The Starlit Knight

by Kaoru Saotome

My first GW fic. A mysterious new Mobile Suit turns up whose pilot gives an unlikely story. Can he integrate long enough to complete his mission? Rated for one or two expletives.

The Starlit Knight

Author: Kaoru Saotome

A/N: This story takes place after EW but before the formation of the Preventers. I've never seen EW myself – but I will when I go back to my girlfriend's house ^_^

Gomen if there are any storyline problems therefore. I'm doing my best to get it to work but I needed all the pilots living together for the comedy element.

R&R with any suggestions you may have, if you actually want to see them put into practice. As long as it doesn't alter the spirit of the story then I'll definitely consider it.

Yes, Maikeru is my own character. The MCAs are taken from the game Shogo: Mobile Armour Division, but only the Ordog VII is from that. All the other customisations  - i.e. Knights Custom, Spectre, Mach and Flash – are mine. I own nothing except these and Maiku, so don't bother suing me 'cause the case will fall to bits. Pairings: 3x4 hinted. Nothing else, really. Slight Relena-bashing near the end 'cause she has had it coming for a long time. ^_^

Enjoy. ~KS~

"Duo, quit it," murmured Quatre quietly. "Wait until everyone's eaten."

"I don't think I can…!" yelled the older pilot, struggling to extricate himself from the huge blue mass that had enveloped him. "It's winning, dammit!"

"Maxwell!" called Wufei in exasperation from the next room. "That Peacecraft woman's on the phone. She wants to know if you're taking care of that feather boa she gave to you."

Duo stopped struggling. Trowa tried not to laugh into his soup, and Heero sighed.

"She's gonna kick your ass for ruining that thing, Duo," he muttered as he pushed his chair back and picked up his empty plate. Wufei leaned into the room, took one look at the struggling Duo and spoke into the phone.

"He's doing his best," laughed the Chinese pilot, "But it's taking care of him right now." He leaned back from the phone suddenly. "Man, for a pacifist, this damned onna sure knows a lot of curse words."

"Tell her Heero can hear her and he isn't impressed," said Trowa. Quatre covered his snigger with one hand. Heero's eyes widened in fright.
"Nonono, don't say that!" he whispered fiercely. "She might think I'd actually be impressed if she stopped!" But Wufei had already relayed the message into the phone. His exasperation vanished as the stream of profanity ceased and silence once more fell across the table, apart from the youngest pilot's continued giggling. Even Duo had stopped trying to kill the boa in order to hear what was going on. Wufei smirked nastily and threw the phone to Heero, who caught it reluctantly.

"I'm going to kill you, Chang," he muttered before bringing the device to his ear. "Hello?"

There was a squeal, a faint whoosh and a clatter. Heero was already out of the room by the time Trowa, with his lightning reflexes, managed to fish the phone out of the sink. He spoke into it.

"Miss Peacecraft?" he said cautiously. "No, he left. I think you stunned him a little. That was quite a loud cry."

Quatre hit the floor laughing, and didn't stop even when Wufei quietly threatened to step on his neck.

"No," continued Trowa. "He's probably inside Wing Zero by now. Yes, I'll tell him. What? All right. Duo," he added, covering the mouthpiece, "She wants you."

"A lot of women want me," huffed Duo. "As does this damn feather snake thing. Reminds me of Wussy's Gundam arms."

"Call me that again," hissed Wufei, "And I will forcible remove your lungs and use them as a hat."

"Dude, if you did it'd be the only time I'd ever laughed at you," quipped Duo, extricating an arm and taking the phone. "Yo, m'lady," he continued cheerily. Quatre came even closer to dying of mirth.

"Nah, I'm kinda tied up with it," continued the braided pilot. "But I'm sure Wufei'll stop trying his bondage techniques out on me soon. NO! NO!" he added as another yell began. "I'm just kidding, it's all right. It's in better condition than I am."

"Yeah, it keeps beating him up," called Wufei from the other side of the room where he was righting Quatre's chair and helping the shuddering blonde to his feet. "Barton, go find an oxygen mask or something." Trowa obediently left the room.

"Yeah…no, he's still not here. OK, I'll tell him that. Bye, Relena." Duo clicked the phone off. "Man, what does she see in Heero anyway? Guy just can't decide whether he's suicidal or not. He keeps on being opportunistic about it."

The phone beeped again. Trowa walked back in, threw the O2 mask to Wufei and picked up the phone.

"Fushigi Sushi, we chop your fish," he said, his face perfectly straight. "What?" he continued, eyes widening. "All right. We'll be there." He clicked the phone off.

"Who was it?" asked Duo. Quatre stopped laughing at Pilot 03's answering techniques and stared at him.

Trowa calmly walked to the wall and hit the 'All Pilots Scramble' button.

"What are we facing here?" asked Heero as the Gundams took off from their hangar. They headed for the eastern borders of the Sanc Kingdom, led by Heavyarms Custom– the fire support mech, piloted by Trowa.

"An unidentified object crashed near here," said Trowa. "Same size as a Mobile Suit. Traces of an unknown metal in the air – whatever this thing is, no human built it."

"Got it," said Duo. "Transmitting coordinates: it's the size of an MS, unknown structure, pretty high energy readings."

"Locked," said Trowa. "All weapons online, ready to fire."

"Buster Cannons locked," said Heero quietly. "Ready to fire upon confirmation of hostile movement."

"It's in motion," said Wufei. His Gundam, the Altron Custom – called Nataku by its pilot – moved to the fore. Its close combat abilities far outstripped those of Heavyarms so it would do better in the front line. "Accelerating…energy spike! It's using some kind of booster…coming right at us!"

"Buster Cannons FIRE!!" yelled Heero.

The air around the incoming mech sparkled faintly. As the cannons fired it suddenly gained altitude, flying above the beams and beginning to glow with a strange whitish light. It was gunmetal grey, with blue highlights and emerald eyes. In its chest was a round violet glassy object, which seemed to be some form of generator from the way tiny white sparks kept flashing across its surface. Its forearms were covered by rounded armour carapaces and two fins stuck up fron its head like absurd ears. On the wrist armour were strange darker objects, like some form of cannon.

"Opening fire," said Trowa calmly, right before a wall of projectiles screamed in at the unknown unit.

The mystery MS suddenly seemed to glow more brightly. Now it was surrounded by tiny twinkling lights.

"Whatever it is, it's pretty," remarked Quatre. Sandrock Custom, the most heavily armoured Gundam, moved between the target and Heavyarms as the artillery mech reloaded.

Meanwhile, something was happening to Trowa's salvo. As the missiles arced in, trailing white smoke and wailing like miniature banshees, the enemy mech appeared to burst into flame. White fire covered it, turning it into a miniature comet. The missiles exploded on contact with it – and it shot past the Gundams, still blazing like a controlled meteorite on drugs. It suddenly went vertical. Wufei snarled and both Nataku's arms transformed into Dragon Fangs before snapping out at the target. It passed beyond range, then turned and came back at them.

"Buster Cannons reloaded, recharged and locked," said Heero. "Outta the way, everyone."

A path was cleared between Wing Zero Custom and its target. The Seraphic Gundam's twin Buster Cannons glowed at the barrel ends briefly.

"WHOA!" shouted Duo. "It's transformin'!"

The grey MS had twisted onto its back and changed shape. Armour slid smoothly over armour, the head sank forward and the legs retracted into the belly.

The grey starfighter came streaking out of its roll and began to glow. Its speed was much greater now.

"NO ONE transforms except the Wing Gundams!" yelled Heero. "That gimmick is MINE!"

The Twin Buster Cannons unloaded themselves again. Deathscythe Hell Custom vanished from its place beside Heavyarms.

The plane dodged the beams again, trailing stars – and unleashed a dozen missile-sized blue-white lights which arced forward, aiming themselves at Wing Zero Custom. As it continued to roll out of the way, the light impacted the shining blue robot, causing minor armour damage and scorching some of the paintwork black. Heero cursed and unleashed his mech's shoulder vulcans as the enemy rolled again.

This time the plane was knocked from the air by the butt of Deathscythe's namesake weapon. It screamed into a death dive, the rising wail of its fall echoing over the countryside. Transforming back into its mech shape, it managed to land on one knee – to find itself surrounded by five Gundams with very angry pilots.

There was an audible hum as every energy blade weapon in the area swung up and pointed itself at the mysterious unit's head.

There was a long pause. Then the mech's head drooped forward, accompanied by the familiar dying hum of MS systems closing down. A hatch on the back of the neck was revealed, which opened and extended a tubular cockpit. From this stepped a boy of about the same age as the pilots. A pair of piloting goggles hid his eyes, but his slightly curly brown hair fell to his neck. He smiled slightly and raised his hands.

"You win, guys," he called, his voice sounding thin and weak in the sudden lack of jet boosters. "Take me to your leader, or whatever you wanna do."

Sandrock's chest hatch opened. Quatre stepped out and removed his own goggles – which were quite similar to the newcomer's.

"My name is Quatre Raberba Winner," he said. "And we're here to prevent attackers like you from succeeding."

"Attacker," mused the new boy thoughtfully. "Nice security system. Guilty until proven innocent, or blown up, in which case it doesn't matter. Well, my name's Maikeru Raichi, and I'm not an enemy. I'm an explorer."

"HAH!" came a voice from behind Maikeru. He turned. Wufei was standing on the waist of Nataku, arms crossed, a nasty smirk on his face. "Liar. You charged straight at us!"

