What was Dr. Roku thinking? Taking indigenous people to E2-zero? Kelima fumed as he followed the others. He had no choice but to follow a superior's orders, even if he didn't completely agree. Weren't they supposed to keep their existence secret? What was the point of announcing your existence to every Tom, Dick, and Harry that happened to fly a mobile suit? Sighing, Kelima gazed out at the slowly changing scenery.

They had left the ruins behind them, crossed the desert, avoided OZ detection and were almost to E2-zero. It had been a long trek across northern Africa and all the mobile suits were running low on fuel. Kelima wondered how Veir was doing cooped up with Wufei in Shenlong. It had been over five hours and knowing what little he did of Wufei's personality, Kelima was sure things were very uneasy. He was half tempted to call him up when Dr. Roku commanded everyone to halt.

"Why are we stopping?" Quatre asked over the com link.

"We have to verify ourselves." Veir answered. "When they ask for it tell them you're a guest of the Martian Primus military."

"The WHAT?" Wufei stared directly at Veir who was crouched beside him. The brunette smiled.

"Just say that and you should be fine."

"What is the Martian Primus military?" Wufei demanded as he shifted so that he was in a more comfortable position. The painkillers Veir had given him had dulled the pain in his legs enough that he could pilot Shenlong, but they were beginning to wear off. Veir had offered to pilot, but Wufei didn't trust him to so.

"Identify yourself." A feminine voice stated over the com. Veir responded in an even tone.

"Pilot Veir Berné of the Martian Primus military and guest." There was a long pause. "Name verified. Accepted. Your commanding officer has briefly explained the situation. You and your guest may proceed."

"Have the sick bay alerted that we have two wounded."

"Noted and done." Replied the female. Veir sighed and glanced down at Wufei's thighs. He'd stopped bleeding, but the bullets needed to be removed right away before infection set in. He wondered if Kelima was all right, there hadn't been a sound from him most of the way. That was somewhat unusual.

The ground before the ten mobile suits parted. Huge metal doors opened revealing the way to E2-zero's underground base. Anubis led the way. The mobile suit disappeared and was quickly followed by the others. Jeden was glad that this mission was almost over with. He wanted nothing more than to collapse in a bed and go to sleep. Traveling down the long steel framed corridor, Jeden moved Anubis in a steady manner. Upon entering the large underground hanger Dr. Roku ordered everyone to disembark. The five Martian Primus mobile suits took up their previous places in the hanger with the five Gundams filling in the spaces.

Jeden hopped down from Anubis just as Heero climbed down from Wing. They stared at each other for a few moments, and then Heero looked away. On the other side of Wing, Segundo had parked Alucard, with Duo in Death Scythe next to her. San in Sentinel was next in line. Opposite from Sentinel on the other side of the bay, Trowa was standing in front of Heavyarms. Dr. Roku with Hard Rock disengaged next to him with Quatre and Dr. Em securing Sandrock. Fire Fight stood beside them with Veir helping Wufei out of Shenlong on its left.

"Wow!" Duo whistled. "Look at this place."

"Big, ne?" Segundo asked with a small smile. "This is E2-zero. Our secret hidden base."

"I'll say it's secret. We've never heard of it."

"You weren't meant too." San said coming over. Duo stared at him.

"Wow, you do talk! I mean besides making threats at us." Duo exclaimed. San raised his eyebrow at the younger pilot.

"Actually San talks more than he does." Segundo told Duo as she pointed at Trowa.

"Yeah, he seems like a quiet one."

San shook his head and walked over to where Dr. Roku was talking with Dr. Em. He stopped next to Quatre and stood watching. Kelima slipped up beside him.

"Hey, Veir and I are taking Wufei to the medical bay." San glanced at Kelima who was holding his injured shoulder. His hard expression softened.

"All right. Do you need me to do anything?" Kelima shook his head.

"Just see that Fire Fight and Wufei's Gundam are looked after. Okay?"

"I will see to it. Go and get that bullet removed." The corners of his mouth turned up in a brief sweet smile; Kelima grinned broadly.

"Aye, aye."

Quatre watched him leave with Veir and Wufei. He hoped Wufei would be all right, he was tough, but if he couldn't walk, he couldn't fight. Looking up at San, Quatre thought he read relief in the young man's face, but his bangs hid his eyes from view. Coughing, he believed that this was a good time for introductions.

"I thought it would be polite if we introduced ourselves." San glanced down at him. The pale blond was shorter by at about six inches. "I'm Quatre Raberba Winner." He held out his hand in greeting. San accepted in.

"San Valais." Suddenly a cry erupted from somewhere down the hanger.

