Gundam Wing: Destiny's Call

by operation meteor

Sequel to Journey to a New Battlefield. It's been two years since the Bloody Valentine War and tensions are rising. When a shadowy group attacks the colony of Armory One, a certain Gundam pilot takes to the battlefield once again. However, little to his knowledge, some old friends are on a journey to his new world. M for language and violence (again, it's war. What do you expect?)

3. Chapter 3

Author's Notes: All right, next chapter is up! The periods between releases should be getting longer from here on out; the plot's moving forward and more and more characters are taking the stage. I know you guys and girls are an eager bunch, but you also know how I work; long, detailed chapters at the price of a considerable wait time before updates.

Disclaimer since I haven't done it already in this fic; I don't own Gundam Wing, Gundam SEED, or Gundam SEED Destiny. This is something I'm writing because it's my idea of fun.

Two songs for the chapter, both from Gundam Wing: "When the Dragon Swims, Everything Ends" and "Searching for Peace's Buried Corpse".

Enjoy!

Episode Three: The Five Gods of War

"That idiot," Heero growled.

It was bad enough that Armory One was under attack by what he was pretty damn sure was an Earth Alliance black force. It was bad enough that Heero knew that Miriallia had been in the half of the colony that was attacked, operating as a Terminal spy, and had no idea if she was alive or dead. It was bad enough that the enemy had attacked on two fronts with a Mirrage Colloid-equipped battleship and a battle group concealed in the L4 debris field. It was bad enough that he had been forced to reveal himself and the Wing Zero Albion in order to intercept the stolen prototypes and was now locked in a fierce duel with an unknown mobile suit piloted by a very skilled and aggressive soldier.

Heero's entire mission, originally just an observation assignment, had become an utter fiasco.

And now an old friend, whom he had no idea had journeyed over to the Cosmic Era from his old world until just now, had the potential to turn things into a complete clusterfuck if Heero let him make another open channel broadcast.

Duo Maxwell's appearance on this battlefield, or anywhere in the Cosmic Era for that matter, had certainly not been on Heero's list of things that could happen today on this mission. From his very brief observation Heero could tell that the Deathscythe Hell had been upgraded, and Heero had a feeling it wasn't the only machine from his old war that had come over here. After all, where one Gundam pilot went, inevitably the others would find their way there.

Heero had just never considered that that could also apply to inter-universe travel.

Despite this completely unforeseen event and what it implied the Gundam pilot remained calm, his earlier utterance being the only sign of just how off guard this had taken him. Maintaining his focus here would be crucial, especially considering that he was still engaged in combat, and even though his enemy's mobile suit had lost one of its gunbarrel drones it still had three more and the rest of its arsenal to wield against him.

Thinking quickly, Heero sprang into action immediately. While parrying a beam saber strike from his violet adversary he sent off a quick tight-beam transmission to the upgraded Deathscythe Hell. It was not audio; it was just a very brief data packet with the encryption for a secure communications link.

Duo, Heero thought as he pulled away from his foe, deflecting a barrage of emerald beams and linear gun rounds with his energy shields, if you don't switch over to this channel I will kill you.

Gunning his engines, Heero went into a climb, his goal to put some distance between himself and his foe while putting himself into a better position to observe the rapidly shifting battlefield and formulate the best plan to move forward. With the combined power of its conventional thrusters and the Voiture Lumiere system the Wing Zero Albion was more than capable of outrunning its foe, but Heero didn't intend to completely break off his fight with the violet mobile suit; he was merely putting it on hold. Glancing over towards Duo's side of the fight, he saw that the enemy mobile suits had temporarily backed off the Minerva, no doubt evaluating this new arrival. It was a small favor that Heero would gladly take considering that he would need every second possible to come up with a plan and get Duo in on it, and he was expecting Deathscythe's pilot to get on the line with him very soon.

Sure enough, it did not take long for Duo to reply to Heero's burst transmission, and much to Heero's relief it was on the encrypted channel. The familiar face of the L2 native appeared on Heero's screen, and the Perfect Soldier mused that, much like himself, physically the God of Death hadn't changed much over the past two and a half years.

"Yo, buddy!" said Duo, "Quite the party you've got going on here!"

"What are you doing here?" asked Heero.

Duo chuckled. "Come on, man. It's been over two years and that's what you've got to say? We worked our butts off to find a way to come after you! Sheesh, talk about ungrateful."

Heero's eyes narrowed. "How many is 'we'?"

Duo shrugged. "Oh, just us four Operation Meteor alumni. Figured a class reunion was in order, if you get my drift."

"Where are they?" Heero asked, still ascending to stay ahead of his adversary's violet mobile suit.

Duo grinned. "Just at the edge of the battlefield. I'm the recon… and a happy little surprise for whoever's attacking this colony."

Heero nodded, a plan quickly forming in his mind. "We'll use this as our tactical channel. I'm sending you data on the forces both sides are using. Consider the ones defending the colony to be neutral for now; they're not my allies."

"Got it," Duo replied, "I'll tell the others to avoid hitting them unless they try something stupid."

"Good," said Heero, "For now, focus on securing the space around the colony and that battleship you just saved. Duo, whatever you do, do not call my mobile suit Wing Zero."

Duo raised an eyebrow. "What? Buddy, you may have upgraded it, but I know Wing Zero when I see it."

"I know," Heero replied, "but trust me; if the wrong people hear those two words it'll make things even more complicated. For now just call it the Albion; I'll explain everything later. Pass that on to the others."

His old friend still looked confused, but much to Heero's relief Duo nodded. "All right, Heero. You've been here for over two years, so the way I see it this is your turf. I'm sure there's one hell of a story behind all of this."

"I'll brief you when things calm down," said Heero, "You and the others concentrate your efforts against that battle group. Defend the colony and that battleship. I'll handle things over here. Do not make any more open channel broadcasts unless you absolutely have to."

Duo grinned. "You got it, buddy. Time to show these guys what a real party looks like."

Heero nodded. "Roger that. And Duo?"

"What's up?" he asked.

Heero gave him a very small smile. "It's good to see you again."

The gesture clearly took Duo aback, and Heero couldn't blame him. After all, none of his old friends knew just how much he had changed since he had left his old world.

Still, the God of Death did return the smile. "Same here, Heero. Deathscythe Omega, out."

So that's what it's called now, Heero mused as Duo disappeared from the screen, I'll have to pry the specs from him later. I'm sure it's not the only Gundam that's been upgraded since I left…

Confident that the tide was about to turn, Heero ceased his ascent and faced his oncoming enemy. He hit the thrusters, and on a wave of blue fire and azure light Wing Zero Albion shot towards its foe.

I don't know who you are, Heero thought as he weaved through a barrage of beams and linear gun rounds, swiftly closing the distance with his foe, but I'm going to assume that you know who I am. Well, guess what?

Four more of me just entered our battlefield!

….

Quatre Raberba Winner watched and listened as Duo wrapped up his very quick status report on Sandrock Saladin's monitor. "So that's the score. You guys got all that?"

His blue eyes narrowing as they looked past his platinum-gold bangs at his fellow Gundam pilot, Quatre nodded as he analyzed the situation. "I think so. Trowa, Wufei?"

"Affirmative," Trowa Barton replied.

"Copy that," said Chang Wufei.

Sandrock Saladin, Heavyarms Arsenal, and Altron Custom were all positioned above the unfolding battlefield, unnoticed by either side. At one part of the fight Quatre could see Heero's upgraded Wing Zero mixing it up with a violet machine with three remote-gun-drones that he had never seen before, while on Duo's end the enemy mobile suits that his earlier appearance had temporarily scared off had regrouped and were coming back in for another round. Meanwhile the nine warships that had come out of the nearby debris field were advancing, and Quatre knew that it would not be long until they got into firing range of both the battleship Duo was defending along with the hourglass-shaped colony.

"Here's a data packet that Heero sent me," said Duo, "It's got specs and IFF information on pretty much everyone on this battlefield."

Quatre nodded as his friend sent the data through, a plan already forming in his mind. "Okay. Wufei, go back up Duo and intercept mobile suits heading for that battleship and the colony. Trowa and I will take the fight to the enemy capital ships."

Wufei chuckled. "Figures that I'd have to bail his ass out."

"Hey!" snapped Duo, "I heard that, jackass!"

Quatre smiled at the banter. "Cool it, guys. Trowa, you ready?"

"I've got your back, Quatre," he replied.

"All right," said Quatre, "Let's move out!"

….

The entire bridge crew of the Minerva still seemed to be recovering from today's latest shock, namely the appearance of an unidentified stealth mobile suit that had just saved their lives. Meyrin definitely counted herself among that number; this was certainly not how she'd pictured her first battle going.

She and the others would have to recover quickly though, at least if a warning from the sensor operator was anything to go by. "Captain, the Dagger Ls have regrouped and are coming in for another attack! A reinforcement wave is joining them!"

Studying her display, Meyrin saw an alert on her console. "Captain, that black mobile suit in front of us is making another broadcast, and we've got a visual feed this time! It's a tight-beam directed right at us!"

Captain Gladys nodded. "Put it on screen, Meyrin."

She followed the order, and when the speaker appeared on the main monitor Meyrin was rather taken aback. The figure was male and clad in a black flight suit, but even through his helmet visor Meyrin could see a pair of charming blue eyes and a few bangs of brown hair, along with what looked to be a long braided tail at the edge. He had a relaxed smile on his face, and Meyrin was surprised to find herself thinking that this mysterious pilot was actually kind of cute.

She gave her head a small, furtive shake. Where had that come from? Now she was thinking like her older sister. It certainly wasn't professional, and if she wanted to survive here today Meyrin mentally told herself that she had to focus on the battle and not that cute guy up on the screen who had just saved her life.

"Look, we're on a tight schedule here, so I'll make this quick," said the stranger, "I'm here to help, and I've got some friends incoming who are here for the same. So, I'll make this simple; do anything stupid, and that help goes away. Also, I'll rip your ship a new one, or several new ones depending on how pissed off you make me. Later!"

"That insolent punk!" yelled Arthur as the stranger disappeared, "Who does he think he is?"

Whoever he is, thought Meyrin, I have to admit that he's got balls.

"Arthur," said the Captain, "that's enough! We have more important things to worry about right now."

The Minerva's XO nodded. "Yes, Captain."

"He mentioned that he had friends incoming," said Durandal, "Any sign of them?"

"Not yet, sir," replied the sensor operator.

"We can't make any assumptions about them," said Captain Gladys, "For now we continue on as before. Brace for mobile suit interception and prepare for long-range capital ship engagement!"

As Meyrin watched the black mobile suit move forward to engage a new squadron of Dagger Ls she looked frantically for her sister. She found Lunamaria's red ZAKU Warrior at the edge of the screen, its beam rifle and tomahawk raised and ready for action.

Please, be careful, sister, she thought, Don't you dare die on me!

….

"Here they come, Rey!" cried Lunamaria.

She tried to sound confident as the Dagger Ls made their approach, but in fact Lunamaria was anything but. The strange black mobile suit may have saved the Minerva and her sister but that did not change the fact that they were very much outnumbered. Also, as Lunamaria saw the black machine move forward it became apparent that its pilot would make no efforts to communicate with her or Rey to coordinate their actions; they would have to figure something out themselves.

