Gundam Wing: Journey to a New Battlefield

by operation meteor

The war is won, yet he cannot find peace. When a mission gone wrong throws Heero into another world, how will he survive? And how will he react when he is confronted with his greatest challenge yet? For love can be trickier than any battlefield foe...

7. Chapter 7

Author's Notes: Damn, this one's even longer than six. Sorry, I'll try to work harder on breaking up my chapters in the future.

Few things before we get started. One, the gun I describe that Heero has looks nothing like the ones he uses in the show. Just consider that a little retcon by me. Two, for those of you unfamiliar with the term, a 'technical' is a civilian ground vehicle that has been modified for combat. A great example are the trucks used in the current Libyan Civil War, which tend to be open backed and have weapons like heavy machine guns or missile launchers mounted on them. Three, regarding the 'Tear of Isis' that shows up later on, don't bother looking it up. I just made it up as a romantic plot device, nothing more.

Sorry this took so long to get done, things have been busy over the past few months. Ah well, better late than never, right?

Enjoy!

Episode Seven: The North Africa Campaign, Part Three: Fangs of the Tiger

"She's not bad," said Heero.

A day after the skirmish outside of Tassil, he and Murrue were standing in the hangar of the Archangel, outside the Skygrasper simulator. Sahib and Kisaka were making final preparations to meet and pick up much need supplies from their black marked contacts, and they seemed confident that they would be able to meet with them within the next day or two. In the meanwhile, attention had gone to keeping an eye on the refugees from Tassil, as well as making sure the soldiers of both the Earth Alliance and Desert Dawn would be ready for battle. The resistance leaders had sent out calls to other rebel cells throughout the region, and hopefully new fighters would begin arriving soon. In the midst of all this, Heero had come up with the idea to open up the fighter simulator not just to other members of the Archangel's crew, but to the rebels as well. Cagalli was in the pilot's seat at the moment, and she had by far shown the most promise out of all the other's who had come to try out.

Murrue nodded. "You're right. If she can perform consistently like she is now, then we might have ourselves a pilot for the second Skygrasper. It would be nice to have both of them in the air at once; we need the additional air cover." The blond girl's progress was displayed on a screen outside the simulator. At the moment, she was engaged in a ground-attack run against several BuCues. Missiles and cannon fire streamed up from below, but Cagalli maneuvered the fighter in a series of twists, climbs, and dives. Despite her having no prior aerial combat experience, the sixteen year old girl was a natural pilot.

"I know Lieutenant Badgiruel was upset about opening up the simulator to the rebels," said Heero, turning to Murrue, "Sorry if I caused you any trouble."

Murrue smiled. "Don't worry about it. I know it's a violation of Alliance regulations, but we need all the help we can get. Your idea was sound, and it seems to be paying off, if Cagalli's performance is any indication."

"The only question is whether or not she can keep her temper in check," said Heero, "From what I've observed, she's certainly a hot-headed girl."

"I agree," she replied, "however, she seems a bit more subdued since yesterday. It may be harsh to say this, but the loss of her young friend in the Tassil skirmish may have taught her to exercise more control over her emotions. If she continues to act like she has since then, it will definitely benefit her as a pilot, and by extension us as well."

Heero nodded. "It would be nice to have some extra help in the skies. Lieutenant Commander La Flaga is good, but one Skygrasper can only provide so much support, even with the ability to equip Striker Packs. Having both operational will greatly increase the options available to us in battle. Not to mention it takes some of the pressure of me, considering that Wing Zero is our only flight capable mobile suit."

That was another reason why Murrue had agreed to Heero's proposal. As things stand now, she thought, I've been having him shoulder too much of the fighting. I know he doesn't mind, but I still want to make things easier on him. It's the least I can do.

After the conversation they'd had two nights ago, she was more determined than ever to give him support. She had sensed when they'd met that he'd been through a lot, but what he had told her surpassed anything she had expected. Since then, she'd been trying to think of ways she could help him, and had jumped at his suggestion not just on practical grounds, but because it allowed her to do something meaningful to lighten the load he'd be carrying in combat.

Just then the simulator opened and Cagalli stepped out. She was a bit sweaty, but didn't seem to notice. She saw the two of them standing there and moved towards them. "So, do I make the cut?"

"I'd say so," said Murrue, "You're certainly the best of all those that have tried out so far. Heero?"

The young man nodded. "You've got some talent. I think you'll do just fine, though you should still keep practicing; you'll need all you can get before we engage Waltfeld."

Cagalli smiled. "Thanks, I will." She looked down for a moment, then met his gaze. "Listen, Heero… I'm sorry about how I acted when you arrived here. It wasn't right of me to pry into your past, especially since I don't know you that well." She held out her hand. "Do you think we can start from scratch?"

Murrue was pleasantly surprised. She hadn't thought that Cagalli would regret her conduct during the meeting two days ago. It seems that the Tassil skirmish impacted her more than I thought.

She looked over at Heero, and smiled as he shook her hand. "Sure, no problem."

Cagalli looked relieved. "That's good." She looked at him and Murrue. "Well, I'll see you both later; I have to go help Sahib and Kisaka get ready for the supply meet tomorrow." With that she turned and headed towards the hangar exit.

They were quiet for a moment, then Murrue spoke. "She seems to have mellowed out a bit. Hopefully this means she'll keep a more level head in the next engagement."

"Won't know until the time comes," replied Heero. He looked at her. "Well, I'm going to grab some lunch. Want to come?"

Murrue smiled. "Sure, some food sounds good right about now."

As they left the hangar, she couldn't help but feel a surge of optimism. Sure, they had lost some allies in the Tassil engagement, but events since then seemed to be playing out in their favor. Their supply deal would likely take place the next day, the rebel leaders were calling in fighters from other groups across Egypt to reinforce them, and it seemed that they had found a new Skygrasper pilot in the form of Cagalli.

I know we're not out of the woods yet, thought Murrue, especially since the Tiger is no doubt amassing his forces for the coming engagement, but still… it looks like things are finally starting to come together for us.

….

"Quite the place you got here, Andrew," said Shemei as she stretched out on the couch.

She was at the Field Marshall's headquarters in Banadiya. Waltfeld and Aisha had invited her into a lavishly appointed lounge, and the three of them were sipping coffee.

Waltfeld smirked. "The General in charge of North Africa before we took over was from the Eurasian Federation. Apparently, he was part of some noble family from France. Seems he got his rank through family connections rather than battlefield prowess. When he was posted here, he decided he'd embezzle a shitload of the local tax dollars along with squandering his own wealth and built his headquarters like some mansion from Bordeaux."

"Not that we're complaining," said Aisha, "When we captured the city, it turned out that the Earth Forces had fled in such a hurry that they had left most of their equipment behind here. It didn't take much effort to convert this into our own headquarters; most of the work had already been done for us."

Shemei laughed and raised her cup. "To incompetent aristocrats." The three of them touched coffee mugs, and then drank.

Then the Valkyrie became more serious. "I heard some news out of Victoria. Apparently, after the orbital battle, the two pilots from the Creuset team that fell into the atmosphere landed near there, and have just recently recovered from severe heat stroke."

Waltfeld nodded. "Command has seen fit to transfer them to my forces for the upcoming operation." He grimaced. "I would have refused, considering they have no experience in terrestrial combat, but my hands were tied. They should arrive here within the next few days."

"What about the other two?" asked Shemei.

"Still up in space," said Waltfeld, "Apparently they're on shore leave in the capital. An old buddy of mine is working as an aide for Zala's deputy chief of staff, and he told me that they'll be transferred to surface operations via the Gibraltar base eventually, but in all likelihood not in time to affect our next battle with the Alliance's new battleship."

"Speaking of pilots," said Aisha, turning to Shemei, "where are the girls? I would've liked to chat with them for a bit."

"Priscilla just finished working up a sim program of the Wing Zero," replied Shemei, "I have them practicing against it right now. It's still a far cry from the real thing, but it's quite a formidable foe."

"I can only imagine," said Waltfeld, looking thoughtful. After a moment he spoke again. "You talked to the pilot before your withdrawal. What did you make of him?"

"Heero Yuy?" said Shemei, "Difficult to say. He sounded young, but he's nevertheless an incredibly skilled soldier. The power of Wing Zero makes him all the deadlier. Beyond that, I can't really say anything."

She smiled. "I'd really like to meet him again. Whether on the field of battle or otherwise, there's something intriguing about that young man, not to mention the Wing Zero."

"I'm starting to get curious too," said Aisha, "and I know Andy here is as well, although his main focus is on the Strike."

"Speaking of which," said Shemei, "I heard you fought it briefly outside of Tassil. Was the pilot as good as you were expecting, based on your observations from the first battle?"

"Better," said Waltfeld with a smile, "He actually managed to disarm my BuCue."

"Really?' Shemei replied, slightly surprised, "I'm impressed. Bet you can't wait for a rematch."

"You know it," said Waltfeld, "The LaGOWE's finally completed, and Aisha and I have already been practicing in it. The next fight should prove to be much more interesting."

"That's right," said Shemei, "I forgot that it was a two-seater, not a single pilot mobile suit. How's it working so far?"

"Great," said Aisha, "So far we've had no problems with it."

"Yeah," said Waltfeld, "it's handled like a charm. Should be fun to go up against the Strike with it."

"I bet," said Shemei. She took another sip of her coffee, and smiled. "I wonder what that pilot's like."

"Who knows?" said Waltfeld, "Maybe we'll meet him sometime before the big fight."

"You never know," said Aisha with a shrug.

….

Adaline slammed a fist against the arm of her chair as the screen went black. "Damn!" she snarled. Taking a moment to compose herself, she then pressed a button on the ceiling, opening up the simulator.

As the red-head climbed out, she saw Lan and Priscilla standing nearby, watching the external screen mounted on the side of the simulator. Her friends turned towards her and smiled.

"Thirty-two seconds," said Priscilla, "That's a new record for the 'Zero' program, not counting the commander's time of course."

"Great job Adaline," said Lan.

The Australian sighed. Those thirty-two seconds had been how long she had been able to last in a one-on-one duel with Priscilla's simulation program of the Wing Zero. According to her, thought Adaline, that program's probably not even half of that machine and its pilot's full skill, yet it's still impossible for me to beat. The only person in their tight-knit group to come close to victory was Shemei, and that had been a tie, with both combatants impaling each-other through the cockpit. In other words, the only way to 'win' that had so far been discovered was a mutual kill scenario, and even then the Commander had admitted that she'd gotten incredibly lucky, and that there would be no way that it would work on the genuine article.

The only reason we were able to last as long as we did in that engagement, thought Adaline, is because we worked together as a unit. Even then, Wing Zero managed to pick us off one-by-one, although thankfully none of us died. In a straight up duel, each of us has gotten slaughtered, and if the closest the Commander can come to a win is a mutual kill on a program that's probably less than half of what this Heero Yuy can bring to the fight, then we are in serious trouble.

"Pris, I know you did your best with this program," she said, "but honestly, I swear the computer is a cheating bastard!"

"Hardly," Priscilla replied, "All the calculations I made in developing that simulation were based on the performance data from our own engagement with Wing Zero and Heero Yuy, along with recordings of other battles that our foe has participated in."

"I know, I know," said Adaline, giving her friend a smile, "Still, it felt like the program was practically reading my control inputs and reacting before those inputs were translated into actions."

Lan laughed and gave Priscilla a slight nudge. "Someone's been playing her Soul Calibur games again."

"Well, there's a reason they're considered classics," the blonde replied meekly.

"As well as a reason why so many players end up swearing like sailors at them," added Adaline, laughing as well, "Honestly, some of those fights are almost as hard as your 'Zero' program."

Priscilla giggled a bit as well, and then became serious. "The 'Zero' program did include this Heero's own ability to seemingly read our own moves, at least, to the best that I could simulate it. I tried to give it a slightly delayed reading of our inputs, in order to recreate it. Obviously I still need to work on that aspect of the program."

Lan patted her on the shoulder. "Relax, Pris, you did a good job. Sure, it's freaking impossible to beat solo, but then again we didn't fight Heero in one-on-one duels in the actual battle, nor will we in the next engagement."

Adaline sighed. "The only person who was able to do that was Commander Rehema, and even she was eventually forced to retreat. What kind of pilot is this Heero?"

"Who knows?" said Lan. Then she smiled. "But I know one thing; he sounds like a dream boy. You heard the recording the Commander had, right?"

"Yeah, I did," she replied, and couldn't help but smile herself. "I won't lie, his voice alone is something else. So calm and professional, yet I could also sense a bit of amusement in there. He must be one handsome devil!"

"And according to the Commander," chimed in Priscilla, "he's probably around our age, or maybe even younger."

"Yeah, he certainly sounded young," said Adaline.

"Too bad we haven't found any boys like that in ZAFT," Lan said, "At least, not yet."

"Oh?" said Adaline, one eyebrow raised, "I thought already had a thing for a certain ZAFT soldier boy? One Athrun Zala, I believe?"

Lan laughed. "Hardly. The guy's just too fun to tease, that's all. Remember our last shore leave in the PLANTs?"

Adaline nodded. "Yeah, when we ran into him and Lacus at the park, and you were wearing that cheongsam, the red and black one with the leg slits that went a bit higher than they normally do."

"And you were showing off every bit of those legs you could," added Priscilla.

Lan smiled. "Poor guy looked so flustered when I sidled up next to him and grabbed his ass. I think he damn near had a nosebleed."

"The latest victim of your devious charms," sighed Adaline.

"Oh, hardly," replied Lan, "The guy's engaged to Lacus, and I'd never try to sabotage that relationship. They look so cute together! Besides, Lacus is too nice for me to try and steal her fiancé, arranged marriage or otherwise. And come on, the guy's just too sullen most of the time. He really needs to learn to lighten up a bit. Not really my type."

"Now," she continued, "this Heero guy… not sure if he's exactly a laid back kind of person, but he sounded pretty relaxed after fighting the best pilot ZAFT has to offer. I'd love to meet the man who can solo the Valkyrie and then chat with her like they're at a bar down in Cabo knocking back tequila shots."

"If I recall correctly," said Priscilla, "you've never been to Cabo, or anywhere in Mexico, for that matter."

"Meh," Lan said, "I've been to dives near Carpentaria and Tobruk, not to mention the PLANTs have a few if you know where to look. Seen one drinking hole, you've seen them all, and the way those two were talking, I could easily imagine them kicking back in one with a bottle of Cuervo swapping war stories."

"I wonder what Commander Rehema would say to that," mused Adaline, "Still, I agree that this Heero is one fascinating individual."

"Indeed," said Priscilla, "In fact, I've run the name through the databanks and files that we've managed to hack from the Alliance, and I've found no mention of a pilot by the name of Heero Yuy."

"He could be black ops," Lan suggested, "I mean, we've found no files on the Wing Zero either. Maybe that mobile suit was a project that was deemed even more important than the Heliopolis prototypes and the new warship, and extra security precautions were taken to ensure secrecy."

"It seems like the most likely scenario," said Adaline, "but there's a problem with it. If the Alliance was able to develop something like Wing Zero independent of Orb and the Morgenroete company, then wouldn't they have produced other models along with it? Why limit themselves to a single prototype? There were five different machines at Heliopolis, after all."

"That's a good point," said Priscilla, "It's possible that Wing Zero was built by someone else entirely, and then sold to the Alliance, or that Heero is working for a third party, and is operating with the Earth Forces merely as a means to field test the mobile suit."

"But who built it then?" said Adaline, "The list of groups that could construct such an advanced weapon like that is awfully small."

Priscilla sighed. "I don't know. No matter what theories we or anyone else may bring forth- and I've seen quite a few wild ones in reports and inquiries lately- each one has faults of one kind or another. There's no scenario that accounts for all possible variables or gaps in information. We can speculate all we want, but in the end it's simply an academic exercise."

"Maybe we're getting too worked up over this," said Lan, "Commander Rehema doesn't seem too worried, after all."

"That's because she's finally found someone who can give her the fight of her life," replied Adaline, "She may not show obvious signs of it, but right now she probably feels more alive than she has this entire war so far."

"Man," said Lan, "I knew she was an adrenaline junkie, but I didn't think it went to that level. Still, I suppose it shouldn't be that surprising, especially given her skill level. Up until recently, the only pilots who could come anywhere close to giving her a workout are all on our side. That had to be a bit frustrating for her."

"Yeah…" said Adaline. I wonder, she thought, how does someone who's reached that level of piloting ability view a conflict like this? I mean, Pris, Lan and I are good, but the Commander and Heero seem to be in a league of their own.

How do people like that see the world?

What do they think of this war…?

….

The next morning, Heero was standing next to a group of jeeps. Several of the resistance members were in the vehicles, and Kira was in one with Cagalli. Lieutenant Commander La Flaga was in a jeep with Natarle. They were all about to depart to Banadiya to acquire supplies for both the coming battle and the Archangel's subsequent journey to Alaska.

The Gundam pilot turned to Murrue, who was standing behind him. "Are you sure about this?" he asked, "With all of us gone, you won't have any mobile suit or air cover if ZAFT attacks here."

She nodded. "You said it yourself a few days ago; Waltfeld will be focusing his attention on gathering his forces for the coming battle. His North Africa Corps is spread out over a very wide area. Even if he's only drawing upon his eastern forces, it will take some time to amass a force large enough to take us on with a decent chance of victory."

She moved close and whispered in his ear. "Kira and Cagalli will be going off on their own to do some shopping once they reach Banadiya. I know Cagalli's familiar with the area and will be able to guide Kira, but I still don't think they should be on their own. Kira's still a bit naïve, and Cagalli still strikes me as a bit hot-headed, regardless of how much she seems to have mellowed out after Tassil. In fact, I have no doubt she's suppressing quite a bit of anger and grief, and that could cause a problem. I'd feel much better if you were there to keep an eye on them."

Murrue smiled. "Besides, you deserve a little break after all you've done. Here," she said, giving him a small pouch. He peeked in to find several monetary notes.

He looked up at her, an eyebrow raised. Murrue laughed softly. "It's not a payment; I know you're not defending us for money. I want you to have it. Treat yourself to something; you've more than earned it."

Heero nodded. "Alright," he said, giving her a small smile, "Thanks, Murrue."

"You're welcome, Heero," she replied.

He turned and hopped into the jeep nearest to him. Cagalli and Kira were in the back, and the blond-haired girl moved into the middle seat so Heero could squeeze in with them. As the makeshift convoy began to move out, Heero turned to take one more look at Murrue. She smiled at him and waved. He gave her a small one of his own, and soon they were out of the ravine and traversing the sea of dunes that was the Sahara.

As they drove, he pulled out his pistol, and began giving it an abbreviated field inspection. It was a CR 75AC, a remake of the Czech Republic's most famous semi-automatic handgun, the CZ75. Designed, as its name suggested, in 1975, the original CZ75 had been considered an extremely high quality firearm. It had a staggered-column magazine, all-steel construction, and a hammer-forged barrel. Unlike most semi-automatic handguns, the slide assembly rode inside the frame, which gave the firearm large tolerances for both dirt and oil while maintaining accuracy. Standard ammunition for the weapon was the 9x19mm Parabellum cartridges, with the usual magazine capacity being sixteen rounds. The CZ had earned a reputation amongst professional pistol shooters and military personnel alike for superb quality and versatility, while also being sold at reasonable price at the time of its introduction. Of course, several centuries later in After Colony 195, an original CZ75 would have been extremely expensive, certainly out of the price-range of someone like Heero Yuy.

Fortunately for the Gundam pilot, the CR 75AC had been introduced only a few years prior to Operation Meteor. Procured by Doctor J and presented to Heero early on in his training, the weapon retained the high-grade steel construction of the original CZ, along with the 9x19mm cartridges, but several other changes had been made in the design. The magazine had been adapted for eighteen rounds, and since Heero always made sure to have a round chambered, that gave him nineteen shots before having to reload. The standard grips had been removed and replaced with ones made of walnut, the best wood in the world for pistol grips. In addition, the bottoms of the handle and the magazines had been reinforced slightly in order to compensate for the occasional pistol whip. The gun had an effective range of up to fifty meters in the hands of most marksmen, although Heero could hit sixty with little difficulty.

