Uribatake's enthusiasm. "The Chief here says you're almost done?"

Uribatake grinned. "Yup. Wasn't too hard, and I'm already used to fixing battle damage." He drained his cup. "Besides, it's a nice change of pace; well, look who's here," he interrupted himself. "If it isn't the Nadesico's resident lady's man, Nagare Akatsuki. Back from checking out that Radam forest?"

Akatsuki's smile was ever-so-slightly sardonic. "If you can call it checking out. We got what we came for, so I thought I'd come see how things were going here."

"Yeah, and make a pass at that Captain," Uribatake said with a snort.

"You wound me," Akatsuki said. "Certainly, she's a sight to behold, but I'm not going to press my luck on such matters." He glanced significantly at the Strike. "I was curious as to the outcome of their little excursion. Even if Captain Misumaru was agreeable, which she's not, we wouldn't be able to do much, as only Tenkawa and Shiun have any official connection to Nergal at all, and Mister Shiun is more on retainer than anything else."

Mu shrugged. "Kira and his friends aren't official military, so they got off with a warning, and Lieutenant Merquise had a point about how the Clyne thing was handled to begin with. Not that Ensign Badgiruel's any happier." He raised an eyebrow. "What, are you worried about the kid?"

Akatsuki waved that away. "Not at all. I'm just glad he's willing to cooperate with us, and want him to keep up the good work."

"Just don't say that where he can hear it," Mu warned. "He's a bit touchy about it, and I can't really blame him."

"Oh, neither do I, especially after hearing about that friend of his in ZAFT," Akatsuki agreed. "I'll remember what you said, though."

The intercom chimed, interrupting their conversation. "La Flaga here," Mu said.

"This is the bridge," Miriallia's voice answered. "We're detecting signs of a battle up ahead, Jovian Lizards against units of unknown origin. The Nadesico is dispatching a team to investigate."

Mu and Akatsuki traded glances. "Unknowns, eh? Not ZAFT or the Radam, then." He gave it a moment's thought. "Chief Murdoch, prep Skygrasper 1 for launch, and attach the Launcher pack."

Murdoch's eyebrows climbed nearly to his hairline. "You're goin' out, too, Lieutenant?"

"Sounds like a good opportunity to test out the new fighters," Mu said. "Don't worry, I won't push it too hard."

"If you say so," Murdoch said, shrugging. "It'll be ready in five."

African desert

As a native of Japan, Toya had little direct experience with deserts. He tended to think of them as just expanses of sand, dotted with rocks, cacti, and the occasional oasis. Which was true enough as far as it went, and certainly beat a Radam forest.

What didn't was the fact that they were about to run into complete unknowns. At least they'd fought Radam before, and had a rough idea of their capabilities. For this mission they were going in completely blind. And relatively slow; while his own Bellzelute, the Aestivalis air frames Akito and Ryoko were using, and of course Mu's fighter were all flight-capable, Koji's Mazinger was land-bound, limiting their progress.

"I still don't understand why you couldn't have just left it to us," Ryoko complained. "Don't you trust us?"

"Hey, don't get me wrong," Mu said, his Skygrasper weaving a little. "I'm just testing my new machine out is all." It was hard to tell, since his helmet obscured more than most, but Toya thought he was grinning. "I'm not like Ensign Badgiruel."

I really doubt that convinced Ryoko, Toya thought, amused. He glanced at Tenia, who was flying with him more or less by default, as Melua was too tired and Katia doing some kind of research or other. "How long you think before Ryoko blows her stack?"

"You mean she hasn't already?" Tenia shot back with a grin. "Eh, maybe taking on those new baddies will help her get it out of her system."

Toya started to reply, but immediately forgot what he was going to say. Something had sparked in his mind, as though the Cytron were trying to tell him something. The feeling was frustratingly vague; danger, but nothing specific enough to alert his comrades to. There was only one clear image, a large black mech similar in design to the Bellzelute itself.

He shook his head, smiled at Tenia when she looked at him inquiringly. Well. He could at least make sure he was ready for whatever was out there. Taking a slow, steadying, breath, he did his best to clear his mind. Soon.

"You just won't quit," Ja-Mu Dalbi complained, blasting what felt like the millionth Batta into flaming dust. "You have no chance of beating us, but you keep on coming. This is why I hate unmanned units."

A spike of Cytron energy announced a new arrival. Lord Al-Van's Raftclans had appeared at the rear. "Ja-Mu, what do you think you're doing?"

To the point, as usual. "Forgive me, milord," Ja-Mu said. "I was testing my unit when these junkheaps attacked me. They're little more than an annoyance."

"Be that as it may, we cannot afford damaging your Vorlent," Al-Van said. "We'll use the Larseilam; you and your team clear them out, and then we'll withdraw."

"Of course, milord!" Ja-Mu was not about to gainsay his mentor on such a matter.

The black Raftlcans was beginning to glow faintly. "Cytron accumulated. Orgone Extractor at maximum. Initiating Larseilam."

Ja-Mu couldn't hold back a laugh at the result. The swarm of Battas was frozen in place, at least one in the very act of launching what looked like a missile attack. It was possibly the most pathetic thing he'd ever seen.

"You like that? You can't even move!" Still laughing, he and his cohorts swooped in, tearing the Jovian weapons apart.

