4:33pm January 4th CT 0203

Alarm klaxons went off at the ZATIN Homeland Defence station near the colony of Neo Ithaca. As soldiers swarmed about the base, moving into preparation, one man stood in his room, in front of a mirror. Straightening out his blue flight uniform, he looked at himself in the mirror. He knew about the situation. The terrorist attack had occurred earlier that day, and to add to that, they had staged a kidnapping as well. He sighed. They were probably a gathering of those who disliked and resented ZATIN, the Zoroaster Astral Trade and Information Network. He thought back over the glorious history that ZATIN had led the colonies through. Federation almost three hundred years ago, as the colonies banded together into the conglomerate they named ZATIN.

The manifest destiny of ZATIN gaining power to use for the good of the Earth and the colonies, whether those on Earth liked it or not. The end of the Great War of Freedom over two hundred years ago, the establishment of the golden age of the colonies, ushered in by the brave heroes, pioneers of the Zatin way. He sighed, and looked over at the bookshelf filled with history books. He finished by putting on the last part of his flight uniform, and the name tag read "Vaan."

"Corporal Vaan!" A sergeant shouted from the other side of his room's door. "Hurry up! We're scrambling in ZAKUs and pursuing the League idiots who decided to try and get us in our backyards!"
"Yes, coming!" he called. With one last look to see that he looked immaculate, he ran for the door, following the others to the launch hangar, getting into his ZAKU and preparing for launch.

As he powered up the system and prepared for launch, he saw a flash of silver, and his heart lifted. There was a silver MS arming itself for launch. Unlike the ZAKUs, it did not carry most of its arms, but instead had them built into its hands. Its two spiked shoulders, the bulkier head with the thicker cabling, the rounded shape, and the raised area on its right wrist signified the shape of not a ZAKU, but another of Zatin's MS, the Gravity Overfall Ultramodern Fighter, or GOUF for short. They had been tested during the Zatin occupation of Syria two years ago, and had proven so successful that they had become Zatin's MS of choice for combat within the earthsphere, be it in low orbit around the Earth, within the atmosphere, or on the ground, it had proven an excellent support unit to the standard Zatin workhorse, the ZAKU. It provided close fire and close combat support, the heat rod mounted in its right arm used to deadly effect, the shield on its left arm could b fitted either with a heat sword for extra close combat power, or the favourite of this particular pilot, a very large minigun mounted on the shield. Vaan looked away and then got on the launch catapult.

"ZAKU, Gorvik Unit, Corporal James Vaan, leaving to sortie!" he called over the intercom. The officer at the CIC confirmed his launch request.
"ZAKU, you have a go!" the CIC officer replied. James nodded, and prepared himself. The launch catapult hummed, and suddenly, propelled by huge magnetic force, the ZAKU was flung out into space. He listened over the radio as the silver GOUF prepared for launch.

"GOUF, Lieutenant-Colonel Morgan Gorvik, launch!" the commanding voice came over the radio. The silver GOUF was flung out into space, another two ZAKUs following. The face of his commanding officer, Morgan Gorvik, came up on the comm. screen. His face was dominated by a large silver mask, like the chiseled face of a Greek statue, covering almost his entire face but his mouth. The only thing you could see through his mask were the piercing blue eyes.

Morgan Gorvik's odd habit of wearing the mask had generated legend after legend, and many an unclaimed bet as they speculated why he wore the mask that gave him his nickname, the Silver Face. Some said that he wore it because he had a horrible disfiguration underneath, others say it was because he was vain and didn't want his face damaged by shards of glass that used to be the screen on a damaged cockpit display. Almost no-one knew the real reason for his wearing the mask. The only other thing about him was that he was all business, on or off duty, a ruthless warrior, and an almost peerless tactician.

