DISCLAIMER: Gundam Wing belonged to Sunrise and co. I’m not making any profits out of this, so don’t sue. Oh, those you think you’ve never heard before belong to me. And feedback is very welcome, people!☺

 

TIMELINE: The story mostly takes place after Endless Waltz. To be more precise, one year after Endless Waltz. That means two years after my very own Treize’s Revenge series.

 

 

SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST IV: INVASION !

By Arayelle Lynn.

 

                She made her way around slowly. Her mind was numb and her thoughts were all jumbled up. She was very confused. She didn’t know what had happened to her nor did she know where she was. But one thing for sure, she had to get herself to a place. A place where it’s safer than the streets and where she would find help.

 

                Again, her tired feet buckled and she stumbled onto the ground. The day was already dark and the rain was pouring down like… what? Pushing herself back onto her knees, she leaned against the wall to regain some strength. She felt tempted to fall onto her knees and succumb to the darkness. But she knew that she can’t do that. She knew that her life was still in danger.

 

                Ignoring the furious pounding in her head, she pushed herself away from the wall. That proved to be a wrong thing to do. She, once again, felt darkness swirling around her. So, she put her left arm on the wall so it could support her. She tried to put her right hand on the wall too but it only made her gasped in pain. She turned to examine it only to discover one thing. Why was her right shoulder bleeding? Not knowing the answer, she then started to walk down the alley, more or less aware of her shaky legs and her shivering body. But she cannot stop now. She had to get back. Even if she should die trying.

 

>>>@@<<<

 

                Relena watched the condition of Quatre’s room. The windows were all shattered as pieces of glass strewn all over the room and on Quatre’s bed. The smoke was dissipating, making it easier for the workers to clean up the room. The hospital administration had offered Quatre a new room but he politely refused, telling them to give it to those whose room was hit the hardest. So they sent some of their workers to help clean the room as well as giving them proper medical attention.

 

                Sitting on a chair near Quatre’s bed was Duo, his hands were being examined by a doctor. Quatre was on the bed, watching as the doctor delicately removed the tiny pieces of glass from Duo’s hand. Despite him wanting to maintain his male ego, Duo let out a little cry of pain when it was too painful to bear. But Relena just admired how he managed to joke around at this crucial a time.

 

                Shifting her gaze on Quatre, Relena noticed that the latest incident had finally taken its toll on him. Earlier that day, he had been shot, been in the operation room for three hours and now, dealing with the fact that one of the person he considered a friend was dead. Now, as he watched Duo, she knew that he wasn’t really aware at what was happening around him now. But Relena was thankful that Quatre suffered little physical damage from the explosion. His stitches and bandages were still intact, thanks to Trowa’s quick reaction.

 

                And Trowa, he’s sitting close next to Quatre as if protecting him from any other form of danger. Like Quatre, he too suffered little damage because he had dodged on the other side of the bed, after pulling his surrogate brother down with him. But Relena knew when Quatre suffered, Trowa suffered too. The only thing Trowa could do was to provide Quatre with his inner strength and show to him that everything will be alright.

 

                Wu Fei was leaning against the wall, watching the rest of his team patched up themselves. Wu Fei had a cut on his forehead but he had refused to get it examined. The doctor had insisted but once seeing Wu Fei’s sharp look, he backed out leaving Wu Fei to stand around and watched over his friends like a shepherd watching over his sheep from the hungry wolf. If he felt anything about Kylie’s demise, he didn’t show it.

 

                Standing near the window was Heero. And like Wu Fei he was also watching his teammates, standing guard. Since he had been near the window, Heero cut his arm just above the elbow. But he let the physician looked at it once when he was done examining the others. Relena tried to read his features but his face was expressionless. The time before he went down to examine the wreckage had been the only time he showed any of his emotions. When he returned, he became the once emotionless Wing Zero pilot.

 

                However, of all, Relena was more concern about Lady Une. The older woman was just sitting on a chair, staring at her hands. Relena knew that the woman blamed herself for all this. If only Relena knew how to make her feel better.

 

                Suddenly, Lady Une rose to her feet. “I need to call Mariemaia,” she said, absent-mindedly. She then moved towards the door when Heero stopped her. “Wait,” he said, crossing over the room to stand before the woman. “Let’s wait a little while before we tell the little girl that her sister is dead,” he said. “Kylie’s a tough kid. Let’s make sure she is dead before assuming she is.”

 

                Lady Une’s eyes widened. “You mean, Kylie could still be alive?” she asked. “How? That blast was powerful enough to destroy anyone at least 10 meters away from it.”

 

                “I don’t want to get your hopes up but Kylie could still have a chance,” said Heero quietly, not wanting the others to know. “You go and organize your Preventers to investigate the wreckage. I’ll see what I can come up with at my end.” He then moved towards the door.

 

                “Where are you going, Heero?” asked Relena.

 

                Without turning, Heero said, “Home.” He glanced at his friends. “Trowa, Wu Fei, I leave them to you.”

 

                Wu Fei and Trowa nodded their heads and then watched Heero disappeared into the hallway.

 

>>>@@<<<

 

                After for what seemed like an endless journey, she finally reached the place she was dying to be. She didn’t know why this place gave her a sense of security that strong but she did know that it was the safest place for her. Slowly, she made her way towards the building and found herself looking up a series of stairs, which looked as if it was leading her to heaven.

 

                Shaking her head to clear it, she took the first step. But then she found herself too weak to balance her body to climb the stairs. Again, she used the wall to keep herself steady. The climb on the stairs had been more of a torture to her than the journey to this place. Her feet were sore and tired, her muscles were all screaming for the ceasing of the torture and the pain in her right shoulder was beyond feeling. Her mind screamed with every steps up but still she continued.

 

                Then, by some miracles, she was there. Automatically, she reached for her pockets to fish out her keys. When she found it, she opened the door to the apartment and stepped inside. She locked it and went into the living room. There, all her strength and sheer will dissipated like ice in the desert. She was unconscious even before she hit the couch in the living room.

 

>>>@@<<<

 

                When Heero got home, he made a silent prayer hoping he would find good news on the other side of the door. He opened the door only to discover a prone figure, lying on the couch face down. Her long hair trailed to the ground. Adin, the puppy, was whining and licking on her hand, which fell limply. There, Heero noticed that blood was pooling on the floor.

 

                Closing the door, Heero quickly went to the unconscious figure. “Kylie!” he called out, surprised to find her wet and too cold for comfort. He cradled her in his arms, shaking her. “Kylie!” he called again but still there was no response. Not even a sign of life.

 

                 He then looked her over, examining her wounds. Her head was bleeding, just above the left eye where a bump was forming. She suffered a few burns and cuts all over and in addition to that, her shoulder wound was bleeding indicating that the stitches had ripped open. She was dirty, as if been down in the sewers and the longer Heero delayed changing her wet clothes into some warm ones, the more chance she would suffer from pneumonia

 

                “Let’s get her into her room,” said Heero to Adin. He then carried Kylie into her bedroom and placed her gently on the bed. Adin leapt onto the bed as if standing guard. Seeing that, Heero nodded. “Good. You just stay there and take care of her. I’ll just have to make a phone call.”

 

                He returned to the living room and picked up the phone. He then dialed a number he knew by heart. When the person on the other end answered it, he said, “Lady Une, meet me at Apartment 120-G near Sector D80. I have someone you really want to see.”

 

>>>@@<<<

 

                Lady Une sat quietly, waiting for the person on the bed to wake up. It’s been three days since the explosion and while Kylie’s wounds were taken care of, Lady Une was more concerned of her head trauma. She wished for the hundredth time that Heero had permitted her to take Kylie to the hospital but he had insisted that Kylie should be treated in the apartment to avoid any further enquiries. He had said that the blast had killed Heather Leong and she should stay dead so she could return as Kylie.

 

                Eventually, Lady Une could see the wisdom in Heero’s words and knew that it was also what Kylie would’ve told her to do. Nobody should know that Kylie was related to all the assassinations two years ago. And it was dire now, more than ever, to hide Kylie’s secret identity as Treize’s Revenge. General MacGarth’s policy to convict those who committed war crime during the war would be the end of Kylie’s life if someone were to discover she was the notorious assassin.

 

                But when Kylie didn’t regained consciousness for two days, Lady Une began to question their choice. They didn’t know exactly to what extend the seriousness of her wounds but between treating herself for injuries and risking the discovery of her secret identity, Lady Une knew Kylie would prefer to choose to destroy herself.

 

                ‘Little Fire, what have we done to you?’ Lady Une sighed, her mind went back to the memory long gone. When Kylie had been a happy little girl. She wished now that she had never caught Kylie stealing Treize’s wallet and maybe then they could avoid creating this cold killing machine. As for the abusive thief, she knew that Kylie would’ve eventually find a way to escape from his grasp. But what about Treize? Would he have that much will to achieve peace if Kylie hadn’t crossed his path?

 

                The questions left unanswered as she noticed the prone figure on the bed started to stir. Her eyes fluttered open. Kylie started to bolt from the bed as soon as she saw Lady Une, only to clutch her head and cried in pain. “Slowly,” Lady Une said, gently. “Lie back.” She pushed the girl back on the bed, surprised how easy it was for her to do so.

 

                Kylie closed her eyes and swallowed, trying to get rid of the throbbing pain in her head. Then, something cold was pressed to her lips. She somehow forced her eyes open. “Drink this,” said Lady Une, supporting her head while Kylie took a sip to satisfy her thirst.

 

                “What happened?” asked Kylie, her voice was surprisingly weak.

 

                Lady Une placed the glass onto the side table. “Your car was rigged to explode. Somehow you made your way here.”

 

                At that, Kylie closed her eyes. Everything started to come back to her, the confusion, the pain, and the torture. Only the thought that Heero would be able to help her had kept her on. She didn’t know why but she discovered that she was surprisingly comfortable working with the quiet and serious Gundam pilot.

