Gundam Wing: The Second Chapter Part 4
Relentless Combatant

All was too peaceful. Even with word of a whole Colony's destruction just two weeks prior to this night, there was too much calmness around the Gundam pilots and their Allies...Too much for any of their liking. A young woman with short, curly hair was walking to the hanger late this particular night. There, she looked up to an impressive, green, brown and black Gundam suit known as Slither.

The young woman sighed, "There are millions of people on Earth and in space... And I've the one cursed with piloting you." She heard someone chuckling from the darkness beyond her suit. Catherine clenched her teeth and posed herself for an attack.

Then, she recognized that voice. "Trowa?" she asked as her brother stepped from the shadows.

He smiled and nodded, "I see you couldn't sleep, either."

His sister sighed and closed her eyes, "I don't think I can do this, Trowa. You, Kumi and the others have had years to master your Gundams. I was never crazy about those things."

Trowa smiled again, "You don't need to remind me, Catherine."

"And what's with the names that Kumi and Sette gave me, Relena and Dorothy?" she asked, annoyed with that fact as well.

The tall pilot answered, "They're like titles, something to be respected by."

Catherine nodded, "I see that. It just doesn't feel right."

Her brother leaned on the railing beside her. "It will... in time. Just like your piloting Slither."

"How did you ever get used to it?" the young woman asked, lost as to how she should feel.

The other pilot replied, "I didn't get used to Heavyarms for quite a while. Once I understood the suit, the rest came naturally. You're expecting everything to come right away. It won't happen like that. You have to let yourself make mistakes. Otherwise, you'll never learn from them...I know now not to regret anything that I've done or any mistakes I've made. I learn from them."

Catherine's face calmed as she sighed again. She paused before giving him a hug that he returned. "At least I know you'll help me do that," she said with a little more assurance.

"You know I'm here for you," Trowa promised as the embrace broke.

The two pilots walked out of the hanger together as a third pilot stood in the shadows of the other suits. She watched the pair leave with an expressionless face. Her long, silver hair fell to her knees as it was out of its usual ponytail.

Slowly, a soft - almost warm - smile came across Kumi's face as she closed her eyes. "He has character," she whispered to herself. She looked up to the suits that stood all around.

*   *   *   *   *   *

Demetris walked into a small room and greeted the young man he answered to. There was an impressive table in the center of the room with two chairs and two crystal glasses filled with wine before both seats. "How are you, my friend," the smaller of the two asked in a cheerful matter.

The giant answered, "I understand that Carter has come up with a solution."

The other smiled, "We're still days from being able to use it to our advantage... But, yes, he came through as I knew he would."

Demetris nodded, "That's good to know. What shall we do while we wait for that?"

His commander replied as he sat at the table, "We hit another colony, one that it not far from the Mars. Colony E98 is of little use to us and the Gundam pilots are sure to be near there."

The tall man questioned, "Yes, but, that does not guarantee the possibility of getting their exact location."

"Demetris," the young man smiled as he shook his head. "We're not out to kill them just yet. We're going to have some fun first. Everything that they fought for years to save will be destroyed before them, one-by-one. It'll kill them slowly and painfully as they realize that there is nothing they can do to save the people and Colonies that they love so dearly. And this toying with them will not be a set back...There is nothing that can get in our way of victory...You don't doubt that..." he gave him a look of uncertainty, "Do you, Demetris?"

The tall man shook his head calmly, "No, sir. I do not."

"Good," the other man said as his smile returned even wider than the last while he leaned back in his chair.

"Sir," Demetris asked suddenly.

"Yes?"

"When will I get to fight the Gundams, myself?" he asked with anxiety all over his voice.

The smaller man laughed loudly. "Oh I knew that you couldn't wait from the sidelines much longer. But not just yet, my friend. Soon enough." He stood and took a sip of the red wine nearest to his seat. After taking in a long sip, he gave a sinister grin, "Those pilots hurt your pride badly, didn't they?"

Demetris clenched his teeth and closed his eyes as he growled, "One in particular, sir."

