Veir stared at the computer screen. Wufei was out checking on Shenlong again. Ever since Seyth had finished with her "adjustments", he'd been bound and determined to make sure everything worked. Which meant he checked it every chance he got, whether it needed it or not. Fingers moving in a complicated pattern, Veir attempted to by-pass several levels of security in the OZ base's computer. An accomplished hacker, Veir was attempting to figure out what exactly they had in the means of mobile suits. He didn't want to go into a battle unprepared.

"I'm beginning to think these people are morons." He muttered as he typed in a password that, in his mind shouldn't have worked, but did. "Either that or they want us to access this information." Veir didn't want to consider the possibility, but no top-level computer system should have been this easy to crack. Wufei marched back into the small shack they were sharing looking just as grim as before.

"Is everything all right?" Veir asked as he turned his attention back to the screen.

"Everything is fine." Wufei replied. He walked over and sat on one of the two cots the shack supported. "Nataku is running better than she did before."

"Seyth is a miracle worker." Veir replied nonchalantly as he paused mid-keystroke to read the information again.

"Blast that woman. She took apart Nataku, yet it appeared to have done some good." Wufei admitted. He snarled and flopped backwards on the cot.

"You'd be surprised at what women can do. Especially women like Seyth or Segundo." Wufei closed his eyes and slowed his breathing. Veir assumed he was about to take a nap.

"That woman shot me." He said at length.

"That's because you attacked her." Veir replied knowing he was referring to Segundo. "And I'd prefer if you referred to her by her name. It is common curtsey. She would do the same for you." Wufei didn't answer. Veir stopped and turned to look at his comrade.

"Strong like Nataku." Wufei muttered, but said no more. Veir shrugged and went back to typing.

The rain was pouring down outside. Duo growled and threw himself onto his bed. Glaring at the ceiling he willed the rain to stop. It didn't. He wanted to go outside and do something, but he was stuck in this hotel near the E2-one base. Segundo hadn't even stopped by to say hi. They had been assigned to this base in order to destroy the OZ base that was across the bay. They hadn't been assigned to destroy it yet, but that didn't mean they wouldn't. Suddenly there was a knock at his door.

"In!" he called. Segundo's by now familiar blond head poked in.

"Hey roomie!" she called smiling. "I thought you'd like something to eat, so I ordered pizza. I hope you don't mind olives."

"Food is food." Duo replied sitting up. She closed the door with her foot balancing the box and two drinks in her arms. They seemed to be getting along well even if they did tease each other. Segundo was used to ribbing Kelima and she found in Duo a worthy opponent. Although, some of his quips weren't quite up to Kelima's level of pervertedness, Duo was learning. She'd corrupt him yet. Setting the box on the dresser, Segundo removed the drinks.

"I didn't know what you liked so I got one root beer and one lemon-lime." Segundo said as Duo got up.

"I'll take the root beer. God! What did you get on that pizza? It looks like mushrooms and olives; where's the meat?"

"There's meat. See." She pointed to one slice. "Bacon."

"Bacon? With mushrooms and olives?" Duo asked. Segundo nodded.

"What? You don't like it? Well, more for me."

"No!" Duo quickly grabbed a piece before Segundo closed the cardboard lid. "I was just making comments on the combination. Never had it with bacon before."

"San's allergic to something in pepperoni and can't eat it. So when we order we normally get this or Hawaiian. You know, with pineapple." Segundo said as she helped herself. She had brothers, she knew men were pigs when it came to pizza. She better get some before Duo ate it all.

"I know what Hawaiian style is." Duo said around a mouthful of pizza. He chewed, savoring the American treat, which he hadn't had in months.

"So what do you think of Seyth's handy work?" Segundo asked. Duo swallowed before answering.

"Death Scythe runs smoother than it did before. She mentioned something about putting some sort of coat on it."

"Ah, the beam coat. It's a type of clear paint that is resistant to heat, at least up to a certain degree. You know in case you get stuck in the middle of an explosion. Not that anything made from Gundamium has to particularly worry about a few burns. It's just a precaution. Seyth's big on being prepared."

"I can tell. Wait if it is for heat, why is it called a beam coat?"

"Ever been attacked by a beam saber?" Duo shook his head and reached for another slice.

"It'll reduce the damage and make it harder to cut through the Gundamium."

"Oh. That makes sense. Heh, if Heero ever goes through with his threat to kill me, I'll at least know that it'll take him a bit longer to cut through Death Scythe."

