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...

21. Chapter 21

Author's notes: Did ya miss me? Ok, sorry this took so long, with my senior year of college starting up things have been busy on my end. Updates will take a little longer as a result, but I promise you that I have not abandoned this fic; far from it. To all my more action-oriented readers, this is the chapter you've been waiting for!

Song list, in order of appearance: "Avalon," from the Ace Combat Zero soundtrack, "chAngE" by miwa, the 12th opening in the Bleach anime, "Diapason," again from the Ace Combat Zero soundtrack, and "The Sun Rises," from the Okami soundtrack.

Also, regarding the music for this chapter, most of the songs will be playing through the dots(….) that represent the section breaks. So keep the music going until you hit the (End "Song") cue.

Enjoy!

Episode Twenty-One: Avalon

Cruising through space along its assigned patrol route, the Nazca-class destroyer Annan was a completely unremarkable vessel, staffed by a completely unremarkable crew. The azure warship had been one of many that had been rotated between fighting on the front lines and serving time in the PLANT Exclusion Grid. At the moment the Annan found herself carrying out the second duty, and it was currently at the halfway point of its patrol at the outskirts of the Avalon Line.

Just another day at the office, so to speak, mused the ship's commanding officer, Françoise Pelliere. A Second Generation Coordinator, the Annan's Captain was as ordinary as his ship. The twenty-nine year old had a rather plain appearance, with close-cropped blond hair, brown eyes, light complexion and an average figure.

Captain Pelliere's service record was also average, barely distinguishable from the hundreds of other ship Captains in the ZAFT space fleet. He'd graduated from the ZAFT academy and had served on board older Laurasia-class frigates before gaining command of his own ship, and as his career had progressed and he'd accrued experience he'd been given an unofficial promotion by virtue of being transferred to one of the newer Nazca-class destroyers.

His crew was also quite ordinary, composed of the usual compliment one would expect to find on board any warship of the ZAFT Navy. There were bright young soldiers, ambitious junior officers, the cocky and rowdy mobile suit pilots; the standard menagerie, so to speak.

In short, there was nothing out of the ordinary about the Annan, her Captain, her crew, or her assignment. It was a ship that operated much like any other in the Coordinator armed forces, one that would not be worthy of any note in the history books… save for today.

Today the ZAFT destroyer would be very much distinguished from its brethren… fatally so.

"Contacts!" cried the sensor officer, a young man barely into his twenties, "Coming in fast, below the orbital plane… oh, shit!"

"What is it, boy?" asked Captain Pelliere, caught off guard by his subordinate's vulgarity… which had been motivated by fear.

The young man's expression was one of pure terror as he faced his Captain, all pretense of professionalism thrown out the window. "One of them is Wing Zero!"

Captain Pelliere felt the blood in his veins drop to an arctic chill. "All hands, battle stations!" he yelled, "Call for reinforcements, and get me a visual! Launch all mobile suits!"

"Energy spike!" cried the sensor officer.

As Captain Pelliere tried to prepare his ship for combat he saw the image on the main monitor shift to that of his enemy. Six mobile suits were indeed rushing up from below the orbital plane, with Wing Zero at the center of the formation...

…and its unholy rifle was leveled at the Annan, yellow-gold energy glowing at the tips of the weapon's twin barrels.

Before the destroyer could launch its mobile suits, before it could orient itself to face its enemy, before it could even get out a distress call, Wing Zero opened fire. A blast of hellfire surged forth from its demonic rifle, swiftly overwhelming the main bridge monitor with light… before consuming the ship and her crew in an inferno.

And so it was that the Nazca-class destroyer Annan would become a footnote in the history books…

…as Wing Zero's first kill in the Blitz of the Avalon Line.

The first, but definitely not the last.

Operation Knight Lance had begun.

….

The command center of the Avalon battle-station was a truly massive chamber. The circular room was over a hundred meters in diameter, and divided into two levels. The first level, which was at the top of a large steel cone, was where the station's primary control personnel were situated. This included the chief gunnery officer, communications coordinator, primary sensor officer, damage control chief, mobile suit launch and flight coordination officer, and several other key individuals responsible for overseeing the smooth operation of the gargantuan structure. The lower half of the cone was staffed by the immediate subordinates of the aforementioned specialists. There were over a hundred men and women at those stations, and they were responsible for filtering the myriad of status reports and situation updates the battle-station received on a near constant basis, ranking each one on a priority scale from One to Five, with One being the highest, and sending those of the most immediate concern to their supervising officers on the upper half of the cone. At first glance the whole setup appeared to be overwhelming, insufficient to run the massive battle-station, but in fact the whole operation proceeded quite smoothly under the guiding hand of the base's commanding officer, who sat at the center of the upper part of the cone.

Field Marshal Mahmoud Tlass was the man that had been given the prestigious task of running the Avalon battle-station. A Second Generation Coordinator in his late thirties, the tan-skinned, dark haired man traced his roots back to the Middle East, more specifically Syria. His parents had hailed from Damascus, a city torn apart by ethnic and sectarian feuds. The once great metropolis had devolved into a perpetual bloodbath over the course of the centuries, with both regional and global powers finally giving up at reigning in the cycle of violence perpetrated by rival factions of Islam against each other and any who tried to intervene. Into that maelstrom of death and destruction Tlass's parents had been born. The children of two of the few wealthy merchant families still able to do business in the war-torn country, selling food and supplies to commoners and warlords alike, both Tlass's mother and father had been born Coordinators in an effort to produce strong and intelligent heirs for their respective families. Under normal circumstances the endeavor would've been a success, and both man and woman had indeed shown a strong knack for bartering and deal-making. However, once the word had gotten out that the heirs of the two merchant clans were in fact Coordinators, children born not of nature but of science, several of the local feuding sects had forged temporary alliances to rid their city of the perceived 'abominations.' Realizing that it would be only a matter of time before they and their children were killed by the raving fanatics, both merchant families closed up shop entirely and immigrated to the PLANTs.

Once they had settled in at Aprilius Three, both families worked hard to reestablish themselves as thriving business entities, and had succeeded in the areas of local shipping of food freshly arrived at the docks and distributing said food at local outlets, respectively. As the two Coordinators had grown they had eventually fallen in love, and in coming together in marriage they had at long last united their respective families, a union the two heads of said clans both felt was natural and long overdue. Into that happy atmosphere Mahmoud Tlass had been born, and though he'd had ample opportunities to pursue a career in his parents' enterprises, the energetic and straightforward young man had found himself drawn to a more martial calling.

His career had started small as a member of the local colony security forces, essentially the local law enforcement organizations. However, that had changed once Siegel Clyne and Patrick Zala had founded ZAFT, and Tlass had been an eager enrollee in the new Coordinator armed forces. From there he had slowly but surely rose through the ranks of the growing military, a journey that would take him through many skirmishes and full scale battles. The proudest moment of his career had been his ascendency to the position of Field Marshal and his assignment to command the newly completed Avalon battle-station in 70 C.E. He was thrilled to be in a key position regarding the defense of the Coordinator homeland, and his determination and patriotism had served him well during the Battle of the Avalon Line when the Alliance had attempted to attack the PLANTs from beneath the orbital plane after their failed head on assault at the Battle of Jachin Due. Knowing that the lives of his parents and millions of others rode on his shoulders had proven to be a performance incentive like no other, and his steadfast and resolute leadership had enabled the battle-station and her accompanying fleet to stand strong against the much larger enemy forces that had been arrayed against them in that engagement.

Things had quieted down after that fight, with no further attempts by the Alliance to launch a direct attack on the Coordinator homeland. That did not mean that Field Marshal Tlass or his subordinates were able to relax their guard, though, nor would he allow them to do so. Tlass was a firm and hard commanding officer, one whose strict adherence to protocol had engendered mixed feelings amongst those serving under him. The man would not play favorites, but at the same time he was loath to make exceptions for subordinates even under mitigating or extenuating circumstances. Rules were rules and the law was the law in his eyes, and bucking the system in any form was intolerable to him, even if it was due to good intentions. His subordinates had learned quickly that their Field Marshal made no distinctions between subverting regulations out of greed and malice or defying them out of altruism and moral grounds, out of compassion or pragmatism. The only morality in ZAFT, as far as Tlass was concerned, was the codes of conduct each and every soldier was bound to serve. They were there to ensure the cohesion of the armed forces and the defense of the homeland, and any deviation, regardless of the reason, was in his eyes a potential cause for disaster.

His rigid stance on such matters theoretically made him apolitical in an atmosphere fraught with intrigue and clashing ideologies, but in practice it meant that Tlass was a stable and reliable pawn for members of both sides to exploit, provided they maneuvered correctly. Tlass's strict adherence to rules and regulations made him a piece on the game board that was both predictable and easy to wield… and his narrow-minded view regarding law and order meant that they could do so without him ever being the wiser.

And both sides had done precisely that, or were planning to do so. For the supporters of the late Siegel Clyne it was the former, while for the current ruling party it was the latter. For the moderates, they had seized their chance when Field Marshal Eric Bristow had been given the assignment of reviewing the PLANT Exclusion Grid during the buildup prior to Operation Spitbreak. Said review had naturally included the Avalon battle-station, and during his visit the Wolf of the Far East had made his move in his typical behind the scenes fashion. While technically Bristow and Tlass shared the same rank, in practice the former's position as Zala's deputy chief of staff and a member of the Defense Council meant that he was higher up on the chain of command than the Syrian officer, and it was an advantage that Bristow had made use of.

During his tour of the station Bristow had requested, and gotten, complete access to the battle-station's internal network. Ostensibly this had been to review overall performance, but Bristow had taken the opportunity to slip a small piece of malware into the system. It was a passive program, letting it fly beneath the radar of ZAFT's cyber-warfare division, and it served two purposes. The first was to simply monitor the station's sensor data, while the second was to give Bristow a small, stealthy, but quite solid beachhead into the system; a backdoor in the event that he would need further access. It wasn't enough to enable him to sabotage Avalon directly, but knowing what the station had eyes-and-ears on, so to speak, and being able to access that data at any time of his choosing gave the Field Marshal another small weapon in his arsenal of contacts and informers. The fact that he could access his backdoor remotely from anywhere in the PLANTs was a very handy advantage…and one that was already being put to use today without the station's master being any the wiser.

As for how the radical faction planned to make use of Field Marshal Tlass, one needed only to look at the Syrian's service record and have knowledge of Zala's true agenda to draw the obvious conclusion. Tlass's career had been a stellar example of a soldier's rise in the ranks, but said rise had also been accompanied by a strict adherence to hierarchy and regulation. Tlass was a skilled commander, there was no doubting that, but the man lacked the independence, the initiative, of more noteworthy officers like Bristow, Creuset, and Waltfeld. He acted only upon explicit orders from his superiors, and he never deviated from those instructions, never made modifications to a plan to achieve beyond what had been set as mission parameters, and never made note or protest of extraordinary risks any operations might bring up, nor of any signs of ethical conflicts that might be inherent with them. He simply followed orders to the letter.

Which made him an ideal frontline commander for a regime hell bent on initiating the largest act of genocide in mankind's already staggering history of atrocities.

The situation was made all the worst by Tlass's inability to think outside the box, so to speak; his firm belief in the sanctity of codes and rules, the absolute authority of orders from the top of the chain of command, had given him such a narrow viewpoint that he was unable to step back and see his place in the bigger picture.

He was blissfully unaware that, despite his utter lack of political leanings, he was an ideal instrument for the radical's future offensive campaign, a perfect executor of the will of the ruling party on the battlefield… a Field Marshal that would order his troops to commit whatever slaughter the Supreme Chairman and his cohorts wished for.

With the big picture far removed from his mind, Field Marshal Tlass's sole concern was overseeing the operation of the Avalon battle-station and the Defense Line it anchored. To that end his focus was razor-sharp; nothing could distract him from carrying out his duty.

So when his sensor officer reported a piece of unexpected and alarming news, the Field Marshal's reaction was blunt and immediate.

"Sir, we've lost the Annan!" the young man at the post cried out, "She's been destroyed!"

Another commanding officer might've asked how that was possible; even at the outermost edge of the Avalon Line, where the mentioned destroyer had been on patrol, there should've been nothing capable of taking down such a warship. The PLANTs and their Exclusion Grid were at the center of L5, the heart of ZAFT space, and the thought of any hostile force getting through the outlying patrols undetected was simply unheard of.

Nevertheless, Tlass didn't let supposed factual impossibility get in the way of following procedure… and, obviously, said impossibility had been proven wrong in decisive fashion with the destruction of the Annan. "Go to Alert Level One!" he ordered, "All hands, battle stations! Scramble GINNs! Do we have eyes on what destroyed the Annan?"

"She was at the very edge of our sensor umbrella," the officer replied, "I'm getting no other large contacts in the area that aren't friendly; whatever did this has a smaller cross-section, unless it was an accident."

An accident was always a possibility, but Tlass would labor under the assumption that the Annan had been lost to enemy action until proven otherwise… and his assumption was proven to be right on the money as his sensor officer spoke up again.

"Hold on," said the young man, "I've got new contacts, relayed by one of our scout GINNs. Six of them, all mobile suits... fuck!"

The sensor officer's vulgarity had been accompanied by a distinct heightening of his tone, and the fear that now gripped the young man was unmistakable. Tlass vowed to reprimand the boy later on for losing his cool, but for now the current situation demanded his full attention.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Contacts are all nuclear powered MS, and all confirmed hostile!" the young man replied, "The Wraiths, the Freedom, the Justice… and Wing Zero! Vector is confirmed as offensive; they're heading right for us!"

"For the PLANTs, or us specifically?" asked Tlass.

"Us, sir!" cried the sensor officer, clearly struggling to come to grips with what was unfolding before him, "Their vector… it's a head on strike against Avalon!"

Tlass may have been a rigid and inflexible man, blind to the intrigues that plagued the war the Earth Sphere was caught up in, but he wasn't a complete fool. The Field Marshal had heard the reports of what Wing Zero had done at the First Battle of Alaska, and had made the logical conclusion that if that machine's monstrously powerful gun was strong enough to destroy a base hardened against nuclear strikes then it would be quite capable of destroying a large artificial construct such as a space colony… or the Avalon battle-station.

For warships, attacking Avalon head on was suicidal, but mobile suits were far smaller and more agile; the Tunguska cannons had a much slimmer chance of hitting them.

That didn't mean Tlass would hold back on the big guns, though.

"Communications," he yelled, "inform the Defense Council that Wing Zero and the hijacked prototypes are inbound! Instruct all warships on our Line to converge on our position!"

"Sir, we're far too spread out!" the senior radio specialist replied, his voice in a state of near panic, "Wing Zero will be in firing range long before the full fleet can get to our position!"

"Follow your orders!" Tlass roared, his patience with his fear-struck subordinates fast wearing thin.

The young man's face paled even further than it already was, and he quickly turned back to his station.

Tlass wasted no time in issuing further orders. "Guns, bring all weapons to bear, including the heavies! Initiate firing cycle; no volleys! I want maximum rate of fire from the Tunguskas, understood?"

"Sir," the chief gunnery officer replied, "hitting a target that small with the Tunguskas…"

"I know the math," he shot back, "take the shots anyway; one of those rounds will be more than enough to take down Wing Zero! Concentrate every shot from the Tunguskas on Wing Zero; that damn mobile suit dies today!"

The chief gunnery officer gulped and nodded. "Aye, Field Marshall."

Tlass's eyes narrowed as he focused on the main monitor, which showed Wing Zero and the other five mobile suits swiftly closing in with the Avalon Line. Though the Line's warships were spread out over a vast area, there were still a considerable amount of frigates and destroyers close enough to the battle-station to act as direct fire support and intercept Wing Zero and the hijacked prototypes. The fact that they had their own mobile suit teams also helped matters… but that did not change the fact that they were up against the single deadliest enemy ZAFT had ever faced, and that it was supported by five more machines that were nearly as advanced and lethal as it was.

Tlass was well aware of the fearsome reputation that surrounded Wing Zero. The machine was spoken of in hushed tones by officers and the rank and file alike, and the ripples caused by its actions had touched ever echelon of ZAFT, all the way up to the lofty perch of the Defense Council itself. Rumors and battlefield tales had little impact on a hardened man like Tlass, but he was aware of the affect that they could have on the younger generation of soldiers, and he knew that it was manifesting itself in the behavior of his immediate subordinates on the Avalon battle-station. Despite the fact that they were on board the most formidable of ZAFT's space fortresses, the awe and fear inspired by Wing Zero remained infectious and potent. Tlass may have been rigid and unimaginative, but he was not a fool; he knew that the dreadful Guardian of the Archangel had inflicted an unholy amount of casualties upon his nation's armed forces, and the trail of death and destruction left in its wake posed a serious threat to troop morale.

That was why Tlass was determined to take down Wing Zero here and now. The fact that the five machines flying with it were stolen ZAFT prototypes piloted by renegades incensed the man to no end, but it was Wing Zero that he deemed to be the greatest threat, not just physically but psychologically. If it could be taken down today, the threat it posed to ZAFT, both in the material sense and in terms of morale, would be eliminated, and in fact Tlass was sure that performing such a feat would be a major boost to the spirits of the armed forces. Taking down or recapturing the Freedom, Justice, and the three Wraiths would be a considerable bonus, but the top priority in his mind was Wing Zero, which was why Tlass had designated it as the sole target of the firing cycle for the four mammoth Tunguska cannons; if just one round from them hit the mobile suit, then one of the greatest threats to ZAFT and the PLANTs as a whole would be neutralized once and for all.

"Hit them with everything we've got!" he roared, "Fill the sky with fire; show them what Avalon's all about!"

….

Sitting on a bench in the pilots' locker room, laptop in front of him, Eric Bristow smiled as the latest sensor data from the Avalon battle-station streamed onto his screen. Earlier in the day he'd patched into the bug he'd left in the station's internal network on his tour all those months ago, and had been patiently waiting for this moment.

He'd kept in touch with Waltfeld since the day the Desert Tiger had left the PLANTs, though it had not been easy to do so. Their communiqués could only be via email, and Eric had to do a lot of rerouting through different servers and satellites to keep ZAFT's cyber-warfare and tracking specialists from zeroing in on him. Every message sent always carried with it the risk that the Wolf of the Far East might make a mistake, might finally let the hounds catch up with him. It was walking yet another tightrope, adding even more danger to the already incredibly high-stakes double-game he was playing against Zala and the rest of the radical faction.

That was why he was so glad to see Wing Zero, the Freedom, the Justice, and the three Wraiths approaching the Avalon Line. The beginning of the operation to free his lover's parents from prison was also the signal that his time in the PLANTs had at last come to an end. Both Eric and Waltfeld had known all along that there was only so long the Wolf of the Far East could escape Zala's ever-growing paranoia, especially in light of all the information he was sending to the followers of the late Siegel Clyne. Both men had agreed that Eric had accomplished all he could by working from within the belly of the beast; now it was time for him to return to the battlefields. The appearance of Wing Zero and the rest of the strike team meant that Eric no longer had to play his nerve wracking game of cat-and-mouse with the radicals; now he could declare his true allegiance.

And get Shemei the hell out of here, he thought. He'd sent Shemei a vague email earlier that day, cryptically giving her a heads up regarding the raid; out of operational security he was being extremely cautious, all the more so since his lover was now operating directly with the Fleet. The destroyer she had returned on board from the disastrous confrontation with the Eternal, the Archangel, and the new Orb warship was now operating on the Avalon Line, meaning that Shemei was in an ideal position to finally defect from ZAFT… provided her parents were safe.

It all comes down to you, Heero, he thought, watching the image of the young pilot's fearsome machine on the monitor, closing in on the warships out in front of the Avalon battle-station, my lover's freedom, the safety of her parents… it all hangs on you. You pull this off, and I'll buy you drinks for the rest of your life.

His smile turned into a full grin. "You're right on time, Heero," he said quietly, "now you just have to do what you do best; the impossible. As for me… I'll be ready to play my part when you succeed."

With that he powered off the laptop and slid it into the duffel bag next to the bench before zipping it up. Picking it up and slinging it over his shoulder, he was about to head for the locker room exit when he felt a vibrating coming from one of the pockets of the dark blue flight suit he was wearing.

My work phone, he mused, smirking as he checked the caller ID, almost forgot about this…

The number displayed was that of HQ, and Eric wasn't surprised in the least; he was sure all the members of the Defense Council were being called in now that Wing Zero was on their doorstep, metaphorically speaking.

He flipped open the black phone… and promptly snapped it in half.

"Zala," he said as he chucked the two halves of the phone into a nearby trashcan, "consider this my resignation."

One that's long overdue, he thought, anger stirring in his heart, you kidnapped the parents of the woman I love and used them as a weapon against her, a dagger in her back. You sent Shemei to the brink of despair, and it's been all I can do to give her the hope and strength she needs to survive with the knowledge that the lives of her mother and father rest in the hands of you and your pack of murderers. I stuck close to you, stayed on in the Defense Council, for her sake, to be in a position to get the information we'd need to help take you down; it sure as hell wasn't out of loyalty to the government and the armed forces. The PLANTs and ZAFT lost my support the instant they took my lover's parents hostage. Since then I've been biding my time, waiting patiently for the day that I could openly declare war against them, against you, Zala.

This was more than just his open defection to the Clyne faction; this was Eric's permanent departure from his homeland. He would never return to the PLANTs after this, and he knew that Shemei and her family wouldn't either. Eric wasn't particularly torn up over the whole affair; so long as he could be by Shemei's side, he could make anywhere in the Earth Sphere a home. Nor was he worried about possible repercussions against his family; his father was a faithful supporter of the Zala regime, and his position as one of the members of the Asimov Design Bureau's board of directors made him a very valuable ally to the radicals, one they would be loath to alienate.

Unlike Shemei, he thought, I don't have to worry about my family being used against me by the radical faction… well, not in the usual sense. Since my father supports Zala, my defection means I'm declaring war against my family along with the radical faction. This isn't something I wanted… but I have no choice. I can't just stand by and let Zala lead our people down the path of slaughter, nor can I abide him taking Shemei's parents hostage. Father made his choice when he decided to back the radicals and I made mine when I sided with the moderates; there's no turning back now.

A slight smirk appeared on his face as he walked out of the locker room and into the hangar of the private ADB research and testing facility. There were no guards or staff inside; Eric had cleared them all out using the authority that came with the combination of his rank and his position on the Defense Council.

'Council security inspection', I told them, he mused, stifling a chuckled, such things do occur, but it's rare when a Field Marshal is the one conducting them… good thing my family name carries weight in the ADB, or I would've had a much harder time pulling that little lie off.

The private test hangar was located in the 'upper' half of the hour-glass shaped colony, which meant that it was in an ideal position for Eric to launch from once Heero made his run on Charon Prison. If the facility had been in the lower half, then Eric would've been forced to hijack a machine from Fort Saturn, the ZAFT base in the upper half of the colony, and that would've been a much riskier proposition.

More to the point, Eric thought, his smirk becoming a smile as he approached the testing hangar's sole machine, Fort Saturn doesn't have this machine, nor does any other ZAFT base for that matter. It hasn't even gone into limited production yet.

Bathed in the hangar's lights was a black mobile suit with dark blue trim. The frame was identical to the ZGMF-600 GuAIZ, and indeed, the unit was a variant of the intended replacement for ZAFT's current mainline mobile suit, the GINN. Unlike the standard GuAIZ, this unit lacked a beam rifle. Instead, both arms mounted a Composite Shield with dual beam-claw emitters. It retained the rocket anchors from the baseline GuAIZ, and on its shoulders were mounted two MMI-M826 'Hydra' Gatling Beam Cannons. The unit's designation was the ZGMF-600 CCM GuAIZ Werewolf. The CCM stood for Close Combat Model, denoting the unit's intended purpose as a variant that specialized in short-range fighting. Indeed, the two dual-beam claws made the mobile suit a fearsome melee combatant; though with the 'Hydra' Gatling Beam Cannons and the rocket anchors the unit also had mid-range capability. The Werewolf's thrusters were significantly stronger than those of the mainline GuAIZ, which allowed it to quickly get into close-combat-range with its foes to make up for its lack of the beam rifle, and it had the added bonus of giving the machine full-flight capabilities in Earth's atmosphere, something its baseline unit lacked.

As a mobile suit pilot, Eric's experience was with GINNs and BuCues, space and ground units respectively that had well-rounded weapons capabilities. Some might see taking control of a close-quarters-combat model as a handicap for him, but Eric was undaunted. More to the point, short-range fighting had a special thrill to the Wolf of the Far East. He may have been as opposed to war as any sensible person, but he also knew that he derived the same thrill from close combat with a skilled foe that Shemei and Waltfeld did. The GuAIZ Werewolf would force him into more such confrontations on the battlefield, a prospect that was not without its excitement to the now former Field Marshal.

In short, the more limited GuAIZ Werewolf was not viewed as a handicap by Eric.

He saw piloting it as a challenge, one he was more than willing to embrace.

As he ascended the stairs to the boarding platform, he could feel the beginnings of adrenaline begin to course through his veins. At long last, after far too many months bound to deskwork due to Zala's desire to sideline him, he was returning to where he belonged; the front lines.

Mankind should not desire battle, he thought as he opened the mobile suit's hatch, the death, the despair, the slaughter, the bloodshed… any sane person should be repulsed by it, and for the most part I believe they are. Yet there's also something about the battlefield that captivates the human imagination in a way that nothing else does, and I'll be the first to admit that I'm not immune to it. It's not a matter of patriotism or bloodlust; I think it's something deeper than that. There's a certain rush one gets when their life is on the line, a combination of fear and excitement unlike anything I've ever experienced before. Even were I not an actual combatant, though, I would still find myself drawn to war… or more specifically, the people that fight it. Propaganda may tell us about every soldier enlisting to serve his or her country, but that's simply too broad a brush to paint those people with. Behind every fighter there's an individual story, a personality, a past… and something within them that drives them into military service. Whether it's to protect the people they love, to fight for ideals like freedom and justice, to look for adventure, to escape one's previous life and start anew… there are so many reasons that draw people to the battlefield.

Eric wasn't quite like Shemei or Waltfeld; he did not deliberately seek out a worthy opponent like they had with Heero and Kira, respectively. He could understand why they did it, though; after being on top of the game for so long, so to speak, to be able to find a foe that could push them to their limits and beyond must've been a thrilling experience. It was only enhanced by the fact that their foes were actually admirable and noble people outside the battlefield, though it also lent an air of sorrow to their duels; were they not on the opposite sides of a war, Eric knew that they would've been great friends.

And if all goes according to plan, he mused, today will mark the day that we all officially joined forces; we'll all be fighting under one banner. It's something I've been looking forward to for quite awhile now, and it will definitely beat all these cloak and dagger games I've been playing around here.

He climbed into the Werewolf and closed the hatch, stowing his bag underneath the pilot's seat. Eric then initiated the startup sequence; he wanted to be ready to launch the instant Wing Zero made its run on Charon Prison.

Despite the enormous odds the fearsome machine and its incredible pilot were up against, Eric's confidence in Heero and Wing Zero was quite strong. Part of it was due to the reports he'd read on them, along with word passed along by Waltfeld, but it was Shemei's accounts of fighting against him that had Eric convinced that Heero could pull this off. That young man had elicited a sense of awe and admiration within Shemei that Eric knew no other foe had ever stirred within her. He knew that her respect for his abilities had no bounds, and it had been the driving force behind her desire to get a new mobile suit; she'd wanted to close the technology gap between them so she could truly fight Heero on even footing, without relying on backup from the rest of her team. It wasn't that she didn't trust Adaline, Lan, and Priscilla; she just wanted to fight Heero one-on-one.

