Author's Note: Time for some of that romantic stuff, people. Kira and Fumina get a quiet moment in this chapter.

Special Thanks to the Reviewers:

RonaldM40196867 - My favorite Gundam? Easy the GX - 9900 Gundam X, of course!

readerofgoodfanfiction - Oh, yes, Artemis Base will burn.

KentLinuxStadfelt - He'll get something better than what he takes in this chapter, but it'll be a bit. And I'm trying to make them a little longer each time.

ガンダム

Phase 9

Archangel - Class Battleship Archangel (Hangar)

The mechanical crew of the Archangel were busily working on the Astray Gold as the ship began its silent run. The Gold had sustained a good amount of damage during the battle, the left arm and cockpit armor suffering greatly. Heero oversaw his machine's maintenance as he worked on the Cosmograsper he had arrived in. The Green Astray was a good machine, but it was a far cry from what he was used to in the Wing Zero. Still, he was able to work with it, limited as it was.

The screen on his Cosmo started flashing, signaling that he was being hailed. He placed his headset on, and switched on the screen, "This is Yuy."

"Heero," Marika's face appeared, "Good, I'm glad I was able to reach you so soon. Is my daughter doing alright?"

Heero shrugged, "The wound healed within a matter of hours, as I stated before your last call," he frowned, "She's still shaken up by it, though. I suppose anyone would be in her situation."

"Our situation," Marika sighed, "I and my crew tested ourselves." She said, "It seems we all have that coloration in our blood."

Heero nodded in understanding, "I see, then it would appear that those from different universes are given the nanos on arrival, somehow. Did you ask the system?"

"I did, but you can imagine how that went over," Marika shrugged, "The damned thing clammed up and shut down. I tried to call it back up, but it refused until I wanted to look through what Mobile weapons I could with what little I can spend. I'm sorry I haven't found anything that'll suit you, yet."

Heero shook his head, "I can make due with the Green Astray," he said, "And I still have the Cosmograsper."

"Still, though, Heero, don't do anything that'll get you hurt," Marika looked at him in worry. "But...I suppose what I'm about to say will do exactly that."

Heero's demeanor changed in an instant, going from light banter to all business, "You have a mission for me?"

"An important one," she said, "It's two fold. The first thing I will need you to do is to find a way to disable Artemis' shields." She said, "I could try to overload one of the umbrella's with a concentrated attack from my ship's positron cannons, but they'd overheat long before the generator gave out. So I'll need your help getting in. I've explained what these men are like?"

"Greedy, lazy, and prone to throwing their weight around as much as their tantrums," Heero said, "Right, I'll rig something to remotely shut the shields down when you arrive. Just make sure you give me a heads up."

"Of course, dear, wouldn't have it any other way," she smiled, "The other part is a recruitment for the Archangel."

Heero raised his brow at her, "Come again?"

"Yes, yes, you heard me right." She said, "There's a very strong Coordinator on Artemis, at least, that's what my Quest System is telling me. You're looking for a young man around a year or two older than Kira, with long hair, and violet eyes like his. His name is Canard Pars. He's Kira's older brother."

[Kira has a brother?] Heero frowned. "Does the kid know about this?"

"No, and that's going to be a monumental problem between the two of them," Marika sighed, "You see, Canard and Kira do share DNA that effectively make them siblings, but Canard has a severe hatred for Kira, and Kira has no idea who Canard is. Kira's going to have to be your bait, but you also need to keep him from killing him as well."

"He's not crazy is he?"

Marika shook her head, "You could say that he's a lot like you in a few ways. He has a massive superiority complex where Kira is concerned because the people that made him have been saying that Kira was the stronger of the two of them all his life. And with Kira never knowing it, he's had this brother hating him and wishing him dead."

"And you want me to bring him aboard the same ship as him because?" Heero wondered.

"First off, he's going to be a pilot on par with Kira," Marika pointed out, "Plus, I think it's time that boy had a few things straightened out for him. This universe has enough homicidal maniacs as it is."

"Any other reasons?"

"Just that we'll need him when the time comes," Marika sighed, "Please, Heero?"

Heero sighed, "Fine, but I make no promises." He frowned at the screen, "Anything else I should know about this base?"

"Just that you'll need to be careful about our situation with the blood." Marika said, "The Eurasian forces aren't Blue Cosmos, but - "

"But they're not above hurting those that are different," Heero finished for her, "Right. What about Akihiro and Lafter?"

Marika sighed, "Keeping their distance for now. As soon as the Black Pearl is close enough, we'll engage the rearmost ZAFT ships, and try to pick them off. In the end, though, they will be coming for you and soon. Be ready for that."

