KSGU:Volume 3 Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Part 1

(The bow will be directed in a new direction. Opening the hatches for the 1st to 4th catapult. Mobile suit squadron, get into launching position.)

The voice of Operator Bellard could be heard as the catapult hatches opened. Riddhe moved the “ReZEL” unit 008 forward, let the machine step on the catapult, and could not help but let out a call of amazement as he looked at the scene outside.

“This is…!?”

The 3rd catapult deck was extend out into the vacuum—if the Nahel Argama’s shape could be described as a wooden horse, the right foreleg would be the exposed catapult. A large amount of debris was surrounding them in the midst of the current, as blocks of all sizes floated towards the stern of the ship. Occasionally, debris the size of a mobile suit would graze past the catapult. It felt like swimming in the midst of remains. However, the Nahel Argama itself was moving forward, and the reason why this misassumption would be thought of was because they were leaving the collapsed colony remains, and the scattered rubble flow looked like they were moving from the back to the front.

If we moved in the same direction as the debris, the relative velocity on both sides will be negated, and the surface area of the ship being hit could be reduced to the smallest possible area. This would be a welcomed arrangement for the mobile suit that would be shot out from the bow, but can we leave the ship safely? If we slam into a debris that comes from behind when we fly out, we’ll be squashed immediately…no, before I even worry about that, let’s think; how am I going to catch sight of the enemy in this messy space? Riddhe swallowed his saliva as he looked around the debris that kept floating around. (We chose a very bad time to launch), the voice from the wireless communicator caused him to close his mouth. It was Lieutenant Commader Homare of Romeo 004.

“It’s rare that you can remain on standby inside the ship. Is this really alright, young lord?”

“I’m not convinced about letting you guys handle this, Lieutenant Commander.”

He answered this dig with a dig back. It was something small, but this small action alone gave him a peace of mind. (Oh, you sure dare to answer back). Riddhe heard the Lieutenant Commander as he felt that he could finally be alone. (That’s all for chit-chat). Squad leader Norm’s voice interrupted.

(All units are to form elements after leaving the ship. Juliet 2 with Romeo 004. Romeo 008, follow me.)

The element, as its name would imply, was about using the smallest number of members when forming teams, active teams of 2s. Norm was the attack unit, and Riddhe was the defense unit. Thus, Riddhe’s unit had a long-distance support beam launcher equipped. Everyone was launched out, but it was unexpected that they would only have 2 elements. “Understood.” Riddhe suppressed the timidity that crept up in him as he answered.

(There are 4 enemy units closing in. We have similar numbers, so calm down before going.)

Squad Leader Norm seemed to read his thoughts, and behind him (Path clear. Please launch). Operator Bellard’s voice rang. Riddhe stared at the torrent of debris that showed no signs of stopping, and grumbled “What path clear…?”. (I can hear you, Romeo 008!) The Operator’s voice could be heard, causing Riddhe to cringe. “Got it!” Riddhe grumbled in his heart after answering, thinking that it would be great if Mihiro was the operator.

Looks like she’s still not released from her task to take care of the civilians. Speaking of which, I asked her out to see a movie. What was the type of movie she said she doesn’t really like? Riddhe thought in an absent-minded manner. He intended to think of that mini-tank’s round eyes in his mind, but suddenly ended up thinking about another pair of eyes, and was shocked by it.

Those emerald-colored eyes that looked like they were about to suck him in; those eyes that did not look like they could relax and look at him, the side of that awe-inspiring face overpowered the rest as it appeared in Riddhe’s mind, causing him to be shaken by the lack of understanding of his mindset. Why, why am I thinking of her face when I may end up dying—

“What the heck am I doing? Is it love at first sight?”

He unwittingly said it out. Are you serious? Riddhe asked himself. (…Don’t say it.) Operator Bellard’s seemingly disgusted musing could be heard, “Ah, no, I don’t intend that…” Riddhe was frantically trying to explain, but was shut up by a booming voice (Norm Basilicock, Romeo 001, launching!)

One could see Squad Leader Norm’s “ReZEL” unit 1 glide up from the 1st open-air catapult deck that formed the bow of the “Nahel Argama”. The “Jegan” unit 2 then shot out from the 4th catapult at the bottom of the ship. Riddhe grabbed onto the control stick. Let me survive this before thinking about the rest later. I won’t die, and I definitely can’t die. I must come back and meet Audrey. If I’m really in love, I’ll naturally find out where I should go.

The countdown timer display reached zero. That’s right, I’ll definitely survive. Riddhe muttered in his own heart as he got ready to launch. At this moment, he suddenly remembered. Is that letter to my father sent out yet?

Part 2

(Riddhe Marcenas. Romeo 008, launching!)

The vague voice through the wireless speaker rang. “Ah, it’s Ensign reading.” Banagher heard Takuya say this as he stared at the monitor panel on the wall showing the blue mobile suit with a transformable booster unit on the back glide on the catapult and fly into vacuum.

“Someone you know?”

“It’s the Ensign who had the model plane. I never saw him again after this.”

The biplane model that was fastened on the table with tape could be seen in the direction Takuya was pointing. That was something Takuya did after managing to hold onto the model tightly in the middle of the tremors, and prevent the same thing from happening. “Oh, that one…” Banagher answered he turned his eyes back to the monitor panel that as 10 inches. That’s the young pilot who was chasing the model on the mobile suit deck. He sure feels like he will doubt easily. As he thought, Riddhe’s machine could be seen flying off, leaving behind the blueish-white thruster jets on the monitor.

That machine dodged the debris surrounding the ship like flowing water, and gradually disappeared from the screen. His movements compared to the previous ones were not lackluster…or rather, it felt like that course he chose was the one that would use less effort. Banagher brought his face closer to the visual presented by the camera that was fastened on the catapult. “You guys can watch this later!” Mihiro growled, causing Banagher to cringe.

“Hurry here and put on the normal suits.”

Mihiro carried in 4 normal suits from the locker room and said to them with a sharp voice. She herself was covered in the white military normal suit, and was giving a look of a soldier who would not have time to pretend to be calm in a real battle. “Alright.” Banagher answered Mihiro as he looked back at Audrey and Micott.

Both of them had been in 2 corners of the wide room ever since they returned back to the recreational room, and they never intended to look at each other as they silently put on the normal suits even in this situation. The way they deliberately changed into the normal suits while turning their backs on each other gave an ominous vibe. While it was okay on Audrey’s side, it would not be weird for Micott to explode anytime soon—

“Try and hold yourself down and don’t leave this place. I’m going outside to check on the situation.”

Mihiro probably was not in the mood to notice the atmosphere as she hurriedly left the room while being tripped by the trays on the floor. Banagher looked at the normal suits that were left on the table, stared at the backs of the girls who were hesitantly changing, and was really not motivated to go to them as he decided to stay in front of the monitor panel. “Oh, this launched from the 2nd catapult.” Takuya switched the channel of the monitor as he mused with fast breathing. Banagher and he watched the back of the transformable mobile suit that got ready to launch.

It was not a misjudgment this time. The ship was attacked by the enemy, and the monitor was showing a real battle. It’s the enemy Neo Zeon. Will that four-winged mobile suit come back again? “Leave this place with me'' Banagher recalled that cold tone as he glanced at Audrey. Her expression was stiff, but there was no sign of anxiety or fear on her face as she inspected the normal suit. It was like the time when they were facing each other in the dim storage room, the stare that refused from thousands of miles away was looking at something other than this place. Those emerald eyes were showing passive thoughts of taking it one thing at a time, her emotions suppressed by a sense of duty. The ones attacking may be her allies—

The reports announcing that they were leaving the ship were buzzing. “Please, you guys…” Banagher was prompted by Takuya’s earnest voice as he stared at the transformable mobile suit. The giant figure on the catapult deck looked to be smaller, and just when it was about to reach the end of the catapult deck, a pink beam appeared like static, sweeping through the image in a diagonal direction. At that moment, a white light was emitted from the mobile suit that was about to leave the ship, and the monitor suddenly turned black.

The room lost its light at the same time, and the noise of an explosion that rocked the air within the ship surrounded him. The floor was bumped by several meters, and Banagher was knocked into the ceiling for some reason. Amidst the darkness, the cracking sound of something being crushed echoed through the ship; the noises of breaking glass and compressed metal could be heard. Screams and moans echoed through the room. Banagher reached out his outstretched arm, and kept hitting the walls and the floor without grabbing anyone. At this moment, Banagher’s nerves were all numb with pain as he moved his arm, trying to grab something. Suddenly, the emergency red alert flashing in the room dyed the dark room red.

The monitor image was regained, and the visual from the same angle as before was shown on a corner. The image of the catapult deck, stretched into space, was captured by the camera—but the runway that should appear there disappeared. What appeared there was a dark void with debris that were moving in the opposite direction, shining. The pink beam that flashed again left some burns, and the darkness devoid of stars had two, three lights of explosions.

We got sniped…? Banagher stared at this pink beam that was obviously from a mega-particle cannon, took what he deduced and tried to let his aching body stand up. He looked around the room that was surrounded in red light, and checked the locations of the other 3 that were collapsed in the different corners of the room. Audrey was holding onto the holding, kneeling; Takuya had his head stuffed into the flower bed, and Micott, who had her lower body inside the normal suit. Banagher saw that the trio seemed to have escaped fatal injuries, and he was about to move to Audrey who was unable to stand up as a chilling premonition came down his spine without warning.

Something floated past the screen behind him. The red vestige was etched in Banagher’s eyes. That was not the vestige of a beam, but something that was with physical mass. This certain thing had enough killing intent to cause goosebumps was closing in on this ship. That thing was giving off a heavy presence, arriving here with killing intent that went through several layers of armor.

Banagher tried to look for the red vestige on the monitor. The meteor-like shadow did not appear again as a new explosion appeared, creating a dazzling white light in the vacuum.

Part 3

Even though the light filter took effect, the flashes that immediately appeared still dyed the window white, robbing the bridge members’ sighs. Otto collided into the normal suit locker at the back, barely managed to climb onto the captain’s seat rest, and shouted with all his strength, “WHAT’S THE SITUATION!?”

“it seems that a “ReZEL” that was launched got sniped. The left catapult deck took severe damage.

Operator Bellard growled back as he gave a brief damage report from the damage control room. The peripheral view of the ship was shown on the monitor panel above his head, and the damaged parts were blinking red. The portside catapult deck of the Nahel Argama was blown to bits as it was caught in the explosion of the sniped ReZEL. It lost the left foreleg of a sphinx. Otto saw that his ship looked like it was half blown off, and felt that what he saw was a moment of darkness. He put on the helmet of his normal suit tightly, and raised his volume, saying, “EVERYONE, CHECK FOR DAMAGES!”

“WHAT’S THE ANTI-AIR DEFENSE DOING! WE GOT AN ENEMY ON US!”

The 2,600 close-ranged defense artillery, and the main cannon that had a further range than the enemy unit had not been fired. “But adjustments aren’t…!”Otto angrily told off the cannon operator, who answered with a bone-chilling reply. They were trying to estimate where the enemy unit was, even though at this moment, trying to hold off the enemy with bullets without actually worrying about hitting was common sense in actual battle.

“NOW’S NOT THE TIME TO BE AIMING! KEEP FIRING!”

Otto let out a roar through the wireless network to all the units in the ship. He may have ended up embarrassing the cannon operator, but that was all. Anyone would lose functionality after being trained in precision and competing for it. Otto reflected on the time when he viewed ship efficiency as the most important thing and felt regret over it. at this moment, countless inception fire let out flashes outside the window.

The 60mm machine cannon that was meant to counter mobile suits let out a trail of fire of light bullets. Also, there were 2 main cannons equipped on the ship, one about and one below—the 2 twin-barrel mega-particle beam cannons let out sublight beam bullets. The secondary cannons hidden within the two domes on the flanks shot out beams, and the Nahel Argama shot out a screen of fire all over the place, but this was already a slow reaction. The debris that got hit exploded, and as countless bits of light were flickering around the ship, new direct hits rocked the inside of the ship. Otto got back to the captain’s seat, and several seconds later, he was bumped up and knocked into Daguza, who entered the bridge. As Daguza used his injured left arm with the cast on to grab the big man, Otto roared back in a voice loud enough to match the impact noises, “THERE’S ONLY ONE UNIT! KEEP FIRING!”

There was only one enemy that entered the ship’s range as the other 3 units were outside the attack range, intending to watch the battle from the sidelines. What enemies? Otto lifted his head to look at the monitor image, seeing this before returning back to the captain seat and fastened himself with the attachment at the back. Our machines that are fighting it can’t even match its movements. The remnant exploded after the direct hit from the beam, spewing hot debris, and the enemy unit got over to other heat sources to easily get through the fire. Such excellent reflexes—no, this was not a skill a human could pull off. It was like the mobile suit knows all the blind spots of the ship without any data help, dealing damage to the Nahel Argama which lost its foreleg.