"I came over to see what you wanted," protested Maiku. "I had to activate my weapons systems when I was fired upon. You'll notice I didn't actually open fire until I'd been shot at three or four times."

"But why not communicate with us and see if we were ready to talk, instead of making us kick your butt?" asked Duo, leaving Deathscythe's cockpit. The other two pilots also left their cockpits and stood watching Maikeru.

"How was I to know we share a language?" asked Maikeru helplessly. "I only tried talking when I had no other choice. Had to hope my surrender didn't mean a mortal insult or something in your lingo. Besides, I didn't have time to search the frequencies."

"Maikeru, we're only against you if you try to harm our world," said Quatre sincerely. "If you're only here as an explorer then we've no reason to fight you."

"Thanks, Quatre," grinned Maikeru. "But call me Maiku, okay? So who are the rest of you?" he added, turning to face the others.

After introductions had been made, Maiku was asked to tell them about his MS. Duo seemed particularly interested. He wanted the scrap after Maiku fell out with Wufei, which he deemed an inevitable event.

"It's the fifth in the Ordog Knight series," explained Maiku. "Specifically, the Ordog Knight Flash. I designed 'em all myself – Custom, Spectre, Mach, and this baby here. I'm mentally linked to it, so I can activate it without even being in the cockpit, and pilot it externally. It's armoured with a metal called Lunanium composite, which is almost impervious to attack and has an incredibly strong yet perfectly balanced magnetic field. This allows many energy attacks to be softened, and sometimes even detonates missiles and shells before impact. The balance element allows it to go around without metal sticking to it. It's fitted with two shockwave cannons, which fire area-effect weapons with medium range and excellent accuracy, and a Flash generator, which is that purple thing there. That allows it to use the two attacks you saw earlier. The one from the plane was the Seeker Flare – directing the energy from the FG core at a specific target. It'll pass through anything else and do no damage, but it'll follow its chosen target relentlessly until it impacts. The second, in the mech form, is the Gigaflash. That allows the Lunanium armour to conduct the FG's energy over the body, turning Ordog Knight Flash into an accelerated killing machine. One touch from it and it's bye bye, enemy. There are other types of mechs, with similar abilities, but Ordog Knight is both the most advanced in existence and the only one still in use. The others…haven't been piloted for some time.

"I came here," he continued, "from my Reality, which I suspect is quite different to yours. I was testing out a new Light Two engine – that is, twice the speed of light as a top speed. A bit like the Mach system for sound barriers. Apparently lightspeed is a Reality separator. It's interesting; if we can harness the tachyon emissions produced by that we'd have either a limitless fuel source or a very powerful weapon."

"So you're just here to visit?" asked Duo.

"Yeah, pretty much. I'm not on any strict time limit though, so I guess I can stay a while and look around – if that's okay? 'Cause this is the most advanced world I've visited yet. You've even got MCA technology."

"MCA?" Even Trowa was confused now.

"Mobile Combat Armour. Mechs."

"Aw, I see," grinned Duo. "We call them Mobile Suits, or MS for short."

"Wait," said Heero. "I'm confused. Did you say you were mentally linked with your Suit?"

"Yeah…its personality is based off mine so we agree on everything. If you're gonna pilot something sentient it's good to stay friends with it."

"So is it male or female?" asked Duo. "'Cause if it's female I'd better be ready for the world's biggest fangirl."

"It's male," said Maiku. "I said it was based off me, didn't I?" he added with a laugh. "So is it okay if I stay around for a while? I mean, can you guys clear my name with the local defence authorities and stuff?"

"We ARE the local defence authority," sighed Quatre. "Sometimes we even get pulled for heavy police duty, like escorting important diplomats around. And once, Heero and Wufei got coerced into helping some miners clear away granite escarpments. The Buster Cannon nearly brought down the whole sierra, and Wufei's Dragon Fangs were scratched for weeks."

"Dragon fangs? Buster Cannon?" asked Maiku, confused. "I'm a little lost. Can I learn something about your units while we go? 'Cause I don't even know what they run on. Ordog couldn't classify the reactor types."

"They're cold fusion," said Quatre. "If yours doesn't run on that, what does it run on?"

"Magnetohydrodynamic principle," grinned Maiku. "Use of magnets to pull immense amounts of electricity from tiny amounts of water."

"We never perfected that technology," said Duo thoughtfully. "Considered it too costly to research."

"We finished it using a special kind of water," laughed Maiku. "Then adapted it. I guess we can exchange blueprints later."

"OK," said Duo. "But right now we gotta tell Relena about this. It's important."

"Then let's go," said Maiku. "Whoever this Relena is, I'm guessing she's important. Lead on."

Half an hour later, Maiku stood before the leader of the Sanc Kingdom. He was standing between Quatre and Heero, who were – apart from Relena herself – most actively involved in the logistics of the Sanc Kingdom's welfare.

"So, Mr Raichi," she said diplomatically a few minutes into the conversation. "Let's clarify this somewhat. You are an explorer from another universe who happened to land on the borders of my kingdom due to a 'nasty screwup in some calculations'. Is that correct?"

"Yes," nodded Maiku. "And please, call me Maiku."

"Where did you mean to end up?"

"Deep space. As it is I guess I'm lucky. I'd never have found civilised life if I'd got it right."

"And you are willing to allow your Mobile Suit to remain inactive for security reasons?"

"Its weapon and movement systems will remain offline should you so wish. However, he likes to move around, so I'd appreciate being trusted enough to fly around and explore a little. That is my job here, after all."

"Very well," nodded Relena. "As long as you remain monitored, then your Suit's weapon systems will go offline but its motor control is permitted to remain active. Believe me, Maikeru," she added, leaning forward sincerely, "I'd like to trust you. In fact, I do. You've got an honest personality, and a straight-up manner. Your charisma speaks for you in this case. But the rest of the world, if they heard of an unaffiliated Mobile Suit wandering around my kingdom with its guns loaded, might get the wrong idea. It could be the first step on a slippery slope just to allow you to stay here, but I'd rather you were in a pacifist nation instead of somewhere war was still considered a good thing."

"I appreciate the risk you're taking, my lady," bowed Maiku. "It means a lot to me that I'm trusted on a new world. In fact I'd like to take this opportunity to make you a proposition."

Quatre glanced at Heero, who looked back and shrugged almost imperceptibly.

"If I can download some blueprints from your scientific divisions into my mech's databanks, I'd allow you to do the same to any system I'm packing which you don't have yet. All I ask of you is that you leave the Flash Generator alone – I designed it myself and only I know its limitations. If it was used by someone who hadn't built the thing from scratch, it might detonate. And when an FG goes nova, people fall over six miles away. It's possibly the most dangerous thing anyone's ever seen apart from an Angel in a temper. Aside from that detail, I'm sure there's a lot we can learn from each other's technology."

"I'll think about your proposition," said Relena after a confused pause. "But I must be given time to do so. In a day or two I'll contact you with an answer. Now, is there anything else you wish to discuss?"

"Uh, kinda," said Maiku, rubbing the back of his head. "It takes a while to perform the calculations needed to make a dimension jump. Charging up the power to do it takes several days in itself – coupled with those calculations and filtering enough water to keep my unit running once I've made the crossing, that could amount to almost two weeks. I'm kinda stuck for somewhere to stay until then."

"Accommodations can be provided easily," smiled Relena. "In fact, if you'd like I can set you up to live with our resident defenders for that period, if you wish. Isn't that right, Quatre?"

"Yes, ma'am," replied Quatre cheerfully. "We've got a few spare rooms for when Miss Noin returns with Epyon Gundam, and that's not for at least a month. We can definitely provide the space, Maikeru, as long as you don't mind effeminate décor," he added with a grin.

"Budski, as long as I've got somewhere to rest and think I don't care what it looks like," smiled Maiku. "Besides, I'm guessing that the security teams will want me put where I can be watched – and where better than living with the local pilots, am I right?"

"You are," said Heero quietly.

"Is that it?" asked Relena, looking at each of them in turn.

"One more thing," said Maiku, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "And honestly, this is the last item. If I'm followed here I might need a little help."

"Followed?" asked Relena sharply.

"I was chased by space pirates for a while," said Maiku. "They scanned Ordog, but I'm not sure if they managed to perfect their check of the dimension jump system. If they did then we might have to fight them. They shouldn't be too much of a problem; if these Gundams are spaceworthy then we can probably take out anything they throw at us before it even hit the atmosphere."

"Then we'll help you," said Relena reluctantly. "Although it doesn't look like we have a choice in the matter. It's slightly bad manners to drop such a thing on your new hosts, Maikeru."

"Well, I couldn't help it," shrugged Maiku. "I'm sorry. But it'll give your guys some well–needed target practice. By the sound of it this country hasn't had a war in a long time. Mine's the newest crater for miles. So I'm guessing the Gundam pilots need a little touching up on their skills."

The deathglare he got from Heero lasted until they got home.

"So you're with us for a while, huh," grinned Duo. "Well, it's good to have you aboard. I've been looking for an accomplice for a while now."

"So you're the practical joker of your group." Maiku's face was deadpan.

"Yeah." Duo's was also straight.

"So am I," smirked Maikeru.

Heero began to feel afraid.

"This is your room here, Maikeru," smiled Quatre. It was elegantly decorated, with a floral print on the walls and very pale orange curtains. The warmth of the colours seemed comforting, especially to one whose whole life had been spent with the blues and whites of deep space and high altitude combat.

