Gato noticed the name as soon as he heard it. Amuro Ray, the Federation Gundam Pilot. He wreaked more havoc against Zeon with one mobile suit than an entire army could possibly do. Although Gato never met Amuro in mobile suit combat during the One Year War, he had witnessed what the RX-78 had done, to mobile armors such as the Big Zam, and to Char Aznable.

Not only is it bad that the pilot is a NewType, he thought, but the NewType is Amuro Ray! If I don't think of something fast, I'm going to be another casualty of war! Gato did not know what to do. His vulcan cannons were destroyed, and his armor was getting pretty beaten up. The only weapons he had left were his beam saber...and the bazooka.

If I fired the atomic missle, it'd put an end to that kid in no time...along with this acurséd Feddie base. However, I'm risking contamination and damage myself, since I'd be point blank with damaged armor. Gato checked the status on the atomic bazooka. And by time I activate this thing, he'd already be right here, on the offensive. Even so, if I use this thing here, then Operation Stardust might as well be put to rest.

Amuro's voice came on again. "You're reviewing your actions. I'm laying it down straight, right now Gato. Whatever you decide to do will end up working against you. So here's the choice I'm giving you. Try to fight, and lose, or surrender to us. You have the choice."
Gato then decided what to do. If his plan worked out, he would get the piece of cake and eat it too.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Burning's targeting scanner finally picked up the source of the missles. Guarding the launchers were several Zakus, Rick Doms, and Dom Tropens. He opened the channel to Keith and Uraki.

"Listen, those suits will definitely be a big change from fighting Zakus and GMs. They run with completely different specs, and manuever in different patterns. Their weapons are powerful, so put the priority on evasive tactics, and try to draw them away from the launchers. If you can, get some shots in to destroy the launchers. There are a total of seven, it looks like. Remember, if you try to attack the suits, try for the camera area first. It might be a tough shot, but I have faith in you two. Let's go!"

"Right!" was the answer that Burning received as the GM and two Federation version Zakus descended. The Zeon suits were alerted to their presence as Burning fired his beam cannon, taking out a missle launcher. Keith and Uraki, moved around in order to evade the incoming blasts, as they landed their suits. Keith lifted his Zaku's rifle and immediately fired a blast straight through the eye of a Rick Dom II, leaving it blinded.

"Nice shot Keith! I'll finish it!" said Kou as he activated the Heat Hawk and fired his boosters. The Rick Dom took blind swipes at the air around it, accidentally swiping it's heat saber straight through one of the Zaku's. Kou shielded his eyes from the explosion as he passed the side of the blinded Rick Dom, then smashed his Heat Hawk into its booster, triggering an explosion.

"Uraki, on your back!" came Burning's voice. Kou turned his Zaku only to come face to face with a Dom Tropen, already swinging its heat saber. He quickly brought up his Heat Hawk to block, and as the two weapons made contact, energy sparks flew. The impact of the heat saber then shattered the Heat Hawk, leaving Kou defenseless in terms of close combat. The Dom Tropen lifted the heat saber up to swing, before a large beam blast took off its arms. Another shot took out the center, following its explosion. Kou moved the Zaku back, drawing the machine gun, looking to take out another suit. He saw Burning easily evading a Dom Tropen's attacks with its bazooka, before coming in and running it through with his beam saber.

"Thanks, Lieutenant, sir," spoke Uraki.

"Your welcome, but we'll worry about thank you's later. Stay alert."

The remaining Zaku and Rick Dom moved backwards and grouped together. Burning's GM had taken out three launchers, and Keith had taken out another, leaving another three missle launchers left. The Zaku and the Rick Dom reached to their backs and drew their bazookas, and aiming quickly and firing straight at the three Federation mobile suits. Kou and Keith brought up their machine guns and fired, not letting go of the trigger. The path of the bazooka shells were showered with bullets, and one of the shells detonated after taking too much of a beating from the bullets. The explosion covered the other shell, yet it did not detonate as Kou expected. It continued on its path and it was too late to dodge it completely, as it exploded on the legs of Kou's Zaku as he boosted up. Immediately, the Zaku fell to the ground from the shock, and Kou's monitor overloaded and went black.

He was crippled and helpless...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Gato felt confident in his new plan. He kept his foot calmly on the pedal on the floor as he stared at the waiting Zephyrantes opposite him. The Nightmare of Solomon knew very well what type of pilot that Amuro Ray was. But that was what he was counting on. He wouldn't fall for any fakes or cheap tricks. Gato did not care for defeating the famed Gundam pilot at this time, his only goal was to get the Gundam and the nuclear warhead to the rendevouz point.