 

                “Where’s Heero?” she asked.

 

                “He’s at the hospital. I guess he’s going to tell the others that you were alright,” Lady Une answered, slowly. She didn’t know how the girl would’ve taken the news. To her surprise, Kylie nodded. “And Quatre? And the others? Anybody got hurt by the explosion?”

 

                Lady Une was glad when this cold girl finally showed her concern for others. “Mr. Winner is recovering well. He’ll be out in no time. As for the others, they’re fine. Just suffering from a few minor cuts.” She paused. “Your employer, Kent Winteridge wasn’t doing well though. He’s kinda keep to himself now.”

 

                Kylie listened, not giving any comments. She then turned away. “Why are you here?”

 

                “Heero contacted me when he found you. He thought that I should be the one who deal with your physical wounds.”

 

                Kylie examined herself and discovered that her head was bandaged and her shoulder wound was well treated. The other cuts and bruises were almost healed. And she was in a different set of clothes! She quickly looked at Lady Une. “Did Heero found out about…” she left the rest unsaid.

 

                Lady Une shook her head. “He waited outside the room while I treated you. You and I are the only ones alive that knows about them.”

 

                She leaned back into the pillow, relieved. “Good.”

 

                “How long are you going to keep that secret from them?”

 

                Kylie stared at the ceiling. “As long as it takes. Besides, it doesn’t concern them. It just a reminder that I’m still not free from his memory. And when I finally find him, I’ll make him pay.” Lady Une nodded, not knowing what else to do. Nothing she or anyone could say that would change the girl’s mind. Even if she was free from her sins as Treize’s Revenge, the killer side of her would never rest until she was finally given her vengeance. Lady Une only wished that it would be soon so Kylie would be able to live her life as she should.

 

                Looking down at the girl again, she discovered that Kylie was asleep. Brushing a strand of hair off her forehead, Lady Une bent down and kissed her gently. “Be well soon, Little Fire. An even greater battle is about to begin.”

 

>>>@@<<<

 

                “You mean she’s alright?” asked Quatre as Heero finished telling them the good news. “Where is she? I want to see her,” he said, bolting out from the bed only to fall on his knees when a sharp pain exploded in his chest. Heero quickly caught him before he hit the floor. The stronger Gundam pilot then carried Quatre back onto the bed.

 

                “Don’t get too excited, Quatre,” he advised. “You’re still weak yourself and it won’t help anyone if you get worse. All you need to do now is to get well and then I will bring you to her once you’re strong enough,” said Heero, as if talking to a five-year-old.

 

                Quatre looked embarrassed. “I guess you’re right.” He looked up at Heero. “But she is alright, right?”

 

                “She hasn’t regain consciousness yet, if that’s what you mean. Lady Une is watching over her 24 hours.” He paused. “Before I left this morning, I went to see her. She seemed better.”

 

                “Oh?” said Quatre.

 

                “Trust Heero, Quatre. If he said that Kylie’s better, then she must be,” said Trowa, moving next to Quatre.

 

                “I guess,” said the blond pilot. “Sorry, Heero.”

 

                “No apology needed.”

 

                Quatre looked at the faces present in the room. While Trowa and Relena seemed to be glad that Kylie was alive, Duo still looked skeptical and Wu Fei’s expression was hard to read. Dorothy, who had came to visit him since the day before was also wearing the same look as Duo. She was shocked to learn that he was the prime target and was more shock when she learned Kylie’s part in it. Vincent Dupree had came to visit him too but he was swept away by Erea Winner who knew that the Gundam pilots and their friends need a few moments alone. Hilde Schbeiker had arrived too, on the day she heard Duo got hurt but then left for no reason at all. Duo had said that she needed to take care of the salvage business while he was gone but Quatre knew there‘s also a hidden reason.

 

                “Well, I for once am glad that everything’s over,” said Duo, breaking the silence. “And that our Miss Ice Queen is not killed. It saves me the time to have to avenge her.”

 

                Dorothy shook her head. “No, it’s not over,” she said. “We still haven’t figure out who hired the assassins and who is this last one. Until then, Quatre and Kylie are as much in danger as they were. Except now, the assassin could be targeting all of us.”

 

                “I don’t think we should be worrying about Kylie,” said Heero. “As much as the assassin is concerned, she is dead or rather, Heather Leong is. So she won’t be targeting her.”

 

                “What about the one who hired the assassins? You saw Kent Winteridge, he’s as much shocked at the news as the rest of us,” Duo pointed out. “He can’t be the one who hired them despite his opportunity.”

 

                At that Heero was silent. Although he knew what Duo said was true, he somehow couldn’t convinced himself that Winteridge was completely innocent. There was something about the man that spelt danger. And Heero was determined to find out what.

 

                “Well, all we could do now is to review all the suspects list,” said Trowa. “Maybe think of new possible suspects that could be involved. And motive. We still need to consider the kind of motive that would motivate him or her to hire assassins to kill Quatre.”

 

                Duo sighed. “Yeah, and it’s going to be a whole lot new work to do.”

 

                “Then we must be fast,” said Wu Fei for the first time. “I have a feeling that there will be more trouble to come.”

 

>>>@@<<<

 

“They’re starting to move,” Noin reported, waking Zechs from his slumber. He quickly looked at the visual before him. The alien fleet was moving past the orbit of Jupiter and directly at their way. “Have they discovered our location?”

 

                “No,” said Noin. “The asteroid belt is still shielding our location. And the aliens haven’t showed any signs that they found us. I’m still attempting to determine their course.” She ran her fingers on the console as Zechs kept his eyes on the sensor readings. He wanted to make sure that they’re not been discovered yet.

 

                After Wu Fei departed for Earth, both of them spent weeks, watching the aliens. But when the alien fleet started to move, Zechs and Noin decided to follow them, trying to determine their target. However, until now, the aliens didn’t give way any signs that they wanted to attack Earth. And so both of them followed on, trying to find out this new enemy’s plan.

 

                “Got it!” said Noin. “They’re heading towards Mars!”

 

                Zechs froze. Mars was one of the planet inhabited by humans right now. And it lacked sufficient weapons to defend itself. He looked at Noin. “Can we stop them from reaching Mars?”

 

                “Negative. We’re low in weaponry if you’re thinking about distracting them to get us.”

 

                “That means we have to get there before they do. We have to warn them,” said Zechs, powering up their engine. “Try to contact headquarters, Noin. The Preventers should know about this.”

 

>>>@@<<<

 

                Quatre was about to knock on the door when he hesitated. He now wished that Trowa was there with him but it had been his idea to go up to Heero’s apartment first to have a few words with Kylie alone. And so Trowa had decided to wait for the others downstairs.

 

                Suddenly, the door swung open and Quatre jumped as Heero appeared in the doorway. “Heero,” he said, relieved that it was him. “How did you know I was out here?”

 

                Heero gestured for him to come in. “I saw you and Trowa before you came up.”

 

                Once inside, Quatre looked around the small apartment. It was pretty cozy with two bedroom, a living room and a small kitchen. He turned to Heero. “You two have been living in the same apartment all these while?” he asked, disbelief.

 

                “Yeah, ever since these whole thing started,” said Heero. Suddenly there was a bark and a puppy appeared. He ran towards Quatre, wriggling his tail. “And Adin, of course,” Heero added. “He likes you.”

 

                Quatre knelt and patted the puppy. It licked him. “He’s beautiful. Where did you find him?”

 

                “Some place.” Was all Heero said. “Why don’t you make yourself at home. I still have a few things I have to take care of.” With that, Heero disappeared into the kitchen. Quatre walked into the living room and settled on a sofa. Adin leapt onto his lap, attempting to lick him on his face.

 

                Quatre chuckled as the puppy’s wet tongue brushed against his cheek. “Yeah, I like you too, boy.”

 

                “That’s funny. He usually doesn’t like people whom he met for the first time. It took him two days to be civil with me. I guess you’re pretty special, then,” a voice said, making Quatre jumped. He turned around to face the owner of the voice, nearly falling off the sofa.

 

                “Kylie!” he said, standing up.

 

                “Sorry to have startled you,” she said, noticing that he was favoring his left side. “You’re okay?”

 

                He nodded. “Yeah, I’m alright.” He then looked her over. Aside from the small bandage still wrapped around her head, Kylie seemed better than what the others had described four days ago. “You looked alright…uh… are you?”

 

                She nodded and for a moment their eyes met. Then suddenly, she frowned and she went back to the cold girl she once was. Quatre wondered what had changed in that split second but he didn’t have the gut to ask. And so he looked at her again, only to discover something else. “You’ve cut your hair,” he said, softly. He noticed that Kylie had cut her long hair to the same length it was when they first met.

 

                Kylie, meanwhile, was surprised by the disappointment in his voice. But once again, she fought back the confusion and other strange feelings that rose whenever she saw him. It annoyed her greatly that he had such effects on her and that there’s nothing she could do about it. And so she turned away, not meeting his innocent blue-green eyes. “The girl Treize Khushrenada raised years ago is dead as is Heather Leong. There’s no sense in bringing them back from the dead.” She looked at him from her shoulder. “Understood?”

 

                He nodded, attempting to get on her good side. After all, she’s one of the deadliest assassin around. “Alright,” he said, as she was walking towards the window. “But what should we call you then?”

 

                “Anything. Call me Kylie if you want to,” she said. “But don’t expect me to be her.”

 

                He was about to open his mouth when she raised her hand. “Don’t thank me for what I’ve done these few months. The debt is still not paid until I finally get the last assassin,” she interrupted. For a moment, there was silence. Adin, sensing the tension, went to her side and whine. He looked up at her and then at Quatre.

 

                Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Kylie walked away from the window to answer it. “Looks like you’re looking much better,” said Duo as the first one who entered. Kylie ignored the tone of his voice as she nodded at Trowa and Wu Fei. And then to her surprise, Lady Une, Relena and Sally Po entered. She then closed the door as they made their way into the living room.

