Author's Notes: Hello there! Been quite a while since I've updated this one. I'll admit, it kind of slid to the backburner while I was working on my other two fics, not to mention dealing with life. I was and still am working on it a little bit each day, but compared to the other two stories this one's definitely going at a slower pace. Permit me a few quick words, and then I'll get out of your hair.

As I've worked on my three stories, I've come to notice a difference between this one and the other two that goes deeper than source material or genre. My Gundam Wing/SEED series and Bleach/Naruto story both have a much more rigid structure. This might not be apparent at first glance, and what I really mean is that my plans for them are much more detailed, meaning I'm actually not leaving myself much room for experimentation and whimsy. By contrast, this one's much more open; I've got a broad general outline that I'm following, but I've allowed myself much greater freedom to indulge in wilder ideas and impulses that I wouldn't allow in my other two stories. Writing is my joy regardless of the story I'm working on, but this one is by far my most liberated work, the one where I let my crazy mind run wild and cast my inhibitions aside. I always say that I write purely for fun, and I think this particular fic has actually come to embody that more than either of the others.

TL; DR? I'm indulging myself with this story, casting inhibitions aside and going with my own eccentric flow. If you don't like it, there's the door, don't let it hit you on the way out. All right, I think that's enough from me. If you're still here, then you know what you're in for.

Enjoy!

Chapter Eighteen: No Need For Shootouts And Swordfights!

February 12th, A.C. 199

"Exiting FTL in three…two…one…now!" Kiyone called out.

Standing behind her chair, fully armed and armored, Heero looked out the main cockpit viewport as space suddenly shifted in a dazzling and disorienting lightshow before it became a much more conventional star-scape. The system they found themselves in didn't like anything particularly special, although since the Preventers operative only had experience with his own solar system it wasn't like he had much to compare it to. According to the information on the monitor, its sun was a yellow dwarf much like Earth's, and apart from the planet where the repository was located the only other stellar bodies were a few small clumps of asteroids, a couple comets at the outer edge of the system, and three gas giants surrounded by clusters of moons.

"No other ships detected in the area," chirped Mihoshi from the co-pilot seat, "Looks like we're in the clear!"

"Keep an eye on the scanners," Kiyone replied, "For all we know, Kagato could be hiding by one of the gas giants; those moons offer plenty of cover."

Mihoshi nodded. "Got it."

Heero glanced over at Washu, who was standing behind Mihoshi's chair. "How close do you want us to get before we launch Ryo-Ohki?"

Washu's eyes narrowed. "It'd be best to launch from out here. I don't think I put any heavy anti-ship artillery out here, but I can't say for certain. Better to be safe than sorry."

Heero nodded. "In that case, I'd better go join the others. I'll signal when the LZ's clear."

"Watch yourself down there," said Washu, looking genuinely worried, "That armor's the best you can ask for, but remember; you're not invincible. Don't get too reckless."

"Copy that," said Heero as he turned to leave the bridge.

"Heero," said Kiyone with a nod and tense smile, "good luck."

"Stay safe down there!" Mihoshi added.

"No promises," Heero dryly quipped as the door shut behind him.

It only took him a minute or two to make it to the rest of the lead team. His fellow former Gundam pilots, Yosho, and Ryoko were all standing in a corridor just outside the patrol cruiser's portside airlock. Within the airlock itself, sealed off from the others, was Ryo-Ohki.

"Washu wants us to deploy from here," said Heero, "Are you sure Ryo-Ohki can do this?"

Ryoko smirked. "Please, Heero, give her some credit. She's got this."

The pirate then turned to her adorable living starship on the other side of the window in the sealed door. "You ready, Ryo-Ohki?"

"Meow!" she cried confidently.

Ryoko nodded as her hand hovered over a keypad mounted on the wall. "All right, then. Three… two… one… go!"

She hit a crimson button on the pad, and the exterior airlock door opened up. Ryo-Ohki was thrown right out of the ship, and the moment she was clear the cabbit swiftly transformed into the crystalline vessel that had become the terror of trade lanes crisscrossing the galaxy.

Ryoko grinned. "Looking good, Ryo-Ohki! Bring us aboard!"

A brilliant red light emanated from the living starship, and a moment later Heero and his companions found themselves inside Ryo-Ohki. It had been a long time since Heero had seen her interior, and he saw his friends looking around in wonder. Given just how unlike any conventional ship Ryo-Ohki was, he couldn't blame them. There was no metal plating here; just like the exterior, the interior of Ryo-Ohki was akin to carved crystal, with smooth and shimmering black and grey surfaces. Ryoko stood in the center, her hands hovering over two hemispheres built into a raised podium; the ship's equivalent of a control console.

"Okay," she said, looking over her shoulder, "You guys ready for some fun?"

"Where do we strap in?" asked Quatre as he looked around nervously.

"I'm not seeing any chairs," Trowa noted, "or restraints."

Wufei chuckled. "This should be interesting."

Duo laughed nervously. "Yeah, that's one way to put it!"

Yosho calmly sat down on the floor, looking almost like he was meditating save for the confident smirk on his face. "Ah, how exciting… I almost feel young again."

On the Head's Up Display of Heero's helmet, a miniaturized version of AIDA appeared; per Washu's request, he'd installed her primary chip in his armor so she could provide direct field support. "Oh, I can't wait to get started! My first trip out of the lab!"

"Stay focused," Heero muttered.

AIDA winked and bowed. "As you wish, Your Highness!"

"Don't call me that," he growled.

He then stepped forward, joining Ryoko at the console. "I think we're set. Waiting on you… Captain Ryoko."

The pirate giggled. "Captain, eh? It's got a nice ring to it, but I prefer 'Ryoko' from you, hotshot!"

Heero nodded, a small smile forming beneath his helmet. "Very well, then. Let's go, Ryoko. We're counting on you."

Ryoko gave him a devilish grin. "You got it, Heero. Hit it, Ryo-Ohki!"

"Meow!" the living starship cried out.

Ryo-Ohki rocketed forward, accelerating to insane speeds that no ESUN vessel could ever hope to match. The Yagami was soon nothing more than a crimson speck in the distance, and eventually it disappeared entirely. Meanwhile, the planet where the repository was located steadily increased in size as they approached.

With nothing to brace themselves on, one would've thought that Heero's friends would be thrown about all over the place. That wasn't the case, though; he didn't understand the science behind it, but whatever Washu had done when creating Ryo-Ohki apparently included some sort of advanced inertia compensation system. They could feel the acceleration, but the impact it had on them was significantly reduced. Of course, the fact that they were still in outer space as opposed to flying in a planet's atmosphere helped considerably.

Duo whistled as he observed their progress. "Hot damn, this girl can move!"

"That'd be a considerable understatement," Trowa quipped dryly.

Quatre smiled. "At this rate, we'll be at the repository in no time!"

Wufei rolled his eyes. "I really hope you didn't just jinx us there."

"What will be, will be," said Yosho calmly.

"How's it look?" asked Heero.

Ryoko's brow was furrowed in concentration as the planet before them grew larger by the second. "So far, so good. Wait a sec… shit! Hang on to something!"

Ryo-Ohki veered sharply to starboard, and not a moment too soon; a pair of massive crimson energy beams came up from the planet's surface, slicing right through the space that had been occupied by the living starship just moments ago. Heero was able to brace himself against the console, but the speed of the sudden turn had been such that even Ryo-Ohki's advanced internal gravity systems weren't completely able to compensate, and the other passengers were tossed about like ragdolls.

"A little more warning next time, please?" Duo groaned after falling flat on his ass.

"What was that?" cried Quatre, having been flung against one of the walls.

"Heavy anti-ship artillery," Ryoko curtly answered, "Don't bother trying to stand up for a while; it's time for Ryo-Ohki to dance!"

"Great," Trowa muttered.

Wufei chuckled. "This is where the fun begins."

"An interesting word choice for this situation," Yosho mused aloud.

Looking over Ryoko's shoulder, Heero tried to make sense of the display. "How much firepower are we dealing with?"

"Based on the readings, just one of those beams would've been enough blow the Yagami to pieces," Ryoko replied, "I'll need to get closer to figure out how many guns are down there. I really wish Washu hadn't deleted her memories about the defenses this place has."

"That makes two of us," Heero quipped, "You got this?"

Ryoko smirked. "You kidding? Sit back and enjoy the ride!"

There wasn't much else Heero could do; he sure as hell didn't know how to fly Ryo-Ohki. From one pilot to another, he had to admire Ryoko's instinctive grasp of her ship as she took Ryo-Ohki through a series of maneuvers that Heero wouldn't have imagined a vessel of this size would be capable of. The pirate hadn't been kidding; the living starship was dancing across the stars, twisting and turning to a mad rhythm that only Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki knew, but it was clearly one that they knew well.

Another pair of crimson beams illuminated the space around them, but once again Ryoko's piloting and Ryo-Ohki's speed were enough to keep them from taking a direct hit. Before Heero knew it, the ship was already in the planet's upper atmosphere, and the vessel began to shudder as it started its descent.

"Atmospheric entry friction will limit our maneuverability," Heero pointed out.

Ryoko nodded. "Way ahead of you. Ryo-Ohki, throw everything you've got into the forward shields! We'll have to tank those shots until our descent's complete."

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki.

Apparently, that command had come not a moment too soon; mere seconds later the ship rocked violently as the next salvo of crimson beams hit Ryo-Ohki head-on. Bracing himself against the console, Heero saw Ryoko's gaze narrow as she focused on the task at hand.

"Come on, girl," she muttered, "Power through this stretch, and we'll hit them back twice as hard."

Precious seconds went by as the ship continued its descent, and Heero was sure the guns below were charging up their next attack. On the forward viewscreen, he saw a thick curtain of clouds ahead, and the ship punched through them a moment later. Before them was the lake from the briefing, its blue-green water shimmering as it caught bits of sunlight that slipped through the clouds. The inland body of water was surrounded by trees almost as far as the eye could see, with one notable exception.

The repository.

The holographic representation from the meeting failed to do it justice. The six triangular outer frames were massive in scope; just eyeballing it, Heero estimated their peaks to reach roughly five-hundred meters in height. They and the main housing structure that stretched back into the cliffside gleamed as they caught the rays of sunlight, a silver structure whose deceptively simple geometry belied the incredibly advanced technology that lay buried within.

As fascinating as the outer structure was, Heero was far more concerned with locating the cannons that were taking shots at them. It only took a moment for him to do so; they were flanking the repository itself, two hemisphere mounts each with a tuning-fork emitter, crimson sparks energy crackling around them.

"There we go," said Ryoko, "Remind me to chew out Washu later for erasing her memories of these bad boys."

"Can Ryo-Ohki take them?" asked Heero.

Ryoko grinned. "Hell, yes! Ryo-Ohki; blast 'em!"

"Meow!" cried the living starship, clearly eager for some payback.

The sky once again filled with crimson death, but this time the beams came from Ryo-Ohki rather than the anti-ship guns. The two surface emplacements were torn apart by the salvo, quickly reduced to charred and smoking husks.

"Not as durable as I thought they'd be," Heero murmured.

Ryoko shrugged. "Hey, take the wins when you can get 'em."

Heero nodded. "Good point. Don't set us down yet. Sweep the area and check for any more surprises first."

"You got it," Ryoko replied.

The ship pulled out of its dive and circled over the lake. Heero was fully expecting fresh volleys of anti-air fire to begin pouring from weapons hidden in the forest surrounding the lake, but much to his surprise nothing of the sort happened; apparently the two guns flanking the entrance of the repository were the only heavy artillery Washu had set up. After several minutes of crisscrossing the area, he was reasonably sure that they were in the clear.

"If she had anything else here, it would've taken a shot by now," he said.

Ryoko nodded. "You're right. I'll get us over the forward platform. Get in the middle of the room and let me know when you're ready to drop."

Heero turned to the others. They all seemed to be in one piece, although they were struggling to find their footing. He went to the center just as Ryoko had ordered and motioned for the others to join him.

"Nice to see you're keeping your cool," AIDA remarked.

"Aerial insertions under fire aren't new to me," Heero replied, "This might be the other side of the galaxy, but tactically the situation isn't exactly foreign to me."

"Good," said the artificial intelligence, "but stay on your toes. Once we're inside, it might end up being a completely different ballgame."

"Hey, Heero," said Duo from behind him, "Has she always flow like that?"

Heero shrugged. "This is only the second time I've been her passenger… third if you count me riding down on her outer hull in the Tallgeese III. She's done all right so far."

"Not the way I'd put it," Trowa muttered.

"She's as reckless as us," said Wufei.

Quatre chuckled. "No kidding."

Yosho smirked. "A memorable ride, to say the least. I'd forgotten how exciting flying while under fire could be."

"If that's what you define as a good time, then you've spent too much time at your shrine," said Heero before turning back to Ryoko, "Send us down. Once we've swept the LZ, I'll call you down."

Ryoko nodded. "Got it. Dropping… now!"

The group was bathed in red light, and a moment later the interior of Ryo-Ohki was replaced with the repository's landing pad. His rifle instantly at the ready, Heero dropped to one knee as he sighted down the scope. The other four Gundam pilots mirrored him, with the five of them arrayed for full 360-degree coverage. No threats were readily apparent, and at the center of their formation Yosho seemed more amused than anything else.

"An old warrior and a young fireteam," he mused aloud, "What a strange sight we must make."

Heero wasn't about to argue with that. "Ryoko, I think we're clear. Come on down."

"Be there in a sec," she said, "What do you want me to do with Ryo-Ohki?"

"Put her on combat air patrol," Heero answered, "If anyone tries to drop in behind us, she's our first line of defense and our quick getaway ride."

"Copy that," Ryoko replied, "I'll let her know what she has to do, then I'll be right on down."

"Someone's acting oddly soldier-like today," AIDA mused aloud as the pirate signed off, "You're rubbing off on her, Heero."

"If you've got time for commentary, then you've got time for work," Heero chided her, "Can you get me a line with the Yagami?"

"Of course," said AIDA, "Establishing connection… you're live."

Kiyone was on the line before Heero could get a word out. "How's it going down there? We picked up some pretty big energy spikes from the planet when you were making your approach."

"That'd be the heavy anti-ship artillery Washu appears to have erased from her memories of this place," Heero dryly quipped.

Fresh concern was evident in Kiyone's voice. "Are you all okay?"

"We're fine," said Heero, "Ryo-Ohki took out the guns. We have complete air superiority over the repository. You're clear to bring in the Yagami."

"Understood," said Kiyone, "We're on our way. Yagami, out."

There was a flash of red behind him, and Heero saw Ryoko appear on the landing pad a moment later. Ryo-Ohki quickly gained altitude, but she didn't completely leave Heero's sight, instead settling into a circular flight pattern that would let her descend on the repository quickly if help was needed.

"I told her to stick around and watch out for threats," said Ryoko as she approached Heero, "She's got our backs."

Heero nodded. "Thanks. You ready for this? I know your powers give you a considerable edge, but I still don't like you drawing fire for us."

Ryoko smiled. "We're not on Earth anymore, Heero; it's not your job to protect me out here. If anything, I'd say it's about time I start returning the favor."

Heero shook his head. "It's not like that. You don't owe me anything."

Ryoko winked. "That's sweet of you, but now's hardly the time for us to chat like this. We've got a job to do, remember? I thought you were supposed to be the professional one out of the two of us."

Heero chuckled. "Good point."

Soon the engines of the Yagami could be heard, with the rumble growing closer with each passing second. The crimson patrol cruiser started as just a faint spec on the horizon, but soon enough the vessel was hovering overhead so close that it was blocking out the sun. A ramp descended from the starboard side, and down it came Ayeka, her two guardians, Washu and Hilde. Duo's wife was actually wearing a set of armor similar to what Washu had created for the former Gundam pilots, albeit with a slightly slimmer design. Heero noticed a few additional small thruster slits on her suit as well, and realized that not only were they for greater mobility in combat but also for better maneuverability while in zero-gravity so she could help with maintenance on the Yagami.

Ayeka nodded in greeting as she stepped forward. "Lord Heero, I'm pleased to find you and your team unharmed. My power, and that of my guardians, is at your disposal."

"We'll do everything in our power to protect you," said Azaka.

"On our honor as Royal Guardians!" chirped Kamidake.

Heero shook his head. "Focus on escorting Ayeka; I don't need your protection."

"We serve the Royal Family, not just Princess Ayeka," Azaka countered.

"Princess Ayeka has made it clear she wishes for us to extend the letter and spirit of our mandate to you as well," Kamidake affirmed.

Heero raised an eyebrow, a gesture none of his companions would catch thanks to his helmet. "Ayeka?"

Ayeka nodded, her expression one of firm resolve. "Lord Heero, please understand that I do not doubt in the least your combat abilities or the quality of the armor Washu has bestowed upon you. Nevertheless, should Azaka and Kamidake be in any position to assist you, they shall do so with the same dedication that they show to my sister and I."

"You're stuck with the tin cans, Heero," said Washu as she stepped into the gathering with Hilde right behind her, "You'd better get used to it."

Hilde shrugged, and while Heero couldn't see her face due to her helmet he had a feeling she was smiling. "Look at this way; strange help's better than no help at all."

"Fair enough," said Heero, "Are you ready for this? I know it's been a while since you've had any sort of field action."

Hilde nodded. "I can do this. All I have to do is guard the rear while you guys do the heavy lifting, right? Easy enough compared to infiltrating the Libra and then escaping."

"Ah, good times," Duo chimed in.

Heero turned to Washu. "Remember what I told you; point us in the right direction, but keep your head down when the shooting starts."

"Don't worry," Washu replied, "I may be a genius, but given that combat is your area of expertise I have no problem with deferring to you in the field."

"I'll hold you to that," said Heero before turning to his favorite pirate, "Ryoko, you're up."

….

It was a strange feeling for Ryoko to have people relying on her. Hadn't she always been out for herself and Ryo-Ohki? After all, she'd earned her reputation as an infamous galactic pirate, not a hero or soldier. Yet that was what she felt like she was becoming now, and she knew who she had to thank for that.

Heero, I think you have a greater effect on women than you realize, she mused as she led the way towards the front door of the repository, I never would've pictured myself taking part in a mission like this a few months ago.

As interesting as it was to consider how she'd gone from selfish outlaw to being willing to stick her neck out for something besides herself, now was hardly the time to be distracted. None of them knew what kind of surprises Washu had waiting for them behind the heavy and thick doors of the repository. Knowing her mother, Ryoko wouldn't be surprised if they got themselves into a firefight the instant they went inside.

She caught sight of a small panel to the right of the entrance. There wasn't much to it apart from a few buttons and a pad, and Ryoko could guess what the latter was for.

"Biometric recognition?" she asked Washu.

Her mother nodded. "Yup. You should take up position at the door and charge up your barrier. Let me know when you're ready and I'll open the doors."

She turned to Heero, who nodded as well. "Let's do this."

Ryoko knew her job; tank the opening shots of whatever was inside and cover Heero's fireteam. Ayeka, Azaka and Kamidake would form the second line, screening Washu and Hilde while they followed the forward team. It was a simple setup, and Ryoko hoped it would be enough to get the job done.

The air around her crackled with crimson energy as her barrier materialized. She clenched her fists as she focused her power; she'd need to maintain the shield and shoot back, and she'd have to identify her targets very quickly. Over her shoulder she saw Heero and the rest of the lead team with their weapons drawn, ready to spring into action in an instant. Behind them, Ayeka, Azaka and Kamidake already had a barrier formed for Washu to retreat behind once the action started, while Hilde kept an eye on the rear.

"All right," she said, "Hit it."

Washu put her hand on the pad, and the two doors slid open. Ryoko stepped forward, doing all she could to present herself as the sole target for any defenses lying in wait.

Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll be broken, she hoped, I mean, this place has been neglected for about a thousand years, right?

She was allowed to hang onto that hope for all of a second before it was rudely shattered courtesy of a torrent of orange plasma bolts. Her barrier lit up in a dazzling display of energy as streams of fire were deflected from the shield, and it was difficult for Ryoko to make out the source of the shots.

She sensed someone moving behind her, and as she glanced over her shoulder her eyes widened as she saw none other than Heero make his way forward. "Heero, what the hell? I've got this! Stay back or you'll get hit!"

"You can't fool me," he said, "You can't see past your barrier with all that incoming fire hitting it, right?"

Crap, she thought, Heero, sometimes I hate just how sharp you are…

He crouched next to her and brought his rifle up to bear. "Washu did a good job with this helmet; I can filter out most of the glare. I know you can attack through your own barriers, but can I do the same?"

Ryoko nodded. "Yeah; they're meant to block incoming shots, not outgoing ones. You got a plan?"

"Yeah," he replied, "I'm going to take some of the heat off you. You'll be able to see and shoot back in just a second."

There was a brief pause as Heero adjusted his aim, and then a bolt of yellow light flew from his rifle. Ryoko heard a distant explosion, and the amount of fire her barrier was taking dramatically decreased. Now she could see what was ahead of her, and she saw three turrets arrayed at the far end of the main hall spitting fire at her, while wisps of smoke emanated from the blackened husk of a fourth turret to the left.

Ryoko smirked as crimson energy crackled in her right hand. "My turn!"

She let fly with two red spheres in rapid succession, destroying the two turrets on the right in short order. Heero took another shot of his own a second later, reducing the final turret to a charred shell. No additional fire came forth, but that didn't mean they were out of the woods just yet. The entrance hall was wide, and there were many alcoves on both sides; plenty of spots available for anyone lying in wait.

"I'll stay on point," she said.

"Then I'll watch your back," Heero replied before turning to the others, "The rest of you fan out behind us. We'll sweep the hall and then move forward."

"Copy that," said Trowa.

"That was quite a welcome," Quatre commented wryly, "I wonder what other surprises this place has in store for us."

"I'm sure we'll find out soon enough," quipped Wufei.

Duo chuckled. "At least we won't be bored. That was one hell of a lightshow!"

"And to think that was just the opening act," Yosho mused aloud as he looked back at Washu, "Quite the welcoming."

Washu chuckled. "Yeah, sorry about that!"

"Cut the chatter and stay focused," Heero chided them, "Let's move. Ryoko, you and I have point."

Ryoko nodded. "Got it."

She and Heero entered the main hall side by side, with her covering the right and Heero the left. She had to work to keep her concentration and not get swept up in the splendor; the entrance hall was a cavernous chamber, gleaming with such a fine silvery sheen that it was hard to believe the facility was over a thousand years old. The long triangular hallway was dotted with doors on both sides, some at ground level while others were arrayed higher up as hexagonal hatches. One of those hatches opened up, with both Heero and Ryoko zeroing in on it.

"Don't shoot!" called Washu from the rear.

Ryoko raised an eyebrow and glanced at Heero. "She's kidding, right?"

"Doesn't sound like it," Heero replied, "Let's see what comes out of there first. If it so much as twitches the wrong way, we fry it."

Ryoko smiled. "Works for me."

A drone came out from the opening a moment later. It was a slender thing, no more than several centimeters wide and about half a meter in height. The main body looked like a silver rod with a domed head. The dome was transparent, and within it was a blue light that scanned the room like a single eye. Several skinny arms protruded from its body, and while none of them appeared to hold any weapons Ryoko was still ready to blast the thing at a moment's notice.

Washu sighed with relief. "Thought so. Let that one go; it's harmless."

"Are you sure?" asked Heero.

"It's a worker drone," Washu answered, "A standard model that I used to maintain a bunch of my old designs. I didn't give them any weapons, and it's not programmed to respond to intruders in any capacity."

Ryoko's eyes narrowed. "Hold on, I though you said you wiped your memories regarding what was inside this place?"

"I wiped my memories regarding this place's defenses," Washu countered, "Worker drones aren't part of those defenses; they're simply charged with upkeep. There should be a few hundred of them maintaining a facility of this size, so expect to see quite a few of them as we make our way through here."

Ryoko glanced at Heero. "Well?"

Heero shrugged. "She sounds confident enough. Still, keep an eye open. She said these are worker drones, but for all we know there are other drones in this facility with combat capabilities."

Ryoko nodded. "Wouldn't that be just our luck…"

"Quite the place," said Yosho as he looked around, "You always did have a flair for the dramatic with your designs."

Washu smiled. "What can I say? I like to make a statement."

"You've certainly done that," Ayeka muttered.

"It's quite pretty," said Azaka.

"Almost like a temple, really," added Kamidake.

From the back, Heero heard Hilde whistle. "The ESUN could take some lessons from this place. Gotta hand it to you, Washu; you've got style."

"Thanks," said Washu, "I aim to please. Shame we have to blow it up later."

"I won't lose sleep over it," Ryoko quipped as her eyes darted around the entrance hall searching for possible threats, "The sooner we get what we came for and demolish this place, the better."

Heero nodded. "Agreed. Stay sharp; we're just getting started here."

….

Travelling the galaxy and getting shot at on alien worlds, Duo mused, I'm all for a life of excitement, but this wasn't quite what I had in mind after the Eve Wars wrapped up.

At least he was prepared; Washu had seen to that. In addition to the marksman rifles she'd shown that first day in the lab, she'd whipped up a variety of other weapons to suit their tactical needs. In Duo's case, his primary weapon was what the red-headed scientist had labeled the Type 15 Plasma-Scatter Gun… or, as Duo liked to call it, his boom stick. He didn't get much of the science behind it, but he knew enough about weapons to understand that Washu had basically given him a plasma shotgun, and its performance in the lab had been impressive to say the least.

The rest of his arsenal wasn't too shabby, either. At his right hip was the same sidearm that the rest of his fellow Gundam pilots had been given for this operation; the TDEW-1 Pistol. Short for Tactical Directed Energy Weapon Mark 1, it was a sleek and compact firearm. Lightweight yet with a surprisingly durable frame, it was a semi-automatic weapon. The sidearm even had a small pop-up scope that synched with the helmet's HUD, allowing for 2x zoom. Adding a bit more firepower to the ensemble was a set of four baseball-sized black spheres hooked to the armor's utility belt. Washu had described them as 'compressed energy grenades', and while Duo once again didn't quite follow the science behind them the tests at the range had shown them to be quite effective at dealing with clusters of targets within a four-meter radius. They didn't have any shrapnel, instead releasing a searing sphere of crimson energy that could burn through flesh and armor alike; even the shields of the suits Washu had given the boys would fail if they took a direct hit from one of these bad boys. Rounding things out was a knife hidden away in a small compartment along the right leg of the armor, capable of being drawn at a moment's notice.

Looking around as the group cautiously made its way through the entrance hall, Duo wondered what he'd have to test his loadout on first. For a shotgun, the Type 15 Plasma-Scatter Gun actually had decent range with a tight cluster of its 'buckshot', for want of a better term. He'd be able to hold his own at both close and mid-range, and given that this was an indoor operations area that was about as good as he could hope for. Of course, if there were more massive rooms like the entrance hall then Duo knew he might find himself wishing for a loadout that was more suited to long-range shootouts.

Duo was hardly the only one that was locked and loaded. While his loadout put an emphasis on quick and up-close combat, his friends were kitted out to provide a balanced set of capabilities for their fireteam. While they all had the same grenades and sidearms, their primary weapons were more varied.

Trowa's looking right at home with that bad boy, Duo thought as he glanced at the L3 native, I guess I can't blame him given the kind of Gundam he used to have.

The former Gundam pilot turned circus performer was wielding nothing less than a heavy rotary gun. Washu had designated it as the Tactical Rapid-Fire Energy Weapon Mark 1, or TRFEW-1 for short, and it was basically a man-portable machine cannon that fired bolts of plasma instead of bullets. It was capable of laying down a sheet of continuous fire for up to a full minute before a pause for cooling was required, and it was surprisingly accurate for a weapon of its kind. It might not have been the same as having the Gundam Heavyarms itself on the field, but for fireteam-level missions like this one it was more than sufficient.

Trowa's bulky loadout was contrasted by that of Wufei and Quatre. While the latter was outfitted in much the same manner as Heero, the former was armed with what Washu had called the Tactical Energy Squad Rifle Mark 1, or TESR-1. It was basically a compact, light and sleek plasma assault rifle, optimized to allow Wufei to make the most of both his firearms skills and martial arts. In addition to the rifle, Washu had also fashioned a sword for him; a curved blade that could be shrouded in orange energy thanks to power cells and emitters built into the weapon. Duo had seen the L5 native practice with the weapon for several hours already, and he could tell that his friend was definitely enjoying his new toy.

Then again, we all are, he mused with a smirk, Washu might be crazy, what with all the superweapon-building, but damn if she can't give a fireteam some sweet gear!

He would've killed for weapons and armor like this back during the Eve Wars. Even though he had made his name as a Gundam pilot, there had been plenty of instances where firefights on foot had been necessary, and having this kind of armor and firepower would've made those engagements a hell of a lot easier to deal with. The fact that it could all be used in space as well as on the ground was just the icing on the cake.

His gaze drifted up towards the ceiling as a few more maintenance drones appeared and idly floated across the entrance hall to carry out tasks unknown. Washu might've said that they were harmless, but Duo remained wary of them, as did his friends. In an environment as foreign as this, he wasn't taking any chances.

Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Hilde looking up at the drones as well, but based on the tone of her voice she sounded much less concerned and more intrigued by the machines. "I wouldn't mind the chance to take one of these things apart and examine it. Hey, Washu, you think this place can spare a drone? We're going to be blowing it sky-high anyway once we're done here, after all."

"We're not here for souvenirs," Heero reminded her, "We get the data we need and we get out, that's it."

Hilde sighed. "Damn it."

Washu smiled. "Don't worry, Hilde. I'll tell you what; once we're done here, I'll build one from scratch in the lab. I should regain enough of my memories from this repository to match the exact specs of the ones we're seeing here."

