Nadesico, passage

He's coming! I can feel it! Despite the urgency of the situation, D-Boy pulled Milly aside. "Milly, listen, this is important. Tell Noal and the others . . . if I'm out there for more than thirty minutes, kill me."

Milly's face, naturally pale as it was, went bone-white. "What!? D-Boy, what are you saying!?"

"Please!" He hated having to do this, but the alternative was unthinkable. "In Tekkaman form, I can only maintain my human heart for thirty minutes. Any longer and I . . . I'll go berserk."

The girl shook her head in denial. "You can't just ask us to kill you!"

"There's no other way!" D-Boy grimaced in deeper than physical pain. "If he appears, and I think he will, this could take too long. When I . . . change, I'll stop moving for a moment. They have to take the shot then!"

He couldn't wait any longer. Leaving Milly anguished and confused, D-Boy made a mad dash for the hangar where Pegas waited. At the least, he thought with a certain grim amusement, Granteed or Zeorymer would be able to do the job should the need arise. Even though it twisted his heart to place such a burden on someone like Masato Akitsu.

"Took ya long enough!" was Uribatake's greeting. "Most of 'em left without you. They're not really happy about that, D-Boy."

"They can be as unhappy as they want," D-Boy said darkly. "I have a feeling it won't matter. Pegas, TEK SETTER!"

"ROGER."

Transforming didn't feel any different physically, but there was nonetheless a deep sense of loss. D-Boy was almost certain this would be his last time as a human. "Tekkaman Blade!"

He saw their faster units had already engaged the Radam. Kira's Strike Gundam and Eiji's Layzner were busily shredding the lesser Radam beasts, while Tallgeese and Wing Gundam eliminated some of the larger creatures. As much of the battle was over water, their flightless units were mostly clustered around the Radam's target, a power plant.

Or, in the case of Gundam Heavyarms, acting as an extra gun turret on Nadesico's upper deck.

"Glad you could join us," Mao said sarcastically. "You do know you're in a lot of trouble."

"More than any of you realize," Blade countered. "You can punish me after the battle, if you have a chance." He drew his Tek Lance, impaling a Radam beast and hurling it into one of its fellows. A few laser blasts from Pegas finished the job.

So far it was just small fry. Slashing his way through more Radam, Blade couldn't shake the feeling of doom, and not just his own. Whatever Evil was up to, it had to be about more than a single power station. Especially as heavily guarded as it now was; it would take more Radam beasts than had yet appeared to get through the defense the Special Task Force had set up.

Case in point, a few of the so-called "Demons of the Stratosphere" made the mistake of attempting to close with Gundam Heavyarms. Trowa's monster of a Gundam reduced them to ichor-drenched chunks before they'd finished turning. The next three met an even more emphatic fate, straying into the firing arc of Nadesico's Gravity Blast.

Nevertheless, it was taking too long. If they were to have a chance—if he was to have a chance—they had to strike hard and fast. "Pegas, Crash Intrude!"

"ROGER."

He was grimly amused to hear a surprised yelp from Hilde's Taurus as he sped past, leaving dismembered Radam corpses in his wake. Though he couldn't keep it up for long periods, while the maneuver was active it was devastating. Part of him wondered if someone on Grados had seen Tekkamen in action and designed Layzner's V-Max ability in imitation.

Speaking of which, the SPT in question went roaring past just as Blade's energy field abated. Fortunately for all concerned, Eiji's reluctance to kill did not extend to the Radam's abominations, though Layzner's relatively small size limited its effectiveness against larger swarms.

The brief spark in his mind was his only warning, giving him just enough to parry the Tek Lance aimed for his throat. The weapon's owner, a spiked red-and-black Tekkaman, drew back out of range of Blade's return strike, his body language radiating complete confidence, even arrogance.

"Well done, Takaya," Tekkaman Evil said. "Fighting for these humans has not weakened you as much as I had thought. Perhaps this will be worthwhile after all."

"Shut up!" Blade snarled, coming to a halt a few meters short of his opponent. "I don't know what you're planning, Evil, but it doesn't matter. I will never submit to the Radam."

Evil laughed mockingly. "You really think so, Big Brother? I know you better than that; we are twins, after all. To think we once shared our mother's womb; now here we are, human and Radam. The same, and yet different." He gestured to the field below them, incongruously full of flowers. "The amaryllis. Her favorite, wasn't it?"