 

                Heero walked out of the kitchen, carrying a tray of drinks. He gestured for the others to be seated while he, Wu Fei, Trowa and Kylie remained standing. “I guess, we all know why we’re here,” said Lady Une, after everyone were settled. “It’s been a week and there’s still no sign of the assassin. It’s either she thought that she has gotten her target or she’s waiting for a more appropriate opportunity.”

 

                “Thinking like an assassin, I know she’s laying low for now,” said Kylie.

 

                Heero nodded. “She’s right. The assassin knows we’ll be searching for her. And now she’s waiting for the perfect time to strike.” He added. “She’s waiting for us to let down our guards.”

 

                “Which is one thing we’re not that good at doing,” said Duo. “So, what’s our next plan of action besides searching a needle in a haystack?” He looked at the others for answer but the others looked at among themselves. Even Kylie was looking at Heero, her face expressed her curiosity.

 

                “Actually, we’re not to do anything but wait,” said Heero.

 

                “Huh? That’s your idea,” said Duo.

 

                Heero looked at him. “Like you said. There’s no sense looking for someone who doesn’t want to be found. All we can do now is to keep our guards up and wait until she show herself to us.” He glanced at Kylie who nodded.

 

                “Is that all? Gee, you could’ve told us that over the phone, you know,” said Duo.

 

                “I could but the assassin is not the main reason why we’re here,” said Heero. Everyone looked at Heero, surprised. Kylie raised her left eyebrow, knowing there were some other reasons why Heero held this meeting in their apartment. She waited for him to continue.

 

                Heero looked at Wu Fei. “I actually am more concern about the trouble Wu Fei mentioned a week ago in the hospital,” he said. Then turned to Lady Une. “Or am I talking to the wrong person.”

 

                Lady Une blinked, surprised that he knew that something was terribly wrong. She glanced at Wu Fei who raised his eyebrow, telling her that they ought to know. Even Sally nodded, agreeing to his opinion. Taking a deep breath, Lady Une looked at the young faces before her. “Human race might be in some kind of grave danger,” she began.

 

                At that, the other four Gundam pilots looked at each other. Relena frowned as Kylie started to tense. “By who?” asked Quatre. “The guerillas?” Lady Une shook her head. “No, something even more dangerous.”

 

                Wu Fei looked at his comrades. “It’s an invasion.”

 

>>>@@<<<

 

                “We’re too late!” said Noin as Mars came into view. They saw alien fighters descending on the red planet, shooting at the main domes where most settlers lived. The settlers tried to defend their new home from the surprise attack but with humankind now leaning towards pacifism, arms and weaponry were discouraged, making the settlers had little to defend themselves. And soon, they found that they’re no match for such a huge attacking force.

 

                Zechs gritted his teeth. “Have you gotten through to the Preventers yet?” he asked, determining his next action.

 

                “Negative,” said Noin. “I think all communication from Mars are blocked and we’re caught in the disruption.” She looked back at the sight before them and then glanced at Zechs’ angry face. “But I’m going to continue to try.” To her surprise, he shook his head, his eyes flashing.

 

                “No. We cannot waste time doing things that are not helping,” he said.

 

                Noin stared at Zechs. “You mean…”

 

                “We’re going in,” he said, bringing the their shuttle into the heart of battle. He destroyed the first few alien fighters that were caught unaware but the rest who caught the sight of the new target, quickly changed course to destroy them. But Zechs was OZ’s most capable pilot and before long, he destroyed most of them. However, his skills were not what Noin was concerned about. It’s the lack of armaments in their shuttle that was the main problem.

 

                ‘Blast it! Why now?’

 

>>>@@<<<

 

                He watched the beautiful sight of the battle before him. It had been a long time since he was in a battle. The Emperor’s orders were simple and must be obeyed. They were to wait until the right moment to strike on this creatures. Which means, they had to wait for years until they had sufficient information on the alien race before launching their invasion. It took him years of waiting and patience was one of the first virtue that was drilled inside an Imperial Warleader, no matter how far away their mission was from the Galaxy Empire. But now that the dice had started rolling, the Warleader could feel the excitement radiating from each of his men.

 

                “Sir, the alien shuttle that we’ve encountered before have just showed up just as we expected,” said the green-haired beauty who was standing before him, supervising the attack. The Warleader smiled at her, for she was his first and most trusted officer as well as his lover. And she also happened to be the best bodyguard in the Empire, with skills matched few by the Emperor’s bodyguards and the Regent’s Personal Guards.

 

                She smiled at him. “And the magnetic shroud we’ve put prevented the alien from contacting their people for help,” she reported. “It won’t be long until this planet they called Mars fall into our hands.”

 

                The Warleader nodded, obviously pleased. “Good job, Sira. I trust our Collectors are ready to take in the slaves?”

 

                “They’re awaiting my orders, sir.”

 

                “Then, by all means, proceed before we kill more than we want to keep.”

 

                Sira saluted and turned to her men in the bridge. As she gave the orders, the Warleader observed his six Mican Warriors. They were watching the battle carefully, each studying the strength of their enemy. Despite the calm look on their faces, he knew that they could barely contained the need for a good battle in their minds.

 

The Mican Warriors were trained to be the best group of specialist army in the Empire and very few survived the treacherous training. They had helped the Empire to conquer countless of worlds easily, even those who were technologically more advance than the Empire. And the Regent purposely appointed the six Mican Warriors into his army to counter these creatures’ best warriors, the Gundams. Their core mission was a complete and absolute conquest.

 

Turning his gaze back to the battle, he applauded the creatures’ determination to retaliate. But like other creatures they had conquered before, he knew that these creatures would eventually bow upon the rule of the Emperor. However, the Warleader secretly wished that these creatures would give him the greatest challenge in his life.

 

                “Oh, Commander,” he said as Sira turned to face him. “Don’t kill those in the shuttle. Take them in, alive. They would make excellent slaves to the Empire.” The beautiful commander saluted and continued supervising the attack.

 

>>>@@<<<

 

                “Invasion?” said Duo, blinking. He looked at the others who was wearing the same surprise look. Even Heero was startled. “Uh, this is not from the bad sci fi movie on tv, right? I mean, we always fantasize about invasion from aliens but it was all just plain fantasy, right?”

 

                Lady Une shook her head. “No, it’s real,” she said, turning to regard Wu Fei. “Sally and I have studied the information Zechs and Noin have gathered and decided that the matter is dire.” She looked at the boys. “If anything, we might be needing the Gundam pilots again in this matter.” She turned to Relena. “Which means, mankind might have to abandon your pacifist policy, Relena.”

 

                “What!” said Relena, standing up. “Why? Have you tried talking to the invaders yet? Maybe they want to attack us because they thought we were hostile. Maybe I could talk to them.” She looked at all of them. “I know I could make them see were not a danger to them. That we want nothing but peace with them.” She said to Lady Une, “This is a chance for us to made friends with other alien races, don’t you see?”

 

                “That’s a very weak possibility, I’m afraid,” said Sally. “The way they’re forming in the orbit of Pluto proved that they’re indeed have hostile intentions toward us.” She paused. “We have to prepare for anything.”

 

                Lady Une nodded. “Which is why we have ceased the dismantling process of the guerillas’ mobile suits so we could use them to defend ourselves. With Earth and the colonies upholding the pacifism policy, we’re in little condition to even drive away these invaders. All we could do is to defend ourselves until we come up with something.”

 

                “But if we started to arm ourselves, wouldn’t the aliens feel threaten? Wouldn’t they made the impression that we are a dangerous race?” Relena argued.

 

                Heero looked at her, sharply. “You still don’t understand the situation, do you? If any one should feel threaten, it’s us. They have their fleet in space, heading towards us and we’re without sufficient weapon.” He turned to Lady Une. “You have my cooperation.”

 

                “And mine,” said Wu Fei. “Of course.”

 

                Trowa nodded while Quatre hesitated. “Well, we are the only ones who might be capable enough to defend mankind. I guess, I’m okay with it.” They all looked at Duo who was still thinking. “Well, I don’t want to leave my business unattended. It was hard enough to set it up after the war and I don’t want it to go down while I’m out fighting…”

 

                “Duo,” said Quatre and Sally.

 

                Duo nodded. “Alright, alright. I guess you guys can’t do it without me. I am the best, after all.”

 

                Lady Une nodded. “Thank you for your cooperation.”

 

                “I’ll join you too,” said another voice. Lady Une was surprised and turned to look at Kylie. “You’ll need all able soldiers, remember. And I’m more than able,” she said. When the older woman was about to say something, she held up her hand. “I have to fight. Those who threaten the peace of mankind shall suffer my interference.”

 

                With that, Lady Une nodded. She knew no matter what she said, Kylie would fight the aliens, with or without her consent. The only way was to let her work with the Gundam pilots so they could form Earth’s best defense group.

 

                “We’re being too hasty,” said Relena, knowing that she’s been outvoted. “As Vice Foreign Minister, I am going to contact these aliens and ask their intentions for coming here. Maybe we could avoid bloodshed that way.”

 

                Suddenly something crackled. All turned towards Sally who took out her communication device, Preventer’s standard and thumbed a button. She listened, surprise was evident on her face. “What do you mean we lost contact with our agents on Mars?” she asked. She listened some more and then looked at the others. “Headquarter reported that we’ve lost all contact with Mars,” she said to Lady Une. “All communications system including public and secured lines are being cut off. And there’s no way to contact them at all.”

 

                “How long have we lost contact?” asked the Director of the Preventers.

 

                “Several hours. When they still couldn’t regain any communications, they contacted me.”

 

                Suddenly Wu Fei pushed himself away from the wall he was leaning. “It must be the aliens. They’re here.”

 

                Sally’s comm chimed. She listened and then looked at Lady Une, her eyes wide. “That’s from the research institute. They’ve just spotted something large near the orbit of Mars. It’s the aliens, alright.”