She's a duelist at heart, he mused, she's a phenomenal pilot and soldier, but ultimately she prefers a one-on-one fight with someone that can push her to her limits, and Heero more than qualifies as that. I guess part of it comes from her background as a fencer; she sure does love a good sword fight, and the duels she's had with Heero have definitely been those, though they also have artillery in the mix. Shemei's one of those rare pilots that leaves the rank and file completely in the dust, and who strives to find an opponent that can compete at her level. Heero gave her that, and she wants to return the favor by fighting him fairly, without backup. She got that chance a week ago, but with the threat to her parents' lives hanging over her head courtesy of Zala, I know she wasn't able to truly enjoy the fight, to make it the rematch she's longed for. Maybe when this mission's over, she and Heero can have that duel; I'm sure between the resources of the Archangel, Eternal, and that Orb ship along with Heero and Shemei's expertise we can work up some simulators so they can go at it non lethally and settle their score. There's no point in them engaging in a death match after going through all this to save her and her parents from the radicals, something I'm sure they'll agree with.

As the Werewolf powered up Eric once again tapped into the bit of malware he'd left in the Avalon battle-stations internal network so he could access its sensor data. After sifting through data he found what he was looking for; the destroyer Shemei was on. It wasn't too far from the battle-station, and he knew that with the Judgment's speed Shemei was more than capable of intercepting Wing Zero and the strike team before Heero could set up for his shot.

There's no way they won't have her launch, he thought, not when they know that Shemei and the Judgment is the only thing they have that can take on Heero and Wing Zero. I'm sure Waltfeld's taken that possibility into account, along with Heero; the only question is how they'll adapt. Heero can't afford to be sidetracked in this mission; every second counts. His best counter would be to have Adaline, Lan, and Priscilla keep Shemei occupied while Athrun and Kira guard his flanks.

It was the most likely scenario, and one Eric was hopeful would play out in that manner. While he knew it pained Shemei to fight her former comrades, he also knew that the four of them were capable of stringing out a fight to buy time without killing each other, while simultaneously giving the appearance that they were indeed trying to take each other down.

Shemei got my message earlier, I'm sure of that, he thought, his eyes narrowing, I had to keep the wording vague, but she's a very intelligent woman, and when she sees Wing Zero and the others approaching she'll be able to put two and two together. As long as she's able to play along with the girls until Heero takes down Avalon, we'll be alright. The girls can contact her on their old tactical channels to drive the point home as to why they're here; even if she can't respond directly, she'll at least know that her parents' savior is coming. And once Heero hits Charon Prison… then she'll be unleashed.

As he turned his attention back to the strike team as they closed with the warships that served as the vanguard of the Avalon battle-station, Eric had to struggle to hold back his excitement. He was normally a calm and relaxed individual, and quite good at keeping his composure under most circumstances, but today's operation and everything it entailed had lit a fire in him that was only match by the one that burned for his lover.

"Come on, Heero," he said, smiling as he began to recite just a few of the monikers the phenomenal pilot had garnered amongst the ZAFT forces, "Reaper of North Africa, Guardian of the Archangel, Angel of Ruin… show Zala and his sycophantic followers how you earned your reputation and titles."

….

(Start "Avalon")

Heero's eyes narrowed as the operation's first objective came into view; the Avalon battle-station. Its appearance matched that of the hologram Waltfeld had shown him and the others during the meeting, but the electronic image he'd seen in the Eternal's conference room failed to truly do the leviathan of a fortress justice. The monolithic disk-shaped structure was like a cold-steel guardian, blocking the most direct access from beneath the orbital plane to the Coordinator homeland. Sunlight glinted off its surface, revealing its mind-blowing arsenal in all its glory. The heavy beam cannons, the missile launchers, the CIWs, the four titanic Tunguska guns… the battle-station bristled with more weapons Heero had seen mounted on one structure since the Libra.

I wonder which one would win?, he mused, Avalon has more weapons and is much larger, but the Libra's main gun was far more powerful than the Tunguska cannons. I guess it would all come down to who could get off the first shot… and it's academic in any case. Libra won't be taking this monster down; I will.

However, the battle-station itself was not the first target on Heero's agenda. Though the fleets that made up the Avalon Line were spread out over a very wide area, the supporting warships in the immediate area were nothing to be taken on lightly. Around and in front of the battle-station was a force of warships that numbered at least a score. Heero counted over a dozen frigates and several destroyers, and he knew that more were already inbound. The warships were launching their GINNs as the strike team made their approach, as was the disk-shaped behemoth behind them. If Heero wanted to stand a chance in hell at taking down the Avalon battle-station, he and the others would first have to thin out the ships and mobile suits in the immediate area. Otherwise the ZAFT forces would surround him and prevent him from lining up a clear shot on the massive fortress.

"Spread out," he ordered over the tactical channel, "Athrun, the far right flank is yours. Kira, you're on the left. Valkyrie Team, loosen up but keep our general formation; I'll need you watching my back when I go for my run on Avalon. Everyone be sure to give each other at least two kilometers of maneuvering room on all sides, preferably more; we're going to need it."

"Roger that," came his comrades' reply, all five speaking as one.

As the strike team fanned out Heero glanced at the bottom right corner of his screen, where the energy readings coming from Avalon were displayed. These were critical for him to monitor as a spike would indicate that one of the Tunguska cannons was about to fire… and Heero was sure that he would be the prime target of those massive guns. That was why, as he immersed himself in the Zero System, he made sure to mind the firing paths of the Tunguskas, the current phase of their firing cycle, and the battle-station's energy usage. The enhanced awareness and precognition that the Zero System gave him would enable him to evade fire from the monolithic cannons along with the rest of Avalon's armaments, but only if he kept them within his sphere of awareness.

Also within that sphere of awareness was the disposition of his allies. Precision flying and cooperation between the six of them would be crucial to their survival, especially when the time came for Heero to set up for his shot at Avalon. Kira and Athrun would play important roles in keeping ZAFT forces from outflanking him, but it was the Valkyrie Team's assignment to keep enemy mobile suits off his back while he prepared to fire that would be the most crucial.

The three Wraiths were flying openly, uncloaked, in order to make full use of their offensive and defensive capabilities. In other circumstances Heero would've had them fly cloaked in order to conceal their presence from the enemy and deliver maximum surprise when the GINNs closed in for combat, but with all the artillery ZAFT could bring to the table the Perfect Soldier knew that all it would take was a stray round or missile to take down the Wraiths while they were cloaked due to their inability to use Phase Shift Armor while in that state. Their role as Heero's personal guard during the approach to Avalon was too important for the Gundam pilot to take that chance, though such caution may have seemed a bit out of place in light of the already overwhelming odds they were throwing themselves against. Still, Heero felt it was important for each pilot in the strike team to have the maximum amount of defensive capability available to them during the operation.

Besides, this wasn't a stealth mission.

This was a head on assault.

Wing Zero's sensors were swiftly filling up with contacts as a horde of mobile suits billowed forth from Avalon and the warships in her immediate vicinity. They were all GINNs; no threat by themselves but in the massive numbers they were being deployed they constituted a serious danger. Heero could also see the warships angling for shots on the strike team, and he had no doubt that he was the center of attention… for them and the battle-station. There was no ego in the assumption; it was simply a matter of fact, a logical conclusion based on his past performance against his foes and the casualties he had inflicted upon them.

Heero was the biggest threat on the field, and he knew ZAFT was fully aware of that and would respond accordingly.

And they did not disappoint.

"Evasive!" ordered Heero as he saw Avalon's energy readings spike. As he spoke he jinked sharply to the right, and not a moment too soon; Avalon had begun her firing cycle. A massive 80 meter railgun round ripped forth from one of the Tunguska cannons, a gargantuan yellow blur of a shot. Thanks to the Zero System Heero was able to predict the angle of the shots fired from Avalon's big guns and move to dodge their shots, but that did not change the very real threat the large shells posed to him; a single hit and he was dead, regardless of how incredibly tough Wing Zero's Gundanium alloy frame was. The same went for his allies; Phase Shift Armor meant nothing against that kind of firepower.

The titanic shell tore through the space Heero had occupied mere moments before, and it was swiftly followed up by Avalon's conventional weapons opening up. A storm of emerald beams and missiles rained down on the strike team, and the ZAFT warships supporting the battle-station added their own energy cannons and railguns to the mix. It was a rain of death, one that would only be amplified when the GINNs moved into firing range with their rifles.

The barrage was thick, but not perfect. There were gaps in the firing pattern that Heero and his allies could exploit. This was simply due to the fact that both Avalon and her supporting warships had to be very careful with their fire in order to avoid hitting their own comrades, whether they be destroyers and frigates or the hordes of GINNs that had been launched from the vessels and the battle-station.

The instant the first Tunguska cannon had fired a timer had appeared on Heero's monitor just above the energy reading display for the battle-station; the countdown until the next big shot in Avalon's firing cycle. A minute and fifteen seconds was both an eternity and a blink of an eye on a battlefield as large as this, but it nevertheless presented a window that Heero intended to take full advantage of.

Checking his sensors and seeing that his allies were all alive, Heero turned his attention to the warships directly in front of the strike team and brought the Twin Buster Rifle to bear; it was time to start cutting into the ZAFT fleet. The warships and mobile suits were fanning out in a classic inverted crescent, with the goal of enveloping the strike team in an encirclement. Of course, given the three dimensional nature of space, completely surrounding the strike team required exponentially more units than it would in surface combat, with the objective being to envelope Heero and the others in a complete sphere rather than a simple circle, but the Avalon Line had more than enough resources to spare, even if it was just the vanguard of its anchor base and said base's massive mobile suit compliment.

"I'll hit the enemy center," said Heero, "Valkyrie Team, keep the GINNs off me. Freedom, Justice; engage anything that comes up on the flanks, warships or mobile suits."

"Got it," said Athrun.

"Ok," said Kira.

"We've got you covered, Heero," said Adaline.

"Good," said Heero. With that he split the Twin Buster Rifle, brought the weapon up to fifty percent charge, and cut loose.

Two blasts of golden-yellow hellfire ripped forth, detonating thirteen GINNs like firecrackers before hitting their true targets, a destroyer and a frigate. The two warships were annihilated by the powerful energy beams, but the hole made in the enemy's massive formation was quite small, easily covered by fire from the other warships, the massive horde of GINNs, and of course the Avalon battle-station.

Rejoining the two guns into Wing Zero's main rifle, Heero then proceeded to ignite his emerald beam saber. His plan was simple; hack his way through the center of the swarm of mobile suits while targeting the warships directly in his path, entrusting his flanks and back to his allies. For a pilot whose style had until quite recently revolved around lone-wolf combat, having comrades that he knew could cover him was a strangely refreshing feeling to Heero. He could not help but be reminded of the final campaign of the Eve Wars and how he and his fellow Gundam pilots had eventually overcame their lone-fighter tendencies and had come together as a single cohesive unit, becoming perhaps the deadliest fighting force in the history of the Earth Sphere.

Heero couldn't help but smile slightly as he prepared to engage a formation of GINNs that were closing fast with him while at the same time lining up for a shot at a Laurasia-class frigate, a sense of nostalgia creeping into his heart. His may have been the only mobile suit in the strike team that used the titular alloy, but the units piloted by his comrades were incredibly fearsome machines in their own rights, and the skills of their wielders set them far above the rank and file. They had their own unique personalities and ideals, and did not always see eye-to-eye, but they had all come together to help bring an end to the most destructive war in the history of the Earth Sphere of their timeline.

They were a new Gundam Team.

The thought was interesting to Heero, but he did not allow it to distract him from the task at hand. Taking aim with the Twin Buster Rifle, he opened fire on the frigate in his sights. The torrent of golden-yellow energy that ripped forth from Wing Zero's main weapon obliterated another eight GINNs before it washed over the green frigate, turning it into bits of superheated metal. The instant after the shot left the twin rifle barrels Heero closed with a group of GINNs that had scattered to evade his shot but were now disorganized; prime targets.

He cut down three machines in the space of mere seconds, the doomed trio detonating one after another in his wake. Heero impaled a forth machine before jinking right and slashing a fifth one in half. He then side slipped to the left and cut a sixth GINN down, weaving through the veritable typhoon of enemy fire coming his way courtesy of Avalon, her warships, and the hundreds of GINNs. All the while he kept up his forward momentum, knowing that to get caught up in a dogfight was suicide in this environment. Such flying would naturally give his enemies the chance to surround him and attack from all directions…

… were his allies to give them the chance.

Out on the far right flank a destroyer and two frigates were attempting to line up shots on Wing Zero; attempting being the key word. The three warships and the score of GINNs that were with them had found themselves stonewalled by Athrun and the Justice. The son of ZAFT's ruler was putting on a phenomenal display of defensive flying, pounding the warships with volleys from his rifle and beam cannons while eviscerating the GINNs with his beam saber. The destroyer's bow heavy beam cannons had been knocked out of action by the younger Zala, and the former ZAFT Red had also neutralized the main guns of the two supporting frigates. All three vessels still had their secondary armaments, but they were having a hard time bringing them into play as Athrun hit the warships with scattered shots while at the same time mauling their mobile suit squadrons. Seven GINNs had already fallen to the young man's violet blade, and Heero knew that Athrun was just warming up.

On the far left flank Kira was likewise occupied, and though he continued to use his trademark non-lethal fighting style he was nonetheless succeeding in holding off the ZAFT fleet. The Freedom's impressive array of artillery was getting a major workout, pouring out volleys of highly precise plasma blasts, rail cannon rounds, and energy beams. Several mobile suits had already been disabled and were turning tail, while the three frigates were showing signs of serious damage, with several of their guns little more than cratered wrecks.

However, even with their incredible skills and sophisticated mobile suits, there was only so much Athrun and Kira could do to secure Heero's far flanks in this sort of fight. The enemy's numbers were so great that they could simply fan out further and go around the Freedom and the Justice; despite their formidable array of weapons, the two prototypes could only cover so much space and so many foes. GINN teams were streaming around the two aces, arcing past them and coming in fast at Wing Zero from all sides. Those attempting to take him head on Heero would deal with himself, but given the amount of fire he was facing from Avalon and its supporting forces he could not afford to stop and fight the GINNs that were trying to hit him from the flanks.

Fortunately, he didn't have to worry about them; the Valkyrie Team had him covered.

Glancing at his sensors, Heero couldn't help but smirk as he saw Adaline, Lan, and Priscilla utterly decimating the GINNs that had made it around Kira and Athrun and were trying to attack him. Adaline was flying below and to the left of Heero, Lan mirrored her on the right, while Priscilla was above and behind him. Adaline had her right beam saber ignited while her left Trikeros was being wielded as a beam rifle, and she was using the combo to deadly effect, mauling her foes in close and mid range combat. Five GINNs had already fallen to her blade, and another six had gone down to well placed rifle shots.

Lan had forgone either of her beam sabers in favor of her rifles and hip-mounted Xiphas railguns, wielding all four guns in a manner that would've made John Woo jealous. The Chinese Coordinator had become an Oriental Angel of Death, dishing out damage at a rate that nearly matched that of the more heavily armed Freedom. Nine GINNs had already been destroyed by Lan, and she was just starting to hit her stride.

Priscilla had taken a different approach, firing only a few salvos with her beam rifles and railguns, taking down a few GINNs but letting most of those coming from her angle get closer. Were she any other pilot Heero would've had concerns that she was holding back due to her foes being former allies, but he did not doubt Priscilla; she had been chosen by Rehema to fly with her, and Heero doubted the Valkyrie would take on a subordinate that lacked the professionalism needed of this kind of fight. His instincts told him she was baiting her enemies, drawing them into a trap, and he was proven right a second later as the Italian/Romanian lady suddenly cut loose with her Wraith's Lancer Dart missiles, letting fly with all twelve of the warheads in her arsenal. The surprise barrage was as accurate as it was lethal; a dozen GINNs were obliterated in the attack, one for each missile fired.

A gamble, firing all her missiles so early, Heero mused, and Priscilla struck me as the more cautious out of those three girls… well, it was a very effective move, and I have no doubt she understood the risks going in. She made her choice, and she'll adapt her fighting style to compensate for her now-empty missile racks.

Indeed, she was already doing so, igniting her right beam saber while opening fire with her left beam rifle; in essence, Priscilla was adopting the same style Adaline was using. She began laying down a series of precise shots as cover fire while readying herself for close quarters combat.

As he took all this in Heero was diving headlong into another pack of GINNs, laying waste to them with his emerald blade. Four machines went down in rapid succession as he cut his way through the enemy squadron before bringing the Twin Buster Rifle up once again and cutting loose. Once more a stream of hellfire ripped forth from the fearsome gun, annihilating eight GINNs before slamming into a destroyer, reducing it to little more than superheated atoms. Heero didn't have time to celebrate though; the timer for the next shot in the Tunguska cannon firing cycle was about to hit zero and the Gundam pilot knew that all four guns were still focused squarely on him.

He jinked to the left as the energy monitor spiked, and not a moment too soon as one of the massive guns opened fire, sending another titanic shell hurtling his way at an incredible velocity. Heero's evasive maneuver was barely enough to dodge the railgun round; all the fire from Avalon's conventional guns, the supporting warships, and their GINNs made it extremely difficult to avoid getting hit. His eyes were narrowed in concentration, and he could feel the adrenaline coursing through his veins like an electric current. Flying through the storm of energy beams, missiles, rail cannon rounds, and machinegun bullets was pushing Heero's skills to their limits, but he was still able to stay one step ahead of the enemy and continue his charge towards the gargantuan battle-station.

The Perfect Soldier may not have had any desire to comment on the rain of fire pouring down on him and the strike team, but as he prepared to meet another formation of GINNs and take a shot at a Laurasia-class frigate he could hear the Valkyrie's subordinates voice their opinions over the tactical channel. The commentary was… interesting, to say the least.

"Holy crap," said Lan as she took down four GINNs with pinpoint volleys from her beam rifles and railguns, "this reminds me of those bullet hell games Pris got into a few months back!"

"No kidding," said Adaline as she slashed a GINN in half before destroying two more with her beam rifle and railguns, "Pris, you must be so happy right now; you're playing Touhou with mobile suits, warships, and the biggest arsenal of weapons ever slapped onto a single artificial habitat."

"Happy is hardly the word I'd use to describe it," Priscilla shot back as she bisected a GINN with her violet blade before downing three more with her guns, an edge of excitement clear in her voice, "Touhou's got nothing on this! This is the Yukari boss fight on steroids!"

"Well, we're glad you're enjoying yourself, Pris," said Lan as she shot down another GINN, "as for me, I could do with a little less fire flying around."

"Cut the chatter and focus," said Heero as he began tearing into the GINNs coming up at him, taking down three of the green and grey machines in rapid succession with his beam saber, "save the commentary for after the fight when we review the combat footage."

"Aw, no fun," Lan replied, but Heero could tell that her protest was half-hearted; she respected him too much as a pilot and soldier to go against his orders, and the same went for the rest of the Valkyrie's subordinates. The three girls may have enjoyed banter even in the middle of a fight, but at heart they were combat professionals, and they were proving it with the devastation they were wreaking upon the ZAFT mobile suit teams that had gotten around Kira and Athrun and lining up for a crack at Wing Zero while cutting back their communications to strictly tactical updates and heads-up warnings.

As he cut down four more GINNs and prepared to fire the Twin Buster Rifle on the frigate Heero spared a brief glance at his sensors to check on how Athrun and Kira were doing.

On the far right flank the Justice had matters well in hand. Heero could see that the lead destroyer Athrun had been facing was drifting away from the battle, its bridge reduced to a crater rimmed with twisted metal. The two frigates that had been supporting the vessel were seriously damaged as well by Athrun's precise and deadly fire, and another eight GINNs had fallen to his violet blade. The Justice was now in the process of adjusting its position to account for the progress Heero had made in cutting through the center of the enemy forces, doing its best to keep Heero's far right flank secure. Another destroyer and frigate were moving in on Athrun, along with a host of GINNs, but based on the way he was flying so far today Heero knew it was nothing the former ZAFT pilot couldn't handle.

Meanwhile, Kira was holding strong on the far left, and Heero was impressed to see that the initial three frigates that had engaged the Freedom were now completely defanged and withdrawing. Several more GINNs had also been knocked out of the fight, but they had already been replaced by reinforcements. A destroyer and two more frigates were moving in on Kira, along with a swarm of GINNs, but between the precise volleys issuing from the Freedom's guns and the swift slashes and strikes of its beam saber Heero felt that his fellow pilot had matters in hand. Like Athrun on the far right Kira was also adjusting his flying in light of just how far Hero had already penetrated into the ZAFT fleet, and the way he was fighting could best be described as a trailing battle; a firefight being waged in Wing Zero's wake, following the Gundam's path but not close enough to actually endanger the leader of the strike team.

Confident that Athrun and Kira were fine for now, Heero lined up his shot on the frigate and GINN swarm before him and opened fire. The torrent of energy that ripped forth from the Twin Buster Rifle completely disintegrated ten GINNs before doing the same to the green warship behind them. As with his last capital ship kill though, Heero had no time or intention of resting on his laurels. The hailstorm of fire he had to weave through grew thicker and thicker as he got closer to the Avalon battle-station, and to Heero it seemed that there were more beams, missiles, railgun rounds, and bullets flying through space than there were stars in the sky; he'd never flown through a barrage this thick before.

ZAFT was determined to take him down… just as Heero was determined to survive, to complete his mission, and get back to the woman he loved.

It was the fire of passion that burned in one young man's heart versus the fear, hate, and resolve of an entire armada. The guns of almost all of Avalon were fixed on Wing Zero, the soldiers that manned them doing everything in their power to bring it down, as were so many of the GINNs pilots and the crewmembers of the supporting warships…

…and still Heero advanced.

His charge was swift and strong, brutal and inexorable, overpowering and lethal. Wing Zero was plowing straight through the center of the Avalon Line, rushing head-on against a fortress armed with the most powerful guns ever conceived and built in the Cosmic Era. For any other pilot and any other mobile suit, it would've been a suicide run. Even for a Gundam pilot, the odds were daunting… but not insurmountable.

And for Heero Yuy, the young man whom many believed to be the strongest of the five legendary pilots of Operation Meteor, the odds didn't even matter. As he fought his way through the enemy ranks, cutting down five GINNs in rapid succession before blasting nine more and a destroyer with the Twin Buster Rifle, the last thing on the Perfect Soldier's mind was the strength or numbers of his foes. His focus was on accomplishing his mission… and returning to Murrue, just as he'd promised.

With his determination fueled by love's inferno… no enemy could hope to withstand Heero's assault.

….

"Mother of god…" Talia whispered, watching the impossible unfolding on her bridge's main monitor.

After the role she had played in Operation Spitbreak, the Laurasia-class frigate Natta had been rotated back to defensive deployment, more specifically running patrols as part of the Avalon Line. It was an assignment that Captain Talia Gladys had welcomed, both because it offered her crew a reprieve from front-line service and it allowed her a chance to run exercises with her ship's six new GINN pilots. The Natta's original compliment had been sent to Earth for Operation Spitbreak… and all six pilots had fallen at Alaska. Three had been lost in the first engagement, while the other three had been killed during the Alliance's attack in the Second Battle of Alaska.

Intellectually, Talia knew that the deaths of her pilots was not her fault; all she had done was use her frigate as a platform for their orbital drop, just as the other Captains and frigates of the space fleet element that had taken part in Operation Spitbreak had done so. After that their fates had been in their hands, and those of the commanders directing the action on the surface. In her mind she knew that she bore no direct responsibility for the losses… but her heart felt very much otherwise.

They were so young, so bright, so full of potential, she'd thought solemnly, and they were operating under my command. They were not just my subordinates; they were my charges, my wards. My only action may have been to drop them into the battle per orders from my superiors, but that does not change the fact that doing so put them into the position that got them all killed. Their families, their friends… how they must hate me.

She'd written the letters of notification to the families of the fallen six pilots herself, rather than leave the task to the office drones normally charged with such things. It had been difficult for Talia to take on such a responsibility, but she had felt that it was something she had to do out of respect to the dead and those that mourned them.

Running patrols on the Avalon Line had been a way for her and her crew to come to terms with what had happened, and it had also given them time to become accustomed to the new six pilots that had been assigned to the Natta to replace their casualties. The newcomers were being integrated, friends were given time to mourn those lost and come to terms with their absence and the presence of the replacement pilots, and life on board the Natta had slowly but surely resumed a sense of normalcy, of completeness. The loss of their previous six pilots was still felt, but the new pilots were already considered to be a part of the Natta's crew, becoming acquainted with and befriending the men and women that they were serving with in their new assignment. It was a process that was hardly unique to the Natta; Talia knew countless ships and military units on both sides of the war went through the same thing when they suffered casualties and replacements were brought in to fill the gaps in the ranks.

And so Talia and her crew had settled into their role on the Avalon Line, becoming accustomed to the routine patrols and flight exercises. The Captain was loath to call it complacency; she was fully aware that her ship could be rotated back to front line service at any time. It was an eventuality she was prepared for. However…

… the situation unfolding before her eyes here and now was something else entirely.

When she'd first received the alert, Talia had hardly been able to believe what she was hearing. A head on assault against the Avalon Line had not been attempted since the Alliance's failed strike nearly a year and a half ago. The power of the battle-station was now well established in the Earth Sphere, making an open assault on the Avalon Line a daunting prospect to say the least, even with the fact that said Line had the least amount of warships assigned to it out of all sections of the PLANT Exclusion Grid; the sheer overwhelming strength of the Tunguska cannons, combined with the horde of mobile suits carried by the fortress and her supporting fleet, made such a strike tantamount to a suicide mission.

And yet…

…such a strike was happening now. That thought alone was hard to swallow, but what made it absolutely absurd was the fact that it was being carried out by no more than six mobile suits. It was complete madness, utter insanity, a blatant violation of all forms of logic. It shattered all forms of conventional wisdom in a manner so direct that it was almost like reality was flipping the entire military establishment the bird.

However, despite just how crazy the situation was, it managed at the same time to have a sense of deadly seriousness to it. It was bad enough that five of the attacking mobile suits were stolen ZAFT prototypes, and all nuclear powered machines to boot, but what made it infinitely worse was the sixth unit, the flight lead, the tip of the spear.

It was Wing Zero.

Talia was fully aware of the machine's fearsome reputation, of its awesome power and the phenomenal skill of its pilot. Both mobile suit and the soldier behind it were spoken of in ZAFT as one would refer to the Grim Reaper; with awe and dread. Wing Zero and Heero Yuy were nothing less than the embodiment of destruction, man and machine combined into a real life god of war.

Though she had considered herself fortunate to have not wound up on the same battlefield as Wing Zero up until now, Talia could not help but admit to harboring a sense of curiosity regarding the mobile suit and its pilot. Rumors ran wild regarding both man and machine, naturally, and Talia had been lucky enough to view some recordings of Wing Zero in battle as the Captains of the ZAFT Navy were briefed on its incredible destructive power, but she knew nothing about the origins of the mobile suit and its pilot. The official line was that it was an Alliance prototype developed separate from the Heliopolis units, and while Talia had initially seen the logic behind that assumption, the longer the war dragged on and Wing Zero gained further exposure and notoriety on the battlefield the more the Natta's Captain had found herself questioning the information she and so many others had been given.