"It's nice," smiled the young Ultimate. "Who decorated this?"

"Miss Noin did it, with my help and Trowa's," grinned Quatre. "I'm glad you like it. Duo says it's not funny enough, Wufei says it's sissy and Heero doesn't really care."

"You and Trowa are buds," reflected Maiku. "You two seem to be very close."

"We are," replied Quatre, still smiling sheepishly. Now, however, a slight blush coloured his face. "I'm more or less one of the only three people in the world who knows him. One of the others is a lion."

"Wow," reflected Maiku. "Some pet stores you guys have here."

"Nono, Trowa works in a circus for most of the year," explained Quatre. "He's a lion tamer. No one can communicate with an animal as well as he can."

"Who's the third person?"
"His foster sister, Catherine. She's really protective of him and half the time she tries to get him to stop piloting Heavyarms. But there's never anything to do nowadays. The country is never attacked."

"Let's hope it stays that way," muttered Maiku fervently.

Over the next week, Maiku integrated himself into the Sanc Kingdom's defence force fairly easily. He helped the others with their tasks when he wasn't busy, and when he was, his job consisted of wandering the countryside in Ordog, sometimes sitting on the mech's shoulder as it strode across the countryside, collecting biological samples and recording conversations, nuances of speech, accents and so forth into the mech's digital memory. He attracted several friends in the town that surrounded the headquarters, as well as one or two more avid female fans who tended to follow him around and look cute. He ignored them, for reasons of his own.

But to his surprise, he found that his favorite task was helping his fellow pilots with their daily routines. He would have mock battles with Heero and Wufei, using dud ammunition in their weapons, or sometimes he would referee fights between their two mechs. When Duo wasn't trying to teach him new pranks, they would exchange mechanical tricks and tips. Quatre's family number-crunching chores became much easier once Maiku began utilizing his mental connection with what he jokingly referred to as his 'walking calculator'. Even Trowa's life was made easier as Maiku often chipped in with the groceries. There's something about a guy who never takes off his piloting goggles that makes it a whole lot easier to move through a marketplace.

It was just after Duo requested harmonica lessons that the trouble started.

"Whaddaya mean don't sweat it?" asked Heero angrily. "You painted Wing Zero ORANGE! And what is with that damn contraption on the neck!?" he added, pointing to what looked suspiciously like a Gundam-sized revolving bow tie.

"Sor-ree," cried Duo in exasperation. "It's not like the paint won't wash off. And that tie is really snazzy."

"Green with yellow spots!?" yelled Heero. "ON AN ORANGE GUNDAM!?"

"I can change the colour if you want," murmured Duo hopefully. "Maybe purple–"

Heero never got to express his opinion on Duo's new idea. A red light filled the hangar and the other pilots started appearing, scrambling down the stairs and towards their Mobile Suit gantries.

"What is it now?" asked Duo irritably.

"They're here," replied Maiku, putting his goggles over his eyes. "They followed me."

"The pirates?" asked Heero, his voice edged with steel.

"Yeah," murmured Maiku. "Their forces are far greater than I anticipated. I'm…sorry. But we're gonna need all our strength to get outta this one."

"Don't worry about it, buddy," smiled Duo, clapping Maiku on the shoulder. "This is our job. Besides, I'm sure we can take 'em out."

They clambered into their mechs and powered up the weapons systems. Maiku exchanged a friendly hello with Ordog before moonwalking it to the hangar doors, spinning on the spot and flying to catch up to the others.

"Showoff," said Trowa. "Anyone got a reading on the enemy position?"

"I'm going to engage the Zero System," said Heero quietly. "So everyone stay well away from Wing Zero." The other mechs' trajectories suddenly carried them clear of the burnished blue Gundam. Even Ordog shifted back slightly.

"What's the Zero System?" asked Maiku.

"It communicates directly with the pilot, feeding in battle data on a live stream connection," explained Quatre. "The pilot is often unable to cope and begins to attack everything he or she sees, including allies, in the belief that all are enemies."

"I've seen that before," muttered Maiku. "A friend of mine used to get it. He died a while ago; sacrificed himself because he went into one of those moods and tried to kill his own sister. Poor guy managed to stop himself using the most drastic method."

"Nasty." Duo made a face. "But now's not the time. We got work to – HUH!?" he exclaimed as a yellowish light hit his Gundam from above. It rapidly spread to all the mechs in the group, matching speeds with them.

"It's some kind of orbital beam," said Trowa. "Can't lock onto the source."

"Split up," said Wufei. "It can't track us all."

"It wants us to do that," said Quatre suddenly, enlightenment dawning. "Systems checks are showing no effects on our Gundams…they're trying to scare us into splitting up! Divide and conquer!"

"And if we group together we can be hit with a missile," muttered Maiku.

"So we keep heading for the target," stated Heero. "And activate all weapons…just in case." As he spoke, the tiny clonk of the Buster Cannons' power gauges reaching maximum echoed in the cockpit.

Maiku smirked evilly and nodded as Ordog transformed into its mech shape and began to glow.

Quatre's heat shotels gave off an ethereal light as their power reached top level.

Nataku's Dragon Fangs snapped into active mode as Wufei breathed in slowly.

Duo closed his eyes, then opened them and grinned as Deathscythe Hell's wings spread out, accelerating the mech up to Wing Zero's speed.

Trowa blinked slowly, then his eyes hardened as every weapon in his war machine came online.

"Closing with targets," breathed Quatre.

"I'd forgotten how much fun this is," murmured Duo.

"Target sighted," said Maiku. "We've got visual. That's definitely the ones who were attacking me."

"Payback's a bitch," smirked Wufei. Then Nataku charged ahead.

"Chang, hold your formation!" yelled Heero.

"Dammit, Wu, you're gonna get flattened!" Duo screeched before Deathscythe strove to join its comrade. "Come on, guys, we gotta catch up to him or he's gonna be a pile of ash!" The other mechs blasted forward, catching up to the hurtling Nataku. As soon as they got within three hundred metres of the enemy ship they were almost overwhelmed by a sudden hail of projectiles and energy discharges. Evading most of the firestorm, they continued to charge.

"Incoming heavy weapon fire," said Trowa. "Only one projectile. Evade."

Before the mechs could do so, the missile detonated and threw out something resembling a net made of light. It enmeshed all six mechs and dragged them to the ground.

"Systems shutdown!" called Quatre. "It's inva-"

The radio filled with static as the communication networks were drained of power. The defenders fell in a huge metallic heap.

Duo awoke, then blinked several times. He was sure his eyes were open. But he couldn't see a damn thing. However, his trained assassin's senses picked up someone breathing on each side of him. He couldn't tell who.

"YO!" he yelled. There was a snort from his left. That would be Heero, who only snored for the fraction of a second before he awoke. From the right came the sound of a very light-footed individual flipping themselves upright and backing away.

"Wufei?" he called "That you?"

"No, it's Heero," groaned the wrong person.

"Not you, you kamikaze fool," muttered Duo. "The other guy who's in here."

"It's Trowa," came the mightily-fringed pilot's calm tones.

"And who are you calling a fool?" asked Heero under his breath.

"Sorry," sighed Duo. "Nerves frayed. I HATE being captured."

"We're captured?"

"Imprisoned with the sounds of an engine coming from somewhere above us?" asked Duo. "I'd say so. And if that engine is above our heads, we gotta be right in the bottom of the ship. Guess they don't care much about their POW's if there's a crash."

"Never mind that, what happened?" asked Heero.

"We were beaten," said Trowa, sitting down again.

"Duh," laughed Duo, some of the old spark returning as his head cleared from sleep. "How?"

"That net in the battle," said Heero. "It must somehow have affected us too. Interrupted our bioelectric fields, shutting down most of our brains temporarily."

"I thought that already happened to Wufei?" wondered Duo. "Why didn't he fight on?" He was silenced by the stony looks he was sure he'd just received from the others.

Heero was in fact sitting in thoughtful silence.

"I wonder why Raichi led us into that," he said finally. "He must have known about that device. He may be working with the pirates."

"Buddy, you're way too suspicious," grinned Duo, still completely blind. "I saw him take a few shots in that fight. They were aiming at him as well as us."

"But Ordog was still able to function," said Trowa quietly. "They weren't critical hits, yet I saw Sandrock go down belching smoke." He trailed off, trying not to think of it. Quatre was his best friend – his boyfriend, really, the one person he could open up to. They felt as much towards one another, but didn't like to show it much. If it ever got out they'd have old-fashioned homophobic politicians breathing down the Kingdom's neck to have the gay pilots removed. Besides, he wasn't even sure that what he felt for Quatre was really love. The others thought of him as a colleague – but, he was sure, his attitude towards them meant they kept their distance.

"So Maiku got lucky. Don't worry about it, guys. I'm sure he can pull through for us."

"I hope you're right, Duo," muttered Heero. "Otherwise Maiku's friends will never see him again. If he's part of this I'll kill him myself."

In the next cell over, the other three pilots were all awake and wondering what to do.

"We have to get out of here," muttered Quatre for the fifth time.

"We know that, Winner," muttered Wufei. "Question is, how. And quite frankly, we're not going to think of an answer by simply repeating the question." He turned to Maiku in the utter darkness. "Raichi, you're awfully quiet. What's wrong?"

"I'm having a conversation," said Maiku distantly. His voice sounded faint.