“Who in the world is that guy…” As he unwittingly mused, the umpteenth tremor rocked the ship again. The body of the ship was rocked by several meters, and the G-force hit the body that was on the Captain’s body. (The rear main cannon took severe damage). Before the voice of the report rang, Daguza muttered, “The enemy doesn’t intend to shoot the engine room.” Otto opened his closed eyes. Daguza grabbed onto the captain seat’s armrest, his helmet reflecting the explosions of light outside.

“That guy wants to neutralize us before taking the Box.”

Daguza did not look away from the window. The enemy’s trying to wear down our ship’s fighting strength to make us surrender while avoiding damage on the engine room that may sink the ship. That’s the kind o enemy we’re facing. Otto felt his face turn pale, and argued back, “Idiot, how can such a stupid thing happen! We’re talking about a single mobile suit trying to do this…!” He then caught sight of Alberto, who rushed into the bridge, from the corner of his eye. “Mr Alberto, this place is dangerous!” He ignored Liam’s warning that was earlier than Otto’s, and pulled the chair of the sensor. He handed a record card to the sensor operator and turned to Otto, saying, “Use the data inside to check.” Otto was overwhelmed by Alberto’s massive killing intent…or rather, thoroughly fearful face as he gave an expression allowing them to do so. The sensor operator then took the record card he received and put it into the console’s slot. Soon, the data that was read was shown on the sensor visual, and it started matching with the unidentified machine they were fighting.

In less than two seconds, a match was indicated, and the photo of the unidentified mobile suit was displayed through CG hologram. The 3-dimensional picture and the data was shown. Otto silently watched the sensor image. It was a mobile suit that had the smart body line of a Federation unit and also the curves of a Zeon-type mobile suit. It had a one-eyed head, a thruster unit on the back that looked like wings, and the machine was a dazzling red—

“So it’s the “Sinanju”. The enemy’s the “Red Comet” here…”

Alberto backed away from the console and muttered with a trembling voice. Otto felt the wavering air of uneasiness inside the bridge, and parroted back, “The Red Comet…?”

“It was two year ago. Our company developed a prototype mobile suit that was robbed by those guys during transport.” Alberto’s eyes could not remain focused as they moved, and he continued, “The Federation units that were sent to track it down came back in defeat, and the one viewed as the mastermind behind it was Full Frontal, that person called the second coming of the Red Comet—Char Aznable.”

Liam seemed to be enlightened as she lifted her heavy-looking eyelids and looked over. “I heard of it before. That red mobile suit single-handedly took down two Clop ships, called the pioneer of the “Sleeves.”

“That one called “The Lingering Soul of Char” who created a commotion that time, huh? But…”

Impossible. No, Otto himself wished that this situation did not happen. The red mobile suit was like a hallucination amidst the flickering explosions of light in space, and Otto clamped his glove that was drenched in sweat. The fallen king of the old Zeon Empire, Char Aznable, took the reins during the second Neo Zeon War as the heir of Zeon Deikun. He was the man at the center of the conflict called “Char’s Counterattack”. Even if it were a joke, that Red Comet who vanished without a trace during that final battle could not have survived till now. Some idiot must have been using Char’s name after seeing that he might not have been shot down.

But if that’s the case, what’s with the overwhelming prowess of this enemy in front of us— “The color is different, but this machine is one of the two that were stolen.” Alberto’s next words caused Otto to swallow his stone-like heavy saliva.

“The RX-0 is designed from this thing’s data! This isn’t a mobile suit that can be taken down with some half-baked mobile suits! Hurry up and run away!”

Alberto’s pale face was dyed with the explosion of light outside the window at the next moment. The blunt and heavy impact pierced through the bridge, and the bodies that were held down by the chair attachments could only shake. Otto grabbed onto Alberto’s normal suit just when Alberto was floating around, dragged him to the Captain’s seat with all he got, and yelled, “SEND THE RELEVANT DATA TO ALL UNITS!” The echo and the voices of damage reports rang, and the alarm indicating that the enemy was closing in sounded even more rushed.

“THE ENEMY’S NOT SOME DEAD PERSON OR ANY DAMNED THING! IT’S JUST A MACHINE THAT COMES FROM SOMEWHERE! WE’LL DEFINITELY HIT IT IF WE CALM DOWN AND AIM! TELL THE MOBILE SUIT SQUAD THIS!”

Even If we want to run away, we’ll just be hit from the back in this situation. Otto fought back the feelings in his heart that were overwhelmed by the term “The Second Coming of Char”, and stared at the beams that were all over the place outside. Daguza seemed to have some thought as he passed by Otto, while the explosions showed him leaving the bridge silently.

Part 4

The combat data was immediately sent out, and the mobile suit squad received this data through the radar. The unknown CG image model was corrected by the data, allowing the pilots to grasp the shape of the enemy mobile suit. However, the situation did not improve in this situation.

Even after knowing the shape, it was meaningless if they could not catch sight of the enemy. The “Sinanju” continued to fly behind the messy debris, not leaving any opening for the Nahel Argama pilots to fight it head on. The red mobile suit grazed past the dead angle—it was too late when everyone realized this, and broke through the defense lines, and shot a new beam at the ship.

The Nahel Argama took a direct hit, giving off a white-hot fireball. The pure white ship that lost its left catapult was tilted largely to the side. The anti-air fire continued on, ripping through the torrent of debris to bits. The red mobile suit, which was not even equipped with a shield, moved in in arcs amidst the numerous explosive lights. The arm that had the logo of Zeon on the sleeve, the legs that looked like some crustacean shell, the two propeller tanks on the back all help guide the Active Mass Balance Auto-Control rotor, allowing the red giant to move amidst the vacuum on its own.

No matter how different the frame or the power generator was, mobile suits of the same size should not have a difference in output. The “Sinanju” continued to toy with ship with hit and run tactics, while the Nahel Argama pilots did not break formation as it insisted on basic tactics and continuous suppression of the enemy. The Lieutenant Commander’s Romeo 004 got shot down with the catapult jet, and the remaining forces that were left were 2 “ReZELs” and one “Jegan”. These three machines all started to search out the enemy, attack and support, tracking the red machine that was appearing and disappearing in the midst of the torrent of debris. The movement courses of the enemy suit would naturally be limited with the involvement of the Nahel Argama’s fire. The pilots believed that they had a chance since there was no attacks from any Psycommu weapons.

The one in charge of tracking down the enemy was the Juliet 2 “Jegan”, while the attacker Romeo 001 started to double team it. The defender, Romeo 008, was equipped with a beam rifle as it remained in a position where it could see the three machines. The 3 machines continued to dodge the debris that was moving in from irregular directions as they waited at the opening where the enemy would appear. The enemy’s mobile suit had outstanding AMBAC capabilities, but there had to be a limit. They had went through multiple moments when the enemy would dodge attacks that would have normally hit. The Nahel Argama pilots had been waiting for this moment, for several minutes after the Nahel Argama took a direct hit. The “Sinanju” was slowed down a little, perhaps because the debris floated in its path. The pursuing “Jegan” used this chance to rain fire, and the “ReZEL” 011 got right in front of the “Sinanju” before shooting a mega-particle from the beam rifle. The ”Sinanju” was restrained by the front as it stopped. Riddhe, who was piloting the “ReZEL” 008, squeezed the trigger.

“Got you!”

The power generator hidden inside the beam rifle roared and shot out a large beam. The mega-particle beam that could match a battleship main cannon blew aside the debris in a straight line, vaporizing through space dust as it rushed at the enemy. However, the “Sinanju” managed to dodge that attack at the critical moment. It was fighting the other two machines, but it could still dodge a sublight beam that came from somewhere else.

The burning debris was scattered all over the lace, having taken the direct hit. The “Sinanju” kicked at one of them and flew through the perimeter at an abnormal speed. The “Sinanju” rained fire on Riddhe’s suppressing fire, and then hid its own heat source amongst the hot debris.

The beam rifle lacked a consecutive fire function. It would need ten seconds to recharge for the next shot. Riddhe’s “ReZEL” had to back away, and the “Sinanju” snuck below the “Jegan” that was closing in on it. The “Jegan” could not use the heat sensor and rely on the visuals, but the enemy was right below it—the only blind spot of the 360 degrees all view monitor, right below the linear seat.

“Is this guy a Newtype too!?”

This is an enemy more ferocious than the psycommu equipped 4-winged, and without openings. The voice of the “Jegan” pilot was drowned out by Squad Leader Norm’s voice “Right below!”. The “Jegan” pilot wanted to step on the pedal, but the beam rifle in the “Sinanju”s hand let out a flash, and the pilot’s consciousness faded.

The beams came out from the rifle barrel, obliterating the “Jegan” from the bottom in rapid-fire mode beams. One hit the leg, another crushed the hand, and the “Jegan” limbs that were hit seemed to dance in space like a spoilt puppet. The head was crushed by the internal pressure, and the core reactor was ignited. The armor let out hot air, and the shockwave ripped through the metal skeleton inside as the now deformed machine was swallowed in an extremely hot ball of light.

The light of explosion that expanded lit up the surrounding debris, causing the “Sinanju” red frame to float in mid-air. It easily dodged pasted Norm’s shots and again vanished amongst the torrent of debris. Norm could not help but have goosebumps as his impression of other unique mobile suits he saw on the battlefield before was mixed in. The “Zeong” and the “Sazabi”, the machines that were piloted by the legendary Red Comet—

“Is that the real Char…!?”

He felt tense after feeling that similar pressure. The Nahel Argama let out flares of being hit behind the two “ReZELs” that were trying to regroup.

Part 5

The light of explosions that happened more than 60km away looked like light-colored illumination. The cold flashes that were sharper than the stars appeared for a short moment, causing the debris floating around the shoal space region to appear for the time being. The thin thread-like lights passed by, and the bright pink light that cut through the blueish-white ring of light was shot through, followed by an expanding orange fireball that signaled an enemy mobile suit’s explosion.

“I said it before, didn’t I? There’s no need for us to get involved.”

It’s impossible to see such a beautiful scene anywhere else. Angelo Sauper said as he saw the image of this light feast from the all view monitor. Ensign Sergi, who was approximately a kilometer away, twitched the “Geara Zulu” slightly as he watched the battle with the rest of the escort squad, answering somewhat hesitantly, (Yes…)

(But is this really okay? There’s not just one enemy there. We should be giving covering fire, shouldn’t we…?)

“That’ll just be a nuisance. We just need to stay here and clean up any enemies the Captain missed.”

Even so, there’re only two enemy suits left. There’s no room for the escort squad to intervene here. Angelo raised the long-distance beam launcher that was equipped on the right manipulator, and rested the 20m long weapon on the machine’s shoulder. Angelo got rid of the instantaneous fire mode, intending to watch the battle from afar, and wryly added, “But the Captain sure is evil for not leaving such small work to us.”

“I never squeezed the trigger once ever since I followed the Captain into the battlefield.”

(Not even once…?)

Sergi’s mobile suit on the enlarged image of the window moved its monoeye to look at Angelo, seemingly looking for an expression or so. Angelo looked at Lieutenant Cuarón in the opposite direction and saw that he was intending to just watch as he put the cannon on his shoulder. Angelo answered ‘yeah’ as he put his hand on the helmet.

“I feel that this is an honor of us, the Escort Squad.”

Angelo took off the helmet and lifted the bangs on his forehand. Angelo himself thought that this was too much, but he did not care about it any further. At this distance, the beam that would be fired here would either be a ship cannon or a high-energy launcher cannon. It would be instant death if any of them were hit. Sergi’s machine showed a puzzled attitude as it turned its monoeye back to the front to stare at the battlefield again. Angelo looked over from the corner of his eye and continued in his heart: You’ll understand later.

There won’t be any wild enemy shots flying over. The enemy’s head over heels trying to set a firing range. Anyone who’s trying to snipe us from that will be taken down by the Captain if there are any signs of it. Someone might think that there’s no need for an escort squad, but that’s not true. There are many things we can do to help the Captain, like protecting the battlefield the Captain is on, or watching out for any reinforcements. It’s this feeling of trusting and being trusted that allows us to be able to deal with any enemy more than anything else. The Captain himself acknowledged that we’re the fighting strength supporting him on the battlefield.

Leaving our lives to each other and gaining unsurpassed happiness and absent-mindedness is more precious than anything else Angelo imagined seeing the “Sinanju” in the midst of the crossfire of beams. The enemy mobile suits will be immediately dealt with, the ship cannon will be taken down. The enemy ship will have nowhere to go, and they have to hand over the Laplace Box soon. No matter what it is, it’ll definitely big enough for the ship to hold. Once we reclaim it, we’ll just put it back on the “Rewloola” at the back.

I can still enjoy this numbing and enjoyable feeling before then. Everything about the battlefield the Red Comet rides on—Full Frontal, is pretty. There is a large ball of explosion shown there, and Angelo muttered: I’ll enjoy this even if I die.

