New Mobile History Gundam Wing: The Sword

by seraphiczero

After the formation of the ESUN, Heero Yuy still finds that he cannot let go of his old ways, and he struggles to become an ordinary man. However, trouble is brewing in the background, and he may not be able to give up The Sword after all. (Direct continuation of Endless Waltz; non-canon with GotL and Frozen Teardrop. Official artwork on deviantArt!)

6. Act I, Episode 5

Act I

Episode V: An Olive Branch in One Hand, A Shield in the Other

"Aren't we there yet?" Duo stretched back and clasped his hands behind his head.

At the captain's chair, Quatre smiled apologetically, "We've already been cruising through the asteroid belt for several hours, Duo. Didn't you notice?" He was at the helm of an interplanetary rig. The ship had been en route for nearly a week. Duo and several leading members of the Maguanac Corps accompanied him in the bridge.

"No kidding!" Duo exclaimed, learning forward. "I thought we'd be running into more asteroids by now. We haven't seen even one!"

Quatre politely stifled a small laugh behind a hand. "Despite the name, the asteroid belt is still mostly empty space. I thought this is something a fellow person from the colonies would know?"

Duo tugged at the collar of his normal suit which had been growing more stifling. "It's common knowledge to the Winner family, maybe. Do I look like a satellite miner to you?"

"I suppose not," Quatre smiled.

"Still," Duo began with a worried look, "I've never been this far out into space. We've even gone past Mars' orbit. I'm grateful we haven't run into any of their patrols."

"I agree. It's a shame we had to approach in such a roundabout way," Quatre lamented. "All of our other envoys who had directly approached Mars had either failed or been shot down. Every scouting unit had been destroyed, leaving us with little information as to what military power the Mars Space Republic commands."

"I still don't think it was wise for Relena Darlian, of all people, to be on this ship with us. The MSR has already made their intentions clear. What more can we do now?"

"Miss Relena still has hope for peaceful resolutions, but more than anyone else, she understands the difficult position she is in. You mustn't discourage her, Duo."

Duo apologized, "That's not what I'm trying to do, but I don't think I can be as hopeful. ESUN can be willing to talk, but if the other side is unwilling to listen, there's nothing that can be done by our diplomats. And when they've failed, we'll be the ones stepping in. That's why we're here now."

"Yes," Quatre agreed with his eyes closed, "we can have hope, but we'll do all we can to avoid unnecessary tragedy."

The voice of a tall Arabic man cut in, "Master Quatre. We've confirmed the location of MO-VIII. We should be approaching it in 300 minutes."

MO-VIII was a resource satellite known to hold deposits of Gundanium ore. It was prepped to be moved to Earth during the Eve Wars, outfitted with interplanetary pulse thrusters and the accommodating fuel, but the sudden end in the conflict made the satellite's transport unnecessary. It had been left abandoned since, but now with mounting tensions and a dearth of Gundanium in the Earth Sphere, a dual-purposed mission was launched to either make contact with the MSR for negotiations or retrieve the resource satellite MO-VIII.

"Thank you, Rashid. This will be a difficult mission. If Miss Relena's efforts to make peace go unheeded, we will have to secure that entire resource satellite deep inside enemy territory. I am glad to have you all aboard with me."

"I'll take all the help I can get!" Duo exclaimed. "I never thought I'd see so many of us gathered together again. It's a shame Wufei decided not to join the mission."

"Yes, Wufei stayed behind to prepare his people. Trowa and you volunteered to be part of this ship's escort. Trowa must be with the crew in the hangar. We likely wouldn't be able to properly defend this ship without Heero's contributions. And of course there is Miss Relena."

Duo scratched his head. "Just where is Heero, anyway? He's been a practical ghost around here."

"I haven't seen much of him, either, Duo. I know he'll be ready when the time comes. We're depending on him."

In another part of the ship, Relena was working from her desk in a room set aside exclusively for her. She was used to traveling for her duties, but never had she been in flight for a week's time. Living and working in a zero gravity environment was a challenge. The room's ceiling lights were off, and Relena wrote by the light of a desk lamp. Her pen tapped thoughtfully at her papers, but no strokes were yet made, ideas still swirling in her mind.

"Where is your assistant?"

Relena jumped. It was Heero leaning in the doorway, arms folded.

Half-composed, she stammered, "My assistant? Oh, you mean Sara. She must be asleep. Being on this ship has been hard for her. She was brave to come along with me."

"I always find you working alone."