Mu was the first to spot them. "There they are," he said. "Never seen anything like 'em before, but they're tearing into those Battas like nobody's business."

Toya felt an odd sense of deja vu on seeing the mysterious machines. Definitely humanoid, they struck him on an almost unconscious level. But that shouldn't have been possible; before joining the Nadesico's crew he'd only ever seen giant robots on the news, and never anything like those humanoid enigmas.

Tenia, by contrast, was visibly tense, not at all like her usual ebullient self. "N-no! Toya, t-those are. . .!"

It clicked then. "Are they the ones you and the others were running from when you crashed into my school?"

"Yeah." Tenia swallowed. "They're dangerous, especially the big black one."

That much was obvious just by looking at it. He could see a subtle but definite resemblance to the Bellzelute, suggesting they'd been built according to similar design philosophies. Given what he'd already learned about his machine, how it outclassed the majority of mobile weapons in the Earth Sphere (and a few alien ones to boot), that wasn't a good sign.

And it was looking at him.

"Lord Al-Van, isn't that. . .?"

Al-Van frowned. "You're right. That's the escaped unit. But how did it come to be here? Those girls were barely capable of moving it." Yet it moves as easily as those Earth machines. That shouldn't be possible.

Ja-Mu's Vorlent came up beside him. "Shouldn't we dispose of it? Keep it out of the Earthlings' hands if nothing else."

"It's only a test unit, and shouldn't be capable of engaging in actual combat," Al-Van said, half to himself. "Still, you have a point. At the least we can neither afford to give the Earthlings premature warning, nor allow them to possess any of our technology."

Yes, that was probably the right course. They could not afford a risk, however slight, of interference. If their planned homecoming was to succeed, all possible obstacles had to be removed.

"Stand by," he said. "Once they're in stasis, destroy them."

"Yes, my lord!"

Forgive me, he thought, feeling a twinge of pity for both the subjects and the other, ignorant Earthlings. The least I can do is end this with a minimum of suffering.

Tenia had started shaking. "Toya, this isn't good!"

He started to ask what he meant, but then something sparked in his mind. The Cytron again, warning him of some kind of imminent danger from that black mech. What is it? What the hell is going on!?

His answer came in the form of some kind of energy surge. For a moment his head seemed to explode with pain, and then it was over just as quickly. Shaking his head in an attempt to clear it, he glanced at his main screen and did a double take. Mazinger, both Aestivalis, and Mu's Skygrasper had frozen in place, as if captured in a photo.

"What the hell?" He keyed his comm. "Koji? Akito, Ryoko? Lieutenant La Flaga!?" No answer, and his hands clenched in frustration. "What the hell is going on here!?"

"I think I know," Tenia said, beginning to recover her equilibrium. "It's some kind of gadget that freezes things in time. Bellzelute has a way to stop it; that must be why he let us escape with it!"

Making a mental note to ask who "he" was, Toya forced his breathing to slow. "Can you do it, Tenia?"

"Sure thing!" She still sounded frightened, but at the same time more confident than she'd been a moment before. "Bring the Orgone Extractor up to max, and concentrate on that black bastard!"

Knowing that when the Cytron was involved "concentrate" tended to be literal, Toya focused on the black mech. You won't get me, or my friends, he thought viciously, even as the other unknowns closed in. I won't let you!

"Orgone Extractor at max!" Tenia said, glaring at the unknowns. "Take this, you son of a bitch!"

"What!?" Al-Van stared at his display in disbelief. "A malfunction in the Larseilam!? Impossible!"

Ja-Mu, gung-ho as usual, was already leading his squad in an all-out attack. Were the situation any less awkward, Al-Van would have shaken his head. The younger man had learned little from Calvina (Al-Van suppressed a pang at the thought), and still preferred a direct frontal assault, with minimal finesse.

Now, however. . . . "Ja-Mu, wait! I cannot confirm stasis!"

Too late. A Lyunpii had set its sights on the fighter, unloading a close-range barrage. To Al-Van's amazement (and carefully-hidden admiration), the Earthling pilot went through an impossible-looking evasive maneuver, coming out completely unscathed.

The others were faring little better. A heavy assault unit had engaged the single grounded Earthling machine, to minimal effect. Whatever it was, its armor was inconceivably tough.

"What the hell are these guys!?" Koji demanded. Mazinger Z had taken a serious pounding from one of the heavy units. "How did they get so close so fast!?"

No one remembers being frozen. Toya forced himself to remain calm. "Tenia, are you all right?"

She looked a bit strained, but that wasn't overly surprising. "Will be," she said. "At least it worked."

"Yeah," Toya agreed, wincing as Ryoko's Aestivalis took a beam hit that her Distortion Field barely stopped. "Dunno how much good it'll do us, though," he added, wincing harder at the stream of profanity coming from the Nergal pilot.

"GEKIGAN FLAAAAAAARE!" Akito's red Aestivalis shot past, striking what looked like a heavy melee unit. It wasn't a clean hit, unfortunately, but the unknown visibly flinched.

Still. "This is bad, Tenia," he said, swallowing a curse as the lead opponent managed to clip him. "I'm not sure we can hold out with just a few machines."

"I know— huh!?" Tenia interrupted herself.