"Lunamaria," said Rey, "cover the ship's left flank. I will focus on the right. It appears this stranger is intent on moving up the middle."

Lunamaria nodded, realizing Rey was right. "Okay."

Up ahead she saw the strange black mobile suit increase its acceleration, its emerald beam scythe blazing. Its bat-like wings folded back in to form a cloak, and when the Dagger Ls fired Lunamaria was stunned to see their beams get deflected. Narrowing her eyes she thought she could see sparks from some kind of energy field just above the black cloak.

An anti-beam cloak?, she thought, Why don't we have something like that?

When the mobile suit got close enough the cloak reopened and the machine made a broad swing with its scythe. Three Dagger Ls fell in that single swing, and in that instance Lunamaria felt that the mobile suit truly was a Grim Reaper.

The strange black machine didn't stop there. Its pilot hit the thrusters and the mobile suit moved with incredible speed and agility, weaving through additional enemy fire before taking down another Dagger L with its scythe. With another broad swing two more mobile suits fell before the self-proclaimed God of Death.

"Whoa…" she said softly, looking on in awe as the mechanical Reaper continued to cut a swath of destruction through the enemy ranks.

"Lunamaria, stay focused," Rey admonished her, "We've got incoming!"

She nodded, turning her rifle on a trio of Dagger Ls. "I see them!"

She cut loose with a burst of emerald fire, but the enemy machines quickly scattered. Bringing up her shield, Lunamaria blocked return fire before letting fly with another burst. This time her shots found their mark, and a Dagger L was cut down by particle beam fire. However, that still left two more in this group for her to take care of, and they didn't look like they intended to go easy on her.

As she brought her beam tomahawk up to block a saber strike she saw Rey was similarly engaged with another group of Dagger Ls. The white ZAKU Phantom had opened up with the missile launchers in its Blaze pack, letting loose a flurry of warheads. CIWS fire from Rey's foes took out some of the incoming warheads, but the barrage was still enough to take down two of the Dagger Ls.

Rey's got things covered on his end, she thought, Worry about your own fight!

She managed to push back one of her foes but as soon as she had done that the other was coming in for another saber attack. Lunamaria was barely able to turn around and meet her foe's strike, but she was unable to counterattack; once again the other Dagger L was moving in to flank her. Hitting her engines and climbing, she was able to evade the attack, but Lunamaria had to wonder just how long she could keep this up. Situations like this were why their lessons at the academy had stressed teamwork, but in the current situation it was all she and her comrades could do just to stay alive. The Minerva continued to pour CIWS fire and interceptor missiles into the fray, but Lunamaria knew that soon the battleship would be trading barrages with the incoming enemy battle group, and given the disparity of numbers she feared that the warship might not survive.

She squeezed off a few more beams, hoping to keep the enemy at bay while she formulated some sort of plan. The move only bought her a few seconds as the Dagger Ls scattered again but quickly regrouped and came right at her. Steeling herself, Lunamaria charged head-on at the one on the right, firing her rifle as she went. None of her shots connected, but they did keep her target on the defensive until she managed to close the distance and hack into it with her beam tomahawk.

"Gotcha!" she shouted as she cut through the Dagger L's torso and the mobile suit exploded.

Unfortunately, while she had destroyed her target, the other Dagger L had gotten into an ideal position for a flank attack and was already charging her, beam saber at the ready. Lunamaria moved to meet it, but she feared that she was already too late.

The enemy's violet blade was raised for a killing strike…

…and then an emerald serpent slammed into the machine from above.

Emerald serpent?, she thought numbly, blinking a few times as she watched the black Dagger L get destroyed, Wait… what the fuck?

She followed the green and yellow dragon-like device as it was pulled back upward, and what she saw took her breath away.

"No way…" she said softly.

Start "When the Dragon Swims, Everything Ends"

It was a predominantly green mobile suit, one that looked to be outfitted entirely for close-quarters-combat. That dragon-like weapon that Lunamaria had just watched save her life was actually one of a pair, with each device mounted on one of the mobile suit's arms. An emerald double-bladed beam trident was ignited in its right arm, and streams of blue fire were pouring from what looked like very powerful thrusters mounted on the machine's back.

She watched in awe as the emerald beast shot forward with blinding speed, charging headlong into a group of Dagger Ls. The enemy machines opened up with a hail of particle beams, but this new mobile suit put on a display of agility that Lunamaria could only marvel at. Those few beams that posed a direct threat to the unit were blocked by those two large dragon heads, which Lunamaria guessed were heavily reinforced to serve as both offensive weapons and shields for times like this.

Then the strange green mobile suit reached an appropriate range for its beam trident and began tearing into the Dagger Ls. The mobile suit whirled the weapon with speed and grace, swiftly slicing one Dagger L in half before spearing another in the cockpit. Both dragon-like weapons flew forth again, each one biting a Dagger L with its fangs and crushing it.

Lunamaria instinctively moved forward to back up this mysterious newcomer, although it appeared that her help was not needed. The new mobile suit was on a roll, having cut down two more Dagger Ls with its emerald double-bladed beam trident in the span of mere seconds. It weaved through enemy counter fire with incredible maneuverability and looked less like a mobile suit and more like some ancient Chinese warrior.

"Hey!" Lunamaria shouted over the radio, "Who are you?"

A male voice replied, one that sounded both surprised and irritated. "A woman? I should've known…"

That hadn't been the response she'd been expecting. "Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

"Stay with the ship," the voice replied, "You'll just get in my way."

He may have just saved her life, but now this guy was really starting to tick her off. "That's bull! You'd better take that back!"

The rude pilot just ignored her and continued to rip his way through the pack of Dagger Ls. One mobile suit after another fell to the swirling emerald energy prongs of the double-bladed trident, while the twin dragon-like weapons flew forth and crushed any machine unfortunate enough to get caught in their fangs. The emerald mobile suit was carving a path of destruction towards the black machine with the beam scythe, and Lunamaria realized that the two units were probably on the same side.

She just wished she knew for sure if that side also included her side.

"Lunamaria," said Rey, "pull back! You're moving too far forward."

Checking her position, she realized that her friend was right. Still, she didn't feel right about backing down after what that other pilot had said to her.

"The enemy's caught up with those two new guys," she said, "We should move up!"

"No," said Rey, "Our orders are to defend the Minerva, Lunamaria. Whatever those two unknowns are doing doesn't change that. We have to follow our orders."

Lunamaria sighed. Rey was right, and she knew it, but she wished that he could show a little more independence and willingness to bend the rules.

"Fine," she said, "I'm pulling back."

As she did so she couldn't help but notice that the orders that her and Rey had been given seemed pretty pointless now. Just like she'd told her friend before, all of the Dagger Ls were now focused on fighting the black and green mobile suits… and doing a piss poor job of it.

Damn, she thought as she watched the show, Where were these guys when the attack started? They're tearing it up out here!

The twin-dragon machine and the mechanical Grim Reaper were utterly mauling the Dagger Ls. While both units were clearly designed for close-quarters-combat the lack of more distance-oriented weaponry did not seem to be a detriment to their performance. Both were fast and agile, and while the green mobile suit seemed to have an edge speed-wise the black machine was no slouch either. Between the broad scythe swings of the black mobile suit and the whirling double-bladed trident and flying dragon-heads of the green one the two of them were eviscerating the unidentified attacking squadrons.

The black machine brought its wicked beam scythe down in a vertical slice, cutting a Dagger L in half. Prongs from one side of the other unit's beam trident speared another mobile suit through the cockpit. A wide slash with the beam scythe cut down two more mobile suits, while an unleashed dragon-head crushed another and a whirling beam trident destroyed a fourth machine.

Well, she thought, I guess they don't need our help. It's a bit annoying, though… who does that guy think he is?

It was a weird sensation, being irritated at someone who had just saved her life. She hoped she'd get a chance to talk to whoever he was at the end of the fight; she had a few choice words for him about his attitude.

As she resumed her position alongside the Minerva Lunamaria made sure to stay out of the way of the warship's heavy artillery. The enemy mobile suits may have had other things to worry about than attacking ZAFT's newest ship, but the battle group that had launched those machines was still approaching, and Lunamaria didn't want to get caught in the crossfire when the heavies started trading salvos. A Nazca-class destroyer and a Laurasia-class frigate had now joined up with the Minerva, but even with those reinforcements the outcome was still far from certain.

We're not out of this yet, she thought, I just hope the Minerva's as tough as the top brass think she is…

End "When the Dragon Swims, Everything Ends"

….

From the command chair of the Black Fleet Agamemnon-class carrier Robert E. Lee Captain Jeb Stuart scowled as he watched the unfolding battle. The middle-aged commander of Force Alpha had been expecting his mobile suits to carve up ZAFT's new battleship while his group moved on to bombard Armory One. Instead his squadrons, every single pilot a veteran of the last war, were getting torn to shreds by two new model mobile suits that had seemingly dropped in from out of nowhere.

Intel dropped the ball big time on this one, he mentally fumed, New machines beyond those officially being developed at this colony and a reborn Wing Zero? The Colonel had better make some heads roll for this fiasco…

Of course, that thought assumed that Colonel Nazara would survive the encounter, and given his opponent that outcome was hardly guaranteed. The Nosferatu was one of the most advanced mobile suits in Phantom Pain's arsenal, and the Colonel was a highly skilled pilot, but he was now engaged in a duel with a living legend.

One that, if rumor was anything to go by, had actually defeated Nazara in the final battle of the last war.

The duel between the Nosferatu and the upgraded Wing Zero was fascinating, but Captain Stuart had more pressing matters to attend to. Since the mobile suit attack on the new battleship had been thwarted and the enemy vessel had since been joined by a destroyer and a frigate Force Alpha could no longer attempt to bypass their adversary and strike the colony directly. They would have to contend with the enemy warships, and the Captain wanted them out of the way immediately.

"Have the Typhoons split into groups of three and form a pincer," he ordered, "They'll hit the enemy group simultaneously with a torpedo spread. Our battleships and this vessel will maintain heading and commence bombardment of the new battleship once the torpedoes are away."

Watching the forward destroyers begin to divide into their two groups, Captain Stuart folded his arms and smiled. Soon he would crush the Coordinator defenses and clear the way to destroy Armory One. A success like that would land him a promotion for sure.

He was still imagining the new rank insignia when the bridge of the destroyer Longstreet was blown apart by two yellow beams.

His eyes widened in shock. "Where did that come from?"

"Two new contacts coming in from above, Captain!" shouted the sensor operator.

"Get them on screen!" Captain Stuart ordered.

The image on the main monitor shifted and showed the two new mobile suits coming in from on high. One had two gatling guns on the right arm and two beam cannons on the left and had a dark blue design, while the other had two large, curved blades and was covered in a tan cloak, though hints of light blue and white were visible. Even with their unique traits, though, the Captain could still make out some similarities between these two units and the mobile suits that were ripping apart Force Alpha's Dagger Ls. More disturbing was the fact that they all bore some hints of resemblance to Wing Zero.