"Sara is very helpful, if young," Relena offered, "and having all of you behind us gives us courage."

Heero was direct about his visit. "Do you know what you'll say once we make contact with the Mars Space Republic? They've made it difficult by shutting down their interplanetary channels."

"Knowing what we'll say to them is easy. The problem is back home." Relena exhaled and leaned back in her chair. "All those sacrifices for peace and all that talk... Now we find ourselves divided again. On Earth, the people are ready to fight to defend themselves, but the Colonies remain reluctant to take up arms."

"That's quite surprising considering the number of attacks by the MSR after the first in New Port City." Heero made his way over silently and sat down at the edge of Relena's desk, his hands on the flat of the desk behind him. "Our people are already being killed. What use is clinging onto pacifism when the enemy is poised to slaughter us?"

Relena remembered the massacre at New Port City. She and countless others would have likely been killed if not for the intervention of Heero and the other pilots.

"All of the attacks were made directly on Earth. No incidents were reported in the Colonies. We don't entirely understand their intentions, but perhaps the people of Mars feel a kinship with the Colonies, being colonists themselves. Or maybe they've done this to intentionally divide us. They may still attack the Colonies in the future and only want us weakened." Relena's observation was thorough.

Heero added, "The Colonies are reluctant to fight because they stand the highest chance of damage from battle. They are afraid because life in space is still fragile, and they stand directly between Earth and the Martian Colonists in this interplanetary conflict. They are hoping that by taking a pacifistic stance the Mars Space Republic will spare them. What would you have them do?"

Relena closed her eyes. "If we cannot avoid a war, we stand the best chance of surviving only if we are united. We sacrificed for this peace, and now it is our responsibility to defend it."

Heero interjected, "That's surprising to hear from the daughter of King Peacecraft."

Relena looked wistful. "Lately I have been hearing that sort of criticism from the ESUN delegates all too much. Some even propose that we do not fight and let Mars have whatever they want. They say it could be bloodless."

"It hasn't been bloodless," Heero said with narrowed eyes.

"The problem is that we do not know what will happen once Mars is in control. They could make peace impossible by slaughtering and enslaving the people in the Earth Sphere. Ideals will not save us from that, but the Colony delegates are insistent," Relena admitted.

"Without the manufacturing capabilities of the Colonies, it will be incredibly difficult to build our defenses. It will also be extremely difficult to organize our troops in space without the Colonies as a platform. We may even end up defending the Colonies from attack while they maintain their pacifistic stance. They should be able to see that we'll be massacred without their help," Heero added coldly.

"Yet they still cling to the ideals of the past," Relena continued. "The people of the Earth Sphere must be united. I have to convince them that talk will not work on those who hold our chains or those who have already plunged their knives into us."

"Is that not what you are here to do now?" Heero questioned.

"We are not in a war yet," Relena insisted with a sad smile. "We should give one more legitimate try to reaching out to the Martian colonists. Martian leaders are clearly militant, but we have yet to find out what is the public opinion of the Martian citizens. They have been very careful to close down communication between Earth and Mars, and if we can reach them now, it will be worth the effort."

"You know what it means if we fail here today." Heero pressed, looking away.

"Yes," Relena said, "I am not afraid to fight. But I will do it in my own way. It gives me courage to have you pilots here with me. I know you will see us through."

She saw Heero's hand resting in front of her. He was a symbol of strength that once supported her, and here he was again. Though he was not looking, Relena reached out for his hand, hoping to grasp that strength, but Heero suddenly stood up, falling out of reach. She did not know if he had avoided her intentionally or if the timing was just unfortunate. Relena was disappointed that Heero seemed more distant than how she knew him in the past.

"It's nearly time," Heero said and drifted away from her desk under the lack of gravity. "You and your people should be ready in your normal suits. This could get messy."

"Trowa." Heero called out as he entered the rig's busy mobile suit hangar. Mechanics darted back and forth through the zero-gravity environment. Some others directed work by waving and shouting through the din of heavy machinery manipulating equipment for mobile suits.

"Heero," the other man confirmed. Trowa Barton, the director of the ship's mobile suit operations, returned a steady gaze.

"How are preparations?" Heero asked as he looked up at the towering, metal giants.

Trowa looked up to the mobile suits as well. "Everything is ready to go. The Maguanac pilots are already standing by in their mobile suits. The refurbished Tauruses from the Preventers are also ready. Our suits have been prepped, but I figure you'll want to look at them yourself."