Toya could easily see why. His opponent had just taken a hit to the side from seemingly out of nowhere. Tracking the shot, he spotted a mech of roughly the same size as Combattler. Gray-black in color, with a more defined face than a mobile suit or Aestivalis, its most distinctive feature, to Toya at least, was that it had a beak on its head.

What is that thing? Must be a friendly, but I've never seen anything like it, not even in Nergal's database. Not that he was going to complain about extra help.

"Nice to have something going right for a change," Mu said, echoing Toya's thoughts. "Dunno who that is, but he's obviously on our side."

And was apparently trying to bait the lead unknown.

Shinobu Fujiwara left out a whoop. "Take that, you bastard!" he said, grinning.

Sara Yuki snorted. "Not exactly a clean hit," she said.

"Hush, Sara, that was a warning shot," Shinobu countered. Not that he really cared; direct hit or not, he'd taken a bit out of the alien mech, and now it was taking the bait.

"That's enough, you two," Ryo Shiba interrupted. "Here it comes. You ready, Quatre?"

There was a brief pause. "Ready," the young Gundam pilot replied, the barest shifting of sand marking Gundam Sandrock's location. "As soon as it's in range, I'll move."

"We're not crazy enough to try and take an unknown head-on." Masato Shikibu was the youngest member of the Dancouga team, but no less capable than his seniors. He glanced back at a ground vehicle, a small jeep. "You sure about this, Cagalli?"

Cagalli Yula, the same girl Kira had met at Heliopolis, was firm. "No doubt about it," she said. "Those machines are from the Nadesico."

"Good enough," Shinobu said. "Come on, you son of a bitch, just a little bit more. . . ."

And then the threshold was crossed. The alien mech passed just within range of the minefield's proximity detectors, setting off a chain reaction of explosions. At almost the same instant, XXXG-01SR Gundam Sandrock erupted from a nearby dune, heat shotels coming down in a vicious chop. While not enough to stop it, the alien machine was visibly thrown off, more so when one of the machines Shinobu's team was there to rescue in the first place, the spindly blue one, added some kind of beam cannon attack.

Shinobu pumped a fist in victory. "All right, that took a bite out of him!"

More than a bite. The gray mech seemed to hesitate, as though its pilot wanted to continue anyway, but apparently his superiors had other ideas, as it pulled back, albeit with a certain air of reluctance.

"Well, that was fun," Sara said dryly. "Guess it's time to meet our new friends."

I already hate deserts, Toya thought irritably. Normally he would have been grateful for some fresh air, but there was too much sand blowing around for it to be worth the annoyance. So instead he and Tenia sat on the Bellzelute's hatch, while Mu greeted their unexpected rescuers.

"Thanks for the assist," Mu said. "Dunno who those guys were, but they were tough."

"No prob," the apparent leader, a dark-haired man who looked to be around nineteen or twenty, said. "We're the Cyber-Beast Force; you can call us the 'CBF' for short." He smiled. "I'm Shinobu Fujiwara, the team leader. These are Sara Yuki," a nod to a red-haired woman beside him, "Masato Shikibu," a slightly shorter youth with lighter brown hair, looked roughly Toya's age, "and Ryo Shiba," a tall, lanky man with long reddish brown hair held back by a headband.

Mu inclined his head slightly. "Nice to meet you guys. You resistance fighters?"

"Something like that," Ryo said. "We help them out from time to time, but we're actually with 'Mithril'."

Mu whistled at that. "Mithril, huh? So they really do exist."

Ryo looked at him closely. There was no hostility in the gaze, just curiosity. "I've seen you before, but I can't quite figure out where."

"I don't really know anyone in these parts," Mu said, shrugging. "I'm Lieutenant Mu La Flaga, UEFA."

Ryo nodded slowly. "Ah, the Hawk of Endymion. Didn't expect to see you here of all places."

Toya raised a hand. "Lieutenant, what is this 'Mithril' thing?"

"They're a secret armed group, not affiliated with the UEFA, the PLANTs, or any nation," Mu said. "Supposedly some kind of allies of justice; I haven't heard anything specific about 'em." He looked at Shinobu, eyebrow raised. "That about right?"

"Yeah, that sums us up pretty well," Shinobu agreed.

The Gundam, Toya suspected, was not a Mithril unit, even if it was working with them. If he was right, it was another of the Colony Gundams, which meant a friend of Duo and Heero. Probably the same one Heero had mentioned earlier.

His proximity alert chimed. "Guys, the Nadesico is on its way in," he said, ducking into his cockpit. "And so's the Strike," he added, frowning in puzzlement.

Which turned to alarm when his comm unit crackled. "Everyone, watch yourselves!" Yurika said. "The Radam are dropping in on us!"

Blood running cold, Toya had already dropped back into his seat, Tenia not far behind. The others were just as fast; even the CBF, who likely had never heard the word "Radam" before, knew from the urgency in Yurika's voice that it wasn't good news.

"So what are these 'Radam' things, anyway?" Masato wondered even as the huge Dancouga took off again.

"They're those freaky aliens that drop in and turn into plants," Ryoko told him, moving into formation with Hikaru and Izumi as they launched. "We've fought 'em a couple of times already, and they're tough as hell."

