Disclaimer: See chapter one

Chap. 41

Space Knight Command Center...

"Hey Chief. What's the emergency?"

The Space Knights once again assembled before the Chief where she sat in her usual pose, waiting.

"No emergency. Not this time. I'd like to introduce to you to our guests."

Motioning her hand, she indicated to the side where both Noal and Millia were standing.

"Space Knights, this is Noal and Millia."

All of the knights (minus Dead) gasped in shock, "The...original Space Knights?"

"That's right." Aki said, giving a half-smile.

Noal however, grinned openly, "What do you know? I've become a celebrity."

Natasha suddenly blinked in after-thought, "What happened to you guys though?"

"Ah yes that. Well, that's a long story. Guess I should start at the beginning." Noal started. Looking away and at the nearby window, he began to gather his thoughts. His face becoming stern, he began the story.

"After the First Radham War, I took a position as commodore in relations with the Alliance. But then I discovered what was being planned for Prague and tried to warn someone. But I was arrested and held prisoner, but not by the Alliance."

"OZ?" David questioned.

Noal shook his head, "I don't think so. They seemed to be from the colonies, but I'm not sure."

"That doesn't make sense." Natasha commented. "Why would people from the colonies want Prague destroyed?"

Noal shrugged lightly, "Your guess is as good as mine. But that's the impression they left."

Millia picked up where he left off, "Noal contacted me just before he was captured. I managed to warn Aki, but then I found that whoever captured Noal was coming after me. I couldn't return here, so I had to go into hiding. I wound up joining the Alliance undercover. I had to change my name and identity to keep them from finding me."

"That sounds rough."

"Not really. I had access to information which helped me find out where Noal was held. And with all the chaos from the coup de tat and then with Romefeller, it made it possible for me to rescue him."

At that point, Noal suddenly realized something and looked at Millia. "I do wonder, how did you find me? That kind of information couldn't have been easy to come by."

Millia turned to him with an exasperated sigh, "Do you remember who you're talking to? I may not be as advanced as Rebin, but I'm still the best when it comes to hacking. Although..." She looked up in thought, "I had to infiltrate the Lunar Base to do it. I was almost captured but I escaped with the help of the gundams."

"You've met them?" Goliathe exclaimed.

"Just two of them." Millia answered. "A Chinese boy and another with a long braid."

Anita nodded, "Duo and Wufei."

"You said you knew Prague was a target?" Dead spoke finally. "Do you know anything else? Like the survivors?'

Both knights shook their heads, "No. Why do you ask?"

Aki responded, "We've been under attack by a tekkaman who survived Prague. She calls herself Tekkaman Slayer."

"A rouge tekkaman?" Noal questioned.

"It's possible. But we don't know for sure yet."

Noal held his head, "Oh, great. We returned just in time for all the trouble."

***************

Space...

The blackness of the stars erupted with energy fire as the Virgo Sol-Tekkas were being blown apart by a single white Sol-Tekka. And within the Sol-Tekka, a silver masked soldier continued to battle through the lifeless machines. After his first trip, Milliardo had tried to peacefully approach Romefeller in the hopes of helping Relena get through to them. But after seeing their advances on the Sank, he realized that it would only be a matter of time before they tried more aggressive tactics. So for the sake of the Sank Kingdom, he relinquished himself to his former persona, Zechs Marquise.

"Too slow." he muttered as blasted another Virgo. "Tallgeese is now feeling slow."

With only two Dolls left, Tallgeese blasted around and through the lesser fire. Raising the energy cannon, Tallgeese easily blasted the first one and soared past. With now one left, Tallgeese unsheathed its saber and dived under the energy fire, only to shoot right back up and past the Doll. The Virgo was still for a moment before a blazing line appeared across it and it blew apart in two. As the sphere of fire glowed, Tallgeese simply watched in silence. However, the pilot inside was not as calm.

'It seems that they are taking me more seriously than I thought.'

Looking off to the left, Zechs saw a full force of carriers, each containing a squadron of Virgo Sol-Tekka Dolls. As they swarmed out like comets, Zechs positioned the Tallgeese forward.

"Now!"

Its massive boosters opening, Tallgeese's charged straight into the heart of the enemy. Cannon locked, Tallgeese let off the first few round, blasting away at the lead Virgos. It continued on, plowing through the forces until it reach the other end. Twisting around, Tallgeese let loose another burst, blasting them from the back. But suddenly, energy blast fired and hit him from behind. Turning around, Zechs saw another group of carriers dropping off more Dolls.

