The Pirate's Soldier

by operation meteor

Heero's career as a Preventers operative takes a strange turn when he gets caught up in a fight between a Juraian royal and a notorious space pirate. As the two alien beauties settle in with him on Earth and more soon follow, the former Gundam pilot soon finds himself to be the target of their affections, with a certain lovely outlaw at the front of the pack! M for some language.

16. Chapter 16

Author's Notes: Well, with 'Destiny's Call' and 'Eyes of the Soul' being updated just a few weeks ago, I was overdue to post the next chapter for this fic. Allow me a few quick words first, and then we'll be on our merry way.

I've said this before, but lately it seems like some people have missed a key point, so I'm going to give it a little more emphasis here. I write the stories I write because they're my idea of fun. Fanfic's a nice little hobby I've picked up over the years, an entertaining way to wind down and chill out after a long day at work. For me, the whole reason I do this is to let my whims run wild, make a story out of them, and put it out there for the sake of simple amusement. If people enjoy my eccentricities and oddities, great. If not, life goes on, as does the story, and it will continue to do so until it reaches its conclusion.

All right, that's enough from me. If you're still here, then you know what you're in for.

Enjoy!

Chapter Sixteen: No Need For A Gun Pointed At The Head Of The Universe!

"How bad is it?" Heero asked Kiyone.

The Galaxy Police officer peered closely at the screen mounted on the wall behind the bed. "Hard to say. It's been a long time since I've had to utilize the Yagami's medical systems for anything more than minor injuries."

While everything Kiyone had told Heero about her ship had indicated that a patrol cruiser like the Yagami was towards the bottom of the hierarchy when it came to vessels operated by the Galaxy Police, its medical bay was still very impressive. It had at least a dozen beds, and each of them were lined with an array of sensors and devices that appeared to be far more advanced than anything the Earth Sphere had available. Even the sophisticated emergency rooms and treatment centers that Preventers operated for wounded personnel seemed primitive in comparison.

I hope it's up to the job, he thought as he looked down at one particular patient, Washu…

They'd checked on Mihoshi and Katsuhito earlier, and while both were still paralyzed they also appeared to be relatively stable. According to what Kiyone's equipment had told her, the agent that Nagi had used against them was a very rare toxin that kept its victims immobile for up to an hour, but wasn't fatal. It was best to let the two of them rest while they focused on the patient that was in much greater danger.

Washu had taken the same kind of dart as Mihoshi and Katsuhito, but that wasn't the cause for Heero's concern. Whatever the device Nagi had pressed to her forehead was, it had inflicted an incredible amount of mental trauma on her. Kiyone had been forced to apply some sedatives to calm Washu's heartrate, but if the erratic readings on the nearby monitors were any indication she wasn't out of the woods just yet.

To his right he saw Ryoko sigh and shake her head. "Damn it. She doesn't get to kick the bucket here. She owes us some answers!"

"Meow!" Ryo-Ohki cried from her perch on the pillow as she nudged Washu's head, "Meow!"

Sasami gave the furball a gentle pat on the head. "Ryo-Ohki, let her rest! She'll get better soon."

"I certainly hope so," said Azaka.

"We need her to run a diagnostic on us later," added Kamidake, "I don't know if our system reboot was enough to restore us to optimal functionality."

"One thing at a time," said Ayeka, looking back and forth between Washu and Katsuhito on the neighboring bed, "She is not the only one that needs to deliver an explanation, after all."

That was certainly true. Heero hadn't missed how shocked Ayeka was when he'd been able to wield the energy sword, and her surprise had only increased after they'd all entered the medical bay of the Yagami and he'd told her who had thrown him the weapon. She'd been regarding the old man with renewed focus, and to Heero it looked like she was trying to figure out if she knew him or not. He was keen on finding out the answer to that particular question, but he wasn't about to rush her.

On the opposite side of Washu's bed, Quatre folded his arms. "This is a mess. Heero, we really need to contact Sally and Lady Une. They need to know what's happening out here."

"Not yet," said Heero firmly, "We still don't have a full picture ourselves. We need the context behind the attack and why Nagi did… well, what she did to Washu. I'll contact them after we get some answers."

Quatre nodded, although he still looked a bit apprehensive. "All right. It's your call."

Truth be told, Heero knew that he should've contacted his superiors right away. Waiting for the wounded to heal and to get answers from two of them was really just a way for him to put off what promised to be a very awkward report. He kept replaying the attack over and over again in his head, trying to sort it all out. It had all happened so fast, and it was almost dizzyingly difficult to try to make sense of it.

We got lucky, he thought, I still can't believe that no one was killed in that mess. Nagi was holding back, and so were whoever her subordinates were.

What had they been after? They hadn't actually captured anyone, yet when Nagi had withdrawn it hadn't been due to the efforts of Heero and the others; she appeared to have accomplished her mission. He looked down at Washu again, knowing that it had something to do with the device that the bounty hunter had pressed to the scientist's head.

He leaned against the wall, his body suddenly feeling heavy. It shouldn't have come as a surprise; after that frantic fight, Heero had been running on a combination of adrenaline and the strange power that had been awakened once he'd grabbed the energy blade. The former was fading, and while the latter was still in his system it was in a much more subdued state now. Between that and all the questions running through his mind, he realized that he was absolutely worn out.

He wasn't doing a very good job of hiding it either, at least if Ryoko's reaction was any indication. She put her hand on his shoulder and gave him a surprisingly gentle smile.

"You look at little out of it," she said, "Need to take a load off?"

Heero shook his head. "I'm all right."

Ryoko rolled her eyes. "That's a load of bull, and we both know it. Look, there are plenty of beds here; lie down and get a little rest. Nagi's gone, and it's not like the rest of us are going anywhere anytime soon."

"I'll rest after I get some answers," Heero shot back, his gaze shifting, "and I think I know where to start."

Ayeka's eyes widened as he looked at her. "Sir Heero?"

"Sorry to put you on the spot," said Heero, "but if I was reading you right earlier, then it seems safe to say that you at least know a thing or two about the sword that the old man tossed me. Care to fill me in?"

Ayeka glanced at Katsuhito. "Well… to be honest, it's difficult to figure out where to start."

"Let's keep it simple, then," Heero suggested, "What's it called? Where does it come from?"

Ayeka sighed. "I… I'm afraid even those questions are not simple like you believe them to be."

She looked down at the floor, up to Heero, and back down at the floor again. The Preventers operative could tell that she was conflicted, and part of him wanted to give her space and time to find her footing. Unfortunately, he didn't have that luxury, not after what had just happened.

"Ayeka," he said firmly, "I need to know what's going on and what we're up against. Washu and the priest can't answer that right now, so I need whatever sources of intel that I can get. Whether you like it or not, you're one of them."

Ayeka closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them again they held a somber look. "I suppose so. Very well, then."

She gestured at the other Gundam pilot in the room and the hilt of the weapon in his hand. "What Quatre holds… and what you were able to wield, Sir Heero… is called a Key. To be more precise, this one is one of the Master-Keys, the first generation of Keys. Keys allow their wielders to access the true power of the planet Jurai through a Royal Tree."

"We're about as far away from Jurai as we can get," Heero pointed out, "How can its power be accessed out here?"

Ayeka shook her head. "It's not a matter of proximity. Jurai is more than just another planet; the power that emanates from it and from the Royal Trees stretches beyond even the official borders of the Empire. Once capable of wielding a Key can draw upon that power even if they stand in the most remote reaches of the galaxy."

She looked at Quatre again. "The one that you wielded, Sir Heero, is known as Tenchi-ken, or Sword Tenchi. It is the Master-Key of Funaho, a first generation Royal Treeship… one that was bound long ago to the crown prince of the Empire of Jurai."

At that, her gaze turned to the paralyzed shrine keeper. "Sir Heero… you said it was Katsuhito that threw Tenchi-ken to you… and that he wielded it prior, correct?"

Heero nodded. "Yes."

A thoughtful light appeared in her eyes. "Then the tree out in the middle of the lake… that was why it felt familiar, although I could not place it until now."

"What are you talking about?" asked Ryoko.

"That tree is the Royal Tree that was at the heart of Funaho," she said, "Now, for all intents and purposes, it is Funaho."

Heero's eyes widened ever so slightly as he followed Ayeka's gaze. "Then that means…"

Ayeka nodded. "Yes… it would appear that our kindly neighbor is none other than Yosho Masaki Jurai, crown prince of the Empire… and my older half-brother."

….

It felt surreal, saying those words. When Ayeka had first come to Earth, it had been to chase down Ryoko and bring the pirate to justice. Yosho Masaki Jurai had disappeared centuries ago, along with the Royal Treeship Funaho and the Master-Key Tenchi-ken. Earth was the last place that any of them should've been found, yet apparently all three had been right under the noses of Ayeka and her eccentric batch of friends.

Heero might've had questions, but he wasn't the only one. Ayeka's head was absolutely buzzing as she still struggled to process the implications of what she had learned so far and what she still needed to figure out. While she hadn't recognized the shrine keeper when they'd first met, something about him had seemed familiar, but for the life of her Ayeka had been unable to place it. Looking at it all in hindsight, she wanted to smack herself. So what if his appearance was that of an old man now? She still should've been able to piece things together before today's fiasco.

There were more important things to worry about than her inability to identify the man earlier, though. Of course, finding out why he was out here in the first place was one of the mysteries she wanted to resolve, but even that wasn't the most pressing matter as far as Ayeka was concerned. Why hadn't he said something when they'd met? Looking back, it was clear that he'd known from the start who Washu was, and Ayeka was sure that he'd recognized her and Sasami as well. Why had he continued to play the part of a local shrine keeper instead of coming clean?

Ayeka suspected she already knew the answer…

…and it had to do with the young man standing in front of her.

More specifically, it had to do with why he was capable of wielding not just a Master-Key, but none other than Tenchi-ken itself. For all his martial prowess, there was simply no way that a human like Heero should've been able to activate the blade of a Master-Key, yet he'd been able to do precisely that. There was only one explanation; he wasn't human. Not completely, at least. What was the part that wasn't human? Well, if he could ignite Tenchi-ken's blade, then there was only one explanation for that, too.

Sir Heero, she thought, I never would've imagined this, but you're…

…you're part Juraian.

That was quite the pill to swallow by itself, but of course that wasn't all. Heero didn't know it, but Ayeka did; not just any Juraian could wield a Key, let alone a Master-Key.

Only a member of the main branch of the Juraian Royal Family was capable of wielding Tenchi-ken.

And if a crown prince had made it all the way out to Earth long before Ayeka had found herself on this world, then she had a pretty good idea as to whom Heero was descended from.

This is… extraordinary.

And rather awkward.

How far down the tree was he? He didn't seem to be Yosho's son, although Ayeka couldn't rule it out. Far more likely was that he was a grandson, or possibly even further down. It was almost academic to speculate on such a matter, though; whether he was one-half Juraian, one-quarter, or even some smaller portion, it wasn't important. He was still capable of wielding Tenchi-ken, which was more than enough to qualify him as royalty by blood. Of course, this meant that he was related to Ayeka and her sister, and given the advances that she sought to make towards him… well, suffice to say that they'd been given an entirely new context, one that Heero was blissfully unaware of.

Of course, Ayeka doubted things would stay that way for long. If Kiyone was correct, Mihoshi, Yosho, and Washu would not remain paralyzed indefinitely. Once they were capable of speaking, she expected Heero to immediately begin questioning the scientist and the shrine keeper, and she knew that he would drive right to the heart of the matter. There was no getting around it; he was about to find out what he truly was.

"Ayeka?" came Heero's voice, snapping her out of her thoughts, "Ayeka, you there?"

The princess nearly jumped out of her robes; she'd been so focused on processing the implications behind Yosho being on Earth and what it meant that Heero could wield Tenchi-ken that she'd actually forgotten she was currently the subject of his interrogation. She looked down in embarrassment; was she blushing as hard as it felt like she was?

"Oh… sorry, Sir Heero!" she replied, "I was… lost in thought."

Ryoko scowled. "Well, get your thoughts back here. We don't have time for crap like that!"

Ayeka clenched her fists. "How dare you presume to dictate my time!"

"She's right, Ayeka," said Heero, "I'm sorry, but I need answers ASAP. The priest; you're sure about his identity?"

Ayeka nodded. "Yes. He looks… older than he should, but I have no doubt that it is him. The Royal Tree in the lake just down the hill from his shrine, the fact that he possessed Tenchi-ken… the pieces fit."

Ryoko rolled her eyes. "Great. As if dealing with two of you royals wasn't enough. Now we've got a third on our hands."

Ayeka gulped nervously as she looked at Heero. "Actually… we may have more than three."

Heero's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

For the life of her, Ayeka could not keep from fidgeting. "I… well, I'm not quite sure how to say this…"

"Don't worry about sugar-coating it," said Heero.

Ryoko nodded. "Just spit it out already."

Ayeka sighed. "In that case… there's a fourth here… and it's you, Sir Heero."

….

Ryoko had been expecting a conversation like this since the moment Heero had caught and activated the Master-Key. She'd felt the power that had surged through Heero quite clearly, and it hadn't been hard to recognize it as similar to what she'd sensed whenever she clashed with Ayeka. Still, to hear the princess say aloud that Heero was actually royalty was no small thing, and it was hard to say what would come next.

Heero, she thought as she looked at him, What does this mean for you?

At first glance, he appeared impassive, but Ryoko knew better. She'd had plenty of time to study his mannerisms, and even though he played the part of the stoic guardian his feelings did make themselves known to those who were observant enough to recognize them. There was a slight increase in the tension in his frame, along with an almost imperceptible narrowing of his eyes as he processed what Ayeka had just said. He didn't seem openly shocked, but he wasn't taking the revelation casually either.

The initial silence that greeted Ayeka's statement only served to further ratchet up the tension in the air. Ryoko couldn't blame Heero for being speechless. After all, he'd spent his whole life with the Earth Sphere believing that he was a human being. His abilities and skills were those developed by a human, albeit one with incredible resilience and tenacity. He'd never had a reason to question something as simple as what species he was, yet that was exactly what was happening here and now.

"You're mistaken," said Heero, although his voice didn't sound as firm as it normally did.

Ayeka shook her head. "With all due respect, Sir Heero, I am not. Actually, I suppose I should refer to you as 'Lord' Heero from this point forward."

"I don't need a title," Heero shot back, "I never asked for one, and one shouldn't apply now."

Ayeka sighed. "I understand that this is a lot to take in, but it is the truth… Lord Heero."

