| I�d like to dedicate this to Shini-no Senshi (Duo Glomper) who made me an Awesome drawing for Vah! Disclaimer: I don�t own any gundam stuff in any way, shape or form. Preparation for War �Vah is brooding again� Heero thought to Duo silently. �I wish we got more than feelings through these links when we�re not fighting� Heero sighed inwardly. . �Well Hee-chan, you know we could just ask her.� Duo thought in reply. �It�s not like we�re doing anything important here.� Duo looked around the stained conference table at the shabbily dressed dignitaries. �They�re not going to come up with the answers we need. Every single speech they�ve made has to do with how little manpower they have and how few people they could spare to aid us, and none of them technically inclined.� Duo thought with rising anger. �These cheap, balding pencil-pushers just want to forget that we just saved their precious colony from being taken over and enslaved like the others. Let�s just get out of here.� �Gentlemen� Heero announced in a cold voice �This discussion is at an end, and unless you come up with anything different to discuss, there will be no further meetings.� Pushing their chairs back, they stood and left the room without so much as a backward glance. The sputtering and howls of protest were almost worth the hour and a half they�d wasted. �How the Hell are we going to come up with enough people to reopen that lab? It�s huge.. the size of a small planet!� Duo muttered as he made his way around a group of small children playing in the dirt. Heero simply reached out and held Duo�s hand, letting the warmth of his love distract Duo from his angry thoughts. �Sorry, I�m just not used to feeling my own anger, your frustration, and Vah�s tense unhappiness all at once. Vah�s link to us is stronger than ours to her, I wonder how on earth she stands it.� Duo mused. �Well why don�t you ask her? We�re almost there.� Heero observed as they went down the musty hallway towards the room they had been sharing. �What is that sound? I don�t have any music like that� do you Heero?� Shaking his head no, Heero slowly inserted his card key and entered the suite. �I am pleased you�re back, my loves� Vah said calmly, in no way betraying the tenseness that they could feel coming from her in waves. She sat in a chair by the single window, wearing a torn-up pair of Duo�s jeans, and one of Heero�s shirts. She had an old bandanna tied around one arm, and in her arms, stroked by skillful six-fingered hands, was a guitar. The music she was playing was very old. Duo stood listening entranced, the music was beautiful, and he felt like he almost knew it, could almost start singing words he didn�t remember knowing. Walking over to the window, Heero opened it, then sat next to his beautiful alien, and ran his fingers through her soft hair. �What song is that?� Duo whispered as he finally left the doorway and came to sit at Heero�s feet. �It�s called Black Hole Sun� she said, setting the instrument off to the side..�I found a woman selling instruments down the street, and she let me have this for very little of my money.� She looked puzzled. �I would have thought prices would have gone up since then, not lowered so drastically.� �What money did you use to pay her with?� wordlessly she handed Heero a leather wallet with ancient paper money inside. Duo whistled as Heero showed him the bills. �Darling, one of those bills is worth a lot of money now. They would give a collector fits of joy.� Duo said smiling. �It is more than worth it. I enjoy playing. But enough of this, I have a gift for both of you, a gift I am not sure you will want to accept. Vah rose from the couch and walked over to the scuffed and battered bookcase, returning with a crystal decanter and two wineglasses. �Woah, what�s that? It looks like a liquid pearl!� Duo bounced up to take a closer look. �Immortality of a sort.� She said, carefully setting the glass on the coffee table and returning to her spot near Heero. �Immortality? Heero asked as he pulled Duo onto his lap and put his arms around him. �Yes� she slid her arm around Heero�s waist, and laid her head on Duo�s side.� I have been putting off telling you some things, since you�ve both been worrying so much about solving our manpower shortage. How old do you think I am?� She asked, as her turbulent emotions rushed through all of them. �Ummm 20?