Blade threw his lance at that, only for it to be deflected. "That no longer matters," he countered icily, retrieving it. "All that remains is to defeat you. All of you!"

"If you can, Takaya!" Evil was in motion again, locking his lance with Blade's. "Come, Brother! Let's settle this, once and for all! You'll understand soon enough."

"Shinyaaaaaaa!"

Toya found himself fighting beside Dancouga, taking down Radam too large for most of the others. It was only by chance that he saw Blade leaving, pursuing the nasty-looking red Tekkaman. He had to rip another giant Radam beast in half to get a good enough look.

"Where are they going?" Shinobu wondered incredulously.

Granteed's chest glowed green, the resulting energy blast tearing through yet more Radam. "Got me, but it can't be good," he said. "Was that other Tekkaman the one you guys ran into on the Moon?"

"That's him, all right," Sara said grimly. "Blade withdrew last time; if he's chasing that freak now, it means trouble."

Toya cursed under his breath, venting his frustration by tearing one of the larger Radam in half. He sometimes missed Bellzelute's sleekness, but what Granteed lacked it grace it more than made up for in raw power. There was something disturbingly satisfying in being able to reduce lesser mechs to junk while shrugging off all but the most powerful return fire.

"Hey, save some for us," Cagalli teased, swooping past with her beam turret blazing.

He loosed a quick Orgone shot before answering. "Could you take this a little more seriously?"

The tomboy princess dodged a burst of acidic venom. "Hey, I'm worried about D-Boy, too," she said more soberly. "That red guy means business."

More Radam cut off further conversation for the time being. Toya lost himself in the fugue of battle, taking the Radam swarm as they came. Two were blown to dripping chunks by his Orgone Slave attack, another was crushed in Granteed's fists. Dancouga stayed at his back, keeping his blind spot covered.

"Where's D-Boy!?" a frantic voice said from Nadesico. Young and female, it took a moment for Toya to realize it was Milly Le Rouge.

"He's off chasing that red Tekkaman we ran into in space," Yurika said, sounding puzzled. "What's wrong?"

Milly sucked in a sharp breath. "H-How long has he been gone?"

"Approximately fifteen minutes," Natarle said, her voice darkly suspicious. "Is there a problem?"

The young Space Knights operator swallowed hard. "D-Boy, he . . . right before launch, he told me that if he was gone for more than thirty minutes, he wanted us to kill him." Ignoring the sudden intakes of breath that provoked, she went on in a rush, "He said he'll go berserk if he stays in Tekkaman form longer than that!"

"Damn," Natarle said. "So General Colbert was right."

"Can we talk about that dome-head bastard later?" Duo complained, hacking through a Radam. "Seriously, it hasn't been half an hour yet, so for now we just hope he gets back in time. You got that, Pegas?"

"AFFIRMATIVE."

Natarle seemed to want to argue further, but Murrue cut her off. "Duo is right. For now, our priority is to eliminate the Radam here. If Blade returns in time, fine. If not, we deal with it when the time comes. All units, focus on the mission."

Feeling deeply grateful that Murrue Ramius was in command of Archangel instead of Natarle Badgiruel, Toya concentrated on the enemy in front of him. There was no shortage of targets; if anything the Radam swarm had gotten larger. Probably, he thought grimly, Tekkaman Evil ensuring they wouldn't be able to interfere.

"Is this really okay?" Melua said. "If he doesn't make it back. . . ."

Toya vaporized another of the monsters before replying. "I'm worried, too, Melua, but Captain Ramius is right. We have to focus on taking out these freaks and hope for the best."

Layzner had taken on a blue glow, Eiji activating the now-familiar V-MAX system. Temporarily taking on the look that had led to some dubbing him the Blue Comet, even Radam seemed unprepared to deal with such an ability, though they certainly tried.

"Uruz Squad, here comes a big one!" Mao called. "Kurz, Sosuke, let's take it!"

Kurz Weber grinned. "At your beck and call, Mao!"

"Acknowledged," Sosuke echoed.

Arm Slaves were individually among the smallest and relatively speaking weakest machines in the Special Task Force's arsenal. Their combined firepower, however, could often bring down much larger targets, and Radam beasts were rather more fragile than the Boazanian mechs they had faced earlier.