Why, after all this time, was Wing Zero the only unit of its kind to be seen in this war? The Alliance had developed five prototypes in their collaboration with Orb in the Heliopolis project, not to mention the warship Archangel. Why had they not taken a similar approach, building different variants of the machine as they had done with their other top secret mobile suit design and construction project? Talia had no doubt that Wing Zero was an incredibly expensive machine, but given the technological edge it had over its competition it was clearly a worthwhile investment, and more units based on its design, even if they were of reduced quality in order to facilitate a production run, would pose a major threat to ZAFT. So after months of that astounding prototype rampaging across the Earth Sphere, racking up more kills than any other pilot and machine could've ever hoped to achieve, why was there still just one machine? That question was even more glaring after Wing Zero had apparently gone rogue at Alaska and annihilated JOSH-A; the only feasible counter to such a powerful mobile suit was another one built along its lines, yet the Alliance had not fielded any such machine, at least to her knowledge.

Talia had come up with a conclusion of her own, but it seemed incredibly far-fetched. She couldn't think of any organization that would have the resources to do it, but she had a suspicion that Wing Zero had been built not by the Alliance, but by a third party. The only other group besides the Alliance and ZAFT that Talia could think of constructing such a machine was Orb, but there had been no sign of them fielding units like Wing Zero. Logic pointed to another organization behind the machine, but for the life of her Talia could not think of any group with the resources and technology needed to build such a formidable mobile suit or train a pilot to the phenomenal degree of skill that Heero Yuy possessed.

If the mobile suit was shrouded in speculation and rumor, then its pilot may as well have been a phantom, a figure of myth. For what little information there was regarding Wing Zero, there was even less when it came to Heero Yuy. While the mobile suit had most peoples' attention, Talia knew that even the most advanced machine could only take a person so far; its true power could only be unleashed in the hands of a skilled pilot, one with training and experience. From the way that Heero Yuy had torn through the ranks of ZAFT, and more recently the Alliance, since arriving on the scene, Talia knew that Wing Zero's pilot was certainly not lacking in either category, but that raised further questions. While flight training wasn't nearly as expensive as constructing advanced mobile suits, the fact remained that such instruction wasn't something that could be carried out by just any group, especially if it had turned out such a phenomenally skilled pilot. Even the most rigorous training regimen could only do so much, though; there was no true substitute for field experience.

Based on the sheer overwhelming dominance that Heero had shown since his very first encounter with ZAFT, Talia knew it was logical to assume that Wing Zero's pilot had accrued plenty of combat experience before making his open debut in the war. If he were an Alliance pilot, then it made sense to assume that he had started out as a mobile armor pilot, but the fact was that the lifespan of said pilots was brief to say the least. Sure, a few had managed to beat the odds, and it was entirely possible that Heero was one of them, like the famous Hawk of Endymion, but if that were so then he would've already had a reputation much like that of Mu La Flaga, and the fact of the matter was that Heero Yuy had only become known to the Earth Sphere at large when he had first brought Wing Zero out into the open.

And there was another thing to consider; the destruction of JOSH-A. It was highly doubtful that a loyal Alliance soldier would've suddenly gone renegade and destroyed the Alaska base, especially when there had no doubt been self-destruct mechanisms in place to accomplish the very same feat should the need arise. Talia had recalled rumors moving through the armed forces that the Alliance had actually planted a Cyclops System at the base, much like they had at the Endymion Crater earlier in the war, and had planned to wipe out the ZAFT forces along with the Alliance soldiers guarding the base. If that were true, then that would've also included the warship Archangel and the fearsome Wing Zero, two vital Alliance war assets. Much like Wing Zero and its pilot, there was still much about Operation Spitbreak that Talia did not have full knowledge of, and as a result could only speculate. The destruction of the base did seem to point to fact that Heero Yuy's loyalty no longer lay with the Alliance, if it had to begin with. The reports Talia had read had noted that Wing Zero had acted as a protector of the Archangel since the day it had made its debut, and it seemed that the loyalty of its pilot lay with the white ship rather than the Alliance as a whole. It was strange to say the least; Talia couldn't make sense of it.

And in the end, it didn't matter; all speculation was academic at this point. What mattered was that Heero Yuy and Wing Zero were here, now… and more than living up to their reputation.

The Guardian of the Archangel was plowing through the center of Avalon's vanguard, annihilating any mobile suit and warship unfortunate enough to get in his way while weaving through what could only be described as a monsoon of fire. The battle-station was cutting loose with everything it had, as were the vessels and mobile suits supporting it… but none of them could so much as touch Wing Zero. Talia had heard rumors of how Heero Yuy reportedly possessed an inhuman sense of anticipation, of battle precognition, but she'd only half-believed them… until now.

Now, as she watched the Angel of Ruin cut down three GINNs with its emerald blade before opening fire with its demonic rifle and detonating another seven like a string of firecrackers along with a Nazca-class destroyer. The instant after the mobile suit fired its shot it jinked to the right to avoid another shot from Avalon's fearsome Tunguska cannons, the third round of the station's firing cycle. Wing Zero smoothly evaded the shot, along with the storm of missiles, energy beams, and bullets issuing from Avalon and her supporting forces… a storm that only grew thicker as the dreaded mobile suit got closer to Avalon.

Impossible, thought Talia, her eyes widening as she struggled to comprehend what she was witnessing, what Wing Zero was setting up to do, a head on assault on Avalon… he's going to try to destroy it!

Intellectually, she knew it was actually quite possible. If Wing Zero's rifle was capable of destroying a base as hardened as JOSH-A was, then Avalon was indeed vulnerable, a massive if heavily armed target for the fearsome mobile suit and its extraordinary pilot. Her mind was telling her it could be done… but the rest of her was still reeling at the prospect, at the sheer insanity of it all. For a single mobile suit to possess such awesome destructive power, and to be wielded by a pilot with the skills to surpass the best ZAFT had to offer… it just didn't feel real.

Talia may have been shocked by the surprising events unfolding before her, but she was not about to let it distract her from performing her duties. She was a veteran Captain, a combat professional, and she was already in the process of carrying out the orders she had received from Field Marshal Tlass on Avalon. The Natta was moving in on Wing Zero's far left flank, attempting to bring its guns to bear on the mobile suit.

However, Talia could not launch her attack due to interference from one of Wing Zero's allies; the Freedom. The black, white, and blue machine had already disabled three frigates and over a score of mobile suits that had tried to take the same approach the Natta was now, and now it was turning its guns on Talia's ship, her mobile suits, and the destroyer and other frigate working with her, along with their own GINNs. The stolen ZAFT prototype had effectively stonewalled the Natta and her comrades, putting up a curtain of incredibly precise artillery fire. The power of the Freedom and the skills of its pilot were nearly as impressive as those of Wing Zero and Heero Yuy, though Talia noted an interesting quirk to the former's fighting style; he wasn't shooting to kill.

The three frigates that had first engaged the Freedom had been almost completely defanged, with only their CIWs operational now. Meanwhile, their GINNs had likewise been disarmed, rifles destroyed and swords wrecked, with several missing their heads. Talia did not know why the Freedom' pilot fought in such a manner, but she was nevertheless impressed by the degree of pinpoint accuracy he or she displayed in doing so. She found herself relieved that they were attempting to attack Wing Zero's left flank rather than the right; the Justice, which was mirroring the Freedom's assignment on the other side of the Angel of Ruin, was not showing such restraint.

That relief wouldn't stop her from doing her best to destroy the Freedom, though

"All batteries, open fire on the Freedom!" she ordered, "Have our GINNs break into two trios and hit him from both sides! Coordinate our actions with the ships in the immediate area!"

A chorus of acknowledgements rang out from several of the bridge officers as Talia briefly glanced at her personal monitor. On it was a small-field tactical display, showing the area of the overall battle that the Natta was involved with. She was on the left flank of the Nazca-class destroyer that was on point of the three ship formation she was flying with, while the other Laurasia-class frigate was on the azure vessel's right. The capital ship trio had already launched their mobile suits, and were being supported by additional GINNs that were rushing to join the fight from both Avalon itself and warships that were inbound but still out of effective firing range.

As the Natta opened fire she was joined by her two companion ships while over a score of GINNs moved in to envelop the Freedom. Emerald beams, yellow rail cannon rounds, and missiles streaked through space, a miniature version of the storm of fire that Avalon and its supporting forces were raining down on Wing Zero. The GINNs added their own guns to the mix, bombarding the Freedom with a hail of bullets.

Unfortunately, the barrage proved as ineffective here as the larger one was against Wing Zero. The Freedom moved with incredible agility, weaving through the bombardment while dishing out withering return fire. Six GINNs were disabled in the blink of an eye by artillery fire, followed swiftly by another three units by lightning-fast strikes from its violet beam saber. As the nine machines broke off from the engagement the Freedom cut loose with another volley, and five more GINNs lost their guns and head-cameras. While the scattered units still able to participate in active combat struggled to regroup, the stolen prototype proceeded to turn its guns on the capital ships.

Starting with the Natta.

"Evasive action!" she shouted as the Freedom brought its guns to bear on her frigate, "Dive!"

The orders were in vain, and in her heart that was something Talia was grimly aware of. Capital ships were not fighters or mobile suits; their maneuvers were much more cumbersome. The green frigate had barely begun to dive when the Freedom opened fire. The Natta shuddered as a barrage of emerald beams, crimson plasma blasts, and golden rail cannon rounds slammed into the ship.

Talia was rocked in her seat, and she was barely able to brace herself against the arm of her chair. Her subordinates on the bridge were likewise buffeted as the warship trembled around them.

"Damage report!" she ordered.

"Main beam cannons and railguns are down!" an officer replied, a young lady with short-cropped black hair in her early twenties, "We've also lost two of our topside CIWs!"

Talia was about to reply when the ship was rocked again by another precise barrage. Such rapid succession, she thought, and so powerful…

"Bow heavy machine cannons down!" cried the female officer, "Along with all four VLS! We're defenseless!"

VLS stood for Vertical Launch System, and it was essentially a multipurpose weapon system capable of using a wide variety of ordinance. At present the Natta's VLS were configured for balanced combat, with two holding anti-ship missiles and the other two with anti-air warheads.

Damn it, she thought, running a mental tally of the ship's available weapons, we only have four CIWs left operational! Against the Freedom, those might as well be spitballs!

Talia gritted her teeth, knowing that the Natta was no longer a player in the battle. "Helm, pull back," she ordered, "We're out this round."

"Aye, Captain," replied the frigate's pilot, a dark skinned young man.

As her ship slowly began to disengage Talia could only watch as the Freedom turned its guns on the other frigate and the destroyer that were flying with the Natta. The stolen prototype proceeded to hit them with the same precise barrages that Talia's ship had suffered, while at the same time proceeding to hack the limbs and head-cameras off of the GINNs fighting against it.

Checking her personal monitor, Talia was able to take some consolation from the fact that all her ship's mobile suits were returning, damaged but still intact. GINNs don't stand a chance against something like the Freedom, she thought, we should consider ourselves lucky that its pilot is not fighting to kill. Yes, I've lost this round, as have my pilots… but we're all still alive. I'll take that… especially considering whom we could've wound up fighting.

Adjusting her personal monitor, Talia brought up Wing Zero on the display. She watched as the unholy mobile suit continued to plow through Avalon's vanguard, destroying anything in its path. Had her ship been among the vessels directly supporting the battle-station rather than further along the Line… well, she doubted that she would be alive right now.

As she saw Wing Zero close with Avalon, she was struck by an odd feeling. The massive battle-station had in the past always filled her with a sense of awe, its overwhelming firepower promising swift fiery death to all who dared attempt an attack. Now, though, as the deadliest mobile suit the world had ever seen moved in on the fortress, Talia did not see an indomitable bastion. She felt no sense of awe or majesty as she looked upon the battle-station.

What she felt… was sorrow.

She did not see a mighty fortress. She did not see a battle-station armed with the firepower to rival that of any fleet, including four monstrous cannons capable of ripping entire colonies in half.

She saw a mass-grave for twelve thousand men and women of ZAFT.

….

Weaving through an ever-thickening storm of energy beams, missiles, and bullets, Heero sighted in on another warship and opened fire with the Twin Buster Rifle. Once again a river of golden-yellow hellfire ripped forth, obliterating eleven GINNs before slamming into a Laurasia-class frigate. The lumpy green warship turned into a fireball, and with its destruction the last capital ship in Heero's direct path to Avalon was no more. Now all he had to contend with was the massive horde of GINNs and the hurricane of fire issuing from the gargantuan fortress.

Sparing a quick glance at his sensors, he was relieved to see that the rest of the strike team was still with him. Kira and Athrun were still trailing in his wake along the far left and right flanks respectively, while the Valkyrie Team was acting as his close-in escort, cutting down the GINNs that had made it past the Freedom and the Justice. Checking the timer, he saw that the fourth shot in Avalon's firing cycle would be coming up in thirty seconds.

Once I evade that shot, he thought, I'll set up for mine. I'll need to get to maximum charge and fire during the window in Avalon's cycle. It'll be tight, especially with all the conventional fire they're throwing at me… but I can do it. As long as the others are watching my back…

Suddenly a new contact appeared on his sensors, arcing around Avalon and coming towards him. He bit back a swear as he instantly recognized the mobile suit; it was the last one he wanted to fight right now, the last person he wanted to engage right now.

The ZGMF-X14A Judgment.

Commander Shemei Rehema.

Heero knew he couldn't afford to get caught up in a duel with her here. Fortunately, the possibility of the Valkyrie intercepting the strike team had not gone unanticipated. Waltfeld had told the others that he had sent a message to Field Marshal Bristow alerting him to when they would launch their raid, and that the Wolf of the Far East would pass the word on to Rehema.

In the meanwhile, Heero was forced to do some quick adaptation to the new circumstances. "Lan, Priscilla," he said, "the Judgment's inbound. You two go dance with Rehema; I need Adaline to cover me on my final approach."

"Roger," said Lan, "we'll keep her tied up. Good luck."

"Same for you," Heero replied as Lan and Priscilla broke off and rushed towards their old Commander.

Between the two of them and Rehema, he thought as he cut down three GINNs in rapid succession with his beam saber, they should be able to put on a show for Zala's cohorts. I know last time they had Adaline fighting with them, but I need her to back me up when I set up for my shot at Avalon.

He could only hope that the Valkyrie would be able to put on a convincing display for any radicals that were observing the battle… and that Bristow's message had gotten through to her.

….

Nervous anticipation coursed through her veins as Shemei charged headlong at two mobile suits she knew were piloted by her former subordinates. Her destroyer had been stationed in the rear echelons of the Avalon Line, one of a handful of warships intended to serve as 'gatekeepers' in the unlikely event that an enemy managed to get past the formidable battle-station. Since that had never happened in the fortress's history, even in the heated battle that had centered around it over a year ago, the position was usually reserved for ships with either sub-par performance records or politically unreliable soldiers on board.

Shemei fell into the latter category, naturally. Not that she minded the designation; on the contrary, she considered it a badge of honor, a mark of her refusal to blindly follow a regime hell-bent on mass murder.

When she'd gotten word that Wing Zero was leading a strike on the Avalon Line, Shemei had hardly been able to believe the news… even with the advanced warning she had received a couple of hours before. It had been in the form of a message on the cell phone Eric had given her months ago, the one that was part of the communications network being used by the Clyne Faction. After the disastrous raid on their meeting after Operation Spitbreak and the death of the former Supreme Council Chairman Eric had been more reluctant to communicate via those phones out of concern that they might have been compromised, and any conversations over them or messages sent were usually brief and vague. The message she had received earlier that day fit that description, and to anyone else it would've been impossible to know what it was referring to… but someone aware of her situation would understand the contents.

"Today you will be freed from the chains that bind you. Be ready to leave, and have your steed prepared. The herald will be your rival."

That had been the message Eric had sent her, and after a few moments of careful parsing of the words Shemei had realized what her lover was saying. The 'chains' were obviously a reference to her parents, and from that Shemei surmised that an operation was underway to liberate them from Charon Prison. Eric wanted her to be ready to get the hell out of dodge the moment her parents were securely in the hands of whomever he was having break them out, and the word 'steed' was clearly a reference to her new mobile suit, the Judgment. All that was more than enough to excite Shemei despite the fact that Eric had not given her any concrete details regarding the plan, but the real kicker had been the last sentence in the message.

"The herald will be your rival."

At those words Shemei's mind had instantly flashed to Heero Yuy. After her duel with Wing Zero's pilot a week ago she knew that he was likely working with Waltfeld and the others who had escaped the PLANTs on the Eternal, but to realize that he was part of Eric's plan to liberate her parents from Charon Prison… well, that had been a shock to hear.

By the word "herald", Eric must mean that Heero's arrival will be the signal that the operation is underway, she had thought after reading the message, but how would I know that he'd arrived? Unless he's coming in Wing Zero…

It made a certain amount of sense; Wing Zero was an extremely formidable mobile suit, something Shemei knew better than most after being the only pilot in the Cosmic Era to have fought against it three times and lived. If Heero would be participating in the operation by flying his machine, then Shemei assumed that would be acting to secure the escape route or to act as a diversion. As she'd packed her duffel bag and stowed it beneath the pilot's seat in the Judgment Shemei had fought to keep her excitement in check. Most of it was obviously due to the fact that, if all went according to whatever Eric had planned, her parents would be free from Zala's grasp today, but a small part of it was also due to her wondering just how her extraordinary rival figured into the equation.

The last thing she'd imagined was what was now unfolding before her very eyes.

Heero was leading a strike team in a head-on assault against the deadliest of the fortresses in the PLANT Exclusion Grid. Once Shemei had arched over the Avalon battle-station she could clearly see the Freedom and the Justice holding off warships and mobile suits on the left and right flanks, while all three of her former subordinates were ripping apart any GINNs that managed to get around Kira and Athrun. Seeing the three Wraiths, piloted by her old teammates, her friends, working together so seamlessly filled Shemei with pride, and that was matched only by the awe she felt as she watched Wing Zero rip through Avalon's vanguard, obliterating any warships and mobile suits that got in his way as he closed with the mighty battle-station.

God damn, Heero, she thought, I knew you were good, but this… I didn't think my respect for you could possibly get any higher. Congratulations on proving me wrong.

It was strange to think it, but in a way Shemei realized that she was Heero's biggest fan in ZAFT, one in a very exclusive group that, to her knowledge, included very few people outside of her and her former subordinates, Waltfeld and Aisha, Eric, and Lacus… and now all of them but her were no longer part of the PLANT armed forces.

Now, as she watched him continue his charge towards Avalon, weaving through a rain of fire unlike any she had ever seen before, Shemei realized that whatever Eric had planned was much more straightforward than what she had originally thought. It made sense for the operation to center on the Avalon Line in one respect; it had the least warships of all the Defense Lines, and given the vast distance said Lines covered those vessels were much more spread out here than anywhere else. Still, the Avalon battle-station blocked the most direct access along it to the PLANT capitol, and Shemei knew that said access was critical for a speedy operation. Time was of the essence; every minute that passed was one that ZAFT would use to rush reinforcements to the scene of the attack.

As she ignited her beam saber and prepared to engage the two Wraiths that were closing in on her, she saw that the third was staying close to Wing Zero, fending off GINNs with superb skill. It only took Shemei a second to recognize the unit's fighting style as that of Adaline Bellerose; swift, elegant, and more than a little daring.

I never wanted to say this aloud because I didn't want to alienate the others, Shemei mused, but of those three girls… my girls… Adaline's the best. It's by a very narrow margin, but as far as piloting skills go she barely edges out Lan and Priscilla. I don't like to play favorites with them; I have equal fondness for all of them, and nothing gives me more pride than to see the three of them work together as a team. That being said, I can't deny in my heart to feeling a certain kinship with Adaline that goes a little past what I have with Lan and Priscilla. Adaline's background may be different than mine, but she shares that same love of adventure and excitement, that same adrenaline rush that comes with skirting the boundary between life and death. She doesn't let it go to her head; she's a very smart young woman. That being said, her daring is one of the key reasons I consider her to be the head of the team in my absence.

Apparently Heero had reached the same conclusion she had regarding Adaline's skill level; why else would he keep her as his escort while having Lan and Priscilla move to intercept her?

Not only is he a phenomenal pilot, she thought, smiling slightly, he's a good judge of talent. I guess that really shouldn't come as a surprise, though, given what he's capable of. Alright, Heero, you want me to dance with the girls? I'll play along.

Shemei brought the Tartarus heavy plasma rifle up to bear and opened fire, forcing Lan and Priscilla to break and come at her in a pincer. Their moves were just what she had anticipated, and she responded by sending her DRAGOONs at Priscilla while turning to face Lan in beam saber combat.

While she peppered Priscilla with beam fire from her gun drones, forcing the Italian/Romanian young lady to stay on the defensive, she raised her beam saber and parrying a downward strike from Lan. The Chinese girl adapted fluidly, whirling around and igniting her second beam saber, forcing Shemei to block the attack on the Judgment's large shield.

She's a natural when it comes to close-quarters-combat, Shemei thought as she took a swipe at Lan, forcing the girl to block the blade on her right beam saber, I suppose it comes with her fondness and skill with hand-to-hand fighting; it translates well into mobile suit engagements, provided you adapt your techniques to account for you unit's capabilities. That's something Lan's always been good at doing.

As she continued her faux-fight with Lan and Adaline Shemei could feel her confidence growing. At the rate things were going she'd be able to keep up her dance with the girls long enough for Heero, Eric, and the others to break her parents out of prison. Once she knew her mother and father were firmly out of the radicals' grasp, then she could openly turn against ZAFT.

At least, that was her plan… but fate had apparently decided to force her hand.

While she blocked another saber strike from Lan Shemei's eyes widened as she saw a Nazca-class destroyer and several GINNs closing in on Priscilla from behind. Shemei had no doubt that her former subordinate was aware of the incoming warship and mobile suits… but she was tied up with dodging fire from the Judgment's two DRAGOONs. At the same time GINN teams were closing in on the three of them, and it would be only a matter of seconds before they would enter the fray and try to kill Shemei's friends.

At that moment Shemei knew she was faced with a choice. She could either keep up the performance, in which case the destroyer and mobile suits would have a chance to line up a shot on Priscilla and kill her while the GINNs tried to kill Lan… or throw her lot in with Heero and the others now, and pray that whatever plan Eric had would be able to save her parents before Zala's thugs could turn their guns on them.

Shemei had less than a second to make her choice… and she decided she'd put her faith in her friends.

Hitting the radio and bringing up one of their old tactical channels, Shemei contacted her former pilots. "Lan, cover me! Pris, dive now!"

The Chinese Coordinator, who had been about to take a second swipe at her former Commander, reacted instantly, deactivating her left blade and brought her beam rifle to bear on the GINNs that were closing in behind the Valkyrie. As she began nailing them with lances of emerald energy Shemei turned the Tartarus on the destroyer coming in behind Priscilla and opened fire the second she had a clear shot.

The crimson plasma blast slammed into the destroyer, turning it into a fireball. Well, Shemei thought as she turned to fire her shoulder cannons at some of the GINNs Lan was fighting while using her DRAGOONs to support Priscilla, who was now engaging the mobile suits that had accompanied the warship, no way I'll be able to sell that as friendly fire. The cat's out of the bag; ZAFT knows I've switched sides now.

Shemei didn't know if Zala was watching for her betrayal or if his attention was fixed squarely on Wing Zero. She certainly couldn't blame him if the latter were the case, but she had little doubt that someone aligned with the radicals had seen what she'd done, and it would only be a matter of time before the order would be out to kill her parents. Shemei knew that the life spans of her mother and father were now potentially measured in minutes, if not less.

"Lan," she said as she destroyed three GINNs with the Judgment's shoulder cannons and another two with her DRAGOONs, "fill me in, ASAP! What's Eric's plan for getting my parents out of here?"

"Wing Zero, ma'am," the girl replied as she cut down a GINN with her beam saber, "Once Heero takes down Avalon, he'll be infiltrating the capital via the axial shaft; our mutual friend gave him the access codes!"

She means Eric, Shemei thought as she slashed a GINN in half. Her eyes widened as she realized something critical. "Wait a minute, you mean Heero's going to hit Charon Prison?"

"Affirmative!" said Lan.

"Our mutual friend will cover him while he does that," Priscilla chimed in as she shot down three GINNs with her beam rifle and railguns, "We need to cover Heero while he hits Avalon and then keep ZAFT from sending mobile suits into the shaft behind him! Heero will get your parents out, Commander, don't worry! We just need to keep the enemy off him!"

Which means we need to get over to Wing Zero, Shemei thought, right now Adaline's the only one covering him! She immediately checked her sensors and found her third subordinate, along with the phenomenal pilot she was escorting. Wing Zero and Adaline's Wraith were still weaving their way through an incredibly thick curtain of fire, and though Shemei's prized protégé was acquitting herself well in her role as Heero's escort the Valkyrie could see that she needed help; too many GINNs were getting around Kira and Athrun and trying to attack Wing Zero. She took down one unit after another with energy beams, rail cannon rounds, and her violet blade, but they just kept on coming, and Shemei knew that Heero couldn't afford to turn around and help her; he had to keep up his forward momentum, ripping through the center of the GINN horde as he moved to set up for his shot at Avalon.

"Lan, Pris, on me!" she ordered as she gunned the Judgment's engines, making a beeline for Wing Zero and the third Wraith, using her beam saber, shoulder cannons, and DRAGOONs to destroy any GINNs unfortunate enough to be in her way. Checking her sensors, she saw that her two subordinates were falling in right behind her, and Shemei turned her attention back to Wing Zero.

I never thought this day would come, she mused as she watched Heero sideslip a massive rail cannon round, the fourth shot in the Tunguska guns' firing cycle, where I would be fighting alongside you, Heero… counting on you. My parents' survival rests on you taking down Avalon and getting to the capital before Zala has my parents dragged before a firing squad, and I'll do everything in my power to make sure you succeed!

….

"Shoot!" Eric hissed as he watched the live-feed from Avalon's sensors, "Shemei, you moved early!"

It was his fault, of course; Eric knew that the message he'd sent to Shemei had been awfully vague, and even a pilot as smart as the Valkyrie wouldn't be able to figure out everything regarding the operation from it. Eric had figured that she'd be sent to intercept Heero, and that Wing Zero's pilot would respond by sending the Valkyrie's subordinates to keep her off him while he set up for his shot at Avalon. On that, the Wolf of the Far East had been right on the money, save for the fact that Heero had only sent two of the girls to dance with Shemei rather than all three. It made sense, though; with the Freedom and Justice fighting the ZAFT forces that were trying to hit Wing Zero from the right and left flanks, someone had to stay behind and watch Heero's back.

However, Eric hadn't counted on Shemei and the girls being forced to end their faux-fight so early; he'd been hoping they could keep up the performance long enough for Heero to at least take down Avalon and get on final approach to Aprilius One. Given the circumstances though, Eric couldn't blame Shemei for moving when she had; he'd seen the destroyer and mobile suits moving in behind Priscilla, and that with her focused on dodging fire from the Judgment's gun-drones she was vulnerable to attack from the ZAFT forces. Eric had known right then that Shemei would not stand by and allow ZAFT to claim one of her precious subordinates, one of her dear friends, not if she could help it, and especially not now when they were taking part in an operation to rescue her parents. Were Eric in her position, he knew that he would've done the same thing.