"Hold on!" Quatre chimed in, "Ayeka, how can you be so sure that Heero's… well, royalty?"

"The fact that Lord Heero was capable of wielding Tenchi-ken is all the proof that is required, Quatre," Ayeka replied, "That weapon is one that can only be used by members of the main branch of the Juraian Royal Family. Its last known possessor was crown prince Yosho Masaki Jurai, who disappeared several centuries ago. For it to be in the possession of our neighbor, whom I might add demonstrated himself capable of wielding it per Lord Heero's testimony, means that the world Lord Yosho wound up on was Earth. More importantly, it is abundantly clear that Lord Yosho did more than simply survive out here; he continued his bloodline."

"Ayeka, isn't that a bit of leap?" asked Kiyone.

It was a rare occasion that Ryoko would leap to Ayeka's defense, but that's exactly what she ended up doing now. "Actually… it's not."

Heero turned to her. "Ryoko?"

She put her hand on his shoulder, hoping to offer at least a little bit of comfort amid all the confusion. "Heero, when you caught that sword and activated it… I could feel the power it unleashed inside you. That's Juraian energy running through your veins now. Trust me; I'd know it anywhere. It might sound crazy, but… well, Ayeka's right."

Ayeka's eyes widened. "You… you're actually taking my side?"

"Don't get used to it," Ryoko shot back, "I just want to help Heero. That's all there is to it."

Ayeka nodded. "I see."

Ryoko watched Heero look over at the bedridden shrine keeper, his brow furrowing in thought. She could tell that he needed time to process everything, but with all that had just happened he wasn't giving himself the room to do so. He was trying to focus on everyone else's safety, but with the revelations that were being dropped on him his concentration was being thrown off through no fault of his own.

"Forgive me for questioning you, Princess Ayeka," said Azaka, "but can this really be true?"

"It boggles my circuits!" chimed Kamidake, "To think that the heir of Prince Yosho is none other than our host is nothing short of astounding!"

"I'm no one's heir," Heero cut in, and Ryoko could detect a hint of agitation, "I have no family to inherit anything from."

"You're mistaken in that belief, Lord Heero," Ayeka countered, "It's only natural that you find this difficult to reconcile with your past experience, though. You've had no cause to suspect that your origins were anything other than human before today, after all."

"So Heero's actually part of our family?" asked Sasami, her eyes widening, "That's incredible! Do you think Mother and Father know about him, Ayeka?"

Ayeka shook her head. "I'm afraid that's quite unlikely, Sasami. They didn't even know where Lord Yosho had disappeared to centuries ago. The odds of them knowing that he found his way to Earth and stayed here long enough to have descendants are extremely low."

"This is a mess…" Heero muttered, and Ryoko suspected he was talking to himself rather than the rest of them.

Quatre sighed. "That's putting it lightly."

Heero looked over at Kiyone. "How much longer until they'll be able to move?"

"At least a half-an-hour or so for Mihoshi and the priest," she replied, "As for Washu… well, that's harder to say."

"This ship's secure, right?" he asked.

Kiyone nodded. "No one's sneaking in here without Yagami's intruder detection grid picking them up."

"Good," said Heero as he headed for the medical bay's exit, "Contact me when they're able to move again. I'm going outside."

"Lord Heero, wait!" Ayeka protested.

"I need some air," he replied firmly, "and some space. I'll come back once I hear from Kiyone."

"Heero…" said Ryoko softly.

He was out the door before she could do anything else. She was torn as to whether or not she should follow him. On the one hand, she was sure that he genuinely needed some breathing room in light of everything he was being hit with, but it wasn't something that he should have to deal with alone.

Quatre looked at her and smiled; he seemed to be reading her mind. "I'll go talk to him."

"You sure?" she asked, "I can go…"

Quatre shook his head. "It'll be better if it's me this time. I'm sure he trusts you, but I've known him longer. I think I know what's going through his head. It'll help if it's someone that he's a bit more familiar with."

Ryoko couldn't argue with that.

….

Kneeling at the edge of the lake, Heero dipped his hands into the frigid water and brought them back to his face. The cold helped clear his head just a little bit, but it wasn't nearly enough for his liking.

Here I was, hoping for a quiet day, he thought, I can't believe what I got instead…

An attack from Nagi was one thing. He'd dealt with her before, and while the aftermath of the first incident hadn't exactly been fun, he'd still been able to handle things reasonably well. Today's strike had been much more ambitious, and while no one had been killed and Katsuhito and Mihoshi seemed on track to make a full recovery, Washu's state was much more tenuous. All Heero could do on that front was trust that the equipment at Kiyone's disposal would be able to keep the scientist stable long enough for her to recover. His report to Lady Une and Sally was going to be a major hassle, especially in light of both the damage to the house and the fact that the shrine keeper was still considered to be an outside civilian by Preventers; his involvement in the incident at the very least meant a lot more paperwork would be needed.

Of course, after-action reports and confidentiality forms were the least of Heero's problems at the moment.

The old man actually being a Juraian wasn't too surprising in light of his previous reactions to Heero's guests; the priest had always been way too calm, so his actually not being from Earth to being with explained quite a bit. It was going to be awkward to explain to his superiors that their friendly neighbor was actually another alien that had been living on their world for who knew how many centuries, although it would make containing the incident a little easier.

Not for the first time since the clash had ended, he looked down at his left hand. The pain he'd felt when he had grabbed Nagi's whip barehanded still echoed in his mind, yet there wasn't so much as even a minor burn on his palm.

It's one thing for the old man to have been an extraterrestrial all this time, he mused, but to think that there was one more under everyone's noses… including, ironically enough, my own. I never used to agree with that old saying 'ignorance is bliss', but now… well, I'm not so sure.

His earlier denial was fruitless. He'd known that Ayeka was right, yet he'd still fought it. Why? The instant he had caught Tenchi-ken and felt that strange power awaken within him, he'd recognized the truth on an instinctive level. Denying a clear truth wasn't productive, especially at a time like this, but he'd tried to do exactly that.

"Penny for your thoughts?" came a familiar male voice.

Looking over his shoulder, Heero saw Quatre walking towards him. "They're only worth that much?"

Quatre laughed. "Okay, poor word choice!"

Heero shook his head as he stood up and looked out across the lake at the island and the tree. "Don't worry about it."

Quatre came up next to him. "I don't think I've seen you this conflicted since the war. Then again, I can't exactly blame you given all that you got hit with back there."

Heero sighed. "It's completely nuts, but…"

"You already know that it's true," Quatre finished for him.

Heero raised an eyebrow. "You sound like you're accepting it easier than I am."

Quatre shrugged. "Well, too be fair, I doubt I'm the only one who's wondered if you're really human. I mean, you did survive self-detonating the Wing Gundam in Siberia. If anything should've killed you, it was that."

"That was the idea," Heero deadpanned, "I didn't plan on living through that."

"But you did," Quatre replied, "At the time, we all chalked it up to you just being freakishly tough thanks to your training. Now, though… well, I can't say for sure, but it looks like there might've been more to it than that."

"Maybe," Heero conceded, once again thinking about how quickly the injuries he'd sustained during his fight with Nagi had healed.

I didn't feel anything like this back then, he thought, but given the wounds I sustained during that incident, there should've been some permanent scarring. Maybe this power was active back then, but in a subtler manner…

"I know it raises a bunch of questions," said Quatre, "but it still doesn't fundamentally change who you are as a person. You're still you, Heero. It's just that there's a bit more to you than what you once thought."

"Just a bit?" Heero quipped, "That might be a sizable 'bit' you're talking about."

Quatre shrugged. "Well, we won't know for sure until your neighbor and Washu are able to talk. Sure, it'll give you some answers to your heritage, but at the end of the day you're the only one who can decide what to do with that knowledge. How it impacts you going forward is up to you and you alone."

That was a comforting notion, but Heero had to wonder if it would really be that simple. The old man's words prior to throwing him Tenchi-ken were still echoing in his mind.

"To awaken."

Had he just been referring to Heero's hidden power, or was there more to it? If Heero had to place a wager, it would be on the latter. A long-lost crown prince of Jurai ending up on the same planet as an exiled scientist of galactic renown struck Heero as a very improbable coincidence, to put it mildly. Other forces were at work here. He was sure of it, even if he couldn't perceive them just yet.

He could ponder those later; he had more immediate concerns that required addressing. "Quatre… I know you're aware of my situation with my guests, but still…"

"Don't worry," Quatre interjected, "I won't spread word about what happened here lightly. I was able to keep your guests' secrets confined to the party guests last time, remember?"

Heero nodded. "Right… thanks. I know you've got a company to run and can't stick around all day, but I'm sure Sally and Lady Une will want a word with you since you got caught up in this attack."

Quatre shook his head. "It's no big deal. My sisters and Rasheed can run things just fine when I'm not around, so I can hang out here for as long as you need me to."

Heero raised an eyebrow. "You're awfully relaxed about that."

Quatre smiled. "I might've spent the past few years in the corporate world, but I still know how all this 'world security' stuff works. Sally and Lady Une can take all the statements from me that they need."

"I'm sure they'll the appreciate your cooperation," said Heero, "Thanks."

"Hey, the least I can do is try to make this mess a bit easier for you to clean up," Quatre replied, "I know your superiors won't be happy, but they shouldn't take it out on you. You did the best you could, and no one died. Given the circumstances, that's about the best anyone could hope for."

Heero's eyes narrowed as he looked up at the Yagami. "I'm not so sure about that."

"What do you mean?" asked Quatre.

"Washu," he said, "She's in worse shape than Mihoshi and the shrine keeper, and it's because Nagi was targeting her specifically. That device she placed on her head… what the hell was it?"

"I hope you're not expecting me to know," said Quatre, "I've got way less experience when it comes to this whole alien visitor business than you do, after all."

Heero sighed. "Right. Anyway, when Nagi left… it wasn't because we forced her to. She got what she came for."

"What would that be, though?" asked Quatre, "She's a bounty hunter, right? She didn't leave with any prisoners."

Heero shook his head. "It wasn't an individual she was after this time. That device… this going to sound crazy, but the only thing I can think of is that it was somehow capable of stealing whatever information was in Washu's head."

Quatre's eyes widened. "Wait, you mean she was copying Washu's memories? That can't be possible!"

"Just because it's beyond the realm of our technology doesn't mean it's beyond what technology from outside our star system is capable of," Heero remind him, "We're dealing with people who have advanced far enough to be able to travel across the galaxy. Who are we to say what else they're capable of?"

"Fair point," Quatre conceded, "Still, to be able to look into someone's mind and copy memories… that's pretty disturbing."

Heero nodded. "No argument there. It's the only thing that makes sense, though."

"Why Washu's memories, though?" asked Quatre.

"Apparently, she was renowned throughout the galaxy as a brilliant inventor before she wound up out here," said Heero, "If I had to guess, I'd say that whoever hired Nagi wanted information on one of her creations. That's just speculation, though."

Quatre shook his head. "It sounds crazy, but I think you're right. Nothing else fits, anyway. Of course, if Washu was exiled for her inventions and someone's after one or more of them… well, that raises some rather disturbing questions."

On that, Heero was in full agreement.

….

Ayeka could not stop fidgeting nervously by the bedside as she looked at the bedridden priest. Motion seemed to have steadily returned to him over the past few minutes, and it looked as though he was testing to see just how much his body had recovered. Now he looked at her, and Ayeka could not help but fear what was coming next.

She was taken aback when he smiled at her, and he seemed quite calm when he spoke. "Well… I imagine you never thought that we'd meet again under circumstances such as these."

Ayeka sighed. "So, it really is you… Lord Yosho."

The long-lost crown prince of Jurai chuckled. "There's hardly a need for titles out here, Ayeka. This isn't the Empire, and if my old position meant something to me, I would've returned to Jurai the first moment it was possible."

"You're okay!" cried Sasami as she rushed forward and hugged him.

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki from her perch on Sasami's shoulder.

"Quite so," said Yosho as he returned her embrace, "How are you doing, Sasami? I'm sure today has not been easy on."

Sasami shook her head as she let go. "I'm fine, but… why didn't you tell us sooner about who you were, Yosho? We've missed you!"

"Forgive me," he replied, "I'm afraid that I've grown accustomed to life out here, and I felt it best to remain incognito for the time being."

"Right up until it blew up in our faces," said Kiyone as she approached, "I'm glad you're feeling better, but you've got some explaining to do."

Yosho nodded as he looked around. "Of course, but first thing's first; how are Mihoshi and Washu?"

In the next bed over, Mihoshi yawned and stretched her arms. "What's going on? I was having a good dream!"

Unbelievable, thought Ayeka, I can't believe she was able to sleep while paralyzed like that! I swear, what is with this woman?

"It's good to see you awake, Lord Yosho," said Azaka.

"I must say, I still can't quite believe it's really you!" chirped Kamidake.

Yosho smiled as he turned towards them. "Ah, good to see the two of you are looking no worse for the wear."

"Really, it was irresponsible for you to remain in isolation on this planet," Azaka chided him.

"Your presence has been very much missed at court," said Kamidake.

Yosho nodded. "My apologies, but for much of my time here I'm afraid it could not be helped."

"You got shipwrecked here, didn't you?" said Ryoko as she walked over, "That's your Royal Tree in the middle of the lake in front of our house, right?"

"That's correct," Yosho replied, "Although the shipwrecking was not accidental; a mutual adversary took the opportunity to attack Funaho and strand me here while I was in the middle of an investigation."

Ayeka was confused. "Mutual adversary? Investigation? What in the name of Tsunami are you talking about, Lord Yosho?"

She was even more puzzled to see him turn to none other that Sasami. "Tsunami… that may be a more fitting invocation than you think."

He then looked past her at Washu's bed. "So, she still hasn't recovered. I suppose that's no surprise given the mental torture she must've suffered. She'll need more rest before she'll be ready to help me fill the rest of you in."

Kiyone's eyes narrowed. "Fill the rest of us in on what?"

"Yeah," said Mihoshi, "What's going on? Why did Nagi come back but not go after Ryoko? Who were those two girls with her?"

"And what did they want with Washu?" Ayeka added, "The device that Nagi pressed to her head… what was its purpose?"

Yosho seemed to be looking past the lot of them. "It seems we're missing a few people. Where's my grandson and his old comrade?"

Ayeka's face paled as she realized what the crown prince was referring to. "Your grandson… you mean Lord Heero, don't you?"

Sasami's eyes widened. "Really?"