"A conversation?" asked Quatre worriedly. "With whom?"

"With Ordog," replied Maiku, in the same tone. "I'm finding out exactly how badly damaged our units are. Strangely enough they're about intact. He can't find out whether their wiring is okay, but structurally they're unharmed, and since his internals are online the others' should be too…" His face clouded. "But they can't break out. Ordog can move independently, but the others can't. They're covered with technicians."

"So kill the techs," snorted Wufei.

"He'd be blown to pieces by security," sighed Maiku. "And they've introduced power dampeners into the room. He can't build enough energy to use the Gigaflash. Besides, even if he did get himself out, they'd destroy yours to be on the safe side. It's a no-win."

"Well, we may as well chat." Quatre sat down decisively. "Otherwise we'll be awfully bored. I don't think I can sleep."

"With my metal chum's constant complaints, nor can I," chuckled Maiku. "So what do we talk about?"

"Tell us about your world," said Quatre eagerly. Maiku blinked.

"What?"

"Your world…where you live. Where is it? What's it like? Are MS common there? What are your friends like? Your family?"

"My family…?" murmured Maiku. "I'm…not sure if I have one…"

"Not sure?" asked Wufei. "Are they missing?"

"More like not all there," grinned the interdimensional pilot. "They're not really my family, either…I guess I'm not sure whether to call them that or not. They'd probably say I should. Some of them. One of them. Maybe." He paused. "Well, whatever…they're my best friends. We consider ourselves family, I guess."

"Get on with it," said Wufei.

"OK, OK. I live…in a place called Afterworld. Yeah, it's the afterlife, or one of them. No, I'm not dead. I'm an honorary Angel, I think."

"Cool," grinned Quatre. "So how'd you get to be one?"

"I helped out an Angel in distress," said Maiku calmly. "A Guardian – the highest Angelic rank – named Akamiel. We all call him Kami for short."

"What do Angels look like?" asked Quatre, sounding for all the world like some curious ten-year-old.

"They look human, mostly," said Maiku after a short pause. "Their hair tends to be better 'cause they can control it more than we can. It also comes in weird colours sometimes, like green or blue, or even pink. Their eyes are like that too. The more powerful Angels have wings – but not like bird wings, these wings are made of coloured light. You can't touch them unless the Angel wants you to, and they come in a variety of shapes and numbers. The colours tend to match the Angel's eyes. Kami, for instance, has purple eyes with no pupils, which is weird. But he's got eight purple wings of various sizes. He can corner pretty good on 'em, even at high speeds. His sister Deaziel's only got four, but they're bigger so they're all right even compared to his. Another guy I know, Tsukiel, has one purple eye and one green eye, and twelve wings made of this kinda cold fire. Looks like fire, but it isn't hot. He's part of some kinda research division that investigates bodily alterations to make Angels more powerful. He's performed most of his experiments on himself. He created his own wings – he's not strong enough to get them naturally – his arms can turn into some kinda metal ribbon blade things, and his purple eye is an energy weapon with quite an area effect capability."

"These guys are strong then," reflected Wufei.

"I'll say. Just one of them could take out Ordog in less than a minute if they wanted to. Thankfully I've never had to fight an Angel."

"So they're your family? The Angels?"

"Well, there's one guy called Jin. He's probably my best friend. He's a ninja from a clan known as the Boomers. Apparently they're based in a desert somewhere. He can control kinetic energy, use a daikatana and has a top sprinting velocity of Mach 9.5; he was trained since childhood for speed."

"Seems like he got it," said Quatre, his face invisible in the blackness but showing surprise anyway. "Is there anyone else?"

"His little sister, Roll. And Kami adopted a human girl called Alice after saving her from a demon attack. She didn't have anywhere else to go."

"This is some next-level shit," remarked Wufei. Despite himself he was interested. This pilot lived in a very strange world.

"There's a coupla other guys too. There's a small race of androids, humanoid but with both Angelic and feline features – wings, cat ears, stuff like that. We call them Felangels. There's one guy who was human once, but was genetically altered into some kinda alien. He's connected to a sort of mass consciousness, a shared mind for his whole race.

"Then there's Kaiser. A while ago, he was a cybernetic assassin called Elite-503, and his codename was Fury. He had no emotions at all. Seriously. He was less expressive than Trowa. But then something happened to him. Whatever it was, it was really bad. He said he'd been possessed, or something, but had fought it off. In any case he…lost his mind. He had emotions, feelings…but he was clinically insane. Still is. But he's gained kinetic abilities stronger than Jin's, and he can control gravity to a limited extent. Wears a beat-up crimson cloak all the time. I think some girl gave it to him when he was Fury."

"The poor guy," muttered Quatre. "After being trapped with a logical mind all that time…he finally gets feelings and loses his sanity?"

"He said something about having sacrificed it for his soul. He can beat Kami in a race, and once he outran Jin. He's fast."

"Man, you come from a weird place," laughed Wufei.

"There's one more guy I haven't mentioned," smirked Kami. "His name's Tempest, and he's made of water."

"He's what?" laughed Wufei. "Now you're making it up."

"Seriously!" protested Maiku. "He can't talk or anything, so he uses these sign things. No one knows where he gets 'em. He says they come from the same place as he does. What that means is anyone's guess. But…he's just too weird-looking to describe, for all his personality. I've got a photo of us all on me, but we can't see it in here without some light."

"Is that everything?" asked Wufei, having sobered up somewhat.

"Just about," sighed Maiku, lying back and cushioning his head on his arms.

"You mentioned other versions of your mech," said Quatre hesitantly.

"The MCAs," said Maiku dully.

"Yeah," said Quatre. "Who were they for?"

"My comrades," said Maiku. "My real family."

"This is getting confusing," said Wufei. "Just who are you, Raichi?"

"You wanna know?" asked Maiku, flaring suddenly. "OK, I'll tell you. But you might not like it."

"Try me," challenged Wufei, grinning from ear to ear. Maiku nodded and scowled.

"OK. I am the Ultimate Life," he began. Wufei cracked up quietly. Maiku continued. "I was part of a genetic engineering program to create the perfect human. I was the fourth prototype of five, and the others all died. So I'm the Ultimate."

"What happened with the others?" asked Quatre.

"It's…kinda depressing," said Maiku. "I was the only one with no apparent flaws in the genetic structure. The others – Adam, Hikari, Lee and…Maria," he continued, pausing for some reason before mentioning the last name, "all had defects. For instance, Adam's ribcage stopped growing far too early. The stuff inside didn't. Poor bastard's chest exploded one day in training," he finished sadly. "The others…they never told me how they died. Except Maria."

"Who was Maria?"

"Maria Hishito," sighed Maiku. "She was…perfect. In every way. She was beautiful. She was witty, intelligent, caring, innocent…the smartest of us all, she even managed to defuse the fights Hikari and Adam were always having. Then one day, she got sick. She…died about a month later…" he trailed off, willing his voice not to crack.

"Did…you love her?" asked Quatre.

"How'd you figure it out?" whispered Maiku. "Yes…I did. And she loved me too, before she went. That's the only thing that stops me following her into the night. She…loved…me."

"I've never seen the point of love myself," murmured Wufei. That was a lie, he knew. But the others didn't know about Meilang, nor did he want them to.

"You won't until you feel it," smiled Maiku quietly. "But…I was there when she died. She was the third prototype. An earlier attempt than me, but still…so much better than I was. Better than I am now."

"So these mechs were created for the other prototypes?" asked Quatre, anxious to change the subject and avoid Maiku feeling the pain too much. Besides, a tear had just tracked down his cheek. He didn't want to cry in front of the others.

"Yeah," said Maiku, recovering a bit. "Lee piloted the Enforcer. It was stronger than Ordog, but a little slower. Hikari had Predator, the slowest and strongest of the group. She was the best at defending positions. I was the infiltration unit. Adam was a real headcase. Always wanted to fight. He had Akuma, the fastest mech and the least armed. He enjoyed strafing the enemy, running rings around them. Maria had Raksha, the most balanced mech. It was the tallest as well," he grinned. "But they were never used in real combat, on an open battlefield. "Eventually I left the space station on which I was created. I'd had enough, because I'd attacked a station officer and was put into a fifty-year cryogenic coma. But my mind was designed to work at full speed even without enough heat to do so efficiently. So I dreamed.

"Do you have any way to imagine what its like to dream for fifty years straight? After witnessing the deaths of the four people you love the most? After spending your life training to kill people, then killing the wrong ones?" he stopped, aware that he was yelling. Lowering his voice, he continued. "After I was awakened by an unwitting salvage party, I worked with them for a while. Ordog's starfighter ability has some advantages. Back then it didn't have the Seeker Flare. It had a weapon called," he paused for effect, "The Red Riot."

"Sounds fun," smiled Wufei.

"It's capable of altering the map," said Maiku. "It's almost visible from space. Five hundred foot blast radius. It's incredible."

"So why'd you change it?"

"Too damn hot. Cockpit overheats after two shots. But anyway…after I broke off from the salvage team, I went back to the station for a little while."

"How long?" asked Quatre. Maiku thought for a moment.

"About three minutes," he answered finally. "I went there, turned to mech form and used the Red Riot on it."

"WHY?" asked Quatre, aghast.

"Too many memories," he replied matter-of-factly. "I didn't want to ever be tempted to go back there and feel that pain again."

Wufei was about to say something but was cut short by a siren going off. They all looked around, useless as it was to do so in the dark.