The OZ leader's head lifted up as his eyes brightened. "Yes. Kumi is quite the mink isn't she," he sneered. He could see Demetris's face redden with anger at the thought of the young pilot. He laughed again. "All in good time, Demetris," he promised. "Just remember, there are nine other pilots to worry about first. You were able to obtain all of the information on the pilots, correct?"

The tall man replied, "Yes, sir. The identities of the three new suits are still a mystery, however."

"That's fine. I enjoy a good mystery. We'll put the missing pieces together somehow," the leader said quietly, already working the wheels in his mind.

Demetris walked to the table and took a long drink of his wine. "I will see that the preparations are made for the attack on E98," he stated.

The young man nodded, "Excellent. And let's shake up the people on Earth a little more, shall we? It's been long enough since we had some fun there. Their hopes in the pilots and their friends are dwindling little by little. And they will be too distracted to do anything about the hit."

With an affirmative, the giant of a man stepped out of the room. Replacing his glass, the young man sighed, "Not much longer. We'll have everything this life has to offer in a matter of months." An evil smile crossed his face.

*   *   *   *   *   *

Quatre was reading in his room when a knock came to the door. "Come in," he called as he sat up. When the door slid open, the young princess entered the room. The Arabian's face lit up, "Hi, Sette."

The girl smiled and nodded, "Hello, love." Again, the young man fought from blushing and failed. Sette chuckled as his face changed and she sat beside him on the mattress. "It's too quite around here for my liking," the tomboy sighed as she lied back.

"I know what you mean," Quatre nodded. "It's been over two weeks since anything has happened. That just gives OZ more time to hit hard when they make the next move.

"Do you think we'll live through this?" the other pilot asked quietly.

Quatre was taken back by the question. He knew what his answer was, but it didn't help him any. "There's always the possibility of dying," he finally answered as he lied beside Sette. He looked to the ceiling. "I wish I could say that we'll all get out of this without a problem..." His face fell as he closed his eyes and whispered, "But I have a bad feeling that won't be the case."

Sette nodded sadly, "I feel the same way. You never leave a war with all the soldiers you went in with."

The blonde opened his eyes and replied, "Sad but true... I couldn't imagine Heero, Duo or the others dying. We've been through so much together already and we're all only twenty-two."

"I'm in the same boat. Kumi and I have been through hell and back, laughing all the way." She paused a second and smiled, "Well, I was the one laughing. Kumi might have been giggling, but anyway, the thought that something could ever knock us down is more than unsettling," the princess frowned.

"We can't let the fear of dying keep us from defending Earth and the Colonies. We've been fighting for over seven years for them. We can't let OZ get the better of us," Quatre said quietly as he turned to his friend. The tomboy sighed as she looked into his eyes. "What is it?" he asked.

She smile warmly, "Our children are going to be beautiful."

Quatre laughed. Shaking his head, he chuckled, "You're cute."

Sette hugged him. "Thank you, beloved," she beamed as she held him tight. The Arabian patted her back gently as she snuggled next to him.

*   *   *   *   *   *

Wufei was in one of the gyms alone, practicing his sword-fighting as he lunged and swung with great speed and force. He had been doing this for quite sometime now and had worked up enough of a sweat that he had removed his top some time into the workout. He had his eyes closed as he imagined a soldier dueling with him the whole time. Finally, he finished his fight with a graceful forward flip, landing with the blade lunged forward.

Wufei panted as his eyes remained closed. "You've never lost it," a young woman's voice came from nowhere. The Chinese pilot's eyes shot opened as he turned to the door. Sally Poe was standing there with a warm smile on her face and her arms crossed.

"Hello, Sally," Wufei welcomed as he stood straight.

She nodded, "You seem more than ready for anything."

Wufei took his gray t-shirt and placed it back after wiping some sweat off with a towel he had waiting. "I know that I shouldn't be impatient while waiting for the next attack, but I can't stand waiting for an enemy who hides and expects to be given respect."

Sally sighed as her smile grew, "Always concerned with honor and the 'rules' of war."

The pilot replied quickly, "One who hopes to win must be concerned with those things. Otherwise, they are certain to lose."

