Gundam SEED Fan Fiction / Vandread Fan Fiction ❯ GunDread SEED- The Second Stage ❯ Part 2 - Consequences ( Chapter 21 )

GunDread SEED The Second Stage

Disclaimer: I do not own VanDread or Gundam SEED, period. So don't bother asking for any law-suits.

Chapter 10 Part 2

Consequences

< >: Thoughts

<“ “>: Psychic communication

**************

On the planet…

Kyo wondered what the next step was, but it had little to do with the battle with the war with the Harvesters. The young man who had now regained all his memories and his past felt more lost than ever before. He had hoped that he would finally be able to find his family and reunite with them…but he now realized it was not going to become a reality…after the last memory he saw told him of what had happened.

<All this time…I…I've just been wandering and searching for things, places, and people…that are already gone.>

He was currently looking at the village that he stayed in, just as the villagers and the pirates were busy moving his Gundam from the cave for him to command and fly back to the Nirvana, the bridge crew reported in that there was currently no sign of the Harvesters and their forces, however, they knew that the Nirvana's scanners were hampered by the debris belt so they had no way of knowing for sure if they were or were not being followed by the forces of Earth.

“Having a hard time?”

Kyo looked and gave a cold glare at his new visitor, none other than Rabat himself, as the former trader, mercenary, and Harvester spy looked at him with tired eyes.

“What do you want?”

“Nothing, but I do owe you an explanation, don't I?”

Kyo was a bit confused at first and then recalled Rabat saying that he would tell Kyo just exactly what had happened to him. He still wanted to know just what made Rabat act this way towards him. He knew that Rabat hated him with a passion and would have done anything to find him vulnerable and kill him himself…just several days ago…the con artist had the perfect chance…but didn't take it…and even helped him find out about his past.

He couldn't figure out just why the man had done all these things, and even seemed resigned to die by his hand for what he had done to the human race. Since he was not yet going back to the Nirvana yet now seemed like a very good time to find out, and just as Tao and Diego came on the scene, Kyo decided that it was now time for Rabat to tell him just what happened to the man.

“Just what happened to you Rabat?”

Rabat then began to tell Kyo of what had happened to him all those months before, after his last attempt to land on a human inhabited world, the group listened to Rabat as he told them of the weeks he had spent inside the malfunctioning Seed Ship, how he had been placed in storage when the ship was hit by the cosmic storm and rendered inoperable, and his weeks of being subjected to the video and audio records of the ship, that finally broke him.

As Kyo listened, he felt a mixed pair of emotions, the first was satisfaction in the sense that Rabat finally realized the extent of his sins on the rest of his fellow humans when he sided with the Harvesters during the time he had been free. The second and last, despite how odd it felt, was pity, in the sense that even if he wanted to hold Rabat responsible for the crimes he had committed, even he didn't expect it to be that harsh. He wondered just how did Rabat manage to keep hold of his mind without being driven insane by the images he no doubt had seen, and the pain he had experienced.

“I deserved that fate, I finally got to see just what kind of people I had aligned myself with, those organ starved people did everything they possibly could to get prime organs, it never mattered if the organs were from men, women, and children. And I finally got to experience the suffering and pain I helped inflict on them, I saw their expressions and heard their cries for pity and mercy as they were being cut apart and kept alive until the Harvesters took every viable organ from you're body, they didn't even give you the decency to die immediately! They want you alive even as they tore out every part of you like you were a piece of meat, to get all the organs in good condition…and they will let you die only when you're nothing anymore…but a pile of refuse… Soon, all the pain and anguish would drive you mad, and you've beg for death…I guess I got away for now…I'm still intact,…but I wish now that I died instead, it would have been better they killed me…but with my ship's transponder not working, the Seed Ship that took me in saw me not as a threat to kill on sight, but another human to harvest. And I was allowed to see every inch of the sins I made…I was in hell, a hell that haunted my dreams until the day I die.”

Despite his feelings of pity however, he believed that Rabat had learned the hard way on how dangerous it was to deal with people like the Harvesters, people who gave every sense of human compassion, morals, and ethics just to survive, the people he aligned with were no longer human beings in a sense, but were now nothing but raving beasts driven by their desire to live, even if that meant killing innocent lives. Considering all that he had learned, and Rabat no doubt now found out, the Harvesters cared little about him and cared only to be the only humans in the universe, despite the fact that the wanton slaughters they committed made them far from human at all.

As soon as Rabat finished his tale on what had happened to him for the past few weeks before he had arrived on the planet where Tao and Diego lived, he spoke about his arrival on the planet and his reunion with Diego and Tao..

“…after they managed to free me from the stasis cell, they outfitted me with some cybernetic limbs, and…I finally had some time to think about all that had happened ever since that day…and you were right you know….I did betray the human race and all for the sake of money….but there was another reason.”

“That being what?”

“You…or rather, what the Paeksis here once said about you, I was here many years before, as an explorer, and while I was here, I heard about the spirits talking about the legend of one being standing against the Harvesters and defeating them. At first I thought I was the one who they spoke of.”

< “However, Sam was not the one the spirits spoke of Kyo…it was you.”>

“Me?”

Diego nodded, along with Tao.

“After all, when the Paeksis first came to Earth it nearly destroyed human civilization, but you were the first to stop it, and somehow it preserved you, kept you alive…and made you stronger, and I guess you know why,” Rabat replied.

Tao nodded in agreement.

< “The spirits spoke of a savior of great power and will, who would come forward and stop the madness and slaughter of the former human inhabitants of Earth, who were forced into becoming raving beasts by what had happened in the Days of Despair. They do not realize that even with all of their accomplishments, they are only bringing the future of the human race further into darkness, and their madness would bring nothing but death and extinction to all humanity and leave us open to what other threats live beyond the stars, there are many threats beyond our own portion of the galaxy and humanity must stand united against such things, and the savior that the spirits spoke of would possess the greatest gift of human evolution, the SEED factor, the ability to see far beyond normal human perception and go beyond the physical boundaries. And the spirits spoke that only the one born of…you're blood-line could wield that factor at it's full capacity…and you are that one savior…after all, you saved the human race once, I can say that the time has now come to do it again…and this time…to save it from extinction.”>

Diego then sighed and looked at Rabat.

< “When Sam realized that he was not the one the spirit spoke of, he was very much upset, and when he left began to forget all about what he had learned while he was among us, we tried to warn him of the dangers out his own arrogance and pride, and we even asked him to actively seek you out, but he refused…we never expected him to betray his own people to the Harvesters, and part of us wondered if it was due to his disappointment of not being the one…but now, he learned what he should have learned…however, even with all his actions, such a lesson can be too hard to swallow.

Kyo snorted a bit. “As much as I'd say otherwise, I guess I can agree to a point about that, so what happens now?”

Rabat, or rather Sam merely sighed.

“You should get back to Talark and Megele, they have to be warned about what is about to happen, the Harvesters' previously released fleet that were heading for the two planets are already half way through this belt. And their invasion fleet is not far behind them, you'll need this, if you want to stand a chance against that new super weapon they have.”

Rabat then handed a pair of video disks to Kyo, the Gundam pilot wondered just what was in the disks as he looked at Rabat.

“I managed to at least hack into the Harvester Armada's data relays…the only consolation I had when I was in the Seed Ship…these were reports, and design blue-prints on the Harvesters' new super-weapon, which I have no doubt in my mind…you've already heard of…it was the one that incinerated Melanos.”

Kyo nodded as he recalled what he had seen the last time he was among the Melanos people.

Rabat continued with what he had to say concerning what the super weapon was.

“It's based on an old weapon system that was build at the nearing end of the Z.A.F.T/ EA War, nearly four hundred and ten years ago…it was the GENESIS Weapon. The GENESIS during it's time was far worse than the nuclear arsenals used by the Alliance in the past since it could literally fry the whole of the planet, killing all forms of life on the surface through sheer heat and radiation since it used gamma radiation from it's nuclear reactors that are directed by Neutron Jammer Cancellers. After the war, all plans of the GENESIS were supposedly destroyed, but they were not completely lost. Unlike the first model…this Harvester version no longer is restricted by Neutron Jammers and can fire repeatedly it's gamma laser beam, since it does not need to replace it's targeting/focus mirror and since it's on a battle-ship…it's more a threat since it's mobile. That, with it's massive escort force and the numbers of weapons it has makes this a priority one target, but it's well armed and defended, the danger of it also added by the fact that it's armed with Phase Shift Armor. There is a weakness there, however I cannot be sure of what or where the weakness is…regardless, this disk contains some of the design layouts, so you may have to get creative on a possible weak point to exploit as quickly as you can.”

Kyo nodded as he could understand just how much a threat this machine now was, he then looked at the second disk and wondered what was on this one.

“That…will tell you why the Harvesters are now obliterating human colonies instead of butchering the populations for organs…I can't say anymore than that.”

Kyo looked at both disks and then at Rabat, from what he had been able to understand, there was no doubt on his mind that Rabat had changed, despite the fact that it was still not easy for him as a person to let go of Rabat's sins towards all human civilization. What he will do now with the information was up to him.

As he looked towards the rest of the pirates, who were now getting ready to leave the planet, he looked once more at the three people before him and also the village, he owed them a lot, even Rabat. So he did the only thing he could do…he walked back to Diego, Tao, and even the former Harvester spy…and bowed.

“Thank you…I'll make sure to do what you have suggested, though…there is still a lot for me to think about.”

As he left to ride in his Infinite Freedom Gundam to rejoin the pirates…he wondered on what to do with all that he had learned in this planet, and what he should do now…the people, places, and things he had spent the last year and many months looking for were already gone, and now all he had left was the future…but the past was something that he still could not easily ignore.

**************

Later…in the Nirvana's Observation Deck…

Kyo looked at the view of the debris belt as the Nirvana powered up and began to continue on it's mission to return to both Talark and Megele to warn both worlds of the soon to come invasion from the Harvesters, his mind still trying to come to grips with the last memory he had recovered, along with the very stark and painful revelations that it gave him about his past. He still couldn't believe that all he had been looking for wasn't just lost…but also forgotten and ancient

“Mr. Alien?”

Kyo sighed as he turned to face the voice, finding Dita looking at him with great concern, next to the redhead was Jura, Meia, as well as Sara and Mai, all five girls were very worried about him and the expressions told him loads on what they were feeling.

“What's up?” He asked as he turned around to face them all.

“We've been looking for you for quite a while Kyo, are you all right?” Mai asked.

“That depends on you're definition of all right, I've managed to get all my memories back…but now I don't know if I really wanted to remember them now.”

“What do you mean? We've seen you're memories and most of them were good…” Jura spoke, as she, Meia, and Dita were in his mind previously, they had been beside him when he regained most of his past, so it was somewhat a surprise why Kyo seemed very remorseful when he finally had his memories back with him.

“I didn't mean I hated those memories Jura…far from it…it's just, when I gained my last memory right before you three woke up back on the Nirvana…I saw what happened to me and why my memories were sealed away…and I saw…what I lost.”

“Lost?” Mai asked, not liking the confused and sorrowful look Kyo had on his face.

“I…did something to save my family…but in exchange…I lost everything I held dear.”

The girls were confused as to why Kyo would say that, what had happened in Kyo's past that made him say that, what did Kyo lose in his past to make him say such things. Kyo could tell that it was one thing that they wanted to know about, and since he recalled it now with great clarity…he decided he would at least tell them.

“I was there with my folks back on Earth…taking care of certain family matters…namely my sister's first prom date, until something came up.”

(Flashback to be shown later.)

**************

In another part of the Nirvana….

“I can't seem to understand it…how could Kyo Clyne Yamato's name not be in the Colony records? I mean, there are some people on the Ikazuchi who have the last name.”

Parfait, Buzam, Magno, Duero, Max, Gascogne, and Aleck were currently in the Conference Room to discuss the information that the doctors and the Captain had discovered concerning their comrade Kyo. The others were confused as to why Magno reacted the way she did when she read the data that was recovered from Kyo's ID card, the same one he used to sneak into Talark society and land a job.

Magno seemed very silent as Buzam also spoke.

“We don't have any records pertaining to Kyo's full name in the Colonization database, but that does not mean that it's not there.”

Duero then spoke. “That is because Kyo was not born in the Colonization Era.”

“What do you mean?”

Duero then took out a chart and high-lighted Kyo's biological data, and in that data chart was his birthday.

“Kyo was born on September 23, Cosmic Era Year 72. This calendar was in use on Earth and the outlying colonies in space…almost four hundred years ago.”

The other officers were stunned, and Gascogne was the one who voiced out that very same shock.

“But if that is true…that would mean that Kyo is over four hundred years old! That would also make him far older than any member of the First Generation on either Talark or Megele! How is that even possible?!”

“That's not the only thing…we dug into the records more…and even reviewed the message pod Misty had on her when we found her, and found out that Kyo and his family were in the very same research station that had housed the first Paeksis prototype…and it while it seemed that they all, along with Kyo's relatives, who were Athrun and Cagalli Zala, the former was a General in the nation once known as the Orb Union, and husband to the latter who was Orb's Prime Minister, and who by blood is Kyo's aunt. It appears that Kyo had stayed behind to prevent the first Paeksis prototype from exploding, which at the time would have resulted in a disaster that would have wiped out all life on Earth…Kyo was presumed by the people of Earth in that era four hundred years ago as dead…and was considered a hero and martyr for what he had done. And that event…was in the message pod.”

“Are you saying that Kyo was the one that prevented that disaster four hundred years ago?”

“Yes…and in that respect…that would also mean that Kyo's actions had led to the Colonization Era that our own ancestors had been born into…since it took approximately four hundred years for mankind to gain the needed technology and tools to colonize other planets. Had Kyo not stayed behind to prevent the reactor from exploding…then humanity would have been either wiped out, or slowly destroyed by time…neither our planet of Talark…or yours of Megele…or any other human world for that matter would have been founded hadn't Kyo done what he did four hundred years ago. “

“But…how could he be still alive if it had been four hundred years?!”

Duero once more showed the records and this time, showed the bulk of all his research on Kyo's genes when the Gundam pilot reported for the physical check-ups.

“When I ran tests on Kyo previously, I detected traces of residual Paeksis energy, naturally I suspected that those were results from his exposure to the Paeksis several months before, however, as I continued to do my research I discovered that first traces of the Paeksis were nearly months or even years old, unlike the new ones that I had found afterwards…meaning that Kyo had prior experience with the Paeksis before the incident onboard the Ikazuchi, though how and why was something that had eluded me…until today. Considering all the data and theories we have…this means that when Kyo was alive and in the station, no doubt to prevent the disaster with the first Paeksis reactor, the crystal must have somehow placed him in suspended animation and kept him alive for the past four hundred years, and while doing so, must have infused his genes with it's own energy, which would explain all of his physical and mental attributes, apart from his Coordinator heritage.”

“How come he remembers none of this?”

“I suppose that he must have suffered a blow to his brain that caused amnesia, and it might have been the Paeksis itself that held the key to his past, he did mention to me once that the very moment he was exposed to the Paeksis on the Nirvana…his memories became more clear, unlike in the past where he could see nothing. As time passed, and his exposure to the Paeksis grew, just like when he combined his Gundam with the Dreads, or when he had developed a link to both the Gundam and Dita, Jura, and Meia…those memories must have been reawakened. All this information is what we can surmise, so there may be some flaws…however, all this seems to be the best data we can gather.”

Magno nodded.

“We've got a lot to talk about with Kyo then…however, I have a feeling that we cannot talk to Kyo about this kind of information right now…I can imagine the shock of what he had seen and recalled must be difficult for him.”

“But Captain…if what Duero says is true…then Kyo is more than just our friend and ally now…he is the savior of all the humans in every colonized world…including Talark and Megele! He has to know what his actions have done.”

“I'm not saying that he does not deserve to know BC…but we have to consider what all this means for Kyo himself…think about it…he has been left behind by humanity for four hundred years, even if he has become a legendary figure, all the things he had been looking for the past years are no longer around for him to find…he has no home, he has no family, all of his friends, the friends he had when he was still alive are all dead now, his family no longer exists…I cannot say I know what he is feeling…but I think that he still cannot grasp that fact that everything he knew and remembered are already gone.”

“The Captain is right Commander.” Aleck replied as he too looked at the data.

“I can't say that I also know how Kyo's holding up…but I can bet that he's still trying to grasp just what had happened to him…how would you feel when you recover all of you're memories and find out that everything you knew, and everyone you've loved for your young life…are all dead and forgotten and you are still alive? It's more terrifying than anything I can come up with.”

Magno nodded as she looked at the data.

“Until Kyo is able to recover…we must give him time to get used to all that has transpired since his actions in that space station. I cannot even begin to imagine how he would feel if we suddenly start lauding him for things he had contributed to. He may have allowed humanity to grow and colonize worlds beyond Earth, but at what price for himself?”

**************

Back with the Gundam pilot in question…

Flashback….

Kyo was busy running some last minute checks on his personal quantum computer for some of the older projects he had done ever since his graduation from college. The fact that he had built the computer from parts issued to military personnel spoke highly of Kyo's education on all matters electronic and programming. However, he was also very busy with another matter, he had finally recorded all the data on his Gundam, ever since it had somehow been modified by unknown factors, the former Guardian and Mobile Suit pilot was busy trying to get as much data as he could on what could have been the events and factors that had transformed his Mobile Suit into the current form it now had. He then looked at his cell-phone as a message on the screen told him that he had an incoming call from his old friend and former teacher, Orb Engineer Erica Simmons.

Kyo deactivated the security lock on the cell-phone and spoke to it, just as he finished the last details of his work.

“Hello Miss Simmons? Yes, it's me Kyo, what seems to be the problem?”

“Hello to you as well Kyo, nothing out of the ordinary, but I do need to tell you some very important details, do you have any plans tonight?”

Kyo looked at the time and it was nearing night time already. He did have plans and that was to take some time off from his duties as he still lacked some key data for his research into his Gundam which was still in the hanger where it had been stored. However, he did have another matter to deal with…and that was his sister's prom night.

Mira was very happy for the chance to go out on her school's prom, and like all giddy ladies her age she had fussed over what kind of dress would she wear, their mother had been very willing to help out and despite his rather busy schedule in research work on his Gundam, the eldest of the Yamato siblings had a surprise in store for his beloved sister's prom night.

“Not much, still have some paper-work left to take care of for the research I'm making on Freedom, and I have a present to give my sister for her special night.”

“Special night?”

“Prom night, she's going out with Mwu tonight for their school celebration, and I plan to give her something nice for that occasion.”

Erica seemed pleased by that bit of information as she spoke again.

“You seem to be very happy for that.”

“Yes I am, by the way, what's this you wanted to talk about?”

“It's about that new crystal the scientists in the new research station are working on, have you heard of it?”

Kyo thought about it and recalled the information on the newly discovered crystal from space that emitted a very unique form of energy, as far as he knew the crystal was made of unknown elements, totally foreign to the human research tree, even those from Z.A.F.T hardly had any data on it. It was currently being studied by scientists from both Z.A.F.T, the Earth Governments, and Orb to be seen if it could be used in any way, most likely as a new power source.

“I've heard of it before, but I hardly knew much about it, why do you ask?”

“Well…I and some of my research team were temporarily assigned to the research station in question to do a more complete analysis when some of the scientists were on a break. I was able to gather the data on the energy wave lengths being emitted by the crystal and found that the wave patterns are amazingly similar to the ones being released by the crystal reactor in you're Gundam.”

Kyo was quickly on attention at the bit of information as he listened more intently.

“Are you sure about that?”

“Positive. I ran several thorough tests on the gathered energy wave data from the crystal, and then the Freedom's own crystal reactor and they match, I then sent you a voice message in you're home, but no doubt it was erased, so I sent you the data via email…did you get it already?”

Kyo decided to turn back on his computer and check his email, he then found the folder and spoke to his old mentor and family friend.

“I've got the folder and I'll start reading it now, if there's anything I would like to ask, I'll give you a call.”

“No problem, see you around, and say hi to your parents and siblings for me.”

Kyo then directed his attention to the folder and sat back on the chair and began to read the information, and sure enough, Erica was right, there were very accurate patterns and energy readings in the information folder that she had sent him, not to mention images and physical descriptions of the crystal that was being researched, he even received some audio files that detailed what the scientists had found out on the crystal. Kyo looked over all the details and then directed his attention to his own data, pertaining to the crystal reactor in his Gundam, he opened the data files and records pertaining to the crystal's energy wave signature., namely from the circuits that had crystals fused into them.

As soon as he took out a record copy of the wave length, he did the very same thing to the data file that Erica had sent him, as soon as both files were ready for a data wave comparison, he activated the program and fused the wave files together.

…They matched perfectly.

“No way.”

Kyo was stunned by what the computer was showing him, both crystals from two different sources, and in two different systems had the very same data wave lengths. This was still another very new and radical thing to discover for the young man and he decided to do a quick run for his work, and encoded the current data into a burner, he then took out a spare disk that he had and placed into the open tray, and a few minutes later, the data that he had gained on his Mobile Suit's modified nuclear/crystal hybrid reactor, along with the fused circuits, and the data handed to him by his old mentor Erica Simmons was now encoded into the CD, he then placed it in a nearby container and then when he was done with the basic screening run on the computer for any infections, he activated the shut down procedure and looked at the data disk carefully.

He juggled just what he would do, but then decided to deal with that later as he reached for the gift paper wrapped box he had on the table in his room. He then took out his cell-phone and decided to check in with the security in the base, where the hanger was that had his Gundam kept in storage.

“This is Major. Kyo Yamato, may I speak to the head of security/” The Gundam pilot said with a clear no nonsense tone to the one receiving his calls there in the base.

“Yes sir, I'll have Lieutenant Jon on the line in a moment.” The operator answered and the Coordinator youth heard a slight tone indicating that he was being re-routed into the secure line in the head of security's main office. In a moment, and calm and strong voice came on the line.

“Major Kyo Yamato? What can I do for you sir?”

“What's the current status of the Freedom?”

“The Gundam is still here sir, the weapon systems are fully charged, along with all systems at full optimal condition, no one has tried anything on the Gundam sir, and they never will on my watch.”

“That's good to hear, I will be needing the Gundam ready once I get there however.”

“Planning a trip sir?”

“You might say that, I have some business to take care of in space, have the Gundam ready for me on the launching deck once I get there.”

“Understood sir, we'll have you're Mobile Suit and ready for whatever you need it for.”

“Thank you Lieutenant.”

As soon as he placed away his cell and was now on the living room, he spotted his sister walk out in a very beautiful white dress, it had pink diamonds on the lower hem and had straps with rose designs on them and even an orchid shaped clasp on the left shoulder, there was even a slit on the right lower portion of her dress that showed her calves, Mira had on a pair of long gloves which were also white and a pair of light dancing shoes that appeared very comfortable on her. His sister looked very lovely in her ensemble.

“What do you think?” Mira asked her eldest brother with a shy smile as she showed the dress from front and back, and since it hugged her slender and well formed frame with grace and class, she was beautiful.

“Let me put it this way…if you and I were not brother and sister, I'd knock Mwu out and take you to the prom myself. You look wonderful sis.” Kyo said with a sincere smile.

“Ooh, you're a meanie. I'll tell Mwu later about that, but thank you very much. Mom picked out the dress form me and Dad showed me how to dance with a guy, I've never done this before you know, I'm kind of nervous.” Mira replied with a shy but happy smile.

“I understand you're nervousness dear, I was like that when I was you're age too.”

Lacus said with a smile as she appeared from the room, dressed in a light blue dress shirt and soft cotton short pants with shoes. Lacus had been busy with matters back in the Colonies a few days before, but had been able to leave two days earlier to oversee the preparation of Mira's first prom night, with the blessings of the other officials in the PLANT Government Council.

“I was nervous in my prom night too sis, and I`ve got no doubt on my mind that Mwu will be as nervous as you are…though I think that he'll probably have a hard time thinking about being nervous once he sees you.”

Kyo replied with a wide smirk on his face, namely how his friend would react to the sight of his sister dressed up the way she was.

“What do you think Kyo? I think the dress is a little too showy, just a bit though.”

Kira asked as he came out from the room as well, dressed in a long sleeved party shirt in grey and he had black pants on and his feet had black leather shoes, and despite his dark garb, the Ultimate Coordinator was far from any black feelings as he looked at his daughter with pride, and then to his eldest son for the answer to his question.

“Mira looks beautiful Dad, I do have something for her though.” Kyo replied as he revealed the box he had kept hidden and then handed it to his sister.

“Is that for me?” Mira asked in surprise, she had not expected her big brother to have a present for her, since he was rather busy and there was little time for them to be together as siblings, but the thought of her big brother, who had dealt with some bullies for her sake had a gift her in the most important nights of her young life was very nice.

“Yes, I think this will go on to you're hair very nicely.”

Mira opened the box, and then found a beautiful hair pin and gasped at the sight. The hair pin was shaped like a butterfly landing on a lotus blossom. The whole thing appeared to have been made from gold and the butterfly was in red and white designs, while the lotus itself was in pink and gold, all in all, the hairpin was beautiful.

Kyo then took the item into his hands and placed it deftly into the right side of his sister's long pink hair and completed the look as Mira saw herself in the nearby mirror. Just as Aki came into the room with some of his toys, the little boy saw his sister and smiled warmly.

“Wow sis, you look great! Going out with Mwu tonight?”

All of the Yamato family smiled warmly at the youngest brother's intuition and laughed good naturedly at the fierce blush that appeared on Mira's cheeks at her little brother's guess.

“Aki! Stop that! But thank you for the opinion. Brother, are you coming to the party?” Mira asked Kyo as he stopped his laughter.

Kyo sobered up and replied. “I wish I could sis, but something very important came up and I have to go to space in a few minutes. However, I hope not to be long since I just need to run some tests there, I'll be back before you know it.”

Mira was a bit sad but knew that her big brother always kept his word and hugged him, just as the sound of a knock came on the door, Kira went over to the door and checked to see just who was at their door, he then smiled back at his eldest and only daughter.

“You're date is here.”

Mira smiled, just as Kira opened the door and in came Mwu who had a nervous smile on his face, as he was dressed in a well made and apparently well taken care of tuxedo and a set of pink roses with him, his smile towards Kira and Lacus was replaced with absolute amazement as he gazed at his date for the prom, much to Mira's embarrassment, and to Kyo and Aki's absolute amusement. The situation lasted for only a few moments, until Kyo spoke with a grin.

“Hey Mwu, are you going to gawk at Mira all day or are you going to give her the roses and get a move on?”

Mwu shook himself out of his stupor and blushed as he walked over to Mira and handed her the flowers. Mira smiled warmly and kissed him on the cheek, which had turned from light red, to pure crimson. Much to the Yamato family's utter surprise and humor.

Kira then looked at his eldest son and asked him something.

“Why are you planning to go to the PLANTS at this time of the night son?”

Lacus also had the same question on her mind, though she didn't asked it herself, she knew that something of great importance must have happened to get her eldest son to leave so soon, and early too, she and her husband had planned to meet up with Athrun and Cagalli later this night for a small reunion this night, along with Kyo's cousin Kyra.

Kyo told them about the data that Erica had sent him pertaining to the crystal that had been found by the scientists and was being studied, and the similarities the crystal had with the crystal/nuclear hybrid reactor in the Freedom. He then mentioned that he wanted only to go up to space and make some data comparisons and it seemed that he would have miss out for a bit on their planned outing this night. However, fate had other ideas.

Kira checked his cell-phone and found out that he had an incoming message, and as soon as he looked, it was from his sister Cagalli.

“What's up Kira?”

“Nothing much Cagalli, are you ready to meet up here in the house for the outing?”

The tone in Cagalli's voice however didn't bode well.

“Sorry Kira, I've gotten some things to do right now. Athrun and me are to take a short trip to the new station where the crystal that was found a few months before was being stored in the new research station there in space. I'll be away for a while so I don't know just when will I be able to join you all.”

Kyo then asked for his father's cell-phone and Kira spoke to Cagalli that her nephew wanted to speak with her. As soon as Kyo was given the cell-phone he explained his findings to his aunt and then requested permission if he could go along with them to the station and bring his Gundam with him on the shuttle. Cagalli then replied to Kyo to wait for a few minutes as she spoke with both her husband and her daughter. After three minutes she spoke back to her nephew.

“Sure, I'll go to the hanger and have the Freedom ready to be transported into the main cargo shuttle, we'll be waiting for you there in the Launching Bay. Once we're there, we'll use the shuttle to go to the Mass Driver.”

“Thanks. I think my dad will want to talk to you Aunt Cagalli.”

Kyo then handed his dad's cell-phone back to him, but was suddenly surprised to hear his father's following statement.

“Can you hold a few more seats in the shuttle for me and Lacus Cagalli, we'll be coming along for the ride as well.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, once we're done with whatever inspection you and Athrun have to do in the station we can get to having that outing once we get back to Earth, sounds fair?”

“I…suppose it might be, I'll make the arraignments Kira, anything else?”

Mira raised her hand and Kira then handed her the cell-phone and she then spoke to her aunt.

“Aunt Cagalli, can I ask if I can come with my parents?”

“What for Mira? Don't you and Mwu have a prom to attend?”

“Yes, but I want to see just what is it that has my brother so interested today, and I doubt being late for a few minutes from a high school prom is such a big deal anyway, please? I promise I won't take too long, and I'll be back here on Earth after all that is over.”

“I don't know…all right then, but make sure that you're parents are okay about it, along with you're brother, you know how protective he is.”

Mira smiled at that statement and replied. “I know, believe me I know. I hope to see you, uncle Athrun, and Kyra soon.”

As soon as she handed the cell-phone to her father, she smiled at Kyo who was very shocked at what he had just heard, he had expected to only be there and back in a few minutes, taking the shuttle and then getting back to Earth in his Gundam, letting his aunt and uncle do their work, but now his entire family was along for the ride. He wanted to try and talk them out of it, however he couldn't find the exact sentences and arguments to help him.

Later…

Kyo sighed as he and the rest of the Yamato family, excluding his youngest sibling who was being watched over by Mwu until they got back, were now alongside him to the base where the Freedom was, he couldn't help but hope that nothing would happen to them on the way to the station and nothing disastrous would happen there in the station…

Boy, how wrong he was…

**************

End of Flashback…

“I recall finishing the last of the re-routing procedures and I was about to escape if I could, but then an explosion knocked me unconscious, somehow the Paeksis in my Gundam at that time had activated and no doubt….kept me in stasis, until I woke up in my Gundam's cockpit, no doubt after the Paeksis wore off…I found myself in Earth, but the blast had rendered me an amnesiac, I took off in Freedom and went on to wandering the cosmos…and then found my way to Talark…and the rest…I think you already know that.”

Kyo then sighed as he crossed his arms over his chest and looked at the floor as his memories of the events in the station played back in his mind's eye over and over again, he noted that the women before him were rather silent, not that he could blame them, he still had trouble getting used to what he had learned also.

“Wow! You're REALLY old Mr. Alien!” Dita replied as she looked at him in wonder.

Kyo looked at her with a look of slight surprise and humor.

“Please don't remind me of that Dita….it's not exactly comforting to know you're already four hundred and nineteen years old but still look nineteen.”

Jura then looked at Dita with a tired expression. “I really wish you'd stop calling him that Dita, his real name IS Kyo Yamato after all…but why did you say you never wish to have those memories restored, I don't exactly understand it.”