Hilde pumped her fist in triumph. "Yes!"

His gaze returning to the ceiling, Duo saw additional hatches open overhead. He was expecting more worker drones, but that wasn't what appeared. It was a new type with a spherical blue and silver core that looked about twice the size of a soccer ball. Two fin-like structures were attached horizontally on each side, and while it was still alien tech Duo knew enough about weapons to realize what the attachments beneath each fin were. His fears were confirmed when the new drone locked in on him, the twin barrels beneath each fin glowing with orange energy.

"Hostile above!" Duo shouted, already taking aim.

Quatre beat him to the punch, picking off the drone with a single well-placed rifle shot that pierced the machine right through the center of its spherical core. The drone crashed to the floor at Duo's feet, and some of the others gathered around to take a look while Heero and Quatre kept their rifles trained ahead and above, respectively.

Washu knelt beside the drone, her eyes narrowing as she closely examined it. "Definitely a combat model; those are light plasma cannons on the fins. Based on the configuration, I'm going with scout and skirmisher."

"Not exactly durable," Wufei noted.

Washu shook her head. "No, but judging from the construction, this looks like a model I designed with quantity over quality in mind."

Ryoko rolled her eyes. "Great. So, when do we get to meet the full swarm?"

Additional hatches opened overhead, and more of the combat drones appeared. It only took a second for at least a dozen to enter the room, and from the flickering blue lights he saw further down some of hatches it was clear that more were on the way.

"You just had to ask that, didn't you?" Trowa quipped, bringing his beast of a primary weapon to bear.

"Shut up and fight!" snapped Ryoko, sparks of crimson energy crackling around her.

"Split up and take cover!" Heero ordered as he shot down the lead drone, "Washu, stay with Ayeka and her guardians!"

The lead team separated, with Heero, Quatre and Wufei finding cover in an alcove on the right side of the entrance hall while Duo and Trowa did the same on the left. Ayeka, the guardians, Washu and Hilde joined Duo on the left, the air around them crackling as the princess and her escorts maintained their barrier. Ryoko took to the air, slinging spheres of crimson energy about like baseballs, and two drones fell in a matter of seconds. What really surprised Duo, though, was Yosho; he was still standing in the middle of the room, looking mildly amused at what was unfolding.

"Hey, old man!" shouted Duo as he blasted a drone out of the air, "Are you trying to get yourself killed? Find some cover, damn it!"

Yosho chuckled. "There's no need for that. Besides, I could use some exercise."

The blue energy blade of his Master Key sprang to life, and Duo's jaw dropped as he saw the old man actually deflect a volley of orange bolts back into a drone that had fired them. Yosho didn't move from his spot, instead weaving his blade around himself so quickly that it almost looked like a solid wall of azure energy was protecting him. While the former Gundam pilots picked off targets from relative cover and Ryoko zipped around overhead providing indoor air support, a term Duo had never thought he'd have to invent until now, the crown prince of Jurai simply stood his ground. The incoming drones concentrated their fire on him thanks to his exposure and lack of mobility, but he was far from an easy target.

There's no way this is possible, he thought as he looked on in awe, No one should have reflexes like that! No one human, anyway…

Then again, this guy's clearly not human.

As he shot down another drone, Duo had to wonder just how many other inhuman surprises he'd run into before the day was over.

….

Despite the raging firefight and the fact that her only weapon was a sidearm of the same type that she'd given to the boys, Washu had a smile on her face. How could she not? It'd been a very long time since she'd seen Yosho really put his Juraian powers to work, and he was a sight to behold now.

The power of the Jurai Royal Family when wielded by a seasoned warrior was nothing short of a thing of beauty. Yosho might've been getting on in years, but age had hardly dulled his skills. Using his Juraian energy to enhance his reflexes and stamina while his keen eyes discerned where the combat drones were aiming, deflecting their shots back into them was child's play for the crown prince. He wasn't invincible, of course; if enough drones were able to surround him, Washu knew that it'd only be a matter of time before his defenses were overwhelmed. Thanks to the formidable fireteam he was fighting alongside, though, there was no risk of that happening anytime soon.

It had been one thing to observe Heero's missions from the safety of her lab; it was quite another to have a front row seat and see him fight in the field with proper support. A small tablet she carried was linked to sensors in the armor worn by the former Gundam pilots and Hilde, allowing Washu to monitor both their physical and mental health under combat conditions. She'd always known that Heero was a cool customer, but the data she was seeing now still blew her away. His heartrate and pulse were barely above their established baseline; this firefight was no more exerting to him than a casual sparring match. From across the entrance hall, she watched as he picked off drone after drone like they were just another set of targets at the shooting range. As soon as he took one down, he'd already be shifting to the next hostile, and that one would fall to the floor as a smoking and sparking wreck a second later.

He truly is a combat professional, she thought, Jurai's generals would kill to have him in their special forces.

Of course, Heero was just one part of a fireteam that was operating like a well-oiled machine. Quatre had the same kind of rifle as Heero, and the head of the Winner Family was no slouch when it came to using it. His accuracy was on par with Heero's, and while his life signs showed a slightly higher stress elevation than that of the Preventers operative, they were still quite calm given the fact that he was in the middle of a shootout. The young L4 native might've had a gentle demeanor, but in combat he was a truly lethal marksman.

The other member of the fireteam on that side of the hall was displaying equally intriguing readings; Wufei appeared to be flat out enjoying himself. Quick bursts from his rifle eliminated any drone that came within his line of fire, but to Washu it looked like he was itching for more. He was likely looking for an opportunity to put his new sword to the test, but with this current batch of enemies being airborne he didn't have a chance to do so at the moment. Even so, he was still enthusiastically putting them down. Washu didn't know if he was letting himself have fun because he wasn't engaging living opponents or if he approached every fight like this; she'd have to keep an eye on his data in future combat scenarios and compare it to what she was seeing here to learn more.

Wufei wasn't the only combatant who seemed to be enjoying himself. Lifting her gaze towards the ceiling, Washu saw Ryoko zipping around above, challenging the drone swarm head-on and ripping a fiery swath through their ranks. From her left hand came a steady stream of crimson energy blasts, while a blood red shaft of power was ignited in her right and ripping apart any drone that she got close to. Through it all, she had a smile on her face, which was a rather sharp contrast to how seriously she'd been taking this mission up until now.

A skirmish like this is probably a relief for her, Washu mused, The tension's been building ever since we started this journey, and she hasn't really had a good outlet for it. Reducing my drones to scrap seems to be her way of letting off steam.

It was good to see that her daughter was able to vent her frustration in a manner that benefited the mission, but Washu hoped that Ryoko wouldn't lose sight of the objective. The drones they were facing here were just the first line of defense, and Washu was sure that they paled in comparison to whatever obstacles she'd placed deeper in the repository. Ryoko couldn't afford a devil-may-care attitude, and it would be up to Heero to keep her in line.

If Heero's side of the entrance hall was fighting with precision and enthusiasm, then the element of the fireteam on Washu's side was going for pure firepower. Trowa was putting the portable repeating plasma cannon she'd developed for him to very effective use, spitting out a near constant stream of orange fire that ripped through the drones overhead like a chainsaw through butter. Any drones that tried to close the distance or flank him found themselves eating fire from Duo and bursting like overripe fruit. The two of them were so effective that they weren't leaving Hilde anything to do except cover the rear. Her rifle was raised, but nothing was even close to getting through Duo and Trowa's curtain of fire.

I really wish I'd left myself with at least some idea as to what we could run into out here, she thought, I know I was thorough with the memory deletion for the sake of keeping the repositories as contained as possible, but it's not really helping now. The longer we have to spend dealing with the defenses, the more time Kagato has to catch up to us.

If they were caught between her defenses and whatever force Kagato brought along to seize the repository…

…well, Washu didn't want to think about how bad that could get.

….

Of all the firefights I've been in, Heero idly mused as he picked off another drone, this one is by far the most 'out there' for want of a better term. Engaging drones on a planet way out on the opposite side of the galaxy from Earth in a race to reach a superweapon capable of wiping out all life on multiple planets simultaneously… and to think that this will likely only be the first of many fights we get ourselves into on this journey.

The drones were still coming on strong, and while Heero and his friends were managing them well, the Preventers operative was concerned about being caught in a prolonged engagement. Time was not their ally in this mission, and it was imperative that they keep moving forward.

Quatre seemed to be thinking along the same lines. "This is fun and all, but we can't engage in target practice here all day!"

Heero nodded as he shifted his aim to the next drone and quickly downed it. "I know. If you've got any bright ideas, I'm all ears."

"It's those ducts up in the ceiling," Wufei chimed in as he blasted a drone with a quick burst of fire from his rifle, "If we can find a way to seal them, we'll be looking pretty good."

"AIDA, thoughts?" asked Heero.

"A few," replied the artificial intelligence residing in his helmet as a small version of her appeared on the lower left corner of his HUD, "I've been studying this facility's schematics. My knowledge is limited thanks to the good doctor wiping away any information related to defenses, but I do see a viable means to reduce the flow of drones."

"Lay it out," said Heero as he and his friends continued to pick off the incoming machines.

"While there are multiple passageways in the ceiling of this part of the facility designed to allow what I assume to be both worker and defense drones easy and quick access, there is a choke point," AIDA explained, "It's at the far end of the hall; I'll mark it on your HUD."

A crimson triangle appeared on his visor. Studying it carefully, Heero saw that it was actually embedded about a meter or so into the ceiling.

"The drones come first through this central tube before branching out into the secondary passageways," said AIDA.

"So, if we take that out, the drones will get stuck in a logjam?" he asked.

AIDA nodded. "Essentially, yes. They'll still have access to other parts of the facility, but this room is the one with the most hatches built into it, allowing them to swarm as they are doing now. It also has the most space apart from the final repository chamber, meaning they have the greatest freedom to maneuver here. They'll be at a disadvantage in other parts of the facility and unable to deploy in such large numbers at once."

"Good to know," said Heero, "There's still a problem, though; our weapons don't have the punching power needed to break through the plating that's between us and that single access tube."

"True," AIDA conceded, "but I can think of someone who'd be more than capable of carving her way through. All you'd have to do is cover her."

Heero nodded before turning towards his favorite pirate. "Ryoko! I've got a job for you!"

….

Ryoko didn't like being pulled away from a good fight, but she found it hard to say no to Heero. Personal feelings aside, the pirate knew her place in this operation; she was the brawler and heavy artillery, not the field commander. Heero called the shots, and if he needed her help then she wasn't about to refuse.

Crouching in cover with Heero while Quatre and Wufei dealt with the drones, her eyes narrowed as Heero quickly laid out the plan. It was simple enough in theory, but there were a few problems.

"I'm all for trashing the place, but cutting through that's going to take some time," she said, "I can't focus on that and maintain barriers behind me simultaneously. Who's going to cover my ass?"

"I will," Heero replied firmly, "None of those drones will get anywhere near you. You have my word on that."

Ryoko smiled. "Always nice to know you've got my back. We've still got another problem, though. I can cut through to the passageway, but how exactly am I supposed to seal it?"

"Just shoot down the drones that come up through it," Heero answered, "Destroy enough and their remains will eventually clog up the shaft."

Ryoko smirked. "Build up a pile of drone bodies while you play blocker for me, eh? I like this plan!"

Heero nodded as he raised his rifle, already prepping to sprint for their destination. "Good, because it's the only one I've got right now. Quatre, Wufei; keep up the pressure."

"Copy that," said Quatre.

"Have fun out there," quipped Wufei.

"All right, then," said Heero, glancing at Ryoko, "You ready?"

Ryoko grinned. "You know it!"

"Okay," Heero replied, "On my mark, then. Three… two… one… mark!"

The two of them bolted out of cover and raced towards the target. Taking to the air, Ryoko let fly with a barrage of crimson spheres, blasting a hole in the swarm of drones. Precise fire from Heero, Quatre and Wufei widened the gap, but already more drones were pouring in through the hatches in the ceiling.

"I'm going in!" Ryoko called out as she poured on the speed.

"Copy that," said Heero, "I'll keep them off you."

Swinging her energy blade left and right as she carved a swath through the cluster of drones that tried to stop her, Ryoko found herself hovering just below the target a moment later. As she lined up her crimson shaft of power to plunge into the ceiling, she saw Heero leap into the air, using his armor's built-in thrusters to give himself a boost. He twisted around, bringing his rifle to bear and letting fly with a volley that put down three drones in quick succession before he began losing altitude.

"Show off!" Duo called from across the hall.

"Less talking, more shooting," Heero quipped.

Confident that her rear was secure for the moment, Ryoko drove her energy blade into the ceiling. The material Washu had used for her facility was sturdy, but it couldn't stand up to the amount of power Ryoko was pushing into it. Her sword steadily burned through, and as she carved out a hole, she had to be careful to avoid the bits of molten metal that began to drip down.

Come on, hurry, she mentally told herself, Heero and the others are counting on you!

It felt like forever but was probably no more than a handful of seconds before her improvised entryway was complete. She had a straight shot into the drone shaft, and Ryoko wasted no time in getting inside. Her hands were already raised and fresh crimson energy was sparking in her palms. She released it the moment she got to the shaft; new drones were already bearing down on her, and she wasted no time in reducing them to scrap.

"Come and get some, you hunks of junk!" she yelled as she unloaded on them.

….

Nice to see she's enjoying herself, thought Heero as Ryoko began demolishing the drones coming up the passageway, I just hope she doesn't forget why we're out here in the first place.

There were so many drones currently in the room that he knew it'd likely be a bit of time before they actually knew if this plan to staunch the flow of reinforcements was working. Heero knew his role; protect Ryoko while she gummed up the works with burnt out drone husks. To that end, he'd placed himself in a rather precarious position.

He was standing between Ryoko and the bulk of the entrance hall. This allowed him to intercept any drones that tried to attack her, but the problem was that Heero had very little in the way of cover. He had to rely on his instincts and armor to avoid taking a serious hit, so even as he was picking off drones he was also constantly moving from side to side, utilizing his armor's built-in thrusters to enhance his mobility while taking glancing hits on his shields and trying to give himself just enough breathing room for them to recharge. It was a delicate dance unlike any he'd ever had to try in the midst of a firefight before, and if nothing else was certainly proving to be a unique and interesting challenge.

"Quite the performance," AIDA quipped as Heero leapt to the side to evade enemy fire before taking down the drone that had shot at him, "Ever consider a career as a stuntman?"

"The film industry never really appealed to me," Heero dryly replied.

"So, you prefer getting shot at for a living?" asked AIDA, "Well, to each their own, I suppose."

"Do you have anything helpful to contribute here?" Heero growled as he rolled before coming up on one knee to pick off another target.

"Don't get shot?" she suggested.

"Words to live by," muttered Heero.

The drones in the entrance hall seemed to realize what was going on, because they were making an increasingly concerted effort to break past Heero. This left them vulnerable to attack from behind courtesy of the rest of the fireteam, but it also meant that the pressure on Heero was steadily increasing.

"How's it looking up there Ryoko?" he asked as he leapt to the right, barely avoiding a direct hit before shooting down the drone responsible for the attack.

"They're still coming!" she shouted back over the cacophony of energy blasts she was throwing down the shaft, "I've almost got it clogged up, though. Just hang in there a little longer!"

"Perhaps you wouldn't mind a bit of help?" said a familiar male voice.

Heero could only look on as Yosho approached, calmly walking through the hail of orange plasma fire from the drones like he was taking a casual stroll through the park. His Master Key weaved tight circular patterns around him as if it had a mind of its own, intercepting incoming shots like he was swatting away a swarm of bothersome flies.

The old man gave Heero a knowing smirk. "What do you think?"

"Obi-wan Kenobi called," Heero quipped, "He's a bit pissed that Jurai decided to clone him."

Yosho chuckled as he continued to bat orange bolts of energy aside with practiced ease. "You know, I actually saw those movies back when they first came out in theaters. The limitless potential of human imagination never ceases to impress me."

Heero shook his head. "I keep forgetting just how old you really are."

"Indeed," said Yosho, "and while Kenobi might've believed himself to be too old for this sort of thing, I daresay I haven't reached that point just yet."

"Good," Heero replied as he picked off another drone, "because I still have questions for you, so you're not allowed to go out like he did. You got that?"

Yosho surprised Heero by giving him a small, almost sad smile. "I can make no promises. You know as well as anyone how the battlefield is."

Heero's eyes narrowed behind his helmet as he sought out his next target. "Fair enough."

He wasn't lying when he said he still had questions. However, many of those were ones that Ayeka could likely answer just as well given that they were about Jurai and the Royal Family. While Heero might have some things that he wanted to ask the old man, what mattered more was that Yosho would be around for him to ask at all.

For the first time in his memory, Heero now had an actual blood-relative he could talk to. Yes, he'd spent his childhood with Odin Lowe, but Heero had never known that the assassin was his biological father. Things were different now. There might've been some lingering suspicions in Heero's mind, but those were mostly just due to the simple fact that the old man had known who Heero really was for far longer than the former Gundam pilot had known who Yosho was. If anything, it was really just residual bitterness from him wishing that the long-lost crown prince of Jurai had been honest from the start. Heero could understand why the old man had been reluctant to reveal his true nature initially, but surely, he could've found a time to tell Heero the truth before Nagi's attack.

Family was still something of a new concept for Heero. In the months since Ryoko, Ayeka and the rest of his eccentric companions had quite literally fallen from the sky and into his life, he'd come to see them as something more than just an odd assortment of houseguests and aliens to be watched over for the sake of a mission. He'd come to genuinely enjoy their company, their banter and antics, no matter how crazy the latter might get. In short, they'd become the closest thing he'd had to family in a very long time. Yosho in his guise as 'Katsuhito' had been a neighbor to that odd family, but knowing that he was actually part of it in a very literal manner had taken Heero completely off guard.

What did it mean to be someone's grandson? It was more than just a blood tie, right? Heero didn't know, but he wanted to find out. That meant first and foremost making sure that his newly-discovered grandfather made it through the fight in one piece.

Of course, Yosho hardly seemed to need Heero's help in that regard. He might've been old, but he wasn't even breaking a sweat as he continued to intercept incoming fire with his azure blade and send it right back to the source. His form was tight and efficient, minimizing both exposure and expenditure of energy. It was elegantly simple and utterly devastating for any drone foolish enough to take a shot at him, of which there were plenty.

"I always knew you were holding back in our sparring matches," said Heero as he picked off drones that were attempting to slip around the old man to get to Ryoko, "but I never realized how much. I never stood a chance in hell at beating you, did I?"

"You came quite close," Yosho replied, "Don't you remember that bit where you forced a draw? I certainly do."

Heero shook his head. "It doesn't count if you were pulling your punches."

Yosho shook his head as he continued to bat bolts of plasma right back at their source. "It means more than you give it credit for. I promise you that I'm not exaggerating when I say that the skill you demonstrated in that fight would put many Juraian masters to shame. Your talents prior to awakening your powers were already extraordinary. I don't think you realize the depth of your true potential."

"What are you saying?" asked Heero as he sent another precise volley towards the enemy, "That I'll be able to block shots like you someday?"

Yosho chuckled. "That and a good deal more, I'd wager."

"This is some real precious grandfather-grandson bonding and all," Ryoko chimed in from above as she continued to fire crimson energy blasts down the drone shaft, "but how about less chitchat and more covering my ass?"

"She's got a point," said AIDA, "Even though I personally am thoroughly enjoying this."

Juraian crown prince and heir glanced at each other, and if the former could see beneath the latter's helmet, he would've seen a small smile on his face.

"Copy that, Ryoko," Heero replied, working surprisingly hard to suppress a chuckle, "Consider your ass covered."

….

The old man's really got some moves, thought Wufei as he watched Yosho effortlessly fend off the drone assault, I guess he was holding back during those times I watched him practice back on the ship.

Not content to simply enjoy the show, the L5 native sent bursts of rifle fire into the swarm of hostiles, taking down a few more machines. The horde was finally starting to thin out; Ryoko's one-woman assault on the drone's main access shaft was definitely having an effect. They just had to keep up the pressure for a little bit longer and eventually they'd have the enemy down to a much more manageable number.

He idly wondered if Heero would have the same sort of potential that Yosho was demonstrating. Wufei didn't really know how this Juraian power that flowed through Heero's veins was really supposed to work, but if it could enhance a warrior's combat abilities to the extent that he was seeing now then it would be very interesting to find out what Heero would really be capable of once he started seriously tapping into it. That was a concern for the future, though. For now, it would be more prudent to focus on the current mission.

Between the fire from both sides of the hall, Yosho's incredible swordsmanship and Heero's marksmanship and Ryoko bringing the flow of reinforcements to a screeching halt, things were finally looking up. With each second that passed, more drones fell to the floor as little more than charred husks. The entrance hall was practically littered with their spherical corpses, and the swarm as a whole was definitely reduced in size now. With no new units coming out of the myriad of hatches in the ceiling, it was time to stick a fork in the drones that remained in play.

"What do you say we wrap things up here?" he asked as he let fly with a fresh burst of fire.

"Sounds good to me," said Quatre as he picked off another target, "Let's amp up the pressure."

Wufei nodded. "Copy that. I'll take point. Watch my back."

"You got it," Quatre replied.

Wufei rushed forward, firing off a few more quick bursts with his rifle before putting the weapon away and drawing his new sword. While Quatre provided covering fire, Wufei flipped the activation switch built into the handle, and the curved blade became engulfed in a shroud of orange energy. He then leapt into the air, using his armor's thrusters for a boost in altitude, and within moments he was in the thick of the drone swarm. He lashed out with his blade like a viper, striking down a cluster of machines within just a few seconds. As he fell towards the ground, he hit his thrusters again, changing his descent vector in order to throw off the aim of the surviving drones as they took shots at him.

Sleeker than Mobile Dolls, but with the same weaknesses, he observed, Unpredictability is always the bane of automated weapons systems.

Rolling the moment he hit the ground, he immediately set himself up for another assault. Beneath his helmet, there was a smile on his face.

This was going to be fun.

….

Ayeka could only look on in awe at what was unfolding up ahead. She'd seen Heero fight before and had caught glimpses of his friends training during the journey out here, but watching them all fight together made her realize just how badly she'd underestimated them. Despite having been severely outnumbered by the repository's drone defense force at the start of the firefight, they now had the situation perfectly in hand, and in fact they appeared to have done so with an almost casual ease.

She knew it wasn't just the five of them; Yosho was drawing a considerable amount of fire from the drones, and Ayeka would begrudgingly admit that Ryoko's role in cutting off the flow of reinforcements was crucial if they were ever going to advance past the entrance hall. Still, it was clear who the stars of the show were; the five former colonial rebels.

They fought with a level of efficiency and teamwork that she could only marvel at. Their strengths and weaknesses seemed to perfectly complement each other, giving the drones very few openings to exploit. Sure, the armor and weapons provided by Washu gave them what they needed to fight in a setting with technology far beyond what they were accustomed to, but there was more to it than that. Their level of skill was such that they were able to adapt to a completely new environment and style of combat on the fly, and the confidence they had in their abilities meant there was zero hesitation in their actions.

Does the Empire have anything that even comes close to what these five are capable of?

Ayeka doubted it. Yes, Jurai had its own special forces, but Ayeka just couldn't imagine them fighting like this. Jurai's military was a reflection of the Empire as a whole; vast and powerful but rigid and doctrinaire. It might've had a variety of units and divisions capable of operating in the myriad of environments one would find across the galaxy, but Ayeka highly doubted that any of them were as flexible as Heero and his comrades.

How would the Empire react when it finally met these five extraordinary young men? Of course, Heero would get the lion's share of attention thanks to his bloodline, but once word got out about their martial abilities Ayeka was sure that the eyes of top Juraian military officers would be drawn towards the others… and towards Earth as well. After all, it wasn't every day that backwater worlds in the Outland Sector gave the galaxy soldiers like this.

Lord Heero… what kind of waves will you and your friends make when we reach the capital? If what I've seen thus far is any indication, they're likely to be more than just mere ripples.

Of course, now was hardly the time to ponder such things. She had her current duty as Washu's walking shield generator to attend to, and while it was rather demeaning to consider herself as nothing more than the infamous scientist's personal barrier it was the role Heero had assigned her. She would yield to his expertise in the field and carry out his orders without fuss.

"Most impressive," said Azaka, "They've done quite well so far."

"It's quite fortunate that Lord Heero was able to convince his friends to accompany us on this mission," chirped Kamidake, "Their abilities are serving our cause well."

Washu chuckled and shook her head. "Oh, you have no idea…"

Ayeka looked over her shoulder, raising an eyebrow as she regarded her companion. "Whatever do you mean?"

"I've read their files," Washu replied, "This is just a taste of what those boys are capable of!"

Ayeka folded her arms. "I don't suppose you care to share those files with the rest of us? We are working with them, after all, and if you know what they're really capable of then we have the right to know as well."

"Wait, how'd you get access to their files?" asked Hilde from her position at the rear, "Preventers would've had those at the heart of their secure network."

Washu smirked. "Yeah, well… let's just say 'secure' isn't the best way to describe that network. Not when it's up against me, anyway."

"How modest," Hilde quipped, "I'm sure Sally and Director Une will be thrilled to learn you were poking around in their network."

"It's not like anyone can tell them right now," Washu shot back, "They don't have the tech to pick up a signal from us given how far out we are, and they certainly wouldn't be able to clean it up to make out the exact content."

Ayeka scowled. "Regardless, you still shouldn't have done that. Lord Heero provided you with shelter; hacking the systems of his organization is a betrayal of all he's done for you!"

Washu simply shrugged. "I doubt he minds all that much. Frankly, he's got bigger fish to fry at the moment."

Ayeka found it hard to argue with that. Given the task at hand, they all had much greater concerns than a few pilfered files. Still, Ayeka couldn't quite let the matter go. It was no longer about the fact that Washu had committed a crime; she had information that would be very valuable in Ayeka's efforts to understand Heero and his friends.

"So, what all did you find out?" she asked, trying to sound like she was only casually curious rather than desperate for such forbidden knowledge.

The grin on Washu's face told Ayeka that the scientist saw right through her. "My, my… you switch gears quite quickly! After something regarding our favorite bastard prince, perhaps? Or maybe some juicy details regarding a young blond multi-billionaire?"

Ayeka couldn't suppress a blush. "Well…"

"Forgive me for interrupting, princess," Azaka interjected, "but now hardly strikes me as an appropriate time for gossip."

"There is still a firefight raging up ahead," Kamidake pointed out.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Hilde quipped.

Said firefight appeared to be winding down. The drones were significantly reduced in numbers now, with the few remaining concentrating on Heero and Yosho. That left the wide open to flanking fire from the rest of the main combatants, and machines were falling to the ground as smoking husks left and right.

"It seems that this little skirmish will soon be at an end," said Ayeka.

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Washu chided, "This is just the entrance hall, after all. The real meat and bones of the repository is still ahead of us. We've got a long way to go yet."

….

Having successfully blocked off the drone accessway just moments ago, Ryoko had rejoined Heero and the others in dealing with the stragglers. Volleys of crimson energy blasts flew from both hands as she tore into the survivors. With supporting fire from Heero and his friends while Yosho drew attention from other drones towards himself, it was easy to put the final nail in the coffin of what had started out as a sizeable horde.

That wasn't too bad, she thought as the final drones fell to the floor as charred chunks of metal, but it was just the first round. Who knows what other surprises Washu's got in store for us…

Descending now that they were in the clear, Ryoko approached Heero. "You doing okay?"

Heero nodded. "I'm fine. You know I can handle myself in a fight, right?"

Ryoko smirked. "I know, but this is your first fight outside of the Earth Sphere, so I just wanted to check. Gotta say, you're handling yourself pretty damn well so far! You'd be one hell of a pirate! What do you say, wanna team up with me once this whole mess is over? Your skills would be very useful during boarding actions."

"As interesting as it would be to have the words 'space pirate' on my list of careers, I'm afraid I have to pass," Heero replied, "Raiding ships and stealing treasure isn't what I'm out here for."

Ryoko gave a mock-gasp. "What? Say it isn't so! I had such high hopes for you…"

Heero simply shrugged. "Sorry to disappoint."

Ryoko smiled. "Well, the journey's young. I've still got time to bring you around to my way of thinking!"

"Perhaps, but now is hardly the occasion for it," Yosho interrupted, "We are still in the field, after all."

Duo laughed as he and the rest of the group approached. "Heero as a space pirate? Man, I'd pay good money to see that!"

"You're just imagining him with an eyepatch and a ridiculous accent, aren't you?" asked Trowa.

Duo chuckled. "Guilty as charged!"

Wufei shook his head. "Typical."

"It's a fun image," Quatre admitted, "but I doubt the rest of the galaxy would appreciate a former Gundam pilot going pirate on them, especially with the armor and weapons we've got now."

"Indeed," said Ayeka as she shot a glare at Ryoko, "In any case, it's nothing more than an exercise in self-delusion. If you think that Lord Heero would ever stoop so low as to join you in a life of crime, then perhaps Washu made more than a few mistakes when she created you."

Washu folded her arms. "I'm standing right here, you know?"

Ryoko snarled but held her tongue. Now wasn't the time to fight with Ayeka, no matter how much she wanted to bring her down a notch. It was a considerable act of restraint on her part, one she would not have been capable of were it not for the influence of a certain young man.

Fortunately for Ryoko, Heero had her back. "That's enough, Ayeka. We need to stay focused and cooperate or we'll never get what we came here for."

Ayeka sighed. "Very well, Lord Heero. Forgive me."