The young woman walked up to him. The two stood at about the same height. Wufei had grown several inches over the years. Sally said quietly, "You have a good heart, Wufei. And you a hell of a fighter. I know that you won't lose. I believe in you and the other pilots."

Wufei's face softened. "I'm glad we'll be going through this together, Sally," he whispered, looking away from her.

The braided woman looked to him lovingly, "I couldn't think of anyone else I'd rather face this war with." Wufei turned to her and smiled.

Sally got ready to leave the room as she turned to leave, "Well, I should let you go and-" Her words were cut short as a hand grabbed her arm gently. Slowly, she turned back to the Gundam pilot. Before she could react, Wufei gently pressed his lips to hers for a soft kiss. It wasn't a long kiss, but sweet just the same.

"Wufei?" Sally whispered, a look of shock on her face.

"Something I should have done a long time ago," the pilot answered softly. The woman could feel her face turning red as she smiled to him. "You're one of very few people that understands me. Thank you," he said quietly. Sally hugged him as he wrapped his own arms around her in response.

*   *   *   *   *   *

Euphoria was lying on his back as Milliardo lied in the open cockpit, working at the controls to get used to the feel of the suit. Noin sat at the edge of the open cockpit looking down to her husband as he raised the golden suit's arms with more ease than previously. She smiled to him, "You're adjusting to the suit well."

Milliardo nodded, "It's an adjustment...It's been so long since I've fought in a suit. And this is like nothing I've ever piloted before."

"Just make sure you don't get too carried away out there," Noin warned with affection.

The blonde man stood and joined his wife's side as he wrapped his arms around her. "And when have I ever gotten carried away?" he asked.

Noin laughed, "Gee let me think. Where do I begin?"

She went down a whole list as the other pilot shook his head and laughed, "All right, Noin. I get the point." His wife laughed again.

"Okay. Now just make sure you listen this time," she said quietly, but sternly.

"I will," Milliardo promised as he kissed her forehead. Noin looked to the suit they were sitting on and sighed. "What's wrong, sweetheart?" Milliardo asked, concerned.

Noin smiled and closed her eyes, shaking her head. "I admit I'm pretty jealous of you...Getting the chance to fight again. And in a Gundam suit at that," she said as she returned her glance to her love.

Milliardo lowered his head, "I know you want to be out there just as badly as I do."

She nodded as she rubbed her belly. "Still, I'm not complaining. We have something to look forward to together," she grinned. They kissed and they heard a door to the hanger open.

They turned to find Relena walking in. She smiled to her brother and sister-in-law and waved. "Hello, Relena," Milliardo smiled back as he stood, helping his wife to her feet. Together, they lowered themselves to the floor to greet her.

"How are you both?" the queen asked kindly.

"We're fine, thank you, Relena. And yourself," Noin replied.

Relena answered, "Good...Nervous...Scared."

Noin nodded, "You're not alone there."

Milliardo placed his arms on his sister's shoulders as she looked up to him. "I won't let anything happen to you out there," he vowed.

His sister smiled, "I don't doubt that, Milliardo. Thank you. I just can't help but worry about the people we're fighting for at this time. There are millions of lives depending on us. I'm afraid I'll let them down."

Her brother shook his head, "You can't think like that, dear. We have to stay strong and optimistic at times like this. We can't afford not to."

Relena nodded, "Yes. I'll do everything I have in my power."

"We all will. That's all we can do," Milliardo whispered.

The door opened again as a young woman entered the room with very long, straight and blonde hair. "Dorothy?" Noin asked as they turned to her.

The girl nodded, "I came to tell you that the meeting is going to be staring soon. We're to meet in the third conference room in ten minutes."

Relena responded, "Very well, thank you, Novem."

The long-haired girl bowed, "I do enjoy that name much more than Dorothy. I will see you soon, then." With that, she left silently.

Relena looked to the others, "I better get ready."

"I'll walk you to the conference room," Milliardo told her. I need to speak with Howard so I'll be heading in that direction."

"Will you be joining me?" he asked gently to Noin.

His wife smiled, "No, you go on ahead. I'll head back to our room in a little bit."