Heero nodded, "Understood. Yuy, out."

He took off his headset. "How long are you gonna keep sitting there?" The young man said loudly.

He heard someone scoff before a head of dark violet hair popped up. "I was just admiring your Mobile Armor." The girl frowned, "No need to get snippy with me."

"Then you can hand over that listening device you have hidden in your jacket." Heero said, holding out his hand for the device.

The dark-skinned girl scowled at him, "Don't know what you're talking about." She huffed, but her bravado began to disappear as she saw the pilot reaching for his pistol, "Alright, alright, here! Jeez!" She quickly handed over the small device she'd been using to little success, "It's not like I heard anything. You had your headset on, so most of what I heard were just mumbles."

Heero reached out and crushed the little radio.

The girl groaned, "You, Sir, are an ass!"

"You, Miss, are right," Heero smirked in a mocking tone, and hopped out of the Cosmo, "Now find something else to do besides eavesdropping. Try it again," he turned and gave her a cold glare, "And I'll shoot you."

The girl huffed as the pilot floated off toward where the Blue and Red machines were. "Man, talk about unfriendly."

A laugh from her left caught her attention, "I wouldn't go messing around with him, Rachel," Mu La Flaga chuckled as he floated toward her from his Moebius Zero. "He's not someone to take lightly. The captain can tell you that much." He chuckled once more as the incident in the hangar flashed through his mind.

Rachel shook her head, "It's not like I was going to steal anything. I've just never seen a plane like this." She said, placing a hand on the Cosmograsper's armor. "I mean, this looks like a Skygrasper, but I know that they can't maneuver in space at all, so I thought it was some sort of experimental unit that the Alliance thought up."

Mu nodded, "You'd never guess that this is a pirate ship," he said as he admired the blue and white Mobile Armor, "Still, though, real nice piece of work. Won't work against Phase Shift armor like the Prototypes are using right now, but against something like what Heero and the other's pilot, this thing could cause some serious damage."

Rachel tucked her arms behind her back, regarding the pilot of the Cosmograsper and the Green unit as he spoke with the blue-haired girl about something she couldn't hear from where they were. "So he's a pirate," she said, frowning, "Explains why he's so rude."

"If you'd seen him the first time he came aboard this ship, then you wouldn't be saying that," Mu frowned, "One of the people piloting those unaccounted Mobile Suits is his captain's daughter, and when the enlisted found out that her boyfriend is a Coordinator, they all drew their guns on him."

"Oh shit," Rachel winced, "I take it that didn't sit well with him?"

"He took the captain hostage in less than a second," Mu told her as the girl gasped. "Yeah, it was incredible, one second he was right next to me, and then he was swatting the guns out of their hands and holding one of them against Murrue's neck."

Rachel frowned, "No wonder he's so guarded."

Meanwhile...

"A new OS?" Heero questioned the blue-haired pilot as he stood outside of the cockpit. "Are you sure you're going to have the time?"

Allenby shrugged, "Maybe we will, maybe we won't," she said, sticking her tongue out, "All I know is that I'm used to a Mobile Trace System, not this sticky controls." She gestured to her console, "I can work with it, but I can't fight to my full extent like this."

"Kou seems to be just fine with it," Heero said.

Allenby leaned in, "That's because the Gundams in his world were similar to these," she whispered and pointed to her Red Astray. "I mean, these aren't all that much different than my old Noble Gundam apart from the cockpit and the OS."

"My Zero system makes them look like windup toys," Heero muttered.

Allenby giggled, "So you do have a sense of humor."

"That wasn't a joke," the boy dubbed the Ultimate Soldier said with a frown, "I don't know if Fumina ever told you about my world, but compared to the Cosmic Era Gundams, or whatever they call them here, I doubt there's a machine that could come close to Wing Zero."

"Remind me to tell you about the Dark Gundam sometime," Allenby said in hushed tones, "Speaking of Fumina, have you seen her, yet?"

Heero shook his head, "She's still out of it from the sleep aids that Marks gave her," he said, frowning, "What has her so hung up on that boy piloting the Strike?"

Allenby gained little hearts dancing in her eyes, "It's love, obviously!" She gushed happily, "Isn't it sweet? A mutual romance between star crossed teens, and no one's about to get in their way!"

Heero frowned at this, "Doesn't she want to go home?"

"Hasn't mentioned it," Allenby smiled, "And I'll be honest, I'm starting to like it here myself. Sure the war and all that is horrible, but that's human nature, we can't live without fighting each other. Heck, maybe we can start up our very own Gundam Fight tournament!"

