Disclaimer: I do not own or have any title, interest or right in either Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon. This fanfiction is not being used for commercial purposes. I own all other rights (to the extent legally permissible) in connection with this writing.

Chapter 4: JOURNEY TO WAR

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"No need to leave your door to know the whole world; No need to peer through your windows to know the Way of Heaven. The farther you go, the less you know." - Lao Tze (Tao-Te-Ching, date unknown)

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Space Transport Vehicle: ST-31X; March 21; 11:40 pm

"I told you this would be a piece of cake," Hilde said, folding her arms proudly across her chest.

Wufei nodded grimly. The prototype active cloaking system for the ST-31X had worked flawlessly and allowed the space transport vehicle to slip through Colony X18999's defense perimeter. The small, black vessel had quietly secured itself against the hull of the large colony.

The members of the 5th SEAS Team were equipped with special combat space suits and were armed to the teeth. Most of the soldiers carried a modified SMP-221 sub-machine gun, two SM-9 handguns, and several stun grenades. The two snipers on the team each had a large case containing their SPR-109 I/T/U long-distance rifles.

"Are you sure you've got the right spot?" Ensign Toshio Wakagi frowned.

Hilde rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Yes, I double-checked the specs and layout. This is our entry point."

Wufei looked at Trowa. "Breach the hull."

Trowa and another team member wordlessly dropped into the airlock and shut it behind them. As the two men worked quietly, the others waited patiently inside the ST-31X. It only took a few minutes for them to hear a muffled noise from the other side.

There was a tap on the airlock signaling the rest of the team to begin the insertion operation.

* * * * *

Colony: X18999; March 22; 1:35 am

The hallways on the top floor of the hospital were relatively quiet and peaceful. An exhausted Dr. Setsuna Meiou was cleaning her hands in the scrub room. She had just finished a two hour surgery on a patient, and was ready to find a small couch to nap on.

As she reached for the handle to the faucet, she felt a metal object press uncomfortably into her back.

"Don't scream, or I'll kill you," a soft, feminine voice told her.

Setsuna calmly shut off the faucet. "What do you want?"

"Come with me," the voice commanded.

"And if I refuse?" Setsuna challenged, maintaining a composed voice.

"I could kill you," the voice responded. "And I might even decide to blow up this entire hospital full of patients. Any other questions?"

Setsuna's eyes widened in alarm. "Fine," she told her captor curtly. "Where are we going?"

"Freight elevator," the voice informed her.

Setsuna carefully turned and headed out of the scrub room. Her captor was careful to stay behind Setsuna. The green-haired doctor was only able to catch a glimpse of her captor, who was covered up in a surgical outfit and mask. Setsuna suspected that this person was probably a professional soldier of some sort.

Setsuna calmly proceeded to the freight elevator, the weapon still pressed against the small of her back. When she reached the freight elevator, her captor reached over and pushed the button.

Setsuna was roughly shoved into the freight elevator and her captor followed quickly behind. The freight elevator slowly began to descend.

The elevator eventually reached the underground loading zone of the hospital. When the doors opened up, it revealed an ambulance with its rear doors opened. Several armed men were standing guard nearby. There appeared to be an injured man, lying prone in the back of the ambulance.

Setsuna was unceremoniously pushed into the back of the ambulance. Her captor and several other men hustled into the ambulance, before shutting the door behind them. The ambulance's engine roared and it took off.

"I need you to help this man," her captor informed Setsuna. "If he dies, so shall you."

Setsuna stared defiantly at her captor. "I am a doctor. You do not need threats to make me treat this patient."

Setsuna turned to look at the wounded man lying prone in the ambulance. Her eyes widened in shock.

It was the ousted president of the former government of Colony X18999, Treize Kushrenada.

* * * * *

Space Carrier: 1LSS Amuro Rey; 3rd Fleet of the L1 Colony; March 22; 10:30 am

Lieutenant Commander Heero Yui studied the holographic projection of Colony X18999. He was sitting at a table in the observation deck with his laptop and data projector. As the young pilot analyzed the schematics of the defensive perimeter, he began tapping data into his laptop.

"Mind if I join you?" inquired a familiar voice.

"If you want, Minako," Heero replied, without bothering to look up. His eyes were fixed on the holographic projection.

The gorgeous young blond slid into the seat across from Heero. She was still in her flight suit. Minako stared at him through the holographic projection.

"What are you doing outside of your room? It's pretty unusual for you to spend time on the observation deck," Minako observed.

"A pipe broke and flooded my room," he replied flatly. To emphasize the point, he picked up a pile of soaking clothes as evidence.