Toya glanced at his chrono, and felt his chest tighten. A full ten minutes had passed since Milly's frantic warning, which meant D-Boy had but five minutes to return to Pegas before Very Bad Things happened. Fortunately, most of the Radam had been eliminated, but it was still closer than any of them liked.

Seemingly out of nowhere, a red streak flashed past, the downright demonic form of Tekkaman Evil. Blade was hot on his tail, but something about the way he was moving suggested the only free Tekkaman was tiring. Not a good sign, to put it mildly.

"This ends now, Evil!" Blade snarled. "VOLTEKKAAAAAAA!"

If there was any justice in the world, Toya thought, Evil would have been vaporized then and there. Sadly, it was not to be; the red Tekkaman dodged with contemptuous ease, laughing harshly. "Too bad, Takaya! I won't be the one to finish you. I'll just leave that up to your friends."

Toya's heart seemed to freeze in his chest; the girls looked at him, horrified. They all knew what Evil was talking about. Blade was about to hit his time limit, and there was no way Pegas could reach him in time. Which, Toya realized with mixed horror and fury, had doubtless been Evil's plan all along.

A larger blue shape was closing in on Blade's position; the Blue Earth, weapons already charging. "Wait!" Milly shouted. "There's still time, he's not—!"

"I'm sorry, Milly, but it's too late," Noal said. "Look at him; he's already changing." There was a distinct note of regret in his voice, at odds with his usual cocky attitude. "Forgive me, D-Boy."

It was too late. Milly's protest had delayed Noal just long enough for Blade to recover. Growling incoherently, his eyes now an ominous red, he drove his lance into the Blue Earth's port side, a glancing blow, fortunately, but still a hindrance. Noal was able to shake him off, but only barely.

Enough, apparently, for the berserk Tekkaman to see an easier target. Nimbly dodging a buster rifle shot and a hail of gunfire from Heavyarms, he sliced through a missile barrage and closed in on Archangel. Even from a distance, too far away to intervene in time, Toya could see Blade's shoulder panels open.

Voltekka. He closed his eyes. There's no way even Archangel can take that.

"That's as far as you go, you twisted monster!"

A male voice, a familiar one at that. Emerging near the powerplant was a deceptively small green and white figure. Something on its right arm flashed, and Blade was knocked back; stunned, but apparently unhurt. Unhurt, but if anything even angrier than before.

"Hey there, boys and girls of Archangel and Nadesico." A face appeared on Toya's screen, a blond man in his twenties, clean shaven. "Been a while."

Toya realized who it was just as Mu nearly exploded. "Balzac!? What the hell are you doing here!?"

"That's Major Asimov to you, Commander La Flaga," Balzac countered. "As for what I'm doing here, that should be obvious. Your 'friend' Tekkaman Blade has turned into a rabid dog, and needs to be put down."

More than one voice was raised in protest, enough that Toya had trouble telling who was who. He himself was torn; D-Boy was a friend, but what he had become arguably wasn't even human anymore, and was a significant danger. Strangely, though, the only people who seemed to be agreeing with Balzac were Uruz Squad and Heero.

"Is that an order from General Colbert?" Natarle cut in.

"That's right," Balzac confirmed.

Toya froze. Wait, Lieutenant Badgiruel knew all along?

"Hey, so that lieutenant knew that Balzac creep was a spy!?" Tenia said, echoing Toya's thoughts. "That's crazy!"

"Head's up, more Radam on the way!" Katia interrupted.

Cursing under his breath, Toya swung Granteed around to face the new threat. His massive machine was little use against a Tekkaman, and he wasn't at all sure he could bring himself to pull the trigger. Cursing both Balzac and the Radam for forcing such a choice on him, he opened fire on the latest wave.

"All units, concentrate on the Radam beasts first," Murrue said. "Tekkaman Blade is of lower priority."

Balzac made an incredulous sound. "Captain Ramius, are you insane!? That monster almost shot you out of the sky!"

"I am exercising my right of command, Major," Murrue said coldly. "Please abide by it."

Though circumstances were still dire, Toya felt a wave of relief, mirrored on his companions' faces. Clearly, Captain Ramius was no more eager than any of them to kill D-Boy, and by focusing on the Radam beasts first hoped to buy time for an alternate solution.

"You heard the lady, everybody!" Mu said, already swooping in on the Radam. "Leave Blade alone for now, and wipe out those Radam!"