The tall man embraced her before he and the queen left her. "I'll see you there, then." he told her.

When they left her, Noin looked back to Euphoria in awe. "You really are lucky, hon," she sighed.

*   *   *   *   *   *

In the conference room, the Gundam pilots filed in one-by-one and sat at the long table there. The room was plain in many ways, silver from the metal walls and floor with a window that looked to the hallway they came from. The glass took up almost the whole wall. Heero and Kumi sat opposite of each other as their comrades sat to either side of them. They were all present with the exception of a certain braided pilot.

"Where is Duo?" the Wing pilot asked, almost concerned after looking to the empty seat to his right. Kumi's eyes widened for a second after he asked this as the other pilots were at a loss for an answer.

Just then, the American pressed his face against the window that took up the wall behind his lover as he blew to make his cheeks explode. He kept it there until everyone noticed. All of the pilots laughed at the face as Duo ran into the room, announcing, "Have no fear! The God of Death has come!" Again, laughter filled the room. Even Kumi smirked to herself. "Sorry, y'all," Duo said as he made his way to the seat beside Heero. "I couldn't find my watch," he explained as he sat beside the Wing pilot.

Heero inched his chair over a bit so that his partner would have an easier time getting to sit. When the American was in place, Heero slid his chair back in his direction so that they were closer. They looked to each other, Duo giving soft smile to his companion. Heero smiled back with a warm glance. They soon looked to the reports that they had brought with them. Had anyone else seen this behavior, they would have thought nothing of it. However, Kumi's eyes widened for a split second again as she witnessed this. As she looked to the two of them, as they sorted through their notes, a small smile crossed her own face.

Lady Une entered the room as she smiled to the eleven individuals. "Good. We can get right down to business," she sighed with relief. Upon that announcement, a tall, uniformed man entered from behind her. His icy blue eyes could pierce through even the fiercest of gazes and his build was quite impressive.

"This is Lieutenant Keiser," the Commander introduced as she raised a hand in the officer's direction. At the age of thirty or a bit older, the blonde's short hair had a distinctive wave to it. He looked to each of the pilots as he scanned the room, a stern look on the broad features of his face. Slowly, he got a good look at the interesting display of young men and women before him.

Keiser didn't say anything, he just stood like a statue seeing that he took everything in. Lady Une looked to him. "Lieutenant," she began as she revealed the names in the order that they were sitting together. "This is Queen Relena Weatherall, Catherine Bloom, Sette Devion, Kumi Yuy, Dorothy Catalonia, Trowa Barton, Duo Maxwell, Heero Yuy, Quatre Raberba Winner and Wufei Chang."

The soldier nodded, "Nice to meet all of you." His low voice was as icy as his eyes. The pilots looked to each other with mixed expressions.

Lady Une explained, "Lieutenant Keiser will be the one responsible to see that all is in order with our attacks. At this time, he is looking to find a safe way of getting through the communication issue we are having with the Earth and the Colonies."

Heero nodded, "Then you will be the one giving us our missions throughout the war."

Keiser replied with a smirk, "Yea, I'll be the one telling you what to do." The eyes of some of the pilots narrowed at the man's tone.

"Well, when can we count on receiving our first missions?" Duo asked.

Keiser answered, "We're working on that now. More than likely, it'll be another day or two before we can develop a good enough strategy."

Sette pondered, "What can we do until then?"

The stern man closed his eyes and crossed his arms as he replied, "Just what you've been doing...Wait. The Preventers under myself will be able to handle any attacks that happen from now until when the game plan is completed."

Kumi shook her head, "No offense, Lieutenant. But if there should be an attack any time soon, we should be the first called out to fight."

The tall man looked to the young woman coldly, "And what makes you say that, missy?"

The silver-haired pilot bit her lip in anger before answering. "We know what we're doing out there," she stated simply.

Keiser laughed loudly, "Please. My men can handle anything. They've had many more years in combat than any of you."

Heero was beginning to get aggravated. His cobalt eyes narrowed and he commented, "We all have to work together in this war, sir. Asking us to sit back during a battle is not the best of choices."

Quatre nodded, "As young as we are, we can handle the fights to come."