Heero shook his head. "Don't worry about it. Just keep your mind on the mission."

"Well said," Azaka commented.

"This facility certainly demands our concentration!" chirped Kamidake.

"No kidding," said Hilde, "I wonder what else this place is hiding."

"Wish I could tell you," Washu chimed in, "I highly doubt those drones are the only active defenders I placed here. Expect more powerful models the further we advance."

"Great," muttered Duo.

Yosho sighed. "Rather inconvenient, to put it mildly."

"No use complaining now," said Heero, "We all knew this wasn't going to be an easy operation. Let's keep moving."

I don't know what Washu has lying in wait for us next, thought Ryoko as she fell in behind Heero, but I do know this…

…if any of her mechanical guard dogs want a piece of Heero, they'll have to go through me first!

….

Leading the way deeper into the repository, Heero couldn't help but feel more than a little uneasy. The entrance hall had at least offered plenty of room to maneuver for their little skirmish with the drones, but the corridors they were walking through now didn't provide that luxury. There was also the fact that they were now underground, and while Washu had assured him that the structure was more than sturdy enough that a firefight wouldn't cause a collapse he still didn't like the idea of engaging in combat while there were literally metric tons of rock and dirt just beyond the ceiling.

Not to mention we only have one line of retreat, he thought grimly, I know that single entrance served us well in the first firefight because we didn't have to worry about attacks from the rear, but that's working against us now. Once we set this place to blow, we're going to need to get out of here in a hurry. If we get boxed in, things could get ugly very quickly.

"AIDA," he said, "Can you get me the layout of where we're currently at? Just put it on the left side of the HUD."

"Of course," she replied, "Here you go."

Stepping to the side, he motioned for Duo to take point. As they cautiously made their way forward, Heero studied the plans that appeared on the inside of his visor. The fireteam was represented by a blinking red dot that was slowly progressing deeper into the repository, and based on what he was seeing it was clear that they'd barely scratched the surface of the facility.

"Looking for anything in particular?" asked AIDA.

"Start with drone passages," Heero answered, "Highlight those in green. Also, mark our most direct route to the repository core in yellow, and any potential alternate routes in orange."

"One moment," said AIDA as she made the necessary adjustments, "There we are."

As the display shifted to accommodate his requests, Heero's brow furrowed in thought. One the one hand, based on the layout of the drone access shafts, their chances of being flanked by more of the mechanical sentries was seriously reduced down here. There were a few key junctions were multiple drones could gain entry at any one time, but they weren't nearly as bad as the entrance hall. The fireteam would be able to contend with opposition there in fairly short order.

The downside came with the distinct lack of meaningful alternative paths to their objective. The few orange lines that appeared on the layout ran parallel with the main corridor they were currently in, but were narrower. It would be all too easy for any of them to become a chokepoint, so for better or worse the main corridor remained the best route.

AIDA had already come to the same conclusion. "Sorry about the lack of options. The good doctor didn't want to make exploring this place easy for intruders, and I know that's not doing you any favors at the moment."

"Not your fault," said Heero, "Anything up ahead that we need to look out for?"

"There are no hazards with regards to the structure itself," answered AIDA, "Any threats will come from the defenses the good doctor set up back when she built this place."

"Defenses that we've only just gotten a taste of," Heero deadpanned, "Her decision to wipe her own memory might've helped contain information about her weapon, but it's making our mission a lot harder than it needs to be."

"Well, it was either that or give Kagato an easier shot at gaining control of the weapon," said Washu from the rear, "I didn't have a whole lot of options, you know?"

"We're grateful for the precautions you took in the name of galactic peace," Ayeka chimed in, "We just wish you could've made the cleanup a bit easier for us."

"Could you really have not saved some backup schematics in a secure stash outlining the defenses of this place?" asked Azaka.

"Would a little forewarning about those awful drones have been too much to ask?" chirped Kamidake.

Washu folded her arms. "Keep complaining and I'll scrap the two of you for my own amusement. I'm sure Hilde wouldn't mind the chance to see what makes you glorified tin cans tick."

"I might want a peek under the hood," Hilde casually admitted.

Duo chuckled. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Now, now," Quatre gently chided, "Don't scare Ayeka's bodyguards, Duo."

"They seem awfully jumpy given that they're assigned to protect a princess," Wufei commented, "How effective can they really be at their jobs if they get rattled by idle threats?"

Washu smirked. "You're calling my threats idle? You boys really are a bold bunch!"

"What's the worst you could do at this point?" asked Trowa, "Build another superweapon for us to hunt down?"

"You never told them about what happened the night you first met the good doctor, did you?" asked AIDA.

"They should've been given access to the report by Director Une after we brought them into this operation," said Heero, "Whether or not they've actually read it is another matter entirely."

"Don't give her any ideas, Heero," Ryoko quipped, "The last thing we need is to be turned into frogs right now."

Duo did a double-take. "You're joking, right?"

Washu gave an evil grin. "Only one way to find out!"

"As amusing as this banter is, we really ought to cease it," Yosho advised, "We're in the belly of the beast right now, so to speak."

Heero nodded. "He's right. Cut the chatter."

It was always possible that the drones were lying in wait to stage an ambush up ahead. The corridor they were travelling through was relatively open, but there were occasional doorways on each side that offered a limited degree of cover. If they were attacked, Heero knew it would be imperative to force their way through any opposition quickly before they got pinned down.

Heero saw Duo suddenly pause and motion for the rest of the team to stop. "Got movement up ahead!"

Heero looked over his shoulder at Ayeka and her escorts. "Shields, now!"

The air around the princess and the two Royal Guardians crackled with energy as the Juraian barriers sprang to life, enshrouding Ayeka, Washu and Hilde. Meanwhile, Yosho had already ignited Tenchi-ken, bathing the air around him in blue light. Sparks of crimson energy danced in Ryoko's hands; she was ready to unload on anything that came their way. Trowa moved forward, ready to support Duo with his heavy weapon. Heero crouched in a doorway on the right side of the hallway, while Quatre and Wufei did the same on the left.

Raising his rifle and activating the scope, Heero sighted downrange and tried to get a bead on what was up ahead. It quickly became apparent that there were actually several contacts approaching them, and these were distinctly different from the drones that they had engaged in the entrance hall. For starters, these units actually walked rather than flew and thus had a vaguely humanoid appearance. Their frames were sleek and streamlined, with silver paneling in keeping with the broader theme of the repository. A single blue ocular sensor glowed in their heads, and their hands grasped what were quite clearly rifles… and they were already taking aim at Heero and his friends.

Heero's response was immediate. "Engage."

The corridor erupted in orange light as the five Gundam pilots opened up. A few of the humanoid drones up ahead had crouched in cover, but most of the others were moving straight forward and were cut down by the opening barrage. As the front ranks fell, though, new units swiftly took their place, and these were able to return fire. Bolts of energy went back and forth as the two sides traded shots, and they were quickly joined by a stream of crimson spheres as Ryoko added her might to the mix.

"They're just charging into our fire," Heero muttered as he picked off one drone after another, "Not exactly tactical masterminds, are they?"

"I'm analyzing them now," AIDA chimed in, "Please keep your focus downrange; you're giving me excellent data."

"Happy to be of help," Heero deadpanned, "Got anything useful on these things yet?"

"Only the obvious," AIDA replied, "They're clearly sentry units designed for combat in more confined areas. The simple construction and lack of additional weaponry thus far indicates they're meant for expendable frontal assaults like what we're experiencing now."

"I expected better from Washu," said Heero as he shot a drone in the head, "I didn't think swarms and wave attacks were her style. It's a bit disappointing for the self-styled greatest genius in the universe."

"I heard that!" Washu snapped.

"There's quite a few of these guys!" yelled Duo as he blasted one in the chest, "Heero, we need to do something!"

His mind flashed back to the performance of a certain lovely pirate and a long-lost crown prince during the fight in the entrance hall just a little while ago. If the fireteam wanted to go on the offensive, they'd need to do so with a bang… and those two might just be able to deliver.

"Ryoko, Yosho!" Heero called, "I've got a job for you two!"

….

Ryoko grinned as Heero gave her the rundown. Full on frontal assault against a bunch of drones where she could cut loose? How could she say no?

"Not exactly subtle," Yosho observed as orange bolts of energy zipped overhead.

"We don't have time for subtle, old man," Ryoko pointed out.

"She's right," said Heero as he took a potshot and nailed another drone in the head, "Are you two in?"

Ryoko smirked. "You have to ask?"

Yosho chuckled. "What are we waiting for?"

Ryoko couldn't see beneath his helmet, but she had a feeling that Heero was smiling. "All right, then. Go on my mark. We'll put a bit more fire downrange first."

Ryoko crouched in the doorway, gathering energy to prepare herself while Heero and his friends unloaded on the enemy. Glancing next to her, she saw Yosho close his eyes.

Ryoko raised an eyebrow. "Are you actually meditating at a time like this?"

"Yes," Yosho replied casually.

Ryoko shook her head. Juraians; she could never figure them out.

Then again, when she thought of a certain bastard royal, she supposed that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. She liked a man that could keep her on her toes, after all, and Heero certainly delivered in that department.

"Get ready," said Heero as he picked off another drone, "Go!"

Ryoko burst out of cover and shot forward like a cannonball, the air around her crackling as she shrouded herself in an energy field. Orange burst of fire splashed against her barrier, but just like the drones in the entrance hall the machines here didn't possess the power needed to punch through her defenses, even if there were a lot of them. She ignited her crimson energy sword in her right hand while raising the open palm of her left, letting fly with a volley of red spheres.

Her salvo tore into the front ranks of the drones, blasting several to smoking pieces. A moment later she was among them, her sword slashing through the air with wild abandon. She was completely in her element, and with each passing second another drone fell to her bloodred blade.

"So undisciplined," Yosho chided her as he joined her, the azure shaft of Tenchi-ken weaving graceful arcs around him, "Your technique could use some work."

Ryoko grinned as she stabbed a drone through the chest. "Who needs technique when you have power?"

Yosho shook his head as half a dozen machines fell to pieces courtesy of a few quick swipes of his blade. "Those who wish to fight more efficiently, for starters."

"Can it, old man," Ryoko shot back while blasting another drone with a crimson sphere, "Less talking, more ass-kicking!"

Yosho chuckled as he casually slashed a drone's head clean off. "Very well, then."

And with that, the two of them plowed forward.

….

When it came to Juraian swordplay, there were many competing styles for a warrior to study. Each had their own unique philosophies, strengths and weaknesses, with the main commonality being the intense training required to achieve proficiency. Regardless of how archaic many of those styles might seem in the modern age, the consensus amongst those who studied combat was that they were spectacular to behold when the practitioner was a master, and while Yosho might play the part of a humble priest he had the self-awareness to acknowledge his skills without overindulging in pride. His time on Earth had actually proven quite beneficial to his study of the sword, for humans had developed many interesting fighting styles of their own before warfare in their world had evolved to the point that blades had been exchanged for firearms.

Even with that experience under his belt, though, Yosho's main style was ultimately a classical one. In fact, it was one of the earliest known Juraian saber forms, regarded as simple and oftentimes downright passive. The emphasis was on minimalism, focusing on a tight defense that expended the least possible amount of energy and preserved the wielder's strength for a prolonged fight. It hadn't always been his preferred form, but as time had gone by Yosho had developed a greater appreciation for it, especially since he was getting on in years. His prime might've been behind him, but he was more than capable of compensating for that with experience, precision, and patience.

Those qualities were serving him quite well now. With his Juraian power heightening his perception and reflexes, he could turn his defense into offense through anticipating the angle of incoming fire and deflecting those shots back at the attackers. The enclosed environment of the corridor made such efforts much easier than they had been up in the entrance hall since the enemy was only coming from one direction. Yosho could maintain a steady advance, protecting himself and those behind him while also inflicting casualties upon the enemy.

It was a sharp contrast to Ryoko's enthusiastic charge. Relying on aggression and raw power, she tore through the drones like a beast, sending mechanical limbs flying this way and that. She had energy to spare for such an assault, and while the ferocity behind it might give an enemy pause it also left her vulnerable.

Fortunately for her, Yosho was ready to step in and cover her blind spots. As she continued to press forward, bulldozing her way through the ranks of the drones and demolishing them with energy blasts and swings of her crimson blade, Yosho calmly slipped in behind her and picked off the mechanical combatants that were trying to get at her exposed flanks. His trained eyes and sharply honed abilities allowed him to perfectly compliment even a style as undisciplined and wild as Ryoko's, and he took full advantage of her furious front assault to further carve out room for the rest of the fireteam to move forward behind them.

My grandson will have his work cut out for him if he wishes to tame this one, he mused with a smirk as he watched Ryoko eviscerate a trio of drones with her sword, I never imagined his taste in women would draw him towards the likes of her. Then again, maybe he doesn't wish to tame her; perhaps he's looking to cut loose after years of being a disciplined soldier.

It was an interesting notion, but one that could be pondered at another time. For now, they still had plenty of drones to deal with.

….

"Not a bad plan," said AIDA, "They're clearing out the hallway quite nicely."

Heero nodded as he picked off another drone. "Momentum's on our side now. Let's not waste it. Keep moving forward, everyone."

"Try not to shoot Heero's granddad!" Duo chimed in, and the Perfect Solder was certain that the God of Death was grinning beneath his helmet.

"Want me to cut his audio feed?" AIDA offered, "Just say the word!"

"Don't tempt me," Heero muttered.

As Ryoko and Yosho plowed through the ranks of the drones, the rest of the fireteam moved up behind them and took shots where they could. Glancing at the layout AIDA had displayed earlier, Heero saw that they were approaching what looked like a junction of sorts. Their main destination would still be straight ahead, but there was still the chance that any of the side chambers and corridors could lead to something valuable.

He figured he should check with the resident expert. "What are we looking at once we reach the end of this corridor?"

"A few options, depending on what you're into," AIDA replied, "According to the good doctor's files, the passageways on the left side of the upcoming junction mostly lead to research stations. There shouldn't be anything particularly noteworthy at the moment, though; it's not like this place is fully staffed or anything. My master has left no notes regarding any potential projects being undertaken here. Of course, any such references could've been erased."

"Of course," Heero deadpanned as he shot another drone in the head, "What about to the right?"

"Supply rooms and maintenance facilities," said AIDA, "The latter might include repair stations for the drones, perhaps even housing."

"So, possibly more company up ahead," said Heero, "Good to know."

"One more thing," AIDA pointed out, "I know it looks small on this layout, but the junction is actually rather spacious. It would not surprise me if the good doctor took the time to place heavier defenses there."

Heero nodded. "Right, good point. We'll have to be careful."

AIDA giggled. "That should go without saying, wouldn't you think?"

Heero ignored her and called out to Ryoko and Washu. "Watch yourselves up ahead! Don't exit the hallway until the rest of us have caught up with you!"

He didn't get any sign of acknowledgement from the two of them; the pirate and the crown prince were slicing and dicing drones so quickly that they didn't have time to reply. Heero picked up the pace, wanting to make sure he could support them just in case they wound up in an ambush.

I have a bad feeling about this…

….

I gotta say, I'm a bit disappointed, Washu, thought Ryoko as she and Yosho tore through the ranks of the drone troopers, I was expecting more formidable defenses than disposable pawns like these.

The enemy might've had numbers on their side, but with the corridor limiting their room to deploy their quantity was hardly an advantage. Forced to confront a pirate with super powers and Juraian prince with a Master Key, the inadequacies of the robotic soldiers were painfully clear. Perhaps they might've fared well against conventional opponents, but Ryoko and Yosho hardly qualified as that.

They were plowing through the drones at a brisk pace; the enemy's numbers were proving to be barely more than speedbump. Between Ryoko's flashing blade and volleys of crimson spheres they had already cleared out a considerable swath of destruction, and with Yosho both watching her back and adding to the carnage with swift and precise strikes from Tenchi-ken, they were making a damn good dent in the opposition. Occasional bolts of orange energy from Heero and his fellow Gundam pilots served to pick off any drones the two of them missed, and at this rate they would be at the end of the hallway in no time at all.

"You think they could try a little harder?" she asked as she casually cleaved a mechanical soldier clean in half, "I'm starting to get bored!"

"Be careful for what you wish for," Yosho chided her while dropping three more with efficient grace, "You just might get it."

Ryoko rolled her eyes as she blasted two additional targets right in the chest. "Save it, old man."

She heard Heero's voice coming from the earbud she'd been given prior to their descent. "Slow it down, you two. Things might get hairy at the end of the hallway."

I really like you, Heero, she thought, but you gotta stop worrying so much. Have a little faith; you do know what I'm capable of, right?

She appreciated his concern, but right now she was fully wrapped up in the fight. Weak drones aside, she was still enjoying the chance to cut loose and wreck stuff without consequences, something she'd been deprived of for far too long while on Earth. Who knew when she'd have another chance to use her powers so liberally while on this mission? Sure, this was just the first of three repositories, and the other two were likely guarded as well, but it was impossible to say when they'd get the chance to raid the next one. She had to make the most of opportunities like this.

She kept plowing forward, her pace dictated only by how many drones were in her way. Her calculus was simple; the more of these things she destroyed and the faster she did it, the less danger Heero would be in. Maybe he saw her as reckless, but she didn't mind taking risks if it meant that he'd be safe. She was the one who had practice with their powers, after all. For all the training Heero had done during the course of the journey to the first repository, the fact remained that he was still used to fighting as a human; he still had a long way to go before he could truly master the energy that flowed through him as his birthright and properly wield it in battle.

Ryoko spotted the doorway just beyond the latest squad of drones before her. Lashing out with a series of wild and furious swings, she reduced them to charred bits in just a few seconds while Yosho sliced and diced a handful that had attempted to get around and hit her from the side. She had a straight shot at the exit now, and she eagerly took it.

"Wait, damn it!" shouted Washu.

"Ryoko!" called Heero, "Hold there!"

Not a chance!

She'd barely made it through the door way when she was suddenly yanked back by Yosho. Ryoko was about to round on him and let him have it, but then she saw the section of floor she'd been standing on just moments ago get absolutely lit up by a barrage of orange energy.

Taking cover in the doorway, Ryoko's eyes widened as she actually took the time to properly assess the room she'd just attempted to blindly charge into. The junction was a broad circular area with one large exit on the opposite end and several smaller doorways leading off to secondary sections of the facility. Those weren't what really had Ryoko's attention at the moment, though. Instead, her eyes were drawn to the pair of cannons flanking the doorway at the far end. Their design was actually quite similar to the massive anti-ship emplacements they'd encountered on their initial approach to the repository, save for the fact that they were obviously compact enough to fit inside the facility. However, just because they were smaller than the guns they'd dealt with outside didn't mean they were anything to sneeze at; in fact, based on the large blasts of orange energy they were lobbing across the room, Ryoko was willing to bet that they were closer to anti-vehicle artillery than anti-personnel weapons.

Jeez, Washu, she thought, I get that you like big guns, but ever heard of overkill?

"That could've ended poorly, wouldn't you say?" asked Yosho, a knowing smirk on his face.

Ryoko folded her arms and scowled at the man who'd just saved her bacon. "Yeah, well… thanks. Just don't gloat about it, all right?"

Yosho chuckled. "I suppose now's hardly the time for it anyway."

He wasn't wrong there. Ryoko's personal barriers were strong, but they had limits, and she knew that those two heavy cannons would really push the envelope of what her energy shield could handle. Peeking out from cover to reassess the junction, she realized that those weren't the only emplacements; there were four anti-personnel turrets spread out in the circular chamber as well, the same kind as the ones they'd seen up in the entrance hall. Drones, both the flying types and the trooper models, were pouring into the room as well.

I think we're in trouble…

….

"They have anti-tank guns down here," Duo muttered as the wall shuddered under another salvo, "Washu, were you trying to bring this place down from the inside when you designed its defenses?"

"Hey, these walls we're cowering behind are still standing, aren't they?" Washu pointed out, "You should be thanking me for that!"

"We're not cowering, we're taking cover," Wufei countered.

"Totally different things, clearly," Trowa quipped.

"In our defense, I don't think our armor's meant to take shots like that," Quatre argued, "I think a bit of hunkering down is in order."

Can't argue with that, thought Heero as he peeked around the edge of the doorway to take another look at the junction, although we can't stay like this forever. We need a way to bust through.

If it were just the two heavy cannons, Heero would've simply asked Ryoko to blitz them while the others provided covering fire. The four anti-personnel turrets and the growing number of trooper and flying drones complicated matters, though. There wasn't nearly as much room to maneuver in the junction as there had been in the entrance hall, and for the moment it was all the fireteam could do to keep the drones at bay.

"Hey, old man," said Duo, "Any chance you can pull that Jedi shot deflection on the heavy cannons?"

Yosho raised an eyebrow. "As amusing as I find your usage of the term, I must ask that you refrain from calling me a 'Jedi'. It's not really a proper comparison, energy sword and my powers enhancing my reflexes notwithstanding. With regards to me actually being able to deflect shots from heavy weapons emplacements such as those before us, I'm afraid that's out of the question. Tenchi-ken is technically strong enough to do so, but I'm afraid the sheer size of the bolt combined with heat and force of impact means I'd be unable to survive blocking it with just the blade."

Heero looked over his shoulder. "Ayeka. Could you and your guardians tank fire from those?"

Crouching behind him, Ayeka cautiously peeked around the corner. "Possibly. The only problem is that we'd have to focus all of our energy up front; our combined barrier would still be vulnerable from the flanks. Even with us concentrating our power in only one direction, under that kind of firepower we wouldn't be able to sustain the barrier indefinitely."

"I don't think we've ever tried to deflect firepower of that magnitude!" chirped Kamidake.

"It appears we may have no choice but to try now," Azaka somberly observed.

Washu folded her arms. "You see, this is why you two tin cans need to let me under the hood from time to time. I could've given you some serious upgrades before we came out here, but no; you two are terrified of me and won't let me work my magic!"

"I can't possibly imagine why," Hilde muttered.

"Too late for that now," quipped AIDA.

Heero nodded as he tried to piece together a plan. "Even if the barrier's strong enough to tank fire from the heavy guns, that still leaves the anti-infantry turrets and the drones. The smaller turrets are much more spread out, and of course the drones have the entire junction to maneuver in."

"No kidding," said Duo, "and there's more than enough of them out there to overwhelm us on the flanks."

"If it weren't for those anti-infantry turrets, we could blitz the big guns with no problem," Wufei added, "The thrusters on our armor are great for a run like that."

"Whatever we do, we need to do it quickly," said Quatre as the corridor shuddered under a fresh salvo from the heavy artillery, "We don't know how many drones they have to throw at us, and it's not like we can hold out here indefinitely."

"Air strike's not an option, either," Trowa muttered, "This is why I hate underground ops."

Leaning back against the wall, Heero closed his eyes for a moment to gather his thoughts. "AIDA, bring up that layout again."

"You got it," his perky assistant replied before the floorplans appeared on his HUD a moment later.

Studying the layout, Heero's eyes narrowed as he saw a passageway that was running directly over the corridor they were currently in, as well as straight over the junction up ahead. "What's that? Another drone accessway?"

"Yup," said AIDA, "It runs directly up to the entrance hall, though; there are no entrances to that passageway in this corridor."

Heero allowed himself a small smile as a plan began to form in his mind. "That's fine; I happen to know someone who doesn't need an entrance in order to access it."

"What are you…" AIDA began before catching onto where Heero was going with this, "Oh! Yeah… that could work."

"It'll have to," said Heero as the doorway the group was taking cover in shuddered under another blast from the heavy cannons, "We don't have any other options right now."

He then turned to the lovely pirate that was the key to his plan. "Ryoko? I need your help."

….

Wincing as the wall behind her shuddered under another hit, Ryoko's eyes narrowed as Heero laid out the plan. It was straightforward enough, and she was always a fan of simplicity, but there were still a few things she was concerned about.

"What if the passageway isn't empty when I phase into it?" she asked, "If there are drones in there then they could alert the others to my presence. It'd ruin the element of surprise pretty quickly."

"Take them out as quick as you can," Heero answered, "Even if they do get the word out, I doubt they'd be able to stop you from taking out the turrets. If need be, we can always make a diversionary attack; Ayeka and her guardians should be able to make a combined barrier that would buy us some time."

"That'd leave you guys taking a ton of fire," Ryoko pointed out nervously, "Ayeka's tough, but I don't think her barriers are that good."

Heero shook his head. "I know it's risky, but our options are pretty limited here. We haven't received any messages from Kiyone or Ryo-Ohki, so we can assume the skies are still clear, but that could change at any time. If Kagato shows up and we're still pinned here, then it's game over for us. Quick and risky plans are what we have to work with right now."

Ryoko couldn't argue with him on that point, but she was still nervous. "All right, but are you sure you guys are going to be okay?"

"We'll manage," Heero replied.

"Ryoko," said AIDA, "If you phase in directly above the turrets, you should have a clear shot at where the base of the barrel meets the mount. Strike there; if the weapon tries to fire after taking a hit like that, the resulting feedback should blow it to bits."

Ryoko raised an eyebrow. "Wouldn't an explosion like that put the rest of you in danger?"

"Not nearly as much as direct fire from those damn guns would," the artificial intelligence inside Heero's helmet countered, "Besides, this structure can withstand an explosion like that with little issue. It would take something far more powerful to truly pose a threat to the structural integrity of the repository."

"Hey, guys!" shouted Duo as he leaned around the edge and fired through the doorway, "We've got incoming! Whatever brilliant plan you're coming up with, finalize it quickly!"

Taking a quick glance, Ryoko saw that trooper and flyer drones were moving in under cover from the heavy guns and the anti-infantry turrets. She was confident that the fireteam could hold their current position, but she also saw that more drones were entering the junction from several different entrances. Heero was right; the plan he'd come up with might've been quick and risky, but given the options available to them it was the best they had for the current situation.

"Ayeka, you and your guardians get up front and set up a barrier!" Heero ordered, "The rest of us will lay down fire under cover of the shield to keep the drones at bay."

As the others rushed to carry out Heero's instructions, he turned back to Ryoko. "Get to that accessway and move as fast as you can. I'm counting on you."

She actually felt her heart skip a beat at that, along with a rush of heat to her face. He hadn't said we're counting on you, but I'm counting on you. It really shouldn't have been such a big deal, but knowing that he was willing to place that kind of faith in her during a life-or-death situation… well, Ryoko wasn't used to that sort of thing.

I could get used to it with you, though, she thought as she smiled at Heero, I definitely could…

"You got it," she said with a wink, "Try keeping your head down; it'd be a shame for you to get shot in that handsome face of yours by those big, scary guns. That helmet of yours is protecting a real galactic treasure, you know?"

Obviously, she couldn't see if he was blushing or not under that helmet, but the brief pause before his response hinted that just might be the case. "I'll keep that in mind. Be careful."

Ryoko smirked. "No promises."

Floating off the ground, she quickly ascended and phased through the ceiling. It only took her a few seconds to make it to the passageway above. She entered as quickly as she could and immediately surrounded herself with an energy field as a precaution. There was barely enough room in the accessway for her, but she had enough space to move forward, so that would have to do.

It was a good thing she'd put up a barrier right away, because there was already a pack of drones racing down the passageway towards her. Ryoko brought up her hands and directed their open palms at the oncoming foes.

"So much for the element of surprise," she muttered as crimson sparks crackled along her fingertips.

With that, she cut loose.

….

"How do you think they're doing down there?" asked Mihoshi as she idly looked out the viewport at the planet below.

"Good question," said Kiyone as she checked her display, "If they'd run into trouble and needed extraction, Ryo-Ohki would've relayed the distress signal our way already. So far, we've got nothing. They're probably still making their way down into the heart of the repository."

Mihoshi sighed. "I hope they're okay. I don't like just sitting up here like this doing nothing."

"We've got an important job to do," Kiyone countered, "They need us up here."

She wasn't wrong; while Ryo-Ohki was patrolling the airspace immediately over the repository, the Yagami had pulled back to low orbit in order to keep an eye on the rest of the star system. Kiyone and Mihoshi were the group's eyes and ears for any trouble that might rear its ugly head up in space, and the officers knew that said 'trouble' would very likely be in the form of Kagato.

There hasn't been any incoming traffic on the scopes yet, she thought, I'll definitely take that as a good sign. We'll be in a tight spot if Kagato does show up; whatever he'll be riding in, I doubt we've got the firepower to take it in a head-to-head fight.

"But I don't want to be up here!" Mihoshi pouted, "I want to be down there with them!"

Kiyone rolled her eyes in frustration. "Look, so do I, but we need to stick to the plan! How many times do we have to go over this, Mihoshi?"

"Can't you just drop me off down there?" Mihoshi pressed, "Then you can take the Yagami back up here to keep lookout!"

As tempting as it was to find an excuse to get Mihoshi off the ship, Kiyone held firm. "Sorry, but that's not happening. I told Heero we'd be his eyes and ears up here, and that's just what we're going to do. I'm not going to let him down, and you shouldn't either."

Mihoshi slumped down in her seat. "Oh, all right."

Kiyone knew better than to savor the victory; they'd had this argument more than once since they'd returned to orbit, and she was sure that Mihoshi would pick it right back up again a few minutes later. She would simply allow herself to enjoy a little bit of peace and quiet before the next round started.

Her words about their mission aside, Kiyone would privately concede that she was worried about Heero and the others. The fact that they were trying to make their way to the heart of a facility that Washu had apparently seen fit to guard with anti-ship artillery was a significant cause for concern. If those heavy guns had been the exterior defenses, then what were they having to deal with now that they were inside the repository? Knowing Washu, they were all likely hip-deep in some sort of trouble.