The Gorvik unit formed up quickly and silently, James taking point, the rest of his unit, four ZAKUs and the silver GOUF behind, in a reverse arrowhead formation.
"Now listen," Morgan broadcast over the radio, "don't stray too far. We don't want Node wave interference cutting one of us off from the rest and falling into a League ambush." The rest of his unit acknowledged the order.
"The unidentified ship was last seen leaving Neo Ithaca, so we'll have to track it down. Spread out, groups of two, and stay in radio contact with another unit. Daisy chain." Morgan's unit nodded, and they spread out, in a long-line of what Morgan had nicknamed the "Daisy chain" formation, where one unit made sure they were in contact with another MS squad, and that one with another, and so on, forming a chain of communication that could relay information along effectively while maximizing spread. The Zatin MS boosted off into space, fanning out and searching for the mysterious ship.

Aboard the Argento, Alex and Tim sat in the brig. They could hear Aya, Alex's little sister banging on the door to make noise and annoy the guards.
"Of all the cells, why do I get placed with you?" Alex complained to Tim.
"Aw, c'mon Han, it's not that bad." Tim replied with a smug smile to Alex. "I get time for more cracks at you." Alex groaned.
"I keep telling you, stop referring to me by my surname! We're not in high school anymore!" Alex complained again. A silence descended upon them, a godsend, so Alex thought. They had both gone to the same high school, Alex graduating a year before. Tim Vaan had loved to pick on Alex, annoying him constantly by greeting him simply, inappropriately affectionately, and in a loud voice. Usually all at once.
"Hey Han …" Tim said.
"What?"
"Come here, honey!"
"Argh!" Alex groaned, curling up further in his corner of the cell. Bob looked up from his corner of the cell, and shouted at the two.
"Will you two shut up! I'm trying to think of a way out of here!" Bob shouted, exasperated. Alex and Tim's bickering didn't help.
In the next cell, sat Henry, Iain and Jon, wondering what to do, listening to Alex and Tim's bickering through the thin steel wall. Jon, worrier that he was, was pondering out loud the ramifications of being captured by the World League.
"Do you think they'll ransom us for money and cut off one of our fingers for each day that passes that they don't make the payment?" he asked Iain morbidly.
"Maybe, and then they'll put our eyes out and fry our balls." Iain remarked, forcing a smile and an attempt at morbid humour. It didn't work, and the silence returned. The only sounds were the humming of the spaceship and Aya's banging on the door.
"Let us out of here you scum! We're not with the military! You have no right to hold us here! Let us out now, you pigfaced, sleazey, good-for-nothing assholes!" she shouted, raining abuse on their heads. The guard outside was oblivious to it, turning up the music on his portable music player to drown out Aya's banging and tantrums.
"Ohh, it's no use." She said finally, sinking down onto the floor, her chin resting on her hand, her pigtails flying up as she sank quickly to the ground. Makoto was in the cell with her.
"You have to try something different." Makoto said, a grin on her face as she contemplated her plan.
"Oh? What's that?" Aya asked her.
"I'll tell you." Makoto replied with a wink, leaning in and whispering in Aya's ear. She started giggling as she heard what Makoto was thinking.

"Captain, my recommendation is that we get out of here post-haste." Kurt said, finishing his report. The captain, Cees van Kurrel, sat behind his desk as he looked over the photos from the incident earlier that day.
"What of Bennere?" van Kurrel asked him.
"We can say that he's officially MIA." Kurt replied. His face clouded over with anger. "If only those interfering kids hadn't gotten in the way, Bennere would be here instead of rotting in some godforsaken Zatin interrogation room." Van Kurrel stood up.
"Speaking of which, have you looked at the flight data from the Echo yet?" Kurt's face changed to one of slight surprise.
"No. Why? Is there something special?" Kurt asked him. The captain's face was impassive. He wandered over to the view window, and stared out into the void of space.
"The kid who piloted it must be remarkable. Not only was he able to pilot the Echo without looking at its manual or any formal training, but he was even able to push the Echo Drive further than I've seen in any of the tests."
"Him? That kid?" Kurt said, now truly surprised.
"Yes. May I ask how they managed to end up tangled with you?" The captain said, turning about suddenly, facing Kurt with a piercing look that bored through his confidence.
"Well, uh, sir … you see … I er …" Kurt stammered, trying to come up with a way to explain his little mishap.
"Your womanizing again, isn't it?" van Kurrel stated. Kurt winced. He was right on target. Van Kurrel sighed.
"Whatever am I going to do with you?" Kurt said nothing, and just stood there.
"You are dismissed. I will consider the matter and how to discipline you once I have some free time." Kurt saluted him.
"Then excuse me, sir." Kurt left the room. Van Kurrel pressed a button on his desk.
"Janelle Waseem. What's the matter, captain?" A voice came over the other end.
"Janelle," van Kurrel said, "get me the kid who was piloting the Echo from the brig."
"Right away, captain."