"Tell me, Gundam pilot, how did you know..." falsely stalled Gato.

"That is unimportant. Have you decided?"

Gato's face showed an evil grin, which he knew the kid would never see. "Of course...Zieg Zeon!"

At that point, Gato spun the Physalis 180 degrees and fired the vernier boosters to max output. The blinding light scorched the head of the Zephyrantes, totally blinding the camera, leaving Amuro confused. Not able to see, he tried to sense what Gato was doing next, but by the time he did, it was too late.

Gato took the large shield of the Physalis and smashed it into the head/camera area of the Zephyrantes, then kicked out its feet, sending it to the ground. He then walked the Gundam on top of the GP01, pinning it down to the ground. Gato tapped some controls, and he brought the storage area of the bazooka up to its shoulder mount. He moved its hands up, and then triggered the eject function, releasing the nuclear warhead carefully into the mech's hands. Very cautiously, Gato removed the outer covering of the warhead, and let the covering drop, then putting the end of the bazooka back to the rear of the suit and stood there with the warhead.

"If you were smart, you wouldn't dare move, unless you wouldn't mind taking the entire Feddie base along with yourself and me. But, there's also a chance that this damaged armor of mine still will protect me from the initial explosion, but your's won't."

Amuro knew he was right. For now, he'd have to stay put.

"Alright then. I'm glad you're cooperating." Gato lifted a foot of the Physalis, and smashed it straight down onto the back of the Zephyrantes, right below the vernier thrusters, and the beam sabers. He slowly lowered the nuke, and placed it down in the large dent he had made, then backed off. "Now listen up. My priority is to make it out of here alive, and that's exactly what I'll be doing. The warhead I've placed on your suit's back is not a dud. It is a live warhead, and since I have removed the outer shell, it is very sensitive. If it is subjected to any stress, it'll explode, taking out the entire base, as well as the surrounding area. That means, any movement will most likely do the job. If you fire your thrusters, it'll set it off. If you try to get up, it'll drop and smack the ground, and you can guess what will happen. Now, this is your choice, pilot. If the nuke does go off, it'll take out the new cruiser, the Gundam suits, as well as set off the rest of the nukes in the silo over there. If the blast would kill me, you've already claimed an entire base, as well as precious civilian lives. My life would be nothing close to a victory. Do what you will, but either way, I win." With that finished, Gato let out a devilish laugh, before taking off to the sky.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Keith, keep on moving! Our armor won't last long if we're hit by several of those shells!" shouted Burning. Every time he would lock on his beam cannons, the Zaku and Rick Dom would move to another location, making it impossible for an accurate shot.

"But Lieutenant! Kou's helpless on the ground! They're gonna take him out!" shouted Keith. He had no intention of watching his best friend's life end that way. "We have to help him!"

Burning looked at the Zeon suits' locations compared to Kou's fallen Zaku. "Alright. Keith, I'm going to fire two blasts from this beam cannon. One between them and Kou, and the second between the two suits themselves. As soon as I tell you so, get down to Uraki, while I handle those two. Got it?"

"Yes sir!"

"Now!" Burning fired the first shot, and Keith fired his thrusters toward Kou's crippled suit. The ground exploded and sprouted a dust cloud, and as the Zeon suits turned to where Burning had fired, he quickly fired his second shot, which landed exactly where he wanted it to between the two. He moved the GM right to the suits, and immediately drew his beam saber, and brought it down through the Zaku's bazooka, making it useless. Before it could draw its heat hawk, Burning took off its right arm, then went for the second. The Zaku's left hand grabbed the GM's beam saber hand, and started struggling against it. Burning smiled as he aimed his beam cannon. "Die..."

Nothing.

The cannon had run out of ammunition, and Burning was left with only his free hand. Quickly, he plunged it forward and grabbed the Zaku's head, and squeezed. Sparks flew, as the hand crushed the camera, until Burning realized he had forgotten about the Rick Dom. The dust was almost settled, and visibility was near perfect. It was then he saw the Rick Dom's reflection in the Zaku's camera eye. He tried to move his right hand, to block with the beam saber, but it was still being held tight. Burning felt the warm sweat drop roll down his forehead as he figured out what to do. The Rick Dom had its heat saber out and was pulling it back, ready to strike. Time called for a quick decision, and as Burning saw the backward motion of the saber pause, then begin in a forward motion, he took action. He fired the boosters on his back, propelling his suit forward, taking the Zaku along for the ride. By that time, the heat saber had been short of hitting the GM, and the pilot of the Rick Dom sent the suit in pursuit of Burning.