I swear, she can be a real pain in the ass, Kiyone silently fumed, I can't believe I didn't arrest her on the spot when she told us about that damn weapon at the heart of this whole mess. Then again, I doubt the others would've let me do that, and we need her cooperation to end the threat it represents once and for all.

The resident mad scientist was the least of her worries at the moment, though. Ever since she'd fired her report off to her superiors, she'd been expecting a furious reply, but none had come through yet. Either the top brass of the Galaxy Police were still processing everything she'd told them, or there was something else going on. They'd been silent for far too long now, and that was more than enough to make Kiyone nervous.

She tried and failed to suppress a shudder as the conversation she'd had with Wufei on the way out here went through her mind. Were her superiors seriously planning on seizing the Judgment Array for themselves? Taking control of the weapon would make them the ultimate power in the galaxy; even the mighty Empire of Jurai wouldn't be able to stand against them.

The Galaxy Police staked much of its authority on the promise of it being a neutral arbiter. While it was true that much of the territory it patrolled was under the authority of the Empire of Jurai, there were still plenty of independent systems and minor coalitions that had signed treaties welcoming the organization and placing themselves under its jurisdiction thanks in no small part to the offer of fair and equal justice. The Galaxy Police tended to be very accommodating of the needs of these smaller powers when setting up these treaties, making allowances for certain local laws and customs provided they didn't clash too strongly with the regulations of the organization and that the signatories were willing to contribute to the funding of the law enforcement agency's peacekeeping fleet. Perhaps it wasn't a perfect approach, but Kiyone had found it far preferable to some of the heavier-handed alternatives.

That understanding approach could be thrown out the window should the Galaxy Police take possession of the Judgment Array. While Kiyone wanted to believe that her organization would recognize that such a weapon was far too dangerous to be allowed to exist, she also understood the massive temptation that came with its power. Would her superiors be able to resist that temptation and hold true to the ethics and values that defined the Galaxy Police?

For the life of her, Kiyone didn't have a definitive answer.

It wasn't just the Galaxy Police that she was concerned about, either. Perhaps a far greater threat would be if the Empire of Jurai seized the Judgment Array. After all, they were the ones who had originally commissioned Washu and Kagato to build it and had provided the vast quantities of resources necessary for its construction. Kiyone was sure that the Emperor had been livid when Washu had removed the weapon from his grasp, and it wouldn't surprise her if he was still sore about even after all this time. If he had a chance to regain control over the Array, would he take it?

Kiyone suspected that he would. She didn't know the Emperor personally, after all; given her low rank within the Galaxy Police, it would be unheard of for someone in her position to encounter him even by chance. However, that didn't change the fact that the current Emperor was still the same one that had ruled Jurai during the civil war that had brought about the Judgment Array's construction. If he'd been willing to back the construction and use of such a weapon before, there was no reason to doubt that he'd be willing to seize it and utilize it.

Ayeka would probably say I'm being paranoid, she thought, but paranoia's rather healthy these days given what we're up against.

Both Ayeka and Sasami had clearly been shocked when they'd learned that their father had ordered the use of such a weapon, so Kiyone highly doubted that they would be open to Jurai seizing the weapon. They were likely fully on board with destroying the Array, and there was the hope that they could convince their father to simply back their mission as it currently stood rather than try to seize the Array for themselves. If they could secure the support of the Empire for taking out the Array, then that would go a long way towards making their task easier.

"That's a big 'if'…" Kiyone muttered under her breath.

"What's the matter, Kiyone?" asked Mihoshi.

Kiyone gave her partner a thoughtful look. Complex politics wasn't usually something she brought up with Mihoshi, mostly because she was too naïve to really grasp it. Given the situation they were in, though, she had to determine how committed her partner really was to the mission… and what she would be prepared to do should things take a turn for the worse.

"We're doing the right thing, aren't we?" asked Kiyone, "Racing across the galaxy like this, only sending a report to HQ before setting off rather than waiting for orders?"

Mihoshi smiled. "Of course, we're doing the right thing! You heard Washu; you know how dangerous this weapon is. We have to destroy it! It's as simple as that!"

Kiyone couldn't suppress a rueful chuckle. "I wish everyone saw it like that. For all the headaches that you give me, sometimes I wish other people in this galaxy were more like you, Mihoshi."

"Aw, thanks!" chirped her partner, "What makes you say that?"

"You don't have any doubts," Kiyone replied, "You know what the right thing to do is and you don't hesitate to do it, regardless of the consequences. You don't think about personal gain, but only about helping people in… well, in the way only you can, Mihoshi. You don't have any ulterior motives, and that goes for this mission too; you want us to succeed because it means we'll be saving countless lives and getting rid of a major threat."

"Well, yeah," said Mihoshi, as if it were the most obvious thing in the galaxy, "I mean, wouldn't everyone else want Washu's weapon destroyed? Well, everyone apart from this Kagato guy, I guess."

Kiyone double checked the sensors to make sure there were no incoming threats before continuing. "You'd certainly think so, but... not everyone's like us, Mihoshi. Kagato's probably not the only person in the galaxy that wants the Judgment Array."

"Well, if anyone else is after it, we'll just have to destroy it before they can get their hands on it," Mihoshi countered, "It doesn't change our mission if Kagato's not the only one trying to get the weapon."

Kiyone shook her head. How was she supposed to tell her partner that the branch royal and petty wannabe tyrants weren't their only potential enemies in this mission? How could she convey to Mihoshi that the very organization they belonged to might also be an obstacle, if not an outright threat?

She was still trying to figure out the best way to bring up such a sensitive topic when a chime came from the sensors. Checking the monitor, Kiyone's eyes widened as she saw a small cluster of contacts appear at the edge of the system. Due to the distance between them and the Yagami, it took the patrol cruiser's instruments a few moments to properly identify the newcomers. When they did, though, a dark pit began to form in Kiyone's gut.

No… please let this be a mistake!

She ran a quick diagnostic, but the results showed that the sensors were operating normally. There were five ships in the newly arrived formation…

…and they'd all been identified as belonging to the Galaxy Police.

….

"Transition to real-space complete," the helmsman reported, "Sublight engines are fired up and showing green across the board."

"All task force units have reported in," said the communications officer, "Formation is established and standing by for further orders, Captain."

Sitting in the command chair at the heart of the bridge, Captain Hotaka Goda's brow furrowed as he assessed the situation. A man of average height with short black hair and brown eyes, he was in many ways a typical Galaxy Police task force commander. He'd risen up through the ranks from scratch and had put in more than his share of time as a solo patrol cruiser Captain. His promotion to task force commander had been overdue in his eyes, but he'd bitten his tongue and simply accepted the increase in rank and pay without the snide comments his superiors certainly deserved. It was a step up that he needed, even if it still placed him on a career path that could be considered only slightly-above average for someone like him.

That was why it had taken him by surprise when his force had suddenly been diverted from its normal anti-pirate and smuggling interdiction patrols a few days ago. The briefing that had followed shortly thereafter definitely cleared things up, but it also presented a whole new set of questions. The mood of the task force had been rather subdued ever since the top brass had given them their new mission, and it was hard to Hotaka to blame them for that.

A weapon designed for nothing less than apocalyptic-levels of warfare, he mused, I'd heard that Washu was insane, but this really takes the cake. No wonder the higher-ups consider her the most dangerous woman in the galaxy.

The fact that two Galaxy Police Detectives First Class were currently acting as her personal ride-service almost seemed tame in comparison to the revelation of the Judgment Array. Hotaka was only aware of Kiyone and Mihoshi thanks to the latter's reputation as a walking disaster-magnet, and that reputation looked to be fully justified based on the mess she'd gotten herself and her partner into now. They were using their Galaxy Police patrol cruiser to transport not only the most infamous scientist in the universe to the first key of this colossal superweapon, but were also ferrying two Juraian princesses and their Royal Guardians, a long-lost crown prince, one of the most wanted pirates in the cosmos, and six inhabitants of a world so deep in the Outland Sector that 'backwoods' didn't even begin to describe it. Oh, and to top it all off, one of those Outland Sector natives was actually the bastard great-grandson of the reigning Emperor of Jurai.

If nothing else, it certainly made for one of the strangest missions of his career. Hotaka wouldn't delude himself; his task force had been selected simply because they were the closest to the system where the Yagami had been heading. This was a matter of expediency, not any sort of recognition of his abilities or that of his task force. In fact, the meager group of two picket ships, two patrol cruisers, and the cruiser Hotaka was using as his flagship would normally be considered completely inadequate given the presence of Ryoko amongst the passenger list of the Yagami, but this was the hand the Galaxy Police had been dealt.

Hotaka's mission was simple; rendezvous with the Yagami under the pretense of supporting its mission. Once contact had been established and its crew's guard was lowered, the Yagami was to be seized and both Detectives detained. It left a sour taste in Hotaka's mouth to be given such a task, but he understood the necessity of it. After all, Kiyone and Mihoshi had already brazenly flaunted regulations and were engaged in an unauthorized mission using Galaxy Police resources, and they were knowingly working with a notorious pirate and a mad scientist with a penchant for creating weapons of mass destruction. The Juraian royals would require a lighter touch, but Hotaka was confident arrangements could be made to eventually transport them back to the Empire. As for the Outland Sector natives, if they proved to be more trouble than they were worth then Hotaka had authorization to deal with them accordingly.

The real goal of the mission, though, was to seize whatever data Washu and her associates recovered from the repository. Hotaka's superiors had repeatedly stressed that point, and it didn't take a genius to understand why; the Judgment Array was a threat, one that needed to be dealt with as soon as possible. Such an important task couldn't be left to a pair of bumbling, incompetent officers and their rag-tag group of allies.

"Do we have eyes on the Yagami?" he asked.

"Conducting a full sweep of the system now," said the sensor officer, "One moment… contact confirmed over one of the inner planets. Beacon signature matches that of the Yagami."

Hotaka nodded. "Good. Any sign of Ryo-Ohki?"

"Not in orbit," the sensor officer answered, "She could either be aboard the Yagami in her animal form or operating in atmosphere."

"Understood," Hotaka replied, "Keep an eye out for her. I want shields and weapons brought up to full power across the task force."

He checked the main monitor, studying the system and the current position of the Yagami. It would be a simple matter to pin the ship between the task force and the planet's gravity well should its crew become suspicious, but he didn't want to resort to that unless he had to. Hotaka didn't bear any personal ill-will towards Detectives Makibi and Kuramitsu, and if at all possible, he wanted to detain them with a minimal amount of fuss. Even if they were operating well beyond any authorization from the top brass, they were still members of the Galaxy Police, and Hotaka wanted to avoid a situation where the task force might have to fire upon them in order to enforce compliance.

Keep calm and pretend like this is business as usual, he told himself, Kuramitsu is reportedly not that bright, but Makibi's file indicates that she's quite sharp; she could catch on quickly that this isn't a friendly batch of reinforcements. Play this carefully…

Hotaka was cautious by nature; playing the role of the aggressor didn't sit well with him. He wanted to make a methodical and by-the-book approach, get the two Detectives to accept his presence in the system and that their self-appointed mission would now have to accommodate him. His task force having weapons activated and shields raised would of course rub Kiyone and Mihoshi the wrong way, but he could explain that to them as simply a precaution given the nature of their assignment. He would take things slow and easy, and it would all work out.

Of course, it was right then that all hell broke loose.

….

"Yay, reinforcements!" Mihoshi cheered, "It looks like our superiors took your report seriously, Kiyone!"

"Looks like it…" Kiyone muttered, hardly sharing in her partner's optimism.

Two picket ships, two patrol cruisers, and an enforcer cruiser, she thought as she studied the formation, Standard setup for a long-range anti-pirate task force. That's not something you send after a weapon capable of wiping out all life on multiple planets at once. They might just be whatever the top brass had that was closest to the region… or it might actually be a special operations force disguising themselves as a standard patrol group.

It was a dicey situation, to put it mildly. The two picket ships were barely half the size of the Yagami and couldn't stand up to her when it came to armor and firepower, but their slender and streamlined hulls gave them a much narrower target profile, and Kiyone knew from experience that they were much more maneuverable than her vessel. Both patrol cruisers present in the task force were of the same class as the Yagami, although Kiyone didn't recognize the individual vessels. Those four ships alone would be enough to corner the Yagami if Kiyone held her current position, but the real threat was the enforcer cruiser.

Seven hundred meters in length, the Judicial-class enforcer cruiser was the backbone of the Galaxy Police's anti-pirate forces. Comprised of a bulbous central hull which flared out towards the rear to accommodate its powerful engines, the vessel was the Galaxy Police's ship of choice when situations required for a firm hand and a powerful statement. A single broadside from her batteries of heavy energy cannons would be enough to strip away the shields of a patrol cruiser like the Yagami, leaving it exposed to the inevitably fatal follow-up barrage. Thick armor and powerful shield generators protected the cruiser, and the vessel possessed two ventral hangar bays, the first of which Kiyone knew held a squadron of a dozen Sentry-class interceptors while the second housed a handful of shuttles.

Their shields and weapons are already online, she thought as she checked the display, but they haven't launched fighters yet. Their beacons are broadcasting clearly, yet they haven't reached out to us. They have to know that we're aware of their presence. Are they waiting for us to make the first move?

The task force was moving forward at a relatively cautious pace. It was still pretty far out in the system, so it would take a bit of time before Kiyone and Mihoshi would have to deal with them directly. Still, it didn't feel like nearly enough time for her to come to a decision about what to do.

Should she reach out herself and see if the task force was simply here to back them up? That'd be the easiest call to make, but Kiyone couldn't shake her apprehension and suspicion that this task force was more than just some friendly reinforcements. The stakes were too great for the top brass to dispatch a mere patrol task force. Were they just the first wave, or were her initial thoughts about them possibly being a special ops force in disguise accurate?

First thing's first, she thought, I need to give Heero and the others a heads up. I also need to make sure Ryo-Ohki keeps her head down; the last thing we need is her getting into a skirmish with the task force while the others are still down on the ground. After all, she's their means of quick extraction once the repository is set to blow.

Much to her surprise, it was AIDA rather than Heero that answered. "Hello, Yagami. What can we do for you?"

Kiyone's brow furrowed. "I need to talk to Heero, AIDA. Is he okay?"

"He's unharmed, but I'm afraid his attention's focused on the current firefight," AIDA replied, "He asked me to take this in his stead."

I hope he's not pinned down, she mused, Our window for completing this operation likely just got a whole lot smaller with that task force showing up…

"Well, tell him we've got company up here," said Kiyone, "A Galaxy Police task force just entered the system and is heading our way!"

That actually caught the artificial intelligence off guard. "Oh… that might be a problem. Have they reached out to you?"

Kiyone shook her head. "Not yet."

"Do you think they're hostile?" asked AIDA.

"Of course not!" Mihoshi chirped, "Why would they be?"

AIDA ignored her. "Kiyone? Friendly or hostile?"

Kiyone sighed. "Could be either. Can't say for sure, but… I've got a bad feeling about this. I might need to break off and reposition before we get pinned."

"Do what you have to," AIDA quickly replied, "I'll let Heero know what's up and have Ryo-Ohki keep a low profile until we're ready for extraction. Keep yourselves from getting caught; you're our only set of eyes and ears up there, after all. Good luck!"

As soon as the transmission ended, Kiyone immediately increased the power going to the patrol cruiser's engines. Carefully considering her course, she decided to move out just far enough from the planet to give herself greater freedom to maneuver without looking like she was trying to put distance between herself and the incoming task force. It was a simple stalling maneuver, but until she could ascertain the intentions of the task force commander it was all she could do.

Then a sensor alarm went off as two more contacts entered the system right behind and above the task force. The first was what appeared to be a large armored luxury yacht, half a kilometer in length. While smaller than the Judicial-class enforcer cruiser leading the Galaxy Police task force, Kiyone's eyes widened slightly when she saw the power readings; if her sensors were accurate, this thing had a powerplant on par with a heavy cruiser at the very least. Its shields came up a moment later, and the energy signature further reinforced the notion that this ship was much more than some rich scion's fancy toy. Kiyone hadn't seen a ship like it before, yet she had a strange feeling that she should know it, and she didn't like. The second ship, on the other hand, was one that she immediately recognized, and she knew that it was bad news.

It was Ken-Ohki.

….

"Well," Nagi muttered under her breath, "this is a problem."

Opposition within the system had been expected, and indeed it hadn't taken Nagi long to spot the Yagami. Ryo-Ohki wasn't yet showing up on Ken-Ohki's scopes, but if the crimson Galaxy Police patrol cruiser was already here then doubtlessly Ryoko's living starship was hiding somewhere in the star system. The real issue was the Galaxy Police task force that Ken-Ohki and the Silver Hand had jumped in practically right on top of.

It only took the veteran bounty hunter a moment to size up the force. The information Kagato had given her about this latest job hadn't included the possibility of the Galaxy Police having serious assets in the area, and Nagi had been hoping to avoid them altogether. The task force presented an obstacle, although not an insurmountable one; if it came down to a fight, Nagi knew that she and her employer could take them.

Checking her communications display, she saw a bunch of encrypted transmissions fly between the five ships of the task force; clearly the arrival of Ken-Ohki and Kagato's private armed yacht had touched a nerve. They were no doubt confused, but that wouldn't last forever.

That was when a chime came from her console, and she heard Kagato's voice a moment later. "Engage."

Nagi tensed up; picking a fight with the Galaxy Police wasn't exactly what she'd signed on for, the occasional pair of stubborn detectives getting in her way notwithstanding. If she was going to get into a shooting match with them, she wanted it to be worth it.

"Five million extra," she replied, "or I walk away."

Kagato's response came without hesitation. "Done. Take out the picket ships; I'll handle the rest."

Another chime came from the console, and Nagi's eyes widened; the five million had already been transferred to her account. Personal misgivings about her client aside, the bounty hunter had to give him credit for paying very promptly.

No turning back now…

"All right, then," she said grimly as she turned to the task at hand, "Ken-Ohki? Time to get to work."

….

Leaning forward in the command chair of the Silver Wind and clasping his hands in front of him, Kagato allowed himself a small smile. The game was about to begin in earnest now, and there would be no stepping back from the line he was going to cross.

History belongs to those who shatter boundaries and do what they must to realize their ambitions, he thought, and I intend for the entire galaxy to be the canvass on which my masterpiece shall be painted.

The presence of the Galaxy Police task force was unexpected, but Kagato was nothing if not adaptable. "Comms, initiate full-spectrum communications jamming. Weapons, launch a gravity well mine to our rear and then angle for a starboard broadside on the patrol cruiser closest to Ken-Ohki."

His comms officer responded immediately. "Aye, my lord."

Full-spectrum jamming was a double-edged sword; the Galaxy Police ships wouldn't be able to communicate with each other, but neither could the Silver Hand and Ken-Ohki. However, this was less of a handicap than it might've appeared on the surface. After all, Kagato had already relayed instructions to Nagi, and he knew that the bounty hunter was tactically astute enough to recognize his ploy and take initiative in the communications gap. Securing her retainer really had been a coup, and giving her a bonus for taking on the Galaxy Police was a very small price to pay in order to keep the services of such a skilled individual.

As for the gravity well mine, that was an experimental bit of technology that Kagato had very much been looking forward to field testing. The principal behind the device was simple; it would simulate the effects of a planet's mass and prevent nearby ships from jumping to lightspeed. The range was limited, and of course the mine was vulnerable to being destroyed by weapons fire, but its relatively small size meant that it would be difficult for the enemy to pinpoint during the heat of battle, especially when they would be more focused on fighting the Silver Hand itself and Ken-Ohki. It would only cover this small section of the star system and would have to be retrieved and redeployed if Kagato wanted to successfully pin Washu and her allies to the repository, but that was why he'd launched it to the rear of his vessel; in order to maximize the chances for a successful recovery by keeping his ship between the mine and the Galaxy Police task force.

"My lord, we're lined up for a broadside on the first target," reported the weapons officer.

Kagato nodded. "No sense in putting this off any longer. Fire at will."

….

From her current position, Kiyone could only watch with bated breath as the Galaxy Police task force, Nagi and the armored yacht made their opening maneuvers. She'd already brought her ship's shields and weapons online, but the Yagami was still out of range of any potential action, and in any case Kiyone didn't know who was the real enemy.

That changed a moment later when a salvo of violet energy flew forth from Ken-Ohki and slammed into the upper hull of the lead picket ship. The vessel's shields briefly flared, but the power behind the attack swiftly overwhelmed them. A follow-up barrage aimed at the exact same spot sliced through the ship's armor, and a series of internal explosions cut the vessel in half.

One of the patrol cruisers attempted to avenge the picket ship, but before it could open fire the vessel fell victim to a surprise barrage from the armored yacht. Kiyone could only watch in horror as concentrated bolts of azure energy cut right through the vessel's shields, pierced its armor and went straight to the powerplant. The ship's generator instantly went critical, and the patrol cruiser burst like a grenade.

"Shit!" hissed Kiyone as she watched the destruction from afar, "They're actually taking them on!"

"We have to help them!" cried Mihoshi, "Hurry, Kiyone!"

Kiyone bit her lip. Regardless of the reason for the task force's presence in the system, they were still part of the Galaxy Police, so her partner wasn't wrong about the two of them having an obligation to assist. Things weren't that simple, though. The fearsome broadside unleashed by the yacht had just one-shot a patrol cruiser of the exact same class as the Yagami; to say that Kiyone and Mihoshi were outgunned would be a ridiculous understatement. They might be able to stand up to Ken-Ohki in a straight fight, but based on what she was seeing now it was all too clear to Kiyone that Nagi would be able to outmaneuver them with little effort. All the bounty hunter would have to do was stall until the armored yacht could draw a bead on them, and it'd be game over.

Matters were only made worse when Kiyone saw the task force's enforcer cruiser open up on the yacht with a powerful broadside of yellow energy, only for the targeted vessel to tank the shots. Kiyone's eyes widened in shock as she saw the power-readings; the yacht's shields barely appeared to be phased by the attack, and they certainly weren't going to fall anytime soon. The yacht immediately returned fire, and while its current position meant it couldn't bring all the guns from any one side to bear on its target quite yet, pulses of azure energy slammed into the cruiser with ferocious accuracy. The space surrounding the medium cruiser rippled as the warship's shields did their job, but one glance at the scanner told Kiyone that the Galaxy Police vessel had its work cut out for it.

Meanwhile, Nagi had already come about and was facing off with the second picket ship. Ken-Ohki danced across the stars with bewildering speed and grace, evading fire from its target with almost contemptuous ease. Kiyone doubted the crew of the picket ship had enough time to realize what had happened before Ken-Ohki was below them with a prime firing angle at the vessel's engines. Nagi opened fire a moment later, shattering the picket ship's shields with violet blasts of energy that soon began carving chunks out of the vessel's armor. A few seconds later a string of explosions went off inside the hull; one of Nagi's shots had likely detonated an auxiliary reactor. Within mere moments, the vessel had been torn to ribbons.

The enforcer cruiser and one more patrol cruiser remained in the fight, but Kiyone was under no illusions; there was no way in hell they could win. Intervention by the Yagami wouldn't have a chance at turning the tide; she'd just be giving Kagato and his bounty hunter lackey one more target to shoot at.

There was only one realistic move available to Kiyone, and she proceeded to make it even as she knew that Mihoshi would protest. Altering her ship's course, she started to bring the Yagami down into the planet's atmosphere.

It didn't take long for Mihoshi to make her displeasure with the move known. "Kiyone! What are you doing?"

"Keeping us alive and in a position to help the ground team," Kiyone countered, "Mihoshi, we can't win if we fight up here. You saw the firepower that yacht's packing; the task force is outmatched, and we're not going to be able to help them. Sasami's on this ship too, and we can't put her in danger. Our best move is to get to ground, give Heero a warning and then hide the Yagami. If the enemy loses track of us, they might get sloppy on approach to the repository, and that'll give us an opening. Either way, it's the only play we have right now."

Mihoshi sighed, casting a mournful look at the doomed task force. "All right… let's go."

Kiyone knew how she felt. Her move might've been the smart one, but that didn't mean she liked it. She was leaving her comrades to die for the sake of her friends and the broader mission, and it definitely left a sour taste in her mouth.

All she could do now was pray she'd made the right call in the long run.

….

Her hands dancing over Ken-Ohki's console, Nagi weaved through fire from the remaining ships of the task force. It was times like this that she was grateful for Ken-Ohki's unparalleled maneuverability and responsiveness to her touch; her partner in the bounty hunter trade knew how she thought and reacted at the slightest hint. A few blasts of plasma fire occasionally found their mark, but these were isolated shots that stood no chance of breaking through Ken-Ohki's shields.

This battle's already over, she thought, I doubt Kagato will let them surrender, though. He can't afford to leave any witnesses, after all. Speaking of witnesses…

Checking her display, she saw that Ken-Ohki had lost track of the Yagami. The patrol cruiser had previously been holding position over the planet that the repository had been on earlier, and Nagi knew that the ship couldn't have gotten very far. Either it had moved behind the planet to hide in its mass shadow or, much more likely in Nagi's mind, she had entered the atmosphere.

"Meow!" growled Ken-Ohki, drawing Nagi's mind back to more immediate concerns.

Her eyes were instantly drawn to the sensors, where a dozen smaller contacts had suddenly appeared; the enforcer cruiser had finally scrambled its fighter squadron. Shaped like a knife, its silver hull-plating gleaming in the light of the system's distant sun, the Sentry-class interceptor was the mainstay fighter for the Galaxy Police. Swift and agile, it was armed only with a pair of light rapid-fire energy cannons mounted at the front of the fuselage. The bulk of its powerplant was devoted to mainlining energy to the engines, meaning the craft had only light shields; speed was its primary means of defense. It lacked its own lightspeed drive, meaning it relied on larger vessels to carry it between deployment zones. The Sentry-class interceptor also did not have its own onboard life-support system, forcing the pilots to wear completely sealed flight suits.

Against targets such as smugglers' freighters or the cobbled-together fighters often deployed by raiders, the Sentry-class had a solid track record. However, that wasn't what they were up against today. Ken-Ohki was a completely different beast, and it under Nagi's control the living starship was more than capable of tracking fast and highly maneuverable targets such as the interceptors. When that was combined with the firepower at the ship's disposal, Nagi knew that the Galaxy Police pilots were up against their worst possible foe.

She felt sorry for the grunts; they were only doing their job, after all. Still, pity wouldn't stop her from carrying out her contract. The interceptors had fanned out and were moving to engage her, and Nagi was more than willing to meet them halfway. Zipping across the void, Nagi rapidly closed the distance and cut loose with her opening salvo. The barrage of violet light ripped through the ranks of the interceptors, shredding three fighters while the rest scattered. Bolts of orange energy answered her attack, but the few shots that connected were too weak to break through Ken-Ohki's shields.

Twisting and diving like a thing possessed, Ken-Ohki didn't give the interceptors a moment's respite. His arsenal of energy cannons continued to pound away with spears of violet light, keeping the Galaxy Police pilots on the defensive and preventing them from regrouping. Two more interceptors quickly fell to the withering fire, and the remaining seven were so disorganized that they were all but at Nagi's mercy.

Too bad mercy's not on the agenda today. Not for you guys, anyway. Nothing personal.

This is just a job.

….

Kagato smirked as he watched the carnage unfold. "All too easy…"

Bringing along Nagi had definitely been the right call; not only had she dealt with the picket ships in a timely fashion, but she was making short work of the interceptors too. She had her part of the fight well in hand, which meant it was time for Kagato to wrap up his end of things.

The Silver Hand shuddered as its shields tanked another broadside from the task force's enforcer cruiser. Checking the display, Kagato saw that his vessel's barriers were holding at about seventy percent strength. The same could not be said for the enforcer cruiser; her shields had already been reduced to less than thirty percent and were fading fast. He saw it as a vindication of all the time he had put into personally designing the Silver Hand rather than simply leaving it to a third party as his sister had suggested.

Ragyō might see starship design as beneath a royal, he mused, but I've always enjoyed that particular field of study. Besides, I think she'll find it hard to argue with the results today.

While the Silver Hand traded broadsides with the task force's flagship, the remaining patrol cruiser had slipped around to the rear of the yacht and was taking shots at the ship's engines. The rear shields were holding, but it was a nuisance that Kagato wanted deal with immediately. The patrol cruiser was more maneuverable than the yacht, so reorienting to take it out while under fire from the enforcer cruiser would be difficult. Thankfully, Nagi was dealing with the Galaxy Police interceptors so effectively that Kagato felt she could be reassigned to deal with the pest at his rear.

"Cease the jamming; it's no longer needed. Contact Ken-Ohki and inform our bounty hunter friend that they have a new target," said Kagato, "Tell Nagi to drive that patrol cruiser off of our rear. She doesn't have to destroy it; she simply needs to push it back for now."

"Understood, my lord," the communications officer replied.

"Engineering, divert half power from the engines to the shields," he ordered, "This is a contest of endurance, one that we want the enemy to see that they have no hope of winning."

Speed wasn't a concern of Kagato's at the moment; surviving the battle was his top priority. With his shields reinforced, he felt much more comfortable about finishing up the slugging match with the enforcer cruiser. Volleys of azure energy blasts pounded the task force flagship, and its shields were clearly straining to repel the assault. Flickering lights from some of the ship's viewports indicated to Kagato that the vessel's power systems were beginning to buckle under the stress; it wouldn't be much longer now until the barriers were shattered.