“Neither do I.” Meia replied calmly though she showed great concern for Kyo since his expressions were those of great pain and that was the one expression she didn't want to see in his face.

Sara and Mai had the very same expressions of concern and curiosity in them as they gazed at Kyo waiting for an answer.

Kyo then replied.

“The….the reason I said that is the fact that I've been looking for my home, my family, and my friends all this time and hoping to at least find some answers to my own being, but now that I've gotten those answers, and know now what had happened ever since that day in the station, I realized that all my efforts have been for nothing…my family is dead, my friends are also dead, my home-planet is now an irradiated waste-land and the survivors are nothing more now that organ hungry killers and are nothing like the people I recall. All this time I've been looking for them all…they already died.”

“I…I can't…exactly move on now with all this on my conscious.”

“Why?”

Kyo groaned and looked at them with sad and lost eyes and replied with greater force.

“Why? I've been looking for my family that have already passed away, I've been looking for my home-planet that now is nothing more than a barren and inhospitable mockery of the old planet I grew up in as a child, and yet you all still ask why?! I have nothing to go back to or to recall anymore! My whole family is dead and gone! Everything I grew up with and cherished as a child until now is nothing more than dust now! All the people I knew as friends and trusted comrades are dead! My home-land's nothing anymore!!! It's nothing but a mockery of the beautiful world I knew as a child!!! I have no past to go back to anymore, I have no home, no family, no friends… I'm all alone now!!!”

The girls were understandably shocked by the sheer anger and raw emotion Kyo was now letting out and the look of utter despair in his face. Kyo looked at them and realized what he had said, and then with an apologetic look spoke as calmly as he could manage, but he knew that he could barely hold that came as memories filled his mind about his past, and the horrible truth that lay next to it.

“I'm sorry…I, I shouldn't have shouted at any of you, none of you deserve that…but I…try to understand. My family is dead for four hundred years…and so were my friends, along with my home, everything and everyone I cared and loved for is already gone. Even…even if I do find any descendants of my family and friends…they won't know who I am, they won't remember me at all, and that's because….because I'm supposed to be dead myself, The people who knew me are already dead for hundreds of years, and…and my home-world is not the same anymore. I…I know that you all will be there for me…you all always have been, and I can never repay you in any fashion for being there for me…but I…I can't just let this go…please…I need to be alone for now.”

With that, Kyo turned and headed off to the men's quarters and to his room. The utter look of defeat and despair in the normal strong willed and brave man was very shocking and painful to the Megele women as they could do nothing but watch as Kyo left. However…Dita was not going to let this be the end of it.

“Mr. Alien! Wait!”

As the redhead tried to follow Kyo, she was suddenly stopped by both Jura and Meia, she looked at them in great surprise and was about to break free from them and try to talk to Kyo but their grips held her in place and prevented her from following the distraught Gundam pilot.

“What are you doing?! We have to help make Mr. Alien feel better, and not sad!”

Meia replied. “I know Dita, I wish to do the same…but I…I think Kyo needs some time alone for now, if you tried to talk to him the way he is right now, I doubt you'd get anywhere.”

“But…”

Jura nodded in agreement though her own expression showed pain in being able to do something that could help Kyo come to terms with what he had learned and what he had discovered. The blonde wished she could say something to lift up Kyo's spirits, but she knew better.

“I have to agree with Meia, we can't do much until Kyo…until he comes to terms with it.”

Dita was not liking the way the others were acting and began to cry, as despite her denials, she could see the truth about what they said, but she loved Kyo too much to leave him alone the way he currently was right now. And being the kind hearted girl that she was she let it out.

“I love Mr. Alien so much….it hurts not being able to help him now…why does he had to suffer so many things before he's happy?!”

Meia, Sara, Mai, and Jura were stunned at that tearful revelation, but a part of them felt that they should have expected that to come out from Dita sooner or later, considering that before they themselves got close to Kyo, only Dita was constantly beside him in the early days of their journey so it would make sense that her feelings for Kyo, in terms of affection would be the strongest if it was compared to theirs since they had not started feeling this way towards Kyo until now.

Meia and the others looked at each other and then to Dita and sighed as they helped the young redhead away, it seemed that regardless of the current situation, they had a lot to talk about, and in order for things to make some sense for them all on their respective affections for the Gundam pilot, they needed to talk to someone.

**************

That certain someone was also busy on something important…

Magno looked over all the records and sighed as she reached for a hidden container. The contents appeared to be very important to the aged Captain as there was a very strong computer lock with a pass code on it. As she looked at the contents for a few moments and then re-sealed it she wondered on how to break the news to Kyo about the discovery of his heritage…and his status when it concerned what he had done nearly four hundred years ago.

<This will be really hard…for both of us.>

However, her thoughts on the matter were placed aside as a sound coming from her door's alarm came online, informing her that there was somebody at her door. She placed the container aside and then took up her walking stick and made her way to the door, but not before she took some pain medication and some water to take the pills down. As soon as she was done she opened the door.

Much to her surprise, she found herself being greeted by Jura, Dita, Meia, Sara and Mai, all five women seemed to have a very important thing to discuss with her, judging by the way they seemed very concerned and troubled.

“Hello, what brings you all here at this time of the day?”

Meia replied for herself and her comrades.

“Captain…we need to talk about, about what we can do to help Kyo with his situation…and how…we can make sense of how we feel for him. Can you help us?”

Magno had a strange feeling that something like this would happen, but she found nothing wrong with how things seemed to be going as she had told Kyo about the women's affections for him once. She then ushered all the girls in her room and decided that until later, her personal discussion with Kyo would have to wait.

**************

In the men's quarters…

Kyo looked at the walls in silence and didn't say a single word as he sat on his bunk. He was happy that at least no one was in the area to disturb him, or else he would have lashed out at them, considering the storm of feelings and emotions inside of him, he was very much a mess.

The silence lasted for a few minutes until suddenly Kyo got to his feet and with a strong roar of grief and rage, began punching the walls, all the while crying as he began to recall the memories he had gained and compared them to what he had learned…he never felt so lost now.

All throughout his actions, Kyo merely shouted out incoherent words and sounds.

Kyo went at this for a few more moments until he tired himself out and he then placed aside his hands and sat down on the floor and cried as he recalled just how much he had regained, and just how much he had lost. Despite the pain in his hands from his punching of the walls, it could not compare to the pain of knowing that his family was gone for all time…and he was the only one of his family…in that time, to be alive. The sobs from the distraught Gundam pilot grew as he recalled the smiling faces of his mother, father, sister, brother, aunt, uncle, and cousin, along with his friends…and finally recalling the expressions of sorrow in the faces of his family when he was last with them in the space station.

As soon as he managed to control a fraction of the emotions inside of him, Kyo got up and went to his bunk and then took out from the nearby box something he had found previously as he lay down on the bed, it was a picture that he had found in the box that he now knew as the container of his family mementos. It was a picture of his entire family, his parents, siblings, his relatives, and his cousin having a day in the beach near their home.

He held the picture tighter to his chest as he leaned back on the wall near his bunk and then closed his eyes and cried once more as the memories of that day flooded him, making realize how bitter sweet it was for him to get those memories back.

This went on until he pulled his feet up to the bunk and curled up into a ball on the bed as he began to cry once more.

**************

Hours later…

The Nirvana was almost half-way out of the debris belt and things had gotten back to normal, however normal was far from the truth as certain members of the crew were very busy with important matters.

In the men's quarters…

Kyo was still in his bed, and had just awakened, having managed to far asleep on the bunk, he groaned and shook his head and recalled what he had done and checked his hands, there were some bruises and a few aches, but nothing worse for wear and thankfully no broken bones, however he was still very much shook up by all that has happened.

This went on for several minutes until he heard the foot-steps of someone entering the room. He was still not completely sure about all the things that had happened so he naturally was not still sure about seeing anyone.

“I want to be left alone.”

The person walking in continued and that forced Kyo to get a bit more depressed, and naturally angry as he still wanted some time to himself, so he quickly got to his feet and walked out to face the person coming in.

“I said I wanted to…”

“Be left alone? I know…but there's much you need to know….that is if you are willing to let an old woman talk to you?” Magno Vivian replied earnestly and as gently as she could seeing the flow of emotions that were there in the Gundam pilot's face.

Kyo's anger and depression melted somewhat as he faced the elder woman, despite how angry and despondent he was, he was not angry enough to lash out at Magno. He looked at the older woman very sheepishly and spoke.

“I…I'm sorry Captain…I didn't mean to yell and act like a…”

Magno waved away his fears and nodded in agreement.

“It is all right…I heard what happened between you and the girls earlier…I wanted to talk to you about that, and I tried calling you on the inter-comm. a few hours before, but you didn't answer. I see that you were asleep.”

Kyo nodded as he let the older woman into his room and allowed her to sit on the bunk he had been in before, he then grabbed a nearby light weight metal crate and used it as a chair. As he sat down Magno looked at him with a very calm but concerned eye, the dry areas around his eyes and the way he moved told the old woman that Kyo had cried in his bunk, and she understood that, having learned Kyo's situation from the five women she had chatted with before told exactly what made Kyo so anti-social lately.

Kyo then looked back and replied in a calm voice.

“They told you everything…but I know that there's something else…what is it?”

Magno took a deep breath and then took out the same container she had in her room nearly a few hours before. She then pressed the key codes and the box opened with a hiss of air.

Kyo was curious as to what was the box all about, and his expression showed it. Magno then turned the box around and spoke as calmly as she could to Kyo.

“There's…something in this box that I have had for some time…and something you might recognize.”

Kyo didn't quite understand what this was all about, and he was still very much weary on all that he had learned to be dealing with something strange as this.

“Captain…I don't mean to insult you…but I'm not exactly in the mood to be…”

“Please Kyo…open it and tell me if you recognize it. It's important that you tell me if you recognize it.”

Kyo never heard this tone come out from Magno before and this made him even more curious and though he was still weary and exhausted from all the things that had happened, he decided to humor her, besides, he had never set foot in her private quarters in the entire time he had been on the Nirvana, he highly doubt that she had anything he would recognize.

As he opened the box, Kyo could tell that whatever was inside the box was well preserved, and he wondered just what was inside it…

Kyo got his answer and his eyes widened in shock and disbelief as he stared at what was inside the box…

It was a hair-pin…but not any ordinary hair pin…

Flashback dialogue…

“Is that for me?”

“Yes, I think this will go on to you're hair very nicely”

End of Flashback dialogue…

Kyo's hands trembled as he reached for the hair-pin, and since Magno didn't stop him, he took it and ran his hands over it, it had the same designs, the butterfly in red and white, and the lotus in pink and gold, the gold metal felt older, and had some tell tail signs of use…but there was no mistake about it, he knew this hair-pin.

“This…this…this is…this is the hair-pin…I, I…I gave this hair-pin to my sister! I gave this hair-pin to my sister Mira Clyne Yamato…on the night…on the night of her prom…and on the night of…”

Kyo nearly dropped the hair-pin but held it closer to him and he was stunned, emotions flowed all over him as he held the item in his hands, and he was shaking. As soon as he got a hold of himself, though barely, he looked at Magno in absolute shock.

“How…How…How did…W-W-Where did you get this?! How could you have my sister's hair-pin?!”

Magno smiled gently and replied.

“It was given to me by my mother on the day of my…wedding, as it was given to her by her own mother on her own wedding and so forth…it was the hair-pin of my ancestor…you're sister Mira.”

“No…that…that means that…you're…”

Magno nodded and replied with no trace of a lie in her tone and in her eyes.

“Yes…I am Magno Vivian…Yamato…Mira Clyne Yamato's great-great-great grand-daughter, and you're niece. I'm happy to have met you…in person, Uncle Kyo.”

*************

The Harvester Invasion Fleet…

“My lord…”

“Report.”

“The advanced force has detected an incoming signature that will be breaking through the debris belt in their current location, it appears to be the Nirvana, they are getting ready to engage with them and destroy them on sight.”

“How many of the fleet can engage the Nirvana before they reach the Talark/Megele system?” The Harvester leader asked as he ran a few checks of his own.

“At least several massive squadrons of Cube Fighters and Seed Ships, the other battle-ships will still need to clear the debris belt despite the fact that they are only a few more hours away from the system. They will be in position to attack Megele and Talark soon once they have cleared the belt.”

“How long will we be able to engage the Nirvana and the two worlds as well?”

Approximately several days, the Resistance continues to harass our fleet…”

“I do not care about their actions…I want all ships to be ready to break through the barrier once we have arrived, have all Mobile Suits, Cube Fighters, and Gundam units ready for battle until then, if any Resistance forces arrive to halt us…I want them obliterated on sight, is that understood?”

“Yes my Lord.”

**************

Back on the Nirvana…

Kyo Yamato was still in shock and disbelief at what he had just heard from the elder woman before him…he had thought that he was truly alone now that he had regained his memories seeing as out of his original family, he was the only one of them who was still very much alive, but now the fact that Magno had Mira's hair-pin and saying that she was his niece threw him off the loop. He was in a stupor for only a few moments until he regained his wits and spoke once more and spoke.

“How…how can I be sure that this is not some sick joke?”

Magno nodded with a smile. “It is no joke…if you would like, I would like both of us to take a blood and DNA test to prove that you and I are indeed related. There's so much I want to tell you, but I want you to be assured that what I have told you is the truth.”

Kyo thought about it, and decided that if this was the only way to see if what Magno told him was true, if it was, there was a lot more for him to consider. He got up and still held the precious hair-pin he gave his sister four hundred years ago and followed the elderly woman who just might be his niece.

As soon as they arrived in the Medical Bay, they were greeted by Duero, Max, and Paiway, who were still busy with several of their own assignments and workloads on the Nirvana's crew, and the two men kept their silence when they faced Kyo, warning that until Kyo came to terms with his past they were not to breath a word to the crew about it. However, that certainly didn't mean they would not do their duties as physicians while on the ship.

“Greetings Kyo, Captain, what brings you here?”

“A blood and DNA test...for both of us” Magno replied, as Kyo looked rather uncertain about the whole thing, but was willing to try and find out if everything the Captain had told him was true, and if this was the only way, then so be it.

Duero became somewhat confused as to what was going on, as far as he could recall, Magno Vivian had not taken too many physical examinations, due to her old age, however he knew that she did have some physical conditions such as a heart condition which would hopefully be treated back on Megele, in the pirate base since the supplies and technology in the Nirvana were not that well supported. He however could tell from the expressions on both Kyo and Magno were serious about this test, thus he didn't waste time asking and got the equipment ready for the blood and DNA test.

The blood extractor was small device, nearly the same size as a larger pen, but it took a blood sample from a person that was only one drop and contained it in a film strip that could be installed into a computer and the computer would begin the DNA test. The device was able to have two strips in it so it can take more than one blood sample.

Both Magno and Kyo winced slightly as the device took some blood from them when they showed their palms, both Duero, Max and Paiway then went to work as the eldest of the McFile siblings slid both strips into the computer and ran the DNA test. The screen showed the two blood samples of both the pirate captain and the no longer amnesiac Gundam pilot. Duero then spoke to Magno and Kyo.

“I would like to ask what sort of test you would like me to run on both you're blood sample, and Kyo's, Captain.”

“Run a genetic comparison and see if there are similarities in DNA structure.”

Duero was even more curious as to what was going on, along with his fellow members in the Medical Bay, as far as he knew, along with Max and Paiway, this kind of test was only done if there was a chance that the two recipients were descendants of the same family line, but there was no way that both Magno and Kyo were related…the age and time gap was too wide.

“Are you sure?” Max asked.

Kyo who had been silent for a bit, decided to speak.

“Yes, and Duero…run the scan through the parameters of looking for the X and Y chromosomes.”

Duero recalled that in his research in the past few months that this was a way to trace ancestry and in the case of X and Y chromosomes, it was a way to trace ancestry to both male and female ancestors. He was now even more curious as to what was this all about and made the arrangements. As soon as the data was inputted along with the needed search parameters, the computer screen showed the search begin done along with the tests and then the data was displayed as Kyo and Magno's respective DNA strands were shown to have some similar genetic traits and information, and to really hit the target home, the computer displayed the results.

- Scans of DNA strands from subject Kyo Yamato and Magno Vivian show a 60% similarity due to maternal and paternal lineage-

Conclusion: Both subjects share a common ancestry to both maternal paternal lines, though subject Magno Vivian has several DNA markers from other DNA lines.

To say the medics and the nurse were shocked out of their wits was a vast understatement, even Kyo himself was stunned as Magno merely nodded as the results were displayed. Duero and Max then faced the two but no words came out of their mouths as they looked at the captain and the Gundam pilot, as if trying to find ANY physical resemblance between the two.

Paiway however was the only one to phrase the whole situation very effectively.

“YOU BOTH ARE RELATED?!”

**************

Later…

Kyo was now walking alongside Magno and despite the fact that there was now indisputable proof that he did have a family relative related to his sister Mira, he was not very sure referring to her as his niece was such a wish suggestion, as despite the fact that he outpaced her in the age department, by nearly four generations, he was still chronologically and biologically younger than her, suffice to say it was very uncomfortable to know that.

“I…still…I still can't believe that we're really related.”

“Kind of hard to wrap you're mind around it then?”

Kyo nodded solemnly. “Pretty much.”

“I can understand that, it's not exactly easy for me either, I'm already a hundred years old, and you're far older than I am, and yet…far younger too, it's also rather, difficult. But we need to talk about other matters…”

“I know, but just call me Kyo for now, I'm still not used to the idea that I'm you're uncle Magno, I also have some questions for you as well.”

“Fair enough…so what is it you want to ask me?”

“What…happened to my family….you're ancestors after I was, considered dead?”

Magno sighed a bit and smiled slightly as she gazed at her uncle, and knew that he deserved an answer to this question.

“Our…you're parents continued their duties in making the peace a reality and they pushed on, but they never forgot you, neither did you're sister, and brother. When they got married and had children, they…would tell stories about you….who you were, what you've done, and why…you were no longer among us. Every first day of the New Year, they all would go to you're…monument to pray for you, tell you stories of what happened in their lives and would always take care of you're monument there. And you became a great figure in our family history. When…Kira and Lacus died, they requested they would be buried alongside you and that request was granted…their tombs were placed in close proximity to that monument where they knew that you were buried in, the same was said for you're uncle and aunt, they also requested to be buried near you. After which….my ancestors and you're uncle and aunt's descendants continued the tradition, and they did many important things for the human race…but to the outside world….you became a martyr and hero.”

Kyo was somewhat silent at the words as he heard the story of his parents, but was then surprised to hear that he was considered a hero and martyr.

“What do you mean?”

“It has something to do with what we have today Kyo, and is the main thing I wanted to talk to you about.”

Magno then headed to the direction of the Bio-Park's main observatory, and as they arrived, Magno leaned on the rail and spoke to Kyo.

“You did something incredible four hundred years ago…you saved the human race from being totally wiped out by the explosion, even if you were thought lost. The people of Earth never forgot that in that time and named you as the human race's greatest child and defender. Even as time passed, and you're history was forgotten by the other generations, those things you did were always remembered by others, until you're name and deeds became legendary…. And you're actions on that space station four hundred years ago, allowed us to develop all the technology and knowledge we had to go beyond the outer reaches of our solar system, establish colonies…and reach out towards the stars.”

“And that means that all human worlds that exist now…from Anpathos, Melanos, Taisia, the planets you've visited….and even Talark and Megele, they would have never been founded, colonized….and inhabited if it wasn't for you doing what you've done all those centuries ago. If you did not stop the explosion, humanity would have been wiped out completely or suffered the fate of the Harvesters if there were indeed those who survived in that time, only they would have died out as well. The people of the colonies owe you their lives, their ancestors also owe you their lives, and that means that even the crew of the Nirvana, if they ever know of it or not…owe you their lives, and so do the people back on both Talark and Megele. I also owe you my life, so does my son, and my husband.”

Kyo was stunned by all that information as he looked out towards the park and thought it all over. It was hard to imagine all that information being true…which in truth, it was. The idea however was rather large for him to grasp quickly and in truth it was rather hard to swallow the fact that he had single handedly saved the human race from being wiped out, he recalled how his parents, family friends, and his relatives had done the same when they were in the Three Ships Alliance to stop the Z.A.F.T forces and the EA in the last battle of the First Bloody Valentine War. But for him to be shouldering the reputation and the knowledge of being the savior of the human race was not exactly something one could easily live with.

Magno could tell that from her uncle's expression that it was still very hard for him to accept the full impact of what she had just told him, she knew that it was hard enough for him to accept the truth of his memories, and then it was even harder to accept that she was related to him through his sister despite the chronological age gap and the biological age gap between them, and then to realize that he was responsible for the salvation of the human race long ago and allowed the colonization of the planets he had visited before…suffice to say she understood that it was a lot to take in.

“Kyo…”

“I still can't believe all that…”

“I know, I cannot say that I truly know how you feel about all this, but I want you to know that all that I have told you is the truth and is no lie, and I will give you time to get used to all that you now know…but I want to thank you for all that you've done, if…if my ancestors, you're parents were alive now, and they learned what you've done…they would be proud of you.”

It was then that Magno got a call from her communicator, she took it out from her robes and opened it.

“Yes?'

“Captain, this is Buzam…we'll be passing the debris belt in a few more hours, however, we're picking up a strange set of signals coming from the outer fringes of the debris cloud, it might be anything, but we need you on the bridge now.”

“Understood.” She then turned to face Kyo and replied. “I have to go.”

“Sure.”

The elderly woman then left and headed for the bridge, leaving behind her uncle to decide for himself just what to do now with all the information he had just gained.

**************

Later…

Kyo was currently in the Paeksis reactor and looked at the crystal core, this crystal was where it all started after all, even if it was now a more advanced version than the one he had to deal with nearly four life times ago, it was still very much the same thing that had nearly wiped out the human race before and the same thing that saved him.

He didn't know why he was here, but he was here either way. He then looked closer and wondered if the crystal would react to him now that all of his memories were now his again, and the only chance he had of finding that out was by being here, he sat down on the gang-plank and leaned back on the rails, closed his eyes, and focused his mind into trying to speak to the Paeksis, the same way the Paeksis had the ability to touch his mind.

In a moment he felt the darkness in his vision be replaced by the same sea of green that he saw many times in some of his interactions with the living crystal.

“Can you hear me?”

The Paeksis responded, but this time in a clear human voice. The same male voice that he now recalled as his father Kira's voice.

“What is it Kyo?”

“Why did you save me? And why do you speak to me using my father's voice?”

“We saved you because it was due to what we sensed and learned about you, you have a great uniqueness and nature that made us see the full potential of the human race, and we speak this way, because you made us so.”

“Me?”

Another voice spoke, and this time, it was in his mother's voice.

“Yes, when you were placed in suspended animation in order to protect you from the explosion, we were able to read you're mind before we had to seal you're memories away…we saw everything of who you are, you're past, you're life as a child, growing up in a way that is far stronger than others you're age while in the military, we saw you live you're life as a student, a brother, a son, a man, and as a human being. You've seen and felt both the good and bad sides of human nature, and you have shown the strength and will of the human spirit. You fought for what you believed was right and more…while you were there, we made ourselves in the likeness of your parents, not to control you but to help you make your way in the world. The fragment of us that was in your Gundam unit housed you're memories…and when you're parents were buried next to your monument we reached out to them and touched their minds as well, to learn more about humanity, along with your aunt and uncle's own memories. When we learned enough we transported those memories directly into the reactor here in the Nirvana, and as such we created…personalities to aid you in this journey.”

Kyo was confused at that statement. “Personalities?”

“You're Gundam, the Infinite-Freedom was given the personality of your father Kira, to act as you're protector. Did you not wonder why there is a sense of great familiarity between you and that Gundam you piloted ever since its transformation?”

“Are you telling me that my father's…soul is in my Gundam?”

“In a sense, yes, that is why it has a psychic link to you and responded to you when you were in danger and apart from it. The reason it never acted that way was that it needed you to remember a portion of your parents' own sayings to trigger that personality or persona to exist. And it has proven itself to be very strong, the `soul' of your father has saved you quite a number of times as well.”

The other voice then spoke. “The second personality that exists is you're mother Lacus, and it resides within this ship…here in the reactor itself.”

“What?”

“Do you recall you're mother telling you how she gave the Freedom Gundam to you're father when his first Mobile Suit was nearly destroyed?”

Kyo recalled that story very well, as both his parents told him about their respective view-points on that particular event many years ago. After his father had somehow survived, although with injuries, his mother and an old friend, named Reverend Malchio saved him and after helping his father find his own path, gave him the Freedom Gundam even if it placed her and her family in the line of fire.

“I do…what does that have to do with my mother's soul being in you?”

“Just like what you're mother did for you're father in that time, we downloaded all the data concerning the Freedom's design and beamed it to the three Dreads piloted by the three women you could form GunDreads with. When that happened, we transformed their Dreads into the Gundams they now use as they will need this sword to defend you as they could not do a lot by either strength and will alone. Just as you're mother Lacus handed the Freedom to you're father Kira to help him in his plans to help end the war, the Gundams given by you're mother's soul to the three women will help them both end the war with the Harvesters, and to defend you.”

Kyo was silent by this new set of revelations and the voices then replied.

“Though we only are copies of you're parents, we are living beings ourselves, and we know that you alone have what is needed to help humanity in this dark time, we communicated this to our other selves and they too know that you have what it takes to defend humanity and the future…despite the loss you face, you were never alone to begin with. You loved you're parents and family, thus now that you remember them, you must cherish them and live for them, defend the future of the human race, and give hope to those who need it. You and your family have done that once…and now it is time to do that again.”

Kyo opened his eyes and looked at the Paeksis and recalled all the things that he remembered as a child, his lessons from his parents and relatives, his own struggles and triumphs, and his joys and sorrows, and finally his experiences with the Nirvana crew and various other people in this universe.

The future of humanity was always fragile and fraught with dangerous paths, in his father's words, humanity is always in danger of repeating the mistakes of the past, and many wars would be fought, lives would be lost, lives would be changed, anger and hatred would grow…but even with all that, humanity whether Coordinator or Natural (at the time), all desire peace and a future, the future that allowed them to live and find their own way, and have freedom….and as long as he gave his all to defend that future and the human race…then he was doing the right thing and this was what it truly meant to be a human being, and a Coordinator, just like George Glenn had once stated before his death.

This was the future, and although humanity was once more in the brink of war, all he had recall were the people and places he had met and seen, and the people he cared about…here on the Nirvana, to know that the future was still there and it would always need to be protected and nurtured, for those who lived now, and those yet borne as he recalled Ezra's baby, Lacus, and the countless others who were also about to be born. He and his family, friends and fellow Guardians fought with their all to defend it once…

Now with the Harvesters as the enemy….it was time to do it again.

The alarms of the Nirvana suddenly sounded and BC's voice came on the comm. System, telling them to prepare for combat, the Harvesters have arrived as they had managed to pass through the debris belt and were now on an interception course for the Nirvana to destroy them.

Kyo Clyne Yamato took a good long look at the Paeksis and then into his hands, and clenched his hands into fists and turned around, making his way to where his Gundam was.

**************

In the bridge…

“How many?” Buzam called in as she and the rest of the bridge crew were on battle-stations. Magno was already in the command chair and looking over the data on her own tactical monitors.

“At least several large squadrons of Cube Fighters, along with several groups of Seed Ships, judging by their configuration and the lack of any Harvester Mobile Suit signatures, these must be part of the fleet the harvesters had sent out previously.” Belvedere reported as she scanned the incoming forces.

“Ezra, do we have any way to contact Megele or Talark now?” Magno asked the gentle bridge officer.

“Negative Captain…we're still too close to the debris belt to send out a good signal.”

“Oh well…I guess that means we have to fight them then. BC, have all Dreads and Crusaders ready to fight, launch the Gundams as well.”

In that moment, Kyo appeared and the rest of the bridge crew cheered his appearance and Magno could somehow tell that something had changed her uncle for the better as he was seen running system checks on his Gundam.

“Good to have you back Kyo, how are you feeling?”

“I'm fine, don't worry about me Captain Magno.” He then gave the elderly woman a warm smile. “Or should I just call you Maggie instead, after all…despite the age gap, you are my niece after all, is that okay by you?”

Magno smiled back ignoring the sounds of shock and disbelief in the bridge as Buzam, Belvedere, Amarone, Ezra, Celtic, and Misty looked at her and Kyo in great surprise at that revelation.

“Of course, that is if you don't mind me calling you Uncle as well. We have a bit of a problem though, the debris belt is still jamming our communications so there's no chance we can get a clear signal to tell them about the Harvesters, not to mention some of our long range scanners are offline. We'll need to break through them in order to get clear of the debris belt and get a clear communications line to both worlds.”

“I can handle that Maggie, don't worry about that, I just hope that I get to meet that husband of yours on Talark soon and see that son of yours, he must be a man by now. I'll lead the strike in and once we clear a path through the Harvesters, send the signal immediately.”

“Understood Uncle Kyo, be careful out there.”

“Don't worry about me, I'll be back, we've got a future to defend, and as long as we all live, we will fight for that future and see it through.”

Kyo's image vanished, just as Magno looked at the still stunned bridge crew, she gave them a sheepish look and spoke.

“It's a long story.”

**************

Kyo was at first stunned as questions suddenly flooded his cockpit from both the Crusaders and the Gundams as Dita, Meia, Jura, Sara, and Mai expressed their disbelief in the fact that he was related to Captain Magno in such a way.

“I'll tell you all about all of that later, but it will be long.”

As he was given the launch signal by the bridge crew, he ran his hands on the cockpit of his Gundam and then held the controls well. He then spoke to it.

“I will make you proud of me father, and you as well mother. I will defend the future as I have once, and I will always be ready to defend it.”

The Gundam's OS glowed somewhat brightly at him on the screen, as if the personality of his father Kira, hidden inside the machine heard him and was proud of him, he felt that same emotion fill the cockpit as he powered his Gundam and launched, and this time, said his full name as he went out to fight.

“KYO CLYNE YAMATO, INFINITE-FREEDOM, LAUNCHING!”

In a flash, the Gundam was launched out of the Nirvana, activated it's Prominence Phase Shift Armor activating, and it's crystal feathers exploded out from the wings as he took out his Gundam's beam sabers and got ready to lead his team of Crusader pilots and his fellow Gundam pilots into another battle.

The still basic Cube Fighters had no idea what was about to come their way as they charged in an attack vector.

**************

Unknown to both the Nirvana and the Harvesters…

He placed on his helmet and checked his Mobile Suit's systems, as soon as he was given the green light by the OS of his Mobile Suit, he began to power up the machine and took off. The moment he left the ground and was now halfway towards the sky, he turned as a communiqué came to him, it revealed Tao and Diego. And the only thing he could read from the mute men was a text message in the screen.

[Are you sure of this? You realize that you might die, Sam?] Tao asked the former explorer, Harvester agent, con artist and trader.

Sam, who was known as Rabat by the vast majority of the universe nodded solemnly and replied.

“I know, I deserve death for all the pain and suffering I have inflicted on this universe, but now, I have a chance to make my life mean something.”

[Even if it means that you will die in this fight?] Diego asked in message.

“Yeah, will you do as I asked of you?”

[Of course Sam, we will help the Resistance find a way through this mess, but you know that we cannot predict everything, despite our ability to commune with the spirits, there is only so much we can do.]

“I know…are you're people going to be all right?”