"Thanks, Trowa," Heero said staunchly. "You've been a big help."

"We'll be in a tough situation, Heero. We're deep in enemy territory, and the first thing that will happen is that Vice Foreign Minister Darlian is going to give away our position."

"I know," he affirmed gravely.

Heero pushed off the hangar floor and floated off to this mobile suit. He twisted mid-air and landed back-first in the familiar seat of the Leo-G-or rather, it used to be the Leo-G. Trowa's mobile suit was an exact duplicate of it, albeit with an alternate weapons loadout.

Immediately after the first incident in New Port City, the Preventers had sent resources and personnel to the mobile suit maintenance compound Heero kept underground. It was one of the only remaining facilities left in the Earth Sphere that could still function as a mobile suit plant, and so the very first mobile suit constructed by ESUN was produced practically in Heero Yuy's back yard.

It was a difficult period. In that time, Heero Yuy was off with the Preventers to repel subsequent attacks perpetrated by lone MSR mobile suits across the globe. And at home, Jen Aoki suddenly found herself to be the head advisor for the construction of the Leo-G's twin mobile suit. While it was exciting to have an influx of resources and personnel, she sorely missed the intimacy and the efficient rhythm of when it was only Heero and herself working together in the hangar. He was seldom home, and when he appeared, he was preoccupied with repairing the Leo-G or assisting in the construction of its twin.

Eventually it was decided that the two mobile suits would need to be fielded with heavier armaments if they were going to be taking part in larger operations. This essentially meant that they would be going to war.

Heero remembered one of the moments he last spent with Aoki. The two of them stood side-by-side, looking up at the machine they had created together. The Leo-G was a mobile suit built to embody strength and test technological limits; it was not a weapon of war. It was pure and beautiful, and its pristine white armor reflected this ideal. Heero had lamented out loud that from then on its bright armor would grow dull from the taste of blood. With that thought they had both looked upon their child with unhappy eyes. A future of violence and hardship awaited them.

"Well then," Aoki had said, "what do you think about red?"

The interplanetary rig approached MO-VIII. Fortunately for the crew it appeared to still be abandoned, either unknown to or ignored by the MSR. The ship had gone all this way undetected, though there were signs that patrols had been in the area and were likely still nearby.

A tense atmosphere mounted in the ship's bridge as the interplanetary rig deployed its long-range broadcasting antenna. Quatre clenched his fists and the pilots on stand-by squeezed the handles of their mobile suit controls. Relena leaned forward into her microphone and spoke.

"Dear citizens of the Mars Sphere, this is Vice Foreign Minister Relena Darlian speaking on behalf of the Earth Sphere United Nations. We wish to open a dialogue between the people of Earth and Mars. Though acts of violence have been committed against our citizens, we wish to avoid armed conflict and seek peaceful resolutions. As fellow human beings, we ask that we be allowed entry to Mars to discuss our future coexistence..."

She repeated this message several times over the open channel when suddenly the face of a man in a helmet appeared on the video monitors of the ship. He was wearing an astrosuit and appeared to be transmitting from inside the cockpit of a mobile suit.

"Earth Sphere United Nations ship, this is Cpt. Hawkins of MSR Patrol Unit D33. Cease your broadcast immediately. No unauthorized transmissions are permitted in Martian territory."

Relena was fervent. "Please, you have to let us speak with your delegates. We've come to avert a military conflict! We beg of you."

The captain answered coldly, "Our leaders are not interested in talk. You Earthlings are below us, and it's time your influence in space is put to an end once and for all." Relena and the other crew members recoiled in shock. The captain continued, "My orders are to shoot down all foreign craft trespassing in MSR territory. My patrol unit is already en route to your position. Surrender will not be an option. I am now closing transmission. Have a good day," he ended with a slight smirk.

The last thing they saw was the captain's frigid gaze as the monitors flickered off. Relena slumped back into her seat, her eyes wide and her hands trembling. She hadn't imagined they would be shunned so curtly. The situation was much worse than they thought possible, and her mission had become a bewildering failure.

She looked up as a comforting hand grasped her shoulder. It was Quatre who said, "I'm sorry, Miss Relena. Things didn't turn out as we had hoped, and we're all equally disappointed. This was inevitable, so I don't want you to blame yourself for what's happened. We'll all do our best to get you home safely."

Relena turned away and grimaced in her pain. "Thank you, Quatre."

