Dramatis Personae:(By order of rank)

General Relena Peacecraft, Fleet command

General Milliardo Peacecraft, Starfighter command

General Heero Yuy, Starfighter command, Special Ops.

General Trowa Barton, Intelligence

Colonel Lucrezia Noin, Fleet Intelligence

Colonel Midii Une, Fleet command

Major Duo Maxwell, Starfighter command

General Wedge Antilles- Corellian male, Starfighter command

Commander Phoenicia "Phoenix" Aneirin- Coruscant female, New Republic Intelligence (NRI)

Somewhere behind Pluto’s orbit, a tall man clad in Imperial grays with the rank of captain, looked out the viewport at the green planet. He smiled as he thought of the information his spies had gotten for him. This system was quite interesting. Their history of war and peace was a beautiful song to a soldier’s heart. The sheer intelligence of some of their people was incredible, but there was much he still had to learn.

Then there were the Gundams. Impressive machines he had to admit. They would make a nice addition to the fleet. We could bring down the Rebels in a matter of a few quick strikes.

"Sir, we have a report of our scout ships locating a Rebel fleet on the other side of the sun!"

The general standing beside the captain turned and looked down at the com officer, "What is their size?"

"Reports show that they have eight Cruisers. Five are Corellian corvettes, two Imperial Star Destroyers Mark II, and one Interdictor Cruiser."

The general’s pudgy face paled considerably, "Two deuces and one Interdictor cruiser? Are we sure about that?"

"Yes, sir."

"Dark Sith! Why are they here and with so much fire power?"

"Probably for the same reason we are, sir."

"This is not good! I want more scout ships out there, NOW! Give me all the information you can get. Also, alert the ground troops! Keep trying to get a message to fleet command. I won’t let the Rebels get a hold here! They will not come out victorious!"

The general turned his glazed eyes to his second. "Captain Maisic, alert your intelligence people. I want to know why you haven’t been able to report their presence to me."

Maisic was about to reply when another officer nearly panicked.

"Sir! Reports are coming in that the Lusankya has just dropped out of hyperspace!"

General Admar’s face went completely white. "Tell me that the Lusankya was last reported being put into a museum?"

Maisic turned and faced the General. "Sir, Lusankya’s last known location was a museum, but, sir, that report is seven years old."

Admar turned around and began issuing orders, leaving Maisic to wonder what exactly they were getting into. His fears mounted when Admar gave out his final order.

"This system is too valuable to lose to the Rebels. We will fight them to the death for it."

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

Relena sighed and looked out her bedroom window. She wished everything in her life were normal. She wished that she could erase the hands of time and start again. She wished she could be a regular college girl. She wished.....

That’s all it is, Relena. Nothing but wishes. Yet you know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the decisions you have made concerning the New Republic are the wise ones. You wouldn't change your new life and new future for nothing. Relena leaned her head against the cool pane, feeling the tension in her shoulders ease. I want to live my life with no regrets, giving my all. I will give no less.

A knock at her door interrupted her thoughts, and she looked at her clock to see that it was 0230 hours. "Come in."

The door opened slowly to reveal three forms outlined by the hall's light. She recognized Midii’s form, but the others were alien to her.

"Relena, forgive me for interrupting you at such a late hour, but I believe you should meet these people." All three stepped closer into the moonlight, and Midii's strained expression gave evidence to the strain in her voice. "This is New Republic Ambassador Leia Organa Solo." The woman gave a slight bow to Relena while giving a gentle smile.

Relena shook the woman’s hand in turn. "It is a pleasure to meet you. I must say that I am surprised to see you here."

"Once the Senate heard of these ‘Gundams’ that your planet can produce, they believed it was imperative to get you to join us immediately."

"If they are looking for the blueprints, the New Republic won't find them."

Leia kept her face impassive and devoid of emotion, yet inside she was shocked at the woman's abrupt response. Wedge had lead her to believe that Relena Peacecraft was a kind woman.

Midii cleared her throat. "If you will forgive me? I would also like to introduce Luke Skywalker, Jedi Master and Leia’s twin brother."

Relena gasped. She had been told of these ‘Jedi Knights’, but she never thought she would meet one. There was at least one Jedi in a New Republic officer's uniform on earth that she could think of, but she had avoided meeting the junior officer. "It is a pleasure, Master Skywalker."