"What's happening?" cried Quatre.

"An attack," said Maiku, standing in order to keep his balance.

"How do you know?" asked Wufei. Maiku tapped his head.

"Ordog. Says there's red lights and stuff going on all over the place."

"Shit. Who?"

"No idea. Once the airlock doors open he can get a look outside…WHOA!" exclaimed Maiku. "FLEET!"

"A fleet?" asked Quatre. "Have they come to rescue us?"

"More like kill us while we're captured and leave Sanc Kingdom defenceless," said Wufei. "In the circumstances I suggest we look for a way out of here."

Maiku had gone quiet. Quatre called his name.

"Ordog's escaped," he said quietly. "Tore away from the restraints in the confusion. He's heading for the other side of the world."

"What'll he do there?" asked Wufei.

"Keep as far away from this ship as possible. He says everyone on the ship's heading for battle stations, judging by the IR readings. If we can get outta here we can escape to a shuttle easily."

"So how do we get out?" asked Wufei. Maiku grinned and put his goggles on.

"My goggles see in IR and UV, and a whole lotta other stuff besides," he said. "And…hang on…aha!" he finished, activating the goggles' tiny pencil light. The bright spot appeared on the floor between them, and tracked up to where Maiku's goggles revealed a door. The other two stumbled towards it and ran into each other, then Maiku walked over to them.

"Now we know where we are, let's see where we can go," he murmured, fishing in his boot and taking out a knife that began to glow and emit a faint whine. "Gotta work fast, the power cell on these goggles won't last more than a couple of minutes."

"What the hell is that?" asked Wufei.

"A progressive knife," explained Maiku. "Vibrates ultrasonically. Can cut through the deck of an aircraft carrier in a second. Honestly, don't you guys come equipped with stuff like this?"

"Nope," said Quatre happily. "We take life as it comes."

"Often several at a time," added Wufei. Quatre grimaced. Maiku shrugged and plunged the knife into the door, beginning to cut through it. The metal wasn't tough; just hard enough to withstand repeated kicks and punches from inside. In half a minute he was out into the red-lit corridor.

"We're out, guys," he grinned, sheathing the knife. The other two blinked as they stepped into the light. Maiku didn't notice anything different: he was still operating on ultra-violet rays. They headed to the next cell over – not difficult as theirs was at the end of a corridor – and banged on the door.

"Anyone home?" called Maiku.

Heero jumped up. "They're out. Or Raichi is, at any rate."

Maiku turned to Wufei and grinned. "They're in there." He took out his knife again and sheared through the door lock in seconds. The door swung open and Duo leaped out to clap him on the back.

"Well done, buddy! How'd ya do it?" he cried. Maiku pointed to the now safely stored blade.

"Trowa?" called Quatre into the darkness. The light glinted off his companion's single visible eye as Pilot 03 stepped out of the ruined doorway. The pair clasped hands, smiling at each other, before turning to the other pilots.

"A little technology never hurts," Maiku grinned. "Now let's get moving."

They ran for several minutes, ducking and weaving past soldiers who were too busy to care about them, or didn't realize they'd escaped. Finally they wound up in a shuttle bay.

"There's the one we want," said Maiku, pointing to a shuttle with '03' marked on the side. "The Gundams are in it."

"How do you know that?" asked Wufei. Maiku tapped the goggles and the Chinaman nodded as enlightenment dawned.

"Seems they weren't finished unpacking from their little capture attempt," grinned Duo. "Come on!" He ran up the shuttle gantry. The others followed him.

"I can fly us out of here," said Trowa. Then he saw the controls. "Oh…these are from another world, aren't they…"

"Shuttle Three, we show you have power," came the ground controller's voice through the speakers. "Please state your pilot name and clearance code."

Trowa stared helplessly at the controls as the others hid – all except Duo, who strode up to the microphone to take the initiative.

"Ground Control, this is…uh…" he trailed off, floundering immediately.

"Major Tom," hissed Maiku, his head popping up briefly from behind a computer bank.

"Yeah, Major Tom," grinned Duo, then covered the mike and turned away. "Major Tom?" he giggled.

"Major Tom, what is your flight clearance?"

"I'm sorry," said Duo, trying not to laugh. "I left all my details in my other pants."

"I need a little proof you can fly that thing," came the female voice reproachfully.

"Fly?" smirked Duo. "I can make this thing dance!"

"Sorry, I didn't quite catch that," said the flight controller. A small screen activated and showed her face. Duo screamed in fear and hid.

"You're the ground controller?" asked Trowa in disbelief. The woman was quite possibly the scariest thing any of them had ever seen.

"Duo, just do the dance and let's get outta here," said Heero quietly.

"Dance!?" cried Duo from his place on the floor. "With her I'd have trouble walking!"

"Where's Quatre?" asked Wufei. There was a scream outside the shuttle. Five faces clustered to the viewports.

Sandrock Custom was carving open the space doors with its heat shotels. Finally it spun and kicked the pieces into the gulf before running back to the shuttle. The airlock closed behind the war machine as it moonwalked swiftly into a repair bay.

"Get us outta here, gang," cried Quatre less than a minute later, running into the cockpit and strapping himself in between Trowa and Wufei. The vacuum had meant no one was there to fire at the shuttle until it got outside.

Trowa powered up the engines and blasted them clear of the ship. Behind them, it began to fall apart as the enemy shots took their toll.

"Who's firing at them?" shouted Heero.

"They look like American MS," said Duo. "Uncle Sam musta got sick of waiting for the pirates to land."

"Are they gonna attack us?" asked Maiku. A silver dot began moving towards them from around the other side of the planet. Finally, he thought. Took you long enough.

"If we ID ourselves as Gundam pilots, probably," said Wufei. "If they think we're pirates, definitely."

"This is Shuttle Three to all US combatants," said Quatre. "We are not pirates. I repeat, we are not pirates. This is Quatre Raberba Winner, pilot of the Gundam Sandrock. We are all Gundam pilots, and were captured by the pirates when they first landed."

There was no response at first from the Americans. When it finally came Wufei was half expecting it. The laser volley screamed into the side of the shuttle, knocking Duo over.

"SONS OF BITCHES!" he yelled from the floor. "That's it," he raged, heading to the mech bay. "I'm gonna kick some ass." The others followed him. Last to leave was Maiku, whose mech had not yet arrived. It was, however, streaking towards him in fighter mode, arcing around the warriors in space to come to his aid. As it reached and docked with the shuttle he couldn't help feeling proud.

"Atta boy," he smiled as he got in and powered up all the systems. The fighter disengaged from the shuttle and transformed into its mech mode before facing the nearest American. The Gundams formed a line and powered up their engines.

"CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGE!"

In the Sanc Kingdom, Relena was extremely worried. The Gundams and their grey counterpart – she had forgotten its name – had been missing for nearly thirty-six hours. She couldn't raise them on communication channels, and reports indicated that the Americans, in a feat of monumental stupidity, had attacked the pirates who had kidnapped the Gundam pilots. Obviously an attempt to rid the world of its most dangerous MS, and show the little pacifist nation who was boss.

She took a moment to wonder how many US warriors would be coming home alive.

"Ma'am!" came a voice from behind her. She whirled. A young woman had run in waving a sheet of paper and was now leaning breathlessly on the wall. Relena strode over and held out her hand. Taking the paper, she glanced over it quickly.

"The Gundams have made planetfall," she said to the technician. "Is that correct?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"So when did they get upgraded to withstand atmospheric reentry?" she asked, interest piqued.

"Uh…never, ma'am."

"WHAT!?"

"Aww man," muttered Wufei, cracking his neck inside Nataku's cockpit. "Stupid Raichi and his stupid slipstreaming reentry plans…" He flipped the communicator online. "Is everyone all right?"

"I'm fine," said Trowa. "No damage, but Heavyarms has melted a little."

"Not surprising," said Heero. "Raichi, that was a damn foolish thing to do, and you nearly got us all killed."

"Gee, and when did you become a self-preservationist?" laughed Duo. Heero went silent.

"As long as everyone's okay," said Quatre. "The Gundams can be repaired." He powered up Sandrock's systems and screamed.

"What is it!?" cried Maiku as Ordog's external sensors activated. He gazed for a second, then burst out laughing.

"It's not funny!" wailed Quatre. "Duo, get your Deathscythe off of me!"

"What's going on?" asked Wufei. "I think I sustained some system damage after all. My visual sensors are fried; I'm blind."

"Deathscythe is sitting on Sandrock," said Heero. "And Quatre's not happy."

"Damn right!" yelled Quatre. "Duo, get offa me!"

"MWAHAHAHA!" bawled Duo, loving it. "FEEL THE WRATH OF MY ASS!!"

"Shaddap," grinned Maiku, playfully knocking Deathscythe off its struggling counterpart. Sandrock got up and dusted itself off a little, then checked for its heat shotels. They were both there.  Finally he turned to the others.

"We gotta get back to Sanc," he said urgently. "We're bound to have been picked up on the way in, and they're probably wondering whether we're still alive."

"Yeah," grinned Duo. "Heero's gotta go assure Relena he's okay, right bud?"

Wing Zero didn't respond verbally. It simply took off, spreading its seraphic boosters, and disappeared into the smoke that was still pouring from the crater they'd made.

"Not again," moaned Maiku as Ordog sprinted after him. The others pursued, ad the next ten minutes were spent in silence as each individual engine strained to catch up to the Wing Zero, which was in its famous top gear and was now hurtling along at well over Mach Five.

