His senses returned finally, and he could relate to how the dead must feel in their eternal slumber. His eyes recovered from the lack of use that had been imposed on him. He sat up, surprisingly, since he had not recalled having his arms installed before the project to transform him had been terminated.

His eyes scanned his surroundings, and he was a bit taken aback since he could not recognize any of it. This room was lit far brighter than the one he had been in, and none of the white clad people were ones he could recall. What had happened to the project personnel in their blood red robes? Where was the mass of machinery that was to give him a new status? Where was… Calnus?

"Where are you… you bastard?" He hissed, his now focused eyes scanning the scene before him for the Carean general. A trio of people also clad in white entered from a pair of sliding doors on the far side of the room facing him. The man in front was nearly bald, just wisps of silver hair above his ears remained. A thick, gray, beard adorned his face, and he said with a deep voice, "I see you have awakened."

"Who are you, and where am I?" He scowled.

"I am the Regent Annus, and you are in what used to be the Altarian province."

His mind raced… The Altaria Clan… had he been captured by the enemy? "The Regent of Altaria is not named Annus."

Annus smiled sadistically, "Things have changed greatly since you have been gone. It might come as a surprise to you that you have been in a comatose state for over 300,000 years."

"300,000 years?" He repeated skeptically, but a quick internal diagnostic seemed to confirm Annus’s statement.

"I’m actually amazed that you were still operable. It is like a power from above kept you safe from the ravages of time."

"That’s not surprising." He mused just loud enough to not be clearly heard, and then asked, "What exactly has changed?"

Annus smiled, as if he was enjoying relaying the events that had occurred, "First of all… the old Zenala is no more. The clans have been abolished, peace rules the land of Zenala… or as they call it now, Eden."

This was definitely a shock. How could the clans have EVER reached an agreement to live peacefully? There was too much desire for war amongst them, not even 300,000 years could have changed the calling of battle.

Annus continued, "To this day, it is not fully understood what happened that changed Zenala. From the little we know is that is came at the hands of a race called the Xerobim. From what we have gathered, they infiltrated Zenala society, and performed a great coup on the planet. Since, we have lived in a ‘New Age’ of peace."

He smiled at the scorn on Annus face; "I take it you don’t like this age of peace?"

Annus didn’t seem to confirm or deny that statement with his facial expression, "I cannot stand that we have continued to cater ourselves to the whims of an alien race. We should pursue our own destiny, and that first means that we must abolish all traces of the Xerobim from our history, and from this galaxy. As they destroyed our destiny, so shall we destroy theirs."

"And I take it this is why you completed the project?"

"My supporters are few in number. Nowhere near enough to match the power of the Xerobim. That is why we need you. Our advancements have allowed us to give you potential and abilities far beyond what the Carean Clan had initially designed."

He nodded gently, his mind running through diagnostics to discover that Annus was once again telling the truth. This could be quite… useful. With a smirk, he asked, "Suppose I agree to help you. Where do I find this Xerobim?"

Annus sighed, and answered, "That… we are not sure. The Xerobim take great caution to keep hidden away from unwanted eyes. Your only chance is to head to a planet called Earth. They have frequent liaisons with the Xerobim, and you can probably discover what you need to discover there."

He smiled sadistically, and then slid off the table he was laying on, landing on his feet. "Thank you for the information. You have now outlasted your usefulness." Suddenly, a bright flash of energy filled the room, blinding all the occupants save one. He rushed forward, and grabbed Annus by the throat, lifting him off the ground with ease.

"You are a sniveling coward who does not deserve the title of Regent. Only a novice could have been played for such a fool. It is a shame that Zenala seems to have forgotten their true purpose. You see… I will NEVER associate with anyone who hails from Altairia. You are as much my enemy as the Xerobim."

He could see Annus’s face start to redden from the lack of oxygen, and he said maniacally, "But don’t worry, I shall do what you have desired all this. Your blood shall be the first in the revival of Zenala as the power it should be. The power it was given as its birthright."

"Who are you…?" Annus gasped, not seeming to realize that they would be his last words.

He scowled in fury, and hissed, "I am the Disciple." Then snapped Annus’s neck like one would snap an uncooked spaghetti noodle. Dropping the now dead, would-be Regent, he turned his attention to rest in the room, who were stumbling around blindly. He scanned the room, and identified the console he was looking for. Placing his hand on the console, the entire room was bathed in a glowing red light, and a voice chimed that the self-destruct protocols had been initiated.

Leaving the room, he quickly made his way out of the establishment just after hundreds of screaming people who had also evacuated the underground facility. Then he turned and watched the show as the entire facility detonated, and then the tons of earth above it collapsed downward onto the rubble below.

"Today marks the beginning, my lord." He whispered, "If 300,000 years late, your will SHALL be done…"

"Lishen here!" Wufei slurred, and he took another big swig of what he thought had been punch. In the back of his mind, something was telling him that there had been a good deal more. "I dunna need anywhone’s help… you heer mee? You Belig… bel… stuped woman… "

Sally led the protesting, and obviously drunk, Wufei to a chair, where he reluctantly sat, his head swooning. While concerned, she couldn’t help but chuckle at Wufei’s current condition. Wufei’s intoxicated antics got the attention of Aelan as well, who was not laughing in the least.

"What the hell happened?" Aelan asked quizzically. He didn’t recall any alcoholic beverages being brought to this private party.

Sally shrugged, "Duo invited him to get some punch about an hour ago, then they started talking. After a while, he was like this."

Aelan shook his head, and placed his left hand on his forehead. It would only figure. "Maxwell…" He muttered, then turned away, and went to hunt down the Deathscythe Hell pilot.

He found him in the next room chatting with Heero. Relena stood just behind her fiancée, holding a small bundle of cloth that could have only been their daughter Yeara. Aelan smirked just thinking about the pair’s name for their newborn daughter. It was really quite flattering. Aelan then shook the pleasant thoughts out of his head, as he remembered he had other reasons for being here.

He noticed a full glass of punch in front of Heero, and hoping he wasn’t too late, warned, "I wouldn’t drink that Heero, it’s probably spiked."

Duo leaned back depressingly, and muttered, "I wouldn’t worry about it, Advisor. He didn’t even fall for it the first time."

Heero smirked wryly, then commented, "After all the years I’ve known you, Duo, I have come to expect the unexpected."

"Regardless… have you seen Wufei recently? He’s a mess… can barely stand up, and more obnoxious than usual." Aelan charged. "I’m amazed that’s even possible…"

"How was I to know he couldn’t handle his liquor?" Duo defended, "I didn’t mean any harm, I just wanted to loosen him up a bit. It was just meant to be a harmless joke."

Aelan nodded. He knew that Duo wasn’t one to intentionally harm his comrades, but something had to be done to prevent this sort of behavior from occurring again. "Well, since Wufei will probably have a nasty hangover tomorrow, YOU can cover his Christmas shift, how does that sound?"

Duo started to protest, but sighed in resignation, "Yeah… I suppose I can do that. I’ll still have the evening to enjoy the holiday."

Aelan left the trio to continue whatever conversation they were engaged in, and went back to the main assembly hall to check up on Wufei. His mood seemed to have improved somewhat, but Aelan figured that it probably had more to do with alcoholic fatigue than anything else.

Lady Une approached Aelan’s side, subtly linking her arm around his. He didn’t react visibly to the move, but it did disconcert him slightly. Une seemed to pick up on his mental cringe, and whispered in his ear, "It is so easy to pick on you."

"I’m just concerned with Wufei… that’s all." Aelan answered. He didn’t like the idea that he was still so gun-shy when it came to members of his opposite gender. Lady Une was a good person who showed genuine interest in the advisor. Perhaps THAT was what concerned him so much.

However, the Lady didn’t seem to be showing any similar worries. "You have to admit… It’s rather amusing to see our charming Wufei so hammered."

Finally, Aelan allowed himself to enjoy the humor of the situation. "To that, I can not argue."

Noin then entered the main assembly hall, her hands now full of the blanketed bundle that represented Relena and Heero’s daughter. Aelan swore that poor child had been passed around tonight like a relay baton.

"You know, Lucrezia, if I didn’t know any better, I’d swear that child was yours." Aelan remarked. Ever since the infant had been allowed to leave the hospital it had been spending an equal amount of time in Noin’s arms as Relena’s.

Noin cooed to little Yeara, and replied in that same tone, "I wish she was… she is just a darling little girl. I want a little girl just like you… yes, I do…"

Noin then came face to face with Aelan and Une, and Aelan scrutinized his deceased wife’s namesake. Surprisingly, she was wide-awake, since nothing had suggested she had been. Aelan noted that Yeara was very unlike most newborns in that she was a very quiet little baby (I wonder what side of the family THAT trait comes from). "She must be nice to handle at night…"

Aelan hadn’t even noticed Relena had joined them until she snorted, "Sure… that what everyone says. Let me assure you, when Yeara wants something Heero and I know it. She has got a surprising pair of lungs for someone so young." She then changed topics, and added, "Well… the papers have been finalized, Aelan. The ceremony can continue as scheduled."

For a brief moment Aelan was uncertain what she was referring to, but quickly got his trains reassigned to the necessary tracks. "Oh… right, very good. You certain that you want to wait until June?"

"Yeah… I want it to be nice… not covered in snow. The only white I want on my wedding day is on my dress."

Noin chuckled, and rocked the child in her arms as she said, "I don’t know… judging from this little beauty, I’m not sure if white is the proper color for you."

Noin was lucky to be Relena’s friend, because Aelan doubted that the Foreign Minister (or worse yet, Heero) would have tolerated that comment from anyone else. As it was, Relena glowered, then let the quip slide.

Aelan was beginning to wonder where Kiron had disappeared to for the last few minutes then finally saw him outside the door to the assembly hall, motioning for Aelan to step outside. The advisor excused himself from the gathering, and joined his former Tenant colleague out in the hall. Kiron led Aelan off to a less trafficked area, then said, "Something’s up…"

"Explain." Aelan queried.

Kiron handed Aelan a small datapad, and began. "A unidentified underground establishment on Eden suddenly self-destructed about 5 hours ago. This might be before your time, but do you remember an Edenite criminal named Annus?"