"ALL RIGHT WHO DIDN'T ALERT ME THAT THEY WERE BACK?" San raised an eyebrow.

"Keep quiet." He warned Quatre as a woman with wet black hair strode towards them. Dr. Roku visibly cringed and then stepped forward as Seyth came to a halt in front of him. She had obviously just come from the shower as she was wearing only her sweatshirt and pants. On her feet were a pair of shower sandals that had seen better days. Water dripping down her neck from still wet hair; Seyth put her hands on her hips and glared at Dr. Roku.

"WELL?" she demanded.

"Gomen nasai Chief." He began, but Seyth cut him off with a flip of her head.

"Sorry isn't going to cut it. I'm the Chief mechanic here and as such I'm to be alerted when the mechs I'm servicing return. I need to have my staff ready!"

"My, she has a temper." Duo commented coming up next to San.

"It could be worse." Segundo told him standing on his left. "Of course this is nothing compared to the time those pirates blew off Fire Fight's left arm. Boy was she pissed."

"Pirates?"

"I'll explain later."

Seyth was still ranting when San tapped her lightly on the shoulder. She turned with fury in her eyes to him. Pointing above and over from them San watched as Seyth's anger dissipated. She whistled.

"Whew, we! Where did you get those?" she asked.

"They're our guests'." San replied calmly. Dr. Roku nodded a thanks to San, then took command.

"Make sure they are refueled. As soon as they're ready, the pilots will be leaving."

"YES, SIR!" Seyth exclaimed a bit too happily. San walked away instructing Quatre, Duo, and Segundo to follow. Jeden got Heero and Trowa's attention long enough to motion them to do the same. The seven left the hanger just as Seyth exclaimed.

"What century are these people living in? Haven't they heard of type G4 Gundamium?"

"Type WHAT?" Duo asked.

Dr. Roku paced back and forth. High command wasn't pleased with him for bringing the five Gundam pilots and Dr. Em to E2-zero. The Martian Primus military's involvement was to be kept quiet. But if we're supposed to be helping the rebels, he thought, then why shouldn't their best pilots know about us. This would be a great opportunity to share resources and build relationships. Maybe I should talk to Major Ochd again. He normally is reasonable.

With his mind made up he was about to leave his quarters, when there was a knock on the door.

"In." A young man in neatly pressed trousers and shirt entered. In his hands was a stack of paperwork.

"Sir. Major Ochd would like you to fill out a full report on the incident, read and sign these forms, then come and see him at sixteen hundred hours." Dr. Roku nodded to the cadet and motioned where he wanted the papers set. Smiling, Dr. Roku watched the cadet leave.

"Well, as usual Ochd is reading my mind."

"This is truly astounding!" Dr. Em exclaimed. He was once more bent over the rubbing of the map with a pad of paper and a pencil. "I cannot believe this. The second part of this map is describing the exact location of the two alien planets."

He and four of the Gundam pilots were sitting in what resembled a waiting room at a doctor's office. There were chairs set up in rows with potted plants and small tables breaking them up. The walls were bare except for a few nicely framed pictures someone had put up. Dr. Em had pulled one of the tables in front of him so he could work. The pilots either sat or stood at various locations around the room. They didn't know what was going to happen next, but Jeden, San, and Segundo had told them to wait in this room until further notice.

"That's very nice." Grumbled Duo. "But how is that going to help us right now?" Dr. Em glared at him. Duo was sitting across from him in one of the mint green cushioned chairs. Quatre was sitting two seats down from him flipping through a magazine. Trowa stood by the door inspecting a potted plant and trying to determine the genus. Heero leaned against the wall directly to the left of Quatre and stared into space.

"It may not help us now, but if we ever build a shuttle that can travel to other galaxies, we could send an envoy to these planets. Think of it, contact with another intelligent species, it would be outstanding!"

"For you maybe." Duo snorted. "But what if these intelligent beings died out eons ago? Then what doctor?" Dr. Em frowned. That had not been part of his equation. The alien civilization had to be alive, it just had too.

"I'd stop worrying about aliens and start worrying about this Martian Primus military. I mean who are these people? How come they have Gundams and hidden bases? And since when did Mars become colonized?" Duo demanded leaning forward. "If you ask me, it's all very suspicious."

"Indeed." Trowa commented. "But they haven't done anything to harm us. For the moment they seem to want to help."

"Maybe they plan on using us against OZ." Quatre said. "It wouldn't surprise me."

"If they try to kill me, I'll kill them." Heero muttered. Quatre looked at him somehow knowing that Wing's pilot meant what he said.