Luke gave a gentle smile as well. "Please, call me Luke."

"Very well. Tell me, how did you get here?"

Leia took charge. "We arrived with more troops on the SSD Lusankya."

Relena felt the floor beneath her shift as the feeling of sheer awe raced through her. Wedge had told her the ship was coming, and now that it was here, she couldn't wait to get a good look at it in person.

At the height of the Empire, there had been five known Super-class Star Destroyers in existence. After years of battles, the only one that was in current existence was the Lusankya, yet even then, that ship had been taken off the line and put into a museum. Perhaps, due to the fallback in the new design production lines, the New Republic had seen it fit to take the Lusankya out of dry-dock and put it back on the lines.

But weren't they aware of the New Republic Fleet's two newest additions?

Relena pulled herself out of her thoughts when she saw the Jedi Master stifle a yawn. "Where have my manners gone! You must both be exhausted. Would you like to be shown to your rooms?"

Leia smiled. "Thank you. I do have one request, however. We would like to join you in your meeting with the Katanas’ top leaders, if that would be all right? Then I would like to meet with you and Wedge before the general meeting."

"That is fine. Is there anything I can do for you in the mean time?"

"No, we will excuse ourselves. Until tomorrow, General."

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

Ambassador and Jedi Master walked into the room that they were shown to.

Relaxing on the couch, Leia looked up at her brother. "What did you find?" Leia asked concerning her brothers Jedi powers.

Luke’s face clouded over as he sat next to her. "Something strange. There was another presence in the room."

Leia’s eyes grew with worry. "It’s not going to harm the general, is it?"

"No, nothing like that. Actually, this presence seemed very protective of the general. What’s even more interesting, I sensed the force strongly in both of them."

"I did as well. What does this mean? How did the Jedi get here? Especially when this system was just discovered, or was it?"

Luke’s mind began to follow Leia’s thoughts. "I don’t know, but from what I have learned from the history of this place, it could be possible that the Jedi came here a few millennias ago. Over a period of time, the Jedi traditions could have been lost."

A knock sounded on the door. Luke reached out with the force to identify the newcomer. "Come in."

"Forgive me for interrupting, but Master Luke, I have found the force flows strongly in a few of these Earthlings."

Luke looked at one of his longtime friends and Jedi Knight, Corran Horn. "Show me."

Corran obeyed, opened his mind, and thought of the people.

Luke couldn’t believe what he was seeing. ‘So many here. It is amazing that they have gone this long without being detected.’

The images ended, and Luke opened his natural eyes. He looked to his sister with one thought. "Wow."

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

Relena watched the door close, and it wasn't until she heard the resounding click that she collapsed on the window seat. It dawned on her that quite often she did collapse into her seat when no one was looking, and her mind raced with speculations as to the source of her problems."

She gave voice to her mind's questions. "Why are they here? I know there is more going on than they are telling us, but what is it? Why did they bring the Jedi Master as well? Are they being honest with us, or is this a hoax? No one has left this system yet, so how do we know that they are telling us is the truth? No, that’s not true. We can trust them. The presence of the Jedi Master confirmed it." Relena paused, searching her feelings. "Somehow, I know I can trust them."

She felt a presence move behind her. Without turning, she knew Heero was there with her. Her heart beat faster and threatened to pound itself out of her chest when he walked around her and into the moonlight.

She stood up to face him and nearly collapsed when his strong arms slid their way around her. He emanated such warmth and strength that she wanted it to last forever.

Heero leaned down and whispered in her ear, his warm breath sending shivers down her spine. "Relena, are you okay?"

Relena clung to his solid form. "No, Heero. Please, don’t leave me."

Heero pulled her closer, cherishing the feeling of her in his arms. "I won’t go anywhere." He wasn’t sure why she seemed to be so scared. The thought that this was too much for her quickly entered his mind, but he pushed it away just as quickly. She could handle it, but that still didn’t answer his question.

Heero gave a small smile as Relena buried her face in the curve of his neck. "Thanks."

They stayed that way for sometime, both not wanting it to end, but Relena knew she needed to talk to him. She needed to tell him. "Heero, do you really believe I can do this, or are you against me?" Relena took a deep breath and prepared for the worst as Heero’s arms tightened even more.