"You think this is a joke?" Heero sounded angry now. He reached into his pocket and produced a photograph. Allenby looked at it; It was a girl with long blonde hair and lovely dark eyes. She looked the picture of sophistication. "I've had this on me since I was brought here, and you know what? I can't even remember her name." Allenby blinked, "And I know that she's important to me, and that I've been with her because I remember those times...but I forget a little more each day."

"You mean your memories of your home are just fading?" Allenby asked with a little shock in her voice, "That's silly. I mean, I just told you something about my world, and I remember that fight clearly."

"But do you remember the people you fought with?" Heero countered. "Tell me one name, and I'll drop it. What about a special person? Someone you loved?"

Allenby smiled, "That easy." She giggled, waving away his concern. "His name was...his name..." try as she might, Allenby couldn't recall the pilot's name, only that he piloted a powerful machine called the Burning Gundam, "Oh...holy shit..."

"See?" Heero grumbled, "Not so nice here is it?"

Allenby shrugged, "Well, it's a bummer, but I do remember that he loved someone else." She sighed and leaned back into her cockpit, "But I do get where you're coming from, Heero, I do, don't get me wrong...but Fumina's not the one that brought you here. Her mother could probably send you back if you asked her."

"She asked me to look after her daughter, and that's what I'll do," the pilot sighed, "Then she can send me back."

ガンダム

Fumina rolled over, her head swimming slightly as the sleep aids began to wear off. She heard someone stirring beside her and blearily opened her eyes. She found Kira nodding off at her bedside, Birdy nestled on his shoulder, apparently in sleep mode itself.

"Birdy?" Or at least she thought the little robot was. "Birdy!" It chirped again, and pecked at Kira's cheek.

"Birdy, don't," Fumina whispered. But her voice served the same purpose as its little beak did and roused Kira from his nap.

He frowned and rubbed his neck with a small yawn, "Hey," he said finally looking down at her, "How're you doing?"

Fumina smiled, "Better." She said, "You look tired."

Kira shook his had, "Nah, this is nothing," he said before yawning hugely. "Sorry."

Fumina giggled, and lifted the blankets covering her. "Come here."

Kira's blush would have been enough to ignite a dying star. "Uh...that's..."

Fumina seemed to falter, "Is it...my blood?"

"No!" Kira shouted loudly, making her wince. "Sorry...I meant that that has nothing to do with...this..." he gestured to the bed, "Fumina...about...about you and Heero..."

Fumina seemed confused for a moment, "Me and Heero?"

Kira felt like he was about to step on a land mine, but it would be worth if only for his peace of mind. "It's just...you two seemed to know each other...and I thought that..."

"You thought that we were special to one another," Fumina sighed with a tired smile. She looked up at him, "Come here...please?"

Kira looked ready to refuse again, but it was hard to do. The bed looked too inviting to his tired mind to refuse, and it was occupied by someone he was certain that he was in love with. Slowly, the teen moved into the bed and let the girl cuddle up against him.

"Can you hold me?" Fumina asked.

"Y-yeah," Kira hesitantly put his arms around her, and Fumina did the same. It was surprisingly comfortable.

She nestled her head against his chest, "Hmm, you're so warm." Fumina said sleepily. "Kira...I love you." She said with such certainty that he couldn't help but believe her. "I've never felt this close to anyone, not even my family." She told him, "Heero is just someone my mother hired. All that matter's to him is completing whatever mission he's given, even if it means hi-jacking a ship."

Kira nodded, "I think he was pretty close to doing just that," he sighed, and looked down at her, "So, there's nothing between you two?"

"Just annoyance," Fumina sighed, "I'm here. I'm not going to leave anytime soon."

"I'm glad," the boy said, "I thought I was going to loose you for a minute when Ath - the Aegis had a hold of the Strike."

Fumina shook her head, "Kira, don't play dumb, even without the slip just now, I could tell that you knew that pilot," she said, hoping that he would be honest with her. She already knew plenty about Athrun Zala, and she hoped that she could do something to prevent such tragedy between the two childhood friends.

Kira frowned before slowly nodding his head, "Yeah...I know him...at least, I thought I did."

"A friend?"

"More like a brother sometimes," Kira sighed, "His name is Ahtrun Zala. I knew him from when we were at the same prep school." He frowned, "There was a time that we were supposed to go to the PLANTS together, but when we got to the moon, my parents made me wait, and then moved us to Heliopolis."

"And he joined ZAFT in that time you spent there." Fumina sighed, "This is why I hate wars. Neighbors turn on each other. Families get torn apart for the dumbest reasons. And friends become enemies."

Kira couldn't have agreed more, "They're gonna ask us to fight again."