Mother of god, he thought, Don't tell me there's more from where that Demon came from…

His previous orders were suddenly meaningless. If these two machines were anything like the ones mauling his Dagger Ls, let alone Wing Zero, then his priorities had just dramatically shifted.

"Recall all mobile suits at once!" he ordered, "All ships are to bring every gun available to bear on those units! Take them down no matter what the cost!"

God help us, he thought numbly, It may already be too late…

….

Start "Searching for Peace's Buried Corpse"

"Nice shot, Trowa," said Quatre.

Heavyarms Arsenal's opening salvo had been well placed. With its bridge destroyed the black destroyer at the far right edge of the enemy formation was falling away. The rest of the capital ships were frantically maneuvering to target the two Gundam pilots, but with their mobile suits tied up engaging Duo and Wufei Quatre knew that he and Trowa had the freedom to tear right into the vessels before them.

"Thanks," said Trowa, "I'm moving on to the next destroyer."

Quatre nodded. "I'll hit the larger ships to the rear. Be careful!"

The two Gundams split up, with Heavyarms Arsenal already zeroing in on another destroyer while Quatre dived towards one of the larger battleships. Thanks to the data Heero had sent by way of Duo he had already analyzed the bulky warship's firing arcs and knew exactly how to hit it.

Hitting his thrusters, Quatre swooped in along the battleship's upper deck. His first target was the battleship's forward turret, which he sliced clean through with his Heat Shotels. Flying right along the hull, an impossible target for the anti-air machine guns to track, Quatre repeated the process with the larger beam turret just in front of the bridge. Once again his Heat Shotels cut through the weapon like butter, and as it exploded Sandrock Saladin moved in on the bridge. Raising both weapons high, Quatre brought them down hard on the battleship's command center, cleaving two superheated gashes into it and ripping it apart.

Sandrock wasn't originally designed as an anti-ship weapon, he thought as he pulled back and the vessel began to drift, It's a good thing I know how to improvise. Okay, next target!

Moving in on the second battleship, Quatre decided to alter his attack vector and went for the bottom of the vessel. As he weaved through anti-air fire he saw Trowa pummel another black destroyer, ripping into the missile launchers mounted on the vessel's starboard side with his twin gatling guns and detonating them like firecrackers. Heavyarms Arsenal followed that up by raking the destroyer's upper decks, blasting the heavy beam turrets mounted their before blowing apart the bridge before moving on to the next ship in line.

Confident that Trowa had things in hand on his end, Quatre rushed in and sliced through the bottom turret of his targeted battleship. Moving from there towards the ship's rear, he brought his Heat Shotels up and carved into the vessel's large engines. A series of explosions ripped through the rear of the ship as Quatre pulled back before climbing until he was over the ship's upper deck. He then sliced into the rear beam turret before cutting into the bridge from behind.

"Quatre," said Trowa, "We're about to have company."

Checking his sensors, Quatre immediately saw what his fellow Gundam pilot was referring to. Some of the enemy mobile suits had managed to disengage from fighting Duo and Wufei and were heading back to help the warships. Quatre wasn't too worried about them, though; their numbers weren't sufficient enough to be a threat to him and Trowa, plus he knew that he could take down one more warship before they managed to get back here.

"Okay," he replied, "I'll hit the carrier back here and then move up to help you out!"

"Copy that," said Trowa as he bombarded his third destroyer with gatling and beam fire, along with several homing missiles.

Charging the carrier head on, Quatre weaved through the barrage of emerald beams and the streams of bullets from the ship's CIWS. Coming in mere meters over the upper hull, he carved first into the starboard beam turret and then the second one before moving up towards the bridge. Gunning his thruster, he brought his two Heat Shotels up and cleaved right through the carrier's command center.

"Carrier's out of the fight," said Quatre as he turned around, "Hang on, Trowa! I'm coming to back you up!"

End "Searching for Peace's Buried Corpse"

…

Well, thought Heero, it's nice to see that they haven't lost their touch.

Even as he continued his duel with the violet mobile suit with the gunbarrels the Perfect Soldier was able to spare the occasional glance over at his fellow Gundam Pilots' part of the battlefield. What he'd seen had not disappointed him. His old friends had clearly maintained their skills, and their upgraded mobile suits were even deadlier now than they had been in their old campaigns.

He turned his attention back to his foe, who was once again charging at him with its three remaining gunbarrels released and ready. Heero moved to meet the attack head on, rapidly closing the distance and weaving through beam and linear gun fire before lashing out with his emerald blade. The two beam sabers met and sparks of energy flew, but even as the blades came together Heero knew that his foe was bringing the gunbarrels around to flank him. It was a move that the veteran pilot was more than ready for. Quickly breaking off, Heero lashed out with his beam saber and cut through the mobile suit's upper left gunbarrel pod, leaving only the bottom two gun-drones left to deal with.

Fool, Heero thought as he pulled away, blocking beam fire and linear rounds with his energy shields, I've faced a foe with a similar setup before. In fact, since his had DRAGOONs it was actually harder to deal with since those are smaller and more maneuverable. Your gunbarrels are big, fat targets by comparison.

His foe was skilled, there was no denying that, but Heero knew that he was the one who had the upper hand in this fight. As he put some distance between himself and the other machine the Perfect Soldier raised the Twin Buster Rifle and cut loose. The enemy managed to evade the blast, but that was fine with Heero; it kept his adversary on the defensive as he once again rushed in to attack with his beam saber. Pouring power to his conventional thrusters and the Voiture Lumiere system, Heero rapidly closed the distance while evading another barrage of particle beams and linear gun slugs before once again crossing blades with his foe.

The beam sabers met in a clash of energy and light before Heero pulled back to avoid getting caught in a gunbarrel pincer. His foe opened up with the two remaining gunbarrels, its beam rifle, and linear guns, but Heero had already brought his two outer wings around and activated their energy shields. They were getting quite a workout today, and he made a mental note to congratulate Erica Simmons on the work she had done on them; they were performing excellently.

He decided to put a little more distance between himself and his foe in order to give himself a bit of room to observe the rapidly shifting battle. What he saw gave him mixed feelings.

His fellow Gundam pilots were continuing to rip into the force that had launched its surprise attack from the L4 debris field. Some of the Dagger Ls that Duo and Wufei had engaged earlier had managed to break off and rush to the aid of the three remaining Typhoon-class destroyers, but they were swiftly intercepted by Trowa and Quatre. The new Sandrock and Heavyarms were having little difficulty with the mobile suits, tearing them apart with gatling and beam fire from the latter and swinging Heat Shotels from the former.

At the same time Heero could see the new battleship Minerva, along with the destroyer Neil deGrasse Tyson and the frigate Fermi, finally open up with their big guns on the three remaining black warships. The Minerva led the barrage with her bow-mounted Tannhäuser Positron Blaster Cannon, and a tide of crimson energy plowed into the lead Typhoon-class destroyer and blew it apart. Meanwhile the Tyson and the Fermi were cutting loose with their main beam cannons, and their combined barrage ripped into another black destroyer and tore it in half. The final destroyer was already turning tail, but it didn't get far; fire from the Minerva's Tristan beam cannons and Isolde Triple Cannon hammered its engines, and the vessel was consumed by a series of explosions.

That stealth battleship will be retreating now, he thought, and unless we capture it we'll have no way to definitively prove who was behind this attack.

Said battleship was already moving to withdraw. The ZAFT warships that had moved to engage it earlier were all either destroyed or crippled, and the few GuAIZ Rs and ZAKUs that tried to disable its engines were beat back by the four Dagger Ls the warship had launched earlier. The stolen Gaia was nowhere to be seen; it had already been retrieved by the unidentified battleship. Meanwhile the other unknown mobile suit, the one with the beam katana, was still engaged with the Impulse, and while an amateur observer might think that the duel between the two machines was even Heero's expert eyes could tell that the unknown unit actually had the upper hand.

Deciding that he had seen enough, Heero gunned Wing Zero Albion's engines and rushed toward his foe, working his way through a hail of energy beams and linear gun rounds as he went. It was time to end this duel.

….

Colonel Nazara snarled as he once again crossed beam sabers with the upgraded Wing Zero. No matter what attack he tried he just could not make any headway in this duel, and in fact he was actually on the defensive. Nosferatu had been reduced to two gunbarrels, and while it still had the rest of its weapons the Colonel already knew that this would not be enough to defeat his foe. Even in his fury he retained enough sense to realize that further engagement, both in this duel and in the larger battle, would not be productive.

It can't be helped, he thought as he used his gunbarrels to force his enemy to pull back, It's time to retreat.

However, just because a retreat was necessary did not mean it would be easy. The ongoing duel had given Nazara a good taste of Wing Zero's upgrades, and among them apparently was a considerable boost in speed. Nosferatu was among the fastest mobile suits in Phantom Pain's arsenal, but the Colonel knew that it could not outrun his current adversary. A diversion would be in order to cover his retreat, and fortunately Nazara knew just where to find one.

He got on the radio and contacted the leader of the Girty Lue's four Dagger Ls. "Lieutenant Pulaski, bring your squad over here at once. You and your men are to keep Wing Zero at bay while our force withdraws!"

Even a fool would realize that those orders were a death sentence in all but name, but Nazara knew that the Lieutenant was a model Alliance officer who would not question the commands given to him by a superior officer.

Sure enough, mere seconds later came Pulaski's dutiful reply. "Understood, Colonel. We're inbound. We'll be there soon."

Excellent, thought the Colonel as he opened fire on Wing Zero with every weapon that still worked, only for the mobile suit to either deflect or evade every shot, That just leaves one more matter to attend to….

He briefly turned his gaze towards another duel that was unfolding not too far away. Despite his personal distaste for the mercenary he knew that he would need Jetstream Sam's help in any future engagements with these new foes. Like it or not he could not expend him in a rearguard action; he needed the Ronin to pull out with him.

"Minuano," he said, "disengage. We're withdrawing."

….

Shinn Asuka was in trouble.

Impulse remained undamaged as it continued its contest with the mechanical samurai, but its foe was also unharmed. Despite the talent that his instructors at the academy had heaped so much praise on Shinn was unable to land a single blow on his opponent. Neither beam saber or beam rifle could connect, and this was despite the fact that his enemy did not have a shield like he did.

Once again beam saber and katana crossed, and once again Shinn was unable to break through his foe's guard. He tried to pull back and fired a volley from his rifle, but the enemy was able to evade the shots and rapidly closed the distance with him. The enemy raised its sword and brought it down in a hard vertical chop, and Shinn was barely able to block the blow.

His enemy's voice came over the radio, as infuriatingly cocky and relaxed as ever. "Your technique lacks something, and it's not just experience."

"Shut up!" Shinn snarled as he attempted to counter with a thrust only for the enemy to dodge it.

His foe chuckled as he lashed out with a slash, keeping Shinn on the defensive. "Come now, you sound more like a petulant child than a soldier. Are you going to fight or throw a tantrum?"

"I said shut up!" Shinn shouted as he lashed out with his violet blade.

Unfortunately he'd made his strike rashly and his foe made him pay for it. Even as Shinn was making his attack the black and red mobile suit made one of its own; a swift and precise slash that cut right through Impulse's sword arm.

"Shit!" Shinn cried, pulling back and firing away with his beam rifle.