There was a whoop from the other Skygrasper, as Cagalli tore through one of the abominations with the Schwehrt Gewehr. No surprise there; she had issues with authority figures in general, and had already expressed dislike for Balzac Asimov in particular.

"Roger that, Commander," Eiji confirmed. "Rei, remove the attack points from Tekkaman Blade. If attacked, concentrate on evading."

"READY."

The Shuffle Alliance were showing considerably more enthusiasm than before. Another given, really, after what had gone down with the Devil Gundam. Being turned into a monster was rather personal for that bunch. And however dangerous Radam beasts were, Sai Saici was proving they weren't fireproof.

"Now you do what the Captain says," Duo warned, glaring at the power suit. A Sol Tekkaman, according to the data update. "Or you'll find out why people call me the God of Death."

Balzac made an irritated sound halfway between a grunt and a resigned sigh. "Fine. Just don't come crying to me if he sinks you."

Putting annoying spies out of his mind for the moment, Toya vented his frustration on the Radam. Half the time he didn't even bother with his energy weapons; ripping them apart with Granteed's bare hands was so much more satisfying. If more than a little messy.

And he wasn't the only one. Calvina Coulange tended to behave almost like a machine (except where the mysterious Al-Van Lunks was concerned), but there was a certain viciousness in her attacks now, sometimes unleashing heavy weapons at point-blank range.

Most of the Radam had been driven away from the powerplant; Balzac at least was proving useful. Uruz Squad were backing him up; they seemed to be the only ones who could restrain themselves from shooting him instead.

"Toya, look," Katia said, pointing to the northwest.

Another blue and white Gundam had appeared from the treeline, immediately recognizable as the Shenlong. This time Wufei didn't bother transmitting, instead focusing on a few Radam that got too close to him. Which was fine with Toya; he was in no mood to deal with Wufei's stubbornness.

"There he goes again," Duo sighed. "Dammit, are we done yet? Blade's still dancing around out there."

That was indeed a problem. With the exception of Balzac and possibly Natarle Badgiruel, none of them wanted Blade dead. Unfortunately, no other options seemed to have presented themselves, which put them in a very unpleasant position. Toya looked back at the Sol Tekkaman; Balzac appeared to be moving to attack position.

"Let me talk to him," Milly said suddenly. "Please, I know I can get through to him."

"I think it's out best chance," Murrue agreed, cutting off Balzac's incipient protest. "The question is how to get you close enough alive."

Toya keyed his comm. "I'll do it, Captain," he said, the girls nodding in agreement. "Granteed's armor can handle most of his attacks."

"All right," Murrue said. "Return to Nadesico for pickup, and hurry."

"Roger that."

It was fortunate that Milly was on the petite side. Granteed's cockpit was roomy, certainly, but it was already supporting a crew of four. An extra passenger put just a bit of a strain on things.

"Sorry about this," Milly said, squirming a little. "I couldn't think of anything else."

"Hey, don't worry about it," Tenia said with a reassuring smile. "We want to save D-Boy, too, y'know."

The berserk Tekkaman wasn't even trying to conceal his whereabouts. He'd already done a fair amount of damage in his little rampage, luckily nothing that couldn't be fixed. Most of the UEFA regulars in the area had been hurriedly pulled out, leaving a handful of Leos to keep an eye on things. Thus far, Blade seemed to be ignoring them.

Pegas and the Blue Earth followed close behind Granteed, with (to Toya's extreme annoyance) Balzac's Sol Tekkaman pacing them. Tallgeese and Layzner flew high cover, in case they'd missed a few Radam beasts.

"This is insane," Balzac growled. "Even if Blade can be recovered, the risk is way too high for one man."

"Yeah, well, we don't think the way you do," Toya countered, his patience wearing very thin. "Lot of us aren't even in the military. Now keep your mouth shut before I step on you."

Blade saw them coming, of course. Barring something like Mirage Colloid, there was no way to conceal something the size of Granteed when it was in motion. Oddly, he seemed content to watch and wait, though Toya highly doubted it would last.

Toya set his huge machine down and opened the hatch. "It's up to you, Milly," he said. "Good luck, and be careful."

Milly slid to the ground and slowly approached the Tekkaman. "D-Boy," she said. "I know you're still in there. I know you can hear me." She stopped a few meters away. "Please, remember your human heart. Please, stop this."