[They are already in the stealth shuttles and have left the planet with the Paeksis fragment to keep it safe, though if Kyo and the pirates fail when the time comes…no place will truly be safe, however, the Paeksis has faith in him, and he carries the fate of not just his friends, but of all of us as well…may the spirits guide you Sam.]

Sam nodded as he guided his Mobile Suit into the void and tracked the trajectory of the Nirvana, hoping only for two things, to finally do what he should have done so many years before, to aid humanity in their darkest hours, and finally make amends for the lives he helped destroy while serving the Harvesters, and he also carried a very important bit of information, one that concerned two people, Kyo Yamato himself, and the Harvester Council Leader, who carried a great secret that could truly be deadly….a secret that both he and Kyo shared…in blood.

Sam had called himself an idiot for not telling Kyo the information before, however, he knew he had good reasons for such an act, even he could not believe it himself when he read the information, and it finally made some sense as to why the Harvester Leader had personally entered this battle when he should have been content to only lead his people and help them survive. Sam had met the leader before, though only in communications…and never in person, but in those encounters, he felt and sensed something in him was…off…very off…and his presence…reminded the former mercenary and con artist too much of Kyo now…but this presence was different when he thought back on it…it was darker…more sinister. It was as if he was an evil version of the Gundam pilot, and after reading the data…he now knew why.

He hoped he could reach the Nirvana in time…

**************

In the space just outside of the debris belt…

“A-Team and B-Team, focus on defending the outer area of the space in front of the Nirvana, retreat to reload but make sure to cover each other. C-Team and D-Team will fill in the gaps and prevent any flanking maneuvers from the Harvesters, we have to make sure they don't blind-side the Nirvana. Is that understood?”

“Roger!”

Barnette was happy that every member of the Dread pilots were following their orders and held their own with the Cube Fighters that were now getting into range. The Dreads had incorporated some new technologies and improvements in the many encounters with the Harvesters and these upgrades have proven themselves time and time again, however, she knew that the true power of the Dreads were not just the improvements, but also the increased skills and experience of the pilots. They have yet to defeat the new Harvester units, namely the Mobile Suit series they had designed and incorporated into their ranks, however, she knew that it was under the Crusaders and the Gundams' design to battle them, since they had lost a considerable number of Dreads in their first battle with the new Harvester Mobile Suits, thankfully they didn't lose any of their veteran and rookie pilots. This made them realize that they had to deal with the Cube Fighters and the Seed Ships, while the Crusaders, Gundams and their pilots dealt with the Mobile Suit units.

She then focused on the battle as she locked into the several Cube Fighters and managed to eliminate two and evaded the retaliatory strikes of the other survivors, and blasted them apart. She smiled a bit as she saw the Dreads and their pilots under her command do an excellent job in holding the line and hitting the harvesters whenever they had a clear shot and were able to evade retaliatory action. She made sure to have the SwitchBlade on standby, just in case things get too dicey for her Dread to be used alone.

The area before the Nirvana was filled with missile trails and beam bolts as the two sides began to increase the ferocity of the encounter, and due to the fact that these Cube Fighters were not totally modified, they were the ones getting the worse of the exchange as there were many of them now floating in the background…the pirates were not going to relax however, they had learned enough to not take the Harvesters lightly.

Kyo was busy leading his fellow Gundam pilots along with the Crusader Squadron as they closed the gap. Many of the Crusaders' were armed with the Aero Form Pack which gave them an even better advantage in space warfare, he then left Sara and Mai in charge, giving them orders to help maintain the defense of the Nirvana as the Seed Ships' continued to release more Cube Fighters and attack the two forces of the pirates.

Three Cube Fighters tried to attack him head-on, but he blocked some of their shots with his beam sabers, swatting their attacks aside and then sliced two into halves and quickly flew underneath the third and fired his Gundam's CIWS guns, hundreds of bullets lanced out from below to shred the Cube Fighter and turn it into a burning hulk.

Three more attempted to attack from the front and sides, but Kyo then used the I-Freedom's wings to block the shots coming from the side and charged at the one firing from the front, he evaded the attacks and placed away his Gundam's beam sabers and as the three charged in unison, they were greeted by beam fire from both the Gundam's two beam rifles, and the fused plasma cannons from the shoulders, destroying them before they could fight back. He then turned and fired both the beam rifles and plasma cannons, along with the fused rail-guns as several more Cube Fighters tried to attack him, those units were destroyed quickly, however several more tried to attack through the debris clouds. Kyo took out one of his Gundam's anti-ship swords and slashed several of the would be ambushers as they tried to fire, he then placed one of his Gundam's arms right in front of the Cube Fighter and fired several energy darts right into the face of the Cube Fighter before his Gundam. The Cube Fighter exploded as he moved away to assist the rest of the pirates.

Dita used her Gundam's beam shields to block several attacks made by some Cube Fighters and then used her beam sabers to take out two of them that tried to blind-side her, she then took advantage of her shields to move aside and fire her Gundam's own CIWS guns at the Cube Fighters, shredding two of them, she then took out her beam sabers and cut down another pair that charged at her, and managed to stab two more in the eye with her beam sabers. She then guided her Gundam away and fired her Mobile Suit's abdomen cannon at several more Cube Fighters, destroying several and hitting a Seed Ship, with that she quickly got some distance and got ready to aim the rest of her weaponry.

In a moment, she activated her HiMAT system and dodged several more attacks and quickly released her Gundam's DRAGOON cannons and aimed them at the incoming force of newly released Cube Fighters, as soon as she had a good lock on the targets, she open fired, several Cube Fighters were totaled, along with a few more being heavily damaged, and the beams also slammed right into a Seed Ship damaging it further.

Meia used her Gundam's collapsible shield to block several more shots from the Cube Fighters as they tried to overpower her Gundam, she used her Gundam's rapid acceleration, which was greater than either Jura's or Dita's to evade the next barrage and then turned around to fire her beam rifle and plasma cannons in rapid succession to eliminate more of the threats, she then placed aside her beam rifle and took out one of her Gundam's beam katanas and then powered up the energy emitters on her Gundam and once it was done, she activated her HiMAT system and jetted out with her Gundam's wings wide open and began to dive in the formations of Cube Fighters, along with the newly released reinforcements. Several groups of Cube Fighters were turned into nothing but burning wrecks as the energy covered Gundam streaked past them and into them.

As soon as she was done, she deactivated the energy emitters and was now free of the energy field that surrounded her, and with one powerful descending slash, Meia's Gundam was able to use it's beam weapon to slice down several Cube Fighters in a row.

As soon as she was able to, she retracted her shield and took out her beam rifle and used both weapons at the same time, the rifle to handle long range targets, and used the beam katana to cut down those that tried to get close to her. As soon as she was done, she jetted back, placed aside her beam katanas and went on to use her plasma cannons, rail-guns, beam rifle, CIWS guns, in their full bombardment mode, while using the shield to block incoming strikes, the aqua-haired girl was using the training Kyo gave her in order to utilize the multi-lock on feature of her Gundam's weapon systems with going into SEED mode. And the results were explosive as many Cube Fighters were either torn to shreds or blown apart..

Jura used her beam sabers, both of which were in beam whip configuration to slice down several incoming Cube Fighters that tried to strike at her, she normally didn't use her beam sabers in this configuration, but the added flexibility and combat edge given by this weapon configuration was very useful in certain battle-field conditions, and she had practiced for as long and as often as she could in using the weapon mode. Jura then reverted the beam sabers to their normal configuration and placed one back on the charging rack and used her shield to block several incoming barrages from the other Cube Fighter units coming right at her.

As soon as she was able to block more shots aiming at her, she sent the energy bolts, with interest, right back at her foes, destroying several more of them quickly an effectively, as soon as she was able to finish using her shields, she used the hidden cannons and guns to catch more Cube Fighters off guard, destroying more Harvester units, until she took out one of her Gundam's anti-ship swords and cut down three in rapid succession and then cut down two more. She then took out the other anti-ship sword and cut down six more with one precise swing, using the CIWS guns to finish those that were too close for her swords to hit. Jura then guided her Gundam away to get some fighting and maneuvering distance, placed aside her anti-ship swords and sued her beam sabers and went on the defensive, blocking several more shots from the Cube Fighters, and used her Gundam's won hidden guns to do enough damage should pursuing them be too dangerous.

Sara used her Crusader's deadly arsenal of ranged firepower very effectively, ripping apart several Cube Fighters with either the hyper beam cannon rifle or the heavy rail-gun, she used the rail-gun to destroy larger concentrations of Cube Fighters, while she used the hyper beam cannon rifle to aim at Cube Fighters that were either alone, or working in pairs, this allowed her the chance to cut down more foes quickly and effectively. She then placed both weapons aside and used her beam saber and sonic resonance sword to destroy several fighters that got too close for ranged weapons to work and used the head mounted assault guns to cut down several more and slow the others down, allowing her enough time to cut them down before they could do any serious damage to her Mobile Suit.

As soon as she had a clear avenue of attack, she placed aside both the beam saber and the sonic resonance sword and used her beam cannon rifle and rail-gun in combined form to destroy several more Cube Fighters that tried to close in, while she managed to force them back, she then locked on the groups and fired several salvos of missiles from her Mobile Suit's attached missile pods. The attacks were enough to both confuse and destroy more the Earth made fighters as they had been expecting a salvo of beam and rail-gun fire from the Mobile Suit. Sara smiled as she saw the Cube Fighters explode and then directed the rest of the Crusader Squadron.

Mai took out her sonic resonance sword and cut down several Cube Fighters as she dodged their incoming weapons fire, as soon as they passed her, she struck, and turned the Cube Fighters into two pieces respectively. She then used her Mobile Suit's CIWS guns and the beam rifle after placing away her sonic resonance sword. The girl fired several salvos and destroyed several Cube Fighters, along with causing some considerable damage to those that were caught in the cross-fire.

She then took out her Mobile Suit's anti-armor knives and used them to attack several more Cube Fighters as she dashed into their ranks, she attacked and got out as quickly as she could. The last thing she wanted to happen was to be caught in a cloud of the harvester units and be surrounded, as soon as she got away, she took out both her beam saber and sonic resonance katana and struck deep into their ranks.

Mai used her martial arts training to even up the odds and made short work of the close opposition and still managed to keep her distance so as not to be suddenly overwhelmed by the Harvesters in a dangerous way, she then fired her CIWS right into a few of the Cube Fighters as they tried to get even closer to her, and fought her way past them using her anti-armor knives when both her beam saber and sonic resonance katana were not adequate for the close quarters fighting. As soon as she was clear of the mess, she took out her beam rifle and began to fire, while still using her training to evade the incoming fire and thanked her Mobile Suit's armor design for defending against the shoots she could not avoid, along with the disposable beam shield emitters that she had on her Mobile Suit.

The Crusader pilots were able to switch to their various Form Packs in order to handle the numbers of Cube Fighters and the results were explosive as they placed their training with the various weapon systems several weeks before to bear on the hapless Cube Fighters that were only basic units. The Crusaders switched the different Form packs in order to confuse the enemy and the results were coming in the shape of wreckage as the Cube Fighters were not fully able to adapt to the Crusaders' constantly changing weapon systems and tactics.

The Dread pilots were also raking in the kills as they used their long range combat skills to the test and eliminated as many as they could, Barnette had began to use some tactical maneuvers she herself had developed in her time using the SwitchBlade Gundam in it's Mobile Armor configuration and found the moves to be very compatible with her own Dread, so she began teaching the maneuvers to her fellow Dread pilots and the skills proved useful in the current battle.

The Dreads used hit and run moves that they themselves have used, along with team tactics, and sniper style attacks to weaken the Cube Fighter squadrons that were coming in, along with the reinforcements that the Seed Ships were sending out in a regular stream. The Dread pilots however were not going to try and attack the Seed Ships directly as there were still too many Cube Fighters in the areas before them.

That was up to the heavy guns as the Nirvana got into the act as the sections that housed the plasma cannon batteries of the pirate ship opened up and began to power up their weapon systems.

**************

It was at this moment however, that new arrivals came on the scene…

“Status?”

Tei Romanova, Captain of the Talark Space Defense Fleet Ship, the Firestorm, was currently on recon patrol on the sectors near the debris cloud, next to the orbital mine-fields that acted as a warning barrier between them and the world of the women. Recently, the military council had ordered routine patrols to be placed near the mine fields to increase security since there had been rumors of the women finding ways to bypass the mine-fields and evade the sensors of the mine-fields themselves.

He didn't know if the brass was pulling his leg or not, but with the very heated situation on their world after the whole Ikazuchi mess nearly a year ago, the council were not taking any chances, and here he was, doing recon patrol duty in a place that supposedly could not be penetrated by the vile women of Megele.

<Oh well, it is an order, but just what would we find here anyway?>

“Sir…we're nearing the mine field.”

“Understood.”

Tei then spoke out his name, rank, serial number, and his position into a special recorder and when the recorder showed that it now had gathered all the relevant data from his voice patterns. He then faced the comm. Officer and handed him the recording.

“Send out the code to ensure that the mines know we're not the enemy.”

“Yes sir, transmitting code now.”

Tei looked out towards the void of space and was about to head back to his captain's chair and finish drinking his glass of water, when the radar officer called in.

“Sir…I'm picking up strange energy fluctuations a good distance from us, it seems to be discharges made by…energy weapons…and explosive weaponry, it's faint considering the distance, but very persistent.”

“Can you pin-point the exact location?” Tei asked as he ran his thoughts as on what could be happening, there were no other Talark patrol ships out here in this region that he was aware of, and the fact was that as far as he knew, the only beings who used energy weapons were the female fleet. This merited investigation, but they would have to pull back for now and get some assistance…just in case they had to encounter the hostile women of Megele.

“We are pulling back, get a message to Fleet Command and have them assemble a small but well armed and equipped fleet ready to investigate possible activity by the women near this sector.”

“Yes sir!”

As his ship was about to leave, Tei wondered just what else was going to happen soon, and he wondered just what was it that was going on in that suspected battle zone that seemed to be in his area, but he was not going to go there alone and find out, after all, he had only a medium class cruiser and despite his male pride, he was not going to go there for the glory of it. His men were his responsibility, and he wasn't going to waste precious lives in a dangerous game unless something of great value was gained from it.

However, he was not aware of the fact that he and his men were NOT the only ones on recon work tonight.

On the other side of the sector of space was a Megele medium class cruiser, named the Red Rose, which also happened to be on recon duty as well. Her captain was Heidi Matrell, a young but very dedicated, by the book female officer who was on the mission to see if the pirates were still around, the brown haired and blue eyed female officer had been assigned on this mission a year ago in order to prevent the female pirates from harassing more of their own ships and also to prevent them from getting more recruits.

She knew enough about the pirates as being political renegades and people who had no home, and while it was understandable that they would resort to piracy, it was difficult when they took away other women to join them in what they were doing, and even raiding their own home-world's ships at many times. It was that portion of their operations that galled the military of the all female world.

“Anything on scanners?” Heidi asked the bridge crew of her ship, the sooner they could get the reports in, the sooner they could finish the patrol. Normally she would have liked the chance to covertly sneak into Talark space and cause some havoc, but since the men have upgraded their security and the mine fields still being in place as they are, along with the automated defensive stations, the idea was too risky to try.

“Nothing yet Captain, there seems to be no activity as of yet.”

“All right…how far are we from the perimeter of the mine field made by the men?” Heidi said with barely concealed disdain. She had some bad experiences with the men's military forces a long time ago, and she was in no mood to be caught off guard, however she did learn one very important lesson that day…even if the men were not as technologically advanced as they were, they were not to be taken lightly in any combat situation.

“We're still at a good distance to avoid the mines' and stations' sensors, but if we get too close, we might trigger there scanners.”

“All right then…keep me posted.”

She turned to face a small table near her command chair, and on it was her light break-fast, which had some bacon, eggs, toasted bread and some hot cocoa. As she ate, her second in command came to her and saluted her.

“Ma'am, permission to speak?”

As soon as she finished half the plate and also half of her hot drink, Heidi nodded. “Go ahead.”

“I don't believe we'll find much of interest out here ma'am. The pirates have not made any major raids on either us…or the men for nearly a year now…”

“I know what you mean…but we can never be sure.”

Sure enough, the bridge crew got into contact with what appeared to be some sort of activity on the outer perimeter of the debris belt, just as they were able to detect the presence of the Talark ship the Firestorm as the ship was heading back to contact a portion of the Talark Fleet to investigate something.

“Captain…we've picked up the trail of a male ship, it seems to be fleeing from something.” The female officer said in a curious tone.

“Hmmm…have long range scanners track that ship and contact Megele High Command….whatever those men have found must be of great value for them to suddenly turn tail and run.”

The second in command was surprised at her commander's decision.

“Captain? Why can't we just attack them cause even more hurt for those men? We have the chance and they are cowards after all.”

Heidi shook her head, she doubted that the men would just leave this kind of situation without good reason.

“The men don't leave unless they have a good reason to run away from a fight, I fought the men before in a covert mission, and they have not been idle…they have improved and neither were they cowards… I will not risk a full scale engagement until we get all the data right….is that clear?”

“Yes ma'am, but what would make the men leave so suddenly?”

“I honestly don't know…”

“Captain…we're picking up energy fluctuations, faint but active ones… like the ones emitted by energy weapons, and explosions…hard to determine what is going on…but it appears to be some sort of battle going on in the area where the male ship was before it began to leave.”

Heidi and her second in command were looking at each other and then Heidi sighed and spoke.

“We need to establish contact with the Megele High Command ASAP, I want this ship to stay here and await reinforcements. Whatever is happening out there, it was enough for the men to pull back no doubt get reinforcements, and that does not happen often when they are concerned…and we will not attempt to investigate until we have some support as to deal with what is happening out there.”

“Yes Ma'am!”

**************

Back in the battle between the pirates and the Harvesters…

Bart looked over the battle-zone as the targeting systems of the Nirvana was now able to lock on and destroy the Cube Fighters and the Seed Ship support. The Dreads, Crusaders, and the Gundams moved out of the way, giving the bald navigator and heavy gunner of the pirates the clear strike on all the Harvesters. In that moment the bald navigator locked and fired all of the ship's fire-power.

The Nirvana's plasma cannons fired out the massive beams and the fire smashed right into the newly arriving Cube Fighters and the ones that managed to evade being obliterated by the squadrons. This time, none of them were going to escape as the beams smashed into them and reduced them into nothing but burning wreckage, the beams also avoided hitting the Dreads, Crusaders and the Gundams as they arced and looped over the fighters. In less than a few minutes, the Harvester forces were utterly obliterated.

Celtic then replied that they could now send out a clear signal to the two planets, and Magno hoped that soon, they could tell the people on both their respective worlds exactly what was going on and who were the Harvesters. Magno then decided to check the progress of their converted Harvester battle-ship.

“How long will it be before the Harvester ship we captured is through the debr5is belt?”

“At least another hour.” Ezra reported as she checked on the scanners.

However, things were not going to get any easier as their sensors picked up something unexpected and very much unwanted. The mine fields…

“Captain! We've detected massive numbers of incoming mines! They appear to be the ones used by the Talark military!”

The bridge crew were not happy to hear that, along with everyone else in the Nirvana and their forces as they all saw the mines suddenly coming to life and now heading towards their current location. The power of one mine was strong, considering the sheer size of one and the massive amounts of explosive materials inside of them, an entire wave of them was even worse. If any of them were able to hit the Nirvana, they were going to be severely damaged.

“Bart! You and Duero know the pass-words for that?” Magno asked the bald navigator of the Nirvana, believing that since both their original male crew-members might have the codes to bypass the mines.

However, Bart replied bleakly.

“I'm sorry Captain, but even if me and Duero are First Class Citizens and military personnel, only higher ranking officers or government officials have the authority to bypass those mines.”

“Max, Aleck?”

“No Captain, even we don't know the codes, and from what we've heard, the codes have to be voice activated.”

“Maybe we should just blast our way through them?” Jura suggested as she prepared her weapons.

“Bad idea Jura….we can use the mines to slow the Harvesters down long enough to mount a good defense for both Talark and Megele, we can't just destroy them.” Kyo Yamato replied, but he knew that they were now stuck in between the hammer and the anvil.

If they blew up the mines, they would deprive the two planets' first line of defense, and if they didn't find another way to break through quickly without triggering the mines, they would be blown apart as well.

Buzam saw the situation they were in as utterly desperate and they had little time for this, and she then began to reach for the green jewel located near her neck portion of her outfit.

However, before anything could be done, the mines were suddenly stopped, they seemed to have received the codes from somewhere other than the Nirvana and this both calmed and confused the bridge crew just as the Dreads, Crusaders, and the Gundams were now back in the Nirvana. The pirates however realized that while the orbital mines and auto-defensive battle-stations were no longer after them, it hardly meant that they were any safer…

As large numbers of ships…signifying a fleet was now currently heading in their direction, however it didn't take long for another fleet to be detected by the pirates, and it also didn't take long for the two fleets to be identified.

“Captain, there are two fleets, one from Talark, and one from Megele…heading right for us.” Belvedere announced.

Magno realized that since both worlds were still very much at war with each other, she doubted that she and her fellow officers would get far in trying to reason with the two fleets, and there was the fact that if both fleets would arrive, they would no doubt start shooting each other the moment they saw each other, and judging by the number of signals the scanners were picking up, there were large numbers of Dreads and Vanguards in the area, they had to do something to avoid a blood bath, that was the last thing the pirates needed on their hands if they needed to come forward and form a chance to cement an alliance between Talark and Megele.

“How long with they arrive at our location?”

“Two hours.”

Magno nodded and realized that this was enough time for them to make some needed changes and make plans, what she had in mind would a very desperate gamble and this would be VERY risky to say the least, but as far as she could sense, this was the only chance they had.

“BC, I want you, Kyo, Duero, Max, Aleck, and Gascogne in the Conference Room immediately, Bart, I want you to return the ship to the debris belt, try to evade the sensors until I give you other orders.”

“Yes Captain.”

**************

In the Conference Room…

“What you're suggesting captain is risky to the extreme.” Aleck said as Magno outlined her plan, and in layman's terms, it was for the crew to surrender to the respective fleets, the women would have to be taken by the female military, while the men would have to side with the Talark forces, both groups would have to try their respective best to reason with the people on their worlds, as prisoners.

“I have to agree there Captain, there is no guarantee that this plan might work.” Buzam replied, concern showing on the silver haired woman's face.

“It's not like we have any choice on the matter, we cannot afford to fight our way through either fleet to safety, that would just make our respective cases even harder to win and it would no doubt cause them to think we're out of our minds, even more so if we tell them about the inevitable Harvester invasion. This is a very risky chance, I'll give you all that, but it's far better than all of us getting into a needless fire-fight with the two factions we need to unite to face the Harvesters.”

Magno closed her eyes as she thought about all the things that had to be done for this to be successful, and then faced her uncle, who looked at the rest of the group and her.

“What do you think uncle?”

“The plan has a lot of risks Maggie, but it might work, since if both our groups can at least try to reason with both sides, there just might be a chance, though I still think it's risky, for the guys, we're going to need a spokesperson, and that person would have to be a high ranking member of the Talark military, even if Max and Duero are both 1st Cass Citizens, Bart being a military cadet and having family connections, and Aleck being a top instructor in their military, I doubt any of them have the needed rank and social/political muscle to say anything that has great weight to the Talark government, so I rather doubt we have anyone with that kind of qualifications.”

“Is that true?” Magno asked, directing her gaze at the men in the room in question.

Aleck, Duero, and Max nodded in agreement, and the elder male replied for his younger comrades.

“Kyo is correct, none of us have the needed political, social and military weight and strength to say anything, and Bart's connections on our world are only limited to his family's food pill production, he hardly has the needed military connections, and I rather doubt that he would be even allowed to speak in front of the government since he was once considered nothing more than a nuisance back then.”

Gascogne however spoke out.

“Don't mind me asking…but is it that you and Kyo…are related?”

“Why do you want to know that?” Kyo asked in surprise as Gascogne, now wasn't exactly the right time for this kind of discussion, and neither was the situation.

“I just want to know what was going on, how in the heck are you two related?”

Magno couldn't help but smirk at her Register head and spoke.

“I'm afraid that now is not exactly the best time for us to get into that discussion Gasco, but I promise that I will personally tell you all that once the time is right, however, I do have two suggestions. Gascogne, I want you to send out a broadband transmission on the coded frequency that our comrades use...just in case things go down south.”

Gascogne nodded. “You want me to contact the others and ready a rescue?”

“Yes, and my second suggestion is that Buzam would have to speak for the men. After all she…or rather HE DID grow up on Talark.”

Buzam was somewhat surprised at that announcement and looked at Magno with trepidation.

“Captain, W-W-W-What are you suggesting?!”

Magno smiled a bit. “BC, do you really think that I won't eventually find out about you're little secret? I may be old, but unlike what most would say, I am not senile. I knew that you were a spy from Talark, and you naturally are a HE, not a she. You never bathe with ANY member of the crew as far as I knew even if you're body was no doubt surgically altered to be female, you are very familiar with the language of the men, even if the information was heavily coded, you show exceptional skills with weapons normally used only by men and you showed exceptional skills in melee combat. Another thing I did notice is that you didn't act like a woman of Megele in certain matters, namely when Duero and Max had that discussion on Talark birthing methods, I was not very happy with that kind of information but you seemed very much relaxed on such matters, I was somewhat surprised at that until I thought that there would be only two possibilities, the first was you had gone to Talark, but I doubted that since the men would no doubt have killed you if you were a true female, and the second was that you would only be familiar with the procedures if you WERE born of the process. I am willing to bet ten to one that you are a man once we take a blood and DNA test, namely for a certain DNA marker known as the Y-chromosome.”

“What is a Y-chromosome?” Gascogne asked.

Magno nodded with a smirk at the muscular woman. “I'm not very surprised you don't know about that Gascogne, you were born and raised on Megele and you are therefore only familiar with the way Megele females reproduce. I on the other hand, am from the First Generation and I did have a son with a man before I lived on Megele. When children were born in the older days before the founding of Talark and Megele, the gender of the child was determined by two pairs of chromosomes, the X and Y chromosomes, a child with two X-chromosomes would be born as a female, while a child with both a X and Y chromosome would be born as a male. The fact is that on our world of Megele, we only have female children due to the fact that when an ohma and a fahma donate their DNA to fertilize an egg, the only chromosomes present are the X chromosomes, thus all children on Megele are female.”

“In the case of Talark however, since all of the people living there are male, then if they were to donate their DNA to have a child, then there was a very strong chance that either a male or female child would be born on Talark since as I have explained, males have both X and Y chromosomes, and therefore, when they donate their DNA there is still a chance a female child is born since there is a chance the fetus would gain two X chromosomes and be born a female.”

“Really?! So that would mean that Talark COULD have females in their population?!” Gascogne asked, totally wide-eyed with the amount of information she had just been exposed to.

“Yes…which is why I won't be very surprised that the men of Talark, in the effort to keep their people focused on seeing women as the enemy of men, would be always meticulously checking each fetus in their `birthing' factories to ensure that only male children are born.”

“So that was what Kyo meant when he told Jura that she would have a 50% chance of having a baby boy if they DID…uh couple?”

Magno grinned impishly while Kyo looked at the other side of the room with his face being bright red.

“Pretty much.” Magno said as she continued to speak towards Buzam.

“Another thing is that very same chocker you always wear Buzam, namely that stone itself.” Magno said, pointing directly at the green stone.

“I wondered why you never seem inclined to have that taken off, it may look fashionable in a certain way, but it would no doubt be very uncomfortable…unless it was over what would be an enlarged larynx, or as many in the past would call it, an Adams Apple, yet another anatomical feature that can only be found in men. The other use for it, apart from hiding that feature is to hide what I believe is a vocal modifier, that you use to change you're voice to sound like a woman's since even if you physically alter you're form, you would still not be able to change the voice patterns of a male due to the different auditory qualities men have.”

Magno then smiled at the silver haired female or male and spoke calmly.

“Now then…if I am very wrong in my assumptions Buzam, or whoever you really are, then I would suggest that we go to the Medical Bay and have that blood test so we can see the truth…or would you prefer to deactivate that device and speak to us in you're REAL voice?”

Everyone, including Kyo Yamato looked at Buzam, in order to see just what the silver haired pirate officer would do with what Magno had said. Buzam then sighed deeply and then pressed her left hand on the green stone, and sure enough the stone was a vocal modification device as the normally green stone turned red, and Buzam looked at them all, but mostly at Magno…and then spoke in a deep, strong voice…the voice of a man.

“I was wondering if you really knew about my real self, and I know now that you did, but why didn't you tell you're crew that I was a spy?”

Magno smiled serenely and replied.

“And lose one of the most capable officers I have? Don't be silly, I don't do such things…make no mistake however, if you had done something to hurt the crew, I would have changed my tune and have you removed and reveal you for who you really are. But you've served with great honor and distinction, and most of all, in all the time you have been among us, there were quite a number of times that you could have warned you're fellow men about our raids, and you would have betrayed us, but you have not. Tell me…”

“My real name is Tenmei Uragasumi, and you are right in saying that I would make a good spokesperson for the male side…since I am Commander in Chief of the Talark Covert Intelligence Division.”

Duero, Aleck, and Max were shocked in knowing that the one they considered to be the female second in command was actually the head of their Covert Intelligence Division, one of the more shadowy branches of their government.

“All right Tenmei…tell me now…what was the big reason why you never betrayed us to you're fellow men, even if you had every opportunity to do just that?”

Gascogne herself was looking at Tenmei with undisguised surprise as well. “That's one thing I would like to have answered as well! It's kind of hard enough to know that you're actually both a man and a spy, but to know that the Captain knew about that and never said a word is something else!”

“I doubt any of the crew would have followed Tenmei if they knew that she was a HE at the time. Would you have done so also? Besides, there would have to be a very good reason as to why HE had not betrayed us to the men even if he had the chance to do just that, now then, would you like to answer that question?”

“You are still willing to trust me, even if you know the truth about me?” Tenmei asked with some still lingering doubts.

“Of course I am.”

Tenmei sighed and replied to their questions.

“When I was assigned as a spy to your crew I was pretty much like the other men back home, I despised women and despite being calm and collected since it was due to my ingrained hatred towards females from back home, and it was my task to spy on the pirates to gain information on Megele's combat abilities and technology, it would make sense since you raid both Talark and Megele convoys. However….as time passed, I began to tolerate, trust and even enjoy the company of the crew…none of you match any of the descriptions of being monsters that I had grown up seeing on Talark.”

“Thank God for that…” Magno said with a smile.

“And…over the times we've been travelling together, I began to understand and see things in a far more different light, namely the errors that were being taught to the others back on Talark. They say men and women would never be able to live together, but I am doing that very same thing with you all in this ship for the past year, and I saw how the men and women from our respective cultures have been able to thrive and survive working together. Therefore, I made sure to only send data that would keep my superiors on Talark satisfied, but not enough to betray the crew to them. And with Kyo and the others here on the ship, I can tell that we have a chance to bridge the gap and put aside this `Battle of the Sexes'. We are all HUMAN after all, and we need to stand united against this coming Harvester invasion.”

“I thought so, and I am happy that with you're help we might have a fighting chance.”

Kyo Yamato however wasn't entirely convinced.

“That's all well and good, but we don't have that much time right now, let's not forget that we have seven Harvester battle-ships already a few hours from this current position and if we take too long in trying to convince both Talark and Megele to work together, they'll be right on top of us, and even with all our upgraded tech and weaponry, along with the converted battle-ship and it's forces, I rather doubt we can hold them off forever, not to mention that we can't use the same strategies we used before to beat their fleets out here…we have to stand and fight.”