Minako giggled and quickly covered her mouth.

"Was that funny?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, I'm sorry," she apologized, though she was still grinning madly. "But I'm sure those baby blue briefs must look really cute on you."

Heero glanced at the pile of clothes in his hands. A faint blush crossed his cheeks and he threw the clothes back down on the seat. As an added measure of caution, he rearranged the pile so that the item in question rested at the bottom.

"So how long will it take for them to fix the pipe and clean up your room?" she asked.

"The maintenance crew thinks I can move back in tomorrow morning," he told them. "The entire hall was affected."

"So where are you going to sleep tonight?"

Heero glared at her. "Here."

"You can stay in my room..." she offered.

His eyes widened considerably. His jaw dropped slightly, and it appeared that he was having difficulty forming any coherent words.

"It's not what you think!" she laughed. "You're on the daytime CAP flight schedule, right?"

Heero nodded mutely.

"Well, I'm working the nighttime CAP flight schedule, so you can sleep in my room while I'm on patrol," she told him. "You're blushing like a little girl. What do you think I was suggesting?"

Heero looked down, but the embarrassment on his face was obvious.

"Ecchi!" she laughed at him. "My first CAP flight is scheduled at 21:00 hours. Drop by half an hour before, and I'll let you in."

Minako picked herself up. She headed back to her room for some much needed sleep after a long night of patrols.

The young blond was quite pleased with herself. This was the first time she had gotten any real reaction from the taciturn young man.

* * * * *

Space Cargo/Transport Vehicle: SDF SCT-130D L4 SDF Special Support Group (7th Cavalry / 2nd MASH Unit); March 22; 11:50 am

The fifty members of Platoon 1 of the 2nd MASH Unit were sitting at the front of an SCT-130D cargo/transport vehicle. Most the of the doctors and their assistants were engaged in quiet conversation. The remaining one hundred passengers of the vessel were members of two platoons from the 7th Cavalry.

At the very front of the passenger section of the vessel, Dr. Ami Mizuno was quietly studying a reference manual. Her intelligent, blue eyes scanned the complex formulas and charts diligently. She would occasionally push back up the wire-framed glasses that were perched on top of her small nose.

She paused for a moment to look out the window of the transport vehicle. She could see two other SCT-130D cargo/transport vehicles through her window, each carrying one platoon from the 2nd MASH Unit and two platoons from the 7th Cavalry. Several other escort craft cruised along nearby. Her curious eyes turned to study the beautiful display of stars outside her window.

"Captain Mizuno?" a quiet voice called out.

Ami blinked for a moment. Ami had requested the others to call her by her medical title, but most of the members of the 2nd MASH Unit preferred use her rank title.

"Yes?" she asked, turning around.

"Your lunch," Second Lieutenant Naru Osaka offered. Naru handed a small tray of food to Ami.

"Thank you," Ami replied, gratefully taking the tray of food. Ami carefully folded her glasses and placed them into the top of her medical coat.

Naru, with her own tray of food, sat down in her seat next to Ami.

Naru cast a sideways glance at Ami. "Did you notice the cute commanding officer of the 7th Cavalry?"

"Naru!" Ami gasped in shock. "You have a boyfriend! What would Umino say if he heard you saying such things?"

Naru laughed and shook her head. "This has nothing to do with me. I'm not interested in that good-looking commanding officer."

"Well, if you're not interested in him...why even bring him up as a topic?" Ami asked quizzically.

"You're still single," Naru pointed out.

Ami blushed furiously and began staring intently at the tray of food in front of her.

"Do you want me to find out more about him?" Naru offered with a smile.

Ami shook her head.

"Why not? He's cute and seems nice," Naru remarked. "You don't want to be single for the rest of your life, right?"

"She's doesn't have a life outside of medicine," another voice quipped from the seat behind Ami.

Naru stood up and glared at the speaker. "Yaten Kou! Don't you ever have anything nice to say?"

Second Lieutenant Nurse Yaten Kou looked at Naru with his cool, green eyes. The handsome man shook his head, causing his silvery hair to shimmer.

"I'm just being honest," he stated off-handedly, and returned to eating his lunch.

Naru shot him a glare, before sitting back down next to Ami.

"Ignore him," Naru suggested.

Ami shrugged. "It's okay, he's probably right..."

"That's the kind of attitude that won't get you a boyfriend," Naru scolded her gently. "You have to seize the opportunity when its there."

"Seize the opportunity...?"

"Don't worry, I'll take care of everything!" Naru promised in a reassuring voice.

Ami sunk into her seat, not exactly sure whether this was a welcome development.