Heero wasn’t exactly sure how he should answer her. Things were happening inside him at a more constant rate. He had no clue as to what to make of it. I do know one thing though. I don’t want to lose you, Relena.

"Heero, please, answer me."

She’s waited long enough, suffered long enough. You need to tell her now. "Relena, I know you can do this. You are strong enough to get us all through this."

Relena felt the tears begin again. "I don’t know if I am strong enough. I am afraid that I will fail everybody. I’m afraid, Heero." Heero’s chest constricted at her pain and sorrow. He felt her hot tears soak through his uniform. Crushing Relena in his arms, Heero let her cry.

Unknown to him, her fears were centered on more than he ever thought possible for someone like her.

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

Relena walked from the meeting with the Katanas to her next meeting. Luke and Leia followed.

The meeting had been altogether interesting. The reception of the two new arrivals had been a mix of curiosity and animosity. The latter she could not understand.

Skywalker and Organa Solo had been kind to a fault, and Relena couldn't help but be taken with the two. Both had a look of tested wisdom about them, clearly signifying that they had faced the worse that life had to throw at them and had come out better because of it.

A feeling that something incredible was about to happen raced through her, causing her nerves to tingle. She could hardly wait to see what the future had in store.

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

Luke Skywalker followed the young general and his sister with a hidden smile. His traditional Jedi cloak waved around him as the air vents blew fresh air into the underground hallways. He knew the general was feeling different around the siblings. It only goes to show that her Jedi instincts are strong.

Luke’s thoughts wandered to what had been shared with him about Relena Peacecraft. He was pleased with the decisions that had been made on her part, yet he could only wonder if her mind would change once she was told of her Force abilities. But perhaps he was cutting her short. Time would give the answer.

Corran Horn dropped down from his fighter’s port pylon wings where he had been doing some minor lubrication work, unaware of the person walking beneath.

"Hey! Watch it!"

Corran whipped around to see Duo Maxwell frowning at him. In his hands was a tray of coffee. "Sorry. You’re Duo Maxwell, right?"

"Yep! That’s me. The great Shinigami."

Corran frowned, trying to understand the slur of syllables that had just been thrown at him. "The great what?"

"Shinigami."

Quatre walked up and smiled. "The English translation, or Basic as you would call it, is ‘God of Death’. I’m Quatre Winner, Preventers."

The captain’s eyes widened. "That’s pretty colorful."

Duo saw the others approach. "Introduce yourself, guys."

"Trowa Barton, Katana General."

"Wufei Chang, Preventer Colonel."

"Heero Yuy, Katana General."

Corran nodded at each, a little surprised at them. From outward appearances, they all seemed as different as night and day; but his sense of them in the Force revealed that they were all similar in one way or another. Quite an interesting concept. "I’m Captain Corran Horn, Rogue Squadron."

A shrill whistle prevented any more conversation. "All Starfighter pilots, New Republic and Katana, are to meet in the secondary hangar. I repeat...."

Corran waved for the others to follow. "Come on, you can meet the rest of us."

Twenty minutes later, over 700 hundred pilots had gathered in the hanger. The smell of grease and lubricants hung in the air, making all pilots and mechanics present feel at home. Over against the far wall, there was a mobile platform situated. On this platform stood the New Republic General Wedge Antilles.

"People, it is my pleasure to inform you that your final training for the next three weeks will begin today. Downloading to your data pads now is your individual schedules. You will be training with other squadrons according to your skill level. Training begins at 1700 hundred hours and continues around the clock. Don’t be surprised if you get a wake up simulation training call at 0300. Be prepared. You are to follow the orders of your superiors or face the consequences, which would probably be Rogue Squadron breathing down your neck and sticking a few lasers up your tail."

A group of men and women, both human and alien, snickered at that remark. The Gundam pilots automatically assumed them to be Rogue Squadron, the most feared fighting force in the galaxy.

"You are dismissed."

Everyone turned to leave as they pulled out their schedules. Heero looked down at his and noticed that he was scheduled, along with the other pilots and some new recruits, which were there to even off the squadron to 12, to go against Rogue Squadron.