Toya ignored the rest, hitting Bellzelute's thrusters and charging in behind a missile salvo. One of the Radam caught it full in the face and erupted in a mass of ichor; two others fell to his Shot Launchers, a third taking a beam shot from the Strike dead center.

Movement caught his eye, the Blue Earth leaping from the Nadesico's launch bay. A hatch on its side opened, and a familiar voice barked out, "Do your worst, Radam! TEK SETTER!"

For all that Toya had seen the transformation effect before (he couldn't help snickering at Shinobu's startled yelp and Mu's amused-sounding explanation), it was no less impressive on a second viewing. D-Boy had the vague look of some kind of robotic superhero, cheesy though it sounded.

"Tekkaman Blade!"

And there he goes, Toya thought, as a blue nimbus surrounded the Tekkaman. At least three of the Radam blew apart before they could react, simply from the effect of Blade going past. His lance came out, bisecting two more; another tried to take him from behind, but vanished before it could close, immolated by an Agni shot.

My turn. Bellzelute's rifle came up; switching to N mode, Toya watched the solid slugs tear through one of the monsters.

"Take this, freak! Dancouken!" Dancouga had produced a double-edged sword built to scale, and proceeded to slice a Radam beast into several pieces.

Tenia chuckled softly. "Dang, he's a hothead."

"And you're not?" Toya retorted, smirking when she stuck out her tongue at him.

Fortunately, there was no sign of Tekkaman Dagger, and for that matter it was a fairly small attack. Just a few of the basic Radam beasts, all of which they were able to slaughter before they could bury themselves and transform. A job well done for a change.

Naturally, Fate had other plans.

"Now what?" Toya moaned as the Bellzelute's threat receiver chimed.

"Incoming heat readings detected," Ruri said. "They appear to be mobile suits."

Mobile suits. Just great, first those unknowns, then the Radam, now ZAFT comes out to play. The nearest of them appeared on the monitor just then, and he frowned. Wait a sec, that's not a ZAFT model. What gives?

"Um, are those really mobile suits?" Hikaru wondered, echoing Toya's thoughts. "They look kinda like ZAFT models, but I've never seen any quite like 'em."

Ropet had a different take, though Toya thought it a blinding flash of the obvious. "NO, THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH THEM."

There was no need to ask what he meant. All of them heard the unearthly, bone-chilling howl over their radio band. Whatever was piloting those mobile suits, they weren't human. Or anything else they'd yet encountered.

"Dunno who they are, but they sound like they want a piece of us," Hyoma said uneasily. Combattler's pilot wasn't easily rattled, but Toya couldn't blame him; that howl had sounded like something out of a cheap horror movie."

"Hey, Longhair," Ryoko said. Despite the situation, Toya had to stifle a snicker; she hadn't sounded like that since their trip through the Debris Belt. "You're the well-informed one around here, so . . . any idea what those freaks are?"

Judging by Akatsuki's reaction, he felt the same. "I'm glad you think so highly of me, but no. They're definitely not UEFA or ZAFT, Eiji would know if they were Gradosian, and if they had anything to do with the Radam D-Boy would already be launching a banzai charge." He pursed his lips. "I have to agree with Hyoma, though. They certainly don't look friendly."

Blade, it seemed, had lost patience; he drew his arm back and hurled his lance. The weapon was small, at first glance too small for a target the size of a mobile suit, but it was enough. It tore through the strange mobile suit's cockpit, then back out as Blade snagged it with a line from his arm.

The Blue Earth was right on his heels, bow cannons spitting hard light that cored through one of the zombie mechs. Noal threw it into a hard turn, dodging return fire from his target's partner. Which just incidentally cleared Eiji Asuka's field of fire.

Smirking, Toya followed Eiji in, Shot Launchers spitting rapid-fire death. Freaky though they were, the zombie mobile suits weren't proving to be much of a threat; even Aphrodite A was taking them down with relative ease.

"Watch out, people," Mu said from high above. "There's another one coming; damn, that thing's big."

"Big" was an understatement. Vaguely humanoid, it was at least as big as Combattler and Dancouga. No legs visible, a narrow spine proportionally, relatively thin arms. . . . Toya frowned, catching a glimpse of its head. A Gundam. . . ?

He was so focused on the monstrosity that at first he didn't notice another new arrival. Tiny by comparison, this one was definitely a Gundam, similar in color to Kira's Strike and Heero's Wing, though the head reminded him of a samurai helmet somehow. It's only visible weapons were what looked like a pair of beam sabers, stored on the left hip.

"I've finally found you, Kyoji!" Well, that answered whether or not the pilot was human; the voice was male, young, and very, very angry. "Rain, withdraw!"

Okay, is he insane? Toya wasn't at all sure the entire UEFA/Nergal force had enough firepower to deal with that monster machine, and this guy was going against it with a single Gundam?

The new Gundam raised its right hand. "This hand of mine glows with an awesome power! Its burning grip tells me to defeat you! This is the end, Kyoji! SHINING FINGER!"

Toya was strongly reminded of his fallen comrade Gai Daigoji. Hand now glowing brightly, the Gundam lunged forward, slamming that hand deep in the monster's armor.

Against anything else it would have been impressive, if not devastating. Against that monster Gundam, if Gundam it was, it seemed to do a fair bit of damage, but the target from all appearances ignored it.