"He's threatened to kill you?"

"Only when we first met." Duo took a giant bite and began chewing. "I shot him, he threatened me." Segundo's eyes widened.

"You shot him? And don't talk with your mouth full." Duo nodded again and took another bite. "Didn't you know he was an ally?"

"No. As far as I knew I was the only one with a Gundam until I found Wing on the sea floor."

"God, that is the…" she trailed off and reached for her drink. "I suppose you tried to kill Trowa, Quatre, and Wufei too?"

"Yep. Heero and I teamed up to go after what we thought were the OZ bigwigs and so did the others. Trowa and Quatre had met before, but Wufei was by himself. That's when Heero accidentally destroyed the plane carrying all the Federations officers that were there for a peace summit. OZ tricked us."

"That sucks. Don't worry, we won't let them get away with it." Segundo said smiling. "Neither rain, nor snow will keep us from destroying OZ. Now finish eating so we can get plotting."

"Hai!" Duo said grabbing a third piece from the box.

The mission data appeared on the screen. Heero Yuy punched a few more keys and it vanished just as quickly as it had appeared.

"Ninmu ryoukai." He said. In the dark of his room, Heero shut down the computer.

"When do we move out?" a disembodied voice asked. Heero froze, then glanced at the second bed in the room. San Valais watched Heero with almost predatory eyes. Waiting for the answer.

"Two days time."

"Good." Heero heard him roll over, but couldn't see anything now that his laptop had been shut off. He found his way to his bed and climbed in. Staring once more in the direction of San's bed, Heero wondered briefly what sort of pilot he was. Would he be willing to self-destruct if it came to that? All the pilots that had been sent on Project Meteor were willing to sacrifice their lives, or so he assumed. Were these Martian trained Gundam pilots the same? If OZ pushed them would they destroy themselves to keep the enemy from obtaining Gundam? Heero shouldn't be asking these questions. All that mattered was completing the mission before him, but for some reason they had crossed his mind. Pulling the blankets up to his chin, he closed his eyes.

San could hear the shallow breathing of his comrade, indicating that he'd finally gone to sleep. Carefully he slipped out of his bed. His night vision was superior to Heero's and he found his way to the laptop without incident. Moments later he had it up and running. Once more the mission profile appeared on the screen. San studied it and made note that probably all the Gundams would be called in. Although, ten were a bit of an over kill. OZ was moving the new Taurus class mobile suit to Siberia. They were to intercept. He hesitated turning off the laptop; instead he slipped into the Martian Primus network and checked for confirmation about OZ's movements. Red writing flashed on his screen.

"Warning, possible ambush. Gundam pilots should take extra caution. Signed Veir." San didn't like that. Not one bit.

Trowa and Jeden loaded their Gundam onto the train. The large cargo train would take them as far as they needed to go, then they'd have to find another way to hit the OZ transport. Jeden eyed the workmen suspiciously, not trusting them near Anubis at all. They weren't part of the Martian military and therefore untrustworthy. Trowa watched with his normal stoic expression. Something caught Jeden's eye. Red-brown hair cut short with bright blue eyes peeking through long bangs. He smiled. Well, it looked like he and Trowa wouldn't be alone on the train.

"Kelima!" he called and his friend came running over.

"Jeden! How are you? Have you heard from any of the others?" Jeden smiled glad to see Kelima was still himself. "Quatre is making arrangements at a hotel for tonight since the train doesn't leave until tomorrow morning. I'll go tell him to get an extra room. Let tell about whom I met. Quatre has his own personal army practically, the Maganacs. You have no idea how hard it was to sneak away from them? I had to promise Rashid I'd protect Quatre with my life before he let us go on ahead of them. Oh, that's a warning, they're coming along too. They're still mad about the last mission he went on by himself. It's like they're obsessed with keeping him safe. I don't understand it at all. Just be glad they're taking a different train." Kelima then dashed away to where Quatre was standing, talking to the hotel. Kelima stuck his head inside the phone booth and Quatre turned towards Jeden and Trowa. Jeden waved briefly and Quatre raised his hand in response.

"Well, all we need know is to know whether the other's are coming or not." Jeden said walking over to Trowa. Trowa nodded. "It would be nice."

"There are four of us. That should be sufficient."

"If it's a trap, then there could be more than we can handle alone."

"There are two transports. One in the air and one on the ground, either one could be hold an ambush."

"I believe it would be best if Kelima and I stay hidden, so in case you do have problems, we can be your back up."