Glancing at a monitor, Kagato checked the status of the gravity well mine. The device was still functioning and the task force hadn't been given a chance to target it, but Kagato remained concerned. After all, the technology behind the device was experimental and had proven to be rather temperamental in the lab. When refined, Kagato knew that it would be a game changer in galactic warfare, but first the reliability of the technology behind it had to be improved. So far it was doing its job very well, but he was keenly aware that the highly sensitive equipment and instruments inside the device could be thrown out of synch with just the slightest of disturbances.

Such a delicate device, he thought, I definitely need to take a look at the data from this performance once things have quieted down. Development of the prototype was also rather pricey, which isn't exactly conducive to mass production. Still, for its first trial by fire, I'd say it's putting on a good show.

Reassessing the tactical situation, Kagato saw that Nagi had successfully driven back the patrol cruiser. The vessel was still intact, but the bounty hunter definitely had it on the defensive, and if left to her own devices Kagato was reasonably sure that she'd be able to take the ship down without assistance. The few remaining Sentry-class interceptors did what they could to aid the patrol cruiser, but pulses of violet energy from Ken-Ohki took them down as casually as if the bounty hunter was simply swatting flies.

"Time to end this," said Kagato, "Weapons, concentrate fire on the cruiser's engines. She dies now."

Fresh salvos shot forth from the yacht's batteries, and with the power boost they'd been given earlier thanks to redirecting power from the engines they finally had the punch required to shatter the enforcer cruiser's shields. The follow-up volley pierced the ship's armor and lanced right through the primary engines, and a second latter the vessel was consumed by a brilliant orange and white fireball. The blast was so radiant and close that it temporarily shorted out the yacht's visual sensors, and fresh tremors went through the ship as the shockwave hit.

When the sensors came back online a moment later, there was naught but twisted and half-melted fragments of debris where the enforcer cruiser had once been. Kagato didn't need the sensors to know that the ship had been lost with all hands; there was no way anyone would've had time to evacuate given the vessel's swift and violent end.

"Divert the excess power back to the engines," he ordered, "Bring them back into balance with the other systems and come about; we'll administer the finishing blow and move on to our primary objective."

As the bridge crew carried out his orders, Kagato's gaze idly turned towards the planet where the repository was supposed to be located. How far had Washu and her followers gotten? What all had she told them about the Judgment Array?

And most importantly of all…

…was Yosho down there?

His thoughts were interrupted by the ship's weapons officer. "My lord, we have firing solutions on the patrol cruiser."

Kagato absently nodded; the space battle was barely even a blip on his radar now. "Fire at will, then. Make sure Ken-Ohki sweeps up the last of the enemy fighters."

Let us brush aside the remaining crumbs of this appetizer, he thought, and turn our gaze towards the main course. If you are indeed down there, old friend…

…then this will truly be a meal to savor.

….

One last volley of violet energy was all Nagi needed to take down the three remaining interceptors. The trio of fighters burst into briefly-lived fireballs before fading to nothingness against the void, leaving just the patrol cruiser as the task force's only survivor. Nagi knew that the ship wasn't long for the mortal coil; the Silver Hand had come about, and the bulk of her starboard batteries were trained on their target. A salvo of azure fire ripped forth a moment later, punching right through the patrol cruiser's shield and tearing the ship apart in the blink of an eye.

"Ken-Ohki, sweep for escape pods," she ordered.

"Meow," her living starship replied somberly; none of the Galaxy Police ships had been given a chance to launch them.

Nagi sighed. "Figured as much."

It's just a job, she reminded herself, and no witnesses is definitely a good thing under the circumstances.

Still, she couldn't deny that the whole affair left a bad taste in her mouth. Was the bonus she'd wrangled out of Kagato really worth knowing she'd ended so many lives so quickly? Sure, it was possible that many of the officers in the task force were corrupt; the Galaxy Police's Internal Affairs Division was well-known for being woefully underfunded and almost criminally understaffed, allowing for a disturbingly high number of crooked cops to remain on the beat long after they should've been arrested and fired. Still, Nagi doubted that ever single officer that had just died today had been corrupt. Hell, it was likely only a small minority of the task force who had only possibly been on the take.

Naturally, cop killers were at the top of the Galaxy Police's shit list. Nagi would know; she'd hunted down more than her share. Now she was among their ranks, or she would be if word of what happened here leaked out. She'd hoped that Kagato would've kept the full-spectrum jamming online for the entire fight, but he'd dropped it partway through. It had achieved its purpose in disorganizing the enemy at the start of the fight, and they were so far out of the way that Nagi doubted the task force could get a signal back to Galaxy Police HQ from here.

Of course, she had to know for sure. "Ken-Ohki, access transmission logs. Highlight all communications made after the Silver Hand cut the jamming."

The requested data showed up on the monitor a moment later. Her brow furrowing as she went down the list, Nagi breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that the few communications after the jamming had gone down were all local tactical transmissions. If the Galaxy Police task force had been preparing to send a message to HQ, they hadn't gotten it off in time.

One less thing to worry about.

Another growl from Ken-Ohki drew her attention to the sensor display. This time, she saw that Kagato's prototype gravity well mine had been deactivated. The Silver Hand had moved back so that it could catch the device in its tractor beam and recover it; Nagi supposed that experimental tech like that was simply too expensive and valuable to be left floating in the void. It had been interesting to see the mine in action, and the bounty hunter idly wondered if the branch royal had plans to sell them on the black market once they could be miniaturized and mass produced. She'd be the first in line to buy some if that were the case; a device like that would certainly be useful in her line of work.

Her screen shifted as Kagato opened a channel with her. "Excellent work, Nagi."

Nagi was hardly in the mood for flattery. "Save the praise. The job's not done yet."

Kagato chuckled. "True enough. I suppose it's only just getting started. Now that we're free of distractions, we can focus on our original mission. Proceed as we'd planned; you'll be our vanguard. We'll begin our descent once you give the all-clear."

Nagi nodded. "Understood."

Kagato vanished from the screen a moment later, and the image of the planet housing the repository returned. Not wasting anytime, Nagi nudged Ken-Ohki to accelerate.

What kind of opposition would be waiting for them on the surface?

There was only one way to find out.

….

Having finally plowed her way through the last of the drones that had been blocking the passageway, Ryoko phased down through the ceiling and attacked the two heavy weapons emplacements from above. Before the first one could even react, she'd already carved into it with her energy sword, destroying the emitters so that it couldn't open fire. The second weapon turned towards her, but its rotation was slow, and Ryoko swiftly closed the distance with the emplacement and gave it the same treatment as the first one.

She grinned as she turned towards the doorway where the others were hiding. "Got 'em, Heero!"

She didn't have time for much more than that; the anti-infantry turrets were turning towards her. Surrounding herself with a barrier, she tanked fire from the smaller emplacements as she acted as a decoy. Her efforts paid off in short order; precise fire from Heero took out one of the turrets, while a rapid-fire assault from Trowa destroyed another one.

With the enemy fire reduced, Ryoko now had room to counterattack. Raising her left hand, she cut loose with a stream of crimson spheres. The barrage immediately found its mark, reducing a third anti-infantry turret to charred bits of metal. That just left one anti-personnel emplacement to go, and that was swiftly dealt with courtesy of a precise volley from Heero.

With all the turrets out of the way, the only opposition left in the junction were the flying drones and trooper drones. There were quite a few of them, but without the turrets reinforcing them they were vulnerable. Wufei, Duo and Quatre immediately entered the room and opened up, carving a fiery swath through their ranks in short order. They were quickly joined by fresh shots from Heero and Trowa, and soon the ranks of the drones were in chaos as the fireteam laid into them with ruthless efficiency. Yosho soon joined in as well, his azure blade dancing through the air as a trio of trooper drones quickly found themselves on the wrong end of Tenchi-ken.

Smirking, Ryoko decided to get in on the fun. Deactivating her energy sword, she simply raised both hands and opened up. A barrage of crimson death rained down on the drones from above, and the amount of smoking hulks on the floor quickly began to pile up.

I love mechanical enemies, she thought, I don't feel bad no matter how many I take down.

The drones would occasionally take shots at her, but between her barriers and her agility they didn't have what it took to bring her down. Besides, with the rest of the fireteam tearing into them, Ryoko could tell that they weren't long for this world. Whatever tactical software Washu had programmed them with was quite rudimentary; they just couldn't adapt to the combination of Ryoko's attacks from above, the precise and deadly fire from Heero and the other former Gundam pilots, and Yosho's magnificent swordplay. The occasional squad of reinforcements would enter the junction, but from her position on high Ryoko easily dealt with them via barrages of red energy spheres before they could engage her friends on the ground.

With a well-placed shot from Heero's rifle piercing a flying drone right through the core, the last of the hostiles was silenced. Ryoko saw Heero turn back towards the doorway and motion for the others to come forward, while the rest of the fireteam fanned out to secure the junction.

Washu smiled as she surveyed the destruction. "I knew you guys could handle this."

"You didn't make it easy on us," Duo quipped.

"Quite the formidable set of defenses," said Trowa.

Wufei chuckled. "That was a nice little workout."

Quatre laughed. "I guess you would see it that way, Wufei!"

"You guys all right?" asked Hilde, looking at Duo in particular.

Duo posed as if he was flexing his muscles, although being clad in full armor made it a rather pointless gesture. "Not a scratch!"

"If they were wounded, I'd tell you, Hilde," said Washu as she waved her arm and a holographic console briefly appeared in the air before her, "Their vitals are all green across the board."

"Oh," Hilde replied as Washu waved the display away, "All right, then. Thanks."

Ayeka shook her head. "We got very lucky there. That was a reckless plan, Lord Heero!"

"At least it worked," Azaka pointed out.

"Ryoko played her part splendidly!" Kamidake chirped.

Ryoko smiled. "Well, aren't you rather nice for a royal tin can? Maybe I was wrong about you!"

"Royal tin can?" Kamidake replied indignantly, "Take that back!"

Ryoko sighed. "Guess I spoke too soon there."

Yosho chuckled. "Ah, they're as thin-skinned now as they were back when they served me. Some things truly never do change."

Ryoko raised an eyebrow as she floated down next to him. "When they served you? Since Heero's your grandson, does that mean they'll serve him if something happens to Ayeka and Sasami?"

Ayeka scowled at her. "Are you wishing for my early demise, you scoundrel?"

"Just raising a hypothetical question," Ryoko countered, "Jeez, lighten up!"

"Hypothetical or otherwise, it's a distraction that we don't have time for," Heero cut in, "I got a transmission from the Yagami earlier during the firefight, and an update on that just a few seconds ago. We're no longer alone in this star system."

Washu's eyes narrowed. "Who's here?"

"A Galaxy Police task force entered the system while we were trying to dislodge our rather stubborn foes in this junction," came AIDA's voice over Heero's helmet speakers, "Shortly afterwards, they were ambushed from behind by Ken-Ohki and a previously unidentified armored yacht."

"Nagi…" Ryoko growled.

"And Kagato is on the yacht," said Yosho.

All eyes turned to the old man, with Heero being the first to ask what they were all thinking. "How do you know that?"

"I can sense him," Yosho replied, "The same goes for his sister. They're coming. With time and training, Heero, you'll learn to pick up on the power of our bloodline even from great distances."

"That's time we clearly don't have right now," Heero pointed out.

Yosho sighed. "All too true."

"Ken-Ohki's acting as vanguard for Kagato," AIDA reported, "The Yagami has gone to ground; Kiyone wishes to conceal the ship since she can't stand up to Nagi and Kagato in a straight up fight."

Duo nodded. "Good call."

"She has Sasami on board, too," Trowa noted, "I'm sure they don't want to put her in danger."

"How long until they're here?" asked Quatre.

"Not long," AIDA answered, "Based on their last reported rate of approach, I'm guessing about fifteen minutes tops until they're both floating right above this place."

"Should we have Ryo-Ohki intercept? It might buy us some time," Wufei suggested.

Ryoko immediately put her foot down. "No. Nagi will be at Ken-Ohki's controls; Ryo-Ohki can't take them on without me guiding her. If Kagato's backing Nagi up with his super yacht, then it'd be even worse."

"Agreed," said Heero, "AIDA, send a transmission to Ryo-Ohki. Have her join up with the Yagami and go to ground for now. If those two can stay hidden, we can use them for a surprise attack when we need to make our getaway."

"Understood," AIDA replied.

"What's our play?" asked Hilde.

"Our mission stays the same," Heero answered, "We get to the heart of the repository, get the data we need, and set this place to blow. The only thing that's changed is the urgency. We need to pick up the pace."

"And if Nagi and Kagato try to stop us on the way out?" asked Duo.

"We blitz past as quickly as we can," Heero replied, "I doubt either of them has a death wish; if they know the place is about to go up in flames, they might prioritize self-preservation over fighting us for the data."

"There are two more repositories after this one," Washu reminded them, "Kagato no doubt regained at least that much knowledge thanks to the memories Nagi copied from me. It'd be very much like him to pull back and try to tail us to the second repository if he can't get what he needs here. Still, we have to assume that he's going for the data here, whether it be by getting to the heart of this place or simply attacking me in a repeat of the incident on Earth."

"How much further do we have to go?" asked Trowa.

"We're pretty deep into this place as is," Wufei noted, "It's been slow going, but we have to at least have put a dent in the defenses."

"I think we're about halfway down," Quatre guessed, "Washu?"

"Close enough," she answered, "Unfortunately, Kagato's going to have a much easier time proceeding forward than we have; we've cleared a pretty broad path for him."

"That can't be helped," said Heero, "Ryoko, you're with me; we're on point. The rest of you, fall in behind us. We need to get moving."

Ryoko smiled as she moved alongside Heero. "Let's do this!"

….

Heero's mind was racing as he and Ryoko led the others further into the depths of the repository. Since they'd cleared the junction, resistance had been rather light, consisting of sporadic drone patrols. Those were quickly dealt with, but the ease at which they were dispatched did little to comfort him. Knowing Washu, there were likely far more formidable defenses ahead of them.

The core of this place will not be left unguarded, he thought, and whatever measures Washu has put in place there will likely be the toughest we've faced yet. That would be bad enough by itself, but combine that with the fact that we now have an enemy at our rear… this is going to get ugly.

He still had plenty of fight left in him, but he had to wonder how the others were holding up. Washu had set up quite the gauntlet for them, and the constant skirmishing with the repository's defenses would wear out even veteran combatants. Glancing at Ryoko, he saw a bit of sweat on her brow, but the lovely pirate had yet to complain.

She looked over at him and smirked. "See something you like?"

Caught in the act.

"You've done well," he said, not wanting to clue her into his concerns, "This mission would be a lot harder without you."

Ryoko smiled. "Aw, thanks! Where's this coming from?"

"I don't know what Washu has lying in wait for us up ahead, but I'm sure I'll be counting on you to help us fight our way through it," he replied, "No pressure or anything."

Ryoko chuckled. "I'll try to remember that."

Heero was eager to keep pressing forward, but he was surprised when Ryoko put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, level with me. You doing okay?"

Beneath the helmet, Heero raised an eyebrow. "I'm fine. Why?"

"We've been fighting here for a while now," Ryoko replied, "I know you're tough, and I know you're getting a boost from that Juraian power in your veins, but even you have your limits."

She was right, although Heero wasn't particularly worried about his endurance at the moment. Rather, his concern had more to do with the newly arrived enemies, particularly those who might recognize the power he had only just recently awakened.

"I can keep fighting," said Heero, "Washu's defenses have been formidable, but also largely conventional so far. Anti-air, anti-personnel and anti-vehicle emplacements, lots of infantry, scouts; even if the defenders are advanced drones rather than soldiers, this is all mechanized warfare, something I'm quite familiar with. It's foes whose abilities are of a more… exotic nature that give me pause."

She seemed to grasp what he was getting at quite quickly. "You mean Kagato and his sister, right? They might be branch royals rather than part of the core royal family, but they've still got the same power flowing through them… and they've got a lot more experience with it than you do."

Heero nodded. "Exactly. I'm at a disadvantage. No sense in sugarcoating that fact."

"At least you're up front about it," Ryoko admitted, "You could stand up to them on your own terms eventually; I may not know much about the power of Jurai, but my senses are sharp enough to tell that you've got a ton of potential. It just needs time to be refined, and that's a luxury you haven't been given. That means for now you have to fight with the abilities, tactics and weapons that you know best."

"And those may not be enough against the likes of Kagato," said Heero grimly.

Ryoko shook her head. "Maybe not, but that's what you've got me here for, remember? I've got the raw power to take on opponents like this in a straight-up fight."

"Are you sure?" Heero asked, "Don't get me wrong; I'll be the first to say just how strong you are, and I'm sure I still haven't seen the full depth of your abilities. However, from everything Yosho and Washu have said so far, it sounds like Kagato and his sister would be formidable foes even for someone as powerful as you."

Ryoko grinned. "That's why we should fight them together. Between my strength and your devious mind, I think we could level the playing field. Wouldn't hurt to have the rest of your fellow former revolutionaries in on the action."

"That'd be ideal," Heero replied, "Yosho seems set on invoking a duel, though."

"And you're set on taking Kagato down no matter what," Ryoko reminded him, "You made it clear before we got here that you have no intention of being bound by Juraian traditions or notions of honor. You want to go right for the kill, and I want to help."

Heero couldn't help but smile. "Well, I'll take all the help I can get."

Ryoko winked. "Of course, you'll owe me one afterwards. Then again, I'm sure you'll have no trouble finding a way to pay me back."

As much as Heero might've enjoyed her flirting under other circumstances, the middle of a field operation wasn't the time or the place for it. "One thing at a time. We still have Washu's defenses to deal with up ahead, and we'll run into them well before Kagato catches up with us."

Ryoko nodded. "All right, you got me there. It's a bit odd, though; shouldn't we be up to our necks in drones right now? We're pretty deep into this facility."

"Very much so," AIDA chimed in, "In fact, we're close to the bottom. We'll be reaching the lowest point of our descent very soon, and the repository's core data chamber won't be that much further ahead. This lack of meaningful opposition since the junction is rather concerning."

Ryoko sighed. "In other words; it's quiet, and too quiet. That never bodes well."

Heero concurred. "AIDA, bring up the layout on the HUD again. Focus on the section we're in now and the one up ahead. Highlight any points that would be ideal for an ambush, and mark our current position."

"Understood," AIDA replied, "One moment… all right, here we go."

The floorplans once again appeared on the left side of Heero's HUD, with a blinking red dot highlighting where the fireteam was currently at. Heero hadn't realized before just how far down they were; they'd almost reached the end of the descent, and there was enough dirt, rock and hardened facility between them and the surface that he guessed the place could probably survive direct hits from multiple nukes. He had to give Washu credit for a sturdy design if nothing else.

There were two flashing points of yellow that had him worried. One was right at the point where their descent bottomed out; the main corridor opened up into what looked like a broad central hall of sorts. There were multiple side rooms and maintenance passageways, and multiple drone accessways did reach that central hall. A chance of a repeat of the firefight from the upper entrance hall seemed likely.

Beyond the central hall was the second flashing yellow point. It was a circular chamber, similar to the junction they had fought in earlier but significantly larger. The chamber was at the absolute rear of the repository, and there was a smaller room directly behind it. If Heero had to guess, he was willing to wager that the data they were here for was there, and the circular chamber likely held the last and most powerful line of defense.

"Thanks," he said as he studied the display, "I think I can tell where our next point of contact's likely to be. Looks like we've got a few more firefights ahead of us before we get our prize, and that's not even counting any clashes we have with Kagato on the way out of here."

Ryoko smiled. "Well, I'm game if you are. I haven't come this far just to throw in the towel now, and I think the others feel the same way."

Heero nodded. "Turning back's not an option for us given the stakes involved. Let's do this."

The entry way to the central hall was just up ahead, and Heero was already sighting down the corridor with his rifle. No drones had appeared yet, but he wasn't about to let his guard down. There was no way in hell that Washu had left the heart of the repository undefended.

We've seen flying drones, humanoid drones, and various types of turrets so far, he thought, Washu, what else do you have lying in wait for us down here?

He brought up the fireteam's tactical frequency. "We're going to be stop and regroup at the doorway up here. No one goes into the hall beyond without orders, got it?"

"Bad vibes, Heero?" asked Duo.

"You could say that," Heero replied.

"I don't like the sound of that," said Quatre.

"I suspect an ambush," Trowa chimed in.

"Wouldn't be the first we've faced since landing here," said Wufei.

"Just get up here," Heero ordered, his eyes narrowing behind his visor as he focused on the door ahead, "I want us to have all our firepower ready to go when we enter the hall ahead."

It didn't take long for the rest of the group to catch up. There was still no sign of drone activity in this corridor, which only reinforced Heero's suspicions that they were massing up ahead. Looking around, he saw a small console mounted on the wall to the right of the door. There was a small pad built into it, and to Heero it looked like some king of biometric reader.

"Washu," he said, "Come up to the door. I think we're going to need you to open it."

"Just a sec," the resident mad scientist's voice came from the back of the crowd.

She made her way forward a moment later, her eyes immediately going to the console. "Oh, I see. Yeah, this thing's probably keyed specifically to my biometric data. It's either that or we brute-force the door."

"Could we do that?" asked Hilde.

Washu shrugged. "It'd take a while, but Ryoko and Yosho could eventually carve through it. Time's not really a luxury we have though, right?"

Heero nodded. "Exactly."

Washu smiled. "Figured as much. You ready?"

"Hold on," said Heero as he looked over his shoulder, "Ayeka, Azaka, Kamidake; up front."

"Yes, Lord Heero?" said Ayeka as she and her guardians stepped forward.

"I want you three to get a barrier going in front of the door," he ordered, "I don't know what's waiting for us in the next hall, but if the fight at the junction was any indication there's probably a considerable amount of firepower pointed in this direction."

Ayeka nodded. "Understood. You wish for us to deflect that firepower until you can properly assess the situation and come up with an appropriate strategy to counter, correct?"

"You catch on quickly," said Heero, "Yes, that's the idea. Do you three still have the energy needed for it?"

"Very much so," Azaka answered.

"Just say the word and we'll prove it!" chirped Kamidake.

Ayeka smiled, although Heero didn't miss the sweat on her brow; the near-constant fighting since they'd landed was starting to tax her. "We're ready to go on you command, Lord Heero."

Heero nodded. "All right. On my signal, get that barrier up. After the door's open and we've determined just how much firepower is waiting for us on the other side, Ryoko, Yosho and I will be the spearhead. The rest of the fireteam will fan out behind us. Hilde, you're still on bodyguard duty for Washu."

"Understood," Hilde replied.

"Is everyone ready?" he asked, "We only get one shot at this, and we have to move quickly."

"Come on, buddy," Duo answered confidently, "We got this!"

"We can do this," said Trowa.

"It's not like we have much of a choice," Wufei quipped.

Quatre nodded. "We've come this far, haven't we?"

Ryoko grinned. "Let me at 'em!"

Yosho chuckled. "Likewise."

That was all the reassurance Heero needed, and he turned to Ayeka and her guardians. "In that case, get that shield up now. Washu, hit that panel on my mark."

Giving his rifle a quick check to make sure it was still in working order while the princess and the guardians formed the barrier, he then turned to Washu. "Three… two… one… mark."

Once more into the breach…

….

With all eyes on her, Washu felt almost like a gameshow host with the audience on the edge of their seats waiting to see what was behind Door Number One. Of course, given how far they'd progressed through the repository, this door was significantly higher up the list, but she did find the sentiment to be mildly amusing.

She hoped that she didn't look as nervous as she felt. Washu had been very impressed with how the group had handled all the obstacles she'd set in the repository so far, but with each new room entered came a new set of threats. This far down into the facility, she wasn't about to kid herself; whatever she had lying in wait beyond these doors was likely to be quite deadly. It was a shame that her defenses had to expend themselves against her friends rather than against Kagato and his followers, but it was too late for regrets now.

You all have done well so far, she thought as she placed her hand on the console, I don't have right to ask any more of you, but the stakes are too high. Please, be careful.

The pad flashed green as it recognized her biometric data, and the doors hissed as they slid open. Washu immediately stepped back behind the others; fighting was their area of expertise, not hers. Heero had proven himself to be a very able field commander, so she had to trust that he had what it took to lead them through whatever gauntlet she had set up beyond these doors.

She was expecting them to be met with an immediate deluge of fire, but the only thing that greeted them was silence. That rubbed her the wrong way; there had to be something down here to oppose them. Washu wasn't on point though, so all she could do was wait and see what Heero encountered as he entered the room.

She watched from the rear as he peered around the doorframe, wondering what was going through his mind. Washu had made no secret about seeing the young man as a particularly valuable research specimen, and her curiosity regarding him was only growing now that he was fully aware of his powers and beginning to experiment with them. Granted, for this mission he'd been relying more on the weapons and armor she'd built for him rather than the power of his bloodline, but Washu knew that active combat of any sort was more than enough to get that Juraian energy flowing through him now that it had been awakened by Tenchi-ken. There was also the gem she'd hidden away in his armor to consider as well; given the right outside stimulus, it could act as the catalyst needed to accelerate his growth. When that happened…

…well, there was no telling what he'd be capable of then.

She saw him aim his rifle through the open doorway, but he didn't take any shots. He swept the weapon from left to right, scanning the hall beyond. After a few moments he looked over his shoulder at the rest of them.

"It's empty," he said, "No contacts."

Washu shook her head. "That can't be right."

Ryoko scowled. "I don't like it."

"Neither do I," Yosho concurred.

Washu felt a dark pit form in her stomach. What had she left here? She knew Heero was only reporting what he could see with his own two eyes, but that didn't change her certainty that she must've left something in this hall as a means of defense. Thus far, her defenses had all been open and conventional, easy to spot and target. Perhaps this was where she'd finally decided to spice things up a bit. Not for the first time, she cursed the mindwipe she'd subjected herself to as a precautionary measure. All she could do was watch as the young man at the head of the group cautiously entered the room.

Heero…

…be damn careful in there!

….

Between his experience as a Gundam pilot and a Preventers operative, Heero had developed a sense for traps, and this room absolutely reeked of one. It was almost as big as the entrance hall up above, and there wasn't much in the way of cover. The exit was visible at the far end, but there was a lot of open ground between there and where Heero stood now.

The high arched ceiling gave the room an almost cathedral-like quality to it, which Heero supposed was rather appropriate. After all, what lay beyond was information vital to finding the deadliest weapon in the history of the galaxy. That was more worthy of worship than any deity he'd ever seen humanity come up with. As grandiose as the room was, though, Heero wasn't here to admire the architecture.

Sweeping back and forth and up and down repeatedly, he kept to a low crouch as he cautiously made his way through the room. He had to be missing something; there was simply no way Washu would leave a room this close to the heart of the repository unguarded.

"You okay?" asked AIDA, "Your armor's biometric scanners are showing slightly heightened pulse and heartrate. That's not like you."

"You're telling me I shouldn't be worried?" Heero quipped.

"I'm saying your vitals were calmer during actual firefights than they are now," AIDA pointed out.

"That's because I could actually see the enemy and deal with them," Heero countered, "I don't like not knowing where the enemy might be lying in ambush."

"Fair enough," AIDA conceded, "I've been doing another study of the room design, and I've noticed something odd."

Heero raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"The ceiling," she said, "Look up."

Heero did so, but at first glance he couldn't quite figure out what she was referring to. There were no obvious weapons emplacements or other anti-intruder devices up there that he could detect, and it wasn't particularly interesting in and of itself. He had seen some small hatches on the right and left walls that were likely for the maintenance drones, but there were no such openings on the ceiling.

"What I'm I supposed to be seeing?" he asked.

"I suppose it'd be hard to notice with the naked eye," AIDA admitted, "but it actually uses a slightly different material than the rest of the structure. The color's a bit lighter, and my scans reveal that it's actually thinner than it should be given just how deep underground we are."

Heero's eyes narrowed as he put two-and-two together. "It's fake."

"That'd be my guess, yes," said AIDA.

"Trap door?" he asked, "Death from above?"

"Most likely," AIDA replied.

"Great," Heero deadpanned, "Why hasn't it triggered yet?"

"We're still relatively close to the entrance," AIDA reminded him, "You're probably not in far enough to set it off. Your caution has paid off."

"But it will trigger if we advance far enough," said Heero.

"Oh, yes," AIDA confirmed, "It won't matter if we hug the walls or go right up the middle; I'm detecting an array of motion-tracking sensors up there with overlapping coverage fields. They're likely meant to wait until we're close to the middle to ensure the best possible chance of killing us."

Heero's brow furrowed as he mulled it over. "Once the whole group hits the middle… or just one person?"

"I don't like where this is going," said AIDA nervously, "Please tell me you're not thinking of using yourself as bait."

Heero shrugged. "It's as good a plan as any."

"It's a horrible plan!" AIDA argued, "It's not just your own neck that you're risking; I'm in here too, remember?"

"I thought you wanted some excitement rather than be cooped up in Washu's lab for the entire mission?" Heero countered.

"Your idea of excitement and mine are completely different!" AIDA protested, "What crazy twist of genetics made you Gundam pilots the most suicidal thrill seekers in the known galaxy? Seriously, I'd very much like to know right now!"

"Ask Washu," Heero replied, "She's the greatest scientist in the universe, as she likes to remind us every single day."

"Okay, let's be serious here," said AIDA, "We know this is a trap, and your first instinct is to trigger it. There's something wrong with this picture!"

"There's no way to get through this room without triggering it," Heero shot back, "You said as much yourself. The next best thing is for us to dictate when the trap triggers so we can try to take advantage of it."

AIDA sighed. "I hate to admit it, but you have a point. Still, I'd like to go on the record and say that this remains a bad idea."

"Protest noted," said Heero as he turned around and went to rejoin the others, "Now, let's see if we can make this plan one that hopefully that doesn't get us all killed."