Part 6

The umpteenth impact rocked the ship, and Banagher grabbed onto the foot of the table that was creaking. The falling rocks-like noises rang, and the sounds of floating bodies crashing the floor could be heard as the red lights shining inside the room flashed brightly.

(Third Ventral Fin on the right took heavy damage!)

(Emergency response team, hurry up with the airtight assignment on C block!)

(It’s the 4th VLS! A missile fell in from the suspension and we got a staff crushed down there…! OI! KIKUMASA, KIKUMASA!!)

What could only be heard from the open speakers in the ship were cries and roars. “Is this ship…going to be alright…” Takuya muttered, and Banagher did not rely as he looked around the recreational room that was covered with a thin amount of dust. All the things that were not held down were scattered all over the place, and the monitor panel on the wall was showing cracks. He spent all his concentration on guarding himself against the tremors. He and everyone else had not put on their normal suit. Micott was grabbing onto the sofa, not moving at all, and on the opposite side, Banagher saw that Audrey was intending to carry the spacesuit. He intended to move there when the tremors stopped. It was unknown when the airtight wall would be broken through if this kept up. They had to make sure they had their air.

Banagher gathered up 2 normal suits that were scattered tucked them under his armpits. His eyes met Audrey as she was doing the same thing, and he felt a very suffocating feeling. The shocks that happened next forcefully made them look away from each other. It seemed that the fixators were spoilt as the flower pots were tumbled, the dirt and the lids that was pried open by the shock landed on the floor, and the bits of dirt were scattered on the floor. Banagher’s vision was blocked by the dirt that went flying with the impact again, and shouted, “HURRY UP AND PUT THE NORMAL SUITS UP!”

Micott lifted her head from the sofa, and Takuya snuck out from the back of the table. Banagher saw that Audrey was going over to Micott, and intended to move over to Takuya as he heard the sound of the door being opened behind.

He looked back, and saw two men walking into the room silently. Both men wear wearing deep beige spacesuits that were sticking onto themselves, while their right legs had gun holsters. Banagher was shocked that the two men were wearing different clothing from the ship’s crew for a short moment, only to realize that the face under the helmet was a familiar one as he shut his mouth that was about to open after being suppressed by that sharp stare.

Daguza’s eyes did not show any signs of cordial he had with others for a moment before. The knife-like stare in the eyes stopped Banagher’s movements, just like the first time they met in this room. During this time, the other hulking man grabbed Audrey’s upper man.

That person intended to bring Audrey right in front of Daguza as he pulled her with enough force that did not allow for any arguments back. “What are you…!” Audrey groaned as she wanted to shake off the hand, but her face could not be seen as her left arm was held down by Daguza’s left arm. Banagher was shocked for several seconds and hurriedly tried to get in front of Daguza, only to be immediately stopped by the hulking man in front of him.

Banagher could see the side of Audrey’s face behind the hulking man’s back that she was listening to Daguza whispering. He saw her shocked expression, and all signs of resistance on her immediately vanished as she looked at Daguza with a silent expression. Daguza looked back at Audrey’s angry or remorseful look, while Banagher did not know what was going on as he could only watching their faces. Daguza ignored him as he had his arm around Audrey before stepping out. Audrey moved the arm that touched her away and went towards the door on her own.

“Excuse me…” Micott spoke up with a barely audible voice. Daguza stopped to glance at her, and then looked away to continue walking. Banagher saw Micott lowly her pale face, and turned his eyes back at Daguza, who was passing through the door with Audrey and shouted, “Wait!”

“Why are you doing this? Where are you intending to bring Audrey to?”

Daguza merely glanced behind, not even saying anything. He nudged Audrey on the back lightly just when she was about to stop, and both of them continued to move forward. Banagher’s head immediately felt hot as he stamped on the floor.

“Wait…!” Banagher angrily reached his arm out to grab Daguza’s waist, and for a short moment, thought that his fingers reached the normal suit. Daguza nimbly reached his right arm out to push Banagher’s forehead, and the force that pushed him back practically sent him sprawling.

“Do not leave this place until you’re order to. Got it?’

The hulking man said. Banagher saw his somewhat guilty looking expression as he looked back and used his hand to feel the hand to feel the head that took heavy damage. The closed door had already blocked any sight of Daguza and the rest. Banagher, Takuya and Micott were the only three left inside the room. The tremors that rocked again caused the silent uneasiness to be broken up.

What the heck was that? Banagher could not comprehend immediately and only intended to chase after them, only to feel a chill when he heard the words “It’s about that girl.” Micott’s hands that were holding onto Haro tensed up as she stared at the floor with a depressed look.

“It wouldn’t be like this if that girl wasn’t around…”

Haro fell off from her hands as her knees collapsed weakly onto the floor. Banagher could only feel the anxiety and regret choking him as he saw Micott collapse like that. “You said it out…?” Banagher squeezed out these words as he grabbed Micott, who lowered her head dejectedly, with both hands.

“WHAT DID YOU SAY!? WHAT DID YOU TELL THEM!?”

“I TOLD THEM THE TRUTH! I TOLD THEM THERE WASN’T SUCH A GIRL IN INDUSTRIAL 7. I TOLD THEM THAT SHE MIGHT BE WORKING WITH THE TERRORISTS…!”

Micott yelled as she lifted her head. Banagher felt even more hurt by her teary eyes that made her look like she was going to collapse, rather than the words themselves. He let go of the hands that were grabbing Micott’s shoulders. I have no right to tell her off. Everything was all because of me. He tried to accept this unacceptable truth and vented all his uncontainable rage into his clenched fists. Banagher subconsciously head for the door.

Takuya picked up Haro which dropped on the floor and gave him a wavering stare. This is a path of no return. Banagher remembered these words that appeared in his mind and passed through the automatic door. “Don’t go!” A voice that was like a cry came, and at this moment, a soft feeling surrounded Banagher’s waist.

“You can’t go…stay here.”

Banagher could not look down at Micott’s expression as she wrapped her arms around his waist with her face on his face. He was shocked by this unexpected heaviness, could not move his legs and held his breath as he touched Micott’s hands. He avoided the normal biological reaction to this warmth and softness, felt this sense of guilt he had never felt before, and gently opened the hands that gave him warmth.

“…I’m sorry.”

Banagher had nothing else to say as he stepped on the floor while the tremors rocked his footsteps. He ran past the arc shaped corridor and left the recreational room without looking back. “WHY ARE YOU APOLOGIZING!?” such a cry of anguish could be heard, seemingly piercing through Banagher’s heart from the back.

Part 7

The charge countdown showed 0, and the signal indicating that the charge was done rang inside the cockpit as Riddhe cocked the trigger of the beam launcher to the bottom.

“Go!”

The mega-particles were released as they went through the accelerated convergent ring. The pink beam ripped through the vacuum as they broke past the debris and flew towards the target. However, Riddhe did not have time to check whether it hit the target as he use the thruster jets to help him escape before the recoil from the firing stopped.

On the battlefield, stillness meant death. Shooting out this beam would be the same as telling the enemy one’s own location. Besides, the enemy was the “Red Comet” who decimated the defenses of the Nahel Argama alone. Even if it were the real Char, the fact was that it was an abnormal enemy they were dealing with after a few minutes of skirmish. Riddhe read the radar signal from Norm’s unit, and let his unit move around in a messy accelerated trajectory as it flew through the sea of debris. At this moment, the beam came from a completely unexpected direction, and the flash and the intense hit struck the cockpit of the “ReZEL” 008.

The noticeable G force slammed the body, and the attachment gear at the back let out a creaking sound. Riddhe thought that his eyeballs were popping out as he unknowingly put his hand on the helmet. He caught sight of a spark flying from afar as he spun. The fatal G-force faded off by the time he realized that it was his suit’s right leg that was blown off by a beam, and he barely managed to let the one-legged mobile suit steady itself.

The functionality of the AMBAC was decreased by 26%. Riddhe glanced aside to look at this status that was explained mercilessly and stepped on the pedal. That red mobile suit was basically fighting multiple enemies by looking at the situation. He would not carry out unnecessary actions, and he was basically treating the debris and the enemy units as a hostage. He did not personally make the kill, but stopped attacking so that he would not focus on just one enemy. Riddhe would definitely be eliminated if he let his unit with lowered mobility stay at its position.

Newtype, experienced pilot, no, these aren’t it. He’s an expert. This simple term appeared in Riddhe’s mind as he felt the strength supporting him weakening. That mobile suit shook off Norm’s pursuit as it closed in on the Nahel Argama again. The ship was wrecked by countless hit and run attacks, and the screen of bullets it let out was less than two-thirds the usual. How are we going to stop that guy with just two units—?

“If this keeps up, everyone will…”

Riddhe unwittingly said as he gritted his teeth. He worked his mind that seemed to be covered in cowardice as he held onto the control stick again, only to hear a voice from the wireless radio (Do you hear me, the attacking enemy unit there?)

(Cease your attacks immediately. Our ship has captured the prisoner Mineva Zabi. I repeat, our ship has captured the sole heir of the Zabi family, Mineva Lao Zabi.)

The broadcast was made through the open channel frequency—but it was not the voice of the Operator or the Captain. “Who’s that…?” Riddhe mused inadvertently as he looked through the monitor at the Nahel Argama. The pure white ship that was firing on the monitor on the far end where the debris continued to swim through, and it was as big as a little finger. (The image will be shown on Channel 582. I hope you can confirm it.) The voice from the wireless radio overlapped with the image. Riddhe, who was looking for the enemy, let his eyes stare at the monitor as he set the wireless frequency to 582. The communication window then showed the face he was familiar with.

Riddhe’s heart raced as the hand holding onto the control stick trembled. Prisoner, Zabi Family, Mineva. These terms brought an onrushing surge of hues in his mind as they exploded. The face of the girl entering his eyes started to shake violently. His lips were sealed tightly as he stared at the emerald eyes who were not wavering. That face yesterday gave him the courage to deal with the situation fearlessly when it entered his stare—

(If you do not cease your attacks, we will not guarantee the safety of Mineva Zabi. We have already prepared terms of negotiations, and we hope for your reply.)

The voice continued through the wireless radio. Mineva Lao Zabi, the sole daughter of the Zabi family who led the Republic of Zeon under Zeon’s name. She took the throne during the First Neo Zeon War at a tender age of 7, but disappeared after the war. There were rampant rumors of her death, but the government continued to search for this princess of the fallen empire secretly. The rumors also said that she was the star leading the Zeon remnants, the “Sleeves”…it’s this girl?

Riddhe could not understand. Her name’s Audrey, I definitely may have fallen for her on first sight. Riddhe stared at the girl on the window, repeated the name Mineva Zabi that had nothing to do with him, and held his breath because of the image that was captured from the far end. The fire that blazed suddenly stopped as the Nahel Argama’s rain of fire stopped.

Riddhe did not know the whereabouts of the red enemy suit, but there were no signs of new beams or thruster jets. It was obvious that this message reached the enemy unit and stopped the attack. (This is Romeo 001. Will the bridge please explain the situation?) Riddhe left side Norm’s suppressed call as he stared at Audrey Burne’s eyes. She showed no signs of fear nor doubt as her emerald eyes continued to look forward, still giving off the awe-inspiring look through the window.

“Mineva Zabi…she’s, the princess of Zeon?”

The girl on the image remained silent, and the bridge made no response to Norm’s unit. Riddhe floated around this battlefield where time had stopped, not knowing what to think

Part 8

(I’ve checked the footage.)

The clear and cool voice echoed through the ship, causing everyone in the bridge to jerk. Otto saw Operator Bradley turn around to nod, used his eyes to tell him to maintain this line, and heard the voice of the pilot he was hearing for the first time.

(I am Captain Full Frontal of Neo Zeon. Let me hear your request.)

The communication channel was not too bad as Minovsky Particles were not scattered. It naturally felt like the voice that had been heard many times through news or military footage—the voice of Char Aznable, and Otto held onto the handle of the Captain’s seat as he muttered, “So even the voice is the same…?” as he turned his eyes around to see the bridge that was only left with emptiness and cold chatter, raning from Liam, who showed heavy anxiety in her eyes as she got up from the First Officer seat at the console, to the steering crew member and the weapons operator. Alberto held onto the empty command seat right beside the Captain’s seat, his fat face shuddering as he widened his eyes in shock as he stared at the communication panel. Operator Bellard was sitting there, and the girl wearing the purple shawl was standing silently between Commander Daguza, who was wearing a deep beige norm normal and his assistant Officer, Lieutenant Commander Conroy—her body half-blocked by them.