The guard stood outside the cells, listening to his walkman. That annoying brat of a girl had stopped banging on a door. He smiled, thinking that he finally wouldn't have to deafen himself to ignore her abuse anymore. He yawned. Suddenly, there came a noise from the cell the two girls were in.
"Ooh, Makoto, don't touch me there!" came a sexy moan from the cell.
"Come on, you're all so nice and soft. Especially … there …" came another voice, this time sultry and seductive.
"Ah no! Not there!" Following this comment was a laugh.
"Teehee, you're so sensitive. Let's see what happens if I rub this …"
"Kyaa! No, if you do that, I'll lose control!" Impure thoughts raced through the guard's head, and then he felt a something trickling out of his nose. He wiped it off, and saw it was blood.
'Not good,' he thought, 'I shouldn't be thinking such dirty thoughts while on duty." The cries still came on, irrespective of his wishes.
"Ah! Makoto, don't take my top off like that!" Aya's cry came from the cell.

In his own cell, Alex smiled. It was a trick he knew all too well. When Makoto would come over to his home for one thing or another, usually to kick him out of bed and go to school, she sometimes had a special punishment. Bob fixed a glare of disbelief on Alex.
"Alex, your sister's rather … dirty. I never thought Makoto would sink to such depths too!" Alex shushed Bob, bringing a finger to his lips. Tim was simply listening, drooling as impure thoughts and images raced through his head." Henry, Jon and Iain simply sat there in disbelief, listening to the lustful conversation in the cell next door.

"Ah no, not my panties!" Aya shrieked suddenly. The guard had had enough.
"I'm coming to save you!" he cried, opening the door. As the door slid away, he saw an angry Aya, fully clothed, standing in front of him.
"Huh?" was the only sound he could manage before Aya drove two fingers into his eyes and her knee into his groin, causing him to fall down on the floor, clutching his face and groin, and rolling around and mewling loudly in pain. She had brought a totally new definition to the term "a world of pain."

"Quick, let's go!" Aya said to Makoto. They relieved him of his keycard and used it to free the three in the cell next to theirs. Letting Henry, Iain and Jon out, they went on and freed Alex, Bob and Tim.
"OK, now we're free, what should we do?" Jon said as the group ran down the passageway to the elevator.
"The first thing is to get out of here before the Zatin military come and blast this ship with us on it." Alex replied. "But how to do that?"
"Take hostages." Iain's answer was simple.
"Hostages?" Aya echoed him. Iain nodded.
"Yes. If we take hostages, then they'll be forced to give us a shuttle out of here." Iain explained. He ran back and took the fallen guard's pistol. With a rather maniacal smile on his face, he checked the gun was all properly working. As he returned to the group, waiting at the elevator, it opened.

"Freeze!" Iain cried, the group moving aside to permit a clear lane of fire. The trio in the elevator froze. A pretty woman with curls in a nurse's uniform stood on the other side, gasping in surprise. The other two, however, reacted immediately. They leapt forward, using the low gravity to propel them forward, aiming to tackle Iain. In a flash of quick thinking, Alex moved into the elevator and quickly seized the nurse from behind, putting her in a chokehold.