"Domon, wait!" a woman's voice said. "That ship is from Nergal, I'm sure of it!"

"So what?" the Gundam pilot retorted. "Listen up, I'm going to defeat the Devil Gundam myself! Now that we're clear on that, scram! If you get in my way, I won't hold back!"

Toya almost facepalmed, remembered his helmet at the last moment. Okay, just who does this guy think he is? Hotheads he was used to, from spending months around Ryoko, but this kind of obsession was outside his experience. Or then again, maybe it wasn't.

Noal seemed to have reached the same conclusion. "Hey, D-Boy, another one like you just showed up! I bet he smashes into things head on like you, only without a safety helmet. That's one thing you've got going for you." D-Boy ignored him.

"Another idiot?" Ruri said, half to herself.

"Never mind that!" Yurika said. "Umm, who are you, anyway?"

"I'm the King of Hearts, Domon Kasshu," the other replied.

King of Hearts? Toya glanced at his copilot, got a blank look and a shrug in return. Whatever. Deciding it was more important to take down this "Devil Gundam" than waste time arguing with a hotheaded Gundam pilot, he brought up the O Rifle in A mode, the crystalline arrow striking slightly left of center. A blast from Roanne's cannon hit the same spot, widening the gap.

"VOLTEKKAAAAAA!" Coruscating blue energy enveloped the Devil Gundam's left arm. Its retaliatory strike, a scattering beam attack of some kind, mostly missed, save for a few that glanced off the Nadesico's Distortion Field. Then Mu's Skygrasper streaked in, weaving through the hail of beams, and melted its other arm with a precise Agni shot.

I don't care how big you are, I'll still take you down!

A flash of blue shot past; Layzner, looking for all the world like a comet as it rushed in, rifle blazing away. Buldy and Baybull followed up, rifles and shoulder cannon adding to the general mayhem. They broke away then, dodging return fire and opening a path for the larger Dancouga.

"Let's do this!" Toya didn't need to have a visual to know Shinobu was grinning like a shark. "DancouCannon, fire!"

It looked like they were going to win with a minimum of fuss for once. After being struck by a wide variety of energy weapons, the Devil Gundam was looking rather the worse for wear. Both arms gone, several sparking holes in the torso, and its head half-melted, to all appearances it was only a matter of time.

And then, as if to spite them, the Devil Gundam's structure seemed to flow and shift. Arms regrew, gaping wounds closed, and within moments the evil machine looked good as new.

"That's impossible!" David said. "That thing regenerated!?"

This is bad. This is seriously bad. It had taken a lot just to damage it as much as they had; such a regeneration ability made things about a hundred times worse. How could they kill something that could just keep on repairing itself?

Apparently, however, the Devil Gundam had decided to call it a day. With an odd groaning noise, the ponderous machine turned away, moving with surprising speed for its bulk, until it was out of sight. At a signal from Mu, Toya and the others let it go.

Domon had other ideas. "You won't get away, Kyoji!" His Gundam lurched forward, only to stumble and fall to one knee. "Dammit!"

"Domon, calm down!" his female companion said. "Your Shining Gundam is at its limit. You can't keep up the chase in this condition."

"Don't be absurd! I can still–" As if to spite him, something in the Shining Gundam sparked, and its left arm hung limp.

The woman sighed. "You see? There's nothing more you can do right now. Let's meet with those Nergal people; maybe they'll be willing to help."

Domon grunted like an irate boar. "Do as you please."

Toya closed his eyes briefly, then looked at his copilot. "Tenia, you get the feeling our day isn't quite over yet?"

"'Fraid so," she agreed.

Nadesico, bridge

Domon Kasshu turned out to be a Japanese man in his late teens. Medium height, with dark hair, he wore a khaki shirt, black pants and fingerless gloves, a long red cape, and a red headband. He also seemed to have a perpetual scowl that not even his brunette companion Rain Mikamura could lift.

Not sure what to make of him, Yurika addressed the CBF first. "Thanks for the help out there," she said.

"Don't mention it," Shinobu said. "Think of this one as a freebie."

There was an unspoken "but," and Yurika knew it. "But?"

Sara folded her arms. "We don't mind helping out, but in exchange we want a ride out of here. The N-Jammer interference has been especially bad lately, so we've been out of contact with our allies. Not to mention the damned Radam dropping in on us."

"I think we can manage that," Yurika said. "Mister Prospector?"

"Dancouga would be a welcome addition to our firepower," Prospector agreed.

Yurika smiled at the CBF, then turned –with some trepidation– to Domon and Rain. "And what about you two?"

Domon, still glowering, said nothing. Rain looked at him, sighed, and shook her head. "I apologize for him," she said. "We're chasing after the Devil Gundam, that giant machine you faced earlier. It wasn't. . . ." She shook her head. "It wasn't supposed to be like this."

"Now I remember where I've heard that name," Kosuke said, snapping his fingers. "I heard Professor Yotsuya mention it a while back. Professor Kasshu was working on some 'Ultimate Project,' wasn't he?"

Rain nodded. "It was supposed to be used to restore the Earth, but after Kyoji stole it the Devil Gundam started wreaking havoc."

"Quite the about-face," Inez observed. "Who's this Kyoji?"

Rain closed her eyes. "Domon's older brother, Kyoji Kasshu. I still can't understand why he did it."