No reaction. Toya felt himself tense, glancing at Balzac. If this didn't work, their only recourse was probably Zeorymer, and leaving aside Masato's probable issues with being ordered to kill a teammate, the Hakkeshu machine was practically collateral damage incarnate.

"D-Boy—guh!"

Blade had her by the throat in a vicelike grip. Hearing cries of alarm (tinged with triumph in Balzac's case), Toya scanned his controls in mounting frustration. Anything they tried would kill Milly in the process, and not even Heero Yuy was willing to risk that.

Milly scrabbled fruitlessly against that metal hand. "D . . . Boy. . . ." she choked out.

"No choice," Balzac snapped, his peculiar beam weapon coming up. "We have to—"

Like a switch had been flipped, Blade's grip released, allowing Milly to drop. She fell to her knees, coughing and rubbing her throat, even as Pegas landed between her and Blade, back section already opening. Incredibly, the Tekkaman climbed in, and a moment later, D-Boy fell out, again in human form.

"Tek-Out confirmed," Ruri said unnecessarily.

Archangel, Murrue's office

What a day, Murrue thought to herself, scrawling her signature on the last dispatch. D-Boy had been taken into custody, to the dismay of almost everyone (Natarle Badgiruel being a notable exception). Aki, to no one's surprise, was especially upset, and Duo had looked very nearly ready to shoot someone.

And speaking of Natarle. The door slid open, admitting the dark-haired XO. "You wanted to see me, Captain?"

"I did." For several moments Murrue just looked at the younger woman, eyes measuring. This was not going to be pleasant. "I just finished my after-action report," she said at length. "Appended to it is a dispatch to high command, endorsed by Admiral Misumaru and Colonel Khushrenada, protesting General Colbert's flagrant abuse of authority on the matter of Balzac Asimov."

Natarle stiffened. "Captain, with all due respect, the General's decision was clearly justified, as evidenced by what happened to Tekkaman Blade today."

"Hindsight," Murrue countered. "We had no way of knowing that would happen; yes, D-Boy should have told us long before, but that is neither here nor there." Her jaw tightened. "And it wasn't just our Tekkaman Balzac was watching. He was also tasked with surveillance of Eiji and Kira, even though neither have shown the slightest hint of disloyalty. On the contrary, both have consistently fought with great courage, despite very personal connections to enemy factions," meaning Ahmos Gale and Athrun Zala.

Natarle looked away briefly. "Perhaps General Colbert overreacted slightly in that respect," she conceded with obvious reluctance.

"Which leads to another matter." Murrue looked into the other woman's eyes. "You knew about this all along, didn't you." It wasn't a question.

"Yes, ma'am."

Murrue shook her head. "That underscores the problem. Slipping a spy in to begin with, much less informing my executive officer but not me, undermines my authority as commander of this ship, and thus our ability to operation effectively in action."

"General Colbert's orders were clear—"

"I'm aware of that," Murrue cut her off. "That's why I'm sending a formal protest. How am I to carry out my duties when I can't be sure my second in command isn't keeping vital secrets from me?" She stood. "If that level of trust cannot be maintained, then I will have no choice but to reevaluate the command structure of this ship. Do I make myself clear?"

Natarle obviously didn't like it, but just as obviously knew she was cornered. "You do, ma'am."

"Dismissed."

When Natarle had left, Murrue sank back into her chair, suddenly feeling a headache coming on. She was beginning to envy Yurika; while she didn't exactly trust anyone from Nergal not aboard Nadesico (not to mention she shared Toya's unease with Nagare Akatsuki), Jun Aoi seemed much easier to work with.

Well. Perhaps when her shift ended she would have a long talk with the other captain. Yurika Misumaru, Murrue suspected, would have no objection to being ranted at when she wasn't the subject of the ranting. It could be a much-needed catharsis.

Archangel, crew quarters

The last time Kira could remember feeling so depressed, he thought, was when he'd last faced Athrun. The last time he'd felt such murderous rage was even before that, when then-Ensign Badgiruel had used Lacus Clyne as a hostage. It was not a pleasant combination.

He slammed a fist into the wall in frustration. Bad enough that D-Boy had been taken into custody, depriving them of both a valued comrade and some heavy firepower. Worse was knowing that Balzac had been spying not only on their resident Tekkaman, but on Eiji and Kira himself. The fact that Lieutenant Badgiruel had known all along made it worse still.