"Ah! What do you think you're doing?" she cried in surprise.
"Relax, and I won't hurt you" Alex whispered to her. Loudly, he said "don't move! Or else I'll be forced to hurt the pretty nurse!" The other two froze.
"Doctor Fa!" one of them cried. The nurse-doctor nodded.
"It's OK. Let them go."
"But …" the other objected.
"Do it!" she said with an air of authority. They nodded, and backed off. Iain moved forward, keeping the gun trained on them. The group got in the elevator and Tim hit the close-doors button.
"OK now, doctor," Alex said, emphasizing the word doctor, "where can we find a shuttle to get us out of here and back to Neo Ithaca?"
"The shuttles would be on the mobile suit deck." She replied without hesitation. Iain fixed a narrow glance on her.
"The way you said that, it sounds like you almost want to help us." He said, narrowing his eyes ins suspicion.
"Take it however you will, you'll still need to go to the MS deck." They obeyed her instructions, exiting to the MS deck. Looking up and down the corridors, the group found the coast clear, and went all the way through to the MS deck. As they did, they entered the hangar, they found it empty. Suspiciously empty. Suddenly, there was a cry, and Alex looked up, recognizing Kurt as he descended down on Alex. He quickly freed the doctor of Alex's grasp, letting her jump away, before squaring off against the group. He gave a loud whistle, and suddenly, troops swarmed in, crowding around Alex and his friends, pointing guns at them. A man in dirty mechanics' overalls approached them.

"What have we here, Kurt?" he called to Kurt, standing in the middle of the group.
"A group of escaped brats, Jarg." Kurt called back. The elevator sounded again, and this time van Kurrel emerged again, clapping his hands.
"Haha …" he said jovially as he descended and approached the group, who were now glaring at him, "well done on your escape. It was, however, futile."
"What do you want with us?" Alex called out to him. He spat the next word. "Captain?"
"What I want is quite simple. Whether you agree or not, however, is another matter." Alex cocked his head in curiosity.
"I'm listening."
"I want you to get back in that MS you were piloting before, and fight Kurt here." Alex rocked back on his heels, totally caught off-guard.
"If you do, I'll consider letting your friends and yourself free."
"YOU want me to fight HIM?" Alex cried in disbelief, pointing at a smirking Kurt.
"Whatsa matter kid? Scared I'll beat you?" Kurt said, a smug expression on his face. He turned to van Kurrel.
"Captain, what do I get?"
"You'll be piloting your Crusader." Van Kurrel replied matter-of-factly.
"Aww … but that's still damaged from this morning's battle."
"So the kid gets a handicap then."
"Don't call me kid." Alex put in, stepping forward.
"And if I refuse?"
"You'll be returned to your cells and put under heavier guard. And what happens later I can't say." Alex pondered the captain's offer for a minute.
"Very well. I agree."

The two MS went over to the weapons rack, Kurt's Crusader taking a paintball rifle from the bottom rack. Alex uneasily maneuvered the Echo about to pick up one similar to the Crusader's, but he was stopped by the chief mechanic, Jarg Simar.
"No! Not that one!" he said firmly as Alex reached out for the rifle.
"The one above it! Use your eyes!"
"Okay, okay." Alex said, exasperated. He picked up a replica of the Echo's beam rifle and followed Kurt out onto the launch deck.
"Okay, now boost off the Argento. And make sure not to lose sight of it. I don't care what happens to you, but that Echo is rather pricy." Kurt said jokingly to Alex over the comms screen. Alex simply glared at him before cutting transmission.
"Very well, since you're both ready, I'll state the rules." Natalise radioed to them from the Argento's bridge.
"You're judge?" Kurt asked her.
"Yes, I am. Now the rules are simple. The first one to get hit three times or use up all his ammo is declared the loser. Ready … GO!"

The two MS boosted off away from each other. Kurt looked around on his display, searching for the Echo. As he scanned his surroundings, he saw a flash of white out of the corner of his eye. Turning to it and firing, the rounds hit the Echo and splattered. Kurt gave a sigh as he realized it was simply an illusion created by the Echo Drive. Looking around, he scanned his surroundings again for the Echo.

