The black night clung to the heavy mobile suits as they glided uphill in the early AM. Gaia, Ortega, and Mash, the Black Tri-Stars, moved through the mountains surrounding Odessa searching for the Trojan Horse and its white mobile suit. Four Zakus had been deployed with them, but they lacked the grace and experience of the skirted mobile suits the Tri-Stars used.

"I bet you we'll find them around here."

Gaia watched his mobile suit's scanners intently as he came upon the peak of a ridge that looked promising. The group stopped at the potential hiding place, but nothing appeared out of the norm. There were many hiding places in the mountains, but it was only a matter of time before they flushed their prey.

"No metallic reaction detected, try the next mountain!"

The black and purple Doms blended into the darkness as they rocketed toward the next peak, the Zakus following in tow on their hunt. They were oblivious to the small piece of metal that had been attached to a tree they passed by, a light blinking as it transmitted its information back to the very ship they were seeking.

Liam watched as tracer rounds and explosions dotted the sky above Odessa. The fireworks had diminished greatly from earlier, the explosions having climaxed right before dusk. The painkillers he had swallowed earlier had already taken their effect, the piercing pain in his head having subsided. The chronometer in his cockpit stated the time as nearly three hours past midnight, Liam enjoying the quiet as he searched with both his eyes and his sensors for any sort of disturbance in the night. He had taken some stimulants to balance out the combined effects of his painkillers and lack of sleep, his hands sure on the controls of the RX-78-1. Nothing had stirred in hours, and both Mikat and Belle had finally shut up, both of them long past believing there would be any sort of attack. However Liam listened to what Khuuz had said, and Khuuz had said that there would be another attack. Liam simply resigned himself to waiting for it instead of retreating back to the aptly named Red Eye. He was going to be ready for first for the attack, determined to beat Amuro to saving the day first this time.

"Liam, you there?"

The communication came from Reyes on the Red Eye. They were busy assisting with the repairs on the White Base, supporting Matilda's group as they worked overtime to get the White Base back into the fray.

"Yeah, I'm here.

"The repairs to the White Base are almost done. Matilda is saying that it'll be just another hour or two before we're ready to get underway."

"Good, I want you to prep the Red Eye for combat. If anything happens I want you to be in the air first."

Liam didn't need to hear the doubt in Reyes' voice to know what his thoughts were, but he didn't care, he gave his orders.

"Yes sir, we'll be ready for them if they come. Reyes out."

If. Liam had resigned himself to being second guessed by his team, but sooner rather than later they were going to start believing in him.

Still bedridden Bright spent his time finishing reports that hadn't been touched since the White Base had landed on Earth. It was monotonous work, but Mirai's presence was a comfort as she helped him file the paperwork. Completely absorbed in finishing a TPS report Bright jumped as the klaxons went off throughout the White Base. He quickly mashed the button on the screen next to his bed, Sayla appearing on the monitor.

"What is it?!"

"The enemy has been spotted. Three or more mobile suits are approaching at two o'clock!

"Get ready to bring out a counter attack. Mirai, you're in charge."

Mirai gave a brief "Sir!" before dashing toward the bridge, the reports laying scattered on the floor of Bright's quarters.

Frantic orders were issued around the White Base as the repair crews quickly sealed off the remaining damage to the White Base. True to Liam's orders the Red Eye beat either of the supply fleet Medeas into the air, Reyes dropping flares around the White Base in order to illuminate the night. Kai and Hayato were first to leave the White Base, the two exchanging barbs about the others ability to pilot as they launched.

On the White Base's bridge Mirai confirmed with the observation officers that the mobile suits had passed the second observation marker.

"Where are the mobile suits from the other Gundam's squad?"

"One has been stationed to keep near the supply fleet, the other Gundam and GM are advancing on the enemy mobile suits!"

"What about our own mobile suits? Are Amuro and Sayla ready to go yet?"

"No mam, both are still getting ready to launch!"

"Well tell them to hurry up and get out there. Hayato and Kai won't be able to handle defending the White Base alone! We're going to do a trial run for starting up the engines, let's hope the overhaul worked!"

Both the RX-78-1 and RGM-79 moved through the woods looking for any sign of the marauding mobile suits. The M-Particle readings had spiked, making it hard for their sensors to be sure of all but the general direction that the Zeeks were coming from.