"The name sounds familiar, but I can’t say that I remember where."

"He was Eden’s most historic, and recent, serial killer. He was one of my supporters during my… coup of our homeworld."

"Oh… yes… THAT’S where I saw the name, on the prison manifest for the denizens of Hell. So what does one have to do with the other?"

"His remains were found in the facility. Judging from what they were able to recover, he was operating this facility."

"All right…"

"However, it appears that he died BEFORE the facility destroyed itself. It appears that someone else triggered the detonation, AND killed Annus."

Aelan nodded solemnly, "I see…"

"I’m not too keen on the idea myself. Whoever did this, was more potent a killer than Annus ever was, and from what I can discern, he or she MIGHT be headed this way…"

Aelan looked curious, then asked, "How did you learn all this?"

Kiron flushed, then admitted sheepishly, "I still have… old contacts on Eden who keep me informed. They may not be the most… savory of individuals, but they get the job I need done."

Aelan sighed, and replied, "Well… give them my thanks. We shall have to keep our eyes open."

"So this is Earth." He muttered as he stepped off the fold platform. Making sure his contacts were in place, he then worked his way to the processing station. From what he had seen so far of the humans that inhabit the rock, there could only be one conclusion that could be drawn.

The evolutionary stages that were mapped out in the fragmented records were there… the similarity to Zenalans almost staggering. Taking into factor the obvious unexpected evolution due to environment, they had developed EXACTLY as the text had said.

"The Carean Populous… for once, you were right, Calnus…" He muttered, as he followed the line that was leading to the processing station. It was extremely long for reasons that he couldn’t quite understand, nor was in the mood to contemplate. As the check-in desk neared, he saw a small handprint console, most likely where DNA was scanned for identification purposes. He smiled, thinking that he had found exactly what he was looking for.

However, it was another 30 minutes before he was the person being processed. The man behind the service counter seemed agitated, and was continually looking up at a timepiece across the large processing room.

"Place your hand on the scanner." The service personnel droned, waving his hand flippantly at the console.

Nearly licking his lips, he put his hand on the scanner, and wove his consciousness through the console, gathering data around him like moths to an open flame. From the console, he managed to work his way into the main server that operated it. He heard the personnel panic, but it was as if the man was miles away. As the entire facility went on full alert trying to hunt down the mysterious hacker that had infiltrated their server, the man frowned. The information he was looking for was not here, and to continue his current path was becoming taxing.

"Oh well…" He thought tritely, "At least there is SOMETHING here I can use. It will at least buy me time until I can find what I need."

He pulled his hand away, his awareness once again focusing on his physical self. The conversation that had been so opaque earlier focused as he keyed in on what they were saying.

"The hacker appears to have left… emergency security files are returning to standby." A technician said in relief. "No data seems to have been corrupted, but all the files were accessed."

"All right… change the encryption protocols, and run full system diagnostics. Report to me any abnormalities." A woman, obviously their leader, ordered.

"Yes, Miss Doran." The technician replied.

"Mr. Yuy… you have been cleared. You may proceed." The man behind the service counter said.

It took him but a moment to realize that the serviceman was talking to him. "Oh… right." He was about to move on, when a bolt of inspiration hit him. "Umm… I seem to have lost my ID clearance… is there anyway I can get a copy here?"

The serviceman sighed, "Do you need it today?" the man seemed flustered and annoyed.

"Yes, I do."

"Fine… hold on… there are some forms… nah forget it…" Hastily, the man tapped on the computer console in front of him.

Meanwhile, the Disciple waited, and finally a small plastic card popped out with his picture on it. He pulled it out of the slot, and nodded graciously to the serviceman before stepping away from the desk.

As he walked away, he looked at the card in his hand.

Heero Yuy

"Very good. This will do nicely for a start." With a grin, he exited the Fold Generator facility, and into the highlands of Mexico. From there, he boarded the express shuttle to New Richmond.

"Heero, can you come into my office for a minute?"

The transmission into Heero’s comm unit made Heero jump. With a sigh, he realized that with his concentration momentarily broken, Duo took full advantage, destroying Heero’s unit on their CableNet Gundam game.

"HAH!" Duo shouted triumphantly, "Take THAT, Mr. Perfect Soldier!"

Without even a smirk, Heero replied, "Even with that, I think your record stands at 143 to… 5."

Duo’s grin turned into a sulk, and he replied, "Don’t rub it in. Anyway, doesn’t Aelan want to see you?"

"As I am doing." Heero replied, and stepped through the door leading to Aelan’s office.

The advisor leaned against the wall to the right of his desk, a small printout in his hand. "Did you know that you were processed as arriving in North Am at 0944 this morning?"

"How can that be? I haven’t left North Am for two weeks."

"I know that. Someone has managed to hack your ID file, and I don’t think that it is hard to discern who."

"That terrorist you spoke of." Heero quickly recalled the short briefing that he and Duo had undertaken when they arrived that morning. "Do you think that he could have done that?"

"Call it a gut feeling. This terrorist is quite likely an Edenite. I wouldn’t hold it above his or her capability."

"Understood."

Aelan then handed Heero an ID card. "I took the liberty of changing your identification codes, but they will be several hours in processing. You might want to inform Relena."

Heero nodded, and asked, "I’ll do that. Am I dismissed?"

Aelan chuckled at Heero’s formalities. "Yes, Heero… you are dismissed."

Relena sat down the small bag, pausing slightly to adjust Yeara’s position on her arm. Scanning her ID card through the lock, it beeped in clearance, and then displayed the current occupants of the apartment.

"Oh… look, Yeara, daddy’s home. I guess we won’t be able to surprise him with our Christmas goodies, huh?" Relena said in an exaggerated pout to her daughter. "Aelan must have let him out early." She picked up her bag, and stepped up to the door, which opened automatically.

He snarled as he found another barrier to his goal. Trying to press himself through the walls of protection in the server he had located was proving to be tough business. Whoever had set up the various passwords and key codes knew what they were doing. However, he now knew that this would have the information he wanted, the North Am Strategic Database.

He had almost given up on entering the server the normal way, and prepared to hack into the system, when the sound of a door opening nearby drew his attention, snapping him back to reality. The clicking of high-heels were followed by the slight thump of something hitting a table.

"Heero, dear. We’re home! Heero?" A female voice sang. "We brought some treats!" After a moments silence, the voice said, but as if addressing another person, "Hmmm… maybe he’s in his office working. Come on, Yeara, let’s see daddy."

The clicking sound started to approach the room he was in, and he silently slid to the side of the door, pulling a menacing pistol from its holster at his hip. Soon, the clicking stopped right at the office entrance.

Relena waited for the door to open, but then discovered that Heero must have locked it. "Maybe daddy doesn’t want to be bothered, Yeara. Should we anyway?" She waited as if she were expecting the infant to answer. "Yeah… I’m sure he’ll forgive us…" She was about to slide her ID card through when her comm-unit beeped. Pulling away from the door, she put her card away, then pulled out her comm-unit.

"Hello, Foreign Minister Peacecraft. How can I be of service?"

"Relena?" A distinctive voice asked blandly.

Relena was baffled, "Heero, why are you calling me when we’re both in the apartment?"

There was silence then she thought she heard Heero gasp a sound he was not prone to doing. "THE ID SYSTEM SAYS I’M IN THE APARTMENT?"

She was stunned by Heero’s sudden yell, and she replied, "Yes…"

"GET OUT OF THERE! GET OUT NOW!"

She then identified Heero’s tone… fear. Something was scaring him, and it started to scare her as well… "What is going on, Heero?"

"DON’T ARGUE WITH ME! GET YOURSELF AND YEARA OUT OF THERE NOW! I’M COMING AS FAST AS I CAN!"

Finally the panic set in, and she noticed the door to Heero’s office start to slide open. In a fright, she gathered up Yeara, and rushed out of the apartment. A gunshot suddenly split the air, and there was the cracking of wood just behind her.

He cursed as he noticed his shot from the hip had missed its target. Whoever had just contacted her MUST have tipped her off to his presence. "Damn… they figure things out quick…" He snapped the ID card he was carrying in half. If they knew he was here, then they had definitely rendered the codes on the card useless, but could probably still trace the card.

He was sure that the woman had not seen him, but then again, she could have. As much as he hated leaving such potential loose ends, he realized the first thing he needed to do was to get clear of this scene, then he could figure out how to proceed. Looking to the open balcony window, he opened the sliding pane, and jumped down the 7 floors to the ground below. He scanned his surroundings for any witnesses, then dashed off down the back street.

The cab stopped, and Heero burst out as Relena dashed into his open arms. He calmed his frightened fiancée and checked to see if his daughter was unharmed. There were a few splinters of wood in her hair, and as he picked them out, she sobbed, "Someone was in your office... he shot at me and Yeara… I don’t think he followed. Who was that, Heero?"

"Aelan thinks that it is an Edenite terrorist. There had been indications that he was coming to Earth. Did you see who it was?"

Relena shook her head. "I was too busy running…"

"And you WEREN’T followed?"

She shook her head again, and that left Heero with one option, that whoever it was still was in the complex. "Stay here, Relena." He ordered, pulling out his pistol, and made his way through the small crowd that had been drawn to the commotion, slowly working his way up to their apartment. Finally, he arrived at the still open door, and rolling through the entryway, he got to one knee, his eyes scanning the apartment for intruders.

He searched the entire residence, then caught sight of the open balcony door. He stepped out and looked down. Finally, he pulled out his comm, and dialed Aelan, "The apartment’s clear. It looks like he left via the balcony."

"Don’t you live on the seventh floor, Heero?" Aelan replied skeptically.

"Yes… but I don’t see any other way he got out. He might still be in the complex though."

"Scans are reading negative, but he might have destroyed the old card. Keep searching."

"Affirmative." Heero commented, and thus began a search of EVERY room in the complex. After an hour, he contacted Aelan again; "He’s not in the complex. He must have made a break."

"All right. Duo and I will continue monitoring the situation from the offices."

"I’ll join you in a while." Heero affirmed.