As he removed the magazine to check for sand and anything else that might cause a jam, he could practically feel someone watching him. Glancing up, he saw Cagalli and Kira looking at him with curiosity.

"You know," said Heero as he turned back to the firearm, "there's nothing out of the ordinary with a weapons check. You should be doing one yourself before we get to Banadiya."

"I'm… actually unarmed," said Kira.

Of course you are, thought Heero, I should have known you wouldn't have packed a weapon. You still don't think like a soldier yet. He turned to Cagalli. "What about you?"

"We won't need weapons for a simple shopping trip," she said.

"I'll take that as a no then," he replied deadpan.

"Come on, Heero," she said, "I know my way around Banadiya just fine. So long as you two stay with me, there's no way you'll need a gun."

"Forgive me for not sharing your confidence," Heero said, not even looking up as he took out the round in the chamber and began inspecting the barrel. Satisfied that it was in good order, he reset the barrel, reinserted the magazine, and chambered the extra bullet.

"Look," said Cagalli, frustration creeping into her voice, "would it kill you to trust me? We're on the same side, you know."

"I trust you not to try and kill me on purpose," he replied, "I'm not ruling out accidentally or a case of bad judgment." Reholstering the pistol, he then took out a military issue four inch combat knife and began checking the edges for cracks and signs of dullness.

"Hey, just what are you trying to say?" she said, her temperamental nature clearly having revived some now that the initial shock of her friend's death had been given a few days to settle.

Heero was saved the trouble of answering by Kisaka, who was in the front passenger seat. "Enough, Cagalli," the man said, "He's well within his rights to be cautious. In fact, I wish you would be a little more so as well."

She folded her arms. "I told you, I can take care of myself just fine in the towns around here." She jerked her thumb over in Heero's direction. "He's just being paranoid."

Kisaka chuckled. "Oh, I don't know about that. I'd call it prudent planning."

As the older fighter turned his attention back to the front, Heero gave him an appraising glance. This one's not like the others, he thought, eyes narrowing, he's had training, I can tell just by the way he carries himself. Extensive training too, judging by his build and the way he evaluates his surroundings without tipping off his allies. Even I had a little trouble picking it up at first. What's his background? Ex-special forces, maybe? If so, then what country did he work for… or is still working for? For all I know, he could be on a covert op out here.

There was quiet for awhile. Heero finished checking the knife and put it away. Then Cagalli spoke up again. "So what kind of gun is that anyway?"

Not wanting to let her know where he was really from, Heero decided to gamble that her knowledge of firearms was limited to the rifles and rocket launchers used by the resistance fighters. He pulled it out of the holster, made sure the safety was on, and held it out. "It's a CZ75." The actual model designation was engraved in small letters just below the casing ejector, but they were very easy to miss if you weren't looking for them, and Heero was confident she'd make that mistake.

Indeed, she gave the weapon a brief once-over, then gave it back to him. "Cool," she said.

However, as he took the gun, his attention was not on her, but on Kisaka, who sure enough had glanced back at them. Cagalli missed it, but Heero noted the man slightly raise an eyebrow as he stole a quick look at the pistol. He then turned back and proceeded to act like nothing had happened.

I thought so. She's not familiar with specific firearms beyond those used by the paramilitaries. Kisaka, however, definitely caught that name. Since the CR 75AC is based off the original CZ75, it should be able to pass a brief visual comparison, though if he's familiar with the smaller details of the CZ then he'll know something's up with my weapon.

At the least, the CZ75 has to be hard to come by in the Cosmic Era, so I have no doubt he's wondering how I came by such a gun.

Whatever his suspicions were, the man made no inquiries or comments as they continued their drive through the desert. The next person to speak up was actually Kira.

"So Heero," he said, "have you fought in the desert before? Not counting the battles we've had here, I mean."

Heero shook his head. "North Africa's a new environment for me. However, the relatively stable climate- besides the occasional sandstorm- makes it easy to adjust to. Not many environmental obstacles to get in the way either."

He looked over at Kira. "I've been meaning to tell you this for awhile; you were sloppy in that first battle. You should have adjusted your operating system to account for desert conditions before you launched."

Kira looked down. "Yeah… you're right. I… wasn't really thinking clearly then."

Heero sighed. "Look, there's nothing wrong with acting on your emotions. However, you can't let them rule you, and that goes double in combat. If you don't manage to keep a cool head during a battle, you'll be endangering both your friends and yourself. You won't last long."

He looked over at Cagalli. "That goes double for fighters without access to heavy weapons and superior numbers. A group like yours survives by keeping its wits about it and striking only when you can guarantee the element of surprise. As you saw quite clearly at Tassil, you're little more than cannon fodder in a straight-up fight."

Her eyes narrowed, but to her credit she didn't get angry. "I'm aware of my mistakes." Her expression softened a bit. "I'll… I'll try to keep a better handle on my temper next time. We can't afford another slaughter like that."

Nice to see that little lesson has sunk in, he mused. "Good," he said. After a moment, he added, "I'm getting tired of seeing people die in meaningless battles."

Cagalli looked at him again, and this time she appeared curious. "Heero, just how long have you been fighting?"

He wasn't going to tell her the truth, of course. The only person he trusted enough to tell that to was Murrue, and he had only told her about Operation Meteor. He hadn't mentioned his early days in the colonial resistance movement, or the assignments Lowe had took him on before his death. I'll tell Murrue about those sometime, but not so soon after what I've already said. I gave her enough to process for awhile as is.

However, he didn't want to outright lie to Cagalli. While they had gotten off on a rocky footing, she'd said she wanted to start from scratch, and seemed to be making an effort to do so. So he went for a vague answer. "Too long. Far too long…"

Silence fell over the jeep again, with only the noise of the engine in the background.

….

Looking around to make sure no one was watching, Sai quietly entered the hangar bay and made his way towards the Strike. Ever since his encounter with Kira and Flay, he had been trying to figure out a way to show him up, to make Flay come back to him. After a couple days of brooding, he figured that the best way to do it would be to prove that he could do what Kira had become so popular for doing; piloting a mobile suit.

He'd actually considered trying the Wing Zero for a moment, but then remembered something he had overheard about Heero having his mobile suit ready to self-destruct the moment someone was detected tampering with it, and had quickly dismissed that idea. However, he knew that Kira wasn't nearly as security conscious, so the Strike was the logical option.

Taking one last look around, he made a break for the last Alliance prototype. However, just as he was entering the cockpit, he was spotted by the chief mechanic, Murdoch. "Hey," the rugged man yelled in his typical gruff voice, "what the hell are you doing?"

Sai paid him no heed, and quickly closed the hatch. "You'll be singing a different tune when I'm through," he grumbled. Once everyone saw that he could pilot the Strike, they'd be praising him. Kira would fade into the role he'd had in school at Heliopolis, just a shy, if bright, technical college student, and Flay would dump him in a heartbeat.

Looking around the cockpit, he quickly found the activation switch, and powered up the mobile suit. The controls and view screens came to life, and he couldn't help but smile. Such a thrill, he thought, why the hell does Kira complain about this?

However, his excitement soon turned to frustration as he tried to move the Strike. The giant machine stumbled about, and he found himself rapidly losing control. "What the hell!" he cried. I can't move it right, he thought, panic growing within him, I don't understand! Kira makes it look so easy!

The Strike fell towards the hangar deck, and Sai barely managed to move the mobile suits arms out front to prevent it from landing flat on its chest, trapping him within the cockpit. As the tech crews rushed up to the machine, the young man slumped in the pilot's chair, overcome with frustration and despair.

"Damn it!" he said, slamming his hand against the arm rest. "Why… why is he the only one that can do this?!"

….

Murrue sighed as she entered the hangar. Sai had just been taken by security personnel and thrown in the brig, and now the tech crews were struggling to at least move the Strike onto its back. They would have to wait for Kira to return in order to move it back into its docking position.

Thinking about the young man who had pulled such a brash stunt, she struggled to comprehend his motives. I haven't had any problems with him in the CIC, she thought, in fact, he seemed like one of the more level headed members of the bunch from Heliopolis. Then she recalled the conversation she'd had with Heero about Flay and her strange interactions with Kira. Could that have played a part in this somehow?

She fervently wished that Heero was still aboard the ship so she could discuss it with him. He'd only been gone a few hours, yet she already found herself missing him. His mere presence had become a great source of comfort in the brief time he had been with them so far, and she knew she could count on him as a voice of reason. She dearly wished that she could get his insights into this current mess, but she'd have to wait until he got back.

She saw Crew Chief Murdoch walking over towards her. After he saluted her, she asked, "How bad is it?"

The head mechanic shrugged. "Not too bad, all things considered. The Strike suffered no real damage, and we should be able to use the heavy equipment to flip it on its back within a few hours, but beyond that we need the kid to do anything else."

"That's fine," said Murrue, "Do what you can."

Murdoch nodded. As he turned to go he added, "I'm just glad that guy didn't go for the Wing Zero. He could have gotten us all blown to kingdom come."

Indeed, she mused. The thought had crossed her mind.

As the Crew Chief went back to work, his parting words served to once again bring images of the young man who piloted the Wing Zero to the forefront of her thoughts. His tussled brown hair, his calm yet piercing blue eyes…

Heero, please be careful out there…

…and come back soon.

….

Cagalli, Heero, and Kira looked back as the group of resistance vehicles sped off. The three of them had just been dropped off in the middle of Banadiya's market district, and the other rebels were taking La Flaga and Natarle to meet with the black market arms dealers that were the source of most of their weapons in another part of the city. They were standing in a large square, with shops and stalls in all directions, and several of the streets leading away from the central area were also lined with merchants eager to make a sale.

While the others were making the main deal, Cagalli was in charge of conducting personal shopping, picking up items that had been requested by individual members of both the Desert Dawn and the crew of the Archangel. Kira was originally supposed to have been her bodyguard, but now that Heero was with them as well, that meant that the young Coordinator would be free to assist Cagalli with purchasing and carrying items.

Though certainly a well-traveled individual, Heero found himself nearly overwhelmed by the market-place. He could smell dozens of different kinds of foods, heard the melodies of a score of different instruments, the voices of hundreds of people clamoring for the best deal, the choice items…

In short, he'd never been to a place that was so… lively.

His initial disorientation lasted only for a moment though. Within seconds he was already scanning the crowds, right hand never straying far from the grip of his pistol. On the surface he still presented the cool veneer that was his trademark, but in his mind he was going over the layout of the district, the locations of all the alleyways, the best places to take cover in the event of a firefight. He watched as many people as he could, always positioning himself so that Kira and Cagalli were never out of his sight as they started moving from vendor to vendor, even if they were only on his peripheral vision at times. He kept behind them, though not too close, keeping enough distance so that he could have a wider view of the bazaar and not be focused exclusively on them and potentially blinding himself to possible threats.

Practical though it may have been, it apparently bothered Cagalli, who was looking back at him. "Hey," she said, "why don't you come up here with us? No need to be by yourself back there."

I really shouldn't, he thought, but he soon found himself moving a little closer, though still keeping enough distance to scan for approaching threats. Apparently it satisfied her, as she then smiled. "I was hoping you'd talk with us a bit while we were out here. We might be here on business right now, but we can still relax a little."

He shrugged. "Alright, though I'm not the best conversationalist."

"That's fine," she replied as they walked up to a stand full of cleaning supplies. She gave the list she was holding to Kira, who began reading off items to the vendor. Moving so she could watch Kira while at the same time speaking to Heero.

"I've been meaning to ask you this for awhile," she said. "Where did you learn to pilot like that? I was watching your fight against the Valkyrie, and I've never seen anyone fly like that!"

"It's… complicated," he said, "The training was part of a selection process for piloting the Gundam, and it was very intense."

"Gundam?" she said, "I thought the mobile suit was called the Wing Zero."

"Its full name is the Wing Gundam Zero," he replied, "Although, the word 'Gundam' can also be used for other mobile suits built of the same material, Gundanium alloy."

"Gundanium?" she said, raising an eyebrow, "I've never heard of it."

"It's very difficult to make," said Heero, "and it creation is a closely guarded secret." Technically that was all true. Heero still had no intention of telling her that he was from another world, but was still trying to avoid lying to her altogether.

"I see," said Cagalli, "Is that why it doesn't change colors when the suit is powered down? It doesn't use Phase Shift Armor?"

"It doesn't need it," replied Heero, "Gundanium is impervious to physical attacks, and it takes a very high powered beam weapon to do severe damage to it, though with enough weaker energy weapons you can accomplish the same feat through sheer numbers and a concentrated bombardment. I would say that it is superior to Phase Shift Armor."

"Oh," said Cagalli, eyes widening a bit, "that's a bold claim… but I don't think you're just blowing smoke. You don't strike me as the type."

"It's not really my style," he said. He looked around the market for a moment, and a thought crossed his mind. "I thought Banadiya was supposed to be in the middle of an economic recession, what with the restrictions on tourism and the fishing fleets. This bazaar seems pretty active, all things considered."

"I noticed that too," she said, briefly turning to give Kira some money to pay for the items they needed from that particular vendor. As the three of them moved on to the next merchant she continued. "I asked one of the other vendors about that, and she said something about ZAFT lifting some of the restrictions on where the fishing boats could go. I guess it was pretty recent. Though I can't see why they'd do that; they haven't shown much interest in the local economy in the time they've been here until now."

"I can," said Heero, "When they first conquered the region, they were worried about securing their hold on it and repelling assaults from the Europeans to the north and Alliance forces in the south, particularly from the Lake Victoria spaceport, at least until they conquered it. Now that the area has stabilized somewhat, Waltfeld is trying to improve the local economy as a matter of public relations, to sap the will of people to join rebel groups like the Desert Dawn by improving their lives, or at least trying to restore something akin to the pre-war order."

"But the people can't just be bought off!" said Cagalli, getting a little heated. She took a breath to calm herself, then looked at Heero, a bit of uncertainty in her eyes. "Can they?"

"Hard to say," he replied, taking a look around as they approached a small stand selling basic medical goods. As Cagalli gave Kira another list of items to purchase, he continued. "Most people do not have the strength to risk their lives in battle. Acquiescence to the dominant power is so much easier to do, particularly if said power begins taking measures to revive the local economy. The invader thus undermines any rebels at a very important level; quality of life. Comfortable submission may be viewed as favorable to living in hardship as a resistance force."

"I see," she said. She appeared thoughtful for a moment, then turned to help Kira continue shopping.

As they moved on through the market district, Heero found himself thinking on what he had said. And yet, often enough it is those who are in positions of luxury and power that end up choosing to fight for one reason or another. Treize, Zechs… aristocracy and fallen royalty, respectively, yet they were amongst the best pilots in the Earth Sphere by the time the Artemis Revolution rolled around. They were willing to risk their lives on the battlefield, and both even led rebellions of sorts: Treize against Romefeller after they decided to use Mobile Dolls, and Zechs against Earth as the leader of White Fang. Even Quatre was heir to the wealthy Winner family, yet he chose to rebel against the UESA and become a Gundam pilot.

What does that say about humanity, I wonder?

"Hey, Heero!" said Kira. He looked up, and was surprised to realize that he had actually lost himself in thought for a bit. Pull it together, Heero.

Kira and Cagalli were looking at him quizzically. "Everything alright?" asked Cagalli.

Heero nodded. "Yeah. Let's get moving."

They continued on through the market for a bit, then Cagalli stopped at another stall, peering intently at its wares. As the two young men accompanying her followed her gaze, they saw that the vendor was selling jewelry. It wasn't high class stuff; in fact it was mostly small trinkets, no gemstones of any real value. Still, the blond resistance fighter seemed to enjoy looking at them, and was asking the merchant about some of the pieces.

I guess there are some things that never change with women, he mused. He would've just hung back as usual, but something caught his eye.

It was a necklace. At first glance it appeared to be nothing special, just a dark blue stone with a thin strip of leather running through a small hole in it. Yet the stone seemed to shimmer slightly in the sunlight, like ocean waves on a clear day.

Now, Heero wasn't really into personal ornamentation… but then again, it wasn't himself that he was picturing the necklace on.

He moved up next to Cagalli, and the girl raised an eyebrow. "What can you tell me about that necklace?" he said as he pointed to it.

The vendor who ran the stall, a woman who appeared to be in her forties, smiled. "It is a Tear of Isis," she said to him, "They are not particularly valuable, but it is said that to give one to someone is to acknowledge that a bond has grown between them, one that the giver holds to be dear to them. It can be that of close friends, comrades, adoptive family, lovers… any bond will do, provided you feel it is important. To give a Tear of Isis is also a promise to remain true to that bond, and to protect it with all your might."

"How much is it?" he asked her. She named a price, and Heero was pleased to hear that it was quite cheap, and quickly pulled out some of the cash Murrue had given him. The woman smiled and grabbed the necklace, which she then placed in a small brown satchel and gave to him.

"Young man," she said, "look at me. Let me see your eyes."

Heero raised an eyebrow, slightly suspicious. However, he could detect no sign of hostile intent within the woman, so he did as she asked. Her own brown eyes seemed to bore into him, as if they were peering into the depths of his soul. It was a bit unnerving, but Heero didn't break his gaze.

After a minute or so, the woman leaned back and sighed. "You have suffered greatly for one so young. Yet you have not been broken by despair or guilt, though both have wounded you deeply. Your heart holds courage beyond that of any other who walks this earth, but also uncertainty. You are struggling to find your role, your place in this world."

Then she smiled. "And you have met someone who is willing to help you, and would move mountains to do so. Treasure the bond you have forged with her, and do not be afraid… should it grow into something more."

His eyes widened. How… how is she doing this?

The woman laughed. "You youngsters should be moving on. I can tell you have many more places to go, and our time together has come to an end."

She looked at Heero one last time. "Farewell, soldier from beyond our stars."

Heero nodded. "Come on, let's go," he said. Cagalli and Kira looked at him for a moment, clearly wondering what that whole exchange had been about.

Then Cagalli nodded. "Alright, we have a lot more ground we need to cover."

As they moved on, Heero gave the lady at the stall one more glance. Funny, I never put much stock in what people might call a sixth sense, at least not beyond my own combat and survival instincts, not to mention the Zero system. However…

…maybe there is something beyond that, some rare form of perception that most of us will never know.

….

Meanwhile, in a warehouse on the edge of town, the others were busy discussing the final details of the arms deal. Since Sahib personally knew the head dealer, he was conducting the negotiations while everyone else just hung around in the background.

Leaning against a wall, Mu La Flaga looked over at Natarle and smiled. "Well, looks like we'll get everything we need from these guys."

The black haired woman looked around the warehouse and nodded. "Yeah… though I'll admit this smuggling operation these guys have worries me a little. Look how many of the crates in this warehouse have Earth Forces IDs on them!"

The Lieutenant Commander shrugged. "Not much we can really do about that right now. Besides, we need these supplies, and I've seen plenty of boxes with the ZAFT insignia on them too. These guys have a wide reach."

"We can at least check the serial numbers on the Alliance boxes," Natarle whispered, "That way we can find out what facilities they came from."

She moved to do precisely that, but was stopped by Mu grabbing her arm. He shook his head. "Don't do it. I know how much this bothers you, but we need this deal to go smoothly if we're going to make it to Alaska HQ. If either of us gets caught snooping around, that'll torpedo this whole thing."

She tensed for a moment, then sighed. "You're right. I guess… I'm just so used to everything being so clear cut, by the book. I'm not used to playing in moral and legal grey areas like this. I'm pretty sure we're breaking at least a dozen regulations with this."

Natarle was surprised when Mu put his hand on her shoulder. "Natarle, you're a good officer, and your knowledge of Alliance rules and regulations is second to none. It's served you well up until now… but this isn't exactly a normal campaign, and the rulebook can't cover everything."