The door slid open soundlessly and Jeden walked into the room. Trowa stepped back as he entered.

"If you'll follow me, I'll take you to the cafeteria for something to eat." Jeden stated, then he added. "I'm sorry that this is taking so long, but there have been reports we've needed to fill out and some loose ends that still need to be tied up." Dr. Em began folding up the map. He wasn't leaving it behind for any yahoo to find.

They trooped out in single file down several long corridors, up one set of stairs and through one set of double doors. Emerging in a room at least three times as big as the one they had just been in, Jeden hesitated momentarily. Spotting Segundo, Jeden lead his small tour group to a long table. They sat down while Segundo shuffled the papers she'd been reading.

"I'm sorry we kept you waiting. Normally Dr. Roku or someone else would do this, but we ended up with the task instead." She apologized. "I'm sure you'd like to know about our organization."

"That would be nice to know." Duo told her.

Dr. Em took out the map again, not in the least bit interested in some group that called themselves the Martian Primus military. They probably all think they're Martians or something, he thought as he began to translate again. He was close to finding out the name of the blue planet. Jeden watched him and narrowed his eyes. The man should be paying attention to this, but was too wrapped up in his work to care. Typical half-crazed scientist, he thought.

Pouring himself a glass of water, San could hear Segundo fumble for the right way to address the subject of their origin. He stuck his head out of the kitchen part of the cafeteria. With silent steps he crossed the room and came up behind Dr. Em. Watching him scribble something in English, San frowned.

"That doesn't read 'the planet of blue is named a Rth'. You've misread that symbol." San commented, then reached over, snatched the pencil from the doctor and corrected the mistake. "You need to be more careful about which symbols make up one word."

Dr. Em squeaked as he read the corrected sentence out loud.

"The planet of blue is named Earth."

"Earth Primus. That character is also part of that line." San corrected pointing to a small slash mark that looked like a one. Everyone stared at him in stunned silence. Ignoring the dumbfounded look on his their faces, San took a sip from his glass.

"E..Earth Primus?" Dr. Em stuttered. He turned abruptly in his chair and with great force grabbed San's free hand. "HOW CAN YOU READ THIS?" He pointed to the map.

"Yeah San. Since when can you read Ancient Martian?" Segundo asked raising an eyebrow. San pulled his hand free and straightened himself.

"I was taught it by one of my instructors. He was a history fanatic."

"Excuse me, but I'm very lost. What in the hell are you people talking about?" Duo asked.

"I'll explain," Jeden began. "You see there are in fact two planets called Earth and two called Mars. The one you live on is considered by our people to be Earth Secondary."

"Earth Secondary?" Quatre looked very confused for a moment before it dawned on him what they meant. "You mean you're aliens from another planet?"

"Yes. We're from Earth Primary and Mars Primary. They are the two planets that map refers to." San said.

"So you're aliens who have disguised yourselves to look like us in order to form better communication!" Dr. Em exclaimed nearly jumping out of his seat. Jeden tried not to laugh.

"Not exactly." Jeden began again. "Our people NORMALLY look like humans because we ARE humans. If you'll pay attention, I'll explain." Dr. Em nodded. "Once there was a civilization on the planet Mars. They were technologically superior to their closest neighbor, the humanoid life forms evolving on a blue planet. This planet was called Earth. The Ancient Martians were so sure of their own superiority that they didn't realize that they were destroying the very soil that fed them. By the time they realized this, it was too late to save the surface.

"After much debate, they decided to split into three groups. One group remained on the planet to try and save it, the second left in search of another hospitable home, and the third immigrated to their neighbor, Earth.

"The group that settled on Earth, what we now call Earth Primary, interbred with the native humanoid population. They believed that if they gave up their technology and returned to the ways of nature that they could keep the same disaster from reoccurring on Earth Primary."

"Did it?" asked Trowa. Jeden, Segundo, and San shook their heads.

"It didn't." Jeden replied. "In time, just like the original Martians, the humans on Earth Primary have become wrapped up in their own technology. Although, they are more aware of their impact on nature than the Ancient Martians were. So there is hope for it. Now where was I?

"After building several large space-crafts, the second group flew away from their home galaxy. No one knows how long they searched for a new home, but my guess is that it wasn't long. They found this planet, named it Earth, most likely because it resembled their old neighbor. We refer to this planet as Earth Secondary. Apparently, from what little information we have, some of the old technology was used to build the first settlements, but for some reason your ancestors gave most of it up. This is why your technology is more advanced than that of the Earth Primary people. They can't get past their own moon.

