The prelude to morning in Neo Hong Kong. The sun could barely be seen on the horizon, as if it hesitated to break the rule of the night. Dew and the remnants of a small shower of rain clung to the buildings and the plaintain trees. At exactly 7:30 A.M. a small car departs from the home of Wong Yun Fat, it's destination the Central District. The sole person in said car is Wong himself, not needing a bodyguard for day to day work. He arrived at the government building, and made his way to his office on the 33rd floor. The building had a total of 41 floors, and his position indicated his prestige. Though he was indeed mayor of Neo Hong Kong, he was not by far the most powerful person in the city. Rich, powerful old men resided on the upper floors, men who were well aware of Wong's past and present motivations. With Neo Hong Kong and Neo Japan working so closely, not of all of these powerful men were even native citizens of Neo Hong Kong. As Wong sat at his desk, musing over these thoughts while perusing a proposal to erect a shopping center in the Lower District, his computer made the jingling noise that signified a new arrival in the email box.

Pushing his sunglasses up a bit, Wong swiveled and clicked onto the message. It was composed by his secretary, Liai.

"Mr. Wong, the executive boards wishes to see you in their office immediately."

Wong stared at the screen in mild surprise, his sunglasses slipping down a bit. As one could guess, this group of men effectively held all power over Neo Hong Kong. Noting the "immediately", he rose from his chair and stepped into the nearby elevator that brought him to the 40th floor.

Hmmm, the board wishes to see me. No doubt this summons has something to do with the approaching 14th Gundam Fight.

The 40th floor was relatively small in terms of number, only three or four rooms occupied it. However, each one of these rooms was equal in size to seven or eight rooms below. As Wong stepped from the elevator, a pair of awaiting valets guided him into the room where the executive board was waiting.

When Wong entered the room, he was a bit surprised. Instead of the five or six people he was expecting, a group of twenty plus people awaited him. However, not all of them were from Neo Hong Kong, or even on the executive board. He recognized a few of these newcomers through meeting them at the 13th Gundam Fight. Giovanni Lutz, Neo Germany's representative. Faulkner Essex, a wealthy buisnessman. Even Prime Minister Karato, the man who held supreme power over both Neo Japan and Neo Hong Kong, was there. One of the senior members looked over at Wong and gestured to a chair.

"Welcome, Mayor Wong. Please have a seat."

Ever the image of confidence and refinement, Wong sat at his seat, facing his benefactors.

The senior members turned to Karato, and Wong knew at once that this meeting had been mostly his doing. In fact, he was fairly sure that the members of the executive board were about as in the dark about the purpose of this meeting as he. Wong searched the faces of the foreign men. Karato's face revealed smug awareness, Giovanni's hungry greed, and Faulkner's general indifference.

"Mayor Wong Yun Fat, a pleasure to finally meet you again."

Wong turned to Karato, wary of the old man. His knowing look bothered Wong, and he knew that there had been no love lost between him and Karato during the 13th Gundam Fight.

"The pleasure is all mine... Prime Minister Karato, but what do I owe the honor of this meeting?"

Giovanni Lutz turned to face Wong, a cigar in his hand. The Neo German exuded the image of the wealthy businessman, but it was more than clear that he was still thirsty for more.

"You ah vell aware thaht the fourteenth guundam fight is approaching..." he said, his German accent dripping from his speech. "... but things vill be handled much more differently thihs vear."

Wong leaned forward, steepling his hands and watching the Neo German man. He was still unaware as to why Neo Germany would be involved in the affairs of Neo Japan and Neo Hong Kong.

"I had assumed as much... but why would the Neo German nation be concerned with the affairs of our Neo Hong Kong?"

Giovanni sneered at Wong, his contempt visible. "Since Neo Hong Kong and Neo Japan vere responsible for the tragedy thaht vas the Devil Gundam, the nations of the world ah taking a great interest in who vill be representing Neo Hong Kong this vear."

Karato's smug look turned into a full grin.

"You see, Wong, you are simply too well associated with the Devil Gundam for us to allow you to go to the gundam fight. Allowing you into the position of mayor was a risk in and of itself."

Wong's eyes narrowed under his glasses, and his hands clenched into fists under the table.

So, this is what this is about... I can guess who Karato has in mind to represent Neo Hong Kong and Neo Japan... and with these powerful men backing him.

Karato looked to Faulkner, and for the first time unease crept into his voice. "Is this decision okay with you, Mr. Essex?"

That's strange... it's almost as if Karato is afraid of that Faulkner man. I was starting to wonder why he was here....

Faulkner lifted his wine glass to his mouth and sipped at it carelessly. To Wong's surprise, no one in the room dared to move or even speak. All present seemed to be hanging on what he would say. Then again, as the owner of one of the most powerful companies in the known galaxy, it wasn't surprising that Faulkner Essex commanded a formidable presence.

Instead of turning to face Karato, Faulkner turned and stared directly at Wong. Wong lowered his glasses, allowing the two men to see each other directly. Faulkner's eyes were a dark shade of green, a shade Wong had seen somewhere before, and his gaze was as penetrating as a drill. However, it wasn't just his eyes. Something else about the man made Wong feel as though he were being watched... in more ways than one.

Faulkner closed his eyes and smirked. "For the moment, I'll reserve my opinion. I wish to learn a bit more about the aspects of this scenario before I come to a conclusion."

Karato's face turned as red as his nose. It was clear that he was less than enthused at the tycoon's response.