 

                “Have our agents send help to Mars,” said Lady Une, rising from her seat.

 

                “Our agents won’t be sufficient to save them,” said Wu Fei.

 

                Heero then ran towards the door. “Where are you going, Heero?” asked Relena.

 

                “Where I’m needed,” he said. “I’m going to take a shuttle and fight these invaders myself.”

 

                Kylie was about to follow him, to go and get an old friend, only to hesitated when a thought came into mind. Making a very hard choice, she called out. “Heero, wait!” The youth stopped and turned to her. She looked at him, carefully. “A shuttle would do no good for someone of your superior skills. My Taurus is in the old hanger 34. I’m entrusting you with it,” she said.

 

                Heero was surprised and then nodded. “Thanks a lot.” Then he was gone. Kylie made her way towards the door, with Wu Fei and Trowa. “Where are you three going?” asked Lady Une. Kylie and Wu Fei continued to walk out the door while Trowa stopped.

 

                “To Mars. No matter how superior Heero’s skills are, he can’t handle them all alone. We’re going there to do as many damage as we can,” he said, walking out. Quatre rose from his seat. “Quatre? You can’t…”

 

He looked at Lady Une. “I know I’m in no shape to do anything, but I want to be there. I could study their attack pattern,” he said, his face set. He then followed Trowa. Duo, realizing he was the only Gundam pilot left, quickly jumped to his feet. “Wait for me. I want to go too.”

 

                “Me too,” said Relena. Lady Une nodded at her. “I guess all of us are going then.”

 

>>>@@<<<

 

                “Warleader, there are something coming from the alien’s homeworld,” Sira reported, turning. “One of the things the aliens called mobile suit and a shuttle.” The six Mican Warriors perked their ears at this as they watched the appearance of something in red.

 

                “Really? I guess we would be watching that thing in action,” said the Warleader. “What about the collecting?”

 

                “They’re done. And we’re heading away from Mars,” she said. “I have the fighters converge on these newcomers so we could get away easily.” She paused. “Do you want to make your appearance now, sir?”

 

                The Warleader nodded. “What of the shuttle that engaged us before?”

 

                “Our fighters are still trying to get it. Whoever inside the shuttle, they’re good.”

 

                He nodded. “If the shuttle managed to escape our grasp, let it be. We’d still have the chance to see whoever they are in battle again in the future. Maybe that would give our Mican Warriors some challenge they wanted.” The six warriors knelt. “Thank you, Warleader.”

 

                Sira nodded. “Your will, Warleader.”

 

>>>@@<<<

 

                When they got to Mars, the battle was nearly over. Duo watched at the devastation the battle left on Mars and cursed silently. “What in the world…” he never finished his sentence. He watched in awe at the retreating fleet. It was huge. Then, the alien fighters headed their way. “Watch out!” he said, as the shuttle barely avoided getting hit. Trowa piloted the shuttle into the group of fighters, as they open fire. Some hit the shuttle while others hit the other fighters.

 

                Duo gripped Wu Fei’s seat and glanced at his face. The Chinese Gundam pilot was watching something else. “Zechs is in trouble,” he remarked, as Duo turned to look at what caught his attention. There, in the heart of the battle, a shuttle was fighting it’s way out. From the looks at the daring and crazy maneuvers, he knew that the shuttle had ran out of fire power and now was trying its best not to get destroyed.

 

                “We can’t get to them,” said Trowa, concentrating. “We’re too far away.”

 

                “Zechs and Noin aren’t our responsibility,” said Kylie. Duo turned to Kylie, to express his feelings towards the remark when the girl pointed. “Look carefully,” she said. Duo turned and saw something glinted  at the heart of the battle. Something red. “Heero!”

 

                They watched as Heero destroyed the fighters surrounding Zech’s shuttle. When the shuttle was cleared, Heero proceeded to destroy the other fighters coming at him. “Hold on, we’re going in,” said Trowa, diving into the heart of battle. Quatre quickly flipped on the communication system.

 

                “Are you okay, Zechs and Miss Noin?” he said. He waited for an answer and seconds later, Noin appeared on the screen.

 

                “I’m okay,” said Noin. “But Zechs might have broken his arm.”

 

                Quatre nodded. “Hold on, we’re coming to get you.”

 

                “Don’t worry about us,” said Zechs, clearly in pain. “You have to go and rescue the prisoners before it’s too late.”

 

                “Prisoners?” Duo echoed. He exchanged glances with Quatre.

 

                “It’s the retreating fleet. They’re carrying the settlers from Mars,” said Noin.

 

                “What!” said Trowa, changing course. But before they could get anywhere, another troop of alien fighters bore upon them. Duo was nearly thrown off his seat as the shuttle shook. A groan behind him made him turn. “Quatre!” he exclaimed, seeing the blond youth on the floor, Kylie by his side.

 

                “I’m alright,” he said, as Kylie helped him up. “I got thrown off.”

 

                “We can’t take another hit like that, Trowa,” said Kylie as she and Duo helped Quatre to his seat. She herself was trying to bear the pain of her pounding head. “The shuttle is not made of gundanium alloy.”

 

                “Got it,” said Trowa as he launched a counterattack. It took them a moment to destroy the fighters but they knew that they won’t make it in time to safe the prisoners. Even Heero was overwhelmed, feeling the absence of a more superior mobile suit, namely Wing Zero.

 

                Then, their screen flickered as a strange figure appeared. From a glance, he might have passed as a human being. He had all the normal features of a human being but the golden shade on his skin gave him away. His eyes though seemed human, they had no whites and they’re as dark as night. His eyebrows were slightly pointed and his face though bore a scar on his left cheek still do no flaw to his surprisingly handsome face.

 

                “Do not be surprise by the similarity of our looks, humans, for we are nothing alike. We might seemed similar enough to be distant kin but you will never be our brothers,” he said. The man, no alien, continued, “I came from a race superior to yours. A race that have reigned supreme over the universe for generations.”

 

                Duo shivered as if the alien’s gaze penetrated the screen. His bottomless eyes showed that he was a man of great power and worth listen to. As the alien spoke, neither of them uttered a single thing. They were all appalled by the appearance of this powerful-looking alien.

 

                “We are the Telrhani of the Telrhan Galaxy Empire. And I am Warleader Varishk from the house of  Tharia. In the name of his Supreme Ruler, Emperor Gylendar, surrender yourself and prepare to serve his Imperial Majesty,” he declared. “Your freedom might be taken away for life but you will be awarded for excellent service to the Imperial family.” Relena, Lady Une and Sally who were just a distance away from the battle exchange glances.

 

                “Surrender? Is that guy a loony or what?” Duo growled, hitting the wall with his fist.

 

                The others didn’t answer. By the look of the aliens’ eyes, they knew that he meant business. And that the human race might yet be in a fight of their life. Suddenly they heard another voice through the communication system. “My name is Heero Yuy. I belonged to no family and bore a borrowed name,” said Heero. “I am the one who protect humankind and under any circumstances will not let any of my kind be enslaved or destroyed by the likes of you!”

 

                The Warleader leaned back. “I see. Do you speak for all your people?”

 

                “I don’t need to speak for my people,” said Heero. “I only do one thing for those who endanger the ones I’m protecting. I will destroy you,” he said, meeting Varishk’s eyes. The Warleader raised his eyebrow.

 

                “So, you’re one of them. The ones your people called Gundam pilots. The perfect soldier.”

 

                Heero and the others in Trowa’s shuttle were startled. “So, they know about the Gundams,” Zechs commented. He was surprised and admired the Warleader’s knowledge. Few knew the identity of the Gundam pilots but this Warleader though an alien, managed to learn about them. Zechs frowned, thinking of a new possibility.

 

                “Never mind,” Relena heard Varishk said. “My warriors could use some challenges. And I’m sure you and your comrades could provide them that.” He paused. “But be sure of this, Heero Yuy. Your people will serve my Emperor or you will suffer what we have done to this red planet.”

 

                At that they turned to see the colony on Mars. Relena gasped, seeing the complete destruction of human’s new settlement, the destruction of their hard work. It would take time and a lot of efforts to rebuild what was lost that day. Varishk regarded Heero. “You would’ve made an excellent slave, Gundam pilot but I know you would be one of those who shall not survive the conquest. Until then, I ask you to stage a magnificent retaliation against us so I could bring back the story of your misguided courage to my people.”

 

                Heero stared at the alien on the screen and nodded. “And I won’t rest until I destroy all of you and free those you have captured.”

 

                “Brave words. Let’s see who will prevail.” With that, the screen winked off and the alien’s fleet continued to retreat. Finally released from her shock, Relena quickly ran to the console, pushing the buttons. “What are you doing?” asked Sally, restraining her.

 

                Relena struggled. “I’m going to contact the aliens. We must talk about forming a peaceful relationship!”

 

                Sally took her by the shoulder and shook her. “Don’t you hear what he said? He only came here to enslave us. He’s not here to form any friendly relationship except master-slave relationship. Do you want your own people to end with that kind of fate?”

 

                The younger girl calmed. “Let’s head back to headquarters,” said Lady Une, for the first time. “We have much to do until they return.”

 

>>>@@<<<

 

                Warleader Varishk turned to his first officer. “Good job, Commander. That was an excellent performance.” He turned to his six Mican Warriors. “The Gundam pilot’s pretty impressive, isn’t he? What do you think?”

 

                The leader of the six nodded. “We feel that he and his companions will provide us the most magnificent challenge. We of the Mican Warriors couldn’t wait to engage them in combat. It would be the best yet, Warleader.”

 

                Varishk nodded. “I have the feeling it will be so.” He changed the subject. “You six are excused for the rest of the journey. Go and tend to your Mican Troopers.”

 

                “Your will, Warleader.” They saluted. Varishk turned to his first officer. “I’ll be in my quarters, Commander,” he said, leaving. “Oh, and Sira.” The green-haired beauty turned. “For the next battle, I want you to give supervision to my second officer. I want you to stay by my side to give me counsel.”