"Negative, Heero." Aelan countermanded, "I think you have someone else who needs your attention."

Heero sighed, exasperated with himself. He was still having a hard time adapting to the fact that he was no longer a lone wolf. "Of course. At least keep me informed."

"I’ll do that, Heero. Aelan out."

He walked through the rows of computers with a grin on his face. It is quite fortunate that computers on this world are as common as human beings. With a powerful enough terminal, he would be able to finally get the information he wanted, and by just running his hands across the tops of the monitors, he decided that these would be more than sufficient.

Pulling a chair out from the desk, he silently slid into the padded seat, and waited ever so patiently for the system to complete its booting process. He declined a cup of coffee from a passing server, then noticed the rest of his surroundings.

Outside of the server, the manager running the bar, and himself, the entire establishment was empty. This clashed incredibly with previous events he had witnessed. There was a line of thousands waiting to enter North Am, but its most prominent metropolis was a ghost town.

"Most curious." He muttered, then turned his head to the screen, ready to get to work. With a deep breath, he plunged into his cyber reality…

Aelan’s lips pursed as he analyzed what was occurring. Someone was trying to hack into the Strategic Command Server. "Clever… this is probably the best day to try something like this."

Poising his hands on the keyboard, Aelan began typing in countermeasures and defense commands.

He snarled as he felt his consciousness slam into a wall that had not been there just milliseconds ago. Someone on the other side was actively trying to block him out. This could become quite fun…

Duo burst into Aelan’s office, and asked, "Hey… my terminal screen just went black. What’s the deal?"

"We’ve got ourselves a hacker… a very good one at that." Aelan replied, his eyes never leaving his console screen for ANY amount of time.

Duo leaned over Aelan’s shoulder, and looked at the console, but the various commands and counter commands that were flying by at a cheetah’s pace might as well have been Greek to him. "Maybe Heero’s playing around with you."

"Doubtful… Heero doesn’t play this game, and besides, his mind is on other matters." Aelan’s eyebrows furrowed, and he shook his head, "I get the feeling that our little terrorist friend is playing the other hand in this game, but…"

"But what?"

Aelan’s fingers continued to fly furiously over the keyboard as he spoke. "Even an Edenite can’t work this fast… he’s breaking through code barriers and firewalls as fast as I can put them up… The speed at which this man is reacting is…"

"Inhuman?"

"Cute, Duo…" Aelan said. With a grunt of frustration, he said, "Damn… there is no way I can block him out… I suppose we’re just gonna have to let him in…"

"Pardon?" Duo said suspiciously. What was the advisor concocting now?

"Duo… I need you to head down to the server relay system. Take your comm-unit with you, because we need to time this just right."

"Okay… I assume that you are going to tell me what I need to do when I get there?"

"Yes, Duo… and hurry it up. I don’t think I can keep our little visitor busy too much longer."

Duo quickly ran his eyes along the maintenance panels, trying to identify the one that Aelan had just ordered him to open. "Man… Heero should be doin’ this… HE’S the computer expert…" Then, as he was getting increasingly frustrated, he found the panel number he was looking for.

With a triumphant chuckle, Duo opened the panel, then stopped short.

While Duo was nowhere near Heero’s computer expertise, he knew his way around a system, or so he had thought. The server that bore Aelan’s hand was so cross-wired with Edenite technology and knowledge that Duo was hopelessly lost.

"Um… okay, Aelan… I’m in…"

"About time, Duo… what happened, did you fall down a service shaft on the way?"

"Funny… anyway, what do you need me to do?"

The momentary silence was finally followed with, "Okay… find mainframe switch 17-02A… on the back side of the terminal switch, move the black data cable to the empty port on terminal switch 01-01B."

As Duo complied, he said, "01-01B… Isn’t that the backup network system on YOUR terminal?"

"Correct… what you have just done is routed all the information from the mainframe to my terminal."

"And the purpose of that was…?"

"Now any information that our little friend tries to hack has to go through me directly… and that gives me options I didn’t have before. I should be able to track his location now…"

He smiled as he felt the computer battle starting to go his way. Another barrier collapsed as it appeared that his counterpart defending the database seemed to be losing his ability to keep up. With a feeling of victory, The Disciple prepared for one final surge…

Only to slam into several barriers that not even HE had been able to detect. It appeared that his adversary still had several tricks up his sleeve. An abrupt surge of energy quickly got his attention, and he noticed a sudden pulse of power rifling down the trail that he had taken to get here.

Panic suddenly set in… his opponent hadn’t been waning at all… it had all been a trick. He had to do something drastic, which wasn’t what he had wanted to do… since drastic measures ALWAYS brought attention…

He quickly returned to physical space, and with a sweeping uppercut that knocked the computer terminal he was working on off the desk, smashing it to pieces. He uttered an ancient Edenite curse. He had been careless, and it nearly had cost him. Looking up, he noticed the server and her manager staring at him in disbelief.

"I’m sorry, ladies, but I can’t afford to be identified just yet." With a snap of his wrist, his pistol materialized in his hand, and one shot later, the coffee server collapsed to the floor with a bullet hole in her chest, her tray of coffee crashing down next to her, cappuccinos mixing with the blood.

The manager jumped in shock, and as she turned around to sound the alarm, another bullet ripped through her torso, splitting ribs, and tearing open her lungs. He watched with a pleasure that only a serial killer could appreciate as she spit up torrents of blood. She’d be dead in mere minutes.

"You see… I still have to remain anonymous at the moment." The Disciple said to the fatally wounded manager, "It appears I will have to take a more… personal approach to get the information I desire."

After some time standing over his wounded victim, he pursed his lips, then said, "I’m sorry dear, as much as I like to see someone suffer, I don’t have time to wait for you to die." With that, he fired another shot into her head.

Aelan looked at the outside of the lounge that just had reports of gunshots. Violence was a normal occurrence in New Richmond, like in any large city, but there was something in Aelan’s gut that told him who was responsible for this act.

"Are you sure?" Trowa asked. The stoic pilot had been the first of Aelan’s direct connections to report to the site, this largely due to the fact that he had taken up residence in a district less than a mile away.

"Oh indeed, Trowa my friend." Aelan replied his voice a stressed hiss. "There is no doubt in my mind. How goes the search for evidence?"

Trowa took a deep breath. "They managed to pull some blood off the terminal he smashed, but they aren’t sure whether it belongs to him, or one of his victims. Tests should be complete within hours. Investigators are also in the process of trying to pull the surveillance tapes from the security station. We hope to be able to get a face, something we can use to find this person."

"Good. Seems like they’ve got everything well in hand. I should learn to have more faith in the law enforcement division."

Trowa snorted, and he replied, "Don’t put TOO much faith in them, Advisor. I was the one that had to convince them to take the blood sample. They weren’t even going to bother." Trowa then glanced at his wristwatch, and added, "It has also taken them almost 5 minutes to locate the security tapes. Perhaps I should check and make sure they didn’t get lost…"

The man with the gravity defying bangs crossed the street, and sifted his way through the multitude of the investigators to the sliding doors of the computer lounge. However, as the sliding doors opened, the entire interior of the café became a billowing ball of fire, finding an exit in the opening doors, catching Trowa in its flaming wake…

Kiron stepped out of the operating room, and exhaled as if he had not breathed the entire time he had been examining his most recent patient. "Bring me your damaged and broken bodies, yearning to be healed…" He muttered almost spitefully. The situation was bad enough without remembering obnoxious creeds from his days as a medical student.

The assembly waiting didn’t seem too worried. After all, Kiron had been prone to making medical miracles on a consistent basis. Why should they be concerned now? He had wished that Aelan was present, but for very understandable reasons, was absent from this meeting. Those reasons were all manifest in the lithe form of Catherine Bloom.

She was waiting at the door much like a lion waits for its prey, her eyes glaring menacingly down the long hall. It was obvious that she had rushed here, for her choice of clothing was making Kiron wish that he had been a much younger man. Clad in a very revealing halter top and denim shorts that probably would have gotten her arrested under normal circumstances, she looked every bit like the fluid hunter that no doubt her mind had settled into. Every so often, she would flick her wrist, the razor sharp dagger in her hand dancing across her fingers like a champion figure skater. No doubt that polished steel hungered for a taste of Advisor flesh.

Which was also a major reason why Kiron was not in much of a hurry to deliver the news he had present. However, his duty must be done. Gathering his thoughts, and making sure that he was choosing the right words, he began.

"Trowa is currently in stasis. The immediate concern is the severe 4^th degree burns that basically cover his body."

Noin nodded, "Through the stasis technology, such damage can be repaired without scarring. That doesn’t explain why you seem so crestfallen."

"Well, it appears that the bomb that exploded in the business district was a most unique variety. It detonated at a very specific temperature that caused a most unexpected result."

"And that was?" Relena asked worriedly. It was painfully obvious that she wasn’t liking where the conversation was going. She had hung this precariously to death before, and watching someone else teeter on a similar precipice was most likely tearing her apart.

"Much of the area engulfed in the blast was not totally vaporized like is common in most bomb explosions. Much of it was whittled into microscopic debris that found a home in our friend Trowa. Right now, his internal body is sliced with tens of thousands of minute pieces of shrapnel, most of which are less than a square millimeter in size. THAT is what is making further healing impossible."

"So… what is the plan?" Noin finished. Her voice seemed drained of emotion, but it was obviously just a defensive mechanism to try and shield herself from the pain.

He bit his lip, and scratched the graying beard on his chin. "At the moment… there is none. He will remain in stasis until a course of action can be plotted."

Out of the corner of his eye, Kiron watched Catherine, wondering just what the brunette beauty would do upon hearing the dire prognosis. Surprisingly, she slid the dagger into a leather sheath, and just left the room.

"Perhaps someone should… try to console… his sister." Kiron finally managed, but didn’t doubt that everyone else in the room shared his trepidation. Perhaps it was best to let Catherine vent her anger and despair on her own… preferably far away from potential victims.

Quatre sighed as he pulled his elbows off the concrete wall that prevented people from taking a rather nasty fall to the ground below. He was stuck feeling a totally irrational guilt over the recent turn of events. It seemed that everyone around him had given themselves, their bodies and souls, for the world they lived in now, while he lived a charmed life mostly free from harm.