Aleck, managing to get past his shock agreed with Kyo's statement.

“Kyo is right…if we're going to pursue this plan, we'll have to come up with a back-up plan in order to make up should the first fail, the last you want is to be forced in doing is to come up with one while the enemy is already trying to tear you to pieces.”

Magno nodded.

“It will have to be a coordinated effort then, and if the Harvester Armada does show up…then we will have to hope that their appearance along with the evidence we have will be enough to convince the two worlds what we have told them is the truth. One the first part of this plan, we'll have to split up, Tenmei will still need to reveal himself to the crew and allow yourself, along with the other men to be taken back to Talark, there, we can hope that the men there will listen to you all, and if it fails, Tenmei will have to rescue them and head back to the ship…which I have no doubt will be held in dry dock by the men since the Nirvana is part of the Ikazuchi. On our part, we'll no doubt be taken to trial for being pirates and political dissidents, we'll use that time to give out our evidence and if that fails, then we hope that the transmission we will send to our other fellow pirates will be received and they will come and rescue us. If that goes well…we'll need to get ready for the attack and hopefully hold off the Harvesters long enough, though how we can hold off seven battle-ships is beyond me, they won't be the same like the Mirage Colloid equipped one we have.”

“What kind of force do the pirates back here have?” Kyo asked, his military mind already trying to determine a good working strategy should the veteran pilots get involved.

“We have another Megele Cruiser, the same model that we had when we raided the Ikazuchi, along with the same number of Dreads and pilots like what we have here on the Nirvana.” Gascogne replied earnestly, seeing the risks they were all about to step feet first into.

“Hmm…we're still very much out matched then…but hopefully with enough tactics and strategy, we might be able to pull this off. I however would have to tell the Crusader pilots to security lock the OS in all their Mobile Suits, and even tell Jura, Barnette, Meia, and Dita to security lock their Gundams' respective OS as well…if the men of Talark found them and began extracting any data, they might just use them to cause even more havoc on this plan and use the data to create weapons that they might use on Megele. The one thing I can't figure is what I'll be doing.”

Magno thought that over and replied.

“You'll have to keep out of sight uncle, we will no doubt be needing you're help at some point in this whole plan just in case we need help, but I think there just might come a time you'll have to talk to both leaders.”

Kyo thought about that and nodded, hoping that he just might be able to help them all in this matter, as they finished the finalizing the plans they had in mind, the only thing he could find utterly humorous about the whole thing was on how Bart would react if he found out that Buzam was a man.

<Man…since Bart has that not so well hidden affection for Buzam, I think finding out she's actually a he will really throw him in the loop!>

**************

Later…

“Do we really have to do this Kyo?” Meia asked as she was in her Gundam's cockpit, already in the process of security locking her Gundam's OS.

“I'm afraid so, the last thing I want is the men getting their hands on our Mobile Suits and using the data they might get to cause even more problems.”

Kyo replied as he checked their progress. The Gundam pilot was currently in the Hanger Bay, directing all of the Gundam pilots, including Max and Duero to lock out their Gundam's OS to ensure no one could just download any combat data from their machines. He then turned to another comm.-monitor and called in both his seconds in command of the Crusader Squadron.

“Sara, Mai, how are things on you're end?”

The two women replied as they read the data displays in their respective Custom Crusaders and the Crusaders of their fellow pilots, all of whom were already following Kyo's orders to pass-word lock the OS of their Mobile Suits.

“The OS lock-down is almost complete Commander, we've just got a few more to lock down here.” Sara said as she ran over the list of the pilots who have already, or were in the process of, locking down the OS of their Mobile Suits.

“Kyo, what are you planning now after this?” Mai asked as she also finished locking down her Crusader's OS.

“Not sure yet.”

“Mr. Alien? Are you REALLY related to the Captain?!” Dita asked as she looked at Kyo intently, no doubt trying to find ANY physical resemblance between the aged woman and the Gundam pilot. She still could not believe that Magno and Kyo were related, and he was the Captain's…uncle. Though she didn't know what the term meant, she could tell that it told her that Kyo and Magno had a blood tie for some reason.

“I want to know if that's true too!” Jura said as she looked at Kyo, no doubt also trying to find any physical resemblance between him and Magno. The blonde was shocked to know Kyo's past and was happy to see that he was not mopping about it when he was in his Gundam, but to hear that he and Magno were related really threw her on the loop.

“To tell you the truth Commander, I want to know about that too, and I know it's not just me, and Mai, but practically the entire Squadron wants to know if that was true.” Sara replied, her expression mirrored that of Mai as well, the two were somewhat shocked to suddenly find out that their commander and the Captain were relatives, and they too were looking at Kyo very intensely, as if to see if there was any physical resemblance between him and their elderly Captain.

And Kyo knew for a fact that Meia was also looking at him intently, as if she too was trying to find out any resemblance between him and his elderly niece, this had actually been happening ever since the announcement and they were NOT the only ones, practically the entire crew, including his male comrades were looking intently at him, as if they too tried to find any physical resemblance between him and Magno

And to tell them the truth, he was getting rather annoyed by the looks.

“Look, I'll tell you all about it later, right now we've got some work to do.”

As the girls realized that they were not going to get anything else out of the Gundam pilot, they left the matter be, allowing the Gundam pilot enough time to digest what was happening all around him, after he and the other senior officers, including Tenmei were done, they set their plan in motion and it had required them to set things up quickly… as soon as he, he had the Crusaders and his fellow Gundam pilots make the lock-down, while the rest of the crew began their work in sealing off portions of the Nirvana and getting ready to be taken away by the Megele military.

However, it certainly wasn't going to be easy for anyone. Having worked together for many months, the crew had gotten very close, in his opinion, the hardest hit were none other than the resident couples from both planets. When Duero and Max had related their intentions, but not revealing the back-up plan they and the others have cooked up, to return and try to reason with their people, even at great risk of being branded traitors, Barnette and Parfait were understandably shocked, concerned, and afraid of what might happen to them. The two couples had grown closer and even though they knew that something like this was bound to happen the moment they were back in the home system of their respective planets, it certainly didn't make parting from one another any easier.

Duero and Max likewise were concerned for the safety of their female companions, since they knew that as they were pirates, they were not the most trusted members of their world, and would be placed in prison, however, they would be in even worse punishment if they began to support the idea of men and women working side by side, the two men could only wonder at how that would be received by the Megele government. Besides that, the two men were not keen on letting them be harmed since that was a very large possibility.

It had taken them some time to consider what they were about to do and Kyo thanked fate that they were able to get ready for this and just see where this would lead. Even Gascogne and Aleck didn't like the idea of the parting since the two had grown somewhat closer than before, though as far as the Gundam pilot knew, they were not THAT close, or he could be wrong.

Kyo quickly shook his head of those thoughts and then thought about his own situation, since he was the inevitable wild card in the plan, Duero and Max have decided to have him and his Gundam stored in the deepest bowels of the Nirvana in order to avoid being detected by either the Talark or Megele military forces, and they would give him a specially modified communicator that he could use to contact them on Talark should things go down south, not to mention the communicator was modified by Gascogne as well in order to listen in on Megele communications, the former Megele military officer had told her that she suspected that sooner or later things might get bad, and even if she had faith in the rest of their pirate comrades, namely the veterans, she was certainly not going to take chances and told Kyo to be ready to back them up.

That part was somewhat confusing and somewhat unorthodox since that meant that if something went wrong with the rescue of the female crew…he would have to fly with the Infinite Freedom Gundam right into Megele space, all on his own to help them out. That part didn't frighten him in the least, it was the possible encounter with the Megele military that made him worry. He knew that there was no way they would allow a man to step into their territory and do whatever he wanted. This naturally meant that even if he had no intention of it, he would have to fight the Megele Navy the moment he entered their space.

Despite his reservations, he decided to hope that it didn't come to that as he went back to the bridge and waited as Magno gave Bart the order to take the Nirvana out of the debris cloud. They however planned to move the Harvester Battle-ship out of the debris field with it's Mirage Colloid systems online and keep it's forces safe, the pirates decided to keep the ship away from the battle until they were ready, they would use the ship later as evidence of the Harvesters existence to the populations of their respective worlds, and as back-up in the coming battle.

For a moment, if the plan to have the veteran pirates on their side worked and with the converted Harvester battle-ship on their side, Kyo couldn't help but feel that they were doing their own version of the Three Ships Alliance that his parents, relatives, and family friends had been part of when the last days of the Z.A.F.T/Earth Alliance War that led to the Second Battle of Jachim Due.

As he looked at the screen of them now revealing themselves to the incoming Megele, Talark fleets, he waited for the rest of the senior crew to drop the bomb load. He only wished Bar would be all right when Buzam…or rather, Tenmei revealed the truth about himself, he just knew this was going to be really close, and really dicey.

**************

Later…

“This Talark Home Defense Force… 34th Fleet, Captain Terrance Harden, identify yourselves!”

The Talark Fleet appeared to have changed their designs somewhat as they appeared to have greater armor and much faster turrets on their ships and it appeared that some of the ships were even colored golden, though why some of these smaller ships were in a deep golden sheen was unknown at the time, however these smaller ships appeared to be very well armed and armored. Several large groups of Vanguards were in the area…though they didn't look like the same types of Vanguards as the ones that Crusader Squadron had used before they re-designed them.

The new Vanguards appeared to be even better armored and armed, and it appeared that they now possessed some built-in weapons of their own. They even resembled in some way the GuAIZ model that Aleck piloted, however, they were armed with what appeared to be rail-guns on the hips, in the same design specs as I-Freedom's own folded rail-guns and had what amazing as it sounded, a beam rifle, and what appeared to be a flight-pack to allow for greater speed and flexibility, it seemed to have a back-pack that had a variety of melee weaponry, all of which were very nasty in design and use. There were also heavy assault guns installed on the head and there was even a high grade alloy composite shield. (*)

Apparently the pirates were not the only group in the Galaxy who modified the Vanguard designs as the host of Vanguards were now closing in and surrounding the Nirvana, weapons at the ready.

The Megele Fleet however having none of it and deployed their Dreads, and from what could be seen, the Megele ships were now arming up their beam weapons. The Dreads also began to close in on the Nirvana, and they too were ready and willing to fire at both the pirates…and if it came to that, the men of Talark.

“This is Megele Home Defense Force…29th Battle Fleet, Captain Maria Trance, I am warning the Captain of the Talark Fleet not to interfere with this operation, if you do, we will open fire.”

“That will be your own mistake if you fire on us then…Captain.” The male officer in question said with great venom, as if waiting for any order to open fire on the Megele force, this was the result of the ingrained hatred between their cultures…the very same thing the pirates intended to stop before it destroyed them all.

The male officer then spoke to the Nirvana.

“I repeat, who are you and what are you doing with a ship with the transponder signal of the Ikazuchi?”

Kyo looked briefly at Buzam/Tenmei, and nodded slightly.

The disguised male nodded as this was the predetermined signal for them to implement their desperate gamble. Tenmei/Buzam then pressed the stone on his/her throat and the stone then glowed red and he then spoke in his natural voice…this startled the living daylights out of everyone of the crew, with the exceptions of Duero, Max, Kyo, and Magno, who already planned this ahead.

“This is Tenmei Uragasumi, Commander in Chief of The Covert Intelligence Division. The Ikazuchi has returned and is hereby surrendering.”

This was Kyo's cue as he took out some restraints and quickly bound Tenmei's hands and began to escort him to the brig. As the two walked near Magno, she gave them a quick smirk, that both returned as well as they made their way to the brig for phase two of the plan they were placing into action. Magno then replied to both Fleets.

“This is Captain Magno Vivian of the pirate forces, we have declared our surrender, all forces in the ship will stand down immediately. All our male occupants shall be within the brig and will not be harmed.”

The Captains of both fleets now knew just who they had managed to capture, and quickly the two began to have an argument on what to do with the pirates, along with the men who they supposed were prisoners of the pirates. This gave them enough time to make the rest of the arrangements.

Bart was flabbergasted at what he had just learned.

“BUZAM WAS A MAN?!?!”

**************

“You ready for this?” Kyo asked as he spoke to Tenmei as he activated the laser bars in the cell. The disguised male spy smiled a bit at the Gundam pilot as he too was getting ready to make his own move.

“I am, I know that you of all people are more than capable at this venture…considering who you are really are and you're blood line.”

“Tenmei, let me ask you something…if you found out who I was at some point before all this happened in the journey, and my past, and what I did nearly four hundred years ago, and I asked you to fight the Harvesters…would you do it?”

“What do you mean Kyo?”

“I want to know this…would you follow me because I am Kyo Yamato, the savior of the human race and of what I did as a legacy, or would you follow me because I am Kyo Yamato, and I want to protect the future?”

Tenmei thought about that and began to understand what Kyo was pushing towards. The Gundam pilot and Coordinator wanted to know if he would follow him to defend the future out of merely obligation or of his own free will. Kyo had just shown to him that he wanted people to fight with him not because he was a historical figure, a legend and the one who they owe their lives to, but because he was doing the right thing and wanted to protect all life and the future.

Tenmei nodded and replied with an answer.

“I would follow you Kyo, not just because you are Kyo Yamato, the man who saved humanity nearly four hundred years ago, and allowed me and my people to be borne…but because you are my comrade, and a friend.”

Kyo smiled and saw the arrival of Duero, Max, Aleck, and Bart, he then faced Tenmei and nodded grimly.

“You ready to implement the plan we have…just in case things don't go very well?”

“Yes, I know that Bart and the others will have to be interrogated and no doubt kept in prison…if the Government has truly been hiding the information concerning the Harvesters, I'll get them free from there and meet up with the rest of the crew…though hopefully I can get into contact with men who might be able to help us, since part of my job back then on Talark was to locate anyone who might have doubts about the war with women...even Duero and Max's Alpha, though we never made a move on them at all.”

Kyo nodded once more and went over to Duero and Max, and replied to the two of them.

“It's time to begin…see you guys later.”

Kyo made his way into the bowels of the ship, towards the only location where he could avoid being found by any member of the crew from the Talark or Megele forces. He had managed to hear just what the terms that were decided upon by the Captains of both Talark and Megele Fleets, the men, including Tenmei were to be taken by the Talark forces while the women were to be taken by their Megele military brethren, as to the final fate of the Nirvana, since it was the Ikazuchi, part of the Talark military, and the pirates being nominal enemies of both sides, the ship would be impounded by the Talark military and kept in an orbital docking station between the Megele/Talark border.

As he arrived, he used the modified communicator to keep track of the activity on the ship as he kept an eye on his Gundam unit. The communicator finally told him of the arrival of both Talark and Megele boarding parties, this was a very risky plan he and the senior officers had come up with, and he only hoped that it would succeed.

**************

Later…

Whump!

“Don't move!” The slightly muffled and altered voice called out as the women military forces, wearing the frightening body suits and face mask began to take over the female section of the ship

Meia grimaced as she was quickly taken down as she tried to protect Lacus and Ezra from being manhandled by several of the female soldiers…but she could do little as the one who had knocked her down aimed a laser rifle to her head. Despite her instincts telling her to fight back and protect both the mother and her baby, her practical side told her that she would accomplish nothing if she tried to fight back…and thankfully, the female soldiers didn't hurt Ezra or Lacus.

However, as she got to her feet with the assistance of the soldiers, she could tell that many of her fellow crew-mates were also being herded towards the docked shuttles, all of them would no doubt be flown directly to a military vessel under heavy escort and then taken directly to Megele to stand trial.

All throughout the ship, the pirates were quickly being rounded up by the female soldiers, Dita had managed to pack away the boxed lunches she had prepared in advance for Buzam, Kyo, Duero, Bart, Aleck, and Max, before she, along with Paiway were herded away, Jura and Barnette managed to seal away their most valuable possessions, along with the `other' items they had collected, that spoke of the relationships that could bloom between men and women, however Jura still insisted on brining the book that spoke of co-gender procreation, Parfait and her engineers had enough time to ensure that the Paeksis would still be working fine once they were allowed to go back, just before they were taken by the guards, Gascogne managed to lock down the Register, along with the help of Sara and Mai before they too were taken away, the security forces of the pirates were forced to lock away their weaponry as they were taken away, along with the Dread pilots who had also managed to security lock their Dreads, the Crusader Squadron pilots had to bid their Crusaders farewell as the Mobile Suits were in the Hangers where the men were going, the female Mobile Suit pilots hoped that they would see their beloved Mobile Suits soon as they were also being herded away towards the shuttles. By then the women were already being taken away as the shuttles, under Dread escort, left the Nirvana to meet up with their main ship.

The men on the other hand were already inspecting the former Ikazuchi and were naturally surprised by the changes done to the ship that was once part of their first fleet into space, they however were told to keep away from the sections that were taken over by the women pirates and focused on getting to the location where Tenmei, Duero, Max, Bart, and Aleck were being held `prisoner' so to speak, the men however were surprised to see the collection of Mobile Suits that were part of the Nirvana's defense forces, including the Gundams that were there, namely the SwitchBlade, Morpheous, Templar, Crimson Edge, Silver Lightning, and the Azure Angel, along with the Crusaders. They never expected to see such formidable looking machines of war to be in the possession of the women and their crews planned to have the units analyzed to see just what sort of units were these, and to get combat data that could truly help Grand Pa and their war with the women…however, the men were finding it hard to even access the basic functions of the OS of each machine as Kyo's instructions to the pilots to security lock their Mobile Suits proved a very strong deterrent to the male engineers that tried to get past the security and access the OS to make the Mobile Suits and the Gundams work. Thus the men had no choice but to leave the Mobile Suits alone, and this was a strong blow to their pride as they had not found a single trace of their trusted Vanguards…what had happened to the Vanguard compliment of the mighty Ikazuchi when the women had taken over it?

(Unknown to them all, the Crusaders WERE the Vanguards that they were looking for…just in a whole new body design.)

The other groups of men had much better luck, relatively speaking as they were able to get to the brig and begin to free Tenmei, Bart, Duero, Max, and Aleck. The younger soldiers and officers congratulated the five men and told them how lucky they were that they were still alive and breathing, and had their livers intact. The five men (albeit one of them looked more like a woman than a man) merely nodded and agreed, and as they were directed to the shuttles awaiting to take them to their home-planet of Talark, the men who were part of the plan mentally ran over it once more, and sadly, the only one of them who was not in the loop was Bart who seemed intent on trying to avoid looking at Buzam/Tenmei.

The Talark spy however noted the look on Bart and seemed concerned somewhat at the bald navigator, though he knew just what was up with Bart, he could do little as they still had a plan to accomplish…along with a back-up, just in case things went wrong.

Back in the Nirvana, the men were able to use the auto-pilot function to guide the ship to a nearby dry dock port and lock in the Nirvana, this allowed the engineers and techs of the male forces to make their studies of the ship in relative peace. Near it were several cruisers and those acted as a screen to ensure that no one would try to take the Nirvana…despite the fact it no longer resembled the ship that they had last seen before the pirate attack and after, the men still saw the Ikazuchi as sovereign property of Talark and thus were not willing to give it back to the women, however it appeared that the women's forces were only interested in taking the pirates and as such, didn't bother taking anything that belonged to the women from the ship.

**************

In the bowels of the Nirvana…

“Okay…let's see if we got it right…there, that should do it.”

Kyo Yamato smiled as he finished his work on the communicator so he could hack into the comm.. network of the Talark men and keep track on how things would go for the guys down there, he hated not telling Bart about the plan they had cooked up in the Conference Room, but time was against them and that meant that it had to be made on the fly.

Right now, the Gundam pilot was with his Gundam in the lowest levels of the Ikazuchi and yet close enough for him to access a nearby launching deck that appeared to not be used by anyone, not even by the pirates or the men, but thankfully it was in good working order and he didn't have to worry about clearing any debris and give away his position. He disliked the idea of not having anything to do while he was in the ship…but they had a plan going and he could only hope that things were going to work out, if not, then it was going to have to be Plan B, and get ready to face the Harvesters in combat, though hopefully, they would have a chance to convince at least SOME of the men to side with them, along with some of the women. However, that would depend on a lot planning and coordination.

He decided to stay and wait, and listen to what would be happening down there.

**************

On Talark…

“Good work Commander Tenmei! All the data you have sent us has proven to be very helpful in keeping things stable here on Talark for the past year, we were surprised when you had somehow disappeared and now you have returned, alive and safe no less.”

The Prime Minister, the very same one who was in command of the Ikazuchi nearly a year ago was the one who was briefing Tenmei, along with several key military officials, one of whom happened to be the very same portly, balding older officer who was his second in command.

“Yes sir! What happened was unexpected but I have managed to send as much data as I could, which is why I would like to inquire on the status of several message pods that were sent here by me previously…have they been received?”

Tenmei was currently in his older but still well made and pristine officer's uniform that was sandy yellow and the badges of his rank and station as Commander in Chief of Talark's Covert Intelligence Division. However the picture of the male dressed back in his older uniform…coupled with the surgical alterations made to make him look for female than male was a little…distracting, so to speak. Namely with the new medal he had on the left side of his uniform.

“Hmmm…unfortunately we have not been able to recover any message pods from you lately, as we have been rather busy with other matters, neither have our scouts been able to report any message pods from you in the last year…are you sure that you have sent them?”

Tenmei kept his expressions on neutral the whole time…something was not right.

“I believe so, the pods were launched a few months before, when I was able to evade detection and send the latest data, I also sent more pods to Talark high-lighting the encounter with an unknown force, known to me as the Harvesters.”

The portly officer raised an eye-brow at that statement.

“Harvesters? I am afraid that we are not entirely aware of what you are speaking of Commander, without the pods we have no idea what they are….I want you to file a full report on you're time in the Ikazuchi while being in the pirates today, as of now, you will have time to take some shore leave and get used to being home again. Is that clear Commander?”

Tenmei realized that something was indeed happening here, during his time back on the Nirvana he had been able to talk with Aleck and learned enough of the previous state of the planet and the populace. He hoped that the people on his world were told about the threat of the Harvesters and got ready for them, however, the actions he saw and what the officers said told him that something was not right. However he knew enough of his world to know that talking now would be useless until more evidence was shown. This made him wonder about the message pods and the rest of the data, but he had little time now to file a report…considering that the Harvesters' advanced fleet was soon to arrive.

“Yes sir!”

The Prime Minister then spoke to Tenmei.

“Once you're done with you're report, I think it would be best you report to Medical and have those removed soon, it is rather distracting for you to be wearing the uniform with those on you're chest.”

Tenmei knew what he was referring to and merely nodded.

As soon as he was out of the room, he headed to his quarters at the best speed he could manage without causing disturbance, as soon as he was in the room, he quickly made his way to his personal console and began to type in his name and pass-word. The console flashed and he began to search for any mention of the data pods that he had sent before. However, much to his surprise, even with his rank and security clearance, there was nothing in the archives…it was only when he used another high level pass word that he found out the fate of the message pod he had sent before…

It had been received, but had been deleted…by the order of the First Generation, namely Grand Pa himself. He then searched for any mention of the other pods, and found out that they were sealed away, not to be opened by order of the First Generation.

Tenmei shook his head, the data he had sent had indeed been ignored, and even if he could point out their existence, there would be no doubt that the data would be destroyed, without that data to support his part in the plan and his arguments, there would be no way he could convince his fellow men of the danger. He then decided to hack into the data feed and eavesdrop on the Prime Minister and his officers.

He found that the Prime Minister and the rest of the generals were going to be having a discussion in a meeting room, and thankfully, as the Commander of the Covert Intelligence Division he still had the authority to covertly watch the proceedings. He did so and sure enough, he was now allowed to listen and witness the meeting without being detected.

**************

In the meeting room…

“So what do we do about the Ikazuchi, our reports tell us that there is no way to remove the features the women have placed into the ship…it's a big annoyance at best.”

One of the officers commented. However, another one then spoke out.

“That will be handled at another time…we must discuss the facts that the men we have rescued from the women had now been talking about the Harvesters and the threats they pose…not to mention, they have been speaking about working together with the women to face this threat.”

The Prime Minister snorted and looked at the group of his fellow officers.

“I will not allow such talk of aligning with the women in this room. As for the men in question, they have no doubt been polluted by their time with the vile pirates, and have to be re-educated into not forgetting their loyalties and allegiance to Grand Pa! This threat of the Harvesters will be handled by us men! To prove ourselves better than the women of Megele, we will face these Harvesters when they show themselves…once that is done, we shall deal with the women. What of the machines our techs have found in the Ikazuchi?”

“The techs report that the machines are highly advantaged units but have some vague similarities to our new Vanguards, we believe that these units were once Vanguards themselves, however, several of the units appear to have come from other places and three of them seem to be extremely powerful. However…”

“However?”

“They appear to have very advanced security locks on their programming and operation systems, we have not seen anything like them and our engineers are having a hard time breaking past the defenses in order to get any relevant data that we can use. It may take a few weeks or months.”

“Keep the Ikazuchi in dry dock then, until we get past those safe guards, I want every scrap of combat data those units have so we can use them to crush the women.”

“What of the men sir? If they cannot be re-educated?”

The Prime Minister looked at all the data and then brought up images of Duero, Max, Aleck, and Bart, the five men were already being interrogated and were being beaten by several of their re-education specialists. The Prime Minister sighed as he looked at the events, it was such a pity, they were good men, but they were too far gone, having gained so much vile ideas, and spreading them to anyone they could on their world…it was a heresy that they had to correct, but the men were very resistant.

“If we cannot save them…then terminate them.”

Tenmei realized that his part, and that of Duero, Bart, Aleck, and Max in the plan they had come up with back on the Nirvana had failed and they had to go with Plan B. He quickly connected his communicator to the Talark communications net and typed it to the frequency that Gascogne had given him…it was time to contact an old friend.

**************

In the Nirvana…

Kyo listened in as his communicator beeped a few notes which told him that it was Tenmei on the line.

“Tenmei, I'm here, go ahead.”

“The part we have played in Talark has failed Kyo, I've just learned that they have indeed deleted the data I sent here a few months before, and the secondary batch of data I sent has been locked away by Grand Pa…I can't access it as only the First Generation can do that.”

“Damn it…there goes the neighborhood, how about the others?”

“They are in the interrogation center, being re-educated as we speak, and it seems that soon, they will be terminated.”

“Crap! We can't have that Tenmei!”

“I know…I'll contact some people I know of who might be able to help me down here in Talark to rescue them, we'll have to meet back on the Nirvana, it seems we'll have to go with Plan B.”

“Looks like it…good luck out there, I'll keep watch on the Megele side of things.”

“Understood, Tenmei out.”

**************

Talark…

Tenmei realized that what he would do would no doubt brand him as a traitor to Grand Pa…but with what was coming towards them all now, he had no time to think about these things. He quickly began to type in several communications codes and he managed to contact a certain someone.

“Greetings Commander Tenmei…what do I owe the pleasure of this call?”

“I'm afraid this isn't a social call Instructor Hiryu McFile, this concerns you're sons.”

“I'm listening.”

**************

On Megele…

“This is…this is…sacrilege!!!!”

The voice belonged to a woman who appeared to be wearing robes of a judge and right now it seemed that she was about to lose her cool the hard way…considering the fact that she was holding a book which spoke of a VERY interesting topic. She placed the book aside and glared at the people she was judging, and they were none other than Magno Vivian and her fellow pirates, right now, the one being trialed was none other than Jura Basil Elden. Misty was among the women due to the fact that since the former resident of Mars was a female she too was mistaken as a pirate.

The judge glared venomously at Jura and her fellow pirates, she had expected a quick trial, but the very second she had began to judge the pirate crew on their crimes, including piracy, and political dissension…they began to talk about their encounters with the Harvesters and…told her that, in order for the women of Megele to survive…they would have to…work together with the men of Talark…work with men?! It was an insult and a spit in the face of Grand Ma! But what this blonde…witch had just told her and shown her beat everything she had expected…

The thought of having a child….with a…with a…MAN was too disgusting for her to swallow.

“HOW DARE YOU SPREAD IN THIS COURT SUCH HERESY?!?!”

Jura however was NOT going to back down despite the arctic glare the judge was giving her.

“That is NOT heresy! That is the truth and I stand by that!”

“So do I!” Barnette said, rising from her chair, despite the fact that several female guards, armed with laser rifles were now aiming those same weapons at her, threatening her with bloody force if she tried anything. Barnette however was not going to relent until Gascogne grabbed her hand and gave her a shake of her head.

Barnette was resistant for a few moments and growled as she sat back, prompting the guards to lower their weapons and step back.

“HOW CAN YOU EVEN SUGGEST THIS GARBAGE?! This BOOK is nothing but a pack of lies, and yet YOU believe them?!”

“I do!”

“So…you're willing to give birth yourself to such an…ABOMINATION?! Then you are a witch!!!!”

Jura got even more angry. Misty couldn't help but smile at the way Jura was standing up to this harpy judge and whispered to Meia, who was nearby.

“I have to admit…that blonde certainly has guts. I never knew she was that determined.”

“ Neither did I…” Meia said as she looked at Jura, with wonder and pride.

“Witch?! You've got some nerve!!!”

“I have had enough of this farce!!! TAKE THEM TO THE ASTEROID PRISON COLONY AND LET THEM ALL ROT THERE!!!”

Jura glared as she and the pirates were taken from the court room and were to be taken to a nearby prison colony near the debris belt. That was the same place all female criminals and political dissidents were sent in exile, it seemed that Megele had truly turned a blind eye to the truth they had with them and a deaf ear to their words. Magno sighed and realized that they would have to go with plan B.

**************

As the convoy ship that carried the pirates docked with the prison colony, the pirates were able to glimpse the facility where they would be placed in for the rest of their lives, they have heard much about these stations and Meia herself shuddered a bit, as when she was younger, and was still a thug on the street, the mere mention of the asteroid prison made her shiver. However she knew better than to let her fear crowd around her now. The guards in the shuttle were dressed with normal clothes and carried heavier laser rifles, showing that they were not in the mood for the pirates to try anything anytime soon.

As they entered the corridors and soon arrived in the main cell blocks, which for some reason or another were not like the ones in the Nirvana which had energy bars but rather pure metal, it didn't take long for the rest of the colony's prison population to notice them…however, instead of welcoming them in a very hostile manner, as prisoners would normally do, the women in the prisoner blocks were surprised and awed.

“Magno?”

“Magno Vivian…here?”

“She's really real!”

“Captain Magno! Here! Help me get out of here!”

The guards however were not going to let this keep on happening at all.

“Quiet! Any more trouble from you and you're food will be cut!”

The other guards also went on to enforce the order for silence among the rest of the prisoners, with threats and promises of retaliatory action for their words. However, those threats were not enough to quiet the prisoners who saw Magno and her crew as they continued to shout out to Magno…it seemed that Magno and her fellow pirates, both the ones from the Nirvana, and the veterans left in the asteroid base on Megele have become quite the icons of resistance among those who had grown tired of the trivial competition and pettiness on Megele. And to those who suffered the results of such a society the pirates were truly a force of good.

“Take us with you!”

“We want to join you're crew!”

“Please help us out of here!”

“You're real heroines!”

“I can't believe she's really real!”

Magno couldn't help but slow down a bit and so did the other pirates as the cheers, greetings and pleas for their assistance filled the entire area, and it did not lower down in both scope and power, even if they were now placed in the prison cells of their own.

