Main headquarter of L5 Colony's defence squads

    Sounds of shoes tapping against the floor were echoing as Wu Fei rushed through the corridor and questioned the personnel who had admitted him. He frowned once awhile as he heard some answers that were unsatisfactory and prompted for more.

    "Have you reached my contacts in the other colonies?"

    "No, Sir. We're still waiting for your further instructions,"

    Wu Fei shouted his annoyance at the private's stupidity, but he refrained from doing so. Making people frightened would not get him anywhere as experiences of the past had taught him. And preaching him about what they should do or not also wouldn't take an effect on the situation. However, he was still compelled to give the other man his nastiest glare, and told him sternly, "What should be done, should be commenced right away. In an apprehensive condition like this, everybody could take a right action, even without consulting the superior."

    "I'm really sorry, Sir. We're just…"

    "No need for apology. It's better to concentrated on the matter in hand." Wu Fei cut him short, making a turn into the main control room. "How far has the observation been going?" He threw the question to the entire room, assuming his post in the middle of the room. All the officers stood up to greet him and awarded him with a salute, "Sir!"

    Wu Fei only regarded them with a nod, then another question, "How is it going?"

    "Our radar spotted the alien object to be landing somewhere to the far north of this city just around the foot of Mount Nieuw Himalaya, Sir." A female personnel answered him immediately; beads of cold sweat covered her forehead as her clammy fingers typed something on the keyboard, "However, the detector couldn't identify the object, Sir. I would say that there is some kind of layering that hinders all the evidence of its existence. In fact, it could be their mistake that lets us see through their disguise." Then, she pressed a key and turned back to Wu Fei, revealing the map where the object was landed, "This is the location, Sir."

    Rubbing the stubbles on his chin as he was thinking, Wu Fei narrowed his eyes as he muttered under his breath, "Lucky bastards, but not so lucky any more." Moving his attention to his other personnel, male this time, he started to bark commands, "Lieutenant, raise the city's security system into stand by, level 5. If my prediction is right, the foreign object must be part of the OZ army, and they are preparing to attack as we talk."

    "Level 5, Sir?" the lieutenant was blinking rapidly, then inserted his point, "Why not make it fully operated, Sir?"

    Wu Fei had never lost his patience lately, but he must admit that his tolerance was waning slowly. Inhaling deep breath, he told the other man to do his duty without questioning his authority, "It's not the time for arguing, Lieutenant. Besides, we couldn't contact the other colonies for reinforcements if we fully operate the system. All we could do is waiting until the power finished before we could do anything else. It is only for most desperate moments, Lieutenant."

    To his credit, no one dared to challenge his authority afterwards as they started to work diligently under his command. He knew that he was still damned young, and that was why people always question his actions, but he was a pro, for God's sake! Even the Tao teaching that he usually read to calm himself couldn't redeem the rage of being underestimated. However, he had learnt from past experience not to be impulsive, angered by minor things like that. His pride was hurt, but he had to go on for the sake of his people.

    "Energy Shield level 5, activated." The lieutenant informed him.

    He nodded in satisfaction, then proceeded to give another instruction to his other personnel on his right, who was sitting on a table full of communication devices. "Good," he complimented them, "Now. Contact Master Quatre Winner in L4 Colony, quickly! I need to talk to him as soon as possible,"

    It was a few minutes until he could see his friend's face on the big monitor. Quatre was smiling warmly, as usual, but there was a trace of alertness in their eyes that managed to lift Wu Fei's tension even if it was only a little bit.

    "Hello, Wu Fei," Quatre greeted him with his soft, boyish voice; the corners of his crystalline blue eyes wrinkled as he grinned affectionately. "What makes you call me all of sudden? Must be serious,"

    "Quatre," Wu Fei talked hastily; his black eyes were so intense that Quatre felt as if they went through his body.

    "Yes?"

    "Need your help. I think Dragon City is going to be under attack soon. Could be in hours, could be in a few days. I think we could hold them at bay, but in case anything happened, I want you to stand by."

    He saw Quatre leaning forward as the young man started to pay more attention to what he was talking about. "What happened?"

    "Spotted a foreign object," he explained hurriedly, "I guess it's one of OZ mobile suits. Could you please tell Hee…" Just when he was about to tell him his other request, the screen flickered and died away, leaving him angry and frustrated.

    "Damn!" He drove his fist into his table, sending a loud and echoing sound around the room. Breathing deeply, he tried to calm himself and focused his attention to the upcoming trouble. He shot his gaze to the female personnel, demanding for data. The woman obliged nervously, her hands shaking as she typed more. "The object, Sir, is starting to move. From what I can see here, it sabotaged the communication system in the entire colony."