I'm such an idiot, Quatre cried in his own head as he raced down a corridor, an assault rifle cradled in his arms. Several Maguanac members in astrosuits followed closely behind him. The corridor was pitch-black, illuminated only by the spotlights on their helmets. If I hadn't been so stubborn, we wouldn't be in such danger...!

Quatre blamed himself for their unfavorable circumstance. The Martian patrol unit was now bearing down on them, and they were nowhere near ready to escape back to Earth with MO-VIII. He had insisted that they not capture the resource satellite ahead of Relena's broadcast because it could be seen as an aggressive act against Mars. Risking that danger was worth the slim chance that Earth could maintain peace with Mars, but now that things have fallen through, he knew everyone would have been better off the sooner they could escape.

Now, Quatre and the Maguanac crew infiltrated MO-VIII in order to activate its main generator and ignite its nuclear pulse thrusters. Relena and the interplanetary rig waited outside the resource satellite, but the ship could not safely dock until power was restored to MO-VIII's ship hangars and the bay doors could be opened.

"Quatre!" Duo suddenly called over the radio. "CONTACT!"

Duo and the other four Tauruses scattered as they were met with a wall of heavy machinegun fire. Rashid and the Maguanac suits returned suppressing fire with their beam rifles, but they were far outnumbered by the patrol unit's mobile suits.

They were mobile dolls with near-skeletal bodies, stripped down to the bare essentials and produced in large numbers. Specialized for high-mobility space combat, they were stripped of all armor and extra weight, their heads resembling hand-held cameras and their legs lacking feet of any kind. The unpainted dolls were apparently cheap, but highly effective in numbers. The swarm of mobile dolls darted back and forth in dizzying arrays.

One of the dolls quickly closed distance and engaged Duo in his refurbished Taurus. It opened fire with the large machinegun it gripped with both hands. The weapon was obviously strong enough to cripple a Taurus with a short burst, but the recoil was somewhat stronger than what the doll's weak frame could handle. It had to stay closer than usual to attempt to be accurate.

Duo pitched right to avoid the spray of bullets that the mobile doll liberally doled out for him. He returned fire with his beam rifle, but the doll's thin frame was difficult to hit, and one of his shots, frustratingly, passed harmlessly in between the doll's legs. Duo was not sure if he had become terribly rusty these past years or if these mobile dolls presented a genuine challenge for a skilled pilot.

The doll then began firing its thrusters wildly, changing directions in break-neck patterns. Duo fired blast after blast in an attempt to down it, but no shots landed. It had become obvious that the mobile doll's drastically low weight allowed it much greater speed and mobility than a Taurus. Duo also began to notice, however, that it was not dodging his shots as much as it was just changing directions as much as possible to make itself difficult to hit.

Duo waited for an opening and transformed his Taurus to its fighter mode and retreated at maximum thrust. The mobile doll gave chase. However, Duo's retreat was just a feint, as his Taurus suddenly transformed back into mobile suit mode and nailed the doll in the chest with a single beam rifle blast. The beam punched the doll's vitals out from its middle and out its back, resulting in an explosion that rended the frame into mutilated scraps.

No sooner had the heat of the explosion dissipated that another two dolls set their sights on Duo's Taurus. He had nearly red-lined his beam rifle taking out just one, and now there were two more after him at the same time. Duo began to seriously doubt his survival in this battle, but he knew he had to at least protect their ship and its passengers until it could dock with MO-VIII.

The Maguanacs and other Tauruses had similar difficulty fending off the mobile dolls, but they were not positioned as far forward as Duo. With teamwork, they were able to eventually take out two waves with a net of beam rifle fire. The Taurus armed with a beam cannon had the most success due to the weapon's broad impact radius. However, the pilots were beginning to grow worn out, and there were still many mobile dolls left, not to mention no sign of the patrol's commander yet.

Quatre and his crew spilled into MO-VIII's control center and rushed to take command of the computer consoles. The lights in the room flickered on as the resource satellite's nuclear generator was activated and power and life support was slowly restored to the satellite's facilities. Quatre impatiently waited for the ship hangar to come back to life. The sooner they could dock the ship, the sooner their pilots could focus on defending themselves.

The other crew members began work on getting the satellite's nuclear pulse thrusters online in preparation for their retreat. The satellite would first have to be turned around for their calculated trajectory. Leaving Martian space as soon as possible was their best hope.

"Okay!" Quatre called out through the radio. "Hangar 4 is open. Pull the ship in! Pilots retreat once MO-VIII is in motion!"