 

                Sira nodded and signaled to a man standing next to her. She told him to take command and then followed after the retreating Warleader. As soon as they were gone, the six Serpent Warrior exited the bridge to join their own men.

 

>>>@@<<<

 

                They assembled at the Preventers headquarters on the new MO V. They waited patiently as Lady Une and Relena Darlian were in the conference room, having to confer with the President of Earth Sphere Unified Nation. The alien’s transmission had patched into every Earth and colonies’ vidscreens and for now, the officials were trying to control the growing panic in the public. But all knew their fates rest heavily on the five Gundam pilots.

 

                Noin and Zechs, who refused to go to the infirmary were in the room with two of them. Since they both had spent a great amount of time observing the aliens, their presence were needed to brief the President of the new threat. However, they still lacked information that could help determine more about the aliens’ origin.

 

                Heero had returned with Kylie’s red Taurus and promised her to run a full diagnostic and repair any damages. But the young assassin politely refused, saying she could handle it herself. Now, both of them were standing next to each other, communicating silently. Both felt surprisingly comfortable with each other. They knew that they sometimes had the same wavelength and more then a few occasions had came up with the same plan when they were working together. Both seemed to understand exactly what the other was feeling and what they were thinking of which made working together seemed so easy.

 

                And both welcomed each other’s company. They needn’t to talk about anything, just the very presence of one another close by gave them more comfort and a great sense of companionship than they found in other people.

 

Another reason was that Heero needed to stay away from Relena. He knew about Vincent Dupree and he also knew that the guy was perfect for her. All he had to do was to avoid Relena until she noticed Dupree’s silent love for her. And Kylie needed to distant herself from Quatre to avoid having the confusion and strange feelings that surfaced. But even his very existence in the room made her felt the strange feelings all over again. She needed to push the blond pilot away, far away.

 

                While the two were deep in thoughts, Duo watched them carefully. He was surprised how close Heero and Kylie were. And that how both seemed frighteningly similar. The way they stood, they way they were so deep in thought made Duo shivered. Both didn’t mind being so close with each other that Duo wondered if the two were involved. But if they were, as much as Duo hate to think so, some people were going to be hurt by  their union.

 

                Suddenly, Lady Une appeared. The five boys, Kylie and Sally looked at her. The head of Preventers stopped at the doorway. “Relena’s still with the President. She’s still trying to think of peaceful solutions to this matter,” she reported.

 

                “For someone who had risen from nothing to the most important figure in Earth Sphere, she could sometimes be a fool,” said Wu Fei, glancing at Heero. But the silent pilot offered no defense on the girl’s behalf. Instead he asked, “Where’s Zechs?”

 

                “The infirmary,” she answered. “He finally couldn’t stand the pain so Noin took him there.” She paused. “Anyway, this discussion only involved you Gundam pilots.” The five boys exchanged glances, surprised. “Now that you all agreed to help and that you know how powerful the enemy is, there’s only one matter that need to be considered.”

 

                “How do we fight them?” asked Quatre, knowing exactly what she meant. That thought had played in his mind over and over again but he couldn’t think of any solution. They could fight with the standard mobile suits but they need a more superior suits to chase away the invaders. But with all their Gundam reduced to tiny pieces and that the blueprints were all erased, how were they supposed to fight the enemy and come up as the victor?

 

                Duo sighed. “I hate to say this but I’m sorry for destroying Deathscythe. Maybe we’ve made a mistake by destroying our Gundams so hastily.” He slumped on the seat, thinking of his ‘old buddy’ and the great times they had together. It seemed like so long ago when he started piloting Deathscythe.

 

                “No, you didn’t made a mistake,” said Kylie. “What you did, in fact, was the rightest thing to do since you decided to live in the world of pacifism.” She paused to glance at Lady Une. “I was going to destroy my Taurus suit when I discovered that I wasn’t ready for that yet.”

 

                “But still, if we hadn’t destroy them, we could’ve stop the aliens from taking the Mars settlers prisoner,” said Quatre. “I shouldn’t have came up with that plan. I realized now that my plan costs mankind the worse fate than death.”

 

                Kylie went to him and looked him in the eye. “Start talking like that and I’ll shoot you in the head myself,” she said, harshly. “We don’t need self-regret or self-blame in this room.” She paused. “Tell me. Could you have anticipated the aliens’ descend? Could you read their minds and find out their intentions?” Quatre looked away and shook his head. Kylie nodded. “Good. Now, let’s do something more useful than expressing past regrets,” she said but her cold eyes were trained on Duo, who winced.

 

                Lady Une nodded. “Kylie’s right but you people’s skills are not going to be wasted on piloting the inferior mobile suits.” The others looked at her, surprised. “The standard suits are reserved for Preventers agents as well as those who choose to fight with us. No, we cannot have you people pilot the likes of Tauruses or space Leos.” She gazed at the young faces in the room. “For you Gundam pilots, I have something else.”

 

                She exited, gesturing them to follow her. Curious, Heero, Trowa and Quatre followed her. Duo glanced at Wu Fei but the Chinese Gundam pilot were also wearing the same expression as the others. Respectively, Sally and Kylie followed Lady Une and the Gundam pilots. The Head of Preventer Agency led them into a secret room. It was dark but they could tell it was huge. Then the lights blinked on, they were forced to cover their eyes from the sudden brightness. But what they saw before them shocked and at the same time excited them.

 

                “I don’t believe it!” said Duo.

 

                “It’s them!” was all Quatre could say.

 

                Heero, Trowa and Wu Fei didn’t say a thing but they had took a step back, disbelief. Sally drew a surprise breath as Kylie’s eyes widened at the spectacular sight before her. “It’s the Gundams!” she whispered. She turned to Lady Une who was watching their reaction.

 

                “How?” asked Duo as the other four leapt onto their respective Gundams, checking them out.

 

                “Let’s just say they were rebuilt for this purpose,” said Lady Une.

 

                Heero checked Wing Zero. All were in perfect condition, even the Zero System. Everything was restored to its original state. He turned to Lady Une. “Do you rebuilt them or were they given to you?” The woman shrugged. “I’m not at liberty to say.” Heero accepted her answer. This was no time to be asking who had rebuilt the Gundams. The important thing was that they had a fighting chance against the invaders.

 

>>>@@<<<

 

                Heero entered the hangar to start repairing Kylie’s Taurus when he discovered she had already beat him to the punch. As if sensing his presence, the girl glanced down. “Have you finish running diagnostics on your Gundam?” she asked, wiping a grease-streaked forehead. She had took off the bandage, leaving an angry red mark where the cut was already closing.

 

                “Yeah, everything’s as it should be,” he said, climbing the catwalk to her. “And yours?”

 

                Kylie looked over her Taurus. “The armor has a lot of dents and scratches but it’s nothing I couldn’t fix,” she answered. “It’s the internal system that would take me some time. Some of the wires are fried but replaceable.” She smiled at him. It was the first real smile Heero ever saw on her face. “I guess even my specially-modified Taurus is not enough to compensate to your superior skills.”

 

                “Don’t judge your Taurus so harshly,” said Heero, examining a few damages. “You have modified your Taurus to be the most effective than any standard mobile suits.” He looked at her. “If anything, you’re doing no justice to your own skills.”

 

                Kylie blinked. “What do you mean by that?”

 

                “There’s a limit to every mobile suits. Not all suits could be modified to reach the same level of effectiveness as the Gundams.” He paused. “What I really mean by that remark is that your Taurus can no longer match the superiority of your piloting skills. The internal damage was mostly caused by the system that cannot take the speedy improvement of your skills. When I used your Taurus in battle today, the system just couldn’t take it anymore and crashed.”

 

Heero put a hand on her left shoulder. “Your piloting skills are now equal to any of us Gundam pilots and Zechs.” Kylie listened, disbelief. She always thought her skills were nothing compared to the five boys who had went through special trainings she never had. “That’s true, Kylie. My only regret is that I don’t have another Gundam lying around so you could make the most of your skills now.”

 

                Then Kylie looked at her Taurus, her only companion. “Thanks for the compliment, Heero Yuy. But I guess for now, he’ll have to do. Besides, he and I have been going on together since the beginning,” she said, softly.

 

                Remembering his own attachment to his Gundam, Heero nodded. “Are you going back to the apartment?” Kylie asked, getting back to work. He nodded. “I don’t want to leave Adin alone for so long. He can be a little cranky whenever I did that.”

 

                “That’s an understatement,” she said, chuckling. “He can sometimes be a little handful.”

 

                That made he laughed. “Handful. I like that.” He then turned to her. “Are you going to be here all night?”

 

                Glancing back at her Taurus, she nodded. “Definitely. And maybe the whole day tomorrow, right after that briefing Lady Une is holding. I have to get this guy back in shape before the Telrhani attack again.” She looked at him. “I want to be there when they attack.”

 

                Heero nodded. “Made sure you have something to eat then,” he said, leaving. “Lady Une was going to fetch you when she didn’t see you at dinner but I told her you might want to be alone.” He paused. “And have plenty of rest. You’re not 100 percent in perfect shape yourself.”

 

                Struck by the silent concern in his voice, Kylie nodded. “I will.”

 

>>>@@<<<

 

                Duo stretched as he made his way towards the headquarters’ galley. He, along with Trowa and Quatre had agreed to stay on MO V for the duration of the invasion. They knew it was dire for them to stick close together and the Preventer agents were more than happy to have them there. Lady Une even tried to talk to them into joining but the three of them treasured their previous lives even more. She then provided them with temporary rooms in which Duo shared with Quatre and Trowa with Wu Fei. She also took the initiative to spare two more rooms for Heero and Kylie once they decided to move in. So far, Duo found his room more than satisfactory and he found himself happy with the choice of his roommate.