� Duo said looking completely confused by the sudden change of topic. �I am well over 500 of your years old. It may seem hard to believe, but when I first learned of the earth, it did not even have nuclear power yet. It took years of monitoring before I even found a radio signal strong and clear enough to decode.� Smiling weakly she ran her hands through her hair. �My kind do not die of natural causes, and we are fairly hard to kill. I know humans usually have rather short lifespans, and since we are bonded, I would share your lifespan since if one of us dies, we all die.� Looking as the shock on their faces, she suppressed the urge to laugh hysterically, though they both felt it. � If you each drink a glass of what�s in that bottle, you�ll have the same lifespan as I naturally do. After about two years, you both will stop aging, you�ll have higher reflex rates, and be somewhat stronger.� �What�s the price?� Heero asked looking deep into her soul. �You lose everyone, if one of us doesn�t get killed by something first that is.� �It looks like there�s enough for five glasses there..� Duo said carefully. �Yes, it would be an aid if we did not lose any of the gundam pilots we have already if there�s any way we can help it.� Vah said staring intently at the floor. Heero leaned over until his face was only inches away from hers. �Vah, what is it?� Wordlessly she untied the bandanna from around her arm. Removing a gauze strip from under that, she bared a wound that looked like it had been made with a wood file. �Your blood?� Heero said in disbelief. �Does that mean you�re a vampire?� Laughing out loud, Vah relaxed a little. �Well let us see� I can drink water, go out in the sun, and I�ve never drank any human blood. A Stake through the heart would probably kill me, but I am sure it would do the same to you. But seriously, I�ve been ready to die a long time now. I never thought I would bond with anyone, after Dr. Maxwell refused to bond with me. I would die happily whenever you did, but I wanted you to have the choice.. I want to give you part of myself, to help keep you safe� she said as tears streamed from her eyes. �We�re going to have to go get the lab from within enemy territory. Three of us going into the heart of OZ. Through you I�ve come to care about the people here. And I know without the lab, and enough people to man it, there�s not much hope for them. � shaking, she replaced the makeshift bandage over her wound. Vah was stopped from saying anything further by a soft, warm mouth being pressed against hers. �It�s ok� Duo said in between soft kisses �We understand.� Heero and Duo both relaxed as they felt the tension suddenly run out of her body. Still kissing Vah within an inch of her life, Duo thought over to Heero �Would you pour, gorgeous? I�ve kinda got my arms full.� Heero went over and poured the thick liquid into the glasses. �Fair�s fair, I get you next� Heero thought with amusement, feeling the warm arousal flow between them. �Why don�t you come get me now?� Duo thought back with rising passion. Slowly lifting her shirt over her head, Duo strung kisses along Vah�s smooth skin, pausing to delicately suck on a hard, silky nipple. �Heero?� Vah�s questing mind caught his and drew him into her pleasure. �Please Heero�.� She thought to him seductively. Slowly coming up behind Duo, Heero reached around to slowly unbutton and unzip Duo�s pants. Sliding them slowly down Duo�s legs, he carefully inserted a finger into Duo�s warmth, getting harder as he watched/felt Duo squirm. As Duo stripped Vah completely naked, Heero inserted a second finger and slowly started moving them in and out of his lover. �Oh now, Duo, Heero, Now!� Vah moaned inside their heads as Duo slid into her and Heero slid into him. Moans and gasps of pleasure rose from three throats as they slowly started moving together. Thrusting harder into his lover, Heero moved faster, and started losing control And as Vah felt Heero thrusting into Duo, pushing him into her faster she lost control Moaning and biting, she suddenly felt both of them release.. falling into a tangled pile of arms and legs.. they lay there together, basking in each other�s love. �You know, forever isn�t too long, and I�m suddenly thirsty� Duo said with a wicked smile, disentangling himself and walking over to the coffee table, returning with two glasses. Handing Heero the second glass, Duo raised his in a toast. �Here�s to a lot of days like today� drinking as fast as they dared, they both finished it.. �Is there anything we should expect?