One of the Taurus pilots suddenly cut in, "Crap, I wasn't expecting anything like this!"

Duo shouted back, "Don't let it through!"

A mobile suit blazed past one of the Tauruses and hacked off both of its legs in one motion.

The pilot inside the Taurus cried in horror, "I'm down! Get me out of here!"

It was a Grief Gemini, an MSR mobile suit specialized for close combat. Its armor overlapped to conceal joints and weak points in the frame. This particular Grief wielded a heat sword in one hand and held a round buckler shield in the other. The heat sword did not have a pointed tip, but ended in a square shape, technically making it a three-edged sword. It turned around to make another pass at the crippled Taurus.

"Like hell!" Duo intercepted the Grief with a kick from his Taurus, but the Grief blocked with its shield and threw Duo back. It proceeded to pepper the other downed Taurus with the micro-gatling in the center of its shield, ignoring Duo completely.

Duo redlined his beam rifle trying to take out the Grief, but it evaded the beams and continued to concentrate on the incapacitated Taurus. It was all Duo could do to tackle the enemy mobile suit and try to push it as far away as possible. Duo's Taurus locked its hands around the Grief's waist as the two began to struggle. The Grief reversed its sword and plunged the blade into the back of Duo's leg. With one of his main thrusters destroyed, Duo and the other mobile suit began to spin wildly out of control, and Duo knew he was going to be sick if he survived this horrible circumstance.

As these two were locked in their struggle, two other mobile dolls broke through the defensive line and barreled down on the hangar where the interplanetary rig had just completed its docking sequence. However, the bay doors were still open, leaving the bridge of the ship completely exposed. Duo gasped as he saw the two dolls level their machineguns and open fire.

No mobile suit came to intercept, but the bullets seemingly bounced off an invisible wall, wisps of electricity crackling through the space in front of the open hangar. Duo squinted, seeing several glowing planet defensers deploying a barrier to protect the ship.

A red blur roared toward the two dolls like thunder. A momentous kick sent one doll flying into the other and both of them were then slashed completely through with one attack. It was the Mercurius-G piloted by Heero. Its armor shimmered like fresh blood and the beam blade of the crash shield in its left hand flashed gold.

Heero deployed another group of planet defensers to aid Duo. They flung themselves into the Grief Gemini, the first crashing into its face and knocking it away from Duo, the second hitting it in the face from the other direction, and the others pummeling the mobile suit in a similarly brutal fashion. The suit was left a crumpled mess, more or less destroyed.

"Get that damaged Taurus out of here, Duo," Heero ordered.

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Duo's one-legged Taurus swung around and grabbed the other damaged Taurus, towing it back into the ship hangar with the interplanetary rig.

"Heero!" Quatre called over the radio. "We're going to redirect MO-VIII to match our trajectory now. We can make our getaway as soon as we're on course. Just buy us some time."

Heero narrowed his eyes and wordlessly advanced ahead of the defensive line. He was met by a group of three mobile dolls which began to dart about in a complex formation. The Mercurius-G flew directly into their midst and matched their erratic movements, closing distance with each breakneck turn, for Heero had already figured out their seemingly random pattern. The Mercurius-G suddenly snapped in a different direction and skewered one of the mobile dolls on its beam blade, going on to similarly destroy the other two.

Another Grief Gemini arrived to challenge Heero, lunging with a strong sword attack, but it was outclassed by Heero who pivoted under the blade and slashed through the Grief's back and torso with one motion. The suit lurched forward awkwardly before losing its balance and exploding.

Four mobile dolls took this opportunity to slip past the Mercurius-G to attack the Tauruses directly. Just as they made their approach, a massive golden beam swept through the battlefield and skewered all four of them. Outside of visible range, a mobile suit in deep blue armor raised its targeting visor and lowered its long beam cannon. It was Trowa Barton in the Vayeate-G.

Trowa regrouped with Heero and the Maguanac unit, the remaining Taurus pilots relieved to see both of their aces with them. Trowa spoke over the radio, "I've spotted the main body of the scouting troop and its commander. They seem to be preparing to send all of their remaining units to attack in one wave to overwhelm us and take MO-VIII. We'll be outnumbered quite heavily by their mobile dolls."

"That would be their best move," Heero affirmed. Everyone looked up as their sensors alerted them to a wave of enemy units. "Stay on the defensive. I'll head through the middle to draw their fire. Retreat into MO-VIII once it begins accelerating. We'll have to thin their numbers as much as possible."