"I don’t know why I’m so worried. Kiron is a medical genius. Trowa will be fine. But DAMN IT... why couldn’t it have been me? Why am I the one managing a multi-billion credit corporation, while HE is the dutiful soldier in North Am? Why is everyone ELSE being put in harm’s way?"

He threw his back to the partition overlooking New Richmond. "Even Relena was nearly killed trying to help someone else. Yet I seem always spared. I hate seeing everyone I care for hurt…"

Finally, with a disgusted growl, he turned around and headed for the door leading back to the hospital interior. However, as he went to push the door in, it seemed to do so of it’s own volition. What happened next occurred so quickly he didn’t see it very clearly, but he recalled running into a body, and falling into the hospital, collapsing on top of the person who had been trying to leave.

Quatre then began to focus, then felt his nose start to bleed as his body realized his current position before his brain. His head was planted between a rather impressive pair of breasts, and he could feel the flush coming to his cheeks. With the rest of his body momentarily paralyzed, he looked up between the cleavage of the woman he had fallen upon, and he instantly processed a rather familiar face. The first time he had looked at those features was an instant he couldn’t forget.

"Could you get off me?" Catherine snapped, and his body decided that now was not to time to argue. He jumped off quickly, and offered his hand to Catherine, who declined it with a rather rude glare.

She stood, and brushed off her bottom, which quickly drew Quatre’s attention in a way that had surprised him. He had never really looked at Catherine the first time they had met, and now he was doing so in a rather inappropriate way at a most inappropriate time.

"What are you looking at?" Catherine finally accused, and Quatre jumped in surprise.

"N…n… nothing…" Quatre finally stammered sheepishly, turning his gaze away from the alluring woman in front of him. He continued to remind himself that he shouldn’t be ogling Trowa’s sister, much less while the man in question was incapacitated.

Maybe it was what she was wearing, but the fact that Quatre had acted the way he did surprised him. He had never really been physically drawn to ANYONE, but the way that he was suddenly staring at Catherine was definitely one of appreciation of her beauty. He was so off base that he almost didn’t hear Catherine speaking to him again.

"What are YOU doing here? Don’t you have a business to run?" She hissed.

"Uh… yeah… but I was worried… I couldn’t just stay out in space after hearing the news Trowa had been hurt."

"Well, it’s nice to know you care… but you aren’t needed here. Buh bye."

At that moment, any sense of allurement he felt towards the brunette circus performer was squashed. "How DARE you? I don’t care WHO you are. NO ONE tells me that I should leave my friends!"

"Yeah… I know all about you ‘friends’ of Trowa’s. If it weren’t for all of you, he’d never be in this mess."

"I know."

Catherine could feel are her venomous anger melt from her heart to her feet, and out of her body. Quatre’s reply was NOT the one she had been expecting. "Pardon?"

"Do you know how long I have cried myself to sleep wondering how much better this world would be if I or my four allies had never been born? The faces of those who I killed haunt me like demons spawned from hell itself. There has been few days that I can sleep peacefully, and those sparse opportunities because of only ONE thing."

"And what would that be?" Catherine gasped, unsure as to how to reply to Quatre’s sudden outburst.

Quatre said painfully through clenched teeth, "That if I had not done what I had been called to do, had I NOT stood and fought for what I believe and for those I care for… then my life would have held no meaning. And this world would be worse than any nightmare that you can dream."

He turned away and started to walk back to the interior of the hospital, "Trowa was doing what I should have been. Being a benefit for society. The only regret was that I was not the one to be in Trowa’s place."

Catherine quickly shook her head, trying to process what she had just heard. He had… agreed with her? Focusing on the young man, she suddenly found herself no longer thinking about his words.

"He’s… kinda cute in a way… especially when he’s sad…" Catherine mumbled.

Quatre looked puzzled, then asked, "Did you say something?"

Catherine flushed. Had she just said that out loud? "Uh… nothing…" She muttered, while her logical mind starting screaming back, "What the HELL are you thinking girl? Your brother’s hurt… you don’t have time to be gawking at some GUY! Especially one of THEM!"

"Anyway… no doubt you probably aren’t in much of a mood to talk to someone responsible for your brother’s current state. I should be going." Quatre said solemnly.

He didn’t even manage one step before Catherine said, "No… wait… I’m sorry. I’m being unfair. Please stay."

Quatre found himself complying before he was actually able to process what she had said. She leaned against the concrete railing, looking down to the street below. When Quatre followed suit, Catherine said softly, "You must really be close to Trowa."

"He’s almost like my own brother… no offense." Quatre said, then almost panicked.

"None taken."

Quatre took a deep breath, and tried to keep from looking directly at Catherine, for that seemed to cause problems that he didn’t want to get involved with at the moment. "Everyone I had known for most of my life treated me like some sort of royal. That might SEEM all nice, but it made me feel like I was just a… thing… nobody ever treated me like I was a human being. Then… I met Trowa."

He sighed as he remembered that meeting. "For the first time… there was a person who didn’t care how much money I had, or who’s son I was. I figured that it was because he was a Barton, but it didn’t matter to me much. I was so drawn to this person that liked me for me… or at least seemed to."

"When I learned who he really was… I admired him even more. I think that he is the person who is closest to me… the one that knows me the best."

Catherine found herself focusing on the road below, even though she could barely see it. Anything was better than looking at Quatre again. He seemed to spawn sensations that she was comfortable feeling at the moment. "He really likes you too. He admires your spirit, and your love for all humankind. The way he talked about you, I almost thought you were too good to be true."

She took a deep breath, then risked looking at Quatre again. As before, she could swear that a hidden sorrow rested across his features, as if the shadows that played across his face were just a little darker than they should be. "However, I can see now that he wasn’t boasting. I can tell a lot has happened to you, yet… you still strive to help others. I’m not sure if I could be so strong…"

Quatre snorted in disbelief, "If HALF of what Trowa told me about you is true, then you are probably the strongest person he’s ever met. I highly doubt ANYONE other than you could have convinced him that self-detonating wasn’t the best choice he could make."

He smiled; something that seemed in such incredible contrast to the turmoil that must be rampaging through the dark recesses of his mind. With a gentler tone, he suggested, "You know… I think that we really should be in there… Trowa doesn’t deserve to have us moping about on this balcony."

With nothing more than a nod, Catherine followed Quatre back inside the hallways of the hospital.

Kiron sighed as he pondered just what to do with his most recent patient. The actual wounds and burns could be easily taken care of with the stasis healing chemicals, but those fragments would continue to be a problem.

At that moment, the door opened slightly, and Relena poked her head around the corner. "Um… Kiron… have you seen my laptop? I think I misplaced it."

"No, I haven’t." He replied, "Why would you think it would be in here?"

"Well… If you recall, Aelan likes to make things of mine walk away on me, and I thought that maybe he or one of those pilots of his decided to pull that little prank again."

Kiron smirked, remembering that staff meeting about a month ago…

"Well… I hope that this deep sea mining expedition that North Am’s Geological Association is embarking on doesn’t creep into South Am’s territory." Relena said sternly, "They weren’t to pleased with that fishing fleet last year…" She went to reach for her pencil, only to grab nothing but air.

Aelan took a bemused look as Relena glanced over to her right side. Her pencil must have rolled, for it was now about six inches from where she had put it down. Reaching for the writing utensil again, this time she clearly saw it MOVE out of her grasp.

Kiron chuckled, and Admiral Noin looked curiously on, while the rest of the assembled staff rubbed their eyes, trying to comprehend what had just happened. Relena herself was simply baffled. As she watched in utter surprise, her pencil suddenly jumped up onto its eraser end, then flipped so that the lead balanced on the table.

The assembly nearly panicked, and Relena watched several of them crossing themselves, and mumbling strange wards against black magic. All the meanwhile, Aelan continued to have that smug smile plastered across his jaw. Finally, she figured that the Advisor HAD to be involved somehow.

"Aelan… what is going on here?" Relena accused.

Finally allowing himself to laugh, Aelan pulled his laptop out from underneath the desk. "I was testing a new toy of mine, and they worked beautifully. They’re called nanomachines, minute mechanisms smaller than the head of a pin. I read about an Edenite scientist who had claimed success in developing them, but I simply KNEW I could do it better."

"Really…" Relena said. She still didn’t seem very amused.

"I know, it’s kinda silly… but with a life like mine, you take what hobbies you can get…"

At that moment, the solution to Trowa’s problem smacked him across the head like a jealous lover. He approached Relena, and with a triumphant smirk said, "Relena, you have given me the inspiration needed to save Trowa."

"Huh?" Relena was a pretty bright girl, but not even she could quite figure out just what the medical technician was getting at.

"I’d kiss you right now, but I think Heero would kill me." Kiron continued cheerfully, "I’ll need to borrow your comm-unit for just a moment, my dear. I need to contact Aelan…"

The man in question was totally stumped, inexorably and completely confounded, and if you knew Aelan Marcus, that was a rare sight indeed. He looked over the results of the SEVENTH blood test on the sample taken from the computer lounge as the computer processed the eighth.

"None of this makes sense…" He muttered to no one in particular. The technicians that had been assigned to assist him remained as silent as they possibly could. At the moment, the Advisor was not the most pleasant of people to be around. He was obviously VERY upset at his inability to even IDENTIFY the man who had broken into one of his Elite Unit member’s apartments, and severely incapacitate another.

Each tech remained nervously quiet. They all knew what each and every one of the tests had popped out with. The computer monitor had displayed the results, and the printer had put them on hardcopy to confirm what every one had seen.

3.2% of sample identified as belonging to Gloria MacKeen.

"Can ANYONE suggest just HOW we intend to make this unidentifiable sample INDENTIFIED?" Aelan demanded impatiently.

"Uh… uh…" One of the techs stammered, "The only thing that I can think of is that some unknown element has bonded with the blood cells of the unidentified sample. We will need to analyze the DNA strands piece by piece to make any solid definition."

"And how long will THIS take?" Aelan demanded.