� Heero looked concerned as he watched Duo pale to a shade near to Vah�s natural skin color. �You should probably take a nap. The process shouldn�t take more than a few hours, but it would be better not to be awake for it. The body adjusts easier while asleep.� Vah noted, as she easily lifted the still weak-kneed Heero and walked into the bedroom. Returning for a suddenly trembling Duo, she carried him to the bad and curled up next to them. �Sleep well� Heero said as he curled up and promptly fell asleep. �I love you� Duo whispered to them both as he drifted off. Vah silently watched both of them, and knew she wouldn�t be sleeping that night. Duo was dreaming, he knew he was dreaming, but he still couldn�t seem to wake up. He was floating behind Dr. Maxwell as he made his way through the main lab area. Looking past the graying braid before him, Duo was shocked to see the scientists who had trained him and the other gundam pilots. Young and glowing with health, they laughed together as they worked on constructing a winged grndam. Steel and metal everywhere, somehow the lab felt strangely alive. �This is the way it is supposed to be� Duo thought to himself. Reaching an area where Duo had not been on his visit to the lab, Dr. Maxwell�s steps seemed to slow� become hesitant. �Well here goes nothing� Maxwell said as he knocked on the metal door in front of him. �What the hell do you want?� Vah demanded as she opened the door. �I want a chance to talk to you about this.. to try to explain�� Maxwell said in a placating tone. Pain seethed behind her foreign eyes. �You explained enough when you said that it would be unholy to marry me, that I was an alien and that all I could ever be to you was an opportunity for sin.. I have nothing more to say to you.� Vah said, slamming the door to her room. �How the hell could he say that to her?� Duo wondered as his dream perspective shifted to a point directly in front of Vah. Reaching out to comfort her, trying to project his love, Duo soon realized that she couldn�t see him. Muttering angrily to herself she walked slowly to the part of the lab no one else had access to, her space cruiser. Running over to her Gundam and getting inside, she started crying.. �I�m so alone, no love, no family�. I have no one to go with me when I die, no one to care weather I live�� Suddenly dashing her tears aside, she went into her mobile-suit workroom and drew plans for a crude gundam. Slowly turning her plans into reality, she had a very simplistic mobile suit, packed with explosives. When the siren sounded, warning that the battle with her people sounded, Vah climbed into the new Gundam and flew out to meet them before anyone else was ready. Teeth clenched with anger, and eyes streaming tears, Vah was almost up to their first defensive line when she heard Dr. Maxwell scream. �No, Vah don�t do this, I love you..I swear, I was wrong, I�m sorry, please don�t� Turning the sound off, she projected towards her people �Here I am, ready to die for my sins. I am a monster, forgive me for being what I am.:� she hit the self-destruct button and blew out a quarter of her people�s army, stopping the war before it started. �Nooooo!!! Maxwell screamed, watching the woman he loved disappear into a soundless blast of light. He plowed into the shrapnel left from the explosion, to come forth holding her limp body, and speed back to the station. As he exited his Gundam and knelt down beside her, it was obvious she was still alive, but was very close to death. Taking her into his bioengineering section, he took a sample from her dying body to replicate her DNA Using every means at his disposal, he created a new body for her, and transferred her consciousness into it right before she coughed out her life on the other table. Cursing and crying he sealed her into suspended animation, searing he would come back for her when he was worthy of her. �I didn�t marry you or bond with you because I didn�t want you to die when I did�, he said raising his tear-stained face to kiss the glass. �Duo, wake up!� a female voice whispered into his ear. �Vah!� Duo cried, grabbing her and pulling her close. �You�re alive� � thank god� Crushing her tightly against his chest, he felt her startlement. �Duo, what on earth is the matter with you?� Not saying another word, he simply opened his mind to her and let her see his dream. �Oh Duo� She put her head against his chest. Not letting go of her for an instant he whispered in her ear �I swear I�ll never let anyone hurt you again� Smiling, she kissed Duo softly. �You and Heero are everything that he could never be� She projected into his mind. �You are my loves, and I couldn�t be happier with you.