"But... why the hell not?!"

Faulkner spun to face Karato, and sipped at his wine again, almost oblivious to the older man's outburst.

"That is my decision. If you have a problem with it, Karato, you can always talk to me about it later."

Karato seethed, but did not respond. Giovanni was unable to hide his disappointment. Wong, on the other hand, stared at Faulkner, for the first time in his life baffled.

Something's not right here.. and I intend to find out just what all the stakes in this situation are. For the moment, though, it appears I am in debt to Faulkner... though I still have every intention of discerning what his true motives are.

Faulkner looked at Wong and smiled knowingly. Karato snatched one of Giovanni's cigars and sniffed at it.

"I suppose then, that this meeting is adjourned. However, I advise you to watch yourself very carefully, Mayor Wong. I know I will."

The executive officials of Neo Hong Kong, who had been about as powerless in this meeting as Wong himself, rose to leave. Only when Faulkner had arisen and left the table did Giovanni lean forward and begin whispering furiously to Karato. Wong rose and made his way towards the exit.

When Wong stepped into the elevator, to his surprise Faulkner Essex was inside. The two waited in silence as the elevator lowered to the 33rd floor. As Wong stepped from the elevator, Faulkner smirked.

"Do be sure to say hello to Urube Ishikawa for me, won't you?"

Wong spun around to face Faulkner, but the elevator doors had closed before he could even get out a reply. However, the lingering image of Faulkner's eyes still remained in Wong's mind.

Later that day

His laptop computer in the passenger seat, Wong Yun Fat drove home, mulling over the events of the day. He had spent the rest of the day learning as much as he could about the three men who seemed to hold hid future in their hands. As he had guessed, Giovanni Lutz and Karato had a long-standing friendship, and Karato had even financed Giovanni's campaign last year. Karato's plan was obvious; he wanted to keep Wong from becoming too powerful, that way he could gain absolute power should Neo Japan and Neo Hong Kong win the 14th Gundam Fight. Giovanni's role in things was a bit more odd, considering his nation would be competing against Karato's.

However, Wong wasn't nearly as concerned with those two as he was with Faulkner Essex. Apparently the man knew, or at least suspected, that he had at least encountered Urube Ishikawa. Despite this, Faulkner had halted both Karato and Giovanni in their tracks, and Wong had no idea why. Though Faulkner was of Neo-Italian descent, he held no ties to the nation, preferring the role of business mogul. He was in the highest of circles, and was know throughout Earth and space. His company, Faulkner Enterprises, dealt with everything from genetics and home electronics to mobile fighter construction. In fact, it was his materials that had been used by a good majority of the wealthier nations.

Prior to this day, Wong had never met Faulkner, and he was fairly sure that Faulkner's deceased father had not had any business ties to his own family. Nor had Faulkner had any sort of involvement in the Devil Gundam affair. He intended to learn a bit more, but for the moment he needed to consult Urube.

Wong's blood red Porsche pulled up to his home, and he stepped into his home. He found Urube swimming in his pool outside. As Wong approached the pool, Urube floated over, his face still dry. Apparently he preferred not to go under, for obvious reasons. As Wong slumped into a beach chair, Urube grinned.

"Hard day at work, Mr. Mayor?"

"This is no time to be glib, Urube!" snapped Wong.

Urube's grin turned into a more resentful expression; he was not used to Wong being so pissed.

"What? Someone at work call you gay?"

Wong blinked, completely unaware of where that came from. Urube stared at him for a few moments before the light of realization shone in his eyes.

"Oh, you didn't know. I suppose you should read that paper on the table, then."

Annoyed but intrigued, Wong reached for the tabloid near him and looked down at it. He didn't have to look far. The subject that Urube had referred to was staring him in the face, as was a picture of Wong and his bodyguard holding hands and watching a wrestling match. The picture immediately struck Wong as being a charade, as Wong never went to wrestling matches nor did he have Urube accompany him on personal outings. In addition, if one looked hard enough, one could see that the "Wong" in the picture had a nice, small mustaches, oddly reminiscent of Adolf Hitler.

"And just what, may I ask, is this?" demanded Wong angrily.

"I'm not sure.." said Urube hesitantly. "That picture of me is off too, if you noticed. My hair seems to have mysteriously changed from brown to red."

Wong scanned the tabloid further. As he looked, a small clause at the bottom caught his interest. Apparently the picture had been sent to the tabloid by a person calling himself or herself "Mordred."

Sighing, Wong threw the paper aside, making a mental note to look into the name "Mordred" later. After careful thought, Wong decided to wait on telling Urube about Faulkner's knowledge. Instead, he decided to address the new problem of the tabloid.

"So, how much does this tabloid circulate?" he asked. Urube sighed, still floating in the pool.

"Enough to damage your credibility. I mean, let's face it, most men of your age and position are already married, or at least have girlfriends."

Wong reaches for a nearby glass of wine and sipped at it. Urube had a point, one he had thought about long before. The fact of the matter was, he simply had too much ambition to be tied down by a woman. That and most of the women he had met in the course of his life had been cheap whores out for a "piece of the Prime Minister." Wong shivered slightly at that thought, reminded of his early days as ruler of Earth and space.

"That's true, but it's not as though I have any options. I suppose I could always just find some single lawyer or something, but I really don't want to go through all that trouble. To be frank, I don't feel like it."

After a bit of silence, Urube grinned at Wong from the pool, the light of the setting sun glinting off of his faceplate.

"I believe I have an idea."