 

                He yawned, the hallway was bathe in bright lights despite the late hours. There were still agents working at that hour to keep an eye out for any sign of the aliens. Duo’s only hope was that the aliens had the same sleeping hour as they do so he could catch enough sleep. Well, after he had something to settle the churnings in his stomach anyway.

 

                When he reached the small kitchen, he found that someone was already there. A blond head popped up from the refrigerator and blue-green eyes regarded him. “Did I wake you, Duo? I’m sorry,” said Quatre, placing a loaf of bread on the kitchen counter. On the fire, inside a pot, something good was cooking.

 

                “No, you didn’t wake me,” Duo slurred, wiping away the rest of the sleepiness. “My stomach woke me up.”

 

                Quatre chuckled. “That’s kinda weird. You had quite a big dinner a few hours ago.”

 

                “I have even bigger ones at home. What time is it?”

 

                “Three-something, almost four the last I check .” He toasted the bread. “Have a seat. The stew would be done in a few minutes.”

 

                Duo sat, watching his friend work. “How long have you been awake? I didn’t hear you got out.”

 

                “Ahh… I’ve been up quite a long time,” he answered, not meeting Duo’s eyes.

 

                “What! Are you telling me you’ve been up all night?”

 

                His friend shrugged. “I couldn’t sleep, I guess.”

 

                Duo looked at his friend, carefully. “You don’t struck me as a person who eats a lot.”

 

                “There’s more about me you don’t know,” said Quatre, placing a steaming stew before Duo. “Help yourself.” He returned to the pot and poured the rest of the content in another bowl. He then placed the bowl on a tray, along with a glass of orange juice and the toasted bread.

 

                “You’re not eating, Quatre?” asked Duo, curiously.

 

                The youth shook his head. “It’s kinda for someone.”

 

                The Deathscythe pilot shook his head, disbelief. “You lost your sleep and went all that trouble to prepare a meal for her?”

 

                “She didn’t have dinner and I’m sure she’s still working on her Taurus suit right now. She could be hungry.”

 

                “Why?”

 

                Quatre was struck by the question. He froze in his midstep. “What do you mean?”

 

                Duo stared at him. “Why went all the trouble to be nice with someone who had been everything but friendly to you? Why are you trying so hard to be friends with someone who obviously disliked you?”

 

                For a moment Quatre didn’t say anything. He looked at the steaming tray in his hands. “I don’t know, Duo,” he finally answered. “It’s just that I feel I owe her for saving my life.”

 

                “She let you get shot, Quatre,” Duo pointed out.

 

                “But she and Heero had saved me more than once.” Quatre paused. “Besides, there’s something lonely about her. She had lost everything, her childhood, Treize, everything… and she has no friends or family.” He looked at him. “I guess she made me thankful that I have my sisters and you guys as friends.”

 

                “And you feel that you have to be the one to show her friendship?”

 

                His friend shrugged. “Who else?”

 

                Duo sighed. “I don’t really know what to say about your choice of friends, Quatre but I can only tell you one thing, be careful.” Quatre was startled at that. “There’s still a lot of things we don’t know about her and we don’t know if she’s even our friend. She could turn against us whenever she feels like it. She’s unpredictable, Quatre and I hate to see something bad happen to you.” His eyes betrayed his concern for his kind-hearted friend. “Be careful, okay?”

 

                Not knowing what to say, Quatre nodded. “I will, Duo.” He then left. Duo shook his head in dismay. He didn’t know what his friend was getting himself into by being friendly with the girl but Duo had a feeling it won’t be good. His only wish was that Quatre won’t be badly hurt by the cold-hearted girl.

 

                ‘Great, first the war-thirsty girl and now a cold-blooded assassin. If Quatre couldn’t find himself a decent girl, he would end up getting himself killed by the dangerous girls he’s hanging out with,’ Duo thought as he took in a spoonful of stew. He licked his lips in satisfaction, savoring sweetness of the stew. ‘He really knows how to cook.’

 

>>>@@<<<

 

                As Quatre was approaching the hangar, he heard the sound of someone tinkering through mechanical stuff. Expecting what he’s about to see, he walked into the hangar. “Kylie?” he called, softly. The girl looked out from the cockpit, startled.

 

                “It’s you,” she said, resuming with her repairs. “What are you doing here?” she asked, ignoring him as he made his way up. Again, the strange feelings had started to annoy her like flies in a hot day. So, she struggled to keep them at bay. She heard him placed something on the floor.

 

                “I made something for you,” he answered. “We didn’t see you at dinner and thought you might be hungry.”

 

                Something stirred inside her, a feeling of warmth, which was quickly extinguished by the coldness in her heart. She was about to told him to take the food away but the smell was tempting and she found her stomach growled. “Leave it there,” she said, after a long silence. “I’ll get to it once I’m done.”

 

                “Do you need some help?” he asked.

 

                “No!” she said, a little too quickly. She cannot let him get too close. “I can handle things by myself.”

 

                Quatre nodded. “I understand,” he said, softly. He knew he had to leave before she got more hostile towards him. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then. Good night.” He made his way down and then stopped. “Kylie?” The girl turned away from the panel she was repairing to look at him, her eyebrow raised. “Get some rest, okay? You look tired.”

 

                She frowned and returned to her work. But as Quatre was leaving, she watched him disappeared through the doorway. And then she went back to work, trying hard to ignore the steaming and sweet smell of the stew.

 

>>>@@<<<

 

                Early in the morning, Duo found himself sitting inside the Preventers conference room, with Quatre and Trowa on either side of him. Across the room, Heero and Kylie were seating next to Wu Fei and Sally. Zechs and Noin were sitting in front of the room with Lady Une. They waited for Lady Une to began but she seemed to be waiting for someone.

 

                A minute later, the door swung open and Dorothy entered. She exchanged looks with Lady Une and regarded the others questioning looks. “Dorothy’s a Preventer secret agent. She has been working for us secretly these whole years, including the battle in Brussels two years ago,” Lady Une explained.

 

                “I would’ve fight even if I wasn’t a Preventer agent,” said Dorothy, as she settled next to Trowa.

 

                “So the bodyguards who were with at the New Year ball had been Preventer agents as well?” Quatre speculated. Dorothy nodded. “Yes, our main task was to work silently to prevent an international incident.” She paused. “If you hadn’t invited me to the ball, I would’ve gone undercover myself but it seemed someone’s already beat me to that idea,” she said, glancing at Kylie, who met her eyes.

 

                Lady Une stood. “Let’s begin,” she said. “I want to brief all of you first before I talk to the rest of my officers so we could come up with something that could help us defend our people from this new enemy.” She paused. “The information Zechs and Noin has collected had been helpful but they are still a lot of things we don’t know about these aliens.”

 

                An image of a space chart flickered on.

 

                “The aliens, known as Telrhani, have all returned to their original position near the orbit of Pluto. Their fleet, according to Zechs’ reports was enormous that it would be hard for us to destroy them all. And I think it is safe to say that the alien we met yesterday, Warleader Varishk is the one leading the fleet.” She paused. “From what we could determine, the aliens’ main objective is to capture as many human beings as they could so they could enslaved us.”

 

                The image flickered, showing what looked like big space carriers. “These are the ships they use to collect all the captives on Mars and I believe will be seeing a lot of them in the future,” Lady Une said. “Although it’s massive, it’s still as fast as our very own space shuttle and are heavily armored to fend off any fires from our weapons.”

 

                The image changed to one of the more familiar objects. “These are the alien fighters. It’s as fast as any mobile suits but has twice the firepower. I believe, they could be as deadly as the space mines.”

 

                “What the about the huge spaceships?” asked Duo, raising his hand. “From what I saw yesterday they are enormous. They’re bigger than Peacemillion and the Libra.”

 

                “Slightly bigger, Duo,” said Lady Une. “The flagships are the ones carrying the fighters but it’s heavily armed and armored. We couldn’t determined whether they have a destructive weapon such as those of Libra and Fortress Barge but it would be tough to destroy any of them.” There she smiled slightly. “But I guess it would only be difficult for you people.”

 

                There she sat. “That’s all we managed to gather,” she said. “We still couldn’t determined where these aliens originated or how they got here.” She paused. “It could be possible that they came from a nearby galaxy or solar system but it must’ve taken them years of traveling to reach our solar system.”

 

                “We really need to know where they had come from,” said Sally. “We need to make sure where they are taking the prisoners so we could rescue them.”

 

                “For now, the prisoners are still around Pluto. The fleet hasn’t made their move since they retreated but that could change soon,” said Lady Une. “We will try to monitor their activity, though it would be tough since they’re too far away.”

 

                Heero spoke, “Actually, I’m more concern about the alien fighters. I don’t think they are the only offensive power of the aliens.” The others looked at him, surprised. “Call it an instinct but when I was talking to Varishk, he seemed to be hiding something. And he seemed confident that he could defeat all of us.” He looked at his comrades, hard. “I think he has more powerful troops standing by, waiting to make an appearance.”

 

                “I agree,” said Kylie. “I think the battle yesterday were meant to announce their intentions as well as to test our defense system.” She glanced at Heero. “And to provoke the Gundam pilots into the battle. He was definitely trying to identify you guys so he could decide his next move.”

 

                “It does seemed like it,” said Quatre in agreement. Duo, Trowa and Wu Fei nodded. “It doesn’t matter now,” said Heero. “We have our Gundams now. We may yet be able to turn the next battle into our side.” But he felt a sudden feeling of dread, as if he wasn’t completely convinced by his words.

 

                Lady Une nodded. “You five as well as Zechs and Kylie are our only hope. The Preventer Agency recruited only small amount of people as to limit our use of violence. Earth Sphere Unified Nation have no military group because of its pacifist policy and General MacGarth are only in charge of defense group which only supervising security. Most of the soldiers and guerillas are either discharged from active duty, in confinement or have joined MacGarth defense troops. Only a number of them actually joined the Preventers.” She gazed at the young faces before her. “I’m afraid, we have to depend on you once again.”

