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						Gundam Wing: The Duel
						by Italiano328@aol.com
	I glimsped the white envelope on the hallway table the moment I stepped through the front door. It daid it was from Doctor J "That's odd", I thought, "He always sends me orders through the computer." No problem, though. Maybe OZ was jamming the network.
	"This mission is no big deal", I thought to myself as I read the letter. I just had to find Duo and Trowa, then help them take out the new Mobile Suits OZ was sending to the colony. Only odd thing was that the shipment was of Leos, not Arieses or Tauruses, which were better suited to space combat.
	I found Duo and Trowa easily enough. Trowa said that his Gundam, the Heavyarms, was having thruster problems. When battling OZ forces, which always outnumbered the Gundam pilots, that thruster power could be the differance between life and death, even though the Gundams had such strong armor.
	"Don't worry about it", I told him, "Duo and I can handle this."
	Duo kept his Gundam, the Deathscythe, in a forest not too far from the school we both attended as a cover. My Gundam, Wing, was hidden at an old, long forgotten hanger just beyond that forest in its fighter like Bird mode. 
	I took a jeep out to Wing. When I got in its cockpit, I turned on the radar first of all. I wanted to scan the airspace around me for enemy patrols. Wing would certainly gain attention from any OZ patrols hat saw it, with its very distinctive design.
	"Heero, you okay over there?", crackled over the comm. Duo was already in the sky, what an idiot!
	"Duo, I told you, you need to scan for patrols before you launch!"
	"Man, don't remind me. I just got caught by one, and their Taureses are too fast for me!"
	"Too fast?", I thought, "Jeez, Duo must be having problems." Deathscythe was way faster than a Taurus!
	When I arrived, I didn't see anything on the radar, nor on the visual sensors. I could, however, see Deathscythe looking very stupid, swinging at empty air.
	"Duo, what's wrong with you? No one is here!"
	"Huh?!? What are you saying? We're surronded by OZ forces!"
	"Duo, trust me. Land and check for yourself."
	Duo got out, and much to his surprise, the sky was void of OZ forces.
	"Duo, they must be using new jammers"
	"No need to worry. If we're careful, there'll be no problems. I'll race you to colony!"
	Same old Duo. He was always trying to make light of things. "Oh well", I thought, "I might as well give him a race." I put the thrusters to max and gave chase. But, even in Bird mode, I couldn't catch up to him. Deathscythe was too fast and he had too much of a head start. When I reached the atomsphere, I knew this, and I converted Wing into its Gundam mode. I lost speed, but I engage any opponents I encountered. It was a good thing too, as immediately afterward my scopes lit up with twenty Arieses closing in on me.
	"Duo, are you getting any enemies on your radar?", I screamed at the comm.
	"Yeah, man. Those are legit bogies comin' at ya!"
 	So, people could be this stupid. They thought that attacking from the rear would really help them. Did they not realize that they were facing the Hope Of the Colonies? Did they not realize that the Gundams were so superior to their mass produced, cheaply armored Mobile Suits? Such fools annoy me. Well, perhaps they needed to see what I am capable of. 
	I charged up my Buster Rifle. I turned and fired the powerful beam, spreading destruction in their number. I knew that my Gundam was better at taking out shuttles and freighters than Deathscythe, and Deathscythe was a great Mobile Suit killer.
	"Duo! Get over here! Cover me while I find that convoy!"
	While I flew away, the Aries pilots must have felt pride for thinking that they could drive a Gundam away. They were probably envisioning the medals and promotions and commendations they would recieve. It would be their last pleasant thoughts. Duo made his Gundam cut throuh all of the enemy Mobile Suits with its beam scythe in a single blow.
	I checked my navingation system. We were at the correct coordinates, but there was no convoy. Then I looked at the radar again. At the very edge of my radar, I saw ten Leos coming at me!
	"Duo, we were too late! Those Leos made it to the colony, and now they're coming at us!
	"I'm getting them too! This time, let's attack together!
	We flew at them to attack, but as we closed, they disappeared. All that was left was Tallgeese, Zechs's Mobile Suit. Tallgeese was the predecessor of all other Mobile Suits, including the Gundams, but it was so well made that it could actually fight with one. Zechs was the best soldier in OZ, and he and I had never finished our previous duels. 
	Deathscythe zipped past me, its thrusters at full power. But then, Zechs fired his cannon at Duo. Instead of blowing something off Deathscythe, or destroying it, it just left Duo and his Gundam drifting, doing nothing. 
	"Duo!!!", I screamed at the comm, but I got no response. Either his sytems were fried or...or...I didn't even want to think about the other possibilty. He was the closest thing I ever had to a real friend.
	"Zechs!, what did you do to Duo?!?"
	"Don't worry", said Zechs, calmly,"I just disabled his Mobile Suit's electric systems."
	"Is this about that duel?"
	"In a word, yes. I want to finish that duel. I'll even make this simple for you. We shall battle until one of us can no longer duel!"
	Zechs let go of his cannon, and I released my Buster Rifle. We both pulled out our beam sabers and charged at each other. We clashed and twirled, and thrusted and paried. It was the greatest battle I had ever engaged in. As we clashed, I could see Tallgeese slowing down, ever so slightly. It was a very old Mobile Suit, and, although Zechs kept in in excellant shape, it was wearing down. I swung my saber particularly hard, to test his reaction. He blocked it, but just barely. I then saw my opening. As he raised his saber to strike, I thrusted mine at his arm, and severed Tallgeese's arm. 
	"Are you satisfied now?", I asked him over my comm.
	"Yes. I will leave you alone for the moment. By the way, I sent you that letter. I know all about you and the Gundams. It is an honor to battle with such worthy oponents. Thank you, and good bye."
	Zechs recovered the severed arm, and flew off. In the meantime, I flew to Deathscythe. I left the cockpit to check on Duo. Luckily, we had both worn our spacesuits on this mission. I hit the emergency manual release on his cockpit entrance, and I saw...Duo.
	"Hey, man. What happened out there?", he askd. He was cool as a cucumber. You would have never known that he had almost died out there. But then again, that's Duo. He never could be defeated spiritually.
	"I'll tell you after we get this thing fixed. It's a long story." Duo squeezed with me into Wing's cockpit as it pulled Deathscyhe towards the colony where Quatre resided. He would have the stuff we needed to repair it. 

The End
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