However, Magno had faith on a lot of things, one was that they had a plan to help them all now, even if the first part of the plan had failed to come to fruit, the second was that the rest of their pirate crew, namely their veterans would be on the way to rescue them…and third was the fact that just in case the military had a plan to trap the pirates all together, then her uncle would be the one who would rescue them all.

**************

True to Magno's suspicions…

“Ma'am, we are in position and ready to move on the prison colony, just in case the rest of the pirates intend to save their comrades.”

A brunette female officer spoke to her Captain as she and the rest of the crew in the main command ship of what appeared to be a large Megele battle group of at least six medium class cruisers and one larger battle-ship, the very same command ship the officer and her superior were in.

The female Captain, with dark black hair and metal grey eyes nodded in satisfaction as she and the rest of her crew were ready, along with the other ships that were under her command, she was assigned this post when the pirates that were captured were sentenced to be thrown into the prison colony, and the Intelligence Bureau on Megele told them to prepare, just in case the rest of the pirates show up, it was time to end their resistance to Grand Ma and capture them all in one fell swoop.

“Good, have the rest of the fleet be ready to cordon off the area the very moment the rest of the pirates make the strike to rescue the others, the intelligence bureau agent has told us that the rest of the pirates will no doubt have received a distress call from their comrades before they had been forced off the ship that they were in. And once they are all here…we can capture them all.”

“Yes ma'am, did you hear what those pirates aid during their trial…about those Harvesters and the idea of men and women…working together?”

“I have…and I think it's nothing but a pack of lies! Nothing but lies, why should we work with the men to deal with these so called Harvesters?! We have far greater weapons and technology than those foolish, idiotic, and inferior barbarians, so why should we have to work with them?”

“One of the pirates…even suggested…that it was possible for…”

“Don't even say those things, such an act is an unforgivable insult to all our fellow women and daughters! I will not have any mention of such things on this ship…is that clear!!!”

“Yes ma'am…forgive me!”

“Done…make sure that the trap will be set before the pirates arrive, and tell all our forces to remain out of sight until the time to strike has arrived for us.”

“Yes ma'am!”

**************

Unknown to the female officers however, a certain someone had been able to hack into their communications and found out about their orders and objectives.

Kyo swore and got his Gundam ready, just in case. However he had one problem, if Tenmei didn't get enough support in case things go wrong with his rescue of the others in Talark, then he would have to go down there and help out as fast as he could, but that would cut down the time he had to get to Megele considerably to help Maggie and the others from being captured. So all he could do was wait as much as he could and wait for a good result from Tenmei's plan to bust Duero, Max, Bart, and Aleck out.

**************

The Interrogation Center back on Talark…

The Interrogation center was one of the most well protected complexes in Talark, and for good reason, it was used to gain information from captured prisoners and also served as one of the stations that worked with Talark's prison system, as the men had their own undesirables to deal with, just like any other human colonized planet. They had them all, thieves, murderers, arsonists, runaways, ID runners, you name them, Talark had them. And it was here that they were forced to confess their crimes and were given their sentence, under the seal of the judges assigned to their respective case.

But one of their most difficult problems were the small bands of men that they called the `Betrayers of Grand Pa', these were men who didn't believe in what the Government and Grand Pa had written and they were the men who often were malcontent with their already structured lives, they challenged the system in many ways, both open and covert, and it had been the jobs of those in the Interrogation Center to make them change their views through `re-education' and rejoin their fellow men in their Empire, and their war with the vile monsters known as women…sometimes it worked, and sometimes it didn't, when it didn't, the Betrayers were sentenced to die in the desert, without any food pills, water, and other needed tools for survival, and to ensure that they would not be able to survive, these Betrayers were often so badly beaten and wounded that they would die within hours of being left in the desert, and if not by the elements…then the predatory creatures that roamed the wastes beyond the borders of their cities would do the dirty work for them. Despite these actions, there were always rumored cells within Talark society that comprised of these Betrayers, some of the rumors were false, but the men of the center were always ready when the time came.

For now however, they had four men to re-educate, and these four men proved to be two things, the most stubborn of them all so far, and also the most…heretical, they were saying that the women were not vile monsters and were not the real enemy of men, but these so called Harvesters, and they must work together with the women in order to survive the incoming force. The men were very much an odd mix, two of them were brothers, 1st Class citizens, and both were elite class medics, it was a shame that the two were of such high rank, and of such reputation, both once thought lost, but it was now that they had changed and now they had to be brought back. The other two were also of great stature and rank, the bald one was once the heir to the Garsus Foods and also a 1st Class citizen, it was a shame, however the records once showed that he was not really mentally or psychologically fit for combat duty and had only been in the Ikazuchi's forces due to his father's position, but he was a lot tougher now and seemingly more courageous…a shame, his Alpha would have been proud of him. The other one had once been suspected of being a Betrayer himself, but his record was unsurpassed and being a top combat instructor for the Vanguards, and a pioneer of the Vanguards at that.

Whatever it was that had happened in the times they were considered lost to Grand Pa, that had to be corrected so that they could once more be men of Talark.

“Women are the enemy aren't they?”

Duero didn't cry out in pain as the whip lashed his torso once more. The elder McFile was now bearing the wounds of a severe beating as welts and bleeding wounds were on his body. On another side was Bart as well, he too carried the signs of a beating, but unlike before, when the thought of being injured terrified him, Bart didn't even budge, even more so when one of the so called `re-education' specialists was punching Bart hard and making the bald youth cough out some more blood from his mouth.

As soon as he recovered, Duero answered back…

“No, they are not the enemy…they…never were.”

“Wrong answer!”

Duero flinched as the whip slashed yet another bleeding line on his body, but despite the pain, he was not going to betray the beliefs he had learned ever since the fateful day he and the other men had been with the women.

Aleck shook his head clear of the sensations of pain and he was also being beaten up by another `re-education' specialist as beating the tar out of him with several powerful punches to the stomach and head with some hard leather gloves, his face was battered and he had a few cuts on his face and lips. But the elder male was not going to budge…no matter how much he wanted to retaliate against his tormentor, he was chained to the wall and his hands were restrained. He had bruises and no doubt some internal blows, but the battle hardened man was not going to give up at all.

“You want to go back to Talark right? Then all you have to do is take back what you said about women not being the enemy, after all, it is the truth.”

Aleck looked at the man and snarled.

“That was nothing more than a bloody lie…and I gave my word NEVER to believe another lie ever again. Because I am a man!”

“Liar!!!”

Aleck felt more pain as another punch connected to his stomach and face.

Max likewise was being beaten up but he was lying on his stomach and was being hit by a long, yet hard rubber rod, and despite the fact that it wasn't metal, the hard rubber was knobbed and filled with sharpened edges, ensuring that not only did the it leave bruises and large welts, but also cut deep into the said injuries…making them hurt even more.

“You used to hate women don't you? Then it should be easy for you to hate them again.”

“P…P…P…Part of me once…hated them…but not anymore, no matter what happens to me, I told the truth, and that's all you're getting out of me…women are not the enemy!”

“Fool!”

Max gripped the chains that held him even tighter and bit on his own teeth hard as the beating continued.

Bart opened one very badly cut eye as the `re-education' specialist placed the whip under his chin and forced him to look at the man's grinning face.

“You are tough, it's a shame you think women are allies…will you change you're mind?”

Bart growled. “Never…”

The man torturing Bart growled in anger and got ready to lash Bart once more, but stopped along with the rest of his comrades as a certain silver haired man made to look like a woman came into the chamber. The one who was torturing Bart then saluted Tenmei along with the rest of his comrades.

“Sir!”

Tenmei merely saluted back and looked at all four of the men, betraying no emotion and then spoke to the lead specialist.

“How is the `re-education' going?”

The man growled angrily. “These men are really stubborn and they still won't change their minds, I'm starting to think that they really have been corrupted by all the lies and venom those vile women have given them. I think it won't be long before we send them into the desert to die the way of all Betrayers.”

Tenmei nodded and made his way to Bart, smiling coldly, making Bart even more angry…along with being hurt and betrayed. He however didn't even utter a word as Tenmei looked him over.

“What's the matter Bart? You usually have something to say, whether anyone asked you or not, what happened?”

“Nothing…nothing at all.”

“Really? Are you sure about that?” Tenmei replied as he forced Bart to look at him.

Bart glared. “I thought that I knew you, but you were a lie.”

“Oh?” Tenmei said with a sneer.

“For the first time, in my life I liked someone, a woman, and it turned out that person was nothing but a spy and a man.”

“You were foolish then.”

“Maybe I was, but in all the time I was on the Nirvana I began to like you are a woman, and, but now, I don't even want to look at you, if you're here to torture us, by the order of the government, then do it already.” Bart said with a slight growl, but was somewhat half hearted as he still cared for Tenmei, even if Tenmei was a man and not a woman despite the look he had.

“Why you arrogant…!”

One of the `re-education' specialists raised his whip and lashed Bart on the back with it, Bart gritted his teeth and glared at the floor, the pain of the blow registering in his body and eyes. But Bart didn't make any noise of pain at all, right in front of Tenmei's face.

Tenmei made no comments, but kept on his sneer and then smiled wickedly as he signaled for the specialist to stop his actions.

“Sir?”

“I'll deal with this one personally.”

The man smirked, no doubt having heard of Tenmei's proficiency with the whip. So did the rest of the men as they decided to witness the whip master of Talark's Covert Intelligence Division. Tenmei was considered a master with the whip and in reality, while in the guise of Buzam A Calessa, he/she was considered to be a rarity as the whip was not normally seen in the hands of women.

As Tenmei took the whip, he smirked and unfurled it to the ground and then spoke to Bart.

“I'm going to help you get over you're disappointment.”

As he got the whip ready, Tenmei then gave a glance at the rest of the specialists and smiled as he got the whip ready to strike Bart, giving Bart enough time to look at Tenmei and waited for the strike to his form.

“Now guys, this is the real way…”

The men were smiling, but the smiles lasted only for a few moments when Tenmei suddenly faced them and lashed out with the whip! One man barely had any warning when the whip struck him hard on the neck, it wrapped around him and Tenmei used his exceptional strength to force the man forward and hit the floor, unconscious. Tenmei wasted no time as he then loosened the whip and he then lashed out at the one with the rod and whipped the weapon out of the man's hand, the man shouted in unexpected pain and barely had time to react when Tenmei launched another whipping strike and knocked him out cold. The third had only enough time to gap and barely ducked to avoid the whip but not Tenmei's kick to his head that knocked him out like a light, and the last man barely had enough time to run and hit the alarm when the whip wrapped around his neck and he was dragged off his feet and hit his head on the ground, falling unconscious.

“…to use a whip.” Tenmei finished, and his once dark sneer disappeared with precise military intensity as he rushed forward and checked the pulse and breathing rates of the knocked out men and sighed in relief as he found out the men were merely out cold.

“What the?” Bart was flabbergasted with what he had just witnessed, he had expected Tenmei to whip him hard…not knock out the men who were in the room.

Aleck merely looked at Tenmei and laughed a bit.

“What in the name of Grand Pa took you so long Commander?”

Tenmei gave a look of apology.

“Sorry about that, I had to go get some help in springing you guys out.”

Before the others could ask what sort of help Tenmei was referring to, a tall man with drank skin, dressed in Talark combat fatigues stepped into the room, armed with a pair of knives, a pistol, and a Talark assault rifle. His hair was in a long wolf tail style and had a pair of short bangs on the sides of his face…his eyes were deep onyx black and he had the look of a rugged soldier and teacher. His eyes looked into the room and fell on Duero, Max, and Aleck, and he had a smile of recognition…all four of the men who were part of the Nirvana's crew recognized him very quickly.

“Well, well, I should have known you'd come here to spring you're sons yourself Hiryu.” Aleck said with a grin as the Alpha of Duero and Max McFile. The elder McFile shared several traits with both his sons and it was not hard to see where Duero and Max got some of their similar features. Hiryu looked at the state of his sons, and Aleck, and growled in disappointment at the way his boys and good friend were treated, just because of saying what they felt was right.

“I did, no way am I going to let my sons be subjected to this kind of education. You boys okay?” Hiryu asked in fatherly concern as he reached his sons.

Both Duero and Max smiled in relief as they greeted their Alpha.

“I'm still okay, but it hurts like hell…could have been worse though.” Duero replied truthfully.

“Same here… I could really use time in a Medical Bay.” Max replied.

“All right then…hang on, I'll get you two out of here once I free Aleck to help me.”

Hiryu then faced Aleck and released the restraints from his fellow male. Aleck moved his arms a bit to remove the stiffness in them and also to test if he had any broken bones in very vulnerable places, finding that he was going to be okay, he turned and nodded in appreciation to Hiryu.

“Thanks…now let's get to freeing you're boys.”

As Hiryu and Aleck went to free Duero and Max, Tenmei went to Bart and helped him from his restraints…since Bart, like Duero had been suspended in the air, the shock of now being on his feet made Bart stumble and he fell on Tenmei, who still supported him. Tenmei smirked a bit and whispered in Bart's ear.

“You know…I'm lucky you've kept in shape Bart, otherwise you would have grown fat and weigh a lot more.”

“What is going on?”

Tenmei then gave Bart the short version of the plan that he and the other senior officers had made when they were all in the Conference Room…and to say that the bald navigator was surprised and shocked would have been a serious understatement.

“You mean…you guys planned this? Why wasn't I told about this?”

“We barely had enough time to tell you Bart. For that I am sorry.”

“Huh?”

Tenmei then helped him to his feet and then checked his wounds and bruises. Tenmei looked on in concern and spoke to Bart.

“Can you still move? We've got a lot left to do.”

Bart nodded a bit, despite the blood and cuts on him and a large bruise on his face, but as he tried to walk, he felt some more pain, but managed to bite it back and made a few steps.

Tenmei smiled a bit and helped Bart to his feet and helped him walk. The Commander in Chief of the Covert Intelligence Division then whispered to Bart.

“You however weigh a bit more, you nearly crushed my breasts back there and that kind of hurt a little.”

“You mean…?”

“They're real all right, not fake, though surgically placed. And just so you know Bart, I do like you, you've turned from being a coward to a strong and honest man, and that was no lie. Now come on…we've got to hurry, it won't be long before we're discovered and we might be stopped from making it back to the Nirvana.”

Bart felt something good hit him and he grinned a bit in pain.

“Don't worry about me…a few minutes and a bit of medical treatment I'll be good as new.”

Tenmei smiled a bit as he and the rest of the group began to make their way out of the Interrogation Center, there, several men greeted them, but they didn't stop them but instead helped them out. Tenmei had not just contacted Hiryu, but several other men who were close friends of Hiryu, and were Betrayers themselves. He had to take some time to reason with them, and thankfully it had paid off.

As soon as they were able to escape and get to a cable car to a shuttle launching site, several men reached for a medical kit as they, he, and Hiryu began to patch up his fellow crew men of the Nirvana. The men who were with them shared the same distrust with the Government in many things, and despite the fact that some of them were not very comfortable with the idea of aligning with women due to the ingrained mistrust that still lingered, they decided to follow Hiryu out of loyalty and friendship.

As soon as he was sure that Bart, Duero and Max would be all right, he reached for his communicator and contacted the shuttle launching platform control center.

“Launching platform Beta-7. This is Commander Tenmei Uragasumi, I am on my way with a selected crew of techs and engineers to help with the data retrieval efforts.”

“Understood Commander, please send over voice recognition code and we'll have the ship ready in three minutes, just needs to fuel up and run a systems check.”

Tenmei then spoke through the comm-system his name, rank, birth-date, his basic bio-stats, blood type, and serial number, it was basic requirements for any high ranking officer to follow in order to make a request. He had done this many times, but for now, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of fear as he worried that someone might have found the unconscious men in the Interrogation Center and revived them, allowing them to tell the military what just happened there…that was going to be a serious problem.

“All data checks out Commander Tenmei, would you require and escort?”

“Negative Control, this is routine work.”

“Understood Commander, shuttle is already fueled and checked out.”

**************

Later…through the distance between Talark and dry dock that held the Nirvana…

“Wow…I never thought this was what happened to the Ikazuchi a year ago, and you two were on it for how long?”

Hiryu asked his sons as they all gazed at the Nirvana. Tenmei gave a slight smile as he saw the ship, and then called in his codes and information, plus his intentions to the small force of Talark ships and Vanguards that were assigned to act as security for the ship itself.

As soon as they were all clear, he used the communicator and contacted Kyo.

“Kyo, this is Tenmei, do you hear me?”

**************

In the Nirvana…

Kyo was already suited up in his pilot suit and had his Gundam's OS on standby mode, along with power and communications, he waited and hoped that sooner or later, he could get a signal from Tenmei on how the operation went. He recalled in his past life, that he had been in a few hair raising missions as a youth, and had to recall some ways to keep him calm in them, that was why he made routine checks on his Gundam's core systems and managed to relax. It was when he heard the beeping on his communicator that told him that Tenmei was on the line that he once more became alert. He switched on the communicator and then patched it into his Gundam's own comm. System for a visual picture…to make sure that it really Tenmei. And to his relief, it was him.

“I hear you, do you have Bart and the others?”

Tenmei nodded and showed him the shuttle's video feed, which he also patched into the communicator to reveal the four men safe and sound, although they had to change their appearance somewhat. Despite the time constraints, Tenmei and Hiryu were able to disguise Duero, Bart, Max, and Aleck. Duero's disguise was simple as all Talark men took the simple approach to anything. The elder McFile sibling had his hair in a wolf-tail series of braids, and had his face revealed, but had colored contacts that made his eyes look dark blue than his normal onyx black color. Max was also disguised, his hair was done in a ponytail and he too had colored contact lenses that made his eyes to be in the color and forest green, than the normal amber color. Bart was also disguised, thankfully, his injuries were patched up, though the bandages were going to be a bit of a problem, his eyes were also disguised by a pair of contact lenses, making his eye color amber than blue. Aleck however decided only to have contacts and his eyes were now in the color of grey. It was then that Hiryu came on the screen, surprising Kyo very quickly.

“Who are you?!” Both men asked at the same time.

“His name is Hiryu McFile…he's Duero and Max's Alpha…first father.”

“Really?” Kyo then looked at Hiryu and saw that he did have some similarities to both Duero and Max, and before he could say anything. Hiryu beat him to it.

“So you're the one Tenmei told me about, you're Kyo Yamato, right?”

Kyo nodded and before anything could happen, Tenmei came into the picture.

“As much as it would be good for you to meet, we've got to get moving, any word on the others back on Megele?”

Kyo then told Tenmei about the planned ambush by the Megele Navy and Tenmei gave a very troubled look, and then told Kyo why he looked like that.

“The others are not going to be ready for such an ambush, the prison colony has several small asteroid belts nearby that the Navy could use to ambush the other pirates.”

“They plan on waiting for the others to free Maggie and the others, and when that happens, they'll close in and catch them all.”

“Does that mean you're going to actually?” Tenmei looked on at Kyo and surprise.

“Pretty much.”

Hiryu looked at the two men who seemed to have made a decision and then spoke out.

“What are you two talking about?”

“Kyo's going to go into Megele space in his Gundam…and help rescue the others from the prison colony, along with the other pirates.”

“Wait a minute Tenmei….are you telling me that Kyo is ACTUALLY planning to fly into the territory of the Megele Navy by himself to rescue you're fellow comrades?!”

A nod from Tenmei make Hiryu look at Kyo with surprise, awe, and shock.

“No offense to you Kyo, since from what Tenmei, my sons, Bart, and Aleck have told me about you, you're a man with exceptional fighting skills, both by yourself and with that…Gundam you pilot, but you can't seriously mean to go into the territory of the women and rescue you're comrades all by yourself! That move is considered very much both foolhardy and suicidal…even by the standards of the most fanatical members of the Talark military!”

“Don't worry Mr. Hiryu…I know what I am doing.”

Hiryu was about to argue further since he wanted to know just who Kyo was and why his sons spoke so highly of him, along with his old friend Aleck, but Tenmei sighed and grinned a bit, unlike Hiryu, and like Duero, Max, Bart and Aleck, he had seen already what Kyo was very capable of with the I-Freedom Gundam and knew that if Kyo was going to do this…it would hardly qualify as a suicide mission. After all…Kyo took on quite a number of foes in his time…he recalled the awe he himself had when he took on the Behemoth Gundam, and several Dominion Gundam units.

“Good luck Kyo, but try to make sure that you don't cause too many losses for the Megele Navy, we still need them all, along with the men's Navy. We need every able bodied man and woman, along with every Vanguard, Dread, and ship we can muster…and let's hope that the rest of our allies in the Resistance will be able to arrive in time…we're going to need all the help we can get if we have to face off with the soon to come Harvester Invasion Fleet.”

“Don't I know it…you guys be careful, you'll need to guide the ship of the dry dock, I'll leave you the access code that can allow you to unlock the systems and get the ship online. Once you're done with getting the Nirvana out of dry dock, you'll have to move fast and pick us all up at the determined vantage point where…we've got little time left before the Harvesters' advanced fleet arrives.”

“What's the access code?”

“The name of a ship that I rode in with my family and friends…Archangel.”

With that, Kyo activated the code he gave to Tenmei and accessed the operation system of the Nirvana's computer core…and then typed in the command to open the door of the launching bay. In a moment, the doors opened and sure enough, since the area was not used at all…the pull of the vacuum worked on the area and the junk nearby was pulled out, though the Nirvana's computer (inhabited in the words of the Paeksis by an AI program based on Lacus herself) made sure to seal off that area from the rest of the ship. In a moment, the Gundam was pulled out with the rest of the junk. He intended to use the junk as a shield to hide his Gundam until he was in the clear.

Since a large portion of the Talark techs and engineers were only concerned with the acquisition of data concerning the weapon systems of the Crusader units, they made only a passing check at the situation and noted that section of the Nirvana had already been sealed off, they decided to mark it as a mere glitch to be fixed later, maybe by the incoming group of techs being led by the Commander in Chief of the Covert Intelligence Division.

Kyo scanned the Nirvana and smiled as he was not yet detected and as soon as the junk was out of the way from the Nirvana and a good distance from the patrols, he activated his Gundam, the I-Freedom glowed for only a few seconds and was now in the normal scheme of red, white, and blue, showing that it's Prominence Phase Shift Armor system was now online and ready to rock and roll. He smiled at the old Earth term he heard when he was a kid and then got his Gundam to head off for the location of the asteroid prison colony. The I-Freedom Gundam then opened it's wings and out from the wings came the signature crystal feathers erupted from the wings and the Gundam quickly moved out of the debris…using the speed and acceleration of the enhanced and evolved Gundam, Kyo avoided most of the patrols and stayed out of their sensor range. As he was told that he was now in the clear of the sensor net of both the roving Talark ships and the floating mines, he wasted little time and punched all the energy from his nuclear/Paeksis hybrid reactor into speed and moved closer to towards the Megele/Talark border.

He had no doubt in his mind that with their advanced technology, the women of Megele would soon see him and his Gundam…and now that he was passing some Talark sensor outposts…the men would eventually find him out. In a way…he might be able to use that to his advantage though he knew he was going to get into some serious trouble with either side. He hoped that he had managed to learn enough about the ship layout of the Megele cruisers to as to minimize the risk of killing too many women, though he knew from his time in the Guardians and from his relatives and parents that sometimes things can happen, even if he didn't intend on that happening, he could only hope for the best.

Tenmei sighed and got the others ready for their takeover of the Nirvana, they had to make sure to get the already present Talark men off the ship…without them finding out that they were going to steal the Nirvana.

**************

And true to Kyo's expectations…

In the area of Talark space…a nearby sensor station, manned only by a few men and several automated computer systems managed to track the energy silhouette being emitted by the I-Freedom Gundam. Despite the speed the Gundam was going, it was releasing a strong stream of energy, therefore it was somewhat easy to track the general direction of the approaching Gundam unit…but the energy coming from the Gundam was very strong, that it took a few minutes for the sensors to adapt to them.

“What's going on?” One man, dressed as an officer asked one of the operators of the sensors as he heard the incoming alarm.

“I don't know sir, the sensors are picking up a powerful energy signature coming this way at high speed.”

The officer looked at the scanners and his eyes widened at the sheer amount of energy being released by the unknown source, Whatever it was, it was very strong.

“Can we get a visual of it?”

“I can try sir, we'll have to re-calibrate the sensors to a higher setting. I've never seen any power source like it before, it`s nearing the same output as a medium class cruiser of our own fleet, but it seems to be coming from a smaller form.”

As the technician finally managed to make the right calibrations and tests, he and the officer were shocked as they were now able to get a energy signature reading and a silhouette profile of the source itself.

“A unit the size of a Vanguard?! There's no way a Vanguard could have that kind of a power reactor, the frame and systems would fry themselves trying to use such a power source! Is there some kind of malfunction in the systems?”

“Negative sir…all the systems show no malfunctions…the power source is inside a vanguard…but it's far larger than any normal one…could it be a new weapon sir, one the Science Ministry is field testing?”

“I don't think so, if it was, we'd have gotten a notice, and as far as the sensors can tell me, that one is not using a Talark transponder frequency…where is it heading?”

“Sir…it's heading straight for Megele space…and we'll see it in a few seconds.”

The men in the station looked and sure enough, they spotted the incoming Vanguard…but it was NOT like any Vanguard they were familiar with. It looked more like an armored warrior angel with four glowing blue crystal feathered wings than any Vanguard prototype they knew of. The machine was also larger, but showed a sleek and deadly amount of sheer combat power that told the men that this was not something ANY of them would look down on.

As soon as the strange angel like Vanguard flew over them and entered the boundary of Megele space, the officer then looked at all the men under his command of the station.

“Get me a secure line to High Command immediately…I don't care if you have to bust a few comm.-relay dishes either! Just get me a secure line and begin sending all relevant data we have of that…Vanguard or whatever it was now!”

As the men rushed to fulfill the orders of their superior officer, they realized that they were not the only sensor station that detected the Vanguard's powerful energy signature…but they were the only station close enough to actually get a visual ID of the unit as the mentioned stations were also heard in the communications network. The commander of the station near the Megele border could only shake his head and look at the direction of the now fading trail of the angel like Vanguard.

Whoever it was in that…Vanguard…he must be either the bravest man he had ever seen…or the most suicidal of them all…what was he planning to do once he was in the territorial space of the women? Fight their entire Navy and forces by himself?!

In Megele space…

“Ma'am…I'm picking up something weird on the scanners.”

A high ranking Megele officer strode towards her subordinate who was currently running a routine scan as the two of them, along with several other women were assigned to keep watch on the outside borders between them and the men of Talark, though she followed the orders without any qualms, she still couldn't help but wonder just what would be the point of keeping an eye on the borders. Even if the men would indeed attack their world, their advanced forces were far more capable than the men's forces, the men were inferior after all, and they barely had any worthwhile technology to equal their own fleets.

“What is it?”

“It seems to be a massive power source…unlike anything I've seen before, it was picked up by one of our sensor probes just a few seconds ago…and it is accelerating at a rapid pace.”

“Can you isolate it and determine what it is, and what sort of ship could be using such a power source?”

“I can try…but the power readings are unbelievable! The numbers indicate that it rivals even the reactors we use in our medium class battleships…wait, the sensor probes are getting us a rough visual profile.”

As the women looked at the incoming information, the women were stunned. Even more so was the station commander, she had thought that the men would have no worthwhile technology to equal her home-world's own forces, but what she was now looking at began to make her change her mind.

“That…that is impossible…the scanners must be malfunctioning, there's no way a power source THAT strong could be used by the men…especially in one of their ugly and weird Vanguards!”

“I am afraid that the scanners are functioning normally Ma'am, the power readings are coming from a Vanguard of the men…but it appears to be far larger than any Vanguard we have been able to detect, plus…it appears to not be using a Talark transponder frequency we know of..”

“Do we have a visual?”

“We should see it…”

The women were suddenly stunned out of their wits as their station was suddenly greeted by the sight of the I-Freedom Gundam. The women were able to get a glimpse of the machine that they thought was a male Vanguard. The machine may have some similarities to the Vanguards used by the men, but that was only in terms of basic humanoid form, the machine was not like the ones they knew the men were using…it looked like a four winged angel of red, blue, white, and green. It had yellow eyes that flashed brightly and the four wings on it's back moved like a bird in flight…with glowing blue crystal feathers, and the appearance of it showed great power, the glance was brief, and the women could tell that this was no ordinary Vanguard they had just seen, as the strange angel like Vanguard began to vanish, several of the women turned to their officer.

“Ma'am….should we alert Fleet Command?”

The officer shook herself out of her own stupor and nodded quickly, she then faced her subordinate, the one who had detected the strange Vanguard.

“Do you have any indication if it came from Talark?!”

The woman ran through the data and then computed the information to the star map they had, which had their world and it's territorial space, and that of what they had gathered to be the overall territory under the male fleet and home world.

“Yes ma'am! We have confirmation, it has indeed come from Talark space!”

The officer swore and gave out a pair of orders.

“I want a full priority alert to be issued to Fleet Command and alert any and all ships in our area of this unknown Vanguard….and I want all sensor stations to try and figure out just where will this Vanguard be going, that….machine and it's male pilot didn't even bother to hide himself, he must be up to something!”

Another woman turned to the officer, and she appeared to be a Dread squadron officer.

“Ma'am…we can scramble after that Vanguard and get rid of him, after all, he's just one male.”

“One male that has a machine with a power source that is the same as the ones we use in our battle-cruisers, and is not using any known Talark transponder signal, I will not take any chances, I want Fleet Command on the line now!”

In the I-Freedom…

“That now got their attention.” Kyo said to himself as he guided his Gundam to the known location of the asteroid prison colony. He had no doubt in his mind that in the next few minutes, the other members of his niece's pirate forces would have already begun their rescue of their fellow women. He hoped that he would get there in time before the trap was sprung, but he rather doubted that, if that was the case, then he would have no choice but to take the fight to the Megele Navy to free his comrades.

**************

Sure enough…

“Alert! All security forces prepare for engagement! Enemy forces have breached the outer perimeter and are entering the colony!”

Several female guards, armed with laser rifles rushed out of the security station that they were assigned in, but they were too late as they were suddenly struck down by laser bolts, but none of them suffered deadly or fatal injuries, rather it appeared that whoever had shot them had set the energy weapons to only stun them as they were bathed in arcs of energy and fell to the ground unconscious, but not before giving out shouts of brief pain and shock as the energy lanced over them in arcs. It seemed that the other veteran pirates were already on the scene to free their fellow women.

On the outside of the prison asteroid colony, several defense ships were floating, disabled and very much intact and unable to help at anything, near the area was a Megele cruiser, of the very same make as that of the cruiser the pirates had when they made the raid on the Ikazuchi, but it appeared to be colored in deep emerald green and it seemed to be doing the very same thing that the pirates had done before, when they attacked the Ikazuchi.

Inside the colony, several small groups of the pirates…dressed in the same disguises that both they and the military used to frighten the men and hide their real forms and faces began to secure the area. As they entered the main holding section, the female prisoners were stunned and surprised…however, the pirates being held in the prison were not surprised, but were happy to see their fellow pirates.

Misty however was confused as she saw the strangely clad people arrive, along with several of them making their way to their side of the prison cells. Seeing Dita's happy face and hearing her cheer the strangers' arrival made the former resident of Mars realize that the new arrivals were friends, but it certainly didn't mean she was not going to ask just who they were.

“Who are they?”