"Well, well, well, looks like we get to show them some Gundam attitude. Come on, let’s kick some Rogue butt." Duo laughed and walked towards the simulation center, the others following closely behind.

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

Around the entire perimeter of the hanger hung a standard overhang, allowing traffic from the hallways to dump onto the overhang and use the stairs to access the floor of the hanger. The platform was well lit in most areas, save one spot directly in front of the most private of briefing rooms.

Relena stood just outside the door and in the shadows, watching the pilots disperse to their duties.

Wedge was quick to join her. "They seem ready and eager to complete their training."

"They are. It is encouraging to see them adapting well to the other species."

"Was that a concern of yours?"

"Yes. My people have a history of being very racial. Even to this day they have trouble accepting others that are not of their own skin color."

Wedge frowned at that bit of information. "Perhaps your people will have more trouble adjusting than first believed. Humans are humans, regardless of skin color. The Empire was bold enough to see that."

Relena nodded in understanding. "This is also, unfortunately, a liberal world. The majority is afraid of change, and a change like this might be enough to cause them to shy away from the New Republic. Or worse yet, the New Republic might be angered at their boldness of proclaiming humans a higher species."

"Why all this now, Relena?"

The woman in question shook her head, breaking off her negative train of thought. "What unit is Rogue Squadron's first victim?"

"I believe we have a challenge in Wing Squadron. Although, the X-wing is vastly different from a Gundam."

Relena smiled. "Put them in their place."

An eyebrow rose in mock surprise. "They have the ego to think they are better than us?"

"Unfortunately their time in the Gundams, recognized as a superior force, only added to their egos. It is time someone came along and set the record straight."

Wedge excused himself between chuckles and headed towards the simulator room. Although he wouldn't admit it, it was balanced ego that had allowed him to survive on the battlefield for so long.

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

In order for a pilot to get adequate training without wasting money, fuel, fighters, and manpower, simulators were used for the majority of training.

The simulators consisted only of the cockpit of the fighter, and where as the canopy would be clear, it was black. The inside of a simulator would match the actual starfighter exactly. From the g-forces the chair's inertia compensator could not keep up with, to the bounce in the stick when a missile was fired. Everything was real, if the pilot could only overcome the mentality that it was a simulator.

The simulators that were to be used by the Rogues and Wings were designed to emulate the X-wing starfighter, considered the most well rounded fighter in the group. It was roughly 12.5 meters long from nose to tail, with double-wing pylons port and starboard. When in combat, the pylon wings would split to make an "x", giving the fighter its name.

On each end of the pylon wings was a long laser cannon, its length adding to its long-range accuracy. At the base of each pylon wing where it connected to the body of the fighter behind the cockpit sat a fusial ion thrust engine, a remarkable design that only added to the fighter's superiority.

It was an impressive fighter, possibly one of the best.

Heero opened the hatch and climbed in while the others did the same. They had been late getting there, and Rogue Squadron was already waiting for them. Heero powered up his systems, and the anti-gravity chair became active, emulating the feeling of weightlessness. Heero adjusted it to .5 so he could still feel the movements of the craft.

He then hit the communication button. "Call ‘em up. Wing leader reporting four in the green."

Duo was next. "Wing two, ready to kick some butts!"

Trowa was more subdued. "Wing three, everything nominal."

Quatre seemed hesitant. "Wing four, let’s go."

Wufei was all business. "Wing five, justice shall be served."

Milliardo was as serious as ever. "Wing six, system running 99 percent."

"Wing seven, all green."

"Wing eight, reporting the same."

"Wing nine, losers pay for a round of drinks."

"Wing ten, four lit and in the green."

"Wing eleven, reporting the same."

"Wing twelve, systems running 100 percent."

A new voice came over the system. "Katanas, so good of you to join us. I hope you are all ready to have a little fun?"

Heero smirked. "Sure thing, General. Why don’t you teach us a few new tricks?"

Wedge's voice came back, equally as challenging. "Pay close attention now. You don't want to miss anything vitally important."

At that moment, the forward and side viewports changed from black to a black backdrop and a smattering of stars. The colonies were visible in their rear scopes while the earth floated directly before them.

"Where are they, Wings?"

"Fifteen klicks to our starboard! Heading zero-nine-zero mark two!"