� Heero opened one eye �I heard that� He grinned and grabbed Vah from Duo�s arms and kissed her soundly. �Now,� Heero said after nibbling on them both for awhile �I believe we have a mission to plan out.� �Spoilsport!� Duo hit him on the back of the head with a pillow. As the five gundam pilots entered the deserted building Vah joined them at the entrance. No bugs, there were two spied, but they�re dead now. Duo looked surprised. �If you were fighting them, how is it we didn�t know about it?� �Because I murdered them, they didn�t fight with me at all.� Vah said with a chilling little smile. �Hn. That�s my weapon� Heero said affectionately. Grinning impishly, she led them to an abandoned conference chamber that held a long, sturdy table and 8 chairs. Once seated, Quatre pulled out a sheaf of papers and cleared his throat. �I think I�ve come up with a way to solve our manpower shortage, but it won�t be easy. Quatre set several maps on the table. �Oz is keeping all of their politically dangerous prisoners and all of our troops they�ve captured in several penal colonies If we could raid just one of these colonies, and take the prisoners back here, we should have enough technically trained people to reopen your lab.� He said, nodding to Vah. �I think we should bring the lab here first.� Heero stated. �If we�re careful we should be able to bring it in without raising a general alarm. Raiding a prison will make a lot more noise then moving as asteroid.� Wufei looked up from his study from the maps �But which prison should we break into? Other than the one on earth, they all look equally assessable.� Quatre cleared his throat again �I have a preference, it�s for a personal reason though. Most of my sisters have been taken prisoner at the P56 base. If there are no objections, I vote for that one. All of my sisters are highly intelligent, and I�m sure they could help run things once they�re here. � Quatre looked around the table. �Are there any objections? � silence greeted him. With a relieved smile he thanked them with his eyes. �Ok, next order of business.� Duo said, pulling a crystal decanter out of a bag sitting near his chair. �Who wants some immortality?� Vah rolled her eyes. After they had explained exactly what the strange liquid would have for them, and the downfall of possibly leaving everyone behind, a tense silence filled the room. Suddenly Trowa spoke up. �There are no sure things in life anyway� And he reached for a glass, poured a third of the liquid in the bottle into it, then downed it quickly. Seeing his beloved drink it, Quatre quickly followed suit. Wufei sat there and watched them. �I have just one question.� He said with his hard, dark eyes on Duo. �What is it?� Duo looked uncomfortable. �Wufei, I�m not going to tell you that, and trust me you�re better off not knowing.� Holding Duo�s eyes for a long moment, Wufei nodded, and drank the remaining fluid directly from the bottle. �You might all want to take a nap� Vah noted as she watched the three grow pale. Smiling, Duo, Heero and Vah each picked up a woozy gundam pilot, and carried them to the base. �Dishonor!� Wufei protested sleepily. �I will not be carried by an onna!� �What does onna mean?� Vah asked, looking like she was about to drop him on the grass. �It just means woman� Duo said carefully. �Hn.� Vah felt irritated, but carried him the rest of the way inside. Preparing for the mission Vah stopped suddenly and projected to Heero �Love, could you please come over here for a minute?� As Heero walked over, Vah couldn�t help but think how good Heero would look in armor matching her and Duo�s �What do you need?� Heero asked, staring at her gundam with something akin to awe. �I need to introduce you to her. I can control some of the lab�s functions from my suit, and I�ll need to key in your DNA to the security system, so you can go in with Duo and I.� Nodding silently, he followed her directions. �Get in the cockpit and sit in the pilot�s chair, then slide your fingers into the slots in the panel in front of you. Good! Now, I am going to give you a key phrase, you�re going to speak the phrase clearly, then you�ll feel a prick on your finger. Then you�ll be connected to my gundam. I�ll give you a second phrase to say, and you will be keyed in to the lab�s computer and we�ll be finished.� Looking at Heero she considered. �I hope you can pronounce this. The access phrase is: Nestshiva staryese ka nok vasht.