"So that's how far down the family tree he is…" Ryoko murmured.

Mihoshi looked very confused. "Wait, Heero's the old guy's grandson? Why are you calling him 'Lord', Ayeka? You've always called him 'Sir' Heero."

"Well, Mihoshi," said Kiyone, "You missed a few things while you were taking your nap…"

"If you're looking for Lord Heero and Quatre, they are both currently outside," said Azaka.

"Lord Heero seemed to be rather preoccupied," chirped Kamidake.

Yosho nodded. "Yes… I imagine that would be the case."

"I'll let the two of them know to come in," said Kiyone, "Heero did ask me to contact him once you were awake. It sounded like he's got quite a few questions for you."

Ayeka saw Yosho close his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them again, they had a very somber look in them. "I suspect so… and he's long overdue for answers."

….

As Heero and Quatre walked into the room, Ryoko studied them carefully. For better or worse, Heero had his game face on; cool and collected, betraying no hints as to his true emotional state. Quatre looked a little concerned about his friend, but other than that he was as calm as Heero.

I hope their talk went well, she thought, Heero… are you ready for this?

Her young host caught her staring, but he gave her nothing other than a small nod of acknowledgement before turning his full focus to Yosho. The tension permeating the room felt thicker than the smoke that had shrouded Nagi's earlier withdrawal, and Ryoko could only watch and wait for either Heero or the old man to kick things off.

Silence hung between them for what seemed like forever before Heero made his opening move. "How long have you known?"

Yosho didn't wait for Heero to specify; he seemed to know exactly what his interrogator was after, and he got straight to it. "From the moment you first showed up at my shrine."

Heero was quiet for a moment before he responded, and the hint of darkness in his gaze sent a chill down Ryoko's spine. "From the beginning, then… and you said nothing."

The young man still appeared calm on the surface, but his voice had lowered ever so slightly. Ryoko couldn't begin to guess what was going through his mind, but it was clear that he wasn't happy with the old man's answer.

If Yosho took issue with Heero's tone, he gave no sign of it. "I needed to find out what kind of man you had truly become. The power in our bloodline can be devastating in the wrong hands."

"So I was a potential threat, then," said Heero, "Sound about right?"

Yosho faced down Heero's accusation head-on without so much as blinking. "I would've been a fool to rule it out. I resolved to not allow my personal feelings to cloud my judgement. It was important to take the time needed to observe you and determine just who you truly were as an individual."

"An observation that you only started once I walked right up to your front door," Heero countered, "What about all the years before that? My power could've awakened at any time, yet you don't seem to have been all that concerned about it; you made no efforts to find me even though my face was that of one of the most wanted men in the world during the war."

Yosho shook his head. "Without Tenchi-ken, the odds of you unlocking your power via other means were extremely unlikely. Besides, how was I supposed to find you in a world at war? You were constantly on the move from one front to another. You've seen my humble shrine; do you really think I possessed the resources needed for such a pursuit?"

"You didn't even try, though, did you?" asked Heero.

It was quickly becoming clear to Ryoko that Quatre's talk with Heero hadn't brought the peace to the young man that she'd been hoping for. He'd kept up a calm and stoic demeanor since long before Ryoko had met him, but now his true feelings were simmering and threatening to boil over.

I still don't know much about his past, she thought, even after all the time I've spent with him. Still… I think I know where all this is coming from.

Everything she'd learned about Heero over the past few months had pointed to a quiet young man who'd experienced more than his fair share of death and destruction prior to their meeting. What made that all the more poignant was that all indicators pointed to him doing so without any kind of family to offer support and understanding. That was something Ryoko could relate to quite easily; after all, she'd gone her whole life without anyone apart from Ryo-Ohki that she could consider to be family.

Yosho's expression didn't outwardly change much, but his gaze did seem to take on a somber, almost repentant air. "No… I did not. In truth… part of me was afraid of what I might find. I've seen more than my share of war; I know what it can do to those who survive it. I feared it might've turned you into… well, into something I might not even recognize as my grandson. I'm most pleased to say that you've proven my fears to be very much misplaced. You are far more resilient than I had ever imagined, and your strength came from your own force of will and conviction, not the power of our bloodline."

Heero closed his eyes for a moment before he spoke again. "I see. So… if you're my grandfather, would that be on my mother's side or my father's? Not that I knew either of them, but it'd at least be nice to know the truth."

Yosho gave him a small smile. "Actually, I believe you did know at least one of them. He wasn't the man that my daughter ultimately married, but from what she told me I have no doubt that he was your father."

"What are you talking about?" asked Heero.

"When you were born, your mother was going under a different name than the one she had been born with," said Yosho, "This was hardly a surprise to me; as her professional career advanced, she gave me fewer and fewer details, but I was still able to piece it together. Achika was kind and gentle, but she was also very intelligent… so much so that it drew the attention of those who truly ruled this world in the shadows of the United Earth Sphere Alliance."

Heero's brow furrowed. "You're saying she was recruited by OZ."

Yosho nodded. "Yes. Achika never said it outright; when she entered the workforce after graduating from college, she told me that she'd been hired by a security firm she'd interned with during her senior year. She said that it was a clerical position that paid well, but as the gaps in her correspondences and visits grew larger, I came to realize that there was much she wasn't telling me. Combine that with the fact that she was frequently away on what she referred to as 'business trips' where she could give me hardly any details as to the nature of said 'business' and… well, it wasn't hard to put two and two together."

Heero's eyes widened ever so slightly. "She was an operative…"

Yosho chuckled. "Yes… imagine my surprise when I figured out that you had gone into a similar line of work."

Heero's mom… Achika…, Ryoko thought as she processed everything, she did the same kind of work that he does? I'm not sure what I was expecting, but… well, it definitely wasn't that.

It didn't take Heero long to recover and continue his questioning. "You said she was going by a different name when I was born. What was it?"

"Aoi," he replied, "She went by several aliases, but that was the most common one. I believe it was also the one under which she first met your father and had her affair with him."

Heero folded his arms. "My father… you said he wasn't the man she ended up marrying, right? Who was he?"

Yosho sighed. "He was a fellow OZ operative… one of their very best, I believe. His talents certainly led him to make his impact on world history, and in a manner that I think he came to regret. What he set in motion with a single shot ultimately became the spark that truly ignited the colonial rebellion and set the stage for the war that you took part in."

"Odin Lowe…" said Heero, so softly his voice was all but a whisper.

"Who's that?" asked Ryoko as she put a hand on his shoulder, "Heero?"

There was a moment of silence before he answered. "The man who raised me… and the man who assassinated the original Heero Yuy."

Ayeka's eyes widened. "Wait a moment… do you mean the peace activist you once told me about? The one you were named for?"

Heero nodded. "The very same. That whole time, I had no idea…"

"I suspected that he hadn't told you the truth," said Yosho, "After the affair that led to your conception, my daughter married a man named Seis Clark. Her correspondences spoke fondly of him, although… well, if I recall her messages correctly, I don't think she ever truly moved on from the man she'd had such a passionate affair with. I believe that she and Odin went their separate ways in large part to protect you, although this is just speculation on my part. When she married Mr. Clark, it was still under the alias of Aoi, and I think she did so in order to mask your true parentage. After all, what do you think OZ would do if they found out that two of their operatives, including the best sniper in the organization, had a son?"

Ryoko knew the answer in a heartbeat. "They would've wanted to use him."

Yosho chuckled ruefully. "You catch on quickly. OZ was ruthless, seeking any advantage it could grasp in order to maintain power over the Earth Sphere. It would not surprise me if they sought to take a child of their operatives and set him down the same path. In fact… I believe that's exactly what they tried to do."

"What do you mean?" asked Kiyone.

Yosho's gaze remained focused on Heero. "You've wondered why you don't remember your parents, right? The truth is simple; while Achika and Odin Lowe wanted to keep you away from OZ and took every step they could to hide your existence, the truth eventually got out. They could sense the net was tightening, so one day Achika arranged for her former lover to come pick up. It wasn't a moment too soon; merely a few days later, 'Aoi' and Seis Clark were both found murdered. It was officially reported as a home invasion gone wrong, but I know the truth; OZ was after you, and they killed my daughter and her husband when they attempted to kidnap you. As for your real father… I believe he was killed a few years afterwards."

"A.C. 188," said Heero, "It was at L3 X-18999."

Yosho's eyes widened slightly. "You were there…"

Heero nodded. "Yeah… I was on a mission there with him."

Ayeka gasped. "Hold on a moment! A.C. 188… you would've been a child at that time, Lord Heero! Why in the name of Tsunami would you have been on a mission at such a young age?"

"It was what I was trained for," Heero replied, "Odin Lowe taught me everything he knew during our time together. When we were at that colony, I was helping the colonial rebels while he was setting up to assassinate an Alliance general."

A very uncomfortable feeling was gradually growing in Ryoko's gut. "Heero… how exactly were you 'helping' at that time?"

"Direct combat support," said Heero, "I went to the engagement zone with an RPG and attempted to take out the enemy's control tower. A mobile suit intercepted my shot, though."

Mihoshi's eyes widened in horror. "You were in the middle of a battlefield when you were just a kid?"

Kiyone shook her head, and the pity in her eyes was clear for all to see. "Heero…"

She wasn't the only one. Everyone in the room was looking at him, Ryoko included, and she imagined they were all trying to picture the same thing; a much younger version of him in the middle of a warzone. It was an utterly gut-wrenching mental image, and Ryoko was surprised to find herself fighting back tears just thinking about it. What made it even worse was just how calm Heero was now as he was telling them all about it. For anyone else, to go through something like that at such a young age would've been a terribly traumatic experience, yet he could speak of it without so much as flinching.

What else had he gone through in order to become so stoic in the face of such a brutal childhood?

"The mission was a failure," Heero continued, seemingly unfazed by the reactions of his companions, "With the control tower still operation, the Alliance forces in the area were able to coordinate their actions and defeat the rebel force on the field. As for Odin Lowe, he failed to kill the general he was after and was mortally wounded. By the time I found him, he was moments away from death."

Yosho nodded. "So, you were there at the end, then. I'm sure your father found that to be comforting."

"Yeah…" said Heero softly, "Maybe…"

Quatre stepped forward. "Don't beat yourself up over it, Heero. You didn't even know that he was your father at the time."

Heero closed his eyes for a moment. "No… he never said anything. That seems to be a common theme these days."

He turned his gaze back to the shrine keeper, his eyes narrowing. "How long were you planning on keeping all of this from me? If the attack hadn't took place today and forced your hands, you would've kept sitting on all of this, wouldn't you?"

Yosho shook his head. "I had planned on telling you soon. However, not all that you must learn is for me to tell you; someone else has her part to play in your education as well."

"Washu…" said Ryoko as she looked over at the bedridden scientist.

"Will she wake up soon?" asked Sasami.

"Meow!" whined Ryo-Ohki.

Kiyone looked over at the monitor on the wall again. "That's hard to say. She looks like she's stabilized a bit, but it's still touch and go."

"Give her time," said Yosho, "She'll pull through."

"I hope so," said Mihoshi.

Ayeka folded her arms. "She owes us some answers."

"And a system diagnostic," added Azaka.

"I hope our reboots didn't cause any system bugs!" chirped Kamidake.

"Who'd notice with you two?" Ryoko quipped.

Heero, for his part, remained focused on Yosho. "So, that's your play? Have us wait for her to wake up so you don't have to tell us anything else right now?"

Yosho nodded. "Yes. I know you don't like it, but it's important that you get the complete picture. Together, Washu and I will be able to provide you proper context with regards to our present situation."

Ryoko's eyes narrowed. "You know who's behind this attack, don't you?"

Yosho sighed. "I have a good idea, yes. I believe Washu's thoughts on the matter will be along the same lines as mine. Once she comes to, you'll get all the answers you seek and more. You have my word."

There was a tense silence between the old man and Heero before the latter spoke. "All right, then. We'll wait until Washu recovers, but not a second longer. Understood?"

"Of course," said Yosho.

"In that case, I'll be inside the house," said Heero as he headed for the door, "I need to start cleaning up the mess in there."

"I'll come with you," said Quatre, "The least I can do is give you a hand."

Ryoko smiled. "Count me in, too."

Ayeka raised an eyebrow. "You're volunteering to help with cleaning? This is a strange day."

Ryoko rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

You're lucky I'm not in the mood to pick a fight with you right now, she thought as she followed Heero and Quatre out the door, I'm only holding back because I don't want to cause Heero any more trouble than he's already got to deal with today…

….

Being on the other end of an invasive memory scanning and copying device sucked. Washu had been well aware of this thanks to her thorough research on the subject leading up to the creation of the device that had been used on her, but dealing with the effects firsthand even hours after the attack was still an ordeal unlike any other that'd she'd had to face. It felt as though her mind was slowly trying to stitch back together the deep fissures that had been gouged into it, and all the while a blazing white light threatened to overwhelm any of her attempts to concentrate on the task at hand.

Damn it, she thought as she struggled to bring order to chaos, I knew it'd be bad, but still…

Damn you, Kagato!

Ironically enough, thinking of the man that she was certain had orchestrated Nagi's attack gave her something to center her thoughts on, aiding the process of putting herself back together mentally. Focusing on that helped her begin to reassert some semblance of control over the disorder that plagued her mind, and the pain was already starting to subside somewhat as a result.

She replayed the attack in her head as a form of exercise, going over everything that had happened from every possible angle. The more she did so, the clearer the picture became. The blazing white light that was burning in her head gradually grew dimmer and dimmer as she reasserted control while simultaneously processing the implications of what had happened and what her response would be.

No doubt about it, she thought, our idle time on this backwater planet is at an end. The enemy's taken the initiative, and if we don't respond quickly then their lead will become insurmountable.

She had no doubt in her mind what the enemy was after; the moment Nagi had brandished the memory scanner, Washu had instantly realized what she was really after, even if the bounty hunter likely hadn't been given all of the key details. She could at least take a small measure of comfort in the fact that if Kagato was resorting to such measures then it meant that her original contingency had lasted for far longer than she had initially hoped for. Of course, once Nagi returned to her client with her precious cargo, it would not take long for that contingency to be compromised.

The next move was all too clear; they had to leave Earth ASAP. It would take her companions by surprise, but Washu was sure that once she outlined the real stakes involved, they'd be willing to play along. Or course, she suspected that they'd give her a thorough interrogation first, especially Heero.

I'm not sure how long I've been down, she thought, but I'm willing to bet that Yosho's more or less already recovered. No doubt Heero's well into questioning him. How much has he already learned?