Trowa continued, "OZ needs to see us fighting so they know we aren't letting someone else do the work for us."

Duo threw in, "We were given our Gundams for a reason. They were made to protect the Colonies and now the Earth as well. We don't take crap from OZ or anyone who tries to harm them in any way."

Lady Une looked to the man beside her, "Lieutenant, you understand that they are right to say they should be the first on the battlefield."

Wufei stated, "We've come too far over the years to just sit back and watch others fight when we could be out there with them." The other pilots remained silent as they took everything in that was being said.

Keiser shook his head, "I'll think about it. But don't let the victory of the first war and the Mariemeia incident get to your heads, kiddies." Kumi growled lowly at that word 'kiddies' along with Sette.

"For your information, Lieutenant," the silver-haired pilot said calmly, "We are not letting anything get to our heads. We know what we have to do and that's the end of it."

The arrogant officer shrugged, "Like I said, I'll think about it. I'll also be following up on your progress as you work with your suits."

Heero's eyes shot him a deadly stare. "We don't need to be supervised," he hissed. "It's like Kumi said, we know exactly what we're doing. Nobody needs to be looking over our shoulders."

Sette nodded, "That's not a problem with you... Is it, 'Sir'?" The title was said with such stressed anger that the man gave her a disgusted look.

He calmed himself and smiled, "That's fine with me. You kids do whatever the hell you want with your suits and your preparations for this war. Just remember that I'm the one who'll be giving the orders around here when it comes time to fight."

Lady Une was not happy with Keiser's attitude towards the pilots as she narrowed her eyes in his direction. "I think we've taken enough of their time, Lieutenant," she stated clearly. "We should be going back to the control room."

She led the way as she turned and walked out of the room. The Lieutenant turned to see that every face at the table now gave him a look to kill. He smiled brightly and waved, "You take care. I'll be seeing you all soon." With that, he left the room.

The pilots all looked to each other and or lowered their heads in anger from the man's behavior towards them. "What the hell was that all about?" Sette growled.

Quatre shrugged with his eyes closed, "He's going to be just as much trouble as OZ."

Catherine sighed, "At least we don't have to worry about fighting for a while."

Relena shook her head, "As relieved as I am about that, I don't think it's the right choice."

"Of course it isn't," Dorothy shot as she stood. "We can't just stay back and let the Preventers go ahead and do the fighting."

"Relax, Novem," Wufei replied, still sitting with his arms crossed. "We don't know when OZ will hit and if the strategy Keiser is working on will be done before then. All we can do is wait and see what happens first."

Heero nodded as he rose, "Exactly. We're not doing any good discussing this any further until either we or OZ makes the next move. Until then, do whatever it takes to stay focused." Slowly, all of the pilots rose and made their way out of the room.

Kumi and Sette remained sitting silently. Sette sighed when they were alone. "This is going to be a long wait isn't it?" she asked almost irritated. "I'm starting to get itchy to fight again as much as Novem," she admitted.

The silver-haired pilot stacked her papers together and placed them in her binder. She shook her head, "Don't worry about that now. Just do as Heero suggested. We can't afford to lose focus this early in the game, or at any point during this war."

Sette nodded as she sighed again. Resting her head on her hand, she smiled to her friend, "You need a man."

Kumi's eyes shot wide as she glared to the princess, "What!?!" she yelled.

The tomboy laughed, "Oh come on, Kumi. I have Quatre. You need someone now."

"Sette, I have no time for this nonsense," the silver-haired woman hissed.

"What about Duo!?!" Sette beamed. Kumi laughed loudly. Her friend looked with uncertainty, "What's so funny? He's a good looking guy."

Kumi laughed again, "It's not that."

"Then what is it?" Sette asked in haste.

"He's dating my cousin," Kumi answered with a smile.

Sette almost fell out of her chair as she exclaimed, "Wow! You never told me that you had another cousin! What's her name?"

Kumi rolled her eyes as she shook her head. A little amused, she replied simply, "Heero."

The other pilot's eyes widened. "That's so weird! You have a male cousin named Heero t-Oh my God," she gasped as she covered her mouth.