� Heero repeated the phrase nervously and felt a prick on his right middle finger. �I think it worked. What the�� He suddenly felt his stomach turn over as suddenly system specs and status information rolled through his mind, in a strange language he could suddenly understand. Feeling his discomfort Vah quickly gave him the key phrase to the station. Repeating it carefully as he could he felt �Access confirmed� Roll through his mind. �Ok, you can leave the suit now.� Vah said, �That was very strange� Heero said while Vah stared at him in shock. �What�s wrong?� Heero asked, walking over to put a finger under her chin and close her mouth. �Um, Heero, you�re speaking my language.� Vah said when she recovered the power of speech. Suddenly Heero laughed. �Why yes, I guess I am. Your suit is incredible.� He said stroking her face. �You�re a better pilot than I am Heero, and we both know it�s true. As soon as we get to the lab, you will have a gundam like mine. I would have given one to Duo while we were there, but there was no time to reprogram the controls so something he could use. Direct interfaces are fast, but they take a lot of training to learn how to use, unless specifically modified for the pilot.� Walking hand in hand to the base, they found Duo playing on the guitar. �Any sign of movement from our sleeping beauties? Heero asked, looking over at the snoring Wufei. �Not a peep. I�ve been Soooo bored! Is it my turn to go get ready now?� Duo asked, nearly bursting with energy. �Yes, and we�re leaving as soon as you�re ready.� Heero said, walking over to Quatre. As Duo rushed from the room, Heero nudged Quatre with a foot. �Quatre, wake up.� Heero said loudly �Huh?� Quatre mumbled and sat up. �Oh Heero, I was having the most horrible dream!� �Later, sunshine. Get your lovemuffin to wake up, we have a couple of things to go over before we leave to bring back the asteroid.� Heero said, walking over to Wufei. �Wake up Wufei� Heero said, shaking his shoulder. �What?? Wufei said, struggling into a sitting position on the beanbag he was on. �We need to talk. It�s time for the mission.� Once they were gathered into a circle, Heero gave them a death-glare to get them quiet enough to listen. �Ok, Duo, Vah and I are going to go bring back the asteroid. That leaves you three to raid that prison and bring back the people to man it. Do you think you can handle that?� Wufei looked insulted. �Of course we can handle it.� Quatre looked thoughtful for a moment, and nodded, as did Trowa. �Now that this colony has the defense net we rigged for it, it should be able to withstand small-scale attacks, and raiding the prison won�t take that long� Trowa noted, reaching over to hold Quatre�s hand. �Good, Duo is ready to leave. Look for us to be back within three days.� Grabbing their packs, Heero and Vah ran out to where Duo was waiting for them. On the way out to the asteroid field, Vah seemed strangely quiet. �Hey Vah, watcha doing?� Duo asked. �I�m writing a program. I need to have it finished before we reach the station.� Vah replied distractedly. �What is it?� Heero inquired, suddenly taking an interest in the conversation. �It�s an overlay for a direct access system. You could call it a shell.� Vah replied, muttering under her breath as she hit a difficult section. �You�ll both be getting new mobile suits when we reach the station, this will make it easy for you to operate them. It�s extremely difficult to translate some of the numbers though.� She stated, biting her lip in concentration. �How much farther is the asteroid field� Heero asked Duo when it was obvious that Vah wasn�t going to say anything further. �About another half an hour. It�s really hard to miss it, it�s huge.� Duo said. �Whoever had the idea to build and hide it in an asteroid field was a genius.� �Done!�Vah cried in relief. Suddenly Heero�s gundam showed the asteroid field on it�s long range sensors. �Just in time too.� Heero noted. As they blasted into the rocky area, Vah headed straight towards the lab. Duo and Heero could almost feel the data streams flowing from her gundam to the large rock. �Damn. Heero, Duo get behind the largest rocks you can find.� As soon as they had found cover there was a large detonation. Rushing back into the open they discovered the rocky shell had been blown off the lab, leaving the station�s strange black walls exposed to open space. �Now we�re likely to have company.� Duo groaned. �And here I was hoping for a nice relaxing break from fighting.