 

                “Don’t worry about that,” said Heero. “We work well without having to protect anyone in battle. You just have to make sure that no one endanger his life needlessly or interfere with our mission. The seven of us should be enough to handle the tough bunch.” He purposely included Zechs and Kylie in the count.

 

                Trowa nodded. “Yes, the seven of us will be human’s main troop while your Preventer agents can be our support but no one should take on the aliens troops besides us.” Lady Une nodded, indicating her agreement.

 

                “Glad to see that settled,” said Sally. “Now, if only we could figure out where they would strike next.”

 

                As soon as he said that, the alarm sounded. A screen flickered as a young man appeared. “Colonel Une, the aliens are attacking a colony in the La Grange point 5 area.”

 

                “Location?”

 

                “Sector C 791. We’ve lost all contact with the colony.”

 

                Before he was even finished, Heero, Duo, Trowa, Quatre, Wu Fei and Kylie were running out of the room. The injured Zechs, Lady Une, Noin and Sally quickly made their way to the command center to observe the battle. And to pray that hopefully the Gundams were able to stop the new menace.

 

>>>@@<<<

 

                Duo cranked up Deathscythe, feeling again the rush of adrenaline that always excited him whenever he went into a battle. It was a good feeling, one he missed for so long. Glancing at the others, he could see that they were feeling the same thing too. He then closed the hatch and regarded his gundam. “Let’s go, Deathscythe. Once again, the Great Destroyer flies through the space!”

 

                They made their way at maximum speed. Though they felt the excitement, each didn’t forget that many life were at stake, that many people were depending on them. That thought itself made them determined to make the aliens pay for what they did on Mars.

 

                Then they were there. The battle was definitely in the aliens’ advantage since the colony had issued the free armament policy. So, it stood there defenseless as the alien carriers boarded the colony to take the citizens captives.

 

                “Not on my watch!” Duo shouted as he dove into the heart of battle.

 

>>>@@<<<

 

                “Sir, five unidentified mobile suits are approaching the battlefield,” a male alien reported. Captain Stharhkis glanced at the Warleader, who was watching the battle calmly. He turned to his man. “Unidentified? Check the special files, soldier.” He glanced at the man on the seat behind him. “Looks like we’re going to meet your special guests, sir.”

 

                A moment later, the visual of the five mobile suits came on the main screen. They quickly engaged with their fighters, destroying them at an alarming speed. But still, Warleader Varishk sat calmly on his seat, Sira stood by his side.

 

                “They’re magnificent, aren’t they?” Varishk commented. “The Gundams and their pilots are definitely the challenge we need.” He turned to the six on his left. “You know what to do. It’s time to introduce our main forces to the humans.”

 

                The Mican Warrior saluted him. “Your command, Warleader,” said the leader. They left for the long awaited battle.

 

                “Aren’t they magnificent, Sira?”

 

>>>@@<<<

 

                Once the Gundams had joined in the battle, the tides turn. Now, both side were equally strong, with the Gundams proved to be a lot stronger. And Kylie’s red Taurus had also joined in the battle. She stationed herself near Quatre, who was fighting in the heat of the battle. It took the six of them to destroy most of the alien fighters as well as stopping the slaveships from taking the colonists prisoner.

 

                But then, something else happened.

 

                “What the...?” Duo spat as he barely dodged a shot aiming at him. He turned only to see a flash of green suit coming at him followed by a violent shake. Duo broke away from the unidentified suit. “What are those?” he asked, noticing that the others had been attacked by other green suits too.

 

                 The green suit facing Heero came forward. “I am K’Vai, leader of the Mican Warrior and these are my comrades.”

 

                “I’m S’Irai,” said the one who shot at Duo.

 

                “Trec’na is my name,” said the one facing Trowa.

 

                Another green suit bowed at Wu Fei. “I’m Con’trai and it’s a pleasure meeting a warrior of another race.”

 

                “Keil’n,” said another who nearly took Sandrock’s head off. It was hard to determine whether it was a female or a male because it had a rather soft but masculine voice. The last one gazed at Kylie’s red Taurus, as if mocking her.

 

                “I’m K’Rin.” It was definitely female. “I hope you can give us the challenge we want, though I very much doubt you can,” she said to Kylie. The Taurus pilot gripped her throttle tightly, holding her temper in check.

 

                “Before we came here, we have been studying you pilots,” said K’Vai. “And we decided that you’re worth of our attention. Which means, defeating you would be a great victory for all of us.”

 

                K’Rin smiled. “Let’s see who shall prevail. The great warriors of the Imperial Court or the perfect soldiers of Earth creatures.”

 

                Then as one, she and K’Vai attacked Wing Zero. The other Mican Warriors attacked Deathscythe, Heavyarms, Nataku and Sandrock, totally ignoring the red Taurus. For a moment, Kylie was startled. She was surprised that they totally discarded her from the fight. Then suddenly, she heard the alarm chimed and turned to look behind her. A band of brown suits coming at her way, firing at her. She quickly dodged and spun away from the firing range and threw some firepower at them.

 

                “Do you think that we would leave you all alone, girl?” said a voice, K’Rin. “Though I have no time to play with you, our Mican Troops would gladly give you all the attention.”

 

                Realizing that these new enemy were looking down on her, Kylie felt anger rose inside her. “How dare you!” she said, firing at the oncoming Mican Troop. They were tougher than the alien fighters. Kylie took hits by hits but she still fought them. Anger controlled her every action.

 

                Heero, meanwhile, fought K’Vai like he never fought before. The leader of the Mican Warrior proved to be a worthy and tough opponent to defeat. Sometimes, Heero felt as if he was fighting Zechs Merquis all over again but most of the time, K’Vai proved to be an opponent with skills superior than those of Zechs. And since K’Rin had decided to fight him too, Heero found himself only able to take the defensive stance.

 

                However, as Heero fought the two, he studied their moves. Both K’Vai and K’Rin seemed to be able to work with each other with perfect synchronization. They both seemed to be able to read each other thoughts and anticipated each other moves. If K’Vai went to a defense stance, K’Rin would take the offense, making them a dangerous foe Heero had ever faced.

 

                Duo and Quatre were also not doing very well. Each were taken by the swiftness and speed of the aliens mobile suits. However, Deathscythe’s armory was able to protect him from taking most of the hits but Quatre’s were taking a lot of hits from the enemy because of Sandrock’s massive weight slowing his movement.

 

                “You call yourself a warrior?” taunted Keil’n. “You’re a disgrace.”

 

                “I’m not a warrior,” said Quatre. “I’m a protector of peace.”

 

                Keil’n spat. “Protector of peace. How pathetic.” He advanced.

 

                Trowa anticipated his opponent’s every move, studying him as he battled. He and Trec’na were equally strong that their battle were not going anywhere. Somewhere near him, Trowa could also see that Wu Fei and Con’trai were equally matched too. Both of them gracefully fought with each other as if they were dancing but Trowa knew both were determined to destroy one another.

 

                “You worry too much about your comrade,” said Trec’na. Trowa then realized that he was looking at Deathscythe and Sandrock, battling the other two Mican Warrior and were losing. “Don’t worry about them. I have a feeling that they both will gave my two comrades a tough challenge in the future.”

 

                Trowa turned to regard his opponent. “And how do you know that?”

 

                Trec’na chuckled, as if he had said something funny. “My family are holy priests. We have the ability to read someone’s future.” He paused. “And you Gundam pilots have no future.”

 

                “Really,” said Trowa, calmly. “Then let’s see if I could change that.”

 

>>>@@<<<

 

                Kylie growled furiously as she tried to destroy the Mican Troop who was beginning to annoy her. From the moment the battle started, she sensed danger. And she knew that the feeling was coming from Heero, knowing he couldn’t hold off two Mican Warriors by himself. She tried to break free from the troopers but each time there was an opening, it was closed in an instant. Then the sense of danger intensified and a sudden feeling of desperation sank in her stomach.

 

                “Incoming!” she heard a familiar voice as two Mican trooper exploded behind her. Kylie turned to see two white Taurus suits coming at her. “Noin and Sally?” she voiced, surprised. “What are you doing here?”

 

                Noin appeared on her screen. “Lady Une was worried so Zechs sent us.” She paused to fire at a trooper. “Help Heero. We’ll hold them off you.” Kylie nodded. “Right!” and she flew off towards where Heero was battling K’Vai and K’Rin.

 

                Spotting her target, Kylie fired. That broke K’Vai and K’Rin battle formation, surprising them. Kylie’s Taurus then stood next to Wing Zero, her big gun training on them. “So, you broke loose from our trooper, huh?” said K’Rin. “You might be worthy enough to fight us after all.”

 

                “She is worthy,” said Heero. “Do not underestimate her.”

 

                K’Rin smiled. “Very well, we shall see what she can do.” She glanced at K’Vai. “Brother, shall we?”

 

                They attacked but this time, they were equally matched. While fighting the troopers, Noin managed to spare a glance at the battle between them and whistled. K’Vai and K’Rin were both as impressive as ever but the combination of Heero and Kylie were unbelievable. The two managed to answer the Mican Warriors’ attacks together, as if they were one. The way Heero and Kylie compliment each other’s movement was as if they knew each other by heart and soul. Both seemed to know what each was thinking and anticipated each other’s strategies without even communicating.

 

                Their battle also attracted the other fighters as they watched the spectacular ‘dance’ before them. The other Mican Warriors were deeply impressed by the formation of their enemy because no one had ever been able to withstand the combination of K’Vai and K’Rin for long. No matter how skillful their enemies were, they would all fallen into the superior and magnificent combination of the two siblings. The twins were highly regarded as warriors in the Imperial Court and they were the symbol of victory all over their galaxy.

 

                And to discover that there’s another couple who could withstand K’Vai and K’Rin’s incredible formation proved to them that these human were not as they seemed and that they would be the ones to challenge their skills to the maximum.