….

"I'm gonna level with you, Heero," said Ryoko as she and her favorite Preventers operative made their way towards the middle of the room, "This plan is shit."

"Thank you!" AIDA emphatically concurred.

"Yet you're still going along with it," Heero pointed out, "So, what's that say about you?"

Ryoko smirked; if he was going to throw barbs, she was more than happy to toss a few of her own. "It says that I want to protect you from yourself. I'm being the bigger person here… which is really weird for me, now that I think about it. I blame you for that."

She could've sworn she heard him chuckle. "Does that make me a good or bad influence?"

Ryoko rolled her eyes. "You're lucky you're cute; that's the only reason I'm not blasting you in the face right now."

"Good to know," said Heero as the two of them came to a stop, "You ready for this?"

Ryoko sighed. "Do I have to be?"

"It would certainly help," Heero replied.

Ryoko could appreciate the simplicity of the plan, if nothing else. Using her innate speed while Heero utilized his armor's thrusters to boost his momentum, the idea was for the two of them to rush across the room as fast as possible so that when the trap door was triggered, they would already be on the other side when whatever was hiding up above came crashing down. They would then attack from the far end of the hall while the rest of the fireteam struck from their current position, catching whatever opposition was lying in ambush for them in a pincer move. It was bold and straightforward, aspects Ryoko normally would approve of, but since they were dealing with a trap created by Washu she was actually a little nervous.

Get your game face on, she told herself, Heero needs your help to make this plan work, and you're not going to let him down.

"On my mark," said Heero, "Three… two… one… mark!"

The two of them shot forward, with Ryoko taking flight while Heero leapt into the air and activated his thrusters. As soon as they hit the exact middle of the room a loud mechanical grinding noise came from up ahead; the false ceiling was opening.

"Don't look back," Heero reminded her, "Focus."

Ryoko smirked. "Don't have to tell me twice!"

A series of heavy thuds came from behind them a moment later as several large objects fell to the floor. It was only when Ryoko and Heero hit the ground again on the far side of the hall that they finally turned around to see what they were dealing with, sparks of crimson energy dancing in her hands while her partner had already brought his rifle to bear.

Her eyes widened as she processed what she was seeing. "Well… this should be interesting."

"Not the word I'd use for it," she heard Heero mutter.

Thus far, the drones they'd faced while making their way through the repository had been divided between the fliers and the trooper units. Neither of those were what confronted Heero and Ryoko now. Instead, they found themselves facing a quartet of rather large and menacing mechanical guardians. Much bulkier than the units they'd faced before, they were somewhere between three to four meters tall, with their hunched frames vaguely reminding Ryoko of apes she'd seen while watching a nature show back at Heero's countryside safehouse. Unlike those animals, though, fur was replaced with armor and crude stone implements had been exchanged for very modern weapons. Mounted on the left forearm of each machine was a double-barreled plasma cannon, while in their right each clutched a large sword with yellow energy running up and down the edges. Red sensor eyes glared at them, and Ryoko saw ripples of blue energy coursing over the armor; these things were shielded.

"Well… shit," Ryoko muttered.

"At least we know what we're dealing with now," said Heero, "Everyone; engage."

Ryoko saw Heero take aim at the closest of the hulking drones and take a shot at its head. The orange bolt of energy from its rifle harmlessly dissipated against the machine's shields; a lot more firepower would be needed to destroy it. Ryoko cut loose on the same target, letting fly with a blistering barrage of crimson spheres that hammered the drone right in the torso. Unfortunately, her attack was about as effective as Heero's, meaning the machine was still standing without a scratch on it.

"That's not good," Ryoko hissed.

Heero was already diving to the right to avoid return fire. "Stay on the move. Don't let them pin you down!"

"Don't worry about me!" Ryoko yelled back as she took to the air, "Focus on watching your own ass!"

Unleashing a fresh volley of crimson energy, Ryoko watched as her target proceeded to tank all of her shots without a hint of its barriers weakening. Washu had definitely made these things much tougher than the drones they'd previous encountered, there was no doubting that. Checking on Heero, she saw him put a few more rounds into the head of the same drone she'd targeted, but again the bolts from his rifle could not break through the shields.

A fresh barrage of orange energy bolts ripped forth from the opposite end of the hallway; the rest of the fireteam had come out guns blazing. Taking a quick glance in their direction, Ryoko saw Trowa and Wufei moving to the left while Duo and Quatre mirrored them on the right, clearly angling to get as many overlapping fields of fire on the enemy as possible. Yosho was coming right up the middle, the azure blade of Tenchi-ken once again blazing in his right hand. Battle was now well and truly joined…

…and this time they had a foe that could actually put up a decent fight.

….

Duo was having some very mixed feelings about the little adventure he'd gotten himself into. One the one hand, who could pass up a chance to see the galaxy? Sure, he'd known going in that it would involve getting shot at, but when had that ever stopped him before? On the other hand, today he had gotten shot at far more than he liked to get shot at a single day, and that had been by foes that were relatively easy to dispatch. Now that these four heavy drones had been thrown into the mix, he was having second thoughts. These things were anything but easy to dispatch.

"Go down already!" he growled in frustration as he fired another blast from his plasma shotgun into the back of his target.

The shields of the hulking drone rippled from the impact, but once again there were no penetrations. All Duo's attack managed to do was grab the mechanical beast's attention. It quickly turned around and rushed towards him with surprising speed given just how bulky its frame was.

"Well, shit," he muttered, "It sucks being popular."

Hitting his armor's thrusters, he dived to the right to avoid a swing from the drone's large sword. Bringing his weapon to bear again, he pumped two more shots into the thing, but the only thing he seemed to be achieving with his efforts was pissing the drone off. Its glowing red eyes actually appeared to darken in intensity, as if the machine was actually capable of feeling genuine rage. Simulated anger or otherwise, Duo figured it was bad news.

Sure enough, the hulking drone came right at him, firing with the guns mounted on its left forearm and sending Duo scrambling. Rolling to the left to avoid another swing from its large sword, Duo actually found himself behind the behemoth as its momentum had carried it too far forward. He had perhaps a second or two at the most to take advantage of this opening, and he did so in grand fashion by leaping into the air. Using his thrusters to give himself a valuable boost, he came down right on the mechanical beast's back.

The drone actually seemed momentarily confused by the move, but Duo was sure that it wouldn't be phased for long. Searching for a target, he ultimately decided on pumping another blast from his plasma shotgun right into the back of the machine's neck where it connected to the head. At point-blank range, the drone took the full weight of the blast, and Duo's eyes widened behind his visor as he actually saw at least some of the plasma 'buckshot' punch through the shields and tear into the plating beneath. It wasn't enough to destroy the drone, but from the way it suddenly began to violently shake in an effort to dislodge him it was clear that he'd struck a nerve.

Seeing the machine reach around with its left arm, Duo hastily jumped from its back. Hitting the ground running, he took a hasty shot that hit the drone in the side. Telltale ripples in the energy shield were enough to tell him that he hadn't achieved a penetration this time, but combined with his earlier result it did give him some valuable information.

"The back of their necks!" he called, "Their shields are weaker there!"

"Are you sure?" asked Quatre.

"Oh, yeah!" Duo replied as he ran like hell, zig-zagging to avoid shots from the drone he'd just agitated, "Right where the neck meets the head. I took a shot there and pissed it off!"

"Oh, really?" said Wufei, and Duo was sure that the L5 native was smirking under his helmet, "In that case, let's have some fun!"

Duo rolled his eyes; what did that crazy bastard have in mind? "Are you going to pull a stupid stunt and have me bail you out? I'm not in the mood for that right now!"

Wufei chuckled. "Then just sit back and watch. Trowa, give me some covering fire while I show Duo how to secure the kill."

"Roger that," the L3 native replied.

The steady stream of fire that Trowa had been unleashing with his weapon shifted to the drone that was chasing Duo. A few shots flew uncomfortably close to him, and Duo wouldn't have been surprised if Trowa had done that on purpose just to spook him; the guy had a strange sense of humor, and it often picked very inopportune moments to manifest.

Of course, it wasn't really Trowa that Duo was worried about at the moment. As he saw Wufei approach the drone, Duo could only hope that his old friend knew what he was doing.

….

Wufei had been growing bored with the constant waves of infantry and flier drones ever since they'd entered the repository, so to actually have some opposition with some meat on its bones, so to speak, was a welcome change of pace. As amusing as it was to watch one of the mechanical beasts chase Duo around the room, the L5 native was ready to get in on the action now. He had a pretty good idea of how to achieve the killing blow on these thickly armored drones, and he wanted to see if he could turn theory into practice.

The drone in question had diverted from Duo after the concentrated barrage from Trowa had gotten its attention. It was now charging the former Heavyarms pilot, and in response Trowa was falling back while keeping the machine under fire. Shot after shot hit its chest in rapid succession, but none of them could punch through the shields.

That didn't matter to Wufei. If his hunch was correct, simply the fact that the shields were focusing on absorbing the punishment Trowa was dishing out would be enough for his plan to work. He skirted around the side before hitting his armor's thrusters, using the valuable boost in momentum to jump onto the drone's back. Of course, since the machine had already been the victim of a similar move earlier, this time it was more aggressive in trying to dislodge its unwelcome rider.

"Shit!" Wufei hissed as he ducked beneath a swipe from the drone's left arm while trying to keep his grip, "Trowa, Duo; keep pumping fire into this thing! Distract it!"

"Fine!" Duo shouted as he unloaded on the drone from the right flank, "You owe me one!"

Wufei normally would've had a barb ready to go for his fellow Gundam pilot, but he had more important things on his mind. As both Trowa and Duo continued to blast the mechanical beast with everything they had, Wufei focused on finding the spot where Duo had taken his earlier shot. Drawing the sword Washu had built for him and activating the energy emitters along its edge, he slashed at the back of the drone's neck. There was a shower of orange sparks as the blade met the shields, but the barrier still held.

No, he thought as he studied the rippling energy in front of him, it's weakened, I'm sure of it. Let's take another crack at it.

The drone didn't have time to attempt to dislodge him; it was focusing wholly on Trowa and Duo. The former was still falling back while maintaining a constant stream of fire, while the later had shifted his aim and was blasting away at the machine's legs. Wufei's eyes narrowed as he saw fresh sparks fly from the point that Duo had shot at earlier when he had climbed atop the drone. He'd clearly done some internal damage, and if Wufei could just breach the shields with his blade he was confident he could take this behemoth down.

Taking a quick glance to check on the progress of his comrades, Wufei saw that they had the situation remarkably well in hand given the nature of their current opposition. Heero and Ryoko were still engaging the drone they'd been fighting ever since the trap was sprung, with the pirate bombarding the machine with blasts of crimson energy from above while the Preventers operative took precise shots at its head. Neither of them had pierced the shields of their target yet, but given the sheer weight of fire Ryoko was throwing into the thing Wufei was sure that it would only be a matter of time before the two of them took their target down.

Meanwhile, the other two drones were similarly occupied. Wufei was surprised to see Yosho squaring off with one by himself, his azure blade weaving a barrier around him that seemed as impenetrable as the ones Ayeka and her guardians could create. His opponent would alternate between its forearm mounted guns and its massive sword, but Yosho would simply deflect shots from the former and easily dodge the clumsy blows from the latter. It was a masterclass in swordsmanship, one that Wufei wished he had more time to watch. While the old man probably wouldn't say no to backup, at this point Wufei was pretty sure that Yosho had things under control on his end.

The real surprise, though, was Quatre. Not only was the head of the Winner family facing off alone against the final drone, but he was doing a remarkable job of keeping the thing distracted while his comrades dealt with their respective enemies. Gundam Sandrock had been a machine built for close-quarters combat, yet its former pilot was waging a very successful mid to long-range fight against his opponent. While the drone kept trying to close the distance, Quatre was constantly falling back, peppering it with shots while at the same time making necessary adjustments to where he was heading in order to avoid getting cornered. He wouldn't be able to take his opponent down like this, but he would be able to stall for time until the others could finish off their foes and come help.

Hang in there, Quatre, he thought, The cavalry will be coming soon.

Raising his sword, he took another swing at the back of the drone's neck. This time he was rewarded with the sight of the orange edge of the blade actually piercing the shields, although it quickly became lodged in the machine's armor plating. Gritting his teeth, Wufei began to make sawing motions with the sword, hoping to cut deep enough to sever vital wires and eventually the neck itself.

Unfortunately for him, the drone finally seemed to realize its peril. It dropped down on its hands and knees and began to shake violently, forcing Wufei to cease his efforts to behead it and simply hang on for dear life. Duo and Trowa redoubled their assault, but the machine did not seem to care in the slightest; it wanted Wufei off of it now.

It took everything he had to keep from being shaken loose, and Wufei wasn't about to let the drone undo all of his hard work. With all his strength, he shoved his sword deeper into the machine's neck, desperate to sever some sort of crucial component and take this thing down. His leverage was poor thanks to the drone's furious efforts to shake him off, and he could feel himself slipping down its left side. Deciding that fighting this thing was pointless, Wufei altered his approach; keeping his grip on the sword, he instead sought to pull the blade with him as he fell and use his momentum to saw through the drone's neck.

By the time the machine had realized its fatal error, it was too late. As Wufei plummeted to the floor, he was able to drag the sword down hard enough to rip the left side of the drone's neck clean open. A shower of sparks fell around him, and as he looked up Wufei was pleased to see a large gash in the machine's neck. Much more important than that, though, was the fact that Duo and Trowa had shifted their aim to take full advantage of the 'wound' Wufei had opened up. Pouring fire into the drone's neck, they were able to finish what Wufei had started; the sheer volume of energy hammering that specific point combined with the damage he had already inflicted was enough to punch through what little armor remained and compromise the machine's spine. The drone lashed out wildly for a few seconds as it struggled to comprehend what had happened to it, and a few seconds later its head finally came loose and fell to the ground. The rest of the machine followed shortly, hitting the floor with a very heavy and satisfying thud.

One down, Wufei thought with a smirk, and three to go.

Let's get to work.

….

"Tough bastard, ain't he?" AIDA commented as Heero put another volley into the drone's head only to see his shots dissipated by its shields.

"You don't say," Heero deadpanned as he rolled to avoid the inevitable return fire, "I don't suppose you've got any tactical advice, do you?"

"Don't get shot?" AIDA suggested.

"Thanks," Heero dryly replied.

He actually had a relatively decent handle on his foe, thanks in no small part to Ryoko providing air support. The two of them hadn't done any actual damage to the drone yet, but Heero now had a working understanding of what it was capable of. It was tough and well-armed, but its tactics were relatively straightforward. He and Ryoko had put enough fire into it that Heero was sure the shields were feeling the strain; they just needed to push it over the edge so they could land a decisive blow.

"By the way," AIDA chirped as Heero dived to the left to avoid a lunging swing from the drone's massive sword, "I'm designating these things as 'brutes'. Good shorthand for use during a hectic fight, right?"

"I'm less concerned with names than I am with destroying these things," Heero answered, "but sure, let's go with that."

'Brute' was actually a pretty good name given these machines' hulking size and rather blunt tactics, but Heero had more important things to worry about at the moment than arguing over the finer details of a particular target designation with the little helper inside his helmet. He hadn't failed to spot Wufei, Duo and Trowa taking down their target, and the three of them were moving to help Quatre deal with the brute that was hounding him. That just left Yosho to solo his target while Heero and Ryoko continued to pour fire into the drone that they'd started this fight against. They were keeping the thing at bay but not much more than that, and it was starting to get on Heero's nerves.

Ryoko seemed to be getting agitated as well, at least if the increased volume of fire she was pouring into the drone was any indication. "Damn it, go down already! Stubborn son of a bitch…"

Recalling Duo's earlier remarks regarding the drones' weak point, Heero decided to see if Ryoko could take a crack at it. "Let me draw this thing in. When it's focused completely on me, go for its neck."

"You sure about that?" asked Ryoko as Heero leapt backwards and hit his thrusters to avoid another swipe from the brute's sword, "He looks pretty focused on you already!"

"Just trust me," said Heero, "Divert your fire towards the drone Yosho's fighting; make this thing think I'm going to solo him. Just for a few seconds."

"All right!" Ryoko shouted back, "Just don't get yourself killed!"

"Wasn't planning on it," Heero deadpanned.

Here goes nothing…

….

"Damn it, Heero," Ryoko muttered under her breath as she sent a volley of crimson orbs flying into the back of the drone engaging Yosho, "I hope you know what you're doing."

As much as she liked the guy, she wouldn't deny that he had a nasty habit of stressing her out sometimes. If anyone should've been playing the role of decoy, it was her; she had the power, speed and maneuverability for it. Heero should've recognized that and planned accordingly, but instead he was using himself as bait for the enemy. His tendency to do that was really starting to bother her, to put it mildly.

It's like he places zero value on his own life, she thought while blasting away at her target, I know he's had some issues with regards to the recent family drama, but this feels like it's coming from somewhere deeper. We're going to have a talk once we get some alone time on the Yagami…

She wanted to shake her head at the absurdity of it all. She was a notorious pirate, not a therapist. Ryoko never would've considered something like that before meeting Heero; the young man was having a greater impact on her than he was probably aware of. She wasn't sure what to make of that, and now was hardly the time to ponder such things anyway.

Heero had said to just give him a few seconds, but that phrase had a lot of leeway to it. Ryoko wanted to jump back in and help him immediately, yet she knew that wasn't what he wanted. Timing was everything here. Right now, the drone engaged with Heero was focusing its attacks on him, but it would occasionally glance towards her as well; it still considered her to be a threat, if not quite an immediate one. She would have to put more effort into convincing it otherwise.

If taking potshots at Yosho's drone wouldn't do the trick, then perhaps a bolder attack was in order. Going into a dive, Ryoko ceased fire and instead ignited a shaft of crimson energy in her right hand. Swooping in like a hawk, she ran the blade along the back of the drone as it made a thrust at Yosho. Her attack didn't pierce its shields, but the ripples of energy flowing across the drone told her that the strike had taxed those barriers. She didn't know if it would be enough for Yosho to break through them with Tenchi-ken, but she was sure that the old man would bring his foe down sooner or later. Ryoko might not have been the biggest fan of Jurai's Royal Family, but she had no problem admitting that they could turn out some fantastic fighters.

The old man briefly raised an eyebrow at her intervention, but the way he quickly looked back and forth between her and Heero was enough to tell her that he grasped what was going on. Deciding to shift her focus, Ryoko swooped in low and took a swing at the drone's face. The machine countered by bringing the guns mounted on its left arm to bear, but her barriers were more than capable of deflecting the subsequent shots.

"I think you've done enough here," Yosho commented as he casually took a few swipes at the brute's legs, "My grandson probably wouldn't mind an assist right about now."

Glancing over her shoulder, Ryoko saw that Heero definitely had his hands full. The drone was facing was commencing an all-out assault on the young man, letting fly with a constant stream of fire from its arm cannons. Heero was doing what he could to stay one step ahead of the barrage, but shots were starting to hit his shields, and Ryoko knew that his armor's barriers weren't nearly as strong as hers or those used by the drones.

"I think you're right," she said, "Good luck, old man!"

Hang on, Heero, she thought as she gained altitude and rushed to aid her reckless companion, I'm coming to save your hide!

….

"Look, don't take this the wrong way," AIDA nervously commented as bolts of orange energy zipped over Heero's head, "but I think you might've bitten off more than you can chew here."

"Whatever gave you that idea?" Heero quipped dryly as he returned fire only to see his shots once again dissipate against the target's shields.

"The fact that you can't hurt this thing, for starters," AIDA replied, "and you sent away the teammate most capable of taking it down."

"All part of the plan," Heero reminded her as he rolled to the left to avoid another volley from his foe.

"Some plan," she deadpanned.

Privately, part of him wanted to admit that she was right. This whole scheme was reckless even by his standards, and that was saying something. Heero had thought his armor's thrusters would give him a sizeable edge in speed over the hulking drone, but he had underestimated just how fast the machine could move when it wanted to. He'd already had a few close calls with its massive sword, and the gauge in the upper-right corner of his HUD showed that his shields had only recharged about halfway from the last hit.

The mechanical behemoth lunged forward, forcing Heero to backpedal and hit his thrusters to avoid another swing from its sword. While he was able to successfully evade that attack, the machine had proven its capacity for advanced planning at least to a greater extent than the other drones the fireteam had faced so far; it had brought its arm cannons up and taken a shot right after Heero had dodged the sword, and it had judged his trajectory perfectly.

Twin bolts of orange energy hit Heero right in the chest and sent him flying into a nearby wall. Thankfully, the armor's shields had taken the brunt of the impact, but a quick glance at his display showed serious cause for concern; his barriers were down to less than a quarter of their strength, and the gauge was flashing red in a suitable indicator of alarm.

"You okay?" asked AIDA, sounding genuinely worried.

"I think so," said Heero as he got to his feet, "That might be subject to change, though."

The drone wasn't giving him any room to catch his breath. Heero had barely regained his footing when he was forced to dive to the left to avoid a lunging thrust from its sword. He managed to evade the blow, but the machine was already taking aim with its arm cannons; there was no way Heero would be able to dodge this one.

Before the drone could take the shot, though, Heero spotted a flash of crimson overhead. Looking over the brute's shoulder, he saw Ryoko plunging down like a ballistic missile, her energy sword activated and aimed right at the back of the machine's neck.

"Oh no, you don't!" she snarled just before slamming into the drone.

Her crimson shaft pierced clean through the machine's shields and continued on down into the neck. A moment later Heero saw the very tip of Ryoko's sword burn through plating on the front of the drone's neck, and she wasn't stopping there. The blade was burning brighter than normal; Ryoko was pouring a considerable amount of her power into it. Her brow furrowing in concentration, she pulled hard to the right, and her efforts were rewarded by the blade ripping through the drone's neck and coming out the side. Showers of sparks fell, followed shortly after by the head of the machine and then its hulking frame. Its red eyes briefly locked onto Heero, but the light in them faded a few seconds later.

He gave her an appreciative nod. "Thanks for the save."

Ryoko shot a fierce glare at him. "Heero, you dumbass! How many times are you going to try to get yourself killed today?"

"Chew me out later," he replied before gesturing to the broader fight, "We've still got work to do."

Ryoko huffed and shook her head. "Damn it… fine, let's do this."

"I'll take point," said Heero, "Cover me from above?"

Ryoko smirked. "Someone has to watch your ass. Might as well be me."

….

It's been a while since I've faced a foe as durable as this one, Yosho idly mused as he ducked beneath a swing from the drone's heavy sword, I'm sure I would've dispatched it by now in my youth… perhaps I've lost a step in my old age.

He had to resist the urge to chuckle at that. Him, old? Perhaps by human standards, but not by those of the Jurai Royal Family. His weathered appearance had to do with more than simply the passing of time while he'd been hiding on Earth, but the fact did remain that despite his best efforts he was a bit out of practice. Sure, he'd continued to train during those quiet days at the shrine, but solo practice wasn't the same as having a sparring partner, let alone engaging in actual combat. The matches he'd fought with Heero over the past few months had definitely been a step in the right direction, but that didn't change the fact that he'd been out of action for a long time.

The hulking drone facing off with him now was certainly proving to be a much more challenging opponent than the smaller ones he'd dispatched earlier. It was a bit more primal in nature than he was used to when it came to Washu's handiwork; this thing was a blunt instrument, no more and no less. Still, it was an effective combatant, and he was quite grateful that his old friend had only stashed four in this chamber for defense.

The mechanical beast reared up and raised its sword over its head before bringing it down in a powerful two-handed strike. Yosho didn't even try to deflect it; even with the power of the Royal Family flowing through his veins, parrying that kind of attack would be taxing. Instead, he gracefully side-stepped the blow before taking a swipe at the drone's right arm. Tenchi-ken's brilliant blue shaft slid along the energy shields coating the limb, draining power but not cutting through the barriers.

A bit more work's needed, it would seem, he thought as he allowed his momentum to carry him past and behind his foe, I suppose I'll really be earning my keep today.

The drone tried to whirl around to face him, but it wasn't nearly fast enough. Lashing out with his ancestral blade, he landed three strikes on the machine's lower back in rapid succession. The shields still held, but the way that Tenchi-ken's energy was rippling across them told him that he was close to overloading them. He just had to keep up the pressure and his foe's defenses would soon buckle.

Shifting to a bolder strategy, he stepped forward, placing himself between the hulking machine's legs. Before the drone realized where he had gone, he struck at both legs, delivering two blows each right to the knees. Yet again, Tenchi-ken could not penetrate the shields, but there was a significant flare up in power at the point of impact; he was getting close.

Just a little more pressure in the right spot, he thought, and this mighty mechanical beast will fall.

Unfortunately, said beast wasn't about to make things easy for him. It began to wildly stomp its feet in an effort to crush Yosho, forcing the Juraian prince to roll out from underneath it to avoid being trampled. That placed him will within the firing arc of the drone's arm cannons, and it wasted no time in popping off a volley. Yosho had anticipated this, though, and his sword was already raised in a guard position. Deflecting the bolts was easy enough, but that wasn't all the machine could throw at him. It made a broad sweep with its sword, forcing Yosho to jump in order to avoid getting cut in half by the swing.

Said swing was more than just an attack from the enemy, though; it was also an opening for Yosho. As he came down, he swung his sword beneath him, catching the drone on the forearm. There wasn't much power behind the attack, but the drone's shields still hadn't completely recharged from his previous strikes, and Yosho's brow furrowed as he saw the edge of Tenchi-ken slice through a small gap that had appeared in the barrier. He didn't do much in the way of actual damage; the strike just left a blacked furrow upon the targeted limb, not even cutting through the outer armor. That didn't matter, though. All that Yosho cared about was the fact that he'd put enough stress on the drone's shields to the point that their coverage was becoming compromised. If he could press the attack, then his foe wouldn't last much longer.

While Yosho was moving in for his next strike, he heard a familiar male voice from behind him. "Mind if we cut in?"

A volley of orange bolts of energy zipped overhead, hitting the drone in the face but not piercing the shields. Taking a brief glance over his shoulder, Yosho saw none other than his grandson rising from a crouch and moving to a new firing position on the drone's left flank. A burst of crimson spheres suddenly flew forth from the opposite direction, splashing against the barriers protecting the drone's right shoulder. Quickly following the vector of the shots, Yosho saw Ryoko floating overhead, her brow furrowed in concentration.

Yosho allowed himself a chuckle. "I won't turn down the help, although I believe that I've, as you youths say these days, 'got this'."

Heero's answer was to simply let fly with another volley, peppering the drone's torso in an effort to distract it. When combined with the rain of fire that Ryoko was unloading on it from above, the machine suddenly had seemingly much more important targets to worry about than Yosho.

That was all the opening the old man needed.

He rushed forward with his blade raised overhead for the decisive blow. With the drone taking fire from two different angles, its already strained barriers were having to concentrate energy on those specific points in order to prevent penetration. That meant the rest of the machine was wide open, and Yosho wasted no time in closing the distance and swinging down, carving into the drone's torso and continuing through its abdomen. Showers of sparks and gouts of flame issued from the wound; clearly, he'd struck something important.

The drone stumbled about, forcing Yosho to pull back in order to avoid getting trampled by the lumbering behemoth. Heero and Ryoko continued to pour fire into the thing, but from the way it was lurching around wildly it clearly wasn't long for this world. The shots from the soldier and the pirate were hitting armor now instead of shields, and with the way the two of them were focusing their fire on hitting the same respective points repeatedly their attacks soon began punching through the plating and burning into circuitry.

It was Yosho's blow that proved to be the fatal one, though. After a few more seconds of stumbling about, the machine finally collapsed to the ground. Its limbs briefly twitched before going still, and the crimson light in its eyes finally faded.

He turned to his two companions and smiled. "Your assistance was very well timed. Thank you."

"Don't mention it," said Ryoko.

Heero nodded, already taking aim at the final drone. "We're not done here just yet. You still got some fight left in you?"

Yosho smirked. "Plenty."

….

Quatre was really starting to regret some of his recent life choices at the moment, the most immediate of which was his decision to play decoy for the fourth hulking drone while his friends dealt with the other three. So far, he'd managed to stay one step ahead of his bulky and well-armored foe, but how much longer he could keep it up was definitely up in the air. The machine was a tireless opponent, hounding him mercilessly and keeping him under an almost constant barrage of fire. Quatre's counterattacks were clearly doing nothing more than annoying it, and he knew that he couldn't afford to take nearly as many hits from the enemy as the drone could from him. Skill and no small amount of luck had kept him alive so far, but he knew that he was really starting to push the envelope here.

Rasheed would be furious if he could see me now, he thought as he ducked beneath a swing from the drone's large sword while continuing to fall back, I doubt this was the kind of trouble he pictured me getting myself into on this trip…

He wished that he'd invited at least a few members of the Maganac Corps along, both for a few extra friendly faces and some additional muscle. The whole group likely would've volunteered if Quatre had asked, but it was too late for that now. Quatre would have to rely on the friends he had with him now, not the ones he'd left behind in the Earth Sphere.

Fortunately, some help was finally coming his way. A fresh stream of orange energy bolts slammed into the back of the bulky drone; Trowa and his heavy weapon had joined the fray. He wasn't the only one, either. Coming in from the right, Duo opened up with his plasma shotgun, putting additional strain on the machine's shields. Meanwhile, Wufei was moving in on the left flank, likewise cutting loose and giving the drone another target to worry about.

"Need a hand?" asked Duo, and Quatre was sure he was grinning behind the helmet visor.

Quatre couldn't help but smile; suddenly the odds didn't look so bad now.