� Heero rolled his eyes. �What�s the next part of the mission?� Vah looked at the asteroid field consideringly. �Go destroy the two rocks with a blue tint to them, and bring me what you find inside of them. I�m going in.� Duo and Heero shot off in search of their targets. �I bet I find one first!!� Duo declared with a superior tone. �Hn. We�ll just see about that.� As Heero started blasting through in one direction and Duo went off in another. �Found one!� Duo cried triumphantly. �I�ll have mine out and back at the station before you can find yours!� Attacking with the full power of his gundam, Duo started breaking chunks of rock off the edges of it. �We�ll just see about that!� Heero gritted his teeth and finally spotted the one he was looking for. �Bingo.� Heero powered his cannon up and started blowing away chunks off of it. �Hey Heero, there�s something strange in here..� Duo said as he uncovered delicate filigree of a strange black substance. �I know, strange black material here too.� Heero said, his worry coming to Duo through their link. �Oh my god it�s huge�.. it�s .. it�s a gundam!� Duo said in shock. �I�ve never seen a suit this big before!� Suddenly realizing what he was uncovering, Heero whistled. �I haven�t either.� Heavily armored, the suit seemed to absorb all the light around it. Without a visible weapon, but built like a marshal arts master, it had a crown of the same light-absorbing material on it�s head. With strange, short wings, that looked like a cape, the entire impression it gave was of an alien monarch. �Hey Duo, what does the one you found look like? �It�s huge�� Duo said in a strange tone, as a heart-wrenching pain emanated from him. �Duo, what�s wrong?� Heero asked in concern.. �It�s nothing.� Duo replied sounding haunted. �Duo, don�t try to pull this with me, you know I know how you feel, so tell me what the hell is wrong.� �Oh gods Heero, it�s the deathscythe.. almost identical. She had to have made it for him. After all he did to hurt her, she still made this for him. I swear if he wasn�t long dead already I�d kill him myself.� Duo yelled, pain giving way to anger. Powering up his weapon, duo prepared to fire on the near-duplicate in front of him. �I won�t pilot this. Seeing me in it would only hurt her. I�ll keep the suit I�ve got.� Suddenly Heero appeared, pushing the other gigantic suit in front of him. �Duo, stop it, here, take this instead.� Heero shoved the suit in his arms at Duo and got behind the suit Duo had been about to fire on. Shocked, Duo caught the suit and followed Heero back towards the base. �You know Heero, I don�t know what I�d do without you. You�re too damn wonderful for your own good.� �You�d suffer, and I know.� Heero said with an evil grin. �Now where are we supposed to ender the base? Oh wait, nevermind.� As he spoke a huge docking bay opened at one side. Setting their burdens down they both jumped to the floor to meet a grinning Vah. �Excellent!� They look like they did when I first built them!� Turning to a panel of machinery, she grabbed a snakelike bundle of wires and attached it to the first suit. �Hey beautiful, why weren�t these ever used? They look really powerful.� She smiled slightly and attached a second cable to the almost-deathscythe. �Because I never managed to get the programming changed over to something easy enough for someone other than me to use.� She turned and started downloading to the gundams. �These were designed for two of the top pilots we had. Of course they turned out to be unnecessary anyway, so it�s not a bad thing they were put in mothballs� She said with a slight smile and a trace of long-remembered pain. �Why isn�t yours this big?� Duo asked, trying to distract her. �Because of the kind of interface I use, it is easier for me to use a smaller gundam, and have more control over it. Taking the cables back to the panel, Vah shooed them over to their new suits. �Get in. put your hands in the slots in front of you and get used to the readouts. When you feel comfortable with them, go out and look around at the side the colony is near and make sure we haven�t attracted company. I�m going to fully power up the station and get it ready to move.� Blowing them kisses, she went back into the interior of the station. �Well, I guess we have our marching orders, let�s get to it!� Duo said, climbing into his new suit. �Remember this is all direct interface, and there aren�t any manual controls� Heero said, entering and starting it up. �I don�t think I could forget!