Disclaimer: See chapter one
AN: Sorry this took so long to unloaad. I was trying to get used to the new formatting
Chap. 49
Isolated area…
"Samuel?"
Natasha and Goliate entered inside a small mansion house that she owned. After the retreat from the Command Center, the two of them split off from the others and come here in order to regroup themselves and pick up some supplies. This place was pretty much hidden away, so they could settle there for a while. Natasha looked around and soon spotted the butler of the house, Samuel. He was a slightly thin, elderly man with a gentlemanly suit. He was currently coming out from one of many rooms on the side.
"Here, ma'am. I have anticipated your arrival here, so I took the liberty of procuring these for you."
The servant moved his hand to the side to reveal a pile of supplies and equipment in the side room he had came from. Both knights peered in and blinked in surprise.
"Talk about moving ahead of time." Goliate noted with a whistle.
Natasha turned to him with a small smile, "You are a life saver."
Samuel nodded, "Will you both be leaving right away?"
"No. We're going to rest a bit before moving on."
"Very well. I shall prepare a meal for you then."
Natasha nodded once again. Samuel had been the caretaker of the house for several years and one of her closest friends as well. He had managed to survive the First Radham war and had come to take care of her when she was younger. Due to her father's time in the military, Samuel watched her until she was of age. In some ways, he was more her father than her real father was.
"Thank…"
The compliment was never completed, for a low rumbling sound cut off Natasha. The looser materials around them rattled and shook as the sounds increased.
"Oh great. Now what?" Goliate grumbled.
The two knights dashed back outside to witness the cause of the disturbance. A team of Sol-Tekkas swooped in from the woods and lined up in front of the doorway. Natasha glared as a car rolled up as well from the road and stopped in between the machines. The door opened and out stepped a broad man with a gray beard. His demeanor was stern and unrelenting, much to Natasha's dismay.
"Father…"
Colony L2
"Duo."
Duo jumped out of his daze and looked up at Hilde, who had just walked in the door. "Hm? Ah, sorry!" he replied as he grabbed the papers before they spilled on the floor. "I've finished organizing this."
The girl gave him a sad glance, noting his strange behavior, "You're concerned about that guy, aren't you?"
Duo nodded, knowing that she was talking about Trowa. "Yeah. Seeing him like that... And then, what's going to become of the Colonies from now on?" He shook his head lightly, "I've been thinking of a lot of different stuff..."
"What are you talking like that for?"
The youth blinked again, "Huh?"
She stared over at him, "You're going down the road you believe in, right? That should be enough."
Duo went into thoughtful mode again and then nodded, "Yeah, you're right." Shaking his head, he looked back at the papers before him. "Well, let's get some work done."
Hilde nodded as well and looked into the papers she held, "Oh, there's some new work. Mobile Suit engineers wanted at a resource satellite." She suddenly stopped and blinked, "Huh?"
"What is it, Hilde?"
"This resource satellite belongs to the Winner family."
"The Winner family?"
Hilde nodded in answer, "I'd heard that all work had been suspended since the family head was killed, but..."
Duo gave a thoughtful smile, "It looks like Master Quatre has returned."
Outer Space…
"That's a tekkaman! A gundam!!!!"
The Sol-Tekka was soon ripped to shreds as the crystal hawk died away, revealing the battle-driven Tekkaman Altron. He had just destroyed both an OZ force and a White Fang group, both of whom had been fighting each other until the arrival of the gundam and attacked them both. Altron's breathed heavily, but he was far from finished
"Weaklings! The weak shouldn't fight!"
"You haven't changed, Chang Wufei."
Altron turned around to face a single white Taurus Sol-Tekka. He made ready to fight, but stood down when he saw that it wasn't armed. However, he did recognize the voice.
"I remember you. Lake Victoria. You're that woman."
Noin nodded within her machine, "Lucrezia Noin is my name. Despite that time though, it is a small thing compared with the vastness of space."
Altron retook note of her lack of weapons, "Obviously you didn't come here to fight."
"No. I need to borrow your strength, Wufei. Yours and the other gundams. In order to build peace, I need strength. Surely, you can understand that. Will you help me?"
Altron wasn't stupid however, "Is this about the Sank Kingdom? That place had been destroyed, has it not?"
"True. But the ideas and dreams remain alive. I want to keep that alive."
Altron mocked, "That's sounds like something a woman would say. Either way, I have my own path. I take orders from no one."
Before Noin could respond, Altron glowed and suddenly shot off through the stars; looking for his next targets and leaving Noin short one tekkaman.
Natasha stood by the window, arms folded while her father stood behind her. The fiery-haired woman kept her eyes glued outward.
"So, what do you want this time?"
"The same as always, what's best for you Natasha." he answered.
Natasha's eyes narrowed, "I find that hard to believe, considering you practically disowned me."
