Disclaimer Gundam is a Bandai Co. product, not my own.

It's been a hella long time since I got a chapter up. Sorry for the wait. Assuming anyone will still read this.

Chapter 17: They Come-

"You assured me that he wouldn't fail." Eizo had death in his eyes. Too many things had gone wrong in the past. Silent Wind's death was simply one of the last nails in the coffin for this operation in his mind. "I honestly didn't expect incompetence to come from him."

"It is distressing that my best man failed so miserably. But, this only shows that the Preventors are better equipped than…"

Eizo slammed the desk with his fist. "I don't care who killed him! The fact of the matter is that those four are still alive and breathing!" The old man fumed at his mouth.

"That is true, but…"

"But, what! With those four still alive, the entire operation is jeopardy!" He raised his hand to his face and rubbed his chin. "In fact, why shouldn't I call off this operation right now?"

"We've worked too hard over the years for this. Billions have been spent on this operation and the conquest of earth is so close to our finger tips. Those pilots might be alive, but you still have an army of capable pilots that can crush the Preventors and even better selected pilots with mobile suits to deal with those four." Yusao let out a breath as he thought of another thing to calm down and reason with Eizo. "In all honesty, we have had a few set backs, but the odds are stacked in our favor. Besides, they don't know anything about our strength or our tactics. The few battles we've had were…"

"Nothing more than to make the enemy think differently." Eizo interrupted Yusao in his little speech. "You're right. We've put too much time and energy into this operation to let it fall into the gutter."

A cigarette was lit and raised to Eizo's mouth. "Operation Winter commences in thirty six hours." He puffed on his cigarette and breathed the smoke back out. "Let winter fall onto earth."

Shortly after the death of Silent Wind, the Preventor team got transferred to the L2Y-89432 Colony in preparation of what was coming. The three remaining gundam pilots were also stationed at the colony. No one was sure what to expect, but what was certain was that the enemy was coming.

Alex laid back on his bed and stared at the ceiling blankly. He had said little since he had been freed from his prison. There wasn't much to say, he felt incredibly stupid to have fallen for that trap and accepted his house arrest. Though, in the back of his mind something bothered him. I can't help but feel something was strange about that man. Even though he had me in his captivity, it seemed like he took measures to avoid injury... It must be that Heero was his real target... and wanted to kill me only after his primary target was eliminated. The Preventor let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you Heero."

"Jarrett!"

The twenty-five-year-old major stopped in his tracks as he walked down a hallway, and turned around. What he saw was Orza as he ran down the hall. Great, just what I didn't need. Amuza adjusted his hat so that JA on it would be more properly aligned. "Hello, Orza. This isn't a good time."

The blond finally caught up with the major and tried to catch his breath. "The maintenance crew says that Todesengel is combat ready now."

"Hmm... It is? Very good." Amuza took a step back and continued down the hall.

"Thank you for telling me, but I must get going."

"You aren't even going to check on your mobile suit?"

"I'm too busy right now with the upcoming operation."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that." Orza stopped in his tracks as Amuza slowly made his way down the hall.

"Just remember your role in the upcoming battle Orza."

"I won't!"

"Good." Just remember to die in the battle as well. That'll make my job a little easier.

Alex had finally gotten some rest in his bed. The covers barely covered him and partially draped over the side of the bed. His mouth hung open and drool slowly came out. It appeared that his sleep was a very sound one.

The room itself was dark with a single alarm clock provided the room a small amount of light. Then, light poured into the room as the door slid open. Alex was unaffected as a shadow broke up the light from the door.

Hilde stepped forward from the door and the door slid closed behind her. She slowly made her way to the bed and looked at him as he slept. The bed covers were barely on him and the only thing on him were a pair of red boxers. She ran her hand through her dark blue hair as she sighed at his lack of decency. It appears that work back at the Sank Kingdom was nothing more than a waste of time if he sleeps like this. She crouched down by the bed and looked at his face. She examined his face and realized he was completely at rest with no worries on his mind. I wish I could sleep like that again. Hilde then got her head closer to Alex and her eyes started to cry a little bit.

She had been under a lot of stress to get Alex back during his captivity, and the stress of having to deal with the team had began to add up; little sleep, poor food plans, and almost constant busy work were more than most people would deal with. Up until now, Hilde thought she had being doing the right thing by protecting peace by leading a team with Alex in it. However, she realized she wasn't protecting peace so much as being near him and protecting him.

"Alex…" She slowly made her way closer to his face with tears that came down her face. "I won't let that happen again…"

Just as she was about to kiss him on the cheek, Alex began to stir. Hilde backed off a little bit. "Rio…" His head and body rolled to one side. "Don't go…" Alex then continued to roll back and forth in his bed. "No… No…"

Hilde began to back off even further. Wonderful. A nightmare. I guess, he wasn't sleeping so soundly afterall.

"Rio! NO!" Alex viciously woke up and cold sweat dripped down his body. He took one deep breath followed by another. "I hate that dream…" He scratched his head then looked around for the alarm clock. Hilde was shocked that Alex had woken up and wasn't sure what to do. Can't go through the door…

His glance went upon Hilde and moved to his shelf with the alarm clock on it. "6:30 figures…" Shit.