Damn, he was right after all. I hope he isn't one of those freaks that people are saying are showing up.

Liam winced at Mikat's unbidden thoughts, his mind seemingly filtering them from the air. It happened more than it used to, but he forced his mind back to the task at hand. In the distance he could see the streak of a mobile suit as it glided down the curvature of the mountain. He trained the prototype's beam rifle on the fast moving target waiting for the targeting system to get a lock.

The Dom moved like greased lightning, Liam thinking, "Damn that's fast!" to himself as he tried lining up a shot. Despite the mobile suit's speed, the targeting computer gave an affirmative lock, Liam letting loose with several shots from his beam rifle. The pink beams lanced toward the Tri-Star, but most fell behind the Dom, Mash skillfully evading the few shots that had come close enough to potentially hit him. He turned the Dom to face the source of the shots, a round from his bazooka flying toward the Feddie mobile suits before he turned his mobile suit back in the direction he was traveling in.

Both Liam and Mikat scattered from their location as the bazooka shell landed only a meter from where they had been standing. Trying to get his bearings Liam only saw the red glow from the corner of his eye a moment before it struck, a Zaku II leaping at the Gundam with its heat hawk in hand. The hand axe cut into the RX-78's shield, Liam only having time to put the shield up in defense. He ignited the Gundam's thrusters, shoving the Zaku back with brute force, the raw power of the Gundam pushing the green mobile suit far enough away that he was able to hit it with the beam rifle. The arm holding the tomahawk exploded at the shoulder as the pink beam lanced through it, Liam following up with a second shot as he boosted away, the beam hitting the Zaku in the chest as it tried jumping away. The mobile suit keeled over, and then exploded, the blast flattening the trees for meters around where it had fallen.

With a grin on his face at having claimed the first blood of the evening, Liam landed his Gundam almost a football field away from the Zaku as he continued to search for the skirted mobile suit. For the first time since Operation Odessa began, Liam felt truly alive, the scarred veteran enjoying the opportunity to final show his mettle.

"Mrs. Mirai! The engine output isn't increasing, we won't be able to get airborne if this keeps up!"

Mirai closed her eyes for a moment as she searched for answer. She wondered how Bright was able to do this battle after battle, and make it look almost effortless.

"Frau Bo! Call Lieutenant Matilda to the bridge and send the specialists down to look at the engines!

"We'll swat them like flies!" Gaia roared into the comm as he and Ortega harassed the Guncannon and Guntank. Their plan was fairly simple, to keep the Trojan Horses' defenses occupied with them while waiting for Mash to rendezvous with them to take the grounded ship at the same time. Slowing only long enough to loose rounds from their bazookas the pair were a black and purple blur, disappearing and reappearing constantly at different locations as they drove back the Guncannon and Guntank.

"Damn! We can't keep this up Hayato!"

Kai's voice was frantic as he launched the Guncannon into the air firing both of the shoulder mounted cannons and his beam rifle at a Zaku that had appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

"It's okay guys, I got this!

The white gundam flew past the Guntank and Guncannon, beam saber in hand as he cut through the same Zaku that Kai had fired out. The beam saber cut through the green mobile suit's legs, Hayato's Guntank obliterating the torso with a direct hit before the Zaku had a chance to touch the ground. Amuro turned his attention quickly toward Gaia's Dom, peppering it ineffectually with his vulcan cannons.

"The vulcans have no effect!

Amuro barely blocked the shot with the Gundam's shield, the powerful round sending the Gundam flying backward, the shield cracking in half from the impact. Rocketing into the air, Amuro didn't bother with the vulcans again, the pink beams from his rifle missing Gaia by only a few hairs as the Dom glided through the rain of particles.

"That isn't any ordinary pilot, as soon as Mash gets here we're going to perform a jet stream attack!"

Core Booster flying overhead, Sayla made a run against the pair of Kycillia's elites. Neither mobile suit was hit by the mega particle cannons, Ortega's bazooka scoring a hit that sent Sayla spinning off into the distance as she struggled to control the fighter.

Amurooooooo!

"No, Sayla's hit!

Abandoning the fight against the remaining two Doms, the Gundam chased after the Core Booster as it crashed in the distance.