Regardless of the reasons behind her actions, the fact remained that Shemei's open defection had suddenly put the operation to save her parents on a much tighter timetable. Despite the fact that Wing Zero was, rightfully so, garnering the lion's share of attention, Eric knew that the Valkyrie's betrayal would not go unnoticed by ZAFT… and it was only a matter of time before a radical in a position of authority put the hit out on Shemei's parents, if they hadn't already.

Heero still needs to take down Avalon and get inside Aprilius One, Eric thought, he's moving quickly, but he still might not get here in time. I need to run interference until he can hit Charon Prison; I have to keep the guards from killing Shemei's parents!

Luckily, one of Eric's talents lay in the ability to adjust his plans on the fly. The moment he'd witnessed the Judgment open fire on the Nazca-class destroyer the Wolf of the Far East's mind had instantly begin processing the effects the action would have on the operation's timetable, along with any countermeasures he could take to mitigate those effects, or at least stall for time until Heero could infiltrate the colony. Within seconds he had a solution… one that had more than its share of risks, both to him and his lover's parents.

Not much of a choice in the matter, he thought as he gripped the controls of the ZGMF-600 CCM GuAIZ Werewolf, it's the only move I've got. Good thing I've already finished the power-up sequence for my machine. Alright, let's do this!

Eric ignited both pairs of the Werewolf's beam claws and hit the engines. The mobile suit surged forward, and Eric swung the claws in a diagonal cross-slash, ripping apart the hangar doors. Alarms immediately began going off, but he paid them no heed as he gained altitude and flew towards Charon Prison.

The interior forces will be on me soon, he thought as he brought up the floor plans for the level Shemei's parents were being kept and overlaid them on one of his displays with the roof of the building, I'll only have one chance to pull this off before I have to engage them… and if I'm off by so much as a single degree I could kill a lot of wrongfully imprisoned people, Shemei's parents among them.

The prison itself wasn't equipped to ward off attacks by mobile suits, but what Eric had in mind was not a simple assault. It involved incredibly precise flying, along with careful manipulation of the Werewolf's beam claws.

Or rather, just one. As Eric closed in on the roof of the facility he powered down the other three claws, leaving a single one out of the pair on the right Composite Shield ignited. He then did a quick calculation of his trajectory along with the floor plans and where he was in relation to the prisoners' cells before taking a deep breath and making his move.

Skimming along the roof of the facility, Eric lowered the sole ignited beam claw and cut through the concrete ceiling. He then dragged the violet blade along as he flew, keeping his slash lined up with the hallway that ran through the cellblock Shemei's parents were in. His intention was simple; turn the corridor into molten slag while leaving the cells intact and the prisoners unharmed. Since the cells were not open barred but concrete cubes with thick steel doors and had multiple small ventilation shafts for air circulation, the inmates were actually protected from the heat emanating from the violet claw as it moved down the hallway… provided Eric kept to a very narrow trajectory. It was the most precise maneuver he had ever attempted, and to say it was nerve wracking would be a major understatement. Eric could feel the sweat gathering at his brow, and it took all the self-control he could muster to keep his grip on the controls steady. As he continued his slash down the corridor he heard an alarm coming from his sensor, and he knew that GINNs were launching from Fort Saturn. They'd be on him within seconds.

No choice, Eric thought, gotta pull up and engage. Hopefully I was able to block off the Rehemas' cell.

As he gained altitude and withdrew his violet beam claw he checked the roof of the prison and compared the long, blackened scar he'd left in it against the blueprints for the top floor of the facility. He sighed in relief when he saw that the course of his slash lined up perfectly with the corridor that ran through the Rehemas' cellblock, and that their own cell was one of those that were now cut off from the guards by a hallway whose floor had been reduced to slag.

That'll keep Zala's thugs at bay for awhile, he thought, but if they're determined to kill Shemei's parents then they'll eventually figure out a way to get gunmen to their cell. I just hope my move will stall them long enough for Wing Zero to get inside the colony.

As he closed in on the GINNs moving in to intercept him he reignited all of the Werewolf's beam claws and brought the Hydra gatlings to bear on the enemy. "Come on, Heero," he said as he opened fire, shredding a GINN with gatling rounds before tearing another apart with his beam claws, "I promised Shemei that I'd find a way to free her parents, and you're the key to doing that. I'm counting on you, so don't you dare make a liar out of me!"

(End "Avalon")

….

Heero could feel the hair standing up on the back of his neck as he continued his approach towards the Avalon battle-station. The storm of fire coming from the fortress and its supporting forces was at its fiercest yet, and evading it had become the challenge of a lifetime. This was exemplified by his narrow avoidance of the fourth shot in the Tunguska cannons' firing cycle; Heero had dodged the massive round with mere meters to spare, and it was that close shave that had contributed to the electric feeling coursing through his nerves and veins. Heero's focus was razor-sharp, but at the same time he could not deny the adrenaline surging through him. On the surface he retained his calm and determined appearance, but signs of the effort he was exerting to stay one step ahead of the enemy were visible in the form of the sweat gathering at his brow.

Avalon's fourth Tunguska shot was fired mere seconds ago, he thought, I need to charge and fire the Twin Buster Rifle before the next round if we're going to stay on schedule, but setting up for that shot is another thing all together. Even with all the carnage he and the rest of the strike team had already wrought upon ZAFT, the enemy still had more than enough GINNs left to make lining up his shot a challenging proposition. Heero cut down unit after unit with his beam saber as he charged forward, while behind him Adaline was racking up a truly impressive amount of kills with her beam saber, rifle, and railguns, but there were still hundreds of GINNs on the field, with more inbound.

As he glanced at his sole close-in escort he could tell that she was under more strain now than before, and that the sheer weight of the enemies that were trying to get past her was having an effect. With Kira and Athrun still far out on the right and left flanks warding off additional GINNs and warships and Lan and Priscilla keeping Commander Rehema away from Wing Zero, there was no one to give the Australian Coordinator some much needed support. Heero certainly couldn't, much as he may have wanted to otherwise; if he ceased his forward momentum, it would only serve to give ZAFT more time to rush reinforcements to the scene of the attack.

Now no fewer than forty GINNs were closing in on Adaline, and while their machinegun rounds and metal swords may not have the ability to pierce her Wraith's Phase Shift Armor, the sheer weight of their attacks would seriously rock her unit and quite possibly leave her vulnerable to fire from either Avalon's beam cannons or those of the warships supporting the battle-station.

Heero saw Adaline suddenly cease all fire for a moment before mirroring the move Priscilla had made early on in the attack, launching all her Lancer Dart missiles at once. The full dozen warheads flew forth, and Heero was impressed by the fact that Adaline had managed to refrain from using them until this point. The sudden barrage was as effective as Priscilla's, with each missile taking down one GINN.

A dozen GINNs taken down at once might've been considered a decisive blow in smaller-scale battles, but in a fight like this it was barely an inconvenience to the enemy. No sooner had Adaline's victims been blown to fiery bits when fresh arrivals took their place and joined the horde in pressing their assault. The storm of fire grew even thicker as more GINNs poured machinegun rounds into the fray, and now for all her prowess Adaline could not dodge every shot. As her Wraith's Phase Shift Armor was powered by a nuclear reactor she did not have to worry about it depleting under the barrage, but the impacts were distracting, and if they hit as a concentrated bombardment then Adaline would be rocked about inside her cockpit, unable to focus on the fighting and giving the destroyers and frigates a chance to hit her with their beam cannons if Avalon itself didn't beat them to the punch.

Shit, thought Heero as he cut down two more GINNs with his beam saber, she's going to be overrun, and I can't turn to help her now! He had no choice but to stay on course… but at this point he knew that doing so would result in Adaline's death.

Unless she got help from someone else.

(Start "chAngE")

Suddenly, as no less than fifty GINNs were closing in on Adaline, a torrent of crimson energy tore through the enemy ranks. Ten units were wiped out in the blink of an eye, and they were soon followed by twenty more going up in flames as the red blast of plasma was followed up by a flurry of emerald beams and yellow rail cannon rounds.

"What the hell?" said Heero, his eyes widening as the enemies closing in from the rear and flanks were torn apart by the surprise barrage. Checking his sensors, he suddenly saw the source of the fire closing in fast in the form of Lan, Priscilla…

…and the Valkyrie.

The Judgment cut loose again, and another score of GINNs fell to fire from Shemei's shoulder cannons, her gun-drones, and her heavy plasma rifle. The attack from ZAFT's greatest ace was swiftly joined by fire from Lan and Priscilla, and another nine units were wiped out by energy beams and rail cannon rounds.

"Heero!" said Shemei, her face appearing on the lower-left corner of Heero's display as she and her subordinates joined up with Adaline, moving seamlessly into formation around Wing Zero, "The girls read me in; I know the plan for the operation. Keep going; we've got your back!"

Heero nodded, and he couldn't help but smile as the adrenaline pumping through his veins surged to new heights. "Roger that," he said.

The Valkyrie returned the gesture and the smile, her silver eyes gleaming with excitement. "I knew you were coming, but I didn't think it'd be quite like this. I'm placing all my bets on you, Heero! Now, show them what you've got!"

"Mission accepted," Heero replied.

The four black and red mobile suits continued to rip into the horde of GINNs pouring in from all sides, hitting them with a truly fearsome array of weaponry. The Judgment swept its plasma rifle across the sky, the lance of crimson energy destroying eight machines while fire from her shoulder beam cannons and gun drones took down another seven. Meanwhile, the Wraiths had fanned out in order to maximize their firing arcs and were pummeling the oncoming GINNs with their beam rifles and rail cannons while using their violet blades to gut any that dared move in for close-quarters-combat. When combined with the stonewalling Kira and Athrun were doing on the far left and right, they were rapidly clearing out a pocket of space for Heero.

More than satisfied that his back and flanks were covered, Heero turned his complete attention to the massive fortress before him. Allowing the Zero System to guide his movements, the Gundam pilot began bringing the Twin Buster Rifle up to its maximum charge.

….

The main Combat Operations Center in ZAFT HQ was alive with activity. Massive monitors were arrayed along one wall, and their screens were split into several displays to capture all the action. Officers frantically issued commands to their subordinates, and the room's atmosphere was heavy with tension, apprehension… and fear.

It was palpable, omnipresent; no one was even trying to hide it. It was visible in the pale faces of officers and enlisted men and women alike, the trembling hands as operators attempted to carry out their tasks at their stations… and the eyes riveted to the monitors along the far wall.

Especially the one that showed Wing Zero.

Sitting in the seat reserved for the commander-in-chief, PLANT Supreme Council Chairman and head of the Defense Council Patrick Zala was gripping the armrests of his chair, his teeth clenched and his eyes narrowed. Unlike the rest of the vast chamber's occupants, the fiery head of the radical faction was not gripped by fear, but by anger. Anger at his subordinates for being so cowed and intimidated by what was happening, fury at the clearly incompetent fleet officers, mobile suit pilots, and gunners of the Avalon battle-station as they failed to take down the machines that continued to plow through their ranks… and pure rage at the unit that was leading the charge, accompanied absolute seething hatred for the pilot at its controls.

Wing Zero and Heero Yuy.

It's just one bloody machine, he fumed, piloted by one fucking Natural! A piece of trash, a rat, one of the savage relics of the old humanity, an inferior being! It's only because of that mobile suit that a vermin like him can stand against us, and even then he's one brute against an entire fleet; why haven't they taken him down yet?

The fact that Wing Zero and its Natural pilot were being aided in their assault by five stolen ZAFT prototypes, along with the now rogue Valkyrie and the Judgment, was salt rubbed in the wound. Zala had wasted no time in ordering the execution of Commander Rehema's parents, but his plans had been derailed by a sudden attack on Charon Prison that had left the cell containing the Valkyrie's family temporarily inaccessible to the guards. The fact that the machine that had made said attack was a prototype that had launched from an ADB facility, combined with the fact that his deputy chief of staff, the son of one of the company's boar-members and an officer with access to the facility, had not reported in for duty meant that Zala already had an idea as to who was piloting unit; Field Marshal Eric Bristow. Now the renegade Wolf of the Far East was mauling the interior forces that had been launched from Fort Saturn, and GINNs from Fort Jupiter in the other half of the colony were on their way to the central docks so they could get into the upper half and engage the traitor.

That bastard, Zala raged in his head, how long ago did he turn? He sat on the Defense Council through all those meetings… how much information did he pass to Clyne and his supporters? There was also the fact that Bristow was known to be friends with Commander Rehema, but Zala had never given the matter serious thought before; the Wolf of the Far East had always conducted himself as a professional officer, and had given all the appearances of loyalty to ZAFT first and foremost, if butting heads with other members of the Defense Council on more than one occasion over certain matters.

Now with the attack on Charon Prison combined with the defection of the Judgment, it was obvious what the intention of the strike by Wing Zero and the other traitors was; to liberate Commander Rehema's parents. It was clear that the intentions of Heero Yuy were to drive straight through the center of the Avalon Line and get into the capital, and Zala had wasted no time in taking measures to stop him. Having the utmost confidence in Avalon's reputation as an indestructible fortress, he had concentrated his efforts on reinforcing the central docks of Aprillius One with additional mobile suit teams and warships; there was no way in hell Wing Zero would be entering the colony on his watch.

Not that it will even get that far, he thought, Avalon will take it down! At least, that was what Zala kept telling himself. The fact that Wing Zero was charging the battle-station head on and had yet to be destroyed was putting the lie to his belief, and despite his refusal to accept otherwise the intellectual part of him knew that Avalon was not as invincible as he would like it to be… not against the weapon that had destroyed the Alaska base. But that bit of rational thought was drowned out by the seething rage that had gripped the Supreme Council Chairman's mind, and he refused to accept that a single unit could pose such a threat to ZAFT's homeland defenses.

In other words, Patrick Zala was suffering from a monumental case of denial.

Now, even as sensor officers reported of a massive energy buildup coming from Wing Zero, Zala still refused to believe that the mobile suit could seriously do to Avalon what it had done to the hardened Alaska base. The combination of anger, arrogance, and hatred had served to deprive the Supreme Council Chairman of no small amount of the cunning that had played a considerable role in his rise to power both in ZAFT and PLANT politics. His brilliant and devious military and political mind was now consumed by rage at not only Heero Yuy and the enemy strike team but also his own subordinates, who in his eyes were giving him an incredibly pathetic display of fear, dread, and outright cowardice.

"All that fire," he heard one man say, "and nothing's so much as touched him!"

"He can't possibly be human…" said a woman, her voice carrying a mix of awe and dread, "… he's like a demon."

"No mere demon," said a nearby security guard, his eyes riveted to the image of Wing Zero on the central monitor, "that kind of pilot, they call a demon lord."

Apparently that struck a chord with the audience, and utterances of the title 'Demon Lord' rapidly spread throughout the room… and it would not be long before they went beyond the chamber.

In his fury Zala was blinded to the fact that he was witnessing nothing less than the birth of a living legend.

The birth of the Demon Lord of Avalon.

….

The fire that now poured forth from the Avalon battle-station had reached new heights, and to Heero it almost seemed to take on a frantic pitch. As he weaved through the typhoon of bullets, beams, and missiles while bringing the Twin Buster Rifle up to its full power, Heero could've sworn that he could feel the fear emanating from the station's gunners, along with the rest of its crew. Any other man would've gotten a rush from such a sensation, a feeling of omnipotence, a belief in their own divinity. To Heero, though, such arrogance was the property of fools, and fools did not survive long on the battlefield. He would not dwell on such feelings, nor could he; he had to maintain his razor sharp focus on controlling the Zero System and his Gundam, a task that was all the more daunting now that he was bringing his primary weapon up to its devastating maximum charge.

To fire the Twin Buster Rifle at full power understandably drew an incredible amount of energy from Wing Zero's reactor… including energy that would normally go to the Gundam's thrusters. As a result of this, Heero's ability to maneuver was now much more limited, and it was only due to the precognitive abilities that the Zero System gave him that he was able to avoid taking hits from the storm of fire that Avalon was unleashing.

That, and the phenomenal escort team he had.

Out on the right and left flanks Kira and Athrun continued to stall incoming enemy warships and mobile suits. The Freedom and Justice were putting out an almost non-stop barrage of fire, disabling or destroying GINNs as their pilots saw necessary and stopping the frigates and destroyers in their tracks. For all their firepower, the large warships may as well have been giant targets as far as the Freedom and Justice were concerned; their return fire could not touch the stolen ZAFT prototypes, while Kira and Athrun continued to maul the vessels, destroying weapons, communications arrays, and more.

Meanwhile, the reunited Valkyrie Team was showing the Earth Sphere just how they had earned their fearsome reputation, cutting down GINNs at a phenomenal rate. The Judgment was at the center of their formation, its heavy plasma rifle ripping through the enemy ranks while emerald beams from its shoulder cannons and gun-drones destroyed units that the crimson blasts had forced to scatter and were attempting to regroup. Commander Rehema's subordinates weren't slacking off either, and were pounding incoming GINNs with energy beams and rail cannon rounds while ripping apart those that managed to get into saber range. While the enemy continued to bring more and more reinforcements to bear, Heero knew that his back was secured by the best mobile suit team he had seen since the end of the Eve Wars.

He could only imagine what his fellow Gundam pilots would've thought of his new allies.

Glancing at the timer on the bottom right corner of his screen, he saw that Avalon was quickly approaching the next shot in its firing cycle. As for Heero, the Twin Buster Rifle was almost at maximum charge, and he knew that it would come down to the wire as to who would fire first. With his mobility reduced due to all the energy Wing Zero's reactor was pumping into its main gun, Heero knew that he was much more vulnerable to the monstrously powerful Tunguska cannons.

If he couldn't fire first, he was dead.

The thought might've daunted other pilots, but Heero didn't spare it any contemplation. He would not die here, he refused to fall now. His will to live may have returned during the final stage of the Eve Wars, but now it was stronger than it ever had been before in his life, burning in his heart like an inferno. At the end of the Eve Wars, as he had prepared to destroy the falling section of the Libra, Heero had been driven on by the knowledge that his actions would finally bring the war-torn era he had grown up in to an end, and he'd wanted to survive to help build and protect the new future the world would enter. Now, though, something far more powerful than the desire to simply witness the dawn of a new era was driving him, fueling his resolve.

Love.

I swore to Murrue that I would return to her, he thought, his eyes narrowed as he sighted in on the leviathan of a fortress before him, I swore not just to protect her, but to stand by her side, now and forever after. I made that vow because I love her, and now I know that she loves me. After coming so far, after I was finally able to act on my emotions, after I finally told Murrue how I felt about her, and after she accepted me, loved me… there's no way in hell I'm dying here!

As the Twin Buster Rifle reached its maximum charge, Heero saw that Avalon was now mere seconds away from firing; it was now or never. Secure in the knowledge that his target was lined up, Heero pulled the trigger…

…and unleashed the power of a god of destruction.

….

Her eyes riveted to the main monitor, Talia watched as what she could only describe as a maelstrom of golden-yellow hellfire tear forth from Wing Zero. The Natta had since backed off from the fight after the Freedom had robbed it of almost all of its weapons, and was currently sitting at the rear echelons of the Avalon Line, behind and off to the left of mighty battle-station. Knowing her ship was defanged, Talia had decided the best course of action was to move the Natta to a position well removed from the fighting, and she was well on her way to doing that. At the same time, though, she had wanted to keep an eye on the engagement, which was why her main bridge monitor was focused on the mobile suit at the center of this insane attack.

Now, as Wing Zero unleashed the full power of its monstrous rifle, time seemed to slow to a crawl for the twenty-seven year old woman. The gargantuan blast of energy made its way towards the Avalon battle-station in slow motion as Talia's mind struggled to come to grips with what she was witnessing. She was of course fully aware of what Heero Yuy had done to the hardened Alaska base, but intellectually knowing that he had that kind of awesome destructive power at his disposal and actually seeing it in action were two vastly different things.

No way, she thought, her eyes the widest they'd ever been in her life, impossible…

Then the unholy blast slammed dead-center into the Avalon battle-station.

A brilliant blue and white flash lit up all of the space in the Natta's visual range, overwhelming its sensors until nothing but the massive explosion was visible on the main monitor. A stunned silence fell upon the bridge, the entire crew at a loss for thought and words. At any other time Talia would've been upset at the lack of professionalism and focus her subordinates were displaying, there was no way she could hold them accountable when she was as blown away as they were, as she shared their awe and terror at the display of godlike destructive power that had just been unleashed before their very eyes.

After a couple seconds she managed to regain at least some of her wits, and as the gargantuan explosion began to fade to the point that the Natta's view of the battlefield was not completely obscured Talia turned to her sensor officer. "Scan the area!" she ordered, "I want to know if the attackers are still alive!"

They can't be, she thought as she gave the order, there's no way that any of them could've survived that blast given their proximity, especially Wing Zero. They can't have survived that…

Then her subordinate proved her very wrong.

"Contacts!" the young woman at the sensor station cried, "four... five…six… seven! They're all alive!"

"Get me a visual!" Talia yelled, even as her mind continued to shriek at the absurdity of it all, the complete impossibility of any of the attackers and the traitorous Valkyrie surviving that blast.

But the image that appeared on the main monitor soundly put her doubts to rest. As she focused on the screen Talia could see all seven machines flying out of the blast, towards the PLANTs…

… with Wing Zero leading the charge.

….

"Avalon is down!" cried Miriallia from the CIC, "I repeat; Avalon is down! He did it! The strike team is heading for Aprilius One!"

Murrue smiled, having just witnessed on the main monitor, which along with her personal display was linked to Wing Zero's sensor feed, the destruction of the monolithic battle-station. The entire bridge crew had gasped as they'd watched the full-power blast from the Twin Buster Rifle slam into Avalon dead-center and caused the fortress to detonate in the largest explosion Murrue had ever seen. That the data was coming from Wing Zero meant that Murrue was witnessing the attack unfold from Heero's point of view, giving her and her crew the best seats in the house for the fireworks, so to speak.

For a moment she had been worried as she'd watched the gargantuan explosion, fearing that even the extraordinary Gundanium alloy of Wing Zero might be unable to withstand the force of the blast. However, that fear was almost instantly drowned out by her faith in Heero; her lover knew better than anyone else what kind of punishment a Gundam could take. Her belief had been rewarded in short order as she saw Wing Zero fly through the fading blue and white flash and out the other side, and the sensor data also showed the rest of the strike team right alongside him, along with their newest ally; Shemei Rehema. Now they were inbound for the PLANT capital, which meant that it was time for Murrue to spring into action.

Amazing as always, Heero, she thought, you've once again shown the entire world that you can do the impossible. There truly is no other pilot like you, nor another mobile suit like Wing Zero. Fly onwards, my love; we're coming, and I'll hit ZAFT with everything I've got to keep them from barring your path!

The Archangel wasn't the only ship in the group that was receiving telemetry from the strike team; the Eternal and Kusanagi were getting feeds from the Freedom and Justice respectively, which meant that those on board them now knew that it was time to move in.

Indeed, mere moments after Miriallia's announcement, Waltfeld's face appeared on the main bridge monitor. "Attention all ships," he said, "The Avalon battle-station has been destroyed. Set course for the breaching point at max speed, and have all mobile suits ready to launch on arrival. Captain Ramius, I want your ship on point; the Eternal will fly on your left flank while the Kusanagi takes the right."

Murrue nodded. "Understood. Helm, full throttle!"

"Yes, ma'am!" said Ensign Neumann, and the ship rumbled as the powerful engines flared to life.

"Miriallia," said Lieutenant Tsukino, "inform the pilots of the Tallgeese Kai and the Buster to get to their machines and standby for launch orders!"

"Aye, Lieutenant!" the girl replied.

"Arm all weapons," ordered Murrue, "Have all missiles primed and ready for launch! Priority goes to the Sledgehammer warheads; I want all possible anti-ship armaments made ready!"

"Aye, Captain," said Lieutenant Tsukino, who relayed her orders to the weapons specialists in the CIC.

The Archangel quickly picked up speed, moving to the head of the three-ship formation. It was the ideal position for the advanced assault battleship; it was by far the most heavily armed vessel in the Three Ships Alliance, and being on point gave it the widest possible firing arc. Combined with support from the Eternal, the Kusanagi, and their mobile suits, and the effectiveness and lethality of the Archangel's powerful arsenal was increased exponentially.

And it was a position that Murrue would've fought tooth and nail to get if necessary. She wanted to be leading the charge to clear an exit path for the strike team; there was no way in hell she was going to let ZAFT cut Heero off. She was determined to protect the young man she loved.

And woe be to anyone that got in her way.

Hang on, Heero, she thought, her eyes narrowing, we're coming… and when we arrive, I'm going to rain hell on ZAFT. I have more firepower at my disposal than any other ship Captain in the Earth Sphere, and I'm not going to hold back here! I will protect you, and I'll slaughter legions if that's what it takes to bring you back to me!

….

Despite his incredible reserves of discipline and self-control, Heero Yuy could not help but smirk as he emerged from the fading fireball that was now all that remained of the once mighty Avalon battle-station. The sensation of once again beating astronomical odds, of facing the Grim Reaper head on and coming out on top, was all too reminiscent of not just his earlier battles in this world but those of his old, especially the final campaign of the Eve Wars. He could not help but recall the final act of that conflict; his destruction of the falling block of the battleship Libra.

I was on the very edge between life and death, he thought, and it was the same here… except this time my target was not a falling chunk of debris but a fortress with the firepower to rival the Libra when it was fully operational.

Now was not the time for nostalgia though, and while he may have overcome the biggest hurdle of the operation there were still plenty more obstacles to face; he was by no means out of the woods yet. As the adrenaline pumped through his veins at a fever pitch Heero checked his sensors, confirming the presence of his allies as they emerged from the dissipating blue-white sphere of destruction… including the Valkyrie.

Three times we've clashed as enemies, he mused, now we can fight as allies. We've still got a score to settle, of course, but we'll deal with that latter.

It was a very strange feeling; though the last thing Heero wanted was to kill Shemei Rehema, he still wanted the duel with her that he wasn't able to get in their last battle. He wanted a one-on-one match, with both of them going all-out. Her skill and courage was beyond any other pilot he'd seen in the Cosmic Era; only his fellow Gundam pilots and Zechs Merquise were a match for her. It wasn't in Heero's nature to hunger for battle, but the level of respect he held for the Egyptian pilot demanded one final duel, one on equal terms, without any form of interference.

And he was sure Shemei felt the same way.

Putting aside his desire for closure on their friendly and respectful rivalry for the moment, Heero focused on the next stage of the operation; entering Aprilius One. The destruction of the Avalon battle-station may have left a massive breach in the lower defenses of the PLANTs, but there were still enemy forces held in reserve and in their path, not to mention the continuous arrival of reinforcements from other parts of the ZAFT Home Fleet that were even now trying to catch up and hit them from behind.

"Everyone on me," he ordered over the tactical channel, "we'll cut through their final line and hit the capital. Once I'm inside, the rest of you keep the enemy at bay."

Various forms of acknowledgement came from the other five members of the strike team, but it was Shemei's reply that stood out. "You got it, Heero," she said, "no way in hell I'm letting ZAFT hit you from the rear; we've still got some unfinished business to take care of."