It was to no avail. The enemy pressed the assault, dodging the particle beams like they were tennis balls before launching a down-up slash. Shinn was able to avoid taking the full impact, but the violet energy edge of the katana grazed the Impulse's torso before slicing out the left sensor eye.

"This is what happens when you bring a temper tantrum to a sword fight!" his foe taunted, "If talent and anger are all you have then you'll never be a match for me."

"Fuck off!" Shinn yelled as he fired again with his rifle.

Once again his foe evaded the shots and came in for another strike. With another slash from its beam katana it cut right through Impulse's rifle, and the weapon detonated in the mobile suit's hand.

Shinn reflexively opened fire with his CIWS, and for once his shots found their mark, but the effort was pointless; with his foe being protected by Phase Shift Armor the bullets may as well have been spitballs. Impulse was wide open for attack, and the enemy wouldn't get a cleaner shot than this.

Yet to Shinn's amazement his foe did not move in for the killing strike. Instead he saw the mobile suit turn towards the withdrawing Bogey One.

His foe chuckled. "Heh, lucky devil. Sayonara!"

With that the black and red mobile suit gunned its engines, retreating towards Bogey One and rapidly leaving the crippled Impulse in the dust.

"Damn it," Shinn hissed before slamming his fists against the controls, "Damn it! He beat me and quit!"

….

"Captain, Impulse is badly damaged!" cried Meyrin, "Shinn needs to return to the ship at once!"

Talia nodded; she had just witnessed the Impulse's defeat on her monitor and was surprised that the enemy had not finished it off.

"Get him back here," she ordered, "Have the crews ready to commence immediate repairs!"

The best of our prototype units, she thought grimly, and one of our most promising new pilots… beaten so easily.

She was glad that Shinn was still alive and the Impulse was at least in a repairable state, but his loss in the duel with the black and red machine felt like just the latest slap in the face ZAFT had received since the start of this battle. Three intruders stealing advanced prototypes and running amok inside Armory One, Bogey One decloaking and annihilating one of the new Hel-class cruisers before proceeding to maul the rest of the colony's patrol screen, an entire battle group somehow infiltrating the L4 debris field and then launching a flank attack on ZAFT's local forces, the revival of Wing Zero before it subsequently made mincemeat out of two of the stolen units, the arrival of four new machines that had proceeded to seemingly effortlessly stop the force engaging the Minerva in its tracks where the ship and her mobile suits had been in a fight for their lives…

It was just one embarrassment and fiasco after another in this battle.

The four unique, new mobile suits that had intervened against the surprise battle group and saved the Minerva were in the process of mopping up the last of the Dagger Ls. Shinn's foe was retreating towards Bogey One, which was also in the process of pulling away from the battlefield. Talia could see Wing Zero still engaged with the violet machine from before, and the Dagger Ls that had been defending Bogey One were now rushing over to join the fight.

The mobile suit opposing Wing Zero must be piloted by an important officer, she thought, Those four machines must be trying to provide cover for their superior while they retreat.

"Are any of the Dagger Ls from the L4 force coming towards us?" she asked.

"Negative," replied the sensor officer, "It looks like those four new machines are almost done with them."

"Where did those things come from?" asked Arthur, "Chairman Durandal, are you sure that they are not ours?"

Looking behind her, Talia saw Durandal nod. "I can assure you that if there were new ZAFT mobile suits beyond those being developed at Armory One operating in this area you would've been informed. The origins of those four machines are as big a mystery to me as to the rest of you."

Talia had mixed feelings about that. On the one hand it was nice to know that the Chairman wasn't holding out on them, but that just raised further questions about where those four strange mobile suits had come from and what the intentions of their pilots were.

It's like Wing Zero in the last war all over again, she thought with a shudder, Heaven help us if those four machines are from whatever program that spawned that thing…

"Helm," she said, "Take us towards the Impulse. As soon as it's aboard alter course to pursue Bogey One. No matter what happens we cannot let it escape! Lunamaria and Rey will go with us and continue to act as escorts. Signal the Tyson and Fermi; they are to remain with the colony and be on the lookout for any other attackers!"

"Captain," said Arthur, "What about those four new models?"

"Are they moving to engage us?" she asked.

"No, Captain," her XO replied, "They're still mopping up the last of the Dagger Ls."

"Then we'll leave them to that," said Talia, "Let's move it, people! This battle isn't over yet!"

….

Weaving through a fresh barrage of particle beams and linear gun rounds from his foe, Heero brought up the Twin Buster Rifle and swiftly retaliated. The blast of golden-yellow hellfire tore across space, and while it failed to eliminate his foe the edge of the wave of energy did catch the lower right gunbarrel and destroy it. Now the unit only had one of the devices left and would be much easier to contend with.

You're good, he thought as he rapidly closed the distance and lashed out with his beam saber, but you're no Cipher.

The larger battle seemed to be winding down, but Heero couldn't pay it much heed at the moment. His enemy was damaged, but it wasn't defeated just yet.

As he crossed energy blades with his foe once again Heero couldn't help but feel like he should know this foe. While the mobile suit itself was a new model there was something faintly familiar in the way its pilot fought. The Gundam pilot couldn't place what that was and decided that for now it was just a distraction; he could worry about it after the enemy was defeated.

While pulling back and evading another volley of energy beams and linear slugs an alarm went off from Heero's sensors. Checking the display, he saw the four Dagger Ls that had been defending the unidentified battleship rapidly closing in on his position.

Two standard Dagger Ls and two with Doppelhorn packs, he thought, They must be coming to bail this guy out.

The newcomers would be in firing range soon. Heero would have to wrap this up quickly.

Heero opened fire again with his rifle. The shot didn't connect but it did force his foe to dive and stay on the defensive. Heero hit his thrusters and rocketed forward. Swiftly closing the gap he made a horizontal slash at his foe. The enemy blocked the attack, but with only one gunbarrel drone to worry about now it was much easier for Heero to follow up that strike with another. His foe managed to deflect this blow as well before opening fire with the gunbarrel drone, but Heero had already moved away and was able to evade the shots from the weapon.

The Gundam pilot prepared to evade another barrage from his enemy's remaining weapons, but to his surprise his foe simply sent the sole gunbarrel drone charging right at him. At the same time Heero detected an energy spike within the device, and he immediately brought Wing Zero Albion's outer wing around and activated their shields. The move hadn't come a moment too soon; when the gunbarrel got into close proximity it actually detonated.

A self-destruct mechanism in the weapon, he thought, Now that's a new trick.

The blast hadn't penetrated the shields, but it had bought his foe some breathing room. Heero was about to retake the offensive when he was forced to go evasive to dodge beam fire and recoilless cannon fire; the four Dagger Ls had entered the fray. Meanwhile the mobile suit Heero had been fighting was moving as fast as it could towards the unknown battleship. Ahead of it was the black and red machine that had been fighting the Impulse, and with a quick glance at his sensors Heero found the damaged ZAFT prototype limping back to the Minerva. It looked to be completely disarmed of its main weapons, and the Gundam pilot wondered why the attacker hadn't finished it off.

As he continued to dodge fire from the four Dagger Ls, Duo appeared on his monitor. "Yo, buddy! We're almost done over here! What do you want us to do after we wrap things up with the small fry?"

Glancing over their way Heero could see his old friends annihilating what was left of the force that had emerged from the L4 debris field. Deathscythe Omega sliced a Dagger L in half with its wicked beam scythe. Altron speared another machine through the cockpit with its beam trident. Sandrock ripped a third unit apart with its Heat Shotels while Heavyarms shredded a fourth machine with gatling fire.

"When you're done there go attack the retreating battleship," he said, "Disable its engines; we need it intact so we can get information."

"You got it!" Duo replied.

Leaving his old friends to finish up their fight, Heero turned his focus back to the four Dagger Ls attacking him. He'd spend enough time dodging fire; it was time to return it in kind. Sighting in on one of the standard Dagger Ls, Heero cut loose with Wing Zero Albion's machine cannons. The barrage of shells ripped apart the black mobile suit, but there were still three more units to contend with.

The two Doppelhorn Daggers kept their distance and unleashed a bombardment of shells while the other Dagger L attempted to use their support fire to cover its attempt to take him out up close. Heero responded simply by climbing above all three units before opening up with his rifle. The blast of energy obliterated one of the Doppelhorn Daggers. Weaving through fire from the remaining two mobile suits, Heero took Wing Zero Albion into a dive. Approaching the standard Dagger L at lightning speed, the Gundam pilot cut the machine in half.

The final Dagger L pulled back, firing its cannons as it went. For Heero it was all too easy to evade its fire before returning in kind with his two railguns. A single salvo was enough to destroy the mobile suit.

That takes care of the small fry, he thought, Time for the big one.

….

Having just landed inside the Girty Lue's hangar, Nazara immediately radioed the bridge.

"Status report."

"We're outbound," Captain Lee replied, "but I'm afraid our Dagger Ls didn't buy as much time as we'd hoped for."

"Send me a visual," said Nazara.

Studying the Nosferatu's display as the bridge transmitted the data to him, the Colonel saw that both Wing Zero and the four new machines had completely wiped out the last of the group's Dagger Ls and were all heading for the Girty Lue. ZAFT's new battleship was also in pursuit, but Nazara considered that a secondary threat when compared to the five mobile suits that had just utterly wrecked his force.

"We'll have to cut this closer than we'd originally planned," he said, "Are the external fuel tanks ready for detachment?"

"Yes, Colonel," Captain Lee replied.

Nazara nodded. "Good. Detonate them ten seconds after detachment and activate the Mirage Colloid."

"Colonel," the Captain replied cautiously, "detonation at that proximity is short of the minimum safe distance. The shock wave…"

"I know the risks," Nazara cut in, "and I consider them less than the risk of Wing Zero getting us in its sights. Follow your orders, Captain."

"Understood, sir," came the Captain's grim response, "You'd better brace yourself."

….

"So, Heero," said Duo, "How do you want to play this?"

His old friend's upgraded Wing Zero was still a ways out in front of Deathscythe Omega and the other three Gundams, but they were making process. Duo and the others had already passed up the Minerva and were following Heero as he pursued the fleeing battleship. It would only be a matter of seconds until they caught up with him and the warship.

The Perfect Soldier appeared on his screen. "I'll start by hitting the starboard engines. Trowa can take the portside ones when he catches up. The rest of you focus on taking out the ship's heavy weapons. Once it's disarmed and immobile I'll blast us a path inside through the forward mobile suit catapults."

Duo grinned. "Sounds like a plan to me. You guys get all that?"

"Affirmative," said Trowa.

"We're almost there!" cried Quatre.

"Ready when you are," said Wufei.

His eyes focused on the target up ahead, Duo pushed Deathscythe Omega's engines as hard as they could go, and he knew his friends were doing the same with their Gundams. The unidentified blue battleship grew steadily larger on his monitor, and he could see Heero already setting up for his attack run.

Suddenly he saw Wing Zero stop in its tracks and rapidly begin to pull back. "Get back! They're dropping their external fuel tanks!"

Duo's eyes narrowed as he saw two bulbous components detach from the sides of the ship. He immediately brought his machine to a halt and slammed on the reverse thrusters. "Shit! Haul ass, guys!"