'They want to make sure the Lightning Count doesn't leave this battle.'

Tallgeese turned and fired on the machine, aware that the first group would be advancing on him from behind. Despite that, he still battled elegantly, keeping them from closing in on him totally. But even the mighty Tallgeese was no match for such forces and was slowly getting damaged.

'No...' he yelled inwardly as the Tallgeese took a blast to the cannon and rendering it useless.

"I will not fail!"

Tallgeese went into a burst of speed and rammed right into one of the Dolls. Grabbing hold, he tossed it at a group and they destroyed it. But it provided enough cover for Tallgeese to unsheathe its saber once again and raze it across two of the Dolls. But his attack left him hampered in too close and several of the Virgos close in from behind, blasting him repeatedly. One of the venier boosters was blown apart, tossing him forward in space. However, Tallgeese turned once again.

"I will not!"

As Zechs roared that decree, his mask shimmered and a symbol formed on his forehead. At the same time, the crystal around his neck shimmered to life as well. Before Zechs could even wonder what was happened, his body became a flash of light and he soared right out of the white Sol-Tekka, eventually becoming a massive form of light.

A crystal hawk...

************

Sank Kingdom

The hanger doors opened in the hidden base beneath the Sank. Alpha ship swiftly hovered in and landed in the middle of the bay. Heero stepped out in the midst of several Taurus Sol-Tekkas and began to walk toward the exit when...

"Heero, you jerk!"

Heero didn't turn as Hayate, who had been standing near one of the Sol-Tekkas, yelled out at him.

"Why did you steal Alpha?!"

Heero didn't stop walking, but simply answered, "I needed to get somewhere fast. Be thankful that I brought it back."

Hayato fumed, "Hey, that's no excuse. Do you know how much trouble we could have been in? Hey, I'm taking to you!"

At that point, Yumi came up beside Hayato, "It's okay, Hayato. He did return it, after all."

"Grrr..."

Heero simply walked off, totally ignoring the pilot's ranting and raving while consumed with his own thoughts. After the battle at Luxemburg, he confronted Trieze who handed him his gun back. But Heero was unable to. Not because the crystal had left him physically drained, but the crystal had shown him more than even he could handle. The last thing he remembered was saying he wasn't worthy and then everything became dark. When he awoke, he was settled beside Alpha ship still with the Epyon crystal. Treize had obviously brought him their, so why didn't he take back the crystal? It was strange, but Heero didn't know Trieze well enough to know his intentions. All he knew was that he now possessed a very dangerous weapon. But given the events taking place, he would definitely need an edge.

Shhhhrrrr...

Heero's forehead suddenly shimmered and he slowly raised his head. Both tekka-sets glowed lightly as Heero stared into the sky. Something...was there. Something...that was calling him. Something unknown and yet...familiar.

************

Space Ring...

The people within the Space Ring went about their normal activities and lives. If only they knew about the emerald haired woman who was standing near one of the windows. Her red eyes stayed focused on the looming blue orb before her. 'They have no idea what's to come.' she smirked to herself. 'They are as clueless as the people here. But they will soon.'

"Your current record isn't very forthcoming, Slayer."

Slayer turned her head to look at the speaker. It was a tall man with dark black hair. His eyes were the same crimson color as hers.

"It's all part of the plan." she answered, smirking. "Besides, where's your sense of fun?"

The man frowned, "I think you've had enough fun Slayer."

Slayer gave a casual shrug and turned back to the window, "Well, do what you want. But do it somewhere else."

The man stood beside her and looked out of the window. His gaze however, was toward the stars.

"I intend to. I'm not going to waste time dancing around. Our enemies must be destroyed. I've already picked a target."

A small smile finally formed on his face as his forehead shimmered...with his own tekka-set crystal.

*************

D-Boy's chamber...

"Hm, still a social recluse, D. Though this is a nice room."

Noal, Miilia and Aki regrouped in D-Boy's chamber, where he awaited in front of his desk. A ghost of a smirk curved on his face at Noal's remark.

"Hm. Nice to see you too."

Noal folded his arms, "Guessing by the sound of your voice, you want to get down to business."

D-Boy linked his fingers together, "With things progressing as they are, we have to assume that Romefeller will engage us soon. Therefore, we've devised a way of improving the Knights."