He smiled, and she could feel her misgivings ease slightly. There's just something about that smile, she thought, and was embarrassed to feel a bit of heat rushing to her head. She quickly turned away, trying to occupy herself with something else, anything else.

Mu raised an eyebrow. "What? What'd I do?"

"Oh, uhm, nothing!" she said, a bit quicker than she meant to.

You, Lieutenant Commander La Flaga, she thought, are way too relaxed for your own good. Still…

… I don't particularly mind that side of you.

….

"Ah, finally!" said Cagalli, smiling as she sat down.

The three of them were at an outdoor café, having just finished their shopping. Cagalli had decided to introduce them to some of the local cuisine, and the waiter had barely handed out the menus before she had snatched them up, ordered for all of them, and sent the waiter on his way.

Heero grabbed a glass of water that was sitting on the table. At least we didn't have to ask for this, he thought as he took a sip, she didn't even give us a chance to order drinks, and I'm thirsty.

"Hey," said Cagalli, "do you think the Valkyrie will be in the next battle?"

Heero shrugged. "Probably. If I were Waltfeld, I'd want something to keep the Wing Zero occupied, and Shemei and her subordinates are among the best pilots ZAFT has to offer. He'd be a fool to not have her in his combat lineup."

Cagalli nodded. "Yeah, you have a point there."

"Uhm, Heero?" said Kira a bit hesitantly, "Who did you buy that necklace for? You don't strike me as the jewelry type."

"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask about that too," said Cagalli, "Well?"

Heero looked down at the table, where he had taken the necklace out of the satchel to look at. An image of Murrue flashed through his thoughts again.

He looked up at them. "You'll see when we get back to the camp."

"Alright, fair enough," said Kira.

Cagalli seemed willing to let the matter slide too. "It certainly is pretty," she said, admiring it before Heero put it away, "I'm surprised that lady was willing to sell it for so cheap."

"Well," said Kira, "she did say they weren't particularly valuable. That kind of stone is probably pretty common around here."

"Good point," said Cagalli, "They're pretty easy to find along the shore, and Banadiya is a coastal town."

They were quiet for awhile after that, simply relaxing and waiting for their food. When the waiter showed up a few minutes later Cagalli smiled. "Alright! Thank you!"

"Uhm, what are these?" asked Kira.

"These are doner kebabs!" she said smiling, "Oh yes they are!" She reached across the table towards Kira's dish. Heero watched in amusement as she grabbed a bottle of red sauce. "Here, you should use this chili sauce."

"Hold on there, little lady," came a voice from behind him.

Heero whirled around, right hand swiftly moving to his gun. How the hell did he get the drop on me?! While relaxed, Heero hadn't dropped his guard since the jewelry stall, and had been sure that no one was approaching them.

The man behind them smiled. He was tall, wore khaki pants and a bright red and yellow shirt. His eyes were hidden by sunglasses and he wore round, tan hat as well, yet there was something familiar about him. He noticed the man's tanned skin, indicative of having spent an extended period of time in the desert, though Heero would still have classified him as white, and the stranger also had rather long sideburns as well.

Suddenly an image flashed before Heero's mind; a man with the exact same build, in a tan officer's uniform, the image from the file Murrue had shown him aboard the Archangel when they had first touched down in North Africa.

His eyes narrowed as the man stood between Kira and Cagalli. Hard to believe, but there's no mistake…

….that's Field Marshall Andrew Waltfeld. The Desert Tiger himself.

He watched as Waltfeld grabbed a bottle of yogurt sauce off the table and try to put it on Kira's kebab. This started a back and forth debate between the two of them over which sauce the young man should use, yogurt or chili. Soon the young Coordinator's dish seemed to be more sauce than kebab as the two of them proceeded to pour more of the topping of their choice on his plate. It would have been humorous for Heero had he been paying attention, but he had begun taking another look at their surroundings and was noticing subtle but troubling differences.

The street side that the café was on had gained a few more people, all dressed in civilian clothes but whose stances were clearly those of soldiers, and ones who were packing concealed weapons. Glancing upwards, Heero also saw some men on the roof of the building the café was located at. A hit squad? No, if Waltfeld wanted us dead, the guys on the roof would've picked us off already. They're most likely his body guards.

The area across the street had gained some new faces as well, but unlike Waltfeld's covert entourage these were of greater concern to Heero. While not possessing the professional demeanor of Waltfeld's men, they all had a look on their faces that struck Heero as barely concealed hatred. They were armed as well, though they were doing a clumsy job of concealing their guns beneath their shirts. Glancing up at the rooftops across the street, he mentally swore as he saw two men preparing a rocket-propelled-grenade-launcher.

He was already drawing his gun when Waltfeld grabbed Kira and Cagalli. "Get down!" he yelled. He swiftly threw them towards the ground, inadvertently knocking Kira's sauce laden plate onto Cagalli, though to her credit the girl didn't fuss over it. He then drew upon the inherent strength of a Coordinator and kicked the table skywards, intercepting the rocket that had just been fired from the men on the room.

As the projectile impacted the table and exploded in the air, Heero had already dove to the side and sighted in on the rooftop assailants. Firing twice in the space of a second, he hit the attackers square between the eyes; perfect kill shots. Then he quickly knocked over a table to use as cover, and saw that Kira and Cagalli had taken shelter behind one as well. Waltfeld had grabbed one of his own as well.

After seeing the initial rocket attack fail, the other hostiles across the street drew a mix of pistols and submachine guns and began firing.

"Die Coordinator scum!" one yelled.

"For the preservation of our blue and pure world!" cried another.

"Those guys are Blue Cosmos!" he heard Cagalli shout over the firefight.

Great, he thought, just our luck to get caught up in the middle of a terrorist attack by genocidal maniacs. He'd read in the files he'd downloaded from the Alliance about the anti-Coordinator extremist group, but hadn't counted on running into them in the heart of ZAFT territory on Earth.

"Burn in hell, Coordinat-!" one man yelled, before getting a hole blown in his head by Heero.

"Shut the fuck up," he muttered under his breath as he fired off two more shots, hitting another attacker in the chest and dropping him.

Ducking back behind the table, he saw Waltfeld's men taking up positions around the café, taking down the remaining assailants with precise and well-coordinated shots. The Field Marshall himself was picking off terrorists left and right. However, in the confusion of the firefight they had apparently missed one, who had snuck around the side and was drawing a bead on Waltfeld. However, before he could get a shot off, Kira suddenly rushed out from behind the table, picked up a gun that had been dropped by one of Waltfeld's men when he had been wounded, and threw it at the attacker. The impromptu projectile hit the man right in the face, and gave Waltfeld the time he needed to move in to restrain the man, pointing his gun at the terrorist's head.

"Clear!" yelled the Field Marshall. His men replied in similar manner. Only one had been wounded, taking a shot to his right arm, which had caused him to drop the gun Kira had picked up. One of his comrades was already patching him up, and the guy looked more annoyed than anything else.

"You know," said Cagalli as she stood up, looking at Kira, "you're supposed to shoot with a gun, not throw it at someone."

"Yeah, sorry," he said, "I acted on instinct."

"I'm not complaining," said Waltfeld as he walked over to them. He smiled as he removed his hat and shades.

Cagalli gasped. "You mean… we we're talking to Andrew Waltfeld this whole time?"

"I'm a little disappointed that you didn't catch on, young miss," he said. "Unlike your friend here," he added as he looked at Heero.

The Gundam pilot shrugged. "Wasn't too hard. I am impressed though; you're one of the few people who have gotten the drop on me like that."

The Desert Tiger chuckled. "It wasn't easy. You have sharp senses…. Heero Yuy."

He tensed, ready to raise his CR 75AC at the drop of a hat. "How did you know who I was?"

"I've heard the audio recordings from Commander Rehema's DINN. I recognized your voice the moment you guys started talking earlier," replied Waltfeld.

He smiled. "Now, let me take you guys somewhere where we can chat in private." He looked over at Cagalli, whose clothes were covered in the sauces from Kira's spilt food. "And get you a change of clothes."

Both her and Kira were worried, and looked over at Heero to see how he'd react. They were surprised when he looked at Waltfeld and asked, "Is Commander Rehema in town, by any chance?"

The Tiger grinned. "Indeed. The whole Valkyrie team is here. They're actually all at my headquarters right now chatting with Aisha."

Heero nodded. "I don't suppose you got a ride nearby?"

"Heero!" cried Cagalli, "What are you thinking?"

"I want to hear what he has to say," he replied, "Besides, if he wanted us dead, he could have killed us during the firefight."

"Come on, Cagalli," said Kira, "it's not like we have much of a choice in the matter anyway."

She sighed. "Oh, alright. I suppose it'd be nice to get a change of clothes, too."

Waltfeld laughed. "Come on then, I have a jeep parked on the other side of the café." He looked over at one of his subordinates. "DaCosta, grab their bags for them, alright?"

"Yes, sir," said a man who appeared to be his adjutant.

As they made their way towards the vehicle, Heero holstered his pistol. Then he checked his pocket, and sighed with relief as he pulled out the satchel. He opened it quickly and saw that the necklace was indeed still in there, and as he pulled it out he saw that it had suffered no damage.

"A Tear of Isis," said Waltfeld, "So, who's the lucky lady?"

"None of your business," he said as he put the necklace away.

Waltfeld shrugged. "Fair enough."

….

"Not quite what I expected for the headquarters of the Desert Tiger," said Heero.

He, Kira, and Waltfeld were in a lavishly appointed lounge area, the style of which reminded Heero of that favored by the Romefeller Foundation; a mix of Baroque era architecture and furniture combined with the latest technology. The two teenagers were sitting on a couch with a coffee table in front of it, while Waltfeld was leaning against the wall near a window. Aisha had taken Cagalli to get cleaned up a few minutes ago.

Waltfeld chuckled. "You can blame the Alliance for that. They had some European aristocrat as the commanding General for their North African forces, and he had this place constructed. I'd prefer something a bit more low key, personally."

Heero was about to comment when he heard voices coming from the hallway, all of them female.

"He's here?! Why didn't you say so earlier, Commander?" said one.

"Because I just found out from Aisha," said another.

"I heard there were two others with him," a third voice chimed in.

"I wonder who they are," he heard a fourth say.

The three of them turned towards the door as it opened, and in walked the Valkyrie team. Heero recognized the tall woman with the darker skin tone from the Archangel's files as Shemei Rehema, and figured that the other three were her subordinates. They were all in uniform, Shemei in her white Commander's outfit and the other three wearing the red ones reserved for top pilots.

Commander Rehema smiled. "Waltfeld, you could've given us a little more heads up, you know."

The Desert Tiger laughed. "Slipped my mind, sorry. Aisha seems to have told you in any case, so all's well."

She smiled, and looked at the two teenagers on the couch. Her silver eyes immediately met Heero's, and he knew that she had figured out instantly who he was, despite the fact that their conversation had been strictly audio.

Heero stood up, taking Kira by surprise, and walked over to the female ace and her comrades. He held out his hand. "I suppose I don't need to say this, but I'm Heero Yuy."

As she took it, one of the girls, one of Chinese descent from what Heero could tell from her features, whistled. Another, a blond girl, gave a small gasp while the third, a red-head, murmured, "Oh my…"

"And I'm Shemei Rehema, though I'm sure you knew that," the Commander replied. She waved her arm at her subordinates. "This is Lan Zhao, Priscilla Dalca, and Adaline Bellerose."

Heero nodded at them. "Nice to meet you."

They all smiled, and Lan Zhao winked. "Pleasure's all mine, handsome."

Heero raised an eyebrow, and Waltfeld laughed again. "Why don't you all come over here? Plenty of seats to go around. Aisha and the girl should be done soon."

As they all sat down, Lan turned towards Kira. "And what's your name, cutie?"

"Honestly, Lan," said Adaline, "can't you save the flirting for later?"

"Worried about falling behind?" Lan teased, "Better step up your game, Adaline."

Kira simply blushed. "Kira… Kira Yamato."

"It's very nice to meet both of you," said Priscilla, smiling and bowing her head slightly.

"Uhm, yeah. Same here," he replied. Heero could tell he was uneasy, and understood why. Though they aren't hostile right now, the fact remains that they are our enemies. Kira hasn't been exposed to this side of war: where one finds out that our 'enemies' are not so different from us…

He was wondering how to handle the situation when he heard a 'ding' coming from a corner of the room. Waltfeld smiled. "Ah, perfect timing!" He walked over towards the coffee machine that had made the noise, grabbed the pot, and brought it over to the table. He then grabbed several cups and started pouring.

"One of my latest blends," he said, "Why don't you all give it a try?"

They all did so, and to Heero it tasted unlike any other coffee he'd tried before. It was bitter, but there was something about it that made the bitterness a good thing. He could also taste mint in the coffee, much more strongly than in any other blend he'd had.

He set the cup down. "Not bad," he murmured.

"Thanks," said Waltfeld. The others were quick to voice their approval as well.

"Is this a personal blend?" he asked, "It's not like any other I've tried."

"You bet," replied the Field Marshall, "You could say that coffee blending is a hobby of mine."

Shemei laughed. "More like a minor obsession. Honestly, your personal office looks more like an amateur chemistry lab."

"We all have our quirks," said Waltfeld with a shrug.

"Uhm, mind if I ask something?" said Kira nervously.

The Valkyrie gave him a warm smile. "Go right ahead."

"Why… why are you all meeting with us like this?" he asked, "I mean, aren't we supposed to be… enemies?"

The beautiful Egyptian woman chuckled mischievously. "I suppose you do have a point there. I could answer that, but since Andrew here arranged this I think I'll let him do it."

"Call it curiosity, kid," the Tiger said. He smirked. "Knowing your enemy is one of the oldest truisms of warfare… and you guys are the first to give us a serious challenge in quite awhile."

He looked up as the door opened. "Ah, glad you two could join us."

Heero turned with everyone else, and he couldn't help but smirk a bit at what he saw.

Cagalli and Aisha were standing in the doorway. Waltfeld's lover was wearing a strapless blue dress which practically clung to her body, showing off her curves and leaving little to the imagination. Cagalli's was a bit more conservative, though another strapless gown as well. Hers was sea-green, and flowed outward from her waist in a manner that Heero found to be quite elegant, very unlike the rough-and-tumble tomboy he knew her as. Looks like even she can dress up like a princess on occasion, he mused, she can be a bit more girly than she'd otherwise admit, it seems.

Aisha gave her a playful little push, and Cagalli stumbled nervously into the room. She blushed slightly, then sat down between Kira and Heero. The Gundam pilot saw her glare at the coffee cup in front of her, then grudgingly grabbed it and took a sip. After she put it down, she folded her arms and narrow her eyes at Waltfeld.

Correction, Heero thought with some amusement, no matter what you dress her in, she's still rough around the edges. Looks like she won't be playing the princess role any time soon.

"You look quite lovely, young miss," said Waltfeld, scooting over a bit in his seat to make room for Aisha.

Cagalli scowled at him. "Yeah, what's it to you?"

The Field Marshall chuckled. "The perfect little lady until you speak."

"Sorry Andy," said Aisha as her lover handed her his coffee mug, which she took a sip from. She giggled. "All I could do was help her clean up and find her a dress; I'm afraid that attitude of hers wasn't going anywhere, regardless of how luxurious her bath may have been."

Cagalli again blushed slightly at that. The two lovers laughed, then shared a brief kiss. Turning back to his guests, Waltfeld spoke. "Now, about what you were asking earlier, kid. I wanted to find out for myself just who the pilots of the Earth Forces only two mobile suits were and what they were like."

"Before you continue," said Heero, "you should know that I'm not part of the Alliance military."

"Really?" said Shemei, looking intently at his eyes. After a moment, she smiled. "You know, normally I'd be skeptical of that, but… there's just something about those eyes of yours. I don't think you're lying."

"I agree," said Waltfeld, "Still, you are fighting for them. Are you a mercenary?"

"It's a bit more complicated than that," replied Heero, "I'm protecting the Archangel, but not for money. I have my own reasons for fighting. Also, the Wing Zero is not an Alliance mobile suit; it's my own machine."

"What?" said Lan, eyes widening, "You mean you built it?"

He shook his head. "No, it was built by a friend of mine. Also, you won't find the designs in any Alliance or Orb database; it was made completely independent of any government."

"I don't suppose you'll go into more detail?" said Shemei.

Heero shook his head.

The ZAFT ace laughed. "I thought so."

Adaline sighed. "Well, so much for figuring out who's theory was right, though I guess we should at least thank you for narrowing things down a bit." Seeing him raise an eyebrow, she smiled. "Everyone's been trying to figure out who you are, and where the Wing Zero came from. There's been some really wild guesses out there."

Heero couldn't help but laugh. As everyone else looked at him, he smirked. "Trust me, the truth is stranger than anything you guys could think up."

While the others just raised their eyebrows, he turned his attention to Commander Rehema. Or, to be more specific, the unique firearm she had holstered on her belt.

"Is that a Mauser C96?" he asked.

She smiled and drew the weapon. "It's a custom remake. ZAFT standard issue side-arms are based on the Glock series, but I never really liked those. Fortunately, when you become a Commander you can request all kinds of favors from the armories. I had this baby modeled on the Chinese variant, the Type 17 pistol."

Heero nodded. "Chambered for .45 ACP cartridges, ten rounds before reloading, right?"

"You know your firearms, mister Yuy," she said with a laugh, "Yes, though this one carries fourteen rounds. The material is a higher-grade steel than the original model, and of course all the internal components use more modern alloys as well."

"I read somewhere that the muzzle jump on the Mauser series and its variants was a real pain to compensate for," said Heero, "Do you bandit shoot?"

"You've heard the term? My, you are well informed," she said.

Invented in the Far East in the early twentieth century, the 'bandit shooting' technique had been developed as a means to use the notorious muzzle jump of the Mauser series pistols to the wielders advantage. It involved holding the weapon sideways, which allowed the recoil to guide the attackers aim into the next target in a sweeping motion. Combining this with the pistol's fully automatic firing turned the gun into an excellent weapon for clearing rooms and other confined areas.

Heero smirked. "The only weapon that should be held sideways as a matter of practicality, and not for the sake of looks. I can't believe people are stupid enough to do that with normal handguns."

Both he and Shemei shared a laugh over that before Cagalli cut in. "Heero, what the hell's the matter with you? We're sitting in the heart of enemy territory and you're just kicking back discussing gun fighting techniques with someone you just engaged in battle only days ago!"

"You're point?" he replied.

"My point?" she repeated, eyes widening, "Shouldn't you be more concerned with whether or not they're going to kill us?"

"We're sitting right here, you know," said Waltfeld, causing both Aisha and Shemei to giggle a bit.

"She does have a point Heero," said Kira, "Aren't you the least bit worried?"

Heero shrugged. "Not really. If Waltfeld wanted to kill us, he could have done so during or after the firefight with Blue Cosmos."

"Still…" she said, turning towards Waltfeld, "Why go through all this trouble? You must know the kind of damage we can do to your forces."

"Oh yes, I'm well aware of your abilities," said Waltfeld, "Two Coordinators who fight against their own people; formidable foes to be sure."

"You're mistaken," said Heero, "Kira's a Coordinator, I'm not." That was true, though with his own bio-augmentations he didn't exactly qualify as a natural human either.

Cagalli turned to Kira, eyes widening slightly, "You mean you're… a Coordinator?"

Kira nodded, his face becoming a little red.

Waltfeld looked surprised. "I'm impressed. The way you fought, I thought for sure you were one of us. You, young man, are one hell of a pilot."

"My thoughts exactly," said Shemei. The rest of her team nodded in agreement.

Waltfeld turned back to Kira. "You're no slouch yourself. Especially given that you apparently possess berserker capabilities…"

"What?" said Kira, clearly confused.

Waltfeld looked puzzled. "You mean you… never mind, forget I said anything."