All five Gundams flew away from the battleship and the two floating tanks as fast as they could. Duo braced himself for the inevitable detonation, which came mere seconds later.

A massive blast of fire lit up space around them. Deathscythe Omega was buffeted by a heavy shockwave, but the Gundam remained intact. The explosion was so bright that it almost shorted out the mobile suit's visual sensors.

"Damn," Duo growled as he struggled to find the ship through the chaos.

The blast quickly began to fade, but there was no sign of the warship. It must have activated its cloaking device during the explosion.

"You guys see anything?" he asked.

"Nothing," Heero replied, "So much for getting information out of them."

"They can't have gotten far," said Quatre, "Heero, does their trajectory before the blast mean anything to you?"

A moment later Heero responded. "That's towards the orbital Debris Belt. It's as good a place as any to hide out for a while after an attack like this, although since they're using Mirage Colloid we have no way of knowing if they'll keep to that course or alter their trajectory."

"So we really have lost them, then," said Trowa.

"What's our next move?" asked Wufei, "That other battleship's coming up on us pretty fast."

Wufei was right; the Minerva would be right on top of them real soon. While Duo assumed the fact that the battleship hadn't backstabbed him after he had saved it meant that he and the others had earned some goodwill, there was no way to know just how long it was good for.

"Heero," he said, "it's your call. What's our move?"

There was a moment of silence before Heero answered. "Hold tight. I've got an idea."

….

Meyrin breathed a sigh of relief when the blast faded and Bogey One was nowhere to be seen. It wasn't that she was glad the enemy had escaped. Of course she wanted to help capture or destroy whoever had attacked Armory One. However, after all that had happened in that battle, she was more than ready for a break in the action.

Glancing behind her, it was hard to tell what the Captain's thoughts were. She looked conflicted to say the least. If Meyrin had to guess, she'd put it around fifty-fifty; half relief, half frustration.

It wasn't hard to see why. Yes, the battle was over for now, and the enemy had been driven off, but that did not change the fact that the whole engagement had been a complete disaster. The theft of the three prototypes from Armory One was an utter fiasco for ZAFT, one that was compounded by the casualties suffered by both the interior forces and the patrol screen. Yes, the Abyss and Chaos had been destroyed and denied to the enemy, but the cause of their destruction was cause for further alarm.

I can't believe it's back, she thought, Wing Zero… and from the look of things it's more powerful than ever.

She'd been too young to serve in the last war, as had her sister, but when both of them had enrolled in the academy after the conflict their instructors had made sure that they'd gotten a crash course on the mobile suit that had challenged the might of not only ZAFT but the Earth Alliance as well… and had won. Its supposed destruction had been a great source of relief for the militaries of both powers, but now it was quite clear that their relief had been misplaced. Meyrin could not begin to fathom how it had resurfaced, but that did not change the fact that it was here.

Wing Zero's revival was shock enough, but the arrival of the four new, unknown mobile suits that had stopped the attacking force from the L4 debris field in its track had been quite another surprise. Meyrin could not stop thinking about the black machine that had saved the Minerva from the Dagger L, along with its pilot. The mobile suit had looked like something straight out of a nightmare, and along with the other three machines it had slaughtered its way through the attackers' ranks like a wolf among sheep. It was clear that the power of those mobile suits were matched by that of their pilots, and there was no doubt in Meyrin's mind that they had to be combat veterans.

Their intervention had saved the Minerva and Armory One, but even then there had still been further embarrassments and casualties to come. The mobile suits from the destroyer and frigate that had come to help the Minerva had been destroyed, while the Impulse had been badly damaged in a duel with an unknown unit. Shinn had survived and had made it back to the ship, and Impulse's modular design made it easier to fix, but its defeat was still hard to swallow. Now, just to cap everything else off, Bogey One had escaped, and beyond its last known trajectory they had no way of tracking the ship.

Meyrin was so caught up in her thoughts that she was taken completely by surprise by a light that had appeared on her console. There was an incoming transmission, and her eyes widened in shock when she saw the source.

You've got to be kidding me…

The console did not lie, despite her disbelief, and Meyrin turned to give Captain Gladys the news.

"Captain!" she cried, "Wing Zero's hailing us!"

The Captain and everyone else on the bridge looked just as surprised as Meyrin felt. "Are you serious?"

Meyrin nodded. "Yes, with audio and visual feed. Should I put it through?"

She saw the Captain turn to the Chairman, who leaned forward in his chair. "Interesting… Well, Talia, we shouldn't keep him waiting."

Meyrin saw the Captain nod and turn to her. "Meyrin, get him on screen."

"Aye, Captain," she replied, hoping she didn't sound as nervous as she felt.

Hitting a button on her console, Meyrin then looked up at the main monitor. The figure that appeared was clad in a black flight suit and had his helmet on, but through the visor Meyrin could see the face of the pilot that had become as famous as his mobile suit had. It was a face that had been plastered across every screen in the PLANTs after the brazen raid on Aprilius One and the Fall of Avalon.

"Heero Yuy…" she whispered in awe, hoping that no one else had heard her.

Then his voice came over the bridge speakers, as calm and strong as it had been on the recording of the Charon Prison break two years ago.

"This is Heero Yuy to the battleship Minerva. Battleship Minerva, do you read me?"

Looking back at the Captain, Meyrin saw her nod. She looked calm, but Meyrin could also see the tension in her.

That's right, she thought, the Captain fought in the last war. Did she ever have to face Wing Zero?

"This is Captain Talia Gladys of the battleship Minerva," the Captain replied, "We read you loud and clear… Heero Yuy."

The legendary pilot nodded on the screen. "What's your status?"

"We're intact and our damage is minor," said the Captain, "Have… have you sustained any damage?"

Bet she never thought she'd be asking the pilot of Wing Zero that, Meyrin mused.

Heero shook his head. "None."

Captain Gladys nodded. "I see. I suppose we owe you our thanks. I presume those other four machines are with you?"

Heero nodded. "They are. Captain Gladys, I have a proposition for you… one that would best be discussed in person."

Meyrin's eyes widened, along with those of everyone else on the bridge. Did the legendary Heero Yuy seriously intend to come aboard ZAFT's newest battleship?

The Captain turned to the Chairman. Meyrin saw him nod and get out of his chair, moving forward into the view of the bridge camera.

"Heero Yuy," he said, "I am PLANT Supreme Council Chairman Gilbert Durandal. You and your allies are welcome to come aboard the Minerva. Talia and I will meet you down in the hangar."

Meyrin saw the pilot nod on the screen. "Understood. Once our Gundams are securely berthed I recommend you advise your crews to keep their distance. Any attempts to examine them will result in their self-detonation, and I can assure you that they will take the entire ship with them. Is that understood?"

Meyrin gulped nervously; the tension on the bridge had definitely ratcheted up a notch with that statement.

She was surprised to see the Chairman chuckle. "I suppose I should've expected as much. Very well, Heero Yuy. We'll keep our distance from your… Gundams."

"Appreciated," said Heero, "We'll wait on your clearance to enter. Gundam Albion, out."

Meyrin raised an eyebrow. Gundam Albion? Doesn't he mean Wing Zero?

She wasn't the only one taken aback by that statement; both the Captain and the Chairman traded a puzzled look. In the meantime Heero had disappeared from the screen, and all eyes turned to the Captain.

Eventually Captain Gladys turned to Meyrin. "Have Lunamaria and Rey return to the ship. Once they're inside I want you to begin directing Heero Yuy and the other four pilots to enter the ship."

Meyrin nodded. "Understood, Captain."

"Captain, are you sure about this?" asked Arthur, "This is Heero Yuy we're talking about here! The amount of carnage he wrought against our forces in the last war…"

"He fought against the Earth Alliance as well," the Captain interjected, "and he did not fight against us here today. The Chairman believes that he is worth meeting with, and I agree. Arthur, mind the bridge while we're down there. Keep us on course following Bogey One's last known trajectory for now, and direct all of Armory One's remaining forces to stay with the colony. If there are any signs of the enemy I want to be alerted at once."

Arthur nodded. "Understood, Captain."

Meyrin saw her turn to the Chairman. "I know protocol dictates that I get you to safety as soon as possible, mister Chairman, along with the civilian reporter, but I must at least try to pursue this enemy. We may yet have a chance to find them."

Chairman Durandal nodded and smiled. "It's quite all right, Talia. If it makes you feel any better, know that I agree with you assessment. I know we have a few small patrols out along that trajectory; they could help with our efforts."

The Captain nodded. "Arthur, pass along all data we gained from this battle to the outlying patrols. Let them know to contact us the moment they find a sign of the enemy!"

"Yes, ma'am!" her XO replied.

The Chairman turned to the reporter at the back of the bridge. "Care to join us, Miss Peterson? It's not every day the press gets to meet the world's most famous pilot, after all."

Meyrin had completely forgotten about the reporter that had come aboard with the Chairman earlier; she'd been silent throughout the battle.

She saw Marilyn Peterson nod and smile. "Thank you, mister Chairman. I promise I'll stay out of the way."

"I appreciate that," said the Chairman before turning to the Captain, "Shall we?"

The Captain nodded. "Arthur, the bridge is yours. We're heading down."

Arthur nodded and saluted her. "Aye, Captain!"

As the Captain, Chairman, and journalist left the bridge Arthur turned to Meyrin. "You heard the Captain. Get Lunamaria and Rey back inside, and then direct those other five machines to dock!"

Meyrin nodded and got to work. As she carried out her orders an odd thought crept into her head.

Luna's going to freak when she sees who's coming into the hangar after her and Rey…

….

Colonel Nazara allowed himself a small smile as he powered down the Nosferatu. The all clear signal had been given from the bridge; the Mirage Colloid was active and they were outbound. ZAFT's new battleship was moving along their general trajectory, but with the Girty Lue now cloaked it would be easy to shake them off. The vessel had been considerably rattled by the exploding external fuel tanks, but she was holding together and the tremors had subsided.

A clean escape, he thought, his smile fading, and that's about the only thing that went right in this operation. The Gaia and the destruction we wrought upon the local ZAFT forces are small consolation compared to what we suffered today. Abyss, Chaos, the entirety of Force Alpha… Djibril will be furious when he gets the report. All the more so when he learns who showed up in the middle of the fight…

He shook his head. The report would need to be dealt with eventually, but not right away. Nazara could at least evaluate the Gaia and go over the data gathered by their surviving forces before compiling the report.

As he exited the Nosferatu he saw three of the ship's medics standing in front of the Gaia, along with a few security personnel. The unit's hatch was still closed, its Variable Phase Shift Armor was powered down, and Stella was nowhere to be seen.

He floated over towards the captured prototype and the small crowd around it. "What's going on here?"

One of the doctors turned to him. "Sir, we can't get her to exit the mobile suit. She's completely refused to leave it ever since she returned to the ship!"

I should've known this would happen, he thought, Losing Auel and Sting would've done a number on her, and she's fragile enough as it is. In this state there's no way the doctors will be able to reach her, even if they use her block word. Looks like I'll have to handle this myself.

"Stand down," he said, "and move back."

"Sir?" said another one of the doctors.