"They don't need to ask me," Fumina smiled at the look of shock that came to his face, "I'll fight. To protect this ship, my family, my friends...and you." She reached up and stroked his cheek, "So yeah, there's no need to ask me to fight."

"But you could die out there," Kira argued weakly.

"I could die here, too, Kira, and so could you," she smiled, "If we don't fight, this ship could be destroyed." She said, "And I'd rather die trying to save people that letting people save me."

"And you don't mind joining the Alliance?" Kira asked, frowning.

Fumina scoffed, "Kira, I'm a pirate," she said, "The first sign of real trouble is when I take my family, and cut my losses." She said, "My family can include you, too, Kira, if you'll come with us."

Kira smirked at that, "What? A life of adventure robbing across space?"

Fumina giggled, "Or," she said, "we could find your parents in Orb, and stay there. And I hear Orb just finished terraforming Mars."

"A fresh start," Kira grinned, "That doesn't sound too bad...provided we survive that long."

Fumina smiled and nestled against his chest, "I don't plan on dying, Kira."

ガンダム

Yamato - Class Battleship (Black Pearl)

"Mrs. Hoshino?"

Marika sighed, "At least you're not calling me mother," the woman frowned as she scanned through the list of possible Mobile Armors, "How're you adjusting to things, Mr. Kellerne?"

The man chuckled, "Well, you're too young to be my old ma," he said with a large grin, "And I guess I'm adjusting fairly well. I mean I'm not dead, thank God, or whatever you'd call this stroke of luck."

"Considering I was trying to have a completely different person brought here, I'd call it blind luck, and not the best since poor Ride was so hoping to have his big brother figure back," Marika sighed, then looked at the large man, "Though I am glad we got an experienced pilot."

Yuri sighed, "And I'm glad that I'm not dead anymore," he sighed, scratching the top of his head, "It was...weird, being dead...I'm not a religious man, but I felt..."

"Please," Marika pressed her hands against her ears. "I'd rather not hear anymore. No disrespect, of course..."

"No, no, I understand," he sighed, looking at the holographic screen in front of them, "So...this is the famous Store System the kids have been yammering about, huh?"

"Yeah, a buggy, expensive, and often times unhelpful system," she said, "But it brought me some of the best pilots and machines that I can get in this Era, though I wish that some of the other Era's Gundams weren't so expensive."

Yuri peered over her shoulder at one such machine, "XXXG-00W0 Wing Gundam Zero," he gave an appreciative whistle, "Man, look at the armaments on this thing. Am I reading the stats on that...Twin Buster Rifle...right?"

"Yes, it's by far the most powerful Gundam that ever existed in my opinion." The woman said, "That rifle could destroy a colony. It was fast, versatile, and nuclear powered. Much more powerful than even the later developments that ZAFT made in the current war."

"Then why not buy this one?" Yuri asked.

Marika simply pointed to the price of the machine, and the man winced. The price for the Wing Zero was 100,000,000,000,000 BP. "Ah, I see." He frowned, "Well, surely there are better Gundam type Mobile Suits that aren't so expensive?"

"The X-series, and the ones that came after them are among the cheapest I can get at the moment," she said, "The Calamity Gundams in the hangar are powerful, but slow compared to other Gundams, but put in the hands of a damned good pilot like Ride, and Norba, and they're formidable." She sighed, "Then there are the Freedom, Justice, Providence and the Destiny Gundams were probably the most powerful to ever grace this world."

"Are they in this system?" Yuri asked.

"Yes, but each one of the is 5000 each or more," she sighed, "The best I can do to bolster my ranks is to gear up with the Cosmograspers, and they're weak compared to Gundams like the Freedom and the Justice." She placed her face in her hands, "If only I could - "

"Hey," Yuri placed his hands on her shoulder, "You're overthinking this." He pointed out, "Look here, the Cosmograsper is strong enough to deal with GINNs, and Zakus, and even some Gundams. But it's not your only option. Look at this Mobile Armor." He pointed to a plane like mech below the Cosmo. "This...uh...Mura..Murasame! It says here that those are only about 500 BP!"

Marik looked up, "Murasame?" She scrolled the list up and pulled the Mobile weapon up, "Yuri...that's it!" She beamed up at him, "Eugene! Warn the hangar crew that I'm bringing in four new Mobile Suits!"

"Suits?" Yuri asked, "Not Armors?"

"System purchase! Give me four Murasame transformable Mobile Suits!"

{Purchase allowed. MFV - M11C Murasame x 4. Making this purchase will reduce your BP to 40. Do you wish to continue?}

"Yes," Marika said, "Also, is there a way I can use nanolamenant armor on them?"