Heero's eyes narrowed. Berserker… Kira? He's got to be kidding. And yet, after reviewing some of the kid's combat footage after the two engagements he'd had in the desert so far, he had noticed that, under pressure, the young Coordinator seemed to experience a drastic decrease in his reaction times, and an overall short term boost in his fighting capabilities.

"As for why I went so far as to bring you three here," said Waltfeld, "I wanted to know more about you. Shemei did as well; we've never seen people fight quite the way you do. The Strike, the Wing Zero… both are incredibly sophisticated mobile suits, and you two pilots are incredibly skilled. It's even more amazing when your youth is considered. You two are what, sixteen?"

Kira and Heero nodded. "So am I," said Cagalli.

Waltfeld sighed. "Young for soldiers, yet that seems to be becoming more and more common of late. Both the Alliance and ZAFT have been fielding new recruits that age for some time now."

"What do you expect?" said Shemei, "You know how it goes; war is the young dying, and the old talking."

Heero nodded. "Well said, Commander."

They were all quiet for a moment. Then Waltfeld turned to Heero. "You seem like an insightful young man. Tell me, what do you think it would take to end this war?"

"Hard to say," he replied, "this war holds the unique distinction of being kicked off by a nuclear massacre. As long as those most responsible for it remain at large, I can't see ZAFT accepting a ceasefire any time soon. Also, with Operation Uroboros and the crippling of the Earth's energy grid, I could say the same for the Alliance. Both sides have been indiscriminate with their opening acts, and their conduct since then has been little better. The hardliners in both governments are firmly entrenched, and as long as they hold positions of power the conflict will not end any time soon."

"What's more disturbing," he continued, "is that, from what I've read, Defense Chairman Zala is the primary contender for your next Supreme Council Chairman. I don't know the man personally, but from what I understand he favors forcing the Alliance into submission before declaring a ceasefire. If he seizes power, then the conflict will escalate… and the casualty figures will skyrocket."

"If cooler heads were to prevail in both the Alliance and the PLANTs, then perhaps negotiations could begin to end hostilities. However, with elements like Blue Cosmos and the PLANT radical faction thrown into the mix, I don't believe that can occur."

"You paint a grim future, Mr. Yuy," said Priscilla, "Unfortunately, I'm inclined to agree with that conclusion."

"As am I," said Shemei. Waltfeld and Aisha nodded as well.

"There is another way," said Heero, thinking back on the Eve Wars, "that this conflict could be brought to an end… though I would hope it doesn't come to that."

"Oh?" said Waltfeld, raising an eyebrow, "What way might that be?"

Heero surprised him, and everyone else, by giving a grim laugh. They all looked at him nervously for a moment before he spoke. "Tell me, how long has humanity been fighting?"

Waltfeld, Aisha, and Shemei all looked at each other. "Throughout our entire history," said Aisha, "since the time we began walking upright and making stone tools."

Heero nodded. "Well put. Though the reasons given may vary, people have always fought each other. It's as if it's in our very nature to fight."

He sighed and looked past the others, out the window. "History is much like an endless waltz in three/four time. The three beats of war, peace, and revolution seem to continue on for eternity."

Shemei's eyes widened slightly. "That's almost poetic. I never figured you for a romantic, Heero."

The young man shrugged. "Take it for what you will."

"Heero," said Adaline, "do you think that there is a way for mankind to break that cycle?"

"Yes," he said, "although the price would be… steep."

"What do you mean?" said Cagalli, clearly getting drawn into the conversation despite her earlier protests.

Heero closed his eyes, thinking back on the final battle at the Libra. "Give humanity a war beyond any it has ever seen before. More importantly, grab them by the hair and shove their faces in it. Make them see the true face of conflict. No honor, no glory, just straight up kill or be killed. Also, make sure that the fate of humanity itself rides on the battle, that all of mankind stands on the razors edge, on the brink of total annihilation."

He looked up at them, grim determination in his eyes. "People have tried to end conflicts by simply taking away weapons, but that doesn't work. You have to destroy mankind's very will to fight. Force them to confront a war so horrific, with the possibility of the very extinction of our kind on the line, with a final battle of massive proportions, casualties beyond any other struggle ever experienced… only then will they lose all taste for battle. Only then will mankind begin to truly work for a lasting peace."

And perhaps this time, he thought, mind wandering back to his old world, find the strength to keep it.

"Unless you can defeat the will to fight," he concluded, "then as long as mankind exists… there will always be battles."

The room became eerily quiet. Then Waltfeld's eyes narrowed. "You're not just speaking hypothetically. I realize this sounds crazy, since a conflict like the one you're describing has never taken place in our history… but you've experienced precisely that, haven't you?"

Heero chuckled. "As you said, it's impossible. If a confrontation like that had taken place, then would we be fighting this latest war of ours?"

"Don't play dumb with me," Waltfeld growled, being truly serious for perhaps the first time since the firefight at the café, "Your manner is not that of just another young pilot. It's that of a soldier who's seen something that none of us have."

"Perhaps I have," said Heero, eyes meeting the Tiger's, "but the truth in this case is something that you would never believe."

"Try us," said Cagalli.

Heero thought for a moment. He had taken considerable efforts to keep the fact that he was from another world from her, along with most of the others. Kira was the only other person in the room who knew that bit of information, and to his credit he hadn't mentioned that. However, if revealing that could throw Waltfeld and his comrades off balance…

…then it might be worth telling the truth just to see their reactions.

"Fine," said Heero, "Although it might sound a bit more credible if someone other than me were to tell you." He turned to Kira. "Your show, kid."

"Huh?" he said, clearly surprised, "You sure?"

Heero nodded.

Kira looked down for a moment, a bit nervous. Then he looked up, took a breath to calm himself, and spoke. "Heero's… not from our world."

The room was dead silent for a moment. Then Shemei spoke up. "Hold on… say that again?"

"He's not from the Cosmic Era," said Kira, "He's from an alternate world. I know it sounds crazy, but I've seen cockpit recordings from the Wing Zero. The date on the screen read A.C. 196, though I don't know what it stands for. Apparently he was on an assignment and something went wrong. He was caught up in a massive explosion, and I think it ripped a hole in the fabric of space/time… at least, that's my theory."

"A.C. stands for After Colony," said Heero.

"Whoa whoa whoa!" said Lan, "You mean an entirely different timeline?"

"Hang on!" said Priscilla, "Are you even from Earth?"

"Technically," said Heero, "I was born in the colonies, more specifically the L1 cluster. But the world that they orbited was still Earth."

"Why join up with the Earth Forces?" said Shemei.

"I haven't," said Heero, "I joined the Archangel. Originally it was because it was close to where I entered the Cosmic Era, and I needed a place to resupply and get my bearings. However…"

He closed his eyes, and couldn't help but smile as Murrue's face flashed through his mind. "There's someone on that ship that I want to protect." He looked at the others. "I'm not fighting for the Alliance. I'm disgusted with their actions, and the same goes for ZAFT. If I could I'd fight both sides… but there's someone on the Archangel who was willing to help me, and I'm going to repay her kindness. I owe her that, and no doubt more."

Waltfeld chuckled. "So that's who the Tear of Isis was for. I should have guessed…"

"What?" said Lan, eyes widening, "You mean he's already spoken for? Damn it, Waltfeld! Why didn't you give us a heads up?"

Shemei laughed. "Shouldn't that be 'damn it, Field Marshall', Miss Zhao?"

She blushed slightly. "Right, sorry sir."

Waltfeld shook his head. "Don't worry about it. And I wouldn't get too worked up over the necklace our young friend has bought. Remember, a Tear of Isis isn't necessarily considered a romantic gift."

Lan shook her head. "With all due respect, sir…" She looked over at Heero and smiled. "From a handsome guy like him, I'd be hard pressed to find a woman who'd take it any other way."

Heero raised an eyebrow, and she laughed. "Guess you still need some work when it comes to girls, eh Heero?"

She then winced as Adaline elbowed her in the ribs. "Don't mind Lan here, she gets her kicks throwing men off balance." The red-head smiled. "I think it's sweet that you bought something like that for this woman you've mentioned. The bond you two share must be quite strong."

"I agree," said Aisha. She winked. "You, young man, will make a lucky woman very happy someday."

Heero was struck by a very unfamiliar feeling; embarrassment. His face warmed ever so slightly, though he managed to keep it hidden from the others. Another image of Murrue flashing through his head did not help matters. What the hell is wrong with me? Pull yourself together, Heero!

"Alright," said Waltfeld, "I think we've teased our friend here enough for one day."

"I agree," said Aisha, "In fact, we'd better let them go soon. Otherwise the rest of their group will start to worry." Seeing the look of shock on Cagalli's face, she smiled. "Come now, you don't take us for fools, do you? We know you're here with other members of the rebel group in order to get supplies and weapons. Andy just decided that you three were more worth the effort to keep track of."

"And I think I can safely say that I was right," said the Field Marshall. He stood up and moved toward the window. After looking out it for a moment, he turned towards his guests. "Your clothes should be clean by now. Aisha, could you take her so she can get changed?"

His lover nodded. "Sure, no problem Andy." She walked over to Cagalli and took her by the arm. "Come on now. You don't want to keep your friends waiting, do you?"

As the two ladies left the room, Heero turned to Waltfeld. "So, you know there are allies of ours in town preparing to fight you, yet you just let them do as they please?"

The Desert Tiger chuckled. "It's not like they're going to start something in the heart of the town. I know the Desert Dawn fighters and their allies take pride on not killing civilians and engaging in other indiscriminate acts of terrorism. It's actually something I admire them for."

"Besides," he continued, a wicked grin on his face, "I want you guys at full strength when I come at you, because my North Africa Corps doesn't pull its punches."

"We beat you before," said Kira, "what makes you think we can't do it again?"

"Those were probes, Kira," said Heero, surprising the young Coordinator, "He was using the first battle as a means to test our capabilities. The second engagement allowed him to sortie against you in a one-on-one fight and measure your own skill." He met Waltfeld's gaze. "He hasn't been playing for keeps yet. This time will be different."

Waltfeld nodded. "Indeed." He turned towards Shemei. "Commander Rehema and her subordinates have been training against a simulation of your own machine, Heero Yuy. Though I'm told it doesn't measure up to you, I imagine they will be much more formidable in your next encounter."

Heero looked Shemei and nodded. "That doesn't surprise me."

The Valkyrie smiled. "I'll look for you on the field."

"And we'll be right behind her," said Adaline.

"I'd expect nothing less," said Heero.

Waltfeld sighed. "A shame, really… were it not for this war… I imagine we'd all be good friends."

"Can't be helped now," said Heero, "Life seldom deals you the cards you want. All you can do is play the hand you've been given."

"Indeed," replied the Field Marshall, "you seem to have taken that to heart."

The door opened again, revealing Cagalli dressed in her normal clothes, the bags full of goods they had picked up shopping in her hands. Aisha moved from behind her and went to her lover, while Kira went up to Cagalli to help take some of the bags.

Waltfeld smiled. "Well, I certainly have enjoyed talking with you three. No doubt the others feel the same way."

His expression then darkened. "Although… perhaps it may have been better had we never met like this."

Heero saw Kira's expression turn to one of puzzlement, as did Cagalli's. As for the pilot of Wing Zero, he knew full well what Waltfeld had meant.

Today we are just people having a conversation. But the next time we meet, it will be on the battlefield.

As he mused, Commander Rehema walked up to him, hand outstretched. "It's too bad, really. You're a decent guy, and I have no doubt you've seen a lot of action. I wouldn't have minded swapping stories sometime."

He took her hand. "War can be strange and unpredictable. Who knows, we might get the chance to do so somewhere down the road."

She smiled. "Perhaps." Then she and her subordinates made their way towards the door. "Until next time, Heero Yuy."

….

As they left the Desert Tiger's headquarters and made their way towards the market where they were supposed to rendezvous with Lieutenant Badgiruel and the others, Kira turned and looked back at the building. He could almost feel Waltfeld's eyes on them, looking down from one of the upper story windows.

They're not bad people, he thought, do we really have to keep fighting like this?

Unfortunately, the young man had no answer. All he could do was return to the Archangel and wait to see what happened next.

….

Waltfeld watched out the window as the three teenagers left his headquarters. After a moment, he turned to the ladies in the room. "Well," he said, "what do you think? Is he telling the truth?"

Shemei smiled. "Oh yeah. I could tell just by the look in his eyes. Same with Kira; they're both quite sincere individuals, though Heero's more subtle than Kira. A bit harder to read, but the signs are there if you look carefully. He was being completely honest."

"It's hard to believe," said Aisha, "To think that he's from an alternate timeline, another universe…"

"No kidding," said Adaline, "our theories weren't even close."

"Yes," said Priscilla, "and now I have even more questions, as I'm sure the rest of us do as well."

"You got that right," said Lan, "A whole different world… and by the sound of it, a whole different war… no wonder he's so good, why he fights like no one else we've ever seen."

"He's had an entirely separate war to hone his skills in," said Shemei, deep in thought, "I was wondering who this 'Zechs Merquise' that he mentioned during our battle was; I couldn't find any matches in ZAFT's database. It makes sense now; there's no such person in the Cosmic Era at all."

"I wonder how long that young man has been fighting," mused Waltfeld.

"I get the feeling there's quite the story behind that," said Aisha softly, "and that it's quite tragic."

"Agreed," said Shemei, "One does not acquire that kind of skill overnight. Heero's only sixteen years old. If he'd been fighting for years before coming to our world…"

A child soldier, thought Waltfeld grimly, one of warfare's greatest cruelties. Like him, none of the ladies were willing to actually say it, but he had no doubt they had come to the same conclusion.

He sighed. "You can't make this shit up."

His companions nodded. "You have to wonder what all he's seen," said Adaline, "I bet none of it was pretty."

"Poor guy…" whispered Priscilla.

"Yeah," said Lan, "but if he's scarred by his past, he doesn't show it. He's so calm, so… professional… I wonder if anyone's managed to get him to open up about it."

"I think I know one person," said Waltfeld, causing the four ladies to look at him, "The woman he mentioned, the one he bought the necklace for… he's told her about at least some of his past, I'd stake my Field Marshal's patch on it."

"The one he wants to protect," said Aisha, "and he sounded determined to do just that. The coming battle will not be easy…"

"No," said Shemei, "but I don't think any of us expected it to be."

….

Murrue looked out one of the windows of the Archangel's bridge. The sun was beginning to set, turning the sky into a beautiful mix of orange, red, and violet.

Suddenly she could see a cloud of dust in the distance. She turned to one of the bridge crew. "Get visual sensors on that dust cloud, maximum magnification."

An image came up on the main monitor, and she could see several trucks and jeeps approaching. She smiled when she saw the vehicle at the head of the group was the same open topped one that Heero and the others had ridden in, and that they were in it now, looking no worse for the wear.

"Good, he's alright," she whispered to herself. She chided herself for putting his safety above that of the others… but still didn't feel all that bad about it.

"Ensign Neumann," she said, "you have the bridge."

"Yes ma'am," he replied.

She exited the bridge and quickly made her way towards one of exterior hatches. As she approached the one closest to the approaching group she paused to collect herself. Why am I making such a fuss over this?, she thought, I knew he'd be alright; it was just a supply run. Even if it was in the heart of ZAFT territory, it's not like Heero can't handle himself.

Still, Murrue couldn't deny how great her relief was that he had returned in one piece. As she opened the door, she couldn't help but smile again as the vehicles pulled into the ravine and their occupants began to get out and unload the supplies. She tried to keep her pace casual, but still moved at a brisk walk as she approached Kira, Cagalli, and Heero.

"I'm glad to see that you're all ok," she said when they neared her. Murrue was surprised to see that both Kira and Cagalli seemed a bit subdued. Heero remained as unflappable as ever though, so whatever had occurred must not have been too serious.

Still, her curiosity was aroused now. "Everything alright?" she asked.

Kira and Cagalli nodded. "Yeah. I'll catch you guys later. I'm a bit worn out," said Cagalli, turning to walk further into the camp."

Kira looked at Murrue. "I'm a bit beat too. Mind if I go lie down for awhile?"

She nodded. "Go right ahead. You guys have had a long day, you should get some rest."

Kira smiled weakly. "Thanks, Captain."

As Kira left, Heero turned to Murrue. "You got some free time?" he asked.

She nodded. "I just gave Ensign Neumann the bridge, and Natarle can take the next shift after she gets some rest. Did something happen in town?"

"You could say that. I'll tell you over dinner. I'm assuming you haven't eaten yet, right?" he said.

"Yes," said Murrue, "I could definitely use a bite right about now."

They made their way to the Archangel's mess. After they arrived and dished up, the two of them grabbed a table over by one of the viewports. There wasn't much to see, since it was on the port side and facing the wall of the ravine, but it had some distance between it and the other tables, some of which were occupied, and Murrue had a feeling Heero would appreciate the privacy.

After a few minutes Heero spoke. "Had a pretty eventful shopping trip. Got in a gunfight with the Blue Cosmos and had coffee with the Desert Tiger and the Valkyrie." He chuckled. "Not exactly what I had on my to-do list when I woke up this morning."

Murrue was shocked. "Hold on, a gunfight?" She immediately began to lean forward to check him for injuries.

However, she stopped when he smiled and shook his head. "Don't worry, none of us got hit. Can't say the same for the terrorists though."

She sighed. "That's a relief." Then the other event he'd mentioned hit her. "Wait, you said you met the Tiger and the Valkyrie too?"

He nodded. "Waltfeld was actually the target of the Blue Cosmos attack; we just got caught in the crossfire. I managed to take out a few of the terrorists, the Tiger and his bodyguards got the rest."

"What happened afterwards?" she asked.

"Well, Cagalli's clothes got food all over them in the chaos, so he gave us a lift to his headquarters so she could get cleaned up," he said, "The Valkyrie and her team was there, along with Waltfeld's lover. We chatted for awhile, then they let us go."

Murrue leaned back for a moment, absorbing all that Heero had told her. "Well," she finally said, "I'm not quite sure where to start with all that."

Heero shook his head. "I wouldn't worry about it. They didn't learn anything vital regarding our combat capabilities. I did, however, let slip my origins. Or rather, I nudged Kira into doing so."

"Why?" said Murrue, "I thought you were keeping that under wraps."

"That was my original intent, and still is for the most part," he replied, "but I wanted to throw them off balance, and so I decided to gamble. Paid off quite well, judging from the expressions on their faces."

"I can imagine," she said, unable to suppress a smile as she remembered when Heero had revealed to her where he had come from. "Well, you don't seem too worried about all this, so I guess I shouldn't either then, correct?"

He nodded, but then his features softened ever so slightly. "Yes, but… Murrue, I'm sorry if I alarmed you, that wasn't my intention."

She smiled. "I know, Heero. Please, don't apologize for something like that. We're friends, remember?"

He gave her a small one of his own. "Yes, we are… and I'm grateful for that." His head tilted down a bit, and she could see his eyelids fluttering for a moment before he caught himself.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said, "just a bit tired. Guess today took a little more out of me than I thought."

"I bet," she said. Seeing that they were both done with their meals, she grabbed both their trays. As he looked up at her she smiled. "You should get some rest. You're going to need your strength in the days ahead."

Heero stood up. "You're right. You should do the same too."

"I plan on it," she said as she put their empty trays on a rack. The two of them left the mess and made their way towards the officers' quarters.

As they walked she remembered something else she had meant to tell him earlier, but in her shock at what he and the others had encountered during their trip to Banadiya she had forgotten to mention it entirely. "I should have mentioned this earlier, but Sai tried to pilot the Strike."

Heero froze in his tracks, and Murrue instantly regretted not telling him sooner. "What happened?" he asked.

She told him how Sai had only managed to move the machine a few steps before he'd lost control and had barely managed to avoid damaging it seriously.

"I see," said Heero. He quickly turned and began heading in a different direction. "Come with me."

Murrue moved to follow him and realized they were heading towards the hangar. "Heero, I'm sorry I didn't tell you that earlier," she said.

He looked back at her. "It's alright, I'm not upset about that. In fact, I'm actually mad at myself right now."