Cutting through the trees with their beam sabers as they ran, Liam and Mikat made for the White Base where the fighting was the heaviest. Seething, Liam couldn't believe how the Zeon forces had just ignored him in their headlong dash toward the Pegasus. He could feel Amuro out there, somewhere, being a damned hero. Liam didn't just want his moment to shine, he needed it to prove to everyone that he was still the same soldier he was before that damnable bitch Cima and her marines.

Both the RX-78-1 and GM burst into the clearing around the White Base at the same time. Immediately Liam saw the Doms, this time all three together as they made a beeline toward the White Base. A Medea came crashing down into the forest behind the large carrier, Liam wondering for a moment if it was the Red Eye before he saw his mobile suit carrier come down for a strafing run shells scattering around the three mobile suits as they lined up. He wasn't sure if it was one of the Doms, or one of the Zakus that had also surrounded White Base that fired, but the Red's hold exploded. While there were little damage to the ship itself, Liam knew that Reyes would peel off and find a safe place to land the ship.

"Mikat, Belle, to me, we're going to save the White Base!"

Liam wasn't sure if either of the pilots were able to make out what he said with all the minovsky interference, but he sent his Gundam on a path directly between the trinity of black mobile suits and the White Base as it continued to struggle to lift off. Both the standard GM and the cold climate type that made up his mobile suit squad formed up with him as the Black Tri-Stars streamed toward them.

"Well lookey there! It's another one of them fancy Feddie mobile suits! Let's give him a taste of the Jet Stream!

Both Ortega and Mash echoed Gaia's sentiment as they formed up in a single file. Gaia charged the trio of Federation mobile suits, pulling out the Dom's heat rod, Mash and Ortega directly behind him with their bazooka's ready as they prepared to destroy them in one fell attack.

The events on Luna II flashed before Liam's eyes. Both Mikat and Belle were terrified, but they stood with him. He could hear them thinking how if he was right about the attack, then he had to be right about this too. If only they knew. Liam could feel every pain that had been inflicted on him acutely. He didn't see the three Doms, but instead the Gelgoogs. He closed his eyes not quite sure, and pulled his shield up higher, not quite sure why, but sure that he couldn't trust himself as he relived what had tragically become the defining moment of his life, at least presently. He felt something rather than saw it, instead of blocking Gaia's heat saber as it scorched the air next to the 78's head. The prototype Gundam ducked the bazooka blast meant for his cockpit, the missile round tearing through the GM Cold Climate type at point blank range. Liam didn't even feel Belle cry out as his flame was extinguished. He didn't see Mikat break ranks in terror, losing a leg as he tried to boost away from the trio of mobile suits. He barely felt the impact of the third attack, a round from Ortega's bazooka tear a hole in his Gundam's side. All he felt was the beam saber in his Gundam's hand as he lashed out at the last Dom as it passed by him, the pink energy cleaving Ortega and his mobile suit in half. The explosion sent Liam and the prototype flying away, Liam grinned as he realized that he might not survive impending impact. He didn't care because he was the hero, not that Amuro brat...

"We've fixed the problem, White Base should be able to take off now!"

Muttered a small prayer to herself as she quickly yelled out for the White Base to lift off. If it wasn't for that Gundam and his mobile suits they may not have had the opportunity that they had now. The Guntank had already returned to the White Base's mobile suit hanger, damaged, but Hayato was proud that he had taken out one of the Zakus, and heavily damaged another. Kai was still fighting, a cat and mouse game with the remaining two Zakus ongoing as the Guncannon was simultaneously the hunter and the hunted. Where was Amuro she wondered, but her thoughts weren't on the young newtype that had become the heart of the White Base over the last few weeks for long as the White Base was rocked by a series of explosions.

"Report! What was that?"

"Mobile suits, they scored a hit on the right mobile suit hanger. There are some fires, but no serious damage.

Outside the barely hovering White Base, Matilda made for her Medea, avoiding an explosion that had rocked the future core of the Federation's space fleet. The White Base taking off was more important than anything else, it had to get to safety! Once on her Medea, she made rapid progress until she made it to the bridge.

"Quickly, get airborne, the White Base isn't going to make it at this rate, we're going to help distract those mobile suits."

The young lieutenant that was at the controls quickly began preparing the supply ship for lift off, the red haired Matilda working quickly in the seat tandem.