"Agreed." Trowa said folding his arms across his chest.

The plan was set. Lady Une smiled. She stood on the platform above the gathered OZ troops. Behind her was a large screen showing images of the five known Gundams. Treize had posed an interesting question to her, what if there were more? What if those repainted ones weren't repainted, but new Gundams. There couldn't be more than five though, all evidence pointed to there only being five. They must have been repainted. Ignoring the nagging doubt the question posed, she began rattling off the apparent strengths and weaknesses of each. The best way to defeat the Gundams were to separate and conquer, they weren't good at coordinated attacks. Yes, that would do. Treize-sama would be so proud of her once the Gundams were destroyed. Glaring over at Zechs Merquise and Lucrezia Noin, who were talking in the back, she moved the platform over to them. Treize may be friends with both, but that didn't mean she was.

Her instructions were clear, even if Noin did object. Zechs was to take Tallgeese and confront the pilots. They didn't know how many were coming, but they'd planned for all five. Tallgesse would be a great asset if Zechs could handle it. Noin grumbled about having to stay with Lady Une, but those were Treize's orders and they would be obeyed.

Zechs Merquise waited. He knew they'd come and he couldn't wait. He wanted to meet the pilot that had plummeted into the sea and then risen again. Scanning the sky he felt his skin crawl with anticipation. Something was coming.

"Units 02 and 04 have attacked the train." Noin said appearing on his view screen. "And we have confirmation of 01 heading for your location." Someone yelled something in the background. There was a moment of commotion before Noin spoke again. "Unit 03 has been confirmed near your location as well. Lady Une wants you to intercept immediately."

"Hai." Zechs said. He turned on the thrusters and sent Tallgeese into battle.

"Be careful." Zechs didn't hear her. He saw 01 in his sights and flew towards it with determination. The pilot saw him and prepared to duel. Shooting at him with his cannon, Zechs quickly abandoned it for the beam sword. The Gundam was just as strong as he remembered and the pilot just as agile. Yet this time they were equals. Zechs drove himself hard; he needed to defeat this pilot for the sake of OZ and Earth. This pilot and the others must be stopped.

Gundam 01 swung his beam sword down hard at Zechs' left arm. He quickly brought his shield up to block. Thrusting his sword towards the unprotected torso, he found the large Gundamium shield of 01 blocking his advance. Again he tried. Again he failed. The fight dragged on. Vaguely he heard Lady Une ordering the Gundam pilots to stand down, but he didn't pay attention. His mind was completely focused on the battle.

"ZECHS!" Noin's worried voice snapped him momentarily out of his tunnel vision. "Lady Une has ordered all Gundam pilots to surrender their units or she'll destroy the colonies." Tallgesse and unit 01 stopped. Zechs couldn't believe it! How could Lady Une do something so dishonorable! It was underhanded to threaten the colonies. No one knew how many were involved in this terrorist group, why punish the whole for the acts of a few?

"No! You can't do this Lady Une!" Zechs practically shouted into his radio. He heard Lady Une turn him off. He was suddenly ranting to thin air. Noin had vanished from the view screen, probably Lady Une's doing. He swore. Turning on his outside monitors he watched unit 01's cockpit open and a boy about 15 or 16 stepped out. In his hand he held something. Zechs zoomed in his outside camera so he could get a better look. The pilot said something that at first Zechs didn't understand then his stomach clenched in sudden recognition. It almost made him sick realizing what Une had forced them to do. The Gundam self-destructed, fire licking up its body. He watched helplessly as the boy was blown to the ground by the force of the explosion. The greatest pilot he'd ever gone against was a boy. A boy who didn't fear death, who would give everything for his colony, a boy who had just given his life for what he protected.

"I feel so…" he couldn't finish the thought out loud. He choked. He, Zechs Merquise, the Lightning Count had been defeated by a boy who had more to live for and die for than him. "How could she push them to do this." Zechs hissed as unit 03 appeared. He made no move to try and stop the Gundam as it picked up the broken body of its comrade and quietly leave the battlefield.

Slamming his fists done on his controls, Zechs cursed then turned on his radio.

"Take him and go. I won't interfere." Zechs said to the Gundam pilot. "He was a worthy opponent."

"He has shown us the path we must take." The Gundam pilot responded.