The girl had been mistaken for an ordinary civilian ever since she was taken in from Industrial 7 due to lack of chances to meet directly. She closed her lips, her clear green eyes were focused on a single point, and the expression could be seen through the server monitor. She did not even show any signs of anger on her shoulders, let alone fear in this environment that felt like it was going to be an electric jolt whenever she touched. She was definitely not a citizen that could be randomly seen, Otto admitted. She had a certain special thing about it. Perhaps it was the thick sense of self-pride, or some unique trait that she was born with or raised to have. If she were the descendent of the family that ruled Zeon, this would explain why people would recognize this…

But why, why was she on this ship? Daguza, who barged into the bridge in the midst of the chaotic battle, just took control of the communications panel like a robber and did not even make a single explanation. The enemy had already responded to their calls, and they could not call in the guards to whisk Daguza out. Otto stared at the back of the girl in a nightmare-like state. “We hope that you will cease your attacks and retreat immediately.” Daguza spoke into the mic as everyone stared at him in a terrified manner. Conroy put his hand on the handgun holster in the meantime to scare off Liam, who was trying to get up

“We can guarantee Mineva Zabi’s safety like this.”

(You’re not handing her over to us?)

“You can assume that there is still room for negotiations. However, we will like to add an extra condition, and that is that this ship has to be moved to what can be deemed a safe place.”

(I see. So she’s not a prisoner, but a hostage?)

The red mobile suit’s pilot—Full Frontal spoke with a sneer, causing Daguza, who was holding onto the microphone, to show signs of tension on the side of his face. Otto saw the stare from aside, and seemed to recover as he looked back at Liam. He put his helmet with hers while not making a noise. “Are you checking on where the electric signal is coming from?” Otto whispered. Liam looked up at the sensor screen and answered,

“We detected the location, but with so many debris…”

“It’s impossible to snipe, right…?”

The plan was to use the communication panel to grab attention and strike when the enemy stops, but it seems like Daguza’s plan was read by the enemy earlier. Otto stared at the main screen that showed the countless debris hiding the enemy’s mobile suit, and then felt a chill when he heard Frontal’s voice (There are too many uncertain factors if we want to consider this a negotiation.)

(There is no evidence to prove that the image is showing Her Highness Mineva herself.)

“If you are suspicious, how about you come onto our ship to see for yourself?”

(That is a way. But in that case, I will like to ask your ship to move along with us until our side feels that it is a safe place.)

Frontal said with a calm voice. He doesn’t play along with the opponent’s rules and makes up words that will ensure that things go his way when there’s an opening. What a smart man. Otto thought. Leaving aside whether he’s the real Char, this man knows very well how this game called negotiations is done. Daguza seemed to have the same feeling as he showed some signs of anxiousness on the side of his face as he answered, “You’re really cautious for a man called the Second Coming of the Red Comet!”

(Our side is deemed by yours as a terrorist organization. We’ll naturally be timid if we aren’t accepted as an army, or when the international laws aren’t suited for us.)

“We’ll respect human rights.”

(Nobody will bother hearing that from the Special Forces who were deployed to a civilian colony. Besides, you are talking while holding a hostage.)

They were caught in his flow. Frontal did not let Daguza go with his speechlessness as he continued with a steady voice, (Then, our side will raise a request).

(Our side hopes that you will hand over the item you confiscated from the “Magallanica”, and all the relevant data regarding the Laplace Box.)

Alberto, who was clinging onto the Commander’s seat, bent himself forward. As everyone held their breaths, Daguza asked, “The price?”

(The journey back will be safe. I wonder if you will believe it?)

“I can’t say that I don’t believe you, but I can’t do so. Our side doesn’t have the thing called the Laplace Box.”

(Your ship should have already reclaimed a Gundam-type mobile suit.)

“That is a Federation property. It has nothing to do with the “Box”.”

(Our side will determine this. If you can’t accept this request, your ship will be sunk.)

The voice that seemed to express something that was not a threat, but a fact, struck as a gust that froze the air in the bridge. Daguza ignored everyone’s pale faces as he said, “Are you going to ignore the prisoner’s life?”

(I said that I can’t verify that it is Her Highness Mineva herself. I don’t have to reply to any negotiations with uncertain terms.)

Frontal answered calmly. He raised his jaw silently, seemingly ignoring the girl who closed her eyes while seemingly indulging in emotions as he coolly answered through the wireless radio, (I’ll give you 3 minutes to consider.)

(Once this time is up, and if I don’t get a beneficial reply, our side will sink your ship. I hope you can make a wise decision.)

The electronic broadcast was interrupted before Daguza could answer. Daguza spaced out as he held onto the microphone, while the girl lowered her speechless face. At that short moment, nobody intended to speak up as the bitter silent time descended upon the ship.

They had to break up this silence in order to accept this situation and try to neutralize it…but how were supposed to accept this situation? The enemy called the Second Coming of Char, the girl called Mineva; there were too many factors with unknown reliabilities. The only thing certain as of this point was that their current fighting strength would not be able to match the enemy. Even if they wanted to stall the negotiations, they had no idea of the true identity of the Laplace Box either.

Otto also did think of simply granting the enemy their request, to hand over the mobile suit they had no idea of. But he could not let himself agree with this. He was a Federation soldier, a captain who did not want any of his subordinates to die more than anyone…however, would this wishful thinking show the incompetence of a commander? Who has the right to force 300 passengers to die with you just to hide a secret with an unknown truth— Otto stared at Daguza’s back as he forgot to wipe the sweat off his face. “This is a bluff.” The ECOAS commander grabbed onto the microphone so tightly he was seemingly going to break it as he looked at Otto before glancing aside.

“There’s no reason why they would not come to save the guiding star for the Zeon remnants.”

“Not really.”

Daguza swallowed the words he was going to say next, probably because of the girl Mineva’s unexpected words. The still air spread around like a ripple as everyone in the bridge looked over at her.

“Full Frontal is the man who they say may be Char, the orphaned son of Zeon Deikun. There’s no reason for him to risk his life for the Zabi family, the enemy of his parents.”

The girl, who may be Mineva, ignored the stares of the group around her as she did not show any signs of wavering on her fact. Daguza showed that he was overwhelmed by this presence for a short moment of time as he answered, “These words show that you’re Mineva Zabi herself!” and threw aside the microphone to draw a M-92F automatic handgun from his holster. He pointed the gun at the girl’s temple in front of Operator Bellard, who swallowed his saliva.

“If that were the case, this will be more obvious. It’s impossible for Frontal not to save you if he wants the Zabi faction amongst the Sleeves to be obedient.”

“If that’s what you believe, continue with your useless negotiations. However, the ruler of Zeon isn’t as naïve as you think, you know?”

She did not seem concerned with the gun that was pointed at her as her eyes full of will were staring at Daguza. It was a tone that could not be expected, and that stare of hers would make people obey unconditionally; these factors proved her background more than anyone. Otto swallowed his saliva as he stared at this girl that was definitely Mineva Zabi.

“The winner and loser has been decided. Logically, it’s a soldier’s duty to minimize our allies’ damages before this. If it were a Zeon soldier, he will consider whether to get rid of anything related to the Laplace Box in the meantime.”

Daguza’s eyes twitched slightly as the hand holding the gun was shuddering slightly. As everyone continued to stare at this unmoved Mineva, Alberto seemed to realize something as he said “That…that’s right.” And floated over from the commander seat to the duo.

“She’s right. Let’s destroy the Unicorn’s electronic spare parts and hand it over to them. We just need to surrender.”

Daguza and Mineva did not move their sights that were staring at each other as Alberto got between them and said,

“That’s a key, not the Box itself. If we destroy it, the Box’s safety will—”

Daguza clicked his tongue as he looked over at the communications panel. Conroy took action at that moment as he shut Alberto’s mouth from behind. Mineva narrowed her eyes too as she stared at the microphone Daguza was holding and the communication panel. They deliberately chose not to cut the line to let the enemy know that they were serious, and in this case, they leaked out information they did not expect.

Conroy put the gun on Alberto’s head as he continued to struggle while not knowing what was going on. He saw that no one in the bridge was raising their handguns, and as Liam wanted to take action, his gun was instinctively pointed at her. Not good— Conroy showed this expression as he showed no signs of backing down. The crew of the ship showed changes in their expressions. Otto growled for everyone to calm down, only for Mineva to suddenly laugh and sigh.

“This really feels like what the Federation itself will do, but what will you do? Commander Daguza Mackle?”

Mineva gave a wry stare at Daguza and continued,

“If you have the courage, destroy the Box and kill me. Everyone here will die, but it will be a blow to Neo Zeon once they lose the Box and me.”

Daguza’s forehead was sweating, and Mineva’s lips gave a taunting smile.

“Or are you going to let everything get snatched away by not doing anything? You only have a minute left to hesitate.”

Daguza took a deep breath through his nose and pointed his gun at Mineva’s forehead. The expression on the side of Mineva’s face had disappeared as she clenched her fist. Stop it, don’t do anything. this is her plan. Otto got ready to get up, but was shocked by another voice, “You’re talking like that again. That won’t do!”

The opened bridge door showed a boy with a bandage on his head. “Why aren’t you wearing a normal suit…!” The boy wearing the work jumper got past Liam who said this as she blocked his way and moved to Mineva. He was one of the civilians kept on board—no, the boy who piloted that Gundam. He got to Mineva while getting in the way Daguza in the way Otto thought of.

“Audrey, you’re just forcing others and yourself down the path of despair like this. just leave this place.”

It was an expression that showed no sight of anything else. The side of Mineva’s face that showed no sight of cracking sparkled “Banagher…” as she muttered.

“You shouldn’t be involved in these things. Stay with us.”

Banagher grabbed Mineva’s hand and intended to leave the scene. Mineva managed to steady her body that was about to be dragged away as she used all her strength to shake off the boy’s hand.

“Audrey…!”

“I am Mineva Zabi, not Audrey.”

“What are you saying? You’re Audrey. Whether you’re lying or not, you’re Audrey Burne to me.”

To her, this may be the first time she got rebutted like this. Mineva gasped as she lowered her head slightly. Daguza told off the boy who intended to grab her hand again, “Stop it!”

“This isn’t a time where kids’ logic can work. Leave this place.”

“You’re saying that I’m a kid…then, what’s Audrey?”

“She’s an important person of Neo Zeon, different from you.”

“No way! If I’m a kid, so is Audrey. Is using children as hostages what adults should be doing!?”

The voice that was released from his entire body shut Daguza up as if it was blowing apart the still air. Otto felt that his slow-witted head got hit in the back of the head as he stared at the boy called Banagher. He was shocked by this kid who was younger than him as he stared at the side of his face before looking away. At that moment, the voice from the wireless radio rang, “Time’s up.”

(Let me hear your ship’s response.)

Everyone stared at the captain, and then at Daguza. Daguza remained silent as he did not move the automatic handgun in his hand. It’s already…not, we never had a choice to begin with. Otto and Liam nodded at each other, sent messages to every department to continue battle, and again looked at the side of Banagher’s face.

We don’t actually have much hope out of this, but amongst these adults who can’t move, he’s the only one who saw the exit. This feeling did appear in Otto’s heart.

Part 9

The microphone in the air swayed with the gust blowing from the air conditioner. Daguza had no intent of taking it in his hands. His left hand was held in a cast, and his right hand was holding onto the handgun as he just stood around without doing anything. Something like a handgun here would not be of any use.

Audrey too lowered her head as she remained silent. Banagher looked around this bridge that was not too big, waiting for someone to say something. None of them did, and none of them met Banagher in the eye as they were all focused somewhere else, looking at each other. The only one who met him in the eye was the man sitting on the captain’s seat, but he would not answer Banagher’s stare. Neither Daguza, Alberto, nor any of the passengers—

Why aren’t you doing anything? Why are you still remaining silent? What’s with this burdensome silence waiting for someone else to speak up? As Banagher thought about this, he looked back at Audrey, and the voice from the wireless communicator declared, (I understand.)

(Our side will sink your ship.)

Only these words were said as the line was cut off. After a beat, the man who looked like the captain growled to the entire ship “IT’S COMING!”

“Anti-air artillery! Mobil suit squadron, intercept on your own.”

The hulking female officer grabbed onto the console and started giving instructions to each department. The remaining crew all got to their stations as the bridge got buzzing. Once the unique cogs started to spin, they will unite to cause the large structure to work— however, they would not start or stop on their own. Banagher had his hand on the back of the operator’s seat, taken aback by the buzzing that was completely different from before, and let his listless stare reach the window in front of him. Soldiering is a job too. Banagher had such a thought in his mind again as he asked himself, What should I do?

Soldiers had different duties like those workers in a factory, and even the captain was one of these cogs. This ship, the Nahel Argama, was a gear of a large organization called the army. If that were the case, what would be the thing moving the cogs? The Generals? The Prime Minister of the Federation government? Or Anaheim Electronics? No, Alberto would be fulfilling the role of a cog, and he gave the vibe that he had no right to make decisions. Even the important person to Neo Zeon, Audrey, could not say what she wanted to say because of her own predicament, so it may be that all the higher-ups were the same. If everyone was an individual cog that feared the Laplace Box, who would be the person who wanted to protect it even if it meant using a hostage? Would that mean that this thing called an organization itself had a will that demanded humans to obey?

The beams continued to fly outside the window, and the explosions of debris lit the bridge. This is too stupid. Banagher silently stared at Daguza as the captain and everyone were growling and giving commands all over the place, and yelled, “CAN’T YOU JUST GIVE THE BOX AWAY!?”