"Dude, I wish you wouldn't take off like that," said Duo. "It was only a joke."

"I didn't leave because of that," said Heero quietly. Wing Zero accelerated a little more. Deathscythe, the fastest of the team, gradually pulled ahead of the others and reached Wing Zero's speed.

"So why?"

"Because if we were attacked and defeated our enemy, then the Sanc Kingdom may have been chosen as a secondary target."

Deathscythe's extra boosters flared, and it pulled ahead of even Wing Zero. Then a white glare lanced in through the right-hand side of Duo's cockpit view. Ordog had gone into Gigaflash and was using the extra speed to catch up.

"We need to put on a serious hurry," muttered Quatre, as Sandrock doubled over in its efforts to keep up. "I just hope there's nothing happening right now."

"Listen," said Trowa. "Feed band 197. Use your radios."

They switched over.

" – Sanc…if the Gundams are still active, please respond! A large force is moving in on the borders of Sanc! We need the Gundams' power to defend our country! This is Lt Hashira Kouros of the Sanc Kingdom Defence organization: will any remaining Gundams please respond…enemy troops are…"
"This is Wing Gundam Zero, reporting in," said Heero confidently into his communicator. "We're all right, and we're moving toward Sanc as fast as we can. We should be within visual range of the palace within five minutes."

"Roger that, Wing Zero!" cried the officer, her voice flooded with relief. "How many of you are there?"

"Six of us," replied Heero. "We all made it relatively unharmed." He didn't dare mention Nataku, which was being led by the hand of Heavyarms.

"But there are only five Gundams," began Hashira.

"Hi there," grinned Maiku. "Ordog Knight Flash reporting. I'm with the Gundams. Heero's right; Altron Custom's been blinded and needs eye repairs but structurally we're unharmed. Given about four minutes you can have all the Gundams operating at relatively high capacity."

"What's the situation?" asked Quarter. "How many troops are closing in, and where from?"

"The country's surrounded, Commander Winner," said Hashira. "No sightings of emblems on the MS yet, so we can't be sure with whom they're affiliated. However reports indicate that they're heavily armed."

"Roger that," said Quatre. "OK, guys, any thoughts on how to do this?"

"Suggest stationing ourselves at key points on the borders and utilizing a perimeter," said Wufei.

"No," said Trowa. "That'd leave us separated. We'd be overwhelmed. Maybe we should run a sweep around the country, cleaning up as we go, then keep circling and mop up what's left."

"Sounds good to me," said Duo. "Just like a practice corridor."

"I always wanted to rake a huge crowd with a shockwave cannon," grinned Maiku. "Just think what the Gigaflash could accomplish!"

"I can't fight with no sight," Wufei reminded them.

"I'll drop you at the MS bays," Quatre said. "Then we'll wait for the others to go by and join them."

"OK," said Heero. "Split up and let's go." Sandrock took Nataku's other hand. Heavyarms let go as the two mechs peeled off from the formation and arced away to the left. The other four turned ever so slightly right.

"Visual on targets," said Trowa shortly. "All weapons online and locked. Multiple targeting engaged. Also confirm they're American."

"Confirming affiliation and lock," grinned Heero. "Ordnance ready." The Buster Cannon was suddenly gripped in both hands and broken apart – now there were two rifles, each of which was capable of firing a Buster shot of its own. Maiku noted that with some interest. "In range."

"Confirmed," said Trowa.

"Mind if I join the party?" came Maiku's voice. Ordog, glowing in its starfighter mode, caught up to them. "I'm betting the Seeker Flare will tear a few holes in 'em."

"Welcome to the Gun Squad," smirked Trowa. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be," grinned Maiku.

"Ready," said Heero.

"FIRE!" yelled Trowa, unleashing all of Heavyarms' weapons. A huge cloud of smoke extended from the flying mech towards the enemy targets as a wall of shells, missiles, beam gatling rounds and smaller lasers joined the screaming swarm of blue lights and the immense fire-hued beams from the other two units. For an eternity, it seemed to them, there was silence while the world waited for impact.

Then a column of rainbow-coloured light erupted from the impact site. Everything within a quarter of a mile was severely damaged by the shockwave alone, and most were finished off by the infernal heat given off by the monstrous explosion.

"YES!" laughed Maiku as Ordog pulled into a roll and came out of it in mech form. "Reload complete," said Trowa as he fired off another huge salvo at a different part of the enemy. Wing Zero had drawn its beam sword and was slashing through targets at a rate of knots. Deathscythe caught up to them and activated its energy scythe, spreading its wings and rolling as Duo's voice boomed through the communicators in a hellish laugh that, Heero realized, was being transmitted on open frequency. Wing Zero's head whipped to one side as Ordog began glowing again.

With a scream of rage from Maiku that dipped all the way down to Hell, the mech's Gigaflash activated. Charging headfirst into the enemy ranks, the gunmetal-hued MCA became a living bullet that ignited and obliterated anything it touched. The other Gundams began to follow it and carve open the remaining enemies.

"DAMN YANKEES!" yelled Maiku as he continued on his way through the Americans' ranks. MS tried to get out of his way, almost climbing over one another as the glowing, screaming form arced through their army. It didn't work. Those who did manage to escape his attack were sliced, hacked or blown to pieces by the other four.

In this way they managed to complete a circuit of Sanc, Maiku pausing to fly high and recharge his Gigaflash whenever it ran out, then swooping to attack again. Halfway along their route they were helped out by two Dragon Fangs and a set of heat shotels, fractions of a second before two pairs of Gundam standard neck-mounted vulcan guns ripped into the enemy.

"It's confirmed these are American?" came Wufei's voice.

"About damn time you showed up," grinned Duo. "Let's get busy!"

"Dirty swine," muttered Wufei as his beam trident opened a squadron of MS' waists, internal systems cauterized and obliterated.

"Try not to kill them," said Quatre urgently. "There are human pilots, so try to keep them alive."

"Why?" asked Maiku. "They wouldn't be that nice to us."

"But as the defenders of a pacifist nation we should try to avoid bloodshed as much as we can," protested Quatre. "Cripple the MS, but don't kill the pilots!"

"Roger that," said Heero as his beam sword dismembered an enemy, leaving it on the floor. Deathscythe aimed for the heads of the MS, leaving the chest cavities – and the cockpits within – intact.

"This isn't too hard," said Maiku. "In fact, dare I say, this is pretty easy."

"It would be for you," said Quatre uneasily. "It's getting dark and you have heat sensors. Trowa's the only one of us fitted with those; the rest have to go by radar."

"I often work at night," grinned Maiku. "One of my nicknames among the poetically inclined storytellers is the Starlit Knight. Pretty cool, huh?"

"Not as cool as Shinigami," grinned Duo.

"What about Heero's?" grinned Wufei.

"Heero has a nickname?" asked Quatre.

"Shut UP, Chang," said Heero quietly as he cut apart another MS.

"I think Relena started it," said Wufei gleefully. "It's a pretty good nickname for him."

"What is it?" asked Trowa.

"He's A Softy Really," laughed Wufei. There was a short silence, then Duo began to scream with laughter. It was somewhat unnerving that he was able to do that and hack open dozens of MS at a time.

"I AM going to kill you, Wufei," said Heero.

"Another time," said Trowa, launching his thirty-fifth salvo. "We have to finish this."

"Finally, a little sense," muttered Heero, unleashing his Buster Cannons for the fourteenth time. They were starting to heat up, and the new power cells he'd made for them were holding up but getting warmer all the time.

Wufei let out a battlecry as his Dragon Fangs tore open another MS.

"Switching to IR sensors," said Maiku. "It'll be easier to – HEY!"

"What? What?" shouted Duo.

"Those MS have no damn pilots!"

"What? You sure you're not just getting interference from the armour?"

"I can see you inside your mechs. Trust me, those enemies are empty."

"MD," snarled Heero.

"What?"

"Mobile Dolls," explained Trowa.

"Remote-controlled MS," said Quatre.

"RC mechs?" grinned Maiku. "Then our job's a lot easier."

"It is?" asked Duo uncertainly.

"Yeah. Some of us hang back and hold the lines, others find and eliminate the controller, wherever it is."

"At least they're concentrating on us instead of the palace," muttered Heero.

"Gotta be at least one military transport carrying transmitters," muttered Duo. "But with this amount I'd say maybe five."

"Five ships…if you guys take one each I think I can hold 'em," said Maiku grimly.

"Too risky, Raichi," said Wufei. "You need support."

"I can hold it if you hurry," said Maiku. Somewhere along the line they'd slowed down. They were surrounded now, frantically dodging shots and each other in an attempt to get out of the circle.

"No!" shouted Quatre.

"GO!" yelled Maiku. "I can do it! Trust me!"

"Heero, what do you – " began Duo. Wing Zero was gone.

"Looks like he went for it," said Trowa. Heavyarms took off and disappeared, heading in another direction to Zero.

"Follow them," said Maiku through gritted teeth as Ordog's shockwave cannons pumped destruction into the advancing ranks of MD. "Go. Longer you leave it, the fewer bits of me you'll find." Ordog began to glow.

"Dammit," said Wufei. "You better be alive when we get back, Raichi, or I'll wait 'til I die then kick your ass in the afterlife."

"I look forward to it, Chang," grinned Maiku. "Now get moving…TERIAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" he added as the Gigaflash activated and he began carving into them. The three remaining Gundams took off and, checking their radar sets, headed off for different control ships.