"A… a… about a week…"

"You have FOUR days. I expect at least SOME results." With that, he strode out of the lab, seemingly forgetting about the most recent blood test he ordered. The technicians heaved a sigh of relief, then focused on the nearly impossible job ahead of them.

Aelan rubbed his forehead, trying to regain some control. The last few hours had turned him into a cross between Joseph Stalin and Ghengis Khan, with a little bit of Slobadan Milosevic thrown in for flavor. As he was managing to reign in his frustration, the bleeping of his comm-unit threw all that in total disarray.

Nearly frothing at the mouth, Aelan shouted, "WHAT THE IN THE UNCHARTED DEPTHS OF YOUR INFINITE IGNORANCE DO YOU WANT?"

"My… you ARE upset, aren’t you, Aelan?" Kiron chided, "Come now, I think I have some GOOD news for you this time around."

"Thank you." Aelan replied, much calmer, "I could use some right about now. This terrorist is proving to be a riddle hidden inside an enigma wrapped up in a mystery."

"Okay… I think I have found a way to repair the damage that was done to Trowa, but I need you to confirm something. Could your nanomachines be programmed to operate INSIDE a living organism?"

"I can’t imagine why they couldn’t be. They are remotely operated, after all. Why do you…" At that moment, Aelan got the gist of Kiron’s plan, "You do realize that you are most clever, Kiron?"

"I try. So I can expect a delivery of nanomachines soon?" Kiron asked.

"Certainly, but I won’t be there. I still got some work to do trying to figure out WHAT our computers are trying to tell us."

"I understand. Besides, I don’t think that Catherine is at all endeared to you at the moment. I doubt that she’d practice much restraint if you were to visit us."

Kiron finished the final solution mix for Trowa’s healing stasis, and looked approvingly at his work. It had taken some time to figure out just how to make the little machines do what he wanted; but once he had figured out the programming, they dutifully removed all the fragments from Trowa’s body.

He stepped outside the operating room to take a breather, and looked down into the waiting room. He had thought that everyone had left, but there were still two people waiting on one of the sofas. However, in the relative darkness, he couldn’t clearly see who it was.

"Must be Heero and Relena… but why are they still here?" Kiron pondered, but as he got closer… it was clearly not the foreign minister and her fiancée, and the hairstyles on the pair didn’t match Duo and Hilde’s…

Closer inspection revealed the TRUE identities of the couple, and even Kiron had to do a double take. Was that Quatre… and Catherine? Sure enough, the pair was huddled together on the padded bench, fast asleep, with her head on his shoulder, and his arm draped around her shoulder.

Kiron looked back from the operating room, to the pair, and back again. Finally he mumbled, "Did I miss something while I was away?"

With a less than gentle nudge to Quatre, the businessman awoke. "Oh… Kiron… how is Trowa?"

Kiron smirked, and replied, "Trowa will be fine, which is why I should warn you that he might not like the idea that you’ve been putting the moves on his sister while he was out."

Quatre sputtered, and that caused Catherine to wake up. "It’s not what it looks like!" He protested, while Catherine rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

She took a mere moment to process the situation, then jumped away… "I was just cold… that’s all! It’s not what you think!"

Kiron was about to make a comment that he figured Catherine would be a bit chilled, but decided against it. He may be getting older… but he still liked having his manhood intact.

Aelan jumped out of his chair to welcome his recent visitor, and vigorously shook the young man’s hand. "Welcome back, Trowa… I am sorry about your… unexpected medical leave."

Trowa smiled, or what PASSED for a smile anyway, and said, "Well, before you are being TOO friendly to me, I should note that Catherine is outside, and she seemed pretty adamant to… talk with you."

"I’ll deal with Catherine when the time comes. Right now, I’m curious as to how YOU are feeling."

Trowa circled his arms, did a few stretches, and rolled his head around his neck to prove the point. "I am happy to say that I am good as new."

"TROWA! MY MAN!" Duo shouted, bursting into Aelan’s office. "Nice to see you back, kiddo!" Duo slapped Trowa solidly on the back, and the stoic pilot jerked away, cringing slightly.

"Maybe… ALMOST as good as new." Trowa muttered; teeth clenched in pain.

Aelan was about to chuckle when his office door leading into the reception area burst off its hinges, and collapsed right at Trowa and Duo’s feet. Catherine was on the other end, her leg swinging downward from what must have been quite a kick. To say she was fuming would have been an understatement.

"Ah… Catherine Bloom." Aelan said lightly, but it didn’t appear that he was too amused, "I was just informed of your presence here. I suppose we can… meet now. Trowa, could you stick around?"

The Heavyarms pilot nodded, and Duo started to creep away, knowing that this was going to be one meeting he wanted NO part of. However, Aelan wasn’t about to let him off quite so easily.

"Duo?" The advisor asked calmly, "Can you get a hold of maintenance? They’ll need to repair my door…"

"I just can’t understand why you promised me that Trowa wouldn’t come under any danger, yet he was just about turned into jerky!" Catherine accused.

"I had not intended him to be." Aelan replied, "However, circumstances beyond my control interfered with that. I had not anticipated Kiron deciding to start a galactic war. I had not even KNOWN that a race called the Xerobim even existed. Such things happen, despite even the best of intentions."

Catherine understood Aelan’s logic, but it really didn’t help her feelings any. Trowa could have easily been KILLED, and the advisor of North Am was treating it like another day at the office.

"Cathy…" Trowa said quietly, obviously trying to keep in check some strong emotions. "I walked into that trap. I should have seen it coming. Don’t blame Aelan for my mistakes."

"The same can be said for me, Trowa. I should have expected that our nemesis would do everything possible to ensure he was not discovered." Aelan added. He obviously didn’t want Trowa to take full responsibility for what had happened.

"But, Cathy… you have to understand. If I had to, I’d walk right up to that door again, even if I KNEW it would blow up in my face. If bringing that monster to justice means that I have to get hurt, I’m more than willing to make that trade."

"BUT WHAT IF I’M NOT WILLING FOR YOU TO MAKE THAT TRADE?" Catherine wailed, her anger seamlessly melding into sorrow.

Aelan sighed. She was obviously too emotional at the moment to think things clearly, but it was more than understandable why she would be. "Trowa… why don’t you take some time off? You’ve deserved it."

"Advisor… I don’t think that’s wise. I mean you need all the manpower you can get…" Trowa declined, but was interrupted when Aelan raised his hand in front of Trowa’s face.

"I have all the manpower I need, Trowa. Besides, Amore’s been worried sick about you, but she can’t leave Mexico at the moment. Why don’t you two pay her a visit? I hear the highlands are absolutely entrancing this time of year."

"Aelan…" Trowa continued to protest.

"Not another word about it, Trowa. You’re going, and that is that."

Catherine looked absolutely smug as she nearly skipped out of Aelan’s office. Maybe he wasn’t such a bad person after all. "But damn… he can be so irritating and superior. I’m just glad I don’t have to deal with him every day." She muttered.

"I wouldn’t be too harsh to judge him, Cathy." Trowa replied. "He really does mean well."

"Well… if intent meant anything, this world would be a much better… OOF!" She hadn’t been looking at where she was going, and had run into one of the maintenance crewmen.

"I’m sorry, ma’am. Pardon me." He said softly, tipping his hat as he stepped aside. Catherine found herself staring at his face with unusual curiosity. His cheekbones and facial structure resembled Asian features, yet his thick goatee belied some European ancestry. His green eyes glared back, but Catherine was almost certain that she saw a thin violet circle around his irises.

He looked warily at Catherine, then proceeded quite hurriedly down the hall. Catherine shook her head, then glanced back at his rapidly retreating form. Trowa followed her line of vision, and asked, "Is something wrong?"

"No… Just something seemed peculiar about him, but I’m being so paranoid lately. Never mind, Trowa, let’s go."

Trowa nodded, but wasn’t as convinced. He made a mental note to inform Aelan of Catherine’s suspicions.

Meanwhile, the crewman cursed in a tongue that was not at all native to Earth. He had been careless. Hopefully he could finish his business here before it came back to haunt him. He simply didn’t have the time to make sure that the woman stayed silent.

"Oh well… I can always hunt her down later… just for fun."

The sun fell on North Am’s side of the world, and even the dutiful Aelan Marcus had left his office to call it a night. The man who called him the Disciple decided that now was the time to make his move.

As he strode down the halls to the system center, his mind continued to ponder the person who was the Advisor of North Am, most importantly, his orange eyes. It caused him to remember his last days on Zenala. Unlike most Zenalans, who had immediately accepted the explanation that the Zenalans appearing with such eye color was nothing more than a genetic mutation, he and several others had quickly discerned the truth, a truth that he now knew of as the Xerobim.

He had undergone his transformation to stop whatever the orange-eyed menace was, but somehow that idiot Calnus had discovered his plan. General Calnus… he might as well had been one of those orange-eyed freaks. It was unfortunate that Calnus was long dead. He had been hoping to settle the score with the leader of the Carean Clan.

His train of thought was derailed as he found himself facing the door to where North Am’s mainframes were housed. It was a simple matter of using his latent talents to bypass the security lock, and enter the large system room.

The next thirty minutes of his time was spent moving from mainframe to mainframe, trying to find the information he desired. The third mainframe from the wall farthest from the door caught his attention, but not for the reason he had hoped. It had to do with the fate of General Calnus, a fate that ended a lot later than he had expected.

The Disciple smirked, "Well, well… so you weren’t a traitor after all. You were merely a fool. I would say that I am glad you realized the truth eventually, but that point would be moot. You lost, after all."

Finally, his mind wrapped around what he wanted. A complete listing of the Xerobim’s movements, data on their immense worldships, as well as their current positions. He sighed; it had almost been too easy.

Now all he had to do was figure out how to implement his revenge on the Xerobim, but he found inspiration in the very next mainframe. Along with various irrelevant information, it contained diagnostics of several mobile suits, several of them residing in underground hangar bay that connected directly with the bottom floor of these offices.

The Disciple had to force himself not to laugh. This was simply TOO convenient. As a matter of fact, he could begin to deliver retribution on the Xerobim TONIGHT. Still trying to control himself, he started to leave the room.