Audrey lifted her head. If Neo Zeon got hold of the Laplace Box, there would be another great war—that may be the case. But so what? Nobody knew its true identity, and there was no certain proof that Audrey’s worry would become reality. “If you want everyone to die over something you don’t even know what it is—” Banagher emphasized, “Then, can you bear responsibility?” Daguza felt stiff as he opened his mouth, and could not say what he wanted to say.

“If in the end, the power hidden in the Box is something like that, and if it ends up killing more people, how are you going to apologize to the dead and their relatives? How do you intend to compensate them?”

A jolt happened below their feet as Banagher’s soles floated away from the floor. The beams continued to fly outside the window, and the expanding lights of explosions lit half of Daguza’s face. He looked away from the silent Banagher and said to the subordinate beside him “Keep calling the enemy” and wielded his handgun. The subordinate who had the size of a wrestler looked like he recovered and nodded as he grabbed the microphone floating in the air.

“Cease your attacks, or Mineva Zabi will be executed. This isn’t a threat.”

The sound of the impact overwhelmed the stiff voice as sirens and damage reports roared all over the place. The subordinate continued to call the enemy, and Daguza, who had his gun pointed at Aurey, had no expectations of what this would do. The captain and everyone else who were focused on the battle in front of them continued to attacking while ignoring their own hostage, just fulfilling the roles that were decided for them. They all responded with the tasks they were given, the fixed roles, options—other options would appear if they had only changed their perspective a little, but none of them were willing to move there. The weight of the term called responsibility had sealed off their eyes and mouth just like how it was at this point.

This is why the adults can’t express their true thoughts, Banagher suddenly thought. The more they obey their duties, the more they will succumb to their responsibilities, and they will gradually lose sight of everything around it. And once they find a situation where nothing can work, they will push the responsibility onto someone else and remain silent. They shunned the responsibilities by making it rather vague, saying that they had no rights or authority, only caring about what’s in front of them and saving themselves. If the world is destroyed before of this, the adults will definitely say that they don’t have the power and rights to save the world.

If I want to save her, I must have the realization to bear the weight of the world—is this how it is? So these hurdles that obedient people without malice build up are the weight of the world? Banagher was not hoping for anyone to do anything at this point as he stared at his palm.

The palm that had not fully felt the meaning and pain of work was covered with a mere thin layer of skin. Banagher did not feel this hand could bear the weight of the world, but it could touch Audrey, it could touch her stubborn delicate body and give warmth to her. If this was something Banagher had to do, he would be willing—

“…We just need to hang on through this situation, right?”

Banagher muttered and lifted his head.

“If we take down that red mobile suit, there won’t be any need to take Audrey as a hostage, right? I’ll do it!”

Banagher glanced aside at the stunned Daguza and turned away. He felt Audrey’s stare from behnd him, but if he stopped, he would be unable to move due to fear. Banagher dashed out of the bridge without looking back.

The heat on his body was gathered at his temples. Banagher was driven by a pulsating heat as he undid the bandage on his head and took the elevator down. He put his hand on the inside of the cubicle and pressed the button that led to the mobile suit deck. What do I intend to do? The moment Banagher closed his eyes and asked himself this, the door that was nearly shut seemed to clamp something.

Alberto, who was in the normal suit, appeared on the other side of the elevator door that was opened. He put his hand on the door, let his stout body slip in, and chuckled at the frowning Banagher.

“Hold on a moment. I remember you’re called Banagher, right kid?”

The face with the helmet on closed in as the door shut. Banagher clenched his sweaty fists.

Part 10

The Nahel Argama fired in all directions, raining an endless torrent of large flashing sparks. The debris that touched the explosive lights let out a chain of explosions, leaving a feast of light in the shoal space region.

The red mobile suit—the Sinanju got between this feast as it continued its attacks on the white ship. The orange fireballs flared as the Nahel Argama’s fire weakened slightly. Riddhe saw that the red enemy suit appeared whenever there was reflected light from the explosions. It would disappear instantly after appearing, and the thruster jets left a trail of light in space.

“You! If you weren’t…!”

Riddhe let his own mobile suit that lost a leg transform into the Wave Rider mode and stepped on the pedal. The G-force from the acceleration struck his body, and the tiny debris that struck the mobile suit let out unpleasant noises. It would be over if Riddhe slammed into a larger debris, but he did not care as he continued to fire the beam rifle hidden inside the shield. “BACK OFF!” Riddhe yelled.

“IF YOU WEREN’T HERE, WE WOULDN’T HAVE TO CARRY OUT SUCH A DISGUSTING BATTLE. SOMETHING LIKE THIS, SOMETHING…!”

The “Sinanju” flew from one piece of debris to another, seemingly mocking the trail of fire that rained on it as it dodged. Using Mineva Zabi—the girl who was simply Audrey to him is basically what a bad guy will do! Who cares about whether she’s the last heir of the Zabi family? What about us who confronts terrorists with hostages?

“SO WHAT ABOUT THE BOX! BECAUSE OF THIS STUPID THING, EVERYONE…!”

The suit transformed back into the mobile suit form and fired the 60mm Vulcan cannons on its head. Riddhe aimed for the red mobile suit that was flying side to side amongst the debris, and let the “ReZEL” fly further forward. Damn it, I got all too excited. His excited brain thought as he raised the beam rifle that had only enough power to last for a few more seconds. At the moment the countdown reached zero, the “Sinanju” spined around to dodge, turned back, and raised its beam rifle to shoot at Riddhe.

There’s no time to dodge. I got too close. I’ll get massacred. Riddhe clicked his tongue as he saw a passing beam graze by the “Sinanju” horizontally, messing its flight path.

Riddhe immediately took action to retreat as he let his mobile suit leap aside. Then, Norm’s unit closed in with the beam as it charged towards the “Sinanju”, and Riddhe felt that his heating body cooled down a little.

(Calm down, Ensign Riddhe! Stay in order!)

Norm’s voice echoed through the wireless speaker as he drew the beam saber and attacked the “Sinanju”. The “Sinanju” too drew its beam saber as both sides had an intense clash of blades, giving off sparks in the vacuum.

(It’s about time for me, but you’re different. You better live even if you have to bite on stone. You still have something you have to do…)

The high-heat particles let out 2, 3 flashes of light, showing both units clashing with each other. There was no room to intervene, and his beam rifle was still charging. (Don’t mind me, just shoot!) Flustered, Riddhe heard Norm growl.

(If you don’t want your comrades’ sacrifices to be in vain, you have to…)

The sudden static covered up the words that followed. A ball of explosion appeared in front, and the “Sinanju”, which stood in the light like it was bathed in blood, appeared on the monitor. (Squad leader Norm…!) Riddhe called out as his mind went blank, and for the time being, he could not move his body. The broken arm from Norm’s unit was sent flying over, grazing Riddhe’s unit, and the wide-opened hand robbed Riddhe of the deepest part of his soul. The monoeye of the “Sinanju” flickered rudely, seemingly pitying the enemy suit that was injured.

“You bastard…!”

Riddhe squeezed out the remaining ounce of strength he had to force back the pressuring feeling from the red death good. I’m a pilot. If I have something I have to do right now, it’ll be to sink this enemy mobile suit in front of me. Riddhe ignored the words Norm left in his heart as he put his fingers on the trigger of the beam rifle. The siren indicating that the charge ended seemed to ring coincidentally.

The “Sinanju”, with its flickering eye, rushed through the black clouds that showed the remains of Norm’s suit, and got under the machine. Riddhe pretended to lose sight of the enemy as he waited for it to close it. It’s not like that guy’s beam rifle has infinite ammo. If there’s a need for it to make sure that the Nahel Argama can’t fight back, it’ll definitely get as close as possible to let out a fatal damage. This will be decided within a range of 20km. I’ll be happy if I can take revenge here, even if it means dying together.

The distance between them was shortened, and Riddhe caught sight of the enemy mobile suit through the sensor image and switched the position of his unit the moment the enemy went past 20km. The “ReZEL” used its balance verniers on its entire body, turned 90 degrees back and faced the “Sinanju” head on…it may look this case, but the machine itself could not maintain its anticipated angle as it tilt to the left like it was tugged aside.

The loss of the right leg caused the AMBAC function to err. It was too late by the time Riddhe realized this, and the enemy mobile suit that it once caught sight of went slightly aside. Riddhe immediately stepped on the pedal, but he knew that it was too late. I’ll be hit, the direct hit would be arriving; I’ll not be able to repay anyone’s expectations. I will die like a target. These thoughts of fantasia appeared in his mind, and as the fingers holding the control stick stiffened, Riddhe detected ‘that wave’ which blew through the inside of the cockpit.

The red enemy suit suddenly changed its course and left the path of contact with the ReZEL. Did that guy detect it too? Riddhe immediately took avoid to dodge as he got goosebumps trying to find the source of the wave on the all-view monitor. The wave expanded through the vacuum like a heart pulsating in cadence. He felt this feeling during the battle the day before. This time, it came from the white mothership that was floating amongst the sea of debris.

Riddhe let his cursor point at the Nahel Argama that was firing and enlarged the image. On the middle of the ship that lost its portside catapult deck, the first catapult deck that formed the bow opened its hatch as a mobile suit was sent there. It had white armor like the ship, had a human-shaped build and a lone horn on its forehead—

“It’s the Gundam…!?”

The dual eye sensor inside the visor flickered as if in response to Riddhe’s inadvertent musing. The white mobile suit was wielding a beam rifle and a shield on its arms, giving off a devilish presence as it stood on the catapult deck of the Nahel Argama.

Part 11

“It’s the first catapult. The Gundam…!

One line from the operator caused everyone on the bridge to look at the communication console. Audrey—Mineva Lao Zabi heard her heart pump as she stared at the side monitor too.

Multiple surveillance cameras installed inside and outside the catapult deck caught sight of the “Unicorn” as the images were shown on the multi-screen. The right hand was wielding a beam rifle loaded with a reloadable pack of 5 rapid-fire rounds, and the left hand was wielding a shield that was as white as the unit itself. The white unit looked like a carrier as it waited for the moment to launch. “SOMEONE TELL THE ONE PILOTING IT TO STOP!” Mineva ignored Captain Otto’s roar as she stared at the “Unicorn” which had reloaded completely. There’s only one person who can use that machine. What does he plan to do—

Daguza forgot that he had his gun pointed at Mineva as he got engrossed looking at the screen. “Gundam, may I know who the pilot is? The captain hasn’t given the order to launch. Please return!” The communication operator repeated, but the “Unicorn” showed no signs of returning. Did he cut the line, or does he not know how to use it? Mineva deduced that it was most likely the latter as she looked for the man called Alberto on the bridge.

He, who seemed to be one from Anaheim Electronics, knew that the “Unicorn” was the key to the Laplace Box. If it were that man, he would know how to control the machine from the outside. Mineva looked around the bridge, and amongst the many people dressed in normal suits and working, there was not sight of Alberto himself. At her wits’ end, Mineva looked back at the screen. The door to the corridor opened after that, and she saw Alberto floating in.

At this moment, Mineva realized something. Daguza, who seemed to realize the exact same thing as he launched himself at Alberto who intended to move towards the commander seat while pretending not to know anything. He merely pretended with a defensive stance before giving a shameless look at Daguza. Mineva saw this and believed that her instincts were right.

“You bastard…! Did you let the boy get on it?”

Daguza said while grabbing the other party’s normal suit by the collar. Captain Otto and the rest were shocked as they looked back, and Mineva gave a probing look there. Alberto sneered as he answered unabashedly, “I merely answered everyone’s request.”

“I equipped him with everything. The RX-0’s capabilities are guaranteed. Even an amateur pilot can buy us enough time to escape.”

“This is basically handing the Box over to Neo Zeon, and you dared to say that it was merely a key to the Box itself.”

Alberto suppressed Daguza’s rare emotional voice as he continued, “If the key is spoilt, the Box won’t be opened, and the Federation’s interests are protected. I don’t suppose you have any disagreements, do you?”

The anxiety depressed his blood as his heart pumped loudly again. “You bastard…you already calculated the outcome…” Daguza pushed aside Alberto, turned his back on him and mused, while Mineva stared at the side monitor that showed the “Unicorn”.

“There’s no need to worry. Young Banagher will fight well. Until the RX-0 is wrecked, that is.”

Alberto said as he floated due to inertia and his back hit the wall. He—Banagher, who did not respond to the operator’s call, was waiting to launch inside the “Unicorn”s cockpit, and did not know that this plan was underway. He did not know that he was sent onto the “Unicorn” to be destroyed with the secret of the “box”. Perhaps that was the karma that came with all who inherited the blood of the Vist family? Maybe so. However, he did not do this because he was being bound by shackles or duty. Banagher was simply being driven by a powerful impulse, passion as he sat in the “Unicorn”s cockpit.