"I'll handle this," said the Colonel, "Just shut up and stay out of my way."

He moved closer to the Gaia and rapped his hand on the cockpit hatch. "Stella? It's Nazara. Can you hear me?"

In between a few sobs he heard her voice. "Colonel…"

"That's right," he said, his voice uncharacteristically gentle, "It's me."

"Colonel…" she said, "Auel and Sting… they're… they're gone!"

Nazara nodded. "Yes, they are."

"No!" she shrieked, "They can't be gone! They're… they're…"

"You saw it yourself, Stella," he replied coldly, "You know as well as I do what happened to them. That monster took them from us."

"Monster…" she said numbly, "A monster…"

She's regressed further than I'd anticipated, he thought with annoyance, Such a bother…

"A demon from the last war," said Nazara, "It killed them, Stella. Auel and Sting are dead."

There was a pause before she responded, and her voice was very shaky. "They're…de…de...de…"

Nazara sighed. He would have to take the jackhammer approach. Using her block word multiple times in close succession wasn't necessarily good for her overall mental stability, but sometimes it was the only thing that could snap her out of something like this.

"Yes, Stella," he said, his voice becoming a menacing growl, "They are dead, Stella. Dead like your parents. Dead like Michael, dead like Sarah, dead like Austin, and like so many more of your old 'comrades'. They are dead, Stella… and we are still alive."

'Comrades' is a bit of a stretch, he mused, After all, they weren't exactly given a choice when they were inducted into the Extended program, and we set them at each other's throats quite frequently…

Bringing up the names of other victims of the program wasn't necessarily the preferred way to handle a situation like this, especially after all the work that had been done to alter Stella's memories. However, Nazara knew that when combined with a barrage of the girl's block word they could have the desired effect.

It took a moment, but eventually Stella responded, and Nazara was pleased to hear that she sounded a little more focused now. "Yes… they're dead. We're still here… we survived."

Nazara smiled. "Yes, that's right. Now, why don't you come on out of there, Stella?"

"Yes… sir," she replied, her voice shaky but not nearly as bad as it had been earlier.

The cockpit opened and Stella exited the mobile suit. There was red around her eyes, and it was clear that she had been crying. Her dress was wrinkled and it had a few small tears in it from her fingernails ripping through the fabric from gripping it so tightly. Nazara motioned for her to come over to him.

He brought his hand up to her cheek. "There, you see. Was that so hard?"

"Colonel…" she said, her voice wavering.

"I know how you're feeling, Stella," he said, "Sting and Auel were your friends, and you miss them. It must hurt so much."

Stella nodded. "It does… I want them back."

Nazara shook his head. "We can't bring them back, Stella. However, I can help take away the pain you're feeling. I can make you feel better."

Her eyes widened. "How?"

The Colonel had to resist smirking. Her question was proof that she didn't remember the last time he'd made her 'feel better'… or the time before that, or the one before that….

Those drugs really are a wonderful thing…

He leaned in to whisper in her ear while running his hand through her hair, enjoying the smell that he would soon get a lot more of. "Come with me to my room, dear, and I'll show you."

Pulling back he saw her face redden slightly. Her mind may not have remembered what she was talking about, but her body did. "In… in your room?"

This time he could not keep his smile from taking on a lecherous air. "Yes, Stella. Don't worry; I promise it will be very good."

She nodded, giving him the childlike smile that he'd been hoping for. "Okay."

He motioned for her to head towards the hangar exit. "Wait for me in the hallway, Stella. I'll catch up soon."

"All right," she said, still smiling as she moved off.

When she was out of earshot he turned to the doctors present. "I presume you have some of her sedatives with you."

The lead physician nodded and produced a handful of hypodermic injectors. "When you're…finished with her, one of these to her neck should suffice."

"Thank you, doctor," he said, "I'll give you a call when it's over."

"I'm assuming we're going to erase Auel and Sting from her mind this time?" asked the physician.

Nazara nodded. "Yes. Keep Wing Zero in there, though. A powerful monster like that will give her more motivation to fight. Also, though this should go without saying, erase any memory she might have of our coming… encounter."

If the doctor had any opinions on that imminent 'encounter', he kept them to himself. "Understood, Colonel."

….

Removing her helmet, Lunamaria breathed a sigh of relief and wiped away the sweat that had matted her bangs to her forehead. Her crimson ZAKU Warrior was now safely settled down in its berth inside the Minerva's hangar; her first battle was over.

My first battle, she thought, still having trouble coming to terms with it, I fought… I killed… I don't know what I was expecting, but I didn't think it'd be like that…

She saw Rey's white ZAKU Phantom settle in next to her machine, the Blaze pack having been removed upon the mobile suit's entry to the hangar. That was one friend accounted for, and now she had to check in on the other.

"Hey, Meyrin," she said, "Is Shinn okay?"

Her younger sister appeared on her screen. "He's fine, Luna. Impulse is pretty beat up, though."

Lunamaria nodded. "I saw that. I hope the techs can fix it up soon. Who knows when we'll have to fight again, right?"

"Yeah," Meyrin replied, her voice shaky, "Sis, are you okay? That was a close call out there."

Lunamaria smiled. "I'm fine, Meyrin… although if I get to meet my rescuer again I may need to give him a piece of my mind. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad he saved my life, but he was kind of a jerk."

Meyrin returned the smile. "Well, you'll probably get that chance sooner than you'd think."

Now Lunamaria was confused. "What do you mean?"

"I mean we're about to have some guests," said Meyrin, "They should be entering the hangar any second now."

Her eyes widened as she looked towards the hangar entrances. You've got to be kidding me…

Sure enough, more mobile suits were now entering the hangar.

More specifically, the upgraded Wing Zero and the unit that had saved Lunamaria's life.

"Meyrin," she said, trying and failing to keep the shock from her voice, "What's going on?"

"Heero Yuy said he had a proposition for us," Meyrin replied, "The Captain gave permission for the Albion and the other four Gundams to board."

Lunamaria raised an eyebrow. "Albion? Gundams? Meyrin, what are you talking about?"

Meyrin shook her head. "Honestly, I'm pretty confused myself. The Captain and the Chairman should be coming into the hangar once it's sealed and the atmosphere's vented back in, though. Maybe you can ask them?"

Lunamaria nodded numbly as she watched the two mobile suits head towards berths while more machines entered the hangar. "I'll try…"

"I've gotta go," said Meyrin, "One more machine to direct. Later, sis!"

All Lunamaria could do was sit back and watch as the five mobile suits that had completely upended today's battlefield came inside the Minerva and took up berths. As if today couldn't have gotten any more bizarre, now they were apparently playing host to the Demon Lord of Avalon and four completely unknown pilots and mobile suits.

"Rey," she said, "are you seeing this?"

"Yes," he replied.

"Any idea what the hell's going on?" she asked him.

"We'll find out soon enough," said Rey.

Figuring that was the best she would get out of him, Lunamaria simply folded her arms and waited until the hangar was sealed again and the oxygen indicators flipped to green. Once that happened she powered down her machine and hit the cockpit release.

As she left her ZAKU she saw the ship's mechanics milling around, all looking at the five new machines and keeping a respectful distance. Scanning the crowd, she saw Shinn coming up to join them and she decided to meet him halfway.

"Shinn!" she cried, "Are you doing okay?"

Her friend nodded, though he looked bitter. "I'm fine, Luna. I just wish I'd been able to beat that guy!"

Lunamaria smiled. "Well, you're still alive, right? You'll kick his ass next time!"

"Learn from this experience, Shinn," said Rey, "You can then use it against your enemy if you meet him again."

Shinn nodded, and Lunamaria was pleased to see him crack a smile. "You're right. Thanks."

"Anytime," Lunamaria replied before gesturing to the crowd that was watching the five new mobile suits, "So, you guys want to head over there and try to get some answers?"

"Sounds good," said Rey.

"You mean you guys don't know what this is about?" asked Shinn.

Lunamaria shook her head. "Not a clue. Meyrin just said that Heero Yuy wanted to meet the Captain and the Chairman."

"And they accepted?" said Shinn, his eyes widening, "He was our enemy in the last war! Wing Zero was supposed to be destroyed, remember? It was required by the treaty!"

Lunamaria sighed. "I know all that, Shinn. We've got to trust the Captain."

"I agree," said Rey, "The Captain and the Chairman would not have allowed this without a good reason. Let's go find out what it is."

Shinn sighed. "Fine."

At the back of the hangar Lunamaria saw three people enter. Two were the Captain and the Chairman, while the third was a brown-haired civilian woman that Lunamaria didn't recognize, though she looked like a member of the press corps.

Shinn saw them too, and point over at them. "Come on. Let's go get some answers."

Lunamaria and Rey both nodded and followed his lead. Floating through the hangar the three ZAFT Reds intercepted the Chairman and his retinue before saluting.

"Captain! Chairman!" they said in unison.

"At ease, you three," Captain Gladys replied.

"Captain, Chairman," said Shinn, "Why are you doing this? Why are we meeting with them?"

"With all due respect," said Lunamaria carefully, "Heero Yuy fought against ZAFT in the last war, and we have no idea who those other four pilots are."

Captain Gladys nodded. "I understand your concerns. However, the situation is not that simple. Past enmity aside, I do not doubt that we would not have survived today's battle were it not for Heero Yuy and his friends' intervention. The Chairman and I agreed that meeting them like this would be in our best interests."

"Is that right, Chairman Durandal?" asked Rey.

The Chairman nodded and smiled. "I believe we could all learn a great deal from this encounter. While I appreciate your concerns, I must ask that you leave the talking to Talia and myself. Is that understood?"

The three of them nodded. "Yes, Chairman."

"If you don't mind me asking," said Lunamaria, pointing to the brown-haired woman, "Who is she?"

The young woman smiled. "My name's Marilyn Peterson. I was part of the press corps for today's launching ceremony, but I was separated from the others during the attack. The Chairman was kind enough to bring me on board for my own safety, and he invited me to witness whatever happens down here."

The reporter held out her hand. "It's nice to meet you."

Lunamaria smiled and shook it. "Lunamaria Hawke, ZAFT pilot. This is Shinn and Rey. Nice to meet you, too. Sorry you're stuck with us for a while."

Marilyn shook her head. "Don't worry about it. This isn't the first time I've been on a warship, so I know the drill."

"Miss Peterson," said the Chairman, "I apologize, but my instructions for our pilots apply to you as well. Please refrain from asking Heero Yuy or any of his fellow pilots any questions during our talks. I'm sure your journalist instincts demand an interview, but I'm afraid that will have to wait for a while."

Marilyn nodded. "Of course, Chairman Durandal."

"Also, you are all to keep your distance from those machines," the Captain ordered, "When he contacted us Heero Yuy said they would self-destruct if we attempted to examine them, and that they would take out the Minerva in the process."

That had come out of the blue, and Lunamaria wasn't the only one taken aback by it.

"Who the hell does he think he is?" cried Shinn, "He wants to come over to our ship for a meeting and then threatens to kill us all if we touch his mobile suit?"

"He made a threat like that and you still let him on this ship?" asked Rey.

"Captain, this is insane!" cried Lunamaria.