    "Sir, we detect a thousand mobile suits entering our atmosphere. And there is another one thousand, Sir. We haven't confirmed the type of the mobile suits, but I think it's most certainly OZ originated."

    Gritting his teeth, Wu Fei almost jeopardised the room in anger. He had failed, once again. And that sleazy OZ…purposely showing up without shields, might be out of arrogance. Their intention was clear. They wanted an open war with L5 Colony.

    However, they forgot one thing. They could not attack with the city protected by the Energy Shield, and it should buy them time to gain more reinforcement. Luckily he had contacted Quatre beforehand, so there should be no problem until reinforcement came.

    "Another problem, Sir. The level of the Energy Shield has dropped to zero all of sudden." Wu Fei snapped his head in disbelief as he heard the news, "I've been alerting all the squads, Sir, but I don't think they could stand…"

    "I know that!" Wu Fei snapped, massaging his temples tiredly. All his strategy was ruined. If only Sally was here, she should be able to…

    However, his thought was interrupted when he heard a bomb exploded, sending all the windows shattered and all personnel to the ground, including him. Sally was the last thing in his thought as he was thrown against the hard wall and lost his consciousness.

    Sally woke up alone; her heart was aching with emptiness that she could not fathom. Lazily she grabbed the alarm clock that sat on the bedside table, frowning when she noticed the time. It was 2:00 am. Her brows creased deeper as she looked at her side and found that it was empty, saved the creased bed sheet where Wu Fei sat while he was tucking her to bed a few moments ago. Where could he be? Back again in his office? At this time of the night?

    Refusing to waste more time, Sally struggled out of her bed and put on her jacket. She scanned her surrounding as she tied the sash and shuddered ever so slightly. She never liked the interior of their bedroom. The complicatedly carved four-post bed from the Tang Dinasty, for example, was giving her creeps. Sometimes, when she woke up in the middle of the night, she could feel the eyes of the wooden dragon that was carved just above her head was watching her, scorching her soul. She always told herself that it was only her sentimentality, but she couldn't stand it.

    Closing the door softly behind her, she proceeded to go back to the basement by a secret entrance that may only be accessed by some trusted people, including her. She grinded her teeth as she felt the cold ground beneath her feet, but refrained from getting her sandals. She just wanted to go down as soon as possible and found him, body and flesh in front of her.

    This nagging feeling. She didn't know, but she kept having it since she opened her eyes a few minutes ago. Why did she have the urge to find him all of sudden? Usually she only drifted back to sleep when she spotted that Wu Fei was not by her side. She trusted him and she knew where he would be, anyway. Wu Fei was right. It had to be because of her pregnancy that her emotional outbursts heightened. May be she should get tranquilliser instead of finding her man.

    However, she was worried sick and she couldn't stop it, so she chose to go on.

    Halting for awhile in front of the office's closed door, Sally calmed her breath and determined her heart before she turned the doorknob. The door opened with a crack as she entered the room, but she saw no one there. It was still like when she saw it before she went bed, except for a misplaced telephone receiver across the computer table.

    Wu Fei must be leaving for the headquarters, having some emergencies to handle. There must be something wrong happened there.

    Half angered, Sally sank her tired body into the chair that Wu Fei usually occupied, sighing out loud. She knew that she was non-active as a military officer these days, but she had a right to know what was wrong. Although she was not capable for taking actions, she still could give them some advice.

    No matter what, there was no use in bemoaning her displeasure at the moment. She might still be able to catch up to what was happening then if she called the headquarters now. She believed Wu Fei would be able to give her some descent explanations along the way.

    Lifting up the receiver to her right ear, she was just about to dial the headquarters' numbers when she heard a big explosion above the ground. Then she heard the sound of the building started to rumble. She darted her eyes to her surrounding; her instinct told her that she could still be safe if she acted quickly. Her eyes spotted a sturdy metal table across her, then darted below it for protection. Closing her eyes tightly, she was waiting for her world to end. She was in the basement. If the building was rumbling, the basement would probably be the part that would ruined worse, and people would unlikely checking it out, assuming that no one in the basement would survive. Wu Fei's name was on her lips as the world around her tumbling to the ground.

    Hot.

    Sharp pain.

    Red stickiness was smeared on his hand as he wiped the wound just above his left eyebrow unconsciously. Cringing in pain, Wu Fei tried to sit up right, his head pounding in protest with every move that he made. Vaguely he heard a voice calling him, but he couldn't see anything. All he could see was red.

    "Sir, wake up, Sir!" two hands shook his shoulders gently, causing his head to throb once again.

    Inhaling deeply, Wu Fei concentrated on bringing his mind into focus and sighed in relief as he finally could see some blurry figures before him. When he could see them clearer, he identified that all of his personnel survived. "Lieutenant Lan Fang," he addressed the female personnel who shook his shoulders, "You all survived the explosion. How are things?"