"Those that chose to remain on Mars Primary eventually divided into three separate groups after their attempts at rejuvenating the planet failed. The first chose to remain on the planet. They moved underground and have built a subterranean civilization comprised mainly of farmers, various types of workers, scientists, artists, technicians, and military personal. The second chose to look for another world.  Whether they ever found it or not, we don't know. The last became explorers. These explorers eventually splintered further, becoming the outlaws, explorers and part of the Martian Primus military. About 300 years ago, the Martian Primus military found Earth Secondary and set up secret military intelligence bases. Like the one we're in. The reason for this is our galaxy's safety. No one wants a conflict where Earth Primary may be destroyed because it is seen as a 'pure' planet. It is an ideal place that needs to be protected from outside influence. Even if it isn't as 'pure' or 'ideal' as Martians believe, they will defend it no matter the cost."

"So we live on Earth Secondary." Quatre said as he began to grasp exactly what Jeden was trying to say.

"Yes." Segundo answered. "Everyone at this base is from Mars Primary or Earth Primary. Some are second generation people whose parents were Mars Primary citizens that migrated here to keep an eye on the bases."

"In other words, this is a spy network." Trowa commented.

"More like surveillance." San told him.

"So why are you telling us this?" asked Duo. "Are you planning on dragging us off to these other planets?"

"Oh that would be MARVELOUS!" exclaimed Dr. Em. Segundo and Jeden rolled their eyes.

"I don't think that's the plan. We'll probably offer our facilities for your usage." Jeden said. Dr. Em's face fell.

"Why would your people help us?" asked Heero cautiously.

"Because it's in our best interests to help you. If the colonies achieve independence and Earth Secondary peace, then our planets are safe."

"How could our ships even reach your planets? They don't have enough power." Quatre said staring directly at Jeden. His blue-green eyes intense and demanding an immediate answer. Jeden took a deep breath.

"Because OZ is trying to complete an engine that can travel beyond your galaxy. We don't know much about it though."

They sat in silence for a few minutes while the Gundam pilots sorted out the information they'd been given. These people seemed willing to help and probably wouldn't take no for an answer. Maybe, just maybe they could trust these people. OZ had to be stopped, but they were beginning to realize that they might need support. The Martians could provide them with that.

"Are you hungry at all?" Jeden asked at length. "The cooks would be glad to make something for you."

"Or you could make something yourself." San stated just before he drained his glass.

"The cooks will let you make your own meals as long as you tell them beforehand." Segundo said. "Oh, I almost forgot. These forms are for you to read over. If you're going to be staying here, you'll need a pass. We can't exactly having you run around our base without clearance."

"Understood." Heero said taking one of the forms Segundo was offering. She gave him the briefest of smiles before he turned away. "Take your time, we won't be going anywhere for a while."

Wufei hobbled out of the infirmary. To hell with the nurse who insisted he stay in bed. The damage Segundo's bullets had done, had been corrected. Leaning on the crutches, he made his way towards the mech bay. He was determined to check on his Nataku. A few people glanced at him as he made his way down the corridor, but didn't stop him. He must have had a frightfully determined look on his face to keep the Martian military personal at bay. A door with a sign boasting the words "battle armor bay" loomed in front of him. According to Kelima, they called their mobile suits either mechs or battle armor. This must be where his Nataku was. Pressing the button next to the door, he waited as it opened.

Upon his entrance he nearly faltered. Cursing, he wanted to hurl the crutches away. He would never get used to using the stupid things. They had caught on something on the floor and held him prisoner for a brief second while he pried them loose. Growling, he fought onward into the bowels of the bay.

Suddenly he stopped. His face frozen in a look of complete shock and rage. There in front of him was a woman with hair as black as his. Her complexion was lighter than his was, but she sported the same hairstyle he did. Her fine bangs hung in her face as she intensively worked. She was surrounded by parts of metal that looked horrifyingly familiar. He nearly fainted from the shock. His beloved Nataku was in pieces and this woman was in the middle cleaning out one foot. Shenlong's head hung from a crane, the body was held by more cranes, the feet, legs, arms and hands were completely disassembled from one another. Wufei screamed.

Seyth looked up and stared at the Chinese pilot. He was fuming mad and she knew why. He wouldn't be so pissed once he saw how smoothly his Gundam ran now that she had upgraded the computer system. The thing needed cleaning badly, there was so much dirt and grime in the joints that Seyth was amazed it still ran.

If Wufei could have, he would have killed Seyth. Fortunately for her, the medication finally took affect and he passed out cold onto the metal floor. Seyth watched him go, winced when his head hit, then called for one of her mechanics to take him back to the infirmary.