Chapter Six

"Guh, I'm never drinking again." Chi muttered when she cracked her eyes open the next morning only to be greeted a stabbing pain in her brain. With a groan she rolled over and closed her eyes again.

"That's what you said last time." A cheerful voice chirped.

Chi opened her eyes to glare at Senshi who was sitting on the end of her bed. "I hate you and your non-drinking, morning person ways." She whined, and slowly sat up. "Woo, pretty colours."

"Aw poor Chi." Senshi laughed. "Teaches you to drink too much."

"Senshi..." She said looking up at her best friend.

"Yes?"

"Shut up." Chi growled and hauled herself out of bed to get changed.

"You're going to want your work dress uniform." She stated when she saw Chi reaching for a t-shirt. "The Lieutenant General wants to see us at noon."

Chi groaned and resisted the urge to throw herself on her bed and just go back to sleep. "But today is my day off." She whined while she grabbed a dress shirt and her uniform tie.

"We are but mere pawns my dearest friend. She says jump, we say how high."

"Evil people." Chi muttered.

"Yes Chi. Everyone is out to get you."

"When did you get to be such a smart ass?"

"Oh from a childhood friend of mine. She was the best at it, and I always learn from the best." Senshi smirked.

"You better be talking about me."

Senshi rolled her eyes. "Go get a shower Midori, maybe it'll wake you up enough to make you brain function at least a bit."

"Love you too Sen-babe." Chi called over her shoulder as she headed into the bathroom.

"Captain."

"What is it Griffin?"

"The Preventers have found more of our factories, Sir. Fortunately they have not yet found our main factory of operations. However, our spy at the Preventer Base has just informed me that they will be sending in troops to the factories they do know about under the order to destroy them.

"They seem to be staying with the new recruits that I informed you about just the other day, as well as prominent agents within the organization. Our spy tells us that the agents going in will be Chi Midori, Duo Maxwell, Heero Yuy, Kirou Otamajakushi, Lucrezia Noin, Cleo Nekoheron, Zechs Merquise, Sally Po, Senshi Heiwa, Trowa Barton and Chang Wufei. Accompanying these people will be a backup troop of thirty people." Griffin informed the Captain who had a contemplative look on his face.

"Repeat the male names."

"Yes sir. The males are Duo Maxwell, Heero Yuy, Trowa Barton, Chang Wufei and Zechs Merquise."

The Captain smirked at the younger man. "As I suspected. The Preventers have the Gundam Pilots."

"Sir?" Griffin asked in a panicked voice. "Our soldiers can't take the Gundam pilots on. They're not trained well enough."

"Well then if they don't want to die I suggest that they get trained enough. Contact the spy, I want to know when and where the attack will be so that we're prepared."

"She's already informed me it's going to be the Kenya factory sir." Griffin stated stiffly.

"Very good. You're dismissed Sergeant."

"How's the speech going?" Quatre asked, leaning over Meiko's shoulder to peek at the writing on her laptop screen.

"Pretty good." Meiko said, smiling up at the blonde. "My last English teacher would be proud."

"Why, pray tell me, am I up at ten in the morning on my day off?!" Chi demanded loudly, making both Quatre and Meiko jump.

"Good morning Chi, how are you?" Quatre commented sarcastically when he looked up.

"Do you really want me to answer that?"

"No not really."

"Didn't think so. So can anybody tell me why I'm up so bloody early?"

"Like I told you back in the room, it's because we have a meeting with the Lieutenant General at noon. I think it's a mission."

"If it is, it's a big one." Quatre commented. "Duo mentioned that all of the main teams as well as Zechs and Noin have been called to the meeting."

"Wow, to quote Duo, there's that sinking feeling." Senshi muttered.

"You have it too." Quatre asked.

"Had it since the recon mission. Something big is about to go down."

"I don't like this." Meiko said quietly as she saved her file, not able to concentrate on it anymore.

The others just nodded silently, the bright atmosphere from moments before having disappeared.

By noon sharp Chi, Cleo, Senshi, Kirou, Tenshi Lucrezia, Sally and all the guys not including Quatre were sequestered in the main briefing room waiting for Anne to show up.

"Sorry I'm late." The woman said when she entered the room five minutes later. "There was a problem at Marimaya's school that I had to take care of before I could come here."

"Quite alright Ma'am. No need to apologize." Lucrezia, who was almost as close to the young girl as Anne, commented. "May I ask what this is about however?"

Anne sat down at the head of the table and leaned forward on her elbows. "Last night, while you all were out I was watching the video feed being received from the camera that Sally and her team had placed earlier that day. What I saw was not promising."

"How so?" Sally asked.

"Mobile Suit transport trucks, two ton flat bed trucks laden down with supplies, uniformed guards with semi-automatics, and people in uniforms wandering all over the place. This is not the first factory that we've seen this at, and I highly doubt it will be the last. These people are not the minor rebel factors that we have been dealing with in the past five years. They are the real thing, and they want a war."

"So what do you suggest we do?" Chi questioned, leaning back in her chair, nibbling nervously at her thumbnail.

"We strike before they get any stronger, and we hit their biggest factory. Focus their attention on that while we, hopefully, manage to destroy the rest of their factories."

"We're going to be hitting the one in Kenya first." Sally stated. "That's the largest one found as of yet."

"How many people?" Heero asked.

"You twelve, as well as a back-up force of fifty. Knowing the type of work you lot do, you hopefully won't need them." Anne commented, glancing at the guys.

"That's a compliment from her." Kirou whispered in Senshi's ear.

"Noin, Zechs. I'm trusting you two to oversee the operation. Don't disappoint me."

"Of course not ma'am." Lucrezia stated.

She and the others stood and saluted before Anne left the room.

Once she was gone they all dropped back into their chairs.

"Well fuck." Duo muttered.

"Okay, let's get this figured out now while we're all here so I don't have to hunt you down later." Zechs muttered pulling up the digital map of the Kenya factory that was in the Preventer files.

"The factory is surrounded by hills on three sides, not large ones, but hills nonetheless. We can use these to our advantage. We're going to need three snipers, one on each hill."

"I suggest Heero, Duo and Cleo." Lucrezia commented.

"No, Duo needs to be in the main infiltration force. His talents are better put there."

"Do I get a say in this?" Duo asked.

"No." Zechs smirked. "Midori, you okay for sitting long periods of time and doing nothing?"

"If I have to it's no problem." Chi answered.

"Right to Heero I want you on the south hill, Cleo on the west and Chi on the east."

"Duo, it's time to put your wartime skills to work." Zechs said, making another note in the book before him, and Kirou you're going to help him. You two along with five men from the backup troops are going disable this building right here." He said circling the building with his pen. Trowa, Senshi and Tenshi, you along with five men are going to take this building. Sally, Wufei, you have the main building you know what you need to do. Lucy and I will take another five men and take this building here."

"That sounds good to me." Lucrezia agreed.

The others just nodded. Chi continued to nibble on her thumbnail.

"Now all we have to do is wait." Trowa said quietly.

TBC