Before he reached the doorway, however, the manager of the maintenance crew turned the corner. For a brief second, the man tried to figure out what was going on, and that brief second proved fatal. Before the manager could even ask a question, the Disciple’s hand closed around his throat, and in less time you could blink, he was dead.

The killer then drug the body into the system room, and closed the door. Whistling, he retrieved his mop and bucket, and proceeded to the lower floor of the offices.

The comm beeped obnoxiously. Aelan wondered if those units had a mechanism that knew when you were sleeping, so that it rang with an even more grating tone. Finally, with a grunt of resignation, he activated the communications unit.

"Advisor Marcus?" A voice asked, very anxiously. "Can you come down to the office?"

He glanced at the timepiece at his bedside, and asked, "Do you know what time it is? And who are you, anyway?"

"I’m Captain Miles Arquette of the New Richmond police. I would explain all that happened, but I think you should see it for yourself."

Aelan looked at the scene of destruction, trying to convince himself that it was all just some really sick nightmare. However, Relena quickly dissuaded that idea. "No, Aelan, you are awake, just like we all are."

"I want to know how he got in here." Aelan fumed. Once again, there was no doubt in the advisor’s mind as to who, or what, was responsible for this heinous act. "I want to know how he managed this." Aelan waved his hand around the scene to prove his point.

Labeling the underground hangar a disaster area would have been a nice way to put it. The pride of the North Am Elite Unit was totally in shambles, most likely the result of one of the terrorist’s special explosives. Worse yet, Commadore Eternal was missing. The log records, which had been miraculously salvaged, reported that the golden suit had been cleared for takeoff mere minutes before the bomb exploded.

The other Gundams however, were in various states of smithereens. The terrorist had been very thorough to make sure that NO ONE could, or even would, follow him.

From the top of the steps, Trowa’s voice called down, "I think I can answer the first question, Advisor."

The Heavyarms pilot joined his comrades in arms, and approached the site of the explosion. They didn’t need to be tech experts to know that they wouldn’t be flying for a while.

Trowa tore his gaze from the wreckage to address Aelan. "Catherine noticed one of the maintenance crew here seemed… peculiar. When I got to Mexico, I used Amore’s computers to figure out who it was."

Trowa handed Aelan a printout, containing a photograph and a short bio. "He claims his name to be Richard Imoto, and he was hired by the manager found in the mainframe housing on the 27^th. Attempts to contact him have turned up nothing."

"And they won’t turn up anything, either. This is him…" Aelan said, his anger slowly draining away. "We have a face, but it won’t do us any good now. He’s long gone, and with one of the most frightening weapons ever designed."

"Aelan!" was another shout from upstairs. It was Kiron this time. "I have some more bad news… and you aren’t going to like it one bit."

"Actually… this is somewhat expected. He has one of the galaxy’s most potent weapons. I’m just surprised he decided to take on the Xerobim." Aelan said.

"Well… the Xerobim are naturally not very pleased. The worldship that was attacked was one of their farming supply ships."

Heero nodded, "Not heavily defended, not much military capability. It was a very strategic choice. By cutting the Xerobim’s supplies… he makes them that much weaker. I still don’t see how he plans to win a one-man war with them though."

"Regardless… the Xerobim want you to do something about this, Aelan. They will be too busy trying to defend their own interests to begin a hunt for this creep." Kiron added.

"And I will…" Aelan sighed, "I’m just not too sure how, though."

"Can I offer my assistance?" Quatre called. He was leaning against the open door to Aelan’s office, but his posture belied the fact that he wasn’t too comfortable. "I can help hunt this man down… Sandrock is being sent here even as we speak."

Aelan shook his head, "Out of the question. Commadore Eternal would eat your suit for breakfast. No offense, but that is the way that I designed it. One and one, you wouldn’t stand much of a chance."

"I don’t see where you have any other options, Aelan." Quatre replied, "Nobody else in your unit is CAPABLE of taking that lunatic on, and mobilizing the Earth Sphere military will probably just get them killed."

"He’s right." Noin affirmed. "At the moment, Quatre and Sandrock are the only ones with any chance of bringing this terrorist down."

Finally, Aelan succumbed to majority opinion. "Very well… but we don’t make our move yet. We need to gather information on this man. Before I send you out on a manhunt, Quatre… I want you to have the best chance possible."

A runner emerged into the increasingly crowded office. "Advisor Marcus! We have the results of the full analysis you ordered!"

Aelan quickly jumped out of his chair, and snatched the datapad out of the messenger’s hand. "And we just got our first bit here…" He muttered as he scrolled through the data on the pad. "Most curious…"

Everyone has had the feeling of someone looking over their shoulder, so try to imagine EIGHT people all trying to do so at once. Aelan decided to remedy the situation, and so fed the data pad into his terminal’s holographic projector.

The assembly ran through the information that blazed into life on Aelan’s desk; first was a computer-generated image of what the man would look like based on DNA information. That only confirmed what everyone else had been suspecting, though. Add some facial hair, and you got the man who called himself Richard Imoto.

The results got interesting at it gave the actual DNA coding strains; Aelan remarked what was on everyone’s mind. "Metallic components actually have been FUSED into his genetic structure. No wonder initial tests came up inconclusive."

"He’s some form of twisted cyborg?" Wufei asked suspiciously.

"More complex than that, I am afraid. Cybernetic systems were actually spliced into his genetic code. I have never heard of such techniques before. As to what these segments are supposed to do, I honestly have no idea."

"Advisor?" Noin asked, "I think we need to get to the source of this problem."

"What do you suggest?"

"I would like to take some of our pilots here, and travel to Eden. I think it is due time we traced the origins of our friend here."

"Understood." Aelan nodded, "Form your investigation party, and inform me when you are about to leave."

Had Miliardo not flanked Noin on one side and Heero on the other, she would have been much more uncomfortable with the current situation in this… less than 5-star establishment. Sitting on a metallic padded stool in front of a long mahogany bar, she would have made a most interesting target for one of the less sober denizens of the club.

Fortunately, most of the patrons were turned away by the pair of rather gruff looking men at her side, and if the rest weren’t convinced by Miliardo’s angry glare, and the not-so-subtle placement of Heero’s pistol at his hip, they immediately were turned away when Noin looked at them. Her human features obviously didn’t strike too many welcome chords among the Edenite crowd.

As a matter of fact, the mood in the bar was starting to border on hostile, but this didn’t strike Noin as much of a surprise. Eden had taken quite a beating thanks to the emergence of Earth on the galactic scene, and most likely the people who had not been able to recover admirably like the other Edenites were probably in places like this one.

"Your friend is late." Heero mentioned matter-of-factly.

Noin quickly snorted in disgust, "He not MY friend. He’s Kiron’s. I guess Kiron decided that this man would have information useful to us."

At that moment, a somewhat raspy deep voice said, "I apologize for the delay, I trust that nothing… unfortunate has occurred while you waited."

The three turned to see a scruffy old man with a thin white beard, walking with a cane. The cane however, seemed pretty worthless, since he stood perfectly upright, and it didn’t seem that he had any problem with his legs. He smiled ever so deviously, then said, "My friend Koras said that you wanted to meet me."

"Kiron." Noin corrected.

"Ah yes, my OTHER friend. How has he been, anyway?"

Noin had to recall the script that Kiron had her memorize, for as she understood, this question held more bearing on future conversation than it seemed. "He’s… enjoying his little stay in hell."

The man frowned, then muttered, "Close enough… follow me." Sure enough, the cane proved to have no purpose as he slung the wooden staff over his shoulder, and proceeded to the corner of the bar farthest from the door. He motioned for the three to take a seat around the small table, and once they did said, shouted something in Edenite to the woman that was waitressing the tables. He seemed to make an order, for he promptly looked at them, and asked, "Would you like anything?"

The three shook their heads. Aelan had informed them of the potency most Edenite intoxicating beverages possessed. Miliardo had TRIED Evensberry Wine, supposedly a favorite of Aelan’s at one time, and promptly had a hangover for three days.

"All right." He replied, then muttering something about not knowing what they were missing shooed the waitress away. There was an awkward silence as the waitress returned with a bubbling amber liquid, which the strange informant took greedily, and promptly drank half without so much as even taking a breath.

"Ah… nothing like a good Warus Brain Eraser to get the body working." He said in satisfaction, and then finally got down to business, "So… Kiron didn’t tell me exactly what you three are doing here. All I can guess is that he is as crazy as I remember. I mean, sending three humans into an area where humans aren’t the most welcome tourist."

"Don’t concern yourself with us, because we really don’t have much time. We need to find as much information as we possibly can about a man named Annus." Noin stated simply.

"Annus?" The informant shrugged flippantly, "He’s dead."

"We know that. Supposedly you know where he lived, out of sight of the Edenite Tenant Council."

"I might have, at one time." He said warily.

"Well… we need to know where. We are on an investigation of the UTMOST importance." Miliardo cut in.

"Why should your investigation hold any importance to me? As if I care what happens on Earth."

At that point, Heero spoke. "I can erase your current criminal record if you assist us."

The grizzled man stopped short. THAT definitely got his attention. "Pardon me for asking, but how do you, a mere human, intend to erase my record from the Edenite Disciplinary Center’s computers?"

Noin and Miliardo watched in shock as Heero continued the negotiation. "In my time spent with the Advisor to North Am, Aelan Marcus, I’ve learned a great deal, one of those being the inherent flaws in Edenite computer systems. One doesn’t need to be an Edenite to know how to exploit them."

Miliardo looked at Noin questioningly, and she shrugged. She had no idea what Heero was doing either. However, the ploy seemed to work, "All right… you erase my record, I’ll show you where Annus hid out."

Heero was unflappable. "I’ll erase your record when we get there. No doubt Annus kept a computer terminal at his hideout."

"Yes… that he did." The man answered, "Very well… we leave immediately. Annus’s little love shack isn’t very far from here." He stood, and motioned for them to follow again, this time outside the establishment.

As they approached a rather beat up hover vehicle, Noin asked Heero, "Where on Earth did you get the idea to make that little offer?"