I suppose I'll find out soon enough.

….

The call from Kiyone had come quicker than expected; Heero, Quatre and Ryoko had only been cleaning for a couple hours before the Galaxy Police officer informed them that Washu was coming around. The trio had bolted to the Yagami and rushed into the infirmary in short order, nearly tripping over each other in the process.

Courtesy and grace be damned, he thought, I need answers immediately, so unfortunately you're not going to have much time to get your bearings, Washu.

Sure enough, there she was, sitting up in the bed and rubbing her hand against her forehead. "Ah, damn it… that's worse than any hangover!"

"Washu!" cried Sasami.

The red-headed scientist grimaced. "Jeez, turn it down a bit, Sasami! Loud voices and me don't exactly mix well at the moment."

Sasami gasped. "Oh, sorry!"

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki as she hopped onto the bed and rubbed against Washu.

Washu smiled as she gave the living starship a pat on the head. "Aw, were you worried about me? Sorry about that!"

"How are you feeling?" asked Mihoshi.

Washu sighed, still wincing at what Heero imagined to be quite the headache. "Well, I've had better days. I don't think any of my homegrown hangover cures are going to help with this. It'll probably be a couple days before I'm back to a hundred percent."

Kiyone sighed. "As much as I'd like to tell you to go ahead and take it easy, I'm afraid that's a luxury we can't afford right now."

Washu looked over at Heero and Ryoko. "Yeah… I suppose you're right."

She then glanced over at Yosho. "Hey there, old friend. How long was I out of it?"

"No more than a few hours," Yosho replied.

Washu nodded, her eyes narrowing. "Less time than I thought. Still… how much have you told them?"

"Enough to get things moving," said Yosho as he nodded at Heero, "Heero now knows his heritage."

Washu smiled at the Gundam pilot. "Is that so? Tell me, Heero; how does it feel to know that you're actually royalty?"

"I've got the feeling that it's going to be more trouble than it's worth," Heero deadpanned.

Washu chuckled. "That might be truer than you could possibly imagine at the moment."

"Washu," said Ayeka nervously, "Forgive my impatience, but…"

Washu sighed. "You want answers, I know."

"And a system diagnostic!" added Azaka.

"Please!" chirped Kamidake.

Washu rolled her eyes. "I'll get to you two later, so pipe down."

"I'm sorry about this," said Quatre as he stepped forward, "Normally I'd be all for giving you more time to rest, but…"

Washu smiled. "Hey, don't worry about it. I'm sure you've got about as many questions as everyone else given that you haven't had quite as much exposure to us as Heero."

Quatre nodded. "That's a good way to put it. I've learned a lot about you all, but compared to Heero I'm still a neophyte when it comes to where you're all from and what sort of issues you have to deal with."

Washu turned to Heero. "Yeah… and it turns out that an old friend of yours is more involved in our 'issues' than you ever could've guessed."

Heero folded his arms. "My part in all this can wait. For now, we've got more important things to discuss."

"Heero's right," said Ryoko, "Nagi wasn't after me this time; she was after you. She had the chance to grab you, but she didn't take it. She just put that thing on your head instead and then bugged out later. What the hell was that all about?"

Washu closed her eyes for a moment. "For a scientist, I think the ultimate irony is when their own inventions are used against them."

Kiyone's eyes widened. "Hold on, you mean you created that thing?"

"I had a bit of help," Washu admitted, "A colleague to bounce ideas off of and fine tune it, but the final product was built by my hands. You have no idea how much I regret that right about now. Well, what's done is done."

"What does it do?" asked Sasami.

"It's designed to actively scan, copy and store memories," Washu replied, "Don't let the sleek package fool you; the scans are accomplished through what's pretty much a brute force mental invasion. Suffice to say that it hurts like hell."

"Why would someone want your memories?" asked Mihoshi.

"I can think of a few reasons," said Kiyone dryly.

Washu nodded. "I've got more than a few nasty projects out there that I imagine people would do just about anything to get their hands on. Based on the device that was used on me, though, I've got a pretty good idea as to who Nagi's client is, along with what they're really after."

"He's finally made his move…" said Yosho softly.

Heero's eyes narrowed. "Who?"

"An old colleague of mine," Washu replied, "and a relative of Yosho's… and by extension, of the rest of our resident Juraian royals. His name is Kagato Kiryuin Jurai."

Ayeka's eyes widened in shock. "Lord Kagato of the Kiryuin branch family? You cannot be serious!"

Washu sighed. "Afraid that I am, Ayeka. I've got no concrete proof to present, of course, but given that the device Nagi used was built in very limited numbers… and that Kagato was the one that helped me create in the first place… well, it's a pretty safe bet at this point."

"He won't be acting alone," Yosho cut in, "Don't forget his sister."

Washu grimaced. "Believe me, I haven't."

"So, these are branch royals that we're up against," Ryoko murmured, "No wonder they could afford to hire Nagi to do their dirty work. Damn… what the hell did you do to piss them off?"

Washu gave a weary smile. "Would you believe me if I said it was due to a philosophical difference?"

"Sorry, but that sounds like a dodge," said Quatre.

"No kidding," Ryoko quipped.

The gears were spinning away in Heero's mind, and based on the limited information presented so far, he was able to find one workable hypothesis that fit the situation. "You said this 'Kagato' was an old colleague of yours, right? If he's after your memories, then would I be wrong in assuming he's looking for information regarding an invention of yours that he didn't have access to?"

Washu smirked. "Not quite, but you're not too far from the mark, either. You catch on quickly, Heero!"

"What is it, then?" asked Ayeka, "What does Lord Kagato want so badly that he was willing to employ a bounty hunter of galactic renown and two accomplices to acquire?"

Washu sighed. "I'm afraid the answer to that requires a bit of a history lesson."

"We've got time for it," said Heero.

Ryoko nodded. "We're not going anywhere until we get to the bottom of this, so you might as well get started."

Washu turned to Yosho. They regarded each other for a moment before they both turned towards Heero. Their gazes were piercing, but the Gundam pilot wasn't about to be intimidated.

A second later, it was Yosho that broke the silence. "Very well, then. Tell me, Heero; what have your companions told you about the Imperial Civil War?"

"Not much," he replied, "It was triggered by a combined uprising of several branch royal families and lasted for about two thousand years, right? That's what Ayeka told me a while back, anyway."

"That's the short version," said Washu, "Of course, there's a lot more to it than that."

"There always is when it comes to civil wars," said Quatre.

"What does a conflict that ended nine-hundred years ago have to do with what Nagi's after?" asked Kiyone.

"Everything," Washu countered.

"I don't like the sound of this," Mihoshi muttered.

"Meow!" whined Ryo-Ohki.

"What happened?" asked Sasami.

Washu turned to Ayeka rather than the younger princess. "What did your tutors tell you about the end of the war?"

Ayeka raised an eyebrow. "Why is that relevant?"

"Answer and you'll find out," Washu shot back.

Ayeka closed her eyes for a moment. "Well, from what I recall from my lessons… there was a massive final push against the core worlds of the rebelling branch royals. It ended in victory for the forces of the throne, but the casualties were astronomical. The fighting was so fierce that the homeworlds of the disloyal branch royals were scoured to the point of being rendered completely uninhabitable."

Quatre winced. "Brutal way to end a war."

Washu chuckled ruefully. "Indeed… and that's the official version of how it ended."

"Official version?" Sasami repeated.

"What are you talking about?" asked Mihoshi.

"The historical record was… embellished after the war came to an end," Yosho answered, "It was believed that if the public knew what had really happened, the would become… well, 'agitated' would be considered a significant understatement."

Ayeka blinked in confusion. "What are you suggesting?"

"That your tutors lied to you, as the Empire of Jurai lied to the entire galaxy," Washu replied bluntly, "I should've known that your father wouldn't let you learn the truth. He always did like to make sure that he came out of things looking good."

Ayeka glared at her. "Just what are you implying?"

"Apparently, we're missing the complete picture," said Kiyone, "So, if the 'official' version isn't the real deal, then do you mind filling us in on what actually went down?"

Washu nodded. "Sure, but you're not going to like it. After all, it wasn't just the Empire that was complicit in what happened."

To her credit, Kiyone did not back down. "If you mean that the Galaxy Police was involved as well, then don't beat around the bush. I'd rather just have it all out in the open."

The scientist regarded her carefully for a moment before replying. "Well, now… I might've misjudged you, Kiyone."

"You actually admitting a mistake?" Ryoko quipped, "Did Hell just freeze over?"

"I've made more than my share of screwups over the ages," said Washu, "They just haven't come back to bite me in the ass quite as spectacularly as this one has until now."

"Enough stalling," Heero interjected, "Get on with it."

Washu sighed. "Very well, then. When the war first began, both sides anticipated a relatively short conflict. The rebels' strategy was simple; make a bold thrust right at the capitol and dethrone the Emperor in one fell-swoop. As for the Empire, their opening move was to launch an all-out assault on the rebels before they could properly consolidate their forces. They hoped to crush their fleets early, isolate their homeworlds and pick them off in short order. Unfortunately, what both sides got can most charitably be described as a massive screwup."

"Both sides wound up clashing prematurely," said Yosho, "They hadn't fully marshalled their forces, and the opening battles wound up being a series of bloody stalemates. Loyalists and rebels alike were forced to pull back, consolidate and lick their wounds. They'd underestimated each other's power and force of will; neither could be taken down in the opening campaign."

Washu nodded. "Both sides heavily fortified their positions. Key manufacturing worlds and junctions at critical trade lanes were reinforced to ridiculous degrees. Recruitment ramped up, and it wasn't long before conscription became the norm rather than the exception. Once both sides felt secure in their defenses and had bolstered their numbers, they began to launch fresh assaults against each other. However, they had once again underestimated the lengths to which their foes would go to in order to hold their ground, and all they received for their troubles were mountains of their own dead."

"That sounds familiar," said Quatre grimly.

"Yes, the parallels to Earth's First World War are rather prominent in this stage of the conflict," said Washu, "However, the body count of that meatgrinder is chump change compared to the wanton slaughter that the Empire and rebels inflicted upon each other."

Yosho closed his eyes for a moment. "And those were just the opening years of a war that lasted for two millennia."

"I take it things got worse, then," Heero deadpanned.

"That'd be an understatement," said Washu, "Years went by… then a decade, then two… then a century… and there was not so much as a hint of peace in sight."

Yosho nodded. "Members of the Juraian Royal Family, even if they're branch royals, can live a very long time. The same cannot be said for the vast majority of the Empire's citizens, though. Entire generations were born into, lived their lives amidst, and died in the fires of a galactic war. Many of them didn't even know what the conflict was about, only that it was all that the galaxy knew. The very idea of peace seemed like an impossible dream."

"But it clearly didn't last forever," Quatre pointed out, "Something caused the conflict to end."

Heero met Washu's gaze. "You had a hand in it, didn't you?"

Washu smiled. "Very astute of you. Yes, I did… and so did Kagato."

"How so?" asked Ayeka, "I know the Kiryuin branch was loyalist during the war, and Lord Kagato's sister in particular won great acclaim in many battles, but Lord Kagato himself was never noted in the histories I read before as being significantly involved in the conflict."

"That's because his involvement took place behind the scenes," Washu replied, "As did mine."

"That figures," Ryoko grumbled.

"What exactly did you do?" asked Kiyone.

Washu closed her eyes for a moment. "In hindsight, the worst mistake in my entire career. A combination of arrogance, desperation, and the desire to push my knowledge to its absolute limits… Kagato and I weren't all that different back then. It was only after the fruits of our collaboration were unleashed that we began to diverge. We each took different lessons from that calamity, and he learned the wrong ones."

One by one, the pieces were slowly falling into place for Heero. "The two of you created whatever was really responsible for the end of the war."

Washu smiled, but it had a haunted edge to it. "Yes. Our magnum opus, as your world might call it… and a Sword of Damocles that hangs over a blissfully ignorant galaxy to this very day."

"I take it that it was some form of weapon, then," said Quatre, "Care to elaborate?"

Washu nodded. "Of course. Weapons development in and of itself wasn't all that unusual for me; the Empire's arsenal owed as much to my research as it did to the power of the Royal Trees. It was the same for the Galaxy Police. Of course, both of them are loathe to admit it these days. I can't say that I blame them, all things considered."

"So… what exactly did you build?" asked Mihoshi.

"And why was it in collaboration with Lord Kagato?" Ayeka added.

"I'd never met a branch royal quite like him," said Washu, "He had the physical prowess and tutelage that one might expect, as well as the power that flows through the veins of any member of the royal bloodline, main or branch family. However, his intellect was far beyond any that I'd ever seen in a royal before. When we first met, he was already quite accomplished in his own right as a researcher and tinkerer, if you will, but even then, I could tell that he was just scratching the surface of his true potential. Sure enough, our collaboration during the war brought his talents into full bloom, and the galaxy paid for it dearly."

Yosho sighed. "I should've recognized what had awakened in him sooner. By the time I did, you had already been exiled."

"No one's perfect, old friend," said Washu with a chuckle, "Least of all the two of us."

Yosho nodded. "All too true."

Washu turned back to Heero and the others. "When we first started working together, it was actually rather mundane weapons research for the Imperial Juraian Navy. At that point, we were about three centuries into the war. It was just as much of a grinding slog then as it had been for the previous centuries; you didn't need to be genius to see that the status quo wouldn't be changed with conventional weapons research and development. A game changer was needed, and a big one at that."

"Was that what the two of you built?" asked Sasami.

Washu nodded. "It was. Of course, it took us a while just to settle on the concept, let alone run test simulations before pitching the final idea to the Emperor. Were it not for Kagato's status as a branch royal greasing the wheels, we wouldn't have even gotten that far. It took quite a lot of work to get the backing we needed. Construction of the weapon itself didn't actually begin until about five hundred years into the war, and it took over fourteen centuries until it was complete. Even after that, the final decision to actually use it wasn't one that was made right away."

"So, what was it, then?" asked Ayeka.

"Knowing Washu, something terrifying," said Azaka.

"The stuff of nightmares, I'm sure!" chirped Kamidake.

Washu smirked. "You're not wrong there. We called it the Judgement Array, and it was a weapon unlike any the galaxy had ever seen before. It was designed to target any world at any point in the galaxy and scour it completely clean of all forms of sentient life."

A stunned silence hung over the room for a good long moment before Quatre hesitantly broke it. "How… how exactly would that work?"