Holding up her right hand, the tomboy whispered, "You mean he...?" Kumi nodded. Sette raised her left hand asking, "And he...?" Kumi nodded again. Sette lowered her hands as her shocked face remained. After a long pause, her face calmed as she shrugged, "Okay...At this point, nothing surprises me anymore." Kumi chuckled as she rose and walked out of the room.

As she stepped out, she noticed Trowa walking to the quarters. She called his name as he turned and smiled to her. "Hey, Kumi," he replied as she walked up to him.

Kumi paused before saying, "I wanted to thank you."

Trowa looked confused as he asked, "For what?"

"I was in the hanger when you had your talk with Catherine late last night," she admitted, "I'm glad that you were there to offer support...I'm not exactly the best in that area and wouldn't have known what to say to her."

Trowa placed a hand on her shoulder, "Don't sell yourself short," he said gently as he smiled. "You are capable of feeling just as much as Heero. Whatever training you had when you were young never took away the fact that you're a human being. When all's said and done, you're human, not a soldier."

Kumi looked to him with a glint of what seemed like hope. She lowered her head, "I should get going. I have a lot of work to do." With that, she stepped away and walked down the long corroder.

Trowa looked to her as she walked away. He called, "Kumi." The pilot turned and looked to him with a lost look. He smiled, "I finally got to hear you laugh and see you smile before the meeting...You should do it more often."

Kumi almost blushed as she gave a very small smile, but a smile none the less. "Maybe," she replied quietly before turning again to walk further down the hall.

Sette's head popped out from behind the corner of the room as she watched Trowa look to Kumi as she walked off. "Well, well, well," she smiled to herself.

"What do you think you're doing?" a voice came from behind her as she almost shouted from shock. When she turned, a Chinese pilot was glaring to her.

"Hi, Wolfy," Sette smiled. Wufei sighed and shook his head, refusing to address the issue of his name with her again.

"What are you doing?" he said with more conviction.

The princess closed her eyes and answered, "Just watching love blossom, that's all."

Wufei laughed, "Don't be ridiculous. Trowa is the last person I could see ever falling in love. He's too quiet."

"He was talking quite a bit with Kumi," the tomboy grinned.

"That doesn't mean anything," the other pilot snorted.

"Care to make this interesting?" Sette offered in a serious tone.

Wufei nodded, a mischievous smirk tugging his lips, "You're on."

*   *   *   *   *   *

Later that day, two pilots were in a gravity activated racquet ball court as they knocked the small ball with great power and speed to each other off the wall, never missing a beat. Heero and Duo were getting out all of the frustration and anxiety that had been running through them as sweat poured off of them, saturating their tank tops and running shorts.

Each time they whacked the ball, a loud grunt would escape them. They had been at this for over an hour now. They didn't care about their bodies as they would throw themselves in the ball's path to keep it moving, knocking them into the walls, falling to the ground and the banging against the glass door. Finally, a buzzer went off as the ball froze in midair. Exhausted, the pilots fell to their knees and gasped for air.

"Nice game...Heero," Duo said brokenly as he panted and wiped the sweat from his face. Heero looked to his lover beside him and noticed the bruises he gave himself as a result from the game.

"Duo," the Wing pilot whispered, concerned.

"Huh?" the American asked as his koi crawled over to him. Heero kissed the black-and-blue mark on his left arm. Duo smiled to him, "I didn't even notice I did that," he assured him. "I'm okay, koi," he whispered.

Heero sighed, "And you tell me about over-doing it."

The braided pilot laughed and kissed his lover's forehead. "Well, I have a lot on my mind...We all do," he commented.

Heero nodded, "I know." Wrapping his arm around Duo's chest, he rested his head on his shoulder. Duo wrapped his arms around the Wing pilot's waist and lied his head on his partner's as they closed their eyes. They sat like that for a while when they heard sirens.

The pair looked to each other briefly as they jumped to their feet and flew out of the room. The hallways were blinking red as the sirens rang out. Soon, the lovers made it to the control room. Not far behind them, the other pilots flew in and stayed in the back of the massive area, looking to the monitors.