 

                Suddenly, the communication crackled. “Enough, my dear warriors,” said the Warleader. K’Vai stopped to regard his master. “You have done what you’re suppose to do. Return to the mothership.”

 

                “As you wish, Warleader,” he said, glancing at K’Rin. “Sister, you heard what he said.” He turned to Heero. “Well fought, Heero Yuy. The next time we see each other, I will destroy you.”

 

                “So will I,” said Heero as his response.

 

                K’Rin regarded the red Taurus before her. “Before this, I was expecting the one you called Zechs Merquise to be my opponent. Now I realized that I will have to put in another name in my list. Well done, girl. You have proven yourself to be a worthy opponent.” Her face then hardened. “But know this, I will destroy you eventually.”

 

                Kylie’s eyes were steady. “Not if I destroy you first,” she said, giving her the coldest look she ever gave anyone. K’Rin raised her eyebrow and laughed. And she then followed K’Vai as he left.

 

                Keil’n turned to Quatre. “Get strong, protector of peace,” he said. “Or be ready to die.”

 

                “The next time we meet, we will be fighting to the death,” S’Irai said to Duo and left. Duo’s jaw hung opened as he tried to settle down his excitement. “Y…you mean you weren’t fighting for real?” he said but S’Irai didn’t answer him.

 

                “You knew my name but I don’t know yours,” said Trec’na to Trowa. The Heavyarm pilots looked at his opponent. “If you must know, I am called Trowa Barton,” he answered.

 

                Trec’na nodded, slowly. “Trowa Barton. That’s a good name to mark on my Trophy of Triumph.”

 

                Con’trai faced Wu Fei. “This isn’t over,” said Wu Fei before the alien could say anything to him. But to his surprise, the alien shook his head. “I have a feeling you and I are finish here. Something’s telling me you will found another foe that would be of some worth for you. Too bad, I was looking forward to killing you, Gundam pilot.” Without any word of explanation, he was gone too.

 

                The Gundams and their friends looked at the retreating fleet. Each were intrigued and surprised by the alien’s actions. They had purposely attack a colony just to introduce their main force to the Gundam pilot, as well as testing the ability of their enemy.

 

                “Thank goodness that they failed to capture any colonists,” said Sally but none of the Gundam pilots responded to that. Kylie’s eyebrow furrowed. ‘They’re a strange race. This could turn out to be a tough war.’

 

                As they were leaving, K’Vai sensed something from his twin sister. “K’Rin? You are troubled.”

 

                “I was only curious, brother,” she said. “That girl pilot was a worthy opponent but why isn’t she included in the files our spies brought in?” K’Vai nodded, he too was as curious as she was.

 

                “All the spies we have sent on Earth brought back useful information on Earth and these humans. But if we were to know more about the Gundam pilots and their comrades in detail, we will have to wait the return of the one who was sent to destroy them.”

 

                K’Rin nodded. “Mylin.”

 

>>>@@<<<

 

                There was a cheer when the Gundam pilots finally reached the Preventer headquarter. But none of the pilots felt like celebrating. Although it might seemed like they won, each of them knew they didn’t and that in the future, the battle would be tougher than this one. And looking at the celebrating crowd, Heero realized that none of them noticed what exactly had transpired in the battle. But of all the celebrating people, they noticed Zechs were watching them carefully. He then nodded, as if he understood exactly what happened.

 

                “Good job. You saved the colony,” said Lady Une, glancing at Kylie. The girl ignored her and went out of the hangar. Lady Une’s eyes followed her for a second before she turned to regard Heero.

 

                “My job’s not over,” he said before she could open her mouth. He then exited the hangar, followed by the other four weary Gundam pilots. Thinking that they were tired, Lady Une let them go. Then, Noin and Sally came to her.

 

                “We have a problem.”

 

>>>@@<<<

 

                Kylie walked to the room that was provided for her. She knew that she had to start the maintenance on her mobile suit as soon as possible, knowing she had to be prepared for the next encounter with K’Rin. She was entering her room when a husky voice stopped her. “Kylie Khushrenada?”

 

                “I no longer bear Mr. Treize’s name,” she said, knowing exactly who she was speaking to.

 

                Zechs nodded. “I’m sorry. I guess I should regard you as Kyle Rayden, the soldier of OZ.”

 

                “Former soldier,” she corrected. “Rayden was the surname given to me since the day I could remember.”

 

                “But it’s not even yours, right?”

 

                Kylie shrugged. “I’m not able to answer that.”

 

                “No matter,” said Zechs. “I just have to meet the girl Treize took in as his daughter.” He paused. “I don’t want any fraction between us. You’ve helped save my sister more than once although you first had tried to kill her.”

 

                “I was protecting Quatre Winner. Your sister was just in the wrong place and at the wrong time,” she reminded him.

 

                Zechs smiled. “I actually heard differently from Heero.” He quickly interrupted what Kylie was going to say. “It’s doesn’t matter now. I just need to tell you something. Although Treize and I were bitter enemies in the end, he was the best of friend I ever had. And there’s no one could replace him in my heart.”

 

                “You are Treize’s adopted daughter. Your loyalty was pledged fiercely on him that until now you still fight for him. And that I respect. Aside Lady Une, you are the only person who truly love him. Even my love for Treize is pale and weak compare to the love and loyalty you and Une showed for him.”

 

                Kylie was startled by his words. Suddenly, Zechs’ extended his hand. “Despite all that, you’re still your own person and I would be gladly to fight by your side. And I would readily trust you with my life.” He looked at her. “Will you trust me?”

 

                Without hesitation, Kylie shook his hand. “What you and Treize had was between the two of you. What you and I have here is something entirely new and different and I’m sure Treize would’ve wanted this.” She looked at him. “Of course I trust you with my life, Zechs Merquise.”

 

                Zechs smiled. “In that case, I’ll take my leave now.”

 

                When he left, Kylie heard a scraping sound. “You heard that, Heero Yuy?” she said, without turning to see who it was. Heero came out from the darkness and watched Zechs leave. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop but you did the right thing. Zechs could be a very dependable ally when you need him.”

 

                “I know,” she said. “Especially since he still keep Epyon close by.”

 

                Heero was startled. “You know about that?”

 

                She shrugged but didn’t bother to explain how. “But I guess you know about that too, don’t you?”

 

                “Yeah,” he said. “I actually came by to see you. I want to tell you something.”

 

                Kylie’s right eyebrow shot up.

 

                “Good job. You’ve been a very interesting partner.”

 

                She nodded. “You’re an interesting partner too. I guess we’ll be working together from now on then.”

 

                “Yeah, looks like it,” said Heero, walking away.

 

                “Heero,” she said, stopping him in midstep. “You were right. My Taurus could no longer do me any justice. I feel its disability to cope with me when we fought the Mican Warriors.” She looked at him. “But what choice do I have? It’s fight and die or sit around and watch you fight. Either way, I’m a liability to all of you.”

 

                He stared at her. “There’s always a choice, Kylie. Things will work out, somehow.” He left to begin his maintenance on Wing Zero.

 

>>>@@<<<

 

                The man looked away from the computer and regarded his companions. “So, this is the pilot your contact was telling you about, huh?” he asked the man before them. The man took off his sunglasses since the hangar was dark. Except for the overhead light which illuminate the room poorly.

 

                “Yes, I believe this is the pilot for the new guardian,” he answered. “And you do know that our new enemy has finally showed its face. From what I’ve seen during the battle, she can no longer use her old mobile suit. It’s either we built her a new one that suited her rapidly improving skill or we let her waste her talent in an inferior mobile suit.”

 

                “But our days of making mobile suits are over,” said one of them.

 

                “You’re not making a new one. You’re merely finishing what has already started a few years ago.”

 

                One of them glanced back at the screen. “She has all the skills, alright. And all the signs of an excellent soldier. If I have met her before I met my pilot, I would have avoided recruiting him. My presence in his life gave him nothing but pain.” He paused as he remembered the once innocent wide eyes staring back at him. “But her loyalty and her priority are questionable. She’s too unpredictable.”

 

                “So are some of the pilots you recruited or do I need to name them?” the man argued. “For now, I am sure that her loyalty is for the benefit of humanity. Her being unpredictable could be an advantage against the new enemy.”

 

                They looked at each other and then the leader sighed. “We’ll do it. It’s not going to help our side if we lose a good pilot.” He glanced towards the shadows. Something bright glinted from the darkness, reflecting the light that fell from the overhead lamp. “Besides, it’s already here and I am as curious to know what this one is all about and how much they have learned from us.”

 

                Another looked at the man. “Tell your contact we would be glad to finish what has already started.” The man nodded his thanks and left. “I hope we’ll be able to finish it before she got herself killed.”

 

                “Don’t worry. From what I read in the reports, she’ll prove to be an excellent foe to the aliens. Besides, I know that my pilot would not let an excellent pilot like her die so easily. I know Heero would not let her be sacrificed without letting her show him her full potential.”

 

                The third man regarded his companions. “Strange, isn’t it? All of us seemed to be recruiting male pilots and none of us thought that female pilots could be as good as any of them.”

 

                “Maybe but let’s not forget this girl has special trainings as well as the motivation. She chose this path.”

 

                “But you can’t help yourself from wondering if one of us had trained her, would she become the perfect soldier that we wanted?”

 

                The first man shook his head. “I don’t know if I could answer that.” He paused. “Though, there’s something about her that’s so similar to Heero. But the more I think about it, the more it slipped away.”

 

                “Maybe when we finally decided to come out from hiding, we could study that in great detail,” one of them suggested.

 

                The first man nodded and glanced back at the shadows. “Just you wait, Kylie Rayden. We’re going built something that you will be proud enough to pilot. Just you wait.”

 

                “Another question,” said one of them. “How well do you think she would fare with the Zero System?”

 

TO BE CONTINUED…