"Well, to call it a single 'weapon' might be a bit of a misnomer," Washu answered, "The Judgement Array consists of four hundred large-scale cannons each designed to fire targeted bursts of supermassive neutrinos. These bursts are propelled at superluminal speeds to reach their targets, and when they do, they engulf the planet in question. They're specifically designed to destroy biomass with complex nervous systems; simpler life forms like algae, microbes, traditional plants and such remain unaffected."

What Washu was describing was a weapon so powerful that it made even the likes of the Libra's main cannon seem like a paintball gun in comparison, and Heero had to force himself to remain focused on the conversation. "You said it could target any world at any point in the galaxy. How did you achieve that kind of coverage with only four hundred cannons?"

"By positioning each individual cannon in the Array at key points in extragalactic space," Washu replied, "Two hundred above the galactic rim and two hundred below. The central control station, which we called the Capstone, was also positioned above the galactic rim."

Ryoko shook her head incredulously. "How the hell did you build something like this when the entire galaxy was at war?"

"It wasn't easy, to put it mildly," Washu replied, "With the amount of resources required, the Empire and the Galaxy Police could've built countless fleets. The top brass certainly wasn't happy about the expenditure and the number of warships that they had to divert to protect the resource mining operations, refineries and supply shipments. As a counter, we offered to let them show us how they'd end the war with conventional means. A few bloody and failed campaigns later, and… well, let's just say that even stubborn old admirals and generals were eventually capable of wising up to the fact that all they were doing was throwing waves of young men and women into a never-ending meatgrinder. We were the only ones offering an alternative, even if it was horrifically extreme. They came around in time."

"Eventually, the role of the military and the Galaxy Police in the conflict became to simply hold the line while the Judgment Array was constructed," said Yosho, "That they were able to do so spoke highly of their tenacity when facing the ultimate trial by fire."

"The rebels must've known that something was up," Quatre pointed out, "The kind of project that you're describing… there's simply no way that something on that scale could ever be kept a secret."

"You're not wrong there," Washu conceded, "Despite all the precautions taken, including downright draconian security measures, there was simply no way to conceal from the enemy that something massive was in the works. Thanks to heavy compartmentalization, we were able to keep the true nature of what we were building a secret, but anyone with eyes and a brain could tell that at the very least there was a huge project being worked on. I imagine the branch royals leading the rebellion spent countless sleepless nights wracking their brains trying to figure out what exactly we were building. Espionage and sabotage operations were inevitable, and there were a lot of close calls. Ultimately, though… we stepped up to the plate and delivered the long ball."

Kiyone's eyes narrowed. "You said the Array's positioned in extragalactic space, right? If you set it up to cover every conceivable target in the galaxy, how the hell did you get it all into place in the space of less than two millennia? The distances that would have to be travelled are immense even by the standards of a galactic superpower like the Empire of Jurai. Standard Faster Than Light drives wouldn't be up to the task."

Washu nodded. "You're quite right about that. In order to speed up travel to the final assembly sites for the Capstone and the cannons, we had to construct a series of superluminal accelerator gates designed to boost ships well beyond what their FTL drives were capable of on their own. The most powerful one's called the Gate of the Arbiters; it's only one that's actually located in the galaxy itself, and it's designed to send ships to either the Capstone and the Alpha Sub-Array or the Beta Sub-Array."

"Alpha and Beta Sub-Arrays?" Sasami repeated, blinking in confusion.

Washu smiled at her. "Remember what I said about the Array being both above and below the galactic rim? The Alpha Sub-Array and the Capstone are the portion of the array positioned above the rim, while the Beta Sub-Array is below. Of course, concepts like 'up' and 'down' are rather relative when it comes to astrophysics."

"So this 'Gate of the Arbiters' allows access to both halves of the Array, then," said Heero, "Once a ship enters the Gate, how long would it take to reach the Capstone?"

"Only a matter of hours," Washu answered, "Honestly, that Gate's almost as impressive as the Array itself. The speeds that thing is capable of propelling ships to still amazes me to this day. Of course, it's been several centuries since the last time anyone actually used it."

"I'm assuming the last time was during the war," said Quatre, "Does that sound about right?"

Washu shrugged. "You're close. I'll come to the last time later on in this little story."

"There is still the matter of the war that was raging at the time," Yosho added, "After all, that was the whole reason this monstrosity was created in the first place."

"To end the war… did you actually fire this thing?" asked Ayeka, her fists clenching her kimono in almost a death-grip.

Washu closed her eyes a moment before speaking again. "Once it was completed, the Empire sent a message to the rebelling branch royals with a final ultimatum; surrender or face complete annihilation. They weren't fools; they'd figured out long ago that we'd been building an ultimate weapon. However, they hadn't uncovered any information regarding the true capabilities of the Array. They'd weathered two-thousand years of war, and our forces had shifted to the defensive as more resources were allocated to completing our trump card. I don't know if they thought we were bluffing, but they never replied to the ultimatum. It was sent out two more times after that, but each time the answer was silence… a silence that was soon to become permanent."

Heero could sense that they had come to the moment of truth, and he was determined to know the real price that had been paid to end the war. "How many worlds did you target?"

Washu sighed and looked at Ayeka. "This will be… difficult for some of you to swallow."

"Out with it, already!" snapped Ayeka, and whether the shrillness creeping into her voice was from mounting anger or trepidation Heero could not say, "Answer Lord Heero's question!"

Much to Heero's surprise, Washu didn't have any sort of comeback for Ayeka's demand. That alone was worrying, and he could only imagine what her answer would be.

He got it a moment later. "Deciding on a suitable list of targets was tricky. There are only so many inhabitable planets in the galaxy, after all, so to scour such biospheres wasn't a decision that was made lightly. At the same time, though, we couldn't just target a single world and be done with it. The Array was built to provide a decisive end to the war, and when the rebels refused to reply to the ultimatums it was determined that the time had come to crush them completely. The final target list consisted of 147 worlds that were deemed to be absolutely crucial to their war effort. Political, military, economic and cultural importance were all taken into account when making the selection. Once the final list was compiled, the fleet made several costly pushes into enemy territory in order to get the rebels to consolidate their forces at the points we were targeting. Once that had been achieved, the Emperor himself gave the order to activate the Array… and I was the one that pushed the button."

A heavy silence fell upon the infirmary as Heero and the others struggled to process everything that had been revealed up to this point. The former Gundam pilot was no stranger to mass casualty events, but what Washu was describing now dwarfed anything he had experienced by countless orders of magnitude.

Her gaze met his, and it felt like she could see right through him. "And all this time you thought you were an irredeemable murderer. Not to trivialize all that you've been through, Heero, but your body count's peanuts compared to my butcher's bill."

"How comforting," he deadpanned.

It was Quatre that asked the question that they all were thinking. "How… how many people died that day?"

It was a good long moment before Washu answered. "With the breakdown of communications between the warring factions of the Empire, comprehensive census data was difficult to compile. However, based on what information was available, I was able to run several formulae accounting for population growth over the course of the war in rebel territory along with estimated casualty figures up to that point. I devised several models to cover my bases. In the end, the closest I came to what I felt to be an accurate figure was 1.16 trillion, with a 2.4% margin of error."

Kiyone's face paled. "I'm sorry, but was that a trillion? As in, with a 'T'?"

Washu nodded. "Yes, you heard that right."

"I really wish we hadn't," mumbled Mihoshi numbly.

"No kidding," muttered Ryoko.

"So many people…" said Sasami softly, a haunted look in her eyes.

Ayeka turned towards Yosho, horror and outrage warring with each other in her gaze. "Lord Yosho… did you know about this?"

The shrine keeper nodded grimly. "Yes."

The elder princess started trembling, although whether it was from fear or fury was difficult for Heero to determine. "You knew… and you said nothing to us before?"

"If there's someone you want to direct your anger towards, it should be me," Washu interjected, "Yosho knew about the Array thanks to his position in the Empire, but he wasn't in favor of it. Kagato and I designed it, and I'm the one that pulled the trigger. Of course, if you're looking for family to be mad at, your father would be a prime candidate; he was the one that commissioned the project and gave the order to fire."

Ayeka nodded, her eyes absolutely blazing with revulsion. "Believe me, I will be having words with my father about this! Everything his tutors taught me about the war was a massive load of lies!"

"I'm sure the Emperor had his reasons," said Azaka.

"Surely there must be a sufficient justification," chimed in Kamidake.

"I can think of a few reasons," said Heero as he turned to Ayeka, "If this is the first time that you've heard of this weapon, then would I be safe in assuming in that it's not common knowledge in the rest of the Empire?"

"Quite so," Ayeka replied, "I can only assume that it was kept a secret from the general public during the Imperial Civil War, although how such a massive weapon could be concealed like that beggars belief!"

"Keeping the civilian population out of the loop actually wasn't that hard," Washu countered, "While it's true that civilians did work on the project in certain capacities, they were in supporting roles; mining and refining resources, for example. Actual construction and maintenance of the Array was largely performed via an army of drones that Kagato and I created specifically for that purpose. Since civilian traffic doesn't leave the galactic rim, establishing the Array in extragalactic space went a long way towards assuring that the general population remained blissfully ignorant of the technological terror hanging over their heads."

"If they knew the truth, there'd be riots on every planet in the galaxy," said Quatre, "No one likes the thought of going about their lives with a gigantic gun pointed at their heads on an indefinite basis."

Yosho nodded. "Quite so. Even those of us who did not support the project were painfully aware of what the consequences would be should it be leaked. The weapon might've been built to end the civil war, but it's very existence is certainly capable of sparking fresh conflict."

Ryoko rolled her eyes. "Kind of an understatement there."

"No kidding," Kiyone quipped.

Heero's eyes narrowed as he met Washu's gaze. "It already has. The attack today was just the opening salvo."

Washu nodded. "Glad to see you're a step ahead of the others."

"Hold on a second," Quatre cut in, "If Kagato helped you create the Array in the first place, then why would he need your memories? He should still have his knowledge of the weapon, right?"

Washu smiled. "I was wondering when one of you would catch that. I should've known it'd be one of the two Gundam pilots here. You could say that Kagato's memories of our collaboration are somewhat compromised at the moment… although, once Nagi delivers her precious cargo to him, that will change all too quickly."

"I take it you had a hand in 'compromising' his memories," said Heero, "Am I wrong?"

"No, you're quite right," Washu replied, "As I said earlier, Kagato and I took different lessons from Imperial Civil War, especially with regards to the manner in which it ended. The Judgement Array might've been the crowning technological achievement of our careers, but seeing its power actually unleashed… well, it was an illuminating experience, to put it mildly. I was convinced that we'd gone too far, that we'd built something that should never have been created in the first place. We ended a war that had taken countless lives, but the massacre that we committed in order to do so… well, when you try to stem the tide of one ocean of blood with another, the smell and stains remain the same. We weren't heroes; we were the biggest war criminals in the history of the galaxy."

Quatre sighed. "I take it Kagato wasn't so contrite, then."

"Far from it," said Yosho, "What happened that day only poured greater fuel onto the flames that were Kagato's ambitions."

"Something I didn't recognize until far too late," Washu added, "We'd created a weapon that was capable of ending the most destructive war to ever rage across the stars. Where I saw a great crime, Kagato saw the means to achieve what the Empire of Jurai had so clearly failed to do so; bring true order to the galaxy. After all, who would dare fire a shot in anger when the price to be paid was utter annihilation? It was the principle of 'peace through superior firepower' on steroids."

Heero rolled his eyes. "He would've been making the same mistakes as the old Alliance, OZ and the Romefeller Foundation. That was how they tried to maintain their version of 'peace', and it didn't work out well for them."

"They didn't have quite the same level of firepower as this Array, though," Quatre pointed out.

Heero nodded. "True, but you know as well as I do that the end result would've been the same. People can't live in a perpetual state of fear. Eventually that fear becomes resentment, and that resentment leads to resistance. No matter what kind of firepower's aimed at them, people will find a way to rebel."

Yosho nodded. "I should've known that the two of you would see things that way."

"We do have relevant experience in that area, after all," said Quatre.

"Believe me, I didn't forget that," said Washu, "That experience is going to serve the two of you quite well in the very near future, I promise you that."

"So, what happened next?" asked Kiyone, "I'm assuming that Kagato didn't get to use the Array the way he wanted to, otherwise it'd be him sitting on the throne of Jurai rather than the current Emperor."

Washu nodded. "Kagato made a critical error; he thought that I was still on his side. The Judgement Array was our brainchild, and our collaboration spanned well over a millennium and a half, so his belief wasn't completely unwarranted. What he failed to recognize, though, was that my feelings had changed after we unleashed our weapon upon the galaxy. I tried to reason with him, but he was convinced that I'd come around to his way of thinking in due time. Eventually, I realized the truth; nothing I could do would persuade him to abandon his new ambition willingly. What made matters worse was that his sister was fully on board with it. There would be no reasoning with either of them."

Ryoko folded her arms. "What did you do to stop them?"

Washu closed her eyes for a moment. "I extended an invitation to Kagato for a meeting. I told him that I'd come around and wanted to discuss possible contingency plans regarding his desire to use the Array to bring order to the galaxy. Since I was telling him exactly what he wanted to hear, that made it all too easy to lure him into a trap."

"If he's the one that hired Nagi, then it's safe to say you didn't kill him back then in this 'trap' of yours," Ayeka muttered bitterly.

"Why let him live?" asked Heero, "You knew the threat he posed better than anyone."

Washu sighed. "I did, but… well, when you work with someone for the better part of two thousand years, it's hard not to grow fond of them. His ambition was dangerous, and I doubt the last nine centuries have changed that, but his intelligence was greater than anyone that I had met in a very long time. He was a true colleague… and for a time, even a friend. Looking back, I think that's part of why it took me so long to recognize the scope of his vision and the fire that had been lit inside him when we activated the Array; I allowed my personal feelings to delay what should've been swift action."

Quatre nodded. "I can understand your reluctance to confront him under those circumstances, but it sounds like you were able to work past it. What happened when you sprung your trap?"

"I incapacitated him first," Washu replied, "That wasn't hard; the chemical agent I used was tailored specifically for him, and his guard was down thanks to his excitement. Once he was out cold, I then proceeded to wipe out his memories regarding the key aspects of the Array. Its innermost workings, exact location, the swiftest way to travel to it; I stripped all that and more from his mind. That sort of invasive alteration is never pretty, but it was better than leaving him with his full base of knowledge intact."