….

While his fellow Gundam pilots had the drone surrounded, Heero had decided to join Ryoko in launching an aerial attack. Pushing his armor's thrusters as hard as they could go, his jump had been boosted to the point that he was almost at the same altitude as the lovely pirate. The two of them shared a quick look, with Ryoko giving him a confident smile before they both turned their attention back to the target and opened fire. Heero's volley of orange energy bolts caught the drone in the back of the head, while Ryoko's barrage of crimson sphered hammered its shoulders. Ryoko kept up her bombardment, but Heero was already losing altitude and had to adjust his maneuvering thrusters so that he could ensure his descent did not take him into her line of fire.

Fired upon from all sides, the drone's target prioritization software appeared to be overwhelmed. It was constantly shifting the aim of the guns mounted on its left forearm, taking shots but not focusing on any one target to the point that it would be able to deal serious damage. Meanwhile, it made wild swings with its sword, and while they would certainly be bad news for anyone in the way it was telegraphing its strikes to the point that Heero's friends were easily able to anticipate the trajectory of the blade and react accordingly. As a result, none of the swings came anywhere close to posing a real threat.

With far too many people shooting at it already, the drone completely failed to notice the one hostile that was by far the biggest threat despite not even possessing a firearm; Yosho. Heero had already spotted the old man approaching from the left flank and knew what he had in mind. Shifting his fire, he focused on the drone's head, trying to make sure its attention turned to him and stayed off of the old man.

It worked a little too well for Heero's liking; apparently the shots to the head were enough for the drone to make him its new priority target. The machine opened up with its forearm-mounted guns, and while Heero was able to avoid the first salvo the second one caught him right in the chest and knocked him off his feet. His HUD flashed red as his shields dropped to almost nothing; apparently, the drone had diverted power from other systems to its ranged weaponry. This suspicion was quickly confirmed when Heero saw fire from his friends impact the drone's armor rather than shields; it had sacrificed its barriers for a chance at taking him down.

And its guns were still pointed right at Heero, barrels glowing as it prepared to finish him off.

Heero was already scrambling to his feet, but he knew he wouldn't be able to dodge in time. Luckily for him, Yosho had noticed his peril and had adjusted his plan of attack. The old man's blazing azure blade slice the drone's left arm clean off at the elbow. The machine whirled around, attempting to strike the Juraian prince with its massive sword, but it never got the chance. Ryoko dived in and cut its right hand off at the wrist with her crimson shaft of energy, leaving the drone bewildered and defenseless.

For a moment, the machine simply stood there, as if its software just couldn't process what had happened to it. It was a golden opportunity to administer the coup de grace, and Heero immediately seized it. Raising his rifle and taking aim, he sent one last volley at the drone's head. With no barriers to deflect the bolts anymore, the shots punched clean through its face. Sparks flew from the fresh wounds, and with a clamor the drone finally fell to the ground.

Heero wouldn't rest on his laurels, though; he had to make sure the room was secure. His fellow Gundam pilots were clearly of the same mindset, because they were already fanning out and conducting a sweep. A few moments later, the Preventers operative was confident that the last of the hostiles in this chamber had been decisively dealt with.

"Lord Heero!" Ayeka cried out as she ran forward, flanked by her guardians and followed by Washu and Hilde, "Are you all right?"

"You took a nasty hit towards the end there," Azaka added.

"Princess Ayeka was worried sick about you!" chimed Kamidake.

Heero shook his head. "I'm fine. It was a close call, though."

Washu stepped out from behind her escorts, and Heero was surprised to see that she looked genuinely remorseful. "Hey… sorry about that. I knew I'd left some nasty surprises down here, and that you could take them, but… well, I guess I did too good of a job. Things were looking dicey for a bit there."

Quatre let out a weary sigh. "No kidding. That was rough."

Duo shook his head. "Here I thought I was used to giant robots trying to kill me, but before I'd always fought them in my own giant robot. This was definitely a departure from the usual fare. Not sure how to feel about that."

"At least you're still alive," Hilde pointed out.

"Let's not jinx things," Trowa quipped, "We're still not through with this place, after all."

"And we have a threat bearing down on our rear," Wufei reminded them, "Kagato and his allies will be moving much faster than us given that we've been kind enough to clear a path for them."

"All too true," said Heero, already turning around and moving towards the far end of the chamber, "Let's pick up the pace."

And make up for lost time…

….

"We've got to be close to the end now, right?" Ryoko asked hopefully.

"Oh, yes," replied AIDA through the communications system in Heero's armor, "Beyond those doors up ahead is one large circular room, and after that is a much smaller chamber. Our prize will be in there."

"Which means that the next room holds the final line of defense," said Heero.

"That's a safe assumption," AIDA concurred, "Given the room's size, I'd say we can expect a heavily-armed reception."

"Any cover in there we can use?" asked Trowa.

"I'm afraid not," AIDA replied, "The room's wide open."

"Just our luck," Duo muttered.

Wufei shrugged. "We've dealt with everything this place has thrown at us so far. This is just the last hurdle."

Washu shook her head. "Not quite. We'll still have Kagato and his allies to contend with on the way out. Even after rigging the place to blow, I imagine they'll put a fight rather than withdraw right away. Retreating from here is going to be tricky."

Ayeka sighed. "One obstacle after another. This has been such a tiresome mission."

"A bit too exciting for my liking," noted Azaka.

"That would be quite the understatement!" Kamidake chimed in.

"No kidding," said Hilde with a weary sigh, "Haven't had a job this intense in a while."

As the group approached the door, Ryoko turned to Heero. "How do you want to play this?"

"We don't have time for subtlety anymore," Heero answered, "We enter in force and hit whatever's in there hard and fast. I want you and Yosho on point to deflect any incoming fire. The rest of us will back you up."

Yosho stepped forward, the hilt of Tenchi-ken at the ready in his right hand. "Just say the word."

Ryoko nodded. "Ready when you are."

She noticed another pad by the doorway, the exact same kind as the one that had been at the entrance to the room that they were currently in. Heero picked up on it as well, and he looked over his shoulder at Washu.

"I think we need your magic touch again," he said, gesturing at the pad.

Washu came forward, her gaze immediately locking onto the pad. "Looks like it. Hang on a second."

She placed her hand on the pad, and after a moment it flashed green. "Okay, good to go."

Washu quickly fell back behind Ayeka and her guardians. Meanwhile, Ryoko and Yosho were both at the door, and the air around her crackled as she generated a barrier.

"Try not to slow me down, old man," she quipped.

Yosho smirked. "Well, no promises."

The door slid open a moment later, and the two of them rushed through. Ryoko expected to be met by a hail of fire, but the only thing that greeted the two of them was silence.

"What the hell?" she muttered under her breath.

The room was spacious, and it was empty. At least, it appeared that way at first glance. Ryoko's mind immediately flashed back to the previous room, and her gaze quickly went to the ceiling.

Yosho did the same. "Death from above?"

"That'd be my guess," Ryoko replied, "Fake ceiling again?"

"I might be able to help with that," said Heero as he came up from behind them, "AIDA?"

"Scanning the materials and overall layout now," the artificial intelligence replied, "One moment… okay, I think I've got it."

Yosho's eyes narrowed. "What are we looking at here?"

"The ceiling itself is real," AIDA answered, "However, certain segments appear to be hollow."

Ryoko quickly thought of the hulking drones they'd just fought. "Are the spaces large enough for those big metal lugs we just dealt with?"

"Negative," said AIDA, "If my readings are correct, these spaces are considerably smaller. About the size of a relatively taller-than-average human, in fact. However, there are more of them. According to my analysis, we're looking at a dozen such spaces."

"Each one likely holding a drone," Heero ventured.

"A reasonable assumption," AIDA concurred.

Ryoko's brow furrowed. "Something feels off about this. Only a dozen human-sized drones as the final line of defense? There has to be more to it."

Yosho scratched his chin in thought. "Why have they not deployed yet?"

"We likely haven't tripped the sensors that alert them to our presence yet," said AIDA, "It may be like the room we were just in; we need to be further inside before they'll drop."

"Meaning the same strategy for luring them out should work here, too," Heero murmured.

Ryoko shook her head firmly. "No. You're not playing the role of bait again, Heero."

"I'm with Ryoko on this one," AIDA chirped, "I'd rather avoid a repeat of what happened in the last room."

Yosho smiled. "Not Heero, perhaps, but I believe some bait is still required. Since the young lady and I were supposed to take point here anyway, perhaps we should be the ones to lure out our enemy. I presume there is no way to get through this room without engaging them, yes?"

"That's correct," AIDA replied, "I've detected multiple sensors built into both the ceiling and the far side of the chamber. We will not be getting through this room without tripping them. Combat is inevitable."

Ryoko sighed; she'd been afraid of that. "Damn it. How far in do you think we have to be in order to trip it?"

"If the last room was any indicator, likely towards the middle," said AIDA.

"That figures," said Heero.

Yosho turned to his grandson. "Why don't you organize your friends on this side of the room? Ryoko and I can move to the middle and lure the enemy out. Once they've revealed themselves, you'll be ready to attack and we'll get out of the line of fire."

Heero nodded. "Simple enough. You sure you want to be the bait this time?"

Yosho chuckled. "I might getting on in years, but I'd like to think I've demonstrated to you by now that I'm more than up for a scrap. Besides, the young lady and I balance each other's abilities and temperament quite nicely."

For her part, Ryoko was fine with the plan as long as it meant Heero wouldn't be the center of the enemy's attention. "We've got this, Heero. Just be ready to lay down some heavy fire."

"Copy that," he said.

She watched as he gestured for his fellow Gundam pilots to come forward and fan out from the entrance. Ryoko had to admire just how seamless their cooperation was; they understood each other on an instinctive level, with minimal communication needed to convey what they wanted. Without them along for the ride, she was sure that the group would've had a much harder time making their way through Washu's facility.

You've got some great friends, Heero, she thought with a smile, I'm glad they've got our backs.

Looking past the fireteam, she saw Ayeka, Azaka and Kamidake in the doorway. They already had a barrier up and running, with Washu and Hilde safely behind it. Ryoko didn't know what kind of firepower the opposition in this room would be packing, but she was reasonably confident that it wouldn't be able to breach that shield without putting in some serious work.

She returned her focus to the open space ahead. Glancing at Yosho, she saw him give her a small nod.

It was time.

Here we go again…

….

While he might've looked calm and cool on the surface, the mind of crown prince Yosho was abuzz with activity as he and Ryoko moved forward to lure out the enemy. What would be the nature of their opposition? Would they be aggressive or cautious? Did Washu have any additional surprises hidden in this room to further hinder their progress? Knowing his old friend, he couldn't rule anything out.

These will be more than simple drones, he thought, I'm at least confident in that assumption. Washu always was the type to save her best for last, and this should be no different.

The situation was less than ideal, but he could at least take comfort in the knowledge that he had some superb backup. While Ryoko's performance thus far had lived up to his expectations and then some, it was Heero and his fellow former colonial revolutionaries that had truly impressed him today. The fires of war had proven to be an effective crucible; the combat potential that they had demonstrated today would be the envy of Jurai's finest special forces. Yosho was counting on that fearsome combat expertise of theirs for the coming fight and those that the future held. If anyone could serve as a wild card and wrench in Kagato's plans, these five young men were it.

The old prince and the notorious pirate had almost reached the center of the room when a sharp hissing noise came from above. Both their gazes were already locked on the ceiling, and that paid off immediately when they saw multiple circular openings appear, each one expanding by the second.

"Move!" he ordered.

The two of them bolted forward, racing to get to the other side before the drones dropped so they wouldn't be in the rest of the team's line of fire. Ryoko immediately took to the air, while Yosho focused his Juraian energy in his legs, invigorating his old limbs to provide himself with a precious boost in speed. At the same time, he spared just enough power to ignite Tenchi-ken, while the air around Ryoko shimmered as she surrounded herself in a protective field.

The drones fell to the floor a few moments later, with the old prince and the pirate barely able to squeak past them. Whirling around, Yosho made a hard thrust at the nearest drone, hoping to get the drop on the machine before it was ready for battle. Unfortunately, Washu had programmed these particular specimens much more thoroughly than she had the previous machines; in a single fluid motion, it drew a curved sword that had been secured at its hip, and the edge of the blade became enshrouded in orange energy. It swiftly and gracefully parried Yosho's attack, and the old prince hastily fell back in order to avoid getting encircled.

Faster than I had anticipated, he mused, his brow furrowed in concentration, That doesn't bode well…

The ill omen was only reinforced once Yosho got a chance to properly study this new enemy. The drone wasn't nearly as big as the four behemoths that the group had fought earlier, but size alone was no indicator of strength. Indeed, Yosho quickly realized that these new drones were going to be far trickier to dispatch than the hulking quartet they had taken down before.

As AIDA's earlier readings had indicated, they were only slightly taller than the average person, and their overall frame was certainly humanoid. However, unlike the trooper drones that the group had mowed down by the dozens on their way through the facility, these new machines were armored. Arms and legs were reinforced in silver plating, yet there was still plenty of flexibility in the joints. They were a bit bulky in the torso, with rather pronounced chest plating that Yosho surmised guarded their power cores. Their heads were protected as well, and Yosho was surprised to note that their cranial armor bore a striking resemblance to the helmets of ancient samurai, albeit constructed by much more advanced materials.

It wasn't just their armor that brought to mind warriors of a bygone era. Yosho had already seen one of their armaments, and a quick glance was all it took to tell him that all the other drones had the same kind of sword as the one that had just thwarted his opening strike. In addition to that blade, each machine also had a smaller one, giving them a traditional daisho. Some of the drones had already drawn both swords, while others had a blade in one hand and sleek sidearm in the other. There were no heavy weapons or long-range ones that Yosho could spot; these units were designed specifically for close-quarters combat.

Under those circumstances, the most obvious counter was to engage from a distance, and Ryoko wasted no time in doing exactly that. She let fly from on high with a salvo of crimson energy spheres, and while her aim was true it wasn't enough to bring the target down. Yosho saw telltale ripples of energy cascade across the drone's armor; like the hulking machines from before, these units had their own dedicated shield generators.

They would not go down easily.

….

"Why do I hear boss music?" asked Duo as he took aim at the drones that had just dropped from above.

"All I hear is you talking," Trowa muttered.

"This doesn't look good," said Quatre nervously.

"Speak for yourself," Wufei chimed in, and Heero was sure that the L5 native was smiling beneath his helmet.

Wufei might've been eager to clash with these new foes, but Heero was approaching this fight with a healthy amount of caution. He, like the others, had seen the quick exchange between Yosho and one of the drones, along with Ryoko's attempt to dust one from above. These drones were shaping up to be by far the biggest threat that Washu had thrown at them yet. They were definitely more durable than the trooper and flyer drones from before, but at the same time they were much more streamlined and maneuverable than the hulking behemoths from the previous room.

"Concentrate fire on the closest drones," Heero ordered, "Keep them away from the door. We can't let them reach Washu and the others."

He opened up a split second later and was joined by his comrades. Their shots were split, with Heero and Trowa focusing on one machine while Duo, Quatre and Wufei were all unloading on another. Flashes of blue energy rippled across the sleek surfaces of the machines as their barriers soaked up the incoming fire, yet Heero noted that the drones were also quick to take evasive action rather than charge while continuing to tank the shots.

They probably don't have as much power to spare for their shields as the larger drones did, he guessed, Washu no doubt programmed them to compensate for that through agility. These are much more well-rounded combatants than what we faced before.

The enemy's attention was at least split. Heero saw four of the drones advancing towards Yosho, while two more had drawn their sidearms and were trading fire with Ryoko. Meanwhile, the remaining six were drawing closer to Heero and his fellow Gundam pilots, which meant that he had a snap decision to make.

He quickly turned to Wufei after firing off a volley. "You and I will take point and focus on close-quarters combat. The others will support."

He could practically hear the grin in his tone as Wufei put his rifle away and drew his sword. "Now we're talking! Let's have some fun!"

I'm not sure it'll be fun, Heero thought as he swiftly swapped his rifle for the knife and activated it, allowing his Juraian energy to enshroud the blade, but it'll definitely be interesting.

Here's hoping we haven't bitten off more than we can chew…

….

This was the kind of fight that Wufei had been hoping for. The hulking drones from the previous room had proved to be interesting opponents, but their programming had been too simple to offer a real challenge. As orange energy enshrouded the blade he'd drawn, Wufei could tell just from the stances of the drones approaching him that these foes would be much more to his liking.

As much as he might've wanted to just dive headfirst into the fray, though, he wasn't stupid. Going solo would be a good way to end up dead very quickly. If he wanted to maximize effectiveness, survivability and fun, he needed to cooperate with his friends. He positioned himself on the left while Heero moved in on his right; the two could cover each other's blind spots while Duo, Quatre and Trowa provided fire support and kept the enemy from overwhelming them.

The drone closest to Wufei lunged forward, both long and short sword drawn and ready to carve into him. It led with the former, which Wufei parried easily enough, but its follow-up thrust with the latter came from a low angle that was difficult to intercept. Wufei had to twist out of the way, and even then, the sword glanced off his armor's shields and drained precious energy.

He didn't even have time to properly counterattack; the drone had already moved to the side, allowing another one to strike instead. Like the first, the second machine attacked with both blades drawn, and only Wufei's highly seasoned instincts as a martial artist allowed him to parry the strikes in rapid succession. Almost immediately, the first machine lunged back into the fray, keeping Wufei on the defensive.

Things would've been even worse were it not for Heero covering his flank. While his friend only had a knife as opposed to a sword, he was making damn good use of it. He made up for its short reach with a tight defense, rapidly shifting between multiple incoming strikes and blocking them all. Defense alone wasn't going to win the day, but at least Wufei could have confidence in the fact that the two of them wouldn't be getting overwhelmed right from the get-go.

Meanwhile, the remaining three Gundam pilots were dividing their efforts in order to keep the drones that Heero and Wufei couldn't contend with at bay. Since he could put out a much higher volume of fire than the others, Trowa was keeping one of the drones occupied by himself with a stream of orange energy bolts while Quatre and Duo combined their efforts against another on the opposite flank. Their targets were covered in rippling energy as their shields took the attacks, and while the barriers showed no overt signs of weakening the fact that the drones were going to considerable lengths to evade rather than tank incoming fire was definitely a good sign.

Wufei allowed himself a smile as he deflected a series of rapid slashes from one of the drones while keeping an eye on the other. Sure, it wasn't the same as fighting the likes of Treize, but he was definitely enjoying himself.

I owe you my thanks, Heero.

This is turning out to be one hell of a mission!

….

As much as she might've enjoyed bombarding her enemies from on high, Ryoko was smart enough to recognize that a different approach was needed. Sure, she was keeping her share of the drones occupied, but they were agile enough that she couldn't concentrate her fire on any single target long enough to break through its shields. Also, since she was out of reach of their main weapons and their sidearms were clearly not having much of an impact against her barriers, the drones had begun focusing their efforts more on Yosho since he was a much more accessible target. The old man's skill with the blade was very impressive, but Ryoko was sure that even he had his limits.

Guess I'm gonna have to get down there and mix things up a bit.

Rapidly descending, she ignited her crimson blade and threw herself into the middle of the action. Her strikes were swift and powerful, but also wild; Ryoko would freely admit that finesse and technique weren't her strong points. Still, it was at least enough to carve out a bit of breathing room, and she positioned herself so that she could watch Yosho's back.

The old man gave her an appreciative nod. "Nice of you to join me down here."

"Don't take it the wrong way," she replied as she blocked a pair of swift slashes from one of the drones, "I just don't want Heero to lose you before you can complete his training."

Yosho chuckled as he parried a series of powerful blows. "Fair enough."

Her sudden shift from bombarding them from above to getting up close and personal on the ground caused the drones engaging them to momentarily rethink their strategy. Ryoko and Yosho were surrounded by six of the mechanical buggers, and those that had been shooting at her earlier proceeded to put away their sidearms and draw their second swords. It would be a pure melee contest from here on out, and they desperately needed to start putting some kills on the scoreboard.

"Any bright ideas?" she asked as she braced for the coming assault.

Looking over her shoulder, she saw Yosho's brow furrow in concentration. "Stay behind me and keep them off my back. I'll handle the rest."

Ryoko didn't like being relegated to a support role, but the old man had more than proven that his swordsmanship was superior to hers, so she was willing to play along. "You got it."

She took a quick glance across the room at Heero and his old friends. They were still in one piece, but the longer she spent over here with the old man the greater the danger they would face.

You've made it this far, Heero…

…you're not going down on my watch!

….

Allowing centuries of finely-honed instincts to take over, Yosho entered an almost trance-like state as Tenchi-ken's azure shaft flashed around him. It had been a long time since he'd fought like this, yet despite his advanced age and years out of action his body still more than remembered his training and prior combat experience. To an outside observer, the Juraian crown prince appeared engulfed in a nearly complete sphere of bright blue light, his deflections and parries flowing so seamlessly together that he might as well have possessed personal energy barriers.

Two drones were attacking him from the front, while a third attempted to strike from the right and a fourth searched for an opening on the left. Two more were behind him, and if he were alone, he would've been concerned, but the hiss of Ryoko's crimson blade was a comforting reminder that his back was covered. Secure in that knowledge, he could focus his considerable skill on the foes before him and show them why he'd been feared in his prime as one of the greatest duelists in the history of the Empire.

His foes were certainly skilled; Washu had clearly spared no expense here. He recognized moves from dozens of fighting styles as they assaulted him, each one performed with the speed and efficiency that one would expect of a master swordsman. Washu had done her work well, and he hoped that she wouldn't take offense at him dismantling her elite guards.

Drawing back slightly and feigning hesitation, he baited the drone closest to him into an attack. Its twin blades lashed out immediately, as if the machine sensed the chance for an easy kill. However, it had overextended in its eagerness to end his life, and Yosho made it pay dearly for the mistake. Parrying the strike it made with its main blade, he then shifted the angle of his sword to deflect the follow-up attack form the smaller weapon that he'd known was coming. He then made two blindingly fast strikes; a horizontal sweep followed by an overhand chop, both in rapid succession. The first attack overpowered the unit's shields and sliced its left arm off at the elbow, while the second caught the drone right in the head. Its crimson eyes flickered for a moment before going dark, and the machine tumbled to the floor before him.

Now it was the enemy's turn to hesitate; he'd dealt with their mechanical comrade so quickly that their software was clearly struggling to make sense of what had just happened. Yosho swiftly shifted to the offensive, launching a sequence of lightning-fast slashes aimed at the torso of one of the drones. The first two strikes actually caught the machine in the chest, and while they didn't penetrate the shields, they definitely caught the drone off guard. His adversary only managed to block the third attack in the sequence, and it was a very hasty deflection that put the machine off balance. Thrusting forward, Yosho saw the machine's shield flare up again before Tenchi-ken pierced them, and the azure blade sunk into the drone's right shoulder. The mechanical warrior managed to counter with its smaller blade, but Yosho could see that his attack had damaged the drone and hampered the range of motion for its primary sword arm.

He gave his foe no time to process what had happened. Knowing that this enemy's shields were compromised, he administered the killing blow via a thrust through the drone's neck. The attack sliced clean through, severing vital connections and sending a tremor through the machine. It remained on its feet for only a moment before fell to the ground, leaving just four machines left for him and Ryoko to deal with.

He intended to make quick work of them.

….

Washu, you really are too good at what you do, Heero mused wryly as he deflected a strike with his knife, and in this case, that's definitely not a compliment.

Under different circumstances, he might've appreciated the chance to truly test his close-quarters-combat abilities. Unfortunately, time wasn't on their side. This wasn't a moment to appreciate having a skilled opponent to push himself against; this was a fight to access critical information about a weapon capable of threatening all life in the galaxy. His priorities were clear, and they didn't involve sticking around here a moment longer than necessary.

Just because Heero wasn't enjoying himself didn't mean that the same applied to one of his comrades, though. Wufei was clearly making the most of this skirmish, and on another occasion Heero might've taken the chance to admire his colleague's skill in the martial arts. While Heero's blade-work was the cold, efficient and practical style that he'd been utilizing since he'd first been taught how to fight, Wufei's was a different matter. Both naturally wanted to triumph over their enemies, but the L5 native had a certain flourish to his technique that was impossible to miss. He was aggressive and bold, making wide sweeps and ferocious lunges that were as graceful as they were vicious. There was a unique kind of energy in his movements, one that came from more than simply the adrenaline of a life-and death fight. Wufei was very much savoring the clash and the chance to apply his training in the martial arts against a foe that he never would've found back on Earth.

"Your friend seems to be having fun," AIDA noted as Heero ducked beneath the swipes from one of the drone's twin blades before making a quick thrust in return.

"I've noticed," Heero dryly quipped as he attempted to press the attack, only to be forced back on the defensive by another drone.

"You might want to tell him that this isn't a game," said AIDA as Heero barely managed to block a slash from the earlier drone.

"Tell him yourself," Heero replied as he fended off follow-up attacks from the other machine, "I'm a bit busy here."

"Very well, then," said AIDA as she switched to the fireteam frequency, "Hey, Wufei! Stop screwing around over there!"

Wufei chuckled as he swiftly deflected a series of rapid slashes from the two drones he was engaging. "Heero, you're not going to let her boss us around, are you?"

"She's right, Wufei," Heero answered as he blocked another sequence of attacks from his foes, "I'm sure you're having fun, but we don't really have time to waste here."

"I'm well aware of that," Wufei countered as he went on the attack, striking at both drones with a series of swift slashes aimed at their legs, "I was just feeling out the enemy earlier. My compliments to Washu; she did a good job with programing these things."

"Aw, thanks!" Washu's voice came over the fireteam's channel, "About time someone around here showed proper appreciation of my work!"

"You're not helping, doctor!" AIDA scolded.

"Cut the chatter unless you've got something useful to say," Heero ordered as he fended off yet another sequence of fast and powerful strikes from one of the drones, "Do these things have any weaknesses?"

"I've analyzed the moves they've used so far," AIDA answered while Heero ducked beneath a pair of swift slashes aimed right at his head, "These machines were clearly programmed using data compiled from master swordsmen across the galaxy. Juraian swordplay is dominant, but there have been moves from other forms as well. It would seem that they have a rather diverse set of techniques at their disposal."

"In other words, we can't predict them," said Heero as his knife flashed through the air in front of him, keeping up a tight defense as the enemy continued to press and search for an opening.

"I never said that," AIDA argued, "I only mean that developing an algorithm for anticipating their moves based on currently available data will be difficult. Your expertise and instincts will have to suffice until such time has passed that I've gained a more comprehensive understanding of our enemy."

That was time they didn't have. Heero was surprised that Kagato wasn't already in the room with them. He couldn't be too far behind at this rate, and if he showed up while the drones were still active then the situation would go from bad to infinitely worse. This needed to end now.

Something AIDA said earlier clicked in his brain, and an idea began to take shape. "The moves they've displayed so far are only from sword-fighting styles, right?"

"Apart from whatever software takes over when they draw their sidearms, that seems to be the case," AIDA replied as Heero deflected a slash and redirected a follow-up thrust.

"Good," said Heero as he ducked beneath one slash before blocking another, "That's exactly what I needed to hear."

"I presume you have a plan, then?" she asked.

Heero nodded while deflecting another strike. "Yeah. Things are going to get rough, so hold on tight."

"I don't like the sound of that," AIDA nervously murmured.

Heero didn't answer. Instead, he braced himself for the opening he needed to make this plan of his work. His knife flashed through the air as he deflected another pair of swift and powerful slashes from the enemy, and that was when he made his move. Rather than conventionally countering like he had in the past, he gunned his armor's thrusters…

…and tackled the drone.

….

Washu felt more than a little guilty about playing the part of spectator while her companions were risking their lives to deal with the deadly defenses that she'd left behind in the repository, but at the same time it was hard to deny that she was enjoying the chance to observe their displays of combat prowess. Yosho was as fun to watch as ever; a classic demonstration of old-school Juraian swordplay that was more than capable of standing up to the test of time. It was entertaining to see him and Ryoko working together, and she was proud of how well her daughter was handling herself. Ryoko wasn't normally the type for teamwork, but she had read the situation well enough to understand that cooperation was the best way to ensure victory. Between her and the veteran crown prince, Washu was confident that the two of them had their share of the drones well in hand.

Ryoko and Yosho were known quantities, though. As impressive as their clash with the drones at the other end of the chamber was, Washu was far more interested in the fight that was playing out much closer to her. Ever since they'd touched down on this world and had begun their long slog through the repository, Heero and his fellow former Gundam pilots had proven repeatedly that they didn't need fearsome mobile suits to kick copious amounts of ass. The elite guard drones that she had deployed down in this chamber would be their deadliest test so far, and while they were definitely fighting hard Washu did not detect so much as a trace of panic or dismay among them. Just as they had in the previous clashes in this facility, they were adapting to the defenses that she had set up here and demonstrating that they were more than capable of bringing out the full potential of the armor and weapons that she'd bestowed upon them.

They'd handled themselves well so far, but these weren't the lightweight fliers, the rudimentary trooper drones, or the hulking brutes that they'd faced before. These were drones that Washu was sure that she had taken her time with, even if she had deliberately removed her memories of working on them. Their movements were much swifter and more precise than those of the previous drones, and while they weren't as well-shielded as the larger machines from the earlier room, they weren't going to go down in a single hit either. Heero and his friends had approached the fight with suitable caution, but now that they were truly in the thick of it and mindful that time was not their ally, they were starting to get bold…

…particularly in Heero's case.