Her eyes widened slightly. "What are you talking about? It's not your fault Sai tried to pull something like that. Hell, we don't even know why he tried to in the first place."

"If he'd gone for the Wing Zero, he could've gotten you killed," said Heero, "The self-detonation device, combined with the fact that the mobile suit has a nuclear reactor… my paranoia nearly cost you your life!"

"Heero…" She found herself touched by his concern for her, though she wished he wouldn't blame himself for something beyond his control.

They were quiet for the rest of the trip to the hangar. When they arrived, Heero motioned for Murrue to keep following him, and they made their way across one of the overhead walkways to the Wing Zero. As they approached, Heero held out a hand, and Murrue took a step back. She saw Heero move to his machine and keyed in a sequence on a small pad by the cockpit. Then the hatch opened, and he turned towards her.

"Come inside," he said.

She entered right behind him, puzzled as to why he wanted her to come into his fearsome machine. Heero was already in the pilot's seat, so she squeezed in what little space there was along the right hand side of the chair.

He pressed a button and the hatch closed. He looked at her. "I want this to stay between us, alright?"

Murrue realized that he was about to entrust her with something critical regarding the Gundam, and nodded. "Of course, Heero. I promise I won't tell anyone."

"Alright," he said. His hands moved across the main keyboard, and the central display lit up. Then he stood up and moved to the left. "Take the chair."

Puzzled, she did as he said. As she did, she felt… something; a presence, perhaps. She couldn't really describe it, save that she felt as if it were evaluating her.

"Read out loud what appears on the display," he said.

She nodded, and did so as a single sentence came up. "Zero Override Command: Operation Meteor."

The cockpit screens flashed gold, then went black. The strange presence faded too, much to her relief.

"Good," Heero said, then hit a button and opened the hatch. He moved out and held out his hand. She took it and he gently helped her out of the Wing Zero. "I felt something…" she said, "like I was being watched, examined… was that the Zero system?"

Heero nodded. "Since you didn't do anything beyond read the words on the screen, and were only sitting for a few seconds, the effects would've been minimal. I figured you'd feel something, but I didn't do this to introduce you to the system." He looked a bit uneasy. "In fact, I wanted to keep you away from it altogether, but this is too important."

After he closed the hatch again she saw him writing something on a small notepad. He ripped a piece of paper off and gave it to her, and she saw it was a radio frequency. "What's this?"

"I've made some adjustments to Wing Zero's security systems," he said as he started heading towards the hangar exit. As she followed he continued. "The self-detonating device will only activate manually now. The remaining security functions will continue to operate as before, and they should be enough to keep people from breaking into the Gundam. However, in the event that someone manages to bypass them and hijacks it, you can radio that frequency and issue the override code I just gave you. The system is keyed for vocal recognition. I was originally the only one who could use that override; now, you can too."

"Why give me this?" she asked.

"If someone attempts to pilot the Wing Zero while I'm not around, you can remotely shut it down," he said as they made their way towards the officers' quarters again. He looked at her, and she was surprised to see a haunted look in his eyes. "If Sai had gone for the Wing Zero instead of the Strike, you would be dead. It was blind luck that that didn't happen. I won't allow you to die just because I have trust issues."

He gave her a weak smile. "In fact, you're the only one on this ship I really trust… which is another reason why I'm giving you this code. I may have mastered the Zero system, but there's always the chance I could still get out of control. If that happens… you're the only one who can stop me."

She swallowed, more than a little intimidated by the prospect of him rampaging in the most powerful mobile suit in the Earth Sphere. But she would not allow fear to stop her from helping her friend. If he trusts me enough to give me the means to shut down his Gundam, then I have to live up to that trust. Not just to protect myself, but him as well. I won't lose him to the Zero system… and I won't let him lose himself to it either.

She nodded. "I think you're stronger than you give yourself credit for, but I understand your fears." She smiled. "If you lose control, I promise I'll bring you back. I won't let you become a mass-murderer."

"Thank you, Murrue," he said.

"You're welcome, Heero," she replied.

They spent the rest of the trip back to their quarters in silence. As they arrived she turned to bid him goodnight and saw something that surprised her. Heero seemed to be almost… nervous.

"Heero? Is something wrong?" she asked.

He shook his head. "No," he said, "Actually… I have something for you."

What? Murrue saw him dig into one of his pockets and pull out a small satchel. He opened it, and a small, sparkling blue stone necklace fell onto his palm. It was a simple bit of jewelry, and probably hadn't cost much, yet that didn't matter in the least to her. The way it caught light immediately brought to mind the eyes of the young man who was giving it to her.

"Heero…" she said as she slowly reached out to grab it. As she did, her hand brushed his, and she actually felt a thrill run through her, like a bit of static electricity. She held it up. "It's beautiful… but why? You didn't need to get this for me."

"It caught my eye at the market," he said, "The lady who ran the stall said it's called a Tear of Isis. She said… that you give these to someone you share a bond with, one that you're willing to protect with all you've got."

Murrue could feel heat rushing to her face as she took the necklace. While she knew that he appreciated her willingness to help him, and to listen and keep his secrets, she hadn't realized just how important it had become to him. And yet, she thought, even though I've only known him a short time, I feel the same way.

"I know," he said, "that you told me to use the cash you gave me to treat myself, but the truth is, I really couldn't think of anything I wanted." He paused for a moment. "Well, that's not entirely true…"

"What do you mean?" she asked.

His eyes met hers, and she was struck by what she saw in them; a mixture of sincerity and embarrassment. "I…" he began, uncharacteristically hesitant. She began to worry until she heard what he said next.

"I like seeing you smile."

If Murrue wasn't blushing before, she definitely was now. At the same time though, she couldn't help but feel moved by what he had said. He's so kind… it's incredible, especially considering all he's been through, but he may be the most compassionate young man I've ever met!

Slowly, she took the necklace and put it on. She smiled as the blue gem lay against her white uniform. It was against regulations to wear such jewelry openly, but she didn't give a damn. Natarle can write it up in her report if she wants to, I'll take whatever flak comes my way.

Still smiling, she took the young man in front of her off guard by drawing him into an embrace. This time though, there was hardly any hesitation on his part as he returned it.

"Heero," she said, "Thank you."

Her spirits rose even further when they parted and she saw the he too was smiling, one of those small ones again. "You're welcome, Murrue." Then he gave a small laugh. "Even if you technically paid for it."

"I don't care about that in the least," she said, laughing as well. They were then quiet for a moment, simply enjoying the connection that had grown between them in such a short time, a bond that Heero had given tribute to in a manner she'd never expected.

Then they nodded at each other and moved towards their separate quarters. "Good night, Heero," said Murrue.

"Good night, Murrue," he replied.

She was still smiling as she entered her room, and for quite some time after she fell asleep.

….

The Desert Tiger frowned as he stood on the tarmac of the Banadiya airbase. It had been a day since his meeting with the three teenagers from the Archangel and the Desert Dawn, and now he was observing the arrival of reinforcements from the Lake Victoria spaceport. Aisha stood next to him and shared his grim expression. The black runway magnified the desert heat, which did nothing to improve his attitude.

The two of them were watching the unloading of two of the stolen Alliance mobile suits, the Buster and the Duel. The pilots, pale white haired Yzak and tan, blond haired Dearka, were walking up towards the Field Marshal and his lover.

"I ask for extra BuCues and the first reinforcements Command sends me are these two," he growled.

Aisha nodded. "Along with a new detachment of ZuOOTs from Gibraltar… I'm beginning to wonder if Defense Chairman Zala has something against you."

"Possible," he replied, "I have been stealing the limelight of his favorite commander, after all."

"Creuset can go to hell," said Aisha, "I mean sure, the guy's a good pilot and has a knack for tactics and strategy, but he spends way too much time playing politics. The guy's up to something, and I don't think it's anything good."

"And now we're stuck with two of his protégés," Waltfeld muttered, "Something doesn't smell right here."

Not much I can really do about it though, he thought. He knew from the latest reconnaissance reports from aerial drones that the Desert Dawn had sent out a call for reinforcements of their own, and many of the North African resistance groups had apparently decided to answer and were on the move. Waltfeld had already responded by summoning the five land-ships that had gone to Alexandria on his previous orders, and they would arrive at the outskirts of Banadiya by nightfall, along with elements of ZAFT's Third, Seventh, Ninth, and Tenth armored divisions.

He couldn't summon the units in their entirety because his forces were already spread thin as things were, and had been hoping that the Defense Council would grant him the additional units he'd requested. With access to both the Gibraltar and Lake Victoria spaceports, logistics and supply lines were greatly improved for the Tiger.

And yet I'm still being shortchanged, he mused, The prep work for Operation Spitbreak is becoming a real pain in the ass. While Waltfeld did not have access to all the data regarding ZAFT's coming offensive, he knew it would involve a large amount of their fighting strength and would be against a high profile Alliance target. The rumor mill keeps saying Panama, but I'm not entirely convinced on that. Word seems to be spreading too easily about it, and I know our operational security protocols aren't that sloppy.

Along with the stolen prototypes, additional transport planes had touched down and were unloading several ZuOOTs. Land based mobile suits like the BuCue, ZuOOTs could be accurately described as walking artillery batteries. Designed for heavy assault and siege warfare, the machines were massive, and could switch between a cumbersome walking mode and a slightly faster 'tread' mode, in which they looked like a tank with a torso, head, and arms on the top. They had two dual heavy cannons mounted on their shoulders, along with four head-mounted Vulcan machine guns and another double-barrel cannon mounted on the left arm, while the right arm had a heavy machine cannon. While the mobile suits had served Waltfeld well in the past, particularly during his assault on the Suez Canal in which he had used them in combination with BuCues to annihilate the Earth Alliance's tank armies, they would not be particularly well suited to fighting rebels in lighter, more maneuverable vehicles, not to mention the Strike and the Wing Zero.

Still, all he could do now was make do with what he'd been given. That bit of wisdom had helped guide his actions in the past, and it would again. It didn't mean he had to like it though. At least the technicians have almost finished the beam saber modifications for the BuCues. They should be done by tomorrow morning.

He turned his thoughts back to more immediate concerns as the two young pilots who had fallen to Earth during the orbital battle with the 8th fleet approached and saluted. Waltfeld returned the gesture.

Yzak spoke. "Creuset team pilots Yzak Joule and Dearka Elsman reporting for duty, sir!"

Waltfeld sighed. "At ease. You two will be assigned to the Henry Carter. I'll have your machines transferred over as soon as I clear up some details with the ship's captain."

Yzak seemed to be put off by the Tiger's words. "But sir! With all due respect, we have experience in fighting the legged ship and the Strike. We should be on the Lesseps with you!"

"Losing experience hardly counts," snapped Aisha.

"You guys haven't beat them either," countered Yzak.

"Because we've only been testing their capabilities up until now," she shot back. She folded her arms and smiled. "If you're not smart enough to see that in the combat recordings, then you don't belong on the Lesseps, or anywhere near North Africa. Fools don't last long out here."

"Why you…" growled Yzak.

"Enough!" said Waltfeld. He glared at the two newcomers. "You'll follow orders, or I'll bench you. Got that?"

"Yes sir," said Yzak, clearly beaten.

Dearka put a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, Yzak, there's no point in arguing." He looked at the Field Marshal. "Our apologies, sir."

Waltfeld nodded. "Don't worry about it." He waved DaCosta over. "My adjutant will take you two to your temporary barracks. When the land-ships arrive tonight you'll transfer over to the Henry Carter. Your machines will be kept in the main hangar until then as well. Dismissed."

They saluted. "Yes, sir!"

As they left, he turned to Aisha. "You were enjoying that, weren't you?"

She winked. "Gotta get my kicks in when I can." Her expression became more serious. "Besides, the white-haired one needed to learn his place. His machine is optimized for space combat. Same with the Buster, though I don't think its pilot has quite the same attitude problem as Yzak. They'll be fodder in the desert if they don't learn to adapt. You going to tell them how to adapt their operating systems?"

Waltfeld shook his head. "If Kira could figure out how to do it on his own, they can too. Otherwise that's just further proof that they don't belong out here. It's not our job to babysit them."

She nodded. "Agreed. By the way, have you made arrangements with Shemei and the girls yet?"

"Yes," he said, "I'll have another command conference when the land-ships arrive tonight, but I already have my basic attack plan worked out. Commander Rehema knows what her job is; keep Wing Zero from blasting us to hell."

"Tall order, considering the firepower it wields," Aisha mused.

"I know, but we don't have much of a choice in the matter," said Waltfeld, "Shemei and her subordinates are the only ones who can pull it off."

"Not to mention it'll give us the chance to fight the Strike," she said with a smile.

Waltfeld grinned. "Yeah, I'll owe her for that." Already he was brimming with anticipation. The LaGOWE is ready, he thought, and so are we. Hope you've rested up, Kira, because we're coming.

And this time we're not pulling our punches.

….

Meanwhile, there was a meeting in progress on the Archangel. Present in the briefing room were Murrue, Mu La Flaga, and Natarle for the Alliance, Sahib, Kisaka, and Cagalli for the rebels. Heero was there as well, leaning against a wall near Murrue, arms folded and eyes closed.

It had been an eventful day so far. Several rebel cells had arrived at the Desert Dawn camp as the day had gone by, and Sahib had claimed that more would come before nightfall. With them they had brought a large amount of vehicles and weapons, and Heero had been surprised to see that they had even managed to procure several attack helicopters. Probably taken from local airbases as the Alliance occupied the region prior to ZAFT's invasion, he thought. Altogether the rebels had nearly fifty vehicles gathered at or near the ravine where Desert Dawn had made its home and, if Sahib's boasting was to be believed, that number would be over a hundred by sunrise.

Indeed, at first glance it would seem that things were looking up for the crew of the Archangel and her allies. They were now well stocked on supplies and munitions that would be needed not only for the coming battle but the subsequent trip to Alaska.

However, Sahib had just received information from one of the rebels' intelligence sources in Banadiya that put a serious damper on any optimism. Not that Heero was bothered in the slightest; he'd more or less anticipated the general part of the messenger's report, though not the more precise details.

"You can't be serious!" said Natarle, aghast at what she'd just heard, "That has to be a mistake!"

Sahib shook his head. "I'm afraid not. According to my source, Waltfeld has at least five additional land-ships inbound for Banadiya. They'll arrive at the outskirts of the city by nightfall. At dawn, we believe they'll begin moving out in this general direction; all the traffic over the past 24 hours has no doubt attracted attention from ZAFT's recon drones. Also, they're being accompanied by supporting forces, though we don't know the exact makeup of them yet."

"Please tell me that's all the bad news," said La Flaga.

"Nope, sorry," said Kisaka, "We've also received word that two of your stolen machines have arrived in Banadiya."

"Which ones?" asked Murrue.

"The Duel and the Buster," he replied, "Apparently they landed near the Victoria spaceport after the orbital battle. They've been transferred to Waltfeld's forces for the coming battle."

Murrue sighed. "And here I thought we'd finally gotten away from the Creuset team."

"It's not so bad," said Heero, causing everyone to look his way. "We know how they fight, and those machines are limited in their effectiveness in the desert, just like the Strike."

Murrue nodded. "You're right, Heero." He saw her look down briefly at the blue stone necklace he'd given her yesterday, then she met his gaze and smiled. Heero knew that some of the other crew members had raised eyebrows over the bit of jewelry, but no one had given her any trouble about it so far, which was a relief to him.

"The two prototypes aren't our main concern," said Natarle, "Those five land-ships will be carrying their own mobile suit squads, probably BuCues. They'll be a huge threat in a large-scale battle. Not to mention Waltfeld's flagship will no doubt be with them."

"I agree," said La Flaga, "A Lesseps-class ship can carry six of them, while Petrie-class land-cruisers can carry four."

"Not to mention their support forces," said Murrue, "A single land-ship tends to have multiple mobile suit teams operating in coordination with it in order to boost combat effectiveness. A combined force with one land-ship at its core has the firepower of an entire armored division."

"And we'll be up against six of them," said Cagalli, "We're in trouble."

Heero glanced at her. She's not the type to so readily admit that. Perhaps she's finally realized what a decisive battle with Waltfeld's forces will entail.

"The biggest challenge for us," said Murrue, "will be their opening salvoes. The combined firepower of the land-ships, mobile suits, and attack helicopters in the initial stages of the fight can make short work of us if we don't figure out a way to neutralize it, preferably by getting Waltfeld to scatter his forces, or at least redeploy them."

"I can do that," said Heero, surprising the others.

"What?" said Cagalli, eyes widening.

"It's impossible," said Sahib, "I don't care how good of a pilot you are young man, one mobile suit won't be enough to get the North Africa Corps to break formation."

"Besides, you'll have the Valkyrie Team to contend with," said Kisaka.

"I can do it," said Heero, looking at Murrue.

She took a breath. "What do you have in mind, Heero?"

….

A few minutes later, everyone in the room, with the exception of Murrue, was looking at Heero like he'd lost his mind.

"No way," said Cagalli, "You can't be serious!"

"Impossible," said Kisaka, "That'd be suicide!"

Heero was completely ignoring them though. The only person he was looking at was Murrue.

"You don't have to do this," she said.

"Yes, I do," he replied, "It's the only way to make the odds more manageable."

Murrue sighed. "I hate this. You've done far too much of our fighting for us as is. I can't ask you to do this. You can't win!"

"I don't have to," said Heero, "All I need to do is survive until you guys can catch up. Then I'll worry about winning. This is the best way to scatter Waltfeld's forces and take out some of the land-ships before they can launch a concentrated bombardment."

"How many can you get?" she asked him.

"Two, maybe three," he said, "I can't use it at full power in this environment, there are too many civilian villages scattered throughout the region; the fallout would almost certainly harm them in one way or another. But I can still draw upon quite a bit of its strength. I'll only have a brief window before Commander Rehema and her subordinates engage me though, so timing will be crucial."

Murrue nodded. "Alright. I may not like it, but I guess our options are limited."

"Don't worry. I've faced worse odds than this," said Heero.

"Oh man," said Mu La Flaga, unable to suppress a laugh, "Never dreamed I'd hear a plan like this. It's crazy… but it's a good kind of crazy." He grinned at Heero. "You'll be putting on one hell of a fireworks display."

"You people are nuts," muttered Cagalli. Then she turned to Heero. "Do you have a death wish or something?"

Heero shook his head. "No, I've already been through that phase in my life. I don't plan on meeting the reaper anytime soon."

She sighed. "You're an idiot, you know that?"

Heero shrugged. "A matter of perspective."

"What about the Tiger?" said Natarle, "There's a good chance he could personally take the field, like he did during the Suez campaign."

"Kira will have to handle him when the time comes," said Murrue, "We'll do what we can to thin out the BuCues and keep the other land-ships busy, but Kira will have to take Waltfeld himself."

"He can do it," said Heero, "He's come quite a ways since the orbital battle. I think he'll be alright."

"I hope you're right," she said.

So do I, thought Heero.

….

Awhile later when the meeting ended and everyone began to file out of the briefing room, Murrue put her hand on Heero's shoulder.

"Heero, I'm sorry about what I said earlier," she said.

He raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"When I said that you couldn't win… it's not that I doubt your skills; you're the most amazing pilot I've ever seen. It's just… against those kinds of odds, even Wing Zero can only do so much. I know you're willing to fight for us… but I don't want you to die for us."

He surprised her with another one of those small smiles. "Murrue, it's alright. I wasn't upset at all. To tell the truth, I was actually kind of glad that you objected. I'm grateful that you care about my well being."

She sighed, both in relief and because she was genuinely touched by his words. I was foolish to believe he'd take offense at that. I keep forgetting that he went for a very long time without anyone truly caring about him… and the few people who did before me are in a completely different world.

Murrue smiled. "Of course I care about you. Not just because of what you've been willing to do for us, but because we're friends. I don't want to lose you."

He nodded. "I know. I don't want anything to happen to you either."