With the Vayeate-G and Tauruses behind it, the Mercurius-G drew the white Leo Saber from its hip, now wielding a beam blade in its left hand and a solid blade in its right. "Let's finish this."

Heero deployed his remaining twelve planet defensers to protect Trowa and the Tauruses before flying headlong into the enemy, both swords ready. Trowa took the Vayeate-G far right in order to flank the enemy and gain distance. Before long, the two lines became entangled with explosions and gunfire.

The Taurus pilots held their own, shielded by the planet defensers, and the seasoned Maguanac pilots fought efficiently. Heero drew most of the enemy fire as promised, attacking and defending simultaneously with both of his swords. Trowa dealt heavy damage with the external reactor-powered long beam cannon, so a large group broke off to attack him exclusively.

At such long range, only a few machinegun rounds could hit Trowa's mobile suit, but the planet defensers deflected them handily. Trowa retaliated with several beam cannon shots, but the mobile dolls were expecting the attack and evaded. He was quickly surrounded by enemy mobile dolls.

A Grief Gemini came alongside the dolls and charged at the Vayeate-G with its sword, hoping to win with its advantage at close range. Unexpectedly, Trowa jabbed the Grief right in the belly using the muzzle of his long beam cannon and sent the other mobile suit recoiling backward. It was instantly flash fried by a short burst from the beam cannon.

From behind, a mobile doll attacked the Vayeate-G, thinking it would not have time to turn its massive beam cannon around in time to defend itself, but the doll suddenly found itself staring straight down the long beam cannon's barrel. The cannon's muzzle had a defenser-like magnet attachment that aided the weapon's movement. It drained a lot of power, but not only did it completely eliminate recoil, the magnet also allowed the Vayeate-G to sweep and redirect the cannon very easily. It was the one limitation that disadvantaged the original Vayeate. With the weapon already leveled, Trowa fired a single blast that smashed into it and seared off the doll's head and chest.

The seven remaining mobile dolls now attacked Trowa simultaneously. In response, the Vayeate-G deployed two pods which were attached to the sides of its backpack. They were independent attack units similar to planet defensers called funnels. Each one was equipped with a beam cannon similar in power to a Virgo's arm-mounted beam cannon.

Controlled by the Vayeate-G's HYABUSA combat computer, the heavy funnels fired on the enemy mobile dolls along with the long beam cannon, destroying most of the remaining targets which were caught by surprise. The last two dolls evaded continuous attacks from the heavy funnels, but Trowa was using the independent units to lead the enemy units into his line of fire, and they were both demolished by a single shot from the long beam cannon.

The three Tauruses made good use of the planet defensers deployed to shield them and were able to destroy the last few mobile dolls with precise teamwork. With all their targets cleared, the Maguanac pilots regrouped and awaited further orders. That only left Heero who took on most of the enemy on his own without any planet defensers to cover him.

Back on MO-VIII, Quatre and his team had just finished securing the interplanetary rig and brought Relena and the remaining crew members into a secure bunker on the resource satellite. MO-VIII had completed its aligning maneuver and was ready to begin its acceleration toward Earth.

Quatre contacted the pilots outside over the radio, "Everyone, MO-VIII is ready for its final acceleration! Please fall back immediately."

"Roger!" The Taurus pilots answered back. They transformed to fighter mode and retreated to MO-VIII, docking in one of the open hangars. The Maguanac pilots made one last check of the field before they fell back, as well.

The satellite's powerful nuclear pulse thrusters ignited, slowly urging the giant space rock into motion. However, Trowa had yet to return from the field, and there was no answer from Heero.

The Mercurius-G savagely dispatched several more mobile dolls with its blades. It destroyed the last mobile doll by plunging both swords into it and tearing it asunder by pulling the blades apart while still buried in the skewered machine.

All that remained of the MSR unit was Cpt. Hawkins in his Grief Gemini and two more Griefs. Hawkins was out for blood, humiliated by the destruction of his party and the deaths of his men. He saw the raw brutality of the blood red mobile suit, but he no longer cared. The man could no longer return home and face his people with dignity, so he and his allies threw themselves at their enemy in one last-ditch effort to slay the foreign mobile suits and repel the intruders.

Heero was attacked on all sides by the three Griefs. They were clearly no amateurs, attacking with strength and precision, coordinating all their motions perfectly so that one never interfered with the other. Heero stood his ground and used both his blades to repel the attacks in rapid succession.