"So they finally decided to show up," Sette stated as they saw a large OZ fleet swoop into Colony E89 miles away.

"It's about time," Wufei growled as he and the other pilots were about to make a break for their Gundams.

However, they turned only to hear a loud voice call, "You're not going anywhere." They looked back in shock to see Lieutenant Keiser walk to them with a sneer on his face.

"What the hell are you talking about," Heero hissed.

"Like I said, you're staying here. A large fleet of my Preventers is off now to take care of the situation," the officer replied.

Kumi glared at him, "What will keeping us here prove?"

Keiser replied, "That you Gundam pilots are not all you're cracked up to be." He was now being given death glares from all of the pilots, even Catherine. Looking to the monitors, they watched the fight between the OZ soldiers and the Preventers. It seemed as though the Preventers were holding their own.

After five minutes into the fight, an OZ soldier looked around and asked himself, "Where are those Gundams suits?" just before taking out a Preventer's mobile suit with his sword. The fight was then beginning to turn in OZ's favor as more soldiers came.

More time passed as the Gundam pilots were forced to do nothing but watch. Duo clenched his fists and growled to himself, "Screw this." The American turned and made a dash for the hanger, Heero right there with him. In an instant, Kumi, Sette, Trowa and all of the pilots followed as they charged the halls to reach their suit, knocking soldiers out that tried to stop them.

"What the hell are you doing!?! Get your asses back here!" Keiser screamed at them.

Lady Une smiled as she looked to the monitors again. "Seems as though they don't need anyone to tell them what to do," she stated.

Keiser was almost turning red as he growled, "We'll see about that."

Once strapped into their suits, Heero and Duo led the charge as their suits left the ship. The other suits were close behind them. Another OZ soldier looked to his monitor and announced, "I'm picking up something...It appears to be a mobile suit." Just then, Deathscythe came down at great speed, Duo shrieking all the way. "The Gundams!" was all the man had time to scream before the scythe tore him in two.

Using the Buster Riffle, Heero took out three Aires ships and called to the others, "Fan out. Encircle them and close in on them. Duo and I will handle the center."

Kumi took his advice as she shot further up the Colony's surface. Sette took the southern route as they grouped out and took on their own personal fights. Delapan used her bladed whip to slice through a Virgo suit with ease. She proceeded to shoot more soldiers with the guns hidden in the side Slither's head.

"Where the hell did they come from?" on OZ soldier cried just before one of Zes's sais cut the head of his Virgo off, causing the suit to explode. The queen was handling Calvary well as she maneuvered the Gundam with even more fluidness than before.

Looking to her monitor, she could see the numbers of the OZ pilots dropping. "Now to start pushing them back," Relena told herself as she began to 'heard' the troops before her. Novem was not far from her as she shot countless arrows from her suit to bring the opponents to their end.

Relena's eyes widened at the sight of an OZ soldier coming from behind Dorothy. His attempt to cut at her armor was stopped short when Dorothy spun quickly and stabbed the large bow through the cockpit. "That was close," the young pilot sighed to herself.

"Are you all right?" Relena called.

Dorothy nodded, "Just fine, thanks."

Trowa and Wufei teamed up as they swept down on the soldiers and pushed them backwards. "Keiser better be enjoying the view," Wufei sneered as he sent a spray of flames down on the Leos below him.

Trowa shook his head, "I doubt he'll be very impressed no matter how this ends." Using his suit's chest, he showered the Aires above him with bullets.

Quatre was further out as he shot at the suits before him. He noticed that an Aires was about to hit Sette as she swiped at a Leo. With a quick move, he tossed a blade in their direction and cut the Aires in half.

Seeing the explosion, Sette looked to the Arabian and chuckled, "Thank you, beloved."

Quatre smiled, "Don't mention it." They continued to push the soldiers before them back.

The large number of Preventers that made it through the struggle continued to fight as they aided the Gundam pilots. Heero and Kumi smirked to themselves as they met up in the center and killed off the OZ soldiers that remained. Sette watched and sighed, "The family that kills together..." she stopped her thought for a second to make a disgusted face and noise.