Standing near the television, Relena Darlian stared in disbelief at what had just occurred. Her fists were clenched in anger and sorrow. How dare they! How dare they make him choose between life and death! She watched the reporter talk about the destroyed Gundam and others that had escaped. Apparently they had left the battlefield in disgrace and had gone into hiding. She just couldn't take her eyes off the picture of Heero's Gundam in fragments. A huge hole with a pool of blood outlined where the body had lain surrounded by broken pieces of the Gundam.

"He's not dead." Relena said, her voice wavering slightly. "He's not done. There is no peace, only war." She turned away from the television and headed back to her room. Visions of her father's cold dead body made her fight hard not to cry. She wouldn't cry for her father any more. She had to live on and carry on his dream for peace between Earth and the colonies.

"I won't cry for Heero either." Relena told herself. "Because he's not dead. His mission isn't complete. He wouldn't leave without completing his mission." She reasoned trying hard to be brave. Somewhere deep inside she feared the worst though. It was strange how attached she was to a boy who had threatened to kill her. Even though I was the one threatened with death, it was Father that was killed, Relena thought.

Slumping into a chair she tried to make sense of what she was feelings. Why did she care about Heero at all? Hadn't he said "omae o korosu"? Yet she strangely felt serenity when she thought of him. He was a kindred spirit in this land filled with war. He fought for the colonies, the colonies that her father Foreign Minister Darlian had fought so hard for with the Federation to negotiate peace. Peace, both her father and Heero wanted it. They just went about it in two different ways. Which path should I choose? She asked herself. Oh Father, I wish you were here, I miss you.

"Heero self-destructed!" Veir practically screamed at his computer. Wufei looked over at him from where he'd been meditating on the bed. His black eyes narrowed. Wufei had chosen not to participate with the other Gundam pilots this mission. He wouldn't have made a difference if he went. Besides, he and Veir were too far away to reach the target in time for the start of the mission.

"What happened?" He asked. Veir turned in his chair and pushed his rose tinted spectacles up on the bridge of his nose.

"The Taurus transports were traps. Heero, Duo, Trowa, and Quatre went in with Jeden, Segundo, San, and Kelima as support in case it was too hard to handle. It was. OZ threatened to destroy the colonies. Dr. J tapped in and said that they would never hand over the Gundam. That's when Heero self-destructed. Jeden just sent me an email." Wufei stared at the screen.

"It seems our choice is clear." He said at last. Veir glared at him.

"You aren't planning on blowing up Shenlong too." Veir asked, his voice held a warning undertone that Wufei had never heard.

"No. I will continue to attack OZ. They don't play fair."

"No kidding." Veir growled. Then a small cruel smile slipped across his face. "So we will be rogues and go against the wishes of the good doctor?"

"I have no orders from Master O to surrender Nataku."

"And my orders were to play the terrorist," Veir punched some keys. "And there is this lovely little port just a few hundred kilometers from here." Wufei understood.

"Ten minutes until departure?"

"Make it twenty. I have an idea." Wufei smiled and left the other pilot to his work. Veir quickly typed a message to Jeden to let him know what he was up to and to expect to see fireworks.

Treize was unhappy. True he had won this round with the Gundams, but not the war. He was highly displeased that Lady Une had threatened the colonies. Although he was glad Noin had called to tell him of her plans before anything had happened to them. The loss of the Gundam pilot though was regrettable. Treize sighed and wished he knew the pilot's name. Turning on his computer he began to add the names of those that had served him and died to a growing list. It was a list he kept so that the dead could have a memorial. Nothing fancy, yet it was moving. Part of him wanted to add the Gundam pilot's name to the list even if he wasn't part of his troops. Not knowing the name put a damper on that idea. Still, he was sad that the pilot had died at all. After all he believed the Gundam pilots to be honorable and maybe they were the only ones who would or could understand his motives. With a heavy sigh he began to type. As he did, his eyes scanned his cluttered desk. Normally it was clean, with every paper in its proper file, but not today. Even though it had only been a day since the Siberian incident his desk was still a mess. There had been retaliation by unit 05 on an OZ held port in Iran. It had destroyed everything, then fled. A few remaining Aries had tracked it as far as India's border, but were destroyed. Treize shuffled through the stacks to find the names of the pilots.

Something caught his eye. A paper he had missed amongst the other reports. Picking it up he looked at the picture. A surveillance satellite had taken it. The normally clear picture was full of interference yet there were shapes visible. He recognized unit 05 immediately. What caught his attention was what was just to the left of it. A shadow that looked like a Gundam, a black Gundam. Treize suddenly prayed that he saw the second Gundam because of the static. It's just a shadow, he told himself. Please let it only be a shadow.