While his suit continued to fly foward, Burning aimed the GM's head at its captured hand, and activated the vulcans. The bullets smashed into the Zaku's hand as well as arm, chipping off plating, and eventually fingers. Eventually, the Zaku lost its grip and Burning finished it off with a diagonal slice straight through the suit, leaving it to explode as he turned to meet the Rick Dom. It immediately attacked with its heat saber, but this time Burning could easily block, and take an offensive swipe back at it. After a stalemate of a close combat contest, the Rick Dom shot itself backwards and once again equipped the bazooka, quickly aiming toward the GM. Burning dodged the first shell as it fired, and quickly charged at the suit. The Rick Dom pilot effortlessly moved it away, and then aimed the bazooka at a slant towards the ground, then fired. A large explosion with a large dust cloud rose, giving the Rick Dom a chance to go take out the two feddie Zakus, which seemed to have been piloted by rookies. They were only a short distance away...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Kou! Can you hear me?" shouted Keith through his speaker. "Kou, it's me, you know, your friend! Are you still alive?" Keith rapidly tapped his fingers inside the cockpit in response to his nervousness. "KOU!" Static was received through his cockpit. Keith awaited any voice, any sign, that Kou was alive.

Instead, he got Burning's voice. "Keith, is Uraki okay?"

"I don't know sir. He hasn't answered me."

"Listen, Keith, a...ck...m...eade...ur..." The signal stopped, followed by static.

Must've come across trouble, Keith thought. But he knew Burning would be able to handle himself. Keith once again tried Uraki's Zaku, and awaited a response.

"...m...ine...," was what came through then. It was a fragment, but it was Kou's voice. It seemed Kou's Zaku had its communication system damaged.

"Kou, you're alive! Thank God! Listen, we need to get you out of there. You're a sitting duck if any of those Zeeks decide to take target practice. You should eject and I'll let you into my cockpit. Sure it'll be a squeeze, but hey, I wouldn't mind. I mean, if it was any regular day, I might have, but today, as you know, is no..."

"..K..th...y.u...alk....oo...much..." Keith watched as the cockpit on the underside of the Zaku opened, and Keith dropped down on a cable. But, as soon as he got down, he didn't let go of the cable, instead raised an arm. Curious, Keith turned his Zaku, only to recognize the bazooka of the Rick Dom in the distance, the suit itself kneeling. He cursed, as he saw the puff of smoke emit from the bazooka as the shell launched.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"That thing jammed the communications between that area! I'll have to get over there..."

Burning tried moving his GM towards Keith and Kou's position, however, his radar told him he was expecting new company. The minovsky particles must've lightened up for a second, and a second only, as the radar then went back to a silent reading.

Burning trusted the brief detection, and then turned to face three Zakus. Using his beam saber, he ran forward and sliced through one of them as they landed from the sky. The flames of the explosion covered his GM, which left the other two Zakus blind to his position. The second pilot was not prepared for an attack as Burning boosted out of the flames and shoved the beam saber through the cockpit, and withdrew it, watching the limp suit fall to the ground. The final Zaku drew its machine gun and fired it without stopping, and the pilot screamed in horror as Burning flew towards, the bullets bouncing off the armor, and the red glow of the beam saber moving towards its core...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Kou watched in horror as Keith's Zaku exploded in a pillar of flame, with shards of armor floating through the air, then hitting the ground. He tried to scream out, but found he couldn't summon any of his voice. He watched as the Rick Dom stood up, before aiming itself towards his Zaku, then beginning to kneel. With a quick tug of the cable, Kou forced himself back into the cockpit of the Zaku and felt around for the throttle. As soon as he found it, he wasted no time as he pushed and held it forward, not bothering to close the cockpit. As the damaged Zaku's verniers began to fire up, he kept one hand on the throttle and one arm wrapped around the seat restraint as the suit sped forward.

Because the monitor was still dead, Kou had no clue where he was going. Taking his hand off the throttle, Kou leaned his head out of the cockpit on the underside of the suit and took a quick look. The Rick Dom was about thirty degrees left of his current path, and gave him plenty of time to be able to fire the bazooka. Kou thought to himself, the only way is to...