Was Athrun right all along? he wondered. Am I fighting for the wrong side? He shook that thought away in a hurry. While he hadn't trusted the UEFA, his friends were still on Archangel, and there was no denying he got along well with most of the task force, save for Akatsuki and Won.

And now Natarle Badgiruel. "Once burned, twice cautious," as the old saying went. Kira trusted Captain Ramius (helped that she seemed to see him as more of a kid brother than a subordinate), and considered Mu La Flaga a friend, but he wasn't sure he'd ever be able to trust Lieutenant Badgiruel again.

"Hey, Kira, you okay? Stupid question."

It was Cagalli, one of the brighter spots in his current dilemma. "I will be," he said tiredly. "I'm just frustrated."

"Tell me about it," Cagalli grumbled, dropping into the nearest chair. "I was about ready to blast that idiot Balzac myself. He's as bad as Akatsuki."

Exactly what Kira needed, someone who could really understand. Not even Flay truly grasped his feelings on this. "It sounded like what General Colbert said about Eiji and me, when we first got to Yokosuka. You know what I mean."

Cagalli's lip twisted in obvious disgust. "No kidding. At least we don't work for that geezer anymore. Bastard makes me want to smack him."

"Cagalli, you want to smack everyone, except maybe Milly," Kira pointed out.

She glared at him, but there was no real force behind it. "Whatever." Her expression softened. "You sure you're gonna be okay?"

Kira sighed. "I think so. I'm stuck here until this damn war is over, but at least I'm not alone."

Cagalli lightly punched his shoulder. "And remember Badgiruel isn't the one in charge. I'll bet you Captain Ramius is gonna keep a much closer eye on things after that one."

That drew a brief laugh. "Okay, okay, I surrender," Kira said, rubbing his shoulder. "What have you been up too, anyway? I haven't seen you around much in days."

"Doing a lot of sims," Cagalli said. "Lieutenant Noin offered to give me some pointers."

Kira felt his eyebrows try to climb into his hairline. Unlike almost everyone else in their force (Calvina Coulange excepted), Lucrezia Noin had experience as an instructor pilot, by all accounts a highly skilled one indeed. Cagalli must've been really serious.

"I'm not going to be holding anyone back," Cagalli said, seeming to have read Kira's mind. The admission that she could be holding others back came as something of a surprise.

"You're not holding us back, Cagalli," Kira said. "Okay, the first time you launched in a Skygrasper was crazy," he smiled at the glare she shot him, "but you've gotten a lot better since then."

She shook her head. "It's not quite . . . oh, forget it," she said, waving a hand. "You'll see soon enough."

Kira was puzzled, but let the matter drop. "Okay," he said, shrugging. "And Cagalli? Thanks. Talking about it really helped."

The princess grinned. "Anytime."

Nadesico, cafeteria

Kira Yamato wasn't the only one feeling down. Masato Akitsu sat alone in Nadesico's cafeteria, halfheartedly sipping a glass of milk. D-Boy's loss of control had struck all too close to home. More than ever, Masato feared Zeorymer of the Heavens, feared being anywhere near it, let alone taking it into combat.

Will that happen to me, too? Is that my fate? Will he take over, and kill one of my friends next time? Am I . . . the same as D-Boy?

A gentle hand on his shoulder roused him from his brooding. "Masato?"

He didn't reply at first. "Sorry, Miku. It's just. . . ." He sighed. "What happened today hit a little too close to home, is all."

There was no point in elaborating. Even if the issue wasn't well-known, the look in Miku's eyes showed she understood all too well. An inconveniently timed manifestation of Masaki Kihara's personality could have devastating consequences, far worse than a single Tekkaman going berserk.

"I wonder if . . . if it would be better if they just locked me up, too," Masato continued after a brief silence. "Before he can take control again."

"Don't say that!" Miku's vehemence brought Masato's head up, startled. "Masato, you aren't Masaki Kihara. You've fought him off before."

"Listen to the lady, kiddo." Chibodee Crockett leaned against a bulkhead nearby. "Zeorymer's a piece of work, no mistake, but that freak has only showed his face once since I've been here. You'll be fine."

Chibodee tended to be flippant, but he clearly meant every word. "Uh, thanks, I guess."