"It doesn't matter," Domon said, sounding more irritated than anything else. "Because of him, Mother is dead, and Father is in suspended animation. He's no longer my brother; when I find him, it's over."

Yurika winced at the tirade. Her father was the only family she had left; she couldn't imagine feeling that way about him. If their expressions were anything to go by, most of the others felt the same. Especially Eiji Asuka, who seemed almost stricken, probably thinking of his sister.

It wasn't quite universal, however; D-Boy, face unreadable, turned and left the bridge without a word. "D-Boy!" Aki called after him.

"Let him go, Aki," Noal said, unconcerned. "He probably hates his relatives or something."

Yurika was a bit curious about that, but she knew better than to pry. It wasn't her place, even assuming D-Boy was willing to talk, which was about as likely as General Colbert apologizing for trying to hijack the Nadesico.

Domon pushed away from the bulkhead, scowling more than ever. "We've wasted enough time here as it is. Come on, Rain, let's go."

"Domon, you can't do this alone," Rain said. "I thought you'd realize that after today."

Prospector held up a hand, forestalling Domon's reply. "Please, wait a moment. While we are in no position to offer charity, surely we can come to an arrangement," he said. "Your Shining Gundam is a powerful unit, and we in turn could provide valuable support and intelligence for your quest. What say you?"

Domon glowered a moment longer, then shrugged. "If I see the Devil Gundam, taking it down comes first. As long as that's understood, we'll tag along." He jerked his head at the bridge hatch. "Rain, the Shining Gundam needs some adjustments."

Rain sighed. "I understand, Domon," she said, long-accustomed to her partner's habits.

Yurika shook her head, watching the pair leave. "Well, now that that's settled, we should get back to the Archangel. Captain Ramius must be worried."

"Yeah," Mu agreed. "Say, where's Lieutenant Merquise? I didn't see his Leo in that last fight."

"He remained behind," Prospector told him. "The Archangel still needed some mobile defense, after all, even if it was just a Leo."

Mu nodded at that. "Got a point there. Still, I'll bet he'd like a better machine; even with the Lightning Count at the controls, a Leo isn't much use against Radam or ZAFT's newer models."

Indeed, for all that Zechs had managed well enough against the stolen Gundams before, it had largely been due to the relative inexperience of their pilots. For all practical purposes, the Leo had been rendered obsolete at Heliopolis; for all his professionalism, Zechs was undoubtedly looking forward to a new machine.

Assuming they could get out alive, of course.

Archangel, hangar

Combat was still exhausting, but for once Kira didn't feel overly depressed afterward. He still didn't like to fight, but it was hard to feel bad about slaughtering Radam beasts in job lots, and those zombie mobile suits the Devil Gundam had tossed at them had been just plain creepy.

Mu clapped him on the shoulder when he reached the deck. "Good flying out there today, kid," he said.

"Thanks, I guess," Kira said, still just a bit uncomfortable with the whole thing.

Such thoughts were quickly driven from his mind when he saw someone approach. A young girl, blonde, golden eyes, dressed in a red t-shirt, cargo pants, and combat boots, presumably a resistance fighter. He didn't think he knew her, so he couldn't for the life of him figure out why she was glaring. On the other hand, there was something familiar about her. . . .

Then it clicked. "Wait a second!" he said. "You're the girl I ran into at Morgenroete, aren't you?"

The glare intensified. "You!" she snapped. "What the hell are you doing here!?" She lashed out, her fist striking the side of Kira's face.

Kira's head rocked back from the unexpected strike. Blinking rapidly, he rubbed his face. "What was that for!?" he demanded.

"Don't play innocent, jackass!" the girl shot back.

What is up with her, anyway? The last time Kira had seen her he'd been stuffing her into a lifeboat at Heliopolis. How that led to running into her in the desert and almost getting his jaw broken for his trouble, he had not a clue.

He was saved from having to deal with it further, however, when a familiar redhead came up to him. "Kira, you're okay!" Flay said. "I was so scared."

Kira smiled tiredly. "Sorry I made you worry," he said. "The only major threat there was that Devil Gundam; the Radam beasts and those zombie mobile suits weren't much trouble."

They left the hangar together, oblivious to the sounds of curiosity and puzzlement behind them. Mu in particular was looking after them with a perplexed expression; he hadn't known Kira his friends all that long, but Flay had always come across as less than friendly toward Coordinators, even before the business with Lacus Clyne.

Murdoch had noticed it, too. "Say, Lieutenant," he said quietly, "wasn't she Sai's girlfriend?"

"That's what I thought," Mu agreed. "Dunno what's up with that, but I'm not crazy enough to start prying without a good reason."

"Tell me about it," Murdoch said. "Getting mixed up in teenage dramas doesn't end well." He shook his head, then waved to the tech crew. "C'mon, guys, got a lot of work to do and not much time to do it."

Deciding to leave the techs to their work, Mu followed Kira out. The kid, he noted, had already disappeared, probably to crew quarters. Hard to blame him after that last one; Mu himself was about ready for a shower and a meal. Unfortunately, duty called.

Zechs fell in with him. "I understand you met up with another Colony Gundam," the Specials man said.

"Yeah, 04 it was," Mu said. "Heero and Duo already talked things over with him, so you don't have to worry about getting sliced up when your back is turned."