Maiku fought on for long minutes, adrenaline accelerating him but not his mech. The time taken to bring a shockwave cannon to bear seemed like an hour, when in reality it was less than half a second. The wait played on his mind – and that, coupled with the tension and the adrenaline flow pulsing through him with every heartbeat, began to unhinge him a little.

"Trigger Happy," he sang as he spun Ordog on the spot, arms out and shockwave units atomizing MD for metres around.

Somewhere above Sanc, an energy scythe sliced a hovering spacecraft into several pieces.

Ordog leaped to one side and grabbed an MD by the throat. The mech went limp.

"I never touched you, you softy," snarled Maiku. Then he realized this was true. He hadn't attacked but the MD had deactivated. A control ship must have gone down.

"Oh, finally they get to work," muttered the Ultimate Life, reverting to fighter mode and glowing before strafing the enemy with a shockwave gun/Seeker Flare combination.

Somewhere closer to the palace, two immense orange beams tore right through an American carrier ship, shredding it with an infernal stream of heat.

Another few dozen MD deactivated, slouching and falling over as their control centers ran out of instructions.

Ordog swooped low and raked the enemy lines, launching Seeker Flares, shockwave rounds and its own armoured form at anything in its way. Spotting a clump of MD standing together and firing at him, Maiku flipped Ordog into a fast roll and bulled into them at Mach Two, shattering armoured bodies and sending pieces of mech flying. Reverting to mech form briefly, he grabbed a nearby MD and threw it ahead of him, using it as a shield to protect him while he charged the next clump and readied a Gigaflash. As soon as the diamond fires played over its armour, the MCA stood tall, reveling in the way shots were simply absorbed into its energy field. After a couple of seconds he leaped into the air, ignited his main booster and charged, giving off an old warcry he'd picked up from a Plains warrior in a separate universe.

A large green mechanical claw tore the engines from an American carrier ship. A second claw then crushed the craft before igniting it with twin plumes of burning plasma.

Now only forty percent of the original attack force remained active, not counting those destroyed by the frantic defenders.

Maiku turned and yelled, grabbing an MD that had tried to charge him from behind. Gripping its thick neck, he unloaded his right shockwave cannon into it before flying upward a short distance and hurling it at its companions, then charging at them. As if in slow motion, his attention was drawn to one of their number to his left. Its gun muzzle was aimed directly at Ordog's left eye. He saw the minute light deep in the barrel that preceded the firing sequence. He saw the shot leave the barrel –

 - And he saw the energy scythe that took out the MD behind the gun. A black metallic wing spread in front of him and moved only once as the shot impacted harmlessly.

"Duo!" he laughed. "Man, you have great timing sometimes."

"The heart of comedy is timing," said Duo dolefully. "And I'm the only funny guy in our whole team." The scythe took down three more mechs, and turned to a fourth – which slumped. Somewhere, an immense salvo of ranged weaponry had atomized an American carrier craft.

"Now if Quatre can do his part," said Maiku gleefully as the Gigaflash energy arced through a swathe of MD, "We're in the pink."

"I hate pink," said Duo.

"Me too," said Maiku. "Not risky enough."

Over the eastern borders of the Sanc Kingdom, the crew of a large blue aircraft were frantically trying to raise the crews of other such craft that should have responded by now. One of the radar techs turned to his superior.

"Sir, look at the radar…" The CO wandered over to check out the screen, then turned and shouted for the automatic defenses of the ship to be brought online. A large mass, evidently a Mobile Suit of some kind, was heading towards them faster than their ship could ever hope to move. Within a few seconds it was upon them, despite the weapons fire that pattered off its armoured body. Two immense hands gripped the ship on either side.

"Now I'm not one to kill defenseless people," came a youthful voice over the communicator. "So I'm offering you a chance to surrender. Pull the Mobile Dolls out of Sanc or be destroyed."

"We have to do as he says," stammered the second-in-command of the ship. "Sir, if we want to survive then we must pull back our share of the force! If this pilot has already defeated the other ships – which would explain our comms problem – then that suit has to be a Gundam! They were reported as having engaged the MD, it's likely they found out about us!"

The man's CO closed his eyes.

A Buster Cannon ripped a swathe in the ground, tearing apart several MD.

The radar techs turned to look at him, as did the control techs.

Twin beam gatlings roared, swinging around and mowing down whole ranks of Dolls.

The CO opened his eyes.

"Retreat," he muttered. "Recall all MD to our position."

"That's the more sensible action," came the Gundam pilot's voice. "I knew you'd see sense. Now…" he continued, and a tearing noise, the scream of carved metal, echoed through the control chamber.

"We've lost the engines!" shouted a tech. "They've been completely severed! Not even retros have power!"

"Now," repeated the Gundam pilot. "You are under political arrest for participating in an insurrection against a sovereign nation."

"WHAT!?" screeched the captain. There was a sudden pressure in their stomachs, like being in a downward-moving elevator. The Gundam was landing and keeping its grip upon them.

"Deactivate those MD," said the Gundam pilot. "Get them into the open and self-detonate them."

"Do as he says," said the second-in-command frantically. Men rushed to obey, and the captain gave him a withering look.

Sandrock landed softly, holding the ship carefully under its arm, and began jogging towards the palace.

"Gundam 04, Quatre Raberba Winner here…Sanc Palace, do you copy?"

"We copy you, Sandrock. What's happening? We've detected the remainder of the enemy force moving towards the plains…"

"They're American controlled MD, Palace," said Quatre. "I've captured the only remaining control craft and am bringing it in. All crew accounted for, apparently. At least, they haven't reported any casualties. Can you please contact the other defenders and tell them not to waste their energy on retreating enemies? I know Wufei will be trying to chase them at least."

"Roger that, Sandrock," came Relena's voice over the communicator. "And, Quatre…well done."

"Thank you, m'lady," stammered Quatre, blushing slightly. He was totally unused to praise.

Two hours later, the defenders stood to attention in front of Relena, who was enjoying herself immensely.

"Yes, Mr Ambassador. I realise the position that you're in. No, I will not allow you back to your own country. My security staff informs me that this is unwise at the present time."

Duo grinned. The security staff consisted of Heero and Quatre, both of whom were looking extremely angry.

"Time? Certainly," said Relena, her voice friendly. Her face was showing a lupine grin that had Wufei smirking and trying not to laugh. "You have twelve hours to come up with an explanation. Goodbye." She put the phone down then turned to Heero.

"Was that safe enough?" she smiled. Heero shrugged.

"I'd have given him three hours myself," he said.

"Always a critic," smiled Quatre. "Your Highness, that was handled well. What's been done with the American crew?"

"They've been incarcerated," began Relena.

"The unkindest cut of all," said Wufei quietly. Duo collapsed with laughter. Quatre began to look ready to join him.

"And you six," continued the Queen, "You have shown exceptional courage, skill and resourcefulness once again. For all but one of you I cannot reward you officially – each Gundam pilot has already been given one of every medal type in Sanc – I can award one to Maikeru. So I'll require you all to be at the award ceremony tomorrow," she added. Wufei groaned, and Duo looked up.

"Not another damn award ceremony," he cried.

"It's for Maiku," said Quatre. "You can at least show that much respect. Especially after that last fight and the part he played."
"And you'd better stop talking about him now, Quatre," smiled Relena. "Because he's blushing so hard he looks like he's going to faint." Maiku was indeed a furious shade of red. He'd never been spoken about in such a way before.

"And on that subject, Maikeru," added Relena, "How exactly did you plan on surviving a solo fight against five whole legions of Mobile Dolls? Especially since you actually succeeded in defeating three whole legions' worth alone?"

"I didn't," said Maiku dully. "Didn't plan to live through it. I was going to detonate Ordog if necessary. But I rarely plan on anything. I trust the Gundams, I guess. So I knew they'd be able to do what was needed."

"Awwwwww," laughed a figure who now stood in the doorway. Everyone turned to face the newcomer.

"Lucrezia," smiled Relena.

Lucrezia Noin stopped leaning against the doorway. "Looks like I missed something big," she grinned. "And who's the cutie?" she added, nodding at Maiku, who blushed again.

"He's an explorer," said Duo. "Long story, Noin. So Epyon's back?"

"Yep," replied Noin, still smiling. "But it looks like we weren't missed. You a pilot, buddy?" she asked Maiku.

"Yeah," he said uncertainly. "You could say I'm a prototype pilot," he added, grinning at Wufei. The Chinaman smiled back.

"So you got a medal, huh kid?" asked Noin. "What's your name?"

"Maikeru Raichi," replied the young Ultimate. "You're Lucrezia Noin…so you're the missing member of the Gundam team," he murmured. "Good to see there's actually a female warrior on the team somewhere."

She laughed and ruffled his hair, knocking his goggles askew. He straightened them back up wordlessly.

"Good to see someone who supports the idea," she replied, shooting a look at Wufei. "How old are you, kiddo?"

"Sixty-seven," replied Maiku truthfully. Noin looked at him oddly.

"Fifty years in suspended animation," he explained. "Physically I'm seventeen."

"Not too young, then," she smiled mischievously. "How long are you staying around, Maikeru?"

"Uh," he began, then turned to the others. "Actually I've been meaning to talk about that…the energy transfer took a lot less time than expected. Since the batteries are solar-sourced, I'm guessing something about your sun made it faster than when it was charging near one of our suns…I leave tomorrow."