Heero paused to allow Noin entry into the back seat of the hovering craft, and said matter-of-factly, "I had a meeting with Aelan before we left. He correctly assumed that our informant would most likely have a less than savory reputation, so he quickly taught me how to hack into the Disciplinary Center’s computer system with exactly THIS scenario in mind."

Heero then motioned for Miliardo to join Noin in the rear of the vehicle, and Heero then took his position in the front passenger side. As the vehicle began to accelerate, Noin muttered, "So much for by-the-book Aelan. I am now convinced that there are NO certain things in this universe."

"Well, here it is." The grizzled informant said as he forced open the rusted door after descending what seemed like forever underground. "Annus spent most of his time in his little rebellion center, so I can’t say that this little place is in the best of shape."

The three stepped through the doorway and agreed, it was a mess. Clothes were strewn all over the floor, what appeared to be packages of food, some of the containers still open, were laying upside down, or on their sides near a small table that Annus must have used for eating.

However, luck did seem to be smiling down on them in one respect. A fully powered computer terminal stood in the corner of the central living area. As Noin and Miliardo proceeded to explore the rest of the habitat, Heero took his place in front of the computer.

"And you can erase my criminal record, right?" The informant asked pleadingly.

"We’ll see." Heero answered, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a small flat disk, which he promptly connected to the back of the console unit.

"What is that?"

"A remote network card. This way I can access the Disciplinary Committee’s computers." Heero’s fingers flew over the keypad, remembering the exact procedure that Aelan had taught him. Fortunately, Heero had managed to learn some of the Edenite language so that he could program commands for unexpected barriers.

Finally, he was inside the system itself. "I’ll need your name, sir." Heero replied.

"Hran Kubleta."

Heero typed in the name, and his eyes perused the information that was sent back. It appeared that Hran hadn’t done anything illegal since Kiron had freed him from Hell. That could explain his desire to get the previous record erased. "All right…" Heero said as he typed in the final command, "You are clear."

"Thank you." Hran replied, "How much longer do you plan to be?"

"Hopefully, not much longer." Heero answered, his task now analyzing the data on this terminal. With no further need for the network module, he removed it, and placed it back in his pocket. Meanwhile, he continued to search the console memory for anything that could be of use.

Fortunately, he found what he was looking for rather quickly. There was two log entries that seemed to have what he was looking for.

Heero grimaced, "Okay… so now we know WHAT he was looking for, but we don’t know where."

"Actually, yes we do, Heero." Noin smirked as she returned to the main living space. In her hand were various maps and notes that Annus no doubt used to locate the chamber in his logs. "Looks like we’ve got another trip to make, my friends."

"Oh, no." Hran declined when the three looked his way, "I’ve done what you wanted me to do…"

Heero raised an eyebrow, and motioned to the console, "I can replace these records I deleted if you want me to."

Hran threw up his hands, "Well, well… let’s not get hasty here… I… I’m sure we can… work something out…"

"Good." Heero replied. He realized that even Edenites had the same flaws as humans; tell them what they want, or don’t want, to hear and they are almost putty in your hands.

Miliardo knew from his geography studies that not all on Earth deserts were hot, and the planet of Eden was no exception. The Carean Desert was absolutely frigid. Luckily, their impromptu guide warned them of this fact beforehand. He pulled his thick insulated parka closer around his body in a vain attempt to keep his heat near him.

Noin was snuggled against his side, shivering, and Miliardo decided quickly that the place wasn’t ALL-bad. As he went about keeping his special Admiral warm, Heero and Hran pored over the maps, trying to pinpoint the exact location that Annus had pinpointed.

Heero then suddenly pointed out over Hran, his keen eyes focusing on something that they seemed to have missed the first time around. As the hovercar neared the destination Heero had pointed to, the telltale signs of a large depression became visible, a depression that quickly belied a deep chasm into the earth below.

"Are you certain this is it?" Hran asked skeptically as Heero jumped out of the vehicle. Heero glanced at the materials in his hand, then down at the chasm again. "It seems to fit the criteria, and there doesn’t seem to be any other areas that would even be candidates."

Noin quickly slid out of the hovercar, Miliardo following suit. While running in place, Noin commented, "I really don’t care at the moment, all I know is that it HAS to be warmer in there than it is out here."

Noin was right, if only that the cave was out of the blistering wind of the desert. As they proceeded down some carefully, albeit worn, circular steps, there became very little doubt that this was the place they were looking for.

Soon, the crystal cavern started to change. Electrical wires began to wind themselves around the now metallic steps. It was evident that people were here recently, since there were pieces of technology that definitely belonged to the most recent period of time.

When they rounded the next bend, the scene played out for them as the chasm wall spread out into a large domed room. A long clay table, obviously very old, was in the center surrounded by various technological devices but ancient and modern.

Heero quickly began looking over the ancient units, and marveled over the fact that they were still active. "Incredible, this equipment HAS to be from the time of Eden’s clans."

"Think about it Heero. Remember Calnus? Edenite technology was obviously built to last." Miliardo commented. At the same time, Noin shrieked, and in jumping back crashed into Hran. The four then found themselves gazing at what must have been a replay of the final scenes that the antiquated computers had recorded.

There was no sound to the display, but the picture was eerily vivid. The man that had been identified as Richard Imoto, or more appropriately Ryere Imoten, was on the same table that the four were standing (or laying) around. However, he seemed to have no arms.

Heero turned to one of the Edenite computers that Annus must have placed in his exploration of the site as the others continued to watch. There was a sudden break-in, and a figure that Noin INSTANTLY recognized as General Calnus emerged into view. There was a brief scuffle, and in the end, Calnus seemed to do something that deactivated the systems in the chamber. From there, the general left and the screen went black again.

"I don’t get it." Noin commented, "If Calnus stopped this project… how could it still be active?"

Heero was quick with the answer. "According to this, Calnus was unaware of the backup systems that re-activated after he had left. However, it also appears that Calnus made sure NO ONE in this chamber was left alive."

"So… this man just sat… incomplete… for over 300,000 years, when Annus finally found him, and finished the job." Miliardo finished.

"It appears that way." Heero agreed, "I do believe we have found what we are looking for. A lot of what this Ryere Imoten did is starting to make a lot of sense now. Let’s report to Aelan as soon as possible."

"A man who can actually fuse himself with ANY technology?" Aelan asked unbelievingly.

Duo quickly piped up. "Well… you yourself have seen how fast he was able to use our computer system. It was like he knew your system intimately."

"The question is, how do we defend ourselves from a monster who can actually use technology like we can interact with our surroundings?" Trowa asked. "And with a man like that in control of Commadore…"

At that moment, the assembly noticed Aelan had propped his hand on his chin, his eyes furrowed as if he was thinking. Everyone knew what that meant, when Aelan was thinking, some most cunning plan usually followed.

And the Advisor didn’t disappoint. "Ladies and Gentlemen, I do believe that I have come up with a way to beat this freak of nature…"

"Just remember, don’t worry about getting in a duel with Commadore. It’s simply suicide." Aelan warned Quatre as they went over final preparations for Sandrock.

"As it stands, he’ll probably just lock on one of those Matter Cannons, and it’ll be game over before you even get on the scene." Duo commented.

Aelan shook his head in disagreement, but whether it was because he truly didn’t agree with Duo’s assessment, or was just trying to keep Quatre calm and focused, was anyone’s guess. "The Matter Cannons take considerable time to charge, even the upgraded Beta Class cannons Commadore uses. Quatre will have long enough to get in, drop his little gift, and get out."

Trowa and Wufei stood silent, but Quatre knew that they both wished him the best. Aelan then motioned for everyone else to follow, but not before commenting, "Be ready at ANY time. Once Commadore has been located, we’re gonna fold you right to the battleground."

"Right." Quatre replied determinedly.

As Quatre’s comrades started to leave, another person was approaching. "QUATRE!" Catherine’s voice shouted.

Trowa smirked as he followed Aelan and the others, but not before giving Quatre a word of warning. "Stay alert. Cathy has a wicked right cross." He then rubbed his left cheek for effect.

Catherine reached Quatre’s position just as his other visitors hit the stairs. "What are you planning on doing, Quatre?" She demanded.

"We have a plan to stop the monster who’s attacking the Xerobim." Quatre explained.

"Let the Xerobim handle it then! Why does it concern you?"

"Catherine… I can’t just sit back, knowing that there is some maniac blasting away innocent people, alien or not. If I can stop him, I’m going to do it."

"Is this about some guilt trip you’re having?" Catherine accused, "You said yourself that you wanted to be in Trowa’s place. Is this some sick idea of payback, of making up for some imagined oversight on your part?"

Quatre shook his head in denial. "I may be a businessman, but I am a Gundam pilot, a soldier, at heart. As much business I do, my true destiny lies in Sandrock."

"GOD!" Catherine screamed, "Just when I thought one of you was starting to make some sense!"

Quatre somehow sensed what was going to happen next. Catherine tensed, and Quatre took that as ample warning to begin to lean to his right…

And leaned right into her left fist.

Catherine smiled as Quatre rubbed his jaw. "Trowa was right… you CAN hit…"

She looked quite smug, and replied, "I figured Trowa would have warned you. You guys should realize I’m smarter than I look." She sighed, and said in resignation, "You’re just like Trowa. Nothing I can say is gonna change your mind about fighting. Just come back alive."

"I’ll definitely try."

"You will… or I’ll KILL YOU." Catherine threatened.

Quatre found himself pondering the warning then started to chuckle in spite of himself. Catherine, catching on a mere second later, began to join him. Finally, she turned away, and said, "Good luck…" After that, she ran back to the stairs.

Meanwhile, she prayed silently, "God… don’t have let him see me crying…"

It was a much more composed Catherine that stepped into the sensor station just above the hangar bays. Nonetheless, Trowa caught on quickly to his sister’s rampant emotions. "Worried about our friendly multibillionaire?" He asked teasingly.

The lithe circus performer flushed, even as her lips were in flat denial, "OF COURSE NOT! I just know how much he means to you, Trowa."

Not even Wufei was fooled, "What a weak woman, getting all hung up on someone the way you are."