Hawkins attacked with a kick. Heero stopped it with the flat of the Leo Saber and pushed him back. Heero then blocked a sword attack from another direction with the crash shield and stopped a blade coming from behind with a back parry with the Leo Saber. Hawkins leveled his shield's gatling to fire, but Heero knocked the shield away with his beam blade, immediately flipping upside-down to divert another Grief's kick attack with the Mercurius-G's own kick.

Heero continued this intense defensive form, planted in a single position and defending himself from the omnidirectional assault. Each and every blow was potentially fatal, coming within inches of the Mercurius-G's face and chest before being deflected. Heero's blades flew front to back, side to side, near and far, and over and under to intercept enemy movements, narrowly avoiding a fatal blow with each parry.

From a distance, Trowa was trying to find an opening to give Heero supporting fire from his long beam cannon, but the four suits were so entangled that even a master marksman like himself could not risk a shot. Moreover, Trowa was completely mortified, not by Heero's perilous situation, but by Heero himself.

On this mission, Trowa was worried that the former Gundam pilots and himself had become shadows of their former selves, but here was Heero who had seemingly transformed himself into a monster, his strength multiplied explosively. He was dueling with three aces simultaneously, deflecting all of their attacks with a sword in each hand. It was more than inhuman, the sight of it chilling to the bone. Was this the result of Heero's HYABUSA combat computer? Or was it Heero himself who had tapped into the darkest part of himself in times of peace?

"Trowa!" Quatre called over the radio. "MO-VIII is accelerating. If you don't board now, you'll never be able to catch up!"

Behind the Vayeate-G, the MO-VIII began to accelerate past the battlefield and out of the area. Trowa hesitated for a few more moments, watching Heero tangled in combat. Before long, he painfully turned away and retreated to the resource satellite.

Duo screamed over the radio, "Heero, are you stupid or something?! If you don't catch up you'll be drifting in space forever!"

Heero gritted his teeth. He knew that very well. It would be a slow and painful way to die. But these three MSR pilots were too far gone. If he let a single mobile suit go, it could potentially attack the resource satellite and destroy their only means to get home. He had to kill them all.

The three Griefs slashed at the Mercurius-G relentlessly. It had gone far beyond skill or planning. They fought with such speed and ferocity that they moved on pure instinct. The red mobile suit continued to parry their attacks, but it would have to falter eventually, and a single mistake would be fatal.

Out of nowhere the Mercurius-G turned around and bashed one of the Griefs in the face with an upward swing of the crash shield. The Grief was hit with such strength that it was launched upward, completely stunned. The Mercurius-G dashed after the Grief and juggled it with four rapid draw slashes from its Leo Saber before putting all its weight behind one final draw slash and splicing the mobile suit in two.

Incredulous, the other two Griefs continued their assault, but they were not able to apply as much pressure as before. Heero leg swept Cpt. Hawkins' Grief and threw him off balance, then taking the opportunity to attack the other mobile suit. The Mercurius-G attacked with several jabs with its beam blade, but the Grief skillfully deflected them as it boosted backward.

Heero triggered the crash shield's hidden weapon. Three more beam blades ignited, emitted radially around the center beam, the shape resembling a bouquet of beam swords. The Mercurius-G thrusted once more with the array of blades. The Grief attempted to defend itself, but it could not properly deflect the unusual weapon, getting skewered by all four beams. Heero ripped the beam swords out of destroyed mobile suit which fell away and exploded

Cpt. Hawkins was just beginning to re-engage, but the Mercurius-G was already on top of him. The man looked up in terror as the blood red mobile suit lifted its beam swords over its head and brought the weapon down on his Grief. All four blades tore through the Grief Gemini, head to toe, obliterating it completely.

The resulting explosion scattered the mobile suit's remains through the region. All of the enemy units were destroyed, but a maddening intensity still surrounded the Mercurius-G, the mobile suit still clutching its swords. He was out of time.

Heero turned his mobile suit around in a snap and raced for the resource satellite MO-VIII, which was now leaving the area. He didn't recall his planet defensers and discarded the crash shield, for the extra weight would hinder the mobile suit's acceleration. The Mercurius-G rocketed forward with its thrusters on full burn.