Millia blinked, "Improving? How?"

Aki stepped in to explain, "When they were first undergoing the process of transformation, a disturbance from a Radham attack caused it so that they only reached 90% completion. Up until now, it wasn't needed to complete it."

"Up until now." Noal repeated.

Aki nodded, "Yes. We plan on finishing the process. That will help the team to become stronger and perhaps battle what's to come."

"Maybe. But that doesn't sound like much."

She nodded again, "True. Their power will only increase slightly, but the changes will be evident. And we've also worked on another plan as well."

Aki looked over at D-Boy who pressed a button on his desk. Behind him, the screen lit up and it showed a diagnostic display of the Vesna and Sommer.

"In addition to their completion, we also plan to equip them with these new weapon systems."

"Weapon systems?"

"Yumi already possesses the Reactor Voltekka. What we're going to do is outfit David, Tekkaman Sommer and Natasha, Tekkaman Vesna, with similar devices.

The screen changed and it focused in on Vesna, "Vesna will be equipped with the Pulse Voltekka. This system allows her to fire Voltekka bursts in addition with her Voltekka. The pulses hit a single target and create a sizable explosion."

Switching to Sommer, "Sommer will have the Voltekka Cannon. In linking it with his lancer, Sommer can create a devastating Voltekka blast which acts like a rail-gun. Targeting will have to be precise, but I think he can handle it.

"What about the other one?" Millia commented.

"Dead? There's no real way to upgrade him or give him extra weapons at this point. But his power is more than sufficient to deal with anyone."

"When do you start?" Noal questioned.

"Tomorrow, when Yumi returns. We have to do this as soon as possible."

"I agree." Millia added in. "Romefeller is getting impatient and may move sooner than we imagine."

The group was silent for a brief minute before Millia spoke up again. "I was wondering... Is there any way to contact the gundams?" She looked at the other for an expression. "Maybe ask for their help?"

Aki shook her him, "No. Aside from Heero and Quatre, the others are still scattered all over the place. We don't know their whereabouts." Turning her head away, "And even if we did, they can't help us, not now. Too much is going on to make any real moves."

Noal frowned, "So we are stuck to just prepare and wait for something to happen?"

"It wouldn't be the first time." D-Boy said simply.

"Doesn't mean I like it." he retorted before sighing, "But as always, we don't have much of a choice, huh?"

No response. With that now settled, Aki, Millia and Noal moved to exit the room while D-Boy moved toward a side exit. However, he stopped when he saw Noal stop at the exit alone. Noal turned to look at him, a grave look on his face.

"D-Boy. We have to talk."

**************

"Rise and shine."

Zechs softly moaned as he regained consciousness, "Where...you?"

Zechs slowly looked up from the bed to see a familiar face looking down over him. Howard.

"Ah, good. You remember me."

"Where am I?" he moaned again.

"Aboard the Peacemillion."

Zechs blinked, "Peacemillion?"

Howard moved away, explaining, "Yeah. It's a spaceship, and a very impressive one too. We found you out in space aboard the Tallgeese." He gave a slight grin, "Looks like you've been in quite the battle."

Zechs shook his head, realizing suddenly that his helmet was still on. His mind was a little fuzzy and he felt very weak, but he did remember the thoughts. He remembered flying in the fight, but not on the Tallgeese. He virtually saw every move the Virgos made before they even made it. He remembered soaring like an eagle, leaving vaporized Sol-Tekka Dolls in his wake. And in his hand, a strange weapon, much like what the tekkamen use. A lancer. And he finally remembered firing a massive wave of energy from it, annihilating everything. He knew all of this, but it was a little fuzzy at the moment.

"You could say that."

Howard leant his back on the wall, "So the Zero crystal found a new host, huh?"

Zechs blinked beneath the mask, "Zero crystal?"

"It's a long story."

Sitting up on the bed, Zechs sighed to himself and then gazed up at Howard.

"It appears I have the time to hear it."

------------------

The rest of the Knights are told of the Chief's plan to upgrade them and they prepare themselves. But this also means that Yumi would have to be recalled from the Sank Kingdom as well. Meanwhile, Duo continues his own battle against Romefeller when a Radham attack occurs. But in the midst of the battle, Duo is introduced to yet another dark tekkaman. Next on Gundam Tekkaman: Sliver of Night.