Alex's eyes jolted open as his head snapped back to Hilde. "What are you doing here!" He looked down at his attire and pulled the covers over himself.

Hilde frantically stood back up and acted like she was in charge. "It's 6:30. It's time for breakfast."

Alex looked at her awkwardly as this was the first time he had noticed with blush on her face. "Isn't breakfast at 7:30?"

Hilde was back into her act. "Breakfast starts at 6. You wouldn't know that since you don't wake up until 7:30." Hilde cleared her throat. "Since you're awake now, you saved me the trouble of having to wake your ass up." She made her way back to the door and it slid open.

"Whatever…" Alex sat confused. "Though I have to say…"

Hilde turned around and faced Alex again. "Snow, get your ass out of bed and get some…" Hilde's vision blurred and felt light headed. "bre…" Her body felt completely weak, and then she collapsed into the hallway.

"Hilde!" Alex jumped out of bed and ran over to the door. He looked down upon her as she laid unconscious and her dark blue hair in a mess. "Are you okay?" He reached down and picked up her chest. His right hand felt her forehead, and it was hot. "She is burning up… shit."

Alex picked her up fully and carried her in his arms. He began to run down the hall in his boxers as he made his way to the nearest infirmary.

A doctor came from behind some curtains in the infirmary Alex had rushed Hilde to. The doctor looked at some notes on a clipboard as he stepped out.

"Is she alright?" Alex sat in a chair in the infirmary still in his boxers.

The doctor looked up at Alex and narrowed his eyes. "I took you to go and get dressed, then come back." Alex blinked in response. "Nevermind…" The doctor flipped the papers back onto the clipboard. "She is doing better. Your friend had a temperature of 101. She also has signs of sleep depredation."

"Sleep depredation… what's that…"

"Lack of sleep."

"Oh." Alex looked confused. "Wait. Lack of sleep? That can't be right."

The doctor pulled a pair of glasses out of his pockets and put them over his eyes. "It is. And for the love of God…"

The door to the infirmary violently opened as Colonel Une and her personal aide walked into the infirmary. Her temper and concern were apparent as she looked at the doctor. "What is the status on my Preventor?"

"She was running a fever and had signs of sleep depredation. Also signs of high stress on parts of her bodies." The doctor replied.

"I want to know her status, not what her status was." Une walked up to the doctor was about to bypass the doctor.

The doctor blocked her advance. "Don't go in there. What I was trying to say is, she showed signs of over working herself. But, she is fine now. However, she'll need a few days of rest."

"What do you mean a few days of rest? We can't afford her having to rest for the next few days." Une bitterly looked the man in the eyes.

"Colonel." Alex spoke up and saluted Une. "I don't see why she can't rest for a few days. Me and the others can do without her for a few days if it helps her get better."

The Colonel turned her head toward Alex and stared. "What are you doing here… and why are you in your boxers?"

"Um…"

"This man brought your Preventor here after she collapsed." The doctor interrupted Alex and Une turned to the doctor. "However, I'm still not sure why he is only in his boxers."

Une turned back to Alex. "Colonel, she collapsed in my room after she attempted to get me up for breakfast."

Une looked curiously at Alex then to the curtain where Lumin was at. "I'll have to talk to her after she wakes up about that matter."

"What matter? She only tried to wake me up for breakfast."

"Snow!" Une yelled. "We have bigger problems. An hour ago, our forces detected what appears to be high activity at Colony BX-889. This activity is only caused by one thing Snow."

"Mobile suits..."

"That's correct. We finally found them. We're setting out later today to pre-empt any attack they have planned." The Colonel straightened out her glasses. "So, I suggest that you get more suitable attire, unless you plan on making the enemy laugh to death."

"Yes ma'am." Alex saluted one last time then headed off.

A crowd of pilots stood in front of a group of mobile suits. The Flugtod and a new mobile suit stood by the Flugtod. The suit was called the Todesengel and it looked more fearsome than its spheroid-shouldered counterpart next to it. It was mostly black with purple and blue coloring added in. The mobile suit stood at about 16 meters tall and its wing span was 18m long. The wings of this mobile suit were jagged in several spots and had chain links that dangled down. Its single lens camera was colored red. The head itself was stream-lined with jagged parts to aid for any air flow. It had some chains embedded in its main torso that lead down to the legs. At the hips, several spikes protruded downward, two handles stuck on either side, and two additional circles were in the hip as well. The feet of the mobile suit was forked outward instead of the traditional single foot for a normal gundam. Both suits looked out of place with the other as they stood there. Various other standard mobile suits lined the rest of the hangar.

"The dawn of a new age is upon us!" Amuza exclaimed as he stood in front of Todesengel. "In the past, humanity has tried and failed to rule itself. Governments have come and gone. The system they have right now will also leave. However, we must be the ones that will show our fellow humans that what will bring is a better system of government!" The troops cheered in reply. "The upcoming battle isn't going to be easy nor will it be terribly hard. The Preventors have three of the gundam pilots on their side, but they are not invincible! We can defeat them! Trust in me and do your duty. We will win this battle, I guarantee you this!" The troops cheered again. "Who is with me?" The troops cheered and exclaimed more.

"Good luck on the battlefield."