Heero nodded as he took aim at a Nazca-class destroyer, one of the few warships standing between him and Aprilius One. "I'll hold you to that, Rehema."

"Roger that," she replied, and the Perfect Soldier could see the Judgment raising its large plasma rifle, sighting in on a frigate, "and Heero? Please... get my parents out of there!"

"Got it," said Heero, and together the two of them opened fire.

Twin blasts of yellow-gold and crimson fire ripped through space, annihilating the two capital ships in a beautiful display of unconscious coordinated shooting on the part of Heero and Shemei. Not wanting to be left out, the rest of the strike team opened fire as well, unleashing a withering barrage of energy beams, rail cannon rounds, and plasma blasts that destroyed no less than twenty GINNs and, in the case of Kira, disabled another six. The powerful one-two punch from the seven mobile suits opened a gap in the final echelon of the Avalon Line, and the strike team wasted no time in surging through.

As they penetrated the final line of the PLANTs' lower defenses Heero was already lining himself up with the maintenance entrance to the bottom of Aprilius One's central shaft. The massive hourglass-shaped colony was growing larger and larger as Heero approached, though from his angle all he could see was the circular bottom and the two wide disk-shaped solar panels that sprouted from either side of the center of the titanic artificial habitat.

As the bottom of the colony rapidly filled up his main monitor, Heero made the final adjustments to his approach vector before transmitting the codes given to him by Waltfeld courtesy of Bristow. The circular hatch at the exact center of the bottom of the colony began to open, much to Heero's relief; ZAFT hadn't changed the access codes.

Then again, there was no way they could've known until now that Wing Zero wouldn't be entering Aprilius One through the main docks… or infiltrating the colony at all, for that matter.

"I'm going in," he said to the others, "Rehema, you're in charge!"

Despite their prior history as enemy combatants, Heero had no problem with entrusting the leadership of the strike team to the Valkyrie; they were on the same side now, and more to the point he knew that she was a natural choice. Her history as the Commander of ZAFT's best mobile suit combat unit, combined with Heero's own admiration and respect for her abilities, made her in his eyes the obvious candidate for leading the strike team while he entered Aprillius One. While he had flown with Kira, Athrun, and the girls longer, the fact was that none of them really had, at least to him, anything approaching the potent combination of charisma, cunning, daring, and grace that Shemei possessed. Athrun's history as the leader of his own team during his pursuit of the Archangel was checkered at best, while Kira's unwillingness to do what was truly necessary in a fight automatically disqualified him to Heero despite the fact that he had flown with him longer than any other ally on the field in this engagement. As for the girls, of the three of them Adaline had proven herself to be quite capable of leading Lan and Priscilla in small-unit combat, but now that their Commander was flying with them the red-headed Australian beauty would reflexively defer to the Valkyrie for orders, as would her two teammates. Designating Shemei as the leader over the tactical channel was a way for Heero to avoid any confusion that might ensue in his absence; he knew his friends were in good hands.

"Affirmative," came his rival's reply, her tone calm and disciplined, "everyone, defensive positions over the shaft entrance; no one's getting past us!"

"Hold tight," said Heero, "I'll make this as fast as I can."

"You'd better," said Shemei, smirking on the lower right corner of his monitor, "take too long and I'm going to pass your kill count!"

"We'll compare scores when this is over," said Heero, unable to keep himself from smirking as well, "good luck."

"You too," said Shemei.

Mere seconds after the Valkyrie signed off Heero entered the shaft.

(End "chAngE")

….

Checking her sensors, Shemei could see a huge response force of mobile suits already heading towards the strike team's location; they'd be on them in a matter of seconds. Thinking quickly, the Valkyrie wasted no time in issuing commands to her formidable team.

"Freedom, Justice," she yelled, "bracket the entrance hatch; you're the goalkeepers, and are on artillery duty. Hit the flanks of the enemy ranks and try to funnel them into a narrow approach. Girls, you're playing midfield; anything that gets past me, wipe it out." A wicked grin appeared on her face as she told the others the role she would be playing in their holding action. "I'll play center forward and hit them head-on."

The usage of soccer positions as designations for the roles she wanted the others playing in the fight reflected both a personality quirk of the Valkyrie and a practical consideration. The former was due to the simple fact that she was a fan of the sport, though not to the same degree that she was of fencing, while the latter was a result of her unfamiliarity with Kira and Athrun's flying styles. Since soccer was the most popular sport in the Earth Sphere, including the PLANTs and Orb, it was reasonable to assume that both boys would have at least a passing familiarity with the game and would take to their 'field positions' accordingly.

They didn't disappoint. As soon as Shemei issued her instructions the Freedom and Justice sprang into action, setting up on the right and left side of the entrance to the maintenance corridor of the central shaft respectively. Meanwhile Shemei and the three Wraiths were moving forward, with the latter stopping a ways out in front of the Freedom and the Justice while the Valkyrie put herself much further out front. It was a bold position, and it made her the obvious first target of the incoming mobile suits, but Shemei had no problem with that. In fact, it was to her liking. She was the most exposed to enemy fire… and was in the best position possible to unleash everything the Judgment had.

Her silver eyes narrowed as she swiftly acquired targets with her mobile suit's advanced tracking program, one designed along the same lines as those found in the Freedom and the Justice. She bared her teeth as she set up to fire, like a wolf revealing its fangs.

"Come and get some!" she yelled as she cut loose.

The Judgment unleashed a storm of fire. The Tartarus plasma rifle cut a swath through the approaching GINNs, destroying seven machines in the blink of an eye while emerald beams from her shoulder cannons and twin DRAGOONs shredded four more units. The real punch, though, came in the form of the micro-missiles stored in the launchers mounted on the mobile suit's legs.

All forty-eight micro-missiles. The warheads were set up in two racks of twelve, one on each leg, with each individual slot holding two missiles. Shemei emptied her entire store in two twenty-four missile volleys, one right on the heels of the other. To the oncoming GINNs, it must've appeared as though the Judgment was hemorrhaging the warheads, and the swarm of missiles tore into their rank with devastating results. Each individual missile had acquired one target each, and all of them found their mark, leading to four dozen units turning into fireballs.

However, despite the immense casualties that had been inflicted upon them in the space of mere seconds, there were still plenty more mobile suits where those had come from, and though they had been caught off-guard by the sudden, devastating barrage they kept on coming, fanning out in an obvious move to hit the Judgment from all sides.

Trying to fan out, anyway. As the ranks of the swarm of foes spread the right and left wings were suddenly hit by a barrage of fire from the Freedom and the Justice. Several units were either destroyed or disabled, and the rest of the enemy force reflexively contracted back in… making themselves perfect targets for not only Shemei, but her three subordinates.

The Valkyrie opened up again with her guns, and this time she was joined by the three Wraiths as they cut loose with their beam cannons, railguns, and, in the case of Lan Zhao, Lancer Dart missiles. The barrage served to thin out the ranks of the incoming GINNs as over a score of the units were destroyed, but it wasn't enough to stop them in their tracks.

Fine by me, thought Shemei as she ignited her violet beam saber, a smirk on her face, it'd be boring if all the action was long-range.

Keeping up a steady stream of fire with her DRAGOONs, picking off GINNs one after another, Shemei gunned her engines and moved to engage the point-units of the enemy ranks in close-quarters-combat. She sliced one GINN in half and impaled another in rapid succession with her energy blade before downing two more machines with fire from her shoulder cannons and another pair with her gun-drones.

Of course, now that she was engaging the enemy at such close range they were able to get mobile suits around her, but before they could orient for an attack on her they found themselves under attack from Adaline, Lan, and Priscilla. The three girls poured energy beams and rail cannon rounds into the GINNs while cutting down any that dared try to get past them with their beam sabers. All the while this was happening Kira and Athrun were still pumping fire into the horde of incoming foes, focusing their attacks on the wings of the enemy formations as Shemei had instructed in order to funnel them into a narrower and more manageable approach for the Valkyrie Team.

Shemei cut down two more GINNs with her beam saber before firing another blast with the Tartarus and obliterating another seven units with its crimson lance of plasma. As she did so she saw several GINNs breaking off from the fight, missing head-cameras and weapon arms, and it only took a moment to discover the source of their damage; the Freedom.

Her smirk became a small frown as she observed Kira's fighting style. Though the boy had been present in the last battle she had fought, Shemei had been too busy dueling Heero at the time to pay attention to the Freedom's actions in the engagement. That's how he's fighting now?, she thought, He was willing to kill back in North Africa, and from what I heard from Eric the Strike continue to fight normally after that battle up until it was destroyed in the Marshall Islands. Now that Kira has the Freedom he's suddenly decided he won't kill? I mean, sure, the targeting system it uses allows for that kind of precision in a fight, and he clearly has the skills to use it to that capability, but it limits the Freedom's true combat potential. If he were fighting with the intent to kill then the rate at which he neutralizes his foes would be much higher than it is now. This isn't the time to be holding back like that, and I'm not saying that just because my parents' lives are on the line; with Zala and the other radicals taking ZAFT down the road it's on now, there's no doubt that they'll hit us with everything they have. Fighting with the kind of restraint and concern for the enemy like Kira's doing now only serves to weaken us in combat overall even if it removes combatants from the field in the short-term. More to the point, that sort of mentality and tactics may be applicable against the rank and file pilots, but against soldiers of higher skill levels it's just asking for trouble. I wonder if Kira's aware of that yet…

Shemei shook her head as she downed three more GINNs with her shoulder cannons and another pair with her DRAGOONs while impaling a fifth on her beam saber; now was not the time to concern herself with the fighting style of one of her allies. The fire from the Freedom may not have been destroying the enemy, but it was removing units from the field, though the damage that had been done to their machines was relatively simple to fix, while the pilots themselves would eventually be able to return to the battlefield with additional experience and knowledge of how their foe fought. Technically speaking Kira was still neutralizing the enemy, and for the moment that was what mattered. She'd worry about the implications and flaws in the boy's new fighting style after the battle was over.

Come on, Heero, she thought as she slashed another GINN in half, we're doing fine now, but I'm sure even more reinforcements are inbound. Please, save my parents and get the hell out of there!

….

As he sped through the maintenance corridor inside the central shaft, Heero could not help but feel boxed in despite the fact that the interior of the shaft was actually quite spacious, giving him several meters of clearance on all sides for Wing Zero. It was more than enough room for him to fly without scrapping the dark grey walls that surrounded him, but to a pilot who was used to maneuvering in the void of space and the open skies of the Earth the shaft felt very confining. No pilot liked being forced to adhere to such a restricted amount of operating space, and while Heero wasn't claustrophobic the sensation of flying through the maintenance corridor was unnerving. The Perfect Soldier wanted to get through the shaft and to his exit point ASAP, and so he was gunning his engines, moving far faster than another pilot might while operating in such a confined environment. Though Wing Zero's Gundanium alloy frame made it significantly tougher than other mobile suits, a single mistake or miscalculation on Heero's part in this enclosed space would still cause trouble, and it would cost him time that he could not afford.

Fortunately the Gundam pilot was far too disciplined and focused to let a slight sense of discomfort interfere with his piloting abilities. Heero was capable of incredible feats of precision flying even without the Zero System enhancing his awareness and abilities, and with it he could adhere to a flight path refined to an insanely tight degree. The phenomenal level of control he had over his mobile suit meant that Heero had no problem with pushing his engines as fast as they could go, and as he glanced at a side monitor showing a diagram of the colony he saw that he was already past the central docks and moving into the upper half of Aprilius One.

After a couple more seconds of flying he came to a halt and turned towards the 'right' wall of the shaft. At least, it was right from his perspective; given its position running through the center of the colony, it all depended on where someone was at in relation to it. He then stabbed his beam saber into the wall and began cutting out a rough circular entranceway into the heart of the colony. The green energy blade cut through the material relatively easy; it wasn't hardened armor, after all. Still, the last thing Heero wanted to do was rush his work as he dragged the saber through the metal; if he made the hole too wide he ran the potential of destabilizing the shaft. This was precision work, and a warm up for what he would have to do at Charon Prison.

I won't be cutting a hole like this, he mused as he completed the first half of the circle, but if I misjudge the angle of my blade when I cut the roof off of the section over the Rehemas' cell, I could easily kill them. It's going to be tricky work, and I can't afford any distractions while I do it. I just hope Bristow can keep the interior forces off my back long enough for me to complete the extraction.

As he neared the completion point of the circle he pulled his blade out and shut it off before pushing the hilt into the cut and pulling it back, dragging the metal slab with it; he didn't want it to fall into the interior of the colony and hit anyone. Since he had not quite finished his circle the circular chunk of metal was still attached to the rest of the shaft at one narrow point, and that point served as an impromptu door-hinge as Heero pulled the slab into the shaft. Once it was far enough inside he reignited his emerald blade and completely severed the piece of metal, and it 'fell' through the maintenance corridor towards the 'base' of the shaft at the upper end of the colony. Gravity was reversed in this end of the habitat, which meant that Heero would have to quickly reorient himself when he exited his make-shift portal.

As he hit his thrusters and flew into the colony interior his sensor board lit up with contacts. No less than a dozen GINNs were already in flight… but they weren't going for him. Heero's eyes narrowed as he saw the green and grey machines engage another unit, a black mobile suit with dark blue trim. He realized that it was a modified GuAIZ, one that had forgone the beam rifle in favor of a second Composite Shield, and that it had two large gatling guns mounted on its shoulders as well. The unit was ripping into the GINNs with both pairs of beam claws, impaling one and slashing another in half before destroying a third with gatling fire.

That must be Bristow, Heero thought as he flew towards the engagement, but why's he already in the air? He wasn't supposed to launch until I got out of the shaft.

As he approached the dogfight he received a transmission… one on a frequency that Waltfeld had given him during the run-up to the operation. Knowing who was hailing him, Heero opened up a channel and saw the face of a man who appeared to be in his early thirties appear on the lower-right hand corner of his screen. He had thick black hair, dark brown eyes, and was wearing a dark blue flight suit. Heero was puzzled for a moment to see that the man had an amused smirk on his face, at least until he started speaking.

"I was wondering when we'd finally meet," said the Wolf of the Far East as he tore a GINN apart with his beam claws, "the name's Eric Bristow. It's an honor, Heero Yuy; Shemei speaks very highly of you."

"Nice to meet you," said Heero as he joined the fray, slashing a GINN in half diagonally with his emerald blade, "what are you doing airborne already? Waltfeld said that you'd launch after I started my run on Charon."

"That was the plan," said Eric as he moved his machine so that its back was to that of Wing Zero, "but Shemei's early defection forced my hand. I had to buy you some time."

Heero nodded, swiftly piecing together the situation; Shemei's move to join the strike team when she had meant that her parents were no longer useful hostages to Zala. The ruthless military dictator of the PLANTs may well have already issued orders for the Rehemas' execution.

"Alright," said Heero as he stabbed a GINN, "but how does you mixing it up with the interior forces stop the prison staff from killing Rehema's parents?"

"Who said I hit the interior forces first?" Bristow replied, gutting a machine with his beam claws, "Check out Charon."

Quickly bringing up the prison on one of his monitors, Heero instantly picked out what Bristow was referring to; a long, blackened gash running along the roof of the facility. Doing a mental comparison with the floor plans he'd memorized, Heero realized that the gash lined up perfectly with the corridor that ran past the cell holding the Rehemas'.

He hit the hallway with a beam claw, he thought, his eyes narrowing, turning the floor to slag and cutting off direct interior access to the cell. A risky move, especially for the prisoners… but brilliant.

An alarm from his sensors interrupted his thoughts, and as he checked the display he saw that more GINNs were coming at them from above. Heero surmised that they were from either a base in the 'bottom' half of the colony or outside reinforcements; either way, they were filtering into the 'upper' half of Aprilius One via the docks at the central section of the artificial habitat.

"Heero," said Bristow as he destroyed a GINN with his shoulder gatlings while the Perfect Soldier took down another with his beam saber, "get to Charon Prison and get Shemei's parents out of there! I'll keep these guys busy while you're down there. Just don't take too long."

Heero nodded. "Roger that. Watch yourself."

"Don't worry," Eric replied, "I've got this."

As the now former ZAFT Field Marshal signed off Heero dove towards the 'ground', swiftly approaching Charon Prison. No missiles or any other form of anti-air fire rose to meet him, something that puzzled him only briefly until he realized the simple truth that ZAFT had never anticipated anyone breaking into the heart of their territory. It was an arrogance that Heero was grateful for; he had enough to worry about without ground fire added to the mix.

Setting up his final approach, Heero gunned his engines as he skimmed above buildings, often with mere meters worth of clearance. He then raised the shield mounted on the Gundam's left arm…

…and smashed right through the towering concrete wall that surrounded the prison.

….

As alarms continued their cacophonous roaring around them, the only thing Soran Rehema could do was hold his wife, Akila, close to him while doing his best to maintain an image of strength in order to provide the woman he loved with some small measure of comfort. A tall man of forty-eight years, with light brown skin, a rather wiry frame, black hair with some streaks of grey, and silver eyes, Soran was a man who did all he could to present a confident face to the world, to not show an instant of fear or doubt. While he sometimes came across as stern and stubborn, at heart Soran simply wanted what was best for the people around him, and to provide them with someone they could turn to for strength in times of trouble.

It was that strength he knew his wife needed now. A kind and soft-spoken woman, Akila was a year younger than her husband, and aside from her brown eyes and the fact that her purple-black hair fell just below her ears rather than below her shoulders was almost a mirror image of her daughter. A compassionate lady whose gentle demeanor concealed both a playful streak and a strong desire to protect those she cared for, Akila Rehema had transitioned from an officer in the Egyptian Air Force to a housewife who also worked as a secretary for an electronics company during her family's years in the PLANTs, and had more readily abandoned the military mindset than her husband had. It had made her a wonderfully conciliatory figure for the occasions when Soran and Shemei had gotten into arguments, always able to calm the waters between the passionate and worried daughter and the firm, inflexible father, but it had also made their sudden, unwarranted incarceration much more difficult on her.

Therefore, Soran had taken it upon himself to act as both her protector and source of strength in these trying times… all the while his pride refused to let him see that he was partially responsible for their situation; by failing to heed the warnings and pleas of his daughter, he had left himself and his wife vulnerable to the sweep for Naturals living in the PLANTs that had landed them both in Charon Prison. When they had been thrown into their cell, Soran had vowed to not let their confinement break either of their spirits, while at the same time showing no signs of defiance towards their jailers; in his view, the key to their survival and freedom was to simply weather the storm until rational heads prevailed and secured their liberation.

Both Soran and Akila were patient people, and as long as they had each other neither would allow their imprisonment to rob them of hope. So they endured their confinement, spending the weeks they'd been locked in their cell, given only grey jumpsuits for clothing, eating their meals, talking and reminiscing about better days, and praying for the safety of their daughter… all the while unaware that Shemei's moral stand against the policies of the regime had played a role in their arrest, and that they were being used to coerce her into fighting for a regime hell bent on the complete eradication of Naturals. Both had agreed to stay subdued and calm, to not do anything to antagonize their guards in any fashion but to simply wait things out and hope that someone in a position of power would recognize that a mistake had been made and release them. So they had kept to the same quiet routine for weeks now, and nothing had changed…

… until today.

The start of the alarms had caught both of them completely off guard; there had not been a single disturbance since the start of their incarceration until now. Matters had only been made worse when what Soran could only describe as a hot, violet light swept through the hallway outside their cell. There was only a small barred opening in the thick metal door, so Soran had only caught a glimpse of what had happened, but the heat that had soon radiated into the cell afterwards left no doubt that it had been a beam saber, and that it had fried the hallway. Thankfully for Soran and Akila the cell had ventilation in the form of numerous small ducts in the floor and ceiling along with a very small barred window, enough to ensure proper air circulation… though their cell was still uncomfortably warm.

Several minutes later there was a crash, and as the facility shuddered Soran risked a peak outside the small window in the concrete wall. His eyes widened in shock as he saw a mobile suit of a kind that he had never seen before break through the thick wall that surrounded Charon Prison… and head straight for their cell.

His wife joined him at the window, her expression quickly mirroring that of her husband's. "Dear lord," she said softly, "what's going on?"

Soran was wondering the exact same thing, and his surprise was only compounded when he heard a voice come from what he realized was the mobile suit's external speakers. It was male, and Soran realized that the speaker was young, but there was also a sense of authority in his voice. It was calm, but it conveyed strength, determination, resolve… and, much to Soran's surprise, it was addressed to him and Akila.

"Soran and Akila Rehema," it said as the mobile suit hovered on its thrusters and approached their cell, "take cover immediately, and shield your eyes."

Shaken by the sudden turn of events, Soran still had the presence of mind to take heed of the speaker's command. Grabbing his wife, he pulled her down to the floor and pushed her under the bed before doing his best to squeeze in with her. At the same time he shut his eyes tightly… and as he suddenly felt a fresh wave of heat come down from above, he realized why; the mobile suit had used its beam saber. Even with his eyes closed though he could still see a brief flash of emerald light, one that he realized probably would've blinded him had he not obeyed the young man's command.

Keeping his eyes shut, Soran could only rely on his other senses to tell him what was happening. He could still feel the heat radiating down from above, along with his wife clutching him tightly, and he suddenly heard a crashing sound. Then he heard the voice again, only this time it was not coming over a speaker; there was no electronic taint to it.

"Get out from under there, now," it said, "and open your eyes. Hurry; we don't have much time."

Doing as the speaker instructed, Soran edged out from under the bed and helped Akila do the same before pulling her to her feet. After looking her over to make sure she was alright, Soran turned to survey their cell… or rather, what was left of it.

The ceiling had been completely shorn off, and as he looked at where it had once met the walls Soran could see that the concrete there was glowing orange and red, and he could feel the heat radiating from it. The wall that had the small window had been ripped off, and only jagged rubble remained near the floor. As startling as all that was, though, what really caught the Rehemas' attention was the open hatch of the mobile suit where the wall had been… and the pilot standing in it.

Soran was not easily impressed by people that were not his family, but as he looked upon the young man standing before him he could not help but feel a sense of awe stirring within him, along with respect. It wasn't hard to understand why; the figure who was now in their cell, whom Soran realized couldn't be older than his mid-to-late teens, was an imposing sight to behold. He was clad in a blue and white uniform that would not have looked out of place in the 18th or 19th century, and when combined with the sword at his waist it served to give the young man an air of nobility, if not majesty. Though his physical height was only average, perhaps a bit on the short side, it in no way detracted from his bearing. He held himself with a sense of strength and purpose, of confidence and authority. When combined with the uniform, Soran could not help but feel as if he were standing in the presence of an officer, and one far above his station at that.

But what truly held the attention of both Soran and his wife was the intruder's face. The young man had thick brown hair that was tussled along with the long blue jacket of his uniform in the artificial breeze blowing through the breach, light skin, and piercing blue eyes. As they met his Soran could practically feel the strength and determination emanating from them… along with a sense of hardened resolve. This was a young man driven by something powerful inside him, and who was willing to do whatever was necessary to fulfill it. His expression was not hostile, but it was hardened, and Soran realized it was a reflection of the young man's accumulated experiences; despite his youth, he had already been tried and tested in battle, had passed through the baptism of fire that was combat. Unconsciously, Soran knew that he was looking at a soldier who been through the worst that war could throw at him, and he had emerged from those hardships battered and scarred but unbowed, determined to move forward.

And indeed, he was literally moving forward now, taking a step towards the Rehemas. "My name is Heero Yuy," he said, "I'm a… acquaintance of your daughter. I'm here to get you out of here; we need to leave immediately."

Soran's eyes widened even further as the pilot spoke; he'd heard that name before, and indeed it had been from Shemei… but the circumstances under which she'd encountered him had not been friendly. He also realized that he now knew what the machine the young man was piloting was called. "You're Wing Zero's pilot," he said, "you fought our girl in North Africa!"

The young man nodded, unfazed by Soran's statement. "I did," he replied, "twice for that matter… and I fought her again a week ago. Commander Rehema's one of the best pilots I've ever engaged in combat; I have nothing but respect for your daughter, and that is part of why I'm here. She deserves the freedom to fight without the lives of her parents being held over her head like the Sword of Damocles."

"What are you talking about?" asked Akila.

Heero Yuy shook his head. "You two don't get it, do you? Waltfeld said you'd refused your daughter's pleas to go into hiding before it was too late… you never wondered how she knew that the radicals would come for you?"

"Zala's hostility towards Naturals is an open secret," said Soran, "but he wouldn't go further than imprisoning us for the remainder of the war; he has to know the public wouldn't stand for it. As long as we remain calm and don't cause trouble, he won't see the need to take further action against us. We can't come with you; Zala will retaliate against the other Naturals that have been rounded up in response to our escape. We can't endanger others for the sake of ourselves!"

"You honestly believe that?" asked Heero, approaching Soran, "after he's rounded up every Natural in the PLANTs that wasn't able to go into hiding, you honestly believe he'll stop at temporary imprisonment just because you're on good behavior? You think something as trivial as public opinion matters to Zala and his ilk? He's already had the former Chairman murdered, he tried to kill his daughter, and he's instituted a policy of no quarter against the Earth Alliance military; do you truly believe that he'll balk at the execution of the Naturals living inside the PLANTs out of fear of the backlash that might result? The people that have been taken by this regime are now living on borrowed time; the regime would kill them regardless of your actions, and without a shred of concern for the public's reaction if word of it got out!"

Before Soran could reply the young man grabbed him by the collar of his jumpsuit. Despite the boy's slim figure, his strength was overwhelming; as Soran tried to force Heero to let go, he felt as though he was struggling against the grip of a mobile suit rather than a human being. The young man pulled Soran towards him, his eyes narrowed in a fierce glare, one that even a man as stern and strong as Shemei's father could not help but flinch under.

"Please, let him go!" cried Akila, grabbing the young man's arm.

Her efforts were to no avail; indeed, Heero barely seemed to even notice them as he spoke to Soran, his voice a menacing growl. "Do you think you're being noble, allowing yourself to be locked up like this? Do you think that if you just go along with the regime that they'll somehow be convinced to limit their persecution of Naturals? Are you so caught up in your own pride and self-righteousness that you can't see what's happening around you, right in front of your eyes?"

The young man's questions were barbed and blunt, and they pierced right to the heart of Soran's reasoning behind refusing to listen to the pleas of his daughter. The older man was surprised at how effortlessly and precisely Heero had read the logic behind his actions… and how ruthlessly he was picking it apart.

"Others have done in the past what you are doing now," he continued, his fearsome glare meeting Soran's gaze, "trying to placate regimes that want only to destroy their kind, down to the last man, woman, and child. The Jews feared defying the Nazis while the Third Reich was in power out of the belief that they could weather the storm, and that any opposition on their part would only result in violent reprisals against others. They were right about the reprisals, but what they failed to see until it was too late was that Hitler and his following of sociopaths and psychopaths had in mind from the very beginning their complete annihilation. It was because of their misguided belief that submission and endurance was the answer that they were led like lambs to the slaughter, and died by the millions in Auschwitz, Belzec, Chelmno, Majdanek, Sobidor, and Treblinka. Are you so weak that you would drag your wife, the woman you love, with you into the same hell on earth that millions suffered and died in during the Second World War?"

"He didn't 'drag me' here," Akila replied, pulling on Heero's arm to no avail, "I was brought with him! This isn't his fault! Please, let him go!"

"It is his fault," Heero replied coldly, all the while keeping his gaze locked with Soran's, "not directly, but his pride and complacency led you two to be arrested when you could've escaped into hiding, as your daughter begged you to do so."