"Hardly. You left me, remember." the general retorted. "Going with the Space Knights, no less. Imagine that, the daughter of a military general going off with a bunch of renegades."
She began to grit her teeth, tired of hearing the same old argument about her father's so called embarrassment. "Is there something you wanted?"
"I want you to do the right thing." the general responded. Moving up behind her, he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Come and join OZ. Your HQ has already aligned with it."
Natasha closed her eyes, trying to dispel the thought of her father's imposing image. Her hands tightened into fists and she answered firmly.
"No."
His hand snapped away and he nearly roared, "Damn it. Why do you continue to defy me? I am your father!"
Natasha was near ready to retort in kind when one of the soldiers entered into the room, "Sir. Radham forces have been detected approaching the area."
"What? Here?" The general quickly left the room and looked outside. True enough, a group of Raham tekkamen warped into view.
"Call in all the nearest units." he ordered immediately.
"Yes sir."
As the soldier ran out to do his duty, Natasha walked out of the room and past him. Seeing this, the general questioned. "Natasha. Where are you…?"
"Your forces won't get here in time." Natasha replied, cutting him off. "And the Sol-Tekkas you have now isn't enough." Looking over at her support pilot, she beckoned, "Goliate, let's go."
"Natasha!"
Natasha didn't even turn to him as she at Goliate walked out the door, "We're going. If you want to stop us, go ahead and shoot us." Her last words came out coldly.
"It wouldn't be the first time."
Space Knight Command Center
"Proximity alert. All crews to their stations immediately."
The entire center erupted with commotion as the knights and soldiers ran to their places. In the control room, Dontello sat in his station as Aki arrived inside.
"What's the emergency?" she asked.
Dontello looked at her briefly before looking up at the screen, "A Radham force had warped nearby and are heading this way." Looking at the soldier seated in front of the monitor, "Initiate the Doll program and send them out."
The soldier nodded and pressed a series of keys. Outside, a hatch opened on the side of the HQ and a squad of Virgo Dolls flew out and toward the advancing force. As the machines flew into battle, Aki watched the scene intently. Then, for just a moment, her tekka-set flashed.
'Something is wrong here.'
A group of six Radham tekkamen soared over the forest ground in search of their target. They were to target the now dispersed Space Knights that were scattered all over the world. Currently, Vesna. But unfortunately for them, their current target…was targeting them.
"Yaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!"
Vesna, aboard Gamma, swooped straight at the advancing Radham, much to their surprise. Lancer in hand, the tekkaman jumped off the starjet and attacked. The lead Radham charged in as well, with his own lancer out and forward. The two met in mid-air with a violent clash and Vesna powered out and stabbed inward, catching into the creature's armored side. The tekkaman gave a gargle of pain, but was cut short when Vesna sliced upward, cutting it in half. The Radham began to surround her and Vesna stood ready.
Pzzzzzzzhhhhhhhh!!! Pzzzzzzzzhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!
Vesna caught sound of laser fire coming from behind. Turning to it, she saw the Sol-Tekkas below were firing on them. Vesna shot out of the way of the fire while the remaining Radham looked down at the source of the fire and swooped down. Vesna latched onto Gamma and dove downward in pursuit as the Sol-Tekkas below continued to fire on them, but without success as the Radham out-maneuvered the blasts. Vesna managed to catch up to one and she jumped off and tackled one off its glider. The two bodies hit the ground beneath the trees where they both began to rise. The Radham moved first, swing with an overhead slash. Vesna blocked in and locked the blades tight. As they struggled, she ignited her boosters and sent them soaring through the trees. Then in a sudden motion, she stopped while releasing the blade lock at the same time, causing the alien tekkaman to continue to fly and crash into the tree. It rose up in anger, but it didn't move any more than that as the female tekkaman charged and impaled the Radham against the tree.
"Guaahhhahahahah!!!!"
Vesna twisted the lancer and drove it to the side, ripping the creature in half and ending its existence. She was ready to return to the air when an explosion caught her attention. Dashing through the woods, she saw that the remaining three Radham were attacking the Sol-Tekka units. The Voltekka beams were causing them to scatter, effectively damaging the house.
'Samuel!'
Vesna was about the charge, but then thought up a better idea. Linking up her communicator, she spoke to Goliate, who had just flown overhead.
"Goliate. Draw them into the after you and come this way."
"Roger."
The starjet flew toward the building and fired on the Radham. As expected, the creatures took note of his attack and chased after him. While they followed, they continued to attack and Goliate weaved and maneuvered his ship out of the way.
"Come on."
Vesna was keeping track of him, waiting for Goliate to approach. With the Radham close on him, it would be a close one. She couldn't make any mistakes with this.
'Closer…now!'