Washu had been curious about just how Yosho's grandson would take down these particular opponents. At first, it seemed like he was intent on following the crown prince's example by fighting them blade-to-blade. That analysis hadn't been entirely wrong, but Washu had to admit that she'd misread the young man. His knifework had been mostly defensive, which should've been the first clue that he had something else in mind.

Tackling the drone, however, had not been something that Washu had seen coming.

To say that she'd been taken aback by Heero's sudden lunge would be an understatement. There was no finesse or precision here; this was a brute force move, one used by a brawler rather than a duelist.

And that, Washu realized, was exactly what Heero was.

I'm an idiot, she mentally chided herself, Heero was never going to fight these things the same way as Yosho. He doesn't care about testing his skills and beating them at their own game; he's only concerned with getting the job done. Complete the mission in the manner that's most effective… I've read his file enough times that I really should've seen this coming.

The drone that Heero had charged and decked didn't know how to react, and Washu knew the young man had been counting on just that. Through fighting her creations, he'd intuited her mindset behind them. He'd figured out that she'd designed them to fight against Juraian warriors like Kagato and Yosho; those who loved nothing more than a fight that was blade-to-blade. Her emphasis had been on providing them with data on the finest duelists in the galaxy, and while she had accounted for them possibly facing opponents with a more soldierly mindset instead, she hadn't counted on any with Heero's unique experience and fighting abilities.

Heero had knocked his foe to the ground and come down on top of them. Knowing he didn't have much time, he stabbed repeatedly at the machine in an effort to puncture the shields and do some real damage. The drone that had been working with the one Heero was assaulting had been thrown off guard by the move, but its programming would only be phased for a moment or two.

Heero had already accounted for that. After a few more stabs and slashes at the drone on the ground, the young man whirled around, hit his thrusters, and gave the second drone the same treatment. This time, his tackle caught the drone at the knees, and that machine went down to the ground as well. While the first one was climbing back to its feet, Heero began hammering away at the second machine, this time focusing his knife strikes on the drone's head and neck. Attacking with his right arm, he used his left to reach for the sidearm holstered at the drone's hip. Grabbing that weapon, he took a few quick shots at the machine's face. The combination of the knife with Heero's Juraian energy surrounding the blade and the bolts from the pistol finally did the job, allowing the former Gundam pilot to plunge his knife deep into the drone's neck.

Washu grinned as she pumped her fist. "Yes! That's it, Heero!"

She didn't have much time to celebrate, though. Her eyes widened as she saw that the previous drone was back on its feet and moving to strike Heero while his back was turned. Before it could attack, though, it was hit by a flurry of orange energy bolts in the head. The shots didn't take its shields down, but it did by Heero a few critical seconds. Looking around, Washu quickly found the source of the shots; Quatre. The former Sandrock pilot had already shifted his fire back to the drone that he and Duo were keeping at bay, but those few quick shots were all that Heero needed to swing the tactical situation back to his advantage.

Having finished off the drone that was on the ground, Heero dropped the defeated machine's pistol, switched his knife over to his left hand and picked up the fallen unit's sword with his right. He then lunged at the other drone, using his armor's thrusters to gain an invaluable speed boost. Leading with a slash from the stolen sword that his foe was barely able to block, Heero then followed-up that attack with a low thrust from the knife. The drone's shields held, but it was clearly on the defensive, and Heero's assault was unrelenting.

Not nearly as elegant as his grandfather, Washu mused, but brutal efficiency definitely has its appeal, and Heero makes it look damn good.

Heero varied his attacks, coming from different heights and angles to keep his opponent off balance. An overhand strike from the stolen sword glanced off the drone's head while a stab from the knife scraped along the barriers protecting the machine's torso. The drone tried to counter, but Heero refused to give it the chance. A second strike from his knife found success, and the blade was embedded in the drone's right elbow. Knowing that his foe's shields were now definitely compromised, Heero went for the kill. Washu could only marvel at the ruthless execution; one slash knocked the drone's smaller sword aside, and a second one removed its head from its shoulders.

"He's good," she muttered under her breath.

She'd already known that, of course, but there was a difference between observing him on a hologram from the safety of her lab versus seeing the action up close and personal. The Eve Wars had honed his body into a living weapon, and the armor and weapons she'd provided him only enhanced that effect. He might've come from a backwater planet, but there was no doubt in Washu's mind that he was one of the deadliest combatants she'd ever seen.

An odd thought crossed her mind as she continued to watch the young man and his friends take the fight to her drones; what would the royal court of Jurai think of his fighting style? Skill in the martial arts was highly prized in that culture, but there was a distinct difference between the classical schools of swordsmanship that the nobles loved and the no-nonsense, anything-goes pragmatism that Heero brought to the battlefield. It likely wouldn't win him any admirers from the more conservative-minded members of the aristocracy, but Washu could think of more than a few people either within the Royal Family itself or very close to it that would approve. It was one more thing to look forward to.

And she needed Heero to survive so she could bear witness to it.

….

Even as she focused on maintaining the barrier with her protectors, Ayeka still had a clear view of the fight and was in awe of what she was seeing. Today had already offered plenty of demonstrations of skill on behalf of the team's various combatants, but seeing them face off against what were surely the elite guards of this facility was another thing altogether.

Four of the warrior drones had been eliminated, and while the survivors were still quite clearly dangerous, they were also on the defensive now. At the far end of the chamber, both Yosho and Ryoko were unleashing a furious assault on their foes. Yosho continued to hold the front, the azure blade of Tenchi-ken slashing so fast that at times it looked like the crown prince was actually generating solid walls of blue light in the air between him and his opponents. Ryoko's attacks were nowhere near as elegant, swift and precise, but Ayeka would privately admit that they were certainly getting the job done. The pirate had robbed one drone of its right arm and another of its left, and the wounded machines appeared to be eyeing her warily. Ryoko had a predatory look in her eyes; she smelled blood, so to speak, and she was eager for more.

Closer to the princess, the fight playing out was less a contest of warriors and more the action of an effective and deadly band of brothers. The five former colonial revolutionaries might've lacked Yosho's unmatched skill or Ryoko's fierce power, but they more than made up for it with effective support, overlapping fields of fire, discipline, tenacity, and a surprising penchant for brutality. Heero's outright brawl with two of the drones in particular had shocked Ayeka when she'd first witnessed it; even knowing his background was that of a soldier as opposed to a Juraian warrior, it still stunned her to realize that a fellow royal was throwing down like a common street-fighter. There was no finesse or grace here. Heero's display was one of ruthless efficiency, doing whatever was necessary to make sure that his foes went down and stayed down.

I don't know why I'm surprised, she thought, Lord Heero didn't grow up in the court of Jurai, so I shouldn't expect him to fight like a royal. His combat techniques are naturally those of a soldier from his world. The fact that he's of royal blood wouldn't mean anything since he didn't know that until very recently; I shouldn't be judging his fighting style by the standards of my culture.

It was hard to refrain from doing just that, though. As much as she admired the young man that had served as her host since her fateful arrival on Earth, Ayeka could not help but feel more than a little unnerved by the manner in which he was fighting now. While he had armed himself with the sword of one of his fallen enemies, he wasn't using it in the manner that a Juraian warrior would. There was no concern for aesthetic or artistry; grace and elan were irrelevant to him. Effectiveness, speed and power were the core of Heero's fighting style. Every move was meant to bring the engagement to as quick an end as possible, aesthetics be damned.

It wasn't just Heero that was demonstrating the effectiveness of combat techniques from Earth, though. Ayeka wasn't blind to the efforts of his friends, and while firearms weren't weapons that she had any particular expertise with, she was still more than capable of admiring their skill with them. The combined fire of Duo, Quatre and Trowa was serving to keep the flanks secured quite well, and in fact the first two practically had a drone dancing in the palms of their hands now. Bursts from Duo's plasma shotgun and precise shots from Quatre's rifle had whittled away a drone's shields as it had repeatedly tried to close the distance and attack them with its blades. All of its attempts to initiate an offensive against them had been rebuffed, and now the machine was barely holding together. A blast from Duo's weapon then caught the drone in the chest, stripping away the last of its shields and leaving it vulnerable to a follow-up attack from Quatre. The head of the Winner Family wasted no time in seizing that opening, dispatching the machine with a single shot to the head.

On the other flank, Trowa likewise had his opponent on the ropes, and in fact looked like he was about to finish the drone off. While the machine in question had employed a very extensive and impressive display of acrobatics in an attempt to remain one step ahead of the near-constant stream of fire, the sheer volume of orange bolts from Trowa's heavy weapon had taken their toll. There had been no decisive hits, but its shields had been worn down to the point that individual bolts had started impacting the armor instead, leaving scorch marks and even punching through at points on the arms and legs. Those later hits had seriously hampered the drone's mobility, and Ayeka saw it make one last desperate charge at Trowa in an effect to take him down before it succumbed. Unfortunately for the machine, its charge was nothing more than an invitation for Trowa to hammer it dead-center with a burst from his weapon, and the machine collapsed to the floor in a charred and smoking heap of metal.

"Very well done…" she murmured under her breath.

Heero and his friends clearly had their share of the drones well under control, and Ayeka had no doubt that Yosho and Ryoko would finish their opponents off soon. The end was fast approaching, and she couldn't wait for them to get their hands on what they had come here for so they could get the hell away.

Of course, Ayeka was well aware that would likely be a case of easier said than done.

….

Ryoko was really starting to have fun now.

She might not have possessed Yosho's level of technique, but she was more than athletic enough to make up for it. While she was still focused on keeping the old man's rear protected, she wasn't simply waging a static defense. Leaping through the air, she would unleash powerful overhand strikes against the drones before rolling to the side to avoid the inevitable counter attacks, occasionally letting fly with a blast of energy from her left hand to keep them off balance. Her crimson sword lashed out like a viper, ferocious and swift in its defense.

Maybe I should ask Washu to build me one of these things as a sparring partner later, she mused as she parried a series of quick slashes from one of her foes, I'm definitely getting a workout here!

There was more to her enjoying the fight than simply the exercise she was getting, of course. While she had been focused on supporting Yosho, Ryoko hadn't been blind to the rest of the fight. Seeing Heero straight-up tackle two drones to the ground and lay into them like a good old-fashioned barroom brawler had been quite the spectacle, but more importantly it had shown her that the young man was more than capable of dealing with these deadly foes in his own way. Confident that Heero had things under control on his end, she was able to fully focus on her part of the fight.

As she blocked another sequence of strikes with her crimson blade, she heard the thud of another drone hitting floor in several pieces come from behind her; Yosho had claimed another kill. Not wanting to be outdone, Ryoko decided she needed to step up her game. She let fly with a volley of red spheres, blasting one of the drones right in the face. The shots didn't take its shields down, but the flare of the energy balls impacting the barriers momentarily obscured the drone's optical sensors, allowing Ryoko to get in some follow-up hits with her sword. She slashed at the machine's torso three times in rapid succession, and it was the third strike that managed to break through. Her bloodred sword cut deep into the drone's armored chest, and with some effort she was able to push it clean through to the other side, cutting the machine in two. It wasn't a moment too soon; the other drone she was facing was already attacking, and Ryoko was barely able to bring her blade around in time to defend herself from its vicious strikes.

She gave the machine a predatory grin. "Close, but not close enough. My turn, pal!"

Baring her teeth like the lioness she was, she pounced.

….

The youngsters are doing quite well, thought Yosho with a smirk as he parried twin strikes from the foe before him, I suppose I needn't have worried.

He was quite proud of his grandson in particular. Sure, Heero's takedown of two of the drones was hardly elegant or graceful, but it had gotten the job done in quite the decisive manner. Heero was fighting in the manner that he had been trained in; Yosho would expect nothing less from him.

Heero's friends were no less impressive in their own right. They had dispatched their share of Washu's elite drones with no help from the members of the group who had enhanced abilities or powers; they'd done it through teamwork, battlefield experience, advanced weaponry, and sheer tenacity. They were amongst the finest solders he'd ever seen, and that was saying something given just how long he'd lived. It was easy to see why they had been so effective in their war against the old Alliance and OZ; no matter what sort of foe was arrayed against them, they refused to be intimidated.

No need to be concerned for the youngsters, he mused with a smirk as he deflected another series of rapid blows from the drone in front of him, I really ought to be minding my own business…

Washu had done well, but now that Yosho was in a one-on-one fight it was painfully clear that her efforts had fallen short. Shifting to the offensive, Yosho made a quick thrust that disrupted the drone's attack patterns and forced it to protect itself with a hasty block. That was all the crown prince required to seize the initiative and begin his assault in earnest. He unleashed a withering barrage of slashes aimed at overwhelming the drone through sheer speed and ferocity. As a team, the drones had proven to be dangerous, but as single combatants their inadequacies were readily apparent. Against a lesser swordsman, the machine might still be a threat, but when faced with a seasoned master it was hopelessly outclassed. Yosho would've felt pity had it been a living foe, but he didn't have time for that here.

Ready to put the machine out of its misery, he feinted with a lunge, allowing the drone to believe that he'd overextended himself. This was merely bait, and the machine's programming instantly bit on the opening he'd presented. Having anticipated this exact moment, Yosho quickly took a step back and pulled his blade inwards to deflect the drone's strike. Angling his sword towards the floor and sending the machine's blade downward with his deflection, he smoothly transitioned into a counterattack, and with an elegant sweep he cut the drone's legs out from under it. A mere second after the machine hit the ground Yosho plunged his sword into its head and put it out of its misery.

With one drone left on this side of the chamber and two on the other surrounded by Heero and his friends, Washu's final line of defense was on its last legs. However, Yosho would not allow himself to bask in the triumph. A sense of unease had been building within him for some time now, and he could sense a familiar energy that was drawing closer with each passing second.

Kagato was on the hunt.

Yosho could only hope that he still had what it took to challenge him.

….

You've all done so well, thought Washu with a bittersweet smile, I only wish that my foolishness hadn't necessitated this mission to begin with.

Under other circumstances, she might've been furious at defenses she had designed being dismantled so thoroughly. Seeing as those defensive measures were a threat to her companions, though, Washu was quite happy with the fact that they were failing. The warrior drones had put up a good fight, but her friends were definitely superior.

With only one drone left at the far end of the chamber facing off against Yosho and Ryoko, it was really just a matter of who would get the kill. Normally, Washu's money would've been on Yosho, but it readily became apparent that Ryoko was determined not to be shown up by the crown prince. She redoubled her assault, striking at the drone with wild abandon. Washu had to shake her head at Ryoko's lack of technique; she definitely needed to spend some more time training in proper swordsmanship. However, she couldn't deny that the sheer ferocity of her offensive was impressive, and when combined with the occasional blast of crimson energy spheres from her left hand it was quite effective at wearing down the drone's defenses. Its barriers rippled as red balls impacted its torso, and its twin blades were working furiously to block Ryoko's blazing bloodred sword. All this really did little more than delay the inevitable, and the end came when one of Ryoko's shots finally punched through the drone's armor and left a smoking crater in the torso. The machine attempted to fight on, but it was swiftly finished off by two quick slashes, one that removed its right arm and another that cut the drone clean in half.

Crude, but effective, she dryly noted, Heero and Yosho really should take her aside later and help refine her technique. I suppose I can't argue with the results, though.

Speaking of results, the fight waging much closer to her position was definitely proving to be an example of what results could be achieved when soldiers from a world derided as a galactic backwater could do with the right combination of experience and advanced weapons and armor. The last two drones that had the poor luck of facing all five of the Gundam pilots were definitely on the ropes, caught in a withering crossfire that was rapidly overwhelming their shields. Heero and Wufei had originally been engaging these two machines with their blades, but now that the rest of the drones had been dealt with, they'd taken the safe approach, falling back just enough to switch over to their ranged-weapons and join Quatre, Duo and Trowa in pouring fire into their opponents.

It was an almost pathetic end for her elite guards; Washu would've preferred for something less anti-climactic. Still, she couldn't deny the efficiency of the method chosen by Heero and his fellow former colonial rebels. With the drones' numbers so reduced, the five young men could easily concentrate their fire and prevent any form of advance from this last pair of foes. Despite the machines' best efforts to dodge the hail of orange energy bolts, their quick reflexes and Washu's programming proved to be no match for the effectively coordinated shots from the former Gundam pilots. Soon their barriers were down, and moments later both machines fell to the floor, riddled with smoking holes.

She watched as Heero gave the room a quick sweep with his rifle, his gaze lingering on the ceiling just in case there were any further surprises hidden away up there. A few seconds later he went over to the drone he'd stolen the sword from earlier and swiped its sheath as well before securing the weapon at his hip. Then he turned towards her.

"All clear," he said.

Washu saw Ayeka sigh with relief as she and her guardians lowered the barrier. "Finally…"

"Quite the spectacle," Azaka commented.

"We've had more than our share of those today!" chirped Kamidake.

"No kidding," said Hilde from behind them, "Please tell me we're close to the end."

Washu nodded as she stepped forward, motioning for the others to follow her. "We are. The data we came for should be just on the other side of those doors at the far end of the hall."

As Washu and her immediate companions entered the chamber, they were quickly met by the frontline fighters. She was very pleased to see that none of them were injured; a small miracle given the nature of the fight she'd just witnessed. Washu could only hope that such good fortune would continue to hold, but the longer they spent down here the less likely that would be. She set a brisk pace as she headed for the other end of the room; the sooner she had the data, the better.

Heero fell in beside her, while the others surrounded her in a protective escort. "No offense, but your defenses here have been a real pain in the ass."

"No kidding," Duo chimed in, "We're working our butts off today!"

"Oh, quit complaining," said Hilde, and Washu was certain that she was rolling her eyes behind her helmet visor, "You need the exercise anyway."

Duo actually laughed at that. "All right, fair enough!"

"Interesting designs," said Wufei, "Haven't had a fight like that in a while."

Quatre sighed. "I'm just glad it's over."

"That makes two of us," quipped Trowa.

Ryoko shot a glare at Washu. "Are you sure you're not trying to get us all killed down here?"

Washu gave a sheepish smile. "Yeah… sorry about that."

Wufei chuckled. "Don't apologize. That was pretty fun."

"Your idea of fun needs some work, buddy," Duo muttered.

"As amusing as the banter is, we really ought to focus," Yosho admonished them, nodding at the doors up ahead, "Our prize awaits us."

That it did. Given the incredible value of the information that was stored up ahead, the entrance to the room that held it was remarkably plain. Little more than a pair of gray sliding doors with a pad to the right of the doorframe, it was almost a letdown when compared to the rest of the facility.

Strolling forward, Washu placed her hand on the pad. There was a flash of green light, and a moment later the doors slid open. On the other side of the doorway was a rather small room, with standing room for only a handful of people. Jutting out from the wall at about chest-height for Washu was a half-sphere, enshrouded in dark blue light. Washu felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up; this was it.

Ryoko raised an eyebrow as she looked over Washu's shoulder. "That's what we've been fighting to get to?"

"Not like any computer I've ever seen," Quatre commented.

"How exactly does it work?" asked Trowa.

Washu took a deep breath; they didn't have much time, and she had a feeling that getting down here wasn't the only struggle they'd go through before the day was out. "Hilde, I want you to come with me. Stay by my side while I access the data. The rest of you, stand guard out here. I don't know how long this will take."

Hilde turned towards Heero, who gave her a nod. "Keep an eye on her. We'll hold the line."

"Got it," she said before looking at Duo, "Don't do anything stupid, you got that?"

Washu could've sworn Duo was smirking behind his visor. "No promises!"

Hilde shook her head. "Figures…"

Washu gave the others one last look before entering the room with Hilde. The doors closed behind the two of them a moment later, and Washu stepped up to the console.

"So, about what Trowa asked earlier," said Hilde nervously as she looked back and forth between Washu and the glowing half-sphere on the wall, "Same question; how does this thing work?"

"Direct mental data transfer," Washu answered as she studied the console carefully, "In other words, the information goes directly to my brain; no reading from a screen required. All I do is touch the creepy glowing circle with my bare hand."

"Is that… safe?" asked Hilde with no small measure of trepidation.

"For most people, no," Washu replied casually, "It's not small potatoes even for me. I'll survive, but I might be out of it for a bit. That's where you come in. I'm going to need someone to carry me out of here."

Hilde sighed. "So even the computer at the heart of this place is dangerous. Why am I not surprised?"

"This is the fastest way to get all the necessary data from the console to my head," Washu countered, "Trying to download it conventionally would take far too long; there's just too much information. My brain can handle it, even if it's an experience that I don't particularly enjoy. It's just a matter of how long I'm knocked out from the sheer strain."

Hilde shook her head. "You're taking that way too lightly. Aren't you scared at all? What if the effects are worse this time? We can't afford to have you out of action on us; we need you."

Washu smiled. "I appreciate the concern, but this is the way it has to be. Just be ready to catch me when I lose my footing, okay?"

"Fine," said Hilde, "I guess the least I can do is make sure you don't hit your head on the way down."

Washu couldn't help but chuckle at that. "That would be nice, thanks."

She then took a deep breath before stepping forward and reaching out towards the console. "Well, here goes nothing."

She pressed her palm against the glowing sphere. For a moment, there was no response, and Washu feared that the most important part of the whole facility might not have aged as well as the building and its defenses. However, that fear was very quickly shoved aside as the light emanating from the console rapidly intensified. There was a sensation of searing heat boring into her mind like a powerful drill…

…and a million images of a weapon she should never have built in the first place assaulted her brain.

….

Heero turned to Yosho as the doors closed behind Washu and Hilde. "Is she going to be all right?"

He'd only seen the strange hemisphere console for a few seconds before Washu and Hilde had shut the doors, but the glow coming from it had not given Heero good vibes. It was by no means the strangest thing he'd seen come from the mind of the Washu in the time that he'd known her, but it still had a rather ominous air about it. Perhaps that was simply due to the knowledge of what it contained; information on a weapon capable of mass slaughter on a galactic scale.

"Let her worry about her own creation," Yosho admonished, and Heero couldn't help but notice that despite its blade being deactivated Tenchi-ken was still in the old man's sword-hand, "We have far more pressing matters to concern ourselves with."

"You seeing something I'm not, old man?" asked Duo.

"Kagato or whoever he's sending in his stead probably isn't that far away by now," said Quatre, "but I'm not seeing him yet."

"Which means we've got time to come up with a plan," Trowa pointed out, "How are we taking this guy down?"

Yosho shook his head. "None of you are a match for him. Leave him to me."

"Are you really planning on taking him on one-on-one?" asked Wufei, "I enjoy a duel as much as the next guy, but this might not be the time or place."

"No kidding," Ryoko muttered, "We don't have time for chivalry and honor, pops."

"This is about more than that," Ayeka argued as she looked nervously between the distant doorway and her companions, "If it's a formal duel, then none of us will face the repercussions that would otherwise come with attacking a member of the Imperial nobility, let alone a branch royal!"

"I have a vested interest in not being branded a criminal," said Azaka.

"Here, here!" chirped Kamidake.

"Screw the legalities!" Ryoko snapped, "We take this guy down here and now, whatever it takes."

Heero nodded. "Agreed."

Ayeka's face paled as she turned to Heero. "Lord Heero, please reconsider! You don't know what kind of trouble you'd be making for yourself here, let alone the rest of us!"

"What would you suggest?" asked Duo, "Hold back and miss our chance to eliminate our biggest threat right off the bat? Sorry, princess, but I'm with Heero on this one; the son of a bitch dies the second we get an opening."

Heero saw Quatre look at him, and he could feel the L4 native's eyes studying him from behind the visor. "What's our play, Heero?"

"Isolate and overwhelm," he replied firmly, "If he's got escorts, we get him away from them and then hit him with everything we've got."

"Shoot until he's dead," AIDA chimed in, "I like this plan!"

Trowa nodded. "We've got the firepower for it. We just need to secure our opening."

Wufei shrugged. "Works for me."

Heero saw Yosho turn to him and give him a hard stare. "You're making a mistake. I know Kagato; a conventional attack will not work against him."

"Kagato knows you," Heero countered, "He doesn't know us. That's our advantage, and we're going to use it."

Yosho looked like he had an argument on the tip of his tongue, but his brow suddenly furrowed and his gaze went towards the doorway at the far end of the chamber. Heero saw his grip tighten ever so slightly on Tenchi-ken, and the Preventers operative felt an electric sensation at the back of his mind. He couldn't see anyone in the doorway, but there were unmistakable presences approaching it fast. There was a new undercurrent of energy in the air, dark and heavy…

…and bloodthirsty.

He saw Ryoko stiffen slightly; she sensed it too. "Shit…"

Heero nodded; it was a good a way to sum things up as any. "Yeah…"

Duo looked back and forth between Heero and Ryoko. "What's up?"

"The enemy is here," Yosho answered.

"I don't see any new contacts," Quatre argued, his gaze focused on the doorway.

Heero shook his head while bringing his rifle to bear. "That'll change soon enough. I want everyone taking aim at that doorway now. The moment you get eyes on the target, light him up."

His fellow former Gundam pilots were quick to ready their weapons, and Heero saw the palms of Ryoko's hands crackle with crimson sparks as she prepared for action. Azaka and Kamidake were already in flanking positions around Ayeka, ready to bring their barriers up at a moment's notice.

His eyes narrowed as he saw a small cluster of silhouettes appear in the hallway just beyond the door. It only took him a moment to zero in on the one that he was certain was Kagato. It didn't matter that he'd never actually seen the man in person before; the power he could sense emanating from him was all he needed. His companions didn't matter to Heero; all he cared about was eliminating the main threat now.

Strolling right on up to us without even a thought towards cover, Heero mused, Kagato, that's the last mistake you'll ever make.

"Fire," he ordered.

A hail of orange bolts and crimson spheres ripped forth as the five Gundam pilots and Ryoko cut loose. The doorway was engulfed in bright light, and Heero instantly realized that their shots hadn't connected. A series of small black spheres, numbering perhaps a dozen or so, were floating in the air between Kagato's group and Heero. Sparks crackled between them, and Heero recognized it as an energy shield system. Shot after shot poured into it, but the barrier showed no signs of weakening. Heero was forced to revise his assessment; this wasn't the window that he'd been looking for.

"Cease fire!" he called out.

"Damn it," growled Duo.

"Shields, huh?" Quatre mused aloud, "I guess we should've seen that coming."

"Not good," muttered Trowa.

"So much for doing it the easy way," quipped Wufei.

"Shit!" hissed Ryoko.

Heero saw Yosho simply give a weary shake of his head. "Not to say I told you, but… "

"We get it, old man," AIDA pouted, "Guess we're doing this the hard way…"

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised at this point, thought Heero as the glaring light from the enemy's barrier faded, I mean, we never do get the easy jobs…

…and no battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy.

Heero didn't know what to expect next, but the sound of an individual clapping certainly wasn't it. As the glare from the barrier finally subsided, Heero saw that the source was the single man in the group of five, and he knew who it was.

Of the four women that were with him, three were familiar. Nagi was impossible to miss, and she seemed to recognize Heero despite the fact that she obviously couldn't see his face behind his helmet. The two female assassins from the attack on the countryside safehouse were there as well, still as creepy as ever. As for the fourth woman, the fact that she shared the same white hair as the man, albeit tied up in a bun to keep it from obstructing her in a fight, made it very clear who he was looking at.

The eyes of Kagato and Ragyō both settled on him, and Heero felt more than just their visual attention on him. The dark currents of energy flowing from both of them were reaching out to him as well, intrigued by his presence and probing for vulnerabilities.

Kagato smiled, still clapping as his gaze locked with Heero's. "Nice try, boy. You may be Yosho's heir, but your approach to combat is much more practical than his. This… this is going to be fun."

Preview for next time!

Duo: Well… crap.

Trowa: No kidding.

Quatre: Just casually tanking our barrage… we're off to a great start.

Wufei: This should be entertaining.

Ayeka: Now is hardly the time for that sort of sentiment!

Azaka: Our line of retreat is cut off, and when Washu retrieves the data the repository will be set to self-destruct!

Kamidake: We cannot linger here!

Ryoko: Tell that to the bastards blocking our path.

Nagi: Nice to see you again too, Ryoko.

Heero: Keep them from getting to Washu and the data. That's the only thing that matters right now.

AIDA: That and staying alive!

Washu: Next time, in Chapter Nineteen: No Need For A Desperate Escape!

Kagato: Come, Yosho; let us dance, old friend!

Yosho: So be it.

Author's Notes: You know, upon reflection, the way this chapter wound up playing out strikes me as being basically one long Halo level. The good guys fly in on cool ships, hit the ground and mix things up inside a high-tech facility that's connected to a superweapon capable of inflicting genocide on an unprecedented scale, and the protagonist has a chatty AI assistant along for the ride! Not quite the way I initially imagined things going when I started this story years ago, but hey, that's part of the fun with this one. It's evolved along with myself, and as I said before, although it does have a broad general outline, I've also left myself plenty of space to indulge in whims and impulses that I'm keeping clear of my other two fics.

At the end of the day, you have to remind yourself why you got into writing in the first place. For me, it was simply my idea of a good time. That hasn't changed a bit. I'm not doing this for money, and I'm never going to set up a account or anything similar to profit off of any of my stories. I've got a solid 40-hour a week Monday through Friday job that more than pays the bills. My writing has been and always will be something I do purely for personal enjoyment. If people happen to like it, well, then that's a fun little bonus! If not, oh well, life goes on.

Man, look at me, rambling on like an old man here. To think that I turned thirty last year and posted my first story back when I was twenty-one! Damn it, I'm still young at heart!

All right, I've said my fill. Hope you liked the new chapter! Please review, and I'll see you all next time!

P.S.

For those of you waiting for the new 'Eyes of the Soul' chapter, don't worry; that one's coming soon!