They met each other's gaze and didn't speak for a moment. Murrue felt as if she could lose herself in his eyes. They're like the ocean, she thought, so calm on the surface, yet there's so much hidden in the depths.

Then she realized she was staring, and blushed slightly. "You alright?" asked Heero.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, regaining her composure, "Just a little tired, I think. It's been a busy past few days."

"Yeah," he replied, "I know what you mean."

….

Night had fallen, but Kira was finding it difficult to get to sleep. He had heard that there had been a big meeting earlier, and was pretty sure it was about the coming fight. It'll probably be tomorrow, he thought. Now that they had the supplied they needed, there was no sense in the Archangel remaining at the Desert Dawn hideout any longer. They would need the rebels' help to break through the Tiger's forces, but after that they would part ways.

The young man sat on the edge of his bed, thinking about the conversation the previous day with Waltfeld. The Desert Tiger had completely surprised him, and Kira was struck by how friendly he had been. In fact, none of the soldiers that he, Cagalli, and Heero had met with had shown any sign of animosity, and had in fact been polite and even amiable people.

"Why?" he whispered to himself. The Tiger and his allies didn't seem to be the kind of people that wanted to be at war, something he knew all too well. Yet they were still enemies, all because he had chosen to stay with the Earth Forces, if only to protect his friends.

"We shouldn't be fighting at all," he murmured.

"Kira?" said a soft voice from behind him.

He turned around, knowing it was Flay, who was once again in his bed. "Sorry," he said, "I didn't mean to wake you."

She rubbed her eyes a bit and smiled. "It's alright." She leaned forward and pulled him in for a kiss. "You need to get some rest though. I overheard Lieutenant Badgiruel and Lieutenant Commander La Flaga earlier, and I think we're supposed to move out tomorrow. You'll need your strength if we get in a fight."

He nodded. She's right. I'm glad she's here with me tonight. The last thing I want right now is to be alone.

"Alright, Flay," he said.

As he lay down with her, she put her arms around him and whispered in his ear. "I know you'll protect us. I'll be right here waiting for you when it's over."

"Thank you, Flay," he said.

….

A short while later, the young man in bed with her was asleep. Flay, however, found slumber to be eluding her, and in fact had actually been awake while Kira had been whispering to himself. She didn't quite get what he was talking about, but she had heard quite clearly what he had said about not fighting. Her revenge couldn't have that, so she'd played her feminine wiles in the manner she had become so accustomed to in the past few days, and he had once again shown just how malleable he was to them.

However, as she lay there with the boy who she had chosen to become the tool for her vendetta against Coordinators, she was once again struck by how she hadn't been entirely half-hearted in her words of concern to Kira. She really did want him to rest, and not just so he could protect her and fight for her… but so he wouldn't die.

Why? He'll die eventually, she thought, what does it matter if it's tomorrow, so long as he takes as many Coordinators down with him as he can? Yet it did matter, and not just for the sake of prolonging her revenge or his own suffering.

One of the most important things that had allowed Flay to work her dark magic on Kira was his own unconditional kindness. He was so eager to help others that it made him remarkably easy to manipulate. And yet, at the same time Flay was genuinely drawn to it. No one she'd ever met before had been so selfless, so caring. And when they were alone together, all that kindness was focused on her, and she was starting to wish he wasn't so busy so she could have more of it.

And if he died tomorrow, she'd never feel his warmth and compassion again.

….

The sun was rising over the dunes on the outskirts of Banadiya. Silhouetted against it was an army. There were the four Petrie-class land-cruisers: the class's namesake, the Petrie, the Henry Carter, the Gagarin, and the Tesla. There were the two larger battleships, the Lesseps and the Nuremberg.

Smaller, though still visible, were the mobile suits and helicopters swarming around the land-ships. Every vessel had its own supporting detachments, not including the machines in its hangar bays. The smaller cruisers were escorted by four BuCues and two ZuOOTs each, while the battleships had six of each. When included with the ships' own mobile suits the count was a stunning fifty-three BuCues and twenty ZuOOTs. The Lesseps was short one BuCue in order to make room for Waltfeld and his lover's custom unit, the LaGOWE, while the Henry Carter was short two in order to accommodate the Buster and the Duel. Commander Rehema and her team had landed their machines on the upper-hull of the Lesseps, and would take off shortly before the start of the engagement. An impressive force of attack helicopters had been assembled as well, with thirty-two birds in the air.

At the moment, the beautiful commander of ZAFT's deadliest mobile suit team was outside, leaning against the leg of her DINN. The Lesseps' 'scale system' gave the ship incredible traction and stability in the desert sands, and save for the wind in her hair she could hardly tell the ship was moving. Adaline, Lan, and Priscilla were out with her as well, not at all perturbed by the fact that a misstep could spell a plunge to a very messy death below. The three of them were by their machines as well, giving them one last look-over before the coming battle.

Shemei closed her eyes, taking herself through all the simulator battles she had fought in preparation for this. However, after a few minutes, she smiled as she realized they weren't what would keep her alive today. She turned her focus to her actual encounter with Wing Zero, that clash above the sands of the former Libya that had so energized her, had finally given her something she had secretly been longing for; someone who could go head-to-head with her and not only survive, but force her to go all-out.

The adrenaline, the sheer rush and thrill of the moment all came flooding back to her, and she could already feel her spine tingling. I suppose I should thank you, Heero Yuy, she mused, after all this time, I've finally found someone who can push me again, make me strive to become more than what I am now.

Yes, for that she indeed owed him a debt of gratitude. She laughed softly as she realized that she was practically in awe of his fighting abilities, made even more astounding by the fact that he was only sixteen years old. She couldn't recall the last time a fellow pilot, even if he was an enemy, had elicited such respect from her. "What a guy…" she said.

Looking out over the dunes to the southwest, where Waltfeld had said they would likely engage their foes, her eyes narrowed. I won't be holding back just because I admire you, Heero. Her smile became something more predatory, like a tigress about to leap into attack.

And I know you won't either!

….

The bridge of the Archangel was alive with activity. Murrue was at her seat on the bridge as the battleship began its startup sequence. They had just received word that the Tiger's forces had left Banadiya about an hour and a half ago, and were heading southwest from the city. Murrue was certain that Waltfeld knew where the rebel base was now, and had decided to destroy it in one massive attack. The Archangel would be a sitting duck in the ravine, so preparations were underway to get the ship moving as fast as possible in order to meet the Field Marshal's forces out on the dunes where it would be easy to maneuver.

The rebels were preparing to move out as well. Sahib's earlier boasts had indeed been born out, as several other rebel groups had arrived overnight, bringing their vehicle count to twelve helicopters, seventy-nine jeeps, half-tracks, and technicals, and fourteen tanks. How they had amassed such a collection of hardware was beyond Murrue, but she was nevertheless glad to have the help.

Miriallia's voice came up from the CIC. "Heero's on the line."

"Patch him through," said Murrue.

The Gundam pilot appeared on the monitor. He was already inside the Wing Zero, wearing his signature green tank-top and a pair of black shorts. "I'm all set."

Murrue nodded. "Alright. Open the bay doors!"

As Natarle carried out her orders, Murrue turned to Heero. "We'll move as fast as we can, but it'll still take some time to catch up to you. You should delay initiation for as long as you can."

"Don't worry," said Heero, "I've got a pretty good idea of how I'm going to do this. Just don't take too long."

"We won't," said Murrue. If she could, she'd redline the ship's engines, but that would leave the rebels in the dust, and they had to work together if they were to triumph. I have to trust Heero's judgment.

"Heero," she said, "I won't ask you to not take foolish risks; I think we both agree that this entire plan qualifies as one. Just… watch your back, alright?"

He nodded. "Roger that."

Miriallia spoke. "Wing Zero, you are green for launch."

"Got it," said Heero, "Wing Zero, launching."

The Gundam shot out of the hangar like a bat out of hell, swiftly transforming into its fighter mode and quickly gaining altitude. Soon it was little more than a speck on the horizon before leaving visual range entirely.

I hope this works, thought Murrue, unable to completely dispel the fear in her heart. She couldn't deny the concern she felt for the young man, whose courage and battlefield prowess were so beyond anything she had ever imagined, and whose stoic demeanor concealed a truly compassionate individual who had already been through hell and back over the brief course of his life. I've already become fond of him, she thought, I suppose it's impossible not to, once you get past the barriers he's surrounded himself with. Not that I blame him for it.

Heaven forgive me if I've sent him to his death… because I never will.

….

It had been about three hours since Waltfeld's assault force had left Banadiya. He and Aisha were down in the Lesseps' hangar bay, initiating the startup sequence for the LaGOWE.

The two-seater custom unit was truly a fearsome sight to behold. It was built along the same design as the BuCue, with a four-legged frame and two stabilizer fins near the center of the body. However, the machine had an orange paintjob, and the topside weapons consisted of a dual-beam cannon turret, while a dual beam saber was mounted at the 'mouth'. The mobile suit was faster and more maneuverable than a BuCue, had heavier armor, and the battery capacity had been increased to give the machine a greater range than the already considerable operating area of its predecessor. The armor was thicker than that of the BuCue, and the entire cockpit section was encased in its own titanium shell, in order to increase the chances of pilot survival in the event of catastrophic damage.

The cockpit was designed with the pilot's seat raised slightly and a bit further back, with the gunner seated below and in front. Waltfeld took the former and Aisha had the latter. As they ran through the system checks DaCosta's voice came over the radio. Waltfeld's aide and second in command would be coordinating operations from the bridge of the Lesseps.

"Commander Rehema and her subordinates have taken off," he said, "They're assuming position at the head of the formation."

"Alright," said Waltfeld, "Open the bay doors, we're ready to move out. Send launch orders to the rest of the ships too."

"Understood, sir," replied DaCosta. Then he signed off.

Aisha looked over her shoulder at her lover. "You sure about launching so early? The enemy isn't even on the long-range sensors yet."

He nodded. "I want all of our mobile suits deployed early. That way if Wing Zero hits one of the ships it won't go down with its BuCues on board as well. Besides, our units don't have to worry about powering Phase Shift Armor, so we have a much greater operating range than the Strike."

"What about the Creuset boys?" asked Aisha, "Their machines use Phase Shift Armor as well."

"That's why they'll be riding on top of the Henry Carter," said Waltfeld, "They can keep their armor and other major systems powered off until the enemy is detected."

"Alright," she said before turning forward again, "Better look sharp, the doors are opening."

Indeed they were, and as soon as they were completely open Waltfeld gunned the throttle. The LaGOWE roared out of the ship's hangar and hit the sand hard, throwing up a tan cloud. The orange mechanical beast shot out of it, followed shortly by five grey BuCues. Checking his radar, Waltfeld saw the other ships deploying their machines, and soon, including the Valkyrie team, all eighty of the assault force's mobile suits were out in formation.

The Field Marshal had arrayed his army in an inverted crescent formation, with the tips trailing at the ends. The land-ships and their supporting mobile suits and attack helicopters were spread out over several kilometers, in order to both maximize radar coverage and minimize the amount of damage they could suffer in a heavy attack. I don't know the full extent of Wing Zero's firepower, thought Waltfeld, I'm taking no chances with it. The Lesseps, Petrie, and Henry Carter formed the right half of the crescent, while the Nuremberg, Gagarin, and Tesla formed the left. Out at the tip of the Tiger's army was the Valkyrie Team, arrayed in a diamond formation.

As the LaGOWE moved to the head of the ground forces beneath the Valkyrie Team Waltfeld noticed a faint blip on his radar.

That's strange, he thought, it's coming from an altitude of over eighteen kilometers. The rebels don't have anything with that capability.

Then his eyes widened. Unless…

Then DaCosta's voice came over the radio, elevated and clearly surprised. "Sir, massive energy readings coming from the airspace ahead!"

Waltfeld quickly set his visual sensors to maximum magnification. An image appeared, little more than a silhouette at this range… of a mobile suit with a very large rifle.

"It's Wing Zero!" he shouted.

….

High above the dunes, Heero sighted in on the approaching army. "Locked onto the target," he said. Then he fired the Twin Buster Rifle.

At fifty percent power.

A massive torrent of energy ripped forth, hitting one of the larger battleships head on. The land-ship practically disintegrated in the titanic blast, and the explosion ripped apart not only that ship but five BuCues, two ZuOOTs, and three attack helicopters.

The North Africa Corps reacted immediately. The five remaining land-ships sent forth a swarm of anti-air missiles and flak, while the four black and red DINNs of the Valkyrie Team scrambled for altitude, rushing up to meet him.

Perfect, he thought. Gunning the thrusters, Heero dove to meet them. All four DINNs had their beam sabers in their right hands and rifles in their left. Igniting his own emerald blade, Heero moved straight into the heart of their formation while at the same time effortlessly dodging the incoming anti-air fire.

However, his goal wasn't to engage them in a dogfight, at least not yet. As he rushed onward, he met the lead DINN with a horizontal slash. The pilot blocked the attack, but the sheet momentum of the Wing Zero forced the DINN to the side. Heero then let loose a volley with his shoulder gatlings, causing the next two mobile suits to scatter, while the last one attempted a vertical strike, swinging straight at the head of the Gundam. However, Heero side slipped the attack, and left the Valkyrie Team in his wake as he streaked towards his real target, the ground forces.

Of course the ZAFT aces were not ones to abandon pursuit. They quickly regrouped and fell in behind him, unleashing a torrent of cannon fire and missile volleys. He dodged the rifle rounds, then twisted the Wing Zero around and destroyed the missiles with gatling fire. He then accelerated the thrusters and gained altitude, shooting right past the Valkyrie team. The Gundam then turned to face them, raised the Twin Buster Rifle again and let loose another blast.

The Valkyrie Team scattered, evading the shot, but it was never meant for them. This time one of the smaller land-cruisers was annihilated, along with three more BuCues and another two ZuOOTs.

Heero once again took the Wing Zero into a dive, meeting the Valkyrie Team head on. Playing defensive, he parried the attack of the lead DINN, then spun around to block a strike from the next. Gunning the thrusters, he dodged a rifle volley from the third pilot, while the fourth he smacked with his shield, temporarily forcing her back.

Now comes the hard part, thought Heero as he continued his dive. In order to give the Archangel and the rebels the best chance possible for victory, it was imperative to get Waltfeld to break his current formation. Even with the loss of two land-ships, so long as the remaining four and their support units were allowed to regroup and reform a smaller version of their initial array they would make short work of Heero's allies. His solution was as simple as it was dangerous; make himself the army's primary target.

He swooped in low along the dunes, dialing down the power of the Twin Buster Rifle to a level more suited to fighting individual units. Fresh missile volleys and cannon rounds erupted from all sides, while the Valkyrie Team moved in to keep him from regaining altitude. While physical rounds and missiles were useless against Gundanium alloy, Heero still preferred to dodge to avoid the impacts throwing him off balance. As he side slipped a rail cannon shot from a BuCue he suddenly had to gun the thrusters in order to dodge two emerald beams. As he fended off another round of attacks from the Valkyrie Team he was able to see his latest foe: an orange four legged mobile suit, a model he hadn't seen in the Alliance files. Must be a command unit, he thought, Waltfeld no doubt.

At this point he had two options. He could go for a higher altitude and focus on just dogfighting the Valkyrie Team, or he could stay low and keep the entire assault force's attention on him. While the former would narrow his foes down to four along with the occasional anti-air fire, he could only accomplish his current goal by staying within effective firing range of the ground forces as well.

Keeping himself amongst the dunes, he continued to play defensive with Commander Rehema and her squad while at the same time dodging shots from BuCues, ZuOOTs, attack helicopters, the four remaining land-ships, and the Tiger's personal machine. It was an incredibly demanding feat, and it was only thanks to his mastery of the Zero system that he was able to manage it.

He fired a volley of low power shots with the Twin Buster Rifle, taking out two BuCues, another ZuOOT, and an attack helicopter. He quickly moved to the right as the orange unit made a pass, a violet double-bladed beam saber in its mouth, then ascended to meet a DINN that he was sure belonged to Commander Rehema. Heero parried her saber, and then spun to block another attacking DINN's blade with his shield while redirecting the Commander's next strike.

As he dodged rifle and missile volleys from the other two aces he checked his radar screen. While the ZAFT army's formation now had a significant gap in it from the two destroyed land-ships, the overall array was still capable of a saturation bombardment of the Archangel and the rebels when they arrived. However, Heero noticed that the bend of the crescent was beginning to straighten out as more units advanced forward. Clearly Waltfeld was intensifying the pressure he was putting on Wing Zero, but it still wasn't to the degree that Heero wanted him to.

Come on, Waltfeld, he thought while mixing it up with Commander Rehema again, go for the encirclement. Your instincts must be screaming at you to take me down before moving on to fight the main force.

….

Commander Rehema was forced back once again as Wing Zero blocked her saber and responded with a knee in her suit's abdomen. As Adaline and Lan moved in with their blades while Priscilla bombarded with rifle fire, Shemei moved to gain altitude before diving at her foe.

Something's different this time, she thought as she swung at the mobile suit's head. As Heero dodged out of the way and moved to block a strike from Priscilla, she realized that he wasn't fighting them aggressively. It was more like he was simply fending off their attacks while at the same time dodging fire from the ground forces. This isn't what I expected. Then again, she also hadn't expected him to launch a solo attack on the entire assault force. Even with Heero's incredible skill, Shemei knew that it would only be a matter of time before the sheer numbers arrayed against him would take their toll. Taking down the Nuremberg and the Tesla in the opening moments of the fight had definitely reduced the firepower now directed at him, but the incoming fire was still substantial, and would only increase as Waltfeld directed the other units to close in and bring him down.

So why do this?, she thought as she let fly with a volley of missiles. Heero quickly turned and took the warheads on his shield, then parried blows from Lan and Priscilla while at dodging rifle fire from Adaline. The young man didn't strike her as suicidal or foolish. There had to be a reason he had chosen to engage without the support of the Archangel, its own mobile suit and fighters, and the rebels. Perhaps he had decided to attack early out of a desire to protect the woman he'd mentioned during their conversation in Banadiya. A touching gesture, thought Shemei, but also quite foolish.

Though Waltfeld had left Heero to her and her team during the first engagement, Shemei knew that this time, faced with such an opportunity, Waltfeld would do everything possible to take him out quickly before the legged ship showed up. Indeed, the Field Marshal was already beginning to close the net, with the Gagarin, Henry Carter, and Petrie moving forward to begin an encirclement while the Lesseps launched a continual bombardment from its position.

While these developments had surely been noted by Heero, the brilliant pilot was by no means beaten yet. A blast from the Wing Zero's rifle forced the Valkyrie and her subordinates to scatter again, while another took out two more attack helicopters. Waltfeld and Aisha moved in with the LaGOWE to attack with the double-bladed beam saber, and several BuCues had ignited their own sabers as well, mounted during the predawn hours before the assault force had gotten underway. Shemei couldn't help but smile as her foe evaded all of these attacks and managed to hack two of the BuCues to pieces with his own green blade, and then let loose another blast with his rifle that took out five more along with another ZuOOT. If this is a last stand, he's making it one for the history books. The one man assault had been an astounding piece of piloting, but soon it would draw to a close.

As the three smaller land-cruisers reached their firing positions they began to open up on the mobile suit that had wrought so much havoc on the legendary North Africa Corps. The Wing Zero continued to evade and counter-attack, with three more BuCues, a ZuOOT, and a helicopter going up in flames, but as Shemei and her fellow pilots moved in for another pass, she was sure the end was near.

So long, Heero Yuy, she thought as she traded saber strikes with him, a pity we didn't get to fight a duel by ourselves to settle the score, but that's war for you.

….

Murrue gripped the arms of her chair, teeth clenched in frustration. Come on, faster, she thought. They had covered a considerable distance, and at last signs of battle were appearing on the long range scanners. There was too much activity to be certain of what was happening yet, but Murrue took some comfort in the fact that as long as the fighting was still going on that meant that Heero was still alive. I won't let you die, Heero, she thought, not after all you've done.