"What?" asked Quatre. "But…you said a couple of weeks!"

"I did," said Maiku. "And I was young and stupid then. I still am, but a little less young. But, the power transfer will be complete by eleven tomorrow morning. I'm sorry…but I have to go back. Aside from anything else the others will want a full report. And I've only got a limited time in which to see as much as I can. I'll leave Sanc at one in the afternoon…"

"We'll miss you, Maikeru," smiled Relena. "But your mission takes priority. You may go with our blessing. We'll award the medal at noon. Everyone clear on that?"

"Yes ma'am," said Duo, putting on a mock-serious face and saluting, then winking at Relena and spinning on the spot. "I'm gonna polish up Deathscythe and give this guy a full military sendoff."

"Really?" asked Maiku.

"Yeah. Flags, balloons, banner saying And Stay Out, the lot."

"You always did know how to throw a good time," smiled Noin. "OK. All Gundams report to the ceremony, in full ceremonial gear and the mechs fully polished and sparkling."

"Nice one, Maxwell," growled Wufei as Noin took her leave. "Now we gotta polish our Gundams again. And that damn woman is a stickler for perfection when she wants to be."

"Dismissed," smiled Relena. "I think you're going to need some time to polish the Gundams."

"Damn right," said Duo. "Thanks, m'lady. Dude, I can't believe you're leaving," he continued to Maiku as they left the office. "You've only been here a week and somehow we've managed to structure our whole damn lives around and with you."

"I'll have to shop alone again," said Trowa carefully. "It's easier with help."

"Does that mean you'll miss him?" asked Duo mischievously.

"…Yes," replied Trowa, shrugging. "It does."

"Cool. I'll definitely miss ya, buddy," added Duo.

"It's been great having you around, Maiku," smiled Quatre. "Duo's right, we'll all miss you."

"Thanks, Quatre," smiled Maiku. "I'm gonna get a group photo of us all before I go, so be sure to dress nice. That includes you, Heero," he called over his shoulder. "None of your damn Spandex and vest combos."

Wufei smirked. "At least I dress sensibly."

"Yeah, but you're the only one among us to do so," said Duo.

"What about me?" asked Quatre.

"Oh, come ON. Pink shirts? And a tie? And you call it casual!"

"It IS casual," argued Quatre.

Maiku chuckled as the argument went on behind him and turned to Heero. "I'll miss this," he smiled.

Next morning was bright and sunny, but for some reason it was also bitingly cold. The freezing sunlight glinted off a circle of six mobile suits that surrounded a seventh. The majority of the suits were mostly white. One, which held a deactivated beam scythe, was black and had a set of wings folded around its shoulders. Another was a pale blue, and had Angelic wings folded at its back. A third was a deep red in colour, and carried a device that looked something like a whip. The seventh was a silvery grey all over except for a couple of blue parts. It was much more streamlined than the others. Rounded lines seemed to make up its whole appearance except the two fins where a human would have ears.

Off to the east of them a large crowd was gathered. This was most of the higher-ranked members of the Sanc Kingdom, gathered round a podium.

"…And for bravery above and beyond the requirements of duty," said Relena in a loud voice, speaking to the crowd and holding aloft a sizeable medal as she read from an autocue, "This courageous and selfless young man will be awarded the medal for such conduct…"

"You wrote this?" asked Heero incredulously, in a fierce whisper. Duo nodded.

"…And a smack upside the head for taking his time while the equally brave Gundam pilots were stuck in a dark cell all alone," continued Relena, thus proving that politicians can read from autocues without actually listening to what they say.

"I believe you," said Quatre fervently, also whispering.

"…And must be kissed by the Princess of the Potato People?" finished Relena as she finally realised what she was saying. "Who the hell wrote this?"

Wufei's foot democratically elected Duo to go and own up.

"Duo Maxwell!" shouted the queen. "Why did you alter the speech!?"

"Because it was as dull as all hell, ma'am," said Duo truthfully.

"AARGH!" yelled Relena. "Someone get me a new speech before I break my vows!"

"Vows?" asked Maiku, turning and facing the Gundam pilots.

"Pacifist stuff," replied Wufei dismissively.

"Ah." Maiku turned back to Relena. "Uh…do we need a speech?" In the distance, Ordog was getting impatient. Maiku kept having to remind the mech not to activate its motor control and come over to get him.

"Of course we need a speech," said Relena, as her eyes began to fill with tears. "We HAVE to have a speech. It's traditional." She burst into tears.

"Aw good grief," muttered Maiku. He didn't wanna go near her now. "Someone get rid of this emotional mess," he hissed at the pilots. Trowa sighed, stepped forward and led the sobbing wreck off the podium. Quatre flung a look of sympathy after him. Maiku couldn't help but think there was something more in that glance. Still, even if there was, it wasn't his business and he didn't really have anything against it.

Heero stepped up and picked up the medal from where it had fallen due to Relena's collapse.

"That woman is too damn stressed," murmured the pilot as he tapped Maiku on the shoulder. The grey-clad soldier spun, then laughed as Heero swiftly pinned the medal on his chest.

"Well done," he acknowledged. "I must say I doubted you there for a while. But you pulled through. And…if you're ever in our neck of the cosmos again…" Pilot 01 trailed off awkwardly.

"He's saying, you ever get any crap around here then call on us, okay?" laughed Duo.

Maiku grinned and nodded, then reached up and touched the medal. It felt odd; he'd never had one on before so he was totally unused to the weight against his chest.

How does it feel? Ordog's question echoed in his consciousness.

"Weird," he remarked distantly. "Like I'm pulling an extra G."

"It does, the first time," remarked Trowa.

"Yuy and Maxwell are right," smirked Wufei. "If you ever need us, we'll come to your aid as quickly as possible."

"OK," said Maiku, then turned to the PA stand on the podium.

"Uh," he began. "I'm not good with speeches. I think the Princess bit off more tradition than she could chew this once. But I'll at least say: Merci, bon chance, and Vive La Sanc."

The crowd remained totally silent.

"The hell with that," muttered Maiku quietly, stepping down and transmitting a single message to Ordog. In the middle distance, the mech leaped at least fifty metres into the air before landing right next to the podium, its engines making the impact about as violent as a snowflake. One metallic hand extended and Maiku stepped onto it before being carried up to the back of the mech's neck. The cockpit opened.

"I'll see you guys later," grinned the young Ultimate, putting his goggles on and strapping himself in. The cockpit closed and the mech began to lift off the ground.

"Wait up, you damn fool!" yelled Duo, running to Deathscythe. "If Noin says we're givin' you a sendoff then by Shinigami it's gonna be a good one!"

As Ordog Knight Flash reached the maximum atmospheric altitude of the Gundams, they rose around it in a circle. The ascension continued as each mech saluted and Ordog transformed, the morning sunlight glinting coldly off its Lunanium carapace.

The silver streak vanished into the now-darkening sky of the ionosphere, its engines giving off a ghostly light as its Light Booster activated. There was a distant flash, a feeling of Reality shifting a couple of inches sideways.

Then the Starlit Knight was gone.

Wing Zero turned to Deathscythe, its metal wings gleaming as the cirrus rolled around them.

"You know, I really wish I'd given Relena his phone number," reflected Pilot 01.

"'Cause then she'd lay off you?" laughed Duo.

"Damn right," said Wufei. "That baka onna is ANNOYING."

"Give her some credit, guys," murmured Quatre.

"What for?" chorused Heero, Duo and Wufei together.

"Nothing," mumbled 04, slightly cowed. "But Heero's right, it's a pity we don't have anything to remember him by."

"We have our lives," objected Wufei, but Duo broke in.

"And he did give me something," he added mischievously. "A set of instructions."

"What for?" asked Trowa.

"A Gundam upgrade," grinned Duo. "After he downloaded all the data he had into Heero's laptop and took what he needed from our own databanks, he gave me another plan for something he didn't put into the computer."

"Like what?" asked Heero.

"Nothing much," grinned Duo. "Just a minor alteration."

"Relena's gonna be seriously pissed that she missed his departure," reflected Quatre, looking down towards the podium. It was tiny to them, but if he used Sandrock's zoom function to the max it was just possible to see the crowd dispersing, and a lone female figure breaking down for the second time as her day was completely ruined.

"Too late," murmured Trowa.

"Yeah, nothing we can do," said Duo. "From the way he left, he'd already activated his main engine."

"And boy, was it big," grinned Quatre.

"You guys are really horrible to her for fun, aren't you," said Noin reflectively.

"Life is like that," said Duo. "We sometimes have contests. Who can annoy Relena the most?"

"You think it's a game?" asked Noin incredulously. She couldn't believe, even after living with them for this long, that the pilots were this laid-back.

"You might say we enjoy playing with Relena," reflected Heero as the Gundams descended.

Quatre laughed all the way back to the hangar.

Next morning, an infuriated Chinaman walked down the steps to the Gundam hangar. Duo had been sniggering all morning.

He continued down the gantry, walking past the chests of the Gundams. Wing Zero with its characteristic green orb, Deathscythe Hell with its black wings wrapped around it, Heavyarms' machine gun pods, Sandrock's armoured carapace and Nataku's breasts, to where Ordog Knight Flash had stood before.

Wait. Rewind.

He stepped back and looked at Nataku again. Something registered.

Breasts…?

"MAAAAAAAAAAXWEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!"

~FIN~