    "Very bad, Sir. The bombs have destroyed more less half of our military bases." Lan Fang reported, shaking her head grimly, "It seems that they have really planned this attack, Sir."

    Wu Fei winced his eyes in pain as he struggled to sit upright. He had not really digested the news in his head yet, but he could grasp the meaning of it. "Half?"

    "Yes, Sir." Said another one, Lieutenant Hwie Pheng, "And with the state of our communication now, the situation becomes rather hopeless, Sir."

    Wu Fei still could vaguely remember asking about the area around his estate, "How about the South District?"

    "The South District was damaged very badly, Sir. The OZ army didn't spare that one."

    Wu Fei inhaled sharply as Lan Fang started to apply medication to his wound, then continued asking, "My house? Has anyone managed to check on it?" He saw one of the men whispering to the other, then nodded to each other. Fears started to form in his eyes, which grew bigger with every second passed.

    "Sir," Hwie Pheng stiffened, adjusting his collar in discomfort; his voice was shaky, "I am very sorry, Sir, but Chang Residence is no more. When our people inspected the attack damage by the helicopter, they reported that your mansion was flat to the ground."

    Strange.

    He didn't feel anger at all.

    All he felt was mild shock as he stared back to the eyes of his officers, because he had actually expected one of the bombs to drop around his residence. However, there was something else that started to grow within him. Dread. Alarm. Horror. He was afraid, very afraid. He feared his people safety, but above all of it, he feared for his wife and their unborn babe. Normally he would never worry about her, but with her condition right now, it was impossible not to worry about her.

    "My wife," he mouthed faintly, "Has anyone heard about her?"

    Wu Fei slumped his shoulders when one of them shaking his head, feeling hopelessness engulfing his mind. He told himself not to lost hope, but his consciousness kept telling him that his wife couldn't survive. Hell, Sally could be buried beneath the ruins, oblivious to her surroundings when she was sleeping so soundly. He really shouldn't leave her out of his sight, but it was too late to think about that now.

    He could feel his regret seething as he heard the sound of ambulance's alarm within distance. He was doing it again. He failed to protect his woman and it was bound to his own arrogance. Thinking that Sally should never be involved in the recent situation with her delicate condition, he had decided to leave her home and ended up destroying everything. She was probably already killed down there. He really shouldn't leave her alone.

    Regret.

    There was no use in contemplating regret right now. They would only lead him to lost and pain, and hurt pride. Until today, he always prided himself for his composure, but he didn't know if there was any of it left within him. Nevertheless, like it or not, he was in charge of saving a whole nation from the OZ's attack. Something had to be done quickly to prevent further damage and casualty.

    His people.

    His Nation.

    They all depended on his authority. He had to be strong. For all of them.

    "Lieutenant Hwie Pheng, order the technicians to form an energy shield using the main generator. It should prevent OZ attack for a few hours. Until then, we could only pray that reinforcement would come quickly." The other young man saluted as Wu Fei gave his orders. They were in desperate time; there was no time for arguments. "The others, please see to the damages. Gather all of our surviving people and get them stand by as soon as possible. Notify our available officers; I'll be waiting in my office. We're going to discuss our further strategies. Lieutenant Lan Fang," The woman saluted when she heard Wu Fei called her name, "Please initiate the civilians to form rescue groups."

    "Right away, Sir!" she bolted up to her feet, didn't waste time to do the task. As if she remembered something, she halted her steps all of sudden and turned around to face Wu Fei once again, saying, "Sir, wouldn't it be better if you check the condition of your mansion? Probably some of the people in your household survive and know something about your wife. You could even find her yourself."

    "What are you talking about? I have to be here. The people need me," bewildered, Wu Fei could only stared back at them in mild shock, "What if the OZ attacks us?"

    Hwie Pheng, ever aware and sensitive of the situation, supported Lan Fang's words and encouraged Wu Fei to go too, "Just go ahead and rescue your wife, Sir. We could manage by ourselves here. Moreover, we've contacted General Choan Sing and General Siang Hian awhile ago, Sir. They're on their way here. It seems that their areas don't suffer as much damage as yours, Sir. We'll ask for their advice while you're gone, so don't worry."

    There was doubt in Wu Fei's eyes, but it was gone when he saw sincerity in their faces. Besides, he remembered his other vow. It was time to fulfil it. The matter of his people can wait, and he was sure his personnel could handle the problems under the two generals' leadership.

    Unable to say lengthy words, Wu Fei could only salute them back and told them, "My friends, thank you for everything. I wish you luck from my heart. I'll be back after I finish all my business,"