"There is no nobility in your actions, or lack thereof, Soran Rehema," said the young man, "in refusing to listen to your daughter you've not only placed yourself and your wife in peril, but you've allowed the both of you to be used against her. You're not making any grand sacrifice by being here; you're letting Zala use you as a dagger to plunge into your daughter's back! If you stay here, you'll be betraying her just as much as her own country did when they took you hostage to ensure her loyalty to their regime and to force her to partake in their atrocities."

Heero then pointed up through the opening where the ceiling used to be. "Right now my friends are fighting against the ZAFT Home Fleet to give me the chance to get you out of here, and your daughter has joined us. She's leading my comrades against overwhelming odds to save you! Her lover is fighting above us right now to cover me while I extract you two. The longer we stay here, the greater chance this operation has of killing us all! We're risking everything to save you, as is your daughter. She's placed all her hopes for your survival on my shoulders, and I refuse to fail. You're coming with me, and though I'd rather it be willing I will not hesitate to do what I must to get you both out of here."

The pilot then surprised Soran by releasing him. As his wife rushed up to him he once again met the young man's gaze, and he was surprised to see that his expression had softened. The fierce glare was gone, and in its place was a much gentler gleam in the boy's eyes. He wasn't smiling, but his face was not hostile either.

"Soran and Akila Rehema," said Heero, "I'm here to help you, to get you out of here and reunite you with your daughter. Please, let me."

The young man's tone was soft, a stark contrast to the menacing growl he had used before. As surprising as that was, what truly struck Soran was the sincerity in both Heero's expression and his voice. There was no deception, nor was there any sign of a threat.

He genuinely wanted to help them.

This boy, thought Soran, no, this man… I've never met anyone like him. He cut straight to the heart of my motives, my reasons for refusing to act in defiance to the regime, and he mercilessly tore them apart… and yet he truly wants to help us. He's strong, determined, and cool, almost brutally so… but there's something else beneath all that, something much softer than the hard demeanor he gives off. It's… selflessness. He's doing this without any thought to himself.

He turned to Akila, and as his eyes met hers she nodded. "Dear," she said softly, "I… I think we should go with him. I… I trust him, and if Shemei's involved in this as well then we can't turn our backs on her. Soran… let's go."

He nodded in reply before turning back to Heero. "Our girl spoke very highly of you when she came home from North Africa. You may have fought against her, but she never spoke of you as if you were an enemy. She admired and respected you… more than I've seen her do so for anyone else. Very well, Heero Yuy; we'll place our fates in your hands."

The young man bowed his head slightly. "Thank you," he said, "now, let's hurry; time is of the essence."

Soran and his wife quickly followed the young man as he entered his fearsome machine. "It'll be tight," said the pilot, "but there's enough room for both of you in here. Just squeeze in beside the seat."

The two of them nodded and did as Heero instructed, with Soran cramming himself in on the right and Akila on the left. Once they were inside the young man closed the mobile suit's hatch, and they could feel the machine's powerful thrusters kick into gear as they took off.

"Hang on," said Heero, "it's gonna be a rough ride."

….

Man, thought Shemei as she cut a GINN in half, there's just no end in sight for these guys. Then again, we're literally right below Aprilius One; it's no surprise Zala's throwing everything he can muster at us.

The strike team was waging a furious defense of the lower maintenance hatch, and while Shemei knew that ZAFT forces could still enter the colony through the central docks she was confident in the knowledge that Heero's escape route was still secure. The Valkyrie was going all out in her efforts, utilizing the Judgment to blunt the enemy's attack, sweeping their ranks with the Tartarus rifle while hitting the scattering mobile suits with fire from the DRAGOONs and her shoulder cannons, saving her beam saber for any that got past her withering fire. Of course, there were still far too many for her to keep them all from getting around her, but that was what her subordinates were for, and her girls were doing an incredible job of hammering the incoming GINNs with beam rifle shots and rail cannon rounds. Meanwhile, Kira and Athrun continued to put up a curtain of artillery fire, hitting the wings of the incoming horde of GINNs and funneling most of the attackers towards the Judgment and the Wraiths.

Despite the success of their holding action, Shemei knew it couldn't last forever. Come on, Heero, she thought, we're counting on you… I'm counting on you.

As she cut loose once again with the Tartarus plasma rifle, burning six GINNs to ash with a crimson blast, she heard Lan swear over the tactical channel.

"Shit," the Chinese Coordinator snarled, "Commander, we've got new models inbound; four GuAIZs. IFF confirms they're Special Operations; it's Indigo Team."

Dimitri Heinreich and his Indigo Knights, Shemei thought, I'd heard that they were on the Avalon Line, but I didn't know at what point. I guess they were fairly far out if they're only getting back here now. Damn it, I have to deal with these guys quickly.

"Alright," said Shemei, "I'll take care of them. Girls, keep up the holding action. Freedom, Justice, shift your fire to backing up the Wraiths."

As the other members of the strike team acknowledged her orders Shemei gunned her engines, cutting down three GINNs with her beam saber in rapid succession as she rushed to meet the Special Operations Squadron head on. She quickly spotted them on her visual sensors; four machines with a white base and blue trim along their shields, shoulders, legs, and arms. All had their beam claws ignited, and they were lining up for rifle shots at her.

As she brought the Tartarus rifle to bear on her approaching foes she suddenly heard Heero's voice over the tactical channel. "Package retrieved. We're on our way out now."

(Start "Diapason")

Shemei felt her heartbeat increase at those words, and a fresh surge of adrenaline began pumping through her veins. She grinned and pumped her fist. "YES! I knew you could do it, Heero! Get your ass out of there; we'll cover you!"

Now that she knew her parents were safe, or as safe as they could be inside Wing Zero in the middle of a battle like this, Shemei at last felt the weight that she had been carrying on her shoulders for weeks now dissolve. She felt uplifted, rejuvenated… free. She could truly fight on her own terms again. There was nothing holding her back now.

She could truly go all out.

Her smile took on a predatory edge as she focused on the incoming Indigo Team. "Sorry, Heinreich," she said, "but I don't have time to play around with you and your posse. I'm taking you down before Heero leaves the colony!"

She opened fire with the Tartarus, and a crimson torrent of destruction rushed towards the elite squadron. The four white and blue machines scattered, but one was caught in the plasma blast and disintegrated. The other three fanned out, with one coming at Shemei head on while the other two set up for a pincer attack.

Straightforward tactics, she thought as she set up to counter, you're going to need more than that to beat me, Heinreich!

Deploying one DRAGOON on each side, Shemei opened fire with both the gun drones and her shoulder cannons. The DRAGOONs shot at the two GuAIZs that were trying to flank her, forcing them to break off and regroup, while the shoulder guns spat emerald death at the unit coming at her head on. All three machines evaded her fire, but that was fine by Shemei; it kept them on the defensive while she rushed in to attack the unit in front of her.

She struck with her beam saber in a vicious vertical chop, one that her foe was barely able to block in time with its beam claws. Shemei swiftly pulled her blade back before attacking again, this time in a diagonal slash. Once again her foe blocked her strike, and the skill the enemy demonstrated was enough for Shemei to suspect that she was fighting the squadron Commander.

Adjusting her tactics, Shemei gunned her engines and climbed away from the unit before twisting around and cutting loose with both the Tartarus rifle and her shoulder cannons. Commander Heinreich managed to evade her shots… but they weren't meant for him in the first place. The crimson lance of plasma annihilated one of the other GuAIZs, so caught up in trying to evade fire from the gun drone that was engaging it that it was caught off guard by the sudden attack. The other unit was lucky enough to avoid Shemei's barrage, but the Valkyrie took advantage of his distraction to hit him with her second DRAGOON, and while the shot wasn't fatal it did rob the GuAIZ of its beam rifle.

Two dead, one damaged, Shemei thought, smirking, not bad so far if I do say so myself. Time to wrap things up!

Switching things up, Shemei sent both her DRAGOONs at Heinreich while closing in on the damaged GuAIZ. As she used her gun-drones to keep Indigo's leader at bay she opened fire on the second unit with her shoulder cannons. The machine raised its Composite Shield to take the hits, but the move left it vulnerable to the Valkyrie's real attack. Coming in hard and fast, she lashed out with her beam saber, her strike going under the GuAIZ's shield and slashing through the cockpit.

Shemei whirled around as her foe blew up behind her and brought the Tartarus rifle to bear on Heinreich. She cut loose with a plasma blast, but Indigo's leader managed to evade the shot while at the same time continuing to dodge fire from the DRAGOONs.

Not bad, Heinreich, she thought, but let's see you survive this!

The Valkyrie pulled back her gun-drones as she zoomed towards the sole surviving GuAIZ. Bringing her beam saber up, she swiftly brought the violet blade down in a vertical strike. Heinreich blocked the blow… just as Shemei redeployed her DRAGOONs on both sides of his machine and opened fire. Both emerald beams pierced the mobile suit's torso, and the machine became a fireball.

"You're good, Heinreich, but you're no Heero Yuy," said Shemei, smirking, "he would've seen that attack coming and countered."

Not sparing her fallen adversary a second thought beyond the post-mortem taunt, Shemei swiftly turned around and headed back towards Aprilius One. She opened fire with her shoulder guns and DRAGOONs, taking down four GINNs in a precise volley while her three subordinates took down another seven machines. Kira and Athrun continued to provide artillery support, disabling six machines and destroying five respectively as the Valkyrie moved to rejoin the strike team.

Suddenly a male voice came over the tactical channel. It wasn't Kira, Athrun, or Heero, but it was still someone Shemei knew very well. Her lover's face appeared on the lower right corner of her screen, wearing a confident smile. "Clear the way," said Eric, "We're almost at the hatch. Sending you guys my IFF signature; I'd appreciate it if you didn't shoot me down."

"Eric!" cried Shemei, smiling as she cut down a GINN with her beam saber before obliterating five more with the Tartarus rifle, "You're with Heero?"

"Right behind him," he replied, "we're hauling ass out of here, Shemei, and we're counting on you to clear us some space." His smile became a little softer as he continued. "You're parents are safe, love; you're free."

Shemei nodded. "Eric," she said, beaming with affection and gratitude, "thank you."

Her lover nodded. "Anytime, Shemei. We'll be out soon."

Shemei nodded again before addressing the rest of the strike team. "Alright guys, hit the enemy with everything you've got; let's get a path started!"

All six machines opened fire with every weapon they could bring to bear on the seemingly limitless horde of enemy reinforcements. Crimson plasma blasts, emerald beams, and yellow rail cannon rounds tore into the ranks of the incoming GINN teams. The barrage was lethally effective; nearly thirty machines were neutralized in a matter of seconds.

Suddenly Heero's face appeared on Shemei's display. Along the edges of the image the Valkyrie could see her parents crammed in on either side of the Gundam pilot's chair, and her smile became even bigger. Shemei had to fight to keep tears of joy out of her eyes; a battle was not the place to be overcome by emotion, regardless of how good it felt to see her parents again, to know that they were finally out of Zala's clutches. "Mom, dad!"

Before her parents could reply, though, Heero spoke. "Clear the lane, now!"

Instinct took over, and Shemei broke to the right, making sure she was clear of the entrance to the shaft's maintenance corridor. The large, circular hatch was already open, and a second later a torrent of golden-yellow energy came out of the portal and ripped into a group of GINNs, destroying eight machines in the blink of an eye. A mere instant after the shot was fired Wing Zero came flying out of the hatch, and hot on its heels was a black mobile suit with dark blue trim. It looked like a variant of the GuAIZ, and as Shemei saw its IFF transponder signature she knew that it was piloted by her lover.

It was then that Heero spoke again. "Everyone on me. I can't go all out with passengers; the acceleration and G-forces could kill them. Commander Rehema, you're in charge of the escort."

Shemei nodded, instantly recognizing the problem Heero had; with Wing Zero only designed for one occupant, there was no way to secure her parents in the cockpit in a manner that would allow for full combat maneuverability. Heero could still fight, but his ability to do so was now limited by how much stress he could put on his passengers. It was a reminder to the Valkyrie that they weren't out of the woods yet, but at the same time it served to energize her for two reasons. The first was that her parents' lives were essentially in her hands, resting on her ability to keep the enemy away from Wing Zero, while the second was that Heero had willingly given her command of the strike team once again without hesitation, and with him included it meant that he was entrusting his life to her. It was a huge responsibility, but to Shemei it was also thrilling because it meant that the pilot she respected more than any other in the Earth Sphere held her in such high regard that he was willing to trust her as the head of his escort.

"Understood," said Shemei as she cut down a GINN with her violet blade while destroying four more with her shoulder cannons and DRAGOONs, "Freedom, Justice, take the far right and left flanks, just like you did coming in! Eric, I want you to stay close to Wing Zero; you're the final line of defense! Girls, form up around Heero and take down anything that gets past Kira, Athrun, and I! I'll take point! Everyone make sure to leave a firing lane for Heero's rifle!"

The others quickly acknowledged her and wasted no time in forming up around Wing Zero. As the strike team and their new allies began their run, charging towards fresh squadrons of reinforcements, Shemei took a moment to contact Heero on a private channel.

The Gundam pilot appeared on her screen, and it was only now that Shemei noticed that he wasn't wearing a traditional flight suit. Instead, he was wearing a uniform that, much to the Valkyrie's surprise, would not have looked out of place in the Napoleonic Wars.

I wonder where he got that, she mused, maybe he brought it from his world. He certainly looks sharp in it. Maybe I can get him to let a seamstress borrow it so they can make one that fits Eric; I can only imagine how he'd look in something like that. He cuts a pretty dashing figure in his ZAFT uniform as is…

She shoved her thoughts aside; they'd be engaging the next wave of reinforcements soon, and she had to make this quick. "Heero," she said, "are my parents alright?"

"We're fine, dear," said her mother, giving her a warm smile, "a little cramped, perhaps, but we can deal with the discomfort. It's so good to see you again."

"Indeed," said her father, smiling as well, "we've missed you, Shemei… and I'm sorry we did not heed your warnings, your pleas… I'm sorry for the pain I've caused you."

Shemei shook her head, once again struggling to hold back tears. "Oh, father, mother… I'm just glad you're ok… and you're free."

"Not quite yet," Heero cut in, "we've still got to break through ZAFT's reinforcements. Commander Rehema, I can provide fire support with my rifle and gatlings, but with two passengers I can't engage in close-quarters-combat; those maneuvers could kill your parents."

"I know, Heero," Shemei replied, nodding, "we'll keep them off you, I promise. After what you've done today, there's no way in hell I'm failing you now!"

Her friendly rival gave her a small smile. "Roger that, Commander Rehema. Heads up; they're almost on top of us."

"Affirmative," said Shemei, glancing at her sensors, "preparing to engage; Rehema out."

As Heero and her parents disappeared from the display she brought all her weapons to bear on the incoming GINNs. They were spread out across a wide front, with the obvious intention of leaving no open route for them to take. It was a reasonable tactic, but the lack of unit concentration meant that it would be that much easier for the strike team to blow a hole in their ranks.

Numbers alone mean nothing if you don't deploy them right, thought Shemei, a lesson that both sides are constantly learning, forgetting, and relearning in this war. Zala, your response here is sloppy… and I'll make you pay dearly for it!

Switching to the tactical channel, Shemei issued a very simple order. "Fire at will!"

The strike team cut loose. Wing Zero opened fire with its fearsome rifle, and the torrent of energy it unleashed ripped nine GINNs apart. At the same time, Shemei opened up with everything she had. A crimson blast from the Tartarus rifle destroyed six machines, while four more fell to precise fire from her shoulder cannons and DRAGOONs. Meanwhile, the girls were ripping into the enemy with their beam rifles and rail cannons, and the three of them took down four units each with their opening volleys. Not wanting to be left out, the Freedom and Justice joined the barrage, with Kira disabling five units and the Justice destroying the same amount. The only one who held back was Eric; his load-out was designed for mid and close-range-combat.

The storm of fire thinned out the enemy ranks, but there were still plenty more GINNs to fight their way through, and they were closing in on the strike team fast. However, the ZAFT squadrons were uncoordinated thanks to the barrage; they had numbers, but not unit cohesion. A rain of machinegun bullets flew at Shemei and the others, but the enemy's fire was frantic and sloppy, and the Valkyrie and her comrades were able to dodge most of the shots while taking others on their mobile suits' shields. Shemei was worried about Eric since his unit was the only one that lacked Phase Shift Armor, but as she glanced at her lover's mobile suit she saw that her fears were misplaced. The former Field Marshal's piloting skills had not been dulled by the time he'd spent in the PLANT capital, and Shemei suspected that he'd been hitting the simulators, both in preparation for this operation and to blow off the frustration that came with being forced to work with Zala and his thugs on the Defense Council. Either way, Eric was having little difficulty keeping himself from harm, evading most of the shots sent his way and taking a couple on his custom GuAIZ's twin shields, where the bullets did little more than scratch the paint.

Nice to see you're still in top form, Eric, she thought as she prepared to engage a group of GINNs with her beam saber, still, watch yourself. Having my parents imprisoned by Zala was bad enough… I can't lose you. I know you've risked everything for this operation, and I'm grateful for that, but please, stay alive!

She then turned her attention to a team of six GINNs that was almost on top of her, and wasted no time in tearing into them. The Valkyrie slashed the lead machine in half with her beam saber and impaled the unit next to it in rapid succession. As she did so she opened fire with her gun-drones, destroying two more GINNs with emerald beams to their cockpits. Shemei then engaged the last two units in the team, taking down one with a diagonal slash and the other with a horizontal cut.

As she did so the others were mixing it up as well in close-quarters-combat. Athrun and Kira were combining beam saber work with their units' artillery in an impressive display on the wings of the formation, cutting down multiple foes and keeping the enemy from boxing the strike team in. Both the Freedom and the Justice had put their rifles away and had both their beam sabers out, with the former using one in each hand to cut off head-cameras and rifle arms while the latter had both swords joined into a double-bladed weapon and ripping through GINNs like a buzz-saw. At the same time, both were using their shoulder-mounted guns to pick off more units at long-range.

Meanwhile, her girls were doing her proud as they tore into the GINNs that managed to get past Shemei, Kira and Athrun, who despite their formidable skills and their powerful machines could not possibly manage to hold off all of the enemy mobile suits that had been sent as reinforcements. Adaline, Lan, and Priscilla had adopted a balanced approach to dealing with their foes, keeping one of their beam sabers active while using the beam rifle mounted in their other Trikeros shield and the railguns on their hips for ranged combat. The three of them were picking off GINNs one after another with great efficiency, while at the same time managing to watch each others' backs. In the brief glance Shemei spared them she saw Lan spear a GINN on her violet blade while shooting another with her beam rifle, Adaline slash a unit in half, and Pris gun down two mobile suits with her rail cannons. Her girls fought with fluidity and economy of movement, and the Valkyrie was once again struck by just how much their teamwork had grown in her absence. She was filled with pride as she observed the three young women whom she considered to be a combination of friends, students, and subordinates, exhibit a proficiency that surpassed any that Shemei had observed from them before.

However, even with their phenomenal efforts, it was still impossible for the three girls to stop every single foe that they were confronted with; even spread over a wide area and thinned out significantly by losses, the enemy's numbers were still too great. Adaline, Lan, and Priscilla could not achieve complete coverage of Wing Zero no matter how skilled they fought as individuals or teammates, and a few GINNs managed to slip past them. Shemei wasn't worried, though; they still had to contend with the Wolf of the Far East.

As a unit customized for close and mid-range combat, Eric's GuAIZ Werewolf was an excellent final line of defense for Wing Zero. The Valkyrie's lover was putting the mobile suit through its paces, ripping GINNs apart with its dual beam claws and shoulder gatlings, occasionally utilizing its rocket anchors to grab a machine and pull it in close so he could impale it on his violet blades. There was no flash or elegance to Eric's fighting style; the Wolf of the Far East preferred pragmatism to fancy maneuvers, and his tactics were designed to allow him to dispatch as many units as he could in a sequence of moves, with one attack leading right into the next, one kill setting up for the next. At the same time, the former ZAFT Field Marshal was taking great care to ensure that engaging his enemies did not take him too far away from Wing Zero… though Heero wasn't entirely defenseless.

The phenomenal pilot who had quite literally built a reputation around doing the impossible was moving his Gundam in a series of simple evasive maneuvers, designed to put as little stress on the mobile suit's occupants as possible while at the same time keeping the unit constantly mobile and out of anyone's crosshairs. However, Heero wasn't just playing defensive while the strike team fought the enemy; Wing Zero had split its fearsome main gun into two smaller rifles and was using the weapons to shot down one foe after another. The yellow-gold beams that were coming from the guns were much smaller than shots Shemei had seen Wing Zero fire in the past, and she assumed that Heero was utilizing his artillery on the lowest possible power setting to increase his rate of fire. Even split and at a minimal charge, though, Wing Zero's primary weapon remained lethal; a single shot was enough to completely disintegrate a mobile suit, and Heero was downing targets at a steady pace, whether they be isolated GINNs that had managed to get past the GuAIZ Werewolf or units that were further out and preparing to engage other members of the strike team. Occasionally he'd also open fire with his shoulder gatlings, shredding any GINN unfortunate enough to get in his path with bullets.

Focusing on her own fighting, Shemei once again opened fire with the Tartarus rifle, her shoulder cannons, and her DRAGOONs. The crimson blast of plasma destroyed five GINNs, while precise beam fire from her other weapons took down another four units.

We're moving at a good pace, she thought as she cut down another two GINNs with her beam saber, we'll be coming up on the Avalon Line soon. The loss of the battle-station will have left a major breach in that area, and I know Heero took down some of the capital ships that were supporting it as well, but by now ZAFT has surely gotten at least some vessels into the area as reinforcements. We'll have to punch through them if we want to get out of here… and with Heero's combat abilities now limited with my parents as his passengers, that won't be easy.

Slashing another GINN in half with her saber and blowing three more away with the Tartarus, Shemei's silver eyes narrowed as she focused on spot where the Avalon battle-station had once been. "Shit," she growled, "not good!"

Amidst the scattered pieces of debris from the titanic fortress, ZAFT had already amassed a reinforcing battle group to cut off their escape. Four Nazca-class destroyers and eight Laurasia-class frigates were arrayed before them, their bows turned towards the strike team. Shemei could also see even more ships moving in from the flanks, along with additional mobile suit teams. There were few GINNs operating with the battle-group directly before them, and the Valkyrie surmised that they must've already launched their mobile suits. In fact, Shemei realized that they were probably the squadrons that the strike team was cutting through right at this moment. Still, that didn't change the fact that a dozen warships were lined up and ready to bombard them, and that additional vessels and mobile suits were inbound.

We can't afford a prolonged engagement here, Shemei thought, but with Wing Zero carrying my parents, we can't just punch straight through the capital ships like Heero the strike team did on their way in; Heero can't fly the way he did during the attack on Avalon! Flying headlong into a bombardment from that many ships… they may actually have as much combined firepower as the battle-station, but with Heero's reduced maneuverability they have a much better chance at hitting him. We can't plow straight through… but we need the most direct route out in order to avoid being overwhelmed by enemy reinforcements, and this is it! What do we do?

As a Commander, Shemei Rehema was a woman who was usually able to think on her feet and adjust her tactics to the rapidly changing circumstances of any given battlefield. However, with so much at stake this time and so little room for error, the Valkyrie found herself unable to come up with a viable strategy for their situation.

Then Heero appeared on her monitor, addressing not just her but the entire strike team over the tactical channel. "I'm sending everyone targeting assignments," he said, "be ready to fire on my command."

One of her side monitors flashed as targeting data came in, and Shemei saw that it included both her assignment and those of the rest of the strike team. Her eyes narrowed as she studied the information. "Heero," she said, "you've got us hitting the wings of the battle-group; the vessels at its core aren't designated as targets, and we'll have to punch through them to get out of here!"

"Those ships are already dead," Heero replied, and Shemei was surprised to see a small smile on his face, "they just don't know it yet. Check your sensors again, Commander Rehema; look beyond the reinforcements."

There was a beeping coming from her radar as Heero spoke, and as Shemei turned to see what was happening her eyes widened as she saw several new contacts coming up behind the ZAFT forces. There were a mix of mobile suits of varying types, but what really caught the Valkyrie's attention were the three capital ships flying with them.

There was the Eternal, the Orb warship she had spotted late in the prior battle…

…and the Archangel.

(End "Diapason")

….

"Captain!" cried Miriallia from her post in the CIC, "We've got incoming targeting data from Wing Zero! It's for us and the others!"

Murrue nodded. "Send our targets to weapons and my personal monitor, and relay the rest to Waltfeld and the others!"

As the data appeared on her private screen and Lieutenant Tsukino began issuing orders to the gunners, Murrue watched as the strike team moved towards the ZAFT battle-group that was blocking their path. On the surface she was calm and in control, presenting the front she knew her crew expected of her, the caring yet professional leadership that they had come to rely on for strength and guidance… but it was a mask, one that Murrue was having difficulty maintaining. If one looked closer, they would notice that her beautiful brown eyes were narrowed, and that there was an intense gleam in them; she was starring lasers at the ZAFT forces displayed on the main monitor. Her mouth was closed, but inside it her teeth were clenched, grinding against each other. Her arms were stiff, and her hands tightly gripped the arms of her chair. Her breathing was quiet, like a tigress trying to hide its presence just before she tore her unsuspecting prey apart.

Indeed, that was quite an accurate description of Murrue at that moment. She was nothing less than a fearsome predator, putting all her effort into holding herself back, to keep her primal fury in check, to wait for the right moment to strike. However, this tigress was not engaged in a hunt for food, her rage not fueled by the desire to eat. Her anger, the fierce fire burning in her heart, stemmed from the desire to utterly destroy those who dared to threaten the man she loved.

As the Archangel's weapons acquired targets and Murrue watched the ZAFT warships that were bringing their own guns to bear on Heero, the passionate fury burning in her heart grew stronger, and the mask she had been wearing for the sake of her crew cracked. As the final bit of targeting data was processed and utilized, Murrue let out a soft but vicious hiss.

"Get the HELL away from him!" she growled under her breath.

"Captain," said Lieutenant Tsukino, "all targets acquired!"

(Start "The Sun Rises")

Murrue's response was immediate. "Open fire!" she roared.

The Archangel cut loose with a storm of fire. Two large crimson-orange blasts from the Lohengrin positron cannons ripped forth, annihilating a destroyer along with two GINNs that had been unfortunate enough to be flying right in Murrue's firing lane. Emerald beams from the starboard Gottfried turret and yellow rail cannon rounds from the Valiant on the same side hit a frigate dead center, snapping it in half, while fire from the portside guns gutted the engine block of another ship of the same class, crippling the vessel. Four Sledgehammer anti-ship missiles flew from the Archangel's launch tubes, and all of them slammed into a Nazca-class destroyer, turning its bridge into a smoldering crater. At the same time, a quartet of Corintoss long-range heavy anti-air missiles sprang forth from the ship. Each warhead impacted a GINN and turned the ZAFT machines into fireballs.