Heero shot his fighter in the direction. "Break into two groups. Odd numbers on me. Zechs, you take even." Watching the range indicator, Heero prepared two protons to fire off. His astromech droid, Zero, began to beep. At two klicks, the beeping became one long tone indicating lock, which meant the Rogue’s had a lock as well. "Fire!"

Twelve torpedoes shot out from the formation, their blue glow spewing out from the fighters. At the same moment the Rogues had fired, but they had chosen lasers at maximum range.

Heero questioned the validity of that move, but pushed the thoughts aside. "Wings, evasive manuevers. Break off into pairs."

Checking the data stream, Heero noticed they had scored three hits, but it wasn’t enough to do much damage. Wing group had also taken a few hits. A few seconds later, they flew past the Rogue formation. Six Rogue’s broke off and followed the Wing group.

Duo dropped in behind and a little to Heero port. "Ready to kick some butt, Heero?"

"Yeah."

Duo pushed a button on his com console to broadcast on an open band. "Watch out, ya'll! The god of death is back again!"

Shifting the fighter to the port, Heero took a long loop with Duo right behind him. He sighted his target and went after it. The Rogue X-wing before him saw his approach vector and veered off to starboard.

After a series of tight maneuvers and turns that would make Trowa proud, Heero got a good lock on the fighter and fired at point blank range. It imploded, and he had no room to move. He came out the other end of the fireball a little charred.

Checking the data stream once again, Heero saw that nearly half of the Wings, the rookies, had been wiped out, but nearly all of Rogue Squadron remained.

"Leader, think we will have some fun?"

"Two, don’t get cocky."

"That would be a first for him."

"Shut up, five."

"Incoming!" Again the fight raged on, only this time it was fought with more ferocity than the last was. Half and hour later, the fight had still not come to a conclusion.

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

General Peacecraft walked briskly down the halls of the base lost in her thoughts. Something just didn’t feel right to her… but what? What are the Imperials waiting for? Wouldn’t it be better to strike now, before we gain more reinforcements? She focused back on reality when she heard a group of voices approaching. About twenty men and women to be more exact.

"Hey, General Ojousan." Duo said as he came to a stop in front of her, and the others continued on their way down the hall.

"What’s going on?" asked Relena giving him a questioning look.

"Nothin’, the four show-offs are still playing around in the simulators. After about an hour the rest of us thought that we’d get a head start on running’ up the tab… loser buys the drinks."

There was just something about that evil grin, Relena couldn’t help but smile. "Wait, you mean they’re still fighting?" Duo nodded. "Let me Guess, the ‘four show-offs’ would be Heero, Milliardo, Wedge Antilles, and Tycho Celchu…. Am I right?"

He chuckled, "You got it. A Wes Janson and Hobbie said if the others don’t finish up soon, they're gonna go in there and finish them all off. It’s going on three hours." He glanced down the hall at the retreating figures of his comrades. "Listen ‘Lena, I’ll catch up with you later, okay?"

She smiled, and Duo took off after the other pilots, "Hey, no fair starting’ without Shinigami…"

Relena began her walk again, but instead of heading for her room as before, she started towards the simulation room. This could be interesting.

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

The snap-hiss sound of two lightsabers filled the empty living room to the suite occupied by the Jedi Master Luke Skywalker and his sister. Flashes of light and the hiss of the blades interaction danced off the walls carelessly. The two combatants parried, thrust, dodged, and blocked their way around the furniture, careful not to damage anything, but quickly loosing themselves to sibling rivalry.

"Focus." The Master instructed his young students. "Concentrate."

Jacen and Anakin Solo nodded in understanding, but didn’t slow down their pace. Seeing that his point was lost on them for the day, he motioned for the brothers to stop.

"You’re missing the point," he said. "This exercise has nothing to do with who is stronger, who is faster, who is better, and who is not. You both know this. Don’t let your competitive feelings rule you. This is no different then practicing with your friends at the academy. Just because you’re brothers doesn’t mean you can forget everything that you’ve learned."

Just as Anakin was about to defend himself, Leia spoke up from the corner she had been watching in, "Why don’t we go grab a bite to eat?"

"Great idea." Luke agreed. The four decided on heading to the dinning rooms instead of fending for themselves.