Zechs chuckled softly. "I had no read of that, Lieutenant," he said. "All our reports of 04 suggest the pilot spares his opponents' lives when possible; unlike Heero, he's no assassin. I'm just glad to have another of those machines along." He seemed to be looking at something Mu couldn't see. "We're only at the threshold of the true war," he said, half to himself.

Nadesico, bridge

Kira had only been aboard the Nergal ship a couple of times so far, but he had to admit it had kind of a homelike atmosphere to it. Even the bridge section, for all its advanced technology, lacked the utilitarian feel of a UEFA military vessel. Which, he suspected, was how Nergal preferred things.

He was met by a contrite-looking Cagalli. "Kira . . . I'm sorry about earlier. It was spur of the moment, and I kinda lost control."

Kira waved a hand. "It's all right, don't worry about it." He hadn't been sore very long, and really, compared to fighting ZAFT and alien monsters getting smacked in the face wasn't even a blip on the radar. "I was just surprised to see you here."

She shrugged uncomfortably. "After escaping Heliopolis, things got a little crazy, and I kinda wound up here helping some resistance fighters."

There was something she wasn't telling him, of that he was certain, but it probably didn't matter. He didn't have time to press the issue anyway; the senior officers were already discussing their next move.

"We're in a rather tight spot," Murrue was saying. "Deep in ZAFT territory, and there are an unusually high number of Radam trees in this area."

Natarle bent over the map display. "Ideally we would break out through the Red Sea, cross the Indian Ocean, and proceed north to Alaska." She pursed her lips. "However, I doubt it would be that simple."

Zechs traced a line with one finger. "Our best route would be through here," he said. "Unfortunately, that takes us close to at least two Radam forests, as well as ZAFT's local command post in Banadiya." He traced an alternate route. "This one is almost as good, but passes near an active Tulip."

"A bad option, and a worse option," Mu said. "Story of our lives."

Yurika had one hand on her chin, apparently deep in thought. Watching her, Kira was suddenly reminded of the sharp brain that lay behind her ditzy exterior. The captain of the Nadesico hadn't gotten her position for her good looks.

"Maybe if we divide our forces," she murmured.

Murrue and Natarle looked at her in confusion. "Pardon?" Murrue said.

Yurika gestured at the map. "We've got two ways out, both with some nasty enemies in the way. If we split up, we can make them split their attention. The Nadesico can take the Tulip route; fighting the Jovian Lizards is one of the things this ship was made for."

"It has merit," Murrue said slowly. "Still, I'm not sure if the Archangel could pull it off alone. We have only the Strike, Lieutenant La Flaga's Skygrasper, and Lieutenant Merquise's Leo, which is of limited use at this point. No offense," she added, giving the Lightning Count a brief, apologetic look. He waved a hand, unconcerned.

"Oh, I already thought of that," Yurika said, brightening. "You can take the Colony Gundams along; I get the feeling Heero wants to stick close to Miss Relena anyway. Oh, while you're at it, would you mind taking those refugees on? Your route takes you close to Orb, so you could drop them off on the way."

Natarle, predictably, objected. "We have no obligation to take civilians on," she said. "Really, your ship is better suited for it."

"Well, I was also going to send the Blue Earth, along with Eiji and friends," Yurika said, unperturbed. "Wouldn't that be all right?"

Murrue frowned thoughtfully. "The Blue Earth would be useful mainly in a support role, but Mister Asuka's SPTs would be a welcome addition."

"It's fine with us," Aki agreed. "D-Boy, you should probably come along, too. Is that all right, Captain Ramius?"

"The . . . Tekkaman, is it?" Murrue said. "Very well. There are certainly enough Radam along our route to keep him occupied."

Natarle obviously didn't like it, but she clearly knew she'd lost. "Just remember, the Archangel is a UEFA vessel," she said, fixing D-Boy with a stern look. "You will follow our orders."

D-Boy appeared unaffected. "I don't care about your orders," he said. "But I'll keep fighting. I need to be able to feed myself."

This, Kira thought, was looking to be an interesting trip. Noal and Aki he liked, and he'd found a kindred spirit in Eiji Asuka, but Natarle Badgiruel and Tekkaman Blade were starting to look like fire and gasoline. He only hoped they didn't spark something more serious.

"Okay," Yurika said. "We should get a move on, then, before ZAFT or somebody nastier figures out what we're up to. Any questions?" No one spoke up. "Then let's get this show on the road."

As Kira followed the UEFA officers out, Cagalli trailing along behind, Kira glanced back over his shoulder. Yurika was all business again, discussing strategy with Mister Prospector and Shinobu Fujiwara. Much as Kira wanted out of this insanity, he hoped they would meet again.

Nadesico, cafeteria

If there was one thing Toya had liked even at the start of his adventure, it was the food on the Nadesico. Nothing like a good meal (even if it wasn't always prepared by Akito Tenkawa) with some friends after a grueling battle.

"So what do you think of the Captain's latest brainstorm?" Koji asked the room at large.

"I think it's the best we can do right now," Chizuru said, swallowing a mouthful of rice. "We don't really have any good options."

Melua took a long drink of what looked like a chocolate shake. "I'm willing to trust the Captain," she said. "She did get us to Mars and back."