"Have Skygraspers One and Two launch immediately," she ordered, "and have the Strike follow!"

"Yes, ma'am," said Natarle, who quickly relayed her orders to the operators in the CIC. The bow doors of the ship opened and two blue and white fighter jets shot out. Skygrasper One, piloted by Lieutenant Commander La Flaga, had in addition to its own weapons mounted the Strike's Launcher Pack, while Cagalli had the Sword Pack on Skygrasper Two. Then the Strike launched as well, in its Aile configuration, and after landing feet first in the sand began to make its way towards the battle in a series of long jumps with its thrusters. The dozen rebel helicopters began to pull ahead of the Archangel, preparing for attack runs. Meanwhile, the rebels on the ground, sensing that the battle would soon be upon them, pushed their vehicles to their full speed. The Archangel's engines increased their output as well, though the ship still allowed the resistance fighters to keep pace in order to cover them.

La Flaga's voice came over the radio. "I'm sending you guys my visual sensor data. Captain, you need to see this."

The image that appeared on the main monitor caused the entire bridge crew to gasp. Torrents of cannon fire and missile volleys flew from seemingly every direction. They were met by large blasts of yellow energy from a mobile suit at the center of the conflagration, surrounded by the smoldering wrecks of enemy machines as well as many active ones attempting to pummel it into submission. Wing Zero was not only fending off attacks from the distinctive black and red DINNs of the Valkyrie Team, but also evading fire from the considerable amount of remaining ground forces that had encircled him, including a new orange machine that Murrue had no doubt was piloted by Waltfeld himself. He's not the type to sit back and watch the decisive battle.

"La Flaga," said Murrue, "I want you and Cagalli to hit the land-cruiser closest to our forces. Let's give them something else to shoot at. The rebel helicopters will engage at their own discretion, as will Kira. We'll cover with the Gottfrieds and Valiants as soon as we have targeting solutions. The rebels' ground units will engage the remaining BuCues and try to soften them up for us."

"Roger that," La Flaga replied.

"Lieutenant Badgiruel," said Murrue, "Aim the Gottfrieds at the land-cruiser to the south east. Have the Valiants prepared for bombardment of the enemy mobile suits. Load the rear tubes with Sledgehammer missiles and target the cruiser to the northeast. Have Helldart anti-air missiles and the CIWs prepared for enemy helicopters."

"Yes Captain," said Natarle, who quickly started barking orders to the CIC.

Murrue could only watch the monitor now until the situation changed and further commands were needed. She wished she could push the ship's engines to maximum, but fire coordination with the rebels' ground vehicles would be essential in their opening attack before they broke ranks and went after individual targets.

Hang on, Heero, she thought, we're coming!

….

"He's really something else," said Aisha.

Waltfeld nodded. The pilot of the Wing Zero had wrought utter carnage upon the Field Marshal's strike force. Still, numbers were beginning to tell. The incredible mobile suit was beginning to take hits, and while the rounds and missiles were having no outward effect on the incredibly tough armor of the machine, Waltfeld knew that impacts could throw a pilot off balance, and in this case Heero Yuy could ill afford such distractions. He managed to get off another blast with that fearsome rifle of his, and two more BuCues and a ZuOOT went up in flames, but he then had to fend off another round of attacks from Commander Rehema and her fellow pilots, who were hardly giving him any breathing room. This allowed the ground forces to get in closer, while at the same time the attack helicopters could make more precise attacks and the four remaining land-ships could throw more fire at the Wing Zero without fear of retaliation from the mobile suit's heavy weapon. The Duel and the Buster were getting in on the action as well, firing from their perches atop the Henry Carter.

He has to be getting tired too, thought Waltfeld as he took the LaGOWE in for another pass. Heero managed to dodge the beams from Aisha's cannons and then block the orange machine's beam saber, causing Waltfeld to rush past him in order to avoid his counter-attack. The Desert Tiger was amazed at how quickly the young man was still able to move. His endurance is inhuman, he thought, I'd be hard pressed to find even a Coordinator who could fight against odds like this for so long and still possess such agility. Not to mention he's doing so against a complete encirclement!

As he checked his sensors, he saw that the Gagarin was moving closer. A point-blank range bombardment, thought Waltfeld, I approve, Captain Garibaldi! However, before the land-cruiser could open fire, a crimson blast lanced through the triangular vessel's forward scales system housing. The bow section exploded, and the Gagarin ground to a halt in the sand.

"What the hell?" said Aisha.

Increasing his visual scanners, Waltfeld saw a blue and white fighter jet with a large cannon mounted under its fuselage. The same one from the Strike in the first battle, he realized. Then, mere seconds later, another fighter swooped in, lowering a large blade on a wire as it did. One side of the sword suddenly ignited in violet fire, and as the fighter passed the Gagarin the anti-ship sword cut right through the land-cruiser's bridge. The ship's command and control center exploded, and the Gagarin became little more than a large block of steel sitting in the sand. The surviving crew-members quickly began evacuating, ejecting in life pods that shot out of the top like rockets, then released parachutes and began a slow descent towards the dunes.

The two fighters broke off and began to loop around for another pass, this time against the mobile suits. Two BuCues and a ZuOOT were destroyed before anti-air fire forced the jets to break off. Then a swarm of missiles flew into the fray as a dozen helicopters appeared. They didn't manage to destroy any ZAFT vehicles, but they did succeed in drawing the attention of the Tiger's remaining twenty-five helicopters, which rushed to engage the new hostiles.

As Waltfeld began to reorganize his forces the radar lit up with new contacts. The Alliance's white warship appeared on the horizon, along with the rebel ground forces. Large emerald beams and yellow heavy rail cannon rounds fell everywhere, forcing the Tiger's mobile suits to break off their attacks on the Wing Zero. Two of the BuCues were taken out in the barrage. At the same time, the ship launched a volley of missiles that impacted the Petrie. While the land-cruiser wasn't taken out, it was venting smoke and flames in several places. Then the rebel ground units surged ahead, attempting to make the most of the warship's covering fire.

As the Lesseps and the Henry Carter reoriented themselves to face the newcomers, Waltfeld couldn't help but smile. So Wing Zero's solo attack was just to get me to break my original formation, he thought, well played, Heero Yuy.

One more contact appeared, and Waltfeld felt his adrenaline spike as he saw the Strike come down from a high leap, taking out a BuCue and a ZuOOT with a volley of green energy beams. However, before he could move to engage, he was forced to go evasive as the rebel ground forces launched a volley of rockets. The Tiger dodged them easily, but their interference could not be tolerated if he was going to duel the Strike.

He moved to engage the onrushing rag-tag group of vehicles, several BuCues forming up with him. "Aisha," he said, "let's show them what it means to truly face the wrath of the Desert Tiger!"

She turned and gave him a wicked smile, one that she tended to save for the bedroom. That seductive yet predatory grin was one of the reasons he had fallen for her. "You got it, Andy."

….

As the ZAFT forces moved to counter-attack, Shemei was suddenly thrown on the defensive as Wing Zero came right at her. As she blocked a vicious horizontal strike from its beam saber, she noticed that something had changed. Heero was now going for altitude again as the Commander's teammates moved to take some of the heat off her. Instead of playing evasive as he had earlier, Heero was now much more aggressive, launching his attacks with seemingly renewed vigor.

Of course, she realized, his earlier actions were to draw us in and get us to focus exclusively on Wing Zero! Our earlier formation would have made quick work of a frontal assault by the rebels and the legged ship. But he used himself as bait for an encirclement, putting us into a position where we couldn't launch a bombardment on the main force!

She grinned as Heero came rushing at her again, having parried attacks from the other girls and forcing them back temporarily. "Now this is more like it!" she yelled as their blades clashed.

….

"No, wait!" said Kira, "Don't rush in yet!"

But his words fell on deaf ears as the rebel ground forces sped past him. Coming up to meet them was an orange mobile suit, along with several BuCues. That orange one's probably a command unit, he thought. He had no doubt that Waltfeld himself had taken the field. Kira tried to get in front of the rebels, but he came under fire from several attack helicopters and was forced to go evasive. As La Flaga and Cagalli moved in to take the heat off he turned to try and help the rebels. What he saw was not pretty.

The Desert Tiger was already tearing into them. The orange mobile suit's head was low to the ground, sweeping back and forth with the double-bladed beam saber in its mouth. Four half-tracks ignited like firecrackers in a single slash, while the beam cannons on top of the machine incinerated another five vehicles. Several BuCues were mixing it up as well. The rebels fired scores of rockets, but their formation had already been broken by the Field Marshal's counter-attack and they couldn't concentrate their fire. The few projectiles that managed to hit their targets did little damage. The rebel helicopters were in little position to help them. Though they had reduced the amount of enemy choppers from twenty-five to twenty-two, their own losses had been heavier, down to seven craft out of the twelve they had started with.

The tanks, which had been trailing behind the lighter rebel vehicles due to their lower top speeds, had launched an attack of their own that had succeeded in taking out two BuCues, but in the process they had drawn the attention of the ten remaining ZuOOTs, which countered with a withering barrage. Eight of the fourteen tanks were obliterated, leaving the six survivors to attempt to regroup and take potshots into the maelstrom that was the center of the battle.

As Kira tried to move in to help, four BuCues broke away from the engagement with the rebels and came straight for him. Two had dual rail cannons mounted, while the others had multi-rocket launchers. Kira also saw that they all had double-bladed beam sabers in their mouths, just like Waltfeld's machine. Not good, he thought. The four machines launched a barrage of missiles and rail cannon rounds. Raising his beam rifle, he was able to shoot down some of the missiles, but had to raise his shield to block the rest. At the same time, several of the cannon rounds impacted his Phase Shift Armor, taking precious energy that he could not afford to lose.

As Kira lowered his shield, he saw the four machines then move to encircle him, just as the BuCues he'd fought in his first battle in North Africa had done. However, those machines hadn't had the additional beam sabers like these did, making this a much more dicey situation.

Gotta take the offensive, he thought. Hitting the thrusters, he moved like a blur towards one of the BuCues. It attempted to back off in order to hit him with another missile barrage, but Kira was too quick. He thrust his own violet blade forward, splitting the BuCue's head down the middle. Then he fired a beam into the center of the machine, destroying it.

The remaining three machines reacted quickly. Two of them charged in an attempt to take his legs off with their sabers, while the third fired a swarm of missiles. Kira hit the thrusters again, this time going for a high jump in order to buy himself a few precious seconds of breathing space.

As he reached the peak of his leap, he found himself with a panoramic view of the battle. What he saw gave him mixed feelings. On the one hand, Heero seemed to have the Valkyrie Team occupied. The five mobile suits streaked across the sky, locked in a ferocious dogfight. Wing Zero moved like lightning, blocking beam saber strikes and retaliating in what seemed like near instantaneous reactions, cutting loose with his massive rifle when he managed to get some distance, sending blasts of yellow-gold energy through the sky. The four DINNs were giving as good as they got, sending forth streams of rifle fire and swarms of missiles, swirling around like birds of prey, evading the energy blasts and trading blows with their sabers. The action was almost too fast to follow.

On the other hand, Waltfeld was mauling the rebel ground forces. Fires were burning all around the fearsome orange mobile suit, and Kira was shocked as he realized that the Field Marshal had taken out nearly twenty vehicles in the space of mere seconds. The rest of the BuCues were adding to the carnage, and had taken out another twelve rebel vehicles at a loss of only one of their own. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Commander La Flaga was making an attack run on the land-cruiser that had been hit by the Archangel's missile barrage. Though still venting smoke, the vessel was by no means beaten, and was throwing up a veritable wall of flak and surface-to-air missiles. A crimson blast from the Agni slung under the Skygrasper hit the ship on the starboard side, but did not take it out, although it did lose some maneuverability along with a few anti-air guns. Cagalli was circling above the other cruiser, but was too busy evading fire from not only the ship but the Duel and the Buster as well and could not move in for another strike at the bridge like she had on the first vessel. The Archangel and the Lesseps were trading salvoes from across the battlefield, but neither ship had taken much damage yet.

As Kira began his descent, he let loose a volley of beams from the Strike's rifle. The barrage forced the three BuCues circling below to scatter, giving the young man a window that he planned to take advantage of. As soon as he hit the ground, he moved in on the BuCue with the missile racks on its back and thrust his saber into its side, destroying it. Then he dodged to the left as the remaining two machines fired their guns. Raising his rifle, he hit one dead-center, and it went up in flames. The other was hit in the right side, and began to withdraw, trailing smoke.

Kira ignored the retreating mobile suit and rushed to help the rebels fighting Waltfeld. Another six vehicles had been destroyed, and the rest were trying to get away as fast as they could. Kira fired his rifle at the orange mobile suit, but scored no hits; the machine was too agile. All he succeeded in doing was grabbing the Tiger's attention, and he came right at Kira, the dual-beam cannon on his unit's back blasting away.

As Kira raised his shield to block the shots, a voice came over his radio. "Impressive as always, young man," said Waltfeld, "I didn't think you'd beat those four so quickly!"

"Mister Waltfeld!" said Kira, "We don't have to do this!"

The Field Marshal chuckled. "Sorry kid, I really am. I'm afraid we do have to fight, though. That's the way war works. Like it or not, we're enemies on a battlefield right now. The only way this ends is with one of us being destroyed."

And with that, the Tiger rushed in, beam saber ready to slash the Strike in two.

….

"Helicopters approaching!" said the radar operator.

Damn it, thought Murrue, I was hoping the rebel choppers would hold them off a little longer. The remaining seven resistance helicopters had been shot down, while ZAFT still had nineteen of their own left. "Fire Helldart missiles!" she ordered, "Throw up a barrage with the Igelstellungs!"

The ship's CIWs let loose streams of shells, while the missile launchers behind the bridge sent up a swarm of warheads. The anti-air fire was quite effective. Seven of the ZAFT helicopters exploded, while the rest scattered and were forced to come at the Archangel in individual attack runs.

A series of explosions in the dunes around the ship reminded Murrue of more pressing concerns. They had been trading fire with the Lesseps for a while now, though the risk of both ships hitting their allies meant that exchanges had been sporadic. Lucky for us, she thought, otherwise those helicopters would be much harder to deal with.

The Archangel returned fire with the Gottfried heavy beam cannons and the Valiant heavy rail cannons. Two large green beams struck the side of the land-battleship, and the vessel belched smoke and flames from its new wound, but apparently no vital systems had been damaged.

"We have another land-cruiser incoming!" said the radar operator, "The Duel and Buster are on top of it!"

An image appeared on the main monitor as the vessel approached, and indeed the two stolen prototypes were standing on the upper hull. While the Buster seemed content to launch a bombardment with its two main guns, the pilot of the Duel was apparently more enthusiastic. The blue and white machine only fired a few rounds from a new shoulder mounted rail cannon before hitting its thrusters and leaving the cruiser. It touched down in the dunes, only to find itself stumbling in the sand.

Murrue took advantage of the opportunity provided by the temporarily helpless ZAFT pilot. "Have La Flaga and Cagalli concentrate their attacks on that cruiser. Fire Sledgehammer missiles at the Duel; keep the pilot from regaining balance! Aim Gottfrieds at the portside scale system housings; fire when ready."

The two fighters swooped in, La Flaga firing the Agni and Cagalli firing her topside beam cannon while attempting to get in close enough to use the anti-ship sword again. The crimson blast from La Flaga's unit hit near the Buster, and the force of the blast knocked the mobile suit off the vessel. It plunged towards the dunes, where it joined its partner and was confronted with the same difficulties of moving around in the shifting sands.

Looks like neither of them adjusted their operating systems, noted Murrue, chalk up another point in our favor. Incidentally, the Buster had landed at the same time the first missile barrage was launched from the Archangel, ensuring that both mobile suits would be pinned down for at least a few seconds. With the two machines struggling in the sand, Cagalli was able to dive in and take out the main forward turret with the sword slung beneath the fighter.

"Gottfrieds, fire!" said Natarle.

The beam cannons blasted the cruiser's portside propulsion system, causing the vessel's lower hull to grind in the sand. The ship began a slow, cumbersome turn away from the Archangel.

"Let them go," said Murrue, "Concentrate fire on the Duel and the Buster. Take them down!"

The ship let loose a barrage of energy beams, rail cannon shots, and missiles. The two stolen prototypes tried to fight back, but between the sheer volume of fire raining down on their position and their own difficulties maneuvering in the sand it was all they could do to withdraw. Hitting their thrusters, they joined the damaged land-cruiser in withdrawal.

I guess that'll have to do for now, thought Murrue, though I would've preferred to capture or destroy them. Oh well, we have more important things to deal with.

The rebel ground forces were taking a pounding. The last of the tanks had been destroyed, while they had only managed to take down one BuCue and damage one ZuOOT, forcing it to withdraw. That still left nine of the walking arsenals in the field, and they, along with the remaining nineteen BuCues, were tearing into the light vehicles that made up the bulk of the resistance fighters' rag-tag army. Murrue was stunned to see that their numbers had been reduced from seventy-nine to thirty-two in the space of mere minutes. It just goes to show how skilled Waltfeld's soldiers are, she thought. The Field Marshal himself was now dueling Kira and couldn't add to the carnage, but the rebels were still having difficulty fighting the rest of the Desert Tiger's forces. Of course, that also meant that Kira couldn't lend the rebels some desperately needed assistance.

And Heero's preoccupied as well, she noted. Looking at the small screen on the arm of her chair, she saw the Wing Zero's ongoing battle with the legendary Valkyrie and her subordinates. The four-on-one clash was breathtaking to behold, as the five mobile suits seemed to almost dance across the sky, so fluid and graceful were their movements. Wing Zero fought with incredible speed and power, blocking and redirecting saber strikes and retaliating in kind near instantaneously, while also managing to dodge missile and rifle volleys from whatever foes weren't currently engaged in close-quarters combat with him. The Gundam returned fire with its devastating Twin Buster Rifle, though the black and red DINNs were repeatedly able to scatter and avoid the energy blasts, then regroup and come back for more.

No matter how many times she witnessed him fight, Murrue couldn't help but be in awe of his abilities. She touched the beautiful blue stone on the necklace Heero had given her. You're an amazing young man, Heero, she thought, without you we'd have to face the Valkyrie Team ourselves, and I do not think we could survive such an encounter. But you're here, and I have no doubt that you will prevail against them. I believe in you.

Murrue then returned her attention to the rest of the battle. She saw that the other land-cruiser was moving to attack them. "Aim Gottfrieds and Valiants at that cruiser," she ordered, "fire when ready. Have La Flaga and Cagalli give the rebels some air support. Launch another missile salvo at the Lesseps; we need to keep that battleship occupied."

Don't worry about us down here, Heero, she thought as Natarle hurried to carry out her orders, we'll be fine. You just focus on your battle. You'll win, I know you will.

….

"He's even better than last time," said Waltfeld.

The LaGOWE had just made another pass on the Strike, Aisha leading with a barrage of energy beams while Waltfeld got in close for a slash with the beam saber. Again, Kira had been able to either dodge or block the beams, then parry the sword strike, causing the Field Marshal's command unit to go past him and turn around for another go.

"He is good," said Aisha, "I remember what you told me before, but it's still something else to see it in person."

Waltfeld nodded. "It's too bad…"

"…that he's not on our side?" Aisha finished for him. Waltfeld nodded.

"I can tell this is difficult for you," said Aisha, "You really like him, don't you?"

The Field Marshal sighed. "It's always easier when you don't know the enemy personally. It's probably even worse for the kid; we're veteran fighters, but I could tell just by the way he acted back in Banadiya that he's still new to all this."

Aisha nodded. She let loose another volley of beams as the LaGOWE moved in for another attack run.

"Do you think he'll surrender?" asked Waltfeld.

"Not a chance," said Aisha.

As they swept by the Strike, the LaGOWE swung its head to the side in an attempt to take the mobile suit's legs off. However, the machine hit its thrusters and leapt over the violet energy blade, then let loose a barrage from its rifle as it came down. Waltfeld couldn't help but smile even as he focused on dodging the shots. "Good. Much as I may like the kid, I'd be very disappointed if he gave up. This is the best fight I've had in ages."