"He wasn't the only one who knew about the Array, though," Ryoko pointed out, "How'd you keep it out of the hands of the Empire?"

"That part actually wasn't too difficult," Washu answered, "The only portion of the Array that actually had an Imperial presence was the Capstone, and since I had designed the control station, I knew it inside and out. I used another chemical agent to incapacitate the soldiers assigned there, then I had the service drones load them up into their ship and set its systems to take them back to Imperial space."

"That would only be a temporary measure," Quatre countered, "It wouldn't be hard for the Empire to send additional forces to the Capstone through the Gate of the Arbiters that you mentioned earlier and reoccupy the control station."

Washu nodded. "You're right. That's why my next step was to hide the Gate. Its original position wasn't too far from Jurai itself, but it was designed to be mobile in case of a sudden attack, and I could control it remotely from the Capstone. I engaged its FTL drives and got it out of Imperial space immediately after the ship I'd sent back through it made it to the Empire. Since that was the only FTL accelerator gate actually within the galaxy itself, once I triggered the drives it cut off Jurai and everyone else in the galaxy from the quickest route to the Capstone and by extension the Array."

"Where did you move the Gate of the Arbiters to?" asked Kiyone.

"Not a clue," Washu replied.

A stunned silence fell over the room as everyone did a double-take. The only exception was Yosho, who seemed extraordinarily calm when one considered the implications of what Washu had just said.

"E-excuse me?" Ayeka stammered, "I couldn't possibly have heard you right…"

"Not a clue?" Ryoko repeated incredulously.

"But you built it, right?" asked Mihoshi, "How could you lose it?"

"Unbelievable…" Kiyone muttered.

"I feel like we're missing something here," said Quatre.

Heero agreed. "How do you move something that important and have no clue as to where you moved it? That seems like a pretty significant oversight given the stakes involved, which is rather unlike you."

Washu chuckled. "Maybe I should clarify for you. I did know where I moved it at the time, but I don't know now."

"So, you forgot where you hid it?" asked Sasami.

"Not exactly an improvement," quipped Ryoko.

"So you forgot?" Ayeka cried, "What in the name of Tsunami is wrong with you?"

"Maybe it was the stasis pod," Kiyone suggested, "Washu was inside it for centuries, right? Maybe the prolonged period of hibernation had some side-effects on the memory centers of her brain."

Washu shook her head. "Nope. I may not be that pod's biggest fan, but I'll say this much in its defense; it was the most advanced model available in the galaxy at the time of my imprisonment and exile. It preserved me perfectly, for better or worse depending on how you look at it."

"Definitely for worse," Ryoko deadpanned.

"If it was not the stasis pod, then what was it?" asked Azaka.

"Perhaps the eccentricities of a mind such as hers made room for other projects at the expense of older ones over the centuries?" suggested Kamidake.

"Nothing of the sort," Washu countered, "I remember all my projects, thank you very much."

"Except for key bits about the one that matters most," said Quatre dryly.

Heero felt like they were missing something important. "Your memory loss… it wasn't simple negligence, was it?"

Washu smiled like a teacher taking pride in a promising pupil. "Very good, Heero. No, it wasn't."

"I don't get it," said Sasami.

Kiyone's eyes widened, and Heero could tell that the proverbial lightbulb had just turned on in her head. "You deliberately altered your own memories, didn't you?"

"Exactly," Washu confirmed, "After my actions against the Juraian military personnel on the Capstone and my secreting away the Gate of the Arbiters, I knew the Empire would stop at nothing to hunt me down and find out how they could regain access to the Array. I was confident in my ability to stay one step ahead of them, but at the same time I was fully aware of the possibility that I could be caught. In order to ensure that my capture didn't result in anyone discovering the Gate or any knowledge that would help them recreate the Array, I took steps to remove key portions of my own memories. That's why when I was apprehended and brought to face judgment, my captors couldn't find the one thing they sought above all else."

Ryoko smirked. "So, you screwed over the Empire, the Galaxy Police, and the rest of the galactic bigwigs, eh? Maybe I did inherit a few things from you."

"More than a few," said Washu, "More than you know, my daughter."

Ryoko folded her arms. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Washu shook her head. "Another time. We have more important things on our plate at the moment."

Yosho nodded. "Yes, we certainly do. Even if you altered your memories, I do not believe that you would've left yourself completely bereft of means to access your creation. That's just not like you. I always suspected that you had some sort of failsafe tucked away. Am I wrong?"

"No, you're not," Washu replied, "I did leave myself with an option should I need to access the Array. Call it a precaution or a foolish bit of sentimentality, take your pick."

"Why not both?" Quatre suggested.

"I suppose that works," Ayeka muttered.

"What did you do?" asked Heero.

"I didn't just erase key memories," said Washu, "I divided them up amongst three repositories, which I hid on remote worlds somewhere in the wilds of the galaxy. I left myself with the memory of the first repository's location, while the locations of the second and third I hid from myself by once again altering my memories. To find the second, I have to access the first, and to find the third I have to access the second."

"That sounds a bit convoluted," said Azaka.

"Was that really necessary?" asked Kamidake.

"If it wasn't, I wouldn't have done it," Washu shot back, "As it is, I'd say it's already paying off."

Heero nodded, already seeing where Washu was going with this. "Nagi's device only retrieved the memories that you currently possess; the ones in the repositories are beyond her reach."

"That's right," Washu replied, "Of course, once she delivers her cargo to Kagato it won't take him long to narrow down the memories relating to the first repository."

Quatre's eyes narrowed. "Which means we're now in a race against the clock."

"One with stakes that are as high as they could possibly get," said Yosho.

Washu nodded, her gaze fixed on Heero. "Given your past experience and your current line of work, I'm sure I don't have to spell out the consequences of someone as ambitious as Kagato getting his hands on a weapon like that. You've already seen firsthand what he's willing to do just to get information relating to the Array. Earth may be a backwater as far as the rest of the galaxy is concerned, but if he gets his hands on the Array then every world out there will be forced to submit to him or face the annihilation of its population. Your planet's remoteness has kept it largely free of the great power politics that dominate the heart of the galaxy, but the protection provided by distance will not be sufficient to shield it from what's coming."

Heero was about to answer, but Ryoko stepped in front of him, giving her mother a withering glare. "Are you trying to drag Heero into your mess?"

"He's already up to his neck in it," Washu calmly countered, "All of you are. It's through no fault of any of you, but that's how things are just the same."

"Actually, your stake's higher than most, Heero," said Yosho.

Heero turned to the old man. "What do you mean?"

"After Washu was captured and exiled, I looked for her in secret," Yosho replied, "Over time, my efforts led me into the Outland Sector and ever closer to Earth. Unfortunately, despite my best efforts, my work was eventually discovered… by Kagato."

Another piece of the puzzle fell into place in Heero's mind. "The reason you got stranded here… he shot you down, didn't he?"

"He and his sister, to be precise," Yosho answered, "My Royal Treeship, Funaho, unfortunately could not withstand the combined might of their two vessels. I crash landed out here, and while I was able to ensure that the Royal Tree itself survived, I lacked the resources and expertise to reconstruct the ship around it. For better or worse, I was stuck on Earth"

He then gave Heero a small smile. "Seeing you now, I know that it was definitely for the better."

Heero appreciated the sentiment, but he wasn't about to let that distract him. "If Kagato had tracked you out here, then why didn't he go after Washu's stasis pod while he was in the region? It would've saved him the trouble of hiring a bounty hunter, not to mention given him a major head start on going after the Array."

Yosho chuckled. "Well, with regards to that, Kagato and his sister weren't actually after me to learn Washu's location at the time. While they knew that I was investigating the Outland Sector, they did not know why. What they did know, though, was that my work took me far from the prying eyes of the core systems of the Empire."

Heero's eyes narrowed. "Meaning that if they wanted to eliminate a political rival, that was as good a chance as any to do it."

"Hold on a moment!" Ayeka protested, "The Kiryuin branch were staunch allies of the main branch of the Royal Family during the Imperial Civil War. They would've had no cause to go after the crown prince of the Empire!"

"Weren't you paying attention, Ayeka?" Washu chided her, "Kagato's ambitions grew like wildfire after the end of the war. His family's loyalty to yours quickly became 'loyalty' in name only. He's been looking for chances to weaken you for centuries. Taking out the crown prince away from potential witnesses was as good a place as any to start."

Kiyone whistled. "So, the head of the Kiryuin branch family and his sister are traitors to the Empire… talk about the scoop of the century."

"We have to arrest them!" cried Mihoshi.

"I'm all for seeing that justice is served, but that sounds like a case of easier said than done here," said Quatre.

Yosho nodded. "You're not wrong. While my testimony would carry weight, concrete proof would still be required. Unfortunately, my ship's sensor arrays were destroyed during the crash, so I would be unable to offer hard data to support our case."

"Shouldn't all the data be stored in the Royal Tree?" asked Ayeka, "It's the heart of the ship, and from what I've seen in my time here it appears to be quite healthy."

Sasami smiled. "She's right! We can get the proof from the tree!"

Washu sighed. "I like where your head's at, Sasami, but I'm afraid it's not that simple. Extracting data from a Royal Tree that's become rooted on a world and is no longer acting as the heart of a ship is very tricky. It requires very specialized equipment and the process is quite time consuming. I can recreate the equipment, but we'd be talking weeks of work just on that alone, and as for extracting and sifting through all the data I'm afraid that'd take at least another week on top of that."

"And all the while, Nagi would be delivering her precious cargo to Kagato," said Quatre.

Heero nodded. "It'd be nice to get that data, but the time that's required is a luxury that we can't afford."

Sasami pouted. "Oh, bummer… I was hoping that would work."

Kiyone gave her a pat on the shoulder. "It was a good idea, just not one that's feasible given the urgency of the situation."

"Yes," said Yosho, once again looking at Heero, "and I'm afraid that our situation is worse than you might think."

Ryoko raised an eyebrow. "Really? We're talking about a superweapon capable of wiping out sentient life on any world in the galaxy, and you're saying that it can still get worse?"

"On a very personal level for one of us here, yes," Yosho replied.

Heero then saw Ryoko look back and forth between Heero and Yosho before returning her gaze to the latter, her eyes narrowing. "Talk, and make it quick, old man."

"Ryoko!" gasped Ayeka, "Don't talk to Lord Yosho that way!"

"We don't have time for formalities, and even if we did, I wouldn't use them anyway!" Ryoko snapped, "What else do we have to worry about here, old man?"

"When Nagi delivers her prize to Kagato," Yosho began, "I have no doubt that he and his sister will prioritize finding information regarding the Judgment Array, especially the first repository that Washu mentioned earlier. However, I imagine that they will also be rather interested in the confrontation that led to Nagi acquiring Washu's memories to begin with. This will in turn lead them to two distinct discoveries; that they did not kill me when they shot me down over this world centuries ago… and that I now have an heir. I believe they will take a particular interest in the latter."

"Lord Heero…" Ayeka softly murmured as she looked at him.

Heero was skeptical. "There's not much for them to take interest in."

Washu chuckled. "You really don't give yourself enough credit, Heero."

Heero shook his head. "So what if my bloodline's that of Juraian royalty? According to Yosho my mother didn't marry my father, so as far as the Empire's concerned I'd be illegitimate. I'm sure the Empire has its share of royal bastards floating around the galaxy. What's one more on a backwater planet added to the mix?"

Ayeka sighed. "Lord Heero, with all due respect, I'm afraid that your analysis of the situation is… inaccurate."

"What do you mean?" asked Quatre.

"Illegitimacy is a secondary matter as far as the Imperial Royal Family's concerned," Ayeka answered, "What the Empire really looks for in Imperial heirs is the power that flows through our bloodline… power that you can clearly tap into, Lord Heero."

Yosho nodded. "Once Kagato and his sister see Washu's most recent memories, it will not matter to them if you are illegitimate or not. They will see that you are capable of wielding Tenchi-ken, and that I survived their assassination attempt. They will consider both of us to be threats… and will react accordingly."

Sasami gulped. "Will they come to Earth?"

Yosho closed his eyes for a moment. "It's a distinct possibility. When they sent Nagi, they were unaware as to what really awaited her on this planet. Once she gives them Washu's memories, that will change. Of course, finding the first repository of memories regarding the Judgement Array will likely remain their immediate priority, but…"

"They could still come out here looking for us," Heero finished for him, "Alternatively, they could simply decide to target this world with the Array once they seize control over it to tie up any loose ends."

"They wouldn't…" said Kiyone softly, although it sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than her companions.

Washu shook her head. "You don't know Kagato like I do. He's ruthless in pursuit of his ambitions; planetary devastation just to eliminate potential rivals is absolutely something he'd carry out if he had the means at his disposal and knew he could get away with it. His sister's no better."

"She's right," said Yosho grimly, "Earth may be remote and out of mind as far as the Empire of Jurai is concerned, but that will actually make it all the easier for Kagato to target it. It might sound cold, but no one from the core systems will even notice if all life on this planet is wiped out."

"How terrible," said Azaka.

"Whatever shall we do?" chirped Kamidake.

Heero saw Washu glance at Yosho and nod before she turned to him. "Realistically, we've only got one choice; we need to stop Kagato from getting his hands on the Array. If he claims it, no power in the galaxy will be able to stand against him. The Empire and the Galaxy Police will be at his mercy; every inhabited planet in the Milky Way will be his hostage."

"Our best bet is to make for the first repository," Yosho added, "It will take Kagato and his sister time to sift through Washu's memories to find the data they seek. That will give us a head start. If we can get to the first repository before they do, we can secure Washu's memories and destroy the archive before Kagato can get his hands on it."

"That still leaves the second and third repositories, not to mention the Array itself," Ayeka pointed out, "As long as they still exist, so too does the threat that they pose."

Washu nodded. "I know. That's why we're going to do what I should've done almost a millennium ago; get to the Capstone and destroy the Array once and for all."

"I'm all for that, but is it even possible?" asked Ryoko, "This thing's pretty damn big based on everything you've said so far. Ryo-Ohki's got plenty of firepower, but even she has her limits, and it's not like the Yagami will have much to add to it."

"All we need to do is get to the Capstone," Washu replied, "That's the heart of the Array, and the whole thing can be destroyed from there."

"Sounds easy enough," said Mihoshi.

Kiyone's eyes narrowed. "Sounds too easy, if you ask me. Why do I get the feeling that there's a catch to all of this?"

"Besides the fact that we'll be racing Kagato, you mean?" asked Quatre.