Evidently, Catherine wasn’t in much of a mood for Wufei’s posturing. She approached him, glaring even as he looked back almost condescendingly. With a swift motion, her hand zipped right between his legs, gently clutching Wufei’s most prized possession.

"Okay, you chauvinist pig." Catherine said softly yet commandingly, "You make one more snide comment about women, or even people in general, and I will take the contents of my hand, and force them down your throat." She paused momentarily before adding, "Do I make myself clear?"

Wufei was too in shock to respond with any witty comeback, and it was probably for the best. As it was, he could only manage to squeak, "Yes ma’am."

"Good." With that, she released her hold, and Wufei exhaled as if he had not breathed during the entire exchange. Trowa merely laughed, one of only a handful of times Catherine could remember him doing so. Through all that, they almost missed Aelan’s declaration.

"We’ve located Commadore! Get ready Quatre, we’re generating the fold in 5 seconds!"

As Aelan counted down, Quatre focused on the mission at hand. This time, no one else was going to take the heat. This time, Quatre was going to take matters into his own hands…

He could feel the sudden change in force upon his body as he left the fold, and appeared in deep space. It took him just a mere moment to react to the battle sensors screaming out Commadore’s location, and that mere moment proved crucial.

In that seemingly infinitesimal amount of time, the man named Ryere was able to react, dodging out of a swift attack by Sandrock. By the time Quatre had righted himself for another pass, Commadore’s matter cannons had already found a lock.

Quatre could just imagine the state of mass panic occurring back in North Am. Aelan would try to pacify the situation while Catherine would refuse to calm herself, all the while the Advisor trying to hatch a counter-strategy in the tenths of seconds remaining.

"NO! I have to do something now! I can’t rely on Aelan to bail me out of this one!" Quatre hissed to himself, then quickly patched into his comm-unit to Commadore. "What’s the matter, you freak? Afraid to take me on hand-to-hand?"

Quatre hoped his gambit worked as it appeared that his opponent was gauging the scenario. Perhaps striking a cord in his nemesis’ pride was just the thing he needed to succeed.

Finally, the man piloting Commadore replied, "No, I’m not afraid. I’m just not stupid."

Quatre nearly cursed despite his polite upbringing. He needed to do something drastic and unexpected, something that Ryere wasn’t betting on. Then he got just the idea he was looking for. Ramming his throttle to full speed, he charged directly at Commadore.

Quatre’s last ditch effort worked like a charm. Taken aback by what looked like a suicide move gave even Ryere a moment’s pause, and that was all time Quatre needed to tag his target, just nicking Commadore as it tried to whirl away.

Commadore’s pilot chuckled, and replied, "Nice try, but I’m afraid it’s all over."

"You’re right, Ryere Imoten. It’s all over." Quatre replied, just as cocky.

There was another pause as the Disciple processed what Quatre had said, "How did you know the named I used to possess? Doesn’t matter, I suppose, since you might as well be vapor."

With that, he pulled the trigger, and nothing happened. Sandrock still stood in space. Confused, he tried to run a diagnostic, but his display panel suddenly went black. Reaching into the computerized components with his consciousness, he tried to figure out what was going on himself, yet all the connections to the cockpit seemed severed. Finally, after closer inspection, he discovered the culprit.

Tiny machines, separate from the systems in Commadore, had eaten through the connectors that fed all control to the cockpit. But how had those miniature devices gotten on board? Diagnostic sweeps should have located them…

"That attack… those things MUST have been on Sandrock! When he grazed me, those devices were transferred over! This is that freak advisor’s doing!"

Sandrock approached to take him into custody, but the Disciple found one last option. He hit the ejection command for the cockpit. With a burst of compressed air and the ignition of rockets, the cockpit burst from the suit proper.

Before Sandrock had a chance to react to this most recent action, the Disciple took his chance to remotely activate a nearby fold relay point, and make his escape.

Aelan nearly smashed the console when he brought his hand down on the console. "Damn it… I should have figured he’d find the eject system. It’s the only component that is contained inside the cockpit only."

"So… he got away again?" Catherine asked.

"Yes, Catherine, he got away again…" Aelan’s voice had the tone of a tired man, however, he managed to correct this before communicating with Quatre again, "Quatre, you might as well return."

"Advisor, I might be able to track down where he went by accessing the Fold Relay History." Quatre protested.

"He’ll be on to that plan, Quatre. No doubt he’s already jumping into another fold route as we speak. Don’t worry… it’s his move now. He’ll take another shot at us before this is all over."

The Disciple watched dutifully as the employees of the North Am Advisor Office stepped out, leaving the building mostly abandoned. Mostly in that, like all other days, the Advisor stayed late.

"Now is the time I assist you in leaving this mortal coil, you half-breed freak." He hissed. Advisor Aelan Marcus had embarrassed him for the last time. Rushing quickly the building wall, avoiding the sweeping surveillance in the process. From there, he applied some of his climbing tools, and scaled the brick all the way to the top floor, to where he had identified the Advisor’s office.

With a violent blow, he punched through the glass, and lept into the room, rolling to his feet across the desk from Aelan Marcus. The advisor was turned away from him, facing the now destroyed window.

"What took you, Ryere? I was wondering if you were EVER going to make your move." Aelan said almost mockingly.

"Silence, you accursed spawn of the Xerobim." He hissed, "I do not want to hear your voice. You have made a fool out of me for the LAST time, Aelan Marcus." With that proclamation, he drew his weapon to bear on the Advisor. Despite the advisor’s cockiness, there was not a thing the half-breed could do. If the Disciple saw even the slightest motion, it would merely accelerate his plans.

"Yes… it appears you have me at a disadvantage." Aelan replied, spinning around to face his attacker. "That is, if I was Aelan." The advisor looked like he was starting to melt, then his features expanded, filling the chair until a chameleon like creature filled the small piece of furniture.

The Disciple had a moment’s pause… "You…" He hissed, lunging towards the being that represented the start of his holy war, only to be suddenly shocked painfully. He staggered backward, and ran into a similar field behind him. At that same moment, the true Aelan Marcus appeared from the side offices, and the North Am Elite Unit barged in from the reception area.

The Xerobim stood as his nemesis poked at the field that he had now discovered totally surrounded him. In a reptilian rasp, the Xerobim said, "Aelan anticipated you’d be after him. This field was constructed to be very… reactive to your genetic… altercations."

"You damn MUTT!" The Disciple hissed, "You don’t even have the courage to kill me!"

"I want to know who sent you. I know it wasn’t Annus. I want to know who is pulling your strings, Ryere Imoten." Aelan said, "Why are you so determined on destroying the Xerobim?"

"Ryere Imoten is no more. There is only the Disciple!"

"If you are the Disciple, then who is the master you serve? What is his or her purpose? If you tell me, I promise that I will accommodate you in any way I can."

"I will tell you NOTHING! You will have to KILL ME!"

Aelan shook his head. "That is unfortunate. You see… you can either wait there, or tell me what I want to know. Perhaps I should send you back to your little birthplace to think my offer over."

"You go right ahead! I will hunt you down, with this accursed field surround me or not! I will wait as long as I have to, you will learn nothing from me."

"So be it." Aelan sighed. "Heero, prepare our Disciple’s lair for his containment. Make sure that there is NO technology in that cave that he could use. He can stew here until you are ready."

Heero nodded, and left to carry out Aelan’s order. The advisor then addressed the Disciple yet again, "Just remember this while you think about what I am willing to offer you. 300,000 years is an AWFULLY long time…"

The Disciple fumed with an immortal, demonic hatred. Finally, he made up his mind. He would NOT be made an object of ridicule of some… mutt! With a scream of rage, he threw himself full force into the field in front of him.

The assembled people in the office turned their heads away as the field exploded in a burst of light and sparks. It continued for almost a minute, and when it finally ended, there was nothing more but a pile of deep gray ash that was once arguably the most powerful and terrifying Zenalan to ever live.

Duo whistled in awe. "He was more willing to kill himself than tell you what you wanted to know. THAT takes some balls."

Aelan exhaled, then finally replied, "I’m not sure I even WANTED to know the story that brought about someone that sick and twisted." He ran his eyes around the people around him, the ones that had made bringing an end to this menace possible. "Hey… shouldn’t you all get some sleep. We have another busy day tomorrow."

Never before had he seen that group more in agreement.

"Are you sure this is what you wanted to do?" Noin asked. Talor himself looked on curiously, but knew that his son was doing what he felt he must.

Aelan nodded as he continued putting up the various security lockdowns that he had been planning. "I designed Commadore as a weapon, a very powerful weapon that at the time was vital to the success and defense of the Earth. However, its usefulness has come to an end somewhat. It became a dangerous tool that too easily fell into the wrong hands. For this I am responsible."

Finally, he tapped in the last command, and Commadore was locked down in a security net unlike anything imagined. Multiple physical and software barriers now stood between mankind, and its most powerful device of destruction. "I will not be responsible for this again. If Commadore is EVER to be used again, we will need authorization from all three of us. If one of us is unavailable, Kiron DOES have the necessary codes to override one of the lockdown measures."

As he walked away from the suit that had come in many ways to reflect his own aggressive nature, although not entirely bad, he felt a small sense of relief, "Hopefully, I will NEVER have to use such a demon ever again."

"Quatre!" Catherine shouted as she finally caught up to the young man. He had almost stepped into the shuttle that had arrived to take him back to the colonies.

He turned to face her, and muttered, "Catherine… I figured you’d be busy, so…"

She flushed slightly, "Yeah… well… I was, but still…" She took a deep breath then said softly, "Just… don’t be a stranger, okay?" Her heart was screaming at her to say everything that she meant to, but her mind and body wasn’t cooperating.

He managed a slight, nervous smile, and replied. "Yeah… I’ll do that."

Catherine then stepped away from the staircase leading to the shuttle entrance, and allowed Quatre to enter. The spacecraft then taxied onto the runway, and like a shot, zipped up the ramp into space. Somehow, Catherine couldn’t help but think she was letting something slip through her fingers. Even though he promised to stay in touch, she just couldn’t stop the tears from flowing down her cheeks.