He would be leaving just like this. The owner of the skin that touched her hand was going on a path of no return. Mineva realized this as she reached her hand out of the console, seemingly trying to shake aside the operator as she was driven by swelling emotions she had not imagined. Everything she had abided by up till this point collapsed, and Mineva realized that she would expose her own fear as she yelled.

“BANAGHER, STOP…!”

Part 12

The pilot suit that was developed for the “Unicorn”s use was not inferior in any ways to an ordinary pilot suit. It could be said to be a more customized version. Unlike normal suits, it had 5 layers of mixed fabrics containing fiberglass and flexible plastics, successfully forming a streamlined body-shape. Also, there was a protective armored vest on the inside that was equipped with an installation to withstand G-forces and life support systems. There were many tubes inside this armor connecting the elbows and arms to the Anti-G force installation, but would not affect the appearance of the suit itself as the tubes were all parsed inside. The suit itself was white to match the “Unicorn”s color, and the red lines of it made it look smart. The chest had a Unicorn on it, the logo representing the Vist Foundation, and the simple design gave it a tone that was not too cumbersome.

(That pilot suit itself has a system that can reduce the stress from the G-force through drugs. Logically, it will be activated when the NT-D is activated. It is injected through painless osmotic pressure, there will be some psyche when it is activated.)

Alberto’s subordinate—who called himself a secretary, but was obviously trained in such matters—remained at the takeoff-and-landing command zone as he spoke through the wireless communicator. Banagher felt a chill when he heard the terms drugs and injections and the like, and asked, “The NT-D?”

(That will refer to the state when the RX-0 removes its limiters. It can’t be activated randomly, but you once activated it, so it’s fine.)

The man’s voice sounded like it was consoling Banagher. Under Alberto’s arrangements, Banagher put on the pilot suit and sat inside the cockpit of the “Unicorn”. He thought of how he was being nudged in the back by such voices. Basically, I’m being used as a nice meat shield, but fine. It’s good if I can force that red mobile suit to retreat and retreat when I find the opportunity. Banagher’s rationality over whether he could be able to do such a thing was reduced halfway as he saw the numerous explosions appearing on the all-view monitor. The thin layer of space was replicated using CG like a game image—

Suddenly, a point in the middle of space gathered sharply, causing Banagher to feel goosebumps on his back. I can’t stay here. I’ll be targeted. Banagher finished the safety checks done for the mini-mobile suit and held onto the control seats on the sides of the linear seat, declaring to the wireless communicator: “Launching checks, done.” There was no answer, and the catapult showed no signs of initiating a countdown as the operator’s voice that was trying to stop him rang from the bridge public channel. The Captain and the rest may had realized what was going on as the catapult control was switched to the bridge.

Something gathering in the middle of space gathered its intensity. Banagher stared at the catapult that showed no movements through the monitor, and turned his eyes to the front, exerting all his trength into his abdomen. “Forced release!” He called out, removed the linkage with the catapult, and stepped on the pedal.

The hooks on the heels were released, and the machine of the “Unicorn” gently left the deck. The beam that flew over destroyed the catapult, and the light and shockwave exploded right below the feet. Banagher left the Nahel Argama far below him, and then turned his stare at where the beam came from as the beam rifle in his right hand started aiming.

Banagher switched on the aiming screen, which automatically caught sight of the red mobile suit flying amidst the debris. “I see it!” He felt his head burning as he hooked the finger on the trigger in a dream-like state.

“GO!”

The mechanical hand of the “Unicorn” wielding the linked joystick squeezed the trigger of the beam rifle. At that moment, the light-filter could not hold in the large expansion of light as the large energy rocked the frame of the “Unicorn”. The empty chamber slid out of the E-pack, and a new pack was reloaded.

The beam that was a lot thicker than the enemy shots raced through the debris, hitting the 30m thick rock. The rock immediately exploded with the heat, forming countless rays of light in the middle of vacuum. The vortex of light let out a shockwave, and the enemy unit behind the rock got caught in this. The pilot of the enemy suit “Sinanju” seemed to hesitate due to the unexpected power as he hurriedly regrouped. The explosion shone on the red armor as the unit evaded.

“Amazing…!”

The “Unicorn” used up 4 shots worth of energy at one go, and the power was enough to be considered a beam magnum. Banagher was stunned by this overwhelming power. Am I able to do this? This thought only appeared in his mind at this moment, causing him to swallow his saliva.

Part 13

If a normal beam was a ‘trail’, that thing would be called a ‘fireball’. If it were the main cannon of an enemy warship…the position itself would not be right. One would think that a new mobile suit was launched and shot it.

“What is that…!?”

A chill rose up his body. The battlefield that was dyed by Full Frontal was being invaded by something else. Angelo inadvertently put on his helmet, and that abnormal’ fireball went by 5km, causing a chill in him. It was not just a beam launcher. The mega-particle cannon that would match a ship’s main cannon flashed in the middle of the vacuum. The second and 3rd fireball that were shot missed quite a bit, but the overwhelming power of caused the debris that acted as shields to explode, and the “Sinanju” looked like it was trying its best just to dodge.

“Is it a mega-bazooka launcher? But this speed…”

The mega-bazooka launcher, the weapon described as having the most firepower amongst mobile suit weapons, would require lots of time to charge the beam launcher, and had the fatal flaw of being unable to be shot consecutively. This weapon however has equal destructive power, the speed of a beam rifle, and it also has the range that won’t lose to a launcher. What is it? Angelo muttered as he grabbed onto the ball-shaped joystick, and saw the large energy move past him was close range.

That energy that was a mere stray bullet grazed past Ensign Sergi’s “Geara Zulu”. If it were a beam rifle shot, this would only cause a light burn at such a distance, but the high-energy particle cannon that came over like a fireball melted the machine’s armor, and in mere seconds, Sergi was collapsed within a pile of scrap. The shockwave that grazed past continued, and the machine got bent in half at the waist, snapping into halves and floating in space for a short while.

There was no time to even call out through the communicator. “What…!?” Sergi’s machine that was divided in half exploded right in front of the speechless Angelo. Suddenly, static could be heard from the wireless communicator, and the shockwave that spread through space caused the pilot to let out a deep sound.

“A LITTLE GRAZE DESTROYED IT!? THAT WAS…!!”

Angelo turned away from the expanding explosion and looked at the battlefield. An umpteenth flash that shook the vacuum hit the debris that would be viewed as the debris of a colony. The “Sinanju” braked suddenly as the exploding debris got in its way, only for the enemy mobile suit to get behind it. Angelo could only see a rough CG visual, but that white machine would definitely be the Gundam—the mobile suit that even Marida Cruz was forced to retreat from, the one that inherited the name of the devil from the Federation. Angelo pushed the trigger of the beam launcher to the maximum before that overly powerful beam was shot over.

The beam that was shot out from the muzzle lit the purple armor, flying right at the white mobile suit. This was not something that was done after consideration. The Gundam hurriedly flew away to dodge, and the “Sinanju” managed to regroup, intending to go underneath to attack. Lieutenant Cuarón seemed to have started shooting covering fire, but Angelo did not actually see for real. I squeezed the trigger, I stained Captain Frontal’s battlefield. Angelo felt black remorse and rage enter his blank white mind, and felt the fingertips that were clenched trembling.

Trust and loyalty. The clear banner that he bore for himself was stained by this decisive attack. No matter how much he tried to wash it, he would not be able to buy a new one to replace it. Angelo, understood that he had already lost a world in the sense that it could not be back to before.

The exalted utopia where he did not and would not have to pull the trigger did not exist anymore. That white mobile suit destroyed this world—and stained me like filth that robbed my world before.

“You forced me…to shoot!?”

Angelo squeezed the trigger while losing himself, sniping at the white mobile suit that was dodging. If I’m stained, there’s no need to hold back. I must shoot it down—no matter the means. The enemy suit continued to zig-zag its way to escape, and Angelo squeezed the trigger mechanically. You better be stained by these hands!

Part 14

The mega-particle shots flew over at sub-light speed, but they would not be able to hit an object moving at several kilometers every second easily. The scary thing was that when the machine flew at the same level as the enemy—the unexpected snipe would either come from the front or the back.

Thus, he had to zig-zag around. If he moved in the same direction for more than 5 seconds, it would be the same as stopping. This was an actual state in space battles. The snipers knew that when they had allies, one machine would pursue the enemy to try and lure him into the range of the other unit. At this point, Banagher was facing such a situation. He had been focusing on the red enemy unit’s movements and chasing after it, and nearly lost his legs to the beams that came flying in from afar.

“2 vs 1…no, 3 vs 1, huh?”

Banagher mused as he felt a chill from the beam that grazed his head. There were the red enemy suit and the 2 enemy suits supporting from afar, and once he got baited by the red guy, the intersecting beams that crossed the 3 dimensional plane would fly over. He could not let himself get hit.

“Calm down, Banagher. You may not remember, but you should have received training in this. that man trained you…”

Banagher’s temples pulsed. His head that had a band tied on it gathered its concentration on the target. The machine continued to move around, and Banagher pulled out the spare magazine that was mounted on the “Unicorn”s waist to reload it into the empty beam rifle. 1 magazine had 5 shots, and including the spare shots, he had another 10 rounds—Banagher vaguely remembered that there were no limit in the ammo count during training.

I can’t waste bullets like this. Banagher continued to pursue the thruster jets flares of the red enemy suit through the all-view monitor. The killing intent continued to pressure from all directions, coldly stimulating the skin that was drenched in sweat. A beam may fly from somewhere now and burn the cockpit. Don’t miss sight of them. Got to hang on. Don’t get forced back, be the one pressuring.

One hit, two hits. The “Unicorn”s beam rifle let out shots, and the hot magnum rounds were ejected from the cartridge. The thick and large beams merely shone for a while as small debris were evaporated on the path, creating rings of light. This scene of a massacre made the light filter pretty useless as Banagher had his face staring right at the monitor dyed in white. The red enemy suit quickly turned around, and the alarm indicating a lost signal rang through the cockpit.

Neither the object sensor nor the heat sensor showed any response. Banagher felt sweltering sweat as he turned his eyes around. He could receive the radar signal from the Nahel Argama and the remaining machine on their side, but he could not find the enemy’s response. Countless debris floated around, and the object sensor was showing a complete blank. Are the heat sources mixed in the enemy or the exploded hot metal bits—

“Damn it, I can’t touch him like this…!”

The red enemy unit had not fired a single round as it continued to merely lure Banagher into its allies’ range. Both sides had not stepped on the same battleground as Banagher anxiously shot the 3rd round, turn the machine around, and saw a savage light explode at the back.

The entire body of the “Unicorn” was lit by the mega-particle that grazed by, and the horizontal G-force tugged at the unit through the impact. The beam grazed by, and the remaining particles that hit the armor let out knocking sounds that were like small stones hitting it. Banagher felt intense pressure from the legs. The airbag that was installed on the pilot seat expanded, preventing the pilot’s blood from rushing to the legs. At that moment, the enemy could be spotted amongst the just dimmed view, and Banagher frantically held onto the control stick that was nearly let go.

The next direct hit will come. Banagher instinctively realized as he stepped on the pedal, moving the machine around as he fired the beam magnum. The large light ripped through vacuum, and the red enemy that had been evading agilely appeared amongst the debris.

“That was close…!”

The skin let out a clattering sound as goosebumps rose. Banagher unwittingly squeezed the trigger, and he felt the last magnum shot fly out. The red enemy dodged the beam attack and closed in on the “Unicorn” without slowing down. He’s coming right at me. As Banagher thought about this, another person’s breathing could be heard from the communicator. (As long as I don’t get hit…) The sharp voice said this as it rang in Banagher’s ears.

(This will be nothing!)

The monoeye of the red enemy shone, and the blade of the beam saber swept up from the feet. Banagher screamed out as he pulled the control stick. He was originally unable to make it, but the “Unicorn” was faster by a beat or so, causing the thrusters on the back and legs to flare up and leave the danger area directly. The red machine’s beam saber swung through the space at the last moment, leaving behind a trail of yellow light.

The Intention Automatic System could allow the “Unicorn”s psycommu installation to pick up the pilot’s thought waves, allowing the machine’s skeleton—the full psycommu body to be able to react at the same time and operate. Banagher remembered the explanation Alberto gave when he was hurrying down, “There’s no need to control it. Is this it…?” Banagher muttered to himself, and widened his eyes at the evil intent that surged up his spine. I’m being shot at. I got too careless of that red guy. Banagher saw that he was moving in a straight line for several seconds undefended, and unwittedly raised the shield in his left hand to the front. The mega-particle bullet then covered the all-view monitor.

He was already ready for a hit, but the beam was deflected right in front of the shield, and a wind-pressure like impact shook the machine before stopping. Yes, the beam bent. The original beam trajectory would have hit the machine directly, but it was like an invisible pressure bent the path of the shot.