She reacted just as Gamma soared just overhead. Her arm shot up and her energy wire shot up. On time, it hooked onto the underside of the ship and pulled her up. The momentum caused her to swing upward through the air and flip onto the top of Gamma, facing the Radham in behind. Now set, Vesna crossed her arms across her chest and began to electrify with energy. Her usual voltekka cells shimmered to life and soon several new cells opened up across her shoulders and upper arm. Bubbles of energy surrounded her and encircled her and she released her attack
"Pulse Voltekka!!!!"
Her voltekka beam fired along with the energy bubbles, resulting in an onslaught of energy. The main beam tore through two Radham in the center while the pulse beams impacted with the rest, causing them to explode with concessive force. Vesna then silenced the attack, but with great effort as a result. She slumped down on the top of the starjet, panting for air.
"Natasha. Are you alright?"
She turned her head to cockpit and nodded, "Yeah…Just a little…winded." She looked down below, "We better head back."
Gamma soared around in the sky and lowered down to the ground. The Sol-Tekka unit was in tatters, but many of them seem fine. Vesna jumped off and moved toward home. Her former home now... The rooftop and walls were littered with blast holes and fires. Beside the doorway, the figure of the elderly servant was leaning against the side. Vesna moved to him.
"Samuel. Are you alright?"
Samuel seemed a little shaken, but nodded, "Yes ma'am." His gaze moved up at the damaged house, "It would seem that I have much work to do."
Vesna smiled within at the joke, "Heh. That won't be necessary. In fact, I think you could use a vacation."
"As you wish."
The servant walked off and Vesna turned away to re-board Gamma, but not before she was called by the general from behind.
"Natasha."
Vesna stopped, but only briefly as she turned her head to the side.
"Father. I am a Space Knight. Nothing you can say will change that."
The battle was immediate. As soon as came within range, the Dolls attacked with intense pressure and force. The Radham were quickly slaughtered by the soulless machines and the Radham were being pushed back. Dontello watched the scene, much to his pleasure. The Dolls were performing perfectly, blasting the Radham before they could even come close. However, Aki was still disturbed. Something was very wrong. For starters, it didn't seem as if the Radham were trying to even reach to base. She knew well enough that if they did, they would have put up a much harder fight. It wouldn't have made a difference considering the Dolls abilities, but even so, it was still too easy. And she was still sensing a powerful mental wave.
Then, 'he' showed up…
"Sir, an identified object has appeared."
The screen lit up, showing the scene of the battle. From out of the dust, a sole dark form emerged. A lean armored form…
'Another tekkaman.'
The colonel simply looked at the screen as the tekkaman simply strode onward, "Signal the Dolls to attack."
But the soldier called back, "I can't. The Doll controls aren't responding."
Dontello stood up, "What? Are they malfunctioning?"
"No. They just…aren't responding."
True enough; the tekkaman strode slowly through the immobile Dolls, his red crystal glowing steadily on his forehead.
"Send the reserve units to take it out."
On the secondary screen, manned Sol-Tekkas shot out over the ground and swooped toward the area.
"No. Pull them back immediately."
Dontello turned to her in anger, "If you continue with your outbursts Chief, I'll have you detained."
Aki glared silently at him and returned her attention to the monitors, watching the Sol-Tekkas approach the tekkaman.
'Fool. And his men will pay the price.'
The Sol-Tekka unit approached the advancing tekkaman, cannons armed for battle. But when they closed in, the lead Sol-Tekka was blasted and it exploded into rubble.
"What?!"
The other Sol-Tekka stopped in shock as well after seeing the source of the blast. It was from one of the Sol-Tekka Dolls. As they tried to recover from the shock, the other dolls soon turned on them and fired. The pilots were completely surprised and were son wiped out, all the while with the tekkaman simply standing their watching. In the control room, panic flew around everywhere.
"What's happening?" Dontello roared. "Why are the Dolls attacking them?"
"I don't know. There's an outside source controlling them." The soldier soon stopped and looked up at the screen. "Wait. The signal is coming from…him."
Dontello looked at the tekkaman and finally took note of the glowing crystal on his armored forehead. Aki simply stood in watch, her own tekkaset now glowing steadily as the assault finished on the remaining Sol-Tekkas. The Dolls then ceased firing and assembled in line, with the tekkaman in the center.
"I am Tekkaman Sliver, emissary of the Radham. Your weapons are useless against us and are now ours to command. Surrender to us or be destroyed."
Quatre locates Trowa and tries to talk to him, but is cut off by Katherine who tells him to leave. But a battle near the colony causes Trowa to aid his friend. D-Boy and Noal continue their search and discover a key part in the creation of the gundams. Sliver advances upon the Space Knight HQ. Without the Space Knight tekkamen, the base is virtually defenseless against the dark tekkaman. Aki must convince the OZ commander to relinquish Pegasus before Sliver destroys them all. And a fourth dark tekkaman is soon to awaken. Next on Gundam Tekkaman: Trowa's return to the battlefield