Amuro emerged from the woods, carrying Sayla's damaged Core Booster with the Gundam. Two of the purple mobile suits were skating beneath the now floating White Base, taking potshots while the remaining two Tin Cods showered the mobile suits with their ineffective 25mm guns. Farther away he could see Kai and a GM, probably one of Liam's, fighting off the remaining Zaku, unable to take their attention from the last of the green mobile suits.

"Amuro, I'm okay! Go help the White Base!"

Realizing that Sayla was right, he carefully put down the Core Booster, before launching himself at Gaia and Mash. Both of the remaining Tri-Stars saw the Federation's "white devil" come flying at them, the pair scattering as a series of beams from Amuro's rifle destroyed the ground around them.

"Mash, it's just you and me now, we're going to show the Feddies what happens when they kill one of ours! Poor Ortega, let's do a Jet Stream Attack in his memory!"

Lining up, Gaia discarded his now empty bazooka, pulling the Dom's heat saber out again. The white mobile suit had no idea who he was messing with when he messed with the Black Tri-Stars! Amuro held up his busted shield, an almost mirror image of Liam's stand against the Tri-Stars, but Gaia was ready for it this time, the scattering beam gun turning the air around the Gundam a dazzling white.

"Oh no! I can't see anything!

Amuro struggled to blink the white spots from his eyes, only to see the red line of a heat saber hacking at him. Unable to respond fast enough, it was only Matilda's Medea that saved him as it flew overhead, strafing the ground with its anti-aircraft guns. The shells threw Gaia off enough that Amuro was able dodge, but Mash leapt over the Gundam, grabbing onto Matilda's Medea mid-flight.

"You stopped us from getting that white mobile suit!

Mash's Dom, devoid of weapons, raised both of its fists above its head, preparing a massive hammer blow to the Medea's cockpit. Time slowed down for Amuro as he watched the black mobile suit prepare to destroy the Medea with Matilda on it.

Miss Matilda! No!

The prototype Gundam limped along, unobserved by either Amuro or the remaining members of the trinary. He gasped as he felt Amuro's anguish intrude itself on his mind. Without thinking he mashed the thrusters on his Gundam to max, flying like a black and white rocket at the Dom and Medea. The prototype Gundam, arms outstretched, speared the Dom midblow, the pair crashing into the woods, leaving the Medea to fly off safetly.

"Well damnit! I ain't gonna get no kills this way!"

A purple fist crashed into the side of the prototype's head, sending Liam and his mobile suit to the side. Enraged, Mash forced the already damaged Gundam off of his Dom, pulling his mobile back to its feet.

"You killed Ortega you bastard! Now I'm gonna kill you!

Flying at Liam's mobile suit, the Dom body checked the handicapped Gundam back to the ground as it struggled to regain its footing. He wasn't sure why he had interfered with the Tri-Star when he could have gotten safetly away, but that wasn't his style. He would have smiled at the thought that no pilot had probably ever tried a flying spear on another mobile suit and lived to tell about it, but he was too busy trying to defend himself, rolling the Gundam along the ground to avoid the Dom's kick. It was more than a chance to show off that had made Liam get involved though, it was the sense of urgency that came from the White Base's newtype, the other Gundam pilot. A coppery taste filled Liam's mouth, his bottom lip bleeding profusely from where he had bitten it as he had been rocked by another slam from Mash. He tried to defend himself against the much faster Dom, not having a chance to pull his Gundam's remaining beam saber, forcing him to try boxing with the much stronger pilot. Driven to the ground again, Liam watched the skirted foot of Mash's mobile suit come down on his mobile suit's chest, the cockpit controls moving perceptibly closer as Mash continued to try caving the Gundam's cockpit in on its pilot. So engrossed with destroying the black mobile suit, Mash didn't notice the demise of Gaia at the hands of Amuro, nor the beam saber flying toward his mobile suit's back. The pink beam errupted from the Dom's chest, poking through the mobile suit's armor for a few seconds before flickering from existence, the last of the Black Tri-Stars going still.

The cockpit screen flickered on and off as Liam watched the white gundam approach, the same old grin covering his face. He had saved the day this time, not Amuro. He couldn't wait to tell Khuuz, and to show the world that he wasn't as broken as everyone thought he was.