"Enough!" snapped the Captain, "I have made my decision and the Chairman supports it. I'm permitting you to observe what happens here, but you are to take no action beyond that. Is that understood?"

Lunamaria sighed. "Yes, Captain."

"If those are you orders," said Rey.

"Understood," Shinn grumbled.

"Excellent," said Chairman Durandal, "Now, shall we move forward? Our guests should be exiting their mobile suits soon."

As they headed towards the visitors Lunamaria was surprised that they had not left their machines already. If they were trying to ratchet up the suspense in the hangar then they certainly were succeeding.

Come on, enough hiding, she thought impatiently, If you guys wanted to meet with us then be man enough to do it face to face instead of from your mobile suits!

As if they heard her mental challenge she saw the individual hatches of the five mobile suits open up. The first pilot to emerge was none other than Wing Zero's. His helmet was left in the cockpit, allowing everyone gathered to see the face of the deadliest pilot in the Cosmic Era.

"Heero Yuy…" she whispered in awe.

Lunamaria watched as the legendary pilot turned towards the other four machines and nodded. One by one their pilots emerged. From the black Reaper-like mobile suit came a young man with cobalt blue eyes, his brown hair tied back in a long braid. Out of the blue machine with the heavy gatlings and beam cannons came another brown-haired boy with dark green eyes, his bangs in a slanted hawk's wing obscuring his right eye. A blond-haired, blue-eyed boy came out of the mobile suit with the tan cloak and the wicked, curved blades. Finally, there was the pilot of the emerald machine that had saved Lunamaria's life; a young man with Chinese features, his black hair tied back in a short tail and his black eyes with an aloof look in them. All five were dressed in black flight suits, and Lunamaria could not deny that they were all quite handsome.

She gave her head a small shake. Keep it together. Look sharp. Now's not the time to be embarrassing yourself and acting like a schoolgirl.

As their mobile suit's cockpits closed behind them the five young men floated forward, heading straight for the Captain and her entourage, with Heero Yuy at the head of the pack. Lunamaria could feel her heart pounding inside her chest like a jackhammer; the tension in the hangar continued to build with each passing second. She could see sidearms on all five of them, and in addition to that the Chinese pilot wore a curved blade on his waist as well.

After what felt like an eternity the five pilots finally came to a stop in front of Lunamaria's group. Neither party spoke, and it felt like they were sizing each other up. Lunamaria had never been involved in anything close to a situation like this before and she had absolutely no idea what was supposed to happen next.

Eventually she saw Heero Yuy hold out his hand to the Captain. "Captain Talia Gladys? It's nice to meet you."

The Captain nodded and shook his hand. "You as well, Heero Yuy. I must say I never thought I'd meet you in person."

"If things had gone the way they should've today, you wouldn't have even known we were here," Heero replied, "The attack forced my hand."

"I see," said Captain Gladys.

Then it was the Chairman's turn to exchange pleasantries, and he held out his hand. "Heero Yuy? I'm Chairman Gilbert Durandal. It's an honor to meet you face-to-face, though I wish it were other better circumstances."

Heero nodded as he accepted the Chairman's hand. "I understand the Orb Chief Representative and her bodyguard are onboard. What is their condition?"

Lunamaria saw the Captain's eyes narrow. "How do you know that?"

The red-headed ZAFT pilot looked over at Shinn. She didn't know the details, but she knew that Shinn had some issues with Orb, and having its Chief Representative onboard the Minerva might not be something he was cool with. Shinn certainly looked surprised at the announcement, but he didn't say anything.

"I was monitoring the colony's internal radio traffic during the attack," Heero replied, "I heard Alex Dino's transmission to your warship, and I know he brought Lady Cagalli on board for medical treatment. How are they?"

"Alex Dino is unharmed," said Captain Gladys, "As for Lady Cagalli, our Chief Medical Officer informed me earlier that she has suffered mild head trauma. She's recovering from a minor concussion and fracture in the infirmary."

Heero nodded. "I see. Thank you for taking them in."

"It was the least we could do," said Chairman Durandal, "We were playing host to them before the attack, after all."

Wing Zero's pilot turned briefly towards Marilyn, and Lunamaria was puzzled at the look he gave her. It was almost like he knew her. Turning towards the journalist, Lunamaria saw her eyes narrow slightly but beyond that there was no reaction.

The Chairman appeared to take that as his cue to introduce the rest of his entourage. "Heero Yuy, please allow me to introduce three of our finest pilots. This is Shinn Asuka, Lunamaria Hawke, and Rey Za Burrel. The civilian here is Miss Marilyn Peterson, a journalist who was caught up in the attack."

The young man simply nodded at them before looking back at the four pilots that accompanied him and gesturing for them to introduce themselves.

The one with the long braided tail was the first, giving them all a broad smile. "Name's Duo Maxwell. That baby I used to save your hides earlier is the Gundam Deathscythe Omega."

"I'm Trowa Barton," said the other brown-haired pilot, not smiling like Duo, "My mobile suit is the Gundam Heavyarms Arsenal."

The blond pilot gave the group a warm smile. "My name is Quatre Reberba Winner. I'm the pilot of the Gundam Sandrock Saladin. It's nice to meet you all."

Lunamaria turned to the pilot who had saved her life, who simply folded his arms and narrowed his eyes as he studied the group. "Chang Wufei. Nataku… I mean, Gundam Altron Custom's pilot."

"It's a pleasure to meet you all," said Captain Gladys, "On behalf of my crew, I would like to thank you all for saving our lives. We greatly appreciate your assistance."

"It was certainly quite timely," said Chairman Durandal, smiling, "Tell me, what brought the five of you out here in the first place?"

"Our mission," Heero replied, "was to simply observe the initial trials of this new battleship and its mobile suits. As the newest warship in ZAFT's fleet, employing state of the art technology and mobile weapons, its launching would naturally cause a stir, and we wanted to assess its capabilities. We're acting in our capacity as a private paramilitary force created with the intention of monitoring both the Earth Alliance and ZAFT to help prevent the outbreak of another full-scale war."

Lunamaria saw the Captain's eyes narrow. "So you were here to spy on us, then. Rather bold of you, especially to do so in a weapon specifically banned by the Treaty of Junius Seven."

"You're mistaken," said Heero, and Lunamaria was surprised at just how calm he was given where the conversation was heading, "The mobile suit I'm flying is the Gundam Albion. Wing Zero was destroyed prior to the treaty signing; the whole world witnessed it."

"Perhaps," said Chairman Durandal, "but the terms of the treaty also forbid the construction of any mobile suits that replicate its capabilities. I think it's safe to say that your 'Gundam Albion' does that and more."

The young pilot's eyes narrowed. "I'm disappointed in you, Chairman. For a politician your grasp of legalities in this situation is not what I had expected."

"Hey!" snapped Shinn, "What's that supposed to mean? Are you insulting the Chairman?"

"Shinn!" hissed Lunamaria, "Shut up!"

"I'm sorry, Lunamaria," said Rey, his eyes narrowing as he looked at Heero, "but I'm with Shinn here. Heero Yuy, you should watch yourself."

The Demon Lord of Avalon completely ignored the three Reds, his focus remaining on the Captain and the Chairman. "The terms of the Treaty of Junius Seven specifically forbade its signatory nation-states from rebuilding Wing Zero or designing any mobile suit that replicated its capabilities. I am not one of those states, nor am I a citizen of one."

"Liar!" cried Shinn, "You fought for Orb in the last war!"

"I fought alongside the forces of the Orb Union, yes," Heero replied coolly, "I also fought alongside defectors from both the Earth Alliance and the PLANTs, but I do not belong to those nations just as I do not belong to Orb. Chairman Durandal, I'm sure your intelligence services have noticed that the name 'Heero Yuy' does not show up on official Orb citizen registries."

To Lunamaria's surprise the Chairman actually chuckled at that. "Yes, we did pick up on that. You dropped right off the grid after the Second Battle of Jachin Due, along with many of your compatriots, and neither ZAFT nor Earth Alliance intelligence services have been able to find you since, at least to my knowledge."

"So you disappeared," said Captain Gladys, "That's not too surprising given all the enemies you made in the last war. Obviously you still have resources though, otherwise you would not have this 'Gundam Albion' and I suspect that your fellow pilots would not have their machines either… all of which I believe also violate the terms of the treaty."

"They would if the Earth Alliance, the PLANTs, or the Orb Union had built them," said Heero, "Fortunately that is not the case."

The Captain's eyes widened. "Do you expect me to believe that these five mobile suits were all constructed without government sanction or resources?"

"That actually is the case," Quatre chimed in, "although we do understand your doubts."

"We've got some friendly private backers to help out with things like logistics and resources," said Duo, grinning, "Call it the perks of being popular."

"I'm sure you'll understand if we don't disclose names at this time," said Trowa, "or at any other time, for that matter."

"If you don't like it you'll just have to deal with it," said Wufei with a smirk, "It's not our fault your treaty has easily exploited loopholes."

"Why, you…" growled Shinn.

Chairman Durandal held up his hands for calm. "I believe we're letting things get a bit out of hand, here. Heero Yuy, for the sake of argument, let's say that your mobile suit and those of your fellow pilots do not violate the letter of the treaty if they are wholly private undertakings and not connected to any of the three signatory governments. Lady Cagalli still oversaw the demolition of the original Wing Zero, and you are regarded as a friend of hers. If she had any involvement in an unofficial capacity in the creation of Gundam Albion or the other four units here she still would be in breach of the treaty."

"I agree," said Heero, his manner still remarkably calm, "So it's a very good thing neither Lady Cagalli nor anyone in her administration were involved. Feel free to ask her about it once she's feeling up to it."

"I intend to," said the Chairman, "but I think we're getting ahead of ourselves here. Heero Yuy, we invited you here because you said you had a proposition for us. I am still willing to hear it if it remains on the agenda."

"If you're open to it, then yes," Heero replied.

"Then please," said Captain Gladys, "tell us your proposal."

"Your forces were decimated in the attack on Armory One," said Heero, "The colony's patrol screen was thin before the attack, but now it's practically crippled. You can't afford to take any resources from it but at the same time you can't let this attack go unanswered, which is why the Minerva's current vector matches the last known trajectory of the unknown battleship. By now I imagine outlying patrols and L5 itself have been contacted and reinforcements will be dispatched to shore up Armory One's defenses and to cast a net to ensnare the surviving attackers. However, as of right now the Minerva is alone it its pursuit, and you have no idea if the enemy is the last of its kind or is simply flying towards another battle group which it will then unleash upon you."

"How's that for an assessment?" asked Duo, smirking.

"A blunt and accurate one, as much as I hate to admit it," said the Captain grimly, "How does that play into your proposal?"

"Simple," said Heero, "We wish to join you in your hunt."

For a moment there was complete silence. For her part, Lunamaria was completely blown away.

The Demon Lord of Avalon… and those other four pilots, she thought numbly, want to ally with us?

Her friends looked just as stunned as she was. Looking at the Captain and the Chairman, she saw that they too were quite taken aback. Curiously, only Marilyn Peterson's expression was anything other than disbelief; she almost seemed amused by what was playing out here.

"You…" said Captain Gladys cautiously, "You seriously wish to enter into an alliance with us?"