(An I-field…!?) The enemy’s voice could be heard from the wireless communicator. Banagher looked side to side without knowing what was going on. The shield that was equipped on the left hand changed, and the completely different silhouette on the monitor attracted Banagher’s attention. The many layers of heavy armor expanded above and below, and the radial armor had slid aside to show what resembled a flower instead of a shield.

With the round installation that was hidden at the center, the radial-shaped sliding armor opened like blooming petals, forming an invisible field around it. The I-field kept Minovsky Particles compressed and cause the mega-particles to deflect off. This field that was used to control a core reactor deflected the beam trajectory. The shield itself had a device that would create small I-fields and protect it against beam weapons.

The red enemy showed a doubtful action. Banagher checked the machine to see if it took any damage, mused “Is this thing really okay?” and heaved out the breath he held. He reloaded the last magazine before the sweat on his body could even drip down, and aim the reticule at the red unit.

“In that case…!”

Banagher pointed the shield right at the front and fired the beam magnum. He went right at the exploding debris and intended to get right below the enemy unit as he fired two shots. If I can defend against a beam flying from afar, there’s no need to worry about moving around wildly. I can definitely hit him if I can calm down and shoot. The third flare lit the red enemy armor. Once more-this call echoed within Banagher’s agitated mind, and the 4th shot was released when the red enemy stopped.

The exploded ball of light expanded, and the debris appeared on the monitor in black trails. Did I get him? Banagher bent forward, only to feel a chill to a chill from the siren that rang inside the cockpit. It was the approaching siren—coming from below. It was too late by the time he realized it, and the red mobile suit’s monoeye suddenly appeared on the monitor as the leg kicked the abdomen of the “Unicorn”.

The tough 20 ton block of metal caused the machine to experience a destructive amount of recoil due to the mass and the velocity of the impact. The “Unicorn” was sent flying back as the powerful G-force rocked Banagher from behind. The attachments at the back let out a clattering sound, and the air barrier that shot out of the display board formed an invisible cushion. The helmet that hit the board did not crack apart because this layer of air barrier lessened the impact, but was unable to nullify this bone-crushing impact completely. I definitely thought that I got rid of the enemy, so why? Did he predict my fire and let a missile he has explode? His mind that was experiencing the pull of the powerful G force was having these thoughts that faded. I can’t match this enemy. This conclusion and fear appeared at the same time. The capability of the mobile suit isn’t even half the factor determining the win. The pilot’s abilities are based on experience, talent, and—

Suddenly, a shocking impact could be felt from behind, dispersing all doubt. This G-force struck from the front, and Banagher was pushed back onto the linear seat, only to feel an icy cold liquid flow out of his nose. The “Unicorn” that was sent flying slammed hard into a stone tablet 50m in diameter.

This is definitely not a coincidence. The enemy definitely predicted the flow of the debris and planned to let me hit this stone block, and it’s obvious from how it continued to close in on me. Banagher caught sight of the monoeye amidst his blurry vision, and subconsciously raised his rifle. He saw the last magnum round let out a torrent of bullets, and blankly squeezed the trigger while the enemy unit with considerable mobility continued dodging as the alarm rang. Everything and anything seemed to be covered by a translucent field as the sense of realism gradually faded. Banagher thought, Will I die like this? as the bones and flesh clattered.

I couldn’t do anything at all. The Nahel Argama hasn’t left the radar range, I haven’t damaged the red enemy by the slightest. I couldn’t save Audrey, I can’t repay the expectations dad gave me when he handed me this machine —the enemy mobile suit in front let out a gust of killing intent, and as the hair rose from the scalp, Banagher realized that it was the ‘heat’ burning within his body.

This ‘heat’ started when he ignored the silent adults and boarded the “Unicorn”…no, it existed even before that, when he met Audrey for the first time, this ‘heat’ that was born when he was walking with her still pulsed within this body. Banagher knew that this ‘heat’ was letting blood flow through his fearful body and soul, gushing out from his pores. That’s not all. There’s definitely something else I can do. This ‘heat’ continued to say this to him as a small glow exploded through his forehead.

Banagher visualized this burning sensation piercing through the psycommu that formed the frame and gathered on the “Unicorn”s lone horn. The horn split in halves like lightning-chopped wood, forming a V shape, and the units on both sides of the head turned half a round. The beam sabers handles that were on the back poked out, and the dual eye sensors hidden under the face mask flashed like a human blink, and the gaps that were formed by the armor bits that slid off gave a red glow.

The wrists and the feet felt a heavy impact as the monitor of the circular device installed at the arms of the pilot seat was activated. The display board showed the words ‘NT-D’, and the condition monitor changed gradually while the full psycommu that was like an exoskeleton expanded as several parts of the armor slid aside. It was the “Unicorn” that was larger than before—the white mobile suit that did not fit its name at this point. The ‘transformation’ that happened in milliseconds happened, and the exposed thrusters that were on the back and legs became really hot as the machine automatic activated its mobility to leave the debris field. The red enemy’s beam saber stabbed into the surface of the rock, causing the dust to explode out.

This instantaneous explosiveness, acceleration and maneuverability were different from the controls before. The red enemy immediately turned around and quickly left the scene. The “Unicorn” did not let go of the enemy’s movements as it burned its thrusters and immediately got behind the enemy. Banagher was shaken by the fatal G-force, and despite fulling that his body was being crushed by some heavy fluid, he continued to follow the enemy that zigzagged its way out. The enemy he could nota approach before could be seen easily at this point. Banagher’s consciousness was on the same wavelength as the machine as he knew that his consciousness was all over it.

“This is the Gundam…!?”

His hear pounded wildly like a morning bell, and the body that was forced down the linear seat felt very hot. The attachments on the headrest forced the helmet down, and he could not turn his head around. However, it was not inconvenient to control it as the V-shaped multiblade antenna of the “Unicorn Gundam” let out a golden glow reflecting how Banagher was consciously turning his head to think and predict as it caught sight of the enemy unit right in front of it. The thruster jets of the red enemy flared in intervals as it got between the debris. It was fast—but the trajectories were predictable.

“I can see it…!”

Banagher brushed aside the air that felt somewhat sticky as he held onto the joystick. The beating in his heart was faster, and his body heated up like it was about to explode. Too slow. Banagher was aware for this, but the “Unicorn Gundam” that predicted this a second earlier let out a burst of Vulcan cannons from the fixed armament without the pilot’s input. The tracer shots that took up 1 out of 5 shots let out trails of light, and the visible-laser like fire charged right at the enemy.

The red enemy turned its body to evade. Once it predicted the where the thruster jets would be from the enemy’s posture, the Gundam fired out a flare that reached that place first. The shockwave of the shot rocked the cockpit (Oh…?) Banagher heard this sigh through the wireless communicator, and felt a chill from the enemy’s voice that had fear and delight, feeling that this was the time he would get serious. The enemy suit that suddenly flipped kicked the debris nearby.

The enemy unit flew right at Banagher by using the recoil from the kick to spin its body. He’s below me. As Banagher thought this way, the upswinging beam saber appeared in his sights. While the body was unable to move, the acutely aware consciousness deep within took action on its own. The Gundam reacted earlier and drew a beam saber. The beam particles from both sides clashed, and a glow brighter than an explosion expanded through the sea of debris.

(You’re going to be my enemy again, Gundam…!?)

Die he open the communication channel? The enemy’s voice rang clearly in Banagher’s ears. He had no time to think as he shouted, “Please retreat!”

“If you don’t retreat, Audrey will…!”

The beam sabers that were clashed with each other bounced off, and the two units pulled their distance while the remaining particles were scattered like fireworks. Banagher immediately regrouped as he saw the red enemy unit on the monitor before aiming at it, only to be shocked by another voice (I’ll flank him. Rise up quickly!)

Banagher immediately went up, and a beam that felt in from a corner grazed past the enemy unit. The enemy unit managed to dodge the attack at the last minute, only to be stumbled by the huge particle beams that were shot over, leaving the machine undefended right in front of Banagher. A good chance! His thoughts shouted as he let the Vulcan cannons fire over, letting two trails of fire fly right at the enemy unit.

The ally transformable mobile suit continued to fire the beam rifle docked on the shield at the bottom of the machine as it closed in. The silhouette that was in fighter jet form went below Banagher, immediately transformed into a mobile suit, and the unit that lost a leg got right below the enemy. He might look rather anxious at this point, but that mobility was something to behold. “That’s Ensign Riddhe, right?” Banagher muttered for a short moment as he changed the direction the “Unicorn” was heading based on the ally machine’s movements. Both machines fire intersected each other, forming a large and long beam cross in the vacuum.

Their consciousnesses were connected with each other as Banagher felt that he was forcing back the red enemy unit. The red enemy fell back, and the intersection point of the beam was moving onto the unit, looking like it was sucking in the unit. The debris that got involved in the beam exploded, and as the enemy unit intended to dodge the flying debris, Banagher saw the red armor take a direct hit with a glow as it exploded.

“Did I get him?”

This time, he did not make a mistake. The enemy unit took a hit on the hell, and looked like it was turning around. The thruster jet that stopped glowed, and the machine tried to escape while abandoning the thruster unit on the back/ Banagher was numbed by the excited heart and controlled by the burning sensation of blood rushing up his brain as he chased after the enemy unit showing its back.

The “Unicorn” charged forward recklessly while dragging a trail of red luminous light. It used its shields to block the enemies’ long-ranged attacks, got past the relatively large debris, and could see the silhouette of the red enemy. (Don’t go too far in!) Ensign Riddhe’s voice rang from the wireless communicator, but it did not matter. Banagher let the left mechanical hand wield the trembling beam saber, and stepped on the pedal as much as possible.

The hand movements were synchronized with the psycommu, and the Gundam immediately accelerated as it charged right at the red enemy. The airbag equipped inside the cockpit expanded, surrounding the entire body tightly like it was about to explode. My heart’s going to break, I can’t breathe. The circular device at the wrist flickered, and the warning sign appeared on the display board. The enemy unit was right in front of it. Everything was dyed red, and the vision that was narrowed quickly was dyed in the color of blood. Banagher did not bother with thinking about why this would be the case as he moved the aiming reticule of the beam saber over the sight of the enemy unit he capture. The red enemy suddenly turned around with its monoeye staring at Banagher, and at this moment—

(How naïve.)

The enemy’s voice rang from the wireless communicator, cooling the nerves that were excited. Numerous beams then came flying in from a completely different direction, and the exploding sparks appeared between the Gundam and the enemy.

These were not beams that were support fire from afar, but attacks that came from an extremely close range. Banagher instinctively raised his shield to let the machine retreat, and Riddhe called out (Behind you!), causing his numb fingertips to tremble.

The “Unicorn”s psycommu read that Banagher intended to look back as its head unit quickly turned around. The weirdly-shaped mobile expanded its 4 pods like wings as it appeared right in front of him. Banagher felt his mind turn blank.

The 4-winged that attacked “Industrial 7”—where did it come from? The consciousness that was attracted by the red enemy suit returned back to its body, and it was too late by the time he grabbed onto the joystick. The large unit with 4 wings covered the all-view monitor as its support arms that were like insects grabbed the “Unicorn”s body.

The left arm, right shoulder and head were pinched, and the impact reached the cockpit that had the warning lights flickering. One of the pods was still damaged, and the hidden arm was melted off with the front part. He saw that it was that 4-winged machine, which then clenched its right mechanical hand as a fist and slammed it into the Gundam’s abdomen.

This punch splendidly hit the body as if it was swung by a person himself. The impact that was several tons heavy erupted through a layer of armor. The monitor suddenly flickered abruptly, but the Unicorn could not be blown behind since it was grabbed by the 3 hidden arms. The impact that could not be reduced rocked the machine, and the force of the hit charged right at the cockpit, causing the weakest point of the unit—Banagher’s body to short-circuit.

The loud sound of metal clashing with each other rang, and the abruptly expanding air struck Banagher. The linear seat let out a creaking sound together with its support, the heart that felt like it pounded suddenly gradually calmed down as the white sparks appeared right in front of him. The vomit that came out from the mouth dirtied the visor, and all Banagher could see was the monoeye of the 4-winged becoming rather blurry as his vision gradually faded.

The body that was extremely tense collapsed together with the mind, and the machine’s nerves were the only thing supporting the frame of the Gundam. The ‘heat’ was swallowed by the icy cold darkness. I’m sorry, Audrey. As the giant gradually transformed into the “Unicorn”, Banagher’s battered body let out this musing in the middle of the giant’s abdomen, and the final part of this ‘heat’ seeped out in the form of water from the eyes. He could not even look at the red enemy right above him as he lost consciousness.

Part 15

The luminous light that could be seen from afar faded, and the machine used its 3 support arms under its wings to capture on the Gundam as it stepped on the pedal. The Gundam gradually changed back into the mobile suit with the lone horn. Riddhe saw 4 thruster jets start to flare on the monitor, and stepped on the pedal without even thinking.

“Wait…!”