"Kid, come out come out wherever you are …" he muttered under his breath. Suddenly, a light flashed above him, and looking up, he saw several after-images as the Echo boosted over him behind him. Following the after-images, he panned the Crusader around and eventually ended up turning to see the Echo suddenly materialize in front of him and fire a burst of shots. Reacting with reflexes honed by years of combat experience, the Crusader shot upwards, the Echo's shots barely missing its legs. Boosting backwards, he saw the Echo dash off again, leaving its after-images.

"Fast bugger, aren't you?" Alex muttered, watching the display. He almost had him. Moving away again, Alex panned the Echo's display around, searching for the Crusader. He saw the Crusader boosting between a pair of rocks, and realized the Argento was anchored near an asteroid field. He smiled as another plan formed in his mind. Alex activated the Echo Drive again, dashing forward, almost tempting Kurt to open fire on him. As he moved across open space, he sporadically activated the Echo Drive, giving the Echo bursts of speed and leaving after-images. As Kurt sprayed his fire, tracking the Echo, he cursed as each shot he thought was on target passed through one of the afterimages. He checked his ammo counter. Out of 60 shots, he had 25 left.

As he tried to track the Echo, it moved up and over, coming up suddenly in front of him and firing point blank. Kurt reacted quickly, but not quickly enough, one of the paint rounds splattering the Crusader's chest red as it boosted away from the Echo. Alex's triumphant face came up over the radio.
"Heehee. First blood to me." He said smugly.
"It ain't over yet, kid!" Kurt replied defiantly, cutting the radio transmission. Wait a minute. Kurt had a thought.

Due to the effects of the Node factor, the most devastating aftereffect of a virus attack on the Zatin mainframes eight years ago, Z-Net, the information network blanketing Zatin and the Earth had their broadcasting programming changed, becoming able and constantly trying to flood any information installation with unnecessary information. Radar, radio and long-range communications are especially susceptible, rendering long-range weaponry, intelligence and telemetry useless. This also rendered Zatin's state of the art mobile armour fighters, considered superior to mobile suit technology, totally redundant, as the benefits of mobile armour technology was primarily long-range fighting ability, being able to mount higher-powered, longer ranged weaponry than MS could carry, due to size, power and space restrictions. MS operated primarily on batteries, the Neo-Fission reactor technology requiring too much space to miniaturise for MS use. Hence, the second advent of the MS.

If Alex was communicating to him by radio, then he had to be somewhere nearby. Kurt looked around carefully, watching his thermic monitor for any unusual heat sources. He noticed one to his upper right, stealthily maneuvering the Crusader behind the Echo, propelling itself along with small jets of propellant. Suddenly, Kurt propelled the Crusader forward, blasting forward suddenly and firing at the Echo's behind. Two shots splattered onto the Echo's hull, splattering a large blotch of blue paint across its back. In a panic, Alex moved his hand across the control panel, his hand suddenly and instinctively shooting out and pressing a black button. This caused the Echo to fold up, transforming into a mobile armour.

"Wow, I didn't think it could do this!" Alex said as he zoomed away from the Crusader, the third round barely missing the Echo's body. Banking around, Alex flew the Echo back, the paint rifle on its back discharging three rounds, striking the Crusader with another and barely missing with the last two.

"It's equal now! The one to score the next hit will be the winner!" Natalise proclaimed. By now, most of the crew onboard the Argento were watching the fight, astounded by the spectacle. The two whipped about, circling each other, firing and evading the shots from the other. Eventually, the Echo sped off again, leaving its after-images behind.
"Only a little more …" Kurt muttered under his breath. All of a sudden, he saw a glint in space, and immediately turned and fired towards it. The speeding paint round sailed through space, from the end of his Crusader's gun barrel, forward, sailing in the void between the stars.

SPLAT.
The paint round struck one of the wings of the Echo, as it was flying at top speed towards Kurt's Crusader. "Hehe, yeah!" Kurt crowed in triumph over the radio. Alex groaned. It was back to the cell. He had failed his friends. Kurt continued crowing his victory over the radio. All of Alex's companions watching the match in the ship collectively groaned. Before Kurt could celebrate his victory too much however, they were suddenly raked by a hail of beam shots.