At the same time the Eternal and the Kusanagi initiated their own attacks, with the former raking a frigate with fire from its METEOR batteries and beam turret while the latter obliterated a destroyer with its Lohengrins and pounded a frigate with its Gottfrieds. Since the vessels of the ZAFT battle-group were arrayed to intercept the outbound strike team, their backs were actually to the three incoming warships, meaning they could not possibly return fire against their new attackers. Adding to the carnage was the Buster, which had launched alongside the Tallgeese Kai during the Archangel's final approach to the battle. The heavy artillery mobile suit opened up with its Hyper Impulse Sniper Rifle, and the shot pierced a frigate right through the center, ripping a gaping hole in the vessel. The bombardment was devastating… and it wasn't the only one the ZAFT ships were facing.

The strike team cut loose as well, unleashing a barrage that no other group of mobile suits could hope to match. Wing Zero opened fire with its Twin Buster Rifle, which was currently split into two smaller guns, and its shots turned a frigate and the last intact destroyer in the battle-group into fireballs. The Judgment let loose a crimson blast from its rifle, destroying a frigate. At the same time, the Valkyrie opened fire with her shoulder cannons and DRAGOONs on another green warship. Her subordinates added their own weapons the mix, and the ship was torn to ribbons in a hail of emerald beams and yellow rail cannon rounds. Meanwhile, the Justice was focusing its fire on the frigate that the Kusanagi was hitting with its Gottfrieds, and the combined fire was mauling the warship. Kira for his part attacked the last intact frigate in the battle-group, aiming for the vessel's guns with the Freedom's impressive array of artillery. A swift and precise barrage from the stolen ZAFT prototype knocked out the frigate's heavy beam cannons, and Kira began working on the secondary guns.

Murrue watched with a satisfied smile as the devastation unfolded. The combined attacks from the incoming warships and the strike team had mauled the battle-group, neutralizing a dozen ZAFT ships in the space of mere seconds… and giving her lover a clear path through which to get to her.

I told you I'd protect you, Heero, she thought, just as you've protected me. After all you've done on my behalf, there's no way in hell I'm going to let ZAFT stop you now!

However, just because they had torn apart the enemy forces directly in the strike team's path did not mean that they were in the clear yet; Murrue was fully aware of the reinforcements that were coming in from both sides of Heero and the others, and she wasn't going to stand by and let them take shots at the man she loved.

"Enter targeting solutions for the Wombat missiles!" she ordered, "Fire them at the GINN squadrons that are approaching the strike team's right and left flanks. Follow that up with fire from the Gottfrieds and Valiants towards the capital ships that are closes to those wings; if there aren't any, then lay down a covering barrage."

"Aye, ma'am," said Lieutenant Tsukino, who rushed to carry out Murrue's orders.

Waltfeld's voice came over the tactical channel. "Strike Rouge, Tallgeese Kai, move in to reinforce the strike team. M1s, Tigress, Buster, stay with the capital ships. Kusanagi and Eternal willjoin the Archangel in providing covering fire."

"Captain," said Lieutenant Tsukino, "Wombats are primed, and gunners have acquired targets."

"Fire at will, Lieutenant," ordered Murrue.

Four Wombat anti-air missiles flew forth from the ship's rear launch tubes and raced towards the enemy in two pairs, with one angling to the right and the other to the left. When they neared the leading GINN teams their warheads opened up, releasing a hail of crimson 'heavy buckshot' rounds that tore into the enemy mobile suits. Five machines went down on the left, and four were ripped apart on the right.

"Gottfrieds, Valiants, open fire!" Murrue ordered.

The heavy beam guns and rail cannons cut loose, with the starboard side weapons pounding a frigate that was attempting to move on the strike team while the portside ones fired into the oncoming GINN squadrons, disrupting their approach. The Archangel was once again joined in her bombardment by the Eternal and the Kusanagi, with the former using her METEORs and heavy beam turret to throw the GINN teams Murrue was already attacking into further disarray while the latter disintegrated a frigate with its Lohengrins before pouring fire from its Gottfrieds into mobile suit groups moving in on the strike team. Meanwhile Cagalli and La Flaga rushed forward to join the strike team as they continued their approach towards the three warships while battling the GINNs that made it through the barrage the Archangel and her allies.

"Keep up the pressure on ZAFT," said Murrue, "Pour as much fire as you can into the enemy ranks until we're ready to withdraw."

"Aye, Captain," Lieutenant Tsukino replied.

Come on, Heero, Murrue thought as she turned to her private monitor, which was focused on Wing Zero, get to the Archangel! Come back to me!

….

Heero smiled slightly as he watched the Archangel continue to fire into the GINN teams that were attempting to catch the strike team in a pincer. Great timing, Murrue, he thought, I knew you'd clear me a path. Thank you… my love.

With the Archangel, Eternal, and Kusanagi disrupting the approach of the enemy reinforcements, the strike team was having little difficulty in fending off the GINNs that managed to get into attack range. With the path in front of them completely clear, the Valkyrie had adjusted the formation of Heero's escort. Now the rest of the mobile suits were arrayed on either side of Wing Zero, working with Kira and Athrun to discourage ZAFT from attacking Heero's flanks.

"Incredible," said Soran from his very cramped position to the right of Heero's seat. Glancing at the Valkyrie's father, the Gundam pilot saw an expression of awe on the man's face as he watched the Archangel bombard the enemy forces.

"We'd heard about the legged ship from our daughter," said Akila from Heero's left, "but she was forbidden from showing us images or recordings of it; we only had her descriptions of its size and power. Seeing it for ourselves, though… it's truly something else."

Heero nodded. "There's no other ship like the Archangel in the entire Earth Sphere… nor any commanding officer that can match her Captain." The Perfect Soldier could not keep a hint of pride from his voice as he praised Murrue.

"High praise indeed, coming from one such as yourself," said Soran.

"She's earned it," Heero replied as he opened fire with one of the smaller guns the Twin Buster Rifle was split into, destroying one of the GINNs that were engaging his escort, "Murrue's brave, intelligent, strong, and compassionate. She cares deeply for the well-being of her crew, and she's willing to do whatever it takes to protect them. She also knows just what they're capable of, along with her ship, and she can use that knowledge to devastating effect."

"Like she is now," said Akila, "the two ships fighting alongside the Archangel are impressive in their own right… but they pale in comparison to that white vessel."

"I've never seen so much firepower on a single warship," said Soran, "it's truly amazing."

"No argument there," said Heero. Glancing at his sensors, he saw that two contacts were rapidly approaching the strike team from head on; the Strike Rouge and the Tallgeese Kai.

Waltfeld must want them to back us up for the last part of the run, he thought, makes sense, too; send two of the more powerful units out to assist the returning strike team while keeping the rest close to the capital ships in case ZAFT sends mobile suits their way. It doesn't look like the enemy will do that though; they're pretty focused on us right now.

The two machines moved to form up on Heero, with Cagalli's unit on the left and La Flaga's on the right. Both pilots raised their beam rifles and opened fire as fresh reinforcements approached the strike team, downing their targets with precise fire.

La Flaga's face appeared on Heero's display. Even through the man's violet helmet, Heero could see the Hawk of Endymion smirking. "You just can't help but make trouble wherever you go, Heero," he chuckled as he blocked enemy return fire with his mobile suit's Planet Defensors, "You're really stirred up a hornets' nest here."

"It wasn't easy," the Gundam pilot replied as he shot down a GINN with the gun in his unit's left hand, "I really had to work at it."

"I'll bet," said La Flaga as he picked off another GINN with his beam rifle, "well, it's time for you to take a load off; we'll take care of the heavy lifting from here."

No sooner had La Flaga signed off when Cagalli's face replaced his on Heero's display. "Hey," she said as she took machine gun fire on the Strike Rouge's shield, "you ok, Heero?"

The Perfect Soldier nodded. "A bit cramped in here, but we're all alive. Thanks for the help."

"Anytime," she replied with a smile as she destroyed a GINN with an emerald beam, "after all, that's what friends are for."

With that she signed off, and Heero watched as the Strike Rouge moved to engage another group of GINNs, with Athrun, the Valkyrie and Lan fighting alongside her. Meanwhile, on the right wing of the strike team Kira, Adaline, Priscilla, and La Flaga were likewise fending off a fresh wave of incoming GINNs, while Bristow stayed close to Heero to deal with any mobile suits that managed to make it past Wing Zero's formidable escort.

"Remarkable," said Soran softly before turning to Heero, "your allies are all impressive pilots, young man."

"This brings back memories," Akila chimed in, and though Heero wasn't looking at her he could tell by the tone of her voice that she was smiling, "It's been so long since I've flown, even as a passenger. Despite our rather… confined situation at present… it feels liberating."

The Gundam pilot knew she wasn't just referring to their newfound freedom from Charon Prison. Akila and her husband were once again experiencing the thrills that came with flying, an excitement that any pilot felt when they took to the sky and to outer space, regardless of whether or not they were at peace or war. Recalling their history as officers in the Egyptian Air Force prior to their immigration to the PLANTs with their daughter, Heero could only imagine what the two of them had experienced in their piloting days.

It wasn't something he had time to dwell on at the moment, though, not when they were on the final leg of their escape from the PLANTs. The path to the Archangel and the other ships was completely clear, and the combined fire from the three vessels, the strike team, and the mobile suits sent to back them up had bought them some respite from attacks from the flanks, but there were still more GINNs coming up from behind Heero and the others. Though ZAFT's mainline mobile suits were not fast enough to catch Wing Zero or any of the other mobile suits that made up its escort, the Perfect Soldier knew that they would be able to close to attacking range with the Archangel, Eternal, and Kusanagi while they were retrieving him and his comrades.

We have to discourage pursuit, he thought, get them to pull back, or at the very least throw the GINN squadrons coming up behind us into disarray.

Fortunately, the Gundam pilot already had a plan in mind.

He just needed some help.

His fingers flew across the keyboard as he immersed himself in the Zero System, using it predict the enemy's next move… and get the targeting data he needed. As he transmitted information to his allies he prepared himself for what was to come… the battle's grand finale.

….

"Captain," said Miriallia, "we've got another round of targeting data coming in from Wing Zero! It's for our entire force!"

"Relay our data to weapons and my station, then pass the rest on to Waltfeld and the others," Murrue replied, "Lieutenant Tsukino, be ready to fire on my command!"

"Aye, Captain!" the XO replied.

Murrue's eyes narrowed as she studied the information pouring into her personal monitor. She immediately saw what Heero wanted them to do, and she could not help but be impressed by how he had come up with such a plan so quickly.

I know he's used the Zero System before to coordinate fire like this, she thought, but still, it never ceases to amaze me that he can use it so effectively in the middle of a battle. For him to be able to compile this data and give it to us while he's flying in combat… it's remarkable. The Zero System may expand his awareness of the battlefield and give him the capacity for such precognition, but it's only due to his incredible focus and strength of will that he can control it like this. Heero… there is truly no other pilot in this world like you. Murrue smiled; the pride she had in her lover's abilities as a soldier knew no bounds.

Murrue turned her attention back to the main bridge monitor, which showed Wing Zero, the rest of the strike team, and their allies turning around and bringing their guns to bear on the scores of GINNs that were coming up behind them while at the same time clearing a firing lane for the Archangel and the other warships. As Heero and the others prepared to fire, Murrue knew it was time for her to cut loose.

Not a moment too soon Lieutenant Tsukino called out to the Captain. "Targeting solutions entered! Weapons are tracking and ready, and Lohengrins are fully charged ma'am!"

"Fire!" Murrue yelled.

The white warship once again cut loose with a fearsome bombardment. Twin blasts of crimson-orange energy ripped forth from the bow positron cannons, aimed not at any capital ships but at the swarm of GINNs moving in on the strike team. The rivers of destruction tore through the enemy ranks, and twenty machines detonated like a string of firecrackers. At the same time, the Gottfrieds and Valiants opened up on two frigates, one approaching from each side of the strike team. The Archangel's missile tubes let fly as well with four Sledgehammer anti-ship missiles, with one pair homing in on the vessel the ship's starboard guns were hitting and the other moving for the portside target. The combination of energy beams, heavy rail cannon rounds, and missiles ripped the two frigates apart. The Archangel also let fly with another quartet of Corintoss anti-air missiles, and the warheads slammed into four GINNs, ripping them apart. The Buster joined in the attack with its main gun, hitting an oncoming frigate right in the bridge with a precise and powerful shot.

On the Archangel's starboard side the Kusanagi cut loose with its positron cannons, sending two more streams of crimson-orange energy through the ranks of the GINNs and disintegrating seventeen machines. At the same time the Orb ship's Gottfried beam cannons opened fire on a frigate moving on the strike team's right flank. The green vessel was pounded by the emerald beams, and the Kusanagi immediately followed up with four anti-ship missiles, hitting the ZAFT ship in a devastating one-two punch. Armor was gouged and torn, guns blown to craters; the frigate never had a chance to hit back.

To the left of the Archangel the Eternal was opening fire as well. Both the METEOR batteries and the heavy beam turret poured shots into the GINN teams, destroying six machines and sowing further chaos into their ranks. The surviving mobile suits struggled to regroup but continued to press forwards despite their losses; they'd taken a bloody nose, but the punch from the Archangel and her fellow capital ships wasn't enough to convince the ZAFT forces to back down yet.

Then the strike team opened fire. At the center of the formation, Wing Zero cut loose with two blasts from its split rifles, and based on the size of the beams Murrue knew that Heero was firing at maximum power. The two torrents of energy ripped through the ranks of the oncoming GINNs, with an impressive twenty-seven machines being blown apart by the twin shots from Wing Zero.

A large blast of crimson energy slashed through the ZAFT formations as well; the Valkyrie had opened up with her mobile suit's formidable main gun. It wasn't nearly as powerful as Wing Zero's rifle, but it was still a fearsome piece of artillery in its own right, and nine GINNs were disintegrated by the shot. At the same time Shemei Rehema opened fire with the Judgment's shoulder cannons and gun-drones, picking off another four machines with precise volley of emerald beams. The Valkyrie was joined in her barrage by her three subordinates, and their Wraiths opened fire with their beam rifles and railguns. Their superior fire coordination, brought on by their familiarity with each other, was devastating, and a dozen more GINNs were wiped out in the blink of an eye by the bombardment.

From the right and left wings of the strike team respectively, Kira and Athrun opened fire. Once again the GINNs targeted by the Freedom got off easy, with five machines losing their head cameras and machine guns. Those in the sights of the Justice were less fortunate, and three GINNs were blown apart by a combination of fire from the machine's rifle and shoulder cannons while two more were sliced in half by a well-thrown beam boomerang. Backing up the two stolen ZAFT mobile suits were the Tallgeese Kai and the Strike Rouge, though the fire they could add to the bombardment was limited to precise shots from their beam rifles. The Hawk of Endymion and Orb's tomboy princess still did their part though, with each taking down two GINNs apiece with well placed emerald beams.

Murrue smiled as she saw the survivors from the devastating one-two punch from the capital ships and the strike team halt their advance. The Archangel's Captain knew that it was only a temporary respite; once they regrouped, ZAFT's forces would resume their pursuit. However, by the time they shored up the substantial losses Murrue, Heero, and their allies had inflicted on them, the capital ships would have retrieved the strike team and the rest of their mobile suits and would be well underway.

Even on their home turf, they have to stop to regroup after sustaining such losses, Murrue thought, that combined barrage alone neutralized over a hundred mobile suits and four frigates! Combine that with the casualties we inflicted on them upon our arrival and the damage Heero and the strike team were able to do before we got here… Murrue couldn't even begin to guess how badly the Avalon Line had been mauled by the operation. She would have to wait until the post-action reports were compiled to know just how severe ZAFT's casualties had been.

(End "The Sun Rises")

Waltfeld's voice came over the tactical channel. "All ships, break off and begin MS recovery; time to head for the hills. Freedom and Justice will provide a rearguard until we put some distance between us and the PLANTs."

"Helm," said Murrue, "Come about 180 degrees and keep velocity matched with the Eternal and Kusanagi. Don't open up the throttle until we've retrieved our mobile suits."

"Aye, Captain," said Neumann.

"Miriallia," said Murrue, "get the hangar doors open and have Chief Murdoch and his crew stand by for mobile suit recovery."

"Yes, ma'am," Miriallia replied.

"Lieutenant Tsukino," Murrue ordered, "have the Valiants rotated aft so they can cover the Freedom and the Justice if they need support, and have the Corintoss and Wombat missiles set to support them. Be ready to fire if the enemy makes a move."

"Aye, Captain," the XO replied.

Waltfeld's face appeared on the main monitor. The Desert Tiger was smirking as he spoke. "I'll be damned… I know it was my plan, but I'm still having trouble believing that we actually pulled this off."

"Without Heero, we couldn't have," Murrue replied, smiling, "you owe him big time, Field Marshal; we all do."

"No argument there," Waltfeld replied, "Captain Ramius, I'm sorry I asked him to take on such a dangerous assignment; I know it couldn't have been easy for you to sit back and watch as he took on Avalon."

Murrue shook her head. "No, it wasn't… but I had faith in Heero, just as I did before we joined forces with you. Besides… he promised me that he would come back alive, and Heero's never broken a promise to me."

Waltfeld chuckled. "I can certainly see why. Even back in North Africa, he was devoted to you… and that's only grown since then. He really does love you, Ramius."

Murrue felt her face warm at the Desert Tiger's words, but that did not stop her reply. "Yes, he does, and I love him."

"Something we're all quite aware of now," said Waltfeld, "I have to admit, I was surprised that the two of you were willing to publicly admit that when the strike team launched... but I can certainly see why the two of you wound up together." He then gave a small laugh. "I don't think Aisha was surprised at all by that little declaration though; she's always had sharp instincts when it comes to this sort of thing."

Waltfeld then smiled. "I didn't say it before because I was focused on the operation, but I want to give both you and Heero my congratulations. No matter what happens, know that Aisha and I are behind the two of you one hundred percent, as is everyone else in our alliance."

Murrue smiled as well and bowed her head. "Thank you, Waltfeld."

"Your welcome, Captain Ramius," he replied, "that being said, I didn't contact you just to support you and your boyfriend; I have a favor to ask."

"Go ahead," said Murrue.

"Would you let Shemei and Eric take up residence on the Archangel?" he asked, "With the Freedom, GuAIZ, and the Wraiths in its hangar bay the Eternal doesn't have much more room for mobile suits, and the Kusanagi is operating at close to capacity as well. Your vessel is the biggest one in our force, and right now you only have three mobile suits basing out of it."

Murrue nodded. "Of course, Waltfeld. I have no problem with letting them base from the Archangel… though won't Rehema's subordinates want her to be on the same ship as them?"

"Yeah," said Waltfeld, "but this way she can be with her parents when they get out of Wing Zero… and she can stay with her lover as well; the Eternal doesn't have enough hangar space left to take on both the Judgment and the Werewolf. Shemei can talk to the girls over video conference and she can meet up with them during operations after launching from the Archangel. Besides, we'll all have to hold another meeting later on to discuss where we go from here; she can talk to them in person there."

"Very well," said Murrue, "I'll have quarters prepped for them as soon as I can; we'll welcome them with open arms."

"Thank you, Captain Ramius," said Waltfeld, bowing his head, "Eternal out."

"Ma'am," said Miriallia as Waltfeld's image faded from the main monitor, "Heero's on the line."

Murrue's smile grew at her words. "Patch him through."

The Perfect Soldier appeared on the main monitor, and he was not alone. Murrue saw a man and a woman, both of whom appeared to be in their mid to late forties, crammed into the cockpit with him, and she knew they were the Valkyrie's parents. Both Soran and Akila Rehema looked a little shaken but otherwise no worse for the wear, but Murrue still planned on sending them to the Archangel's medical bay for a full examination just to be safe, followed up by a psychological evaluation from Dr. Claudia.

They were imprisoned by their own government, both because they were Naturals and because their daughter did not openly support the party line, thought Murrue, I don't know what sort of impact their incarceration may have had on them, physically or emotionally; I want to give them the best possible care my crew can offer.

As selfish as it may have seemed, though, the welfare of Shemei Rehema's parents was only a secondary concern to Murrue. The one who truly had her attention, naturally, was Wing Zero's pilot.

A small smile was on Heero's face as he spoke. "Mission accomplished. I'm coming in for landing, Murrue, and I'm bringing company."

"So I can see," Murrue replied, nodding, "Soran and Akila Rehema, I presume? I'm Murrue Ramius, Captain of the Archangel. Are you two alright?"

Heero's passengers nodded. "Yes," said Soran, "the ride was a bit rough, but we're unharmed."

"Thank you for your concern, Captain Ramius," said Akila, smiling, "but we're fine." She then looked over at Heero before speaking to Murrue again. "We're in good hands… those of one of the best pilots I've ever seen."

"Yes you are, Mrs. Rehema," said Murrue, her own face aglow with the pride she had in Heero's abilities, "I will be coming down to the hangar in a moment, but for now know that you are under the protection of Heero, myself, and my crew. No harm will come to you, and you will be well taken care of; I give you my word."

"Thank you, Captain," Akila replied. On the other side of Heero Murrue saw Soran give her a nod of gratitude.

Murrue then returned her attention to her lover. "Heero, the hangar doors are opened; you can land at any time. Also, I've just spoken to Waltfeld, and the Valkyrie and Bristow will be joining you, La Flaga, and Dearka as this ship's mobile suit pilots."

Heero nodded. "Makes sense; the Archangel has the most available hangar space left out of our three ships. I'm inbound, Murrue." His smile then grew a little as he spoke again. "Thank you for the rescue before, Murrue; your timing was perfect, as was your bombardment."

"Perhaps," Murrue replied, blushing slightly at Heero's praise, "but without you and the Zero System there's no way we could've managed such a coordinated barrage."

"Still," Heero continued, "the fact remains that without you we would never have gotten out of there. You saved us, Murrue; you saved me. Thank you."

"You are most welcome, Heero," said Murrue smiling again, "I wasn't about to let ZAFT stop you, not after all you've done… and certainly not after you promised to come back to me."

"I know," said Heero, smiling as well, "and I knew that you'd make it in time to help us. I'm making my final approach now; I'll see you soon. I love you, Murrue."

"I love you too, Heero," the beautiful Captain replied as she stood up, "I'll meet you down in the hangar soon."

"Roger that," said Heero, "Wing Zero out."

"Lieutenant Tsukino," said Murrue as Heero disappeared from the main monitor, "you have the bridge. Continue supervising the retrieval of our mobile suits; once all are on board and the other ships have retrieved their units, bring us up to full power on the engines and get us out of here as fast as possible."

"Yes, ma'am," the Orb officer replied, moving to take Murrue's chair as the Captain headed towards the exit.

She continued to smile as she left the bridge and began making her way down towards the hangar. Heero, she thought, once again, you've done the impossible. You took down Avalon, you breached the heart of the PLANTs, extracted two people from a high-security prison, and got out alive. No other pilot could've come close to what you've accomplished today.

It was amazing to say the least, but what mattered more than anything else to Murrue was not the phenomenal display of piloting skills Heero had just given the entire Coordinator population, nor the demonstration of his Gundam's incredible powers of destruction by obliterating the most powerful fortress in the entire Earth Sphere.

The only thing she cared about was the fact that Heero had come back to her. He'd fulfilled his promise, and he was back on the Archangel, safe, unharmed… and with her.

….

After settling Wing Zero down into its berth in the Archangel's hangar, Heero took a moment to simply lean back in the pilot's chair and let out a sigh of relief. To say that the operation had been tense would be a monumental understatement; the Avalon Line, especially its formidable battle-station, had been a force unlike any that he had challenged before. Yes, the wide dispersal of ZAFT's fleet had helped matters considerably, but the sheer number of mobile suits the enemy had still been able to bring to bear on the strike team, not to mention the frigates, destroyers, and Avalon's massive arsenal of weapons had been unlike anything Heero had confronted before. It was true that the ZAFT force that had attacked Alaska and the Alliance fleet that had invaded Orb were both larger in terms of warships, but Heero had fought against those two armadas with more than just a handful of advanced mobile suits backing him up; both had been fleet engagements. His abilities had been pushed to their utmost limits in the raid on the PLANT capitol… and he'd survived.

Not only that, he had won.

Now the adrenaline that had been surging through his veins throughout the battle was bleeding out of his system, and Heero was aware of just how tired he was. His whole body felt heavy, his breathing was labored, and he could feel the sweat matting his brow.

Try as he might, he couldn't completely hide his exhaustion from his passengers. "Are you alright?" asked the Valkyrie's mother, her expression one of concern.

Heero nodded as he wiped some of the sweat from his forehead. "I'm ok."

"Not entirely," said Soran, "young man, I can understand and appreciate not wanting to show weakness in front of others, but there is no shame in admitting the truth, especially when others can already see it. You're worn out, and after what you just did, no one can hold that against you."

Heero closed his eyes for a moment before opening them and replying. "Yeah… you're right."

Akila put her hand on his shoulder and smiled. "Come, let's get you out of this cramped cockpit; you need some real breathing room."

"In a minute," said Heero, motioning to the main monitor, which showed the Judgment entering the hangar, "none of us have flight suits on. We have to wait until all the ship's mobile suits have entered the hangar and the doors are sealed; we'll get out once they vent the atmosphere back in."

While still determined to maintain at least some of his cool demeanor in front of the Valkyrie's parents, Heero could not deny a warm feeling slowly spreading within his heart at the concern of his passengers, particularly Akila. Her worry for him was touching, particularly given that they had just met, but what really struck him was how much it reminded him of Murrue. However, while Murrue's concern for him was both that of a dear friend and a lover, Akila's worry was… motherly. It was perfectly natural, of course; Akila was one of the Valkyrie's parents, so maternal concern was an emotion she was well practiced in, and Heero realized that his own youth would evoke such a reaction from her… but it still caught him off guard. For a young man who had grown up surrounded by war, who had never known his mother and had only an assassin to act as a father figure, to be on the receiving end of such parental affection was a very new experience to him.

That being said, it was a feeling Heero liked. It evoked a heat much like Murrue's affection for him did, but it had a different feel to it. Like his lover's it was open and gentle, all encompassing, but it did not stir his heart in the same manner that Murrue did. Heero couldn't find the right words to describe it, which was natural given his unfamiliarity with such an emotion. While Murrue's love for him had seemed to envelope him like a blanket on a cold night or the warm sunlight of a mid-summer day, the best way Heero could put Akila's concern was like warm water running over a wound. It was cleansing, refreshing, and healing.

And so, almost without him noticing, a very small smile appeared on Heero's face. If the Valkyrie's parents saw it they made no mention, and they seemed content to watch with the Gundam pilot as the rest of the mobile suits entered the Archangel's hangar. Eventually the doors closed, and even in Wing Zero Heero could feel a slight rumble as the warship's powerful engines kicked into high gear; the vessel was pouring on the throttle to get clear of ZAFT space.

Glancing at the far wall, Heero saw a light flick from red to green, and the mechanics began removing their helmets; atmosphere had been vented back into the hangar. "Come on," said Heero as he finished up Wing Zero's power-down sequence, "We can go outside now." He looked to Soran and Akila in turn. "I'm sure your daughter will be out of her mobile suit soon, and that she'll want to see you."

Just before the screen flickered out he saw one of the smaller entry doors open… and Murrue floated into the hangar. Heero's smile grew as he saw Murrue's face aglow with joy on his monitor before it faded to black, completing the power-down sequence. "And there's someone down there waiting for me as well," he said softly.