“They are the other pirates, the veterans we left behind at the base.” Dita explained as the senior women pirates, who had now began to take off their disguises, greeted them.

One young woman, with brown skin, deep red hair and reddish eyes, and dressed in what appeared to be a dark red, and light red version of Meia's own flight-suit smiled a bit as she faced the aqua haired girl in question.

“Nice to see you again Meia, you all right?”

Meia smiled back a bit and greeted the new arrival. “Nice to see you too Varoa.”

Magno then smiled to two other pirates, one of whom removed her own disguise and revealed a tall woman with long green-grey tresses and dark blue eyes.

“You certainly took you're time Rebecca.”

“Sorry Captain, we had some difficulty realizing you were back after nearly a year…where is Ezra?” The woman asked in great worry.

“I'm here.”

Ezra replied as she carried Lacus to face Rebecca, from the way the two acted and looked when they saw each other, it became apparent to both pirate crews, but more to the Nirvana, that Rebecca was the Ohma of Ezra's baby.

“Ezra! Thank goodness you're all right!”

It was then that Rebecca spotted the young baby Lacus, who apparently was just about to wake up, naturally, she was not yet aware that Ezra had given birth, and therefore was surprised.

“Ezra…who is this?”

Ezra smiled as Lacus looked at Rebecca and recognition dawned on the child's face.

“Lacus, this is Rebecca, you're Ohma.”

Lacus smiled a bit with a yawn and tried to reach for Rebecca, who smiled in pride and was nearly in tears as she looked at her daughter.

**************

In the hidden ambush site…

“Ma'am, the pirates have made their move!”

“Spring the trap….now!”

**************

The pirates, along with all the prisoners, had managed to evacuate to the shuttles, though Rebecca had asked where Buzam was, Magno merely replied that she would be joining them very soon, as she had some matters to attend to. As they were getting ready to leave the asteroid station in Rebecca's cruiser, the Paradise and clearing the field with Varoa and her fellow Dread pilots and the Dreads providing a screen, they were surprised to suddenly detect several incoming cruisers and several squadrons of Dreads…apparently the ambush was now underway.

“Darn it! They must have lowered their energy and electronic signatures!” Rebecca said as the forces she saw before them were considerable, not something her force would fight with without incurring losses and she was not in the mood to have that, as she cared for her comrades and her newborn daughter.

“Captain, we're getting a hailing call from the leader!” Varoa replied as she picked up an incoming call from the lead Megele cruiser.

“Put it on screen.” Magno said wearily as she and Rebecca looked on. The image showed a smiling female officer, the very same one who had been assigned to capture them the moment the rescue occurred.

“This is Captain Mara Jensan of the Cruiser Diamond, we have you surrounded and out gunned, we've been waiting to capture you all for quite a long time and now there is no escape or reinforcement for you pirates. Unless you plan on fighting a losing battle, I recommend you all power down and surrender. Now.”

Rebecca grimaced as her ship's scanners picked a large number of Dreads, and more coming, far larger than the Dread squadrons she and Varoa had with them. It seemed that they were soon going to run out of choices.

It was then that something else was detected.

“Captain! I'm picking up a powerful energy signature coming this way!”

As Rebecca and Varoa wondered what else was going on, Dita, Meia, and Jura suddenly closed their eyes and then each of them smiled a very warm and sincere smile. The pirates of the Paradise was curious what was going on with the three women, but it seemed that their fellow pirates, the ones they had rescued seemed to recognize just what was going on.

Dita naturally reacted first.

“Mr. Alien! He's on his way here!”

“About time Kyo showed up!”

“He certainly knows when to come in when needed!”

The Nirvana crew were elated and smiling warmly as the news of Kyo's arrival came around, while the pirates of the Paradise were still very much confused, even more so to see their fellow pirates elated by the arrival of just one man. Rebecca looked at both Ezra and Magno.

“Who's this Kyo that the others are talking about?”

“A very old friend.” Ezra said warmly at the thought of her daughter's godfather coming to their rescue.

“What do you mean?”

“He's come all the way here to help us out of this mess. Don't worry, I doubt he'll be in real danger.” Magno said reassuringly to her fellow pirates.

“But how can one man take on this Megele strike force? He's got to be either brave or crazy, and there's no way one lone Vanguard can do any damage to a fleet like that.”

Varoa said as she showed the number of Megele cruisers, which numbered to be around six and the Dread squadrons which numbered to be around eighty.

“With that particular Gundam he's piloting? It's going to be the other way around.” Barnette said with a smirk.

“Gundam? What's a Gundam?”

**************

In the Diamond's Command bridge…

“Captain! We're picking up a very powerful energy signature heading our way at high speed!” One of the Diamond's bridge crew reported as her scanners picked up the signature of the I-Freedom Gundam's Paeksis/nuclear hybrid reactor.

“Do we have a visual? Is it one of our ships?”

“No Ma'am…it appears to be…humanoid in shape…like a Vanguard of the men…but…”

“A male Vanguard?! Here in Megele Space?! The nerve of that barbarian!!! Get me a visual of this intruder now!”

“Yes ma'am!”

The crew of the Diamond, including Mara, and several of the other officers from the rest of the five other Megele cruisers trained their sensors and scanners to the direction of the incoming power source. As soon as the Gundam was in their visual range, the female leaders and their crew, including the leaders of the Dread squadrons got to see the Infinite Freedom Gundam, and they decided that compared to the pictures of the ugly and drab male Vanguards that they had seen in recon pictures…this one looked very different.

The strange Vanguard looked more like an armored angel with four wings that had glowing blue-green feathers, and it was not in the drab or dark colors men were known to use, but had a combination of red, blue, white, yellow and green. The form was powerful and yet both graceful and deadly and the wings seemed to move like that of a bird. This strange Vanguard certainly didn't match any Vanguard the women were very much aware of. It then stopped a good distance from them and seemed intent on waiting them out.

“Is that a real Vanguard? It certainly doesn't look like one the men would use.”

“It must be some sort of new weapon the men have come up with, whatever it is, we'll…”

“Ma'am…you're not going to believe this…but the pilot of that Vanguard is hailing us!”

“What?! How does a man of Talark know a Megele transmission frequency? Never mind, put him on the screen. “

The screen on the Diamond turned on and before them was a man wearing a flight suit and helmet, in several shades of white, green, blue, and grey. The pilot of the strange Vanguard appeared to be a man around the age of twenty and seemed very serious. Mara growled a bit and spoke to the pilot.

“This is Captain Mara Jensan of the Megele Cruiser Diamond….whoever you are, you inferior male, you've got some nerve coming into our territory! Tell us who you are before we blast you and that Vanguard of yours into space dust!”

“I am Kyo Clyne Yamato, pilot of the Infinite Freedom Gundam, Commander of the Nirvana's Crusader Squadron, and member of Magno's Pirates. I came here to bring them back to the Nirvana alive and safe. I do not want to fight needlessly with you Captain Mara, so if you value the lives of you're ships, crew, and pilots you will stand aside and let them pass!”

Mara growled angrily. <The nerve of this man! Does he think that he could just come here and make demands to the daughters of Grand Ma?! I'll make him pay for it!>

The rest of the crew of all the cruisers and the Dread squadrons were also sharing the same thoughts and were priming their weapons, ready to attack this man who came into their space and dared to give them orders!

“And what will you do if we decide not to just let you come in and take them eh?”

Kyo sighed. “Then I will be forced to disable you're cruisers and you're Dreads.”

Mara laughed. “All by yourself?”

“Pretty much.”

Mara's smirk turned deadly.

“Let's see you try you male! Dread Squadron Alpha…take out this pest!”

She then ordered the feed to be cut.

As the pilots followed the orders and several Dreads headed straight for the I-Freedom, Mara and the rest of the crew sat back to watch. They decided to not get involved and let the Dreads handle this mission, after all, their Dreads were the pinnacle of their technological advancements, and nothing of the men could equal them, and even if this strange Vanguard is a new weapon, they thought that all of the designs were for mere intimidation, nothing for them to worry about, what can one Vanguard do against a strike fleet anyway?

**************

In the I-Freedom…

“Why do they always want to do this the hard way?”

Kyo asked himself as he spotted the incoming Megele Dreads, he could tell that they were planning to merely blast at him with their beam weapons and missiles, since they thought he was nothing more than one man…he didn't like the fact that he would have to be forced to fight the women of Megele, since they needed everyone on both that world and the men on Talark to face the Harvesters…but unless he helped the crew of the Nirvana, who were his friends, family, and loved ones, the plan would never get off the ground, plus he was not going to lose anyone precious to him, no matter what.

His Gundam's systems glowed a bit and his OS told him that the Dreads were now arming up their missile systems, apparently, they were expecting this to be a very short match. Kyo sighed a bit and smiled a little.

The women who were about to attack him were going to be in for a big surprise.

**************

In space…

“All Dreads! Lock in on that Vanguard and blast him out of here! We'll show this man the mistake of entering the sovereign territory of Grand Ma!”

“Roger!”

As the Dreads closed in, the women in the fighters couldn't help but like the more interesting appearance of the unknown Vanguard. It's pilot might be the most arrogant man they had ever met or seen, but the Vanguard was indeed a very attractive piece of machinery. Too bad that they were going to wreck it, but this man was about to get what he deserved for daring to threaten them and their forces.

“Do we have permission to fire?”

The Dread leader looked at her sensors and they told her that the rest of the Dreads were now in optimum missile firing range. They decided to use only missiles since they didn't want to waste the energy to try and finish off this Vanguard in one fell strike.

“Yes, all Dreads! Open fire now!”

The Dreads unleashed a massive barrage of missiles that streaked towards the Gundam, Kyo didn't even bother to move, after all, his Gundam was not using normal armor to begin with. The missiles slammed into the Gundam and exploded…unleashing a violent cloud of destruction that engulfed the Gundam.

The Dread pilots smirked at the sight and their leader replied.

“So much for male arrogance and pride.”

Mara smiled at the sight of the explosions engulfing the strange Vanguard, along with the rest of her crew. And in the communications network, the other female officers of the Megele strike fleet were also happy to see that man disappear in a cloud of debris.

“So much for that male and his attempt to intimidate us, now we can focus on the pi…”

She and the rest of the crews on the cruisers were stunned to suddenly see Kyo Clyne Yamato's face back on their view screens, and so were the Dread pilots who fired the missiles.

Kyo's image gave them a shake to the side and spoke.

“Did you honestly think that it was going to be that easy? I guess I should tell you this then….missiles like yours are worthless against Phase Shift Armor.”

The women then saw the strange Vanguard reappear from the fading explosion of dust and light from their missiles…without a single sign of damage…nothing…not even a dent was seen, no limbs were gone, no gaping holes, or even sparking wires…the Vanguard was not harmed in any way, shape, or form from their missiles…it was like the missiles were nothing but duds!

“Im…Impossible! There's NO way a Vanguard can be hit with that many missiles and still be intact!!!”

“I am not using a Vanguard Captain Mara, I am using a Gundam…since you fired at me and therefore decided to fight, I guess I have no choice but to disable you're fleet…including you're Dreads.”

With that, the Gundam pilot took out his Gundam's beam rifles and charged right into the force before him. Kyo wished it didn't have to come to this, but it seemed the female soldiers gave him no choice or options to work with.

**************

The Dreads of the ambush force…

“GET HIM!”

The order given by their team leader, broke the female pilots out of their stunned stupor as they managed to move in formation and used their beam cannons, having been given a very effective demonstration of the futility of using missiles on a Gundam armed with a highly advanced form of Phase Shift Armor and armed with a powerful power supply source. The Dreads then used their range advantage to bombard the Gundam with beam bolts, but Kyo was able to evade their barrages with little effort.

Several beam bolts passed harmlessly overhead as Kyo guided his Gundam upward with a burst of the engines and wings, and then dived right into the Dread group that formed a wedge, scattering them, he then twisted his Gundam in mid-dive and aimed with his beam rifles and CIWS head and shoulder mounted guns, the beam bolts and bullets already did their work and took out several Dreads. Kyo targeted the Dread's key weak points, but mostly aimed for their engines and maneuvering thrusters. The impacts were felt by the female pilots as their CPU systems warned them that they were now completely unable to move at all, leaving them dead in space.

Kyo then fired several more salvos from his beam rifles, scattering the incoming Dreads, allowing him to take out his beam sabers, startling the women with the appearance of the cylinders that revealed high powered energy blades. The Gundam pilot used the beam sabers to block several more beam bolts and even send a few right back at the women. A female could only scream in terror as the Gundam slashed at her, but the pilot aimed for the wings, and not the cock[it, disabling the Dread, and with another passing slash, cut right through the engines, leaving the pilot unharmed, but still scared out her wits.

Another female pilot tried to shoot the I-Freedom Gundam down with her own barrage of beam bolts, but didn't even come close to grazing the Gundam, she could only eep as the Gundam suddenly disappeared below her Dread and a powerful strike shook her Dread and her cockpit was red with warning lights as the computer showed her that the male had managed to strike her Dread's engines, maneuvering thrusters, and also took down her Dread's weapon control system, without harming the rest of the systems, leaving her drifting in space, unable to move and even fight back.

Kyo guided his Gundam in battle, and then jetted away as the Dreads and their pilots managed to fire several more missiles at him. The Gundam pilot then made his Gundam move in an elaborate twisting and dodging pattern to evade several missiles and then turned in mid twist at one point with explosions happening behind him, he then locked on with the surviving missiles that came at him and fired several accurate bursts of his CIWS guns to shot the missiles down. The bullets were dead on as the missiles exploded, without even getting within a good distance from the Gundam. As soon as the smoke cleared, the Dreads were caught off guard as the Gundam came out of the cloud, and then blocked their retaliatory beam strikes with it's wings, that acted like shields as they covered the Gundam, forcing them to scatter once more.

This however allowed Kyo the time to place aside his beam sabers and take out his Gundam's beam rifles, and then activate HiMAT mode. The wings glowed even more when the system was activated, and the Gundam moved even faster, startling the female pilots as the Gundam seemed to literally streak out like a blur of light and color at them and firing all the while, hitting and disabling even more of the Dreads.

The squadron leader could only stare in shock as this lone male was making mince meat out of her entire squadron and the rest of the other Dread squadrons!

“What the heck is he ma'am?!” One pilot said in panic as the Gundam attacked a few more of their comrades with deadly and precise shots from his weapons. The result was several more Dreads being disabled, their engines totaled and their wings blown off with deadly precision.

“I don't know…but I think we're dealing with a cyborg and NOT a real man!”

<There's no way a male could have that kind of speed, skill, or reflexes…he must be some sort of robot!>

The women tried to fight back, but with their usual air of superiority and confidence shattered by the Gundam pilot's assault on their ranks, they were unable to work well as a group, and Kyo exploited that with efficient precision. Kyo then used his beam sabers a bit more, slicing off engines and wings with a surgical precision, avoiding the key systems that if destroyed would kill the Dread pilots. In a few more seconds several Dreads were now disabled and joined the ever increasing bunch of floating and helpless Dreads that Kyo had already disabled.

Kyo then decided that now was a good time to end this.

He activated the command and the I-Freedom then activated the fused plasma cannons and rail-guns…along with the feather cannons. The women could only gulp and stare in fear at the massive cannons, and their fear grew even more as the crystal feathers broke and became metallic, and flew out like miniature missiles from the wings and then…they were greeted by a massive energy barrage as the Gundam fired all of it's ranged weapons at them. The beam bolts, bullets, and rail-gun rounds sliced into the Dreads with amazing precision, destroying their engines and thrusters, leaving the pilots totally stranded in space and unable to escape, but yet alive.

Captain Mara and the rest of her crew, in the Diamond, along with the other officers of the five other cruisers could only watch in horrified disbelief.

They looked at the chronometer and were even more shocked at the outcome of the fight between their best pilots and this one lone male.

“Two and a half minutes?! That…that man disabled all of our Dread squadrons in two and a half minutes?!”

“Ma'am! He's heading right for us!!!!”

Mara could only look in horror as the Gundam, now armed with a pair of massive energy edged swords came right at them. After seeing what this Kyo could do with the energy sword he used to disable the Dreads, she didn't even want to guess what would happen if he got close enough to use those new weapons on their ships.

“Lock all main guns! Fire all of them! We can't let him get closer! SHOOT HIM DOWN!!!!”

The Megele cruisers began unleashing a massive storm of beam fire, the barrage would have destroyed a massive number of Vanguards and severely damaged several Talark cruisers, but the Gundam and the pilot of the Gundam were not easily hit. The gunnery computers of the cruisers tried to lock in on the elusive Gundam, but still had no luck at all as the Gundam moved at a rate that even their advanced systems could not calculate so easily.

Kyo then jetted his Gundam to the sides, evading the massive beams with amazing skill, he then looked on and spotted the opening he was looking for. He guided the I-Freedom upward in a high speed cork-screw upward and once he reached the top, unleashed his Gundam's feather cannons. The female crews of all the cruisers had only seconds to gape…as the feathers once more burst from their crystal mode to that of their cannon modes and fire off from the I-Freedom's wings and then aim right at them…and fire.

Lances of light was the only viable description of the storm of beam bolts that came from the cannons. The women could only watch as the beams cut deeply into the cruiser right next to them and the other, in less than a second, several explosions on sections of the cruisers shook all six ships with tremendous force.

Kyo then dived in his Gundam fast and hard, and then attacked the still functional engines of each Megele cruiser with powerful swipes, making the ships shake and shudder even more.

Mara looked to see her entire bridge in a dark shade of flashing red as klaxons and warning sirens filled the air in the bridge. Seeing that she and the rest of the crew were still alive, she quickly managed to get her wits about and start issuing out orders to the rest of her group.

“Damage report!”

The crews then checked the systems and what they learned was shocking.

“The port and starboard maneuvering thrusters have been totally destroyed, along with the stabilizers! We can't move around Ma'am! The cannon ports from the front to the sides have been totally destroyed, along with fire controls, we can't fire them at all! The main engines have been totally destroyed and we have no thrust power…we're totally defenseless!”

“The Gem, Pearl, Rose, Golden Star, and Flamingo also report massive damage to all of the same systems Ma'am, they can't move or even fire their weapons…the entire fleet's been totally disabled!!!”

<Impossible…this can't be happening….no way!>

Mara then realized that in their states, the Gundam, and it's pilot Kyo Clyne Yamato might still be out there, waiting for the right time to strike. She knew that they were in so much bad shape that if this male…decided to change his mind and finish them off, then nothing would be able to stop him, but she was not going to go down without a fight.

“Find that man and his machine! We can't let him take us all out like this...Find him!”

“You don't need to look for me Captain Mara….I'm right here.”

Mara turned and gulped as she and her crew found themselves looking through the view screen…at Kyo's Gundam pointing the anti-ship sword right at them. In a serious battle, the Gundam would have the perfect chance to kill the entire crew as it was very close to the bridge…one swing of the beam edge would have sliced through the bridge and killed the crew.

However, the Gundam jetted back and placed away the anti-ship swords to the back. Kyo sighed as he spoke.

“I wished I didn't have to do what just happened Captain…and I have no doubt that a few or more of you're crew would be needing medical attention. But that isn't my concern…a war is coming…and it has little to do with the war between Talark and Megele…but the survival of every human being in this galaxy, and it doesn't matter if you're a man or woman. Now I'll be escorting the pirates, since I have no doubt you have other things to worry about.”

As he moved towards the pirates, he got into contact with the Paradise and was greeted by Magno, who smiled at him.

“What took you so long?”

Kyo grinned back as he positioned his Gundam next to the other Dreads of the pirates, all of whom didn't hesitate to clear a space for the Gundam. Varoa looked at the Gundam with awe and a slight amount of fear, having witnessed Kyo's decimation of the Dreads and then the cruisers.

“Had a bit of a run-in with the sensor nets of both Talark and Megele….we don't have the time to chat though, we've got a lot to do right now.”

Parfait then recalled something.

“Where's Pyoro?”

“He's back in the Nirvana, I had him hide in the bridge and wait for the arrival of Tenmei and the others, Duero, Max, Bart, and Aleck were beaten up in interrogation and their dad is with them, but they seem fine, we don't have that much time though, we've got a lot to do.”

Parfait, Barnette, and even Gascogne gave looks of worry at the thought of the three men being badly beaten and the looks of concern were noted by the others. Kyo then smiled as he spotted Jura, Meia, Dita, Sara, and Mai were fine, along with the rest of the crew.

As they pulled away, with Kyo and his I-Freedom Gundam taking the point, and the Dreads providing a screen, the pirates went off to the Nirvana.

**************

In the Nirvana…

“How are you doing in there Bart?” Tenmei asked as he worked on the console.

“Doing okay, the good news is that no one tried to reboot all the systems and give them a clean slate, otherwise we'd be in real trouble…we're only a few minutes from the meeting sight though.”

Tenmei nodded in relief. They had managed to convince the techs already onboard to head back to Talark with the data they had gathered, and once they were in the clear, they and the others, including Hiryu got to work and began to move the Nirvana out of dry dock. Thankfully, his codes for the release locks worked, meaning that no one had discovered what had happened in the Interrogation Center yet. And they were extra thankful that since the Nirvana by default was the Ikazuchi, none of the Talark forces dared to open fire and damage the Nirvana.

Pyoro was assigned to monitor duty and the Navi-robot compiled, only hoping to be reunited with Lacus again.

“Pyoro 2….I'm coming.”

Bart was not in the mood for more of the non-sense and growled at Pyoro.

“Hey! Will you quit worrying about Lacus and concentrate on keeping the power flow to the Navigation Well?!”

“All right already!”

**************

In the Nirvana…

As the crews of the Nirvana and the Paradise arrived in the ship, the crew began exchanging stories and some of the other crew were busy with other matters, the Engineering detail under Parfet worked in checking the systems and making any needed repairs, and also helped in readying the Crusader Mobile Suits and Dreads for combat operations. The others were busy getting used to the changes, Barnette also went to the Medical Bay, along with the bespectacled engineer to check on their objects of affection and even helped check their injuries, this made Duero and Max a bit embarrassed, but they hardly complained. Gascogne and Aleck were busy taking care of distributing supplies, and munitions to the soon to assemble units for the inevitable conflict with the Harvester forces.

However, five of the Nirvana's crew had other things on their minds as Meia, Dita, Jura, Sara and Mai were with Kyo in discussion on what was their plan to fight in the soon to come encounter with the Harvesters. However since Rebecca was with Ezra and Lacus, he had a feeling a certain floating robot was going to appear…

And sure enough…

“PYORO 2!”

Pyoro quickly made a beeline towards Ezra and Lacus, managing to avoid the women who were in the area, including the pirates from the Paradise ship, including Varoa. However, before the Navi-robot could come close enough to hug Lacus, a certain woman stopped him with her hand on his face display and held him back.

“AAACCCCK!”

“What the heck are you?!” Rebecca said in surprise and dislike, the way this floating egg shaped robot was going towards her daughter made her uneasy. She then glared at Pyoro with an unfriendly look, which Pyoro responded back to with a glare as he tried to get past Rebecca.

“I'm Pyoro 2's father!” The robot replied with even more force.

“What the heck is Pyoro 2?!”

The two glared and Rebecca struggled to keep the over eager robot from her daughter, and it seemed that Pyoro was adamant to get close to Lacus, as Ezra watched on. The gentle bridge officer watched as her daughter's Ohma tried to keep Pyoro away and she hoped that somehow, someone could put a stop all this nonsense before the rest of the crew were going to get into real trouble, however it didn't take long for someone to get involved.

Rebecca was still holding on to Pyoro's face when Kyo came from behind and turned Pyoro around. The defiant little machine stopped and floated as Kyo glared at him, the Ohma of Lacus watched in surprise at the sudden change in the defiant Navi-robot when it was now facing the pilot of the Infinite Freedom Gundam.

“Pyoro…just how many times have I told you not to call Lacus by that name…not to mention the fact that Rebecca is her Ohma and not you?”

The Navi-robot looked on and Kyo sighed once more and then glared.

“Listen here Pyoro, you can keep you're part as Lacus' baby sitter, that's fine by me. But don't think for even five seconds that you're her father, cause the second you try that, I swear that on that very moment…I'll re-program you into thinking you're a dog, and this time…I WON'T re-program you back, are we clear?”

“Yes.” The Navi-robot said sullenly.

Kyo then faced Rebecca and bowed.

“Sorry about that Miss Rebecca, he still doesn't get the hint he's not Lacus' parent.”

Rebecca as a bit silent then replied.

“That's all right, but how can you know my daughter's name?”

“Because Kyo was the one who helped me give birth to our daughter Rebecca…and he gave the name of his own mother to our child.”

Ezra explained to her mate as she walked over to them and smiled warmly at Kyo, who smiled back at both her and Lacus. Rebecca then noted the reaction Lacus had when she saw Kyo. The baby smiled and cried with glee as she tried to reach out for him. Kyo however turned to Rebecca and spoke.

“If it is all right with you, I'd like to hold Lacus for a few minutes before I get back to work for the battle to come.”

Rebecca was a bit uneasy with her daughter being held by a man, for one thing, despite not living in Megele, she still thought that men might have germs and Kyo might not know how to properly take care of a baby, so she was not yet sure of the idea…however it was then that Belvedere, Amarone, and Celtic arrived, the dark skinned bridge crew member smiled at her, along with her comrades.

“Don't worry about Kyo, he knows what to do with a baby Rebecca…he sometimes baby-sits Lacus too, and Ezra allows it.”

Rebecca looked at Ezra and then gave a slow nod, and Ezra then handed lacus over. She smiled at her daughter's joy to be reunited to her godfather, and giggled a bit to see Kyo smile and laugh, along with her daughter as he made some funny faces to Lacus. The baby smiled and giggled happily and reached out to touch Kyo's face and grasp some of his hair. Kyo didn't mind at all as Lacus snuggled closer to him.

The sight stunned the other members of the pirates, namely those of the Paradise and the veterans, including Varoa and Rebecca. Ezra's daughter was enjoying a man's company and he was enjoying hers as well. Back then, the mere thought of a female baby being held by a man was unthinkable, but here it was, they were seeing right in front of them

It was there that Ezra told her mate and some of the crew, including Varoa about the time that she had suddenly suffered the pain of delivery and being trapped in the elevator with Dita and Kyo. She told her comrades about how Kyo stood by her and helped her deliver Lacus and gave her to courage to pull through, and she told them of how she had given Kyo the honor of naming her child as Lacus, and she considered Kyo as Lacus' godfather.

Rebecca looked impressed and then saw Kyo walk over to her, with Lacus in his hands, in the manner needed to hold a young baby. Kyo then handed her daughter over to her and Lacus smiled and snuggled back into her own arms. Rebecca could tell that Lacus loved Kyo a great deal, and after learning what had happened on the day Lacus was born, she couldn't help but be thankful for Kyo assistance during that time of crisis for both Ezra and Lacus.

“I'm sorry if I acted a bit out of line…I want to thank you for being there for Ezra and Lacus when they needed help. And I thank you once more for helping us out of that mess.”

“No problem Rebecca…I have to go and take care of other matters before the Harvesters arrive, it has been a pleasure and honor to meet you.”

With that, Kyo turned and headed off to the Meeting room to speak to the Crusader pilots, it was time to make some plans.

Little did he know that a certain band of women had plans of their own for him…and one of them had just gotten the go-ahead by Magno herself!

**************

In the Medical Bay…

“So who might you two be?”

Barnette and Parfet gulped a bit as they were now facing the father of the two objects of their respective affection. They had been in the Medical Bay, fusing over Duero and Max, despite their assurances that they would recover well enough before the fighting began. And they had been able to talk about what had happened n Talark with Duero and Max, but that was when Hiryu arrived, at first the two of them wondered on just how this tall man with a much darker tan was, until Duero and Max bowed and called the man their father. The women were now face to face with Duero and Max's only parent. They also saw this as a chance to get on the good side of the father of the brothers, since they were quite close to her sons, they wanted to impress him enough so he would not mind their presence with his sons.

“My name's Barnette, Barnette Orangello…it's a pleasure to meet you.”

“My name's Parfet, Parfet Balblair…it's a pleasure to meet you.”

Hiryu nodded at the two women and as he recalled seeing them fuss over his two children and seeing that there were signs of relationships between the women and his sons, he was rather intrigued. Ever since meeting the pirates, he began to see just how wrong the propaganda films were on how women looked. He had not believed that women were monsters for a long time, since no one had given a very accurate description on them and there were no records of any female corpse being captured and examined, the propaganda ministry only concerned themselves with portraying women as monsters. Hiryu however thought otherwise, and now his teachings to his sons on the matter were proven true.

“I see, and you two are close friends of my sons?”

Parfet and Barnette nodded and the first to speak was the bespectacled chief engineer.

“I…worked with you're eldest son when he needs help in the Medical Bay…”

“Really now…are you skilled as a Medic?”

“Not really, I am the head engineer on the Nirvana, and I help in repairs in the ship and also here in the Medical Bay, just in case the computers here in the Medical Bay begin to have technical problems.”

“I see, you are a doctor in the engineering sense then, then it would mean that you have been working with him for almost an entire year, ever since the raid of you're crew on the Ikazuchi. Are you both very close friends?”

Parfet nodded with a slight blush and twiddled her fingers and looked at Duero, who also blushed somewhat at the double meaning in his Alpha's inquiry, that fact was not lost to the elder McFile, and while he was still somewhat curious on as to if it was true for men and women to work and live together, he could tell that the friendship between his eldest son and the head engineer was more than what it seemed.

“I see…well then, I do not see anything wrong with it, though I would like to speak to my son about this matter as well soon… Now then…”

Hiryu then turned to face Barnette and studied the young woman carefully, he could tell that she was a combat pilot and from the way she would move told him a lot about her level of expertise. However, he decided to ask just how did Barnette had met his younger son and Duero's younger brother, and since he learned from Max about his time with Aleck in a covert ops project of their world gone wrong…he figured that this would be a good one.

“So Barnette, exactly how long have you worked with my younger son while you and he were together in the Nirvana?”

Barnette replied in full honestly towards the elder McFile, since she didn't like the idea to lie in front of the man she wanted to make a good impression towards.

“I met you're son on a mission to a desert planet…at first, we didn't get along very well since I…I still believed men were the enemy of my people, but on a mission to go to a nearby base, you're son was able to save me…from my own mistakes, but he nearly lost his life to save mine…”

“I see…”

“And now, I want to help him and repay him for helping me see that men and women were better off working together than against each other in fighting the Harvesters.”

Hiryu then turned to his two sons and saw the two of them looking at the women with affection, further intriguing the father of the McFile siblings. This was getting to be a very interesting day for all involved and he was even more interested in finally learning just what women really were, and in the case of the two women before him, the idea that men and women working together certainly seemed possible with his sons and their female friends…but he still couldn't shake the feeling that there was more than friendship between his sons and the two of them.

“Well then, I'll have to take my leave, I've been assigned by the Captain to work in the Register under Gascogne Rheingau, so I'll be right back to catch up with you two, and I suggest that we all get to our stations.”

As soon as Barnette and Parfet left the room, Hiryu looked at both his sons and seemed intently studying his off-spring…and after a few moments, he spoke to them.

“I can tell that something very important has happened between you two and those women, though I am not sure what it is, it seems to be very strong, therefore, I would like to know just what has happened between the time you both were gone to you're time here on the Nirvana, is that understood?”