"The catch, for want of a better term, is the repositories," said Washu, "I didn't leave them unguarded. I can't remember the details of their defenses, but I'm sure that they're protected just the same."

Ryoko rolled her eyes. "Great, so we'll be walking into who knows what kind of diabolical traps that you cooked up centuries ago. Sounds like fun."

"At least these defenses will work to slow down Kagato as well," said Heero.

Washu sighed. "Hopefully, but… well, this is the guy that helped me build the Array in the first place, after all. Even with his memories tampered with, his intellect's not to be taken lightly. The defenses at the repositories might delay him, but they won't stop him outright."

"Which makes it all the more important that we leave as soon as possible," Yosho implored, "Every hour that we delay is an hour in Kagato's favor."

The old prince and the eccentric scientist both turned to Heero, with the gazes of everyone else in the room following. Whether he liked it or not, it seemed that leadership in this matter had been thrust onto him.

"Heero," said Washu, her voice softening slightly, "I know that this is a lot to ask, especially after everything that's been thrown your way today, but you have to leave Earth and come with us. The power that flows within your veins is an outside factor for Kagato; even after viewing my memories, he'll still have only hints as to what you're really capable of. The fact that you were able to wield Tenchi-ken so effectively the first time you even held it shows that your untapped potential is nothing short of incredible. Kagato and his sister are incredibly powerful; I'm not sure that even the Emperor himself could stand against them at this point."

Ayeka's face paled. "No… they can't be that strong. My father's the most powerful man in the galaxy! The strength of Jurai flows through his veins in a manner that's unmatched by any other member of the Royal Family!"

Yosho shook his head. "Our father is powerful, Ayeka… but he is not invincible. The strength of Jurai is not limited to the main branch, and Kagato would not be making a move like this now if he did not think he was capable of challenging the throne."

"He's probably not moving alone, either," said Quatre, turning to Washu, "This is about more than just him and his sister vying for power, isn't it?"

Washu nodded. "I can't how much has changed since I was captured and put into stasis, but I'm sure that the Kiryuin branch family is just as prominent now as it was all those centuries ago, if not more. In addition to their own holdings, they have numerous allies within the Imperial aristocracy… allies that have watched the main branch hold the throne for millennia and have coveted that power."

"Would they really rally behind him if they thought he had a shot at the throne?" asked Kiyone.

Yosho nodded. "Oh, yes. I've been away from the heart of the Empire for quite some time, but I still recall the families that were close to Kagato's orbit. Their number, along with that of affiliated conglomerates and other such entities, has likely only increased over the centuries."

Quatre looked at Heero nervously. "If the main branch has held power for so long while so many others look on enviously… this is a powder keg, Heero."

Heero nodded. "One that could very easily consume Earth along with everyone else. I know it's stretching the definitions of our jurisdiction, but… well, I'm pretty sure I can make a case for it to my superiors."

Washu smiled, with no small measure of relief clear in her eyes. "You'll do it, then?"

"Not so fast," said Heero, "I need to know something, first. What's your best guess on how long it would take Kagato to sift through the memories Nagi stole until he found the ones he's looking for?"

Washu closed her eyes for a moment. "A few days, perhaps, but no more than that."

"How long would it take him after that to make it to the first repository?" asked Heero.

Washu sighed. "Depends on where he's currently at in the galaxy. The Kiryuin branch has their own citadel world as is custom with all branch families, but that doesn't mean they stay there all the time. In fact, I'm willing to bet that they had to leave that world in order to arrange their contract with Nagi; there's no way they would've set up something like this in the middle of the core systems. Too many prying eyes."

"So we could have much less time than we'd like," said Quatre.

Heero concurred. "We'll have to move fast. I want all of you to make preparations to leave. Grab whatever you need from the house and make yourselves comfortable aboard the Yagami. Kiyone, sorry about this, but…"

Kiyone smiled. "Hey, it's all right. The Yagami has room to spare, and it's not like I'm going to leave you guys in the lurch here."

"We'll do everything we can to help!" chirped Mihoshi.

Washu grinned. "Actually, we might not need to move anything from the house at all. Kiyone, come with me; I need to measure this ship's cargo hold."

Kiyone gulped nervously. "What exactly do you have in mind?"

Washu smirked. "Now, now; that would ruin the fun!"

"I have a very bad feeling about this," said Azaka.

"Indeed!" chimed Kamidake.

"What's going on?" asked Sasami as Washu and Kiyone left the infirmary.

"I'm rather hesitant to ask," said Ayeka nervously, "I suppose we'll find out in due time."

"Speaking of due time," said Heero, "Quatre, I need your help. I know I've already gotten you involved with way more than you bargained for when you came out here, but…"

Quatre smiled and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Hey, it's all right, really! You heard Washu; the stakes are about as high as they could possibly get. I'll help any way I can."

Heero nodded. "Thanks. In that case, let's start with the report to Sally and Lady Une. I'm going to need you backing me up, otherwise there's no way they'll sign off on what I want to do next."

….

Lady Une shook her head when she finished the report. "Madness… absolute madness, all of it."

Standing in front of the desk, Sally sighed; she could all too easily relate to where her boss was coming from. "It's… well, it's a lot to swallow."

The Director stood up and went over to the window, something Sally knew she did whenever she needed a moment to regain her composure. "An attack by a galactic bounty hunter and two accomplices out to steal memories… a weapon system capable of targeting any inhabited world in the galaxy…and to top it all off, the operative that we put in charge of all our extraterrestrial guests turns out to be bastard royalty of an interstellar empire!"

Sally smirked. "Do we have to start calling Heero 'Your Highness'? That might be a bit awkward."

Lady Une shot her a withering glare. "Now's not the time for poor jokes. The crisis that we have to deal with now is certainly no laughing matter."

Sally held up her hands in surrender; she knew where to draw the line and back down. "All right, fair enough. It's beyond anything we've dealt with so far, but based on his report Heero already seems to have a plan in mind for how to address it."

"A plan that involves him running off across the galaxy to deal with a superweapon that could be aimed at Earth at any moment just because one of its inhabitants didn't die in an assassination attempt committed while humans were still killing each other with swords and arrows," Lady Une fumed, "I still can't believe that priest stayed under our noses for so long without anyone catching on."

Sally nodded. "That's an understatement. According to Heero's report, he's been out there for centuries. I'm amazed none of the local authorities ever caught on."

"He appears to be quite gifted at keeping a low profile," said Lady Une, "A gift he seems to have passed on to his grandson."

Sally was still having trouble wrapping her head around that. "We sent Heero to live right next store to him with no idea as to their connection… it just goes to show how much of that young man's life is a black box as far as government agencies like ours are concerned, and we're the ones that employ him."

Lady Une sighed, her expression softening, and Sally thought she caught a hint of pity in her eyes. "A black box not just to us, but to Heero as well. I'd always assumed that he was an orphan, but for him to have been the son of the man who assassinated his namesake and set the entire Earth Sphere down the road to war…fate has an unbelievably cruel sense of humor."

"Quite the singular lineage," said Sally, "Alien royalty on one side and OZ assassin on the other."

Lady Une's eyes narrowed. "Yes… and it's the former that could cause problems if we don't handle it appropriately."

Sally instantly knew where her boss's line of thinking had gone. "You're thinking of what the President's going to say when he finds out that our top operative isn't completely human."

Lady Une nodded. "He's taken a largely hands-off approach to our activities up until now, but once the report crosses his desk, I imagine that he'll take a much closer interest in our top operative… as will others."

Sally shuddered. "You don't think he'll order us to detain him, will he?"

Lady Une shook her head solemnly. "I don't know."

Sally's eyes narrowed. "Heero's done more for the sake of peace in the Earth Sphere than the President and his entire Cabinet combined. The fact that he's not entirely human doesn't take away from that. No one gets to say otherwise."

Lady Une smiled. "Believe me, I'm with you there. He's our very best, and I have no intention of throwing him to the wolves. He's handled this situation far better than any of us have any right to ask of him. Still… this matter needs to be dealt with very carefully."

"Agreed," said Sally, the gears already turning in her mind, "How long do you think you can put off sending our official report to the head honchos?"

Lady Une's brow furrowed in thought. "I can probably stall for a few days. Do you think that'll be enough?"

Sally smirked. "Are you kidding? You know how fast those boys can move when they put their minds to it."

Lady Une nodded. "Yes… and the plan Heero laid out in his report is one that we can help him put into motion quite quickly. Play our cards right, and by the time I have to submit our official report to the President Heero will be way beyond the reach of anyone in the Earth Sphere."

"I'll start making the calls, then," said Sally with a smile, "This is going to be fun!"

….

February 5th, A.C. 199

Duo leaned back in his chair and whistled as he took it all in. "Man… you really stepped in it this time, didn't you, old buddy?"

Hilde nudged him with her elbow. "Hey, that's not fair! It's not like he asked to have his place attacked!"

"I know, I know," Duo conceded, "Still, it's hard not to feel like we're in a bit over our heads here."

When he'd gotten the emergency summons from Lady Une, Duo had initially planned on going alone, but Hilde had been adamant on coming along. It was hard to blame her; not once since the end of the Mariemaia Rebellion had he ever received a call like that, which meant that it had to be something pretty damn serious. When he and his wife had arrived at the secret Preventers base on the dark side of the Moon to find not only the rest of the Gundam pilots but also Lady Une and Sally already there, that had only served to confirm his suspicions.

Of course, even without the presence of the Director of Preventers, the giant crimson alien cruiser sitting in the base's primary hangar bay was enough to tell him that something big was going down. From what Heero had told him, the cover story in case word somehow leaked out was that the vessel was a prototype peacekeeping ship being developed by Preventers, but Duo had to wonder just how many people would buy that if they caught a glimpse of it. If nothing else, it was interesting to see the kind of ships that galactic cops liked to patrol in, and Duo had caught Hilde practically drooling at the prospect of getting inside it to take a look at its engines.

Priorities, he mused, She has them.

It felt odd that the alien beauties at the heart of this little mess weren't present in the briefing room, but Lady Une had been adamant on giving Duo and the rest of the Gundam pilots a private briefing. Between her and Heero they'd more than gotten their point across, but still took some effort on Duo's part to properly process it all.

He wasn't the only one who had a lot to chew on; his friends all looked like they were focused just on wrapping their brains around the tangled mess they'd been pulled into. They were hardly strangers to deadly politics and high-stakes conflict, but what they were being confronted with now blew everything they'd faced in the past completely out of the water.

"So, let me make sure that I have an accurate picture here," said Trowa, "The attackers were after memories that will put them on the trail of a thousand-year-old superweapon which will allow their client to not only dethrone the current Emperor of Jurai and his dynasty, but essentially turn every planet in the galaxy into his hostages. Does that sound about right?"

Heero nodded. "Pretty much."

Wufei smirked. "Don't forget the part where you're the crown prince's bastard grandson and heir to the throne."

"That's not really important right now," Heero tersely countered.

Duo chuckled. "I don't know, buddy. That sounds pretty important to me!"

"You're part of the dynasty this 'Kagato' plans to overthrow," Trowa pointed out, "You have a very direct connection to all of this."

Heero raised an eyebrow. "Do you really think that I'm concerned about my place in a royal family that I didn't even know existed until quite recently?"

"It's just something that we need to take into account here," said Sally, "We all know what the main threat is, but we can't just ignore this either."

"If nothing else, it gives us a potentially useful long-term connection to the main power in the galaxy," said Lady Une, "On a more immediate note, it gives Kagato an excuse to potentially target Earth; he already tried to assassinate the man that eventually became your grandfather, so once he learns that not only his target survived but now has a descendant it's entirely likely that he'll try to take another shot."

"Which is one more reason why we need to stop him," said Quatre, "The best way to ward off a threat to Earth here is to be proactive."

Wufei smiled. "And by 'proactive', you mean 'race across the galaxy to find three memory caches that'll lead us to the ultimate weapon'. If it was anyone other than you guys proposing something like this, I'd recommend you for a psyche evaluation."

Heero sighed. "I know it sounds crazy, but that's really the situation that we're in… and it's why I asked Director Une to make arrangements to bring you all here. Apart from Wufei and I, the rest of you aren't officially part of Preventers, but you all have combat experience that would be invaluable here."

"Saving the world is something you all seem to be pretty good at," said Sally, "Just think of this as taking it to the next level."

Lady Une smiled. "Let me make it clear that this is not a draft. We called you here to ask for your help, not force it. We can make no promises about how long you'd be away from the Earth Sphere, and as for what kind of opposition awaits you out there, you'd get far better intel from Heero's companions than you would from me. This mission is volunteer only, and that goes for you as well, Wufei; you may be a Preventers operative, but I'm not ordering you to take this mission. It's entirely up to you."

Heero nodded. "I won't lie to you; this will be way beyond anything we've ever done before. Honestly, we're probably going to be ridiculously in over our heads here. Still, it needs to be done. Earth was able to dodge a bullet the last time the galaxy went to war. We're not likely to be so lucky this time around."

Duo turned to his wife and smiled. "Well, when he puts it like that…"

Hilde smiled in return. "Kind of hard to say no, isn't it?"

"What about your junkyard?" asked Heero, "It's one thing for Duo to come along, but don't you run the place, Hilde?"

Hilde shook her head. "I've actually got an idea there"

She then turned to Quatre. "We've supplied some of your subsidiaries in the past with parts, so we've got a pretty solid working relationship. I'm assuming Rasheed and your sisters will be managing your operations while we're off on this mission, right?"

Quatre nodded. "I've already talked it over with them. They weren't happy about me taking off like this, but I managed to make the necessary arrangements with them. Rasheed will be in charge, with my sisters and the rest of the Maganac Corps helping him out."

"That's what I figured," said Hilde, "In that case, I can temporarily sign over my junkyard to your conglomerate. Rasheed can have a few of his guys run the place while Duo and I are on this little quest of yours, and then when we get back you can sign the shop back over to me. Does that work for you?"

Quatre smiled. "Of course. I can contact Rasheed and get the ball rolling on the legal paperwork as soon as we're done here."

"How long will it take to finalize?" asked Heero, "Remember, we're on the clock here."

"Relax," Quatre replied, "It won't take more than a few hours at the most."

Heero then looked at Trowa. "What about you? I know Catherine's not going to want you to leave, especially for something as dangerous as this, but we're going to need all the help we can get."

Trowa nodded. "It's all right. I'll call her after the meeting and fill her in. The circus can manage without me for a while, and she'll understand how important this is."

Duo smirked. "I bet that little princess you danced with at the holiday party will be happy to see you!"