"So when are Jaina and Aunt Mara getting here?" Anakin asked, his bright blue eyes smiling at his mother from underneath a shock of dark brown hair. Despite his age of nineteen his boyish features made him look younger.

"Actually I’m going to go meet them after we eat," she answered. Leia then noticed Relena walking down the hall in the opposite direction, lost deeply in her own thoughts. "General Peacecraft," she called as the woman grew closer. Relena just kept walking not noticing that anyone was talking to her. As she was about to pass them, Leia put a hand on her arm, "Relena, are you okay?"

Relena’s eyes snapped up to identify who had grabbed her and a few seconds passed before recognition dawned. "Oh, Ambassador, I’m so sorry. You scared me."

"Please, call me Leia. We were on our way to the kitchen for a bite to eat. Would you like to join us? Oh where are my manners… these are my sons, Jacen and Anakin."

Both nodded in response to their name and Relena introduced herself. "Actually I was on my way to the simulation room to check up on things."

"Let me join you," said Leia. Before Relena could even begin to decline her invitation Leia turned to her brother and children. "You guys go on and eat, I’ll catch up with you in the hanger bay. I have a few things I would like to discuss with General Peacecraft."

The boys went on ahead, and Leia joined Relena on her walk.

"If I am to call you Leia, then I insist that you call me Relena." At Leia’s nod, Relena continued. "What was it that you wanted to talk about?"

"I’m not sure. You tell me," Leia said. "You just look like you need someone to talk to. I know how hard all of this responsibility can be on one so young. If you ever need to talk, just come and find me, or better yet, my daughter’s probably close to your age. In fact she’ll be here in a little while."

"No, no. I’m fine." Relena lied and then quickly changed subjects to a safer topic. She wasn’t sure how much the Ambassador knew, but she was not taking any chances by letting something vital slip by. "I’ve been reading about your history, the rebellion, how did you know what to do?"

"Hmm, that’s a good question. I’m not really sure. I know why I was a part of the rebellion; that was the right thing to do. But how did I know what to do? Well… maybe it was the Force that guided me. The Force is in all things, all around us." She stopped for a moment to laugh. "I’m beginning to sound like my brother."

Relena giggled a little, imagining what would happen if she started to sounding like her brother, but she stopped as a thought hit her, by becoming the leader of Katana Division, she was becoming more like her brother. She sighed as all of the years of stress came back full force.

The two kept walking in silence until they reached the observation room to the simulators. As they walked in Relena couldn’t help but laugh at the sight. The four pilots were still fighting, which was visible on a stack of monitors; but now Wes and Hobbie, two Rogue commanders, were suiting up to go in.

Relena’s eyes scanned the room, noticing a rather large group of unhappy pilots standing off to the side. Apparently the training session between the Rogue and Wing squadrons had run out of time, quite a while ago.

"Ensign, what is going on?"

A young man stopped and gawked at the General before catching himself and answering. "Ma’am. Generals Yuy, Peacecraft, Antilles, and Colonel Celchu have been going at it for some time. When the control room had tried to shut the simulation off, one of the pilots hacked into the system and locked the technicians out. Now the simulation won’t end until one side has succeeded in wiping the other side out."

Relena nodded and turned back to the monitors as two new X-wings joined the fray. Their s-foils locked in attack position and lasers powered up, Hobbie and Wes drove into the fight. When they had knocked Heero and Milliardo out, Wedge called for the sims to end.

The men climbed out, but the next people in line did not get into the sims. It wasn’t until cleaning personnel came with air fresheners did others realize why.

"Well that was interesting," Leia said as she turned to Relena. "Would you like to accompany me to the hangar? I would love to introduce you to my daughter and sister-in-law. I know they would like to meet you."

Relena thought for a moment. What have I got to loose? "Why not. I’d love to join you."

The two women headed for the door. As they turned into the hall Relena was nearly knocked over by a very determined young man. She yelped as gravity claimed her only to be caught round her waist before ever hitting the floor. She gazed up into those intense Prussian blue eyes she knew so well.

"Sorry," he mumbled before continuing on his way. Relena just stood there watching his retreating figure before she remembered the woman that was still beside her. She blushed a little and Leia just smiled knowingly before they continued on.

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

No profit has been made from this fic. No claims have been laid on any characters from Star Wars and Gundam Wing.