� Duo said, trying out the new way of control. �I like it!� Heero rolled his eyes. �Just don�t let it go to your head Duo-koi. You�re the king of death now, not the god of death.� Duo looked mock-offended. �Hey, who said gods can�t wear crowns?� he grinned. After reconnoitering the area for enemy troops for the better part of two hours, Duo was bored. �Hey Hee-chan, we should name our new gundams.� Heero considered it for a moment. �I�ll just call this one the deathreaver.� Duo seemed slightly puzzled. �You know, I can�t think of a good name for this one. Man, that�s gonna bug me!� Duo said, sounding irritated. �Hey Vah, what did you call the gundam Duo is in?� Heero sent out towards the station. �I called it the raravis� Vah seemed amused. �There you go Duo, problem solved.� Duo rolled his eyes and kept scanning for enemies. �Ok, I�m about to start the station moving, I want you both to come into the bay before we take off.� Vah said in no uncertain terms. �Yes Mam.� Duo replied as they headed in. �So why do we have to stay in here?� Heero asked as they gathered in the command center. �Watch and see.� Vah answered as she brought a view of nearby space to the viewscreen. As the station�s alarms went off, it lurched and started moving. Shocking Duo and Heero, the asteroid field was moving with it. �There can�t be gundams in all of these rocks!� Duo exclaimed as Heero stared in dismay. �Well not all of them, but quite a few. It was an easy way to disguise them from my people.� Heero whistled. �I hope they got a lot of people from that prison colony who can be trained to pilot them.� Vah looked troubled. �I hope they did also. Without enough people to man this revolution, we don�t stand a chance.� A day later, Duo and Heero had explored most of the base, while Vah kept them on course and watched for trouble. As they were at the border of enemy territory, Vah came to them with a strange request. "I want a target. Preferably military, but one where taking damage would hurt the enemy the most.� Duo gave her a strange look, and conferred with Heero thinking carefully. After a long discussion, Heero put forth that the OZ space headquarters would be a good target, but that it was so heavily guarded that it was unlikely that anyone could get at it. �Give me the coordinates.� Vah said, entering into the terminal in front of her. Hitting a large red button, she raised her glass and toasted �Disruption and destruction to OZ� Heero and Duo were baffled until they saw almost half of the largest asteroids break off and go screaming towards their distant target. �Why?� Heero asked. �It�ll be enough of a distraction to them that they shouldn�t notice our preparations until we can get more pilots trained. Right now everything we do is buying time for that.� Vah answered with a grin. �I would say a large amount of rock being dropped on their heads should prove quite an annoyance.� Duo smiled. �You know I love you?� She winked and continued monitoring the station�s progress. When they finally arrived at the station, they were thrilled to learn the two prison colonies had been raided, and there were more than enough people to train to pilot the existing suits, and enough science-trained technicians to teach to operate the lab. Quatre flung himself into the trio�s arms. �My sisters all made it, they�re all here! And a lot of our friends we thought were dead made it too!� Looking directly at Heero Quatre thought of something and froze. �Uh Heero, we took some prisoners while we were freeing everyone. One of them was Relena.� Heero�s eyes widened and he got a disgusted look on his face. �Well, the traitor was captured, was she? Good. Just tell me which prison to avoid.� Quatre looked uneasy. �We have her in the most secure prison we could think of, we didn�t want you to kill her when she makes such a good hostage.� Heero snorted, then laughed. �I don�t need to kill her, I have Duo and Vah. She�s not worth the ammo. Besides, I�m willing to bet the humiliation is worse than killing her.� Heero smirked. Working hard to prepare for the upcoming battles, they trained everyone they could to help. All of Quatre�s sisters were trained for mobile suits, and so were several of the acrobats from Catherine�s circus. They felt the pressure building as time grew short, but that drew them closer together. Duo, Heero, and Vah had a wedding ceremony, officiated by a surviving priest of the Maxwell church. All that was left was preparing, and the hard part� waiting. And again, the rest is another story. |