"That's not important at the moment," said Trowa.

Much to Duo's surprise, a small smile appeared on Heero's face. "Perhaps, but at least take the time to greet Sasami when you come aboard the Yagami. Believe it or not, she's missed you."

"All right, then," said Trowa.

Heero turned to Wufei. "What's it going to be? I know you don't have the same kind of obligations as the others, but this is still nothing to be taken lightly."

Wufei chuckled. "You're going to need a pro watching your back, especially with the kind of crew you've put together. Besides, this is the chance to see the galaxy beyond our solar system. I'd have to be out of my mind to pass it up."

Duo grinned. "It's going to be one hell of a road trip!"

"I wonder if we'll have a chance to pick up souvenirs," Hilde mused aloud.

"I'm sure Ayeka will be happy to arrange something," said Heero, "We'll be helping out the Empire of Jurai here, and she's not the type to let a favor like this go unrewarded."

"What about the technology side of things?" asked Trowa, "Anything that Preventers can arm us with is going to be laughably primitive when compared to what the other side's likely capable of throwing at us."

Quatre gave Heero a knowing smile. "I can think of a certain scientist who'd probably be more than happy to level the playing field."

Heero nodded. "Don't worry about armaments; I'm sure Washu's already chomping at the bit to give us shiny new guns to field test."

Wufei chuckled. "Oh, really? If even half the things you've said about that woman are true, then this should be interesting."

"No argument there," said Heero, "We're on the clock, so make what preparations you all need to as fast as you can. Once the Yagami leaves… well, it could be a very long time before any of us come back here."

….

I still can't believe Washu managed to make this work…

When Kiyone had first told Heero about Washu teleporting their countryside residence into the cargo bay of the Yagami, his first thought was that he must've hit his head during Nagi's attack. It was such an outlandish notion that it had been almost impossible to take seriously.

Boy, had he been wrong.

Kiyone had told him in the past that the Yagami was classified as a patrol cruiser, and such a humble title at times seemed to clash with just how big the ship still was. The countryside residence fit quite comfortably in the vessel's hold, and in fact there was room to spare. Even if Washu had bothered to explain the science behind how she had teleported the house into the cargo bay, Heero doubted that he would've fully comprehended it. He had been mildly concerned about the possible fallout that might result from a house suddenly disappearing from the map, especially in an age where at any moment a satellite could look down from on high and take note of such a dramatic change, but Washu had at least taken the measure of covering the old foundations with what appeared to be grass that had been grown at a rapidly accelerated pace in her lab. In fact, Washu had set it up all too quickly given the circumstances, which led Heero to believe that she'd secretly been preparing for them to leave the Earth for some time now.

At least we'll be comfortable during our trip, he thought, She even managed to repair the damage that was caused in the attack. She might have a few screws loose and a penchant for creating incredibly dangerous inventions, but I'm glad she's on our side.

Satisfied that the residence was provisioned about as well as it could be when considering the voyage they were about to embark on, Heero left the cargo bay and made his way up towards the bridge. His friends had already gotten settled in, having made their respective arrangements remarkably quickly. It still amazed him just how readily they'd all signed on to this endeavor.

It took him a few minutes to reach the bridge. Since it was a humble patrol cruiser, the ship's command center wasn't really meant to hold a lot of people, so with everyone up there it was a rather tight fit. Still, there was just enough room for Heero to gently nudge his way up towards the front.

Duo smirked. "About time you got up here. We can't have our big sendoff without you!"

"Are you sure you're up for this?" asked Heero, "If things go south…"

"We're all screwed," Hilde finished for him with a smile, "You've already more than hammered home the stakes, Heero. We're ready for this."

Trowa nodded. "High stakes missions aren't exactly new for us."

Quatre chuckled. "I'd say it's just like old times, but… well, something tells me that by the time this is all over the old war's going to look like a picnic in comparison."

"If nothing else, at least it'll be entertaining," said Wufei.

"Can't argue there," said Heero before turning to the companions that had made the past few months the strangest of his life so far, "What about the rest of you? You know the broader galaxy better than any of us from Earth, so you've got a better idea as to what we're up against."

Kiyone sighed. "I never pictured myself taking on a mission quite like this. That being said, I'm not about to back down now."

"We can do this!" cheered Mihoshi.

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki.

Sasami smiled. "I can't wait to show you and your friends the Empire. You're going to love Jurai!"

"Sasami, calm down," said Ayeka, "We're not going to our homeworld. Well, not right away, at least."

"We'll have to stop by there sooner or later," Washu pointed out, "We're probably going to need some help from your family eventually. Plus, Yosho's long overdue to put in an appearance at court."

The crown prince chuckled. "Yes, I suppose you do have a point there."

"A return to Jurai would be most welcome," said Azaka.

"It has been far too long since we've seen the splendor of the capital!" chirped Kamidake.

Ryoko folded her arms. "If we go there, they'd better not try to arrest me. I'm actually helping you guys out this time, so don't forget that!"

Ayeka sighed. "Very well, then. I'll pass a message along to my father as soon as I'm able to. I suppose suspending the bounty on your head's the bare minimum we can do to recognize your service in this time of crisis."

Ryoko grinned. "Woohoo!"

Ayeka's eyes narrowed. "I said 'suspend', not cancel altogether. If you betray us, rest assured that I will personally see to the price on your head not only go back into effect, but that it doubles as well!"

"Speaking of bounties," said Kiyone with a smirk, "I had a little idea with regards to a certain bounty hunter."

Heero raised an eyebrow. "I can only assume at this point you mean Nagi, right?"

"You're not looking to have us hire her, are you?" asked Quatre nervously, "I think that might be a bit awkward considering that she just attacked us."

Kiyone shook her head. "No, nothing like that. There's no officially sanctioned bounty on Washu, meaning that Nagi engaged in what the Galaxy Police call a 'black book' hunt. The bounty wasn't posted through proper channels, which given what Kagato was after makes sense, but it also means that the hunt was illegal and Nagi crossed the line by taking that job. Once we're underway, I'll be sending a new report to my superiors at HQ. If nothing else, they'll at least suspend her hunting permits and call her in for a review."

"Shouldn't they arrest her?" asked Mihoshi, "She broke the law!"

"By rights, they should, but that's likely too much to ask given just how powerful her backer is," said Yosho, "Knowing Kagato, he probably maintains a network of contacts within the Galaxy Police in case he needs to bail underlings out of trouble. It's fairly safe to say he'll pull strings and make the payments necessary to make Nagi's legal troubles fall by the wayside."

Kiyone nodded. "I never said it'd be a permanent solution, but it'll at least inconvenience her for a bit. Might even keep her off our backs for a little while."

"We'll need all the breaks we can get," said Heero, "Good thinking, Kiyone. Get that message out as soon as you can."

Kiyone smiled. "You got it, Heero!"

"Speaking of messages," said Duo, pointing at the main cockpit monitor, "Shouldn't we get the head honchos on the line for a final farewell before we blow this joint?"

"They're probably waiting on that right now," Hilde pointed out.

Heero nodded. "Kiyone, can you patch through to flight control? Sally and Director Une are probably up there by now."

"Just a second," Kiyone replied as her fingers danced across the console, "Okay, you're live."

Looking up at the monitor, he saw Sally and Lady Une appear. Despite the gravity of the situation, the two women were smiling.

"You ready for this, Heero?" asked Sally.

"I'd say yes, but I'm not entirely sure if that'd be the truth," he admitted.

Lady Une nodded. "I understand. The mission you're about to embark on is unlike any in the history of mankind. An occasion like this would normally deserve some ceremony, but unfortunately we have to keep all this quiet."

Heero shook his head. "It's better this way. People would be rioting in the streets if they found out about what kind of threat we're dealing with here."

"All too true," Sally conceded, "Hell, we'll all probably be long dead before any of this gets declassified. There's no fame and glory that go along with this op."

"You could say that about most of our missions," Heero pointed out, "This one simply has higher stakes than most."

"You're right," said Lady Une, "Since we'll have no way to keep in touch once you leave the Sol System, I want to take this chance to give you your final set of mission orders."

Heero nodded. "What are they?"

"Your primary objective is to deny access to the Judgment Array to Kagato and his followers," said the Director, "You have complete operational freedom; do whatever you deem is necessary to achieve your goals."

Sally chuckled. "It's not like we'll be able to micromanage you."

"Your secondary objective is intelligence gathering," Lady Une continued, "Learn all you can about the wider galactic community while you're out there. If there are any other potential threats to Earth lurking amongst the stars, we need to know about them. We might not have the technology to deal with them on our own terms just yet, but at least we won't be blind."

"Understood," said Heero, "Anything else?"

Lady Une nodded. "In your position, you'll be more than just an operative; you're effectively the Earth Sphere Unified Nation's ambassador to the galactic community. Take the utmost care to avoid making more enemies out there than necessary. Above all else, do not disclose the location of Earth."

"Keeping Earth hidden might be out of our hands," Heero countered, "It might be considered a backwater by the rest of the galaxy, but it's still on the charts of the Galaxy Police and the Empire of Jurai. They may not think it's important, but they know where it's at."

"Then let me rephrase that," said Lady Une, "Do not let anyone else who might be hostile know that you're from Earth. If someone who doesn't know your origins asks, make something up. Whatever cover you come up with is your call. Just don't draw any more attention to our planet; it's gotten more than its fair share already."

Heero nodded. "Roger that."

Ayeka stepped forward. "Director Une, Lady Sally? I want you to know that Sasami and I are very grateful for the hospitality that you've shown us over the past several months. Word of your generosity will reach the ear of my father, and I will make sure that he takes steps to look out for Earth without jeopardizing its autonomy or revealing the Empire's existence to your people until your government is ready."

Sasami smiled. "We won't let anyone come after Earth! That's a promise!"

Sally smiled. "We appreciate that. When this is all over, we'd be open to setting up private diplomatic back-channels with the Empire of Jurai. Any chance you could bring that up with your father as well, Ayeka?"

Ayeka nodded. "I'd be more than happy to, Lady Sally. Rest assured that I will stress the need for discretion when I speak to my father. I'm sure that we'll be able to come to some sort of arrangement that benefits both the Empire and the Earth Sphere Unified Nation."

"At this point, we'll settle for simple covert talks at the moment," said Lady Une, "We'll be looking forward to seeing what fruit this bears in the future."

The Director of Preventers then turned back to Heero. "I think that covers everything. From here on out, it's your show, Heero. The future of the Earth Sphere, perhaps even the entire galaxy, is resting on this operation."

"I know it's a tall order," said Sally, "but if anyone can pull out the win in a situation like this, it's you."

"I won't let you down," Heero replied.

Lady Une smiled. "I know you won't. Spread your wings and fly, Heero. We'll all be rooting for you."

Heero then turned to Kiyone. "I think we're ready."

Kiyone nodded and looked up at the monitor. "Director Une, this is Detective First Class Kiyone Makibi of the Yagami requesting clearance for departure."

"Hold position," said Lady Une before looking away from the screen, "Get those doors open!"

Heero couldn't see them at the moment, but he knew that above the Yagami the thick doors of the main base entrance were slowly opening up. The facility had originally been constructed by the old Alliance, and the doors were camouflaged to appear as part of the lunar surface. In fact, lunar rock was incorporated into the upper part of their construction, making them rather unwieldy but also incredible defensive bulwarks. It was rumored that they could even withstand nuclear blasts, although they'd never actually subjected to such punishment.

It took a few minutes, but eventually Lady Une turned back to the monitor and nodded. "Yagami, you are cleared for departure. Good hunting."

Sally grinned. "Get out there and kick some ass! Show them what you've got, Heero!"

Heero nodded. "Roger that."

….

For such a large craft, the Yagami lifted off remarkably quickly, and Lady Une could only look on in awe as the Galaxy Police patrol cruiser made its ascent. The ship cleared the base entrance in short order, and then the space above became engulfed in a blue-white glow as the vessel kicked its main engines into high gear. The light rapidly receded as the vessel accelerated, and soon it was just a pinprick of light on the horizon before it disappeared entirely.

We've still got a long way to go before our technology can hope to match that, she thought, I just hope we'll be given the chance to catch up.

Sally whistled. "Off to the races. Man, that thing can move when they put the pedal to the metal!"

Lady Une chuckled. "A slight understatement."

Sally smiled as she looked out the main viewport. "A moment for the history books, and we have to keep it quiet. Sensors, do we still have them on scope?"

"Not for much longer," an officer replied, "They're already past the outer grid. At this rate they'll be halfway to Mars in just a few minutes!"

"And then beyond our sight not long after that," said Lady Une, "This is the most important mission any of our agents has ever undertaken, and the only way we'll get a status update is when it's all over… for good or ill."

"They'll make it," said Sally firmly, "You know just as well as I do what those boys can do. Combine that with the… eccentric group of ladies that their flying with, and I don't think the galaxy knows what's about to hit it."

Lady Une smiled. "You think so, huh?"

Sally smirked. "No doubts here. They've got the biggest possible stage to play on now, and they're going to rock it like no one else can!"

Lady Une couldn't help but give a small laugh. "You know what? I think you're right."

It's your show now, Heero.

Make us proud.

Preview for next time!

Kiyone: I can't remember the last time we had a crowd like this on the Yagami.

Mihoshi: Travelling with lots of people is so much fun!

Ayeka: This is hardly the time to be taking it easy, Mihoshi! The fate of the entire galaxy is at stake here!

Sasami: Ayeka, it's okay to relax a little bit. We should enjoy this chance to show our new friends the galaxy.

Ryo-Ohki: Meow!

Washu: If any of you need me, I'll be in the lab. Need to make sure the boys will have proper weapons and armor when the time comes to get our hands dirty.

Duo: All right, new toys!

Hilde: Like a kid at Christmas…

Trowa: This should be interesting.

Quatre: Don't go overboard, Washu. We don't need any superweapons.

Wufei: Don't discourage her. I want to see what she comes up with.

Ryoko: Hey, Heero? You doing okay?

Heero: Yeah… just trying to figure a few things out.

Yosho: Learning to use your power should be foremost among them. Allow me to assist with that.

Kiyone: Next time, in Chapter Seventeen: No Need For An Interstellar Road Trip!

Washu: Ah, I can't wait to test these babies in the field! It's nice to have a ship full of guinea pigs!

All the Gundam pilots: We heard that!

Author's Notes: Well, there you have it; the gang has officially left Earth! It's been a long time in coming.

Hope you liked the chapter! Please review, and see you next time!