* * * * *

Space Transport Vehicle: ST-29B; March 22; 2:30 pm

A small, jeweled locket was held in the small hands of Usagi Tsukino. The young reporter was trying to blink back the tears, as the locket played a light, twinkling song.

"Ahem," Duo coughed, standing over her shoulder.

Usagi quickly snapped the locket shut and wiped her eyes. "What do you want, Duo?"

Duo sat down across the aisle.

"Still thinking about him, eh?" he observed with a gentle smile. "How long has it been since his research vessel left?"

"Over a year," Usagi sniffed. "I haven't even heard back from him for months."

Duo patted her shoulder sympathetically. "I heard they're almost a light- year away from our solar system. It takes time for messages to travel that distance. Don't worry, I'm sure he's thinking about you."

Duo stood up and walked to the front of the transport vehicle.

"I miss you, Mamo-chan..." Usagi whispered tearfully.

* * * * *

Science Vessel: SVS-2002 Odysseus; March 22; 2:32 pm

A studious young man was working diligently on modeling the stability of the convective envelope belonging to nearby asymptotic giant branch stars. After a while, he paused to yawn tiredly. He ran his hands through his dark, black hair in frustration. This research trip was turning out to be more exhausting than he had imagined.

But he still did not regret his decision. His mind thirsted for knowledge, and he felt that this research mission represented a rare chance for him to explore the depths of space.

The computer beeped, indicating that he received a new email message.

Mamoru Chiba anxiously clicked a button to open up the email.

He smiled. It was from his girlfriend, Usagi Tsukino. He glanced at the time-date stamp.

It had been sent over ten months ago.

Mamoru realized that he should start working on a reply email. After all, it would take almost another year for his own response to reach her.

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Responses/Comments/Notes to Reviewers:

Sadie Joyce - Myst Lady - The scene with Setsuna was written for you! :) I'm not sure whether Hotaru/Wufei will be a pairing, per se, given the way I currently have the plot setup in my mind. I like your idea about the CIA, and I might work that into my story somehow. Thanks for the review and the suggestions!

Serenity-Olus - Thanks for your review! I try to make an effort to be as original as I possibly can (within the framework of a fanfiction). I hope I was able to maintain that in this chapter.

Jade Stellar - I will endeavor to make the triangle as interesting as possible. I also like Seiya, and he'll start playing a larger part a few chapters from now. He's quite a character.

Venus of Love - Thanks for your review! I'm really glad you like it! Minako/Heero/Trowa and Ami/Quatre (they're just too cute) are the "official" pairings that I'm definitely set on. I'm still toying with the Usagi/Duo part (complicated by the fact that Mamoru is out there in space).

Angelight - I'm glad you like the dialogue and the technical details in the chapter. I'm trying to maintain a balance between the technical elements of the story and the more character driven parts. I hadn't originally anticipated on making this Usagi/Duo, but I'd be interested to see how you feel after reading this chapter. I'm always open to suggestions and comments on how to deal with couples.

Blue Eyed Canadian Authoress - Ami/Quatre is "official". As I indicated to Myst Lady, I'm not sure whether I will go through with an "official" Hotaru/Wufei pairing, because of the way my plot is structured. As far as Makoto is concerned, things are still open. I am open to suggestions on her pairing (I was playing with two or three different possibilities, but haven't settled on any one). I promise I will tone down Usagi's speeches about love and friendship (for the purposes of my fanfiction, she's an adult, so hopefully, she'll have matured somewhat). By the way, I won't make the couples fall madly in love within the next chapter or two. I'll make them work for their relationships.

transcendent - Wow, I didn't know that Heero/Minako was such a popular pairing. Thanks for reviewing the chapter and adding me to your list! I appreciate any comments or thoughts that you have!

Sidekickwannabe - Thanks for your review. I am glad that you like the fanfiction. I sincerely hope that your brother-in-law returns safely to his family and home. I also understand your point, and I do want to emphasize that this fanfiction was also dedicated to our troops (and their families, I probably should have added) serving overseas. But I don't think that should detract from the reality that there are innocent people suffering (for example, there are plenty Iraqis who do not support the former dictator or his policies relating to terrorism/weapons of mass destruction). During WWII, I agree that the Japanese and German governments were evil, but that didn't make ALL of the Japanese and German citizens living under that regime guilty of their government's crimes. Those who supported such regimes were not "innocents", but there were many who didn't support those governments. There are good/innocent and evil/guilty people in every country. I don't take any offense to your review, and I always welcome comments or criticisms to my fanfictions. But I still stand by my earlier statements (which was qualified as being for the benefit of innocent victims). (Sorry if this was a little long-winded).