"Hell, yeah," Tenia agreed. As usual, she had more on her plate than everyone else at the table. Combined. "It wasn't easy, but damn if she didn't pull it off. Betcha this works out fine, too."

"I sure hope so," Toya said. Despite his tone, he wasn't being pessimistic; he just had an acute awareness of the dangers they still faced. Especially those weird ones, he thought. How the hell did they just freeze everyone in place like that?

"Ah, there you are."

The Nergal rep had arrived while the younger pilots chatted. "Mister Prospector," Katia said. "We don't see you in here often."

"I just need to speak with you," Prospector said. "Now, as you all know by now we're going to be splitting into two teams. The Nadesico will proceed to East Asia, while the Archangel will take the ocean route into the South Pacific, and from there north to Alaska, dropping off the civilians at Orb along the way."

Toya frowned, wondering what Prospector was getting at. There didn't seem any obvious point to rehashing things, but he'd spent enough time around Prospector to know when he was being serious. Which didn't exactly explain much.

"You must be wondering why I'm bringing this up," Prospector said as if in answer to Toya's puzzlement. "The Colony Gundams are going with the Archangel for the time being, and Mister Asuka and his friends have agreed to transfer, but I thought we would loan them a little extra firepower. As I see it, that means the UEFA will owe us a favor, which could prove useful later on."

Koji shook his head. "'Fraid we can't; Sayaka and I need to get back to the Labs ASAP. Our report is way overdue."

"Same for us," Hyoma said. "We have to return to the Nanbara Connection. Sorry about that."

"Oh, I quite understand," Prospector assured them. "That's why I'm asking you, Toya."

Toya felt himself stiffen, just a little. "Me?"

Prospector nodded. "Your Bellzelute is an extraordinarily powerful unit, and you have proven remarkably adept at operating it." He raised a hand, forestalling protest. "Don't worry, I'm not making this an order. I could hardly force you to, since you signed on with us for the express purpose of staying away from the military. Nevertheless, it could benefit all concerned, and I already have Captain Ramius and Mister Murdoch's word that they won't touch your machine without your permission."

"What do you say, Toya?" Katia asked. "We'll leave the decision up to you."

Toya closed his eyes. Much as he hated to admit it, Prospector was making a lot of sense. Besides, he was going to be cooperating with the UEFA one way or another anyway, and at least he genuinely liked most of the Archangel's crew. If he had to work with the military, the Archangel softened the blow a little.

His eyes opened. "I'll do it," he said.

"Huh!?" Koji stared at him incredulously. "You're more than welcome to come with us to the Labs, y'know. I thought you hated the military."

"I still don't like most of them, but the Archangel people are nice enough," Toya said. "Look, I know this comes as a shock, but I think this is something I need to do."

Koji stared a moment longer, then shrugged. "If you say so. Guess I'll see you when you get back."

"Excellent!" Prospector said, smiling. "You can expect a substantial bonus upon your return."

Toya wasn't sure what "substantial bonus" meant, but Nergal was known for taking care of its employees, and he knew Prospector's word was good. For now, it was enough.

Corridor

"Toya, are you sure about this?" Tenia asked. "I mean, I know what you said to Prospector, but. . . ."

Toya shrugged. "I know this comes as a surprise, but I've been thinking lately. Everyone's trying their hardest just to survive, and I have to admit I didn't like the idea of the Archangel crossing enemy territory like that without a little extra. So when Prospector brought it up, I figured I should pull my weight, y'know?"

"It just feels a bit odd, after everything that's happened," Katia said. "Not that we're complaining, mind you."

"I know." Toya smiled. "So. No more complaining from me. We're gonna get through this, and anyone who gets in our way is going down."

Tenia laughed. "Okay, that's more like it!"

ZAFT land battleship Lesseps, commander's quarters

The smell of coffee was something one had to get used to on the Lesseps. Granted it was a common enough beverage in every military, but the local team commander was almost obsessed with it, and was always trying out new brews, or tweaking existing ones.

In Martin DaCosta's opinion, there was no "almost" about it.

"I'm guessing you've got news for me," Andrew Waltfeld said. A tall, brown-haired man in his early thirties, ZAFT's Desert Tiger was probably the best terrestrial field commander they had, in spite of his eccentricities. He was both a gifted strategist, rivaling Rau Le Creuset, and a highly skilled mobile suit pilot.

"Yes, sir," DaCosta said. "The two ships we've been tracking have split up. Nergal's warship is on a course that will take them close to one of the Jovians' Tulips; allied forces are tracking it as we speak. The Legged Ship looks to be passing through our area of operations."

Waltfeld sipped his coffee. "That so? Guess we know which one to chase. If the Legged Ship is coming here, then we'll just have to greet them."

And then, he thought to himself, I'll see if the Strike pilot is as good as they say.

Author's note: Yeah, really late this time. I've been trying, but the last few months things have been practically turned inside out. Pity, really; there are a number of evens I'm looking forward to writing.

Only one other thing to note. My focus on the Archangel for this split is not due solely to my fondness for Gundam SEED. It is a factor, to be sure, but I've only been through the first Nadesico route once, and I found it both boring and at times irritating (the debut of Mazinkaiser and the level where Omoikane goes haywire to be exact). Please bear that in mind.