{Negative. Nanolaminant Armor is currently unavailable. Solution: Purchase of nanolaminant paint. The application of this paint will temporarily make the selected machines beam proof, however, this will not last. Reapplication is required.}

"Spend my remaining BP on as much of that paint as I can buy. Confirm purchase."

{Purchases confirmed. Murasame x4 and Nanolaminant paint x2.} The System showed a 3D image of the Murasame in both the Mobile Suit and Mobile Armor forms, and two large fifty gallon barrels. {Your BP has not been reduced to 0 BP. Is there anything else that I can help you with today?}

"No," she said smiling at the hologram for once, "You can shut down." She looked down at the three young men manning the ship, "Dante, can you confirm that those machines were added?"

"Roger, checking now," he said, smiling as he pulled up the screens, "Hush is already all over them."

"And the paint?" She asked.

"It's in the storage containers along with the Haro repair system." Chad said, "Should I get Ride on it?"

"Please," Marika smiled, "And tell Hush that one of those Mobile Suits is his to pilot." She chuckled as Eugene relayed the message, "And two more will be going to Derma and Aston Atland...Yuri, do you want the last one?" She looked up at the Zeon pilot.

He shook his head, "No ma'am, I'm a ground man, or a Mobile Armor pilot," he said, "You get me a Zaku, I'll pilot that, but not one of those shifting Mobile Suits."

Marika nodded, "Eugene, have Kusuha assigned to the last Murasame, and then you can have Ride customize a Cosmograpser for Commander Kellerne."

"Yes, Mom!"

"CALL ME CAPTAIN!" She roared as Yuri laughed at her moniker.

Just then, however, Dante picked something up on the radar. "Mom, looks like we're catching up to one of the ZAFT frigates."

Marika stood, "Eugene, have all pilots to their machines at once!" She called, out, "Commander Yuri will be leading the charge. Commander," she turned to the veteran pilot, "Don't let any of my kids get hurt out there."

Yuri gave a salute, "Yes, Ma'am."

ガンダム

Laurasia - Class Battleship (Pendragon)

"Captain, we have an unidentified ship coming up on starboard aft."

"Are they Earth forces?" The captain asked.

The Green coat shook his head, "Sir...I don't know...the scanners are saying that this thing is big...really big!"

"Give me something crewmen," the captain snapped.

"It's over 300 meters long!"

The captain snapped around, "Impossible! No Earth ship is that large!"

"High energy reading from the front!"

Suddenly, and large Mobile Suit appeared in front of the bridge. A large, grey Mobile Suit with a large double-V on its head. "Nothing personal," Akihiro said as he aimed the beam rifle at the bridge. The captain shouted out in fear as the green hued beam erupted from the rifle, and destroyed the bridge.

He then shot up the ship from stem to stern, giving no quarter to the ship or her crew before it exploded. "Hey, Mom," Akihiro said over his radio, "Job's done. Want us to go after the other one?"

"Not, yet." Marika told him, "Both of you return to the Pearl. You've been out there for two days, and I'll bet you could use a hot meal."

"Just so long as Kusuha's not doing the cooking," Lafter quipped, "Last time I ate some of that, my tongue went numb."

On board the Black Pearl, Marika was smiling slightly, "That...was far too easy." She said as the System popped up.

{Congratulations. You have succeed in destroying a Laurasia - Class Battleship belonging to the ZAFT organization.} The Hologram said, {Rewards for Random Quest: 1) 2500 BP +25% Boost of 625 2) 2x ZGMF - 1017 GINN 3) Hidden Reward.}

"We got Mobile Suits?" Eugene shouted in surprise, "Alright!"

Marike was surprised as well, "That's something. Accept all rewards please."

{Rewards accepted. 3125 BP awarded. ZGMF - 1017 GINN x2 added to Mobile Suit Hangar. Hidden Reward: You have gained x2 personnel.}

"Eh?"

"Mom?" Eugene said, "Uh, Ride says two girls just appeared in the hangar..."

Marika frowned, "Oh, dear..."

{Due to destroying a ZAFT Organization ship, your Notoriety has increased from 0 to 15. You are now a known pirate in the ZAFT Organization. Bounty has not been added as of yet.} The hologram said, {This concludes the services of the Reward System. Good-bye.}

ガンダム

Author's Note: Marika's crew is getting bigger. And better equipped. Next comes the next battle between the ZAFT forces and the Gundam pilots of the Archangel. And it seems that Fumina's choices are leading her toward staying instead of leaving.

Wanna see what happens? You all know what to do. Until next time, merry Christmas, and adios amigos!