Uraki took another quick peek at the location of the Rick Dom in relation to his current path. He felt a quick jolt as the left arm of the Zaku smacked the ground while it was boosting. He climbed back inside all the way, and jerked the joystick to the left, re-straightened it, then took a last peek outside, squinting against the wind resistance. Perfect. Kou pulled himself back into the cockpit and slipped into the seat restraints and assumed a quick brace position.

"Prepare to die you sonuvabitch..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"What the hell is this pilot trying?" yelled the Rick Dom pilot. He took a quick aim of the bazooka and fired, only to notice it was empty. "Damn it to hell!" he shouted as he realized it was too late to stop it. The pilot was suicidal, and was going to take out both their suits.

At least I'll die a hero, he thought, only to then throw off his restraints, Screw that, I wanna live! The pilot opened the cockpit, and looked for a place to jump out. The only thing he managed to see was Kou's Zaku as it smashed into the feet of his Rick Dom. He yelled into the night sky as he was thrown from the cockpit platform into the air, only to watch as gravity took its course.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The Rick Dom itself fell forward, as the Zaku continued to burst forward. Kou had been banged up a bit in the collision, but he still remained conscious, as he slipped out of the restraints. He could feel the Zaku slowing down, as it burned up fuel. Kou lowered himself to the opening of the cockpit, and with a deep breath, dropped out, falling about ten feet before smacking the hard ground of the surronding area, rolling along it with the momentum, before he eventually slowed down, and laid there.

"Crap! That hurt, dammit!" Kou murmured to himself as he wobbled to his feet, recovering from his fancy exit. He looked around, allowing his dizzy eye to refocus as he watched his "half of a Zaku" lose its thrusters and smack into the ground, the friction tearing off the armor in a great show of sparks against the dark background. Now rubbing several scrapes and cuts, Kou then turned to his opposite side to see the fallen Rick Dom not too far away. It was still in good condition, and the pilot was gone...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Amuro hated to admit it, but he was in a jam. He was unable to pursue Gato, because if he attempted to move the Gundam, it would detonate the nuke. Unless he could get into another suit or disarm the bomb, he was stuck there, unable to help.

"There must be ways to disarm a nuke, but I need to do it quickly. Gato is god knows where right now." He stopped and thought a second. "I should tell another team to pursue him and try to hold him off until I can get this thing off my back." He activated the communications system. I know I'll be ridiculed since I insisted I could take him, he thought, and I probably would have. However, he isn't an ace pilot for nothing. I'll have to worry about that later.

"Ray to Federation mobile suit pilots. Come in, this is Amuro Ray. I need some assistance, please respond."

A voice came in, it sounded like an older man. "This is Lt. South Burning. And you are the famed Gundam Pilot..."

Amuro sighed, before answering. "Lieutenant., what's your position and status?"

Burning replied, "I am out on the perimeter of the base. My suit is in good condition, however my beam cannon is empty. I have two other pilots with me."

"Good," Amuro said, "I'm kinda stalled right now. Gato's on the run, and I am unable to pursue him. Are you finished with the troops around your area?"

Burning acknowledged. "Yes. The missle launchers are out, however I got separated from the other two with me. Let me contact them. Uraki, Keith, come in."

Another voice came in. "Uraki here, sir."

Burning continued, "What's your and Keith's status? A Rick Dom was heading your direction, and it seemed that..."

Kou started to speak, but then stopped, as a silence followed, before Kou spoke up again. "Sir, Keith's Zaku was blown up by the Rick Dom. I believe he's dead, Lieutenant, but I didn't get the chance to see for sure. I was right there, and saw the whole thing. However, I don't think I want to see for sure." Kou paused and struggled to keep control of his emotions, and then managed to get out, "I took care of the Zeon pilot, and am currently inside his suit."

Amuro heard a thud, most likely from Burnings fist. "Dammit, I should've been there!" Burning yelled. However, he soon calmed down, after some repeated cursing. "Ray, where has that bastard Gato gone to?"

Amuro shook his head inside the cockpit. "I don't know, he just took off...," incompletely said Amuro. An earlier event flashed through Amuro's mind as remembered Gato's earlier conversation with them. "If the nuke does go off, it'll take out the new cruiser, the Gundam suits, as well as set off the rest of the nukes in the silo over there."

Amuro snapped his fingers. "Of course. He wouldn't leave without the nuke! He obviously knows the location of the nuclear silo in this base. He's there! You have to stop him before he leaves with another warhead! If he does, who knows what Zeon will do. Gato must die, and the Zeon plot with him!"

...TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 3...