Duero and max looked at each other and were at a loss for words. The times they had been…intimate with Parfet and Barnette respectively was something they wanted to keep to themselves since they were still not quite used to such feelings and emotions with women, yet they knew that it was the time their relationships with the two respectively had taken the ultimate level. And despite the fact that they were talking to their Alpha, they still found it hard to describe just what they had felt when the incidents happened…however, they knew that Hiryu was not the kind of man to keep secrets from.

“Well…father, it's kind of hard…to explain really.”

Duero started as he tried to recall the time he got intimate with Parfet in the room that was assigned to him while he and the others were with the Resistance forces. The moment he did however, his cheeks reddened at the memories of the event.

Hiryu had to admit, to see his son this flustered was a first, when he raised both Max and Duero, Max was a bit more emotional while Duero was the more analytical of the two, and to see his eldest son act this was a first.

“Oh?”

He then looked at Max and the look on his face told his son that he also wondered what had happened between him and Barnette.

Both brothers looked at one another and decided to at least plan out their explanation of the things they had been feeling towards Barnette and Parfet respectively, and though they knew their Alpha the open minded type of man, the `attraction' between men and women might be too hard to describe to him since they themselves were still not used to it either. Part of them wished that someone would come in and help them with the explanations, namely Kyo or even Magno herself.

However, it seemed that fate would smile on the two as a certain elderly Captain came into the Medical Bay on her walking cane and Tenmei who had now discarded his Talark uniform and took on to wearing the old harem outfit he wore as Buzam, and he was now using the voice box to make him sound like a woman once more.

“Hello there Mr. Hiryu McFile, did I come in at a bad time?”

Hiryu shook his head amiably and replied.

“Not really Captain, I was just curious about the relationships my son s have with two members of you're crew, namely the head engineer Parfet Balblair and one of you're Dread pilots, miss Barnette Orangello. The four of them seem to be very close, and I am merely wondering just how far their relationships have progressed since I last saw my sons. Though from the way my sons seem to be rather…shall we say, reluctant to tell me all the details.”

“Really? Well then, even if we don't have a lot of time, I am rather curious about how their relationships have progressed myself, so if it does not bother you, I would also like to join into the conversation.”

Hiryu shrugged and both the elder woman and the older man then looked at the two and is put both brothers in the hot seat, literally. However, Magno then decided to put the two men at ease, not to mention she would also explain the details on whatever they might speak of to their Alpha, or rather their father. She told the two brothers that since she KNEW about the intimate parts of male/female relationships, she would explain to their Alpha anything that might be too hard to understand.

However, she had a fairly accurate idea on what might have happened between the McFile siblings and Parfet and Barnette respectively since she had been familiar with it, after all, she did have a son and husband years before. This was going to be an interesting one.

However as she thought of a very interesting situation…she already knew of one that was about to befall her uncle…namely when one of the girls that were after him had now decided to act on her feelings…and despite the disappointment of the others, they decided to allow it since she voiced in her approval of the idea…though as to how Kyo will react to the situation he was going head first into was still up for debate.

<I wonder just what uncle Kyo's feeling right now?>

**************

In Kyo's room…

Kyo was tired and decided to take a break, it was only a few more hours once the general alarm would be sounded, this break however was going to be short. He knew that despite the fact that the main Harvester Invasion Fleet was not yet going to be their foes, seven Harvester battle-ships were still a big threat, he had known that since these were not retrofitted ships, they would be the basic models, he could not try the same stunt as before when dealing with the ships that were using Mirage Colloid.

The pirates had gotten word that the ship of the Harvesters that they had been able to convert to their side had been able to receive a signal sent by the bridge crew and was now meeting up with them to get ready for the battle, but he still had doubts, the only thing he hoped for now was the arrival of the reinforcements from the Resistance that were on their way, thankfully he hoped that sooner or later, things might look up for all of them. For now he had to take a break and clear his head of his current issues and…

“Hello Kyo…”

The Gundam pilot froze, he apparently had been so busy with his thoughts that he was not aware that someone was in the room with him. He had already removed his uniform previously, so that left him with only his normal clothes on… he looked to note that his room was still in the dark, and when he turned on the lights….he saw her…

Kyo realized that now, he was going to be in a very serious situation.

**************

A good distance from the Nirvana and the Paradise…

“Sir…we've tracked the Ikazuchi to this spot and we are ready for you're orders.”

An ensign reported to a Talark Fleet officer. His unit had been assigned to act as part of the security detail fleet around the Nirvana while it was in dry dock…however, when the ship moved out of the area suddenly, he was forced to break away from patrol and take his forces out to try and recapture the Ikazuchi. One of his subordinate officers asked if they were to use the ship's weapons to stop the Nirvana to which he objected greatly.

Despite the radical changes the old colony ship had undergone in nearly a year before it was lost, and the time it was boarded by the female pirates, it was still the Ikazuchi, and as such, any attempt to damage it would ignite Grand Pa's wrath on the unfortunate officer who ordered the shooting, and he was not going to risk both his neck and his career on that plan.

“Now what in the heck are we supposed to do here?”

He looked and spotted the pirates once more board the Ikazuchi under the escort of a large number of female piloted Dreads and the strange angel like Vanguard that the Fleet Command had just gotten word of. He didn't know what was going on, and although he was head of a rather large fleet himself, he was in no mood to go in unprepared for battle.

He then thought of what was going to happen to the men on the Nirvana and the strange angel-like Gundam. He quickly imagined them being subjected to pain and torture, and shuddered at such thoughts.

If he only knew just what was happening in there right now.

**************

In Kyo's room…

“M…meia…what are you…uh…”

To say that Kyo was stunned would have been a vast understatement at this point as he gazed at the aqua haired female as she was not wearing either her usual circlet, which he saw was on the table in his room, and she was not wearing either her normal jumpsuit and padding, or her custom made Mobile Suit piloting uniform. She instead was wearing sleeveless body suit with shorts for the lower portion and now gloves or boots.

The body-suit was thin and therefore hugged her frame…including her much larger than before, but not too large, bust…adding to that was the fact that the suit had some open patches on both the chest and her sides…revealing strategic parts of Meia's form to get Kyo's attention. And the suit did it's job well enough, making Kyo's body ignite with desire, which he tried to suppress, since he was still not very comfortable yet with his situation with her and the other females who had his affections. The fact that they were going to soon face the Harvesters' advanced forces was the next reason that managed to wake Kyo out of his stupor. He tried to back away and reach for the door, however, he had taken a wrong turn and found himself nearing the wall of the room, all the while, trying to come up with any words to reason with Meia.

Meia on the other hand, didn't respond and walked slowly…and sensually towards Kyo, making sure to move in the right way to hold his attentions only on her and her alone. She had recalled seeing a few of the women in several videos do this to the men they were seeking to become intimate with and she was willing to try it. She had long since admitted that she felt love for Kyo and it was in her discussion with Magno, along with Dita, Jura, Sara, and Mai that she finally gained the courage to go through with this. Ever since her first viewing of how men and women…had…sex, she couldn't get those images out of her mind, namely where she was in the woman's place and Kyo was in the man's place. At first, the images were shocking…namely when she saw the man's…tube being placed into the woman's most private place. At first, she thought that it was very uncomfortable and VERY painful for any woman have such a thing…inside of her.

But the woman in the video…and the women in the other videos did not show pain or discomfort…they rather showed pleasure and joy as the thing…the tube of the man was moving in and out of them. They were moaning and screaming in pleasure and joy, no matter how fast the men moved that tube…and in whatever position they were in with their male partner. Though none of them knew what to make of it, it was Magno's advice and Jura's words that told them and her most of all, that what she had seen was how men and women had children and how the two would show how much they loved one another. The images of what she had seen were so rooted in her brain and now she was going to do it…she was going to take the nest and most important step in her relationship with Kyo, because she loved him.

She loved everything about him, his smile, his joy, his strength, his courage under fire, his will, he determination…everything…even his bad traits as well. The memories he had and his past, she accepted them as well, they made him the person she loved with all her heart. For a former street thug like her, love was nothing but a word, nothing more, she had one night stands before and never thought much of it, but as a way to relieve her stress and forget her pain, but this time…she was going to do something historic in her mind and no doubt the minds of her fellow Megele comrades.

She was going to make love to a man…and not because she wanted to relieve her stress, or whatnot…but because she cared for him and loved him with all her heart. After all, considering what was awaiting them in the soon to come battles…this might be her only chance to feel what women felt when they made love with the person they loved. She wanted to really feel what love was, and if love would not just exist in the emotional level…but in the physical level between men and women.

It didn't take long for her to reach Kyo, who stood there like a statue, entranced her beauty and sensual approach, back then, he did find Meia cute, though her personality back then was hardly pleasing, but after all they had been through together, and his learning of her past made him see her in a far more positive light, however, this still didn't mean that he was all that ready to go to the intimate level, despite his heart to heart talk with her once. However, she took the initiative and hugged him by the head and kissed him right on the lips.

Kyo was stunned as Meia deepened both her embrace and her kiss, making his male instincts burn even hotter, but even as a few seconds passed, a large portion of his brain was falling to his male instincts, he managed find the will and composure to break the kiss and look at Meia.

“Meia, we…we're…”

“I know…but I wanted to do this for some time, and, I know that we're going to fight the Harvesters soon.”

“So why?”

“Because I love you, I always wondered after the first battle with the Harvesters' battleship why I felt this way towards you now…and now that I know, I want to show you, just how much I love you.”

“But…I can't just, it's…”

“I know…but you and I can't be sure, and I talked with the others, and we talked with Magno, and we decided, it doesn't matter, because we know we love you no matter what, we're here for you…”

That statement stunned Kyo, since it seemed that the women who were after his heart had no decided to share him…and before he could say anything, Meia took the initiative and kissed him again, but this time she made sure to keep him from trying to deny her this chance. And as far as things were looking, it seemed she was already doing a very good job and keeping his attention on her, and her alone. She deepened the kiss and reveled in Kyo's taste, as soon as she used her tongue to run over his lips gently, he parted them and she ran her tongue once more over his teeth, making Kyo moan, and open his mouth somewhat…that was Meia's cue.

Kyo looked at her wide-eyed as she gently prodded into his mouth with her own tongue, and that was the last straw for the Gundam pilot as his hormones finally overwhelmed his senses, and along with his morals on the matter. Without anymore restraint, Kyo reciprocated Meia's actions and hugged her back, with a fierce yet gentle grip. He had retained enough common sense to not frighten or hurt Meia while they were doing this. He moved his tongue with Meia's, both of them caressed each other, with his hands skimming the surface of her curves and swells, while she took in his hard contours and strong warmth.

The kiss deepened even more as they moaned in each other's mouths, and they held the kiss until they had to break off to get air, very reluctantly as well. Both lovers looked at one another, Kyo couldn't help but smile at the look of utter joy and embarrassment on Meia's blushing face. While Meia herself smiled at the blush staining Kyo's own cheeks, the picture of this man blushing because of her seemed to tickle her senses in a very good way.

It was then that Kyo looked at his bed and then to Meia, and she knew what he had in mind, and nodded.

**************

(This is the lemon for this part anyway, so for anyone here who's not in the right age, please leave the room and don't read this number. For those who are in the age, please read on, I am new at writing lemons and this will be long, so please bare with me here.)

**************

Meia reached over and began to remove the buttons that held Kyo's shirt on and quickly removed the shirt, but not before she kissed Kyo on the lips gently afterwards. Kyo was starting to like this side of Meia a good deal and reciprocated with finding the zipper of her upper body suit and then began to take it off as well. They both removed the articles of clothing and as they did so, they kissed each other deeply as they now exposed themselves to each other.

Meia reached forward and ran her hands gently on Kyo's chest, feeling is slightly rougher but smooth, warm, and strong skin, there were traces of some scars there, but she was not paying attention to them as she ran her hands over Kyo's chest, she looked at saw his face, his eyes looking at her with lustful desire and pleasure, and realizing that she had been stripped of her upper body suit blushed brightly. Kyo however laughed gently and rang his hands gently over her shoulders, up to the length of her neck and then kissed her, but not before saying something.

“You're so beautiful Meia Gisborn.”

The way Kyo said that statement made Meia blush even more, but made her feel very proud of herself as she kissed him back.

Kyo moved towards the bed and then leaned towards it, taking Meia with him to the mattress, she squealed a bit at the sensation, but felt empowered to know that she was in the dominant state of the situation. Meia looked at Kyo and his nod as she began to kiss parts of his body and face. She kissed his lips once more and both of them open their mouths and their tongues did the touching until she continued to kiss his face, starting with his lips, his cheeks, and then his neck, she kissed the place where she could feel his pulse, and then ran her fingers and lips on the outlines of his collar bones.

Kyo looked at her, and the sight of Meia on top of him, half naked and looking very sexy was so strong an influence that he swore that he would have orgasmed right there and then, so much was his arousal. They kissed once Meia was done examining his own exposed upper form and Kyo couldn't help but moan as he felt Meia's breasts on his chest, since they had grown somewhat larger than before, requiring her to modify her normal padding to deal with the increase in cleavage size, Kyo certainly didn't mind in the least. His desire won out as he gently yet swiftly changed placed with Meia, and then moved her and himself into the bed.

He rose up and while Meia moaned sadly at the loss of contact, she blushed even more as Kyo intently gazed at her, starting from her face which he touched gently and reverently, all the way to her chest, her stomach, her hips, and finally he arrived at the rest of her form, the one hidden by the remaining piece of her body suit. Meia cursed herself silently for forgetting about that part and tried to reach for it, but Kyo stopped her, making her look at him curiously, and therefore noticed the look of utter sexual mischief that he had on his face.

Kyo, despite being still a virgin for all his late teen life, and after being freed from his crystal prison, had still been a virgin for nearly four hundred years, was still like any other teen his age. That meant that he had seen a good number of videos, including the one Jura had, and recalled quite a number of books he had read. Plus his parents did teach him about the facts of life once he was older, the same way they had taught Mira about it as well. He recalled enough of them materials he had both read and seen to as to make the right moves. He wanted this to be a worthy experience, for both him and Meia…and he was not going to be charging forward needlessly at all.

For all intents and purposes, every woman from Megele, with the exception of the First Generation, were virgins and innocent in the ways of sexual inter-course with men, but that certainly didn't mean that the ancient feelings and instincts disappeared entirely as Meia felt her body react in very interesting ways towards Kyo's very detailed examination of her nearly exposed form. She didn't know how this would end, but that uncertainty was not enough to dissuade her from trying it out regardless.

Kyo ran his hands over Meia's face gently and then began to kiss her cheeks, and ran his tongue over the place where her pulse was. He then ran his lips over her collar bones and then made his way to her chest, she moaned deeply as Kyo caressed her breasts, feeling them in his palm. He grinned warmly at her and kissed the pale white skin of the fleshy mounds and then took the right breast into his mouth licking and suckling on the right nipple and ran his tongue over aureole gently. Meia moaned and screamed in pleasure and Kyo did so, while he massaged the other breast gently and carefully.

She gripped Kyo's head closer to her chest, hoping that he would not stop his actions, she never felt this way before, it was as if a fire was in her chest, starting from her nipples and flowed through every fiber of her being, and the sensations filled every part of her, even to the tips of her toes and her hair. Meia then felt her heart beat faster as Kyo continued his motions and actions on her breasts, it was amazing, and she had an idea on how it would feel if she had a baby to take care of herself, it was as if Kyo wanted to take in her entire essence into his bones forever.

As soon as Kyo was done with Meia's right breast, he gave the same treatment to her left breast, making Meia moan even more. He liked this passionate and wild side of the aqua-haired woman and planned to see just how far he could take her. He reached down with his other hand and found the catch of Meia's lower body suit and opened it. He however, didn't stop his treatment of Meia's breasts as he alternated between the two, licking, gently biting, and gently blowing on them, making them even more sensitive. He then kissed her breasts and then licked the valley between her boobs and then made a line of kisses, licks and light nips on her skin, all the way to her stomach, and then to her navel.

Meia looked at Kyo who stopped his actions, her face beet red at all the wonderful sensations Kyo was giving her. Every nerve on her body seemed to tingle in anticipation until Kyo took off her last article of clothing. She swore she would die of utter embarrassment as Kyo looked at her lower form, taking in her long and smooth legs, and then her most private place, and she tried to cover up with her thighs, but Kyo's gentle yet very strong grip stopped. Kyo then looked at her with calm and soothing eyes.

“You don't need to hide from me Meia….you are beautiful after all.”

“I…”

Kyo then caressed her things gently making Meia squirm a bit more, much to his delight and her pleasure, he then kissed her navel and that acted like a secret button and she parted her legs, allowing him to look at her sex. She had a patch of the same aqua-blue hair on her most private place, and it looked so appealing to Kyo at this point that he couldn't resist teasing her, he kissed the skin and flesh above the patch gently and with a parting lick, that Meia moaned loudly, and despite the safety of the room, she couldn't try and keep her voice down.

<I…I…I…I never felt like this before….I've done this before with other women….but with Kyo, it's so wonderful, it's strange, and odd, but yet….it's so natural, and so wonderful! I….is this how the women of the past felt when they made love with the men they cared about? Because if…this is how they felt…I don't ever want to give it up!>

Meia's eyes opened wide as she looked and saw Kyo between her legs, she was stunned as Kyo looked at her sex so intently, as if she was an exotic creature he had never seen before, she couldn't help but blush even brighter at his very intense inspection, hundreds of thoughts flew through her head in a fraction of a second. And she began to fear that she might have something that might make her look ugly. Kyo however allayed her fears as he smiled and then spoke to her.

“How do you want me to touch you here Meia?”

“W-What?”

Kyo grinned a bit and replied.

“I'm going to touch you here, and more…but I want you to tell me if you like it, I want to make you happy Meia.”

Meia didn't know why, but she felt even more happy, Kyo's didn't just care for his own pleasure, but hers as well, so she decided to nod to give her consent and brace herself for what was to come. She had an idea of what to expect as she bucked in pleasure at the feel of Kyo's hot breath on her moist sex.

Kyo felt his manhood harden like a collection of steel rods as the scent of Meia's wet sex filled his nose, his pants already painful on his erection…however, he held that back as he admired the slit that led to Meia's vagina, he then came closer and smelled her musky but very arousing female scent. He then saw some moisture coming out from the slit and licked it, touching the outer lips of his lover's sex. Meia cried out a bit and Kyo took that as a good sign as he began to lick and suck on the lips of Meia's sex.

“T…T…There! Ohhh!”

Kyo then got Meia to scream out her pleasure after a few more licks and then pushing his tongue into her wet sex, past both the outer lips of her pussy and into the inner ones, the sensation was shocking and very arousing to the aqua-haired woman, she gripped Kyo's hair in her hands and despite her painful grip, Kyo didn't stop, and neither did he relent as he moved his tongue in thrusting and circular moving motions, taking in her smooth liquid velvet feel and her honey as well. He was enjoying this VERY much and so was Meia as she continued to moan, scream, beg, and struggle. She tried to get the words out on how she wanted to be touched and succeeded, though partially. Most of the time she was in heaven as Kyo licked and touched her innermost core and the very proof of her femininity.

Her sex released more of her fluids which Kyo loved to taste and he then touched what appeared to be a light barrier, and he knew just what that was, the proof that Meia was a virgin, he knew what that meant, but put that aside, as he stopped and looked at one part of Meia's sex that he had overlooked

The clitoris, or the clit, if he remembered his sex-ed classes right.

The teachers he had back then in sex-ed class told him that it was the most sensitive part of a woman's sex and it had to be gently touched and stimulated to avoid hurting the woman. He put those lessons to heart as he began to kiss and lick it gently. The results were obvious as Meia screamed out her pleasure once more. Kyo placed her legs on his shoulders and held her hips tightly to hold her in place as he continued to lick and caress her clit, he even pressed his tongue over the little bulb and Meia cried out even more, he then alternated his actions to both her wet pussy and her clit, making Meia absolutely blind with desire and burning with pleasure.

Kyo then decided to use his fingers, and used one of his hands, namely his left hand and had to release Meia's hips in order to balance himself more effectively. As he did so, he used his thumb to push on Meia's clit, making her scream out in surprise. He however didn't stop yet as he licked and touched the bulb with strong, gentle and patient strikes, thanking his teachers for the education, though he was still not all that skilled yet.

Meia however didn't seem to mind that as she tried to hold back her feelings of pleasure, but she was so close to coming to orgasm, she couldn't help herself. She spread her legs even wider and reached out to Kyo's head, telling him that she couldn't handle anymore. But he wanted to see his lover in the throes of pleasure and release, and therefore slid his first digit in gently and slowly.

Meia opened her eyes wide, she had felt that before, but this was very different from those times and she tried not to lose it, she would not give up yet…

**************

Kyo was in awe at how sleek, wet, tight, and soft Meia felt inside her sex, the thought of how his manhood inside her warmth and heat was enough to make him go nuts in that very second, but he bit it back, he was not going to lose now, not until he saw Meia in the looks of passion. And he went at it, slowly pulling out his first finger, looking that the shaking tension and the sweat flowing out of Meia's body, along with her fluids from her wet sex, and then pushing in back it, Meia cried out in pleasure, and the crying out became even louder as the two went at it. Kyo continued to lick and suck gently but strongly at Meia's clit, while moving his finger in and out of her soaking pussy, and then he then added another finger.

“I…Kyo! I…I can't…!!!!”

“Go on Meia, I want you to.” Kyo replied as he went on with his actions.

Meia moved her head from side to side, sweat coating her forehead and running down her face as she bit one of her fingers in an effort to control her screams, her heart was beating so wildly, and the pleasurable heat and sensations flooded every inch of her body and heightened her nerves. But try as she might, she couldn't stop herself as she came…hard and strong, the results were amazing as she arched her back and was so tense she would have snapped, the aqua-haired teen felt like she was floating in heaven as her body absorbed every sensation like a sponge.

Kyo looked at his lover with a smile of awe and wonder as he had finished lapping up her juices, released from her orgasm, Meia looked so exhausted, weak and yet so beautiful as her face was covered in sweat along with her body from her head to her toes, and the sweat glinted like liquid mirrors reflecting the light from the room's lighting systems, Her heaving, sweat drenched form was exquisite, and he loved this side of her. As soon as she opened her eyes, she smiled at him in a very desirable way and he kissed her.

Meia didn't mind the fact that she could taste herself with Kyo's own, in fact it made her even hotter. Kyo then decided that his pants had to go, as his was already feeling pain from the tightness in his groin. Meia was confused when he got off the bed, but quickly was stopped as Kyo finally took off his pants, and boxers. And Meia realized something…

“Kyo…you…you're…big, more so than the last time I…” (Referring to the Nirvana communal bath incident.)

Meia didn't know why, but she blushed furiously as she gazed at Kyo's manhood, it was so…

Meia then realized something else…can it really fit in her? The thought of feeling pain was not new to her, but the pain Magno had explained to her felt so terrifying that she nearly blacked out. However Kyo noted the change in Meia's demeanor and reached out to her, sitting on the bed next to her.

“If you…if you don't feel ready for this Meia, I won't hold it against you…I don't want to hurt you.”

Meia smiled at Kyo's gentleness and concern, but shook her head, she had gotten his far and there was no way she was going to change her mind no. She then looked at Kyo, silently asking if she could…

Kyo wordlessly nodded and Meia took that as her go-ahead signal. She slowly touched Kyo's penis…feeling the skin, and marveling at the hard but yet soft feel of the strange organ she had seen before, she couldn't help but blush and smile at the throaty moans Kyo would make as she ran her hands of over the shaft gently, she could feel it pulsing, shocking her a bit as it reacted to her touch, she moved back, but when she was assured by Kyo that he was not in pain and enjoyed her actions, she continued them, feeling the smooth skin and veins once more. The mere act of touching Kyo's manhood made her even more wet as she made it to the base and then to the strange sac the men had. Kyo however was nearing the end of his rope and gently stopped her before he lost control of his own physical needs.

Meia was stunned, but not for long as Kyo whispered in her ear while he nibbled her earlobe gently.

“It's time…I can't handle it anymore. I love you…and I want you…now.”

Meia smiled back and both of them kissed as Meia leaned back onto the mattress and opened her legs once more, allowing Kyo to position himself between her thighs. The two kissed once more, feeling each other's warmth and tasting each other with hot and deep kisses.

As Kyo broke away he took his manhood in one hand and guided it to Meia's hot, dripping sex and rubbed it on her outer lips to get lubricated, he knew the mechanics in this stage, and what had to be done, as soon as he had his penis well covered and Meia was ready, he pushed it into her sex, trying to control his inner urges as he felt her wet velvety tightness surround his cock. Meia likewise was in tension, feeling this intrusion into her most private place, it felt different, but very natural, as if a part of her was coming back to her.

Kyo kept on pushing until he met the proof of Meia's virginity…her barrier. Kyo was not very happy with this as this told him point blank that no matter how gently he would go at this, he would still cause pain to Meia, and he didn't want to do that at all, but he knew that that there was no other way.

Meia likewise felt some pain as Kyo's penis touched her barrier, and realized that this was the moment of truth, she looked at Kyo with understanding eyes and nodded. She then held the sheets tightly to at least try and ignore the pain. Kyo shook her head with a slightly sad smile at Meia's bravery and then pulled back a bit…

<Forgive me.>

And pushed in…hard, and quickly, he felt the barrier give way and Meia's inner sheath began to take in his size and length.

Meia cried out in pain as she felt her barrier break and tried to struggle, but Kyo held her back and gently hugged her, she tried to struggle from the pain as Kyo kissed her and whispered lovingly in her ear.

“I am so sorry…I wish there was another way, but I…I will not move until you are comfortable.”

True to his word, Kyo didn't begin to move quickly at first, but stayed there for a few moments, waiting for her to catch her breath and calm down her body. In a few moments, the pain subsided and the pain was then replaced with a throbbing ache, a sensation that seemed to grow even more intense as she could feel Kyo's cock inside of her pussy. The ache became unbearable and she spoke to Kyo.

“I feel fine, but I feel so…strange.”

Kyo took that as his cue and slowly began to move. He pulled back slowly at first, for Meia to feel the movements and Meia did, as her wide eyes could attest to the fact. As soon as he was nearly out, Kyo pushed back it, holding back his own pleasure at the smooth, soft, tight, and wet feel of Meia's sex all around him, Meia also moaned loudly at the sensation.

“Oh….my…it was.”

“Describe it to me then.”

Kyo began to move slowly and surely, to ensure that Meia felt every movement and sensation and Meia's increased breathing and wetness told him volumes on how she was feeling, but she tried to speak either way.

“I feel…like I'm…flying on clouds…like I am coming apart…everything feels so…good. I want more!”

Kyo didn't say anything else, no words were needed from him as he continued his motions, as he moved in and out of Meia's wet sex, she looped her legs on his waist and backside to prevent him from leaving her as he drove deeper and harder into her sex, picking up speed and power. The results were obvious as Meia was now screaming out her pleasure and joy, while Kyo did likewise, no longer wanting to hold back at the sensations as he and Meia screamed and moaned their desire for each other.

Meia felt like she was drooling in pleasure as she held on for dear life, feeling every thrust of Kyo's cock into her pussy even more. She never felt anything like this in her entire life…it was so new and yet so natural, and so wonderful, nothing in her mind could ever take this pleasure from her at all as she held on for dear life.

Both of them could hear the wet sounds of their sweat covered flesh hitting each other and the feel of their sweat covered forms rubbing each other was so strong and erotic that it added fuel to the fires of their passion. Kyo then went to worship her breasts once more, taking the fleshy orbs and their pink tips into his mouth, he suckled on them and licked them as well…adding even more fire to her passion.

“KYO! MORE! OH GRAND MA! THIS FEELS WONDERFUL!!!”

“MEIA!”

The two then kissed each other deeply as Kyo continued his thrusts into her sex. Meia didn't want this to ever end, if this was how men and women had children, and how they expressed love for each other, then she vowed never to let Kyo be alone in his life ever again!

The two continued on, and then Kyo lifted himself and Meia upwards, and they were now sitting on the bed, with him holding Meia in his arms and her sitting on his lap. She continued to move along with Kyo, heightening both their pleasure as she bounced hard on his manhood, Kyo could feel Meia's sex releasing more fluids onto his cock and it was heaven to him. He held Meia closer and kissed her, both of them moaned into each other's mouths and their tongues did the same thing their sexes were involved in, further adding to the sheer pleasure they were feeling.

They broke the kiss and Meia held on for dear life to Kyo, she moaned and groaned out so many pleasurable sounds into Kyo's ears that it helped him carry on his actions on her, the sounds of pleasure and joy coming from his lover urged him on to make her scream out even more. He grabbed her hips and helped her in her movements, further adding to their respective pleasure…

“I…I…I CAN'T!!! AAAAHHHHH!!!”

“MEIA! I CAN'T EITHER!!!”

Meia knew that she had reached her limit and she was about to cum…hard and fast and she wanted it, she wanted to feel the end of the pleasure with Kyo.

“PLEASE!!! COME WITH ME!!! KYO!!!”

Kyo said nothing but continued on and with one final thrust…both of them came…at the very same time.

“MEIA!!!!!”

“KYO!!!!!”

Both lovers held each other tightly as their respective orgasms flooded them, Kyo had no warning as his cock tensed and then released his essence right into Meia's unprotected womb, he felt so happy and felt a massive burden was finally removed from his shoulders. He felt more of his seed shoot into Meia's sex, and her orgasm milked him hard, making him even more aroused as he released even more seed into her, what they had done, he knew would change them both, and he hoped that when they time was right, the two of them could work together to make a compromise for the future. He knew that this did not mean that Meia would be pregnant now, but if she did have his child, he would stand by her and protect her with every fiber of his being.

Meia's feelings of her orgasm were intense, she felt like she had been shattered and scattered in a wind of pleasure and sensation, it was more powerful than the ones she once had before, and then she felt the heat from Kyo's seed flowing in her sex, into her womb, to feel that was a sensation that she had never known before. She understood that what she was feeling was Kyo's release of his seed inside of her. It felt as if a part of his very soul was inside of her…calming and soothing her and telling her that he would always be by her side no matter what dangers were there. To feel a man's liquid passion inside her most private place was so wonderful, even more so since she loved the man who she had made love to. She knew that this did not mean she would be pregnant now, but if they did this again and they would soon have a child, she was ready to raise that child to the best of her ability, not caring if it would be a boy or a girl, and she would not be afraid, as long as Kyo was beside her to raise their child together with her.

The two lovers held each other tightly as their orgasms subsided and then as they looked at each other, they smiled and shared another deep kiss. And after a few more moments, they knew that they would have to get ready for the coming battle. They separated reluctantly and got dressed…but before Meia left for her room to change into her uniform, Kyo turned her around gently and they shared another fierce kiss and then she left…leaving Kyo to think about the meaning of this and as soon as he was ready…he got to his locker and took out his uniform.

Looks like he had more to live for in the future after this war with the Harvesters.

**************

As for the rest…

Hiryu couldn't help himself as he looked from Captain Magno and Buzam, to his sons, his expression, that of total surprise/ Of all the things he expected to happen to his sons fro the past year, what they had told him was certainly not what he expected!

Duero and Max were also very much silent as they waited for the reactions of the people in the Medical Bay, the only consensus that the two of them had for this very interesting meeting was the fact that Paiway was not with them all…as she had been assigned to other duties by Magno, plus she did intend to contact her Ohma and Fahma as well.

Magno had a smile on her face and she was enjoying the situation. She suspected the increase of emotional closeness between the brothers and the respective women who they were close to was due to an event happening between them, but what they told him was volumes worth enough. She cleared her throat and spoke.