Aisha nodded. "My thoughts exactly."

Waltfeld glanced at his sensors and brought up an image of the aerial battle. "Shemei seems to be enjoying herself." Indeed, the Valkyrie was going at it with Wing Zero with great enthusiasm. Her subordinates were fighting quite skillfully as well, but their foe showed no sign of wearing down. If anything, Heero had seemed to become even faster and stronger since he'd broken away from the ground forces to engage Commander Rehema and her team.

The rest of the battle was not going as well. Thought the rebels had taken heavy casualties, ZAFT's own losses were not inconsiderable. The two fighter jets had broken off their attacks on the Henry Carter, which had taken heavy damage and been forced to pull back, and had begun helping the beleaguered rebel ground forces. Two more BuCues had gone down, leaving seventeen remaining, while another ZuOOT had been destroyed as well, with eight machines still intact. The Petrie was trading fire with the legged ship, but the smaller cruiser was outgunned by the battleship and getting pounded. The Lesseps was supporting it with long-range fire, but had taken several missile hits as well and had suffered moderate damage. The helicopters assaulting the warship were unable to overcome its anti-air defenses, and only seven were left. Waltfeld noted with disdain that the Duel and Buster were still mired in the sand, apparently having a much harder time adjusting to the desert conditions than Kira had. While his own fight with Kira was still up for grabs, and the four-on-one dogfight was still in full-swing, Waltfeld knew that the overall tide of battle had turned.

Gotta know when to fold them, he thought. He hit the radio. "DaCosta."

"Yes, sir?" said the Field Marshal's aide from the bridge of the Lesseps.

"Signal a withdrawal. We've lost this one," said Waltfeld.

"I understand," replied DaCosta, "I'll lay down a covering barrage while our forces pull back. What about Commander Rehema?"

"She can go whenever she feels like it," said Waltfeld.

"Understood, sir," said DaCosta. He then signed off.

"You too, Aisha," said Waltfeld, "Get out of here."

She shook her head. "I'd sooner die than leave you, Andy. I know you're planning to stay to finish things with the kid. I'm not going anywhere."

The Tiger couldn't help but smile. "I guess we're both fools, aren't we?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way," she replied.

"Well then," growled Waltfeld as he closed in on the Strike again, "let's do this!"

….

"I understand," said Commander Rehema as DaCosta relayed the Field Marshal's instructions, "I think we'll stick around for awhile longer. We'll catch up later."

The man nodded on her screen. "Very well. Lesseps out."

As Waltfeld's aide signed off, Shemei took her DINN right in for another swipe at the Wing Zero. Yet again, the magnificent mobile suit and its pilot were able to read her moves and counter accordingly. I could almost swear this guy's telepathic, she thought as Heero blocked her saber and pushed her back before whirling to face an attack from Adaline. He redirected her blow to the left, then spun around as her DINN flew past his mobile suit and fired his gatlings. Several rounds hit the back of the machine, and smoke and sparks flew from the main thrusters.

"Damn it!" said the Australian as she began to lose altitude, "Sorry Commander, but I'm out. My engines are barely holding together right now!"

"Alright," Shemei replied, "go for a landing in the sand near the Lesseps, they'll pick you up."

"Got it. Good luck guys," said Adaline. Then she signed off.

Lan and Priscilla were quick to make up for the absence of their comrade, pouncing on Wing Zero. Both girls had expended the last of their missiles earlier, but they still had their rifles and beam sabers, a deadly combo in the hands of the veteran pilots. Priscilla came in from below, while Lan attacked head on. Heero rushed Lan, taking her rifle shots on his shield before blocking her saber strike. Whirling around, he smacked her backwards with the shield while at the same time parrying Priscilla's sword with his own. In the space of a second he struck back, and not only severed her sword arm but sheared off most of her right wing, causing her to spiral downwards.

Shemei was worried until she saw Priscilla's DINN level out somewhat, though it was still descending. "I guess I'm done too," she said, "I'll barely be able to land this thing intact as is. Sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Shemei replied, "Just focus on getting groundside in one piece. Follow Adaline."

"Yes ma'am," said the blonde, "Be careful. Priscilla out."

Shemei and Lan moved in to attack again. The simulations helped to get a handle on how he fights, she thought as their blades met, but the difference between the program and the man himself is still like night and day. Shemei knew that Priscilla had attempted to recreate Heero's amazing ability to read their moves and react so quickly, but she had only been able to do so much. The Commander was amazed with how one of Wing Zero's attacks seemingly led right into the next with no pause whatsoever. How does he do it?

Of course, it wasn't as though she expected Heero to answer her question. As she and Lan continued to battle the fearsome mobile suit, all she could do was file her query away for later, when she actually had time to think. And, she mused with a smile, when I'm not in the fight of my life!

….

As he dodged yet another attack from the Field Marshal's mobile suit, Kira saw that the remaining ZAFT forces were beginning to withdraw. Have they given up?, he thought.

He was certainly glad that they were beginning to back off. The rebels had been thrashed. They'd lost all of their helicopters, and they were down to twenty-five ground vehicles. The Lesseps had begun a bombardment, though Kira realized that it wasn't aimed at anything in particular, and that its purpose was just to get the Alliance forces and their rebel allies to keep their distance as the ZAFT forces began to pull back. Fine by me, he thought.

However, a fresh volley of energy beams from the Tiger's unit showed that Waltfeld himself had no intention of backing down. Why?, thought Kira, There's no point in us fighting now!

As the orange machine closed in, Kira blocked a strike from its beam saber, then lunged forward. Using his thrusters to go over the saber, he sliced the unit's beam cannons off its back. Sparks flew from where the turret had been mounted, but Waltfeld only intensified his attacks, coming in faster and harder.

"Mister Waltfeld!" said Kira, "You've already lost the battle. You need to stop this!"

"No," came the Field Marshal's voice over the radio, "I'm not giving up… until one of us is destroyed!"

As Kira blocked another vicious attack from the Tiger, an alarm went off in the Strike. His eyes widened as he saw that his primary batteries were now depleted, and that his mobile suit was functioning on reserve power. His beam saber shut down, along with his Phase Shift Armor.

At the same time, he saw Waltfeld prepare for one last attack. Without his beam saber to counter, Kira would be helpless. No, he thought, I don't want to die here!

As the orange machine closed in, Kira suddenly felt a strange numbness come over him. There was no conscious thought, no reasoning… only the oncoming enemy… and the will to survive. And that was when he was hit with a sudden burst of adrenaline.

Like a seed bursting in his mind…

Moving faster than he'd ever moved before, he quickly ejected the Strike's Aile pack, lightening the overall weight of the machine. He threw both his rifle and shield aside, then drew the two Armor Schneider knifes concealed in his mobile suit's hips. The Strike ran forward to meet Waltfeld's charge.

Waltfeld was fast. But Kira was faster. The Strike leapt forward, over the orange machine's beam saber, and plunged one of its knifes into its back. Sparks and smoke flew out of the wound, and the machine collapsed to the ground. Kira quickly backed off… just in time to avoid the explosion.

….

Even in the midst of fighting Wing Zero, Shemei still saw the blast. Waltfeld, she thought, Aisha…

She radioed Lan, who had just finished dodging another shot from Heero's rifle. "Lan," she said as she moved in with her beam saber, "go down there."

"But, Commander…" Lan said.

"That's an order!" she said, "Dead or alive, we're not leaving them here for the rebels to parade through the streets! Find them… or their bodies… and get them out of here. I'll cover you."

"Yes ma'am," replied Lan as she began her descent.

Heero did not pursue her, and instead simply continued trading saber strikes with Shemei.

Then, to her surprise, he radioed her. "Want to take this down towards the dunes?" he said, "It'll discourage the rebels from… investigating."

Her eyes widened. He knows I'm sending Lan down to search for Waltfeld and Aisha! But why would he want to help? After a moment, she realized the reason; he was offering out of respect. She couldn't help but smile, despite all that had happened. What a guy…

"Thank you," she said, "I'm in your debt."

"Don't mention it," Heero replied.

Shemei saw him take the Wing Zero into a dive. The mobile suit twisted around to fire several shots from his rifle at her, but they were easy enough to dodge. He's doing that on purpose, she thought, Heero, there truly is no other pilot like you… at least not in this world.

….

"Tell Ensign Yamato to get the Strike out of there," ordered Murrue, "He's on his reserve power now, he's in no shape to get caught between Heero and the Valkyrie!"

As Natarle rushed to carry out her orders, Murrue watched the descending mobile suits. She'd been curious as to why one of the DINNs had pulled back earlier, despite suffering no obvious damage, but she'd only given it a moment's consideration. She knew that the DINN that was still fighting Heero was piloted by none other than Commander Rehema. Who else could fight him one-on-one?

The rebels were pulling back too, both to avoid the barrage from the Lesseps as it covered the remaining ZAFT forces withdrawal, and to avoid getting caught in the crossfire between the last two combatants.

It's hard to believe, thought Murrue, that Kira was able to beat the Tiger. Although, Heero had faith in him, so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. Kira's skill has grown quite rapidly since he first piloted the Strike. She still felt bad about having the young Coordinator pilot it for them, since she knew that it was the last thing he wanted to do. But he had volunteered back in orbit to stay with the Archangel since his friends had decided to stay aboard, and she was glad to have his help.

She returned her attention to the duel between ZAFT's greatest pilot and the literally otherworldly soldier that she had become so fond of. "Heero," she whispered, "Beat her… and come back to me."

….

The nearby clash of the last two combatants didn't bother Lan all that much as she landed her DINN, had it kneel, and dropped out of the cockpit. Though she wanted to be back helping Commander Rehema, she knew her superior officer wanted to get her friends out of there… one way or another.

As she turned towards the LaGOWE, she was surprised to discover how much of it was still intact. The rear half of the vehicle had been shredded in the explosion, but much of the forward torso remained together. Lan felt a small surge of hope. That includes the cockpit!

As she approached she saw some of the charred metal plates move. She ran forward. "Field Marshal?" she said, "Aisha?"

One large slab of metal fell towards her, forcing Lan to leap back. Then she smiled as she saw two figures hobble out of the wreckage.

Granted, they weren't in the best of shape. Both had lost their helmets, and the left side of Waltfeld's face was covered in blood. Lan gasped as she saw that the Field Marshal's left arm was missing a little past the shoulder, and that the stump was covered in bloody bandages. Aisha was limping, her right leg had been bandaged up, and she was bleeding from a scalp wound and one on her left arm, but they didn't seem to be too bad.

Lan grabbed Waltfeld on his left side, helping Aisha, who was on his left, to support him. "Thank you," said Waltfeld, grimacing, "Damn… can't see much on my left… I think the eye bit it."

"I can't believe the two of you survived!" said Lan, "Hang on, I'll grab the aid kit from my DINN!"

The three of them made their way over to her mobile suit. Waltfeld and Aisha sat down in the shadow it cast, while Lan rushed into her cockpit, emerging with her first aid kit.

"Help Aisha first," said Waltfeld, causing Lan's eyes to widen. He chuckled. "Aisha used most of our bandages on my arm. The bleeding's staunched for now, but we can't do much more without a proper hospital. Patch up her arm, then the two of you help me get this cut on my head patched up."

Lan nodded. As she tended to Aisha, Waltfeld's lover looked at her. "Thanks," she said, "I'm sure you didn't want to leave Shemei."

Lan smiled. "She ordered me to come down here. To be honest, I think she was expecting me to find your corpses. This'll be a pleasant surprise for her."

Aisha nodded, and looked over at the nearby battle taking place between the Commander and Heero. "I'm glad they decided to fight down here," she said, "that should keep the rebels away for awhile."

"Yeah," said Waltfeld, "but we're not safe here. We have to move." He turned to Lan. "Can you give us a lift to the Lesseps?"

"Of course, Field Marshal," she said, "You're my superior officer, you don't have to ask."

"I know," he chuckled, "but I also know that you don't want to abandon Commander Rehema."

Lan shook her head. "I don't, but her orders were to find you two and get you out of here, one way or another."

"Speaking of the Commander," said Aisha, "something's up with her. I don't think she's going all out."

Waltfeld looked out at the duel. "She's probably distracted, waiting to hear from Lan. Looks like Heero's holding back too, though I can't say why."

"I have an idea," said Aisha, "I think he wants to fight her when she's going all out. Since she's distracted, he's not using everything he's got."

"You're probably right," said Waltfeld. He turned to Lan. "Get in your DINN, then grab us with one of your suits arms and get us into the cockpit. You can radio Shemei to tell her that we're alright, so she can stop worrying."

"Yes sir," said Lan.

"Other than her and your friends, keep quiet about our survival," said Waltfeld, "I'll contact DaCosta and make arrangements."

"Why?" she asked, "What's going on?"

"I think I know," said Aisha, smiling at her lover, "So we're finally heading back to the capital?"

The Field Marshal nodded. "There are some things that have been bothering me for awhile now. I can't get answers down here, but the information I need may be up in space." He smiled. "Being presumed dead does have its advantages, if you play your cards right. I'm assuming you'll keep all this between yourself and your team, Miss Zhao?"

Lan nodded. "Of course, sir."

"Good," said Waltfeld, "then let's get out of here."

….

Shemei grinned as she listened to what Lan had to say over the radio. "Waltfeld, you son of a bitch!" she smiled, "I should've known that wouldn't have been enough to kill you! Same goes for you too, Aisha!"

Her friend's voice came over the radio. "Got that right," said Aisha, "Now stop worrying about us and fight like we know you can!"

"Alright," said Shemei, "See ya." With that she signed off.

As Heero swung at her with his green blade, she blocked with her own, then hit her thrusters and shot skyward. Wing Zero moved to follow her, and Heero's voice came over the radio. "Good news, I take it?"

Shemei smiled. He doesn't want to say that Waltfeld's alive on an open channel, she thought, he's one sharp pilot. "You can tell?" she said.

"Your movements are back to normal," he replied as their blades met again, "Glad to see you're focused again."

"You didn't have to hold back, you know," she said as they took their fight higher and higher above the desert, "You could've killed me earlier without difficulty."

"Yeah," said Heero, "but it wouldn't have felt right." He chuckled. "A few months ago, I probably wouldn't have hesitated to do it anyway. I guess fighting Zechs had a little more impact than I first thought."

"The one you mentioned during our first fight," she said as she fired a barrage from her rifle. Wing Zero dodged it, then returned the favor with a blast from his own gun that she was barely able to avoid. "I take it he's from your world?"

"Yes," he said as he closed in with his beam saber.

"I thought so," said Shemei as their blades clashed, "Alright, enough talk. Let's do this!"

And so they fought, moving across the sky at lightning speed, two airborne knights in a jousting match of titanic proportions. They fell into a pattern of first exchanging sword strikes, then going for long-range attacks, then charging back in for close-quarters combat. Shemei felt exhilarated as she went at it with everything she had. She couldn't tell for certain if Heero was doing the same, but it hardly seemed to matter as she couldn't land a solid blow on him.

Wing Zero came at her with a powerful overhand strike. The strength of the blow forced her downwards, and Heero pressed his advantage. He went into another series of powerful saber strikes, and the combatants began to lose altitude. Putting my back to the sand, thought Shemei, he's moving to end this.

She moved to the right and fired a volley from her rifle. Heero took the shells on his shield, then returned fire with his shoulder gatlings. Shemei tried to evade, but a few rounds hit the rifle in her left hand, and it exploded. "Shit!" she snarled.

Now that ranged attacks were not an option for her, the only thing Shemei could do was get as close as possible to her foe and stay there. Of course, this was much easier said than done, since with every exchange of saber strikes the Wing Zero's sheer power was more than enough to force her DINN back. Nevertheless, she got right in Heero's face and stabbed at his cockpit.

Once again though, Heero had read her moves. He side slipped to the right, and then, moving so fast that his beam saber was little more than a green blur, severed her sword arm at the elbow.

That's it, she thought, he's got me. Indeed, Wing Zero had its beam saber pointed right at her cockpit. However, Heero didn't move in for the finishing blow. What gives?

"I wonder…," said Heero over the radio, "your skills are impressive… as I said before, you're the second best I've ever fought…"

"Is there a point to this?" she said, wondering what he was getting at.

"Yes," he replied, "Consider this; while it's true that the mobile suit does not make the pilot, it can also be said that there is only so far one can take any particular kind of machine, regardless of their skill level."

Shemei was intrigued. "Makes sense. And?"

"I was thinking," said Heero, "what could you do in a more advanced mobile suit?"

Shemei's eyes widened. That thought had honestly never occurred to her. She'd never once considered herself to be limited by her mobile suits, only that they were limited by her. I've only ever flown GINNs and DINNs, she thought, even this modified DINN still has the same basic frame. Not once had she ever considered what she could do if she had something more sophisticated, like the stolen Alliance prototypes the Creuset boys were using.

Heero lowered his blade. "Withdraw, Commander Rehema. This battle is over; any further fighting is meaningless."

"I hate having to admit defeat," she replied, "but I'll back down this time." She gunned her engines and moved to catch up with the retreating ZAFT forces. "Until next time, Heero Yuy!"

I wonder, she thought as she withdrew, what's the ZAFT Research Department working on nowadays? They've had quite a bit of time to study the schematics of the new Alliance mobile suits, not to mention the machines themselves. I wonder if they've come up with anything new yet?

It was a new line of thought for her, but she found it now would not go away, lingering in the back of her mine as she landed on top of the Lesseps. She smiled. "I might just have to get us rotated out for some shore leave in the homeland," she said to herself, "it'll be a great opportunity to see what the gear-heads at Aprilius One have been up to."

….

Kira had paid little attention to the conclusion of the fierce duel between Heero and the Valkyrie. He'd only vaguely heard Captain Ramius's order to pull back, and had done so, but he couldn't stop looking at the smoldering wreck of Waltfeld's mobile suit. He'd seen one of the black and red DINNs touch down near it, but the mobile suit had obscured his view of the Tiger's machine and anything that might have been happening near it.

Why?, he thought, Why did we have to fight each other? Mister Waltfeld, Miss Aisha… they're not bad people. Tears began to well up in his eyes. "It didn't…" he said, "… it didn't…" Unable to bear the frustration, he cried out, "It didn't have to end like this!"

The words echoed off the walls of the cockpit, unheard by anyone other than himself.

….

Murrue sighed in relief as the last black and red DINN withdrew from the field. "It's over," she said softly.

As Lieutenant Badgiruel began recalling the Skygraspers and the Strike, Murrue looked at her own screen again, which showed Wing Zero on its way back towards the Archangel. "Heero," she whispered, "thank you... for everything. We couldn't have done it without you."

Preview for next time!

Tormented by a nightmare two years old, Heero finds comfort in the arms of Murrue. In the process, the two of them begin to suspect that their feelings for each other may run deeper than friendship. Is love beginning to bloom between the Beautiful Captain and the Perfect Soldier? Meanwhile, Kira is haunted over the events of North Africa. He finds solace in an unexpected source; the Archangel's newest passenger. Next time on "Journey to a New Battlefield", Episode Eight: Ash Like Snow.

Author's Notes: Yes, I know that "Ash Like Snow" is the name of the second Gundam 00 opening for first season. There is no allusion or reference to that series in this chapter; the reason I chose those words will become apparent once the chapter is posted. For those of you wondering about the "nightmare two years old", well... I've already had Heero mention his guilt over the slaying of the Alliance pacifists, but I think we all know that there is another tragedy that haunted him well before that. Murrue will get to find out what happened one year prior to Operation Meteor when a young soldier met a girl and her dog...

As always, please review, I love the feedback. If you got any questions, don't be afraid to ask! Just don't ask them anonymously, I can't reply to those. I know I accept anonymous reviews, but I can't reply to them. Just get an account here if you have something you want to ask, it ain't hard, trust me.

Until next time!