The numbers of the OZ soldiers was dropping greatly as there was no sign of the few remaining troops giving in. Kumi thought aloud, "I don't get it." Taking her riffle, she destroyed three Leos. "They don't seem as prepared to retreat now as they did the last time."

"Just keep taking them out," Heero replied as he slashed through more mobile suits. The Preventers suits also took part in the slaughter. There were just a few handfuls of OZ soldiers left as they were surrounded by the Gundams while they made a circle around them.

It had been a half-hour since OZ attacked the Colony and a winner was finally decided. An OZ soldier's monitor blinked on to reveal Stanton as she smiled to him. "Good work, Private," she began. "We've made our point here. Come on back."

"But Commander-" the soldier was interrupted by the young woman.

"This is not a retreat. It's strategy. I am ordering your return."

"Yes, Commander Stanton." With that, he led the flight from the colony as the Gundam pilots watched while they handled taking out a few more troops.

The battle was officially over as only the Preventers and Gundams remained. The Preventers cheered as they began to head back to Peacemillion. In his Gundam, Duo looked up to where the OZ soldiers soared from the fight. "They're up to something," he whispered to himself.

Heero's voice announce, "All right. Let's get out of here," as he flew off in Wing Zero. The suits all went off together as they returned to the massive ship.

*   *   *   *   *   *

When they were out of their suits, the pilots sat together in the hanger. "I don't understand why it took so long for them to realize they weren't going to win that fight and leave," Quatre stated.

Heero answered, "They were making a statement." His comrades all looked to him as he continued. "OZ wants to keep us guessing. They have a lot more going for them than what they've been throwing at us."

Sette shivered, "I hate to agree with that...But I have a feeling you're right."

Kumi replied, "It's the same reason we're keeping Milliardo and Euphoria from the battlefield for now. OZ has to believe that we only have the Preventers and ten Gundams to work with."

Catherine shook her head, "They don't seem to be too concerned about the lives of their pilots. That's for certain."

Wufei replied, "Probably because they don't need to rely on them as much as other weapons they have."

Relena nodded, "That would make sense. Their technology has improved since the first war."

Dorothy sighed, "There has to be a way that we can find them. I don't care how good their EMP signal is."

Duo shook his head, "I agree but we can't do anything until Lieutenant Asshole can come up with a game plan."

Just then, Lieutenant Keiser's voice came on the loudspeaker as he announced, "Yuy, Maxwell, in my office now."

When the speakers fell silent, the American smiled brightly, "Speaking of Mr. Happy."

Heero smirked as he stood and looked back to his lover. "Come on, Duo. We might as well get this over with," he shrugged.

Duo rose and stretched, "Yea. Nothing better to do anyway." The two walked out side-by-side as their friends watched them depart.

When the door behind them closed, the remaining pilots looked to each other. "Keiser's going to give them hell," Trowa sighed.

"I'm sure Heero and Duo will be able to handle it," Kumi chuckled deeply.

Sette stood and smiled, "Well, I'm heading off to the bar. I need something to help relax a little. Besides, we kicked ass out there. It's something to celebrate."

"I'll join you," Quatre nodded as he rose to his feet.

Wufei, Catherine, and the others all thought that a small celebration was in order as they decided to head to the bar. Kumi looked to Excalibur then removed the folded blueprints she always had on her. Trowa was one of the last to leave as he looked to the silver-haired girl. He smiled, "Coming, Kumi?"

She turned and looked to him, "Maybe later. I have something I need to work on."

Trowa responded, "All right. Just don't work too hard." He waved and joined the others below.

The young woman managed to catch Dorothy sigh, "If OZ does have more up their sleeve, I just wish that they would use it now so we know what we're dealing with." The others gave words of agreement and understanding. Kumi looked to the door after the other pilots left.

Before she started her project, Kumi went to the window not far from her suit and searched through the stars. "Be careful what you wish for," she whispered gravely.

Nothing lied outside of the window, just the silent stars and the darkness surrounding them. It was the silence and the darkness of the whole war that were the most frightening elements in this war. And right now, they were working in OZ's favor.

TBC...

 

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