“That sort of thing does happen back in the old days…my husband and I were very much like that before the whole separation mess…and before I had a son. By the way…I've been meaning to ask you something Hiryu McFile.”

Hiryu managed to shake of his stunned state and face the Captain and the Commander.

“What is it Captain?”

“Do you know anyone by the name of Kusanagi?”

Hiryu thought it over and replied.

“I know of only two men who carry the name Kusanagi, Commander Van Kusanagi who leads one of our elite Vanguard Squadrons, named the Sword Riders, and one rumored to be none other than old man Jin, they say that his last name was Kusanagi. Why do you ask?”

Magno smiled warmly and replied.

“It seems that my family are still alive after all. I nearly lost all hope that they were still alive.”

“Captain…are you saying that Jin Kusanagi and Van Kusanagi are you're…” Buzam asked in surprise.

“They are my husband and son respectively? Then the answer is yes….I nearly thought that they had passed away, since it has been so long since I ever heard from them, but now that I know that they are alive…then we have an even greater chance to try and sway the men of Talark to fight the Harvesters. We can only hope that time is still on our side.”

The people nodded in agreement, but Hiryu then spoke to his sons.

“You do not need to worry, I may not know the two of them very well….but I am not blind to the affections between you two and them. To tell you the truth, I want to see just how far things will get between you two and them. Thus, as long as you are willing to deal with the consequences of what will happen between you all, then I will support you all no matter how this battle with the Harvesters will turn out. “

The brothers were relieved, they had expected their Alpha to not agree with the affections they shared with Parfet and Barnette, but it seemed that he was not against the idea, at least not completely since he still wanted know just who the two were. Duero and Max however then had to ask an important set of questions to their Alpha.

“Are you going to remain here on the Nirvana?”

Hiryu knew that question was directed to him and he replied to his sons.

“Yes, the Captain was kind enough to have me assigned as part of the Register under Gascogne Rheingau, and I will be here until the end of the battle with the Harvesters. I need to get ready for the battles ahead so I will be very busy, you two do you're very best, no matter what.”

Both Duero and Max nodded, they knew what they would need to do. Duero had to remain in the Medical Bay and his brother Max would work with him and Paiway. Despite the fact that Max had fully regained his edge as a pilot and his Templar Gundam's fire-power would be an asset, the crew agreed that his medical talents would be better than his piloting skills since this was a crucial battle and even his brother would be swamped if he didn't have any help. Duero recalled the times he was nearly overwhelmed with the number of wounded and injured that he had to deal with in the battles with the Harvesters, and to have some needed support was welcome.

Max himself didn't complain, but he however asked to leave the room and head off to where the Dread pilots were going to meet. He had something to do before the battle started and it involved a certain emerald haired woman.

**************

As Kyo made his way to meet up with the rest of his crew, namely the other Gundam pilots, and the Crusader Squadron, he began to wonder on what he and Meia had just done…

They had just made love to one another, and it was very intense, how was he supposed to know that on this very same day he would be losing his status as a virgin, albeit a four hundred year old one?

However this still did not make things any easier for him, he still had to many questions in his mind concerning the effects of what transpired. He didn't deny that he enjoyed it, but how would the other women react if they knew that Meia and him had just had sex? That was one thing that bothered him still. He wondered what meia said to him….about she and the others discussing the situation with Magno and decided to find out how the others felt about this situation.

He entered the elevator and decided to think not of that, but of the soon to come battle. However, the elevator stopped and in walked Dita dressed in her own Gundam pilot uniform and her helmet, the redhead smiled at Kyo and hugged him, stunning him slightly. He had expected that she would have glomped onto him like she normally did, but the redhead had grown up in a few more ways and merely hugged him instead….and to really shock him…

“How are you Kyo?”

<Kyo?! She's not calling me Mr. Alien anymore?!>

“I…I'm fine Dita…how are you also?”

“I'm fine! I'm ready to fight the bad aliens now!”

Kyo, still reeling from what happened between him and Meia was very aware of his body's immediate reaction to Dita's closeness. Her smell was in his nose as he got a whiff of her scent and the smell of raspberries in her hair, no doubt from her shampoo. That was enough to get his body up again, thankfully, he was already wearing his uniform and therefore, his body's reactions were hidden somewhat, though his body's reactions did pain him as his manhood reacted to Dita's presence, he however squelched that and hugged Dita back.

Dita smiled at his show of affection and whispered to his ear.

“Do you like it when I say you're real name?”

Kyo looked back and nodded.

“I do, I wasn't expecting you to be calling me by my real name now of all things…but yes, I am happy that you are finally calling me by my real name Dita.”

“I'm happy then, I want to know something Kyo?”

“What do you want to know Dita?”

Dita looked back at Kyo and twiddled her fingers a bit. She was so adorable and for some reason, she was blushing, as if she was afraid of embarrassing herself in front of Kyo, which in his mind was somewhat a first for the bubbly redhead.

“Do you love me?”

Kyo was stunned that Dita was asking him such a very intimate question, and considering his current train of thought before that was heard, he was in a bit of a blind spot on how to answer the redhead.

“Well, I did say I care about you a great deal before and you've done a lot…so I…”

“Do you love me Kyo?”

Kyo was getting even more uncomfortable by the second and realized that this was the most important thing for Dita to know, if he told her the truth, then who knew what would be the outcome between the two of them, and if he did it wrong, it would result in him hurting Dita's innocent heart. This was one thing he didn't plan on having to deal with, but he knew, or at least, a part of him knew that he would have to deal with this soon.

The truth was, that he did love Dita, the redhead was the first girl who was always beside him, and she always was concerned for him, making food for him, giving gifts, and always there for him. Granted that in the beginning, he found her actions, which was fueled by her belief of men being aliens and her curiosity about him, very annoying and also getting on his nerves. But her heart was in the right place, and her innocence, purity of heart, and kindness won him over, and the following times they had been together, Dita showed a beauty that he would have to be a fool to deny or throw away. The fact was that before Jura, Meia, Sara, and Mai ever came close to him and developed into being very important people to him…Dita was the first woman to befriend him, at first only to learn more about him, but now she did it because she cared about his well being and happiness. That kindness, affection, and nature, coupled with her other positive traits…and as much as he tried to ignore it, her well grown form made her an important part of his life…and she did hold a place in his heart, a strong part.

<This is going to sound kind of mushy…but it's the truth after all.>

Kyo reached out for Dita and then walked over to her and then, Dita blushed as Kyo hugged her and she dropped her helmet, as Kyo did as well to hold her. Both pilots held each other and Kyo spoke to her after several moments passed between them.

“I do love you Dita, you've done a lot for me ever since I came here…and I can't repay you enough for being there for me…even if at times I didn't want you to.”

Dita cried a bit and hugged him back, looping her arms on his neck and holding him tight, and she whispered to him.

“Thank you Kyo….I love you too, and I had a talk with the Captain and the others.”

Kyo looked at her.

“You did? You really talked to the Captain about…well, being in love with me?”

“Yes…and I know that I am not the only one…”

“Dita…I…”

Dita shook her head and smiled once more.

“Don't worry Kyo, I understand and they are my friends, and I know that I…have a special place in you're heart. It's hard, but I know why they love you like I do…and I don't mind you being with them.”

Kyo was still stunned somewhat, and when he got his voice back, he asked.

“Are you…okay with this…I mean, knowing that I care about others as well as you Dita?”

Dita nodded and with an air of passion that seemed very much unlike her innocent nature, she reached out and kissed him slowly and yet innocently on the lips. The kiss lasted as the elevator reached the destination assigned to it and the door opened, just as Dita broke her passionate yet innocent kiss to Kyo, she then blushed brightly and bowed.

“Yes…because I love you Kyo…and maybe when the fighting ends for now, I can show you just how much I love you.”

Kyo couldn't help but stare as Dita picked up her helmet and leave the elevator as it had arrived and it would only a short walk to the Hanger Bay, right where the others were waiting. Dita left first and then gestured to Kyo, who broke out of his stupor, grabbed his helmet and followed Dita.

<Of all the things I expected to happen…what Dita had just told me was certainly not one of them!>

Kyo shook his head and couldn't help but feel that this was going to be an interesting future for him. But for now, he had to focus on defending that very future. As he rushed towards his Gundam, he looked to see Jura, Meia, and Dita, all three dressed in their piloting uniforms, look at him with warm smiles and he smiled back, he then spotted Sara and Mai, both of whom smiled as well. He sighed and got into his Gundam, it seems that at least his problems with the women who held places in his heart was settled, and now, once the war with the Harvesters was ended, he could focus on that for now…and make a future for himself…and he was very certain that he was not going to be alone in making that future.

Once he was inside, he powered up the Gundam and he looked for the box of mementos that his parents had left behind in his supposed grave. He rummaged through the box a bit, moving aside the items carefully and reverently as they were the only physical treasures he had. And then found a small case that he left alone for a long time, but with his memories back…he knew just what was in the case. He found the latch and took out a picture of his graduation from school, years after he left the Guardians to pursue a normal civilian life with the rest of his family. It was in that picture where he was dressed in the graduation uniform, his parents were beside him smiling, his sister was there, along with his brother…and even his aunt Cagalli, uncle Athrun, and his cousin Kyra were there.

He looked at the picture with a smile and placed it on the cockpit with the use of a small magnetic clip. He looked hard at the picture, and knew that his parents and relatives made the future he lived in as a child…and he defended the human race four hundred years ago…allowing them to grow and reach beyond the stars.

Now it was time for him to stand up with the others who were now his friends, family, and loved ones to defend the future, not just for themselves and all humanity, but for those who would soon be born. As he checked his Gundam's OS and saw that all systems were green light and the power systems were all good, he then activated his P-Phase Shift and sent out the signal that he was ready to head for the Launching Platform. It did not take long for him to see Meia, Jura, and Dita, in their respective Gundams leave their paddocks to follow him, along with Sara and Mai leading the Crusader Squadron into battle.

Kyo smiled as he got his Gundam ready for battle. However, he decided to soon find out just WHAT sort of conversation the girls had with his niece Magno to make them decide on sharing him, this he had to find out soon so he could make SOME sense of it.

**************

In space…

Barnette was busy readying the rest of the Dreads and get them into combat formation, and she was going to make sure that all the Dreads under her command were ready for the soon to arrive encounter with the Harvesters.

“A-Team, move to front and be prepared for contact, B-Team, move to the left flank and prepare for contact, C-Team, move to the right flank and prepare for contact, and D-Team, be in the rear to reinforce the other teams and protect the Nirvana from the rear. All Dreads are to engage the enemy on sight but do not break the defensive lines.”

It was then that another Dread arrived alongside her own, along with another wing of Dreads. It didn't take long for the emerald haired Dread pilot to recognize the lead Dread to be that of Vaora. It didn't take long for the veteran Dread pilot to speak to Barnette, and she was naturally surprises since she was not yet aware of Meia's reassignment as a Gundam pilot under Kyo's direct command and supervision.

“Barnette? Why are you leading the Dreads and not Meia?”

Barnette then told Vaora of what had happened to Meia's Dread nearly several months ago when they were ambushed by the Harvesters Mirage Colloid equipped forces. She had been in the scene to watch the transformation of the former Dread Squadron Leader's interceptor into it's Gundam mode. And to say that Vaora was surprised was an understatement.

“The Paeksis transformed Meia's Dread into a Gundam?! You mean…just like that guy Kyo's own Gundam unit was transformed?”

“Yes, I was there to witness the whole thing Vaora, it was amazing and since it happened…Meia's been under Kyo's direct training and leadership in order to learn how to use her Gundam properly in battle.”

“I see…is Meia okay with it…I mean, she might not show it, but she loved flying in Dreads and the idea of her flying of those Gundams is a little hard to swallow.”

Barnette had to agree, it had taken Meia quite a while to get used to flying a Gundam unit, but like she had seen in the past, meia was a very quick learner and she absorbed Kyo's training like a sponge and the training had certainly helped her out a great deal in the recent battles they had with the Harvesters and their ever evolving forces. If it hadn't been for Kyo's training and lessons, Meia would have been in rather dangerous territory.

“She's a fast learner Vaora, we both know that, she's already very skilled in using that Gundam of hers and she's not the only one learning under Kyo as well.”

“Oh?”

“Jura, and Dita's Dreads were also transformed by the Paeksis and have turned into Gundams as well, both of them are also under Kyo's direct command and training. And as far as I can tell, they are certainly doing very well as Gundam pilots…and they're not the only ones, Max McFile took lessons from him on how to pilot his own Gundam, the Templar better, Sara and Mai, along with the other members of his Squadron train with him every day on how to pilot their own Mobile Suits…and even me as well.”

“Wow…a lot has changed…wait a minute…you take lessons from him too? You own a Gundam yourself?”

Barnette then told Vaora about what had happened on the desert world she and the rest of the pirates were trapped in and how they had worked together on how to escape, she then mentioned that it was where she met Max McFile, Duero's younger brother and how he saved her life…and all the other times she had learned a lot from the younger McFile and how she learned a lot on how men really lived. Vaora was looking at her as if she had grown another head the whole time.

“What?”

“Is it just my imagination Barnette…or do you….like this man?”

Barnette blushed a bit and looked a bit guilty.

Vaora couldn't help but gap at Barnette, unable to believe that the former man hater had turned into this woman who cared for men and working together with them, which was still hard to swallow. But it was even more shocking to her to see Barnette being…very caring for this one man.

“Did anything happen between the two of you or something?”

Barnette blushed even harder as she thought back on a conversation, a very important conversation with Max back on the Nirvana before she had taken off to work with the rest of the Dread pilots.

**************

Earlier…

Barnette was already on her way to her Dread as the battle plans had been made in the planning room, as she had been placed in command of all the Dread Squadrons she was the one to take the lead of the rest of the teams, but a part of her was elsewhere…

She hoped that she had made a good impression with Max's Alpha, Hiryu McFile, since she had gotten very close to Max himself, she wanted to make sure that Hiryu was all right with her closeness and relationship with his youngest child. Another part of her was thinking back on that intimate situation she found herself in with Max when they were with the Resistance a few months before, she blushed brightly at the memory of it and what it had done with their relationship. She recalled the videos she had seen with Jura…about how men and women had children, and how it had made her blush…instead of being shocked and horrified by what she had seen, the images made her feel hot and also she couldn't help but imagine herself and Max doing those very same things, and when she did, her blush grew even brighter.

She however was not sure if Max himself was ready for such a thing, and she wondered if Max would even agree to doing those things with her, and most of all…she wondered how Hiryu would accept them if they actually did those things. It was difficult to imagine but she wanted to know just how it would feel if she and Max did have sex, not just because she wanted to know how it felt…but because she was in love with him. It was hard to admit at times, but she did love Max for all the things he had done, and she wanted to show him just how much, but since they were at war with the Harvesters, and she was still not sure about his feelings for her that stopped her.

She shook her head and went on towards the Dread Hanger to board her Dread, as soon as the first battle was over, she would get a chance to talk about it with him.

“Barnette! Wait up!”

She turned to see none other than Max rushing up to her, she stopped and faced the Talark male as soon as he was beside her.

“What is it Max?”

The Talark male then sighed a bit and also to catch his breath, as soon as he caught his breath, he spoke to Barnette.

“My Alpha said to me that he…doesn't mind the two of us being close friends, but he still wants to know more about us…and he said that he is interested to see just how far things will develop between the two of us, the same way he is interested to see just how things will turn out between my brother Duero and Parfet. So you don't have to worry about him not being in agreement with…well us being friends.”

Barnette felt relieved and smiled at him. Max then thought about his situation more carefully, he had made peace with his past relationship with Claire and he had felt a great burden being removed from his shoulders now that he was able to express his feelings about the relationship he had with the now deceased Megele female. A part of him worried that he might not see Barnette again however…this was a very serious battle they were all going to get involved in and if anything were to happen, then…he was not going to lose Barnette the same way he lost Claire's mother Fiona, and then Claire herself. But he had to remain behind in order to assist his brother in the Medical Bay and not fly his Gundam, unless things were dire. He decided to speak his feelings now and then the two of them can figure the rest out together once the battles were over.

“Barnette…I've been…uh, meaning to say something to you.”

“What is it?”

“When you come back…I want to talk to you about…us.” Max said slowly so as to be careful with his words, hoping that Barnette would understand his current state of mind concerning their relationship.

Barnette's heart stopped for a moment and beat faster again, she never expected such a thing to come out from Max and she was very much unable to answer. Max took this a bit on the wrong side and suspected that he had really caught her off guard…but he continued since this was too far gone already so he should say his piece and get to work.

“I…I once made a pledge to Claire's mother Fiona that I would watch out for her, when she died back on that desert world. That I would protect her with my life…but I failed. And it was only after losing her that I realized that I…loved her for all the time we had to work together to survive. It was the hardest thing I have ever felt in my entire life and I hardly ever spoke of it all since her death. But now…I met you and I felt it again, the same feelings I had for Claire…but this time…I know what they are. You are so much like Claire…but yet you are not. I want to say this straight and without any sugar-coating. I care for you and for who you are… not because you are like her in some ways. You are yourself, you have your own strength and will, and…well…you're beautiful in your own right. I want to make this…friendship, or rather…uh, relationship work out between us.”

Max sighed and took his breath in and continued.

“I want to say that I care for you Barnette and as much…as I don't want to see you go into battle without me beside you…I believe in you and you're skill and courage. But I want you to know that I love you for who you are…and I don't want to lose you…ever. When you come back I want to know…if you feel the same way about me. And if you do, then I will try to make things work out between us…no matter what others will say about it… either those from you're world of Megele, or mine of Talark. I wish you…”

Barnette didn't waste any more time and glomped onto Max and held him tight, the force of her action forced Max to hold onto her and both of them hit a nearby wall, with Max cushioning their landing with his own body. He immediately felt his body react to Barnette's closeness. And before he could say anything…Barnette kissed him…fiercely, this was enough to stun and silence Max. Any other words he planned to say died in his mouth as he slowly responded to Barnette's sudden lip lock.

The seconds passed until Barnette released him and smiled at his stunned and flustered expression, and it matched her own expression as well. She then smiled and spoke to Max in a hushed but happy tone.

“I was hoping that you would say that, I want to tell you something too…I had a hard time with it myself…but I love you as well. And I promise you…I will come back…and when I do.”

She then posed a bit seductively before Max and that had an effect on him as he blushed even more at seeing Barnette act in a very strange but very interesting way. She kissed him once more and replied.

“I have every intention of showing you how much I want you.”

With that, Barnette bid Max farewell and headed back to the Dreads to launch off into battle.

**************

Back among the Dreads…

Barnette smiled warmly at the memory of the conversation and replied to Vaora's question.

“That's private Vaora.”

Vaora tried to get more details, but her line of question stopped before it even got started as she spotted the I-Freedom Gundam fly out from the Nirvana and was now being escorted by three other Gundam units…namely the Azure Angel, the Silver Lightning, and the Crimson Edge. All four Gundams were then followed by the Crusader Squadron pilots and their own Crusader Mobile Suits…all ready for combat.

Kyo smiled as his Squadron got ready for combat and all his team-mates were ready for the encounter. The only thing left was to wait for the arrival of their third guest, the Mirage Colloid equipped Harvester Battle-ship they had converted to their side. It was time for it to reveal itself to the people of both Talark and Megele…as living proof of the Harvesters' existence and the threat they posed to all humanity in the universe. If this was not going to convince the two governments of the true threat of the Harvesters…then maybe the battle to come would.

This was the only time Kyo disliked the course of action he was taking, along with the others, they were going to be cutting it real close this time. The only thing he could hope to at the very least make things better was that someone would have the chance to talk to all the leaders of both Talark and Megele…not the governments and their blind zealot followers…but the original men and women of the Ikazuchi.

**************

In the Medical Bay…

Duero got his gear and equipment ready for the soon to arrive casualties in this important battle with the incoming advanced Harvester Fleet, Paiway was also tense, as she knew just how serious this moment was going to be for her and everyone else on the ship. And max prayed a prayer of protection in his planet's native tongue for everyone in both the Paradise and the Nirvana…

But he made another special prayer for Barnette and implored his home-world's Gods to protect her no matter what the situation.

**************

In the bridge…

Magno looked at all the preparations of her forces and the arrival of Rebecca and her own ship, along with their own forces. She had wanted Rebecca not to get involved now, but Rebecca was not backing down, and asked permission to fight alongside them, besides, she had a daughter to protect and she could hardly do that if she was just sitting pretty on the sidelines…besides, she said that she might as well be around or else Magno was going to complain just in case they were not around to begin with when she needed them.

“How impudent you've become Rebecca.” Magno laughed and Rebecca followed suit.

As she looked at all the things that were happening before her. The elderly niece of Kyo Clyne Yamato and granddaughter of both Kira and Lacus Yamato decided that it was now time to get the older generations involved in this war, she knew that there was not much chance of her crew to convince the current governments of their respective worlds…

So now it was the right time to involve the very people who founded both worlds.

“BC…I want you to use the Genesis Line to both Talark and Megele.”

Tenmei/Buzam knew what she was talking about…the line the old crew of the Ikazuchi had not used in nearly a century.

“You want to talk to both Grand Ma and Grand Pa… Captain?”

Magno nodded.

“It's high time they got to be involved in this…it is time for them to see the future that they have made.”

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On the surface of Talark…

An old, but tall and well muscled man in a tight green shirt, pants, boots, and glasses, made his way into the bowels of the capital city of Talark. He had much to do with the heads of the Government, not with the current leaders…but the Council of Seven, events have already been set in motion that no amount of propaganda could stop. Things were changing for the better in a way, but they were now on a knife's edge, any misstep could end the future and plunge the whole of humanity into darkness. In his hands was a small cloth wrapped bundle…to others it could have been anything…and it could be nothing but junk…but to him, it was the sign of things to come.

Their world was changing…and now the time had come for his people…and no doubt the women of Megele to change and prepare.

Old man Jin…who was really Jin Kusanagi, member of the old Ikazuchi crew…and husband to Magno Vivian Yamato, moved through the crowds and passed several security checkpoints…

To visit the Council…and Grand Pa.

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To be continued…

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Author's Notes:

Hi there…

I'm back and here is the latest part in Chapter 10…hope you don't mind as we have some hurdles for Kyo to overcome, and the battles and the lemon I promised will be ready soon.

The chapter is finished!

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(*) Based on the Z.A.F.T GuAIZ R model.

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For those who are somewhat new to Phase Shift Armor and are confused by why Phase Shift on Mobile Suits can't block beam fire and beam weapons, but stations like the GENESIS can withstand the fire-power of the Eternal and most beam based weapons. There are some good reasons.

The first is the power requirements, the fact is that Phase Shift can withstand beam weaponry quite effectively, however in order for that to happen, it would require a massive flow of power to maintain the effect.

The Aegis, Buster, Blitz, Duel…and the Strike Gundams were the first generation users of Phase Shift, and it had been determined that Phase Shift could be overwhelmed by beam weapons since at it's first design, the Earth Alliance were the first to use beam rifles and beam sabers and therefore considered only using general shields with anti-beam coating to protect the G-Weapons since Z.A.F.T still used conventional solid projectile weapons and melee weapons in all it's Mobile Suit forces, and that was in the belief that with the Z.A.F.T forces still using ballistic weapons, the Phase Shift armed Gundams would have a chance to tip the scales in the favor of the Earth Alliance, and it was only when Z.A.F.T commandos stole the four Mobile Suits and acquired the designs for beam weapons that beam weapons became the soon to be seen norm in some of the new generation of Z.A.F.T Mobile Suits, thus the G-Weapons now faced a dire problem.

The second fact was that since all five mentioned G-Weapons used battery reactors which had limited power reserves, there was no way they could both maintain Phase Shift AND have enough power to increase the defensive properties of Phase Shift to withstand beam fire, and it was only when Neutron Jammer Cancellers were used that Nuclear power once more came into play. Nuclear power would allow any unit, whether Mobile Suit, station, or ship armed with both that and Neutron Jammer Cancellers unlimited power…case in point, the three Z.A.F.T Second Generation G-Weapons, the Justice, the Freedom, and the Providence Gundams, and the GENESIS itself.

Now the next question is why is it that even with both a Nuclear Reactor and a Neutron Jammer Canceller installed in all three units, the Freedom, Justice, and the Providence Gundams still get destroyed or damaged by beam fire?

The second is safety controls. Even if a Nuclear reactor is present, a Mobile Suit with Phase Shift would have to retain the original settings and therefore still retained vulnerability to beam weapons, so if it needed more power to the Phase Shift Armor, the pilot would have to make adjustments to the Voltage Settings, and that would be a dangerous move to the OS, namely in the sense that the OS would have to be reformatted back to basic settings, and such changes made in a battle field situation was asking for disaster.

And the nuclear reactor has one flaw, it can go critical if it overheats or is badly damaged. To add to the point, using the Gundam's power settings to drain more power into Phase Shift to combat beam weapons would drain power from both Gundam's own beam arsenals, and the rest of it's core systems, such as navigation, propulsion, communications, OS, and also decrease it's mobility and combat effectiveness, a dangerous move in certain combat conditions, and most of all… if the nuclear reactor is pushed beyond it's normal power distribution limits, then it would go critical and cause dangerous internal damage and even kill the pilot. That was why the Freedom, and the Providence were damaged in their fight, and even the Freedom got a lot of damage when it faced off with the Earth Alliance's 2nd generation of G-Weapons, the Calamity, Raider, and the Forbidden despite the fact that despite them using an advanced form of Phase Shift Armor yet retaining the battery reactors.

In the case of the GENESIS, it was armed with powerful nuclear reactors that had large scale safety features and the Neutron Jammer Cancellers, therefore it could handle diverting massive portions of it's power to the Phase Shift Armor to render it immune to both beam and ballistic weapons, and still have more than sufficient power for it's weapon systems, Mirage Colloid stealth systems… and naturally the gamma laser. Thus it required Athrun's sacrifice of the first Justice Gundam by self destruction to damage GENESIS hard enough for it to be severely damaged in the nuclear reactors that it used and the resulting explosions destroyed it from the inside out.

I hope that answers some questions.

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Kind of sad huh? Now if this situation doesn't make sense at first, answer this question.

How would you feel if you suddenly remembered you're past and found out that the people and places you all knew and loved were already gone, and you are still alive?

Not very easy to live it, let alone come to terms with, now is it?

I dislike too much drama, but I think that this should be enough for now, I don't want to be teary-eyed all the time anyway.

Comments and reviews please?

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There seems to be some confusion as to what my previous statement was regarding on the case of nuclear power and Phase Shift. I think I should clarify something.

The question was on WHY Mobile Suits armed with Phase Shift, Nuclear Reactors, and Neutron Jammer Cancellers could still be damaged by beam weapons even if in theory, the unrestrained nuclear power would allow greater energy allocation to Phase Shift, thus allowing it to deflect or nullify energy weapons-fire. That was applied to the Freedom Gundam piloted by Kira Yamato, the Justice Gundam piloted by Athrun Zala, and the Providence Gundam piloted by Rau Le Crueset

Here is a short line from an information source on Phase Shift when it had nuclear power that was protected by Neutron Jammer Cancellers, and this applies directly to the GENESIS.

-With the tremendous amount of energy made available through the use of nuclear power, even greater amounts of energy could now be allocated to PS armor. `GENESIS' allocated so much power to it's PS Armor that it was able to nullify direct energy beam attacks from the Eternal and the Kusanagi, including the Kusunagi's `Lohengrin' positron blaster cannons. -

And here is a brief description on GENESIS.

-GENESIS uses multiple nuclear devices with Neutron Jammer Cancellers to produce a massive burst of gamma radiation, which is reflected back by an external alignment mirror and focused on a secondary mirror into a laser beam.-

My point is that I brought this question up on the question as to why Mobile Suits with Nuclear Reactors, Phase Shift Armor, and Neutron Jammer Cancellers were still damaged by beam fire and that question alone.

I am familiar with the GENESIS and on what it's systems were, the devices would have to be either nuclear weapons or reactors, though I believe that nuclear reactors are the devices… since nuclear missiles were never seen in the possession of the Z.A.F.T, only in the Earth Alliance military, so it would make sense that nuclear reactors could be the devices mentioned, since in a practical stand-point, if the Z.A.F.T had nuclear weapons of it's own then why didn't they use them on the EA military the same way?

And it has been shown that Z.A.F.T pioneered nuclear technology, namely with the creation of devices such as the Neutron Jammer, the Neutron Jammer Canceller, Neutron Stampeder, and naturally the GENESIS Cannon, along with systems such as the Deuterion Beam Energy Transfer System, and the Hyper-Deuterion Nuclear Reactor. But it was never mentioned the existence of nuclear missiles in their arsenals. Plus nuclear weapon explosions are uncontrolled and last only a second, plus the damage caused by nuclear weapon is too horrific to be contained easily, while a nuclear reactor can simulate a nuclear explosion but it's controlled and sustainable, plus with the safety features, it is less likely to go critical unless severe damage occurs. Thus it would make sense that Z.A.F.T scientists would have found a way to channel the gamma radiation made in the simulated nuclear reaction and use it to act as the main component of the gamma laser.

However, let's not all forget that the reason the topic was brought up in the first place was the question as on WHY the Freedom, Justice, and Providence Gundams were still damaged by beam weapons even with the facts that they have Nuclear Reactors that provided unlimited power and were protected by Neutron Jammer Cancellers.

I hope that clears it up.

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Heh…I bet no ever saw that one coming….Kyo is Magno's great-great-great-grand uncle…what does that mean now for the crew…and to Kyo in particular?

The possibilities…as one once said…are endless.

See you later…

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It has finally arrived….the first of the series of lemon parts I will be writing in this part of Chapter 10, and for the other parts and even in Chapter 11 itself, and might even be seen in Chapter 12!

Now then, unlike the Teaser Chapter that I made last time, this one will be with ALL the details, so expect things to get a little bit... heated…(^_^), but since we're having Kyo go first and five women are after him, and one of them has finally been given the go-ahead by Magno herself, here's one interesting question for you all.

Who's the lucky woman who's going to lose her virginity to Kyo…and take Kyo's away from his as well?

The answer to that will be shown to you all very soon, until then, you are all free to come up with your own guesses.

Have fun!

Don't forget, that sooner or later…we'll have the other resident couples take a shot at the lemon bits too, so stick around for that as well!

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So…how was the first lemon of GunDread SEED? Good? Bad? Needs more work? If any of you pick one of the three, please send me a comment or e-mail.

FLAMES are NOT welcomed!

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I am here to state that this part of Chapter 10 is now officially complete!

You'll have to forgive my rushing of idea lately, I've had a lot on my mind and therefore, need a bit of a break, this chapter will be it for now until all my ideas are once more organized, in the mean time, I will be waiting for more comments and reviews from you all, my readers.

As before, please do not hesitate to offer ideas, comments, constructive critiques, reviews and suggestions, which I will read and consider. Any worthwhile ideas and suggestions that I find, will incorporate into the coming chapters to make the story more viable and effective for all the people involved.

More lemons are yet to come by the way, so please send you're suggestions on the topic as well.

However, I will not tolerate Flames and I will ignore them and remove them eventually so don't even bother sending any my way. All you will be doing is wasting my time and yours if you still send them my way.

 

I will see you all later once my self imposed break is over and I have organized my ideas. Onwards to Chapter 10-Part 3 First Strike!