On the MO-VIII there was an audible sigh of relief as the party watched Heero destroy the last MSR scout and begin catching up to the resource satellite. They were hopeful, but still unsure if the mobile suit could make it on its own. The resource satellite's nuclear pulse thrusters could not easily be shut down to allow Heero to catch up, and any extra time they spent behind enemy lines could spell death for the entire crew. Surely even greater numbers of MSR troops would be sent after them if they did not escape in time.

"You're almost there, Heero," encouraged Quatre. "Don't give up!"

"We can't lose you!" Relena called out. "Please make it!"

The Mercurius-G came within a stone's throw of the resource satellite, but everyone gasped as it began to lose speed. The giant flames behind the mobile suit fell dark as the suit ran out of propellant. Heero lagged behind, falling further away from the crew, destined to drift forever.

Quatre slammed his fist down on the console and tears began to well in Relena's eyes. They never thought they could lose Heero at such an early stage.

Quatre radioed, "Don't give up, Heero! We'll send help for you right away!" But he only said this because he couldn't accept their loss. Everyone knew there was no way a ship could arrive from Earth or Mars in time to rescue their lost comrade. Several moments passed in silence, no one able to speak.

Heero's mobile suit fell quiet as it drifted further behind. He was coming to terms with the lonely and agonizing death that awaited him. Perhaps he should just self-detonate his mobile suit right then to spare himself. No, he should at least wait until he was outside of the MO-VIII's sensor range, so the others did not have to see. Or maybe he should just consciously drift and suffer like he was meant to...

The Mercurius-G coasted motionlessly and alone. A large metal surface rose up from underneath and gingerly connected with the stranded mobile suit. No one knew what was happening. It was Duo who had launched from the MO-VIII in the interplanetary rig.

"Don't worry, buddy," he called out over the radio, beaming, "I've got you."

The entire crew cheered and roared with cries of relief. Relena clasped her hands together and thanked the powers that be.

The ship, being much smaller than the resource satellite, could launch to retrieve the stranded mobile suit and then accelerate back to re-dock with MO-VIII. Duo had the sense and timing to use the ship to rescue Heero in case his mobile suit could not catch up.

"You owe me one now, huh?" Duo prodded.

In the Mercurius-G's cockpit, Heero had his head leaned back, his eyes closed. He spoke in an exhausted voice, "No, Duo. I saved you a while earlier. That makes us even."

Duo laughed, "Damn, I forgot about that." He muttered to himself, "Sheesh, I'll never get this guy into my debt..."

He let the radio fall silent after that, knowing that Heero must be spent. Duo was simply glad he didn't have to lose anyone that day.

As Duo piloted the ship back to MO-VIII, Heero reflected on the last battle from inside his mobile suit. It was strange. For years he was afraid that there would be more war and he would have to fight again. He was afraid to lose the life that he had made for himself and afraid to lose the peace that he sacrificed his entire life to create. But now that it has happened, and the first battle was over, Heero felt an unexpected sense of relief. He no longer had to deny that part of himself that he suppressed for so long. In the frenzy of battle he forgot everything else and became what he truly was. He was free to be a soldier.

At the same time, Heero deeply regretted this realization. Had he truly turned his back on a world that desired peace? Or did he never truly accept it to begin with? Was he destined to live and die by The Sword?

Heero felt a deep pain within himself. And what did this mean for those who waited for him?

In two week's time, a relief party from Earth rendezvoused with the MO-VIII partway on its journey. Thankfully there were no signs of interference from the MSR, but they could still attack at any time. The new crew included staff to man the MO-VIII and a new squad of mobile suits and pilots to protect the resource satellite. The ESUN relief party brought with them ships that could transport Relena Darlian, her staff, and the other crew and pilots home quickly, since the enormous MO-VIII would take several more months to complete its flight to Earth and enter orbit.

The original crew was happy to be relieved from their successful mission and gratefully accepted their transportation back home. However, Heero declined the offer and stayed to escort the MO-VIII the rest of the way in case there were subsequent MSR attacks. He would be away on this assignment for many more months.

Heero knew he had a home to go back to, but he was coming to terms with the fact that a full-blown war was at his doorstep. Never before had he been away from home for so long, but Heero felt he had to stay away. He wanted nothing more than to fly to Aoki and take her into his arms, but Heero had taken The Sword back up again, and she would have to learn to live without him.

Act I: Fragile Peace

End

A boy and his comrades infiltrate an Alliance base, their struggle reflecting the cries of an oppressed people. Can Mars break free from the Alliance's tyranny? Next time on New Mobile History Gundam Wing: The Sword...

Special Episode I: Rebellion

-Seraphic