Without further adieu, Heero opened up the hatch and floated out of the Gundam. He moved to the right to allow room for Soran and Akila to get out of Wing Zero before he sealed the mobile suit's cockpit. Taking a look around the hangar, the Gundam pilot saw La Flaga, Dearka, Bristow, and Shemei all disembarking their mobile suits, with the latter's silver eyes lighting up as she saw her parents over by Wing Zero. The Valkyrie quickly pushed off her machine and made her way towards Heero and his passengers.

And she wasn't the only woman inbound.

"Heero!" cried Murrue as she rushed up to the Perfect Soldier, an absolutely radiant smile on her face. All pretenses of decorum and professionalism were abandoned as the beautiful Captain openly showed her joy and relief at seeing her newfound boyfriend alive… and Heero wouldn't have it any other way.

"Murrue!" said Heero, his smile growing. He barely had time to brace himself before Murrue collided with him, throwing her arms around him and pulling him into a fierce kiss. Heero returned it instantly, paying no heed to the rest of the hangar's occupants, tightly embracing Murrue as his lips parted, and giving his lover's tongue the opening it needed to surge forward. Fiery passion engulfed the Gundam pilot, temporarily burning away the weariness that had been weighing his body down mere moments ago, and he lost himself in Murrue's arms and lips.

So caught up was Heero in Murrue's embrace that he barely heard the Valkyrie's joyful cry as she approached. "Mom! Dad!"

The Perfect Soldier and the beautiful Captain's lips parted, and they turned as they held each other to watch as Shemei floated right into the arms of her parents. She took them both into a tight hug, and though her face was not visible Heero had a feeling that she was struggling to hold back tears. Others might have seen it as a sign of weakness, but not Heero; to a young man that had never known his family, there was no shame in being overcome by emotion under such circumstances. It didn't detract in the least from the respect he had for his friendly rival.

"You're alright," he heard the Valkyrie say as she embraced her parents, "you're both… you're ok, you're safe… you're free! Damn it, I've missed you…"

Mother and father smiled as they held their daughter. "We've missed you too, dear," said Akila, "We were both worried about you… I'm so glad you're ok!"

"There, there, Shemei," said Soran, patting his daughter on the head, "we're alright, my daughter… we're alright."

Glancing off to the side, Heero saw Bristow floating a respectful distance away, a warm smile on his face as he watched his lover hold her parents. The Perfect Soldier could tell that the Wolf of the Far East wanted nothing more than to rush over and embrace the Valkyrie, but he was holding himself back for the moment, for Shemei's sake.

Heero and Murrue turned away from the family reunion for a moment out of respect; the Valkyrie deserved a little time with her mother and father before the Gundam pilot and the Archangel's Captain interrupted. More to the point, the two lovers wanted nothing more than to take some time for each other as well, especially after all that had happened in the battle mere minutes ago. Smiling at each other once again, Heero and Murrue shared another passionate kiss, and they tightly held each other in their arms. After a few seconds their lips parted and their eyes met, though they did not release the hold they had on each other.

"You came back," Murrue said softly, and Heero saw that she was holding back tears of joy in the corners of her eyes, "you came back to me!"

Heero nodded and let go of his lover with his right hand and brought it up to wipe away the tears that threatened to fall; even if they were brought on by joy, the last thing he wanted was to see Murrue cry.

"I'd never break a promise to you, Murrue," he replied, his hand stroking her cheek, "you know that."

Murrue nodded, her lovely brown eyes glowing with affection as she mirrored Heero's gesture, bringing her own right hand up to caress his left cheek. "I do, Heero. I had faith, I believed in you… but still, I couldn't help but worry. The force you flew against… how could I not fear for your life?"

"I know, Murrue," Heero replied, looking down for a moment, "Forgive me; I never wanted to cause you such pain."

"Don't apologize, Heero," said Murrue, and as the Gundam pilot raised his head to look at her again he saw that her smile was bigger than ever, "you made it, you triumphed, you won… and you're here, now, with me. That's all that matters."

Heero smiled again. "Yeah… you're right."

Murrue leaned in and gave the Perfect Soldier a quick kiss. "I love you, Heero."

Heero nodded. "I love you too, Murrue."

The Gundam pilot then felt a brief rush of dizziness go to his head, his exhaustion catching up to him, and though he tried not to give any visible sign Murrue could sense that something was wrong.

"Are you alright, Heero?" she asked, her expression becoming one of concern.

Heero nodded. "I'm ok… just tired, Murrue."

"Here," Murrue replied, "grab my arm; let me help you."

Heero didn't exactly need assistance in staying upright… but he wasn't about to refuse Murrue's offer of support. It was yet another sign of just how deeply she cared for him, how much she loved him, and the thought of turning it down just felt to Heero like it would be an insult. So the Gundam pilot did as Murrue requested; he braced himself on her left arm as the two of them turned towards Shemei and her parents, who were finally separating from their own embrace.

As he looked at the Valkyrie, the thought of their rematch was actually not on his mind. In fact, when he looked at her with her family he didn't even see Shemei as his rival. What he saw was a young woman reunited with her mother and father, and the knowledge that he had helped make it happen filled him with a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. At that moment it didn't matter to him that they could now have a duel without holding back, that they could have that final contest they'd been longing for. What mattered to Heero was that he had brought a loving family back together, and it felt good.

….

As Shemei finally released the hold she had on her parents, she felt her spirits lifted higher than they had been in a long time. Every second that her mother and father had been held hostage by Zala and his thugs had felt like a lifetime to her; it had been agony beyond anything that she had ever experienced before. Even her newfound romance with Eric could not completely remove the cloud of despair that had hung over her, regardless of how hard her lover had tried to do just that. Shemei had been truly grateful for his efforts, for his affection, and they had given her the strength she'd needed to move forward, but it hadn't been enough to remove the heavy weight from her shoulders.

Now, though, that weight, that terrible, heavy despair, was gone. Shemei felt reinvigorated, reborn, liberated… all this and so much more. Her parents were safe now; she was with them again. It didn't matter that they were on board a warship that she had fought against several months before; Shemei knew that the Archangel and her mobile suits were no longer enemies, a fact that she was profoundly grateful for. What mattered to her, more than anything else, was that her parents were finally free, finally out of reach of Zala and the rest of the radical faction. Now she truly had the power to protect them, something she had sorely lacked when they had been residing in the PLANT capitol and she had been in the employ of ZAFT. More than that, she knew that others would protect them as well; the crew and pilots of the Archangel, and those of the Orb warship and the Eternal. Her allies, her friends, would help her protect her mother and father as they all moved forward in their struggle to bring this long and bloody war to an end.

Feeling several pairs of eyes on her, Shemei backed slightly away from her parents to take a look around. The Archangel's hangar bay was truly massive, larger than any she had ever seen before on a warship. It was bustling with activity as maintenance crews began checking the docked mobile suits for damage, and Shemei was impressed with their efficiency; it was a routine the mechanics had obviously done many times by now. However, the technician crews were not her primary concern; it was the people closer to her and her parents that she could feel watching her.

Looking to her left, Shemei's smile grew even bigger as her eyes fell upon the first member of her audience; Eric Bristow. Her 31 year old lover was using the rail of a nearby maintenance catwalk to hold himself in place in the non-existent gravity of the hangar, and a broad smile was on his face.

He helped make this possible, she thought, her heart filled with affection and gratitude, Waltfeld and the others couldn't have mounted this operation without information from him, and he flew with us in our escape. Eric… how can I ever repay you?

She knew that her lover had been holding himself back so she could enjoy her reunion with her parents to the fullest, and she deeply appreciated the thought, but now she wanted him over here, with her and her parents. "Eric!" she cried joyfully.

Taking the cue, the now former ZAFT Field Marshal pushed off from his perch and floated over to her. As soon as he came into range Shemei grabbed him and pulled him close, taking him into a tight embrace and a deep kiss. She was sure her parents were now gawking at this public display of affection, and it was perfectly natural since Shemei and Eric had only hooked up after her mother and father had been imprisoned. Shemei didn't care in the least. Her parents were safe, as was her boyfriend, and he had helped save them; that was all that mattered.

Eventually their lips parted, though Shemei refused to release her hold on Eric quite yet. Keeping her arms over his shoulders and around his neck, she stared deep into her lover's brown eyes.

"Eric," she said softly, "thank you… thank you."

The Wolf of the Far East smiled. "You're welcome, Shemei… though other than provide information to Waltfeld and helping to cover the escape, I didn't do much."

Shemei shook her head. "You're wrong, Eric. Without you, Waltfeld couldn't have launched this operation at all; he wouldn't have known what cell my parents were being held in. You gave him that information through your network of contacts; you made this possible, love."

Eric's smile became sheepish. "Shemei… much as I appreciate your praise, you're giving me too much credit; we both know who really made this operation possible."

Shemei nodded, knowing exactly who Eric was referring to. "You're right, but still, that doesn't change the fact that you played a crucial role in all this." She leaned in and gave him a quick kiss. "Thank you, my love."

Eric's smile grew at her words. "Anytime, Shemei."

The two of them then turned to her parents. "Mom, Dad," said Shemei, "I've told you about Eric before. He's one of my dearest friends… and my boyfriend; we got together after you were imprisoned. He… he helped me immeasurably when the two of you were taken; he gave me the strength to hold on… he gave me hope."

He mother and father nodded. "Thank you," said Akila, smiling, "I'm glad to know that our daughter found someone to comfort her in such a difficult time."

Her father didn't say anything, and for a moment Shemei was worried, but the she saw him smile at Eric, and she knew that there was nothing to fear. She would have to sit down sometime with Eric and her parents so she could properly introduce him to them, but for now this was enough.

Adjusting her position, keeping one arm around her lover, Shemei then turned to the other two members of her audience… one of which was the young man she knew had truly made her parents' rescue possible. Floating not too far away, holding onto the left arm of a lovely woman with a tall and curvaceous figure, light skin, brown hair, brown eyes, and wearing a white uniform… was Heero Yuy.

Shemei had caught a glimpse of the Gundam pilot's unique attire during their communiqués in the battle, but now she had the chance to look at him in his entirety. She was impressed to say the least; Heero cut a very sharp and imposing figure in his uniform, and Shemei realized that he had probably worn it to make an impression on her parents when he had made his attack on Charon Prison.

It would have an effect on mom and dad, she thought, especially dad. Combine that with Heero's personality, and it was probably what helped him get past my father's stubbornness and convince him and mother to go with him.

She could also tell that the extraordinary pilot was exhausted, though he was doing an admirable job of trying to hide it from the others. The main giveaway was how he was allowing the woman next to him to support him with her arm, but there were other signs as well. His forehead and hair were matted with sweat, his breathing was a little labored despite his efforts to keep it controlled and leveled, and she could sense the weariness in his demeanor.

It's only natural for him to be tired, she thought, challenging the Avalon Line, dodging fire from the battle-station, the fleet, the GINN squadrons, breaking into Aprillius One, rescuing my parents, fighting his way back out… I can't begin to imagine the toll that exerted on him. All I had to do was help the girls and the others keep the enemy off him, but even with our efforts he still faced the brunt of ZAFT's forces on the Avalon Line, particularly during his assault on the battle-station. He fought the hardest, took on the most risk… it's a miracle he hasn't collapsed by now. As it is, he's definitely feeling drained now; I'll bet the adrenaline let-down's hit him full force. To still be up after all he did today, to still be conscious now that the fighting is over… his endurance is amazing! The young man's exhaustion was more than understandable, and did nothing to detract from the powerful respect and admiration that Shemei had for her incredible rival and her parents' savior.

Releasing her hold on Eric, Shemei moved forward, placing herself in front of Heero and the woman beside him. Looking at the two of them, Shemei knew instantly that they were lovers; the way they stood together, the way they were smiling, left the Valkyrie with no doubt that they were romantically involved. Studying the woman, Shemei's eyes fell upon the blue stone that lay against her chest.

A Tear of Isis, she thought, recalling the meeting she'd had with Heero at Waltfeld's headquarters in Banadiya, Waltfeld said Heero had bought that for someone, and Heero said that it was a woman… I guess I know who she is now. I wonder… were they in love back then, or was their affection only in its early stages?

Her eyes met those of the Gundam pilot, and Shemei was struck by the strength she saw within them, especially in light of the exhaustion she knew he was holding back. It reminded her of the time that they had first met in person. However, there was something different about him now. The pain that she had seen lying behind that calm demeanor of his was diminished from what it had been. It was still there, in the form of a lingering regret for past actions, weariness from a lifetime of war, but it wasn't as sharp as it had been when Shemei had first caught a glimpse of it.

It's because of her, she thought, glancing again at the woman beside Heero, whatever burden he carries, he's shared it with her. She's supporting him, giving him strength when he needs it, a place to lay his head and rest from war, to take shelter from his demons. She's become to him what Eric has to me. Shemei had no factual evidence to base any of this off of; it was purely a gut feeling. Still, she had learned long ago to trust her intuition.

She turned back to Wing Zero's pilot, struggling to find words adequate to convey the gratitude she felt towards him. Shemei knew she owe him a debt that she could never truly repay… and yet, as she once again met his gaze, she felt as though Heero did not want her to feel indebted to him. He had not taken on such a dangerous mission just so she would owe him one; he had done it because he'd wanted to, because it was right.

In the end, all she could do was smile and bow her head. "Heero," she said softly, "I… thank you."

When she looked up she saw the Gundam pilot smile slightly in response and give her a small nod. "You're welcome, Shemei Rehema."

There was a moment of silence between the two of them before the Valkyrie turned to the woman standing next to him. "I think Heero mentioned you when we spoke in Banadiya," she said, "at least, I know he said he bought a Tear of Isis for a woman on the Archangel, and… well, you're wearing one now, along with an Alliance uniform." She held out her hand. "I'm Shemei Rehema, Commander of the Valkyrie Team… well, former Commander, anyway; pretty sure I don't hold my old rank now after hooking up with you guys."

"Perhaps not in the ZAFT forces now," said the woman as she took her hand in a gentle but firm grip, "but I have no doubt that your former subordinates would want you to lead them again as the Commander of their team in their future battles, as would the rest of us. I'm Murrue Ramius, Captain of the Archangel." She smiled at Shemei as she continued. "The lives of everyone on board this ship are my responsibility, and that now includes you, your parents, and Eric Bristow. I'm pleased to welcome you aboard, and I give you my word that you will all be safe and well treated during your stay on my vessel. I would be most grateful if you and Bristow would fly with Heero and my other pilots in our future engagements, but regardless if you do or not I want you to know that I will do all in my power to protect your mother and father. They are our guests, as are you and Bristow, and I will extend you all the same courtesy, respect, and care that I do the rest of the people on board the Archangel."

Shemei gave Murrue a slight bow. "Thank you, Captain Ramius. That… that means more to me than I could hope to adequately put into words."

"You're more than welcome, Miss Rehema," Murrue replied, "I can't begin to imagine the pain you suffered with the knowledge that your parents were being held hostage against you. Rest assured that none of us here will allow that to happen again; your mother and father are under our protection."

Shemei nodded before glancing at Eric, who gave her a smile. She then turned back to Murrue. "Captain Ramius, Eric and I would be honored to fight alongside you and your crew… though when the time comes that we must launch into battle, I would like to link up with my girls once they leave the Eternal."

"Of course, Miss Rehema," said Murrue, "I'm sure your subordinates will be thrilled to fight under your command again. I look forward to working with you and your team, as I'm sure everyone else on this ship does."

"No argument there," Heero chimed in, giving the Valkyrie a respectful nod.

Shemei returned the gesture before Eric spoke up. "Shemei will fly with her girls, Captain, but if you don't mind I'd like to focus my own efforts on covering this ship; my unit's unique design makes it an effective close-range interceptor."

"I'd appreciate that," Murrue replied, "the Buster is already acting in a defense/support role with the Archangel, but it was designed as an artillery unit; it lacks real close-range combat capabilities. Your mobile suit would be a most welcome escort for this ship, and would allow Heero, La Flaga, and Miss Rehema to focus their effort on taking the fight to the enemy. Thank you, Mr. Bristow."

"No problem," he replied, "and just call me Bristow, Captain; I was never really big on formality."

"Very well, Bristow," said Murrue.

"I look forward to working with you, Captain," said Eric before turning to Heero and giving him a slight smile, "along with you, Angel of Ruin."

Both Heero and Murrue raised their eyebrows, prompting a chuckle from Eric and an amused shake of the head by Shemei. "It's a nickname the soldiers of ZAFT have given you, Heero," said the Valkyrie, "one of several; you've got quite the reputation among our former comrades."

"I see," said Heero.

"I suppose that's natural, given his skills," said Murrue, her expression becoming serious, "but please, I would appreciate if you did not use that title for Heero, or any other that ZAFT may have come up with for him. Maybe it's just me, but I believe that using such monikers implies that Heero enjoys killing, and while he is indeed the deadliest soldier in the Earth Sphere I can assure you that he does not take the lives of his foes casually."

"Murrue," said Heero, "it's alright…"

Murrue shook her head. "No, it's not, Heero. You told me what you've been through, how long you've been fighting, and I've seen just how deeply it's scarred you. I know I can't stop our enemies from coming up with such dreadful nicknames for you, nor can I do so for our allies, but I can at least make sure that those on board my ship do not use them, at least not openly. Even if it's in praise of your abilities, I still don't like it; such monikers make you out to be a monster, a heartless killer, something I know you are not."

Shemei saw the Gundam pilot's eyes widen ever so slightly at her words, and she thought she saw the barest hint of red come to his face. "Murrue…" he said softly. After a moment he gave her a small smile. "Thank you."

Murrue responded by giving Wing Zero's pilot a quick kiss on the lips. "Anytime, my dear."

The lovely Captain then turned back to Shemei and Eric. "I know that the two of you would not use such nicknames for Heero in a disparaging way, and I can recognize that him earning them within your armed forces is a sign of how much they fear and respect his skills. I've spent enough time among pilots to know that most would view such titles as badges of honor… but I know that Heero does not. Please, I ask that you refrain from using such titles and monikers with regards to him."

Shemei looked at Eric and nodded, and the two of them then turned back to Murrue and Heero and bowed their heads slightly. "Of course, Captain Ramius," she said, "I never thought of it that way, but you're right; those monikers may be a sign of respect and fear for his abilities, but they are also dehumanizing, portraying a good man as a monster. I may hold a measure of pride for my own title, just as I know that Eric and Waltfeld have the same for their own… but I can understand and respect the fact that neither Heero nor you share that sentiment. I give you my word that I will not use any of them."

"Mine as well," said Eric, looking at Murrue and Heero, "forgive me. I suppose it's a bad habit of us soldiers, coming up with such names for our foes. I guess 'fighter culture' is a good way to put it, and it's really become part of being a pilot… but it's something we should learn to leave behind us. Mechanize warfare of this day and age can be… desensitizing. When us pilots we fight, we see the mobile suit or plane that our foe is using, or the vehicle that they're driving on the ground, or the ship that they're a crewmember of; it's all too easy to forget that inside those machines of war there are people like us, with their own hopes and dreams, their own family, friends… and someone that they hold more dear to them than anyone else."

"Thank you, both of you," said Murrue.

Shemei once again met Heero's gaze. "That being said, there's a very good reason why Heero earned such monikers within our armed forces… one I've had firsthand experience with. I'm not saying we do this today; I can tell how tired you are, and I certainly can't hold it against you after what you just did. However… we have a score to settle, and once you're rested up I want to get to it."

Heero nodded. "Agreed."

"Hold on a second," Murrue interrupted, "I understand the respect and admiration the two of you have for each other's skills, along with the fact that your last duel was inconclusive, but you're both on the same side now! There's no reason for you to fight each other, especially after what happened today!"

"She's right," said Soran, "Shemei, why must you push for this? You cannot fight against this young man after what he did for us today!"

"It would be a pointless fight!" Akila chimed in, "Dear, you mustn't! I know you told us how thrilled you were to find a pilot that could challenge you one-on-one, but please, let it go!"

"I can't," Shemei replied, keeping her gaze locked with Heero's, "I only survived our clash in North Africa because Heero let me go… because he respected my skills as much as I do his, and he wanted a fair fight between us to settle things. More importantly, when we finally got the chance to do so… I couldn't give him the fight he deserved. It shames me to say this, to use it as an excuse… but I couldn't go all out against him with the knowledge of your imprisonment hanging over my head… and Heero recognized that. Don't deny it, Heero; you held back in our last fight. I know how powerful your perception is; you knew I wasn't going all out, and you compensated accordingly."

Wing Zero's pilot nodded. "At first I was simply trying to judge the capabilities of your new machine, but as our duel went on I could tell that something was wrong. You weren't going all out, though I saw that you were trying to do so. It was only when I contacted the Eternal that I found out what the cause was. When I learned that your mother and father had been taken hostage… there was no way I could've given you my all after that; it wouldn't have been right."

"Had you done so you would've killed me there," said Shemei, "but you let me go, again. I'm grateful that you understood the situation, Heero, and that you saved my parents today… but I don't like owing people, nor accepting their pity. Because of that, I can't accept the outcome of our last fight… and somehow I get the feeling that you can't either."

Heero shook his head. "No… it wasn't how I wanted to defeat you. Normally I wouldn't care about such things; in battle I focus on destroying the enemy, accomplishing my mission, and protecting those I care about. That being said, fighting against you… it reminded me of a series of duels I'd had with a pilot back in my own world. He was my equal on the battlefield… the only one, in fact. Your skill approached his during the first two times we fought, and it was only because of the gap between our two machines that you couldn't last as long as he did in our duels. I meant it when I said that you're the second best I've ever fought, and it's a very close second. Even with your parents' imprisonment weighing down on you in our third battle, I could see that your skills had improved since our previous matches, and the technology of the Judgment brought you onto a much more level playing field with Wing Zero. Now that your parents are free, you can go all out… we both can."

"No, you can't!" cried Murrue, "You two can't put your lives on the line for the sake of settling this score!"

"She's right," Eric chimed in, "you two are the best pilots in our forces; we can't afford to lose even one of you! Not to mention that even if both of you survived the duel, the damage done to your machines would be severe, perhaps even catastrophic. Our resources are limited here, and we can't afford to use them to repair damage not resulting from either an accident or a battle with the enemy!"

"That goes even more so for Wing Zero," Murrue continued, "Heero, you know that we don't have any stores of Gundanium alloy or parts made of it in this world; severe damage done to your machine during the duel we could only fix using inferior components! That would weaken you at a time when we need you at your best!"

The Gundam pilot closed his eyes for a moment, and Shemei knew that he saw the validity of Murrue's argument… as did she. Both the Archangel's Captain and Shemei's lover were correct in the points they brought up, and the Valkyrie and her rival could both recognize that. Still… they couldn't just leave the score between them unsettled.

Then Eric smiled. "I've got an idea. Why don't we have a simulator duel? Shemei, I'm sure both you and Heero could work up ideal programs for you respective machines, and then you could link them up and have your fight! This way there's no unnecessary risk to pilot or machine!"

Murrue nodded. "I think that's a great idea, Bristow. I'm sure we could…"

"No."

Murrue and Bristow's eyes widened at Heero and Shemei's simultaneous rejection of their proposal. "Heero…" said Murrue.

"Shemei," said Eric, "what's the matter with you?"

"A simulation won't cut it," said the Valkyrie, "not for us. In our last three battles we fought with our lives on the line, skirting the razor-thin boundary between life and death. To settle our score, we can't have anything less."

"Exactly," said Heero, nodding, "Rehema, the last thing I want to do is fight you to the death… but without the danger that was inherent in our previous duels, our final match would lose weight, meaning… it wouldn't be what we've been waiting for."

"Well said, Heero," Shemei replied, "and I share your sentiment; I have no desire to take your life, nor lose my own… but I'm willing to risk death for the duel we've both longed for."

"Damn it," said Eric, shaking his head, "you two can't do this!"

"If you two went at it like that in your mobile suits," said Murrue, "with the power you both wield… it isn't worth it! Heero, please!"

Shemei could feel the desperation behind Eric and Murrue's pleas, and she was touched by her lover's concern, as she was sure Heero was by the lovely Captain's. She could see just how determined Eric was to keep her safe… and just how distressed her fixation on settling her score with Heero was making him. As she looked at Heero, she could tell that he was as conflicted as she was; he too wanted that final match, but seeing the worry that it was causing the woman he loved and hearing her desperate pleas was tearing at his heart.

I don't want to cause Eric pain, she thought, just as Heero no doubt wishes to spare Murrue heartbreak as well. Regardless… we have to do this; there's no way we can just let something like this lie unsettled. It'll eat at us, gnaw at the back of our minds, distract us… and that distraction could be more fatal than any duel between us.

At the same time though, Shemei was mindful of the earlier concerns both Eric and Murrue had raised regarding the damage that such a match would no doubt result in for the Judgment or Wing Zero, possible both depending on how the fight went. Their resources were limited out here, far too much so to spend them on a battle that wasn't critical to their efforts to bring the war to an end.

And that was when she saw it… and could've smacked herself for not noticing it earlier.

The saber at Heero's waist.

On any other person, Shemei would've taken such a weapon as a piece of decoration, even more so considering the classical nature of Heero's uniform. However, Shemei's intuition was telling her that the Gundam pilot would not wear a weapon that he could not use. She had already experienced firsthand his deadly skills with a beam saber, and though wielding a mobile suit's energy blade had more than its share of differences between it and more traditional sword fighting, there were also enough similarities in how the machines moved and how people fought that the skills required to fight with one style could carry over to the other. More than that, despite his weariness Wing Zero's pilot still carried himself with no small manner of confidence, and even though he was leaning on Murrue his stance still allowed for him to quickly transition and draw the blade if need be, and Shemei knew that it was no accident; it was quite deliberate on Heero's part.

She thought of the blade at the Gundam pilot's waist… and the one she had packed in the duffle bag when she had gotten Eric's message regarding the pending operation to free her parents.

The blade that now rested beneath the pilot's seat of the Judgment.

Feeling Heero's eyes on her, she raised her gaze to meet his own. There was a small smile on his face; he'd caught her looking at his saber.

The words were on the tip of her tongue; can you wield it as skillfully as you do your incredible machine?

As if reading her mind, Wing Zero's pilot gave her a small nod.

Yes.

Shemei returned the nod and the smile.

This was going to be fun.

"Eric, Captain Ramius?" she said, "I have a proposition for you…"

Preview for next time!

Going to ground after the raid on the PLANTs, the Three Ships Alliance takes shelter in the abandoned Mendel colony at L4. The derelict habitat still possess power and artificial gravity, making it an excellent place for Heero, Murrue, and the others to lie low and plan their next move…as well as the perfect ground to settle a score. Though it may not be in the manner that they had originally planned, the Perfect Soldier and the Valkyrie will find that their final duel will be everything that they desired. In a clash of courage and steel fueled by the utmost respect and admiration, with victory resting upon who can draw first blood, the rivalry born over the sands of North Africa will at last be settled. Next time, on "Journey to a New Battlefield", Episode Twenty-Two: Duel of the Last Knights.

Burning souls and cold blades… both will meet in a clash unlike any other.

One that means nothing... one that means everything.

Author's notes: Again, sorry this chapter took so long, I've been planning it for quite awhile, and I wanted to make sure I did it right. Plus, as I said earlier, things have been getting busy on my end, not just with class but also work… and a girlfriend, I'm pleased to say. Don't worry, I always take time to write a little bit every day, and I will continue to do so regardless of what life throws at me.

Indigo Team was based on the ace squadron of the same name from Ace Combat Zero.

As always, please review, and until next time my friends!