The Gundam Fighter chuckled briefly, then sobered. Unusual for him. "Hey, I've been there, remember?" he pointed out. "The whole Devil Gundam stuff; if the old Shuffle Alliance hadn't been willing to die for us, we wouldn't be here." He flexed his right hand. "I'm still trying to figure out this whole Shuffle Crest stuff—Domon's the only one who really gets it—but I'm sure as hell not gonna throw my life away."

Masato sipped his drink, buying time to let Chibodee's words bounce around in his head a little. After a few minutes of thought, he decided the "Queen of Spades" was probably right. He still wasn't comfortable with it, and Zeorymer still frightened him, but running away would solve nothing.

"I'll remember that," he said. "Thanks."

Chibodee grinned. "Hey, no prob. We've all got our demons, Masato." He looked over at a far table, where the Voltes and Combattler teams (minus the still comatose Hyoma) were talking quietly. "Wonder what's up with that bunch."

"So how do we handle this?" Daijiro asked, keeping his voice low.

Kenichi let his eyes flicker around the room. "For now, we keep it quiet. I don't want to cause another shakeup, not after what happened with D-Boy."

"Still?" Juzo said. "Look, Kenichi, if you're worried about ending up like him—"

"It's not like that," Kenichi said, shaking his head. "We just need to think long and hard before we make something like this public."

Juzo didn't look entirely convinced, but he nodded anyway. For that matter, the rest of the Voltes Team looked uneasy about it; Kenichi's brother Hiyoshi was very pale. Their youngest member clearly was afraid of ending up like D-Boy. With some justification, admittedly; Kenichi shared the general anger at Balzac Asimov being sent to watch not just Tekkaman Blade, but Kira and Eiji as well.

"But what about D-Boy?" Hiyoshi said at last. "What happened today wasn't his fault, was it?"

Kenichi shook his head. "It wasn't, but it's out of our hands. Noal told me that not even Chief Freeman was able to do anything about it." He sighed. "For now, we have to focus on the fight at hand. Orphan is nearing the surface."

There was no need to explain what that meant.

Toya was feeling more exhausted than anything else. Granted, he was as unhappy as anyone about the situation with D-Boy, but he was tired enough that it couldn't really find purchase in his mind. So he just trudged into the cafeteria, hoping for a meal before he took a long nap.

"Long day?"

The voice was young, and female, but Toya was unable to immediately place it. Across the table was a dark-haired girl his age in Specials uniform, sans cape. "You're . . . Lieutenant Schbeiker, right?"

She waved a hand. "Just call me Hilde. Duo's told me a lot about you."

Toya felt his lip twist. "Kinda surprised a Colony Gundam pilot would want to talk to a Specials pilot."

"I'm actually from the colonies myself," Hilde said. Her lips twitched in a faint smile. "Duo wanted to know why I would join a Federation special forces unit."

Katia leaned forward, curious. "So why did you?"

Hilde shrugged. "I know it's a cliché, but I wanted to make a difference. ZAFT probably wouldn't want me, since I'm a Natural, and Zala gives me the creeps anyway. The Specials are different from regular Federation units." She chuckled. "Duo said I was gullible."

"Just a few months ago, I'd have agreed," Toya said. "Before I met Zechs, anyway. Kinda creepy, but he's a nice guy. So now you're part of our band of misfits. Any regrets?"

"None." Hilde's voice was firm. "I'm fighting for what I believe in, and the people here are really fun. Well, most of them are."

Toya grunted. Meaning she doesn't like Akatsuki or Lieutenant Badgiruel, either. "Wait'll you see one of those 'How and Why of the Nadesico' skits," he said.

Hilde laughed. "Yeah, Duo mentioned those. I hear your friend Kaname is helping with the next one."

For a bare few breaths, it felt like time had stopped somehow. "What," Toya managed. He closed his eyes. "Trust me, Hilde, if Kaname Chidori is involved, you can bet something is going to go nuts."

The Specials officer just laughed again. "I'll be looking forward to it."

Still tired, but feeling a bit more cheerful, Toya took his leave. His dreams, he suspected, were going to be a crazy mixture of berserk Tekkamen, Kaname Chidori, and whatever was on the lunch menu. At least it beat fighting hordes of Radam.

Maybe Kaname would at least be able to keep the show under control.

Author's note: Not my finest work, I admit, but there was unfortunately little I could really do with the events of this chapter. Next one, at least, will have something more interesting, courtesy of Cagalli. I'll try to be more prompt.