"Yes," Heero replied, "The party that initiated the attack on Armory One is clearly a threat to the wider peace, and as such is a priority target for our force. Naturally you would wish to bring them to justice for their actions here today. Our interests go together quite well here."

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend, as they say," Duo quipped.

"A proverb attributed to an Arabian prince who was eventually decapitated by his own subjects," said Trowa dryly.

Duo shrugged. "It's still a hell of a quote."

"We're far more powerful than anything you're packing right now," said Wufei, "Allying with us would be wise… unless you want to take your chances with three rookie pilots against an enemy that would've nailed you to the wall without our intervention."

"Say that again…" Shinn growled.

Lunamaria knew that it was important for them to remain calm, but she had to admit to feeling a little hot under the collar as well. Whoever this guy was, he seemed to know just how to irritate her.

"Easy, Wufei," said Quatre before turning to Lunamaria's group, "I apologize for any offense, but I'm afraid my friend is right. You would've been killed and the colony would likely have been destroyed as well had we not arrived when we did. From my observation your forces in this area, including the crew of this ship and its pilots, have very little combat experience. By contrast the enemy seemed well trained and seasoned. If you go up against them as you are now you will very likely be outmatched and outfought. We can tip the scales in your favor."

"I know you're unfamiliar with my fellow pilots," said Heero, "but would I be assuming too much if I said that you're familiar with my capabilities?"

The Captain shook her head. "No, you would not. Your reputation precedes you, Heero Yuy… and I've personally seen you in action. Avalon, the pursuit of Task Force 9.3, Jachin Due… I was there for all of those battles."

Heero nodded. "Then let me put it this way for you, Captain. Duo, Trowa, Quatre, and Wufei… individually, they are each my equal."

It was a good thing the legendary pilot had left his statement there; Lunamaria felt like she needed a minute to absorb the full weight of that sentence. From the expressions on the others' faces, she wasn't the only one.

For her part the Captain seemed almost at a loss for words. "You… you cannot be serious…"

"I would not joke about something like this," Heero replied, "Trust me when I say that we are a force unlike any other in the Cosmic Era."

"I would assume," said Chairman Durandal carefully, "that your aid would come with strings attached."

"You assume correctly," said Heero, "However, I can assure you that my terms are modest ones."

The Captain nodded. "What are they?"

"First," said Heero firmly, "under no circumstances is anyone to approach our machines without the supervision of the individual pilot. I'm sure you can understand when I say that the secrets of our Gundams are not ones that we want falling into the wrong hands."

"Of course," said Captain Gladys, "If you need any assistance with maintenance or rearmament feel free to coordinate with our Crew Chief."

"Second," said Heero, "we'll need quarters and provisions. Since we're helping you in your hunt I'd say room and board is a small price to pay. Wouldn't you?"

"Quite a bargain, given the potential payoff," said Chairman Durandal with a smirk.

"I'm not finished yet," said Heero.

"Please, continue," said the Captain.

"If we manage to capture the ship that led the attack," he said, "I want full access to its databanks. I won't interfere with your investigation; just don't interfere with mine."

"I see no problem with that," said the Chairman.

"I'd also like to speak to Lady Cagalli at some point," said Heero, his eyes narrowing, "in private, if you don't mind."

Captain Gladys nodded. "Fair enough. Any other conditions?"

"Just one," said Heero, "We'll fight alongside you and cooperate with you, but make no mistake; you do not command us. We're partners in this venture, not superior and subordinate."

"Who the hell do you think you are?" snarled Shinn, "If you're going to be staying on our ship you will follow the Captain's orders!"

"This seems like it would disrupt the chain of command," said Rey.

"Enough!" snapped the Captain, "What part of the Chairman's request to leave the talking to him and myself did you not understand, Shinn Asuka? Another outburst like that and I'll have you written up for insubordination!"

"As I was saying," Heero continued as if Shinn's outburst had never happened, "We'll coordinate our efforts with you, and we won't interfere in your operations. However, if you want us to do something, don't expect us to obey orders without question. We're a private group; we're not ZAFT soldiers. That's my final condition. Do we have a deal?"

There was a moment of silence as the Captain looked over at the Chairman. Lunamaria wasn't sure what to feel about all of this. On the one hand the terms that Heero Yuy was offering did seem like a good offer; a force of five unique mobile suits and powerful pilots in exchange for little more than resources and autonomy. However, the fact that someone like him had the power to dictate terms at all to a ZAFT Captain and the PLANT Supreme Council Chairman made her rather uneasy.

Just who the hell are we really dealing with here?

A single pilot, regardless of who he was, should not have been able to negotiate on equal terms with a head-of-state or a warship's commanding officer. Yet here was Heero Yuy doing exactly that and acting perfectly natural about it, as if this were something he did every day. The other four pilots with him also seemed remarkably at ease with the whole situation. They were following Heero's lead with complete confidence that he knew what he was doing, which it certainly appeared that he did.

Eventually she saw the Chairman nod at the Captain. The Captain Gladys held out her hand.

"We have a deal, Heero Yuy," she said, "On behalf of my crew I hereby accept your offer of cooperation."

The pilot accepted her hand. "Thank you, Captain. From here on out, call me Heero."

"For now I plan on continuing along our current course," said the Captain, "At the first sign of the enemy I will contact you."

Heero nodded. "We'll be seeing to our mobile suits for now. I understand you're very busy right now, and we haven't a moment to lose. If you'd prefer I can speak to your XO later about quarters. Since the ship launched prematurely I'm assuming you don't have it completely crewed yet?"

"Yes," said Captain Gladys, "Some personnel were still due to board when the attack occurred, but they were diverted to the shelters when we launched, so we actually have a surplus of quarters available right now. I'll instruct Arthur to contact you about it later."

"Appreciated," Heero replied, "We should get to work."

"Agreed," said the Captain before she turned to her pilots, "Shinn, Lunamaria, Rey? Rest up. Be ready for action at a moment's notice. Also, if our guests have any questions about the Minerva I want you to help however you can."

Lunamaria nodded. "Understood, Captain."

Both Shinn and Rey nodded as well, though the former looked pretty reluctant. Out of the corner of her eye Lunamaria could've sworn she saw Marilyn smile and nod at Heero. Looking back at the legendary pilot she thought she saw him give a very slight nod in return, but it was so small that she could very easily have been imagining it.

"All right, everyone," said the Captain, "You know what you have to do. Dismissed!"

….

As he settled into Wing Zero Albion's cockpit and closed the hatch Heero breathed a sigh of relief. There had been a few close calls earlier, but his fellow Gundam pilots had followed his lead very well. They were as adaptable and intelligent as ever, and he would need that and more from them in the days to come.

I need to work up a serious debriefing for them, he thought, I can't just keep telling them to follow my lead; we're too independent-minded to do that for long. The more information they have at their disposal the easier things will be going forward.

Assembling a comprehensive data package would take time, but he could at least give them a summary and then fill in the details later. As long as they had a working knowledge of the Cosmic Era and the storm he'd whipped up with Wing Zero in the last war they would be able to improvise from there.

For now, though, there was something else that Heero needed to attend to. Doing a limited power-up of his Gundam, he brought the advanced communications array online.

With the shuttle's speed she should be back in Orb by now, he thought as he set up the encrypted link, I just hope she can reach the others when we're done.

The display shifted, and Heero could not help but give a small smile as the love of his life appeared on the screen. She had traded in the black flight suit from earlier for a red and black shirt and khaki pants, fitting for the cover she shared with him when back home as a Morgenroete employee. She was as beautiful as ever, with her long brown hair flowing freely past her shoulders. Her lovely brown eyes remained warm beacons of compassion and strength, and they went well together with her light, soft skin and her moist, full lips. Her loose fitting civilian clothes did little to hide a tall and athletic figure with wonderful curves in all the right places.

Murrue Ramius gave him a warm smile. "Heero, it's so good to hear from you! I was getting worried."

Heero nodded. "I'm sorry about that. I know that when we began this mission we agreed to minimal radio contact while I was on site, but I still wish I'd contacted you sooner. When did you get back in Orb?"

"About an hour ago," she said, "I still can't believe how swift that new shuttle is. We made remarkable time!"

"Glad to hear it," said Heero, "I'm sure we'll be getting plenty of use out of that craft in the future."

"I imagine so," Murrue replied, "So, Heero, what do you have to report?"

Heero sighed. "Bad news, I'm afraid. Armory One was just attacked."

Murrue's eyes widened in shock. "Oh, no… how bad is it? Are Miriallia, Cagalli, and Athrun okay?"

"The colony was infiltrated," said Heero, "and three of the prototypes were hijacked. Our friends are safe. While the three prototypes were rampaging in the military facilities an unknown battleship equipped with Mirage Colloid decloaked and took out the Vidar, while a battle group emerged from the L4 debris field. I had to reveal myself and intervene in the fight. The colony remains intact, although I don't know the full extent of the interior damage, and two of the stolen prototypes and the battle group from the debris field were destroyed. I'm on board the Minerva in pursuit of the unknown battleship."

"Wait," said Murrue, "You're what?"

Heero nodded. "I know; I hardly expected to end up boarding ZAFT's new battleship when this mission started. Don't worry, Murrue; I entered freely, and I'm being treated as a guest. We've worked out an arrangement."

Murrue took a deep breath. "I'm assuming you'll be sending over data so we can get a full picture of what happened?"

"I'll get a full report worked up shortly," he said, "but… Murrue, believe it or not, the attack's not the only surprise I've run into out here."

Murrue's eyes narrowed. "What is it, Heero? What else is going on?"

"I ran into four old friends," he said, "from an old war."

One thing Heero had learned over the years was that wording was everything. He'd told Murrue everything about his war in his old world, along with the pilots that had fought on his side. With the way he had phrased his statement he knew that there was only one place her mind would go.

From the stunned look on her face he knew she'd reached the conclusion he'd wanted her to. "No way… it really is… them?"

Heero nodded. "I'm sending you a preliminary data packet before I get my full report worked up. Pass it along to the Tiger and the Wolf, Murrue, and have them round up the others. The situation has become much more complicated."

Preview for next time!

Having struck a deal with Captain Talia Gladys and Chairman Gilbert Durandal, Heero and the other four Gundam pilots settle in on the Minerva as the battleship pursues the Girty Lue. Sensing that the rapidly unfolding situation could further escalate, Heero instructs Murrue and the others in Terminal to prepare for action. A malfunction in the Girty Lue's Mirage Colloid system allows the Minerva to track her down, but Phantom Pain's battleship is on course for a rendezvous with the Black Fleet's Force Beta, setting the stage for a battle amidst the orbital Debris Belt. Meanwhile, the remnants of the late Patrick Zala's former regime set a plan of their own into motion, one far worse than Colonel Nazara's strike on Armory One. Next time, on "Destiny's Call", Episode Four: The Brewing Storm.

War is coming…

Author's Notes: All right, feels good to have Episode Three released already. I know you all were really clamoring for that after the way I left things in Episode Two.

If you already hate Colonel Nazara or are starting too, that's good; it's what I want. Trust me, by the time his true identity is revealed things will make a lot of sense… and you'll hate him even more for it. Hey, a good fic needs good villains, right?

Until next time! Please review!