The beam launcher has finished charging, but I can’t snipe at it as long as the 4-winged’s still carrying the Gundam. I can only go close and use the beam rifle equipped under the shield to slow the enemy down, but with the 4-winged allow us to do? As Riddhe thought about this, countless beams appeared in multiple directions right in front of him, forcing him retreat immediately. They were not beams of support fire from afar, but thinner beams.

Despite these being attacks from close distance, the funnels did not trigger the sensors.

“The funnels…?”

The beams that closed in from all directions appeared on the all-view monitor, and the complex lights lit the cockpit piloting the trembling machine. Riddhe got through the surrounding funnels that were sent out by the 4-winged, and bit his lips as he could not do anything.

Everything was planned right from the beginning. That red guy—the “Sinanju” acted as bait, while the lured Gundam used its 4 wingeds to clamp it. That 4-winged hid inside the debris and entered the battlefield while our side was attracted by the opening left by the “Sinanju”. They definitely planned using this red guy to show us that he got hit.

Is this planned based on the unknown factor over whether the Gundam would launch? I guess so. Those Zeon guys definitely expected that the Gundam would be launched. It’s impossible for the Nahel Argama to defend against such an attack with their current fighting strength alone. The previous battle already showed the enemy fully our powerless our side is.

“Damn it…!”

They actually looked down on us like that! Riddhe charged out from the surrounding funnels, and forced his machine to transform. Despite losing a leg, the Waverider form itself would allow them to catch up to the enemy unit. We can’t hand the Gundam, the mobile suit that looks like it had something to do with the Laplace Box, over to those guys. This thought appeared in his mind, and he did not think after that. He kept waiting for the machine’s status to change, but it just would not change no matter how much he waited. What replaced it was an alarm indicating that the machine functions were down. The multiple windows covered the all-view monitor, showing the damaged parts as the warning lights shone through the cockpit.

He could not activate the standby circuits, and the damage control system could not recover. Riddhe tried all means, recognized that his machine had already becomd scrap metal, and groaned, “Damn it!” as he slammed the display board. He saw the light dot of the Gundam being held by the enemy leave the sensor range. The pilot that was inside it was too—

“It’s that brat…why did he…”

Riddhe muttered as he clenched the fists lying on the display board. He knew the answer clearly. That voice came through the wireless communicator…calling for Audrey. That boy, Banagher the civilian, boarded that Gundam to save her. He was the only one who took action as the adults got more than what they bargained by grabbing a hostage and shot themselves in the foot. He did not care whether she was Mineva Zabi or not.

And then, I got saved again. I’m the only one who survived in this space where so many of my comrades died. Live even if I have to bite on stone…what should I do when you say this? How do I pay you back for your deaths? Riddhe looked around the floating debris and asked this at Norm’s machine that showed no signs of life, standing around without finding any answers. The enemy units were no longer in the sensor range, and Riddhe felt the space with the disappeared explosions cool down silently.

Part 16

The unit probably malfunctioned there. That transformable unit with its lost leg has given up on pursuing. There’s no need to shoot it down. Marida turned back and deduced this as she ordered the scattered funnels to return. She closed her eyes, imagined the return paths of the funnels, and turned her stare right at the white mobile suit grabbed by the extra arms.

The mobile suit lost its Gundam appearance as an antenna that looked like a lone horn appeared on it. Looking at these straightforward attack patterns that showed no signs of retreating, it seems that it’s the same pilot as the one that pilot this mobile suit the last time. IT’s expected that the cornered enemy ship would send out the Gundam, but what’s the point of sending the same pilot who’s no different from an amateur? Even if this is a very important machine related to the Laplace Box—

A slight shock shook the cockpit, and Marida stopped what she was thinking. The “Sinanju” flying beside her touched the “Kshatriya”s fingertips with the left hand. (I probably would not get this chance if I didn’t show that I got hit…this would be what I want to say, but that’s not all.) The calm voice that rang through the wireless communicator echoed in Marida’s ears.

(I probably would have been shot down if you weren’t around. Thank you, Lieutenant Marida Cruz.)

Full Frontal’s voice showed some signs of self-depreciation, but despite that, it was rather sincere. As far as Marida knew, his “Sinanju” had never taken a direct hit before. She stared at the red machine that was charred by the burn on the calf in a concerned manner and deduced that it was not too much of an issue. “I was just following your plan, Captain.” Marida answered without any expression. “More concerning though…” she wanted to continue (I understand) the other party’s voice reached her helmet before she could continue.

(It’s unexpected for Her Highness Mineva to be captured by the enemy ship. I want to save her as fast as possible, but we have to prioritize this unit first.)

“As far as we know, the enemy doesn’t have enough forces we know of. If you permit, I can go back to retrieve her on my own.”

(It can’t be helped. If the Box is taken away, the enemy fleet nearby may show signs of mobilizing. It’s not fun to be surrounded by the enemy before we return back to “Palau”.)

“But…!”

(There are many chances to save Her Highness, including political means. We shouldn’t force ourselves here and lose you and the “Kshatriya” together, Lieutenant. You have to be patient.)

Frontal saying these words seemed like he was telling himself to endure. Tactically, he’s right to say that we had to leave ‘her’ alone. But is this merely all an act? Basically, we have been assuming that all the actions this masked man of unknown origin did are all an act. “…Yes.” Marida answered as she turned her eyes to look at the monoeye of the “Sinanju”. Then, other voices could be heard within the wireless communicator (Captain, good thing you’re fine!) as a “Geara Zulu” followed them.

The purple machine that was blazing off its boost port turned itself as it followed the “Sinanju”. The “Kshatriya” took the blast from Angelo's thruster pressure, causing Marida to click her tongue. Angelo would always do this whenever he had a chance, and it looked like he did not care about Marida’s existence. She saw the leader of the escort squad circle the “Sinanju” as it first showed its loyalty by checking if the machine was safe. (Is that so? What happened to Ensign Sergi was really unfortunate.) Frontal said with a rising tone.

(I’m sorry. I was right beside him…) Cuarón let out this voice that sounded like he was gritting his teeth as he sharply turned the monoeye over to the Gundam. (So this is that Gundam…) Marida felt goosebumps as she heard that deep voice.

(It’s just as the predictions we had from Lieutenant Marida’s report. It does look like a rather radical unit. It’ll be great if the pilot isn’t crushed.)

Frontal said. This abnormal function that views a pilot’s life as secondary can’t possibly be maintained for a long time. It’s correct to guess that there’s a time limit, and we managed to capture it successfully, but we can’t guarantee if the pilot could survive until we open the cockpit. Marida felt annoyed by the heinous stare from Cuarón’s unit as she looked for some place to stare into at the wide space behind her.

The enemy ship’s covered with debris; I can’t grasp the correct position, and I can’t feel any pressure…in that case, is this pilot the one letting out the ‘presence’ before? Marida thought about this, felt that it was just an ‘artificial being’, stopped thinking, and looked back at where the Garencieres was.

No matter what, Her Highness Mineva is on that ship. I have to get back this symbol of Zeon’s revival Zinnerman has been risking his life on protecting no matter what—

Part 17

“We lost response. Target left the radar’s range.”

The sensor operator’s report rang painfully. “Understood.” Otto answered with an obviously heavy-hearted tone, while Mineva clenched the hands that were on the back rest of the navigation seat.

The machines it was carried were completely wrecked. The ship itself too heavy damage, and the “Unicorn” landed in the hands of the enemy. The current situation was such that there was nothing other than defeat, but the atmosphere that filled the “Nahel Argama” was not of regret over the loss of the battle, but regret and anger over being unable to do anything. Did we not lose by fighting? Didn’t we end up being unable to do anything? Such a feeling struck everyone’s shoulders. Such a self-awareness caused the mouths to become heavy, creating an atmosphere that surrounded the ship, one where everyone did not dare to look at each other straight in the eyes.

That’s right, nobody managed to do anything. Including themselves, everyone present did not manage to do anything. They did fight—to survive, to carry out their responsibilities. However, they never got anything. From the beginning till the end, they were all restrained by their positions, started bluffing, playing pointless tricks, and yet never did anything that was really necessary. In the end, everyone lost something important.

“THIS ISN’T THE TIME TO SAY UNDERSTOOD! CAPTAIN, START SEARCHING FOR THE ENEMY!. THE “UNICORN”, THE BOX WAS TAKEN BY NEO ZEON…!”

As everyone remained silent, Alberto was the only one pointing at the space outside the window. He took action through his own way before, and lost the most important thing to him. Before Mineva could even turn around, “It’s impossible for us when we don’t even have a mobile suit, right?” Otto’s deep voice rang throughout the bridge.

“Thanks to you meddling around with your unnecessary stuff, the “Gundam” ended up being taken by the enemy. Shut up.”

“What are you saying!? If I didn’t do so, this ship might have been sunk by the Red Comet. This is the same as Commander Daguza using a hostage. Didn’t you silently agree as well, Captain!?”

The hulking assistant leader was standing beside Daguza, who was giving a stone-like face, and gave a disgruntled look at Alberto. Otto continued to look in front, and even though he was just holding onto the handle of the Captain’s seat, the rage that could not be vented elsewhere was different from Daguza’s. Alberto got close to him and continued to say in a commanding tone, “If that’s the case, we have to hurry up and ask for instructions from the Senate Council.”

“Hurry up and get into an area where the laser communicator can be—”

“I told you to shut up.”

As he said this, Otto reached his hand for Alberto’s helmet. He grabbed the visor and pulled it to him, bringing his face to a distance where their helmets were nearly sticking to each other and said, “Try saying another word if you dare.” The emphasized voice that had killing intent in it caused Alberto’s pulled body to tremble.

“I’ll throw you into space. Together with your subordinates.”

After intimidating him with a serious voice, Otto pushed him away. Alberto’s body continued to float in zero gravity until First Officer Liam, who was standing behind, grabbed him. Liam gently carried Alberto up until he was able to let his feet touch the floor. Just when he was about to grumble, he was stunned by the woman who was a head taller than him glaring down at him. He timidly looked around the bridge. All of them were responding as such. Alberto, whose soles were magnetized to the floor, started to stagger.

“Looks like your expectations failed you.”

Daguza muttered. Alberto could only clench his fists hard and tremble slightly as he did not say anything. Daguza passed by Mineva who was nearby and stood behind her with the usual poker face that had its emotions restrained.

“Pardon my rudeness to you.”

He silently spoke up and reached for Mineva’s shoulders. However, Mineva turned away before his fingers touched her cape.

The hand that reached out missed, but Daguza did not leave the place. Mineva kicked the floor and let her body float towards the exit of the bridge. The hulking assistant leader followed her from behind, and though Mineva felt that he had the intention of taking over Daguza’s duties in escorting her, she had no intention of looking at anyone. Right now, she did not want to see anyone’s face, and neither did she want anyone to touch her. Even though the communicator’s voices continue to enter, Mineva still felt that the bridge was completely silent. Before she left, she again looked at the universe that was expanded outside the window.

There was a sea of stars filled with silent lights in front of the people who lost their expressions. Just like that, Full Frontal obtained the key to the ‘Box’. In terms of how every person here wasted their efforts, I myself lost a lot too, but is that all? A large hole was opened in her chest, and Mineva muttered to herself in her heart as she experienced the feeling of loss that felt like her body was going to curl up if she did not tense up. The certain person she did not know how he looked like until yesterday, the one who called her Audrey, the puppy-like straightforward expression of his appeared in her mind as the feeling of the hand that held her hand tightly awoke again. It was not out of duty nor loyalty, but the warm hand of that person who reached out to her…

Banagher. The name was called out without avail in her heart, and she sighed. It is not a loss; it may have become my own burden. As she randomly thought, Mineva took the lift without waiting for the assistant leader to lead her. No matter where the detention room was, she knew that it was somewhere after taking this lift. As the person who inherited the Zabi name, I must not let myself be seen being dragged by the arm in such an unkempt manner by the public.

Part 18

At that moment, something strange was happening inside the cockpit of the “Unicorn”.

The warning lights of the all-view monitor and the display port were turned off, and the display words <La+> appeared again. The power of the monitor was immediately turned off, and the cockpit was covered with real darkness. What replaced it was the visual image of outer space shining vaguely on the linear seat.

The visual that was not processed through CG was similar to what he saw with his naked eyes. The “Kshatriya” that was grappling the machine, the “Sinanju” and the “Geara Zulu” that were probably moving in front were not on the screen. The infinitely deep pitch black space that was painted with silver powder started to spread out, causing the red <La+> that was in the center of the void to look extremely eyecatching. That word that was floating parallel to the linear seat continued to flicker with the coordinate data, seemingly indicating where the “Unicorn” should head to next.

Banagher did not notice the existence of that light. The attachment was loose, and the body that was floating up slightly from the linear seat was not moving at all. The eyes continued to remain shut as the visor of the helmet was the only thing reflecting the light of the stars. The <La+> light flickering behind did not even reach inside the visor. Banagher left aside the lights that caused him to lose control of his fate and many to gradually sink into chaos—indicating the location of the “Laplace Box”, and passed out in a groggy state.

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